Thoughts and postings from an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
  

  

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After spiking upwards on Monday due to concerns over Middle East tensions Brent crude declined to $34.23 per barrel on Wednesday, levels not seen since 2004.

There are very few signs that OPEC will cut production to reduce the glut in supply. Observers see the tensions between Saudi Arabia, which has led the move not cut production, and Iran making any agreement to lower production all the less likely. Meanwhile US shale oil and gas producers have proved to be much more resilient to low prices than many had expected.

All of this equates to unwelcome news for offshore marine companies that are already struggling with huge imbalance between demand and supply of vessels and rigs, and extremely depressed rates for units that are able to find employment.

With the much-reported prediction that the oil price could fall to $20 per barrel offshore companies are facing very real cashflow concerns, and questions over their abilities to meet financial obligations.

This week has seen offshore marine companies on three continents look to either majorly restructure their financing or alter terms on their bonds.

Both Havila Shipping in Norway and Polarcus in Dubai have announced major financial restructuring drastically reducing their commitments in the coming few years, while Singapore-listed Nam Cheong is seeking to amend the covenants with its bondholders to waive any non-compliance.

The comprehensive restructuring plans set out by Havila covered the period 2016  18 and the company made it clear it was not expecting any quick turnaround in market conditions.

The company foresees severe financial challenges for the period 2016-2018, and has several debt maturities coming up over the next months, of which it has no readily available means of refinancing, it said.

Further, cashflow from operations is not sufficient to serve the current amortisation schedules, and the company does not expect that the market will improve materially in the short to medium term.

The moves we have seen this week by offshore marine companies to restructure their financing arrangements are likely to only be the first of many that will take place this year.

The alternative is unfortunately bankruptcy as happened to Dolphin Group in December last year when it proved unable to restructure its finances and Ceona in the UK in September.
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
Press Release

January 7, 2016 Cayetano: Duterte presidency a 'disaster' for

criminals, drug lords and corrupt officials "Yes a Duterte presidency will be a disaster. It will be a disaster for drug lords, criminals and corrupt public officials." This is what Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano had to say in response to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV who said that it will be a disaster for the country if Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will be elected president in the upcoming polls. "The only people who are afraid of a Duterte leadership are those who benefit from corruption and unabated criminality. Mayor Duterte already made it clear. If you don't want a peaceful country and a corrupt-free government, then don't vote for him. If you want crimes and illegal drugs to thrive in our communities, then don't support him," Cayetano said. Cayetano belied Trillanes' claims that Duterte does not have a comprehensive platform that he would implement if he wins the presidency. "Maybe Sen. Trillanes is not paying enough attention. Of all the presidential candidates, only Mayor Duterte has bold solutions to address crime, corruption and illegal drugs. He also has a comprehensive framework on how to spread development to the regions and alleviate the plight of the working people. This is what the Filipino people find inspiring in Mayor Duterte," Cayetano said. Today, Mayor Duterte and I will officially unveil our platform and start touring the country to present our platform to the broader public. Everyone is very much welcome to attend and listen," Cayetano added. It was reported that part of the Duterte-Cayetano tandem's platform include, among others, reducing by half the country's crime rate and number of big-time drug lords operating in the country by mobilizing the military to help the police force. They also pushed for workers to have a living wage and the implementation of federalism to promote regional development.
Press Release

January 7, 2016 Cayetano blasts Poe-Escudero for "Manila-first policy", rest of the country second priority "Failure is guaranteed for those who do not even want to try." This is what Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said as he contradicted fellow vice presidential aspirant Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero's recent statement that a federalism approach to government would not work well in the Philippine setup. Reacting to Escudero's criticism over Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's call for a Federal form of government, Cayetano dubbed the latter's account as a "classic Manila-centric" attitude and remained firm that inclusive growth can only be achieved if power and resources are equally distributed among all the regions. "It is clear that there are some people who just want to get votes and win but lack the passion and the vision to change the country. They offer the same solutions that have failed miserably in the past and will not go to great extents to create real changes that people want and need," Cayetano lamented. "This 'Manila first, other regions later policy' of Senator Escudero and his running mate, Senator Grace Poe, is actually the main cause for underdevelopment and the lack of jobs for our people in other parts of the country. It's apparent that their tandem only wants to limit economic growth and improvement in the National Capital Region," he added. Cayetano further said Escudero's position on the matter is "understandable" because as the former chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, Escudero would naturally defend the national budget, which allocates one-third of the country's funds to Metro Manila while other regions only get two to four percent each. The senator also took a jab at Escudero for questioning his motive in backing Duterte's call, stressing that he has been supporting the same agenda even before his tandem with the Davao mayor was formalized. "For the past two years, I have been pushing for the decongestion of Metro Manila by decentralizing government and promoting countryside development. This has been my call since the very beginning," Cayetano pointed out. "It happens to be very much aligned with Mayor Duterte's Federalism approach. We share the same vision, that's why I chose to support him. Dahil pareho kaming naniniwala na ang kailangan ng bansa ay isang gobyernong magbibigay ng matapang na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon," he added. Cayetano has long been urging government to fund more programs that will promote development among other regions in the country. He earlier stressed that bolder solutions and swifter action are needed to attain inclusive growth, as many Filipinos living outside the metropolis still feel left behind. "The very essence of Federalism is to ensure that growth and prosperity are spread to every part of the Philippines, not just in Manila. It's a pity that Senators Poe and Escudero are against this. Kawawa naman ang ibang parte ng bansa kung sila ang mamumuno," Cayetano concluded.
Sen. Marcos Vows to Remain As Champion of LGUs

Vice Presidential contender, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday vowed to continue championing the cause of local government units and local officials.

This developed as Marcos met with Barangay Officials of Quezon City's 3rd District discussing with them over lunch at a carinderia in Pacmac Compound at Brgy. Mangga the important issues concerning LGUs.

Led by their Liga Chairman, Barangay Captain Cesar dela Fuente, the QC Barangay Officials thanked Marcos for his consistent effort in promoting their interests, particularly with the approval in Congress of the Senator's bill providing retirement benefits to Barangay Officials and Workers.

"Kung mamarapatin ninyo ako'y handa pang magsilbi at ipagpatuloy ang aking ginagawa bilang boses ng local governments," Sen Marcos, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government expressed.

Likewise Marcos assured Barangay Officials to press efforts in connection with their clamor for a longer term. The Senator filed a bill in the 15th Congress seeking to extend to 5 years the current 3 year term of Barangay Officials but it met strong opposition from Malacanang and failed to pass.

"Ang ginagawa namin ay yung kahit ma-postpone muna ang barangay elections sa October 2016 para magkaroon ng panahon ang Kongreso na pag-aralang mabuti yung panukalang term-extension," Marcos said.

Marcos is still hoping it will still be possible to pass such measure within the remaining session days of the 16th Congress.

Apart from the Barangay Officials Retirement Benefits Bill, Marcos also spearheaded efforts in the Senate for the passage of the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Bill meant to empower the youth and train them as the country's future leaders.

Likewise, Marcos has been pushing for a larger share of LGUs in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), from the current 60-40 in favor of the national government to an even 50-50 sharing.

"Majority of our local government units rely mainly on their IRA for their operations that is why I believe it is but proper to give our LGUs a larger share of the IRA," he stressed.

Marcos met the residents of Barangays Old Balara, Escopa and Tatalon where he received warm welcomes.
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The Northern California shoreline was battered Thursday by waves averaging 15 feet, prompting officials to issue a high-surf warning and a coastal-flood watch for much of the Bay Area coast.

Outlying surf was even bigger with some swells topping 25 feet at spots like Mavericks in San Mateo County, known for its big-wave surfing competition, and breached the 20-foot mark at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

The massive waves peaked with high tide just after 9 a.m., said Diana Henderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. A surf advisory and flood watch remained in effect from Point Reyes down to the southern tip of Monterey Bay until around 10 a.m., though the large westerly swell continued through midafternoon.

Henderson urged caution for anyone heading to the coast, saying it was a good day to stay off the rocks.

At Pacifica, where most weather rubberneckers do their rubbernecking when the waves go large, everybody stayed off the rocks. Instead, they stood on the Beach Boulevard sidewalk next to the seawall and watched the giant waves crash over the sidewalk and onto the front steps of oceanfront homes. Those who stood too close found out firsthand that nature does not play favorites with people or their cameras.

Its pretty crazy out here, said Melanie Hage, who lives a few blocks away and dropped by with her three dogs  Marry, Missie and Maggie  to discover what the sea gods were serving up.

It seems like were seeing more and more of this, she added. Im not sure whats causing it, but it seems the planet is in panic mode. Ive seen big waves before down there, but nothing like this. This is insane.

Pedestrians, beware

The Pacifica pier was closed to pedestrians, which was a good thing because some of them would have been swept into the surf and halfway to the Farallon Islands.

Victor Perez, a visitor from Mexico City, said the huge breakers were a sure sign that humans were messing up the Earth.

We dont have anything like this in Mexico City, said Perez, possibly because the nearest ocean is four hours away. He stood along the rail, pointing his cell phone camera at the relentless Pacific, some of which cascaded over the wall and gave him a good soaking, which made him grin.

The water got onto me but my phone is OK, he said.

A half-hour south, organizers of the annual Mavericks big-wave surfing contest declared that a potential swell is on the horizon, the first stage in the alert process that eventually will summon two dozen of the worlds best surfer dudes to drop everything and head to Half Moon Bay. But a go-date for the contest was still pending.

Last year, the waves never got big enough and the contest was canceled. But from the looks of Thursdays wave action, this years event promises to be a doozy.

The big rollers came crashing in on the heels of three straight days of El Nino-charged rainstorms that soaked the Bay Area and gusting winds that toppled trees and made roadways look like a destruction derby.

Some lingering showers remained in region Thursday, though much of the precipitation was focused south of San Francisco, mainly in Monterey County.

High pressure was expected to start building again over the Bay Area by Thursday night, the weather service said, and was expected to send temperatures plummeting into the 30s in many locations.

Stormy Friday night

The next storm on the horizon is expect to hit the Bay Area on Friday night and stretch into Saturday, bringing a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rainfall to most of the area with some high elevations seeing nearly two inches, Henderson said.

Rain should continue through next week, Henderson said, as two more storms lined up in the Pacific could bring precipitation to the region Monday and Wednesday, and a potentially strong system is setting up for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Kale Williams and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com, srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale, @SteveRubeSF
A Bay Area woman airlifted out of Yosemite National Park by the California Highway Patrol is recovering at home after she slipped and fell on icy granite behind Half Dome.

The woman, 63-year-old Sue Hopley of Palo Alto, was hiking with a companion on the Nevada Falls trail Saturday afternoon when she fell backward, landing on granite about 10 feet below and seriously injuring her back. Officials said she broke multiple vertebrae but did not need surgery.

Because the CHP could not assemble a helicopter crew before nightfall, the parks search-and-rescue personnel climbed up to the woman and sheltered her in place. She was given pain medication, a temporary back brace and a subzero sleeping bag for the night.

At 7:15 a.m. Sunday, two CHP officers flew out to Hopleys location and hoisted her up into their helicopter.

For us, it wasnt a horribly difficult hoist in terms of hazards, said CHP Officer Andrea Brown, the flight paramedic who pulled Hopley up to safety. We were at the top of the falls so there were no trees above us.

In a video taken of the rescue mission from the helicopter, Brown gave the pilot, CHP Officer Ty Blasingame, directions on how to precisely maneuver the aircraft to reach Hopley. Once Hopley was attached to a cable, the footage showed her steadily rising from the snow below.

I enjoy doing these calls, Brown said. Its unfortunate why youre doing it, but its just gorgeous up there this time of year.

Brown said Hopley was grateful to be airlifted out of the park. The CHP transported her to Ahwahnee Meadow, and from there was flown to a Modesto-area hospital.

CHP conducts upwards of 20 airlift rescues out of Yosemite National Park every year, according to Brown.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: KVeklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
Starting this month, gun owners in Oakland will have to lock their weapons in boxes when leaving them in unattended vehicles, under a law the City Council passed Tuesday to curb the bloodshed on city streets.

The law, plus another requiring gun owners to use trigger locks, comes at an auspicious moment for Oakland, said Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, who co-sponsored the ordinance to secure weapons in vehicles. President Obama called for tighter national gun laws on Tuesday, and in Oakland a woman was hit by a stray bullet while pushing a stroller near City Hall just hours before the council meeting.

The council voted unanimously to pass the laws and is expected to give them final approval on Jan. 19. Once the measures are approved, anyone with a concealed-weapons permit who leaves a gun in a car in Oakland will have to make sure its stowed in a locked container. Anyone who violates the laws will face a misdemeanor charge and a $1,000 fine.

Council members also voted to ban large-capacity magazines, which were used in the 2012 mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn.

Oakland, a city long beset by violent crime, saw a surge of killings at the end of 2015, bringing the years total to 83 homicides  up from 79 in 2014.

Among them were killings that rattled the city. In March, 30-year-old Chyemil Pierce was shot in the head while trying to guide her children away from a gun battle in West Oakland. In September, 27-year-old artist Antonio Ramos was shot to death while painting a mural to promote nonviolence under an Interstate 580 overpass. Days later, 45-year-old Jasvir Singh, a well-known neighborhood ice cream man, was killed in East Oakland.

For some council members, the violence has taken a personal toll.

Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney was jolted on Dec. 20 by the slaying of 17-year-old Torian Hughes, whom she considered a grandson.

Oakland police said Tuesday that they had arrested a suspect in Hughes killing: a 15-year-old boy.

At Tuesdays council meeting, an emotional McElhaney described gun violence as unnatural, but imminently fixable.

There is something terribly wrong in this country, she said, her voice breaking. And it has not always been this way.

Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district, said that he and his neighbors often find shell casings on their doorsteps or in their backyards from celebratory gunfire on New Years Eve or the Fourth of July.

Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington, who helped push the laws, said her daughters school was locked down earlier that day after the shooting near City Hall.

Kaplan described the measures as part of a concerted push in Oakland to keep weapons from falling into the wrong hands. She noted that Oakland leaders have recently stepped up their efforts to curb gun violence, setting aside $1 million in November to fund firearm tracing and crime investigations by the citys police force.

Kaplan lashed out at the National Rifle Association, whose members denounced the ordinances when they went before the councils Public Safety Committee in December.

The NRA claims they are for responsible gun ownership, Kaplan said. But responsible gun ownership does not include having guns loose where criminals can get them.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Did you buy a few apps for your new gadgets over the holidays? Youre definitely not alone.

Apple said Wednesday that customers bought $1.1 billion worth of apps and in-app purchases in the two weeks between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3. They also set a single-day spending record, dropping $144 million on apps on New Years Day. In a release, Apple said that this broke a record that had been set just a week before, on Christmas Day.

While Apple set a record, the holiday app-related shopping spree seems to be in line with what has happened before: Last year, the company reported that it had made half a billion in revenue in the first week of January.

Overall, Apple said that customers spent $20 billion on App Store purchases in 2015. The most popular apps included games such as Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack and Heads Up! as well as messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WeChat and Snapchat. In terms of top-grossers, Apple also noted that games and subscription apps did the best, mentioning Clash of Clans, Monster Strike, Game of War: Fire Age and Fantasy Westward Journey, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Match.

The company was also quick to note that the App Store has made developers about $40 billion over its lifetime, with roughly one-third of that figure  about $13 billion  coming from 2015 alone. Last year, the company said that it had generated $10 billion in revenue for developers in 2014.

Citing a new Progressive Policy Institute report by Michael Mandel, Apple said that the company had created 1.9 million jobs in the U.S., including 1.4 million through the App Store for developers, entrepreneurs and engineers, as well as some non-IT staff.

The App Store has consistently been a selling point for Apple products and a growing area of revenue for the company. Thats particularly important for Apple to highlight amid persistent concern that sales of the iPhone  by far the largest source of the companys profit  are going to slow down in 2016.

Many analysts have predicted that the smartphone market overall, while still drawing tens of billions in revenue, will see slower growth this year. In a presentation Tuesday, Consumer Technology Association market researcher Steve Koenig said that a number of factors, including a strong dollar and weak economies in parts of the world that had seen strong new tech spending, indicate that 2016 will be a slower year for global tech spending overall.

Several analysts have cautioned that Apple could see iPhone sales shrink for the first time in the coming year  warnings seemingly boosted by reports that the company has cut back iPhone production.

The App Store not only provides Apple with a distinguishing selling point, but also helps to retain customers and, in some cases, gets them to buy more Apple devices. And Apple has been ambitious about expanding this part of the business: The company recently opened a version of the App Store for the Apple TV, as part of its bid to take over the living room.
Number of the day

$599

Thats how much the much-hyped Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will cost when it ships to 20 countries beginning March 28, the company said Wednesday. Oculus, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $2 billion, began accepting orders for the device Wednesday morning.

Other number of the day

12 billion

Thats how many hours of programming Netflix subscribers watched during the final three months of 2015, a nearly 50 percent increase from the previous year. CEO Reed Hastings disclosed the information  plus Netflixs huge global expansion  during a presentation in Las Vegas. Page C3

Hashtag this

#Twitter10K

When on Twitter, rant as the tweeters do. And, Twitter being Twitter, those who are upset or angry dominate the conversation, such as in the case of the San Francisco company possibly allowing tweets to have up to 10,000 characters rather than 140. Many users would rather that Twitter just make itself better, such as with a button for editing tweets. For now, its still a nice forum for offering your 2 cents (marked up to $1.43 under the new limits).

The Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
HONG KONG A few months ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hosted a technology summit meeting at the companys headquarters near Seattle with some of Chinas most powerful political leaders. He smiled for a photo while flanked by Xi Jinping, the countrys president, and Lu Wei, its Internet czar.

This week, though, that harmony faded, as one of Chinas regulators said it would demand answers to new questions about Microsofts business practices there.

The announcement, related to electronic data that the government collected in an antitrust inquiry, shows how a sustained effort by Microsoft to cozy up to Chinas leadership has done little to relieve the regulatory challenges that it faces in the country. At best, the company is getting mixed messages.

Multinational companies have for years gone out of their way to curry favor with leaders in China, one of the worlds largest technology and consumer markets, which are overseen by rival regulatory agencies eager to score wins against high-profile foreign companies. For Microsoft, the setbacks in the country are galling because high rates of software piracy have limited its sales there, even though products like Windows and Office are widely used.

The Microsoft investigation raised eyebrows among some longtime Western critics who believe that China uses its regulatory agencies and court system to penalize foreign companies and give homegrown alternatives a hand.

This is about business  thats all it is, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonprofit research group in Washington. All this other stuff about hosting and being nice doesnt fundamentally change the Chinese calculation. This is the strategy they have, and theyre going forward pretty relentlessly.

The new scrutiny of Microsoft by the regulator, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, stems from antitrust investigations of major Western tech companies in 2014.

In July of that year, about 100 officials of the regulatory agency stormed four Microsoft offices in China, questioning executives, copying contracts and records, and downloading data from the companys servers, including e-mail and other internal communications.

The Chinese agency said Tuesday that it is seeking answers to major questions that arose from the data but did not provide any further details of the new investigation.
After three years working at a startup, Julie Tracy wanted to leave her company so she could travel. Her employer, online lingerie retailer Adore Me, gamely threw her a going away party at a bar across the street  a pretty standard affair until this happened: This enormous foam check starts coming at me through the crowd, she said.

It was followed by an actual check  for $10,000. It was from Adore Mes CEO. I burst into tears, Tracy said. Theres probably 1,000 pictures of me sobbing. I was totally blown out of the water. It was amazing.

Adore Me offers a highly unusual benefit to departing employees: a fat check. Last month, the New York company gave another $10,000 check to a longtime worker who was quitting to move across the country. The benefit comes with no strings, but its also not guaranteed. The guidelines for who gets it, and how much, seem to be pretty vague: We would do it for anyone that has put in a lot of hard work and effort at Adore Me, said CEO Morgan Hermand-Waiche.

Like many popular benefits these days, the generous parting gift is an attempt to signal the existence of a positive company culture, both to employees who stay behind and those yet to come. The type of organization that gives loyal, hard-working employees a pile of money is, in theory, a desirable place to work.

Its great for someone inside the company. It makes them more willing to stay, said Hermand-Waiche. Then again, one reason to leave would be to get $10,000. Adore Me avoids that by offering the benefit selectively, which has the opposite effect, argues Hermand-Waiche: Why would an employee want to leave a place that treats its workers well?

Potential problems

Still, there are a lot of potential problems with this kind of benefit. Why would you pay somebody you want to keep to go? asks Bruce Elliott, the Society of Human Resource Managements manager of compensation and benefits. The money might motivate a high performing employee to leave, potentially for a competitor. Startup companies have done a lot of innovation around benefits, and have kind of focused on their culture, to make it an engaging workplace so that employees would want to come, concedes Elliott. But as a compensation professional I can find all kinds of reasons why a company wouldnt want to do this.

Multiple surveys say recruiting and retention are top issues for employers. For startups in particular, benefits can be a way to make up for low salaries and long hours. Adore Me wouldnt disclose how much it pays employees, but touted its other perks, including Monday morning breakfast, in-office yoga, and free cab rides home for employees who stay late. Adore Mes goodbye-payout isnt that different from generous parental leave policies or plush health care plans, says Hermand-Waiche.

Its just a way to say thank you, he said. Maybe one day they will come back, maybe they will tell their friends about it and it will get us some great leads.

The lump-sum may be an extreme way to hit those notes, however. Ive never seen anything like this before, said Elliott. Unlike a gold watch for a life-time of service, this benefit isnt reserved for retiring employees. Tracy is only 23.

A few companies, like Zappos and Amazon, have offered Pay to Quit deals  but those are aimed at unhappy employees, who companies want to buy out because they tend to be bad workers.

The Adore Me offer has the opposite logic. Instead of using money to weed out bad workers, the benefit has the psychology of a slot machine. It offers the promise of potential money to motivate certain behaviors: The harder I work, the more likely that, when the time comes, Ill get a payout.

Rewarding hard work

A more common way for startups to reward the hard work of loyal, longtime employees is equity, but Hermand-Waiche is dismissive of that option, which doesnt always pay off. We dont like to have our team members needing to wait for the day we sell and IPO to get the reward of their work, he says.

Adore Mes way, however, means that only chosen employees get the reward. That said, Adore Me also says it gives annual bonuses and regular promotions for high-performing employees.

Of course, those that get the goodbye money are the most grateful. Its not an exaggeration to say that I love Adore Me, Tracy said. The $10,000 check has more than doubled her budget, helping to buy gear and visas for her trip. She plans on spending at least eight months visiting every country in Central and South America.

There is also a long game to Adore Mes benefit. Even after theyve left, an employees feelings about a company matter: More than ever, workers sometimes circle back, returning to their old jobs. These boomerang employees are easier to train and integrate into a companys culture.

Plus, rehiring someone can boost morale. Hermand-Waiche has extended an open invitation for Tracy to come back after her sojourn. Tracy says she will continue to do consulting work for Adore Me  and as of now, is open to returning full time.

But even with the current benefits arms-race, Elliott doesnt expect this Adore Mes unique approach to catch on.

Are you kidding me? he said, laughing. Organizations dont give away money like this to be nice. Theres got to be an end game here. Theres got to be some sort of objective. How will it benefit the business?

There are much cheaper, more effective ways to keep people happy and around, he says.

Rebecca Greenfield is a Bloomberg writer. E-mail: rgreenfield@bloomberg.net
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A nurse at an Alameda County jail is claiming staff is overworked and potentially risking the quality of care after a health care provider that serves the jails laid off nearly 40 percent of nursing staff to refill the spots with higher trained nurses.

Its a mad house right now. Its crazy, said Melissa Brown, a licensed vocational nurse at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Its really difficult. Were severely understaffed and were basically working with a skeleton crew. The nursing staff that are there currently are worn out.

Corizon Health, a correctional health care company, laid off 49 of the 126 Alameda County nurses who treat the general inmate population at the end of 2015, but promised to return to full staffing next month. Officials said it was part of an agreement to hire nurses with higher certification in the aftermath of a costly federal lawsuit. All of the laid off nurses were licensed vocational nurses.

Brown is one of 18 licensed vocational nurses who remain at the jails as the company hires registered nurses, who have more certification. She will soon be out of a job as well. Brown said she received a letter that said she will be permanently terminated by Jan. 31.

Were all scrambling, said Brown, 46. Im trying to secure my mortgage for a couple of months.

At Santa Rita, Brown said some nurses are being mandated to work 16-hour shifts  a scenario that might usually happen once a month, but is now occurring every day.

When the day shift ends at 3 p.m., nurses are being pushed to work until 11 p.m. if there arent enough staff for the night shift, she said.

That cycle has not broken since this started, Brown said. Nurses are calling off left and right because theyre exhausted.

Officials with the National Union of Healthcare Workers said the affected jails  Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and the Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland  could be putting inmates at risk.

Theyre worried about making a mistake  thats the fear right now in the jail from the employee side, said Dennis Dugan, a union organizer. They just dont have the staff numbers right here to do the work.

But Martha Harbin, a Corizon spokeswoman, said workflow is not suffering in the transition.

That is not my understanding of whats happening at the jail, she said of the nurses complaints. That is not what we see happening. Its not what our client sees happening.

Corizon officials said the company had laid off the workers to comply with terms of a deal that settled an $8.3 million lawsuit claiming that the jails use of licensed vocational nurses  a lesser rank than registered nurses  endangered inmates.

Harbin said seven registered nurses will begin orientation at the jails on Monday as more are gradually hired.

Unfortunately, good people are losing their jobs. Thats hard, Rubin said. Its heart-breaking because some of these people have worked for us for a really long time. I imagine theres hard feelings.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Courtesy/Walnut Creek Police Department

Walnut Creek police are searching for a man suspected in a string of armed robberies in the East Bay and on the Peninsula over the last few weeks, the most recent of which took place at a convenience store Wednesday night, authorities said.

Around 11:30 p.m., officers responded to reports of a robbery at a 7-Eleven store on the 300 block of North Civic Drive, said Sgt. David Rangel, a police spokesman.
TAMPA, Fla.  Oscar Ray Bolin was first found guilty of murdering three women nearly 30 years ago. In the decades since, every one of the verdicts delivered by juries in three separate trials was reversed at least twice by appeals courts, although ultimately he was convicted again in each case: 10 times by 10 juries, to be exact.

It now appears Bolins legal pleas are coming to an end.

Unless an appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court steps in, Bolin, 53, will be executed Thursday at 6 p.m. in Florida State Prison for the 1986 slaying of Teri Lynn Matthews.

For Matthews family and relatives of the two other victims, its about time.

It will be in a sense, a closure, said Matthews mother, Kathleen Reeves. Its been so long. The pain doesnt change. Its just time for it. Its due. Its past due.

On Wednesday, Bolin told the local Fox television affiliate that hes innocent. I didnt know em, never seen em, never met em, he said of the three victims.

Bolin told the TV station that evidence used to convict him was both tampered with and planted.

Bolins trials received widespread publicity in the Tampa Bay area  but not just because of the seemingly endless legal processes or the brutal nature of the killings.

While on trial, Bolin and a woman on his defense team fell in love. Rosalie Martinez had been a paralegal at the Hillsborough public defenders office who was married to a prominent Tampa attorney. Martinez divorced him and married Bolin, on live TV, in 1996  10 years after the slayings.

Rosalie Bolin says her husband is innocent in Matthews killing, and she has become one of the states most outspoken death penalty opponents since her marriage to Oscar Ray Bolin.

Police said Bolins first Florida victim was 25-year-old Natalie Holley, who was abducted after she left work at a Tampa fast food restaurant in January of 1986. In October of that same year, 17-year-old Stephanie Collins disappeared from a shopping center parking lot in Tampa. Two months later, Matthews was abducted from a post office in Pasco County, just north of Tampa. All three were fatally stabbed.
A woman caught on camera throwing her black pug into a puddle during an argument with her boyfriend has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Solano County District Attorneys Office filed a felony charge of animal cruelty and abuse against Brandi Chin, the woman shown throwing her dog in a video that prompted Fairfield Police and Solano County Animal Services to investigate.

Fairfield Police provided the office with reports Tuesday requesting criminal charges against the alleged dog abuser.

The office requested an arrest warrant for Chin in the Dec. 19 incident. Fairfield Police arrested Chin in Vallejo on Wednesday, joined by district attorney investigators.

BRANDI CHIN of Fairfield Pennsylvania st. If this isn't animal abuse I don't know what is. Posted by David Shields on Saturday, December 19, 2015

Authorities took possession of the dog, Benny, during the arrest.

The Solano County District Attorneys Offices takes seriously all cases where animals are alleged to have been treated cruelly, abused and/or neglected and will diligently hold accountable those who commit such crimes, officials said in a statement.

Surveillance video from the incident showed Chin flinging Benny by his front leg toward her boyfriend.

Benny rolled several times, then Chins boyfriend scooped him up and the two began shouting at each other. He later told officers the dog appeared fine afterward.

Animal Services Officer Francisco Piedra said Chins boyfriend suspects she threw the dog to get him riled up.

He said that he thinks she did it out of spite, Piedra said. She knew that if she did that, it would upset him.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
You know Elijah Wood as a hobbit. Or as the guy who talks to his neighbor's dog, Wilfred. Or even as the kid who saved the dolphin that one time. That's Elijah Wood, the actor.

Over the last 10 years, however, Wood's been quietly earning his chops in a different field: music. Wood has been running his own record label, Simian Records, for about a decade, and has gradually amassed a record collection of hits and rarities numbering in the thousands. Five years ago, he began spinning vinyl with Los Angeles DJ Zach Cowie, an industry vet who has toured with the likes of Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective. The two met at a party thrown by their mutual friends, Rodarte founders (and UC Berkeley grads), Kate and Laura Mulleavy.

These days, Wood and Cowie have gotten a bit more serious about their music project, and critics have taken notice. Their work blends elements from just about anywhere in the world  their current favorite is an album from an early 1980s Danish minimal wave band, for example  but they make sure that everything they play has one feature in common: all of it must be "danceable."

To date, they've gone on several tours internationally, and landed gigs at national music events like Firefly Fest and major award show parties.

On Jan. 15, they'll play Harlot in San Francisco, alongside Vetiver's Andy Cabic and Ozgood from Afrolicious. We spoke with the two before their show about record collecting, their favorite albums, and crate digging in San Francisco.

Elijah, do you find that people have a pre-disposition to you as a DJ because they know you as an actor?

Wood: I suppose most people are familiar with me from the work that I do in films. I guess sometimes when we play there are a certain group of people who come for that reason, but the hope that I always have is that they walk away having let go of that sort of preconceived relationship, from what they're familiar with, and kind of take away the musical aspect of what it is that [Zach and I] do together. There [are] preconceived notions that fall away in the process.

In the past, you've mentioned that sometimes people have trouble with the idea that you can switch vocations.

Wood: Music is a constant and it has been in my life for a very long time, whether I was DJing or not. It isn't one or the other. It is literally alongside, consistently. I will always work in both in some capacity. It's never a one or the other; it's constant, whenever I have time, honestly, and that's how we plan these things. [We] look at the calendar year and sort of figuring out little opportunities for us to be able to play records on the side. [It's] the other thing that we do, because Zach also has his day job as well.

Zach, you've worked in music and toured for a long time. You've also worked as a DJ for years. Did you teach Elijah how to spin vinyl?

Cowie: He had a lot of records but Elijah's DJ experiences were primarily digital. We worked together  he was a very, very determined and fast learner so it didn't take long. Like I said he had the records so there were just some fundamentals on how to string them together. Some things we're both still working on, like the music is always the most important thing, but there are a lot of things you can do to enhance the music in its presentation. The more subtle our mixing is, the better the music will be that we're playing. That's something we're always working on.

When you're planning your show, do you discuss what you're going to play ahead of time? Or do you just surprise each other?

Cowie: To get ready for a trip out of town, we both pull our own bags together. We both talk a little bit just to be sure we're not pulling too much of the same stuff, because you can only travel with too many things...the bags are based off whatever we're excited about at the time. Our ears have enough overlap that we can figure out how to make it all make sense with each other or the other records. We don't plan anything. We'll talk for a second before we start about what kind of zone we want to kick things off with, but then it all becomes reactive to the environment and what the space is asking for. We just make it up. We'll go three for three, and then one for one, until they turn the lights on. [Wood laughs.]

What kind of things do you look for in your record picks? What inspires you about albums you decide to play?

Wood: A lot of it's a feeling. It's not easy to quantify. It can be any number of things that can excite us about any given record, or why we feel like that thing needs to be played in front of people. I think the sort of major through line to anything that we play is that it has to be danceable. That's the only consistent thing. Beyond that it's just amorphous as a feeling...the way it makes us feel individually. That's not an easy thing to quantify. That's really it.

Cowie: We both collect just about everything too, so when we DJ it's just a sampling of what we're into based on this prerequisite of it being danceable and [that's] only because we're doing it in a club environment.

Are there any albums you've bought that after you heard it, you just thought you struck gold?

[Wood laughs.]

Cowie: Like every day.

OK, how about this week?

Wood: That Moral record we got in Copenhagen...

Cowie: That is an awesome record. We both got it. The one I think I wanted the most this week  maybe [Elijah] got it  was "You Bring Out the Best in Me" 45 by D.I.T.

Wood: I did get it.

Cowie: You did??

Wood: This is the thing that happens with Zach and I too, is that we both buy records on Discogs and whenever we hear something or something's recommended or we're out in the field and we find something but don't purchase it, then we add it to our "Want List." Then we both on a daily basis get emails from Discogs for sale from the Want List. That particular record came in to our email on the same day and he emailed me like, dude...and I was like, 'I know! I got the same email.'

Cowie: I'm revisiting this record that is not for the club called Plux Quba. It's a really amazing, very emotional late 80s electronic record. I used to work at a record label in Chicago called Drag City and we reissued that but it went out of print many years ago. It's back in print now and I just love this album, so I sent Elijah the link this morning. I believe he just bought it. It's just every day, we're both so hungry for it, and there are so many ways to learn that world. It feels like a new discovery every day. At least one.

Do you ever think you might make your own record?

Cowie: We don't know how to play anything. No, the motivator for both of us is to find records. It makes us DJs forever and we're both fine with that.

Wood: We'd like to do more mixes and that's something we always really enjoy. In terms of there being any output, it would just be mixes that we put together.

Cowie: We don't have any time, and the ones we did put on Soundcloud got removed for copyright issues.

[Wood laughs]

Cowie: That happens to like every mix on Soundcloud after a certain amount of time. That's fine. I think it's fun to make stuff and then it disappears.

Wood: I love it, actually.

You've received lots of praise from people in the industry  Madlib being one. Does that sort of response matter a lot to you, or do you try to stay away from the criticism side of performing?

Wood: Positive feedback from people who we admire is always an incredible thing.

Cowie: Yeah, I don't think any bad criticism would ever stop us, but we definitely notice the good criticism and appreciate it.

Have you frequented the Bay Area enough to have favorite places to scoop up records or hang out?

Cowie: One of my best friends [Andy Cabic] is in a band called Vetiver. I used to tour with him a long time ago. Andy is just one of my favorite musical dudes  he'll DJ with us that night  so I've been going up to the Bay for like 15 years to buy records and hang with him. I'm a huge fan of Cool Chris at Groove Merchants. I think he's untouchable in the Bay. For newer things, especially dance things, the guys at Vinyl Dreams are doing such good things. Amoeba, of course. I love buying records in the Bay. Elijah, you've never dug [for records] in Bay, have you?

Wood: I have not.

Cowie: I'm gonna take you.

Wooden Wisdom plays Harlot in San Francisco on January 15, 2016. Get tickets to the show here.
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On Wednesday, many Bay Area restaurants will celebrate the first anniversary of the return of foie gras to California menus, following a 2015 repeal of the high-profile state ban on the duck liver delicacy. Some, like Cockscomb in SoMa, will feature regularly offered dishes, like a chicken and foie gras terrine with a pickled quail egg; others, like La Toque in Napa, will offer free foie gras bites to diners.

But a year after the ban was lifted, the issue still isnt fully resolved, with two significant lawsuits still pending in state court  including one that could reinstate the ban.

The original state law (SB1520), which was passed in 2004 and implemented in 2012, banned both the sale and production of foie gras.

On Jan. 7, 2015, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles ruled that the law interfered with the federal Poultry Products Inspections Act, which regulates the sale and distribution of birds and does not allow states to impose individual conditions on food. Foie gras immediately appeared on local restaurants menus.

Attorney General Kamala Harris followed up a month later with an appeal to Wilsons ruling. That appeal remains ongoing, according to the attorney generals office, with the most recent brief filed last month, urging that the district courts judgment be reversed.

Separately, a lawsuit against chef Ken Frank of La Toque restaurant in Napa is also pending. Animal rights activists sued Frank for openly serving foie gras, for free, during the ban.

Activists argue that the process of making foie gras is inhumane because it requires force-feeding ducks or geese until their livers are enlarged, often causing injury. (The delicacy is usually duck liver in the U.S., while goose liver is more popular in France.) Because of the California law, foie gras still cannot be produced in California, though its sale is no longer illegal.

Chefs counter that there are humane ways to produce foie gras and that the ingredient plays a unique and special role on menus.

And, they say, diners have an appetite for the fatty liver.

Chris Cosentino  chef-owner at Cockscomb, a SoMa restaurant known for offal cookery  said the ban brought to light bona fide concerns, but it also brought to light that the public wanted foie gras. He has several foie gras dishes on the menu, including a foie gras torchon with cranberries, as well as a hot mess of foie gras with mandarin marmalade and charred Satsuma mandarins.

Its great to have it back. I love the flavor of it, said Cosentino. People are happy that its back.

Its never been more popular, concurred La Toques Ken Frank. It zoomed right back to the top of the popular item chart.

But not all restaurants have had the same diner reactions. Despite the initial excitement, foie gras seems to have settled back to its preban role as an occasional luxury, said Nancy Oakes, chef-owner of Boulevard and Prospect.

When it first got put back on the roster, there was a huge reaction, said Oakes, who was also against the ban. Still, of the 235 appetizers ordered by diners at Boulevard on Tuesday night, only 12 were the restaurants foie gras dish.

Its very unique, said Oakes. But I have to say that I had gotten used to being without it.

Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan.

Chronicle Food Editor Paolo Lucchesi contributed to this report.
If the North Pole heat spike, rash of strange and powerful storms and broken heat records didn't freak you out this year, well here's one more shot at it. Check out the above photos.

Beautiful.

Placid.

But here's what's happening: Most of that water running so wild and fresh in rivulets, streams and rivers should have been absorbed into the ice and refrozen. Instead, the layer of porous ice that develops each warm season didn't develop correctly because of too much warming and so a super-mega amount of water poured into the ocean.

That bit of news was published Monday, Jan. 4, in the journal Nature under the title "Freak out right now!"

JK!

The real title is "Greenland meltwater storage in firn limited by near-surface ice formation." The key word to know here is "firn." Here's a definition: "granular snow, especially on the upper part of a glacier, where it has not yet been compressed into ice."

The punchline:

"Our observations frame the recent exceptional melt summers in 2010 and 2012, revealing significant changes in firn structure at different elevations caused by successive intensive melt events. In the upper regions (more than ~1,900 m above sea level), firn has undergone substantial densification, while at lower elevations, where melt is most abundant, porous firn has lost most of its capability to retain meltwater. Here, the formation of near-surface ice layers renders deep pore space difficult to access, forcing meltwater to enter an efficient surface discharge system and intensifying ice sheet mass loss earlier than previously suggested."

So, you might want to reconsider buying that current beach front property. Or, if you're a climate change denier, go ahead. Just don't expect a federal bailout. The Washington Post puts it nicely:

"(It's) worrying news for the precarious Greenland ice sheet, which scientists say has already lost more than 9 trillions tons of ice in the past century  and whose melting rate only continues to increase as temperatures keep warming. NASA estimates that the Greenland ice sheet is losing about 287 billion tons of ice every year, partly due to surface melting and partly due to the calving of large chunks of ice. Because of the ice sheet's potential to significantly raise sea levels as it runs into the ocean, scientists have been keeping a close eye on it  and anything that might affect how fast it's melting."

All those rivers running across the ice? Study co-author William Colgan, a researcher at York University in Toronto, provided the photos above. Here's what he told the CBC:

"That hadn't been seen before," said "That was a very powerful visual, to see just how dramatically the firn had changed  to see no rivers one year, and the next year rivers extending an additional 20, maybe even 30 kilometres inland." The rivers could be several metres wide and many appeared farther inland than had ever been seen before.

So, there you have it. An unforeseen consequence to climate change that isn't good. Given that the best-guess scenarios are pretty grim for the planet, finding these unforeseen and unpredicted disasters around the world should ... you guessed it ... freak you out.

Jake Ellison can be reached at 206-448-8334 or jakeellison@seattlepi.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/Jake_News. Also, swing by and *LIKE* his page on Facebook. If Google Plus is your thing, check out our science coverage here.
1 Health care repeal: Congress has sent legislation to President Obamas desk repealing his signature health care law. There have been dozens of previous repeal attempts in the House and the Senate. Wednesdays vote in the House marks the first time such a bill will actually make it all the way to the White House. The legislation, which also cuts federal funding for Planned Parenthood, passed the Senate last year. Obama will veto the bill. But Republicans say that by holding the vote they have fulfilled a promise to voters in an election year. They also say theyve demonstrated that if a Republican wins the presidency they will actually succeed in repealing the health law.

2 Gas leak emergency: California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Wednesday over a massive natural-gas leak that has been spewing fumes into a Los Angeles neighborhood for months. Brown said he acted based on the requests of local residents in the community of Porter Ranch and the prolonged and continuing nature of the gas blowout at the underground storage facility. The well, owned by Southern California Gas Co., has been gushing up to 1,200 tons of methane daily, along with other gases. The leak was first reported in October.
BURNS, Ore.  The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards an Oregon nature preserve as sacred issued a rebuke Wednesday to the armed men who are occupying the property, saying they are not welcome at the snowy bird sanctuary and must leave.

The Burns Paiute tribe was the latest group to speak out against the men, who have taken several buildings at the preserve to protest policies governing the use of federal land in the West.

The protesters have no right to this land. It belongs to the native people who live here, tribal leader Charlotte Rodrique said.

She spoke at a news conference at the tribes cultural center, about a half-hour drive from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is being occupied by some 20 men led by Ammon Bundy, whose father, Cliven, was at the center of a standoff in Nevada with federal officials in 2014 over use of public lands.

Ammon Bundy is demanding that the refuge be handed over to locals.

Rodrique said she had to laugh at the demand, because she knew Bundy was not talking about giving the land to the tribe.

The 13,700-acre Burns Paiute Reservation is north of Burns, a remote town in Oregon sagebrush country. The reservation is separate from the wildlife refuge, but tribal members consider it part of their ancestral land.

As with other tribes, the Burns Paiutes link to the land is marked by a history of conflict with white settlers and the U.S. government. In the late 1800s, they were forced off a sprawling reservation created by an 1872 treaty that was never ratified. Some later returned and purchased property in the Burns area, where about 200 tribal members now live.

Bundys group seized buildings Saturday at the nature preserve in eastern Oregons high desert country. Authorities have made no attempt to remove them.

The standoff in rural Oregon is a continuation of a long-running dispute over federal policies covering the use of public lands, including grazing. The federal government controls about half of all land in the West. For example, it owns 53 percent of Oregon, 85 percent of Nevada and 66 percent of Utah, according to the Congressional Research Service.
LOS ANGELES  The hillside above the Los Angeles County home of Wayne Socha had held firm against thunderstorms over the past three decades. But after a wildfire two years ago stripped away vegetation and loosened soil, he feared the strong El Nino storms pounding the state could bring it all down.

So the 61-year-old corporate auditor grabbed a sledgehammer and waded through the muck in his Monrovia backyard to knock a hole in a cement wall and let a mud flow skirt his house and run into a street.

It looked like Niagara Falls, Socha said. It was quickly building up behind the house and I knew it could come right inside.

Socha is among uncounted Californians trying to protect their property after the first El Nino storms descended on California this week and brought wet, windy weather to an area stretching all the way to the Gulf Coast.

Those storms dumped nearly 3 inches of rain Tuesday on Southern California, turning Sochas terraced backyard into a raging torrent of mud and debris. He kept his sledgehammer and shovels close on Wednesday as the winters most powerful El Nino storm so far pushed into the state.

The system pushed south toward Los Angeles, stirring high waves in the ocean and causing extensive flooding in the San Fernando Valley that swamped cars in deep water.

It packed colder temperatures, stronger winds and heavier rainfall than the previous storms that have lined up since the weekend and brought much-needed rain to the drought-stricken state.

Los Angeles authorities spent days getting homeless people from low-lying areas along the Los Angeles River and other waterways prone to flooding. Shuttles were available to shelters that had room for as many as 6,000 beds, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Were not going to charge them with things, Garcetti said. But we will use the force of law  there is law on the books that they cant be there.

Motorists in mountain areas were warned that blizzard conditions with wind gusts reaching 60 mph were possible above 4,000 feet.

At the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, Monrovia officials dispatched crews with sandbags to help protect Sochas neighborhood from landslides.

The National Weather Service said a record 1.42 inches of rain fell Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport as a previous storm passed through the region.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews responded to 75 calls in three hours Tuesday. Most dealt with cars in flooded intersections, including instances in which a woman and her dog were pulled to safety and a family of four was rescued from their vehicle as waters swiftly rose.

The current El Nino system  a natural warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that interacts with the atmosphere and changes weather worldwide  has tied a system in 1997-98 as the strongest on record.
BURIEN, Wash.  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed an executive order aimed at curbing gun violence by improving data-sharing among government agencies and starting a new public health campaign on suicide prevention.

We are not afraid to take action here in Washington state, Inslee said Wednesday after criticizing inaction by Congress on gun violence.

Inslee appears to be the first governor in the nation to take action on the issue after an announcement this week by President Obama regarding an executive order.

Inslee praised Obamas plan to create a more sweeping definition of gun dealers as a way to increase the number of sales requiring background checks. Both leaders are Democrats.

As the result of a successful 2014 ballot measure, Washington state already has expanded background checks to include online sales and purchases at gun shows

The initiative came the same year the state saw two deadly campus shootings. In Marysville, a high school student killed three 14-year-old girls and a 15-year-old boy after inviting them to lunch in the cafeteria, authorities said. Earlier, a 19-year-old student was killed and two others wounded in a shooting at Seattle Pacific University.

States, however, are limited in what gun laws legislators can enact. Still, much of what the president has proposed is already in effect in Washington, California and a handful of other states.

In his executive order, Inslee said firearm deaths now exceed motor vehicle crash fatalities in the state and that 80 percent of firearm deaths are suicides.

Inslee, who is seeking re-election later this year, outlined his plans with representatives of the University of Washington School of Social Work and the director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center.

It calls for better data analysis of the effectiveness of current gun safety efforts; looking for failures in the states current methods of sharing information among law enforcement and social service agencies; and eyeing gaps in the states firearm purchasing laws.

Inslee wants to look into better adolescent depression screening, initiate a campaign focused on suicide prevention and develop culturally appropriate crisis-prevention and treatment services for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.

This will be a data-driven approach that helps us identify the people and places most susceptible to gun crime and suicide, Inslee said. Gun crime is a scourge that has scarred thousands of families in every corner of our state. Its a scourge we can, should and will help prevent.
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The Oakland couple whose home was damaged in an Airbnb rental-gone-wrong cautionary tale, will get help from the company, a spokesman confirmed.

"Our team is working quickly to make this right," an Airbnb spokesman said in a released statement to SFGATE. "We banned this guest from Airbnb, and our Trust and Safety team has reached out to the host to work with them under our $1 Million Host Guarantee, which covers a host's property in the rare event of damages."

Exactly how much and when the couple sees that money is being worked out.

Reshma Vasanwala and Jim Santi Owen rented their house on New Year's Eve to a person claiming to be a businessman from Chicago, looking for a place to stay in the area.

Wouldn't you know it: turns out they instead rented to a Berkeley teen throwing an 18th birthday party with an estimated 200 to 300 guests, according to the couple. The group damaged the flooring, furniture and other items from the home, and left trash everywhere.

Airbnb doesn't have the figures on how many homes claimed big damages from New Year's Eve renters, but two other examples have cropped up in the past week. A London woman kicked out partygoers from her apartment and claimed she was punched by a guest as he left. A Montreal couple who rented out two rooms in their home (on their wedding night, even) had to deal with a coked up couple and nude strangers the next morning.

The Oakland party seems somewhat tame compared to those other two.

Despite what you think about homeowners who rent their homes out on Airbnb, no one deserves to have their home trashed. As a host, it is possible to rent out safely with some precautions.

Do a few common sense things:
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DANBURY  Shortly after pleading not guilty to charges of witness tampering, a Danbury pet shop owner learned that prosecutors are considering adding to previously filed charges of animal cruelty against him.

Richard Doyle, who owns American Breeders on Federal Road, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of felony witness tampering and is next due in court on Jan. 25. He had earlier pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony animal cruelty.

Attorney Jeffrey Jowdy, who represents Doyle, said after the hearing prosecutors have not told him what they intend to do and declined to comment further.

But prosecutor Jonathan Lewin told The News-Times the investigation into Doyles witness tampering charges revealed more instances of animal cruelty, which will likely yield additional misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.

Doyle, wearing a blue striped shirt and khaki pants with sneakers, left the courthouse immediately following his appearance.

Only one protester, animal rights activist Karen Conlon, who lives in New York, attended a planned rally outside state Superior Court in Danbury. She said she hoped that drawing attention to Doyles case would force the closure of the Danbury shop, as well as his two other stores in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Mohegan Lake, N.Y.

She said an earlier rally, in which more than 130 protesters picketed outside of Doyles store in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., helped put that location out of business.

We were pretty instrumental in getting his doors closed there, Conlon said Tuesday. We want to be a voice for his innocent victims.

On Wednesday, a sign in the window of the Danbury store said the business was under new ownership. A call to the store was not returned.

Authorities said all three cases cited in the animal cruelty charges against Doyle led to sick or injured animals being euthanized.

In once instance, officials said, Doyle performed surgery on a Neapolitan mastiffs inner eyelid, even though he wasnt licensed to do so. Officials said that caused severe bleeding.

Another animal cruelty charge concerned his alleged failure to properly care for a Shih-Tzu puppy in April. Officials said the dog was vomiting, had diarrhea and was coughing, but Doyle did not provide veterinary assistance.

He is also accused of confining a critically ill exotic kitten and failing to give it immediate veterinary attention.

Doyle was arrested again in December after police said he induced two employees to lie to state Animal Control Officer Nancy Jarvis, according to court documents.

According to arrest warrant affidavits, Doyle gave each of the witnesses an index card detailing what he wanted them to tell Jarvis. Police say that Doyle then mailed the witness statements himself.

Conlon said she hopes that eventually the state will come down hard on Doyle.

If the judge happens to be an animal lover and decides to give him more than a slap on wrist this time, that would be great, Conlon said. We want to be a presence, just to let them know that there are people who have an interest in preventing a case like this.

awolff@newstimes.com; 203-731-3333; @awolffster

Staff writer Nelson Oliveira contributed to this report.
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Thirty years ago, it wasnt easy seeing a bald eagle in Connecticut.

Today, youre almost guaranteed of seeing one during the winter at the Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Observation Area in Southbury. The observatory that is marking its 30th year, opened on Dec. 19. It will remain open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until March 13. Since it opened three decades ago, 144,000 people have visited the observatory. Last year, the observatory averaged about five eagles at day; its highest count had 20 eagles in one day last season.

In 1986, seeing eagles was rare in Connecticut.

The loss of habitat and nesting trees, food contamination by pesticides and illegal shooting had decimated the eagles population. Contamination of food by the pesticide DDT is widely accepted as a major reason why populations of eagles declined in the mid-20th century. DDT accumulated in the food chain and, when contaminated food was ingested by eagles, it caused them to lay eggs with weakened shells that cracked when the birds incubated their eggs. Use of DDT was banned in 1972, starting a slow rebound in the eagles population.

When the eagle area opened in 1986, the bald eagle was classified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species. Today, the eagles return is an environmental success story. Connecticut now has both wintering eagles and eagles stay around all year raising their young. In 1992, the state Department of Environmental Protection documented its first successful nesting of bald eagles since the 1950s when a pair raised two young in Litchfield County.

Five years later, a second pair of bald eagles successfully nested in Connecticut. The nesting population has increased gradually and, in 2010, 18 pairs of bald eagles made nesting attempts in the state. Nesting attempts or territorial pairs have been documented in 6 of the states 8 counties. The increase in nesting pairs resulted in the bald eagle's status in Connecticut being reclassified as threatened in 2010, according to DEEP.

The Shepaug Dam attracts wintering eagles because the water below the dam remains unfrozen most of the winter. Since the observatory opened 30 years ago, bald eagles have been spotted at many locations across Connecticut including on the Housatonic River below the Stevenson Dam and even along the once heavily polluted Naugatuck River in Seymour.

Since it opened, 144,000 people have visited the observatory. Last year, the observatory was open 29 days, averaging more than five eagles at day; its highest count had 20 eagles in one day last season.

FirstLight Power Resources. the owner and operator of the Housatonic River Project hydroelectric system, is hosting a celebration at the Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Observation Area at 1:30 p.m., Saturday Jan. 16, 2016 in the Observation Building at 2225 River Road in Southbury.

The event will celebrate more than 30 years of public access at the Bald Eagle Observation Area. Boy Scouts will participate in educational programs and Horizon Wings, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center, will present their birds to help promote habitat protection and restoration efforts.

The event will include a ceremony to recognize the Connecticut Audubon Society and long-time volunteers who help staff the station each winter season. Local elected officials and DEEP representatives have been invited to participate.

The Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Observation Area, owned and maintained by FirstLight, is open to the public on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. from December through March of each year. Reservations, that are required, can be made at http://reservations.shepaugeagles.com/

FirstLight recently invested significant resources to improve the Observation Area, including site and building improvements and the purchase of new spotting scopes and binoculars for public use. Volunteers support the program each season and maintain a website on the facility at www.ShepaugEagles.info.
Weeks before Ammon Bundy and his pals showed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest five-year federal prison sentences imposed on two Oregon ranchers, a friend alerted me to the ranchers story. Thanks to federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the government was sending Dwight and Steven Hammond, who had served earlier sentences, back to prison for the same crime. The draconian sentencing that warped the drug war had bled into home on the range.

I have no love for the Bundy bunch. In 2014, when Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy (Ammons father) began an armed standoff with the federal government over seized cattle, I wrote, He was willing to start a range war and risk the lives of his supporters in order to retrieve some cows. He doesnt feel he has to recognize a government elected by his fellow citizens.

The Oregon Farm Bureau has another beef with the Malheur Refuge occupiers: They have diverted public attention and scrutiny away from the injustice that the federal government perpetrated on the Hammonds.

In 2012, a jury found rancher Dwight Hammond guilty of setting a 2001 arson fire that spread from his ranch and burned 139 acres of public land. Jurors also found his son Steven guilty of the 2001 arson and a 2006 fire that burned an acre of public land. A U.S. District judge sentenced Dwight to three months and Steven to one year and one day. Both Hammonds went to prison, served their time and were released.

That should be the end of the story. Except government lawyers had prosecuted the Hammonds under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 that set a five-year minimum sentence for arson on federal property. They wanted to throw the book at the Hammonds. The presiding judge found the five-year minimum disproportionate to the crime. (I think the judge was right at heart, but wrong on the law.)

Alas, Department of Justice lawyers appealed the reduced sentences and won. In 2015, a different judge ordered both Hammonds to prison to complete their five-year sentences. It doesnt seem fair  or a smart use of tax dollars  to throw Dwight Hammond, 73, behind bars for four years, nine months more.

The law is an ass. Kevin Ring of Families Against Mandatory Minimums noted that Congress passed the 1996 law in response to the Oklahoma City bombing to punish terrorism aimed at public buildings. Ring sees the issue as one of local control versus D.C. control. The judge, a local, knew the facts of the case  that the fires werent terrorism. The community seemed satisfied with the outcome. But the federal one-size-fits-all model is merciless.

Theyre not really mandatory minimums, Ring told me. Theyre not mandatory because the prosecution can make deals and theyre not bare minimums because Washington pols idea of minimum is any reasonable persons idea of severe.

What should good people do? Write your senators and congressional representative. Tell them to purge the books of minimum terms that are doomed to spawn injustice.

Debra J. Saunders is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: dsaunders@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DebraJSaunders
SAN VITALIANO, Italy  If there is one label that Antonio Falcone, a doctor turned civic leader, does not want to be known by, it is the antipizza mayor.

Yet that is how notoriety caught up with the mayor of this small town in the Neapolitan hinterland in late December when, in an effort to lower air pollution, Falcone issued an ordinance banning the use of wood-fired stoves not equipped with filters that reduce toxic air pollutants.
TEHRAN  Iran on Thursday accused a Saudi-led coalition of hitting its embassy in Yemen in an air strike, and even though no damage was visible on the building from the outside the allegation highlighted how the two countries standoff could endanger the greater Middle East.

Hours later, in Saudi Arabias eastern Shiite heartland, a memorial service was held honoring Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution Saturday by the kingdom sparked regional protests culminating in attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran.

While armored personnel carriers rumbled through the area and smoke from burning tires rose into the air, the service for the cleric who advocated for Shiite rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom passed without violence. But anger could be felt in the hall, as videos showed mourners shouting: Death to the Al Saud, a reference to the royal family.

The air strike claim by Iran came on Thursday afternoon, when its state-run news agency said a Saudi-led air strike the previous night had hit the Iranian Embassy in Sanaa, citing Irans Foreign Ministry. However, a reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no damage to the building, which sits in a neighborhood near a presidential palace thats seen many previous strikes.

Iran pledged to file a report about their claim to the United Nations, while the Saudi military issued a statement through the kingdoms state news agency dismissing the allegation as false.

Irans deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, was later Thursday quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that a Saudi rocket hit near our embassy, and one of the embassy guards was seriously injured. He said further details would come in a note to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the Saudi deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, said he didnt believe war would break out with Iran.

It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister and 30-year-old son of King Salman, told the Economist magazine.

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges  the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980. Al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdoms Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence.
1 Sex slaves lawsuit: A group of elderly Filipino women raped by Japanese troops during World War II called for compensation from Japan on Wednesday, following Tokyos pledge of $8.3 million for South Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during the war. Japan and South Korea said last week that they had settled their decades-long standoff over wartime sex slaves, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologizing and agreeing to contribute $8.3 million for a foundation to help support the victims. Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia were sent to provide sex to Japanese soldiers.

2 Crimes against humanity: Guatemalan prosecutors arrested the brother of deceased former President Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia in connection with killings and disappearances during the countrys 1960-96 civil war. Benedicto Lucas Garcia is a former army commander credited with founding Guatemalas paramilitary groups. His brother ruled with an iron fist from July 1978 until March 1982. Prosecutors said Wednesday that they also arrested retired Gen. Francisco Luis Gordillo, who helped bring former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt to power from 1982 to 1983. Both face charges of crimes against humanity and disappearances of people.
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SEOUL  The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed to launch a united and strong international response to North Koreas apparent fourth nuclear test, as experts scrambled Thursday to find more details about the detonation that drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation.

It may take weeks or longer to confirm or contradict the Norths claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. Even a test of a less sophisticated atomic bomb would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.
ABUJA, Nigeria  The United States on Thursday donated 24 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Nigerias military, to enable the countrys soldiers to combat Boko Haram Islamic insurgents who continued cutting a bloody path through northeast Nigeria.

About 30 people were killed between Monday and Wednesday in Borno state, as Boko Haram gunmen wearing soldiers uniforms and female suicide bombers unleashed separate attacks on Izghe, a village 76 miles southwest of Maiduguri, the state capital, witnesses said.
The announcement came late Wednesday afternoon at the courthouse in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston, during the grand jury's fourth meeting since it was convened this fall to deliberate the circumstances around Bland's arrest and incarceration.



Darrell Jordan, one of five special prosecutors, said the grand jury's indictment stemmed from a statement the trooper made in a one-page affidavit he filed in Bland's arrest, in which he said he pulled her out of her Hyundai Azera to "further conduct a safe traffic investigation."



"They just didn't believe it," Jordan said, adding that a warrant would be issued for Encinia's arrest.



...The indictment follows an announcement in December by special prosecutors that the grand jury had declined to indict any members of the Waller County jail staff or sheriff's office. Jordan said that while the grand jury will continue reviewing other Waller County cases, it had concluded its review of Bland's arrest and death.

[Content Note: Police misconduct; misogynoir; death.]Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old black woman from suburban Chicago who, last summer , had just relocated to Waller County, Texas, for a job in student outreach at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She was to start in her new position when she was pulled over near the university by a state trooper for improperly signaling a lane change. According to Sheriff's Department officials, she became "combative" with the trooper, who then restrained her and arrested her for assault on a public servant. She was taken into custody and was found dead in her cell days later. The Sheriff's Department claim that she killed herself.Later, dashcam footage revealed that the arresting officer's account of events was garbage, and, as the investigation into her death got underway, the Waller County Sheriff's Office leaked information about Bland that tried to make the case that she was troubled and responsible for her own death.In a bid for justice, Bland's family filed a civil rights lawsuit, while the criminal investigation continued. Slowly.But yesterday, a grand jury [CN: video may autoplay at link] indicted Brian Encinia , the state trooper who stopped Bland, on perjury charges:So that's it. Encinia, whose lawyer says he will plead not guilty, has been indicted for perjury, and the Texas Department of Public Safety is "initiating termination proceedings against" him as a result, but there will be no further charges brought in her death, despite the fact that there is no version of events where police are not culpable for it I fervently hope the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Bland's family will yield something looking a little more like meaningful accountability.But that trial date has been set for January 2017. And you know what they say about justice delayed.Black lives matter.
Prime Minister John Key is expected to commit to funding half of Aucklands $2.5 billion City Rail Link two years early as part of a wider update on the governments position on Aucklands infrastructure needs this month.

Its understood Key will commit to the governments $1.25 billion co-funding of the CRL project in a speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 27.

In 2013, the government agreed to jointly fund the CRL 50:50 with Auckland Council but to not provide its share until 2020. It also said the government would consider an earlier business case and construction start date if it became clear that Aucklands CBD employment and rail patronage hit thresholds faster than current growth rates suggested.

The two thresholds were rail patronage hitting 20 million trips a year before 2020 and a 25 percent increase in Auckland CBD employment over the then current level  half the increase predicted in Auckland Transports City Centre Future Access Study.

Neither threshold has been met at this stage although rail trips are forecast to hit the 20 million mark by the end of this year. Patronage increased 22 percent in 2015 to just over 15 million trips a year.

Employment in the Auckland CBD including Grafton and Newton has grown 7.6 percent to just under 105,000 in 2015 from 98,000 in 2012 but is still well short of the stated trigger.

But another factor understood to have tipped the governments decision to fund the project earlier is the amount of private sector property projects planned or underway along the CRLs inner city route where it would cost a lot more to incorporate the rail link at a later stage than during construction.

These include Precinct Properties Commercial Bay development being built on the site of the Downtown mall which straddles Lower Queen Street and Albert Street, at the first stage of the rail link, and New Development Groups 52-level NDG Tower in Albert Street, which is at the site of the rail projects Aotea Station. Auckland City Council estimates the current office developments planned will add an 22,000 employees over the next 7 years.

The CRL will link Britomart Station in downtown Auckland with the existing western line at Mt Eden station, allowing trains to run both ways through Britomart.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown said any statement providing certainty over government funding of the City Rail Link and an early start to that funding would be welcomed by Aucklanders. The council has been working closely with Key, Finance Minister Bill English, and Transport Minister Simon Bridges on the urgent need for the CRL given rising rail patronage and congestion at Britomart already causing delays.

Bridges, the current duty minister during the parliaments summer break, said Key's speech was still being worked on, and comment about its content is simply speculation.

Preliminary work on the CRL started last month and its unlikely the council would have forged ahead at this stage without a firm commitment from government that its share of the funding would kick in before 2020.

The Auckland Councils new Long Term Plan passed last year was based on construction of the CRL beginning in 2018 with completion in 2022 which would require the government to commit to funding in 2018.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said Keys address would cover the issue of infrastructure funding for the region, similar to the June 2013 speech to the chamber's membership in which he confirmed joint funding for CRL.

"Im expecting a significant funding package similar to what Key gave in June 2013 and that he will use this occasion to say ok, we can give more certainty to some projects. What we have at the moment is so conditional, its difficult for plans to be put in place, Barnett said.

Barnett said the other projects he expected Key to comment on include the East/West Connections project which would improve connections between Onehunga and Mt Wellington which is heavily used by industry, the $380 million Penlink arterial route between Whangaparoa Road and State Highway 1 which is touted as a potential public-private partnership business model, and a second harbour crossing.

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The New Zealand dollar fell to its lowest level against the yen in more than three months as investors favoured the safe haven Japanese currency amid concerns about a slowing Chinese economy and weak commodity prices.

The kiwi touched 77.44 yen, its lowest level since Oct. 5 last year, and was trading at 77.89 yen at 8am in Wellington, from 78.45 yen at 5pm yesterday. The local currency edged lower to 66.22 US cents from 66.37 cents yesterday.

Investors have been piling into safe-haven assets such as the yen this year as concerns mount about the extent of a slowdown in China after weaker-than-expected data on the manufacturing and services industries, a slump in the country's stock market and devaluation of the yuan. China's central bank yesterday lowered the official yuan midpoint rate, marking the biggest daily decline since last August. Meanwhile Chinese share trading was yesterday halted for the second time this week after equities plummeted by more than 7 percent in the first 29 minutes, prompting officials to suspend a so-called circuit breaker, implemented only earlier this week to avoid panic selling.

Oil prices rebounded from plunges earlier in the day, when Brent crude sank more than 6 percent to an almost 12-year low of US$32.16.

"Yen is the safe haven currency. All the yen crosses have weakened," said Mark Johnson, OMF senior dealer, foreign exchange. "The two main drivers are China and oil. The China growth story is the elephant in the room."

OMF's Johnson said there was support for the kiwi at about 75 yen, meaning there was potential for the cross to fall further.

"It's like trying to catch a falling knife," he said.

The lack of local data following the Christmas and New Year holiday period meant the kiwi was being driven by offshore events, he said.

Today, Australian monthly retail sales data is scheduled for release. Tonight, the focus will be on the key US nonfarm payrolls report which is expected to show the world's largest economy added about 200,000 jobs in December, following the 211,000 jobs added in November.

"If we get a strong print there, it might give us a bit more dollar strength," Johnson said.

The New Zealand dollar advanced to 94.55 Australian cents, from 94.16 cents yesterday, and declined to 4.3656 yuan from 4.3744 yuan. It slipped to 60.74 euro cents from 61.35 cents yesterday, and was little changed at 45.35 British pence from 45.37 pence. The trade-weighted index slipped to 72.93 from 73.01 yesterday.

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IkeGPS, the laser measurement tool developer, had its stock halted pending a placement of shares to some institutional and wholesale investors.

The Wellington-based company said it received a firm expression of interest "from an undisclosed offshore investor" to invest $500,000 buying shares at 81 cents apiece, a 15 percent premium to the last traded price. IkeGPS said it wants to offer selected institutional and wholesale shareholders an opportunity to participate on the same terms.

IkeGPS shares last traded at 70 cents, valuing the company at $35 million, and have declined 14 percent in the past 12 months.

The company is foregoing short-term profits to chase long-term international sales growth. As at Sept. 30 it had cash holdings of about $10 million, down from $21 million a year earlier.

In November the company reiterated its view that full-year revenue and other income would triple in 2016. It posted a net loss of $3 million in its first half, as sales jumped 152 percent to $4.3 million.

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Anchorage Capital Partners, which more-than quadrupled its money buying retailer Dick Smith from Woolworths in 2012 and taking it public a year later, has reaped big profits from shaping industries in Australasia ranging from clothing and footwear, to burgers, tinned food and irrigation.

Anchorage paid as much as A$115 million for Dick Smith, although only about A$20 million was upfront. Woolworths, having struggled to find a fit for the electronics retailer acquired from its founder in the early 1980s, was keen to offload a non-core business that it took a A$420 million provision against in 2012. While criticised for selling the business too cheaply, it was small beer for a retail giant with 2013 sales of almost A$60 billion and profit exceeding A$2 billion.

For Sydney-based private equity firm Anchorage, founded by hands-on managing directors Phillip Cave and Daniel Wong, taking Dick Smith public was an unusual step. Four of the five exited portfolio case studies on its website involved trade sales. Dick Smith was put into receivership by its banks this week.

Private ownership means price details when assets are bought and sold aren't routinely made public and an Anchorage spokesperson said its executives wouldn't comment on the business.

Veteran fund manager Brian Gaynor was highly critical of Dick Smith's 2013 initial public offering, writing at the time that the sale was characterised by hype, or what is known in the industry as "gold talk". That's when unnamed investment bankers, PR flunkies or fund managers whisper in the ears of the media that a share sale is facing huge demand and interest to drum up the hoopla.

While private equity has brought some quality companies to the market, "people have got to realise when they are buying from private equity there's generally a high level of risk," Gaynor told BusinessDesk. "At the time, the IPO price (A$2.20 a share) seemed to be too high and there was a huge amount of hype or gold talk. The retailing industry is probably the most competitive and oversupplied in Australasia."

Anchorage has a fairly typical private equity strategy. Its targets include what it calls "fallen angels" - well-known companies no longer achieving their potential. It also looks for "orphans" such as Dick Smith - businesses unwanted or unloved by their larger corporate owners, and it seeks capital-constrained firms, or those transitioning out of family ownership. Its "sweet spot" deal has an enterprise value of A$30 million to A$100 million.

Its New Zealand interests have included Antares Restaurant Group, operator of the Burger King chain, which Anchorage paid $46.1 million cash in 2009 as part of a management buyout, before selling to US-based buyout firm Blackstone Group in 2011 for as much as $104 million.

Blackstone's Tango Holdings NZ unit has yet to post a profit from the Burger King chain, reporting a net loss of $7.5 million last year on sales of $178 million.

Another investment with New Zealand interests was Total Eden, a water services and management business Anchorage acquired for about A$20 million in February 2011 from what was then the ASX-listed Alesco Corp, which took an A$8.5 million impairment charge against the carrying value of that business as a result of the sale. Anchorage later sold Total Eden to ASX-listed Ruralco Holdings in 2014 for A$57.4 million. Anchorage said Total Eden had struggled with "exposure to unfavourable weather events, lack of acquisition integration and disengagement of owners and managers."

Golden Circle is a household brand in Australia and New Zealand, known for its tinned fruit and vegetables, juices, jams and baby foods. Anchorage and its equity partners acquired 35 percent of the company, then owned by pineapple growers, in October 2007 for A$35.5 million. At the time Golden Circle had a weak balance sheet and "unsustainable" capital structure, Anchorage said.

The turnaround took just over a year and involved "a back to basics manufacturing programme" that was "focused on production efficiency and waste reduction", as well as improved relations with key customers, better product development, more scrutiny of cost of sales and pricing, and improved management processes. It was sold to HJ Heinz, the US food group now controlled by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, in a deal finalised in late 2008, for A$288 million, suggesting Anchorage and its partners almost tripled their money.

Anchorage lists five businesses in its current portfolio, not counting the acquisition of Affinity Education Group, the Australian child care centre operator, completed last month. Of those, Kiwis would be most familiar with Brand Collective, the footwear and clothing business acquired from Pacific Brands in December 2014. Pacific Brands said gross proceeds of the sale were A$39 million, although a small set of brands was sold to two other buyers.

Brand Collective's brands include Superdry, Mossimo and Lee Cooper clothing, and shoe brands Clarks and Hush Puppies, which it distributes to retailers including Anchorage's own Shoes & Sox children's footwear chain in Australia, and sells through its own Shoe Warehouse outlets.

Anchorage said Brand Collective was "a classic orphan investment", being regarded as non-core by its owner and under-performing. The company is now in turnaround mode and there's no mention yet of a sale or whether it would be taken public. Another orphan in the portfolio is Acrow, the scaffolding and formwork business it acquired from Boral in 2010, and which may be getting closer to sale.

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NEW DELHI: Increasing brand awareness among the youth and higher purchasing power beyond big cities is likely to boost India's luxury market around 20 per cent to USD 18.3 billion this year, says a study.

The current size of the country's luxury market USD 14.7 billion, says a Assocham study.

"The factors that have fuelled the luxury industry's growth are the rise in disposable income, brand awareness among the youth and purchasing power of the upper class in Tier II & III cities in India," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Five star hotels and fine-dining restaurants, electronic gadgets, luxury personal care items, and the jewellery sector have performed well in the year 2015 and are expected to grow by 30-35 per cent over the next three years, the study noted.

Big ticket spends on items like luxury cars mainly in the SUV section is likely to continue, with an estimated growth projected at 18-20 per cent over the next three years, driven by consumption in smaller towns and cities, the study added.

Moreover, with the luxury market expected to grow at over 25 per cent year on year, Private Equity investments (PE) in the respective segment is expected to increase and support the enhanced size of the Indian luxury market.

The study segregated the luxury sector into product categories like apparel and accessories, pens, home decor, watches, wines & spirits and jewellery, services like spas, concierge service, travel & tourism, fine dining and hotels and assets including yachts, fine art and automobiles.

The high Internet penetration across tier-II and tier-III cities along with more disposable income shall lead to approximately 100 million transactions through the Internet by 2020. As a result, the luxury consumption is going to increase manifold in the country, highlighted the study.

Some of the significant players across various verticals which performed well in 2015 included GUCCI, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Ocean Style Yachting, Judith Leiber, Geetanjali Group and The Bauers.

The cities where the study was conducted included Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun.

Around 250 employees were selected from each city on an average. In 2015, Delhi ranks first in spending most on luxury brands followed by Mumbai (2nd), Ahmedabad (3rd) Pune (4th) and Bangalore (5th).

Around 55 per cent of the survey respondents were in the age bracket of 20-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (26 pc), 40-49 years (16 pc), the rest over 50.

Over 69 per cent of the respondents said they prefer to purchase well known luxury brands, while 65 per cent indicated they would pay a premium for well-known, popular luxury brands.

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BANGALORE: Apart from the much admired PM Modi, many other politicians made their way to the headlines in the last year. 2015 witnessed many changes and new policies marking an important year in the Indian politics. Following the eventful year, 2016 also looks promising.

In 2016, PM Modi will earn the spotlight where he would realize his promised economic changes whereas the other politicians will continue their quest to attain more power.

Lets us have a look what 2016 has in store for Indian politics and who are politicians we can look forward to, reports ET.

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SRINAGAR: Mehbooba Mufti is likely to be the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir as she has emerged as the unanimous choice for the post following the death of incumbent, and her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.



"As far as PDP is concerned, we are unanimous that Mehbooba shall succeed Mufti Sahib," senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig told reporters.

However, Mehbooba Mufti's ascent to the post of the Chief Minister would require approval of BJP, the junior coalition partner in the state government.



Although no one from the BJP has so far opposed her elevation, a final decision on the issue will be taken by the party high command. In the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.



Unlike the long delay in stitching the alliance with PDP last year, the BJP will have to make up its mind quickly with the Budget Session of the Assembly slated to begin on January 18.



Mehbooba Mufti, who has assumed an image of a fiery leader, started her political career in 1996 by joining Congress along with her father.



The 56-year-old mother of two daughters is also president of the PDP. She won her first Assembly election as Congress candidate from her home segment of Bijbehara.



Mehbooba Mufti played a key role in her father's victory as Congress candidate in Lok Sabha elections of 1998 when Mr Sayeed defeated NC's Mohammad Yousuf Taing from south Kashmir.



The Muftis, along with some key associates, floated their own regional party, PDP in 1999.



In 2002 Assembly elections, PDP bagged 16 seats and Mr Sayeed for the first time became Chief Minister with the support of Congress and some independent legislators.



In 2004, Mehbooba Mufti contested and won her first Lok Sabha election, from south Kashmir. In 2008, she contested and was returned as legislator from Wachi segment of Shopian in south Kashmir when PDP bagged 21 seats but lost power to NC-Congress coalition. In 2014, she was yet again returned as Lok Sabha member from south Kashmir.



Later in November-December 2014 Assembly elections, PDP got 28 seats and in March 2015 it formed its second government in Jammu and Kashmir---this time in an alliance with BJP. Mehbooba Mufti has never lost an election from South Kashmir so far.

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BANGALORE: Seven security personnel were killed when terrorists stormed into an Indian Air Force Base in the Pathankot area of Punjab on January 2. Here is the full list of those who lost their lives in the call of duty as reported by ScoopWhoop, some of whom exhibited remarkable bravery during the operation:

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BENGALURU: International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the most exciting events in the world, where future innovations in consumer technology are showcased. In the ongoing event held in Las Vegas there are numerous updates of gadgets and innovations displayed from the top tech, electronics and auto brands in the world. With that in consideration we have exclusive details on innovations and changes that are ringing in the Auto industry for automobile enthusiasts.

Innovations from environment-friendly cars like Hybrid, electric, battery-run cars to new technology. Here is a complete rundown of future gadgets, innovations, changes and many more, reports Fortune.

Faraday Future

Faraday Future is an electric car company that has been experimenting on its maiden race car FFZERO1. On January 4 the Company introduced the concept race car FFZERO1, which made everyone doubt their eyes. The concept car built up from the dreams of a highly talented team is all over news in the ongoing CES 2016. It attracted huge audience as well as critics with its impossible design.

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Here's What You Can Expect at CES 2016

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WASHINGTON: The U.S. has launched nationwide enforcement operations to arrest and deport illegal immigrants who entered the country with children and have lost asylum cases.

Most of those arrests are of those entering the U.S. from its southern border.

This past weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) engaged in concerted, nationwide enforcement operations to take into custody and return at a greater rate adults who entered this country illegally with children, the US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said.

"This should come as no surprise. I have said publicly for months that individuals who constitute enforcement priorities, including families and unaccompanied children, will be removed," he said.

Johnson said the focus of this weekend's operations were on adults and their children who were apprehended after May 1, 2014 when they were crossing the southern border illegally.

They have been issued final orders of removal by an immigration court and have exhausted appropriate legal remedies and have no outstanding appeal or claim for asylum or other humanitarian relief under U.S. laws.

"As part of these operations, 121 individuals were taken into custody, primarily from Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina, and they are now in the process of being repatriated," Johnson said.

To effect removal, most families are first being transported to one of ICE's family residential centres for temporary processing before being issued travel documents and boarding a return flight to their home countries, he said.

Over 11 million immigrants are living in the US illegally, according to estimates.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum said these arrests and deportation is not safe or sustainable.

"Deportation raids instill fear in immigrant communities, and deportation is not an acceptable substitute for well-functioning refugee and asylum processes for families with credible fear of persecution," he said.

"The approach DHS has outlined is not safe or sustainable. It is faulty logic for DHS to believe that if they deport people fleeing violence back to violence, others will never come to the U.S.," Noorani said.

The Homeland Security Secretary defended the action.

"As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration; if you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values," Johnson said.

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Source: PTI
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Clad in a striped sweatshirt and checked pants, chef Adam Lener stepped into the construction zone of his new restaurant, Angry Taco. Opening date, he predicts, will be Jan. 21.

The Elm Park venue will serve Lener's brand of "modern eclectic Southwestern" lunches and dinners. Along with 150 varieties of tequilas plus Mezcals, it's a far cry from Portobello Cafe, his successful Italian operation in Great Kills.

"Mezcal is made from maguey which is a form of agave," explains Lener. Mezcal is also a distillation from certain states in Mexico.

"Tequila is made from agave which is a different plant," he adds, a succulent that grows in the American Southwest and Mexico.

And, upstairs there is another renovation happening once the first floor is complete -- there will be a library of tequilas from which to choose.

All this is underway at 238 Morningstar Rd., an address that may be familiar to Staten Islanders for its two prior businesses: long-running Elm Park Inn (under a few different proprietorships) and the Upper Crust, a pizzeria that popped up and operated separately on the second floor of the location.

An etched "Elm Park Inn" mirror and kitchen lay-out are among the only remains of the prior operation which shuttered suddenly last spring. A copper-rimmed bar tap head also stays but it will be torched to take on a rainbow effect.

As Angry Taco, the private party room next door is gone. (The building next door in which it was housed formerly, Lener says, has been sold.) Corrugated steel, wooden walls made from pallets, an "Edison light" chandelier and a bar foot rail made of gas pipe now mark the restaurant proper.

"We went industrial modern -- reclaim, repurpose..." said the chef, surveying the space. Woodwork along the front of the bar hails from the Rockaways boardwalk broken up in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Other sections feature reclaimed barn wood.

"Sugar skulls, the hand-carved wooden masks and porcelain signs from Mexico will be on the wall," Lener said, gesturing to bar and main dining room.

As for the menu, appetizers will include Jalapeno Relleno, assorted empanadas and tacos, chile con carne and guacamole prepared tableside. Other eats from the kitchen will be salads, hard tacos, classic fajitas, entrees such as mofongo stuffed with shrimp and Poblano Mole Pork Chop.

Desserts will be made in-house. Patrons can expect classic flan, tres leches cake, fried ice cream, lime-frosted Margarita cake, Banana-Dulce Leche Pie and Chile-Infused Ganache Cake. The latter selection is under development at Aunt Butchie's of Brooklyn located in Richmond Valley.

"There's going to be nothing like this on Staten Island," says Lener.

-- Angry Taco is located at 238 Morningstar Rd., 718-720-TACO (8226), AngryTaco.com.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A young girl, injured by a hit-and-run driver who also fatally struck her younger brother in Dongan Hills nearly three years ago, has settled her lawsuit against the driver for $100,000, court filings show.

Gabriella Gendy, then 7, was crossing Richmond Road with her brother Kyrillos, 4, and their mother, Erieny Thomas, then 34, near Diddle Dee Bagel and Deli when John Sanjurjo ran into all of them, said prosecutors.

Just before the crash, the victims, residents of South Amboy, N.J., had been visiting the home of Thomas' sister on Richmond for a prayer service.

Family members said Kyrillos suffered severe internal bleeding and head trauma. His mother suffered minor lacerations, and Gabriella a left leg fracture.

Sanjurjo, now 35, a New Dorp resident, didn't turn himself into police until some 16 hours after the incident, authorities said.

Civil suit papers filed on behalf Gabriella and her father, Reda Gendy, allege Sanjurjo was negligent in failing to stop his car before hitting his daughter, failing to exit a parking lot "in a safe manner" and leaving an incident scene.

Sanjurjo, who was criminally charged, was sentenced in April 2014 to six months in jail and five years' probation. He had previously pleaded guilty to leaving an incident scene without reporting to police, which was the top charge against him.

As part of his sentence, Sanjurjo can't drive or apply for a driver's license during the five years he's on probation.

At Sanjurjo's sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Mark Palladino told the court the case against him was circumstantial and no one could positively put him behind the wheel.

Palladino also said there was no evidence Sanjurjo, a first-time offender, had been speeding or had violated a traffic-control device.

Patrick V. Parrotta, Sanjurjo's criminal defense lawyer, said in court his client had not been driving recklessly and the pedestrians were not near an intersection, crosswalk or traffic-control device.

Parrotta said Sanjurjo had "panicked" when he drove off after hitting the victims and was "genuinely remorseful" for what happened.

Sanjurjo emotionally apologized to the victims' family before being sentenced in state Supreme Court, St. George.

According to an affidavit filed in the civil case by Jonathan A. Fier, the Gendys' lawyer, Gabriella, now 9, has made "an excellent recovery and has no residual effects" from her injuries.

Fier could not immediately be reached Wednesday for comment.

In a separate affidavit, Reda Gendy said he was told the $100,000 settlement represented Sanjurjo's insurance policy limit.

"My family and I believe it is in my daughter's best interest to settle her case and try to put this matter behind us," he said.

State Supreme Court Justice Philip G. Minardo authorized the settlement.

In August of last year, the senior Gendy filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of his son's estate against Sanjurjo. That case, which spells the boy's first name as Kyrollos, is pending in state Supreme Court, St. George.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two firefighters were injured on Thursday morning fighting a fire in New Dorp.

The fire is under investigation by the fire marshals, according to a spokesman for the FDNY/EMS.

The FDNY members suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation in the blaze at 38th 10th St., according to an FDNY spokesman.

A sign outside the building indicates that the Pregnancy Care Center of New York is located at that address. The website for the Crisis Pregnancy Center of New York is listed on the sign.

The fire was called in at 12:24 a.m. and went to a second alarm at 12:48 a.m. before it was brought under control at 1:22 a.m., the spokesman said.

The fire spread from the basement through the first and second floors of the two-story building, according to the FDNY.

The New Dorp Baptist Church, which is located next door, owns the property, according to an employee. The worker said that the fire was in the rear of the building at 38 10th St. The blaze started in the boiler, burned the kitchen and extended into the attic, the employee said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The brother of a Staten Island man indicted over the summer for operating a phony medical practice out of his Stapleton apartment is now facing his own legal problems.

Michael Lee-Edwards, 49, is accused of assaulting his 24-year-old girlfriend and threatening to kill her inside the same Gordon Street apartment where his brother allegedly ran his illegal practice, authorities said.

Exterior of 255 Gordon St., Stapleton, where phony doctor Donald Lee-Edwards had an illegal doctor's office, authorities allege. His brother, Michael Lee-Edwards, was arrested and charged on Jan. 1 after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend inside the same location. (Courtesy of Staten Island district attorney's office)

Lee-Edwards is the older brother of Donald R. Lee-Edwards, 43, who was arrested and indicted this past August on a slew of felony charges for treating patients without a medical license for three years out of a basement below a two-family home at 255 Gordon St., according to a law enforcement source and previous Advance reports.

The so-called doctor treated more than 100 patients, including 10 parolees, prescribing antidepressants and interpreting lab tests and results, authorities said.

He is currently being held on $75,000 bail, online city Department of Correction records show.

His brother, Michael Lee-Edwards, was charged with third-degree assault, second-degree harassment and criminal obstruction of breathing in connection with assaulting his girlfriend, said a spokesman for District Attorney Michael McMahon.

A judge released Lee-Edwards on his own recognizance and issued a temporary order of protection during his arraignment in Criminal Court on Saturday, the spokesman said. His next court date is scheduled for March 1.
Immigration Enforcement

FILE - Suspected undocumented immigrants are detained by law enforcement officials in Phoenix after a drop house was raided, Thursday, April 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(Ross D. Franklin)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly 150 community members packed El Centro del Immigrante in Port Richmond on Tuesday night to receive detailed information about a new federal initiative on undocumented individuals and families.

The workshop gained particular significance for Staten Islanders following reports that immigration officials may have been questioning and detaining immigrants outside the Staten Island Mall.

"We explained in English and Spanish what the people's rights are, that either documented and undocumented, what should they do if they're detained, or raided," said El Centro Executive Director Favio Ramirez. "Our community is afraid in this situation. I can understand why."

He said their work and social lives have been affected, which is bad for the economy of the Island.

El Centro del Inmigrante began in 1997 as a collaboration between St. Mary's Church and Project Hospitality. It was founded as a response to the growing immigrant day laborer community in Port Richmond. The center has become an Islandwide resource for immigrants of various nationalities.

Ramirez said El Centro received a lot of calls following Tuesday's event, so his hope is to hold another one soon, mainly for those who were unable to attend because of work or school.

"It was a really good workshop, about an hour long with a great turnout and a lot of press," he said.

The Los Angeles Times reported that at least 11 immigrant families across the country had been picked up raids over the weekend by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, but it wasn't immediately clear whether any of that has to do with Staten Island.

Attorneys who attended the meeting Tuesday night urged families and individuals who have crossed the Southern border, who have been denied asylum, or who have received final deportation notices to reach out to El Centro for further assistance.

"As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson, in a statement released Monday. "If you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values."

"This should come as no surprise," he added.

At the El Centro meeting, members reacted to the actions and statements of the Department of Homeland Security, saying they came to this country thinking it would offer safety and opportunity, and expressed fears about going to work, church and walking the streets and malls.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.--The New Brighton man found guilty in the "gun buyback" trial last month will be sentenced Thursday.

Kevin Watson, 34, faces a minimum of three and half years to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in state Supreme Court.

After a week-long trial in December, the panel found Watson guilty of one count of felony criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, according to a press release issued after the verdict from then-Acting District Attorney Daniel Master.

In October 2013, Watson was riding in the front seat of a livery a cab on Victory Boulevard, near Tompkinsville Park, when the vehicle was pulled over. Police found Watson with a loaded Taurus 9 mm gun in his holster with an attached magazine clip with 10 bullets, the release said.

He told officers he was on his way to the 120th Precinct stationhouse to hand in the gun as part of the NYPD's gun buyback program. But the jury didn't buy his defense.

Watson hailed the cab from in front of 516 Jersey St., which is not his home, and told the driver to take him to Victory Boulevard and Bay Street and not the precinct stationhouse, prosecutors said in the release.

They also presented cellphone photos at trial showing he possessed the illegal gun as early as July 9 of that year.

After the verdict, Watson's attorney told the Advance he's planning an appeal.

Watson previously declined to plea to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony, which carried a two-year jail sentence.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- The New Brighton man who tried the "gun buyback" defense was sentenced to five years in prison during court proceedings Thursday morning.

Kevin Watson, 34, was facing a minimum of three and half years to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty last month of one count of felony criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree stemming from an incident in 2013.

During the hearing in state Supreme Court, the prosecution recommended an eight-year sentence, while the defense argued for the minimum, citing previous case law where other defendants, often involved in violent circumstances, had received significantly less time.

Assistant District Attorney Natalie Barros told the court Watson's failure to accept responsibility and excuses about why he had the gun factored into asking for the long sentence.

Judge William E. Garnett said he had carefully reviewed his trial notes and concurred that Watson gave too many varying explanations, and none relieved him of responsibility.

In particular, Garnett said, he didn't believe the defendant was turning the gun to police as part of the gun buyback program because he also had a gravity knife on him.

"In my mind, how likely is someone to go to a precinct to hand in a gun with a knife in their possession," the judge said.

Before the trial, Watson never contested having the knife.

Watson, who did not speak during the hearing, was also sentenced to three years post-release supervision and one year for the misdemeanor count, which will run concurrently with the five-year sentence.

He was also ordered to pay $375 in fees.

"It's better than eight years the prosecution was asking for, but it (five years) is still very excessive for what this case was about," said Timothy C. Parlatore, Watson's attorney. "I think he (Watson) is still in shock over the whole thing."

After the sentencing, Parlatore immediately filed a notice of appeal. He said he will request a bail hearing within the next week to release Watson during the appeal process.

"This is a case that should get reversed because the judge wouldn't let the jury hear important evidence of his innocence," the lawyer added.

"I just want him home," said his wife, Larissa Watson, after the proceeding. "The verdict was also unfair and unjust since the crime was truly non-violent."

In October 2013, Watson was riding in the front seat of a livery a cab on Victory Boulevard, near Tompkinsville Park, when the vehicle was pulled over. Police found Watson with a loaded Taurus 9 mm gun in his holster with an attached magazine clip with 10 bullets, the prosecution said in a release after the verdict last month.

He told officers he was on his way to the 120th Precinct stationhouse to hand in the gun as part of the NYPD's gun buyback program. But the jury didn't buy his defense.

Watson hailed the cab from in front of 516 Jersey St., which is not his home, and told the driver to take him to Victory Boulevard and Bay Street and not the precinct stationhouse, the release said.

Watson previously declined to plea to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony, which carried a two-year jail sentence.

"The defendant in this case was arrested for carrying an illegal gun and was found guilty by a jury of his peers after a fair and thorough prosecution by ADA Natalie Barros. Today, he was held accountable for his criminal actions and sentenced by Judge Garnett to five years in prison," said a spokesman for District Attorney Michael McMahon.
NY-Medical-Marijuana.JPG

Medical marijuana is now legal in New York State. (Associated Press)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One major change coming to healthcare in New York this year is the legalization of medical marijuana.

Eight dispensaries were set to open Thursday throughout New York State, including one in Manhattan. There will be a maximum of 20 dispensaries under the Compassionate Care Act.

While users won't be able to smoke it in traditional fashion, the drug will be available in pill and oil forms.

New York joins 22 other states and the District of Columbia as parts of America with laws legalizing marijuana in some form.

According to New York State's Medical Marijuana Program, only patients who suffer from "designated serious conditions who also have a condition clinically associated with, or a complication of, the serious condition to be certified by their physicians to receive marijuana for medical use."

Some of following conditions may result in eligibility:

Cancer

HIV infection or AIDS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Parkinson's disease

Multiple sclerosis

Has your opinion of medical marijuana changed? Are you more in favor of marijuana being used as a treatment option, or are you pessimistic about its effectiveness?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Coca-Cola has officially apologized to Ukraine about the publication by its Russian office of a map showing Crimea as part of Russia.

The Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. said on Facebook on Thursday that a meeting with Kate Irvin, the head of the Washington office of Coca-Cola, had taken place in the Ukrainian diplomatic mission on Wednesday and that Irvin during that meeting had officially apologized for the misunderstanding caused by the publication by the company's Russian office of a map showing Crimea as part of Russia.

Irvin also gave a letter from Coca-Cola Senior Vice-President Clyde Tuggle to Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly, which contained apologies for the publication and stated that its content had been created by an independent agency without the company's knowledge or approval, but the company assumes full responsibility for it.

The letter (its copy is also quoted in the embassy report) states that the company had immediately deleted the said publication as soon as it received information on the situation.

On Wednesday, Zaporizhia parliamentarians reacted to the incident by preparing a lawsuit seeking the protection of their honor, dignity and business reputation and seeking to recover from Coca-Cola UAH 1 million in moral damages for "a breach of international law."
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Observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission once again were denied access to the militant-occupied village of Kominternove, Volnovakha, Donetsk region, on Tuesday, January 5.

"At the last Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint at the south-western entrance to the village, the checkpoint commander told the SMM that about 15 vehicles were "travelling back and forth per day". The SMM saw one civilian vehicle entering the village. In the vicinity of the checkpoint, the SMM observed approximately ten anti-tank mines, tied together by wire, placed along a side-track of the road. The SMM could not reach the village from the east and south, as armed "DPR" members denied the SMM access to the village," the OSCE SMM said in its report as of January 5 published on its website on January 6.

According to it, militants didn't let the OSCE SMM monitors to enter Kominternove twice on Tuesday: once at a checkpoint near 'DPR'-controlled village of Zaichenko (4km east of Kominternove), without giving any explanation, and the second time armed men again denied the SMM passage to the village at a "DPR" checkpoint near the south-western entrance to Kominternove.

The OSCE stressed that the SMM continues to face restrictions in fulfilling its monitoring functions in Donbas. In particular, in addition to two incidents near Kominternove, militants on Tuesday twice restricted the movement of monitor: once in Debaltseve, Donetsk region, and in the town of Komsomolsk, which is subordinated to Sverdlovsk city council, Luhansk region.

In Donetsk region, the SMM observed a small number of ceasefire violations, most of which were recorded around Donetsk airport. In Luhansk region, the SMM registered mortar shelling, the report says.

"The SMM observed relative calm with a small number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region. Positioned at the Donetsk railway station (6km north-west of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard a total of four undetermined explosions and three bursts of small-arms fire at locations 5-8km east and north-west of its position. Whilst in government-controlled Pryazovske (14km north-west of Mariupol), the SMM recorded one undetermined explosion south-south-east of its position," the monitors reported.

"The overall situation in Luhansk region was relatively calm. Nonetheless, after two days of not observing ceasefire violations, the SMM recorded three incidents involving ceasefire violations, one of which consisted of 18 impacts approximately 3km south-west of its position, whilst at an "LPR" checkpoint near Sokilnyky (38km north-west of Luhansk). The SMM assessed the sound to be consistent with mortar shelling," the mission said.

The SMM also reported the creation of a self-defense force in the town of Kalanchak (96km south-east of Kherson). "The SMM met the head of the force and his deputy, who were elected by the members of the force, as well as another member (all men). According to the interlocutors, the recruitment process was on-going and currently there were 80 volunteers, they planned to register the organization and members would be unarmed. The interlocutors emphasized that they had no political agenda and assessed that the situation in the district had already improved compared to late December 2015," the report reads.
Russia's updated national security strategy says that an unconstitutional coup was in Ukraine and the West and the U.S. allegedly created the war conflict in eastern Ukraine, and this document poses a real threat to Ukraine, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

"On December 31, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the updated national security strategy of Russia It is important that for the first time since the Soviet Union existence Putin's national security strategy defines its archenemy  the U.S. that "deterring independent foreign and domestic policy of Russia, seeking to keep up their domination in global affairs." The same status of "enemy" is given to the NATO, a buildup of military presence of which close to the Russian borders create a threat to Russia's national security," Turchynov wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Russia names China and India as friends of Russia in its national security strategy, and Turchynov said that their support to Russia would be less likely.

"They do not forget about Ukraine in the document. According to the Kremlin's version, the "unconstitutional coup" was in Ukraine, and the West and the U.S. created "a war conflict in eastern Ukraine." According to the document, this poses a direct threat to Russias security, as Russia has a long border with Ukraine," Turchynov said.

The document cites the key achievement of Russia: development of spirituality of the Russian Federation.

"Traditional Russian moral and spiritual values are renewed. The younger generation forms a decent attitude to the history of Russia. Civil society is being consolidated around common values as respect of family and confessional traditions, patriotism Russia would focus its efforts to strengthen internal solidarity of Russian society to counter the treats to the national security," Turchynov wrote, citing the document.

In general, he said that the main security document of Russia is full of demagogic appeals and self-promotion of mightiness of Russia and its leaders, and "I am falling under the impression that it was drawn up not by security specialists, but journalists from Russia's LifeNews TV after getting the end-of-year bonus."

"The document is blind in general, but unfortunately, the Russian threat to our country is not blind. Countering the Russian aggression for us remains the top priority in the national security," Turchynov said.
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Iranian who was wanted by Germany through Interpol detained in Ukraine

Ukrainian border guards detained a citizen of Iran who had arrived from during a document check at the Boryspil airport (Kyiv).

The citizen of Iran was in the Interpol database and he was wanted by the German law enforcement agencies for the purpose of his arrest and subsequent extradition, the press service for the Ukrainian Border Guard Service has reported.

"The detainee is suspected of fraud and violation of the legislation on weapons control, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison," the report says.
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One Ukrainian military serviceman injured in Donbas over past 24 hours

One Ukrainian military serviceman has sustained injuries in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian presidential spokesman for the ATO Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said that the Ukrainian military serviceman was injured during an attack of the militants near Maryinka.

Lysenko said that the ceasefire regime was observed in Luhansk direction, and attacks were recorded in Donetsk direction. Shelling was registered on the Svitlodarsk bow line, near Horlivka (Mayorsk, Zaitseve) and near Donetsk airport.

"Heavy weapons were not used, firing of enemy's snipers became rarer," he said.

Fire aimed to hit the Ukrainian military units near Hranitne and Shyrokyne was recorded.
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Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0147ae8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0c30b20)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0147ae8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0c30b20)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f02585b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0c30b20)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0c30b20)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ebbd4298)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0c95760)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0c95760)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f025f678)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01595c0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f025f678)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01595c0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f026fcb8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01595c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01595c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ebbd3838)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f02091d8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f02091d8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Flight Centre Travel Group has sealed its first ever deal to offer inventory from budget airline Tigerair Australia as the travel agency looks to better compete against rivals like Webjet that have gained market share as consumers take more flights on low-cost carriers.

Under the arrangement, which follows deals between Flight Centre and Scoot and AirAsia X, the travel agent will gain full access to the Virgin Australia subsidiary's full suite of domestic flights as well as flights to Bali set to launch in March.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner has been looking to add more budget airline inventory to the travel agent's website. Credit:Bradley Kanaris

Flight Centre customers will also be able to book optional extras on Tigerair through the travel agent's website. Flight Centre in August said it would focus on adding more low-cost carrier inventory to ensure it "owned" its customers, even for low-margin transactions, as today's budget airline booker could be tomorrow's high-margin European river cruise customer.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner on Thursday said the margins from the Tigerair deal would improve if the travel agent sold optional extras like baggage as well hotel bookings alongside the flights.
A missing Sydney yachtsman who was washed off a boat on the NSW Mid North Coast had just completed a sailing race and was returning home when he and his crew were caught in wild seas, police say.

The search for experienced sailor Mal Lennon, 62, resumed on Thursday morning, after rescue crews were forced to call off the search just north of Broughton Island on Wednesday evening due to dangerous conditions.

They had found no trace of Mr Lennon, who is feared to have drowned in the massive swell, and say it is now a recovery mission.
Food, water and medicine was delivered on Thursday to the 41 trapped campers in the Deua National Park, with emergency services confirming the campers are safe as they wait for the river to retreat.

The NSW SES says the number of campers trapped in the Deua National Park is 41, up from 30 on Wednesday, and included an eight-month-old baby among about five children.

SES and Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter members meet with stranded campers in the Deua National Park. Credit:Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter

Weather conditions had also improved, becoming favourable enough for the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter to fly to the various campsites across the Bendethera Valley and drop off supplies.
"I heard a sizzling sound in my hood and I somehow tried to get it out of the hood," she said. "Then it fell into my jacket and burned everything. The scars will stay. I was lucky that it didn't explode." Overwhelmed: a police car passes the central railway station in Cologne, Germany. Credit:Oliver Berg The report obtained by Der Spiegel seemed to corroborate the sense that the attackers, repeatedly described as groups of male migrants, felt that they had the run of areas in front of and inside the train station. The report describes officers encountering crying, frightened pedestrians, many of them women and girls. Officers reported that their orders were ignored, that they were "bombarded with fireworks and pelted with glass bottles," and that witnesses were threatened when they named the perpetrators, according to Der Spiegel. Michelle described on German television how she was attacked during New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne. Credit:n-tv

The author of the report noted a level of disrespect for police "like I have never experienced in my 29 years of public service." Cologne was not the only European city to see trouble on New Year's Eve. Police in Helsinki, Finland said that 15 Iraqi asylum seekers were taken into custody amid allegations of groping and harassing women near the city's central railway station on New Year's Eve. Ilkka Koskimaki, Deputy Police Chief of the Helsinki Police Department, said three women had filed complaints, alleging they had been kissed and touched against their will. The situation, he said, might have been worse had police not received a tip that groups of Iraqi asylum seekers were planning disturbances that night, leading the Helsinki police to deploy far more officers than usual. Attacks were reported elsewhere in Germany, too, including in Hamburg and Stuttgart, according to the BBC.

Cologne, however, saw the largest wave of assaults. Due to the overwhelming number of attacks, officials have few leads on the attackers, according to the report. "Security forces were unable to get all of the incidents, assaults, crimes, etc. under control. There were simply too many happening at the same time," its author writes. Authorities have, however, described the men as being largely of "Arab or North African origin." According to the report, at least one officer quoted a man as saying: "I'm a Syrian! You have to treat me kindly! Mrs Merkel invited me." Germany took in a record 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year, driven largely by migrants from Syria. Officials have warned against blaming all refugees for the New Year's Eve incidents, but added that deportation is on the table for any asylum-seekers found to be involved. "We must examine again and again whether we have already done what is necessary in terms of ... deportations from Germany in order to send clear signals to those who are not prepared to abide by our legal order," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, according to the Associated Press. She also described the assaults as "repugnant."
An internal report on the attacks by a senior police officer, leaked to the German media, described offenders claiming to be Syrian refugees.

Angela Merkel's government is facing damaging allegations of a police cover-up over the series of attacks, with claims that most of those responsible were asylum seekers who arrived under her "open-door" refugee policy. Scores of women were sexually assaulted after a crowd of some 1000 men took over the square near Cologne cathedral on New Year's Eve.

Cologne: Two German newspapers have published separate allegations that police checks on New Year's Eve had revealed most of those involved in the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Cologne to be asylum-seekers.

The leaked police report, published in Bild newspaper and Der Spiegel magazine, claims one of those involved told officers: "I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly. Mrs Merkel invited me".

Protesters of the right-wing PRO NRW party, front, and counter-demonstrators, rear, stand in front of the main railway station in Cologne, where the sex attacks and robberies took place. Credit:AP

Another, it says, tore up his residence permit before the eyes of police, and told them: "You can't do anything to me, I can get a new one tomorrow." The report describes the violence as more serious than thought. It was written by the commander of a force of around 100 officers sent to the square as reinforcements, according to Bild.

Senior ministers have said there is no evidence refugees were involved and Cologne police have claimed they do not know the backgrounds of the perpetrators. But allegations are mounting that police may have sought to cover up evidence of the involvement of asylum-seekers.

Welt am Sonntag, a Sunday newspaper, described the official version of events as "untrue" in a rare online report ahead of its edition and claimed police had checked the ID papers of more than 100 suspects on New Year's Eve. "Most of them were newly arrived asylum seekers. They presented documents that are handed out at asylum application offices," it quoted an unnamed police officer as saying.
A new generation of winemakers is hoping to strengthen the reputation of the Canberra wine district with a newfound confidence.

One of the district's more established wine makers, Nick Spencer of Eden Road, believes the recent success of the region has encouraged many younger winemakers to launch their own ventures.

Tammy Braybook says winemakers are constantly trying new things and are always interested in making their products better or more appealing to customers. Credit:Melissa Adams

"I have noticed a change with people becoming more engaged with the Canberra district and willing to do more research about the wine," he said.

"There has also been an emergence of people brave enough to start their own brands this year and the market is supporting them," he said. "These are the next generation of Canberra winemakers and it's just what the district needs."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has enacted bill No. 2166 on strengthening guarantees of rights and liberties of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The document amends some Ukrainian laws on the provision of IDPs' rights and liberties. According to the amendments, the notion "IDP" is specified, the guarantees of IDPs are improved, particularly, guarantees of the creation of conditions for voluntarily return of IDPs to the places where they lived or their integration at the new place of their residence in Ukraine.

According to the amendments, the procedure for receiving IDP certificates was improved, and the necessity of registering the place of residence for IDPs is revoked.

Amendments to the law on freedom of movement and travel and free choice of residence are made. According to the amendments, the IDP registration certificate is removed from the list of required documents, and information about the place of residence and the place of location is included.

The bill was passed by parliamentarians on November 3, 2015, although Poroshenko vetoed the document and returned it to parliament with his proposals. The president proposed that the agency (officials) that is responsible for revealing facts of the absence of IDPs at the place of their residence and confirming the information that IDPs were displaced within the country is selected. The mechanism for checking this information and the facts that IDPs were absent at the place of their residence for a long period of time is specified, the president proposed.

Parliament passed the bill with the president's amendments on December 24, 2015 with 266 supporting votes.
Jon Stanhope has been stymied in his attempts to find out more about the decision to change the name of the Canberra electorate of Fraser to "Fenner", with documents released under freedom of information almost entirely blacked out.

Mr Stanhope is vehemently opposed to the decision to strip Jim Fraser of recognition in the Canberra seat named for him in 1974. The name is to be changed to Fenner, so that "Fraser" can be used for a Victorian electorate to recognise former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Former ACT Labor leader Jon Stanhope is no more enlightened about the decision to change the name of the Fraser electorate to Fenner. Credit:Stuart Walmsley

Mr Stanhope is appalled at the decision, which he regards as an insult to the memory of the former Canberra MP and his family, and a move he believes would also be opposed by Malcolm Fraser and Professor Frank Fenner.

He made a freedom of information request of the Australian Electoral Commission for all documents relating to the decision. Twenty-two documents have been released, but almost everything in them is blacked out, leaving very little information other than references to Professor Fenner, a highly regarded Canberra scientist who died in 2010.
Thousands of Canberrans lined both sides of Northbourne Avenue on Thursday to watch 300 customised cars with a combined output of more than 120,000 horsepower [90,000kw] cruise through the heart of the city to officially launch the 2016 Summernats.

Event co-owner Andy Lopez expected the final turnout for the city cruise to be between 10,000 and 12,000 people.

Summernats comes to Canberra with the Super Cruise down Northbourne Avenue. Credit:Graham Tidy

The annual Summernats City Cruise is the event's shop window, taking the spectacular examples of automotive craftsmanship that are the event's raison d'etre to the public in a very loud and visible way.

Mr Lopez said some of the vehicles taking part were valued in excess of $750,000.
All eyes will be on Suncorp Group during the February profit results season as investors brace for lower earnings from the insurer, which has been hit by natural disaster claims and aggressive competition.

Suncorp dished an unwelcome Christmas present to investors last month when the $15.3 billion company warned its underlying insurance trading ratio would hit 10 per cent during the half year to December.

Suncorp CEO Michael Cameron has moved to reassure investors that he has the issues under control, and put in place measures to ensure another downgrade will be avoided in the near future. Credit:Chris Hyde

This is a significant plunge from last year's 14.7 per cent, when the company posted a $631 million net profit.

The expected ITR, an important measure of an insurer's profitability, is also lower than the group's ongoing 12 per cent target set by its retired chief executive, Patrick Snowball.
Local shares have ended a horror week deep in the red, caught up in a global rout sparked by worries about China's economic health.

The ASX fell 0.4 per cent to 4990.8, posting its sixth straight loss, while the broader All Ords slipped 0.4 per cent to 5049.4.

For the week, the ASX slumped 5.8 per cent, losing about $85 billion in market capitalisation.

It marked the worst start of the year on record, and the biggest weekly drop in more than four years.

While regional markets mostly rose after Beijing suspended a controversial circuit breaker system for its sharemarkets and the People's Bank of China moved to stabilise the yuan with its reference rate, the bounce on the ASX quickly faded.

The big banks were once again the biggest drag on the benchmark index, all falling around 1 per cent.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom today, with energy stocks finding some relief after the oil price gained. Woodside was the biggest tailwind for the benchmark index, rising 4.6 per cent, while Oil Search added 3.5 per cent and Santos found 4 per cent.

And the big miners also rose, with Rio rallying 3 per cent and BHP up 0.1 per cent.
Instead of relaxing in a post-holiday lull, Hans Goetti at Banque Internationale a Luxembourg in Dubai is trying to assess whether China's sinking currency will unleash capital outflows that the economy can't sustain.

"It's like the holiday never happened," says AMP Capital Investors' Nader Naeimi. "Everyone is chasing shadows." Credit:Tamara Voninski

At AMP Capital Investors in Sydney, Nader Naeimi's diary is filling with meetings and his inbox is clogged with recommendations to sell equities.

A flight from risky assets has defined the first days of the new year, with volatility surging on concern about turmoil in China and escalating tension in the Middle East. Even as the MSCI All-Country World Index's bull market extends to more than 1500 days, investors are facing a difficult start to 2016 after losing money on global stocks, high-yield bonds and commodities in 2015.

"It's like the holiday never happened," said Naeimi, a fund manager at AMP Capital. "Everyone is chasing shadows. What's adding to the nervousness is that we've been in this extended bull market since 2009 - we've had really, really strong gains. Everyone's nervous."

Investors returned Monday to a 7 per cent rout in Chinese equities and the news that Saudi Arabia had expelled Iran's diplomats in a dispute about the execution of a Shiite cleric.

China's policy makers were in focus on Tuesday, with stocks seesawing as they added cash to the financial system, intervened to buy equities and postponed the end of a ban on major shareholders selling stakes.

On Wednesday, the People's Bank of China cut its yuan fixing to the lowest since April 2011, reigniting concern about the outlook for the world's second-biggest economy, and North Korea conducted its first nuclear test since 2013.
Epilepsy Action Australia is grappling with a $200,000 funding black hole after Dick Smith signed off on a major sponsorship deal for its biggest annual fund raising event less than three weeks before the administrators were called in.

The charity's chief executive Carol Ireland said Dick Smith signed off on deal on December 17 and gave Epilepsy Action Australia assurances it could proceed with printing all the material for its Purple Day fund raising activities, which are scheduled to role out from next week to Purple Day on March 26.

Dick Smith agreed to provide $50,000 cash sponsorship as well as three $1000 gift vouchers as raffle prizes. Credit:Carlos Furtado

Ms Ireland said it had already printed all the Purple Day material featuring Dick Smith as the major sponsor but it was now facing a situation where it had no prizes for its major raffles, which were to be Dick Smith gift vouchers or distribution network for its Purple Day merchandise.

"This is our major fundraising for the year and Dick Smith had come to an agreement with us, which they approved on the 17th of December, just before Christmas," Ms Ireland said.
Classic British home furnishing and fashion brand Laura Ashley Australia has called in the administrators amid talk of store closures after trading through several difficult seasons.

The Laura Ashley business in Australia and New Zealand is run under a licence agreement with Laura Ashley UK.

Laura Ashley Australia has called in the administrators to conduct an urgent assessment of the company's financial position.

The sole director of Laura Ashley Australia, Daryl Chait, appointed Ross Blakeley, Quentin Olde and John Park of FTI Consulting to administer the company on Thursday.

FTI would not provide any details of the company's financial difficulties.
China's National People's Congress unanimously passed the country's first counter-terrorism law on December 27. The new law has been hailed by some Chinese commentators as an "unambiguous legal document" that "conforms to the new developments in the global fight against terrorism" and as a tool to "help fight terrorism at home and help maintain global security". From this perspective, China is simply following in the footsteps of many other states in establishing a clear legal basis for the counter-terrorism activities of its national security agencies. The law formalises counter-terrorism as a national security priority for Beijing through the establishment of a "national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts" and provides a legal basis for the country's various counter-terrorism organs, such as the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police, to identify and suppress individuals or groups deemed to be "terrorists". Chinese police patrol outside the court where the Kunming railway station bombers were tried. Photo: AP Credit:AP It also requires internet providers to provide technical assistance and information, including encryption keys, during counter-terror operations, and includes a provision by which the PLA or PAP may seek approval from the Central Military Commission to engage in counter-terrorism operations abroad. While official pronouncements may stress that the law's primary purpose is to strengthen Beijing's ability to ensure the security and safety of the country's citizenry and interests both at home and abroad, a closer examination suggests that ensuring the security of the state, particularly in its restive province of Xinjiang, lies at its heart.

Since coming to power President Xi Jinping has expended a considerable amount energy on two core domestic security issues: Xinjiang and wenwei or "stability maintenance" campaigns. The former has been driven by nationally and internationally prominent terrorist attacks by Uighur militants such as the March 2014 Kunming railway station attack and the latter by rising numbers of violent incidents by "ordinary" Han Chinese related to personal gripes, local political grievances or corruption. The new law's definition of "terrorism" as "propositions and actions that create social panic, endanger public safety, violate person and property, or coerce national organs or international organisations, through methods such violence, destruction, intimidation, so as to achieve their political, ideological, or other objectives" would appear to be broad enough to apply to events as distinct as the Kunming attack and the series of mail bomb attacks in Liucheng County in Guangxi in September last year that killed 10 people. Yet, acts such as those in Guangxi, in stark contrast to those in Kunming, have been labelled "criminal" rather than "terrorist" in nature by the authorities. The Xinjiang-centric nature of China's counter-terrorism agenda has also been implicitly acknowledged by officials with, for instance, Vice Public Security Minister Yang Huanning stating last year that while officials would view "the entire country as one chessboard" in the fight against terrorism, Xinjiang remained the "main battlefield". In fact key elements of the new law, such as its emphasis on a nation-wide, inter-government coordination of counter-terrorism operations and expanded electronic surveillance, including monitoring of cell phones and internet "firewalls", have been "road tested" in Xinjiang for some time. The law's provision to enable elements of the PLA or PAP to engage in counter-terrorism operations abroad has also led some to suggest that Beijing is set to significantly modify its adherence to its much-touted foreign policy doctrine of "non-interference" in the face of rising Islamist terrorism inspired by IS. Even here, however, Beijing's Xinjiang calculus is apparent. While Beijing has seized on reports that "hundreds" of Uighur militants have been engaged in fighting with various Islamist groups in Syria it has done so to convince the West that Uighur terrorism in Xinjiang is "spiritually supported and commanded by foreign terrorist organisations" and mute international criticism of its hard-line policies in the region rather than to justify any shift toward Chinese intervention in the Syrian crisis.
Unions exist to organise, campaign and bargain for the people they represent and to advocate for a fairer society. Clearly this objective is undermined when individuals behave in a corrupt fashion, and when the structure of governance and accountability actually obscures wrongdoing from detection and intervention.

The betrayal of union members by officials abusing their positions is something that cannot be ignored and is a disgrace. Despite some extreme language used by Dyson Heydon, the evidence from the royal commission and the fact that many recommendations relate to individuals shows that there are very few people involved in the bad conduct exposed by the process. This is not a systemic problem in the union movement.

The final report of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption was released just as 2015 was drawing to an end.

For all of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's claims of moving away from simple political slogans and engaging in robust discussions to inform public policy outcomes, the rhetoric deployed on the release of the final report was Abbott-esque in its clunkiness and simplicity.

Commissioner Dyson Heydon's recommendations proposing that superannuation arrangements be removed from bargaining is just one example of this impediment to bargaining. Credit:Ben Rushton

Workers' lives are going be a key issue during the next federal election; Turnbull told us this during his press conference. But only through a campaign focusing on the wholesale adoption of Heydon's report, which essentially leaves workers out of a conversation about their fundamental human rights to organise, campaign and collectively bargain. It is disappointing, but hardly surprising given his antipathy to unions, that Heydon's recommendations will undermine workers' rights to organise and protect their rights.

It would be wrong for a government to legislate in a manner that restricts or prohibits what unions and employers should be allowed to bargain about in their workplaces. Heydon's recommendations proposing that superannuation arrangements be removed from bargaining is just one example of this impediment to bargaining.

The recommendations, and now the government policy, seem to show a misunderstanding of what unions do. Unions play a crucial role in any proper functioning and free democracy. Unions are the means through which ordinary people are able to affect change in their lives, to influence political representatives to legislate for change and to transform Australia into a fairer country. There have been countless achievements that prove this such as annual leave, the eight-hour day, the minimum wage and superannuation.
Unknown texts of artist Kazimir Malevich, which were kept in the home archive of his assistant Marian Krop yv nytsky, who made shorthand recordings of the artist's speeches in Kyiv, have been found in Kyiv.

"Among the texts are protocols of Malevich's speeches on the plans to develop a painting research experimental office in the Kyiv Arts Institute, and also his ideas on issues relating to artist education and the creation of a new arts academy," a report posted on Hromadskeradio.org says.

Four of the five texts have never been published anywhere and there are plans to publish them in February 2016 for the conference Malevich in Kyiv.

"It's a special event for the Kyiv culture horizon. Until now, the Kyiv period of Malevich's life was the least studied period in his work," the publication quoted Tetiana Filevska, who studies Malevich's work, as saying.

Malevich (1879-1935), an avant-guard painter, an art theorist and a philosopher, was born in Kyiv.
The trip home to clear those rooms sets the stage for a turn-back-the-clock reunion with the old school gang, including Brinda (played brilliantly by Maya Rudolph), who is Kate's high school nemesis. Things get complicated, however, when the girls' real lives catch up to them, including their parents, and a daughter who expects a whole lot more, when they're basically undies-deep in the past. A teen movie for adults: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler don't act their ages in Sisters. Credit:K.C Bailey Important disclosure No.1: both Fey and Poehler have bedrooms that are "somewhat preserved," reveals Fey, "in our parents' homes". "For me, I know the one thing that made it easy to not so much change who I was in my hometown or high school, but to go beyond it was to physically move away," Fey says. "If I had stayed there it would have been much harder to be like, 'Hey, how about me, everybody? How about I'm a big deal?' People are like, 'You're not a big deal'."

Important disclosure No. 2: neither Fey nor Poehler peaked in high school. "I think that can be a tough road," Poehler says. "I think we were impatient in a good way. I remember when I was graduating from high school, my friends saying, 'This is going to be it'. I was like, 'Yeah, I know, hurry, let's get out of here'." Fey graduated from the University of Virginia with an arts degree and headed to Chicago. Poehler graduated from Boston College with a media and communications degree and also headed to Chicago. Both were headed to Second City, the iconic improv company that has cranked out a long list of A-list alumni, including Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, Betty Thomas, Eugene Levy, John Belushi, Shelley Long, Mike Meyers and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was there that Fey and Poehler slowly formed a natural partnership. "We were often the only two women in a group of men, which kind of naturally would sometimes pair us up, just even creatively," Poehler says.

Later they migrated to American television's rusted-on sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live and began doing the fake news segment, Weekend Update, together. More recently they were the critically exalted double act who hosted the Golden Globe Awards and, importantly, took no prisoners. "We spend a lot of time doing separate projects, but it's very nice to feel the love that happens when we get back together," Poehler says. "Women in general are often grouped together, whether they like it or not. But it's nice to be in control of that grouping, to be able to decide who your dance partner is for a project and it be someone that you're so close to and you know so well. I think it just came also naturally from usually us being the only two women in a room." To some extent that's an old story, particularly in comedy. British comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were fused together for the same reason. More recently, Saturday Night Live also successfully paired Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph.

"I know I really like working with women in general," Poehler says. "It more often came from a proactive feeling of wanting to just write, work and be around other funny women. I was really lucky to come into SNL during Tina's tenure because it was a plethora of incredibly talented women that were there, and remain there. We were always surrounded by the funniest women and continue to be." Fey says that once a female comedian is in the room, she's often on an equal footing. The challenge is getting into the room in the first place. "It's about getting to that fair playing field," Fey says. "If you can't get there because someone won't put you up on a stage or you won't be heard in the classroom, that's where there's probably still inequality. Same with diversity. If we can all get up on stage in front of the audience, the audience is very, very clear about what they like. They don't care who it is. They really don't care." Fey recalls, during their tenures at Second City, hearing a director say the audience doesn't want to see a scene with two women. "I remember thinking, 'That's you saying that. You can speak for this group of people that's not even here yet?' Just the fact that someone thought that, one, made sense and, two, it was like kind of fly to say out loud or whatever. That's a problem, you have to try to get past that person just to get to the audience." Adds Amy: "But those people are dying. They're dying out."

Tina: "They're literally dying." Amy: "They're literally getting old and dying." Me: "They are, that's very true." Amy: "The dinosaurs are raging a little bit at the end, but they're dying." Tina: "They're dying, yeah."
Pierre Boulez, the French composer and conductor who helped blaze a radical new path for classical music in the 20th century, becoming one of its dominant figures in the decades after World War II, has died at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was 90.

His family confirmed his death in a statement to the Philharmonie de Paris. Prime Minister Manuel Valls, also in a statement, said, "Audacity, innovation, creativity  that is what Pierre Boulez was for French music, which he helped shine everywhere in the world."

French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez conducting the Paris Orchestra at the Louvre museum in 2011. Credit:AP

Boulez belonged to an extraordinary generation of European composers who emerged in the postwar years while still in their 20s. They wanted to change music radically, and they did. Boulez was at the forefront of their crusade.

As a young composer  and throughout his life as an insistently private man  he matched intelligence with great force of mind: He knew what had to be done, according to his reading of history, and he did it, in defiance of all the norms of French musical culture at the time. His Marteau Sans Maitre (Hammer Without a Master) was one of this pioneering group's first major achievements, and it remains a landmark of modern music.
Clay, so much wet, dripping, slipping clay. And somewhere beneath it all are Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore  the amorous but doomed Sam and Molly  in the most famous moment of one of the biggest movies of the 1990s.

"That" scene from Ghost, where Sam and Molly put a spin, so to speak, on getting dirty, is so ingrained in popular culture that it continues to inspire copycat date-night events among enterprising ceramics studios 25 years after Moore put hand to potter's wheel. It's been emulated and parodied across genres and years  on Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, Glee and even the decidedly PG Wallace and Gromit.

Jemma Rix (Molly) and Rob Mills (Sam) in Ghost the Musical.

Soon, the scene will be replayed again, this time live on stage and, less predictably, as part of a musical adaptation of the Oscar-winning film. There's clay to be sure but the emotion is different, full of longing and heartache between Molly, played in the Australian production of Ghost the Musical by Jemma Rix, and Sam, played by Rob Mills. The Righteous Brothers' iconic Unchained Melody is there but that's different too and, for Rix, it had to be.

"They've done it in a way that's not like the movie. I think that's the best way to do it because it's too iconic, it would become too cheesy," she says.
When a human is iron-deficient, it is often time for a healthy dose of red meat, spinach or iron tablets.

But what about an ocean suffering the same condition?

Sub-Antarctic voyagers: from left, Richard Arculus, Andrew Bowie and Mike Coffin.

Approximately one-quarter of the world's oceans are iron-deficient and the Southern Ocean is one of the worst, described as "anaemic".

But about 40 scientists departing on a voyage from Fremantle to the sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald islands on Friday think they may have found the ocean's iron-tablet equivalent: underwater volcanoes.
Former prime minister and United Nations leadership aspirant Kevin Rudd has blasted world powers over "a possible lost opportunity" in curbing North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Mr Rudd's remarks, which followed the suspected fourth nuclear test by the rogue regime this week, can be read as a veiled swipe at Beijing but also Washington, which has put North Korea on the back-burner as a nuclear proliferation issue.

The former PM, who is believed to be campaigning to become UN secretary-general, said the international community should have used the nuclear deal struck with Iran last July as a springboard for fresh talks with Pyongyang.

He said the dynastic regime of which 32-year-old Kim Jong-un is the third generation was primarily concerned with its own survival and was "wrongly" calculating that it needed a nuclear deterrent to ensure this.
The principal of a private Sydney girls' school has resigned after a mass staff exit and a social media campaign calling for her dismissal escalated last year.

Denice Scala, the principal of MLC in Burwood, resigned on Thursday, one month after 30 staff left the 129-year-old school following allegations of questionable workplace practices, low morale and teachers being forced to leave.

Mrs Scala's time in charge of the school was beset by controversy after it lost four heads of its middle, junior and senior schools and key members of its world-renowned music department.

Tension came to a head at the school's speech night in December as parents threatened to protest by standing with their backs to the principal during her speech and adopted the hashtag #ReclaimOurMLC on social media .
Jared Hyams' signature started as a joke.

Suspecting that no one at the Australian Electoral Commission would scrutinise the application to change his address, he scribbled a caricature of a penis in the box that asked for a signature.

Jared Hyams' new VicRoads driver's licence. Credit:Beau Donelly

"I thought it would be a laugh; they would approve it and next year I would sign something different," the 33-year-old said.

"But when I did this signature all of a sudden the shit hit the fan. I was receiving letters and phone calls telling me I couldn't have it. I thought, that's interesting, why not?"
More than one-third of Australian pensioners are living below the poverty line, making the country among the worst performers in the world for the financial security of older people.

The findings of the OECD report, Pensions at a Glance 2015, compared Australia to 33 other countries.

Australia was ranked second lowest on social equity, with 36 per cent of pensioners living below the poverty line, which the report defined as half the relevant country's median household income.

Australian pensioners fared better than their counterparts in South Korea, where 50 per cent live below the poverty line but performed poorly against the OECD average of 12.6 per cent.
Some of the world's largest cruise ships could be arriving in Brisbane from mid-2019 with plans for the city's second cruise ship terminal to be built in a $100 million project near Brisbane Airport.

Queensland Cabinet is about to debate a proposal from the private sector to build Brisbane's second cruise ship terminal which would be able to accommodate superliners by early 2019.

Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International.

Taxpayers will have to contribute nothing to get the deep-water cruise ship terminal project up and running, according to key sources.

"This does not require any government funding whatsoever.
Tenglong Xu and Cao Yuanyuan's baby daughter was stabbed to death in Brisbane's south. "He came with the knife." Those were the only words Yuanyuan Cao's protector heard her say to him after she ran screaming from her home on Wednesday afternoon, dripping with blood. The 28-year-old bank worker, her mother and baby daughter Queenie had just been stabbed in her southern Brisbane home, police think at the hands of her father. New Hope Community Church pastor Robert Chua comforts a well wisher at a candelight vigil for Queenie Xu in a park across the road from where she was stabbed to death in Parkinson. Credit:jorge Branco Neighbour Nikolao Ropati's gripping account of the tragic afternoon in Parkinson came as a member of a local church said the 53-year-old man seemed "distressed" when he dropped him home on Sunday.

Both men gathered with more than 200 locals on Thursday night for a candlelight vigil in the Watheroo Place park opposite the home where Ms Cao lived with her husband, Tenglong Xu, and their two-month-old daughter. Community members attend a candlelight vigial for Queenie Xu. Credit:Jorge Branco Most of them didn't know the family but they mourned for little Queenie Xu, who died in hospital on Wednesday night after police found her lying in her bassinet with multiple stab wounds. Mr Ropati was one of those gathered who knew Ms Cao, describing her as a "lovely lady" who he saw in the park every day. Many other's came out of a sense of community. Mapelton Circuit resident Nikolao Ropati speaks about the horrible afternoon when Queenie Xu was stabbed to death and her mum and grandparents were badly injured. Credit:jorge branco

His was the Mapelton Circuit home she ran to for help after it's suspected her father stabbed her mother and baby. "I heard the lady scream and saying 'help, help'," he said. Residents and well-wishers pay their respects at a candelight vigil for Queenie Xu in a park across the road from where she was stabbed to death in Parkinson. Credit:Jorge Branco "And then I turn around on my left side, because that side on my walkway and then I saw the woman covered with blood. "I grab the hand and I say 'what's happened?' and she didn't tell me what's happened.

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman and Parkinson Ward councillor Angela Owen-Taylor pay their respects at a candelight vigil for Queenie Xu in a park across the road from where she was stabbed to death in Parkinson. Credit:Jorge Branco "The only thing she told me, 'he came with the knife'." Mr Ropati said he saw Ms Cao's father come towards his house with an "aggressive" look on his face and told him to go away. Residents and well-wishers pay their respects at a candelight vigil for Queenie Xu in a park across the road from where she was stabbed to death in Parkinson. Credit:Jorge Branco Police handcuffed the blood-soaked man in his driveway a few minutes later after neighbours saw him appearing dazed as he wandered along the street.

New Hope Community Church member Dean Tian was shocked when he confirmed the worst on Thursday morning. He'd seen the home on the news the night before and thought it was the place where he dropped Ms Cao's mother, father and daughter home on Sunday but it wasn't until daylight he knew. Mr Tian, who only met the family for the first time that afternoon, had been meaning to return the dummy little baby Queenie had dropped on the car ride home in the rain. The property manager by trade said Ms Cao's parents couldn't speak English and appeared to be having a hard time dealing with the cultural shock. "He looked like he had a very big burden in his heart," he said.

"He told me after talk with the pastor in the church he feel much, much better." The church's non-Mandarin-speaking pastor, Robert Chua, said the grandfather didn't seem distressed in the two minutes he spoke with him. He described the man and his wife as "very normal, very loving". "He was carrying the little baby and smiling and walking around so it was a real shock to us to see this happen," he said. Mr Chua, who briefly led the crowd in prayer before dozens laid candles and floral tributes, said he hoped to visit the family in hospital on Friday.
Sweden, Denmark Tightens Border Controls To Slow Down Influx Of Refugees, Proper Identification With Photo Now Needed To Gain Entry



Sweden has begun strict implementation of identity checks on commuters arriving from Denmark and Germany on Monday in a bid to regulate the number of entering refugees and reduce the risk of terror attacks.

In 2015, more than 160,000 people submitted asylum applications to Sweden and about 10,000 refugees were coming each day, CNN reported Monday. Thousands of migrant refugees have perceived the country as one of the most welcoming and generous in the European continent. Several travelers have been able to enter the country without too many constraints. However, the continuous influx of migrants and the fear of terrorism have placed a limit on the ideals of borderless travel in the nation.

In response to the Swedish government's declaration on December that a number of refugee arrivals put a "serious threat to public order and domestic security," Sweden has introduced temporary border controls to slow down the number of migrant arriving in the country. Under the new restrictions, travelers going to Sweden from Denmark are required to show valid identification documents with a photograph, such as passport or driver's license, before they are allowed entry into the country. Failure to present proper identification will bar a person from entering the country.

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The New York Times reported Monday that Sweden's new border control will more likely present a hindrance to thousands of refugees seeking asylum.

Hours after the Swedish government announced its new policy, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced that his country will also impose random ID checking at its borders.

"It is clear to all of us in Europe that we need an overall European solution," Prime Minister Rasmussen said. "The solution won't be found at national borders between Country A and Country B."

Sweden's new policy will take effect in the next three years, while Denmark is to last only for ten days but "with the possibility of extending the controls for another 20 days."

Meanwhile, Schleswig-Holstein's Governor Torsten Albig expressed his dismay at the Danish government's move. Albig says the country's border control measure could "hurt the good coexistence in the German-Danish border region and be especially hard on commuters."

Sweden's former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt also condemned Sweden's new enactment and described its implementation as "a dark day for our Nordic region."

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The Otway bushfire that destroyed more than 100 houses at Wye River and Separation Creek should have been contained before Christmas Day, foresters say.

And if no lessons are learned from the disaster then popular Great Ocean Road towns will be at risk again in the years to come.

The Wye River fire, late on Christmas Day. Credit:Keith Pakenham/CFA

The Institute of Foresters Australia is demanding the Andrews government hold a special inquiry - just as was held for the Cobaw fire in October last year - into the fire which destroyed 116 houses on Christmas Day.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management will examine the fire as part of the normal process for any fire of significance.
Assistant principals are reluctant to take up the top jobs at Victorian schools due to long hours and higher levels of stress, burnout and abuse, a new study says.

The research was co-authored by a respected former Melbourne principal, Mark Thompson, who took his own life in 2014 before the project was completed.

Work stress was believed to have contributed to the suicide of principal Mark Thompson.

Workplace stress and abuse from a student's parent were believed to have had a part in his suicide.

The study surveyed assistant principals in Victoria's north-west, and found an overwhelming majority in almost all age groups said they had no intention of applying to become principal.
Victoria's police force is pressing for new laws to crush corruption in the building industry and prevent union leaders and employers from hiring outlaw motorcycle gang members as debt-collectors.

A report presented to the trade union royal commission in September outlines a spate of concerns about the state of the industry in Victoria, and an apparent "culture that condones unlawful activity".

Victoria's Chief Commissioner of Police Graham Ashton warns of union officials using members of outlaw motorcycle gang to pay fees. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The police report says investigations have uncovered the use of outlaw motorcycle gang members from the Rebels, Comancheros and Bandidos as "hired muscle" on behalf of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and building companies.

"Victoria Police has identified outlaw motorcycle gang members being used as hired muscle for debt collection, with standover tactics used to intimidate victims," the report said.
Metals giant Alcoa says two Farmlands office buildings have been destroyed by the Waroona bushfire however, the WA alumina refining operations have not been affected by the blaze.

The Farmlands offices, comprising two buildings south of Hamel, have been destroyed and there has been some damage to fencing.

Waroona and Preston Beach were threatened by the fire, which was started by lightning. Credit:Annemarie Bell.

The company said it was not aware of any livestock loss.
Childress' death in many ways encapsulates the complex nature of these incidents. On one hand, the young man was unarmed, carrying nothing but a cellphone. At the same time, he had a history that suggested a capacity for violence, and he behaved suspiciously, ignoring officers' commands for a full two minutes and advancing even as the officers threatened to shoot. Demonstrators protest the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Credit:New York Times And like an increasing number of police interactions with citizens, the incident was partially captured on a camera worn by one of the police officers. Two weeks before his death, Las Vegas police said, Childress failed to show up for a sentencing hearing in Phoenix. In December, a jury had convicted him of a litany of charges, including kidnapping and robbery in connection with a 2013 home invasion in which he and several others posed as bounty hunters and robbed a house at gunpoint. Keith Childress Jr: shot dead by US police on New Year's Eve, 2015. Credit:Facebook

"Based on the fact that Childress was facing a lengthy stay in prison, it appears he skipped the sentencing and fled to Las Vegas to avoid prison time," Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters during a briefing this week. Childress was staying with close friends in Las Vegas when the US Marshals Service became aware of his location, Mr McMahill said. But when the marshals attempted to approach him, he fled, prompting the federal agents to seek help from local police. A 2014 protest against a grand jury's decision on Monday not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown in New York. Credit:AP While communicating with local police, however, the marshals conveyed incorrect information - that Childress was wanted for attempted murder, Mr McMahill said. About 2 pm local time on New Year's Eve, two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers - Robert Bohanon, 37, and Blake Walford, 27 - arrived at the scene. Footage from Bohanon's body-worn camera shows the officers pulling into a residential neighbourhood and happening upon Childress as he slowly crossed the street in dark clothing. The right side of his body was obscured from view.

Protests erupted after a grand jury decided not to indict two white Cleveland police officers in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014. Credit:AP Mr Bohanon drew his gun immediately, aiming the weapon at Childress even as he pulled over his car and called for the man to put up his hands and surrender. The footage, a section of which was released publicly by the department this week, offers a partial view of what transpired. Over the course of about two minutes, Childress ignored 24 commands by the officers, Mr McMahill said, all the while obscuring his right hand. At some point, Mr Bohanon remarks that there is "something" in Childress's hand. Later, he concludes it is a gun. Toward the end of the exchange, Mr Bohanon screams at Childress not to "advance" on the officers. "Do not walk towards us," Mr Bohanon commands. Just before the publicly available portion of the footage cuts out, Childress' figure can be seen briefly in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, apparently walking toward the officers. It is then, Mr McMahill said, that the officers opened fire, striking Childress five times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The object in his hand was later discovered to be a cellphone.

The shooting was the 16th for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department but the first in more than two years involving an unarmed suspect, Mr McMahill said. Eleven of the shootings last year were fatal. The department's policy is for officers to turn on their body cameras before every interaction with civilians, he said, but for reasons still under investigation, Walford did not turn his on. Mr Bohanon, a sergeant, has been with the force since 1997, and Walford has been with the department since 2014, police said. Both officers are on routine paid administrative leave pending completion of the investigation. In the news briefing, Mr McMahill speculated that Childress might have been attempting to commit "suicide by cop". "An individual that's being challenged by armed police officers and continues to walk toward them . . . certainly leads you to believe that he absconded from Arizona to come to Las Vegas and he potentially just didn't want to face the music for the charges down in Arizona," Mr McMahill said. Childress' death has provoked outrage from his friends and family, who believe vehemently that he should not have been killed.

"They just gunned him down," said his mother, Jacqueline Lawrence, 45, a bank employee in Phoenix. "They said he had a gun, but he had a cellphone in his hand." The family is preparing to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, said Dale Galipo, the family's attorney. "Someone shot with a cellphone in his hand, I just don't find that to be a justified shooting," Mr Galipo said. Childress - a father of three who went by the childhood nickname Oompa - was taking college courses in business, Ms Lawrence said. He had a passion for the outdoors, she added, and loved such activities as snowboarding and skydiving. He also had a generous streak. "He was the type of person that his friends would go, 'That's a nice watch,' and guess what he would do? He would give it away," his mother said.
Dubai: Iran has said Saudi warplanes attacked its embassy in Yemen's capital, a development that would exacerbate tensions between the major Shiite and Sunni powers in the region, and Riyadh said it would investigate the accusation.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by Iranian state television news channel IRIB.

Rubble after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen. Credit:AP

Residents and witnesses in the capital Sanaa said there was no damage to the embassy building in Hadda district.
Jerusalem: Every job has its risks, but when Eitam Lachover, a reporter for Israel's Channel 1, went to film a story about a new kind of safety vest  one that would protect against stabbings  he probably thought he had nothing to worry about.

He was wrong.

While filming the segment, the journalist was asked to try on the lightweight jacket and be stabbed a few times, just to show viewers at home how effective it was.

But when a representative of FMS Enterprises Migun, the company that makes the vest, started jabbing him with a hard-core commando knife, the vest slipped. Lachover ended up with a stab wound in his back.
Washington: Tension over the South China Sea highlights the need for the United States to maintain a strong navy to serve as a deterrent, US House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday, criticising the Obama administration for proposals he said would reduce the US naval fleet.

"This just shows that we need to have a strong navy," Mr Ryan said at a news briefing. "We should not have a president proposing to lower our ship count to pre-World War I levels. This means we need to have a strong military and a strong navy, and a real foreign policy, which we do not now have."

US House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, told a news conference the United States needs "a strong navy and a real foreign policy". Credit:Bloomberg

Mr Ryan's comments came one day after China again landed a plane on a disputed island in waters which are disputed territory claimed by China as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.

US Republican presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio echoed that call, saying that, if elected, he would sail US ships through the contested South China Sea to challenge China's claimed air and sea rights and work with other allies in the region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping may decide to adopt a more revisionist take on the international system as China's problems mount and its economy slows. Credit:Thibault Camus

I guess one could include "sharemarket meltdown" in the economic slowdown category (although the connection between Chinese equities and the Chinese economy is pretty loose), but that slow-motion implosion is another headache as well. The point is, China has a lot of balls in the air right now.

Washington: If you were to look up "experienced China hand" in some cool, futuristic diplomatic dictionary, you probably would find a picture of Bonnie Glaser, of Washington think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. So this tweet of hers on Wednesday pretty much sums up the problems that Chinese President Xi Jinping is facing right now:

So I was surprised to read Fu Ying's op-ed in the Financial Times the following day, which, in the face of a lot of bad news for China ... ignored all of it and attacked the US-led international system:

The Western-centred world order dominated by the US has made great contributions to human progress and economic growth. But those contributions lie in the past. Now that same order is like an adult in children's clothes. It is failing to adjust.

A woman takes a nap as a man looks at an electronic board displaying stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing on Monday as sharemarket indices tumbled. Credit:Andy Wong

Since the end of the Cold War, the US has made major strategic mistakes, one after another. Its invasion of Iraq in 2003 created chaos that lasts to this day. In 2010, after political upheaval in Tunisia, the West encouraged the so-called Arab Spring. The US and its allies are opening a Pandora's box in one country after another ....

Earlier than we expected, the weight of international responsibilities is falling on Chinese shoulders. We need to come up with more specific ideas, to reassure others and advance our common interests.
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CHONGQING, Jan. 6 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Chongqing, the start point of a transcontinental railway to Europe, to build itself into an international logistics hub in the hinterlands and a leading inland open economy.

Xi made the remarks during his first inspection tour of 2016 in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Monday to Wednesday.

At Guoyuan Port, a modern transportation hub still under construction, Xi said the Belt and Road Initiative has provided a bigger platform for Chongqing to "go global" while development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt will help Chongqing better integrate with central and eastern regions.

Xi also visited the Chongqing branch of BOE, where he praised the company's superior technology and branding and urged it to step up research and development.

Stressing coordinated urban-rural development, the president said Chongqing has faced an arduous task in this matter as the city covers a large area crisscrossed by rivers and mountains, urban and rural areas, which are unbalanced in development.

He called for simultaneous development of modern industrialization, computers, urbanization and agricultural modernization to integrate urban-rural development.

Xi also urged Chongqing to protect the Three Gorges Reservoir and the Yangtze River that runs through the city, saying these are crucial to the long-term development of Chongqing as well as the whole nation.

The city should better protect the environment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze, Xi said.

Stressing the need for all people to share the fruits of the country's reform and development, Xi urged "precision" in poverty relief, with measures tailored to different local situations and groups.

He called on governments not only to hold accountable those responsible for public safety accidents, but also to draw out the common problems hiding behind the accidents.

"Government efforts to maintain public safety and stability are linked to the happiness of thousands of Chinese households... If accidents happen or risks are detected in one place, the whole nation should draw lessons from it," said Xi.

Xi expressed appreciation for the social and economic achievements made by Chongqing in recent years.

Xi said he hoped the municipality will play a pivotal role in the strategy to develop the nation's western parts, in addition to integrating its growth into the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the economic belt along the Yangtze River.

In addition, Xi urged officials to work in earnest, have courage to tell the truth and never abuse power in exchange for personal gains.

Leading cadres at all levels constitute the backbone of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) governance force and should take the lead in implementing the "three stricts and three earnests" requirement, the president said.

The "three stricts and three earnests" is a series of requirements for officials to improve their lifestyles and work, urging them to be strict in morals, use of power and self-discipline, as well as honest in their work and behavior.

"Ideals and belief should not be regarded as slogans that officials just pay lip service to...Instead, they should be converted into strength that encourages officials to take action," Xi said.

Rigid implementation of discipline and rules not only requires a set of thorough, effective regulations, but also a process of obeying them hundred percent, he said.

The right exercise of power can be achieved through acting by law, Xi said, urging officials to always bear in mind the principle of acting in accordance with the law and never abuse power in exchange for personal gains.

The year of 2016 is a vital period for deepening reforms, the president said, calling on local authorities in Chongqing to fulfil reform tasks assigned by the central authority, as well as explore innovation.

"The priority, path, order and methods of reforms should be worked out to make sure the reforms precisely satisfy the demand of local development as well as people's expectation," Xi added.

NEW CONCEPTS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Xi emphasized the new concept of innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing in the process of building a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020.

Xi hailed these new concepts as a solution to faltering global recovery and a response to China's economy, which has entered a "new normal" state featuring slower growth.

Xi said the concept must be carried out firmly and swift efforts should be made to adjust the thinking and practice which was not in line with it.

He stressed the five parts of the new concept should be implemented as a whole since they were inseparable in nature.

Though factors hampering economic development lie in both the demand side and the supply side, the supply side is principal, said Xi, urging more work to advance supply-side structural reform.

Supply-side reform is the latest buzzword among Chinese leaders and economists as the country moves to address issues like excess capacity, housing overhang, and unprofitable "zombie" state-owned enterprises.

Xi demanded more efforts to phase out excess capacity and restructure industries, in addition to lowering the companies' costs and developing emerging industries as well as service sectors.

The president said the supply system should be improved to cater for consumers better.
Aruba/St. Maarten:--- Minister of Justice Richard Gibson Sr who is currently attending the JVO meeting with all Ministers of Justice within the Kingdom in Aruba told reporters on Wednesday that he is pleased with the discussions at the meeting and he is thankful that the Dutch Government still managed to make available Naf22M to St. Maarten for the improvement of the Justice chain on St. Maarten. Minister Gibson further stated that St. Maarten still have other challenges within the Justice Ministry, one being the lack of human resources. He reiterated that when St. Maarten achieved its separate status in 2010 the island had to start its Justice Chain from scratch. Despite the challenges Minister Gibson said St. Maarten is grateful for the funds made available by the Kingdom.
REMINDER: Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc. Annual Shareholders Meetings for 2015, and Release Date of Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2016 and its Related Conference Call

MONTREAL, QUEBEC  (Marketwired)  01/06/16  Cogeco Inc. (TSX: CGO) and Cogeco Cable Inc. (TSX: CCA) will hold their Annual Shareholders Meetings on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) at the Centre Mont-Royal in Montreal (2200 Mansfield Street). During this time, both companies financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, ended November 30, 2015, will also be disclosed. A live webcast of the Annual Shareholders Meetings will be available on the Cogeco website at .

A conference call for financial analysts will be held just prior to the Annual Shareholders Meeting on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. (EST) to discuss the companies financial and operating results. Media representatives may attend as listeners only. A live audio webcast of the call with financial analysts will be available on the Cogeco website at . The webcast will also be available on the Cogeco website for a three-month period following the call.

Please use the following dial-in number to have access to the conference call for financial analysts by dialing 5 to 10 minutes before the start of the conference:

Both Cogeco Inc.s and Cogeco Cable Inc.s annual reports and press releases summarizing fiscal year 2015 highlights are available on SEDAR.

Contacts:

Source: Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc.

Patrice Ouimet

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

514 764-4700

Information: Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc.

Rene Guimond

Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications

514 764-4700
Aconex Partners With Carahsoft to Sell Project-Wide Collaboration Solutions to U.S. Government

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  (Marketwired)  01/07/16  Aconex Limited (ASX: ACX), provider of a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry, today announced a partnership agreement with Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted government IT solutions provider. Under the terms of the agreement, Aconex and Carahsoft will promote, market and sell the Aconex platform and solutions to public sector customers through Carahsofts General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule Contract. The GSA Schedule supports hundreds of millions of dollars in construction contracts awarded by the U.S. government each year.(1)

This agreement gives buyers for federal government construction and infrastructure projects ready access to our portfolio of collaboration solutions through Carahsoft, said Chris Dobbyn, senior vice president of corporate development at Aconex. On these projects, as well as public-private partnership (P3) infrastructure developments, we have helped owners and contractors improve efficiency and reduce risk while saving time and costs throughout the project lifecycle  from feasibility and design through construction, handover and asset operation. With increasing pressure on federal spending and demand for infrastructure, project-wide collaboration for capital projects has become key to delivering value to the U.S. government and the American people.

Aconex solutions are listed in GSA Advantage!, the online shopping service of the U.S. General Services Administration. For more information on these solutions, please visit the Aconex website at .

The rapid adoption of emerging technologies such as the cloud, collaboration software, mobile, and building information modeling (BIM) is transforming construction and infrastructure projects, said Patrick Gallagher, vice president at Carahsoft. Aconex is helping drive this trend among owners and contractors worldwide, and we look forward to offering our government customers and partners these best-of-breed collaboration solutions for capital projects of all sizes.

Carahsoft will host a complimentary webinar on Aconex solutions for project-wide collaboration across government construction and infrastructure projects. The webinar is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST / 11:00 a.m. PST on Wednesday, January 20, 2016. Please register for the webinar  Connecting Teams & Managing Compliance on Federal Infrastructure Projects  at .

For more information on Aconex products and services available through Carahsoft, please contact the Aconex team at Carahsoft at 888-727-1468 or .

Aconex Limited provides a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry. The platform connects owners, contractors and their project teams in the construction, infrastructure, and energy and resources sectors, providing project-wide visibility and control between the many different organizations collaborating across their projects. With more than 60,000 user organizations and over A$1 trillion of project value delivered in more than 70 countries, Aconex is the industrys most widely adopted and trusted platform. Founded in 2000, Aconex has 41 offices in 22 countries around the world, including headquarters in Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco, California. The companys ordinary shares are traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the ticker code ACX.

For more information on Aconex, please visit:

Website:

Twitter:

LinkedIn:

Facebook:

(1) Source: , an official website of the United States government.

Tod Bottari

+1 650 538 3309

Citadel-MAGNUS

Matthew Gregorowski

+61 2 9290 3033
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anti depressants & drinking

I read about how it was believed there to be a link between ssri anti depressants and cravings for alcohol. This was like a jolt of lightening for me so I researched more and indeed there is a lot of people out there that strongly believe there to be a link and tell stories of their alcoholism whilst taking this medication, people that were not drinkers at all before the medication.



I evaluated my own situation from this. my drinking has escalated over the last year or so. Yes Ive always been a drinker but I have to say my intake has increased and urges to drink have become much more frequent. Its is also just over a year that I have been taking ssri anti depressants. I am now seriously considering that there may be a link. I thought it was just a progression of the illness now Im not so sure!!



Ive considered weaning off them to see if there is a difference but Im scared as I remember what it was like before taking them . i have the worst pmt imaginable. Im also worried that the wine witch might use this knowledge to her advantage I. E you can drink cos its not your fault now its the medication.



Im not sure what to do now. Apparently medical professionals and drug companies in the UK are still reluctant to acknowledge the link therefore is it even worth talking to my go? ?



Your experiences and opinions would be much appreciated.
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BEIJING, Jan. 6 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond Wednesday, saying China's current economic transition provides opportunities for cooperation with Britain.

One key feature of the transition is a transit from overdependence on natural resources to more dependence on human resources and innovation, Li said.

"We encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation and put more emphasis on developing the emerging service industry on the basis of continuing lifting the traditional manufacturing industry, which will provide great opportunities for China-Britain cooperation," Li told Hammond.

China will continue to open up, ease market access and give equal treatment to Chinese and foreign enterprises, the premier vowed.

Speaking highly of the development of the China-Britain relationship, Li said President Xi Jinping had a successful visit to Britain last year.

China is willing to maintain a high-level exchange of visits with Britain, integrate the two countries' development strategies, enhance cooperation in areas including innovation, finance and nuclear energy, he said.

Li also called on both countries to step up coordination in international affairs and jointly safeguard regional stability and world peace.

Hammond conveyed Prime Minister David Cameron's new year's greetings to Li.

Hammond said Britain is excited to grasp the opportunities brought by China's economic transition, pushing forward cooperation in nuclear energy, finance, science and technology, innovation and medicine.

He said Cameron expects to visit China this year.

According to a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry Tuesday after a meeting between Hammond and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, China is looking forward to Cameron attending the G20 summit in China's Hangzhou this autumn, and welcomes him to visit China at a mutually convenient time to hold a bilateral annual prime ministerial meeting.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi also met with Hammond Wednesday, the end of his two-day visit.
JANUARY 6, 2016

Homicide detectives relive the cases that haunt them in Investigation Discovery's raw and gritty series, "Real Detective"

SILVER SPRING, Maryland - Every detective has that one case that pushes them to the brink. A case so personal and intense it haunts them forever. Investigation Discovery's (ID) all-new original series REAL DETECTIVE brings to life the real homicide cases these seasoned pros can never forget. With narrative driven exclusively by the detectives themselves, each episode ventures deep into the mind of a homicide detective as they describe in vivid detail the one case forever ingrained in their memory.



Inspired by HBO's acclaimed series "True Detective," REAL DETECTIVE blends documentary and scripted techniques to transform these first-person accounts into spine-tingling cinematic true crime television. Guest-starring Michael Madsen, Devon Sawa, and Brendan Fehr, the eight-part series REAL DETECTIVE premieres on Thursday, January 7 at 10/9c only on Investigation Discovery (ID).



Episode descriptions:

"Redemption" Thursday, January 7 at 10/9c

Starring DEVON SAWA as Detective Eddie Herman of Cobb county, Georgia, Detective Herman is a homicide detective at the top of his game, solving major high profile crimes. But when a missing persons turns into a double homicide, Eddie's ego gets in the way and the killer walks free.



"Malice" Thursday, January 14 at 10/9c

Still troubled after killing someone in the line of duty, Detective C.W. Jensen, played by TAHMOH PENIKETT, faces the most haunting case of his career: A missing child becomes a harrowing pursuit of a Portland, Oregon child serial killer, pushing C.W. to the brink of suicide.



"Damage" Thursday, January 21 at 10/9c

When all signs point to suspects with friends in high places in the horrific murder of a young woman, Texas Ranger Phil Ryan, played by MICHAEL MADSEN, goes against the grain to get justice for this discarded victim.



"Silence" Thursday, January 28 at 10/9c

Detective Don Tabak, played by CURTIS CARAVAGGIO, joins the Van Nuys Homicide division during the harshest murder years in LA history. Hardened and jaded towards the victims, until the mother of a senselessly murdered woman opens his eyes.



"Retribution" Thursday, February 4 at 10/9c

New Homicide Detective Leigh Maroni, played by ZOIE PALMER, makes a rookie mistake and gets too close when a woman is crushed by her son's murder. As Leigh unearths the son's dark secrets that lead to his killing, she is forced to share these with his devastated mother.



"Darkness" Thursday, February 11 at 10/9c

A suspicious hit and run rips a Lakeland, Florida family apart. Detective Tommy Ray, played MAX MARTINI, takes the grieving wife and daughter under his wing. But when the case goes cold, an unexpected encounter makes him realize they aren't who he thinks they are.



Thursday, February 18 at 10/9c

Soon after joining the Illinois PD, Mike Ciesinsky, played by BRENDHAN FEHR, moves to Seattle. When a series of women are found dead in an area called 'the jungle', Mike's leads go nowhere. But a call from an inmate with information on the murders bears a pact with the Devil.



Thursday, February 25 at 10/9c

John Cameron, played by RYAN ROBBINS, moves to Montana to start his career as a cop. When a child disappears, he is resolved to prove everyone wrong after the suspect is someone he knows. As John fights to clear her name, he digs into the world of a ritualistic child killer.



REAL DETECTIVE is produced for Investigation Discovery by WAM. For WAM, Petro Duszara, Scott Bailey, Hans Rosenstein, Debbie Travis, Jennifer Gatien and Mark Bacci are executive producers. For ID, Thomas Cutler is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Kevin Bennett is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is Group President of Investigation Discovery, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.



Read more at http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2015/12/24/homicide-detectives-relive-the-cases-that-haunt-them-in-investigation-discoverys-raw-and-gritty-series-real-detective-237210/20151224id01/#vyS6xgIhJL8LFUC4.99


JANUARY 6, 2016

Cave Creek Museum to host Antique Appraisal Day and Cave Creek Pioneers Family Program and more in January

CAVE CREEK  Cave Creek Museum is gearing up for an exciting New Year! Located at 6140 Skyline Dr., Cave Creek Museum features an extensive collection of prehistoric and historic artifacts that describe the lives of Native Americans, miners, ranchers and pioneers.





The museum hours are Wed., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. from 1  4:30 p.m., and Fri. from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.



The January event schedule follows:

Saturday, January 9

History Highlights: Arizonas Greatest Battle 2  3:30 p.m. A presentation by Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community covering the battle of native peoples. Free to Museum members and $5 for non-members. Reservations are requested.



Sunday, January 10

Cave Creek Pioneers Family Program 1:30  3 p.m. Join the Museum for bread and butter making to celebrate the life of the pioneers in Cave Creek at the turn of the century. Discover how they were the real recyclers by weaving rugs, and playing games from yester-year. Add a new (old) game to your family evenings. Free with the cost of admission, and children ages 12 and under are always admitted to the museum for free. Reservations are requested.



Sunday, January 17

Historic Stamp Mill Demonstration 2  2:30 p.m. Free outside demonstration. See this historic 1880 Golden Reef Mine Stamp Mill in action as volunteers crush hard rock ore in search of gold that can be separated and saved. The Museum is particularly pleased to showcase this 10-Stamp Mill that came from its own mining district and was originally located on Continental Mountain.



Wednesday, January 20

Vino & Canvas 6  8 p.m. The painting class for adults includes all materials and libations. Tickets are $35, with $15 being donated to the Museum. Seating is limited. Register at www.vinoandcanvas.com.



Saturday, January 23

Antique Appraisal Day 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appraiser Sean Morton will examine your treasures, discuss their origins, and assess their value. Mr. Morton is a member of the Antiques Appraisal Association of America and has more than 20 years experience in the fine arts and antiques field. Fee: $20 per item  limit of two items per person per session. You may attend more than one session. For information, call (480) 488-2764, or visit www.cavecreekmuseum.org.


JANUARY 6, 2016

Parvovirus in Puppies

Vaccinations can prevent many illnesses in puppies, but viruses such as canine parvovirus are still a threat to dogs with developing immune systems. Young puppies often have immunity against the virus because they get antibodies from the colostrum in their mothers milk, but these antibodies are not always as effective as a vaccine.Dr. Johanna Heseltine, clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, explained the characteristics of parvovirus. Canine parvovirus, or parvo, is a highly contagious virus that affects dogs and often causes severe diarrhea and vomiting in puppies, she said. Parvovirus lives for months in the environment, so many puppies can be exposed while their immune system is still vulnerable. Once dogs are fully vaccinated, they seldom become infected. Even if a puppy has received some vaccines, they are still at risk for infection because the antibodies they receive from their mothers milk can interfere with the puppys immune response to the vaccine. In addition to this, the puppys body has not made its own protective antibodies.Parvovirus attacks areas of the body where cells are rapidly dividing, such as the intestinal tract and bone marrow tissue. As a result, victims of the virus experience a loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and lethargy. Since the virus attacks white blood cells in the bone marrow, infected dogs develop low white blood cell counts, which puts them at risk for a bacterial infection called sepsis, said Heseltine. The severity of illness varies between patients, but most of the dogs we see in the hospital develop severe bloody diarrhea and vomiting.Parvovirus spreads through fecal-oral contact, meaning the virus can be transmitted through any animal, person, or object that comes in contact with an infected dogs feces. A dog can shed parvovirus in its stool without showing any signs of illness and can continue spreading the virus for several weeks after recovering. Parvovirus is so common that it may be present anywhere that dogs frequently visit. Inanimate objects, such as food bowls, shoes, clothes, and carpet also serve as carriers for the virus for up to several months.Treatments for parvovirus are available, but prevention through vaccination is essential to protect puppies health. If infected, puppies should be hospitalized and isolated from other dogs to avoid spreading the disease. Large amounts of bodily fluids are lost through vomiting and diarrhea, so patients are replenished with electrolytes through intravenous fluid therapy. Antibiotics are also needed to help prevent secondary infections. Other treatments include antiemetic medication, plasma transfusions, or related therapies.You can protect your puppy from this deadly virus by making sure they stay up-to-date on vaccinations. Limiting your puppys exposure to other dogs, as well as keeping a secure backyard that prevents strays or other potentially infected animals from entering will also decrease the puppys risk of contracting the disease. Until your veterinarian declares it is safe, try keeping your puppy away from dog parks or other areas where there is a high concentration of dogs.If you think your puppy may be infected with parvovirus or has come in contact with another infected animal, contact your veterinarian for assistance. To prevent further spread of the disease, it may be necessary to remove your puppys toys, blankets, and other belongings from the environment.Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the Web at vetmed.tamu.edu/pet-talk . Suggestions for future topics may be directed to editor@cvm.tamu.edu
Guest Editorial





By matt barber | JANUARY 6, 2016

The gift of religious freedom

While the legal case will continue to work its way through the courts, the bottom line is this: Kim Davis has won. The homofascists have lost.



Kentuckys new governor Matt Bevin recently issued an executive order that eliminates the names of all county clerks from marriage licenses and protects the unalienable constitutional rights and religious freedoms of Kim Davis and all other clerks in Kentucky.



This action is a fulfillment of a campaign promise by Gov. Bevin and is directly what our client Kim Davis has been requesting for months, said Mat Staver, Davis attorney and founder of the Christian civil rights firm Liberty Counsel. This promise will enable her and other clerks to do their jobs without compromising religious values and beliefs.



The governors statement reads in part:

To ensure that the sincerely held religious beliefs of all Kentuckians are honored, Executive Order 2015-048 directs the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives to issue a revised marriage license form to the offices of all Kentucky County Clerks. The name of the County Clerk is no longer required to appear on the form.



While the First Amendment alone should be enough to ensure these safeguards, the unconstitutional actions of five progressive lawyers on the U.S. Supreme Court, who, back in June, presumed to capriciously redefine the immutable meaning of marriage, has created legal and moral chaos from coast-to-coast, making fixes such as that issued by Gov. Bevin necessary. Furthermore, these extremist lawyers subjective and unprecedented opinion will require additional fixes in all other states to reaffirm Christians objective and constitutionally guaranteed rights. Although the fight to repair the perversion of marriage committed by the high court will continue, this is an important step in the right direction.



You may recall that Davis was arbitrarily imprisoned for five days earlier this year by federal Judge David Bunning for exercising her religious liberties and refusing to violate her conscience by signing her name to, and, thereby, giving her official approval of, counterfeit gay marriage licenses. These licenses, of course, violate both natural law and the manifold biblical proscriptions against the sin of unnatural same-sex deviancy. Bunnings tyrannical move backfired tremendously, earning Davis the support of tens-of-millions of Christians worldwide, as well as both a private audience with, and the express support of, Pope Francis.



This is a wonderful Christmas gift for Kim Davis, continued Staver. This executive order is a clear, simple accommodation on behalf of Kim Davis and all Kentucky clerks. Kim can celebrate Christmas with her family knowing she does not have to choose between her public office and her deeply held religious convictions. What former Gov. Beshear could have done but refused to do, Gov. Bevin did with this executive order. We are pleased Gov. Bevin kept his campaign promise to accommodate the religious rights of Kim Davis. We will notify the courts of the executive order, and this order proves our point that a reasonable accommodation should have been done to avoid Kim having to spend time in jail.



Bah humbug! cried the ACLU.



Governor Bevins executive action has added to the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over marriage licensing in Kentucky, claimed ACLU of Kentucky Legal Director William Sharp.

The requirement that the county clerks name appear on marriage licenses is prescribed by Kentucky law and is not subject to unilateral change by the governor, he demanded, proving that the anti-Christian lefts goal was never about so-called marriage equality but, rather, was to force Christians to deny marriage reality and personally affirm, under penalty of law, mock gay marriages.



The ACLU will soon have little more to say on the subject as lawmakers are poised to further codify and build upon Bevins executive order. Next month, the Kentucky legislature is expected to update the states marriage laws and will consider a provision exempting county clerks from having to issue them, reports ABC News. Davis said Kentuckys marriage laws have been completely eviscerated by the Supreme Courts ruling and said she would be willing to come to the state Capitol to testify about any changes.



Other state legislatures, as well as the U.S. Congress, must soon follow suit if any progress is to be made into the impasse between secularist change agents hostile to religious freedom, and the faithful Christians who enjoy it as a matter of law.



In an interview with the Associated Press about her year at the center of one of the biggest social changes in decades, Davis described it as a very emotional and a very real situation to all people. But she said simply telling others about her faith was not going to make anybody believe anything. And so she put her faith in action by refusing to issue the licenses, added ABC.



No one would ever have remembered a county clerk that just said  Even though I dont agree with it, its OK. Ill do it, Davis said. If I could be remembered for one thing, its that I was not afraid to not compromise myself.



Kim Davis will certainly be remembered for her steadfast refusal to compromise herself. But she, along with Gov. Bevin, will also be remembered for helping, this Christmas season, to re-establish the gift of religious freedom for the people of Kentucky.



Even so, the war for our culture will continue into the New Year and well beyond.



Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber)
Guest Editorial





By Don Bitler | JANUARY 6, 2016

The establishment

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz battle it out if you believe the polls. However, margins between the other candidates means nothing with the polls now. Top two and bottom is all that is important right now. Eleven months from the election and over four until the nominee is chosen. Third place down means little if anything, at least at this time.



Donald Trump seems to have changed everything. The establishment GOP despises him. Now the question is is this good for Americans and America?



Not if you ask the establishment Republicans. Consider this. The good ole boys who make up the establishment are livid. They make no effort to hide their contempt for Trump. They are losing control which will mean billions to them. So they appear to be on a path to lose party control. They have chosen Marco Rubio as their golden boy choice. A rather strange choice since he was elected as a Tea Party candidate and they also despise the Tea Party. In essence they find repugnant any challenge to their authority. However, Rubio has proven to be easily influenced (controlled); therefore he is their choice. The gang of eight proved that shortly after Rubio was elected. The same was true with McCain and Romney. How easily Rubio is swayed is probably a good thing for conservatives to know.



Many conservatives as well as liberals have left their respective parties very disappointed and changed to something other than the two major parties. They changed mostly to Independents. So change is in the air and it is not fundamental transformation as Obama promised. Hatred of George W Bush helped Obama get elected, there should be little doubt about that. Hatred and mistrust of Barack Obama may also elect the next president which barring any unforeseen circumstances will be a conservative, possibly Trump or Cruz. Perhaps both!



Both current leaders, Donald and Hillary, have led nearly from the time they announced their candidacies. Not unprecedented, of course, but rather unusual for an American running for president. Hillary Clinton has so much hanging over her head, especially whether or not charges will be brought against her over her knowingly reckless use of a personal server in an illegal manner. That has yet to be determined. However it has already been proven she used bad judgment. And there are her constant untruths. So what effect will that have on her chances in the general election?



The ranking among the Democratic candidates is even less important and even appears to be only a matter of show. A pretend opponent is not a real serious challenge. The race (if it can he called a race) was over before it started. The establishment Democrats have determined it is Hillarys turn!



The demonstrations taking place right before our eyes are interesting at least. Do we citizens really wish to rid ourselves of this seemly built in corruption of our election process? As with nearly every corrupt organization follow the money, takes all the guess work out of the decision as to whom becomes president.



Donald Trump without even trying has pointed out major flaws within our electoral system, that we all knew about but ignored. If we look closely enough we can and will see how obvious it is. In some way we must eliminate donations in all presidential races after the nominee has been determined. This must not be an option as self funding has made obvious. Of course those who realize money can buy a win even if the candidate is not the best qualified. Such a change will also have dissenters. Will the voters dissent?



There is also another major flaw in our system. Certainly if we choose to ignore these obvious problems the situation will devolve until we have lost this once great nation. We are presently on a corruption pathway to our destruction. Once we solve the money problems in our presidential races we need to address the lobbyist problem. But that is a question for another time. We have put too much trust in our elected officials thinking they would self police and remain honest. We were wrong, it seems; the temptations are too great. The attraction of money has become overwhelming. Not for all but many! We must not wait for Diogenes of Sinope to look for an honest man. But how do we recognize him if we do find such a candidate in todays world?



It seems we need to relearn a once known very valuable lesson  governments will, if left on their own, become corrupt. All must be watched extremely closely and have a system in place to remove those who are less than trustworthy and truthful. The duty of monitoring is never ending, but one of great importance.



America seems to be seeking someone who is not big government and corrupt. Someone who is not a member of the good ole boys club but a good patriotic, honest, truthful and trustworthy American. This is going to be a difficult thing to do but it must be done to save America and Americans values. That is the American answer! There used to be many! Can we find just one now? We all know they are out there! Can we get rid of the PC lies? Can we, all of us, realize we are losing the most important thing in the world, our liberty from corruption?



Donald Bitler of Scottsdale is a disabled veteran, retired pilot, published author and fifty plus year Arizona resident.
Guest Editorial





By Rick Manning | JANUARY 6, 2016

Has America's social fabric been torn asunder?

The government depends upon mass, voluntary compliance with the law for it to be able to enforce the rules on society as a whole.



Simple things like a general agreement that if the speed limit says 55 miles per hour, we will travel somewhere in the general proximity of that posting, with the outliers risking a ticket.



The understanding that we drive on the right hand side of the road and that slower vehicles stay to the far right on multi-lane highways make the free flow of traffic possible.



But events over the weekend make a reasonable person wonder whether the constant fraying of the social contract has finally created a tear that is rapidly becoming irreparable.



In malls across the country, thousands of people congregated, not for the purposes of shopping, going to a movie or simply enjoying each other's company, but instead with the goal of disrupting people from using the already hard pressed brick and mortar stores for their intended purpose.



At Minneapolis' Mall of America, the radical Black Lives Matter group even went so far as to feint a protest so there would be a heavy police presence, allowing them to shut down part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport during the height of the Christmas travel season. Beyond the obvious problem that their actions caused hundreds of people to miss their flights home, they deliberately placed thousands at an additional risk of a terrorist attack due to distracted security.



Mall disruptions also were reported in New Jersey, Kentucky and elsewhere around the country. When combined with flash mob convenience store robberies and random assaults by mobs playing the "knockout game", it would be hard to not notice that something is badly amiss.



Even our assumed driving rules are under attack. On the Washington, D.C. Beltway, a group of approximately fifty motorcyclists caused a delay as they uniformly slowed down across all the lanes bringing traffic to a standstill. As they got moving again, they aggressively cut cars off from passing, and even went so far as to drive north bound up the south bound lanes. There did not appear to be any political or other message in the motorcycle foolishness, but instead the mass act of civil disobedience seems to have been done just because they could. However, it reveals the fragility of our common understanding about the need to follow the rules.



While it is usually dangerous to draw broad societal assumptions based upon flash mobs at malls, roadways or even political protests blocking bridges, it is safe to note that these occurrences are becoming significantly more frequent.



And it is fair to tie this civil disobedience to President Obama's continued attack on the law as a whole. When the President doesn't enforce the nation's immigration laws, people naturally believe that if the law isn't going to be enforced then it is null and void, and the fabric of our nation's social contract is torn.



When Obama nullifies sentencing decisions for thousands of drug dealers and others, releasing them back into their former neighborhoods it sends a message that the system was wrong and the fabric tears a little more.



When Democrats in Congress urge Obama to use his pen and phone to circumvent Congress, they send a powerful message to their constituents that the rule of law doesn't matter, and the tear grows.



And when the left and some on the right make those who seek to enforce the laws, targets for attack and murder, creating a schism of fear between the protector and the protected, the fabric itself becomes unrecognizable.



The social fabric that binds America together as one has always been fragile, and to complete the fundamental transformation that Obama strives to achieve, it must be torn asunder from top to bottom in a wholesale surrender of the current rule of law to another set of laws composed not through consent, compromise and agreement, but instead through forced acquiescence.



America should not worry about getting on a slippery slope away from rule by the consent of the governed, because we are already half-way down the slide and few have noticed.



As more and more people read the news and wonder what is happening to their country thinking that the craziness that seems to ooze from our government is an anomaly rather than the forced new normal under Obama, a ballot box response erupts if there is a trusted alternative.



Something to think about as we head into the presidential primary season.



Rick Manning is president of Americans for Limited Government.
When officials and think tank researchers talk about reform in China, they often mean the introduction of new economic policies.

But issues such as GDP or the amount spent on social financing are not usually topics for everyday conversation on the streets. For the public, the more important reforms are those covering other social aspects and ultimately the governance of Chinese society.

Since the new leadership was formed from 2012 to 2013, it has made a series of major efforts to promote social justice and fairness, and to bring to the public a greater sense of "earning and sharing" amid progress on reforms.

Two general tasks have been set for the next five yearsChina doubling its GDP level and its national income by 2020 from levels in 2010.

Efforts have also been made on social development, including attempts to tackle the income gap between rich and poor, and moves to increase public goods and services for a rapidly increasing and rapidly aging urban population.

Key statements on development

The population above 60 years of age in 2012 was 194 million. It will reach 243 million in 2020 and 300 million in 2025. The government should meet the increasing demands of senior citizens, speeding development of the nursing industry in particular. This is an urgent task to not only protect their rights and interests, but also to promote consumer spending and to create jobs.

State Council, Sept 13, 2013

All residents who qualify can buy pension insurance on a voluntary basis. The insurance fund should consist of personal payments, subsidies from village collectives and from the government.

State Council, Feb 26, 2014

The government should concentrate limited resources on really needy poverty-stricken families and help them to find sustainable ways to increase their income according to their situation, and include them in the basic public service net.

State Council, May 12, 2014

About 100 million farmers should become permanent residents in cities by 2020.

State Council, July 24, 2014

The government should use all possible means and institutions to help private enterprises, social organizations and individuals help with poverty alleviation.

State Council, Dec 4, 2014

The 40 million children living in poverty-stricken regions should enjoy the national average level of education and healthcare services by 2020.

State Council, Dec 25, 2014

The government should expand effective supplies through targeted poverty alleviation, innovation in technology and financial services, the development of modern agriculture, recruitment of high-level professionals, and farm infrastructure construction.

Central Economic Work Conference, Dec 21, 2015
JANUARY 6, 2016

Bears Ears Coalition forced to break off negotiations with congressmen caused by broken promises and missed deadlines



On December 31, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition sent a formal letter to Utah Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, discontinuing discussions over including tribal objectives in the Congressmens Public Lands Initiative. The PLI is a process initiated in 2013 by Congressman Bishop to resolve long-standing disputes over conservation on federal public lands in Eastern Utah.



The Hopi, Navajo, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni Tribes created the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition in July of this year with the mission to protect and preserve the Bears Ears region in Southern Utah. The sovereign-led proposal is formally supported by an additional 19 Tribes as well as the National Congress of American Indians.



The tribes developed a comprehensive proposal for a 1.9 million acre Bears Ears National Monument, encompassing a glorious landscape that had been tribal homeland since time immemorial. Indian people were forcibly removed to reservations starting in the mid 1800s. The area is now federal public land.



The tribes submitted a detailed and creative proposal to President Obama on October 15th. The President has broad authority to create national monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906, and Bears Ears is a leading candidate. The Coalition is hopeful that the President would grant Bears Ears monument status, but decided to try first the Congressional route of the PLI to satisfy recommendations of the Utah delegation.



Our proposal confirms tribal cooperation and support and is at its core a process of healing, not only for our people, but our land, stated Zuni Councilman Carleton Bowekaty.



In its letter, the Coalition detailed a long and callous PLI pattern of not taking seriously the concerns of tribes. In numerous meetings, the tribes put forward compelling, specific reasons for protecting Bears Ears. But the Coalition never received any responses to the proposal, positive or negative, just continuing delay.



This has been a problem with the PLI, which has been consistently plagued by missed deadlines. PLI representatives promised a draft proposal by November 30th, and then guaranteed delivery of a report by December 30th, but the draft report has never been delivered. The Coalition still had not received any idea of what the PLI intends to do.



The tribes also faced outright discrimination by the San Juan County Commission. The Commission promised to include the tribal proposal in its citizen survey, but then reneged. A write-in campaign ensued and the tribal proposal received an overwhelming 64% of the votes. The Commission then recommended an industry-supported proposal which received less than 1% of the votes. The Coalitions letter described this as extraordinary unfairness and the kind of raw, heavy-handed political overreaching rarely seen in America today.



Hopi has been instructed to speak and act with the full authority as a sovereign tribe in order to protect all Tuwakatsi, which includes Bears Ears. As Vice Chairman, I stand by my peoples priorities to do so as a member of our Coalition, stated Bears Ears Coalition Co-Chair Alfred Lomahquahu.



The tribes concluded that the Coalition had no choice but to discontinue PLI negotiations. Now the tribes will turn to the Obama Administration for monument designation under the Antiquities Act. President Obama has on several occasions welcomed tribal national monument proposals.



Ute Mountain Ute Councilwoman Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk stated, The President has a responsibility to think and act to take care of her because we all share one mother, and thats Mother Earth.
JANUARY 6, 2016

Border Patrol rescues distressed kayakers in Mittry Lake



A Yuma Station Border Patrol boat unit, along with Air and Marine Operations pilots from Yuma Air Branch and Yuma Proving Ground, responded to a Yuma County Sheriffs Office 911 call regarding two kayakers in distress at Mittry Lake.



After AMO pilots located the kayakers, the Border Patrols boat unit retrieved the duo from the lake.



Rural Metro treated both kayakers for hypothermia before releasing them in good health.



Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents effectively combat smuggling organizations attempting to illegally transport people and contraband through southwestern Arizona and California. Citizens can help the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by calling 1-866-999-8727 toll-free to report suspicious activity. Callers can remain anonymous.

Man with extraditable warrant for sex offenses handed over by Mexican immigration officials

A U.S. Marshal contacted Customs and Border Protection officers Tuesday afternoon to report that Mexican immigration officials were in route to the Port of Lukeville, Arizona, with a U.S. fugitive sex offender wanted in Maricopa County for failure to appear and with $20,000 bound.



At approximately 8:30 p.m., Lance Cody Wallis, a 43-year-old U.S. citizen with a fully extraditable warrant out of Maricopa County, was surrendered to CBP Field Operations officers. Wallis was held at the port until a Pima County deputy arrived to take custody.



CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nations ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.
By Linda Bentley | january 6, 2016

Council nixes negotiating away right-of-way for Roadhouse patio

Lipsky said, Trial period is the most absurd thing Ive heard since Ive been on council

CAVE CREEK  Monday nights Call to the Public brought Bill Allen to the podium to encourage people to attend the upcoming Water Advisory Committee meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13.



Traci Casale, president of Cave Creek Pro Rodeo thanked Katie Gheen, the 2015 Cave Creek Fiesta Days Rodeo Queen, and said she had done such a great job theyve retained her for another year.



Casale also announced they have booked country music star Daryle Singletary for a Saturday night concert during this years Fiesta Days.



Larry Wendt



Larry Wendt updated council on the Buffalo Chip and said there was asbestos abatement that had to be dealt with professionally and is what prevented the start of tearing down the old building shell.



He said that was now complete and if the weather cooperated they would begin demolition this week.



Wendt thanked council and staff for all their assistance in helping him move ahead with rebuilding.



He said the Buffalo Chip has given out about $11,000 to employees, primarily single parents who havent found jobs yet and said Foothills Food Bank Executive Director Pam DiPietro had just made a deposit that day to the Buffalo Chip Employee Fund at Parkway Bank.



However, Wendt said, with 120 employees that only averages out to about $90 an employee.



Council voted unanimously to activate patent easements making sections of 53rd and 54th streets public rights-of-way for the Meritage Homes project.



Ernie Bunch



Councilman Ernie Bunch said he has a real problem with encumbering adjacent properties for a project of that size.



Planning Director Ian Cordwell said he sent out notices to affected property owners two weeks ago and heard from two.



Vice Mayor Steve LaMar, who moved to approve the item, said, This is what theyre for.



Councilman Dick Esser, who seconded the motion, said this would make egress and ingress legal for the applicant.



Town Attorney Bill Sims briefly explained the history and purpose of the federal governments patent easements and said activation of these patent easements by cities and towns are fairly common.



Sims said Bunchs concerns are something that could be addressed later on during the site plan review.



Council voted unanimously to approve the final site plan for Park Wests project consisting of two approximately 6,000 square-foot buildings on Carefree Highway between the previously approved McDonalds and Starbucks.



Cordwell stated the project meets all of the towns ordinances and exceeds parking requirements.



Bunch asked if the hitching post council requested when McDonalds was approved was still in the plan.



Cordwell said it was.



Stewart Jean, representing Park West, said this was the last step of a long journey, which began about seven years ago, faced a referendum challenge and a shake-up at McDonalds.

And, to answer questions about when McDonalds might start building, Jean stated the company is having difficulties at the corporate level and various locations in the Valley have projects that are in the same state as this one.



However, Jean said they were paying their rent every month.



Jean also said he should be submitting plans for Starbucks by the end of the month.



He said the design of the two buildings, which he said are spec buildings, will be similar to the Kiwanis building in town.



Jean said there was still interest in the location, called it a pretty simple little project and noted it is overparked to accommodate a restaurant if there was such interest.



Town Manager Peter Jankowski introduced the next item, which was to provide him with direction as to whether or not council wanted to entertain entering into a development agreement with the Roadhouse to allow it to build a patio like the one it built on town property without permits and was required to remove.



Noel Hebets



Jankowski deferred to Attorney Noel Hebets, who was representing the Roadhouse.



Hebets said he wasnt representing Jim OToole or the Roadhouse back when the patio was up, during what Hebets repeatedly referred to as the trial period.



He said they now want permission to put it back exactly the way it was during the trial period.



When the town received 15 feet for right-of-way, Hebets asked if it took too big a bite.



He said they cant even paint their building without being in the right-of-way.



Hebets proposed two options, either entering into some kind of lease agreement or giving back some of the right of way.



You could go either way, said Hebets.



Sounding irritated, Esser said, What happened here was not a trial period.



Hebets said, I think trial period was a name I gave it.



Hebets claimed southern exposure was the best location for the patio, whereas it would be sunnier during the winter months.



He went on to say, Ive been told there are no utilities 



Jankowski stated there is a water line.



Jankowski also clarified the matter before council was whether or not council wanted to go along with this before involving staff and the town attorney to negotiate some sort of agreement to bring to council.



Councilwoman Susan Clancy said, Given where we were three or four months ago, I dont know why this is in front of us.



Councilman Mark Lipsky echoed Clancys concern and said he didnt know why it was before them either.



Lipsky asked what the town would do if another business decided to enter a trial period like this.



Jankowski responded, There are no more trial periods.



Steve LaMar



LaMar stated, There was no trial period, and explained the Roadhouse engaged in a criminal act by building on town property and building without a permit.



Sims said property owners have a right to ask.



Mayor Vincent Francia said council was the proper authority to either approve or deny such requests.



Lipsky indicated once councils feeling were known on a matter, he expected the town manager to act based on those decisions.



Sims stated only council can approve a development agreement.



LaMar said, I think were off the mark, and stated the question was whether or not the town wants to give away right-of-way to businesses.



Esser asked if giving it away would affect the streetscape.



Jankowski said they were asking for nine to 14 feet north of the sidewalk, which would affect some of the landscaped area.



Sims advised council if it decided to abandon any part of the right-of-way it would be subject to all utilities.



Cordwell clarified the land in question was dedicated to the town and was not just an easement.



Hebets said he didnt believe his clients violated what the streetscape was intended to be and was asking the town to either abandon or lease.



When Esser asked if he saw value in the property, Hebets responded, Of course.



Bunch asked if there was anywhere else in town where the right-of-way goes from 80 feet to 90 feet.



Cordwell said there were and provided a couple examples.



Associate Planner Bambi Muller stated the only way the town was able to get 15 feet of right-of-way was either during new construction or to ask and said the properties on either side of the Roadhouse have not been willing.



However, Thomas McGuire stated the Town Dump and Binkleys might rebuild in the future and additional right-of-way might be possible, which he said would be very valuable.



During public comment, Don Sorchych said, Seems to me weve gone through this before, and balked at the town renewing an agreement that allowed the Roadhouse to keep its water tank monument 100 percent on town property.



Lipsky asked if there was enough room on the east side of the property if they wanted to build a similar patio.



Cordwell said there was.



Bunch moved to approve the request and said the complaint was they didnt do it the right way and removed it.



He said this was the right approach and he supported negotiating an agreement to bring it back to council.



LaMar seconded the motion. However, he said he disagreed with Bunch and only seconded the motion to voice his opposition.'



LaMar stated this was not the first time a business built without a permit, although it was the first time a business built in the towns right-of-way.



He stated it was not good policy for them to give public property away so a business can make more money at its bar.



LaMar said, Its not sane public policy for the town. We shouldnt be giving away public right-of-way.



Bunch said all they would be doing is having the town manager negotiate an agreement and stated, I dont like the word give.



LaMar responded, I do get the issue and have a right to object.



Lipsky noted the last time the Roadhouse came forward with a proposal it was to lease the right-of-way for $25 month and asked if council really wanted to negotiate with people who offered $25 month.



Lipsky said they didnt do what was right by never coming forward to apologize, adding, Trial period is the most absurd thing Ive heard since Ive been on council.



McGuire said he wasnt particularly concerned about the past but was concerned with items in Hebets letter.



He said, Were talking about policy.



Esser said he applauded Jankowskis effort but said LaMar made an outstanding point and he couldnt support it.



Clancy said she was appalled the item even came to them and thought Hebets argument that 150 people will want to be on the patio to get sun on their faces was ridiculous.



She said, If you do it for one you have to do it for others.



Francia stated council was exactly the body that should be hearing this and commented, The well has been poisoned.



While he was originally going to support negotiating an agreement, Francia said he was swayed by the vice mayors speech.



The motion failed by a vote of 6-1 with Bunch voting in favor.



Council voted unanimously to approve an expenditure of $86,180 for purchase and installation of new bleachers at the Rodeo Grounds.



According to Building Official Mike Baxley, the expenditure includes additional concrete work that will allow for future growth.



He said the new section of bleachers will provide seating for an additional 650 people, include handicap access and two stairways.



LaMar said the towns goal was to make the Rodeo Grounds an attractive site and profit center. He stated it was a great asset to the town and is keeping the old west alive.



Lipsky said he was thrilled the bleachers were going in and was looking forward to the town finding more uses for the Rodeo Grounds.



Francia, addressing Casale and all the volunteers, said, I cannot thank you enough.



Francia recused himself for the next item which was a request to abandon an easement across his property originally intended to be part of a trail.



According to Muller, adjacent property owners have been unwilling to give up easements for a trail, the trail isnt needed and the easement doesnt connect to anything.



Bunch, who moved to approve the item, said he couldnt support it because, like with the Roadhouse matter, the town shouldnt be giving away easements it has acquired.



Sims advised council that it has complete authority to abandon easements without compensation if they are no longer needed.



With that, Bunch changed his mind and council voted unanimously to abandon the easement.



Council voted unanimously to approve an expenditure of $1,288.41 for sales tax not included in a previously authorized amount of $20,451 for repairs to the wastewater treatment plant.



Jankowski said the former town engineer (David Prinzhorn) had a habit of not including sales tax when obtaining authorization.



He said the parts were installed and working and he believed this is the last bill left in which Prinzhorn neglected to include sales tax.



Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution adopting a schedule of fees, terms and conditions for the use of town hydrant meters by the public.



Jankowski said the proposed application will give the town more control over how the meters are used and bring the fees more in line with other municipalities.



He said the town currently has six meters, which cost around $1,000 each, but the town was only receiving $50 per month for their use.
By Linda Bentley | JANUARY 6, 2016

Creekers show up en masse to Buffalo Chip fundraiser



CAVE CREEK  On Wednesday, Dec. 16, Creekers and supporters poured into Frontier Town to attend a fundraiser for the 120 Buffalo Chip employees who became suddenly unemployed when a Thanksgiving Day fire, which is being investigated as arson, burned the Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse to the ground.





A silent auction, live music, T-shirt sales, grilled burgers and hot dogs, beer, and more all contributed to the fundraiser, which sprawled throughout Frontier Town.



Representatives from the Cave Creek Museum and Foothills Food Bank were also on hand helping to make the fundraiser a success.



Buffalo Chip owner Larry Wendt stated its all about taking care of his employees and said if there were any businesses looking for help, he had great staff now looking for jobs.







Beverly Peagler, whose family built Frontier Town, said her son Marc was keeping a list of businesses looking for help and employees looking for work, in an effort to help match them up.





Wendt, a retired MCSO deputy, received support in the way of an appearance by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, as well as his former MCSO colleague Russell Pearce, a long-term public servant who has served as legislator and as president of the Arizona State Senate.



Maricopa County Sheriffs Office, which is investigating the fire, is also the contracted law enforcement organization for both Cave Creek and neighboring Carefree.



Arriving to the fundraiser on horseback was Chris Potter, owner of Arizona Cowboy Concrete, who was often seen on horseback at the Buffalo Chip helping out with security during bull riding and other events in the rear barbecue/arena area.





Mayor Vincent Francia jokingly attributed the fire to 60 years of people burning up the dance floor at the Buffalo Chip.



Just days earlier, the Silver Spur Saloon (formerly the Smokehouse) hosted a gift-wrapping party to wrap Christmas gifts collected by Rural/Metro Fire as part of its annual toy drive for the Buffalo Chip employees children.



Approximately 2,800 people attended the event which, as of this writing, raised about $42,500.
JANUARY 6, 2016 | BY DAVID SAYEN

Facts about the fee for not having health insurance in 2016

All families deserve the peace of mind and financial security that comes with access to quality and affordable health care coverage.



No family should live in fear that an unexpected illness or accident could throw them into financial turmoil. All people deserve to know they can fill their prescriptions, take their children to the doctor, and get care to stay healthy when they need it. The good news is that affordable coverage through HealthCare.gov is available. With financial assistance, 7 out of 10 people can find plans with premiums of less than $75 per month.



My priority is to make sure families are informed about the options available to them. That includes making sure people know that having health insurance is now the law. If you can afford health insurance but choose to not enroll for 2016, you may be required to pay a fee when you file your 2016 federal income taxes.



Your best option is to visit HealthCare.gov, learn about the tax credits you may be eligible for, and enroll in a health plan that meets your needs, rather than risk going without insurance and paying a fee.



Here are facts about the fee:

1. The fee is calculated one of two different ways, depending on your situation. The fee for not having health insurance if you can afford it is calculated either as a percentage of your annual household income or a set amount for each person in your household who doesnt have coverage. When you file your federal income taxes, if you are uninsured for more than three months despite having access to affordable coverage, youll be required to pay whichever amount is higher. Resources on HealthCare.gov will help you estimate the fee youll have to pay if you forgo insurance.



2. The fee is increasing. For 2016, the fee youll have to pay if you choose to go without health insurance will rise to $695 per uninsured adult or 2.5 percent of your household income  whichever is higher. For many people, thats more than the yearly cost of affordable plans they can find on HealthCare.gov. Generally, the higher your income, the higher the fee you will have to pay.



3. Every month without coverage counts. The fee is calculated based on the number of months you, your spouse, or your tax dependents went without qualifying coverage, such as an employer-sponsored health plan, Medicare, Medicaid or coverage through HealthCare.gov. The more months you go without coverage, the higher the fee youll have to pay, up to the maximum.



4. Exemptions from the fee are available for some. People with very low incomes and or who meet other specific conditions can receive an exemption from the requirement to have health insurance. Additional information about exemptions and a tool that helps you determine if you qualify for an exemption is available on HealthCare.gov.



5. The final deadline to sign up for 2016 coverage through HealthCare.gov is January 31. A Special Enrollment Period around the April 15 tax filing deadline will not be offered this year. If you dont enroll by then, you may have to wait another year to get coverage and may have to pay a fee when you file your 2016 income taxes.



If you have questions about the fee or how to sign up for coverage through HealthCare.gov, there are a number of ways to find free, personal help. Enrollment specialists are available 24 hours a day, every day at 1-800-318-2596. Free, confidential, in-person assistance is also available in communities across the nation. Visit LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov to find help in your neighborhood.



David Sayen is Medicares regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
By Linda Bentley | january 6, 2016

Former Army Specialist Michael New files for honorable discharge



Can American soldiers be forced to serve a foreign power? Do we raise our children to become mercenaries for a New World Order?

IREDELL, Texas  Former Army Specialist Michael New, who Sonoran News has written about on more than one occasion, has filed an application with the Army Board of Corrections for Military Records requesting his bad conduct discharge be upgraded to honorable discharge.



Its been over 20 years now since New, while serving in the 3rd Infantry Division, reported for formation in Schweinfurt, Germany wearing the authorized U.S. Army Battle Dress Uniform with a U.S. flag on his right shoulder and a green cap on his head.



Out of the 550 soldiers in that formation, New stood out as the only soldier not wearing a baby-blue scarf, a blue ball cap and a United Nations patch on his right shoulder.



Although everyone else in formation was wearing an unauthorized uniform, reporting to an unconstitutional officer (Finish Brigadier General Jehu Engstrom) and getting ready to embark on an illegal deployment into Macedonia as part of Operation Able Sentry, New was court-martialed for his crime.



With a sworn oath of loyalty to the United States Constitution, News objection to wearing the United Nations uniform was that he joined the United States Army, not the United Nations Army with an allegiance to the United Nations Charter.



New is the only American ever convicted of the crime of enlisting in the military to serve his own country, exclusively.



Even at the age of 22, New understood the United Nations push for one-world government.



Unless its overturned, either in court or by legislation, the ruling has established a precedent whereas no member of the U.S. military may refuse to serve the United Nations if ordered to do so.



Herb Titus, News lead attorney, says there was prosecutorial misconduct undermining News efforts to prove that order was unlawful by denying access to classified documents.



Titus claims errors by the Army both prior to and during News court-martial should justify correcting his discharge even at this late date.



New, a native of Conroe, Texas, is now 42 years old and works as an IT consultant in the Houston area.



For decades, New and his father Daniel have asked, Can American soldiers be forced to serve a foreign power? Do we raise our children to become mercenaries for a New World Order? and stated, American sovereignty hangs in the balance.
By Linda Bentley | january 6, 2016

Lipsky said, Trial period is the most absurd thing Ive heard since Ive been on council

CAVE CREEK  Monday nights Call to the Public brought Bill Allen to the podium to encourage people to attend the upcoming Water Advisory Committee meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13.



Traci Casale, president of Cave Creek Pro Rodeo thanked Katie Gheen, the 2015 Cave Creek Fiesta Days Rodeo Queen, and said she had done such a great job theyve retained her for another year.

january 6, 2016

Please join us in taking a moment to appreciate the amazing citizens of Cave Creek and surrounding areas for all the efforts made in raising funds for the Buffalo Chip employees. Since the Thanksgiving day fire at The Buffalo Chip we have seen some amazing acts of kindness, and generosity. We have all watched this great little town of ours come together to make miracles happen.

By Linda Bentley | january 6, 2016

WASHINGTON - Back in May 2015, Judicial Watch, seeking to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in government and fidelity to the rule of law, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) seeking access to a number of records involving Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs) providing Reception and Placement (R&P) services to refugees arriving in the United States.

By Linda Bentley | january 6, 2016

Can American soldiers be forced to serve a foreign power? Do we raise our children to become mercenaries for a New World Order?

IREDELL, Texas  Former Army Specialist Michael New, who Sonoran News has written about on more than one occasion, has filed an application with the Army Board of Corrections for Military Records requesting his bad conduct discharge be upgraded to honorable discharge.



Its been over 20 years now since New, while serving in the 3rd Infantry Division, reported for formation in Schweinfurt, Germany wearing the authorized U.S. Army Battle Dress Uniform with a U.S. flag on his right shoulder and a green cap on his head.



By Linda Bentley | JANUARY 6, 2016

CAVE CREEK  On Wednesday, Dec. 16, Creekers and supporters poured into Frontier Town to attend a fundraiser for the 120 Buffalo Chip employees who became suddenly unemployed when a Thanksgiving Day fire, which is being investigated as arson, burned the Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse to the ground.

JANUARY 6, 2016

On December 31, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition sent a formal letter to Utah Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, discontinuing discussions over including tribal objectives in the Congressmens Public Lands Initiative. The PLI is a process initiated in 2013 by Congressman Bishop to resolve long-standing disputes over conservation on federal public lands in Eastern Utah.

JANUARY 6, 2016

A Yuma Station Border Patrol boat unit, along with Air and Marine Operations pilots from Yuma Air Branch and Yuma Proving Ground, responded to a Yuma County Sheriffs Office 911 call regarding two kayakers in distress at Mittry Lake.



After AMO pilots located the kayakers, the Border Patrols boat unit retrieved the duo from the lake.

JANUARY 6, 2016

FAIRFAX, Virginia  Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in response to the national debt jumping $677 billion to $18.8 trillion 2015:



"In the 2015, the national debt increased by $677 billion, and over the past 3 years, an average of $795 billion a year totaling $2.4 trillion. In the meantime, there was only $1.8 trillion in reported deficits. The $600 billion difference appears to be off-budget liabilities such as government loan programs and the expansion of debt owed to Social Security and Medicare trust funds, which requires real money to be borrowed. This understatement on an annual basis of our unfunded liabilities masks the enormity of our debt problem with accounting gimmickry.

JANUARY 6, 2016

Commission Brings rural perspective, decades of experience in public and private sectors

PHOENIX  Governor Doug Ducey today announced the appointment of former Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin to fill a vacancy on the Arizona Corporation Commission.



Andy Tobin is a leader with the experience, skills and integrity to responsibly and effectively represent the people of Arizona from Day One, said Governor Ducey.

JANUARY 6, 2016 | BY DAVID SAYEN

All families deserve the peace of mind and financial security that comes with access to quality and affordable health care coverage.



No family should live in fear that an unexpected illness or accident could throw them into financial turmoil. All people deserve to know they can fill their prescriptions, take their children to the doctor, and get care to stay healthy when they need it. The good news is that affordable coverage through HealthCare.gov is available. With financial assistance, 7 out of 10 people can find plans with premiums of less than $75 per month.
'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' won't be on TV this year: How to see it
China's Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) has signed a deal with Brazil on Jan. 6 (Beijing time) for a 30-year operation of two of the country's hydropower plants, with a combined installed capacity of 4.995 million kilowatts, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The CTG and Brazil's Mines and Energy Ministry inked the agreement, which allows the CTG to acquire a controlling stake in two of Brazil's hydroelectric power plants, the Jupia and Ilha Solteira plants.

The new deal makes the installed capacity of China's Three Gorges Corporation in Brazil 6 million kilowatts, making it the country's second largest private power generation company.

The two hydropower plants are located on the border between the states of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. They have installed capacities of 1.551 million kilowatts and 3.444 million kilowatts respectively. Both have sound investment and operational benefits.

In order to increase revenue, the Brazilian government announced a concession auction in October of 29 operational hydropower projects with combined capacity totaling 6 million kilowatts. China Three Gorges Corporation was awarded concessions for the two hydroelectric power plants on Nov. 25, 2015.

Currently, the overseas controlled and equity-based installed capacity of the TGC has surpassed 11 million kilowatts. This new acquisition indicates that the TGC is on its way to becoming a world leader in hydropower generation.
() 13:07, January 07, 2016

WELLINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The New Zealand government on Thursday strongly condemned the underground nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"New Zealand views North Korea's actions as highly provocative and irresponsible," Duty Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga said in a statement.

The DPRK claimed the fourth nuclear test it had conducted since 2006 was a hydrogen device.

"The test would run contrary to the recent efforts at dialogue on the Korean Peninsula and flies in the face of the international community's calls for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapon programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Lotu-Iiga.

The action also flouted United NationsSecurity Council resolutions that demanded the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear tests.

"The New Zealand government strongly urges North Korea to cease its provocative behavior and commit to not developing, testing or possessing nuclear weapons," said Lotu-Iiga.

An emergency UN Security Council meeting was expected to take place imminently and New Zealand would work with other Security Council members to make sure there was a strong response.
Suburban schools grow slightly, or lose less than state average

Numbers from the state Department of Public Instruction show that in suburban Milwaukee, about 27 school districts grew last year, or lost fewer students than average.
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Each year, hundreds of Sami herd their reindeer flocks across Scandinavia's northernmost parts, a journey which takes two months, covering hundreds of miles.

Around 3,500 reindeer and dozens of Sami make the annual trip across the snow, dashing from Karasjok, the Sami capital of Norway, over the snowy plains of northern Scandinavia, and across the Finnish border.

The Sami are the indigenous people of Scandinavia and live in the Arctic parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, in an area recognised as Sapmi.

Breathtaking: Amazing drone footage shows thousands of reindeer make their annual migration across Norway to Finland

Making moves: The indigenous Sami people of Scandinavia are traditionally associated with reindeer herding, although it is a less common practice nowadays, with just ten per cent making a living from reindeer in one way or another

Long way to go: Around 3,500 reindeer made the annual trip across the snow, which took nearly two months in total

Although traditionally associated with reindeer herding, only ten per cent of the Sami remain in the reindeer business, with some 2,800 living as full-time semi-nomadic herders.

Photographer Jan Helmer Olsen used a drone to film the migration of a massive herd of reindeer across Norway to Finland in temperatures reaching minus 15 degrees.
WFIRST was the No. 1 rated large-scale mission in the 2010 decadal survey for astrophysics.

KISSIMMEE, Fla.  NASA's next flagship astronomy mission after the James Webb Space Telescope will become a formal project in February thanks to increased funding and direction from Congress, even as the agency looks to make cuts elsewhere in its astrophysics program.

Paul Hertz, director of NASA's astrophysics division, told astronomers attending the 227th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society here Jan. 4 that the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will enter its "formulation phase," the beginning of NASA's project management process, in February after the proposed space telescope passed a mission concept review in December.

That decision also comes after the passage of the fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill in December that provided $90 million for WFIRST, far above NASA's request of $14 million. The report accompanying the bill adopted language approved by Senate appropriators in June directing NASA to move WFIRST into the formulation phase by early 2016. [Watch: WFIRST Space Telescope Could Probe Exoplanets, Dark Energy]

The increase is not the first time Congress has added funding for WFIRST. In fiscal year 2015, NASA requested $14 million but Congress appropriated $50 million. In 2014, Congress provided $56 million for WFIRST.

The intent of those increases was to accelerate a mission that astronomers identified as the highest priority large mission in their latest decadal survey, published in 2010. NASA had previously stated it did not expect to formally start the WFIRST project until fiscal year 2017, when spending on JWST was projected to decline as it neared its 2018 launch.

"The Committee has accelerated this key mission recommended by the decadal survey and expects it to achieve overlap and scientific synergy with Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope," the Senate report stated in June.

NASA has been using the additional funding to perform technology development work, including for the mission's two key instruments: a wide field camera and a coronagraph that can be used to directly observe extrasolar planets. That work, Hertz said, has gone well.

"We have made every one of our milestones on schedule so far," he said of that work. "We're making fabulous progress in keeping on that plan that will enable us to do WFIRST in the shortest possible period."

One scientist involved in WFIRST endorsed that approach. "This is really a good way to do a big mission like this," said Neil Gehrels of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center during a Jan. 5 conference session about the mission. "We can lower the risks and figure out the technologies before we get a large army developing the mission."

The baseline plan for the mission calls for the use of one of the 2.4-meter mirrors provided to NASA by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2012. The spacecraft will operate at the Earth-sun L-2 Lagrange point for a prime mission of at least six years.

NASA will not provide an official cost and schedule estimate for WFIRST until later in the project's development. In an October presentation to a National Academies committee, members of the WFIRST team estimated the mission's cost to be $2 billion to $2.3 billion based on the current baseline design. A notional schedule in that presentation showed the mission ready for launch in August 2024.

NASA's astrophysics division overall received $730 million in the 2016 omnibus spending bill, $41.5 million above the administration's request when changes in accounting for education programs are included. However, the increase in WFIRST, as well as requirements in the bill to fully fund the Hubble Space Telescope and the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, mean a shortfall of $36 million for other astrophysics programs.

"We will be needing to make adjustments across the rest of the astrophysics portfolio to realize a savings of $36 million," Hertz said.

Details about how those cuts will be implemented will be included in the agency's operating plan, which Hertz said should be completed in about a month.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
NASA's black-hole-hunting NuSTAR X-ray space telescope has found 40 new black holes and neutron star binaries in the Andromeda galaxy. The inset at top shows the X-ray view of a section (see main image) of Andromeda.

A NASA observatory has zoomed in on the Andromeda galaxy with X-ray vision, revealing 40 black holes and neutron stars gobbling down gas from a stellar companion and releasing torrents of X-rays.

Scientists used NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, to make the new discoveries in Andromeda  a nearby spiral galaxy, like Earth's own Milky Way galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away.

The so-called X-ray binary systems of neutron stars and their neighbors, in particular, are thought to be a key factor in heating nearby gas and therefore driving galaxy evolution. X-ray binaries are shrouded in thick veils of gas and dust, making them hard to detect in visible light in Earth's galaxy, let alone across millions of light-years of space. But NASA's three-year-old NuSTAR space telescope was able to spy some hard-to-spot binaries within the shadows. [More Amazing Photos of the Andromeda Galaxy]

Still, Andromeda's relatively close proximity to the Milky Way helps, researchers said.

"Andromeda is the only large spiral galaxy where we can see individual X-ray binaries and study them in detail in an environment like our own," Daniel Wik, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. "We can then use this information to deduce what's going on in more-distant galaxies, which are harder to see."

With NuSTAR's new data (which were presented at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Kissimmee, Florida, this week), Wik and his colleagues are attempting to identify the fraction of X-ray binaries that harbor black holes versus neutron stars. Andromeda's population can then stand as an observational proxy for the populations within more-distant  and therefore earlier  galaxies.

"We have come to realize in the past few years that it is likely [that] the lower-mass remnants of normal stellar evolution, the black holes and neutron stars, may play a crucial role in heating of the intergalactic gas at very early times in the universe, around the cosmic dawn," Ann Hornschemeier, also from NASA Goddard and principal investigator of the NuSTAR Andromeda studies, said in the same statement.

"Observations of local populations of stellar-mass-sized black holes and neutron stars with NuSTAR allow us to figure out just how much power is coming out from these systems," she added.

Follow Shannon Hall on Twitter @ShannonWHall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Data gleaned by China's Yutu rover on the moon has identified a new type of lunar rock, shedding insight on lunar volcanism.

As noted by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the new type of basaltic rock was discovered at a fresh crater named Zi Wei. The measurements were made by Yutu's Active Particle-induced X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and its Visible and Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS).

Measurements of the rock composition indicate that the basalt contains a high enrichment of titanium dioxide and olivine. A team of scientists from China and the United States, led by Ling Zongcheng from Chinas Shandong University, published the new findings in the journal Nature Communications. [China's Yutu Moon Rover Mission in Pictures]

Chinas Yutu lunar rover took this image of Change3 lander. (Image credit: NAOC/Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Late-stage magma ocean

Location of the Change-3 landing site. (a) Change-1 CCD image with boundaries of typical mare basalt units7. (b) Change-2 CCD image and (c) LROC NAC image (LROC NAC M1142582775R). (d) The traverse map of the Yutu rover and the locations of APXS and VNIS measurements. (e) Panoramic view of the Zi Wei crater by the Panoramic Camera on the Yutu rover at the CE3-0008 site. (Image credit: Ling Zongcheng, et. al)

On Dec.14, 2013, the Chang'e-3 lander soft-landed on the moon in the northeast of the Mare Imbrium. The lander then deployed the instrument-loaded Yutu rover.

While the rover suffered mechanical woes after wheeling about for some 375 feet (114 meters), it gathered images and scientific data about the moon. While presently unable to traverse the moon, Yutu reportedly continues to gather data, send and receive signals, and record images and video for its Chang'e-3 (CE-3) mission.

The researchers said that the area surveyed by the Yutu rover was covered in a late-stage magma ocean during the moon's development around three billion years ago. Rock samples from the U.S. Apollo and the former Soviet Union's Luna missions mainly date back from the early-stage magma oceans between 3 billion and 4 billion years ago.

Freshly excavated crater

In part, the scientific paper in Nature explains: "From a correlated analysis of the regolith derived from rocks at the CE-3 landing site, freshly excavated by Zi Wei crater, we recognize a new type of lunar basalt with a distinctive mineral assemblage compared with the samples from Apollo and Luna, and the lunar meteorites. The chemical and mineralogical information of the CE-3 landing site provides new ground truth for some of the youngest volcanism on the moon."

To view the entire scientific paper  "Correlated compositional and mineralogical investigations at the Chang'e-3 landing site"  go to:

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151222/ncomms9880/full/ncomms9880.html#abstract (opens in new tab)

Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and is co-author of Buzz Aldrin's 2013 book "Mission to Mars  My Vision for Space Exploration" published by National Geographic with an updated paperback version released in May 2015. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Published on Space.com.
This elephant must have thought he was on a trunk road as he walked between cars - and created a long line of traffic.

The male Asian elephant held up vehicles for around an hour as he made his way along the long road in Khao Yai National Park, in Thailand.

The bull was making his way towards food and would have been taught the route by his mother when he was a calf.

Excuse me: This elephant must have thought he was on a trunk road as he walked between cars - and created a long line of traffic

Rush hour: The male Asian elephant held up vehicles for around an hour as he made his way along the long road in Khao Yai National Park, in Thailand
PARIS, Jan. 7 -- Police in northern Paris shot dead a man armed with knife trying to enter the police station in the French capital 18th district, according to local media.

Not identified yet, the man would have shouted "Allahou Akbar" (God is Great), and wanted to attack policemen before being shot dead by one of the servicemen at about midday local time (1100 GMT), news channel BFMTV said.

The presumed attacker was wearing a sort of belt but it was not confirmed yet if it was an explosive one, BFMTV added.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had scheduled to visit the shooting site where a security perimeter was set up.

The incident came at the first anniversary of the Jan 7-9 attacks which left 17 victims including three policemen.
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North Korea announced Wednesday morning that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test, which shocked the international community. South Korea, the US and Japan condemned Pyongyang's moves, and China's foreign ministry expressed firm opposition to the latest nuclear test and stated China's determination to push forward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and the latest one is the fourth. The country is immersed in misshapen security policies centered on nuclear weapons and is trying to use nuclear deterrence to make up for its economic losses and political insecurity. This is a vicious circle.

The US is the world's No.1 nuclear power. The effect of the former Soviet Union's nuclear deterrence on the US was limited. The Soviet Union's lack of competence in domestic policies dragged it into crises. The US may be hesitant about launching military strikes on North Korea, but it is good at disrupting developing countries by disintegrating cohesion or initiating color revolutions.

That nuclear weapons mean everything is an outdated mentality and does not fit a globalized world. If Pyongyang is determined to develop its economy, it should engage with the outside world, including the West. Nuclear weapons are not the solution to its domestic woes.

This new nuclear test may inspire North Korea in the short-term. But it will generate more pressure from the UN and more sanctions imposed by the international community. The international environment for North Korea will deteriorate, and the internal driving forces for economic development are limited. The seemingly positive momentum will soon be offset by more thorny issues.

Pyongyang should inspire its people through other means. Its national security should be able to adapt to social diversities. If North Korea joins the development of East Asia as a whole, challenges for its national security will follow, even if it is taken as a nuclear state.

Wednesday's nuclear test will add anxieties to China's northeastern cities that border North Korea. If North Korea keeps doing such tests, it will hurt social stability in these Chinese regions, posing a big challenge to the Chinese government. Pyongyang must consider the long-term negative impact on Beijing-Pyongyang ties and its own development.

It's been more than 20 years since the North Korean nuclear crisis started. Is North Korea more secure than other Asian countries? Pyongyang is expected to undergo many more changes in the future, but the nuclear umbrella can hardly shield it. It is hard to say whether nuclear weapons are Pyongyang's asset or its liability. The country should not choose a nuclear path but one that can accommodate its vitality. There is ample room for this.
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DANBURY  The future of 170 workers at MannKinds manufacturing plant on Casper Street, which has already seen three rounds of layoffs in the past year, was called into question this week after the pharmaceutical company lost its marketing partner for the drug Afrezza.

We are very concerned about the current situation there and the potential for job losses, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Thursday. Were also disappointed that the product hasnt taken off the way it should. I just hope they can get things straightened out.

Sluggish growth in sales of Afrezza, an inhalable form of insulin created by the company, and the loss of its marketing partner Sanofi for the drug has resulted in the companys shares losing more than 90 percent of their value during the past 12 months. The stock dropped more than 50 percent in the past week alone after the failed Sanofi deal was announced.

Many analysts are questioning whether the company is headed for bankruptcy, having only enough cash on hand to make it through about half of next year before running out of funds. Some, including Piper Jaffray analyst Josh Schimmer, released revised notes this week downgrading their price targets for the stock to as low as 5 cents.

The company, which has invested heavily on a high-tech manufacturing facility near the citys downtown, had plans to hire as many as 100 new employees locally that never materialized as MannKind moved to reduce costs in light of slower-than-expected sales.

While the manufacturing facility has the ability to support as much as $4 billion in sales annually, Afrezza revenues havent broken the $10 million mark since its market launch in February.

Juergen Martens, MannKinds corporate vice president of operations who oversees the Danbury plant, declined to identify how many employees have been let go this year during the three rounds of layoffs, but noted that production has been brought in line with current sales levels.

When the sales forecasts werent met, we certainly adjusted the manufacturing level, he said. What we have now is a balance between manufacturing capacity and sales.

While limited, the company does have some options moving forward.

Matt Pfeffer, MannKinds chief financial officer, said this week that Sanofis exit, which included exclusive rights to Afrezza, allows the company to seek other licensing and distribution partners for the drug. But how successful that could be in light of Sanofis departure remains in question.

At this point, we are skeptical that MNKD can find a new commercial partner for Afrezza given the stark failure of SNYs efforts, even if they were halfhearted, Schimmer wrote in a research note this week.

Keith Markey, an analyst with Griffin Securities who is bullish on the stock, said company executives have discussed using individual partners for different regions such as Europe and the Middle East before partnering with Sanofi to distribute and market the drug globally. He believes thats one route the company is likely investigating in the future.

They can go out and get new partnerships and those can often come with some upfront money, he said. While I dont expect the payment to be as large as Sanofi (which paid MannKind $150 million at the beginning of the deal last year), if they can partner with some smaller regional companies it could help their cash position.

And while MannKind could also decide to market the drug itself, that could come with additional operating costs, Markey noted, unless it brought in a separate sales team that works on a commission-only basis. The analyst, however, said he finds that scenario unlikely.

Pfeffer noted earlier this week that the company is also looking to renew marketing plans for Afrezza with a focus on doctors and patients.

Sanofi has been criticized by stockholders and analysts for dragging its feet when it comes to marketing Afrezza and seeking reimbursement from insurance companies. While there has been some momentum on insurance reimbursements in recent months, the problem remains an issue.

Sanofi did a rather weak job getting the drug to market, Markey said.

He and other analysts have noted that political wrangling inside Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant, could have led to the companys weak performance with the drug. Sanofi replaced its chief executive officer, Christopher Viehbacher, who had been a champion of Afrezza, with Olivier Brandicourt in February.

Its probably what contributed to final decision and the behavior of not marketing the drug, Markey said.

MannKind has also brought a new chief executive officer on board, announcing in recent weeks that pharmaceutical veteran Duane M. DeSisto, replacing Hakan Edstrom who left the position as part of a planned departure in November.

And while Afrezza is the only drug that MannKind has on the market today, executives have hopes for the proprietary Technospere particle that allows Afrezza to deliver the insulin to the lungs. The particle can be used to deliver a variety of other medications, including pain drugs, when quick absorption is necessary.

Pfeffer has already said the company is in a variety of talks with other drug companies about developing meaningful partnerships for the particle.

Granted most of the work on the particle is in the preclinical stage, so while they arent going to raise a lot of money if its licensed out, I do expect they could get some kind of licensing deal in the next nine months, he said.

More will become apparent in the coming weeks, Pfeffer said, as the new chief executive officer begins to roll out the companys plans for the future. More details about the companys plans are also expected next week when executives will also be taking questions during the JPMorgan health care conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

MannKind has an exception product and I have every reason to believe theyll find a viable partner that will help make Afrezza and future drugs successful, said Stephen Bull, president of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. This week was certainly a setback, but I look forward to them doing well and promoting a product that is very much needed.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
John Locher / Associated Press file

The editor and publisher of two Connecticut newspapers has issued a cryptic apology about a politically motivated report that appeared last month in his publications, which have been linked to conservative Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

The scandal drove a well-known reporter at the Bristol Press, Steve Collins, to quit his job of two decades on Christmas Eve, and to accuse former boss Michael Schroeder of pimping out the paper and its sister publication, the New Britain Herald, to Adelson.
Students at No 3 High School in Yanji, Jilin province, evacuate on Wednesday. Residents in the city bordering the DPRK said they felt a tremor. (Photo/China Daily)

NK failed to notify China in advance: FM

China on Wednesday said it was not notified of and "firmly" opposes North Korea's latest nuclear test, with analysts believing the test will severely affect relations between the two countries and escalate geopolitical tensions.

"China is steadfast in its position that the Korean Peninsula should be denuclearized and nuclear proliferation should be prevented to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced at a press briefing on Wednesday.

China will make solemn representations with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

China knew nothing about the test before North Korea announced that it had done so, Hua said when asked if China had been informed ahead of time.

"We strongly urge North Korea to honor its commitment to denuclearize, and to cease any action that may deteriorate the situation," Hua said.

North Korea on Wednesday said it successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen nuclear device.

The test, the fourth time the isolated state has detonated a nuclear device, was ordered by its leader Kim Jong-un, and was successfully conducted at 10 am local time.

"The statement shows China's consistent attitude toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as its discontent over North Korea's failure to provide China with advance notice," a Beijing-based professor, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Bilateral relations between China and North Korea are experiencing an abnormal phase. The lack of high-level visits and incidents, such as the cancelation of the Moranbong Band's performance in China, have already cooled relations. Launching the nuclear test without informing China would make things even worse," he said.

His views were echoed by Cui Zhiying, director of the Korean Peninsula Research Center at Tongji University, who said China may join other countries in discussing the situation soon, as the nuclear test goes against the country's regional strategy.

North Korea's nuclear test is expected to have a significant global impact.

"Currently, ties between the Koreas show no signs of recovering. The US is still applying its 'Strategic Patience' policy, declining North Korea's demands. That is why North Korea wanted to announce a successful test of a hydrogen bomb at this time," Jin Qiangyi, director of Asia Research Center, China's Yanbian University, told the Global Times.

Ren Weidong, an associate research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the frequent military drills conducted by the US, Japan and South Korea around the Korean peninsula have placed great pressure on North Korea.

Since conventional weapons did not adequately deal with the threat, North Korea naturally turned to nuclear weapons, which are the most efficient and effective security guarantee for them, Ren said.

The North Korean nuclear issue has always been at the center of clashes with world powers. It provides the US an excuse to deploy its military power in the Far East, while Japan seizes on it to militarize, Gao Fei, a political scientist at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Global reaction

The US said Wednesday it could not confirm North Korea's claims, but added that the US would respond appropriately to provocations and defend its allies.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Tokyo will make a "firm response" to North Korea at the UN Security Council.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with the US ambassador and the commander of the US military in South Korea to discuss North Korea's nuclear test, while the South Korean military was placed on alert as it vowed to forge a united stance with the international community to punish North Korea for the test, Yonhap News reported.

The nuclear test may lead to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea, which may provoke China and Russia, experts said.

"It offers the US and its allies an excuse to counterbalance China's and Russia's influence in the region," Gao said.

Russia slammed the test as a "flagrant violation" of international law, while the EU said the test was a "grave violation" of UN resolutions.

India Wednesday also condemned the test and urged North Korea to refrain from actions that affect peace. The UN Security Council is planning to hold an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea's latest action.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon Wednesday demanded North Korea to cease any nuclear activities and meet its obligations for verifiable denuclearization. He called the test "profoundly destabilizing for regional security."
J ohn Walden, the Chicago-born chief executive of Argos owner Home Retail Group, was little-known over here before rocking up in 2012 to run Argos, and then replacing Terry Duddy in the top job two years later.

But he could land some handsome rewards if Sainsburys pulls off a 1 billion-plus takeover. The annual report shows that, as of February last year, Walden had a total of 3.86 million shares under the performance share plan, as well as an extra 621,000 not linked to any performance conditions.

It also says: PSP awards would normally vest to the extent that any performance conditions, as determined by the committee, have been satisfied up to that date.

If all of his options were granted  at a takeout price of, say, 150p a share  that would land Walden a total of 6.7 million.

Even if he only got half of them, he might pick up nearly 4 million. Not bad for two years work.

Net-a-Porter staff still cant believe its dame over

Gone but not forgotten: Natalie Massenet

Net-a-Porter workers are obviously pining for beloved founder Natalie Massenet, who unexpectedly quit as chairman last September.

The luxury e-tailers LinkedIn page said yesterday that were all very proud about their former boss being awarded a damehood, repeating word for word its congratulatory tweet on December 31.

Let go, people.

My word! Heres a reader offer...

Spy was amused to see that the European Banking Authority needs some help with its English.

The watchdog, based in Canary Wharf, is advertising for someone to help improve the quality, linguistic style, accuracy and clarity of EBA publications and material  paying 250,000 (184,000) over four years for an English-language proofreader.

It needs up to 3500 pages a year checked which, at 500 words a page, means the lucky winner could translate 1.75 million words of ECB gobbledegook into plain English every year.

Totally on the ball

Ping! A breathless email arrives from spinners Blytheweigh alerting Spy to a share-price jump at healthcare services firm Totally: The share price is up 30.35% to 73.65p following the appointment of Bob Holt at the end of 2015.

Thatll be the same Bob Holt who joined the board as chairman in September, then?

Theres nothing like efficient markets...


T he UKs biggest low-cost airlines withstood the impact of Novembers terrorist attacks in Paris to post strong figures in December.

Easyjet said that passenger numbers grew by 4.6% during December, despite predicting a fall in bookings in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

However, the Luton-based airline, which is Frances second biggest operator, did see a small fall in load factor as passengers switched routes away from France.

Meanwhile, Ryanair appeared to show little impact from the terrorism with December traffic up by a quarter, compared with last year, to 7.5 million customers, although it admitted that fares charged were lower.

Ryanair has now become the first airline to carry more than 100 million passengers in a single year, with a rolling total for 2015 of 101.4 million customers.

The Irish airline has seen passenger growth of 17% in 2015, after it adopted a new policy of being nicer to its customers.

The airline said that it had increased traffic by 50% for the month of December over the past two years.

Ryanair is returning to Belfast after an absence of five years. The airline is taking over slots from Belfast International Airport to Gatwick that were used by Aer Lingus.

Both of Belfasts airports have been losing passengers to Dublin airport, since the Irish government scrapped air passenger duty.
C hancellor George Osborne has made the surprise announcement that Tracey McDermott, acting head of the Financial Conduct Authority, does not want the role permanently.

His revelation came as a shock to senior figures in the watchdog and across the City.

Speculation had been growing that within weeks McDermott would be announced as the watchdogs new boss, having taken over from Martin Wheatley after he was sacked by Osborne in the summer.

But Osborne said today that McDermott doesnt want the job full-time. He told Radio 4: We are looking now for the very best candidate.

The Evening Standard understands McDermott took herself out of the running in the past few days.

That leaves headhunters Zygos with the problem of deciding whether to restart the process of drawing up a shortlist for the 700,000-a-year job.

Its original list was headed by McDermott but included Australian securities chief regulator Greg Medcraft and Mark Branson, the British head of Swiss regulator Finma, as well as, reportedly, one other unidentified person.

Osbornes falling-out with Wheatley and his comments that the age of banker bashing has ended means the new FCA boss will have to tread a fine political line.
I f only someone had told me this earlier. Apparently, while Ive been labouring under the misapprehension that the only way to prevent groping is to go after the gropers, a get out of sexual assault card has existed all along. According to the mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, women just need to abide by a code of conduct. Remain at an arms length from strangers! Stay together! Ask bystanders to intervene!

Why stop there? We could line our undies with mini-daggers! Become recluses who never venture outside our Alcatraz-esque abodes! Yes: the onus must be on us to change everything in our own lives so that some pervert wont be able to put his priapic desires above our bodily autonomy.

Reker was speaking yesterday at a crisis meeting following the mass sexual assault in the centre of Cologne on New Years Eve. Women were surrounded by gangs of men who harassed, assaulted and robbed them. The victims number more than 100, at least one of whom was raped.

This happened over 300 miles away but a similar story on a much smaller scale plays out regularly on Londons streets  and is met with a similar reaction. In November, there were a string of sexual assaults in Clapham. The police told women to remain vigilant. I already carried a rape alarm and became nervous when footsteps suddenly quickened behind me. What more could I really do? Its difficult to avoid dark streets when the sun sets at 5pm.

As a woman, public spaces dont quite belong to you in the way they do men. You can borrow them in the daylight but at night youll be advised only to opt for a group rental. For theres a minority of men who believe a female body becomes public property when it enters that space  there to be ogled, critiqued and even invaded.

I understand why Reker (herself a victim: she was stabbed last year) said what she did. Its a defence mechanism: we like to kid ourselves that if we do everything right, we can avoid being victims.

But that isnt about a code of conduct  its about luck, a lottery of time and place. I wasnt in Cologne on New Years Eve. I didnt run into the Clapham groper on my walk home. Luck hasnt always been on my side, though. Two years ago, a man grabbed my breasts on the bus. And when I was 18 I was assaulted and mugged at Oval Tube station.

Whats different about Cologne is the scale of the crime, the orchestration, the brutality. Much has also been made of the fact that the perpetrators were believed to be from North Africa or the Middle East. Inevitably, the far-Right has co-opted the abuse of these women to attack Germanys generous policy on refugees. No link has yet been made. And one race doesnt have the monopoly on sexual assault anyway: history shows its a competitive market.

I hope well see a wider outcry about the women in Cologne (#ichbinKolnerin, perhaps?), one that demands we attack potential perpetrators, rather than haranguing potential victims. What we need  on the streets of Cologne or Clapham  is a single-rule code of conduct: Dont commit sexual assault.

Trust J-Law to make magic out of the mundane

For what is essentially a 124-minute ad for intellectual property lawyers, Joy is a blast. From its trailer, you wouldnt even know what Jennifer Lawrences heroine actually invented (a mop). But then the film is far more interested in the American dream than it is in household gizmos.

Leaving the cinema, I heard a woman complain that Joy was a missed opportunity: here was a rare female entrepreneur on screen but her invention embodied domestic drudgery. I dont agree. At a time when Hollywood keeps spewing out superhero films  The Avengers Assembled! The Avengers Unassembled! Batman! Superman! Batman AND Superman!  theres something fresh about finding the visionary in the mundane. It also explores rarely-seen relationships: the best friend who saves Joys business, the ex-husband who remains her loudest cheerleader after their marriage collapses. The sell worked on me too: as the credits rolled, I realised I really wanted that damn mop.

The spectre of Boris is hard to shake off

A strange quirk of the mayoral election is that there will be MPs in both main parties who want their candidates to lose. The theory being that if Sadiq Khan wins, it will let Jeremy Corbyn cling on, even if Labours council election results are dire. Then, the Tories retain their fantasy opposition leader. But if Khan loses, it could trigger Corbyns exit: nirvana to Labours centrists.

Thats the election geek in me writing. Others may not be so engaged about May 5 yet. An MP, out canvassing recently, asked a woman whom she was planning to support. Boris, came the reply. Hes not running, said the MP. Boris Johnson? Of course he is! Perhaps a comedian should change their name by deed poll and get BJ back on the ballot paper, just to see how he does?

* The metropolis is meant to be a hostile environment. City-dwellers are more self-centred than their country cousins, the thinking goes  the anonymity of the crowd returning us to our state of nature. This is, Ive long thought, hokum. And last week, I added two anecdotes to my arsenal of evidence to the contrary.

First, there were the Good Samaritans who helped me when I came off my bike. Two days later, still crash-addled,

I left my phone on the Tube while en route to Euston to meet my boyfriend. As I waited for him on the platform, cursing my butterfly brain, a man approached. Are you Rosamund? he asked. His daughter had found my phone on a seat and  once above ground  had called my boyfriend after he texted. My hero, Ian, had come all the way back from Seven Sisters to Euston to deliver it.I cried in gratitude.

I know I was lucky but London is actually blessed with a lot of Ians.
Review at a glance









G uys and Dolls is one of the truly irresistible American musicals  a portrait of gamblers, romantics, fast-talking low-lifes and colourful misfits. Frank Loessers score and lyrics are delicious, and the characters, drawn from the hard-boiled stories of Damon Runyon, are blessed with witty dialogue and plenty to sing about.

Gordon Greenbergs revival, first seen at Chichester in 2014, looks gorgeous, sounds timeless (if a little too brassy) and is alert to every opportunity for humour. It may not eclipse memories of Richard Eyres mighty Eighties production, but its energetic and at times genuinely magical.

Its leading man is Jamie Parker, wholl later this year play a grown-up Harry Potter. As smooth high-roller Sky Masterson he has an easy appeal. Although theres a touch of Frank Sinatra in his savvy seductiveness, he also suggests Skys fundamental decency. The two qualities combine to beguile Siubhan Harrisons Sarah, an icy young missionary who is intent on saving the souls of errant New Yorkers but melts under his influence.

Meanwhile scheming impresario Nathan Detroit is sentimental about money and petrified of marriage. Even if David Haig makes him seem too affable, he captures his twitchy vitality. The object of his affections is dancer Miss Adelaide  and though Sophie Thompson is at first too relentlessly animated, her charm grows as we detect her underlying anxiety. Its a performance full of zooming, whizzy eccentricity  not to everyones taste, but memorably effervescent.

Lesser characters are also sharply defined  Nic Greenshieldss towering gangster Big Jule and Gavin Spokess blundering Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Ian Hughess nervy Benny Southstreet and Lorna Gayle as the formidable General of the local Save-a-Soul Mission.

The choreography, credited jointly to Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright, is especially impressive. The shows standout number is Sit Down, Youre Rockin The Boat, a triumphant but offbeat tribute to lifes unending precariousness.

Buy tickets for Guys and Dolls with Going Out Tickets

Until March 12, Savoy Theatre (0844 871 7687)

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T his week you remembered several things. You remembered how to get up at 7am, and that your job demands you rot in an office chair for at least eight hours a day (oh, you miss the sofa). You remembered that routine gives your existence coherence but also makes you feel vaguely like yours is a Groundhog Day without the respite. And you remembered that the Tube is a daunting place.

Obviously its one of the most efficient transport systems in the world. It carries more than 1.3 billion annually. However, it is also a network of dark warrens and carriages carrying low-level sociopaths  youre one of them  and its written and unwritten rules are flouted in a way that causes real, measurable misery to your life and the lives of many others. For the good of the city, make 2016 the year you stop being a low-level sociopath: these are the new Tube rules.

Poles apart

Tube carriages have insufficient seats most of the time, though at rush hour standing room is a mis-sold concept: you can smell shampoo, feel the static energy from someones nylon M&S suit, sense their body convulsing as they hiccup on their breakfast. This is irresolvable.

However, you neednt envelop the pole, wrapping yourself around it as if staking your claim on a lover, and precluding others from using it for support. You neednt run a slick paw up and down the pole: your warm hand keeps touching mine and its making me feel a bit sick. Perhaps you are doing it absentmindedly, in which case please work harder on keeping your mind present.

Its not a playground. One editor saw someone doing pull-ups on the Circle line this week: a dickhead, she hissed. Dont hang off the pole: it consumes space and makes you a free-swinging liability.

Some refuse to move down because they have a spot by the door; others insist on moving down to loom over the seats, even though theres ample space. Those seated must twist around the standing passenger to alight the train. And often, theres one obstinate reader who wont surrender their book. This is bigger than you, mate: put Harry Potter down.

Inspect their gadget

Getting annoyed at other people who are looking at something you are using is an irrational human tic. As a child you roared at your brother because he was looking, interestedly and innocently, at the book you were reading; as an adult, you tut audibly when you sense that someone is peering at your iPad. For some reason it makes you furious. You feel antagonised and violated.

However, some people are really asking for it, and you reserve the right to be more outraged. One morning on the Victoria line I observed a man watching porn on his iPad, which I suppose meant I was also watching porn on the Tube  either way it felt like the worlds least sexy foreplay.

Curiously, many are fascinated by those who peruse spreadsheets on MacBooks, though maybe its just because Apples sleek lines are digging into their thighs: opening a laptop is the new manspreading.

Holding your phone in my eyeline means I probably will read your messages, soz. Revenge is a dish best served privately, sneering at your use of lol and the mistaken decision to use that first, let alone second, exclamation mark.

No Pants Subway Ride London 1 /18 No Pants Subway Ride London Tube map pants This rider sports tube map pants at Arsenal tube station in 2014, at least she's guaranteed not to get lost. Gail Orenstein/NurPhoto/Rex 2014 riders This gang of riders may be scantily clad but at least they stand behind the yellow line. Tolga Akmen/LNP/Rex 2010 riders These smiling participants get their pins out at Earl's Court. Marco Secchi/Getty Images 2014 riders Who needs trousers when you've got friends? Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images 2014 riders Just another day at the office. Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images 2014 riders Londoners are caught with their patriotic pants down. Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Endless legs A line of trouserless Londoners ride the Tube in 2015 Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Cheeky A group of participants show off their assets during the 2014 event Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Lots of pants... and a mask Mexico City gets in on the no trouser action in 2011 Rex Nonchalantly does it Over in Poland, one participant casually read the morning news while wearing no trousers in 2012 Rex Caught with his trousers down A participant loses his pants during Berlin's version of the event in 2014 Rex And what? Three ladies pose in their pants during the 2014 No Pants Subway Ride in New York Rex Saucy rider One woman takes to Union Square subway in stockings during New York's event in 2012 Rex And pose Participants pose for onlookers in Union Square after coming out of the subway during last year's No Pants Subway Ride in New York Rex

Beauty marks

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder literally, when someone sprays hairspray in your face. To an extent, applying make-up on public transport is a matter of discretion, contingent on how busy the carriage and how smelly the products, but there are some definitive rules.

Do not spray: you cannot control how the particles travel and, like fast food, the smell will linger. Do not apply powder if there is someone in the neighbouring seat. Do not pluck; do not ravage a hangnail until your finger bleeds, sloppily.

Otherwise, accept that others will be mesmerised by the ritual that you are performing for the carriage.

Bags of fun

Returning to London after Christmas you felt a cringing shame at being the person with the suitcase. Usually, you tut at the person with the suitcase, for clearly the person with the suitcase is a selfish, lumbering idiot with astonishing cheek (luggage? On public transport?). But for a short journey you were that person and you remembered that it is not criminal to cart a suitcase on the Tube. You resolved to be kinder.

However, you have limits, and in 2016 you will not  and ought not to  sanction any of the following: putting a large suitcase on a seat; using a large suitcase as a seat; dragging a large suitcase down the carriage, crushing toes.

Do not put a large suitcase in front of the doors so that every time they open you look surprised and inconvenienced because you have to move it. If you are travelling on the Piccadilly line, which pootles all the way out to Heathrow and thus incorporates space for large suitcases, do not eschew these designated areas in favour of your own system. Your system is inferior.

Special shout out to rucksacks (where possible, remove them and stow them between your feet); large handbags (where possible, remove them and stow them between your feet), and knitting  where possible, remove yourself from public transport and go buy a jumper. Knitting a snood on the Northern line is weird, seditious and unnecessary.

Hell is other people

And then there are those who go beyond the call of duty to make travelling miserable. These are not low-level sociopaths but rather the aggressive lunatics who are unpleasant in the moment, though the stuff of anecodotes later.

For example, one 28-year-old consultant was rugby-tackled by an old man wearing Crocs: He fancied a different seat on the other side of me, she explains. Apparently assault doesnt even merit an eyebrow from cold commuters,

She was also chased up the escalators at Highgate by a pregnant woman who was shouting idiot (inexplicably).

A male passenger asked one of my work colleagues to read to him, and provided his own text: an illustrated version of Shakespeares The Winters Tale. Another workmate sat down next to a man with a Tupperware  which he discovered contained a tarantula. He became acquainted with the beast when its keeper released it to graze on his hand. Once a man sat opposite, clearly sketching me, which was rather uncomfortable. A fortysomething buyer says wryly, A man standing between stations peed himself as if nothing happened. I hope he was drunk.

Some break the fourth wall and engage other commuters  fine in theory, though politics is best avoided. I had an honest-to-God conversation the other day, marvels one twentysomething banker. I got on at Hammersmith and we started chatting. She seemed nice and we talked about life, relationships, etc. She said she was from Israel and that people from the Middle East are always chatty. I said that I agreed and that my boss, who is Palestinian, is very gregarious. She laughed mockingly and shouted to the carriage, Theres no such thing as Palestine.

Smut is also best expressed in private: one 24-year-old director listened to a man have phone sex all the way from Turnpike Lane to Kings Cross, and a thirtysomething freelancer once found himself opposite a drunk lady very clearly masturbating. The half-full carriage pretended not to notice but it still haunts me.

If thats how you get your rocks off, alight here forever.

@phoebeluckhurst
A driver who killed a cyclist while driving at up to 70mph in a 30mph zone has been warned he faces a substantial jail sentence.

Parvez Rahman, 22, mowed down father-of-two Ashad Ahmed as he sped along Commercial Road, Whitechapel, in his Audi Quattro.

The teacher, 32, was hit on the short ride to his parents house in November 2014. He died at the Royal London Hospital two hours later of head and brain injuries.

Rahman drove off and abandoned the Audi before handing himself in to police the next day.

Rahman, of Bethnal Green, admitted causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at Snaresbrook crown court. Prosecutor Daniel Fugallo said: Had the defendant been travelling at 30mph the reaction time he had would have meant he could have stopped before reaching the bicycle.

Judge Nicholas Huskinson remanded Rahman in custody ahead of sentencing on February 17 and told him he faced substantial immediate custody.
A National Gallery guard was sacked after subjecting a colleague to years of sexual harassment and watching her on security cameras, a tribunal heard.

Kevin Batts, 56, a control room guard at the Trafalgar Square art museum, also told the postgraduate I like you in the dark and that she was just at the right height when level with his waist as she knelt down, the hearing heard.

But Mr Batts, who helped protect paintings by monitoring CCTV pictures, is now suing the gallery for unfair dismissal at the Central London Employment Tribunal.

Before the hearing, he told the Standard: I just want justice and to clear my name.

He admits calling his colleague gorgeous but says this was just banter between friends. He denies all the other allegations and says he should not have been dismissed.

Mr Batts was a guard at the National Gallery / John Stillwell/PA Wire

The tribunal heard the art museum hired an external investigator to probe Mr Battss conduct after the woman, who is several years younger, alleged the catalogue of sexual harassment in September 2014.

After concluding Mr Batts was an inconsistent and at times unconvincing witness, he was sacked for gross misconduct last April.

The tribunal heard the allegations were drawn up in a report by the external investigator Alison Turner, of AMT Consulting, and included claims Mr Batts:

Made sexually suggestive comments and since 2010 regularly told her she was f***ing gorgeous

Told her he had been watching her on the security camera on two occasions in 2010 and 2011

Grabbed her hand on five occasions  including kissing it on New Years Eve.

Said I like you in the dark to the woman requesting the lights in the building be switched back on. She alleged when she said this was really pervy, Mr Batts said: I cant help it, youre f***ing gorgeous

Said the colleagues head was just at the right height when she kneeled down to cut a roll of material

The tribunal heard Mr Batts, from Aveley, Essex, wrote an apology letter that was never delivered because it was deemed inappropriate to contact her. He claims he also called another colleague gorgeous but stopped after she objected.

Colleague Kelly Harmer told the tribunal the female colleague never complained in a negative way about Mr Battss attitude. Kevin is a gentle giant.

But Simon Cheetham, representing the gallery, said there was sufficient evidence of sexual harassment and the sacking was reasonable and fair. He said Mr Battss behaviour caused sufficient disturbance and said Mr Batts was threatening, offensive, intimidating and harmful.

But Mr Batts said the investigation would have come to a different conclusion had it gone into more detail. He claims he was not given a chance to properly challenge the allegations before being dismissed.

The tribunal heard the report concluded that, despite there being a lack of CCTV and witnesses, in a one persons word against anothers case, she was a more credible witness. The hearing continues.
A serial paedophile groped two girls aged just five and eight on a Tube platform after being released early from prison.

Stephen Lott's latest appalling sex assault happened at South Kensington station in July while the children were waiting for a District line train with their family.

Lott, of Collier Row, east London, denied sexually assaulting the girls but was found guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court last month and jailed for six months.

He was on early release having been jailed for seven years over a sex assault in 2011  as well as a string of child sex offences in 2006 and 2007.

Det Const Allan McTaggart from British Transport Police said: British Transport Police takes any sexual offences extremely seriously, particularly those involving children.

Public: Lott assaulted the children on a District line platform at South Kensington Rain Rabbit/Flickr / Rain Rabbit/Flickr

Anyone who commits sexual offences of any kind on the Underground can expect to be arrested and convicted.

The court was told how Lott, 37, moved in before the girls' family had a chance to step in, and brazenly groped his victims over their clothes.

But by chance two plain-clothes transport cops were watching and arrested Lott before he could leave the station.

His sentence will only begin once he has served five more years for his 2011 conviction.
S taff at a Mayfair jewellery store told today how they used plastic chairs in a courageous bid to fight off smash and grab raiders who stormed into the shop wielding an axe and a sledgehammer.

Four masked men on two mopeds launched the daylight raid on the Time Machine boutique in Avery Row off Bond Street just after 10am yesterday.

Using the weapons to smash their way through the front door, two of the gang rushed inside and began ransacking the watch cases.

Edward Langmead, 32, a salesman at the high-end store which opened just three weeks ago, told the Standard: We tried to fight them off with plastic chairs but they smashed them to pieces.

Raiders smashed open display cases at the luxury jewellers i-Images / i-Images

I thought we could push them back until I realised we were in real danger.

One of the men was swinging wildly with the sledgehammer and it wasnt worth our lives to go further. He was a big chap and was screaming get back, get back.

They clearly knew what they were doing and had some sort of plan. They smashed around eleven or twelve cabinets, they were indiscriminate.

We tried our best to fight them off until it was clear we were in harms way.

We rushed downstairs to call the police and get fire extinguishers which we were going to try and spray them with, but it was a bit late for that.

An onlooker walks past the shop after the raid Nigel Howard / Nigel Howard

The gang fled with shoulder bags full of Rolex, Cartier and Patek Phillipe watches thought to be worth up to 500,000.

One of the motorbikes crashed a mile away in Portland Place and a 25-year-old man was arrested by armed police officers guarding the Chinese Embassy. The other three were today still on the run.

One eyewitness who was filming the raiders told how he feared he was going to be attacked after one of the thugs ran towards him.

He said: They gang leader saw us filming and sent one of the gang towards us he ordered us to stop filming - it was very frightening. The leader looked crazy it was all very volatile.

Smashed cabinets in the jewellery shop after the raid Nigel Howard / Nigel Howard

Kanchan Chhetri, 42, saw the robbers crash their scooter in front of two armed diplomatic protection officers who guard the Chinese Embassy.

The two officers then gave chase and managed to arrest one. The concierge said: I saw the bike crash and they were crumpled in a heap. I think they had seen the armed officers and it spooked them.

The officers went towards them thinking they had had an accident so the guys started to try to get the engine going frantically then ran off. The officers chased them and hunted down and arrested at least one. It was like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Mr Langmead added: The staff are all shaken up. We had a very good three weeks and we were very excited about the future. We will not let this beat us. We will come back stronger and rise from the ashes.

Flying Squad detectives have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

DC Kevin Parley said: This was a brazen armed robbery carried out on a busy morning.

"Early indications are that the two moped drivers deliberately stayed on their mopeds to act as lookouts and dissuade members of the public from getting involved.

I would urge anyone with information to contact the Flying Squad.

If you have any information contact 0208 785 8655 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Two civilian aircraft conducted successful test flights on Wednesday to a newly built airfield on Yongshu Jiao of the Nansha Islands. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the test "proved that the airport has the capacity to ensure the safe operation of large civilian aircraft," adding that the airport would facilitate the transport of supplies, personnel and medical aid.

The new airport on Yongshu Jiao is perhaps the biggest in the South China Sea. As the region is bristling with navigation and transportation, the airport, if put into proper use, will serve as an important pivot for regional development. Regrettably, the test flights have been hyped up by the US and Japan, claiming that China's act ratchets up tensions and "is a unilateral change of the status quo."

China hopes the South China Sea is a sea of peace and cooperation, which conforms to its national interests. All China's construction endeavors on reefs and islands of the Nansha Islands are in accordance with international law and it has promised to use the newly built reefs and islands for civilian purposes. If they were used to escalate tensions, this will run counter to China's interests.

It's understandable that some South China Sea countries have misgivings. However, China and these countries are able to prevent the misunderstanding from deepening through enhancing communication and thus avoid territorial disputes casting a shadow on regional cooperation. In recent years, despite spats on occasion, relevant parties all show restraint. There is no sign of severe conflicts in the region and it's obvious that the mainstream of the regional countries have the desire to resolve the South China Sea disputes in a peaceful way.

The most disruptive force comes from outside, primarily the US. Warships and fighters dispatched by the US repeatedly harassed the South China Sea last year. Washington has no interest in the peace of the South China Sea. It meddles for geopolitical gains, as does Tokyo.

China hopes to build reefs and islands into service centers and promote cooperation in the sea. Building an airport on Yongshu Jiao is not a prelude to the establishment of a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. The most worrisome thing now is that Washington has repeatedly made military provocations against China. If Washington doesn't want to see the South China Sea reefs and islands become militarized, it should stop sending warships and fighters to China's reefs and islands. Countries within the region should not endorse such provocative acts.

China has reiterated that the newly built reefs and islands are mainly for civilian use. Instead of drawing support from external powers, the regional nations might wait and see whether China will keep its word.
A Metropolitan Police officer arrested after leaving her baby alone in a New York hotel has launched a legal battle against US authorities who took her child away from her.

Louise Fielden, who has worked for Scotland Yard for 13 years, is claiming her young child is being held hostage and kidnapped in a foreign country, according to legal documents filed in the US.

One-year-old Samuel was taken in the care of New York authorities after his mother was arrested in April last year for allegedly leaving him alone for more than an hour.

The 42-year-old, from Tottenham, has since flown back to the UK without her child after criminal charges were dropped - but a family court ruling has kept her son in the care of a foster parent, prompting her to file a lawsuit to get him back.

In legal papers, her lawyer says Samuel has been wrongfully retained for eight months.

The papers also claim the foster mother is the president and co-founder of a group known as Single Women in Support of Homos (Swish), and allege that Ms Fieldens son was taken by the carer to a club where she participated in a game of porno bingo in aid of the organisation.

In her representation to the court, Ms Fielden describes herself as a devout conservative member of the Church of England and adds: The urgency of the matter is more pressing by what I discovered from my recent internet investigation into the background of the foster mother  and her proclivities to associate with gay porno stars.

Single mother Ms Fielden checked into the Chelsea High Line hotel in April 2015. She was arrested after an employee allegedly found her child asleep alone in the room and called New York police officers.

She was accused of leaving the child alone for more than an hour on two separate occasions.

Regarding one she claimed she only left the child sleeping alone for 30 minutes while she went to clean his bottles in the hotel kitchen.

On the other occasion she says the infant was closeby while she was eating breakfast.

"In my culture and society in London this behavior of leaving a child for a short period of time is normal and acceptable, she was reported by the New York Post as also saying.

She was arrested for allegedly endangering the welfare of a minor, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance, codeine, which Ms Fielden said she had a prescription for.

According to the New York Post, she also claims she sustained bruising to arm during the arrest.

Despite criminal charges being dropped, her child remains in the care of New York authorities on the basis of a Family Court ruling which issued a finding of neglect from a separate hearing.

The suit requests her baby be flown back to the UK to stay with Ms Fieldens cousin in Bedfordshire until an outcome is reached.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said they would not comment on personal legal action taken by its employees.
P olice have suspended their investigation into the death of a schoolboy who died after taking ecstasy at an illegal rave in south London.

Rio Andrew, 15, attended the event at an abandoned Post Office depot in Croydon along with 2,000 other young revellers in June last year.

The Holland Park School pupil needed emergency treatement after falling ill, and was taken by London Ambulance Service to Croydon University Hospital.

He was then transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital where he died 36 hours later.

A second party-goer, 19, was also hospitalised at the event, which saw crowds turn violent and hurl missiles at police officers.

Following an inquest into Rio's death at Croydon Coroner's Court on Wednesday, police have said there is "no criminal case to answer," and that they would reopen the investigation only if new information came to light.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple organ failure and an overdose of party drug MDMA, and the inquest concluded that Rio died from taking ecstasy.

Commander Simon Letchford said: "Our thoughts are with Rio's family during this very difficult time. Rio was a young man devoted to playing sport and was well-liked and thought of amongst his friends, which has made his death all the more tragic.

"More than a year has passed since Rio's death and with the culmination of the inquest today it has highlighted some of the dangers associated with unlicensed music events. These events are often dangerous, with little or no security and poor organisation, putting the lives of those attending at risk.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that where possible we will do all we can to prevent unlicensed events and illegal raves like these from taking place in London. Where they do happen, we will look to investigate and take the appropriate action."

After Rio's death his family criticised Scotland Yards failure to act on intelligence and stop the rave from taking place, which they said could have prevented the tragedy.

His father Terry Andrew told the Standard: Police had the power to stop this from happening. They had two weeks prior knowledge. We want to know why the information was discarded and not taken seriously.

They should have done more. If they had, maybe Rio would still be here. Its not just my child, it could have been someone elses.

Police admitted that they had received a "single piece of intelligence" around two weeks before the event that an event may take place at the venue, and said they would look into the reasons why no further action had been taken.

Mr Andrew added: Rio never would have taken anything knowingly. Hes a victim. The people arranging these things online are exploiting children."

A Met spokesman said at the time that they were carrying out an "internal review" to find out how the intelligence was handled.

Croydon MP Gavin Barwell said: "There are real questions about who knew about this intelligence and why wasnt it treated more seriously.

He added: The people who organised this event and supplied these drugs should feel the full force of the law.
A six-year-old boy nearly died after he drank drain cleaner which he thought was water.

Vikki Arthur says her son Sonny's insides "burned up" after he accidentally swallowed the lethal chemicals, which were in a mineral water bottle, at their home in Essex a few days before Christmas.

She had used the bottle to pour the fluid down the shower drain and although it was virtually empty, a few droplets remained which Sonny tried to drink.

Mrs Arthur, 45, said she heard a "horrible" scream as Sonny came running down the stairs in agony.

Sonny with his mother Vikki / Vikki Arthur

"He immediately started vomiting and foaming, it was like something out of a horror movie," she told the Standard.

"It was just awful, I have nightmares about it. You could see his body shutting down."

The family called an ambulance and Mrs Arthur says it was not until they were at hospital when she realised what had happened.

Sonny with his father Ian / Vikki Arthur

She said: "They asked if there was any way he could have digested cleaning products.

"That's when the penny dropped and they rushed him to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

"They prepared us for the worst and took him straight down to theatre in the middle of the night.

"He was on the brink of death."

Sonny with his siblings / Vikki Arthur

Sonny was induced into a coma and fitted with a tube to aid his breathing.

The family feared the worst, but after two days he woke up and then started to improve.

The incident happened on December 17 and he was allowed to go home, after spending two weeks in hospital, on New Year's Eve.

However, he faces a long recovery and will have to eat through a tube for at least a year, due to the damage caused to his oesophagus.

Mrs Arthur, who has six children aged six to 23 - Sonny is the youngest - is keen to warn other parents of the dangers of these chemicals.

She said: "It just burns all the internal organs, its horrible stuff. I'll never use that again.

"It was something that could have been prevented but it was just a stupid error.

"It could have happened to anybody. Hes quite a sensible kid and that it happened to him shows how easy it is."

She added: "This stuff is a killer, its lethal. Its designed to unblock drains so you can imagine what does to the inside of the human body, it doesnt bear thinking about."

Jenna Wingrave, a friend of the family, has set up a fundraising page to cover the family's ongoing travel expenses to and from Great Ormond Street Hospital and hotels for them to stay nearby.

Any extra funds will be given to the hospital, which Mrs Arthur thanks for saving two of her children.

Her 16-year-old daughter was born with craniosynostosis, a rare condition that affects the shape of the skull, and has received treatment from the hospital all her life.

"They're just amazing, amazing people. They save lives every day," Mrs Arthur said.

Donate to Jenna Wingrave's fundraising page here.

The Evening Standard is also using a charity appeal to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Visit standard.co.uk/gosh for more information or to donate.
T he family of four-year-old Jake Morgan are celebrating today after he was allowed to leave Great Ormond Street Hospital following a kidney transplant.

Jake, from Barnet, had the crucial surgery at the hospital  which the Evening Standard is supporting with its Give to GOSH appeal  in December. However, he spent Christmas in pain and was not well enough to enjoy the festivities at home.

On New Years Day he went back into the operating theatre because of fears his body was rejecting the new kidney. But this week doctors said Jake can finally leave his ward and move into family accommodation, funded by the GOSH charity, across the road from the hospital in Bloomsbury.

Jakes mother, Samantha, said: It has been a bit of a nightmare since Christmas so the news we could leave hospital was an amazing surprise.

Play therapist explains kidney transplant to 4-year-old - GOSH

Jake clapped his hands together and hes been singing since they told him. I hope it all stays positive. Until now we had been spending a couple of hours each day over at the flat, but Jake never wanted to go back to hospital, which was really hard. It is our home for the moment.

Jake was told on Monday that he could leave hospital. Mrs Morgan said it was the first day he was able to change out of his pyjamas since his operation. Small steps like these are huge for Jake and his family.

He was one of the patients who met Star Wars actor Mark Hamill on his visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital before Christmas, and the Standard has been following the four-year-olds progress.

Because Jake was not well enough to go home for Christmas, he spent most of the day in his bed on Eagle Ward, and only a few hours at the GOSH flat with his parents. Mrs Morgan said: Christmas morning was heartbreaking. I woke up to Jake calling out, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, and I tried to distract him from the pain with presents.

She added: We put the tree up in the flat during his transplant operation as we had to try and do something positive for him in that time.

Stephen Marks, consultant paediatric nephrologist and clinical lead for kidney transplantation at GOSH, said: Jake had a kidney transplant biopsy on New Years Day as his blood tests had shown a deterioration in his kidney function and we were concerned that he may be rejecting it. However, his biopsy was normal and his kidney transplant function continues to improve every day  I saw him on Tuesday and he is continuing to make excellent progress.

Where will your money go Funding the Louis Dundas Centre for Childrens Palliative Care, for patients who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions

Supporting the creation of a new specialist unit helping children with heart failure to stay well while they wait for a heart transplant

Funding research programmes, which aim to find new cures and treatments for children with rare diseases

Funding the patient and family support programme at the hospital, including a dedicated play team which designs activities for children to aid their treatment, recovery and understanding of their illness. It also funds a wide range of other support, all helping to make life as normal as possible for families while children are in hospital, often for weeks or months at a time

Although he still requires close monitoring, he is well enough to be discharged to our patient hotel.

The charity-funded accommodation provided by GOSH helps families regain independence and adjust to life outside hospital but remain near its expert staff. Money from Give to Gosh will help fund parent accommodation.
A n insurance worker was advised to return a live wasp to a Tesco branch after being given a shock when he found it in a bag of spinach.

Rob Bates, 27, said he found the "drowsy" insect when he opened the bag for his lunch two days after buying it.

Mr Bates said he had purchased the packet from the Tesco Metro store on Eastcheap, near Monument station on Monday.

After making the find on Wednesday he tweeted to tell the supermarket what happened.

But Tesco responded that he should return the bag, the wasp and his receipt to the store in order to be given a refund.

Mr Bates was then forced to explain that he had binned the bag because he is allergic to wasps - but insisted he was nonetheless happy with the store's response.

@rewbates Hi Rob, I'm sorry a wasp has made it's way into your bag of spinach. I appreciate how concerning this is to find (1)  Tesco (@Tesco) January 6, 2016

@rewbates Please can you return the bag, wasp and your receipt (if you still have it) to the store you brought it from? (2)  Tesco (@Tesco) January 6, 2016

@rewbates My colleagues will ensure your reimbursed and will send this off for investigation, along with your details, to our supplier (3)  Tesco (@Tesco) January 6, 2016

He told the Standard: I was asked to take my receipt, the bag of spinach with the wasp to Tesco but I couldnt be bothered with that.

Im not angry or annoyed these things happen. I dont know if it sneaked in when the spinach was being packaged but we all make mistakes.

Im happy with Tescos response. I was just shocked when I first saw it and wondered how it got in there. I had eaten from it happily a couple of times before I noticed it.

Everyone at work found it funny.

A Tesco spokesman said: We have extremely high standards for the products we put on our shelves and work hard to inspect our salad carefully.

"However, due to the freshness of our produce incidences like this can happen on very rare occasions.

"We have apologised to Mr Bates and have offered him a refund.
T he infamous "Sainsbury's cat" has returned to the Brockley supermarket.

The stubborn feline first hit the headlines back in November, after he was spotted by shoppers strutting through the supermarket's aisles.

The ginger moggy was snapped sitting on a shelf surrounded by packets of sweets and glaring ferociously as though daring anyone to try to move him.

When he was removed by security the cat, called Olly, simply sauntered straight back in.

Regular customers have said they have recently seen Olly hanging around the supermarket in the evening, when staff reduce the fresh fish.

Olly was back again on Wednesday, when shopper Nigel Thornberry saw him perched atop a chiller cabinet and staring down at the customers below.

After he tweeted two pictures of the grumpy cat, twitter users joked that he looked to be judging shoppers' food choices.

The cat has come back to Brockley Sainsbury's. pic.twitter.com/2AKRosiEGM  Nigel Thornberry (@J_Tema) January 6, 2016

Olly's owner Adam Oliver, an academic at the London School of Economics, said the six-year-old Tomcat often visits the Sainsburys, which is near his home, and is also known to frequent a nearby cafe.

@KateSLP Lives close to shop, 6yrs old, had him since he was 6 wks old, name is Olly Oliver & he has a blue brother. pic.twitter.com/eHZieOT2mX  Adam Oliver (@1969ajo) November 12, 2015

When asked about Olly's disgruntled appearance, he said: "That's just his face."
P olice are appealing to find a mother and her two children who are believed to have travelled to Scotland after leaving their home in Romford almost a month ago.

Manguza Kitondo, 38, and daughters Lovely Mabaka, 10, and Leonnora Hope, six, were last seen at their home in South Street on December 11.

They are believed to have been visiting Scotland and were due to return to Romford in January.

But the family, who were reported missing on January 4, have not returned and are believed to have moved out of their home.

Ms Kitondo, who could be using the name Natalie Mbu, made contact between December 11 and January 4, but her phone is now uncontactable.

A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said: Officers are urging Manguza to contact them and so they can confirm that Leonnora and Lovely are safe and well, as it is their safety and well-being they are concerned for.

Anyone with information on the familys whereabouts should call police on 101 or 020 7230 1212, quoting missing person reference 16MIS000527.
A City worker started a fish-based rap battle with workers at Pret a Manger after complaining that his sandwich tasted like a sandpit.

After a disappointing lunch break on Tuesday, software exec Tom Dodds tweeted: What did your chef put in the @Pret chefs special crayfish and avocado flatbread? Tastes like my daughters sandpit.

The store asked him to send them a DM (direct message) so they could resolve the problem in private.

But the barrage of fishy puns that followed ended up being viewed by thousands of people when Mr Dodds, 25, took a screengrab and shared it with the world.

No pop song was safe as Mr Dodds and the restaurants social media staff repurposed lyrics by Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and even Steppenwolf.

After offering him a free sandwich to compensate for his sandpit flatbread, Pret asked if there was anything else they could do to help.

That's a (w)rap: Software exec Tom Dodds

That fish cray, invited Mr Dodds, referencing the lyric that s**t cray in the song N****s in Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Ive got 99 problems but the fish aint one, ventured the Pret spokesman in response, now seemingly confident of the once-maligned crayfish at the shop.

Now watch me fish, now watch me cray cray. Fish fish, then I cray cray, countered Mr Dodds, effortlessly adapting a line from Silentos Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) that originally asked listeners to watch me whip/ now watch me nae nae.

Undeterred, Pret shot back: I cant feel my plaice when Im with you, inspired by The Weeknds I Cant Feel My Face.

Mr Dodds upped the stakes, insisting he was prawn to be wiiiiiild, before Pret unleashed the longest excerpt in the entire battle  four full lines resembling Taylor Swifts Shake It Off.

Im just gonna hake, hake, hake, hake, hake/ I hake it off, hake it off, said the sandwich shop, simultaneously referencing the UK top 10 single and the white, flaky fish  which is similar to cod and haddock.

Mr Dodds, who is from Oxford, managed to shoehorn five types of fish into his next song, Notorious BIGs Juicy.

It was all a bream, he reflected. I used to read turbot magazine. Goldfish, cod and anchovy up in the limousine.

Pret instructed him to coy fix up look carp in homage to Dizzee Rascal, before Mr Dodds finished the exchange with a vowel-laden Adele tribute.

Halibut from the other siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide, he said.

I must have cod a thousand times.

Reflecting on the exchange, which unfolded over two hours during Tuesday afternoon, Mr Dodds tweeted: Gourmet-level banter from the @Pret social media team in response to my crayfish based issue.

He told the Standard how, after a productive morning, he and his colleagues felt they had time to do a bit of light brainstorming to ensure the fish puns were the best they could be.

We work in a co-working space so a ton of other businesses were tickled too, he said. It was a team effort.

A Pret spokesman told the Daily Mail: Having fun with our customers is a big part of what makes us tick  both in our shops and on social media.

Our pun champ is feeling a little too coy to be named on this occasion though Im afraid... theyre not really one to fish for compliments.
A nimal rights group PETA is offering a 5,000 reward to track down and convict the Croydon cat killer.

The group initially offered 2,000 for information leading to the successful prosecution of the person responsible for mutilating felines in the Croydon and West Norwood areas.

But the reward was today more than doubled as the group becomes even more desperate to catch the perpetrator.

More than 30 cats are thought to have died at the hands of the so-called 'Cat Ripper of Croydon' in the last two years, with at least seven pets found disembowelled or decapitated in recent months.

One of the cats thought to have been a victim of the killer was Ukiyo, who was found in Dalmally Road in September.

Other people have reported that their pets have returned home with stab wounds and fear more deaths are imminent.

Elisa Allen, PETA associate director, said: Its imperative that any community faced with such sadistic and violent acts take measures to find the culprit and bring him or her to justice.

Animal abusers are a danger to everyone  they take their issues out on whoever is available to them, human or non-human, and must be caught before they act again.

Cat owners are also being urged to keep a watchful eye on their pets and keep them indoors when possible.

Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.
A popular dinner lady today told how she was left stranded in hospital for the New Year after she was badly injured in a hit-and-run.

Mary Barrand, 56, said relatives visited her in shifts at King's College Hospital after she suffered a broken leg, shoulder and cracked ribs when she was struck by a motorbike in Peckham.

Speaking from her hospital bed, Mrs Barrand told how she was hit by the motorcyclist while walking with her 17-year-old son Ryan in Hanover Park on New Year's Eve.

She told the Standard: We were crossing the road and were virtually on top of the pedestrian island when this motorbike suddenly appeared.

I put up my arm as a defensive action then the next thing I know I hit the floor.

I must have still been talking but I dont remember a lot of what happened afterwards. I drifted in and out of consciousness and was given strong medication.

When I came to in the hospital I had already had an operation on my leg. Id broken two bones in my leg as well as my ribs and my shoulder was shattered.

I was relieved when I woke up that it wasnt a head injury. I can cope with everything else.

Mrs Barrand, who works as a dinner lady at English Martyrs Roman Catholic School in Walworth, could remain in hospital for another two weeks before she is able to return home. She is currently unable to leave her bed without use of a hoist.

She said her family visited her at the hospital in "shifts" during the New Year after the accident, which came months after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Normally we would spend New Year at my mums but it kind of went out the window this year," she said.

The food was taken round to mine and the family took it in shifts to come and see me. They have rallied around me and lifted my spirits.

The next stage is making sure the environment is right for me at home as I have limited movement.

Mrs Barrand said relatives told her schoolchildren had held prayers for her in assembly after staff were notified.

The collision happened four months after the 56-year-old received the all clear for cervical cancer following her diagnosis in March.

She said: Im due a slice of good luck now, hopefully Ill get a nice lottery win."

Scotland Yard said a 21-year-old man was arrested on New Years Day on suspicion of failing to stop at a scene of an accident and suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.

He has been bailed to a date in February.
Applicants for visas wait in line at the British visa center in Beijing.[Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

Chinese travelers will be issued a two-year multiple entry visa by the British government under a pilot scheme from Jan 11, 2016.

According to the announcement, travelers applying in Chinese mainland for a six-month standard visit visa will be eligible for a two-year multiple entry visit visa at the same price of 85 (815 yuan).

The government of China will make the same offer available to British citizens.

The new arrangement provides Chinese passengers with a better deal than the standard Schengen visitor visa, which is limited to a maximum 90 days.

Next week's launch follows British Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement of the scheme during the state visit of President Xi Jinping to the UK in October 2015.

The two-year visitor visa will be available for tourism, business or to attend conferences.

Applicants will still need to undergo the same checks before a visa is granted, with Chinese visitors required to submit an online application and biometrics.

The new visa arrangements will be more convenient as there is also a plan to extend the UK's mobile fingerprinting service, which captures the biometrics needed for applications, from nine to 50 Chinese cities.
A rise in the London Living Wage to more than 10 to reflect the sky-high cost of housing was backed by Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan today.

The frontrunner to replace Boris Johnson used a keynote speech to urge the Living Wage Commission to change the way it calculates the recommended minimum earnings to better mirror the pressure on families in the capital.

Mr Khan called on businesses to see it as a badge of honour to pay staff the Living Wage, currently 9.40 per hour in London and 8.25 elsewhere.

The complex calculation to set the rate is thought to underplay the capitals housing costs. Mr Khan, who urged it to identify a more consistent, fair formula, is writing to the body.

Of principal importance for Londoners will be the inclusion of a real reflection of the cost of housing and the extent of its impact on in-work poverty, he said.

He was speaking at the Resolution Foundation think tank which yesterday revealed a million Londoners live in homes where half the earnings are spent on housing  more than anywhere else in the country.
J eremy Corbyn is massively out of step with the public on the issues that caused three resignations from his front bench, an exclusive poll reveals today.

By two to one, Britons think he should sever his links with the Left-wing Stop the War pressure group, found pollsters BMG Research.

Just 14 per cent think terrorist attacks like the Paris shootings can be blamed on Western military action in the Middle East, which Stop the War has claimed.

Commentary: North London clique defines fault line running through party In the stairwells of Portcullis House, north London clique has become a rallying cry for those opposed to Jeremy Corbyn. The term is loaded with meaning  and goes to the heart of the fault line running through Labour and the trade union movement. Foremost, it suggests Mr Corbyns circle is isolated from the real world and doomed to defeat in 2020. Our poll by BMG Research underlines this: Voters do not like Stop the War, the group that Mr Corbyn helped launch in Euston Road. Mr Corbyns bedrock comes from the hard-Left activism that read London Labour Briefing in the Eighties and listened to Ken Livingstone and John McDonnell in draughty halls. The survivors are now returning to Labour, along with the N1 chattering classes, disaffected graduates, and NGO-employed baby-boomers who fled to the Greens in the Blair years. It was no coincidence that the political obituaries to Michael Dugher and Pat McFadden, sacked this week, all stressed their horny-handed roots in Yorkshire and Glasgow. The pair belong to a tribe that sees itself as closer to ordinary peoples kitchen table worries. The chasm is exemplified by the issue of Heathrows third runway. To the Corbyn-McDonnell set, it is a carbon-belching corporate menace. But to the trade unions, a third runway means jobs and prosperity for working households. The position of Tom Watson is hugely important. He hails from the West Midlands and the trade unions, has no truck with neo-Marxist posturing and a mandate from the membership for his shadow cabinet place. Some Labour MPs think the real fault line in Labour is between its leader and his deputy.

More than three times as many  47 per cent  agree with sacked ex-minister Pat McFadden, who was dismissed by Mr Corbyn for publicly condemning the Stop the War claims.

The findings will horrify Labour moderates who fear that their Left-wing leader is courting election disaster by aligning the party with Stop the War and its policies, which include unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Labour MP Kevan Jones, who resigned yesterday as shadow armed forces minister, said: This just reinforces that we are alienating mainstream opinion.

"It means that as a party we are in danger of not being taken seriously on defence and security issues.

Mr McFadden said: Its really important in the face of terror to defend the values of our society.

The findings came as Mr Corbyn completed his reshuffle with some junior posts.

However, MPs said he had been prevented from sacking two senior whips, Alan Campbell and Mark Tami, when chief whip Rosie Winterton and others threatened to resign.

Mr Corbyn co-founded Stop the War in 2001 and was its chair for four years until he was elected leader in September.

When he attended a fundraiser for the group last month, defying critics, he hailed it as vital and said: Ive been proud to be the chair.

But a clear 63 per cent majority of the public with an opinion say Labours leader was wrong to attend the fund-raising event.

Just 37 per cent said he was right to attend.

Dr Michael Turner, research director at BMG Research, said: These results are a stark reminder for the Labour party that the vast majority of public opinion is opposed to many of its leaders views.

A detailed breakdown revealed that current Labour supporters backed Mr Corbyns ties with Stop the War, but a majority of those who voted Labour last year thought he should cut them.

TODO: define component type apester

Six in 10 Londoners thought he should cut ties, excluding dont knows.
F resh pressure was heaped on Tory chairman Lord Feldman today after his popularity among Conservative Party members dived to an all-time low.

David Cameron is doggedly defending his ally against calls for him to quit over the Tatler Tory scandal, but Lord Feldmans approval ratings have become twice as bad within a month.

Already the most unpopular high-ranking Tory, with Decembers poll of grassroots members giving the Conservative chair a minus 16.7 rating, this month it fell to minus 34.4.

In December, Lord Feldmans score in the ConservativeHome websites survey saw the largest one-month fall and the first negative rating of this Parliament for any high-ranking figure.

Lord Feldman resisted pressure to quit over claims he did not adequately address complaints of bullying by Mark Clarke, a Tory activist once tipped for greatness by Tatler magazine. Party activist Elliott Johnson committed suicide in September having complained he was being bullied by Clarke.

Frontbencher Grant Shapps resigned and Lord Feldman faced calls to quit from Mr Johnsons father.

Mr Cameron arrived today in Bavaria for EU talks with German politicians. He said: Its important this organisation shows it has the flexibility of a network. Later, he will travel to Hungary for talks with prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.
B oris Johnson today defended the Met over blunders which allowed terror suspect Siddhartha Dhar to flee Britain while on police bail.

The Mayor said the force had to deal with very, very uppity lawyers who monitored their clients rights to the extent that the police could not follow them back to the house or be oppressive.

Former bouncy castle salesman Dhar, believed by some to be the new Jihadi John, mocked the authorities from Syria after being able to leave in 2014 with his family despite being arrested six times for alleged terror offences.

Scotland Yard has been criticised after it emerged police asked him to phone them and surrender his passport six weeks after he fled to join IS, with officers waiting a month before checking why he had failed to comply.

They then wrote him a polite letter asking could you please contact the police on the telephone number listed above.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, has also written to the UKs head of counter terrorism Mark Rowley over the blunders and said he would raise it with David Cameron.

But speaking on BBC Radio London today, Mr Johnson said the Met had to deal with a pretty ineffective bail system which posed various restrictions under human rights law which hampered their ability to keep an eye on suspects.

He said it was time to stop monkeying around, adding: Lets not say stuff their human rights because thats obviously not the way we do things in this country, but lets be pretty robust in our approach.

Dhar, who is suspected of being the main protagonist in a new Islamic State propaganda video released on Sunday, was today reported to have been a close associate and mentor of one of Lee Rigbys killers, Michael Adebolajo.

The disturbing video is also believed to feature a son of Grace Khadijah Dare - the 24-year-old Muslim convert from Lewisham who fled to Syria.
G reat British Bake Off champ Nadiya Hussain has revealed she is receiving protection from police over alleged anti-Islamic abuse levelled at her online.

The star, whose victory in the final was watched by 13.4million people, said she had been targeted over her Muslim faith and wearing a headscarf.

The star told of her abuse on ITVs Loose Women.

She explained: "There was quite a lot of negativity on Twitter. I tried really hard not to look at it. My husband is one of those who has to read everything, so he sat there and read everything.

"You can do two things, and the old me would have very much regretted everything, and there were times when I thought, What have I done? Am I putting my kids in danger?

He was always the one to say You know what? Its okay. They're such a minority and it doesnt matter.

"And if anything, I proved to myself I can have the confidence not to care what people think. For me, thats what came out of it all."

The mum-of-three, who has since moved to Milton Keynes and is writing a cookbook, revealed things got so bad that police had to provide protection outside her Leeds home.

Nadiya's victory was one of the TV highlights of 2015 / BBC

She said: We had to have people come in and check that we were okay.

For me, some of the tweets I looked at and thought, 'Well thats nothing, itll be fine', but everyone wanted to make sure that we were safe."

The Great British Bake Off 2015 - meet the contestants 1 /18 The Great British Bake Off 2015 - meet the contestants The Contestants, 2015 Meet the gang: the 2015 line-up Mark Bourdillon/BBC Flora Age: 19

Look our for: Arty flourishes. She works at a contemporary art gallery, and is waiting to study a history of art degree Mark Bourdillon/BBC Stu Age: 35

Look out for: His attempts to trial unconventional flavours, like Middle Eastern spices Mark Bourdillon/BBC Ugne Age: 32

Look out for: Theatrical flavours and appearance. She incorporates Lithuanian flavours into her food, and is ambitious with presentation Mark Bourdillon/BBC Tamal Age: 32

Look out for: Towering cakes. He baked his sisters wedding cake, and has since been asked to do many more, with up to five tiers Mark Bourdillon/BBC Ian Age: 41

Look out for: Home-grown goodness. He likes to include an unusual discovery from his garden in his bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC Dorret Age: 53

Look out for: Michelin-star quality. Her dream is to attend the legendary Cordon Bleu school in Paris Mark Bourdillon/BBC Nadiya Age: 30

Look out for: Big statement bakes. She conjures up beautiful masterpieces at family dinners Mark Bourdillon/BBC Alvin Age: 37

Look out for: Highly-detailed bakes. Hes a perfectionist, and once baked a loaf of bread a day for three weeks until hed got it right Mark Bourdillon/BBC Paul Age: 49

Look out for: Bakes that bust gender norms. Hes a prison guard out to prove that men like me, stereotyped by our jobs, can love baking Mark Bourdillon/BBC Sandy Age: 49

Look out for: Hearty bakes. She claims that her baking might not be glamorous, but it's tasty Mark Bourdillon/BBC Marie Age: 66

Look out for: Parisian perfection. She fell in love with baking in her 30s when she moved to the French capital Mark Bourdillon/BBC Mat Age: 37

Look out for: Sweet treats. He prefers cakes and biscuits to savoury bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC Bake Off Contestants 2015 Mark Bourdillon/BBC

But she admitted that her children actually enjoyed the attention, telling host Vicky Pattison: My kids loved it. They were like, Oh, policemen."
A sylum seekers could be deported if they are found to have taken part in a string of New Year sex attacks in Cologne, Germanys justice minister said today.

Police said witnesses described the perpetrators as being of Arab or North African origin among a crowd of about 1,000 men who gathered around Colognes main train station on Thursday night.

That has been seized upon by some opponents of Germanys welcoming stance towards those fleeing conflict.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview with the Funke newspaper group published today that deportations would certainly be conceivable.

He said the law allows for people to be deported during asylum proceedings if they are sentenced to a year or more in prison, and that is possible with sexual offences.

At least 106 criminal complaints have been filed by women since the incident, Cologne police spokesman Christoph Gilles said.

At least three quarters have a sexual component. In two cases we are investigating crimes that amount to rape, Mr Gilles said.

Meanwhile a senior german official has said police will have to rethink their tactics following the attacks, which have provoked anger and revulsion across the country.

Ralf Jaeger, interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, said police had to adjust to the fact that groups of men had attacked women en masse.

Three suspects have been identified, he said, but no arrests had been made.

Mr Jaeger also warned that anti-immigrant groups were trying to use the attacks to stir up hatred against refugees.

This is poisoning the climate of our society, he said.
M ore than 60 people were killed today when a suicide bomber attacked a military training centre in Libya.

Witnesses said a truck carrying a bomb crashed into the gate of the academy in the coastal city of Zliten, around 100 miles east of the capital Tripoli.

Initial reports stated at least 40 people died in the blast but the death toll has since risen to 65, according to hospital sources.

Local mayor Miftah Lahmadi said the truck exploded as hundreds of recruits were gathering at the centre.

Martin Kobler, the UN's special representative to Libya, said it was a suicide attack.

Libya's al-Naba television network quoted a state of emergency had been declared by the ministry of health to allow hospitals in Tripoli and Misrata to treat the injured.

Libya has been sliding deeper into conflict since an 2011 uprising, with rival governments and Islamic State militants battling for control of its main cities and oil wealth.

In December, Libyan politicians signed a UN peace deal to form a unity government but it has yet to be implemented.
H ighly venemous sea snakes which normally live in tropical waters have washed up on Australia's east oast.

The yellow-bellied sea snakes have been spotted on beaches in New South Wales after being washed ashore in recent stormy weather.

The species, which usually sticks to deep, offshore waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is highly venemous but not typically aggressive.

The snakes have very distinctive colouring, with dark slate-blue skin on top and yellow underneath, and a paddle-shaped, dark-spotted tail.

Carolyn Larcombe from Burra near Canberra saw one of the snakes on the sand while walking along Congo Beach, 10 kilometres south of Moruya.

"It was very quiet [and] I was able to put it over a stick and put it back in the water," Ms Larcombe told ABC News.

Australia: the snakes washed up on Congo Beach / Laith Walk/Flickr

Later that day, Ms Larcombe said she spotted a second, larger sea snake and also returned it to the surf.

She told ABC that she recognised the species from photographs and a snake she saw stranded at another beach around 30 years ago.

"I'm not scared of snakes; I was being very, very careful," she said.

"I thought they had a better chance of survival back in the water than up high and dry on the sand."

Yellow-bellied sea snakes are normally found within a few kilometres of the shore across the world, including much of Australia.

Although they prefer shallow inshore waters, they can also be found in the open water well away from coasts and reefs.

The animals are entirely aquatic, so it is normally sickness, injury or ocean turbulence caused by strong winds or storms that causes them to become stranded on beaches.

Australian Museum reptile expert Ross Sadlier told ABC News that the sea snakes found on Congo Beach were likely to have been washed south by ocean currents before falling prey to recent rough seas.

"Those that are probably a little bit weaker, or just unlucky individuals, tend to get caught up in that [and] then washed ashore," Mr Sadlier explained.
A rmed officers have shot dead a man who tried to storm the front of a Paris police station.

Witnesses said the man was seen rushing towards officers at the entrance to the police station armed with a knife before he was gunned down.

Bomb disposal experts used a robotic device to check the mans corpse for explosives. Sniffer dogs were also present.

Wires could be seen extending from the mans clothes, but there was no initial confirmation that he had a bomb, and later reports suggested the suicide vest was a fake.

He was gunned down at a police station in Barbes near the Gare du Nord station in the French capital.

Armed response: French police check a pedestrian as they secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station / Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

The use of robots is standard procedure in cases where there is a risk explosives could be present.

Police in the French capital confirmed that one man had been shot, and said the neighbourhood remains in lockdown following the shooting.

The French Interior Ministry said the man had been attempting an attack on the police station, and had shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he approached the building.

Yvan Assioma, of the police union Alliance, said tension was high on the anniversary of the attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, which left two police officers dead a year ago Thursday.

"The alert is constant," he told the broadcast network iTele.

Lock down: The cordon / Charles Platiau/Reuters

The Paris prosecutor's office said it was investigating and police said they are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack.

At least a dozen riot police vans are blocking off the area in the Goutte d'Or district.

Shooting: police said the area remains in lock down / AFP/Getty Images

The incident comes exactly a year after gunmen opened fire at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people.

Minutes before the attempted attack, French President Francois Hollande had paid homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including the three officers shot to death in last January's massacre.

The police station the man had tried to force entry to is in the 18th district of northern Paris, an area that Islamic State had said after even deadlier Paris attacks in November that it had been planning to hit.

"According to our colleagues he wanted to blow himself up," an official at the Alternative Police union said.

"He shouted Allahu Akbar and had wires protruding from his clothes. That's why the police officer opened fire."
Chinese man prevents property loss using nothing more than wisdom

A Chinese man surnamed Wu recently defended his property from three robbers with only his quick thinking and wisdom.

Wu was robbed on his way home on the evening of Jan. 1. He originally offered the robbers 180 yuan and 5,000 units of foreign currency.

When he noticed the robbers interest in the foreign currency, he claimed that it was Euros, which would have been equal to 35,575.13 in renminbi. He offered all the foreign currency to the robbers, just asking them to leave him his iPhone 6.

Wu successfully distracted their attention and got away. He then called the police and the three robbers were arrested.

The foreign currency was revealed to actually be South Korean won rather than Euros. 5,000 won equals only about 27.5 yuan in total.
W ith awards season kicking off in earnest, BAFTA are gearing up to announce their 2016 nominations shortlist.

On Friday January 8 at 7.35am, Stephen Fry and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will announce the films in contention for this year's prizes, following a sterling 12 months in British and international cinema.

It might seem like only yesterday that Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore were collecting their trophies, but on February 14, a whole new batch of stars and filmmakers will be donning their gowns and tuxedos and making their way to the Royal Opera House for the prestigious ceremony.

While nominations for the Golden Globes, the SAGs and The Critics Circle might have given us a hint about to expect, it seems like it could be a tight race when it comes to this years BAFTA shortlist.

Watch all the action at 7.35am on January 8:

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Spotlight, Carol, The Big Short, The Revenant and Bridge of Spies are all expected to be in the running for Best Film, as well as recognition for British films including Ex Machina, Suffragette and The Danish Girl.

Last years winner Eddie Redmayne is likely to be nominated in the Best Actor category, as is Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender and possibly Michael Caine for Paolo Sorrentinos Youth.

Cate Blanchett has been praised across the board for her role in Carol so is a dead cert for a Best Actress nod, as is Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn and Jennifer Lawrence for Joy.

Alicia Vikander is also likely to get a Best Actress nomination (if she's not up for supporting) while Carey Mulligan and Charlotte Rampling could also be in with a chance.

In the supporting categories, Brits Idris Elba, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance are likely to be recognised as are Rooney Mara, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren.
A re all those new crime dramas getting to you? Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, and Death In Paradise have all made a return this week  but heres something a bit different.

ITV are launching their new series Jericho, an eight-part drama set in 1870s Yorkshire - and it isn't your usual period drama.

Heres what you need to know about the new original show.

1) Its probably the only Western ever set in Yorkshire

Jericho isnt your typical period drama. Forget the lavish grounds of Downton  this has more in common with the Western genre than anything.

Eh? A British Western? How does that work? Well, its set in the wilds of Yorkshire in a settlement camp that slowly moves towards an increased sense of civilisation, as the residents build a viaduct for the railway network.

Think Deadwood, but without all the swearing and nudity.

2) Its got Lester Freamon from The Wire in it

Clarke Peters, best known for playing the laid-back and methodical detective Lester Freamon in The Wire, plays railway agent Ralph Coates in Jericho.

Call the Midwife fans will also know Jessica Raine who plays lead character Annie Quaintain  a widow forced to leave her home and move to Jericho to start a new life. Raine played Jenny Lee in the hit BBC drama, and also took on the role of Jane Boleyn in Wolf Hall.

3) Its authentically Yorkshire

Based on the building of the real-life Ribblehead Viaduct, it was important for Jericho to look the part.

Many areas in Huddersfield have served as filming locations, from North Light Film Studios to Colne Valley Museum. The accents arent too shabby either.

Best TV Moments 2015 1 /26 Best TV Moments 2015 Katie Price won Celebrity Big Brother Katie Price proved shes still the queen of reality TV after beating Perez Hilton, Katie Hopkins, and Michelle Visage to become the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 15 We found out who killed Lucy in EastEnders EastEnders biggest storyline of the year was a mystery that had the soap nations viewers hooked  who killed Lucy Beale? The answer: young Bobby Beale. Not so cherubic after all, eh? Poldark sauced up the BBC Aidan Turner became an instant hit across the nation as a new, slightly spiced-up adaptation of Winston Grahams Poldark novels commanded a huge audience. To look at this picture, we have no idea why Clarkson left Top Gear (and joined Amazon) If one word dominated the first half of 2015, it was fracas. Jeremy Clarkson assaulted a Top Gear producer and was kicked off the show. Hes returning in 2016 with Richard Hammond and James May for a new motoring show on Amazon Prime Amazon James Corden took over The Late Late Show Proving all the haters wrong, James Corden has soared on US TV as the host of the Late Late Show. His Carpool Karaoke segment has become a huge hit, and played a significant role in Justin Biebers image overhaul Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Chris Pratt nailed the TOWIE accent Chris Pratt built on the success of Guardians of the Galaxy with the years biggest film Jurassic World (well, until Star Wars came out). He debuted his hilariously accurate TOWIE accent when he appeared on the Graham Norton show Mad Men came to an end One of the most celebrated US TV dramas of all time came to a close, as Mad Men bowed out. The finale was well-received by the majority of critics Jules O'Dwyer and Matisse won Britain's Got Talent Jules ODwyer and her dog Matisse were an instant hit with the public for their hilarious and sweet acting and dance routines, going on to win Britains Got Talent  though their fame was mired slightly by the stunt dog controversy that saw the show's producers get a slapped wrist from Ofsted The Night's King shook up Game of Throne Game of Thrones continued to be a juggernaut with some of its most shocking moments yet. The stakes were well and truly raised in an episode which saw the Nights Watch and the Wildlings attacked by the Army of the Dead and the big bad Nights King Olly Murs and Caroline Flack took over The X Factor It was all change on The X Factor this year  for better and worse. Host Dermot OLeary stepped down, with Olly Murs and Caroline Flack taking over presenting duties Anthony Harvey/Getty Images Coronation Street went live Corrie made the brave move of doing a live episode, focusing on the Platts ongoing feud with Callum Logan. It all went smoothly, and even rival soap EastEnders wished the cast good luck Vicki Michelle was glassed on CBB: Bit on the Side The drama on the summer of Celebrity Big Brother wasnt just contained to the house  Bit On The Side was forced to dramatically cut the live feed after a huge row in the guest panel. A thrown glass resulted in Vicki Michelle being injured in the crossfire and taken to hospital Nadiya won the Bake Off 2015 was the year that the Great British Bake Off proved that it was far, far more than just a baking competition. The journey of winner Nadiya Hussain captured the nation  and her win even made Mary Berry cry BBC/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon Terry Wogan missed Children in Need for the first time Due to illness, Terry Wogan was unable to host Children in Need for the first time ever. Luckily Dermot OLeary, no longer on X Factor duties, was on hand to step in at the last minute Piers Morgan joined Good Morning Britain The man you love (and love to hate), loves that you love (and love to hate) him. Piers Morgan joined Good Morning Britain as a permanent fixture, and has already caused controversy a-plenty with his flirty manner and tough interviews style Clara Oswald left Doctor Who Doctor Whos best series in years saw a dramatic end for companion Clara Oswald, who paid the price when she got caught up in the schemes of immortal girl Ashildr. Actress Jenna Coleman is now gearing up to play a young Queen Victoria in ITVs new big drama series Vicky Pattison was crowned Queen of the Jungle on I'm A Celebrity Howay! Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison did a fantastic job of rewriting her bolshy image as she emerged a funny, kind, and loveable reality TV star in the Im A Celeb jungle Nigel Wright/ITV/REX Louisa Johnson won The X Factor Louisa Johnson might have won the X Factor  but she didnt quite steal the nations hearts, as her debut single only reached #9 in the charts Peep Show ended - for ever Channel 4s cult sitcom went out with a belter of a final series. Of course Mark and Jez didnt get a true happy ending  theyre stuck together always, as the camera cut away from the shows trademark point-of-view shots and saw the pair slumped on the sofas in their Croydon flat. Goodbye, El Dude Brothers Downton Abbey closed its doors The end of an era  Downton Abbey finally came to a close with one last Christmas special which (SPOILER ALERT) saw happy endings all round. Phew!

4) Its unlike other period dramas

The period drama genre has been ruled by Downton for years, and most of the British ones tend to focus on sleepy villages, huge estates, or bustling cities.

Jericho, with its shanty town setting and industrial development in the rolling countryside offers something that few other UK series have attempted before.

ITV, 9pm
Chinas Court Museum officially opened its doors to public free of charge on Wednesday in Beijing, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. Court verdicts of cases about Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai and other former senior officials are exhibited in the museum.

The museum, for which preparation was started in June 2014, features three basic exhibition halls, six special exhibition galleries, three interactive areas for public law education and one video hall for law films.

The halls include one that demonstrates Chinas trial history, one exhibiting the history of people's court, and a third one with the theme of law-based governance for Chinas national rejuvenation.

About 2,000 ancient law books are also on display, some of which detail ancient Chinese laws.

Using the multimedia devices on the first floor of the two-story building, visitors can search for information and videos of different cases, including the ones for Zhou and Bo.

The verdicts of some other big cases are also displayed on the same floor.

In addition, there is a special booth displaying documents and items related to the Zhou and Bo cases, including a court mallet, the pen used by Zhou during the trial and handcuffs worn by Bo.

Wang Haibo, curator of the museum, explained that these items can serve as a caution to the public. This is also the first time these artifacts are being displayed.

The official website of the museum also launched on Jan. 4, and visitors can make appointments online or by telephone.
A total of sixty-six pigs rambled around on a highway after the truck carrying them rolled over in south Chinas Guangxi Province, on January 6, 2016.

The pigs, once freed from the cage, roamed the highway here and there, while those injured laid where they had fallen.

The wandering wines had caused another 3-car pileup accident. Luckily, no one was injured in the riot.

Traffic police soon closed the road section, and cornered the pigs into a small area. A crane arrived on scene, and it took the crane two hours to clear and transport the pigs. Four pigs were killed, and three ran off, causing a loss of tens of thousands yuan.
Fort Collins Police have arrested a nurse with local ties on charges of unlawful sexual contact. Scottsbluff Police also confirm active investigations against the nurse, who worked at Regional West Medical Center.

On Dec. 21, 2015, Fort Collins Police arrested Thomas Mark Moore on charges of unlawful sexual contact, a class 4 felony, according to a press release. Scottsbluff Police Capt. Brian Wasson said the Scottsbluff Police Department also has ongoing investigations involving Moore from assaults that two victims allege occurred.

In its press release, the Fort Collins Police state that several female victims have alleged that Moore sexually touched them while they were under his care in hospitals or emergency rooms. According to the Fort Collins Coloradoan, a woman reported to police in August that she had been assaulted by Moore during a 2013 visit to the Poudre Valley Hospital in 2013. The Coloradan reports that Moore had been terminated from Colorado and Nebraska health care facilities after complaints had been filed against Moore. Regional West Medical Center is identified as the Nebraska facility that Moore was terminated from after a complaint had been made by a patient.

Moore worked as a health care provider at multiple medical centers from 2008-2015, including Regional West Medical Center. He also worked at the following facilities: Northern Colorado Medical Center, Greeley Emergency Center, Greeley Medical Clinic Urgent Care, all in Greeley, Colorado; McKee Medical Center and Medical Center of the Rockies, both in Loveland; Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins; North Suburban Medical Center in Thornton and Christus Santa Rosa Health in San Antonio.

In a press release, Regional West Medical Center said officials at the hospital are aware of criminal charges filed against Moore.

The statement further said: The incident occurring at Regional West Medical Center identified in the Colorado proceedings was investigated by Regional West at the time the patient made the allegations. As a result of the investigation, Mr. Moores employment with Regional West Medical Center was immediately terminated in March of 2015 and reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Regional West Medical Center has also been actively cooperating with law enforcement officials in Colorado concerning the recent filings.

Patient safety is a top priority for Regional West Medical Center. All allegations of inappropriate conduct are taken seriously and investigated, and appropriate action is taken based on the results of the investigation.

Fort Collins authorities have asked potential victims or anyone with information about incidents to contact a Fort Collins detective, Detective Dan Calahan at 970-416-2051 or dcalahan@fcgov.com.

The Scottsbluff Police Department can be reached at 308-632-7176.
Thousands of people have taken to the Internet over the past two weeks declaring they know what really happened in the case featured in the 10-part Netflix docu-series Making a Murderer. This column is not about that.

In the docu-series, Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos follow Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man exonerated of sexual assault after serving 18 years in prison. Avery was in the process of suing Manitowoc County and its police department when he was accused of murdering Photographer Teresa Halbach. He, and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were later convicted of the crime.

The documentary depicts events surrounding the case.

What emerges...is a disturbing portrait of tribal politics in small-town America and a chilling reminder that the criminal justice system has many more sides than scripted televisions carefully curated tales of law and order, Mary McNamara, of the L.A. Times said.

While many are questioning whether the men received a fair trial, and in the case of Dassey, it appears he did not, viewers are missing an aspect of the justice system we see every day. There is a justice system for those who can pay and one for those who cannot. Avery himself was subjected to this two-tiered system in his first case because he couldnt afford a good lawyer to defend him.

Poor people lose. Poor people lose all the time, Avery says in episode three.

Gideon v. Wainwright was supposed to change that. The Supreme Court ruled in 1963 we have a right to a criminal defense and the states need to provide an attorney to anyone who cannot afford one. Fifty years later, it seems as if nothing has changed.

In the July 2013 Mother Jones article, Why Youre in Deep Trouble If You Cant Afford a Lawyer, Hannah Levintova, Jaeah Lee and Brett Brownell wrote how public defenders, appointed to help the indigent, are so overworked they cant defend their clients properly. There is also the issue of money. The United States spends less on public defense as a percentage per capita than every single European nation, the article said.

Avery used his settlement money from the wrongful imprisonment to pay for two lawyers who stayed with him on the case the entire time. Dassey had three consecutive public defenders appointed to him. Each new public defender had to get up to speed on what already occurred before they could continue mounting a defense.

You get as much justice as you can afford, said Redditor KrisM11.

Ethan Couch, infamously known as the Affluenza teen, recently hired Fernando Benitez, a high-profile attorney based out of Tijuana to handle Couchs detention by Mexican immigration authorities. Benitez told NBC5 Dallas/Fort Worth in a tweet on Jan. 1, My interest is that if they are looking for his extradition to the United States, that it proceeds only according to the Constitution and the law.

Activist Rachel Herzing wrote in Defending Justice about the advantages people with money have when dealing with the court system.

Those who can afford to hire their own attorneys are less likely to be imprisoned. They can afford bail, which allows them to leave jail and conduct their own investigations and better prepare for trial. They can afford better attorneys, better expert witnesses, better private detectives, and more respectable alibis, Herzing said. Those who cannot afford bail and come straight to court from jail are more likely to be imprisoned. Additionally, poor people are not only found guilty more often than people who are not poor, they are also recommended for suspended sentences and probation less frequently than people with more money.

The 2004, Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases report from the U.S. Department of Justice said, Of the cases in which the defendant was found guilty in federal courts, 88 percent of defendants with a public attorney received prison sentences, compared to 77 percent of defendants with private lawyers, between 1990 and 1998. In state courts, public and private attorney have similar prison sentence rates.

Dawn Porter, director of the documentary Gideons Army, told Mother Jones, We have to encourage prosecutors, DAs, and judges to actually look at cases rather than just push people through the system and assume theyre all guilty and deserving of this. So money helps. But I dont think money is the only answer: You also have to be interested in doing the right thing.

Polls reveal we dont want this type of system. We want justice to be equal for all. Instead of writing about our righteous indignation in comments on news articles, we should be channeling that passion into something more positive; working toward changing the justice system nationwide.

The system we have now is broken. If I were ever accused of a crime, Im afraid I, too, wouldnt be able to afford much justice.
| By Denham Sadler

The federal governments $28 million advertising campaign to spruik the innovation statement and promote a culture of entrepreneurship is set to fail and a waste of money according to members of the community who say the money would have been better used funding startups directly.

It was revealed on Wednesday that a large ad campaign including TV, print, social media and digital platforms would be used to help change the culture around innovation and science in our businesses.

It will be design to help engage young people to help inspire the entrepreneurs of the future and provide the key information to any Australian wanting to take a risk on a new business venture, science and inovation minister Christopher Pyne said on Wednesday.

But several members of the Australian startup community have expressed concern over the cost of the campaign and detailed other areas where they think the earmarked money could be more useful.

Senseless and light years away

Consultant in innovation and disruption Anne-Marie Elias says she is furious about the campaign.

Imagine what we could do with $28 million for startups  that would go further to actually changing the culture, Elias tells StartupSmart.





Pynes justification, that its for cultural change, is senseless and is light years away from the lean and agile narrative we keep hearing. This is quite embarrassing for the Turnbull government.

Ediply co-founder Peter Chapman has also expressed concern over the large costs of the campaign and its potential effectiveness.

Its particularly excessive given the innovation sector and startups have been starved of government funding for such a long time, Chapman tells StartupSmart.





I think that if the government wrote a $5 million cheque to Startmate, muru-D and AngelCube the impact would be profound. Australia has some world-class accelerators who Im sure would love more capital to expand both investable funds and their own teams.

Happy Web creative director Alex Greig agrees, saying the planned campaign is crazy.

The campaign is already set to fail, Greig tells StartupSmart.





I think its a complete waste of money and wont achieve the initial goals. Why spend that amount of money to tell people that we are an innovative and startup supportive nation when youre better off actually doing it and showing people that we are?

Elias adds that shes disappointed the community were not consulted on the campaign.

All Pyne needed to do was ask, she says.

The community would have set him straight in a heartbeat and Im sure with some real engagement we would have come up with a spectacular program for $28 million that could have changed the culture.

We would have covered women, young people, seniors and disadvantaged communities  all the bases to roll-out an accessible and meaningful innovation culture change.

The other side

But not everyone has been critical of the planned advertising blitz; with LeadChat co-founder Michael Jankie saying the likely benefits of the campaign will far outweigh the cost.

It takes an innovative and brave government to promote disruption and cultural change at this scale, Jankie says.

It is spending that will pale in significance to the outcome. We need to spend more to spark a belief in todays students and workforce and the message to innovate needs to be spread far and wide.

While admitting it does sound expensive, Pollenizer co-founder Phil Morle also says it could be very important.

Its easy to imagine a positive return on investment if it works, Morle says.

This campaign could trigger the creation of new ventures in Australia that could generate $100 million taxable profit that would not have happened without this nudge from Canberra.

Creating more visible success stories

Chapman says ultimately cultural change will come from creating more visible startup success stories rather than through advertising.

Change of culture is not immediate, its generally built over a period of time with sustained effort, he says.

The major shift in culture will only occur with further mainstream successes. The Atlassians, Campaign Monitors and 99Designs were created by people with a vision who started, persisted and now show to others that success can be achieved.

If the objective is to encourage more people into entrepreneurship then I am sceptical TV or print ads will be the tipping point.

Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
| By Denham Sadler

Netflix is now available nearly every where in the world after the on-demand internet streaming service launched simultaneously in 130 countries.

Co-founder and chief executive Reed Hastings announced the surprise expansion at CES 2016, and shares in the company quickly rose by 9%.

Netflix, which currently has nearly 70 million subscribers, is now on offer in 190 countries around the world, including India, Russia and Indonesia.

Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global internet TV network, Hastings said at CES.

With the help of the internet, we are putting power in consumers hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device.

Its a big shift from Netflixs previous gradual and targeted expansions into new countries, with the service becoming available in Australia nearly a year ago.

There are now only few countries where Netflix isnt on offer, with China proving a notable exception, while it is also unavailable in Crimea, North Korea and Syria due to US government restrictions.

Despite becoming a global internet TV network, content will still differ drastically from country-to-country due to licencing.

Were looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world, Hastings said.
| By Ronelle Richards

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will formally investigate the safety of hoverboard scooters after a non-compliant charger sparked a blaze that destroyed a Melbourne home on Tuesday.

The unbranded toy is the seventh hoverboard to be recalled and consumers are being urged to return any of the listed recalled products for a full refund.

Federal small business minister Kelly ODwyer has now initiated a national inquiry into the devices.

In a statement issued to SmartCompany, a spokesperson for ODwyer said the fire in Melbourne raises serious concerns but is a matter for Victoria.

The Victorian electrical safety authorities are assessing the electrical safety compliance of the hoverboard linked to the recent house fire in Strathmore, which is also being investigated by Victorian fire authorities, the spokesperson said.

Electrical safety is managed under state and territory laws. These products should comply with state electrical safety standards and display compliance marks, and be used, stored and charged carefully.

The ACCC have said there are two key safety concerns with hoverboards, including fires that have occurred from the faulty design of some hoverboard chargers and hoverboard users injuring themselves through falls.

Complaint hoverboards and chargers should be stamped with the Australian Regulatory Compliance Mark, which is a triangle with a tick in the centre. Hefty fines will be issued for non-compliant toys of $4000 for individuals and $20,000 for companies.

Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors are reportedly inspecting toy stores throughout the state and seizing non-compliant stock.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, told SmartCompany this morning there are several things for retailers to consider.

If theyre recalled then retailers will have to give them back [to suppliers], he says.

Under the law you will have to give [consumers] a repair, a replacement or a refund.

Zimmerman says that while repairs seem unlikely, retailers could replace faulty hoverboards with a compliant brand or offer refunds.

Some of these may have been bought in directly by people overseas, Zimmerman says.

If that is the case buyer beware you have then got to try and get in touch with the supplier overseas.

Zimmerman says the best piece of advice for business owners is to talk to your supplier immediately.

Hoverboards have been banned in the United Kingdom and New York City after several fires were attributed to the devices.

The current list of recalled hoverboards in Australia includes:

Moonwalker two-wheel scooter by Hunter Sports, (Big W)

Sello Products self-balancing two-wheel electric scooter, (Ebay)

AirWalk Self-Balancing Scooter (online via Catchoftheday.com.au)

Go Skitz Self Balancing E Boards models S01 and S03 (charger only) (goeasyaustralia.com.au, goeasyonline.com.au, kogan.com.au, Toyworld, Harvey Norman Big Buys and Anaconda stores)

Scooter Emporium  Self Balancing Scooter with Charger (Scooter Emporium);

Techwheel Z-01 (charger only), (groupon.com.au, theactive.com.au, brandsexclusive.com.au, ozsale.com.au, techwheel.com.au).

Mod Products  Mod Board Model MOD001 (Charger Only)

This article was orignally published on SmartCompany.
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Lotus 7 in an olive grove in Cadaquez, Spain. By this time it had headlamps: the right was a foglight and served as low beam, on high be...
CHICAGO  Slumping commodities prices and weak demand in some markets took their toll on profits for global commodities trader Cargill Inc. in the quarter ending Nov. 30, sending earnings and revenue down 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Privately held Cargill, celebrating its 150th birthday this year, is in the midst of a restructuring aimed at transforming the company to be more responsive to commodities market swings.

In the latest of a growing list of weak earnings by agriculture-focused companies, Cargill's lower results reported on Thursday suggest agribusiness rivals such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd. are feeling similar pain, analysts said. Both rivals report quarterly results early next month.

"Given the low crop prices, farmers are resistant to sell right away after the harvest. There are also some other issues around the devaluation in Argentina and obviously things are slow in Brazil," said Moody's analyst John Rogers.

"It's going to be a tough quarter for everyone."

Minnesota-based Cargill reported lower year-on-year results in each of its four of its business segments.

Weak cattle feeding margins in North America and a thinned Australian cattle herd weighed down earnings from red meat, while the slumping Brazilian and Argentine economies dragged down profits for food staples in South America.

A milder-than-normal start to the winter in North America curbed earnings from products such as road salt and pressured prices of natural gas and power, which hurt energy trading results.

Earnings were further weighed down by losses stemming from liquidation of hedge funds managed by its Black River Asset Management subsidiary. Cargill is splitting the unit into three separate firms.

Cargill's profit fell to $574 million from $657 million a year earlier while revenue declined to $27.3 billion.

The results excluded gains from the sale of its U.S. pork business in October for $1.45 billion and the $720 million sale of its 50 percent stake in a U.S. steel mill venture as part of a broader restructuring plan.

Cargill launched a restructuring last year that could lead to cuts of as many as 4,000 jobs and closures of some offices. The company has also streamlined its management structure.

The moves come as companies across the agricultural economy tighten belts amid a steep commodities market downturn.

Farm equipment makers such as Deere & Co. have reported declines in sales of tractors and combines. Seed and chemicals company Monsanto Co. said on Wednesday that the weakening farm sector would weigh on earnings in 2016 and lead to more job cuts at the company.
SunEdison Inc. dropped the most in 14 years after announcing deals that improve its balance sheet, at terms that two analysts said are costly.

The shares plunged 39 percent to $3.34 at the close in New York, the most since September 2001.

In a series of transactions announced Thursday, the worlds biggest clean-energy developer agreed to take on about $950 million in debt and will issue 39.8 million new shares, to extinguish $580.1 million in convertible debt and $158.3 million in preferred stock. It will also pay the remaining $170 million of a current credit facility.

It appears expensive at this point, Mahesh Sanganeria, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, said in an interview Thursday. But if you get into a situation where there could be a liquidity concern, then your cost of capital is going to be significantly higher than what you have today.

While the deals increase the companys net debt by about $42 million, they also add $555 million of liquidity. SunEdison, based in Maryland Heights, spent billions last year to expand on six continents, and having cash on the balance sheet may be reassuring to investors who have voiced concern about how the company planned to pay for it all.

SunEdison arranged two second lien secured term loans, for $500 million and $225 million, that will mature in 2018. The loans will pay 10 percent above the London interbank offered rate, and will be used, in part, to pay the $170 million remaining on the second lien credit facility.

The company is also issuing warrants for 28.7 million common shares and will issue $225 million in convertible notes.

As of Nov. 2, the company had 316.7 million shares outstanding in common stock, according to a regulatory filing.

The transactions will improve the companys balance sheet, but at substantial cost, Sven Eenmaa, an analyst at Stifel Financial Corp., said in a research note on Thursday. The deals will add about $40 million a year to SunEdisons interest expenses and dilute current shareholders by about 18 percent.

The transactions are expected to close on Jan. 11.
Update: A popular 2012 video showcasing great St. Louis spots is making the rounds again on social media in January 2016.

Filmmaker John Pa loves the Gateway Arch as a sculpture. But as a symbol? No way.

Gateway to the West  I absolutely hate that, said Pa. It's like saying, 'The gateway to don't stay, the gateway to get out of here.'

Pa and partner Matt Seilback are the creators of Here Is St. Louis, their love letter or, more precisely, love video to the city. A viral hit, the movie showcases St. Louis' coolest businesses, neighborhoods and attractions. The Arch, originally, was not among them.

I said, 'No Arch. No Cardinals,' said Pa. Then I realized we have to put in the Arch because it wouldn't be true to St. Louis not to have it. But why do we call ourselves the Gateway to the West? Yes, I understand the history, blah, blah, blah. But it's not true now. The West has been discovered. So what we wanted was to re-frame the conversation. That's why we end with the words 'Gateway to the west?' Gateway to here.'

Pa and Seilback are Anastasis Films, a company that creates promotional films for businesses and individuals. Here is St. Louis is their passion project, created independently from the civic organizations charged with boosting St. Louis' image.

Wed been saying, St. Louis needs a new PR campaign and we realized we have all of the tools here, said Pa. We thought it was time for a new conversation about the change thats happened here. Lets drop the stigma.

A four-minute montage of some three dozen locations, the film portrays St. Louis as an urban paradise of great food, cutting-edge culture and visionary entrepreneurs, the sort of place hipsters from Portland or foodies from New York would want to visit.

The goal was to show the beauty of St. Louis  the beauty people either refuse to see because they are too focused on the negative things they hear or they just dont know because they dont come here, added Seilback. Some people dont know St. Louis as well as they think they do.

The film is far from definitive. The Grove and Cherokee Street are showcased, but not Pas own neighborhood of Lafayette Square. Bogarts Smoke House, the St. Louis Zoo and Schlafly also get nods, but not Pappys, the St. Louis Science Center or Civil Life Brewery. The filmmakers concede they could have used an entirely different set of locations and achieved the same effect.

We basically went to the places we really like, said Pa. Weve been getting a lot of, Why didnt you go here, or Where is the Magic House? Well, we wanted to focus on the city.

The team shot 24 hours of footage and spent an additional 48 hours editing the four-minute movie. The background music is from Band Called Catch, a band from  gasp  Chicago.

Ill be honest, we dont really know the music scene, said Pa. We looked around here and nothing hit. Matt found the song and I was like, Were going to get backlash. We went back and forth for three days, but this song does fit.

In addition to a love of St. Louis, Pa and Seilback share an unlikely history  both attended Covenant Theological Seminary at different times to train as Presbyterian ministers. Pa moved from St. Louis to a church in New York. He was axed after a year.

For no other reason than I called the pastor a control freak, said Pa with a laugh.

He stayed in New York working as financial adviser, design consultant and Web developer before moving home to help his mother.

I always said God or my mother would bring me back, said Pa, 36. I figured Id get back to the East Coast, but then I met my wife. And that was it.

Seilback, 33, moved to St. Louis from Maryland to attend Covenant. He could not find a position at a church back east, but discovered a new calling  filmmaking. He shot the movie Joes Place, a documentary about a family who provides a home for homeless students in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.

My wife and I were praying for a number of years that the Lord would give us a passion for people, a place and a purpose  thats a cheesy seminary school saying but its what we hoped for, said Seilback, who lives in Maplewood with his wife and two children. We always thought that would be a mid-Atlantic region close to our families, never knowing God would give us a passion for this place.

The two met through mutual friends and now work in a Dutchtown storefront that Pa rehabbed. One of their first projects was a documentary about racism in St. Louis.

We realize St. Louis faces a lot of challenges, said Seilback. It was our most viewed video, and we were proud we got people talking about the struggles as a city.

Here is St. Louis, with its wistful soundtrack and sunny shots, is now their most popular video. It has been viewed, posted, tweeted and embedded tens of thousands of times. Seilback and Pa shouldnt be surprised by the videos success, but they are.
My wish for 2016 is to see and experience more gentleness in everyday life and mainstream culture.

Gentleness used to be widely upheld as a virtue  the titles gentleman and gentlewoman were compliments and signified a higher standard of behavior. But over the years popular culture has shifted so far from this ideal that today gentleness is widely portrayed as weakness, as a losing strategy: "Nice guys finish last."

The new virtue, if you can call it that, is the willingness to kick a little ass  literally, if possible.

A macho attitude is promoted for everyone these days  men, women, even children. I suppose this is more egalitarian, but somehow I thought feminism would lead to less violence, not the equal opportunity for women and children to kick butt.

This ideal of universal cool machismo has to be countered if we want ethical community in our world.

Jean Vanier, who founded communities for the developmentally disabled, described it beautifully when he said, community is made of the gentle concern that people show each other every day.

We cannot fight our way to ethical relationships.

When lots of people in a culture are all acting the same way, we assume it is healthy, or at least normal. But its possible for a whole society to become sick.

Some people believe that violence is the natural state of humanity  one of the arguments against gentleness is that its not authentic.

However, gentleness is both built into us and needs to be taught and learned. You know this if youve ever showed a child how to handle an animal or a baby.

Instead, American culture is teaching violence, and poisoning itself with violence. America needs anger management classes.

On a personal level, I think we are afraid to be gentle, because we are afraid of our softness and vulnerability.

As one of my favorite poets, William Carlos Williams wrote, out of fear lest the flower be broken, the rose puts out its thorns. That is the natural way.

Yet it is when we accept and embrace our softness, our vulnerability, that we have real strength.

Gentleness is not the same thing as passivity. We can care passionately and still act nonviolently.

The Dalia Llama is by all appearances a very gentle person, but the Chinese government considers him a dangerous revolutionary, and indeed his influence is largely a result of his gentleness.

Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron wrote: Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world (touch) your heart, your raw and beautiful heart.

The truth is that it is angry, defensive, violent people who are the fearful and breakable ones, and who can be manipulated and controlled by those who know how to push their buttons.

Gentleness is a way of living, not just a feeling: it is about relationship, and therefore about actions: How we treat each other, how we speak and listen and touch. How loud our voice is. The words we use. And wider: The circumstances of work and living that we create for each other, personally as well as collectively through the political process.

The kind of life we allow other animals to live. The future we are creating for coming generations by how we live today.

When we can learn to be gentle with ourselves, with our loved ones, and even with those with whom we have deep disagreements or who are doing us wrong  when we can act with gentleness, and approach frustration and pain and even evilness not as butts to be kicked but rather problems to be solved with the help of other gentle people  then we will move forward.

Lovelady has served as Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis in Ladue since 2005. She is a regular contributor to STLtoday.com/religion.
RICHMOND HEIGHTS  An attorney for St. Louis County Associate Judge Lawrence Permuter said Thursday that his clients blood-alcohol level did not meet the legal definition of intoxication even though police here cited him for driving while intoxicated.

Lawyer Joel Eisenstein said police logged Permuters level at 0.06 percent, below the 0.08 percent standard stated in the municipal ordinance, after a crash about 12:39 p.m. Dec. 31 on Highway 40 (Interstate 64).

Apparently the police department failed to inform the media that he doesnt meet the statutory requirement for driving while intoxicated in Richmond Heights, Eisenstein said. He said Permuter has been treated unfairly since the story about his arrest went viral.

Eisenstein would not go into details, saying, We are not going to discuss this case in the media.

Police have declined to comment on the circumstances of the incident. Paperwork released under a Freedom of Information Act request does not indicate the alcohol level detected.

Earlier this week, Permuter, 68, a judge since 2008, declined to comment to a reporter or even provide his lawyers name.

Police also cited Permuter for failure to comply with reasonable direction of an officer. Neither police nor Eisenstein would explain that conduct, but the lawyer said the judge made apologies to officers later on.

Permuter declined medical attention after his car struck a concrete wall near Big Bend Boulevard, police said.

A witness told police that her companion saw Permuters car cross at least one lane of traffic before colliding with the wall. She then watched as the vehicle tried to get back on the highway before colliding with the wall again, records indicate.

Richmond Heights Municipal Court Judge Stephen OBrien said Wednesday he has recused himself from the case. OBrien is also a St. Louis County assistant prosecuting attorney, and knows Permuter.

John Lally, the municipal prosecutor, has declined to comment.

Missouri officials contacted by the Post-Dispatch could not recall any recent discipline involving judges accused of DWI.
BETHALTO  Police here plan to submit evidence to prosecutors Thursday for possible charges against a man for allegedly installing hidden cameras that were discovered in a church on Christmas Eve.

Lt. Craig Welch said officers arrested a male member of the congregation after cameras were discovered before 11 p.m. that night at Zion Lutheran Church. He said police will consult with Madison County State's Attorney Thomas Gibbons' office.

The church is at 625 Church Drive near Illinois Route 140. Welch declined to say how many cameras were found, but he said a follow-up search at the school next to the church found no other cameras.

Welch said Wednesday that the suspect, in his 50s, was booked that night and released pending further investigation into illegal use of covert cameras.

A spokesman for the church could not be reached Wednesday.
JEFFERSON CITY  In one of their first acts of 2016, members of the Missouri Senate voted 26-4 Thursday to kick members of the statehouse press corps from their longtime table on the floor of the chamber.

Republican leaders initially said the move was needed to create more space for staff members, but Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard later admitted he was still angry after an incident last year in which a private conversation between senators was posted to a social media site by an individual sitting at the press table.

Some of the press violated the code of ethics by tweeting out discussions between senators. The Senate floor, thats our space. Thats not your space, he told reporters.

The move came just days after more than 100 members of the House and Senate called for the ouster of University of Missouri communications professor Melissa Click in response to her controversial decision last fall to try and block a reporter from interviewing students who were protesting on campus.

Richard, R-Joplin, said it would be wrong to compare him to Click, who later apologized and resigned a post she held in the Mizzou school of journalism.

I understand theres social media making me look like some of the ladies in the journalism school that turned away the press. I dont think thats the case. I thought that was a breach of your responsibility, Richard said.

Republican state Sen. Ryan Silvey of Kansas City acknowledged the move was stirring controversy among reporters who cover the Legislature.

I see Press is upset about being moved off the Senate Floor. Silvey tweeted. Important to remember, they dont sit on Floor in U.S. Sen/House or MO House.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens weighed in against the move.

Legislators do not need a private safe space. This is absurd, Greitens tweeted.

State Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Kansas City, joked on Twitter that Click should be hired as a Senate doorkeeper.

The floor of the Senate is now a safe space, LaFaver said.

Senate rules do not address a code of conduct for reporters who choose to sit at the table, located near the front of the Senate chamber.

But, said Senate Republican spokeswoman Lauren Hieger, I just think its an ethical question. Not all conversations are meant to be public.

Moving the press wasnt the only change in Senate policy regarding access to senators.

Typically, reporters flag down individual senators for interviews upon adjournment for the day. Hieger issued a directive last week asking reporters to stop the long-held practice.

Please do not try to catch them on the floor without letting someone know first, she said in the memo.

The move wont take place immediately. Senate administrators plan to renovate an upper gallery to serve as the new press area. It is expected to be finished by late March.

It will be a nice spot for you, Richard told reporters.

The four no votes were cast by Democratic state Sens. Jason Holsman of Kansas City, Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis, Jill Schupp of Creve Coeur and Scott Sifton of Affton.

(Updated Jan. 11 to clarify new Senate interview guidelines.)
JEFFERSON CITY  A Republican state lawmaker has filed a measure that would list sex between lobbyists and lawmakers or their staff as gifts that must be reported to the state ethics commission.

Rep. Bart Korman, R-High Hill, filed the measure Wednesday, the first day of the 2016 legislative session where leaders have vowed to reform the state's ethics laws. The emphasis on ethics reform follows two scandals last year that led to legislative resignations. Missouri is the only state in the country with no campaign contribution limits, no lobbyist gift limits and no laws governing when a lawmaker can become a lobbyist.

Korman said the bill would "help create integrity, accountability and transparency."

"If an activity like that occurred, at least citizens would know about it," Korman said.

Under the measure, reporting such relations would not need a dollar valuation attached.

Additionally, relationships between married individuals or those in relationships prior to registration, election or hiring would be excluded.

Korman is chairman of the House Telecommunications Committee, which drew heavy media attention after being treated to dinner at the Jefferson City Country Club. This led to former House Speaker John Diehl banning committees from meeting for dinner outside the Capitol.

The bill is House Bill 2059.
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Tax threat to UK banks hurts FTSE 100

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - 12:37

Selling pressure on bank stocks and worries about more aggressive interest rate hikes were holding back the London market on Wednesday

The FTSE 100 index was down just 1.45 points at 6,935.29 around midday. The FTSE 250 was off a heftier 217.21 points, or 1.2%, at 17,312.10. The AIM All-Share shed 6.77 points, 0.9%, at 788.71.

The Cboe UK 100 traded 0.1% lower at 693.16, the Cboe UK 250 fell 1.3% to 14,832.56, and the Cboe Small Companies traded 0.3% lower at 12,421.51.

In European equities on Wednesday afternoon, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.2%.

The pound fell to $1.1255 midday Wednesday from $1.1291 late Tuesday, despite another hot consumer price index rise increasing the likelihood of the UK central bank stepping up its pace of rate hikes.

The UK inflation rate picked up to 10.1% in September from 9.9% in August and returned to the same rate as recorded in July. The latest figure came in marginally hotter-than-expected, with a reading of 10% foreseen by the market, according to FXStreet.

The reading is likely to ensure another chunky rate hike by the Bank of England next month, potentially a 75 basis point lift to the bank rate. Last month, the central bank raised the key rate by 50 basis points for the second time in a row.

"With the country's economic prospects looking bleak, a higher-than-expected inflation reading adds to the woes faced by British policymakers," ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista commented.

Pressure is also on the European Central Bank, which makes an interest rate decision on Thursday next week, as eurozone inflation also remains too high.

However, the eurozone's yearly inflation rate was a touch cooler than expected last month, according to revised figures.

The yearly inflation rate for the single currency area was 9.9% in September, slightly below the 10% initial estimate from Eurostat, though quickening from 9.1% in August.

Highlighting the plight faced by the ECB, a year earlier, the eurozone yearly inflation rate was 3.4%, still above the central bank's 2% target, but markedly below the current rate.

The euro traded at $0.9779 midday Wednesday UK time, down from $0.9826 at the time of European equities close on Tuesday.

The dollar rose to JP149.57 from JP149.24 late Tuesday.

In London, Asos shares rose 11%. The online clothing retailer reported a swing to annual loss, though it outlined plans to revive its fortunes after performing a "diagnostic" on its issues.

Revenue in the financial year that ended August 31 rose 0.7% to 3.94 billion from 3.91 billion a year earlier. However, Asos reported a swing to an annual pretax loss of 31.9 million of 177.1 million.

Among its issues, Asos said, is an underperforming international arm, its supply chain operations, its "customer acquisition and commercial model", and the need for data and digital improvements.

Over the next 12 months, it will look to improve inventory management, reduce its costs and "reinforce" its leadership team and culture.

Asos expects a 100 million to 130 million non-cash stock write-off for the new financial year. Capital expenditure, at 175 million to 200 million, will be below the mid-term range of 200 million to 250 million.

It also flagged a half-year loss for the current financial year.

On AIM, IOG plunged 52%. The North Sea-focused gas and infrastructure operator has suspended its Southwark A1 well due to more fluid losses, putting its focus elsewhere as it still eyes first gas this quarter.

"Drilling the Southwark A1 well has continued to be very challenging, with further fluid losses at the base of the Bunter Shale. To preserve the opportunity to deliver first gas in this quarter, we have decided to suspend operations on A1 in order to ensure that A2 stimulation work proceeds in the scheduled window," Chief Executive Andrew Hockey says.

Analysts at SP Angel commented: "Lower reserves, lower production, higher costs and delays; a sobering update from IOG on its operational difficulties and below-expectation reservoir performance.

"Shareholders will hope that this 'kitchen-sinking' marks the low point of the start-up issues that have plagued the project and that management can find long-term solutions to optimise reservoir management and resolve its drilling issues.

7digital surged 41% as it announced a contract win with Pinterest, a social media platform famed for its moodboards and image sharing.

"7digital's three-year contract with Pinterest is designed to support growth in content and territories as the platform expands into new markets as needed. The contract will enable Pinterest's music library to include licensed commercial tracks, delivered by 7digital's music-as-a-service platform, to sit alongside their royalty free music," the music licensing provider said.

Lloyds Banking fell by 3.3%, NatWest by 1.6% and Barclays by 1.3%.

The shares fell in response to a report that banks will be targeted by the new UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

According to the Financial Times, Hunt will look at a tax on banking sector profits, in a bid to bolster the government's finances.

Banks currently pay an effective 27% tax rate, stemming from corporation tax at 19% and the banking surcharge at 8%.

While corporation tax is to climb to 25% in April, the FT reported that Hunt is undecided on whether to keep the bank surcharge at the current 8%. The surcharge had been due to drop to 3% next year under plans announced last year.

The FT quoted a treasury spokesperson as saying: "We can't comment on specific speculation; however, the chancellor and prime minister have been clear that difficult decisions will be required to restore economic stability and no options are off the table."

A barrel of Brent oil rose to $91.07 around midday in London, up from $88.97 late Tuesday. Brent fell below $89 before regaining poise on Wednesday morning.

President Joe Biden will announce on Wednesday that he is putting the final 15 million barrels on the market from a record release of US strategic oil reserves, with more releases possible if energy prices spike, a senior US official said.

The new tranche of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be "completing the 180 million barrel release authorized in the spring", in response to price hikes linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the senior US official added.

In New York, focus remains on corporate earnings, with Tesla reporting later on Wednesday, with AT&T, American Airlines and American Express to follow before the end of the week.

Stocks in New York were called to open higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.

"Third-quarter earnings season from the US may help to set the mood and so far, companies seem to be performing well, albeit against some pretty modest expectations," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.

"For now, corporate America seems to be standing up well to the inflation storm, but a lot will depend on the big tech companies reporting next week  with the destiny of the markets in the hands of the likes of Apple, Alphabet and Amazon."

Gold traded at $1,633.90 an ounce midday Wednesday, down from $1,647.70 at the London equities close Tuesday.

Still to come in Wednesday's economic calendar are US housing starts at 1330 BST.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
This week, United States Gov.Terry McAuliffe announced that the Virginia Port Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, with the Cuban National Port Authority.

"This agreement will enhance Virginia's trading relationship with Cuba and supports our efforts to build the new Virginia economy," Gov. McAuliffe said in the statement. "Virginia enjoys a uniquely productive economic relationship with Cuba, and this MOU will generate additional opportunities for economic and cultural exchange. As relations between our nations continue to normalize, this agreement will position Virginia as a leader in trade relations with Cuba now and in the future."

Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore added that Virginia sold $25 million worth of exported agriculture shipments to Cuba in 2014, which is a perfect example of how the commercial trade and shipping opportunities afford by this agreement will be mutually beneficial.

In addition, Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne agreed that this decision will lead to an improved industry and stronger global economy.

Gov. McAuliffe indicated to Reuters that this "strategic alliance" has the power to grow trade, improve business operations and expand vessel operations between the two parties. Furthermore, the agreement will allow the port authorities to exchange data, market analyses and technological resources.

Trade restrictions impact exports

According to Reuters, in 2000 the U.S. enforced an embargo on agricultural exports to Cuba, which limited Virginia's sales with the Havana port.

In October 2015, Gov. McAuliffe and other representatives wrote a letter to Congress requesting the restrictions be lifted to allow bilateral trade, as well as "the financial, travel and other restrictions that impede normal commerce and trade between our nation and Cuba."

It was also noted in the MOU announcement that Gov. McAuliffe believes the amendment of these trade laws is necessary to maximize the benefits of an alliance between the countries.

"As Cuba and the United States normalize relationships, we'd like to see the Cuban companies establish Virginia as their distribution point for the United States," Port of Virginia Chief Sales Officer Thomas Capozzi said to Reuters.

Though a number of governors have visited Cuba since the U.S. agreed to increase efforts to stabilize relations, Gov. McAuliffe is the first to officially sign a cooperation agreement, the source added.

Global trade port terminal

Cuba recently began the Port of Mariel Special development project, located just outside of Havana, Reuters revealed. It is designed to facilitate trans-ship services, serving as a shipping and logistics hub along the Panama Canal that will manage approximately $1.3 million containers annually.

The Cuba Journal reported that the developments cost $957 million, $682 million of which was paid for by Brazil. The modern renovations include the building of a global terminal for container ships, a freight center and water supply and waste treatment.

The source also added that logistics enhancements were made to accommodate the installation of the updated terminal, including the development of railroad lines and streets.

And although the port provides economic advantages, as well as a free trade zone, it has not been successful in influencing international investments, which the Cuba Journal attributes to complications and legalities in ownership and labor regulations.
Wellesbourne Airfield

Two ambulances, a BASICS Doctor and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: Crews arrived to find a woman that had suffered serious injuries after falling from a horse.

The woman was in traumatic cardiac arrest and advanced life support was carried out at the scene by medics.

Unfortunately, despite everyones best efforts, nothing could be done to save the womans life and she was sadly confirmed dead at the scene.
Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), has awarded a contract to KMWE / DutchAero to manufacture F135 engine components. The F135 engine is the propulsion system for the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

Located in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, precision component manufacturer KMWE, together with its subsidiary DutchAero, has received a 10-year long term procurement agreement for machined engine components. This agreement signals a strengthened relationship between Pratt & Whitney and KMWE / DutchAero and positions KMWE / DutchAero well for follow-on F135 opportunities.

"This award reaffirms Pratt & Whitney's commitment to F135 engine industrial participation in the Netherlands," said Cliff Stone, vice president, Business Development and International Programs, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. "KMWE / DutchAero competed globally and was selected as the best value supplier of these engine components, and will play a valuable role in our global supply chain for the F135 engine as we continue to reduce the cost of the propulsion system."

"We are delighted to have earned the trust of Pratt & Whitney to manufacture and deliver these key components for the F135 engine," said Edward Voncken, chief executive officer, KMWE Group. "Our business is focused on delivering high-quality products at competitive prices by effectively applying our LEAN production philosophy. Our contribution to the F135 engine allows us to develop our aerospace manufacturing technologies and capabilities further and helps to ensure local jobs and skills for the future, which are an essential part of our local industry."

As one of the original nine partner nations for the F-35, the Netherlands is a key contributor to the development, production and sustainment of the F-35 program. The current program of record for the Netherlands is for the procurement of at least 37 F-35A aircraft.
Johns Hopkins announced a new solar project that will produce affordable and reliable solar energy to power to its facilities. The solar project, Johns Hopkins' first, is located in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and is expected to offset about 18 percent of the total energy Johns Hopkins facilities utilize. Installed and maintained by SolarCity with financing and management by Direct Energy Business, the solar power system will deliver the energy generated to Johns Hopkins for less than their current electricity rate, and provide a long term hedge against the rising costs of purchasing power.

Due to lack of roof or ground space on current facilities for such a large-scale solar project, Johns Hopkins chose a remote solar arrangement that could still provide its facilities with affordable power. The remote solar system is made possible through cooperation of PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity. Direct Energy Business already works directly with PJM on behalf of Johns Hopkins to schedule and procure wholesale energy, and will now secure an equivalent amount of energy as is generated by the new solar system at a low, predictable rate. The 13.6 megawatt solar installation will feature more than 40,000 solar panels across a 97-acre plot of land in Wye Mills, part of Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

"We're honored to continue our work with Johns Hopkins by providing the financing and management for this new remote solar system," said John Schultz, President of Direct Energy Business. "As a total energy management service provider, we are able to offer an energy solution that helps Johns Hopkins meet its procurement needs while also hedging against future rate increases."

The solar system is expected to avoid the emission of 1.4 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 20 years, which is equivalent to removing more than 313,000 cars from U.S. roads for one year. In two decades, the system will also produce the energy equivalent to powering more than 180,000 homes for a year.*

"Johns Hopkins' solar project is not only a huge endorsement for clean energy, but also an incredible business decision that will help them save on energy costs for years," said Jesse Jones, SolarCity's vice president of development and acquisitions. "Solar power is one of the simplest and most affordable sources of energy. Even if roof space is limited, remote solar solutions can help organizations like Johns Hopkins experience all of solar's benefits."

OneEnergy Renewables located the site and led the pre-construction development work.

"We're proud to help a world class institution like Johns Hopkins benefit from the environmental and economic advantages associated with an optimally-sited solar project developed on the Eastern Shore," said Travis Bryan, COO of OneEnergy Renewables and a JHU alum (SAIS '11). "Consistent with a longstanding tradition of innovation, it's inspiring to see Johns Hopkins blaze a trail for other institutions to follow in securing large-scale renewable energy solutions."

The project is expected to be completed and operational within the first half of 2016 and will serve the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Campus.

*Environmental calculations are based on 25 year solar system contracts and data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
By Arno Schuetze and Emiliano Mellino

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Germany's Linde is launching the sale of its temperature-controlled logistics unit Gist in a deal potentially worth more than $875 million, as it streamlines its operations to focus on its core industrial gases operations, two people familiar with the matter said.

Linde has mandated Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for the unit with 570 million euros ($618 million) in 2014 sales and is planning to send out first information packages to prospective bidders by the end of the month, they said.

Linde and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Linde had earmarked Gist for sale in March last year, when Chief Executive Wolfgang Buechele had said that the unit, which delivers cooled food and beverages mainly in the United Kingdom, was no longer considered "core business".

The company is expected to shop Gist to logistics players such as Deutsche Post, UPS, Kuehne+Nagel, Logwin, Imperial as well as private equity groups.

One of the sources said that Linde is hoping to reap a price above 600 million British pounds ($875 million).

The logistics sector has been very active in the last year. FedEx's purchase of Dutch package delivery firm TNT Express for 4.4 billion euros grabbed headlines in April.

Separately, XPO Logistics announced it will acquire France's Norbert Dentressangle, French rail company SNCF's subsidiary Geodis acquired Ozburn-Hessey Logistics and Denmark's DSV Group agreed to acquire UTi Worldwide.

Tentative bids for Gist, whose key customers include British retailer Marks and Spencer, are due in the first quarter, the sources said.

(additional reporting by Alexander Hubner; Editing by Katharine Houreld)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Editors Note: There is an image and a photo associated with this press release.

The 2016 Cantech Investment Conference, to be held January 26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, is pleased to welcome Uber Canada's Ian Black.

Ian Black is the General Manager of Uber Canada, a technology company that is reinventing transportation in cities across Canada and around the globe. Not only has Uber transformed the traditional taxi and limo industry in just four years, it has pioneered inexpensive on-demand transportation with uberX ridesharing and uberPOOL. Before Uber, Mr. Black developed his business and startup acumen at Bain & Co, Google, INSEAD and Helios Solar Energy.

"We are very pleased to welcome Uber's Ian Black to Canada's largest technology conference, Cantech16," said Cantech Letter Founder and Editor, Nick Waddell. "Canadians across the country are interested in the advances that Uber has made and the influence it has had not only in business, but also in how cities employ innovation to improve the lives of their residents. We look forward to exploring Uber's initiatives in Toronto and across the country."

"I look forward to speaking with my colleagues in the tech community at Cantech 2016" said Uber Canada's General Manager, Ian Black. "This is an exciting time to be a technology company in Canada and I'm excited to share more on some of the things Uber is doing in cities across the country and around the world."

The Cantech Investment Conference is sponsored by the TSX, DLA Piper, PwC, and Haywood Securities.

For more conference information and online registration visit the following link www.cambridgehouse.com

About the Cantech Investment Conference

Now entering its third year, The Cantech Investment Conference is where Canada's next great technology companies meet the investment community. The conference, brought to you by Cantech Letter and Cambridge House International, attracts public market investors, VCs, angel investors and media to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for a one-day exhibit and presentation. Past speakers include Chris Hadfield, Sir Terry Matthews, and Dragons' Den star Michael Wekerle. This year's conference takes place January 26. For more information on the conference please visit the following link CambridgeHouse.com.

About Cambridge House International Inc.

Founded in 1995 Cambridge House International Inc. has grown to be the world leader in producing investment conferences held throughout North America. Cambridge House Conferences bring industries together for impactful two-day events where attendance includes novice to expert retail, accredited and institutional investors. The conferences are a monumental place for networking, education and investment discovery.

To view the image and the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Cantech2016.jpg

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Black_Ian_Uber.jpeg

Contacts: Media Contact: Cambridge House International Inc. Karen Renaud 1-877-363-3356 / 604-398-5356 [email protected] www.cambridgehouse.com

Source: Cambridge House International Inc.
Strengthens and Expands Capabilities of Technology Solutions Education Services Portfolio

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) announced today that it has acquired ExitCertified, a leading provider of certified IT training in North America. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, ExitCertified offers education through its training centers as well as on-site, self-paced and instructor-led online training with its market-leading MVP/iMVP virtual training platform. The company is authorized by vendors including Amazon Web Services, Brocade, Cloudera, ForgeRock, Oracle, Pivotal, Red Hat, SAP, Symantec and VERITAS, adding a highly complementary portfolio to the training already delivered by Avnet Education Solutions through Avnet Academy, which includes authorized training from HP, IBM, Linux Foundation, Nutanix, Veeam and VMware in more than forty countries worldwide.

Mike Hurst, senior vice president, Avnet Global Services, commented, "This acquisition is of strategic importance to Avnet Technology Solutions' global services as it provides our customers with agile training solutions through 9,500 authorized IT training courses from more than 20 leading technology vendors. In an IT environment where the pace of change continues to accelerate, our customers are looking for solutions to help them remain competitive in this evolving and complex technology landscape. With ExitCertified, we expand our offering of leading, award winning courses with connected and virtual classrooms in high growth areas including big data, cloud and security along with converged and hyper-converged solutions. In addition, this acquisition will enhance Avnet Education Solutions market position in North America and provide a solid foundation to continue to expand our education services portfolio in Latin America, APAC and EMEA."

ExitCertified was founded in 2001 and offers strategic training paths for the skills required to support todays technologies while offering a broad curriculum of application focused courses for clients looking to implement new/upgraded business applications. ExitCertified generated revenue of approximately US $24 million in the fiscal year ended June 2015, and will be integrated into the Education Solutions group within Avnet Technology Solutions Global Services business.

This acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and achieve Avnet's corporate return on capital target of 12.5%.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in facts and circumstances. The forward-looking statements herein include statements addressing future financial and operating results of Avnet and may include words such as "will," "anticipate," "expect," believe," "intend," and "should," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussions of future operating or financial performance or business prospects. Actual results may vary materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: the Company's ability to retain and grow market share and to generate additional cash flow, risks associated with any acquisition or disposition activities, the successful integration of acquired companies, any significant and unanticipated sales decline, changes in business conditions and the economy in general, changes in market demand and pricing pressures, any material changes in the allocation of product or product rebates by suppliers, allocations of products by suppliers, other competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting the businesses of Avnet generally.

More detailed information about these and other factors is set forth in Avnet's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Except as required by law, Avnet is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Avnet

From components to cloud and design to disposal, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), accelerates the success of customers who build, sell and use technology globally by providing them with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, services and solutions. Avnet is a Fortune 500 company with revenues of $27.9 billion for the fiscal year 2015. For more information, visit www.avnet.com or contact us at [email protected]. (AVT_IR)

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005180/en/

Avnet, Inc.

Vincent Keenan, 480-643-7053

Investor Relations

[email protected]

Source: Avnet, Inc.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- The Board of Directors of Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO Company, today declared a first quarter dividend of 32.50 cents per Class A non-voting (TSX: CU) and Class B common share (TSX: CU.X), a 10% increase over the 29.50 cents paid in each of the four previous quarters. The dividend is payable March 1, 2016, to shareholders of record on February 5, 2016.

The Board also declared the following Cumulative Redeemable Second Preferred Share Dividends:

TSX Stock Dividend Record Date Payment Date Shares Symbol Per Share ($) (2016) (2016) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Series Y 4.00% CU.PR.C 0.2500 05-Feb 01-Mar Series AA 4.90% CU.PR.D 0.30625 05-Feb 01-Mar Series BB 4.90% CU.PR.E 0.30625 05-Feb 01-Mar Series CC 4.50% CU.PR.F 0.28125 05-Feb 01-Mar Series DD 4.50% CU.PR.G 0.28125 05-Feb 01-Mar Series EE 5.25% CU.PR.H 0.328125 05-Feb 01-Mar Series FF 4.50% CU.PR.I 0.28125 05-Feb 01-Mar

These dividends are eligible dividends within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Canadian Utilities Limited has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) available to eligible holders of Class A non-voting shares and Class B common shares. Eligible shareholders may reinvest the cash dividends paid on their common shares to purchase new Class A non-voting shares from treasury at a two percent discount to the volume weighted average price as defined in the DRIP. For more information visit: www.canadianutilities.com or the CST Trust Company website at http://www.canstockta.com.

With nearly 5,500 employees and assets of approximately $18 billion, Canadian Utilities Limited is an ATCO Company. ATCO is a diversified global corporation delivering service excellence and innovative business solutions through vertically integrated global business units engaged in Structures & Logistics (workforce housing, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, and logistics and operations management); Pipelines & Liquids (natural gas infrastructure development, transmission and distribution, natural gas liquids storage and processing, and industrial water solutions); and Electricity (power generation, distributed generation, and electricity distribution, transmission and infrastructure development). More information can be found at www.canadianutilities.com.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Contacts: Media & Investor Inquiries: B.R. (Brian) Bale Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Canadian Utilities Limited (403) 292-7502

Source: Canadian Utilities Limited
WATERLOO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Intellijoint Surgical Inc., a privately held Canadian medical technology company committed to developing and commercializing miniature surgical smart tools, announces today that it has been awarded US Food and Drug Administration clearance for the next generation of intellijioint HIP. Cup position (inclination and anteversion) is now provided, in addition to the original leg length, offset, and change in hip center measurements.

"With the previous generation of the product, our use showed improved accuracy and precision of implant selection without a significant expense or impact on OR time," said Dr. Wayne Paprosky, professor and widely published orthopaedic surgeon at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. "The new generation of intellijoint HIP provides surgeons with additional critical implant alignment measurements including cup inclination and anteversion, which will be a potential game changer of how hip surgery is performed in the US."

intellijoint HIP can assist in the prevention of recurrent instability, hip dislocation and leg length discrepancy and may expedite decision-making and improve accuracy in achieving preoperative planned targets, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and healthcare economics.

"Intellijoint was founded in 2010 with the vision of developing and commercializing an innovative technology that is capable of providing real time 3D surgical measurement data, without adding significant time, expense or complexity to surgery," says Armen Bakirtzian, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Intellijoint Surgical. "Now, with FDA clearance of intellijoint HIP, we've realized this vision and are ready to bring its benefits to the largest market in the world."

Intellijoint's core technology represents the latest in miniature 3D surgical measurement within the sterile field. intellijoint HIP is the first of many products to benefit from this new novel core technology. It is safe, fast, accurate, and precise. intellijoint HIP's compatibility with the majority of implant vendors, paired with its cost-effectiveness, opens accessibility of computer-assisted surgery to all orthopaedic surgeons.

About Intellijoint Surgical Inc.

Intellijoint Surgical is a Waterloo-based innovative medical technology company. Founded in 2010, they develop and commercialize miniaturized surgical smart tools that enhance surgeon accuracy, increase hospital economic efficiencies, and improve patient outcomes. The company's R&D team is led by the former co-founder of Medtronic's computer assisted surgery division, and driven by a team of renowned orthopaedic surgeons: Drs. Allan Gross and David Backstein in Toronto, Dr. Wayne Paprosky in Chicago, Dr. Javad Parvizi in Philadelphia and Drs. Michael Cross and Ran Schwarzkopf in New York.

Source: Intellijoint Surgical Inc.
SIOS iQ Machine Learning Analytics Software Recognized for Excellence

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SIOS Technology Corp. (www.us.sios.com), the industrys leading provider of high availability and IT analytics software, today announced that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named SIOS iQ as a 2015 Data Center Excellence Award winner, presented by infoTECH Spotlight.

SIOS iQ is a powerful platform for IT operations analytics (ITOA) and issue resolution in VMware environments. SIOS iQ applies a patented, next-generation machine learning analytics/Big Data approach to a broad range of data sets, including application and infrastructure data from third party tools and frameworks, to recognize abnormal patterns of behavior between interrelated objects across compute, network, storage and applications in the infrastructure. This approach enables SIOS iQ to identify root causes of performance issues with unparalleled speed and accuracy. SIOS iQ also enables IT managers to ensure their applications are operating efficiently, that issues are identified and resolved quickly, and that VMware resources are not being wasted.

Virtual environments continue to grow in size and complexity driving an increasingly urgent need for a simple, intelligent way to ensure business critical applications are meeting stringent service levels for performance, efficiency, reliability and capacity utilization. Gaining this recognition for innovation and excellence in the data center demonstrates the important role that SIOS iQ plays in meeting this need. By proactively identifying anomalies in behavior, defining the root causes of performance problems in any application, and recommending specific changes to address those problems quickly and easily our customers will recognize significant improvements in time to resolution while reducing the burden on IT," said Jerry Melnick, president and CEO, SIOS Technology.

The 2015 Data Center Excellence Award recognizes the most innovative and enterprising data center vendors who offer infrastructure or software, servers or cooling systems, cabling or management applications.

SIOS Technology has displayed its commitment to quality and innovation in the development of the data center industry, said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. I look forward to witnessing continued excellence from SIOS and their efforts toward improving the future of the data center industry.

About InfoTech Spotlight

InfoTech Spotlight brings extensive daily content focused on information technology. Visitors will find free industry news, communities, channels, blogs, feature articles, videos, whitepapers and other resources. The site keeps readers informed about developments across topics including software, hardware, security and networking. InfoTech Spotlight is powered by TMCnet, the leading communications and technology site in the World attracting two million unique visitors monthly according to Webtrends. Please visit: infoTECH Spotlight for more information.

About TMC

Global buyers rely on TMCs content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers.

TMCs Marketplaces:

Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking.

boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases.

uncover sales opportunities and build databases. In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads.

and boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. Publications, Display Advertising and Newsletters bolster brand reputations.

and bolster brand reputations. Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts.

provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. Comprehensive Event and Road Show Management Services help companies meet potential clients and generate leads face-to-face.

For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com.

About SIOS Technology Corp.

SIOS Technology Corp. makes software products that provide the insights and guidance IT managers need to manage and protect business critical applications in large, complex data centers. SIOS iQ is a machine learning analytics software that helps IT managers optimize performance, efficiency, reliability, and capacity utilization in virtualized environments. SIOS SAN and SANLess software is an essential part of any cluster solution that provides the flexibility to build Clusters Your Way to protect your choice of Windows or Linux environment in any configuration (or combination) of physical, virtual and cloud (public, private, and hybrid) without sacrificing performance or availability. Founded in 1999, SIOS Technology Corp. (http://us.sios.com) is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and has offices throughout the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.

SIOS, SIOS Technology, SIOS iQ, SIOS DataKeeper, SIOS Protection Suite, Clusters Your Way, SIOS PERC Dashboard, and associated logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of SIOS Technology Corp. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005749/en/

Winkowski Public Relations, LLC for SIOS

Beth Winkowski, 978-649-7189

[email protected]

or

TMC

Rebecca Conyngham, 203-852-6800, ext. 287

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Source: SIOS Technology Corp.
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced promotions earned by nine investment staff members in TAs Boston, Hong Kong, London, Menlo Park and Mumbai offices, effective January 1, 2016.

We are pleased to recognize the many accomplishments of these individuals, who demonstrate the breadth of talent of our global investment staff, said Brian J. Conway, Chairman and a Managing Director at TA Associates. The promotions are well-earned, as each of these professionals has made significant contributions to the firm, our investors and our portfolio companies during their careers with TA.

William D. Christ was promoted to Managing Director from Director. He is based in TAs Boston office, focusing on investments in consumer products, retail, restaurant and education companies. Mr. Christ led TAs investments in Amplify Snack Brands (formerly SkinnyPop Popcorn) (NYSE: BETR) and Dymatize Enterprises, and was actively involved in the firms investments in Full Sail, Towne Park and Vatterott Educational Centers. He serves on the Board of Directors of Amplify Snack Brands and formerly served on the Boards of Dymatize Enterprises, Microban International, Towne Park and Vatterott Educational Centers. Mr. Christ received a BS, summa cum laude, with Special Attainments, Phi Beta Kappa, in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University and an MBA as an Edward Tuck Scholar with High Distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Hythem T. El-Nazer was promoted to Managing Director from Director. He is based in TAs Boston office, focusing on investments in software and technology-enabled companies. Mr. El-Nazer led TAs investments in AboveNet, Accruent, Answers, Idera, MicroSeismic, Mitratech and TEOCO; co-sponsored Aicent, Bomgar, Gamma Technologies and WIND TELECOM; and was actively involved in the firms investments in Idea Cellular (NSE: IDEA.NS), MetroPCS Communications and RGM Advisors. He serves on the Board of Directors of Accruent, Bomgar, Gamma Technologies, Idera, MicroSeismic, Mitratech and TEOCO, and was formerly a Board Member of Aicent, Answers and WIND TELECOM. Mr. El-Nazer received a General Course degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an AB in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

J. Morgan Seigler was promoted to Managing Director from Director. He is based in the London office of TA Associates (UK), LLP, focusing on investments in technology companies across Europe. Mr. Seigler led TAs investments in Access Technology Group, CMOSIS and Flashtalking; co-sponsored Bigpoint and eCircle; and was actively involved in the firms investments in AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG), ION Trading and SmartStream Technologies. He serves on the Board of Directors of Access Technology Group, Bigpoint and Flashtalking, and was formerly a Board Member or a Board Observer of AVG Technologies, CMOSIS, eCircle and M and M Direct. Mr. Seigler received a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Naveen Wadhera was promoted to Managing Director from Director. He is based in the London office of TA Associates (UK), LLP, focusing on investments in companies across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. He also serves as Co-Head of Asia. Mr. Wadhera advised on TAs investments in Dr Lal PathLabs (NSE: LALPATHLAB), Fractal Analytics, IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk), Micromax, RateGain, Tega Industries and YeePay; and was actively involved in the firms investments in 2nd Story Software, Drive Assist, GlobeOp Financial Services, ION Trading and SmartStream Technologies. He serves on the Board of Directors of Dr Lal PathLabs, Fractal Analytics, Micromax and RateGain. Mr. Wadhera received a BSc in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Dhiraj Poddar was promoted to Director from Principal. He is Co-Head of India and based in the Mumbai office of TA Associates Advisory Pvt. Ltd., focusing on investments in companies in India and other emerging markets. Mr. Poddar advised on TAs investments in Fractal Analytics, IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk), RateGain and Tega Industries. He serves on the Board of Directors of Fractal Analytics, IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk) and Tega Industries, and is a Board Observer at RateGain. Mr. Poddar received a degree from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Patrick Sader was promoted to Director from Principal. He is based in the London office of TA Associates (UK), LLP, focusing on investments in consumer, financial and business services companies across Europe. Mr. Sader led TAs investments in CIPRES, Hana Group and Zadig & Voltaire, and was actively involved in the firms investment in DNCA Finance. He serves on the Board of Directors of CIPRES, Hana Group and Zadig & Voltaire. Mr. Sader received a BA in Finance and Accounting from ESSEC Business School.

Jason S. Mironov was promoted to Principal from Senior Vice President. He is based in TAs Menlo Park office, focusing on investments in business, financial, technology-enabled and other services companies. Mr. Mironov led TAs investment in Procare Software, co-sponsored DiscoverOrg and Plusgrade, and was actively involved in the firms investment in Dutch. He serves on the Board of Directors of DiscoverOrg, Procare Software and Plusgrade. Mr. Mironov received a BBA, with Distinction, from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Clara M. Jackson was promoted to Senior Vice President from Vice President. She is based in TAs Boston office, focusing on investments in business, financial and other services companies. Ms. Jackson was actively involved in the firms investment in NorthStar Financial Services and serves on its Board of Directors. She is also involved in TAs pending acquisition of Russell Investments and will serve as a Board Observer post-closing. Ms. Jackson received a BS, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Daniel Brujis was promoted to Vice President from Senior Associate. He is based in the Hong Kong office of TA Associates Asia Pacific Ltd, focusing on investments in technology, consumer products, business services and financial services companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Brujis was actively involved in the firms investments in Soderberg & Partners and RateGain, and has an active role in SpeedCast International (ASX: SDA). He received a BS, magna cum laude, in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Columbia University.

About TA Associates

TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced global growth private equity firms. The firm has invested in more than 450 companies around the world and has raised $24 billion in capital. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong, TA Associates leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160106006783/en/

TA Associates

Marcia OCarroll, 617-574-6796

[email protected]

or

BackBay Communications

Philip Nunes, 617-556-9982, x227

[email protected]

or

BackBay Communications

Stephen Fishleigh, +44 203-475-7552

[email protected]

Source: TA Associates
BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (NYSE MKT: TXMD) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of $125 million of shares of its common stock, offered at a price of $8.25 per share. The gross proceeds to TherapeuticsMD from this offering are expected to be approximately $125 million, before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses payable by TherapeuticsMD. In addition, TherapeuticsMD has granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase, at the public offering price less the underwriting discount, up to an additional 15% of the shares of common stock. All of the shares in the offering are to be sold by TherapeuticsMD. The offering is expected to close on or about January 12, 2016, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Cowen and Company are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering. Stifel and Guggenheim Securities are acting as joint lead managers for the offering.

TherapeuticsMD intends to use a majority of the proceeds of the offering to fund commercialization activities for TX-004HR, its applicator-free vaginal estradiol softgel drug candidate, for other research, clinical trials, clinical formulation and development and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

TherapeuticsMD has filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), relating to the public offering of the shares of common stock described above. Before buying any shares of TherapeuticsMDs common stock in the offering, you should carefully read the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, together with the information incorporated therein. These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision. TherapeuticsMDs SEC filings are available to the public from the SECs website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may also be obtained by contacting Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282-2198, by calling (866) 471-2526 or by emailing [email protected]; or Cowen and Company, LLC at c/o Broadridge Financial Services, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by phone (631) 274-2806 / Fax (631) 254-7140.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

About TherapeuticsMD, Inc.

TherapeuticsMD, Inc. is an innovative healthcare company focused on developing and commercializing products exclusively for women. With its SYMBODA technology, TherapeuticsMD is developing advanced hormone therapy pharmaceutical products to enable delivery of bio-identical hormones through a variety of dosage forms and administration routes. The companys clinical development pipeline includes two phase 3 products. The company also manufactures and distributes branded and generic prescription prenatal vitamins as well as over-the-counter vitamins under the vitaMedMD and BocaGreenMD brands.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release by TherapeuticsMD, Inc. may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to TherapeuticsMDs objectives, plans and strategies as well as statements, other than historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that TherapeuticsMD intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are often characterized by terminology such as believes, hopes, may, anticipates, should, intends, plans, will, expects, estimates, projects, positioned, strategy and similar expressions and are based on assumptions and assessments made in light of managements experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and TherapeuticsMD undertakes no duty to update or revise any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of TherapeuticsMDs control. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties associated with market conditions, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offering, risks and uncertainties associated with TherapeuticsMDs business and finances in general and other risks described in the sections titled Risk Factors in TherapeuticsMDs filings with the SEC, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005313/en/

TherapeuticsMD, Inc.

Daniel A. Cartwright, 561-961-1900

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

Source: TherapeuticsMD, Inc.
By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Florida man who worked at a Wall Street brokerage was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for participating in a massive scheme to bribe officials at Venezuelan state-owned development banks for trading business.

Jose Alejandro Hurtado, who prosecutors said was central to connecting New York-based Direct Access Partners with a senior Venezuelan banking official, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan to forfeit nearly $11.9 million.

Hurtado, 40, had already served 17 months in prison after his 2013 arrest, according to his lawyers, who had sought a sentence of time served in light of cooperation he provided authorities.

His sentence was confirmed by a spokesman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whose office had pursued the case as part of a foreign bribery probe involving Direct Access Partners and Venezuelan state-owned development banks.

The investigation led to charges against Benito Chinea, Direct Access Partners' ex-chief executive, and Joseph DeMeneses, a managing director, each of whom was sentenced to four years in prison in March.

Prosecutors said Direct Access made more than $60 million in fees from trading business directed to it by a senior official at Caracas-based Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, known as Bandes.

Direct Access employees in turn sent about $5 million to that official, Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez de Hernandez, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Hurtado brought Gonzalez to Direct Access while working in private banking. The firm in turn directed $8 million in purported finder fees to Hurtado's then-girlfriend, prosecutors said.

Hurtado later joined Direct Access and, despite lacking a bond-broker's license, became one of its top-paid employees, earning $4.38 million, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said employees also schemed to direct payments to a banker at another Venezuelan-state owned development bank, Banfoandes.

The scheme was uncovered during a periodic U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission review. Federal prosecutors and the SEC announced initial charges in May 2013, helping to push Direct Access's parent company into bankruptcy.

Hurtado pleaded guilty in August 2013 to charges including that he violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act along with two other employees, Ernesto Lujan and Tomas Clarke. They were sentenced this month to two years in prison each.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty in November 2013. She is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15.

The case is U.S. v. Hurtado, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-cr-673.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Police on the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru are investigating an alleged assault on a child refugee by another refugee, the government said on Thursday.

Nauru is home to Australia's controversial refugee detention center, which hosts about 500 asylum seekers and has been widely criticized for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that an Iranian refugee had caught another refugee in the act of sexually assaulting his 6-year-old daughter on Dec. 29.

The man had pulled his and the girl's trousers down, and abused her near the cafe where her father worked, the Guardian reported, adding that the attacker had not been arrested or charged.

The Nauru police force (NPF) is investigating the alleged assault, the government said on its Twitter account.

"NPF will not discuss details of alleged child assault investigation but confirm alleged victim and alleged accused both from refugee community," the government said on Twitter.

"Child assault allegation involves accusation against a refugee by another refugee," it added.

Several rights groups have criticized the harsh conditions at the Nauru detention center.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in 2013 that the center was "inappropriate for the care and support of child asylum seekers", according to a Human Rights Watch report to an Australian parliamentary committee.

Asylum seekers intercepted while trying to reach Australia on rickety boats have been sent to camps on Nauru, located about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) northeast of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea.

According to Australian government statistics, at the end of November Nauru hosted 543 asylum seekers, including 70 children.

In early October, Nauru unexpectedly opened the gates of its detention center, allowing asylum seekers to move freely around the island, and said it would immediately process all asylum applications.

(Reporting by Alisa Tang, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
Nestor Reverol, the then-Director of the National Drug Office (ONA), talks to the media during a meeting in Caracas, January 11, 2010. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By Nate Raymond

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two senior Venezuelan officials facing U.S. drug trafficking charges are accused in an indictment of taking payments from narcotics traffickers and alerting them to drug raids, according to a person with knowledge of the case.

Nestor Reverol, the head of Venezuela's National Guard, and Edylberto Molina, a former deputy head of the anti-narcotics agency and currently a military attache posted in Germany, are named in the indictment that prosecutors are preparing to unseal, people familiar with the case told Reuters.

In addition to tipping traffickers off about raids, the two are charged with taking other steps to hinder anti-narcotics investigations, the person told Reuters on Wednesday.

Reverol, the former head of Venezuela's anti-narcotics agency, would be one of the highest-ranking Venezuelan officials to face U.S. drug charges. He could not be reached for comment.

He has previously rejected U.S. accusations that Venezuela has failed to curb illicit drug shipments and has touted the National Guard's success in cracking down on the flow of cocaine from neighboring Colombia.

Venezuelas embassy in Berlin did not respond to an email requesting contact information for Molina. The diplomat has been a general in the National Guard, which is the branch of the armed forces that controls Venezuela's borders.

A National Guard official did not immediately respond to a voice mail seeking comment. An Information Ministry official said the ministry had no comment on Reverol.

The indictment pending in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, which the people said was expected to be unveiled in January, comes as the United States investigates the suspected involvement of senior Venezuelan officials in the cocaine trade.

The National Guard issued a series of Tweets in Reverol's defense on Tuesday night using the hashtag #NestorReverolSoldierOfTheFatherland and saying he should be praised for capturing more than 100 drugs bosses.

In televised comments on Wednesday, Socialist Party leader Jorge Rodriguez accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of drug trafficking in Venezuela and said the accusations were an "aggression" against the country's armed forces.

There are two countries, one that produces drugs and another that shoves it up its nose. One produces and the other consumes, and neither of those two countries is Venezuela," he said, referring to Colombia and the United States respectively.

The U.S. Justice Department and the DEA have declined to comment on the case.

U.S. prosecutors have unsealed indictments charging at least five former Venezuelan officials with drug trafficking crimes over the past four years, according to records from Florida and New York district courts.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dismisses charges of official involvement in drug trafficking as an international right-wing campaign to discredit socialism in Venezuela.

Two other former officials with the National Guard have been indicted on U.S. drugs charges in recent years.

One of them, former captain Vassyly Villarroel Ramirez, was indicted in 2011 on cocaine-trafficking charges. The U.S. Treasury put Villarroel on its drug "kingpin" list in 2013, and Venezuela arrested him in July on drug trafficking charges.

Lawyers for Villarroel could not be reached for comment.

Two nephews of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores were arrested in Haiti last month and indicted in federal court in Manhattan on cocaine trafficking charges. They are scheduled to next appear in court on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Julia Harte in Washington and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; Editing by Stuart Grudgings)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen is facing a time-consuming overhaul as the carmaker adopts a new company structure and adjusts the strategy of its brands in the wake of an emissions scandal, German magazine Wirtschaftswoche quoted Chief Executive Matthias Mueller as saying.

"The repositioning of the group will certainly take between two and three years and is no child's play," Mueller told the weekly publication in an interview published on Wednesday.

Mueller said he wants VW to try to overtake rivals in profitability rather than keep pushing volume, which under his predecessor Martin Winterkorn doubled to more than 10 million cars sold last year.

"This peering at unit sales and new sales records makes little sense from my point of view," the CEO said.

Mueller, who will travel to the United States this week for the first time since VW's emissions scandal broke nearly four months ago, said he will try to continue the diesel offensive in the world's second largest auto market, despite the headwinds.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer)
This pair of three-week-old kittens was dumped by the Hutt River in Avalon on the morning of January 7.

A pair of three-week-old kittens abandoned by the Hutt River this morning would not have lasted long, Wellington SPCA senior inspector Ben Lakomy says.

The black and white kittens were wrapped in a blanket and left on the riverbank. A man who found them took them to The Pet Centre in Lower Hutt, where staff alerted the SPCA.

"The kittens were lucky they were found in the morning," Lakomy said. "With no water or food they probably wouldn't have survived the day."

This case is just 24 hours after the SPCA was called in when three six-week-old cross breed tan and black puppies were dumped at Walter Nash Park in Lower Hutt.

READ MORE:

*Auckland SPCA given 71 unwanted kittens in less than two days

*Kitten thrown from car one of hundreds rescued this summer

*Abandoned kitten 'season' worse than ever, says Kelson Inn

Lakomy said in the vast majority of cases, owners make arrangements with the SPCA when they can't properly care for a litter of kittens or puppies.

"But too often we're having to deal with kittens that have just been abandoned."

The kittens left on the riverbank been taken to Wellington SPCA where they will undergo a health check and be de-sexed and microchipped. They will then join the ranks of scores of other kittens put up for adoption to good homes.

The summer kitten season was a very busy time for Wellington SPCA, Lakomy said.

"We have lots of vulnerable kittens coming through our doors. Right now we are caring for over 200 kittens and 94 cats. Many [are] available for adoption."

Wellington SPCA is the only animal welfare charity in the region approved under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to use its Inspectors to investigate animal abuse and neglect, including abandonment.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Glassey said if anyone in the community has information relating to the alleged dumping on the kittens at Avalon, they should contact SPCA's call centre on 389 8044.

"Deserting an animal is an offence under law that carries penalties of up to 12 months imprisonment or a fine up to $50,000, or both".

Lower Hutt-based animal charity The Kitten Inn is also grappling with scores of kittens and cats which need responsible new owners.

Susan McNair, who has run The Kitten Inn from her home at 247 Major Drive in Kelson for 17 years, said she and dozens of foster carers were looking after around 250 kittens and 30 female cats in the first week of December.

Before the end of the month the kitten tally had climbed to nearly 300, McNair said yesterday.

It was only thanks to good re-homing rates they were staying on top of things. Last week 31 de-sexed and microchipped kittens were taken away by new owners, and the week before 19.

McNair said some people just didn't appreciate the need to de-sex cats.

This morning a mother cat and five kittens were handed to the inn. "The kittens are already quite big and I suspect the mother is pregnant again.

"A mother cat can still be looking after kittens when it can come into heat again. People just don't realise."

The Kitten Inn also handled plenty of dumped and abandoned cats. Last October some teenagers rescued a two-week old kitten that was floating down Hutt River on a log and walked up the hill to the Kelson rescue centre.
Jason and Amy Mackiewicz have trained to become refugee support volunteers and will help arriving Syrians settle into Wellington life.

The harrowing image of drowned three-year-old Syrian boy on a beach, on the far side of the world, propelled Amy and Jason Mackiewicz to do something.

The couple are among dozens of Wellingtonians rallying to help in the resettlement of refugees who will soon arrive in the capital.

"We've watched the coverage of the flood of refugees into Europe. We are aware of the civil war in Syria and we wanted to be part of making a difference," Jason said.

"Becoming a refugee volunteer is a way of doing something about the issue."

In late February, 85 Syrian refugees will end a long journey to safety after having fled their country's civil war.

The group is part of the 750 Syrian refugees New Zealand has agreed to take over the next 2 years. Ahead of their arrival, the Red Cross has called for volunteers to help with the resettlement process.

In Wellington, that call has been answered with a flood, and training courses are filled to capacity.

Red Cross national programme development manager Rachel O'Connor said it was no surprise that Wellington residents had rushed to help.

"Wellingtonians have a long history of supporting refugees settle in their community. When we asked for help to support the additional numbers we were inundated by kind and generous people across the region," she said.

"A lot of people felt helpless watching the scenes in the Mediterranean unfolding on our screens, and so volunteering to support a refugee family fleeing from those conflicts provided a very real way to respond."

Resettling in New Zealand was not easy, even though the refugees were now in a safe country, O'Connor said.

"There are still lots of challenges, including often learning a new language and adapting to new systems and way of life."

Even getting mail delivered could be a mystery.

Amy Mackiewicz said being a volunteer was many things.

"It's being a friend who is available to help at any time. Everything can feel foreign and unusual. It's an extremely challenging time and very tiring," she said.

"We are here to be asked questions of."

Every-day tasks that Kiwis took for granted would be new, with a lot of administration and bureaucracy, she said.

"We will help with school enrolments, how to catch a bus, and accessing Work and Income and other social services."

The couple said they had heard first-hand accounts of the value of a volunteer to help with resettlement.

A volunteer could help refugees overcome the difficulties of finding a sense of community in their new surroundings, Jason said.

"New Zealanders are welcoming, but we are quite personal and private. Breaking through can be hard."

Helping refugees settle into the Kiwi way of life wasn't about them giving up their identity or culture, Amy said.

"We can co-exist and already do. We can help people keep hold of their traditions but become part of New Zealand moving forward.

"It's not about losing who you are but celebrating who you are in a new place."

O'Connor said resettlement could be quite lonely as many of the families had been split up and did not have familiar social networks.

"That is why we are so reliant on generous Kiwis to provide friendship and support  the volunteers often become pseudo family," she said.

There were a lot of "firsts" to come to grips with: "First time to the doctor, first grocery shop, first day at school  everything that you need to do to establish your family in a new location.

"They also support the families to connect with the wider community, like going to community events and meeting the neighbours. One mother described her volunteers as 'angels from above'."
A Hamilton East property owner says decrepit state homes in Hamilton East are fostering a 'ghetto-type situation' in the streets.

Nobody wants to live in the brick house in Hamilton East with the pink door.

The tidy three-bedroom home has a ventilation system, a new fireplace, good carpet, a large backyard and floor and ceiling insulation - all for only $360 a week.

But prospective tenants take one look at the neighbourhood and back away, said property owner Julie Jay.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Boarded up state housing in Cassidy St has become a problem for property owner Julie Jay, who said the state of the neighbourhood has deterioriated.

More than 30 decrepit Housing NZ properties surround Jay's Cassidy St rental, and the government department won't say how long it will be before decisions are made on their fate.

READ MORE: The slums of Jebson Pl

The empty shells, combined with rubbish, graffiti, and a gang presence, make for an unwelcoming atmosphere.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Shoes hanging over powerlines add to the eerie atmosphere in Cassidy St, Hamilton East.

In March 2014, Housing New Zealand notified 39 tenants in the block of Cassidy St, Dey St, Jebson Pl and Old Farm Rd that the houses they lived in would be demolished and they would likely be relocated before the year was out.

But close to two years on, the boarded-up windows and missing fenceposts show little signs of progress.

"[T]his was going to be done over a year ago ... the houses would be torn down and there would be new houses put here, and that's to use, so there wasn't a ghetto type situation occurring."

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Julie Jay owns a home in Cassidy Street, Hamilton East, where she said her house is unrentable due to the condition of the neighbourhood, where there are more than 30 vacant state homes.

"One night there was a brawl on the street and there was about 30 people hitting each other with fence posts."

There is evidence people have entered Jay's gated property, as cigarette lighters and small resealable bags have turned up on the back lawn.

Jay said three prospective tenants in recent weeks had liked the house but said 'no way' to the street.

A house that went up for auction two doors down attracted one potential buyer, but no bids, said Lodge real estate agent Ann Hooper.

Housing NZ area manager Karan Frederikson said the department was "working through our options for the Cassidy and Dey St area".

When pushed for a timeframe, Frederikson would not be specific.

"We can assure you that we are working as quickly as possible around our plans for the area. As soon as we have an update, we will be letting our tenants and the community know."

In the meantime, Frederikson said security in the area has increased in response to concerns from residents about graffiti and other anti-social behaviour.

"[We] are looking at installing alarms, CCTV cameras and additional lighting for the area shortly.

"We are also going to be removing sections of damaged fencing and trimming or removing some shrubbery to open up the area and deter vandalism."

Hamilton's Deputy Mayor Gordon Chesterman, who looks after the East Ward, had passed Jay's concerns about safety on to council's City Safe team, but emphasised council had no business getting tenants into rental properties.

"That's a business risk when you invest in houses, but we shouldn't have neighbourhoods where there's fear and gangs ruling the roost.

"It's the people in the neighbourhoods. I hate to say it but, don't they have any pride? Don't they respect the neighbourhood they live in?"

A family new to the street said they were enjoying the area, and didn't mind the emptiness.

"It's a nice neighbourhood, there's some nice people there and we can afford the rent," said Cassidy St resident Alan, who didn't want to provide his surname.

So far the only thing that had been stolen was the ashtray, he said.

"We came from Melville, and there was dramas there every goddamn day. You know, people getting shot around Norrie St.

"We had one incident out here where a couple of kids got pulled up in a stolen car, but that wasn't related to here."

Alan expected it would be 'years and years' before Housing NZ made decisions on the state homes.
Timaru woman Diana Gibb is upset with the price hike of cigarettes.

People are collecting used cigarettes from the street to help battle their mental illness and avoid personal harm, a woman who uses cigarettes to moderate her own illness says.

Timaru woman Diana Gibb, 58, has warned that the just-introduced hike in the price of cigarettes is making them increasingly unaffordable and to the extent it could have grave consequences for people who use them as a calming mechanism during depressive episodes.

A Timaru mental health expert has disputed that claim, saying smoking should not be used to manage the symptoms of mental illnesses.

Have you battled an addiction? Share your stories, photos and videos. Contribute

Gibb was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 13. Like many of her friends with mental illnesses, Gibb is a long-time smoker.

READ MORE:

*Cigarette tax up 10 per cent

*E-cigarettes no better than the real thing, scientists say

*Tobacco control shake-up as 2025 target goes up in smoke

*Nurses call for urgent tobacco plain packaging laws in NZ after Australia wins legal battle

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/FAIRFAX NZ Diana Gibb is concerned that a recent tobacco price hike could have serious consequences for people with mental illnesses.

Smoking helped calm her nerves, and could lift her mood when she was feeling depressed, she said.

"I know they're not good for you, but it does help calm you down."

Tobacco excise taxes increased by 10 per cent on January 1. Smokers could expect to pay about $70 for a 50 gram pouch of tobacco, while a 25 pack of tailor-made cigarettes was about $27.

That price increase would mean many people could not afford to smoke, and could lead to more pressure on mental health services, Gibb believed.

"I'm worried about the fact that some psychiatric patients might commit suicide because they can't afford their cigarettes.

"Quite a lot of them rely on them more than their meds to keep sane."

She knew some people with mental health issues who had taken to picking up cigarette butts off the street.

"I knew a lady who used to pick them up from the hospital trays, when they used to have them.

"They could pick up any diseases from there."

Gibb quit smoking for six months in 2014, during which she gained 46 kilograms. It took her about a year of "hard slog" to lose half of that weight, she said.

The government should be cracking down on alcohol rather than tobacco, she believed.

"Drinking takes up a lot more resources from the government than smoking does."

South Canterbury District Health Board clinical director of mental health services Dr Cecilia Smith-Hamel acknowledged that many people with mental illnesses were smokers.

"They are over-represented in terms of the general population."

People smoked because they believed it relieved anxiety and stress, she said.

That did not mean it was the right way to manage symptoms.

"Nobody supports smoking as a way of managing anything," she said.

"It boils down to other forms of stress management, and accessing smoking cessation services."

She believed that some people were picking up cigarette butts to smoke, but that would be a "very, very small" percentage of the population.

Compared to the national average of 18 per cent, 15.9 per cent of South Cantabrians were smokers, according to the 2011-2014 New Zealand Health Survey.
Police were called to a Shore Rd, Remuera address by St John Ambulance staff at about 10.50 this morning after a womans body was discovered on the propertys lawn.

Police have launched a homicide investigation and are underway with a scene examination and area inquiries in and around Shore Rd.

The deceased has not been removed from the scene as yet.

Police do not believe residents of the Shore Rd address are connected with the womans death.

Detective Inspector Kevin Hooper says it appears she was attacked somewhere nearby and wed like to hear from anyone who may have seen a Caucasian woman in exercise gear on Shore Rd or nearby, any time between 10am and 10.50am.

Source: New Zealand Police.
He is New Zealands first formally trained paediatric surgeon and after 40 years of service Dr Stuart Brown is putting down his scalpel and retiring.

Known for his dedication, the Waikato Hospital paediatric surgeon has performed thousands of surgeries and is fondly described by his colleagues as simply irreplaceable.
The very heavy rain over northern Westland, Buller and western parts of Nelson should ease from the south this afternoon, however, a further 40 to 80mm is likely here on top of over 100mm that has already fallen in places.

"Meanwhile, a period of heavy rain and possible thundery downpours are expected over many parts of the North Island today where a severe thunderstorm watch is in force," says a statement from the MetService.

"Significant rainfalls of over 100mm are also expected about the Tararua Range and the ranges of eastern Bay of Plenty today.

"This is a significant amount of rain falling in a relatively short period and will cause rivers and stream levels to rise rapidly."

Northwest gales are also expected to be severe for a time today over parts of Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa, with gusts of 140 km/h in exposed places, but these should ease late this afternoon or evening.

"Winds of this strength can cause damage to trees and powerlines as well as unsecured structures and could make driving conditions hazardous, especially about higher areas such as the Rimutaka Hill Road."

Earlier:

The Bay of Plenty and Coromandel is being warned for the possibility of thunderstorms today as a front moves across the country.

The MetService expects the front to cross the upper North Island (north of a line from Taranaki to East Cape) during the afternoon.



A band of heavy rain is moving over the country today. Image: MetService.

There is a high risk of thunderstorms moving through these areas from west to east during the period with locaised rainfall rates generally expected in the 10 to 25mm/hr range, says a statement from the MetService.

However, there is a moderate risk that some of these thunderstorms may become severe with localised downpours of 25 to 45mm/hr possible.

People are being warned that driving conditions will be hazardous surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain.

More specifically, higher population areas such as Auckland city and Hamilton city can expect this threat to move through during the afternoon hours.



Severe Thunderstorm Criteria

MetService uses the following criteria for severe thunderstorms in New Zealand:

Heavy rain (from thunderstorms):

Rainfall of 25 millimetres per hour, or more.

Large hail:

Hailstones 20 millimetres in diameter, or larger.

Strong wind gusts (from thunderstorms):

Gusts of 110 kilometres per hour (60 knots) or stronger.

Damaging tornadoes:

Fujita F1 (wind speeds greater than 116 kilometres per hour (63 knots)) or stronger.

Note: some tornadic systems such as funnel clouds, waterspouts and small land-based tornadoes are possible with thunderstorms that may not be classified as severe.
A decision on seabed mining exploration off Waihi Beach is expected in about two months, says the Ministry of business innovation and employment.

Pacific Offshore Mining is seeking a five-year permit to explore for ilmenite  titanium ore, within 12,000 hectares off Waihi Beach.
The New York Times released their 52 Places to Go in 2016 today! It's a gorgeous, extra-large format article with integrated videos of destinations. The highly varied list includes places like Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Vaud, Switzerland, both places I highly recommend. Absent from the list, and pictured above, is Bora Bora, which has been at the top of my list of places I want to visit for longer than I can remember. It's seems like the most perfect South Pacific vacation possible: nothing but beaches and clear water, sun, snorkeling, eating and sleeping. Obviously when we go, we won't take our kids! But, seriously, can you get over the color of that water? I am swooning and hypnotized at once.Another destination I'm dying to visit did make the list: Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. J and I have some friends who just moved to Dubai and seeing their life there through pictures and Instagram posts makes me want to visit even more. Wouldn't it be magnificent to walk through the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and ride a camel in the desert? It looks like one of the most breathtaking places on earth. I can't wait to plan a trip there. I wonder if we should take the kids?What places are at the top of your travel list? Where would you recommend?
CLAY, N.Y. -- An Onondaga County woman is accused of stealing someone's identity to get a $7,400 college loan.

Sarah T. Williams

The New York State Police said Sarah T. Williams, 20, of Brewerton, was charged with first-degree identity theft, a felony.

State police provided few details, but said Williams fraudulently got a student loan for $7,456 to enroll at Nazareth College. Williams used another person's identification without their permission to get the loan, state police said.

Williams, who graduated from Paul V. Moore High School, ran track and field at Nazareth. She was listed on the team roster for the 2014-15 indoor track season and for the 2015 outdoor season. She is not listed on the team's current roster.

Williams was arraigned in Clay Town Court and released on her own recognizance.
glenn collins arraignment.JPG

Glenn Collins kept driving to Turning Stone casino the night his 6-year-old daughter died and his 14-year-old son suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. He's now serving 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison.

(Julie McMahon | jmcmahon@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, NY -- Glenn Collins, already serving a state prison sentence in the death of his daughter, attempted to play amateur lawyer in court today.

A confusing 30-minute court appearance included Collins, 38, trying to explain the law to a judge and the judge having an impromptu conversation with Collins' mother.

"I just want to put this all behind me," a shackled Collins said in court.

Prosecutor Matthew Doran said Collins wanted things both ways. Judge Walter Hafner Jr. declared that Collins wouldn't dictate his punishment.

The appearance ended where it began: Collins went back to prison to continue serving his 7 1/2 to 15-year sentence for the 2014 carbon monoxide death of his 6-year-old daughter, Gabriella.

And prosecutors pledged to re-indict additional charges relating to Collins trying to rent his unfit Salina residence after her death.

It took a long time to get there.

First, Collins' defense lawyer Irene Aurora Flores attempted to remove herself from the case. She has publicly criticized Collins for destroying his own defense in the manslaughter trial regarding his daughter's death.

"I'm not going to do it," Flores told her client in court. She later reconsidered and agreed to keep Collins as a client.

Doran, the prosecutor, wanted to know if Collins was interested in a plea deal. Otherwise, he'd have to present the tenant swindling charges to a grand jury because of a legal problem with the first indictment.

And the judge, Hafner, entered today completely new to the case, replacing the retired Joseph Fahey. Hafner wasn't sure what Fahey had ruled in the past and wasn't sure he could even take a plea today if one was worked out.

At one point, it appeared that Collins might plead guilty if his mother could pay $2,500 to the two swindled tenants.

Hafner directed his attention to Collins' mother, Alberta, who was sitting in the gallery. The judge asked if she could pay Collins' debts.

Alberta Collins told the judge she wouldn't be able to pay it all today, but might be able to in two installments.

Glenn Collins demanded that he be sentenced today if he pleaded guilty. But Doran wanted assurances that the would-be tenants would be paid before agreeing to that.

That's when Collins began acting as his own legal counsel, bypassing his lawyer standing next to him. Collins first argued that he deserved a speedy trial on the additional charges.

But Hafner said Collins wasn't entitled to a speedy trial petition until after the new indictment.

Collins then said he wanted a "bill of particulars," a legal phrase for a detailed list of the accusations against him.

Again, that couldn't be done until after the indictment, Hafner noted.

"I'm willing to put this all behind us, but there's no way I can pay this at this time," Collins said.

The judge noted that Collins wouldn't determine what punishment he received if pleading guilty. Hafner offered three options:

 Collins could plead guilty today and get 1 1/3 to 4 years additional in prison.

 The court could keep open the option that Collins' mother might pay the debts.

 Prosecutors could present the case to the grand jury and Collins could go to trial on the tenant swindling charges.

After today's appearance, Collins returned to state prison. His lawyer will still represent him. The prosecutors are still pursing the additional charges.

He's due back to court Feb. 24.
Boyden Street Murder 3.JPG

A woman places a candle at a makeshift memorial. At least 60 people attended the vigil for Jada Dame Wednesday.

(Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Friends and family gathered Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil in memory of an 18-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death earlier this week.

At least 60 people attended the vigil for Jada Dame.

People crowded together outside the house at 412 Boyden St. where Dame had an apartment. They spelled her name in candles on the sidewalk. People left dozens of candles, balloons and signs at a makeshift memorial.

Dame was found shortly before 10 p.m. Monday inside her Boyden Street apartment. Police said they believe she had been stabbed to death. No one has been arrested and authorities are continuing to investigate.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to call 315-442-5222.
PharmaCann.jpg

PharmaCann's medical marijuana dispensary at 642 Old Liverpool Road did not open today.

(James T. Mulder)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The state's medical marijuana program never got off the launch pad as promised today in Syracuse.

Neither of the two town of Salina medical marijuana dispensaries the state Health Department said would be open for business were ready.

Jay Duda, a security guard who answered the door of a dispensary at 642 Old Liverpool Road that will be operated by PharmaCann LLC, said the facility was not opening today and did not know when it will.

The dispensary, which does not have an exterior sign up yet, is in a storefront with tinted windows and is sandwiched between a tattoo parlor and an auction service in a strip shopping center.

Another dispensary in a medical building at 1304 Buckley Road did not open to the public because it is not completely furnished yet, said Colette Bellefleur, chief operating officer of Bloomfield Industries, a Staten Island-based company that will operate the facility.

She said the dispensary will initially serve patients by appointment only. "If there is a registered patient in Syracuse we will be ready to serve them," she said.

To make an appointment, patients can call (315) 565-2538.

Earlier this week the health department said eight dispensaries across the state, including the two in Salina, would open today and another 12, including one in Syracuse, will open later in the month. The health department said today some sites are opening with limited hours of operation or by appointment only.

Even if the two dispensaries here did open today, it's unlikely they would have many customers. That's because the drug will only be available to patients with 10 serious conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDs. And patients cannot get the drug unless they are approved by a doctor registered with the state. The health department says about 150 doctors statewide have registered with the medical marijuana program, but it has not released their names.

Finding a doctor may be harder than finding an open dispensary.

Annette Simiele of Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York said her phone was ringing off the hook yesterday with calls from MS patients searching for doctors who will approve them for medical pot. All the patients told her their neurologists are not participating in the program.

"I'm very disenchanted with the neurologists in our area," Simiele said. "Once the medical marijuana law was passed I thought the hard part was over. Now we don't have access. It seems counterintuitive to me."

Julie Netherland of the Drug Policy Alliance said her advocacy group also is hearing from many patients who cannot find doctors to approve them. "If you go to your doctor and he is not enrolled, you are really out of luck," she said.

Netherland said patients are frustrated and angry.

"Until patients have true access to the medicine they need, I don't think New York can declare this a success," she said.



How to sign up for medical marijuana

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
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By Andrew Atterbury of TCPalm

A bar is officially set, regardless of whether some state officials see it as too low and educators argue there shouldn't be one in the first place.

The state Board of Education approved passing scores and a grading formula for the Florida Standard Assessments on Wednesday, cementing the 2014-2015 school grades issued in December as more than a simulation. Come Feb. 9, the A-through-F grades  meant to serve as a standard for future testing because of the lack of crucial points for students who make progress  are final.

"Even though this was a step in the right direction, there's still a lot of work to be done," said Wayne Gent, superintendent of the St. Lucie County School District.

Numerous superintendents from across the state flocked to Tallahassee for the meeting, many urging the board not to issue school grades this year. In addition to testing complications, including computer crashes and hackers, the lack of a student-growth measurement  a component factored into previous grades bolstering scores at many schools  was a glaring exclusion from the 2014-2015 grades, the superintendents argued. This is the first year of FSA testing, and there won't be comparative data available until summer.

If the state board was going to release grades, the educators said, it should accept the standards proposed by Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.

Stewart recommended passing scores more than half of Florida students would achieve based on the 2015 results. Some officials, however, wanted tougher guidelines, on par with the National Assessment of Educational Progress, taken by a sample of students nationwide and intended to serve as a national metric.

Ultimately, the board voted 6-1 to follow Stewart's suggestions.

"We are happy with the decision the state board has made," Laurie Gaylord, superintendent of the Martin County School District, said in a statement Wednesday. "We continue to support high standards and an assessment system that is fair, reliable and consistent."

State board members noted that state law allows them to adjust the grading system if students are far exceeding expectations. Once learning gains are included in school grades, the board will revisit the grading scale to see if a more stringent formula is necessary.

As Ive stated before, without the inclusion of learning gains, I believe the newly passed school grades are incomplete, said Mark Rendell, superintendent of the Indian River County School District. However, we were prepared to take the appropriate action if the proposed school grades were approved based on the simulated grades that were released earlier.

Once the new formula is set, state officials will divvy out money, based on the 2014-15 scores, for teacher bonuses and other needs.
Images from the The Salvation Army Angel Tree toy distribution in Vero Beach. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Janet Begley

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY  Vero Beach and Sebastian were definitely in the giving spirit over the holidays once they learned the Salvation Army was falling short of its fundraising goal.

Thanks to a flurry of last-minute giving at the organization's red kettles, the Salvation Army exceeded its $110,000, bringing in a total of $111,103.

More than $50,000 was raised in the last week before Christmas.

A week before the end of the Red Kettle Campaign, Salvation Army Maj. Sam VanDenberg announced the organization had raised only $55,872 in its largest fundraising campaign of the year. He asked residents to drop spare change into one of the red kettles that were set up throughout the community and people responded, development director John Corapi said.

Bell ringers stationed at the kettles throughout Indian River County reported a significant increase in the number of donations placed in kettles once VanDenberg issued his plea.

"Thank you, Indian River County, for giving your change to the Red Kettle Campaign to help us make change in our community for 2016 and beyond," said Corapi. "We truly live in one of the most unique and philanthropic cities in the state of Florida."

While the organization was short on volunteers over the holiday season, those who donated a few hours of their time made the difference, Corapi said.

In addition to bell ringers, local businesses and organizations stepped up and sponsored 10 individual kettles. The Indian River County Sheriff's Office donated its time to transport kettles to the Salvation Army headquarters on Fifth Street Southwest in Vero Beach.

Corapi said the Salvation Army's annual Angel Tree fundraiser was successful this year due to the donations of toys, electronic items, video games, food and other gifts to the program from the community. More than 500 Indian River families representing more than 1,400 individuals were adopted through this year's program. About 700 senior citizens also received holiday gifts, including gift cards and food.

Money raised by the Salvation Army stays in Indian River County and goes toward such programs as mobile feeding canteen, social services, rent and utility assistance, food pantry and after-school activities for children. Indian River County's branch of the Salvation Army has been providing Christmas assistance for about 20 years.

Corapi said the organization counts on community generosity to sustain it each year.

YOU CAN DONATE

There is still time to make a donation to the Salvation Army's annual fundraising drive.

Checks can be mailed to the Salvation Army of Indian River County, P.O. Box 2864, Vero Beach 32961 or call 772-978-0265.
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By Janet Begley

SEBASTIAN  A 10-room operating suite and 48 additional private patient rooms are part of a planned addition to the Sebastian River Medical Center.

The 114,000-square-foot project  which would add nearly 94,000 square feet and renovate 20,000-square feet  would begin in the second half of this year and be completed in 2018.

Adding 48 patient beds would bring the hospital's total of licensed, inpatient beds to 202, an increase of 30 percent. The operating suite comprises seven surgical rooms, two endoscopy rooms and one bronchoscopy procedure room.

Hospital officials haven't determined cost of the project, spokeswoman Angela Dickens said.

Final design documents are being prepared for review by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, and once plans are finalized, projected costs will be released, Dickens said.

A three-story tower would be built on the hospital's property, 13695 U.S. 1 near Roseland Road. A similar tower wing was opened in 2010, providing 42 private rooms and a 16-bed intensive-care unit. That expansion cost about $25 million.

Hospital CEO Kelly Enriquez said the addition and renovation work would help meet the medical needs of the Sebastian community well into the future.

"We are excited to be involved with the planning and preparation of such a tremendous asset to our community," Enriquez said in a news release. "Our goal is to continue to attract the best physicians and surgeons to our hospital and to be the hospital of choice for patient care."

Enriquez said the new tower would provide more private rooms and better support the hospital's cardiac, pulmonary and physical-rehabilitation programs, among others.

Dr. Kirk Maes, chief of the medical staff, said surgeons and primary-care physicians participated in planning the expansion/renovation project.

"These improvements will support our physicians and nurses as they provide patients with a range of quality care and services," Maes said.

Hospital Board Chairman Anthony Donini said the staff consistently is exploring ways to better support nursing, medical staff and caregivers in their work to provide quality care to patients.

"Through this investment, we are enhancing our ability to deliver quality care and creating a stronger facility to serve our community into the future," Donini said.

SEBASTIAN RIVER MEDICAL CENTER PROJECT
INDIAN RIVER SHORES  Town officials want to know where to next take their battle over electric service.

They've asked the Florida Public Service Commission for clear direction on the state's jurisdiction when it comes to franchise and territorial agreements and the rights of governments to choose their own electric service.

The town and the city of Vero Beach have been at odds over electric service for years. About 3,500 Indian River Shores residents are Vero Beach electric customers. Shores officials have asked Vero to sell the town's portion of the system to Florida Power & Light Co.

Until now, Indian River Shores Mayor Brian Barefoot said, the PSC has taken contradictory positions.

When the town sued Vero Beach  asserting that home rule gave it authority to choose its own electric provider  the PSC claimed it had jurisdiction over the matter. But, Barefoot said, the PSC took the opposite position when Indian River County asked the state for authority to provide electric service to its residents when the county's franchise agreement with the city ends in 2017.

In the county issue, Barefoot said, the PSC ruled the matter was out of its jurisdiction.

"You can't have it both ways," he said.

Barefoot said the town needs guidance as it determines its next legal steps.

"We are basically asking for clarification," he said. "We sort of feel like a pingpong ball going back and forth."

Vero Beach City Manager Jim O'Connor said the city received notice Wednesday of the town's filing with the PSC and has forwarded the material to its lawyers for response.

Indian River Shores filed an amended lawsuit against the city last month, asking the court to make Vero Beach either remove its electric equipment from public areas or go through condemnation proceedings, requiring the town to be compensated for its property. The town continues to seek monetary damages from Vero Beach, claiming the city violated the franchise agreement by charging unreasonable electric rates.
Rusty Seas by Alfred Hair

Some of us were lucky enough to have a teacher who changed the direction of our lives. Zanobia Jefferson was that person for budding artist Alfred Hair in 1950s Fort Pierce.

Hair, of course, went on to form the loosely affiliated group of African-American landscape painters that became known as the Highwaymen. Yet it's doubtful that, without a strong push from Lincoln Park Academy art teacher Jefferson, he would ever have become a professional artist.

Jefferson died Saturday at age 89. Alfred Hair died in a barroom brawl in 1970.

Hair's widow, Doretha Hair Truesdell, recalled Jefferson as "a beautiful, beautiful spirit" who never met a stranger. "She was always the teacher; there was always something you could learn from her," she said.

"To Alfred, she was the best artist, and she taught him how to be the best you can be. He really loved her. She truly was a beautiful soul," she said.

In segregated Fort Pierce at the time, being the best he could be was a tall order indeed for a young black man.

Alfred attended Jefferson's art classes at Lincoln Park Academy for a couple of years.

"It got to the point that we couldn't offer him much more at LPA," she told a reporter in 2003. "They didn't have the facilities, but I knew Beanie Backus."

Backus, an established white painter of Florida landscapes, agreed to give Alfred art lessons once he'd determined the young man had talent. Hair learned the basics of painting and composition from Backus, but realized the only way he'd ever make a living out of art was to create it as quickly as possible. So he learned to paint as fast as he could and then passed on his techniques to a group of friends. Together, the group that much later became known as the Highwaymen created thousands of landscapes that were sold out of car trunks all over Florida.

Successful Highwaymen painter James Gibson was Hair's boyhood friend. They were very competitive, Gibson recalled. Once Hair started taking art instruction from Jefferson, Gibson wanted in, too.

"I sat in the back of the room," Gibson said, "because I was supposed to be in PE class. She knew I was there, but as long as I didn't do anything bad, she let me stay. If it wasn't for her encouragement I wouldn't be doing what I do today. I just paid attention to everything she taught me."

An accomplished sculptor, Jefferson taught art at Lincoln Park and later Fort Pierce Central for more than 40 years. She retired in the 1990s, but continued to be deeply involved in the arts on the boards of the Backus Gallery, the St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs Council and the Sunrise Theatre.

Yet Jefferson originally had been a biology major at Fisk University in Tennessee. In 1950, she arrived in Fort Pierce, where she was able to let her artistic side flourish.

Walter T. Shaw of Fort Lauderdale is the producer of "The Unknowns," an upcoming feature film about the Highwaymen.

"Hearing the news (of Jefferson's passing) was heartbreak for me," Shaw said this week. "I got the whole story from her."

Jefferson's character will form a large part of the movie, Shaw said, and he chose veteran actress Whoopi Goldberg to play her. "Without Zanobia there would've been no movie, no story. She championed it."

Over the years, I met Zanobia many times, but we only spoke in depth occasionally. She was a quiet, regal figure at art events throughout St. Lucie County who observed the proceedings with a slightly amused air. When I did get her to talk about the Highwaymen she answered my questions (as I'm sure she'd done thousands of times before) but politely steered the conversation back to her late husband Robert's role as an educator and to other students she remembered with great affection.

They felt the same way about her.

As Highwaymen painter Jimmy Stovall put it in 2005, "everybody wanted to be in her class. She was the type of teacher who recognized your talent, and she pushed you to pursue it. She went the extra mile."

Zanobia's daughter Ionis Jefferson-Swoope, an art teacher at Port St. Lucie High School for 35 years herself, said one of her mother's favorite poems was by John Wesley.

"Do all the things you can," Ionis recited, "and do the best you can."

It was a philosophy that shaped Zanobia Jefferson's life, career and her whole approach to teaching. She inspired a generation of students and will be sadly missed.

Anthony Westbury is a columnist for Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects his opinion. Contact him at 772-221-4220, anthony.westbury@tcpalm.com or follow him at TCPalmWestbury on Twitter.

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR ZANOBIA JEFFERSON
Rich Campbell is a columnist for TCPalm.com.

Valerie Waters leaves behind three children and nine grandchildren  and a host of fond memories.

"When my brother, sister and I were young, my mom would never go to bed without reading us a bedtime story, no matter how tired she was," said Nicole Sammons, Waters' middle child. "I've done the same with my children because of mom's example."

Waters, 52, was struck by an unidentified vehicle just before midnight Dec. 22 as she bicycled south on Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach.

The driver fled the scene.

Waters died five days later. An autopsy determined her death was the result of blunt force trauma.

Vero Beach police continue searching for the motorist who struck Waters  and left her broken and bleeding on the side of the road.

Authorities also are searching for the suspect vehicle in the death of Daniel David Letts.

The longtime Indian River County resident was walking near his home at about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 1, when he was struck in the northbound lane of 20th Avenue Southwest, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

The vehicle continued northbound.

Letts, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene after being hit by another motorist who didn't see him, according to FHP spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky. The second motorist remained at the scene.

Waters' and Letts' tragic deaths are compounded by the fact the respective motorist who struck each one  a motorist who could have rendered aid and possibly saved a life by remaining on the scene and summoning emergency responders  instead chose to drive away.

Hit-and-run crashes are an epidemic in the Sunshine State.

I'm staggered by the number of our fellow motorists who flee from the scene of accidents.

There were a total of 235,666 hit-and-run crashes in the state from 2012-14, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In 2014, one in four crashes in Florida involved a motorist fleeing the scene.

One in four. Let that sink in.

We share the road with motorists who care nothing about the welfare of others.

Why do drivers flee?

"The motives are as varied as your imagination," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl. "Motorists flee because they are drunk or driving on a suspended license, or because they fear the impact the crash will have on their insurance premiums."

That is, if they have auto insurance at all. A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Florida has the second-highest percentage (23.9 percent) of uninsured motorists in the nation behind Oklahoma.

If you are involved in a crash with another motorist, you err if you assume the other driver will remain at the scene.

Bakkedahl's advice?

"Be as observant as humanly possible," he said. "I recognize being in an accident is a stressful situation. But make a point to get the car tag, and a description of the vehicle and the driver. Sometimes it's 'hit, stop and run' as the other motorist realizes his license is suspended and decides to flee."

Grab your smartphone and snap photos of the accident.

The Florida Legislature passed a law, effective July 1, 2014, that increased penalties for motorists who flee the scene of accidents resulting in serious bodily injury or death.

Among other things, the new law raised the mandatory minimum prison sentence  from two to four years  for a motorist convicted of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in the death of a person while driving under the influence.

Bakkedahl says it's too early to know if the stricter law is making a difference, though he did say "it gives us an extra tool to prosecute hit-and-run offenders."

Hopefully, the motorists who struck Waters and Letts will be brought to justice.

"My mom was the most awesome mother anyone could ask for," Sammons said. "We never wanted for anything. She cared deeply for everyone she knew and was always willing to help someone in need."

The same cannot be said for the driver who struck her and callously fled the scene.

Sammons didn't mince words when I asked if she had a message for the person responsible for her mother's death.

"Turn yourself in," she said. "You took a life. We'll never be able to see our mother again. She might have had a fighting chance if you'd stopped to help. You don't deserve to be free  and we deserve justice."
It has become an annual ritual in Tallahassee: Fending off attacks on citizens' access to public records and government meetings.

The state Attorney General's website boasts that "Florida is proud to lead the nation in providing public access to government meetings and records."

Yes, state law provides broad access to the meetings and records of our state and local governments. Yet Florida still earned an "F" for public access to information in the 2015 State Integrity Investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.

Why the failing grade?

"The problem (in Florida) is not with the laws that make documents public, but the laws that deal with noncompliance," the Center for Public Integrity states.

When a government agency refuses to allow a member of the public or media to inspect or copy a public record, the requestor's only recourse is to file a civil lawsuit. This necessitates hiring an attorney and taking the agency to court.

The lack of meaningful enforcement provisions in state law actually incentivizes government agencies to flout Florida's public records law.

It could get worse.

An organization that lobbies for hundreds of local governments is seeking to erode public records law even more. The Florida League of Cities is championing two companion bills that could reduce (or eliminate) a judge's award for attorney's fees and associated costs when a plaintiff prevails in a public records lawsuit.

Florida Statutes 119.12 says "the court shall assess and award" reasonable fees to a successful plaintiff in a public records lawsuit. House Bill 1021, filed by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, and Senate Bill 1220, filed by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, would change "shall" to "may."

The change, though subtle, is significant.

It would give judges the discretion to withhold awards to successful plaintiffs in public records lawsuits.

"It's impossible to overstate the harm this change would cause to our constitutional right of access to the records of our government," said Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation. "There is no enforcement mechanism currently in Florida's public records law, which means an aggrieved citizen's only alternative is to go to court when government violates our constitutional right to access."

Under the proposed legislation, citizens would have even less incentive to take a government agency to court when it refuses to provide access to a public record.

Florida lawmakers should reject this proposal.
SHARE Carrie Bradburn/Lucien Capehart Photography Jeanne Pidot, American Red Cross Board President Patty Myura and Patrick Park, Red Cross Ball Honorary Chairmen

Ambassadors, foreign diplomats and international philanthropists from around the globe will be returning to Palm Beach this season for The American Red Cross South Florida Region's 59th International Red Cross Ball on Sat., Feb. 6, at The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach.

Among the 13 counties served by the South Florida Region are Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties.

The 2016 ball is being chaired by longtime supporter Jeanne Pidot.

She will be joined by Honorary Chairs Patty Myura and Patrick Park.

Founded in 1957 by Marjorie Merriweather Post, the annual ball raises significant funds in support of the vital mission of one of the nation's premier humanitarian organizations.

"The American Red Cross depends on the kindness of volunteers and generosity of supporters to achieve its mission," Pidot said.

"I'm honored to chair the International Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, which has earned the enviable reputation as one of the most important galas in the United States."

The Jupiter resident has chaired over 12 balls and has received countless awards from the organization.

Proceeds benefit the mission of the organization  to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and generosity of donors.

For information on tickets, sponsorships or other support, contact Jennifer Whitaker at 561-650-9105 or Jennifer.Whitaker@redcross.org.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The invitation addressed by Barack Obama to President Ilham Aliyev to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit is a very important event for Azerbaijan and shows its importance as a state, political analyst Arzu Naghiyev told Trend.

US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. in March 2016 by sending a letter to Ilham Aliyev Dec. 3, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department, tweeted Jan.6.

Naghiyev said that today Azerbaijan is the most developed country in the region.

"That is why the invitation of the president of the United States must be regarded as an event of fundamental importance," he said.

Arzu Naghiyev went on to add that this invitation will make an important contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States.

The expert also said that at the same time, this invitation became a message to those who try to damage relations between the two countries.

"This invitation once again shows that the US attitude towards Azerbaijan is formed not on the basis of views of individual persons and forces, and the United States attaches great importance to relations with Azerbaijan," said the expert. "Azerbaijan is a secular state and is governed according to modern law, and this fact is very well understood in the United States."
Fitbit shares earlier this week climbed several percentage points after the companys app topped the iOS charts over the Christmas holiday.

The Fitbit app was the top free app downloaded from Apples App Store on Christmas Day. It was already the most downloaded app in the stores fitness and health category.

It wasnt just downloads that told the story of Fitbits success this holiday season, however.

The Fitbit Charge was one of the three most popular products ordered via Amazon Primes free same-day shipping service over the period, according to Amazon.

Fitbits Charge

Fitbit, which went public earlier this year, sold more than 30 million connected health and fitness devices through its third quarter of 2015, the company said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Ryan J. Bowling.

Were really proud of the company performance to get to this point, Fitbit stated. We significantly beat expectations in our first two quarters as a public company, and that performance is a testament to our execution and ongoing innovation.

The introduction of new services and features, deeper penetration of the market for corporate wellness, wider global distribution, and the contribution from its legacy wearable Fitbit Flex contributed to its Q3 success, the company said.

Throwing Back the Surge

Ahead of its IPO, Fitbit acknowledged the threat posed by products such as the Apple Watch in a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For now, however, it has superb brand recognition and is in a unique position to continue its success, said Justin Hamel, CEO ofMastaMinds.

Smartwatches still are working toward longer battery life, more fashion-forward forms and more smartphone independence.

Plus, smartbands are attractive to people who want a minimally invasive wearable while working out, Hamel told the E-Commerce Times.

However, smartwatches are still something not yet mainstream, he added.

I dont think it paints an accurate picture of where the wearable device trend is headed, Hamel said. Im willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that in five years more users will have a smartwatch versus a Fitbit as we know it today.

Apple is the vendor best positioned to compel consumers to adopt smartwatches, noted Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT. It has the millions of loyal customers necessary to help any new product gain traction.

So the fact that the Apple Watch has reportedly sold a small fraction of the units is both a disappointment and a harbinger of longer-term challenges, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Smartbands may be performing better because people want specialized devices rather Swiss army knife offerings, according to King.

In any case, he said, analysts who were predicting the death of the Fitbit just a few months ago are heading into the new year with egg on their faces.
Facebook recently launched a service for members that provides recommendations and ratings on shops and service providers, a move that puts it in direct competition withYelp.

The tool provides star ratings on local service providers, including doctors, veterinarians, event planners, health spas and auto repair shops.

Users can leave references on the site detailing their experiences with certain merchants or service providers. Maps also are available.

Its not immediately known whether Facebook will offer discounts coupons for local merchants.

Impact on Rivals

Yelp appears to be the main target of the new service.

The company, founded in 2004, provides reviews for Web surfers on their home computers or mobile devices, boasting a monthly average of 89 million unique mobile visitors during the third quarter.

Yelp also provides an app called Eat24, which lets users order food delivery from their favorite restaurants.

Yelp is an obvious target for Facebooks strategy, along with smaller players like Angies List, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. But Facebooks deep roots among users in thousands of communities make this a natural area of interest for the company.

If Facebook is able to drive enough traffic to its listings, that would present a potential gold mine of local advertising opportunities, he told the E-Commerce Times. Offering special discounts or funding would be an additional way to help generate traffic in this area.

Service Beyond Ratings

Angies List, another key competitor, is a subscription-based site that provides recommendations heavily geared toward home improvement providers, including plumbers, home contractors and exterminators. It also provides ratings on doctors, dentists and other service providers.

More than 3 million households use the service, and users submit about 60,000 reviews per month on various service providers. The company provides discounts to users for various services as well.

There is room for new competitors, Angies List said, pointing out that it provides more than just a good reference to small businesses.

Consumers benefit most when there are multiple avenues for reliable information, and we welcome more of them to the market, Angies List said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Cheryl Reed. Weve been in this business for more than 20 years, so we have more depth than most, but were much more than a review site.

The company provides guarantees on quality service and fair prices on e-commerce products for eligible members, it said.

Taking Its Time

Recommendations are a natural extension of Facebooks service when you consider that the company is in the business of connecting people, said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst atTirias Research.

Facebook is probably laying low on the addition as it is experimenting with the best way to engage its user base, he the E-Commerce Times. In addition, as a homegrown and new recommendation service, it will take some time to build a useful list of recommendations.

The move represents a shift from broader enterprise-type focus to a more localized focus to generate additional revenue, Pund-ITs King said.

Google made a similar shift a few years back, he noted, when it folded local business recommendations and related advertising into its Maps application.
A recentPew Research Center study found that adoption of traditional high-speed Internet in the U.S. has fallen to 67 percent, the lowest level since 2012.

More consumers were using mobile phones, the study found. Thirteen percent of respondents said they were smartphone-only customers, compared with 8 percent in 2013.

The reduction in home broadband use accelerated among certain communities, including the poor, African Americans and rural communities, Pew said.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they have cut the cord on paid cable and satellite TV, largely because of the increased amount of streaming content available through other channels.

Advanced Internet access has changed little since 2013, with about 80 percent of adults having either a smartphone or a home broadband connection in 2015, compared with 78 percent two years ago.

However, many more Americans considered having home broadband important, with 69 percent saying not having this service is a major disadvantage in finding a job or accessing health information, Pew said.

A third of those without broadband cited cost as the primary reason, while 10 percent said the cost of owning a computer was their main reason for not using the service.

Expanding Access to Poor, Rural Towns

Broadband is more and more critical to peoples lives, said Chris Lewis, vice president of government affairs atPublic Knowledge. More and more people see it as essential.

In 2010, when the federal government came out with a national broadband plan to make sure small communities and low-income areas would have high-speed Internet, many people who lacked the service didnt think it was relevant to their lives, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Now the biggest concern is cost, because people realize they cant complete important tasks without such access, Lewis said.

Customers in rural areas continue to have problems getting affordable broadband connections, as many areas lack competition, and industry lobbyists have blocked smaller communities from building out their own cost-effective systems, said Chris Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at theInstitute for Local Self-Reliance.

I think certainly all the big companies are limiting choice, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Smaller communities are finding some success in creating their own networks to counter this, Mitchell said.

Earlier this year,RS Fiber Cooperative broke ground on a high-speed connection in Sibley County, Minnesota. The company is working withHiawatha Broadband Communications tobuild out a network that will offer service to about 1,600 homes and businesses.

The people we talk to are blown away by how good it is to have this high-speed service, Mitchell said. Nobody wants to move into a house where they cant stream high-quality video thats available to them.

Young Adults Move to Mobile

Many young people are deciding to drop home broadband and go with wireless because high-speed data is more affordable on wireless phones than it was in the past, and home broadband is becoming more expensive for those who exceed the monthly bandwidth cap, analyst Jeff Kagan said.

Typically when you surf a Web page, you will see it loaded with ads, he told the E-Commerce Times. Many of those ads use enormous amounts of data, like the video ads, which users didnt want in the first place.

Customers should not be penalized for advertising they never asked for, Kagan said. If the trend persists, young people will continue to move away from home broadband to only using smartphones for high-speed Internet.

Time Warner Cable continues to see strong growth in new subscribers.

In terms of overall broadband trends within TWC, weve seen consistent and substantial growth in our Internet product  in fact having some of the best growth quarters this year in recent company history, spokesperson Judy Barbao said.

During the third quarter, the company reported 232,000 net additions of residential high-speed data, the best third quarter since 2006, it said. It had a net increase of 172,000 during the second quarter, the best second quarter since 2008, and a net increase of 315,000 during the first quarter, the best since 2007.

TWC is aware of the increasing trend toward mobile, and it offers customers access to 400,000 hotspots around the country, Barbao told the E-Commerce Times. [*Correction  Jan. 4, 2016]

The company also offers a low-cost Internet product for US$14.99 a month that provides 2 Mbps upstream and 1 Mbps downstream and is available without income restrictions.

*ECT News Network editors note  Jan. 4, 2016: Our original published version of this story incorrectly stated that TWC offered customers access to 400 hotspots around the country. It offers access to 400,000.
Open source is driving an ever-expanding market. The notion of community-driven development is a growing disruption to proprietary software controlled by commercial vendors, and the free open source software concept has become a major disruption in industry and technology.

Open source is so pervasive that people tend to focus on big news items while overlooking how its the glue of modern communication and enterprise business models.

Some essential open source projects are used everywhere but rarely get much of the glamour treatment, said Markus Rex, CEO of ownCloud.

Open source has reached a popularity of prevalence. It is dominant, he told LinuxInsider.

As 2015 grinds to an end, LinuxInsider invited industry insiders to discuss the top open source developments that will push the concept in new directions. Following are the top 10 trends they identified.

1. Companies Open Closed Doors

The biggest development in open source in 2015 was the trend of long-standing closed source companies starting to release their products into open source, according to Jim Mlodgenski, CTO of the Open Source Consulting Group.

Microsoft started this in late 2014 by releasing .Net and continued to innovate on this by supporting .Net on Linux and then releasing their enterprise development platform, Visual Studio, a few weeks ago, he told LinuxInsider.

The trend continued with Pivotal releasing all of its databases  Greenplum, HAWQ and GemFire. All were closed source EMC/VMware products before Pivotal was spun out of them, said Mlodgenski, a board member of the United States PostgreSQL Association.

Microsoft has done a complete turnaround on how it regards open source. My friends at Microsoft think of open source as a new era. This is pervasive throughout the company, said Kelly Stirman, vice president of strategy and product development at MongoDB.

The development of the database industry has evolved around open source. Many other companies are now open-sourcing their proprietary products.

They are basically saying they have no other way to compete in the market. This is particularly true in the system and platform technologies, Stirman told LinuxInsider.

2. Companies Start With Open Source

Open source is expanding to dominate the language and development tool space as well as the big data space, Mlodgenski said.

Major companies and big brand names are undertaking open source projects to stay ahead of the curve and enhance engagement, said Sumit Ranjan Aggarwal, group manager for HCL Technologies.

For example, Microsoft recently rolled out its Distributed Machine Learning Toolkit that simplifies machine learning work across distributed systems by allowing models to be trained  a core component of machine learning  on multiple nodes at once, he told LinuxInsider.

Other big names such as LinkedIn, eBay and Facebook all have launched big open source projects. Companies use it as a means of engaging their audience and building loyalties, Aggarwal said.

3. Open Source Rocks Education

The education world also is putting open source at the head of the class, culminating with the U.S. Department of Educations #GoOpen campaign.

Open source and education are concepts that fit together and complement each other incredibly well. Both focus on transparency and sharing information, and both encourage and benefit from empowered and motivated consumers, said Alex Kluge, founder of Vizit Solutions.

The companys goal is to foster effective and well-designed educational experiences, he told LinuxInsider.

In the short term, there are the obvious opportunities for increased reach of open source into the educational market, Kluge said. In the longer term, there is the much more subtle effect of exposing the next generation of developers, users and purchasers to the open source ecosystem.

4. Ubuntu Wins Kudos

Success stories surrounding Ubuntu Linux must be included in any list of key open source developments. Ubuntu has become mainstream for server applications, according to MongoDBs Stirman.

It has aways been at the top of the list for desktop applications. The server trend has become more evident this year, he noted.

5. Android Gets Better

This is also the year that Android became better than iOS. From my own experience, I already felt that Androids apps were better. Now the entire Android OS has taken over. I think Android is ahead, Stirman said.

6. Container Tech Takes Off

In the bigger space of open source technology, container technology is among the most exciting stories, Stirman pointed out.

Docker is the clear winner. The interesting narrative about that is Docker is all about the user experience, he suggested.

Even with the rise in popularity of NoSQL and the change in the database market, the real story behind that  especially for MongoDB  is [that] the experience for developers who use the technology was reimagined from the ground up for the developer, Stirman added.

The same thing has happened to Docker, he noted.

7. Open Source Aids AI

Another high-profile open source move makes deep machine learning drastically more accessible, said Tim Perry, technical lead at Softwire.

Googles recent overture in open-sourcing its machine learning toolbox, called TensorFlow, will have a huge impact on the development of all things related to artificial intelligence, he predicted.

TensorFlow is an open source software library for numerical computation using data flow graphs.

We saw clear and substantial progress in the AI space with machine learning and neural networks becoming more available and mainstream, noted David Gray, lead instructor at CodeCraft School of Technology. Googles Deep Dream showed us what the mind of a true AI might eventually look like.

8. Everybody Gets to Hack Hardware

Raspberry Pi Zero is a US$5 computer board. Its hardware price is among the lowest on the market, and it nearly eliminates the barrier to learning programming.

The availability of cheap hardware will advance the rapid domination of open source tools across the board in the rest of the development community  and hugely reduce the barrier to entry,  Softwires Perry told LinuxInsider. This is really where the power of open source makes its mark.

The Open Compute Project is making significant contributions as a companion to the open source software model, said Dan Dowling, vice president of engineering at Penguin Computing.

The OCP shares designs of data center products among companies that want to spark collaborative dialogue about open hardware. Member companies include Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Rackspace, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and Bank of America.

Just as open source frees companies from dependence on any one vendor on the software side, it can work on the hardware side to leverage the community.

The big advantage from a hardware point of view is common compute sizes for racks and node components. It also gives us the ability to add any motherboard that fits that standard stack based on the OCP standard, Dowling told LinuxInsider.

9. JavaScript Gets a Boost

2015 was a pivotal year for JavaScript and the entire stack of open source technologies that support its client-side and server-side platform, CodeCraft Schools Gray told LinuxInsider. From Node.js to Angular, Meteor to React, the platform found its legs in 2015.

10. The Cloud Gathers Steam

The cloud also had a good year, Gray noted. We began to see more coherent, user-friendly non-terminal/UI-based technologies like GitHub Desktop coming into the cloud, making these technologies much more accessible to the masses.
Pirates attempting to crack the latest PC games are finding it more difficult than ever, according to a report from TorrentFreak, and it's causing some well-known cracking groups to consider giving up the effort.

Over the last 18 months in particular there were a number of releases that took an unusually long time to crack. It took pirates over a month to crack Dragon Age: Inquisition, which is much longer than the norm, while more recent games like FIFA 16 (released in September) and Just Cause 3 (released in December) haven't been cracked at all.

A member of Chinese cracking group 3DM, speaking to TorrentFreak, said that one member of the group nearly gave up trying to crack Just Cause 3 because the DRM technology implemented was too strong. The member added that "in two years time I'm afraid there will be no free games to play in the world" due to the increasing strength of encryption technology.

Just Cause 3 and the other aforementioned games use a technology known as Denuvo, which is a secondary encryption system designed to strengthen the existing DRM in many games. Unlike older DRM solutions, Denuvo is generally not obtrusive or annoying for legitimate paying customers, which makes it particularly valuable for game publishers.

If developers continue to use technologies such as Denuvo, we might never see the days where PC games were cracked at or even before launch again. This could make the PC a more attractive and profitable platform, which will only improve the experience for PC gamers in the long run.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

Trend:

Costa Rica intends to open an embassy in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said Jan. 7.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica in its addressed verbal note expressed its intention to open a resident Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2016.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan in its response note welcomed the decision of the Republic of Costa Rica and stressed that the functioning of Embassy would contribute to the development of relations between the two countries.
Diabetes is a slow killer. Unlike other diseases, people do not die because of diabetes alone, but because of the complications that come with it.

Although the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the number of diabetes cases in the country is dropping, the epidemic is still not over, especially in other countries.

In the United Kingdom, more than 24,000 people die prematurely because of diabetes and poor health care service, experts from a leading charity have revealed.

Diabetes UK warned health officials that the complications from diabetes are collectively like a "timebomb" that will cripple the National Health Service unless treatment is improved.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK said more people with diabetes continue to suffer from serious complications and die before their time.

"[W]e know that key reasons for this are that they are being denied both the care and access to education that would help them to manage their condition well," said Askew.

The Effects Of Diabetes On The Population

Data from the NHS have revealed that at least 4 million people have diabetes in the UK.

About 92 percent of them are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is significantly linked to overweight issues. The cases of diabetes in the country have also increased by 65 percent within a span of 10 years.

Because diabetes is linked to obesity, the numbers are significantly affected, making Britain the second fattest nation in Europe next to Hungary. England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said the threat of obesity is as dangerous as terrorism or natural disasters.

"With 4 million people in the UK living with diabetes, there is no time to waste in getting serious about providing better care and education," said Askew.

Askew said the rising cases of diabetes and obesity will deny people the best chance of living healthy and longer lives.

Diabetes damages the heart, eyes, feet, and nerves. The NHS said at least 7,000 feet, legs or toes are removed every year in the UK because of diabetes. It can also result to renal failure, leaving patients to depend on expensive dialysis machines.

Aside from that, both men and women with diabetes are also more likely to be admitted to hospitals and occupy one in seven beds. A past study has even showed that men had higher chances of dying from diabetes compared to women because of their stubbornness.

End The "Couch Potato" Habit

Diabetes UK is calling on the government to take urgent action to end the "couch potato" habits that today's culture and lifestyle permit.

Askew said the government should address the fact that two in every three people in the country are obese or overweight, and are at a high risk for Type 2 diabetes. He suggested that making healthy food cheaper and more accessible to people, putting clearer labels on food, and making it easier for people to insert physical activities into their daily routine would have a huge impact.

He also said people with diabetes should receive proper check-ups in areas such as eyesight and foot care that are designed to best manage the condition of the patient, and to prevent complications such as amputation, kidney failure, blindness or death.

"It is vital that we start to see people with diabetes receive good quality care wherever they live rather than them being at the mercy of a postcode lottery," he added.

Tips To Help You Prevent Diabetes Naturally

We have compiled a list of ways to help end your couch potato habits and prevent the risks for diabetes. Some of these are from Dr. David Cavan, an expert on diabetes self-management.

1. Drink water, tea, or coffee instead of sugary drinks. Sugar-sweetened drinks increase a person's risk for Type 2 diabetes. Caffeine is beneficial, but should only be taken without any sugar, or not as a cappuccino or latte.

2. Exercise every day. Physical activity will not only help you reduce weight, but will also help your body's sensitivity to insulin. Insulin sensitivity refers to the amount of insulin your body needs in order to keep levels of blood sugar stable. The right amount of insulin sensitivity will help your body prevent diabetes.

3. Get plenty of sleep. A study revealed that there is a link between sleep deprivation and the risk for Type 2 diabetes. Like exercising, sleeping is vital to keep your insulin sensitivity at the right levels. And because we a have an internal body clock that regulates our physiology and behavior, enough amount of sleep is essential for a healthy body.

4. If you like to drink alcohol, limit it to only two standard drinks per day. Alcohol contains calories and can contribute to weight gain. It can also increase your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

5. Eat healthy. For one, you should at least eat leafy vegetables per day because these contain fiber, vitamins and are very low in calories. Eat unsweetened yogurts, nuts and fruits because they're low in sugar. Lastly, prefer to eat white meat than red meat, because the latter is associated with risks for Type 2 diabetes.

Photo: Tony Alter | Flickr

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Will astronauts be living on the moon by 2030? The European Space Agency announced its plan to build a 3D-printed lunar village in around 15 years in an international conference at the European Space Research and Technology Center in Noordwijk, Netherlands.

In the conference atended by more than 200 scientists, industry experts and engineers, the agency revealed that villages on the moon will be built by large 3D printers and manned by astronauts, and that construction of this lunar base could start in five years.

This lunar base, which will be permanently built on the moon, is designed to replace the International Space Station (ISS). 3D technology used will create permanent structures from the lunar soil, dubbed as lunar regolith.

If the program is successful, it will be the first permanent settlement for humans in space land that can help in future experiments, studies and space exploration. It can also serve as a springboard for human exploration of the solar system with Mars as its target study focus.

Comeback To The Moon

European space planners envision a battery of human missions to the moon starting in the early 2020s in preparation for their planned human settlement. The plan will include the coordination between humans and robots on the moon. As planned, robots will arrive on the moon first to allow for human explorers to land on the moon in a later time.

In the symposium titled, "Moon 2020-2030 - A New Era of Coordinated Human and Robotic Exploration," it was said that the lunar base mission will shed light on not only lunar exploration but also researches on the solar system and probably deep space in the future.

"The message would entail how lunar exploration can be implemented as a sustainable international endeavor, building on past successes and enabled by new partnerships," Markus Landgraf, a symposium organizer and a space architecture analyst for the European Space Agency said.

In fact, ESA is already a part of a critical effort to develop human space-transportation systems for series of missions beyond low-Earth orbit. With the lunar base plan, this endeavor could help in making it a successor to the ISS.

ESA Will Lead Lunar Base Mission

ESA started to take lead role in the mission to develop a base on the moon. This is after NASA, said that it will be focusing more on sending humans to an asteroid and to the surface of Mars.

"Abandoned by man for 43 years, it remains the only planet attainable by human missions with current technology, but remains poorly understood," ESA's director general, Jan Woerner, said.

"For scientists, if the Earth has changed massively since its formation due to vegetation and animals, the moon constitutes a silent archive of the solar system," he added.

Though ESA is the pioneer in this project, Woerner envisions the human base on moon as a "village" with multiple countries around the world. It could pave way for scientific studies, space tourism and even mining activities on the moon.

Lunar Base's Design

According to Laurent Pambaguian, of ESA's materials technology section, the team has started testing printing construction blocks out of the lunar regolith. The 3D printers are able to produce around 6.5 feet to 11 feet (2 meters to 3.5 meters) of material in one hour.

At that rate, the entire settlement can be produced in just one week. As planned, robots will be building the structures. They will be in place before humans arrive on the moon.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The White House unveiled the plan of the Obama Administration to strengthen gun control, particularly by keeping guns away from mentally ill people. The executive action declaration made on Tuesday, Jan. 5, states that numerous gun-related crimes in the U.S were made by people who should not have owned a firearm in the first place.

While the administration said that not all people with mental illness are the perpetrators of the crimes, and that they may in fact be the victims, it still stressed the importance of highlighting the need to improve how Americans manage mental illnesses. With this, it announced key steps to help curb gun violence in relation to mental health.

Increased Access To Mental Health Care

Despite the recent improvements seen on mental health services, less than 50 percent of adults and children are able to receive the treatment they require. The Obama administration, therefore, proposes a new budget of $500 million to address this issue.

Through the said fund, the administration hopes to engage patients with serious illness to warranted care, amp up service capacity and behavioral health workforce and guarantee that behavioral health systems work for everyone.

Enhanced Background Checks

The administration said it will include data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) in performing background checks about beneficiaries who are not allowed to possess a firearm.

At present, the law forbids individuals from purchasing a gun if they can be a danger to themselves or to others or are not able to manage their own affairs due to mental health problems.

Now, the SSA has announced that it will start drafting rules to ensure that appropriate data in its files are reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). NICS was created by the Congress to prevent gun purchase of prohibited individuals.

SSA data will most probably include about 75,000 people every year, who have a recorded mental health issue, have received disability benefits and are unable to manage these benefits due to mental difficulty or are declared by state or federal court to be legally incapable.

The SSA rulemaking will also entail a strategy for people to look for relief from federal restriction on owning a firearm due to mental health-related reasons.

Take Away Legal Barriers From Enhanced Background Checks

Gun sellers are torn between reporting prohibited individuals and complying with the Privacy Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The number of reported individuals remains low due to this uncertainty, but the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule imploring certain HIPAA covered sectors to provide required information to NICS.

Medical Professionals' Take

Ron Honberg, the legal director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness said majority of people with mental health issues are not violent. In fact, he said that more often than not, they are the victims.

Honberg said studies show that mental health illnesses minimally increase the likelihood of violence. With this, he encourages the formulation of new laws based on scientific research.

Despite the negatives, Honberg thinks the move to focus on mental health is good, overall. "We're seeing a heightened interest in mental health in Congress from both sides of the aisle," he said. "The infusion of new resources is very helpful."

For Dr. Liza Gold, a forensic psychiatrist from Georgetown University Medical Center, enhanced background checks performed on individuals simply because they have mental health problems is discriminatory.

"There is no evidence that this is a category of people who are at risk of committing gun violence," she said.

Photo: David Pacey | Flickr

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Dunia Sibomana, an 8-year-old Congolese boy, was attacked by a group of chimpanzees in Congo two years ago. Dunia is scheduled for a rare facial reconstruction surgery at the Stony Brook Children's Hospital in Long Island, New York.

Dunia was then playing with his four-year-old brother and cousin near a nature preserve in their hometown. The brutal attack left his brother and cousin dead. Dunia survived but was severely injured. One of his cheeks was torn apart and his lips were ripped off.

Dunia also lost part of his ear and one finger. Due to the facial disfigurement, the boy drools a lot and struggles when speaking and eating.

The villagers in his Congo hometown avoided him because of his disfigurement, said Stony Brook Children's Hospital's Dr. Leon Kkempner. Dunia tried to attend school in Congo but the painful experience was too much to bear. Klempler's non-profit organization "Smile Rescue Fund For Kids" helped bring Dunia to the U.S. for the facial reconstruction surgery.

Without lips, it's very hard for Dunia to swallow and chew food. He has to tilt his head back whenever he eats. Dunia also can't make certain sounds when speaking.

Doctors find Dunia's case a challenging one. Many lip reconstruction surgeries are done by borrowing tissue from an existing lip to reconstruct the other one. In Dunia's case, they have nothing to work with so the doctor's came up with another plan.

"We take the radial forearm skin, with a blood vessel and with a sensory nerve, and we bring it up here to give him new tissue for his lips," explained Stony Brook's Chief of Plastic Surgery Dr. Alexander Dagum.

Dagum's team of surgeons will work on the eight-hour lip reconstruction surgery early next week. The entire process could take three to four surgeries in the course of the next six to eight months.

Getting the reconstructed lips to have movement and sensation is the most difficult part. Dagum is positive that the team will succeed in giving Dunia new lips that are functional and cosmetically acceptable.

How The Attack Happened

The Congolese boys were playing at the river near Virunga, Africa's oldest national park. Virunga is the home of the mountain gorilla, a critically endangered species. Poaching leaves many mountain gorillas without parents to care for them.

Dunia's village is located very close to the chimpanzee's territory, which probably makes the animals think it is part of their space. Klempner theorized that the abundance of poaching-related violence in the park makes the primates think of humans as their enemies.

Dunia's father was working in a nearby field. He wasn't able to hear the boys scream because of the river's roar. When he finally came to look for the boys, Dunia's father first found the mutilated remains of his then four-year-old son.

When he located Dunia, he took him immediately to the park rangers for medical help. Park ranger Andre Bauma helped them bring the case to Klempner's organization.

Life In The U.S.

Klempner highlighted that Dunia's physical injuries were bad enough but the psychosocial impact are worse. Dunia attended school in Congo after recovering from his initial injuries Due to his facial injuries, the kids laughed at him which made him leave school. His doctors are also hoping that Dunia would come out of the painful isolation and regain the lost self-confidence.

Dunia is currently living in Long Island, New York with a host family. The boy was warmly welcomed by his foster family and even by the local elementary school's teachers and students.

Dunia is getting some help from a Swahili-speaking interpreter. He has learned some basic English and seems to enjoy the American food favorites. He also received several gifts last Christmas. It seemed that the boy is already starting to recover.

After five weeks of living in the U.S., Dunia seemed more energetic. He was wearing a scarf around his face when he first arrived in the U.S. Dunia has removed the scarf and has gone horseback riding and bowling in New York City.

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A gene that transforms bacteria into antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" was found in Canada. The gene is called MCR-1, which creates an enzyme that can make bacteria undetectable to the last-resort and highly toxic antibiotic called colistin.

Tech Times already reported about MCR-1 in November 2015. The study, which alarmed medical groups around the world, found 260 E.coli samples with the MCR-1 gene on farm animals, meat and hospital patients in southeastern China.

What disturbed the scientific community the most was that the MCR-1 gene is found on a "free-floating" bit of DNA. This means the bacteria can easily share and re-share the DNA bit to other organisms.

To date, there have been no deaths linked to the appearance of the MCR-1 gene. People could be carrying the new superbug without causing any symptoms.

The worst case scenario is that the MCR-1 gene will extend to more dangerous bacterial strains that are also carrying other antibiotic-resistant genes. This could give birth to superbugs that cannot be defeated even by the strongest army of antibiotics.

MCR-1 Gene Found In Canada

Several countries have detected the MCR-1 genes in their bacterial samples ever since the study from China was published.

In Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada launched an investigation in December 2015. The findings are not published yet, but Dr. Michael Mulvey, PHAC's Chief of the Antimicrobial Resistance and Nosocomial Infections, said that a case report has been sent to The Lancet.

Three previously collected E. coli samples revealed the presence of the MCR-1 gene. One of the samples came from the 62-year-old patient in Ottawa who allegedly contracted it in Egypt, where she resided for a few years, said Ottawa Hospital's Dr. Baldwin Toye.

Three days after the patient's return to Canada, she was hospitalized and treated for an abdominal infection. Toye then theorized that the patient's illness was due to the MCR-1 gene, which was reaffirmed after Mulvey's latest investigation.

Two other E. coli samples from the ground beef were sold in a grocery chain and a butcher shop in Ontario. The two samples were collected in 2010 and predated the ones collected in China in 2011 and 2014.

"To see it show up was a surprise for me. It supports that there's global dissemination of this gene already ... we're now going to have to look back even prior to (2010), because maybe it's been around for even longer," said Mulvey.

Resistance To Colistin

Colistin was first discovered in the 1940s, but due to its high toxicity and side effects, the antibiotic was immediately shelved and pushed back as a last-resort drug. Pharmaceutical companies continue to create better antibiotics, but just the same, bacteria also evolved to knock them down one by one.

Highly toxic colistin is rarely used as human medication so doctors' can preserve the effectiveness of the last standing antibiotic. Colistin belongs to an antibiotic group called polymyxins, which are often used in farm animals for growth and protection from diseases. China is the world's top user of agricultural colistin.

In 2015, there were nearly 12,000 tonnes (13227.74 tons) of agricultural colistin sold in the global market. Experts expect the growth to reach 16,500 tonnes (18188.14 tons) by 2021.

Unfortunately, the scientific community has already seen cases of colistin-resistant cases. In Canada, the ongoing hospital investigation dating back to 2010 has already discovered 13 samples of colistin-resistant bacteria.

Photo: Les Chatfield | Flickr

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Apple seems to be having a new Apple Watch band en route, as the company just leaked a Space Black Milanese Loop on its Czech Apple Store.

Wearable gadgets are popular these days, and the design and options available with each product can make a great difference. Customers may want top-notch features and specs, but they also care about how a device looks like, especially if it's a smartwatch they want to wear all the time.

The Apple Watch is one of the most talked-about smartwatches currently available on the market, stirring great interest ever since it launched. The gadget proved to be a hot seller in 2015 and continues to be in demand. Apple offers several smartwatch models to suit different tastes and budgets, as well as a number of different bands so customers have plenty of options to choose from.

It now looks like Apple is getting ready to expand its offerings, adding a new band for its first and only smartwatch. A 42-mm Space Black Milanese Loop band briefly surfaced on the Czech Apple Store, designed to match the Space Black steel watch models. Apple has since taken down that page, but we managed to get a good look at the listing and pull the official image you see above.

If you're wondering how or why this is news, it's because black Milanese loops for the Apple Watch have been available so far, but they were third-party aftermarket accessories. The new Space Black Milanese Loop we're talking about here is an official Apple band.

Apple didn't make a formal announcement to detail the price and availability of the new band option, but the Space Black Milanese Loop popped up on its Czech Apple Store shortly after the company said it will bring its smartwatch in the region later this month. The new band option for the Apple Watch doesn't seem to be featured in the U.S. Apple Store at this point, but it will likely see a wide debut in more regions soon enough. The fact that the listing was pulled from the Czech Apple Store indicates that it might have been accidental, popping up ahead of schedule.

Before being pulled, the listing on the Czech Apple Store included a number of images that showed the Space Black Milanese Loop in all its glory, but revealed little else. The description is very similar to the one for the regular Milanese band. Oddly enough, however, the listing didn't have a price tag or a buy button, which suggested that the product was not ready for prime time just yet. The shipping date indicated that Apple will start selling the band next week, and that's likely when the page will go live again.

If so, the company should issue an official statement in the following days, offering more details.

While a Space Black Milanese Loop doesn't sound bad, however, we're more excited about Apple's plans for 2016 when it comes to more hardware products. We expect Apple to launch a new Apple Watch iteration, as well as a high-end iPhone 7, new MacBooks and more.

Nevertheless, smaller additions such as new Watch bands should keep Apple fanboys busy for a little longer, until the company comes up with bigger product launches.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
When Mercedes-Benz first launched Me last August, it simply lived within the company's website.

Well, the covenience of having all drivers' needs in one place spoke to Benz owners to the point where the automaker will be turning Mercedes Me into a standalone app.

The Me app is expected to launch during the third quarter of this year on Android and iOS platforms, Me's product specialist, Derek Johnson, told Tech Times in the company's booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as part of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 on Wednesday.

Mercedes Me puts everything from connectivity features to financing (auto pay, paperless billing and price quotes), the owner's manual and dealership service appointments at owners' fingers via one smartphone app.

The best part of Me going from a channel on Mercedes' website to a standalone app is it essentially puts some dashboard features right onto your smartphone, enabling owners to remotely unlock/lock their vehicles to remote starting them and even pre-setting the temperatures within the cabins.

Johnson told Tech Times that Me will also have the extended add-on option of adopting the automaker's Concierge subscription service, which allows owners everything from live-operator turn-by-turn navigation to even reminding you of an appointment for dinner, birthdays and anniversaries.

Over time, the Me app also figures to add additional ways of seamless integration for further connectivity.

Interestingly enough, Me wasn't the only app that Mercedes was showing off within its booth Wednesday. Within a plush C63 coupe, Tech Times also had a hands-on experience with the updated Mercedes-Benz Companion smartphone door-to-door navigation app, which now touts Top 3 destination suggestions via Mercedes' machine-learning algorithms.

So, let's say every morning, you leave your home at 8:00 a.m. to go to work and stop off at a Starbucks for some coffee. Well, the app's machine-learning capabilities would learn your routine and suggest those two destinations within the Top 3 recommendations.

Nothing like added convenience to make life just a little bit easier.

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Astronomers say they've detected dozens of runaway stars in the Milky Way by capturing images of their bow waves, created as they shove an immense cloud of superheated gas ahead of them while charging through space.

That shock wave creates a brilliantly lighted arc that astronomers have used to identify dozens of the fugitive stars.

Flung out of their own cosmic neighborhood by stellar explosions or by gravity, they can travel at speeds higher than 18 miles per second in relation to their surrounding, astronomers say.

"Some stars get the boot when their companion star explodes in a supernova, and others can get kicked out of crowded star clusters," says doctoral student William Chick from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

"The gravitational boost increases a star's speed relative to other stars," he explained in presenting a new study at an American Astronomical Society meeting in Florida.

The size and shape of the bow shock depends on both the speed and mass of a runway star, the researchers say.

As an example they cite the massive star Zeta Ophiuchi, possessing a stunning bow shock as it travels through the galaxy at 54,000 mph.

The study team analyzed images captured by two NASA infrared space telescopes, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, and Spitzer Space Telescope.

Surveying the images for the telltale curved red clouds seen in the infrared wavelengths, they say they identified more than 200 candidate bow waves.

Eighty such waves were selected for closer examination by a ground-based infrared telescope in Wyoming to look for stars in the center of each image, Chick says.

"We were surprised to discover that over 95 percent of these stars were, in fact, hot massive stars, as we'd predicted," he says.

While some of the stars were already known from previous studies to be runaways  Zeta Ophiuchi was discovered in the 1970s, and the first bow shocks were identified in the 1980s  many were not, the researchers say.

"We are using the bow shocks to find massive and/or runaway stars," says astronomer Henry Kobulnicky, also from the University of Wyoming. "The bow shocks are new laboratories for studying massive stars and answering questions about the fate and evolution of these stars."

There is a lot still unknown about these mysterious stars, Chick says, questions that may be answered with further observations.

"It may be that our Milky Way is, in fact, swarming with these hot, runaway stars," he suggests.

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The Force may be strong with George Lucas but Andrew Ainsworth found out the hard way that even a simple model maker like him can win against the "Star Wars" creator in a copyright infringement case, in which he was sued for selling Stormtrooper helmets using the original mold.

Copyright infringement is a massive headache to deal with regardless of which side you're on but it's especially daunting case when you're pitted against the likes of LucasFilm. Luckily for Ainsworth, battling Lucas in court was worth it.

Who Is Andrew Ainsworth?

Back in 1976, Andrew Ainsworth was a simple model and props maker who used resin in building plastic kayaks, cars and other items and he had nothing to do with "Star Wars" until his fellow creator who was involved in the film, Nick Pemberton, approached him to build a prototype for the Stormtrooper helmet and armor. After the design and prototype were approved by George Lucas himself, he went on to produce more for the film and that is where his story began.

Why Did LucasFilm Sue Ainsworth?

By the late 1980's, Ainsworth needed money to pay off school fees and, after rummaging around the old Shepperton Design Studios (SDS) stock room, he found the original molds for the Stormtrooper helmet and decided to produce a few replicas. He did make money but he also received a legal document indicating that LucasFilm is suing him for copyright infringement in California and London. He didn't defend himself in court because he thought the "Star Wars" creator just had a twisted sense of humor and this led to LucasFilm winning the first legal battle in California courts. Ainsworth didn't take the lawsuit seriously until he was demanded to pay LucasFilm $20 million.

"Ninety-nine percent of all legal advice said forget it. Big money always wins... But we honestly believed that nobody can stop you being the artist that you are," Ainsworth said.

Ainsworth Versus LucasFilm

The case which came to be known as "LucasFilm Limited v Ainsworth" may have eventually released Ainsworth from the burden of paying off a huge debt to LucasFilm for copyright infringement but it wasn't an instant happy ending because he was also in debt to pay legal fees for taking action against the company's claim. The whole debacle is a roller coaster ride, really, but the bottom line is that Ainsworth had a shot at winning the case because there was no contract between him and LucasFilm with regard to the Stormtrooper design. Likewise, there was no clear copyright claim on the designs either.

Ainsworth's side decided to attack the case in a different way and that is by asserting that the Stormtrooper design is not an artwork, which would extend Lucas' copyright ownership, but an industrial design. It took him nine years and three British courts before he finally won the war. He wasn't awarded financially, though, which forced him to pay off legal debts in his own, that is, until "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" happened and demand for the Stormtrooper replica and props surged. He is now free from debt he accrued from legal fees and is able to sell his replicas anywhere in the world except in the United States (U.S.) where LucasFilm won.

"It is worth it now because we are on top of it and we have a product line that we created in the first place, albeit with the help of Ralph McQuarrie and Lucas and everybody else in the industry," Ainsworth said.

You can check out and purchase "Star Wars" replicas from Ainsworth's SDS shop. Just take note, though, that the U.S. is out of bounds for his products.

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Being down with the flu is a common letdown that bars people from doing their daily activities and attending to important events. While drinking water, getting lots of rest and antivirals help, people can't help but wonder why flu viruses just keep on coming back. A new study was finally able to identify the reason: these viruses perform hijacking tactics during the infection process.

Researchers from Imperial College London found how flu viruses seize control of the cell machinery when they infect the body. The discovery is said to be a stepping stone toward developing more effective antiviral treatments.

Senior author of the study Wendy Barclay said that all human flu viruses originated from birds. Humans are lucky because these viruses cannot clone themselves inside the body and thus cannot be transferred instantly from birds to people.

How do people get infected with flu viruses then?

When the virus mutates in numerous ways, it changes features and is finally able to enter the human cell to replicate inside via some form of a hijacking process. Once this invasion becomes successful, illness occurs.

"Up until now, we haven't understood why the bird flu virus has to change in order to hijack the human cell machinery," said Barclay. "Our research showed this is all due to a cell protein called ANP32A."

ANP32A is a protein found in mammalian cells that acts as an accomplice in the infective process. The protein helps the virus form copies of itself once it gets inside the host cell. ANP32A does not serve any function for bird flu viruses unless it has a particular mutation.

To be able to single out the "hijacker," the researchers used both mammalian (hamster) and bird (chicken) species in an experiment. They particularly studied hamster cells that have traces of chicken DNA in them and tested whether the virus would be able to replicate inside.

With the understanding that bird flu viruses cannot normally infect mammalian cells, the researchers figured out that any hamster cell that would allow a virus to replicate inside it must contain the culprit.

After identifying which hamster cells allowed the virus to replicate, the experts determined which chicken genes exist in the mammalian cells to finally detect the protein.

The researchers found that the same protein also exists in birds, only the mammalian version is shorter. This is why bird flu viruses cannot just use the mammalian protein to infect the body unless they adapt to its length through mutation.

Additional investigation also confirmed that ANP32A also plays a vital role in seasonal flu viruses that replicate in human cells.

Now, the researchers are keen to develop more effective antiviral treatments based on their study findings.

"Our experiments also showed that removing this host protein from cells stopped virus infection, suggesting it is very important for the virus," said lead author Jason Long. The next step is to study therapies that may hinder this particular virus-cell interaction, which may subsequently stop viral attacks.

Pandemics and seasonal flu viruses affect about 800 million individuals every year. Being able to develop more effective treatments may help alleviate this global health problem and provide comfort to millions of people.

The study was published in the journal Nature on Thursday, Jan. 7.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Ilhame Isabalayeva - Trend:

Inviting the Azerbaijani president to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the White House has strongly responded to the anti-Azerbaijan campaigns of Armenian diaspora in the US, said Aydin Mirzazadeh, deputy chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament's Committee for Defense, Security and Combating Corruption.

Earlier, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department, tweeted that the US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC.

"Armenian diaspora periodically tries to strike at the international authority of Azerbaijan, to achieve the imposition of sanctions on the country by the United States," Mirzazadeh told Trend Jan. 6. "Despite this, US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani president to the 4th Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington, DC."

He added that the invitation is an appreciation of Azerbaijan's statehood.

"This summit has become an important event, which explores the stances taken by influential countries' leaders with regard to the nuclear safety," said Mirzazadeh. "And the fact that Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani president shows Azerbaijan's authority on international arena as a state, and how the world evaluates its development, and contributions to security."

He also believes that the invitation to the summit is another proof of Azerbaijan's authority on the international arena as an independent state.

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Dash cams haven't caught on in the United States and Canada like they have in countries like Russia and China, where their use is widespread.

Magellan has a few reasons why that could be the case, as the company's outdoor product marketing director, Sam Muscariello, proceeded to name a few such factors to Tech Times during the ShowStoppers event at the Wynn in Las Vegas, as part of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016, on Wednesday evening.

"In the United States and in Canada, we have an excellent justice system, excellent police, excellent insurance, so all of a sudden the utility of what it was originally destined for is lost," Muscariello told Tech Times. "The consumer's stance is, 'why do I need that?' What they don't understand is there's a lot of different uses for it."

Magellan's line of MiVue DashCams hope to help prove the latter, leading up to their April release. Each of the MiVue units, whether the 320, 420, 430 or 450D, touts parking mode, a feature that allows the DashCam to sit dormant, until the car is jostled, at which point the camera will automatically turn on and start recording.

That's just one reason why the DashCams should be considered by customers in the U.S. and Canada. But there are several others that people need to consider as well. Hitting a bump in the road could lead to an accident, creating the need to have it caught on film. Same goes for bad drivers you may encounter in your commute and a nightmare situation of your word against theirs.

Muscariello adds that there's also a social media factor with the DashCams being able to pick up and catch something that happens at the spur of the moment, with little to no warnings, via still shots or video.

The MiVue 320 records in full 1080p HD at 30 frames per second on a two-inch screen in comparison to the 420, recording in 1296p Ultra HD on a 2.7-inch screen. The 430 captures footage on a 1080p Sony HD camera on a 2.7-inch screen, while the 450D is Magellan's first DashCam to feature dual cameras.

Despite DashCams having ways to go in the U.S., there are signs of growth for the devices, as Muscariello estimated an annual increase in sales from four to five percent.

Magellan's MiVue series of DashCams will range in price from $129.99 to $189.99.

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After decades of studies and research, scientists have estimated the age of the observable universe to be roughly 13.8 billion years old. The connection between distance and the speed of light -- explained by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity -- has allowed scientists to look at different regions of the vast outer space which lie 13.8 billion light-years away.

The age and distance of the universe -- are these small hints to the possible existence of alien life?

Scientists have yet to form a firm conclusion, but in late November last year, some experts were able to detect five mysterious radio bursts which may have all come from outside the Milky Way galaxy. These radio signals were discovered after an "alien megastructure" was reported to be orbiting around a distant star known as KIC 8462852.

"It almost doesn't matter where you point your telescope, because there are planets everywhere. If there's somebody out there, there are going to be so many of them out there that I do think there's a chance," explained astronomer Seth Shostak of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in California.

Now, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Florida suggests that an old, densely-packed and isolated group of stars located within the Milky Way may possibly sustain extraterrestrial life. These stars, collectively called globular clusters, may be a cradle of advanced civilizations, experts said.

The Possibility Of Alien Life In Globular Star Clusters

Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai believe that globular star clusters may be the first place in our galaxy to contain intelligent life beyond Earth.

What exactly are globular star clusters? These are densely-packed and tight groups that contain thousands or millions of stars. These balls of star clusters may be about 100 light-years across each other on average, and are as old as the Milky Way galaxy itself.

Our galaxy is home to about 150 globular star clusters, where most of them orbit the galactic outskirts. On average, these star clusters may be 10 to 12 billion years old, just a couple billion years younger than the observable universe.

But Houston, We Have A Problem

The stars within globular clusters have fewer of the essential elements considered as "building blocks" of planets, such as silicon (Si) and iron (Fe), because these elements must be formed in earlier generations of stars.

This lack in heavy elements has led other scientists to argue that globular star clusters are less likely to contain planets. In fact, only one planet has been found within globular clusters: the oldest known exoplanet called PSR B1620-26 b or Methuselah.

Still, astronomers Rosanne DiStefano and Alak Ray said these views are "too pessimistic."

"It's premature to say there are no planets in globular clusters," said Ray.

The duo explained that a lot of exoplanets have been discovered around host stars that are only one-tenth as rich with metals as our Sun. While planets that are Jupiter-sized are found more around stars that contained higher levels of Fe and Si, planets that are Earth-sized show no such bias.

Another main problem: because globular clusters are too close-knit, this specific environment could threaten the possible formation and existence of planets within it.

Scientists said a neighboring star could wander too close to a planetary system, consequently disrupting the gravitational forces and resulting to the unfortunate hurling of worlds into interstellar space.

What Could Be the Right Clue?

DiStefano and Ray explained that the habitable zone or the "Goldilocks" zone of a star varies greatly. The Goldilocks zone is the right distance at which planets would be not too warm or not too cold to have liquid water.

Brighter stars have more distant Goldilocks zones, and have shorter life spans. Because globular clusters are old, these extremely bright stars have died out.

In contrast, planets that orbit around dimmer stars huddle closer to each other. These dimmer stars are faint and closer, but they also live long enough to become red dwarfs. Potentially habitable planets that these faint stars host would orbit nearby and be relatively safe from stellar interactions.

"Once planets form, they can survive for long periods of time, even longer than the current age of the universe," said DiStefano.

What If Planets Within Globular Clusters Evolve?

If livable planets could form within globular star clusters and survive for billions of years, extraterrestrial life in said planets would have enough time to become complex and even develop intelligence.

The alien civilization would truly be different from our own. In our solar system, the nearest star is about four light-years (24 trillion miles) away. In a globular cluster, the nearest star may be 20 times closer or only one trillion miles apart. Interstellar exploration and communication, as well as space travel, would definitely be easier.

DiStefano and Ray call this potential theory the "Globular Cluster Opportunity."

"Sending a broadcast between the stars wouldn't take any longer than a letter from the U.S. to Europe in the 18th century," said DiStefano.

Space missions would definitely take less time. NASA's Voyager probes are 100 billion miles away from our planet. In terms of globular cluster distance, this is one-tenth as far as it would take to reach the nearest star. A civilization at Earth's current technological level could easily send interstellar probes within the realm of a globular star cluster.

DiStefano said the nearest globular cluster to our planet is thousand light-years away. This is why it is difficult for us to find planets, particularly in a space environment with a crowded core. However, it is possible to detect globular cluster planets on galactic outskirts. Through gravitational lensing, scientists might even spot free-floating planets or planets whose gravity magnifies light from a star.

Lastly, scientists say that using SETI search methods to target globular clusters is an intriguing idea. SETI uses arrays of radio telescopes called Allen Telescope Array (ATA) to look for laser or radio broadcasts. Astronomer Frank Drake used the Arecibo radio telescope to broadcast the first deliberate message from our planet to outer space, a message directed to globular cluster Messier 13 (M13) or the Hercules Globular Cluster.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Rumors of the iPhone 7 had started to surface in the smartphone space soon after Apple launched the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus in September 2015. However, latest leaks give the first glimpse of the LCD backlight panel, which may be used in the purported iPhone 7.

French publication NoWhereElse and Taiwanese website Apple.Club.Tw have leaked some pictures of the internals that may be used in the iPhone 7. The the leaked images compare the LCD backlight panel of the iPhone 6s and the next-generation iPhone.

The display backlight of the iPhone 7 seems similar to the iPhone 6s, but the flex cables and the 3D Touch chip used in the iPhone 7's LCD display are in different locations, which suggests at an updated design for the 3D Touch sensors.

Apple has already used a novel pressure-sensing technology called 3D Touch in the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus. 3D Touch lets users interact with their iPhones in an entirely new way. However, reports speculate that the technology is not scalable to iPads and Apple is developing a new pressure-sensitive technology, which may be used in the iPads and even in iPhones. The relocation of the 3D Touch sensors and flex cable, as seen on the leaked image, may be a part of the new pressure-sensitive technology.

Previous rumors have suggested that Apple may launch the iPhone 6c, successor to the iPhone 5c, sometime in March or April 2016. The components leaked in the image could be used in the unannounced 4-inch iPhone 6c. However, other reports point that the iPhone 6c will not support 3D Touch at all.

NoWhereElse also points out that the leaked LCD backlight panel may actually be used in the next-gen iPhone. However, there are also chances that the panel has been produced to be used in cheap copies of the iPhone.

The iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus come loaded with a number of new features that have attracted more smartphones customers, and the next-generation iPhone 7 will undoubtedly bring in even more new and attractive features.

Existing iPhone 7 rumors speculate that the smartphone may not include a 3.5 mm audio jack at all and will use wireless headphones instead. The current-generation iPhone has a maximum storage capacity of 128 GB. However, Chinese publication MyDrivers proposes that the iPhone 7 will also be available with 256 GB on-board storage.

Apple does not officially reveal the battery size of iPhones. However, the iPhone 6s Plus includes a 2,750mAh battery. MyDrivers reports that the iPhone 7 Plus will come with a bigger 3,100mAh battery.

Apple's A10 processor is expected to power the iPhone 7 and the handset may be as thin as an iPod Touch. Rumors are also surfacing that Apple may use dual-cameras in the iPhone 7, which will offer high-quality image capturing and Apple may make a switch to OLED screen.

The iPhone 7 launch is not expected until at least September this year. As usual, Apple will remain mum about the new hardware and features of the upcoming device. Till then all rumors should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Australian researchers have developed an "innovative method of conservation" for yellow-spotted monitor lizards. They trained the predators not to eat the highly toxic cane toads which could kill them in 30 seconds or less.

Cane toads are invasive species that came from South and Central America. In 1935, they were introduced to Australia and has spread across the northern part of the country. Cane toads spread by about 25 to 37 miles per year.

The species is so toxic that they can kill more aggressive and bigger predators that eat them. In fact, they are the cause of a catastrophic predator population decline, including Australian monitor lizards or goannas. The yellow-spotted monitors' population have decreased by 90 percent following cane toad invasions.

University of Sydney researchers devised a way to keep goannas from eating these highly toxic snacks. The research team offered non-lethal cane toads to the free-ranging monitors at northwestern Australia's Kimberley wilderness.

It only takes 30 seconds for a captured, adult cane toad to kill a monitor lizard. In the experiment, the younger and smaller cane toads made the monitors sick, but were not lethal enough to kill the predators.

After one or two cane toad meals, the monitors learned not to eat another toad. Following their exposure to smaller, non-lethal toads, majority of the trained 16 monitors learned to avoid the larger, lethal cane toads found in the wild in the span of the 18-month study. When the research ended, all the 31 untrained monitors died from cane toad invasion.

"We saw the goannas that had not had a negative experience with the small toad died very quickly. They all died within three months of the natural cane toad invasion arriving at the site," said lead researcher Georgia Ward-Fear.

The experiment gave the predators a chance to learn about the deadly snacks firsthand. It offers a simple conservation method for animals living in the wild. The research team presented a real evidence that the conservation strategy is realistic.

The study was published in the journal Biology Letters on Jan. 6.

Photo: Peter Gronemann | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
For the first time, the New York Public Library has made morethan 180,000 high-resolution historical images available to view and download on its digital archive  completely open to the public, and even more important for some, free.

Made possible by NYPL Labs, an "interdisciplinary team" devoted to reinvigorating and disseminating the NYPL's many informational resources and catalogs via the Internet, the collection includes a diverse range of materials, including everything from lithographs to sheet music to the photographs of famous photographers like Lewis Hines and Walker Evans.

Previously, the materials in the NYPL's digital collection were technically available for the public to peruse, but with a literal price. Before the archives were uploaded onto the library's site, users could only be granted access to certain generally restricted items and high-resolution images by making a request, paying a processing fee, or both.

The library's new open policy concerning the archive is part of an attempt to democratize its assets for all who want to learn. Users can visit the NYPL Digital Collections launch page to check out the public domain items digitized from The New York Public Library's collections.

"These changes are intended to facilitate sharing, research and reuse by scholars, artists, educators, technologists, publishers, and Internet users of all kinds," the library's blog states on its website page for the online catalog. "All subsequently digitized public domain collections will be made available in the same way, joining a growing repository of open materials."

NYPL Labs is also offering a "remix residency," which has the recipient of the fellowship's project come up with "new ways of looking at or presenting public domain collections materials  or allow access to the information or beauty currently locked within the static images we've digitized." Examples include "bonus" browsing tools and resources, like a "mansion builder" that lets users explore the floorplans of the houses of the New York elite at the turn of the century.

Via: NPR

Source: New York Public Library

Photo: melanzane1013 | Flickr



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Brazilian gang leaks female police officers nude photos by hacking her social media account for arresting their boss

In what seems to be a crude revenge, a criminal gang in Brazil has leaked nude images of a female police officer for arresting their bossman by hacking into her private social media account.

According to Media Takeout website, one of the most notorious gangs in Brazil, has lived up to its billing by engaging in a new sort of revenge warfare by leaking the nude photos of a senior female police officer as a way of avenging the arrest of some of their members by the police.

The boss was arrested by a police posse which included the female officer whose name is given as Julia. Julia has been named as a top police officer of Brazilian Military Police of Rio de Janeiro. In revenge the gang hacked into Julias private social media account and stumbled on very personal and intimate selfies of the female cop.

The gang, upset at the arrest of its members including their leader who was arrested by police, they promptly released the naked photos.

Media Takeout has not named the Brazilian crime boss nor the name of his gang.
China has blinding laser guns which violate the 1998 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons

It appears that the Chinese have been deeply inspired by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Star Wars: The Force Awakens because soldiers belonging to this ethnic origin are now in possession of laser guns.

This is despite the fact that the 1998 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons banned the use of lasers against people, it looks like in order to change the tides of war, advanced weaponry will be required. Just to remind you, laser weapons that are unable to blind other soldiers can still be used in warfare, so it looks like the Chinese have developed exactly that kind of arsenal.

A terrific example will be that of the PY132A laser, which is one of the systems that was displayed at a domestic Chinese police expo, and we can assume that it is going to be used against rogue and terrorist drones since emitting lasers from these weapons will be far more effective in bringing down aerial machines compared to traditional ballistic weapons.



In addition to manufacturing weapons that will be carried by soldiers, Chinese defense contractors have also started to market the Low Altitude Guard laser turret, which will provide additional protection for troops as well as act as a deterrent for shooting down small UAVs. In short, each weapon will be serving a different kind of purpose. For example, the PY132A, WJG-202 and BBQ-905 laser rifles will be used to destroy the sensitive thermal imagers of enemy tanks or blind slow flying UAVs. Thermal imaging sensors are extremely effective in scoping out troops that have hid themselves well, so the advanced weaponry will definitely give them an edge in battle in removing the effectives of armored vehicles.

However, as exciting as you would be seeing laser rifles in a proper battle demonstration, sadly, such weapons are not going to be used by Chinese troops anytime soon. We reckon that such advances in Chinese military technology point will come to a point when science fiction elements that we are so used to seeing movies will start to view in reality, and that is going to be a long time from now.
Drone owner files federal lawsuit after neighbor downs aircraft with a shotgun

A Drone owner whose aircraft was shot down by his neighbour had filed a federal lawsuit. John David Boggs, the owner of the drone has filed a lawsuit against William Meredith for shooting down his $1800 drone.

Boggs has demanded that Merideth pay for the cost of the drone and he also wants the United States to clarify federal law related to the operation of drones. The case assumes importance because it specifically asks the federal government to rule on emerging issues related to how a drone is defined, as well the relationship between drones, airspace boundaries, privacy rights, and the laws against trespass.

Readers will remember Boggs from the old report we had filed in October 2015. A judge had ruled that Merideth was right in shooting down the drone at that time. Merideth has allegedly shot down the $1800 drone because it was spying on his family. The Bullit County District Court judge determined that Merideth was within his rights when he pulled out a shotgun and shot down a drone that was allegedly spying on his family.

The court went on to dismiss all charges against Meredith. Merideth said the operator was violating his privacy and spying on his family.

WDRB 41 Louisville News

Now Boggs, has filed a lawsuit on Jan. 4 against William Merideth, the man who shot it down. Both men are Bullitt County residents.

The incident in question took place on Sunday, July 26, at a home on Earlywood Way, just south of the intersection in Bullitt County. Hillview Police say they were called to Merideths home after someone complained about a firearm. When they arrived, police say Merideth told them he had shot down a drone that was flying over his house. The drone was hit in mid-air and crashed in a field near Merideths home.

Police said Boggs, the owner of the drone, claimed he was flying it to get pictures of a friends house  and that the cost of the drone was over $1,800.

At that time, the police had charged Merideth with first degree criminal mischief and first degree wanton endangerment. As stated in our earlier report, both charges were dismissed by the judge in October 2015.

Well, I came out and it was down by the neighbors house, about 10 feet off the ground, looking under their canopy that theyve got in their back yard, Merideth told WDRB News, the day after the incident. I went and got my shotgun and I said, Im not going to do anything unless its directly over my property.

That moment soon arrived, he said.

Within a minute or so, here it came, he said. It was hovering over top of my property, and I shot it out of the sky.

He didnt just fly over, he said. If he had been moving and just kept moving, that would have been one thing  but when he come directly over our heads, and just hovered there, I felt like I had the right.

You know, when youre in your own property, within a six-foot privacy fence, you have the expectation of privacy, he said. We dont know if he was looking at the girls. We dont know if he was looking for something to steal. To me, it was the same as trespassing.

Meanwhile Bogg has denied that his drone wasnt spying. Boggs categorically denied Meridiths allegation that his drone was flying 10 feet off the ground.

The bottom line is we didnt do it, Boggs said in an interview with WDRB later that week. We didnt hover, we didnt go down, we didnt do any of that. Theres no way Im going to fly below the trees the second day I owned it.

Boggs says he bought the drone just a few days before it was shot down. He said he was planning on using it to shoot video of his kids riding motocross. He says Sunday was a practice session.

Theres no other explanation other than the truth, Boggs said.

Video that Boggs claims shows the flight path an altitude of the drone does not corroborate Merideths claim that the drone descended to an altitude of just 10 feet from the ground.

We are now 193 feet above the ground, Boggs described as he showed us the flight path. This area here is the world-famous drone slayer home, and this is a neighbors home, and our friends live over here, and over here, and over here. You will see now that we did not go below this altitude  we even went higher  nor did we hover over their house to look in. And for sure didnt descend down to no 10 feet, or look under someones canopy, or at somebodys daughter.

In support of Boggs, the track shows that the drone hovered for around 30 seconds near Merideths home but was at an altitude in excess of 200 feet.

The lawsuit filed Monday pits Boggs claim to airspace rights against Merideths claim to privacy rights  and asks the federal government to settle the matter.

This turn of events has set the stage for a conflict between state-based claims of trespass of property, invasion of privacy, and trespass to chattles and longstanding exclusive federal jurisdiction over the national airspace and the protection of air safety, the lawsuit says. The tension between private property rights and right to traverse safely the national airspace was resolved during the formative days of manned aviation. The issue is now arising in the context of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones.'

Specifically, the suit requests that the court issue a declaratory judgment recognizing the drone as an aircraft, defined by federal law, and finding that any unmanned aircraft operating in what the law calls navigable airspace does not violate a homeowners reasonable expectation of privacy and thus cannot be shot down.

The suit goes on to criticize Merideth, arguing that he vows to do it again, based on a cover photo that appears on Merideths Facebook page. The cover photo reads, in capital letters, NOT ONLY DID I DO IT. BUT I MEANT TO DO IT. AND ID DO IT AGAIN. The profile picture on the Facebook page also bears the caption THE DRONE SLAYER.

Additionally, the lawsuit includes images of t-shirts the suit alleges were sold by Merideth. The t-shirt bears the words Team Willie on the front. The back contains the likeness of a drone in crosshairs with the words, #DRONESLAYER and We the People have had enough! The lawsuit alleges that, through these actions, Meredith implicitly encouraged others to engage in the same conduct.

Boggs also wants Meredith to pay such equitable relief as it deems appropriate, including monetary damages, prejudgment interest, and the cost of filing this action.
Sensorwake Alarm Clock Wakes You With the Smell of Fresh-Brewed Coffee And Just-Baked Croissants

Do you get annoyed with all the crazy alarms that use beeps, flashing lights, and vibrations to wake you up in the morning? This may now become a thing of the past. You can now wake up to the smell of chocolate, peppermint, fresh-brewed coffee, and just-baked croissants.

Currently, debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sensorwake, takes a vastly different approach to getting your attention when its time to wake up. Thanks to the timed release of an aroma of your choice, the clock uses smell instead of sound to wake you.

Sensorwake is a Paris-based startup that has become part of an incubation program with Google France after winning a Google Science Fair competition.

The brainchild of Guillaume Rolland, a 19-year-old engineering student from France, the Sensorwake was successfully crowd-funded last year to the tune of US$200,000 (AU$284,412).

With reusable scent capsules inserted into a slot along the top edge of the clock, the device functions a little bit like a toaster. Each cartridge has a lifespan of thirty uses and can be purchased on the Sensorwake website. They cost $10 for two, so thats two months worth of smelly wake-up calls, and they are 100 percent recyclable.

Six aromas will be available at launch such as Espresso, Hot Croissant, Chocolate, Invigorating Peppermint, Seaside (monoi, tiare flower) and Lush Jungle (cut grass, leaves).

Human beings were not meant to wake up to iPhone alarms, Rolland said. We are proud of everything weve accomplished so far, and we want to keep bringing happiness to our customers mornings.

The alarm clock works by using a cartridge, similar to how some plug-in air fresheners work. When the alarm goes off, it diffuses the scent for three whole minutes.

But do scents work as well as a regular audio alarm in terms of waking you up? Rolland claims that the Sensorwake is just as good as audio alarms, with internal testing showing his scent-based alarm wakes 99 percent of people in 2 minutes.

The Sensorwake could be as effective as Rolland claims; however, previous research on the rousing abilities of scents hasnt been so positive. A study in 1997, conducted by fire and rescue workers in Irondale, Alabama was designed to test whether adults woke up in the presence of smoke, water and citrus odours. It showed only two out of 10 sleeping adults woke up when they were exposed to smoke or aromas.

A subsequent study at Brown University in 2004 also found that scents were not particularly effective at waking sleepers. Pepperment and pyridine scents were presented in different concentrations to sleepers at different stages of sleep. The odours scored mixed results, while audio tones played over a speaker were significantly more effective at rousing the sleepers, leading the researchers to conclude that human olfaction is not reliably capable of alerting a sleeper.

In addition, a subsequent study at Brown University in 2004 suggests scents of both peppermint and pyridine were not effective in waking sleeping participants. However, Sensorwake has been designed with a backup audio alarm that can be activated if the person does not wake up after three minutes with the aroma.

The Sensorwake comes with an insurance policy for any sleepers who arent roused by its primary feature. For extra-heavy sleepers or those with stuffed noses, there is a backup sound alarm that you can program to ring if you dont hit the off button after three minutes of scent.

Available for pre-order now, its expected to ship in June 2016 and to hit retail stores in November 2016. It costs $109 in the US (about AU$151 or 74 converted). Pricing and availability in Australia and UK have not yet been announced.
Meet the worlds first drone with enough space to accommodate a human being

For the longest time, we have heard of drones being controlled remotely, but thanks to the efforts of a Chinese company called Ehang, all that is about to change.

The company unveiled the worlds first drone that can carry a human being inside it and the flying machine was shown off at CES 2016.

The name of the drone is Ehang 184 and has four doubled propellers spinning parallel to the ground, which is similar to the functionality of other drones. The drone will require electricity to function and can be completely charged in two hours.

However, you must be wondering what is the maximum weight this drone can carry?

Turns out quite a bit because Ehang 184 can carry up to 220 pounds of additional weight and fly for 23 minutes at sea level, according to the company.

The drone can only accommodate one passenger, but has additional space to fit in a small backpack and even has its own air conditioning and a reading light. With its propellers folded up, the aerial machine has been designed to easily fit in a single parking spot.

However, the drone will still function on commands because as soon as the individual sits inside it, he will have to take control of the drone through voice recognition functionality which involves two commands: take off and land.

Its top speed is 63 miles per hour and has been designed to fly about 1,000 to 1,650 feet off the ground with a maximum altitude of 11,500 feet.

While this is a major breakthrough in technology, this piece of hardware will definitely not go under the nose of U.S. authorities, who will probably decide later on if the drone will be able to fly with a human being present inside it, in the countrys own airspace.

According to the co-founder and CFO of the company, Shang Hsiao, Ehang 184 is being aimed to sell at a price range of $200,000-$300,000 at the start of this year.

Now here is where the scary part starts. The passenger will have no control over the aerial machine and in case there is a problem, a backup will be in the form of a remote control center that would take over the vehicle and ensure that it lands safely.

While a passenger who will sit inside the vehicle for the first time will be nervous knowing that he or she will not be able to control the vehicle, Chief Marketing Officer Derrick Xiong has provided some sort of comfort by saying that the drone has been flown more than a 100 times at low altitudes and that too in a forested area in Guangzhou, China.

While this is comforting to know, the company will have to release various number of footages before passengers start feeling remotely safe over their maiden aerial voyage.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated the Orthodox Christian Community of Azerbaijan Jan. 6.

"Dear fellow countrymen! I heartily congratulate you and the entire Christian community of Azerbaijan on the sacred holiday of Christmas. On this cherished day, I extend to you my most sincere wishes," the message said.

President Aliyev wrote that throughout the history in Azerbaijan, which is today recognized worldwide as an example of tolerance, a land of dialogue between civilizations and cultures, religions have co-existed in an atmosphere of peace, tranquility, mutual respect and confidence, with different nations and ethnic communities representing various cultures having united behind a common ideology of Azerbaijanism and love for the Motherland, and showing an unbreakable unity and solidarity.

"The preservation of ethno-cultural diversification in our society, support and promotion of multiculturalism are among the key priorities of the state policy that we are today pursuing," the message said. "Different nations living in our country are provided with all the democratic conditions for preserving their national and cultural values, religion, customs and traditions, and for developing their language and culture."

"It is with great satisfaction that I emphasize that our Christian fellow countrymen, who are an inseparable part of our society, are making a worthy contribution to the interethnic and interfaith relations, and are directly involved in all spheres of the socio-political life," the message said.

"Dear friends! Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ and embodies renewal, peace and the triumph of mercy and compassion, is widely celebrated in Azerbaijan every year," the message said. "May this sacred holiday bring happiness to your families, and abundance to your lives."
First Ever Power Outage Caused By Hackers With Malware Attack On Electrical Grid In Ukraine

Thousands of people in Ukraine experienced power outage after hackers hit electrical substations during holiday season, say researchers, signalling a worrying sign of potential cyberattacks to come.

This is the first incident we know of where an attack caused a blackout, said John Hultquist, head of iSIGHT Partners cyberespionage intelligence practice. Its always been the scenario weve been worried about for years because it has ramifications across broad sectors.

The power outage in the country first took a regional control center offline resulting in half of the homes in Ukraines Ivano-Frankivsk region to be left without power for several hours reported Ukrainian news service TSN in an article posted a day after the December 23 failure. The report went on to say that the outage was the result of malware that disconnected electrical substations.

Researchers at iSIGHT on Monday said their analysis of malware found on the systems of at least three regional electrical operators confirmed that a destructive cyberattack led to the blackouts across the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

According to security experts who have long cautioned about the possibility for cyberattacks on the power grid said that electrical outages can lead to ripple effects that leave communities struggling with things like communication and transportation.

If confirmed, this would be the first known instance of a hacker group or individual using malware to cause a full-fledged power outage.

Its a milestone because weve definitely seen targeted destructive events against energy beforeoil firms, for instancebut never the event which causes the blackout, said Hultquist. Its the major scenario weve all been concerned about for so long.

The attackers in this case have used a kind of malware that cleaned files off computer systems, shut them down leading to the blackout, Hultquist said. Its believed that the trojan known as BlackEnergy, which started out as a tool to create denial of service (DDoS) attacks in 2007 has since been developed into sophisticated malware and is the reason behind the blackout. However, the Trojan was updated two years ago to add a host of new features, including new functions that had the ability to render infected computers useless.

According to ESET, the malware was recently updated again to add a new component called KillDisk, a tool that destroys critical components found within hard drives and contains a deadly function that could sabotage industrial control systems. The BlackEnergy malware also contains a backdoored SSH utility that lets attackers gain direct access to the infected machine.

A closer look into BlackEnegry malware indicates that it has mainly been found carrying out spying activities on targets associated with news organizations, power companies and other industrial-based groups. Though iSIGHT has yet to confirm the malware was the culprit, ESET did not tie the malware to the most recent blackout. However, it did state that new BlackEnergy features had more than the necessary capability.

Our analysis of the destructive KillDisk malware detected in several electricity distribution companies in Ukraine indicates that it is theoretically capable of shutting down critical systems, said Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov, both malware researchers for ESET, in a blog post published Monday. However, there is also another possible explanation. The BlackEnergy backdoor, as well as a recently discovered SSH backdoor, themselves provide attackers with remote access to infected systems. After having successfully infiltrated a critical system with either of these trojans, an attacker would, again theoretically, be perfectly capable of shutting it down. In such case, the planted KillDisk destructive trojan would act as a means of making recovery more difficult.

Ukrainian authorities have begun investigating a suspected cyberattack on the countrys power grid. iSIGHT believes the attacks that caused the blackout were the work of a hacking group dubbed as Sandworm believed to have ties to Russia. However, neither claims have yet been proven. In a 2014 report, iSIGHT said the group was targeting NATO, energy sector firms and U.S. academic institutions as well as government organizations in Ukraine, Poland and Western Europe.

Operators who have previously targeted American and European sensitive systems look to have actually carried out a successful attack that turned the lights out, Hultquist said.

In the meantime, cheap attack tools and widespread insecurity across critical infrastructure technology make a devastating attack on energy companies feasible. Recent reports that an American dam was targeted by Iranians showed no country can be complacent.

[The Ukraine attack] is fairly significant, Williams added, who described general industrial control system security as a train wreck as far as security goes. The odds are good that you could pop into ICS networks and replicate this kind of attack.

I do think this is a wake up call for a lot of energy companies and not just energy companies. There is certainly a growing list of companies severely damaged by destructive attacks, from Sony Pictures to Saudi Aramco to the Sands Casino. All industries are vulnerable.

Cyberattacks against infrastructure, such as electricity grids, have also been cause for alarm for politicians. In November, UK chancellor George Osborne confirmed almost 2bn in funding to help protect the UK from cyberattacks and so that it could develop its own.

If the lights go out, the banks stop working, the hospitals stop functioning or government itself can no longer operate, the impact on society could be catastrophic, Osborne said at the time.

The coming 2016 is going to be critical for the world of attacks headed for Internet-connected industries, with the first massive attack already causing power outage for hundreds of thousands of naive residents. Malware and its growing capabilities are only going to become more deadly this 2016.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

Trend:

A preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen towards the chairman of the Council of Elders of Baku's Nardaran settlement Natig Karimov upon the decision of the Sabail District Court Jan. 7.

Karimov was arrested by the Azerbaijani law enforcement bodies Jan. 7. A criminal case was filed.

On Nov. 26, five members of a criminal group, operating under the guise of religion, were killed during a police operation in the township of Nardaran, some 25 km northeast of Baku. Two police officers were also killed in the standoff.

Fourteen members of the criminal group were arrested along with the group's ringleader Taleh Baghirov.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

Trend:

Natig Karimov, the Chairman of the Council of Elders of Baku's Nardaran settlement, was detained as a suspect under Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic (high treason), the Azerbaijani State Security Service told Trend Jan. 7.

A preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against Karimov upon the court verdict.

The State Security Service took the investigative actions. As a result, it was revealed that Natig Karimov, the Azerbaijani citizen, the resident of Nardaran settlement of Baku's Sabunchu district secretly cooperated with the foreign intelligence services. Karimov has been carrying out their orders for a long time. He was involved in espionage for foreign countries in prejudice of the state security of Azerbaijan.

Currently, the investigative actions are underway.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:

Colombia is interested in increasing the trade turnover with Azerbaijan, Assad Jose Jater Pena, the charge d'affaires of Colombia in Baku, said at an event on the occasion of completion of his diplomatic mission Jan. 7.

The diplomat stressed the necessity of expanding the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of oil production, agriculture, tourism, mechanical engineering.

The diplomat also emphasized the importance of developing the relations between the districts of Azerbaijan and Colombia.

Recalling that the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established over 20 years ago, the diplomat said that the Colombian embassy opened in Baku in 2015.

The diplomat also said that Martha Galindo will replace him at the post of the Charge d'Affaires. Galindo will arrive in Baku in the coming days. Assad Jose Jater Pena will continue his diplomatic activity in the Permanent Mission of Colombia in Geneva.
Speaking on the flight deck of an American aircraft carrier at a US naval base at Yokosuka, 40 miles south-west of Tokyo, Mr Hammond said: "North Korea acts in a totally provocative and irresponsible way, so I can understand the pressure that South Korea is under to respond.
Tehran, Iran, January 7

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranian Kharg Terminal is getting ready to receive big tankers, once the sanctions on Iran are lifted.

Right now nine tankers can simultaneously berth at Kharg Terminal, which is able to receive giant tankers with 360 barrels capacity, Qolamhossein Gerami, an official with Iran's Oil Terminals Company said.

Referring to Kharg as the biggest oil terminal in Iran, he said the terminal is currently responsible for letting through 94 percent of Iran's exported oil, Mehr news agency reported January 6.

Oil is pumped through five pipelines to the terminal and stored in reservoirs as big as one million barrels, he explained.

He said the terminal is able to store 28 million barrels of oil, both light and heavy.

At the eastern terminal, with a T pier, six tankers can birth at the same time and receive 67,500 barrels of oil per hour, the official further said.

The pier's waterline is 21 meters and can serve tankers with capacities of 275 thousand metric tons, he noted.

According to the official, the western front can receive three tankers at a time and transfer 360 thousand barrels of oil in one hour.

The pier's waterline is about 30 meters and is therefore able to serve the biggest tankers there is, he stated.

Iran is expecting the removal of sanctions by January's end to boost its oil export from one million barrels a day back to over two million which used to be its output before the sanctions.

Using existing facilities, Iran can export 2.35 million barrels of oil a day.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Aygun Badalova - Trend:

Approximately 850 km of pipes has been already produced for the the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), Head of the Investment Department of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Vagif Aliyev said in an interview to ANS TV station.

He said that the project is progressing in line with scheduled plans.

"All preparation activities are completed and the practical phase has started," Aliyev said, adding that the mentioned 850 km of pipes have been tested and delivered to contractors.

He further said that a 600-km land area has been prepared for pipe laying, and the welding works have already been carried out on 230-km area.

TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The project's total cost is estimated at $10 billion.

Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are: SOCAR - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.

The initial capacity of TANAP pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the remaining volume will be supplied to Europe.

The contractors for constructing TANAP's 1,337 kilometers long onshore section are: Fernas Insaat A.S., Sicim-Yuksel-AKKORD Adi Ortakligi and TEKFEN Insaat ve Tesisat A.S. These companies will build the pipeline's section running up to the city of Eskisehir.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 6

By Aygun Badalova - Trend:

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) will conclude the remaining large contracts within the project in the beginning of 2016, Lisa Givert, TAP Head of Communications told Trend.

These contracts include offshore pipeline construction and line pipes, compressor stations, according to Givert.

TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe.

Last year TAP concluded the contracts for access roads and bridges, turbo compressors and ball valves.

Early 2016, award of major procurement contracts are expected to be completed within TAP.

"Once the procurement and other processes are concluded, TAP will then outline the cost of the project," Givert said.

The approximately 870 km long TAP will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

TAP expects to begin the pipeline construction in the middle of 2016. The overall construction phase will take approximately 3.5 years.

First deliveries to Europe will follow approximately in early 2020.

TAP's shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
"The shooting continues. Innocent people are dying," Putin emphasized, noting that the Zelensky regime rejects "any negotiation proposal." | Read More
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7



By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:



For Tehran, possible gas supplies from Iran to Georgia will have a political context, not an economic one, said Vagif Aliyev, head of the Investment Department of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in an interview with ANS TV channel.



He added that while Georgia is a close neighbor and strategic ally of Azerbaijan, each state determines its own energy strategy.



"SOCAR has strong position in Georgia. Over the past five years, SOCAR has become the largest taxpayer in Georgia. Georgia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on gas deliveries until 2030", Aliyev said. "We are the main supplier of natural gas to the country, in addition, another part of the volume Tbilisi receives as transit fee for transportation of Russian gas through its territory to Armenia."



Azerbaijan exported 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia in Jan.-Nov. 2015.



Gas from Azerbaijan to Georgia is delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which transports gas produced in "Shah Deniz" gas-condensate field in the Caspian's Azerbaijani sector. SOCAR supplies its own gas to Georgia via a pipeline that passes through the Azerbaijan's Gazakh district. Power flow of gas through this pipeline is about three billion cubic meters a year.



Azerbaijan is the main supplier of gas to Georgia with a share of 77.9 percent of total imports of this category.



Speaking about possible gas supplies to Georgia from Iran, Aliyev said that it could happen, most likely, on the small scale.



"It is important to think how important the Georgian market is for Iran," he said.



According to the agreement with Georgia, Iran has to deliver gas to Armenian border and Georgia will receive it on its border with this country.



Currently, Iran exports gas to Turkey in the framework of the gas swaps with Azerbaijan - to Nakhchivan, as well as to Armenia.

---
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:

Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) considers irrelevant the construction of underground gas storage in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) in the near future, Vagif Aliyev, head of the Investment Department of SOCAR said in an interview with ANS TV channel.

"Despite the fact that Azerbaijan's demand for gas is growing, its consumption in the NAR is at an average of 300 million cubic meters a year, so there is no need to build storage facilities there", Aliyev said.

"The country has two underground storages based on the old gas fields - Garadagh and Kalmaz. They are constantly being upgraded, new wells are drilled there, and gas compressor stations have already been installed", Aliyev said. "Currently, their capacity is up to 4.5 billion cubic meters, accounting for 30-35 percent of domestic consumption of gas in Azerbaijan. It's sufficient to cover the gas demand."

SOCAR continues to explore and study the possibilities of gas pumping into salt deposits of NAR, Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan has two underground gas storages facilities, Kalmaz and Garadagh, which are on the balance of SOCAR.

The country's underground storages allow the pumping of over 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
All I want the film to do is to start people talking, says filmmaker Sue Bourne about her latest BBC1 doc, The Age of Loneliness. Best known for her single docs such as My Street, Mum & Me and Fabulous Fashionistas, Bournes latest tackles what she calls the silent epidemic of loneliness in the UK.

Greenlit by BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore, it features 14 contributors talking frankly to camera about one of the last taboos in a society that professes to be more connected than ever.

It took Bourne and producer/cameraman Daniel Dewsbury (pictured) four months of research to find the right contributors, whittled down from 500 people who were contacted. The key challenge, she says, was how to tackle the issue without making a miserable film. Shes done this by speaking to the young and old  a student, a young mum and a divorcee as well as older contributors. Loneliness is almost as bad for young people as it is for their grandparents now. They are feeling disconnected. But they were the hard ones to get. They dont like talking about it or admitting it.

Bournes great skill as a documentary maker is pulling out the extraordinary from the apparently ordinary. She persaudes contributors to open up and tell stories that resonate with us all. I do spend a long time getting to know them, she admits.

She spent three months filming, all around the country. I didnt want it to be London-centric, I wanted to show that loneliness is everywhere. The interviewees were filmed in their homes; Dewsbury used the new Sony FS7 and prime lenses. This is not a point and shoot doc. This is beautiful portraiture of people in their space, says Bourne.

Bourne accentuated the sense of loneliness everywhere by using a drone to film interviewees outside their homes  in towns, city suburbs and in the countryside: It is like we are looking down on it on every street, in every community, in every part of the country.

The Age of Loneliness airs tonight at 10.35 (7 January) on BBC1

Share this story
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Aygun Badalova - Trend:

Any coordination within OPEC is highly unlikely amid the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sam Barden, the director of Wimpole International, an energy market development company believes.

"OPEC has no future what so ever. It does not fit the notion of a modern economy, and given current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia the likely hope of any coordination is zero," Barden told Trend.

Over the past few days, the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan. 2.

Reacting to al-Nimr's execution, a group of hardline Iranians stormed Saudi embassy in Tehran, smashing furniture and setting fire to the building before being dispersed by police. Officially, Iran expressed strong protest regarding the execution, and the fragile relations between the two countries started going even further downhill from there.

Saudi Arabia and its allies including Sudan, Djibouti, Bahrain and the UAE joined diplomatic action against Iran following the break into the embassy in Tehran.

Barden believes, that the Saudi Arabia-Iran tensions are nothing more than a side show from an increasingly desperate Saudi regime unable or unwilling to modernise.

"Saudi regime is close to collapse and they have lost any notion of support from the world population generally. This is tragic for Saudi people, who are highly educated and have the ability collectively to modernise the Saudi economy," Barden said.

"This will never happen under the current rulers as they are too busy fighting each other and wasting the national savings through lack of structural investment," he added.

With regard to Iran, Barden believes that the country absolutely must establish a regional pricing hub for its hydrocarbons independent of London (Brent) and New York (WTI) in order to modernise its economy.

Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are the members of OPEC.

Saudi Arabia, by producing 10.25 million barrels per day of oil in the third quarter of 2015, ranks first among OPEC member countries in terms of crude production. The country was the one who pushed OPEC's strategy shift last year to defend market share rather than cut output to support prices, which have already decreased to their 11-years low.

Earlier the country rejected Iran's demand for cooperation on quota coordination by saying that the market can absorb Iran's surplus production and OPEC members do not need to reduce their output.

OPEC's crude oil production increased to 31.5 million barrels per day during last two years, 1.5 million barrels per day more than the determined 30 million barrels per day.
Megastar Injures Rib Cage

Bollywood Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is busy with shooting for the upcoming film Te3N in West Bengal capital for more than a month now has suffered an injury. Megastar injured his rib cage while shooting for a crucial scene on the sets of Ribhu Dasgupta's film.



"Hurt rib from shoot... but ok... taking friends to WAZIR at South City Mall, Kolkata this evening! Yea," he tweeted. Amitabh also shared the news in his blog and assured his fans that if the pain continued for a couple of days, he would go for a routine X-ray or MRI scan.



The 73-year-old shared the news on his blog."No nothing to worry... I have injured my rib cage, it pains and so when I breathe it hurts. Am doing ice-pack and pain-killers, spoken to my doctor... should take 48 hours to heal, he says. Else we do X-Ray or MRI or whatever he decides," Big B posted in the early hours of Thursday morning.



Amitabh was scheduled to attend the premiere of his next, Wazir, at a multiplex in south Kolkata on Thursday evening. "Wazir" is directed by Bejoy Nambiar and also features Farhan Akhtar.









News Posted: 7 January, 2016








Rana Begins Shooting For India's First Submarine Based Film

Rana Daggubati began shooting for India's first submarine-based war film "Ghazi".The film is Hindi-Telugu bilingual and it is based on the true incidents on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistan submarine during the Indo-Pak 1971 war.



"Pushing my experimental envelope towards mainstream cinema yet again!! #GHAZI (Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual) begins filming today (sic)," Rana posted on his Twitter page on Thursday.Actress Taapsee Pannu is paired with Rana, and she's rumoured to be playing a refugee.



To be directed by debutant Sankalp Reddy, the film will explore the events that paved way to the sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistan-deployed submarine during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Rana is playing role of naval officer of the Indian submarine S21. "Ghazi" will be produced by PVP Cinema. Prakash Raj has been approached to play an important character in the film.









News Posted: 7 January, 2016








VHR condemns KTR's criticism on Congress

Hyderabad, Jan 7 (INN): Congress senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP V. Hanumantha Rao has condemned Panchayat Raj Minister K. Tarakarama Rao for criticising Congress party.



Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, VHR said although everyone has a right to campaign for his party, KTR has been resorting to baseless criticism against the Congress party. He said it was Congress President Sonia Gandhi who granted statehood for Telangana. He said KTR would have stayed in the US if Sonia Gandhi would not have given Telangana State. He said instead of being thankful to Sonia Gandhi, KTR has been targeting the Congress party.



VHR also ridiculed KTR's claim that TRS was contesting the GHMC elections alone. He said that the ruling party was having an open alliance with the MIM and it has been issuing statements to mislead the voters. He said that the TRS would meet the same fate as of BJP in Delhi and Bihar elections.









News Posted: 7 January, 2016








Midnight Stroke: Malladai Vishnu Arrested By SIT Team

Vijayawada City Congress president and former MLA Malladi Vishnu was arrested by police on Midnight in related to spurious liquor case that claimed lives of five daily wage workers.



Vishnu is accused No. 9 in the spurious liquor case booked against him at the Krishnalanka Police Station. The Congress leader has gone absconding after the incident on December 7. Vishnu who was absconding since the incident took place recently appeared at his home in Vijayawada. Vishnu and his brother were arrested and stationed in Krishna Lanka Police Station.



Vishnu fearing the arrest has applied for bail but the court instructed him to attend to SIT investigation and refused his anticipatory bail.Vishnu was questioned by police long hours since yesterday and finally he got arrested.



Investigation report clearly said liquor was adulterated using Methyl Alcohol so that customers get more intoxication. The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Vijayawada Commissioner of Police Gautam Sawang.











News Posted: 7 January, 2016








Tehran, Iran, Jan. 7

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Afghanistan is willing to import one million metric tons per annum of gas oil from Iran, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said.

Speaking after a meeting with Afghan Minister of Trade and Industry Homayoun Rasa in Tehran, Zanganeh said the two countries will continue talks about the prices of oil products, SHANA news agency reported January 6.

Afghanistan used to receive $100 for each metric ton of gas oil imported from Iran with no privilege over other countries, but the issue is going to be amended, he said.

Iran is currently exporting 200 thousand metric tons of gas oil to Afghanistan, which is also seeking 200 thousand metric tons of LPG for which the price has to be settled, according to the Iranian official.
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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 7

By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:

Ashgabat hosted political consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Turkmenistan and the Czech Republic, said the message of the Turkmen government.

The sides expressed mutual interest in expanding cooperation within the framework of international organizations.

The issue of activating relations within the framework of Turkmenistan-EU format became a separate topic of discussion.

Turkmenistan is one of important partners for the EU in the field of energy security. Deliveries of gas from the Caspian region to the EU countries will allow diversifying the sources of raw materials supply.

Turkmenistan could join the "Southern Gas Corridor" through the implementation of the Trans-Caspian Pipeline Project, which is expected to be laid along the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan, from where the gas can be transported to the European markets.

Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world after Russia, Iran and Qatar on natural gas reserves, according to BP. At present, Turkmenistan exports gas to China and Iran.

Ashgabat put forward a number of international initiatives to ensure reliable supplies of energy carriers to world markets.
These acts of simple kindness and the quiet, respectful way these people  from Syria, Libya, Iraq, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Bangladesh and Pakistan  were treated are in strong contrast with Australia's approach. The question of "stopping the boats" has become a narrow-cast focus for a much larger issue that involves the lives of millions of innocent people caught up in some of the most intractable, violent conflicts this world has seen. Abu Jabar (right) and Um Jabar in the Turkish city of Izmir before they made it to Germany. Credit:Ruth Pollard The Italian government faced this when it started its short-lived Mare Nostrum rescue program in the Mediterranean Sea when thousands started fleeing from Syria, Iraq and beyond through Libya towards Europe. In 2014, Mare Nostrum rescued 140,000 people. Italy cancelled the mission due to the high costs of the operation  estimated at 9 million ($13.5 million) a month  and criticism from its European allies about the rescue operation acting as a "pull factor" for desperate people. Hundreds of people died as a result.

A Syrian family covered with thermal blankets walk after they arrived from Turkey at the Greek island of Lesbos in October. Credit:AP And even with the rescues cancelled, those desperate people kept coming. During the first four months of 2015, the number of people dying at sea reached new heights. By the end of March, 479 refugees had drowned or were missing, and in April 1308 people drowned or went missing at sea, compared to 42 the year before. A sign at the Wesley Uniting church in East Maitland. Credit:Ryan Osland My country, Libya, is at war ... my message is, 'I need peace.' ... I just want to live in a safe place and have peace in my country. Rafaa, a Libyan fleeing to Germany

This grim toll led European Union leaders to agree to increase their operations, including the participation of naval vessels from several EU states in Operation Triton, run by Frontex, the European border agency. Frontex relies on member states to supply staff and equipment, and it often falls short on both fronts. Ali Deeb from Latakia in Syria walks towards the refugee camp he is staying in near Braunschweig, Germany. Credit:Kate Geraghty Tens of thousands rescued Even so, tens of thousands of refugees have been rescued this year by Operation Triton and the combined efforts of private organisations and NGOs such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has had two rescue boats in the Mediterranean, and the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, the Norwegian Society for Search and Rescue and Sea Watch, each of which have one boat.

In the Aegean Sea  the most popular route for Syrians fleeing via Turkey to Greece  the Turkish and Greek coast guards have rescued tens of thousands of people this year alone while other small groups like Proactiva Open Arms, a volunteer group of Spanish lifeguards, have pulled thousands of people from the sea off the coast of the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios. A local stands next to a pile of discarded life jackets after the arrival of refugees and migrants to the Greek island of Lesbos. Credit:AP At least 806,175 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, arrived in Greece this year. A further 150,317 arrived in Italy, according to the International Organisation for Migration, who announced this week that more than 1 million refugees had arrived in Europe in 2015. It is the highest flow of refugees and migrants since World War II. Many of the Syrian refugees Fairfax Media has met in the last year are now living their first bitter winter in Germany, like the aspiring chef Ali Deeb, whom I first met on a rescue boat off the coast of Libya in late August.

The 21-year-old, who left Syria to escape both compulsory conscription into the Syrian armed forces and pressure to join the local opposition militia, had made his way to the German city of Hannover along with his childhood friend Ahmed, Ahmed's sister and her husband. They all applied for asylum. "I could not do any of it  I cannot go into any army because I cannot kill anyone," he says of his decision to flee. They were sent to a reception centre in Braunschweig, where he stayed for two months. Then, suddenly, he was told he must move. As a single man, Ali was sent to a city in the north, his friend Ahmed and his family were sent to another town in the south. Now he lives in an apartment with 11 other people.

"It is a very crowded apartment, there are four people in each room, but this is a temporary situation," Ali says, with characteristic optimism. Each month, he makes the six-hour journey south to visit Ahmed, and in the meantime they wait for their paperwork to make it through the German system, go to language class and worry about the friends and family they left behind in Syria. For Abu Muaad and his wife Um Muaad, who only arrived in Germany on December 15 after risking the rough winter swell in the Aegean Sea with his brother Abu Jabar, his wife Um Jabar and their cousin Abu Khalil, the world is a much safer but unfamiliar place. Their passage from the Turkish coastal city of Izmir to the Greek island of Lesbos was thrown into doubt after Turkey signed a $US3.2 billion deal with the EU aimed at stemming the flow of refugees, prompting the arrest of hundreds of refugees, including Abu Muaad and his family. They were released and vowed to try to cross the Aegean again. For days I heard nothing from them  it was unclear whether they had been arrested again trying to leave Turkey or whether they had fallen victim to the sea, as at least 10 people do every day.

Finally, on December 7, word came through  they had made it to Greece. Eight days later they were in Berlin and now, Abu Muaad says, they are in a refugee camp awaiting housing. "Germany is very nice, but our home [in Syria] is better," he says of his beloved home town of al-Shaddadi, which was all but unrecognisable when Islamic State took over 18 months ago. He and his wife insist they want to return to Syria as soon as it is safe, and plan to use their time in Germany to study and work so they can return home to rebuild their shattered country. 'People are dying' For 35-year-old Rafaa, a Libyan from the besieged city of Benghazi, the decision to leave his home became more urgent as the violence surged around him.

"They are fighting between each other, people are dying and there are no civilian services in Benghazi," Rafaa says. "The hospital is closed  the kids didn't go to school because it is not a safe situation in the city. "My country, Libya, is at war  my message is, 'I need peace.'" Rafaa Younis from Libya outside a refugee camp on the outskirts of the small town of Hilbersdorf in Germany in September 2015. Credit:Kate Geraghty When Fairfax Media tracked down Rafaa  who had been rescued from the same boat as Ali Deeb off the coast of Libya  he was in a refugee reception centre in the German city of Chemnitz, 280 kilometres south of Berlin. "I just want to live in a safe place and have peace in my country," he said, as the rain began to fall outside his temporary home.

With Europe's land borders sealed, people are forced to pay thousands of dollars to smugglers and risk their lives in leaky, overcrowded boats on the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Even the rough waters and freezing weather of winter have not stopped the flow. Everyone involved in these rescue operations acknowledges that, in the long term, rescuing refugees from unseaworthy boats is not the solution to the global humanitarian crisis we are facing. But until a solution is found, they say, it is the only way. The alternative is unthinkable The alternative is unthinkable  leaving people trapped in countries where their own government drops hundreds of deadly barrel bombs on civilian market places, schools and hospitals, enslaved by IS, or condemned to a lifetime of conscription in an army run by despots. Jouri weeps as her aunt recounts their family's journey after they were forced to flee their home in Syria. Credit:Alice Martins

Once they flee these intolerable conditions and until European governments have agreed on a safer and more humane way to deal with the mass movement of people, the only alternative is to rescue them at sea and facilitate their crossings at land borders. International aid agencies such as Medecins Sans Frontieres as well as the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have worked to fill the gaps left by governments. But these governments have avoided developing any coherent policies to deal with the mass movement of people, allowing some refugees (Syrians and Iraqis) to cross their borders while leaving others to sit out the freezing winter in makeshift camps. Some countries, such as Slovenia, have built fences to keep people out. They have also failed to usefully participate in a solution to the Syrian civil war, one of the major causes of the global refugee crisis the world is facing. Britain and France are now bombing IS positions in Syria while Russia, in an aggressive bid to prop up the unflinchingly violent regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has already killed hundreds of civilians in its two-month long campaign of air strikes on mostly opposition-held areas.

Far from bringing the war in Syria closer to an end, three new countries conducting air strikes in the already decimated country have forced even more Syrians to flee. And even now we are not at the crux of the refugee crisis, because Europe  despite all the hand-wringing and hype  is not its epicentre. Turkey is host to the world's largest number of refugees, with more than 2 million Syrians taking shelter inside its borders. Four million flee war Syria is the source of the largest number of refugees in the world, with more than 4 million people forced to flee a war that is now in its fifth year, with a death toll of at least 200,000 and rising. Of those, at least 1.6 million are children.

Almost one out of every four refugees is Syrian, with 95 per cent living in surrounding countries, the UNHCR says, while Syria also has the largest number of internally displaced people, at 7.6 million. In Lebanon  a tiny country compared to Turkey, with a deeply dysfunctional government  nearly 1.5 million Syrian refugees now make up a quarter of the population, while in Jordan there are at least 654,000 refugees.Pakistan is hosting 1.51 million refugees, according to the UNHCR, while Iran has 982,000. The enormity of those numbers should put the European refugee crisis in perspective, and it should highlight the hard-heartedness of Australia's decision to take in a modest extra 12,000 Syrian refugees while leaving 827 people to be detained indefinitely in horrific conditions in Nauru and on Manus Island. In Europe, in stark contrast to their governments' dithering, many Europeans have spent the last few months showing compassion and an enormous practical capacity to welcome those arriving in their countries. From welcome signs written in Arabic at train stations to citizens offering to drive refugees across borders, arriving at reception centres with blankets, warm jackets, teddy bears and beanies, to those assisting with the rescue of people coming by boats, Europeans have responded mostly with kindness and empathy.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:

After a meeting with Danish foreign minister, Iran said that Maersk Group, which is cooperating with Qatar in North Dome, is interested to be involved in Iran's Caspian projects.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters Jan. 5 that Maersk wants to develop Iran's deepwater hydrocarbon reserves in the Caspian Sea.

Denmark's Maersk Group told Trend on Jan. 5 that it confirms energy-related negotiations with Iran, adding that "nothing has been agreed and we cannot share further details".

Zanganeh said in the sidelines of a meeting with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen that Tehran is holding talks with Maersk Oil for developing Iran's oil fields.

While responding to a reporter's question about the oil fields in development of which the Danish firms will participate, Zanganeh said they are interested to cooperate on Caspian fields, meanwhile Iran wants the cooperation to focus on development of South Pars gas field's oil layer.

South Pars (called North Dome in Qatar) is the world's biggest gas field with 30 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, joint between Iran and Qatar, was divided to 24 phases on Iranian side. Iran is currently seeking a foreign partner to develop the oil layer of this giant gas field.

The field is divided to four sections - A1, A2, B and C. Estimated oil production for all of them is 65,000 barrels per day. Drillings have been completed and production is waiting for a floating storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

Maersk has experience in building FPSOs. It has in recent years invested in two new world-class modern technology FPSOs of which the first unit was delivered in 2008 and is operating offshore Australia. The other unit was delivered in 2010 aiming for its long term contract offshore Brazil. The remaining part of the fleet operates in the North Sea and off the West Coast of Africa

Caspian Sea

Coming to Caspian Sea, Iran has several projects to offer to Maersk, but not as much priority as South Pars.

On the other hand, Maersk has experience in Caspian Sea in drilling sector. The company has delivered a highly efficient deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig in Azerbaijan - the first drilling rig in the Caspian Sea for Maersk Contractors. The rig was named 'LIDER' at a ceremony in Baku on July 24, 2003.

The 'LIDER' is the largest and most powerful drilling rig in the Caspian Sea capable of drilling in water depths from 75 to 1,000 meters, which enables the rig to operate in approximately 40 percent of the Caspian Sea.

In November, Iran introduced newly designed oil and gas contract, called the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), offering 50 fields for foreigners to participate in them.



Iran has offered four projects in the Caspian Sea, blocks 24, 26 and 29, as well as the Sardar-e Jangal oil field to foreigners for exploration and development.



Iran has divided its exploration area in the Caspian Sea to 46 blocks of which eight have priority. Iran has previously carried out 3D seismic operations in 4,000 square kilometers of the Caspian Sea at blocks 6, 7, 8 and 21 from 2003 to 2005.



Iran also announced in 2012 that while drilling a 1,000-metre well below the surface of the Caspian Sea by the Amir Kabir drilling rig, the country found a gas field at the depth of 700 meters. A year later, Tehran announced the field (Sardar-e Jangal) was in fact an oil field with a gas layer.

Below are the technical details of the above mentioned fields:



Sardar-e Jangal



This field is located at block 6 with dimensions of 24 x 6 kilometers in 750 meters water depth. Iran has drilled two exploration wells and reportedly the field holds two billion barrels of crude oil, with an API of 39.



Blocks 24, 26, and 29



Block 24 is located 130 kilometers north of the Nowshahr port and has a depth of 600-800 meters and a 200-square-kilometer area.



Block 26 is situated 100 kilometers north-east of the Anzali port and has a depth of 850-900 meters and a 384-square-kilometre area.



Block 29 is also located 135 km north of the Nowshahr port and has a depth of 800 meters and an area of 1028 square kilometers.

Dalga Khatinoglu is an expert on Iran's energy sector and head of Trend Agency's Iran news service
Motorists can expect lane closures on Bindubi Street in Belconnen this month as a new $21 million joint emergency services hub is built at Aranda.

But ACT Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Dominic Lane hosed down concerns the building work would cause a repeat of the traffic chaos caused by construction of the Tuggeranong fire station at Tharwa this time last year.

Artist's impression of the $21 million joint fire and ambulance station to be built at Aranda.

The temporary closures will be between Belconnen Way and Bardi Place at the northern end of the street from Monday, January 11 to Friday, January 29.

The closure is to allow for contractors to connect utilities such as water and sewer supply to the new Belconnen Ambulance and Fire and Rescue Station.
The actions of a man who spent five days behind bars for sending his ex a happy New Year text after she took out a protection order against him have been described as "sheer stupidity" by his lawyer.

But lawyer Paul Edmonds secured his client's release on bail on Thursday, after arguing he had already spent more time in custody than he would face if sentenced.

Lawyer Paul Edmonds described the text as an act of "sheer stupidity". Credit:Tanya Lake

"If we are going to lock people up for five days for stupidity alone ... then, your honour, we will need to build many, many more jails," Mr Edmonds said.

The 20-year-old is facing allegations of common assault against his former partner, with whom he split about a year ago.
North Korea's claim to have detonated a thermonuclear device on Wednesday  though unverified  is a jarring reminder of the international community's abysmal record in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In 2015, in a major breakthrough in non-proliferation efforts, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union persuaded Iran to agree to eliminate its stockpile of enriched uranium and reduce the numbers of its gas centrifuges. But in the meantime, it appears the North Koreans (who are already thought to have stockpiled up to 27 atomic weapons) were working at acquiring a hydrogen bomb, a device many times more powerful than a conventional A-bomb.

The implications of a thermonuclear-armed North Korea in a region where political tensions are rising were spelled out succinctly by UN secretary-general (and former South Korean foreign minister) Ban Ki-moon, who called the test "deeply troubling", and "profoundly destabilizing for regional security". Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop echoed that assessment, describing the test as a threat to international peace and security. Even China, North Korea's only ally, appeared dismayed, with a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman saying her country "strongly opposes this act".

As ever with new developments in the Hermit Kingdom, there has been more speculation than informed comment about this development: some commentators have suggested it was intended to antagonise the United States, about which the army has recently spoken in more disparaging terms than usual. Others have theorised that Pyongyang was using it to thumb its nose at China. The second hypothesis is the more plausible.

Despite supreme leader Kim Jong-un's proclivities, and the fact that North Korea is effectively bankrupt, China remains a willing underwriter of the regime, as it has been for 60 years. Such indulgence has been attributed to Beijing's desire to maintain the nominally Stalinist state as a security buffer, and its belief that an erratic North Korea serves some useful purpose in distracting and discomforting South Korea, Japan and the United States.
The challenges faced by counterterrorism authorities are numerous. They include determining whether a person jailed for terrorism-related offences  and now due for release  has been deradicalised by imprisonment, or is just faking it; determining whether persons returning from war zones, like recently returned Australian Ashley Dyball, have been illegally involved in conflict (they invariably claim to have been engaged in humanitarian work); establishing whether a person has bomb-making knowledge, and; determining whether a young Muslim trying to depart Australia has been accessing Islamic State briefing material on how to get to Syria.

One technology seems to have the potential to provide national security authorities with important indicators as to a person-of-interest's likely involvement in terrorism  and even his or her level of radicalisation. It's been labelled "brain fingerprinting" technology, though a less confronting and more marketable title for the technology might be "Memory Scanning").

Illustration: Louie Douvis

What, might you ask, is brain fingerprinting?

It is a forensic science technique that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to determine whether specific information is stored in a subject's brain by measuring electrical brainwaves based on the brain's response to words, phrases or pictures presented to it on a computer screen.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced on Tuesday that it had successfully tested another nuclear bomb, its fourth since 2006, and independent reports of man-made seismic activity inside the Hermit Kingdom seem to confirm the claim.

There's no real North Korea policy in place in Washington; the Obama administration has pursued a strategy of "strategic patience," which essentially amounts to waiting for either North Korea or its benefactor China to voluntarily do something productive. So when North Korea forces Washington to pay attention, even if it's only for a few days, all the US government can do is grieve. And it happens in all five stages. (With apologies to psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.)

Stage 1: Denial

The US government's first reaction to any North Korean nuclear test or missile launch is to acknowledge reports of the incident but defer comment until all the data comes in, which can take days. The US Geological Survey has already announced a 5.1-magnitude seismic event near the site of previous nuclear tests. But even so, it will be hard to confirm that North Korea successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, as Pyongyang claims. This allows the world to briefly live in denial that the Hermit Kingdom has made a significant technological leap since the last test in 2013.
It's a matter of manners I wondered how long it would take before the phrase "politically correct" would be trotted out. Barnaby Joyce should understand that thinking before one speaks and trying to communicate respectfully is simply good manners. Mr Briggs and Mr Dutton have demonstrated a lack of respect for women with their comments and actions. I personally hope that politicians will exercise caution when they open their mouths and not confuse a lack of respect with "speaking frankly". Cathy Healion, Seaford 'Blokey' talk perpetuates problem Barnaby Joyce's explanation for Peter Dutton's behaviour  just a bloke talking to another bloke  does not resolve the problem; rather, it is the problem. As long as some men believe it is OK to think this way and to say such things to other men, so long as you don't get caught out publicly, the problem remains.

Keith Harvey, Nunawading Keep it under wraps Barnaby Joyce may be "ready" to be Australia's next deputy PM, but is Australia ready for him? The Coalition may just be handing the opposition a gift with Joyce's succession. Some may perhaps wish that the gift should be kept wrapped. Malcolm Turnbull might be one. Greg Tuck, Warragul Real-life Utopia

The government is planning to spend $28 million on advertising its innovation agenda (The Age, 6/1), on top of other outlays on promotional advertising. This is the ABC TV program Utopia made real. The government is putting a lot of taxpayers' money into a marketing program but in reality doing nothing. A culture of innovation cannot thrive without an active local manufacturing industry and an educated workforce. It certainly won't happen if the government limits its contribution to feel-good advertising and announcements. Mr Pyne and Mr Turnbull must take real steps to head off our drift into a torpid post-industrial society. As a simple example, $150 million would probably have kept the motor industry and its associated skills base here. Australia will remain in the third world of innovation unless the government tackles the problems that require long-term commitment. Colin Simmons, Woodend Two sides, one issue The discussion in The Age over recent days relating to declining conditions in aged-care facilities and the increasingly derelict nature of state parks in Victoria would seem to be dealing with two different subjects. Yet when we consider that both are in part a consequence of decreased expenditure at the top two tiers of government, the connection becomes clear. The problem of course is the government's aversion to collecting more revenue and spending it in areas where the public still demands. Aged care and parks are only the latest examples. There will be others as the mania for decreased government intervention in traditional spheres of activity marches on.

Greg Bailey, St Andrews Care places in demand The aged-care survey by Bentleys Chartered Accountants had only a limited number of participants out of the nearly 2700 facilities in residential aged care ("Aged care slides, profits soar", The Saturday Age, 2/1). As its survey is only available for purchase, I will refer to the survey by the federal government's Aged Care Financing Authority, which is more authoritative and comprehensive and is publicly available. It showed variations in financial outcomes but highlighted the importance of viable providers of aged care that are able to invest in quality service. ACFA points out that the residential care sector will need to build approximately 76,000 additional places over the next decade to meet demand. Capacity to meet this target will require the industry to be profitable. The Aged Care Guild takes exception to the implication that the increase in Federal Aged Care Funding Instrument expenditure could be attributed to "rorting" by operators. Furthermore, recent reforms to the aged-care sector have unleashed clear improvements in regulation, infrastructure, technology, training and consumer choice.

Cameron O'Reilly, chief executive, Aged Care Guild Anonymity called for And, Ian Baker (Letters, 7/1), judging by the many letters from relatives so concerned about their family members in these aged care facilities that they baulk at providing their names to these letters, presumably due to the fear of repercussions, not much "care" is going on either. Deborah Morrison, Malvern East Rethink train policy

Living near a suburban railway, I concur with Professor Harry Blutstein ("Sleepless in Melbourne as trains go all night", 7/1). Most train drivers exercise consideration on the very early morning trains; on rare occasions, a long loud blast wakes us. As an avid supporter of public transport, I request a review of train horn policy, taking into consideration sound, duration of the signal, the time of day, and whether the crossing is minor enough to warrant no signal during sleeping hours. Kevan Porter, Alphington PC gone crazy If Jean Kirkwood's underlying message (Letters, 7/1) is that we should respect one another and not be so keen to call each other names, then she has my unmitigated support. To suggest, however, that to call someone "mad" is to cause offence to the mentally ill is surely political correctness gone ... dare I say it? Simon Zebrowski, Kew

Martyrdom won't help The Chris Gayle incident says a lot about us as a people. Gayle was disrespectful to a female reporter. He embarrassed himself and has been appropriately rebuked. We could have left it there. Instead we have gone in as hard as we possibly can. When Adam Goodes rightly called out a young girl for racial abuse, we did the same thing. The officials over-reacted and a lot of the opprobrium subsequently directed at Goodes was fuelled by the perceived poor treatment of the girl. If we want to educate young men to respect women, making a martyr of the offender is not going to help. Gayle was in the wrong. Clearly. Enough said. Tony Newport, Hillwood Study the culture As a volunteer in an Australian government aid program, I am required to undertake training on the cultural diversity of the country where the assignment is being held. Failure to pass means you don't go; or if you don't adhere to the expected cultural standards, you are sent home. Melbourne Renegades CEO Stuart Coventry said of Chris Gayle's behaviour that "it could be a cultural thing but it is unacceptable here in Australia" (The Age, 6/1 ). If he means that it is acceptable in the West Indies, then that's another matter but when an international sportsman on a large contract is in Australia, he should adhere to Australian cultural standards.

Alan Johns, Queenscliff Time for a ban North Korea's actions highlight the huge threat from nuclear weapons. The US is spending more than $355 billion in the next decade bolstering its nuclear arsenal. Russia's planned expenditures are opaque, but doubtless substantial. While there are more than 15,000 of these weapons in existence, the threat of their use  accidental, by extremists or by a nuclear nation  hangs over the world. The Australian government consistently undermines developments at the United Nations towards a ban treaty. We have bans on biological weapons, chemical weapons and land mines and 84 per cent of Australians support nuclear disarmament. It is high time our government supported a ban treaty. Dr Margaret Beavis, Medical Association for Prevention of War Protect these people!

Much is being made of the actions of some senior politicians. What is overlooked is that such criticisms in themselves display a prejudice against stupid people employed in positions way beyond their competence and social sensibility. When will the government establish a commissioner to protect the interests of (particularly) Coalition MPs who are dull, insensitive and out of their depth? Peter Baird, Clifton Hill The heat goes on On Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology released its annual climate statement showing 2015 as the hottest year globally on record. Every year since 1985 has had an above-average mean temperature. Fourteen of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred since 2000. In November and December, world leaders met in Paris to finalise a global agreement to cut greenhouse gases. While I'm pleased our government signed up to the "high ambition coalition" (which pushed for an upper limit of warming to 1.5 degrees), there is a disconnect between that ambition and current policies, which have us on the path to an increase of at least 3 or 4 degrees. Approving mega coal mines, coal port expansions and still seeking to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency are not in keeping with the Paris Agreement.

Tony Smith, Sale Fuel adds to fires Phil Ingamells continues to mislead in his crusade against fuel reduction burning (Letters, 6/1). Mark Adams highlighted the indisputable fact (Comment, 5/1) that better forest management can help prevent bushfire disasters. Sadly, the serious neglect of the Otway forests, with the consequent build-up of fuel to extreme levels, was a critical factor in the recent serious fire. Planned burning on a sufficient scale, at the right time, is a proven way of reducing the intensity of a subsequent bushfire. Unfortunately, the task of forest managers will now be even harder, given the government's recent decision, following pressure from Mr Ingamells and others, to abandon the modest hectare target for fuel reduction as recommended by the Bushfires Royal Commission after Black Saturday. Peter Flinn, Dunkeld

Track the arsonists I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only CFA firefighter who'd like to see anybody even under suspicion of arson wearing an electronic surveillance bracelet from one end of summer to the next. A breach of their civil liberties, perhaps, but civil liberty must seem the most hollow of apparitions to a parent watching her family die by fire. Adrian Hyland, St Andrews AND ANOTHER THING Politics

A timely reminder that Barnaby Joyce could be our Deputy PM. Malcolm McDonald, Burwood It is often said we get the politicians we deserve. Sometimes it is hard not to think that the preselection process is far from perfect. Ian Collings, Highton Chris Gayle

Has Peter Dutton sent a thank-you text to Chris Gayle for moving him out of the spotlight? Bob Speechley, West Brunswick The issue of Gayle's rudeness would not have caused a ripple if the interviewer had replied to the drinks invitation by saying, "OK. Can Mum come too?" Graeme Lee, Fitzroy Furthermore

The chronic underfunding of Victoria's national parks is symptomatic of how little society values the natural world. Christine Grayden, Phillip Island I wonder if the scientists bothered to ask the Aboriginal people in the Kimberley what they call the "newly discovered" fish before naming one Tim Winton? Jo Whitehead, Queenscliff Could it be, Garry Meller (Letters, 7/1) that raising prices for a poorer service is designed to destroy the business and give the government the pretext to abolish Australia Post?

Tony Ferguson, Preston One registered nurse for 90 residents (Letters, 6/1). Can we please somehow put nurses back into nursing homes? Wendy Savage, Black Rock So let's get this straight. We are told we need to work into our 70s but we are also being told we shouldn't be driving after 70. Stephen Dinham, Surrey Hills
Heavy metal fans lost one of their greatest icons over Christmas with the sudden and unexpected death of Motorhead frontman, Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister.

Celebrating his 70th birthday on Christmas eve, the former rock legend learnt he had an aggressive form of cancer on Boxing Day, and shockingly passed away three days later.

After learning the sad news, tributes from fans immediately poured in from all over the world but one has captured the imagination of fellow fans more than most.
Australia's main weather information services from the Bureau of Meteorology went down on Friday morning, affecting everything from temperature readings to radar imagery for airports.

A "major network problem" disrupted services this morning, one bureau staff member said, adding that technicians were working to fix it.

Systems are being progressively restored, a spokeswoman for the bureau said, adding that it was a "physical networking issue" and was not caused by hacking.

"Contingencies are in place to communicate severe weather information," the bureau said in a statement.
Mr Truss is considering his future and there is speculation he could resign within weeks.

Senator Wong was responding to a Fairfax Media report in which Mr Joyce confirmed he wants the federal Nationals leadership, and position of deputy prime minister, should Warren Truss announce his retirement.

He may be "entertaining" but maverick Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce is unfit to hold Australia's highest office when the Prime Minister is absent, acting opposition leader Penny Wong says.

While Mr Joyce, the Minister for Agriculture and member for New England, is considered a good "retail" politician who relates well to people, there are doubts over his nous in serious policy areas such as economics.



Senator Wong on Thursday said even Mr Joyce's own colleagues had expressed concern about him becoming Nationals leader.

Deputy Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Andrew Meares

"Barnaby is pretty entertaining, but he is also erratic, and he simply doesn't have the sober and sensible approach to do public policy that the Australians expect from the holders of high office," Senator Wong said.



Erratic behaviour was "the last thing you want in someone who is one step away from being the PM and who is called upon to act as PM regularly."

Senator Wong cited Mr Joyce's "entertaining" time as opposition finance spokesman, when he mixed up billions and trillions and was repudiated by Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens for saying Australia could default on its debts.



"If he can't hold down that job, I don't know how you hold down the deputy prime ministership," Senator Wong said.

Mr Joyce told Fairfax Media if Mr Truss stepped down he would "throw my hat in the ring".
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Anakhanum Hidayatova - Trend:

Saudi Arabia is hardly interested in a full-scale war with Iran, and leading Western players won't allow direct clash between Riyadh and Tehran, says Nadana Fridrikhson, political analyst, journalist and expert of the 'Cube' analytical center.

"By aggravating relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia probably tries to draw the attention of the Western countries," she told Trend Jan. 6.

"I think that Saudi Arabia didn't accidentally choose the beginning of 2016, this is an attempt to restore the status quo - Iran would be under sanctions, as Moscow-Tehran-Damascus axis would get defused," she said.

The expert doesn't rule out that the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia is aimed at the results of the presidential election in the United States.

"A presidential race is underway in the US. Many believe that the Republicans will win, and they criticized Obama's decision to remove sanctions from Iran," she added.

"The conflict will be protracted, but the 'red line' won't be crossed," the expert said. "The Saudis will try to discredit Iran in the eyes of international community."

"Despite the harsh statements of Tehran over the Shia cleric's execution, Iran is limited in actions. Removing the sanctions is a higher priority for Iran, but the Saudis are adding fuel to the flame. The termination of the truce in Yemen was announced again, and the Saudi King had met with Turkish president. It is obvious that Riyadh intends seriously to disarm Iran and its allies in the region, making a path to Syria for itself (and its coalition)," said Fridrikhson.

"Saudi Arabia will not back down, because too much is at stake, and Riyadh is concerned that the Syrian crisis will be controlled by Russia and Iran," noted the expert.

"The West may act as a mediator in normalization of relations between the parties, but Saudi Arabia will agree with the West's conditions if it promises to leave Tehran under sanctions," said Fridrikhson.

As for Russia's actions in Syria, Fridrikhson believes that Riyadh has a trump card against Moscow.

"This includes both financial 'hook', and Saudi Arabia's ability to have a destructive impact on Russia's North Caucasus region," she added. "In principle, this was announced by Saudis on the eve of the Sochi Olympics."

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, by the Kingdom along with other 46 people, which was followed by a strong protest from Iran.

Mass protests took place in Iran following the execution. In particular, the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran and the consulate in the city of Mashhad were attacked, after which Riyadh broke off diplomatic ties with Tehran on Jan. 3.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum
Emergency services in two states were severely stretched as they responded to natural disasters: bushfires in West Australia and floods in New South Wales.

An out-of-control blaze in West Australia has consumed more than 11,000 hectares south of Perth, destroying properties, farms and vineyards.

Waroona and Preston Beach were threatened by a fire started by lightning. Credit:Annemarie Bell.

Authorities warned the fire is unpredictable, and lives and homes were under threat both from the main fire and from spot fires caused by burning embers.

Department of Parks and Wildlife senior planning officer Colin Ingram confirmed the loss of the sheds, fences and bridge and the damage to powerlines  1600 homes were without power.
We are only a little way into the 21st century, and the signs of global warming are clear. Even so, the latest finding really surprised me. By burning huge quantities of fossil fuels, we humans have actually tipped the Earth off its axis by a tiny amount.

Each year since 2005, our global warming activities have shifted the spin axis from its previous path (by centimetres).

Man  through global warming and the melting of ice  has shifted the spin axis of our planet. Credit:NASA

We humans now shift as much dirt as all the rivers on Earth added together. It comes to about 20 billion tonnes a year  mostly coal, followed by iron ore. This is a huge amount  but by using carbon dioxide, we moved an amount of water 30 times greater. We melted ice on land to water, which then relocated all over the entire planet.

As the Earth spins on its own axis, the position of the north pole is not dead true  it wobbles a little. The Earth is not perfectly spherical. It's a bit flattened at the poles, and bulges at the equator.
Hope is fading that a passionate sailor and well-known Sydney project manager will be found alive, after he was swept from a yacht in raging seas off Broughton Island during Wednesday's wild weather.

Malcolm Lennon, 62, remains lost at sea, presumed dead. He had been at the helm of the 36-footer Amante in rough conditions while returning from competing in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour yacht race.

Malcolm Lennon, who is still missing after being swept off the yacht Amante.

Police confirmed that the search for Mr Lennon had become a recovery operation after two helicopters and marine rescue personnel scoured the area. He was last seen on Wednesday and again on Thursday without success.

It is believed Mr Lennon was not wearing a life jacket.
A fire at a Sydney childcare centre that triggered the evacuation of 78 children was caused by a recalled Samsung washing machine, authorities say.

NSW Fair Trading confirmed the Samsung washing machine's model number is SW75V9 - one of six top-loader models subject to a mandatory recall. It is unclear whether the machine was repaired.

Just after 3pm on Wednesday, fire crews tackled a blaze in the laundry room of an Only About Children day care centre on Brook Street in Coogee, as 78 children and 22 adults were evacuated. The rest of the centre was undamaged.

"The fire has caused water and smoke damage, confined to the laundry area. Fair Trading are aware that Samsung are attending the site today to offer assistance to the business and conduct further investigation of the incident," a Fair Trading spokeswoman said.
Water polo teams across Australia will be without their number 10 caps this weekend as a mark of respect to slain Brisbane athlete Cole Miller.

Scheduled matches for the 18-year-old's club, the Brisbane Barracudas, along with the Queensland Breakers, have also been postponed, Water Polo Australia has announced, as the sporting community continues to come to terms with the promising young athlete's shock death.

Mr Miller suffered massive head injuries after being felled by a punch allegedly inflicted by 21-year-old Armstrong Renata in an inner Brisbane entertainment precinct in the early hours of Sunday.
Brisbane's recent high-end hotel boom has stretched to Fortitude Valley, with a new major brand hotel due to open its doors in a month's time.

Rydges Fortitude Valley general manager Matthew Hurley said the new hotel, under construction across the road from the RNA's Royal International Convention Centre, would welcome guests from February 9, after about two years of construction.

Artists' impression of the new Rydges Fortitude Valley lobby. Credit:Artist impression

"A lot still has to be done," he said.

"We're just hitting that very busy period with a lot happening on the site every day."
New data shows that 9862 people touched on with their myki last weekend outside of regular services during the Night Network debut run.

The one year trial of the 24 hour train, tram and bus service began last weekend. Credit:Penny Stephens

Last weekend saw the beginning of a 12 month trial of 24 hour trains, trams and buses on some routes on weekends.

Nearly 10,000 Victorians used new 24 hour train, tram and bus services in the wee hours of Saturday and Sunday during the first full weekend of the Night Network.

The Labor government says the data is only preliminary because it does not take into account people fare evading, using trams in the free zone or people using myki passes.

The government says the number of people shows a good take up of late night public transport with the nearly 10,000 people representing more than a 300 per cent increase in patronage, compared to NightRider bus services in October 2015.

Before the launch of the Night Network, which was previously known as HomeSafe, a survey of 1000 people found 91 per cent of people were likely to use 24 hour service during the year long trial.

The survey also found 90 per cent of respondents saying that affordable late night transport was the biggest benefit of Night Network.

It has not been all smooth sailing for the start of the Night Network with residents along train lines complaining about trains using their loud horns all night, keeping people awake.
A cruise ship with more than 2000 tourists aboard has docked in the small harbour city of Portland in south-west Victoria, as one of the more curious and protracted industrial disputes in recent Australian history evolved into a waltz of the sea lanes.

The sacked crew of Alcoa's cast-off bulk carrier the MV Portland agreed to sail their ship out to anchor in Portland Bay to make space for the P&O ship Pacific Jewel to tie up at Portland's lee breakwater wharf.

Crowds at the Portland seafront for the arrival of the Pacific Jewel. The MV Portland is in the background. Credit:Tony Wright

The crew has for 55 days been refusing to sail the MV Portland from Portland to Singapore, where it is to be sold for scrap.

With the dispute at a stalemate, the vessel has remained docked in Portland harbour for almost two months.
The growth in value of outstanding toll warrants outstrips that of all other warrants, including for other traffic offences, and accounts for the bulk of the increase in the value of outstanding warrants. Illustration: Matt Golding. Increasingly, toll debt cases are dominating and clogging Victoria's courts. And they are set to grow exponentially as the existing toll roads are widened and the network extended, including through Transurban's proposed Western Distributor. Pressure is mounting for reform. "The justice system was never built for that," says veteran western suburban community lawyer, Denis Nelthorpe. "And the courts and magistrates are struggling unbelievably with it."

They aren't the only ones struggling. Julian had commuted to work through periods in 2013 and 2014 unaware, he says, of the toll rules. And the couple also moved house. Toll notices mailed did not reach them for months, by which time Julian had run up 183 infringements - a total of more than $50,000 in tolls, fines and fees. Familiar story Georgia and Julian had agreed to a payment plan of $120 a fortnight. But over Christmas 2014 they defaulted, a mistake that led to yet more fines. Their story is familiar one.

In another recent case a toll road user racked up $100,000 in outstanding toll infringement debt. A magistrate this year gave him 80 years to pay off the debt. The final payment falls due when the offender is 130. A current case involves a Gippsland man with $450,000 in infringement debt, most of it toll-related.



The ballooning figure for outstanding toll warrants suggests the penalties are failing to act as a deterrent. It also raises questions about the state's role as debt collector and enforcer for private tolling companies, an arrangement put in place in the mid-1990s by the Kennett government as part of the CityLink contract. By contrast, when customers fail to pay service providers such as Telstra or Origin Energy, or retailers such as Harvey Norman, these are civil matters between the company and its customers. Rarely, if ever, do such customers end up with penalties of $50,000 or $100,000 for failing to pay bills.



Victorian Greens consumer affairs spokeswoman Ellen Sandell has called for an investigation by the Ombudsman into the "ridiculous" debts. "Victorians should not have to live with the stress of huge debts and the threat of going to prison when all they did was drive on a toll road." The big hit in fees The tolls themselves make up a small fraction of the large warrant figures, often under $10 each. The big hit comes from the multiple administrative fees included in invoices for each unpaid toll from Transurban (CityLink) and ConnectEast (EastLink), and then additional fees by government agencies Civic Compliance and the Sheriff's Office, as unpaid tolls evolve into infringements, enforcement orders and warrants.

Mr Nelthorpe says he and his legal colleagues across Melbourne - and especially those in the catchment areas for CityLink and EastLink - have noted a big increase in recent years of toll road users facing court. Many of the offenders are not what he describes as the "usual suspects"  court regulars with histories of mental health issues and/or alcohol or drug abuse. "What we're seeing quite often is first-timers, including middle aged women, who have virtually never had a parking ticket before. That indicates a system was out of control and potentially broken". Often the people concerned - like Georgia - have been affected by one-off or short-term problems such as a death in the family, illness or loss of a job.

'I was struggling with being a first-time mum' Late in 2015, lawyers pleaded at the Werribee court to show lenience to Georgia, who has suffered postpartum depression. "I was struggling with being a first-time mum when I defaulted on the payments," she says. "I was so wrapped up in every little problem I had with the baby, I didn't even realise I had defaulted for two months." The court agreed to waive much of her debt but insisted she pay $1200, a small proportion of the total sum but a substantial amount nonetheless for a young family with big challenges. Mr Nelthorpe says the non-payment of tolls should be matter between the tolling companies and toll road users. And he says that follow-up invoices should generate one administrative fee per offender to keep the overall penalty within reason. "For many people, the bigger the amount the less they are inclined to face it," he says.

Georgia says the multitude of fines and the size of her toll debts only compounded more pressing personal problems. "I think I was in denial. Honestly if you've been living your life and someone comes up to you and says, 'You owe us $57,000', it's a ridiculous amount of money. Do they really expect a 24-year-old to be able to handle the stress of such a large debt, let alone be able to pay it?" Government doesn't acknowledge problem To date the Andrews government has shown no interest in tackling the escalating toll infringement debt. Nor does it even acknowledge a problem. Acting Attorney-General Jane Garrett simply stressed that 99 per cent of those who used toll roads did so legally. A department spokeswoman stressed that tolls were well publicised and "motorists actively choose to drive on toll roads".
By Claude Salhani-Trend:

Iran and its neighbor Saudi Arabia are currently engaged in a war of words and throwing around promises of retaliation which includes "divine intervention," as each side lays claim to having God on their side.

But as the voices get louder and the accusations grow there is always the danger that the situation may spin out of control and this very cold war could turn into a hot conflict.

As things stand neither side really wants to take things to the next level. Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia, despite the great animosity and distrust that exists between them, neither are prepared to go to a full scale military offensive.

The Saudi-Iranian squabble is reflected on more than one level. The difference between the two countries is political, religious, social, tribal, cultural, economic and territorial.

Politically, the two countries differ greatly. Iran is a theocratic republic. Although the country is ruled by a supreme leader who hails from the clergy, Iran is still a republic, where the people get to vote for a president.

Saudi Arabia is governed by a ruling royal family.

Religion: Here too, the two countries differ. Despite both countries being Muslim, Iranians for the most part are Shia, and Saudis are mostly Sunni, although there is an important Shia minority living in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Tribal: Iranians for the most part are Persian, whereas Saudis are Arabs.

There are great differences between the two on a cultural level as well, each having a rich cultural background filled with poetry and literature and the arts, the Iranians in Farsi and the Saudis in Arabic.

Iranians are Persian and the Saudis are Arabs. And in both instances the history is tainted with stories of vengeance and blood.

If the antagonists ever did come to lose their minds and their reason and resort to open warfare it would be a disaster regardless of who wins or who loses.

With that in mind how would the two countries fare from a military perspective?

Overall Iran has more people than Saudi Arabia; 80 million versus 27 million, giving the Islamic Republic an edge over its rival simply based on figures alone. The Iranian military is also more battle tested and ready then its rival Saudi Arabia. Iranians have experienced recent combat in Syria; then again the Saudi Arabians have been fighting in Yemen.

Iran has currently more than half a million men in the military, compared to Saudi Arabia's 233,500. Furthermore, Iran can call on 1,800,000 reserves, where as Saudi Arabia can only call up to 25,000.

Saudi Arabia however has the edge when it comes to air superiority, with 675 airplanes compared to Iran's 471. Saudi Arabia has been able to equip itself with the latest in air warfare with the US, France and Britain providing it with combat ready airplanes and training for its pilots. Iran on the other hand was under international sanctions for years and has had to cannibalize it's aging air fleet just to keep its planes in a flying capacity. Saudi Arabia possesses 236 attack fixed wing crafts while Iran has only 119.

Is it ever came to ground warfare Saudi Arabia can throw into the battlefield some 1,210 tanks against Iran's 1,635.

When it comes to artillery Saudi Arabia is outgunned by Iran's 2,078, with the Desert Kingdom possessing only 432.

An Additional danger if it ever came to armed conflict between the two countries, is the distinct possibility of having to constantly expand which countries such as Turkey and the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council jumping into the battle to help out Saudi Arabia.

What is largely unknown for the moment as if push came to shove how ready is Iran's nuclear program and would Iran deploy tactical warheads taking region and quite possibly beyond into a very dangerous area.

The temptation for both sides might well be to resort to limited escalation of the conflict involving a limited military response in order to hike up the price of oil currently at its lowest selling around $30 a barrel. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran would stand to profit from any increase in the price of oil. That however would be pouring oil over the fire quite literally.

Claude Salhani is a senior editor with Trend Agency. You can follow Claude on Twitter @Claudesalhani
Boston: Following reports that 80,000 customers of a Western Ukraine utility lost power for six hours following a cyber attack last last month, a quasi-governmental US electric industry group last week advised members to review network defences.

The attack, at Ukraine's electricity provider Prykarpattyaoblenergo, is one of the first documented that attacks infrastructure affecting civilians.

The attack on the Ukrainian power plant is a "milestone". Credit:Paul Johnston

The Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, or E-ISAC, urged members to "do a better job" at implementing multiple layers of defence against potential cyber attacks, saying the incident appeared to be the result of a "coordinated effort by a malicious actor." The US Homeland Security and intelligence agencies are also analysing computer code from the attack.
One of the victims of a mass sexual attack in the German city of Cologne has described the terrifying moment a mob of more than 30 angry men surrounded her and her friends and groped and robbed them during New Year's Eve celebrations.

Another woman recounted how her underpants were literally torn from her body during the apparently coordinated attacks outside the main train station in Germany's fourth-largest city around midnight on December 31.

Cologne police say they have now received more than 90 complaints of robbery and sexual assault, including two accounts of rape, at the hands of hundreds of men who targeted the young women in the crush of revellers.
The vests were fake, according to Associated Press, citing Turkish reports. They were made of a material that becomes heavy when soaked and would have caused their wearers to sink.

A man and his child - both wearing real life vests - struggle to shore after arriving at the Greek island of Lesbos. Credit:AP

But for the unlucky refugees who would have bought roughly 1200 life vests being manufactured in Izmir, Turkey, that was a false promise.

In the chilly, rough waters of the Aegean, tricky under the best of circumstances and downright treacherous in a flimsy migrant boat, a life vest can make the difference between life and death.

Turkish police raided the workshop in Izmir - a port city that is often a departure point for migrants hoping to make it to Europe - and found workers stuffing the jackets with packaging rather than buoyancy aids, according to the BBC.

Of the four workers, two were young Syrian girls, the BBC said.

More than one million migrants traversed the Mediterranean in 2015, most of them from Syria and most travelling from Turkey to Greece. The sea voyage is just one dangerous step of an impossibly perilous journey.

According to Hurriyet, a Turkish daily, Syrians tend to congregate in Izmir while they seek passage on a smuggling boat - and the funds to pay for it. They stay in cheap hotels, or else on the street. They take work if they can find it. They eat what they can, if they can. They wait for the smuggler's phone call that often comes in the middle of the night: "We're leaving now."

Since smugglers don't generally provide life jackets, migrants must acquire them on their own. A properly made jacket costs up to $US150, according to the BBC. An improperly-made jacket may be as little as $US15, but has almost no hope of floating. Many migrants, strapped for cash but desperate for some semblance of protection, will still buy them.
When the ice opened for the last time, the local inhabitants urged the ships' captains to get out before it returned and trapped the whalers against the north-west coast of Alaska for the deadly Arctic winter.

It was September, late in the season, but the wind had always kept an escape channel open that time of year. Plus, the whaling was finally going well. The Yankee skippers decided to wait.

An anchor can be seen on a video provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Credit:NOAA

It was a poor decision, which could have claimed hundreds of lives.

On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that it had discovered the wrecks of two of the 32 ships that were crushed by the ice that late summer of 1871 in one of the 19th century's worst whaling disasters.
A series of talkbacks have been announced to follow upcoming performances of Staceyann Chin's MotherStruck! at Culture Project's Lynn Redgrave Theater.

Directed by Cynthia Nixon, MotherStruck! follows Chin's journey to motherhood as a single woman, lesbian, and activist who does not have health insurance or a "serious, stable financial set up," but wants to have a child. Told through Chin's uniquely personal and poetic lens, the show explores how the process changed her life and how she makes peace with what she learns from this profound experience.

The talkback series will kick off after the 4pm performance on Saturday, January 9. Playwright and performer Chin will be joined by her daughter, Zuri, to discuss their popular Living Room Protests series on YouTube, as well as walk audience members through a day in their lives.

On Wednesday, January 13, Chin, director Nixon, and producer Rosie O'Donnell will discuss their collaboration on the project, with a focus on the themes of motherhood presented in the play. January 15 will find Chin and O'Donnell in a discussion about Planned Parenthood, featuring Alexis McGill Johnson, the board chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Adjoa Tetteh, who represents Planned Parenthood in New York City.

For tickets and more information, click here.
Volkswagen Likely to Buy Back 115,000 TDI Cars in U.S.







Washington DC January 7, 2016; The AIADA newsletter reported that Volkswagen AG assumes it will have to buy back about 115,000 cars in the United States as a result of the emissions scandal, reports CNBC.

Without citing its sources, Germany's daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the company expected it would have to either refund the purchase price of a fifth of the diesel vehicles affected or offer a new car at a significant discount. Volkswagen expects that the rest of the vehicles will need major refits, incurring significant costs for parts and a long stay at the garage as parts of the exhaust must be reconstructed and approved.

On Tuesday, VW brand chief Herbert Diess said he was confident the German automaker would reach agreement with U.S regulators to bring nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles into compliance with U.S. emissions laws.

In an interview with Reuters, Diess said fixing older VW cars equipped with 2.0-litre diesel engines would be more difficult than bringing more recent models into compliance. Some U.S. regulators and lawmakers have said VW may have to buy back older models.

Diess did not say whether VW was discussing that, but said he was optimistic an agreement with U.S. regulators would be reached soon. .
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7



By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:



Iran's Foreign Ministry has said the country's embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, was hit in an airstrike by Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari, condemning Saudi Arabia for targeting the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, said several guards of the embassy were injured in the airstrike, Iranian state TV channel IRINN reported Jan. 7.

Reportedly, the embassy building was also damaged in the attack.

Ansari, meanwhile, neither provided details about the attack, nor mentioned when the attack was carried out.

Over the past few days, the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, on Jan. 2.

Reacting to al-Nimr's execution, a group of hardline Iranians stormed Saudi embassy in Tehran, smashing furniture and setting fire to the building before being dispersed by police.

Officially, Iran expressed strong protest regarding the execution, and the fragile relations between the two countries started going even further downhill from there.

Saudi Arabia and its allies including Sudan, Djibouti, Bahrain and the UAE joined diplomatic action against Iran following the break into the embassy in Tehran.

Riyadh accuses Tehran of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab countries, including Yemen - something Iran has denied.



Earlier in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes against Shia backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Jammy warehouse deal for Yorkshire food manufacturers

A SELBY manufacturer of jams, chutneys and sauces has snapped up a 4,600 sq ft warehouse.

York Speciality Foods, which trade as Mercers of Yorkshire, have signed a five-year lease at By-Pass Business Park in Sherburn in Elmet, between Leeds and York.

The village has seen major brands including Pecan Candy Deluxe sign up for more space in what is becoming an industrial hub for the food industry in Yorkshire.

The company counts big supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys as well as independents and farm shops among its customers.

Mercers will join tenants including Wincanton, Portakabin and Reynolds Catering Services on the estate which offers 75,000 sq ft of industrial and warehousing accommodation.

The estate is owned and managed by G W Sissons & Son.

Director at Gent Visick, Paul Mack, said: We are delighted to see that By-Pass Park is once more fully letThis is also indicative of the wider market for industrial and distribution premises where demand has outstripped supply.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

An Iranian lawmaker has accused the US of provoking Saudi Arabia to target the Islamic Republic's embassy in Sanaa, Yemen.

"The recent hostile actions taken by Saudi Arabia against the Islamic Republic of Iran appear to be a result of the US and its allies' policies to create a crisis. Otherwise Saudi Arabia alone would not behave in such an impudent way," Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, an Iranian MP, told Trend Jan. 7.

He expressed hope that Yemeni people will respond properly to the Saudi airstrike on Iranian embassy in Sanaa.

"Saudi Arabia has taken the measure in Yemen so that the Islamic Republic of Iran would respond to the attack through Yemen," he added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said Jan. 7 the country's embassy in Sanaa was hit in an airstrike by Saudi Arabia.

Several guards of the embassy were injured in the airstrike and the embassy building was also damaged in the attack, Iran's state run TV channel IRINN reported.

Ansari, meanwhile, neither provided details about the attack, nor said when the attack was carried out.

Over the past few days, the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, on Jan. 2.

Reacting to al-Nimr's execution, a group of hardline Iranians stormed Saudi embassy in Tehran, smashing furniture and setting fire to the building before being dispersed by police.

Officially, Iran expressed strong protest regarding the execution, and the fragile relations between the two countries started going even further downhill from there.

Earlier in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes against Shia backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
CHICAGO  City of Chicago lawyers, after meeting with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, demanded the Laquan McDonald family bury the video showing the killing of their son by a police officer.

Emanuel said last month that Stephen Patton, Chicagos corporation counsel, briefed him towards the end of March about what the dashboard-camera video showed and about the proposed $5 million settlement with McDonalds estate. After that briefing, Pattons second-in-command, Thomas Platt, drafted settlement language to keep the dash-cam video hidden for at least several years, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast (PDF).

Michael Robbins, an attorney for the McDonald estate, balked at the demand.

The provision as drafted, that we maintain the confidentiality, of the materialsprincipally the dash-cam-videountil the criminal charges are concluded, which could be in effect for years, is entirely unreasonable, he wrote to Platt on April 6. Nor was any such broad sweeping confidentiality provision discussed during our meetings.

Ill call you, Platt wrote Robbins on April 7.

That was the same day that Emanuel was fighting for his political life in a runoff election after he failed to win 50 percent of the primary vote in the February. (Emanuel won with 56 percent against Chuy Garcia.)

Emanuel had maintained since McDonalds death that he has never seen the dash-cam video, but the emails prove the mayor knew exactly what the footage showed when city lawyers negotiated a deal that would at least delay the videos release. Attorneys for McDonalds estate sent Platt screenshots of the video and a detailed description:

After Laquan immediately spun to the ground, graphic puffs of smoke from ricochet shots establishes that Officer Van Dyke continued to fire his weapon for approximately 16 seconds after Mr. McDonald laid helplessly in the street.

Emanuels lawyers were offering $5 million in hush money to keep this hidden just weeks before the runoff election. And the biggest part of the dealthat McDonald family attorneys agreed to keep the video to themselves until criminal proceedings were concludedjust so happened to be inked the day after Emanuel was re-elected.

The first draft was sent to the McDonald estates lawyers by Platt on March 31. The draft said that the estate would only be free to release the video after potential charges were dismissed by a prosecutor or after a criminal trial was over. Emanuel and his underlings at the Law Department would have preferred this, because it meant the video would have been buried under lengthy legal proceedings that could have taken years.

On April 8, one day after Platts phone call, the McDonald estates attorneys suddenly agreed to keep the dash-cam video hidden. The only thing that changed in the settlement agreement regarding the video was the deletion of a line that said the estate agreed with the city releasing video would harm ongoing criminal investigations.

One week later, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the $5 million settlement in just 36 seconds. Emanuel banged a gavel to mark the approval and the endor so he thoughtof the greatest threat to his mayoralty.

Emanuel wrote in a December op-ed in the Chicago Tribune that the settlement couldnt be part of a cover-up because it was the McDonald familys attorneys who approached the city wanting to settle.

What was not mentioned by Emanuel is that those same attorneys first rejected, then somehow agreed to, the citys desire to bury the video until criminal proceedings had been completed.

Longstanding practice has been to release such material only after prosecutors and city investigators have finished their investigation, Emanuel wrote. The reason for that was to prevent potential witnesses from tailoring their stories to fit the evidence.

When asked about the discrepancy between Emanuels claim and the settlements final language, the mayors deputy communications director, Adam Collins, told The Daily Beast:

Weve been saying publicly for months that the city always intended that the video would be released as soon as the investigation is complete, he said. We have been clear all along that our intention was to release the video as soon as the investigation was complete.

Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the citys Law Department also said, since April of last year the administration has said publicly that the city always intended to release the video as soon as the investigation was complete.

But the settlement agreement never required the McDonald familys attorneys to hold the video until an investigation was completed. Instead, over the objections of the McDonald estate, Platt and the city pressed for language that would keep the video hidden far beyond the end of investigations and until as long as a criminal trial was concluded.

Not only do the emails show the effort to cover up what really happened to Laquan McDonald went to the top of the Emanuel administration, they also show the mayors office was pulling strings at the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), which, as its name indicates, should be independent.

A day after the settlement was approved, Emanuels deputy communications director complained to his staff that an IPRA spokesperson did not report to him before speaking to a New York Times reporter.

I found out a bit ago that IPRAs PIO talked to Monica [Davey] about the structure of IPRA and how they operate without checking in with me (and despite the fact I had already reached out to coordinate earlier in the day), Collins wrote on April 15.

The email is important because it shows that Emanuels office was not just suppressing information about McDonalds death, but also controlling how the agency responsible for investigating police killings speaks to the press about its own processes.

McCaffrey, the Law Department spokesman, defended coordination between the mayors office and IPRA.

Coordinating with city agencies on press statements is completely separate from IPRAs independent investigative work, which our office is not involved in, he said in a statement.

Emanuel told Chicago Tonight in a December interview that the system did not work in this situation because there was no transparency on the part of the Law Department, IPRA, or Emanuels top communications staffers, the emails show.

But the system is designed to control the message and not let the message control Rahm Emanuel.
Before Trevor Noah took over as host of The Daily Show, he indicated that Fox News would not be the target of his perpetual outrage in the same way it had been for Jon Stewart. But the conservative news networks on-air talent did something so egregious this week that he could not help but call them out.

Following President Obamas address on his executive action to combat gun violence, numerous Fox commentators called into question the veracity of his tears when he brought up the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 first-graders and six adults dead.

See that thing you're feeling right now? That pain in your chest, that comes from watching someone weep on national television, because he knows that society can do better than to file the shooting of children under shit happens. That feeling is how you know that you are human, Noah said after playing the clip of Obama openly crying on national television. No matter how opposed to Obamas policies some people may be or how cynical their politics, they have to at least acknowledge and respect the raw authenticity of that emotion. Or so you would think.

From there, viewers saw Fox pundits like Andrea Tantaros and others asking why Obama didnt show the same type of emotion after the Paris terrorist attacks and even suggesting that his tears were fake.

Are you fucking kidding me? Noah asked in disbelief. Shedding tears when you think of murdered children is not really believable? You know what, there is something here thats not really believable: the fact that the rest of us have to share the title of human being with you.

It was a level of sincere outrage that Noah had not yet displayed during his few months behind The Daily Show desk, and the fact that it was directed at Fox News made it all the more meaningful for regular viewers of the program.

Noahs words also put him in unlikely agreement with Donald Trump, who told Fox & Friends Wednesday morning that he actually thinks Obamas tears were sincere, adding, Ill probably go down about five points in the polls by saying that.
The U.S. military insisted Wednesday that it was was not surprised strategically by North Koreas test of a nuclear device. But Pentagon and intelligence officials admitted that they were caught off guard by the specific timing of the detonation.

One U.S. defense official told The Daily Beast that the Hermit Kingdoms test was a tactical surprise. But given North Koreas recent claims that it had developed a powerful hydrogen bomb, officials were expecting some kind of test. (Experts had dismissed the countrys claim last month that it had developed a true H-bomb, and the White House on Wednesday said that initial data from monitoring systems in Asia were not consistent with what one would expect to see from the powerful device.)

U.S. intelligence officials had also been expecting a potential test from North Korea in recent weeks, though its not clear that they had predicted the exact timing, either. There had been reports on this for months, one such official told The Daily Beast. But there was surprise that they [the North Koreans] had picked this particular day.

There was a lot of anxiety about a possible test last month among intelligence analysts and weapons experts, Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, told The Daily Beast.

There were some signals that the U.S. military wasnt fully prepared for an imminent test. One of its two WC-135 Constant Phoenix, a specialized nuclear-detection aircraft sometimes referred to as the sniffer, wasnt deployed from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska to Kadena, Japan, until Wednesday. That was hours after the reported test.

The WC-135 collects air samples and can identify radioactive materials, gases, and debris that may be released by a nuclear explosion.

Its not clear why the military didnt deploy the aircraft closer to the region sooner if officials were anticipating a nuclear test. North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions since 2006, when it first conducted nuclear tests. Since then, and following almost every subsequent test, the U.S. military has deployed the WC-135.

The defense official told The Daily Beast that the ground-based sensors in Asia collected air samples before and after North Korea announced it had successfully created a hydrogen bomb. Seismic monitors around the globe began reporting evidence of a possible nuclear detonation minutes after the test. And NBC News reported the U.S. military also launched drones over North Korea to collect air samples.

In addition, the American intelligence community maintains a constellation of spy satellites whose primary mission is to collect measurement and signature intelligence, or MASINTtell-tale electromagnetic signs of a nuclear blast, among other things. At least one of these satellite arrays maintains 24-hour coverage of areas, including North Korea.

So far, there has been no publicly revealed evidence that North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb.

The U.S. government judges North Korea to have conducted a nuclear test yesterday, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday.

The test itself appeared not to raise significant concerns in military and intelligence circles that North Korea now possesses the devastating weapon. A hydrogen bomb has a potential yield thousands of times larger than traditional nuclear weapons.

In the halls of the Pentagon, there was hardly a worry about the safety the 28,000 U.S. troops deployed nearby in South Koreaand whether they had been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

But it will take several days to determine precisely what exactly North Korea detonated, experts said. The sniffer aircraft will play a key role in that effort.

In 2010, the Congressional Research Service said it could help testing efforts to have more than one WC-135 available. (Of the two in the fleet, one is usually in a maintenance depot. Both aircraft are also more than 50 years old.)

Given the prospect that several nations, over a vast geographic area, might conduct nuclear tests, the CRS reported, it was important to be able to collect samples as soon as possible to narrow the region where the test occurred The quality and quantity of the samples diminishes over time.

The CRS also said it might be cheaper to use long-range drones, such as the Reaper and Global Hawk, instead of the large sniffer plane. Its not clear what type of drone may have been deployed in the most recent test. (In the past, the Air Force has also use the stealthy, secretive RQ-170 drone to monitor North Korea.) But the drones mentioned in the report can carry sensors that would collect air samplessamples that would be crucial to understanding Pyongyangs blast.

with additional reporting by Noah Shachtman
LONDONThe Labour Partys hapless left-wing leader is trying to stamp his authority over colleagues with a purge of the moderates, but his clumsy attempt at brutality has veered toward pantomimeleaving the plot to be branded the night of the blunt knives.

Jeremy Corbyns team spent weeks threatening to sack two high-profile members of Parliament who have openly contradicted the leaders far-left and pacifist policy positions. When Corbyn realized he would face outright mutiny if he went through with the threats, he settled on firing two lesser figures accused of extreme disloyalty.

If their heads were being placed on spikes as a warning the others, there was little sign that the rest of the party would be scared into submission.

Three members of Corbyns frontbench resigned in protest on Wednesday, while a senior party figure admitted to The Daily Beast, this is a complete and utter shambles. One member of Corbyns frontbench team told me that the leader wanted colleagues who would back his hard left political agenda regardless of the policy of the party or the views of the British public.

Those who were sacked this week disregarded decades of British convention during Cabinet reshuffles, which would have seen them disappear quietly into the night claiming that they were looking forward to spending more time with their families. Instead, they took to the airwaves to describe their sackings in great detail.

Pat McFadden, the shadow minister for Europe, said he had been fired for saying this to Prime Minister David Cameron in the House of Commons:

May I ask the Prime Minister to reject the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the west do? Does he agree that such an approach risks infantilizing the terrorists and treating them like children, when the truth is that they are adults who are entirely responsible for what they do? No one forces them to kill innocent people in Paris or Beirut. Unless we are clear about that, we will fail even to understand the threat we face, let alone confront it and ultimately overcome it.

Michael Dugher, a Labour shadow minister for the last five years, was also fired. On Wednesday, he wrote on Twitter: What reasonable, sensible person could possibly disagree with what @patmcfaddenmp said?

The people who disagreed were Corbyn and his inexperienced communications director, Seumas Milne, a Guardian journalist and the former business manager of a communist periodical. They felt McFaddens words were an implicit criticism of Corbyns sentiments. They were probably right. Corbyn has indeed sought to blame the West for the rise of ISIS and invited terrorists from the IRA and Hezbollah into Parliament.

The message from Labour high command was clear: Those clinging to the political center ground will be expunged.

The target Corbyn and his allies really wanted was Hilary Benn, who had humiliated his boss by giving a bravura speech in favor of bombing ISIS in Syria. Such a high-profile political assassination would have triggered an even greater revolt. Instead, Maria Eagle was demoted from her role as shadow defense secretary.

She believes that Britain should retain an independent nuclear deterrent. As it happens, that is also the policy of the Labour Party. But, crucially, it is not the view of Corbyn, who believes in unilateral nuclear disarmament. Eagle was replaced by Emily Thornberry, a former lawyer, who backs the view that the deterrent should be scrapped.

Kevan Jones, a veteran Labour MP, resigned from the defense team in disgust. [Thornberry] knows nothing about defense as far as I can see it, he said. Shes been put in there to agree with the leader.

Corbyn was elected Labour leader on a promise top introduce a kinder new politics. Even those who are sticking with him now beg to differ.

Wayne David, a Labour frontbencher who has not resigned from Corbyns team, said this was a very sad week for the party.

Clearly Corbyn wants a shadow defense team who agrees with him, not party policy, he told The Daily Beast. Jeremy is clearly enamored with the politics of the Stop the War coalition, which is a far-left organization.

David said he would remain loyal to Corbyn and his teamin spite of his obvious concernsbecause that was the best hope for the partys electoral fortunes.

Theyve got a heck of a lot to learn, he said. Ive decided to stay in there even though Ive had disagreements with Jeremy because I want to help Jeremy climb up that learning curve as quickly as humanly possible.

Winning the next election will be extremely hard, but that will depend on whether Jeremy is willing to work with and engage with people in a more positive way than hes done so far. The onus is on him to learn the lessons of the last 100 days and to make sure that the Labour Party is turned into a credible party of opposition, but also more importantly a credible party of governmentand weve a long way to go to do that.

The two sacked shadow ministers will return to the backbenches along with the three men who resigned. Thats another five senior figures added to the plotters, who are trying to come up with a way to depose Corbyn from the party leadership.

His opinion poll ratings are historically low, and he has the support of only a tiny minority of Labour MPs in Parliament, but under party rules removing him from office remains extremely difficult.

Ian Austin, Prime Minister Gordon Browns former enforcer, who remains in Parliament, said the new Labour leadership team was in a terrible state. God knowsIt would have been difficult to predict that anybody could conduct a reshuffle so badly, he told The Daily Beast. I wouldnt say I was an expert, but you wouldnt need to be an expert to work out that this is a complete and utter shambles.

Despite the difficulties, Austin believes an attempted coup to oust Corbyn is still a long way off. Hes the leader weve got, isnt he? he said. When I suggested that he didnt sound too happy about it, he laughed. Im overjoyed, jumping for joy!
For 24 hours, the leading Libertarian Party presidential candidate seemed like he was to the right of Donald Trump when it comes to Muslims.

In a Wednesday interview with Reason, the former governor of New Mexico said that sharia law is one of his greatest concerns, and that he would ban the Muslim head garb.

Under sharia law, women are not afforded the same rights as men, Johnson argued, adding that a burka hides whether a woman has been beaten. Honor killings are allowed for under sharia law and so is deceiving non-Muslims, he added.

On Thursday afternoon, Johnson recanted.

Admitting that his decidedly un-libertarian proposal rankled the feathers of many libertarians (and non-libertarians), Johnson told The Daily Beast: I would not sign that legislation because I think that it would end up being government intrusion on you or I.

Johnsonthe 2012 Libertarian nominee who garnered 1 million votessaid that, following the outrage, he discovered how France and Belgium already have such burka bans, and critics of the policy allege it results in police overreach.

If lawmakers replicated the bans stateside, Johnson worried, that could give the government free rein to infringe on individuals ability to wear face-covering garments that arent necessarily religious in nature.

I still have the concern with sharia law, and I still have the concern that a woman wearing a full-faced burka might, in fact, be someone who is subject to beatings, he noted, but I would not sign that law.

I gave Reason the honest kneejerk response and if Im wrong, Im wrong, he added.

My mistake, Johnson said. But I still have concerns about sharia.
Americas new favorite defense attorney is still fighting to win justice for Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, man Steven Avery, the subject of Netflixs hit docuseries Making a Murderer.

Speaking with The Daily Beast Wednesday night from Milwaukee, Averys former counsel Dean Strang challenged the supposedly damning evidence used to convict Avery in 2007 for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, despite the plethora of holes that have outraged viewers since the series debut.

This is a case where I think substantial, real, and reasonable doubts remain about whether an innocent man got convicted, declared Strang.

Earlier in the day, the bespectacled attorney found himself sparring with former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz on Fox News as both men argued over the case they debated, in and out of court, a decade ago.

Among the contested items of evidence: the bleach-stained jeans of Averys then-16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey, who told investigators in a controversially obtained confession that he helped Avery rape, kill, and burn Halbachs body; bones identified as Halbachs found in Averys burn pitbut which were most likely burned elsewhere, then moved; leg irons and handcuffs supposedly purchased by Avery which were never admitted as evidence in Averys trial; and *67 calls made from Avery to Halbach, who had requested she return to the Avery salvage yard after previously photographing the familys vehicle for Auto Trader Magazine.

Kratz, meanwhile, emphasized what he described as the cases most persuasive evidence: that investigators found Averys DNA on the hood latch of Halbachs RAV4, which had been discovered on the Avery property concealed in branches. The only problem: None of Averys fingerprints were found in or on the car.

Speaking with The Daily Beast, Strang scoffed at Kratzs conclusion.

Mr. Kratz feels aggrieved that the evidence of Stevens DNA on the hood latch, or under the hood, is left out of the film. But there were also no fingerprints there. If the DNA transfer was from his skin to the hood, where are the fingerprints? And you have, probably, both hands on the hoodpotentially eight or 10 fingers that could leave at least a partial print.

The fingerprint issue also raises questions about one of the prosecutions primary pieces of physical evidence, he says: Averys blood, found smeared inside Halbachs car, supposedly from a cut on his fingerand yet, no fingerprints.

You have a problem because if hes wearing gloves, hows he bleeding? said Strang, incredulous. Hows he bleeding externally? And where are the bloody gloves? That became a problem for the state because if hes wearing gloves, that explains why theres no fingerprints. But then, how is there blood? If hes not wearing gloves, blood could be dripping from a cut, okay. But then why are there no fingerprints?

Look, there arent always fingerprints, he continued. But that is a problem, because the state thinks he drove the car. You cant do that without grabbing the steering wheel. You cant turn the key in the ignition without potentially touching things. You cant open a car door without using your hands and leaving a fingerprint, potentially.

Unfortunately for Avery and co-counsel Jerry Buting, the defenses framing theorythat Averys blood had been planted inside the car by overeager law enforcement officers trying to ensure his convictionwas stymied in turn by four letters: EDTA. If Avery had been framed, the anticoagulant used for storing blood in vials should have been detected in the blood sample. An FBI test for the preservative, however, came back negative.

Initially we were told that the tests hadnt been done since the O.J. Simpson trial, that they couldnt be done, it would take weeks or months, said Strang of the FBI laboratory test the prosecution used to argue that there had been no tampering with Averys blood sample.

We had to have a hearing out of the jurys presence to see if it was going to be admissible, he said. We had no chance at that point to do independent testing, or even to react terribly well to it because were being handed the report during trial and then, boom[expert witness] Mark Lebow is on the stand the next morning.

At the time of Averys trial, Wisconsin state law did not require a Daubert test to hold expert testimony to a higher level of scrutinya standard he notes that the state did begin enforcing in the last few years.

Jerry did try to show that this wasnt even relevant evidencethat it didnt clear Wisconsins low bar [of admissibility], Strang explained. But the judge ruled against us on that. Jerry, in front of the jury, then tried to establish that there were reasons to view the FBIs hasty work as unreliable.

I think it was a point at which momentum shifted, he sighed. And maybe not fairly.

Strang and Buting also found their hands tied when they attempted to introduce four alternate possible suspects who might have killed Halbach. But Wisconsin case law requires defense to prove motive in said suspects, which they could not do.

That is a significant asymmetry, because the prosecution in a murder case and most other cases in Wisconsin never has to prove motive against the person on trial, Strang said. But Steven Avery didnt have any motive, either! He had nothing against [Halbach]. She hadnt done anything to him. There was nothing to suggest he had any motive or some reason to want her deadand the state doesnt have to prove motive.

Strang declined to identify the four unnamed possible suspects he and Buting proposed in their motion, or confirm that they were the quartet Avery later named in a 2009 appeal filing pointing to Dasseys brother Bobby, stepfather Scott Tadych, and Averys own brothers, Charles and Earl.

Ive never seen that filing, said Strang, who admits he unplugged soon after the Avery conviction citing the exhausting seven-week trial. It was prudent, then, for new lawyers to take up Averys cause post-trial. I dont want to undermine him, Strang said, declining to comment on Averys accusations.

Like every Making a Murderer obsessive, Strang took note of the revelation this week by filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi that an unidentified juror believes Avery was framed, and that said juror feared for their own safety if they did not vote to convict during the 2007 trial. He declined to comment on whether that jurors story might help spur a second chance for Avery.

He confirmed that he and Buting had concerns about the juror revealed to be the father of a Manitowoc County sheriffs deputybut not as much as they had over the six potential jurors they struck during jury selection, exhausting their maximum strikes. You dont pick a jury. All you can do is unpick the people you think are least fit to serve on the jury, he explained. But the concerns about six other potential jurors were greater.

Although he vividly remembers details of the Avery case, Strang discovered material hed never before seen regarding the Dassey case that clearly now troubles him. In the documentary, he expresses guilt over seeing Dassey drown in the legal system that would eventually send him to prison for life. The teenagers story is Making a Murderers more heartbreaking thread, as taped phone calls to his mother and footage of his confessional sessions with investigators indicate he has no concept of how badly hes incriminating himself.

Strang was particularly shocked, he says, watching video of Dasseys session with the investigator hired by his own defense. That attorney, Len Kachinsky, has since admitted to screwing up his own clients case by serving him up to federal investigators, whose taped interrogations of Dassey also alarmed Strang.

Why do we allow the police to pull a developmentally disabled, immature, unsophisticated boy out of class without his parents and take him off and interview him in a manipulative, psychologically sophisticated way with two intelligent adult menteamed up against a developmentally delayed 16-year-old, naive boy? Strang demanded.

How possible was it that Dassey, as the film suggests, instead fabricated the Halbach rape and murder scenario used to convict him because hed seen the movie Kiss the Girls? I think theres a good chance of that, said Strang. And the similarities are eerie. Thats a movie I think that would have made a pretty graphic impression on somebody his age. He probably shouldnt have been watching it.

There is one answer for the kinds of questions and inconsistencies that plagued both the Avery and Dassey cases, he says: reasonable doubt.

Guilt has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If there is reasonable uncertainty, we err on the side of liberty. There is a question here of whether that standard was really, faithfully appliedor whether the jury could, because of all the awful and largely inadmissible pre-trial information they heard over and over and over again in the more than a year leading up to this trial.

Strang hinted that he and Buting may return to Averys side to fight for a new trial that could exonerate Averyagain.Jerry and I both have always been in touch with Steven, on and off, said Strang, who now leads his own law firm, Strang Bradley LLC in Madison. Buting is a partner in Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C., an hour away in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Its clear that he probably needs formal legal representation [for] the specific, concrete things that a lawyer can do in the coming weeks and months.

It would depend on what he wants, for one, and two, whether any future legal steps might involve examining whether Jerry and I dropped the ball in some waywhether we were inadequate or the legal term is ineffective, in some way. If some possible avenue of relief might be raising questions about our performance or criticizing our performance then we shouldnt be the ones to do that.

Hes not going to be able to pay anybody, he added. Money isnt in the equation. But what is, right now in our eyes, is, whats best for Steven?

Strang readily admits he thinks its possible that Avery is guilty. But, he argues, If our system worked on convicting people on maybes, then everybody could pat themselves on the back and go out and have a beer, convicting a man on a maybe. Our system isnt supposed to work on convicting people on maybes.

In our system, if we live the values we profess, that means you get to keep your liberty, he continued. That means you dont spend the rest of your life in a cage. Could he be guilty? Sure, he could. Do I think he was proven guilty? No. Do I think theres a real strong chance he could be innocent? Yes. But thats just me. I wasnt asked to decide.
After allegedly savagely beating his bloodied fiancee, then leaving her to die, police say, the killer tried and failed to kill himself.

Fabina Maliza, 24, allegedly committed the first murder in New York City this year when he snatched the life of 19-year-old Joceline Romo on Friday night.

Maliza tried slashing his left wrist in a futile effort to end his life moments after the attack, law enforcement sources said. The slash wounds would later be deemed superficial.

However distraught, as police called him, Maliza had the wherewithal to seek help.

For himself.

Rather than call 911 to summon an ambulance and possibly resuscitate Romo, sources said Maliza chose to leave the apartment to dial his stepfather. Goodbye, he told him.

A heated quarrel may have triggered Malizas brutal attack on the young woman, who detectives later determined was badly bruised and bloodied, including in her lower bowel area, the sources said. She had hemorrhaging in her neck and suffered what a police source told The Daily Beast was ten or more blows to the head.

The citys Medical Examiner on Jan. 2 determined Romo died of homicidal violence including blunt force trauma of head and compression of neck.

Her demise came not long after she had told the world that she was about to walk down the aisle. Just two days before Christmas, Romo had been swooning after posting on her Facebook Page that she Got Engaged.

The same day, Romo posted a loving, ad hoc note outing her crush on the man who appears to be her fiance. Profile pics of her and Maliza are overlayed upon a black background with bubbly capital letters reading Te amo eres mi vida, which means, I love you. You are my life.

The note now reads more like an effigy, as does her profile photo, featuring the couple playing semi-tender, semi-serious in repose.

Her abbreviated New York story is fit with what appears to be visits to the Statue of Liberty and also long, gazing snaps of the skyline in various visual odes. Only a year ago, a wide-eyed Romo was in Ecuador, often taking selfies without her lover Maliza.

After the tragic news traveled to her native Ecuador, Jocelines older sister Elizabeth Romo updated her profile picture.

The image inspired friends to chime in. Im so sorry my queen beautiful be strong your little sis is in a better place, posted Katty Borja.

Karmensita Sameniego also added: She was a little girl super quiet. I love you so much friend

On her last night alive, she decided to spend it with her new fiance.

The pair had been partying hard on New Years Eve, law enforcement sources said.

Maliza, who was known by those who knew him as Andrias, showed up with Romo at a friends party nearby at around 9:30 p.m.

They reveled well into the early morning the following day, before calling it quits at 4 a.m., the sources said. Interviews conducted with the partys host confirmed that they were enjoying themselves and showed no signs of discord.

The couple eventually returned to their street-level Queens apartment on 86th Street near 91st Avenue in Woodhaven. The two had shared their home, a chopped-up subdivision where they rented a bedroom and shared a common space with other tenants, for the past two months.

But after leaving their friends, Maliza and Romo bickered and the night went south, sources said. Maliza told cops, according to sources, that the two decided to turn in around 5 a.m.

When he woke around 7 p.m. on New Years Day, according to the story Maliza told detectives, he discovered his girlfriend lying next to him lifeless, face down on their bed with an open bottle of prescription pills next to her.

He rushed to make the phone call to his stepdad, who, the source said, disregarded the goodbye as a legitimate suicide warning and told Maliza to meet him a few street blocks away from the home on Jamaica Avenue.

Maliza met up with his stepdad and together they returned to the apartment. The stepdad immediately called 9-1-1 at around 10:45 p.m.

Malizas sequence of events initially led police to believe that Romo overdosed. That was until authorities rolled her body over and found the slashes on the back of her handsalong with, sources said, blood spatter on the floor. All three said, the source, are consistent with signs of struggle.

Detectives initially quizzed Maliza at the scene and en route to get his self-inflicted wrist injuries treated at nearby Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Once he was given the all-clear, sources said Maliza made culpable statements about what happened that night.

Witnesses back at the crime scene didnt hear or see anything that night. There had been no fights recorded or any domestic incidents at the address, the sources said.

Maliza has remained in custody at a psychiatric ward where there were multiple scratches about the body and swelling to his right hand, according to sources familiar with his status.

The accused remains institutionalized, but is expected to be arraigned on second-degree murder charges, officials with the Queens District Attorneys office said.

It is unclear how long either Romo or Maliza had been in the U.S. Calls and emails to the attache at the Ecuadorian Embassy were not immediately returned.
President Obama said a lot about guns in his teary press conference Tuesday, but the one thing that he is not saying, despite all the howling from the right, is that he intends to take away Americans guns. Yet equally significant is the realization that individual citizens are unwilling to free themselves of the destructive weapons that are wreaking havoc on our society. Numerous Americans care more about their individual freedoms than our collective freedoms, and they are unable to see how these individualistic desires undermine the essential fabric of a democracy.

This democratic fabric includes the Second Amendment, which has been contorted, misinterpreted, and applied in a way that destroys its intended meaning and threatens the safety and stability of our nation. And as the president pointed out on Tuesday, this grotesque emphasis on the Second Amendment impairs other Americans ability to freely exercise many of the other 26 amendments.

As President Obama forges a lone path toward gun regulation, we must wonder how we as a society have arrived to a point where A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed has morphed into allowing individual citizens to possess firearms for their individual protection with little to no concern about the security of a free state.

It is well documented that gun sales and gun-related deaths have increased since Obama came into office, but the Supreme Courts 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (PDF), which opened the floodgates and redefined the Second Amendment, rarely receives mention.

The courts decision in the case went against 70 years of legal interpretations of the Second Amendment that stated in United States v. Miller that the obvious purpose of the Second Amendment was to assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness of the state militia, and the Amendment must be interpreted and applied with that end in view.

In Heller and then in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court in a pair of 5-4 decisions determined that federal, state, and local governments could not create restrictions that could prevent an individual the right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense. The intent of the Second Amendment had shifted from allowing citizens to own firearms so that they could band together in an organized and regulated militia run by either local, state, or federal governments to allowing citizens to own guns for their own purposes so long as they fell under the individuals definition of self-defense.

Not surprisingly, countless Americans purchased more and more firearms to protect themselves from the inevitable moment when the government or Obama was going to forcefully take their guns away. Not surprisingly a byproduct of this new interpretation of the Second Amendment has been a rise in unregulated militias or American terrorist groups who challenge the authority of federal, state, and local governments. Ammon Bundy and his posse of men who call themselves the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, who just this week forcefully took over a federal building in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, are just one such iteration of this emboldened unregulated militia movement in America.

The Oath Keepers, formed in 2009, are one of the largest unregulated militia movements in the nation, and regularly you can find them injecting themselves unnecessarily into conflicts. In Ferguson, Missouri, following the death of Michael Brown, Oath Keepers arrived carrying semi-automatic rifles so that they could prevent looters from destroying property, and many of them said that they saw nothing wrong with taking the life of a looter to prevent the destruction of property. They also advocated that Ferguson residents obtain firearms so that they could protect themselves from the police.

Instability, terror, and death are the inevitable outcomes of a heavily armed citizenry, yet in the 1846 case Nunn v. State of Georgia, an integral case that the Supreme Court used in the Heller decision, the state of Georgiamy home stateargued that arming citizens and allowing them to openly carry firearms created a safer environment. And the referencing of this decision only continues the Supreme Courts idyllic reimagining of Americas Southern states.

Georgia in 1846 was a slave-holding state where African Americans were counted as three-fifths of a person and were not allowed the right to vote. Firearms at this time were regularly used to keep blacks in line and sustain the Souths racist, oppressive society. Additionally, duels were a regular occurrence in the South during this time period. In this volatile environment, carrying a firearm out in the open actually did bring about stability. The reason for this was that carrying a concealed weapon was illegal. Therefore, the assumption within society was that most white men owned or carried a gun, so being able to see everyones gun made it less likely that anyone would be killed by a surprise bullet. Additionally, guns could not be removed from the society because they were needed to oppress, intimidate, and terrorize blacks in the state.

This was a society whose infrastructure and logic regarding social stability should no longer be applicable to modern society, yet in recent years it has been to disastrous effect. Democracy and valuing human life were not principles that were celebrated in the pre-Civil War South.

But far from rejecting that old logic, weve embraced it, and the application of the Souths antithetical principles have brought instability, danger, and a disregard for human life to rest of the United States. Armed and dangerous and unregulated militias are on the rise, in addition to the numerous lone-wolf attacks that befall schools, offices, shopping centers, and public spaces at a disturbing frequency.

Right now the Second Amendment is being applied in a way that takes away the rights of thousands of Americans each year. The president must address this crisis, and not only to ensure the safety and stability of the American citizens who are threatened by gun violence. He also must do it to preserve the ideals and institutions that govern our society that are being threatened by the archaic notions of stability from a racist and oppressive society and the unregulated militias of today that openly advocate armed conflict against the government.

Obama is not going to take away Americas guns. I would argue that he should, as countless Americans have displayed a gross misuse of the social responsibility that comes with gun ownership, except that using force to attempt to disarm people of their firearms might inevitably lead to more violence and bloodshed.

Gun owners should want to regulate and reduce their gun usage for the greater good, but our society is too consumed with the myopia of employing lethal force to resolve minor disputes that it cannot imagine an environment without widespread gun usage. And countless Americans are unable to see that their gun usage actually jeopardizes the very freedoms and liberties they have chosen to fight for and defend via the barrel of a gun.
The leading Kabbalist in the world is going to jail.

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is a celebrity in Israel and among financial and real estate elites in New York. A sage whose followers include the leaders of Israels business elite, Pinto is the descendant of Moroccan Jewish saints, a Sephardic hero, and a master of Kabbalah, the ancient tradition of Jewish mysticism and magic. His net worth has been estimated at $19 million, not including the vast sums under the control of his various nonprofit organizations.

He is also a felon, convicted of bribing an Israeli police general. This week, after exhausting what is probably his last appeala last-ditch effort to avoid jail for health reasonsit appears he is finally headed for prison.

Adding insult to injury, a $30 million defamation suit the rabbis organization filed against a reporter was dismissed by a New York court this week for lack of jurisdiction.

How does a Kabbalist, who by all accounts is indeed a devout man who practices what he preaches, become a multimillionaire?

Its the network. In New York, Pintos close followers include leading Jewish real estate magnates like Ofer Yardeni and Charlie Kushner, politicians like Anthony Weiner and Eric Cantor, Jewish leaders including celebrity rabbi Marc Schneier and Malcolm Hoenlein (the head of the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations), and even LeBron James.

Followers believe that Pinto has supernormal powers. Many said he can read minds. Others say he has the ability to bless everything from business ventures to political careersand to curse enemies as well. Like other Kabbalists, Pinto speaks only Hebrew, is soft spoken, and keeps his eyes partly closed, the better to detach from worldly concerns. He dispenses advice, blessings, and amulets. He is the descendant both of the famous Moroccan mystic Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, also known as the Baba Sali, and of Rabbi Haim Pinto, one of Moroccos most powerful rabbis. And he welcomes everyone: religious, secular, Jewish, non-Jewish.

But for a holy man, Pinto is surrounded by shady criminal elements, including outright crooks. In Israel, these include Yossi Harari, the head of the Ramat Amidar underworld gang, and mobster Shalom Domrani.

In the United States, they include Michael Grimm, the former Staten Island congressman convicted of tax evasion and perjury. Pinto was not directly implicated in Grimms crimes, but his close associates were; allegedly, they solicited donations for Grimms election campaign from Pintos network of followers in excess of legally allowable amounts.

There were also dubious characters within Pintos own organization. In 2011, The Jewish Daily Forward discovered that a top aide, Ben Zion Suky, had been a pornographer. Then they broke the news that Pintos Israeli charity had spent tens of thousands on a high-end hotel, fine mens clothing and jewelry, among other luxuries.

But as described in a 2014 expose by New York Magazine, the empire really began falling apart in 2011, when Pintos former aide, Ofer Biton, began to turn against him, with the help of high-flying publicist Ronn Torossian. Torossian threatened Pintos organization with a negative PR blitz, and then began to carry it out. Biton extorted cash. Eventually, both Pinto and Biton were working as informants.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities started investigating Pintos charities for misappropriation of funds, eventually arresting 10 employees. Thats when Pintos wife passed envelopes full of cash to the wife of police Brig. Gen. Ephraim Bracha, who had been a follower, in the hopes that Bracha would block the investigation. Unbeknownst to Pinto, Bracha was actually part of it.

Facing years in prison, Pinto took a plea deal last spring, and on May 12, he received the lightest sentence permissible under law: one year plus a fine. One month later, Bracha, who had been hounded by Pintos followers, committed suicide.

But Pinto fled to New York, pleading ill health. At the end of October, his organization proffered a weird, error-filled letter from a urologist, urging that the rabbi not fly back to Israel, even though the rabbi insists upon doing so. Followers assaulted reporters covering the case, and made threats to witnesses who had testified. But Pinto was sent back.

And now his last appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court has been rejected; the Court said that Israeli prisons can provide whatever medical care the 43-year-old rabbi needs.

As reported by the Jewish Daily Forward, Rabbi Pinto has framed his troubles in theological, cosmological terms. Last summer, he told followers: We are playing our part in a widespread battle, a holy war. And in a July 22 email, he said that he hoped that whoever was involved in this will come clean thus will prevent great suffering upon all the living and the dead.

It would be a mistake, though, to lump Pinto in with corrupt televangelists, sex-offending priests, and other wayward clerics. Pinto was responsible for the bribesthat is now a matter of lawbut he didnt give them personally. And Pintos organization clearly is filled with unsavory charactersbut the rabbi himself appears to lead a modest lifestyle, despite his great wealth.

All this makes the rabbi something of an enigma. Its possible that he is a cynical Svengali, a manipulator pulling the strings of power and confusing the credulous. Maybe the piety and the mysticism are all an act.

At the other extreme, maybe Pinto really is a pious, unworldly figure possessed of spiritual gifts but surrounded by men who take advantage of his naivete. Thats probably not right eitherbut most likely, the truth lies somewhere in between.

Pintos charities have spent millions of dollars on social services, and lavished hundreds of thousands on luxuries for staff. Pinto himself is a mystical sage and a canny operator. As the Kabbalah itself teaches, the good is mixed in with the bad.

Which is how a mystical rabbi can also be headed for jail.
Some 13 Iranian tourists sustained injuries when a passenger van carrying them overturned on Wednesday in vicinity of Van, Turkey, Irna reported.



The vehicle lost control on the icy road and plunged to a valley, IRNA reporter in Ankara said.

The 13 Iranian tourists and the driver of the van were sent to the nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Officials at Iran's Consulate-General in Erzurum told IRNA that the injured Iranian tourists are in good conditions receiving medical treatment.
It can escalate to a violent situation very quickly when you have armed groups that are willing to die for their cause, said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, who was a U.S. marshal in the 1993 standoff at a Branch Davidian Complex outside Waco, Texas.

We had no idea it was going to end up in a shootout.

The Feb. 28 shooting killed six Branch Davidians and four Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents. Sixteen more agents were wounded, and three helicopters were hit by gunfire and forced to land. What followed was a 51-day siege at the compound and an April inferno that burned 76 people alive, including 21 children.

The now-infamous cults leader, David Koresh, was known for claiming a divine right to have sex with girls in the community as young as 10 years old. When officials moved in on the Branch Davidians to serve search and arrest warrants, the shooting erupted. By mid-April, the blaze would kill nearly everyone inside, including Koresh (real name: Vernon Howell).

It was a very sad situation, McNamara said.

For law enforcement officials who worked at the compound in those days, the possibility of a violent end to Oregons current armed standoff, in which a group of protesters are occupying a federal building, seems far too real.

For all their differences, the two standoffs have striking similarities: federal officials working to figure out how to end it peacefully, locals unsure what to make of the situation, those inside saying theyre willing to die for their cause, and members of the press camping out waiting for the next development.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the sons of Nevada rancher and anti-Bureau of Land Management protester Cliven Bundy, are leading the occupation inside a wildlife refuge 30 miles outside the town of Burns. Ammon Bundy claims the groupwho now call themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedomswill stay there for months, if necessary. Wednesday marked the fourth day of the occupation. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a symbol of the federal land preservation policy that Bundys group is protesting, and he reportedly takes issue with federal control of the large swaths of land in the area.

Its the responsibility of the folks on the outside to make good decisions, said Larry Lynch, who handled hostage negotiations with Koresh during the siege. Lynch was a lieutenant with the McLennan County Sheriffs Office in 1993, and he went on to become sheriff before retiring in 2012.

Lynch, who negotiated the cease-fire that allowed ATF agents to retrieve their wounded during the first shooting, stressed that in any standoff, the armed subjects hold the tactical power.

Theyre the ones that are driving that train, he said.

When I sent troops into harms way, I wanted to make sure I had every advantage, Lynch added, explaining why patience is necessary in a standoff like the one near Waco. If we didnt have an advantage, we would back out.

McNamara said he would tell any officials involved in a large-scale armed standoff today: You need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and you need to be prepared if its a siege to wait it out.

He added, Hindsights 20/20. Nobody expected for [the Davidians] to open fire on ATF agents like they did.

In a Texas Observer interview that marked the 20th anniversary of the siege, FBI agent Byron Sage noted, [The Davidians] had an advantage because they were in a position of tactical superiorityin the building, concealed, and firing out the windows.

That advantage seems strikingly similar to a scenario in which armed protesters whom federal agents seek to negotiate with occupy a building.

Nobody had any idea it would be as long as it was or as deadly as it was, Sage, who worked with Lynch in negotiations with Koresh, told the Observer. I was fatigued emotionally, psychologically, physically.

Lynch said they were all surprised when the group set fire to the complex instead of coming out.

Vernon Howell had tremendous control over that group of people, Lynch said. When you allow your children to be herded into a room and to die, thats saying something.

More protesters are reportedly heading to Oregon, where Ammon Bundy and at least 20 others remain in the building, which was closed for the holidays when the protest began.

Its not clear how many so-called militiamen are now with Bundy, who told a CNN reporter that divulging the number at this point would jeopardize operational security.

Lynch said, Its always the goal of law enforcement to end a situation peacefully. Thats not always the goal of the people inside.

One of the Oregon protesters, who would only identify himself as Captain Moroni, told an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter, I didnt come here to shoot. I came here to die.
With a new national push to combat gun violence, the city of Seattle has begun to tax firearms and ammunition in an audaciously creative way to get around Second Amendment protections on guns. The tax has passed its first court test, signaling an approach that other municipalities could adopt, with a $25 tax on every firearm sold in the city, 2 cents on every round of .22 caliber ammunition, and a 5-cent tax for every other round of ammunition.

The tax went into effect on Jan. 1 after surviving a challenge from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups when King County Superior Court Judge Palmer Rubinson ruled in December that Seattle has the constitutional and legislative authority to impose taxeswhich, as s he noted, is separate from the citys ability to regulate guns.

City attorney Pete Holmes was initially surprised the NRA didnt ask for a stay in the judges ruling when filing its appeal Monday in state court. If the NRA sought constitutional relief, they would have appealed in federal court. But, from a legal standpoint, this isnt about the Constitution. Everybody assumes this is about the Second Amendment, but its not, and thats the story, Holmes told The Daily Beast in a telephone interview.

No one is telling you that you cant own or buy a gun, says Holmes. We believe we are in a safe haven. Were not regulating guns; were simply adding a tax.

In Seattle, satisfying the Second Amendment is easier for gun-safety advocates than clearing State Preemption, a legislative barrier that the NRA employs to block gun-safety regulation in some three-dozen states, including Washington. Its a short statute the gun rights lobby writes and then muscles through state legislatures; it says no other body, such as the municipal authorities in cities like Seattle, can regulate firearms. The NRAs Institute of Legal Action (ILA) churns out the statutes and lawmakers in state after state are happy to oblige.

And with so many state legislatures wholly owned subsidiaries of the NRA, its an effective maneuver. Holmes says it was the undoing of an executive order issued two Seattle mayors ago banning firearms in city playgrounds and parks. The Court overturned the ban not under the Second Amendment but under State Preemption.

So it is a big deal in Seattle that this modest tax is in place, and that the money it generates will go toward compiling data about gun violence and putting targeted intervention programs in place. After the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre of first-graders, Seattle funded a study that found people with gunshot wounds treated at Harbor View Hospital, the regional trauma center, are 30 percent more likely to return with another gunshot, or as a homicide victim.

The study was the first of its kind done by a city, and researchers found parallels with alcohol-related injuries in the early 1990s. Spending 20-30 minutes with patients injured in such incidents before releasing them to talk about risk and their chances of being readmitted paid off in lower re-admittance rates.

That is now considered Best Practices in all trauma centers when it comes to alcohol. So could Seattle do the same for gunshot victims? It was worth a shot, and when the seed money ran out for the gun-violence victim research and intervention program, then-City Council President Tim Burgess, a former Seattle police officer, proposed the gun-violence tax to fund continued efforts.

Not all proponents of gun regulation are fully supportive of the Seattle tax. Ralph Fascitelli, Board President of Washington Ceasefire and a longtime gun-safety advocate, praises the tax as a good morale boost but says it is more symbolic than significant because gun buyers can easily avoid the tax by going outside the city limits for their purchases.

He would also rather see the money raised go toward smart-gun technology than more research. Noting that his organization has given its civic leader of the year award to both Burgess and Holmes, he says, Theyre doing the best they can, but theyre like Houdini in a straitjacketgetting oxygen at sea level is success.

Asked for his response to the criticism, Burgess notes that the tax will raise $300,000 to $500,000 a year to fund research and prevention programs, which is hardly chump change. And while his friend Fascitelli argues smart guns are prevention, were not there yet, says Burgess.

Also, if people are counting, many millions are spent each year in uncompensated care at Harbor View to care for gunshot victims, and theres no tax anybody dares to imagine at this point that would cover that.

Seattle, like every city in America, is awash in guns, says Holmes. Were looking to do something to help reduce what is a public health issue. Automobile deaths are second to gun deaths in America for the first time in part, he says, because as a society we treated car accidents as a problem we could solve. Hed like to see the same approach to guns.

Im a hayseed from Virginia, Holmes says. I go hunting; I was on the skeet and trap team in college. I own guns. I want to be able to talk to my friends from the rural areas and tell them if you want an AR-15 in the country, you probably wont be doing much damage.

Washington is an open-carry state, but when a bunch of people with loaded AR-15s showed up at the states annual gay pride parade, Holmes says that spoiled the parade and alienated a lot of people.

Thats the kind of behavior that can get states with a deeply engrained pro-gun culture to embrace new regulations. Washington passed a ballot measure in 2014 expanding background checks. Gun groups protested the new law by coming to the state capitol in Olympia, brandishing their guns and loudly objecting until the lieutenant governor banned bringing guns into the state house.

Common-sense gun laws are the new refrain, and while they dont go far enough for some people, they look more achievable than they have in a long time. More regulations are inevitable, and the question now is how many cracks will it take in the NRAs facade for its cloak of invincibility to crumble.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

Trend:

A bomb exploded in a military training center in the Libyan north-western town of Zliten on Jan. 7, witnesses said, Al-Arabiya reported.

Preliminary report said the bomb exploded inside a vehicle, resulting in 46 deaths and injuries to over 100 people. Reportedly, the explosion occurred during a military exercise of some 100 people inside the center.

According to Al-Arabiya, there are no exact figures of the casualties.

---
The executive chef and founder of Madden's Casual Gourmet in Downtown Bryan has sold primary ownership of the restaurant, and a familiar face in the Bryan-College Station food scene has taken the helm.

Peter Madden has turned the restaurant over to Chef Tai Lee in order to focus more on family and Mad Taco, his other venture that opened last year in College Station. Lee has taken on Madden's in addition to his three other restaurants -- he's the executive chef and managing partner of Veritas Wine & Bistro and Paolo's Italian Kitchen, and also owns Chef Tai's Mobile Bistro.

Madden said he's been thinking about which direction to take his Downtown Bryan restaurant for several years, and with the building lease due to run out this year the decision on whether to sell and give control to a new owner or close needed to be made.

"When it came time to decide on trying to sell Madden's and going outside the market with a broker and them marketing to Houston or Dallas or elsewhere, I decided to give [Lee] a call, because he already has shown that he has an interest in having multiple restaurants with different concepts."

The deal has been in the works since late spring, and Madden's changed hands at the start of the new year.

On his third day as primary owner of Madden's, Lee said Wednesday that the transition has been smooth so far -- he's been a regular at the restaurant for 10 years and already knows many of the servers and staff, and it's a chef-driven establishment much like Veritas, so the dynamics are similar.

Lee said his hope is that diners won't be able to tell the restaurant has changed ownership -- the menu and recipes will stay the same, with Madden staying on as a consultant. Subtle changes will include the addition of online reservations, wine programs and collaboration dinners with guest chefs, and opening the restaurant for some holidays that fall on Sundays.

"I really did not want to turn Madden's into another Veritas," Lee said. "I really wanted Madden's to be Madden's and keep all the good, and only add some improvements to move it forward with greater flexibility and efficiency."

While Lee describes Veritas as serving avant-garde, new-age dishes, Madden's can rely on the "classics that it's famous for," and customers can rely on those "old goodies."

Madden and Lee got to know each other about nine years ago when they were both running food trucks in town. Lee said while they are both owners of some of the premier restaurants in Bryan-College Station and are competitors, Madden has always been more of a mentor and older brother to him. Madden expressed similar sentiments, saying he's confident Lee will be able to push the restaurant forward.

"He knows the business as well as I do, if not better, and he has had respect for me and Madden's for over a decade," Madden said. "His focus is to keep it as Madden's as possible, and will look at it with a fresh set of eyes."

As for Madden, he said the transition hasn't quite sunk in yet, but he's glad he now has the freedom to pursue expanding Mad Taco. He hopes to open a second College Station location soon.
A 24-year-old Palestinian man who immigrated to the United States as a refugee from Iraq in 2009 is accused of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS.

Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, of Houston, is also accused of falsifying his citizenship application by saying he was not associated with a terrorist organization and saying he had never received weapons training. Al Hardan allegedly received automatic machine gun training. He was granted legal permanent residence status in 2011.

According to federal officials, Al Hardan offered ISIS material support and training, expert advice and assistance and personnel.

Al Hardan is charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. He also charged with false citizenship procurement, which has a sentence of up to 25 years, and making false statements, which can bring up to eight years in prison.

Al Hardan will appear in court at 10 a.m. Friday in Houston.
With 70% of processed oil due to be exported to Singapore, China and Malaysia, the original rationale to supply domestic production appears to have been contradicted.

Tricked into handing over land for palm plantations

In deals struck with palm-oil companies, different communities in central and southern Palawan agreed to lease areas of their farm and forest land in return for a share of the income from the palm oil profits.

In other cases, local people leased parcels of land under their customary native titles to palm oil companies at low rents.

"We wanted to plant palm oil because the conditions were good - the conditions offered by the companies. But up until now, it has been six years and we have not received any benefits", said Graciano Muniz, tribal farmer from Aramaywan community [Baringay], in the municipality of Quezon in central Palawan.

In the seven years since the first leases began, none of the participating cooperatives have reportedly received a single payment, despite four years of harvest since the plants reached production maturity at around three years.

"The landowners were fooled by this company. To the extent that prior to that they had lands to till, they had lands to plant the crops for their living", said Rodiar Carlio, a member of the Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG), an NGO galvanizing resistance to the palm oil companies in Aramaywan and neighboring communities. He is negotiating with AGPI for a solution to the dispute.

Everyone is involved

Palm oil has increasingly entered the world's food supply chain in the past 20 years and is now found in a multitude of consumer items from biscuits to shampoo. Viewed by food companies as a wonder crop, the prolific harvests of palm fruit are rich in saturated oil.

However, palm crops have courted controversy wherever they have been grown. Huge swathes of the great tropical forests on the island of Borneo were felled to make space for oil palm plantations. Since then, cultivation has continued to spread throughout Southeast Asia - and even into Africa (where the wild oil palm originates) and South America - to feed an insatiable demand for the golden oil.

When sales teams from AGPI originally came knocking seven years ago, some tribal and farm communities were attracted to the high incomes the company promised relative to what they received for their dominant cash crop of coconut palm, which is still widely cultivated. So many signed over a proportion of their private farmland for palm oil cultivation.

Roberto Bardolassa is one of these farmers. He moved to Palawan in 2007 from Rizal Island to cultivate his wife's land. "At that time the company was organizing and looking for landowners to cooperate with their company ... so we decided to be their partner", Bardolassa said.

Lies lead to land grabbing

Bardolassa and his wife leased three hectares to AGPI, but have since regretted it. "I think that what has happened here is indirectly land-grabbing", he said. "If not why can't we till our own land? The rights of the poor people here - especially the farmers in Palawan, are being exploited by that crocodile Agumil."

Some elderly farmers told Mongabay that they found the scheme especially attractive because the company promised to arrange the plantation maintenance labor and provide a steady income that would ensure pensions.

"The original agreement - based on the conditions of the landowners and the co-op officials-meant there was a good possibility that we could improve our standard of living", said farmer Graciano Muniz. "However, we have not received those benefits."

Pasteur Motalib Kemil, tribal leader of the Tagbanua tribe in the municipality of Quezon, is Chairman of CALG. He told Mongabay that the 25-year contract was written in English, which the vast majority of farmers did not understand. He explained that officials from the tribal cooperatives often signed up on behalf of participating farmers and the title deeds for the land were handed over to the company for safekeeping.

Kemil says he is not alone in suspecting that the company has passed the farmers' land title deeds to the Land Bank of the Philippines (a government lender) as collateral to secure the loans used to set up the plantations.

Boy Soda, elected representative of the Palawan Tribe from Baringay Salogunin in Brooks Point told Mongabay: "We haven't received a single payment for rental of our farmland - it has all gone to the Land Bank that provided the loan. These farmers provided their land titles as collateral to the Land Bank and it takes 25 years to pay before they receive their share of the profits from the harvest."

Arcane contracts charge all costs to landowners - plus 14% interest



Land clearance and planting of the young palm-oil saplings was then billed to the farmers as a loan incurring 14 percent interest annually. Farmers complain that many of the contractual details were kept hidden from them.

Rodiar Carlio explained: "To our surprise even the officers of the cooperative had entered into a contract, they called it PTME, the Production Technical Marketing Agreement, and they initiated the management services agreement. But the signing of PTME was concealed before the general assembly. Even the officers who signed that contract had no total knowledge of what they were signing."

The farmers had expected that their income would begin once the palm oil trees had matured to harvest stage, around three years. They had not expected to have to pay the set-up costs and the onerous rates of interest from the Land Bank, and they claim they were deceived throughout the contractual negotiations.

"We are paying the company for the equity, for the services that they are giving the cooperative", Carlio said. "In our cooperative alone we owe the Landbank about 11 million pesos (US$237,000). Right now the interest is almost as much as the principal loan - another 11 million. With that 11 million plus another 11 million that is 22 million and then that is compounded annually at 14%.

"Under the contract the cooperative is required to pay all the debts for six years from the start of the harvest. But the cooperative, as we analyze, under the management of the company cannot pay its debts to the Landbank."

Motalib Kemil shares Carlio's opinion that once all costs are deducted from income accrued from the harvest, the farmers are unlikely to receive anything over the 25-year period, even if the company intended to make payments, which it shows no sign of doing.

Permanent loss of land feared as 'debt mountain' builds

Many of the farmers fear that the debt mountain they have been duped into accumulating will mean that they will never see their land again. Part of the problem, according to Motalib, is that loan payments are insufficient because the size of the harvest has fallen short of that promised by the company.

In addition, Motalib explained that because it has a monopoly on processing, the company sets the price per kilogram it will pay for the palm oil fruit, which he complains is lower than the global commodity price.

Since AGPI began operations, it has made deals with six municipalities in central and southern Palawan (the target area for oil palm development spans the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Sofronio Espanola, Brooke's Point, Rizal and Bataraza) for rent or purchase of around 6,000 hectares.

However, its sales teams are still active on the island trying to meet their 20,000-hectare target. As word spreads about payment failures, fewer tribal people and farmers are inclined to sign leases, according to Motalib: "I think it will be very hard to meet this target because now farmers do not want to sell because they have heard about the bad experiences of other farmers."

Harvested palm oil fruit is taken to the AGPI processing plant at Brookes Point in central Palawan and from there it is shipped to other islands such as Cebu, and also abroad to China, Malaysia and Singapore.

Tribal farmers ignored by government institutions

Tribal representatives are disappointed with the lack of support they have received from state institutions for their plight. None seem prepared to help them.

"It would appear that Agumil and other oil palm enterprises have bypassed, with impunity, the Strategic Environment Plan (SEP), the very law which should ensure sustainable development and environmental protection in Palawan", said Marivic B. Bero, CALG Secretary General.

She explained that state institutions including the Palawan Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Committee for Sustainable Development (CSD) are both responsible for failing to properly enforce SEP regulations restricting land clearance.

Mongabay approached Agumil, Land Bank, the governor's office, DENR and the CSD for their reactions to the criticisms of the cooperatives. No responses were forthcoming.

In 2004, the provincial board of the governor's office passed Provincial Ordinance No. 739-04 promoting development of the palm oil industry and it is understood by tribal leaders that this remains its position.

The Provincial Ordinance was the culmination of a period of palm-oil promotion by then-Governor Joel Reyes who successfully invited palm oil companies to Palawan. This in turn led to the creation of the Palawan Palm Oil Industry Development Council (PPOIDC), a multi-agency body tasked with promoting the palm-oil sector in Palawan and ensuring that developments such as construction of a refinery took place.

Palm oil thirsty for water and its pests running riot

Since these oil-palm plantations have rolled out across the landscape, farmers claim that previously unknown agronomic problems have surfaced. For instance, the palm trees require high water usage, which often comes at the expense of neighboring crops.

"Our discovery, is that palm oil [trees] absorb a bunch of water compared to other trees, so if your land is planted by palm oil forget it. Only because of the palm oil, you can't plant any other crops", Carlio said. In addition, the oil palms possess very thick and deep root formations that are difficult to remove.

According to Carlio, the plantations use high levels of external inputs like pesticides and herbicides and these, too, are having knock-on environmental effectson the envrionment and other crops.

"Some studies show that the insects that destroy the coconuts in the province emanate from the palm trees. But the company denied that. So we are using pesticides, especially the people who are engaged in coconut planting. So their coconuts are dying because [of] that insect that is destroying the coconut. Prior to the existence of palm oil in the province there was no such thing as that insect that destroys the coconut", Carlio said.

A 2013 report by ALDAW supports Carlio's suspicions. "New pests are spreading from neighbouring oil palm plantations to indigenous cultivated fields and coconuts groves", the report states.

"Such pests include the Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) and Brontispa longissima. The latter, according to local informants, was not present in the area before the establishment of oil palm plantations."

Graciano Muniz has made a pragmatic work transition to cultivating seaweed for the Chinese pharmaceutical market. "These days I don't join in farming palm oil. We earn our living from the sea. Farming in the sea", he said.

Protesters killed - Governor wanted

Tribal representatives are well aware of the risks they face when speaking out about their predicament. Local radio journalist and environmental campaigner Gerry Ortega, was gunned down in January 2011 in the Palawan capital Puerto Princesa, reportedly for his staunch anti-mining campaigning.

Agence France Presse reported in March 2011 that Ortega was the latest in a line of at least four campaigners who have lost their lives for speaking out against resource exploitation in Palawan.

According to a report by ALDAW, the key architect of the Palawan palm oil industry and former Governor, Joel Reyes, is currently a "fugitive abroad and wanted by ICPO (the International Criminal Police Organization) - INTERPOL. Joel Reyes, in fact, has been identified as the mandate and organizer of the killing of Gerry Ortega."

Bardolassa is adamant that he will continue his fight for justice, despite what happens. "I am willing to die even - yes - I am not afraid", Bardolassa said. "What is the meaning of my life if I do not let the world know what I know? The reality of what is happening to our farms."

In late September, CALG submitted a petition signed by 4,200 farmers and indigenous residents to Palawan Vice-Governor Dennis Socrates, calling for a moratorium of palm-oil expansion on the island.

Bishop Pedro Arrigo personally endorsed the petition, saying it "comes directly from the very people who have suffered the environmental and social consequences of oil palm development in our province over the past seven years.

"It is about time that their grievances will be heard by the Provincial Government and acted upon."

Rod Harbinson is a journalist, filmmaker and photographer who has reported on some of the biggest environmental issues confronting the developing world for over 20 years. He has particular experience of the Southeast Asian region where he has documented and supported the struggles of indigenous and local people to protect their lands in the face of development.

Watch Rod's film 'Defenders of the Spirit Forest', a 25 minute documentary on Cambodia's Cardamom Mountain forests at: www.spiritforest.org

This article was first published on the Mongabay Reporting Network and is republished here with their kind permission of the author. Read the original article here.
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has ruled out the possibility of going to war with Iran amid the ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries, Sputnik reported.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure we will not allow any such thing," Salman told The Economist in a January 4 interview published Wednesday.

The comments come amid a deepening diplomatic row in the Middle East. On Monday, Saudi Arabia formally severed diplomatic ties with Iran following Saturday attacks on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Consulate in the city of Mashhad. The attacks were triggered by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 other people by Riyadh.

The crown prince, who also acts as Saudi Arabia's defense minister, rejected claims of the arbitrary nature of Nimr's execution, blaming the post-execution escalation on Iran, while expressing hope that the Islamic republic does not become Saudi Arabia's main enemy.

On Thursday, Iran imposed a full embargo against Saudi Arabian imports.
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The following information is based on public records from local and area law enforcement agencies and/or court systems:

Grand jury

A Henderson County grand jury on Tuesday indicted 24 people, dismissed several charges, remanded charges back to district court and referred five cases to the February session of the grand jury.

Indicted

Those who were indicted, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

Thomas J. Moffitt, 37, Owensboro, five counts of first-degree criminal mischief, two counts of theft under $10,000, one count of second-degree criminal mischief and three counts of theft under $500.

Dustin W. McLean, 26, 200 block of Meadow Street, first-degree burglary, being a felon in possession of a handgun, two counts of theft over $10,000, three counts of third-degree burglary, one count of receiving stolen property under $10,000, theft by deception and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Angelena Vasquez, 46, address unavailable, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and nine counts of theft by deception under $500.

Natalie Mosely, 32, 2000 block of U.S. 41-North, theft under $10,000.

Adam Toney, 44, Morganfield, receiving stolen property under $10,000 and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Robert S. Jenkins, 46, Spottsville, first-degree promoting contraband, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Scott H. Atkinson, 46, Spottsville, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Kimberly D. Hale, 20, Dawson Springs, receiving stolen property under $10,000.

Sarah B. Mathias, 35, 100 block of William and Mary Court, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, failure to maintain insurance, driving under the influence and no/expired registration plates.

Rhonda S. Manion, 47, 1800 block of North Elm Street, theft under $10,000.

Barney Utley, 55, address unavailable, first-degree burglary, alcohol intoxication in a public place and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

William T. Billings, 34, 900 block of Washington Street, receiving stolen property under $10,000.

Curtis R. Boyd, 56, 2400 block of North Park Drive, theft by deception over $10,000.

Kimberly M. Daniel, 42, 500 block of Harding Avenue, theft by deception under $10,000.

Kacie L. LaForrest, 31, address unavailable, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence. Three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor were dismissed.

Angela D. Jordan, 38, address unavailable, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. A charge of tampering with physical evidence was dismissed.

Joshua D. Downey, 38, 400 block of Meadow Street, second-degree burglary, tampering with physical evidence, second-degree fleeing/evading police, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft under $500 and public intoxication.

Soccorro McGuire, 21, Morganfield, theft of identity, first-degree fleeing/evading police, resisting arrest, license to be in possession, second-degree disorderly conduct and driving under the influence.

Jason S. James, 25, 1400 block of Clay Street, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Keiave M. Tapp, 20, Lawndale Court, fourth-degree assault (third offense in five years), third-degree terroristic threatening and second-degree criminal mischief.

Nancy Huffman, 30, 1100 block of Pringle Street, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lecia Moore, 45, 1100 block of Pringle Street, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bonnie Kay Wangler, 37, Evansville, theft of identity, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to maintain insurance, illegal possession of a legend drug, rear license not illuminated, no/expired registration receipt and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Melinda K. Garris, 36, Wadesville, Ind., first-degree possession of a controlled substance and theft under $500.

Referred

Those whose cases were referred to the February session of the grand jury, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

Ronald Simmonds, 24, address unavailable, trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

William T. Overton, 50, 1400 block of Wilson Drive, second-degree assault.

Clint R. Rhodes, 25, Evansville, theft under $500, felon in possession of a firearm, third-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of drug paraphernalia, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and being a fugitive from another state.

Marcus T. Hall, 29, 300 block of North Alves Street, first-degree robbery, felon in possession of a handgun and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.

Adam L. Overfield, 40, address unavailable, first-degree sodomy and third-degree sodomy.

Remanded

Those whose cases were remanded to district court, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

Samuel R. Moore, 24, address unavailable, second-degree promoting contraband, amended from first-degree. A charge of second-degree escape was dismissed.

Brad L. Clements, 46, address unavailable, first-degree criminal trespass, amended from second-degree burglary, possession of drug paraphernalia, second-degree disorderly conduct, public intoxication and violation of a Kentucky EPO/DVO.

Amanda M. Gaines, 34, 700 block of Arbor Drive, second-degree possession of a controlled substance, amended from first-degree, theft under $500, illegal possession of a legend drug and possession of marijuana.

Karl Vandergrift, 34, address unavailable, trafficking in synthetic drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of possession of marijuana, one count of failure to maintain insurance, license to be in possession and failure to illuminate head lamps. A charge of trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school was dismissed.
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By Erin Schmitt of The Gleaner

Robards citizens still have concerns about an animal byproducts rendering plant that will be built at the Four Star Industrial Park.

AgRenew Partners LLC is planning a $4.5 million, 15,000-square-foot expandable plant on the south side of Quinn's Landing Road/Kentucky 2097.

The 22.7-acre site it purchased is across from Henderson Water Utility's South Wastewater Plant, which is about a quarter mile east of the main part of Four Star. The plant will process animal byproducts into oil and bone meal to be sold to the oleochemical and pet food markets.

Based in part on intermittent issues with the nearby Tyson rendering plant, Robards citizens are wary of what potential problems another plant could cause.

On behalf of his constituents, Robards Mayor Dave Sellers reiterated these concerns at the invitation of the Four Star board during a meeting held Tuesday afternoon.

"We hope that our industries are very viable and vibrant and good for the community, but there are concerns," he said.

Many citizens were unaware that the industrial park bylaws were changed to accommodate a rendering plant. The board amended the 4 Star Declarations of Covenants and Restrictions a couple of years ago to allow for the change.

The new bylaws read, "No slaughtering operation, killing floors, or on-site processing of live poultry, hog, cattle, sheep, or other processing that would cause obnoxious odors." The bylaw had previously stated, "including rendering of fresh animal parts or by products of same."

Sellers also said he'd spoken with management from three adjacent industries  Alcan, Tyson and Columbia  and they each expressed similar concerns. Tyson corporate officials are worried their company would be blamed if the new rendering plant has environmental or odor issues, he said.

AgRenew would be responsible for upholding their commitment to not aversely affect the quality of life in the area. The county, state Environmental Protection Administration and the Four Star board can act as arbiters on whether the company is adhering to covenants, said Brad Schneider, CEO of the Kyndle regional economic development organization.

The mayor acknowledged that the Four Star board had reassured him there wouldn't be problems. Chairman Doug Bell invited Sellers out to lunch before Tuesday's meeting to address concerns.

He also extended an invitation for Sellers and some of his constituents to fly out to an Iowa town with a similar plant. Four Star representatives visited the town as part of their due diligence and reported that the residents expressed no complaints.

Bell said better communications between citizens and the Four Star board is a priority moving forward.

"The last thing we want to do is be poor stewards of what is entrusted to us," he said.

In other Four Star business:

Audit: An audit performed by Kemper CPA Group was accepted as presented by the board. The audit was for the year ending June 30, 2015.

The Four Star board has two main assets  $316,091 in cash and the industrial park, which is valued at $5.2 million. The board has virtually no liabilities and has a net position of $5,530,916.

Grants received totaled $13,516. Farm rent received was $118,944. The total operating revenue was $133,102 and the total operating expenses were $102,401.

Sewer extension project: A sewer project along the southside of Southern Star Way inside the industrial park has been completed except for grass surface restoration.

Board officials will check with the farm tenant to see if he plans to plow that part of the land for crops before seeding would start in March. If seeding is completed, the total cost for the sewer project will be about $63,500.

Election of officers: Doug Bell, Steve Whitsell and Mike Obert kept their positions as chairman, vice chair and treasurer/secretary following a unanimous vote.

Farm lease renewal: The board agreed to renew a lease of about 395 acres of property to Tapp Farms at a price of $155 per acre.
The preliminary evaluation of the alleged North Korean nuclear test does not support Pyongyang's claims of a successful tryout, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a briefing on Wednesday.



"The initial analysis that has been conducted of the events that were reported overnight, is not consistent with North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test," Earnest stated.



"We will be collecting additional evidence and conducting an additional analysis to learn more about the nuclear test that North Korea conducted last night," Earnest added.



The US administration has been in touch with the Chinese officials regarding the alleged hydrogen bomb test by North Korea, Earnest said.



"The president's National Security Advisor Susan Rice recently completed a conversation with the Chinese ambassador to the United States [Cui Tiankai] to discuss this very issue," he said.



Earlier in the day, North Korea claimed it had carried out its first test of a hydrogen bomb. The move triggered deep concern of the international community over the possible threat to both regional and global peace and security.
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By Bruce Schreiner

FRANKFORT  Republicans in solid control of the Kentucky Senate on Wednesday proposed replacing the state's Common Core education standards as they laid out their top priorities for this year's legislative session.

The education bill would create a Kentucky-based system of school standards and assessments, Republicans said. The goal is to boost the number of students deemed college- and career-ready, they said.

"It's going to return the education system to educators, so they can change the system that has become flawed," Senate President Robert Stivers said in outlining the measure in a floor speech.

The measure topped a conservative agenda for the chamber's Republicans as the GOP wields increased influence in the statehouse, led by Gov. Matt Bevin.

Republicans in the state House are angling to catch Democrats, who have a 50-46 advantage there after four lawmakers resigned and two Democrats switched parties. Special elections to fill the four open seats are set for March 8, when the General Assembly will be entering its crucial final weeks.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Greg Stumbo on Wednesday refiled his legislation aimed at shoring up the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System. The measure tops his priorities this year.

It calls for the state to issue up to $3.3 billion in bonds for the teachers' retirement system. Senate Republicans rejected last year's version, saying they did not want to incur more debt.

"My legislation is a blueprint forward, at least on the funding side," Stumbo said. "The one thing I know for sure is that our teachers, their retirees and taxpayers cannot afford for us to wait another year to act."

The Senate's education bill would shift more authority to local school officials, said the chamber's Education Committee chairman, Sen. Mike Wilson.

The measure could be heard in committee as soon as next week, the Bowling Green Republican said.

"We are now in this quagmire of instructional compliance rather than results," Wilson said.

Wilson noted that Bevin campaigned last year on repealing Common Core standards.

"This has the impact of doing that because it returns our standards to our own hands, Kentucky hands," Wilson said.

The Common Core standards were created by the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Most states voluntarily adopted the standards.
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Dale Powell, Henderson

'Huge thanks' from

Cops & Kids program

The members of Henderson Fraternal Order of Police Lodge Post No. 9 give huge thanks for everyone for their contributions to our annual Cops & Kids program (formerly Shop with a Cop). This was our 20th year, clothing about 60 children each year. We have a mail-out each year, as we do not solicit by telephone calls. Members are assisted by the school system to select children and then we check each child to make sure they are not assisted by another agency. We feel this helps us feed and clothe more children.

We have requested numerous times to have the names of those who make donations published, however we have been told we would have to pay to state that and we feel it would be unfair to spend the money on the newspaper when we could use funds to clothe children.

A special "thank you" to Bill and the gang at WSON for all the air time they give to let listeners know we are trying to raise funds for the program. Also "thanks" to Casey and Columbia Sportswear.

The lodge has a special account for this program. Anyone may make a donation any time during the ear by sending a check. Checks should be made payable to Henderson Fraternal Order of Police Lodge Post No. 9, Box 1416, Henderson, Ky., 42419.

Once again, thank you and God bless you all.
Lerdal sisters reunited on volleyball court as New London coaches

Former all-state New London volleyball players return to alma mater to guide the Tigers to a stellar season
NORWALK -- Last summer brought the first humpback whale sightings in three hundred years to the Long Island Sound, but life remains dangerous for these gentle, 40-ton marine mammals.

Before last August it had been about three hundred years since a wild humpback whale was spotted in the Sound, according to Joe Schnierlein, the research and university liaison for Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, which last week introduced "Whales Without Passports", an exhibit about the migratory habits of humpbacks.

"I'm going to speculate that it has been three hundred to three hundred fifty years, and the reason I say that is I have not found any historical information on whales and when they've gotten into the Sound," Schnierlein told The Hour.

Last year, based on at least ten reported sightings between late August and mid-October, Schnierlein said marine experts think there were three humpback whales inhabiting the western part of the Sound near Norwalk and Stamford. (Three beluga whales were also spotted in Long Island Sound for the first time since 1985, Schnierlein said.)

"Whales Without Borders" -- a travelling exhibition created by the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate, Mass. -- emphasizes the man-made dangers faced by humpback whales: harassment, pollution and boat collisions, to name a few.

"They get tangled in fishing gear, particularly the kind that has buoys," said Anne Smrcina, education and outreach coordinator for the Stellwagen Bank sanctuary.

The whales can also become distracted during feeding or socializing and accidentally enter the path of a boat, Smrcina said.

In October, one of the Long Island Sound humpbacks was found dead from blunt force trauma, probably the result of a collision with a boat, whose operators would not have been on the lookout for whales since they are so rare in the area.

"The reality of these whales is that they do go into a sleep mode, and if a freighter is going through at night they may not pick up the whale," Schnierlein told The Hour.

The first boater to spot one of the whales last summer was "absolutely surprised" when the giant animal breached directly behind his boat, Schnierlein added.

Humpback whales in the North Atlantic were hunted to the brink of extinction before whaling was banned in the mid-1980s. The Long Island Sound was home to two major whaling ports in New London and Mystic.

"With (those ports) being right here in the Sound, what do you think the chances were of a whale getting into the Sound and surviving?" Schnierlein asked, rhetorically.

Since the whaling ban, however, the population of humpback whales in the North Atlantic has rebounded, and Smrcina attributes the recent whale spottings to this population growth.

"With the larger numbers that we're now experiencing ... (humpback whales are) getting into areas that they probably once populated," Smrcina told The Hour.

Schnierlein agreed, saying that the presence of whales in the Sound is "absolutely" correlated with the rise in population, as well as last year's unusually high concentration of menhaden (known locally as bunker) in the Sound, on which the whales feed during summer before migrating thousands of miles to spawning grounds in the Caribbean Sea.

Although only two of the humpbacks survived a summer in the Sound, Schnierlein expects that they will return next year.

"Many of these marine mammals tend to be creatures of habit," Schnierlein told The Hour. "You had two that got out of here, and I would not be surprised if we see them back next year."

Schnierlein added that the prospect of the whales' return makes him nervous, "but at the same time it's also exciting."

Schnierlein concluded that next year, organizations on both sides of the Sound will have to be on the alert for marine mammalian visitors in order to better protect them.

"Whales Without Borders" will be on display in the IMAX lobby of the Maritime Aquarium until January 2017. This month, during the Aquarium's "Celebrate Whales Week" from Jan. 14 to 24, the exhibit will feature a life-size inflatable whale that visitors can walk inside.
WILTON  At 105 years old, Wilton resident Edith Irwin remains a formidable opponent when it comes to a game of bridge or King's in the Corner.

"I play cards with her every day. She's a demon!" said friend Mary Alice Michael at Irwin's 105th birthday party Wednesday, held at Brookdale Wilton Senior Living Solutions, where Irwin resides.

For the party, as four generations of friends and family gathered for cake and champagne, Irwin donned pink nailpolish and a frilly conical hat with the inscription "Birthday Girl".

"I feel very happy, because I have my family with me," Irwin told The Hour.

"She doesn't look a day over 98!" exclaimed Irwin's granddaughter, Lori Sindel, also of Wilton.

Irwin's only daughter, Carole Sindel, handed out candy and champagne while her hubby Fred played standards including "Silent Night" and "Amazing Grace" on an accordion.

Sindel, who said her mother named her for Hollywood starlet Carole Lombard, explained that the family was originally from Schenectady, N.Y., but had relocated to Wilton about five years ago for Fred's job at General Electric.

Irwin has resided at Brookdale since age 100, when around-the-clock care became necessary due to a fractured hip, Sindel said.

Irwin currently has four grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, many of whom were in attendance at Wednesday's party, Sindel added.

When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday", Brookdale employee Glika Hatziioannidis used a lighter to ignite 105 candles on a chocolate cake.

Hatziioannidis and Brookdale Executive Director April Gaudioso then carried the blazing pastry to Irwin as Fred Sindel played a jaunty tune on the accordion.

Christy Perone, Brookdale's sales and marketing manager, said Irwin is the oldest Brookdale resident she or any of the other employees can remember.

Sindel attributes her mother's longevity in part to discipline gained through years working as a school teacher.

"School teachers have to be very organized and very structured," Sindel told The Hour.

"She does her crossword puzzles, she drinks a Manhattan once in a while," added Irwin's granddaughter Lisa Breeland.

"She used to say, 'everything in moderation.' And never miss dessert!" laughed Sindel.

For Irwin herself, the secret to long life is even more simple:

"I guess just being friendly and happy," Irwin told The Hour.
The gun control measures a tearful President Barack Obama announced Tuesday would not have prevented the slaughters of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, or 14 county workers at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California.

Obama's executive action expands mandatory background checks to gun shows, flea markets and online sales, adds more than 230 examiners and staff to help process them and calls on states to submit accurate and updated criminal history data.

Those measures are seen as crucial to stemming gun suicides  the cause of two-thirds of gun deaths  by blocking immediate access to weapons. But, an Associated Press review shows, they would have had no impact in keeping weapons from the hands of suspects in several of the deadliest recent mass shootings that have spurred calls for tighter gun control.

The shooters at Sandy Hook and San Bernardino used weapons bought by others, shielding them from background checks. In other cases, the shooters legally bought guns.

In Aurora, Colorado, and at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., men undergoing mental health treatment were cleared to buy weapons because federal background checks looked to criminal histories and court-ordered commitments for signs of mental illness. The Obama administration is making changes in that realm by seeking to plug certain Social Security Administration data into the background check system and by helping states report more information about people barred from gun possession for mental health reasons.

The suspect in a shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, should have been flagged at the time, but errors and delays cleared the way for his purchase.

Though the moves probably wouldn't have prevented recent mass shootings, Obama rejected the idea that undermines the changes.

"We maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some," Obama said.

A look at how some recent mass shooting suspects got their weapons:

Dec. 2, 2015, San Bernardino, California, 14 killed

Syed Farook and his wife used weapons that the FBI says his neighbor, Enrique Marquez, purchased legally from a federally licensed dealer in 2011 and 2012. Marquez, now facing conspiracy and other charges, told investigators that Farook asked him to purchase the weapons because he would draw less attention. At the time, the FBI says, the men were plotting to shoot up a community college and a highway.

Oct. 1, 2015, Roseburg, Oregon, 10 killed

Christopher Harper-Mercer and his family members legally purchased the handguns and rifle he used in the Umpqua Community College shooting from a federally licensed gun dealer, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

July 16, 2015,

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 5 killed

The FBI says some of the weapons Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez used in his attack on a pair of military facilities were purchased legally and some were not. It is unclear when the purchases were made and whether he was subject to a background check. Relatives say Abdulazeez had a history of mental illness, made a series of overseas trips and was arrested in April on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. In May 2013, he failed a background check for an engineering job at a nuclear power plant in Ohio.

June 17, 2015, Charleston, South Carolina, 9 killed

A February drug arrest should have prevented Dylann Roof from purchasing the pistol authorities say he used at Emanuel AME Church, but a record-keeping error and background check delay allowed the transaction to go through. The FBI says a background check examiner never saw the arrest report because the wrong arresting agency was listed in state criminal history records. After three days passed, the gun dealer was legally permitted to complete the transaction.

Sept. 16, 2013, Washington, D.C., 12 killed

Aaron Alexis, a former reservist turned civilian contractor, passed state and federal background checks and legally purchased the pump-action shotgun used in the Washington Navy Yard shooting despite a history of violent outbursts and recent mental health treatment. Alexis was accused of firing a gun in anger in Texas in 2004 and Seattle in 2010, but was not prosecuted in either case. In 2011, he received an honorable discharge despite bouts of insubordination, disorderly conduct and unauthorized absences. None of that would have disqualified him from purchasing a weapon.

Dec. 14, 2012, Newtown, Connecticut,

26 killed

Adam Lanza used his mother's weapons, including a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle, in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Investigators say Lanza's mother, whom he fatally shot before going to the school, also purchased the ammunition.

July 20, 2012, Aurora, Colorado, 12 killed

James Holmes was receiving psychiatric treatment when he passed required federal background checks and legally purchased the weapons he used in the movie theater assault. As in the Navy Yard case, Holmes' treatment alone would not have disqualified his purchases. They would have been blocked if had he been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The Gulen movement, the activity of which is banned in Turkey, planned to poison the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Haber7 newspaper reported citing the country's health minister, Mehmet Muazzinoglu.

The minister said that some members of the Gulen movement were able to get a job in the state structures of Turkey.

"Thanks to vigilance of the security services, members of the Gulen movement were not able to implement their plans," he said.

Muazzinoglu however gave no further details about the plans of the attempted assassination of the president of Turkey.

In 2011, the phone conversations of about 7,000 people associated with the representatives of both the ruling and opposition parties, including family members of the prime minister, were wiretapped as part of an anti-terrorist operation carried out by Istanbul prosecutor's office against "Salam" terrorist organization.

During the anti-terrorist operations, telephone conversations of the head of the Turkish intelligence, Hakan Fidan were wiretapped as well.

At that time, the then prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Gulen of standing behind the wiretapping of the phone conversations.

Erdogan stressed that the Gulen movement with its anti-state activities proved that it is not a religious movement, but a politicized and illegal structure.

He also called on Fethullah Gulen not to intervene in Turkey's internal affairs and accused the US of supporting him.

Erdogan also previously said that Gulen should be extradited from the US. However, the US authorities said that an extradition is inadmissible.

---

Follow the author on Twitter @rhafizoglu
Phillies win NLCS opener behind Schwarber's monster homer: 'Just wow'

Zack Wheeler tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed one hit in the Phillies' 2-0 win over the Padres in Game 1 of the NLCS.
For the Edge

The William and Florence Schmidt Art Center at Southwestern Illinois College opens its 2016 schedule with eclectic solo exhibitions featuring paintings, glass-infused typewriter sculptures and objects from Papua New Guinea.

Treasures from the colleges permanent collection of objects from Papua New Guinea make a rare appearance for this exhibition. Works planned for display come from a donation by Charles J. Stathis in 1999, as well as 1990s purchases made through the Student Committee for the Visual Arts. The collection includes costumes and masks, canoe prows, spirit boards and food bowls. Most of the objects that will be in the exhibit, Function & Ceremony: The Art of Melanesia, have never been displayed before due to their fragility or sacred nature.
The Saint Louis Zoo has welcomed its newest arrivals for 2016.

Two critically endangered Edwardss pheasants, also known as Vietnamese pheasants, hatched on New Years Day and Jan. 4, 2016 at the Saint Louis Zoos Bird House. Since these are the first offspring for the inexperienced parents, the chicks are being hand-raised behind the scenes in a private area of the Bird House.

These hatchings arent only the first of the new year, but the first for this species at the Saint Louis Zoo. Native to the rain forests of central Vietnam, remaining populations are extremely small and declining due to habitat loss and hunting. They may even be already extinct in the wild. There has been no record of the bird since 2000. The small chicks weigh about .75 ounces each and have golden brown plumage. Adults are about half the size of wild turkeys, with the male having distinctive all-black plumage with a blue gloss and metallic fringes, white crest and red skin around the eyes. The females are generally chestnut-brown with no crest.

A king penguin chick weighing just 9 ounces hatched at Penguin & Puffin Coast on Jan. 2. The chick is being reared by its parents Nathan and BB in the public habitat, but may not be visible to visitors for a few weeks. Another king penguin chick, which hatched on Nov. 30, is starting to make appearances now that its almost too large to fit under its parents.

A king penguin chick hatches after about 55 days; then its parents continue to keep it warm under their belly flap for 30-40 days until it grows too large to cover. They continue to share feeding duties for about eight months. It is not yet known if the chick is a male or female. This handsome bird is one of the largest penguin species. As an adult, it weighs about 33 pounds, second only to the emperor penguin.
The ACWF has been active in promoting women's empowerment. (Photo : Women of China)

This year's National March 8th Red-Banner Pacesetter Awards will break from the traditional top-down selection process to invite more nominations of women who come from different walks of life, according to a Women of China report.



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The public search, whose 2016 edition was launched on Dec. 1, 2015, aims to recognize individuals or groups who achieved remarkable feats in their respective fields.



For the first time this year, the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), the awards' organizer, will solicit members of the public to select 15 country-wide finalists. The federation wishes to make the selection process more inclusive so as to discover female Chinese role models in a much broader way.



The move has seen exemplary results as the federation received more calls and application from 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. In fact, some female military officers and soldiers from the People's Liberation Army have volunteered and recommended themselves.



A woman form the Macao Special Administrative Region has also sent her materials to the federation.



Among the other applicants include several college students and an 85-year-old tenured medical school professor.



Previously, the selections for the National Pacesetter Awards come from the recommendations mainly made by women's associations at different levels. This has caused the underrepresentation of those members of non-governmental and private industries.



According to the organizers of the ACWF's Publicity Department, "through self-nomination and recommending others, young women, intellectuals, grassroots workers, farmers and those self-employed could have access to the awards."



"In this way, the awareness, influence and recognition of the awards can be broadened, and the mechanism of discovering talent can become more up-to-date, public and justified," they added.



"The new method has given us grassroots women another way to apply for the award," one of the nominees said.



The National Pacesetter Awards was first launched by the ACWF in 1960.


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Linkedin Dadang J. Mutaqin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesia started using 20 percent biodiesel blending (B20 blending) on Jan. 1. If the policy is successfully implemented, it will enhance the country's energy security and improve the capacity to reduce carbon emissions. The policy is also one of the biggest government achievements in the energy sector because currently Indonesia is the only country in the world that has a B20 blending policy.



After B20, Indonesia has also planned to implement a B30 policy in 2020 especially to supply energy for transportation, microbusiness, agriculture and fisheries. It is predicted that B30 will be the highest point of biodiesel blending and it will be difficult to enhance the blending percentage without technological modifications to machinery.



Biodiesel is not the only type of renewable energy in Indonesia. As a tropical country, Indonesia is rich in biomass energy especially from forests and agriculture. Biomass energy is defined as energy that is derived from wood and other plant matter.



Like biodiesel, biomass energy has several benefits. One is that it can provide a cleaner environment because biomass energy has the characteristic of being carbon neutral, which means that it can create carbon emissions but the trees with which biomass is produced can absorb carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.



Based on data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the utilization of biomass energy in Indonesia is still around 2 percent of total energy consumption.



This situation contrasts with the use of biomass energy in developed countries, many of which are subtropical, where producing biomass is much more difficult than in developing (tropical) countries.



For example, in Germany, renewable energy makes up 11 percent of total energy consumption and biomass alone supplies 40 percent of total renewable energy. Biomass energy in Germany mostly comes from two sources ' agriculture and forestry.



Approximately 40 percent of timber production in Germany is allocated for generating energy. Most biomass in developed countries is converted into electricity and heat in cogeneration systems.



Taking into account developed countries' experience in using biomass energy, Indonesia should improve the utilization of biomass as one of the energy sources to enhance energy security. There are several reasons why Indonesia has to use biomass in the future.



First, Indonesia has abundant biomass sources especially from forestry and agriculture. Indonesia has around 120 million hectares of forests, 60 percent of which are production forests.



Production forests have a huge potential as sources of biomass energy. They can be planted with tree species that are suitable for biomass energy.



Many faster-growing species are available in Indonesia for energy purposes, such as calliandra, white leadtree and earleaf acacia. Moreover, Indonesia has approximately 10 million ha of plantations including rubber and oil palm. They also provide huge biomass sources.



Presently, most of the biomass from these areas is not utilized and is often burned in land clearing. Instead of burning biomass, it would be better to use it for energy. Therefore, we can reduce land and forest fires and at the same time we can enhance energy security.



Second, converting biomass into energy only needs low technology. It means that improving the utilization of biomass energy is low in capital investment. We do not need high technology. It is different if we compare it to other renewable energy such as solar and wind, where energy cultivation needs high capital investment, technology and human skills.



Power plants that currently use coal as their energy source, with small technological modifications, could be converted into biomass-fired power generation stations. Another alternative would be to blend coal and biomass in a certain proportion and use them for coal-biomass fired power plants.



Third, the use of biomass energy can contribute to poverty alleviation by improving access to basic needs and improving people's productivity. Indonesia has a huge area and the capacity of the government to provide energy for all regions is limited.



Most people in remote areas cannot access electricity, which reduces their productivity.



This situation has occurred mainly because transporting coal and fuel to remote areas is expensive. Therefore, we have to utilize every potential energy source in remote areas. One of them is biomass.



Establishing biomass-fired power plants in remote areas could enhance the electrification rate and would improve regional economics. Industries and businesses would be much more varied, which would maximize people's productivity in remote areas and reduce poverty rates.



Fourth, using biomass energy, especially from forests, can reduce deforestation rates. This can occur if we plant trees for energy on critical land. The deforestation rate on critical land in Indonesia is around 250,000-300,000 ha annually.



Planting trees for biomass energy (forest-based energy) on critical land could be the best strategy to reduce deforestation and restore the economic, social and environmental function of forests.



Forest-based energy could also be implemented outside forest areas, such as on ex-mining land, which often creates environmental problems after the end of mining concessions.



In order to enhance the contribution of the forestry sector to energy security, the Environment and Forestry Ministry has a target to establish 300,000 ha of forest plantations for biomass energy from 2015 to 2019. However, this policy will not run well if the policy is not supported by stakeholders, especially the private sector, and also users of biomass energy such as state electricity company PLN. Integrated policy has to be formulated involving various stakeholders for the utilization of biomass energy especially for generating electricity.



Furthermore, to boost the implementation of biomass energy policy, the government should develop pilot projects that are integrated from upstream to downstream.



East Indonesia could be the best location for pilot projects because there are a lot of biomass resources and the electrification rate is still below the national average.

__________________________________



The writer, a member of the Asia and the Pacific Policy Society and an alumnus of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU), works for the Directorate of Forestry and Water Resources Conservation at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas). The views expressed are his own.
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

Attorney General's Office (AGO) has formed a team to assist the government and state-owned institutions in building a more accountable financial report for a 35,000 megawatt (MW) electricity project.



The AGO's junior attorney for intelligence, Adi Toegarisman, said that the total investment needed in the mega project reached US$73 billion. To anticipate any leaks, the AGO would make sure the budget disbursement and project execution were in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, Adi said.



"Most of the projects use state funds. And to boost the project, we need budget acceleration. Therefore, we must supervise the project to prevent any leaks in usage. We will technically assist the government in planning, implementation, supervision and evaluation," said Adi at the offices of state power firm PLN in Jakarta on Thursday.



PLN director Nasri Sebayang said that the electrification ratio in Indonesia was only 84 percent, lower than neighboring countries in the ASEAN region such as Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, all of whose electrification ratios are above 95 percent.



"In the next five years, electricity demand will grow an average of 8.8 percent per year. The electrification ratio target, as stipulated in the 2015-2024 electricity business plan, is targeted at 97.4 percent in 2019," Nasri explained.



PLN has been working on power plants with a capacity of 7,400 MW, 46,000 kilometers worth of transmission circuits and 1,375 substation units--equivalent to 108,789 mega volt ampere (MVA). (ags)(+)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has expressed his disappointment that the Home Ministry has dropped the planned capital injections by the city administration into six city-owned companies from the city budget for 2016.

He criticized officials in the ministry, saying that they might not have understood that such capital injections would be needed for the designated city-owned enterprises to carry out his programs.

Previously, Home Ministry director general for regional finance Reydonnyzar Donny Moenek said the ministry had dropped the capital injection plans for city-owned lender Bank DKI, slaughter house operator PD Dharma Jaya, transportation operator PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta), market operator PD Pasar Jaya, construction company PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) and waste water treatment operator PD PAL Jaya.

The governor expressed his disagreement with the ministry's suggestion that the city-owned companies did not need capital injections from the city budget.

'Our duty is to maintain food security such as at Cipinang Food Center. If we do not have the money, what is the point of the limited liability companies [PTs]? It's funny. You are requested to establish PTs, but you are not given the capital. Do they expect us to steal it?' Ahok said on Thursday.

Ahok added that city-owned companies needed capital injections to ease their financial problems so that they could carry out their missions to serve the Jakarta people.

He questioned the reasoning behind the ministry's rejection of the capital injections. 'Why doesn't [the ministry] suggest the closure of all city-owned enterprises?' Ahok said. (bbn)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has appointed a top official of listed car rental company PT Citra Maharlika Nusantara Corpora (Cipaganti) to lead city-owned PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) following the dismissal of its director on the back of poor performance.

Ahok said on Thursday that he appointed Budi Kaliwono, vice president of Cipaganti, to replace former Transjakarta president director Antonius Kosasih.

He said that although he did not know Budi personally, he believed that Budi was suitable for the position.

'Cipaganti faces more challenges [than Transjakarta] in looking for passengers. As director of Cipaganti, he has to think about passengers and the hours of bus operation, also bank loans. If he leads Transjakarta, he does not have to think about passengers. That makes me believe that the Cipaganti [vice president] is suitable,' Ahok told journalists at City Hall on Thursday.

Ahok will install Budi in a ceremony at Transjakarta's office on Thursday afternoon. Budi's appointment was approved in an extraordinary shareholders meeting.

Ahok added that he dismissed Antonius after he failed to show significant progress during his two years with Transjakarta.

'In almost 2 years, he [Antonius] still does not understand what I want,' he said.

Under Antonius, Transjakarta was not able to attract other bus operators to join the firm in a bid to help improve Jakarta's public transportation.

Ahok said that he had urged Antonius to ask bus operators to join Transjakarta so that the firm could control all bus routes in the city and implement the rupiah-per kilometer payment scheme. However, many medium buses such as poor-condition Metro Minis continue to roam the capital's streets.

Moreover, Antonius also did not show strong intention to boost bus procurement for Transjakarta.

'Until know how many more buses have been added to the fleet? Who tried to buy Scania [Swedish-made] buses? Transjakarta or me? Why should I be the one to initiate such things? Who's the director?' Ahok said.

Ahok has said that he aims for Transjakarta to control all city routes and to expand its services to Greater Jakarta. (rin)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) has questioned the assessment criteria in a survey conducted by airlinerating.com following Wednesday's news that Indonesian airlines shared the lowest ranking with Nepali and Surinamese airlines, being awarded just one out of seven stars.



According to INACA chairman M. Arif Wibowo, clear criteria was sorely needed as aviation industry is fully regulated due to the high risk concerning human lives.



"Safety is mandatory and the INACA is committed to ensuring that all its members always prioritized aviation security and safety. We will always obey the rules and regulations, either those of the Indonesian government, the International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO], the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], the European Aviation Safety Agency [EASA] or other international regulators," said Arif in a press release on Wednesday.



He added that the INACA periodically conducted workshops on company aviation safety officers (CASO) to ensure the country's aviation operations were in accordance with current standards.



"The Indonesian government is serious and issues policies to enhance the standard of national aviation security and safety should be included as one of the criteria for the assessment," said Arif.



As proof of commitment, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia reportedly has been issued operational safety audit certificates since 2008. Certificates are issued biennially by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The carrier's latest IOSA certificate was extended in 2014 and a new audit will be conducted again this year.



Arif compared the results of airlinerating.com's survey with UK-based consultancy company Skytrax, which declared Garuda the world's best regional airline and best regional airline in Asia in 2012 as well the as world's best Economy Class in 2013. The carrier has also been continuously included on Skytrax's list of 10 top world airlines since 2013.



According to airlinerating.com, the low-ranked Indonesian airlines included in the survey were Batik Air, Citilink, KalStar Aviation, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, Nam Air, TransNusa, Trigana Air, Wings Air and Xpress Air.



Among all flag carriers in Southeast Asia, Indonesia also lags behind with just three stars for safety, while other countries got four to seven stars, the maximum.



On the list from lowest to highest is Garuda Indonesia (three stars), Lao Airlines (four stars), Thai Airways International (four stars), Malaysia Airlines (five stars), Philippine Airlines (six stars), Myanmar Airways International (six stars), Royal Brunei (six stars), Vietnam Airlines (five stars) and Singapore Airlines (seven stars).



The rating criteria are based on the availability of IOSA or Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) certification, whether an airline is on the European Union (EU) blacklist, if it has maintained a fatality-free record for 10 years, if the airline is endorsed by US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), whether the country of the airline's origin meets all eight ICAO safety parameters, whether the airline's fleet has been grounded by the country's governing aviation safety authority and whether the airline operates only Russian-built aircraft. (kes)(+)
US Online Streaming Giant Netflix : Illustration (Photo : Getty Images)

From only 60 nations, video streaming service Netflix is now available in 190 countries. Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings announced the expansion to 130 more markets on Wednesday at the ongoing CES 2016.



Among the countries where Netflix would now be available are Vietnam, South Korea, India, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, reports CNET. While the addition of 130 new markets gives birth to a global TV network, Hastings admits it still misses one-fourth of the worldwide market.



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That because China is excluded from the list. Although Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, aims to expand its reach to 200 nation by December 2016, it has not timetable when to reach the Asian giant. But Hastings says Netflix wants to reach China, although the video streaming giant would need to deal with a lot of bureaucracy and censorship to acquire a license to operate.



The overseas push aims to make up for the slowdown in the U.S. market which represents half of Netflix's 70 million subscribers. Besides China, Netflix is also not available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria due to Washington-imposed restrictions.







Hastings acknowledges that despite the addition of 130 new nations, Netflix still has a lot of work ahead of it to become truly a global TV network. "Because of the number of countries, it seems like we are ahead of plan. But we still have China - we still have a quarter of the world to go," quotes The New York Times.



Despite his optimism, industry observers are skeptical if Netflix could sustain its speed of expansion and deliver its promise. The addition of 130 markets translates into $6 million expenses for programming in 2016 to offer over 600 hours of original series, films and other video content.


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Linkedin Erika Anindita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The establishment of a Banten regional bank is in doubt in light of a corruption case related to the planned bank and involving several members of the Banten Legislative Council.



Banten Governor Rano Karno said on Thursday that the Home Ministry had ordered his administration to postpone the planned establishment.



'The Home Ministry has ordered us to postpone [the establishment of the bank] while it looks at the process. We'll have to wait,' he told journalists before a questioning session at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday.



Rano said that the establishment of a Banten regional bank was mandated in the province's mid-term development plan (RPJMD) for 2012-2017. To implement the regional bank development plan, he further said, the Banten administration had issued two regional regulations (Perda), namely Perda No.5/2013 and Perda No.4/2012.



'Based on the RPJMD 2012-2017, it's clear that our plan to establish a regional bank must continue,' said Rano, adding that he hoped the Home Ministry's evaluation would not drag on.



On Thursday morning, Rano was questioned as a witness in a bribery case that has seen the KPK name as a suspect Ricky Tampinongkol, the non-active president director of Banten administration-owned enterprise PT Banten Global Development (BGD). Ricky is alleged to have bribed several Banten Legislative Council (DPRD) members.



On Dec.1, the KPK arrested two Banten lawmakers, namely Banten Legislative Council deputy speaker SM Hartono of the Golkar Party and Tri Satria Sentosa, the head of the council's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction.



The KPK charged Hartono and Tri with corruption for allegedly accepting US$11,000 and Rp 60 million ($4,310.35) from Ricky in exchange for the disbursement of Rp 350 billion in regional funds to establish the bank.



Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said Perda No.5/2013 on the development of a Banten regional bank contradicted Perda No.5/2005 on the disbursement of the province's regional funds and deposits, which bans the use of regional funds for high-risk enterprises.



Following the inclusion of the plan in the RPJMD 2012-2017, the Banten administration has disbursed Rp 250 billion , which was included in the revised 2015 regional budget (APBD).



BGD is a Banten administration-owned enterprise (BUMD) and was assigned by Rano to conduct a study on the establishment of the regional bank. The governor also ordered BGD to consult the Financial Services Authority (OJK) on the plan.



After finishing the consultation and study on Nov. 30, BGD submitted a report to Rano, telling him that four banks should be merged to establish the regional bank.



The four banks are private lender Bank Pundi, which is controlled by Recapital Securities, part of the Recapital Group founded by businessmen Rosan P. Roeslani, Sandiaga Uno and Elvin Ramli; Bank Windu Kentjana International (MCOR), a small, publicly listed lender based in Jakarta; publicly listed Bank MNC Internasional (MNC Bank); and Panin Bank Syariah.



Just three days after BGD handed the report to Rano, KPK investigators arrested Ricky for paying bribes to Hartono and Tri for helping to secure the budget allocation from the Banten Legislative Council to establish the regional bank. The council approved the disbursement of Rp 600 billion, on top of Rp 350 billion allocated in the 2016 budget, to support the establishment of the bank. Tri and Hartono are accused of accepting bribes several times between 2012 and 2014.



Tri and Hartono have been charged with Article 12 and/or Article 11 of Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication and Article 55 of the Criminal Code (KUHP). Meanwhile, Ricky is charged with Article 5 and/or Article 13 of the 1999 Corruption Eradication Law. (ebf)(+)
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Linkedin Erika Anindita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Banten Governor Rano Karno testified on Thursday that Banten Legislative Council (DPRD) members requested bribes from Ricky Tampinongkol, president director of the Banten administration-owned PT Banten Global Development (BGD).



The governor made the statement while giving testimony in his capacity as a witness in a bribery case related to the establishment of a bank in the province at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.



Rano said Ricky informed him of the requests made by Banten lawmakers, between October and November 2015.



'Pak Ricky informed me about a request for Rp 10 billion [US$718,391] from the council members. I already told him to not listen to them, to not respond to their requests,' said Rano shortly after he arrived at KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday morning.



Rano's statement contradicted a statement he made early last month in which he claimed to know nothing about the alleged bribery scheme.



The KPK arrested Banten DPRD deputy speaker SM Hartono of the Golkar Party and Tri Satria Sentosa, the head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the DPRD, last month. The suspects were charged with corruption for allegedly accepting $11,000 and Rp 60 million from Ricky in exchange for the disbursement of Rp 350 billion in state funds for the establishment of a regional bank.



The case emerged when Rano instructed BGD to conduct a study on the establishment of a regional bank. The governor also ordered the company to consult with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to seek advice over the plan for six months in 2015.



After finishing the consultation and study on Nov.30, 2015, BGD submitted a report to Rano, informing him that four banks should be merged to establish a regional bank.



Prior to today's questioning, Rano, a PDI-P politician, had been summoned for a questioning twice, on Dec.17 and on Dec.29, 2015, but he failed to meet both summons.



KPK investigators questioned on Tuesday BGD operational director Franklin Paul Nelwan and Banten lawmakers Luay Sofani and Ely Mulyadi. (ebf)(+)
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Linkedin Nani Afrida (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has stepped up its campaign to encourage marijuana farmers to give up their work and start growing more sustainable crops.



BNN said that it would continue to expand its campaign to other places in the country.



'We started the program in Aceh in 2015 and will continue by taking the program to other areas in Indonesia,' BNN spokesperson Slamet Pribadi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.



Pribadi said that the campaign in Aceh had begun to show success as farmers had started to grow regular crops and plants.



BNN data shows that, in Aceh, at least 60 hectares of marijuana plantation had now been transformed into plots where farmers could grow cacao, patchouli, soybeans and turmeric.



'We also facilitate training for the farmers on how to plant these types of plants so they do not return to growing cannabis,' Pribadi said.



Throughout 2015, BNN held training on how to plant cacao for 150 marijuana farmers in the Aceh Besar and Aceh Jaya regions, according to BNN chief Comr. Gen Budi Waseso.



'Within one or two years, we expect the cacao plantations to start production and then the farmers will earn money so that they don't have to grow cannabis in the mountains anymore,' Budi told reporters.



In 2016, BNN plan to establish a similar project in West Java.



'We have found marijuana plantations in Garut, West Java, for instance. We will take a similar approach to the weed farmers there,' Pribadi said, adding that marijuana plantations had also be found in Papua.



Although soil in most places across the country is suitable for growing cannabis, Aceh, he said, remained the country's biggest marijuana producer. BNN investigation, Pribadi added, had found that a high quota of marijuana plantations in Aceh were actually controlled by investors from outside the province.



'They just ask local Acehnese to plant the weed and then, within several months, they return to claim the harvest,' Slamet said.



He said that the weed planting business involved a large number of female workers.



BNN plans to focus their attention on investors and will not prosecute marijuana growers, Slamet said.



'We hunt the investors and spare the farmers,' he said.



During 2015, BNN destroyed around 64 hectares of marijuana, mostly located in Aceh and Bengkulu.



BNN acknowledged that its data on the size and extent of marijuana plantations was far from complete.



'This is data from BNN, we believe that police must have more comprehensive data than this,' Slamet said.



The 2009 drug law stipulates that anyone found guilty of growing at least five stalks of marijuana could be sentenced to death. However, capital punishment had not deterred people from growing or trafficking the illegal plant.



In August last year, BNN arrested one member of a marijuana drug ring carrying 235.379 kilograms of dried marijuana from Aceh.



In the same month, Bogor Police foiled an attempt to smuggle 3.8 tons of marijuana, carrying a black market value of Rp 7.6 billion (US$544,000), from Aceh to Greater Jakarta via Bogor, West Java.



In October, BNN also arrested two suspects in Jakarta for selling cookies and chocolate made with marijuana via the website www.tokohemp.com. During the raid, the agency found four kilograms of marijuana leaves.



In December, the National Police arrested a truck driver who had been attempting to smuggle 1.5 tons of dried marijuana worth Rp 6 billion.



In 2015, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo declared the nation to be in the midst of a 'narcotics emergency' and called for the death penalty for drug dealers; he also rejected clemency pleas from numerous convicted traffickers.

__________________________________________

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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Beijing  Thu, January 7, 2016

A pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed at a newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea in a test to see whether its airstrip was up to standard, state media reported Thursday.

The China Daily newspaper said the two planes on Wednesday made the two-hour flight to Fiery Cross Reef from Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan.

It said the test flights proved the runway's ability to safely handle large civilian aircraft. Photos showed one of the planes to be a China Southern Airlines Airbus A319-115.

The flights followed a maiden voyage on Saturday that drew an angry protest from rival claimants Vietnam and the Philippines.

China's creation of seven new islands by piling sand on reefs and atolls has been condemned by its neighbors and the United States, which accused China of raising tensions in an area where six governments maintain overlapping maritime territorial claims.

The US State Department responded to Saturday's flight by reiterating calls for a halt to land reclamation and militarization of outposts in those waters.

In Manila, visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday that freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea was non-negotiable and urged rival governments to avoid provocative steps.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario warned that China may next impose an air defense identification zone above the contested region.

China has rejected calls for a halt in island construction, saying its claim of sovereignty over the entire area gives it the right to proceed as it wishes. It says the new islands are principally for civilian use but also help defend Chinese sovereignty.

China's robust assertions of its claims have sparked a series of tense exchanges, mainly among China, Vietnam and the Philippines, over long-disputed and potentially oil- or gas-rich offshore territories also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

That's also creating new tensions with the US, which has refused to recognize the new islands as geographic features deserving of territorial waters and other aspects of sovereignty.

While Washington takes no formal position on the various sovereignty claims, it insists that disputes be settled peacefully and that freedom of navigation be maintained in waters through which more than 30 percent of global trade passes.

Fiery Cross Reef is the largest of the seven new islands that in total compose more than 800 hectares of reclaimed land. Its 3-kilometer (10,000-foot) airstrip is long enough to handle any plane operated by the Chinese military.

Another runway is being built on Subi Reef, with signs of similar work underway on nearby Mischief Reef. If all are completed, China would possess four airstrips in all on its South China Sea island holdings.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Central Sulawesi Police on Wednesday revealed the involvement of two Islamic State (IS) movement members from China's restive Xinjiang province in supporting the Poso-based East Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT) terrorist group, organizing various violent attacks against locals and law enforcers in past years.



Speaking to reporters, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Azis said that, based on intelligence reports, the two foreigners, who are also members of China's ethnic Uighur minority, were the first to join MIT, led by Indonesia's most-wanted man Santoso since 2014.



'There had also been a second group, consisting of four people, who wished to join Santoso's group, but police arrested them on Oct. 6, 2014 in Parigi Moutong regency,' said Idham, identifying the four previously arrested Chinese Uighurs as A Basyit, A Bozoghlan, A Bayram and A Zubaidan.



The police have been unable to identify the two Chinese Uighurs who successfully joined the MIT, said Idham.



The foreigners, he added, had been travelling with Santoso's group, moving from one forest to another in Poso.



'They have mostly been involved in cases of violent attacks and murder in Poso and Parigi Moutong regencies,' he said.



Together with fellow MIT supporters, the Chinese Uighurs had, according to Idham, been involved in the blocking of a Baracuda police armored vehicle, which the group shot at in Poso Pesisir district in Poso on Oct. 7 last year.



Both foreigners, he added, were also believed to be involved in the murder of a Poso resident named M. Fadli, 50, in front of the victim's house in South Poso Pesisir district in November last year. Fadli was slashed in the neck with a machete and killed.



Early last year, Santoso's gang, including both foreigners, was also involved in the murders of three residents in Tangkura village, South Poso Pesisir, said Idham.



Apart from their role as assassins, Idham suspected that the foreigners had been arranging the delivery of finance and ammunition supplies to the MIT.



Poso, located some 200 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital of Palu, used to be a popular resort city known for its natural beauty.



However, between 1998 and 2001, the region was rocked by a series of sectarian conflicts involving Muslim and Christian groups, leaving some 1,000 people dead.



Of the regency's 228,000 residents, 68 percent are Christian and 26 percent Muslim.



With the Malino agreement signed in 2001 by both Christians and Muslims, peace gradually returned but acts of terrorism have continued.



Since last year, law enforcers have been cooperating in the manhunt for the leaders of the MIT, the most-feared group in the region. On Dec. 25, 2015, the police managed to arrest two Chinese Uighurs, identified as AM and AL, in Bekasi, West Java, who were believed to have been preparing bomb attacks.



National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan confirmed that the two people were linked to the radical IS movement.



'When we raided [AL's] house, we found material to make bombs,' he said recently.
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has said the Jakarta administration would help fund the Greater Jakarta Coordination Board's (BKSP Jabodetabekjur) development projects.

He said the projects would focus on the widening of Transjakarta bus lanes, among other things.

'Jakarta is part of Greater Jakarta. However, we [the Jakarta administration] will not take over the authority of other city administrations. We are obliged to allocate funds for the development of Greater Jakarta areas,' said Ahok after meeting with BKSP Jabodetabekjur executive chairman Didi Sunardi on Wednesday.

The governor further said that disagreements on the funding of several projects among city administrations in Greater Jakarta had hampered development in the area.

Giving an example, Ahok said that discussions on the mass rapid transit (MRT) construction in eastern and western Jakarta were not finished because some cities had refused to fund the project. This had forced the Jakarta administration to fully fund it.

'Now, cities in the surrounding areas of Jakarta, if you want to build infrastructure related to traffic and flood prevention, you just need to tell us,' said Ahok.

He said that to that end, what the Jakarta administration needed to do was to adjust its budgeting with relevant Greater Jakarta projects. The budget for Greater Jakarta development projects would be included in the Jakarta administration's revised regional budget. (ebf)
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Linkedin Ary Hermawan (The Jakarta Post) Tucson, Arizona  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesia must become a beacon of sanity amid the simmering conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have exploited an ancient religious schism to advance their respective interests in a power struggle within the Islamic world.



The Sunni-Shia divide started centuries ago, but the recent escalation between the two major Islamic denominations was triggered more by politics than renewed debates on Islamic history and theology. The government must do what it can to keep the country ' which hosts the world's largest Muslim population ' from getting sucked into this senseless conflict.



It is not unreasonable for Indonesia to be wary of the impacts of the latest spat between Riyadh and Tehran, which was sparked by the execution of the prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr by the Saudi kingdom, and the burning of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by Iranians protesting al-Nimr's execution.



While analysts often tout Indonesia as a model for democracy in the Islamic world, Jakarta still falls short of protecting its minorities.



Displaced Shias (yes, we have internally displaced persons) in Sidoarjo, East Java, are still languishing and can not return to their homes in Sampang, Madura, as they are still facing threats of violence from Sunni neighbors.



With the Saudi-Iranian conflict intensifying, fueling the fantasy of an all-out war between Sunni and Shiites among some Indonesians, the fate of the local Shiites is becoming more precarious. In 2012, the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Association (IJABI), a Shia group, put the number of followers between 2.5 million and 5 million.



Dealing with communal conflict is not easy. Indonesian police may have done a relatively good job in routing terrorism, but they are largely incompetent in containing mob violence.



In recent raids, the police's counterterrorism squad arrested and shot dead several people accused of having links to the Islamic State (IS) movement and of planning attacks on the Shiites, who are considered to be a fair target by all Sunni extremist groups. Critics say such a success was possible only because the counterterrorism squad works with virtual impunity.



The case is different when they deal with a violent mob. Shiites, Ahmadis and Christians who have become victims of religious intolerance are all too familiar with police inaction in the face of mass violence.



The enmity against Shiism and also the Wahhabism (Saudi Arabia's official ideology) in Indonesia did not happen naturally. It has grown by design. Both the Saudi kingdom and the Iranian republic have spent a lot of money to demonize each other.



The anti-Shia pogrom, probably funded by Saudi Arabia, has been going on for years and has virtually become a staple in Indonesia's social media pages. The anti-Wahhabi pogrom is a more recent phenomenon, but has gained traction among Indonesian Muslims who are wary of what they perceive as the Salafization of Indonesian Islam.



It is not known if Iran was behind the rising anti-Wahhabi pogrom in Indonesia, but popular sites such as arrahmahnews.com and voa-islamnews.com (do not confuse them with anti-Shia websites arrahmah.com and voa-islam.com) are obviously pro-Tehran. Some of them seem to be affiliated with moderate Sunni groups such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, which shares the same concerns about the rising influence of Wahhabism and takfiri groups.



This is a worrying trend, as the intensifying anti-Wahhabi propaganda may only fuel Sunni-Shia polarization among Indonesian Muslims. It may prevent some people from falling into Saudi propaganda, but it may also provoke anti-Shia Muslims in Indonesia to become more militant, if not more violent, in the face of an apparent 'Iranian' or 'Shia plot' in Indonesia.



The fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian-backed militia groups like Hezbollah and al-Hashd al-Shaabi often escape the criticism of local moderate and liberal Sunni Muslims, who are mostly anti-Wahhabism, has also led to accusations that they are pro-Iran, if not closeted Shia themselves. This may create a sense that Shia influence in Indonesia is greater than it actually is.



There is perhaps nothing more convoluted than Middle Eastern politics. Global and regional powers seem to be equally culpable for humanitarian disasters there. There is no reason for Indonesia to recklessly wade into it.



The government therefore made a wise decision not to join the newly formed Saudi Arabia-led coalition to fight terrorism, as it is unclear which terror groups it is fighting and how it will do it. After all, with the absence of Tehran, Damascus and Baghdad, the Saudi coalition looks more like an anti-Shia club.



But this does not mean Indonesia should become isolationist. As a democracy, Indonesia should promote foreign policies that are in line with democratic principles and human rights. The recent executions of foreign drug convicts by the Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo administration may tarnish the government's human rights credentials, but let that be a lesson to learn. To prevent the spread of sectarianism, the government should be more assertive in promoting democracy and sanity in the Islamic world.



Indonesia, for instance, should have condemned or at least regretted the senseless execution of al-Nimr. Not only was he a non-violent dissident, he was a respected Shia cleric whose execution would only ignite the anger of Shia Muslims and inflame the heated Sunni-Shia relations in some Muslim countries.



Indonesia must also specifically call for an end to the use of sectarianism for political purposes by Riyadh and Tehran, which has caused instability in many countries, including possibly on its own soil.



The government must protect its citizens regardless of their beliefs. It is obliged to protect all Shia citizens, who may now face a greater threat. It must rein in local Sunni extremists and support the mainstream Islamic groups that abhor violence.



As co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, Indonesia should remain neutral and encourage other Muslim majority nations to act the same in the cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. And if it is too much to ask for Indonesia ' which is struggling to keep its own human rights record clean ' to become a beacon of sanity, then at least it should not allow itself to get involved in a religiously tinged conflict. It's now 2016 ' why are we going for a religious war?

_________________________________



The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

A local unit of Japanese electronics company Epson, PT Indonesia Epson Industry, has invested around US$3 million in expanding its production plant in Cikarang, West Java.



Indonesia Epson Industry senior general manager Emile Pattiwael said during a company visit to the Industry Ministry on Tuesday that his company had expanded its total area to 25 hectares.



'Our printer production capacity will stay the same during the expansion. The expansion is necessary because we need more space to produce more high-end products ['],' he said, explaining that his company produced 6 to 7 million printers a year.



Emile added that the expanded plant had begun operation this month, but would not be officially inaugurated until April. 22.



Having operated in Cikarang for 20 years, Indonesia Epson Industry was committed to expanding its business in the country, the company's president director Eichi Abe said, explaining that his company had chosen Indonesia as a production base as the country offered a huge and high-quality workforce.



The company exports worldwide, to destinations including America, Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific.



Besides a factory in Cikarang, Epson also has another factory in Batam to produce ink cartridges. The Japanese electronics giant also has production bases in the Philippines and China.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post  Thu, January 7, 2016

Each year we enjoy Independence Day parades, during which children dress up in an array of costumes. Ahead of every Aug. 17, pint-size mock uniforms of the police and military are among the most coveted by children and parents alike. Apparently it's hard to grow out of our love for such uniforms, given the adulation for figures evoking public protection and authority. So much so that it appears officials have gone a little overboard with their military-like uniforms.



On Tuesday, Air Force chief of staff Air Marshal Agus Supriatna said military-style outfits being worn by civilians 'will cause misconceptions and create the opportunity for certain people to abuse' the uniforms. Transportation Ministry Ignasius Jonan, for example, 'looked like a general', as one report said, in functions including National Transportation Day last September.



Despite a 2004 Indonesian Military (TNI) regulation on military fatigues, which banned family members and other civilians from wearing military garments, officials under Jonan said their uniforms were not a new design. The white uniforms donned by provincial governors for swearing-in ceremonies, with a military cap and lapels, are also a legacy of the past, harking back to the governors-general of colonial times.



Now, with no monarchic luster to gild the nation's officials, grandeur of garb can be borrowed only from the military. The popular former Jakarta governor, Ali Sadikin, a retired navy officer, is immortalized in his portraits in his white uniform. Founding father Sukarno adopted a general's outfit and baton to enhance his image.



While no longer a military-dominated nation, we're clearly unconvinced that civilian officials are grand enough without medals and lapels. This is why President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's standard white shirt is a subtle yet drastic message to drop the obsession with such outfits, and why he was ridiculed for being filmed in military fatigues outside a military function. Such behavior was unknown from earlier TNI supreme commanders, particularly retired generals Soeharto and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.



Written notices from the Air Force to mass organizations and political parties to refrain from issuing such uniforms have had no effect, and post-Soeharto the official in a safari ' a plain stuffy shirt with lapels ' has become a rare sight.



Emulation of militaristic means remain ' not of military discipline, unfortunately, but of the bullying and brutality meted out to anyone expressing dissent.



We are still struggling to phase out this culture from both military and civil life, with the aim of a more professional military and a more confident civilian government. As Air Force spokesman Air Comr. Dwi Badarmanto said, 'Military uniforms are intended [...] to distinguish combatants and civilians.' Medals and stars certainly look impressive, and lend an air of authority; and the TNI, with its apparent reluctance to go 'back to barracks', does not seem greatly concerned about the issue.



The issue is part and parcel of the long struggle to reform civilian-military relations, and the suggestion of military backing remains useful to politicians. But surely it's time for officials to follow the President in white, and drop the stars.
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry intends to reduce the frequency of ship monitoring from 280 days last year to 144 days in 2016 as a result of third-party support and limited fuel allocation.



Maritime and Fisheries Monitoring Task Force (PSDKP) director of monitoring and management Tyas Budiman said PSDKP officers worked very hard in 2015, leading to 280 days of operation, or four times more than in 2014. This year, the task force will launch fewer operations.



"Our operation is constrained by the fuel budget, which is related to the fuel price. With a Rp 600 billion budget in 2014, we patrolled on only 66 days that year but managed to monitor 1,600 ships and catch 34 ships[fishing illegally]," Tyas said.



PSDKP general director Asep Burhanudin said third parties such as the Navy, water police and the public (organized in the Maritime and Fisheries Monitoring Society, POKMASWAS) had helped the PSDKP in its tasks.



"In 2015, 2,229 ships were monitored. The Navy and water police monitored half of them. Of the 157 ships [involved in illegal fishing], 129 were caught by the PSDKP and the remainder by third parties," Asep said at a media conference on Tuesday in Jakarta.



The ministry, he continued, has developed POKMASWAS, with 1,488 people participating. He expected third parties to improve their participation in supervising Indonesian waters. (ags)(+)
The new regulatory rules will include selling restrictions, mechanisms and a predisclosure system to help decrease the negative impact on the capital market. (Photo : Reuters)

To prevent China's fragile stock market from collapsing, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced a new set of rules that will regulate share sales among major shareholders, China Daily reported.



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The new regulatory rules will include selling restrictions, mechanisms and a predisclosure system to help decrease the negative impact on the capital market, said CSRC spokesman Deng Ge.



The securities regulator made the announcement on Tuesday, Jan. 5, just in time for the expiration of the imposed stock-selling ban on major shareholders.



The upcoming lifting of the ban was said to trigger the massive sell-off that occurred on Monday, Jan. 4, which triggered the halt of trading in equities, options and index futures.



Various media outlets speculate that the CSRC will also extend the current sale ban until the formal introduction and implementation of the new rules.



Officials from the regulatory commission have declined to comment.



Meanwhile, two listed companies contacted have not received any notice from the stock exchanges or the regulatory commission about the extension of the selling ban, according to China Daily.



On the other hand, five listed companies have already promised that their controlling shareholders and senior executives will not sell shares in order to reduce equity holdings.



Once the selling ban is lifted, overvalued small-cap stocks will take the blow, according to securities researcher Dong Dengxin from Wuhan University of Science and Technology.



"There is a strong motivation to sell the expensive small-cap stocks as the average price-to-earning ratio of companies listed on the startup board has reached 109 times," Dong said.



Investors are not too optimistic about the Chinese stock market in 2016. An online survey by Tencent Holdings Ltd. revealed on Tuesday that an overwhelming 61 percent out of 40,000 online investors shared a negative outlook for the A-share market, while only 22 percent of respondents were positive.


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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

The government has started to allocate disbursement targets for each participant of its subsidized loan program as it expects more banks and multifinance firms to join the scheme.



Braman Setyo, deputy of financing at the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministry, said the biggest allocation of the total Rp 100 trillion (US$7.2 billion) of microcredit program (KUR) loans to be disbursed this year would go to state-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).



'BRI will remain dominant in the program as it is targeted to disburse Rp 67.5 trillion of KUR loans this year,' Braman said in Jakarta recently.



State-owned lender Bank Mandiri has the second-biggest target with Rp 13 trillion, followed by its counterpart Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) with Rp 12 trillion, while private lenders are expected to disburse Rp 4 trillion.



The remaining Rp 2.5 trillion and Rp 1 trillion disbursements were allocated to regional development banks and multifinance companies, respectively, Braman said.



'Those are temporary allocations, because President Joko ['Jokowi'] Widodo expects disbursement of KUR loans to reach Rp 120 trillion. The ministry's KUR committee will conduct further assessments at mid-year,' Braman said.



Muhammad Irfan, director for business and small and medium enterprises at BRI, said the bank was convinced that it would be able to achieve its huge KUR target this year as it had a large capacity to disburse microloans for many years.



'[The target] is achievable, because Rp 67.5 trillion is only half of our annual capacity of microloan disbursement. We usually disburse an average of Rp 150 trillion of microloans each year,' he said.



As the economy could improve, Irfan said BRI was also optimistic that its microloans, which include KUR, would grow around 19 percent to 20 percent this year, higher than 17 percent growth booked last year.



In 2015, BRI disbursed Rp 16.2 trillion of KUR loans, lower than its target of Rp 20 trillion, because the program's launch was delayed until mid-August. That also affected other participants ' state-owned lender Mandiri and BNI ' along with private bank Sinarmas, which only disbursed KUR credit for Indonesian migrant workers.



KUR loan disbursement by those four banks only reached Rp 22.7 trillion in 2015, equal to 75.85 percent of the Rp 30 trillion targeted last year.



However, despite the nationwide underachievement, Bank Mandiri corporate secretary Rohan Hafas said the lender's KUR loan disbursement in 2015 reached Rp 3.5 trillion to 70,318 debtors, exceeding its target of Rp 3.2 trillion.



'We will optimize all of our networks to boost KUR loans this year, while also educating and guiding our customers, so that they can develop their businesses,' he said.



In order to achieve the 2016 nationwide KUR target, the government has allowed more banks, including privately owned and regional development banks (BPD), to join the program, with certain requirements in terms of financial situation and business portfolios.



Braman said the Financial Services Authority (OJK) had given approval for two BPDs, Bank Kalbar from West Kalimantan and Bank NTT from East Nusa Tenggara, to take part in the program, while waiting for six others that were deemed eligible.



'We haven't received the names of the six BPDs, but we have been informed that there are at least 10 private banks deemed eligible for the program,' he said, adding that the ministry was also waiting for the OJK's approval for multifinance companies that would be considered eligible.
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry may sink up to 57 fishing boats if they are found guilty of operating illegally in Indonesian waters. Twelve of the arrested boats are confirmed to be destroyed while 45 others are undergoing legal proceedings.



Maritime and Fisheries Monitoring Task Force (PSDKP) ship operations director Goenaryo assured that the decision to sink the boats as not made lightly.



"We have criteria that must be met before we can sink ships. First, it must be proven that the ship harms the ecosystem with tools that can be categorized as 'destructive fishing.' Second, they trespass our territory; and third, they carry dangerous media," he said on Wednesday in Jakarta.



Nineteen of the 57 arrested boats were flying Vietnamese flags, while 18 Indonesian-flagged ships were arrested on allegations of destructive fishing. Malaysia has 12 ships facing destruction, while the Philippines five and Thailand three.



The ministry sunk 121 ships last year, 107 of which were destroyed in the first half of the year. Thirty-nine of them were Vietnamese ships, 36 Philippine ships, 21 Thai and 12 Malaysian.



Toughened sanctions



Responding to criticism over its ship-sinking policy, Goenaryo said that a previous measure in which arrested ships were handed over to nearby communities until legal proceeding were completed was not effective as the boats sat idle at ports.



The government, he continued, planned to toughen its sanctions by sinking boats on the spot.



"With the 2009 Fisheries Law, we have a legal basis to sink boats. But on account of the rising number of illegal fishing boats, we are revising the law in a way that would allow us to sink boats right when they are caught," Goenaryo said. (ags)(+)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry has pledged to solve the running disagreement between two state-owned companies, PT Pertamina and PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), over steam pricing at plants in Kamojang, West Java.

SOE Ministry deputy of energy, logistics, zones and tourism Edwin Hidayat Abdullah said that he had spoken with PLN and Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a Pertamina subsidiary that supplies steam-based electricity to PLN's grid.

"I have discussed the issue with PGE and PLN, but we are still in the process [of coming to an agreement]. I have also made a report to the SOE minister about this issue. It is being taken care of," said Edwin at the PLN office in Jakarta on Thursday.

Both companies reached an impasse in steam price negotiations to renew the electricity purchase deal from PGE's Kamojang plants. Kamojang geothermal wells supply steam to a 140 megawatt power plant owned by PLN.

PLN director Nasri Sebayang said that the state-owned electricity provider offered a purchase price of 3 to 4 US cents per kilowatt-hour (KwH). Under the previous agreement, which expired at end 2015, PGE sold steam power to PLN at 6.2 US cents per KwH.

"We considered the 6 US cents per Kwh [offered by Pertamina] to be too expensive," he said.

Nasri insisted that the tariff was proposed after a verification and price survey at geothermal steam fields owned by PLN, namely Mataloko plant and Ulumbu plant in Flores, that claimed to show that Kamojang's steam price would not exceed 4 US cents.

Earlier, PLN spokesman Agung Murdifi said that Pertamina had offered an unreasonable steam price regardless of the 32 years of cooperation between the two companies.

'What makes me confused, was that all of sudden Pertamina was offering a high price," he said in a statement to thejakartapost.com.

Pertamina's vice president of corporate communications Wianda Pusponegoro said that PGE would stop selling steam to Kamojang plants next month if disagreement over the price was not resolved.

"It is very unfortunate, as it may set a bad precedent for other efforts to develop geothermal and renewable energy in Indonesia," she said. (ags)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Indonesian Coalition to End Child Marriage (Koalisi 18+) has urged the government to issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to stop child marriage to save the future of millions of Indonesian children.

Koalisi 18+ coordinator Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono said child marriage was one of most untouchable methods of operation of sexual violence against children.

He said that based on National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) data, in 2013 there were 263,285 cases of violence against women reported, including domestic violence against child wives.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) data show that 649 cases of violence against children occurred in Jakarta throughout 2015.

'With such a huge figure, the national emergency concerning violence against children must become the main focus of attention for the government,' said Supriyadi as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.

The activist further said a married female adolescent was considered inferior to her spouse in their relations, especially if the spouse was much older.

Unfortunately, the condition of children in Indonesia has continued to worsen as it now ranks second among Southeast Asian countries with the highest number of child marriage.

A 2012 national census showed that one out of five female children in Indonesia married before the age of 18. It was also discovered that many maternal and infant deaths in the country were a result of child marriage.

'Based on the facts, Koalisi 18+ is calling on President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration to immediately respond to this emergency situation by issuing a Perppu to eliminate child marriage,' said Supriyadi.

Koalisi 18+, a social movement that aims to stop child marriage and the forced marriage of young people, filed a judicial review against Law No.1/1974 on marriage, specifically Article 7 (1), which sets the minimum age of marriage for females at 16.

In a hearing on June 18, 2015, the Constitutional Court rejected the review, saying there was no guarantee that increasing the minimum age of marriage to 18 would reduce divorce cases, alleviate health problems or minimize other social problems affecting women.

Supriyadi said there was an urgency to issue a Perppu to stop child marriage as violence against children in Indonesia was at an alarming level.

'The number of child marriages has also entered a dangerous state,' he said.

Supriyadi said a Perppu was needed due to the absence of a proper law that prevented child marriage from happening.

'The 1974 Marriage Law has become obsolete and is incompatible with today's generation,' said Supriyadi. (mas/ebf)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said Wednesday that he was ready for questioning if the police summoned him with regard to a defamation report filed with the Jakarta Police.



'She reported me. If I am summoned I will come and give an explanation. It's part of the police duty [to summon],' he said at City Hall on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.



Last month, Ahok was reported for defamation by Yusri Isnaeni, 32, in a report filed with the Jakarta Police. Ahok reportedly called her a 'thief' when she asked him about the use of the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP).



According to previous reports, Yusri approached Ahok to enquire about the use of the KJP, expressing concerns about the difficulties associated with the card and when she told Ahok that she had used the KJP to buy a school uniform for her child, she was called 'thief'.



Ahok said that he was conducting his duty to enforce the city's law.



'It's my duty to issue a regulation [on the KJP]. If you use the card to get a cash, it is a form of corruption,' he explained.



'My duty is also to enforce law. So, when she came to me [and said that she had used the KJP to get a cash], I told her that she had been wrong. I told her that she is a thief, stealing money,' he added.



The Central Bank, explained Ahok, had regulated that using the KJP to get a cash was illegal.



He said he was innocent and was not afraid of the report made by Yusri. 'I said the right thing. She was the one who was wrong. If she reported me, then go ahead,' he said, adding that it was possible to report the woman back to the police for the criminal act of using the KJP to get cash.



Jakarta Police general crime director Krishna Murti said Tuesday that the police would summon Ahok for questioning.



Separately, Yusri's lawyer Feldy Taha said that investigators had enough proof to summon Ahok.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jakarta State University (UNJ) Student Executive Board (BEM) head Ronny Setiawan was expelled from the university due to remarks he made on social media platform Twitter about the university's rector.



UNJ spokesman Asep Sugiarto said that Ronny, a student at UNJ's Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty, class of 2011, often made remarks through his Twitter handle @ronnyunj about the university's rectorate that were untrue. Asep said that as head of UNJ's BEM, Ronny's remarks were inappropriate. Asep did not mention which of Ronny's tweets were harmful to the university.



According to a decree signed by UNJ rector Djaalil, Ronny was expelled from the university due to 'technology-based crime, defamation and incitement which could disrupt the peace and the implementation of the program implemented on campus.' Further, the decree claimed that Ronny used his position as BEM head to threaten Djaalil.



Separately, Ronny said that he regretted UNJ's decision to expel him, which he said was 'subjective,' adding that he would attempt to restore his status as a student at UNJ.



Ronny said that he hoped no other students would become 'a victim of UNJ's misconduct'.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

A number of minority groups have joined Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, to launch a nationwide, grassroots movement aimed at combating extremism.



The organizations, which include the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), the High Council of Confucianism in Indonesia (Matakin) and the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Walubi), joined the movement in its effort to maintain the country's foundation of pluralism, which is under threat from extremism.



The organizations plan to hold a mass rally at Lapangan Banteng Square on Jan. 17 in which thousands of their members are expected to participate.



'With this mass rally we want to bring the message home that diversity should be this nation's strength. We must show that peaceful coexistence is possible,' Father Guido Suprapto of the KWI told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.



NU central board chairman Marsyudi Syuhud said that the rally would be the start of a nationwide movement campaigning for tolerance and pluralism under the banner of Islam Nusantara (Islam of the Archipelago).



The NU promoted the concept of Islam Nusantara during the organization's 33rd congress last year, where it espoused that Islam was compatible with nationalism and indigenous values.



Marsyudi said the peaceful and tolerant brand of Islam was currently under threat from the rise of fundamentalism.



'This is the start of a movement to counter the perception that Islam is not a peaceful religion because we now see Muslims attacking one another, between Sunni and Shia. And this is before we talk about our relations with other faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism,' Marsyudi said.



Marsyudi also said the interfaith movement would guard the country from the intrusion of extremism that came from abroad in the form of radical groups like the Islamic State (IS) movement and others that wanted to impose a single interpretation of Islam.



'The danger is clear and present. Now we see they have the courage to fly the IS flag at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. We also had people rallying at Senayan Stadium and openly expressing their wishes for changing Pancasila as the state ideology,' he said.



The interfaith group also expressed concern that the growing extremism sprung from what it deemed a government failure to address radicalism.



'We have people returning from fighting with IS in Syria and the government does nothing. This makes people believe that the Arab Spring will certainly come to Indonesia soon,' Marsyudi said.



The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) assured those concerned on Thursday that 149 Indonesians returning from war-torn Syria, home to the radical IS, would not cause security problems here.



BNPT said that IS returnees would undergo thorough screening before being allowed to rejoin society.



Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said recently that at least 800 Indonesians had joined IS and that 284 of these had been identified and 52 had died.



Father Edy Purwanto of the KWI said that Catholics in the country would join the NU-initiated movement.



'We are aware that the NU always gets divine help to deal with problems in the country. We will support the movement and six million Catholics in the country will join the effort,' he said.
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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura  Thu, January 7, 2016

Hundreds of villagers in Mamberamo Raya in Papua have fled into the woods to live as they fear the Indonesian Military (TNI) will blame them for the death of an officer last year, a regional lawmaker said on Thursday.

A member of the Papuan House of Representatives (DPRP) Tan Wei Long said that at least 120 families from three villages -- Namunaweja, Anggreso and Kasonaweja all in Mamberamo Raya regency -- had fled into the forest in early December. The villagers were afraid of being arrested after the murder of Maj. John De Fretes by a group of people suspected of being part of an armed group in Namunaweja village in Mamberamo Tengah subdistrict on Nov. 30, 2015.

"They are afraid of being arrested for involvement in the criminal act. It [the murder] was carried out by rogue individuals, but they are scared of being dragged into the case so they ran away into the woods," he said in Jayapura on Thursday.

During the DPRP's recess, Tan visited Memberamo Raya to meet with local officials, religious and community leaders as well as local security officers to discuss ways to persuade the 120 families to return to their village.

"All parties have agreed to use the persuasive approach with the people hiding in the forest," he said.

Separately, Papua's Indonesian Christian Church's (GKI) Rev. Albert Yoku urged the local government and security officers to find a solution soon considering that the villagers had been living in rough conditions in the forest for more than a month.

"The forest in Mamberamo Raya is not suitable for humans to live in. There are many leeches and not much food in the forest. They could starve," he said.

Yoku also urged that a persuasive approach be used to convince the villagers to return to their homes. He said that if the government did not take immediate action, it would cause other problems such as health issues and the children skipping school.

He suggested that the authorities search the forest carefully as the villagers were spread out in several locations in the forest.

Maj. John was shot dead by an armed group in late November after he visited Namunaweja upon hearing that a military wing of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) led by Cosmos Makabori had approached local villagers. He was accompanied by subordinates Lance Corp. Affan and Lance Corp. Simon Sopacua to meet with the villagers. However, as they arrived in Namunaweja, they were suddenly attacked by a group of people. John, who was also a local pastor, was tortured and shot with his own pistol by a member of the group while the two officers managed to escape.

Police have not identified the perpetrator.

After his death, the TNI promoted him to lieutenant colonel and covered the education costs of two of his children. (rin)(+)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesia has called for North Korea to comply with UN Security Council resolutions after the isolated country conducted a hydrogen bomb test, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Thursday.

"We have conveyed our concern over the nuclear test carried out by North Korea," she said as part of her Ministry's annual press statement.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Retno said that the bomb test was a violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996 that prohibited the launch of nuclear weapons for military and civilian purposes.

The hydrogen bomb test was also a violation against North Korea's responsibilities under Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1974 (2009) and 2087 (2013) the Ministry said.

"Indonesia called for all parties to respect and comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolution, cease their actions and uphold diplomacy and dialogue to create a situation conducive to peace, stability and development in the region," the statement read.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said that Indonesia had voiced its concern, adding that North Korea should take into account further measures that the UN Security Council would take against the country.

Indonesia was yet to make a plan to visit the North Korean embassy to talk directly with government officials, he said.

North Korea was globally condemned by world powers and threatened with new international sanctions after the country's leader Kim Jong Un claimed that his nation had detonated a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday. The action was strongly condemned by all 15 members of UN Security Council including China, North Korea's ally, which experienced tremors in its northeastern areas near the North Korean border after the test, according to a report by Associated Press. (rin)(+)
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Linkedin Andre Omer Siregar (The Jakarta Post) Darwin  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesian-Australian relations have always been close, especially for those living in Darwin, Northern Territory (NT), or the Top-End as they call it. Not only is Darwin close in geographic proximity to Indonesia ' being 370 kilometers to Saumlaki, Maluku, or 2.5 hours to Bali, as compared to four hours to Sydney ' but it bears close historic ties since Makassar sailors traded with the Yirrkala aboriginal tribe in East Arnhem Land in the 17th century.



To retrace the close ties, the staff of the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin and I visited the Yirrkala community near Nhulunbuy, about an hour's flight north of Darwin, to attend the Suara Indonesia Dance Group performance by Murtala and Alfina O'Sullivan from Sydney, Dedy Amijaya from Ponorogo, East Java and Rosealee Pearson from East Arnhem Land.



After receiving a traditional Yirrkala welcoming dance and witnessing indigenous children perform Indonesian dances, I was approached by a 71-year-old Yirrkala elder named Dhuwarrwarr Marlika who was also partly from Makassar in South Sulawesi. She reached out for my hand and whispered gently, 'Welcome home!' This was a great surprise not only to me, but also to all guests, as she recited a message from her father about the lovely tales of friendship, dance and family between the Yirrkala and the Macassans. Her father died two decades ago. Now Dhuwarrwarr spends much time painting on bark wood, depicting several themes about the Bugis Phinisi boats and fishermen that had been part of the rich history that Australia and Indonesia possessed because of the close proximity of the two countries. Since then, much more cooperation has been established, particularly from Darwin, including in the fields of boats, beef and Bali.



With beef or the live cattle trade, most bilateral trade goes through the NT. In 2014, it provided 386,000 of the 750,000 cattle exported to Indonesia. For the past four years the Northern Australia Cattlemen's Association, along with the Indonesian-Australian Partnership on Food Security in the Red Meat and Cattle Sector, provided a nine-week cattle management training program for 54 Indonesian undergraduate pastoral students.



Through the NT government, East Kalimantan province is working on the Sapi Sawit project, a scheme to raise cattle on oil palm plantations. Just recently, four riverine buffalo were gifted for continued research. As beef demand in Asia grows, Indonesia and Australia will need to investigate how they can be stronger mutual partners in cattle cooperation.



Regarding boats, the issue of people smuggling, the trafficking in persons from the Middle East and Asia into Australia, will continue to be a challenge for both governments, as significant numbers continue to make the journey to Darwin. Criminal syndicates are too eager to target poor fishermen, especially in East Nusa Tenggara, by offering vast amounts of money for a quick trip across the seas, despite the dangers.



For tourism, many Northern Territorians choose to fly to Bali as opposed to flying down south. These strong people-to-people relations have allowed for many exchange students from eastern Indonesia and the NT and also to better engage business communities and for the promotion of human resource development.



The re-emerging Asian region also emphasizes the important position Darwin holds, especially since Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned the importance of three cities for shipping, namely Hong Kong, Singapore and Darwin. The US 'pivot' to Asia and Japan's interest in liquid natural gas in this region also make it important for Indonesia and Australia to play a leading role in regional stability.



The NT government is playing an active role in several subregional forums including the trilateral Australia-Indonesia-Timor Leste cooperation and the recent Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area-Northern Territory network.



The recent meeting between President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Jakarta brought about a promising atmosphere for new bilateral relations. A diplomacy of proximity between Indonesia and Australia could forge new ideas and cooperation for the coming years.



As Jakarta develops Indonesia's eastern region and Canberra develops the northern part of Australia (through its new White Paper and the appointment of Federal Minister on Northern Australia Josh Frydenberg) and the keen interest of PM Turnbull then there is a real opportunity for businesses, development stakeholders and the people in this region to embrace their roles as actors in regional stability and development.



Albeit for proximity, Indonesians and Australians are very different in culture, history and perhaps outlook. But both peoples do have a strong desire to be together. As Indonesian Ambassador Nadjib Riphat stated, 'God did not make Indonesia and Australia as neighbors only to argue, but as a blessing.'



The meeting of foreign ministers Retno LP Marsudi and Julie Bishop in Sydney on Dec. 21 provided an opportunity to chart a new path in bilateral relations, especially one that attends to the aspirations and hopes of both peoples.



This meeting could explore how Indonesia and Australia prepare themselves for the new Asian century. It might even chart a new course so Indonesia and Australia are not seen by the media merely as odd neighbors, but as truly genuine partners. I think this time the latter will prevail.

______________________________

The writer is Indonesia's Consul in Darwin, Northern Territory. The views expressed are his own.
During the meeting last Tuesday, Wang reiterated the importance of seeking peace in Syria through talks and political solutions that are in line with the important and long-term interests of Syria. (Photo : www.wantchinatimes.com)

China and Britain have agreed to issue a joint statement regarding the situation in Syria, according to a report by China Daily. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced the agreement on Tuesday, Jan. 5.



The joint statement between the two nations is to encourage a solution to address the situation in Syria and to "support Syrian people to decide on their own future."



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According to Hammond, China and Britain are fully committed in looking for a political solution in Syria "to end the bloody civil war in Syria and to allow a better future for the people in Syria." The two countries are members of the International Syria Support Group.



Researcher Li Guofu from the Middle East at the China Institute of International Studies said that the joint statement shows international unity in addressing the Syrian issue.



"It's not only China's stance, but China has also gained support from an important European country. This shows that China and Europe have a lot of consensus on this issue," said Li in an interview with China Daily.



Through Hammond, Britain expressed hopes of further bilateral ties with China, specifically in working on multilateral concerns "around the global security agenda, where we have shared interests in the global battle against Daesh (Islamic State) and more broadly against terrorism."



During the meeting last Tuesday, Wang reiterated the importance of seeking peace in Syria through talks and political solutions that are in line with the important and long-term interests of the Syrian people.



Prior to the announcement of the joint agreement, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces sent a delegation to China as a result of an announcement made by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Dec. 24. According to the foreign minister, the Syrian government is open to negotiation if the opposition parties in Syria come up with a list for a negotiation delegation.



During the visit, China encouraged the opposition forces to negotiate with the Syrian government and form the delegation.


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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesian human rights activist Mugiyanto Sipin was detained by Malaysian immigration officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at noon on Thursday and was immediately deported back to Indonesia, a representative from the organization has confirmed.



Mugiyanto had arrived in Kuala Lumpur to speak at an event organized by Bersih 2.0 when he was stopped and returned to Indonesia by immigration officials, Bersih 2.0 secretariat member Mandeep Singh told thejakartapost.com.



Mugiyanto is confirmed to have arrived back in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon.



He made a statement on his Facebook account that read, 'Three police officers who interrogated me said that they were ordered by political authorities to ban me from entering Malaysia. They said that my presence at the Yellow Mania Forum discussion was considered political interference by a foreigner.'



Mugiyanto was due to attend the Yellow Mania Forum where he was scheduled to speak alongside Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah at an event titled 'People's movement can bring change' at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).



Bersih 2.0 strongly condemned the authorities' decision to prohibit Mugiyanto from entering Malaysia, according to an official statement.



Bersih, which means 'clean' in Malay, refers to the Coalition of Free and Fair Elections. It is a civil society group consisting of 84 non-government organizations calling for a thorough reform of the electoral process in Malaysia.



'This is yet more proof of the need for the Barisan Nasional [party] to prevent the right to protest and speak out,' the statement said.



Despite Mugiyanto's deportation, he will still be speaking at the event, which organizers will facilitate through Skype.



Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Herman Prayitno confirmed Mugiyanto's deportation.



'[The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Malaysia] respects Malaysian authority and law,' said Herman when contacted today.



Mugiyanto, who held the chairman position of the Families of Missing Persons Association (IKOHI) for 12 years from 2002 - 2014, was a student leader in the anti-Suharto reform movement in 1998 and helped organize student resistance and action against Suharto's 'Orde Baru' regime. He was among pro-democracy activists who were kidnapped and later released.



Mugiyanto is currently the senior program officer for Human Rights and Democracy at the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID). (dan)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post  Thu, January 7, 2016

Jan. 5, 2015



Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama aims to recruit thousands of drivers for city-owned PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) buses by offering a salary of around Rp.9.3 million (US$666), as part of the capital's efforts to improve public transportation.



The city administration has opened recruitment for drivers and onboard personnel, with 6,000 spots as drivers available. The new drivers will be trained and receive a salary of between Rp 6.2 million, twice 2016 Jakarta's minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million, and Rp 9.3 million.



'If you work as an angkot [mini bus] driver or a truck driver would you get that amount? Just don't act insolent,' he said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.



Your comments:



The governor knows how to bargain, and to improve the Indonesian transportation system.



Hat off, Sir.



AnimisticGod



It sounds great. Good job and good salary. It's a much better job and salary than Istanbul bus drivers' income.



Tutkukap



It's a good job and salary. The minimum wage for Jakarta, announced in October 2015, was only Rp 3.1 million.



JLC



That's only half of what they pay in Singapore. There, starting pay is S$1,800 per month and from what I hear, that's only for the first three months. At today's exchange that is about Rp 17.5 million and more after the three-month probation. But, Indonesians are not allowed, they hire from China, Bangladesh and all over, not Indonesia. Why? Because we're too corrupt and maybe it will rub off on their locals.



I compared us to Singapore for two reasons: Because when I first went looking for a job in Singapore, we were far ahead, in everything. The rupiah was high and lots of rich Indonesians treated Singapore with disdain, cheap and good. Furthermore, I have a feeling that Ahok is using Singapore as a benchmark and trying very hard to play catch-up. For example, the salary of drivers and the buses that he wants

to buy (Mercedes, Scania, Volvo etc.).



Pauloh



So Ahok is saying the right thing but in the wrong/impolite way? This illustrates something that I've long noticed: Many, if not most, Indonesians tend to place more importance on the container rather than content, on form rather than substance.



But objectively, with all the 'polite' presidents you have had since 1948, the country is still one of the poorest in the world ' 118th out of 186 countries by nominal gross domestic product per capita (IMF 2015). The only president who tried to do something for the country and not for himself, Gus Dur, was not very polite but he was quickly removed by all the 'polite' representatives at the People's Consultative Assembly. Don't forget too what the other 'polite' people have done to the country ' soft (and polite) spoken personalities such as Anas, Lutfi Hassan, Akil Mochtar and Ratu Atut.



Since other things have failed, perhaps a bit of rudeness may be good for the country ' give it a try, you have nothing to lose.



Wandering Star



Why compare to Singapore? The living standard of the two countries is not the same. With half of Jakarta's population Singapore only needs a few buses because they have great public transportation, like the MRT trains that can get you close to any destination you want to go.



Snap



It sounds like a good plan. Hopefully a culture of safety first will be instilled among the drivers.



Randomthought



It is past time we stop being polite and do the right thing.



People like Sarpin, Suryadarma, Reza, Bakrie, OC Kaligis, and many of their friends and relatives whether foreign or local are very polite and nice but have done so much harm to Indonesia. Better your actions bring good but your words are foul rather than your actions be foul but words good.



Deddy K
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Linkedin Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Jakarta administration has agreed to revive the Greater Jakarta Coordination Board (BKSP Jabodetabekjur), after previously recommending the disbandment of the board.



The board was jointly established in 2010 by Jakarta, West Java and Banten provinces, designed to coordinate issues between cities that have connection to the central axis of Jakarta.



The board works not only in Jakarta but also Bogor, Bekasi and Depok cities as well as Cianjur, Bogor and Bekasi regencies in West Java, and Tangerang and South Tangerang cities and Tangerang regency in Banten.



'We will distribute funding to satellite cities for development through BKSP Jabodetabekjur. The board will coordinate with the satellite cities on what they need, and we will distribute funding to the cities through the board,' Ahok told reporters at City Hall Tuesday.



In 2014, Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama and Bekasi Mayor Rachmat Effendi asked that the board be disbanded, citing the its lack of work.



The following year, the Attorney General's Office named former BKSP secretary Asep Sukarno, who also previously served as chief of West Java Provincial Organization Bureau, as a suspect for allegedly embezzling grants from Jakarta, West Java and Banten.



The board received a Rp 7 billion (US$502,073) grant from the three provinces in 2013, however some of the funds were allegedly misused by Asep, which caused an estimated Rp 1.2 billion in state losses.



Ahok agreed to revive the board, but asked that it work well in coordinating the needs of Jakarta and the satellite cities.



The board has five main functions in the area, which are to coordinate cooperation, prepare programs, guarantee development and to monitor and evaluate programs.



'The BKSP must do its job well. We can provide as much funding needed to ensure coordination between the cities. Stop all these discussions and meetings and just get to work,' Ahok said.



He said the main programs that needed coordination were flood mitigation and projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion. Ahok said all satellite cities that received funding from Jakarta must be accountable and carry out development according to plans.



Separately, the board's secretary Herdi Jauhari said the Jakarta administration and the board during the same occasion also agreed upon a 'grand design' of development in greater Jakarta. The design consists of many aspects, including transportation, demography and flood mitigation, and is integrated between the cities.



Herdi said the city administration and the board signed a memorandum of understanding that would give the BKSP more power. He claimed the board was unable to do much work because of a lack of authority. 'We'll not only distribute funding to satellite cities; we will also be responsible for monitoring projects funded by Jakarta in satellite cities. Cities whose development are not in accordance with initial plans and proposals will be sanctioned,' Herdi said.



Previously, he said, the board only facilitated discussions between cities, which could be done just as well without the board. He added that the new system would commence after the Jakarta administration agreed on a revised budget later this year, or next year at the latest.



'The Jakarta administration has already allocated direct grants to satellite cities in the 2016 budget so it's too late for the system right now. However, Pak Ahok said the city administration will begin distributing funds through the BKSP in the revised budget or in the 2017 budget,' Herdi said.
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Linkedin Haeril Halim and Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Following a series of pretrial petitions from graft suspects, including most recently by the politically wired former president director of state port operator PT Pelindo II, RJ Lino, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo on Wednesday called on the Supreme Court to issue a pretrial guideline to prevent judges at lower courts from making controversial rulings.



As the highest judiciary body, the Supreme Court oversees courts and judges across the country.



'We hope that the Supreme Court will issue a circular on pretrial guidelines to prevent judges from using their 'creativity' in future pretrial hearings. We hope the Supreme Court will hear our concerns,' Agus said after a meeting with Constitutional Court leaders on Wednesday.



Agus said he had made the petition after consulting Constitutional Court justices on Wednesday.



During the meeting, court justices expressed concern over the difficulties faced by investigators after being ordered to halt their graft investigations by pretrial decisions.



Controversy over pretrial hearings erupted last February, when South Jakarta District Court judge Sarpin Rizaldi ordered the KPK to wind up its graft probe into then prospective National Police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, despite the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) not yet recognizing pretrial mechanisms as a legitimate means of halting KPK investigations.



In May, the Constitutional Court exacerbated the issue by inserting an article into the KUHAP recognizing a pretrial hearing as a legal means of challenging a graft investigation.



Following the Constitutional Court's ruling, other South Jakarta District Court judges ruled that the KPK had to halt graft probes into former Makassar mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin and former Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) chief Hadi Poernomo.



Agus raised the concern just days before the South Jakarta District Court began the pretrial hearing of Lino, who is said to have strong connections to high-profile figures in the government, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla.



Lino made headlines after National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso was sacked from his post after Lino complained to Kalla over the police's move to raid his office in October in an unrelated graft case.



Contacted separately, Lino's lawyer Maqdir Ismail confirmed that the hearing of Lino's pretrial petition would kick off on Monday next week.



The lawyer, who represented Gunawan in the latter's pretrial victory in February, called on the KPK to attend the pretrial hearing, adding that the commission should forsake its habit of skipping initial hearings in order to force the court to issue a postponement.
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Linkedin Indra Harsaputra (The Jakarta Post) Sidoarjo, East Java  Thu, January 7, 2016

Oil and gas company PT Lapindo Brantas, controlled by the family of businessman and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, plans to redrill a gas well near the center of a mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, while compensation to mudflow victims has not yet been fully disbursed.



Hundreds of police officers and security guards were seen on Wednesday guarding the Tanggulangin 1 well in Kedungbanteng subdistrict, Tanggulangin district, Sidoarjo, which is located some 5 kilometers from the center of the mudflow in Porong.



The company's spokesman Arief Setya Widodo said the drilling activity at Tanggulangin 1 would be for gas rather than for oil, as had been the case with the Banjar Panji-1 well. The Banjar Panji-1 well is believed by many to have caused the 2006 flow of hot mud that inundated thousands of houses in Porong.



'We will drill some 3,000 feet or a kilometer deep here,' Arief told The Jakarta Post.



At Banjar Panji-1, he said, the drilling had gone 3.5 kilometers deep, while in Tanggulangin, the drilling would only need some two to three weeks to complete.



He said the company was currently conducting drill site preparation (DSP), while exploration activities were expected to be conducted by the beginning of March.



Arief said the drilling had initially been scheduled for early December 2015 but had been postponed due to social problems.



'We understand local people's concern due to the trauma from the Sidoarjo mudflow. We don't want to repeat the same incident and we are open to all parties wanting to participate in supervising [the drilling],' Arief said.



Geologically, he said, the drilling would not cause problems. He added that his office had been granted a license for drilling activity from the Sidoarjo Environmental Agency that was also signed by former Sidoarjo regent Saiful Ilah.



He said the geological analysis included environmental management scheme and environmental monitoring scheme (UKL-UPL) issued by the environment agency.



'The UKL-UPL includes everything, including technical matters, geological matters and other things. It is safe,' he said.



He added that the drilling activities at Tanggulangin 1 had to be conducted soon, because gas output was decreasing.



Apart from that, he said, the government through the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), had also been encouraging the company to increase production to meet demand for gas in East Java.



PT Lapindo Brantas' gas production at the Tanggulangin 1 well is predicted to reach 5 million cubic meters per day. If combined with the production of some 30 wells already in operation in Sidoarjo, the production would reach 8 million cubic meters daily.



Arief said the company, of which the majority of shares was owned by the Bakrie family, used to produce 80 million cubic meters of gas per day.



In the meantime, PT Minarak Lapindo, which was tasked with paying compensation to the mudflow victims, has not yet finished paying out the funds. There are 86 remaining files certifying land ownership in the affected area that have not yet been paid, out of a total of 3,331 files it has to deal with.



The government earlier agreed to bail out the powerful family to settle the remaining compensation for victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster, providing a Rp 781 billion (US$62 million) loan to PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya.



The company claims it has so far spent Rp 6.1 trillion to handle both social and physical issues stemming from the mudflow.



Separately, the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency's (BPLS) validation and complaints coordinator, Khusnul Khuluk, confirmed on Wednesday that some 86 files had not been paid out.



'We will meet soon with the company to discuss the matter,' Khusnul said.

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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

The government is including the participation of law enforcement officials in its effort to overcome the legal challenges that previously disrupted fast-track project (FTP) 1 and FTP 2 of the 35,000 megawatt (MW) electricity program.



The electricity infrastructure program is included in the national strategic program (PSN). All relevant institutions were ordered to work hand in hand to support the program.



According to state-owned electricity firm PLN director Nasri Sebayang, there were issues that had diluted the FTP 1 and FTP 2 project, causing delays in electrification projects. Land acquisition was the main problem, along with the contractors' financial default and lengthy licensing procedures.



"We need to work with law enforcement to avoid legal problems in the future. The Presidential Regulation [Perpres] on electricity infrastructure development, which covers cooperation, is waiting for the President's signature," he said at PLN's office in Jakarta on Thursday.



The Attorney General Office's (AGO) junior attorney for intelligence, Adi Toegarisman, welcomed such synergy because electricity infrastructure was important for the nation. Law enforcement, according to him, should not distance itself from the government's effort to achieve the goals of the nation.



"This is not just a concern of PLN, but all relevant parties should be involved," he said.



Assistant to the state-owned enterprises minister on energy, logistic and tourism, Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, said that such synergy was needed as risks were awaiting the huge investment project.



To eliminate the bottlenecking, he further said, PLN would collaborate with state-owned energy providers such as Pertamina, Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and Bukit Asam to supply primary energy for the power plant.



Additional capacity



Nasri said that Indonesia needed an additional installed capacity of 35,000 MW to meet the electrification ratio to support economic growth by 2019. PLN is constructing electricity projects with a capacity of 7,400 MW.



In addition, he added, the state-owned electricity company was also working on a 46,000 kilometers worth of transmission circuits and 1,375 substation units--equivalent to 108,789 mega volt ampere (MVA).



The total investment needed for this mega project is about US$73 billion. "PLN plans to finance the electricity infrastructure program entirely from commercial loans and bonds," Nasri explained. (ags)(+)
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Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Wayan Lucky Diah Pithaloka, Cika Pracillia Nasution and Reza had the same answer when asked about their hopes after being chosen as models for stickers to be sold in the sticker market of Japan-based mobile chat application LINE, edition Say Cyin, which features the colloquialisms of the Indonesian transgender community.



'We want to prove to society that we can also achieve great things. We are better than the transgender stereotypes used to stigmatize us,' Lucky said during a press conference held to launch the stickers in South Jakarta on Wednesday.



Lucky, a 32-year-old beauty salon owner who was chosen as a Miss Law and Human Rights by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said she was able to show to the world that transgender people could also achieve things and contribute to society.



She expressed regret that many jobs suited to transgender people were given to cisgender people. 'Lots of actors act like us. Why not just hire us? Lots of transgender people are talented comedians and actors, for example,' she said.



Lucky said that the creative industry, the sector most suited to hiring transgender people, still discriminated against them. 'There's an [...] idea that we're not capable of being professional,' she said.



The sentiment was shared by Lucky's colleague Cika, a model. 'I hope that society can recognize us as regular human beings. We also can have talents and be professional,' she said.



Cika said she had been taken aback at the offer to be a sticker model, but was glad that the revenue from the stickers would go to a transgender nursing home owned by Yulianus Rettoblaut, better known as Mami Yuli, a transgender rights activist.



'I hope this can be a stepping stone for other transgender people to become faces of the creative industry,' she said.



Joza Bayu, a senior executive at creative agency Dentsu Indonesia, which designed the stickers, said words like rempong (bothersome), cyin (love), cucok (well-matched) and ember (indeed) were colloquial words used by Indonesians.



'Such terms enliven our conversation, but not many people know and acknowledge that they were created by the transgender community,' he said.



The terms, Joza said, were initially used as a form of bonding and recognition among the transgender community. 'Now the terms represent the contribution of transgender people to popular culture,' he said.



Joza said his company wanted to give the recognition that the community deserved by creating the stickers. 'We have 40 expressions featuring four transgender models,' he said.



The revenue from the stickers, he added, would also be used for the welfare of the transgender community.



Mami Yuli, head of the Indonesian Transgender Communication Forum (FKWI), said that she appreciated the efforts of Dentsu to recognize the language.



She added that despite the terms' popularity, the transgender community earned no advantage. 'That's why we want the revenue of the stickers to be dedicated to transgender people,' she said.



Yuli said that the transgender nursing home, funded by FKWI members and donors, was overcapacity. 'We have around 831 transgender aged 60 or above. We can only accommodate 20 people,' she said.



Yuli said the nursing home were essential for transgender people as many of them were cut off from their families. 'We train them in skills like cooking pastries, so they can be independent,' she said.
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Linkedin A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post) Lombok  Thu, January 7, 2016

Although Bali ranks among the top tourist destinations in the world, the vast Indonesian archipelago has more than one island that should be included on the list.

Four blonde girls wearing colorful bikinis lie down on a stretch of sparkling white sand amid the rumbling sounds of small waves on Kuta Beach one afternoon.



While staring at the limitless expanse of blue sea, the four girls sometimes get up to take sunblock lotion and rub it slowly on their bodies to protect their skin from the burning rays of the sun.



'I want to see a sunset,' said Jessica, one of the American girls.



The Kuta beach that the girls were enjoying was on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), instead of on Bali.



In the world's largest archipelago, Bali was the only Indonesian island included on a list of the top 30 islands in the world by US-based Conde Nast Traveler magazine in October 2015. It ranked 17th, far behind Palawan Island of the Philippines, which earned first place.



'Lombok deserves [to be included on the list]. Now it is heading to that way,' said NTB Culture and Tourism Agency head Lalu Faozal.



Surrounded by 35 smaller islands, the 4,514-square-kilometer Lombok is flanked by Bali to the west and Sumbawa Island, NTB, to the east.



Like Bali, Lombok provides hospitality, serenity, rich culture and beautiful natural features, said Faozal.

He said that Kuta was among many breathtaking spots for sunbathing, swimming, surfing, snorkeling and diving on Lombok and its smaller islands, or gili as they are called in the local Sasak language.



Off the northwest coast of Lombok, the Gili Islands comprise three exotic islets: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. They have crystal-clear waters, rich biodiversity, enchanting coral reefs and beautiful sea creatures.



Visitors can reach the Gili islets by using the services provided by one of the 370 travel agencies in NTB.



Komodo Dragon Backpacker Cruise, for example, offers a trip for Rp 2.5 million (US$177) to visit the Gili islets and other tourist attractions for four days by using a boat that is 25 meters in length and 4.5 meters wide, which can accommodate up to 35 people.



Other agencies not only offer trips, but also provide surfing, snorkeling and diving courses.



Faozal advised tourists to climb the 3,726-meter Rinjani Mountain, the highest of the seven mountains on Lombok. It had been proposed to be included in UNESCO's list of world geo-park sites because of the astonishing views it offers and for its lake, crater and waterfall.



'[On the mountaintop] you can find beautiful Lake Segara Anak,' he said.



Besides natural tourist attractions, Lombok is also rich with cultural events, such as the annual celebration of Bau Nyale, said Central Lombok Tourism and Culture Agency head Lalu Putria.



He said that local people always celebrated Bau Nyale on the 20th day of the 10th month of Sasak calendar. They go to sea to search for the colorful nyale (sea worms) that they believed to be the reincarnation of Princess Mandalika.



According to the legend, Mandalika was a pretty princess of the Tanjung Bitu Kingdom that existed on Lombok a long time ago. Due to her good behavior, many princes from other kingdoms fell in love with her.



Mandalika thought that if she chose one of the princes, wars would break out because the others would feel jealous and disappointed and they would fight against each other.



She then asked the princes and people to meet her at the Kuta Beach. She stood on a reef, telling them that she chose no one. Afterwards, she threw herself into the sea, he said.



The princes and local people tried to save her, but they found thousands of colorful sea worms floating on the sea instead of the princess' body. They believed that the worms were her reincarnation and they caught them, he said.



'She jumped because she did not want people to become victims due to her choice. She showed us heroic values as she sacrificed herself for the interest of the people,' Putria said, adding that the locals consumed nyale because they believed they would make women look ageless and boost the sexual vitality of men.



NTB hosts different festivals to bring in tourists. From August to September, for instance, it hosted the first Lombok Sumbawa Cultural Month to boost tourism on the Lombok and Sumbawa islands by exploring and developing the potential of arts and culture through various exhibitions and cultural events. The Pearl Festival, involving the producers of pearls with international standard quality, marked the peak of the event to popularize Lombok and Sumbawa and to help turn the economic wheels, he said.





Faozal was optimistic that in NTB the number of tourists would reach 2 million people this year, up by about 25 percent from last year's 1.6 million. Out of those 1.6 million, 752,306 were from overseas.



Besides the three available airports, hotels and restaurants in the province were ready to welcome the tourists, he said.



The province has 925 hotels, consisting of 50 five-star hotels and 875 jasmine-class hotels. Meanwhile, there are 1,378 restaurants.



Faozal believed that the target of 2 million tourists could be realized because Bali, which was visited by 3.4 million tourists last year, committed to encourage its tourists to visit NTB.



'The beauty of Lombok is complete. It ranges from the tops of the mountains to the bottom of the sea. Our rich culture will also attract tourists,' he said.



' Photos by A. Kurniawan Ulung
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry intends to focus on the preservation of maritime resources to keep a sustainable marine ecosystem on the back of illegal fisihing and the trading of protected species, a top ministry official said on Wednesday.

The ministry's director general of maritime resources and fisheries surveillance Asep Burhanudin said his office had concerns that it would focus on this year: the protection of maritime resources, the monitoring of protected fish species, the monitoring of destructive fishing practices and the monitoring of illegal sand, tin and iron mining.

The directorate general will focus on four protected species, namely the manta ray, the whale shark, sea bamboo and the sea turtle.

"These species keep the balance of the ecosystem. For example, the whale shark eats plankton. If the number of whale sharks is depleted, there will be a plankton overpopulation that will lead a reduction in oxygen because [many] plankton consume more oxygen than other fish," he said.

He also said that a decrease in the number of sea turtles would cause an overpopulation of jellyfish, the sea turtle's main food, which in turn could put fish at risk from the poison emitted by the jellyfish.

Meanwhile, Tyas Budiman, director of monitoring and maritime resources management at the directorate general, explained that the decreasing number of protected sea species was also caused by destructive fishing methods that were common in the country, especially along the eastern shores of Sumatra.

"The fertilizers are explosives materials produced in Malaysia and smuggled into Indonesia through Riau and South Sumatra," Tyas said.

The ministry will also intensively monitor waters around Bangka and Banten as well around Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi where illegal mining has been detected.

The illegal mining of tin and sand was detected in eight locations and several illegal miners arrested in December.

Moreover, Asep said the ministry was also concerned about reclamation projects in Benoa Bay in Bali and the Jakarta Bay.

Despite the projects having permits, he said that such projects could affect the sea's ecosystem.

Balinese and environmentists have strongly rejected the Benoa Bay reclamation project for fear that it would have negative impacts on the Island of the Gods' environment.

Asep added that the ministry worked closely with the Jakarta administration on the Jakarta Bay reclamation so that the project would use sustainable construction methods. (rin)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

At least a dozen baggage handlers from Indonesia's largest airline group Lion Air at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, were involved in recent luggage thefts, the police have said.



Soekarno-Hatta Police's criminal unit head, Comr. azhari Kurniawan, said Wednesday that Lion Air had four groups of baggage handlers who worked in shifts. Each group consisted of around 20 workers.



According to Azhari, a suspect in the recent case identified as S had revealed that more than half of his group had been involved in the recent thefts.



'Out of 20, 12 or more baggage handlers were allegedly involved in the luggage theft syndicate,' azhari said on Thursday.



Previously, two baggage handlers and two security officers from Lion Air, identified as S, M, A and H, were detained by the police after closed-circuit television (CCTV) recorded S opening a passenger's luggage.



The suspects admitted to the police that they had committed similar crimes 13 times within one year. They mostly looked for perfume, cash, gadgets and cigarettes.



Azhari said that aside from the four, the police were currently hunting down the other suspects.



Azhari added that based on S' testimony, long-serving staff members took part in forcing baggage handlers into breaking into passengers' luggage. The suspect said that if they did not agree to steal, their colleagues would bully them or even excommunicate them.



azhari added that the long-serving employees in question also worked with security officers, who were supposed to conduct security checks on baggage handlers before and after their shifts, in committing the thefts.



On the same day, Soekarno-Hatta airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II), the Soekarno-Hatta airport regulator from the Transportation Ministry, the Soekarno-Hatta Police, Lion Air management and Garuda Indonesia management held a press conference regarding the thefts.



At the meeting, AP II president director Budi Karya Sumadi said that following the incident, the airport operator and the regulator would revise existing standard operating procedures at the airport, as well as installing more internationally standardized security devices.



Previously, AP II secretary Agus Haryadi said the airport management was considering using a system requiring only conveyor belts to transport luggage to anticipate thefts from baggage handlers.



Agus also said that AP II would add 325 new CCTV units at the airport, particularly in baggage-handling areas. The airport currently has 1,100 CCTV units.



After Wednesday's press conference, Lion Air operational director Daniel Putut disclosed the results of the company's internal investigation, which also involved the police.



He said investigators found a small knife in a compartment of a Lion aircraft hull at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar, South Sulawesi. Daniel said investigators suspected that baggage handlers had used the knife for breaking into luggage.



Daniel also said that after the exposure of the thefts, 18 Lion Air baggage handlers at Soekarno-Hatta airport had been absent from work without reason.



He advised passengers to carry valuable belongings with them in the cabin.



'Through banners are installed at the airport, we have strongly suggested to passengers many times to not put valuable belongings into their baggage,' Daniel said, adding that since the incident, his company had added more banners to warn passengers about keeping their valuable belongings safe.



Like Daniel, Budi said passengers should be aware of risks and should keep valuables items in their handbags or cabin luggage.



'We would like to apologize to all passengers as we have yet to provide better convenience and security,' Budi said. (agn)
South Korea Reacts As North Korea Confirms Hydrogen Bomb Test (Photo : Facebook)

There are two indicators that suggest North Korea was exaggerating when it claims to have exploded a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday. Defense experts instead believe it was a boosted-fission bomb.



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So far, radiation data collected along China's border with North Korea by the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) say that the radiation level is normal. But even if it is the fourth time that Pyongyang had tested bombs which caused the earth to shake, residents are still fearful of the impact of the radiation on their health, says Yanji resident Han Yunqing., reports Global Times.



Residents of Yanji - located 10 kilometers away from the North Korea border - and those from Hunchun and Changbai, which are all part of Jilin Province, felt the tremor caused by the bomb testing. It measured a magnitude of 4.8 with an explosive power, or yield, of six kilotons, reports Xinhua News Agency.



Even if the North Korean bombs are not optimized in their design and the materials used to make the bombs are not reliable yet, radioactive leaks, nevertheless, could seriously impact quality of water and air near the border, warns Lu Chao, researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.



Another indicator to add doubts to Kim Jung Un's boast of capability to make a hydrogen bomb - supposed to be more powerful than an atomic bomb - was the smaller seismic wave caused by the explosion than what a real thermonuclear weapon would create, explains The New York Times.



Global leaders, led by U.S. President Barack Obama and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, nevertheless condemned the testing even if Pyongyang apparently exploded a lesser bomb. Due to North Korea's failure to give a warning about the test, China - its ally - said it was "strongly against this act."







However, some U.S. officials believe the bomb testing was North Korea's way of getting back at Beijing over the alleged bad treatment that an all-female band from the communist nation got in China that the musical group cancelled their performances and headed back home upon landing at the airport.


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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung is mourning the death of his mother, Sumarni Prajitno, who passed away on Wednesday, at the age of 80.



The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said that his mother had died in Jakarta at 03:17 p.m.



'Please send prayers and forgive her sins. [Our family] is planning to hold the funeral in Yogyakarta at 11 a.m. on Thursday,' he said through text message, as quoted by tribunnews.com.



Presidential communications team member Ari Dwipayana said that Pramono's mother had been in a critical condition during the first Cabinet meeting at the State Palace held at 2 p.m.



'Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin led our prayers [for Pramono's mother] during the second Cabinet meeting,' he said.



Pramono was raised in Yogyakarta as his family had greatly admired and supported former president Sukarno, the father of PDI-P chief Megawati Soekarnoputri. His father had once been a guardian for the Sukarno family when they resided at the Yogyakarta State Palace, also known as Gedung Agung.
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The trial of former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday heard that he was still collecting kickbacks behind bars from companies he helped win government projects when he served as a lawmaker and party apparatchik in 2009.



One of the companies still paying 'installments' of 'success fees' to Nazaruddin after he was sent to prison in 2011 is state builder PT Nindya Karya, which received two projects worth Rp 200 billion (US$14 million).



Nindya Karya general manager Heru Sulaksono, who testified on Wednesday, said that Nazaruddin had demanded 22 percent of the project's contract value for helping the company, but it could only afford 10 percent, equal to Rp 17 billion, which had been partly paid before Nazaruddin was imprisoned.



'[After serving time, he] kept asking the company to pay the remaining amount,' Heru said, adding that Nazaruddin had repeatedly sent associates to the company's offices in Jakarta to collect the remaining commitment fees.



Nazaruddin was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty in a bribery case in 2011. He is also currently standing trial in a money-laundering case, in which he is accused of embezzling and laundering a total of Rp 620 billion in commitment fees from dozens of companies between October 2010 and April 2011.



Heru said that Nindya Karya had received one construction project in Aceh and another at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java.



In his position as treasurer of the ruling party, Nazaruddin had immense power to control projects funded by state money that needed approval from the House of Representatives budget committee.



The KPK has estimated that in about six months Nazaruddin collected Rp 40.3 billion in commitment fees in exchange for garnering approval for several state projects for companies including PT Duta Graha Indonesia and Nindya Karya.



To launder the ill-gotten cash, Nazaruddin, through a number of PT Permai Group subsidiaries, bought shares in national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia worth Rp 300 billion, in state-owned lender Bank Mandiri worth Rp 40 billion and in cigarette maker PT Gudang Garam worth Rp 7 billion.



Another witness, Muhammad Arief Taufikurahman, the marketing manager of another state construction company, PT Adhi Karya, said that Nazaruddin, through his confidant Mindo Rosalina Manulang, demanded the company pay a commitment fee of 22 percent of a hospital-construction project worth billions of rupiah in 2011.



'[Nazaruddin] said that Rosa would handle the process,' Arief said.



Meanwhile, graft convict and fellow former Democrat lawmaker Angelina Sondakh also testified during Wednesday's trial, incriminating Nazaruddin with her testimony.



Angelina, who is serving 10 years in prison in an unrelated bribery case, said that decisions on government projects take by the budget committee, on which Angelina served, had been dictated by Nazaruddin.



'Nazaruddin said that all state projects linked to him would be handled by Rosa,' said Angelina, whose prison term was recently cut by the Supreme Court from 12 years to 10 after she won a case review against the KPK.



Angelina said that she had had no choice but to comply with Nazaruddin's orders when serving as a committee member because the treasurer had the full backing of the Democratic Party.



Nazaruddin, Angeline claimed, had forced her to approve state funds for several projects worth Rp 100 billion at the Culture and Education Ministry, adding that in order to convince her, Nazaruddin had cited the names of former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and then party secretary-general, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, the youngest son of then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
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Linkedin Zhang Yunbi, Liu Mingtai and Zhao Lei (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

Beijing stated its "resolute opposition" on Wednesday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced earlier in the day that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.



Countries and international organizations said they were still examining the test's details and impact, since some key facts were believed missing in the official statement released through the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.



The nuclear test, the fourth by the DPRK, was conducted at a site close to the Chinese border. Previously, the DPRK conducted three nuclear testsiin 2006, 2009 and 2013idrawing fierce international objections and sanctions.



On Wednesday morning, the China Earthquake Network Center said a magnitude-4.9 quake jolted the DPRK at 9:30 am Beijing time "at a depth of 0 km".



Then the state-run Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un had ordered the hydrogen bomb test on Dec 15 and signed the final order on Sunday. The test was a "total success" and was conducted "in a safe and perfect manner", it said.



In response, Beijing issued a rare written statement in the afternoon, in which the Foreign Ministry said: "We strongly urge the DPRK to honor its denuclearization pledges and stop taking any action that will deteriorate the situation."



China's Ministry of Environmental Protection is "monitoring the data and will conduct an all-out radiation emergency test in the border area", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.



By 1 pm, local readings of gamma radiation had been normal, the environmental ministry said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that "China firmly champions the international nuclear nonproliferation system".



The United Nations Security Council has planned an emergency meeting on Wednesday in New York. US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Washington will respond appropriately to any "provocations".



Russia's Foreign Ministry said it hadn't been confirmed that the DPRK had carried out an actual nuclear test, and that all sides should "preserve maximum restraint", AFP reported.



Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye said on Wednesday that Seoul "should closely cooperate with the international community", ROK's Yonhap news agency reported.



Yu Meihua, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Peace Studies of the China Reform Forum, said the United States and its allies Japan and the ROK will take Pyongyang's test as an excuse to "initiate the next arms race in the region" by having more military cooperation and deployment in the region.



Yu said fresh UN sanctions might be imposed and "DPRK's pace of economic cooperation with foreign countries will possibly see a slowdown".



Zhang Liangui, an expert of Korean studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the nuclear test was "not a surprise", as Pyongyang has renewed commitment to its nuclear plans in recent years.

Across border, residents tell of strong tremor, loud bang



What the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed was a "successful hydrogen bomb test" brought a jolt on Wednesday morning to residents of Hunchun, a border city in Jilin province that is near the test site.



A woman who manages a farm equipment station in Hunchun's Fusong township and who wished to be identified only as Lei told China Daily that she felt a tremor around 9:30 am when she was in her office.



A desk, chair and flowerpot on the windowsill shook, Lei said, adding that the jolt lasted about three seconds, stopped for two seconds and then restarted for another three seconds.



Nie Qiming, a resort owner, said he did not feel a strong tremor but heard a big bang.



The city center of Hunchun is about 14 kilometers from the Shatuozi border port and 45 km from the Quanhe port.



Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper, quoted an office worker surnamed Ren as saying that he and his colleagues ran out of their office building after a strong shake.



A restaurant owner surnamed Wan told the newspaper that the jolt was very strong and that many people almost fell over. (kes)(+)



DPRK missile and nuclear timeline



a December 1985



Pyongyang joins Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons



a February 1993



International Atomic Energy Agency demands to inspect suspected nuclear waste sites



a June 1994



Withdraws from IAEA



a August 1998



Launches three-stage rocket Taepodong 1 over Japan



a January 2003



Withdraws from non-proliferation treaty



a February 2005



Announces that country has produced nuclear weapons



a July 2006



Test-fires ballistic missiles



a Oct 9, 2006



Conducts first underground nuclear test



a February 2007



Agrees to scrap nuclear facilities in return for aid



a April 2009



Launches three-stage Unha 2 rocket



a May 25, 2009



Conducts second underground nuclear test



a November 2010



Reveals uranium enrichment facility to foreign experts



a December 2012



Successfully launches Unha 3, including placement of satellite into orbit



a Feb 12, 2013



Conducts third underground nuclear test



a September 2015



Restarts Yongbyon reactor



a Jan 6, 2016



Pyongyang says it has tested a hydrogen bomb
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Linkedin Raras Cahyafitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The country's upstream oil and gas regulator's efforts to increase domestic gas utilization are facing the same hurdles as last year, mainly because of inadequate infrastructure and high prices that have hampered target realization.



The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) has targeted that 61 percent of gas output in 2016 should go to domestic buyers. That equals 4,144 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD).



The remaining 39 percent, or 2,561 BBTUD, is expected to go to the export market.



It is the same target as last year, when realization was only around 53 percent, according to figures from SKKMigas.



'In 2016, SKKMigas will remain in difficulty. There is still uncommitted gas. Last year, it was agreed that uncommitted gas would be directed to domestic buyers but then they canceled the purchase,' SKKMigas chief Amien Sunaryadi said.



Amien said 18 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) did not currently have confirmed buyers. Uncommitted cargoes are usually sold on the spot market ' where prices are more unpredictable ' simply to prevent the gas wells from being shut down.



Figures from the regulator showed that realized gas deliveries last year to all sectors, such as electricity, fertilizer, transportation and other industries, were lower than the actual contracts in 2015.



'The trend for domestic absorption is increasing, however not all gas that has been produced is absorbed. Our LNG absorption is only 4 percent partly because domestic infrastructure cannot support deliveries,' Amien said.



Mid-last year, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Lampung, which is operated by state-run gas firm PGN, remained idle because it received zero demand, the affect of slowing economic growth.



The situation forced the company to cancel its plans to ship several LNG cargoes from the Tangguh plant in West Papua.



The FSRU's operations were resumed in October, after it received one cargo of LNG of 138,000 cubic meters in volume, shipped from the Tangguh LNG plant. Under the government's allocation program, the facility should have received 14 cargoes from Tangguh in 2015.





'For 2016, we are expecting to have five cargoes delivered,' said PGN spokesperson Irwan Andri Atmanto.



It was reported earlier that PLN canceled the shipment of two cargoes that it should have received from the Bontang LNG plant in Kalimantan through the West Java FSRU operated by Nusantara Regas.



Slowing growth of electricity demand in Java was the main reason for canceling the cargoes.



Indonesia has rich gas resources and, while most of the gas is sent abroad as LNG, the government has been calling on industry players to switch to gas utilization so the country will be able to reduce its dependency on oil-based fuel.



However, a lack of supporting infrastructure has long hampered domestic utilization. The facilities, particularly in transportation and regasification, are necessary because gas is produced in resource-rich areas in the eastern part of the country while demand is in the western part.



The complicated infrastructure issues have also raised gas prices, as fees such as those for regasification and tolls are passed on to consumers.



In a recent development, the government is aiming to lower gas prices by reducing its own income from the sales of gas from domestic fields and lowering the fees imposed by gas distributors. The lower gas price is expected to encourage the industry's expansion, which in turn will boost economic growth.



The lower gas price is expected to be implemented early this year but a legal basis has yet to be prepared.



'We are still waiting for a presidential regulation. We will disclose the details later,' said oil and gas director general IGN Wiratmaja Puja.
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Linkedin Karamjit Kaur (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, January 7, 2016

They say Singapore Airlines (SIA) is a great way to fly. It is one of the safest ways too.



SIA has emerged as one of the world's top 20 safest carriers, with Australia's Qantas taking top spot for the third consecutive year in a ranking by AirlineRatings.com, an industry website that does various rankings, including that of service levels.



SIA's ranking is not known.



Except for Qantas, the other airlines in the top 20 were not given positions. Almost all of the other 18 airlines on the ranking by AirlineRatings.com operate flights to Singapore. They include Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Lufthansa.



The annual ranking, which started in 2013, also evaluated budget carriers. The top 10 included just two Asian airlines - Jetstar Australia and HK Express.



AirlineRatings.com said the top 20 full-service carriers including SIA "have always been at the forefront of safety innovation and launching of new aircraft".



It added that these airlines "have become a byword for excellence".



The rankings took into account several factors, including audits from aviation's governing bodies and lead associations as well as the airline's fatality record.



Each airline's operational history, incident records and operational excellence were also considered.



In all, 407 airlines were surveyed, with those from Indonesia, Nepal and Surinam in South America getting the lowest safety scores.



A spokesman for Qantas told The Straits Times: "This award belongs to the thousands of people at Qantas who make safety their No. 1 priority. It's also a reflection of the fact that everyone involved in aviation, from airlines to regulators and aircraft manufacturers, works to share learnings and make constant improvements to keep flying the safest way to travel."



For SIA, safety is a core value, said spokesman Nicholas Ionides. To promote safe practice and awareness among all staff, from engineers on the ground to pilots and cabin crew in the air, the airline has in place various training programs and initiatives.



Despite several tragic incidents including the deliberate crash by a co-pilot of a Germanwings flight into the French Alps last March, the number of air accidents last year was actually below average. Last year's 16 air accidents and 560 fatalities were below the 10-year average of 31 accidents and 714 fatalities.



While flying has become safer, "the top priority for the industry is safety", said Mr Tony Tyler, director-general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, at a media gathering last month. (kes)



Top 20 safest airlines



'Qantas (No.1)



(In alphabetical order)



'Air New Zealand



'Alaska Airlines



'All Nippon Airlines



'American Airlines



'Cathay Pacific Airways



'Emirates



'Etihad Airways



'EVA Air



'Finnair



'Hawaiian Airlines



'Japan Airlines



'KLM



'Lufthansa



'Scandinavian Airline



' System



'Singapore Airlines



'Swiss



'United Airlines



'Virgin Atlantic



'Virgin Australia
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Indonesian airline safety is under the spotlight again after airlineratings.com, an independent plane safety and product rating website, named eight of the country's airlines as the least safe in the world.



The rating, however, was met with skepticism from local carriers, which questioned the survey's parameters and the 407 major airlines it monitored.



'INACA [the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association] seriously questions the criteria of the rating that was done by foreign media on aspects of national airline safety, considering there should be clear methodology that is measurable and accountable,' the association stated on Wednesday following the release of the survey.



Along with airlines from Nepal and Suriname, eight local airlines were considered the least safe, namely the biggest budget carrier Lion Air along with its full-service Batik Air and Wings Air; Citilink, the low-cost arm of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia; Kalstar Aviation; Sriwijaya Air; TransNusa; and Trigana Air Service.



The airlines received zero or one star out of a maximum seven stars based on audits from aviation governing bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) as well as whether the airlines had been certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).



The survey also took into account whether airlines were on the EU's blacklist, government audits and fatality records. The safest airline was Australia's Qantas, with 148 of the airlines monitored getting the maximum seven-star safety ranking.



'We don't really mind being graded, as long as it is done objectively, transparently and in an accountable way,' Citilink president director and CEO Albert Burhan said, while comparing the results to a review of airlines and airports by UK-based consultancy Skytrax.



Similarly, Lion Air public relations manager Andy M. Saladin questioned the rating method.



Nonetheless, the ratings have served as a wake-up call for the airline industry. Indonesia's airline safety has been in the spotlight of late, particularly in 2015 when 14 airline-related incidents occurred with 208 fatalities, an increase from four accidents with 162 fatalities in the previous year, according to data compiled by airline consultant firm CSE Aviation. That included a Trigana Air accident in Oksibil, Papua, killing 54 passengers and crew.



Former Indonesian Air Force chief of staff and aviation observer Chappy Hakim said airline safety issues arose from the country's national aviation authority, which remained unable to comply with required safety regulations.



ICAO audits on Indonesian aviation in 2007, which spotted 121 loopholes in the country's air safety oversight system, partly led to the FAA and European Commission (EC) imposing flight bans on all Indonesian airlines, although some carriers have since been removed from the blacklist.



Indonesia's aviation safety was then downgraded to Category 2, signaling a lack of regulation necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards.



Aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman voiced similar concerns, stating that it was the problem of the whole industry, including the regulator.

_______________________________________

Facts about local airlines and air travel



* 62 million air passengers travel to domestic destinations using national, international carriers from Jan. to Nov. 2015



* 12.4 million air passengers travel overseas using national, international carriers from Jan. to Nov. 2015



* INACA has 30 members consisting of 13 airlines offering scheduled flights and 17 airlines offering unscheduled flights.

Airlineratings.com's Top 20 safest airlines:*



American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Bottom 10 least safe airlines:*



Batik Air, Bluewing Airlines, Citilink, Kal-Star Aviation, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, TransNusa, Trigana Air Service, Wings Air and Xpress Air.

* in alphabetical order

Source: airlineratings.com, various sources compiled by The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi has said that Indonesia will remain neutral in a growing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, calling for both countries to exercise restraint and ease tensions.



According to Retno, over the last few days, Indonesia has carried out intensive communication with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iran and several other countries to discuss possible solutions and to end the dispute.



"We are striving to seek a peaceful solution with all foreign ministers. However, nothing has been concluded yet, as the situation remains unstable," Retno told journalists after an annual press-statement meeting.



Retno said that she had also discussed the issue with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general Iyad Ameen Madani to find ways for Indonesia to contribute to ease the situation.



Retno said that Indonesia was very worried about the deteriorating bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and its possible effects on peace and stability in Middle East region. "Peace in Middle East depends on the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran," Retno said.



As good friends of both Saudi Arabia and Iran, Retno said that Indonesia would continue all necessary efforts to prevent the situation from worsening.



Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry's director general for multilateral affairs, Hasan Kleib, said that Indonesia, home to the world's most numerous Muslim population, should keep intensifying communication with other countries to explore possible forms of dispute settlement.



"We hope that this dispute can be settled immediately through diplomacy," Hasan said.



Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran ' two regional powerhouses - have begun to deteriorate following Riyadh's execution of a Shiite cleric on Saturday.



Hours after the execution, protesters in Shiite-majority Iran attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, leading Saudi Arabia to cut diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday.



The diplomatic confrontation has continued to simmer, with countries around the world voicing concern and appealing for calm. (bbn)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

Judges at the Jakarta State Administrative Court handed down a verdict on Thursday in favor of Retno Listyarti, the principal of state senior high school SMA N 3 Jakarta, who was fired by the Jakarta city administration for a disciplinary violation.

The court ordered the head of the Jakarta Education Agency, the defendant, to end disciplinary action against Retno and to reinstall her as principal of a senior high school in Jakarta.

'We order the defendant to restore [Retno's] dignity and to reinstall the plaintiff as school master of her senior high school in Jakarta,' said presiding judge Tri Cahya Indra Permana when delivering the court's verdict on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.

The case started when Retno was found to not be at school during the latest National Examinations. Instead, Retno, who is also chairwoman of the Jakarta Teacher Consultative Forum, was being interviewed by a private television station about the implementation of the National Examinations.

Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama ordered the head of the Jakarta Education Agency to fire Retno, the recipient of a 2013 Indonesian Islamic Educator Award, for her absence. Retno filed lawsuit with the state administrative court against the agency for her dismissal.

In the court's view, Retno had been deserving of light disciplinary violation, but the Jakarta Education Agency had given her a heavy punishment by dismissing her from her position as school master.

After she was fired as school principal, she become a regular teacher at the senior high school in North Jakarta. (bbn)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post  Thu, January 7, 2016

Your comments on the recent arrest of four employees of the country's biggest budget airline Lion Air on suspicion of stealing from passengers' luggage at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and airport authorities' plan to replace baggage handlers with conveyor belts:

On luggage theft, I absolutely agree with the airport's plan to replace baggage handlers with conveyor belts, not to guarantee 'safety', but to ensure 'safer' handling of luggage at the airport.



E. Nurdin



I was not really surprised to hear that some luggage workers were caught stealing stuff from people's luggage and doing so without much fear of getting caught.



It's welcome news for many travelers. The sad fact is that it's not just baggage handlers, but the airline security officers themselves, as trusted security officials who are supposed to be protecting our luggage from bad people. They're involved in misconduct.



We applaud the efforts of our law enforcement authorities, but unfortunately, this issue has been going on for years, and it doesn't seem like much has changed. We knew that it's not the first time over the past years, passengers report lost or stolen luggage or items inside of their bags in a variety of scenarios.



Passengers often file claims with airlines or airports, they're unsure of who is responsible to cover the cost for damaged or lost luggage/stolen items. Usually, the passenger must be able to show comprehensive records of lost, stolen or damaged baggage and the personal effects inside the bags. Of course, it will take some time negotiating for an airline to admit that something was lost. It's almost impossible that the passenger will get the full amount of the claim, or even paid anything at all.



With that in mind, it may be time to implement some smart moves and new measures by mandating airport operators to invest in state-of-the-art baggage-tracing technology to increase security.



The idea is to reduce the number of interactions between any airport employees and passengers' luggage.



Riswan Noor

_______________________________

Topic of the day



Luggage theft



Following the recent arrest of four employees of the country's biggest budget airline Lion Air on suspicion of stealing from passengers' luggage, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, may replace baggage handlers with conveyor belts to ensure safer handling of luggage at the airport. What do you think?



Send your thoughts by email, SMS, Twitter or Facebook. Include your name and city.
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Linkedin Trisha Sertori (The Jakarta Post) Blah Batu, Bali  Thu, January 7, 2016

One of Bali's high priests, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung, says while he cannot predict what 2016 holds, he can see the road to harmony for mankind.

For more than three centuries the family of Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung has served the people of Blah Batu and Bali. As Hindu high priests, or pedanda, they have led religious rituals and offered spiritual guidance to their communities.



As the eighth generation of high priests dating back to the 17th century, Pedanda Gunung redraws esoteric philosophies into simple homilies that anyone can understand, making the wisdoms that have been handed down father to son accessible to all.



Even former US president, George Bush took advice from Pedanda Gunung during his 'war on terrorism' visit to Indonesia in 2003. 'I told him all people want peace, but that is not realistic when weapons are fired,' says Pedanda Gunung seated on the veranda of his home in Blah Batu.



With the turning of the year, Pedanda Gunung says the road to harmony for Indonesia is achievable once people recognize differing beliefs all lead to the same destination.



'If you imagine Jakarta as heaven, for example, you can get there by plane, or bus, or motor bike, or even walk. So why do people fight over how you arrive in Jakarta. People who argue over how you make the journey are not thinking, because that is about the vehicle only, not about the destination. That destination, heaven, is the same for all, no matter how you get there,' says Pedanda Gunung in the clear language he is famous for.



He adds his advice going into 2016 for Indonesia's current president, Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, is to remember history and the nation's mottos.



'If I met Jokowi I would say 'don't forget history.' If you forget history, how can you move forward? In the past we fought colonialism, now we fight stupidity and poverty. I would say 'implement the values of Pancasila and Unity in Diversity',' says Pedanda Gunung, who at 65 years of age admits that at times the weight of his office lies heavily.



'I am just a man, so sometimes I have felt the hugeness of my duty. We don't have office hours and I can never retire until I die. But I can get above this through calmness and always learning from lontar that are more than 300 years old,' says this high priest of Bali who besides his religious duties, translates sacred Indian Hindu texts onto lontar. The calligraphic symbols are carved into the bamboo strips that form each lontar book.



'First I translate from English to Bahasa Indonesia, then to Balinese and to the lontar. So it's a long process. This one is the story of the birth of Dewi Gangga. Gangga means to go on eternally. It has taken at least six months to translate and transcribe to lontar,' says Pedanda Gunung, who is dressed in vivid orange to meet the steady stream of visitors to his home seeking advice or assistance from this holy man who sees God in the earth's rotation, the rising and setting of the sun and the beat of a heart.



'If I drop this piece of cotton cloth into water, is the cotton in the water or the water in the cotton? The answer is both. God is in humans and people are in God, God is in everything and everything is in God,' says Pedanda Gunung when speaking of the relevance of religion in the modern world.





'God, I feel, is impersonal. So it means that in any era there is God. Primitive man, modern man, whether we believe or not, there is always God,' says Pedanda Gunung who follows Siwa.



Now a teacher to more than 20 students who will become high priests, Pedanda Gunung trained under his parents.



'From my mother I learned all the offerings, the names and their uses. As a pedanda, you must know these things. Just like a car mechanic has to know his tools, as a journalist must have a pen,' says Pedanda Gunung adding high priests are born twice. First, from their mother's womb and later under the guidance of their nabi, or teacher. 'Becoming a priest, the process is easy, to become a high priest, the process is massive,' says Pedanda Gunung whose father set some of the young priest's toughest lessons.



'My dad gave me the questions, 'Who am I? Why am I alive? After this [life] where to? And what can I carry there?' These are my hardest lessons and I have yet to learn [the answers]. I still ask myself, 'who am I?'' says Pedanda Gunung explaining that asking these questions is what makes us human.



And this New Year is the time to be seeking answers to these questions says Pedanda Gunung. '2016 is a very good year for studying the spiritual side of life, because its numbers total nine. So it really is a very good year for the study of the spiritual,' says the high priest who guides his community with humor and wisdom.



' Photos by JP/JB Djwan
Satellite Image Of The Lingshui Military Airfield On The Southeastern Coast Of Haina (Photo : Getty Images)

China continues to insist ownership of disputed islands in the South China Sea and flexed its military might by landing two civilian jets on Wednesday morning on a new airfield it built on Spratly Islands. The aircraft landed on Yongshu Jiao in the Nansha Islands, which is how China calls the Spratlys.



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The two planes did not stay long but flew back to Haiku the same day, reports CNN. Haiku is in Hainan Province. Vietnam, the Philippines and several other Asian nations are also claiming the islands.



A Chinese plane first landed on the island on Saturday. It was a test flight to check if the new facilities are at par with civil aviation standards, says Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of China's Foreign Ministry.







The airfield on Spratly is just one of three disputed islands where China as built airstrips and other facilities. China has confirmed on Saturday constructing another airfield on Fiery Cross Reef, which is among the 2,000 acres of land that China has reclaimed in the past two years. The Asian giant dredged the islands and built airstrips, ports and lighthouses.



Calls by the U.S. for China to halt the construction activities remain unheeded. In dismissing Vietnam's protest, Hua insists, "China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. China will not accept the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side," quotes Economic Times.


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Linkedin Tassia Sipahutar (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, January 7, 2016

The World Bank (WB) says Indonesia's economy will fare better this year despite warning that weak commodity prices in the world market will continue to affect the country's exports.



The WB estimated Indonesia's economy would grow 5.3 percent in 2016, an increase from 4.7 percent in 2015. The projection was unchanged from a previous estimation in the WB's Indonesia Economic Quarterly report that was issued in December.



The WB hailed Indonesia's efforts to reduce fiscal deficit by reforming fuel subsidies in 2015 and to bring down the current account deficit, which had dropped below 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the third quarter of last year.



However, risks to the outlook remain, as weaker commodity prices could exacerbate commodity exporters' problems in Indonesia.



'For commodity producers like Indonesia and Malaysia, the decline in commodity prices underscores the need to enhance fiscal institutions to improve the management of fluctuations in natural-resource prices,' the WB wrote.



Indonesia also stands to see spillovers from continued economic slowdown in China and Japan.



A one-off, 1 percentage point decline in China's growth reduced growth in Indonesia by around 0.4 percentage points, while a 1-percentage point growth decline in Japan would reduce growth by less than 0.18 percentage points.



The WB suggested that Indonesia reduce its reliance on commodity-related revenues, which Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said was a natural thing to do.



'That is automatically being carried out. Who wants to rely on commodities at a time like this? This is a process that we're going through to move into a more industrialized economy,' he said on Wednesday. 'But to do that, we need to set up power plants, infrastructure and other things. We're doing that now.'



Weak growth among major emerging markets ' including Indonesia ' would weigh on global growth in 2016, the WB said.



In the report, titled Global Economic Prospects, Spillovers amid Weak Growth, the WB said global growth was projected to edge up in the coming years, but at a slower pace than that envisioned in June 2015. Global growth is estimated to rise to 2.9 percent in 2016, surging slightly from 2.4 percent in 2015.



'The forecast is subject to substantial downside risks, including a disorderly slowdown in major emerging market economies, financial market turmoil arising from sudden shifts in borrowing costs amid deteriorating fundamentals, lingering vulnerability in some countries and heightened geopolitical tensions,' the report stated.



Developing economies are forecast to expand by 4.8 percent in 2016 amid risks of low commodity prices, subdued global trade, spillovers from weakness in major emerging markets, decelerating capital flows and rising borrowing costs.



The average growth in these economies slowed to 4.3 percent last year, its weakest showing since 2009, and a pace well below its precrisis average.



The weakness in emerging economies has become a concern for achieving poverty reduction and shared prosperity goals, considering that the countries have been 'powerful contributors' to global growth for the past 10 years.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Bekasi/West Java  Thu, January 7, 2016

The Bekasi District Court in West Java on Wednesday sentenced defendant Didit Aditianto, 27, to five years behind bars for the manslaughter of Yosafat Hutabarat, though many, including the victim's family, continue to insist that Didit is innocent.



'The defendant is found guilty of manslaughter. He is therefore sentenced to five years' imprisonment,' presiding judge Swarsa Hidayat said, reading out the verdict at the court on Wednesday.



The defendant's mother, Darmi, 57, burst into tears as the judge banged his gavel to close the trial.



'My son is innocent! Justice is the preserve of the rich in this country!' she cried as court guards escorted her out of the building.



The court's verdict was lighter than the six-year-imprisonment sought by prosecutors. Didit was charged with violating Article 351 Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code on manslaughter, with a maximum sentence of seven years.



One aggravating factor was that the defendant provided unclear information during the trial, the verdict noted.



'Meanwhile, the mitigating factors are that the defendant has been polite during the trial and that the victim's death was not purely caused by the defendant's wrongdoing. The victim died in a brawl,' Swarsa said.



Didit was arrested on June 21 along with five others at a boarding house in Margahayu, Bekasi, following a brawl between residents of Margahayu and Rawasemut on Jl. Chairil Anwar in the municipality.



Rawasemut resident Yosafat, 19, was stabbed during the fracas and later died in the hospital; the Bekasi Police subsequently arrested Didit for the crime.



A number of witness testified to having seen Didit stab Yosafat.



'Witness Fahrul [who was on the same motorcycle as Yosafat at the time of the stabbing] said he saw the defendant stab the victim,' Swarsa said. 'Witness Febri also said he saw the defendant stab the victim,' he added.



However, Yosafat's family has denied that Didit was the perpetrator.



'The verdict is not just. My son's killer is still walking free. Didit is not the one who killed my son,' Yosafat's mother Ratna Juwita, 50, cried out as the verdict was read.



'What's strange is that the witness Fahrul previously told us and many others that Didit was not the killer. But then he testified differently during the trial,' said the victim's uncle Antonius Manurung, 65.



Meanwhile, the defendant's lawyer, Johannes Gea, said the trial had been marred by a number of irregularities.



'First, the doctor who conducted the examination of the victim's body said that the size of the victim's wound and the weapon's edge allegedly used by the defendant were not congruous,' Johannes said.



He added that the several witnesses who said Didit was not the perpetrator had been disregarded by the judge. 'I have spoken to Didit. We will certainly appeal to a higher court,' he said.
Alibabas Ant Financial Services Group is set to raise more funds. (Photo : YouTube)

The Internet finance branch of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Ant Financial Services Group, announced that it has begun the second round of financing ahead of scheduled initial public offering (IPO).



While the company did not specify the target amount, Ant Financial confirmed that it has started raising capital for the second time in six months, according to China Daily.



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Publicity officials from the company said, "We don't have a timetable for the IPO yet. But we are paying close attention to the market trends and policy changes."



According to Bloomberg, Ant Financial Services Group is set to raise a minimum of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in its latest round of financing.



After spinning off from Alibaba in 2011, Ant Financial operates China's largest online payment service provider, Alipay, with approximately 270 million active monthly subscribers. The company, besides one of China's first Internet banks, MYbank, runs Yuebao, the largest money market fund in China.



The Shanghai-headquartered corporation finished its first round of fundraising in June 2015, which valued the Internet finance firm at approximately $45 billion. In this first round, Ant Financial delivered eight investors, including major Chinese firms like the National Council for Social Security Fund, China Development Bank's CDB Capital, and Postal Savings Bank of China.



The announcement of a second round of financing comes days after reports that its rival JD Finance wanted to commence its initial round of fundraising with a target between 5 and 6 billion yuan.



It was also rumored that JD Finance is planning to go public in China's A-share market with an objective to list in 2017. Its public relations office pointed out that it does not respond to market rumors.



Amid the increasing fundraising climate in China for tech corporations, analysts project the unlikelihood of the two Internet finance companies running short of cash.



Li Chao, an analyst with iResearch Consulting Group, said: "Being under the umbrellas of China's no. 1 and no. 2 e-commerce players, neither Ant Financial nor JD Finance needs to raise funds. I guess they want to raise their valuations via fundraising. More importantly, it will help in boosting credibility and in getting endorsements from government-backed investors."



Chao added that Internet-enabled finance firms are not conventional finance organizations. They are still new and risk some regulation constraints. Therefore, such companies seek government support by having government-backed investors.


The President Saves Tennessee

Tennessee (John Payne) is use to trouble; he is a professional gambler operating out of Elizabeth 'Duchess' Farnham's (Rhonda Fleming) establishment which everyone knows is really a bordello. But when a disgruntled loser tries to bushwhack Tennessee he is more than grateful when stranger in town, Cowpoke (Ronald Reagan), comes to his rescue and then Duchess comes to both of their rescues when they end up in a cell together. It leads to Tennessee and Cowpoke becoming friends although their friendship is put to the test when Cowpoke's bride to be, Goldie Slater (Coleen Gray), arrives in town as Tennessee has had a run in with her before and knows exactly what she is like. But it is not only Goldie who leads to issues as Duchess has a thing for Tennessee except he is not the settling down sort of guy. And then there is a murder of a miner who strikes it rich and Tennessee and Cowpoke find themselves blamed.

"Tennessee's Partner" is just under 87 minutes but for a b-western it has what feels like a lot of storyline going on with it all revolving around Tennessee and a whole lot of trouble. We have an upset gambler, a gold digging former girlfriend, the woman who loves him deeply, a partner who thinks he is a love rat, a murder and of course the law trying to kick Tennessee out of town because of all the trouble he attracts. That might not sound that much but for a b-western it is and it surprisingly works well together with one thing leading to another and so on. I would never say it makes for a great western but it does make for an entertaining one.

What helps to keep "Tennessee's Partner" entertaining is the casting as we have Rhonda Fleming playing it as a strong woman but also one who is drop dead gorgeous alongside Ronald Reagan playing it as a down to earth good guy, a real honest Joe type. These two give the movie so much simple appeal that it makes it a likeable western. But then you have John Payne giving the movie the mix of slick and danger but not a complete bad guy.

What this all boils down to is that "Tennessee's Partner" isn't anything special but it is an enjoyable b-western which crams in a lot of story and some entertaining characters thanks to a likeable cast.
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Riots keep Thai embassy in Yangon closed

MYANMAR: The Thai embassy in Yangon has extended its closure over security concerns for its staff and Thai nationals after protests which started late last month against the Koh Tao verdict.

politicsMyanmarhomicide

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 7 January 2016, 08:53AM

The embassy says the protests could cause trouble for visitors, so it has decided keep its doors closed until this coming Monday (Jan 11).

The embassy says the protests could cause trouble for visitors, so it has decided keep its doors closed until this coming Monday (Jan 11). The embassy earlier planned to open Monday (Jan 4) after it was closed since a week before years end due to the protests in Myanmar against the Thai court verdict. The Samui Provincial Court recently handed down death sentences to Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 22, after finding them guilty of raping and murdering Hannah Witheridge, 23, and killing David Miller, 24, on the southern island of Koh Tao in September last year. The protests spread to several areas, including in front of the embassy. The embassy said it would only provide urgent visa services on a case-by-case basis while it is closed. Foreign Ministry Don Pramudwinai said closing the services of the embassy amid protest action is normal practice. If it had stayed open in this situation, it could would allow ill-intentioned people to enter the embassy which could create further problems. Read original story here.
Serial thief arrested in Phuket

PHUKET: Police on Tuesday (Jan 5) arrested a man who has admitted to a spate of burglaries in Phuket Town carried out in the past month.

crimepropertypolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 7 January 2016, 12:30PM

26-year-old Chatchai Beer Klanphakdee admitted to carrying out eight thefts in the past month.

After receiving a number of complaints about break in and thefts in and around Phuket Town police investigated, and after speaking to witnesses and checking CCTV footage they found the same man was carrying out the crimes.

When our investigation team looked into this case we learned that the man carrying out the crimes was similar to a man arrested in May 2011, Deputy Chief of Phuket City Police Col Peerayuth Karajedi said.

Chatchai Beer Klanphakdee, 26, from Thayang in Petchaburi, who had indeed been arrested in 2011, was tracked down to a house in Cherng Thalay and found to be in possession of a number of stolen items.

At first, we only found one notebook and a motorbike, but after questioning Chatchai he told us that he had stolen eight times in the past month, Col Peerayuth explained.

After that, we found eight more notebooks, two motorbikes, a guitar and tools used for the thefts in his possession, he added.

Chatchai was taken to Phuket City Police Staion where he was charged with unlawful taking of property that does not being belong him the charge of which carries a punishment of imprisonment of three years and a fine of B6,000.
Egypt in 2016: An opportunity for a new consensus or more strife?

This new year Egypt faces several difficulties, economic, political, security, and regional. Theres no need to rehearse the well-known facts here. It's not important to assuage our conscience, deflect blame, or prove the soundness of our predictions for a bleak future. We must instead find a way forward.

Despite the grave challenges ahead, the threat of terrorism, economic crisis, and political turmoil, our greatest asset is that the Egyptian people still wants the state to succeed, stability to prevail, the economy to grow, and terrorism defeated.

Despite the difficulties of the past few years, Egyptians ability to endure and adapt has exceeded all expectations, and theyre still willing to make sacrifices. But its time for this patience to pay off, and to see an end to the thorny road trod by the state.

Of all the challenges facing the country, the most serious is the shift in Egyptian public opinion, which has abandoned the optimism of early last year for concern, anxiety, and eroded confidence in the states ability to address these challenges wisely or listen and engage with ordinary peoples problems.

This is dangerous for everyone, supporters and opponents of government policies, because a loss of hope and faith in the future frustrates progress and reform.

The state must therefore seize the opportunity offered by the new parliament and a new government to take stock and reconsider the wisdom of the same old policies, which will necessarily yield the same results.

Im not referring here to the tinkering with tax rates or currency policy, issuing a new investment or industry law, or distributing some houses and plots of land. Whats required is a change in course and an end to the strife that impedes real development and durable security and stability.

To begin, the state needs to realize that social cohesion and support for leadership and institutions cannot be achieved by threat or repression, but only by opening up channels for understanding and participation, ending incitement and exclusion, respecting the law, and realizing justice.

This requires the state to regain the trust and participation of the youth, not by appointing a few young people to the parliament or official posts, not by releasing a handful of imprisoned youth while arresting others to take their place.

Young people must be allowed to participate in political, union, and civic activities, and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protest and association must be lifted.

Moreover, all those detained in connection with peaceful demonstrations or expression, must be released or pardoned, no matter how provocative or shocking their opinions may be.

The state must also initiate a genuine dialogue with the business community, investors, union representatives, and various economic interests.

More than a meeting between the president and a few business titans, it should include representatives of various federations and associations and give voice to the needs and expectations of large and small investors alike.

A real dialogue would allow the state to listen to citizens needs instead of issuing laws and unveiling surprise initiatives that garner media attention but not much else.

The state also needs to put an end to the score-settling in prosecution offices and courtrooms and resolve long-pending cases: criminals with proven involvement in murder, torture, or corruption should be punished and others freed knowing the state will not harass them or pry into whether theyre Islamists, secularists, or Mubarakists.

Instead it should protect them and encourage them to engage in political and economic activity and take part in building a new future.

In addition, the state must set media regulations and enforce them equally, to check the professional and ethical debasement of the Egyptian media.

Whats needed is not curbs on freedom of opinion or the press, but simply that the state stop using the media as a tool to shape and incite public opinion or harass anyone who strays from the state line.

That alone is enough to rein in the media, without need for new laws or the suspension of newspapers and television programs.

Finally, regardless of the flaws in the recent elections, the state must give the incoming parliament a real chance to choose its leaders and express its opinion and those of the voters.

It must support the legislature with information, respect its summonses and interpellations, and refrain from interfering in its affairs. The public should be allowed to judge the parliament, hold it accountable, and assess its performance if it abandons its legislative or regulatory role.

Can we hope that the page can be turned on the mistakes and missteps of all parties and that a fresh start be made toward a new consensus?

The writer holds a PhD in financial law from the London School of Economics. He is former deputy prime minister, former chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority and former chairman of the General Authority for Investment.

This article was published in Arabic in El-Shorouq newspaper on Monday, 4 January.



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Road and train accidents in Egypt claim the lives of thousands every year

One person was killed and another injured in a traffic collision in southern Egypt late on Wednesday, Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The accident occurred when a pick-up truck travelling in the wrong lane collided with a motorcycle in a village in Sohag, approximately 500 km (300 miles) south of Cairo.

A 50-year-old man, Abdel Aziz Hashem, was killed and his 15-year-old son wounded in the accident.

In Egypt, road accidents claim thousands of lives every year.

Egypt is notorious for its poor road safety, badly maintained infrastructure, and loosely enforced traffic regulations.

Last month, the country's census authority said that over 2800 people were killed in road and train crashes in Egypt in the first half of 2015.

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The remarks by the semi-official National Council for Human Rights came following a visit to Al-Aqrab wing of Tora Prison earlier this week

Egypt's semi-official human rights body, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), said most of the complaints it earlier received from inmates of Al-Aqrab wing of Tora Prison have been settled, following a visit by a delegation earlier this week to the notorious prison where Muslim Brotherhood leaders are held.

An NCHR delegation visited on Tuesday the heavily-guarded Al-Aqrab, or Scorpion, wing of Tora Prison to ensure authorities apply "legal standards" in detention conditions and medical care of prisoners.

The council said most of the grievances it received, which included a lack of warm clothing in winter, restrictions over school books and medication, poor medical assistance by prison authorities and short durations of family visits, have been settled.

"The council ensured that complaints have been resolved, except for that of the duration of the visit[s]," NCHR said in a statement late Wednesday, after an interior ministry official asserted that prison law and regulations in connection with the issues in question are upheld.

The statement added that prison authorities denied delegation members to access wards, saying prisoners refuse to meet with them.

Kamal Abbas, an NCHR member who was part of the delegation, had said earlier that the delegation could not verify complaints of violations against prisoners because of "intransigence" by the prison administration or the alleged refusal by prisoners to meet them, which members could also not verify.

Abbas said prison authorities informed them they shouldn't go inside the wards because there would be "chaos" if they visited, as some of the prisoners, mainly Muslim Brotherhood members, reject the visit.

The delegation only met four inmates, including Brotherhood leaders Safwat Hegazi and Essam Sultan, the NCHR statement read.

The visit Tuesday has stirred controversy after council member Ragia Omran, a prominent rights lawyer, said she was not allowed to take part in the visit.

She said that ahead of the tour, and following complaints, prison authorities had been preparing the prison and attempting to improve conditions.

"Will they carry on improving conditions after the visit is over?" she asked.

Inspections of prisons and police stations must be sanctioned beforehand by the interior ministry, something rights advocates say gives authorities the chance to cover up violations.

A visit by some council officials to the same prison compound last August was widely criticised by rights campaigners, including some council members, who viewed it as an attempt by to polish the image of the authorities.

The council at the time issued a controversial report indicating good healthcare and conditions at the prison, contrary to complaints it had received from detainees.

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Fee for repeat offenders who don't mow grass could be increased

Those who fail to keep their lawns cut are charged a $100 fee per incident for the city to cut their lawns. The council looks to increase this fee.
A probe into a botched air strike on a group of Mexican tourists in Egypt that killed eight people in September suggests a travel agency they hired was to blame, Mexico's foreign minister said.

Eight Mexican tourists and four of their Egyptian companions died on September 13 last year when they came under fire during a lunch break in Egypt's vast Western Desert while on their way to the Bahariya oasis.

The Egyptian government has informed Mexico that an investigation into the attack "is nearing completion," Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu said Wednesday.

The Egyptian tourism ministry "found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit and in that sense would eventually be responsible," she added.

So far, the Egyptian government has been tight-lipped about the deadly event that outraged Mexico.

Cairo has said only that its military mistakenly killed the tourists as they were in a restricted area during a government operation against violent extremist fighters.

Six other Mexican tourists who were wounded in the attack were repatriated to Mexico days after the event.

Cairo has promised a full and "transparent" inquiry, although media in Egypt have been banned from publishing any details on the incident or the investigation.

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If Molson Coors can build a hockey rink on the roof of an Adelaide St. W. office building, what other surprises tower over Toronto? Heres a look at some gems found high above the ground.

Sweat lodge

Cities house more than 50 per cent of Canadian indigenous people, but the rooftop sweat lodge at Yonge and College Sts. stands alone. Cant say Ive heard of one anywhere else in the world, says Kelly Hashemi of Native Child and Family Services. The lodge, atop the services 30 College St. building, hosts traditional ceremonies almost every week, including some open to the general public. Its vital for indigenous people who seldom leave the concrete jungle to connect with the land, Hashemi said.

Bee hotel

The Fairmont Royal York may have hosted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but the buzz is all about the 14th floor. 100 Front St. W. houses hundreds of thousands of bees at a time in hives and temporary nesting spots. Since 2008, honeybee hives have generated an average of 450 pounds of honey a year. And the hotel diversified its hospitality offerings in 2014, opening a bee hotel to house weary pollinator bees seeking a rest during long voyages.

Ford Model T track

Built for the Ford Motor Company of Canada in 1914, the roof of 672 Dupont St. was once a place to burn rubber in Model Ts. Each floor of the building, from the first-floor showroom to the fifth-level paint shop, was designed specifically for housing, assembling and showcasing the cars. Two freight elevators delivered them to the reinforced roof for testing. The building still stands, but the elevators are bricked up, so no cars have been racing around the roof of late.

Running track

In the midst of the rat race, runners can take to the track towering above the streets of the financial district  male runners, that is. The roof of the 12-storey Sheraton Centre at 100 Richmond St. W. hosts a 160-metre running track (thats 10 laps to make a mile, for the imperial runners). Built in 1973 by the Cambridge Club, the men-only gym still operates the year-round spot today for the exclusive use of its members.

Google

In classic Google fashion, a rooftop balcony of the tech companys Canadian headquarters, at 111 Richmond St. W., boasts a five-hole mini-putt course. Each hole incorporates Toronto landmarks in the design, including the Dufferin St. arch, the Princes Gate, and Noel Hardings Elevated Wetlands (also known as the teeth sculptures alongside the Don Valley Parkway). Googlers and visitors can access the course year-round, though snow traps keep numbers down in winter.

Ryerson Farm

Ryerson University student group Ryes Homegrown operates eight edible gardens on the downtown campus, but the plantings on the engineering building at 245 Church St. take the operation from vegetable gardens to a veritable farmers field. The rooftop crop, including eggplants, hot peppers and squashes, harvested from the 929-square-metre farms first full growing season totaled more than 8,000 pounds last summer.

Infinity pool

The Thompson Hotels infinity pool and cabana-laden rooftop lounge has hosted the likes of Sir Richard Branson and Bradley Cooper. But less famed folk need a VIP pass, hotel key or permanent address at the 550 Wellington St. W. building to get similar treatment.

Edgewalk

Though the pointy-top CN Tower doesnt have a roof in the traditional sense, it does have a 1.5-metre ledge encircling the top of the towers main pod, as it were. Doubling as a handy work-zone for tricking out the building with fireworks on special occasions, the attraction is also probably the best spot in the city to get a glimpse of what else can be found on the rooftops of Toronto.

With files from Marco Chown Oved

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Global stocks headed for their worst start to a year in at least 28 years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 350 points, as turmoil emanating from China spread around the world and billionaire George Soros warned that a larger crisis may be brewing.

Torontos stock market was again reeling Thursday as panic selling in Asia prompted by developments in China spread to Europe, then to North America.

In mid-afternoon trading, the S&P/TSX composite index was down for a seventh consecutive day, off 258.65 points  or more than two per cent  at 12,468.15 as commodity prices, including oil, continued to fall amid perceived weakness in the Chinese economy.

The February contract for benchmark crude oil slumped 55 cents to US$33.42 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar remained near 12 -year lows at 71 cents U.S., down 0.02 of a U.S. cent.

In New York, the Dow Jones plummeted 363.58 points or 2.15 per cent to 16,542.93. The S&P 500 fared even worse, down 45.08 points or 2.27 per cent at 1,945.18, while the Nasdaq declined 132.18 points or 2.73 per cent to 4,703.59.

The worlds financial markets are being tossed by developments in China, where the central bank made a surprise move to adjust its currency rate and two major stock exchanges were closed early Thursday because of a sudden drop in stock prices.

China has a major adjustment problem, influential investor Soros said Thursday at an economic forum in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I would say it amounts to a crisis.

When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008.

Said Yousef Abbasi, a market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services in New York: China devaluing its currency sparks concern that the global growth engine is starting to slow and that creates a dump of any high-flying stocks or anything people perceive as risk.

When you start to worry about growth, you have crude oil down and it all ties together. Its the new year and people are scratching their heads, theyre not quite ready to buy the dip, Abbasi said.

Said Douglas Porter, chief economist with BMO Financial Group, in a note to clients: It is shaping up to be another (wildly) negative day in global equity markets. Panic is at play here, and having the (Peoples Bank of China) trying to stem the losses by imposing all sorts of rules and regulations does not help over the longer term.

Earlier Thursday, trading on Chinas Shanghai and Shenzen stock markets were pre-emptively halted for a second time this week after new circuit breakers were triggered when a benchmark stock index fell seven per cent.

The circuit breakers also kicked in Monday, the first day of trading since they were introduced on Jan. 1. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said after Thursdays shutdown that the circuit breaker rule had been suspended.

Chinese markets have lurched up and down as regulators gradually withdraw emergency measures imposed after the main stock index plunged in June following an explosive rise.

A similar price plunge Monday triggered a sell-off on Wall Street and other global markets.

On Thursday, trading was suspended after a market index, the CSI 300, nosedived 7 per cent a half-hour after markets opened, triggering a circuit breaker that took effect Jan. 1.

Financial analysts have warned Chinese markets are likely to see extreme volatility for a few more months as they seek a stable level following last years rout.

The circuit breaker requires a 15-minute pause in trading if the CSI 300 falls 5 per cent within 30 minutes. But Thursdays decline was so fast that before that could take effect, it hit the 7 per cent limit that ends trading for the day.

Contagion from China helped wipe $2.5 trillion off the value of global equities in the first six days of this year as the nations tolerance for a weaker currency is viewed as evidence that policy-makers are struggling to revive an economy thats the worlds biggest user of energy, metals and grains. The World Bank cut its global growth forecasts for this year and next as Chinas slowdown prolongs a commodity slump and contractions endure in Brazil and Russia. The U.K.s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne says a dangerous cocktail of global threats faces the British economy this year.

European stocks fell for the third time in four days, mirroring declines that shook global equities in August, as they extended the worst start to a year since 2000 amid a China-fueled selloff in mining and energy shares.

European shares have tumbled 6.4 per cent in the first four days of the year as companies with the most sales in the worlds second-biggest economy bear the brunt of the decline. Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc tumbled 6 per cent or more today, pushing a gauge of miners to its lowest level since 2009. Carmakers fell to a three-month low.

Equities around the world are in retreat as an eighth day of cuts in the yuans reference rate exacerbated concern that growth in China is slowing more than previously forecast. The declines are a setback for European equity bulls who had speculated that central-bank stimulus and a slowly improving economy would insulate the region from stress in Asia and North America.

The Chinese economic outlook is getting bleaker, said Daniel Weston, chief investment officer of Aimed Capital in Munich. Chinese demand for European exports is weakening and the price of European goods and services is getting costlier for the Chinese. In August, the Chinese said it would be a one off devaluation, but now the market knows it is much more than that.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid as much as 3.6 per cent, the most since August, before trading 3.3 per cent lower at 12:01 p.m. in London. All but seven stocks fell. Germanys DAX Index lost 3.5 per cent to 9,858.15, trading below 10,000 for the first time since October.

The Stoxx 600 is on track for its worst week since August, when Chinas yuan devaluation sparked a selloff that saw Europes benchmark plunge as much as 18 per cent from its record. The VStoxx Index measuring volatility expectations in euro-area shares jumped 17 per cent, heading for its biggest weekly advance since April.

The DAX, whose exporters have a greater exposure to China, has tumbled 8.3 per cent this week, heading for its worst loss since August 2011. Its down 14 percent since a November high. The benchmark entered a bear market at the height of the summer rout, before rebounding as much as 21 percent.

The rout spread to the Middle East. Saudi Arabian stocks led a decline in Middle Eastern markets as the slump in oil prices deepened amid a global equity rout spurred by the financial turmoil in China.

The Tadawul All Share Index slid as much as 5 per cent before paring its decline to 4.8 per cent at 2:58 p.m. in Riyadh. The DFM General Index retreated 3.4 percent, the most in almost two months, to the lowest level since Dec. 15. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, a gauge that tracks the 200 largest stocks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, declined for a fifth day to the lowest since January 2013.

China is one of the biggest trading partners of Saudi Arabia, the worlds biggest oil exporter, and the United Arab Emirates, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. dropped 4.2 per cent. The company, one of the worlds largest chemicals manufacturers, was trading at the lowest level since September 2009. Three technical indicators were this week suggesting the share may be ready to rebound. The yield on Sabics 2.625 percent bonds due October 2018 rose six basis points to highest level since February 2014.

Saudi Cable Company, a Jeddah-based cable and reel manufacturer, was set for the lowest close since March 2003. The company said on Wednesday it expects a 3 percent impact on output costs from Saudi Arabias subsidy cuts.

Stocks in the region have been under further strain as relations between Shiite-majority Iran and Arab nations worsened. The Saudis on Saturday executed 47 people accused of terrorism-related activities, including a Shiite cleric, which prompted protesters to attack the kingdoms embassy in Tehran. In turn, Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies cut diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic.

With oil going the way it is and China reacting the way it is reacting and the tension between Iran and Saudi, it was very much expected, long overdue, Ahmed Shehada, executive director for advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities LLC, said by phone from Dubai. The market is looking quite bearish.

The yield on Dubais government bond due October 2020 rose eight basis points to the highest level since January 2015. Emaar Properties PJSC, the company with the biggest weighting on the emirates main stock index, was the largest contributor to the gauges retreat. The developer sank 5.4 percent, the most since Aug. 23.

Qatars QE Index slid 3 percent and Abu Dhabis ADX General Index lost 3.2 percent, the most since August. Kuwaiti stocks decreased 1.6 percent and Bahraini equities lost 0.7 percent. Omans MSM 30 Index dropped 0.5 percent.

Turkeys Borsa Istanbul 100 Index fell, heading for the lowest level in more than three weeks. The lira weakened for a fifth day against the dollar and was among the worst-performing emerging market currencies on Thursday.

Israels TA-25 Index dropped 1.8 per cent. The declines were led by Opko Health Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., tracking the losses of their U.S.-traded shares.

with files from Bloomberg News

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is due to fly to Germany next week for a visit aimed at bolstering mutual ties.

The three-day visit to Berlin will begin on Monday, ministry spokesman Ahmed Abou Zeid said.

Shoukry is scheduled to hold talks with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The visit comes as Egypt seeks to strengthen relations and bolster counter-terrorism cooperation with Europe.

Egypt has been battling an Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Hundreds of people, mainly police and military personnel, have been killed in militant violence since Morsi's ouster.

In a sign of developing ties, German company Siemens signed an 8 billion euro ($9.05 billion) deal with Egypt in June to supply gas and wind power plants.

Germany has also begun supplying Egypt with submarines; last month the country delivered a submarine built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to Egypt, and the

German ambassador in Cairo has said that two more submarines destined for Egypt are being built.



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The spectacle of torture haunts the war on terror. From Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay to black sites and prisons all over the world, thousands of men and women (but mostly men) have been imprisoned and made subject to horrific forms of physical and psychological violence. Beatings, rapes, threats of rape, electric shocks, waterboarding, forced feeding, forced nudity  these are some of the barbarisms performed in the name of saving civilization from the threat of terrorism.

Canadas participation in this global network of torture is less visible than the United States. Our involvement has been less direct. Our hands appear cleaner, our consciences less tainted. And yet, Canada has also been complicit in torture in the years since 9/11, under both Liberal and Conservative governments. We have also breached law and principle for the sake of national security: a security that seemingly continues to elude us, despite the sacrifices of rights and freedoms made at its altar.

Canadas position on torture is currently on trial in the case of Mohamed Harkat.

Harkat arrived in Canada in 1995 as a refugee from Algeria. Seeking security, he was instead labelled a security threat, and detained without trial under Canadas security certificate regime in 2002. Accused of being a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, Mohamed Harkat was incarcerated for four years and then held under extremely restrictive bail conditions  all on the strength of secret evidence that he was not allowed to see.

Now, Harkat is facing deportation to possible torture in Algeria. In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the security certificate against him, paving the way for the governments deportation efforts. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who wrote the decision, acknowledged that Harkat potentially faces deportation to a country where he may be at risk for torture or death, although the constitutionality of his deportation in such circumstances is not before us in the present appeal.

This assessment is corroborated by human rights groups. Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, observed that deporting Harkat would expose him to risk of serious mistreatment. Indeed, Algeria is notorious for torturing prisoners, particularly those suspected of involvement in terrorism.

International law condemns torture in the strongest possible terms. The ban on torture is absolute: no reason or excuse can justify the use of any form of torture. Article 3 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture forbids deporting or transferring individuals to states where they may be tortured. Relying on pledges not to torture from states known to torture is also prohibited  as foolish as delivering a mouse into the jaws of a lion that has promised not to eat it.

International law notwithstanding, the Conservative government initiated deportation proceedings against Mohamed Harkat during this last election, proceedings that the recently elected Liberal government have not halted so far.

Disturbingly, this is not the first instance of Canadian government complicity in torture in the war on terror. For example, the OConnor and Iacobucci inquiries revealed the role that Canadian government officials played in the secret detention and torture of four innocent Canadian citizens  Maher Arar, Ahmad El-Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin  in Syria (and also in Egypt, in the case of El-Maati).

The ghastly details of Syrian and Egyptian torture chambers have long been public knowledge, documented in reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. But instead of protecting its citizens from abuse at the hands of these torturous regimes, our government took advantage of the situation: Canadian intelligence agencies sent information for the Syrians and Egyptians to use in their interrogations.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture castigated the Canadian government for its complicity in the torture of Arar, El-Maati, Almalki and Nureddin. But while Maher Arar has received compensation for his ordeal, Canadas other torture victims continue to fight lengthy legal battles for recompense.

More recently, we have learned through media reports that Salim Alaradi, a Canadian citizen of Libyan descent who has been incarcerated for more than 17 months in the United Arab Emirates without charges, has been tortured. His lawyer Paul Champ told the media that the Canadian government knew Alaradi was tortured, but did not tell the family until he became involved in the case as lawyer. Is it a privacy issue as the government claims, or yet another deafening silence when it comes to denouncing torture?

These shameful episodes did not only occur under Stephen Harpers Conservative government, infamous for its willingness to discard the basic human rights of certain humans, but also during the post-9/11 reign of the Liberal Party.

The Liberals and their sunny ways are back again. Will they finally banish the dark shadow of Canadian complicity in torture?

Dr. Monia Mazigh is an author, academic, and human rights activist, and is national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. Azeezah Kanji is a graduate of University of Torontos Faculty of Law and programming coordinator at Noor Cultural Centre.

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In an interview with Al-Ahram the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church discusses issues including relations with Ethiopia and his controversial visit to Jerusalem

In an interview published in Al-Ahram newspaper on Thursday, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, blamed current sectarian conflicts in the Middle East on "human stupidity."

Sectarian struggle is caused by "people killing each other for money and [for the sake of their] interests," the pope told the state daily in the interview, which marked the Orthodox celebration of Christmas.

The interview covered a wide range of topics, including relations with Ethiopia, where just under the half the population are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

"We need to care for Ethiopia more and more; there will be no war between Egypt and Ethiopia for water," said the pope, adding that negotiations and understanding will solve lots of problem between the two countries.

Ethiopia is currently building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile; Egypt has expressed concerns that the completed dam could negatively impact the amount of Nile water that reaches the country.

In September, the pope visited Ethiopia, while Patriach Mathais I of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church visited Egypt earlier in the year.

The pope also discussed his controversial visit to Jerusalem in November in the interview with the state daily, describing it as urgent and exceptional.

The pope visited the city in order to lead the funeral prayers for the church's Metropolitan Archbishop Abraham of Jerusalem and the Near East, who passed away that month.

"There was also a personal consideration in this visit as Archbishop Abraham was the first monk to receive me at the monastery when I became a monk, and we became colleagues," he said, adding that the visit was "beyond political considerations."

The late Pope Shenouda III issued a papal ban on pilgrimages to Israel in 1979, a policy that remains in place today as a clear stance against the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem.

Pope Tawadros' visit was the first by a Coptic pope to the Holy Land since 1967.

Regarding personal status law and the debate about divorce for Christians in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II told Al-Ahram that the church was following the bible in that matter. The church opposes divorce except for adultery.

In 2014, Egypt's Ministry of Transitional Justice drafted a new personal status law for non-Muslims which contained new provisions on divorce. The bill has yet to be passed.

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An Egyptian court of appeal on Thursday annuled a court ruling that ordered comedian Bassem Youssef and his production company to pay LE100 million in compensation to a satellite network which cancelled his show.

Network CBC stopped broadcasting the show El-Bernameg in 2013 after the first episode of the third season, aired on 25 October of that year, caused complaints that Youssef had mocked the military and then army-chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Following the shows cancellation, production company QSoft terminated its contract with the network. CBC argued that this was a breach of contract and a violation of its editorial policies.

In its reasoning, the court said that the 2014 ruling by the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) was based on hypothetical reasoning that lacked any evidence.

It added that the arbitration centre ignored the technical report that Qsoft presented about the extent of the damage that was caused following the suspension of the show.

In November 2014, the CRCICA ordered Youssef and QSoft to pay CBC network LE100 million, LE50 million each, as compensation for breaching their contract and suspending their show.

A few months after the CBC suspension, Youssef returned to the silver screen via Saudi and German-owned channels MBC Misr and Deutsche Welle, only to once again be suspended months later.

Following the shows suspension Youssef left the country.

In December 2015, the Egyptian satirist said in an interview with Variety magazine that while he had his own problems with the Islamist regime which ruled Egypt prior to July 2013, his sense of humour was not tolerated by the government that removed the Islamic regime.

Youssef said he has decided not to produce El-Bernameg outside of Egypt, despite lucrative offers.

This show belongs to Egypt, to an Egyptian team, to an Egyptian audience in the heart of Cairo. And Im not going to be a dissident, a fugitive who is going to be doing the show from outside the country. I think if Im not there, it sends a much clearer message about how things are, Youssef explained in the interview.

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Egypt condemned "in the strongest terms" a suicide truck bombing that killed more than 50 people at a police school in Libya on Wednesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

In an official press release on Thursday, the foreign ministry said that the "despicable acts of terrorism" in the city of Zliten affirm once again the urgency of supporting the legitimate security apparatuses in Libya, including the Libyan national army.

Egypt also stressed the urgency of lifting the ban on imports of weapons and ammunition needed to combat "the cancerous spread of terrorist organisations" that represents not only a critical threat to the Libyan state, but also to neighbouring countries.

Egypt also called on both Libyan sides to prioritise the interests of the country.

The statement also extended condolences to the victims' families, expressing Egypt's anticipation of cooperating with members of the presidential council and supporting efforts to form a national unity government as soon as possible according to the current political agreement.

The suicide attack is the deadliest militant attack to hit the strife-torn country since its 2011 revolution.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State militant group, which has been growing in power in Libya, has carried out many suicide bombings in the country.



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Since Saturday's execution of four Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia, hundreds or thousands of the minority sect have marched nightly in protest, and their anger could herald wider unrest.

The execution of one of them, dissident cleric Nimr al-Nimr, caused an international crisis as Shia Iran and its allies responded angrily, but it also caused upset in his home district of Qatif, where many saw his death as unjustified.

"People are angry. And they are surprised, because there were positive signals in the past months that the executions would not take place. People listen to his speeches and there's no direct proof he was being violent," a Qatif community leader said by phone.

The protests in Qatif, an almost entirely Shia district of about a million people in the oil-producing Eastern Province, have been mostly peaceful, though a fatal shooting and gun attacks on armoured security vehicles have also taken place.

Qatif is located near major oil facilities and many of its residents work for the state energy company, Saudi Aramco. Past incidents of unrest have not led to attacks on the oil industry, but a bus used by Aramco to transport employees was torched after a protest on Tuesday night.

Footage of marchers shouting "down with the Al Saud" and other anti-government slogans, corroborated by witnesses contacted by Reuters, is circulating on social media along with video clips showing shots fired at armoured cars.

"I did not hear shooting last night, but I heard it a lot on the two nights before," a resident of Nimr's home village, al-Awamiya, told Reuters by phone. Like others Reuters spoke to in Qatif, he asked that his name be withheld.

Saudi Arabia only permits foreign news media, including Reuters, to visit Qatif if accompanied by government officials, which it says is to ensure journalists' safety.

Whether the protests - and sporadic attacks on police - escalate may depend on whether the security forces continue an unspoken policy of allowing peaceful demonstrations until they die down, or crack down with force, say locals.

Government supporters say it depends rather on whether Tehran uses links to local activists, which both Iran and many Qatif residents deny exist, to stage attacks in retaliation for Nimr's execution and Riyadh's cutting of diplomatic ties.

DISCRIMINATION CHARGE

The security forces believe they can quash any mass protests in Qatif, like those that began during the 2011 Arab Spring when Nimr became a figurehead, or the 1979 uprising inspired by Iran's revolution, analysts say.

Qatif is almost entirely populated by Shia and can be physically isolated by the government. Checkpoints stand at its main street entrances.

"The security forces are very confident. The Shia population is confined in certain places. They are a small minority compared to a big majority. They think they have the capability to control them," said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the Interior Ministry.

Shia have long complained they face entrenched discrimination in a country where the semi-official Wahhabi Sunni school regards their sect's beliefs as heretical. They say they face abuse from Wahhabi clerics, rarely get permits for places of worship and seldom get senior public sector jobs.

Those basic complaints have over the years been aggravated by what Qatif residents call a heavy security hand against their community, accusing the authorities of unfair detentions and punishments, shooting unarmed protesters and torturing suspects.

Reuters has met several Saudi Shia detained after the 2011 protests who said they were repeatedly beaten and deprived of sleep to extract confessions of rioting.

The government denies discrimination against Shia and bias or brutality on the part of its security services. Its supporters point to the blind eye police show frequent protests by Shia in Qatif, which would be quickly crushed in any Sunni area, as evidence of leniency.

IRAN RIVALRY

Riyadh's relations with the Shia minority are complicated by its rivalry with Iran, and by its own reliance on a largely Wahhabi population for support.

Analysts say the government sometimes uses a tough stance towards Saudi Shia to mobilise its Wahhabi power base, while perceived weakness in acceding to any demands made by the minority can prompt anger that Sunni militants seek to exploit.

A series of Islamic State attacks in Saudi Arabia since November 2014 has mainly targeted the kingdom's Shia as part of an apparent strategy to leverage the sectarian divide as a way of building support among conservative Sunnis.

Such divisions are easier to aggravate because of the wider struggle between the kingdom and Iran, with many Saudis, and their government, seeing Tehran as using ties with Shia across the Middle East to seek dominance and persecute Sunnis.

"The Iranians and their allies have been pushing and promoting terrorism and recruiting people, inciting and providing weapons and explosives to people, and Nimr al-Nimr was one of them," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in an interview this week.

During and after the 2011 protests, eight policemen and seven civilians were killed in attacks by Shia that were connected to Iran and carried out by people linked to Nimr, Riyadh says.

Iran denies all those charges and Nimr's family say he advocated peaceful change, took no part in violence and had no links to Tehran.

The police said Nimr was arrested when he fired on them with an assault rifle, injuring two, while trying to prevent the capture of another suspect, the act which most swayed judges to pass the death sentence on him, Alani said.

Nimr and the three other Shia were executed on Saturday along with 43 Sunni al Qaeda convicts.

More young Shia detained over the 2011 protests and subsequent attacks have been sentenced to execution. Others are also on trial and facing possible death sentences.

"I think people are worried. It might get worse. There is a feeling things might get complicated," said a Shia in Dammam, the capital of Eastern Province.

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Saudi-backed Yemeni forces landed by sea at the Red Sea port of Maydee near the border with Saudi Arabia late on Wednesday, residents said, opening up a new front in a nine-month-old civil war.

Northern Yemen is a stronghold of the Iranian-allied Houthi group, which has seized large parts of Yemen including the capital from forces loyal to the embattled Saudi-backed president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Hadi's forces attempted to push from Maydee's port, pounded for weeks by air strikes and naval shelling, into the surrounding city, but ran into heavy Houthi resistance and landmines, residents told Reuters by telephone.

Major General Adel Qumairi of the pro-government forces told Saudi-owned Arabiya TV that his forces had "completely taken control" of the city.

But Yemen's state news agency Saba, run by the Houthis, quoted Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for forces allied to the group, as saying the advance had been met by "heroic resistance" that caused them "great material and human losses".

Residents of Sanaa reported over 30 Saudi-led air strikes overnight on Houthi targets, in one of the capital's fiercest aerial bombardments of the war.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies has been fighting the Shia Houthi movement to repel what it sees as creeping influence by the group's ally, Iran, Saudi Arabia's bitter rival for influence across the Middle East.

The Houthis deny being under Iran's influence and say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and Gulf Arab powers beholden to the West.

The Saudi spokesman for the coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, told Al Arabiya that a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom overnight had exploded on launch.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced the end of a truce that had reduced fighting but had been repeatedly violated by both sides.

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Earnings season is picking up again so we'll hear from several companies on Thursday.

The important ones to watch out for are Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) , Constellation Brands (STZ) , Finish Line (FINL) and KB Home (KBH) , all reporting before the opening bell. In the afternoon we'll hear from Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) .

When Finish Line reports its fiscal third quarter results, analysts are anticipating a loss of $0.04 a share on revenue of over $400 million. During the same quarter the prior year, the company reported a loss of $0.02 a share on revenue of $395.83 million. Finish Line is a retail chain that sells athletic shoes, apparel and accessories.

Benjamin Stoto, director of research for CNBC's "Mad Money," said, "So this is the first read for a company that was down over 25% last year so we're really hoping to see if the stock has found a bottom or if this will be a better year for it.

"What we're really going to be watching are same-store sales," Stoto added. "They've been stuck in the low-single digits for almost two years, whereas their chief competitor, Foot Locker (FL) has been closer to (a) 10 (percent annual gain) for the last two years. This will also be the first read on mall traffic. (The company has) been a poster child for mall weakness and if they can turn it around, it's a good sign for other mall-based stores."

Additionally, we'll have a few notable economic reports slated to come out. We'll have jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. Afterwards, Jeffrey Lacker, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, is scheduled to give a speech in North Carolina.

In the afternoon, Chicago Fed head Charles Evans will be speaking in Wisconsin.

TheStreet's U-Jin Lee reports from Wall Street.
Editors' pick: Originally published Jan. 7.

Ugh! It's been a nasty start to the new year for investors. But despite sharp declines so far this week, don't go into a defensive crouch. As the saying goes, the time to buy is when there's blood in the streets. And right now, investors are knee-deep in it.

Examined below are four stocks with the wherewithal to withstand further carnage and resume an upward trajectory in 2016. Indeed, analysts expect all these stocks to rise over the next year.

Despite the bloodbath of the past few days, economic growth should not only remain on track but also accelerate this year. Recently strong data on U.S. gross domestic product growth, job creation, home prices and auto sales vindicate this positive view.

Rest assured, we're not blinded by Pollyannish overconfidence. Plenty of clouds loom on the horizon. The massive selloff Monday through Wednesday of this week represented the worst three days of a new year since 2008. Investors are spooked by North Korea's claim of testing a hydrogen bomb, more disappointing news about China's economy and the seemingly endless plunge in energy prices.

Fear is a powerful force. But if you had heeded the advice of the pessimists in 2015, you'd have missed out on substantial gains in selected stocks.

The last quarter's positive economic indicators bode particularly well for Illinois Tool Works (ITW) , Wells Fargo (WFC) , The Home Depot (HD) and Deere (DE) . This fear-resistant foursome can help rescue your retirement years from poverty. Let's take a look at what makes these stocks great "crash-resistant" plays now.

ITW data by YCharts

1. Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works operates in seven segments: Construction Products, Transportation, Power Systems & Electronics, Industrial Packaging, Food Equipment, Polymers & Fluids, and All Other.

Many investors don't realize that Illinois Tool Works holds more than 20,000 unexpired patents and pending patent applications worldwide. The company consistently ranks in the top 100 of patent issuers in the U.S. every year, representing a storehouse of intellectual capital that allows this industrial giant to better withstand the market's cyclical ups and downs.

The housing market resurgence is fueling greater business and consumer activity, in turn generating more orders for Illinois Tool Work's core products. In particular, the renaissance of the automobile manufacturing sector is proving a boon for Illinois Tool Works. The company derives roughly 13% of revenue from automobile OEMs, which benefit from housing-fueled prosperity.

Illinois Tool Work's overseas demand has slowed in recent quarters, due to slumps in Europe and key emerging markets such as China. These headwinds account for the company's low trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.3, compared to 19.38 for its sector of industrial goods. However, the company is now streamlining operations and shedding segments that are laggards, a move cheered by analysts.

With Illinois Tool Works shares now trading at $87.49, the analyst consensus calls for a one-year target of $98.33. That suggests the stock could gain at least 12%.

WFC data by YCharts

2. Wells Fargo

The recent surge in housing starts comes as homebuilders are expressing more confidence. That's manna for Wells Fargo, which boasts a solid balance sheet and a long history of dividend growth. In the U.S., it's the largest bank by market capitalization; the second largest in deposits, home mortgage servicing, and debit cards; and the fourth largest by assets.

Wells Fargo serves more consumers and businesses than any other U.S. bank. Wells Fargo's low exposure to investment banking, at only 5% of fees, provides insulation from economic and market turmoil. If major economic trouble does lie ahead, this bank has a sterling track record for surviving downturns.

Wells Fargo was in the vanguard of the financial sector in rebuilding dividends after the wreckage of the 2008 financial crisis, with the company's dividend increases resuming in March 2011.

The stock's trailing P/E of 12 is approximately equal to the average P/E of its peers, but housing's sustained comeback will only propel this stock higher. The current dividend yield of 2.7% is icing on the cake. This combination of value, growth and income makes Wells Fargo a suitable addition to your long-term wealth building plan.

With Wells Fargo shares now trading at about $52, the average 12-month price target from analysts is $58.84, suggesting the stock can gain 13%. It could go even higher: The highest price target is $65, which implies a 25% increase.

HD data by YCharts

3. The Home Depot

Home Depot is the largest home-improvement retailer in the world, with locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The majority of the company's sales stem from kitchen equipment, paint, floorin, and other hardware bought by homeowners who are remodeling. The company also provides installation services for products such as windows, roofing and siding, furnaces and central air systems.

The home remodeling market continues to improve, with strong gains expected for 2016, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

The orange Home Depot logo is familiar to homeowners around the globe. The company is the fourth-largest retailer in the U.S., but the largest in both Canada and Mexico. As homeowners gain greater confidence in their domiciles as investments, they'll increasingly flock to this ubiquitous retailer. The stock's trailing P/E of 24 is roughly in line with its industry.

With Home Depot shares now trading at about $129, analysts on average are calling for a one-year target of $141, which suggests the stock could rise another 9%.

DE data by YCharts

4. Deere

Deere is best known as a manufacturer of agricultural equipment, but it's also a major manufacturer of construction and forestry equipment, as well as a supplier of diesel engines and the drivetrains found in heavy equipment. It also makes lawnmowers, lawn tractors and snowblowers.

As with Home Depot, the name Deere is one of the most recognized and trusted corporate brands in the world. The company's slogan, "Nothing Runs Like a Deere," will likely prove an apt description of the company's share price in 2016.

This old-line American manufacturer is poised to prosper in coming months, as construction and agricultural firms get ready to enjoy their busiest year since the fallow days of the Great Recession. The stock's trailing P/E of 12 makes it a bargain compared to the average P/E of 22 for its competitors.

With Deere shares currently trading at about $75, the average one-year price target among Wall Street analysts is $78, suggesting the stock can gain another 4%. Some analysts are more bullish, however, and the high price target of $95 implies upside of 27%.

In light of the new year's extraordinary volatility, are you making the right investment moves for your retirement, or are you blowing it by making all-too-common money mistakes? There are crucial steps that you should be taking now, to build wealth over the long haul. To find out whether you'll have enough money in your later years, download our free report: Your Ultimate Retirement Guide.

John Persinos is editorial manager and investment analyst at Investing Daily. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
LAS VEGAS -- After going public nearly 18 months ago, Israel-based Mobileye (MBLY) has become the face of the autonomous driving moment. It has put its wares into several major carmakers, including Tesla (TSLA) , BMW, Audi, Ford (F) and most recently, General Motors (GM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY) .

The company, led by Ziv Aram, helps make camera equipment and systems that assist in preventing accidents. Its products provide warnings for potential collisions -- think of it as the car's eyes, seeing and reacting to things a human might not be able to react to.

Though it's most well-known for its partnership with Tesla, which has advanced the state of autonomous driving in recent months, Mobileye is working on expanding partnerships so that everyone, not just the wealthy, can afford the benefits of autonomous vehicles.

Here is a short interview with Senior Vice President of Production Programs Itay Gat, conducted at the

Consumer Electronics Show

in Las Vegas. Gat discusses the state of autonomous driving and Mobileye's latest partnerships.

TheStreet:Could you expand on the announcement of the partnership between Mobileye and Volkswagen and GM and what it means for Mobileye?

Itay Gat: What we see here is the idea that they are glad to use our capabilities and collaborate in a very critical element on the path we see toward autonomous driving.

Autonomous driving as we see it is the ability to sense the world around you, but we also see an element of the world that is redundant. The second part is not just of what you sense of the world, but where you are able to drive and combine that information to create full autonomous driving in the near future.

The big advantages for the car industry and Mobileye is that these companies have huge fleets of vehicles around the world and they can create very detailed mapping of the world and leverage that to create a system based on that data with various ways to monetize that data.

TheStreet:Is there a fear that some of these OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), some of the ones that use more of a Silicon Valley-line type of thinking, could create this technology in-house and cut Mobileye out?

Gat: That's always an opportunity and for that, we need to create a situation where it's beneficial for both of us to work together. I'm glad to say that what we've shown far, both with GM and VW, that's been the case. They know we've invested many hundreds and maybe thousands of years to create these capabilities and they are enjoying the means to implement that.

As long as it's working for both sides, I don't see a reason for them to deviate from that and start to invest these huge efforts and create an in-house solution. The key is that it should be beneficial for both parties, and that's exactly what we're seeing here.

TheStreet:How does this help diversify Mobileye's revenue?

Gat: To be honest, it's not that we have a currently clear monetizing system and how the revenues will change, but we do have the fruits of doing that. The fact they have such capabilities to add this to every vehicle and add to the average sale price. The fact that the database is being created and can be used for other means besides autonomous driving.

The fact that the world is everywhere and very accurately and updating in a very quick manner, you can get updates that would be valuable as it is now and we see the advantage of having that as a solution for autonomous driving in the near future. We're not talking about tens of years from now, we're talking about the hardware being available for fully autonomous driving being available in 2017 or 2018.

It's up to the car industry to see when that happens, but there are ways for that to increase Mobileye's revenue, without giving away what we currently do not have.

TheStreet:The time frame of 2017 or 2018, is that still geared toward the luxury market, or does that come down to a $35,000 or $40,000 car?

Gat: Again, we have chosen to take the route of using vision system because we feel that eventually the system can be installed in every car. It's up to the car industry on the policy.

I'm glad to say that in order to make that happen, they need to start with relevant numbers, millions of vehicles that will have the camera as the major sensor since that will allow them to capture the information needed to create the map or the database. For that, GM would start equipping vehicles as soon as 2016 and VW would start in 2017.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister arrives in Pakistan on Thursday, where he will meet leaders of a government keen to defuse spiralling sectarian tension between the Sunni-majority kingdom and Shia Iran.

Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shia cleric on Saturday has inflamed tension across the Middle East and infuriated Iran, Riyadh's main rival in the region.

Several of Saudi Arabia's Sunni allies have broken diplomatic ties with Iran after demonstrators ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Pakistan, which has a large Shia minority, has sought to avoid taking sides as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tries to stem sectarian violence at home and boost economic ties with both Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Sartaj Aziz, Sharif's foreign affairs adviser, said Pakistan was a friend of both Saudi Arabia and Iran and would seek to heal the rift between them during Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir's visit.

"Pakistan has called for resolution of differences through peaceful means in the larger interest of Muslim unity in these challenging times," Aziz told parliament on Tuesday.

Al-Jubeir is scheduled to meet Aziz, the prime minister and Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, later on Thursday.

The visit comes after Pakistan last month distanced itself from an anti-Islamic State coalition announced by Saudi Arabia, which had named Pakistan as a member.

Pakistan also declined a Saudi call to join a Riyadh-led intervention, backed by most Sunni Gulf Arab states, in Yemen last year to fight Iranian-allied rebels.

Pakistan wants to deepen trade links with both Iran and Saudi Arabia and improve access to their vast energy resources to fuel its power-hungry economy.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have cultivated a close alliance for decades, and Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup.

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The rising tension among Saudi Arabia and Iran, two Middle East countries who are major producers of crude oil, could push prices down even further amid the prolonged oil glut and uncertainty of their conflict, but have remained unchanged so far.

The persistent oil global surplus remains a significant issue among their squabble as the markets reacted slowly when prices of oil on Monday briefly rose higher than $38 a barrel, but withdrew back down to $36 a barrel on Tuesday. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia declared it would end all their ties with Iran.

Oil prices are expected to sink even lower with the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iran since the added supply will only overwhelm an already oversupplied market, said Tony Starkey, an energy analysis manager for Bentek Energy, the Denver- based unit of Platts, an energy and metals data provider. The latest tensions between the two countries could change that outlook and have the potential to stir up violence and conflict that could disrupt oil trade routes and supply, which would be bullish for prices, he said.

The dust-up between the Saudi Arabia and Iran should not have much of an impact, but it has generated doubt, said Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist Universitys Cox School of Business in Dallas.

Unless those two countries go to war or try to disrupt each others oil flow I cant imagine it will have much of an impact on oil prices down the road, he said.

Prices at gas pumps across the country are averaging $2.00 a gallon in many states, according to Gasbuddy.com. The lowest price is in Missouri where gasoline prices are $1.70 a gallon and the highest price is in California at $2.89 a gallon.

The Energy Information Administration, the independent statistical arm of the Department of Energy based in Washington, D.C., estimates that gasoline will average $2.36 per gallon in 2016.

Prices could see an even steeper drop if both countries attempt to undermine each other by ramping up and producing as much oil as they can, Weinstein said.

Obviously, the Saudis can produce oil at a fiscal loss much longer than the Iranians can, but I dont know if they will pursue that strategy or not, he added.



The outcome in a break in diplomatic relations could be difficult to predict since Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels a day and is the number one oil producing country with 10% of the overall global production followed by the U.S. which produces 9%, he said.

The global surplus of 2 million to 2.5 million excess barrels of oil means consumers will not have to be concerned about prices reversing its course anytime soon.

We will have bargain basement gasoline prices for the next couple of years, Weinstein said. Its hard to envision oil rising above $2.50 a gallon for the next couple of years.

The unease in the Middle East will increase volatility in pricing only for the short-term because of the ambiguity, said Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager with Tortoise Capital in Leawood, Kansas which has $13.5 billion under management invested in energy stocks.

Oil prices are delicate and the margin error is low since there is no geopolitical risk premium built into the price, but it depends on how much the conflict escalates, he said.

With a 30-day supply of crude oil, inventories are high and the conflict should blow over, Thummel said. The production of oil in the Middle East is not impacted even if tensions are higher for a short period. If production rises, consumers will benefit and see another drop in gasoline prices, he said.

It will be great for consumers because gasoline prices will remain at $2.00 a gallon for a while, Thummel said.

The latest escalation is not an event and will not move the needle on prices even if it is a precursor to one, said Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Energy, a Dallas oil and gas exploration and production company.



A reduction in the reserves of oil is imminent since the world is consuming about 96 million barrels of oil per day and the amount of the supply is ahead of that by 750,000 barrels, he said. If the US reduces the amount by 500,000 barrels by this spring, then we have almost eliminated all the spare which puts us on very thin margin with such tensions building in the Middle East, Faulkner said.

Faulkner is mostly bullish on oil prices going into 2016 and heading into the $50 territory although the upswing will be a slow climb and may not occur until the middle of the year with the WTI/Brent spread still tight as it is now, he said.

The bottom-line on the Saudi Arabia/Iran conflict is that it could wind up being a flash point but until theres something that affects supply, its not going to drive oil prices more than what you saw Monday, Faulkner said.

We like to say with gasoline prices  they tend to float up like a feather and drop like a rock, he said. Weve already had oil prices drop like a rock and from a producers perspective and right now we would be as happy as could be if they would begin floating up like a feather.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) subsidiary T-Mobile (TMUS) are lower by 1.85% to $39.31 in pre-market trading on Thursday morning, as the wireless carrier faces scrutiny over employee working conditions.

Investors and lawmakers are pressuring Deutsche Telekom to make sure workers at its largest subsidiary are treated properly, Reuters reports.

However, the Communications Workers of America have accused the company of disregarding employees' rights and having taken part in illegal work practices in two U.S. National Labor Relations Board cases.

Two key investors in Germany-based Deutsche Telekom have let the company know that they are concerned about the treatment of the T-Mobile employees, sources told Reuters. Lawmakers in Washington and Berlin have asked the German government to pressure the company so that T-Mobile respects the rights of its U.S. workers.

The German government controls 30% of Deutsche Telekom, according to Reuters.

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate T-MOBILE US INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and revenue growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company has favored debt over equity in the management of its balance sheet.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) are falling by 6.16% to $5.80 at the start of trading on Thursday, as oil prices sink today.

Oil is declining on ongoing concerns of weaker demand from China and a continuing global glut close to record production levels, Reuters reports.

China weakened the yuan further today and halted trading for the second time this week causing stocks worldwide to drop.

"It's hard to see what will turn this market around," Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research told Bloomberg. "This is starting to look like the dark days of 1998 when economic troubles in Asia sent prices down to the $10 area."

WTI crude is down by 1.5% to $33.46 per barrel this morning, while Brent crude is declining by 1.34% to $33.77 per barrel, according to the CNBC.com index.

The price of the commodity has tumbled 12% since Tuesday, which is the worst three-day drop in a year, Reuters noted.

Freeport-McMoRan is a Phoenix-based natural resource company with an industry portfolio of mineral assets, oil and natural gas resources and a production profile.

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate FREEPORT-MCMORAN INC as a Sell with a ratings score of D. This is driven by a few notable weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
Yemen's foreign ministry has declared the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights persona non grata after what it said were unfair statements, a news agency run by the Saudi-allied government reported on Thursday.

The news agency, sabanew.net, quoted an official source as saying that the representative had "lost professionalism and is persona non grata".

The location of the representative was not immediately clear.

The UN spokesman described the decision as "an extremely regrettable development."

George Abu al-Zulof, the head of the UN human rights office in Yemen, "has been doing an excellent job," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online.

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Vale SA (VALE) are down by 4.64% to $2.78 in early afternoon trading on Thursday, as some U.S. traded Brazil-based stocks tumble today due to the decline in the real, which was spurred by the economic distress in China.

China is Brazil's top export market and the Asian nation halted trading today for the second time this week following a sharp market selloff.

China weakened the yuan reference rate for an eighth consecutive day, adding to concerns that the slowdown in the Chinese market is worse than official data had suggested, Bloomberg reports.

The real was down by 0.7% to 4.0592 per dollar in Sai Paulo this morning.

Vale is a Rio de Janeiro-based mining company that also produces iron ore and iron ore pellets as well as nickel.

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate VALE SA as a Sell with a ratings score of D. This is driven by a few notable weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
Department store operator Hudson's Bay (HBAYF) announced on Thursday, Jan. 7, it would pay $250 million in cash for Gilt Groupe Holdings, which was once valued by its venture backers at up to $1 billion in 2011.

Hudson's Bay will fund the deal with cash on hand and anticipated it would close around Feb. 1.

The Toronto parent of retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Home Outfitters projected Gilt, a New York-based online retailer of luxury goods, would add some $500 million in revenue in fiscal 2016. Hudson's Bay also said the deal would add about $40 million in adjusted Ebitda by fiscal 2017 through both revenue and cost savings.

Hudson's Bay plans to combine Gilt with its off-price business Saks Off 5th, it said. The target is said to have more than 9 million members and generate 50% of its orders via mobile devices. The acquirer also said it plans to use Gilt's mobile and personalization capabilities at all of its businesses to increase the growth of its overall digital business.

Gilt customers will be able to return goods to Saks Off 5th physical locations following the merger, and Gilt shops will open at the discount banner's stores.

"With this transaction we are further accelerating both HBC's all-channel offering and Gilt's growth. We plan to continue to foster Gilt's culture of innovation, which has helped create a strong brand with a loyal and devoted Millennial following," Hudson's Bay CEO Jerry Storch said in the statement.

Founded in 2007, Gilt gained a great deal of fanfare in the fashion world because of its flash sales model, which gave shoppers a limited time window on specific deals for limited offerings.

But once the recession receded and along with it, the excess inventory that accompanied it, not to mention increased competition more broadly among retailers offering luxury goods at a bargain, customers became less excited by Gilt's offerings.

Gilt has raised nearly $290 million in venture capital from investors since 2007. Its investors, according to previous reports, include Goldman Sachs's (GS) GS Capital Partners, Matrix Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, SoftBank (SFTBF) Capital, General Atlantic Partners, Eastward Capital Partners, GSV Capital, TriplePoint Capital, Pinnacle Ventures and New Enterprise Associates.

Scotiabank provided financial advice to Hudson's Bay, while a Willkie Farr & Gallagher team that included Gordon Caplan, Gregory Astrachan and Michael Brandt as well as Stikeman Elliott provided the buyer with legal advice.

Jason Wooten of Lazard, meanwhile, provided financial advice to Gilt, while a Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr team that included Mark Borden, Jeff Hermanson, Christie DiNapoli and Britt Eichner provided the target with legal advice.

Hudson's Bay shares, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, were down C3 cents to C$16.90 (or $12.03) on Thursday morning.
Iran said Thursday it would protest to the UN Security Council after it accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

"During an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded," Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said, quoted by official news agency IRNA.

"We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours," he said.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa," he said.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes since March in Yemen against Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels.

The Iranian accusations came days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia cleric.

Several allies of Saudi Arabia, including Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia followed suit in cutting ties, as the crisis between the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shia Muslim drew international concern.

Abdollahian on Thursday also rejected Bahrain's claim of Iranian involvement in an alleged "terrorist" cell that was plotting attacks in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain announced Wednesday it had dismantled the cell, which it said was linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia and was planning to carry out a series of bombings.

"There is absolutely no link between this fabricated scenario and the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdollahian said.

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Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 51F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 42F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Harney County Sheriff David Ward arrives to a community meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the group of roughly 20 people from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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A Tunisian appeals court on Thursday freed on bail six students whose three-year prison sentences for homosexuality outraged human rights campaigners, their lawyer said.

The court in the coastal city of Sousse ordered each man to pay bail money of 500 dinars (230 euros, $249) pending a new hearing on February 25, said attorney Fadwa Braham.

Their jail terms, handed down in December by a court in the central city of Kairouan, were the harshest possible under Article 230 of the penal code that criminalises sex between males.

The defendants, aged between 19 and 23, were also banned from Kairouan for five years.

Amnesty International called the December ruling a "shocking example of deep-rooted sanctioned discrimination" while Human Rights Watch denounced it as a "grave case of infringement on people's private lives and physical integrity".

The six were arrested in November after neighbours denounced them, and were made to undergo anal examinations, according to their lawyers.

After the verdict, 13 human rights groups called on Tunisia to decriminalise homosexuality by revising Article 230, and condemned the use of anal exams.

In December, in a separate case, an appeals court reduced the sentence given to a student for homosexual activity from one year to two months.

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[By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times]

There is a new type of meat, called Ben Pekuah Meat, that is about to enter the kosher consumer market, and it is stirring up some serious controversy, particularly in Boro Park. It seems that the Hebrew language Mishpacha had recently run an article on Ben Pkuah meat and has also published an alleged ruling of Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita. The Hebrew Yated had also run a piece on it. Two Rabbonim in Brooklyn have brought up the issue to this author, and have asked that the matter be investigated.

The meat is coming out of a company in Australia. But questions abound, both on the nature of Ben Pkuah and on the specific company producing it. What is this meat? Who are the people that are behind this initiative? What are the underlying issues?

BEN PKUAH MEAT

A Ben PKuah or BP is an unborn calf that is found in the womb of its mother that was just slaughtered. The Gemorah in Chullin 69a states that such a foetus does not require its own slaughter. The Mishna in Chulin 74a records a debate between Rabbi Meir and the sages regarding a fully matured calf. Rabbi Meir holds that it does require its own slaughter, while the sages hold that it does not  on a biblical level. There are two types of BP  the first is that of a foetus that was not fully formed  to which even Rabbi Meir agrees that Shechita is not required. The second type is when it reached maturity. There, Rav Meir holds that Shechita is required  biblically. The sages disagree.

THE REASONS

There seems to be three sources as to why the BP is exempt from Shechita. The Gemorah (69a) states that the verse vekhol bheimah is the source. It is understood to mean that the entire animal can be eaten  even the foetus found inside. Later on (69b) the Gemorah returns to an original source called, Behaima BaBehaima that any animal within another animal is included in the original shechita. Finally, the Baal haMaor 70b understands it as falling under the rublic of uber yerech imo  the foetus is considered a limb of its mother.

THE CHAILEV AND VEINS

The Chailev and veins of a BP cow that is still in the cow are actually permitted (AH 13:2). The blood, however, still retains the prohibition of Dam Aivarim  blood absorbed into the limbs. There are essentially two reasons for the exclusion of the blood from the verse of the entire animal permitting it. 1] It is no different than any other organ of the slaughtered cow and 2] the verse only permits food that is generally eaten  blood is a liquid and is not in that category. There is a substantive difference between these two reasons. According to the first reason, ingesting the blood is a violation of a lav; according to the second reason, the ingestion of blood would involve the more stringent violation of Karais. After the calfs legs hit the ground, the other items are forbidden on account of Maris ayin.

NO TREIFUS

The repercussions of being a BP cow is that there is no concept of treifus. The animal does not need to undergo the rigorous inspection of lungs that regular cows have to go through.

DESCENDANTS OF BP COWS

One of the most fascinating and pertinent areas of the laws of Ben Pkuah cows is the fact that if a cow descends from two parents who are BP cows, the descendant cow also only requires Shechita miderabanan. If, however, a regular cow fathers a calf from a BP cow, the calf will remain non-kosher forever. In the Gemorahs language, ain lo takana lolam. The explanation is that it is considered to have a delay in the shechita process called Shehiya. How so? The cow is considered to be half-shechted and half regular. There is no greater delay in the shechita process than this and it is thus considered shehiya.

OTHER ASPECTS OF BEN PKUAH

Many students of Chumash will recall the debate explained by many commentators between Yoseph and his brothers as to whether there is a prohibition of aiver min hachai regarding a Ben Pkuah. Yoseph held that before matan Torah, they are considered as bnei noach, and thus the original shechita of the ben pkuahs mother does not stop the biblical prohibition of aiver min hachai, eating the limb from a live animal. The brothers held that they were full-fledged Jews in this regard and that the mothers shechita does remove the prohibition of aiver min hachai.

The Gemorah in Bava Kamma 106b discusses whether there is an obligation for a theif who steals a Ben Pkuah cow to repay 4 or 5 times the value of the cow, just like there would be an obligation if he had stolen a regular cow. There are also questions as to whether there is a prohibition of shechting a Ben Pkuah and its offspring on the same day. Another question is whether the Ben Pakuaj may be shechted on Shabbos or not.

WHO THEY ARE

This author has been in communication with the general manager of the company as well as the supervising Rabbi through email and telephone conversation. The company is based in Melbourne, Australia, and it has been, they claim, a project ten years in the making. The Rabbi associated with the company is Rabbi Meir Rabi, who has authored an article on the topic in the 35th volume of Techumim.

FUNDAMENTAL ERROR

In this authors opinion, the supervising Rabbi, Rabbi Meir Rabi, who authored the article in Tchumim, has made a serious error in his understanding of the nature of BP meat.

Rabbi Rabi seems to understand the BP animal as a new, different type of creature. He cites (in footnote 6 to his Tchumim article) the Meshech Chochma in Bereishis 18:8 as being of the opinion that BP meat is not fleishig. Rabbi Rabi then claims that Rav Moshe Shternbuch writes the same thing in his response Vol. IV #319. He further writes that he was told by Rav Shternbuch that according to all opinions the meat is pareve and that he was also told this by Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita.

However, it seems to this author that the Meshech Chochma is only saying that milk from a BP cow is not considered dairy, because it has the halachic status of a pre-shechted cow.

Milk from a shechted cow is only forbidden by Rabbinic decree, on account of maris ayin, but is biblically permitted. The Meshech Chochmah makes no mention of any possibility of the meat being considered pareve. Nor is there any such indication in Rav Shternbuchs writings.

As far as the next two citations that Rav Shternbuch said that it is considered pareve as did Rav Chaim Kanievsky, there is no such indication in the rishonim or acharonim on the relevant Gemorahs, nor in the response, nor in the Poskim. It is difficult to conceive that such a view would have escaped mention in the nearly 1600 years since the Gemorah was written.

It is especially difficult to accept that Rabbi Shternbuch would say that all would agree that this is the case. I am conjecturing that Rabbi Rabi incorrectly understood both of these Gedolim.

This matter is so obvious that there is almost no need to show it, but Rabbi Akiva Eiger in his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch (YD 87:6) clearly shows that the only issue is the milk  not the meat. Rav Elyashiv ztl in Kovetz Haaros al HaTorah (page 308) clearly indicates this too.

Although this is a substantive error, it would not, however, forbid Ben Pkuah meat. Why then bring it up? The reason is that a BP meat operation must ensure that no non-BP cow can mate with the BP cows. True, DNA testing is in the process, but a claim of DNA proven is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. Someone else assuring me that DNA testing was done  is not necessarily foolproof and only boils down to one persons assertions. Let us also realize that a BP cow can also ruin the cows in a regular herd from being kosher in the future. This is a grave responsibility when commercially producing so many BP cows.

This is not to say that theoretically DNA may not be used Halachically to ascertain crucial information. Indeed, a shiur delivered by Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst from Chicago carefully delineates the parameters of when DNA can and cannot be used.

How does the Australian religious community view Rabbi Rabi? A website called J-Wire reports as follows: Rabbi Meir Rabi took over the reins of authorising foodstuffs from Rabbi Shlomo Rudszki, a former chief minister at Melbournes South Caulfield Hebrew Congregation. However, many members of the community do not recognise his Kosher VeYosher certifications and the dominant Kosher Authority has told J-Wire that whilst they are still checking Nestles and Peters ice cream products, there has been no decision made and they state that the products classified as Kosher by Rabbi Rabi are yet to pass their tests.

However, inquiries have not found anyone that is aware of this claim, including Rabbi Rudskis own children.

There is an organization called Kosher Australia belonging to the wider Orthodox community. They do not recognize or accept Rabbi M. Rabi. Their official position is that Nestles and Peters are not under an accepted hashgacha.

His website, kosherveyosher.com, lists an approbation from the London Beis Din. However when the London Beis Din was contacted for verification, the following reply was received.

Dayan Abraham has asked me to send you a copy of a letter which he sent to Rabbi Rabi, over a year ago. In the light of this letter, he regards Rabbi Rabis continued use of his letter of recommendation to be dishonest. Regards, David Frei, Registrar, London Beth Din

When speaking to the London Beis Din representative this author was told that the Dayan of the London Beis Din felt that Rabbi Rabi was undermining kashrus in Australia by his private hechsher and had requested, actually demanded, that he remove the letter back in 2007, 2010 and also in November, 2014. Rabbi Rabi completely ignored it.

Another fundamental question deals with how the entire operation of a Ben Pkuah shechita would be any cheaper. The animals must land on the ground in order to eventually sire progeny. Thus they are subject to a very rigorous deveining process. After consulting with industry experts, it seems that the differences in processing would not amount to a significant savings. Why then is the company embarking upon the entire idea. One industry expert suggested that perhaps it is a marketing idea designed to get buyers.

The author contacted the managing director of the company, Stephen Bloch, as well as the Rabbi, Rabbi Meir Rabi, and the following exchange of conversation took place:

Q: Where is this BP operation happening?

A: In Australia. Original shechita is performed in a private location. They have opted to set up a private location where all the equipment is required, built according to Dr. Temple Grandin.

Q: Has she been at the site?

A: No she has not been. We have an independent auditor that monitors the process.

Q: Are the owners, or the majority shareholders, religious Jews?

A: Some are. Some are not. But why should that make a difference?

Q: Because some people, particularly in New York, only purchase meat items from Sabbath observing Jews. They would not eat from a hechsher of which the owner of the establishment might be in a position to have any position of possible control over things.

A: We understand and appreciate that. And there have been numerous problems in kashrus even with such a system with shomer Shabbos owners. We, however, have a system in place that ensures the absolute integrity of the meat. On our website, we have the auditors report and a foolproof system in place. The auditor monitors everything and we even use DNA tracking to ensure that it is only this meat that is being used.

Is the auditor is an observant Jew?

No. He is not. But it is a guaranteed system. And creates a mirsas.

Q: Mirsas is a halachic tool that works regarding other foods, but it is not an effective halachic tool in regard to meat. Is there a Posaik that has signed off on this idea that a gentile auditor is equivalent to a mashgiach?

A: We do not use it as a mashgiach. It is no different than the simanim that all hashgachos use. I have in my possession the identifying material, plumbas stickers of hechsherim, of numerous hasgachos that were just left at the place and they never bothered to pick them up. Our integrity, our system, will inspire much more confidence.

Q: I too, have such a collection  from the top hechsherim as well. But lets get back to this concept. Lets assume even, for the sake of argument, that your system is one hundred times better than a regular hechsher. But do you have a posaik, other than yourself, that has signed off on this idea that a goyish auditing firm can be acting in the role as mashgiach in your foolproof system? Do you have a gadol or posaik that has seen this system and has approved of this system where the hashgacha is overseen by a gentile auditor?

A: We do. I have to speak to him whether I can use his name.

Q: Okay. I have two more topics to bring up.

[The next phase of the conversation was a debate as to the reading of the Meshech Chochma. Rabbi Rabi claimed that the Meshech Chochma must hold that it is pareve because otherwise the rabbinic prohibition of using Ben Pekuah milk would have kicked in. The author responded that if he held that it was pareve he would have said that and one cannot build an entire edifice based upon a question, and that there are numerous answers to that question. Perhaps there was no prohibition of maris ayin in the time of Avrohom Avinu because there were no other Jews, and this is just one possible answer.]

Q: I had contacted the London Beis Din and they said that they have repeatedly asked you to take down their letter on your hechshers website, and yet you refuse to do that. Dont you feel that you are morally obligated to comply with their request?

A: Rabbi Rabi- Well, it depends on why they are requesting that they take it down.

Q: Lets assume the worst possible reason for the sake of argument. Lets assume that your competitors in the field of kashrus had actually gone as far as bribing the London Beis Din to get them to ask you to take it down. Dont you feel a moral obligation to take down the letter?

A: No, I do not.

Q: I think that this is a serious error on your part  in terms of public relations.

A: Stephen Bloch- This actually has nothing to do with us, it is not on the Ben Pekuah site  it is on the Rabbis own website.

Q: Still, it does reflect on your company as well as long as he is your endorsing Rabbi.

A: Rabbi Rabi: I responded to the Dayan of the London Beis Din and said that I would be willing to take down the letter if he would provide the same letter to me on his own letterhead rather than that of the London Beis Din.

Q: Still, if I were you, I would comply as soon as possible with the request of the London Beis Din and not use a letter that they do not wish you to use.

Subsequent to this conversation, Rabbi Meir Rabi sent some written communications allegedly from Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita that purport to show that Rav Chaim Shlita holds that BP meat is, in fact, pareve.

This author has sent inquiries to Rav Chaim to verify the accuracy of this, as well as to Rav Shternbuch. We will print it in the future as soon as we hear the information.

There is also a letter that was signed by numerous Gedolim in Eretz Yisroel against the commercial production of Ben Pkuah meat because of numerous problems associated with it. The problems are that milk from a Ben Pkuah cow is forbidden midrebanan, it will lead to leniencies in other shechitas, and it is virtually impossible to have adequate supervision. The letter is signed by Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rav Nissim Karelitz and others as well. The letter signed by the Gedolim comes out against any commercial production of Ben Pekuah meat.

There has never been a commercial production of Ben Pekuah meat in recorded history since the time of the Gemorah. There are numerous reasons for this.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
President Barack Obamas plan to strengthen controls on guns in the U.S. is meeting swift resistance from gun rights groups, Republicans and even a few Democrats who say its up to Congress to enact new policies on firearms. Yet the overall effect on gun violence could prove to be relatively small.

Some questions and answers about Obamas presidential actions on gun control:

___

WHAT ACTION IS OBAMA TAKING?

Obama announced a 10-point plan to try to keep guns from people who shouldnt have them. The centerpiece is new federal guidance that seeks to clarify who is in the business of selling firearms and has to get a federal license.

Licensed dealers must run background checks on prospective buyers, but private sellers dont. Obama is aiming to narrow that loophole so that more firearms sold at gun shows, flea markets or online are subject to background checks.

Other steps include 230 new examiners the FBI will hire to process background checks. And Obama is directing federal agencies to research smart gun technology to reduce accidental shootings and asking Congress for $500 million for mental health care. Further steps aim to better track lost guns and prevent trusts or corporations from buying dangerous weapons without background checks.

___

I SELL A FEW GUNS FROM TIME TO TIME. DO I NEED TO REGISTER?

Theres no cut-and-dry answer.

The new guidance says if your principal motive is profit, youre a dealer, but if you occasionally sell guns from your personal collection, youre not. Someone who only sells at gun shows or online can still be a dealer.

Theres no specific number of guns that triggers a requirement to register. But the Justice Department is warning sellers that courts have convicted people for dealing without a license even when theyve sold as few as two guns.

Its up to individuals to look at the guidance and determine whether they need a license. The penalties for making the wrong call are steep: up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for those who deal firearms without a license. If youre not sure, you can contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

___

WOULD THIS HAVE STOPPED RECENT MASS SHOOTINGS?

Probably not.

An Associated Press review shows that Obamas executive actions would have had no impact in keeping weapons from suspects in several of the deadliest incidents, including Newtown, Connecticut; San Bernardino, California; and Aurora, Colorado. The shooters in Newtown and San Bernardino, for example, used weapons purchased by other people.

Obamas actions could potentially reduce other gun deaths  especially suicides, which cause two-thirds of gun deaths. But its unclear whether the steps will significantly curb unregulated gun sales.

Millions of guns are sold annually in informal settings outside of gun shops, including many through private sales arranged online. The Obama administration acknowledged it couldnt quantify how many gun sales would be newly subjected to background checks. Nor could it say how many currently unregistered gun sellers would have to obtain a license.

___

WHY NOW?

Obama is running out of time. With barely a year left in his presidency, he has to act quickly to roll out new policies, especially if he wants them to become ingrained and harder to rescind when the next president takes over.

After the Newtown shooting, Obama in 2013 sought far-reaching, bipartisan legislation that went beyond background checks to ban certain assault-style weapons and cap the size of ammunition clips. When the effort collapsed in the Senate, the White House said it was working to identify every legal step he could take on his own.

But a more recent spate of gun-related atrocities, including in San Bernardino, California, spurred the administration to give the issue another look.

___

CAN THE PRESIDENT DO THIS ALONE?

Obama says he can. Republicans and gun rights advocates say he cant.

The White House says Obama is acting fully within his legal authority, by clarifying existing laws that Congress has already passed. Its an argument Obama has used before when opposition in Congress has led him to take sweeping executive action on immigration, climate change and other issues.

Still, Obama readily concedes the executive steps will be challenged in court. One likely option for opponents is to challenge Obamas authority to define what it means to be engaged in the business of selling guns, since that definition isnt laid out in the law.

(AP)
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Wednesday that bad actors like North Korea will only get worse under the Obama administration.

Responding to questions about North Koreas claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb, the Texas senator likened the state of the world under the Obama administration to William Goldings Nobel Prize-winning novel Lord of the Flies, in which children who try to govern themselves on an uninhabited island eventually turn on one other, with a disastrous end.

For the remainder of President Obamas term, we are essentially in a Hobbesian state of nature, like Lord of the Flies, he said during a campaign stop in Rock Rapids, Iowa. The Hobbesian philosophy says a strong central authority is a necessary basis for governance.

For the remainder of the year, every bad actor is going to get worse, he said. Every bad actor on earth has taken the measure of the man Barack Obama and determined there are no consequences, there is no price to be paid. So, what North Korea did is just the beginning.

Pyongyangs announcement of a successful hydrogen bomb test would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. The White House said Wednesday that the U.S. governments early analysis of underground activity in North Korea is not consistent with that countrys claim of having conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test.

Most of the GOP presidential hopefuls have weighed in on the news, blaming the Obama administration for what they described as a failure to take more serious action against North Korea. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, Obamas former secretary of state, condemned North Koreas suspected action in a statement, adding that the incident underscores the importance of the upcoming presidential election.

(AP)
While serving as US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk rarely if ever missed an opportunity to attack right-wing policies. His gestures and statements as ambassador showed his true colors, usually favoring policy that was not beneficial to Israel. Mr. Indyk also served as special emissary from the White House to the ongoing diplomatic process between Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority), making life quite difficult for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a regular basis.

Now, out of the public eye, during an interview with PBS Frontline, Indyk said that during the funeral for Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, Netanyahu told him that if he would not have been assassinated, he would have defeated him in elections.

I remember Netanyahu saying to me: Look, look at this. Hes a hero now, but if he had not been assassinated, I would have beaten him in the elections, and then he would have gone into history as a failed politician, stated Indyk.

So I think even at that moment of tremendous support, a tragic moment of support for Rabin, Netanyahu was thinking, well, politically he was on the ropes before he was assassinated. He exploited that and ran against Oslo in the elections and beat Peres, but he only beat him by something like a half of 1 percent.

Indyk also bashed Mr. Netanyahus actions as opposition leader.

In response to Indyks comments, the Prime Ministers Bureau on Wednesday, 25 Teves stated the statements attributed to Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Rabin funeral were never made by him, accusing the former ambassador of making it up.

See the Frontline video interview online.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Dozens of air strikes hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday, in what residents described as the heaviest aerial attacks yet in nine months of war, days after a Saudi-led coalition trying to restore a Saudi-backed government ended a fragile ceasefire.

The strikes pounded the presidential palace and a mountain military base to the south of the city, causing children and teachers in several schools to flee for their lives.

"My classmate and I were at recess when a huge explosion hit the neighbourhood. We ran to the side and she fell to the ground in fear," said Maha, a tenth grader in a Sanaa school.

"Everybody was screaming and the administration got us together and called our parents to take us out. All the students were in a panic." There were no immediate reports of casualties.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies which supports Yemen's embattled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been fighting the Shia Houthi movement, which controls the capital.

Riyadh sees the Houthis as a proxy for bitter regional rival Iran to expand its influence. They deny this and say they are waging a revolution against a corrupt government and Gulf Arab powers beholden to the West.

Almost 6,000 people have died in the conflict, nearly half of them civilians. United Nations-backed peace talks have yet to produce any substantial progress.

Meanwhile, Yemen's pro-Hadi foreign ministry declared the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights persona non grata after what it said were unfair statements, a news agency run by the Hadi government, sabanew.net, reported.

"The work of the (UN) commission was a huge disappointment as it issued statements in line with the language of the rebels," the agency said, citing the human rights minister who also accused the body of overlooking "systematic violations" by the Houthis.

In Geneva, the UN human rights office said the move was "very regrettable".

"We believe our office in Yemen has been doing an excellent job in very difficult conditions," said UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville, adding that UN officials would study the accusations made against the representative.

New Front

A new front opened in the civil war when forces loyal to Hadi landed by sea at the Red Sea port of Maydee in northern Yemen near the border with Saudi Arabia late on Wednesday, residents said. Northern Yemen is a Houthi stronghold.

Hadi's forces attempted to push out from Maydee's port, pounded for weeks by air strikes and naval shelling, into the surrounding city, but ran into heavy Houthi resistance and landmines, residents told Reuters by telephone.

Major General Adel Qumairi of the pro-government forces told Saudi-owned Arabiya TV that his forces had "completely taken control" of the city.

But Yemen's state news agency Saba, run by the Houthis, quoted Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for forces allied to the group, as saying the advance had been met by "heroic resistance" that caused them "great material and human losses".

Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced the end of a truce that had reduced fighting but had been repeatedly violated by both sides.

The Saudi spokesman for the coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, told Al Arabiya that a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom overnight had exploded on launch.

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Some Outremont residents who oppose a plan to prohibit new synagogues from opening on Bernard and Laurier Aves. may get a chance to contest the new bylaw in a referendum.

Last month, the borough adopted a controversial zoning change that would restrict the opening of new synagogues, mosques and churches to an industrial area in the northwest part of the borough, near the railway tracks.

The borough said it wants to create winning conditions that would favour the frequenting of its commercial streets. But the boroughs Hasidic Jewish community says the change doesnt take into account the needs of their growing community, which is about 25 per cent of the population.

On Monday, the borough will release details about a public register that could allow opponents to force a referendum on the bylaw change. Normally, only residents living in the immediate area near Bernard and Laurier Aves. would be permitted to vote in the register. However, residents who live in adjacent zones can petition the borough to allow them to vote in the register.

With widespread opposition to the project from the Jewish community, a referendum will likely be held if enough people sign the register. In this case, everything suggests that we are heading for a referendum, said borough spokesperson, Sylvain Leclerc. There are groups of citizens mobilizing.

Before the council adopted the bylaw in December, a lawyers letter was sent to the borough on behalf of two Chasidic community members, Jacob Karmel and Alex Werzberger, promising to challenge the zoning changes in court. The letter, from the firm Grey Casgrain, said the zoning changes do not take into account the needs of the religious communities and are not based on a demographic study. It adds that the area chosen for new places of worship is difficult to access and would require a walk of between 20 and 30 minutes. The letter points out that observant Jews are not permitted to use their vehicles on Saturdays.

The letter asks the borough to suspend the zoning change and proceed with a proper demographic study and a study on accessibility to determine the real needs of citizens. Lawyer Julius Grey, who signed the letter, said on Wednesday that he believes that the bylaw is too restrictive, especially considering the Hasidic community is a fast-growing community.

The borough received the letter but is proceeding with the register as is required by law, Leclerc said.

(Source: Montreal Gazette)
The Jerusalem Magistrate Court on Thursday, 26 Teves, ordered an autopsy for Moshe Mizrachi, 4-months-old, a grandson of Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul. Moshe arrived in Hadassah Ein Kerem in serious condition, later learned to have sustained a serious head injury. A daycare center worker told police she shook him in an effort to waken him. She was arrested and since released with restrictions.

Moshe was niftar on Thursday 26 Teves after a number of days of hospitalization in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Mayor Abutbul appealed to the court, asking to consider the pain of the family and now, delaying the kvura. After the courts decision, the family is turning to the Supreme Court in the hope of overturning the lower courts ruling and preventing the autopsy.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The following was written by Rabbi Berel Wein, and posted at RabbiWein.com.

I rarely if ever comment or disagree with pronouncements or public statements of other rabbis. These are people who are driven to publicity and even sensationalism and I never feel inclined to spoil their fun. However, every so often there comes along a rabbinic pronouncement so outrageous and damaging that even my reticent nature forces me to respond.

A rabbi is reported in public print and electronic media to have claimed that only one million Jews died in the Holocaust and that because of assimilation and intermarriage, the other approximately five million victims were not real Jews.

This claim is outrageous on numerous grounds  certainly in outlook but moreover in the sheer stupidity of not realizing the harm that such a statement by a rabbi can have in todays anti-Jewish and anti- Israeli world. The rate of Jewish intermarriage in pre-World War II in Eastern Europe was relatively small  probably less than five percent. Even amongst the Communist Jews in Russia, the intermarriage rate before the war was low and only grew substantially later as a result of the war itself.

Thus, the three million Polish Jews, the million Jews of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine were all Jewish even by any stretch of halachic exclusionary stringencies. The Jews of Slovakia, Hungary, Bohemia, and Romania were more assimilated but not in the main intermarried. One has to remember that intermarriage requires two to tango and in anti-Semitic pre-World War II Europe, the non-Jews were loath to marry Jews even if the Jews were unfortunately willing to do so.

So the overwhelming majority of people whom the Nazis considered Jewish were in fact, halachically and in every other way Jewish. And that number is far closer to six million than one million.

It has been well established in Jewish tradition that Jews who are killed simply because they are Jews are considered holy martyrs no matter what the level of their religious observance in their lifetime. All Jews killed in the Holocaust were killed simply because they were Jews. Their designation as holy martyrs cannot be taken away from them by current political correctness in certain sections of Orthodoxy.

The rule of: A Jew who sins is nevertheless still considered a Jew, remains inviolate and in force even in todays fractured Jewish society. Assimilated Jews are still Jews as are Jews who somehow no longer affiliate themselves with Orthodoxy and traditional Jewish ideas and lifestyle.

Kamenev, Lenins colleague and a leading Communist leader who was Jewish and an atheist, was purged by Stalin and subjected to a show trial. When being led away to be shot, he muttered to himself Shema Yisrael. All Jews, and especially rabbis, should be very reticent about terming other Jews, no matter what their level of observance may be, as being out of the fold. This is especially true when the people being excluded were martyred simply because they were Jewish. Our motto should always be A Jew is a Jew. A Jew is a Jew. For, so it is in Heaven and on earth.

And finally, how does one in the current climate of hatred against our people and state ally ones self with Abbas, David Irving, the mullahs of Iran and other assorted haters and liars in minimizing, if not even thereby denying the reality of the Holocaust?

Even if what the rabbi said had some truth to it, which it does not, why the publicity and the notoriety? Are there no opinions that somehow can remain bottled up within rabbinic minds and stomachs? Where is common sense and Jewish loyalty? The statement of one instead of six million is the classical man bites dog story that the media constantly hungers for.

Maybe the rabbi was naive enough not to realize this, but we were long ago warned in Avot that Wise men should be very careful with their words. Silence is truly golden and sensationalist opinions and statements can only cause harm to all concerned. I have received emails from different types of Jews in different parts of the world asking my opinion about this rabbis comments about the Holocaust.

Apparently they think me to be some sort of expert on the matter, which I am not. However, their writing to me made me think that a response is truly necessary to this new and strange form of what can be termed rabbinic Holocaust denial. This article and my thoughts on this matter are the result. It is too damaging a matter to be left unanswered and unrefuted.

Berel Wein.

Novominsker Rebbe Condemns In Strongest Possible Terms Rabbi Mizrachis Outrageous Holocaust Comments

VIDEO: Holocaust Survivors Dont Accept Apology From Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi Over Comments Made About 6 Million Kedosim HYD

YWN EXCLUSIVE: Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi Issues Apology And Retraction Over Comments Made About 6 Million Kedosim HYD

Op-Ed: Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi Should Retract His Comments That Less Than 1 Million Jews Were Killed In Holocaust

SHOCKING VIDEO: Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi Says Less Than A Million Jews Killed In The Holocaust
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Two suspects trying to break into a vehicle in the heart of the Los Angeles Jewish community were arrested, Thursday afternoon.

The incident happened around noon, when a local resident saw two men trying to break into his vehicle near Pizza Maven. The owner of the vehicle approached the men and told them not to move as he had called 911.

One of the suspects remained at the vehicle, while a second suspect fled on foot.

He fled to the area of 300 N Orange Drive, where he his behind a Jewish-owned home.

Numerous LAPD Units responded, and with the assistance of an LAPD Chopper overhead, both men were taken into custody without further incident.

(Dov Gefen  YWN)
Shares of Imperial Tobacco were puffed 63.5p higher to 3602.5p on revived takeover talk.

Speculation has been rife in recent months that either Japan Tobacco or British American Tobacco and a friend were planning a multi-billion-pound break bid for Imps, which would value the worlds third-biggest tobacco group at 48billion. Yesterday, the name of a new possible bidder lit up proceedings.

Hot gossip suggested that China National Tobacco, or CNT, which enjoys a virtual monopoly in China and is the worlds largest manufacturer of tobacco products measured by revenues, is considering launching a cash bid in the region of 45 a share for Imps.

Dealers said it made sense because CNT is probably the only company that could buy Imps without anti-trust issues affecting the outcome. Speculation also suggested that before making a move, CNT has already reached agreement with other companies which have agreed to take some of Imps unwanted assets.

Shares of Imperial Tobacco were puffed 63.5p higher to 3602.5p on revived takeover talk

CNT produces more than 900 brands, the largest of which, Hongtashan, accounts for only 4 per cent of total sales. China is the worlds largest consumer and producer of cigarettes. There are 350million Chinese smokers and China produces 42 per cent of the worlds cigarettes.

Rival British American Tobacco added 19p at 3728p following bullish comments from Citigroup about a recent cigarette price rise in Brazil.

Defence group BAE Systems advanced 18.5p to 512.5p on an upgrade to top pick by RBC Capital Markets and an increase in the target price to 630p from 570p. The broker says that investors continue to underestimate the fact that US defence spending is its largest end market  40 per cent of sales  and that its portfolio is well placed to benefit in both shorter cycle and later cycle areas of US DoD spending. Investors also remain overly concerned about the defence spending outlook for Saudi Arabia, which makes up 20 per cent of group sales.

The recent KoSA 2016 budget details a number of spending cuts in other areas, but not in defence, which saw actual spending in 2015 come in ahead of forecast.

A strong Christmas trading performance from John Lewis and a closing of some short positions ahead of todays third-quarter trading update helped Marks & Spencer rally 3.7p to 438.7p. Bears roar that if Marks festive performance proves to be as bad as feared then chief executive Marc the grocer Bolland should definitely walk the plank.

The rest of the Footsie suffered another kicking amid growing fears over the health of the Chinese economy, a big consumer of commodities.

With the price of Brent crude slumping below $35 a barrel to trade its lowest level since July 2004, the overall mood in dealing rooms was downcast. The index was sold down to 6018 before it closed 63.86 points off at 6073.38, while the FTSE 250 nosedived 146.05 points to 17,058.98, not helped by Wall Street.

Plagued all last year by fears of declining Chinese demand for commodities, there was no respite for mangled miners. BHP Billiton fell 36.6p to 709.4p, Rio Tinto 93p to 1846.5p and Anglo American 12.8p to 270.4p.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings lost 30p to 974p following reports that sales of Apple iPhones may be slowing, leading to excess capacity and some lay-offs at its key component suppliers.

Any stock associated with the oil industry took a caning. Tullow Oil dropped 11.7p to 152.7p, Nostrum Oil & Gas 21p to 378.5p, Cairn Energy 7.9p to 146.8p and Premier Oil 7.75p to 35.5p.

Oil services firm Amec Foster Wheeler touched 398p before rallying to close 8.2p off at 425.7p. It slashed its dividend in November which led to its worst trading day in 32 years when the stock crashed 173p.

Oil services groups have seen declining demand as clients struggling with the depressed oil price over the past 12 months or so have attempted to delay spending. Hunting lost 17.75p to 275.75p.

Buyers chased APC Technology 1.25p or 14 per cent higher to 10.38p on hearing one of its subsidiaries has won four major LED lighting contracts worth over 1.15million. Minimise Energy was awarded a contract by Imtech Inviron to supply and install energy efficient LED lighting at 18 London Fire Brigade fire stations.

Midatech Pharma advanced 24.5p to 202p after the Oxford-based international pharmaceutical company issued a positive trading update. The company expects 2016 revenues will come in at the high end of market expectations.
Marks & Spencer chief Marc Bolland is to exit the High Street giant after a six year battle to try and save the under fire retailer as the group today posted a dismal Christmas trading update.

In a bid to shake up the troubled retailer M&S has turned to Steve Rowe, currently the company's head of general merchandise and the man who dreamed up the company's famous 'food porn' adverts.

A poor Christmas sales performance finally saw off Bolland, with sales of general merchandise, including womenswear, falling by a far bigger than expected 5.8 per cent. The weak figures were blamed on unusually mild weather and poor stock availability.

Time's up: Bolland will exit M&S this April after a six year battle to try and save the high street retailer

The Dutch businessman, who took over the helm at M&S from Sir Stuart Rose back in 2010, said it had been 'a huge honour to lead one of Britain's most iconic companies'.

He added: 'I am delighted to hand over to Steve Rowe as my successor. I have worked closely with Steve for six years and I am convinced that he will be a great leader for Marks & Spencer.'

Rowe, who was announced as the new head of general merchandise in July, has long been tipped as Bolland's replacement.

He will receive a salary of 810,000, less than Bollands 975,000. However the new chief executive will receive the same bonus terms as his predecessor.

One one M&S insider said last year: 'Internally, people feel very positive about Steve's appointment. He's done fantastic things with food and people have been saying for a while he's the man to sort out the problems with general merchandise and womenswear in particular.

'He's got the perfect combination of a brilliant business brain, imagination and flair and years of experience at M&S, while remaining entirely down to earth and really understanding what people want. If anyone can do it, Steve can.'

Retailing is in the blood for Rowe. As a 15-year-old he worked as a Saturday boy in M&S in Croydon and on leaving school aged 18 he became a trainee at Topshop. His father also worked for M&S and held the position at the head of general merchandise.

New boss: Steve Rowe, a veteran with more than 25 years at M&S, will receive a basic salary of 810,000 and the same bonus terms as the current boss

Food porn: Steve Rowe's food department has produced a string of ever popular new products, and adverts showing them, including this ChocolateJaffa Sphere

After four years he rose to store manager but felt the pipeline for promotions was sparse, so he joined M&S as a commercial management trainee.

Rowe worked at various branches including London's Marble Arch and then moved to head office where he has worked for every part of the business.

He became director of food in October 2012. To an extent, the division has been shielded from the problems affecting the business because of the strong performance.

He helped M&S become ahead of the curve with its Simply Food concept and has plans to open another 200 over the next two years.

Rowe is also behind the retailer's famous food adverts, which some observers have called 'food porn'.

The TV campaign showed a spinning egg and prawns curling on a barbecue, olive oil drizzling down a wedge of bread and exploding berries, making the food the star.

Other highlights included a splitting Scotch egg, icing sugar dusting across a profiterole and M&S's incredibly popular jaffa sphere chocolate mousse, shown oozing orange jam as it's sliced with a spoon.

Not so rosy: Bolland tried to make the retailer more fashionable, even hiring model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

But Rowe has another six months before he officially gets his hands on the top job as Bolland - who took on the post of chief executive in early 2010 - will remain on hand to help with the change over until the end of June.

Robert Swannell, chairman of M&S, paid tribute to Mr Bolland's achievements at the top.

He said: 'Over the last six years Marc Bolland has led Marks & Spencer through a period of necessary change.'

He added: 'It is now positioned for a digital age, with its own online platform and dedicated e-commerce distribution centre, improved design and sourcing capabilities in general merchandise and an industry-leading track record of growth and innovation in the food business.'

In early trading on the FTSE 100 index, M&S shares were up 1 per cent, or 3.7p, at 438.7p.

The chief executive's departure comes after further woes in the group's troubled clothing division, with Bolland admitting the performance over the festive season was 'disappointing'.

The fall in like-for-like sales, which followed a 1.9 per cent drop in the previous three months, came as the group resisted pressure to discount early despite widespread sales launched on the high street ahead of Christmas as mild weather hit demand for winter clothing.

There was better news from the chain's food halls, as it hailed its 'best ever Christmas', with a 0.4 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the quarter to December 26 against challenging conditions in the sector.

M&S insisted its food business strongly outperformed the rest of the market and it clocked up record sales in the key week just before Christmas.

John Ibbotson, director of the retail consultancy Retail Vision, said: 'After such a dismal Christmas, Marc Bolland has jumped before he was pushed.

'All the excuses in the world about unseasonably warm weather can't hide the fact that a 5.8 per cent slide in like-for-like non-food sales is little short of dismal.

He added: 'M&S's clothing operation is now a fallen colossus. Years of long-term decline have seen it lose both its identity and market share, and the decision to sacrifice quality in order to cut costs has proved toxic for the brand's core middle-class customers  who have been deserting in droves.

'M&S's successful food operation has for years been a 'get out of jail' card that made up for its underperforming general merchandise division.'

The wet, warm weather in November and December was also blamed by rival clothing retailer Next when it reported disappointing figures earlier this week, although there was no mention of the weather in John Lewis's Christmas trading results yesterday.

The only winner so far has been John Lewis. Its like for like sales rose 5.1 per cent in the six weeks to January 2, although sales at its Waitrose food retail business disappointed.

Booming online business for the department store chain saw smartphone and tablet sales jump by nearly a third, and managing director Andy Street said its growth in fashion sales would have been even higher if the weather had not been so unusually mild.

Sophie McCarthy, analyst at Conlumino, said: 'Importantly, in light of concerns in the wider market that unusually warm weather in November and December may have hampered trading, John Lewis has emerged from the festive period unscathed.
A suicide bomber killed six people, including a child, Thursday at a checkpoint in a Libyan oil region that has been shaken by a recent militant assault, the Red Crescent said.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf, said Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, who was at the scene.

"A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf," said Hodeiri.

He said three guards and a 16-month-old baby were killed, and that two other guards had been wounded.

Ati said two other people died in the assault but their identities were not clear. Reports suggested they were relatives of the baby.

The suicide bombing comes after the Islamic State group launched an offensive on Monday against Libya's key oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra.

It also coincided with a suicide truck bombing early Thursday on a police training school in the coastal city of Zliten, east of Tripoli, that killed more than 50 people.

At least four oil storage tanks have been set on fire during the fighting, which also killed at least 10 security guards, according to the National Oil Company and Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for guards at Al-Sidra.

Ras Lanouf and Al-Sidra are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along Libya's northern coast.

IS has been trying for several weeks to push east from its coastal stronghold of Sirte, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the militants manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has in the past said it was behind suicide bombings and other atrocities.

IS has been growing in power in Libya, feeding on the chaos that has gripped the North African country since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Gadhafi.

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Ipswich Building Society has changed its lending criteria to make it easier for divorcees to apply for a mortgage.

The lender says it will now consider 100 per cent of income from child maintenance when assessing affordability, unlike many other banks and building societies.

The change of approach comes just days after the first working Monday of the year, which has been dubbed Divorce Day thanks to the annual peak in separation queries received by lawyers.

Child support: Lenders have different policies when considering child maintenance payments

Across the wider mortgage market, lenders can be pretty difficult for applicants when assessing affordability for former spouses.

Often divorcees have trouble proving they could afford a home loan because some lenders only partially consider child maintenance payments - and sometimes they totally reject it.

However, as part of its mortgage misfits programme, Ipswich BS has changed the policy on its residential mortgages.

The building society will now allow 100 per cent of the income from child maintenance taken into account when assessing affordability, provided it is supported by the Child Support Agency or a court order and has at least five years left to run.

According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 42 per cent of marriages now end in divorce with the highest rate recorded among those within the 40 to 44 age bracket.

The related mortgage affordability problem often hits women hardest, as they may be earning lower incomes having reduced their hours or changed career to raise their families.

They can be further disadvantaged by not having had much to do with the household finances while married.

Research from Money.co.uk suggests more than one in four women say their partner manages the household financial affairs purely because they earn more money, while only 8 per cent of men say the same.

In addition, only 23 per cent of women who manage all of their households finances do so because they are the main breadwinner, compared to 42 per cent of men.

Paul Winter, chief executive of Ipswich Building Society, said: Despite a significant number of people across the country having been through a divorce, there is little consistency in terms of lending criteria for divorcees.

'Some banks and buildings societies will accept just 50 per cent of income from child maintenance, while others refuse to accept this as a form of income at all, limiting single parents access to the mortgage market.

With the divorce rate highest among those in their forties and increasing among the older generation, this can add to the difficulties older borrowers already face when looking for a mortgage.

Sarah Pennells, founder of money website for women SavvyWoman.co.uk, says it is' shocking' that mortgage lenders can ignore child support as proof of income.

She said: 'It's particularly difficult for women who may earn less or work part-time while looking after the children. The situation isn't helped by the fact that there's no consistency among mortgage lenders about how they view child support.

'Some still ignore it altogether, which is pretty shocking and, I think, hard to justify.

'The government has been encouraging parents to make private arrangements for sorting out child support that don't involve the Child Maintenance Service taking payments. The problem with this is that while the government seems keen on more informal arrangements, mortgage lenders prefer it to be backed up by a statutory order or solicitor's letter.

'If you're with a mortgage lender that doesn't take child support into account, don't assume you won't be able to get a mortgage. It's also important to make sure any child support is paid by standing order or similar, rather than cash, so it shows up in bank statements.'
Bosses of City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority are to face a grilling by MPs for letting bankers off the hook after dropping an inquiry into banking culture months after its announcement.

Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, said acting FCA chief executive Tracey McDermott and chairman John Griffith-Jones will be questioned to make sure that they are getting on with implementing the new challenges they have been given by Parliament.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Tyrie said this and other recent decisions gave an impression of a weakening of resolve by the FCA.

Banking inquiry: The FCA is to be asked by MPs why it decided to drop the banking culture investigation

The FCA also decided recently to let global lender HSBC off the hook for helping wealthy clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts, and it shelved a report into incentive structures for financial product sales staff.

They have got a tough job and we want to make sure that they are doing it properly on behalf of millions of taxpayers and consumers, Tyrie said.

I'm concerned that, as we move further and further away from the crash and those awful events, time dims the memory, and therefore it is absolutely essential that we keep in mind all the time that we are trying to get this right.

The FCA, which was created in 2013 to replace the Financial Services Authority in the wake of the financial crash, had included the review in its business plan for 2015, but dropped it after saying it was difficult to compare different cultures inside banks.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the FCA had dropped the inquiry under the influence of Chancellor George Osborne, who is also widely accused of sacking former FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley last July because he was too tough on banks.

The FCA has been without a permanent chief executive since.

We now have a body that is almost rudderless. In addition to that, what we have seen is them dropping their inquiry into the culture of banking, McDonnell said.

I believe that is influenced by George Osborne. I have called on him to intervene to try to get that back on track and that hasn't happened.'

Questions: Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee (left) and shadow chancellor John McDonnell have been critical of the FCA's decision to drop inquiry into banking culture

The Chancellor told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he had nothing to do with the FCAs decision to drop the inquiry into banking culture and that the UK had a pretty exemplary system of regulation for banks.

He said: We have introduced new criminal offences, responding quite rightly to the public anger that no-one was jailed for what went on seven or eight years ago in our banking system.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief minister of India's restive Kashmir region and one of the country's best-known Muslim politicians, died on Thursday, an official said.

The 79-year-old, whose party is in a controversial coalition with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party in the Himalayan region, is likely to be succeeded as chief minister by his daughter.

Sayeed died in hospital in New Delhi after being admitted on December 24 suffering from a respiratory illness, a hospital official told AFP.

His daughter Mehbooba Mufti, current head of the moderate People's Democratic Party (PDP) that he founded in 1999, is widely expected to take over as the state's first female chief minister.

He will be given a state funeral in Kashmir, with Modi expected to attend.

"Mufti Sahab's demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives," the prime minister tweeted, using an honorific denoting respect.

Sayeed's PDP controversially went into coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state with Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after state elections at the end of 2014.

The PDP's main support base is among Muslims in the Kashmir Valley, the epicentre of the separatist insurgency that broke out in 1989, although the party stops short of calling for independence for the restive Himalayan region.

Analysts said the death of the veteran leader, who also served as chief minister in Kashmir between 2002 and 2005, was unlikely to trigger major change.

"The BJP and PDP have limited options and will try to continue in power," said Happymon Jacob, assistant professor of international studies at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

"But Mehbooba is a bit immature when it comes to the administrative part. She has never held any position in the government and has to start from scratch in an alliance with an ideologically disparate partner."

Sayeed, a former lawyer, was appointed India's first Muslim home minister in 1989.

Later the same year another of his daughters was kidnapped by Kashmiri militants. She was eventually released in exchange for five jailed rebels.

His party won the 2002 election in Kashmir on a promise to bring a "healing touch" to the war-ravaged region, and Sayeed has won praise for his efforts to bring about reconciliation.

But he also faced criticism at home for his perceived closeness to New Delhi. A profile of the chief minister in the latest issue of Indian magazine The Caravan was headlined "The Collaborator -- How Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Delhi's man in Kashmir".

Several rebel groups have for decades been fighting Indian forces deployed on the Indian side of divided Kashmir, seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians.

The region is divided between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.

Sayeed's body will be flown on Thursday to Kashmir, where his funeral is expected to take place later in the day.

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The United States and its two main military allies in Asia, South Korea and Japan, pledged a combined push Thursday to secure a comprehensive, hard-hitting international response to North Korea's latest nuclear test.

The leaders of the three countries, who have long sought to project a united front against the North Korean nuclear threat, spoke by phone a day after Pyongyang's shock announcement that it had tested its first hydrogen bomb.

While the announcement prompted widespread condemnation and calls for stiff sanctions against the secretive state, it was also greeted with some scepticism, with experts suggesting the apparent yield was far too low for a thermonuclear device.

In Seoul, the government took unilateral action by announcing the resumption of high-decibel propaganda broadcasts into the North -- a tactic that had prompted Pyongyang to threaten military strikes when it was last employed during a cross-border crisis last year.

The consultations between the US, Japan and South Korea followed a meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council in New York which, with backing from China, Pyongyang's sole major ally, strongly condemned the test and said it would begin work on a new UN draft resolution that would contain "further significant measures".

UN diplomats confirmed that talks were under way on strengthening several sets of sanctions that have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

In South Korea, the mood was uncompromising, with President Park Geun-Hye calling for a strong international response to what she called a "grave provocation".

Park spoke with US President Barack Obama on Thursday morning, with both leaders insisting that the test merited the "most powerful and comprehensive sanctions," her presidential office said in a statement.

"The two leaders agreed that the North should pay the appropriate price... and vowed to closely cooperate to get a strong resolution adopted at the UN Security Council," it added.

The White House, for its part, condemned North Korea's "latest reckless behavior".

"President Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of the ROK (Republic of Korea)," the statement said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name.

Seoul said it would resume propaganda broadcasts using batteries of giant speakers along the border with North Korea from noon (0300 GMT) on Friday.

The move is likely to infuriate Pyongyang which, during an extended and increasingly hostile cross-border stand-off last year, had issued Seoul with an ultimatum to halt the broadcasts or face imminent attack.

The South only unplugged the speakers following a compromise accord reached on August 25.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also spoke with Obama on Thursday and agreed that they should spearhead the effort to impose harsher penalties on Pyongyang.

"We will take firm and resolute steps, including considering measures unique to our nation," Abe said, hinting at unilateral moves.

Park and Abe also spoke by phone and made similar pledges to work together inside the UN Security Council.

The censure and sanctions threats had a familiar ring, given similar outrage that greeted the North's previous tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and some voices stressed the need to find a strategy that combined coercion with negotiation.

"A priority must be to find ways to both further pressure North Korea to limit its nuclear weapons capabilities and engage it diplomatically," said David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

Acquisition of a working H-bomb -- with a destructive power that dwarfs the bombs it has tested in the past -- would represent a massive leap forward in the North's nuclear weapons capability.

In announcing that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, North Korea said it had "joined the rank of advanced nuclear states" like Russia, France and the US that also boast thermonuclear devices.

The order for the test was personally signed by leader Kim Jong-Un, with a handwritten message to begin 2016 with the "thrilling sound of the first hydrogen bomb explosion".

At the UN, US Ambassador Samantha Power called for a "tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions" to make clear to Pyongyang that there are "real consequences" to its actions.

But there was no real clarity on what form the sanctions might take, or when the package would be drawn up.

All eyes at the UN will now be on China, a veto-wielding council member, to see just how far it will go in tightening the sanctions grip on its recalcitrant neighbour.

But Beijing's leverage over Pyongyang is mitigated, analysts say, by its overriding fear of a North Korean collapse and the prospect of a reunified, US-allied Korea directly on its border.

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SITEKI  Yet again, schools from the Lubombo region have failed to shine in the Junior Certificate (JC) examinations.



The JC results, released by the Minister of Education and Training, Phineas Magagula, on Tuesday, reflected a poor performance by schools from the Lubombo region, when compared to schools from other regions in the country.

This was no surprise, considering that in the past years, the average pass rate for Lubombo schools has consistently been lower than that of schools in the other regions of the country.

In the 2015 JC results, released on Tuesday, not a single pupil from the Lubombo region was listed among the top 20 pupils.



However, there was only one pupil from the Lubombo region who made it to the list of the top 50 pupils.

That was Baphelele Gcina Mnisi from Ngomane High School, who attained aggregate 92 per cent and was placed at number 21 on the list of top 100 pupils.

Other pupils from the Lubombo region who made it to the list of top 100 best pupils were; Tenele Colisile Mdluli from Duze High School (aggregate 89 per cent), Nomvuyo Temlandvo Simelane from Lubombo Central High School (aggregate 87 per cent) and Samukelisiwe Yendziwe Mndvoti from Ngomane High School (aggregate 87 per cent).



Meanwhile, on the list of the best performing schools, there were also fewer schools from the Lubombo region.

Only Ngomane High School was listed among the 10 best performing schools.

It was followed by U-tech, which was placed at number 18.



Other schools from the Lubombo region that were listed among the overall best performing schools in the JC examination were: Malindza Education Centre, Mbokojweni Secondary, Ndzevane High, Mhlume High and Mambane Secondary.

Lubombo Regional Education Officer (REO) Wellington Mdluli acknowledged that schools from around the Lubombo region have performed poorly in external examinations in the past years. He revealed that his office had since drawn a strategy that would try and address the problem.



We have come up with a strategic plan through which all education stakeholders will try and identify the factors that cause Lubombo schools to perform poorly in the examinations, said Mdluli.

As per the strategic plan, he revealed that primary and secondary schools inspectors would meet with school administrators and discuss the reasons that contribute to the poor performance by Lubombo schools in external examinations.

After the schools inspectors have met with the school administrators, Mdluli said his office would then engage other stakeholders, which include the Teaching Service Commission (TSC). He said in some schools, the poor performance was caused by shortage of teachers and the late replacement of head teachers.
MBABANE  Residents of Mbangweni vandalised the new street signs put up by the Municipal Council of Mbabane, stating that they were not consulted on the change of street names.

The vandalised signs had names of wild fruits in vernacular.



Council said there were nine signs which were damaged by the unknown culprits and they have to be replaced with the poles at an estimated value of between E980 and E1 100 each.

Some of the residents, who have been staying at Mbangweni for over 10 years, said they do not remember council informing them that they would be changing the street names.

communication



Councils Information and Public Relations Officer Gugulethu Hlophe stated that it must have been lack of communication from them to the residents.

We spoke to the residents three years ago about the changing of the street names and it was agreed. However, due to the fact that such an exercise tends to be a long process, the actual renaming was only done now. Our town planner noticed what has been done with the new signs and he agreed that we were supposed to write the old name under the new sign and have the new name at the top. City council will correct the matter because it was agreed that we start with Mbangweni and Makholokholo will be next. We are now facing a problem because it is not cheap putting up the signs. The residents should have called and communicated with council before taking a decision to vandalise the signs, Hlophe stated.

vandalised



The street signs were hardly up for a week before they were vandalised by the residents.

Council should have consulted us that they were putting up signs which we cannot pronounce. Justice has been served and the council should bring down the new signs because we were happy with the old ones and we were used to them. I do not agree with vandalism but in this case I do. We are the people staying in these areas so I believe we have a right to choose the names of our streets if we want them changed and we have a right to be warned that they are being changed, a senior civil servant who owns a house at Mbangweni stated.












MBABANE  Eight communities could before the end of the year be the beneficiaries of footbridges (botebetebe) to be constructed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as Bridges for Prosperity.



This was revealed yesterday when a group of nine engineering graduates and near-graduates from the University of Colorado, Denver in the United States of America paid a courtesy call to the Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini. The group has already travelled to eight communities around the country and according to the Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, Mduduzi Dlamini, these include Nkwene, Mbangweni (Shiselweni region), Mkhondvo, Manzini North near William Pitcher, KaKhoza, Lobamba Lomdzala near Lozitha, Mlindazwe and Manzana under the Lobamba Constituency.



In his remarks, the PM said what was special about the group of visitors was that they had travelled to Swaziland as volunteers with goodness in their hearts and special skills.

He said their mission was to help the Swazi people, stating that the donation by the group was somewhat different because they were donating their skills as engineers. The Bridges for Prosperity has already built more than 200 bridges in selected countries around the world.



This group of generous and committed people is during an intensive 10-day period, carrying out the technical assessment and design work for the rehabilitation of eight bridges in the rural areas of our country, said Dlamini.

He said the sites of the bridges had been selected in accordance with the groups evaluation of the needs of the respective communities and the extent to which the bridges once renovated would contribute to improved access to health, education and other facilities and activities.



The premier said he was aware that the country was receiving benefits from engineering skills that would not normally be available to the country and what they hoped was that when the group returned to the US and reported to its Mother Chapter of Bridges for Prosperity, the powers that be would give a go-ahead for the practical work to commence.

He added that such would entail a subsequent partnership between the returning team members and the local communities with the transfer of bridge-building skills an inherent part of that stage, stating that he was certain that the communities themselves would derive huge benefits from the work.



He further thanked Margaret Mondlane, a woman based in South Africa, but who established the contacts through her own time at school and University of Colorado and who has made a huge contribution to the achievements of this assignment by the university volunteers.
MADLANGEMPHISI  An alleged love triangle is suspected to have led to a man being shot and killed at Madlangemphisi on Tuesday night while inside his vehicle with a side girlfriend.



Family members said the side girlfriend, a Form IV pupil (name withheld) at Madlangemphisi High School, who was known in the family, was with Sibusiso Dlamini (27), the deceased inside his car, an Ipsum when his steady girlfriend (name withheld) passed through and went inside his home, where she was to spend the night.



argument



When she got home, she informed us that the two, Sibusiso and his side girlfriend, were having a serious argument inside the car. She requested family members to intervene. Immediately after the conversation, gun shots were heard and we went to the main road, where the car had been parked. we found his other girlfriend holding him against her and screaming hysterically, blood oozing from his chest, a brother to the deceased, Bhoyoza Mamba, said.



He added that the side girlfriend informed the family that during the fight, three armed men emerged from the front of the vehicle and grabbed both of them, ordering Sibusiso to turn on the ignition.

The family was further informed that Sibusiso allegedly refused to take orders from the three men and further attempted to fight them.

That was when the men are said to have threatened to shoot him.



the girlfriend said Sibusiso moved from one seat and got out of the car, and escaped.

The man who was carrying a pistol then fired at him and he tripped after trying to get through a fence, while trying to escape. However, he was shot right in the middle of the chest, Mamba said.

The suspects are said to have left the side girlfriend and drove off with the deceaseds vehicle. Police were called and Sibusiso was rushed to Dvokolwako Health Centre, where he was certified dead upon arrival.



We are devastated and still traumatised by the incident because it is clear that the men had strictly come to kill our brother and nothing else on the night. I drove past when they were shouting at him, ordering him to start the vehicle. when he shouted at me, one of the men called my name and warned me not to come to where they were. Fearing for my life, I went straight home, Mamba said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron secured encouraging signals from the leaders of Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands as he swung through Europe Thursday, despite key reservations over an EU reform deal he wants at a summit next month.

Cameron held talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who expressed optimism about a deal even as he denied his countrymen were "parasites" seeking British welfare benefits -- and the leaders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's sister party.

The British premier is battling for a deal at an EU summit in February before holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the bloc, possibly later this year, but he faces opposition to his controversial demand to limit benefits for EU migrants.

Orban, a polarising figure in Europe for his own right-wing anti-immigrant politics, said Hungary "fully supported" three out of Cameron's four demands, adding that he had "reason to be optimistic to find a common agreement".

Cameron's other demands are for the European Union to give Britain safeguards against more political integration, to protect countries that do not use the euro currency, and to boost economic competitiveness.

But Cameron's final demand -- a four-year delay before EU migrants working in Britain can claim welfare benefits -- was "difficult" amid concerns in many countries that it is discriminatory, Orban told a press conference with Cameron.

"We are citizens of a state that belongs to the EU, that can take jobs anywhere in the EU, so we don't want to go the UK and take something away from them, we don't want to be parasites," Orban said.

Cameron laid out his plans to fellow EU leaders at their last summit meeting in December, urging them to help him to make the reforms and avoid a "Brexit" from the 28-nation bloc.

Speaking in Budapest, Cameron said the welfare plans remained on the table but that he was "open to alternative solutions", while holding out the possibility that a deal could take longer than the February summit.

"We obviously now have a limited time between now and the February (EU) Council, I am confident that if we work hard with goodwill on all sides we should try for an agreement," he said.

"But as I said I only have to hold my referendum by the end of 2017. If it takes longer to make an agreement, what matters to me is the substance rather than the timing," he added.

Cameron has vowed to hold the in-out referendum by the end of next year but British media have reported he could hold the vote as soon as June 2016 if he gets a deal at February's summit.

In Germany, Cameron met Merkel over dinner in Berlin on Wednesday and on Thursday held talks in the southern town of Wildbad Kreuth with the Christian Social Union -- sister party of the chancellor's CDU.

While Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has said that "fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate -- including the core principle of freedom of movement.

However Merkel later Thursday acknowledged that it was "not the intention of the law of free movement" to allow EU migrants to claim benefits from host member states immediately.

"That means that you can work everywhere in Europe but this intention does not include drawing social benefits everywhere in Europe from day one," she said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country assumed the EU presidency this month, said Thursday he was "relatively optimistic' that Britain can secure a deal in February.

"It is very important to come to a successful conclusion, I think we could get there in February, I am relatively optimistic," Rutte said at a press conference in Amsterdam alongside European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"But still a lot of work needs to be done to come to a decision and a conclusion in February," added Rutte, under whom the Netherlands will hold the presidency of the European Union for the next six months.

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By Sadef Ali Kully

Despite a slight increase in murder and rape, overall crime in Queens has decreased by 6 percent since 2014, according to the latest numbers released by the NYPD.

The NYPD reported Monday that overall crime totals for the seven major index crimes across the city fell by 1.7 percent in 2015, the lowest level on record.

Over the past two years, there has been a 5.8 percent decrease in overall crimepolice officials said the city has seen record lows in several major crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary and grand larceny.

In 2014, the city recorded the lowest murder and robbery rates in 50 years, and in 2015 burglary and grand larceny auto were at their lowest levels in more than 50 years, according to police officials.

In Queens, the crime rate declined by 6 percent across the borough. In Queens North, which covers the 104,108,109, 110,111,112, 114 and 115th precincts, there was an estimated 9 percent decrease in overall crime and a 37 percent slide in homicide when compared to 2014, according to the latest NYPD statistics available from the week ending Dec. 27. Yet rapes across Queens North have gone up by 1.4 percent.

In Queens South, which covers the 100,101,102, 103,105,106, 107 and the 113th precincts, the crime rate decreased by 3.2 percent although there was a 13.5 percent rise in homicides and a 2.8 percent increase in rapes, according to the latest NYPD statistics available. The most dramatic drops of 12 percent were in burglary and grand larceny incidents.

At this point, 2015 marks the safest year in the modern history in New York City, Police Commissioner William Bratton said at a news conference Monday. Since 1993, we have experienced more than a 75 percent decrease in crime and an 81 percent decrease in murders. Today, we are practicing precision-policing focused on addressing the pockets of crime that remain, while exercising discretion in enforcement and reducing the number of enforcement encounters across the city.

Since Dec. 27, there has been at least one murder in South Jamaica, of a 16-year-old boy from Rosedale who was found fatally shot Dec. 31 by police, according to the NYPD.

Last years record low crime rate is further proof that the NYPD is the best police force in the world, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. And next year, we wont stop working to ensure our officers have the equipment, support, and resources they need to continue protecting our residents each day.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said, The City Council is fully committed to providing the NYPD with the resources it needs to continue to keep New Yorkers safe, .

In 2015, the City Council helped bring in 1,300 additional new officers, helped invest in new bullet-resistant vests and strengthened police and community relations. Most recently, the NYPD added an interactive map which will be updated frequently to reflect the crime rates from each precinct down to a city block across the city.
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By Tom Momberg

After 16 years in the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Melville), whose district covers part of Queens, has officially announced he will not be running for re-election in November.

Israel was serving on the House Armed Services Committee in 2006, when a Pentagon general spoke at a hearing, apologizing for bad intelligence that led to increased National Security Agency surveillance on a group of thought-to-be terrorists planning an attack on a military base. But they were actually a group of elderly Quakers who were planning a peaceful protest against the Iraq War.

That event sparked the congressmans idea for his dark comedy fiction book analyzing the politics of the war on terror, titled The Global War on Morris.

Now, planning to retire from the House, Israel said he wants to pick up writing, again.

I hope to continue to be involved in public service, but it is time for me to pursue new passions and develop new interests, mainly spend more time writing my second novel, he said.

Israels congressional district mostly covers northern Nassau County, but also includes Glen Oaks, Little Neck, Douglaston, Bay Terrace, Whitestone and Beechhurst.

Looking back, Israel said the proudest work he accomplished while in office was securing $8.3 million in back pay for the states veterans and military families.

The congressman said he would miss serving as chairman of both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where he proved to be a formidable fund-raiser, and the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, but that it is time to pass the torch.

It has been an incredible and humbling opportunity to serve my community, Israel said in a statement. I am grateful to my family, friends, staff, and most of all  the people of New York. While I will miss this place and the people I have had the privilege to serve, I am looking forward to spending more time home and frequenting my beloved New York diners.

Israel was elected in 2000 and succeeded Rick Lazio, a Republican. He quickly rose in the ranks as a leader in the House Democratic Caucus. He said he believes it is the right time to retire during the 2016 presidential election cycle, when there is a good chance his seat will stay in the hands of the Democratic Party once he is gone.
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By Gabriel Rom

The Dec. 30 shooting of basketball player Cleanthony Early and subsequent violence have brought some unwelcome attention to the normally quiet neighborhood of Maspeth.

Early, a forward for the New York Knicks, was ambushed in his Uber by three cars filled with thugs after he left CityScapes, a strip club on 58th Street in Maspeths industrial no-mans land. A day later the club was firebombed by unknown assailants.

Residents and lawmakers say that while they believe the neighborhood is safe, they have had enough mayhem.

The recent incidents of violence at CityScapes are deeply troubling, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) said. This type of establishment is not in the character of Maspeth and should close its doors. I will continue to work with the NYPD and community leaders to make sure there is greater surveillance and that no illegal activity happens there.

As Early left the club with a female companion, a group of six of men swarmed his Uber cab, stealing thousands from him in jewelry, a gold tooth grill and a cellphone, police said. Then one of the gang shot him in the right kneecap, an NYPD spokesman said.

After the shooting, Earlys Uber driver scrambled down a residential street near the club, calling for aid for his bleeding passenger.

EMS workers arrived on the scene, and rushed Early to Elmhurst Hospital. He was soon transferred to New YorkPresbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, where he was listed in stable condition. Early is out of the hospital and visited the Knicks Monday practice.

The club isnt too close to us, but they came in our direction, said David Upton who lives on the street where Earlys driver sought help.

This is normally a good neighborhood, a quiet neighborhood, he added, peering out at the media vans in front of his porch last week. Knock on wood, though.

Police had made no arrests in either incident as of Wednesday and the investigations were ongoing. But a report in the New York Post said the robbery, shooting and firebombing may be linked to three other recent assaults of men leaving strip clubs in Queens and Brooklyn.

Since the beginning of December houses on 74th Street, 57th Road and 66th Street in Maspeth have all been burglarized. On Monday an arsonist attempted to burn down Grand Avenue Pet Shop in Maspeth. Police said there is no relation between the crimes with Earlys robbery.

State Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) plans to meet next week with 104th Precinct Capt. Mark Wachter to address the uptick in crime, according to a Michael Armstrong, her spokesman. Something curious seems to be going on, he said.

Wachter has taken note of the crimes.

We have seen a rise in residential burgs in the area, he wrote in a letter Wednesday to the Communities of Maspeth & Elmhurst Together civic group.

Wachter advised residents to keep their security cameras on at all times and to put their valuables in a safe.

Its all just shocking, said Louise Murnen, who has lived in Maspeth for over 50 years. Any type of crime here is shocking.
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By Madina Toure

At a news conference Thursday afternoon at the office of state Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), a 16-year-old exchange student from China who was slashed by a mysterious attacker last month on her way to school in Whitestone said she is grateful for the communitys support and plans to stay in the United States.

At about 8:15 a.m. Dec. 16, a male suspect approached the girl, identified by Kim as JiaJia Liang, near 147th Street and 13th Avenue and cut her face and neck so severely that she needed more than 200 stitches, according to the NYPD.

No words were exchanged during the attack and Liang was taken to the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, the NYPD said.

Kim said the investigation was ongoing so he could not comment on a report in the Daily News that her attacker left a letter on the windshield outside the home of a girl who he said was the intended target rather than the young woman who was slashed.

Both Liang and her mother were wearing surgical masks at the news conference.

There is an ongoing investigation and after speaking with the NYPD and the mayors office, we need to give them the chance to pursue the leads, he said.

The exchange student has been attending the Whitestone Academy for the past three months and is staying with a Chinese-American host family that lives near the school. She is here on a permanent basis on a student visa, with plans to pursue her high school and college education in the United States.

Speaking through Edward Ip, chief executive officer of Orient Retreat Spa, who translated from her Cantonese, Liang said the incident was tragic but that she appreciates the support.

The injury, the cuts and wounds are healing and I still want to stay here to pursue my education, she said.

Her mother said the family has been having a difficult time.

I want to thank everyone for supporting us, for help at the time that we feel the most hopeless and when we are at this most tragic moment, the victims mother said through a translation by Ip. Were overwhelmed by the support of the community.

At the news conference Kim and the law firm of Gary Park announced a special fund that will cover various expenses such as traveling costs and possible surgery to cover her scars. The trust fund has been set up with Chase Bank. Parks firm will provide pro bono legal services.

Kim said he and his wife visited Liang and that she was left with more than 200 stitches across her face.

We asked her if she wanted to return back to her country, he said. She said without hesitation, No, I still want the dream. We have the responsibility to help this young woman.

He added that she embodies the grit, the determination and resilience that has made the city, state and country great.

Park encouraged people to donate money to the trust fund.

There was a challenge because she was not a U.S. citizen, neither was her single mother, so there were some challenges but we overcame them and we created a trust fundand were ready to accept donations, Park said.

To donate go to www.GoFun dMe.com/ suppo rtjia jia or send a check on her behalf to The JiaJia Liang Trust at Gary Park Law firm at 39-01 Main St., No. 608, Flushing 11354.
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Volunteer street patrols linked to neo-Nazi groups have emerged in several Finnish towns in recent months claiming to protect locals from what they call "Islamic intruders", a trend the Finnish government condemned on Thursday.

"There are extremist features to carrying out street patrols. It does not increase security," Finnish Interior Minister Petteri Orpo said in an interview with national broadcaster YLE.

"Volunteers have no right to use force," he added.

Unarmed groups of men, most identifying themselves as "Soldiers of Odin" in reference to an ancient Germanic and Scandinavian god, have been seen patrolling in at least five different towns where reception centres for newly-arrived asylum seekers have recently opened.

There have been no reports yet of incidents between the civilian patrols and migrants.

Some patrol groups have been photographed by local media clad in black jackets and hats marked "S.O.O" for Soldiers of Odin.

In 2015 the Nordic nation of 5.4 million inhabitants received over 32,000 mostly Iraqi asylum seekers, the fourth highest amount in Europe per capita and nearly 10 times more than Finland received in 2014.

Contacted by AFP, one of the founders of the group, Mika Ranta, declined to be interviewed.

On its website the group blames "Islamic intruders" for increased insecurity in Finland and calls on the "patriotic and critics of immigration" to participate in their activities.

"Attacking is not part of our principles, only defence. And everyone has the right to defend themselves if we are attacked. We defend ourselves and call the police," three members of a patrol group in the eastern town of Joensuu were quoted as saying in a recent interview with local paper Karjalan Heili.

The trio said their group had around 20 members in Joensuu and up to 500 in the entire country.

One asylum seeker who has been living in the Joensuu region for five months said neither he nor his friends had encountered the group.

"I think it's a crazy idea. There's the police and other authorities doing their jobs well. It's a kind of militia," said 27-year-old Safi Kamil from Baghdad, drawing a comparison with the militia groups active in his native country.

According to the National Security Police (Finnish intelligence services), some of the members have links to far-right extremist movements, including neo-Nazi groups.

The number of patrols began to rise after a 17-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan was taken into custody for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in the town of Kempele last November, leading authorities to reveal that around 10 asylum seekers were suspected of rapes among the more than 1,000 rapes reported to police in 2015.

But another alleged rape case on December 26 in the western town of Ylivieska quickly proved false after police revealed that a woman had made up the story about "two dark men" raping her.

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Beaver County's homes rose in price

How did Beaver County's housing market do in July? The median price for a house in 2022 was higher than 2021.
By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

The Times Record News ran this story Jan. 7 reporting from documents claiming a tax lien had been filed against El Chico Restaurants of Texas. New documents have shown the lien was filed in error. You can read an updated story here .

Less than a month after the state of Texas filed a tax lien against El Chico Restaurants of Texas, one of the chain's restaurants in Wichita Falls has closed.

The El Chico location at 1028 Central Freeway was closed Wednesday with a sign posted in the front door directing customers to the restaurant on Southwest Parkway.

County records show that a lien for $53,216 was levied on the business Dec. 11. Owed was $40,339 to the state, $9,008 to the city of Wichita Falls, $2,610 for transit, $297 to the county and $960 to another entity.

There's no evidence in county records that the lien has been released.

The Central Freeway business also was knocked in a November health department inspection for evidence of cockroaches, the report indicates.

"Evidence of roaches need to contact your pest management person (sic)," the report reads. The restaurant also was docked on one item related to sanitation of utensils and "food contact surfaces."

El Chico headquarters did not return Times Record News phone calls to ask why the restaurant is closed.

According to the El Chico website, the business was founded in the 1920s, though it's only been in operation in Wichita Falls since the early 1980s. It was described as having a "traditional El Chico-style" design, as opposed to the more modern look of the Southwest Parkway location.
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Saudi Arabia's Jan. 2 execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr ignited a diplomatic battle with Iran. The Saudis hoped it would. Iran's attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran generated global headlines and reminded Americans of revolutionary Iran's 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy. Now the Saudis have a chance to spotlight Iran's increasingly imminent threat to the Persian Gulf's Arab states.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are already at war in Yemen. The Saudis lead a coalition force; Iran backs a Yemeni Shiite proxy. The latest Yemeni cease fire shattered in mid-December.

Yemen, however, is a sideshow. The Persian Gulf is the central front that concerns the Saudis. It should concern Washington.

Sheikh Al-Nimr may ultimately be a footnote in the Great Persian Gulf War, but he will be an instructive footnote. He was one of 47 prisoners executed. Many of the others were Sunni Muslim terrorists, several with explicit al-Qaida connections. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia used the mass executions to send this signal: It will not tolerate violent Sunni terrorists, nor will it tolerate insurrectionist Shiites. Both threaten stability and peace in the Middle East.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are on opposite sides of Islam's Shiite-Sunni divide. The Saudi regime funds puritanical Wahhabi Sunni clerics and schools throughout the world, many of them co-opted by Sunni terrorists. They prop up threatened Sunni regimes.

In the 1500s, Persia's Safavid rulers adopted Shiism. It distinguished their empire from that of the Sunni Ottomans and the Turks' Arab fiefs. Iranian Shiitism blends Shiite resentment of Sunni elites with Persian monarchical traditions. Adopting Shiism made Persia a bit more attractive to Arab Shiites, who often chafed under Sunni Arab rule.

Iran's ayatollahs firmly believe advocating on behalf of subjugated Shiites is their duty. They also serve as convenient instruments for geopolitical troublemaking.

Iran's post-execution violence exploited the sectarian division. The Saudis now bet that cooler heads will assess al-Nimr's record, which they believe connects to long-term Iranian plans to take control of the entire Persian Gulf.

In 2009, al-Nimr delivered a sermon urging his fellow Shiites in Al-Hasa to secede from the Saudi state. To say this disturbed the Sauds puts it mildly. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia's major seaport, and several of the planet's biggest oil fields are located in Al-Hasa. The province has been described as the world's gas station.

Al-Nimr stirred further trouble in 2011, the year of Arab Spring, as a Shiite rebellion against Sunni royalty sputtered in nearby Bahrain. Bahrain is quite near, just across the King Fahd Causeway from the Al-Hasa mainland. The Persian Gulf's Sunni emirates accused Iran of encouraging Bahraini violence. In 2012, al-Nimr was arrested for anti-Saudi political activities. A court sentenced him to death in Oct. 2014.

According to the Saudis, al-Nimr's call for secession was treason on behalf of Iran. Tehran's goals aren't spiritual. It wants to seize Al-Hasa and become the global arbiter of oil prices. In the 1980s, the Ayatollah Khomeini encouraged the overthrow of the House of Saud. Subsequently, Saudi Hezbollah appeared. This Shiite radical movement is small, but like the far larger Lebanese Hezbollah, it is an Iranian proxy. It may also operate in Bahrain.

Al-Nimr's execution brings attention these Iranian schemes.

But will it matter in Washington? Washington is still Saudi Arabia's most important ally. The ultimate Persian Gulf de-stabilizer is an Iranian nuclear weapon. The Saudis seem to think the great Iranian nuclear deal orchestrated by the Obama administration insures Tehran will get the bomb. Despite two missile tests that violate the agreement, the Obama administration has refused to employ "snap back" economic sanctions. That bodes ill. So the Saudis are watching and waiting. At some point Washington will have to choose between Riyadh and Tehran.

Austin Bay is a commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," covering foreign affairs but often addressing issues in Texas that have a national interest.
Global gold miner Centamin announced preliminary production results from its Egyptian Sukari mine for 2015, recording a 16 percent rise compared with the previous year, the company said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.

The Australia-based company said the total gold production of Sukari, which is located in Egypt's eastern desert, was 439,000 ounces last year, almost meeting the groups guidance of 440,000 ounces.

Sukaris production forecast for 2016 is 470,000 ounces, at an all-in-sustaining cost of $900 per ounce.



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AP Photo Ammon Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters. Armed protesters took over the refuge Saturday

How many times have we heard conservatives say "hippies" as it if were a curse word.

A new generation of sit-in protestors has taken up arms and made their cause known in Oregon, taking over the headquarters of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They announced Tuesday they won't leave until their demands are met.

Calling themselves the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, Twitter feeds in the name of Ammon Bundy, (son of Clive Bundy who led a 2014 armed standoff with federal officials), said the protesters hope "to restore and defend the Constitution," to protect the rights of ranchers and start a national debate about states' rights and federal land-use policy. They also want to force the federal government to release tracts of Western land.

This would include the 292 square miles of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, part of Oregon set aside by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 as safe place for sandhill cranes and other American birds. It is visited often by bird watchers.

Bundy also denounced the "tyranny" of the federal government. Considering that, according to application records, in 2010 Ammon's semi truck repair and maintenance company borrowed $530,000 through the Small Business Administration's loan guarantee program, his current stance is curious.

While armed protestors milled about, Harney County Sheriff said, "It is time for you to leave our community. Go home, be with your own families and end this peacefully."

"The only violence that, if it comes our way, will be because the government is wanting their building back,'' Ammon said. "We're putting nobody in harm's way. We are not threatening anybody. We're 30 miles out of the closest town."

Sounds pretty childish. Gimme what I want and I won't shoot at you.

It's been a long time since anyone's seen an actual peaceful protest.

In 1960, four African- American college students sat at a Woolworth's lunch counter and ordered coffee. The whites-only business refused service, but the students stayed despite ridicule and threats.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, inspired by nonviolence advocates like Mahatma Ghandi, led the movement to peaceful protests across the country.

The nonviolent civil rights campaign set an example for the early 1960s peace and free speech movements in opposition to the war in Vietnam. Sit-ins were staged at university administration offices and in 1964 at entrances to the White House. After picketing at the White House fence line, demonstrators requested 100 protestors meet with President Lyndon Johnson to present a 7,000 signature petition against the war. None of them was armed.

Hiding out in a nature reserve and demanding that the fed meet demands isn't what works. Face-to-face communication that requires no guns leads to peaceful resolution.

What part of this do the self-proclaimed Constitution defenders not get?

Judith McGinnis, whose column appears here on Thursdays, may be reached at mcginnisj@timesrecordnews.com or 940-763-7534.
<p>Chamber of Commerce & Industry</p>

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Tickets are now on sale for this year's Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce & Industry annual meeting scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Jan. 27 in the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall.

Tickets are $40 for chamber members and $50 for nonmembers. Call 940-723-2741 for more information or to purchase tickets.

Guests will take a look back at 2015 and get a sneak peek of what 2016 holds for Wichita Falls. 2015 Chairman Chuck White will hand off leadership to incoming Chairman Dwayne Bivona.

Guest speakers will include Wichita Falls City Manager Darron Leiker and Midwestern State University President Suzanne Shipley.

Hoggard to speak at AAUW meeting

The American Association of University Women will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Midwestern State University's Clark Student Center Shawnee Theater. Dr. Lynn Hoggard will discuss her book "Motherland: Stories and Poems from Louisiana," a three-part memoir of growing up in South Louisiana in the mid-20th century.

Guests are welcome. For more information, contact call 692-6066.

GED orientation sessions Jan. 11-13

Region 9 Education Service Center's Adult Education and Literacy program will hold orientation sessions for its General Education Development classes Monday through Wednesday.

Orientation for the daytime sessions will be 9 a.m. to noon. Evening session orientation will be 6-9 p.m. Students are required to attend all three days, with no exceptions allowed.

The orientation will be at Region 9 Education Service Center, 301 Loop 11. Students should bring a picture I.D., Social Security card, pencil and paper.

Information: 322-6928.

Region 9 enrolling for ESL classes

Region 9 Education Service Center will hold enrolling and assessment sessions in January for its day and evening English as a second language courses for adults.

The sessions will be by appointment only on the date associated with each course location. Sessions will be scheduled Jan. 11 for those hoping to enroll in night classes at the Galaxy Center, on Jacksboro Highway, or Scotland Park Elementary, on North Fifth Street. Enrollment will be Jan. 14 for day classes at the Galaxy Center. Night classes at Lamar Elementary School, on Lucas Street, will be enrolled Jan. 19.

Students must attend enrollment to be eligible for classes. Students should bring a picture I.D., pencil and paper to the enrollment and orientation, which will take about an hour. To schedule an appointment, call 322-6928.
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Thomas Andrew Bradley Jr.

Thomas Andrew Bradley Jr., 83, passed on January 6, 2016, after a long battle with prostate cancer. Tom was born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas. He attended Wichita Falls Senior High then graduated from New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, New Mexico, in 1950. He completed four years ROTC at NMMI. Tom served in the Army 8th Infantry Division Signal Corps for two years and six years in the inactive reserve. In 1957, he graduated from Midwestern University, Wichita Falls, Texas, with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. Tom worked as a petroleum geologist until 1960. He then joined the effort to construct the Atlas F Missile Complex near Altus, Oklahoma as Site Engineer, and then the Titan II Missile Complex in Central Arkansas where he was Cost Engineer. Tom continued a career in construction management and became a consultant to contractors and law firms until his retirement in 2001. After "9/11", Tom was asked by the contractor, J.A. Jones, to inspect and report on the construction and administrative aspects of the new U.S. Embassies being built in Tanzania and Kenya to replace those destroyed by terrorists in 1998. Tom served on the panel of neutral arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association. He was active in the Wichita chapter of the US TOO Prostate Cancer Education & Support Organization. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Carolyn, and his son, Craig Bradley, now of Lake Mary, Florida. When asked what lessons he had learned in life, Tom answered, "read the contract." Memorial service, 11 a.m., Monday, January 11, Downing & Lahey Mortuary West. Memorials established with the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 and Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, KS 67219. Online tributes may be sent to the family via www.dlwichita.com
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Albany

Talks are continuing between the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese and the operators of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs over the future of the historic Jesuit-run property.

Mary DeTurris Poust, a spokeswoman for the Albany Diocese, said Tuesday "discussions are ongoing" between the church and the Society of Jesus, which operates the shrine in Auriesville, Montgomery County. It is located along the Mohawk River that is the 1656 birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, canonized in 2012.

The shrine is dedicated to three French Jesuit missionaries martyred there in 1642 and 1646.

"There's nothing definitive yet, so there's really nothing else to report on other than that both sides are committed to maintaining a spiritual presence in Auriesville and promoting and preserving the legacy of the North American martyrs," the spokeswoman said.

The talks were delayed to an extent, in part, because of the busy holiday season, DeTurris Poust said.

rgavin@timesunion.com  518-434-2403  @RobertGavinTU
TROY  The 21-year-old alleged leader of the Young Gunnerz, a drug dealing street gang, was sentenced Thursday in Rensselaer County Court to 10 years in prison.

Daquan "Benji Got the Juice" Murray of Troy pleaded guilty in October second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance for selling a half-an-ounce of cocaine May 24 on Ninth Avenue in Troy.
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Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are fighting for the favor of many of the same undecided voters across Iowa, where even some of the most attentive Republicans say they can't make up their minds less than four weeks before voting begins.

That was so among Iowans who gathered before sunrise to hear Rubio at a town-hall-style meeting in Cedar Rapids. The Florida senator impressed the crowd but few left having decided if he would get their vote.

"I haven't settled on one candidate 100 percent," said Mike Grover, a Cedar Rapids man who is among the thousands of "persuadable voters" still up for grabs.

In small towns, an overwhelming number of would-be voters said Cruz and Rubio are in contention for their support. Their policies, personalities and presumed ability to defeat the Democratic nominee in the fall are all under close examination. Donald Trump comes up often as well, as do retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

At 44 and 45, respectively, Rubio and Cruz are the youngest candidates in the 2016 field and the only Hispanics.

"I've seen Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz," Connie Peterson, a retired Republican, said Wednesday at a Rubio event in Marshalltown. "In ways they seem similar, and I can't make up my mind."

A day earlier, at a Cruz rally, real estate agent Lary Clark said he was also torn between the Texas senator, a sharp-tongued combatant in Washington, and the smoother Rubio.

"I want somebody who's going to be able to win the general election," Clark said. By his calculation, Cruz or Rubio, with their Cuban-American heritage, may be best positioned to capture Latino votes in November.

Cruz is working to build on his strong Iowa polling this week with a 28-stop, six-day bus tour focused largely on small towns and farm communities. Rubio is making four stops over two days.

Rubio, who is lagging behind Cruz in the polls, has been more forceful in criticizing Cruz while they've crisscrossed Iowa. Rubio is bluntly challenging Cruz's commitment to national security. Cruz casts Rubio as an establishment favorite who supports "amnesty" for immigrants in the country illegally.

Undecided voters say they need more time to sort through the big pack of contenders.

"There's been so many," said Iowa corn farmer Jim Nelson. "We're trying to go through them all. Give them all a chance."

People in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire are notoriously late deciders.

A Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll conducted last month found that only 33 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers had made up their minds, with two-thirds saying they could still be persuaded by any candidate.

That's in line with voters nationwide, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, which found in late December that nearly 6 in 10 Republicans could change their mind before casting their primary vote.

Cruz is banking on a win Feb. 1 caucus to generate momentum to sustain him well beyond the following contest in New Hampshire, where he's not expected to do as well. His team is more optimistic about his chances in South Carolina and the bulk of Super Tuesday states voting on March 1, several of which are in the South where his core support among evangelical conservatives is strong.

Rubio's path to the nomination is less clear.

He's barely in the top-tier of many early state polls, often trailing Cruz and Trump. Karl Palmberg, a farmer from Larchwood, Iowa, came with his wife and two young children to see Cruz on Wednesday morning at a diner in Rock Rapids. But Palmberg said Cruz is his second choice behind Rubio, citing issues like global warming, immigration and the flat tax that are making him lean toward Rubio because he's more to the center on them.

Becky Waters and her husband came from nearby Ogden to hear Cruz speak at a Christian bookstore in Boone on Monday. While her husband was on board for Cruz, Becky Waters said she came into the event torn between him and Rubio. But after hearing Cruz, her mind was made up.

"That was a powerful speech," she said. "He's the guy."

But Nelson, the corn grower, wasn't so sure after a Cruz event in Cherokee.

"I'll sleep on it," he said.
The writer will participate in two public events in Cairo next week, including the Egyptian launch of his new book

Franco-Egyptian writer and journalist Robert Sole will attend the Egyptian launch of his latest book, Hotel Mahrajane, in Cairo next week.

Sole will take part in a discussion panel, titled Three types of writing  novelistic, journalistic, historical," along with Egyptian writer Khaled El-Khamisi on 9 January at the Egyptian Supreme Council for Culture in Cairo.

Renowned Egyptian writer Mohamed Salmawy will chair the discussion.

On 10 January, Sole will launch his new book in Egypt at the French Instituite in Mounira, Cairo.

Professor Amal El-Sabban, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Culture, will discuss the novel with Sole at the event, which will be followed by a book signing.

Arabic translation from French will be provided for the audience at both events.

The book was published by Seuil in France in October.

Sole, was born in Egypt on 1964 to a Christian family. He left the country at 18 to continue his studies in France, where he studied journalism and worked at Le Monde as a reporter between Washington and Rome. He also served as ombudsman of the newspaper.

He revisited Egypt in the late 1990s and wrote The Egypt Lover's Dictionary, which was published in Arabic in 2012 by Egypt's National Centre for Translation.

Programme:



Saturday 9 January at 5:30pm

Supreme Council for Culture

The grounds of Cairo Opera House in Zamalek

Sunday, 10 January at 6pm

LInstitut francais dEgypte

Madrasset Al-Huquq Al-Frinseya, in Mounira

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Burns, Ore.

The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards an Oregon nature preserve as sacred issued a rebuke Wednesday to the armed men who are occupying the property, saying they are not welcome at the snowy bird sanctuary and must leave.

The Burns Paiute tribe was the latest group to speak out against the men, who have taken several buildings at the preserve to protest policies governing the use of federal land in the West.

"The protesters have no right to this land. It belongs to the native people who live here," tribal leader Charlotte Rodrique said.

She spoke at a news conference at the tribe's cultural center, about a half-hour drive from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is being occupied by 20 men led by Ammon Bundy, whose father Cliven was at the center of a standoff in Nevada with federal officials in 2014 over use of public lands.

Ammon Bundy is demanding that the refuge be handed over to locals.

Rodrique said she "had to laugh" at the demand, because she knew Bundy was not talking about giving the land to the tribe.

The 13,700-acre Burns Paiute Reservation is north of this remote town in Oregon sagebrush country. The reservation is separate from the wildlife refuge, but tribal members consider it part of their ancestral land.

As with other tribes, the Burns' Paiute's link to the land is marked by a history of conflict with white settlers and the U.S. government. In the late 1800s, they were forced off a sprawling reservation created by an 1872 treaty that was never ratified. Some later returned and purchased property in the Burns area, where about 200 tribal members now live.

Bundy's group seized buildings Saturday at the nature preserve in eastern Oregon's high desert country. Authorities have made no attempt to remove them.

The standoff in rural Oregon is a continuation of a long-running dispute over federal policies covering the use of public lands, including grazing. The federal government controls about half of all land in the West. For example, it owns 53 percent of Oregon, 85 percent of Nevada and 66 percent of Utah, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The Bundy family is among many people in the West who contend local officials could do a better job of managing public lands than federal officials.

"It is our goal to get the logger back to logging, the rancher back to ranching," Ammon Bundy said.

The argument is rejected by those who say the U.S. government is better equipped to manage public lands for all those who want to make use of them.

Among those groups are Native Americans.

The Burns Paiute tribe has guaranteed access to the refuge for activities that are important to their culture, including gathering a plant used for making traditional baskets and seeds that are used for making bread. The tribe also hunts and fishes there.
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Seoul, South Korea

North Korea's declaration that it had tested a hydrogen bomb for the first time was greeted with widespread condemnation  but also skepticism  as world powers vowed Wednesday to punish the impoverished and defiant nation with new international sanctions.

The isolated country's fourth nuclear test since 2006 was a "reckless challenge to international norms of behavior and the authority of the U.N. Security Council," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

The council met in an emergency session and called the test "a clear violation" of its resolutions. It agreed to start work immediately on a resolution for new sanctions.

The international community must respond with "steadily increasing pressure" and rigorous enforcement of existing measures, said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power.

Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have aimed at reining in the North's nuclear and missile development, but Pyongyang has ignored them and moved ahead with programs to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

The last sanctions resolution in 2013 was co-sponsored by the U.S. and China, and both countries will be key to an agreement on a new one. Whether any new sanctions can slow North Korea's nuclear program, however, remains to be seen.

There was a burst of jubilation and pride in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, where a TV anchor said Wednesday's test of a "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb had been a "perfect success" that elevated the country's "nuclear might to the next level."

A successful test would mark a major and unanticipated advance for the North's still-limited nuclear arsenal and push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

But an early analysis by the U.S. government was "not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

He added that nothing has happened in the last 24 hours to change Washington's assessment of Pyongyang's technical or military capabilities. The U.S. is still doing the work needed to learn more about the North's test, he added.

"We're trying to run down their assertion," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a local TV station in Virginia. "We are determining whether the claim is accurate."

Hours earlier, South Korea's spy agency said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

South Korean lawmaker Lee Cheol Woo said he was told in a briefing by the National Intelligence Service that Pyongyang may not have conducted a hydrogen bomb test given the relatively small size of the seismic wave reported.

An estimated explosive yield of 6.0 kilotons and a quake with a magnitude of 4.8 (the U.S. reported 5.1) were detected, Lee said he was told.

That's smaller than the estimated yield of 7.9 kilotons and 4.9-magnitude quake reported after a 2013 nuclear test, he said, and only a fraction of the hundreds of kilotons that a successful H-bomb test would usually yield. Even a failed H-bomb detonation typically yields tens of kilotons, the NIS told Lee, who sits on the parliament's intelligence committee.

A miniaturized H-bomb can trigger a weak quake, but only the U.S. and Russia have such weapons, Lee cited the NIS as saying.

"I'm pretty skeptical," said Melissa Hanham, senior researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies in Monterey, California. "The seismic data indicates it would be very small for a hydrogen test.

"It seems just too soon to have this big technical achievement," she said. "But North Korea has always defied expectations."

While also noting the quake was likely too small for an H-bomb test, Jaiki Lee, a professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul's Hanyang University, said the North could have experimented with a "boosted" hybrid bomb that uses some nuclear fusion fuel along with more conventional uranium or plutonium fuel.

Joel Wit, founder of the North Korea-focused 38 North website, said a boosted bomb "is the most likely option," while adding that he isn't surprised that North Korea has shifted focus to hydrogen weaponry.
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Albany

Four members of the Honest Weight Food Co-op board abruptly resigned this week, saying the new majority is putting the grocery at risk.

The decision comes a little over a month after the four survived an attempt to recall them from board leadership.

At issue remains hotly debated concerns over whether a member labor program puts the Albany co-op at risk of being found guilty of violating minimum wage laws. In return for working in the store, members get discounts on food they buy rather than being paid.

"The rest of the group really feels very strongly the member labor program is somehow defensible, and they are willing to defend it," said Deborah Dennis, the immediate past president of the board who is among the four who resigned Tuesday evening.

"We are very uncomfortable proceeding as if nothing has happened, as if we don't know what we know," she said, referring to legal advice the board had received on the member worker issue. The board's new majority, Dennis continued, has "put together a proposal to maximize member labor, to do even more."

Carolynn Presser, a newly elected board member who now serves as secretary, said any decision to expand or eliminate the member worker program has to be made by the members themselves.

"It's not the board's decision to make," she said.

Dennis was joined in resigning from the board by Leif Hartmark, Rossana Coto-Barnes and Roman Kuchera.

"We can no longer represent a membership or participate on a Board where a majority appears to be taking actions that knowingly and willfully disregard laws affecting the Co-op and the associated prohibitive costs that the Co-op cannot sustain," the four wrote in a joint letter to new President Nathan Horwitz.

They said they were especially concerned the new board majority wants to freeze the number of full-time staff and increase member labor. Some 1,200 people receive discounts for working in the store. A total of 12,000 people are shareholders.

The remaining five board members, three of whom were elected in November, said they are disappointed by the resignations but believe the co-op will continue to thrive.

"The Board of Honest Weight Food Co-op deeply regrets the precipitous and unexpected resignations of four Board members," they said in an emailed statement. "The mission of the Co-operative has always been inclusive and welcoming, committed to hearing and democratically responding to the diverse voices of our membership. We are pained to see members who have been entrusted with acting in the best interests of the organization abandoning that commitment. That is a personal choice on their part."

Despite the turmoil, the remaining board members said they believe the co-op is benefiting from increased participation.

"The Co-op remains strong, as shown by our largest-ever most recent membership meeting, and the continued engagement of members and staff in the ongoing process of the Co-op's evolution," the board members said in their statement. "While we regret the hasty and unexpected actions of our former fellow Board members, those actions are now behind us, and we look forward to working together to move the Co-op into the next chapter of its history, as a vibrant valuable resource and thriving organization contributing to our region's economic and social strength."

Presser said a hiring freeze was approved at the board's first meeting on Dec. 15, though exceptions were made for people who were in the process of being hired.

Among concerns of the new board members, Presser said, is that the board spent $257,000 on legal fees between July and year's end.

Dennis said she could not confirm the exact figure but that sounded right. While some of the expenses were not related to the member worker program, she said, most was paid for an attempt to change the bylaws and end the program to protect the co-op from long-term liability.

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"We spent a lot of money. It was a one-time-only expenditure," she said. "We thought we were going to address this problem for the co-op's future. We wanted to make sure we got it right."

With a national fight to raise the minimum wage, co-ops across the country have wrestled with the potential risk of being found in violation of such laws.

The Associated Press reported this week the City Market in Burlington, Vt., phased out its member work program for one that gives members credit for community volunteering similar to what was proposed in Albany. East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh ended its program last September, the AP said, and Bloomingfoods of Bloomington, Ind., did so too recently after implementing its first union contract for employees.

At the Niskayuna Co-op, General Manager Jennifer Felitte, said members do not work in the store there to get discounts.

A state Labor Department spokesman told the Times Union in November no co-op in New York had ever been cited for minimum wage violations, and the question of whether members should be paid would depend on how ownership is structured.

Dennis cited a 1990 letter sent to the co-op by the department, saying "member-workers of your co-op would be covered under the Minimum Wage Order."

Though the letter is 26 years old, Dennis said she and the other board members were concerned a competitor or upset member could spark an investigation that could result in hefty back payments.

"We're not concerned the Department of Labor is going to raise a concern or pick on us," she said.

tobrien@timesunion.com  518-454-5092
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Tom Lewis, a recently retired professor of English at Skidmore College who taught there for 47 years, has written a compelling and very readable portrait of our nation's capital in "Washington: A History of Our National City" (Basic Books, 2015). The book depicts the city from the time of its creation to the present, illuminating both the deep internal conflicts and the ideals that make Washington  and the country  what they are.

Lewis is the author of four previous nonfiction books, including "The Hudson: A History" (Yale, 2005).

Q: How did you become interested in the topic of Washington?

A: Our capital captivated me from the first time I saw it when my parents and I passed through the city on frequent trips from my home in Philadelphia to our relatives in Virginia. Early on, I did the equivalent of an Internet search: I combed the local library for books that touched on Washington, read the World Book Encyclopedia and later, the Encyclopedia Britannica.

I was puzzled when I learned that Congress governed the city and that (at the time) its residents couldn't even vote for president. Later I commuted to the capital frequently on business. That's when I studied and learned the city, not just the Mall, which many think of as Washington, but the vibrant energy and seemingly unlimited variety of its neighborhoods.

By the late 1990s, I knew that I had a story to tell. It's not about some remote city like, say, Madison, Wis., or Tulsa, Okla., but the story of our city, because Washington truly belongs to all of us. As Frederick Douglass said, "It is our national center. It belongs to us, and whether it is mean or majestic, whether arrayed in glory or covered in shame, we cannot but share its character and its destiny."

Q: You write in your prologue that our nation's capital is a city "unique in the United States, if not in the world." How unique?

A: As cities go, Washington is entirely unique, and not simply because it is our only truly planned city. Its political foundation is indeed singular: While other cities have their charters as establishing documents, Washington's charter is the Constitution itself, which authorizes the establishment of the "seat of government."

But this lofty document of origin comes with a catch: It conferred upon Congress the authority to "exercise jurisdiction" over the city "in all cases whatsoever." There are no provisions for local home rule or representation.

Even today, more than two centuries after the ratification of the Constitution, Washington, the center of our democracy, has a population greater than Vermont or Wyoming, but no voting representative in Congress.

Q: Why was the site on the Potomac chosen for the capital?

A: As a capital, Washington was twice-created: first in the lofty and high-minded ideals of a new democracy and then in a practical, albeit less-than-noble, compromise. The location of our capital city was the result of political log-rolling between the northern and southern interests in the nation. The North, led by treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, got its Revolutionary War debts paid; the South led by Congressman James Madison and secretary of state Thomas Jefferson, got the nation's capital in slave territory.

Washington teetered between North and South, between slavery and freedom. And, for the first six decades of its history, the capital lived out an agony that would eventually tear the nation apart.

Q: How has our country's very difficult history around race played out in the capital?

A: The compromise struck between North and South guaranteed that slavery and racism would be abiding institutions in the nation's capital. Indeed, in the decades before the Civil War, the slave trade flourished in Washington and slave pens were located within sight of the Capitol.

After the war, and through much of the 20th century, Washington once again occupied an uneasy space between segregation and integration. Unlike the South, the city integrated its public transportation  but blacks traveling to Virginia knew they had to move to the back once their bus crossed the Potomac; unlike the North, the District segregated its public accommodations like restaurants and hotels.

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Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racist southern members of Congress still prevailed in the capital's governance. The chair of the District of Columbia committee from South Carolina even called the city his "Plantation." Racism, though in subtler forms, still is present in Congress's relations with the city today.

Q: How healthy is the city today?

A: Washington faces similar challenges confronting many cities in the United States, including gentrification, revenue and drugs, to name just three. Unfortunately, Washington's finances are controlled by Congress, which has little interest in the capital.

Washington has always flourished whenever the members of Congress have allowed it to do so. And conversely, when Congress has neglected the city, failed to support it financially, Washington, its residents and the nation have suffered.

The D.C. Metro, which Congress largely paid for, is a good example: The first significant subway built anywhere in the United States after World War II, the Metro became a model of engineering, aesthetic design and efficiency. For a few years after its opening in 1976, the Metro was Washington's and the nation's pride.

Alas, as any resident of Washington will tell you today, the Metro is in trouble. Congress has chosen to defund transportation and infrastructure across the nation. The effects have been devastating to the capital.

Reach Elizabeth Floyd Mair at efloyd@nycap.rr.com.
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Menands

And Paul Greene makes five.

That's the number of Capital Region residents killed during the last month while engaging in one of the most basic of human activities: They were walking.

Greene, 50, was killed on Monday as he walked alongside Columbia Turnpike in East Greenbush. His death followed those of Patrick Duff, 30, killed along Route 9 in Halfmoon; Zachary Unser, 25, who died on Central Avenue in Colonie; Paul Williman, 75, killed as he crossed Hoosick Street in Troy; and Jodey Farrell, 81, who died on Van Rensselaer Boulevard in Menands as she made her way to a bus stop.

It would be foolish to generalize about the five crashes. Each resulted from unique circumstances.

But it's worth noting that each of the deaths occurred along fast-moving, four-lane highways that are treacherous for those on foot. Taken together, the five fatalities illustrate the extent to which we've created an environment that puts cars ahead of people  even in densely populated neighborhoods.

In Menands, Rick Rogozinski was raising concerns about Van Rensselaer Boulevard before the crash that killed Farrell, who was beginning her commute from the Dutch Village apartments to a state job in Albany when she was hit by a gray Infiniti sedan. (No charges were filed and police said the driver was not speeding.)

"We've had some serious accidents over the years, and there have been a lot of near misses," said Rogozinki, who has lived on Van Rensselaer since the 1960s. "I know a lot of neighbors who won't walk along the boulevard anymore."

Van Rensselaer is the epitome of a road that's dangerous for pedestrians. There are no sidewalks. There are four travel lanes. The speed limit is 55 m.p.h., and many drivers insist on going much faster.

Van Rensselaer is also one of the most lightly traveled four-lane roads in the region, largely because it was widened before the construction of Interstate 787 took much of its traffic. Van Rensselaer handles 8,000 to 13,000 cars daily, according to the state Department of Transportation. Wolf Road in Colonie, by contrast, has roughly four times the traffic.

Meanwhile, the part of Van Rensselaer near Wards Lane where Farrell was killed is lined by apartment complexes filled with families and children, and Dutch Village is expanding with four new buildings.

"There are a lot more residents here now," Rogozinski said, "and it's very dangerous for those folks when you have a four-lane highway where people can go 55 m.p.h."

Rogozinski is among a handful of residents who are pressing the village and the state, which controls the road, for fewer lanes and a lower speed limit along Van Rensselaer  changes that make sense to me.

And while we're at it, how about a sidewalk along the east side of the boulevard, near the apartments?

I have good news: The state is planning to make changes to Van Rensselaer Boulevard in 2017 as part of a long-planned repaving.

Bryan Viggiani, spokesperson for the DOT, told me Wednesday that the changes will reduce the number of lanes to two with a turn lane. Bike lanes are also planned, and it is likely, he said, that the speed limit will be reduced, although a new speed hasn't been determined.

And sidewalks?

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They're not in the plan.

Oh, well. The changes are progress, nevertheless. And Viggiani said the DOT considers similar changes to other roads when repaving is necessary.

Still, too many roads remain deadly for pedestrians. We spent decades building roads that prioritized the speed of cars above all else, and it will take just as long to undo the damage those roads are inflicting on our quality of life.

Of course, the roads would be vastly safer if more people would drive responsibly. But I don't expect that to happen anytime soon, not in a me-first age that encourages selfishness at the expense of the greater good.

"People are just so impatient," said Mel Horowitz, who lives along Van Rensselaer and also considers the road dangerous. "They will change lanes because I'm going to make a turn and then cut me off before I make it. To risk your life and my life to get nowhere is crazy."

Too many drivers wield their cars as deadly weapons. That's often as true on narrow lanes as it is on Van Rensselaer Boulevard.

Better design can make roads safer, and we should push for improvements. But how do we turn reckless drivers into better people?

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
The small bridge on East Linden Place, over Church Run, was found to be structurally deficient and functionally obsolette.
(Beijing)  Investors are closely watching a leadership reshuffle going on at the country's largest state-owned food and agricultural conglomerate, fearing it may derail the company's global expansion plans.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), the agency that oversees public assets, recently appointed Ning Gaoning, chairman of China National Cereal, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp. (COFCO), to run the country's fourth-largest oil company. Ning will take over from long-serving Sinochem Corp. chairman Liu Deshu, 63, who has to step down after reaching the mandatory retirement age.

Zhao Shuanglian, the former chairman of the state-backed grain stockpiling agency, China Grain Reserves Corp. (Sinograin), has been appointed to the top job at COFCO.

Although SASAC says its decision to reshuffle SOE executives is routine, the departure of Ning has fueled concerns about the food giant's future course. During Ning's 11-year tenure, which formally ended on January 5, COFCO went on a shopping spree, acquiring over 50 overseas assets. By the end of 2014, these foreign holdings accounted for half of the company's profits, financial reports show.

On December 22, days before the leadership change, COFCO International Ltd., a subsidiary of COFCO, spent US$ 750 million to buy the rest of Noble Agri Ltd., the agricultural trading subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Noble Group. The company had already bought a 51 percent stake in Noble Agri in April 2014. It grabbed a similar stake in grain trader Nidera BV, based in the Netherlands, for US$ 1.2 billion in February 2014.

In just a few years, COFCO has spent several billion dollars buying up Australian cane fields, French vineyards and soybean pastures in Brazil, helping it become one of the world's largest food companies.

Some in the industry applauded Ning's ambitions, which turned COFCO into the third largest agribusiness company in the world in terms of assets. However, critics said the aggressive expansion has eroded profits and created management problems.

Ning brushed off this criticism in an interview with Caixin in 2013, saying: "It takes time for a company to expand its scope." During his tenure, the agricultural heavyweight has also developed businesses in real estate and made inroads into the online food retailing business with the website womai.com.

The food giant still needs to integrate its overseas acquisitions with its domestic business, a source from an investment firm who wished to remain anonymous said. For example, plans to integrate Dutch grain trader Nidera with COFCO and Noble Agri have been halted as of December 23, for unspecified reasons, Bloomberg said.

The conglomerate needs to build a team to manage its overseas businesses, an agriculture industry expert who asked not to be named said. And the leadership change at this critical point may have hurt the company's expansion plans and efforts to consolidate its huge amount of assets, the investment company source said

The company has already built up an international acquisition platform and its strategy is "irreversible," said Zhang Wendong, managing director of Hopu Investment Management Co., a private equity firm that had worked with COFCO on several major deals including its acquisition of Nobel Agri.

Different Style

People close to Ning called him an "exceptional" executive among top leaders at state-owned enterprises for his ability to remake a company and adopt a Western style of management. He tapped into private investors such as Hopu, Singapore-based Temasek Holdings Private Ltd. and Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd. to fund the company's international expansion. Ning also hired foreign managers, a rare move for large SOEs.

The company's willingness to open up to foreign investors and professional managers helped push internal reform, a market analyst said, and paved the way for COFCO to list some of its assets. It has eight listed subsidiaries trading in the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses.

Some attribute these bold steps to Ning's unusual background. Many SOE chiefs lack university degrees, instead learning the ropes on the job. Ning, however, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Shandong University in the eastern city of Jinan and a master's in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Before joining COFCO in 2004 as chairman, he spent more than 10 years as head of the state-owned China Resources (Holdings) Co., transforming it from a foreign trading company to an investment conglomerate.

Ning's successor, 58-year-old Zhao, had a four-year stint as head of Sinograin. Before that, he served as a government official in the northern region of Inner Mongolia in charge of industrial development.

Tough Times

Zhao faces a tough challenge in his new job. At the end of 2014, COFCO's total assets had ballooned to US$ 71.9 billion from US$ 43 billion a year earlier. One-fifth of the company's assets are based overseas and this includes subsidiaries in more than 60 countries and regions.

Ning's breathless international push has come under fire because the company is seeing profits slip amid an economic slowdown, an environment of rising operation costs and exchange rate fluctuations. Earnings have fallen since the company recorded a profit of 10.2 billion yuan in 2011. In 2014, its profits were down to 3.1 billion yuan, the company's financial report showed.

In the first three months of 2015, it recorded a net loss of 198 million yuan, compared to an 801 million yuan net profit for the same period of 2014.

Greener Pastures

COFCO's global expansion was backed by government plans announced in 2013 to secure supply sources abroad to strengthen domestic food security.

"It is impossible for China to solely rely on itself to meet the food demand of its population," the source from an investment company said, citing high land prices that have weakened domestic competitiveness in agriculture.

COFCO President Yu Xubo said that the deal with Nidera would provide COFCO direct access to grain and oilseed from growers in South America and Central Europe.

But the company still needs to get a foothold in North America, the world's largest agriculture exporting region, a source close to the company said. Its access to other resource-rich areas like the Black Sea region and major food production countries in the Pacific Rim are also limited, the source said.

(Rewritten by Han Wei)
[January 07, 2016] Homegrown: How a U.S.-based Manufacturer Thrives in a Global Economy

ANDREWS, S.C., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While many U.S. manufacturers have been forced to move their manufacturing facilities overseas to remain competitive, SixAxis co-founders Rob Honeycutt and Fred Harmon have not only found a way to remain in the United States, but thrive as well. In fact, the co-founders have reduced direct labor costs while experiencing rapid sales growth - which ultimately required a much larger technology focused team. This success begs the question of how SixAxis, which manufactures fall protection equipment and loading platforms, created a success story while keeping its operations in the United States. Honeycutt and Harmon attribute much of their success to their on-going commitment to technological innovations in a customer-centric environment. This focus begins when SixAxis' sales representatives meet with customers. The organization's iPad app, the Atlatl Configurator, allows sales representatives to customize a product to meet a customer's needs. This customization at the point of sale allows for a quicker delivery of a customer's product. The blend of innovation and people has increased SixAxis' production capacity yearly since 2010, while the delivery times have decreased  resulting in a 500 percent increase in sales for SixAxis' largest division, SafeRack, over the same period of time. The marriage of innovative technology and people has reduced SixAxis' labor rate 38 percent to 7 percent over the last 9 years. It has been so successful that no SixAxis person has been laid off and, in fact, the company is looking to increase its staff due to the influx of new business. "We currently are in an active hiring mode, looking to increase our staff by 30 percent. And, all of these are non-minimum wage and salaried positions," said Honeycutt. "This efficiency has increased our sales and the need for employees who possess a high skill set. With this combination, there has never been a need to move manufacturing overseas." Now the 12-year-old company, which started with partially dirt floors, is looking to expand its facility and has customers in more than 50 countries. Not bad for a small startup located in Andrews, S.C. (pop. 2,847). While many companies opt for customer service and manufacturing facilities overseas, SixAxis has always been committed to maintaining its base in Andrews and surrounding areas. "We are committed to enhancing service expectations and the customer's buying experience. Part of that experience is being able to pick up the phone or chat online with someone experienced based here in South Carolina who understands the product and many applications," said Harmon. SixAxis' total approach to innovation and high-quality products keeps customers happy. "From the customer service through to the delivery of the final product, the job that Rob and his team do is something that all companies could learn from," said JP Fjeld-Hansen, Managing Director and VP of Musket Corporation. "We appreciate the quality of SixAxis products as well as the highly-trained sales team based here in the United States." About SixAxis

SixAxis is the holding company for 10 brands that encompass the fall protection, loading platform, sales resource planning and marketing industries. The company is headquartered in Andrews, S.C., and is led by co-founders Rob Honeycutt and Fred Harmon. SafeRack, ErectaStep, PerfectaStep, RollaStep, YellowGate, ErectaRack, Atlatl Software, Quotebooks, Liquid Transfer Group and Red7 make up the 10 brands of SixAxis. These brands are housed in Andrews, S.C., along with satellite offices in Charleston, S.C.; Sumter, S.C.; Georgetown, S.C.; and Kent, England.

To learn more about SixAxis, visit sixaxisllc.com.









Contact:

Nick Paulenich Keri Drake R/P Marketing Public Relations SixAxis (419) 241-2221 (704) 961-8880 [email protected] [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320040

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320041

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320042LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homegrown-how-a-us-based-manufacturer-thrives-in-a-global-economy-300200970.html SOURCE SixAxis

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[January 06, 2016] ViralGains Rockets into 2016 with Massive Growth - 190% Year-over-Year in Sales, 36 Fortune 500 Customers, and a Freshly Raised $12.3 Million Series A to Power its Vision of Consumer-Centered Video Distribution

BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ViralGains, the leading online video software company for delivering consumer engagement and insight, announced today colossal growth in 2015 and a fresh Series A financing to fuel future success. Concluding a record year in growth, customer success, and radical adoption of the company's technology, ViralGains grew its client base to include 36 Fortune 500 Brands, recorded year over year sales of 190%, and completed a first closing on a $12.3 million Series A financing to further fuel its growth plans in the coming years. The $12.3 million Series A financing was led by Stage 1 Ventures, with additional support from 500 Startups, Hub Angels, Launch Capital, Pallasite Ventures, and a host of individual investors. The first closing was filed with the SEC today. Lead investor David Baum, Managing Director of Stage 1 Ventures said: "ViralGains is the clear leader in driving engagement and insight in video advertising. As marketing and advertising increasingly become data-driven activities, we see major trends towards performance-driven marketing. ViralGains stands at the intersection of mobile, social, and video, and is poised to become the leader of the new generation of performance-driven marketing technology companies." With online video consumption growing by double digits, and eMarketer projecting US digital video advertising spending to grow from $7.8 billion in 2015 to $14.4 billion by 2019, ViralGains is poised for continued growth in coming years. "In two short years since winning the top prize in the MassChallenge Startup Competition from among 3,040 applicants, ViralGains has moved to the center of a new revolution in online video - a revolution defined by genuine consumer engagement, insight, and choice," said Tod Loofbourrow, CEO of ViralGains. "No longer do online video ads have to interrupt your mobile or web experience, but instead, they can deliver intelligent insights, a strong two-way conversation, and emotional storytelling in a way which puts you- the consumer - in control."



Marketers are increasingly being challenged to find new and creative ways to connect with viewers in an authentic, non-disruptive environment. ViralGains' choice-based video ad platform helps marketers do just that, and the customer results have been phenomenal. ViralGains customers include the most successful brands and agencies in the world, including 3 of the Fortune 10 and 36 of the Fortune 500, as well as numerous rapidly growing brands like Vistaprint. Don LeBlanc, SVP and President at Vistaprint Corporate Solutions, says: "2015 was a transformative year for Vistaprint. With creative advertising in online video, powered by ViralGains, we started to fundamentally change the way people think about our brand. ViralGains' platform helped us engage over a million business consumers with our three-minute video ad 'The Postcard,' and drove 100,000 potential customers to our ecommerce site. ViralGains platform helped us drive a strong and authentic emotional connection with the right audience, and was a core partner in our brand transformation journey."

In addition to the most forward-thinking brands, ViralGains works with some of the strongest agencies in the media business, including Global Agency of the Year, Weber Shandwick. Weber Shandwick's Ian Cohen, President of Innovation and Content Creation and Global Executive Producer, said of this morning's announcement, "Our partnership with ViralGains has been important to our success as a global leader in content, media and storytelling with our clients. The digital world is incredibly noisy. Success requires powerful content and great stories. But it also takes smart insights, data-driven strategy and real-time measurement to make sure those stories get in front of the most highly engaged audience out there. When it comes to new and innovative approaches to distribution and consumer insight, ViralGains delivers for us and our clients. We're proud to partner with them." ViralGains launched two new products in 2015 that played a critical role in the company's success. Both products give marketers deep insight into the consumers most engaged with their video. ViralGains Customer Sentiment Analysis Tool enables marketers to measure real-time sentiment from hundreds of thousands of engaged consumers during the course of a video campaign. Its Profiling Suite combines in-depth viewing, sharing, and engagement data with custom audiences on popular social networks. The insights gleaned from these products help marketers engage consumers by delivering video content to the people most likely to respond to the creative. About ViralGains ViralGains is a software company focused on making video advertising produce authentic relationships, insights, and results for brands, agencies, and consumers. ViralGains' mission is their conviction: they stand for freedom from mediocrity in advertising, they empower the voice of brands and people, and they do what others say cannot be done. The ViralGains platform is the first of its kind that maximizes online video views, shares, and conversation in real time while measuring and optimizing viewer sentiment. ViralGains' collaborative technology was designed to help marketers and agencies of all sizes engage viewers in relevant, choice-based digital environments making it the first truly consumer-centered video distribution platform. ViralGains was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Boston's beautiful Innovation District, with regional offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Media Contact: Dan Levin, (617) 750-3227, [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150515/216246LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/viralgains-rockets-into-2016-with-massive-growth---190-year-over-year-in-sales-36-fortune-500-customers-and-a-freshly-raised-123-million-series-a-to-power-its-vision-of-consumer-centered-video-distribution-300200677.html SOURCE ViralGains

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[January 06, 2016] Gesture Helps Non Profit Charity Partners Raise Over $100 Million in 2015

CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gesture, a Chicagoland technology company, celebrates helping non profit charity partners across the country raise over $100 million in 2015. Since 2011, Gesture has worked with more than 2,000 charitable organizations raising over $225 million through use of a unique, innovative fundraising technology platform, expert advance planning and on site team working in real time to maximize fundraising efforts. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319878LOGO Gesture is a technology company with a mission to enable donors to give more to their favorite charities through the use of mobile technology. Gesture initially focused on mobile silent auctions but has expanded offering additional tools that help charity partners increase their potential fundraising capabilities and in turn have a larger impact supporting each organization's charitable mission. Gesture is ready to partner and serve non profit organizations in 21 new markets during 2016. "Our goal is to make hope happen and we are energized by helping our charity partners raise over $100 million in 2015," said Jim Alvarez, funder and CEO of Gesture. "We hope to raise $1 billion for our charity partners over the next few years. To help us reach our goals, we've added many new team members and are expanding into new markets as we continue to embrace technology and assist non profits of all sizes and causes to raise more revenue through their fundraising activities," adds Alvarez.



Gesture welcomes two new board members, Stan Greanias and Martin Coyne, to the team. Mr. Greanias is a former CEO of Sara Lee Coffee where he managed a $1.5B budget and was responsible for 4,000 employees. Early in Mr. Coyne's career, he worked in the White House, reporting directly to First Lady Nancy Reagan. He has spent the last 23 years of his career at Global Ronald McDonald House Charities with the last seven years as CEO of the global entity. Mr. Coyne was responsible for $2B in assets, 40,000 volunteers, and 360 local chapters worldwide. "We are honored to add our new board members and the wealth of experience and knowledge they offer us as we aim to grow and provide more charity partners with opportunity to increase much needed revenue to support a multitude of charitable organizations nationwide," shared Alvarez.

Gesture welcomes the opportunity to serve non profits of all categories and sizes and includes many nationwide charities. To contact Gesture, go to www.gesture.com. Gesture is a technology company based in the Chicagoland area that helps non-profit organizations raise more money through a unique technology platform. In business since 2011, Gesture has raised over $225 million for their charity partners and has ran over 3,000 events. Founded by Jim Alvarez, Gesture employs over 50 full-time staff members in their Westmont office, as well as representatives across the country. In 2015, Gesture reached a major milestone by raising over $100 million in a single year. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gesture-helps-non-profit-charity-partners-raise-over-100-million-in-2015-300200570.html SOURCE Gesture

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[January 07, 2016] Gods of Olympus Thunders into iOS App Store

HOUSTON, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aegis Interactive, a video game development studio with experience in fan-favorite real-time strategy games, today announced the launch of its first mobile game, Gods of Olympus. The build and battle game, where players fully control massive Greek gods as they rampage through rival ancient empires, is available now as a free download in the iOS app store. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319930 Gods of Olympus allows players to control each of six legendary Greek gods - including favorites like Zeus, Apollo, and Athena - and includes real-time cooperative play, which lets players battle with their friends to defend their alliance or assist attacks in progress, resulting in epic battles with hundreds of units. Gods of Olympus features: Full control of thelegendary Greek gods in real-time combat

Gods with three unique, upgradeable powers each that can be used during battle

Real-time cooperative play - help an ally defend their city or attack another empire

Defense from attacks with massive armies and an array of devastating towers

Instant building, with no wait time - reinvent your city at any time

Sparring with yourself or alliance members to test their might

Rewards for both defending well AND attacking well

Expansion into new areas to create an epic empire

9+ rating in the iOS app store



Gods of Olympus can stand on its own merits, free for all to try," said Mark Doughty , Aegis Interactive co-founder. "We wanted to create a game experience that always felt rewarding. We all had a blast playing Age of Empires together in college and sought to bring that same fun in an accessible mobile game for iOS devices." For more information, as well as images and video assets, please visit: www.godsofolympus.com.

ABOUT AEGIS INTERACTIVE

Founded in 2014, Aegis Interactive is a Houston-based group of game developers that met while attending Rice University. Its first mobile title, Gods of Olympus, was produced in conjunction with Orb Interactive by a team of real-time strategy veterans. Gods of Olympus is the next evolution of build and battle games, where players can fully control the ancient Greek gods and their powers while battling alongside friends in real-time. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gods-of-olympus-thunders-into-ios-app-store-300200830.html SOURCE Aegis Interactive

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[January 07, 2016] Silpada Reimagines the Direct Sales Model with the Introduction of the Stylemaker

LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Silpada, a leading direct sales and e-commerce accessories company, today announced the launch of its Stylemaker program, a modern way for women to share and sell the company's handcrafted jewelry and accessories. The introduction of the Silpada Stylemaker in February 2016 carves out a new category in the direct selling industry by creating a more accessible and casual selling opportunity for women. The program is designed for the digital-driven woman who is interested in adding to her current income (not replacing it). She is not expected to recruit a team or host parties. After signing up for $129, a Silpada Stylemaker receives: 25-30% commission on everything she sells

The opportunity to earn $50 referral bonuses

referral bonuses A personalized e-commerce site to share the entire Silpada collection

Two ShopBox  credits The launch of the Stylemaker program alsointroduces the Silpada ShopBox, an exclusive Stylemaker perk and the first of its kind in the direct sales industry. The ShopBox is delivered directly to a Stylemaker's door, filled with 15 of Silpada's best pieces (valued at up to $1,000) that she can wear, share and sell to her friends. Whatever she doesn't sell after her 14-day period can be sent back free of charge using the envelope provided in her box. The ShopBox is a Stylemaker's "business in a box," giving her everything she needs to sell casually to her social circle. While Stylemakers gets two free ShopBox credits at sign-up, they can also request additional boxes ($49 each) to use anytime they choose. Silpada will release six different ShopBoxes throughout the year.



"When Silpada was founded in 1997, it was a pioneer in the industry for removing the formal presentation from the home party," said Kelsey Perry, Co-Chief Executive Officer. "Today, nearly all direct sales companies have eliminated the formal presentation. We hope to transform the industry again by delivering a refreshed business model that pairs box delivery with a more casual selling method." After the successful November launch of the Style Card, Silpada's customer loyalty program, the Stylemaker program adds to Silpada's already-existing business opportunity, which includes more than 25,000 Silpada Representatives across North America.

"By offering two ways to sell Silpadaas a traditional Representative or as a Stylemakerwe're speaking to a larger demographic of female entrepreneurs," said Ryane Delka, Co-Chief Executive Officer. "Whether she wants to earn a little extra spending money to buy the boots she's been eyeing or replace her income by building her own jewelry business, she can choose the best fit for her lifestyle." About Silpada

Silpada is a direct sales and e-commerce accessories company committed to empowering women through fashion entrepreneurship. Millennial moms Kelsey Perry and Ryane Delka lead the company as Co-Chief Executive Officers, and are recasting the brand for a new generation of women. Silpada's product offerings include an industry-leading .925 Sterling Silver Collection, a brass-based KR Collection and a versatile Accessories collection of handcrafted scarves, handbags and small leather goods. @silpadadesigns

@kelseyandryane Contact Information:

Abby Gerstner

Silpada Public Relations

(913) 851-7757

[email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319887

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130702/CG42293LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/silpada-reimagines-the-direct-sales-model-with-the-introduction-of-the-stylemaker-300201113.html SOURCE Silpada

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[January 07, 2016] MDA to provide communication subsystems for O3B Satellites

RICHMOND, BC, Jan. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. ("MDA" or the "Company") (TSX:MDA), a global communications and information company, today announced that it has signed a contract in excess of CA$20 million with Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for the O3b constellation, to provide 96 communication antenna subsystems. The subsystems will be used for medium Earth orbit satellites being designed and built for O3b Networks. MDA has provided previous subsystems to Thales Alenia Space, as announced in December 2011. O3b Networks Limited is a global satellite services provider operating a next-generation satellite network for telecommunications operators, Internet Service Providers, as well as enterprise and government customers in emerging markets. About MDA MDA is a global communications and information company providing operational solutions to commercial and government organizations worldwide. MDA's business is focused on marets and customers with strong repeat business potential, primarily in the Communications sector and the Surveillance and Intelligence sector. In addition, the Company conducts a significant amount of advanced technology development.



MDA's established global customer base is served by more than 4,800 employees operating from 11 locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDA."

Related Websites www.mdacorporation.com Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements and information, which reflect the current view of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. ("MDA" or the "Company") with respect to future events and financial performance. The forward-looking statements in this regard include statements regarding a contract award for work related to satellite subsystems. Any such forward-looking statements are based on MDA's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. The factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this release include the contract not being terminated. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. MDA cautions readers that should certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. The risks that could cause actual results to differ from current expectations include, but are not limited to: risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, cyclicality of MDA's end-user markets, contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of MDA's factory and personnel; failure of third parties and subcontractors; failure of systems to meet performance requirements; and failure to anticipate changes in technology, technical standards and offerings or compliance with the requisite standards. For additional information with respect to certain of these risks or factors, plus additional risks or factors, reference should be made to the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.mdacorporation.com. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the form or content of this release. SOURCE MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.

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Overpass could get protective fencing A substantial safety upgrade for the areas most notorious overpass is finally getting some Caltrans considerationbut dont expect changes any time soon. At the Sept. 21 Moorpark City Council meeting,...

Early detection is the best way to survive breast cancer Every October, we celebrate those men and women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. But what is breast cancer and how can it be diagnosed and managed? There are...

Heart Walk at CLU will raise funds for heart, stroke patients The American Heart Association will host a Heart Walk Sat., Oct. 8 at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The event is expected to draw hundreds of people. Activities include...
(Shanghai)  The central bank has told a third-party payment company it can no longer sell prepaid shopping cards that were popular in Shanghai and affluent provinces, a year after it learned the firm was engaged in illegal operations.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website on January 7 that Shanghai Chang-go Corporate Services Co. Ltd., a prepaid card-issuing company that has had difficulty giving customers refunds since late 2014, misappropriated reserve deposits, forged financial documents and obstructed official inspections.

The statement did not say how much of the money that PBOC rules require be held in special accounts at a bank was mishandled. A source with knowledge of the company told Caixin in 2014 that a Chang-go executive transferred up to 30 million yuan to relatives' accounts.

The central bank also said police have detained the person in charge of the company, but it is unclear who that was. People named Liu Rongjuan and Jiang Lingpin are named in documents filed with the Shanghai commerce bureau as two of Chang-go's major shareholders.

The PBOC said consumers who still have Chang-go cards can get 85 percent of their money back from an asset management company under the Bank of Communications, one of the country's largest commercial banks.

Chang-go website said the prepaid cards could be used in more than 20,000 stores in Shanghai and four other eastern provinces. It was granted a license to issue the cards as a non-financial institution in August 2011, the PBOC's website shows.

Customers started having problems using Chang-go's cards in supermarkets and shopping malls in December 2014. About three dozens of its customers later visited the company's offices to seek refunds.

The headquarters of the bank where Chang-go kept its reserve deposits noticed the firm was making unusual transactions and told its Shanghai office, but the latter ignored the warning, a bank official said.

The central bank's Shanghai office said in a statement in January last year that it found during a probe into the company's activities that it was involved in "illegal operations."

Despite this, the company was allowed to continue operating. The central bank's Shanghai office said at the time it would decide how to deal with the company after carrying out "thorough examinations." It also said a few stores had restarted accepting Chang-go's cards again.

(Rewritten by Chen Na)
(Beijing)  Prosecutors in the capital have told a former investigative reporter who spent nearly a year in jail awaiting trial on libel charges only to have his case dropped for lack of evidence that he cannot be compensated for wrongful imprisonment.

Liu Hu, a former journalist at the Modern Express newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou, was detained by Beijing police at his home in the southwestern city of Chongqing on August 23, 2013, over allegations he committed libel.

The accusations were linked to comments Liu posted on the Internet about Ma Zhengqi, a deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Liu accused Ma of negligence that led to the loss of state-owned assets while the official was serving in a district in Chongqing.

Liu was held in jail in the capital until August 3, 2014, when he was granted bail.

In August last year, the district prosecutors said they were dropping the libel charge against Liu because they had insufficient evidence.

He filed an application in September with city prosecutors for compensation related to loss of income and mental trauma he suffered during the year he was held.

But then on December 31 Liu said he received a phone call from a district prosecutor who told him that since prosecutors thought he was guilty no compensation would be possible. Liu said he received a document from prosecutors the same day that reiterated the caller's statements.

The State Compensation Law allows for payouts for wrongful imprisonment to be denied if a person is never tried, but still deemed to be guilty. The law does not say who determines this guilt.

Liu also said that he feels officials have threatened him. "District prosecutors have approached me on several occasions to tell me that police and prosecutors could reopen the case with unpredictable consequences," he said.

The authorities in China are reluctant to make payouts to people who are wrongly convicted or jailed because they fear it casts police and courts in a bad light and could hurt their career.

The libel charge that prosecutors threatened Liu with is punishable by up to three years in prison.

(Rewritten Li Rongde)
British lawmakers have scheduled a debate for later this month on a petition signed by more than 500,000 people seeking to ban U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from Britain.

Last month Trump, a billionaire real estate developer and frontrunner among Republican candidates, prompted international outrage by calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

He proposed the ban after a December 2 mass shooting that killed 14 people in California by two Muslims whom the FBI said had been radicalized.

The debate, called by the Petitions Committee of the lower house of parliament, will be held on January 18 but any conclusion reached by the lawmakers will not be binding, The Associated Press reported.

 'Views to Be Expressed'

"By scheduling a debate... the committee is not expressing a view on whether or not the government should exclude Donald Trump from the UK," House of Commons Petitions Committee Chairwoman Helen Jones said. "As with any decision to schedule a petition for debate, it simply means that the committee has decided that the subject should be debated.

"A debate will allow a range of views to be expressed," Jones said.
Police in Germany are investigating what they describe as a series of mass sexual assaults that allegedly took place on New Year's Eve in Cologne, Hamburg and other cities and allegedly involved men of Middle East and North African descent. Three suspects have been identified but their names have not been made public. The identity of the attackers has ramped up tensions over migration.

Hundreds of people gathered in Cologne Tuesday night to protest against the attacks.

"The perpetrators must be caught and brought to justice," said a woman, who gave her name as Manuela.

Police say more than a thousand men -- many of them reportedly of northern African and Middle Eastern descent -- had gathered in front of the cathedral on New Year's Eve.

They threw firecrackers into the crowds -- before splitting into groups and surrounding lone women, sexually assaulting and robbing them. Around 90 women have complained to police.

The attacks have poured fuel on the already-heated debate over immigration. Alexander Marguier -- deputy editor of the political magazine Cicero -- said via Skype from Berlin that many Germans are blaming the government's immigration policy.

"You have to see the fact also that this has not happened before. You know, such a big crowd in the main station of Cologne and also in other German cities, we haven't seen this before. So there might be a link to this migration policy," said Marguier.
"[We are now in] nearly every country of the world but China," CEO Reed Hastings said at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday in Las Vegas. "You are witnessing the birth of a global TV network."

While popular, the company has seen slowing growth in the U.S. The service was already offered in 60 countries, and the company has said its goal is to be in 200 countries by the end of the year.

Popular U.S. streaming video company Netflix began offering its service in 130 more countries around the world with the noticeable exception of China.

Some of the notable countries included among the 130 were India, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia. In July, the company said it would also target China but that plans to launch there in 2016 have been delayed.

Netflix started off as a mail-order DVD renting service, but in recent years has evolved into a content producer with popular shows like House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, and Narcos.

Netflix said it expects to break even through 2016 before becoming profitable. The company's stock spiked over 5 percent on the news.

"I think there's been pent-up demand for Netflix outside of the few geographies they were available in previously," Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, told Reuters.

While Netflix does not offer its service in China, it added simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it currently supports.

Most of the countries added by Netflix Wednesday are in Africa and Asia.
Google Pixel Watch vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Which is the best smartwatch for you?

When it comes to the Google Pixel Watch vs. Fitbit Sense 2, which smartwatch is best for you and your needs? Here are the biggest differences in terms of price, specs, design, battery life and more.
LAS VEGAS  If you've recently looked at a calendar and muttered, "It's 2016. Where the heck are the flying cars?", then drone maker eHang has a response for you: Here they are.





Well, the eHang 184 is not exactly a flying car. The Chinese company calls the 184 an "autonomous aerial vehicle." Think of it as a drone with a passenger seat. You sit down, program in the location to which you want to go, and relax for the duration of your 28-minute flight as you leave the piloting and navigation to the autopilot  if you can truly relax in an airborne vehicle that's flying on its own.

MORE: What's Next for Drones: Super Selfies, GoPro Karma and Fuel Cells?

eHang took the wraps off its pilotless passenger vehicle at CES 2016 Wednesday (Jan. 6), during a press conference that seemingly raised more questions than answers. The chief question was: "Is this even legal?"

An eHang spokesperson told me the 184 is ready to be commercialized pending regulatory approvals, and at least one company executive said the product would be ready in 2016. That seems like a fairly optimistic timetable, given that our streets aren't exactly jammed with driverless cars, unless you happen to be reading this from the Google campus.



If the 184 ever makes it to market  and you can carve that "if" in giant stone letters that weigh as much as 441-pound self-piloting vehicle  be prepared for a six-figure dent in your bank account. eHang representatives quoted a price range between $200,000 and $300,000.





eHang did bring a prototype to the show floor, and it's an impressive-looking craft. The 184 has four arms shooting out from its cockpit, with two rotors attached to the top and bottom of each arm. There's a lone passenger seat in the cockpit, with a 12-inch control pad for entering in your flight plan. The electric-powered vehicle is just under 5 feet tall, and the spec sheet for the 184 says it can carry a load of 120 kilograms, or 264 pounds.



In this case, seeing is not necessarily believing, especially since the 184 remained rooted to the ground at CES. (To be fair, eHang executives say the 184 has done 100 test flights in China.) Apart from satisfying those tricky FAA regulations, eHang will also have to alleviate concerns about the safety of getting into an unpiloted aircraft.

The company's press materials note that the 184 has multiple backups should any part fail during flight, and a fail-safe system can determine if the drone needs to make a sudden landing. But there are some lingering questions about what would happen if there was an unexpected power line or other obstacle in the 184's path. The company needs to spend more time addressing those.



eHang is not exactly a fly-by-night operation. It's the company behind the Ghost drone, which is now in its second iteration. Still, it's safe to say that creating a much larger drone, with a passenger seat to boot, is a much trickier task. No matter whether the eHang 184 takes off, or instead slides into the vast hangar of CES vaporware, the flight path over the next few months should be interesting.
The National Intelligence Service here believes that to be true, said lawmaker Lee Cheol-woo of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing was given no warning of the nuclear test, unlike in the past.

North Korea did not officially notified China and the U.S. in advance of its purported hydrogen bomb test on Wednesday.

Pyongyang had notified Beijing and Washington of the previous three tests, and the U.S. then sent the information on to South Korea, but not this time.

According to the NIS, the North notified China of its first nuclear test in October 2006 30 minutes in advance, and warned the U.S., China, and Russia of its second nuclear test in May 2009 half an hour beforehand. In 2013, it gave them a day's notice.

Park Hyeong-Jung of the Korea Institute for National Unification said this suggests North Korea is still peeved at China for criticizing its nuclear program and backing sanctions.

Seoul condemned the test and warned of consequences. "As we have already warned, we are going to seek close cooperation with our allies and the international community, including participants of the six-party nuclear talks, so that the North will pay a price for the nuclear test," said Cho Tae-yong of the Office of National Security said. "At the same time, we'll take all necessary measures, including additional sanctions by the UN Security Council."


Up to 320,000 accounts belonging to Time Warner Cable customers appear to have been compromised by online criminals. But it's not time to panic yet.

There's no indication that the servers of Time Warner Cable itself, which has about 12.4 million broadband subscribers, were breached. Rather, it seems that the stolen login credentials, which correspond to email addresses with the "rr.com" suffix, were aggregated from previous data thefts.

(Image credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock)

"The emails and passwords were likely previously stolen either through malware downloaded during phishing attacks or indirectly through data breaches of other companies that stored TWC customer information, including email addresses," a Time Warner Cable spokesman told CSO Online's Steve Ragan today (Jan. 7). "For those customers whose account information was stolen, we are contacting them individually to make them aware and to help them reset their passwords."

MORE: What to Do After a Data Breach

If you've got one of those "rr.com" email addresses, you should probably now change your Time Warner Cable password, as well as on all other accounts that used that password and the Time Warner Cable email address. (The "rr" stands for RoadRunner, a former brand name for Time Warner Cable's broadband service, and the full suffix will incorporate your local region, e.g. "@nyc.rr.com.") You can start at the RoadRunner Password Reset Tool at http://pt.rr.com/.

There was no indication that Time Warner Cable email addresses ending in "roadrunner.com" or "twc.com" were affected.

However, if you get an email purporting to be from Time Warner Cable regarding a password reset, don't click on any links embedded within the body of the email. The email might be fake, and the embedded link might be part of a phishing scam designed to steal, yup, your Time Warner Cable login credentials.

A Time Warner Cable spokesperson told NBC News yesterday (Jan. 6) that the FBI had contacted the cable company about the compromised accounts. The spokesperson indicated that another shoe may be about to drop: The FBI apparently informed other Internet service providers (ISPs) that accounts registered with them had also been compromised, but none of those other ISPs have yet come forward.

The larger Time Warner Inc. spun off Time Warner Cable as a separate entity in 2009. In 2012, Time Warner Cable stopped using the RoadRunner brand name, which it was licensing from Time Warner. New subscribers to Time Warner Cables' broadband services receive "twc.com" email addresses instead of "rr.com" ones.
Like any good rock star, Tame Impalas Kevin Parker already has a weighty mythology surrounding him. One of the juiciest tidbits of that mythology is the fact that the musical polymath found out his band had been signed on his way to a uni exam.

After studying mining engineering for a time, Parker switched to astronomy. I knew that I would be poor and I just wanted to do whatever was fun, the Perth-based songwriter and producer told The Drone in 2011.

However, the change in major didnt inspire the young Parker to take his scholastic obligations more seriously. While he did, as he told Melbourne Uni, knuckle down after convincing himself he wouldnt become a famous musician, he couldnt concentrate on anything other than music.

I was at uni, and a couple of months before we got signed, I had submitted to the reality that I wasnt actually going to be a famous musician and I should just get on with my career. So that was when I started to knuckle down and actually do stuff at uni, Parker recounted.

But at the same time, I could never passionately give my attention to anything other than music. Like, it was a disease. I would not be able to listen to a word in lectures because Id just be thinking about my new song.

The story goes that he was en route to his last astronomy exam when he was contacted by Modular Recordings, then one of the hottest labels in Australia, who wanted to sign Tame Impala. Parker promptly pulled a U-turn and ditched the exam.

Thats the version we all know. But as Parker explained to Electronic Beats, there was a little more to the story. For starters, Parker never thought Modular would be calling to sign his band, he was expecting a request for a showcase.

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Check out The Less I Know The Better by Tame Impala:

We were waiting for Modular to let us know whether they would actually go through with signing us, Parker told the site. Theyd been in contact with us before but they were like, We need to talk to the boss, who I guess was [Australian promoter and Modular founder] Steve Pavlovic.

The call was to confirm that they would fly us to Sydney to play at a showcase for them. I was walking around uni, the exam was in 20 minutes and I was meant to be studying but I was thinking about this call.

Then five minutes before the exam I thought, Fuck, I better start walking to the exam, and then the call came on the way there and I was like, Fuck it, sweet! Im out!' Parker promptly left his campus to go tell bandmate Jay Watson.

After that I drove home to our share house and told Jay, and we were like, Whoa, sweet. We didnt even have a manager and we needed a lawyer to decipher the contract. It all went pretty smoothly after that. Each step on the ladder of success was as weird as the last.

Getting flown to Sydney and put up in a lush hotel was like, What? Modular was so cool at that point. They put on a gig with us as the sole act in the middle of the day just because they wanted to see us.

No one had even heard of us. Literally no one. And they had all these cool people there. So that was kind of crazy. If that seems inconceivable at this point, just check out this footage of the band performing to almost no one at a Perth festival as recently as 2008.

I still consider that the most exciting time of my life, Parker said of that period of his career. The initial feeling that something great could happen is immense. Not to say that amazing things havent happened since then, but Im getting better at digesting them.

Check out Tame Impalas Lost In Yesterday:
The holiday season brought with it the sad news that legendary Motorhead frontman Lemmy had passed away. His close friends and family are set to gather at the Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Hollywood to bid farewell to the mighty hard rock icon this weekend.

The service will be live-streamed via Motorheads official YouTube channel and the band have requested fans pay their respects to Lemmy by gathering together and watching the tribute on Sunday, 10th January from 9.30am AEST.

Wherever you are, PLEASE get together and watch the service with fellow Motorheadbangers and friends, they wrote. Go to your favorite bar, or your favorite club, make sure they have access to an internet connection and toast along with us.

Or simply invite your pals around and celebrate Lemmys life at home. Whatever your venue, and however you can, lets be sure to gather globally and celebrate the life of our dear friend and irreplaceable icon.

Lemmys favourite bar, The Rainbow Bar & Grill in LA, will be holding their own memorial service and a little closer to home, Melbournes home of rock and roll, Cherry Bar, will be hosting the live stream inside the venue.

When Motorhead Management ask. You just do it! venue owners write. At the request of Motorhead Management Cherry Bar will stream the Lemmy Memorial LIVE this Sunday 10 January at 9am.

Entry is free from 8.30am and Ace of Spades will perform a live Motorhead tribute set after the memorial.

Lemmy Memorial @ Cherry Bar

Sunday, 10th January 2016

Cherry Bar, Melbourne

FREE ENTRY
"How well our systems accomplish those goals needs constant assessing. That end wont be reached by politicians picking off professors one by one."

It seems that an ultra-liberal educator FINALLY gets the muscle she was asking for with screed from a Kansas City Dead Tree Media Columnist . . .It was fun to read our least favorite Latina in all the world apologize for her opinion all the way through her latest screed. Even worse was the justification of this lady's skill set in terms of marketing . . . Funny since even the #BlackLivesMatter crew on campus pretty much apologized for her . . .The not-so-stunning conclusion . . .You decide . . .
"Rumor on the streets here in Westport is that someone shot themselves to death inside #######. Just now."

Tragic news amid a violent night, first up . . .And then, this just came in . . .Possibly a confirmation from a denizen of the bar via social media: "ugh ###### fam this is so weird and awful "Normally, they keep suicides quiet in the local media but this one is important given the central location in a local party district.Developing . . .
LOOK FOR CITY COUNCIL TO START TALKING BENCHMARKS FOR CITY MANAGER TROY SCHULTE RATHER THAN ALLOWING MAYOR SLY TO WRITE HIM A BLANK CHECK LONG-TERM CONTRACT!!!

- Tracking Economic Development Outcomes . . . I.E. What's the payout on all of those TIF tax breaks championed by Mr. Schulte & Mayor Sly?





- Minority Hiring . . . Year after year, City Hall FAILS MBE/WBE requirements on a great many new projects. Compliance with Fed Law should be a priority @ 12th & Oak.





- House Cleaning . . . This one is tough . . . The City Manager is going to have to sacrifice some of his team & City staff if he wants to stay. More on this later, but everybody is looking to take a hatchet to Aviation and Water.

The fight for the future ofis starting to take shape and right now the council is looking to change the tone of the debate.To wit . . .Performance goals are the norm in other cities andWhy?From the toy train streetcar to the downtown convention hotel and including planning for the new single-terminal airport . . . Mayor Sly's eco-devo machine starts with marching orders directed toward the City Manager's office.There are a lot more complaints about City Manager Troy despite his boy scout image . . .But for now we want to look at this fight simply from a council vs. mayor perspective . . .New benchmarks for City Manager Troy Schulte could include . . .Now, given that the Mayor has turned City Manager Troy into his YES MAN . . . Mayor Sly's Team has been fighting for the guy. In fact, introductory meetings with the new council included blunt questions about the impending City Manager contract negotiations.Still . . . Neighborhood and taxpayer sentiment against City Manager Schulte is starting to take hold and council member could face push back from constituents by writing the guy a blank check like Mayor Sly's Administration wants.This talk of benchmarks is going to change the conversation and thankfullywanted to provide our blog community with a sneak peak of the upcoming debate.Developing . . .
"Jackson County is a Democratic stronghold and yet it is run as if the top tier automatically become the "1%" . Front line workers make around $28,000 while those in top positions make in excess of $120K with squishy work hours.





"That B.S. Blue Ribbon Commission for the County lock up concluded that an ombudsman was needed. Guess one of their pals needs a $90,000 job while the guards make less than $25,000.





"Look at the current job openings. Most have hourly wage at $10 or less. Bet Frank White keeps the same Sanders dead weight on the payroll with their bloated salaries and bloated egos."

Here's a social media quote that was too good to pass up because it explains theof politics @ 12th & Oak.Check it:Check thewhere these salaries can be documented and just about every voter familiar with how the County works realizes that it has become just another gravy train for locals pretending to be elite.Developing . . .
Chastain sends light rail petition letter to new owners of Plaza

Consider this a Kansas City greeting card of sorts . . . Or maybe the fixed rail welcome wagon to Kansas City from the only guy to win a citywide rail transit vote in this town.Take a look:As most people know by now, and unlike most politicians at city hall and in the local business community, I operate out in the open as a Kansas City community activist. I stick my neck out there for the cause, and sometimes I take a beating.Given that I promote infrastructure improvements for the city (utilizing taxpayer dollars), I make publicly known my communications to city officials, the Star, and others, and also make known their limited responses. No hidden agendas and no back room deals.Given that my family lives in Kansas City, and it is still my home away from home, I seek to promote my ideas to help the people of Kansas City, the city itself, and protect the environment. Nothing more and nothing less.So it is that I share my communication to the new owner of the Country Club Plaza (Macerich) concerning my new light rail petition initiative (that calls for a major light rail station stop at the Plaza) and that company's professed dedication to promoting developments with "environmental sustainability."Dear sirs,I am a community activist and engineer who has acted independently of the government in Kansas City to design a comprehensive light rail-based multimodal transit system for the city. There is no other such plan on anyone's drawing board that I am aware. * (See attachment for an overview of the plan)As you can see, the plan calls for a major light rail station stop at or near the Plaza. In researching your company you tout yourself as being, "quite different," and with a "focus on environmental sustainability."That is quite refreshing and quiet admirable.The Plaza has long been geared to the private automobile. Massive, expensive, and mostly unattractive parking garages loom throughout the Plaza taking up valuable urban real estate and marring its aesthetic appeal.This form of out-dated, car-oriented urban planning has encouraged the noisy traffic congestion and non pedestrian-friendly atmosphere that exist there today.Can you imagine how that image and circumstance could be improved if your Plaza property were integrated into a new light rail transit system that could bring 600 passengers to the Plaza on one clean quite, glistening electric train every 10-15 minutes! That would, theoretically at least, provide these benefits...1. The new Plaza has hundreds of fewer cars plying its streets at any given time, thus improving its accessibility and convenience for those coming by car.2. The new Plaza becomes safer, more pedestrian-friendly, and less brutalized by the din and congestion of whirling traffic and exhaust fumes.3. The new Plaza is transformed back into a bustling, quaint, and transit-oriented shopping center / place to live that is patronized and enjoyed by all the people.4. The Plaza's motif (Spanish style architecture) is expanded and enhanced by building on the Plaza a premier light rail boardwalk / station stop fashioned in that beautiful architectural style.No one could doubt that such an "environmentally sound" transformation would not bring more residents and visitors to the Plaza thus ensuring its sustained popularity and on-going success as a major asset of Kansas City, Missouri.Sincerely,Clay Chastain designer and promoter of the KCMO 2016 light rail initiative petition.############
A few experts said North Korea may have attempted to test a "boosted fission weapon," a step on the way to making a nuclear bomb easier to miniaturize.

Pundits have widely dismissed North Korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday, but some more adventurous speculation points in the direction of a kind of intermediate-stage weapon.

The main reason behind the skepticism is that the magnitude of the quake that followed the nuclear test was much smaller than what is normally detected after a hydrogen bomb blast.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said it detected a 4.3-magnitude quake but revised that to 4.8 later on. The quake that followed North Korea's third nuclear test in February 2013 was 4.9 in magnitude.

Lee Cheol-woo of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee said the blast generated by the third nuclear test produce an estimated yield of 7.9 kilotons -- 1 kiloton equals 1,000 tons of dynamite -- but the blast this time was equivalent to just six kilotons. A hydrogen bomb should produce a yield of up to 1 megaton, and even a small device would produce a yield of at least 150 kilotons.

In the announcement, North Korea referred to a "newly-developed experimental hydrogen bomb," a veiled admission perhaps that it was not a full-blown H-bomb.

But the magnitude of the blast could appear smaller due to the geological make-up of the underground test site, which would require further analysis of seismic data. It is also possible that the North achieved a partial success in testing a boosted fission weapon, a type of nuclear bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the rate and yield of a fission reaction.

It would normally produce a yield of around 40 to 150 kilotons and is easier to miniaturize and mount on a warhead. "If North Korea succeeded in detonating a proper boosted fission weapon, the earthquake generated by the blast should have been at least 5.5 on the Richter scale," said Lee Choon-geun at the Science and Technology Policy Institute.

"Judging by the earthquake, the North appears to have succeeded in detonating a boosted fission weapon, but the magnitude was less than it had hoped for."
HVS London chairman Russell Kett expects demand for hotel acquisitions in Europe to continue as investors, particularly those in the US and Asia, continue to diversify their investments globally

Strong demand for hotel acquisitions prompting private equity investors to sell their assets ahead of the usual investment time-frame, continued consolidation amongst the branded hotel chains, and the impact of recent terrorist activities are the key issues facing the European hotel sector into 2016, according to global hotel consultancy HVS.

Looking ahead, HVS London chairman Russell Kett expects demand for hotel acquisitions in Europe to continue as investors, particularly those in the US and Asia, continue to diversify their investments globally. "Some have already shown their desire to sell the hotels they have only recently acquired  well before the usual five- to seven-year time normally sought. The trend towards early checkout will continue as long as there is a queue of investors still seeking to acquire hotels and portfolios. The recent sale of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin by KSL Capital Partners to Singapore-based Frasers Hospitality after only two years is a good example," he said.

Investment diversification

"This activity fuels further interest in the sector, providing opportunities for other buyers to enter the market. It is also an indication that owners are starting to feel we are approaching the peak of the property cycle, although this could remain the case for some time, conceivably through 2016 and even 2017." Property in London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam is expected to be most in demand, but increasingly hotel investors will start to look at secondary and tertiary cities in order to diversify their investments.

HVS expects to see consolidation in the hotel sector continue, while acquisitions and the restructuring, which will inevitably follow, will act as a catalyst to other groups as they seek to benefit from the economies of scale such transactions generate.

Key impact of terror

"When major companies coalesce there are implications on some of their brands  the weaker performers being subsumed into their stronger counterparts being the most obvious consequence as well as savings on duplicated overheads," added Russell Kett.

Another key impact on Europe's hotel sector will be the terrorist atrocities seen in Tunisia, Egypt, Paris and elsewhere, which will affect potential travellers, especially leisure visitors, for some time to come.

"The propensity to travel should recover quickly, but not before resort locations in Spain, Italy, Greece, the Adriatic, Cyprus and Malta continue to benefit from displaced demand from North Africa and Egypt. Migrants and refugees fleeing from Syria and other areas of conflict will continue to put pressure on Turkey, Greece and neighbouring countries, a situation that is unlikely to be alleviated in 2016," Kett added.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Egypt, the world's largest purchaser of wheat, has imposed restrictive import requirements, an agricultural authority official told Reuters, alarming traders who threatened to boycott tenders for the politically sensitive commodity.



The new requirement - for a complete absence of ergot, a common fungus found in grains - could disrupt the country's supply chain for bread, traders said.



Wheat is a strategic commodity that has triggered mass riots during even marginal price rises.



President Anwar Sadat triggered riots when he cut the bread subsidy in 1977. And when Egyptians rose up against autocrat Hosni Mubarak's rule in 2011, one of their signature chants was "Bread, freedom and social justice".



Egypt's state grain buyer, General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), allows for a 0.05 percent ergot level, but the agricultural quarantine authority said all incoming shipments above zero would be barred.



"Any wheat that we inspect that has any level of ergot will be rejected. I am obliged to do this as it would be very harmful if any level of contamination reached plants in Egypt," the head of the central administration of the agriculture quarantine authority, Saad Moussa, told Reuters.



However, GASC said on Wednesday the new ergot requirement was under discussion and that it had not yet changed its tender specifications. Any changes would be announced before the next tender, it said.



But GASC has also said a cargo of French wheat was rejected late last month at an Egyptian port for having marginal traces of ergot.



"With a zero percent ergot rule, no trader would bid in a tender, it would be too risky to make an offer. It is impossible to guarantee zero ergot," a European trader said.



Both European and Egyptian traders told Reuters they would not participate if the new requirements are applied to upcoming GASC tenders.



"This is something that is impossible to do. There are always traces of (ergot)...It's clear that no one would bid in a tender like that," one trader said.



DELAYED PAYMENTS



The new import requirement is the latest obstacle for suppliers to the Egyptian market, who have recently faced delays in letters of credit from GASC and who, in turn, have stalled their shipments to Egypt until they are guaranteed payment.



On Wednesday GASC said the latest delay in letters of credit, which has kept 180,000 tonnes of French wheat parked at a northern France port, was not related to a shortage of foreign currency, and that the letters of credit would be issued today.



An acute shortage of foreign currency has made opening letters of credit more difficult, crippling import activity, slowing manufacturing, and hampering Egypt's economic recovery after years of political turmoil.



"Suppliers will receive today all the numbers for the letters of credit which were delayed due to administrative issues. It has nothing to do with liquidity," GASC Vice-Chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah said.



When state tenders are awarded, the firm selling the commodity asks for a letter of credit, or guarantee of payment, from one of Egypt's state-owned banks, which is then confirmed with its own bank.



Currency reserves have roughly halved to $16.4 billion from around $36 billion before the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.



The country has prioritised its dollars for strategic goods like petroleum and wheat, but some traders have nonetheless experienced delays receiving letters of credit for supplying goods to Egyptian state buyers like GASC.



Traders universally expressed frustration with the mounting obstacles to doing business with Egypt, and said the issues could collectively disrupt the country's supplies.



"GASC is acting unwisely in the ergot issue as they already have enough problems with delays in opening (letters of credit) without introducing other issues into their supply chain which could cause disruption," one trader added. - Reuters
Etihad Airways, UAE's national carrier, has asked a German court for more time to continue code sharing with Air Berlin on 29 routes while it appeals a decision that will block it from operating the flights after January 15, it said.



A court in Brunswick last week said Etihad may not continue to jointly sell tickets for 29 routes operated by Air Berlin, in which Etihad owns a 29 percent stake, because they were not covered by the current air traffic rights agreement between Germany and the UAE.



The code shares are important for Air Berlin as it tries to return to profitability after years of losses. Such deals allow carriers to offer more destinations as part of their network, reaching more customers and thus helping to fill planes and boost revenues.



Etihad on Thursday said it wanted an appeals court to allow it to continue the code shares, which had previously been approved six times, until at least March 26 and that the Brunswick court had made errors in its interpretation of the agreement.



The carrier said the current bilateral air traffic rights agreement allows Etihad to fly to four destinations in Germany with its own aircraft, plus a further three in Germany via code-sharing, and that the agreement permits flights that go from these points beyond Germany.



"We are convinced that the conditions of the bilateral agreement are clear and we are confident that a correct review of our complaint will lead to the restoration of competition and choice on the German market," Jim Callaghan, Etihad Airways General Counsel, said in a statement.



Etihad has said the code shares were a key part of its case for investing in loss-making Air Berlin in 2012. While some analysts have queried whether Etihad will stand by Air Berlin, the Abu Dhabi-based airline has said it remains committed to Germany's second largest carrier.



But that has not stopped labour representatives at Air Berlin from writing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to ask her to find a political answer to the dispute, German magazine Spiegel reported on its website.



The German transport ministry says it has repeatedly offered to hold talks with the UAE government over the bilateral agreement. - Reuters
2016 is perhaps the year of the comic book movies because 2 of the much anticipated films from greatest comic book industries DC and Marvel will be released this year. DC comic's 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' is slated to release this March while Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War' will be up in theatres this May. Other comic book to movie adaptations will also be released this year with Deadpool as the nearest one this coming February.

In France, The International Comic Strip Festival in Angouleme or 'Festival international de la bande dessinee d'Angouleme' will be held on January 29 to 31. The comic fair has about 200,000 attendees annually with about 7,000 professionals and 800 journalists. It is celebrated in different areas across the town.

This festival is a venue for professional comic artists around the world to set up exhibitions and signings for their fans. It is an opportunity for publishers and comic book enthusiasts to join competitions and conferences, watch concerts, play games and do other relevant activities.

The comic carnival is said to be the second-largest comic book related event in Europe, the first being the Lucca Comics & Games. Worldwide, Angouleme International Comics Festival comes third with the Comiket (short for Comic Market) being the largest and is being celebrated twice a year in Japan.

The comic fest in Angouleme has been celebrated on January on a yearly basis since 1974. It is being held in the city of Angouleme built on a rocky headlands overlooking the Charente river in France. It was founded by Jean Mardikian, Francis Groux and Claude Moliterni. Mardikian and Groux are cultural ministers for France while Moliterni is a comics scholar and has acted as the festival's co-organizer until 2005.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Sweden decides to impose border controls it had before, Denmark followed suit, which all resulted for the ministers from the said countries including Germany to meet in Brussels and resolve border issues.

The meeting was held this Wednesday, Jan. 6, where the European Commission expects the countries to work together and come up with a solution for their border and migration problem. After all, Schengen is where citizens from 26 European countries can migrate or travel freely without having to worry about visa.

The meeting was prompted when Sweden decided to check travel documents, specifically in the Oresund Bridge that is considered to be the longest road and rail crossing in Europe. The country implemented its border controls due to the massive wave of migrants since November. There were 10,000 people per week that were traveling from Denmark, which is why Sweden imposed strict border checks from the said country. In 2015, it was estimated that about 163,000 migrants seek refuge in Sweden and about a million migrants came to Europe to escape the conflict from the Middle East.

Denmark also reinforced identification checks on its borders with Sweden. Although the border control is implemented only temporarily lasting for about 10 days, there is the possibility that it may be extended according to authorities. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, said that his country was forced to reinstate border controls due to Sweden's decision but he made an appeal to the European Union to come up with a collective border control in order to resolve the torrent of migrants.

Around mid-September, Germany has also imposed border controls specifically in the Austrian border. Other countries in the Schengen area have also temporarily re-introduced their own border controls.

The reinstitution of border controls from various countries will affect about 15,000 commuters who are traveling across countries on a daily basis. Businesses might also be affected since ID controls can prove costly for rail operators, and employees might have a hard time crossing borders in order to work in their respective offices.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
The Defense Ministry was caught completely off guard by North Korea's nuclear test on Wednesday, despite boasting earlier that it would be able to detect an impending North Korean nuclear test at least a month ahead.

A military spokesman admitted that minds were elsewhere. "In the past, we put together a separate team to monitor the situation whenever North Korea showed suspicious signs of preparing for a nuclear test," he said. "But we were unable to spot any signs this time and did not put together a special team and obviously failed to make proper preparations."

The ministry found out about the nuclear test 12 minutes after it took place -- by being told about it by the weather bureau, the Korea Meteorological Administration.

"North Korea conducted the nuclear test at its Punggye-ri facility in North Hamgyong Province at 10:30 a.m. and the Joint Chiefs of Staff was notified by the KMA at 10:42 a.m.," a ministry spokesman said.

Critics accuse the ministry of sleeping on its watch, not a rare occurrence in recent debacles. The Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense Command issued a report on Sunday warning of a looming nuclear test based on media reports and U.S. intelligence information, but high-ranking officials here apparently brushed it off.

The website 38 North at Johns Hopkins University reported months ago that North Korea had dug a new test tunnel.

Ex-ministry official Cho Bo-geun told lawmakers in September of last year that the South would be able to detect a North Korean nuclear test at least a month ahead and a long-range missile launch a week before it happened.

But Pyongyang easily evaded prying eyes. "A nuclear test is preceded by a set routine and North Korea this time ensured that all of these signs were hidden," a ministry spokesman said.

But the National Intelligence Service and Defense Ministry told lawmakers on Wednesday that foreign intelligence agencies also failed to read the signs.
Jang Song-taek, the once powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who was brutally executed in 2013, made two secret visits to Japan, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.

Jang entered Japan with a North Korean passport but under a false name in April 1983 and September 1991, presumably to observe the political atmosphere in Japan or receive medical treatment.

In 1983, he pretended to be a senior figure in a performing arts troupe, and in 1991, he posed as a member of a construction-related delegation and received medical treatment near Tokyo.

Jang was married to the younger sister of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. After Kim Jong-il died he acted as patron of Kim Jong-un and became one of the most powerful men in North Korea. But internal power struggles led to his downfall and execution in December 2013 on charges of corruption.

He was a leading point man in dealings with China and amassed huge wealth and influence thanks to his Chinese ties, which are vital to North Korea's survival.


But leader Kim Jong-un made no mention of nuclear weapons in his New Year's speech, so there was not even a veiled hint to go by.

The international community was caught mostly off guard, since North Korea watchers had not been expecting the event so soon even though some preparations were clearly going on at the test site.

North Korea made such thoroughly clandestine preparations for its fourth nuclear test that it even caught its sole real ally Beijing on the back foot.

The North aired a special broadcast two hours after the test Wednesday and said Kim gave the orders on Dec. 15 and the final go-ahead on Sunday.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying on Dec. 10 that the North has now become a "powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate a hydrogen bomb."

Since nobody knows much, the speculation mill has gone into overdrive.

Some point out that Dec. 10 was the same day North Korea's flagship Moranbong girl band arrived in Beijing, but they canceled their concert and left soon after, possibly because Chinese officials bristled at Kim's boast.

The order to carry out the test also came five days after the death of Kim Yang-gon, a point man in negotiations with the South. Some pundits speculate that the vacuum left by his death gave military hardliners an opening to push ahead with the test.

Kim Seung at the Korea Defense Forum said hardline military brass had been engaged with a power tussle with Kim Yang-gon and his United Front Department and were angry when the department spearheaded cross-border projects following an easing of military tensions on Aug. 25.

That makes it more likely that the car accident that killed Kim Yang-gon had been arranged as a result of this power struggle, and that the unruly military is in the ascendancy again, some pundits say.

But in the official statement, North Korea only claimed that the nuclear test was conducted in response to the threat of U.S. nuclear weapons.

One diplomatic source said the test was probably an attempt to grab Washington's attention for any advantage in future negotiations.

Yet other diplomatic sources say the nuclear test was a birthday present for Kim, who turns 33 on Friday.

Other pundits say the main aim was to boost morale internally ahead of a Workers Party general assembly in April. Choi Kang at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said, "Nuclear weapons development is Kim Jong-un's top achievement so far. That means he has done a poor job in improving the North's economy."

And Kim Jae-chun of Sogang University added, "The regime may lose a lot diplomatically, but it gains in terms of consolidating Kim's hold on power and uniting the public."
French officers shot dead an armed man who apparently tried to attack a police station in northern Paris Thursday, as France marked the year anniversary of the "Charlie Hebdo" shootings.

The man reportedly wielded a butcher knife and a fake suicide vest, as he tried to enter the building crying "Allah Akbar," or "God is Great" in Arabic. He was shot dead by police, who later said the explosives were fake.

The Paris prosecutor said the man, identified as Sallah Ali, had also been carrying a mobile phone and sheet of paper bearing the Islamic State flag and claims of responsibility by the militant group written in Arabic.

Coming just minutes after French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to police in last year's attacks, the incident in the tough, immigrant-heavy Goutte d'Or neighborhood offers a grim reminder that the country remains at high risk of more strikes.

 'Charlie Hebdo" Commemorations

It also came with a weeklong deluge of commemorations, debates and documentaries covering three days of mayhem that began Jan. 7, 2015. The events culminate Sunday with a daylong memorial for the nearly 150 victims of both the January and November attacks that bookended last year.

Between the two events were several others, including the decapitation of a French man near Lyon by Islamist Yassin Salhi, and a foiled attack on a Thalys train.

"We need to realize that we're in a state of total war," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the Le Parisien newspaper in an interview published before Thursday's incident, "which implies we need to do everything to dismantle [terrorist] networks, prevent them from striking, find political and diplomatic solutions, support our security and intelligence forces."

"But always," he added, "with the same compass: a state of law."

Earlier in the week, authorities unveiled new plaques honoring the 17 people killed by Islamist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi who targeted the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, and Amedy Coulibaly who laid siege to a Jewish grocery store.
News Sep 30th, 2022 at 16:55

Last year's winner of the Travolution Award for Best Technology Innovation believes it can help travel firms generate better return on investment in...
New Airbus A330-300 offers 313 seats in two cabin configuration



(TRAVPR.COM) THAILAND - January 7th, 2016 - The new twin-aisle aircraft, which has been named Island of Rotuma, comes equipped with 313 seats  24 in business class and 289 in economy. The economy class cabin also features a Quiet Zone.

The A330-300 will be deployed on the airlines long-haul routes to Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

This aircraft is more than just another addition to the fleet of our national airline; it is a symbol of a modern, progressive nation, which remains proud of its roots, culture and identity, while moving with the times to embrace the opportunities of the future, said HE Jioji Konousi Konrote, President of Fiji, who was onboard the aircraft when it touched down at Nadi International Airport.

This aircraft will bring real economic opportunities for our people, because almost 65% of all visitors who travel to Fiji travel on Fiji Airways. And the more seats we have, and the better our service and overall flight experience, the more we will be able to attract more travellers. We are competing in the premier division of air travel, and we want to win.

The A330-300, which is expected to begin commercial flights this month, joins Fiji Airways fleet of three A330-200s, five Boeing 737s and three ATR turboprops operated by Fiji Link.

###
These scientists say that respecting and understanding plants and trees is essential for our future.

We humans have a wide range of feelings about members of the kingdom Plantae, from total disregard to thinking they are clever friends. Given that this is TreeHugger, we lean toward, at the very least, wanting to give them a big embrace. But what does science have to say about our botanical cohabitants?

This is what the BBC World Service Inquiry program wondered when they asked four scientists what they thought about plants. Heres the takeaway:

1. Plants could be cognitive and intelligent

Professor Stefano Mancuso runs the International Laboratory for Plant Neurobiology at the University of Florence. In an experiment with two climbing plants, they found that both competed for a single support when it was placed between them. The plant that didnt make it to the pole first immediately sensed the other plant had succeeded and started to find an alternative. This was astonishing and it demonstrates the plants were aware of their physical environment and the behavior of the other plant. In animals we call this consciousness. We are convinced that plants are cognitive and intelligent.

2. They're all brain; and we're dependent on them

Mancuso continues, "Plants distribute all along the body the functions that in animals are concentrated in single organs. Whereas in animals almost the only cells producing electrical signals are in the brain, the plant is a kind of distributed brain in which almost every cell is able to produce them." Underestimating plants can be very dangerous, he says, "because our life depends on plants and our actions are destroying their environments."

3. They could be sentient beings

Professor of forest ecology in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia, Suzanne Simard talks about the ways in which trees are linked together underground. She has studied this "wood wide web" and says that trees communicate with each other and then behave in certain ways.

"We grew Douglas fir in a neighborhood of strangers and its own kin and found that they can recognise their own kin and we also grew Douglas fir and ponderosa pine together. We injured the Douglas fir by pulling its needles off [aww], and by attacking it with western spruce bud worm [ouch], and it then sent a lot of carbon in its network into the neighboring ponderosa pine. My interpretation was the Douglas fir knew it was dying and wanted to pass its legacy of carbon on to its neighbor, because that would be beneficial for the associated fungi and the community.

Simard says that we should shift our thinking and change our attitude which would be beneficial for our forests. "We haven't treated them with respect that they are sentient beings.

4. They can help us better understand nature to advance our future

Dr. Barbara Mazzolai is the coordinator at the Centre for Micro-BioRobotics at the Italian Institute of Technology. She uses plants as a biomimetic starting point to design robots. So smart.

She says they can use a plant-inspired robot for environmental monitoring, space applications or rescue under debris, "because it can adapt to the environment like a natural system. The robot doesn't have a predefined structure, but can create on the basis of need."

"Medical robotics could also be a key application," she adds. "We could develop new endoscopes that are soft and able to grow inside living human tissues without damage. Plants are underestimated. They move under the soil and it's difficult to understand the behavior of these systems. But they have features that can really help us understand nature."

5. Their ability to adapt is crucial for us to learn from

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, the Dean of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University pulls back from declaring that plants are smart. "Anyone who claims they're studying plant 'intelligence' is either trying to be very controversial or is on the borderline of pseudoscience, he says. But he admits they are exquisitely aware of their environment and how to adapt to that ... and understanding them is important for our survival.

"There's information being exchanged between roots and leaves and flowers and pollinators and the environment all the time. The plant is making 'decisions'  should I change 10 degrees to the left, five degrees to the right? Is it time to flower now? Is enough water available?

Chamovitz says that in our modern environment  with its global warming, changes in precipitation, and shifting populations  we need to learn from plants about how they respond to their environment and then adapt.

"We've completely underestimated plants. We look at them as inanimate objects, completely unaware of the amazing, complex biology that allows that plant to survive."

If we dont learn from them, he says, we might find ourselves in a big problem 50 to 100 years from now.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 6

Member Provincial Parliament, Ontario (Canada) and leader of the official Opposition, Patrick Brown today advocated the need to initiate joint efforts to combat menace of terrorism across the globe.

Addressing mediapersons here today before paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, Patrick described terrorist activities very unfortunate. He said joint answers to this global evil were need of the hour.

Reacting to the query of mediapersons posed in the backdrop of terrorist attack on Air Force base in Pathankot, he said countries facing terrorism should launch a crusade together against this menace so that designs of terrorists could be thwarted. He said this was a global challenge, which should be jointly tackled and eliminated.

Brown, who was here along with a Canadian delegation to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, said combating terrorism should be taken as top priority. Canada was committed to extend every possible help and support to nations battling terrorism, he added. He said he had discussed this sensitive issue with various leaders of different nations and emphasised the need of joint efforts against this global evil.

Answering a query regarding racial attacks on Sikhs in North America, Brown clarified that in Canada such incidents were almost rare and Canadian government had adopted zero tolerance against it. He termed these attacks emanated out of mistaken identity, misinformation and confusion, besides describing them as unfair and unacceptable in any civil society.

Replying to another query regarding his visit, he said he was here along with members of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce for a trade mission. He said the trade mission was aimed to make fruitful connections that would benefit economies of both Punjab and Ontario.

Brown said earlier, under this mission he visited Pakistan and now he would meet representatives of various states in India to boost economic ties and bilateral relations. This was his 16th trip to India, besides ninth visit to the holiest Sikh shrine, he added.

Prominent amongst those, who accompanied Brown include, Gulab Singh Saini, advisor to MPP, Jad Johal, Gogi Sidhu, Sunny Grewal, Fiona brown, Janve, Robert Fesal, Prof Sarchand Singh, Rakesh prashar, Prabhjot Daliwal and others.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 6

Security was strengthened at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport after its control room received a call on Wednesday evening about a man who was heading to Germany after "doing something big" in Delhi, the police said.

The airport operator, DIAL's control room's call centre in Gurgaon, received the call at about 7 pm. Security agencies were informed about it following which security was strengthened, according to the police.

"The caller, whom we are trying to trace, called up and said that a man who is heading to Germany from the airport will do something big in Delhi before he leaves. He did not disclose any further details," said a police officer.

The officer said, The call is not a hoax. Such calls are technically called non-specific calls and this one originated from an international number. It is also suspected to be made through the Internet."

On Tuesday, security agencies were in for a shock after the police control room received a call about a bomb on the Parliament premises, but it was a hoax.
Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 7

Five-year-old Mankhush, who is the son of a ragpicker, was crushed to death by a tipper at Wariana dump today.

According to his father Prakash, Mankhush was sleeping on a cart when suddenly, a tipper hired by the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) came rolling over from a nearby slope and hit the cart. The vehicle was parked on a slope by the driver near the dump.

My son fell down and the tipper went over him while crushing his legs, said the aggrieved father.

He was later taken to the Civil Hospital. Though the child seems to have died before arriving at the hospital, doctors fearing public outrage kept the body of the child on ventilator for over an hour.

It was only after Joint Commissioner Rajiv Verma found that there was no movement in the childs body, the doctors were told to check his vitals. SDM Rajat Oberoi and ADCP J Elanchezhian were also present on the spot. Finding no signs of life, doctors finally declared him dead by late evening.

While slamming the doctors, MC Sanitation Workers Union president Chandan Grewal, alleged that though the child was bleeding profusely, doctors made no efforts to cover his wounds.

What does that reveals? The doctors were aware about the childs death but still kept the family in the dark by putting him on a ventilator, said Grewal, demanding the suspension of guilty doctors.

Following this, Grewal along with the victims family lodged a huge protest with the body on the old GT Road for over two hours in front of the Civil Hospital.

Protesting members of the union alleged that the tipper belonged to the JITF and demanded the cancellation of the solid waste agreement of the JITF with the MCJ.

Confused over the name written on the tipper as that of JITF, MC Sanitation workers demanded an FIR to be lodged against the company. They also demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh from the company and the termination of the solid waste licence by the MCJ.

Vipul Sharma, manager, JITF, said though the company had hired tippers, including the tipper that killed the child, from a private contractor, the company terminated the agreement in September last year.

As the company got its own tippers and JCB machines by then, we ended the contract around four months ago. However, despite the termination of the agreement, neither the MCJ nor the contractor bothered to take off the companys name from those vehicles due to which the confusion was created, Sharma said.

However, assessing the gravity of the situation, Deputy Commissioner K K Yadav called an emergency meeting at his residence that was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan, Municipal Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khehra, ADCP J Elenchezian and SDM Rajat Oberoi, besides other officials from the police and district administration.

The Basti Peer Daad police also registered a case against driver Mukhtyar Singh, who was driving the ill- fated tipper during the incident.

The district administration has announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the kin of the victim. The DC has also announced to form an expert committee, headed by the CMO, to look after the negligence by the doctors at the hospital as claimed by the child's family.

On the MC Sanitation Workers Union's demand to stop the privatisation of the MC solid waste management project, the DC has asked the MCJ to take the final call in the matter.

Rs 1 lakh relief announced

The district administration has announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the kin of the victim. The DC has also announced to form an expert committee, headed by the CMO, to look after the negligence by the doctors at the hospital as claimed by the child's family.

Body kept on ventilator for over an hour

The child was taken to the Civil Hospital. Though the child seems to have died before arriving at the hospital, doctors, fearing public outrage, kept the body of the child on a ventilator for over an hour.

Case registered against driver

The police registered a case against driver Mukhtyar Singh, who was driving the ill- fated tipper during the incident.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 6

A 32-year-old Delhi Police Constable died of a bullet injury as his AK-47 rifle fired accidentally during an operation to apprehend a wanted criminal in outer Delhi's Rohini area on Wednesday, the police said.

Constable Anand Khatri was posted with the southwest cell of the police's counter-terror unit, Special Cell, about three months ago. He had joined the police in 2007 and undergone commando course. The police said it was a case of accidental fire and the Constable was taken to hospital, but he succumbed.

The incident took place at about 5.30 am. A Special Cell team had reached a single-storey building at Sector-21, Rohini, after they were tipped off about a wanted criminal, Ashok, alias Sonu (30), and his accomplices.

Ashok, who is allegedly associated with southwest Delhi-based gangsters Manjit Mahal and Ravinder Bholu, was wanted in connection with nine criminal cases, including murder, extortion and robberies, across Delhi-NCR. The Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs 20,000 on his arrest.

The Special Cell had been tracking Sonu for the past two months. When the team reached the single-storey house, they realised that he was hiding at the terrace while his accomplices had fled, according to the police.

The local police was instructed to surround the house and officials of the Special Cell team, including Khatri, climbed the terrace, said the police. Sonu was apprehended from the terrace. When the team was bringing him down from the terrace which had no regular stairs, Khatri lost his balance and fell, the police said.

"Due to the impact of the fall, the AK 47 rifle fired and the bullet hit Khatri," a police officer said.

When the other team members heard the gunfire, they saw him falling down from the terrace. Khatri was rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital w.here he was pronounced dead
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, January 6

Controversial SP Salwinder Singh and his two companions reportedly met a prominent politician of Gurdaspur district the night they were 'kidnapped' by terrorists, before the Pathankot air base attack, near Bamyal village.

This came to the fore during investigation by the National Investigation Agency and Punjab Police. Sources said the agencies had been tracking the movement of the politician prior to the Pathankot attack.

Investigators have obtained vital leads on the police-politician-smuggler nexus in the region. They say this nexus ought to have come to light after the July 27, 2015, Dinanagar attack.

The investigators believe that the terrorists were guided by three local handlers, with one of them well-acquainted with the layout of the Pathankot air base, including its key installations.

An official said three groups worked in tandem to launch the attack  two comprised terrorist outfits and the third consisted of the three local handlers. Sources said it was being probed if these handlers had any connection with the Gurdaspur politician or taxi driver Ikaagar Singh, who was found murdered.

The officials are now interrogating Salwinder Singh and his cook Mohan Gopal. The two had on day one given similar statements but contradictions emerged when they were cross-questioned. Salwinder claimed in the FIR that they were tied up and gagged by terrorists before being thrown into a ditch.

He claimed he gained consciousness after more than two hours, untied himself and then helped his cook. However, his jeweller friend had a different tale to tell. When told they had thrown a police officer out of the vehicle, the terrorists turned back, but could not find the SP and his cook at the spot, he claimed.

The SP, in subsequent interviews, corroborated the jewellers claim. He said the terrorists had indeed returned to kill him but he had fled by then. Whereas the SP was initially quoted as saying that the terrorists had used his phone to make calls, the jeweller claimed it was his phone that the terrorists had used as they could not crack the SPs phone code. The SP has stated in the FIR that the terrorists took away his two phones, one of them an iPhone.

Police sources said till late afternoon on January 1, the SP was seen as a suspect in the murder of driver Ikaagar Singh. But this changed after phone intercepts pointed to the presence of infiltrators in the area. This explains the delay in the filing of two FIRs, one regarding the SP's kidnapping and the other on Ikaagar's killing. The police are not sure if Ikaagar was killed by terrorists. The post-mortem report suggests he put up a stiff resistance.
Pune, January 7

BJP member Gajendra Chauhan assumed office as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India's (FTII) Governing Council on Thursday, triggering off protests on the institutes campus.

Student protesters were lathi-charged, 40 even detained, after they blocked Chauhans entry on campus for FTII societys meeting, held to shortlist candidates for the institutes governing council.

Media reports quoted police as saying the protests had turned violent, although student leader Reema Kaur claimed it was peaceful.

"The students were protesting at the gate peacefully. Police staged a lathi-charge. They hurt many students and put them in the riot van. It is a curfew like situation on the campus. (There's) police everywhere... They are not letting us go anywhere in campus, there's more police than students on campus," Reema Kaur said, adding that their demonstration was "silent, made violent by the police".

FTII Students' Association president Harishankar Nachimuthu is also among those detained, Reema Kaur shared.

Nachimuthu had previously said that the students will be protesting on the campus to register their opposition to Chauhan taking charge.

An actor known primarily for his role as Yudhishthir in BR Chopras mega television series in the eighties, the Mahabharat, Chauhan assumed office on Thursday, seven months after he was appointed.

Chauhans appointment in June this year has been controversial, dogged by protests  some even violent  as students as well as alumni has called it politically coloured without regard for his lack of credentials.

Students began their indefinite strike on June 12, bringing the institute to a complete halt. The controversy, which even turned violent on occasions, lead to several known names in the world of cinema and politics taking sides. Students finally agreed to withdraw their protest in October after 139 days.  IANS
New Delhi, January 7

India on Thursday said after the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, the ball was in Pakistan's court on continuation of the resumed bilateral talks.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue is Pakistan's response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told a press conference here.

"Cross-border terrorism is again in focus after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air base," he said, adding that India was not derailing the dialogue.

Swarup said Pakistan has assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack and India is waiting for its action against the terrorists.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response," he said, adding that "we now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan prime minister".  IANS
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 7

Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh has been given a clean chit by the Punjab government in the report prepared by it for the Union Home Ministry on the terror strike at the Air Force Station in Pathankot.

The state government has also denied that there was any delay on its part in responding to the initial sighting of the terrorists.

Having drawn flak for its delay in responding to the initial terror alert, it now seems that the Punjab government is covering its tracks.

The Union Home Ministry had asked the state government to submit a report on how the terror strike unfolded and the state government's initial response, after the terrorists were first sighted by the police officer.

The role of the SP, who was transferred from Gurdaspur to Jalandhar as Commandant of PAP, following a complaint, only a few days before the terror strike, was questionable.

His theory that he was going to pay obeisance at a dera on December 31 night and that too without a gunman has several loopholes.

Besides, the fact that he was let off by the terrorists along with his cook, Madan Gopal, while their third co-traveller, jeweler Rajesh Verma, was grievously injured before being thrown out has raised many questions over the SP's role. However, the state government's report sent to the Government of India absolves the police officer of any wrongdoing.

The initial timeline of the sequence of events, as revealed earlier this week, had said the police official after being let off had called then Senior Superintendent of Police, Gurdaspur, at 3.23 am on January 1, informing him of the incident.

The district Police Chief, in spite of an alert sent on December 29, saying 16 militants might have entered the border district, refused to believe Salwinder Singh.

This was initially also corroborated by Salwinder Singh himself, who had then claimed that the officer did not take him seriously and asked him to call the police control room. Initially, Salwinder had said nobody responded to his calls in the police control room till 6 am and only a DSP finally came to help him.

By this time, injured Verma too was found and it was only then that the police started acting on their complaint of four "Urdu-speaking" armed terrorists having carjacked them.

However, the report sent to the Home Ministry now says that there was no delay in the police response to the carjacking by terrorists.

It says that the police acted immediately and even the top police brass in Chandigarh had been alerted early in the morning, within minutes of the SP's call to the Gurdaspur SSP.

"By 7 am, ADGP, Law and Order, Hardeep Singh Dhillon had already been dispatched and the police worked on parallel tracts to trace the culprits," says the report.

Interestingly, amid rumours that the police had ordered an internal investigation against four of its officers for delay in responding to the SP's terror alert, Director General of Police Suresh Arora said no internal inquiry against any police officer had been ordered.

"There was no delay on any police officers' part and immediate search operations to trace the terrorists were launched," he said.

Admitting that the terrorists could have local handlers in the area, Arora, however, said the police was still in the process to identify the local handlers, but the search had so far been inconclusive.
Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, January 6

Though a large portion of the international border (IB) with Pakistan in Punjab remains vulnerable, a 30-km stretch opposite the Pathankot-Kathua axis remains the Achilles heel, being prone to cross-border smuggling and infiltration.

Sources in the security establishment said the border stretch from Bamial village, near Pathankot, and Bobiya village, near Hiranagar in adjoining Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, has been a traditional ingress route because of riverine terrain and dense vegetation. This area is also known as Shakargarh bulge.

Rivulets and tributaries of the Ravi, which meander along the IB in this sector, and the abundant growth of elephant grass in the area provide good cover in the dark. Though the border is fenced and lit by floodlights, there are places where it cannot be fenced and in some areas the fence gets damaged repeatedly due to the flow of water and soil erosion.

A visit to a site along the Tarana rivulet, near Bamial village, a point where it enters India from Pakistan and winds down south before flowing across again, revealed heavy vegetation on either side of the stream, with poor visibility. Villagers said the water level in the river has increased a lot, thus affecting the embankments. The undulating terrain near the rivulet was in sharp contrast to the fields along the fence, where one can have a clear view over a long distance.

Apart from the terrain, the stretch is close to the National Highway No. 1-A that links Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of India, providing infiltrators an easy access to move further. Given the orientation of the highway, infiltration from the Bamial area also gives them the choice of proceeding towards Jammu or Pathankot, sources said.

Terrorists involved in the Gurdaspur incident in July, attack on an Army installation in Samba in March and the Pathankot air base this week are believed to have infiltrated into India via this stretch. The labyrinth of link roads connecting hamlets to the mainline are very confusing and for a first-time visitor, it is impossible to find his way without a guide.

The Border Security Force (BSF) mans the border, with the Army deployed in the second tier in the area. Army men are also needed to patrol the area for familiarisation and training. Sources said the Army had raised the issue of the vulnerability of this stretch several times and also asked the BSF for additional deployment. The issue was also a point of discussion during a recent operational conference last month.

A post mid-night drive through the area gave the impression of scattered settlements resembling ghost villages with virtually no sign of life. Other than some trucks, presumably ferrying sand and gravel through narrow, potholed link roads, no vehicles were seen.

A number of nakas or check-posts manned by the police and the Central Reserve Police Force have come up along the highway as well as some interior roads. Though the security in the area has been stepped up following the air base incident, locals feel it is only a matter of time before the check-posts vanish and the usual slack approach takes over.
Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 7

Although the Punjab Irrigation Department has been dismissing protests by residents of over 86 villages against a proposed dam on the Ghaggar, near Banur, as a misplaced fear, a perusal of the river water flow data reveals that the fear of thousands of villagers is not baseless.

The construction of the dam was suspended after the villagers organised a massive protest yesterday.

The project funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will cost Rs 66 crore. The dam would allow drawing of around 130 cusecs to irrigate 15,000 hectares in villages located around Rajpura and Banur towns in Patiala district.

The project to construct a permanent dam was conceived in 2006. An agreement signed at that time between representatives of various villages located downstream and the Irrigation Department said these villages would get 200 cusecs to irrigate their fields.

However, villagers now fear that the dam would cut down the flow of water to their fields. Their claim is that the water flow in the river is much lower than 400 cusecs, as claimed by the department.

The water discharge in the river is less than 400 cusecs. How will water reach our villages when they start discharging 130 cusecs in the Banur canal round the year, said Jaspal Singh of Basma village, who is leading the agitation.

The department, on the other hand, sticks its stand that the water flow in the river is sufficient enough to feed the canal and the villages downstream.

A perusal of the monthly average discharge data of the river for the past 10 years, however, defies the departments claim. It revealed that the average yearly discharge barely crossed 400-cusec mark over the past 10 years, excluding the peak period (July to September).

In 2015, the discharge crossed 400-cusec mark for just five months. In 2014, it was so only for three months (July to September).

Secretary to the Department of Irrigation KS Pannu and Chief Engineer (Canals) GS Wason could not be contacted for their comments despite repeated attempts. However, an executive engineer overseeing the project said, The project was cleared only after a detailed study by the departments research wing. NABARD also conducted a separate study before giving the go-ahead for the loan. Discharge in the river is around 400 cusecs and it is sufficient to feed the canal and the villages downstream.
Misrate, January 7

At least 65 people were killed on Thursday when one of Libya's worst truck bombs in years exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten, local officials and hospital sources said.

No group immediately claimed the attack, but the bombing was one of the deadliest since Islamist militants started expanding their presence in the chaos that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Mayor Miftah Hamadi said the bomb detonated as recruits were gathering at the police centre in Zliten, a coastal town between the capital Tripoli and the port of Misrata.

Witnesses said residents were ferrying victims to Misrata hospitals in ambulances and cars, many with shrapnel wounds.

Medical sources said 65 people had been killed, including some civilians, though one official said between 50 and 60 had died.

Since the NATO-backed revolt ousted Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into turmoil with two rival governments and a range of armed factions locked in a struggle for control of the North African state and its oil wealth.

In the chaos, Islamic State militants have grown in strength, taking over the city of Sirte and launching attacks on oilfields. Islamic State fighters this week attacked two major oil export terminals.

In February last year, three car bombs hit the eastern Libyan city of Qubbah, killing 40 people in what officials described as a revenge attack for Egyptian air strikes on Islamist militant targets.

Western powers are pushing Libya's factions to back a U.N.-brokered national unity government to join forces against Islamic State, but the agreement faces major resistance from several factions on the ground.  Reuters
Tehran: Saudi warplanes 'deliberately' struck Iran's embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, Tehran said on Thursday, as tensions between the two regional powers mounted. "This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured," he added. AFP

China experiments public interest litigation

Beijing: China has commissioned a national pilot project to test public interest lawsuits largely planned on the lines of India's public interest litigations but mainly pursuing cases related to pollution, drug and food safety. The country's prosecuting departments have filed five public-interest lawsuits involving environmental pollution with the courts since July 2015 as part of the national pilot programme aimed at protecting public resources. PTI

Obama's tears were real, says Trump

Washington: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he disagrees with Barack Obama on gun control measures but conceded that the US President's tears while talking of steps to tackle gun violence were real. Trump, a fierce Obama critic, said the fact that he disagrees with the US President on his gun control measures does not mean that his heart is in the wrong place. PTI

Chinese university to set up anti-terrorism school

Beijing: A Chinese university will start a school specialising in anti-terrorism courses to cash in on the growing demand for security personnel following the counter-terrorism law that came into effect from January 1. The Northwest University of Political Science and Law in Xi'an will take in law graduates and teach them the latest anti-terrorism theories and practices. PTI
SEOUL, January 7

South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy US strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device.

The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea said, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear programme.

The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea's main ally, pointing to a strain in ties between the neighbours.

The test also alarmed Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with US President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said.

Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options.

A South Korean military official said the two countries had discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said.

The United States is also limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang, said Anthony Cordesman, a defence policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.

"Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation," Cordesman said.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman called for a resumption of so-called six-party talks between the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

"We are worried about how things are developing," the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying told a briefing when asked if US weapons to South Korea risked inflaming the situation.

Asked about a suggestion from U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that China could do more to rein in North Korea, Hua said: "What constructive efforts have they made?"

Hours after the nuclear test on Wednesday, the UN Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive.

US congressional sources said Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives were considering a vote as soon as next week to impose stiffer punishment on foreign companies doing business with North Korea.

Surprise

North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the United States and its Asian allies but its assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturising the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the US West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

The US State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim.

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

The test took place two days ahead of what is believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday.

North Korea called the device the "H-bomb of justice", but its state news agency also said it would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed.

The impoverished state boasts of its military might to project strength globally but also plays up the need to defend itself from external threats as a way to maintain control domestically, analysts say.

Hydrogen bombs use a two-step process of fission and fusion that releases substantially more energy than an atomic bomb.

However, it will likely take several days to determine more precisely what kind of device was set off as a variety of sensors, including "sniffer planes", collect evidence.

A U.S. government source said Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of old-fashioned atomic bombs.

The size of the latest explosion was roughly consistent with previous tests and occurred in the same location.

The United States had been anticipating a North Korean nuclear test for some time, with intelligence indicating possible preparations such as evidence of new excavations of underground tunnels at the site. Reuters
Washington, January 7

The US, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong global response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour after the reclusive nation claimed that it has successfully conducted first hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them the security situation in the region following North Korea's test.

"All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said.

"Obama reaffirmed the unshakable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said after Obama's phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test.

In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

"He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Korea's provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council in an emergency session warned North Korea of fresh sanctions and strongly condemning Pyongyang's action as a "clear threat" to international peace and security.

The 15-nation Security Council, including China, held urgent consultations to address the "serious" situation arising from the nuclear test conducted by North Korea.

The Council members had previously said that they will take "further significant measures" against North Korea if it conducted another nuclear and vowed to take additional measures. PTI
HEMPSTEAD, Texas  A Texas state trooper was charged with perjury on Wednesday in connection to the contentious traffic stop last summer of Sandra Bland, a black woman who wound up arrested for assault and then died three days later in jail.

A grand jury indicted Trooper Brian Encinia on the misdemeanor count, alleging he lied about how he removed the 28-year-old Bland from her vehicle during the July stop. The same Waller County grand jury decided last month not to indict any sheriffs officials or jailers in Blands death, which was ruled a suicide.

Bland remained jailed following her arrest because she couldnt raise about $500 for bail. Encinia, who has been on paid desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell, also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Blands family.

The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Encinia, who is white, pulled Bland over on July 10 for making an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just interviewed and accepted a job. Dashcam video from Encinias patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational.

The video shows the trooper holding a stun gun and yelling, I will light you up! after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible.

Encinias affidavit stated he removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation, but grand jurors found that statement to be false, said Shawn McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

McDonald declined to say whether the grand jury considered any other charges.

Neither Blands attorneys nor the Texas Department of Public Safety immediately returned messages seeking comment about the indictment. Department Director Steve McCraw said after the incident that Encinia violated internal agency policies of professionalism and courtesy.

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesdays press conference where the indictment was announced. Speaking afterward, one protester, Jinaki Muhammad, called the misdemeanor charge a slap in the face to the Bland family.

Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin. Encinia said he then used force to subdue Bland to the ground, and she continued to fight back. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

Blands sister, Shante Needham, has said Bland called her from jail the day after her arrest, saying shed been arrested but didnt know why, and that an officer had placed his knee in her back and injured her arm.

After the traffic stop, Bland was taken in handcuffs by another officer to the county jail in nearby Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. She was found dead in her jail cell three days later, on July 13, hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck.

Her family has said they were working to get money for her bail when they learned of her death.

Blands arrest and death came amid heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially individuals who were killed by officers or who died in police custody.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma announced R. Darrell Weaver as the organizations next chief executive officer.

Selected by the Big Brothers Big Sisters governing board, Weaver recently retired as director of the bureau of narcotics and dangerous drugs for the State of Oklahoma and served as the longest tenured agency head in the bureaus history.

Weaver assumed his role on Nov. 16, succeeding Sharla Owens.

After thorough succession planning and a comprehensive search process, the board is pleased to have found the best individual to assume leadership of this first-rate mentoring agency, said Eric Fleske, chairman of the governing board and owner of Norman-based Fleske Holding Company, LLC. Darrell has a track record of strong leadership and a true passion for our kids.

Weavers fervor coupled with his understanding of the challenging effects incarceration has on families and children makes him uniquely qualified to lead Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma into the future, Fleske said.

Said Weaver: Im honored and grateful to the board for the opportunity to lead this organization of passionate and dedicated professionals.

What is the answer to the troubling incarceration rates in Oklahoma?

A solution and key component is one-to-one mentoring of vulnerable children, Weaver said. Children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely to be incarcerated, and we have measurable outcomes which show we can reduce that number significantly.

The new CEO says mentorship changes the trajectory for at-risk youth and in turn impacts communities for the better.

This is an incredible opportunity and I welcome the challenge, he said.

Weaver holds a bachelors degree in accounting from Cameron University and a masters of business administration from Oklahoma Christian University.

He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy 199th session and the Senior Management Institute for Police 55th session. He joined the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics in 1987 and has held several assignments throughout the state, including director.

Weaver is an Alumnus of the Leadership Oklahoma Class XXIII, Leadership OKC Class XXVIIII, 2013 Leadership Moore Class, the 2011 Tinker Air Force Base COMMStar Program and the Salt and Light Leadership Training program.

He is currently a member of Leadership Tulsa Class 54. He was the 2010 State Charitable Campaign Chairman for United Way, a 2014 inductee into Oklahoma Law Enforcement Hall of Fame and is a former governing board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma.

Owens, who has served as BBBSOK CEO since 2009, also expressed confidence in the boards choice.

I have always had the deepest respect for Darrells leadership, for his caring service to our children and his generosity of time with BBBSOK, she said. I have considered him a friend and close ally in our work. I am so happy for our organization and most importantly our children. There will be no greater champion for our children than Darrell Weaver.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma is a donor-supported volunteer organization that provides children facing adversity with a caring adult mentor and friend. Through a professionally supported relationship, these adults stand in the gap to change lives.

Independent research shows that the positive relationships between youth in the BBBS program and their Big Brothers and Big Sisters have a direct, measurable and lasting impact on childrens lives.

The program is proven to improve childrens odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol and breaking negative cycles.

To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit bbbsok.org.
Having donated 30 gallons of blood over a number of years, Bill Engelhardt has probably saved many lives he doesn't even know about. But that's not the point he says. "If you save one, it's worth the effort. It's something all of us who are able to should really strive to do on a regular basis. That's what I've tried to do through the years.

Lucy Laird of Oklahoma Blood Institute presented Engelhardt with an award on Dec. 14 at a regular meeting of the Broken Arrow Rotary Club.

All of the blood was not donated to OBI Engelhardt says. "They have some pretty stringent guidelines," he continued. "Over the years I have looked around at other organizations, and OBI is probably the best. They do more testing and make sure they have good blood to get to the hospitals."

Engelhardt shared that his blood donations go back many years. "I had a nephew who needed blood. The first time I donated was for an operation on him in the late 1950's, early 1960's," he told the Ledger.

His nephew had been born with a leaking heart valve, was then called a blue baby. "Back then they said they couldn't operate on him until his teens."

The first operation was done when his nephew was 13. It was not successful, so it was decided the doctors would try again in three years. Before that time came, the young man had a heart attack and died.

When Engelhardt gave blood the first time for his nephew, 86 pints were needed to prime the heart machine, "and it had to be fresh blood," Engelhardt said. "That (the first donation) got me started."

According to Engelhardt, he and his wife moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and started a business in Broken Arrow in 1980. In 1991 he sold that business to the employees and started another business. "We have lived here ever since. I loved Baton Rouge, but I love Broken Arrow more."

Engelhardt said he has had some interesting experiences while living in BA. "The first thing they did when I got here was throw me in jail. I hadn't been here a month." He and some other men wanted to start a business similar to one someone had started in Tulsa, and the business owner trumped up some charges to get have them arrested. Thanks to Broken Arrow friends, one of them attorney, the charges were short-lived, but the arrest still made the front page of the Broken Arrow Ledger.

"May I tell that in my news story?" Engelhardt was asked. He laughed. "I was perturbed about it for awhile, but I got over it," he said. "I saw potential for the area. I was past chair of United Way for Broken Arrow and later was chair of the Chamber of Commerce. It's been an interesting life and a great one as far as Broken Arrow is concerned. I still love Broken Arrow."

He also continues to give blood on a regular basis.
In The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a real-life man of the frontier who is attacked by a grizzly bear.

It appears to be a real grizzly, a mama bear with her two cubs nearby.

It appears that its razor-sharp claws nearly rip out DiCaprios throat, and it appears that it bites one of the worlds most famous people in the back and then lifts him off the ground to shake him violently, as if he were a rag doll.

It is one of those movie scenes that you never forget, the kind that leaves you muttering, How did they do that?

Its so visceral that you may grab the arm of the stranger seated next to you.

But such fear will be balanced by the look of the film, a natural-lighting wonder with scenery so beautiful you may swoon.

The Revenant is so visual and violent that you may think its Dances With Wolves meets Martin Scorsese but with a surprising amount of grace.

Oscar-winning Birdman director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu takes flight again in his follow-up that should win DiCaprio his first acting Academy Award as he summons all of his physical talents.

Theres the bear attack. And being buried alive. And falling off a cliff. And more.

DiCaprio communicates his pain, his fear and more to the audience through grunts and groans and his eyes especially, in a performance with maybe a dozen lines of dialogue in English.

The Revenant is one of the great survival tales you will ever see, telling the story of an 1820s military scout whos abandoned near death, which the filmmakers use as the base for an epic-scale morality play about one mans passion for revenge  frontier-justice style.

Set in post-Louisiana Purchase Montana and South Dakota, theres an odd assortment of players in the area, in addition to Pawnee Indians, as well as Arikara, with this tribe referred to as the Ree, a slang term.

Glass is a scout who is employed, along with his Pawnee son, with a quasi-military group of fur trappers under the authority of Capt. Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), a strong leader but burdened with a malcontent presence created by greedy pelt-collector John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).

Also in the area is a similar French contingent thats partnering with one of the tribes, led by a chief in search of his abducted daughter.

Savagery is everywhere in this place where human life is lost in great numbers, like in an early Indian attack that is startling, choreographed on a giant scale with a rain of deadly arrows.

The Indians are referred to as savages. The white men are generally far more savage, and betrayal runs rampant.

This is especially true of Fitzgerald, who is left in charge of burying Glass when he dies, because he surely wont survive that bear attack, they figure.

But he does, crawling across snowbound South Dakota on his belly until hes able to walk again, eating roots or anything else edible, and thirsting for vengeance.

While the film becomes a series of dangerous encounters among Glass journey to find his betrayers, as he fights off infection and faces natural dangers along the trail, there is also great beauty everywhere in watching The Revenant.

The director works again with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (the Oscar-winner two years running for Birdman and Gravity), and they work in natural light only for this hypnotically gorgeous tale among nature in its rawest form of undisturbed rivers, steep mountainsides and buffalo running free.

There is also a serene splendor to be found in Glass delusions, seen as images of the mans long-dead Indian wife lovingly haunting him, as well as hearing his son repeat her voice in his ear: ... the wind cannot defeat a tree with strong roots, a calling that keeps him alive and motivated.

The Revenant is a hauntingly beautiful film in so many ways, with DiCaprio so powerful playing a man who is essentially a ghost with a mantra: If you can breathe, you can fight.
Police have connected a man who is already in jail to the August slaying of a popular Tulsa restaurant owner.

James Coulson, owner of Teds Hamburgers, 2906 W. Edison St., was killed about 8 a.m. Aug. 7 while opening his business for the day, police said. An employee arrived shortly thereafter and found Coulsons body.

Police initially thought Coulson had been stabbed, but an official with the state Medical Examiners Office later confirmed he had been shot in the chest.

Police uncovered evidence linking Alcon Sanders, 31, to the homicide, Sgt. Dave Walker said in a news release Wednesday.

Sanders has been in jail since Oct. 7 on complaints and charges ranging from traffic violations to eluding police and possession of a controlled substance, according to jail records.

After police questioned Sanders, complaints of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm were added to his alleged offenses, Walker said.

Sanders is accused of killing Coulson during a robbery, but police dont think Sanders acted alone, Walker said.

The burger joint is across the street from Central High School and is frequented by students there.

On Wednesday just before 5 p.m., juniors Desmond Jones and Jeremy Birmingham and senior Kyandre Lyons crossed the street from the school to eat at Teds, where Lyons said they go almost every day.

Jones said that when he heard about Coulsons death, he worried about how it might affect the restaurant, which has remained open.

Now that police have connected a suspect to Coulsons death, Jones said he is glad the employees wont have to worry any longer that anyone they see around the restaurant could be the one who killed their boss.

Teds Hamburgers employees were advised to not discuss the case with media Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the homicide can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 918-596-COPS (2677), online at bit.ly/crimestopperstips or via text message at CRIMES (274637). Text tips should begin with Tip918.

The Homicide Tip Line can be reached at 918-798-8477 or through email at homicide@cityoftulsa.org.
OKLAHOMA CITY - More women have come forward claiming an Oklahoma City process server sexually assaulted them while on the job, according to state investigators.

Robert Vincent Wonsch, 34, of Moore, was arrested Monday and booked into the Cleveland County jail after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation interviewed several women who said Wonsch forced himself on them or tried to intimidate or persuade them into performing sex acts by offering them discounted services or flashing a gun and badge.

One victim said she did not have the money to pay Wonsch, and he offered to do the work for a fee to be paid at a later time. Days later, she said, Wonsch showed up at the tanning salon where she worked and forced her to perform a sex act as payment.

On Thursday, Wonsch was charged in Cleveland County with 17 counts, including rape, sexual battery, lewd acts, kidnapping, and impersonating an officer. Wonsch was in custody Thursday morning, and is being held without bond.
Snow chances are once again in the Tulsa area's forecast for this weekend.

A 20 percent chance of showers is forecast today and Friday in Tulsa, according to the National Weather Service.

After 3 a.m. Saturday, a 60 percent chance of rain and snow are forecast for Tulsa. However, new precipitation amounts between 0.1 and 0.25 of an inch are possible.

A 40 percent chance of rain and snow is forecast before noon Saturday, with a slight chance of snow Saturday afternoon.

Tulsa recorded trace amounts of both freezing and liquid precipitation Wednesday; the first of both for 2016. As of 1 p.m. today, Tulsa recorded 0.27 of an inch of light rain and drizzle; the first measurable precipitation of 2016.

Tulsa recorded more than 8 inches of liquid precipitation in December, which includes both rain and melted snow.

The U.S. Drought Monitor once again classified the entire state of Oklahoma as free of any drought classification this week, according to a report released today.

Tulsa's temperatures are forecast to reach the 50s today and Friday, with highs in the 30s this weekend. Overnight lows in the 40s are forecast tonight, with lows in the upper teens forecast Saturday and Sunday nights, according to the weather service.

Monday's low of 21 degrees was Tulsa's lowest temperature recorded since March 5, 2015's low of 17 degrees, according to the weather service. As of Wednesday, average temperatures are 2.2 degrees below normal this month.
It is puzzling why Gov. Mary Fallin continues to refuse to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma when governors in 30 other states, including several states led by Republicans, have shown "compassionate concern" for uninsured low income families.

Many of the Republican governors made their decisions to expand Medicaid in opposition to their Republican senators and representatives in Washington.

Fallin has expressed her concern for the future expense to the state if Medicaid was expanded in Oklahoma, however, her leadership has not prevented the state's budget shortage of $900 million for the next fiscal year. After extending Medicaid, other states have experienced an influx of federal dollars, which in some cases offset huge budget deficits.

Federal tax dollars from Oklahoma are now being distributed to other states for their medical expenses, while we are seeing more and more rural hospitals reduce services or close from a lack of funds normally provided by Medicaid.

In the meantime, more than 600,000 Oklahomans who are uninsured must resort to going to the emergency rooms of overcrowded hospitals with costs being passed on to insured consumers. This results in health insurance premiums and deductibles increasing because of these additional costs for the uninsured.

When is Fallin going to feel the moral imperative to show some '"compassionate concern" for the uninsured in Oklahoma? Her plan is not working.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to letters@tulsaworld.com.
Recent multiple murders have mystified people regarding the cause of violent behavior and what can be done to resolve the problem.

Many changes in society have occurred since the 1960s. Respect for authority is nonexistent, evidenced by the fact that people frequently disregard instructions given them by law enforcement officers, teachers and people of authority. At times the results are disastrous.

Children are taught to question authority and often disregard what they are told. There is a lack of common courtesy and respect for others. Road rage is a good example. There has been a breakdown of the family unit. Outside pressure leaves little time for many single parents to teach important values to their children.

Teachers cannot discipline students and often fear them. Child abuse and domestic violence are rampant. Violent Hollywood movies and video games show a disregard for life. The drug culture of the 1960s encouraged people that if it feels good, do it. All the above has been propagated for multiple generations, and today we are seeing the results.

Since the problem has evolved over years, there are no quick fixes. Children should be taught to respect authority, as well as their fellow man. Teachers and school administrators should be allowed to discipline unruly students. Parents must realize that they have a responsibility to teach good values to their children.

Until we get back to basics, we will have excessive violent behavior in our society.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to letters@tulsaworld.com.
2:06 p.m., Jan. 7, 2016--Lynn Okagaki has been named deputy provost for academic affairs at the University of Delaware, effective Jan. 16, Provost Domenico Grasso announced today.

Okagaki has served as interim deputy provost for academic affairs since July 2015, following the departure of Nancy Brickhouse, who assumed the post as provost and chief academic officer at Saint Louis University in Missouri.

I want to express gratitude for the many people who participated in the interview process and for the fact that we had three outstanding candidates interested in this important role, noted Matt Kinservik, vice provost for faculty affairs and chair of the committee that led the internal search process.

The deputy provost will play a key role in the implementation of the Delaware Will Shine strategic plan, and I look forward to working with Lynn and many others on that, said Kinservik.

Lynn has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing the academic excellence at UD, while addressing the needs and concerns of our community, Grasso said.

Lynns keen insights and experiences, both at the institutional and federal levels, will help us sharpen our focus and create more meaningful impact in our academic goals, our diversity and inclusion priorities, our ongoing support of ADVANCE, and the acquisition and retention of talented and diverse faculty.

I am honored to be selected for this role and am enthusiastic about working collaboratively with faculty and the campus community to drive and sustain our excellence, said Okagaki. The University is poised to strengthen its leadership position locally and globally.

The deputy provost for academic affairs is part of the senior leadership team for the University of Delaware, with oversight of a number of academic and administrative units, including the Institute for Global Studies, Confucius Institute, Honors Program and TRIO programs. The deputy provosts major responsibilities include academic program planning and review, working with the Faculty Senate and deans to establish and review academic programs, working with the colleges in the design and delivery of general education, and also overseeing University-wide initiatives to assure high-quality academic support services across the University.

About Lynn Okagaki

Okagaki came to the Provosts Office from UDs College of Education and Human Development, where she had been dean since 2011.

Armed with a broad portfolio of experiences  in academic research and national education policymaking, spanning across the government sector and academia  Okagaki successfully led a college that boasts strong programs, distinguished faculty and a graduate education school ranked among the nations top-40 programs. CEHDs network of community partners and dynamic, community-based research helped the University of Delaware achieve the recent Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Prior to joining the University of Delaware, Okagaki was commissioner for education research in the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Under her leadership, the institute nearly doubled its research grant activities and launched several innovative research programs.

She established the IES research goal structure, which creates a stream of research from applied exploratory research through intervention development to evaluation of interventions implemented at scale. She launched the $100 million Reading for Understanding Research Initiative to accelerate research to improve reading comprehension from pre-kindergarten through high school.

Okagaki received her bachelors degree in applied behavioral sciences from the University of California at Davis and her doctorate in developmental psychology from Cornell University. She has served as associate dean of the School of Consumer and Family Science and professor of child development and family studies at Purdue University and held appointments at Yale University, Cornell University and the University of Houston.

Article by Jawanza Ali Keita
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Ukraine strongly condemns the first hydrogen bomb test claimed by North Korea.

This has been reported in a statement of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.

"Ukraine as a state, which voluntarily renounced its nuclear arsenal and steadily adheres to the principles of nuclear non-proliferation, strongly condemns such actions of North Korea. We believe that this issue should be urgently considered by the UN Security Council," the report says.

According to the document, such action of North Korea is a flagrant violation of the UN Security Council resolution, and it can lead to further significant aggravation of the difficult situation on the Korean peninsula, it also poses a serious threat to the international peace and security.

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UNHCR's High Commissioner Filippo Grandi speaks at his first press conference as head of the agency.  UNHCR/S.Hopper

GENEVA, Jan 7 (UNHCR) - With record numbers of refugees and displaced people worldwide, the new head of the UN Refugee Agency Filippo Grandi has urged greater diplomatic efforts to find solutions to conflicts and abuses driving people from their homes.

"UNHCR is navigating extraordinarily difficult waters," Grandi said on Thursday at his debut press conference after taking office on January 1.

"We owe it first and foremost to the forcibly displaced themselves, but we also owe it to StatesStates are desperately looking for solutions to situations involving refugees," he declared, and stressed: "Even under more desperate circumstances we have to think of solving displacement."

Noting that there are now some 60 million people displaced around the world as a result of conflicts from South Sudan to Syria, Grandi pledged to work closely with partners. He urged governments to invest more energy and resources to solving wars and conflicts and providing solutions to the causes of refugee crises.

Grandi stressed that countries which host especially large numbers of refugees, such as Lebanon, now home to over one million Syrians, need better help.

He also highlighted resettlement, humanitarian visas and family reunification as tools which can allow refugees to find safety in other countries,"not through trafficking but by what we call legal pathways."

Following a year in which over one million refugees and migrants arrived on Europe`s shores, Grandi said he would urge the European Union to pursue a "coordinated and cohesive" approach to dealing with people seeking safety, and warned that the rest of the world was watching the continent`s response closely.

He said that if Europe erected barriers and closed doors, the rest of the world would do likewise.

"The EU is struggling with an equal sharing of the burden of refugees within the Union, within the continent," he said while noting that less than 10 percent of the world`s current refugee population was actually in Europe.

"The massive arrival of refugees in Europe has opened the eyes of this very rich part of the world to the fact that refugees have massive needs that are not met."

Grandi also noted that the UNHCR was ready to help refugees return home to countries that had become safe again. Focusing on refugees and forcibly displaced people in Cote d'Ivoire and Colombia, he noted the importance of successful peace talks and reconciliation to create opportunities for return.

By Alex Court, Geneva
Senior official stresses improving ethnic minorities' lives in cities

From:English.news.cn | 2016-01-07 12:41

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has called for cities to be more receptive to ethnic minorities in a written instruction to a two-day conference on urban ethnic affairs, which ended on Wednesday.

Yu, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said urban ethnic affairs must be managed in accordance with the law and focus on protecting the legal interests of all and providing services to floating ethnic minority populations.

Attending the conference, vice premier Liu Yandong said rapid migration of ethnic groups from rural to urban areas has brought unprecedented opportunities but also challenges.

While stressing the Party's leadership in urban ethnic work, Liu also said that disputes involving religious and ethnic elements must be handled legally.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have documented that there is a link between lack of sleep and the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Star Tribune reports.

It is believed that sleep cleans out toxins, including harmful proteins that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Brain researchers have noticed that there are connections between sleep disorders and memory problems.

"Changes in sleep habits may actually be setting the stage" for dementia, says Jeffrey IIiff, a brain scientist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, as reported by NPR.

Iliff explained that among research animals that don't get enough deep sleep, those toxins could build up and damage the brain.

Iliff and other scientists at OHSU are about to conduct a study of people that should clarify the link between sleep problems and Alzheimer's disease in humans.

In 2013, Iliff was a member of a team that discovered how a lack of sleep could be speeding the development of Alzheimer's plaques.

Iliff said that what happens is that, "the fluid that's normally on the outside of the brain, cerebrospinal fluid - it's a clean, clear fluid - it actually begins to recirculate back into and through the brain along the outsides of blood vessels."

"That suggests at least one possible way that disruption in sleep may predispose toward Alzheimer's disease," he said.
UW to Take Major Step Forward with Enzi STEM Facility Opening

Travis Laurance, UW lab coordinator for the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been in charge of the departments move to the new Enzi STEM Facility. The building will open for freshman- and sophomore-level science and math classes when the spring semester starts Jan. 25. (UW Photo)

When the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility opens its brand-new laboratories and large classrooms to University of Wyoming students Jan. 25, it will change the dynamics of campus, says one UW academic.

It will be a hopping place. The center of mass at UW is changing, says Bryan Shader, UWs special assistant to the vice president for research and economic development, and a mathematics professor. Between classes, about one-ninth of the student body will be located north of Lewis Street. We have just changed the dynamics of campus.

The three-story, 107,000-square foot facility -- located on the northwest corner of campus -- will be home to most freshman- and sophomore-level science lab courses. The building is set to be open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, and is expected to be busy the entire time.

This means virtually every student who comes to UW will take, over their careers at UW, two to three courses that meet over there, Shader says. The building, when it is occupied, will see 900 students at a time in there for labs.

The facility -- which includes more than 30 labs (including computational science and mathematics labs), small active-learning classrooms and storage and set-up space for lab equipment -- houses physics on the first floor; life sciences on the second; and chemistry on the third. Each floor is color-coded, Shader says, with the first floor doused in purple to represent the Milky Way; the second green to depict plants; and the third with orange hues to represent flames.

The facility will provide science majors with learning opportunities and experiences that will propel them in their scientific careers; expose all UW students to the significance of science; provide opportunities to celebrate science with the public; and serve as a key component of UWs Science Initiative, Shader says.

Faculty Excited About Possibilities

Jordan Turner, a lab assistant for the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a December UW graduate, helps move lab equipment into the new Enzi STEM Facility shortly before the holiday break. (UW Photo)

Faculty members, who have slowly been moving over lab equipment since late in the fall semester and over the holiday break, are excited about teaching possibilities in the new building.

The new facility will let us teach more of our classes in an active-learning environment that we call Studio Physics, says Chip Kobulnicky, a UW professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Room 195 seats 56 students around movable tables with four students at each station. The traditional elements of introductory science classes -- that we call lecture/lab/discussion -- now all take place at the same time and in the same room.

While Kobulnicky wont teach in the new facility until next fall, he says the advantages of this are many: A professor oversees the entire course; students have three instead of five class sessions per week; and he has found that attendance averages more than 90 percent, compared to 65-70 percent in the traditional large-lecture room format.

Students appear to like this format better on evaluations, he says. Our campus is making a push to teach more classes in this format, especially for introductory sciences. That's a major thrust of the Science Initiative.

Danny Dale, head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, agrees.

The beauty of teaching in the studio style is that you can continuously modify your approach based on what's best for the students, says Dale, who, along with lab coordinator Travis Laurance, designed Studio Physics space for the department. One day, we may have them experimentally explore a topic -- such as the coefficient of kinetic friction -- before we talk about the theoretical background. On another day, we might do some formal introduction and let them loose to explore the topic with the equipment available.

Like Kobulnicky, Dale says active learning has been shown to strongly improve both student learning and attendance.

I think the Enzi facility, with its greatly improved science teaching lab facilities, also will spark more enthusiasm in our students for fully participating in lab and, thus, hopefully learn more, Dale says.

In addition to helping UW students majoring in the sciences, Shader says the studio-style classrooms will greatly assist students who will eventually teach math and science to elementary, middle school and high school students.

It (classroom) has all of the teaching manipulatives they will be using when they teach, he says. Students will be learning the science and math, and learn how to actively engage students to understand these topics.

The Enzi STEM building is an amazing facility. Some of the big improvements for chemistry students include much better lighting in the labs (windows), as well as improved ventilation, says Carla Beckett, an associate lecturer/lab coordinator in the Department of Chemistry. There also is excellent technology in each lab for the teaching assistants to present pre-lab materials.

Beckett says the new fume hoods and ventilation systems are much quieter than the old building, which will allow students to hear their teaching assistants much better. Additionally, students each will have their own individual lab drawers to store their glassware, goggles and other lab equipment. Shortly before the winter break, Beckett says student lab drawers (all 1,152 of them) were stocked with glassware along with the common lab equipment used in the teaching labs.

The new Enzi STEM Facility includes three color-coded floors to distinguish different departments and an atrium where students and faculty can gather to discuss science. (UW Photo)

Major Improvements

In the past, it was common for many high school and community college students who came to UW to remark that they had studied in better lab and science facilities than what was offered at UW in the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences buildings. They wont be able to say that any more, Shader says.

Our science lab facilities for undergraduates are now state-of-the-art, he says.

I think that the best thing about the new building is that it is so bright and beautiful that students will want to take chemistry and other science courses, Beckett says. The ability to see easily into the labs and classrooms allows students to see what other students are doing and, perhaps, make them want to take other courses.

Shader agrees, describing the labs with no windows in the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences buildings as dark and dank.

The new facility includes a large atrium, with furniture sprinkled throughout the three floors for students to study, or for faculty and students to discuss science. Shader described this as collision space.

These are deliberately designed spaces where faculty from different disciplines can run into each other; where students from different majors mix, he says.

Enzis Educational Contributions Recognized

Naming the building after longtime U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi was proposed by former Gov. David Freudenthal, who saw an opportunity to honor Enzis contribution to education and propel the state forward in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM), says Chris Boswell, UWs vice president for governmental and community affairs. Enzi is credited with securing Abandoned Mine Lands funds to construct the $50 million building.

A dedication of the building is scheduled March 29, with Gov. Matt Mead and Enzi among those expected to attend.

He has been very influential in crafting legislation that garners bipartisan support in the Senate. These have been bills that moved significant education initiatives forward, Boswell says. Whether as chairman or as ranking member, Sen. Enzi knows how to move bills through to become law, and Wyoming and the country are the better for it.

Previously, Enzi served as chair and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Sen. Enzi has been a strong supporter of education at UW, the states public schools and community colleges, Shader adds. This building will provide opportunities for students to be ready for a STEM-centric economy.
Xi envisions Chongqing as int'l logistics hub, stresses development

From:English.news.cn | 2016-01-07 12:41

CHONGQING, Jan. 6, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) greets workers during his visit to Guoyuan Port in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Jan. 4, 2016. Xi made an inspection tour in Chongqing from Jan. 4 to 6. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

CHONGQING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Chongqing, the start point of a transcontinental railway to Europe, to build itself into an international logistics hub in the hinterlands and a leading inland open economy.

Xi made the remarks during his first inspection tour of 2016 in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Monday to Wednesday.

At Guoyuan Port, a modern transportation hub still under construction, Xi said the Belt and Road Initiative has provided a bigger platform for Chongqing to "go global" while development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt will help Chongqing better integrate with central and eastern regions.

Xi also visited the Chongqing branch of BOE, where he praised the company's superior technology and branding and urged it to step up research and development.

Stressing coordinated urban-rural development, the president said Chongqing has faced an arduous task in this matter as the city covers a large area crisscrossed by rivers and mountains, urban and rural areas, which are unbalanced in development.

He called for simultaneous development of modern industrialization, computers, urbanization and agricultural modernization to integrate urban-rural development.

Xi also urged Chongqing to protect the Three Gorges Reservoir and the Yangtze River that runs through the city, saying these are crucial to the long-term development of Chongqing as well as the whole nation.

The city should better protect the environment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze, Xi said.

Stressing the need for all people to share the fruits of the country's reform and development, Xi urged "precision" in poverty relief, with measures tailored to different local situations and groups.

He called on governments not only to hold accountable those responsible for public safety accidents, but also to draw out the common problems hiding behind the accidents.

"Government efforts to maintain public safety and stability are linked to the happiness of thousands of Chinese households... If accidents happen or risks are detected in one place, the whole nation should draw lessons from it," said Xi.

Xi expressed appreciation for the social and economic achievements made by Chongqing in recent years.

Xi said he hoped the municipality will play a pivotal role in the strategy to develop the nation's western parts, in addition to integrating its growth into the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the economic belt along the Yangtze River.

In addition, Xi urged officials to work in earnest, have courage to tell the truth and never abuse power in exchange for personal gains.

Leading cadres at all levels constitute the backbone of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) governance force and should take the lead in implementing the "three stricts and three earnests" requirement, the president said.

The "three stricts and three earnests" is a series of requirements for officials to improve their lifestyles and work, urging them to be strict in morals, use of power and self-discipline, as well as honest in their work and behavior.

"Ideals and belief should not be regarded as slogans that officials just pay lip service to...Instead, they should be converted into strength that encourages officials to take action," Xi said.

Rigid implementation of discipline and rules not only requires a set of thorough, effective regulations, but also a process of obeying them hundred percent, he said.

The right exercise of power can be achieved through acting by law, Xi said, urging officials to always bear in mind the principle of acting in accordance with the law and never abuse power in exchange for personal gains.

The year of 2016 is a vital period for deepening reforms, the president said, calling on local authorities in Chongqing to fulfil reform tasks assigned by the central authority, as well as explore innovation.

"The priority, path, order and methods of reforms should be worked out to make sure the reforms precisely satisfy the demand of local development as well as people's expectation," Xi added.

NEW CONCEPTS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Xi emphasized the new concept of innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing in the process of building a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020.

Xi hailed these new concepts as a solution to faltering global recovery and a response to China's economy, which has entered a "new normal" state featuring slower growth.

Xi said the concept must be carried out firmly and swift efforts should be made to adjust the thinking and practice which was not in line with it.

He stressed the five parts of the new concept should be implemented as a whole since they were inseparable in nature.

Though factors hampering economic development lie in both the demand side and the supply side, the supply side is principal, said Xi, urging more work to advance supply-side structural reform.

Supply-side reform is the latest buzzword among Chinese leaders and economists as the country moves to address issues like excess capacity, housing overhang, and unprofitable "zombie" state-owned enterprises.

Xi demanded more efforts to phase out excess capacity and restructure industries, in addition to lowering the companies' costs and developing emerging industries as well as service sectors.

The president said the supply system should be improved to cater for consumers better.

Related:

Xi says new development concept a solution to global recovery

CHONGQING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the new concept of innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing as a solution to faltering global recovery during his inspection tour to southwest Chongqing Municipality.

The notion was also a response to China's economy, which has entered a "new normal" state featuring slower growth, according to the president. Full story

Xi calls for supply-side reform

CHONGQING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping urged more work to advance supply-side structural reform during his inspection tour of southwest Chongqing Municipality from Monday to Wednesday.

Though factors hampering economic development lie in both the demand side and the supply side, the supply side is principal, said Xi. Full story

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The wisdom to protect China's overseas interests

From:CCTV.com | 2016-01-07 11:05

By Chu Yin, researcher at Center for China and Globalization (CCG), associate professor at University of International Relations



The United States is weakening in power, while global security after the Cold War in the West faces a downward trend. The sluggish economy casts doubts over an international capitalist marketplace. Protectionism measures are rising as a backdrop.

Western countries are facing more public responsibilities that have created chaos in some regions. Countries and regions, such Afghanistan, Libya and Mali are cases in point. With the withdrawal of Western armies, Western-supported regimes might collapse.



Meanwhile, new powers are rising. After the Soviet Union's dissolution, the West-centered world order faces challenges from different powers.



The security order has been subverted by competing powers. Iraq and Syria are collapsing due to rivalries among Shia, Sunni, Western countries, Russia and Turkey. The protection of overseas interests is fundamental as the world has become more insecure.



Yet, some countries embrace unilateralism for a single country's benefit, which sparks more insecurity. France's actions in Libya, Syria and Mali have made itself a hostile target, just like the US. Turkeys intervention in Syria and Iraq has caused the Middle East to become more unstable.



But, Beijing has chosen a different path to protect its overseas interests, by focusing on international cooperation and dialogue that respects national sovereignty and peace.



Peace appreciation may seem soft, but such softness could avoid misunderstandings and boost cooperation despite the backdrop of complicated international situations. The concession can achieve results in spite of fierce rivalries.



During the evacuation of overseas Chinese in Libya and Yemen, Chinese foreign affairs departments were able to get respect, cooperation and help from parties at war and the surrounding countries, because Chinese diplomats have gained friendship with leaders and people in these countries. Such massive evacuation is unimaginable without positive local relations.



China's protection of overseas interests, which is different from the western-mode, supports seeking common ground while respecting differences and appreciating peace.



Beijing favors benevolence, since the nation is located in a highly-complex neighborhood with major investments in underdeveloped and unstable regions.



The benevolent manner may disappoint enthusiastic young men who are obsessed with Emperor Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of Han and Genghis Khan, but China can lead the world with a positive attitude.



Water is the softest but penetrates everything. China, with its peaceful standing and strategy, can win favor from the world.
Uber Technologies Inc. have reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman today regarding Uber's data management. Previously, Uber is using a system which allow its employee to obtain sensitive data especially regarding Uber drivers and customers' location.

According to the settlement, Uber will pay a total of $20,000 in fine to the attorney general and will be required to restrict its usage too. According to The Verge, current setting inside Uber system contains a "God View" mode which shows the aerial view of all their driver and passenger's location on the map without the consent of the user.

Uber, whose currently evaluated at $62.5 billion was also required to tighten its cyber security because the current system would take Uber months to detect any data loss. This comes after the company was previously hacked and the names and license number of its driver was exposed to another party as reported by the New York Daily News.

According to an accusation made to the company by the attorney general, Uber also admitted that the company purposely delayed informing its driver regarding the breach putting their safety at risk.

Part of the agreement regarding security tightening, Uber will encrypt driver's geo-location information and also apply a series of other authentication requirements. Besides that, Uber will also limit the number of employees that will be allowed to use the "God View" mode.

Market Watch also reported that Uber had been adopting a stricter security after its previous attack even before the settlement which exposed 50,000 of its drivers' information. According to an official email from Uber's spokeswoman, she said that "We are deeply committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of riders and drivers."

The attorney general, Schneiderman is also pleased with the settlement and the commitment shows by Uber throughout this process. According to him "This settlement protects the personal information of Uber riders from potential abuse by company executives and staff, including the real-time locations of riders in an Uber vehicle."

Investigation on Uber's "God View" unregulated use comes under the limelight after a BuzzFeed News reporter reported that Uber executive has been using the system to view her location before their meeting. According to the report, the executive was using the system to locate her because she was 30 minutes late to the meeting. Uber maintained its statement that all executives will still have the right to access the information.
The limitation on baggage was implemented on Tuesday for Amsterdam and Paris flights carried by Boeing 777. Economy passengers are only allowed to hand-carry luggage of up to 7 kilograms while business-class customers are allowed up to 14 kilograms.

As ABC News reported, the implementation reels from the loss of two planes. This includes the flight MH370 that went missing since March 2014 while taking its flight to China. Many believed that the said flight plunged in the Indian Ocean.

On Wednesday, the said airlines temporary lifted the temporary ban on checked-in baggage. All flights from Kuala Lumpur to London, Paris and Amsterdam will again fly normal route, according to Channel News Asia.

"Normal baggage allowance has also been restored. Passengers are able to check in two pieces of luggage of up to 30kg for Economy Class, 40kg for Business Class and 50kg for First Class," the company added.

Because of the restrictions, many passengers are disappointed making them posts angry comments on the airline's Facebook account. It states that Malaysia Airlines is the only airlines that impose such ban. Some said that instead of rejecting the freight, it should have put a limit on the volume of passengers. Other upset customers asked for ticket refund, based on the report of news.com.au.

"The longer flight path consumes more jet fuel and for safety reasons Malaysia Airlines has had to impose temporary limitations on checked in baggage allowance," it said, referring to the routes to Europe it was flying for safety reasons.

Last year, Christoph Mueller was the first foreign CEO appointed by Malaysia Airlines. He was the former head of Ireland's Aer Lingus and was expected to help in the major restructuring. He informed that the airline will break even by 2018 after laying-off 6,000 staff, selling off its surplus aircraft and repairing and improving its international fleet.

The restrictions enraged passengers, however, as per safety rule these were implemented. Passengers were allowed only specific weight for their baggage and luggage to carry.
Every year in January, technology enthusiasts and business people come to Las Vegas to observe the latest technology advancement in consumer technology and electronic product. This year, one of the highlight is drone in various size and type. From many drones, PowerUp stand out as the lightest drone.

Time Magazine reported an event related to CES known as drone rodeo. The annual event tool place in Clark County Shooting Park, a 40 minutes drive from Las Vegas Convention Center, the CES venue. Time Magazine took note of three most impressive drones and its technology.

First is an Avegant Glyph slick new virtual reality headset, that enable people to pilot drone and getting a first-person view from the aircraft. The VR headset is able to fly and control the DJI drone model using head movement. Another one was 3D Robotics Solo, introduced as the only drone in the world to officially work with GoPro camers.

GoPro is a company specializes to develop action camera and famous for its Hero camera series for action video and photography. While Solo is dubbed as the smartest drone and marketeted for aerial photography purpose built by drone maker, 3D Robotics. The quadcopter drone is powered by Smart Shots, a high flying navigation system running on Linux that is easy to program the flying route for aerial video shoot.

The last one is the smallest drone from PowerUp Toys, that looks like a paper airplane. Although it looked like a paper airplane, PowerUp FPV is a fully functional drone.

CEO of PowerUp Toys Shai Goitein told PR NewsWire, "We're truly pushing the envelope of what people remember of their favorite childhood paper airplanes," Furthermore, regarding its drone that resembled a paper airplane, "When we were younger, we were inspired to create, to experiment and play. Now, we're bringing today's technology to where it all began - paper airplanes - to create something truly remarkable. We're giving imagination real wings, and letting people experience flight in a way they only dreamed about."

CNet reported that PowerUp FPV is a live streaming paper airplane drone that is part origami masterpiece, part VR experience and all fun. The drone is made of heavy-duty paper, with a rod that runs down the centre, connecting the propellers at the back to the motor at the front. Users can fly the drone using smarphone and connect the drone via Wi-Fi.

For more exciting experience, PowerUp has provided FPV (first-person view) headset to control its drone using a head movement, which can also use Google Cardboard or any VR device. Owner of PowerUp drone does not need to register its drone to FAA because it only weighs 2 ounces, while according to FAA regulations, drone with minimum 8 ounces weight have to be registered.
NASA researchers on Monday has been concluding its six-year research on developing fuel efficient airplane. The Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project started in 2009 with a federal government fund and industry partners from Boeing and Pratt & Whitney.

PR Newswire reported that the ERA was created in 2009 and completed in 2015. Its mission is to explore and document the feasibility, benefits and technical risk of inventive vehicle concepts and enabling technologies that would reduce aviation's impact on the environment.

Researchers in the ERA focused on eight major integrated technology demonstrations that divided into three categories  airframe technology, propulsion technology and vehicle systems integration. Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for aeronautics research said, "If these technologies start finding their way into the airline fleet, our computer models show the economic impact could amount to $255 billion in operational savings between 2025 and 2050."

For ERA project, NASA had invested more than $400 million funding, with another $250 million resources from industry partners to research those eight technologies. Inverse reported that Fayette Collier, ERA project manager said about the project, "It was challenging because we had a fixed window, a fixed budget, and all eight demonstrations needed to finish at the same time."

As for the result, Collier who graduated from Virginia Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology added, "We then had to synthesize all the results and complete our analysis so we could tell the world what the impact would be. We really did quite well."

Eight technologies that is researched for six years are able to be dramatically reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent, as well as aircraft noise and pollution. This is achieved by increasing engine efficiency and refinement paired with a number of advancements in overall design of an airplane.

In airframe technology, NASA concluded that hybrid wing body concept along with morphing wing technology is able to minimize fuel burn and reducing noise. The project also reseached composite material to create damage-tolerant structures to produce a lighter aircraft body.

Gizmag also emphasized partnership between NASA and Boeing researchers to test out a protective coating that could be applied to aircraft wings in order to significantly reduce the aerodynamic drag caused by insects adhering to the wing. The research also showed innovation in integrating shorter vertical tail fin by utilizing embedded air nozzles is able to provide increased stability and directional control of air flow.

The result of ERA research project is a great benefit for airline industry. Especially considering U.S. airline spends over 8 billion gallons of fuel each year, according to U.S Department of Transportation data.

Subsequent to the project conclusion, NASA will presented the result of ERA project at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Conference in San Diego this week.
RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Darrell Essen (left) and Joe Murphy push a 1931 Packard into position in the entry way of the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard. The two volunteers were preparing the museum for its Studebaker & Packard show, which runs Saturday to March 27. The museum will also host the Los Angeles Studebaker Drivers Clubs 31st Annual Winter Meet Car Show March 20.

SHARE A 1930 Packard 740 limousine is on display for the show, which runs Saturday to March 27. The museum will also host the Los Angeles Studebaker Drivers Clubs 31st Annual Winter Meet Car Show March 20. photos by RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Steven Pierce (left) is guided by David Neel as Pierce steers a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner being moved to make way for the 1941 Packard 833 behind Neel. The two were moving cars into place for of the Studebaker & Packard show. Pierce is the museums car show coordinator and Neel is its director. RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR A cormorant hood ornament decorates a 1941 Packard 833. The car was being moved into place at the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard for the museums Studebaker & Packard show. Volunteer Kieche Meleson carefully steers a 1930 Packard 740 limousine from its tight parking spot to be relocated to the front of the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard for the museums Studebaker & Packard show, which runs from Saturday to March 27.

By Jeremy Foster

When Simi Valley resident Jim Ober displays one of his Studebakers at a car show, people sometimes ask him, "Who makes Studebakers?"

"The answer is, well, Studebaker," Ober said. "And when they hear this, their eyes widen."

The company, an American wagon and automobile manufacturer, produced its last automobile in the U.S. on Dec. 20, 1963, with its 1964 Studebaker Lark. After two years of production in Canada, the car line disappeared for good after the 1966 model year.

Ober noted that Studebakers are considered orphans in the car world, made by a company that no longer exists but supported by a community of car enthusiasts who bring hundreds of the cars back from the junk heap.

The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard celebrates the obsolete brand at its Studebaker & Packard Show, which opens Saturday and features five vehicles: a 1941 Packard 833, 1953 Packard Caribbean convertible, a 1963 and a 1964 Studebaker Avanti R2, and a 1963 Studebaker Wagonaire Daytona.

The exhibit continues through March 27 and culminates with the Los Angeles Studebaker Drivers Club's 31st annual Winter Cars Show March 20 at the Oxnard museum.

Ober, a club member for about two years, will bring his 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk. The event will also feature about 50 Studebakers and Packards  to reflect the fact that Studebaker merged with Packard Motor Car Company in 1954 to form the Studebaker-Packard Corp..

In 1964, Ober graduated from high school and his father handed down to him his 1953 Studebaker Commander  considered a landmark in auto styling.

"It was stylish and wild and a lot of my friends didn't know what the heck it was," said Ober, who still drives the Commander his father bought new.

Ober said he's seen fellow members pull nearly a dozen decrepit Studebakers out of backyards and turn them into shiny, running show cars.

"It's an absolute thrill to see," said Ober, who owns four Studebakers  the 1953 Commander, a 1963 Avanti, 1963 Wagonaire and a 1956 Golden Hawk.

"You can go to a car show and see lots of old Chevys, Dodge and Ford vehicles," he said. "But you don't always see the unique designs of the Studebaker."

David Neel, director of the Murphy Auto Museum, said the Studebaker show will be about the cars' caretakers as much as it will be about the cars.

"Some people forget that Studebaker was an important American brand and the vehicles were in existence for over 100 years," he said. "We're really excited to educate the public and see people's eyes light up when they see a car they remember or watch the owners show and tell stories about their pride and joys."

Thousand Oaks resident Mark Warmann, 61, tells of the first time he saw a Studebaker while heading through Oregon with his parents.

"I saw the ugliest car I'd ever seen at the time  a 1950 Starlight Coupe Studebaker," he said. "I thought it was so unusual looking that when I found the same model in a neighboring town for a reasonable price I had to have it."

Warmann bought his first Studebaker  a 1950 Starlight Coupe  in 1976. The turquoise car was rented from him and used in the 1986 movie "Stand by Me."

He has owned 19 Studebakers, purchased from the online auction site eBay, from members of the national Studebaker Drivers Club or by word-of-mouth.

"Each one has been treated like a cherished part of the family," he said.

The L.A. club President Howard Brown said the car show will feature the cars lined up chronologically.

"We want people to walk down the row of cars and really see how they evolved over the years," he said.

Brown bought his first Studebaker  a '53 Starlight Coupe  when he was 18.

"I took severe ridiculing from all my teenage friends," he said. "They wanted to know what it was and why on earth I did not buy a Ford or a Chevy."

Brown, now 73, said the car's design has remained as polarizing as ever.

"People would say that's the ugliest thing they'd ever seen or rave about how attractive it is," he said. "Nobody said it (just) looks OK."

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $9 for adults and children 12 years and younger are free.

The March 20 show runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the museum's parking lot and is expected to attract Studebakers made between 1936 and 1964. Admission is $10, which provides access to the show and the museum. Proceeds from the event will help the museum at 2230 Statham Blvd. in Oxnard.

CHROME ZONE

Studebaker & Packard Show: opens Saturday and runs through March 27 at the Murphy Auto Museum, 2230 Statham Blvd., Oxnard. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Cost is $9 for adults and children 12 years and younger are free.

The Los Angeles Studebaker Drivers Club 31st Annual Winter Meet Car Show: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. March 20 in the museum's parking lot. On display will be 50 of club members' Studebakers and Packards in chronological order. Admission is $10, which provides access to the show and the museum. Proceeds from the event will help the museum.

DID YOU KNOW?

* During the Civil War, the Studebaker brothers supplied wagons for the Union Army.

* The carriage that President Abraham Lincoln and his wife rode to Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, the night he was assassinated, was made by Studebaker.

* Thomas Edison bought No. 2 off the Studebaker assembly line when it began manufacturing electric cars in 1902.

* Studebaker was the only horse and buggy manufacturer to make the switch over to automobiles.

* Studebaker celebrated 100 years in business in 1952. Oldsmobile, America's second oldest automobile make, did not reach its 100th birthday until 1997.

Source: Los Angeles Studebaker Drivers Club
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Staff Sgt. Kevin Paul, of Oak Park, will be mentoring high school band students during Saturdays U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

By Staff Reports

A soldier from Oak Park will be one of 18 soldier-musicians mentoring high school band students during this year's U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday.

Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Paul will work specifically on the musical aspect of the performance of the All-American Marching Band, which has been a staple of the All-American Bowl since 2008. Band members are selected from across the United States by the National Association for Music Education, All American Games and Drum Corps International.

Paul plays the trumpet with the Army Concert Band, the oldest and largest of the Army Field Band's four performing components. The 65-member instrumental ensemble, founded in 1946, has performed in all 50 states and 25 foreign countries for audiences totaling more than 100 million.

Paul joined the Army Field Band in 2013. According to the band's official website, Paul holds a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a bachelor's from the Mannes College of Music in New York City. Prior to joining the Army Field Band, Paul served as acting principal trumpet of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl features 90 players in an East vs. West battle in San Antonio's Alamodome and is broadcast live on NBC. Oaks Christian School wide receiver Michael Pittman, the Ventura County Star's Defensive Player of the Year, will be playing.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Lost Hills Juvenile Intervention Team (J Team) consists of (from left) Deputies Rudy Torrontegui, Judy Gomez and Dave Diestel.

By Robyn Flans

Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Dave Diestel has a simple, straightforward way of explaining to parents what sexting can lead to and what cyberbullying means to the younger generation.

"Kids don't duke it out anymore," he said. "They're doing it on their phones."

Diestel, who's part of the Lost Hills Juvenile Intervention Team, talked with about 35 parents Tuesday night at Lindero Canyon Middle School about sexting and cyberbullying, a prelude to a discussion he'll be having next week with students.

He didn't mince words. He spoke of how the playing field has radically changed now that everything is done on the smartphone: When bullying took place on the playground, kids could leave it behind when they went home. But with the cellphone, bullying never stops, and the emotional trauma can lead to suicide.

Diestel stressed that kids don't know what their classmates might be going through  anxiety, bipolar disorder or autism.

"They keep that stuff private," he said.

So in talking to students, he tries to emphasize that their classmates might be taking medications and that the teasing could be more painful than they can ever imagine.

"I try to make them aware of consequences of actions," he said.

He also goes into the consequences of sexting  sending sexually explicit photos via cellphone.

Most of the time, he said, it starts with a message from the boy: "If you send me one of you, I'll send you one of mine," or, "If you love me, you will do anything for me," or, "If you don't do it, I'll find someone who will."

And most of the time, Diestel said, it is the girl who sends the photos.

Then comes the breakup.

"There is always a heartbreaker and a heartbroken," Diestel said. "And the heartbroken person is in immense pain."

Things can spiral, Diestel said, and the memories become weapons.

"If that person sent a sexually explicit photo to the person whose heart is broken, that is the first thing that gets sent out," Diestel said. "This is the revenge they take, and now everybody has it."

Sometimes, he added, that's still not enough. Threats can follow: "You will regret breaking up with me," or, "Whatever happens, it's on you."

If a threat of weapons appears  a photo of a gun, for example  law enforcement enters the picture.

Diestel advised parents to "monitor, monitor, monitor" their kids' devices.

One of the parents attending the session, David Agresti, of Calabasas, said he administers the cellphone accounts of all his family members, including his 12-year-old and twin 9-year-olds. That way, he said, if there are any issues, he's on it.

"I log in and have access to the lock screens, the passwords, the user names of both the phones and all the apps within the phone so I can make software updates and upgrades," Agresti said. "By having access to the phone, I have a library of information within the phone. I can see what apps have been downloaded, I can log into the apps that are on the phone and I can view all the photos that are on the phones."

Jeff Leininger of Agoura, who has an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, said he was grateful for the evening's presentation.

"It's nice that there is a partnership between local law enforcement, the schools and the parents, and they are helping to educate us," Leininger said. "The stakes are high for our kids."
STAR FILE PHOTO

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By Staff Reports

Power outages caused by stormy weather were reported Wednesday throughout the county, according to Southern California Edison.

An outage reported at 9:40 p.m. in Simi Valley affected 711 customers and was blamed on storm conditions. The utility said early Thursday its crews were testing the lines to help limit the number of customers affected. Restoration was expected for most customers by 1:40 a.m. Thursday, the utility said.

An outage reported about 3:20 p.m. near East Main Street and Telegraph Road in Ventura affected nearly 700 customers. Power was expected to be restored by noon Thursday, Edison reported.

In Santa Paula, an outage near West Harvard Boulevard and South Steckel Drive was reported about 1:10 p.m. Power was restored to about 146 customers by 6:15 p.m.

About 370 customers in the area of West Pleasant Valley and Saviers roads in Oxnard lost power about 12:10 p.m. and weren't expected to see it restored until 6 a.m. Thursday, Edison reported.

Some customers in the Mira Monte area of the Ojai Valley weren't expected to have power back until 12:15 a.m. Thursday. About 160 customers had been without electricity since 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Edison reported.

In unincorporated areas across the county, about 100 people in eight locations were without power. Some were expected to have electricity restored by 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, but many were expected it to have restored by Thursday afternoon, Edison reported.
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You may have a very real sense this fall that there is a hand reaching out from your November ballot in search of your wallet.

There are at least four statewide tax initiatives that appear to be gaining enough support to make it on the ballot. At least two local cities, Ventura and Santa Paula, are floating proposals for local sales tax increases. And the Ventura County Transportation Commission is continuing to build its case for a separate increase in the sales tax.

If they all pass, we will all pay more in taxes in 2017.

The concern from camps advocating any one of those taxes is that the combined pushes will create a backlash among voters who won't pick preferred proposals and just vote no for all of them.

There are two  and possibly three  proposals to extend the life of Proposition 30, a "temporary" tax increase that 55 percent of voters approved in 2012. It increased sales tax by a quarter cent and raised income tax rates on the wealthiest three percent, with most of the money going to schools.

The California Teachers Association is backing one proposal to extend the higher income tax rates until 2030, giving the money to public schools and community colleges. The California Hospital Association and unions back a separate idea to make those Prop. 30 rates permanent but change the pool so health care gets a greater share. The two sides are developing a combined initiative to even out the split in tax revenue that might be filed instead of the separate initiatives.

A separate initiative would add a surcharge to the tax bill for land and buildings assessed over $3 million with the money going to poverty programs, prenatal care, child care, job training and tax credits.

The final state initiative would increase the tobacco tax by $2 a pack, with the money going to various health care efforts.

Locally, Santa Paula is looking for a one percent sales tax hike that would go to the general fund with the money earmarked for police and fire needs. Ventura city officials are floating the idea of a half-cent sales tax hike for infrastructure needs.

And transportation officials are deciding whether to try for a quarter-cent or half-cent sales tax increase with the argument that if we don't come up with a local match, we'll always be in the back of the line to receive state and federal transportation construction and maintenance funds.

That's a lot more in taxes. Much of it would come out of everyone's pocket via higher combined sales tax.

That's why we urge in each instance that advocates not only explain clearly where the money will go but clearly explain why we can't afford to pay those costs under our existing tax structure. There needs to be clarity, particularly on local proposals, to show what we would have to give up to fund those needs with current tax dollars before any of us can be convinced to pay more.

There will be a lot of election noise thanks to the presidential voting. To be successful, each of these tax deals need to find a way to present their message to voters in a straightforward and understandable way if they have any hope of success.


Last night, The Palazzo Resort-Hotel Casino hosted the Las Vegas Epicurean Affair, presented by the Nevada Restaurant Association (Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com).

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Nearly 75 renowned restaurants and beverage purveyors dazzled approximately1300 guests at the luxurious Pools at The Palazzo. Long known as the premier tasting event for Las Vegas locals, this years Las Vegas Epicurean Affair did not disappoint. From the moment guests entered the elegant poolside setting, which was the quintessential venue for this highly anticipated evening, bites from world-class chefs tempted palates.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Valentino featured exquisite roasted, suckling pig, as well as guanciale-wrapped escargot. The scent of truffles wafted from Morels French Steakhouse & Bistros Dungeness crab cocktail atop a truffled gaufrette. FIRST Food + Bar showed its commitment to sourcing local ingredients by presenting dishes made with produce from nearby Olsen farms  produce that Chef Sammy DeMarco grew himself and created into dishes specifically for the Las Vegas Epicurean Affair.

Powerhouse restaurants brought their A game with signature dishes. Nobus stellar black miso cod was a favorite, as was Restaurant Guy Savoys black truffle artichoke soup with mushroom brioche. Bradley Ogdens essential butterscotch pudding is always a delightful finish.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Laguna Champagne Bar took over the center bar with oversized champagne bottle ice sculptures flanking each side as they served their popular Flower Eclipse champagne cocktail. Executive Chef Luciano Pellegrini of Valentino and Executive Chef Tom Maloney of AquaKnox along with other participating chefs, gathered here at the end of the evening to toast a wonderful event.

Popular off-Strip restaurants were prominent as well, with dishes such as seared ahi tuna from Marche Bacchus French Bistro & Wine Market and mini cupcakes from The Cupcakery. Hash House a Go-Gos signature watermelon cooler was a refreshing hit among revelers.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Live DJs kept the crowd moving while inflatable acts on the pool kept crowds entertained. Nearly every notable foodie in town made an appearance, sipping on cocktails, wine and champagne provided by Southern Wine & Spirits and Wirtz Beverage of Nevada.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.

Photo:  Erik Kabik/ RETNA/ www.erikkabik.com.
Nguyen Ngoc Toan, deputy director of the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone Management Authority, said that the investors had yet submitted the necessary application dossiers of the proposed project to the local authorities for approval.

Representatives of the management board had a working session with the investors. The investors are currently hiring experts to study and adjust the scale of the project. Simultaneously, they requested an extension of the deadline of submitting documents for the investment certificate to June 2016, Toan said.

At present, the investors have not completed the application procedures for an investment certificate due to the world oil price being in a slump without showing signs of recovery. The world oil price is currently at $37 per barrel, almost half of the $60 per barrel breakeven price.

Additionally, the price is forecasted to drop to $20-25 per barrel. As the worlds largest oil and gas companies, including BP Plc, Statoil ASA, and Total SA, are facing difficulties due to the oil price slump, PTT and Saudi Aramco must consider reducing their investments.

Last year, the projects investment certificate was delayed by the investors failure to complete the procedures, despite the local authorities commitment to create favourable conditions for the completion and implementation of the project.

PTT and Saudi Aramco wanted to look for a Vietnamese partner to take part in the joint venture, as mentioned earlier by PTT.

The Thai firm proposed partnering with state-run Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) to develop the project and held working sessions with the provincial authorities and Petrolimex representatives but failed.

While PTT confirmed that the involvement of a local partner was not an essential condition for PTTs investment, Saudi Aramco insisted on having a Vietnamese enterprise in the project. This is why the investors have not yet applied for an investment certificate.

The uncertainty in implementing the project will impact Binh Dinhs foreign investment prospects as the opportunities from the Victory project remain vague. Last year, two Thai companies, namely Ratchburi Electricity Generating Limited and KST Energy Development Joint Venture Co., Ltd, arrived to Binh Dinh to find investment opportunities in supporting industries, with the direct intention of working under the Victory complex.

The Victory complex is planned to cover 1,400 hectares in Nhon Hoi Economic Zone and is designed to refine around 20 million tonnes of crude oil per year. The investors are expected to increase the designed capacity to 30 million tonnes and the total investment capital to some $30 billion after 2021, and complete construction in the 2021-2025 period.
Tourism is a key source of revenue for Thailand, which received nearly 30 million foreign visitors in 2015, contributing to a third of GDP. (Photo: AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

BANGKOK: A speedboat struck and instantly killed a French tourist while she was swimming in waters reserved for snorkellers at a Thai resort, police said on Wednesday (Jan 6).

The woman, 52, died at the scene on Tuesday afternoon after the boat struck her as she was snorkelling off Poda island, one of several small islands in the tourist hot-spot of Krabi province.

Police arrested the speedboat's 29-year-old driver, Yothin Subsak, and charged him with causing death by a reckless action.

"He confessed to the charges," Krabi's tourist police commander Lieutenant Colonel Man Rotthong told AFP.

"The victim and her husband stayed in nearby Phuket and she bought a diving package here," he added.

Tourism is a key source of revenue for Thailand, which received nearly 30 million foreign visitors in 2015, contributing to a third of GDP.

Accidents involving tourists are common in a country where safety regulations are often weakly enforced.

A bus crash before Christmas killed 13 Malaysian tourists in northern Thailand.

The country has the second highest rate of road accident deaths in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (third from left) and his team in Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam in September 2015. Photo: Legendary Pictures.

Legendary Pictures plans to shoot at some famous tourist sites in Vietnam in February. In the movie, Vietnam is the hometown of King Kong. The places that will appear in the film are the worlds largest cave Son Doong in central Vietnam, the world natural heritage site Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam.

Kong: Skull Island has just completed important shots in Hawaii and Detroit (USA). The film crew was also present in Australia from January 1 to film scenes in Queensland. Vietnam is the third most important place where the last shots will be made.

Along with the movie Pan, Kong: Skull Island is considered an opportunity to promote the country and people of Vietnam in Hollywood movies. Moreover, Vietnamese film-makers can learn experience from Hollywood colleagues.

Kong: Skull Island is the second part of the blockbuster King Kong, which earned US$550 million in 2005 and the third part of a series of movies about monsters of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros, after King Kong (2005) and Godzilla (2014).

With a budget of $160 million, the movie is the story about a group of explorers who go into the jungle to discover the birthplace of the lord of giant gibbons.

In the movie, Vietnam will be the home of King Kong.

The movie stars actors Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and Toby Kebbell and is directed by Vogt-Roberts. The film is expected to be released in 2017.

In his mid-30s, Vogt-Roberts made his directorial debut with the film The Kings of Summer at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was also screened at the 2013 Cleveland International Film Festival. It won the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2013 Dallas International Film Festival. Vogt-Roberts also co-wrote and directed the TV series Mash up.
In an apparent change of heart, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday told members of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party that dual citizenship should not preclude a person from leading a political party.

Hun Sen has said in the past he would like to change the law so that only Cambodians with sole citizenship could lead a partywhich would leave out his political opponent, Sam Rainsy, the head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, who has French and Cambodian citizenship.

Upon close consideration from the leaders of other political parties, as well as the push for more participation, the CPP has decided to open up the opportunity for political party leaders, regardless of how many citizenships he or she holds, to participate in the elections with the CPP, Hun Sen told gathered members of his party.

The statement was the reversal of a position Hun Sen had taken on the matter in December, when he announced he would seek a law to limit the citizenship of political leaders like Sam Rainsy. Sam Rainsy is in exile abroad, facing a two-year jail sentence on a criminal defamation charge from 2008 should he return. Hun Sen had said that political leaders with more than one citizenship leave Cambodia too easily to be responsible for their actions in the country.

Thida Khus, director of the development organization SILAKA, said such flips in position could damage peoples confidence in Hun Sens leadership. But she said allowing for more than one citizenship in party leaders would help Cambodia in the long run.

The important thing is that we need human resources, she said. We need people who are willing to come to help and serve the nation. Its not that all the politicians who hold one nationality are sincere, while those who hold more than one nationality are not. Its not like that.

Rescue Party spokesman Yim Sovann said Hun Sens announcement would help normalize the current political situation, as well.

Hun Sen was speaking at an annual ceremony to mark Jan. 7, 1979, when Vietnamese-backed forces ousted the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh. The day is a contentious one, because while it did mark the end of Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia, it also meant the beginning of a decade-long occupation of the country by Vietnam, embittering many Cambodians.
Saudi Arabias foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, is in Pakistan where he held talks with political and military leaders on Thursday to discuss the Sunni-majority kingdoms rising tensions with regional rival Shiite Iran.

Riyadhs execution of a prominent Shiite cleric this past Saturday has fueled tensions across the Middle East and angered Tehran, leading to anti-Saudi demonstrations in Iran and the ransacking of Saudi Arabias embassy in the country.

Sunni-dominated Pakistan maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and Iran and is seeking to avoid taking sides mainly because it has a large Shiite minority in the country.

Peaceful resolution sought



Ahead of the visit of the Saudi foreign minister, Pakistani foreign policy chief, Sartaj Aziz, told parliament Islamabad is a friend of both Saudi Arabia and Iran and is calling for the resolution of differences through peaceful means.

Pakistan supports a Saudi-led alliance against Islamic State militants but insists the nature of Islamabads role in the alliance has yet to be defined.

[The] regional security situation came under discussion during the meeting, said a military statement that quoted the Pakistani Army chief as telling the Saudi minister.



Pakistani critics and newspaper editorials have urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not to take sides in the conflict, warning it could fuel sectarian tensions at home where Sunni and Shiite extremists are already locked in a rivalry that has killed thousands of people in recent years.

Pakistan shares around a 900 kilometer border with Iran while Saudi Arabia has extended crucial financial assistance and oil on deferred payments to Islamabad to support its struggling economy.



Prime Minister Sharif spent several years in Saudi Arabia after he was ousted from power in a military coup in 1999 and exiled to Riyadh along with his entire family.
Alabama's top justice has ordered the state's probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year legalizing gay marriage.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore cited conflicting court rulings as his reason for issuing the order.

"Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court  Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act," Moore wrote in an administrative order Wednesday.

In Mobile County, the probate court said it would stop issuing marriage licenses to all couples.

"In order to comply with the administrative order of Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore  the court is not issuing marriage licenses to any applicants until further notice," it said in a message posted to its website. "This action is necessary to ensure full compliance with all court rulings that apply to the court and to Mobile County."

'Sad and pathetic'

Elsewhere in the state, reaction has been mixed.

In Montgomery, Probate Judge Steven Reed said Moore has "soiled the court" with his decision.

"Judge Moore's latest charade is just sad and pathetic," Reed wrote on Twitter. "My office will ignore him and this."

Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said in a statement that "marriage equality is now the law of the land  including in Alabama."

"There are still judges who are determined to stand in the way of people's rights," Clinton wrote. "We need to ensure that marriage equality is guaranteed and enforced nationwide."

Moore, a conservative Republican, has previously attempted to block same-sex marriage in the state, but backed down after legal challenges. In 2003, he was removed from office after refusing a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.
North Korea's decision to carry out what it says was its first hydrogen bomb test has already triggered international condemnation, and is likely to lead to tougher sanctions as concern spills across the border into China.

Analysts say the move highlights the growing desperation of North Korea's third generational leader Kim Jung Un and how he is running out of options.

Unstable leadership

Kim, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on January 7, became the isolated countrys leader in late 2011.



Yet the young leader seems largely unable to enjoy the same level of authority his father and grandfather did, says Ding Xueliang, professor of social science at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology who recently made a research trip to Yanbian, a border prefecture between China and North Korea.

Citing estimates by scholars in Yanbian who track the neighboring countrys development on a regular basis, the professor said Kim is put under further test now that North Korea has been hit by a drought and has suffered a huge 20 to 25 percent of food shortage that has pushed its already hungry people below the survival line,

That economic hardship, Ding suspects, may have motivated Kim to risk a provocative move in order to increase his authority domestically and up his bargaining ability with China and South Korea.



From our ordinary peoples perspectives, thats not smart. But from his own experience, thats smart because he does not have many bargaining chips to use on his side, said Ding.

In Kims textbook, his predecessors had succeeded in quite a number of attempts by resorting to the brinkmanship strategies. So, Pyongyang is likely to next negotiate with Beijing for stepped-up supplies of energy, food, machinery and financial aid, the latter of which Kim needs to organize a lavish party congress in May, Ding argued.

'H-Bomb' fallout

But Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University of China in Beijing, disagreed, saying such a threat will only backfire.



Whether its dealing with China or the U.S., Pyongyang knows it clearly that such [provocative] action can only lead to a tougher stance from the U.S. government, Shi said.

Shi expects the U.N. Security Council to come up with another round of tough sanctions against Pyongyang, which China has no excuse not to abide by.

As to whether China will impose another round of unilateral sanctions as it had done in the first half of 2013 by cutting off energy supplies to North Korea for up to seven months, its too early to say, according to the professor.

But no matter how much tougher the sanctions will be, the Security Council will never ask China to completely cut off economic support to North Korea, the consequence of which would be devastating, he added.



It would be more vital for China to sever financial ties, Ding said.



China now can cut off more financial accounts, that would directly hit the top leaders, the Hong Kong-based professor said, adding that China should join hands with South Korea to seek a joint sanction as its too sensitive for China to team up with western powers as well as Japan.

Tougher sanctions

Calls for tougher sanction against North Korea are growing online and on Chinese social media.

A Weibo user wrote China should close off its borders, cut off trade exchanges and leave this anti-humanity regime to its self-destruction. The sooner we take action, the more likely we can create a buffer zone. Another user said Fat Kim the Thirds action can only lead to more sanctions, which will put its 22 million poor people into misery. However, as the test site is only 120 km away from China, the nuclear pollution and leak has become the biggest scourge in northeastern parts of China.

Some, however, put the blame on China itself.

A Weibo user wrote that China cast its vote to join the international communitys sanctions against Pyongyang, but did China take any solid action? he asked, adding appeasement brings disaster. If anyone dies in northeastern provinces, Chinas own policies are to blame.

However, a brief survey on the Sohu website found that 37 percent of respondents believed the United States will take the initiative in imposing sanctions against North Korea while another 36 percent said the U.N. Security Council will. Only eight percent believed China would take the initiative. Although Chinese netizens half believed and half doubted North Koreas H-bomb test claim, a majority (70 percent) agreed that the tension in the Korean peninsula will intensify.
At least one person was killed and several dozen wounded Thursday as hundreds of armed Cameroonian youths attacked police stations in Mokolo, one of Yaounde's largest markets. The youths  some carrying locally made guns, machetes, and stones  were protesting what they say are excesses and human rights abuses by the police.



Businesswoman Dzekem Maria, who is among the protesters, say they are against police brutality and extortion.

"The police come here, harass people, beat people and we are very angry with them because they make like that and kill some people. The other day they came here and killed one young man," she said.

The most senior police officer in the area, Forsua Martin Claude, says the youths were avenging the death of a suspect who was wounded in a shootout with the police. He says the suspect had stolen money from a lady in the market and resisted police attempts to arrest him.

Fear of more attacks



Claude says police fear the attacks may extend to other markets in the capital city.

He says it is intolerable to defy public security and they are going to arrest all criminals. Claude says he has asked for more policemen to be deployed to the market.

The attacks continued spreading from the police station to police posts in the area. Although most of the attackers were eventually pushed back, there are still pockets of resistance in the market.

A senior government official in the area, Yampem Ousman, says he hopes business can quickly get back to normal.

He says thanks to the energetic action taken by the police, peace is returning to the area and business activity has to resume soon.

Cameroonians have often accused their police of corrupt practices.

Last month Transparency International reported Cameroon was one of the most corrupt countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and said its police are among the most corrupt professional groups.
Bahrain says it arrested members of a terror cell plotting to set off explosions across the country. Manama described the cell as an armed wing of the Shi'ite fringe opposition group Al Wafab, which Bahrain claims has ties to Iran and Hezbollah.



The arrests come amid ongoing protests in Bahrain and across the region over Saudi Arabia's execution Friday of a prominent Shi'ite cleric. Nimr al-Nimr had frequently criticized Bahrain's Sunni rulers for harsh crackdowns on Shi'ite dissent. Shi'ites represent about 70 percent of Bahrain's population.



Weve seen numerous protests in many different areas of the country, which have been responded to with a very severe crackdown, the use of excessive force, which of course is also expected from the way the government has been reacting to protests for the past five years, said Maryam Al-Khawaja, co-director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights and daughter of prominent rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, currently serving life in prison for his role in 2011 uprisings. And weve also seen numerous injuries both from tear gas and pellet shotguns, and weve had a number of arrests.



Khawaja said she is not surprised by recent developments.



Arbitrary arrests alleged



Its something that weve seen from the Bahraini government over and over again. They keep arresting people and saying that they have uncovered another terrorist plot and then what we find is we get a bunch of people who get arbitrarily arrested, tortured to confess and then given long prison sentences  and they usually have their citizenship revoked as well, she said, citing several recent arrests, including that of Al Wasat reporter Mahmoud al-Jaziri, accused of supporting terrorism, inciting hatred of the regime and having contacts with a foreign country.

Khawaja says that without evidence, transparency and due process, she has no reason to believe this weeks report about a thwarted bombing campaign.



Salman Al-Jalahma, counselor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Washington, defended his countrys rights record in a written statement to VOA.



These allegations voiced by opposition members and activists alike must be challenged, as they are outdated and unsubstantiated, he said. In fact, in the past 20 months, five officers and one innocent civilian were killed  a 72-year old farmer -- where in contrast, in the same time span, no one has died by actions of the police.



He said Bahrainis are allowed to express concerns freely, whether in the press, in parliament or in the streets, and police intervene only when protesters threaten lives or livelihood.



Bahrain, he continued, has set up independent bodies such as the Ombudsman or the Prisoner and Detainee Rights Commission (PDRC) to investigate citizen complaints.



This willingness to address legitimate grievances should not be downplayed," he said. "The reports published by the Ombudsman and the PDRC are available online to not only ensure transparency, but to hold the Government accountable to the recommendations put forward by those institutions.



Iran links unclear



Bahrain has followed Saudi Arabias lead and broken ties with Iran and ordered its diplomats to return to Tehran. Saturday, Bahrains information ministry invoked criminal law, warning it would do whatever was necessary to safeguard security in the kingdom. Monday, it made good on that promise, arresting prominent physician/activist Saeed Al-Samahiji for tweeting against the executions.



It would be foolish to think that Iran isnt enjoying the unrest in Bahrain, but how much its instigating it or controlling it is very difficult to judge, said Brian Dooley, a rights advocate at Human Rights First in Washington.



Bahrain is a small country. It doesnt have the security resources that Saudi has, and in fact when there were mass protests in 2011, the Bahraini security forces had to call on the Saudis and the Emiratis to come and supplement their own military, he said.



Manama has long viewed Tehran as an existential threat  and not without some provocation. Over the centuries, Bahrain has been ruled by Persians, Portuguese and, more recently, the British. During the 20th Century, Iran made repeated attempts to reassert its historic claim over Bahrain. Most recently, in 1981 a Tehran-based group called the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain attempted a coup in Manama.



It would be foolish to think that Iran isnt enjoying the unrest in Bahrain, but how much its instigating it or controlling it is very difficult to judge, said Dooley.



An independent commission investigating the 2011 unrest concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove Tehran was behind the protests.
A Baltimore judge has ordered a police officer to testify in the upcoming trial of a fellow officer facing the most serious charges in the death of Freddie Gray.

The young African-American man died last year after he was severely injured in the back of a police van.

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who drove the van, is facing the most serious charge of six officers charged in the Gray case  second-degree depraved-heart murder, or acting without any regard for human life.

Judge Barry Williams on Wednesday ordered Officer William Porter to testify at the Goodson trial. Porter's trial ended last month in a mistrial when jurors could not reach a verdict.

Porter's attorneys argued that forcing him to testify in the Goodson trial would violate his constitutional right not to incriminate himself before Porter is tried again in June.

But the judge granted Porter a special immunity, meaning that his testimony for or against Goodson cannot be used against him in his second trial.

Legal experts say this is an unprecedented decision in the state of Maryland.

Williams also turned down a defense request to move the Goodson trial out of Baltimore to avoid bad publicity.

Gray emerged from the police van with a severed spinal cord last April and died a week later. His death led to riots in black neighborhoods in Baltimore with protesters marching against police treatment of young African-Americans.

Goodson and Porter are two of the three officers charged in Gray's death who are black. The other three are white.
One of the biggest donors to the Democratic Republic of Congo is questioning how the DRC government is spending money. In a letter to a Congolese newspaper, the British ambassador to the DRC notes that in 2014, the last year for which there are figures, the government spent almost as much on parliament as it did on the country's entire health sector.



British Ambassador Graham Zebedees letter was published Tuesday in a Kinshasa newspaper.

In it, he says its an "uncomfortable fact" the basic services provided to the Congolese people are mainly funded by the Congolese people themselves, the diaspora, churches, non-governmental organizations, and foreign governments.

Official figures on how the DRC governments 2014 budget was spent suggest that funding services was not its top priority.

Numbers breakdown



Quoting the letter, the ambassadors deputy Jon Lambe repeated some of those figures.

"In 2014 the government spent almost as much for the parliament as for the health sector in the country, and 12 percent of the financial spending by the government went either on the presidency, the prime ministers office or the parliament, which is as much as went to primary, secondary and technical education combined. Few other countries in the world are so dependent on outside assistance to meet the basic needs of their people," he said.

No one likes this situation, the letter continues, not the Congolese people and government, nor countries like the United Kingdom, who spend $550 million a year to build the Congolese state.

"We are proud to be the second largest development partner of the DRC, after the United States, and we fully align our spending with the strategies and priorities of the government. We are here for the long term, but no country can spend these large sums forever," said Lambe.

The letter says Prime Minister Matata Ponyo knows what is needed to lift the country out of poverty: encourage investment, collect more taxes more fairly and invest the revenue according to the countrys priorities.

It says the DRC must also ensure better coordination of international aid, pay public servants fully and on time, but ensure they do not use their positions for their own benefit. If state assets have to be sold, the letter says, do so for the benefit of the nation, not individuals.
Peace talks between Burundis government and opposition groups were supposed to be held Wednesday in Arusha, Tanzania, after discussions opened last month in Uganda.

But the talks were canceled, without being rescheduled  adding to the problems for a country that has been experiencing unrest since April.

A senior foreign affairs official said the government will not speak with those it says are supporting violence.

However, the next step must be government action, says Carina Tertsakian, Human Rights Watch senior researcher on Burundi and Rwanda.

"It is certainly regrettable that the different parties do not seem to be able to come together," Tertsakian said. "I would say on the government's side, the government does not seem to be acknowledging the urgency of the need to take measures to stop the violence."

Tertsakian noted there has been violence committed by the government and the opposition, but the government needs to admit its role.

"In particular, it is not accepting responsibility for the conduct of its own security forces, who have killed many people in Burundi since the crisis began, Tertsakian said. Instead, it is wholesale blaming the opposition groups for all the killings that are going on in Burundi, even though much evidence points to the contrary."

Denying peacekeepers

Last month, the African Union announced it would send 5,000 peacekeepers into Burundi to stop the violence.

President Pierre Nkurunziza responded that "everyone has to respect Burundi borders." Otherwise, he said, the country would consider itself under attack and would fight back.

Many people hoped the president's remarks would be further discussed at the Arusha talks, but Thierry Vircoulon, central Africa project director for International Crisis Group, said the peace force was likely just a threat.

"Well, I think that, actually, the African Union have threatened Burundi to deploy a peacekeeping force that it is does not have, and therefore the threat is not credible," Vircoulon said. "I mean, there are two problems. The first problem is the political approval by the member states, and the second problem is that this peacekeeping force does not exist."

Regime not motivated

Regardless of what the international community does to try to resolve the crisis, Vircoulon said he does not believe government officials have much incentive to negotiate.

"Despite the fact that the regime is already under stress, and especially financial stress, they have not moved," Vircoulon said. "They have not made any concession or any kind of thing. And because they are radicals, they are ready to go to the end. And unless they are put under tremendous pressure, they are not going to change."

The talks were intended to help stem the violence in Burundi, where at least 400 people have been killed since Nkurunziza announced he was running for a controversial third term in April. He won re-election in July, in a poll boycotted by the opposition.
China stopped trading on its stock market Thursday for the second time this week as share prices plunged and the value of the Chinese currency continued to depreciate. Analysts say the situation in both markets could worsen in the coming days.



Chinese stocks tumbled 7 percent, prompting the regulator to shut down the market to avoid a further slide. The yuan slipped after the Peoples Bank of China pushed down its guidance rate 0.5 percent to 6.5646 per dollar, which is the weakest point since February 2011.



Analysts expressed concern about a possible currency war in the region. Chinas neighbors might be tempted to join in competitive devaluation with each country trying to defend its exporters, said Oliver Rui, professor of finance and accounts at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.



The government may be trying to encourage exporters and manage the weakening gross domestic product. But such a move can have a negative effect because neighboring countries will do the same thing and cause a currency war, Rui said.





Regulator blamed



As the market fell and the stock exchanges closed, a large section of investors blamed the China Securities Regulatory Commission for coming up with strict circuit-breaker rules. The rules force the stock exchange to halt trading for 15 minutes if prices fall five percent, and later shut the market down for the entire day if the slide continues and reaches seven percent.



The rule is being cited by analysts as the trigger behind todays market tumble. The regulators intention was to cool the market but it ended up causing panic among investors, said Johnny Fang, analyst with consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors.



The effect on the market is opposite of what was expected. Investors regard the circuit breaker as an accelerator for the bear market, Fang said.



The Shanghai market went into the 15-minute break after prices slid 5 percent soon after trading opened on Thursday. It took just one minute for the market to drop another two percent and hit the circuit breaker after it resumed trading.

Each investor was in a rush to be the first to sell before others hammered down the price, resulting in major losses, market observers said.



The government should stop treating rational investors as naive babies because its decisions cause uncertainty. The market does not need this kind of protection, Rui remarked.



The regulator is unlikely to change the 7 percent circuit breaker rule because that would amount to admitting its mistake, Rui said. It has come out with another rule that disallows major investors more than one percent of outstanding stocks within three months.



The one percent rule is worse. You cannot ask people not to sell stocks. It will only worsen the situation, he said.



Rui also expressed his concern that the Shanghai exchange may be suspended once again tomorrow because investors are in a pessimistic mood. Besides the circuit breaker rule, which acted as an immediate trigger, there are three other reasons behind the market slide:

 Chinese stocks are still overvalued, and there is room for correction

 Negative signals coming from the world economy and poor showing of the Chinese economy

 Devaluation of the Yuan



Coming challenge



The regulator is faced with another challenge next week when it is due to open up locked shares for trading. Chinese rules prohibit a large number of so-called non-tradable shares from trading for lock-in period of one or two years.



Shares worth $16.48 billion are coming up for conversion to tradable shares status as the lock-in period is due to expire on Monday. Analysts are saying that infusion of more stocks will result in higher liquidity and a further hammering in prices.



Unlocking the locked shares is bound to have a negative impact. Prices would fall again, and the markets would be forced to close down. I expect the authorities to come up with some solution to the problem, Fang of Z-Ben Advisors said.



Some analysts also expect the government to postpone the opening of locked shares. But such a decision would only delay the problem and not solve it because they will have to be unlocked sooner or later, Rui said.
In China, 11 trapped miners were confirmed dead Thursday, a day after a mine collapsed in Shaanxi province, local authorities said.

The collapse occurred at the privately run Liujiamao coal mine in Shenmu County Wednesday morning local time.

County officials said 38 of the 49 miners who had been working underground at the time were able to escape.

The official Xinhua News Agency, citing a preliminary accident report, said the accident was caused by the collapse of the void left behind when coal is removed. However, an investigation into the cause continues.

Late last month, 29 miners were trapped when a gypsum mine collapsed in Shandong province in eastern China. Rescuers were able to make contact with at least four survivors, who have been trapped underground for nearly two weeks, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

The miners are more than 200 meters below the surface. Rescue workers have managed to get nutritional liquid to the trapped miners while efforts to drill through the fragile ground to reach them continue.

The collapse on December 25 killed at least one person, Xinhua reported. Thirteen others are missing, and 11 made it to safety or were rescued earlier.

China's mines are some of the deadliest in the world, although safety standards have improved in recent years. Last year, 931 people were killed in mine accidents in China. In 2002, nearly 7,000 miners died.
Federal agents and local police officers surrounded a house in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston, Wednesday and arrested Jeffrey Fay Pike, the national president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. A federal indictment issued on December 16 in San Antonio, charges the 60-year-old and two other men of directing, approving and allowing violence against members of the rival Cossacks club.

Federal agents in San Antonio arrested the other two men, Bandidos Vice President John Xavier Portillo and National Sergeant at Arms Justin Cole Forster on similar charges. They also charged Forster with possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine.

A defense attorneys view

Speaking to VOA after his clients initial hearing, Pikes attorney, Kent Schaffer, said the specific charges against the Bandidos leader are much more limited than the general charges outlined against all three in the indictment.

Schaffer said, It does not really allege that Jeff Pike did anything other than that he was aware of the fact that Bandidos out in west Texas were fighting with Cossacks.

Deliberately remaining ignorant of criminal activity being carried out by others is a crime, but Schaffer said it is usually accompanied by other charges. He also questioned the alleged urgency of stopping further Bandidos violence against Cossacks through an indictment issued on December 16 and not acted on until now.

Schaffer said, You would think that if they were that concerned about the safety of the Cossacks that they would have either, one, indicted the case much sooner than they did or, secondly, at the time they returned an indictment they would have made the arrests.

Waco biker shootout

Schaffer said federal authorities may have been motivated to act because of the shootout at a biker gathering in Waco, Texas in May that left nine people dead and around two dozen wounded. Pike was not there, having just had surgery that left him recuperating for a few months. During that time, Schaffer said, Portillo took control of executive duties for the club, which was founded in Houston in the 1960s and now has some 2,000 members in 15 countries.

But federal officials say the indictment is the result of a 23-month investigation that uncovered criminal activity on a broad spectrum, including plans to commit violent assaults and murders. The indictment refers to the Bandidos as a highly organized criminal organization. Both federal authorities and Texas law enforcement officials regard the Bandidos as a gang that flaunts the law and threatens society.

Special Agent Joseph M. Arabit, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Houston Field Division said the operation that led to the indictment "has inflicted a debilitating blow to the leadership hierarchy and violent perpetrators of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Gangs or clubs?

But Civil Rights organizations and legal experts alike have criticized the mass arrests by police and indictments brought by prosecutors in Waco, and some are maintaining wariness in regard to the federal indictment as well.

At Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, history professor Randy McBee objects to police and the media using the word gangs in referring to clubs and he expresses concern that people may view all bikers as criminals because of crimes committed by a relative minority within the clubs.

You take the average guy who rides a bike, he said in a VOA interview, and he is attracting the attention and the scrutiny of the police and the odd stare from the public just as much as these other guys are, just because he is on a bike.

McBee, who owns a motorcycle and has written a book about biker culture, said biker clubs offer social solidarity for many people that is difficult to find anywhere else in American society today.

There really is a sense of community, he said. Whenever I am on my bike and I see someone else on one there is an unspoken solidarity that exists. It is the basis of identity.

McBee thinks it is possible, even in groups like the Bandidos, for some members to be involved in criminal activities while others belong only for the social bonding. Some law enforcement officials agree, but they say there is plenty of evidence to show that violence and illegal schemes have become the norm within at least some of the clubs and that, in their view, justifies their use of the word gangs.
New figures on the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq show the scope of the problem is much bigger than first thought, with would-be militants still finding their way to the battlefront.

For the second time this week, intelligence officials have released updated estimates on the number of foreign fighters, now saying more than 36,500 from at least 120 countries have gone to take part in the fight since the start of the conflict.

That figure includes at least 6,600 Westerners.

The earlier estimates had put the total number of foreign fighters at more than 34,000 from 120 countries, including at least 6,000 Westerners.

Back in October, intelligence officials had estimated there were more than 30,000 foreign fighters from at least 115 countries, including more than 4,500 from the West.

Number of US recruits unchanged

Despite the increase in the total, the number of American fighters has remained unchanged since the October estimates, intelligence officials told VOA on condition of anonymity.

They said approximately 250 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria or Iraq "to fight or otherwise support the conflict." Of those, about 24 have been killed in Iraq or Syria.

Officials familiar with the estimates caution that the increase does not indicate a current surge in foreign fighters, but is likely due to improved reporting as well as ongoing intelligence efforts to identify individuals.

"It's tapered off because it's physically gotten harder there and nations are cracking down more, not just the U.S.," said Patrick Skinner, a former intelligence officer now with The Soufan Group, a strategic security intelligence consultancy.

Skinner said a majority of foreign fighters likely traveled to the battlefront following the fall of Mosul to Islamic State militants in June 2014; but, he also warned it has proven difficult to shut down the flow.

"As long as people are willing to go there, they can get there," Skinner said. "We've overestimated our ability to detect and disrupt extremist travel."

The foreign fighter issue has alarmed some U.S. lawmakers.

"The threat is increasing, not decreasing," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul told reporters Friday. "That number was 25,000 last year."

"I don't think the strategy is working," he added.

While defense officials say there is growing evidence the Islamic State is being forced to turn to conscription, the group continues to be buoyed by a steady influx of recruits  enough to maintain a constant force of 20,000 to 30,000 fighters.



Through the end of 2015, slightly more than 1,000 foreign fighters a month were joining the Islamic State, a U.S. official familiar with the data told VOA. The official also said the most popular route continued to be crossing into Syria from Turkey, despite Turkish efforts to crack down along the border.

All of it is done through smuggling networks in Turkey, operating though Turkey, in Iraq and certainly in Syria, Mubin Shaikh, an ex-security and Canadian counterintelligence operative, told VOA via Skype.

Theres some attention on the networks, he said. But there really isnt a focus on attacking the networks and making that the framework in which the defeat of ISIS is supposed to be applied.

Young people, women drawn to jihad

There is also evidence that the jihadist-foreign fighter message continues to resonate with European youth and with women despite counter-messaging efforts.

Its still a profile that tends to be quite young, said David Sterman with the New America International Security program.

The average age is 24  many teenagers within the sample, he said. Women continue to be quite well represented.

U.S. counterterrorism officials have also worried that Russias entry into the Syrian conflict on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would spur more would-be militants to join the fight.

It would not be surprising if ISIL features the Russian build-up as a tie into their apocalyptic narrative, and to help bridge the generational divide among jihadists with Moscows actions in Afghanistan and Syria as bookends, a U.S. counterterrorism official said at the time, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
The State of Tennessee Archives has set conservators like Carol Roberts a daunting task. She not only works to restore and digitize state records back to the 1700s, but also helps the states 95 counties with their often poorly preserved records. Millions of birth and wedding certificates, wills, deeds, and tax records; all have to be painstakingly restored and then digitized.

"We do cleaning of those historic documents, we preserve them, we stabilize them as best possible," she explained. "We help with any kind of collection we want to preserve into the future."

Tennessee has found an unlikely partner to help with the task 2,500 kilometers away in the state of Utah. The Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church, maintains the worlds largest collection of genealogical information at its Family Search Archives.

Family Search supervisor Raymon Naisbitt says proudly, Anybody can come in from anywhere in the world and we will sit down with them and help them find their ancestors, both digitally as well as whats on microfilm.

The archives currently contain about 20 billion records, with a million new records added each day. Some records are collected by Mormon missionaries worldwide, while others come through partnerships with public and private sources. All are available to the public without charge.

The church wont say what it spends on the project, but the labor of thousands of Mormon volunteers, who see it as a religious duty, lessens the expense.

The average church service missionary will serve anywhere from two days a week  16 hours a week  up to three or four days a week," Naisbitt said, stressing that they volunteer their time and their service. "They give of their time freely in order to help, to assist people, to find their ancestors.

Religious imperative

The church collects the records for religious reasons, and has used them in ways that have created controversy. But officials insist the archives speak to a central tenet of Mormon theology. Family is key, according to archive spokesman Paul Nauta.

We believe that these family relationships wont end at death, that they are forever in nature, that we will truly see our loved ones again. So to be able to know whose shoulders were standing on, and to pass their stories and their history on to those who come afterwards is what makes the family strong and creates those ties.

The church is pushing hard to move its archive into digital media. Custom-designed apps now make many records available online anywhere, anytime. Naisbitt says digital access is critical to developing interest in the young. Its connecting us not only to our past and our present, but with future generations; where my own kids can go on and be able to see photos and stories and memories and documents of me, of my wife, and of my parents and grandparents.

And if youre computer challenged, the church maintains more than 4,800 Family History Centers around the world where you can get free assistance from local volunteers. Naisbitt says helping others connect with family, past and present, is its own reward.

And in many instances weve seen people shout for joy, some have shed tears of joy as theyve connected with their past and seen their ancestors.

People with ancestral connections to Tennessee will soon have still more reason to celebrate. After nine years work in the Memphis area, Mormon volunteers have nearly completed restoring and digitizing records in the states most populous county.
Germany and Cuba on Thursday agreed to open a trade office in Havana that would help German businesses seeking to invest in the communist-led island and possibly increase the current 225 million euros ($244.22 million) in annual bilateral trade.

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca at the opening of a business forum, the first event on Gabriel's two-day schedule.

German business leaders have said annual German-Cuban trade could quadruple to 1 billion euros in the coming years as Cuba seeks foreign investment. Also, Havana's improved relations with the United States could generate trade with third countries.

Gabriel said German companies want long-term investment in Cuba under transparent rules. "We want to put the political and economical relations to Cuba on a new basis," he said. "We want a new partnership on an eye-to-eye level."

German industrial gases supplier Stefan Messer GmbH has been in joint ventures with the Cuban government since 2001, largely through the gas-bottling Oxicuba S.A., but German companies generally have little presence in Cuba.

Trade incentives

Under a foreign investment law approved in 2014, Cuba is offering tax breaks and other incentives, such as allowing foreign businesses to operate wholly owned companies in a special development zone surrounding the port of Mariel.

Gabriel was due to visit Oxicuba and Mariel during his trip and meet with Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other Cabinet ministers.

Since Cuba and the United States reached detente a little over a year ago, companies from around the world have taken a closer look at Cuba. Some are interested in gaining a foothold ahead of an anticipated lifting of U.S. economic sanctions. The comprehensive U.S. trade embargo also complicates foreign business transactions in Cuba.

Trade possibilities were further advanced last month when Cuba reached a debt-restructuring agreement with 14 wealthy nations of the Paris Club that forgave $8.5 billion of Cuba's defaulted $11.1 billion debt.

Though Germany was not among the creditors because it had already restructured Cuban debt, the deal was an important step in Cuba's efforts to rejoin the international financial community and could lead to more Western credits and investment.

Germany has traditionally lagged behind other European countries such as Spain, the Netherlands and Italy in trade with Cuba. Cuban data ranked Germany as its 10th-largest trading partner in 2014.
Guatemala on Wednesday detained 14 ex-military officials, including the brother of a former president, for forced disappearances and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest period of its 36-year civil war.

Among the captured was 83-year-old Manuel Benedicto Lucas, a former top general and brother of ex-President Romeo Lucas, and Byron Barrientos, who was minister of the interior from 2000 to 2004.

Testimonies from victims helped officials locate 558 skeletons in a secret cemetery inside a military zone and connect them to the accused, said state prosecutor Orlando Lopez.

Over the past decade, the Central American country has begun prosecuting crimes from its civil war past, including massacres of women and children.

Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war pitted a succession of right-wing governments against leftist insurgents and led to nearly a quarter-million deaths. A U.N.-backed truth commission said the armed forces carried out more than 80 percent of human rights abuses during the conflict.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief minister of India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, died Thursday in a New Delhi hospital of pneumonia.

Sayeed was hospitalized two weeks ago.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer condolences, saying Sayeed "provided a healing touch to Kashmir through his leadership."

Sayeed, 79, one of the country's best-known Muslim politicians, took over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state for the second time last March, after serving in the same role between 2002 and 2005.

He was appointed India's first Muslim home minister in 1989.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. He is expected to be succeeded as chief minister by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti, who leads the moderate People's Democratic Party (PDP), which Sayeed founded in 1999.

Kashmir has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since 1947. The two countries have fought two wars over control of the Himalayan territory.

Since the 1990s, several rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces deployed in India-controlled Kashmir. The groups are seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

Sayeed advocated dialogue to settle the dispute with Pakistan.
The Islamic State is controlling some parts of the vast desert in Iraq where it is preparing for car bomb attacks against Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi officials told VOA.

According to the officials, IS controls a plain and sandy area known as al-Jazeera that is between Mosul, Salahuddin and Anbar provinces.

Iraqi Lieutenant Abdullah Bor, the Kurdish commander in Salahuddin province, told VOA that after IS lost control of some key Iraqi cities  including Tikrit and Ramadi  its fighters retreated to the surrounding desert, where they train and prepare to drive the homemade explosive devices into battle.

"IS uses the desert to plan suicide car bomb attacks in the cities around the area," he said.

Hassan Muhammad, a member of the Salahuddin Provincial Council, told VOA that IS recently altered its fighting tactics in Iraq by reducing direct confrontation and increasing suicide car bombings.

"IS has sent around 50 car suicide bombers from that desert to Ramadi" Muhammad said.

Ramadi is the capital of mainly Sunni-Muslim Anbar province, which had been controlled by IS since last May.

Weakened IS still deadly

Iraqi forces, backed by anti-IS coalition air power, drove IS fighters out of the city in December 2015 and declared their first major victory against the Islamic State group in months.

Days after Iraqi government forces recaptured the city, IS militants launched a counteroffensive and rocked the city with suicide car bombs. Dozens of Iraqi forces were killed trying to stop the vehicles.

Amin Aziz, a former leader of Salahuddin province, told VOA that IS has been weakened by its recent losses in Iraq and is using car bombs to prove it is still a threat.

"IS takes advantage of the al-Jazeera area because it's a vast, unpopulated desert between some Iraqi cities like Ramadi, Haditha and Tikrit," Aziz said.

Iraqi officials say IS used the desert region to plot a recent suicide car bomb attack on a key Iraqi military airbase known as Camp Speicher.

Iraqi Staff Lieutenant Anwar Hama Amin told VOA that Camp Speicher is under full control of the Iraqi army, but IS militants are using the desert to continue to launch attacks.

"Daesh takes advantage of the opportunities provided through the desert," Amin said, using an Arabic name for IS.
Salah Sabdow Farah is in relatively good spirits but admits he's in a great deal of pain.

His right arm is sprayed with angry shrapnel marks, his hip still hurts from where a bullet passed through, and he's just beginning to heal from internal injuries.

Farah sustained his wounds on December 21, when al-Shabab militants attacked the bus he was riding in near the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera.

The attack gained worldwide attention not because Farah and other passengers were shot, but because they defied the gunmen, and refused to divide themselves between Muslims and Christians.

Farah, a Muslim, paid the price for that bravery and has spent more than two weeks in Nairobi's Kenyatta National Hospital as doctors tend to his wounds. He's currently sharing a "private" room with five other patients and was on strict bed rest until January 7th.

But despite the pain, Farah is confident he did the right thing. Islam is a religion of peace, he says, and Muslims and Christians are neighbors.

"People should live peacefully together, he said. We are brothers. It's only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us.  and let us help one another and let us live together peacefully."

Al-Shabab, needless to say, does not share those attitudes.

Refusal to separate

Farah, 34, is a teacher and the deputy headmaster at a primary school in Mandera county, the northeastern corner of Kenya that borders both Ethiopia and Somalia.

Last month he went to Masaai Mara in southwestern Kenya  a trip of more than 800 kilometers  for a training program. He started his return journey on December 20, traveling by bus. The next day, he was almost home when the bus was ambushed in the town of Kotulo.

Buses in the area usually travel with a police car for protection.

"Unfortunately, there was no escort, Farah said, and then, unfortunately, we were surrounded by the al-Shabab."

Farah says al-Shabab's initial shots went through a windshield on the bus and shrapnel injured his arm.

After bringing the bus to a halt, the gunmen demanded the estimated 80 passengers disembark. They did, but not before some Muslim women on the bus gave headscarves to Christian women.

They no doubt remembered an incident in Mandera in 2014, in which al-Shabab stopped a bus, divided passengers by religion, and then shot dead the 28 non-Muslims.

After disembarking, "we were told to get down  we refused," Farah said. "When we refused, they started shooting, so starting [at] that time when they started shooting, we went down, everybody went down in panic."

Next, he says, the militants took the passengers to a field.

"We were told to separate  the Christians, this side, the Muslims, this side," Farah said.

But Farah and the other passengers refused.

"And then, at that moment, when we were told to separate, we refused, that is the time that the bullet got me, from somewhere far," Farah said. "It hit me in the hip."

Religion of peace

According to press reports, the Muslim passengers confronted the gunmen, telling them to kill all the passengers or leave them alone. Surprisingly, the militants chose the latter option.

When the ordeal was over, Farah was taken to Mandera hospital, before being flown to Nairobi for more intensive medical care.

Another gunshot victim is also recuperating at Kenyatta National Hospital. Two others were killed.

This Wednesday, Kenyan police released the names of four suspects in the attack  Mohamed Osman Aliow, Abdullahi Dimbil Ahmed, Mohamed Ahmed Farah and Abukar Mohamed Yunis. Police are appealing to the public for help and offering rewards for information leading to arrests.

Farah, incidentally, does not consider people like his attackers to be Muslims at all.

"Because Islam, Islam is a religion of peace, it's not a religion of terrorists," he said. "No, it is people who have different ideology, because people who have that ideology, they want to kill."

"But me, according to my belief, Muslims and Christians are neighbors and they can live together and that's why we are living together in Kenya."
Secretary of State John Kerry says implementation of the Iran nuclear deal could be just days away, if all goes well.



He commented in a Thursday briefing in which he highlighted U.S. foreign policy progress over the past year and urged U.S. lawmakers to confirm key diplomatic nominations that have languished in the Senate.



Kerry said he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who assured him that Iran intended to complete its obligations as rapidly as possible.



The so-called Implementation Day will occur when the U.N. nuclear watchdog verifies that Iran has met requirements to the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.



As a result of compliance, Iran would receive relief from crippling international nuclear-related sanctions. Late last year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani predicted Iran would reach Implementation Day by mid-January.



Kerry said Thursday that Tehran has already shipped most of its stockpiles of enriched uranium overseas.



It literally shipped out its capacity, currently, to build a nuclear weapon, he said.

Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans moved to give Congress more authority to scuttle the deal. The House Foreign Affairs Committee cleared a measure Thursday that would give lawmakers more oversight of the agreement Iran signed with the U.S. and other nations last summer. Reuters reported the bill could go before the full House as early as next week.

North Korea not unattended



Kerry highlighted foreign policy progress made during the past year, including the re-opening of the U.S. embassy in Havana and U.S.-led coalition efforts that have cut the Islamic States territory in Syria and Iraq.



Asked if the U.S. lost its focus on North Korea because of challenges in other regions, Kerry said North Korea has never been left unattended to, not for one day.



He commented after North Korea conducted what it said was a successful test of a hydrogen bomb, this week, an action that the U.S. and other world powers have deemed provocative.



Earlier Thursday, Kerry discussed North Koreas nuclear test with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China, North Koreas key regional ally, has condemned the test.

In his remarks, Kerry said Beijing had had a particular approach that it wanted to take, and that the U.S. had agreed to give the Chinese opportunity to implement that. But Kerry added that during his talks with Wang, he made it clear that the approach had not worked and the U.S. could not continue business as usual.

Middle East tensions



Kerry also addressed concerns that escalating tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia could hamper this months planned launch of U.N.-led talks on a political transition in Syria.



Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are part of the International Syria Support Group.



However, Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran this month after protesters stormed Saudi missions in Iran. The protesters were angered by Saudi Arabias execution of a Shiite cleric.



Kerry said in recent days, he spoke to his counterparts in both countries and they offered assurances that differences between them would not interfere with their willingness to work cooperatively to address Syrias crisis.
There is growing concern among the ranks of U.S. officials that it could take more than one war to ultimately defeat and destroy the Islamic State terror group.

Many are optimistic the U.S. strategy of empowering local forces and backing them with airstrikes and other assistance is working, military officials pointing out Islamic State militants have only managed to lose territory in Iraq and Syria since May 2015.

But while such tactics may be eating away at the groups self-declared caliphate and its conventional military force, some say a second, more complicated war will be needed to destroy Islamic State as a terrorist group.

Weve seen the number of people who do external operations increase, a U.S. official told VOA on condition of anonymity, adding there has been a clear shift within the Islamic States ranks.

Instead of simply trying to inspire terror attacks in the West, the group is more intent on planning attacks with a heavier emphasis on what could be considered more traditional command and control, the official said.

The concern is great enough that Islamic State external operation planners have increasingly become targets of U.S. and coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Attack planners targeted



According to U.S. Central Command, five of 10 Islamic State leaders killed in airstrikes in December played roles in planning terror attacks outside Iraq and Syria. Two of them, Abdel Kader Hakim and Charaffe al Mouadan, had links to the November terror attacks in Paris that killed 130.

According to Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Colonel Steve Warren, Hakim was a forgery specialist who had ties to the Paris attack network, while Mouadan had direct links to Paris attack cell leader Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Mouadan was also actively planning additional attacks on the West, he said.

For ISIS, in their overall strategy, they dont feel as if they are losing. They see it as OK, you want A, you can have A; we will go for B, and if you want B, C, or D, we will attack where you are not.

- Cyril Widdershoven

Exactly when the shift in Islamic States approach took place is difficult to determine, as attacking the West and Western targets has long been part of the groups ambitions.

Some officials and analysts say the shift toward a more outwardly focus may have started following the militant groups initial success in securing territory in Iraq and Syria, allowing it to put more resources into planning attacks in the West.

Others see it more as a response to the losses Islamic State has begun to suffer on the ground.

The fact that theyre hurting, the fact that that momentum is against them is quite clear, said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a terror analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

[Islamic State] certainly will continue trying to reinvent itself and continue, probably, to shift its strategy, he said. Its just a matter of if their losses end up outstripping their ability to adapt. I think its actually likely that will be the case.

Not wedded to legacy



Yet intelligence officials worry Islamic State will find ways to survive, specifically, learning from the fate of al-Qaida under the leadership of Osama bin Laden.

As shown by the number of ISIL members recently killed who were tied to external attack planning, the group is less wedded to legacy AQs methodical and top-heavy plotting, a U.S. counterterrorism official told VOA, using an acronym for the group.

Islamic State is also using its looser approach to command and control to its advantage, like in Paris where it used a foreign fighter to help mastermind a plot using like-minded, or inspired, individuals.

ISILs online propagandists often blur the lines between inspiration and direction, the official said.

But that propensity for blurring the lines could come back to haunt the group when it comes to Islamic State the self-declared caliphate versus Islamic State the terror group.

Ultimately, by declaring the caliphate, they tied their legitimacy to the caliphates legitimacy, said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Gartenstein-Ross. "So if their caliphate is rendered non-viable in 2016 then, to put it mildly, theyll have some explaining to do.

But U.S. military officials are wary that the end of the self-declared caliphate will mean and end to Islamic State.

Its hard to separate, said a U.S. official who asked not to be named. "Youre fighting an idea, too. Youve got to get them to reject radical Islam.

Defeating ISIL militarily will come, said Operation Inherent Resolve's Colonel Warren. Defeating their ideology will require political reconciliation in Iraq and an end to the civil war in Syria.
Nearly two weeks after regaining control of a strategic dam in northern Syria, Kurdish-led forces are struggling with continued blitzes from Islamic State militants who want to retake the area.

The fighting centers on the 900-meter-long Tishrin Dam, held by IS for more than a year until Kurdish and coalition forces retook it in December. It supplies electricity to much of northern Syria.

On Thursday, a group of IS fighters attempted to infiltrate the nearby Kurdish-held town of Ain Issa. But local forces were able to thwart the plan, according to reports.

Another group of IS fighters entered the town of Sarrin, not far from Tishrin Dam, crossing from the western side of the Euphrates River. Fierce clashes erupted between them and the YPG Kurdish forces.

Daesh [IS] wants to retake Tishrin Dam for strategic and symbolic reasons at the same time, said Shervan Derwish, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish, Arab and Christian fighters.

IS pressure

With inclement weather in the region, U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on IS positions have slowed. This has allowed IS to reorganize its forces in order to make advances, Kurdish commanders said.

They take advantage of weather conditions to wage constant attacks on our forces there, Derwish told VOA.

He said IS had brought additional fighters from Damascus and Homs to participate in the operations against Kurdish forces and their allies.

In the recent battles with Kurdish forces, IS has used tanks and heavy weapons.

The latest advances made by SDF near Tishrin and other areas south of Kobani have placed more pressure on IS militants, who are having difficulty moving from areas in eastern Syria to the parts they control in Aleppo and elsewhere.

Tishrin Dam is now no longer in their [IS] hands, so they have to go all the way around, said Brett McGurk, U.S. special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter IS, during a recent briefing at the State Department.

Coalition forces

U.S.-led coalition forces and their local partners on the ground are working on pushing IS militants back to Raqqa, the de facto capital of their self-styled caliphate in Syria, officials said.

Were going to continue to isolate and constrict [IS] in Raqqa, McGurk said.

Turkish officials, however, continue to express concerns about Kurdish advances in northern Syria. Military leaders in Ankara this week told U.S. General Joseph Dunford that Syrian Kurdish forces were attempting to create a Kurdish corridor in Syrias north, according to Turkish news reports.

Dunford was in Turkey to meet with Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and to visit U.S. troops who are stationed at Incirlik Air Base.

Turkey considers Kurdish forces in Syria as part of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara and Washington see as a terrorist group.
A suicide truck bomb in Libya killed at least 60 police recruits Thursday at a college close to the city of Misrata. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest bombing in Libya since the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

The attack came as the Islamic State terror group continued its assault on oil facilities in Libya's east.

About 400 mostly young police recruits had gathered at a training college in the town of Zliten when the suicide attacker struck. A police officer said the attacker drove through the gate very fast in a large truck and then the bomb exploded.

Local residents helped ferry victims to hospitals in nearby Misrata.

Such attacks have become more frequent in recent months.

Islamic State militants claimed Thursday to have captured the strategic coastal town of Bin Jawad. But risk analyst Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group argued that the groups expansion in Libya had been limited.

The problem for IS in Libya is that they cannot really exploit religious sectarian divisions as they have in Iraq and in Syria," Fabiani said. "And most importantly, the level of support that they enjoy with the overall population in Libya is quite limited.

In recent days IS militants have launched attacks on major oil facilities in Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, resulting in huge fires.

Their strategy here is to attack these facilities, damage them," Fabiani said. "Why they are doing this right now is quite clear, because there is a peace deal, there is a national unity government and this is the time to basically sabotage and undermine what has been achieved so far.

Libyas rival administrations  one based in Tripoli and backed by Islamist groups, and the other in Tobruk, which is the internationally recognized government  signed a U.N.-negotiated power-sharing deal last month, but they have yet to form a unity government.

The U.N. envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, is calling for Libyans to back the deal and unite against terrorism.
The man accused of supplying guns to the shooters in the California terror attack pleaded not guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and other charges.

Enrique Marquez Jr. is the first person arrested over the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. since 9/11. He faces two charges of firearms violations for being the so-called straw buyer in the purchase of two assault rifles used in the December 2 attack in San Bernardino. Marquez is also accused of conspiring with shooter Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists.

Two other charges  fraud and making false statements on immigration documents  are related to an alleged sham marriage. His trial is set for February 23.

According to the FBI, Marquez and Farook were friends who grew up next door to each other in Riverside. Farook introduced Marquez to Islam as a teenager a decade ago and indoctrinated him in violent extremism.

Marquez is not charged with direct involvement in the attack last month that left 14 people dead and more than 20 wounded, but officials say his purchase of the guns and his failure to warn authorities about Farook had deadly consequences.

Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, died in a shootout with police a few hours after they opened fire inside a holiday party attended by Farook's co-workers.

According to the criminal complaint, Marquez phoned the authorities hours after the San Bernardino shooting and told the dispatcher that the attackers "used my gun."

Marquez told investigators that he and Farook had planned to launch attacks at Riverside City College, where they attended classes, and on a notoriously congested section of highway without exits.

Several pipe bombs were used in the San Bernardino attack. However, none of them exploded.
French officers on Thursday shot dead an armed man who apparently tried to attack a police station in northern Paris, as France marked the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

The man reportedly wielded a butcher knife and was wearing what was later found to be a fake suicide vest as he tried to enter the building, crying "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great" in Arabic.

The Paris prosecutor said the man, identified as Sallah Ali, was also carrying a mobile phone and sheet of paper bearing the Islamic State flag and claims of responsibility by the militant group written in Arabic.

Some sources said the attacker was a homeless man from Morocco who had been involved in petty crimes.

Coming just minutes after French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to police killed in last years attacks, the incident in the tough, immigrant-heavy Goutte dOr neighborhood offered a grim reminder that the country remains at high risk of more strikes.

Charlie Hebdo commemorations

It also came amid a weeklong deluge of commemorations, debates and documentaries covering three days of mayhem that began January 7, 2015. The anniversary events culminate Sunday with a daylong memorial for the nearly 150 victims of attacks that occurred in January and November last year.

Between the two events were several others, including the decapitation of a French man near Lyon by Islamist Yassin Salhi, and a foiled attack on a Thalys train.

We need to realize that were in a state of total war, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the Le Parisien newspaper in an interview published before Thursdays incident, which implies we need to do everything to dismantle [terrorist] networks, prevent them from striking, find political and diplomatic solutions, support our security and intelligence forces."

But always, he added, with the same compass: a state of law.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry remembered the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo shootings by praising journalists and saying that an attack intended to create fear instead brought people together.

Earlier in the week, authorities unveiled new plaques honoring the 17 people killed by Islamist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who targeted the Charlie Hebdo magazine, and Amedy Coulibaly, who laid siege to a Jewish grocery store.

Anniversary edition



The irreverent French weekly has since bounced back, publishing 1 million copies of a saucy anniversary edition Wednesday that, in true form, managed to both amuse and outrage. Its cover  portraying God as a gun-wielding terrorist with the headline The Assassin is still out there  drew a rebuke from the Vatican.

The Hyper Casher market, where four people were killed on January 9, 2015, is also back in business.

But in ways big and small, France is a very different nation than it was one year ago.

State of emergency remains



A state of emergency, enacted after the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people around the capital, is still in place. Soldiers still patrol sensitive sites, and police continue to carry out dozens of raids, detaining and questioning suspects  but also, critics maintain, unfairly profiling Muslims  under broad new emergency powers.

Anti-Muslim acts have skyrocketed and anti-immigrant sentiment has sharpened. Many Parisians now think twice about taking public transport or going out to dinner, fearful of more violence to come.

On Thursday, Hollande paid his respects to Frances police force, which lost three members in last Januarys attacks. They died, the French president said, so we could live.

Hollande expressed his gratitude for the security force members who have stood outside schools, airports and other public places to defend against terror attacks.

He also announced that police officers would now be allowed to keep their weapons while off duty, and he pledged to boost armed security forces by 5,000 officers.

Debate is raging over the Socialist governments proposal to write the current emergency measures into the French constitution. Most controversial is Hollandes call for stripping convicted terrorists of their French nationality, which has drawn outcries from rights groups and has deeply split the left.

For us, its definitely no! wrote a group of organizations, including the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights, which are campaigning against the tougher measures. No to stripping French nationality, no to democracy under a state of emergency, no to a constitutional reform imposed without debate, wrote the group.

A recent poll, however, found nearly nine out of 10 French support the plan to revoke citizenship, with most believing it did not contradict leftist values.
A monkey who took a selfie that went viral cant be considered the copyright owner of the photo, a federal judge said Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick said that while copyright protection could be extended to animals by Congress and the president, current copyright laws do not cover animals.

The animal protection group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals brought the case to court seeking to manage all the proceeds from the photos for the 6-year-old crested macaque named Naruto and other macaques living on a reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Naruto snapped a famous photo in 2011 when he snagged the camera of a British nature photographer who sought to dismiss the case, saying his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., owned the copyright.

The company published a book of animal photos, including the monkey selfie. It has been circulated widely, with some contending that since photo was taken by a monkey, no one owns the copyright.

PETA vowed to keep fighting for the copyright.

We have the moral imperative to continue the evolution of the law that has proved so vital to the progress and betterment of our society, the group wrote in a press release. All animals deserve basic legal rights that reflect their complex traits and needs.
A hot December made 2015 the second hottest year on record in the contiguous United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

"It was quite an exceptional month," said Jake Crouch, climate scientist at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Temperatures for the year averaged 12.4 degrees Celsius, just off 2012s 12.9, the hottest year since records started in 1895.

NOAA also said there were 10 major weather and climate events in 2015, resulting in the deaths of 155 and causing more than $1 billion in damage.They included a drought, two floods, five severe storms, a wildfire event and a winter storm.

The Western U.S. was particularly warm, as was the Southeast. Texas and Oklahoma set records for precipitation.

"Every state had an above average temperature for the year," said Crouch.

The World Meteorological Organization said 2015 would be the hottest year ever globally and that 2016 could be hotter because of El Nino.

NOAA said 2015 was the 19th straight year that the average temperatures topped the average for the 20th century.

Nearly 200 countries that met at the United Nations climate summit in Paris in December agreed to try to stem climate change by restraining the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius.

Climate change is a highly charged political issue in the U.S. with Republican presidential candidates critical of President Barack Obamas statement that it was the biggest threat to national security.
The new U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, urges governments not to succumb to the growing dangers of xenophobia, but to offer protection to people fleeing war and persecution as set down in the 1951 Refugee Convention. The new refugee chief assumes his post at a time of unprecedented global displacement.

Filippo Grandi, a 58-year-old Italian national, is no newcomer to the agency he now leads. He worked for the UNHCR for many years before leaving 12 years ago to assume other positions in refugee organizations. His last job was as head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Refugee crisis



Grandi, who replaces Antonio Guterres as High Commissioner, says the number of refugees and displaced people around the world has almost tripled, to around 60 million over the past 12 years. During this period, he says, Afghanistan has gone from being a country of repatriation to one that once again is producing refugees.

Grandi began working in Sudan in the late 1980s, in the midst of a civil war. He says the southern region of that country was churning out masses of refugees. Unfortunately, he says, the number of refugees in what is now South Sudan is three times higher since it became independent in 2011.

I am just linking this evolutions to my personal experience, and they do not bring a good message," said Grandi. "They do not show a good message. Wars have multiplied and ... the sanctity of refugee asylum  this pressure has obviously increased as a result of this large swelling of displaced people.

Grandi notes the issue of refugees has always been extremely political and politicized by different segments of society. But he says the politicization and disparagement of refugees has reached unprecedented levels of intensity.

He points to the chaotic refugee situation in Europe where more than one million refugees, most from Syria, are living in desperate circumstances because Europe lacks a coherent, coordinated policy to respond to their needs. He warns the rest of the world is looking at how Europe treats asylum seekers.

Now if Europe starts setting limits, pushing back, erecting barriers, being hostile  the rest of the world will follow, I can tell you," said Grandi. "And the rest of the world has a bigger burden. Only less than 10 percent of the refugees are in Europe.

For example, he notes Lebanon, which has a population of four million, is hosting about 1.5 million refugees, most of them Syrians. He says the world must do more to help Lebanon and other countries of refuge.

In an effort to do this, the UNHCR plans to hold a ministerial resettlement conference at the end of March that will focus on the Syrian refugee crisis. Grandi says States will be asked to come with concrete pledges of resettlement places.
The U.S. government is giving Nigeria 24 mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles to assist the country in its fight against Boko Haram militants.

A statement from the U.S. consulate in Lagos says the vehicles, valued at $11 million, are being handed over to Nigerian military officials Thursday.

The consulate says the donation "represents part of the continuing U.S. commitment to Nigeria and its neighbors to counter Boko Haram's senseless acts of terror, and promote regional security."

In October, the U.S. sent 300 troops to northern Cameroon to help coordinate the fight against the militants, and last month, it provided Cameroon with combat vehicles, power generators and other "tactical war equipment."

According to a group that tracks global terrorism, Boko Haram has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world, killing nearly 6,500 people in 2014.

It killed several thousand more in 2015 with attacks in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Those countries, along with Benin, have formed a joint task force to battle Boko Haram.

The shadowy group says it is fighting to establish a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
U.S. and South Korean military forces on the Korean peninsula have been put on high alert following North Koreas fourth nuclear test conducted Wednesday.

The U.S Air Force reportedly sent an atmospheric collection aircraft from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa to gather residue radioactive particles produced by the North Korean blast to determine if it was, as Pyongyang claims, the result of a hydrogen bomb.

Washington and Seoul are skeptical that Pyongyang has advanced its nuclear development program to produce a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, which is significantly more powerful than the three atomic bombs it tested in the past.

South Korea Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Thursday discussed response measures the Korea-U.S. military alliance is considering, in addition to continued joint exercises.

Both ministers agreed that North Korea needs to pay price for its provocation, Han Min-koo said.

Growing nuclear arsenal

North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear weapons, which many security analysts say is more than enough to deter any perceived threat of invasion from the United States or South Korea.

Even if this fourth nuclear test turns out to be less powerful than a Hydrogen bomb, it seems to indicate that North Koreas nuclear development program in the last few years have shifted from a defensive stance to a more offensive military strategy.

Pyongyang reportedly restarted a uranium enrichment plant last year to produce more nuclear weapons fuel.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimates that North Korea could increase its nuclear arsenal to between 20 and 100 weapons by 2020.

This weeks nuclear test followed reports of a failed North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test earlier this month. If developed, this capability would give Pyongyang the ability to strike anywhere in the world, including the United States.

Last year U.S. military authorities said they believe North Korea has the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on a KN-08 long range missile, although North Korea has not yet demonstrated this capability.

And North Korea continues to develop its long-range missile technology. It is believed to have 1,000 Soviet model missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan.

These arent really so much for retaliation or defense anymore. These are kind of like society breaking weapons. If you drop a hydrogen bomb in Seoul or a couple on South Koreas big cities, youre not going to just kill a lot of people, you are also threatening the ability of South Korea to continue to function as a state, said North Korea analyst Robert Kelly with Pusan National University.

Military options

On the military side the United States and South Korea must try to strike a balance between acting to contain and deter and provoking a wider conflict.

After North Korea last tested a nuclear device in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

South Korean defense officials have emphasized its plan to build up its short-range missile defenses including the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and Kill Chain systems.

Some lawmakers in Seoul are calling for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons to counter the growing nuclear threat from the North.

"Against North Korea's nuclear power, I judge that we reached the time to possess peaceful nuclear power for self-defense. Nobody can protect our security, said Won Yoo-chul, a member of South Koreas parliament and of the ruling Saenuri party.

Seouls defense minister however quickly rejected any possibly of stationing nuclear weapons in South Korea.

There have also been renewed calls in Seoul to set up a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense [THAAD] system. Beijing reportedly opposes the THAAD deployment in the region that could potentially be used to intercept Chinese missiles.

I would like to see South Korea start taking THAAD more seriously. I would like to see the Americans and South Koreans and Japanese start really working seriously on regional missile defense. But you know if we dont go down that route and diplomacy doesnt seem to be working. My sense is you will see people starting to call for airstrikes, said North Korea analyst Robert Kelly.

Officials in Seoul Thursday said Pyongyang had two motives for conducting the nuclear test. Externally it wanted to coerce the international community into accepting North Korea as a nuclear power.

It is also a demonstration of strength by the young North Korean leader to solidify his power domestically in advance of a major party conference later this year.

Internally, we view that North Korea is trying to use it as Kim Jong Un's accomplishment by showing off outcomes of the dual policy ahead of the 7th party conference, said South Korea foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck at a briefing Thursday.

Politically, North Koreas nuclear test brought worldwide condemnation, even from key ally and economic supporter China, and momentum in the United Nations to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions on the isolated and authoritarian Kim Jong Un regime.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that combining gun safety with background checks would save lives while respecting the constitutional right of Americans to own weapons.

Obama made his comments at a town-hall-style meeting on his new executive orders for tighter gun control. The meeting at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington, was proposed by and broadcast on CNN television.

The president said increased background checks would not prevent many people from being able to purchase guns. But he said the loopholes in the current system do not keep someone from buying guns in one state without a background check, crossing the border to another state, and reselling those guns for a profit.

Obama said there are places in the U.S. where it is easier and cheaper for a 12-year-old child to get a gun than to buy a book.

The president said that many times, police and others do not know ahead of time who is going to be a criminal. He pointed out that the shooter who killed more than 20 schoolchildren in Connecticut in 2012 had no criminal record.

He said that while no one can guarantee a criminal cannot get his hands on a gun, tighter background checks will make it a bit harder and more expensive.

At the close of the meeting, Obama said it is not just deaths at the hands of criminals that are the problem. He said tighter laws could stop many accidental killings and suicides by distraught teenagers looking to escape their problems.

Thursday's audience was filled with specially selected advocates for and against more gun control. They included gun owners, gun dealers and victims of gun violence, such as former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who barely survived a bullet wound to the head in 2011.

CNN invited the National Rifle Association to send representatives. It declined.

Obama said NRA rhetoric was "over the top and overheated." He said he would be happy to meet and talk with the NRA as long as it dealt with what he called the facts.

In an opinion piece published Thursday in The New York Times, the president said he accepted that common-sense gun reform would not pass in Congress during his presidency. But he urged Americans, including responsible gun owners, to demand that the firearms industry and the nation's leaders do their part to help "protect our fellow citizens."

Earlier this week, in an emotional appearance at the White House, the president announced his series of measures affecting both gun sellers and buyers. At one point as he spoke, he wiped away tears while remembering the victims of gun violence, especially children.

The new rules tighten licensing procedures for those who sell firearms and tighten requirements for background checks before purchasers can acquire weapons.

Republican lawmakers who rejected Obama's attempts to tighten gun regulations in 2013 said the president overstepped his authority by issuing the new rules, which they contended would not help reduce the number of violent crimes involving guns.

Guns are involved in about 32,000 deaths every year in the United States. About 60 percent of those deaths are suicides.
Occupied by armed protesters, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is described as remote and barren. However, it is not a nameless piece of ground, said Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association.

It is critically important to wildlife and enjoyed by millions" of human and avian visitors, he said.

In the middle of Oregons high desert country, Malheur is a critical stop on the Pacific Flyway, a main north-south route for migrating birds. Some 25 million birds pass through it. As much as 66 percent of flyway traffic will rest on the rivers and lakes of Malheur, making for a vast squawking, flapping spectacle. Thousands of human visitors come to gawk at it.

Very unique country, said Craig Gehrke, director of the Idaho Office of the Wilderness Society. It was recognized 100 years ago that this is special  special for wildlife, special for this country.

President Theodore Roosevelt established Malheur in 1908, after a pair of wildlife photographers discovered that most of the egrets on Malheur Lake had been killed by plume hunters collecting feathers for ladies hats. It was one of the earliest acquisitions of the nascent National Wildlife Refuge System, which now encompasses 38 million hectares to protect wildlife and its habitats.

Privatizing public lands

Those who are occupying Malheur say they are acting on behalf of the American people  and this has the senior director of the Wilderness Society baffled.

These lands already belong to the American people, Jeremy Garncarz said via Skype. Our great outdoors are one of our greatest assets. Its the backbone of our democracy and who we are as a country.

Before Malheur was formed, the land primarily was used for cattle grazing, and ever since, the refuge has been in something of a tug of war between conservationists and ranchers.

There have been conflicts all along, Gehrke said.

Grazing has been allowed at the refuge since its creation. Fees typically are lower than those charged on private lands, but there is a lingering belief among some that federal land use should be free.

Fenty said the refuge has positive relationships with most local ranchers. This particular refuge was established way back in 1908. Its not as though anyone is learning to live with this refuge now, he grumbled.

His group, the desert association, provides volunteers to work on the refuge by treating invasive weeds, removing obsolete fences and building new ones to separate the livestock of area ranchers from the bird habitat.

Garncarz sees the refuge takeover as part of a larger effort by politicians, political candidates and others to privatize public lands in America.

The fact that a few militant extremists have decided to lock us out for their own interests and the interests of a few is really disheartening, and its sad, he said.

Garncarz said most Americans support public lands. We have some strong polling data across the country that tells us that the American public wants public lands. That said, the folks that are advocating for this seem to be feeling like theyre gaining momentum.

Potential for harm

Every year, the staff at Malheur develops a water management strategy, allotting the water available from rain and snow to provide habitat for the birds arriving in early March.

The refuge begins filling these important ponds, wetlands and reservoirs in late winter, it says on the National Wildlife Refuge System website.

And this is what is on the minds of members of the Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a group of advocates and volunteers. If these people stay long, they will impact the refuge's management of water, which will greatly reduce the habitat that hundreds of thousands of birds depend on for migration and nesting, the group wrote on its Facebook page shortly after the takeover, and there is potential for great damage to the refuge's massive water delivery system.

The posting has since been taken down, and VOA could not find anyone to say whether there is real danger to Malheurs water management. But the high desert has had a good snowpack this winter. As of Tuesday, something of a thaw had set in, meaning water is flying in different places, Fenty said.

At the very least, it is a lost opportunity, lost habitat, he said. It is really hard to stand by and watch this.
The Philippines on Thursday denounced China after a pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed on a newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, China landed two test flights on Fiery Cross Reef, claiming it was a test to see whether the airstrip on the man-made island could handle large civilian aircraft. The test flights occurred four days after China angered Vietnam with a landing on the same runway.

Manila said it is concerned China could impose military controls in the South China Sea, an area where six governments maintain overlapping maritime territorial claims.

"If this is not challenged, we will have a situation where China will take a position that ADIZ [air defense identification zone] could be imposed. Whether this is done in terms of a de facto basis or whether it is official, of course this will be deemed as unacceptable to us," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in Manila.

Provocative actions

"We are very concerned and we are of course following these developments because these are provocative actions which we need to think about and we need to take positions on," del Rosario added.

The Fiery Cross Reef runway is 3,000 meters long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday "freedom of navigation and overflight are non-negotiable," and any attempt to restrict air and sea travel in the disputed South China Sea would be viewed as a "red flag."



Hammond, speaking at a joint news conference with del Rosario, is on a tour of three Asian countries, including China and Japan. He said Britain does not take sides in the regional dispute, but called on all parties to exercise restraint and respect international law.

Responding to Saturday's test flight, the U.S. State Department reiterated calls for a halt to land reclamation and militarization of outposts in those waters.

Freedom of navigation

Washington takes no formal position on the various sovereignty claims, but it insists disputes be settled peacefully and that freedom of navigation be maintained in the region.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Saturday's first test flight was "civilian" in nature.

The Philippines has asked a United Nations-backed tribunal to void China's claim over almost the entire South China Sea. It expects a decision later this year.

Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims in the South China Sea, which hosts vital shipping lanes over vast oil and gas reserves. More than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped through the South China Sea every year.
In the last months of 2015, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine over Crimeas annexation and continuing strife in Ukraines east appeared largely to be in stalemate. But now, with the new year, it appears the conflict is heating up again, and playing out on the regions electric grids.

On Dec. 23, a massive power outage in western Ukraine left approximately 700,000 homes in the dark. That outage was quickly followed by two smaller outages in Ukraines Ivano-Frankivsk region. The outages were short-lived, and at the time, believed to be benign in nature.

Now, both the Ukrainian government and the private cybersecurity firm ESET say they have discovered malware inside the command and control systems at the affected power generators, raising the specter that unknown hackers intentionally targeted Ukraines power grid.

If confirmed this would be the first time that malware, as an external threat, targeted another nation-states power grid ever, says Barak Perelman, CEO and co-founder of the Israel-based cybersecurity firm Indegy. Any type of network interference that might shut down a grid should be considered a cyberattack, whether it originated inside the company or as an external threat.

More bugs possible

Its been rumored for years, but never proved, that various power failures around the world might have been the result of hackers. The malware inside Ukraines power grid might offer proof of that. The Daily Beast reports that copies of the malware have been sent to U.S. cyber-analysts at the CIA, the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security.

Perelman notes that while malware forensics may reveal clues about how the generators operational networks, or OTs, were infected, discovering who authored and deployed the bugs will prove difficult.

Even if you find forensic information about the author, you can never really know whether that was planted there deliberately or not, he said. But more interesting is specifically what the malware did to interfere with the industrial controllers. By learning how it worked, either at the generation plants or the substations that deliver power, you can protect from future incidents.

Perelman adds that its also very reasonable to believe that similar bugs remain in Ukraine's grid and, in fact, may have also infected the power systems of other nations  including the U.S.

Principal suspect

Not surprisingly, Russia has figured as the principal suspect in planting the Ukrainian malware. Neither Russian or Ukrainian officials have spoken about the incident publicly, but in the past, government-linked Russian hackers have been tied to cyber-attacks in Estonia, Georgia and elsewhere.

Ukraines power grid may also have been targeted by pro-Russian hackers for another reason. In November of last year, much of Crimeas electric power was cut after lines and a substation of the Ukrainian-based electric supplier were damaged in what many believe to be an attack by Ukrainian nationalists. The malware infection may have been prompted by that outage.

If the Ukraine outages are ultimately proven to be the work of hackers targeting another nations electric grid, it would represent a significant escalation, and might even eventually be identified as an act of war.

Theres really no internationally agreed upon rule book of what constitutes cyber-war, Bob Twitchell, CEO of the cybersecurity firm Dispersive Technologies, told VOA.

"Technology can do many different things, but it always comes back to policy: whats the technology, what do you want to do with it, whats fair and not fair, and whats completely unacceptable, Twitchell said.

Cyberwar

Governments have generally been vague about defining what is and isnt an act of cyberwar. Last year U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter warned potential adversaries that the U.S. is ready to respond to any act of cyberwar.

But the DoD strategy document does not discuss what specifically constitutes cyberwar. And that, says former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Stewart Baker, is because war  cyber or otherwise  is a messy business.

"It is the things that both sides decide they are not prepared to do. And usually thats a mix of humanity, basic morality and hard-headed assessment that it wont do much good but will cause massive pain if the enemy does it to you, he said.

That said, Twitchell, Baker and other analysts VOA has spoken with agree that the intentional targeting and destruction of one nations power grid by another would clearly represent an act of war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gets a bad report card, even a failing grade, for his handling of the economic crisis in his country, according to 27 percent of analysts who participated in a major survey conducted by Bloomberg Business.

These are hard times in Russia, with the collapse in oil prices, economic sanctions against the country for its actions in Ukraine, the collapse of the ruble and significantly impaired economic growth.

Russia's growth started to decline rapidly in the first quarter of 2012, well before oil prices fell or economic sanctions took hold. The World Bank estimates that by 2017, Russia's GDP will be smaller than it was in 2012.

Russia's former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, says he believes the economy is likely to decline in 2016, although he thinks growth is possible in 2017.

Others see growth even earlier.

"The worst, I think, is over at this point, said world-renowned Russian expert Timothy Frye of Columbia University's Harriman Institute. From 2012 to 2015, economic growth in Russia decelerated at a rate of around 1.5 to 2 percent a year. The last quarter, we've seen the economy start to stabilize and adjust to the new reality of lower oil prices.

"So, although the consensus forecasts are for around zero or around 0.5 percent or maybe 1 percent growth in the coming year, what's really concerning about the economy going forward is that nobody is predicting rates of economic growth beyond 1 percent, 2 percent, barring some really significant change in government policy," he added.

Frye believes that people don't expect those government policies to change very much because they would come at great political cost.

Government pressure

So what to do about it?

There has been a lot of arm-twisting by the Russian government to have major industries, such as Gazprom and Rosneft, limit their foreign currency holdings to help prop up the ruble.

The government also has been pushing for help from the oligarchs who have made billions  primarily in the oil and gas industries  since they were privatized.

But many interest groups in Russia have distinctly different views about nationalization in the economy, said Frye, who also teaches at a university in Moscow.

"There are a lot of Russian companies that are suffering because of the sanctions, he said, but there are also some companies in Russia that are benefiting from Russia's turning away from the global economy. For example, agriculture is a sector that has benefited somewhat from the ban on European food goods being brought into Russia, and they've experienced some moderate rates of economic growth."

Investing across borders

This also applies to private foreign investment.

For many Russian billionaires, there has been no better investment than real estate in London, New York and Paris.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have left Russia and wound up in apartments and condos, especially in New York's strip of high-rise buildings along 57th Street and in the Time Warner Center. Many are absentee landlords who use the properties for rental income.

According to one report, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev paid $88 million for a penthouse just off New York's Central Park. Neighbors complain that such a purchase by foreign investors drives up real estate prices in cities the purchasers have no intention of living in.

Ed Mermelstein, an international investment lawyer, helps Russian oligarchs in their quest for investments in New York  primarily real estate.

His view is that the Putin government is putting pressure on people who are moving money out of Russia.

"The idea [of the Russian government] is to, in many cases, repatriate much of the funds that have left Russia, he said. In many cases, the way they have left the country is not something the government was very happy about in hindsight."

It is clear, however, that new money is not leaving Russia, Mermelstein added.

Putin's poll ratings are still sky-high in Russia. But if the economy continues to drag, such high poll numbers could be short-lived.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that if there are asylum-seekers among the people responsible for the spate of thefts and sexual assaults in Cologne, they could be kicked out of the country.

Maas spoke Thursday to the Funke media group about the string of reported crimes. Maas said German law allows for asylum seekers to be deported if they are sentenced to a year or more in prison, which is possible with sexual offenses.

But German officials have cautioned that very little information is available about the perpetrators of the attacks over New Year's weekend, including whether the attackers were asylum seekers.

Officials said Wednesday that the attacks were likely part of a coordinated effort by a criminal gang.

Police say about 1,000 men, most of "Arab or North African origin," had gathered near Cologne's main train station around midnight throwing fireworks. After police moved in to break up the revelry, smaller groups of men began surrounding women passing through the area, groping and harassing them and stealing their belongings.

A plainclothes police woman said she was among those attacked.

About 90 people have filed criminal complaints, including one report of a rape.

The DPA news agency reports that three suspects are being investigated.

Both Justice Minister Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel have condemned the assaults and called for the perpetrators to be punished.

Police in the German cities of Hamburg and Stuttgart have said similar crimes were committed during New Year's Eve festivities, but to a lesser extent.

On Tuesday, hundreds of women demonstrated in front of Cologne's cathedral calling for more respect for women.

Although the nationalities and residency status of the perpetrators is unknown, the assaults have intensified the debate about Germany's immigration policies.

Some 1.1 million people registered as asylum seekers in Germany in 2015.
The United Nations says Syria has agreed to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid to three besieged towns in the war-torn country.

The U.N. says it intends to deliver relief aid to Fuaa, Kafraya, and Madaya where there are "credible reports of people dying from starvation."

The U.N. relief agency said Thursday Madaya last received assistance in October, but since has been inaccessible "despite numerous requests." It said a 53-year-old man died of starvation this week, with five other family members suffering from severe malnutrition.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have restricted access to Madaya and nearby Zabadani, while rebel forces fighting Assad's regime have surrounded Fuaa and Kafraya in northwest Syria.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that at least 10 people have died in Madaya from a lack of food and medicine. It is a town of about 42,000 people, mostly civilians, not far from the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The U.N. relief agency says during the past year the Syrian government has granted only about 10 percent of the requests it has made to deliver relief aid to embattled areas. It said nearly 400,000 people live in 15 besieged locations in Syria who do not have access to life-saving aid.
Witnesses in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, discounted Iranian claims Thursday that Saudi Arabia hit Tehran's embassy there in an overnight airstrike.

Iran accused Saudi Arabia of "deliberately" hitting the diplomatic outpost.

But witnesses in Sana'a said there was no visible damage to the building, just some stones and shrapnel that apparently landed in the embassy's yard after a Saudi airstrike hit a public square about 700 meters from the embassy.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said the alleged air attacks in Sana'a were "a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions," according to state television.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff," he said. His statement did not specify who was wounded or to what extent.

Saudi Arabia is carrying out a campaign of airstrikes in Yemen in support of forces fighting against Iranian-backed Houthi Shi'ite rebels. Riyadh has not commented on the Iranian accusations.

Import ban



Also Thursday, Iran's cabinet banned the import of all products from Saudi Arabia, according to a government statement. Iran imports about $60 million worth of products from Saudi Arabia annually, mostly packing materials and textiles. Tehran said nothing about its $130 million annual export business with the Saudis, mostly steel, cement and agricultural products.

Tehran also adopted a ban on Iranians traveling to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The developments come after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran last week following violent protests at the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The protesters were upset over the Saudi execution of prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was critical of the Riyadh kingdom.

Several Arab countries have since severed diplomatic relations with Iran, in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. Other nations have downgraded ties with Tehran.

Somalia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran on Thursday, accusing Tehran of trying to destabilize it by sending its operatives into Somalia to create armed groups and "secret missionaries" to convert Somalis to the Shi'ite doctrine.

Somalia gave Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave the Horn of Africa nation and recalled its acting ambassador from Tehran.
Days after a landmark visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan by the Indian prime minister, regional terror against Indian installations erupted, stalling diplomatic progress and derailing optimism that Pakistan, Afghanistan and India can overcome long-standing differences.

On his way back from Kabul, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped in Pakistan to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Christmas Day.

Just after the New Year, heavily-armed gunmen launched an attack on a strategic Indian airbase in Pathankot town near the Pakistani border, leaving six attackers and seven security personnel dead.

Hours later in neighboring Afghanistan, assailants stormed India's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

Several terror groups separately took responsibility, including one Pakistani organization tied to violence in Kashmir.

Undermining peace

Some analysts believe that the attacks were carried out to derail recent peace-building efforts between India and Pakistan, which could also affect the security situation in neighboring Afghanistan.

It "follows a similar pattern," Nitin Gokhale, an Indian national security analyst, told the Los Angeles Times. "Every peace move  even if symbolic  is followed by an audacious attack.

Afghan analyst Javed Ghafoor told VOA Pashto: "It seems that India and Pakistan want to improve their ties, but there are some groups that want to sabotage these efforts.

There are mafia circles, as well as global terror groups such as al-Qaida and the new Islamic State group which may also be involved so that the ties [between the two countries] do not improve, he said.

Pakistan-based political analyst Khadim Hussain said, "The basic goal of the attacks was to create trust deficit between Pakistan and India."

Talal Chaudhary, a member of Pakistan's parliament, told VOA's Urdu service: "There are forces in both countries that do not want ties between the two countries to improve."

He added that "non-state actors" want to sabotage recent efforts to restart negotiations.

The recent incidents will likely put peace negotiations scheduled for next week between Pakistan and India in jeopardy.

The Indian government said Thursday that Pakistan must deliver "prompt and decisive action," indicating that the talks between the two countries are unlikely to go ahead.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court," said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the India's Foreign Ministry.

"India now awaits a prompt and decisive action.  Eight days remain for the foreign secretary-level talks between the countries, let's see what happens in these days before January 15," Swarup told reporters.

Indian opposition parties also have expressed concerns about the scheduled talks.

IS expansion

Analysts say the terror groups in South Asia are interconnected and, at times, cooperate to carry out their plans and secure their continued existence in the region.

Kabul-based security analyst Javed Kohistani told Radio Liberty that "there are organizations that, by carrying out such actions, try to keep countries away so that they find safe havens for themselves and force countries into using them."

A spokesperson for the Afghan ministry of interior told VOA's Pashto service that "special circles" in the region use and train terror groups to target interests and facilities of other countries.

"It's damaging. Today's situation is worse than 9/11, what happened in Paris, and what is happening elsewhere, in Afghanistan and in the Middle East," former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. Sherry Rahman said. "Pakistan cannot afford regionally or internationally that its name keeps on popping up in terrorism."

The escalation of tensions between the two nuclear powers will likely have a negative impact on the security situation in Afghanistan as the Afghan government is battling Taliban resurgence and a growing IS presence.

"It is an immense danger," Kohistani told Radio Liberty. "It is a huge threat to the region, to Afghanistan, to India, and to the countries of the region."

IS has also shown signs of expanding in Pakistan. Punjab province's law minister said this week that around 100 Pakistanis have joined the Islamic State in Syria and Iran. The group has been actively recruiting men and women in various cities of Pakistan.

In India, Union Minister Rajnath Singh said recently that India has no threat from IS and he added that "Indian values" will prevent young Muslims from joining IS. Still, the country's National Intelligence Agency chief has warned that IS could be a major threat.

And this week, after leading Indian politician Asaduddin Owaisi slammed IS ideology, an alleged IS sympathizer tweeted, "It's better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State. If you don't know the truth, Islamic State will invade India soon."
A Texas state trooper who arrested a black motorist who was later found hanged in her jail cell was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a perjury charge stemming from the July traffic stop.

A grand jury indicted Trooper Brian Encinia on a misdemeanor count, alleging he lied about how he removed 28-year-old Sandra Bland from her vehicle. She was found dead in her jail cell three days later. Her death was ruled a suicide.

The same Waller County grand jury decided last month not to indict any sheriff's officials or jailers in Bland's death.

'Termination proceedings'

Shortly after the indictment was read, the Texas Department of Public Safety released a statement saying that it would "begin termination proceedings" against Encinia. If found guilty of the Class A misdemeanor, he could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Encinia had been placed on paid desk duty after Bland was found dead in her cell. He also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family.

Sharon Cooper, Bland's sister, told The Associated Press the indictment and expected firing of Encinia are "bittersweet."

Cooper said she sees the perjury charge against Encinia as long overdue, but also that the charge doesn't come close to equaling her family's loss.

She said Bland's death was "largely impacted" by the encounter with the trooper. "It could easily have been avoided," she told the AP.

Bland remained jailed following her arrest because she couldn't raise about $500 for bail.

Bland's arrest and death provoked national outrage, raised questions about racial bias by police, and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Protesters linked her death to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

On July 10, 2015, Bland was driving near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just accepted a job. Encinia pulled Bland over for making an improper lane change.

Quickly becomes confrontational

Dashcam video from Encinia's patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational, with Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!" when she at first refuses to get out of her car.

Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. She can be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

In his affidavit, Encinia wrote that Bland had become combative after leaving her vehicle, and he was forced "to subdue Bland to the ground," and she continued to fight back. He said he arrested her for assault on a public servant.

Encinia's affidavit stated he pulled Bland out of her car to further investigate the traffic stop, but grand jurors "found that statement to be false," said Shawn McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday's press conference where the indictment was announced.

Afterward, protester Jinaki Muhammad called the misdemeanor charge "a slap in the face to the Bland family."
A massive truck bombing Thursday at a police training center in western Libya killed at least 60 people and wounded around 200 more, officials said.

The bomb exploded as hundreds of recruits gathered at the facility in the town of Zliten.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

Later Thursday, a separate car bombing at a Ras Lanouf checkpoint, east of Sirte, left at least six people dead and 11 wounded. Ras Lanouf and the nearby oil port of Es Sider have come under attack from Islamic State militants this week.

The United States condemned the bombings. A State Department spokesman said the Zliten incident reportedly killed as many as 65 people.

On Twitter, Martin Kobler, the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), referred to the Zliten bombing as a "suicide attack."

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he said.

Libya is split between the Islamist administration that seized Tripoli and the internationally-recognized parliament that fled east to Tobruk.

Members of Libya's rival governments last month signed a peace deal, despite concerns about the legitimacy of the much-disputed pact.

The country has been in chaos and political uncertainty since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.
A decades-old tuna treaty between the United States and Pacific Island nations is in tatters after the American fleet backed out of a commitment to the number of days it wants to pay to fish.

The U.S. tuna fishing industry now is unable to afford the fishing access envisioned in the Statement of Intent for 2016, said Ory Abramowicz, a spokesman for the State Departments Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. We recognize the difficulty posed to Pacific Island governments by the severe financial constraints faced by the U.S. fleet.

The non-payment of the fishing fees has wrecked 2017 national budget projections for such small nations as the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands, where the income is a critical component of their economies.

Its an inconvenience certainly but it has the potential to become a real crisis, said James Movick, director general of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) which is the treatys administrator. Right now there would have to be some degree of apprehension and concern in the minds of many of the governments.

From a very practical and very economic point of view we just can't collect the money because boats are actually going bankrupt and boats are disappearing, said Brian Hallman, the executive director of the American Tunaboat Association (ATA).

Falling prices squeeze boat owners

The boat owners are willing to pay the island states $46 million for annual fishing rights, plus $21 million of U.S. government foreign assistance this year  of the agreed $89 million package under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty for 5,765 days of fishing.

The Americans want to cut 2,000 days off that for their 37 purse seiner vessels after prices nosedived below $1,000 a ton for skipjack tuna amid record-sized catches.

The ATA boats fish for tropical species (mostly skipjack but also some bigeye and yellowfin) composing a significant chunk of the annual $15 billion global canned tuna industry.

None of the parties explicitly say the tuna treaty, which entered into force in 1988, is doomed, rather that significant modifications are unavoidable.

The treaty cannot survive in its present form. We all agree on that  the U.S. side, as well as the Pacific island side, the FFAs Movick told VOA.

Abramowicz, at the State Department concurs, acknowledging to VOA that the current treaty arrangements are not viable or sustainable in the long-run, and that we all need to consider a new framework for fishing access and environmental cooperation.

The treaty actually has not collapsed, says Transform Aqorau, chief executive officer of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), the eight nations controlling the world's largest tuna purse seine fishery. The treaty continues in perpetuity until the United States or either one of three countries in the Pacific islands  Kiribati, Papua New Guinea or the Federated States of Micronesia  withdraws.

International competition for tuna

The Americans boat owners received a shot to the bow in 2014 when Kiribati, with a population of only 100,000 but controlling the most desirable tuna fishing waters, broke with the collective and began banning boats except from China and Taiwan.

With the American tuna fleet now consigned to port the island nations are compelled to sell their fishing days to other countries.

There's a competition for [fishing] days that's going on. The U.S. is not the only player in this fishery, Aqorau, in the Marshall Islands, told VOA.

But at this late stage the FFA might not be able to sell those days to others at a rate anywhere close to what the Americans had pledged to pay.

Other fleets we are in competition with, such as the Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, I'm sure, will be happy to pick up the fishing days, Hallman told VOA. Traditionally there's not been enough fishing days for all these boats and there are too many boats.

The American Tunaboat Association, formed in 1917, has seen its membership diversify in recent years.

The San Diego-based families, the industrys mainstay for generations, are more reluctant to pay for additional fishing days compared to the owners of state-of-the-art boats backed by deep pocketed Taiwanese investors.

Environmental and economic concerns

Some countries, such as New Zealand, advocate transitioning from the vessel day scheme (VDS)  which has pushed up access fees charged by the islands  to a catch-based quota. But that is not something the island nations desire.

A collapse of the treaty may be a good thing in the long term, but Pacific Island countries have gone to great lengths to accommodate the treaty within the VDS in the current negotiations. While they have acted in good faith, the U.S. seems not to be doing so, said Sandra Tarte, an associate professor who is a specialist in marine resources management at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

FFA director general Movick said as long as this remains unresolved it is reducing the level of confidence in the American fleet, as well as the U.S. government backing up the vessel owners.

Environmentalists also want to see the treaty modified to better protect species such as sharks and juvenile bigeye  inadvertently scooped up in the purse seines (large walls of nets intended to catch entire schools of fish).

If the U.S. is going to be tapping into U.S. tax dollars to subsidize these U.S.-flagged tuna vessels then we'd really like to see stronger leadership on conservation issues, said John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA.

Having American boats fishing in the Pacific waters is preferable to those of other countries because, according to Hocevar, the U.S. government does do a better job of enforcing violations and holding its flagged vessels accountable.

The U.S. State Department says it is continuing to communicate with the island governments hoping to facilitate a resolution to the financial challenges created by access arrangements and changing economic conditions.
Two inmates from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba have been transferred to Ghana for resettlement, U.S. Defense Department officials said Wednesday.

The two Yemen-born men, Mahmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef and Khalid Mohammed Salih al-Dhuby, had been held as enemy combatants, without charge, for nearly 14 years.

Following a comprehensive review of their cases, it was determined the two inmates do not pose a security threat, Pentagon officials said.

"The United States is grateful to the government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," said Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross.

While in Ghana, authorities will strictly monitor the activities of the two men, he added.

Ghana's foreign ministry said the men were cleared of all terror charges, but suggested they may only be allowed to stay in the country for a limited time.

"We have indicated our readiness to accept them for a period of two years, after which they may leave the country," said a foreign ministry statement.

The Pentagon says 105 prisoners remain at Guantanamo. Over a dozen others are expected to be moved from the prison in the next few weeks.

President Barack Obama has made closing drown the military prison one of his goals before he leaves office.

But many in Congress are reluctant to approve shuttering Guantanamo because some of its inmates would be transferred to various federal prisons across the U.S.

This is the first time that the U.S. has transferred Guantanamo prisoners to a sub-Saharan African country. Many of the remaining prisoners at the facility are Yemeni, but cannot be repatriated there because of ongoing instability.
Uganda's main opposition said police violence against the opposition is part of a plan to subvert February's national election and help President Yoweri Museveni's remain in power.

Ugandan police Wednesday fired teargas and live bullets to disperse supporters of main opposition leader and presidential candidate Kizza Besigye in the Bukwo district of the country. Besigye said he had been invited by district elders to visit an internally displaced peoples camp in the area.

But police said Besigye could not visit the area because it was not part of his campaign schedule.

The incident came on the same day that independent candidate and former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said security forces under orders from the National Electoral Commission prevented him from appearing on a radio talk show.

Besigye said candidates must be allowed to reach out to voters wherever they are as long as theres understanding that no two campaigns can be in the same location at the same time.

We are in a campaign and we must reach out to all our supporters whenever we can using the media, public meetings. The only precaution is to make sure that there are no conflicts between the campaigning teams and that they are not in the same location at the same time. Quite obviously the electoral commission is simply a mouthpiece of Mr. Museveni, Besigye said.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga told VOA that Besigye and his supporters deviated from an agreed upon route and failed to heed police warnings concerning the insecurity his unplanned visit to the IDP camp would create.

We dispersed a violent crowd at one of the IDP camps. We used means within our powers that included the use of plastic bullets, said Enanga.

Ugandas Minister of State for Internal Affairs James Baba told VOA the police treatment of opposition members was in line with the role of the police under the constitution.

Baba said the police had not been heavy-handed in their dealing with the opposition, rather they have been responding to defiance by some members of the opposition.

What is happening is very, very easy to understand," Besigye said. "We have a 30-year regime that is extremely unpopular and the violence is basically intended to subvert the electoral process.

Uganda will hold presidential and parliamentary elections next month in which President Museveni, now 30 years in power, is seeking another term.
The spokesman for Ugandas police says main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and his supporters are to blame for campaign violence on Wednesday.

The violence left a police officer and two other people injured in the Bukwo district, in the eastern part of the country. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the opposition crowd, which police said had turned violent.

According to authorities, the trouble started after the opposition leader and his supporters broke through a police human barricade to visit an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Tatriet, despite repeated warnings.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga, who is also a police commissioner, says the opposition leader and his supporters deviated from an agreed on route before the partys campaign. He said the presidential candidate from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) failed to heed police warnings concerning the insecurity his unplanned visit to the IDP camp would create.

We dispersed a violent crowd at one of the IDP camps. We used means within our powers that included the use of plastic bullets, said Enanga.

It is true that it was a public order concern that arose after Dr. Kizza Besigye, who had successfully ended two campaign rallies at two centersdiverted from his harmonized schedule to the third venue, which was a primary school playgroundand unjustifiably chose to proceed to the Tatriet IDP campOf course as a result, acts of public disorder emerged from this unscheduled engagement.

Uganda's electoral commission recently issued a directive banning all presidential candidates from campaigning in specific areas, including places of worship, markets and health institutions. The directive called on the parties to plan their campaigns and collaborate with police as part of an effort to curb inter-party clashes.

The opposition backers say the police are to blame for violently suppressing their campaign to canvass for votes in the run-up to the February presidential, legislative and local elections. They allege the police have demonstrated bias and seem to be doing the bidding of President Yoweri Museveni and his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to frustrate their campaign ahead of the vote.

Enanga said the accusations are unfortunate and without merit. He said the opposition parties often use social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to malign police officers as well as accuse them of bias.

Weve policed over 600 rallies and out of these weve only had eight rallies where there have been incidents of alleged political violence which we have efficiently and swiftly managed. Now, this is just one of those. Policing 600 rallies with only eight that appeared to have some violence is really highly commendable on the side of the police, said Enanga.

The FDC as a political party has all along been promoting politics of defiance where they wish in many cases to go against the guidelines of the electoral commission. They defy instructions of the police orders on a number of occasions to attract such ugly scenes so that they can get probably cheap propaganda points out of such conduct.

We are a police [force] that has been very transparent, and we entertain all sorts of complaints that come to us from all corners. In fact, I must [say] we are colorblind, said Enanga. In many cases where we have been having issues of defiance, there has been a lot of propaganda that has been promoted by, specifically, members of the opposition that they have been coming up with the use of social media [falsely] claiming their persons have disappeared and been battered by the police.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a key Hezbollah support network Thursday, targeting financier and member Ali Youssef Charara and his telecommunications company, Spectrum Investment Group.

As a result, all the assets of Charara and Spectrum that are based in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally barred from conducting transactions with them.

Charara has received millions of dollars from Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects that financially support the group.

Adam J. Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Hezbollah relies on accomplices in the business community to place, manage and launder its terrorist funds. He said the U.S. government was committed to exposing and disrupting these financial networks to pressure Hezbollah and degrade its ability to foment violence in Lebanon, Syria and across the Middle East.

In addition to Chararas facilitation of commercial investments on behalf of Hezbollah, he has also worked on oil ventures in Iraq with Hezbollah member Adham Tabaja and Hezbollah financial supporter Kassem Hejeij, both of whom were previously designated for sanctions by the Treasury Department.

Tabaja has maintained direct ties to senior Hezbollah officials and Hezbollahs operational component, Islamic Jihad.
South Korea announced it will resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into North Korea on Friday in response to Pyongyang's nuclear test earlier this week.

"The broadcasts will begin tomorrow at noon (0300 GMT)," an official at the presidential Blue House said.

The two countries, which remain technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean conflict, traded artillery fire in August over the broadcasts. South Korea stopped the transmissions after it agreed with Pyongyang on a package of measures aimed at easing animosities.

The North's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb Wednesday is a "grave violation" of that August agreement, Cho Tae-yong, a senior presidential national security official, said in a statement.

"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," Cho said.

'Commitment to security'

The announcement came after U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, reiterated "the unshakeable U.S. commitment to the security" of both countries after the North Korean test.

The White House said Obama spoke with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in separate conversations late Wednesday. The three leaders "agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior," the White House said.

In North Korea Wednesday, the news of the nuclear test was met with pride as a TV anchor in Pyongyang said the test of a "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb had been a "perfect success" that elevated the country's "nuclear might to the next level."

Meanwhile, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Thursday it is limiting entry to the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea that is jointly run by the two Koreas. Visitors who are not directly related to business operations in Kaesong will be denied entry.

Test questioned

It was the first concrete action taken by Seoul since Pyongyang said it had carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test.

Experts scrambled Thursday to find more details about the detonation, which drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation. Officials said it may take several weeks, or longer, to confirm or prove false the North's claim.

If true, a successful hydrogen bomb test would mark a major and unanticipated advance for Pyongyang's still-limited nuclear arsenal.

Lassina Zerbo, the head of the U.N. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, said that over 30 international monitoring stations detected Wednesday's unusual 5.1-magnitude seismic event near Punggye-ri, where North Korea conducted three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Zerbo said Wednesday's event was similar to the 2013 nuclear test. He said it took more than 50 days to detect radioisotopes venting from that test.

Scientists will need some time to detect radioisotopes released from Wednesday's underground test, he said, adding there is no way to determine whether a hydrogen bomb was detonated without that information.

Skeptical of hydrogen claim

However, South Korea's spy agency said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Other analysts agreed.

"I'm pretty skeptical," said Melissa Hanham, a senior researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies in Monterey, California. "The seismic data indicates it would be very small for a hydrogen test."

After an emergency session Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council said it was working to craft new sanctions against North Korea after the latest nuclear test.

The council said North Korea's actions posed "a clear threat to international peace and security" and was "a clear violation" of previous council resolutions aimed at blocking North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

Sanctions

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power called on the Security Council to hold North Korea accountable "by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions."

However, allies China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, were hesitant.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said it would be going "too far" to say that Moscow supports more sanctions against Pyongyang in response to the nuclear test announcement.

China called the nuclear test irresponsible, yet urged a resumption of the six-party talks, which North Korea walked away from in 2009.

North Korea has seen four rounds of U.N. sanctions aimed at reining in its nuclear and missile development programs. U.N. sanctions have included tightening financial restrictions and cracking down on Pyongyang's attempts to ship and receive banned cargo.

Pyongyang has ignored those sanctions and has continued efforts to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, dozens of South Korean protesters rallied in Seoul against North Korea. Many held signs that "Down with N. Korea" and "Kim Jong Un Out." They also burned an effigy of Kim.
North Koreas sudden nuclear test is prompting analysts in Seoul and Washington to wonder what might have motivated Pyongyang to make the move.

Pyongyang announced Wednesday that it had successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, which is more powerful than a conventional atomic bomb.

A few hours before the announcement by North Koreas state-run Korean Central News Agency, earthquake agencies in the United States, Japan, China and South Korea detected unusual seismic activity near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where three previous tests have been conducted.

Claim questioned

However, the nature of the test remains unclear. The United States expressed skepticism about the North Korean claim. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the initial analysis by U.S. intelligence agencies was not consistent with North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

A South Korean lawmaker said his countrys intelligence agency estimated the test involved an explosive yield smaller than that produced in the last atomic weapon test, in 2013.

Olli Heinonen, a former deputy director general at the U.N.s International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against rushing to a conclusion, saying the analysis could take weeks.

What Pyongyang might be trying to accomplish with the test is another puzzle. Analysts say there are some key differences between Wednesdays test and previous tests. This time, Pyongyang failed to provide any public warning of an imminent test. It also broke with the previous pattern of conducting a long-range missile test prior to a nuclear test.

Leader's intentions unclear

It is also unclear what Kim Jong Un is really intending to do. In his New Years speech, Kim appeared to stress the economy over military power, avoiding direct references to usual nuclear threats or the countrys policy of pursuing economic and nuclear development simultaneously.

Instead, the young leader called for improved ties with Seoul, sparking widespread speculation that he might pursue a conciliatory course as part of preparations for a major party convention in May. Kim is expected to announce key state policies and a reshuffling of party officials and governing organizations during the rare gathering.

Gary Samore, who served as White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction from 2009 to 2013, questioned whether the provocative move served Pyongyangs interest.

I think its very difficult to understand what national interest was served by testing right now. It may be another indication of Kim Jong Uns very poor judgment, the former official said.

Political ties?

Stephen Noerper, senior vice president at the New York-based Korea Society, said Pyongyangs action might be tied to domestic politics. The North Korean regime appears to be trying to demonstrate its nuclear capability to its citizens in anticipation of important political events such as Kims birthday, which is Friday.

I think that North Korea was testing from a domestic perspective in advance of Kim Jong Uns birthday, and maybe more critically ahead of the May party congress, which will be the first to be held since 1980, Noerper said.

Nam Kwang-kyu, a professor at Korea University in Seoul, said the test might be aimed at boosting Kims image as a leader and promoting his achievements.

Some say the way North Koreas state media made the announcement showed the medias deliberate attempt to link the test to Kim. In a rare move, North Koreas state television carried images of a written order by Kim.

In a report this week, Cheong Seong-chang, director of unification strategy at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said Kim has been showing his own governing style in major addresses since he took power in late 2011 in an apparent attempt to elevate his status. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of Kims references to his predecessors in his New Years speech and joint editorial that outlines the countys policies for the coming year dropped from 76 to 11, according to Cheong.

Strong condemnations

The latest test drew widespread condemnation from the international community. Existing U.N. sanctions prohibit North Korea from conducting nuclear tests. The U.N. Security Council vowed Wednesday to pursue new sanctions against the communist country, calling the test a clear violation of previous U.N. resolutions.
Men and boys on the streets of Sanaa, Yemen's largest city, sell fuel for cars and generators out of jerry cans, water bottles and barrels.



The fuel black market is one of the few ways to keep a family afloat during this relentless war, they say.

Meanwhile, airstrikes are only getting worse.



Yemen is under siege, shouts Nasser Mohammed Al-Sa'adi, buying fuel for his car in the Yemeni capital. No oil is coming in by the sea so the prices are soaring.



Saudi-led coalition airstrikes have intensified in recent days here, and Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of attacking its embassy in Sanaa. Saudi Arabia sees Houthi militants  the target of the attacks  as agents of Iran, a charge Tehran denies.



Long-time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran severed diplomatic ties this week after the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia prompted protesters to attack its embassy in Tehran.



Analysts say the biggest losers in this rivalry are countries like Yemen, embroiled in regional conflicts seen as proxy-wars for Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two most powerful countries in the region. Besides geopolitical and economic competition, the two countries are at the heart of the regional sectarian divide. Saudi Arabia is the main Sunni power; Iran, the strongest Shiite country.

This conflict is manifesting itself all over the Middle East, but especially in Syria, in Yemen and to a lesser extent Iraq, says Max Abrahms, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor at Northeastern University. In all three of those conflicts, the Saudis and Iranians have different positions and are really at loggerheads with each other.



Black market fuel

As the war drags on with coalition airstrikes now in the 10th month, Yemenis say the economic crisis and mass fuel shortages have become as deadly as the battles.

Black market fuel can cost as much as seven times the subsidized price Yemenis are used to paying, and the consequences are disastrous.



Food prices have gone up, and food production has dropped sharply, says Sadiq al-Qeyari, a Sanaa resident.

Farmers are only able to plant enough to feed their own families because large equipment requires fuel, he explained.



More than half a million Yemeni children are already in danger of dying from starvation, according to UNICEF.



Black market fuel is also slowly eroding the equipment and vehicles it powers, further damaging the economy, according to Nabil al-Radae, who sells auto-parts.



We buy fuel at very high prices on the black market, he said. The sellers sometimes cheat, add fake materials to the fuel that damages the cars. I see a lot of cars broken because of this.

Besides the threat of further starving the country and economic decimation, oil officials say people are now dying because of fuel shortages.



The price of all commodities, including vegetables and other food products has increased, said Anwar al-Ameri, the spokesman for the Yemen Oil Company. More and more people are dying because of this, the lack of electricity and the lack of fuel to keep the hospitals operating.

Politically, the war appears to be a battle between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other foreign powers, Sanaa residents say. But they point out that while the power players may be locked in battle here - the victims are all Yemeni.
Police arrest two NewsDay journalists for allegedly writing falsehoods after the newspaper published a story quoting sources as saying members of the feared national spy network, the Central Intelligence Organization, have been paid 2015 bonuses.

Police arrest over 100 motorists in Masvingo for allegedly violating various traffic regulations, which include driving without fire extinguishers. Most of the motorists are locked up at a local police station for failing to pay newly gazetted fines of up to $100 each.

We will talk to some political parties about their predictions for 2016, taking into account the current social, economic and political problems gripping Zimbabwe.

Stay tuned for these stories and more coming up on Studio 7 at 7:30 pm on 9-0-9 Medium Wave and on the 4-9-3-0, 5-9-4-0 and 1-5-4-6-0 shortwave frequencies. Please check us out on Facebook. We are also on WhatsApp and Twitter.

Today on LiveTalk our hosts of the Womens Roundtable will be talking with listeners and experts about preparations for the opening of schools next week. Send us your numbers on our WhatsApp number 001 202 465 0318. The number again 001 202 465 0318. Stay tuned!!!!!!
President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a series of new "common-sense" measures meant to reduce gun violence, bypassing Congress on the controversial issue.

Obama rolled out the new policies during a White House address, where he chided lawmakers for failing to enact tighter gun control measures despite a wave of recent mass shootings and called on them and the American people to find the courage to do more.

"We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency," said Obama, who was surrounded by victims of recent gun attacks. It doesn't happen in other advanced countries. Its not even close.

'People are dying'

"People are dying. And the constant excuses for inaction will no longer suffice," he said. "That's why we're here today  not to discuss the last mass shooting, but to prevent the next one."

The executive actions will require more gun sellers to get licenses and more gun buyers to undergo background checks. The plan will also tighten enforcement of existing gun laws, and it asks Congress to invest $500 million to improve access to mental health care.

In addition, the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security departments will research smart gun technology in the hope of preventing accidental shootings by children and to help identify lost or stolen guns.

"We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we can stop one act of evil, one act of violence," said Obama, who at times appeared emotional.

At one point, the president became emotional as he recalled the 20 young children and six others who were killed in a 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

"First-graders!" he said. Tears ran down his cheek as he added, "Every time I think about those kids, it makes me mad. And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.

Critics argue that gun control measures will do nothing to reduce violence and are a threat to Americans' right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Obama rejected those claims, saying, "This is not a plot to take away everybody's guns."

Furthermore, he noted, it was the rights of people killed in recent mass shootings in the U.S. that were violated.

Referring to some of those massacres, the president said, Our right to worship freely and safely  that right was denied to Christians in Charleston, South Carolina. And that was denied Jews in Kansas City. And that was denied Muslims in Chapel Hill, and Sikhs in Oak Creek.

Obama, a Democrat, for months has said he was looking into ways to reduce gun violence unilaterally without having to go through a Congress led by his Republican rivals who defeated his earlier, more ambitious gun control proposals.

Obama said the new rules fall "well within" his legal authority as president.

WATCH: Candidates speak out on gun control

GOP reaction

Republicans, who generally oppose gun control measures, reacted angrily to the president's proposals. Many Republican presidential candidates said they would reverse the rules if elected.

GOP front-runner Donald Trump told CNN on Monday that Obama's proposals were the first step toward tighter restrictions on gun owners, saying: "Pretty soon you won't be able to get guns. It's another step in the way of not getting guns."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, called the proposals a "dangerous level of executive overreach" and said the president was "at minimum subverting the legislative branch, and potentially overturning its will."

Ryan also contended that Obama's plan goes after the most law-abiding of citizens, rather than after criminals and terrorists.

No matter what President Obama says, his word does not trump the Second Amendment, Ryan said. We will conduct vigilant oversight.

Due process concerns

Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia said he worried that the presidents actions could encroach on due process by giving the government the power to deny gun ownership to those it considered mentally incompetent.

In a statement, Goodlatte said, The House Judiciary Committee will closely monitor the administrations actions and consider whether legislation is needed to further protect Americans constitutional rights.

In the Senate, the lead Republican sponsor of legislation that would expand background checks for gun sales criticized Obama for taking action on the issue without Congress.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said, The president has abused these actions in the past and exceeded the boundaries of the law. This should not be allowed under our constitutional framework.

Toomey worked with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia in 2013 on a bill that would have expanded background checks for all gun purchases, but it was unable to get the 60 votes needed to advance.

Past time to act

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, embraced the presidents gun safety measures.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said, The vast majority of Americans support common sense action to reduce gun violence.

She and many other Democratic members of Congress said it was past time for Congress to act to curb what they called an epidemic of gun violence.

The National Rifle Association, a powerful gun rights lobbying group, also vowed to look into the new rules to see whether it would challenge them in court. However, an NRA spokeswoman quoted in The New York Times appeared to downplay the significance of the measures.

"This is it, really?" said NRA official Jennifer Baker, according to the Times. "This is what they've been hyping for how long now? This is the proposal they've spent seven years putting together? They're not really doing anything."

More background checks

One key element of Obama's plan is a measure that will widen the definition of a gun dealer. The White House hopes this will require more businesses selling firearms, including those at gun shows, to get licenses and therefore be required to conduct background checks.

"We intend to make this system more efficient and make it more comprehensive," said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. "The goal is keeping bad actors away from firearms and also to make it easier for authorities to make sure that the gun laws are properly followed and enforced."

Part of the effort also includes increasing by 50 percent the number of FBI personnel who staff the national background check system, said Lynch.

Public opinion

Recent polls show an increase in the number of Americans who support background checks on those seeking to purchase firearms.

A new survey by Webster's research center found that 85 percent of gun owners believe there should be background checks for every individual seeking to buy a gun.

Each year, firearms claim the lives of more than 30,000 Americans in mass killings, suicides, domestic violence and other incidents, according to the White House.
Police in Harare on Thursday arrested local daily Newsday newspaper deputy editor Nqaba Matshazi, journalist Xolisani Ncube and a representative of their company, Alpha Media Holdings, Sifikile Thabete for allegedly writing falsehoods.

The three staffers, who are represented by lawyer Taona Nyamakura, are facing allegations of communicating or publishing false statement prejudicial to the state over a story in the newspapers Wednesdays edition titled CIO secretly gets bonuses.

They are charged with contravening Section 31 (1) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. Government has been struggling to pay salaries and bonuses for its 550,000-strong workforce but it is known to prioritize the security sector.

Nyamakura said his clients will spend the night in detention.

Efforts to get a comment from the police were futile as police spokesman Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi was not responding to calls made by VOA Studio 7.

Secretary general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Foster Dongozi, condemned the police for the arrests. "Obviously that is concerning to us, that just 7 days into the new year, two journalist are spending the night in police detention. Another correspondent from the Herald newspaper was also beaten up in Chitungwiza while covering riots in the town on Tuesday. So for us really, that is a very bad start to the year."

Chitungwiza riots

In Chitungwiza, meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is reporting that its member lawyer, Kennedy Masiye, is representing three juveniles Lizbert Mutero aged 15 years and a Form 2 student at Mutero High School in Masvingo, Takudzwa Chirwadzimba aged 16 years, a Form Four student at Zengeza 2 High School and Simbarashe Nkwezaramba aged 19 years, who were arrested by police officers on Tuesday and charged with contravening Section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 for allegedly committing public violence.

The trio was arrested together with 40 other residents of Chitungwiza. Masiye said, ''the two juveniles were released on free bail, but all the other detainees paid $50 bail. The trial date is 21 January."

The state had opposed the granting of bail to the accused. But Masiye argued that the reasons advanced by the state in opposing bail such as the fear that accused person could incite other people to demonstrate against the Chitungwiza municipality and they could abscond because of the "gravity of the offense" were not convincing as insinuated by the constitution that an accused person can only be denied bail if there are compelling reasons to do so.
Police have arrested over 100 motorists and impounded more than 200 vehicles in Zimbabwes Masvingo province for allegedly violating various traffic regulations, which include driving without fire extinguishers.

The motorists are failing to pay the fines of up to $100 each proposed by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in Zimbabwes 2016 national budget.

Some of the motorists were released from police custody and instructed to raise money to pay fines for offenses ranging from driving without fire extinguishers to lack of red traffic sign posts.

Over 200 impounded vehicles condemned to have some defects are being kept at Chikato Police Station.

Some of the angry motorists released this afternoon said they wont be able to raise money to pay the fines. They claimed that some of them will end up paying up to $4,000 each for allegedly violating various traffic laws.

One of the motorists, Tatenda Moyo, claimed that the government is targeting motorists in order to raise money to boost its drying coffers.

Its very unfair what the police are doing. I spent about two hours in police custody after my car was found with a fire extinguisher that is not working. Government is trying to fund raise through these hefty fines but we cant afford (to pay) them we are struggling.

Another local resident, who declined to be identified in fear of being victimized by the police, said he is shocked that he was locked up in a filthy police cell for allegedly breaking a minor traffic offence. He said this is very unfair.

The $100 fine was not fair actually its a spot fine. Right now I dont have money to go to work. The car I used to go to work has been impounded and they will need more money for storage. Where do I get that money when we are lowly paid? Its very difficult for me and I dont think this is fair to us motorists.

Tsitsi Makamure, a student whose car was also impounded, said she was shocked when the police demanded $300 for three offenses. She has no hope of raising the money.

My car was impounded. I didnt have a third number plate, fire extinguisher and (warning traffic) triangles. My parents are civil servants they are lowly paid and I am a student. I dont know how I will get the money but that was a bit rough.

Masvingo police spokesperson, Inspector Charity Mazula, who declined to be recorded on tape by Studio 7, confirmed the arrests but said she could not ascertain the exact number of motorists arrested and the number of cars impounded.

But Home Affairs Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Lilian Timeveus, said the $100 spot fines and impounding of cars was illegal as the new fine regime was not approved by parliament.

Timeveus said, It is highly illegal and criminal to implement that spot fine. When Minister (Patrick) Chinamasa announced that in parliament we told him that was illegal and he said he will look into that issue so we are surprised that the police are already implementing that. We encourage the police to stop that.

Some critics say the government has become desperate in raising money to the extent of finding all means of raising money to pay its 500,000 strong workforce while catering for other needs of Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwes government and its workers left a meeting deadlocked, Wednesday, over the issue of salaries and bonuses, which over the year have been delayed, staggered, and in the case of bonuses, yet to be paid.

The government had called the meeting under the guise of the National Joint Negotiating Council, hoping to de-escalate the rising tensions in the country over labor and pay related issues, but reportedly failed to address the issues to the satisfaction of the worker groups.

The chairman of the Apex Council which represents government workers, Richard Gundani, said workers were disappointed at the lack of resolve.

There was no agreement at all on todays meeting. The workers demand on the day that the bonuses are going to be paid was not answered, said Gundani. The dates are not available from that side.

They continue to express a commitment which is verbal. But from the workers side, from the workers point of view, any commitment made right now, has to be made with clear dates and implementation on where we start the process of paying.

The cash-strapped government has been struggling to meet the wage bill for its 550-thousands workers as its coffers are empty owing to the countrys worsening economic crisis.

Economic hemorrhage

Economist John Robertson said the government is unlikely to meet its obligation to workers, who make up the bulk of the workforce, because of the under-performing economy which has resulted in company shutdowns which have reduced tax revenues. Robertson says all these are a result of governments failed policies.

The failure comes directly from their shrinking tax collection, which is a direct consequence of the shrinking economy, and that of course is a direct consequence of the policies that have done such damage to productive capacity, said Robertson.

Robertson said gone are the days when Zimbabwe could generate the much needed revenue.

We used to have considerably more production from the manufacturing sector, the farming industry and even the mining sector. Mining has survived better than the others but it too is struggling, because the prices are down and we are now producing a shorter list of minerals than we used to produce.

Governments failure to generate revenue to pay its workers, resulting in the delays and back-tracking on bonuses, has angered many government workers, including junior and mid-level doctors as well as nurses, many of who did not report to work for several days claiming they had no money for transport and other necessities.

The health workers had rejected the governments offer of $1 a day for transport till their January 5th payment day, saying it was not only an insult but not enough. The doctors and nurses have since been paid, confirmed Dr. Fortune Nyamande, president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, but he warned they would embark on another industrial action on January 31st if they do not received their bonuses.

Gundani said more industrial actions would follow if the government does not find a way to pay workers. He said the government must prioritize better.

Even given that situation, they can afford to pay a bonus and they can afford to pay our salaries, for us it is a matter of priority, said Gundani. Adding that, "And even government itself has conceded that they can afford to pay the bonuses, that is only a matter of time.

Robertson agrees that lack of priorities has strayed the governments focus from paying its workers.

Lack of priority and many other government workers says the government has an obligation to pay its workers, and it should find the means to

The government does not overcome its extravagance because it is still buying new motor cars, for ministers and deputy ministers, and reserve bank governors and military generals all these people still get privileges and the government inclinations dont change, Robertson said.

Other civil servants angered by delayed pay, include teachers whos salary was not only delayed until just before the New Year, but also deducted by amounts of up to $45 from their salaries for pensions.

The teachers and other public workers argue that deducting any money from their salaries is unsustainable as they are not earning much. Government is also trying to reduce its monthly wage bill estimated at $150 million and trainee teachers are the hardest hit after the government reduced their allowances from $329 to $157 monthly.

But government contends it cannot sustain pensioners as it has not been deducting money since 2009.

Ticking time bomb

The president of the Progressive Teachers Union, Takavafira Zhou, said the government was negotiating in bad faith and therefore, sitting on a potential powder-keg that can explode any time.

In a statement released it released Wednesday, following the meeting, the group said the government showed no commitment to paying them long standing bonuses. The statement also said government refused to commit to reducing the deductions to at most $10, as unanimously advanced by workers' representatives. The government was also in the process of introducing new deductions of $27 Health Care Insurance and $11 to the National Social Security Authority ( NSSA) Bank with effect from January without consulting civil servants.

The group threatened further industrial action saying thats the only language the government understands.

The only language which the rogue elements in government may understand very well is the language of industrial action and teachers must decide to walk that road as a matter of urgency.

Asked what options the government has at this point to appease its workers, Robertson said theres only one unlike option.

Part of the answer is to borrow, if you cant get the money from taxes. But we have such a poor record of repaying debt that no-body wants to lend us anything.

Local government minister Savior Kasukuwere said he was not available to comment on the situation, when contacted by VOAs Studio 7.
Now he could be a bad person who did a bad thing. Photo: Ethan Miller/2015 Getty Images

Okay, trendsetters, now is the time to determine how much cred you get for first getting on board with Ben Mendelsohn, because hes about to be real big. You get 20 points if you first saw him in an Australian project, ten for an indie film, five for Bloodline, and one for Rogue One. And if your first exposure to Mendelsohn is in Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One, for which the actor is in talks to play the villain? Zero points. Sorry. Thats like discovering Hugh Laurie from Tomorrowland.

Anyway, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mendelsohn might just play a black sheep once again in Spielbergs adaptation of Ernest Clines 2011 novel, which is set in 2044 and centers on a virtual-reality game known as OASIS. The book follows the teenage Wade Watts (a role that hasnt yet been cast) on his quest to win a treasure hunt set up by OASISs deceased founder. Mendelsohn is in early negotiations to play an executive for a corporation with designs on the program, while Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) is already set to play Wades love interest, Sam. Expect a lot of video-game jargon! Expect to be delighted by Mendelsohns delivery of said jargon!

Thank you for playing this round of the Talented Actor Gets Discovered by Big Studios Game. Check back later for our retrospective on how many points you get for seeing J.Law in Winters Bone.
You smoke those Cubans, Dom. Photo: Universal Pictures

Expanding its Grand Theft Auto travel dreams, the Fast and Furious franchise has set its sights on a new, long-banned destination: Cuba. THR reports that Furious 8 is looking to film parts of the sequel in Cuba, making it the first major movie to shoot in the previously restricted island since President Obama lifted its decades-old embargo last year. Director F. Gary Gray has reportedly already traveled to Cuba for professional research, and Universal says its in the process of getting approval from both the U.S. and Cuban governments to film there.

On Wednesday, Showtime announced that House of Lies would become the first American scripted show to film in Cuba, with plans to film its fifth-season finale in Havana. Last March, Conan OBrien became the first late-night host to film in Cuba since the embargo was set in the 60s, while Bob Yaris indie Hemingway biopic Papa was the first movie to film there since diplomatic relations were restored. The Fast and Furious series is no stranger to racing throughout the world  its filmed in Tokyo, London, and, most recently, Abu Dhabi  but this might just be the first time youll get to see Dom and his crew smoking Cubans on the beach after a long day of ass-kicking, as you do.
The Avery estate. Photo: Netflix

A few years ago I started rewatching Roseanne, a fixture of my childhood that I hadnt seen in a couple decades. Almost immediately, I had a madeleine moment: Centered on the table in the opening credits is a cheap plastic coffee mug with a drawing of a Canada goose in flight. We had one of those mugs when I was growing up; I loved that mug in only the way kids can be attached to throwaway consumer goods. Someone had found a piece of my world and put it on the screen. The shows often-perceptive portrait of class would mean even more to me after that offhand shot.

I had a few moments like that watching Making a Murderer: Dolores Averys ever-present, thin floral-print blouses, corduroy rockers in wood-veneer-paneled rooms, the distinctive way particleboard siding deteriorates from the bottom up. The documentary has received considerable, deserved praise for sustaining an addictive whodunit structure over ten hours, no small feat. Its received praise for presenting a portrait of a criminal-justice system that is both damning and nuanced. Yet even as the extraordinary cases of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey slowly unspooled, I found myself just as captivated by what Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos had captured in the peripheral vision of the camera: a detailed portrait of class intersections extending well beyond the courtroom. And in doing so, Making a Murderer reflects one of the deepest appeals of the crime noir.

Since there is no longer any privileged experience in which the whole of the social structure can be grasped, Fredric Jameson wrote about Raymond Chandlers noir masterpiece The Big Sleep, a figure must be invented  whose routine and life pattern serve somehow to tie its separate and isolated parts together. The Virgil that Chandler created to guide readers through those circles was Phillip Marlowe, a private eye. (For reasons that should be familiar to Making a Murderer viewers, not a cop.) Marlowes privileged yet isolated status gives him entry up and down the class ladder as the crimes he investigates tie the classes to one another. In Making a Murderer, its the filmmakers who jump back and forth from the farm-family bedrock of the Halbach family, to the clubby rural bureaucrats in law enforcement, to the sophisticated lawyers from the surrounding cities, to the respected petite-bourgeois Beerntsens; their intimate access to the Avery family can make scenes inside their claustrophobic trailer feel like home movies, yet Ricciardi and Demos never enter the narrative in any way.

Nowhere is this class conflict more raw than in the final episode, when a private investigator  Michael OKelly, working for Brendan Dasseys soon-to-be-fired lawyer, but collaborating with the prosecution  describes the Avery family in an email sent to Dasseys own lawyer: This is truly where the devil resides in comfort. I can find no good in any member. These people are pure evil. A friend of mine suggested: this is a one-branch family tree. Cut this tree down. We need to end the gene pool here.

Its a moment of astonishing cruelty, coming in Dasseys presence, and following episode after episode emphasizing the teens borderline intellectual disability, often in hearings in front of Dassey. But the damning email is the culmination of a theme that begins developing in the first episode: the contempt Manitowoc Countys burgher class has for the marginal Averys, and how that bleeds into the legal system, coming to define the scope of Steven Averys life. They didnt dress like everybody else; they didnt have education like other people, his lawyer in the 1985 rape case, Reesa Evans, tells the filmmakers. I dont think it ever crossed their mind that they should try to fit into the community.

Evanss sympathetic observation is echoed by the films visual portrait of the Averys, the product of the filmmakers years spent with the family. When Averys verdict in the murder trial is announced, Teresa Halbachs wholesome family arrives in khakis; her brother, poised throughout unimaginable tragedy and the surreal panopticon of its media coverage, is wearing a tie. The Averys, on the most important day of their lives, show up at the courthouse in weary sweats. The Halbachs house is prim and well-kept; the Averys houses are scarred and bone-weary.

But Making a Murderer is more than just the conflict between poverty and wealth, isolation and power. The prominence of Averys case, and the windfall he received for his 18 years of false imprisonment, bring elite lawyers into the cases orbit, like internet cult hero Dean Strang, who looks like Jack McCoy and idolizes Clarence Darrow. Strangs carefully crafted lines of inquiry make a stark contrast to Ken Kratzs R-rated press conference and hamfisted appeal to reasonable doubt is for the innocent, which sounds like a rejected Lionel Hutz one-liner. The series has been praised for showing what happens to poor defendants; it also shows what money will get you. Take Walter Kelly, one of Averys lawyers in his lawsuit against Manitowoc County, who provides one of the series moments of schadenfreude in the deposition of Judy Dvorak. Shes the reserve deputy who first suggested the name of Steven Avery in the 1985 rape case and shared the locals antipathy toward him.

And then the statement says, Dvorak described Avery as such a dirty man that every time he would come to the jail the sheriffs deputies would have to make Avery take a shower, Kelly asks Dvorak. Did you tell that to Ms. Strauss? Possibly, Dvorak responds, but not in those words. In what words? Do you remember the words you used? I do not remember specifically, but reading this, these are not my words. But if you dont remember, how can you tell us that? I would say that I do not speak, talk, converse in this kind of verbiage.

Its a minor moment of bureaucratic ass-covering gibberish that pales in comparison to other revelations in the postmortem on Averys rape conviction. But the comeuppance is admittedly satisfying: Watching a department that railroaded an easy target be overpowered by talented lawyers, while tying it back to the contempt that led to Avery being targeted in the first place.

An Atticus Finch moment might be even more satisfying than watching out-of-town lawyers rolling over rural law enforcement. But thats not how the world of Making a Murderer works; it expands in concentric circles, from the Averys social and physical isolation to elite law offices in Madison and Milwaukee, cutting a compellingly broad swath across American social class not often seen on television or in the movies. In crossing those lines, the film picks up much of the detritus of everyday life, which is, in its own way, as compelling as the unusual narrative at its heart. As noir fans have long known, sometimes a dark crime is an opportunity to shine a light into our corners.

* An earlier version of this piece misspelled Beerntsen.
Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Samantha Bee wont be a lady behind the desk on her new TBS series Full Frontal, a talk show that will explore and mock societal inequities. We want to find comedy in the absurd injustices that are all around us and permeate our society so much that sometimes we forget to notice them, explained executive producer Jo Miller at the Television Critics Association tour Thursday. Among the topics Bee will satirize? Whether Veterans Affairs hospitals are equipped to handle the medical needs of women now that they are in combat and the Syrian refugee crisis.

Bee also unveiled footage from the show, premiering February 8, that looked a lot like her satirical, journalistic work on The Daily Show. She noted that it was shot before her new studio was built, and that the format of the show is still evolving. Unlike The Daily Show, Full Frontal wont rely on news clips because it airs weekly. It also wont feature guest interviews  the third act will instead include filmic pieces and sketches that, Bee joked, will be their world of whimsy.
Lady Mary, is that you? TNT has unveiled its upcoming 2016 slate, including trailers for its two new summer shows, Good Behavior and Animal Kingdom. The first stars the queen of Downton Abbey (sorry, Cora), Michelle Dockery, like youve never seen (or heard) her before. She plays a con artist recently released from prison with a country twang and a lot of demons who occasionally fakes blonde hair and entire identities to get what she wants. While back to her old ways, she gets caught up in a hit mans plan to murder someones wife but, naturally, gets way too attracted to his dangerous vibes. Sexiness ensues!

Animal Kingdom, based on the 2010 Australian movie, stars Ellen Barkin as the loyal matriarch in charge of a family of criminals, including her newly free-from-jail son (Shawn Hatosy) and, most important, a very-often-shirtless Scott Speedman, who heads the family business. But with his nephew now in the picture, he seems slightly conflicted about passing on the lifestyle. As long as his emotions dont get in the way of him doing all those pull-ups, were in!
Tandoori Trailer

Waco Chowtown food truck court (University Parks Drive at Franklin Avenue.)

254-495-6466

On Facebook, Twitter and at tandooritrailer.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Hours may vary due to weather; dinner hours longer in spring and summer. Closed Dec. 31-Jan. 3.

Price: $ (see guide below)

Takeout: Yes. Curbside service and phone app allowing ordering available after mid-January.

Alcohol: No

On the menu: Tandoori chicken (roasted in a tandoor, an Indian clay oven), chicken curry, paneer makhani (cubes of paneer cheese in a spiced tomato and cream sauce), chole (chickpeas), naan (baked flatbread), samosas (deep-fried pastry with savory fillings), basmati rice.

Good to know: Garlic naan is a customer favorite. All dishes are made fresh daily.

Restaurant origin: Co-owner Johnny Bhojwani came to work in Baylor Universitys admissions office in 2011 only to discover the nearest Indian restaurant was in Killeen. Houston resident Naresh Thadani was looking for a business in which to invest and Bhojwani suggested creating an Indian cuisine food truck. The two are partners and run the business, with Thadanis wife, Disha, in charge of recipes and menus. Tandoori Trailer opened in late October.

Freddys Frozen Custard and Steakburgers

817 S. Jack Kultgen Freeway

254-301-7330

On Facebook and at

Hours: 10:30 a.m.- 10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Drive-through open 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturday

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Alcohol: No

On the menu: Steakburgers, hot dogs, chicken breast sandwiches, veggie burgers, french fries, cheese fries, frozen custard sundaes and milkshakes.

Good to know: Most popular order is the No. 1 combo, a double cheeseburger with fries and drink. Steakburgers made fresh daily and vegetable sides cut fresh daily. Freddys Fry Sauce also sold separately.

Restaurant origin: World War II veteran Freddy Simon started the original Freddys in 1950s in Wichita, Kansas. Now a national chain, Freddys has more than 150 franchises. The Baylor-area location opened in October.

WiseGuys Chicago Eatery

579 N. Valley Mills Drive

254-732-7580

On Facebook and at

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Takeout: Yes. Also available through Sic em Delivery. Catering also available.

Alcohol: BYOB

On the menu: Cheesesteaks, Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, french fries, onion rings, mozarella strips.

Good to know: Customer favorites are cheesesteaks and Italian beef sandwiches. Live music at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Back room available for parties, meetings.

Restaurant origin: Current owners Gary and Barbara Klyczek, both from Chicago, reopened WiseGuys on Aug. 22, after previous management had operated as Tonys Chicago Grill. Its part of the original chain that opened the Valley Mills location in November 2012 .

Zoes Kitchen

1810 S. Valley Mills Drive

254-714-1361

On Facebook

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Takeout: Yes. Catering also available.

Alcohol: Beer and wine.

On the menu: Mediterranean cuisine, hummus, salads, kabobs, pitas, sandwiches, rollups, soups and desserts.

Good to know: Signature dishes include chicken kabobs, quinoa salad, steak rollups and hummus. Grilling is the predominant method of cooking  no fryers or microwaves used  and a variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options are available.

Restaurant origin: Zoe and Marcus Cassimus founded the restaurant in 1995 in Homewood, Ala. The Waco restaurant, the chains 163rd location, opened Oct. 27.

The Patio on Eighth

511 S. Eighth St.

254-235-1151

On Facebook

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Takeout: Yes

Alcohol: Yes, full bar

Smoking: The Backyards patio area has smoking zones that comply with the citys new smoking ordinance.

On the menu: Burgers, barbecue, sandwiches, street tacos.

Good to know: Hamburger baskets and chicken-fried steak are popular with the lunchtime crowd while many viewers of The Backyards 40-foot television screen and outdoor stage are fans of the specialty appetizer Texas cheese steak balls, breaded and deep fried balls of chopped, seasoned brisket, cheese and jalepeno bits.

Restaurant origin: Calvin Gossett, owner of The Patio on Main in Temple, wanted to expand into the Waco market and got the opportunity with the kitchen and meat-smoking operation of The Backyard, which opened in early October.

Fuego Tortilla Grill

1524 S. 13th St.

254-235-2740

fuegotortillagrill.com and on Facebook

Hours: 24 hours daily

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Takeout: Yes; drive-through also available.

Alcohol: No

On the menu: Tacos (beef, chicken, pork, fish) and puffy tacos; breakfast tacos; salad.

Good to know: Customer favorites include the El Presidente (grilled chicken, bacon, cheese, fried avocado), The King (steak, beans, cheese, avocado) and the Dr Pepper Cowboy (brisket, chipotle corn, cheese, Dr Pepper barbeque sauce).

Restaurant origin: The Fuego Tortilla Grill started in College Station and now has locations in San Marcos and Waco. The Baylor-area location, the second in Waco, opened Aug. 27.

Twisted Root

801 S. Second St.

254-366-2888

twistedrootburgerco.com/waco and on Facebook

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

Price: $-$$ (see guide below)

Takeout: No

Alcohol: Yes. Full bar.

On the menu: Burgers including game meat in season and veggie burgers, french fries, onion strings, salads, custard shakes.

Good to know: Game meats offered include buffalo (presently) with crocodile and ostrich among upcoming offerings. Adult shakes are flavored with liqueurs. Customer favorites include the Kevin Bacon (burger with cheddar cheese, blue cheese and bacon), the All-American (burger with cheddar cheese and bacon) and the Freshman 15 (burger with french fries, cheddar cheese, bacon and egg).

Restaurant origin: Twisted Root started in Dallas in 2005 and has 13 locations across Texas and in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Waco location, housed in the former Texas Playhouse, opened Oct. 2.

Guide: $  main dishes less than $10; $$  $10 to $20; $$$  more than $20.
Waco native and theater director Stevie Walker-Webb has occasionally pushed the envelope in some of his past Jubilee Theatre productions, but the one he brings to the theater Jan. 15-17 may cause equal parts of discussion and head-scratching.

Walker-Webb, in the final stages of a masters degree in directing and playwriting at New Yorks New School College of Performing Arts, will stage the absurdist Tango Palace, Maria Irene Fornes two-person drama whose meaning depends, in large part, on viewers interpretation.

Walker-Webb chose the 1963 play for his required production at New Colleges New Visions Directing Festival last fall, in part to advance work by a female playwright and in part because of the challenge the controversial work presented, what he termed a play no one touches.

The Cuban-American Fornes set Tango Palace as a two-person struggle for power, identity or meaning. It begins as a young Leopold (Jak Watson) emerges from a sack into a room of objects presided over by an androgynous, clown-like Isidore (Graham Miles).

Isidore attempts to control and manipulate Leopold by using the objects and commanding him with statements from cards, but Leopold starts to resist, preferring

to obey an inner voice. Trapped in a room from which there seems no exit, the two forge a relationship through shifting identities and ideas.

Its so open to interpretation that the more I talk about what the play means to me, I feel I reduce the play, he said in a phone interview from New York. Broadly speaking, Tango Palace

addresses the issue of how people have to learn to live together in spite of differences, he said, but New York audiences have interpreted it as addressing forgiveness, cooperation, capitalism and even Donald Trump.

Walker-Webb did note that casting a white actor and a black actor added a racial dimension to Tango Palace not present in the original production, but even then said that meaning is in the eye  and mind  of the beholder. An audience talk-back session will follow each Jubilee Theatre performance so viewers and the plays company can share their ideas of the plays meaning

His New York production was well-received, opening the door to projects and directing opportunities for Walker-Webb to consider as he looks at life after graduation this spring. All of a sudden, I have to be an adult again, he said, adding he wasnt prepared for what Tango Palace might lead to. I think people are ready for the kind of theater I want to create.

Tango Palace has had productions only in New York and Los Angeles to date and the Jubilee Theatre, featuring Walker-Webbs New York cast, will be its Texas premiere, he said.

It will lack the costumes and sets of his New York production  I dont have the kind of money to do that, he said  and the director is toying with the idea of suggesting prisonlike stone walls in his set, which would add another interpretative angle.

Before leaving Waco to New York in 2012, Walker-Webb led Mission Wacos Jubilee Theatre, overseeing such productions as his plays We Aint The Huxtables and HERstory plus a southwestern premiere of the drama The Whipping Man.

Walker-Webbs holidays and production schedule were altered a little for a trip to South Africa last month on a unrelated project and the Waco native said his immediate future seems equally busy and fragmented.

I hop from thing to thing without knowing exactly where Ill land, he said. Still, he feels a guiding hand in his career. God is so amazing how he/she/it works, he said.
While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.
McLennan Community Colleges Continuing Education Department is offering a severe weather class with KXXV-TV meteorologist Conley Isom from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Jan. 19 and 26.

The course will cover radar data, mapping, computer model data from past events, severe weather safety, storm chasing and more.

Cost is $31.

To register or for more information, call 299-8888.

Democratic women

Texas Democratic Women of Central Texas will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday at the McLennan County Democratic Partys office, 4800 W. Waco Drive, Suite 135.

Annual membership is open to all Democrats who support the increased activism and influence of Democratic women in Texas politics and government and who are citizens or legal residents of the United States.

For more information, call Mary Mann at 715-1923.

Hewitt story time

Hewitt Public Library, 100 Zuni Drive in Hewitt, will have an evening story-time program at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The free program is offered weekly.

For more information, call 666-2442.

Marine boot camp

The Heart of Texas Young Marines will conduct registration for its next Young Marine boot camp from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Young Marine headquarters, 3310 N. 15th-A St.

The next boot camp will begin Feb. 6.

Registration fee is $40.

For more information, call 405-0649.

Dog agility class

Waco Agility Group is offering a dog class in pre-foundations agility at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Waco Agility Group field, 15420 S. Interstate 35 in Bruceville.

The class will meet weekly for six weeks and is open to dogs of all sizes. Dog owners must be ages 14 or older.

Dogs and owners will learn basic obedience training, including healing, sit-stays, down-stay and come on command.

Each dog and owner will be introduced to various agility equipment, including jumps, tunnels, baby dog walk, A-frame and table.

Cost is $60.

For more information, call Barb Sorge at 254-780-6818 or visit wacoagilitygroup.org.

Calligraphy Guild

Waco Calligraphy Guild will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 800 N. New Road.

The program topic will be different applications of glitter on handmade projects.

Participants will create samples to take home.

For more information, call 640-2448.

Nonprofit giveaway

The nonprofit group Elegant Ladies Haven, 1017 Preston St., will have its monthly community giveaway event at 11 a.m. Friday.

Items will include clothing, diapers, toiletries and paper products.

For more information, call 722-3627.

Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com at least one week before an event. Notices cannot be accepted by phone. Because of high volume, some items might be omitted.
The city of Waco found itself on the nice list when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar sent sales tax rebates to cities statewide Wednesday. Waco received a reimbursement of $2.84 million, which is 2.8 percent more than the $2.76 million check it received in January last year.

Checks received in January reflect sales in November, when holiday shopping begins in earnest. November sales are reported to the comptrollers office in December.

Nationally, the Department of Commerce reported that retail sales in November rose a seasonally adjusted two-tenths of 1 percent, to $448 billion, compared to November of the previous year.

But sales picked up steam as Christmas Day approached, leading to an encouraging if not spectacular Christmas selling season.

The anecdotal feedback were getting is that retail sales in Texas were generally good over the holidays, better than last year, said George Kelemen, president and CEO of the Texas Retailers Association. The National Retail Federation predicted that the country would have a better holiday season by about 4 percent over last year, and at a minimum that was met if not exceeded. It is my understanding that online sales also exceeded expectations.

Shoppers wanting to avoid busy checkout lines continue to pull traffic away from brick-and-mortar stores, and that trend has become a mixed bag for states like Texas and their pursuit of sales tax revenue.

Kelemen said consumers buying products online from a company with a presence in Texas, even if it is only a distribution center, must pay sales taxes on that purchase.

That means Texans would pay taxes on items ordered from an online giant like Amazon because it has warehouses in the state.

The same would hold true for shoppers ordering from retailing giants such as Wal-Mart, Target or Cabelas, which have a sizable online presence.

The problem is the one-shop or specialty stores outside the state that have nothing remotely resembling a presence in Texas, Kelemen said.

Marketplace act

Congress is considering the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2015, which would require online stores without a presence in a given state to collect sales taxes on online and catalog sales in that state. Retailers with gross sales of less than $1 million would be exempt from the act.

Hegar announced Wednesday he would send cities, counties, transit systems and special-purpose taxing districts a total of $617 million in local sales tax allocations for January, a modest one-tenth of 1 percent increase over January of last year.

Sales tax revenue for the state in December from all sources stood at $2.3 billion, a 1.1 percent drop from December 2014.

As with the previous two months, December sales tax revenue was down largely due to spending reductions in oil-and-gas related sectors, Hegar said. This was expected, given ongoing weakness in oil and natural gas prices. Remittances from other sectors, such as construction and information, continued to grow.

Waco places its sales tax rebates in its general fund to support the fire and police departments, among others, city budget officer Laura Chiota said.

The largest rebate of the year typically comes in February and reflects December sales reported to the comptrollers office in January, Chiota said.

Area communities showing sizable gains in their January rebates this week include Woodway with $181,610, Robinson with $93,859, McGregor with $88,274 and Hewitt with $115,346.

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At a glance

January sales tax rebates with percent increase or decrease in parentheses:

Bellmead: $277,504 (1.81)

Beverly Hills: $38,570 (9.35)

Hewitt: $115,347 (12.28)

Lacy Lakeview: $83,276 (-11.76)

Lorena: $18,070 (-0.45)

McGregor: $88,274 (26.53)

Robinson: $93,859 (11.46)

Waco: $2,843,057 (2.82)

West: $36,465 (-18.87)

Woodway: $181,610 (10.29)
Jeremi Bryant, a longtime drug dealer in Waco who was mistakenly released from prison in 2014, will return to serve multiple life sentences after being caught repeatedly with heroin and cocaine in the few months he was released.

Bryant, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm before a sentencing hearing at the 19th District Court on Wednesday.

District Judge Ralph Strother sentenced Bryant to three concurrent life sentences with the possibility of parole for the possession charges, followed by a 10-year sentence for the weapons charge. The new sentences start after Bryant has served his unpaid time of longer than nine years for the previous federal conviction.

Strother said Bryant had been in and out of his courtroom for years and that he feels he had offered Bryant multiple opportunities to turn his life around.

You had that opportunity and you never took it, Strother said. So enough is enough.

As Bryant was being led from the courtroom, his grandmother wished him a happy birthday.

Thank you, Grandma, Bryant said.

Bryant was incarcerated in a state prison for a past possession conviction when he was prematurely released in January 2014 instead of being transferred to a federal facility.

In May 2014, he was arrested with heroin, cocaine and materials to distribute, including a blender and plastic capsules. Bryant was released on bail after his 2014 drug arrest.

By July, federal officials discovered the unintentional release and arrested him while he was on bail, discovering heroin, cocaine and an unlawful firearm.

During the hearing Wednesday, Bryant explained that he returned to selling drugs after multiple failed attempts at finding legal work. But any eligible jobs would not pay enough for him to live on, he said.

If the judge allowed leniency, Bryant said, he would return to his neighborhood and encourage children not to follow his path.

Bryants mother, Andrea Alexander, said Bryant did not turn himself in to federal prison because his parole officer said the paperwork showed he was legitimately released.

Bryants attorney, E. Alan Bennett, asked Strother not to issue life sentences and give Bryant the opportunity to be a parent to his two daughters, now ages 5 and 9 months.

I want to do everything I can to be in my daughters life, Bryant said.

Prosecutor Aubrey Robertson said Bryants daughters had not previously prevented him from selling drugs.

Bryant also has no record of holding a legal job for longer than two months, Robertson said.

Your past does not indicate that (consequences) keep you from selling drugs, Robertson said.
Attorney Robert Callahan called the release of information from the McLennan County District Attorneys Office a victory.

Callahan withdrew his request Tuesday from the court to compel the prosecutors to release evidence in his clients case, as required by the Michael Morton Act. Callahan filed the motion last week after saying he had attempted on multiple occasions to get the information against his client, William Aikin, a biker charged in the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout.

The DAs office was asking defense attorneys in the case to sign a release form related to public disclosures before getting evidence against their clients.

After Callahan filed the request, the DAs office told him it would provide the requested information without condition, according to the withdrawal form Callahan later submitted.

I want to make clear that Im not trying to cause problems or create waves, Callahan said. Im simply trying to make the district attorney follow the law and do the right thing. Now that thats happened, were going to move on to the next phase.

A hearing date had been set for Jan. 15 before Judge Matt Johnson of Wacos 54th State District Court.

Some of the information included in the discovery evidence, according to court documents, includes witness statements; photos from the scene; surveillance footage from Don Carlos, Twin Peaks and in-car footage; arrest reports; cellphone video; Texas Rangers reports and other Texas Department of Public Safety reports; notes from the convention center; phone records; autopsy reports and more.

The Michael Morton Act also was referenced in November at a news conference in which attorney Susan Anderson also mentioned the conditional release of evidence.

The Legislature passed the Michael Morton Act in 2013 after a Texas man was wrongfully imprisoned for 25 years for the murder of his wife because prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence in his case. The law says prosecutors must give defense attorneys access to discovery evidence or produce the evidence, without conditions, as soon as practicable after receiving a timely request from the defendant.

Callahan said now that the information has been released, he is in the investigation phase of his case.

A lot of time has been wasted while weve fought this battle, and now weve got to try and catch up, Callahan said.
SAN ANTONIO  National leaders of the Bandidos biker gang were arrested Wednesday on charges accusing them of racketeering and waging a deadly war on the rival Cossacks gang, federal authorities said.

Three Bandidos leaders were accused of sanctioning a three-year fight that included violent clashes with rival gangs and distribution of methamphetamine, according to an indictment announced by the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Antonio.

The accusations focus on a rivalry that came under renewed attention in May, when a meeting of biker groups at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco ended in gunfire that left nine people dead and at least 20 wounded. Authorities say that confrontation began when members of the Cossacks crashed a meeting of a confederation of biker clubs that included the Bandidos.

A dispute in the Twin Peaks parking lot ended in gunfire between the bikers and police standing nearby. However, the indictment makes no mention of the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout.

The indictment gives a day-by-day account of actions taken by the Bandidos while skipping the events that unfolded May 17 in Waco.

That matter is being handled by the local DA, Daryl Fields, public affairs officer with the United States Attorneys Office in San Antonio, told the Tribune-Herald on Wednesday.

The next dated entry after May 17 was for May 23, where it states Portillo raised Bandidos dues to prepare to pay for bonds and legal expenses for members that would go to jail for club business, including criminal acts committed against member of the Cossacks. Members fees went from $50 to $100 per month, and support-club members fees were required to go from $25 a month to $50 a month.

Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton declined comment, saying the police department remains under a judges gag order.

The gag order applies only to the case of Matthew Clendennen  a Hewitt biker and a member of the Scimitars Motorcycle Club  not each and every case, but Swanton said the police departments legal office has a different interpretation.

Swanton said he stands by comments he made to the Tribune-Herald shortly after the shootout.

The federal indictment accuses John Portillo, the Bandidos national vice president, of using dues and donations to pay legal expenses of its members days after the Waco shooting.

Portillo, national president Jeffrey Pike and national sergeant-at-arms Justin Cole Forster are charged with racketeering, drug distribution and other crimes.

An attorney who works with the Bandidos could not be reached for comment by the Associated Press.

The Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Organization has about 175 or more chapters in 15 countries on four continents, with about 107 chapters in the United States, including about 42 chapters in Texas, according to the federal indictment. The Bandidos membership is estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 members, according to the federal indictment.

Debilitating blow

Operation Texas Rocker has inflicted a debilitating blow to the leadership hierarchy and violent perpetrators of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, said Joseph M. Arabit, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administrations Houston field division, in a statement. This 23-month operation highlights a deliberate and strategic effort to cut off and shut down the supply of methamphetamine trafficked by the Bandidos as well as other related criminal activity.

The indictment outlines several other clashes between the Bandidos and rival clubs, including a December 2014 shooting at a bar in Fort Worth, where a biker from a different club was killed. The indictment accuses Bandidos bikers of harassing and attacking bikers across Texas, as part of the war that Portillo had declared.

These indictments and arrests are the result of the ongoing partnership and collaboration between the FBI, DEA and DPS to neutralize one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Texas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs said in a statement.

This effort not only exemplifies our commitment to prevent gang violence and criminal activity from poisoning our communities, but it also sends a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue and prosecute the leaders and members of these violent criminal enterprises.

The federal indictment states that allegiance to the Bandidos organization and their fellow brothers is valued above all else.

Witnesses to their criminal acts are typically the victims of acts of intimidation or harassment and are too afraid to approach law enforcement to testify in court proceedings, according to the federal indictment. Bandidos OMO members do not fear authority and have a complete disdain for the rules of society. The Bandidos OMO is very careful about admitting individuals into the enterprise.
The Lake Waco Wetlands is spending the winter drying out, to the inconvenience of human and animal visitors.

Since November, the city of Waco has stopped pumping water from the North Bosque River into the constructed wetlands at 1752 Eichelberger Crossing Road so new metering equipment can be installed to meet state requirements.

Under the new Brazos River Watermaster program, all withdrawals from the Brazos River and its tributaries must be metered and recorded. That includes the wetlands, even though it diverts water that is returned to the river after it filters through a maze of reeds and water plants.

Wetlands coordinator Nora Schell said the wetlands had to be drained to allow for the installation of an underground vault for the meter and for the repair of pumps that were damaged in this years floods. She said she expects to begin pumping water into the 180-acre wetland property in February, in time for the spring field-trip season.

From my perspective, trying to interpret the wetlands when its dry is pretty hard, she said.

Schell said she also hopes to host a childrens fishing event at the wetlands in February.

The pumps were scheduled to be turned off this past Nov. 19, but pumping stopped earlier because of high water stemming from late-October storms, Schell said.

The wetland site has become a popular recreational and educational attraction since it was built in 2001 in preparation for the expansion of Lake Waco. It was intended to offset wildlife habitat lost when Lake Wacos old shoreline was flooded, but the city of Waco also designed it to purify North Bosque River water before it flows into Lake Waco.

The wetlands has a network of trails and boardwalks, as well as a laboratory and interpretive center used for field trips and scientific research.

Schell said the wetlands is still attracting visitors, but she has had to explain why the grounds are dry.

I havent had complaints, but people notice when its dry, she said.

Schell said the aquatic plants at the wetlands are resilient and have proved that they can survive dry spells.

Everything pops back up, she said. It takes a lot for a wetland plant to die off on its own.

She said waterfowl are still attracted to the wetlands site, but they are mostly in the areas close to the Bosque River.

But birders say dry conditions resulted in much lower numbers at the wetlands during a regional bird-count event in mid-December.

John Muldrow, a member of the McLennan County Checklist Committee who monitored the wetlands for the event, associated with the Central Texas Audubon Society, said there was a dramatic decrease this year over last year.

I do think low water levels have greatly affected wildlife, he said. Some of the smaller woodland birds havent been affected too greatly, but as far as water birds like cormorants and geese, it has affected them greatly.

Frank Bumgardner, a former Lake Waco park ranger who lives near the wetlands and is chairman of the Central Texas Checklist Committee, said dry spells at the wetlands have been too frequent in recent years.

The problem is they dont maintain water in it in the summer, he said. It doesnt sustain (wildlife) because theres no food in there. . . . Youve got to have water in it year-round.

Muldrow, a former wildlife biologist, said the wetlands still holds promise for wildlife habitat and water purification.

I do think if they can manage it on a more sustainable permanent basis, it could really be something, he said.
Last summer, we learned China targeted the Office of Personnel Management and seized records on 18 million current and former U.S. government employees. Last spring, we learned that Russian cybercriminals gained access to President Obamas emails and breached networks at the State Department in 2014.

Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated and more frequent. Yet our Global Positioning System, which supports everything from smartphones to smart bombs, remains vulnerable.

The Air Force is modernizing this system by developing Next Generation Operational Control, or GPS OCX. But schedule delays and cost overruns have put the program under increased scrutiny from Congress, the Government Accountability Office and the Pentagon. The Air Force has even started to examine alternatives.

Given how critical a modernized GPS is to national security and our way of life, we must see this project to the finish line. Changing course now would leave the United States dangerously exposed  and cost even more time and more money.

The current GPS system was developed more than 40 years ago, and Americans have become increasingly reliant on it. Today we rely on GPS to power our in-car navigation devices, track our misplaced smartphones and check in on Facebook. GPS also supports banking systems, the shipping industry and the national power grid. The military also depends on it for many tasks, from search-and-rescue missions to missile strikes.

Put simply, GPS is critical to our national security and our economy. So its a prime target for cyberattackers. And its incredible that weve remained relatively unscathed thus far. In 2013, for instance, researchers at the University of Texas were able to steer an $80 million yacht off-course through a technique known as GPS spoofing.

Fortunately, the new system will employ advanced cyberprotection technologies. It will be able to detect and prevent attacks before they occur. And if a cyberattack is successful, GPS OCX has the ability to isolate and contain it and continue operating.

Already, these technologies have been praised by both the Air Force and Pentagon. Commenting on a recent Pentagon evaluation of the program, Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, director of space programs for the Air Force, said that OCX will be the most hardened information assurance system ever delivered by the Department of Defense.

Of course, the cost overruns and delays should not be taken lightly. But the OCX program has now passed the riskiest phases of its development. The first operational hardware for OCX was installed in July 2015. In October, OCX passed the critical design review of its next block of coding.

GPS OCX will deliver a host of new capabilities, including automation for operational efficiencies, improved accuracy, interoperability with geo-positioning and navigation systems of other nations for better global coverage, and a cybersecurity architecture that provides unprecedented levels of protection.

The threat of cyberattacks from rogue actors and countries like Russia and China is growing. U.S. warfighters need GPS services to support air, land, sea and space missions. GPS is used by millions of people to enhance daily life activities. It supports safety-of-life missions for air traffic controllers and emergency responders. This modernized ground system brings new capabilities and precision to the GPS enterprise. Staying the course on GPS OCX is in our countrys best interest.

Paul G. Kaminski is chairman and CEO of Technovation, a small consulting company dedicated to development of business and investment strategies related to the application of advanced technology in aerospace and defense sectors. He served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology from 1994 to 1997. Previously, he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years.
Youve heard the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But thats not always the case. Some hospitals, medical facilities and pharmacies across the country have been enjoying a gravy train for years, raking in easy money as a result of lax regulation and oversight of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.

Congress created 340B in 1992 to help low-income, underserved patients afford the medicines they need. The program requires drug manufacturers to provide steep discounts of 20 percent to 50 percent to hospitals and other health care entities serving large populations of low-income, uninsured and medically underserved people. In exchange, their drugs are covered under Medicaid.

The problem is 340B providers arent required to pass along the discount to patients. When a patient is insured, some providers bill the insurance company for the full negotiated price of the drug, pocketing a handsome profit.

A prime example: Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, has been netting a profit of nearly $50 million a year by taking advantage of the forced 340B discounts. Like Duke, many of the medical facilities taking this unintended advantage are registered as nonprofits, so they pay no taxes on this hefty income.

Over the past 10 years, the number of hospitals and clinics in 340B grew by 500 percent. Today, some 30,000 facilities are participating providers  fully one-third of the countrys hospitals. The Affordable Care Act significantly expanded the list of 340B-eligible providers. More facilities are joining the program, even as the number of uninsured declines. Moreover, many of these facilities are in wealthy neighborhoods where 340B patients dont live. In fact, about one-fifth of 340B hospitals provide 80 percent of all of the programs charity care.

Now some of the bigger, household-name pharmacies are climbing aboard the 340B bandwagon. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General has raised questions about misuse of the discount when prescriptions are handled by pharmacies that contract with hospitals or clinics to provide drugs to 340B-eligible patients, saying these relationships may enrich for-profit pharmacy chains  with no clear benefit to patients.

The 340B program has veered way off-course, with unsustainable growth, lagging charity care rates and lax regulation. According to a March report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the program relies on 340B providers to police themselves, yet the GAO has never conducted a single audit. Not surprisingly, there has been an increasing chorus of government watchdog groups calling for 340B reform.

Recently, the Health Resources and Services Administration has taken some encouraging first steps toward reining in the 340B cash machine. A draft guidance issued by HRSA in August contains some positive provisions, including those that seek to more clearly define the patients to be served by the 340B program and to delineate when the discounted prices apply to the medicines they take. But the proposed guidelines dont go far enough to restrict the role of contract pharmacies in the program.

The HRSA guidance also fails to adequately address a number of issues critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the 340B program. For instance, better program-integrity tools are needed to address the burgeoning, unchecked and unregulated contract arrangements between 340B entities and retail pharmacies. For those 340B providers that have violated the programs rules, the time period that they must wait before being allowed back into the program is too brief to be an adequate deterrent. There should also be strict safeguards to discourage the trend of 340B hospitals acquiring community-based outpatient treatment facilities and independent physician practices merely to gain additional revenue through 340B drug discounts.

These and other issues must be addressed if the 340B program is to be sustained. More transparency and oversight is a must. The HRSA guidance is a good first step, but more needs to be done to ensure the 340B program benefits the vulnerable patients it was intended to help.

Tom Kowalski is president and CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute, a statewide public policy research organization whose purpose is to promote medical research, development and manufacturing in Texas.
WAHOO  Low temperatures and shallow water keep the Natural Resources District (NRD) on high alert all winter long when looking at the possibility for ice jams along the Platte River.

We get a weekly report each Thursday and go over ice conditions, said Lower Platte North NRD General Manager John Miyoshi.

Ice jams are when ice releases in one area and piles up in another. It all depends on the amount of water moving and the thickness of the ice, said Miyoshi.

The shallow depth of the Platte River can have hunks embed in the sand, causing the backup, said Miyoshi.

Worst-case scenario is the backups begin to flow around the ice jams. If that happens you lose the hydraulic potential for moving the ice. You want to keep the water in the river. he said.

Ice jams normally occur on a curve, where the river narrows, or right after it narrows where it widens back out, said Miyoshi.

There are certain areas historically between Ashland and Fremont where they occur, plus where the Elkhorn dumps into the Platte, said Miyoshi.

A coordinated effort among the cities along the Platte, the Army Corps of Engineers and the adjoining NRDs make decisions and determine what to do about ice jams.

If the ice doesnt move, an explosive technician contractor out of Oklahoma City is activated.

It takes about 48 hours to get everything set and on the way here with the helicopter, said Miyoshi.

The technician was activated last year at the cost of $31,000, but blasting was avoided, said Saunders County Emergency Management Director Terry Miller.

The ice started flowing and breaking up into the Platte just before he landed, said Miyoshi.

The last detonation was in 1997, but weve come close several times.

In 1993, the Elkhorn River cleared in January and there was a huge ice jam near the National Guard Camp near Ashland, said Miyoshi.

Levies blew out and water was running on both sides of two bridges on Highway 6.

There was only a single pipe left supplying water to Lincoln, said Miyoshi about the Lincoln water field near Ashland.

Blasting was done in 1993, but there was no contractor in place and it was not organized completely by the current group, said Miyoshi.

The total cost can be up to $50,000 per day, depending on changes.

Fly ash is spread every five or six years with a crop duster as another approach.

Sometimes it helps greatly, sometimes its no help at all, said Miyoshi.

The best thing is the coordinated effort and experience. There is a lot of communication.

The General Manager at the Papio-Missouri NRD has the ultimate call on whether or not the explosive technician is activated.
Mast Brothers, the panifully hip Brooklyn company that makes artisanal chocolate bars sold at Shake Shack and other cool places, sparked plenty glee when it was busted for overhyping the quality of the cocoa it once used. But Mast Brothers embarrassement hasnt done anything to the so-called bean-to-bar segment of the chocolate industry; if anything the field is just getting more crowded.

But where Harper Macaw, DCs first entrant into this specialized candy production, might differ is that its founders have actually seen the raw material in person. A lot of people and companies claim to make chocolate this way, but never actually been to a cacao farm before, says Colin Hartman, who founded the company with his wife, Sarah.

The Hartmans, who met as students at New York University in 2006, were largely inspired to drop their careers for chocolate production by Sarahs time at a culinary school in her hometown of Sao Paulo. While Colin Hartman spent time in the Marines and later studied business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Sarah Hartman moved to San Francisco to work at Dandelion Chocolate, where she learned not just the confectionary processes, but the details behind the chocolate trade as well.



Sarah is really the one who has the passion for chocolate, but not just about chocolate itself, but the cacao production part of it, how detailed, complex and, often times, controversial the story has been, Colin Hartman says.

As a cash crop, cacao is grown wherever the climate will allow it. After a fungal epidemic in the late 80s and early 90s wiped out Brazils cacao trees, production shifted toward west Africa. The Brazilian market has clawed back, but between dwindling supplies due to deforestation and other environmental concerns and surging demand in new markets like China, global chocolate prices have increased by as much as 40 percent since 2013.

That Hartmans founded their company as Concept C in fall 2013, later changing the name to Harper Macaw. They decided to settle in DC because of the citys booming food scene and, Colin Hartman says, its European feel with the lower skyline. It was another two years before they finally started churning out chocolate bars and bites from their 10,000-square-foot facility on Bladensburg Rd., Northeast. (Factory tours are available.)

But the Hartmans are unlikely to be caught slumming it like the Mast Brothers. Harper Macaw sources its beans from three Brazilian farms which employ safe environmental practices and fair labor practices. Harper Macaw also trades directly with its farmers, resulting in prices nearly twice those paid by major candy makers. But Colin Hartman says the superior chocolate and better farming practices are worth the elevated wholesale rates.

We want a staple supply of high quality cocoa beans, so we want to incentivize people to stay in the industry of growing cacao so we have to provide a good standard of living, he says.

In a similar burst of altruism, Harper Macaw also reinvests part of its revenue into rainforest conservation in cacao-growing regions

So far Harper Macaws products are available at the factory and ten stores around Washington, including including the Chocolate House in Dupont Circle and two of Red Aprons locations. The company also plans to expand its product line from the four types of chocolates bars and bites it currently offers to items with fruits, nuts, and spice, along with couverture chocolate for cooking.
Calvary Hospital has accepted damning coronial findings about failings in a childbirth fatality case, and extended its deepest sympathies to the woman's family.

The hospital has also agreed with recommendations to improve the handling of cases of pregnancy-induced hypertension, or elevated blood pressure, following the death of 32-year-old Corrina Medway.

Dr Andrew Foote. Credit:Melissa Adams

Mrs Medway suffered a fatal stroke after giving birth to twins at Calvary Hospital in May 2011.

Her blood pressure readings had escalated significantly, and eventually reached catastrophic levels following the delivery of the twins.
As captain of the Australian strongman team Michael Sidonio conquered the physical world, but his past achievements pale beside the astronomical find he helped uncover.

With a paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Mr Sidonio, a security controller at the ACT's Legislative Assembly, and his co-authors announced the existence of NGC 253-dw2, a new galaxy.

One clear night, from his tiny observatory on the outskirts of Canberra, Mr Sidonio captured what he thought was a beautiful photograph of a galaxy about 11.5 million light years from the Milky Way.

A tiny, barely perceptible smudge on the edge of the image caught the attention of astrophysicists.
The lure of the surf has prompted the head of Billabong's US surfwear business to call it quits.

Ed Leasure, who joined Billabong nine years ago, played a major role in helping the retailer restructure its business after long-running problems.

Gone surfing: Billabong US head Ed Leasure has called it quits. Shares slumped 23 per cent in one day in November after the company warned that earnings would come under pressure from a weaker Australian dollar and poor demand in North America. Credit:Glenn Hunt

"After getting into the business to surf more, I'm now stepping back from the business to surf more," he said on Thursday.

Mr Leasure, who used to make surfboards and run his own chain of surf stores, will retire from his role as Billabong's president of the Americas at the end of January. He will remain a consultant and "ambassador" for the group.
Certainly, whether or not the weapon really was a hydrogen bomb, the test is a disturbing development that threatens international peace and security. Despite the comically strident claims of the North Korean regime, nobody is made safer by North Korea's acquisition of a nuclear arsenal.

But behind Bishop's ready condemnation lies an awkward contradiction. Like North Korea, Australia believes that nuclear weapons really do make it safer. Of course, Australia claims that it supports nuclear disarmament and is working for a world free of nuclear weapons. But our actions say something different: Australia relies on extended nuclear deterrence for its security, has no plans to change that, and has been actively opposing and resisting international steps to stigmatise and prohibit nuclear weapons on humanitarian grounds.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop: "As long as nuclear weapons exist, many countries, including Australia, will continue to rely on nuclear deterrence to help prevent nuclear attack or coercion." Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Criticising moves towards a new treaty banning nuclear weapons, Bishop stated that "the stark reality today remains that as long as nuclear weapons exist, many countries, including Australia, will continue to rely on nuclear deterrence to help prevent nuclear attack or coercion".

Bishop's remarks echo similar statements by Western allies on the legitimacy and importance of nuclear weapons for stability, defence and security. Britain said in 2014 that it did not share "the view that nuclear weapons are inherently unacceptable", and asserted that nuclear weapons "have helped to guarantee our security, and that of our allies, for decades". French President Francois Hollande said in 2015 that nuclear weapons "protect our country from any aggression by a state against our vital interests, wherever it comes from and in whatever form", adding that "nuclear deterrence also contributes to maintaining our freedom of action and decision, under any circumstances. It enables me to prevent any threat of blackmail by another state."

Compare these explanations to that given by North Korea for its latest test. "This test is a measure for self-defence," the official statement said, "to firmly protect the sovereignty of the country and the vital right of the nation from the ever-growing nuclear threat and blackmail," and "to reliably safeguard the peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional security". Acquiring a nuclear weapon "is the legitimate right of a sovereign state for self-defence".
When Feng Guo signed up for an Australian special of Chinese reality television program If You Are The One, she really just wanted to practise her Mandarin.

But the 26-year-old Sydney lawyer got much more than she bargained for, nabbing a brand new boyfriend and stardom on the world's biggest game show.

Ms Guo - who has never been in a relationship that lasted more than three months - met Benjamin McMahon, from Melbourne, at the taping of the hit program in Nanjing early last month.

She joined 17 other Mandarin-speaking Australian women, and 10 Australian men, hoping to meet their match on a platform watched with fervent loyalty by up to 50 million Chinese.
A missing elderly Chinese grandmother has been found more than 16 hours after being dropped by police at a Monash Freeway exit.

The 80-year-old woman, who does not speak any English, was reported missing by her family on Wednesday afternoon.

But police had already found Shifen Zhu walking along the Monash Freeway in the morning.

A police media spokeswoman said a Highway Patrol unit came across the woman walking along the freeway about 7.30am.
His bladder and bowels are not functional and his liver and kidney have minimal function. He can no longer sweat and so cannot regulate his body temperature, and his immune system is virtually nonexistent. These factors have rendered him housebound. Ben and Tanya with friends in happier times, at a Metallica concert - Ben's favourite band. Tanya, previously a restaurant manager, is now a full-time carer for her husband of 10 years, James and her four older children. The family lives off a pension bringing in $1100 per fortnight, $350 of which goes on medical supplies. Ben and Tanya have a supportive family, but are struggling to make ends meet.

Mrs Hammond has sold her husband's car, motorbike and camping gear in an effort to pay the bills but is no longer able to meet her mortgage payments and is facing having their house repossessed. "He was a proud Aussie man, very active. We went camping with the kids every weekend. He has been a good husband and a great dad and now he cannot even buy bread and milk for us," she said. "I am just a carer, no longer a wife." She knows the online fundraiser she set up on the advice of a friend is at best a stopgap. "I have power bills, gas bills, water rates piling up  it's just overwhelming," she said.

"As a parent, your priority is always to feed and look after your children. But now I have to give Ben his medical supplies or he will die. As a mum I have to cope with that choice between caring for my husband and my kids. "I don't want people to think I am money-hungry. I am desperate. I don't know what avenues to take." As a homeowner Mrs Hammond cannot join the public housing waitlist and has nowhere to go if she becomes homeless. She has been told he husband will be back in a wheelchair within 18 months if she does not move to Perth to access better services for him. "He is declining rapidly," Mrs Hammond said.

"They can't help him medically but they may be able to improve his quality of life." Mr Hammond signed a standard waiver before the vaccination and efforts to gain compensation have been unsuccessful. Mrs Hammond's mother has gathered nearly 800 signatures on a petition for Australia to implement a compensation scheme for people who have had severe adverse vaccination reactions but so far it has been unsuccessful. A 2010 World Health Organisation bulletin estimated that 19 countries worldwide, including New Zealand, Germany, Japan, United States of America and Canada, had set up vaccine-injury compensation schemes recognising that individuals could bear huge costs after adverse events. The scheme acknowledges that there is usually no clearly attributable fault, making it difficult to sue for damages and that it "is fair and r easonable that a community that is protected by a vaccination programme accepts responsibility for and provides compensation to those who are injured by it."

Fairfax Media has previously reported that the chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, Michael Moore, backed the call for such a scheme. Telethon Kids Institute director and children's infectious diseases expert Jonathan Carapetis said although he could not comment on Mr Hammond's situation, he also supported the implementation of a scheme. He said most serious disease incidences that people believed were linked to vaccinations were in fact tragic coincidences and serious adverse vaccine reactions were extremely rare - though they could occur. An example, he said, was the measles vaccine causing encephalitis, resulting in brain damage, which affected about one child every four years. "Vaccines save thousands of lives every year in Australia and are incredibly safe but like any medication they are not without any risk at all," he said.

"The danger of not having a vaccine is far greater than the risks of having one. But should those incredibly rare events occur, it is important for people to have faith in compensation being provided. "In the very, very rare cases in which there is a very clear damage done then I would absolutely support a no-fault compensation scheme." He said the number of countries implementing such schemes was increasing and those that had begun them had continued them. A spokeswoman for the federal Health Department said the Department of Treasury had a discussion paper publicly available on its website with respect to compensation for medical injury within a National Injury Insurance Scheme. "In August 2011, the Productivity Commission recommended the establishment of two schemes: the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the NIIS. The NIIS includes people who suffer catastrophic injuries following medical treatment," she said.
Washington: Ranchers and dairy farmers in New Mexico and western Texas have gone online in their search for thousands of missing cattle a week after an historic two-day blizzard buried herds.

The storm that began on December 26, dubbed Goliath, may have killed as many as 27,000 cows in Texas, according to industry estimates. The following Monday, Landon Weatherly, a rancher from Friona, Texas, who's still trying to find some of his family's runaway cattle, created the Facebook group "Cattle Lost and Found," which now has more than 4000 followers. It's full of posts seeking livestock identified by ear tags and brands, as well as videos, anecdotes and notes of encouragement.

Max Filippini herds cattle into a grazing area that was once off-limits because of drought restrictions, in Battle Mountain, Nevada, in June. Credit:NYT

"When you can't see your cattle, it's probably one of the worst feelings," Mr Weatherly said on Tuesday in a telephone interview. "It was a mess, and it still is."

Locals are still struggling to get dairies, ranches and feedlots running again, digging animals out from under snow, using the bodies of those that didn't survive as compost or taking them to landfills. Farmers and industry observers say the region's dairy industry will take a hard hit.
Paris: Parisian police have shot dead a man in an attack on a police station on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

Reports the man was wearing an explosive device led to fears it was a terrorist attack, however, some police sources said the device was a fake.

One judicial source identified the man as Ali Sallah, a Moroccan born in 1995 in Casablanca. He was homeless and known to police for theft in 2012 in the Var region of southern France.

The bomb squad were called and the assailant's body examined by a remote-controlled robot in the belief he may have been wearing an explosive device, French media reported.
Bangkok: The first of Vietnam's new advanced Kilo-class submarines have begun patrolling disputed waters of the South China Sea, as deterrents to China's 10 times-bigger navy, Vietnamese officials and diplomatic sources say.

Vietnam is also expanding use of its strategically important Cam Ranh Bay deep-water harbour, where six of the submarines will be based by 2017.

An older Russian-built, Kilo-class diesel submarine. Credit:Handout

The arrival of the submarines from Russia is a key part of Vietnam's biggest arms build-up since the height of the Vietnam War, which could significantly change the balance of power in the flashpoint South China Sea, analysts say.
Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020.

Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work.

Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri.
Illinois man arrested for trafficking in meth after trying to flee police
By Joe Jackson Jan. 06, 2016 | 09:28 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A Craigslist ad has led to the arrest of a McCracken County man on a robbery charge.

According to Paducah police, 20-year-old Michael Lightfoot of North 11th Street in Paducah is charged with robbing another man last week.

A man told police that on Dec. 28 he answered an ad on Craigslist for an iPhone for sale. He said he met the seller, Lightfoot, on Roell Circle about 7:30 p.m. and bought the phone. Lightfoot said he had forgotten to unlock the phone, and when the victim handed it back, Lightfoot pulled a handgun and told him to leave. Lightfoot then left with both the phone and $250 given to him by the victim.

Paducah police detectives were able to connect a second telephone number to Lightfoot and contacted him, allegedly to purchase a cell phone from him. They met him Tuesday afternoon on a parking lot, and took him into custody.

During an interview, Lightfoot admitted robbing the victim on Dec. 28. He was charged with first-degree robbery and booked into the McCracken County Regional Jail.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 07, 2016 | 08:19 AM | CADIZ, KY

Kentucky State Senator Stan Humphries has filed for re-election.

In the 2012 election for State Senate District 1, Republican Humphries won with 59.3% of the vote. He was endorsed by Kentucky Right to Life, the NRA, and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

"After prayerful consideration with my family, I've decided to again seek the office of State Senator for the First District. We've accomplished much together and we must continue working to make Kentucky a better home for our children."

"Senator Humphries has a history of working well with city and county government and promoting local issues. As a former Judge-Executive, Stan understands the needs faced by local government and will work to address their challenges while standing up for commonsense reforms," said Calloway County Judge-Executive Larry Elkins. "I'm proud to support Senator Humphries' re-election and hope the voters of the First District do the same."

Humphries said that if re-elected, his priorities will continue to be job creation, lowering taxes, promoting our growing agriculture economy, improving education, finding patient-focused solutions for healthcare and fighting for our family values and against federal government overreach.
By The Associated Press

By The Associated Press Jan. 07, 2016 | 05:11 AM | LEXINGTON, KY

Students, faculty and staff returning to the University of Kentucky for the spring semester can leave the hoverboards they got over the holidays at home.

The university says it has temporarily banned the use, possession or storage of all such devices, citing reports that some have caught fire.

UK said in a news release Wednesday the ban includes residence halls, university apartments, Greek houses, academic buildings and all other campus buildings and grounds. Also included are off-campus properties that UK controls.

The ban is effective immediately.

Several other schools have implemented similar bans.

UK said its ban will remain in effect until more information is available and better safety standards are in place.

The release said UK will provide temporary storage for students who can't get hoverboards home safely.
The last time Jim Broadbent was on the stage, at the National Theatre in 2005, he played a fruity old thespian killing off critics in Phelim McDermott's adaptation of the hilarious horror movie Theatre of Blood. "Critics are only human," cried one, pleading for his life; "An opinion I find myself struggling to share," sneered Jim, impaling his quarrelsome quarry on a sharp spread of spears.

Broadbent had already won his Oscar for his lovely performance as the literary critic (oh, the irony!) John Bayley, author of Tolstoy and the Novel, in Richard Eyre's Iris, so it's doubly delightful to see him reunited with McDermott on his return to the stage as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (running till the end of the month) and scene-stealing as the even more curmudgeonly Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky in the compelling new BBC compression (five more episodes to go, can't wait) of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

It's getting to the point where I'm really quite disappointed if Broadbent isn't in the latest new film. Among recent releases, he's been a sympathetic priest, Father Flood, in John Crowley's Brooklyn (adapted from the Colm Toibin novel) and a slimy ex-copper, Underwood, in Nick Hytner's The Lady in the Van (by Alan Bennett) and there are about six others pending this year, including an adaptation of Julian Barnes's Booker prize-winning, intricately memorial A Sense of an Ending and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Baby, in which he plays Bridget's dad.

He's become, as if by stealth, a national pleasure if not indeed a national treasure, and it's hard to believe that he once turned down the chance to play "Del Boy" Trotter in BBC TV's Only Fools and Horses (the role was unforgettably taken by David Jason), but equally possible to think that the decision was the making of him as a big screen big player. Does anyone dislike Jim Broadbent, even when he's playing Scrooge? It's impossible. He's not only loved by the public, he's inordinately admired by everyone who's worked with him  that's fact, not hearsay  Eyre and Hytner at the National, Mike Leigh (several movies and plays), Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg.

Watching his Scrooge earlier this week, several things struck me; in particular, the unusual and totally characteristic mixture of charm, buffoonery and tragic heft. You expect such a big, lumbering-looking fellow to be, well, more awkward or clumsy. But he always makes the right choice in where to stand, how to react  his big face, forehead and wide eyes make him emphatically visible  how much hand and arm movement to make, and he always seems to be concentrating fiercely on what everyone else is doing.

He also makes Scrooge's journey through his own life, bitterness and nightmare to childish longing, self-knowledge and the recognition of love as the only thing that really matters in life as moving as any Shakespearean tragedy. Scrooge, in fact, becomes a dry run for the King Lear he must deliver before too long. There's also something tough-as-teak about Broadbent's spiritual presence on stage, which surely has to do with coming from Lincolnshire farming stock and being educated by Quakers. His parents, conscientious objectors during the war, ran an amateur theatre, the Broadbent, which prospers to this day.

Scrooge is written by Patrick Barlow, author of the long-running The 39 Steps, with whom Broadbent first teamed in the deliriously funny two-man National Theatre of Brent. It's this association with Barlow, and with McDermott's Improbable Theatre, Mike Leigh and, especially, Ken Campbell  there are lots of design similarities in Scrooge to the "rough theatre" sci-fi epic Illuminatus! with which Campbell, Broadbent and Chris Langham opened the NT's Cottesloe  that marks him out, too. He's stamped through with the seaside rock lettering of authentic radical comedian, like some dream-like concoction of Dario Fo, Tommy Cooper and Michael Gambon; he's a complete one-off.

I don't think I enjoy watching any actor more these days, except possibly Bill Murray. Or Cate Blanchett. Blanchett, though, in Carol (brilliantly adapted from Patricia Highsmith by Phyllis Nagy) is tremulously sly and sensual; we're moving away from the realms of thunder, astonishment and unforced eccentricity where Broadbent reigns supremeand no-one is more surprised by this than Broadbent himself. As he said, to the bemusement of the Hollywood glitterati, on accepting his Oscar: "Stone the crows!"
For the seventh year in a row, Ambassador Theatre Group joint chief executives Rosemary Squire and Howard Panter have topped The Stage's list of 100 most influential people in theatre.

The duo have overtaken Andrew Lloyd Webber who has been top of the list six times. New National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris is on the list at number 12, which is the first time since 2001 that an NT director has been outside the top ten.

The top ten are producer Sonia Friedman at 2, Cameron Mackintosh and Nick Allott at 3, Lloyd Webber at 4, Peter Bazalgette and Darren Henley of Arts Council England at 5, the Young Vic's David Lan and Lucy Woollatt at 6, Greg Doran, Catherine Mallyon and Erica Whyman of the RSC at 7, Jonathan Church and Alan Finch of Chichester Festival Theatre at 8, Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer at 9 and the Almeida's Rupert Goold at 10.

This year there's a new entry for Benedict Cumberbatch at number 15 who is commended for using his 'star power' to raise money for the refugee crisis after Hamlet performances. Imelda Staunton has risen from 70 to number 16 in the list following her star turn in Gypsy.

The Stage's editor, Alistair Smith said: "The rise of Ambassador Theatre Group has been the defining feature of the last decade in the UK theatre industry. This private equity-owned company is by far the largest theatre company in the UK, and probably the world... It has been a good year for Arts Council England's Peter Bazalgette and Darren Henley (placed at number five), who secured an impressive funding settlement for the arts in 2015, and a great year for Sarah Frankcom at Manchester's Royal Exchange, which breaks into the top 20 for the first time."

This year's list was created using a new judging process, where 50 figures from the theatre and performing arts industry were invited to submit names they would rank from 1-5. The Stage's senior editorial contributors were invited to submit suggestions and a final judging panel decided on the list.
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Guys and Dolls is certainly one of my all-time top five Broadway musicals  shaded in pole position by West Side Story?  and we've been spoilt for productions of this smart, witty and perfectly assembled New York fable by Richard Eyre (at the National in 1982 and 1996), Michael Grandage (for the Donmar at the Piccadilly in 2005) and now this enjoyable re-heat, with cast changes, of Gordon Greenberg's 2014 Chichester revival.

If you've never seen the show before, "More I Cannot Wish You," as the old Salvation Army stalwart sings to Sarah Brown. Straight-laced Sarah (Siubhan Harrison) is whisked off to Havana by high-rolling Sky Masterson (Jamie Parker) winning his bet against desperate Nathan Detroit (David Haig), who's trying to fix the floating dice game under pressure from the police, the other players and, most of all, his longstanding fiancee, the Hot Box dancer Miss Adelaide (Sophie Thompson).

Every strand of the smart and funny book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on the stories and characters of hard-boiled scribe Damon Runyon, knits together in the salvation of the Salvation Army mission on 49th Street and the climactic show-stopper, "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," two encores neatly stitched in.

So, what's with the three stars? There's a lack of smack and relish in the discharge of the language, too much sloppy accentuation, and the sound system is dreadful, despite the best efforts of musical director Gareth Valentine and the lively band. Haig's Nathan, deftly done, is too nice and suburban, which is what he becomes, not how he should start. And brilliant Thompson, making Adelaide a lantern-jawed vamp with an over-used basso swoop in her voice, rather than a scheming, devoted sweetheart, swamps her precise, hilariously pointed numbers in production kerfuffle.

Whereas Julia McKenzie and Imelda Staunton built the cold itself into the "Lament" lyric, Thompson snuffs her sniffles in broader strokes, and "Take back your mink, take back your poils; what makes you think that I am one of those goils?" gets it laughs only in the surprise, haunch-handling striptease and the stand-in ermine draped round Valentine's neck in the pit. The musical finesse of Frank Loesser's wonderful songs is best served up in Parker's Sinatra-like crooning of the galvanic "Luck Be a Lady" and his clever ornamentation in "Sue Me" ("What can you do me?").

The crazy choreography of Carlos Acosta (no less) and Andrew White is a little cramped on this small stage, and Peter McKintosh's functional touring design (first stop, Liverpool Empire in March, then nationwide through July, as Parker re-adjusts to Harry Potter) is a slightly drab vortex, suggesting the crap game sewers from the off, fitted out with period advertising posters.

Overall, the show doesn't have the shimmer or the sassiness of the Eyre revival, nor the social grip and precision of Grandage's. But it still has the best musical theatre score in London, and a touching Laurel and Hardy double-act from Ian Hughes and Gavin Spokes as Benny Southstreet and Nicely-Nicely Johnson.

Guys and Dolls runs at the Savoy Theatre until March 12
BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES MAKES LEADERSHIP CHANGES

The Board of Directors of Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Inc. (BRCHS) announced today that the non-profit will begin implementing a succession plan developed as part of the strategic planning process earlier this year where the current BRCHS Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Henderson, will transition from CEO to a senior role in Business Development. As ofApril 1, 2016, Richard Hudspeth, M.D., who currently serves as the BRCHS Chief Medical Officer, will be the new CEO at BRCHS.

Cindy Pierce, BRCHS Board Chair said that the board of directors formally began succession planning as part of updating the strategic plan earlier this year. We realized that succession planning played an essential role in our strategic plan, said Ms. Pierce. During the process, we also identified the organizations need for an even greater emphasis on business development activities, said Ms. Pierce. Given the growth already established under her leadership, Jennifer requested to move from CEO into a role solely focused on new ventures, expanded services, affiliations and partnerships. The board then worked closely with Jennifer and BRCHS Leadership to identify her best possible executive successor, said Pierce.

Since Henderson joined the organization as CEO, the non-profit health center has experienced dramatic growth from serving 10,000 patients in two locations in 2007, to serving over 40,000 active patients in 13 locations across western North Carolina in 2015.

Pierce believes that the current leadership team is well positioned to continue that success under the leadership of Dr. Hudspeth. Richard brings strong physician leadership skills to his new role. During his short time with BRCHS as CMO, he has already demonstrated his commitment to our patients, mission and quality. He has quickly become a valuable member of a strong leadership team that works exceptionally well together. We look forward to what his leadership will bring as CEO.

Pleased with the succession planning process, Henderson remarked, Im confident that BRCHS has the right people in the right places to position BRCHS well for the future.

Dr. Hudspeth has served as the Chief Medical Officer since May of this past year, and served on the BRCHS medical staff since June 2013. He has been practicing in Henderson County as faculty in the MAHEC Hendersonville Family Practice Residency program at Hendersonville Family Health Center, as well as at the Henderson County Health Department and Pardee Hospital for over 10 years. Prior to assuming the position of CMO, Dr. Hudspeth served as the Medical Director for Community Care of Western North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his medical degree from The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He did an obstetrics fellowship at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he practiced in a community health center before returning to North Carolina.

BRCHS is a non-profit community health center that has been providing high quality and affordable medical, dental and mental health care as well as promoting health awareness/education for over 50 years. Services are conveniently provided in Hendersonville, NC at Blue Ridge Health Center, Hendersonville Family Health Center; 7th Avenue Health Center; in Brevard, NC at Brevard Health Center; in Arden, NC at Arden Health Center; in Spindale, NC at Rutherford Health Center, in Columbus, NC at Polk Health Center, and in four Henderson County Public Schools. If you would like more information about BRCHS services, call 692-4289; or visit www.brchs.com and www.facebook.com/BRCHS.

# # #
Everton 2-1 Manchester City  Capital One Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg  6th January 2016

Romelu Lukaku once again proved to be the match-winner for Everton as the Toffees secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Man City at Goodison Park.

The Toffees were impressive throughout, with Gareth Barry dictating play from the centre of the park and overshadowing a quiet Yaya Toure.

The hosts had a couple of goals chalked off for offside before Ramiro Funes Mori netted just before the break. However, the Citizens will feel that that goal too shouldve been disallowed, with Lukaku standing in an offside position in front of keeper Willy Caballero. Despite the visitors protests, Robert Madley judged the Belgian not to be interfering with play, leaving the Toffees with a one-goal advantage at the break.

In the second-half, City pushed for the equaliser and it eventually came on 76 minutes. Jesus Navas was the unlikely source of the goal, with the Spanish winger netting after a superb counter-attack from the Citizens. However, that lead only lasted two minutes, with the in-form Lukaku converting a superb Barry centre to give his side a 2-1 lead ahead of the second-leg.

Photos

Highlights

(Highlights: Footytube)
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Evidently, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival dies hard in Winnipeg.

The second show of the Theatre Projects Manitoba season is actually a kind of double bill of two one-person shows first seen by Winnipeggers at the annual July play-a-palooza.

Fraz vs. the Future, written by and performed by DnD Improv mainstay Fraz Wiest, lampooned contemporary social media at the 2014 fringe. And Village Ax, performed and co-written by Sydney Hayduk, was one of two productions Hayduk bounced between at the 2015 fringe. (The other was Manic Pixie Dream Girl, which took its title from a rom-com archetype coined by a film critic, but still proves dangerously irresistible as a description of the sprightly 23-year-old Hayduk.)

Is would appear the fringe simply can not be contained by two weeks in July. But Theatre Projects Manitoba artistic director Ardith Boxall asserts its Hayduk and Wiest who cant be contained by the fringe.

For me, its about these two performers, she says. You want them to go from the fringe to launch into the stratosphere.

So this was a way for us to give them an opportunity to work outside of the fringe, but also to introduce non-fringe audiences to these two young artists.

I dont even think of them as fringe shows, Boxall says. I think of them as expressions of who these two individual artists are.

  

Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press Sydney Hayduk in the Village Ax at Theatre Projects. Since her childhood in East Kildonan, Hayduk has always gravitated to theatre, but she didnt necessarily see herself as a performer. In fact, she was studying stage management at the University of Winnipeg and gaining experience on the technical side at places such as Theatre Projects Manitoba.

I always thought that was what I wanted to do, she says.

Eventually, the impulse to perform proved irresistible, with the fringe fest proving a safe place to test her acting chops. With only a few classes in performance  and a few years studying dance  Hayduk took the leap.

Her festival appearance led her to an invitation to perform at the Orlando Fringe Festival, but as her stage partner was unable to make the trip, she had to create her own show for Florida, with valuable assistance from co-writer Elsa Reesor-Taylor.

I never thought I would ever go up onstage alone, Hayduk says. It was kind of hilarious how this all worked out.

The play that emerged from that creative pressure cooker was Village Ax, which she describes as fantastical realism.

Its about a young girl whos having a rough time and wants to disappear and wants to get out of here and she sees this weird ad on a lamppost that says: Do you want to disappear?  Hayduk says.

The girls response to the ad leads her to the titular high-security village.

The play, Hayduk says, is a blend of science fiction, drama, comedy and dance.

I try to pack it all in there.

  

Heres a coincidence: Both Village Ax and Fraz vs. the Future have fun with timelines between past and future.

Heres another coincidence: performers Wiest and Hayduk were approached separately to perform their shows, even as they became roommates (of the platonic variety) in Vancouver as of early November.

We were asked to do this project separately, without Ardith (Boxall) even knowing we were friends, says Hayduk.

Wiest says its more synchronicity.

Its a coincidence, if you choose to think of it that way, he says, mysteriously.

  

Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press Actor Fraz Wiest in a scene from Fraz VS. The Future at Theatre Projects Manitoba. Fraz vs. the Future has the jumpsuit-clad Fraz (short for Fraser) appearing in front of an audience as the result of an unplanned time-travel anomaly.

It emerges the future will not be kind to our hero, a guy who has long resisted the lure of social media and finds himself on trial to defend his incompetence on Twitter, Instagram and other forms of 21st-century communication.

Wiest, 34, has predominantly been seen by Winnipeg audiences as one of the improv wizards of DnD Improv, as well as his one-man shows at the fringe, which also includes the riotously funny memoir of coming up through dinner theatre in his 2012 show Fraz: Lonely at Last.

The Regina-born Wiest acknowledges in the two years since he performed Fraz vs. the Future at the Winnipeg fringe, the social-media realm has changed enough for him to make slight changes to the original play.

Take Facebook. Please.

Young people now view Facebook as a way for old people to argue with each other, Wiest says.

Mostly, he says, the play has just been honed in the 50 or so times hes performed it. (Its essentially the same show you saw two years ago, but with a lot more experience.)

Ive always considered audiences collaborators, Wiest says. As a solo performer, you kind of live and die by the reactions youre getting.

And Im a comedic performer, so if theyre not laughing, theres not much of a relationship there.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former northern grand chief David Harper is challenging the legitimacy of last falls MKO election, which saw him lose to new grand chief Sheila North Wilson.

Harper has retained Charles Huband, a former Court of Appeal justice and the former provincial Liberal leader. In a letter dated Nov. 4., Huband said Harper is asking Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak to discard the results of last Septembers election and hold a fresh one.

Harper has no plans to run again for grand chief and accepts his defeat, wrote Huband.

TREVOR HAGAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES David Harper is seeking a third term as grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.

But he is contesting the election because the seven members of the Swampy Cree Tribal Council were allowed to vote for grand chief and shouldnt have been, according to MKOs constitution.

We are of the opinion that the results of the September 2015 election are invalid because certain First Nations members were permitted to vote in the September 2015 election even though those First Nations had forfeited their memberships in MKO, and had not properly resumed membership at the time of the vote, wrote Huband. If a fresh election is not held, the integrity and validity of MKO is threatened.

Harper was knocked out of the race after the first round of voting at MKO general assembly. North Wilson won on the second ballot with 74 votes to the 58 earned by William Elvis Thomas of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

Huband said Thursday he has received a reply from MKO saying it disagrees with Harpers allegations and believes instead the elections were properly held. Huband said Harpers next steps, if he takes any, have not yet been determined, and the matter is in limbo.

North Wilson was checking with MKOs lawyers Thursday and was not immediately available for comment.

The current dispute over MKOs election seems to be a hangover from a dispute last March between Harper and the Swampy Cree Tribal Council, which includes the First Nations of Mathias Colomb, Marcel Colomb, Sapotaweyak, Wuskwi Sipihk, Grand Rapids, Mosaskahiken and Chemawawin.

In March, the SCTC split from MKO after Harper struck an agreement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, the industry group tasked by federal law to manage the countrys nuclear waste. The agreement was to fund a $300,000 study on the risks of storing nuclear waste in the Canadian Shield.

The NWMO is considering nine proposed disposal sites for spent fuel rods. None is in Manitoba. But one, at Ignace in northwestern Ontario, is part of the Nelson River watershed covering territory stretching westward to Alberta, through northern Manitoba.

Last winter, the Swampy Cree chiefs alleged Harper signed the agreement in secret, without the consent of chiefs. Harper said at the time he opposed any storage of waste in northern Manitoba.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NDP cabinet minister Steve Ashton is offering no apologies after Manitobas ombudsman concluded he tried to direct flood-fighting officials to purchase Tiger Dams against their advice and without going to tender.

In a report issued this morning, the ombudsmans office concluded the province contravened its own purchasing policies in 2014, when Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation made an aborted effort to buy $5-million worth of flood tubes for Interlake First Nations without seeking competitive bids.

The ombudsman found Infrastructure & Transportation lacked sufficient justification for pursuing a sole-sourced contract and didnt conduct enough research and analysis to support buying Tiger Dams instead of other flood-fighting products.

Tim Smith/Brandon Sun files Tiger Dams and an earthen dike surround homes in Birtle to protect them flooding. Dams such as these were part of the flood-fighting equipment the government said it would supply to First Nations.

The report states Ashton told flood-fighting officials to pursue the untendered contract even though the civil servants didnt think buying Tiger Dams was the best use of provincial money.

The evidence we reviewed indicates that the position of the MIT administration was that a variety of equipment was required to prepare for flooding and it felt that both the First Nation communities involved and MIT already had a sufficient amount of water-filled barriers in their inventories, reads the report.

The purchase was never made. In October 2014, Premier Greg Selinger asked for a tender to be issued, while a whistleblower came forward the following month alleging interference on the part of Ashton. Interlake Reserves Tribal Council then convinced Ottawa to make the purchase  which remains on hold, pending a federal investigation.

The whistleblowers complaint helped spark the 2014 NDP cabinet rebellion that led to a leadership review of Premier Greg Selinger in 2015. While initial concerns raised by the whistleblower were resolved, Selinger asked the ombudsman to further review the file last year.

The ombudsmans office found Ashton told his staff to write up a proposal to for an untendered contract for Tiger Dams under the premise Interlake Tribal Reserves Council needed the flood-fighting devices and had experience using them. The ombudsman, however did not find evidence the tribal council had the equipment.

In a statement, Manitoba Ombudsman Charlene Paquin concluded the province ultimately complied with provincial purchasing rules because the deal did not go through.

But she also warned officials to follow procurement policies  and not to use flood-fighting as an excuse to ignore those rules.

While we recognize the importance of initiatives like the Emergency Operations Centre concept in supporting communities, it is imperative that staff understand and adopt existing provincial policies to ensure that appropriate decisions are made, that the best value for tax dollars is achieved and the public interest is protected, Paquin said in her statement. This also supports openness and transparency in the delivery of services.

Ashton said he is pleased with the report but still maintains he acted only to improve the flood-fighting capabilities of Interlake First Nations.

I make no apologies for taking forward on behalf of our government proposals that would improve flood-mitigation for those communities, he said in an interview. If we had to do it all over again, absolutely we would do it differently.

Selinger said the ombudsmans report demonstrates the province has systems in place to prevent purchasing rules from being broken.

Theres always a tension between what public servants want to see happen and what ministers and politicians want to see happen, the premier said following a University of Winnipeg press conference.

Ashton will not be disciplined, he added.

The minister has received a lesson in how to do things properly, he said of the Thompson MLA, who was first elected in 1981. And weve all learned from this experience.

Progressive Conservative house leader Kelvin Goertzen said Selinger should kick Ashton out of cabinet because the minister did not heed technical advice from civil servants and tried to break purchasing rules.

Todd MacKay of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said its unacceptable for a cabinet minister to attempt to circumvent tendering processes.

If the minister didnt know the rules, thats frightening. This isnt a summer internship, MacKay said from his office in Regina. You have to wonder whether he deserves a seat at the cabinet table.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
With prohibition over and the saloons open again, there were men in Minnesota who saw marijuana as the business to get into.

In 1937, Cannabis Inc. was an optimistic start-up business at 902 E. Second St., current address of the Winona Daily News, and Chempco Inc. was operating at the address now occupied by Technigraph on West Third Street. Both enterprises were linked to the fortunes of Frank Holton, who probably sold more marijuana in Minnesota than any man yet to live.

Now Holton wasnt the Pablo Escobar of ditch weed, and Winona was hardly the Medellin of Minnesota. Like the advertising slogan for a popular cigarette brand of the era, Holton could claim not a cough in a carload for the marijuana he marketed and for a simple, straightforward reason: Only a dope would try to smoke it. The cannabis Holton dealt in was the near-beer of marijuana industrial hemp. With a THC content of less than 0.5 percent, the closest to a buzz anyone would catch off Holtons weed amounted to a headache and a sore throat with a lingering bad taste on the tongue.

If it wasnt much good for getting high, Holtons hemp was good for any number of other things enough things to convince solid Norwegian farmers and sober Main Street businessmen to invest hard-earned Depression-era dollars in the production and processing of what Popular Mechanics touted as the New Billion Dollar Crop.

There was nothing new about hemp; the plant had been grown for thousands of years, primarily for the fibers that strengthen its stem. These fibers can be woven into products ranging from rope and tough burlap to fine linen-like fabrics and delicate lace.

In the 1930s, investors hopes were pinned on a new machine, the decorticator, which separated the plants fiber-bearing cortex from the woody hurds, as the core of the hemp stem was called. The fibers would be processed for textiles or made into paper, while the hurds, containing more than 77 percent cellulose, were raw material for products as diverse as dynamite and cellophane.

It was in the fall of 1933 that Holton, a former bank cashier, mortgage speculator and wheeler-dealer in stocks and securities, showed up in Mankato, Minn., promoting the interests of the Northwest Hemp Corp. and offering investors shares of stock in the enterprise at $1,000 a share.

Chempco Inc. was organized in 1936 and set up operation in Winona in the old Union Fiber plant on West Third Street. Seventy-nine farmers in Winona and Wabasha counties contracted 950 acres of hemp to supply the Chempco plant.

When Holton shipped marijuana to Winona it came in by the boxcar-load, and he boasted he could stockpile 10,000 tons--enough to last him nearly a full year. He had 40 people at work full-time, capable of processing more than six tons of Minnesota Green every hour.

Unfortunately, the market for hemp hurds was not as well-developed as Holton had hoped. The plants output of the material quickly overwhelmed both the market and available storage.

A portion of the hemp fiber was shipped across town to Cannabis Inc., where E.G. Witt oversaw a crew of 12 people experimenting with new uses for the material. The firm planned to use the spun yarn in rugs, upholstery fabrics and mop heads, but only the mops ever made it into production and onto the market.

As it struggled with new technology and the need to create and expand markets, Harry Anslinger was exactly what the infant hemp industry did not need.

Commissioner of the federal Bureau of Narcotics, Anslinger launched an all-out attack on marijuana. Reefer Madness was alleged to be sweeping the nation, drawing hapless youth into depraved lives of crime, indolence and sexual debauchery. In the face of the near-hysterical accusations, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

The new federal law required government agents to be on hand to observe every aspect of hemp manufacture and placed extreme regulatory requirements on the disposal of foliage and other hemp waste. While the legislation has clearly been less than successful in eliminating the use of marijuana as an intoxicant, it was the death warrant to the use of hemp as an industrial raw material.

The law effectively regulated Cannabis Inc., Chempco Inc. and other enterprises out of business. Farmers put their land back to corn, oats and hay, while Anslinger went on to make his mark as the first field marshal in the war on drugs.

Ironically, cannabis, not the variety raised for rope, is now believed to be one of the countrys major cash crops ... the only crop generally bought and sold using cash.
As the author of "Bark Until Heard," a nonfiction book detailing the horrific realities of Amish puppy mills, I'm appalled and disgusted by the Winona County Board of Commissioners' decision on Tuesday to approve six permits for dog kennels.

As a board, you did not just approve a few dog kennels, you consciously chose to support a cruel industry. You have knowingly endangered the lives of innocent dogs who will suffer for years without veterinary care, adequate food, water or shelter. Your decision to approve these permits makes Winona the worst county for animal welfare in Minnesota  and puts it with other horrific states known for puppy mills like Iowa and Missouri.

There are major cities across the United States banning pet stores from selling puppies who come from facilities just like the one the board approved. I cannot fathom how anyone can believe these dog kennels are necessary when 2 million animals will be killed for space in this country in 2016.

Shame on Winona County. Shame on the commissioners. I don't know how you will sleep at night knowing hundreds of dogs are suffering in silence because of what you decided.
My heart broke when I read the headline in the Dec. 22 issue of the Daily Citizen. It read Woodshop to close in January.

How could the Beaver Dam Council so heartlessly vote to close the senior woodshop?

When the senior center was combined with the Community Activities (and Services) Department it was known there would not be enough room for all the activities at the present building on Third Street. A building committee was formed to investigate the possibility of remodeling the present building. Remodeling would not have given more space to the woodshop or the activities room.

The building committee put in many hours looking at lots, empty buildings and options, always to be turned down. They located a property that was nearly perfect, with lots of room and nearly ready to be used as it was. Then the mayor informed the committee that Mr. and Mrs. Foulkes would like to donate the Fullerton property to the city to be used for a community center. The building committee met there and discussed plans on making it usable and to have room for all that was needed.

After the closing the property was owned by the city. The building committee members received a letter stating that their services were no longer needed. That was it. My husband and other members on the committee had their hearts and souls in that project and now they wouldnt even listen to any of their ideas.

A professional fundraiser was hired and when he fell short of the goal he took his money and left. The plans kept getting cut, cutting out the woodshop entirely, trying to lower the costs. Leaving the woodshop in the present location was mentioned, but now it is just being closed  period.

It was a much used part of the center and very therapeutic. Most tools were donated or received from contractors at a lower price and a lot of the materials were donated because they wanted to help the senior center.

Are they just going to destroy that equipment with the rest of the building? Why was the woodshop taken out of the plan in the first place?

The original plan also had a big pool room, now I read that the pool tables were sold (they were donated) and they might get a smaller one. What happened to that big room?

When the Fullerton property was decided on, it was planned to use the front part for offices and the rear section for woodshop, crafts, community activities and a large area for parties, dances, etc. When they finally decided to do something and got started, I drove past one day and couldnt believe what I saw. The whole building was torn down. More money wasted.

My husband, Larry, said he would not see it built in his lifetime and he was right, he didnt.

I got upset when I saw that headline. The woodshop, under Terry Appenfeldts direction, has done a lot for Beaver Dam and senior citizens. All ages are happy to make things out of wood and they have made many beautiful things through the years. This last year they made the display case for my husbands memorial flag and Navy emblems using some of the oak lumber my husband had donated to the center. It is beautiful and it makes me cry to know there is no more woodshop.

Shirley Neitzel, Beaver Dam
The takeover of the federal Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon by armed anti-federal-government zealots might seem like a fresh crisis, but in fact weve been here before. The best option for the government is to practice patient resolve  and have lots of handcuffs ready once the occupation comes to a peaceful end.

The gun toters holed up at Malheur havent issued a political manifesto, but their rhetoric echoes that of movements such as the 1970s Sagebrush Rebellion, in which disaffected Westerners argued that states or counties are the rightful owners of millions of acres of federal land, despite decades of court battles that say otherwise. Three of the occupiers also are sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who, with a contingent of armed supporters, faced down an effort by the Bureau of Land Management nearly two years ago to seize his cattle for nonpayment of grazing fees  a bill that remains unpaid.

The Bundy brigade decamped to Oregon recently to join protests over the re-sentencing of two local ranchers, Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven. Their crimes: burning more than 140 acres of federal land adjacent to their ranch in two separate incidents. The government appealed the Hammonds initial sentence of a few months in prison, winning the argument that federal law mandates a five-year term.

Although the Hammonds have acquiesced, the Bundys and their followers seized the opportunity, and federal property, to make a grand and unacceptable show of force and disregard for the law.

The good news is that the Malheur refuge, near Burns in the high desert of eastern Oregon, is remote, and the occupiers pose no imminent public safety threat. Some critics have sought to contrast the governments measured response with the quick-trigger killing of Tamir Rice, an unarmed, black 12-year-old, by a Cleveland police officer, but it is difficult to compare a police encounter in a populated area with whats happening in Oregon. Nor is the 2011 Occupy Movement a good analogy because those protesters were unarmed. Malheur also differs from federal showdowns in 1992 with anti-government activists at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and in 1993 with the Branch Davidian cult at Waco, Texas, both of which involved disastrous violence.

A closer parallel would be the American Indian Movements unarmed takeover of the federal landmark of Alcatraz Island, which began in November 1969 and ended, peacefully, 19 months later. Similar restraint leading to a bloodless surrender would be the best outcome here, with the Obama administration pledging to prosecute the occupiers under all applicable laws.

Political protest is a welcome part of American life. Armed occupation of public lands by private citizens is another matter entirely.
Two things are certain for this years Portage city election.

First, there will be a primary election on Feb. 16, to trim the slate for mayor from four candidates to two.

Second, no voter in Common Council districts 2, 5 and 6 will be faced with a blank ballot on April 5  as has often happened in past city elections.

The filing period for inclusion on the spring non-partisan election ballot ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with four people running for mayor:

Incumbent Mayor Bill Tierney, who is seeking his second consecutive three-year term.

Rick Dodd, District 3 alderman and past Common Council president.

Rita Maass, District 9 alderwoman and current Common Council president.

Business owner John Morauski.

By state law, a primary election is held whenever there are more than two candidates per available seat. Every city of Portage voter will be eligible to vote for one of the four candidates on Feb. 16, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 5 election.

This is the second consecutive Portage mayoral election that has been decided partly by a primary. In 2012, Mayor Ken Jahn was challenged for re-election by Tierney (who had formerly been mayor) and Alderman Michael Oszman. Tierney and Jahn prevailed in the primary, and Tierney won.

And, in a city that has had a dubious tradition of no candidates on many Common Council ballots, all three available seats have their incumbents seeking a new term, and one of them faces a challenge.

In District 2, Alderman Richard Lynn  who first won the seat in 2014 on nine write-in votes  will square off against retired Portage Police Detective Mark Hahn. Late last year, Lynn had talked about the possibility of running for mayor, but he did not file for mayoral candidacy.

District 5 Alderman Jeff Monfort, who won his seat in 2014 with five write-in votes, is on the ballot, with no opposition.

District 6 Alderman Bill Kutzke is unopposed for re-election. He was appointed in 2014 to fill the remainder of Oszmans term after Oszman resigned, then stood for election in the spring of 2015.

The citys transition to three-year staggered terms for Common Council seats is completed with this election. In November 2012, Portage residents approved a change in the citys charter to change Council terms from two years to three years, and that change was phased in with the 2013, 2014 and 2015 spring elections.




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'Top travel hotspots' for 2016 revealed

Rough Guides has published a list of the top destinations for 2016

The Icelandic capital of Reykjavik has been named the best city for tourists to visit in 2016.

Rough Guides has also made Nepal the top "must-see" country this year.

The guidebook publisher has highlighted the finest destinations to explore in its new lists.

One trend that never changes

Destinations may go in and out of fashion.

But wherever people head off on their travels, one thing never changes - and that's the need to get trusted travel insurance.

Such prudence guards against unexpected surprises, such as lost luggage or passports, delayed flights and cancelled trips.

This year's 'must-see' cities

Rough Guides points to Reykjavik's arts scene, fresh fish, hot pools and "toy-like, painted" homes as making it the world's most desirable city to visit this year.

It has beaten off challenges from Mexico City (second), Seoul (third) and Ljubljana (Slovenia, fourth).

Wroclaw (Poland), Nashville, Amsterdam, Hull, Vancouver and Agra complete the list.

This year's 'must-see' countries

Rough Guides places Nepal above any other nation for tourists to enjoy, citing its newly restored landmarks, Himalayan treks and tiger-populated jungles.

The other top 10 nations include Colombia (second), Cuba (third) and Jordan (fourth).

The remainder of the list comprises Albania, Romania, El Salvador, Wales, Kenya and Sri Lanka.

This year's 'must-see' regions

Alaska, with its glaciers, vast national parks and wildlife, is named the best region to explore in 2016.

Other mentions go to second-placed Gujurat (India), Tasmania (third) and Quebec (fourth).

Tohoku (Japan), Northern Cape (South Africa), Lombok (Indonesia), Calabria (Italy), Castilla y Leon (Spain) and the Western Isles (Scotland) complete the top 10.

British representation

The UK is represented three times in the Rough Guides lists through Wales, the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) and the traditionally unfashionable Humberside city of Hull.

Rough Guides emphasised Hull's strong stable of "excellent" museums, scenic Old Town and September's Freedom Festival.

The publication's officials also lauded Wales's Snowdonia peaks, the Gower Peninsula's sandy beaches and the quaintness of its countryside villages and towns.
Westinghouse ready to make SMR fuel in UK

07 January 2016

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Westinghouse announced today that its Springfields nuclear fuel fabrication facility in the UK has "reached the requirements necessary" for manufacturing fuel assemblies for its Small Modular Reactor (SMR). Last year the company proposed a partnership with the UK government to deploy SMR technology.

The company said the Springfields plant achieved this "crucial milestone" following a "readiness assessment" based upon fabrication data for two proprietary SMR fuel assemblies produced at its fuel fabrication plant in Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

Westinghouse Springfields managing director Mick Gornall said, "Manufacturing Westinghouse SMR fuel at Springfields will secure the future of a strategic national asset of nuclear fuel manufacturing capability and safeguard highly skilled and paid UK jobs - something that no other SMR technology provider currently offers."

Westinghouse noted this "readiness milestone" was an important part of its proposed partnership with the UK government to deploy SMR technology.

Last October, Westinghouse announced it had presented a "proposal to partner" in phase two of a study being carried out by the UK government into the nation's potential use of SMRs. Phase one - an SMR feasibility study commissioned by the government and carried out by the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory - was published in December 2014.

Westinghouse said that its unsolicited proposal outlines a "shared design and development model" under which the company would contribute its SMR conceptual design and then partner with UK government and industry to complete, license and deploy it. The partnership would be structured as a UK-based enterprise jointly owned by Westinghouse, the UK government and UK industry, the company said.

Westinghouse's SMR design is a 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactor with all primary components located inside the reactor vessel.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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UK's Magnox sends last of Oldbury fuel for reprocessing

07 January 2016

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Magnox today dispatched its final flask of fuel from Oldbury for reprocessing at Sellafield, completing the site's program of defuelling and removing 99% of radioactive material from there. Receiving and shipping fuel since it began operations in the 1960s, this final dispatch enables Oldbury to move into its decommissioning phase with the aim of reaching care and maintenance by 2027.

The final flask of used fuel leaves Oldbury (Image: Magnox)

Mike Heaton, Oldbury site director, praised his staff for reaching "this important milestone in record time".

Magnox, owned by Cavendish Fluor Partnership, is the management and operations contractor responsible for 12 nuclear sites and one hydroelectric plant in the UK. Under contract to the site owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the company is responsible for electricity generation at Maentwrog, defuelling at Wylfa and Oldbury, and the decommissioning of Berkeley, Bradwell, Chapelcross, Dungeness A, Harwell, Hinkley Point A, Hunterston A, Sizewell A, Trawsfynydd and Winfrith.

Brian Burnett, head of programs at the NDA said the dispatch of the final fuel flask from Oldbury was a "significant hazard reduction milestone".

Oldbury will now go through a "workforce transition to enable it to refocus on decommissioning", Magnox said. "Near-term work priorities include a mix of conventional and radiological projects to further reduce hazards on site," it said.

At the start of defuelling Oldbury contained nearly 52,000 fuel elements, each measuring 43 inches in length which, if placed end to end, would stretch 17-and-a-half miles, Magnox said. Fuel flasks measure about two-and-a-half metres square and are made from steel that is over 14 inches thick, which acts as shielding from the fuel that they carry. Each flask carries around 200 fuel elements.

Out of a total 50,000 tonnes originally manufactured, supplied and used in 10 Magnox reactors, just over 1000 tonnes of used fuel remains to be shipped from the sole Magnox fuelled site at Wylfa, which ceased generation last month.

Oldbury operated between 1967 and 2012 and provided around 137.5 TWh of electricity to the UK - enough to power a million homes for over 20 years, Magnox said.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Arts Hub Green Light As Ongoing Loss Is Cost Of Culture

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 7th, 2016

In what had been one of the more hotly anticipated council meetings for a while councillors gave the effective go ahead for the Arts and Cultural Hub plans in a meeting that appeared to indicate the finances examined were not overly important.

The go ahead was finally given after a three hour meeting with extra guarantees given that assurances made in the meeting would bear fruit by the end of the process.

The discussion looked at the towns markets and the plans for the Arts Hub, and although the business case was questioned for having an ongoing loss with a large capital expenditure the overall feeling was a large multimillion pound external contribution from the Arts Council Wales could not be lost, and any costs incurred was a price worth paying for the arts in Wrexham.

The debate was held entirely in public, a change from the initial plans which would have seen much of it kept behind closed doors, despite this the main turn out in the public gallery was from council staff themselves with some market traders.

The meeting began with what is now a well worn presentation by Councillor Hugh Jones, the member leading the proposals who apologised to those who have heard his speech three times this week.

Cllr Jones reiterated much of what was said to the Town Centre Forum twenty four hours earlier and to others. Cllr Jones key message of the project was one of ambition and reinvigoration for the town by securing outside investment, with the meeting told the initial 1.5m of Council capital expenditure would be recouped over three years due to it replacing the need to spend on the Oriel and Peoples Market separately.

Further, he stated the 1.5m contribution from the Council would itself lever in almost 3m of further initial investment from the Arts Council Wales to not only improve the Peoples Market but reinvigorate the town.

Repeating much from Town Forum yesterday Clr Jones says 'what we are trying to do is to steer this ship through a difficult situation  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

Two reoccurring themes have developed throughout the process, with criticism of both the transparency of the process and communication with existing market traders. However last night Cllr Jones said he had gone through meeting records since 2010 and had noted that market traders had been involved since the beginning  with consultants brought in to design the building and business plans, who had also been tasked to engage with them.

The meeting had a feel of one where a decision was required that evening, with any attempt to defer or introduce any item that could slow the issue at hand being rejected or solved more promptly.

Councillor Alun Jenkins asked for information in writing on the performance of the three indoor markets and their viability. However a verbal answer and assurance was offered instead, with Cllr Jones stating: You dont have it on paper but you have a senior officer from the council saying it.

A deferment which would see a workshop examine the proposals was put forward by Cllr Derek Wright, who said he quite firmly he believed that the so called Plan B brought forward by some traders and business people ought to be looked at by Officers of Wrexham Council.

Cllr Wright said: I have read it and it seems viable to me, it has been put forward by the public of Wrexham as viable, the least we can do it to see if it is viable? It is crucial to us as a council that we look at what the people of Wrexham are saying.

However Cllr Wright continued onto note that if the deferment would result in the loss of funding and put any investment at risk, then he would withdraw his comments, which he promptly did.

The finances of both the Arts Hub business plan and the existing markets were examined, with the latter taking a fair part of the meeting to create a basis for the debate. The argument from the traders was from a viewpoint of the markets being historically profitable with the revenues used by Wrexham Council elsewhere rather than reinvested in the markets, and their claims of subsequent poor management and lack of investment creating the issues seen today.

Questioning the figures, Cllr Rodney Skelland said: The markets were making a lot of money seven to eight years ago for the council, and that money was not being spent on the markets itself. We then had new management and saw light at the end of the tunnel, and this proposal came just as we were going to start to make a difference.

Cllr Hugh Jones did recognise elements of this position, saying of the Peoples Market: Part of the problem is the lack of investment in that particular building.

The viability of the markets were also questioned with Councillor Phil Wynn, who stated figures in the report before them were selective and misleading. Cllr Skelland added that they were confusing, with the question raised if the numbers were expenditure based only.

Cllr Jones replied that the detail had been provided by the Finance Officer, who was then called to speak to the meeting. The Officer clarified the numbers, saying they indicated spending without the income balancing them, and pointed out It is not as big an issue as you are making it. I do not think it is an attempt to mislead, it is just how the figures are explained.

Regardless of the merits of the financial displays one trader, Rob Clarke from the Butchers Market pointed out that whatever the numbers were they were false figures as the current position of the markets is not optimal due to the future uncertainty.

Rob Clarke said: Who on earth would want to start a business not knowing what the future holds? Our management have had their hands tied. The Arts Hub has scared a lot of traders off. If it was run correctly without this thing hanging over it, it would encourage people to have stalls there.

Echoing the view made by others he referred to a perception that due to the lack of reinvestment a situation had been created where it is said the markets make a loss and so we need to do something else.

It was confirmed to the meeting that in 2012/13 all of Wrexham markets were making a profit, and it is only since then that position has changed.

Yesterday we were told an assessment of impact on Arts Hub on other two markets was 'work in progress, today meeting told no assessment?!  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

One market trader asked a question very close to a query lodged by Wrexham.com on Tuesday, but with a different answer. We asked Wrexham Council if any assessment had been made on the impact of the plans on the Butchers and General Markets, and if so what was the outcome. We were told that it was a work in progress, with Cllr Neil Rogers involved in the work. At the Scrutiny meeting trader Rob Clarke asked a virtually identical question and was told simply no to if such an assessment existed.

The essence of the point was cleared up in a roundabout manner when Cllr Jones said there is no cost subsidy between the other two markets and that such information was based on an assurance from the Officer present. The Officer told the meeting if the indoor and outdoor markets along with town shops worked together it would be easily possible to bring the markets in on budget and reinvest.

A further definitive statements were made when meeting chair Cllr Bill Baldwin asked: If Peoples Market goes ahead, will other two go? Cllr Rogers offered assurances, stating that quite simply no. In response to a query from Cllr Jenkins asking for evidence that the other two indoor markets would not be affected by the Peoples Market and were viable Cllr Jones reiterated the Officers comments, reminding him the Officer present went on record saying it is his professional judgement to say both other markets are financially viable independent of the Peoples Market.

The business plan for the Arts Hub was probed by some Councillors, with others choosing to use their time for political digs instead. Councillor Paul Rogers expressed his view that he thought it was an excellent proposal but criticised aspiring and existing politicians for not getting behind the plans. Notably all three declared Assembly Member candidates, including one from Cllr Rogers own party voiced their concerns this week.

Indicating wider benefit & comms Clr Hugh Jones says old TJ Hughes shop agents say Arts Hub plans are vital for revitalising Henblas St.  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

Questions were also raised regarding the feasibility and viability of the hub, with concerns about the business plan and financial projections over the next decade.

Cllr Alun Jenkins said he was not convinced the business plan stacks together and had reservations over using income from parking to subsidise the project  and that he felt it has to pay for itself.

Cllr Skelland questioned the impact on other Council departments, asking: The business plan is totally dependant on the tax payer, what is the impact on the Council because of that? with further comments including branding it Not a business plan, but a plan for a loss. As well as being critical of the consultation Cllr Skelland referred to a visit to the previous Oriel calling it a disaster, recounting a trip that saw no visitors and cobwebs and chairs everywhere upstairs saying he feared the new centre could go the way of the existing Oriel.

Clr Hugh Jones fires back at Clr Skelland asking if '12 months at college experience of figs & biz is better than professional consultants.  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

Councillor Dana Davies also ran through the figures, asking precise questions over the future funding and any exit strategies in place. The implication given was if the project failed at some point in the future that Wrexham Council could have to pay back some portion of the grant monies allocated. Due to this she enquired how committed the Arts Council Wales was to the project, and if the 120,000 per year contribution for ten years was firm.

Councillor Hugh Jones replied saying: We have a commitment from the Arts Council, they are fully involved and aware of all figures, they have significantly part funded the work that has been done to date. While they have not said yes, they are fully aware by funding business plans to date, that it will require capital funding, and they are aware if it is not forthcoming in full, this project will not go ahead.

I cant tell you the Arts Council Wales will agree to support this at the same level for the next ten years. You will know in public life there is no guarantees. The initiative for this comes from the Arts Council, they see this as an initiative they want to support and they have encouraged us. I can say on the basis and evidence and support we have had it gives us some confidence they are with us in the long run in this project. If we ask for 10 year guarantees on projects they would never ever get off the ground. I cannot give you a cast iron guarantee but can give you a judgement.

Cllr Davies said the Council were chucking every feasible income stream we can into this and it still produces a deficit pointing out there is no surplus in the figures over 10 years and how she was struggling to make the figures add up.

At this point the financial debate appeared to become almost irrelevant, with Cllr Jones explaining that such losses are a price worth paying: There will never be a point where the arts and cultural element makes a profit. There is a price as nation we pay for our heritage and our arts and our culture going on to give examples of the education system as similar expenditure with no definitive or often tangible gain.

Such a price of everything and the value of nothing style reply did not stop Cllr Davies asking further questions about what if funding was infact pulled in the future, and if Wrexham Council would then foot the 200k per year bill.

Cllr Jones replied again saying: It will never over ten years break even. If Arts Council Wales decide they will not fund it there will not be funding and we will find another use for that element of the building. The scenario you are proposing means Wrexham would be an arts desert if they pull a plug.

The Arts Council are going into this with their eyes open, they know if they invest 2.3m they will need to continue to support the arts and culture at a significant level. They know that, that is the only reassurance I can give you.

First mention of the night contrasting local cuts with Arts Hub spending plan, reply is there is a price to pay for arts/heritage/culture.  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

Cllr Davies was also involved in an odd exchange with a Council Officer over the spending time limits of Vibrant and Viable Places grant monies. Previously at a meeting (believed to be this one in December) traders had enquired if 772k of allocated VVP money could be re-channeled into the markets. At the time the impression was given that such a change would not be possible as the money needed to be spent before the end of March 2016.

This date was referenced as being in 2017 rather than 2016, and was challenged by Cllr Davies who cited the minutes of the meeting, that had been approved as a true record. A typographical error was blamed for the misunderstanding, along with two separate tranches of VVP money being referred to. In December Wrexham.com was under the impression, and reported, the discussion referenced the entire 772k of VVP money and a very tight 4-5 month deadline rather than a 16-17 month deadline.

On this point we have reviewed our own notes and believe the error could stem from the wording next year being used in terms of financial years, and the interpretation of what that means to laymen in a meeting and how that is recorded, although the very tight descriptor was used in December to describe the period between then and the deadline.

Clr Hugh Jones says talks ongoing last night about how to ensure traders stay in business during transition period. No answers today.  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

With the plans for the Peoples Market involving significant building work taking place the disruption of market traders was mentioned, with talks ongoing as late as the day of the meeting between traders and Council representatives.

The meeting was told by a trader of the difficulties already endured due to the uncertainty, which would be compounded by any building work, Footfall is down due to negativity and no investment, the next 12 months will not see any new investment. The management we trust and respect will be lost, then there is 12 months in a building site. Most of us will not survive that.

Cllr Jones referred to a meeting the previous night saying: We have some ideas and are working with you to get you through this difficult period, mentioning he did not intend to drive traders away rather wanting them to remain as the market is a key element reiterating the plan for a twenty first century market for Wrexham.

No answers were specifically given to the concerns raised, but again with the theme of sorting the issue on the night in the background assurances were given that work would be taking place to ensure no trader is negatively affected.

Such a vision was challenged by a market trader who pointed out: On plans we have seen the existing market as it stands does not have food traders, we need products people want to buy today. We dont buy carpet or lipstick every day, we need a food offer. There is no provision in the new plans to provide that. We might have a shiny new market but with people not attracted into it.

Fears over future space for traders were addressed with Cllr Jones saying: We believe all the existing market traders who want to come into the new Arts Hub and market will be and can be accommodated if they want to.

The meeting was told the 1.5m of Council capital funding would come from the commercial estate of the Council, however the details were due to be explained in a Part 2 private session of the meeting due to it involving third party contracts.

Indication of deadlines in play tonight on Arts Hub plans, councillors enquiring for written info, but given verbal Officer assurances .  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

In a bizarre end to the meeting this further session did not occur, with the clock heading towards 7pm a swifter pace took hold and a move to a vote was made.

To ensure last minute views were heard an invite was made for the traders to speak, with one giving an impassioned impact statement: We are market traders here, but we are also business people. We have built our businesses from nothing. Saying she felt disrespected and treated as an afterthought the meeting was told her view that the markets were not integral to the plan, It seems the stalls have been put in to balance the books, to polish the plan. I feel extremely angry, we have been treated badly and not kept in the loop.

Cllr Jones replied saying there was historic issues going back to 2009 with the Peoples Market and under investment, I do understand where you are coming from, but I do believe this project will revitalise the Peoples Market.

Meeting winding up as started, strong stuff from traders (afterthought, disrespected, angry) V council passion' for revitalising project  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

It was unclear what would occurrence would take place at 7pm, however with the haste made to wrap up the meeting as the clock ticked on the chair pointed members to move towards a vote on the recommendations before them. Again following the theme of sorting the issue on the night there was no attempt to adjourn the meeting to allow further debate with two Councillors obviously wished to ask questions and make further points.

Cllr Alun Jenkins proposed a slight amendment to the recommendations before them, to agree what was suggested with a note saying it was subject to assurances given to members and traders in the meeting. The assurances at that point included further work with traders to ensure the new market plans included an improved offer, that reinvestment in the Butchers and General markets would occur and elements of the proposed Plan B would be looked at seriously. Further assurances over a smooth transition were mentioned, with traders promised that building work would not impede their ability to do business.

A further recommendation was suggested by Cllr Wynn who challenged Wrexham Council to put their money where their mouth is and offer compensation via a system of voluntary surrounding of leases if traders so wished. Cllr Wynn explained, If we can deliver then fine citing protection for traders if it goes belly up and we cant deliver. The proposal was dismissed by the Finance Officer who suggested it was unreasonable as We have less than five minutes and issue is fraught with legal and finance issues, it is worth noting it did not appear there was a seconder for the proposal.

At this point the meeting took on a sadly familiar farcical nature with Councillors raising hands to vote, one stating they were unsure what they were voting on, another keeping their hand down as they were against yet another doing similar pointed out he was doing so to abstain.

The amended motion appeared to pass with 4 in favour, 1 against (Rodney Skelland) and 1 abstaining (Phil Wynn).

In added confusion Councillors then rose to leave, along with those in the public gallery, with Councillor Wynn eager to move to the planned Part 2 he believed was due to take place, but the meeting was closed just before 7pm.

Councillors APPROVE the recommendations for the Arts Hub/Peoples Market. Reasoning TLDR: Cant afford not to get the Arts Council funding.  Wrexham.com (@wrexham) January 6, 2016

With the proposals now passing the Scrutiny stage they move forward to next weeks Executive Board meeting, where it is unusual for recommendations to be rejected, and thus the headline that the plans have the green light from the Council.

There is a separate planning application for the physical and use changes to the building that will also be heard by Wrexham Council, with the grant application being heard next month by the Arts Council Wales.
Disappointment as HSBC Announce Decision to Close Ruabon & Chirk Branches

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 7th, 2016

HSBC have announced plans to close its branches in two Wrexham villages.

Yesterday the bank confirmed that its branches in Chirk and Ruabon are to close on Friday 8th April 2016  with plans to write to customers on Monday advising them of the closures.

Customers will be transferred to the HSBC branch in Wrexham Town Centre which is an 11 mile drive from Chirk and five miles away from Ruabon.

HSBC have said that the decision to close the two banks comes is made with great reluctance, stating that following careful analysis of both branchs commercial viability it was clear that they are no longer generating the custom necessary to justify their continued operation.

It comes as what the bank has described as a dramatic change to peoples banking habits. The closure of the two HSBC branches will not result in any redundancies with HSBC confirming that staff will be located elsewhere.

However decision to close the two branches has been slammed by politicians, with Clwyd South MP Susan Elan Jones branding the news shameful.

Susan Elan Jones said: These branches are relied upon by people of all ages to do their personal banking. They are also essential for local businesses of all sizes to do their day-to-day banking.

Both branches are situated in areas of growing business development and serve customers from villages around them. HSBCs decision comes after decisions to close branches across many other villages and small towns across the country, including Llangollen, Corwen, Cefn and Rhosllannerchrugog.

I plan to take HSBC and the UK Government to task over todays shameful decision. The Government is partly to blame for these proposed closures as a couple of years ago BIS (Department of Business, Innovations and Skills) abandoned its agreement with the banking that the last bank in every community should be kept open.

While I will of course meet with HSBC and present any petitions or other representations from Town and Community Councils in Parliament, I think we have to recognise that what is needed here is co-ordinated national action; and if the Government doesnt act now, our small town and village high streets will suffer even more than they have so far.

Simon Baynes, the Conservative Assembly Candidate for Clwyd South, has also expressed his severe disappointment at HSBCs announcement of their intention to close the two branches.

Simon Baynes said: The closure of the HSBC banks in Chirk and Ruabon is a big blow to both towns. I am really disappointed by these decisions particularly as these branches are the last banks in the communities.

Bank branches like these are very important to everyone locally, particularly elderly customers, the disadvantaged and local businesses, especially small and medium sized businesses.

It is vital that HSBC make it a top priority to discuss new arrangements with their customers, particularly the elderly, and to lessen the impact of this decision as far as possible if the bank decides to go ahead with these proposals.

Many people locally have been loyal customers for many years and I hope that HSBC will think again before closing these branches.

*Picture  Google Maps
Old Groves School To Be Fully Demolished For New School

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 7th, 2016

The site of the former Groves High School will gain a new lease of life as the home of a new school if plans by Wrexham County Borough Council are approved.

Next week members of the councils Executive Board will meet to discuss the future of the former Groves School, which is currently in what the council described as a dilapidated state.

It is recommended that the former school building be demolished and the ground cleared for a new school.

Wrexham Council say: The council faces rising demand for school places as the population of the county borough grows. The Welsh Government forecasts that the population of the County Borough will increase from 135,070 to 155,306 by 2028, which will put pressure on existing school spaces.

Refurbishment or redevelopment of the former school would cost more than 5m, meaning creating a new, fit-for-purpose school on the site is the better option.

The development will follow a series of investments made in to education by Wrexham Council, which recently announced construction of new schools at Hafod y Wern and Gwenfro, both in Caia Park.

Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Governance, said: While it has become increasingly clear that the old building is no longer fit for purpose, we are keen to ensure that the site of the school will continue to play a significant role in the future of education in Wrexham  particularly as we see rising demand for education provision in the town centre.

We are very pleased that we will be able to maintain education on this site and continue to invest in the education of the children and young people of Wrexham.

Mr Pritchard said he hoped there would be an iconic building on the corner site, and that as the building had been empty for 12 years it was time to do something with it.

Mr Pritchard explained there are several proposals on the table for what the final plans will look like, with one or even two schools being sited there depending on demand. No decisions have been made as of yet, nor on the scale of the numbers of pupils who could be taught there.

In the report to Councillors it notes ongoing problems with the building as it stands: The former girls school building continues to deteriorate following vandalism, despite enhanced physical security and mobile patrols. The building has been secured with Sitex.

However the site continues to encounter issues with antisocial behaviour and homeless people sleeping rough. This necessitates the police and the Councils security team being called out on a regular basis. Significant quantities of rubbish and items such as sharps are being left behind which require clearing. The problems are becoming a serious issue for adjoining residents.

The concern over the potential for trespassers to disturb asbestos is clearly shown by the presence of signage around the building warning of the dangers. Whilst the presence of asbestos in itself is not a danger unless it is disturbed, removal is recommended, whether or not the building is to be retained.

One option considered was to maintain the frontage or facade of the building, however the report notes: The estimated cost of demolition of the building with retention of the Chester Road/Powell Road facade is 418k, (and includes demolition, asbestos removal, removal of services and support for the facade). Annual security costs could increase as the facade will continue to attract unwanted attention and could become a dangerous structure if it remains in place for a lengthy period. The ongoing costs for security, grounds maintenance and scaffolding is estimated to be 160k per year.

Part of the site had already been cleared with the older block still left intact. Wrexham.com reported in November on how some bats have helped the citizens of Wrexham get the new proposed school, with the site previously being earmarked to be sold off to Coleg Cambria.

That area of town will also see another demolition, at some point later this year, with the police station set to be ripped apart and the site cleared  details here.
On Tuesday, French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez died at his home in Baden-Baden, Germany, at age 90, after several years of illness. The Philharmonie of Paris, which he founded, issued a statement from his family declaring, For all those who met him and had the chance to enjoy his creative energy, his artistic integrity, his availability and his generosity, his presence will remain alive and intense.

Boulez was for decades a leading figure in European classical music. As a conductor who worked and recorded extensively with leading orchestras and opera companies, he elicited powerful, precise, unpretentious and always tasteful performances, though they sometimes had a touch of coldness. He had a reputation for being approachable by students and young artists he met, to whom he often gave generously of his time.

As a composer and founder of musical institutions, particularly for avant-garde music, he worked with rigor and was ruthless in polemics with musical rivals and French officials who got in his way. A man who was both analytical and strong-willed but not burdened by excess modesty, Boulez acted based on carefully weighed and calculated judgments, of whose correctness he was absolutely convinced. He had a firmly developed conception of the historical development of music, of which his own compositions, Boulez firmly believed, were the necessary and unavoidable end result.

Boulez taught himself to play the piano as a child in a bourgeois family in the small city of Montbrison. He studied advanced mathematics in 1940 in St Etienne and then Lyon. In 1943, he traveled to occupied Paris to study at the National Conservatory, failing the entrance exam in piano but being admitted to study harmony under composer Olivier Messiaen.

In 1945, he broke with Messiaen, whom Boulez later offended by calling his 1948 Turangalila Symphonie brothel music, to study with Rene Leibowitz, who introduced him to the twelve-tone style of composition of Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. This style, designed to destroy traditional tonality in music, made a deep impression on Boulez, who characteristically embraced it and then denounced it, drafting a 1952 article in The Score that scandalized American academia by declaring that Schoenberg was dead.

In Paris, Boulez worked various jobs to pay the bills, as a math tutor, musician at the Folies Bergeres nightclub, and finally director of stage music for the newly-founded theatrical company of renowned actor Jean-Louis Barrault.

Boulez, Barrault recalled in 1995, arrived to us aged 20. We liked him immediately. On edge and charming like a young cat, he could not hide a wild temperament that was very amusing But behind this anarchist savagery, we felt in Boulez the extreme delicacy of an unusual temperament, an extraordinary sensibility, even a hidden sentimentality.

Starting in the 1950s, Boulez organized an avant-garde music series that Barrault backed at the Theatre Marigny. Boulez both composed Le Marteau sans maitre, an avant-garde piece based on works of the famous Resistance poet Rene Char, and began conducting, initially substituting for German conductors Hermann Scherchen and Hans Rosbaud.

Though politically unaffiliated, Boulez in 1960 signed the Manifesto of the 121 opposing Frances war against Algerian independence and denouncing the colonial system. He was in Germany when the manifesto was published, and for a time he was barred from returning to France. However, he increasingly won world acclaim, with invitations to conduct the BBC Symphony, the Bayreuth Opera Festival, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

He had conflicts with French authorities in the 1960s, and once called the Paris Opera a ghetto full of shit and dust. After Culture Minister Andre Malraux passed over his suggestions for a reform of the French musical system, he exiled himself to Germany, and in 1967 gave an interview in Der Spiegel in which he called for blowing up opera houses. Based on this statement, he would be briefly detained on terrorism charges by Swiss police 34 years later, after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Boulez directed the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977, provoking some hostility by programming a great deal of difficult avant-garde music, but also giving popular performances of music by Mozart and Ravel.

He subsequently returned to France, where he launched avant-garde groups including the Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) and the Institut de recherche et de coordination acoustique-musique (IRCAM), which had been founded with the support of French President Georges Pompidou. In 1981, he wrote Repons, which is often cited as his masterwork.

Throughout the latter decades of his life, Boulez continued to conduct major orchestras, compose, and found new music festivals and venues, including the Cite de la Musique in Paris in 1995 and the Lucerne Festival Academy for orchestral players in 2004. He met with and gave master classes for many conducting and composing students.

Boulez also leaves behind a vast collection of recordings, focused to a large extent on late 19th and 20th century composers including Debussy, Mahler, Bartok, the twelve-tone school, Stravinsky, and Messiaen, as well as performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and of his own works.

Boulezs other main legacy was his relentless search for a new musical vocabulary to replace both traditional tonality and the twelve-tone system invented by Schoenberg.

This author confesses to considerable skepticism regarding some of Boulezs compositions and also the aesthetic conceptions underlying them. There is strong reason to doubt that the conceptions of art and musical composition that underlay Boulezs innovationssuch as those he developed while writing in French structuralist circles such as the Tel Quel groupwill stand the test of time. The theoretical-philosophical underpinnings of his aesthetic judgments are especially questionable.

Music is an art that has no meaning, Boulez declared in a 1961 lecture titled Aesthetics and the Fetishists, hence the primary importance of structures that are, properly speaking, linguistic, given the impossibility of musical vocabulary assuming a simply communicative function.

Paradoxically, Boulezs best work shows the profound meaning and emotional and communicative power of music, be it vocal or instrumental, with words or no.

Ultimately, however, whether one agrees with Boulezs conceptions and his preoccupation with forms and linguistic systems, his research and his striving for a new musical language was an honest and integral part of the musical life of his era. In his research, there was nothing of the charlatanry and posing that characterizes much of public life today.
Based on an analysis of data obtained through Freedom of Information requests, the Toronto Star reported last week that local police officers often override shock times, using lengthy or repeated deployments when subduing citizens with Taser electric shock guns.

Toronto police are required to file a report anytime they deploy a Taser. In addition, data printouts displaying the number of shocks administered and the amount of time of each shock, are downloaded from deployed Tasers. Forty-five such reports were filed by Toronto police between January and June 2014. Of those, the Star requested information on 43 incidents. Toronto Police Services released 41 files, claiming that no usage reports were downloaded for the two other cases.

The newspaper reported that 21 printouts describe multiple deployments, ranging from one to 24 seconds each. More than one officer sometimes fired multiple times against a single suspect. Eleven reports describe three or more deployments from a single weapon. The data doesnt indicate whether the Taser was making consistent contactshocking the suspectthroughout a deployment. Officers sometimes indicated in their reports that a Taser dart had missed its target.

The report goes on to state that single shots were often sufficient, with 19 data printouts showing single deployments ranging from three to six seconds. A (separate) public report from Toronto police indicates that Tasers were fired for a single cycle in 44 incidents in 2014 and for multiple cycles in 43 incidents.

Immediately jarring in this small snapshot of Taser usage is the amount of multiple deployments ranging for as long as 24 seconds. The weapon is typically defaulted at a five-second burst of electrical current. In the wake of a number of cases that involved the death or serious injury of victims hit by Tasers (and resulting in law suits and other court proceedings lodged against police and/or TASER International), some North American police forces have adjusted Taser usage guidelines to limit (with loopholes for emergency situations) the length and number of shocks that can be administered. The Toronto police force has no such recommended limits.

While promoted as a safe alternative to other forms of police violence, the current generation of higher-power Tasers has been associated with approximately 1,000 deaths since they were introduced in 2000. Last year police shocks with stun guns, just in the US, resulted in the deaths of at least 47 people.

Medical experts have concluded that if a victim is shot with a Taser near the heart, the voltage can cause the heartbeat to jump from a normal resting rate of 72 beats-per-minute to as many as 220. According to TASER International, the peak-loaded voltage from a Taser at impact ranges up to 40,000 volts, but the average for the duration of the firing is 600 volts.

In 2010, the British Columbia Supreme Court handed down a ruling vindicating the finding of a provincial public inquiry into the police killing of a disoriented traveler at Vancouver Airport, Robert Dziekanski, that Tasers can cause serious injury or death.

TASER International, however, insists that its product is safe and has had nothing to do with any fatalities, not unlike the arguments trotted out by tobacco companies in defense of cigarette sales. The company argues that the fault lies with police training, not Tasers, which, given the increasingly militarized character of police forces, has a grain of truth, but obscures the fact that the company has been hiding information about how its product can kill.

In fact, TASER training manuals are drawn up by the company, a weapons manufacturer, without any governmental oversight. Moreover, when forced to acknowledge scientific proof that Tasers could induce cardiac arrest if discharged too close to the heart, the company updated its manual and recommended not aiming directly at the chest areanot out of any safety concern but for fear of litigation!

TASER Internationals prevarications have been enough for the Toronto police department. While the Service recognizes the value of continued research, it remains satisfied that the current medical research has found no persuasive evidence of risk to vulnerable persons, stated Deputy Chief Mike Frederico. The officers are aware that  repeated or long-term application is not recommended, but the circumstances may still dictate that thats the only available response a police officer has.

Contrary to police claims, the Taser is generally not used in lieu of deadly force. Instead, it is used to inflict pain and undeserved punishment, with citizens increasingly liable to be targeted for electrical assault for minor infractions, or for simply failing to promptly follow an officers command. Particularly egregious cases, often caught on video, show handcuffed suspects, truant schoolboys, pregnant women, the elderly and wheelchair-bound patients writhing in pain after a deployment.

It is estimated that as of 2012 at least 2 million people in the United States, or more than 1.5 percent of the total US population, had already been tasered. The weapon is now standard issue in prisons to not only punish but to enforce immediate inmate docility including against inmates with mental illness.

The proliferation of stun gun use across North America, without due regard for the safety of the devices, represents an attack on the democratic rights of the population. Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on Taser usage until more is learned about its lethality, while the United Nations Committee Against Torture has condemned the use of stun guns as a form of torture that can kill.
Jordan Marsh, a Senior Corporation Counsel in Chicagos Law Department, resigned on January 4 after US District Judge Edmond Chang issued a ruling which found that Marsh had intentionally concealed evidence in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought against the city and two Chicago police officers in the shooting of Darius Pinex in January 2011.

Against the backdrop of the murders of Laquan McDonald, Quintonio LeGrier, Bettie Jones, and others, the ruling underscores the extent to which the entire city government is engaged in a systematic defense and cover-up of police violence.

Marsh, who has worked for the city in various capacities since 1997, worked in the Federal Civil Rights Litigation Division, where his job was to defend the city against accusations of civil rights violations. He was part of a team of lawyers in the citys law department who were representing the city and Chicago Police officers Raoul Mosqueda and Gildardo Sierra in a suit brought by the estate of Darius Pinex and Matthew Colyer, a passenger in Pinexs vehicle.

Pinex and Colyer were driving in Pinexs Oldsmobile Aurora when they were aggressively pulled over by Mosqueda and Sierra, who approached the vehicle with guns drawn. Pinex put the car in reverse, at which point Colyer fell out of the car, and the car then hit a light post. Pinex attempted to drive away but was shot by Mosqueda after both officers opened fire.

Justifying their actions, the officers claimed that the car matched a description of another car that had been reported over the police radio to have been fleeing from police in another area and possibly armed. While there was a police radio communication concerning another Oldsmobile Aurora and speculation that there might be weapons, during the pretrial phase of the case it turned out that there was no way the officers could have heard that communication, as they were part of a different radio communication zone.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs reasonably proceeded to construct their case under the assumption that Mosqueda and Sierra had not heard anything over the radio, and therefore that they had made an illegal stop of Pinexs car, fabricating their account of all of the events which followed, including the death of Pinex. Indeed, whether the officers had heard radio communications about the car emerged as a central issue in the case.

In the middle of the trial, it emerged that there was a recording of a radio communication that the officers could have heard in their radio zone which mentioned an Oldsmobile Aurora, a rebroadcast of limited details from the other radio zone. However, it only mentions that there was a traffic pursuit that was terminated, and did not mention anything further about the cars appearance or about the possibility of weapons. The recording does not contain any mentions of shots fired as claimed by Mosqueda.

Even though the recording ultimately supports the unjustified nature of the aggressive pull-over and shooting of Pinex, its emergence during the trial undermined the case the plaintiffs lawyers had premised on the officers having heard nothing about an Oldsmobile Aurora over the police radio. As Chang wrote, the misconduct unfairly pulled the rug out from under Plaintiffs theory of the case, and with it, undercut Plaintiffs Counsels credibility with the jury.

It came to light during post-trial investigation that this recording had been known to Marsh before the trial, but he failed to disclose its existence to either the lawyers for the plaintiffs or his own co-counsels on numerous occasions when the matter arose and was discussed.

Chang wrote in his ruling, Based on the record evidence, the Court must conclude that City Law Department attorney Jordan Marsh intentionally concealed the existence of the OEMC record that would have led to the discovery of the Zone 6 Audio before the trial.

Aside from Marshs misconduct, Changs ruling also sanctionsthough somewhat less severelyanother Law Department attorney, Thomas Aumann, for failing to make a reasonable effort to find the recording. Aumann left the Law Department in August.

Based on these violations, Chang ordered the jury trial verdict, which found Mosqueda and Sierras actions justified, overturned and awarded the plaintiffs their attorney fees, allowing the case to be retried.

As noted by the Chicago Tribune, this is the second time in seven months that the judge has sanctioned the Law Department for withholding records in a police misconduct lawsuit and ordered a new trial. The other suit, brought by Jonathan Hadnott over an illegal arrest and search, resulted in a $200,000 settlement and an order to pay Hadnotts attorney fees.

Hadnotts attorney, Irene Dymkar said, Its not a coincidence that there are two (discovery violations) in less than a year. The corporation counsel believes it has to support the police whether the police are right or wrong. But if you work for the city, you have an obligation to the public to look at things objectively. You have to protect the truth.

Questioned about the ruling, Chicago Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton, stated, To say this is a practice, a systemic abuse or part of a cover-up, theres just no evidence of that. Theres nothing in the ruling to support it.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also claimed that the Law Department is not involved in the cover-up of police killings and said that the recently announced Justice Department probe of Chicagos police department need not expand its investigation to the citys legal division.

While Patton is indeed correct that Changs ruling does not allege or support systematic abuse or cover-up by the Law Department, the record of events in Chicago and elsewhere have established the existence of a wide-ranging coordinated effort on the part of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party to cover up police violence and allow officers who have committed murder to walk away free.

In fact, Sierra remained on the job after killing Pinex, going on to shoot 19-year-old Dion Richards in the leg during a confrontation in March 2011. Finally in June 2011, he was stripped of his police powers after he egregiously murdered Flint Farmer, shooting him 16 times, including three times in the back, while Farmer lay on the ground in Chicagos West Englewood neighborhood.

As revealed in the thousands of emails released by the city in regard to the killing of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, a large number of city functionaries, including Patton himself, are involved on a day-to-day basis in the crafting of messaging and policy for the purpose of manipulating public opinion. Furthermore, this coordination extends to the White House, which is kept closely in the loop regarding developments.

Outside of Chicago and the shootings of Laquan McDonald, Rekia Boyd, and Ronald Johnson, the Democratic Party has been intimately involved in making sure that the murderers of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Sandra Bland in Texas, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and others, escape prosecution for their crimes.

Ultimately, Emanuel, Obama, and the rest of the ruling class are keenly aware that the police are their first line of defense against the emergence of a mass working class response to their policies of unending war and austerity.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn never misses an opportunity to strengthen the right wing of his party by his political cowardice and overarching desire for compromise at all costs. His first cabinet reshuffle has proved to be no exception.

Billed by his opponents as a revenge reshuffle and by his supporters as an occasion to deal with the most openly disloyal ministerswho have publicly opposed him on key policies such as bombing Syria and renewing the Trident nuclear weapons systemit fell far short.

For 30 hours, beginning Monday and ending early Wednesday morning, Corbyn negotiatedand sought to reach an accommodation withthose he was supposed to be intent on booting out of high office.

Reporters could not believe what was happening as they waited for historys longest reshuffle to conclude. On Tuesday, Conservative prime minister David Cameron mocked Corbyn in parliament over its duration, and in the end, all that emerged was a rotten compromise.

Supposed number-one target for removal, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn, kept his post. In the December 2 House of Commons debate on Syria, Benn was allowed to speak after Corbyn in making the closing speech for the official opposition and supported bombing. Applauded and cheered on by the Tories, he then led 11 other shadow cabinet members (out of 28) and a total of 66 Labour MPs into the lobby with Cameronsecuring him a higher-than-expected majority of 174.

All it took for Benn to keep his post was a worthless assurance that in future he would back Corbyns positions in his role as shadow foreign secretary. This is made more ludicrous still because it was Corbyn who gave him the ability to speak for the shadow cabinet in the first place.

Corbyns climb-down on Benn was probably viewed by his advisers as a necessary quid pro quo to allow for some more minor political tinkering, especially after 10 shadow cabinet members threatened to resign if he went. In any event, he finally moved Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle to Culture, due to her support for Trident, and got rid of just two of his more vocal critics, Shadow Culture Secretary Michael Dugher, who made way for Eagle, and Shadow Europe Secretary Pat McFadden.

Dugher, a prominent Zionist, has occupied himself almost exclusively with attacking Corbyn and his supporters. McFadden made perhaps the most damaging attack when he asked Cameron in the House of Commons after the Paris terror attacks to reject the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the West do. The remarks chimed with Tory attempts to cast their opponents as apologists for terrorism, culminating in Camerons description of all those who opposed bombing Syria as terrorist sympathisers.

Corbyns main ally, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, spent Wednesday morning justifying the reshuffle and its supposed merits.

McDonnell said Benn had agreed not to disagree with the leader from the front bench, to which Benn replied that he would be carrying on with his job exactly as before.

McDonnell said that Corbyn in fact agreed with McFadden that terrorists were responsible for what they did, whereas McFadden was implying that Corbyn believed there were excuses for terrorism.

Finally, Corbyn had conducted the reshuffle in a consensual way because he is a very caring and considerate person and he wanted to listen to peoples views. He wanted to be as inclusive as possible in reviewing our performance over the last few months, so literally hes been bringing people in, taking their advice, talking to them. 

It was, McDonnell added, never going to be this hyped-up Night of the Long Knives.

Indeed, it was not.

The Labour Party right, having emerged largely unscathed, immediately went back on the offensivebeginning with a torrent of statements in support of its freshly minted martyrs, Dugher, McFadden and Eagle, and ending with the resignation in protest by three junior shadow ministers.

Jonathan Reynolds, shadow minister for rail, and Stephen Doughty, shadow foreign office minister, resigned in defence of McFadden. Kevan Jones resigned as a shadow armed forces minister in opposition to the removal of his boss, Maria Eagle, and her replacement by the anti-Trident Emily Thornberry.

McDonnell described the three as members of a narrow right-wing cliquea barb that was less than effective given his earlier endorsement of Corbyns caring and considerate approach to the actual leaders of that clique.

Press commentary was, for the most part, scathing towards Corbyn. Here was yet another test of strength and will, and one that he had failed.

The most determined opponent of Corbyn and defender of the Labour right is the Guardian. In its pages, Michael White could barely contain his glee, describing Dugher as possibly a formidable lieutenant to whoever it is that emerges as the standard bearer of the post-Corbyn generation of Labour politicians, ones who seek to win elections, not to lead a self-satisfied protest movement.

For his part, Steve Richards sought to explain Corbyns impotence as the result of his being elected on a distinct policy agenda that is opposed by most of his MPs. Does he cast aside his MPs in order to adopt his agenda, or bring them on board and drop some of his deeply held convictions?

Richards maintains that, to this question, There are no obvious answers. Every twist and turn since he became leader arises from this bizarre context.

In fact, the answers are there for all to see.

Corbyns supporters in the rank-and-file of the party want nothing more than to see Benn et al. kicked out of the party. Instead, whenever Corbyn has been posed with the choice of standing in defence of the political agenda on which he was popularly elected and coming into conflict with his cabinet or his MPs, he has behaved as a political invertebrate.

He is the archetypal representative of what little remains of the Labour leftsomeone who has spent decades registering his personal protest at Labours right-wing policies without this once having any real consequences or impact on his cosseted life in Westminster. Now, having been catapulted into a leadership position by popular demands for a left alternative, Corbyn can no longer hide the fact that his loyalties are first and foremost to the party apparatus he now leads.

Ultimately, this is not a personality question.

Corbyns perspective is a false one. He claims that Labour can be transformed, or rather gently persuaded by his new politics of consensus building, to function as a political vehicle to defend the interests of working people. It cannot. The political character of Labour as a defender of the interests of big business and British imperialism has been shaped over decades and cannot be altered by the election of a new leader advancing a few minor reforms and making pacifist noises, even when he is backed by an influx of new members.

Rather, the struggle against austerity, militarism and war demands the political mobilisation of the working class in opposition to the Labour Party and the trade unions, which act as the first-line defenders of capitalism and implacable opponents of socialism.
Following low pre-Christmas sales, Australian electronics retailer Dick Smith went into voluntary administration on Tuesday, after suspending trading in its shares a day earlier. The move endangers the jobs of some 3,300 workers employed at the companys 393 outlets across Australia and New Zealand.

Ferrier Hodgson, the receiver appointed by a syndicate of lenders to the business, led by major banks, HSBC and National Australia Bank (NAB), are seeking offers for the retail chain. However, it is widely predicted that no outright buyers will be forthcoming and that Dick Smith will be wound-down or substantially restructured.

Dick Smith workers have been kept entirely in the dark by the company, the banks and the trade unions. According to a Sydney Morning Herald report yesterday, they have been told not to speak to the media. One store supervisor, speaking under conditions of anonymity, commented: We have no idea what is going on and we havent had any communication from head office since the trading halt yesterday.

Employees reportedly took to a company-controlled, private Facebook group to express their concerns among one another, but the page was promptly shut down. Customers have been told they will be unable to redeem gift vouchers or receive refunds on layby deposits.

The collapse of the widely-known retail chain, founded in 1968, has underscored the deepening crisis in the Australian economy, including the retail sector. It has also drawn attention to the parasitic and speculative operations of private equity firms that specialise in taking over ailing businesses, cosmetically refurbishing them and selling them off on the stock market.

In 201011, amid a broader decline in the electrical goods retail sector, Dick Smiths profits plunged by 14.9 percent to $26.8 million. Having controlled Dick Smith since 1980, Woolworths, one of Australias two largest retail conglomerates, announced a restructuring in January 2012, including the closure of up to 100 stores, and an intention to sell the business. By the time Dick Smith was sold in September 2012, Woolworths had closed around 60 stores, eliminating as many as 1,000 jobs.

Woolworths offloaded Dick Smith to Sydney-based Anchorage Capital Partners, a private equity vehicle, whose team includes former Macquarie Bank CEO and recently appointed Reserve Bank of Australia board member Alan Moss. Little over a year later, in December 2013, Anchorage Capital floated Dick Smith in a widely-hyped IPO with a valuation nearly $500 million higher than when Anchorage purchased it.

Officially, Anchorage Capital paid $115 million for the business with an initial payment of $20 million, but according to analysis by Forager Fund Management, the initial payment was closer to $10 million, with the remainder made up of $12.6 million of cash already in the business.

Anchorage Capital appears to have then marked-down the assets of the business as much as possible, including $58 million written off from its inventory, which had the effect of boosting the following years profits. The company also embarked on a major liquidation of stock, with $312 million in stock at the end of November 2012 declining to $171 million at the end of June 2013.

These moves reportedly resulted in a $140 million boost to Dick Smiths operating cash flow, but, according to Forager Fund Management, real profit levels were as low as $7 million. With lower depreciation charges flowing from the equipment and plant write-downs and other measures, Anchorage Capital appears to have arrived at a profit forecast of some $40 million for 2014, underpinning the December 2013 IPO valuation of $520 million.

Problems rapidly began to appear after the float. The inventory liquidation meant that the business needed to substantially re-stock, resulting in rising debts over the ensuing two years. In October last year, the management cut its yearly profit forecast by 15 percent. The following month, following weak sales, it cut the value of inventories by 20 percent, prompting a plunge of almost 60 percent in share values.

Management responded with a Christmas sale, featuring discounts of up to 70 percent, which appears to have largely failed. With debts approaching $150 million, the banks moved against the retailer.

Anchorage Capital, which describes itself as a specialised private equity firm that focuses on operational turnarounds and special situations investments in the Asia-Pacific region, with $450 million under management, has mounted operations that appear to be of a similar nature.

In 2007, Anchorage purchased a controlling stake in food processing firm Golden Circle at 80 cents per share. The following year, US-based company Heinz bought Golden Circle at 1.65 cents per share. Heinz closed three plants, cutting 300 jobs. After Anchorage Capitals 2011 sale of the Burger King New Zealand restaurant chain, which it had owned for two years, that business posted losses over the following years.

Other high-profile IPOs floated by private equity operations have also floundered. Last month, Spotless, a service company floated by Pacific Equity Partners for $1 billion in 2014, announced that its year-on-year net profit would be down 10 percent. Its shares plunged by 40 percent.

As the Australian economy has been hit increasingly by the global slump over the past two years, there has been a turn to ever-more speculative forms of investment that have continued to boost the fortunes of the banks and private equity firms. During 2015, there was what the Australian Financial Review dubbed a float frenzy of 52 IPOs, each worth over $25 million. According to figures cited by the Sydney Morning Herald , private equity outperformed companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange by over 8 percentage points, delivering yearly returns of 23 percent.

The financial parasitism exemplified by the private equity firms invariably depends on destroying jobs and driving down wages and conditions. Moreover, the trade unions covering the decimated companies work hand-in-glove with the receivers, insisting that workers must subordinate their interests and rights to those of financial markets, in the name of making the businesses viable.

After the Dick Smith announcement, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), the retail industry trade union, immediately signalled that it would collaborate with the bank-appointed receivers. SDA general secretary Paul Griffin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the union was currently looking to set up in-depth discussions with the receiver Ferrier Hodgson.

As in countless workplaces throughout basic industries, where a wave of retrenchments is continuing, the thoroughly corporatised unions are committed to suppressing the development of any opposition by workers to the destruction of jobs, working conditions and living standards.
North Korea carried out a fourth underground nuclear test yesterday, triggering a round of international condemnation led by the United States. The test will further heighten the tense and dangerous situation in North East Asia and throughout the region generated by the Obama administrations confrontational pivot to Asia directed against China.

The official KCNA news agency declared that the North Korean nuclear testthe first since 2013was a complete success and involved the underground detonation of a hydrogen bomb. Several analysts have cast doubt on the latter claim as a hydrogen bomba two-stage device that sets off a fusion reactionwould have generated far more explosive energy than has reportedly registered in initial seismic data.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest condemned North Koreas increasingly provocative acts that had resulted in it becoming one of the most isolated countries in the world. The Obama administration is already facing congressional agitation for tougher action. The answer to North Koreas threats is more pressure, not less, Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said. The administrations North Korea policy has proven a dramatic failure.

US allies in Asia and Europe joined in the denunciations. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strongly condemned the nuclear test and branded it as a major threat to our countrys security. South Korean President Park Geun-hye convened an emergency national security council meeting, declared that North Koreas actions constituted a grave provocation and warned of corresponding measures. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the test confirmed North Koreas status as a rogue state and a continuing threat to international peace and security.

Such remarks are completely hypocritical. The greatest threat to international peace is not the small, economically backward state of North Korea, but US imperialism. Washington is currently waging a predatory war in the Middle East and has ratcheted up tensions throughout Asia over the past five years through its pivot against China. Its provocative military challenges to Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea threaten to ignite a conflict between the two nuclear-armed powers.

The United States has long exploited North Korea as a means of putting pressure on China and as a justification for its military build-up in North East Asia. The Obama administration has refused to take part in six-party talks sponsored by China to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue unless Pyongyang accedes to US demands in advance. Following North Koreas nuclear test in 2013, the US prevailed on China to back tougher UN sanctions, compounding the economic crisis of the Pyongyang regime.

At the same time, Washington used the test as a pretext for boosting its anti-ballistic missile systems in North East Asia, in collaboration with Japan and South Korea. Such weaponry is not aimed primarily at North Korea, but China and also Russia. Nor is it defensive in character. The Pentagon is seeking the capacity to mount a first-strike nuclear attack, secure in the knowledge that its anti-missile systems could prevent a residual Chinese or Russian retaliation.

Moreover, Washingtons systematic isolation of the unstable, faction-ridden regime in Pyongyang is a major contributing factor to the regimes erratic and desperate acts. North Koreas claims that its nuclear weapons will protect it against US imperialism are absurd. If Pyongyang ever attempted to use its small, rudimentary devices, the US would quickly devastate the country and destroy its military and economic capacity.

North Koreas latest nuclear test appears to be aimed as much at pressuring China for concessions, as countering the US and its allies. Since Pyongyang detonated its last atomic bomb in 2013, Beijing has enforced the tougher UN sanctions and cooled relations with its Cold War ally. President Xi Jinping, who assumed office in March 2013, has yet to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but has visited South Koreaa country that is still formally at war with North Korea.

Efforts to improve relations resulted in a visit by a top Chinese official to Pyongyang in October to attend a military parade and present a letter from Xi sending best wishes to the North Korean leader. The situation quickly soured, however, after Kim Jong Un indicated in December that North Korea would test another nuclear deviceoverturning previous assurances to Beijing that it would not do so.

China quickly expressed its hostility to yesterdays test. Foreign affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying declared that Beijing was strongly opposed to the act and urged Pyongyang to fulfil its promise of denuclearisation. An editorial in the state-owned Global Times criticised North Koreas misshapen security policies centred on nuclear weapons and called on it to consider the long-term negative impact on Beijing-Pyongyang ties and its own development.

The latest nuclear test is likely to reignite the debate in Chinese ruling circles over whether to cut its North Korean ally loose. Beijing confronts a dilemma. It is deeply concerned that the nuclear tests provide an excuse for the US to accelerate its military build-up in Asia and for Japan and South Korea to potentially manufacture their own nuclear weapons.

At the same time, China does not want the North Korean regime to implode, creating a social and political crisis that could reverberate into northern China, and also open the door for pro-US regime in Pyongyang, or a unified Korea. Beijing has always regarded North Korea as a useful security buffer on its northern border.

The Korean Peninsula is just one of the dangerous flashpoints that the Obama administration has deliberately stoked up as part of its pivot to Asia. By encouraging allies like Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines, and strategic partners like India, to take a more aggressive stance toward China, the US is transforming the whole region into a tinderbox. A relatively minor incident or accident, whether on the border separating the two Koreas or in the East China and South China Seas, can become the spark for a wider conflagration.
During a White House press appearance Tuesday, President Obama shed tears over the death toll among US children due to mass shootings, a display of emotion that was given widespread publicity by the American media. The attention was in part due to the obvious contrast with the cold and indifferent demeanor normally maintained by the US chief executive.

More emotionalism is likely to be on display tonight, when Obama hosts a town hall meeting on gun violence in the United States at George Mason University in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington. The hour-long event is to promote the executive actions restricting gun sales that Obama announced on Tuesday.

A few responses are in order. First and foremost is to note the utter hypocrisy of an American president, responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of children in the Middle East and other US-targeted countries, putting on a display of sorrow over the deaths of innocents.

President Obama, as has been well documented, personally selects the targets of US drone missile assassination strikes from a list supplied by the CIA and Pentagon. This takes place at meetings dubbed Terror Tuesdays by his staff. Thousands of civilians, and hundreds of children, have been massacred in these attacks, mainly in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and across North Africa.

Then there are the victims of US bombing campaigns in Iraq and Syria and the ongoing US military intervention in Afghanistan. On December 7, to cite one recent example, a US air strike on the Syrian town of Al Khan killed 36 civilians, including 20 childrenthe same number who died in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012. There were no tears from the US commander-in-chief over the incineration of Syrian first-graders.

The government Obama heads carries out flagrant attacks on children within the United States as well. Over the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun arresting mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America who have sought refuge in the United States. At least 121 were seized in raids on their homes, with their deportations to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras imminent.

Mothers and children alike were seeking to escape the threat of rape and death in their home countries, where the violence is perpetrated by drug gangs or US-backed right-wing military death squads. There is no question that the deportations, mounting into the thousands and tens of thousands in an election-year display of toughness at the US-Mexico border, will lead to the deaths of many children. No one should hold his breath waiting for Obama to shed tears over these innocent victims.

At one point in his remarks Tuesday, Obama compared the mass shootings at Newtown and Charleston and Umpqua Community College in Oregon to the daily death toll of violence in US urban areas, where many of the victims, accumulated in ones and twos but in far greater total numbers, are African-American.

He made no reference, however, to the wave of police murders of unarmed youthwhite, Hispanic and African-Americanwhich has become the focus of popular anger in the 16 months since the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. He made no mention of last weeks whitewash of the police execution of a 12-year-old Cleveland child, Tamir Rice.

This silence is a guilty one. The Obama Justice Department has repeatedly cleared killer cops through federal investigations that invariably find no civil rights violations, including in Cleveland. Another such whitewash is in progress in Chicago following a series of police killings of unarmed youth captured on cell phone or dash-cam videos.

And while Obama argues that too-easy access to high-powered weaponry is a major factor in US gun deaths, his own administration has been pumping billions in military hardware into local police departments and overseeing military-style crackdowns on protests against police abuse in Ferguson and Baltimore.

As for the actual content of Obamas executive orders, they will have no effect on the escalating death toll in American schools, campuses, workplaces, homes and city streets. The proposed actions include expanded background checks on gun buyers and the promotion of safety triggers and other technical means to prevent accidental shootings.

Obama also proposed a token increase in spending on mental health programs and increased monitoring of mental health patients, an invasive expansion of state surveillance that was denounced by mental health advocacy organizations.

Neither restrictions on gun ownership nor mental health programs offer any genuine solution to the mounting death toll from civil violence in the United States, which now takes more than 30,000 victims a year from gunshots alonehalf of those from self-inflicted wounds.

Obama offered no explanation for the rising frequency of mass shootings, the most-publicized aspect of this rising death toll. One recent study found that over the past 30 years, the amount of time between mass shootings has dropped from 200 days to only 64.

Friday marks the five-year anniversary of the killing of six people and near fatal wounding of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. This has receded into memory, supplanted by the Aurora, Colorado movie theater massacre; the mass killing of first-graders at Sandy Hook; mass murders at UC Santa Barbara and Umpqua Community College; and massacres at a church in Charleston, South Carolina and a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

The World Socialist Web Site has repeatedly pointed out that the root causes of such phenomena, whatever their individual peculiarities, must be found in the social environment that produces them, steeped in inequality, repression, alienation and the glorification of individualism. Most importantand unique to American societyis the fact that the United States has been engaged in nearly continuous warfare around the world for the past quarter-century. No one under 30 today can remember a time when the US government was not engaged in killing people somewhere in the world.

The Obama administration, like its predecessor, has relentlessly worked to create a climate of fear in order to justify, in the name of the war on terror, successive wars of aggression abroad and the militarization of social life within the US. Tens of thousands of youth have been psychologically warped by their participation in neo-colonial wars of plunder and mass killing. This is the toxic context that produces eruptions of homicidal violence.

At one point in Obamas statement Tuesday, he declared, The United States of America is not the only country on Earth with violent or dangerous people. We are not inherently more prone to violence. But we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. It doesnt happen in other advanced countries. Its not even close.

It is certainly true that the American people are not inherently more prone to violence. But what about the American ruling class, the we for whom Obama actually speaks?

This parasitic elite is steeped in corruption, endlessly rapacious, terrified of any challenge to its global domination either from rival ruling classes or, above all, the great mass of working people in America.

The death toll from the wars of American imperialismin the Middle East, the Balkans, Afghanistan, North Africais well into the millions. To these must be added the victims of militarism within the United States itself. American society is being poisoned by military violence.
Around 190 Muslim workers at a meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado were fired last month after walking off the job in protest of managements discriminatory decision to revoke prayer breaks during their shift.

The Colorado plant, operated by multinational food giant Cargill, employs around 2,100 hourly workers. Six hundred of these, or more than one-quarter, are Muslim refugees from Somalia, one of the worlds poorest countries, which has been decimated by decades of conflict stoked by American imperialism.

The salah, or praying five times a day, is one of the main pillars of the Islamic faith. The prayers, which generally take no more than five minutes, take place at regular intervals throughout the day, which are determined by the movement of the sun across the sky. The workers involved in the walkout all worked on the plants second shift, which falls during sundown prayers.

Management at the plant opened up a small prayer area on the premises to accommodate the workers in 2009. However, workers who have sought to utilize the space during their working hours have reported that they have been subjected to routine threats from management. This has been going on for a long time, Jaylani Hussein of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is representing the fired workers in the dispute, told the press. There have been instances last year and this year where supervisors would literally say, Youre fired, youre going home, if you go to pray.

Matters reportedly came to a head in December when the new manager for the second shift prohibited prayer breaks during work hours. Ten Muslim workers resigned the following day, followed shortly by a walkout by around 200 more. Cargill responded by firing all of the roughly 190 workers who had not returned to work on December 29, citing a clause in their union contract that provides for summary dismissal after three consecutive unexcused absences.

Mike Martin, a spokesman for Cargill, denied that the company had banned prayer breaks and blamed the walkout on a misunderstanding. He told the media the initial resignations came after the company refused a request by 11 workers to leave the production line in order to pray at the same time. Company policy, according to Martin, allows only two or three workers to leave at a time in order to keep the line moving. While reasonable efforts are made to accommodate employees, accommodation is not guaranteed every day and is dependent on a number of factors that can, and do, change from day to day."

However, the workers say this request was never made. They told us, If you try [to pray] tomorrow, youre going to get a write-up or get fired, plant worker Mahmoud Hassan told the local ABC affiliate.

However, even by Martins own favorable characterization, Cargills policy would likely be a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion. Under the law, employees requests for a reasonable accommodation for their religious beliefs must be met as long as it does not place an undue hardship on business operations. For example, a worker can request not to be scheduled to work during the Sabbath if it goes against his religious practices.

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, American Muslims have reported a sharp rise in workplace discrimination. One 2013 study by Carnegie Mellon University found that Muslim job applicants received callbacks for interviews at far lower rates than Christians, especially in conservative states. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has also reported a sharp rise in religious-based discrimination cases reported by Muslims after 2001, doubling in 2002 and peaking at 884 in 2011. American Muslims, who comprise two percent of the population, account for nearly a quarter of all such discrimination cases.

Negotiations with the company by CAIR to have the workers re-instated have thus far led nowhere. According to company policy, workers who were terminated are not allowed to re-apply for six months; the CAIR negotiating team is reportedly attempting to have this freeze waived.

Significantly, the union that claims to represent the workers, Teamsters Local 455, has done nothing to defend the victimized workers. The local has not even acknowledged the firings on their web site or Facebook page, and has reportedly refused to talk to CAIR, to whom the workers turned after the unions inaction. Many workers at the plant earn as little as $14 per hour, barely above the official poverty level for a family of four.

David Macaray, a former union bureaucrat who denounced the World Socialist Web Site on the Counterpunch web site for mobilizing opposition against the betrayal by the United Auto Workers in the recent contract struggle, accused the meatpacking workers of demanding preferential treatment in a recent column. Evincing filthy America-first chauvinism, which is the stock-in-trade of the unions, Macaray asked, Why have ICE agents chased out undocumented Latinos in these meat-packing plants and opened the door to Somalis? Why arent more American-born men and women working these $30,000 a year jobs?

The mass firings in Colorado are similar to an earlier incident in Nebraska in 2008 when roughly 90 mostly Somali Muslims at a meatpacking plant operating by JBS Swift & Co. were fired after walking off the job in protest after being refused prayer breaks during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represented the workforce at the plant, refused to support the workers, and the local union president falsely claimed to the press that the workers had quit.

Far from opposing xenophobic and anti-Muslim agitation, the unions function as accomplices in the efforts by the corporate and political establishment to use the war on terror to divide the working class, carry out sweeping attacks on the democratic rights of all workers and justify ever-expanding wars.
On Monday, the Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent a draft pension reform plan to Greeces creditors (the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission) in exchange for obtaining 5.7 billion in bailout funds. The bill is reportedly to be submitted to parliament by mid-January and will be voted into law by early February.

The cuts mark a new milestone in the attack waged on the working class by the charlatans of Syriza. Having come to power a year ago promising to end European Union (EU) austerity, they capitulated to EU demands for more austerity measures in the summer and passed a drastic austerity budget in October. Syriza is now working closely with the EU to impose the spending cuts required under this budget.

After re-election in September, Syriza approved a law in November scrapping most early retirement benefits, raising the retirement age to 67 years by 2022, cutting pensions by 10 percent for people below that age who have retired but have yet to reach 67, and increasing contributions for health care.

The new pension cuts will devastate millions of families who depend on pensions to survive. Fully 45 percent of Greek retirees live below the official poverty line, and the average monthly pension in Greece fell from 1,350 in 2009 to 833 in 2015 under the impact of deep EU austerity. With one-quarter of workers unemployed in Greece, moreover, retirees often provide the only income for entire families, and the pension cuts will devastate the lives of millions of people of all ages.

The plan reportedly calls for merging all six main pension funds and cuts of up to 30 percent in pension payments. It mandates a lower limit for pensions at a miserly 384 per month. It also boosts social security contributions demanded of businesses and employees by 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

There will also be cuts of 10 percent to the lump sums paid out at retirement, and cuts of 15 to 20 percent to supplementary pensions of more than 170 per month. The Greek daily To Vima wrote reassuringly, However the government aims to keep [the cuts] as low as possible.

The 170-page proposed bill includes dramatic changes in the calculation of new pensions. Pension payments will be calculated based on the average income earned throughout ones working life. According to reports, with the new pension reform, people who have worked for around 40 years will cover approximately 60 percent of the average income they earned over these 40 years. New retirees due to receive more than 750 in monthly pension payments will see that cut by 15 percent.

The pension cuts come after Syriza endorsed harsh austerity terms, including overhauling the pension system, labour market reforms, as well as changes to the tax system and other austerity cuts proposed by the EU last July, in exchange for an 86 billion bailout deal. In exchange for bailout terms, the EU and the IMF demanded 1.8 billion in pension cuts next year, representing 1 percent of gross domestic product.

While applauding Syizas plan of imposing drastic austerity measures, the EU officials are pressing the Greek government to move ahead with pension cuts.

As Syriza prepares to push forward with new reforms, Syriza officials are planning to meet with EU finance ministers and IMF officials in the coming days, to convince them of the Greek governments ambitious plan to drastically reduce pension payments for retired workers. Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos will meet with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schauble in the coming days.

On Monday, Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs told iTele, Until now, the Greek government has respected its promises. But it must also respect its promises on pensions, there must be a real pension reform. We can discuss the details, but there are parameters that must be respected. By the end of January, this pension reform must have gone through.

The same day, Tsipras stressed the importance of cultivating alliances with international creditors at a meeting in Syrizas office. Tsipras aims to meet with IMF director Christine Lagarde at Davos later in January.

While preparing drastic attacks in line with EU plans, Syriza is cynically covering up its strategy of slashing the pension system. It is trying to portray its unpopular pension cut as a positive measure and spread the blame for social attacks over previous governments, thus obscuring its role in imposing attacks against workers pension rights.

The government is trying to avert the collapse of the social security system ... the opposition parties must lend support in this national goal, said government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili.

She blamed previous governments for drastic cuts in benefits during the debt crisis. The average (monthly) pension was 1,480 in 2010 but ended up at 863 when the [conservative] New Democracy and [social democratic] Pasok gave up power, she said.

The plain truth is that Syriza is committed to imposing drastic austerity, and the only way to combat austerity is now to mobilize the working class in Greece and across Europe in struggle against Syriza and the EU.

Syriza has now been in power for nearly a year. Based on its record in government, workers must assume that its assurances that it is seeking to protect pensions as much as possible are outright lies. It came to power pledging to end the EU austerity Memorandum, but a few weeks later repudiated its promise and extended the Memorandum. In July, it held a referendum on EU austerity and called for a no vote, but reacted to the landslide no vote by trampling the referendum results and imposing a draconian austerity package.

Syrizas current pledges to defend pension rights will prove to be as worthless as its previous pledges to end austerity.

In an interview with Real News on Sunday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras claimed his government will not succumb to unreasonable demands but that it will respect the agreement.

Tsipras said Greece will cut its pension system through measures worth about 600 million this year. He then spoke out of both sides of his mouth, claiming that we have no commitment to find the money exclusively from pension cuts, and that the agreement provides the option of equivalent measures, suggesting that the cuts might fall on other programs besides pensions.

He went on to claim that the pension system is on the brink of collapse, however, and needs to be overhauled.
The final report of the 21-month Australian Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption was released on December 28. It has become the focal point of a campaign by the government, industry groups and the media for carrying out a fundamental transformation in Australian industrial relations, aimed at opening the way for a massive assault on the working class.

While the immediate target of the government-led campaign is the trade unions, that is not because they represent, or defend in any way, the interests of workers, a role that they ceased to play long ago. Rather, the move against union corruption is the thin end of the wedge for a broader campaign to dismantle the system of state regulation and arbitration of industrial relations, in which the trade unions have formed an integral component since the early 20th century. This is aimed, above all, at clearing the way for the dismantling of key remaining employee protections, such as penalty rates and restrictions on working hours, as well as for imposing real wage cuts. To the extent that the trade union apparatuses continue to base their material interests on relations bound up with state arbitration, they are viewed by sections of the ruling elite as an obstacle to this agenda.

In a press conference on December 30, Liberal/National Coalition Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the government would be pursuing the commissions recommendations through legislation in parliament. Turnbull declared that he would make the legislation an election issue if Labor and the Greens blocked it in parliament. The recommendations include other far-reaching attacks on the working class, such as boosting police powers and reinstating the Howard-era Australian Building and Construction Commission, an industrial police force with the power to interrogate and prosecute workers in the construction industry, and levy huge fines against individuals and organisations involved in illegal industrial action.

At the same time, the recommendations also contain measures aimed at curbing the power and material interests of the trade union bureaucracies. The government is seeking the power to block individuals from holding office within the trade unions, and restrict the right of union officials to enter company premises. It also wants to make it illegal for companies and unions to specify, as part of an enterprise bargaining agreement, the superannuation fund into which employees retirement savings will be funnelled.

This would be a major blow to the many union officials who sit on the boards of some of these fundscalled industry superannuation fundsalongside their corporate partners. It has been estimated, for example, that the multi-billion dollar industry fund Cbus receives 20 percent of its revenue from agreements covering workers in the construction sector, courtesy of the unions.

The report also includes referrals for legal action against 93 individuals and organisations, including 43 recommendations for criminal investigation, mostly against trade union officials, the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). There are also referrals against 11 current and former executives and managers from eight companies, as well as against the building construction companies Thiess John Holland and Winslow.

Indeed, the cases documented in the commission report, far from being the result of individual corruption, are the consequence of the transformation of the trade unions into a virtual arm of corporate management, utterly hostile to the workers they claim to represent. These cases include corporate kickbacks of millions of dollars in exchange for sweeping cutbacks to the conditions of the unions own members, and the suppression of industrial action. Such instances are often covered up by bogus invoices issued by the unions. Virtually all the major trade unions are involved: the AWU, the CFMEU, the Transport Union of Workers, the National Union of Workers, the Health Services Union, the Electrical Trade Union and the Maritime Union of Australia.

Moreover, while there is certainly no lack of individual corruption among union officials, this only expresses, on a smaller scale, the criminality, greed and swindling that characterises their masters at the heights of capitalist society.

The trade unions have always defended the framework of capitalism and the system of wage-labour upon which it is based, and suppressed any independent struggle by the working class against capitalist rule. In previous periods, however, they maintained their positions and privileges by pressuring employers and governments for limited improvements in workers wages and conditions. However, with the globalisation of production from the 1980s onwards, which shattered any objective basis for national economic regulation, the unions nationalist and pro-capitalist program meant that their role became centred, not on pressuring employers and governments for reforms, but on boosting the international competitiveness of Australian businesses and corporations through lowering wages, conditions and rights of their workers.

Today, the unions function not as workers organisations in any sense of the term, but as labour-management businesses offering their services to the major corporations as a reliable means for controlling their employees. After decades of betrayals, union membership has collapsed from 40 percent in 1992 to just 15 percent today.

As a result, the income of the bloated union apparatus has become almost entirely divorced from the amount it receives from union dues. In addition to their positions on the boards of multi-billion dollar superannuation funds, union executives rely for their six-figure salaries on payments made directly by companies, as well as income derived from so-called worker income insurance schemes. As an article published yesterday in the Business Spectator noted, unions have twice as many officials (4,000) than they did in 1975 with only half the membership (1.6 million).

That is why, far from denying the commissions revelations of their intimate collaboration with big business, the trade unions have defended their role and argued that the major corporations should continue to utilise their services. This was underscored by Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten, who appeared on national television in June this year to defend his former role as national secretary of the Australian Workers Union from 2001-2007. During that time his union entered into enterprise agreements with various companies that signed away workers basic entitlements, including legally required penalty rates. Shorten justified these deals in the name of modern trade unionism.

At least for now, Shorten has not been charged with any criminal activity. Instead, Labor MP Cesar Melham, who was Shortens subordinate in the AWU and later his successor as secretary, has been referred to investigators for 11 separate instances of alleged misconduct.

Significantly, however, Attorney-General George Brandis specifically referred to Shorten in last Thursdays press conference, and announced that police investigations would be extended until the end of 2016. Brandis added: whether those investigations ... disclose matters that touch directly on Mr Shorten is a matter that awaits to be seen.

Big business is demanding that Shorten sever Labors connections with the trade unions, which continue to exert, through factional powerbrokers and massive financial donations, influence inside the party. This is aimed at transforming the Labor Party into an even more pliable and open instrument of the financial elite, unhindered by the sectional interests of the unions. The commissions decision not to cite Shorten for charges appears to be a highly political one: he has been given the opportunity to carry out this agenda, but with the threat of potential criminal investigations still hanging over him.

The response to the commission report within ruling circles points to the deep political crisis confronting the Turnbull government. They are expressing enormous frustration over the inability of the government, like its predecessors, to carry out the type of austerity spending cuts and industrial deregulation needed in order to catch up and complete with those already imposed on workers in Europe and the United States.

The Labor Party, no less than the Turnbull government, is determined to carry through this agenda. It speaks for those sections of the ruling elite who prefer to utilise the services of the trade union bureaucracy, to which the Labor Party is historically and materially wedded. Other sections of the corporate world have concluded that, under conditions of the complete discrediting of the trade unions in the eyes of the working class, it is necessary to dispense with them altogether.

Underscoring these conflicts, an editorial in the Fairfax-owned Age newspaper published on December 30 called for the trade unions to reform or risk continuing their slide into irrelevance. Underlying this appeal is deep concern about the unions transformation. For three decades, the trade unions have suppressed or betrayed every open manifestation of independent opposition in the working class to the endless corporate offensive against jobs and conditions. As a result, the vast majority of workers today view them with deep hostility and suspicion. This points to the fact that, under conditions of the deepening economic crisis confronting Australian and world capitalism, the resurgence of working class struggle will take a particularly explosive character, and will begin to develop independently of and in opposition to the trade unions.
MADISON, FL (WTXL) - Madison County parents have been making calls to police and deputies, concerned over a recent social media post threatening a school shooting. Madison County Deputies say though the threat was directed at a school system in Michigan.

Deputies say an investigation into the post uncovered that it originated from a town in Michigan, directed at the Madison School District there.

The post said, Im gonna shoot Madison up tomorrow. Dont show up any of you. Gonna start at 9," according to deputies.

13 ABC Action News says the threat was made against the Michigan school system on Monday from a phony Facebook account.

Authorities there decided to cancel classes for the entire district on Tuesday but students were back in class on Wednesday morning.

On Monday evening, authorities had a "person of interest" in custody.

Deputies in Madison County, Florida, did thank concerned parents that called in the social media post.
Virginia Mason Memorial is moving three administrative departments to its downtown building, which formerly housed the Department of Ecology.
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Since Saturday's execution of four Shi'ite Muslims in Saudi Arabia, hundreds or thousands of the minority sect have marched nightly in protest, and their anger could herald wider unrest.

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The execution of one of them, dissident cleric Nimr al-Nimr, caused an international crisis as Shi'ite Iran and its allies responded angrily, but it also caused upset in his home district of Qatif, where many saw his death as unjustified.

"People are angry. And they are surprised, because there were positive signals in the past months that the executions would not take place. People listen to his speeches and there's no direct proof he was being violent," a Qatif community leader said by phone.

The protests in Qatif, an almost entirely Shi'ite district of about a million people in the oil-producing Eastern Province, have been mostly peaceful, though a fatal shooting and gun attacks on armoured security vehicles have also taken place.

Protests in Baghdad, opposing Nimr's execution. (Photo: AFP)

Qatif is located near major oil facilities and many of its residents work for the state energy company, Saudi Aramco. Past incidents of unrest have not led to attacks on the oil industry, but a bus used by Aramco to transport employees was torched after a protest on Tuesday night.

Footage of marchers shouting "down with the Al Saud" and other anti-government slogans, corroborated by witnesses contacted by Reuters, is circulating on social media along with video clips showing shots fired at armored cars.

"I did not hear shooting last night, but I heard it a lot on the two nights before," a resident of Nimr's home village, al-Awamiya, told Reuters by phone. Like others Reuters spoke to in Qatif, he asked that his name be withheld.

Saudi Arabia only permits foreign news media, including Reuters, to visit Qatif if accompanied by government officials, which it says is to ensure journalists' safety.

Whether the protests - and sporadic attacks on police - escalate may depend on whether the security forces continue an unspoken policy of allowing peaceful demonstrations until they die down, or crack down with force, say locals.

Government supporters say it depends rather on whether Tehran uses links to local activists, which both Iran and many Qatif residents deny exist, to stage attacks in retaliation for Nimr's execution and Riyadh's cutting of diplomatic ties.

Shi'ite protesters in Tehran. The rivalry with Saudi Arabia complicates things. (Photo: AP)

Discrimination charge

The security forces believe they can quash any mass protests in Qatif, like those that began during the 2011 Arab Spring when Nimr became a figurehead, or the 1979 uprising inspired by Iran's revolution, analysts say.

Qatif is almost entirely populated by Shi'ites and can be physically isolated by the government. Checkpoints stand at its main street entrances.

"The security forces are very confident. The Shi'ite population is confined in certain places. They are a small minority compared to a big majority. They think they have the capability to control them," said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the Interior Ministry.

Shi'ites have long complained they face entrenched discrimination in a country where the semi-official Wahhabi Sunni school regards their sect's beliefs as heretical. They say they face abuse from Wahhabi clerics, rarely get permits for places of worship and seldom get senior public sector jobs.

Those basic complaints have over the years been aggravated by what Qatif residents call a heavy security hand against their community, accusing the authorities of unfair detentions and punishments, shooting unarmed protesters and torturing suspects.

The government denies discrimination against Shi'ites and bias or brutality on the part of its security services. Its supporters point to the blind eye police show frequent protests by Shi'ites in Qatif, which would be quickly crushed in any Sunni area, as evidence of leniency.

Dissident Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Executed by Saudia Arabia.

Iran rivalry

Riyadh's relations with the Shi'ite minority are complicated by its rivalry with Iran, and by its own reliance on a largely Wahhabi population for support.

Analysts say the government sometimes uses a tough stance towards Saudi Shi'ites to mobilise its Wahhabi power base, while perceived weakness in acceding to any demands made by the minority can prompt anger that Sunni militants seek to exploit.

A series of Islamic State attacks in Saudi Arabia since November 2014 has mainly targeted the kingdom's Shi'ites as part of an apparent strategy to leverage the sectarian divide as a way of building support among conservative Sunnis.

Such divisions are easier to aggravate because of the wider struggle between the kingdom and Iran, with many Saudis, and their government, seeing Tehran as using ties with Shi'ites across the Middle East to seek dominance and persecute Sunnis.

"The Iranians and their allies have been pushing and promoting terrorism and recruiting people, inciting and providing weapons and explosives to people, and Nimr al-Nimr was one of them," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in an interview this week.

During and after the 2011 protests, eight policemen and seven civilians were killed in attacks by Shi'ites that were connected to Iran and carried out by people linked to Nimr, Riyadh says.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (Photo: AFP)

Iran denies all those charges and Nimr's family say he advocated peaceful change, took no part in violence and had no links to Tehran.

The police said Nimr was arrested when he fired on them with an assault rifle, injuring two, while trying to prevent the capture of another suspect, the act which most swayed judges to pass the death sentence on him, Alani said.

Nimr and the three other Shi'tes were executed on Saturday along with 43 Sunni al Qaeda convicts.

More young Shi'ites detained over the 2011 protests and subsequent attacks have been sentenced to execution. Others are also on trial and facing possible death sentences.

"I think people are worried. It might get worse. There is a feeling things might get complicated," said a Shi'ite in Dammam, the capital of Eastern Province.
IDF officer Yishai Rosales, who was killed in a training drill at the Tze'elim base on Tuesday, was laid to rest late Wednesday night at the military cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount Herzl.

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Hundreds responded to the request of Rosales' family to attend the event.

Soldiers at the funeral of Yishai Rosales, an IDF officer who was killed in a training accident (Photo: Ofer Meir)

Rosales, 23, was an officer in the Kfir Brigade. His relatives  including his parents Aharon and Elisheva and their five children  made aliyah from Mexico in 2001. They lived in Tel Zion, an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Kochav Ya'akov in the West Bank, before moving to the Beit Meir moshav in the Jerusalem Hills.

Rosales studied in a yeshiva for two years and then joined the army's Nahal Haredi battalion where he progressed to the rank of first lieutenant. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.

The funeral of Yishai Rosales, who was laid to rest on Wednesday night (Photo: Yael Friedson)

Rosales' father, speaking at the funeral, said: "Yishai, I don't have the words to begin to part from you. You were the best, all the time. It's been 24 hours since you've no longer been with us and I'm hearing so many stories from everyone that I didn't know.

"I always knew you were the best, but the best at home. Now I know that you were the best outside our home as well," he continued. "You've left us and taken a big part of our heart with you."

Yishai Rosales, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain

Michael, Yishai's brother who served with him in the Nahal Haredi battalion, said: "He was a tremendous person. I don't think there was anyone who knew him and didn't love him."

Rosales was killed during a course for company and battalion commanders when a force from the 75th Battalion of the 7th Armored Corps Division fired a mortar shell in the wrong direction.

Rosales was participating in another drill nearby when a piece of shrapnel from the mortar shell, which fell in an open area, hit him in his upper body, killing him.
South Korea will resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts towards North Korea at the inter-Korean border from Friday in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test, South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday.

The North's nuclear test was a "grave violation" of an August agreement reached between the two Koreas to ease tension and improve ties, a senior presidential national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement.

"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," Cho said.

North and South Korea traded artillery fire in August after Pyongyang demanded a halt to the loudspeaker broadcasts. The rivals negotiated an end to the standoff with an agreement to improve ties.
Something, some ineffable longing, a combination of warm breezes and brisk multiculturalism, has spurred a distinguished line of former Egyptians to write about their condition.

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Take Claudia Roden, the renowned food writer and cultural anthropologist (born in Cairo, 1936) who starts her tiny gem of a gastronomic memoir, A Feast of Middle Eastern Food, saying, I started collecting recipes for A Book of Middle Eastern Food when Jews left Egypt after the Suez Crisis in 1956 During the next decade I saw waves of relatives and friends who stopped over in the city. Everyone was asking for recipes and offering theirs. We might never see each other again, but wed have something to remember each other by.

Sharm a-Sheikh (Photo: Reuters)

Andre Aciman (Alexandria, 1951) became an international literary star with his 1995 memoir, Out of Egypt, a tome seemingly spun out of silk, spice and a tender yearning to return to a life that had once been all-encompassing and then, seemingly out of nowhere, ceased to exist.

An entire world, gone.

Or take Lucette Lagnado, (Cairo, 1956) a writer for the Wall Street Journal whose own memoir, "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Familys Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World", was widely acclaimed, opening her eyes as wide as a dolls in the new Italian-made documentary, "Starting Over Again", and repeating what her father said to a social worker haplessly trying to help the family acclimate to America: But madame, we are Arab."

Like many high-profile splits, Egypts divorce from the Jews left nobody happy.

The effect of Egypt remains indelible, and decades after they were forced to leave many former Cairenes and Alexandrians well up in tears and seem still to be stunned by the way things turned out.

The Suez Canal (Photo: AP)

Egypt, too, was diminished, never returning to the golden age of tolerance and prosperity it enjoyed in the first half of the twentieth century, when pattering in Greek, Italian, French, English and Arabic were part of an urban patois echoing around refined cafes and 80,000 Jews strolled along its corniches, directed its business organizations or established its political parties.

Everybody lost out.

Yet the film, directed by Ruggero Gabbai, an Italian best known for his searing documentaries on the Holocaust, and presented during last months Jewish Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, vividly conjures up the intense and stimulating life of urbane Egyptians inhabiting a mid-century utopia.

The documentary is important for one reason, Gabbai said in a conversation: It shows the last generation that was able to live together maintaining different cultures and religions in a climate of tolerance and peace, enriching each other.

The last generation in the Arab world? No, in general. I dont know of many cultures or countries where people were able to live together as they did in Egypt after the Second World War. For more than 30 years people prospered in an Arab country, living together, respecting and enriching each other.

Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (Photo: EPA)

Gabbais father was born in Alexandria, the scion of an old Egyptian Jewish family, and attended Victoria College with Jordans future King Hussein and the scholar of Orientalism, Edward Said. Today we are going backwards, Gabbai says. Not only in the Middle East. Where in the Western world do you see three cultures living distinctly but placidly together?

The film offers viewers a mosaic of interviews with women and men ranging from Yvonne Barak, a hotel cleaner, to Egypts former Vice Foreign Minister, Elhami Elzayat, who try to describe the life-defining, shining moment that made them who they are.

The protagonists speak plainly in Arabic, express themselves in refined, cultivated English, in robust Italian, in precise, well-articulated French, in some Hebrew, a foreign tongue, and it is as if we are offered a window into a private wonderland in which each of these languages was part of a common currency.

Alexandria. Former locals tear up at what had been

Even as she describes with heartrending immediacy the suicide of her grandmother, who was incapable of coping with the thought of leaving Egypt and threw herself and her most beloved possessions down a stairwell, Ada Aharoni, who went on to found The International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace, offers up the culture of their unique lost paradise as an instrument for peace.

"Egyptian Jews have this imprinting which could be a bridge between Western and Muslim culture, Gabbai says.

The Jews of Egypt were expelled from their country over a decade or so, by a cruel series of measures enacted by President Gamal Abdel Nasser following the Suez Crisis, in which France and Britain attacked after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal.

Former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Drove Jews out of the country (Photo: Getty Images)

It was the beginning of the secular Arab nationalist authoritarianism that persists today under President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The film has never been screened in Egypt.

Besides the genes that come from my father and mother, the whole of Egypt played a major role in making me who I am, Elliot Malki, the Italian businessman who produced this film, said to The Media Line. Egypt was so cosmopolitan. We were in Egypt but we were in London, Paris and New York all at the same time.

The film, he says, is about resilience. We learned it from Egypt and from our parents. It is about what happened after. How we created ourselves. Its a few words about how much we counted."

Article written by Noga Tarnopolsky.
Masked militants fired at a group of dozens of Israeli tourists at the Barcelo Three Pyramids hotel next to Cairo on Thursday, causing damage but no injuries. One gunmen was arrested at the scene and security forces are searching for the other individuals involved in the attack, who numbered about 20 according to the Egyptian Interior Ministry.

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The ministry said that protesters aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood opened fire at and shot fireworks towards a tour bus and the hotel. MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) posted on his Facebook page that the tour group consisted of 45 Arab-Israelis from Umm al-Fahm, Jaffa and Kfar Qassem and that none of them had been injured. They are due to return to Israel today via the Sinai.

The tourist bus attacked by masked gunmen in Cairo

An Egyptian security official said that the attack was not organized and Israelis had not been purposely targeted.

Embassy officials in Egypt are trying to reach the Israeli tourists. No Israelis emissaries have been harmed and the incident is not thought to be related to the Israeli embassy or its staff.

One of the tourists, who was apparently on the tour bus at the time of the attack, said that they had originally thought the shots were in celebration of a holiday. Only after they saw that police were chasing after suspects did they realize the incident was actually an attack and started to go inside the hotel.

"It's normal for something like this to happen here. Where doesn't have problems?" the tourist said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

In June last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor, wounding three Egyptians. A week earlier, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of the tourism police at Giza.
"Frontline" is documentary television program distributed through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was aired Tuesday, lasted close to two hours, without commercials.

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Netanyahu wasnt interviewed on the show, and neither were Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the two presidents he confronted. But a respectable group of American and Israeli supporting actors is interviewed on it. Most of them talk frankly, some express grief. The story they are telling is not a happy one.

Recollection Ex-envoy: Netanyahu said Rabin 'would be seen as failure had he lived' Ynet, Itamar Eichner Former US envoy to Israel Martin Indyk says that during Rabin's funeral, the then-opposition chief said the slain leader was only seen as a hero because of his death; PMO releases video showing Netanyahu was not sitting next to Indyk at funeral. Ex-envoy: Netanyahu said Rabin 'would be seen as failure had he lived'

A controversy broke out Wednesday following a comment made by Martin Indyk, who served as the American ambassador to Israel twice and as Obama's special envoy to the Middle East. I am presenting the quotes from the full transcript of the interview with Indyk, which was held about six months ago, on July 22, 2015. The interviewer was Jason M. Breslow.

Indyk spoke about a conversation held at during a Knesset ceremony on November 5, a day before slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's funeral. He attended the event as the American ambassador.

Netanyahu at Rabin's funeral. The incitement campaign he led until the murder was aimed at killing Rabin at the polling station, not at the square

"The first step was to bring his body from the hospital through a cortege up to the Knesset where he would lie in state. There was a big assembly of dignitaries and the diplomatic core and politicians and so on at the Knesset waiting for Rabins body to arrive, the coffin. And I remember Netanyahu saying to me: "Look, look at this. Hes a hero now, but if he had not been assassinated, I would have beaten him in the elections, and then he would have gone into history as a failed politician."

I'm going to take a risk and say something which will anger people in both camps. First of all, Indyk is telling the truth. He has no reason to fabricate this story after 20 years. Secondly, there is no reason to be shocked by what Netanyahu said. People say such things in people's ears, both during wedding ceremonies and during funerals.

Granted, it wasn't politically correct, but one can understand Netanyahu: He didnt ask Yigal Amir to endorse him as prime minister, and didnt want the US ambassador to think so. The incitement campaign he led until the murder was aimed at killing Rabin at the polling station, not at the square.

There is no way of knowing what would have happened has Rabin not been murdered. He may have won the elections; he may have lost. Netanyahu's optimism was based on reality.

In the interview, Indyk analyzes the political meaning of the remark: "Even at that moment of tremendous support, a tragic moment of support for Rabin, Netanyahu was thinking, well, politically he was on the ropes before he was assassinated. He exploited that and ran against Oslo in the (1996) elections and beat (Shimon) Peres, but he only beat him by something like a half of 1 percent. And so even then, it was a very close-run thing. So he didnt have a very strong mandate to take apart Oslo, and indeed it wasnt long before he was photographed at the White House shaking hands himself with Yasser Arafat.

"He was playing to his right-wing constituency. He has a very keen sense of his constituencies. Thats why he has been elected four times prime minister. He knows what excites them, and he knows what they fear...

"I think he was really playing to his constituency in a way that went over the line. You saw him do it again in the last minutes before this last election, and he came very close to the line over here. Certainly in the White House with an African American president, he crossed the line by saying that the Arabs were coming out in droves to vote. There is that part of him that plays with populist extremism on the right."

Back to the quote from 1995. After the program was broadcast in the US, Netanyahu issued a sweeping denial, saying it never happened. Such denials are common in politics, an almost legitimate move. When an embarrassing quote is published, people rush to deny it. But Netanyahu, like Netanyahu, launched a loud, groundless campaign.

His bureau distributed photos from the Mount Herzl funeral, a ceremony which was held a day after the Knesset conversation quoted by Indyk. Here's the evidence, the bureau claimed: Netanyahu is sitting next to Moshe Katsav, not Indyk. The Likud slammed Indyk in an official statement, and Yariv Levin, a government minister, described him as a liar from the Knesset podium.

This propaganda attack was built on the assumption that no journalist would bother reading the interview's transcript, although the full text can be found on the program's website. The main thing is to bombard social media and throw around the world "liar." In the end it works.

Netanyahu did the same thing to me on the eve of the elections, in response to an inconvenient article I published about him. At the time, he sent Benny Begin to lie and blast in a staged press conference. Since then, we haven't heard much about Begin: He has chosen the right to remain silent. This time he made Yariv Levin lie. Instead of checking the facts on his cell phone, a matter of two minutes and two fingers, Levin broke into a speech.

I wonder why Netanyahu needs this. After all, there is no quote from 20 years ago that can get him out of the house on Jerusalem's Balfour Street. Moreover, I wonder why his colleagues listen to him. Where is their self-respect, where is the embarrassment? They think that listening to him will promote them, that their loyalty will be cherished. They dont understand that they come out of this affair looking like collaborators. Or worse, lapdogs.
An Israeli teacher from Hura in the Negev has been sentenced to four years in jail for attempting to join the Islamic State group and for preaching support for the terrorist organization during Friday sermons at his local mosque.

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Mohammed Abu Elkyan, 29, confessed as part of a plea bargain to conspiring to commit a crime and trying to conduct activities as part of an illegal organization.

Abu Elkyan, married with five children, was a teacher at an elementary school. He established a cell that held meetings in hidden locations, during which he engaged a "spiritual teacher" who passed on content related to the Islamic State group. The cell plotted to leave Israel for Syria.

The court ruling is part of an investigation during which indictments were also filed against the other members of the cell, all from the same tribe: Bashir Abu Elkyan, Akram Abu Elkyan, Issa Abu Elkyan and Sharif Abu Elkyan. The affair was investigated by the Shin Bet and special police.

Between 2013 and 2015, between once and twice a week, Mohammed Abu Elkyan took part in gatherings of IS supporters at the next to the town's mosque. One of the participants was an Israeli called "Othman," who eventually left for Syria, joined IS and was killed in battle.

In a March 2015 meeting, Abu Elkyan spoke with his friends in the cell and suggested that they leave Israel via Jordan and then head to Saudi Arabia, where they would pose as pilgrims.

They then registered for "religious activities," paid 200 dinars, sent out their passports and planned to leave within the next month, in time for Ramadan. They planned to stay in Saudi Arabia for one day, find a hiding place and establish contact with people that could assist them in getting to Syria.

Lawyer Masad Masad from the southern district prosecutor's office said that the departure of Israeli Arabs to fight in Syria and their return to Israel would turn into "extreme jihadist ideology being brought to Israel, along with accumulated military experience and capabilities."
Six Hamas members from Hebron and Jerusalem planned a to kidnap and murder an Israeli, in a similar fashion to the kidnapping and murder of Israeli youths Gil-Ad Schaer, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel in June 2014.

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On Thursday it was cleared for publication that the Shin Bet, IDF, and Israel Police arrested them last month, and exposed the grave the cell had dug for the body. The cell had intended to negotiate with Israel in order to free prisoners in exchange for the body.

Ziad Abu Hadoan, Amer Rajabi and Maher Qasame, three members of a Hamas cell caught planning to kidnap and murder an Israeli (Photo: Shin Bet communication)

Six indictments were filed against the suspects on Thursday by the Jerusalem District Prosecutor.

One of the terror squad's members, Ziad Abu Hadoan, aged about 20, is a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem and had been released from jail in October 2015 after serving a sentence for violent action at the Temple Mount.

The hiding place a Hamas cell prepared for hiding the body of an Israeli they planned to kidnap and murder (Photo: Shin Bet communication)

Another member was Maher Qawasmeh, a Hebron resident aged about 36, who headed the group. He had previously served a prison sentence of about two years in the past for being involved with the planning of terrorist activities in Hamas' name.

The investigation into the cell's activities also revealed that the group had been meeting in Hebron for about a year and had planned various terror attacks during that time. They attempted to pass on weapons for use in a shooting attack in Jerusalem and ultimately decided to try and carry out a kidnapping and murder of an Israeli.

According to the Shin Bet, members of the cell also described during their interrogation how they planned to carry out the kidnap. The plan involved using two cars, the main one of which was to be used by the Israeli member of the cell, Amer Rajibi, with the idea that his knowledge of Hebrew would help with carrying out the kidnapping.

A second member of the cell was to wait nearby and then push the Israeli's car off the road.

During Qawasmeh's interrogation it was revealed that he had started to work with members in the cell to create explosive materials in order to use them in a terror attack.

The cell purchased chemical materials and manure in order to make explosives but claimed they had not succeeded in doing so.
Joint List MK Haneen Zoabi was indicted on Thursday for insulting a public worker after a plea bargain was agreed last month to bring the charge down from incitement to violence.

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The indictment comes in the wake of Zoabi's verbal attack on Arab police officers in the days following the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in July 2014.

Joint List MK Haneen Zoabi, indicted for insulting a public official (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

According to the charge, on July 6, 2014, hearings took place in the Nazareth Magistrates' Court requesting that the arrest of two suspects involved in riots that had spread throughout the Arab-Israeli population be extended. The incidents had included clashes with police forces.

During the hearings two Arab police investigators, Ehab Haddad and Bushur Amer, were represented by the state.

During a break in one of the hearings, the two were standing outside the courtroom with Zoabi. Zoabi, it is claimed, raised her voice and said that they were traitors who were sent to gather information and eavesdrop on people.

Zoabi then called out in Arabic to those present that they should work against the police due to their being "Arabs in the service of the state."

The indictment also claims that Zoabi shouted that people should spit in the policemen's faces, and said: "They are against our sons and daughters, they should not be among us. They should be afraid of us, of our youth that have been arrested because of the information they send."

The prosecutor noted that one of the people present at the hearing filmed part of the event, after which Zoabi's words were published online.
Somalia says it has cut diplomatic ties with Iran amid ongoing tensions between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia.

A Somali Foreign Ministry statement issued on Thursday accused Iran of trying to destabilize the Horn of Africa nation.

The ministry says it has recalled its acting ambassador to Iran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

Somalia joins Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Bahrain in cutting ties to Iran amid the crisis. Other countries have downgraded their ties to Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said a war between his country and Iran would be the beginning of a catastrophe and Riyadh would not allow it, the Economist reported on Thursday.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind," it quoted him as saying in an interview. The prince, who is also defense minister, added that Riyadh was concerned at what it saw as the United States' adoption of a less engaged role in the Middle East.
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira is set to hold a hearing next week for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the so-called "Bibi-Tours" affair  long-standing allegations of improper funding for travel expenses.

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The decision to hold a hearing was based on new information that reached the comptroller in recent months. The hearing is to precede the completion of the comptroller's report on the matter, which Shapira is supposed to finish by February 15, and which will be published as part of the annual reports planned for publication in late April.

Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu board a plane (Archive photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced in September 2014 that there would be no criminal probe into the affair, adopting the police's position that there was no evidence supporting an investigation of the prime minister.

The controversy erupted in the wake of a Channel 10 report saying there was evidence that in two separate 2006 incidents, while Netanyahu was opposition chief, different groups funded two of his trips abroad.

Weinstein said at the time that police advised ending the investigation because of a lack of evidence.

Three years passed between the Channel 10 report and Weinstein's decision to close the investigation, which the attorney general said was because considering the evidence was complex and time-consuming.

The investigative report said that Netanyahu traveled abroad at the expense of various businessmen during the time he served as MK and finance minister between his two terms as prime minister.

According to the report, in some cases Netanyahu was guilty of double-billing a number of organizations and Jewish donors who were interested in closer ties when he flew abroad.

The report claimed that Netanyahu did not receive approval from the ethics committee for all of his flights. Lawyer David Shomron, who represented Netanyahu, said that one of the flights in question -- Netanyahu's August 2006 flight to London -- was funded by the Knesset, while his wife Sara's was funded by a Jewish group.

He claimed the "mistake" arose because Sara was registered under her husband's name, thus giving the impression that Netanyahu himself was reimbursed twice for the same flight.

Regarding a flight to New York in September 2006, Shomron said suspicion was also based on a mistake. He claimed the Jewish group filed two invoices for two different flights, but each invoice noted another name of the organization, thus again mistakenly indicating double-billing.
The rock-throwing "incitement dolls" seized by Israel at Haifa port last month were at center stage of a British parliamentary debate Wednesday initiated by a Member of Parliament known for her hostility to Israel.

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Sarah Champion of the Labour Party called on the British government to prepare a "watchlist" of Israeli officials suspected of war crimes and investigate them when they come to the United Kingdom.

Champion released an article on the situation in the Gaza Strip a few ,months ago which included lies, and was forced to amend the article after being confronted on Twitter by the Israeli embassy.

British MP Andrew Percy holding an "incitement doll"

The topic under debate in the Parliament was debate Child prisoners and detainees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli Embassy prepared in advance and briefed several British MPs who then brought up the issue of Palestinian incitement.

The high point was when the Conservative Party MP Andrew Percy displayed the "incitement doll" used to encourage Palestinian children to oppose Israel as a factor that contributes to the atmosphere that leads to terror attacks against Israel.

Imagine if this were an Isis doll distributed in British schools and imagine the outrage. But this issue seems to have been hijacked by a coalition of those on the hard left, with a smattering of anti-Semites, and those looking for a new South Africa", said Percy.

An embarrassing moment during the debate occurred when MP Simon Danczuk spoke with concern about Palestinian minors detained in Israeli prisons as Danczuk was recently suspended from the Labour Party because of allegations relating to his behavior towards a minor.

Sarah Champion accused Israel of using disproportionate force against Palestinian children throwing stones. She called on her government to prepare a black list of Israelis who committed war crimes by detaining and interrogating Palestinian children. She also accused the Israeli security services of "mass intimidation and collective punishment" of Palestinians in order to protect Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Opposing her were pro-Israel MPs who blamed the Palestinian Authority for ignoring incitement, arguing that Champion was judging Israel unfairly ignoring the gross violations of human rights in countries such as Saudi Arabia. MP John Howell said that Israel is a state of law and that minors brought before courts were represented by lawyers of their choosing and have the option of appealing.

Labour MP Ian Austin pointed out that Palestinian TV broadcasts anti-Semitic programs for children. He also brought up the story of Adele Biton, a 4-year-old critically injured by stones in an attack who died two years later.

Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood said that the government would continue to support Israel in the challenges it faces", and noted that Israel is a democracy in a very difficult neck of the woods, and we encourage Israel to pursue high standards and the democratic process.
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

We hope you are equally as excited as us.

This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.

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What was once touted as an experimental therapy by the World Health Organization (WHO) turned out to be a dud, at least for this new study.

European researchers who studied convalescent plasma therapy in Guinea revealed on Wednesday in New England Journal of Medicine that the method wasn't really effective.

Convalescent therapy isn't entirely new. Back in 1918, during the height of Spanish influenza that wiped out almost 5% of the world's population, plasma transfusion was used. The therapy is also applied in other viral diseases like yellow fever and measles since the 1930s and H1N1 outbreak in 2009.

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However, it was rarely applied in Ebola, except for a 2000 report that suggested at least eight Ebola patients in Democratic Republic of the Congo received convalescent blood from five patients.

In November 2014, WHO recommended the use of convalescent blood as part of "experimental therapy" to curb the Ebola outbreak, which has so far killed more than 8,000 people in West African nations like Guinea, Sierra Leona, and Liberia.

Under the therapy, plasma from previously infected patients was then transfused to existing ones based on the principle that the fluid contained the much-needed antibodies to fight off the virus.

Dr Kent Brantly, a missionary doctor who was one of the first Ebola patients to be sent to America for treatment, donated his plasma to three US Ebola patients, ABC News reported.

The new study by Dr. Johan van Griensven and colleagues, however, suggested at the survival of 84 patients who received the transfusion wasn't any better from those who didn't. For example, their risk of death on day 3 to 16 was 31%, not too far from that of the control group, which was 38%.

Nevertheless, the researchers admitted the limitations of the study and that it's possible it could be effective if the plasma contains high amounts of antibodies. They also mentioned that the method has shown some benefit among certain groups like pregnant women and children.
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If you want to prevent cancer, get screened. Over the years, many types of screenings are available taken at different ages to prevent the dreaded disease.

But do they really work in saving lives? A new study published in BMJ on Wednesday refutes the age-old notion.

Oregon Health and Science University assistant professor Vinay Prasad, along with his colleagues, contends that while cancer screenings may be able to decrease disease-specific mortality, they do not contribute much to reduce overall mortality, which takes into consideration deaths linked to the screening itself.

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The study cited prostate cancer screening called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay, which is recommended for men at age 50 for those with average risk. According to the research, many results produced false positives. This means the person is diagnosed with cancer even if he does not. The positive yield will then lead for the doctor to recommend a biopsy, which carries certain risks including death. So far, these false-positive results contributed to more than a million prostate biopsies annually.

The research further mentioned that when several men who received a prostate cancer diagnosis will become depressed, which may later force them to commit suicide. A 2010 European Association of Urology (EAU) study also suggested that at least 28% of men with prostate cancer could have high level of anxiety before treatment.

Prasad and team also called for the need of a comprehensive discussion on the risks of cancer screenings of patients. This is after a review on different PSA screening studies implied that the screening itself did not reduce mortality rate of diagnosed patients.

In the end, the team suggested "honesty" on the level of uncertainty surrounding cancer screenings such as PSA.

Interestingly, on the same day, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a report, saying decreased prostate cancer screenings could cause delay in both diagnosis and treatment of the disease especially on is earliest stages. This report is now available in Journal of Urology.
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Fans are definitely intrigued to see how Ryan Murphy will interpret one of the biggest headlines during the 1990s which is O.J. Simpson's murder case. WIth that said, here are some "American Crime Story" season 2 spoilers for its avid followers.

Hurricane Katrina which had devastated New Orleans, Alabama, Florida and most of the Eastern America seems to be the plot of FX's upcoming ''The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.'' As reported by EW, the series will tackle the 2005 disaster which had claimed about 2000 lives.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the 5 worst natural disasters in the History of US. Several iconic moments of Katrina will be given entire episodes. The directors have planned to show the 'Superdome evacuation' and the relocation of the survivors out of the affected cities in great details.

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This television series is created by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and is produced by 20th century Fox, Ryan Murphy Productions and Brad Falchuk Teley-vision.

This series stars John Travolta who happens to produce the series 'American Crime Story' season 2. As reported by collider, this ''True Crime'' genre show will be broadcast on the cable network FX, premiering on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016.

Executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk want to start the first season with the murder trial of O. J. Simpson. It is subtitled as ''The People v. O. J. Simpson''.

FX had ordered a 10-episode season of 'American Crime Story' on Oct. 7, 2014.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. as O. J. Simpson and Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark are the lead protagonists of this action filled TV series. Will John Travolta win the hearts of the millions again?

Ryan Patrick Murphy's previous shows ''American Horror Story'' (2011-present), ''The New Normal (2012-13)'' and ''Scream Queens'' (2015-present) were massive hits. The TV critics already are speculating a blockbuster success of this series too.

The filming of the series started in LA, California on May 14, 2015.

The promotional activities of this TV series included the famous dog Shiba Inu and in the promotional trailers it was shown leaving behind bloody paw prints. In Oct. 2015, 2 teasers were released to promote this 10-part miniseries.

EW reported that this series is based on Jeffrey Toobin's ''The Run of His Life: The People V. O.J. Simpson''.
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Comparing these two charts shows the growth of natural gas on the grid

2014 and 2015

Blue is natural gas

Red is nuclear



Double-click to enlarge chart

Several years ago, while the legal and public relations battle raged over the future of Vermont Yankee, anti-nuclear activists -- and some elected officials -- confidently predicted that, if the plant closed, its output would be replaced by wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources. Pro-nuclear advocates expressed doubts about that future, arguing instead that the loss of a baseload nuclear plant would inevitably lead to greater reliance on fossil fuels. Similar debates continue with respect to Pilgrim (Plymouth, MA), Indian Point (Buchanan, NY), and other nuclear facilities.Now that 2015 has come to a close, we have an opportunity to evaluate the facts. ISO-New England (the non-profit, independent entity that ensures the reliability of the electric grid in New England) publishes data that shows daily generation by fuel type. That data shows that in 2014 (the last year of Vermont Yankee's operation) natural gas-fired generators supplied 43.1% of the energy in New England, while nuclear provided 34%. In 2015 (the first year since 1972 without Vermont Yankee) natural gas-fired generators supplied 48.6% of the energy in New England, while nuclear provided 29.5%.As you can see in the chart below, the contribution of other sources of energy in New England remained essentially unchanged in 2015 compared to 2014 (the largest change was that coal-fired generators contributed one percent less in 2015 compared to 2014 (3.6% v. 4.6%). The contribution of wind and solar remained vanishingly small in both years (wind was 2.4% in 2015 and 1.7% in 2014, while solar was 0.4% in 2015 and 0.3% in 2014).Generators in New England produced approximately the same amount of total MWhs in 2015 and 2014 (106.7 million MWhs in 2015 v. 107.2 million MWhs in 2014). Taking into account the unusually mild weather in late fall of 2015, these figures deflate another prediction by anti-nuclear advocates that Vermont Yankee's baseload contribution could be replaced, in part, with energy efficiency.The bottom line is that, without Vermont Yankee, nuclear's carbon-free contribution to the New England electric grid fell by 5.3 million MWhs in 2015 compared to 2014. Over that same time period, the contribution of natural gas-fired generators increased by nearly 5.7 million MWhs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, natural gas-fired generators produce 1.21 pounds of CO2 per kWh ( https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=74&t=11 ). Using that formula, the additional MWhs of energy from natural gas-fired generators in New England in 2015 compared to 2014 equals approximately 3.1. million metric tons of additional CO2 in 2015 compared to 2014. To put that in perspective, 3.1 million metric tons of CO2 is equivalent to adding more than 650,000 passenger vehicles to the roads in New England during 2015.This post first appeared in Linked-In on January 2, 2016 and is reprinted here with permission from Mike Twomey. This post is a good companion piece to the recent post at this blog: Vermont Yankee was replaced by natural gas: Doing the numbers. The conclusions of the two posts are the same---because facts are facts.The earlier Doing the Numbers was based on EIA data. This current post by Mike Twomey is based on ISO-NE (New England grid operator ) data. Mike Twomey's post includes data through the end of 2015, while the other post only includes data to the third quarter of 2015.Mike Twomey is Vice President for External Affairs at Entergy. He is involved in many areas of negotiation and outreach concerning the nuclear plants. For example, Twomey was quoted in an October post at Vermont Digger: Entergy may move fuel into dry casks sooner than anticipated . In that article, he explains the financing of dry cask storage at Vermont Yankee.
The incumbent of this post will provide expertise to the Organization and its management to support the well-being of UNICEF staff, their families and UNICEF teams and offices in New York and around the world. The incumbent will contribute towards a corporate framework for staff well-being and assist in promoting its implementation at the Regional and Country level. The framework will identify activities aiming at: raising awareness about healthy work practices; improving the care to staff suffering mental health disorders; facilitating the provision of assistance to staff/family experiencing work-related and/or personal problems; facilitating the provision of relevant support following a traumatic incident, assist better support structures and contribute to better quality of life for staff in emergency duty stations; among other activities. The incumbent will work in coordination with the network of UN counsellors globally. Frequent field missions and close collaboration with Regional- and Country Offices are required.

HOW TO APPLY:

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

If you want a challenging career while improving the lives of children around the world UNICEF, the leading childrens rights organization, would like to hear from you.

Visit us at www.unicef.org/about/employ to register in our new e-Recruitment system and apply to this and other vacancies. Applications must be received by 08-JAN-16.

Please note that only candidates who are under serious consideration will be contacted.

In the selection of its staff, UNICEF is committed to gender balance and diversity without distinction as to race, sex or religion, and without discrimination of persons with disabilities: well qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
About ZVTS

Even with the Biden Administration adults in charge and Democrats in control on Congress (barely), there remains an increasingly crumbling global economy imperiling the world, rising nationalism and deadly racism across Europe and Asia, a seemingly endless war against terror, a federal government nobody trusts or believes in, global climate change putting us on the brink of destruction and a Village media that barely does its job on even the best day.



Needless to say there's a lot of Stupid out there when we need solutions . Dangerous levels of Stupid.



Into the fray, dear Reader. Tray tables, crash helmets, arms inside blog at all times.
Bengaluru: Karnataka has only tapped a miniscule amount of its wind energy generation potential, leading wind energy company officials said on Thursday.

"Though Karnataka is one of the first movers to take up wind energy, its installed capacity is only 2,600 MW while the potential is about 56,000 MW," said Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) chairman and Regen Powertech managing director Madhusudan Khemka at a workshop to discuss prospects, opportunities and challenges for the renewable energy form in the state.

Major challenges he listed include strengthening of grid infrastructure, unrecoverable tax passed through to investors from the government and acquiring land to set up operations.

"It is imperative that Karnataka government outlines a clear vision for development of wind energy projects in the coming years. We are concerned about the tariff as well as the tax structure currently present... I urge Karnataka government to expedite the policy on renewables," said Khemka.

Requiring no fuel or water to generate power unlike other renewable energy sources, he said wind energy can offer a future proofed power tariff to the government at the rate of Rs.4.50 per unit for the next 20 years.

IWTMA is an association of 19 companies of which 12 are original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and the remaining seven are key components suppliers to the wind energy industry.

The industry association highlighted that Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the key states holding maximum wind energy generation potential in India.

According to IWTMA, Tamil Nadu leads the country with the highest installed capacity of 7,514.76 MW followed by Maharashtra (4,638.35 MW), and Gujarat (3,876.50 MW), along with other states to reach a total installed capacity of 24,759.32 MW.

IWTMA secretary general D. V. Giri said: "India has a wind energy potential of 302 GW. It is important to achieve the goal set by governmentto generate 175 GW by 2022 through renewable energy sources of which wind energy is set to contribute 60 GW."

In the next six years, 35 GW of wind energy must be added or by adding 5-6 GW per year, he added.
Panchkula: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that with efforts made by the state government and effective implementation of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' (BBBP) programme, the child sex ratio in the state has improved to 889 girls per 1,000 boys.

"Efforts are being made to further take it (child sex ratio) to above 900," he said, while flagging off the 'Sashakt Beti Sashakt Bharat' awareness march organised by the India Media Centre, Haryana.

About 150 girl students from 18 districts of Haryana are participating in the awareness march being organised to generate knowledge among the people regarding women's empowerment.

The awareness march would pass through 23 places in twelve districts before culminating at Raj Ghat in New Delhi, on January 14.

According to the 2014 census, the child sex ratio of Haryana was 846 girls per 1,000 boys.

The Chief Minister said that since 2005, the sex ratio in Haryana had been on the decline, creating a lot of imbalance in the society.

Though everybody, including politicians and educationists were aware about the ill-effects of this problem but it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took upon himself the task of eradicating the menace of female foeticide and setting right the skewed sex ratio in the country, Khattar said.

Modi had launched the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' (BBBP) Programme from Panipat on January 22 last year.

Giving a push to this programme, the state government took it as a mission and reviewed the sex ratio every month.

"This, together with the other steps taken by the Haryana government, has helped in increasing the sex ratio to 889 girls per 1,000 boys in November last year, which is a matter of pride," he said.

Besides the government, participation by all sections of the society, including educationists, social and non-government organisations, is necessary to achieve the goal, he added.

He said that the state government was committed to eradicating crime from the society.

An atmosphere has been created in the state against the heinous act of female foeticide, he said.

The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act is being strictly implemented and those found involved in female foeticide have been put behind bars after registering cases against them, he said.

With a view to empowering women, separate women's police stations have been set up in all districts to enable women victims to lodge complaints without any fear, he said.

However, much more needs to be done in this direction, he added.
Coimbatore: Six vital organs were today harvested from a five-year-old girl from Karur and transplanted into needy patients, hospital authorities said. Janasruthi, a first standard student, met with an accident on January 2 while going to school with her mother and after first aid, was admitted to a private hospital here for further treatment.

Since her condition was critical, she was shifted to Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) here on January five. As she did not respond to treatment, the girl was declared brain dead early this morning, a hospital release said.

After her parents gave consent to donate her organs, a team of doctors from Government Hospital and KMCH harvested her kidneys, heart valve, liver and eyes. The heart valve, one kidney and liver were sent to Chennai Madras Medical Mission, Fortis and Apollo Hospital by special flight, while another kidney was transplanted at KMCH.

Two eyes were sent to Aravind Eye Hospital here, it said. The child's father, a cook at Paramathivellur Government Hostel, said that he was proud that his daughter will live long through these recipients.

Dr Arun N Palaniswami, Director Quality, KMCH claimed this was the youngest child to have donated her organs outside Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
New Delhi: Reiterating that India wants friendly relations with all its neighbours, Indian External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said that the proposed foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan will depend on the action Islamabad takes on the actionable intelligence that India has provided to them.

India wants friendly relations with Pakistan, but we will not accept cross border terrorism. We now await prompt and decisive action from Pakistan, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Also Read: Pakistan must help India vis-a-vis terror attack: Daily

PM Modi has spoken to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif who assured us prompt response, Swarup said adding, Ball is now in Pakistan's court.

It will be premature for me to say anything more at this point, regarding the talks, Swarup said.

He said that Immediate issue is Pakistan's response to Pathankot attack, which has once again renewed focus on the challenge of cross-border terror.

Also Read: Indian hackers pay 'tributes' to Pathankot martyrs on Pakistani websites

We are not imposing any deadline on Pakistan but we expect prompt action, Swarup said.

We are waiting for Pakistan to take action on the actionable intelligence we have shared with them. So far we have no information if Pakistan has already started taking action against culprits, the official said.

Swarup said that India won't compromise on cross-border terror and the dialogue with Pakistan is aimed at peace and tranquillity.

Also Read: 26/11 trial: Pakistan court reserves verdict on plea to examine boat

He said that Friendship won't be at cost of cross-border terrorism.

A positive atmosphere was created after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lahore. Now New Delhi has a difficult situation in hand following the Pathankot attack.
#DP DP bristles at prosecution probes targeting top officials of previous administration The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) strongly protested prosecution investigations that led to arrest warrant requests for former top officials of the previous Moon Jae-in gov...
Thiruvananthapuram: Former defence minister AK Antony on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence on the terror attack at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab.

"There was a serious lapse and there were enough hints... but no action has been taken. Hence, Modi should tell the country as to what happened," Antony said at a public meeting here.

It was the first public appearance of the senior Congress leader after his visit to the US for a medical check-up.

"The attack occurred after Modi visited Pakistan. The country wants to know how this attack occurred. It is a serious matter. The prime minister cannot remain silent anymore and has to speak up and tell the country what happened," Antony added.

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early Saturday morning on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan. All the six terrorists were killed by security forces later.
New Delhi: Showing angst against dastardly Pathankot terror attacks, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy stirred a hornet's nest when he suggested that bodies of dead terrorists be deprived of 'honourable' burial and should rather be wrapped in pigskin.

Considering it as a deterrent to suicide attacks, Roy on Monday tweeted, I seriously suggest Russian treatment to terrorists' carcasses. Wrap them in pigskin, bury them face down in pig excreta. No chance of Houris.

Citing examples in his earlier tweets, the former BJP's West Bengal unit president had written, General Pershing put 50 Islamist Moro rebels in Philippines before a firing squad and shot 49 of them with bullets dipped in pig blood.

General Pershing put 50 Islamist Moro rebels in Philippines before a firing squad and shot 49 of them with bullets dipped in pig blood  Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) January 2, 2016

The Russians, following Genl Pershing's logic, are reportedly burying Chechen rebels in pigskin with face down, he tweeted.

However, his remarks instantly drew flak from many on the social networking site. Later, defending his stance, Roy tweeted, Abuses pour in against my tweet about Russian treatment to suicide jihadis. Message is clear: PLEASE don't do this, it'll be end of suicide attacks."

Abuses keep pouring in. But I don't understand! Why this flood of sympathy for carcasses of jihadi terrorists? Abuse me,but plz clarify  Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) January 6, 2016

Accusations galore! That a Governor can't do this,Putin is fake,RSS is terrorist. But not a word why jihadi carcasses shdnt roll in pig poop, he wrote.
Delhi/Pathankot: Even as the security agencies and the government is trying to put together pieces to unravel the Pathankot terror attack, a media report said that a former Indian Air Force officer may have leaked information about the air base.

As per a report in CNN IBN, airman Sunil Kumar was arrested for passing information about the airbase to a Pakistani woman in 2014.

He was based in Pathankot and was supposedly being paid for for the information that he passed on to the Pakistani woman, Meena Raina.

The report said that his e-mails to the Pakistani woman led to Kumar's arrest.

Meanwhile, the report pointed out that the investigators did not file a chargesheet against him within the stipulated time.

On the other hand, bringing the curtains down on Day 4, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday all six terrorists at the Pathankot air base have been killed but admitted to "some gaps" in security that led to the terror attack in which some "Pakistan-made material" have been used.

Addressing the media after a visit to the forward base that was under siege from Saturday morning, he said the terrorists were neutralised in an operation that was over in 38 hours but combing operations are still on and may continue for a day or two.

He said the combing operation is for safety purpose as there are live, unexploded bombs besides rest of the ammunition.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Facing stalemate over GST bill, Government Thursday reached out to Congress again with Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu calling on party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking her support for its passage and expressing willingness to advance Parliament's Budget Session in this regard.

This is the second major outreach of the government to the top Congress leadership on the GST bill after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Sonia and his predecessor Manmohan Singh over tea at his 7 RCR residence on November 27.

The second round of meeting between the government and the Congress top leadership appeared to indicate that some middle ground is being worked out for the passage of the crucial GST bill.

Sources said the government is enthused with unequivocal support announced by a number of regional parties to the GST bill and is toying with the idea of convening the Budget Session earlier than its normal schedule in third week of February but would like Congress to be on board on this

decision.

After a 20-minute long meeting with Gandhi at her residence, Naidu told reporters that he met Gandhi in his capacity as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and that he asked the Congress President to take a final stand on the two pending bills relating to GST and real estate.

"We had invited Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed with them the GST and other bills. In the same context, I as Parliamentary Affairs Minister of the government today met the Congress President and recalled to her that as per the discussion held earlier, Congress party should finalize its stand. They had raised some issues, which were answered by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"Since the government has already spoken to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress' Deputy Leader in the House Anand Sharma in this regard, I reminded her that a quick decision should be taken and we should move forward immediately on the GST and the Real Estate Bill," Naidu told reporters after the meeting.

Naidu said that Gandhi told him that she will discuss the issue within her party and get back to to the government. "I said if you take a positive decision, we can also call the Budget Session early. I merely gave an indication for it. I have not made any committment (regarding the early

session)," the Minister said.

Earlier when the GST bill did not see the green light in the Winter Session, Naidu had said he was ready to call on Sonia or Rahul Gandhi along with Finance Minister Arun Jaitely if that could ensure the passage of the GST bill.
Chandigarh: Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has dubbed homeopathy and astrology as bogus.

A report in the Hindustan Times on Thursday quoted Ramakrishnan as saying that the two fields are useless and harmful practices.

The Nobel laureate further asked everyone to instead focus on real science.

Ramakrishnan, a chemistry scientist, believes India should have a more rational outlook on such practices.

There is no scientific basis for how movement of planets and stars can influence our fate. There is no reason for time of birth to influence events years later. The predictions made are either obvious or shown to be random, the daily quoted Ramakrishnan as saying.

Once beliefs take root, they are hard to eradicate. A culture based on superstitions will do worse than one based on scientific knowledge and rational thoughts, he added, while slamming astrology.

Speaking against homeopathy, Ramakrishnan debunked the popular belief that the practice originated in India. He clarified that Germans had started practising homeopathy first.

They (homeopaths) take arsenic compounds and dilute it to such an extent that just a molecule is left. It will not make any effect on you. Your tap water has more arsenic. No one in chemistry believes in homeopathy. It works because of placebo effect, the Nobel winner said.

Scientists are humans. We have egos, superstitions etc. What is required is to test our ideas by experiments which protect us from false beliefs, he added.
Jammu: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is no more, leaving behind the Jammu and Kashmir chief ministership vacant.

His demise at AIIMS in Delhi early on Thursday paves the way for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti to take over the reins of the state.

Sayeed had been battling a severe chest infection in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi for the last 15 days.

The state has a deputy chief minister who belongs to the BJP and as per precedence, Nirmal Singh can look after the day-to-day affairs of governance in the absence of the chief minister.

Yet, the administrative vacuum has to be filled as soon as possible.

"If power has to be handed over to Mehbooba Mufti a constitutional process has to be followed, IANS quoted renowned constitutional expert Zafar Shah as saying.

"First, the PDP legislature party will have to elect her as its leader. Then a letter will have to be sent to the state governor by her claiming a majority in the 87-member.

"This letter will have to be accompanied by a letter of support by the BJP allies of the PDP in the Assembly or else, the PDP can elect her as the leader of the legislature party and the governor would administer her oath of office as acting chief minister asking her to prove majority on the floor of the house within 15 days.

"Since she is presently not a member of either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, Mehbooba Mufti will have to either get elected to the Assembly or be nominated as a member of the council," Shah added.

Shah also said there is no provision of a caretaker chief minister in the state Constitution.
New Delhi: Facing flak for possible ingres of terrorists from Indo-Pak border under its nose, BSF has constituted a fact-finding team headed by a DIG-level official to ascertain possible route taken by a group of terrorists who later attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.

The team will submit its report to the BSF headquarters here within a fortnight.

The headquarters has asked field commanders to provide all assistance to the five-member team which will travel to select areas along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) in Punjab and Jammu.

Officials said a meeting to deliberate on these issues was held today between Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and BSF Director General D K Pathak after which it was also decided to chalk out a fresh protocol for checking infiltration and plugging of gaps along the riverine and dense forest areas of the IB.

The said the DG reiterated during his meeting with Mehrishi that it has found no evidence of a breach or emergence of a tunnel or any secret route along the IB in these two states which could have been exploited by the terrorists to sneak in and launch the deadly attack.

The meeting, it is understood, also discussed deployment of at least two more battalions (about 2,000 personnel) of the BSF in vulnerable areas of the IB in order to keep an effective vigil on the movements here day and night.

The meeting came in the backdrop of the BSF chief undertaking a tour of the most vulnerable and sensitive areas along the IB yesterday, including Bamiyal, a border village in Pathankot, which is believed to have been used by terrorists to infiltrate into the country and subsequently attack the airbase.

Officials said the requirement to constitute the team was also for the reason that if there exists any hidden breaches along the IB which is prone to be exploited by terrorists and other elements, it needs to be checked and plugged immediately.

They said the force has thwarted 72 infiltration bids along the IB in the last year and all of these have been in the Jammu region and none in the Punjab area and hence it will be important to know if there are any vulnerable areas along the frontier here which are being clandestinely used by terrorists to cross over to India.

The BSF had also submitted a 'current ground situation' report to the Home Ministry in this regard putting forth the details of its night 'morchas' and movement of its patrol teams in these areas around the new year, when it is suspected that at least six terrorists crossed over from the other side to reach the strategically important Indian Air Force base.

The force, in the report, had also chronicled the movements and surveillance records of its satellite-based devices and imagers that detect intrusion and illegal movement along the border to validate its point.

"The force commanders have put forth the evidences to state that nothing has gone unnoticed from their eyes in the last few days," officials had said.

The BSF will also try to overhaul its border guarding and surveillance equipments so that they can act as an effective force multiplier along with ground troops.
Gurdaspur: Under scanner over his abduction claims by Pathankot attackers, Superintendent of Police (SP) Salwinder Singh was on Wednesday taken to the place near Kolian village where the incident took place on December 31.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team tried to reconstruct the entire sequence of events of Singh's 'abduction' by suspected Pakistani terrorists who later attacked the Pathankot airbase in a pre-dawn attack on January 2.

The NIA team also took the officer to the place where he was dumped by the terrorists and at the spot where his car was found abandoned.

The SP is being questioned as a suspect in the case due to inconsistencies in his version of the abduction and the versions of his two companions, a police source said. His role was put under the scanner on Tuesday evening.

Investigators are not satisfied with the explanations of the trio with regard to what happened between 9:30 pm (when the men left the shrine in Kathua district) and 12:30 am (when the trio were allegedly abducted by terrorists).

The police superintendent, who was transferred from Gurdaspur district last week only, had claimed that he, along with Verma and the cook, were stopped and abducted by 4-5 heavily-armed terrorists near Kolia village, 25 km from Pathankot, on the night of December 31.

The attack in Pathankot began early on Saturday (January 2).

He claimed that his senior officers did not take his information on presence of the terrorists seriously initially.
New Delhi: In a shot in the arm for the Indian establishment, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, and two others have been identified by the intelligence agencies as 'handlers' behind Pathankot airbase terror attack.

Other than Azhar and Rauf, the other two handlers are Ashfaq and Kashim, the sources said. Rauf was mastermind of hijack of Air India plane in Kathmandu, in 1999 which was later taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The eight-day hijack crisis had ended after release of three hardcore militants including Azhar in exchange for the freedom of passengers and crew members who were held hostage.

The news agency further reported that Pathankot airbase terror plot was hatched in Markaz in Pakistan.

The details of these four persons have been shared with Pakistan "through proper channel" and India has pressed for stern action against them as a condition for any future talks with Pakistan, the sources claimed.

JeM is based mainly in the Pakistan-administered portion of the state of Kashmir.

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early Saturday morning on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan. All the six terrorists were killed by security forces later.

Meanwhile, India today said that after the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab, the ball was in Pakistan's court on continuation of the resumed bilateral talks.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue is Pakistan's response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told a press conference here.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the Pathankot terror attack as he directed officials to speed up work on the leads given by India, sources said.

A source privy to the details said that the meeting discussed the Pathankot attack and the information shared so far by India.

"The meeting decided to speed up work on the leads given by India," he said on anonymity.
Bundi: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her school lecturer for about five months in Lakshmipura village here, police said on Thursday.

The lecturer, Ramesh Kumar Nayak, about five months ago, had threatened the victim, a class XI student, that he will upload her photos on the internet and on this pretext has raped her five-six times in a nearby jungle, Talera police station SHO, Jitendra Singh said.

Nayak, who was a Hindi subject lecturer at a secondary school, was promoted as principal and transferred to a school in Ramgangbalaji village two months ago, however, he has been in constant touch with the girl, Singh said.

The victim, in her complaint, has alleged that despite being a winter break in school, the accused had called the girl five days ago and raped her in the jungle, he said.

Seeing the deteriorating condition of their daughter while plunging into depression, her parents enquired about it and the girl narrated her ordeal to them, Singh said.

The victim yesterday along with her parents approached the police station and lodged a complaint against the accused, who has gone absconding since then, he said.

The accused, a resident of Bundi, was booked under section 376 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

The victim's medical examination was conducted last evening in a government-run hospital in Bundi.

The efforts are on to arrest the accused, the SHO said.
Seoul: South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device.

The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea claimed, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear program.

The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea's main ally, pointing to a strain in ties between the neighbors. The test also alarmed Japan and the White House said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with US President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed.

Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options.

A South Korean military official told Reuters the two countries had discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said.

The United States is also limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang, said Anthony Cordesman, a defense policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

"Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation," as well, Cordesman said.

Hours after the latest nuclear test on Wednesday, the UN Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions against Pyongyang, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive.

In the United States, Republican presidential candidates seized on the test to accuse Obama of running a "feckless" foreign policy that enabled North Korea to bolster its nuclear arms capabilities.

US congressional sources said Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives were considering a vote as soon as next week to impose stiffer punishment on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang.

North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the United States and its Asian allies without acting on it, but Pyongyang's assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturizing the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and potentially posing a new threat to the US West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

The US State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim.

The ruler of North Korea is a mental patient and would behave differently and unpredictable ways. So the south Koreans a... Read MoreRajan Loknathan

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Wednesday's nuclear test took place two days ahead of what is believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday.

North Korea called the device the "H-bomb of justice", but its state news agency also said Pyongyang would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed.
Gurdaspur: Days after terror attack on Pathankot's airbase, Gurdaspur's Tibri cantonment area has been closed after two suspicious men in army uniform were spotted near Tibri military station.

Acting on the intelligence input about Tibri on Wednesday, the entire around area around military station was already cordoned off.

Also, all Western Sector airbases have been put on high alert after the movement of two suspicious men in Pandher Village in Gurdaspur.

Intelligence input has suggested that more terrorists are at large. The search operations are underway to nab the suspicious men.

Earlier, on Jan 2, in a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab.

Several countries have condemned the terror attack in which seven securitymen were martyred.
Mysuru: Lord Shiva, who is regarded as the 'destroyer of the cosmos', was also possibly the greatest environmentalist of the world as per a young botanist, who was to present a paper in this regard in the ongoing Indian Science Congress here.

As per a report in the Hindustan Times, the botanist had pitched for the deity as the worlds greatest environmentalist but he failed to turn up at the 103rd Indian Science Congress on Wednesday.

The ongoing Science Congress here is expected to trigger fresh controversies as it did last year by making claims that aircraft existed in ancient India.

The University of Mysore, which is hosting the Indian Science Congress, is facing criticism for selecting Dr Akhilesh Pandeys paper for the environmental sciences segment.

Netizens have accused the organisers as well as the hosts at the University of Mysore of promoting a non-scientific subject in pursuit of a larger political agenda.

Clarifying on the controversy, Pandey who is a PhD in botany and has several awards and citations to his name, was reported as saying,My absence had nothing to do with the controversy. I injured my leg and thats why I couldnt come.

So what if my paper has nothing to do with science. What is science? Todays fiction is tomorrows science. Fiction is the mother of invention, he added.

Dr Pandey further contended that one of the main objectives of his paper is to promote environmental conservation.

Driving his point home, he added, All the things in science we are talking about today are all in the Vedas and the Puranas. If somebody doesnt believe me, they have to validate their position scientifically, he said over phone from Bhopal.

Dont we all worship Shiva? Why then cant we follow his path? Whether it is environmental conservation or anything else, society cant be governed by rules alone. We need religion to show us the way, he asked.

The two-page abstract of Dr Pandeys paper starts with the claim that Shiva was the worlds greatest environmentalist, but does not provide much information to support the assertion.

Instead, it goes to great lengths to explain things such as why the Hindu god is depicted with water spouting from his hair or why he sits on a tiger skin mat.

However, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, KS Rangappa, has distanced himself from the controversy and said that the institution only provided logistical support.
Srinagar: From an obscure lawyer to becoming the only Muslim Home Minister the country has seen so far, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed carved a niche for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics with the craftiness and unwavering focus of an avid bridge player he was.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free India's first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP, which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed's stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeed's rivals, projected India as a "soft state" for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

Sayeed cut his political teeth early, having joined the Democratic National Conference of G M Sadiq in the late 1950s.

Sadiq, recognising the potential of the young lawyer, appointed him as the District Convenor of the party. In 1962, Sayeed was elected to the state assembly from Bijbehara, the seat which he retained five years later. He was appointed a Deputy Minister by Sadiq, who by then had become Chief Minister.

However, he fell out with the party a few years later and joined the Indian National Congress, a courageous but risky decision at that time given the unstinted support of most Kashmiris to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who was in jail.

Considered an astute organiser and administrator, Sayeed ensured that Congress not only got a foothold in the Valley but created pockets of staunch support for the party.

In 1972, he became a Cabinet Minster and also Congress party's leader in the Legislative Council. He was made the state Congress president a couple of years later.

As he rapidly grew in stature, Sayeed saw himself as the next Chief Minister of the state. However, all hopes he might have harboured of occupying the hot seat were dashed when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi entered into an accord with Abdullah and facilitated his return as chief minister after a hiatus of 11 years, much against the wishes of Congress workers in general and Sayeed in particular.

Not the one to give up easily, Sayeed engineered a coup of sorts ahead of the 1977 elections as Congress withdrew support to Abdullah's government. The aim was to have a Congress Chief Minister - which would have been Sayeed - in place for elections to control the official machinery but Governor L K Jha brought the state under Governor's rule.

It was the first time that Jammu and Kashmir was brought under Governor's rule. Sayeed would later play a role in imposition of Governor's rule on all five occasions during his epic political career.

The results of 1977 Assembly elections all but killed Sayeed's dream of becoming the Chief Minister as Abdullah's National Conference came to power with a thumping majority.

Sayeed was a key player when Governor's Rule was imposed for the second time in the state in 1986.

The National Conference and Abdullahs have privately held the wily man from south Kashmir responsible for the intra-party rebellion against and subsequent dismissal of Farooq Abdullah by Governor Jagmohan in 1984. The power tussle between Farooq and his brother-in-law G M Shah led to a permanent estrangement and also saw the latter becoming Chief Minister with Congress support.

However, Shah's tenure also did not last long as Congress headed by Sayeed withdrew support to his government leading to imposition of Governor's rule for the second time in 1986.

When militancy broke out in Kashmir and Sayeed became the Union Home Minister, he appointed appointed Jagmohan as Governor despite protests by Farooq Abdullah, who resigned and the state came under Governor's rule again in 1990.

While the state was brought under Governor's Rule in 2002 and 2014 due to Sayeed taking time to thrash out coalition dispensations with Congress and BJP respectively, it was his manoeuvrings that saw a democratically elected government give way to administration by the Raj Bhawan in 2008.

Sayeed's PDP withdrew support to coalition government headed by Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad in July 2008 following widespread protests over the Amarnath land allotment row that pitted the people of Hindu-dominated Jammu region against the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

Sayeed's stay in national politics was relatively short.

As Farooq Abdullah warmed up to Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 to ensure his return as Chief Minister ahead of the 1987 assembly elections, Sayeed was shifted to Delhi and appointed as the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation.

He quit as tourism minister in 1987 and later co-founded Jan Morcha with V P Singh, who had quit Congress over the Bofors scandal. In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh as a Janata Dal candidate and became Union Home Minister in V P Singh's cabinet.

Towards the end of P V Narsimha Rao's tenure as Prime Minister, Sayeed returned to Congress fold with daughter Mehbooba Mufti. Sayeed won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in 1998 general elections, while Mehbooba became Congress MLA in 1996.

With his dream of becoming Chief Minister of the state still unfulfilled, Sayeed parted ways with Congress and floated a regional outfit - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - in 1999. Some of the things associated with the PDP are considered exemplary of Sayeed's political genius.

The green flag and pen-inkpot election symbol of the PDP were lifted straight from the Muslim United Front (MUF) - the Jamaat-e-Islami-led conglomerate of anti-National Conference, anti-Congress parties in 1987 assembly elections.

Though MUF received wide public support in the Valley, it had only four seats to show. Its symbols found ready acceptance in the Valley as PDP made significant gains and won 16 seats in the 2002 assembly elections. Although way short of majority in the 87-member house, Sayeed managed to bargain with Congress and secure a three-year stint as the Chief Minister on rotational basis.

Sayeed was sworn in as the ninth chief minister of state on November 2, 2002 - fulfilling a long-standing dream.

The wily politician, who enjoyed good relations across the political spectrum at national level, saw his PDP grow to 21 seats in 2008 Assembly elections but surprisingly decided to sit in the opposition.

The youngest party in the state continued to gain in strength as it not only won all the three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley in 2014 general elections but also emerged as the single largest party in the state elections later in the year.

Sayeed became the unanimous choice for Chief Minister when PDP and BJP reached an agreement to form a coalition government and took oath on March 1, 2015.
Pune: Actor Gajendra Chauhan took charge as the chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) even as the students staged a massive protest against his appointment on Thursday.

Soon after his arrival here, Chauhan chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted FTII Society in Pune.

However, his first day in office saw a large numbers of students staging a protest against Chauhan outside the FTII campus, which forced the authorities to use mild lathi charge to disperse the agitating students.

As per reports, over 20 students were detained while protesting against Chauhan outside the FTII campus. A large numbers of students were seen carrying placards and shouting slogans 'Gajendra Chauhan go back'.

The FTII has been in news for several months due to a series of protests by students over the actor's appointment.

Undeterred by the students' protest, Chauhan - a BJP member  had earlier said that he only wanted to focus on doing his job.

"I have been ordered by the government, and I will do my job. Let me go there and see. I can't comment on what they will do, but I am ready to do my job," Chauhan said.

The 59-year-old joined the office seven months after his appointment as FTII chief.

"We will be finalising the governing council and then other agenda will be discussed," Chauhan had said earlier.

Chauhan's appointment was followed by a series of protests by students and celebrated alumni of the premier film institute. Students had even gone on an indefinite strike in June last year as they questioned his professional credibility to lead the institute due to lack of "stature" and "vision".

The students finally withdrew the strike in October after 139 days.

Best known for essaying the role of 'Yudhishthir' in BR Chopra's "Mahabharat", Mr Chauhan has also appeared in small roles in films like "Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge" and "Baghban".

He was appointed as FTII chairman on June 9, 2015.
Gurdaspur: Security forces carried out daylong search operations on Thursday in sugarcane fields around Pandher village in Gurdaspur district.

The search was conducted, as per The Times of India, after local residents claimed that they had seen seen two suspected militants in the area.

Satnam Singh and Rajinder Singh had reported seeing two suspected militants in army outfit in a sugarcane field.

The Daily quoted DIG, Border Zone, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh as saying that there was no confirmation of any suspected militant spotted so far.

He added that the search operation was going on.

The report quoted another senior police official as saying that they had some clues.

The Army and police carried out aerial and ground survey to locate the position of suspected militants in the area today.

The location is situated close to Tibri cantonment.

Earlier, all the roads going towards Pandher village and traffic on Gurdaspur-Mukerian road had been diverted.

The report added that BSF and Punjab Police's SWAT team had cordoned off the area around nearly 20 to 25 acres of sugar cane fields.

Meanwhile, the operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot airbase, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is 'close to completion' with the personnel of NSG, Army and Garud commandos of IAF undertaking the task on the sprawling complex.

On the other hand, the NIA has recorded the statements of Superintendent of Police (SP) Salwinder Singh, whose role is under the scanner, and his friend Rajesh Verma, officials said adding investigations are under progress.

The 20-member NIA team is being assisted by a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory.

(With Agency inputs)
Sydney: Numerous highly venomous and potentially deadly yellow-bellied sea snakes have swashed ashore on Australia's southeastern coastline following recent wild weather caused by a significant low pressure system.

Holidaymaker Carolyne Larcombe said on Thursday that she had returned two of the distinctive sea snakes to the water while walking along Congo Beach near the small coastal town of Moruya, 304 km south of Sydney, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I thought they had a better chance of survival back in the water than up high and dry on the sand," Larcombe said.

Herpetology researcher from the Australian Museum, Ross Sadlier, said the snakes were most likely either weak or just plain unlucky to washed south by ocean currants before falling victim to the recent rough seas and washed ashore.

Yellow-bellied sea snakes have been previously sighted along the New South Wales coastline with records dating back to the early 1900s of weak and injured individuals washing ashore during strong storms, Sadlier added.
Islamabad: After promising 'prompt and decisive action' against the terrorists responsible for the attack on the crucial Pathankot air base, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday chaired a high-level meet with top ministers, National Security Advisor and intelligence officials.

Reports say that the Pakistan premier discussed the terror attack on Pathankot air base. Six terrorists in Army fatigues attacked the Air Base in Pathankot on Saturday last, leading to an encounter that lasted over four days.

A source privy to the details said that the meeting discussed the Pathankot attack and the information shared so far by India.

"The meeting decided to speed up work on the leads given by India," he said on anonymity.

The meeting was attended by Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Interior; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor; Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary; Aftab Sultan, chief of Intelligence Bureau and other officials.

In all six militants were killed in the attack which started in the wee hours of Saturday. While the bodies of four were found to be intact, the remaining two were blown into pieces.

Dialling Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Sri Lanka, Pakistan PM on Tuesday gave the assurance after New Delhi provided "specific and actionable information" to Islamabad regarding the terrorists, and Modi underlined the need for Pakistan to take "firm and immediate action" against organisations and individuals responsible for the attack.

The Sharif-Modi telephonic conversation followed the killing of all six terrorists believed to be from Pakistan.

The terrorists were carrying AK-47 rifles, modified Under Grenade Barrel Launcher, pistols, Swiss and commando knives, 40-50 kg of bullets besides 3-4 dozens of magazine and mortars.

The Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan scheduled for January 14-15 in Islamabad looks in jeopardy in the wake of the Pathankot attack.
Washington: The record of San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik`s US visa interview in Pakistan shows it was conducted without any obvious irregularities and triggered no significant suspicions, according to a source familiar with the official State Department file.

The apparent lack of anything untoward in Malik`s interview in Pakistan for a K-1 fiancee visa that she was subsequently granted underscores the difficulty facing President Barack Obamas administration as it seeks ways to improve security vetting of visa applicants. Current and former US officials with knowledge of the visa vetting process said that even if the interview and security checks had been more stringent, it is unlikely they would have turned up any red flags on Malik.

The one-paragraph interview record, details of which have not previously been reported, cites documents that Malik used to prove her relationship with US-born partner Syed Rizwan Farook, including a photograph of their engagement ceremony, e-mails and financial transfers between them, the source said.

The file shows that Malik told the consular officer who conducted the May 22, 2014 interview that she had met Farook online. The record says Malik correctly specified the date of Farook`s birthday and his job as a food safety inspector - tests to confirm that she genuinely knew him.

It contained no information about her political or religious views. The documents that Malik is believed to have shown to the interviewing officer were not retained in the file, the source said.

The brief interview report does not specify exactly where in Pakistan the interview took place, how long it lasted or the specific questions that Malik was asked.

After being granted the visa, Malik joined Farook in San Bernadino, California, where they married. She subsequently was granted a permanent residence, or Green Card, visa which required an additional security vetting process and an interview in the United States. On December 02, the couple carried out an attack in San Bernadino that killed 14 people and which US officials believe was inspired by the extremist Islamic State group.

Although the primary focus of a K-1 visa process is to authenticate an applicant`s relationship with a US person, it also involves security clearances, including checks with US spy, law enforcement and counter-terrorism agencies.

In the wake of the shootings, President Barack Obama ordered a review of the K-1 visa procedure and of a separate program that waives visas for citizens of some countries. The United States issued 35,925 K-1 visas in 2014, and rejected 15,838 applicants, according to State Department data.

A State Department official said that "all required procedures were followed" in Malik`s case, and declined to give further details.

Heavy visa workload

Several Congressional committees are investigating how Malik was granted her visa in Pakistan and have obtained copies of all or parts of her visa files compiled by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

While the probes are at an early stage, questions have been raised on Capitol Hill about the effectiveness of the visa vetting process and whether it needs to be tightened.

Some lawmakers have asked for the administration`s review to include a requirement that consular officers examine social media postings in vetting security risks.

The State Department said it already employs social media screening on a "case by case" basis and was working with other agencies to expand its use.

In Malik`s case, however, investigators say it appears there was little, if any, suspicious public online activity to find.

Although Malik`s apparent lack of previous militant activity would have made her hard to spot, the apparently routine nature of her interview highlights vulnerabilities in the U.S. vetting system, the current and former US officials said.

US authorities in Pakistan could have -- but did not -- seek a more extensive background investigation of Malik, which would have sought further details from security agencies in Washington and more on-the-ground checks in Pakistan.

The current and former officials said that consular officers who process applications and interview applicants are often junior and overburdened with casework.

Paul Pillar, a former CIA analyst, said the State Department should boost its funding for consular services to allow officers to spend more time examining each application, increasing the likelihood of rejection.

"One cannot expect U.S. consular officers to conduct the equivalent of an FBI background investigation on every visa application; the sheer volume of applications they must review would preclude doing so," he said.

Jessica Vaughan, a former U.S. diplomat and consular officer now with the Center for Immigration Studies, a group which favors tougher visa enforcement, said that front-line visa officers often favor "customer service" -- rapid processing of applications -- over thorough background or security checks.

The process could be improved quickly by increasing the number of screeners, undertaking more extensive background checks and making the interviews more rigorous, she said.

Asked whether heavy workloads were undermining the effectiveness of screening, a State Department official said the department has "increased staffing appropriately" to meet a rise in global US visa applications.
Washington: China's recent landing of aircraft on a contested reef in the South China Sea is raising tensions and promoting instability in the region, the Pentagon has warned.

A Department of Defense spokesman yesterday said three civilian flights are now believed to have landed on one of the islands, corroborating Chinese state media reports that three civilian aircraft have landed on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed Spratlys island group.

"We clearly are concerned by these flights... and we're concerned by all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the South China Sea," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters.

"Anything being done by any country to try and raise tensions over these disputed islands, and to try and militarize or engage in reclamation activities in these islands, we think only adds to instability in the South China Sea."

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have partial claims.

China has asserted its claim by rapidly building artificial islands, including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets.

"We call for a diplomatic resolution to these issues in the South China Sea and certainly these flights do nothing to foster further stability and understanding in that part of the world," Cook said.

China's initial aircraft landing on Saturday prompted a formal diplomatic complaint from Hanoi, which labelled it a violation of sovereignty. The Philippines also said it would file a protest.
London: Britain's Prince George had his first day at nursery on Wednesday, prompting his proud mother Kate to take his photograph as she and Prince William dropped him off.

The two pictures, released by royal officials, show the two-year-old prince in a navy blue quilted coat and with a sky blue rucksack on his back arriving at Westacre Montessori School Nursery in Norfolk, eastern England.

The nursery is near the family's country home at Anmer Hall, on Queen Elizabeth II's private Sandringham estate.

George, who is third in line to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles and father William, will attend the nursery while his parents are staying at Anmer Hall but not when they are at their London home, Kensington Palace.

The nursery, located in a former chapel, reportedly costs 5.50 an hour to attend.

The photographs of the third in the line to the throne, Prince George, was taken by his mother Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as she and Prince William dropped him off for his first day at nursery.

The photographs of the third in the line to the throne, Prince George, was taken by his mother Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as she and Prince William dropped him off for his first day at nursery.

While the older generation of British royals did not typically attend nursery, George is following in the footsteps of his father.

William was sent to an exclusive nursery school near Kensington Palace by his mother, the late princess Diana, who had herself worked at a nursery before her marriage to Charles.

Montessori schools are known for their liberal approach to education, which can include mixed age classrooms and encouraging children to act independently.
Washington: Top US lawmakers and experts had expressed concern over Pakistan's proliferation history and its nexus with rogue nations like North Korea in helping them acquire nuclear weapons, a month before Pyongyang successfully conducted its first hydrogen bomb test.

The issue came up for discussion during a Congressional hearing less than a month ago when top American Congressmen and experts opposed the idea of a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan as they pointed to efforts of Pakistan officials and scientists in the past to share the sensitive nuclear technologies to countries like Libya and North Korea.

"AQ Khan Network is believed to have sold sensitive nuclear technology to the most unstable countries on the planet," Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, said during a Congressional hearing on December 8, 2015.

AQ Khan is the founder of the uranium enrichment programme for Pakistan's atomic bomb project.

"It was the Khan Network that allowed North Korea to get its uranium enrichment program up and running. Khan also sold Libya design secrets and nuclear weapons components during the same time," Poe said.

"Discussions about a potential nuclear deal could send the wrong message to Pakistan, in my opinion the Benedict Arnold of American allies. Pakistan crossed the nuclear weapons threshold in 1985 under the direction of the notorious scientist, AQ Khan," he said.

"In the very early years of the network Khan established an extensive clandestine network in order to obtain necessary technologies and materials. Later on Khan used similar channels to make a profit by selling nuclear designs and materials to other countries," Poe said.

Agreed Congressman Bill Keating, Ranking Member of the same committee.

"Pakistan has a history of proliferation. The network led by one of the founders of its nuclear program AQ Khan, sold nuclear weapons related equipment and technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea," he said.

Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan ambassador to the US, told lawmakers that Pakistan has refused to abjure first use of nuclear weapons in a conflict, a position similar to that of North Korea which also claims that it fears being overrun by a superior conventional force.

"The AQ Khan network certainly supplied designs and equipment to Iran, although the Pakistani Government took the position that those were unauthorised," he said.

Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, in response to a question, indicated that Pakistan might still help deliver any type of nuclear weapon capabilities to anyone.

This week, a top American Senator had expressed concern that Saudi Arabia might buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan amidst increase in tension with Iran.

"Saudi has good relationships with Pakistan. They could just buy a weapon and again further destabilise the Middle East," Senator Ron Johnson told the CNN in an interview.
Islamabad: Days after his trip was postponed due to spiralling Saudi-Iran tensions, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister today arrived here and held talks with the Pakistani leadership on a host of issues including regional security situation and Islamabad's concerns over the 34-nation alliance to fight militancy.

Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and held delegation-level talks with the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz. He also met army chief General Raheel Sharif.

Adel briefed the Prime Minister on the details of the Islamic military alliance against terrorism after Pakistan announced its readiness to join it once all details are made available.

Sharif said that Pakistan welcomes Saudi Arabia's initiative and stressed that it supports all such regional and international efforts to counter terrorism and extremism. They also discussed regional security situation and matters of bilateral interest.

The Prime Minister called for further strengthening and expanding bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, in all fields of cooperation, including defence, security, economic and commercial ties, according to an official statement.

Adel also briefed Sharif on Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of a Shia cleric in the Kingdom.

Sharif expressed deep concern at the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

The Prime Minister called for resolution of differences through peaceful means "in the larger interest of the Muslim unity".

Adel was originally scheduled to arrive on Sunday but the trip was delayed due to Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, in the Kingdom.

During the talks with Aziz, the two sides discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and underscored the need to develop jointly a counter narrative against extremism and terrorism.

The two countries agreed to hold political consultations twice a year alternately in Islamabad and Riyadh. They agreed to make a concerted effort to promote multi-faceted cooperation and work together to defeat "common enemy ? terrorism and extremism."
Seoul: South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device.

The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea claimed, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear programme.

The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea`s main ally, pointing to a strain in ties between the neighbours. The test also alarmed Japan, whose leader told U.S. President Barack Obama in a phone call that a firm global response was needed, Kyodo news agency said.

Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options.

A South Korean military official told Reuters the two countries had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said.

The United States is also limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang, said Anthony Cordesman, a defense policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

"Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation," as well, Cordesman said.

Hours after the latest nuclear test on Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions against Pyongyang, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive.

In the United States, Republican presidential candidates seized on the test to accuse Obama of running a "feckless" foreign policy that enabled North Korea to bolster its nuclear arms capabilities.

U.S. congressional sources said Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives were considering a vote as soon as next week to impose stiffer punishment on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang.

SURPRISE

North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the United States and its Asian allies without acting on it, but Pyongyang`s assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturising the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and potentially posing a new threat to the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

The U.S. State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim.

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Wednesday`s nuclear test took place two days ahead of what is believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un`s birthday.

North Korea called the device the "H-bomb of justice", but its state news agency also said Pyongyang would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not to use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed.

The impoverished state boasts of its military might to project strength globally but also plays up the need to defend itself from external threats as a way to maintain control domestically.

Hydrogen bombs use a two-step process of fission and fusion that releases substantially more energy than an atomic bomb. However, it will likely take several days to determine more precisely what kind of device Pyongyang set off as a variety of sensors, including "sniffer planes", collect evidence.

A U.S. government source said Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of old-fashioned atomic bombs.

The size of the latest explosion was roughly consistent with previous tests and occurred in the same location as earlier tests.

The United States had been anticipating a North Korean nuclear test for some time, with intelligence indicating possible preparations such as evidence of new excavations of underground tunnels at the site.

Jeff Baden, Obama`s former top Asia adviser and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think-tank, said the test could have as much, or possibly more, to do with China as the United States.

"China`s leadership has concluded that they have to do something to build ties with North Korea, that they have sunk too low - what the North Koreans want to signal is that if we`re moving toward normal relations, its on our terms not yours.

"The long term message to the U.S. is we`re building a nuclear programme because we regard that as the only way we can stand up to you in the Korean peninsula."
Berlin: Crisis in Middle East have pushed the migrants to the brink that they are taking extreme measures to find a haven in Europe. In another heart-wrenching tale depicting migrants' plight, a Syrian refugee allowed smugglers to sexually exploit his wife daily as payment for trafficking his family to Europe.

According to New York Times' report, a 30-year-old Syrian mother of four fled the war with her family early last year. When her husband ran out of money to pay their smuggler in Bulgaria, he offered his wife as payment instead. For three months, she was raped almost daily to earn her familys onward journey.

However, instead of feeling guilty himself and with no fault of the woman, her husband soon started abusing her.

The woman now has asylum and lives in Berlin with her children. Her husband, who lives elsewhere in Germany but has stalked her on the street in Berlin at least once, is under a restraining order. But she remains too terrified to provide even her first name, for fear of being killed by him or another relative over the perception that she brought dishonor to the family, NYT report said.

As per an activist, the woman now displays all the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks, insomnia and trouble concentrating.
Delhi: Tension over the South China Sea highlights the need for the United States to maintain a strong Navy to serve as a deterrent, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday, criticizing the Obama administration for proposals he said would reduce the U.S. naval fleet.

"This just shows that we need to have a strong Navy," Ryan said at a news briefing. "We should not have a president proposing to lower our ship count to pre-World War One levels. This means we need to have a strong military and a strong Navy, and a real foreign policy, which we do not now have."

Three civilian Chinese flights have landed in recent days on a new island runway China has built in the disputed South China Sea, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Thursday.

"We`re concerned by all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the South China Sea," Cook said.

In addition to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims to territory in those waters. The first flight landed on the island on Saturday, and two flights landed on Wednesday, according to China`s Xinhua state news agency.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio echoed Ryan`s call, saying that, if elected, he would sail U.S. ships through the contested South China Sea to challenge China`s claimed air and sea rights and work with other allies in the region.

"We need to reinvigorate our Pacific military alliance, and that begins with the United States investing the resources necessary to rebuild our Navy," Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, told Fox Business Network.

The assertion about the smallest U.S. Navy since World War One has become a popular talking point among Republicans, but has been widely discounted because contemporary ships are far more advanced and significantly larger than those in use a century ago.

Neither Ryan nor Rubio said how much they would allocate in resources for the Navy.

Republicans, who are seeking to take control of the White House from the Democratic Party in the November presidential election, have made U.S. President Barack Obama`s foreign policy a key campaign issue.

The United States has not taken a stance on the competing claims, and the Obama administration has repeatedly pressed for free, lawful navigation in the area.

"We again call for all claimants to reciprocally halt land reclamation, further development of new facilities, and militarization on their outposts and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behaviour in disputed areas," State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said.

Other top Republican lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration for not conducting more patrols in the South China Sea.

U.S. Navy officials have said the dispute could lead to a possible regional arms race.

Asked if he would intervene militarily to stop such Chinese plane landings if elected, Rubio said the United States needs to challenge China`s claims. "We should reject their sovereignty over these areas and we should continue to fly our airplanes over it and sail our ships though it," he said.
25-year-old Terri Hunter has revealed that she needs to have sex up to 12 times and that her sexual addiction is out of control. The youn...
Mariana Mazzucato's The Entrepreneurial State uses empirical research to demolish the capitalist orthodoxy that holds the state to be a feckless, harmful distorter of markets.

Mazzucato, a distinguished economist at the University of Sussex, shows that the neoliberal caricature of the hapless state is an ideological fiction, obscuring the essential role that successful capitalist states assume in investing heavily in the development of long-term innovation.

She points out that the United States owes its rise as an economic powerhouse to high-risk investments that the private sector would never back, such as the development of the Internet and a huge host of pharmaceuticals. By contrast, states with a high debt/GDP ratio (such as Greece and Spain) are also states that ignored or backed off from such investments. Other countries that invest heavily in state innovation (like Germany) are their polar opposites in terms of debt/GDP.

Mazzucato warns against the danger of increasing disinvestment by the United States  a sin prominent in the previous Canadian government's narrow pursuit of quick innovation, which locked Canada into a resource-dependent economy. Mazzucato refuses to accept the orthodox view of the invisible hand of the market on faith, insisting instead upon an empirical, case-study based examination on the invisible hand of the state.

I found this eminently readable book to be extremely informative, insightful about how the state (mostly the U.S., but also some on Britain and China) has historically intervened to stimulate, provide research funds, co-ordinate private-public innovation, provide itself as a market for innovation, and create tax incentives  all to prop up the domestic economy. Mazzucato shows that when the state bears the risks of innovation, while all benefits go to the private sector, the state loses the funds it needs to seed innovation and economic growth. She ties this into growing financial inequality.

Though her theoretical references are Keynes and Schumpeter, I read the book through a Marxist lens, through which her case studies show that the state uses its financial, regulatory, and legal prowess to protect capitalism from its own worst instincts.

She enumerates the ways in which the richest neoliberal corporations  whose wealth was seeded, developed, and supported through the state's entrepreneurial interventions  have undermined the capacity of the state to continue to nurture growth. I couldn't help but reflect on Marx's description of the inherent tendencies of capitalism to create crises providing permanent instability.

But Mazzucato lays out the massive, largely invisible, interventions that states have deployed over and over to foster far-reaching innovations that support the ongoing renewal of the macro-economy.

I recommend this book. It's a must-read that provides insights beyond seeing the state only as an instrument of class domination and repression, but also as a modern phenomenon that long served as the backbone of renewal despite the overwheming rhetoric of free market capitalism as an innovative risk-taker that works best when the state is not involved.

The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths [Mariana Mazzucato/Anthem]
(Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc , under scrutiny for months over outbreaks of foodborne illness across several U.S. states, said on Wednesday it was served with a subpoena in a federal criminal probe linked to a norovirus case in California last year. Shares of the burrito chain fell more than 5 percent to $424.95, their lowest in more than two years, as the Denver-based company grapples with a wave of norovirus and E. coli outbreaks that have sickened customers and battered sales. The company in a filing also projected a 14.6 percent plunge in fourth-quarter same-store sales, compared with a previously estimated 8-11 percent drop, which would be the first such decline in the company's history. (http://1.usa.gov/1JtQlLV) Chipotle said it received the subpoena as a part of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Food and Drug Administration. A federal grand jury will decide whether to press charges in the case. Norovirus is the leading cause of food-related illnesses and outbreaks in the United States, often occurring when infected restaurant employees and food workers touch raw ingredients before serving. The highly contagious virus can cause vomiting and diarrhea. The investigation announced on Wednesday is the latest headache for the company, which has seen sales slump after an E. coli outbreak sickened more than 50 people in nine states in October and November. That outbreak was followed by a norovirus incident at a restaurant in Brighton, Massachusetts the week of Dec. 7, in which 120 Boston College students fell ill. (http://1.usa.gov/1JtQlLV) BROAD RANGE OF DOCUMENTS Chipotle said the subpoena was served in December. It requires the company to produce a broad range of documents related to the August norovirus incident at its restaurant in Simi Valley, California, which sickened more than 200 people, including 18 workers. In September, two California residents sued Chipotle for damages in U.S. court after they said they became sick from eating at the Simi Valley location. Alyssa McDonald vomited repeatedly, developed "explosive diarrhea," and suffered chest pains after eating at restaurant, according to court documents. Another customer said she had to go to a hospital emergency room for days. The Ventura County Health Department found her stool tested positive for norovirus, the lawsuit said. Ventura County health official Doug Beach said his office was interviewed by the FDA and U.S. Attorney's office in the fall. Authorities, he said, focused their lines of enquiry squarely on Chipotle. A federal investigation into a one-restaurant outbreak is surprising since there wasn't a clear interstate element, said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based lawyer who is representing customers saying they were sickened in Simi Valley. The FDA declined to comment specifically on the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment, as did Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold. Chipotle said same-store sales were trending down 16 percent at the onset of December but fell 34 percent after the Brighton incident and the subsequent national media attention it garnered. Overall same-restaurant sales for December were down 30 percent, the company said. Any more incremental bad news, particularly if there is an unfavorable decision from the grand jury, could trigger consideration among shareholders of a management change, Maxim Group analyst Stephen Anderson said. The company, which also announced a $300 million share buyback, said it will fully cooperate with the probe. The company's shares have fallen nearly 30 percent since Oct. 31, when the first E. coli outbreak was reported. (Reporting by Siddharth Cavale and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru, Sarah N. Lynch in Washington, and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Writing and additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Don Sebastian and Meredith Mazzilli)
North Korea's Nuclear Test Weighs on FEZ, the Europe-Tracking ETF

(Continued from Prior Part)

North Korea and the Eurozone

The Eurozone (EZU) is an important ally for NATO. NATO, led by the United States (SPY), has already imposed sanctions on North Korea. North Koreas claim of a hydrogen bomb test poses a direct threat to NATO and European countries. The way North Korea is ruled may not guarantee the proper use of nuclear power, which could threaten developed economies such as the Eurozone and Japan (EWJ).

It still has not been confirmed what type of bomb North Korea actually tested. Some believe it could have been an advanced nuclear weapon with high intensity of fission reactions.

Major indexes of the Eurozone

The major indexes of the Eurozone opened in the red in Wednesdays early trading and continued to trade in the negative zone. Following are the indexes and their returns as of 4:00 AM Eastern Standard Time on January 6, 2016:

The United Kingdoms FTSE 100 Index fell 0.82%.

Germanys DAX fell 0.92%.

Frances CAC 40 fell 1.1%.

Switzerlands Swiss Market Index fell 0.46%.

The major Asian indexes also fell on January 6, 2016. Japans Nikkei 225 fell 1%, and Hang Seng fell 0.99%. Major stocks of Nikkei such as Toyota Motor (TM), Honda Motor (HMC), and Sony (SNE) fell 2.0%, 0.66%, and 2.2%, respectively, that day.

North Korea said the nuclear test is a protection tool

According to KCNA (Korean Central News Agency), North Korea has successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear bomb. North Korea wants the hydrogen bomb as a protection from the ever-growing nuclear threat. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe immediately said Japan absolutely cannot tolerate the bomb, which is a big threat to Japans security.

In the next part of this series, well look at FEZs various industries and how they performed on January 5, 2016.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
By Melissa Fares NEW YORK (Reuters) - The global Twitterati set their sights on Twitter on Wednesday, widely decrying a reported plan by the microblogging site to blow out its length limit to as much as 10,000 characters. The plan, first reported by Re/code late on Tuesday, sparked huge traffic on the hashtag #Twitter10k, with most of the posts there pleading for Twitter not to lift its long-standing 140-character limit. "Dear Twitter, Let's not," wrote Lab Girl (@LeanN_Mean) in a typically concise post. Another Twitter user, Carl Bovis(@CarlBovis_AFC) tweeted: "10,000 characters Twitter?!! If I wanted to read War and bloody peace I'd ditch my phone and go to a library!" Many users cited examples of materials that will turn up on the site if it runs its length limit up that far. "If twitter expands to 10,000 characters a tweet, somebody's gonna tweet the entire bee movie script. That is the day I leave this website," tweeted Kyla Jackson (@kylakeys). Paul Courtney (@Paul_Courtney) tweeted: "The script for entire Princess Bride Cliffs of Insanity rope climb & Inigo/Westley fight scene is 6400 characters. Let that pickle, @twitter" The plan is Twitter's latest attempt at reinvention as it struggles to spur revenue and user growth, and it could be rolled out at the end of first quarter, according to Re/code. Although Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey did not directly confirm, he strongly hinted at the new feature. "We've spent a lot of time observing what people are doing on Twitter and we see them taking screenshots of text and tweeting it," he tweeted on Tuesday. "Instead, what if that text ... was actually text? Text that could be searched. Text that could be highlighted. That's more utility and power." Many users groaned that would make Twitter too similar to arch-competitor Facebook Inc. Giridharan (@imchampgiri) tweeted: "I don't want to read novels here, @twitter. Facebook's already the place for that. #Twitter10k" Social media sentiment towards Twitter Inc. was at positive 20 percent on Wednesday - meaning there are 20 percent more positive tweets than negative ones mentioning Twitter - after falling to negative territory a day earlier when the news first broke. Despite the recovery, it was a significant fall from around positive the 70 percent sentiment rating it had earlier in the year, according to Thomson Reuters social media sentiment engine. The stock price fell 2 percent to $21.46 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Melissa Fares; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Jeffrey Dastin (Reuters) - United Continental Holdings Inc said Chief Executive Oscar Munoz underwent a heart transplant on Wednesday, but it expects him to return to the helm of the second-largest U.S. airline by the spring. The transplant was the preferred method of treatment and not a setback for Munoz, United said in a statement. Munoz, 57, has been on medical leave since suffering a heart attack in October, and Brett Hart, the company's general counsel, has run the airline in the interim. The company, which has sought to assuage concerns that shake-ups had left an inexperienced team running its business, said it expects Munoz to come back by the end of the first quarter or beginning of the second quarter. That suggests a potential delay from the early 2016 return that United had previously forecast. "I'm sure investors are more worried than they were this morning," said Adam Hackel, an analyst at Sterne Agee CRT, which cut its target for United's share price to $70 from $78 after the news. United said it will provide more information in the next 24 hours. The carrier's shares were unchanged at $55.20 in after-market trading. About 88 percent of people who have a heart transplant survive the first year following surgery, with the rate dropping to 75 percent after five years and 56 percent after 10 years, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Patients often remain in the hospital recovering for one to two weeks after the transplant, the institute said. Less than 30 percent of patients return to their jobs even though most are able to resume normal activity levels, it said. Munoz became CEO in September after the airline's chief of five years, Jeff Smisek, resigned following a probe into the company's relationship with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The airline has pursued Munoz's agenda of rebuilding workers' morale and raising customer satisfaction - lowest among rivals in J.D. Power's 2015 ranking - by striking tentative contract deals and improving on-time performance in his absence. (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Tom Brown and Edwina Gibbs)
By Ian Simpson

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A Maryland judge and lawyers failed on Thursday to set a new trial date after a mistrial for a police officer charged with manslaughter in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray, a court spokeswoman said.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams met with defense lawyers and prosecutors to discuss a new trial date for Officer William Porter, 26, after a jury was unable to reach a verdict after three days of deliberations.

"So far, we have no new trial date, that's the news," the state courts spokeswoman said. She said Williams and the lawyers could meet again on the trial issue.

Porter faces involuntary manslaughter and other charges. He is the first of six police officers to go on trial in the high-profile case.

Gray's death in April from a broken neck suffered in a police van after an arrest triggered rioting in the mainly black city of 620,000 people. It also stoked a U.S. debate on police treatment of minorities.

Legal experts have said the outcome of the Baltimore trials could influence U.S. prosecutors in bringing similar charges in cases of alleged police brutality.

Williams' decision on a mistrial prompted protests but police reported a peaceful night. Two protesters were arrested.

David Jaros, an associate law professor at the University of Baltimore, said prosecutors likely still wanted to try Porter first so that he could later testify against Officer Caesar Goodson, the van driver.

Goodson's trial on charges that include second-degree murder is set to start Jan. 6.

The mistrial "leaves the state in a difficult position," Jaros said. "The state's attorneys need Porter to place Goodson in the narrative of what happened to Freddie Gray."

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, in an interview with MSNBC, said she was not in a position to judge whether city prosecutor Marilyn Mosby had rushed to file charges as Baltimore was in turmoil following Gray's death.

Story continues

"I think that's the judgment of the public to make as a result of how these cases bear out, she said.

Porter, who like Gray is black, was charged for neglecting to seat-belt him in the transport van and failing get Gray medical help when he asked for it.

Besides involuntary manslaughter, Porter is charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

(Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Paul Tait and Meredith Mazzilli)
By James Oliphant and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To Republican U.S. presidential contenders, North Koreas claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb may further make the 2016 race what they dearly want it to be: a referendum on President Barack Obama's foreign policy and, by extension, Hillary Clintons. For months, these Republicans have liked to say the world is "on fire," pinning the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and the recent tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia on Obamas administration and Clintons stint as his secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Now, they can add North Korea to the threats they say face American voters. "When China fell to the communists (in 1949), the question that dogged the Truman administration was: 'Who lost China?'" said John Feehery, a Republican strategist. "The question that will dog the Democrats is: Who lost North Korea?" The criticism on foreign policy has ratcheted up the pressure on Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee in November's election, to take a harder line on national security without handing Republicans more ammunition to argue that Obama's stewardship has been a failure. Analysts said Republicans may have little room to maneuver since the Obama administration's approach toward containing North Korea did not differ materially from the one used by Republican George W. Bush's administration before it. "Theyve been a headache for every Democrat. Theyve been a headache for every Republican," Michael Rubin, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said of the North Koreans. "North Korea may be the last remaining foreign policy quagmire that hasn't been politicized in a partisan fashion." That does not mean Republican candidates did not try on Wednesday after North Korea's announcement. They said Obama's foreign policy let North Korea bolster its nuclear arms capabilities, and also assigned blame to Clinton. "Three out of the four nuclear detonations that the North Koreans have done have happened on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's watch," New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told Fox News, "and they have just not acted strongly at all around the world." Clinton condemned North Korea's move as "dangerous and provocative," and said the United States should respond with more sanctions and stronger missile defenses. She also defended her performance as Obama's top diplomat. "As secretary, I championed the United States' pivot to the Asia Pacific - including shifting additional military assets to the theater - in part to confront threats like North Korea and to support our allies," Clinton said in a statement. "I worked to get not just our allies but also Russia and China on board for the strongest sanctions yet." PRESSURE ON CHINA Businessman Donald Trump, leading the race for the Republican nomination, urged China to rein in its ally North Korea or face trade repercussions. "China should solve that problem," Trump told Fox News. "And if they don't solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China. ... North Korea is totally under their control. Without China, they wouldn't eat," Trump added. Texas Senator Ted Cruz blamed North Korea's test on the "folly" of failed policies by Obama and Clinton. Cruz said as president he would "rip to shreds" the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program and predicted if Clinton is elected in November Iran would detonate a nuclear weapon, "sadly not as a test," over a city like Tel Aviv, New York or Los Angeles. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul advocated drawing on China's influence with North Korea and possibly increasing sanctions on the isolated communist state. "There are no easy solutions," Paul told CNN. "You want me to magically wave a wand and all of a sudden their nuclear weapons are gone?" Paul's remarks illustrated the bind Republicans find themselves in. While North Korea's action may buttress their argument that it is time for their party to assume control of the White House, there is a relatively small range of policy options for their candidates to advocate, analysts said, short of calling for U.S. intervention in the region. That was ruled out by not only the Obama administration but the Bush administration before it. Diplomacy has been tried for years. In 2005, North Korea reached an agreement with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia to suspend its nuclear program in return for diplomatic rewards and energy assistance. Negotiations collapsed after the last round of talks in 2008, with North Korea declaring the deal void after refusing inspections to verify compliance. "I dont think she is going to move to advocate a military option," Scott Snyder, who heads the U.S.-Korea program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said of Clinton. "She will exploit the perception that Republicans are moving too quickly into that space. This is one (issue) where she doesn't necessarily have to move to the right. She has the advantage of having the cliff on her backside." (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Steve Holland, Michelle Conlin and Alana Wise; Writing by James Oliphant; Editing by Will Dunham)
By Nael Shyoukhi RIYADH (Reuters) - Syria's opposition wants a political transition without President Bashar al-Assad, the coordinator of an opposition negotiating body in future peace talks said on Friday. The United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and major European and Arab powers outlined a plan last month for a political process in Syria leading to elections within 18 months, in the hope of ending its five-year-old civil war. It includes a nationwide ceasefire and six months of talks beginning in January between Assad's government and the opposition on forming a unity government. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and more than a dozen other ministers will meet for a third time in New York on Friday in an effort to keep up momentum toward a peace deal. Riad Hijab, elected on Thursday as coordinator by an opposition body set up in Saudi Arabia last week, said Security Council resolutions and the Geneva 1 road map drawn up in 2012 provided for a political transition in Syria without the president and a transitional governing council with full executive powers. "We are going into negotiations on this principle, we are not entering talks (based on) anything else. There will be no concession," he told reporters on Friday. Hijab's position highlights the deep differences over Assad's fate and a future political transition in Syria among the parties to the talks. Western diplomats say Western powers, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others have reluctantly agreed to allow Assad to remain in place during a transition period, a compromise that has opened the door to a shift in Russia's stance. Moscow has made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to the president stepping down eventually as part of a peace process, in a softening of its staunch backing of Assad, diplomats said. Like Russia, Iran is a firm ally of Assad and is helping him militarily against anti-government forces. TRUST-BUILDING MEASURES On Thursday, Hijab, who defected from Assad's government in 2012, won the backing of more than two thirds of the 34 delegates of opposition groups summoned to Riyadh by world powers in a bid to unite them and settle longstanding rivalries. A new body includes representatives of fighting groups such as the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Free Syrian Army units that have received military support from states such as Saudi Arabia and the United States. But it does not include the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, or Islamic State, among the strongest opponents of Assad. Divisions within the Syrian opposition have hampered efforts to resolve the conflict. Hijab said the body had formed a negotiating delegation and committees that would deal with legal issues and international affairs and support, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. He said that before any negotiations, Assad's forces must implement trust-building measures like releasing prisoners, especially women and children, stopping barrel bombings and allowing humanitarian aid. "We will not accept any pressure. The aims of the revolution and the international resolutions, we cling to them, and we will not give them up," Hijab said. "I call it a battle in terms of the negotiation process and the political process. It is in tandem with what is happening on the ground," he added. "Our first option is the peaceful option. But if it's not complete, the other option will continue and will not stop ... until it fulfils the aims of toppling the illegitimate regime." (Reporting by Nael Shyoukhi; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Andrew Roche)
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By Marice Richter

FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The mother of a Texas teenager, derided for a defense of "affluenza" in his trial for killing four people while driving drunk, was flown on Thursday to Texas from California and charged with helping her son escape to Mexico after he was suspected of violating probation.

Tonya Couch, 48, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in Tarrant County on a third-degree felony charge of helping her son Ethan, 18, flee after he was suspected of violating a probation deal that kept him out of prison.

During his trial for the 2013 accident, a psychologist testified on Couch's behalf that he had "affluenza," meaning he had lost the ability to recognize right from wrong after being spoiled by his wealthy family. The diagnosis, which is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, was widely ridiculed.

Ethan was sentenced in Tarrant County to 10 years of drink- and drug-free probation, which critics saw as leniency because of his family's wealth.

Couch and her son left Texas after a video surfaced on social media in early December showing Ethan at an alcohol-fueled party. The video raised questions about whether he had violated his probation agreement, which was reached in juvenile court after the fatal accident.

Ethan Couch is in a Mexican immigration detention facility while he fights deportation, which could take months. His mother did not formally apply to stay in Mexico.

She was deported in late December and sent to Los Angeles where she was taken into custody. She will be held on a bond of $1 million in Tarrant County, officials said.

Live television footage from broadcaster WFAA showed Couch being led off a plane and placed in a sport utility vehicle.

She is due to be arraigned on Friday morning on a charge of hindering the apprehension of a fugitive, said Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, who met Couch at the airport.

"She was very quiet, very reserved, respectful and surprisingly, she was very appreciative," he said at a news conference.

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Ethan faces about four months in Texas custody if he is found to have violated the terms of his probation. Tarrant County prosecutors said they were looking at additional charges that could keep him in custody longer.

"It is not a question of if he is coming back, it is a question of when he is coming back," Anderson said.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Suzannah Gonzales; Additional reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Alistair Bell, Bill Trott and James Dalgleish)
Zliten (Libya) (AFP) - Suicide bombers in Libya attacked a police training school and a checkpoint Thursday, killing more than 56 people and prompting renewed calls for unity in a country torn by rivalries and jihadist threats.

The deadliest incident was in the coastal city of Zliten, where a truck bomb exploded outside the school, killing more than 50 people, a security source said.

The attack was the deadliest since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

A witness in Zliten, about 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Tripoli, told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the compound at the time.

Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people were killed and at least 100 wounded. Victims were rushed to several hospitals and urgent calls were issued for blood donations.

The blast blew out windows and charred concrete buildings inside the compound and turned cars into black and twisted wrecks, reported an AFP correspondent from the scene.

Hours later another bomber drove an explosives-packed car into a checkpoint in a key oil region under recent assault by the Islamic State (IS) group, killing six people, including a baby.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent. Eight people were also wounded.

Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, told AFP: "A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf."

Hodeiri, who was at the scene, aid three guards and a 16-month-baby were among the dead.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has claimed previous suicide bombings and other atrocities.

IS has been growing in power in Libya, feeding on the chaos that has gripped the country since the revolution.

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On Monday it launched an offensive against the oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra, after trying for weeks to push east from its stronghold of Sirte.

The terminals are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along the northern coast, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

- Calls for unity -

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The internationally recognised government condemned the attack as a "cowardly terrorist act" and called for the lifting of an arms embargo it says has prevented authorities from tackling IS.

A deputy defence minister for the Tripoli-based government, Mohammad Bashir al-Naas, vowed to revenge.

"The perpetrator is not known but he is a coward. He kills our sons from the shadows. We must avenge them and do everything possible to protect them," he told a press conference.

Hundreds of people braved the cold and high winds Thursday afternoon to attend a prayer service for the victims of the truck bombing at Zliten's stadium.

The United Nations is pressing Libya's rival sides to implement a power-sharing deal agreed last month on forming a unity government.

UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler said implementing the political agreement was crucial.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote on Twitter.

EU policy chief Federica Mogherini also urged Libyans to back the unity deal.

"The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... they have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country," she said.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, offered its support in helping to bring stability.

"In the face of this terrorist threat, the first answer must be unity among Libyans," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. "It is urgent that the recently signed political agreement be implemented."

- 'Struggle for power' -

World powers fear Libya could descend further into chaos and become an IS stronghold on Europe's doorstep.

In a report to the UN Security Council in November, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that IS had been responsible for at least 27 car and suicide bombings in Libya in 2015.

The group claimed responsibility for suicide car bombings in the eastern town of Al-Qoba in February that killed at least 40 people.

Calls have been growing for a possible foreign military intervention to bring stability to Libya and contain IS, which is reported to have at least 3,000 fighters in the country.

Mohamed Eljarh, a Libya analyst with the Atlantic Council, said the Zliten attack was aimed as a show of strength and to highlight the vulnerability of security forces.

"Despite IS's evident presence in Libya, various political groups are still consumed with their struggle for power and control."
Tehran (AFP) - Iran said Thursday it would protest to the UN Security Council after it accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

"During an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded," Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said, quoted by official news agency IRNA.

"We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours," he said.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa," he said.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes since March in Yemen against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.

The Iranian accusations came days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Several allies of Saudi Arabia, including Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia followed suit in cutting ties, as the crisis between the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shiite Muslim drew international concern.

Abdollahian on Thursday also rejected Bahrain's claim of Iranian involvement in an alleged "terrorist" cell that was plotting attacks in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain announced Wednesday it had dismantled the cell, which it said was linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia and was planning to carry out a series of bombings.

"There is absolutely no link between this fabricated scenario and the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdollahian said.
(Reuters) - Liverpool will be without Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure and Philippe Coutinho for Friday's FA Cup third-round match at fourth-tier Exeter City. All three picked up injuries in the 1-0 win over Stoke City in the first leg of their Capital One (League) Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Croatia defender Lovren and Brazil playmaker Coutinho will also miss Premier League games against Arsenal and Manchester United, manager Juergen Klopp told a news conference on Thursday. "Phil's [injury] is more serious than Dejan and Kolo but none of these players will be available tomorrow," Klopp said. "Kolo should be available next week, Dejan will be available after Manchester United. Phil needs one to two weeks longer." The German said he would be forced into fielding a makeshift side against Exeter. "The team that plays tomorrow will want to win this game 100 percent but it will be a team that hasn't played together too often," added Klopp. "I don't know who will be available. We will train in two hours and see who will play." Klopp also responded to Sunderland counterpart Sam Allardyce's allegations that the high-intensity pressing strategy he has introduced at Anfield was responsible for the injury crisis. "I'm glad for Sam, that such an experienced manager has time to think about Liverpool's problems," the German said. "The problem is that, in this situation, we speak about the intensity of my style. I didn't create this style, how could I? I'm not a genius. "We try to be successful but you need a little bit of luck, we haven't had this," added Klopp. (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Tony Jimenez)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Wednesday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye about the international response to North Korea's nuclear test, the White House said. Obama reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security, and the two leaders agreed to work on a "united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior," the White House said in a statement. "Separately, the president congratulated President Park on the recent agreement between the ROK (South Korea) and Japan to resolve the longstanding 'comfort women' issue, and commended two of our most important allies for having the courage and vision to forge a lasting settlement to this difficult issue." (Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Jonathan Allen and Jim Urquhart BURNS, Ore. (Reuters) - The leader of a group of armed men who took over a U.S. wildlife refuge in remote southeastern Oregon said on Wednesday they know they will have to go home, but they want results from their protest and feel it is not "quite time yet." The takeover that began on Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles (48 km) south of the small town of Burns, is the latest skirmish in the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion, a decades-old conflict over federal control of land and resources in the U.S. West. Launched following a bigger demonstration in support of two imprisoned local ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, the occupation has been marked by daily media briefings from the protesters, and by federal law enforcement agents keeping watch from a distance. "There is a time to go home, we recognize that. We don't feel it's quite time yet," protest leader Ammon Bundy told a news conference at the refuge on Wednesday. "We feel like we need to make sure the Hammonds are out of prison, or well on their way. We need to make sure there is some teeth in these land transfers. And also that those who have committed crimes, those are exposed as well." Bundy said the group was compiling evidence to clear the Hammonds, who began longer prison terms this week for setting fires that spread to federal land. Bundy said witnesses told them the blazes were started by federal agents. "We believe we have enough of this to exonerate the Hammonds," he said. "If that is the only thing that is accomplished, then it will be well worth our effort." Many residents of Burns see the occupation as the work of outsiders, and the Hammonds' lawyers have sought to dissociate themselves from the protesters. Bundy is the son of a Nevada rancher who, along with a large group of armed men, stared down federal agents in 2014 when they tried to seize his cattle over unpaid grazing fees. Asked what would need to happen for his group to quit the refuge, Bundy said: "Enough is enough when there's actual action that is happening, and when things are actually transpiring, and we'll know when that happens." OCCUPIERS SPOOKED In a sign of simmering tensions, a Reuters witness said there was angry shouting and that the protesters, several of whom had been eating dinner, grabbed their rifles to investigate an unexpected arrival at the site late on Wednesday. The occupiers later said three men had turned up, one of them known to the protesters, prompting an altercation and minor injuries to one of the occupiers. They said the three men, whose identities remained unclear, left in the direction of town. Harney County Sheriff David Ward had told a packed community meeting in Burns earlier on Wednesday that the protesters had hijacked a peaceful rally and needed to leave now. "Go home. Work your differences with whoever out through the appropriate channels, and let us get back to our lives," Ward said to applause. "I don't want to see a single person hurt. ... In fact, when I wake up tomorrow, I want to have pleasant thoughts about you - that you did the right thing, that you packed your bags, and you went home." Neither protesters nor authorities have said how many people are involved in the occupation. About a dozen protesters have been visible at the site. They have not been showing weapons in recent days. U.S. Representative Greg Walden, whose congressional district includes Burns and Malheur, said on Wednesday he had been on the phone to the county judge and local ranchers until late on Tuesday night. "Americans have the right to protest. It should not take this form. And it is time for those who are there to depart. They've made their case," the Republican congressman told reporters in Washington. He also said he viewed the five-year sentence imposed on the Hammonds as excessive. The reactions in Burns, a town of 3,000 people about 280 miles (450 km) southeast of Portland, have included sympathy for the well-known Hammonds, suspicion of the federal government's motives, and criticism of the occupiers. At a news conference on Wednesday, leaders of the Burns Paiute Tribe, whose reservation is not far from the wildlife refuge, said it was time for the protesters to say good-bye. "We as Harney County residents don't need some clown to come in here and stand up for us," said the Native American tribal council's sergeant at arms, Jarvis Kennedy. He mocked the protesters' assertions they want to help the community, while local children stayed home because schools were closed over concerns about possible violence. "They're scaring our people," Kennedy said. "They need to get out of here." (Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Jim Urquhart; Additional reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Richard Cowan in Washington; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar recalled its ambassador to Iran on Wednesday, state news agency QNA said, after allies Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cut their ties with Tehran following attacks on Saudi missions by Iranian protesters. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have spiraled since the execution of a Shi'ite cleric in Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Wednesday Djibouti cut ties with Iran and Jordan summoned Iran's envoy in Amman to condemn Sunday's attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters angered at the execution of cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. "The ministry summoned this morning Qatar's ambassador to Tehran against the backdrop of attacks on the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran," QNA quoted Khalid Ibrahim Abdulrahman Al-Hamar, the director of the Asian Affairs Department, as saying. Qatar's foreign ministry called the embassy attack a "violation of international charters and norms that ensure the security and protection of diplomatic missions and their members". Qatar shares with Iran access to the worlds largest natural gas field beneath the waters of the Gulf. Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday, while the United Arab Emirates has partially downgraded diplomatic relations. Iran has accused the Sunni Muslim monarchy of Saudi Arabia of using the attack on the embassy as an "excuse" to sever ties and further increase sectarian tensions. Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution of al-Nimr, an outspoken opponent of the ruling Al Saud family. (Reporting by Tom Finn; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
By Tommy Wilkes ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister arrived in Pakistan on Thursday, where he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is keen to use the two-day visit to defuse spiraling sectarian tension between the Sunni-majority kingdom and Shi'ite Iran. Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric on Saturday inflamed tension across the Middle East and infuriated Iran, Riyadh's main rival in the region. Several of Saudi Arabia's Sunni allies have broken diplomatic ties with Iran after demonstrators ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran this weekend. Pakistan, which borders Iran and has a large Shi'ite minority, has sought to avoid taking sides as Sharif tries to stem sectarian violence at home and boost economic ties with both Saudi Arabia and Iran. "Pakistan expressed deep concern at the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of (the) Saudi Embassy in Tehran," Sharif's office said in a statement. "The Prime Minister called for (the) resolution of differences through peaceful means in the larger interest of the Muslim unity." Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also met army chief General Raheel Sharif and Sharif's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz. The visit comes after Pakistan last month distanced itself from an anti-Islamic State coalition announced by Saudi Arabia, which had named Pakistan as a member. Pakistan also declined a Saudi call to join a Riyadh-led intervention, backed by most Sunni Gulf Arab states, in Yemen last year to fight Iranian-allied rebels. "Pakistan can't afford to provide what Saudi Arabia is looking for," said Mosharraf Zaidi, an Islamabad-based commentator, adding that it had the most of any Muslim nation to lose from a broader sectarian breakdown between Sunnis and Shias. "The real trick is to find a way to send him (Al-Jubeir) back happy without giving him anything that would upset his Iranian counterpart." Pakistan wants to deepen trade links with both Iran and Saudi Arabia and improve access to their vast energy resources to fuel its power-hungry economy. It hopes to finish a major gas pipeline to Iran if sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program are lifted. But Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have cultivated a close alliance for decades, and Sharif spent time in political exile in Saudi Arabia in the 2000s, after he was ousted in a military coup. In 2014, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan $1.5 billion as a "gift" to shore up its foreign reserves. (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Catherine Evans)
Westinghouse Electric Company said Thursday that its nuclear fuel processing facility in Britain had reached a milestone in Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology. From the small town of Chorley, England, northwest of Manchester, the company said that its Springfields facility had reached the requirements necessary to manufacture Westinghouse SMR fuel.

This is a first for Britain, Westinghouse said, adding that the readiness milestone is an important part of Westinghouse's proposed partnership with the U.K. Government to deploy SMR technology.

Westinghouse envisions the United Kingdom as advancing to the point it becomes a global provider for advanced SMR technology. A critical benefit to that development would be highly skilled, highly paid jobs, something that no other SMR technology provider currently offers ... in the U.K., said Westinghouse Springfields Managing Director Mick Gornall in a statement.

The milestone in SMR fuel processing was achieved following a readiness assessment based upon fabrication data for two proprietary SMR fuel assemblies manufactured at Westinghouse's Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Columbia, S.C.
New York State Medical Marijuana Program Launches Today

As of Jan. 5, nearly 150 doctors statewide had registered for the program and can certify their patients, if clinically appropriate for their qualifying condition and consistent with the department's guidance and regulations.

New York State's medical marijuana program launches Jan. 7 as scheduled, the New York State Department of Health announced. This date is 18 months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act and two weeks after the department launched its online Medical Marijuana Patient Certification and Registration System. Qualified New York patients can enroll in the Medical Marijuana Program so they can buy medical marijuana when it becomes available this month; they must receive a DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification from a registered physician and then access the registration system to apply for a registry ID card. Information regarding registration is available at http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/medical_marijuana/patients/.

As of Jan. 5, nearly 150 doctors statewide had registered for the program and can certify their patients, if clinically appropriate for their qualifying condition and consistent with the department's guidance and regulations. Medical marijuana will be available to certified patients suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, intractable spasticity caused by damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, and Huntington's disease, according to the department.

"Governor Cuomo gave us an extremely ambitious timeline to get the Medical Marijuana Program up and running, and I am pleased that we have met his goals. Our program ensures the availability of pharmaceutical-grade medical marijuana products for certified patients and establishes strict regulatory controls to protect public health and safety," said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.

Patients with valid registry ID cards are eligible to buy medical marijuana from a dispensing location. The department chose five organizations on July 31, 2015, to grow marijuana and manufacture it into approved forms, and each of them operates a manufacturing facility and four dispensing facilities. As of Jan. 7, eight dispensing facilities are open for business in Onondaga, Erie, Albany, Ulster, and Westchester Counties and in Manhattan, and more will open later this month. Locations of the dispensing facilities can be found at http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/medical_marijuana/application/selected_applicants.htm.
OSHA: Serial Violator Exposes Employees to Fall Hazards

High & Dry Roofing faces $152,460 in proposed penalties from OSHA and now is in the agency's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Acting on a complaint, OSHA inspectors visited a Litchfield, N.H., contractor's site and now has cited his company, High & Dry Roofing, and placed it in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program for repeatedly putting workers in danger of deadly and disabling falls. Two willful violations of workplace safety standards and $152,460 in proposed penalties were issued.

"This is a repeat violator who knowingly and needlessly refuses to follow basic safety procedures. High & Dry Roofing employees face the risk of death or disabling injuries every time their employer denies them vital and legally required safeguards," said Rosemarie Ohar Cole, OSHA's area director for New Hampshire.

Four repeat violations were cited for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on scaffolds, lack of hard hats and eye protection for workers, and failure to guard the operating parts of an air compressor against contact. Four serious violations involved locating scaffolding too close to a live, 240-volt electrical line; inadequate scaffold access; using ladders on scaffold platforms; and failing to provide training to workers on fall protection.
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida joked almost 70 years ago that if Japan had kept better data, it might never have started a war with the U.S. His grandson, Finance Minister Taro Aso, worries about flawed statistics that could mislead economic policy makers today.

While Japan isnt alone in questioning the reliability of data, the stakes are rising again as the Bank of Japan forges on with its record stimulus program and debate rages over whether the economy can withstand another sales-tax hike, planned for April 2017.

Investors also have been led astray, notably by revisions to growth figures. Last year, initial gross domestic product data showed Japan falling into recession in the third quarter, which pushed down stocks and the yen on the news. Three weeks later, revised data showed the economy actually grew 1 percent.

The poor quality of data has long been a problem and, if anything, it is worsening, said Richard Jerram, chief economist at Bank of Singapore Ltd., who has analyzed Japan and other Asian economies for more than 20 years. It is hard to set fiscal or monetary policy if you do not have a reliable view on the recent performance.

This recent data isnt the first instance of such a large change, with quarterly GDP over the past 10 years being revised an average 1.7 percentage points from when it was first released. The cabinet office is sloppy in its calculations, Aso recently joked to Economy Minister Akira Amari, who runs that department.

While economic indicators such as confidence surveys, corporate profits and labor market measures suggest that the economy is doing fine, GDP is just noise, Jerram said.

Consumption tax receipts have been much stronger than expected, even as GDP data showed private consumption was much weaker than the governments forecast, said Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP Paribas SA in Tokyo. This raises the question whether consumption in the GDP data may have been under-measured since 2014.

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The problems:





Household spending report





Aso has questioned if private consumption data is under- counting how much people actually spend. In a submission to the governments economic policy committee, he noted the over- representation of elderly consumers in the sample, and pointed out the increasing divergence between demand-side spending data and supply-side retail sales data. Economists have said the sample size is small.





Labor survey (wages)





One of the governments and BOJs main aims is to get companies to raise wages. If the data is unreliable, then its hard to see how successful these policies have been. Aso pointed out that a change in the sample of companies surveyed may have caused the data to be discontinuous, raising questions about its accuracy.





Capital spending





The initial reading of GDP uses supply-side industrial production data, and this is then combined with demand-side statistics on capital spending when GDP is updated a few weeks later. These changes partly caused third quarters GDP to be revised upward. Economists suggest the government release demand-side data earlier so it can be included in the initial GDP announcement.





Consumer price index





Online shopping made up 2.1 percent of retail sales in Japan in 2014, according to the trade ministry. However, most prices at online stores such as Rakuten Inc. may not be included in the CPI data, Aso said, raising questions about the accuracy of this essential data.

The government is looking to improve the quality of its statistics. A committee is examining some data, including household spending, wages and capital investment, and is set to compile a report in March.





To contact the reporters on this story: Keiko Ujikane in Tokyo at kujikane@bloomberg.net; Kyoko Shimodoi in Tokyo at kshimodoi@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net James Mayger, Jodi Schneider
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday Germany must have a "fundamental" debate about how to integrate newcomers, as police identified 16 people suspected of a shocking rash of sexual assaults blamed on migrants. As outrage grew over the assaults, which included two alleged rapes and several accounts of groping during New Year's Eve festivities in Cologne, Merkel said citizens were right to raise serious questions. She pledged strong action and stressed that "we must also speak again about the cultural fundamentals of our co-existence". Some 121 complaints have been filed so far, with police saying they are investigating "16 young men... mostly of North African origin" although no one has yet been charged. Investigators are trawling through CCTV footage and examining witness accounts to determine whether the suspects were implicated, police added. About three-quarters of the cases involved sexual offences, while others related to theft or bodily harm. Welcoming the fact that large numbers of alleged victims have come forward, Merkel said there were "very serious questions that go beyond Cologne" for Germany. The attacks have shown that there is in "some quarters, contempt for women," she said. "We need to confront that with utmost determination," Merkel said, adding that she did not believe that the cases were isolated. Although authorities have said there are no indications that the perpetrators of the assaults were asylum seekers, critics of Merkel's open-door approach to those fleeing war have seized on the opportunity to draw a link. With debate mounting over whether to make it easier to expel convicted asylum seekers, Merkel vowed to consider further action. "We need to re-examine if everything necessary has been done with regards to expulsions to send a clear signal to those who do not respect our law." - 'Too many at the same time' - The assaults plaguing the Rhineland city during New Year's festivities were not isolated, with the northern port city of Hamburg also hit. Some 70 complaints of sexual assaults have been filed, Hamburg police said, with 23 of those victims also reporting that they'd been robbed. Witnesses in Cologne said groups of 20-30 young, intoxicated men out of a crowd of about 1,000 people had surrounded victims, assaulted them and in several cases robbed them. On Thursday, Bild newspaper and Spiegel Online quoted an internal police report detailing how officers were powerless to hinder the terrifying rampage on New Year's Eve. "The officers were unable to prevent all events, assaults, crimes -- there were just too many at the same time," according to the police report. Both victims and witnesses were threatened, it said, describing unaccompanied women as "running a veritable gauntlet of heavily drunk men in a scene that was indescribable". Elsewhere, Swiss police said several women were robbed and sexually assaulted in Zurich on New Year's Eve in attacks that appeared "a little bit similar" to those in Germany. In Finland, police also reported an unusually high level of sexual harassment in Helsinki on the same night. They said they were tipped off about plans by groups of asylum seekers to sexually harass women. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned that foreigners who commit serious crimes "must assume they will be deported", including asylum seekers even though there are strict laws surrounding their expulsion. German law requires a conviction of at least three years in prison before an asylum seeker can be forcibly returned while his or her application for refuge is being examined. The individual must also not face threats in his or her country of origin. But de Maiziere said: "We will have to discuss if we should change" these rules that are in line with the UN Geneva Convention and European Human Rights Convention. In a bid to calm tensions, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that asylum seekers with convictions of one year can already be expelled -- although a grace period must be given to the individual to leave German territory on his own accord, failing which he would be forcibly returned.
Greece on Thursday said it condemned all forms of discrimination after Palestinian leaders complained at the removal of two Arab passengers from an Israel-bound flight.

The Palestinian leadership on Wednesday demanded the Greek government take "strong action", saying the decision to remove the pair was reminiscent of apartheid.

The two Arab passengers with Israeli documents were forced off an Aegean Airlines flight before it set off from Athens on Sunday after Israeli Jews protested about their presence.

After an initial complaint by passengers, the pair's documents were checked again by Greek security but no issues were found.

However by this stage the protest had escalated, with dozens of passengers refusing to take off until the men were removed from the plane.

Greece's justice ministry stressed Thursday that "the principle of equal treatment must be rigourously respected" for all passengers.

It added it "condemned all discriminatory treatment on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religious convictions or other" grounds.

Aegean Airlines, which insisted that "discrimination runs counter to our principles," said initially just a handful of passengers expressed concern but that dozens then refused to take off until the men were removed from the plane.

The two stayed in a hotel at Aegean's expense before flying to Tel Aviv 24 hours later.

Aegean on Wednesday had rejected Palestinian claims of racism and said it acted with passenger safety in mind while expressing its "greatest regrets for the event."

The carrier also thanked the two men for their "understanding" over the affair.

Israeli media identified the two as an Israeli Arab and a Palestinian.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, received a letter of apology from the airline but called the incident a disgrace.

In a statement, Erekat, who described both men as Palestinians, said Aegean had "given in to pressure from the Israeli passengers."

hec/cw/wdb
GuocoLand Limited on Wedneday (6 January) announced that it has appointed AccorHotels as the manager its two newly-built hotels at Tanjong Pagar Centre, Singapore and Damansara City, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

These are two landmark mixed-use developments that are sure to bring exciting new lifestyle options to vibrant, urban areas of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, said Tasos Kousloglou, Executive Vice President of Strategic Advisory & Asset Management at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, which served as GuocoLands exclusive advisor for the deal.

It is a partnership between a world-class hotel operator and one of Asias leading developers. The companies professionalism and top-notch reputation will enable them to create exceptional experiences at these iconic flagship hotels.

The 222-room Sofitel Singapore City Centre will form part of the upcoming multi-billion dollar Tanjong Pagar Centre.

Situated between Chinatown and the central business district, Tanjong Pagar Centre will feature the tallest building in Singapore at 290 metres which will comprise of a residential and office tower, retail and event spaces as well as the luxury Sofitel hotel.

In a press release, GuocoLand said Sofitel Singapore City Centre will feature an outdoor pool, an executive lounge, a 620-sq m ballroom and eight meeting rooms as well as world-class restaurant and bars.

Meanwhile, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara will be an integral part of the new 8.5 acre integrated development within the upmarket Damansara Heights enclave called Damansara City, which comprises two Grade A office towers, two luxury high-rise residences, and an F&B-centric lifestyle mall in addition to the hotel.

Set to open in the second half of 2016, the 312-room Sofitel will be the first internationally branded luxury hotel within the area.

Sofitel Singapore City Centre and the Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, added a total of 534 rooms to AccorHotels luxury brand portfolio.

Image: Artist's impressions of Tanjong Pagar Centre. (Source: GuocoLand)

Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg

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Mexico's navy has rescued nine Cubans who were found by a Panamanian-flagged tanker while their makeshift boat was adrift on the Caribbean sea, authorities said Thursday. The seven men and two women were found by the Chem Venus ship on Tuesday, the navy said in a statement. The navy released pictures of the Cubans coming down a ladder from the side of the tanker to a navy vessel some 51 kilometers (32 miles) from the resort island of Isla Mujeres. The statement said they were in "good health." The group was handed over to the National Migration Institute, which usually gives Cuban migrants a 20-day pass to continue onward with their journey when the Cuban consulate does not recognize them as citizens. Central America and Mexico have seen a wave of Cuban migrants in recent months. Migrants from the communist-ruled island have voiced concerns that the US-Cuba diplomatic thaw will prompt Washington to drop its policy of automatically giving residency to Cubans who set foot on US soil.
British Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday won support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for EU reforms to protect European welfare systems, arguing that what is good for Britain is also good for Europe. Cameron is seeking backing for his demands for EU reforms, which he is battling to secure before Britain's referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc by the end of 2017. Speaking in southern Germany, where he held talks with the Christian Social Union -- sister party of Merkel's CDU -- Cameron said he was "even more confident after the discussions here that these (reforms) are possible and not just good for Britain but actually good for Europe". "Not simply because other European countries will benefit by Britain continuing to be a member of Europe, but I think it's important that (the EU) shows it has the flexibility of a network and can address concerns of an individual member rather than the rigidity of a bloc," he said. Cameron wants the EU to cut bureaucracy and shift more powers from Brussels to member states. He is also seeking guarantees that Britain will be protected from closer EU political integration and from economic decisions made by the 19 EU members that use the euro currency. Those demands have so far proven relatively uncontroversial. However, a key sticking point for several EU members is Cameron's aim to restrict benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in Britain. Critics of the plan say the measure would harm the EU's central tenets of non-discrimination between EU citizens and freedom of movement between member states. - 'Germany can help' - While Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has said that "the fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate, in what is a clear reference to this proposal. However Merkel later Thursday acknowledged that it was "not the intention of the law of free movement" to immediately allow EU migrants to claim benefits from host member states. "That means that you can work everywhere in Europe but this intention does not include drawing social benefits everywhere in Europe from day one," she told reporters in Berlin. She said her own Labour Minister, Social Democrat Andrea Nahles, had also proposed new restrictions "which to a certain extent mesh with what Britain is seeking". The CSU has more eurosceptic leanings than its bigger sister party, the CDU, and has signalled support for Cameron's bid to limit benefits for EU migrants. In an article for Germany's Bild newspaper on Thursday, Cameron also reiterated his belief that the changes he is seeking "will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them." "We want to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first," Cameron wrote. "Like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years." Cameron is later expected to travel to Hungary for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has come under fire from fellow EU states for his hardline stance against a record influx of refugees to Europe. The British leader is keen to avoid a so-called "Brexit", but faces a large eurosceptic contingent within his Conservative party and growing public discontent over Britain's relationship with Brussels. Highlighting divisions over the EU, Cameron on Tuesday said his ministers would be allowed to campaign for or against Britain's EU membership ahead of the referendum.
The EU unveiled plans Tuesday for a new border and coastguard force that can intervene even without the host country's consent, saying it had to restore security threatened by the migration crisis. The new agency will have a quick reaction force of 1,500 guards and a "right to intervene" in European Union nations that are either overwhelmed or are deemed to be failing to secure their frontiers. With one million mainly Syrian refugees and migrants set to arrive in Europe this year, the record flow has raised fears for the future of the Schengen passport-free zone, while the Paris attacks have brought the security aspect under the spotlight. But some member states in the 28-nation EU are hostile to the idea of a plan that could see them cede sovereignty over their own land and sea borders to bureaucrats in Brussels. European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the new force could take over management of national borders in "exceptional situations" where a member state was unable to cope. "This is a safety net which, like all safety nets, we hope will never need to be used. But it is essential to restore the credibility of our border management system," Timmermans said as he presented the plan to the European Parliament. Brussels also set out plans to resettle some refugees directly from Turkey, the main launching point for most of the refugees coming to Europe. - 'Step in right direction' - Germany and other EU countries have in the last few weeks reintroduced temporary border controls to cope with the crisis, the biggest of its kind since World War II. The fear is that if those controls become permanent, the 26-country Schengen zone that ensures the EU's core principle of freedom of movement would collapse, taking the idea of a single, united Europe with it. The new border guard system will replace the EU's largely toothless Frontex agency, which has failed to tackle the flows of people on routes including Turkey to Greece and through the western Balkans, mainly because of a lack of manpower from member states. EU leaders will discuss the new plan -- which has been drawn up by the Commission, the EU's powerful executive arm -- at a summit on Thursday and Friday, European Council President Donald Tusk said. "We must regain control over our external borders to stem migratory flows and to preserve Schengen," Tusk said in his invitation letter to leaders. The border guard plan won the approval of European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who said the EU had to be able to act when member states could not meet their responsibilities. "That the EU creates common instruments to help and intervene, that is completely normal. The European Commission's proposals... are a step in the right direction," Schulz told AFP. - Refugee rights - But the plan faces being severely watered down by EU member states before the as yet unnamed agency comes into effect. Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Monday that the replacement of Warsaw-based Frontex "by a structure that is independent of member states is shocking". Rights group Amnesty International said the EU border guard plan "must not be at the expense of migrant and refugee rights". The new border guard system is just one part of the EU's multi-pronged strategy aimed at stemming the unprecedented flow of refugees and migrants seeking a new life in Europe. Many of the other measures are struggling to have an effect. A controversial plan to relocate refugees around the EU to relieve the pressure on frontline states like Greece and Italy has so far shared out only a few hundred out of a planned total of 160,000. The EU has meanwhile been accused of pandering to Turkey despite concerns over human rights, signing a three billion euro ($3.2 billion) aid deal and agreeing to relaunch the country's moribund EU membership process. In exchange Turkey, which is home to more than two million Syrian refugees, agreed to try to limit numbers travelling to Europe and tackle human smugglers who profit from their desperate journeys.
By Noah Barkin and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed confidence after talks with Turkey's prime minister on Thursday that Ankara would do its part to bring about a sharp reduction in the number of illegal migrants entering the European Union. Describing the talks with Ahmet Davutoglu and nine other EU leaders ahead of a broader summit of the bloc as positive, Merkel also said discussions would continue on a resettlement scheme under which EU countries could choose to take on fixed numbers of Syrian refugees from Turkey. "This meeting was very good," Merkel said, noting that ongoing talks with Turkey would focus on how to "strongly and significantly reduce" illegal migration as well as a mechanism for legal migration through voluntary quotas. "Not everyone needs to take part in this process, but it isn't a closed shop either. Every country that wants to participate is welcome," she said. Germany, by far the top destination for asylum seekers in Europe, has been the driving force behind the voluntary resettlement idea, saying it would help Turkey, as well as EU member states, to have more control over who gets to Europe. Under pressure at home, Merkel is counting on Ankara to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of Syrians from Turkey into Greece and onward to Germany and other EU countries. The meeting at the Austrian embassy in Brussels took place as a report from Luxembourg, in its capacity as president of EU ministerial councils, said there was little evidence Turkey had managed to reduce departures of migrants for Greek islands in the two weeks since it signed an "action plan" with the EU to do so. Despite that, the deputy head of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, who has led the EU executive's negotiations with Turkey and attended the "mini-summit", expressed hope that the deal would work. EU officials said other data showing an increase in numbers of migrants being intercepted on land in Turkey as they headed for the coast appeared to indicate Ankara was making a new effort. "For us it is important to continue work with Turkey on the implementation of the action plan," Timmermans said. "I'm strongly encouraged to do that because of the positive and proactive attitude of Prime Minister Davutoglu." Merkel said the European Commission would present a report on the resettlement plan at the next summit in February. Other officials who attended the meeting with Davutoglu said that before any quotas were agreed, Turkey must show it was serious about cracking down on illegal migration through its territory. Some governments said that until irregular flows stop, they would be unlikely to take people in from Turkey. BORDER GUARD The resettlement scheme is linked to a wider deal with Turkey under which Ankara has pledged to prevent migrants leaving for Greece in return for 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion)from the bloc, accelerated visa-free travel for Turks to the EU and reviving long stalled membership talks. At the full EU summit later in the day, leaders discussed the migration crisis for three hours, delivering a broad welcome to proposals from the Commission this week to create a European Border and Coast Guard that can intervene in crises to protect the common frontier of the Schengen zone. While several criticised as provocative and unacceptable an element in the executive's draft that would allow for EU forces to shore up a member state's frontier without being invited, officials said all backed the new force in principle and would support rapid legislation to set it up next year. European Council President Donald Tusk, chairing the summit, said the leaders had adopted final conclusions on migration policy, but the agreed wording was not immediately made public. Diplomats said Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi voiced discontent with criticism from Brussels over Rome's difficulties in taking fingerprints from migrants who refuse to cooperate. He also secured renewed assurances that contributions to the EU fund for refugees in Turkey would not count against Italy when its budget deficit was reviewed by euro zone supervisors. (Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Professional Development

ED Opens Competition for ELL Professional Development Grants

The United States Department of Education is taking on professional development of teachers and others working with English language learners (ELL). The federal agency recently unveiled a multi-million dollar competitive grant program specifically for colleges and universities to team up with their states or districts to provide professional development activities intended to improve instructional practices in ELL.

Professional development may include preservice or in-service activities for educators of English learners, including teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals or others educators working with these students.

The department expects to issue 53 awards ranging from $350,000 to $550,000 per year for up to five years. The institutions of higher education will work as the fiscal agents for the funding, though the application process requires those schools to obtain a memo of understanding from the local education agencies they intend to work with on their training programs.

This isn't the first competitive program addressing the English learner segment. Since 2008 the department has awarded an estimated $328 million in National Professional Development Program grants to help educators working with students learning the English language.

"These grants are a smart investment in biliteracy, family and community engagement and expanding professional development for educators working to meet the needs of English learner students," said John King, acting secretary of education, in a prepared statement. "With this funding, we continue to deliver on our promise of equity, excellence and opportunity in supporting educators, students and families across the country."

The deadline for submitting applications is February 19, 2016. The program is hosted at ed.gov.
Distance Learning

New Hampshire Virtual School Sets up Learning Pathways

An online charter school in New Hampshire is quintupling down on flexibility in how its students structure their learning. The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) serves about 12,000 students with personalized, competency-based education. The school recently introduced a set of five pathways to guide its middle and high school students through multiple routes for demonstrating mastery of competencies:

Courses, which consists of standard online course fare from the VLACS catalog;

Projects, in which students solve real-world problems through "in-depth research and application";

Experience, in which they perform internships, work, travel and service learning;

College, in which they earn dual-credit by taking college-level courses; and

Teams, expected to be introduced in January, will push students to collaborate on their assignments.

Most VLACS students enroll for part-time study to accelerate their traditional high school programs, retake failed courses, address scheduling conflicts, enhance homeschooling and similar reasons.

Whether they're taking the courses through their brick-and-mortar schools or independently, all students will receive some form of guidance in their selection of a pathway, according to a Christensen Institute interview with VLACS CEO Steve Kossakoski. Part-timers can confer with staff, counselors and instructors. Full-time students must put together a "college, career and citizenship-ready" plan, which lays out how they intend to meet their goals after graduation. That's where the flexibility will come in handy, he said, in order to help them "design a learning plan that responds to their interests, talents and dreams."

In the interview, Kossakoski noted that the planning process for the new pathways required the school to make sure the new approach would fit within its "funding and compensation model."

According to coverage on New Hampshire Public Radio a year ago, VLACS generates about $5,000 per student per year, which reporter Sam Evans-Brown said was less than half the average cost paid to regular schools by the state to educate a student.

Under the new model, Kossakoski said, "The overall amount of time and effort required for each learning pathway is the same, but the percentage of time dedicated to assessment, communication, instruction and support may shift depending on the pathway and the needs of the student."
The terrorists who stormed into the Charlie Hebdo offices one year ago today never had any chance of success. They could shock, and perhaps even temporarily traumatise, a nation. But they could not scare one of Europes great liberal countries from giving up on secularism and laughter.

The government, however, is another matter. In the year since the Charlie Hebdo attack, French liberty has been placed under serious threat. But the threat does not come from the terrorists. It comes from the state. And the victim is not the satirist. It is those seen as subversives: unruly children, Muslims and young radicals.

It started the day after the attack. Even while the perpetrators were still on the run and the nation was in shock, the French ministry of education decreed that all schools would hold a minutes silence.

That itself didnt seem odd. What had happened was a moment of national trauma - one which seemed to directly challenge the foundations of French society: Liberte, egalite, fraternite. The attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices wasnt just an attack on people. It was an attack on ideas.

For me as an English person in France, it was first time I understood these ideals werent abstractions, professor Andrew Hussey, director of the Centre for Post-Colonial Studies (CPS) in Paris, says. Theyre living embodiments of what it means to be French.

Across the world people were tweeting #JeSuisCharlie. Even though hardly anyone would have condoned the attacks, it was a difficult sentence for many French Muslims to utter. After all, Charlie Hebdo specialised in being as aggressively disrespectful to them as it possibly could.

Some students refused to participate in the minutes silence. Their refusal became an obsession for the press, as core ideas about identity began to play out in a much more emotive way than they had before the attack. The minutes silence became something like a litmus test for national loyalty.

What we witnessed was a discussion with two trends emerging  those who were Charlie and those who werent, Index on Censorships France correspondent, Valeria Costa-Kostritsky, says. After the terror attack it was very problematic to not be Charlie, or to express some distance or criticism of the work of Charlie Hebdo.

Story continues

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Frances education minister, told the National Assembly that 200 incidents had taken place in schools. Schools are in the front line, she said. We will punish firmly. Her assessment of terrorist sympathy seemed to be rather broad. Even in schools where no incidents took place too much questioning came from pupils, she said. Suddenly even questioning the spirit of national solidarity was considered dangerous.

Teachers were required by the provisions of the emergency Plan Vigipirate to report any pupil whose remarks could be interpreted as an apologie du terrorisme. The reports started flooding in. Children were questioned for saying al-Qaida should bomb their school, or that they agreed with terrorism.

Many werent Muslim, many were. But they were certainly all children. Their natural teenage inclination to say something shocking was suddenly triggering a police response.

I was a teen. When someone came into school and said 'believe this, we said 'fuck you, Hussey says. A lot of it is adolescent fuck-you-ism.

The terrorism apology law is extremely broad and dangerous, given that no-one can define the thing it has outlawed apologising for. Judicial proceedings started to increase in the weeks following the attack and attracted heavy sentencing  even imprisonment. Even an eight-year-old boy who had told his friends he was with the terrorists was questioned by police.

The Charlie Hebdo attack didnt create the divisions between Muslims and mainstream French society, it merely exacerbated those which were already there.

A lot of people argue that France is a totalitarian democracy, Hussey says. 'Liberte, egalite, fraternite or shut up. 'Be free like us or shut up. One of the things the French are terrified of is multiculturalism, the politics of identity. Theyre terrified of the idea of an African-American identity, or a gay African-American identity, and so on. Multiple identities within the republic are not acceptable.

Hussay suggests that the issues France struggled with in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks go right back to Algeria in the nineteenth century, when Muslims were invited into the French democratic process but only if they were prepared to lose their Muslim identity.

Theres nothing wrong with the model itself, but the way its deployed by politicians is a problem, he continues. Thats why a lot of ordinary Muslims find it difficult to identify with mainstream politics, from which they feel quite justifiably excluded.

Then, as the year drew to an end, the horrific attacks on Paris, and in particular the Bataclan, brought a new wave of horror and revulsion to French civic life. On the night of the attacks, a state of emergency was announced. That state of emergency is still in place.

President Francois Hollande secured an extension through to February 26th. He is now trying to alter the French constitution to increase his powers under a state of emergency, prolong certain of the powers after it is lifted, and remove legal avenues to challenging them.

The state of emergency gives the police powers to raid and search homes without a warrant, shut down associations, and ban peaceful protests  all without judicial oversight. The majority of raids have been against Muslims, whether in their home, their workplace or their Mosque. Most have yielded nothing.

Have you been to Paris recently? Hussay asks. Its quite unpleasant under this state of emergency. There are armed soldiers all over the place. Ive seen jeeps with paratroopers rattling along the Left Bank. After the Bataclan, everyone was talking about war. But war against who? What kind of war?

A ban on public gatherings put in place on the night of the attacks has continued. A large protest against climate change due to coincide with the Paris talks last month was banned by police, leading thousands of campaigners to symbolically leave their shoes along the route it would have taken. At least 24 climate activists were put under house arrest, on the suspicion of preparing to attend the march.

TV station Arret sur Images reports that local authorities in many cities have formally prohibited demonstrations seen as anti-establishment. In Paris, around 60 people who were suspected of demonstrating for the rights of refugees are reported to have been called in by police and now face up to six months in jail.

I couldnt believe this was happening, Costa-Kostritsky says. I couldnt believe the emergency measures were being used against people who wanted to protest.

Many worry that authoritarian politicians are using the heightened state of alarm to smuggle in draconian new pieces of legislation, not least on media freedom - although on that matter the media handed politicians most of the weapons they would need to challenge them due to their catastrophic mishandling of events following the Charlie Hebdo attack.

When terrorists Said and Cherif Kouachi arrived at an industrial estate in Dammartin-en-Goele, outside Paris, two days after the attacks, the media reported that there was someone hiding in the building - potentially tipping the attackers off. When a separate attacker, Amedy Coulibaly, burst into into a kosher supermarket in Paris, the same thing happened. A group fled downstairs, only for a news network to report that someone was hiding in the fridge.

In February, the French broadcast regulator formally censured several TV and radio networks for serious breaches in their coverage of the attacks. But some Socialist politicians tried to go further, with draconian and far-reaching powers giving the state considerably more control over the press. For the time being, it hasnt succeeded, but it gives some indication of the way the debate in France is going.

President Hollande is now pushing for powers to strip dual-nationals of their French citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism offences. The policy has massive public support, but even some on the right have grown concerned about it. As Jacques Toubon, a former right-wing justice minister who is now the French constitutional ombudsman for citizens rights, said, it is a fundamental division of French people into two categories, against the spirit and letter of the French constitution.

This time last year, the Charlie Hebdo attack felt like a clear attempt to destroy Europes commitment to free speech and satire - to put fear into the hearts of those who would mock and offend, ridicule and scrutinise. But satire has, in truth, been largely unaffected. Journalists who want to criticise Muslims, or draw rude cartoons of Catholic priests, are not sat there wondering whether terrorists will kill them if they put pen to paper.

The real attack on freedom of speech has come from the French state itself and it is directed against those it perceives as potential subversives: the school children who will not say Je Suis Charlie, the Muslim families who are subject to raids by police, the environmental campaigners who want to demonstrate in front of world leaders.

The French people faced down the terror of Islamic fascists. But their own government may in the end prove a more formidable threat to their liberty.
By Noah Barkin and Andreas Rinke BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed confidence after talks with the Turkish prime minister on Thursday that Ankara would do its part to bring about a sharp reduction in the number of illegal migrants entering the European Union. Describing the talks with Ahmet Davutoglu and nine other EU leaders ahead of a broader summit of the bloc as positive, Merkel also said discussions would continue on a resettlement scheme under which EU countries could choose to take on fixed numbers of Syrian refugees from Turkey. "This meeting was very good," Merkel said, noting that ongoing talks with Turkey would focus on how to "strongly and significantly reduce" illegal migration as well as a mechanism for legal migration through voluntary quotas. "Not everyone needs to take part in this process, but it isn't a closed shop either. Every country that wants to participate is welcome," she said. Germany, by far the top destination for asylum seekers in Europe, has been the driving force behind the voluntary resettlement idea, saying it would help Turkey, as well as EU member states, to have more control over who gets to Europe. Under pressure at home, Merkel is counting on Ankara to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of Syrians from Turkey into Greece and onward to Germany and other EU countries. The meeting at the Austrian embassy in Brussels took place as a report from Luxembourg, in its capacity as president of EU ministerial councils, said there was little evidence Turkey had managed to reduce departures of migrants for Greek islands in the two weeks since it signed an "action plan" with the EU to do so. Despite that, the deputy head of the European Commission, First Vice President Frans Timmermans, who has led the EU executive's negotiations with Turkey and attended the "mini-summit", expressed hope that the deal would work. "For us it is important to continue work with Turkey on the implementation of the action plan," Timmermans said. "I'm strongly encouraged to do that because of the positive and proactive attitude of Prime Minister Davutoglu." Merkel said the European Commission would present a report on the resettlement plan at the next EU summit. But another official who attended the meeting with Davutoglu said that before any quotas were agreed, Turkey must show it was serious about cracking down on illegal migration through its territory. The resettlement scheme is linked to a wider deal with Turkey under which Ankara has pledged to prevent migrants leaving for Greece in return for 3 billion euros (2.1 billion)from the bloc, accelerated visa-free travel for Turks to the EU and reviving long stalled membership talks. In addition to Merkel and Davutoglu, the meeting on Thursday was attended by nine other EU leaders, Timmermans, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament President Martin Schulz. (Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Elizabeth Piper)
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi prophesied Islamists would attack Europe in a 2011 telephone call with Tony Blair.

The former Prime Minister has released details of highly unusual phone calls he made to Gaddafi as Libya descended further into chaos.

In the call, Libyas embattled leader insists he is a victim of an Islamist conspiracy, not a popular uprising.

"The story is simply this," he says. "An organisation has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa. Called the al Qaeda Organisation in North Africa... The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11."

Gaddafi made similar claims publicly at the time, but in the private call to Mr Blair he goes further, predicting the Islamists ultimate aim was to launch attacks on Europe.

"They keep saying things like Mohammed is the Prophet. Similar to bin Laden. They are paving the way for him in North Africa. They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe. Need to explain to the International Community."

Two calls a few hours apart were made by Mr Blair to the Libyan leader.

In desperate sounding pleas, Mr Blair urges his Libyan interlocutor to look after himself and take the right course of action.

He tells him: "If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully and there has to be a process of change. That process of change can be managed and we have to find a way of managing it."

Gaddafi, however, seems to see that advice as a veiled threat.

"It seems that this is colonisation," he tells Mr Blair. "I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight."

Mr Blair tries to reassure the Libyan leader that neither re-colonisation nor military intervention are being considered by the West, but tells him he has only a narrow window of opportunity to save his skin.

He tells him: "Important to get this thing right now, I appreciate you are under attack. Make sure as far as you can that no one else is killed, no further bloodshed is essential to the process I describe."

Story continues

Mr Blair says the call is a private one but implies he is passing on the thoughts of others still in positions of power in the West.

"I repeat the statement that people have said to me: If there is a way that he can leave he should do so now. I think this can happen peacefully but he has to act now and signal that he wants this to happen."

Gaddafi also refers to himself in the third person to give his enigmatic answer: "Where is he meant to go? He has no mandate."

Gaddafi may have prophesied Islamist attacks on Europe but despite Mr Blairs warnings he was not able to foresee his own fate.

After the rout of his forces he was found hiding in a drainage culvert and killed eight months later.
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia will fight against immigration from Muslim countries to prevent attacks like the shootings in Paris and assaults of women in Germany, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday, declaring that multi-culturalism was "a fiction". Fico has made immigration the key element of his campaign ahead of a March 5 parliamentary election and his government has filed a lawsuit against the European Commission's plan for mandatory quotas to share out 120,000 asylum seekers among the EU's 28 member states. "Not only are we refusing mandatory quotas, we will never make a voluntary decision that would lead to formation of a unified Muslim community in Slovakia," Fico told reporters in Bratislava. Linking the influx of migrants into Europe to the November attacks in Paris and reports of 90 women in the German city of Cologne being assaulted, he said: "Multi-culturalism is a fiction. Once you let migrants in, you can face such problems." Fico's anti-immigration stance finds an echo with voters in Slovakia, a Catholic country of 5.4 million with a largely homogenous society and next to no experience as a destination for immigrants. It received only 169 asylum requests last year. But it is being asked to take in 802 migrants under the European scheme that it is challenging. His tough views are to various degrees shared around central Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government in Hungary has also challenged mandatory quotas in court, and Orban has repeatedly said the influx of refugees into Europe threatens to undermine the continent's Christian roots. The new Polish conservative government has spoken in favour of stemming migration, saying they cannot repeat the mistakes of other countries. However it said it would stick to its predecessor's commitment to take in about 7,000 migrants. Though Slovakia took 149 Christians from Iraq late last year they faced a frosty reception and plans to lodge them with local volunteer families had to be abandoned after public protests. (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
By Yeganeh Torbati and Matthew Mpoke Bigg WASHINGTON/ACCRA (Reuters) - Two Yemeni detainees held for more than a decade at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were transferred to Ghana, the U.S. Defense Department said on Wednesday, years after both men were recommended for release. Dozens of countries have received former Guantanamo Bay detainees but the transfers were the first to Ghana, which sought on Wednesday to allay possible public concern that they could pose a security threat. The detainees were identified by the Pentagon as Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby. Government documents posted online by the New York Times identified al-Dhuby as a Yemeni citizen born in Saudi Arabia in 1981 who travelled to Afghanistan to fight, and was assessed to be "a probable member" of al Qaeda. He surrendered to Afghan forces, was turned over to the United States, and was sent to Guantanamo Bay in May 2002. In 2006, the Pentagon's Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay recommended he be transferred out of its custody. Bin Atef was identified by the documents as a Yemeni citizen born in 1979 in Saudi Arabia. He was handed over to the United States after his capture by Northern Alliance Forces in Afghanistan in November 2001. The Pentagon described Bin Atef in 2007 as "an admitted member of the Taliban." But his U.S. lawyer, George Clark, said he was cleared for release in 2009. "He's a smart, bright young man and I'm sure he'll be successful," said Clarke. He added that Bin Atef's priorities upon release would likely be getting married and starting a family, learning the local language, and finding employment. Ghana has granted permission for the two men to remain in the country two years subject to security clearances, said Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh, adding that their activities would be monitored. The West African nation is a stable democracy that prides itself on upholding humanitarian values and contributing to U.N. peacekeeping missions. Its population is largely Christian, but Islam is strong, particularly in the north of the country. Several other African countries have received Guantanamo detainees, including Uganda and Cape Verde. "Many countries have already taken people in such situations so it's not out of the ordinary," Ghana's Communications Minister Edward Boamah told Reuters. The United States requested the transfers a year ago and Ghana sent its U.S. ambassador to Guantanamo Bay to interview the detainees and assess any risk, Boamah said. Clarke voiced frustration over the years-long delay in Bin Atef's release from Guantanamo, after he was first cleared for transfer. "Nobody understands that," he said. "That's been one of the perpetual frustrations of representing people down there." President Barack Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to close the prison, views it as a damaging symbol of detainee abuse and detention without charge that he inherited from Republican President George W. Bush. A Reuters report last month found that Pentagon officials have been throwing up bureaucratic obstacles to thwart the president's plan to close Guantanamo. The men's release means 105 detainees now remain at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said. (Additional reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg in Accra; Editing by David Alexander and Tom Brown)
Sports and wellness-focused venture capital firm Will Ventures has picked up $150m for its sophomore fund, almost triple the total it collected for its debut vehicle in 2020.
Where to Buy in Tuscany

Property prices in Tuscany were hit hard by the global downturn and in many areas are still 30 per cent down from the peak, often even more.

While there are plenty of beautiful borgos and estates for sale for several millions, you can now choose between hundreds of rural properties for between 100,000 and 250,000 which is the most popular price range for UK buyers, according to online searches.

How far this will go, depends on the province.

Northern Tuscany

The area north of Pisa and Florence has grown in popularity, thanks to its diversity and affordability. In fact, according to the largest Italian property portal the province of Massa Carrara in the north-western corner is actually now the most popular province in Tuscany, along with Lucca just below it. Our own data supports this, with Lunigiana especially popular amongst the most searched-for Tuscan destinations. Why?

Lunigiana has it all  mountains, coastal villages, rural homes in olive groves and all easily accessed from Pisa and Florence airports. Property prices are also half that of Chiantishire so you can buy a three-bed farmhouse for around 200,000.

Seeking a bolt hole close to both fishing villages and ski resorts? You can buy a three-bed apartment in the pretty village of Licciana Nardi, for example, for 90,000. Seaside properties, as ever in Italy, will cost more - 5,000 to 6,000 per square metre for one with a sea view.

The province of Lucca, centred around the beautiful little walled city of the same name, is also in vogue. In the city itself you can get a two-bed apartment for 250,000, or outside it a rural restored property for 350,000. Popular areas also include the spa town of Bagni di Lucca  where you can buy a three-bedroom stone farmhouse for 120,000.

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (the ancient hub of the green Garfagnana valley) and Borgo a Mozzano (a town with a very famous bridge that attracts tourists). A renovated two-bed apartment can be bought for around 90,000-100,000.

At the higher end of the market around Lucca you might get a restored hamlet of four buildings for just under 1 million.

Central-Southern Heartland

For those that can afford it, being close to the beautiful city of Florence is hard to beat for Renaissance art and history, fashion and restaurants. In the city itself, you can buy a one-bed apartment for 200,000, even in historic districts such as Santa Croce; but whilst great for rentals, most buyers seek to be outside the city to escape the busloads of tourists in peak summer. Montaione, Greve in Chianti and Fiesole are all popular villages nearby and in the former you can buy a two-bed apartment for 130,000.

Heading south, San Gimignano, Volterra and Siena is a dazzling trio at the heart of the region and youll still pay a premium to buy close by because many of the homes will have already been restored to a high level. You can buy a high-quality five-bedroom restored farmhouse with a pool near Siena for around 1.25m, or a renovated three-bed property for around 600,000 in the Selva National Park just north of Siena.

In this popular area there are also various borgo projects  self-contained villages that have been developed into complexes of tourist properties  where you can buy apartments for around 250,000  for example Castelfalfi near Volterra. Several of these projects offer fractional ownership where you can buy a share in a larger property for a similar sum (or more).

The area around the elegant city of Arezzo, where pop star Sting owns a home and there is a famous monthly antiques market, is also relatively expensive. Youll pay 1.5m for a five or six-bedroom padronale farmhouse renovated to a high standard between Arezzo and Cortona, although you can get a four-bed detached home for 400,000.

Or for something cosy yet charming you can find a small house in a hamlet close to a popular village such as Caprese Michelangelo, for less than 150,000.

The Tuscan Coast and Islands

Although relatively undiscovered by the international market, the Tuscan coast is much loved by Italians every summer. Romans especially head to the fashionable beach resort of Forte dei Marmi in Lucca where property prices are steep but the coastline is far more beautiful further south around Grosseto.

The rugged Monte Argentario peninsula  home to the chic spot of Porto Santo Stefano, is Tuscanys answer to St Tropez, and a handful of islands of which Elba, Giglio and Montecristo are the most famous. Prices are still relatively high in these summer home hotspots and youll pay around 400,000 for a two-bed apartment in central Porto Santo Stefano, for example.
The iconic Credit Unions for Kids celebrates a major milestones in 2016: 20 years of fundraising for Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals), an effort that has produced more than $150 million in donations.

Since becoming a fundraising partner in 1996, more than 3,000 credit unions and numerous business partners across the United States have become the third-largest corporate fundraising partner for CMN Hospitals.

To honor Americas credit unions, CMN Hospitals has launched a year-long Credit Unions for Kids initiative to celebrate the life-changing work of credit unions over the last two decades. Campaign highlights will include a major presence on social media; a special anniversary video and an exciting contest open to the entire credit union movement as well as the public.

We are extremely proud of our partnership with CMN Hospitals and the amazing success of the Credit Unions for Kids program over the past 20 years, said Jim Nussle, Credit Union National Association president/CEO. Throughout our history, credit unions have always played a vital role in giving back to the local community and there is no better example of people helping people than what we have done through the CU4Kids program.
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger yesterday urged President Barack Obama, who gives his State of the Union address Jan. 12, to support and include in his 2016 legislative agenda national data security standards for merchants and regulatory relief for community financial institutions.

As you prepare to deliver the State of the Union address next week to outline your priorities for this year, we ask that you consider some major issues facing the credit union industry, which provides more than 101 million Americans with safe and reliable financial services, Berger said in a letter to the president. We also hope that you will recognize and mention in your address the good work that credit unions have done during the economic downturn and recovery in meeting the financial service needs of Americans.

Regarding data security, Berger noted a Gallup poll from October that found for the second consecutive year that 69 percent of U.S. adults are frequently or occasionally concerned about having their credit card information stolen by hackers.

He applauded the Obama administration for its leadership and actions on the cybersecurity front, writing that legislative action is needed to ensure Americans sensitive financial and personal data are safe. Berger urged Obama to support the Data Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 2205/S.961).
As touched upon briefly in the post earlier this week, How to Use Efficiency to Grow Small Business Lending Solutions, theres good news going on for the Rustbelt states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Small and medium size businesses are experiencing sizeable growth, and 2016 looks to be more of the same as these business owners look to reinvest in their business and employees. Having the right credit union lending solutions available can have you ready to get in on this action.

The November 2015 Michigan Future Business Index, published Dec. 22 in partnership with Accident Fund Insurance Company of America and the Michigan Business Network, revealed these findings that we wanted to share with you.

Its the ongoing revenge of the Rustbelt, as cities once built upon steel, coal and blue-collar muscle power are now returning to vigor with new businesses and an optimism missing for decades.

In Ohio, the health care industry, led by the expansion-minded Cleveland Clinic, is transforming Clevelands economic landscape. A couple hours to the east, in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh real estate is going through the roof, driven by a spate of entrepreneurial types too young to be held captive by the citys steelmaking past. And in the Wolverine state, Michigan, sales are up, companies are hiring and the mood is upbeat.
EU farm commissioner Phil Hogan and former Defra secretary Owen Paterson have clashed over the prospects for British agriculture if the UK leaves the EU.

The two politicians debated the implications of the forthcoming in-out referendum during a plenary session at the Oxford Farming Conference.

The stay-or-leave vote was arguably the biggest historic decision since the Reformation, Mr Paterson told conference delegates on Thursday (7 January).

But farmers had nothing to fear if the UK left the EU, he added.

See also: British farmers better off out of EU  Paterson

I believe that the United Kingdom has a great future beyond the political arrangements of the European Union, said Mr Paterson.

This particularly applies to our agriculture and our environment.

Outside the EU, the UKs priorities should be to grow the rural economy, improve the environment and protect the country from plant and animal diseases, Mr Paterson added.

I believe that the United Kingdom has a great future beyond the political arrangements of the European Union

Owen Paterson, former Defra secretary

The first priority in growing the rural economy should be to increase food production.

A UK policy should encourage import substitution and the export of quality products. The government should direct public procurement, worth 2.4bn, towards UK producers.

Agriculture and food production is hampered by our membership of the Common Agricultural Policy [CAP], said Mr Paterson.

CAP negotiations between 28 countries inevitably mean that we have to accept compromises  these are at best deeply unsatisfactory and at worst actively damaging to UK farmers.

He added: Outside the EU it will be essential to continue a significant level of support from the UK Exchequer.

Payments to farmers could be made by the UK government in the same way that Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland do, said Mr Paterson.

In fact, the payments made by these non EU countries are actually much more generous than those paid by member states in the EU.

The EU contributed 2.9bn to the UK via the CAP and related subsidies. But the UKs estimated net contribution to the EU budget was more than three times that figure at 9.8bn.

Mr Paterson said: If appropriate, a sovereign UK government, no longer constrained by EU rules, could actually increase rural payments.

But Mr Hogan suggested the future for UK agriculture outside the EU may not be as bright as it might first appear.

Mr Hogan said it was not for him to say how anyone should vote  that was a decision for the British people. But the CAP was not the straw man beloved of so many critics.

The stability brought by the CAP was the foundation for economic growth and jobs in rural areas and all along the food chain, said Mr Hogan.

This policy is vital to farmers  and you dont need me to point out that without farmers you dont have a product to process or sell to final consumers.

It would likely take 10 to 15 years for the UK to renegotiate trade agreements outside the EU, Mr Hogan told listeners.

Outside the EU, agricultural spending would be subject to the same annual review by the British Treasury as any other department

Phil Hogan, EU farm commissioner

The CAP was a legally binding contract between the EU and farmers up to 2020  and could not be cut by the commission or any government during this period.

Outside the EU, agricultural spending would be subject to the same annual review by the British Treasury as any other department, said Mr Hogan.

Can farmers compete with doctors, nurses and schools in such a review?

This is especially relevant in light of the fact that the Defra budget is already down one-third since 2010, while other departments such as health, education, defence and overseas aid are ringfenced from cuts.

Outside the EU, Britain would still want access to the EUs internal market. But access would come at a price  just as it did for Switzerland and Norway.

Would the British Exchequer be prepared to pay a price that fully guaranteed your access for agricultural products? Would it expect farmers to pay part of the access-fee through higher taxes.
Black Lives Matter Bay Area held a local demonstration in solidarity with Black Xmas actions across the country on December 23. Nine activists blocked the San Francisco International Airport exit at Highway 101 until they were arrested by the California Highway Patrol. All of those arrested were released from jail later that evening.Black Xmas is here and there will be no business as usual until we get accountability for our dead, and justice for the living. Instead of buying gifts to fuel this system, Black Xmas is a day of action to reject the degradation of Black families and communities by police, politicians, and predatory companies, and declare our inherent worth. We will disrupt business as usual until city, state, and federal budgets stop funding Black death and start funding Black futures.Whether cisgendered, trans, or queer; women or men, elders or children  our Black families refuse to live trapped between poverty and police state violence. From slavery to segregation to the rampant state violence of the 21st century, Black communities have lived under the boot of state repression and corporate power for too long. Today, on Black Xmas, in solidarity with migrant, Palestinian and all oppressed people, we proclaim our humanity, reclaim our streets, and exclaim for the world to hear: Black Lives Matter.
Just a friendly warning from the birding and wildlife photography community to the Oregon terrorists. We are watching your every move, and we have been watching you for a long time. And yes absolutely you are domestic terrorists of the worst kind, and the truth about your decades of constant poaching of protected wildlife around Malheur and other wildlife refuges, national parks, national forests and BLM lands has been well-documented.

For years those of us who are wildlife photographers, birdwatchers and carers of wildlife, have been documenting the activities of you poachers and criminals around many of our nation's wildlife refuges. With our powerful cameras, and ability to move unseen in the wilderness, we have found and documented your illegal hunts, your illegal traps and all sorts of illicit activities, and are constantly feeding that information to law enforcement, and we have finally got many of you poachers on the run and into jails. And I for one am a westerner sick to death of you welfare queens and cheats living off of BLM land, illegally gutting our wilderness and our wildlife. Malheur, Hart Mountain, Klamath Marsh, Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite etc etc, they all belong to us, we the American people, and no small group of armed thugs is going to destroy the great wildlife and national park system that our great Republican President Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir put in place over a century ago. Wildlife photographers and wildlife/bird watchers now number some 40 million people in the USA, and feed many rural western economies with our tourism dollars, and we will not stand for your sedition.As Oregon's Congressman Earl Blumenauer just stated, "Armed insurrection is terrorism. The situation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge shouldn't be allowed to fester but should be dealt with firmly, swiftly and fairly. The continued disruption to the community of Burns and occupation of a federal facility is unacceptable. Those involved should be arrested and prosecuted"Those of us who are international wildlife and nature photographers regularly face charging elephants, attacking lions and grizzlies, hidden crocodiles, massive storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, the hottest, coldest and windiest conditions, and all kinds of poisonous snakes and bugs in our work, and we know the outdoors and wilderness from desert to jungle to sea to mountain to tundra from pole to equator better then any poacher or criminal or yeehaw yokel ever will, and we are not afraid to protect it. We have a just fear of nature from experience, but we don't fear you gun-toting thugs in the least. You will never see us, but we and our cameras will always see you. We will #takebackmalheur from you terrorists, and will not rest until every one of you thugs and poachers is behind bars where they belong. You may think that your communities support you, but the majority do not and as many as support you, many more despise you, and your every move is being documented in great detail. The birding networks are ablaze right now about everything going on in Malheur. We know the nearby trailer park, who is supplying you with food, and a tourist boycott of them is already in the works for all birders for this upcoming bird season. We know who everyone is coming in and out, and why, and every shred of information is going straight to law enforcement and across every birding network in America.And for those of us who are also lawyers (I for example just happen to have a law degree of U of Oregon), whether the Feds prosecute you or not (and we will do all in our power to ensure they do), we will put every civil suit against you and God knows you have given us plenty to work with, so you will know once and for all that your odious actions have real consequences.We stand now and forever with wildlife, and you seditionists and terrorists are about to find out that's there is a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out and poach innocent animals, will never be able to outrun or hide from.We are watching you and our years of birding photography have made us endlessly patient and determined.Norwegian ChefWildlife Photographer and Tracker. Animal Lover, Hillary Supporter! Norwegian-Australian-American born in the Adirondacks. Now working with a major Wildlife NGO in Bangkok. Married for 20 years to a gorgeous Pole! AKA>World Citizen!
SUPPORTERS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL ANDFREE QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR ALLThe Oasis Clinic in Oakland, CA, which treats patients with Hepatitis-C (HCV), is calling for a demonstration to protest the outrageous price-gouging of Big Pharma corporations, like Gilead Sciences, which hike-up the cost for essential, life-saving medications such as the cure for the deadly Hepatitis-C virus, in order to reap huge profits. The Oasis Clinics demand is:PUBLIC HEALTH, NOT CORPORATE WEALTH!The Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal urges you to support this demonstration! As many as 700,000 prisoners are among the nearly 5.2 million Americans infected with HCV, according to the Center for Disease Control, and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is among them.This JP Morgan investor conference is an invitation-only event which entices corporate CEOs, CFOs, investors and other opportunist big-wigs to slurp up the profits that can be made from gouging the victims of life-threatening diseases such as Hepatitis-C. This includes Gilead Sciences, the owner of Harvoni, which is the effective new cure for HCV.One pill a day for 12 weeks does the trick with a 95 percent cure rate, but Gilead charges $1,000 per pill, or nearly $100,000 for a full course of treatment!!Prisoners who are infected with Hep-C are among the least likely to receive the newly available cure for the disease, due to both the exaggerated price, and the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper health care for inmates!Mumia Abu-Jamal was infected in 1981, after he was shot by police and as a prisoner given a tainted blood transfusion. Falsely convicted for killing a cop and sent to death row (hes now serving life without the possibility of parole), Mumias infection began to show symptoms in 2015, which is typical for this slow-incubating but usually fatal (if untreated) disease. Mass mobilization by supporters is the only reason Mumia got any medical attention at all, and he is still denied the curative Harvoni treatment which can ensure his survival! The PA prison system is now trying to kill Mumia by medical neglect!In violation of National Institute of Health (NIH) regulations, Gilead canceled its program to supply a certain amount of the drug at low cost. And the New York Times reported that in "a complicated deal to sell hepatitis drugs at a small fraction of their usual cost while imposing tight restrictions intended to protect lucrative markets in the West... for the past year, Gilead has sold the drug to the Egyptian government for about $10 a pill."Mumia Abu-Jamal, though he nearly died for lack of treatment last year, points out that he is only one of many. He supports the demands for treatment of some 10,000 prisoners in Pennsylvania who suffer from HCV infection.In a recent federal appeal, lawyers fighting for treatment of Mumia brought out evidence in court of a secret PA Department of Corrections (DOC) protocol which explicitly provides for observation, but NO treatment, for HCV infected prisoners!WE DEMAND:*PUBLIC HEALTH, NOT CORPORATE WEALTH!*FREE TREATMENT FOR HCV-INFECTED PRISONERS NOW!*NO EXECUTION BY MEDICAL NEGLECT!*JAIL DRUG PROFITEERS, FREE MUMIA!Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-JamalPO Box 16222  Oakland CA 94610  http://www.laboractionmumia.org 06 January 2016 (Labor Donated) January 6, 2016Mumia Is Innocent! Free Mumia!
San Clemente, CA, December 10, 2015  Since 2009, the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the worlds ocean, waves and beaches, along with its San Diego Chapter, objected to the rationale for, and ultimately the process to establish the Carlsbad desalination plant, in California, by the developer, Poseidon Resources, Inc. Days from this Carlsbad facility going online, Surfrider stresses that desalination is not the solution for drought-stricken California or other states in similar conditions. Desalination plants not only pose significant risks to our marine habitats, but will have significant economic impacts.

Poseidon Resources Inc. built this $1 billion plant  the largest ever attempted in the U.S.  with taxpayer-backed bond financing at Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad. The plant will produce approximately 50 million gallons of drinking water per day. However, the cost of the water produced by the plant will be dramatically higher than the County Water Authority currently pays for freshwater imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. All this will result in local water districts experiencing increased rates, which gets passed along to their customers.If you look to the examples of where desalination has worked successfully around the world, you will see that those nations worked diligently to reduce demand before turning to desalination. We have done the opposite here in San Diego, and now that we are seeing real progress with conservation due to the drought mandates, and the Carlsbad plant is coming online, we can see what a predicament this 30-year take-or-pay contract puts us in. The order in which water supply options are implemented matters tremendously, said Julia Chunn-Heer, Policy Manager for the Surfrider Foundations San Diego County Chapter.Even if the Carlsbad plant performs flawlessly, there are significant problems with this approach. The Pacific is not a limitless resource; furthermore the staggering energy requirements and GHG emissions of this water supply option make it the worst option in light of climate change. Not to mention that rate increases have consequences, and poor planning could preclude environmentally and fiscally preferable options from moving forward.Environmentalist agree that San Diego and Southern California need to develop local supplies of water, but the order in which that is pursued and the amount of water that is produced requires thoughtful planning. Otherwise, new problems are created to solve the old, and the environment and our pocket books will feel the consequences. Desalination may be part of the solution eventually, but it needs to be sized and located appropriately. It should be the last tool in the tool box, not the first.Coupled with Poseidon aggressively pursuing the installation of desalination plants in Huntington Beach and Camp Pendleton in California and other companies using Carlsbad as a replicable model, now is the time for communities to learn the environmental and fiscal implications of a desalination plant and opt for water conservation and reclamation.Representatives of the local and statewide environmental community will be hosting a press conference at the Tamarack Parking Lot, 3951-3999 Carlsbad Blvd, Carlsbad, CA 92008 at 12 pm on December 14 to discuss these and other details concerning the opening and what that means for our state.About Surfrider FoundationThe Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our worlds oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 250,000 supporters, activists and members worldwide. Learn more at surfrider.org.
Tenants across California are begging elected officials for Tenant Protections and Rent Control.

We've heard enough promises. It's time for action. Write your elected official NOW

South Bay / Peninsula Tenants - SAMCAR is calling for landlords to contact elected officials to stop rent controlAs tenants, I encourage you to contact your elected officials and demand that they ENACT TENANT PROTECTIONS NOW.This is the SAMCAR statement: https://www.samcar.org/posts/call-for-action-oppose-rent-control-375.htm These are your reps:O' Neillm [at] ci.pacifica.ca.us Here is an email that I just sent.Dear Mayors and City Council Members:I am a responsible renter. I pay my rent on time, and follow the rules of my lease. I am a good neighbor, and a good tenant.I participate and spend my money in the local community.Unfortunately, none of that mattered when my apartment building was purchased by real estate speculators. My new landlords immediately launched into demolitions without obtaining permits or following lead-safe work practices. Tenant health and safety was ignored. Laws were broken. Tenants were injured. None of this mattered to the real estate speculators who purchased our building. The only thing that mattered was the speed of which this work could be performed, and how cheaply it could be done.These speculators purchased 10 buildings at the same time. They managed to push tenants out of two properties, and sold the buildings within the year for double what they paid. My building was wrapped in plastic sheeting (no notice) and they launched an exterior demolition while we were living inside.This is pure greed with no regard to human life. These are investors who have no interest the health, safety or happiness of the residents in the community that you serve.These are investors with a goal of purchasing, evicting, and flipping for quick cash. These activities leave families without homes, and destroy communities.I'm sure you've been receiving many phone calls and emails from members of SAMCAR, since the San Mateo County Association of Realtors and the California Apartment Association have been putting out calls to action.I think the most offensive line of the example email they are encouraging landlords to send is "allegations of a few tenants"Tim Redmond of the SF Guardian recently published an article about the housing crisis. This section really hit home:"The other category is what I call the Earthquake Profiteers.Imagine, for a moment, that the Big One hits  a really Big One, 9.0 or more, and the city of San Francisco is a disaster area. There is no electricity, no transit, water pipes damaged and taps unsafe  and a big supermarket opens up and charges $50 for a quart of drinking water and $20 for a cup of rice. Starving, thirsty children are turned away by armed guards. Parents beg for just a bit of humanity, but no: You got cash, you survive. You dont, you can die on the streets.A huge storm hits, with cold hail and rain. A big landlord has plenty of space in a building where people can sleep warm and dry  but its $500 a person a night for a cot. The sick, the elderly, people with infants  they are locked out if they cant afford the tab. Let em die.Would we, as a city, vilify those people? Would every politician in town call them out? Would the newspapers publish their names in a Hall of Shame? Would the district attorney and the city attorney look for ways to prosecute them? Would the state and local governing bodies instantly pass laws against disaster-profiteering (as, by the way, we did during WWII, when excess profits from the war were not only heavily taxes but roundly criticized?) Would every decent human being refuse to have anything to do with them?I would hope so.But the people and corporations taking the same sort of advantage of the housing crisis? The speculators, the bad landlords, the evictors? The ones who are making a fortune off the misery of people who have done nothing but try to remain in a city under pressure they did not create, people whose only crime is to be less wealthy than the new arrivals? The political players who represent the interests of these vultures? They are treated, for the most part, as business people just doing what business people do.And they are allowed to defeat laws that would reign in the profits they destroying other peoples lives, while the political class that runs this city and takes their money says its just fine.The worst Nimbys in the city arent even close to that class of villains."It is my hope that you will determine as I have that we DO need rent control regulations, an eviction-for-cause ordinance, and tenant protections in order to keep myself and other renters from being pushed out of our homes and the community.We have a housing crisis which is fueled in part by speculative greed. Small landlords are leaving the market, and being replaced with larger corporations and property management companies. Tenants are looked at as obstacles in the real estate world of quick profits.There may be some remaining mom and pop landlords out there, but many are being bought out by larger operations who have no concern for the community. Their only concern is how much money they can make.Until the speculative frenzy has cooled down, the entire Bay Area needs a multi-pronged plan to stabilize rents, and keep renters in their homes.* Limit the amount rents can be increased.* Establish a policy for Just Cause evictions, which require relocation benefits for tenants.* Please also consider a Tenant Protection Ordinance, like what was passed for Oakland tenants in November 2014.In the face of landlords who are incapable of self-regulation, rent control and just cause eviction protections are excellent solutions to keep tenants in their homes, and children in school. They make the local housing market less appealing to those housing providers who are looking to make a quick profit, and encourage renters to stay in the community.I know the EBRHA, CAA and SAMCAR will fight tooth and nail to stop it from happening, but at what point is profit a higher priority than keeping people in homes?Please DO consider rent control and just cause evictions as solutions. Go beyond considering and simply act.Thank you for your consideration and please direct staff to recognize and act on immediate solutions that benefit the renters in your community. These are your neighbors, friends, and voters.Sincerely,(SIGN HERE)A pretty telling quote on the SAMCAR website:"Government Affairs is the voice of the REALTORS in local government. Our goal is to protect the REALTORS of San Mateo County from ordinances, rules and regulations that would be a hindrance to the success of their businesses. Government Affairs also works to advance one of SAMCAR's primary objectives: the preservation of private property rights throughout San Mateo County."
New York, NY People dealing with chronic pain from arthritis might be tempted to believe a specialty clothing could help prevent severe pain and inflammation. But as People dealing with chronic pain from arthritis might be tempted to believe a specialty clothing could help prevent severe pain and inflammation. But as Tommie Copper lawsuits suggest, wanting to believe something doesnt make it true. Further, companies cant prey on consumers by making up claims about the health benefits of their products without adequate science to back those claims up. As the FTCs Tommie Copper false advertising lawsuit and settlement show, there are watchdogs to make sure companies can prove the claims they make.

READ MORE TOMMIE COPPER FALSE ADVERTISING LEGAL NEWS Tommie Copper Settlement Announced, More Deceptive Advertising Lawsuits Forthcoming

In December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had reached a settlement with Tommie Copper concerning the companys claims regarding its copper-infused compression clothing. The FTC alleged in its lawsuit that Tommie Copper marketed its clothing as being effective at treating symptoms of arthritis and repairing tissue and promoting healing without proper scientific evidence to back up those claims.By placing the copper at the source of the discomfort, it provides immediate relief from inflammation, starts to stimulate blood flow and harnesses the other well-known health benefits of copper, claimed one ad for Tommie Copper, according to court documents . The lawsuit alleged Tommie Copper implied its clothing was comparable or superior to drugs or surgery in dealing with chronic or severe pain, or pain and inflammation linked to multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and arthritis. Included in the court documents was a transcript of an advertisement for Tommie Copper in which one consumer said his 20-year pain from a car accident was gone the day he put on Tommie Copper clothing, preventing him from needing surgery.As a result of those claims, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Tommie Copper to prevent it from making future unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of its clothing. Tommie Copper, and the companys founder Thomas Kallish, agreed to settle the lawsuit for around $1.35 million. In addition to the payment, they have agreed to make no further claims about the health benefits of the clothing without proper scientific evidence.Among Tommie Coppers products, according to the FTC, are sleeves, braces, and shirts and socks that sell for between $29.50 and $69.50. Consumers have also filed lawsuits against Tommie Copper, alleging they were misled into buying Tommie Copper products. At least one lawsuit argues that clinical studies show copper is no better than a placebo at treating the symptoms of arthritis. In addition to naming the company and its founder, the lawsuit also names celebrity endorser Montel Williams as a defendant.The FTCs lawsuit was case number 7:15-cv-09304. The class-action lawsuit isCase No. 15-cv-6055.
The Nationals have announced the signing of infielder Stephen Drew  an agreement that was originally reported recently by Jon Heyman. To clear a roster spot, the club designated righty Taylor Hill for assignment.

Drew joins Daniel Murphy in a re-worked Nats infield. That pair will help make up for the trade of Yunel Escobar and the all-but-assured free-agent departure of Ian Desmond.

Washington will reportedly guarantee Drew $3MM in the deal, which also allows him to earn up to $1.25MM via incentives which can be maximized at 130 games played. That falls to the high side of the going rate for utility infielders. (In addition to the prior examples cited in the original post on the signing, Kelly Johnson agreed earlier today to a $2MM guarantee.)

Soon to turn 33, Drew will hope to improve his offensive production in 2016. He hit 17 home runs in only 428 trips to bat last year, but put up only a .201/.271/.381 overall batting line. While he suffered from a .201 BABIP, and did show an improved 16.6% strikeout rate, Drew has failed to match the line-drive and hard-hit rates that he carried earlier in his career.

With the glove, Drew rates as a solid shortstop and passable second baseman. Washington presumably will feel comfortable deploying him all around the infield, though hed seem likely to spend much of his time sharing reps at shortstop with Danny Espinosa.

Hill, 26, has provided 21 MLB innings to the Nats over the past two years, allowing 14 earned runs on a 14:7 K:BB ratio. Hes spent most of his time recently working as a starter at Triple-A. After a strong 2014, he managed only a 5.23 ERA in his 118 2/3 innings at Syracuse last season.
As part of efforts towards fighting the current security challenge in Nigeria, the United States has donated $11 million mine-resistant and armor-protected vehicles to the Nigerian army

MaxxPro MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles donated by the U.S government

This was contained in a statement issued by the public affairs section of the United States Consulate General in Lagos, on Wednesday, January 6.

READ ALSO: Boko Haram Kidnaps Police Officer In Cameroon

The vehicles valued at $11 million would be handed over to the military authorities at the Nigerian army 9th brigade parade ground, Ikeja army cantonment in Lagos, Vanguard reports.

Representative of Minister of Defence MAJ.-GEN Barry Ndiomu inspecting U.S 24 Armored Personnel Carrier donated to Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday.

The statement read: "The US is pleased to donate 24 mine-resistant, armor-protected (MRAP) vehicles valued at $11 million to Nigerias military authorities.

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The equipment donation represents part of the continuing US commitment to Nigeria and its neighbours to counter Boko Harams senseless acts of terror and promote regional security.

Meanwhile, the United States ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, had earlier noted the country's commitment to assist Nigeria in its fight against the Boko Haram sect.

Source: Legit.ng
The 51st Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has begun moves to look into the age long communal clash of Ife and Modakeke within his domain in Osun state.

Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife

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According to a report, the highly respected monarch has set up the House of Oduduwa Trust Fund for the rebuilding of the property destroyed during the war between Ife and Modakeke.

He said this when he paid a visit to the Osun state governor, Rauf Aregbesola adding that the two communities had resolved to permanently end the animosity between them, saying the youth who had been jobless hitherto should be assisted to start some jobs on their own.

READ ALSO: LIVE UPDATE: Tension As Election Commences In Southern Ijaw LGA

Violence has gone down in Ife. The youth in the town have renounced violence. Our programme is similar to the Osun State Youths Empowerment Scheme, and because of this, we will be coming to you regularly. We will always bring our programmes to you.

The war between Ife and Modakeke caused large scale destruction of lives and property. We have been assured that the crisis is over. There is no more war. The animosity was on for over 200 years.

We have set up a trust fund. Government always helps communities ravaged by war, but this has not happened in Ife and Modakeke.

We have set up House of Oduduwa Development Trust Fund and we want it to be signed into law. We will raise money through it to assist the youth to establish means of livelihood.

READ ALSO: How PDP Can Regain Its Dominant Strength Before 2019 General Elections

On his part, Aregbesola, said the king should use his position as the paramount monarch in Yoruba land to bring everybody together.

The governor said Ogunwusi had started executing parts of the projects he had in mind while contesting for the governorship election.

Source: Legit.ng
The Senate president, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Nigeria's economic policies and help to spread the message to the international community that the new government in the country is committed to fiscal discipline.

Senate president Bukola Saraki

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Saraki while receiving a delegation from the IMF led by its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said the new government also has a supportive legislature which is devoted to enacting legislation that will create a conducive atmosphere for business to thrive.

He said that in this critical period when the economy is affected by the oil price, what Nigeria requires from international institutions like the IMF is solid backing for its policies aimed at diversifying and modernising the economy, creating more jobs, rebuilding the national infrastructure and attracting foreign direct investment.

He assured the IMF team that there is a bi-partisan commitment of all members of the federal legislature on the need to "work closely with the Executive arm in addressing the challenges facing the economy...(particularly) the need to partner with the executive through legislation that gives confidence to investors that the era of policy uncertainty is gone."

READ ALSO: N4.7B On Cars: It Is Not A Crime  Ekweremadu

The Senate president added: "That is why the focus of our Legislative Agenda is to give priority to laws that will provide a more conducive business environment, reduce the cost of doing business, make dispute resolution very easy, end impunity and reduce corruption in the system."

He assured the visitors that part of the support the legislature aimed to give to the economic recovery effort of the present administration is to "make laws that will block identified legal loopholes that have resulted in revenue leakages; expand the tax base; improve oversight systems; expose corruption and provide better legal frameworks to entrench the rule of law and end impunity."

The Senate president used the occasion to call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that in reacting to recent developments in the economy it does not devalue the naira for the mere sake of devaluation.

Rather, he called on the apex bank to introduce a more flexible foreign exchange regime and reduce the present restrictions on the autonomous market which do not allow businessmen to bring in foreign exchange or utilise what they have in their accounts.

"The IMF should support our CBN to bring in low interest loans to SMEs. We need to encourage entrepreneurs and make most of our new graduates job creators rather than job seekers. This is an area where we need the financial support and technical assistance of the IMF, he said.

READ ALSO: SAD: Read What Saraki Said About Late Atta

Lagarde, in her reaction, said Nigeria can still achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth despite dwindling oil revenue by ensuring fiscal discipline, eliminating corruption and investing in infrastructure like roads, power, healthcare and affordable housing.

She said that government at all levels in the country needs to act with resilience, resolve and restraint in order to overcome the present economic challenges.

"I see an immediate prioritya fundamental change in the way government operates. What do I mean by that? The new reality of low oil prices and low oil revenues means that the fiscal challenge facing government is no longer about how to divide the proceeds of Nigerias oil wealth, but what needs to be done so that Nigeria can deliver to its people the public services they deservebe it in education, health or infrastructure.

"This means that hard decisions will need to be taken on revenue, expenditure, debt, and investment going forward. My policy refrain is this:

"Act with resolveby stepping up revenue mobilization. The first step is to broaden the tax base and reduce leakages by improving compliance and enhancing collection efficiency. At the same time, public finances can be bolstered further to meet the huge expenditure needs. For example, the current VAT rate is among the lowest in the world and well below the rates in other ECOWAS membersso some increase should be considered.

"Build resilienceby making careful decisions on borrowing. Nigerias debt is relatively low at about 12 percent of GDP. But it weighs heavily on the public purse. Already, about 35 kobo of every naira collected by the federal government is used to service outstanding public debt.

"Exercise restraintby focusing on the quality and efficiency of every naira spent. This is critically important. As more people pay taxes there will, rightly, be increasing pressure to demonstrate that those tax payments are producing improvements in public service delivery.

"Corruption not only corrodes public trust, but it also destroys confidence and diminishes the potential for strong economic growth. At the global level, it is estimated that the cost of corruption is equivalent to more than 5 percent of world GDP, with over US$ 1 trillion paid in bribes each year.

"Here in Nigeria, important initiatives to discourage graft are underway and should be applauded. Let me highlight the publication of monthly data on the finances and operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

READ ALSO: Listing Numerous Achievements Of Bukola Saraki, The Senate President

"This provides information on a key sector, building confidence in transparency, and improving accountability of oil revenues, for the benefit of all Nigerians. Much more canand needs to bedone. Fighting corruption is a multi-year, multi-generational struggle that must be won," she said.

She said she was positive that Nigeria possesses the capacity and resilience to overcome its present economic challenges and grow a sustainable and inclusive economy.

Lagarde added: "Today your nation has embarked on a new journey. Nigeria is looking ahead, while drawing strength from its assetsthe richness and diversity of its culture, the ingenuity of its people, and the belief in a better future.

"Today, policymakers have the opportunity to address near-term vulnerabilities and medium-term challengeswith resolve, resilience, and restraint. Today the 'Giant of Africa' is walking with a spring in her stepinspiring others in the region and across the world," she said.

Source: Legit.ng
The Nigerian army has emphatically stated that there no regret over its recent encounter with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a group propagating Shiite Islam in the country.

Nigerian army has stated that there is no apology over Zaria bloody clash

This position was made by the general officer commanding (GOC), 1 Mechanized Division of the Nigeria army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade stating that the force will not sit back while a group or sect threaten the peace and stability of the country.

Oyebade made this disclosure on Wednesday, January 6, while fielding questions from reporters adding that the army does not have issue with the Shiite.

He said: They are like any other sect in the land, but as long as they obey the law of the land no problem, but if any group chooses to challenge the authority of the land, it means they do not value the sanctity of life and the constitution of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Zaria Bloodbath: Shiites Release Horrible Photos Of Army Rage

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The GOC further stressed that some military personnel are Shiite by religious orientation but they respect and obey constituted authority adding that the military does not have issue with them

Oyebade said: Army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country, and so we have no apology any group, either Shiites Islamic sect, Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.

We dont have any issue with the Shiites or any sect at all in the land as long as they obey the law of the land. But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution of the land.

Even in the military, we have Shiites members, but there is no issue with them because they are law abiding citizens.

But we have issues with those who create a State within a State, and our rules of engagement are very clear, that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full blown.

We know the business of violence but we apply it professionally if the peace of the land is being threatened, so we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence stay off."

READ ALSO: Army Speaks On Zaria Clashes

He noted that the army remains one of the custodians of the countrys democracy stating that an attempt on the life of chief of army staff is like an attempt on a sitting president.

The GOC assured people from northwest zone that the military will continue to safeguard the zone urging them to go about their normal duties without fear.

Meanwhile, House of Representative ad hoc committee investigating the bloody clash between Nigerian troops and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria will submit its report next week.

Source: Legit.ng
Fresh findings have revealed that Chibuike Amaechi, the immediate past governor of Rivers state and current minister of transport, allegedly acquired and diverted not less than N40 billion of the state funds into the presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to SIGNAL, an online medium, the minister plunged the huge amount into the campaign which saw the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president, emerging details are revealing.

Sources informed Rivers States treasury was emptied into private concerns of the former governor as well as the APC presidential campaign.

Former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi and President Muhammadu Buhari.

READ ALSO: SEE What Amaechi Was Spotted Doing During Calabar Carnival (PHOTOS)

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An inquiry had been set up in October 2015, to investigate the sale of state assets in Rivers state under to demand the immediate prosecution of Amaechi and all his cronies involved in the illegal sale of Rivers state assets, the panel reported that the former governor misappropriated over N97 billion in the sale of the state valued assets.

"The commission recommends that the former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, along with his former commissioners for Finance and Power, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside and Augustine Nwokocha, respectively, should be held to account for their roles in the sales of the power generation assets of First Independent Power Limited and the disbursement of the proceeds therefrom.

"Government accepts this recommendation and directs the office of the Honorable Attorney-General and commissioner for Justice, to promptly set in motion the appropriate machinery for the recovery of the proceeds of the sale of the gas turbines from the former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and every other persons implicated in the commissions report," Emma Okah, the commissioner of housing in Rivers state, who spoke on behalf of the state government, said.

A source who spoke to SIGNAL said: "The N6 billion largesse Amaechi donated to Buhari just for the primaries alone is what was partly spent settling over 8,000 APC delegates. Buhari outspent Atiku, Kwankwaso and the other aspirants. Delegates were settled in hard currency before and on the grounds of the primaries.

READ ALSO: How I Met And Fell In Love With Rotimi Amaechi - Wife

"Seven bullion vans brought Amaechis money into the arena of the APC presidential primaries. How do you think Buhari got the ticket? It was Amaechis money that did the job."

Amaechi, according to the report, also allegedly funneled over N30 billion into the overall presidential campaign of the APC across the thirty-six states of Nigeria.

Another source who pleaded anonymity, said: "Amaechi was the one spending most of the money for media, for the US consultant David Axelrod and most of the private jets and vehicles used by APC during the campaign were provided by him. Thats why he became known even within his partys circles as the ATM."

Another senior Rives state government official, who did not want his name mentioned, informed that, "Amaechi had access to over N3 trillion during his eight years as Rivers State governor, but failed to leave funds for the development of the state. His only ambition was the wastage of Rivers State money like a prodigal son on his political ambitions."

Meanwhile, the Rivers state government expressed shock when it found that the ex-governor had spent N82 million to host the Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka to a three-hour dinner.

This has created series of controversies between the three parties involved as Amaechi insists that the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike takes the case to court if he feels unsatisfied.

Source: Legit.ng
CBRE Global Investors has completed the acquisition of the flagship store of luxury fashion brand Roberto Cavalli in Paris, on behalf of one of its funds.

The nine-storey property located 261 rue Saint Honore in Paris' 1st district totals 2079 sqm with a gross lettable area of 1760 sqm. Roberto Cava...

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Eight-year-old Gabi Mann has a soft spot for the crows in her neighborhood. And her feathered friends are showing their appreciation - in the most crow-like way possible.

Since she was 4 years old, Gabi has been feeding the neighborhood birds. In the beginning, she dropped pieces of her packed lunch on the sidewalk on her way to the school bus, where crows gobbled the bits up quickly.

Then, every morning, the crows started waiting at Gabi's bus stop.

Now, Gabi takes a more methodical approach. Every day, she fills her backyard birdbath with water, scatters peanuts on bird-sized feeding platforms and tosses dog food into the grass.

Not everyone is happy about Gabi's kind endeavor: In fact, she's ruffled a few neighborhood feathers. Gabi's parents even faced a $200,000 lawsuit alleging they were running an illegal "large-scale feeding operation." (The Manns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Meanwhile, the birds, who have no knowledge of human judicial systems, continue to feast happily.

This behavior, while strikingly cute, isn't all that surprising: Crows are noted, albeit picky, gift-givers. "If you want to form a bond with a crow, be consistent in rewarding them," John Marzluff, a professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington, told the BBC.

"There's definitely a two-way communication going on there," he added. "[Gabi and the crows] understand each other's signals."

Gabi treasures her little gifts: She keeps them organized by date and her favorite tokens (which are constantly rotating) rest in their own special containers.

What a caw-some friendship.
Snowflake is no dog, but he's just as loyal as any canine out there.

The all-white duck was named by his best friend and "Frozen" fan, 5-year-old Kylie Brown, when he was "zero years old," she told local news outlet WGME CBS 13 in Portland, Maine. While Kylie has owned dogs and gerbils, her relationship with Snowflake is one that's withstood the test of time. The Brown family brought Snowflake to their home on a whim one day.

"This little, yellow fur ball is squawking in a box and Kylie walked over to the box and leaned in and it was quiet," Kylie's mother told WGME. "Everywhere she went, he was quiet. And if she went missing, he would squawk and panic."

Facebook/WGME
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cseeman/" target="_blank">Corey Seeman</a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cseeman/"></a><br></p>

If squirrels have seemed a bit chunkier this winter, it's probably because they actually are.

Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Orphaned Deer Runs Back To The Wild With Her Best Friend

The reason for the recent thickening is simple. According to experts in North Americaand Britain, unseasonably warm weather has given squirrels in both regions more time to find food, leading to localized populations of double-wide nut hunters in cities like Toronto and Cardiff.

"We have had a really warm November," David Sugarman of the Ontario Science Centre told Metro Toronto. "Naturally, if you're an animal that's got to make it through the winter with little or no food, you want to pack in as much as fat as possible."

In the United Kingdom, last month wasn't just the warmest December on record but also the wettest, resulting in increased production of squirrel favorites like acorns. "It's been a very odd, unusual year," naturalist Iolo Williams told the BBC. "Squirrels will eat anything, they are omnivores, so I would imagine [non-native] grey squirrels unfortunately will do very well this winter."

Luckily, squirrels self-regulate their body weight and this year's extra ounces are unlikely to have any lasting health effects. "If the squirrel were able to stay chubby all year round, it might decrease its longevity," said Sugarman. "But eventually the snow is going to come, the cold weather will increase and they're going to burn off some of that extra fat."
This is the sad reality of animals in film. Last month, a video was released showing Michael Hackenberger, a well-known Hollywood animal trainer whose credits include "Life of Pi" and the "The Interview," appearing to repeatedly whip a young tiger during training. "I like hitting him in the face," he says in the footage, nearly giggling as he describes his method for beating the tigers' paws so "it stings more." YouTube/PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

At the time, Hackenberger denied whipping the tiger and said the video was selectively edited. But a compilation of additional footage, released by PETA on Thursday, shows Hackenberger talking in detail about how he likes to hit his animals. "I can carve my initials in their side," he says of whipping, apparently shortly after the tiger incident. He then mentions how he's skillful enough with his whip to target a tiger who's not performing in a group of tigers, whereas other trainers will just hit all of them. In another scene, Hackenberger describes his training methods for the wolves he works with. "He's still a wolf," he says. "You smack 'em, and they generally fold like a house of cards. And that's the beauty." YouTube/PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever

He then takes out a wooden stick, and appears to show the camera person how to hit the wolf near the head. "He's very afraid of it," someone who appears to be a worker says, before Hackenberger shushes him. A wolf can be seen pacing nervously in the background, apparently shut in a tiny kennel. Later, an administrator of Bowmanville Zoo, the Ontario, Canada, facility Hackenberger co-owns and where the footage was filmed, can be heard talking about the trainer's violent methods. "You throw them down on the ground so they know who's boss," the administrator says. "That's basically Michael's way of working all animals." Wolves on leashes at Bowmanville Zoo.Facebook/The Bowmanville Zoological Park

In yet another clip, Hackenberger describes how his training methods don't work on sensitive animals, whom he describes as "soft," because "they're just, 'When's this fucker gonna kill me?'" In addition to the tiger whipping video, Hackenberger was previously filmed shouting curses at a baboon who fell off a mini horse during a live morning show stunt. A quick glance through Bowmanville Zoo's Facebook page shows a number of questionable practices, including visitors playing with lion and tiger cubs, wild animals walked on leashes and a newborn lion cub being used in a promotional stunt. Training starts early at Bowmanville Zoo.FACEBOOK/THE BOWMANVILLE ZOOLOGICAL PARK

The zoo is inexplicably a member of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), one of the country's premier accreditation groups, though Hackenberger uses the zoo's animals for his film work and conducts his "training" on the zoo's premises. CAZA launched an investigation of the facility, which was already on probation for unknown reasons, after the first video's release. The original footage was also turned over to the Ontario SPCA, which has the power to charge Hackenberger with animal cruelty and remove animals from his care. While many performing animal trainers claim to use gentle training methods, the unfortunate reality is that it's just not possible to coerce a large wild animal into performing without the threat of violence. "In order to train a cat for a circus act like that ... it has to be done with fear and pain," Susan Bass, PR director for the Florida sanctuary Big Cat Rescue (BCR), told The Dodo last month. A tiger chained by the neck at Bowmanville Zoo.Facebook/The Bowmanville Zoological Park

A tiger chained by the neck at Bowmanville Zoo. | Facebook/The Bowmanville Zoological Park

BCR has rescued several animals from abusive training situations, including one black leopard who was repeatedly beaten in the head with a shovel to the point where his eyes and skull were damaged. "Just look at a domestic cat," Bass added. "They're going to do what they want to do when they're going to do it. Anytime you want a cat to be 'on' - in a 'show must go on' kind of thing - there's no way you're going to get that cat to do what you want them to do without that type of fear and training." Hackenberger runs with a days-old lion cub in a promotional stunt.Facebook/The Bowmanville Zoological Park

Hackenberger runs with a days-old lion cub in a promotional stunt. | Facebook/The Bowmanville Zoological Park

And Hackenberger admits as much in the recent video. "At the end of the day, it's only through disincentives that you can absolutely force an animal into something," he says, shortly after describing his whipping methods. The best way to stop this practice is simple: Avoid any shows or movies that use trained exotic animals. You can also contact CAZA and the Ontario SPCA and ask them to take action against Hackenberger. If you'd like to help animals who have been rescued from similar situations, you can make a donation to Big Cat Rescue. Watch the full video below.
A splinter group of the hacker - or "hacktivist" - group known just as Anonymous didn't let a woman get away with posting a gruesome photo of the tiger she'd just shot dead.

According to The Mirror, the woman posted the bloody image to her taxidermy business's Facebook page back in October with the caption "It's hunting season again." It has since been removed, as outrage mounted.

According to The Mirror, the woman claimed that the tiger's owners had asked her to kill him, since he was old.

But this proved to be a flimsy excuse for shooting the animal. "You kill endangered animals for money," Anonymous said in a statement, according to The Mirror. "Despite the massive decline in tigers this hag of a woman feels she is justified in slaughtering another - one which had clearly spent its entire life in a cage."

This isn't the first time Anonymous has stood up for animals. In late November, activists from Anonymous claimed responsibility for a cyber attack that brought down five Icelandic government websites. This was retaliation for the country's stubborn continuation of commercial whaling, despite an international ban.

In retaliation for the tiger's death, in late December, the hacktivists shared the personal details of the woman who shot the tiger and bragged about it. Though the animal is gone forever, now, thanks to Anonymous, the wrong he suffered at the end of his life won't ever be forgotten.

Learn how you can help tigers here.
Jeb Bush was pacing.

Onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference last year, the former Florida governor boasted that he had wiped out affirmative action with the stroke of his gubernatorial pen.

I eliminated affirmative action by executive order  trust me, there were a lot of people upset about this, he told the crowd. But through hard work, we ended up having a system where there were more African American and Hispanic kids attending our university system than prior to the system that was discriminatory.

But his 1999 decision to eliminate affirmative action was not nearly as clear and simple as he makes it sound today, and neither are its results. Instead, Bush was making a complicated political play under significant time pressure.

Those who know him well say his actions on a divisive, high-stakes issue are emblematic of his style: hard-charging, daring, but with little patience for opposing points of view.

Bush formally kicks off his White House run in June at Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus in Miami. (Charles Ommanney/The Washington Post)

On affirmative action, Bush was not just burnishing his conservative credentials by abolishing what he called stupid and discriminatory race-based set-asides in Floridas higher-

education system and government contracting sphere. He also was trying to preserve a pipeline to education and employment opportunities for minorities that would, he promised, actually improve their access to college and state contracts.

And perhaps just as importantly, he was attempting to block California-based activist Ward Connerly from putting an affirmative-action referendum on the November 2000 Florida ballot. That same ballot would, it was widely presumed, feature George W. Bush as the Republican nominee for president. Florida was a crucial swing state. The Connerly referendum would probably bring out droves of African American, overwhelmingly Democratic voters who would oppose the measure and most likely vote against his big brother.

Jeb Bush decided he couldnt let any of that happen.

He wants a war

On the afternoon of Jan. 20, 1999, Connerly strode into the Florida governors office. Connerly had made himself into a political lighting rod, known across the nation as the black man who wanted to end affirmative action.

A wealthy conservative Republican and member of the California Board of Regents, he had pushed through contentious affirmative-action referendum measures that passed in California in 1996 and Washington state in 1998. Now he wanted to do the same thing in Florida, one of the countrys most diverse states.

But, 30 seconds into his sit-down with a fellow wealthy, conservative Republican, Connerly discovered that he and the governor did not share the same agenda.

Hed already made up his mind, and we were just going through the motions, Connerly said in a recent interview. He was very civil, very polite . . . but he made it clear he would be an obstacle to us. I had no doubt he was concerned with the impending [presidential] election.

Bush, like a number of principal players in the ensuing drama, declined numerous opportunities to comment for this article. But Sally Bradshaw, Bushs chief of staff at the time and now a senior adviser to his presidential campaign, calls Connerlys oft-repeated view cynical.

Connerly picked Florida and that election cycle. Once he did, Bush had to act or watch assistance to his states minorities almost certainly be wiped out  Connerlys proposed referendum was favored 2 to 1 in polls, she noted.

I remember a lot of conversations about how to respond to Connerly and how to increase opportunity for minorities and, in particular, children facing poverty, Bradshaw said. . . . I never once remember a conversation driven by the fact that his brother might run for president.

At the time, Bush bashed Connerly. He wants a war, Bush told reporters. Im a lover. I cant imagine doing what hes talking about.

The governor then dropped the issue publicly. He had made education reform a key issue of his 1998 campaign  school vouchers were huge  but affirmative action was nowhere on the radar screen.

But privately, he directed top aides to quickly create an alternative to affirmative action. If they could put one in place fast enough, they could render Connerlys proposed referendum moot.

Bush was in perfect political position to do so. Republicans controlled the state House and Senate, and Democrats were deeply opposed to Connerly, too. This afforded him the opportunity to build bipartisan consensus on a volatile issue and unite the state against an outside activist.

That was not how Bush worked. He wanted to reshape the state in a hurry, and not just on affirmative action. He liked to talk about his big, hairy, audacious goals on school vouchers, on the Everglades, on faith-based prisons. Conservative Hurricane is the title of one book that chronicles his administration.

He wasnt looking to tinker around the edges but to fundamentally change the way government worked, said Cory Tilley, Bushs former deputy chief of staff. In this case, the governor was looking to avoid a very divisive fight for the state and declare a great new policy for minorities that worked in a modern, sensible way.

Les Miller, leader of the Democrats in the state House and Senate when Bush was in office, said he and his party colleagues found him brusque and often inflexible. It was his way or the highway, Miller said. I met with him [one on one] for about two minutes right after he was elected, and that was it.

With a Republican-controlled House and Senate, Democrats had no relevancy whatsoever, Miller said, adding, He was like, I dont have to talk to you guys. 

Bush dubbed his proposal to end affirmative action One Florida, a call to unite the state. But, it was clear, he expected Florida to unite around him.

Inclusion, not division

The One Florida plan was developed by key Bush staffers. They consulted with 35 to 40 leaders throughout the state, many of them minorities but most already in agreement with Bush politically.

Adam Herbert, a black Republican who served as the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, helped pen the new university admissions policy. T. Willard Fair, a civil-rights-era activist and president of the Urban League of Greater Miami, also provided feedback. Fair, a political independent, had teamed with Bush the previous year to open the states first charter school, in Miamis Liberty City.

The resulting educational component was known as Talented Twenty and based on a program that George W. Bush had launched as governor of Texas. It guaranteed admission to a state university for students who finished in the top 20 percent of their high school class, as long as they had the necessary credit hours. While race would no longer be taken into consideration, socioeconomic status, disability and geography would factor into admissions criteria  along with whether students were the first in their families to attend college.

The new business program aimed at minorities was developed and overseen by Frank Jimenez, a deputy chief of staff. The existing model was badly broken, with just 1 percent of state business going to minorities. Here, the plan was to streamline the process for companies to register as minority-owned. Loopholes that had been allowing state agencies to omit huge contracts from consideration were closed. Workshops would be held to introduce state procurement officers to the heads of businesses owned by minorities and women. Directors of state agencies were accountable to the governor for results.

Once the new initiatives were prepared, Bushs staff reached out to state Sen. Daryl Jones, a Democrat who chaired the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators. They wanted him to lead a 17-member task force to implement the plan.

I sat in Daryl Joness living room before the rollout, and he enthusiastically agreed to chair the task force, said Jimenez, now general counsel at Raytheon.

Bushs decision to ignore the other Democratic lawmakers who represented the vast majority of black Floridians was not an oversight, said John McKager Stipanovich, a prominent Tallahassee lobbyist, longtime Bush friend and former campaign consultant.

He wasnt disdainful, but every year the black caucus wants to meet with the governor, Stipanovich said. Doesnt matter what its about, they want a meeting. Then theyll come out of the meeting and say the governor is an idiot. He just decided to skip that part.

On Nov. 9, 1999  10 months after Bush showed Connerly the door and one year before the presidential ballot  the governor stepped in front of an illuminated backdrop, with a silhouette of the state map filled with black, brown and white faces and emblazoned with the words One Florida Initiative.

This is a statement of inclusion, not division, Bush said, extolling the virtues of Executive Order 99-281. The use of racial and gender set-asides, preferences and quotas is considered divisive and unfair by the vast majority of Floridians, read the order.

Jones, who declined to be interviewed for this article, was effusive. I want them implemented quickly and effectively, he told reporters of Bushs new initiatives. I want to support those efforts.

The policy needed only an approving vote from the Board of Regents and funding from the legislature to support scholarships.

Media coverage was positive, if cautious. An important, even bold step to advance the goal of equal opportunity, editorialized the Miami Herald, which called it a worthy idea.

But the triumphant rollout quickly gave way to a fierce political backlash.

The states black caucus, incensed with Jones for not consulting with it, threatened a coup. Backpedaling, Jones quit the task force seven days after the news conference.

Bush sent him an intemperate public letter saying that his resignation was based on nothing more than political considerations and that critical comments he made about the executive order served to cheapen the public discourse on such an important topic.

The governor, feeling burned, aides say, then refused to meet with two black state legislators: Sen. Kendrick Meek (son of then-U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, an influential Florida Democrat who had fought for integration) and Rep. Anthony Hill.

On Jan. 18, with the Board of Regents vote approaching, Meek and Hill were talking with Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan in his office. As Meek and Hill have told it, Bush, whose offices were in the same suite, passed by and snapped that they had better get a blanket if they were waiting on him to change his mind  setting off a impromptu sit-in.

Bradshaw remembers the pair staging the sit-in before Bush even knew it was happening: Ive always believed it was completely pre-arranged  a political stunt.

Whatever the origin, Hill and Meek called reporters, who came running. Suddenly there were a dozen uninvited people in the governors suite at 9 p.m., saying they werent going to leave.

At first, it was, Are you kidding me?  Tilley said And then there was some real anger.

After several hours had passed, Bush, not realizing there was a film crew in the open area of the governors office, angrily told press spokesman Justin Sayfie to kick their asses out.

That lightning bolt shot across state television screens that night. Sayfie says Bush was talking only about the reporters, but that wasnt at all clear that night, and the governors do-it-my-way tactics had backfired.

A public relations debacle, said the St. Petersburg Times.

The next day, after reporters and legislators had slept in the small office, Bush called the sit-in sophomoric but agreed to postpone the impending Board of Regents vote to set up public meetings in Tampa, Miami and Tallahassee.

Im asking for a critique of our plan, Bush told reporters, and suggestions for how to make it better.

That evening, answering an email from a supporter, he wrote, My main objective is to ensure that we end discriminatory practices like set asides and quotas and race-based admissions criteria while we actively embrace diversity all the while.

To reporters, he was more blunt: The two most miserable days of my life.

Floridians, mostly black and mostly furious, came out in droves to the hearings. In Tampa the hearing went for seven hours, and dozens of people who signed up to speak were still left waiting. When Bush showed up at the Miami hearing, he was lambasted for three hours.

He met privately for an hour with a group of influential black pastors, then with students from Florida A&M. Few, if any, were swayed.

I knew there was a high-risk nature to this, he told then-Miami Herald reporter Steve Bousquet, but this is the right thing to do, and I have been elected, I think, to do what I think is right. In March, when he delivered his State of the State address to the legislature, the governor who wanted to avoid divisiveness arrived to see that he had set off one of the largest protests in Florida history  more than 10,000 Floridians, most of them black, rallying against him.

No more Bush! they chanted.

Jeb Crow, read signs.

Inside, Bush spoke for half an hour. He never mentioned the protesters. But he told legislators that the vast majority of Floridians favor the elimination of all affirmative-action programs.

Winners and losers

Bush may not have united Florida behind him, but he never wavered.

Hell make his decision, stick his face in there and stick with what he thinks is right, Stipanovich says.

And he won. The Board of Regents approved One Florida. The legislature approved the scholarships. Connerlys proposed referendum got stuck in the courts and was eventually dropped.

The November 2000 presidential election, one of the most disputed in American history, was ultimately settled in Florida. George W. Bush was declared the winner by 537 votes among nearly 6 million cast in the state.

Sixteen years later, One Florida has had mixed results for the states minorities.

African Americans were about 18 percent of the freshman class at all state universities and colleges before the program, roughly in line with their percentage of the overall population. Today, African Americans account for 21 percent of the states population, but just 13 percent of the states freshman collegiate class.

Those classifying themselves as Hispanic accounted for 15 percent of the population in 2000. Now, after population growth and a change in census-counting metrics, they make up 28 percent of the states residents. The percentage of Hispanic college freshmen has rocketed from about 11 percent in 2000, at the time of One Florida, to 27 percent.

The minority-business program tripled the percentage of state contracts to minorities during Bushs first term, but since he left office, figures have receded to pre-Bush levels, reports show.

Today, the bold move to act via executive order is not something Bush finds admirable in the current occupant of the White House.

At that same CPAC event where he touted using an executive order to end affirmative action, he blasted Obama for using his executive power to try to carry out his agenda. When announcing his campaign, he said he would pass meaningful immigration reform. . . . Not by executive order.

Still, Bush retains the belief that as the chief elected executive, the shots are his to call. At a summer campaign stop in New Hampshire, Bush echoed a phrase his brother made famous about the role of the president.

A president is a decider, he told his audience. A president leads by making decisions  many of them are tough. And he promised: He wont flinch.
In April, Beverly Cleary will be 100 years old. Long, long ago, Clearys books about Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy basically taught me to read. Two decades later in graduate school at Cornell University, I chatted over drinks with the worlds greatest scholar of English romantic poetry, the then recently retired M.H. Abrams, author of The Mirror and the Lamp. Abrams died less than a year ago at the age of 102, having brought out his last collection of essays in 2012. The versatile Columbia scholar Jacques Barzun died that same year at age 104, a little over a decade after he published his best-selling From Dawn to Decadence at 93.

To this company of long-lived legends, one should add novelist Herman Wouk (born in 1915). In Sailor and Fiddler, he offers a reminiscent glance at both his writing career (the Sailor) and his Jewish spiritual journey (the Fiddler). The little books prose is strong and clear, and Wouk comes across as still a fairly lively fellow. Apart from the shattering death of his first son at the age of 5, hes also led an enviable life. In his 20s, he spent five years as a gagman for the great radio comic Fred Allen, a period he sums up as a long dream in a feather bed. During the Second World War, he served in the Pacific onboard a minesweeper, which provided him with material for his great crazy captain book, The Caine Mutiny. It received the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was later transformed into a celebrated play and movie.

[Take a look back: Best books of 2015]

Oddly enough, Wouk never mentions his Pulitzer. Nor the fact that Humphrey Bogart played Captain Queeg in the film. He does, however, offer a neat summing-up of the immensely charismatic Charles Laughton, who directed the play version, retitled The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: Ugly as sin, inordinately fat, world-famous, triumphant, a terrible flop, Captain Bligh, Quasimodo, Henry Higgins, King Lear, a stooge for a TV puppet, LAvare at the Comedie Francaise. Wouks wife, Sarah, detested Laughton: Penetrating the Brobdingnagian facade, she found a crafty manipulator. While the young author recognized that Sarah  both his first reader and later his literary agent  was right, Wouk nonetheless remained spellbound by the legendary actor.

Sarah Wouk, who died in 2011 at age 90, is really the only other character in Sailor and Fiddler. In truth, these bare-bones recollections almost demand to be fleshed out. We do hear a little about the writers parents and his early passion for the works of Mark Twain and Alexandre Dumas, were told of his friendship with Calder Willingham, now remembered more for his screenplays (Patton, The Graduate) than for his wonderful novels (Rambling Rose, Eternal Fire ), and there are tantalizing allusions throughout to the worlds great and good. Wouk, for example, attended Lyndon Johnsons inaugural festivities and at one point noticed the president being given a dispatch, probably about Vietnam and probably containing bad news. Just then, Lyndon Johnson happened once to glance up and meet my look. The cold-veiled eyes of a master politician scared me. Thats it. One hungers for more, please. Instead the book continues with its record of a successful, upper-middle-brow literary career.

Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author, by Herman Wouk. (Simon & Schuster)

That sounds unkind, but isnt meant to be. Like such contemporaries as James Michener and Allen Drury  both of whom, its worth remembering, also won fiction Pulitzers  Wouk at his best produced powerful and memorable stories of American life. Marjorie Morningstar described its Jewish heroines romantic dreams of stardom, while Youngblood Hawke chronicled the rise and fall of a young Southern novelist, loosely based on Thomas Wolfe. Above all, in The Winds of War and War and Remembrance  referred to here as the Main Task  he depicted two families caught up in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. In the 1980s, the connected novels were made into an exceptionally popular television mini-series, with a cast of international stars, headed by Robert Mitchum and featuring the young Jane Seymour and Sharon Stone.

As Wouk makes clear, his successes on Broadway and the bestseller lists allowed him to live very well. An apartment on Central Park in New York. A house in the Caribbean. Not least, a Georgetown address here in Washington in the 1960s and 70s. In later life, Wouk and his wife traveled regularly to Israel, where they enjoyed entree into the highest social and political circles. Even now, the centenarian author resides in ritzy Palm Springs, Calif. Not too shabby for a fat short baby-faced classroom clown from the Bronx.

In the books much briefer Fiddler section, Wouk outlines his strong convictions about his religion and heritage. As early as 1959, he had published a best-selling primer to Judaism called This is My God. By the 1980s and 90s, his fiction began to focus more and more on Israel. Inside, Outside, was a serio-comic account of a tax lawyer, from a family much like Wouks own, who ends up working for Richard Nixon, ultimately exercising unexpected political influence during the Yom Kippur War; it earned Wouk a letter  reprinted here  from Joseph Heller, who called the book, Funny, warm, perceptive, as well as exuberantly instructive. It gave him, Heller said, a greater respect for the devotional attitudes underlying our Jewish religious observances than I have ever had in my life. Two subsequent novels, The Hope and The Glory, closely track modern Israeli history. The latter appeared, we are dryly told, to lackluster sales and reviews.

In his epilogue to Sailor and Fiddler, Wouk alludes to a frank private diary of more than 100 bound volumes. He hints that some day it might be edited for publication by one of his two surviving sons. Perhaps its pages contain just those anecdotes, conversations and sheer gossip that give so much zest to the memoirs of the famous. As it stands, Sailor and Fiddler is enjoyable but a little bland, serving chiefly to reintroduce Wouks novels to contemporary readers who might only know their names, if that. As a teenager, I myself devoured The Caine Mutiny, passed over Marjorie Morningstar as a girls book and, a few years later, completely missed Youngblood Hawke, which knowledgeable friends assure me is a compelling portrait of the literary life in 1940s and 50s New York. These, I suspect, are the Herman Wouk books that may survive and possibly attract a new generation. That may seem little enough to Wouk himself, but we should all be so lucky.

Michael Dirda reviews each Thursday in Style and is the author, most recently, of Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living With Books.
Malcolm Toussaint is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist who, at 60, has lost meaning in his life. His wife is dead. A reader has called him the n-word. Another teenager has been shot to death by police. Its Election Day, and Barack Obama cant possibly win the presidency. Overwhelmed with despair, Toussaint writes a column on the front page of the fictional Chicago Post that is more rant than commentary and that says he is tired of white folks bullsh--.

And then hes kidnapped by white supremacists.

So begins Grant Park, the latest novel by Leonard Pitts Jr., himself a nationally syndicated, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald. That autobiographical echo is a clue to Grant Park, which is a combination of historical and contemporary fiction.

The action starts with Toussaint chained to a chair in an abandoned Chicago warehouse. He can hear the cheers from Grant Park as crowds await Obamas victory speech. His captors, the White Resistance Army, plan to bomb the event, something real-life white supremacists planned for Obamas victory speech in 2008 .

Meanwhile, Toussaints editor, Bob Carson, is searching for him, even as Toussaint is distracted by his long lost girlfriend, Janeka, who has just arrived in Chicago to work for the Obama campaign. Their interracial love affair didnt survive the 1960s.

Carson has his own version of racial fatigue. It just seemed like the blacks were never satisfied, he thinks. Seemed like they just wanted to blame all their problems on the white man. Translation: on him.

Carson, like Toussaint, is obsessed with his past, especially the 1960s, when he came of age. That New Frontier, as the murdered young president called it  had been about progress, about marching through status quo, hateful stares, and unequal laws, marching forward and keep on pushin and people get ready and answers, my friend, blowing in the wind, yeah yeah yeah, Carson recalls. Then the 60s had gotten angry. Those other 60s, the later 60s, were not about marching forward, but fighting back.

While the hostage plot plays out in 2008, at the heart of this novel is the year 1968. Young Malcolm Toussaint returns to Memphis after dropping out of college. Hes sporting a dashiki and an afro in his Southern home town, but his father still castigates him for acting white. Toussaint eventually participates in the sanitation workers strike. His father is one of those sanitation workers, known informally as tub workers, and Pitts brings these men and their plight to life in striking detail. His portrait of the generational divide between older blacks and the more radical generation spouting Black Power and promoting violence is brilliantly done.

Beyond that, Grant Park sabotages itself. Too many characters chew the scenery here. We frankly dont need the back story of the homeless schizophrenic who tries to rescue Toussaint or the familial dynamics of a white supremacists household. The complexity of these racists isnt viable  they remain cartoon figures even as Pitts loads the novel with stories from their childhood. And he supplies far too much extraneous action. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination, Obamas election, the strike, shootings, murders  theyre all over these chapters, along with methamphetamine-

fueled violence, interracial romance and gigantism disorder. As Pitts includes pages of exposition, even explaining what happened in previous scenes, the narrative deflates. The midlife crisis, the racial fatigue and even the love affair become circumstantial, as opposed to pivotal.

Pittss focus is on Americas continuing racial divide. Too bad Pitts couldnt center more on historical fiction, his strength. That choice could have turned Grant Park into the important novel it deserves to be.

Lisa Page directs the creative writing program at George Washington University.


Emmy Rossum as Fiona Gallagher and William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher in "Shameless," which returns for its sixth season Sunday. (Cliff Lipson/Showtime).

The Gallaghers arent easy to love. In five previous seasons of Showtimes dramedy Shameless (which returns for a sixth on Sunday night), viewers have seen the members of this wild South Side Chicago family struggle with a poverty that affects both the pocket and the soul. Good at heart and bad to the bone, every character on the show will lie, cheat, steal, fornicate and worse, with a voracious appetite for self-preservation.

The empathetic texture with which all of this is portrayed, however, has always been Shamelesss core attribute. Human despicableness informs so many of our favorite shows, to the degree that we become largely inured to the moral shortcomings of antiheroes. Shameless works at a depth and shape that are surprising in a show where the primary aim is shock value.

Adapted from a British series in 2011 by American showrunner John Wells (of ER and more), Shameless has soared and wallowed; in keeping with the bad luck that plagues its characters, it usually goes underpraised and underappreciated in this crowded era of good TV.

Sundays episode opens with the Gallaghers more or less where we left them  and also with a distinct feeling that the show might be running out of gas. Frank Gallagher, the incorrigible paterfamilias played with booze-breath brio by William H. Macy, is in a state of pathetic grief over the loss of Bianca (Bojana Novakovic), a terminally ill doctor who accepted Franks offer of last-minute reckless abandon, blowing her savings on crack highs and running off with him to a Costa Rica beach.

Bianca was everything Frank ever dreamed of  wealthy enough to supply his insatiable habits and tolerant of his self-absorption. While he slept, she walked off into the sea. Now Frank spends most of his time on the grass at Biancas grave back in Chicago  humping it, even, in autoerotic tribute, until a groundskeeper chases him off with a water hose.

Macys over-the-top performance is often touted as the main attraction of Shameless, but any viewer of the show recognizes its centrifugal force comes from Emmy Rossums superb turn as Fiona, the eldest of the Gallagher brood, who, as a teenager, took over the parental reins from her alcoholic father and absentee, bipolar mother. Fiona brings an ethically flawed yet resourceful order to the household chaos. As Shameless has progressed (and its characters lives devolved), the other five Gallagher children have escaped Fionas control  all but Liam, the mixed-race youngest half-brother who, as a toddler, got into Fionas stash of cocaine.

Yes, indeed  this is a show where a baby finding cocaine is par for the course. (Shameless is not entirely devoid of consequence; Fiona went to jail for that.) Any show nowadays can come up with ways to disturb or sicken us or yank the easy chain of prurience  and many do. This season Im struck by three topical themes on which Shameless has consistently and uniquely delivered:



From left, Cameron Monaghan as Ian Gallagher, Ethan Cutkosky as Carl Gallagher, Brandon/Brenden Sims as Liam Gallagher and William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher in "Shameless." (Carl Lipson/Showtime)

1. Poverty  from a white perspective. In translating a British show about an on-the-dole family in Manchester to a story about a struggling family in the reputedly territorial Canaryville neighborhood on Chicagos South Side, Wells and company have said they resisted suggestions to set the show in a trailer park somewhere in the Southern U.S. sticks. That is too often American TVs answer to what white poverty must look like, rife with yokel cliches.

On Shameless, viewers are fully immersed in the urban details of the Gallagher familys plight  as well as that of their neighbors. Here and there, viewers have seen the ways Fiona navigates whats left of the nations public assistance programs (and the futility therein); Frank, known to every emergency room in town, somehow managed to get a liver transplant without insurance. (God only gave me two livers, he reminds an acquaintance in a new episode, limiting himself to six ounces of beer a day.) With just enough realism to counterbalance the shows more outlandish developments, Shameless always makes sure to provide enough detail on how the Gallaghers stay fed and sheltered.

Jobs come and go. Cash is king. Weve accompanied the family to health clinics, family court and detention centers and seen how a few hundred dollars might have made all the difference.

The Gallaghers and their neighbors carry a particular grudge for the upper class  a resentment that has nearly derailed eldest brother Lip (Jeremy Allen White) in his quest to remain in good standing at the University of Chicago. It also, in a way, cost Fiona the only upwardly mobile office job (with health-care benefits) she ever had. The characters on Shameless resent the gentrification (and accompanying hipster-fication) in the neighborhood. Although this is milked for its comic value, there is a fierce pride that informs it, a rejection of the yuppie values and lifestyles that still inform most premium-cable shows.



Ethan Cutkosky as Carl Gallagher in "Shameless. (Patrick Wymore/Showtime)

2. Embracing the innate criminal impulse. As a chronic goody-goody, I find in Shameless an almost cathartic disregard for rules, manners and the law. This is not the same as watching serious dramas about mobsters or drug kingpins. The Gallaghers find their identity through a genetic predisposition for dishonesty  its the family talent. They cut corners, cheat and game whatever systems stand in the way of their survival.

The real trick here is how Shameless can endear the Gallaghers to the viewer, even when the family is at its most reprobate. Aspiring to be the shadiest Gallagher of all, 14-year-old Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) emerges this season from a juvenile detention center sporting cornrow braids and enjoying the wide respect of a network of black drug dealers; his family celebrates his return with a bargain grocery-store cake frosted to celebrate some girls quinceanera.

Its an image that is at once absurd, tender and vaguely terrifying as we realize Carl is past the point of no return. In the way, it accepts criminals for what they are, without saddling them with deep meaning or artistic metaphor, Shameless really has one peer, in the work of Jenji Kohans Orange Is the New Black (and, earlier, Weeds).



Emma Kenney as Debbie Gallagher and Cameron Monaghan as Ian Gallagher. (Cliff Lipson/Showtime)

3. Sex as a means to personal freedom. Some of the best recent work on Shameless can be seen in Emma Kenneys heartbreaking and intelligent portrayal of the youngest sister, Debbie, who is now 15.

When the show began, Debbie was an innocent girl who believed her familys troubles and idiosyncracies could be surmounted with enough optimism and ingenuity. Growing up in a house swirling in sexual antics  which included Fionas successive boyfriends; Franks improbable conquests; Lips legion of girlfriends; brother Ians (Cameron Monaghan) coming out and eventual pairing with the neighborhood bully, Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher); the uninhibited and steamy dramas from neighbors Kevin and Veronica (Steve Howey and Shanola Hampton)  Debbie was certain to eventually crash into her own awakening.

Suffice it to say, sex hasnt made Debbie any happier or more secure, but it has challenged the shows writers to come up with some impressively frank scenes that get at the awkwardness and constant ache in a teenage girls emotional life. Its easy to see why a girl like Debbie would view pregnancy as an upgrade. Fionas discovery that Debbie has become sexually active leads to an immediate trip to the local Planned Parenthood clinic.

In the same way that Shameless distinguishes itself portraying poverty and criminality, it also can be seen as remarkably sex-positive. True, in 60-plus episodes, it has featured many shocking scenes of perverse predilections, inappropriate liaisons and degrading outcomes.

Yet through such filth, a viewer sees that each of its characters has found that sex can sometimes be a clear path to personal freedom. Sex is the one thing that the Gallaghers can own free and clear. Shameless is noisy about everything, but its loudest and surest moments rejoice in pleasure.

Shameless (one hour) returns Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
In 1823, fur trapper Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is mauled by a bear while hunting in what will become the Dakota Territory. His companions then rob him and murder his young half-Native American son. Glass sets out on a 200-mile trek to get revenge. ( / 20th Century Fox)

Leonardo DiCaprio grunts, wheezes, crawls and brawls his way through an Oscar-caliber performance in a film designed as a monument to the greed, venality and Darwinian aggression through which this country was forged.

Its called The Wolf of Wall Street, and its available for viewing on a digital platform near you.

As in that 2013 movie about a rapacious Wall Street executive, DiCaprio delivers a commanding, physically daunting turn in The Revenant, as a man whose surpassing strengths and near-fatal flaws beg for larger allegorical meaning. Playing Hugh Glass, a 19th-century trapper whos attacked by a grizzly and left for dead in the Missouri Territory, DiCaprio seeks once and for all to push himself and his audience to the limit. Banishing all memories of the blue-eyed teen idol of Titanic, he hides the baby face hes been cursed with into his 40s behind a fastidiously unpretty rictus of physical suffering and existential despair.

[The Revenant is turning Leonardo DiCaprio into a legend]

Based on Michael Punkes novel about the real-life Glass  who in 1823 was mauled by a bear, then limped hundreds of miles to confront the men who abandoned him without food or supplies  The Revenant takes an already larger-than-life story into the preposterous dimensions of a tall tale, simultaneously inflating and reducing Glass to a Paul Bunyan-like figure of superhuman strength and stamina. But because this movie has been directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), its not content with those outsize, if simplistic, contours. Punctuated by dreamy imagery and moments of arty transcendence, The Revenant ultimately lacks the courage of its most voyeuristically barbarous, even sadistic convictions. Its a death trip disguised as spiritual awakening, its breathtaking sweep and scale belying an essential pettiness at its core.

[Meet the author of The Revenant  except you cant because of his federal job]

[For Revenant filmmaker, gore isnt the core of his movie]

Admittedly, even viewers who dont buy Inarritus ersatz depth will find themselves bowled over by the sheer aesthetic and technical firepower he throws at it. The Revenant opens with a magnificently filmed and choreographed fight scene, during which a group of trappers is trapped by native Arikara fighters in a chaotic ambush, every move captured by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki with startling fluidity and intimacy. Unfolding in a graceful mirroring of hand-to-hand combat, the sequence possesses an unmistakable grandeur that Lubezki reprises throughout The Revenant, whether Glass and his men are dwarfed by soaring, spire-like trees, imposing snow-covered mountain ranges or icy river gorges  all of which they traverse mostly on foot.



Leonardo DiCaprio stars as 19th-century trapper Hugh Glass in The Revenant. After an Indian ambush and a bear attack, the real-life Glass was left for dead by his fellow trappers. (Kimberley French/Twentieth Century Fox)

Tom Hardy stars as trapper John Fitzgerald in director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus film. (Kimberley French/Twentieth Century Fox)

Glasss story has been told before on film, most notably by Richard Harris in the 1971 drama Man in the Wilderness. But The Revenant shares DNA with a raft of other movies, from the classic exploration adventure Black Robe and Terrence Malicks lyrical odes to the natural world to John Fords The Searchers, whose narrative of captivity is turned on its head here in a subplot involving a Native American warrior searching for a daughter whos been kidnapped by a group of French trappers. Working with co-screenwriter Mark L. Smith, Inarritu also sees fit to give Glass a Native American wife and mixed-race son, who provide convenient emotional cover for a story that otherwise would have been propelled merely by that tried and true  and tired and trite  motivator: revenge.

The monumentality of The Revenant, combined with DiCaprios bravura, virtually wordless performance, suggests a film thats About Something, in this case mans inhumanity to man, the brutality of Manifest Destiny, the primal fight between honor and cowardice and the enduring power of the human spirit. Were meant to believe that Glass embodies the latter  an assumption suggested by comparing him to a fellow trapper named Fitzgerald (played by Tom Hardy with drawling, murderous venom), and underlined by daydreams in which Glass communes beatifically with the spirit of his absent wife (Grace Dove).

Those helpful nudges notwithstanding, the audience is less likely to care about where Glass stands on the ethical gray scale than to revel in what The Revenant ultimately seems to be about, which is physical duress at its most agonizing and repellent. Thanks to Lubezkis stunning cinematography and Ryuichi Sakamotos hauntingly dispassionate score, the fight thats most compelling throughout The Revenant is the one between the beauty of its cinema and the brutality of its tale. The much-heralded bear attack is indeed staged with panting, slobbering, bloodletting verisimilitude, but in case that isnt excruciating enough, Inarritu confects all manner of ways to make Glass suffer, from cauterizing his own throat wound with a boiling slurry of buckshot and dirt to a stunt involving a horse that recalls Jack Londons snowy state of nature at its most pitilessly indifferent.

In fact, its at this moment in The Revenant  when the story goes over a literal cliff  that many viewers are likely to feel that the movie has gone off its own deep end, entering an unforgiving territory of visceral shocks and hopelessly diminishing returns. This is when Inarritu seems less interested in telling a superbly crafted story than proving something about his own creative prowess, which has been fetishized in recent interviews that recount the physical extremes he and his star suffered in the name of artistic commitment. Inarritu is so consumed by virtuosity that he makes it nearly impossible not to be impressed by The Revenant.

But thats not the same as being moved or even convinced by it  just as the most savage spectacle of manly endurance doesnt automatically confer deeper meaning or moral weight. Despite the literal and figurative pains it takes to persuade viewers of its own importance, The Revenant cant escape the clutches of crippling self-regard. In movies, as in life, some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you.
Rey is the lead female character in the new Star Wars film, but theres no trace of her in the current Star Wars-themed Monopoly game. (David James/Associated Press)

Rey will awaken the force in the new Star Wars-themed Monopoly game.

After facing a public outcry for excluding Daisy Ridleys female lead in Star Wars: The Force Awakens from the board game, Hasbro has decided to include her in the next edition of Star Wars: Monopoly.

We love our fans passion for Rey, and are happy to share that we will be including her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game, available later this year, the company said in a statement released Tuesday on social media.

Hasbro previously said that the Monopoly game didnt feature Rey in order to avoid spoilers.

The Star Wars: Monopoly game was released in September, months before the movies release, and Rey was not included to avoid revealing a key plot line that she takes on Kylo Ren and joins the Rebel Alliance, the company said Monday.

The current game features Finn, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader figures. The updated version will be sold later this year.

Rey has been left out of other Force Awakens toys and merchandise as well. She was missing from a six-pack of action figures and a Millennium Falcon play set. Star Wars fans took to Twitter to voice concerns about the underrepresentation of Rey. Hasbro said Rey action figures will appear in stores this month.
A wicked calumny against the Washington media is that we live and work in a liberal echo chamber, never interacting with persons of alternative political viewpoints. For that reason, it is said, we unfairly demonize conservatives.

No truth to either charge. I demonize no one. For years I myself frequently encountered conservatives because I lived on the same block as my friend Grover Norquist, the famous anti-tax agitator and political bully-boy goon.

Periodically, Grover would host cocktail parties for up-and-coming conservatives. These earnest young people, dressed like middle-schoolers on yearbook photo day, would spill out onto his front lawn in parties of one, talking on their cellphones with (a guess) their personal single-malt Scotch sommeliers. I am proud to say that I went out of my way to interact with them. I would sidle up, dressed as I usually am, which is like a middle-age middle-school-playground loiterer, and Id whisper Heroin? Quaaludes? Glue? just to watch that comical look of horror as they backed away.

But Grover moved , so I have lost contact with conservatives, which is why I was delighted to get invited to a Christmas party thrown by the Heritage Foundation, Washingtons prominent conservative think tank. (I should note that the group didnt invite me, exactly  it invited a friend of mine, and she invited me as her guest. Also a committed liberal, she figured she made the guest list because she is a registered Republican, part of a conspiracy to artificially swell the GOP voting rolls in the District enough so a Republican Congress might give us a voting representative, after all. My point is, I was there legitimately, but under a somewhat false flag.)

The only corporate parties I usually attend are hosted by print media, which means I am accustomed to cash bars, linoleum floors and bologna on saltines. This was not that kind of party. Within seconds of our entering the room, liveried waiters descended on us with trays of hors doeuvres that included steamed lobster in beurre blanc, canapes of boeuf Wellington, shot glasses of anise-infused sweet potato soup, and ramekins of pumpkin creme brulee. The bar was open and generous. And, all around us were middle-school-portrait people in earnest conversations that, according to my professional eavesdropping, were largely about the threat to Republicanism occasioned by people like me.

In truth, everyone was polite and welcoming and joyful, even after reading my name tag. Tragically, I had found nothing to make fun of until I met The Second Most Conservative Man in the World.

Ralph Benko, who happens to be a funny guy, is a senior economics adviser to a righty group called the American Principles Project. Ralphs big issue turns out to be demanding that the United States return to ... the gold standard! Now I dont want to be snarky, but I believe the most prominent American most recently defending the gold standard was Grover. No, not Norquist ... Cleveland. In 1896. It was such an archly conservative stance even back then that Cleveland was most famously opposed by none other than William Jennings Bryan, who went on to fulminate against teaching evolution in the schools.

Then Ralph gleefully informed me that he was only the second most conservative person in the world. As luck would have it, the most conservative person in the world also happened to be at the Heritage Foundation Christmas party, as Ralphs guest! Benyamim Tsedaka, 71, is an Israeli scholar, who, Ralph said, is so conservative, he is pre-modern! A stegosaurus.

Tsedaka is a leader of the Israelite Samaritans, an 800-person pre-Judaic sect that lives by a strict 3,000-year-old code of conduct. How strict? At home, he eats beef, but when traveling, only fish and veggies because for every cow he eats, he must donate the beasts foreleg to the holy men on Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, and this original body part is impossible to locate if you are dining at, say, McDonalds.

So I left the party happy. I had two new conservative friends, and a whole new echo-chamber defense! This columnist has an answer for the calumnists.

For stories, features such as Date Lab, @Work Advice and more, visit WP Magazine.

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The night after a grand jury declined to indict the white police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice at a park in Cleveland, Maralee Bradley, a white mother of six, including a 9-year-old black son, slept fitfully in Lincoln, Neb.

She and a friend had been talking about Tamir, and the friend asked: What can we do? How can we help? Bradley kept waking up, thinking about different pieces of the question.

Thinking about Josh, her adopted Liberian son, hanging out with white friends at a park, about him being the only child of color at another childs birthday party. What do I need those parents to be aware of? she asked herself. What might feel unsafe to me that they might not know about?

I was just thinking we need a level of awareness for everybody involved with my child, Bradley says.

A Cleveland grand jury on Monday, Dec. 28, declined to bring charges against two police officers in the shooting death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy. Here is what you need to know about the grand jury's decision. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The next morning, she wrote an essay, To the White Parents of My Black Sons Friends, on her parenting blog. It was heartfelt, unsparing and spelled out things she wanted a small group of people  her sons teachers, the people who had him in their homes  to understand.

Ive been wrestling with talking to you about some things I think you need to know. Ive wrestled with it because I feel my own sense of shame  shame that I didnt know or understand these issues before they touched my family. . . . Ive been concerned that you wont believe me and then Ill feel more angry than if I hadnt said anything. But my son is getting older and as he transitions from an adorable black boy to a strong black man, I know the assumptions about him will change. And I need your help in keeping him safe, she began.

She wrote of the bizarre balance of things she and her husband had to tell Josh about the police, how to wear hoodies, and about not sneaking through a neighbors back yard during hide-and-seek. Then she asked other parents to do some things.

As the parents of the white friend of my black son, I need you to be talking to your child about racism. I need you to be talking about the assumptions other people might make about my son. I need you to talk to your child about what they would do if they saw injustice happening.

If you hear someone call him racist names, say something. Dont speak black slang around him, trying to be funny. Dont rub his head because you want to know how his hair feels. Being with Josh is not time to try out any new risky behaviors. And if the police approach you, dont run, dont leave him alone.

Literally, I needed 50 people to know this information, Bradley told me. But it obviously touched a nerve with a lot more people than that.

A good post for her usually reaches 15,000 people. By Tuesday, 600,000 people had clicked and hundreds had commented.

In the essay, she urges white parents not to be colorblind, which struck many white people as counterintuitive and wrong. But she sees colorblindness as a loss and a teaching that doesnt serve her son.

We see our kids colors, and we value them, Bradley said. In addition to Josh, she has two biological sons, a Native American son, a Mexican American daughter and a biracial daughter (African American and white). The reality is the world sees color. . . . When our kids are treated differently based on race, we all have to be aware of that.

Its something Bradleys friends have begun coming to terms with. Stephanie Westburg and Bradley often attend church activities together. Josh and Westburgs daughter, Sophie, 9, have been friends since first grade. Westburg doesnt follow the news. She knew little of Tamir Rice until Bradley wrote the essay.

She told her daughter: I want to talk to you about the latest post that Maralee wrote. And its about Josh. His skin color is different, she explained, and that means different things to different people. Westburg imagined how people might react if they saw Sophie and a white friend from around the corner playing Star Wars  and how they might react to Sophie and Josh playing, especially as Josh gets taller. She talked about people calling Josh names and what Sophie should do if a police officer questioned them. I told her, Stand up for him and stay with him, which are things Id never thought to instruct my child to do for any other kid.

Sophie listened quietly. And when Westburg asked how she felt, she cried. She said, Im so sad, and Im so angry,  Westburg said.

Bradley calls 2015 a year of reading about race and listening to other peoples stories.

In 2016, she told me, she hopes that white families become aware that black families are having to have these kinds of conversations and realize we need to be better advocates for those families and those kids. I have an awareness of how much white families do not talk about race. . . . We need to develop a new awareness that this is impacting our brothers and our sisters. This is impacting people that we love. Were choosing to be unaware, and we cant keep making that choice.

For more by ONeal, visit wapo.st/lonnae.
D.C. Council member Charles Allen had just voted his conscience Tuesday. It didnt matter anymore, he thought, if pot clubs formed in the nations capital. The freshman lawmaker decided at the council meeting that nearly a year after the city legalized marijuana, there was good reason to give D.C. residents discreet places to smoke away from home, where it wouldnt happen around kids.

Then his cellphone vibrated on the council dais. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) was on the line, and she pleaded with him to change his vote, he said. She said in very clear terms that the city and the police department were not ready for this, Allen said.

So Allen (D-Ward 6), like another council member Tuesday, reversed his vote and agreed to reconsider the issue within four weeks. That still leaves open the question of how the council will resolve a major disagreement about how lenient the city should be in regulating the smoking of pot in public.

[The gift of marijuana without going to jail]

Bowser a year ago surprised the city in her first weeks in office with a forceful showdown with Congress over legalizing pot. The new mayor had not campaigned on the issue, but she seized on it and made it her own. Bowser vowed to enact the will of seven in 10 voters who had supported a pro-pot initiative, and she did so over threats of jail time from House Republicans, winning standing ovations all over the city.

Mayor Muriel Bowser (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

But less than a year later, a messy and public scramble on Tuesday by the mayor to keep intact  perhaps just for 90 days  a package of restrictions against public pot smoking showed something else. Bowser is no longer in full control of the issue, and, in fact, risks slipping behind fast-shifting public sentiment in favor of greater acceptance of legalization in Washington.

Bowser has promised not to let pot smoking become an embarrassment in the nations capital, even making deals with pot advocates to keep clouds of marijuana smoke from rising over the Mall in her first year in office. She also has grand ambitions, after years of corruption scandals hanging over the Districts city hall, of making the mayors office a greater force on Capitol Hill.

At the same time, she has vowed to use marijuana policy as a vehicle to press for D.C. residents voting rights with federal overseers, and recent polls show that even more residents  74 percent  think Congress should back off and allow the city to regulate and tax the sale of marijuana than support legalization itself, 69 percent.

[D.C. smells like marijuana, and residents dont really care]

On Tuesday, however, when Bowser called both friend and foe on the council, close aides in the room with her and lawmakers who picked up her calls said her driving motivation appeared to be more immediate. Whether by fault of her own or the council  and Bowser most definitely blamed the council  she warned that the city was poised to leap into an abyss of pot deregulation that it might never pull out of, she repeatedly warned lawmakers.

We did not want the current law to go up in smoke without a clear sense of what would happen when it did, said Bowsers chief of staff John Falcicchio. If were going to have a conversation about what the future of legalization looks like, lets have that conversation, but that shouldnt happen by just allowing what we have in place to expire.

[D.C. legalized pot clubs for 30 minutes this week, then reversed itself]

As of Feb. 26, 2015 marijuana was made legal in D.C.sort of. Here are the ins and outs of the complex pot law. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the police department remains poised to enforce whatever decision the council and mayor decide on pot clubs, but she added that legalization and assorted extensions of that legislation ought to have continued oversight by residents.

We have dealt with whatever the legislation has been put into law. The role of the police department is to enforce the law on the books. Were going to enforce those laws, Lanier said. There needs to be some very careful vetting by what is passed by the community. This is something that needs to have more discussion.

Congress last year handcuffed the District into a tortured state of partial pot legalization. It couldnt stop the city from declaring pot legal based on the ballot measure, or from letting residents grow it or share it. But it barred the District from spending any local tax revenue to write or enforce regulations to govern the sale and taxation of the drug. Several conservative Republicans in the House said they feared Colorado-style marijuana dispensaries popping up in sight of the White House or even adjacent to the FBI.

Still, ambiguity in the local ballot law that was enacted by Bowser and the council could have allowed European-style pot clubs to form in the city in which residents and visitors could pay membership for access to places to smoke, legal experts said. And the ballot measure was silent about whether clubs, music venues or even religious institutions could allow smoking on their properties.

To prevent their formation, Bowser sent legislation to the council on Day 1 of legalization last February prohibiting marijuana consumption at virtually any registered business. A single violation, the mayor warned, would lead to a business losing its ability to operate. The result has been a lack of gathering places for pot smokers. Also, a gray market has sprung up in the city, daring entrepreneurs to accept donations to various causes in exchange for gifts of pot or even engage in straight up bartering for the plant. D.C. police have made only one arrest  of a pair that blanketed luxury vehicles with pictures of pot and parked on major city thoroughfares taking donations for pot-laced brownies and other edibles. Many more low-key operations continue.

Council member David Grosso (I-At large) said he sees an unwillingness by Bowser and leaders of the council to confront Congress more aggressively on the issue. Wheres the outrage? he said of the status quo. He and council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) are advocating for the most aggressive and controversial option available to the mayor and council. They want the city to exploit a loophole in federal budget law to let the city fully regulate the sale of marijuana. That would call for using surplus money from past budget years that is not explicitly appropriated by Congress to pay for writing and enforcing new marijuana regulations.

[The thing D.C. could do to allow legal pot sales  but probably wont]

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), however, said he is inclined to go along with continuing Bowsers proposed ban on pot clubs. I havent heard any complaints about the way things are going, he said.

The council has four weeks to work out a compromise, before a vote to extend Bowsers ban or let it expire this spring. Falcicchio, her chief of staff, said the city would not be in the quandary if Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) had taken up the issue earlier last year as head of the judiciary committee.

Council member LaRuby May (D-Ward 8), who is a close ally of Bowsers and who is up for reelection this spring, initially opposed a ban on pot clubs but then reversed course on Tuesday amid lobbying by the mayor. She remains a possible swing vote on the issue next month. May did not return phone calls and a text Wednesday seeking comment.
Michael Durso, right, recently named president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, at a board meeting Dec. 8. ( Montgomery County Public Schools)

As budget hearings begin this week in Marylands largest school system, the Montgomery County Board of Education is being led by Michael Durso, a retired high school principal who was tapped last month as the boards new president.

Durso, who previously served as the boards vice president, takes the top post on the eight-member board as it heads into another year of budget strain and continues to work on finding a new superintendent.

I think we have a number of issues before us that are going to demand a lot of time and attention, Durso said about the months ahead.

[Montgomery schools leader proposes budget for next fiscal year]

The board will hear from the public Thursday as it considers a $2.4 billion operating budget proposed by interim superintendent Larry A. Bowers. Another hearing will be held next week, with a board vote slated for February.

Durso said the budget deliberations could be intense in the months to come amid potential funding shortfalls. Still, he said, I think the (Montgomery County) council is aware of our needs and will meet those needs as much as they can, with all the other needs the county has.

As it confronts budget issues, the board also will continue its hunt for a new schools chief. Last February, Montgomerys previous superintendent, Joshua P. Starr, resigned amid reports that he lacked the votes he needed to win a new four-year contract.

The boards search for Starrs replacement faltered in the spring when the only preferred candidate withdrew from consideration.

[Leading candidate for Montgomery schools chief withdraws from consideration]

The school board resumed the search in the fall. The board would like to have it finalized by early spring, but theres a lot of factors that go into it, Durso said.

Durso, who joined the board in 2009, had a career in education for more than four decades, including positions as principal at high schools in the District and in Arlington, Va. He took over as principal at Springbrook High School in Montgomery County in 1996, serving there until his retirement in 2009.

He started in December and will serve a one-year term as board president, replacing Patricia ONeill, the boards longest-serving member, who completed her fifth term as president.

[Archives 2014: Montgomery County school board elects new president]

The board named Judith Docca, who is serving her third board term, as its vice president. Before her retirement, Docca worked for the school system as a teacher and administrator, including positions as assistant principal at Montgomery Blair High School and principal at Argyle Middle School.

Durso and Docca were reelected in November 2014.
Of all the strategies police and politicians have advanced to get guns off District streets, not a single proposal has included going to the carwash.

But a routine visit to clean their black Chevrolet Suburban paid off for four members of the U.S. Capitol Police Departments heavily armed tactical division, known as the Containment Emergency Response Team.

On a warm morning on the last day of 2015, the officers took the unmarked Suburban to Splash Car Wash on I Street SE, a few blocks north of the Navy Yard Metro station.

While in the waiting room, one of the officers  decked out in black and wearing a flak jacket and visible sidearm  saw a Splash employee run up to a man who also had brought a car in to be cleaned.

Hey bro, come over here, the employee told the man, according to a court affidavit filed later. I am glad I am not a bad guy.

The man and the employee disappeared, and when the man returned, police said in the affidavit, the officer noticed a bulge on the right side of the mans pants. The officer wrote in the affidavit that it resembled the silhouette of the butt of a pistol.

Police said they found a High Point .380-caliber handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. The man told police that it had been in his vehicle and that the carwash attendant found it while cleaning. Police said they also found counterfeit money in the mans car.

Timothy Temple, the owner of the carwash, tells the story a slightly different way. He said his young worker found $2,000  real or otherwise  in the car, and returned it to the owner, telling him that he was lucky to run into an honest worker. Temple said the police officer noticed the bulge when the man parted his jacket to stuff the money into his pocket.

Either way, Temple said that in 20 years in the car-washing business, the New Years Eve find was the most notable.

His workers find so many interesting items that he has made a sign listing the top 10: a false tooth under a seat; a wedding ring hidden in a cup holder; $1,700 under a floor mat; a $600 roll of bills stuffed into the ashtray.

He warns his customers on the same sign that lists those finds: Dont give us additional material. If its that valuable, take it with you. Now Temple said, he might have to re-top his list.

Capitol police said Antwan Dashawn Johnson, 36, of West Virginia, was charged with illegal handgun possession and has been freed pending a Jan. 25 court hearing.

Neither he nor his attorney returned calls seeking comment. Johnson told police that he had a gun permit from West Virginia but not from the District, court files show.

Police have his gun and his car, which is now spotless. Temple said the man had the most expensive service offered  the works  which includes washing the wheel rims, sponging the tires, wiping down the dashboard and vacuuming.

It cost the man $32, and he paid by credit card. Temple said it was worth the price. Between police and his diligent workers, he said, We really cleaned it.
Police said they have arrested a second man in connection with a December homicide in the Districts Langston-Carver neighborhood.

Willie Glover, 37, of Northeast Washington was arrested and charged with first degree felony murder while armed. Police allege that he was involved in the murder of Lenard Wills, 50, of Northeast D.C.

The incident happened Dec. 21 around 8:20 p.m. when police received a call for a report of gunshots in the 700 block of 24th Street NE.

Officers found that three people, including Wills and Glover, had been stabbed. Wills was found inside an apartment on 24th Street and another man  later identified as Joseph Barbour, 35, of Northeast Washington  was found not far away in the 2100 block of H Street NE.

Barbour, who also goes by the name Shorty, was also suffering from stab wounds. The third man  later identified as Glover  was found at an area hospital where he had suffered from stab wounds.

Barbour and Wills were taken to area hospitals. Wills was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Last month, police arrested and charged Barbour, 35, of Northeast Washington with first-degree murder while armed.

Staff writer Peter Hermann contributed to this report.
Officer William G. Porter, right, and his attorneys, Joseph Murtha, left, and Gary Proctor, arrive at the courthouse for pretrial hearings in the case of Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. in Baltimore. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters)

Attorneys for the Baltimore police officer awaiting retrial in the death of Freddie Gray filed a request Thursday to stop the court from forcing their client to testify against his colleagues, a move that could delay eagerly anticipated verdicts in the case that set the city aflame.

A three-judge panel of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals will review the request and make a decision or call a hearing, Maryland judiciary spokeswoman Terri Charles said. Unless the judges indicate otherwise, jury selection is set to begin Monday for the second trial in the Gray case, Charles said.

The request for an injunction comes after Baltimore City Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams ruled Wednesday that Officer William G. Porter  despite facing a June 13 retrial on involuntary manslaughter charges  can be forced to take the stand against Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. and Sgt. Alicia D. White. The decision allows prosecutors to call Porter, whose first trial ended last month in a hung jury, as a witness as long as the state promises not to use his testimony at his retrial.

The ruling from Williams was unprecedented in Maryland, according to legal experts. Immunity in exchange for testimony is typically offered to those testifying before grand juries or to strike plea deals. But there are questions as to whether the type of protection prosecutors are offering  known as use and derivative use immunity  will be enough to protect Porters Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Given that the same prosecutors will take Mr. Porters testimony not once but twice . . . [and] will then cross-examine Officer Porter again at his retrial, he will not and cannot be placed in the same position as if he had never testified, Porters attorneys wrote in their request to delay Williamss order. The state gets an advantage, and what [prosecutors learn] of Officer Porters knowledge during the compelled testimony during the trials of Goodson and White cannot be unknown at retrial.

Here's what you need to know after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial of William G. Porter, one of six police officers charged in the Freddie Gray case. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

A delay in the proceedings would allow the Court of Special Appeals to provide appellate guidance on an issue that has none, in a case of national and international importance, Porters attorneys said.

Prosecutors had not filed a response to the request from Porters attorneys as of Thursday afternoon. A gag order prevents them from speaking about the case.

[Complete coverage of the Freddie Gray case.]

Gray, 25, suffered a severe neck injury in the back of the police van that Goodson was driving April 12 and died one week later, prosecutors said. In all, six officers involved in Grays arrest and transport have been charged.

Porter, who answered Goodsons call for backup after Grays arrest, was the first officer to stand trial. Testifying in his own defense, he said he told Goodson and White that Gray requested a medic.

Prosecutors have said that Porter is a necessary and material witness against Goodson and White and that they would not use new statements he makes as a witness at his retrial.

If Officer Porter testifies in Goodson consistently with his testimony in his own case, prosecutors wrote in court filings, he may rest assured that prosecutors will be consistent with their evaluation of his testimony.

But Porters attorneys argued that the promise of limited immunity would be difficult for prosecutors to keep and would not extend to possible federal charges.

Porters attorneys have asked the appellate court to act quickly as their client has been tapped to be a witness on Jan. 14 or 15 in Goodsons trial. Goodson has pleaded not guilty to second-

degree depraved-heart murder, manslaughter and other charges.

The next defendant set for trial after Goodson is White, who faces manslaughter and other charges. The court said Thursday that her trial has been pushed back to Feb. 8. The trial of Officer Garrett E. Miller, charged with second-degree assault and other counts, has been postponed to March 7.

Maryland lawyer Timothy Maloney said he does not see how Goodsons trial could move forward with Porter as a witness until judges consider an appeal. Maloney was a member of a commission reviewing the states criminal code in the 1980s and raised questions about the constitutionality of the type of immunity prosecutors are offering to compel Porters testimony.

There are real questions with the enforceability of that promise, Maloney said of the proposed immunity. It is a very important question, and it is one that has to be litigated now or never . . . because once he testifies, he loses his right to remain silent.

Maloney said transactional immunity, which is broader, would be more appropriate but would prevent prosecutors from retrying Porter.

Jeremy Eldridge, a Baltimore defense lawyer and former city prosecutor, said that if a higher court chooses to take on Porters appeal, the state may opt to continue proceedings against Miller, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Officer Edward M. Nero, whose trials dont require Porter as a witness.

If Porter does testify as a witness, the next question is what the state can use in subsequent proceedings, Eldridge said. Its going to introduce some other very complex legal arguments.

Marshall Henslee, a Baltimore defense lawyer, called it a messy situation but said it may be a calculated risk.

At the end of the day, those prosectors are probably saying, If we have to not get a conviction against Porter to get Goodson, well do that,  Henslee said. Goodson has the most serious charges against him, and they want to get a conviction on somebody.
Baltimore Police Officer Edward Gillespie, of the education and training division, teaches a Fairness and Impartiality in Policing Implicit Bias class to in-service officers at the Baltimore Police Training Academy. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Baltimore police officer Edward Gillespie flashed a picture of a sneering man wearing a turban and asked a classroom of fellow officers, Who is he?

A terrorist, Muslim, Taliban, various members of the class responded.

Could he be special forces? Gillespie asked.

ISIS special forces, someone joked.

As some in the class chuckled, Gillespie pressed his point. In an experiment in which college students were told to shoot a gunman  and not shoot the unarmed  participants were more likely to pull the trigger on those wearing hijabs or turbans. Later, he gave a real-life example: In a shooting in Las Vegas, he said, a man trying to intervene overlooked a woman who was involved in killing two police officers, only to have the woman turn the gun on him.

Baltimore Police Officer Edward Gillespie leads a sessions on bias for fellow officers. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

The officers had come together for the departments newest training initiative: a frank discussion of their own biases. Over the next few hours, they talked about race, age, gender  even dress  and how these change the way they act on the job.

By relying on bias, Gillespie asked, that can degrade our safety, and it can also degrade what?

Our whole department, an officer responded.

As the shooting of unarmed black men by police officers has drawn increased scrutiny nationwide, local police departments are increasingly turning to implicit bias training in hopes of helping their officers recognize their prejudices and develop strategies for enforcing the law equitably in spite of them. The idea is that simply understanding your biases can help you overcome them and make more informed judgments.

[Across America, whites are biased and they dont even know it]

Recommended by President Obamas Task Force on 21st Century Policing as one way police departments can reform, the training has been offered in departments large and small, including in New Orleans, Los Angeles and Seattle. The Virginia State Police intend to roll bias training out to all troopers and new recruits in February, and the Prince Georges County, Md., police department is developing its own version. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) hopes to offer four training sessions this year so that smaller departments might be able to send their officers to it.

Lorie Fridell, whose Fair & Impartial Policing company travels across the nation conducting such training, said the firm is booked many months out, and the schedule is filling fast.

Lorie Fridell, developer of the Fair & Impartial Policing company, talks about how implicit biases can affect police work and cause potential dangers. (University of Southern Florida)

Im actually receiving a request per business day, she said.

In the Baltimore class, Gillespie asked officers to consider that when they encounter someone on the street, they have limited information  a persons race, general age and perhaps a distinctive style of dress. Their biases, Gillespie said, fill in the rest.

The lesson did not encounter much resistance  though not all regarded bias as inherently bad.

Its definitely part of policing, one officer said. You have to survive.

Science on implicit bias is not new, and police departments are not alone in offering bias training. Facebook, for example, unveiled a program on the topic for employees last year. Cmdr. Daniel Hickson of the D.C. police training academy said the city has been offering the instruction for some time.

[A Harvard University test on implicit bias]

But calls for reform by members of the Black Lives Matter movement and others have pushed implicit bias training to the forefront of the national conversation on law enforcement practices.

Obama recently addressed bias by police in his own life, talking about times hed been pulled over while driving. Most of the time I got a ticket, I deserved it, he said in an October speech to police chiefs. But, he said, there were times where I didnt.

There are a lot of African Americans, not just me, who have that same kind of story of being pulled over, or frisked, or something. And the data shows that this is not an aberration, Obama said.

Fridell said she developed a curriculum in 2008 or 2009, though she expanded it in 2011 or 2012 and has seen an increase in demand since the unrest in Ferguson, Mo.

Capt. Matthew Hanley, who runs the Virginia State Polices Training Division, said officials there decided to implement the training with Fridells company to get out in front of possible mishaps.

Weve been fortunate in Virginia. We havent had any real high-profile incidents. But certainly, we watch the news, too, Hanley said.

The class is reliant on scientific studies and designed to appeal to law enforcement. In recent training near Richmond, instructors showed videos of real police shootings  one in which an officer was shot after disregarding a white suspect and another in which an officer opened fire seemingly without provocation on a black man he had confronted over a seat-belt violation. Retired Palo Alto, Calif., Lt. Sandra Brown repeatedly appealed to the troopers desire to come home at the end of their shifts, telling them policing based on stereotypes could be unsafe, say, if they overlooked a woman carrying a weapon.

If you think you might be a gentleman, youre going to have to override that when youre working, because a woman could kill you today, Brown said. She added that civilians could be biased against the police, and positive interactions between the two could help reduce those biases.

That is not to say the training is universally endorsed. Delroy Burton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, said that while D.C. officers already get such instruction and he is generally supportive of more training and more information, he was skeptical of bringing in outsiders who might be unfairly critical of officers.

To say that the police officers actions are a result of implicit bias, I dont know that thats true, Burton said.

Measuring the success of the training is difficult. Experts say it is too simplistic to use citizen complaint numbers because factors far beyond implicit bias might influence those. Fridell said she tried unsuccessfully to get funding for a controlled evaluation of her course, but based on satisfaction surveys and other anecdotes, she feels the training works.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said that even if you cannot quantify its success, he thinks implicit bias training is more effective than traditional cultural diversity training.

I think this is a very different approach and a useful approach, Wexler said.

Baltimore police Maj. Marc Partee, who runs training and professional development for the department, said he is optimistic the training will help the city move away from the climate that sparked riots after 25-year-old Freddie Grays death in April. Gray had suffered a severe neck injury in police custody and died a week later. While it is hardly an indication of the success of bias training, there was not similar unrest when a mistrial was declared in the case of the first officer to go on trial in connection with Grays death.

You cant make that connection with your community until you recognize that there is bias, Partee said in an interview before the trial began.

The class in Baltimore came on the eve of that trial to determine whether one of their own was responsible for Grays death. Gillespie  who holds a masters degree from Johns Hopkins and has trainees discuss the philosopher Plato as well as Richard Wrights book Native Son in a related course  asked probing questions about the officers biases and offered personal stories about his own.

On this much, the officers seemed to agree: All were biased in some way. But, some wondered, was a candid conversation about those biases productive? Was the scrutiny they were under causing them to soften up, reducing their effectiveness on the job?

You see what happens. Look at the crime rate! officer Steven Angelini exclaimed, noting the city had recently reached the grim milestone of 300 homicides. You cant win.

Totally disagree, countered drug unit detective Corey Jennings. Crime goes in waves. It has nothing to do with the police. It is what it is.

One officer noted that the lesson, in some ways, ran counter to their academy training. There, they were told not to talk to people unless they called you, or you needed to move them off a street corner. Here, they were being told to have positive interactions with people to help overcome bias.

Our job is not nice, one officer said. Most of the time we come into contact with people, its for the wrong reasons.

They also commented on the climate in the country, in which police officers are facing increasing public criticism. Angelini said that in his 10 years in the department, he had never seen residents hating us so much.

Its crazy, he said. Theres no respect.

His colleagues pushed him to consider that society was more hostile generally, not just toward police. Afterward, Angelini said he appreciated the class and others that might help him better interact with those he polices.

We learn a lot, he said.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
D.C. police have arrested a suspect in the December fatal shooting of a man in the Northeast Washington neighborhood of Langston-Carver, according to a department statement.

Kimberly Thompson, 58, of Northeast, has been charged with first-degree murder while armed. He was arrested on a warrant on Tuesday.

Police said Thompson shot Charles Mayo, 53, on the afternoon of Dec. 10 in the 1900 block of Bennett Place NE. Mayo died Dec. 17.

[Man fatally shot in Northeast Washington]

An arrest affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court does not describe a possible motive but says Thompson and Mayo knew each other and that the suspect had been angry about a dice game played in front of his sisters house. Days before Mayo was shot, the affidavit says, Thompson fired shots in the air to break up the gambling game.

Police said that Mayo was able to talk when officers found him wounded on the street, and that he pointed to where the gunfire had erupted and said, I cant breathe. Police said that they recovered nine bullet casings and that a surveillance video showed a silver vehicle stop near the shooting scene and captured Mayo twisting as he tried to run away as shots were fired.

The affidavit says a witness picked Thompson from a line-up and that police officers later stopped him in the neighborhood driving a silver 2007 Mercedes Benz. Police said they found one handgun in a knapsack inside the car and a second gun in a holster in the trunk.

Mayos relatives could not be reached on Thursday. An obituary notice published in the Washington Post says he is survived by a daughter and two sons, two sisters, his mother and five grandchildren.
Christopher Bartley, right, arrives at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., on Thursday. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

A onetime police lieutenant who tried to cook meth at a high-level federal science lab north of Washington was sentenced to 3 1 / 2 years in prison Thursday  closing one of the most bizarre recent drug cases in the region.

There is a certain craziness about this, U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte told the former officer, Christopher Bartley, who worked for the police force at the sprawling National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg.

Messitte invoked the television show Breaking Bad and its main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher who decided to start making meth.

But he went to the desert, the judge said to Bartley, 41. You went to a laboratory at a government facility. Its almost absurd what you tried to accomplish here.

Messittes ruling, just before 9 p.m., came after an 11-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Bartley pleaded guilty in August to trying to manufacture methamphetamine. His effort, on a Saturday night while on duty at NIST, turned into a disaster: An explosion erupted in his face and sent four windows flying up to 33 feet from the lab.

Former NIST Police Lt. Christopher Bartley purchased a key meth-making chemical, pseudoephedrine, at a Target, according to prosecutors, and was seen on surveillance doing so. (Courtesy of U.S. District Court)

The judge condemned Bartleys insistence, to the very end, that he was doing research in order to hold future training seminars about meth for other NIST police officers. Its frankly so preposterous that I dont believe it, Messitte said.

The judge wondered aloud whether Bartley, who had worked at NIST as an officer for 14 years, convinced himself it was true. He advised Bartley to come to terms with why he tried to cook the meth, which remains a mystery perhaps known only to Bartley. Thats a problem for you in this case, Messitte said.

Bartley was allowed to leave the courtroom. He is due to start serving his sentence March 1. In court, Bartley apologized for what he did and for hurting his family.

I made a serious error in judgement, he said.

He vowed to not let the case  which received nationwide media attention  define him. He said he would work hard, even in prison.

Ive got much more to give, he said.

The question of danger and the risks to which he exposed others was central to how much prison time Bartley faced. Messitte ruled that he had endangered others  namely firefighters who responded to the scene, which increased Bartleys federally recommended sentencing range.

Meth-making notes were found in he car of former NIST police lieutenant Christopher Bartley. (Courtesy of federal court documents)

The defendants conduct endangered the very individuals whom he was charged with protecting, prosecutors had argued.

The prosecutors also floated the idea that Bartley wanted to try the drug himself. An analysis of his smartphone, they asserted, revealed that a day before trying to cook the meth, Bartley clicked on a Web page titled How Long Does Meth Stay in Your System?

Steven VanGrack, an attorney for Bartley, had said for months that his client was learning how to make meth so he could hold training sessions for fellow officers and that knowing how long it stays in a persons system was part of that study.

Earlier: A bumbling episode of Breaking Bad

NIST is known for its Nobel Prize-winning research in areas including atomic physics. It has its own police force. Bartley began working for the force in 2001 and was a lieutenant and briefly its acting chief. He resigned the day after the July 18 incident.

On Thursday, prosecutors called three witnesses, including Ryan Winpigler, of NISTs fire department. He was working July 18 and was called to the lab because Bartleys meth-making explosion triggered a silent heat alarm. Winpiglers testimony made clear that he and another firefighter didnt get a direct answer from Bartley about what had happened. But it was evident that hed been burned.

Winpigler arrived at a chaotic scene: Blown-out windows; Bartley with a burn on one arm and singed eyebrows and walking near a trash can and a Dumpster.

According to Winpigler, Bartley told him that he was trying to fill his cigarette lighter with butane and that it exploded.

Winpigler said had he known the man was trying to make meth we never would have entered.

Gary Young, Bartleys supervisor at the NIST police force, also went to the scene that night and testified Thursday. He, too, was told the butane story. Young said that at 1:27 the next morning, after Bartley was taken to the hospital, he received an email from him.

Gary, the email began, I really messed up tonight. In the email, presented at the hearing, Bartley talked about his training plan.

In his research, he said, I watched several videos on YouTube where police were demonstrating the method for their officers or the media.

He said he was doing a practice run and thought he was doing it as safely as possible but soon learned otherwise. I told the butane lighter story simply because I was so embarrassed that I made such a colossal mistake, he continued, adding, I am by no means a drug user which has always been verified by my urinalysis tests.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys each called an expert witness to testify about the risk Bartleys meth-making posed.

Robert Smith, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, spoke about the inherent dangers to the shake and bake technique, citing a case he had worked on in which a garage door was blown off its hinges and a roof shifted. He specifically sized up Bartleys written recipes and said the measurements were off. Youre going to create a reaction that is a lot more violent, he said.

But Daniel O. Chute, a defense witness and expert in environmental and workplace safety, said that by the time the first responders entered the lab after the explosion, it was not particularly dangerous. Part of the reason, he said, was that the windows had been blown out. At that point, that room was open to the atmosphere, Chute said.

In court papers, VanGrack called his client a man of impeccable character: A 14-year NIST police officer, an honorable veteran of the U.S. Army, a devoted father, a committed employee, a kind friend, a thoughtful man of faith.

When news broke this summer about Bartleys case, people made jokes and comparisons to Breaking Bad.

But the meth-cook Bartley tried was small and relatively simple. By going online, Bartley could read how to make meth out of cold medicine, household cleaning products and camping fuel. On July 17, according to court documents, he stopped at a Target in Frederick, Md., where he purchased cold medicine. A day later, at a Giant store, Bartley bought a similar medicine.

He arrived at work later that second day with meth-making notes.

When he added water to the first bottle, the experiment went awry, wrote VanGrack.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command said Thursday it is conducting an internal investigation into an incident that involved one of its employees who local police said went on a rampage in Fairfax County in which he exposed himself to an employee, demanded a cheaper bill and pulled out a gun.

The episode happened Dec. 22 at a restaurant in the Fort Belvoir area, according to Fairfax County police.

Authorities said Curtiss Davis, who lives in Stafford, went to the restaurant and started causing trouble.

[Restaurant customer exposes himself, pulls out a gun, police say]

Davis exposed himself to a woman working there and requested a sexual act, according to police. He then became upset after he was given his bill.

Davis walked to the cashier area, displayed a gun to two employees and demanded they lower the amount of his bill, police said. The employees did, and he left the restaurant after he paid the new, lower amount.

The two victims were not injured in the incident, according to police.

Davis was charged with two counts of abduction and several other counts, including extortion and attempted forcible sodomy.

Davis was not on duty in his government job at the time of the incident in Fairfax, authorities said.

On Thursday, an official with the Army Criminal Investigation Command said that agency was conducting its own internal review of the circumstances surrounding the incident at the restaurant.

Chris Grey, a spokesman for the command, said Davis is a civilian criminal investigator at the command. For the past three years, Grey said Davis has done investigative, support type functions. Grey said the internal investigation began once authorities were notified of the incident in Fairfax.

Davis is suspended with pay from his jobs law enforcement duties, Grey said.
George Williams, left, and Gunter Burhdorf, World War II veterans who fought on opposite sides became friends at their assisted living facility in Va. (Jay Westcott For The Washington Post)

On his first night in his assisted-living home, Gunter Buhrdorf ate dinner with another World War II soldier.

He was, for the second time in his life, a stranger in a new land. The assisted-living facility staff gave him the open seat at George Williamss four-person table. They hoped the men, veterans only several years apart in age, would get along.

But Buhrdorf, now 90, was reluctant to share wartime stories with his new dining companion.

Yes, the men were both veterans. But they had fought on opposite sides.

Buhrdorf imagined it would be awkward to explain to Williams, who had been a bomb-dropping Allied pilot in Germany, that he had manned antiaircraft guns for the Nazis.

A memory book of George Williams. (Jay Westcott for The Washington Post)

So he decided, at first, to say nothing.

Then one evening in spring 2013, several weeks after Buhrdorfs arrival, a few of the men were sitting in the lobby at Commonwealth Assisted Living Facility at Christiansburg swapping stories, as they tended to do many evenings. Williams began reminiscing about the war and flying under heavy German flak fire.

Buhrdorf hesitated. Did he tell his new friends about his own role in the war fighting for Hitlers army? Would they still treat him the same?

I was a little bit nervous . . . maybe they dont know this, and if I open up, then maybe theyll change their tune, Buhrdorf said, his German accent faded but still distinct.

But the veterans desire to tell his story overcame his trepidation. He spoke for almost 45 minutes, divulging details of his wartime experience.

No supporter of Hitler

He was only 14 years old when he joined the German army in 1939, he began. His father was a Republican in local government, and they hadnt supported Adolf Hitlers rise. Fighting for Germany was for love of country, not its leader, he said.

During the war, the Germans didnt advertise what was happening to the Jewish people and others in the concentration camps. Buhrdorf remembers the moment, in August 1945 after the war ended, when he first read a newspaper account of the horror that had unfolded. Why? Why do that? he recalled thinking then of Hitler. You turned the whole world against us.

Historical photos of George Williams, left, and Gunter Buhrdorf from their time in World War II. (JayWestcott for The Washington Post)

As a teenager, Buhrdorf manned 20 millimeter antiaircraft guns, but life still felt relatively calm until the United States arrived.

When America got into the war, thats when things changed. The bombings changed, the size of the attacking force was increased from 50 to 500, Buhrdorf said.

Bremen, the northwestern town where his family lived, was leveled.

At 18, Buhrdorf was put in charge of a crew of foreign laborers tasked with building Hitlers ambitious submarine fleet. They were prisoners, but they were also his men, and Buhrdorf said he saw to it that they were fed.

Hitler wouldnt have liked that, he said. That was not to be advertised during the war.

He also knew that the men were privately organizing in their own native tongues to build the submarines poorly in an attempt to sabotage the German mission. There was little he could do about it.

When the raid alarms would sound, Buhrdorf said, theyd sometimes sleep in the torpedo tubes.

In April 1945, the British captured Bremen. Buhrdorf was at that point fighting with the infantry against Russian attacks.

He suffered one injury on his retreat back west: A three-inch-long piece of shrapnel, from a mortar shell, clipped him about two inches below his shoulder on his back when he was dodging enemy fire. Its his only physical battle scar.

Buhrdorf was taken to a British internment camp on a small island off the coast of England. His clothes were covered with lice, and the food he was given consisted of watered-down cabbage soup. He found dandelions, sea gull eggs and frog legs to eat instead.

There wasnt much left of Germany after the war, so Buhrdorf joined his brothers, who were already living in America. On his flight over in 1949, he sat in the back of the DC-6 airliner drinking Canadian Club whisky with a group of Norwegians. They dared him to ask a pretty girl sitting up front to dance with him. So he did, and they slow-waltzed on the plane to music playing over the speakers.

When they deplaned, photographers were waiting by the gate. He waved at them, thinking they were there to greet the foreign visitors. But his brother laughed at him. They were there to capture Hollywood starlet Gloria DeHaven, who was returning from a USO show overseas.

Dancing with the actress was his first introduction to America.

He was promised accelerated citizenship if he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Less than two years later, not yet a citizen, he was sent to Korea to fight on behalf of the country that less than a decade before hed fought against.

I came to America after seeing all the misery, all the ruins. It was such a calamity that there was absolutely no hope of being happy, as you might say, he said. There was nothing.

In the years after the war, millions of Germans left the country, both forcibly and voluntarily. Tens of thousands of them, like Buhrdorf, came to America.

Thomas Childers, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania who has written several books about World War II, said Germans were by and large welcomed warmly. Most Americans didnt know much about the Holocaust yet, nor did many Germans, and Americans residual wartime vitriol was directed at the Japanese because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Some of the new immigrants, served in Korea, like Buhrdorf, to gain their U.S. citizenship.

Those who work with the elderly and veterans said they had never heard of two wartime enemies connecting as seniors living in the same facility.

Its inspiring to see that two men are able to put aside any past conflicts from their youth to bond and form a friendship that may not have occurred anywhere else, said Greg Crist, senior vice president public affairs at the National Center for Assisted Living. It is unique.

A handshake

As Buhrdorf told the men his story in 2013, Williams nodded empathetically. Youve seen a lot. You have experienced a lot, he said to Buhrdorf.

When Buhrdorf finished, Williams extended his hand.

Buhrdorf took it.

Let bygones be bygones, Buhrdorf recalls saying.

It helped that Williams had quickly deduced that he had flown his American B-24 Liberator well above the range of Buhrdorfs antiaircraft guns.

Over there, the thing was, we were bombing from 25,000 feet, and what I was interested in was how high his artillery pieces would reach, Williams, now 96, said. And the ones he was shooting would go to 10,000 feet. He couldnt reach me. As soon as I found out how high he could reach, I knew he wasnt the one trying to hit us. But anything we dropped could have hit him.

By October 1944, all-able bodied German soldiers were shifted to the infantry to fight, and Buhrdorf was stationed on the eastern front defending against Russian attacks. So it was unlikely  although not impossible  that he would have come under fire from Williams in those final, bloody battles.

Just before Christmas, Williams and Buhrdorf met in the homes library one afternoon.

Williams came in with his girlfriend, whom hed met in an elevator a few years ago. He scooted his wheelchair closer to Buhrdorfs seat. Come to me, my love, Buhrdorf sang teasingly.

Ok, thats close enough, he said as Williams tapped Buhrdorf affectionately on his inner arm.

If they had crossed paths during the war, he would have lost, Buhrdorf chided.

Williams missed the joke. He is deaf in one ear, likely the result of the explosions during the war, his doctors have told him. He flew 25 missions with a crew of 10 men, he said, and they all survived. When the war ended, he flew them home safely in the same plane they flew over in, which was rare. Its a fact Williams repeats several times.

I went in after he did, but the thing with me is I didnt get a scratch, Williams said. And I got everything I wanted. I got to fly the plane I wanted, I got to become a pilot. Everything worked for me, and nothing seemed to work for him, because he was really banged up.

Just outside the library and down a hallway, the assisted-living home features a Wall of Valor, adorned with photos of the veterans there in their wartime uniforms.

The black-and-white head shots of Williams and Buhrdorf hang beside each other.

I had a wonderful life, Buhrdorf said. Now I sit here by the fireplace and exchange what could have happened.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump waves to a cheering crowd during a campaign stop Tuesday in New Hampshire. (Jim Cole/AP)

Three African American pastors who support Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday over a requirement that GOP primary voters sign a statement affirming that they are Republicans  a plan the presidential front-runner has condemned.

The plaintiffs say the loyalty pledge will discourage minority voters and those who are poor from casting ballots in Virginia, where voters do not register by party. Signing the vow will create long lines at the polls, imposes the burden of fear and backlash and amounts to a literacy test, according to the lawsuit.

The Virginia Republican Party recently decided voters who want to help choose the Republican presidential nominee must first sign a statement that says: My signature below indicates I am a Republican.

Virginia Beach attorney Chester Smith said his clients  Stephen A. Parson Sr., Bruce L. Waller Sr. and Leon Benjamin  are Richmond-area pastors who decline to say if they have supported Democrats in the past. The complaint was filed in Newport News, but it will be heard in Richmond, he said.

I imagine they ascribe to a lot of the message that Donald Trump brings and . . . the idea of making the country great again and making values important again, Smith said.

Business mogul and presidential candidate Donald Trump announced he signed the loyalty pledge that the Republican National Committee has demanded of its candidates during a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan. (Reuters)

The lawsuit names the three members of Virginias Board of Elections as defendants because they finalized and will oversee the administration of the pledge at the polls. Martin Mash, a spokesman for the states Department of Elections, declined comment.

Trump brought the issue to national prominence last week when, in a series of tweets, he called the oath a suicidal mistake that would disallow independent, unaffiliated and new voters. BAD!

In a statement from Trumps campaign, the celebrity billionaire said he had nothing to do with the lawsuit but that he supports the pastors cause.

If they dont stop excluding people, the party is doomed, Trump said. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary [Clinton] and the Democrats love this. The Republican Party in Virginia keeps losing. They really need to be smart and win for a change.

The pledge could be particularly damaging to Trump, whose unorthodox candidacy has attracted voters disenchanted with traditional party politics, experts have said.

[Trumps objection to Va. voter pledge stirs divisions in state GOP]

Trumps criticism has exacerbated division within the state GOP, whose governing body voted for the pledge in September. Several activists who previously supported the pledge have since reversed their position and advised the party to withdraw it.

Its time to pull the plug on this disaster, Russ Moulton, an influential conservative activist, said of the oath last week.

Despite recent attempts to impose a pledge in presidential primaries, the last one was instituted in 2000, according to party officials.

GOP officials declined to comment Wednesday on whether the public outcry and the lawsuit have caused them to reconsider.

Last week, John Findlay, executive director of the Virginia GOP, sent party officials talking points insisting that the pledge, which the party calls a statement of affiliation, is intended to prevent Democrats from choosing the partys nominee.

For reasons unknown to our Party at this time, Donald Trump has decided that this [is] an attack against his campaign, he said in the email. Let me be very clear, the statement of affiliation is not designed to favor or hurt any candidate whatsoever.

The lawsuit, which was first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, says the pledge violates the Voting Rights Act, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, the First Amendment and state law.

The pledge will cause long lines, the suit says, and poor people, who the lawsuit says are disproportionately black and Hispanic in Virginia, cannot afford to wait for hours to vote. The lawsuit also says the problems are exacerbated by Virginias history of slavery, poll taxes and school segregation.
Charlie Cox says his return as Daredevil "still feels too good to be true"
ALABAMA

Judge halts same-sex marriage licenses

Alabamas controversial chief justice Wednesday ordered counties to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, although it is unclear if large numbers of local officials will follow his directive.

In an administrative order, Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has been a key antagonist of gay rights advocates, said a recent court ruling suggests it is not yet clear that the U. S. Supreme Courts June decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationally applies in Alabama. Therefore, he wrote, until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, state laws banning same-sex marriage remain in full force and effect.

But Moores order, which came from his office and not from the Alabama Supreme Court, appears to conflict with an order by a federal judge last year. In that May order, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ordered the states probate judges, whose job it is to issue marriage licenses, to issue them regardless of sexual orientation. She said explicitly that her order supersedes any order from the Alabama Supreme Court.

Moores efforts are part of a last stand among opponents of legal same-sex marriage, who have sought to block its implementation despite the Supreme Court decision that gay couples have a constitutional right to wed. He took a similar stand after same-sex marriage became legal in his state early last year, but most of the states counties decided to issue the marriage licenses to comply with Granades order.

At least nine counties across Alabama, however, stopped issuing marriage licenses last year to avoid having to grant them to gay couples, according to gay rights advocates. And at least two counties that were issuing marriage licenses to everyone Wednesday morning appeared to change course because of Moores order.

 Sandhya Somashekhar

TEXAS

Trooper in Bland case charged with perjury

A grand jury in Texas on Wednesday indicted a state trooper who arrested a 28-year-old black woman who later died in a county jail last summer.

The grand jury indicted Trooper Brian Encinia  who arrested Sandra Bland during a traffic stop  on a perjury charge, said Lewis White, one of the special prosecutors in the case.

This decision came a little over two weeks after the grand jury opted not to indict anyone in connection with Blands death, which prompted national protests after she was found dead in her cell.

White said the perjury charge is a Class A misdemeanor that carries with it possible penalties of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. He also said it was the only charge that the grand jury would hand up.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it intends to fire the trooper as a result. Encinia was placed on administrative duty last summer.

 Mark Berman

ENVIRONMENT

Firm sues U.S. over pipeline rejection

TransCanada Corp. sued the U.S government Wednesday to reverse President Obamas rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, calling his decision unconstitutional.

TransCanada also sought $15 billion in a separate action under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying the pipeline permit denial was arbitrary and unjustified. The companys lawsuit in federal court in Houston does not seek legal damages but wants the permit denial invalidated and seeks a ruling that no president can block construction.

Obama rejected the cross-border crude oil pipeline in November, seven years after it was first proposed, saying it would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to the U.S. economy.

The Keystone XL was designed to link pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude oil from Alberta and North Dakota to refineries in Illinois and, eventually, the Gulf coast.

 Reuters

Calif. gas leak prompts state of emergency: California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Wednesday over a massive natural-gas leak that has been spewing fumes into a Los Angeles neighborhood for months. Brown (D) said he acted based on the requests of local residents in the community of Porter Ranch. The well, owned by Southern California Gas Co., has been spewing up to 1,200 tons of methane daily, along with other gases. The leak was first reported in October. The utility is paying to relocate thousands of residents who have reported nosebleeds, nausea and other ailments.

 From news services
MEXICO

Violence tied to drop in male life expectancy

A new study suggests that Mexicos drug violence was so bad at its peak that it caused the nations male life expectancy to drop by several months.

Experts say the violence from 2005 to 2010 partly reversed decades of steady gains, noting that homicide rates increased from 9.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2005 to more than 22 in 2010. That has since declined to about 16 per 100,000 in 2014.

The study, published Tuesday in the U.S. journal Health Affairs, says that the increase in homicides is at the heart of the drop in life expectancy, though deaths due to diabetes also may have played a role.

The study found that life expectancy for males in Mexico dropped by about six-tenths of a year from 2000 to 2010.

In five violence-plagued states  Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Guerrero and Nayarit  men lost one year of life expectancy between 2005 and 2010 on average, the study found. In the border state of Chihuahua alone, the loss added up to three years.

epa05081461 Demonstrators hold placards with images of 43 Mexican students missing during a march to mark 15 months of their disappearance, between Zocalo square and basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico, 26 December 2015. EPA/Alex Cruz (Alex Cruz/EPA)

By 2010, two-thirds of Mexican states had lower life expectancies than they did in 2000.

The decline largely occurred from 2005 to 2010. Mexicos offensive against drug cartels started in 2006.

 Associated Press

BRITAIN

Labour leader ejects rebels from top posts

The leader of Britains opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has dismissed his European Union policy chief for purported disloyalty and moved his pro-nuclear defense spokeswoman to another job in an attempt to tighten control over his rebellious party.

The partys main culture spokesman also went, and the moves triggered some resignations among junior members of Corbyns team. But foreign policy chief Hilary Benn, whose position had initially appeared in doubt, stayed.

Corbyn, a veteran left-wing activist, was elected party leader after Labour suffered an overwhelming defeat to the Conservative Party last year. But his four-month-old tenure has deepened divisions between him and several of Labours leading lawmakers.

 Reuters

A woman walks by an electoral campaign mural of Gisela Mota, the mayor who was gunned down a day after taking office, in Temixco, Morelos State, Mexico, on January 4, 2016. (Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images)

GERMANY

1.1 million migrants registered last year

Nearly 1.1 million people were registered as asylum seekers in Germany last year, more than 400,000 of them from Syria, the government said Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry said 1,091,894 people were registered between January and December. Syrians were the biggest group, with 428,468 arrivals.

Germany has taken in more refugees and other migrants than any other European country.

The influx was slower in December than in previous months, with 127,320 people arriving  down from 206,101 in November. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that was largely because of stormy weather in the Mediterranean Sea.

The total tally of registered asylum seekers includes an undetermined number who were registered twice or continued to other regions, de Maiziere said.

We think the level of refugees and asylum seekers who have come to Germany is too high

and are working so that it isnt repeated on this scale in 2016,

he said.

 Associated Press

Marine appeals conviction in Filipinas killing: A U.S. Marine has asked a Philippine court to reverse his conviction in the killing of a transgender Filipina and sought bail and a reduction of his six- to 12-year jail term, his attorney said. Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of killing Jennifer Laude in 2014 in a motel room after discovering that Laude was transgender.

U.S. couple held in Spain after childs body is found: A U.S. couple was arrested in Spain on suspicion of reckless homicide after the decomposed body of a child was found at their home in the city of Girona, police said. The couple lived in the apartment with their children. It was not clear how long they had been living in Spain, police said.

Germany identifies 3 suspects in New Years Eve attacks: Police identified three suspects in attacks on women on New Years Eve in the German city of Cologne but made no arrests, the interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia said. More than 100 women have reported being robbed, threatened or molested, police said. The perpetrators appeared to be of Arab or North African origin, police said.

 From news services
Sarah Poggis Jan. 3 op-ed, A doctors dilemma: How to treat the angry, raised important issues about incivility and bullying in the medical workplace. Interestingly, there seems to be increasing interest in this topic within medical education, including bullying of practitioners, residents and students by patients and bullying of faculty and trainees by peers. There is no successful blueprint for identifying, reporting or treating the problem.

How much bullying by patients occurs  demands for antibiotics, special imaging, blood testing or referrals  is also not known, as there is no reporting mechanism for it. As a medical educator, I worry that students and residents are not being trained to deal with demanding, aggressive patients. Doctors may be spending too much time trying to convince patients that their demands are not cost-effective or medically appropriate.

Doctors need to establish ground rules for how they practice, and this should be explicit on the patients first visit. Obviously, if a patient does not agree with a doctors philosophy, that patient can seek care elsewhere.

Larrie Greenberg, Washington

The writer is a senior consultant in the

Office of Faculty Affairs and a clinical professor in pediatrics at George Washington University.
The Jan. 3 editorial A danger to Israeli democracy characterized a proposed law requiring greater transparency from highly politicized groups that receive a majority of their funding from foreign governments as a threat to Israel. Apparently the gross interference in Israels internal affairs by foreign governments is not seen as a threat to democracy. It is a wonder that stricter measures to deal with the problem have not been sought.

To compare Israel to totalitarian regimes because of a sensible piece of legislation is unworthy of the editorial board.

Stuart Endick, Burke

The merits of the legislation proposed in Israels parliament concerning nongovernmental organizations may be debatable, but the proposal is not [a] danger to Israeli democracy.

Democracy vests in a states citizens a power that is exercised through the elected representatives of those citizens on behalf of those citizens. Inherent in democracy is competition among conflicting agendas of politicians representing the conflicting interests and desires of their constituencies. Democracy is distorted to the extent that foreign governments enter this competition and seek to advance their agendas through NGOs that they finance and potentially control. An antidote to this distortion is full transparency concerning foreign funding of NGOs.

Perhaps the disclosure reports required by existing law provide enough transparency; if so, the additional transparency required by the proposed law may be excessive, but it is hardly a threat to democracy. This is true even if, as the editorial argued, the legislation is aimed at delegitimizing progressive groups in Israel. If increased transparency were to delegitimize these groups in the eyes of Israeli voters and their representatives, it would be unfortunate for these groups and the interests they seek to further, but it would not be undemocratic.

Shalom Brilliant , Silver Spring

I oppose Israels proposed legislation imposing additional disclosure requirements on nongovernmental organizations that receive funding from foreign governments. However, the editorial denouncing the proposal missed the mark. Rather than comparing the legislation to the far more draconian laws of countries such as Russia and China, a more appropriate analogy lies closer to home: the United States.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act imposes similar requirements on some U.S. residents deemed to be agents of a foreign principal. The U.S. law requires disclosures of foreign support in lobbying and similar activities and in advertisements and printed materials designed to sway public opinion.

The laws are not identical, and FARA has been criticized as both ineffective and inconsistent with American values. Nonetheless, last I checked, we still enjoy a vigorous public debate. To tar Israel with the brush of authoritarianism for considering a law that is not dissimilar to our own seems unfair and overstated.

Behnam Dayanim, Silver Spring
Republican lawmakers began the new year in Washington with new ideas about how to undermine the government in which they serve.

On Wednesday, the first legislative day of the year, House conservatives gathered with reporters for their monthly Conversations with Conservatives. When the questioning turned to the armed rebellion in Oregon against the authority of the federal government, these representatives of the United States stood with the rebels.

You have just a frustration that they feel the federal government is not listening to them anymore, and thats what leads to what so far has been a peaceful takeover  of an abandoned building, by the way  and the media, I think, is so quick to sort of cast aspersions on that group of people, declared Rep. Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican and leader of House conservatives.

These people, what they have done so far and hopefully they will continue to do in a peaceful way, theyre trying to express their frustrations, he added. And I think civil disobedience has been something for the most part that the liberal media used to stand up for, but apparently theres some exceptions to that when us conservatives and pro-Second Amendment people are trying to exercise that same right of civil disobedience. So its pretty frustrating.

No, Congressman. Civil disobedience is when people break laws they think unjust and then peacefully face the legal consequences. The takeover of a federal wildlife facility in Oregon by armed men is sedition.

Yet not one of the 10 or so Republican House members on the panel criticized the takeover, and one, Rep. Steve Pearce (N.M.), announced his refusal to pass judgment.

I just want to agree with Raul on this, said Rep. Tom Massie (Ky.). You can disagree with their methods of protesting, but we wouldnt be talking about this today if they werent protesting, and so theyve drawn attention to it.

It was an inauspicious start to this election year and to the second session of the 114th Congress. The Republican majority began the year not by governing but with an ostentatious show of its hostility toward government.

The Houses first substantive piece of business for the new year: another attempt to repeal Obamacare (the 62nd, by the Democrats tally) coupled with another stab at cutting off Planned Parenthood, one of a dozen such efforts recently to scale back abortion rights and womens health care. In this latest attempt to repeal Obamacare (it goes further than the previous 61 because Republicans used a legislative maneuver that allows it to go to President Obama for a certain veto), Republicans abandoned their repeal and replace mantra in favor of just abolishing the massive health-care law.

If we repeal Obamacare, the very first thing that happens is we go back to the best health-care system in the world, announced Rep. Mo Brooks (Ala.), another participant in the conservatives pizza-and-Coke luncheon. We had health care six years ago, and it was the best, and thats where I want to go as a starter, he added.

Brooks is given to exotic pronouncements (he declared in 2014 that Democrats were engaged in a war on whites), but his assertion that all was hunky-dory before the 2010 health-care law recalls the good old days of lifetime coverage limits, coverage bans because of preexisting conditions, discrimination against women, inability to carry health insurance between jobs, and obstacles to young adults staying on their parents policies.

Still there was, purely as a matter of doggedness, something impressive about the New Years Obamacare vote. North Korea is testing nukes, Saudi Arabia and Iran are plunging the Middle East deeper into conflict  but congressional Republicans will not be distracted from their agenda.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in a Wednesday news conference, said he would eventually come up with an alternative to Obamacare and something else resembling a legislative agenda in 2016. We are just beginning this decision-making process, he said. Nothings been decided yet.

But its hard to govern when your caucus is so hostile to government that it has sympathy for seditionists. Asked about the Oregon situation, Ryan deferred to Rep. Greg Walden, a member of GOP leadership who represents the area  and, as The Posts Mike DeBonis noted, Ryan nodded agreement as Walden spoke.

Walden made clear that an armed takeover is not the way to go about it, but he had sympathy for the rebels. These people just want to take care of the environment  they really do, he said. And it is the government that all too often ignores the law.

Such as: when lawmakers sworn to uphold the Constitution applaud those who take up arms against the government.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
AWARD 1







I won the second prize in policy category of the African Information society Initiative ( AISI) awards 2004 which is annually organized by the United Nations- Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) based in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. On the first photo above standing with other awardees after the Ceremony at the National Settlers monument in Grahamstown, South Africa.This was during the 8th Highway Africa Conference.The second photo shows the cross section of Jounalists from different African countries who attended the ceremony.



AWARD 2



I also won the AISI-GKP/SDC Media Award special reporting on WSIS process and Africa, and conferred with the award in Tunis, Tunisia during WSIS summit in 2005. See the photo above.



AWARD 3



Winner on the Media Competition on writing about " Stigma denial and Discrimination " associated with HIV/AIDS . This was organized by the Association of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT ). On the Photo above President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania, ( then the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony.This was at Maelezo auditorium in Dar-es-Salaam September 2005.



AWARD 4 Winner on the Media Competition on writing about " Vulnerable Children " associated with HIV/AIDS This was organized by the Association of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT)



AWARD 5



Winner of the National ICT Media Award organized By SWOPNET in the Country. On the photo above Morogoro Regional Commissioner, Brigadier General ( Rt) Saidi Kalembo was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony which was held at New Sarvoy Hotel in morogoro town.I was awarded a Mobile phone and a tape-recorder.



AWARD 6



I participated in the Media Competition in writing about VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) in Tanzania which was held between July 15th and October 30th 2008 whereby I emerged among the top five winners. The competition was under the program known as Tanzania bila Ukwimwi inawezekana which literally means, Tanzania without AIDS disease transmission is possible. This is a program which was organized by the Association of Journalists Against AIDS in Tanzania (AJAAT) under TACAIDS funding. In the photo, I am being presented with a certificate of participation by the Chairman of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Dr. Fatma Mrisho in a colorful ceremony which was held on 22nd December 2008 at Tanzania Information Centre in Dar es Salaam.

AWARD 7



AWARD 8



AWARD 9



Google Site Translator Get the Google Site Translator widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!
NORTH KOREAS fourth nuclear test, on Wednesday, may or may not have involved, as it claimed, a hydrogen bomb, which would represent a major advance in its weapons capability. It was, however, an unambiguous demonstration that the United States, as well as China and North Koreas other neighbors, are failing in their attempts to restrain the regime and its ambitious 30-something ruler, Kim Jong Un. Unless those outside powers can exert more influence, Asias rogue state is on a path to becoming a strategic threat to the United States and its allies.

Kim Jong Un was evidently eager to claim credit for detonating a hydrogen bomb in advance of his birthday this week; it would be a signal feat for his four-year-old regime. Experts doubted that North Korea managed to build a fully fledged thermonuclear warhead, which has far greater explosive power than the fission weapons it has tested before. But the explosion comes in a context of major efforts by Pyongyang to become a fully fledged nuclear power capable of directly threatening the United States.

North Koreas technological progress has been quite uneven, and there are many unknowns. But some experts believe it may be able to grow its arsenal from eight to 12 warheads to 20 or even 40 in the next several years. It is working on mobile intercontinental missiles that could possibly reach the western United States, along with miniaturized warheads they could carry. It has even begun testing submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Kim Jong Un has meanwhile rejected any return to negotiations on eliminating the arsenal, which broke down in 2009. He has distanced his regime from China, which was the strongest supporter of that diplomacy, and he has proved intransigent in bilateral talks on non-nuclear issues with South Korea and Japan. Ruthless in consolidating power, he could, by the time he is middle-aged, have the capacity to attempt a nuclear strike against the United States, not to mention South Korea and Japan.

The ability of the United States to directly check this threat, short of taking military action, is limited. The Obama administration will seek another U.N. Security Council resolution toughening sanctions against Pyongyang, but four such resolutions have been passed since 2006, without much effect. Congress could legislate separate U.S. sanctions like those it applied to Iran, with the aim of deterring foreign companies and banks from doing business with the regime.

Ultimately, however, the United States and other governments must try to persuade China to use its unique leverage. China supplies most of North Koreas energy as well as vital supplies of other necessities. Beijing has been willing to punish North Korea for its nuclear tests, but only to a point; it has been loath to contemplate actions that could destabilize the regime. Chinese President Xi Jinping must be convinced that the costs of acting against Kim Jong Un are less than those of tolerating him.

The Obama administration has ways to tip those calculations: by elevating North Korea to the top of the bilateral agenda; by encouraging Japan and South Korea to deploy U.S. anti-missile systems; and by stepping up U.S. sanctions on those that trade with North Korea, including Chinese companies. Neglecting the problem will only guarantee that President Obamas successor inherits a major threat.
Ammunition carried by the attackers in the deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2. (San Bernardino County, Calif., Sheriffs Department via Associated Press)

Ann Brown was chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from 1994 to 2002.

When I chaired the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, I was grateful that we had authority to regulate lead in household paint. Banning the use of lead-based paint in homes has prevented brain damage in countless children over the years.

So why wouldnt Congress allow us authority over another dangerous consumer product often made with lead?

Specifically, why not bullets?

On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled a package of executive actions that he hopes will reduce gun deaths in the United States. I urge him to put one more proposal on the table: regulating ammunition. The idea is workable, and Americans could support it.

This idea isnt new. In 1974, the CPSCs first chairman made clear his belief that the agency could probably regulate ammunition, and a court agreed  whereupon a frightened Congress passed laws making it impossible even to try. Now is the time for the president to begin pushing to correct that mistake.

Do I say this swayed by all the horrific mass shootings we have seen in the past few years? Only in part. These are the tragic, visible tip of an iceberg. While mass shootings attract headlines and our grief, bigger problems with guns often go unnoticed: the hundreds killed annually in intimate-partner violence; those killed by kids too young to know what pulling a trigger can do; the 21,000 Americans who commit suicide with a firearm each year.

I admire the president for doing what he did this week. But the chance of achieving even a small reduction in this carnage through executive action is, well, small. And the chance of getting more effective gun-control measures through Congress this year is about zero.

How can we do more when the National Rifle Association has persuaded Congress to put roadblocks in front of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research into gun deaths? When more than half of Americans oppose tighter gun control even after a year of such bloodshed?

Would Americans favor regulating ammunition any more than they would favor regulating guns?

Yes, for three reasons.

First, ammunition limits are clearly not prohibited by the Second Amendment. Some communities and states around the country  Sacramento, Los Angeles and Connecticut, for example  already regulate bullets. Is this effective? In 2008, Sacramento seized thousands of rounds, identifying 156 people prohibited from owning guns or ammunition in the process, while the citys murder rate declined more than 30 percent between 2008 and 2013. Its been a slam-dunk solid, one Sacramento detective told a reporter.

President Obama formally announced a set of executive orders on gun control on Jan.5. Here is what you need to know about how the regulations tighten gun sales and expand background checks. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

More important, unlike gun limits, Americans generally support restrictions on ammunition  80 percent of them in one 2013 Fox News poll.

And, finally, we have the technology to do it. James Holmes bought more than 4,000 rounds online before his 2012 rampage in a Colorado movie theater. Twenty years ago, when purchases were offline, it would have been tough to spot someone like that. Today it would be easy.

Why should my old agency be the one to do the regulating?

One reason: We need a national standard. Having a hodgepodge of agencies and regulations govern ammunition would make flouting any regulation as simple as, say, driving across the Key Bridge from the District to Virginia.

Second, we need an authority that knows that one size does not fit all.

That is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Under Republican and Democratic presidents, the commission has worked with manufacturers to create flexible guidelines for all kinds of hazardous products. It didnt ban cribs, walkers, toasters  or paint. It worked out ways to address what made them dangerous  and saved children in the process.

The same flexible approach can work with ammunition. When someone who may be dangerous is prevented from buying ammunition, any gun he has hidden becomes like a car without gas: a useless hunk of metal.

There are many ways to move ahead. We could license ammunition purchases like drivers, ban online purchases and mandate background checks for buyers. But it would be pointless for me to outline the precise steps that should be taken up front  except for the first one: ending Congresss disgraceful attempt to chill research. Funding to study regulating ammunition should begin now.

Times and cultures change.

When I was chair of the CPSC, I would have laughed if you told me same-sex marriage would become legal. It did. In 1984, a nonprofit staffer first thought up family and medical leave. It passed a decade later. Obamacare? Key parts of it can be traced back 25 years to the conservative Heritage Foundation. Today, its law. What we cant win in 2016 we might win in 2020.

And regulating ammunition should attract some Republican support. In 2007, California condors were being poisoned by lead ammunition in carcasses left behind by hunters. To save them, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill banning lead ammunition in state wilderness areas. Do Republicans believe in regulating ammunition to save condors but not children? I dont think so.

Its time to propose a step that wont trigger a constitutional debate and to move forward on an idea that Americans favor in addition to ones they oppose. Its time to start exploring sensible ways to stop gun violence and save lives by regulating ammunition.
Regarding the Jan. 3 Arts&Style article Entangled in ivory:

Traveling with instruments involves more than ivory. All materials listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are included, not just those from animals. Many violin-family bows were made from pernambuco, a CITES-listed wood, which requires special paperwork for travel. Fine guitars were made from Brazilian rosewood or Honduras mahogany, now protected species. Many over-harvested woods are on the list, and rightly so.

Enforcement of CITES is capricious. Orchestras acquire appropriate permissions yet still face difficulties. Some musicians have expensive, old instruments destroyed by overzealous customs agents. Many woods are similar in appearance. As an instrument maker, I have to provide a list of all materials used anytime I ship an instrument overseas. I dont use banned materials or anything likely to be banned, but I discourage people from traveling with a wooden instrument without checking the ban list.

The only solution I can see is worldwide acceptance of the value of species preservation and careful resource management. Otherwise, non-banned species in wide use today (many because the banned ones are no longer available) will end up on the threatened-species list soon enough and well have the same problem all over again.

Dana Johnson, Kensington
Marco Rubio spent the first two minutes delivering the good news: The United States is the most unique and exceptional country in the history of mankind.

Then for much of the next 18 minutes, he dispensed the bad: A weak President Obama who didnt want to fix the problems diminished Americas standing and threatened its safety. Sen. Ted Cruzs national security record is troubling. Hillary Clinton lied about the Benghazi attacks, he later added. People are fed up.

The youthful Florida senator launched his campaign for president on a more uplifting theme than perhaps any other Republican hopeful, promising a new American century and a new generation of leadership. But Rubio is now increasingly turning to outrage and fear as a motivator, raising the question: Can the optimism candidate win as a pessimist?

His criticism of Obama and Clinton is more piercing. The elbows he is throwing at his GOP opponents are sharper. And his warnings about the national security risks of siding with them over him are more dire and more frequent.

Rubios rhetorical escalation comes after months of mostly positive campaigning  a reflection of a GOP race that is growing nastier across the board ahead of the start of the nomination process in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.

People are angry. They are upset. They are frustrated, he told the crowd here at a Tuesday morning town hall. A day earlier, Rubio credited Donald Trump with harnessing Americans frustrations. He released a new TV ad with this opening line: Barack Obama released terrorists from Guantanamo, and now theyre plotting to attack us.

[Forget hopes and dreams: The GOP race is all about nightmares]

Even with the shift toward a darker tone, Rubio still stands in contrast to other candidates who focus more heavily on dire warnings and negative attacks. Here in Iowa, Cruz (Tex.) and Trump lead the Republican field after months of public ire centered on illegal immigration. In New Hampshire, Trump holds a commanding lead and famously brash New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is on the rise.

We need someone who can articulate that anger and frustration effectively, said Craig Spear of Cedar Rapids, who came to Rubios town hall and is also considering supporting Christie.

Still, there are voters such as Barbara Hall of Cedar Rapids who are within Rubios reach. To her, its not enough for candidates to just be angry.

Channel that anger, said Hall, who is also interested in Cruz.

Thats precisely what Rubio is trying to do by offering himself as an alternative with a plan, not just a war cry. At a town hall in Burlington on Monday, a man told Rubio that Trump has given him confidence that things can actually get done.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, listens to reporters questions after an event Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News)

Rubio responded that Trump has tapped into a real frustration. But that only gets you so far, he said.

You have to know exactly what youre going to do if you get there and how youre going to do it. Being angry about this by itself will not be enough, Rubio said. You have to allow that to become a motivator.

Even as he is trying to draw that distinction, Rubio sometimes sounds a bit like Trump, illustrating how potent the billionaires Make America Great Again mantra has become.

We need to get back to the principles that made us great and apply them to the challenges of the new century, Rubio said in Cedar Rapids.

Rubio explains his recent shift to a more negative tone by pointing to disturbing developments such as the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as ISIS. If you sense some urgency on national security, its because the world every week becomes more and more and more dangerous, he told reporters.

[Donald Trumps first TV ad raises the temperature of the GOP race]

Talking tough is a challenge for many candidates, but it is especially so for the 44-year-old Rubio, whose fast rise through the Republican ranks has drawn doubts from rivals who question his readiness for the top job. But Rubio has sought to put these questions to rest: He and his allies have released a series of TV ads with dark, gloomy hues projecting seriousness. And as other candidates dress down to appear relatable, Rubio often campaigns in a suit, giving him a formal air.

National security has become a frequent topic of dispute between Rubio and Cruz, who have also tussled over immigration. Cruz has attacked Rubio for supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rubio has countered by accusing Cruz of being weak on national security because he voted to limit government surveillance and rejected defense authorization bills.

There are candidates running who say things like they are going to carpet-bomb ISIS or how theyre going to make the sands in the Middle East glow in the dark, Rubio said, referring to statements by Cruz.

Thats all great and good, but talk is cheap, Rubio continued. You cant carpet-bomb ISIS if you dont have an Air Force to do it with. You cant make the sands glow in the dark if you dont have bombs. You cant attack terrorists if you dont know where they are.

Cruz and his allies believe Rubio is especially weak among conservatives for his role in championing a 2013 Senate reform bill that provided a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rubio has tried to turn the tables by talking about immigration primarily through a national security lens.

We know for a fact that radical jihadist groups are using our immigration system to get people into America, he said in Burlington. In fact, they already have on at least one occasion  using a fiance visa, which most people didnt even know we had.

Rubios example backfired when he brought it up again the next day, drawing questions from a reporter who pointed out that the 2013 immigration bill he co-sponsored would have expanded fiance visas to include those engaged to permanent residents, not just citizens.

Like all the Republicans running for president, Rubio has long criticized the national security decisions Obama and Clinton have made. But the language he has used to describe them lately has been especially stinging and vivid.

While ISIS is beheading people and burning them in cages, he says climate change is our greatest threat, Rubio says of the president in one of his his latest commercials.

Rubio, often criticized for his tightly controlled and rehearsed style, has also become more emotional at times. In rejecting Democratic calls for stricter federal limits on guns on Monday in Burlington, for example, Rubio made an impassioned appeal to the crowd.

This is something thats deeper than simply whats legal or illegal. It is a breakdown in our culture, he said, stretching out the first syllable for emphasis. It is a breakdown in our values. And you need a president who understands, I cant pass a law to fix that. 

Whatever his mood, Rubios well-known self-confidence remains. In Cedar Rapids this week, Rubio envisioned taking the oath of office. To paint the picture more clearly for the crowd, he turned to Obama as a foil.

Unlike our current president, he said, Im actually going to mean it.
Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio.

July 31, 2016 Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Melina Mara/The Washington Post

The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is the Democratic nominee for president.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton campaigns in key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton campaigns in key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president.

Two years before the public learned of Hillary Clintons private server, the State Department gave an inaccurate and incomplete response about her email use when it told an outside group that it had no documents about Clintons email accounts beyond her government address, according to a report from the State Departments inspector general to be released Thursday.

The State Department made its statement in response to a 2012 records request from the independent watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The response came even though Clintons chief of staff, who knew about the secretarys private account, was aware of the inquiry, the report says. In addition, the IG review found that agency staffers had not searched Clintons office for emails.

The incident was one of four cases that the report highlights as examples of flawed responses to public-records requests made while Clinton was in office. The report found it was part of a long-standing problem stretching back through previous administrations.

Clintons exclusive use of a private email system, which became public in March 2015, led to an FBI investigation into whether her unusual arrangement had compromised national secrets.

After a firestorm of controversy, Clintons email practice has become more muted as a campaign issue in recent months as she has maintained her status as the Democratic presidential front-runner.

But the new report demonstrates the potential peril Clinton still faces over the issue. In addition to the FBI probe, the State Department inspector general, Steve Linick, indicated that his work is not done.

His office is preparing an additional report that could touch even more directly on Clintons conduct  examining the use of personal email and its effect on the departments compliance with its duty to preserve records.

Pointing to the reports broad conclusions about weak records management, State Department officials concurred with the inspector generals findings and recommendations to boost staff, training, procedures and oversight.

The Department is committed to transparency, and the issues addressed in this report have the full attention of Secretary Kerry and the Departments senior staff, said spokesman John Kirby, referring to Clintons successor, John F. Kerry. We know we must continue to improve our FOIA responsiveness and are taking additional steps to do so.

Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, said, The Department had a preexisting process in place to handle the tens of thousands of requests it received annually, and that established process was followed by the Secretary and her staff throughout her tenure.

The report said that some seeking records from the secretarys office have had to wait more than 500 days to get replies. The secretarys office lacked any written procedures for handling records requests and had no senior official in charge of overseeing the work, the report says.

Of 417 records requests made from the era of Madeleine K. Albright to the present, 243 are still open and pending.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton responded to reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday over the controversy surrounding her personal e-mail server. Clinton reiterated that she did not send or receive any classified material from her personal account. (AP)

The inquiry found that the secretarys office almost never searched its own email in public-records requests before 2011. From 2011 to 2015, the secretarys office inconsistently searched office emails as it saw fit.

The 2012 request by CREW was sparked by the discovery that Lisa Jackson, then-administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, had been using an alias email at work with the name Richard Windsor, largely for personal communication.

CREW filed a public-records request with the State Department that month for records sufficient to show the number of email accounts of or associated with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Staff soon after alerted Clintons chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, to CREWs request. The inspector general found that Mills tasked a member of her staff to follow up on the request. In May 2013  four months after Clinton left office  the State Department told CREW that no records responsive to your request were located.

The IG report cited no evidence that Mills intervened in the CREW inquiry or approved the final response  only that she knew about the request and wanted a close aide to keep track of it.

A lawyer for Mills did not respond to a request for comment.

Melanie Sloan, the executive director of CREW at the time, said Wednesday that the findings showed the agency should have known its response was wrong.

Cheryl Mills should have corrected the record, Sloan said. She knew this wasnt a complete and full answer.

Fallon, noting that the report found no sign that Mills reviewed the CREW records response, said Mills did absolutely nothing wrong.

Correction: An earlier version of this story and its headline incorrectly stated that Hillary Clinton was secretary of state when the agency issued an inaccurate response to a request about email use. The request came while she was in office, but the agencys response was issued after she had departed.
Hillary Clinton campaigns in Las Vegas. Her focus on womens issues could leave her open to criticism over sexual affairs  and allegations of sexual abuse  involving former president Bill Clinton. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

The ghosts of the 1990s have returned to confront Hillary Clinton, released from the vault by Donald Trump and revved up by a 21st-century version of the scandal machine that almost destroyed her husbands presidency.

This is a moment that her campaign has long expected. What remains to be seen is whether a reminder of allegations of sexual impropriety against Bill Clinton  which were deemed to have varying levels of credibility when they were first aired  can gain new traction in a different context.

The fresher case being made is that Hillary Clinton has been, at a minimum, hypocritical about her husbands treatment of women, and possibly even complicit in discrediting his accusers.

And it is being pressed at a time when there is a new sensitivity toward victims of unwanted sexual contact, and when one of the biggest news stories is the prosecution of once-beloved comedian Bill Cosby on charges that he drugged and assaulted a woman 12 years ago  one of dozens who have accused him of similar behavior.

In November, Hillary Clinton tweeted: Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported. She has made womens issues a central focus of her campaign and is counting on a swell of support for the historic prospect of the first female president.

Former president Bill Clinton spoke in New Hampshire on Jan. 4, his first speech in support of his wife, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, in 2016. (The Washington Post)

Clintons campaign appears confident that Americans will see all of this as old news, and that her husband will remain an asset to her efforts to get his old job. It is happening early in the campaign season, and Trump himself has come under heavy criticism for his many boorish comments about women.

Trump started hammering on Bill Clintons behavior in retaliation for Hillary Clintons assertion, during a pre-Christmas interview with the Des Moines Register, that Trump has demonstrated a penchant for sexism.

In recent months Donald Trump has been trading insults with the Clintons. But before the presidential race began, they enjoyed a much more cordial relationship. (Peter Stevenson,Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post)

Hillary Clinton has announced that she is letting her husband out to campaign but HES DEMONSTRATED A PENCHANT FOR SEXISM, so inappropriate! Trump tweeted on Dec. 26.

In an interview Monday on CNN, Trump amped up his rhetoric, calling Bill Clinton one of the great women abusers of all time and saying Hillary Clinton was his enabler.

Both Clintons have declined to comment on Trumps latest barrages against them.

Until Trump turned his outsized media spotlight to Bill Clintons past sexual behavior, the issue had largely receded to the darker corners of the Internet, although it had continued to percolate.

1 of 12 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos of the early years of Bill and Hillary Clinton View Photos The political duo has been cultivating sources and supporters over the course of 40 years, from Arkansas to Washington and abroad. Caption The political duo has been cultivating sources and supporters over the course of 40 years, from Arkansas to Washington and abroad. 1972 From left, Bill Clinton, Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.) and Joe Purcell at the Little Rock Airport. Clinton was working on McGoverns presidential campaign. AP Wait 1 second to continue.

Last month, a woman in the audience at a Clinton campaign event in New Hampshire asked her: You say that all rape victims should be believed. But would you say that about Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and/or Paula Jones?

Clinton responded: "Well, I would say that everyone should be believed at first until they are disbelieved based on evidence."

It was not a spontaneous question. The woman read from a card and mispronounced the first two names she mentioned.

But to anyone who followed the sagas of the Clinton presidency, they were familiar ones:

Broaddrick had accused Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978, when she was working on his Arkansas gubernatorial campaign.

Willey, a former White House volunteer, said he had attempted to kiss and grope her in a private hallway leading to the Oval Office.

Jones, a onetime Arkansas state employee, sued Clinton in 1994 for sexual harassment, saying he had three years earlier exposed his erect penis to her and asked her to kiss it.

And, of course, the biggest of all was the scandal over Clintons extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was a White House intern at the time. Diane Blair, a close friend of Hillary Clinton, wrote in her journal unearthed in 2014 that the then-first lady had privately called Lewinsky a narcissistic loony toon.

Publicly, Clintons defenders were at times brutal in their characterizations of the women who made sexual allegations against him. If you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what youll find, James Carville, Bill Clintons former strategist, once said.

Yet Bill Clinton settled Joness lawsuit in November 1998 for $850,000, acknowledging no wrongdoing and offering no apology. Just under a month later, he was impeached by the House on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice that stemmed from Joness lawsuit; he was acquitted by the Senate.

He also denied both Willey and Broaddricks allegations.

But all of these past accusations are being stirred up again, including by some who claim they were his victims.

Broaddrick, now a Trump supporter, tweeted Wednesday: I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73. . . .it never goes away.

In an interview, she said she had watched Bill Clintons first solo campaign appearance on his wifes behalf on television Monday.

He looked so beaten, and he looked like everything in his past was catching up to him. He looked so downtrodden. It made my heart sing, Broaddrick said.

And she is not the only one.

Tom Watson, owner of Maverick Investigations, an Arizona-based private investigative agency, built a website  A Scandal a Day  for Willey last spring, shortly after Hillary Clinton declared she was running for president. It aims to bring forward new allegations.

The site went live in June, Watson said, and in the first two hours it received 100,000 hits.

Kathleen is going to be very popular this year, Watson predicted.

Last month, Aaron Klein, a writer for such right-of-center publications as World Net Daily and host of a weekly radio talk show, wrote an article on Breitbart.com headlined In Their Own Words: Why Bills Bimbos Fear a Hillary Presidency.

In it, Klein described how his radio program had become a support center of sorts for Bill Clintons female accusers  a safe-space for these women to sound off about the way they were allegedly treated by both Bill and Hillary.

In the article, Klein quotes Broaddrick, Willey and Gennifer Flowers, an actress who had an affair with Clinton when he was governor.

In what Klein described as Flowerss only interview since Clinton announced her candidacy, Flowers accused Hillary of being an enabler that has encouraged [Bill] to go out and do whatever he does with women.

I think its a joke, Klein quotes Flowers as saying, that she would run on womens issues.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a drug-addiction forum at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester on Jan. 5, 2016. (Mary Schwalm/AP)

All three are two-term Republican governors. They have all signed conservative laws in states that Democrats won in 2012. And here in New Hampshire, each is desperate to beat the others in the states crowded primary a month from now.

In what was once envisioned as a presidential campaign favoring candidates like them with state-executive experience, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich are trying  and often failing  to distinguish themselves from each other in the age of Donald Trump.

During town-hall meetings, diner stops and speeches to business groups in the state, Bush argues that his record as Florida governor was the most conservative. Christie emphasizes that he has succeeded as a Republican in Democratic New Jersey. Kasich touts job growth as governor of Ohio.

And all three want voters to disregard Trump. When two reporters simultaneously asked Bush questions this week that began with, Governor, Donald Trump said . . . he interrupted them.

Governor Donald Trump? He is no governor, Bush said after a campaign event Tuesday in Dover. Do no insult the profession that I consider to be one of the highlights of my adult life.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich at a town-hall meeting in Nashua, N.H., on Dec. 29, 2015. (Mary Schwalm/Reuters)

Christie, at a Rotary Club luncheon Monday in Manchester, said: Were not electing an entertainer in chief. Were electing a commander in chief. And anger is fine and it is deserved, but anger is not a strategy.

[Why John Kasich broke with the GOP on a key part of Obamacare]

Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire GOP state chairman, said that the primary here is a zero-sum game for the governors. They dont necessarily have to win here, they dont have to beat Trump here, but they have to beat each other, he said.

The states primary rules will award delegates only to a candidate who earns at least 10 percent of the vote. Given that the large GOP field here is led by Trump and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), theres a chance that one governor will beat the other two but still leave the state with no delegates. A fourth-place finisher has not earned double-digit support here since Steve Forbes did in 1996.

How does that person then go to voters and donors around the country and say you should consolidate around me as the mainstream alternative to stop Trump? Cullen asked.

New Hampshire television viewers cannot miss a new ad being aired by Right to Rise USA, the super PAC supporting Bush. Titled Three Governors, it is part of a $10.5 million ad campaign airing through the primary on Feb. 9.

Pictures of Bush, Christie and Kasich flash on the screen as an announcer asks, Which governor made his state number one in job creation? With a loud whoosh, a check mark appears by Bushs face as Christie and Kasich disappear. The ad also suggests Bush is most seasoned to deal with crisis management, pare down bloated entitlement programs and bolster national security.

Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the New Hampshire Forum on Addiction and the Heroin Epidemic at Southern New Hampshire University, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Mary Schwalm/AP)

[Bush apologizes for NRA gaffe but says, I think the intent was pretty clear]

A super PAC supporting Kasich, New Day for America, is spending more modestly, on direct mail attacking Christies gubernatorial record.

His Budget Isnt Balanced. His Credit Rating is Dropping. His Economy is Failing, says a flier hitting mailboxes this week. Chris Christie: Tough Talk. Weak Record.

Christie, 53, who has a higher New Hampshire polling average than Bush, 62, and Kasich, 63, is relishing the attacks.

Governor Kasich, Governor Bush are good guys and they were good governors, but theyve had Republican legislatures their entire time. If they think thats what its going to be like in Washington, theyre deadly wrong, Christie said this week. Im just better qualified. Im better tested. Im more experienced.

All three governors make stops in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, but New Hampshire dominates their strategy. As of Wednesday, Christie had spent the most time here, with 139 public appearances since 2014, according to a tally kept by New England Cable News and NBC News. In that same time period, the tally says, Kasich made 120 appearances and Bush 79.

On the stump here, the governors butter up voters and urge them to be more discerning  hoping that a little extra homework will deter them from Trump.

You have a disproportionate responsibility, but you also have a disproportionate say in who the next president is going to be, Bush said in Dover.

You are among the most powerful people in the world right now. You and you alone will determine who the other 48 states have to pick from to be president of the United States, Christie said in Manchester. You are very powerful.

I want people to scour the record, Kasich said in Nashua. If people can see what youve done, then they have more confidence in what you say you want to do in the future.

On Tuesday, the three governors showed up to the same event in Hooksett, a day-long forum on how to address the drug-addiction crisis roiling New England. The venue highlighted their contrasting styles.

[Christie adds six to his lean campaign staff]

Characteristically abrupt, Kasich interrupted the woman who introduced him at the event to take the stage. He told struggling addicts: You just never know where life is going to take you. Ask the Lord to help you. Maybe you can get set free.

Christie bounded up onstage and crumpled into a chair, causing his pants to rise up above his socks, exposing his legs. He said the country needs to talk about addiction differently. We dont talk about this in public as a disease. We talk about it in public as a moral failing, he said. . . . As long as we continue to do that, were going to continue to treat this differently than other diseases.

Bush spoke later from a lectern, delivering remarks in a crisp black suit and dark tie as he recounted his daughters struggle with addiction. When I was governor, my wife and I went through a very public challenge as a family, he said. My daughter has addiction problems and is in recovery right now. Thank God she is drug free.

Many in the audience at the drug policy forum were recovering drug addicts or addiction specialists, so they generally favored Christie, who touted his familiarity with recovery programs as a federal prosecutor and governor.

Christie just seems more knowledgeable, more hands-on, more realistic, said Sandra Pascucci, from Manchester. She said Bush is her second choice.

Kathleen Russo, from Franklin, N.H., said Christie is no-nonsense and more common-sense, and I think he could probably get us back on track.

Russo said that she liked Kasichs casual approach of just wearing a shirt with his sleeves rolled up.

And Bush?

To be honest, she said, he reminds me of a politician. He gives the padded answer.
Donald Trump may be testing the boundaries of tolerance on the U.S. campaign trail. But here in Germany, the government is effectively enforcing civility, taking aim at a surge of hate speech against refugees and Muslims.

As Western Europes most populous nation grapples with a historic wave of mostly-Muslim migrants, politicians and activists are decrying a rash of incendiary speech bubbling to the surface of German society. In a country whose Nazi past led to some of the strictest laws in the West protecting minorities from people inciting hatred, prosecutors are launching investigations into inflammatory comments as judges dole out fines, even probation time, to the worst offenders.

German authorities, meanwhile, have reached a deal with Facebook, Google and Twitter to get tougher on offensive content, with the outlets agreeing to apply domestic laws, rather than their own corporate policies, to reviews of posts.

[Sexual assaults challenge Germanys welcoming attitude toward refugees]

Critics call it the enforcement of political correctness, raising the question of what constitutes hate speech and sparking a national debate over free expression. Germans have been outraged, for instance, by reports of more than 100 sexual assaults and robberies in the city of Cologne allegedly committed by gangs of young Arab and North African men on New Years Eve. Some Germans are questioning whether their online comments could be taken down, or whether they could be charged with incitement, for publicly pondering whether refugees could have been among the assailants.

View Graphic The Syrian conflict has created the largest wave of refugees to hit Europe since World War II.

Two of the suspects have been identified as Moroccan citizens. But Cologne police say they have not yet determined whether any of the assailants were recently arrived asylum seekers. Nevertheless, the incidents have fed a strain of anger and suspicion here beyond the traditional migrant critics in the right wing.

Its not politically correct to say anything against migrants. We dont have freedom of opinion anymore. #Cologne, Tweeted a German user from Hanover going by the handle Pulvermann.

Proponents are hailing the government effort as a way to foment respect while also controlling the most savage voices in society.

After the Second World War, it was clear that anything that could re-create National Socialist or racist thinking had to be stopped, said Volker Beck, a lawmaker from Germanys Green Party. Last month, he filed a lawsuit against a German anti-refugee group after its followers issued death threats against him for publicly defending the right of Muslim women to wear veils at school.

Im a civil rights defender, but there has to be a red line, Beck said.

[German mayor warns women to keep strangers at arms length after attacks]

The German campaign, perhaps not surprisingly, is meeting stiff resistance from far-right groups, including the extremist National Democratic Party of Germany, which in March will face a hearing to determine whether it should be banned. Yet even leaders on the political left are questioning whether the bid to weed out hate is going too far.

Protesters marched through the central train station in Cologne, Germany, to call for an end to violence against women after dozens of attacks shook the city on New Year's Eve. (Facebook/Rote Antifa [Essen])

Stefan Korner, chairman of Germanys liberal Pirate Party, argued that democracies must be able to bear a measure of xenophobia. He condemned the governments deal with social media outlets to get tougher on offensive speech, saying that surely it will lead to too many rather than too few comments being blocked. This is creeping censorship, and we definitely dont want that.

It remains unclear how aggressive social media sites are being  some highly offensive posts in German have indeed been quickly removed from Facebook in recent days while others have lingered online for days. Yet the push here happens as a country with a built-in sensitivity to provocative speech has seen a decidedly fiercer public discourse as more than 1 million asylum seekers and migrants crossed Germanys border last year.

The offensive views include an online post of a hangmans noose as one solution to the refugee crisis, a quip by a right-wing politician about the breeding habits of Africans, as well as a comment made by a controversial speaker at an anti-migrant rally lamenting the closure of World War II-era concentration camps.

The surge of incendiary comments online has been so strong that one of Germanys largest media outlets, Der Spiegel, disabled its readers comment function for articles related to refugees.

Such rhetoric  considered harsher than anything seen here in years  is alarming many Germans, including Chancellor Angela Merkel. In her New Year speech, Merkel, who has adopted one of the most open policies in Europe toward asylum seekers fleeing war in the Middle East, warned against the forces of hate once again brewing in Germany.

Her countrymen, she said, should not listen to those with coldness, or even hate in their hearts, and who claim the right to be called German for themselves alone and seek to marginalize others.

[Europe cannot allow xenophobia to overpower its response to refugees]

Harsh comments are earning some Germans more than scorn. In the town of Wismar in northeastern Germany, for instance, a judge in October sentenced a 26-year-old man to five months probation and a 300 euro fine after the man had posted on his Facebook page that refugees should burn alive or drown in the Mediterranean.

In September, the home of a 26-year-old Berlin man was raided by police, who confiscated his computer and phones after he had posted the tragic image of the dead 3-year-old Syrian boy whose body on a Turkish beach became a symbol of the refugee crisis. Along with the photo, he had posted: We are not mourning, we are celebrating!

A 29-year-old Berlin woman, meanwhile, received five months probation in July after she had posted comments on Facebook about an alleged rape of a German woman by an asylum seeker. Filth out! she wrote, arguing that if tougher measures against refugees were not deployed, more asylum seekers homes will burn.

Indeed, proponents of more controls on hate speech here say there is a direct correlation to the vitriol now flying in the German public domain and the sharp spike of attacks on refugee centers. Last year, German police reported 906 attacks against asylum seeker homes, ranging from arson to physical assaults. The figure amounts to more than a fourfold increase, compared with 2014 numbers.

In Germany, a person can face incitement charges for comments aimed at creating hostile feelings or triggering violence against a particular race, religion or ethnicity. To publicly endorse, play down or justify the crimes of the Nazi regime can be punished with up to five years in prison.

Last September, German authorities worried by the increase in hate speech against refugees contacted major social media outlets, forming a new task force including the government, companies, industry associations and activists to tackle the problem. On Dec. 15, the task force announced an agreement for tougher monitoring.

Facebook officials now say they are reviewing posts more stringently and using legal opinions and language experts to determine whether users comments are infringing on German law. Sometimes, they say, it means parsing whether posts containing common insults are framed in a way that could be potentially illegal as opposed to genuine political expression.

Weve looked at our general rules and understand that very specific forms of language may constitute hate speech, said Richard Allan, Facebooks vice president of public policy in Europe. Our German reviews are reviewing the meanings of German words and trying to understand what language crosses the line.

Stephanie Kirchner contributed to this report.

Read more

Even Europes humanitarian superpower is turning its back on refugees

In wake of Paris attacks, refugees fear backlash

Gay asylum seekers face threat from fellow refugees in Europe

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters evacuate an injured woman after she was shot by Islamic State group fighters in Ramadi on Jan. 4. (Uncredited/AP)

Amid rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, one country has stayed noticeably out of the fray.

Wedged between the two foes, Iraq is concerned that the conflict between its neighbors could further destabilize the country, where the fragile government is battling the Islamic State.

Iraqs Shiite-led government is in a delicate balancing act between its chief allies in Iran and the U.S.-aligned Saudi royals, who wield influence over the regions Sunni populations, analysts say.

Iraqs top diplomat said from the Iranian capital on Wednesday that Iraq was ready to mediate the dispute, which flared after Saudi Arabia executed an outspoken Shiite cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, on Saturday. Protesters stormed two Saudi diplomatic compounds in Iran, prompting at least six Arab governments to sever or downgrade ties with Tehran.

But even as Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari offered to help facilitate talks, demonstrators in central Baghdad had gathered for the fourth day to denounce the Saudi government.

1 of 21 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Protests erupt after Saudi Arabia executes Shiite cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr View Photos Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, with his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jafari, after a joint news conference in Tehran on Jan. 6, 2015. Caption The countrys announcement that it has killed 47 people has caused an uproar across the region. Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran on Sunday amid the furor. Jan. 3, 2016 A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim, bottom, holds a portrait of Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, as others shout slogans during a protest against Saudi Arabia in Srinagar, in India-controlled Kashmir. Mukhtar Khan/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

There is a lot of pressure for the Iraqi government to pick a side in the fight, said Ahmad al-Mayali, a professor of political science at Baghdad University.

The struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia has the potential to very strongly influence events on the ground in Iraq, he said.

On Thursday, Iran accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels in Yemen of carrying out an airstrike on its embassy in the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi spokesman for the coalition said the report was under investigation. Iranian state television also said Thursday that the country was banning goods imported from Saudi Arabia, although trade between the two countries is already low.

[Iran claims Saudi airstrikes hit its embassy in Yemen]

The rivalry between Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabias Sunni monarchy has fueled sectarian violence across the region for years. But the current crisis is the most serious dust-up between the two sides in decades.

Sunnis make up about 40 percent of the Iraqi population, and about 60 percent of Iraqis are Shiites. The two groups fought a bloody sectarian war in 2006-2007.

In recent years, the Shiite population has dominated Iraqi political institutions, and Sunnis, once favored by Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, were alienated from the central government.

The tension between the two main sects of Islam, Sunni and Shiite, is one of the factors driving the violence in the Middle East. Here is an overview of the sects' differences and where adherents live. (The Washington Post)

In the meantime, Iran emerged as the most influential player in Iraqi politics, said F. Gregory Gause III, a professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University.

Iraq is the fault line between Arabs and non-Arabs, between Sunnis and Shiites. It was supposed to be a melting pot, said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, an Iraqi lawmaker and former national security adviser. But now, this diversity has become a vulnerability for us.

Iraqi officials say they have moved to defuse the crisis between their two neighbors in recent days, condemning Nimrs execution as a crime but also resisting calls from Shiite hard-liners to expel Saudi diplomats from the country.

[Who is the Saudi cleric whose death caused the Riyadh-Tehran blowup?]

Saudi authorities opened the countrys first embassy in Baghdad in nearly 25 years last Friday  one day before Nimr was killed. But earlier this week, leaders from some of Iraqs most powerful Shiite militias publicly urged the government to close the Saudi Embassy and execute Saudi prisoners detained in Iraq on charges of terrorism.

The militias, many of which are supported by Iran, have gained considerable influence as formidable forces capable of fighting the Islamic State and could push the government to take a harsher response, analysts said.

Iraq has assured the Saudi government that its embassy will be protected, even if many in the government view the clerics execution as a deliberate provocation against the regions Shiites, officials here said.

Iraqs government, too, has long resented the Saudi government for allowing Saudi citizens to cross the border to fight with insurgents in Iraq, including for the Islamic State. But despite links between Sunni tribes on both sides of the Iraq-Saudi border, the kingdom does not hold sway with Iraqs Sunnis, analysts say.

Riyadh is limited in its ability to influence events in Iraq, said Ayham Kamel, director of Middle East and North Africa at the political risk firm Eurasia Group, based in New York.

Still, tensions between Sunni and Shia parties in Iraq will rise as they come down on different sides of the conflict, Kamel said.

But no matter what, Iraq is likely to suffer from the regional feuding, Rubaie said.

Sectarian conflagration in the region will not translate into blood and explosions in Tehran or Riyadh, the lawmaker said. It will translate into blood and destruction in my country.

Mustafa Salim contributed to this report.

Read more:

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Supporters of Shiite cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, who was executed in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 2, 2015, take part in an anti-Saudi protest in Yemens capital, Sanaa, on Jan. 7. (Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency)

A diplomatic crisis roiling the Middle East intensified Thursday as Iran claimed that a Saudi airstrike overnight hit its embassy in Yemen, a charge not supported by signs of damage but that nevertheless raised tensions between the rivals.

There was no visible evidence of harm to the embassy in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which is held by Iranian-friendly rebels who have faced more than nine months of air raids from a Saudi-led military coalition.

But the accusation signaled dangerously heightened friction after Saudi Arabia and a number of fellow Sunni countries severed or downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran, a Shiite-led theocracy, over the past week. The row threatened to intensify the rivals destructive proxy conflicts in the region, notably in Yemen.

And it cast even more uncertainty over U.S.-backed peace negotiations planned later this month over the civil war in Syria and international efforts to confront the Islamic State militant group.

Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state television news channel IRIB.

1 of 21 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Protests erupt after Saudi Arabia executes Shiite cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr View Photos The countrys announcement that it has executed 47 people has caused an uproar across the region. Caption The countrys announcement that it has killed 47 people has caused an uproar across the region. Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran on Sunday amid the furor. Jan. 3, 2016 A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim, bottom, holds a portrait of Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, as others shout slogans during a protest against Saudi Arabia in Srinagar, in India-controlled Kashmir. Mukhtar Khan/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

[Saudi Arabia breaks diplomatic ties with Iran as crisis intensifies]

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, Ahmed Asseri, promised an investigation into the Iranian accusation, which did not contain specifics.

But, he said by telephone, there is no proof yet that coalition airstrikes  which residents of Sanaa say have intensified in recent days  struck the Iranian Embassy or injured any of its staff.

We will go through all the necessary procedures to see whether this is true or not, Asseri said, adding that embassies in Sanaa had provided the coalition with coordinates to avoid being struck.

The most recent flare-up between Saudi Arabia and Iran  longtime ideological and strategic rivals whose competition has greatly exacerbated Islams Sunni-Shiite rift  began last week: Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric, in response to which protesters in Iran ransacked the Saudi Embassy and a consulate.

Saudi Arabia retaliated Sunday by severing diplomatic relations with Iran, prompting Bahrain, Sudan and Somalia to follow suit. The government in Mogadishu accused Iran of trying to destabilize war-ravaged Somalia. The United Arab Emirates downgraded relations with Iran, while Kuwait and Qatar recalled their ambassadors.

A memorial service for the executed cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, went ahead peacefully Thursday in Awamiya in Saudi Arabias predominantly Shiite eastern region, although armored personnel carriers rumbled through the village and protesters burned tires in the streets, the Associated Press reported.

In Sanaa on Thursday, residents said they saw no evidence of airstrikes against the Iranian Embassy.

A Yemeni security guard said shrapnel from air attacks overnight landed near the compound but fell short of the embassy.

[Brief Yemen truce ends]

The attack took place near the house of a son of Ali Abdullah Saleh, a former Yemeni president whose loyal military units have sided with Yemeni rebels against Saudi-led forces. Saudi Arabia accuses the rebels, Shiites known as Houthis, of being proxies of Iran. Iranian officials deny direct links to the Houthi movement, although they have strongly denounced the Saudi-directed airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen.

Nothing happened here at the embassy, said the security guard, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the subject.

Iran gave no further details on its claim, which was carried by state-run media.

Some officials in Iran and Saudi Arabia have sought to play down the recent tensions, promising that their respective countries will continue to support intensified diplomatic efforts to end the four-year-old Syrian civil war.

Saudi Arabia backs the opposition fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Bashars government, in turn, has received crucial military and economic backing from Iran during fighting that has killed more than 250,000 people and produced an extraordinary refugee crisis.

In comments published Thursday by the Economist, a British magazine, Saudi Arabias defense minister ruled out the possibility of war with Iran.

It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind, Mohammed bin Salman, who is deputy crown prince, was quoted as saying in an interview conducted this week.

But truculent rhetoric has persisted, punctuating the deep animosity that each side holds for the other.

The deputy leader of Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, predicted Thursday that flawed policies would cause Saudi Arabia to collapse in the coming years.

The policies of the Saudi regime will have a domino effect, and they will be buried under the avalanche they have created, Salami told Irans semiofficial Fars News Agency. If the Saudis do not correct their path, their regime will collapse in coming years.

Iranian state media also reported Thursday that Iran has banned imports from Saudi Arabia because of the crisis, a move that would affect tens of millions of dollars in annual trade.

Naylor reported from Beirut. Brian Murphy and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more:

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
A new underground missile depot is seen in this undated photo released by Irans Fars news agency via Reuters.

Pressure is building on the Obama administration to impose new sanctions on Iran after it test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles within the past three months and flaunted its underground missile storage facilities on national television.

Even Democratic lawmakers who supported the Iran nuclear deal are calling for fresh U.S. sanctions as the Islamic republic embarks on a stepped-up missile program, despite warnings that the measures could derail the landmark agreements implementation, which is just weeks away.

Impatience among lawmakers boiled over after the administration notified Congress last week that it would send over a new sanctions package and then said a few hours later that nothing would be coming after all, at least for now. It is unclear how much of the delay was the result of diplomatic calculations vs. routine procedural hurdles.

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), who supported the nuclear deal and now wants more sanctions, said he expects a new package to be presented in a matter of days, not weeks.

At the heart of the delay, though, is a dilemma that may become a new norm when the nuclear deal takes effect, as officials must weigh whether more restrictions, or none at all, would produce the worse outcome.

There are no risk-free options, said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sanctioning Iran now could unravel the nuclear deal. Yet acquiescing in the face of Iranian provocations could embolden Iran.

The concern stems from two missile tests Iran announced in October and November. Since then, President Hassan Rouhani ordered the Iranian military to accelerate its production. Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, who is second in command in the Revolutionary Guard Corps, has boasted that Iran has so many missiles that it doesnt know where to store them all. And the parliamentary speaker has gone on television touring a new underground bunker called Missile City.

The spurt of activity appears to violate an existing U.N. Security Council resolution that explicitly prohibits Iran from anything related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Iran insists that it is not a violation, because the missiles have no nuclear warheads.

Under the nuclear agreement finalized with the United States and five other world powers last year, ballistic-missile restrictions will remain in place for eight years.

A new resolution will replace the existing ban, with slightly different language that seems to give Iran more wiggle room. Iran will be called upon not to engage in ballistic-missile activity designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. It is not clear why Iran did not hold off its missile tests a little longer.

If theyd waited to test just three more months, said Greg Thielmann, a fellow with the Arms Control Association, both Iran and much of the rest of the world would be able to say the Iranians were not really violating it, because the missiles are not designed to be capable of nuclear weapons delivery.

Iran considers its missile program a defensive countermeasure to a massive supply of weapons being sent to the region, including to rival Saudi Arabia.

In response to fears by Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates that the nuclear deal would allow Iran to extend its influence, the White House promised more than $6 billion in military hardware. Since the talks began in 2013, the United States has provided more than $46 billion in military aid to the region.

The massive military outpouring has fed Tehrans sense of vulnerability, said Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat now at Princeton University.

Iran is practically surrounded by countries receiving some of the most sophisticated U.S. conventional arms, and they have to upgrade their capability to keep a balance, he said. It is a legitimate security concern.

Mousavian said he expects that Irans missile testing and production will continue. That could present more situations where the White House will have to decide on additional sanctions under U.S. laws and executive orders dating to the 1990s. U.S. sanctions on ballistic missiles will remain in place after the nuclear agreement is implemented, as will those related to terrorism and human rights violations.

With more than 130 individuals and groups already blacklisted over their involvement in Irans missile program, it is becoming harder to identify new targets to be sanctioned. North Koreas underground bomb test added to the workload.

Richard Nephew, a former State Department sanctions expert, said putting together a sanctions case in four or five months is considered rapid.

I wouldnt be surprised if a rollout came tomorrow, or in a couple of weeks, he said. But a delay  in no way, shape or form  automatically means there was a change of heart and they paused. If this wasnt so politically sensitive, and so connected to the [nuclear agreement], it wouldnt even be an issue.

Many in Congress say it has taken too long already. Seven House Democrats wrote a letter to Obama on Wednesday urging him to act immediately with punitive measures against Iran.

If Iran isnt held accountable for its actions now, I am concerned theyll feel emboldened to cheat on their obligations in the nuclear pact, said Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.), who organized the letter.

Many of the leading voices for new sanctions are lawmakers whose support ensured that the Iran deal survived in Congress.

I think its incumbent on those of us who voted for the agreement but who had great reservations to send a very strong signal to the Iranians that we will not be lulled into a lack of response on other activities which either foment terrorist activity or destabilize the Middle East, Hoyer said. We have a responsibility to ensure we dont send a message of tolerance toward abuse.
An assailant carrying a butcher knife and wearing what appeared to be a fake suicide vest was shot and killed by police Thursday on the one-year anniversary of a terrorist siege in a city once again on edge after attacks last November.

The attacker also carried a paper with the Islamic State flag and a handwritten note in Arabic claiming responsibility for the act, according to a statement from French police.

Investigators were exploring possible links to a terrorist undertaking, but the statement gave no further details.

French officials have identified the assailants fingerprints as matching those of Sallah Ali, who was born in 1995 in Morocco. He was homeless at one point and had a criminal record as a thief, according to France 24 television.

[Editors posthumous message enemies of free expression]

Authorities said that the assailant tried to enter a police station in the northern Barbes neighborhood of the citys 18th Arrondissement shortly before noon.

A bomb squad examined the body for possible explosives after police spotted what appeared to be wires under his camouflage jacket. The police statement described it as a fake suicide vest.

Photos posted on social media showed the attacker  who had called out Allahu Akbar as he tried to enter the police station  lying dead on the sidewalk in his jacket and blue jeans.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre Henri Brandet said it appeared that the attacker acted alone. But, he added, we cannot rule out the possibility of complicity.

[The path of two brothers from Europes capital of jihad ]

The incident occurred shortly after French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to the countrys emergency services, which have been called on in recent months to deal with a string of terrorism-related cases.

You protect the French people, you also protect their way of life, their freedom, Hollande said. This way of life, thats what the terrorists wanted to attack.

Rake Polonyi, 30, a teacher who lives near the police station targeted by the assailant, said she was in her living room when she heard shouting from the street.

I looked from my window and I saw two policemen shouting at a man who was running towards them, she said.

When the man was two meters away from them, they shot him. He collapsed.

Hours later, she and other neighbors were still being asked to remain inside their homes. There is a lot of tension, Polonyi said. We cant leave our home.

The attack came exactly one year after two brothers and Islamist extremists  Said and Cherif Kouachi  stormed the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, opening fire with machine guns, killing 12 people. A total of 17 people were killed over three days of violence.

In November,, a terrorist cell unleashed a rampage in Paris, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

Faiola reported from Berlin.

Read more:

Paris attack planners used encrypted apps, investigators believe

Failure to stop Paris attacks reveals fatal flaws at heart of European security

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Aid agencies expressed alarm Thursday about dire conditions in a besieged town west of Damascus where people have been eating cats and grass to stay alive and as many as 23 people are reported to have died of hunger.

No food has arrived in the rural town of Madaya since October, and desperate residents have posted photographs on the Internet showing frail, skeletal corpses and emaciated people, including children.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said 23 people have died of starvation since Dec. 1 at a clinic the group supports in Madaya, six of them infants less than 1 year old.

The town has become an open-air prison, Brice de le Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement. Desperate people who try to flee have been injured or killed by bullets or by land mines planted around the town, he added.

According to Hassan Abu Shadi, a rescue worker in Madaya, one or two people have been dying daily of hunger over the past week, since snow fell on the mountain town and blanketed the last remaining vegetation.

This undated photo posted by the Local Revolutionary Council in Madaya, which has been verified and is consistent with other Associated Press reporting, shows a starving boy in Madaya, Syria. (AP)

We were eating leaves and grass, but these days there are no more leaves because of the snow, he said, speaking by telephone. There is nothing left but salt and water.

The United Nations said in a statement that it has received credible reports of people dying of starvation and being killed while trying to leave the town. It welcomed what it said was a commitment from the Syrian government to allow aid to be delivered soon.

Madaya is an opposition stronghold that has been besieged by pro-government forces since July. The United Nations put the number of people trapped in the town at 42,000, but Doctors Without Borders said there were 20,000.

[Russian airstrikes force a halt to aid in Syria, triggering a new crisis]

Fighting over Madaya, which fell into rebel hands in 2012, was supposed to have ended last summer under a cease-fire deal that also encompassed two rebel-surrounded towns in northern Syria. According to the terms of the cease-fire, rebel fighters from Madaya and nearby Zabadani were escorted by the United Nations to Turkey, and government loyalists from the towns of Foua and Kefraya were permitted to leave for government-held areas of Syria.

The deal stipulated that food aid and other supplies be allowed to reach civilians inside the towns. But only one delivery was made to Madaya, on Oct. 18, and residents since then have almost entirely run out of food.

The United Nations pointed out that it requires Syrian government permission to send food aid to the estimated 400,000 needy people living in various areas around Syria that are besieged by government forces. But in the past year, only 10 percent of requests have been granted, the United Nations said.

People are going hungry in many of those locations, but Madaya appears to be the worst-afflicted by far.

[Is it too late to solve the mess in the Middle East?]

The Syrian government has long used siege tactics to compel the surrender of towns that

fell under rebel control during

the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. At the entrance to Madaya, Abu Shadi said, pro-Assad fighters have hung a sign proclaiming Kneel or starve, a slogan intended to capture the stark choice confronting rebels in the besieged communities.

He said most of the fighters surrounding the town belong to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which supports Assad and has been leading the battle to recapture Syrian towns in the vicinity of the nearby Lebanese border.

Hezbollah denied the allegations, saying that rebels were preventing residents from leaving. Terrorist groups are exclusively responsible for starving out the civilians in the town, said a report carried on the website of Hezbollahs al-Manar television station. The towns of Foua and Kefraya also have not received aid, the report said.

Although the reports of starvation deaths cannot be independently confirmed, videos and photographs posted on social media showing emaciated people suggest that conditions are dire. In one, a mother is shown feeding her gaunt 16-month-old daughter sips of jam diluted with water, because, she says, there is no

milk. A photo circulated Tuesday showed the skeletal frame of a man who had died of hunger that day.

The United Nations said the Syrian government promised Thursday to allow aid to be delivered in the coming days to Madaya as well as the two northern towns surrounded by rebels.

Read more:

Videos appear to show starvation used as a weapon in Syrian town of Madaya

Haunting images from Aleppo: Syrian children are at the heart of this catastrophe

U.N. Security Council approves plan for Syrian peace process
A powerful truck bomb exploded near a police training camp in western Libya on Thursday, killing more than 45 people in a region where the Islamic State has battled for footholds.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Zliten, near the Mediterranean coast about 60 miles southeast of Tripoli. But militants pledging loyalty to the Islamic State have been seeking to expand in the area.

The region also is a jumping off point for boats taking migrants to Europe. Smugglers in the past have clashed with police.

[Amid Libyas chaos, the Islamic State finds openings]

The attack also underscored the increasing lawlessness in Libya, which is divided by two rival governments and has become one of the centers for the Islamic State in North Africa.

Aftermath of a truck bombing on a police training site in Zliten, Libya, on Thursday. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)

Libyas state-run media reported at least 50 dead. Later, however, the Reuters news agency quoted Fozi Awnais, head of the crisis committee for the health ministry in Tripoli, as saying 47 people had died.

Some security and medical sources, cited by news agencies, reported counts as high as 65. The main hospital in nearby Misrata appealed for blood donations.

At least 200 people were injured in the blast  some seriously  raising the possibility the death toll could rise.

In Washington, White House press secretary Josh Earnest called the attack a cowardly act of terrorism and extended condolences to the victims, their families and the Libyan people.

The United States continues to be deeply concerned about [Islamic State-inspired] terrorists carrying out acts of violence, particularly in Libya, he said. And that is why youve seen the United States take aggressive action, including inside of Libya, to take out ISIL leaders.

The training camp is used by the border police, whose missions include trying to block smugglers attempting to take migrants on boats bound for southern Europe. Hundreds of people have drowned in the dangerous crossings.

The Zliten mayor, Miftah Hamadi, said the blast occurred as around 400 recruits were gathering.

It was horrific. The explosion was so loud it was heard from miles away, Hamadi told Reuters. All the victims were young and all about to start their lives.

Libya has been wracked by unrest and power struggles since the toppling in 2011 of the late dictator Moammar Gaddafi during Arab Spring-inspired uprisings.

The oil-rich country is now divided between a breakaway Islamist government based in the capital of Tripoli and an internationally recognized administration in the east.

Security experts estimate there are as many as 3,000 fighters loyal to the Islamic State in Libya. The country has become one of the primary locations to train with the group outside of Syria and Iraq.

Volunteers from Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries have flocked here to fight with the extremists and other jihadist organizations. The Islamic State also has succeeded in pulling away members of other Libyan extremist groups.

Murphy reported from Washington.

Read more:

Conference tries to avert mayhem in Libya, the next emergency after Syria

Libyas political dysfunction enters uncharted territory

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
High school senior Sierra Feitl was in the lunch line on Monday when the girl in front of her was told to return her tray of food. They were like, You owe $25.60; I have to take the tray from you, Feitl told NBC affiliate WTHR. That day, all students who had hit a $25 debt limit with their lunch balances were given an alternate lunch of a cheese or peanut butter sandwich and milk.

The Kokomo school district in Indiana sent parents letters at the end of last year to alert them to the new debt policy, which went into effect on Jan. 1. It reads: Once the $25.00 charge limit has been reached, an alternate meal will be provided to the student. The parent and/or guardian of the student will receive an automated phone call and/or email explaining that the student has reached his/her charge limit.

Story: The Outrageous Kindergarten Application Question One Mom Refused to Answer



Jeff Hauswald, superintendent of Kokomo School Corporation, told WTHR that the rule follows federal regulations and aligns with other surrounding districts. Last year, the district had to foot the bill for more than $50,000 worth of unpaid school meals.

Finances aside, Feitl objected to the way the students were treated, and she snapped a photo of the cheese sandwich to post to Facebook with this message: If you owe $25 or more on your lunch account, this is what Kokomo High School provides you for lunch. Two slices of bread and two slices of cheese. Absolutely mortifying. My heart goes out to the kids that I go to school with that get their only meal a day at school. Her post has been shared nearly 800 times, and there is a heated discussion in the comments.

Story: Parents Face Felony Charges After Kids Play Hooky. Is It Fair?



My main concern is the fact that my friends and peers who received the cheese sandwich had lunch taken away from them in front of everyone, Feitl tells Yahoo Parenting. Its high school  no one knows why you dont have the money in your account, and theyre going to assume things.

Story continues

While the policy does not apply to students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch, many people side with Feitl in objecting to the way the kids were called out in front of fellow students. One commenter wrote: I do worry about the kids being made fun of  its not the childs fault. They have enough pressures at school, now having the lunch tray taken away at the end of the line and handed a sack.  I just dont like it. Another posted, Refusing to give the kids a proper lunch for any reason is totally unacceptable.

Among commenters on the post were a few generous souls who offered to help. One man posted, I will donate money to a kid that is behind so they can get a proper meal. Wish I could do more than help a few. Inbox me if your child needs it.

Some people felt the school shouldnt be blamed for enforcing district policy  they pointed fingers at parents. One commented, I find it ridiculous that everyone is blaming the school for this instead of the PARENTS. Parents are notified when their kids lunch accounts are negative. There is NO excuse for not paying for your childs lunch.  People in this country are so entitled its ridiculous.  Lets start being more responsible parents, and less entitled citizens, and take care of OUR responsibilities.

Another commenter offered, I know its a painful lesson for the child when it sounds like its the parents who never learned to not sit back and wait for someone else to do the work. Hopefully incentive for the child  a hard lesson to learn at school. But it is an education. We have to teach them to fish  even if their parents dont.

Still others objected to the sparsity of the so-called alternate lunch. I truly think that the school board needs to reevaluate the alternative lunch being handed out. Does this even follow legal guidelines for lunches? asked one commenter. Another posted, Where is the fruit, vegetable, and dairy serving?

Kokomo parent Kim Willhite put her opinion simply to WTHR: It was a slap in the face to the kids. Just, Heres a piece of bread with a piece of cheese on it.



Top photo: Facebook/Sierra Feitl

Please follow @YahooParenting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Have an interesting story to share about your family? Email us at YParenting (at) Yahoo.com.


One high school teacher is out of a job after posting a Facebook rant about a student with special needs.



Jennifer Lynch, a Latin teacher in the Fulton County School District at Johns Creek High School in Georgia, resigned on Monday after meeting with human resources. The meeting was regarding several posts she made to her personal Facebook page about a student who has a learning disability, 11 Alive reported.

Related: The Brilliant Way This Special Ed Teacher Starts Each Class

Lynch used derogatory and profane language to describe an incident on the last day of school before the holiday break, December 18, where she had to stay late to administer a test to a student who needed extra time.

(Photo: 11Alive)



He has some (expletive) disorder: one of those we dont know what his disorder is and we dont want him to be labeled, so we are not going to find out, but we want academic accommodations anyway disorders, Lynch wrote on her Facebook page. On the way out, he says, Ill be the last student to walk through the doors of JCHS in 2015. No, thats not funny, but tragic. Your life is tragic.

Related: When I Realized My Son Melts Down at Home but Not at School

Fulton County Schools released a statement saying that while they do not monitor the personal social media of their staff, they were appalled by Lynchs lack of professionalism and good judgment. They met with her on the staffs first day back after the break, and after the meeting she decided to resign.

Get more on the story from this video.

Related: Man With Autism Writes What He Wishes He Told His Childhood Teachers

The Mighty reached out to the Fulton County School District for comment but has yet to hear back.



By Melissa McGlensey



Top photo: Corbis Images

More from The Mighty:

I Let My 4-Year-Old With Autism Use My Camera. Heres How He Sees the World.

What the Starbucks Barista Didnt Know When She Wrote Smile on My Coffee

I Have OCD. This Is What Its Like to Be in My Mind for 3 Minutes.
A complicated case has become even more so after a surrogate mom of triplets refused the biological dads demand to abort one of the fetuses. Melissa Cook says she was threatened with financial ruin by the father for violating her contract (he was allowed a reduction if he wanted one), and shes now filed a lawsuit in California claiming the states surrogacy law and her contract are unconstitutional, the New York Post reports. The 47-year-old mom of four is also fighting for custody of the child she wont abort.



The notion that a man can demand that a mother terminate the life of one of the children she carries by an abortion, and then claim that she is liable for money damages when she refuses, is cruel, Cooks lawyer tells the Post, adding its also cruel to the child (the dad, IDed only as Georgia man CM in court papers, had indicated hed surrender the child to a stranger in an adoption, per People).

Cook was paid $33,000 to have one childplus an extra $6,000 for each additional childvia IV fertilization with CMs sperm and eggs from a 20-year-old donor, the Post notes; all three implanted embryos went on to develop normally. Per the fathers lawyer, Robert Walmsley, CM did ask Cook to abort a fetus, but only after doctors recommended it for health reasons, the Post notes. He didnt go after Cook for monetary damages and hes still making medical payments to her, Walmsley says, adding that Cook has become a pawn for anti-surrogacy activists.

As for Cook, her statement to People says: I have a deep empathy for men who want children. However, I now think that the basic concept of surrogacy arrangements must be re-examined, scrutinized, and reconsidered. She tells the Daily Beast that I will be prepared to take all three [kids].  You cant just have such disregard for human life. Walmsley tells the Post the dad will seek parental rights for all three children. (This has happened before.)

Story continues

By Jenn Gidman

(Photo: AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)



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This article originally appeared on Newser: Triplets Surrogate Sues Bio Dad Who Wanted Abortion
(Photos by Rob Pegoraro/Yahoo Tech)

Ultra-thin, incredibly light and exceptionally bright displays based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology have come a long way  getting both bigger and more common  since the technology made its U.S. debut at the 2008 CES, in the form of an 11-inch, Sony HDTV that cost $2,500.



OLED screens are now found in everything from phones to 70-inch displays and beyond, but they still face some challenges. Compared to the LCD (liquid crystal display) screens that dominate the market, OLEDs arent cheap. And those LCDs have continued to get thinner while also making dramatic improvements in picture quality.

Related: More coverage of CES 2016.

At this years CES, LG  one of the leading manufacturers of OLED TVs  decided to show that theres more to the technology than just making flat-panel screens flatter and brighter. (Though it must be pointed out that one of LGs new models is no thicker than four credit cards.) The Korean conglomerates displays unit invited a small group of journalists and analysts to take a peek at the next generation of OLED screens.

The first of these OLED oddities (above) seemed normal enough as it rotated below an overhead mount  until you noticed that it had a second screen on its back. The idea with this two-faced TV is not to provide some sort of commentary on Americas addiction to video, but to allow businesses to set up displays that people on both sides of a room could see.

Next came two radically curved displays, one concave and one convex; in the middle of the room, a group of these had been assembled into an serpentine wall of video. This, we were told, could have uses in public settings  were told theres a tunnel in Seoul lined with these displays  and in stores (presumably the kind in which I cant afford to buy anything).

After that we saw an OLED screen you could turn mostly transparent. Why bother? You could have the TV show off your wallpaper when yout not watching it instead of being a black rectangle, or you could stick a transparent screen on a window.

Story continues

(In the here and now, Mashables Lance Ulanoff found a use I wish Id thought of first: He took a selfie through the TV.)

Finally, LG showed off what at first looked like some sort of ear trumpet (below)  except this cone-shaped thing was another screen. Then a white-gloved rep demonstrated how you could take one of these screens and roll it up as it were thick, glossy paper that happened to be playing video.

Rollable screens arent new  I saw an e-ink version of one from Philips in 2002  but I havent seen one as big as this 18-inch prototype.

As a demo of technical excellence, this tour was impressive most impressive. But OLEDs problem has never been the technology itself, but its price. Two of the screens LG revealed in this years lineup illustrate the problem: A 65-inch, top-of-the-line Ultra HD LCD screen will sell for $4,000, while an OLED screen of the same size and resolution will cost $7,000.

LGs message on that: Give us time. K.J. Kim, a vice president at LG Displays, said it took the company a few years to get its yield rates (the share of produced panels that meet specifications) on mere high-definition OLEDs up to 80 percent, and its now climbing the same hill with Ultra HD screens but at a faster rate.

By the end of this year the yield issue will be pretty much gone, Kim said. He also said the price premium should shrink, at the smaller end of UHD screen sizes first: Probably by 2018, the mainstream 55-inch area will go below the $2,000 range.



But in those three years, LCDs could continue their own steady evolution that earlier saw them displace plasma displays, which had their own picture-quality advantages but couldnt get as cheap as quickly as LCD could.

And OLED manufacturers still have to address longevity issues. Kims estimate that OLED screens will be good for 30,000 hours of viewing before theyve lost half their original brightness sounds like a lot  but LED-backlit LCDs can last far longer.

OLED looked like great technology in Wednesdays demo, but good enough is a powerful argument in consumer tech. That shouldnt stop OLED from securing a profitable, high-end niche. But it may suffice to keep it out of your own living room.

Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro.

More from CES 2016:
A passenger aboard KLM Flight 897 attacked a co-pilot before he was subdued by fellow passengers. (Photo: Thinkstock)

In the latest headline of airline passengers behaving badly, a man injured himself before attacking a co-pilot on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight.

The incident occurred on Flight 897 en route to Beijing. According to a statement from the airline, a passenger locked himself in the toilets and inflicted slight wounds on himself.

Related: Heroic KLM Pilot Makes Emergency Landing, Saves Baby

The confused man then attacked a co-pilot before other passengers subdued him. Some eyewitnesses say that the man stabbed the co-pilot with a piece of glass, but the airline statement says only that the passenger slightly wounded the co-pilot in one of the kitchens in the cabin.

It was a frightening situation, a passenger told De Telegraaf.

After the attack, the passenger was restrained in his seat until the plane landed in Beijing.

WATCH: 7 Stages of Getting Kicked Off a Flight

Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Check out our original adventure travel series, A Broad Abroad.


Beijing to host first meeting of AIIB in June Updated: 2016-01-07 07:52 By Zheng Yangpeng(China Daily)

Jin Liqun, president-designate of the AIIB [Photo/China Daily]

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is to hold its annual meetings in June each year, with the first being convened this year in Beijing, according to a Finance Ministry official.

The meeting will come just five months after the bank becomes formally operational this month, according to the official, who declined to be named.

The first meetings of the bank's board of governors and board of directors, due to be held from Jan 16 to 18, will elect the first president and 12 constituency directors. It will also draw up rules on operations, financing and human resources.

The AIIB's annual meetings will gather governorsusually represented by finance ministers of each founding member. The meetings could also be held in other cities, the official said.

When the $100 billion multilateral lender was formally launched on Dec 25, 17 prospective founding members, representing 50.1 percent of the subscribed capital, had seen their domestic legislatures ratify the bank's chartera critical condition for the bank to be legally valid.

Since then, another two members, Russia and the Maldives, have approved the charter, with the 19 countries representing 56.77 percent of the subscribed capital.

The other 38 prospective founding members are expected to have the charterformally known as the Articles of Agreementapproved domestically before the deadline at the end of this year.

Countries that have not formally subscribed to the charter will be allowed to take part in this month's board of governors and directors meetings as observers and constituency representatives.

The AIIB is likely to welcome more countries this year. Nations can join as long as they receive approval from more than half of the governors who hold more than half of the voting rights.

Jin Liqun, president-designate of the bank, wrote in an article published in People's Daily on Tuesday that the first loans are expected to be granted in the second quarter.

Initial priority financing sectors include energy and power, communications, rural development, water supply and treatment, environmental protection and logistics.

Jin said the AIIB is committed to investing in digital infrastructure.

The bank has been born in the information era, so Internet-based innovative thinking and the ability to contribute to information infrastructure will become the bank's "unique advantage".

It can also draw on the experience of established multilateral development banks, giving it another advantage, Jin said.

"The AIIB will seriously study the Chinese government's Internet Plus strategy and the European Union's Digital Single Market initiative as well as other digital initiatives proposed by developing countries," Jin added.

A bank is born

October 2013: President Xi Jinping, in a speech in Jakarta, proposes AIIB as an institution that will finance infrastructure construction and promote regional connections.

Oct 24, 2014: 21 Asian countries sign MOU on establishing the bank.

March 2015: Britain applies to join AIIB as prospective founding member, followed by France, Italy and Germany.

April 15: Number of AIIB prospective founding members finalized at 57.

June 29: Delegates from the 57 attend signing ceremony for the Articles of Agreement.

Dec 25: AIIB formally established in Beijing as AOA take effect.
Govt eyes cross-border e-commerce to boost exports Updated: 2016-01-07 07:57 By Shi Jing(China Daily)

Workers sort parcels at a delivery company in Fuyang, Anhui province.[Photo/China Daily]

Government officials eye more pilot zones to increase backing for export development

The central government is looking to cross-border e-commerce to provide more support for Chinese exporters.

At an executive meeting of the State Council on Wednesday, government officials said more cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones should be set up in China to provide more support for export development.

Such zones should be set up in cities in East, Central and West China that have better infrastructure, large-scale import and export businesses and a more developed e-commerce industry, the officials said.

The success of the China (Hangzhou) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone should be copied and promoted, the officials said.

This includes a one-stop financial service system, exchangeable information, mutually recognizable administration and interdependent law enforcement between different government departments.

Only in such ways can a complete industry chain and ecosystem be built for cross-border e-commerce, officials said. With this new approach, company costs can be lowered, profits increased and the country's exports given more vitality and upgrades in the long run.

The officials said more cross-border e-commerce pilot zones will attract export-oriented firms, advance the growth of new business models and lead to efficient administration.

This will provide more job opportunities and help the Chinese export industry reorient itself and win more advantages.

The vibrancy injected by cross-border e-commerce into China's export business is reflected in global industry giant Amazon's 2015 figures.

The number of exporters reaching overseas markets via Amazon increased by 13 times last year, while Chinese exporters' turnover on Amazon more than doubled during the first three quarters of 2015.

While coastal cities in Southeast China are still home to the most Chinese exporters, Amazon has seen inland Chinese exporters becoming more active on its platform.

Product categories have been expanded, with the number of exports increasing by 87 times compared with 2012. Product quality has largely increased, with technology products including tablets, smartphones, robots and drones becoming popular Chinese exports last year.

Chinese consumers have already fully embraced cross-border e-commerce.

According to the latest study by international market consultancy Nielsen, about one-third of the country's cross-border online shoppers made up to five purchases last year.
Alibaba's Ant Financial raising more funds, planning IPO Updated: 2016-01-07 08:01 By Meng Jing(China Daily)

A woman walks past an advertisement for Ant Financial Services Group in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. Spun off from Alibaba in 2011, the company runs Alipay, China's largest online payment service provider with 270 million monthly active users.[Photo/China Daily]

Alibaba affiliate inching closer to planned public float, say analysts

Ant Financial Services Group, the Internet finance arm of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said it has kicked off its second round of financing ahead of a planned initial public offering.

Without revealing its target amount, Ant Financial confirmed on Wednesday that it has begun to raise capital for the second time in six months.

"We don't have a timetable for the IPO yet. But we are paying close attention to the market trends and policy changes," said publicity officials from Ant Financial.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Ant Financial is planning to raise at least 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in its latest round of financing.

Ant Financial, spun off from Alibaba in 2011, runs Alipay, China's largest online payment service provider with about 270 million monthly active users. It also runs Yuebao, China's largest money market fund, and MYbank, one of the country's first Internet banks.

The Shanghai-headquartered Ant Financial completed its initial round of fund-raising in June 2015, which valued the Internet finance company at about $45 billion.

In the first round of financing, the company successfully landed eight investors, including some State-backed organizations such as the National Council for Social Security Fund, Postal Savings Bank of China and CDB Capital, the investment arm of China Development Bank.

Ant Financial's announcement of a new round of financing comes days after reports that its Internet finance rival JD Finance planned to kick off its initial round of fundraising with a target amount between 5 billion yuan and 6 billion yuan.

The reports also said that JD Finance, the Internet finance affiliate of e-commerce major JD.com Inc, plans to go public in China's A-share market with a goal to list in 2017. JD Finance's public relations office said it does not respond to market speculation.

Despite the fundraising climate in China for tech companies becoming tougher, analysts said it is unlikely that the two Internet finance firms are short of cash.

"Being under the umbrellas of China's No 1 and No 2 e-commerce players, neither Ant Financial nor JD Finance needs to raise funds. I guess they want to raise their valuations via fundraising. More importantly, it will help in boosting credibility and in getting endorsements from government-backed investors," said Li Chao, an analyst with iResearch Consulting Group.

"After all, Internet-enabled finance companies are not traditional finance organizations. They are still new and face regulation risks. Investment from government-backed investors is a sign that they will get blessings from the government, which in turn can help land new customers and further expand their business," he said.

The active moves of fundraising could also be a sign that the two companies want to speed up their listing on China's A-share market, said analysts.

Li Daxiao, chief economist with Yingda Securities Co, said the government support to the "Internet Plus" concept could be a great opportunity for Internet finance companies that are planning listing this year.
I'd like to start this year with an unusual post, but I hope you'll still like it!

I don't have a postcard from Madagascar yet, but I recently got something else that comes from there. This tiny lemur is a toy made by children on the island and sold by a "Children of Madagascar - Ankizy Gasy" Foundation to support building new schools on Madagascar. Some time ago they had a small slideshow and a lecture here in my city, about Madagascar, life on the island and the foundation's work, and it was truly inspiring.

If you would like to read more about the foundation and their work on the island, or maybe you would like to help too or even volunteer in Madagascar, visit Ankizy Gasy Foundation website.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!
Dudovitz has struggled with fighting homosexual urges  not sexual predator urges, his attorney told the court, echoing  perhaps unknowingly  the position of the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who allegedly attributed cases of child sex abuse to latent homosexual tendencies and told at least some Chabad rabbis not to report child sex abusers to police.

Above: Rabbi Aryeh Leib Larry Dudovitz

Chabad Rabbi Aryeh Leib Larry Dudovitz Gets 8 Years For Child Sex Assault

Shmarya Rosenberg  FailedMessiah.com

Convicted Chabad child molester Rabbi Aryeh Leib Larry Dudovitz told a Chicago judge today that his emotional pain was so debilitating and so great, his relationship with his family has deteriorated and he cannot keep a full-time job, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

I am almost constantly afraid, feel alone, scared, angry, anxious, feeling useless, unwanted and unworthy of love, Dudovitz continued. I carry shame, which makes loving another very difficult. I feel voiceless, not heard, unworthy of speaking, being heard or spoken to, Dudovitz said, noting that he hopes his victim recovers from the trauma Dudovitz caused him.

Dudovitzs lawyer, Richard Kling, claimed his client was really gay and wasnt a child molester at heart.

Dudovitz has struggled with fighting homosexual urges  not sexual predator urges, Kling told the court echoing, perhaps unknowingly, the position of the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who allegedly attributed cases of child sex abuse to latent homosexual tendencies and told at least some Chabad rabbis not to report child sex abusers to police.

Schneerson also allegedly encouraged his followers not to report crimes committed by Jews to police because he believed Jews should almost never be imprisoned for their crimes.

Assistant States Attorney Tracy Senica reportedly insisted Dudovitz was a sexual predator of the worst kind because he was seen as a spiritual leader and moral compass.

Dudovitz attacked the victim in 2006 when the victim was only 15-years-old. The sexual assault took place at the boys family home in West Rogers Park during the holiday of Sukkot.

As others in the family sukkah that night, the minor boy had been drinking alcohol  a common behavior among Chabad hasidim.

After the boys father and siblings went to sleep, Dudovitz gave the boy even more vodka shots.

Dudovitz told the boy he was leaving and the boy went inside his familys home and went to sleep in his basement bedroom.

Sometime later, the boy woke and found Dudovitz performing a sex act on him.

Chabad allegedly actively covered up the abuse when it was reported to them by the boys family in 2006, strongly urged the family not to call police and otherwise obstructed justice.

Almost three years ago the boy, then in his early 20s, went to police and reported the crime. Dudovitz was arrested in 2013 and charged with criminal sexual assault.

Dudovitz was convicted in November 2015. Today, Judge Evelyn Clay sentenced Dudovitz to eight years in state prison.

The victim, who is now 24, said depression caused by the sexual assault and its aftermath made it impossible for him to complete high school. He self-medicated with drugs and alcohol and has twice been in rehab.

I never thought I would have a future. I always thought that I would be looked on as someone less than, or worse than the next. With this sentencing, I can clearly put my hopes and dreams in front of me and know that there is hope in my present life and future to come, the victim said today.

Dudovitzs wife reportedly broke down in sobs outside the courtroom after her husbands sentence was read.

Dudovitz is affiliated with the overtly messianist wing of the Chabad Movement.

Related Posts:

Chicago Chabad Rabbi Arrested For Alleged Child Sex Abuse.

Chabad Allegedly Blocked Police Investigation Into Accused Chicago Pedophile.

Chabad Rabbi Convicted Of Aggravated Criminal Sex Assault Against 15-Year-Old-Boy.
Haredim rioted, stoned police, and set garbage dumpsters on fire in Jerusalem overnight to protest a state-ordered autopsy of a four-month-old baby likely killed by an abusive caregiver.

Updated 1:27 pm CST

Updated: Haredim Riot And Stone Police Over Baby's Autopsy

Shmarya Rosenberg  FailedMessiah.com

Haredim rioted, screamed "Nazis!" at police, stoned police, and set garbage dumpsters on fire in Jerusalem today to protest a state-ordered autopsy of a four-month-old baby, the Times of Israel reported.

The baby, Moshe Mizrahi, is the grandchild of the haredi mayor of Beit Shemesh, Rabbi Moshe Abutbol. He died overnight in Hadassah Hospital where he had been hospitalized for a week due to a severe head trauma of unknown origin.

Haredi media reported a caregiver had been detained and then released to house arrest under restrictions. She reportedly admitted to shaking the baby several times, allegedly to wake him up.

Ten arrests of haredi rioters were made by police in Jerusalem and another three in Beit Shemesh, where haredim also rioted, according a report in the Jerusalem Post.

The Post also reported that the leader of the vehemently anti-Zionist Edah haredi umbrella haredi organization, Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, called on his often violent followers to protest the planned autopsy, sparking the riots.

In response to the riots ZAKA, the largely haredi search, rescue and EMT volunteer first responder organization, arranged for an MRI scan of the baby. If that determines the cause of death, the High Court would then rule again on the necessity of the autopsy, the Post reported.

Because the cause of injury and death is likely criminal child abuse, an autopsy was requested by law enforcement to determine the exact cause fo the injury.

Abutbols family opposed the autopsy and appealed the states decision to conduct it to the High Court of Justice, which ruled in favor of the state. That prompted haredim to begin rioting.

Halakha (Orthodox Jewish law) prohibits desecration of dead bodies and requires that bodies be buried whole whenever possible. But while halakha provides exemptions from this requirement  for example, in a case where an autopsy could save the life of another person. When law enforcement needs an autopsy to determine if a murder or manslaughter took place, halakha would usually allow the autopsy on the ground that convicting the murderer could easily save the lives of other people.

But in recent decades haredim have hardened their stance and now fight autopsies in almost every case, with some haredi rabbis adopting the position that unless the results of an autopsy will with a high degree of certainty immediately save the life of a person, it cannot be conducted.
Jack Townsend offers this blog on Federal Tax Crimes principally for tax professionals and tax students. It is not directed to lay readers -- such as persons who are potentially subject to U.S. civil and criminal tax or related consequences. LAY READERS SHOULD READ THE PAGE IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN TITLE "INTENDED AUDIENCE FOR BLOG; CAUTIONARY NOTE TO LAY READERS." Thank you.
Affiliated Managers Group Inc. AMG is making a push into the lucrative Asia private equity market. The company has purchased minority equity stake in the largest dedicated Asian private equity firm, Baring Private Equity Asia.



Consistent with Affiliated Managers partnership approach, senior management of Hong Kong-based Baring Asia (with total assets under management of $8 billion) will hold the majority stake and will look into day-to-day affairs of the company. Notably, terms of the deal were not disclosed.



Nonetheless, Fortune magazine, published by Time Inc. TIME, has obtained an internal memo sent by Baring Asia to limited partners in its funds. As per the memo, Affiliated Managers is acquiring 15% passive interest in the firm, while the remaining interest has been retained by the Baring Asias management. Also, Affiliated Managers has committed to invest in Baring Asias future funds.



Baring Asia plans to utilize the proceeds of the deal to fund the growth of its business and further align interests between its LPs and staff at the firm. Jean Eric Salata, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Baring Asia, said We are extremely excited about this new partnership with AMG, and believe it brings significant competitive advantages for our business.



For Affiliated Managers, the deal is of great significance. With an 18-year track record of generating returns through multiple business cycles, Baring Asias pan-Asia investment platform is spread across Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta and Tokyo. The firm specializes in growth-oriented investments, funding management buyouts and providing capital to companies for expansion, recapitalization or acquisitions.



As per IMFs regional economic outlook, the Asia and Pacific region is projected to grow at the rate of 5.4% during 20152016, thereby remaining the global growth leader. Hence, for Affiliated Managers, this spells a win-win situation as growing economies require huge funds.



Currently, Affiliated Managers carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



Better-ranked asset managers include Manning & Napier, Inc. MN and Calamos Asset Management Inc. CLMS, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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Airbus's company logo is pictured at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, December 4, 2014. REUTERS/ Regis Duvignau

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus Group (AIR.PA) is making good progress in the sale of its defense electronics activities, a top executive said on Thursday.

In December, Airbus Group said it was on the verge of selecting a final candidate and expected a decision by the end of the month. Sources familiar with the talks estimate the value of the assets at around 1 billion euros.

"It is progressing well," Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Marwan Lahoud, who is in charge of the negotiations, told Reuters when asked if a deal had been reached.

People familiar with the matter said Airbus Group (AIR.PA) had shortlisted Carlyle (CG.O) and KKR (KKR.N) after two U.S. buyout groups put in significantly higher offers.

None of the players involved agreed to comment.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Geert De Clercq)
Turkey military

As tensions continue to rise drastically throughout the wider Middle East, Turkey has announced construction plans for a multipurpose aircraft carrier, The Daily Beast reports.

The carrier, named the Anadolu after Turkey's Anatolia region, will be approximately 740 feet long and is slated to enter service in 2021.

As the carrier is designed for multipurpose missions, it will be able to transport tanks, landing vessels, helicopters, soldiers, and aircraft, according to TDB.

Costing over $1 billion, the carrier will drastically alter Ankara's ability to project power beyond its borders.

According to The Daily Beast, the Anadolu will technically be either an amphibious transport dock, also known as a landing platform/dock (LPD), or a landing helicopter dock (LHD).

Both types of vessels would allow Ankara to project power throughout the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. And either vessel type would allow Turkey to carry out amphibious assaults, act as a base for aircraft, and allow Turkey to also carry out humanitarian missions such as evacuations.

According to the analysis site Bosphorus Naval News, the Anadolu will be able to hold upwards of 10 F-35Bs. Additionally, the carrier could hold upwards of 12 helicopters, 94 battle tanks, and at least 700 troops. The vessel will also feature an onboard hospital that will hold 34 beds.

Such a wide range of features and power will ensure that the Anadolu will become the center piece of a new more internationalist Turkish foreign policy across the region.

Capabilities offered by the LPD will make it an important instrument of foreign policy that will accentuate Turkeys soft power beyond its military prowess, security analyst Metin Gurcan told TDB.

Turkey's military is already one of the strongest in the region. A NATO member, Turkey has over 400,000 full time frontline personnel.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: Colombian authorities seized 3 tons of cocaine bound for the US hidden in a 'narco-submarine'





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Paris (AFP) - Ever since a jihadist attack on a kosher store left four people dead a year ago, France's Jews have grown used to soldiers patrolling their neighbourhoods and schools.

While a comfort to some, the fact that the large Jewish community is forced to live under armed guard only heightens the sense of being a target.

"I don't feel safe here anymore. As Jews we are a preferred target, in a country which itself is a target" of jihadists, said Noemie, 27, who escaped the bloody hostage drama.

Paris was shaken and on edge two days after 12 people were gunned down at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly when Noemie went to the Hyper Cacher supermarket on January 9 to buy some groceries for her grandmother.

It was a day of high drama.

Said and Cherif Kouachi, the two brothers who waged the Charlie Hebdo attack, were under police siege in a small town near Paris where they had taken a hostage after two days on the run.

Then, in the early afternoon, a gunman burst into the Jewish supermarket on the eastern edge of the French capital and opened fire.

The man was identified as Amedy Coulibaly, who phoned a French television station and said he was carrying out the attack in the name of the Islamic State extremist group.

He said he had coordinated his atrocities with Cherif Kouachi, who himself had said he was backed and financed by al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Coulibaly threatened to kill all the hostages inside the supermarket if police launched an assault on the Kouachi brothers.

At around 5:00 pm, French commandos launched an assault on the building where the Kouachi brothers were holed up, killing both suspects.

Then, 15 minutes later as Coulibaly knelt for his evening prayers on the other side of the city, commandos launched their assault on the Jewish supermarket, killing the jihadist.

It was later revealed that police were able to track his actions as he did not hang up the phone properly after talking to reporters at the French TV station BFMTV.

Story continues

Coulibaly was later found to have killed a policewoman a day earlier when he was involved in a car accident, and also shot and injured a jogger.

- 'Breaking point'-

A year later the Hyper Cacher has been fully renovated, and its clients have returned.

"It took me six months to be able to come back," said Samuel, 24, a regular at the kosher store.

"There has been a real breaking point. Now we know we can be killed while doing our grocery shopping, or walking in the street," he told AFP.

Two days after the attack, on January 11, leaders from across the globe gathered in Paris to head a march of 1.6 million people united against terrorism.

For France's 500,000-strong Jewish community it was a long-awaited show of solidarity after years of rising anti-Semitism in the country.

Just two years earlier Mohamed Merah, a self-described Al-Qaeda sympathiser, shot a rabbi, three Jewish schoolchildren and three French paratroopers in the city of Toulouse.

In July 2014 a pro-Palestinian march turned violent in Paris, with looters destroying Jewish businesses and shouting anti-Israeli slogans.

According to French government statistics, anti-Semitic acts have soared in recent years, with the number reported between January and May 2015 increasing 84 percent compared with the same period in 2014.

The growing insecurity has also pushed many to make "aliyah" and emigrate to Israel, with record departures in 2015 of 7,900 people, according to official figures.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came under fire for urging French Jews to move to the Jewish state after the Hyper Cacher attack.

"To all the Jews of France, all the Jews of Europe, I would like to say that... the state of Israel is your home," he said at the time.

"All Jews who want to immigrate to Israel will be welcomed here warmly and with open arms.

While personal religious reasons also push Jews to make the move to Israel, government has sought to reassure its Jewish community and urge them to stay.

"France, without its Jews, is not France," said Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

To reassure the community, 700 soldiers have been deployed to patrol outside synagogues, schools and community centres.

At the Hyper Cacher, a year on from the attack, some regulars say they just want to "get on with their lives."

"We think before coming, but when we see the security we feel more or less protected," said Deborah, 29.
Armed Yemeni tribesmen from the Popular Resistance Committees fire from a tank in the area of Sirwah, west of Marib city, on November 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Abdullah al-Qadry) (AFP/File)

Dubai (AFP) - Bahrain announced on Tuesday the death of three of its soldiers while they were serving in the Saudi-led military campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Captain Ahmed Mohammed Ameen, Captain Mubarak Sa'ad al-Rumaihi and Sergeant Major Hasan Ali Skandar died "in an incident on the southern borders of Saudi Arabia," the Bahrain Defence Force general command said in a statement.

More than 80 people, including civilians, have been killed on Saudi Arabia's southern front with Yemen since coalition forces launched a campaign in support of the war-torn country's recognised government in March.

But the statement published on the official Bahrain News Agency did not say whether the three had died in an accident or an attack, and did not say when the incident took place.

The latest deaths raise to eight the total number of Bahraini troops killed since March as part of the coalition.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which play key roles in the coalition, have lost the most troops in the campaign. One Qatari soldier has also died.

Sudan has also deployed troops in Yemen while Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily reported on Tuesday that the emirate has decided to send ground forces to take part in the conflict.

Kuwait's participation in the Yemen war has so far been limited to its air force.

The Arab coalition is backing forces loyal to Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government with air strikes, ground troops, and weaponry, in addition to training.

In Yemen itself, more than 5,800 people have been killed since March.
Does Portugals Bank Bail-In Threaten the European Banking Union?

(Continued from Prior Part)

What does pari passu mean?

The principal of pari passu requires all investors in a certain class to be treated the same way. As a bond covenant, pari passu would entitle all of the bondholders in a class to equal rights of payment or equal seniority. Accordingly, when a bank goes into resolution, the bondholders in a class expect equal rights with others at the same level in the capital structure.

Bank of Portugal defied pari passu

By assigning five of Novo Bancos 52 senior bonds to Banco Espirito Santo, worth about 2 billion euros or $2.1 billion, the Bank of Portugal defied the principle of pari passu. The five bond instruments had been taken over by the Bank of Portugal along with the assets of the good bank. Investors in the bond instruments see themselves as part of the bad bank or Banco Espirito Santo. It contains all of the groups toxic assets.

Bonds lost 80% of their value in a single day

Bonds that were trading at ~94% of their face value on December 29, 2015, fell by ~80% in value on December 30, 2015, as the news of the reassignment reached the market. The ECB (European Central Bank) stress tested financial institutions in November 2015. It revealed 1.4 billion euros worth of deficit on the good banks balance sheet. It appears that the move was initiated to cover that hole.

Although market analysts would agree that this method of bailing in bondholders is preferable to the old way of using taxpayers money to pump capital into financially stressed banks, it doesnt warrant discrimination between bondholders in the same class.

Did the Portuguese central bank forget that reassigning a few bonds from a class of 52 senior bonds would defy the underlying principle of the pari passu clause? Over time, debt issuers have followed the clause religiously. By defying the principle of equality among bondholders in the same class, Portugal (PGAL) set a bad precedence for other debt-laden banks in the Eurozone. Investors in debt issued by European (VGK) banks like Deutsche Bank (DB), Banco Santander (SAN), Lloyds (LYG), and ING (ING) might be wary of their investments due to the Portuguese episode.

Story continues

To learn more, read Why Analysts Are Bullish on US Banks in the Face of a Fed Rate Hike.

To stay updated on the financial sector, visit Market Realists Financials page. For more insightful global investment analysis, visit Market Realists Global ETF Analysis page.

Browse this series on Market Realist:
(Adds freezing of other directors' assets, allegations against TOV, background on brokerage)

SAO PAULO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank said it liquidated TOV CCTVM SA and froze the assets of the main shareholder and managers of the broker-dealer, which was named in a wide corruption investigation and is accused of forging import contracts to send money abroad.

The bank appointed Tupinamba Quirino dos Santos as liquidator of TOV, it said in a statement on Thursday . The assets of controlling TOV shareholder Fernando Heller and another seven directors will remain frozen during the process.

The actions came after TOV was cited in "Operation Car Wash," a probe into graft, money laundering and influence-peddling at state companies that has become Brazil's largest corruption scandal ever.

According to the testimony of illegal money changers who signed a plea bargain in the probe, TOV send money abroad to pay for bogus imports.

The liquidation of TOV follows an investigation begun last year and is the latest in a string of central bank-led shutdowns of brokerages suspected of conducting irregular transactions for some clients.

TOV's spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

The brokerage lost 8 million reais ($2 million) in the first six months of last year, according to its financial statements.

Brazil's fragmented broker-dealer market is struggling with rising volatility and reduced interest in equities and other financial products in the country. According to central bank data, most broker-dealers lost money last year.

($1 = 4.0435 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Bruno Federowski; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
SANTIAGO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Chile's Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes on Thursday said that instances of collusion, such as the most recent price-fixing scheme by three supermarket chains, are a threat to the "efficiency and productivity of the economy."

On Wednesday, Chile's competition regulator accused supermarket chains Cencosud and SMU and the local unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc of participating in a price-fixing scheme involving fresh chicken.

"This is very bad for confidence and is another blow to the legitimacy of the system, this goes beyond the specific case only and has collateral effects that are deeply negative," said Valdes.

He added that the government would give legislative priority to a bill the would stiffen fines and seek to punish with jail time those who commit collusion.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Writing by Anthony Esposito)
(Adds comments from Chilean president, finance minister)

SANTIAGO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Chile's president and finance minister said on Thursday that price-fixing threatens the economy and called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would stiffen fines and impose jail time on those who commit collusion.

Citing a recent price-fixing scheme by three supermarket chains, Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said such collusion is a threat to the "efficiency and productivity of the economy."

The government hopes the bill, which is being discussed in Congress, will be approved by the end of January.

"I want to ask lawmakers of all political stripes to support the government's initiative to end once and for all this sensation of impunity in cases of collusion," President Michelle Bachelet told reporters at the presidential palace.

On Wednesday, Chile's competition regulator accused supermarket chains Cencosud, SMU, and the local unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc of participating in a price-fixing scheme involving fresh chicken.

It was the second time in three months that the regulator said it had uncovered collusion affecting consumers.

In October, it accused Chilean forestry company CMPC of colluding with a unit of Swedish-owned SCA for at least a decade to control nearly 90 percent of the nation's toilet paper and tissue sales, keeping prices higher.

"This is very bad for confidence and is another blow to the legitimacy of the system," said Valdes, speaking to reporters at the Finance Ministry. "This goes beyond the specific case only and has collateral effects that are deeply negative."

Cencosud's shares were down 4.6 percent in midday trading.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Anthony Esposito; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Flags on the office building of Scotiabank are seen in the commercial district of San Isidro in Lima, April 11, 2015. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

By Euan Rocha and John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Canada's third biggest lender, is in discussions to sell a C$1 billion ($715 million) vendor and equipment financing portfolio, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

Scotiabank, which began the sale process a few weeks ago, is in talks with several parties including Toronto-based Element Financial (EFN.TO), said three of the sources.

Two of the sources said the assets that Scotia is looking to sell are housed within its Roynat unit, which the bank acquired about 20 years ago.

Roynat provides funding between C$250,000 and C$50 million to small and medium-sized businesses. It mainly offers financing options like term loans, asset based lending and leasing to more than 1,000 companies across Canada.

All four sources, who declined to be named as they are not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said that discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached.

Scotia's sale, coupled with commercial lender CIT Group's (CIT.N) recently outlined plans to sell its similar Canadian business, have given Element reason to rethink the planned sale of its own Canadian commercial and vendor (C&V) financing operations, said three of the sources.

Scotiabank declined to comment on the matter. A spokesman for Element said the firm's strategic review around its Canadian C&V business remains ongoing.

Element, Scotia and CIT all compete against one another in the C&V market in Canada, servicing and financing mainly small and medium-sized businesses.

Toronto-based Element had said in October it planned to sell its domestic C&V operations to focus on its fleet management business.

Element said at the time it would reinvest proceeds from the sale of its C&V unit, which has a C$1 billion asset portfolio, into acquisitions in its core fleet management arm.

Three of the sources said that Element sees an opportunity to expand its own C&V base with the Scotia assets, boosting its own unit's profitability by gaining economies of scale.

Story continues

The three said that while a final decision has not yet been made, Element may not push ahead with a sale of its C&V assets in the near-term, adding that a final decision is likely to be made later this month.

Two of the sources said Element is also interested in CIT's Canadian assets that include about $800 million of loans and equipment finance assets, which the New York-based company put on the auction block in October.

CIT declined to comment on the talks around the sale of its Canadian assets.

($1 = 1.3996 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Euan Rocha and John Tilak; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(Adds details from decision, comments, background, case citation, byline)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed a private antitrust lawsuit in which zinc purchasers accused affiliates of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Glencore Plc of conspiring to drive up the metal's price.

In an 87-page decision, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said purchasers failed to show that the defendants artificially inflated zinc prices by violating the Sherman Act, a federal antitrust law.

"It remains possible that shenanigans drove up the price of physical zinc," Forrest wrote. "But, at long last, plaintiffs have not adequately alleged that such price movement was due to a plausible antitrust violation, as opposed to parallel, unilateral conduct beyond the reach of that statutory scheme."

Christopher Lovell, a lawyer for the purchasers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Goldman spokesman Michael DuVally, JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony and Glencore spokesman Charles Watenphul declined to comment.

The lawsuit echoes a similar case alleging aluminum price manipulation. It is among several in Manhattan in which investors and businesses accused banks and other defendants of conspiring to rig prices in financial and commodities markets. U.S. and European regulators also have examined such activity.

Zinc purchasers accused the defendants in a proposed class-action lawsuit of conspiring since May 2010 to ensure lengthy queues for the metal at their warehouses, which were licensed by the London Metal Exchange.

The purchasers said the alleged conspiracy included hoarding, moving zinc from one warehouse to another, falsifying shipping records and manipulating LME rules. They said the moves caused artificial supply shortages that boosted prices.

Forrest, however, said other factors independent of any alleged conspiracy may have influenced prices.

"Plaintiffs cannot adequately plead their broad, five-year conspiracy simply by noting developments in the zinc market, particularly when many of those developments occurred at vastly different times over the class period such that the possibility of causation is hard to assess," she wrote.

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Forrest said the plaintiffs may replead some claims against Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss mining company, or its Pacorini Metals USA unit, which operates several warehouses. A lawyer for Pacorini did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zinc is used to coat steel to protect against corrosion and also is used in batteries, castings and alloys such as brass. It is, according to court papers, the world's fourth most widely produced metal by weight, trailing iron, aluminum and copper.

The case is In re: Zinc Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-03728.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott)
A worker walks atop a tanker wagon to check the freight level at an oil terminal on the outskirts of Kolkata November 27, 2013. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's oil imports from Iran fell by about a quarter in 2015 as refiners slowed purchases early in the year to keep imports within the limits of sanctions, preliminary tanker arrival data obtained by Reuters shows.

Western sanctions against Iran's controversial nuclear programme limit the Gulf country's oil exports to 1-1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), with buyers such as India curbing annual purchases to 220,000 bpd.

The annual decline came as imports in December surged nearly 70 percent from the previous month to 233,100 barrels per day (bpd), but were still down by a third from a year ago, according to the data and a report compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts.

India's December oil imports from Iran were the highest in six months.

Asian imports of Iranian oil have fallen as most of Iran's biggest crude buyers held off from increasing purchases after a July agreement that would grant relief to Iran from sanctions early this year if it curbs its nuclear programme.

India, Iran's biggest oil client after China, shipped in 208,300 bpd of oil and condensate in calendar 2015 compared with 276,800 bpd in 2014, the data showed.

New Delhi's imports of oil from Iran are expected to rise in the next fiscal year, beginning in April, when western sanctions are expected to be eased against Tehran.

Tehran was India's seventh-biggest supplier of oil in the 2014/15 fiscal year, down from the No. 2 spot before sanctions.

A drop in purchases of Iranian oil helped boost exports to India by rival producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries, have shown interest in raising imports from Iran, Mohsen Qamsari, director general for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters.

Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in India, halted imports of Iranian oil in 2010 under pressure from sanctions.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Richard Pullin)
By Caroline Stauffer

SAO PAULO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - An internal investigation of potential corruption at Brazil's state-run energy utility Eletrobras has expanded to include five more Brazilian hydroelectric dams, a source with access to the probe said.

Lawyers investigating possible violations of U.S. and Brazilian anti-corruption laws hope to finish their work in March in order to deliver a delayed financial report to U.S. regulators, and their findings could impact Eletrobras' second-quarter balance sheet, the source said.

Eletrobras, formally known as Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, hired U.S.-based law firm Hogan Lovells and Sao Paulo-based WFaria Advogados as well as three independent commissioners to assess possible graft involving Eletrobras and private construction firms in Brazil.

Kroll, a U.S.-based risk consulting firm, more recently joined the investigatory commission, the source said. Kroll did not respond to a request for comment. Eletrobras said it would only comment on the internal investigation when it was concluded.

The number of people under investigation has increased as new projects are added, the source said.

Prosecutors say construction companies accused of overcharging state-run oil firm Petrobras for work and passing on excess funds as bribes repeated the scheme at the smaller Eletrobras, adding to the economic toll corruption has wrought on Brazil's economy over the past decade.

The commission has not cleared the four initial projects Reuters learned were being investigated in September: Angra 3 nuclear power plant and Amazon dams Belo Monte, Jirau and Santo Antonio, the source said, declining to name the five new dams.

The source did not estimate or confirm possible corruption losses but said a graft write-off was "very probable, considering what is already in the media about Eletronuclear."

Othon Luiz Pinheiro da Silva, formerly chief executive of Eletrobras subsidiary Eletronuclear, is on trial in Rio de Janeiro for corruption and money laundering. He has been charged with taking 4.5 million reais ($1.1 million) in bribes related to the Angra 3 plant.

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Eletrobras booked a 3.39 billion real impairment charge on Angra 3 in its third-quarter 2015 earnings, citing deteriorating economic conditions in Brazil rather than corruption.

Petrobras wrote off $2.1 billion in graft losses in April.

Shares of both Petrobras and Eletrobras trade on the New York Stock Exchange and are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which aims to prevent graft by companies linked to the United States.

($1 = 4 reais) (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C), accompanied by commanding officers of the Korean People's Army, visit the Kumsusan Palace where his father Kim Jong-Il lies in state in Pyongyang on December 17, 2015 (AFP Photo/) (KCNA via KNS/AFP)

The UN General Assembly criticized Iran and condemned North Korea over human rights violations in resolutions adopted by the 193-nation body.

A total of 119 countries voted in favor of the resolution condemning "gross" violations in North Korea and encouraging the Security Council to refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court.

The measure drafted by the European Union and Japan was opposed by 19 countries including Pyongyang ally China, Russia, Sudan, Cuba, Iran, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Forty-eight countries abstained.

The vote showed stronger condemnation of North Korea compared to last year, when a similar resolution was adopted by a vote of 116 to 20, with 53 abstentions.

The resolution demands that a vast network of prison camps in North Korea thought to be holding 100,000 inmates living in appalling conditions be shut down.

North Korea has reacted angrily to the measure, calling it a "product of political confrontation" by the United States and its allies.

A Canadian-drafted resolution expressing "serious concern" over the use of the death penalty in Iran was adopted by a vote of 81 to 37, with 67 abstentions.

Iran has come under sharp criticism over its draconian use of the death penalty with more than 800 people executed this year, the highest total in years.

It was the first resolution on Iran's human rights record to be adopted since the historic nuclear accord reached with big powers.

Among the countries that voted against the resolution were China, Cuba, Russia, Syria, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Iraq and Lebanon.

The resolutions are non-binding, but are politically important as an international judgement of those regimes.
BASRA, Iraq, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil ministry and the newly established Dhi Qar Oil Co plan to revive talks with international oil companies to boost production at the Nassiriya field and build a refinery to process crude from the region, a company executive said on Thursday.

The ministry in 2014 postponed a bidding round with a group of companies that had expressed interest in the integrated project, whose initial cost was estimated at $10 billion, after Islamic State launched attacks across northern and western Iraq.

Southern provinces, including Dhi Qar, which produce the bulk of Iraq's oil exports, were not affected by the hardline militants' advance.

Iraq established Dhi Qar Oil Co on Tuesday to supervise four fields located in the namesake province, including Nassiriya and the Petronas-operated Garraf field.

State-run South Oil Co, which the oil ministry this week renamed Basra Oil Co, supervised the Dhi Qar fields previously and will transfer its assets in the province to the new company.

The international companies that expressed initial interest in developing the Nassiriya field and refinery include Lukoil and PetroChina, Dhi Qar's head of field operations, Kareem Yasir, told Reuters. He declined to say whether the revived talks would involve the same companies.

The initial oil ministry project provided for the Nassiriya refinery to have a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"The oil ministry may decide not to hold a bidding round and opt instead for direct talks" separately with each company, Yasir said.

Nassiriya has more than 4 billion barrels in reserves and the potential to produce 200,000 bpd, compared with a current daily output of 70,000 barrels produced by South Oil, Yasir said.

(Reporting Aref Mohammed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Israeli security forces gather around the car of a Palestinian driver who attempted to ram his vehicle into Israeli police and soldiers at the Qalandia checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on December 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Two Palestinian drivers Friday tried but failed to run down Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, with one attacker shot dead and the other wounded, Israeli officials said.

Troops later shot dead another man in clashes at Sinjil village northeast of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian health officials said, naming him as Nashat Asfour, 33.

An army spokeswoman told AFP that troops came under attack by rock-throwing Palestinians there and after they ignored warning shots and calls to disperse "a shot was fired at an instigator and a hit was identified."

He was the third Palestinian killed on Friday, a traditional day of anti-occupation protest following weekly Muslim prayers.

Near the village of Silwad, northwest of Ramallah, Mohammed Ayad, 20, was killed as he tried to steer his vehicle into a group of border police and soldiers entangled in a clash with Palestinians, police said.

Police said Israeli forces took cover behind a concrete barrier, escaping injury.

"They opened fire at the terrorist... He was declared dead at the scene," it said in a statement.

In the Gaza Strip, soldiers shot dead a Palestinian protester and wounded another 41 people during clashes along the border with Israel, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Gaza's Hamas rulers, said the dead man, Mahmud al-Agha, 20, was one of its members.

Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP that 31 of the wounded were hit by live fire and the other 10 by rubber bullets.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops opened fire during a "violent riot" by Palestinians close to the border fence, which is off-limits.

"A hundred rioters attempted to breach the buffer zone and damage the fence," she told AFP.

"In order to prevent an escalation of violence and threat of infiltration, forces stationed along the border fired towards main instigators... Hits were confirmed."

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In an unrelated event, the army said soldiers at the border discovered two bombs planted next to the fence, at the same spot where a charge was set off on Wednesday as a patrol passed by.

A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 123 on the Palestinian side, and 17 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.

Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers, while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes.

Also Friday in the West Bank, a Palestinian driver tried unsuccessfully to run down Israeli security forces before he was shot, wounded and arrested, police said.

"A Palestinian terrorist... drove at speed toward police and soldiers in an attempt to ram them", before his vehicle hit a concrete pillar and he got out and ran toward them, shouting, police said.

"A guard fired at his lower body and wounded him," it said, adding that he was treated at the scene and placed under arrest.

Police said the guards had first fired warning shots in the air and ordered the man to stop.

The incident occurred at the Qalandiya checkpoint, near Ramallah and close to a refugee camp of the same name, where soldiers on Wednesday shot dead two Palestinians who tried to ram their cars into troops in separate attacks.

- Journalists tear-gassed -

An AFP journalist at the scene of the Qalandiya incident said the wounded Palestinian could be seen sitting on a stretcher as security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse journalists.

The site is close to the family home of 14-year-old Hadeel Awwad, shot dead by an Israeli policeman after stabbing and wounding a man in a Jerusalem market last month.

The officer has been placed under justice ministry investigation over a suspected breach of open-fire regulations -- the first such probe in the current wave of violence.

Israeli authorities finally released her body on Friday to enable the family to bury her and ahead of the funeral young Palestinians hurled stones at soldiers, who responded by firing tear gas.

In the southern West Bank, soldiers shot a Palestinian in the head, seriously wounding him, during clashes near the flashpoint city of Hebron, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The wave of unrest has been fuelled by Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and lack of any progress in peace efforts, while international efforts to restore calm have so far failed.
ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA--(Marketwired - Jan 7, 2016) - KHOT INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS, LTD. ("KHOT" or the "Company") (CSE:KOT) is pleased to announce that the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Ashid Munkhiin Zam LLC ("AMZ") has been awarded a rail bed construction permit by the Ministry of Road and Transportation of Mongolia.

This rail bed construction permit issued effective December 22, 2015 is for an initial period of three (3) years and enables AMZ to bid on a number of major rail projects planned by the Government of Mongolia as an integral component of its countrywide transportation infrastructure commitment, including the USD$1.3 billion, 547 kilometres in railway concessions already announced by the Mongolian Government in partnership with Northern Railway.

James Passin, Khot Chairman, emphasized the importance of this permit in terms of the expanded opportunities it provides the Company in the implementation of its overall road and rail concession strategy, "The combination of road and rail provides a natural synergy to AMZ operations. Our experienced in-country management team and potential strategic partners are unanimous in their enthusiasm for this long term railway construction program."

Proceeds from the private placement announced on December 15, 2015 will be used to accelerate the bid process in both the road and rail bed sectors. The Company will provide more ongoing information to shareholders as the bid process continues.

James Passin, Chair of Khot commented, "Having been awarded a permit allows Khot to actively bid on these fast-moving opportunities."

Khot, through AMZ, recently announced a partnership with Power China's world leading Engineering, Procurement, and Construction ("EPC") company and Chinese state owned enterprise, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III ("SEPCOIII"), who will contribute on a 75/25 percent basis, all the required logistical and financial support elements required for large road projects.

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Mongolia, through the coordinated efforts with China's larger New Silk Road Economic Belt project, will participate in the international Economic Corridor linking resources and markets between Russia, China and Mongolia, as well as other Central Asian countries.

"Regional connectivity is the main objective of the New Silk Road strategy. We are proud to be a part of this vision and through our Chinese partners jointly push forward the construction of an international infrastructure network and advocate a framework for cross-border trade and financial opportunities," said company president, Don Padgett.

About Khot:

Our goal is to become the leading Mongolian transportation contractor and the preferred choice for employees, shareholders and partners. Our focus is on high margin contracts, such as highways and regional roads. Our mission is to provide the infrastructure needed for one of the world's fastest growing economies.

To find out more about KHOT, please visit our website at khotinfrastructure.com, email: IR@khotinfrastructure.com.

About AMZ:

AMZ is a qualified Mongolian company, provides investors a first mover advantage; in effect a proxy on Mongolia and by extension a future opportunity in the entire Silk Road Region. The AMZ team includes experienced road engineers and business developers. In addition, the Company has the ability to leverage the Firebird office in the Mongolian capital city and has ready access to other key operational advantages this long-term relationship offers.

The CSE has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company.

Forward-looking statements and information are based on assumptions that financing and personnel will be available when required and on reasonable terms, and all necessary regulatory approvals and shareholder approval will be obtained, none of which are assured and are subject to a number of other risks and uncertainties.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
(Adds quotes, background)

By Alexis Akwagyiram

ABUJA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde told Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday the IMF does not support foreign exchange restrictions, a policy option Abuja took after prices for its oil exports collapsed.

Addressing senior politicians during a four-day visit, she said any such restrictions should be temporary.

Nigeria's central bank, dealing with the worst economic crisis hitting Africa's biggest economy in years, has resisted calls by investors to devalue the naira more than the 20 percent it has been allowed to fall since the start of 2014.

President Muhammadu Buhari has supported central bank measures to restrict access to foreign exchange, but they have been unpopular with investors and highlight Nigeria's dependence on crude oil exports, which make up over half of state revenues.

"Additional exchange rate flexibility, either up or down, can help soften the impact of external shocks, make output and employment less volatile, and help build external reserves," Lagarde said.

"It can also help avoid the need for costly foreign exchange restrictions, which we don't really support, and if they exist they should remain temporary by nature," she added.

Last month, Buhari announced a record budget for 2016, forecasting a doubling of the deficit to 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion) and a tripling of capital expenditure intended to help the country adjust to the downturn in oil, which has lost around two-thirds of its value since mid-2014.

The president said Nigeria, which has foreign currency reserves worth around $30 billion, will borrow as much as 900 billion naira abroad to fund its deficit, which is equivalent to 2.16 percent of gross domestic product. Some 984 billion naira would be borrowed at home.

On Tuesday the IMF managing director, who has held meetings with Buhari, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said she was not in Nigeria to negotiate a loan.

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In her speech, Lagarde noted Nigeria's economy grew by about 3.2 percent in 2015, "its slowest pace since 1999", and said only a "modest recovery" was expected this year.

To confront the crisis, she said Nigeria should consider increasing VAT, which at 5 per cent is among the lowest rates in the world, as well as broadening the tax base and improving compliance to reduce revenue "leakages".

"On recurrent expenditure, efforts should be made to streamline the cost of government and improve efficiency of public service delivery," she said, praising efforts that have already been made in this area by Buhari's administration.

The IMF chief has also held talks with Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and representatives of the commercial banking sector. She will travel to neighbouring Cameroon on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Charlotte Rodrique, the chairwoman of the federally recognized Burns Paiute Tribe, talks about the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

The leader of a Native American tribe in Oregon chuckled at the fact that Ammon Bundy and his Citizens for Constitutional Freedom group are demanding the federally controlled land at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge be returned to locals.

Charlotte Rodrique said she "had to laugh" at that request because she knows he isn't talking about her tribe, which considers the land sacred, The Associated Press reported.

Rodrique, the leader of the Burns Paiute tribe, said the armed occupiers who took over the refuge Saturday are not welcome and have no rights to the property in a Wednesday press conference.

"The protesters have no right to this land. It belongs to the native people who live here," Rodrique said, adding the occupiers are "desecrating one of our sacred sites" with their presence.

At first, the native leader said she could relate to their grievances  as her tribe had been removed from the land before  but disagreed with their armed approach.

"I just think they're a bunch of glory hounds," Rodrique told Reuters. "Look at us, look at what we're doing.' I don't give much credence to their cause."

The armed occupation of the refuge entered its sixth day on Thursday. On Saturday, about two-dozen armed protesters broke into the refuge's unoccupied building and refused to leave. It followed a march in protest of new prison sentences for two ranchers who were convicted and previously served time for setting fire to federal grazing land.

Those two ranchers, Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, reported to prison Monday, Reuters reported. A judge ruled in October that their prior terms for the arson  three months for the father and one year for the son  were too short under federal law. They will now serve about four more years each.

The Hammonds said they set fires in 2001 and 2006 to stop invasive plants from spreading on their ranch, which is adjacent to the refuge near Burns, Oregon, according to The Associated Press. Prosecutors said the Hammonds set the fire to cover up poaching in the area.

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The group of anti-government protesters  which is calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom  believes the Hammonds have been treated unfairly and exposed to double jeopardy for having to serve multiple sentences. They're demanding that federal lands be turned over to local authorities and that the Hammonds be freed.

Local authorities have made no attempt to reclaim the refuge. The local sheriff pleaded with the occupiers to "go home," and other residents haven't seemed pleased with their takeover, either. The Hammonds have tried to distance themselves from the militia, saying through their attorney that the group didn't speak for them.

NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector tells us what life was like under a dictatorship





More From Business Insider


The R.H. Macy and Co. is seen over the logo for Macy's department store at the flagship store in midtown Manhattan in New York City November 11, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - Department store chain Macy's Inc, which lowered its full-year earnings expectations for the second time, said it would cut jobs and consolidate its operations, starting early 2016.

The company said it expects to generate about $400 million in savings beginning this year.

Macy's shares rose 3.7 percent to $37.51 in after market trading.

Warm weather, low spending by tourists and a pileup of unsold inventory prompted Macy's to cut its full-year forecast in November, raising wide concerns about the retail sector's financial health.

Macy's on Wednesday cut its full-year 2015 earnings forecast to $3.85-$3.90 per share, excluding charges associated with the cost-savings program, from $4.20 to $4.30 per share.

The company also said same-store sales on an owned basis declined 5.2 percent in the November-December holiday period.

"In light of our disappointing 2015 sales and earnings performance, we are making adjustments to become more efficient and productive in our operations," Chief Executive Terry Lundgren said in a statement.

About 3,000 employees will be affected, with about 50 percent expected to be placed in other positions, the company said.

Macy's also said it is implementing a voluntary separation opportunity for about 165 senior executives at Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

The company also listed 40 store locations to be closed.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
A Look at Major Events that Impacted Netflix in 2015

(Continued from Prior Part)

Launch in Japan

Netflix (NFLX) launched in Japan (EWJ) in 2015, the companys first entry into a major Asian market. Netflix stated at the UBS (UBS) Global Media and Communications Conference held on December 7, 2015, that considering that Japanese viewers watched Japanese programming 95% of the time, Netflixs Japanese subscribers are streaming 30%50% of their content in English. For example, Bill Murrays Christmas special is among the top ten programs in Japan.

Other Netflix shows that are proving to be immensely popular in Japan include The Daredevil, Narcos, and Jessica Jones. An original Netflix movie, Beasts of No Nation, which premiered on the streaming service, was the most-watched movie in Japan upon its launch.

According to a survey by Statista, and as the chart above indicates, the number of subscription video-on-demand (or SVOD) users is estimated to be ~11 million in Japan by 2020. Considering Netflixs entry in Japan, the rising popularity of online video could help the company immensely in the long term and could grab this subscriber base.

Why is Netflixs entry into the Japanese market important?

Netflixs entry into Japan was important for the company, as Netflix considers Japan to be a brand-sensitive market. Once the company establishes its brand in Japan, it expects its connection with the Japanese audience to be a long-term one.

Netflix has priced its Japanese service at a price point close to its pricing in the United States. Netflix is offering subscription plans in Japan that range from 650 yen (or ~$5.40) pretax to 1,450 yen (or ~$12.02) pretax.

Netflix learned from Hulus initial failure in Japan. Hulu was expensive, at around 2,000 yen, or $20 per month, and it didnt offer any local content. In 2014, Hulus Japanese business was sold to Nippon Television Network. Hulu is an over-the-top (or OTT), ad-supported streaming service owned jointly by 21st Century Fox (FOXA), The Walt Disney Company (DIS), and NBCUniversal (CMCSA).

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Netflix makes up 0.92% of the PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF (QQQ). For an investor interested in exposure to the Television & Radio sector, QQQ has an exposure of 4.37% to the sector.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
A North Korean court last month sentenced Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim (right) to life imprisonment with hard labour on sedition charges (AFP Photo/)

Seoul (AFP) - An influential Canadian pastor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with hard labour by a North Korean court following his conviction on sedition charges, prompting Canada to slam the punishment as "unduly harsh".

South Korean-born Hyeon Soo Lim, 60, a pastor at the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, is the latest in a series of foreign missionaries to be arrested, deported or jailed for allegedly meddling in state affairs.

"The defendant Lim admitted all the charges against him including viciously defaming our system and our supreme dignity as well as plotting to overthrow our state," the North's official KCNA news agency said.

Ottawa hit out at the punishment, saying they were "dismayed at the unduly harsh sentence given to Mr Lim by a North Korean court, particularly given his age and fragile health".

The statement from the foreign ministry said consular officials had been denied access to Lim, describing it as "a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations".

Prime Minister Justine Trudeau told reporters he was "very concerned" by the sentence, adding that Canada would continue to push for access to Lim.

Lim was detained by North Korean authorities in January after arriving from China. The specific actions that resulted in the sedition allegations have never been detailed.

Members of the close-knit circle of ethnic Korean missionaries in the United States and Canada have called him one of the most influential Christian missionaries operating in North Korea.

He had led multiple aid missions involving work with orphanage houses, nursing homes and food processing factories.

Some of the projects he had worked on were linked to associates of Jang Song-Thaek -- an uncle of leader Kim Jong-Un -- who was dramatically arrested and executed for treason in December 2013.

According to KCNA, the prosecutor had asked the Supreme Court to hand down a death sentence, arguing that the pastor's crimes merited "the sternest punishment".

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- Church 'confession' -

In August the North released a video showing Lim attending a Sunday service at Pyongyang's Pongsu Church and confessing to various charges in an address to a small congregation that included a number of foreigners.

"I committed the gravest crime of insulting and defaming the top dignity and the leadership of the republic," Lim said in the video.

Detained foreigners are habitually required to make public and officially scripted pronouncements of their guilt in order to help secure their eventual release.

"The trial demonstrated again what kind of miserable fate awaits people like Lim -- the followers of the US and South Korean regimes that ceaselessly try to annihilate our socialist system and defame the supreme dignity of our sacred republic," KCNA said.

Pyongyang views foreign missionaries with deep suspicion, though it allows some to undertake humanitarian work.

A number of Christian missionaries -- mostly ethnic Koreans who are US citizens -- have been arrested in the past, with some of them only allowed to return home after intervention by high-profile US political figures.

Although religious freedom is enshrined in the North's constitution, it does not exist in practice and religious activities are restricted to officially recognised groups linked to the government.

- Suspect foreign missionaries -

In November last year Kenneth Bae -- a US citizen who, like Lim, was born in South Korea -- was released two years after being sentenced to 15 years' hard labour.

Bae, who had been convicted of plotting to overthrow the North Korean regime, was released along with another American detainee as the result of a secret mission to Pyongyang by US intelligence chief James Clapper.

In March last year an elderly Australian missionary, John Short, was deported after being held for 13 days.

A South Korean missionary arrested in the North in October 2013, Kim Jeong-Wook, is currently serving hard labour for life for allegedly spying and operating an underground church.

Lim's sentence was announced just days after high-level talks between the two Koreas aimed at improving cross-border ties broke up in mutual recrimination.

It also came a week after the North came under stinging criticism for the second consecutive year in the UN Security Council over its human rights record.

The council meeting was chaired by the United States, whose ambassador Samantha Power said Pyongyang's rights abuses represented "a level of horror unrivalled in the world".
RTX1FDF0

North Korea's fourth nuclear test could have been a crucial step toward Pyongyang developing thermonuclear capability  and a breakthrough for a second country with potential nuclear ambitions, as well.

Iran has established ties to the North Korean nuclear-weapons program. As The Daily Beast notes, Iranian officials, including Iranian nuclear program head Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, were present during North Korea's three previous nuclear tests  in 2006, 2009, and 2013.

Testing data is a potential bonanza for a nuclear-weapons program. It could include information about the design and yield of the device detonated  or about the size and configuration of the bomb's uranium hemisphere or plutonium core. Testing data could indicate the weight and shape of the nuclear device, its triggering mechanisms, or the warhead's material composition.

As Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has written, there is also some design and technological overlap between Iranian and North Korean-produced ballistic missiles, suggesting the two countries have shared information about nuclear delivery platforms as well.

north korea south nuclear nuke

Last July, Iran reached a deal with a US-led group of world powers in which Tehran agreed to temporary and non-binding limitations on its nuclear program.

Those came in exchange for the eventual lifting of most US and nearly all United Nations and European sanctions on the country, in addition to the removal of embargoes on the country's conventional arms transfers and ballistic-missile development.

It wouldn't necessarily be a violation of the nuclear deal for Iran to access information from a North Korean nuclear test. Thomas Moore, a former non-proliferation expert for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Business Insider that he doesn't think that accessing this information would necessarily be a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), either.

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Like the NPT, the Iran nuclear deal is deliberately vague on exactly what constitutes a violation. But possession of test data isn't specifically proscribed under a provision in the Iran agreement that addresses prohibited activities related to nuclear-weapons design.

Under the deal, potential violations will be brought before an eight-member "joint commission" that includes Iran. The commission can then vote on whether an alleged violation is serious enough to then refer ot the United Nations Security Council.

Enforcement of what is inevitably a non-binding agreement is dependent on the political will of the joint commission's members. And the text itself is elastic in ways that could permit Iran to access information relevant to a push towards a nuclear-weapons capability.

Developing weapons without a test

north korea nuclear

Two countries have already proven that it's possible to successfully develop nuclear weapons without carrying out a test.

Pakistan is believed to have possessed nuclear weapons since as early as the late 1980s, but did not carry out a test until 1998.

More pertinently, Israel is thought to have possessed nuclear weapons since the late 1960s, and is believed to have a diverse arsenal of miniaturized strategic weapons for delivery through fighter aircraft and through both land- and sea-based ballistic missiles.

But Israel didn't need to test a nuclear weapon even during the crucial early years of its program  partly because of the country's extensive access to French testing data.

"In the early phases, the amount of collaboration between the French and Israeli nuclear weapons design programs made testing unnecessary," US Army Col. Warner D. Farr wrote in a 1999 study for the Federation of American Scientists' Counterproliferation Papers.

He continued: "There were several Israeli observers at the French nuclear tests and the Israelis had 'unrestricted access to French nuclear test explosion data.'"

An outside country's testing data can be crucial in establishing a clandestine nuclear capability. But even if Iran might have access to North Korean nuclear data, the international community has an incomplete understanding of what the country is currently capable of doing with this information.

Iran nuclear

An incomplete picture

The implementation of the Iran nuclear deal was contingent on the International Atomic Energy Agency's investigation of the history and status of Iran's nuclear weaponization program.

The process was supposed to be essential to establishing exactly how far along Iran's weaponization activities really are  and to recognizing whether those activities have been restarted with an eye toward the future.

In a report published in December, the IAEA found that Iran had been engaged in weaponization work until 2009  some six years later than generally believed.

But the agency's final report clocked in at a mere 16 pages, and showed evidence of systematic Iranian evasions on a number of crucial questions, including on the state of its work on nuclear-weapons detonators. Last weekend, White House officials stated that the nuclear deal is still on track for implementation, according to Reuters.

Under the Iran deal, ballistic missile-related sanctions and limits on uranium enrichment won't be lifted until the agency reaches a "broader conclusion" on the nature and intent of Iran's nuclear program, a determination that the deal says should be reached within eight years.

The possibility of Iran accessing information from the North Korean nuclear test, and the lingering uncertainty over what that would actually mean for Iran's nuclear program, shows just how much of a gamble it may have been to have put such a conclusion on the backend of the deal.

An alternative could have been to premise the deal on the international community's full knowledge of the country's weaponization activities and infrastructure.

zarif iran

Implicit benefits

There's another, more important way in which Iran benefits from the North Korean nuclear test.

Even if Iranian scientists weren't present at the device's detonation, or never gain access to testing or design-related data, Tehran is surely noting the remarkable global non-reaction to the North Korean test.

The illicit detonation of what North Korea claims was a hydrogen-boosted atomic weapon (a claim that has drawn skepticism from experts) and that created a fireball one-fifth of a mile wide elicited no military response or even a notable military mobilization from the US or any regional power.

It also only produced a pro-forma condemnation from the UN Security Council that did not include any contingencies for the use of force. The test may have temporarily riled Asian markets, but few experts believe it will be enough to cause China to reverse its financial, economic, and political support for the Kim Jong-un regime.

It took only four tests for a North Korean nuclear detonation to become a banal event. North Korea didn't just make a potential leap forward in its nuclear weapons capabilities. It also exposed the US and its allies' apparent lack of effective options in countering behavior that ranks among the most egregious possible violations of international order.

In a sense, North Korea is continuing a trend from which Iran has already benefited. None of the temporary limitations on Iran's nuclear program that the country agreed to in July of 2015 is binding under international law.

Moore, the former non-proliferation expert for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Business Insider that the Iran deal's nuclear-weapons development restrictions might have the overall effect of hollowing out the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"Putting these limits in a nonbinding agreement means, what's the point of having a binding violating enforced?" Moore said. "And Iran's stalling of the IAEA's weaponization probe hasn't done anything to slow the removal of sanctions under the nuclear deal."

Iran has to be watching the non-response to the North Korean test and wondering what else it might be able to get away with.

NOW WATCH: The moment when soldiers return home from deployment and surprise their loved ones





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President Obamas new gun rules are so insignificant that even the NRA could find little to protest. What does that tell you?

After all the hype about Obamas determination to boldly and unilaterally confront the plague of shootings in the U.S., the president settled for minor adjustments in how to define those required to register as arms dealers, and some common sense directives making more mental health records available to background checkers. The idea is to expand the number of buyers who have to be vetted and also to beef up the inquiries already performed under existing rules.

Obama fans are doubtless let down that the president didnt go further  prohibiting sales to those on the no-fly list or banning large capacity magazines, for instance. The anti-gun brigade will also be disappointed that the president didnt require universal background checks and eliminate altogether the so-called gun show loophole. They shouldnt be.

Related: Obama: Gun Control Wont Happen During My Presidency

Heres why: the shooters in San Bernardino, at Umpqua Community College, in Roanoke, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina and Lafayette Louisiana -- the most recent mass killings -- all obtained their weapons from federally licensed gun dealers. All had passed the requisite background checks.

Some of the shooters should have been barred from purchasing guns. Dylann Roof, who murdered nine African Americans people in a church, should have been turned down since he had admitted to possessing drugs, but the FBI failed to follow through on the investigation. John Houser, who shot up a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, had a history of mental illness and domestic abuse. He should not have been allowed to purchase a firearm, and indeed had been denied a concealed weapon permit in his home state. But in neighboring Alabama, he got one anyway.

These examples are not the exceptions  they are the rule. Access to guns by unfit people has almost nothing to do with the gun show loophole, which turns out to be another one of those convenient myths that has driven Obama policy--like the false suggestion that a goodly share of our prison population are innocent victims of overly-harsh drug laws.

Story continues

Related: Shares of Gun Makers Soar as Obama Tightens Firearm Rules

After the Sandy Hook tragedy, President Obama convened a group overseen by Vice President Joe Biden to study gun control issues. In a 2013 speech, the president proposed various policies meant to check such killings, including expanding background checks to private sales of firearms. He noted that any sales through federally licensed vendors require background checks to eliminate those with a criminal history or mental health issues, but also claimed, Its hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.

This assertion was debunked by FactCheck, which points out that the dubious 40 percent statistic emerged from a 1994 telephone survey of only 251 individuals. The author of that study told Politifact that he has no idea if that number is valid; Biden takes pains when discussing the topic to say the figure may be incorrect. Other analysts cite 4% as a more accurate share of gun sales through unlicensed dealers, given that a large number of the people surveyed said they had received guns from friends or relatives.

A 2001 survey of state and federal prisoners discovered that less than one percent had bought their weapons at a gun show. Another study, of inmates of the Cook County jail, claimed that 70 percent of those locked up had acquired their weapons from friends or gang members; another favorite source was straw purchases made by someone capable of passing the background check. Only two had actually had actually bought a gun at a store.

Related: Heres Why the Good Guy with the Gun Always Gets Killed

Keeping guns out of the hands of people who should not have them is essential. To that end, the president is working to make mental health records more readily available to those who conduct background checks, and adding to related law enforcement resources. He should also demand that officials crack down on dishonest licensed dealers, only 8 percent of whom sell a majority of the guns used in crimes. But, as one ATF official is quoted as saying, "Let's be honest. If someone wants a gun, it's obvious the person will not have difficulty buying a gun, either legally or through the extensive United States black market."

Meanwhile, while the president decries mass killings, which claimed 475 lives in 2015, thousands continue to die from guns in cities like Chicago, where 442 were shot to death in 2015, Baltimore (301) and in New York, where more than 300 were murdered. The White House has discouraged law enforcement officials in those cities from aggressive policing tactics, such as stop & frisk, which in 2011 allowed cops in New York City to confiscate more than 800 guns.

Last year in New York, fewer than 400 guns were recovered. What does more to reduce gun violence? Taking away weapons from criminals, or adjusting background checks for gun buyers? We shall see.

A CNN/ORC poll in mid-December shows that a majority of the country (51 percent) opposes stricter gun laws while only 48 percent favors tightening the rules  a change from earlier surveys, reflecting increased nervousness about terrorism in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings. The timidity of President Obamas proposals may reflect concerns that he is out of step with the country. On the other hand, voter disapproval has not torpedoed his unpopular measures on immigration, the Iran nuke deal or healthcare. Why should gun control be any different?

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Americans are increasingly whipping out plastic to pay for their purchases. This growing reliance on credit cards resulted in Americans closing out 2015 with more than $900 billion in credit card debt, according to a recent credit card study by CardHub.

That means the average U.S. household is shouldering the highest amount of credit card debt  more than $8,000 per indebted household  since the Great Recession.

Its a troubling (and disappointing) trend, especially when you consider just 18 months ago, many Americans reported either taking the scissors to their credit cards or making sure to pay off their balances in full each month. But more Americans seem to be practicing swipe now, worry later spending habits.

Many consumers are focused on immediate gratification; it is very easy to pull out the plastic and make instant purchases, Laura Beal, a lecturer in finance, banking and real estate at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, told CardHub.

In addition to factors like income and financial literacy, CardHub said where you live plays a significant role in how well you manage your credit card debt and how high that debt rises.

According to CardHub, these 10 cities have the highest average credit card debt:

Beverly Hills, California: $13,583

Darien, Connecticut: $12,858

Westport, Connecticut: $12,220

Southlake, Texas: $11,512

Greenwich, Connecticut: $11,255

Highland Park, Illinois: $11,111

Colleyville, Texas: $11,107

Manhattan Beach, California: $10,721

Lake Forest, Illinois: $10,462

Calabasas, California: $10,444

These cities have the lowest average credit card debt:

Clarkston, Georgia: $2,705

Camden, New Jersey: $2,850

Coachella, California: $2,965

San Luis, Arizona: $3,028

Hamtramck, Michigan: $3,148

Delano, California: $3,150

Adelanto, California: $3,155

Laguna Woods, California: $3,300

Bell Gardens, California: $3,343

Lauderdale Lakes, Florida: $3,374

Here are some other interesting findings from CardHubs credit card debt study:

Based on residents average credit card balance and income, College Station, Texas, has the longest estimated payoff timeline at 387 months (more than 32 years), which is 47 times longer than the shortest payoff timeline, 10 months, for Cupertino, California.

Americans added $21.3 billion in new credit card debt during the third quarter of 2015, which is 71 percent higher than the post-recession average.

Story continues

Watch the video of U.S. Cities That Have Racked Up the Fattest Credit Card Debt on MoneyTalksNews.com.

For help finding the perfect credit card, including rewards cards, be sure to visit the Money Talks News Solutions Center.

You can also find help with credit-card debt, credit restoration and debt collector harassment there.

What do you think of Americans increasing reliance on credit cards? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

This article was originally published on MoneyTalksNews.com as 'U.S. Cities That Have Racked Up the Fattest Credit Card Debt'.

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Worth Their Weight in Gold? Potential Upside for Gold Stocks

(Continued from Prior Part)

Valuation

The EV/EBITDA multiple is a good measure for capital-intensive industries, as it helps investors compare companies different capital structures.

The above chart compares gold miners EV to forward EBITDA to the EBITDA margin from 2016. EV is the total market value of a businesss debt, equity, preferred shares, and minority interests, net of cash and equivalents and investment in associates. EBITDA is a fundamental measure for the companys stakeholders.

Based on an investors risk appetite and different gold price scenarios, investors could consider the following.

Quality names

The best strategy in a weak and volatile metals price environment is to go for miners with healthy balance sheets, increasing production profiles, low costs, and good cash flows. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) and Goldcorp (GG) check almost all of the right boxes for senior gold miners. Thats probably why theyre trading at a higher multiple than their peers at 9x and 7.3x, respectively.

Leveraged names

Newmont Mining (NEM) has a multiple of 6.5x with an EBITDA margin of 32%. Its recent cost-cutting and debt reduction efforts have started bearing fruit. However, its high absolute debt is still a concern for some investors.

Barrick Gold (ABX) also has debt reduction as its number-one priority. However, its debt loads could be a cause for concern among investors in the weaker gold price environment. Its production upside is also limited. Given the leverage for Newmont and Barrick, they should be outperforming other gold miners once gold prices start rising.

While Yamana Gold (AUY) has also been reducing its costs significantly, the market isnt very fond of its inconsistent operational performance and balance sheet concerns.

Kinross Gold (KGC) has higher unit costs and an unstable production profile. Its exposure to the politically risky Russia is also a concern among investors. Its trading at the lowest multiple of 3.5x

Story continues

Barrick and Newmont account for 5.50% and 6.40%, respectively, of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX).

Whats your risk appetite?

According to their risk appetite, investors with high risk appetite can go for gold miners (GDX) (GDXJ)even the leveraged names. Investors who prefer a low-risk environment might want to invest in physical gold or ETFs that track gold prices, including the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU).

To read more about gold and gold equities, read Everything you need to know about gold and gold companies.

You can also visit Market Realists Gold ETFs page for the latest analysis of gold.

Browse this series on Market Realist:
Maxuser | Getty Images. Oil is collapsing amid fears that tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia will lead to a deeper price war in an oversupplied crude market  rather than a shooting war in the Middle East.

Oil is collapsing amid fears that tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia will lead to a deeper price war in an oversupplied crude market  rather than a shooting war in the Middle East.

Tensions are at decades highs between Saudi Arabia and Iran , but the market is more focused on the likelihood that the two will drive more oil into an already oversupplied market and that Iran will undermine an already weak pricing environment with discounts.

The flare-up between the world's largest oil exporter and Iran comes as global supply shows no signs of ebbing  and global growth keeps coming up weak.

Read More Oil sheds more than 5.5 percent to 2008 low

While there was a drawdown in oil supply, there was another build in stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the physical hub for Nymex crude, and that fanned continued concerns about strains in global storage capacity.



Read More Commentary: Time for an oil industry bailout?

Chinese data this week showed continued weakness in manufacturing, and one survey suggested sluggishness in the service sector. That and concerns about devaluation of the yuan weighed broadly on the energy and other markets.

But the irony is that geopolitical headlines that once were guaranteed to inject a quick pop into oil prices have done nothing. The rift over Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric moved crude higher for just a few hours Monday before worries about the Chinese economy reversed gains.

"It's part of a 30-year war," said Edward Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup. "It's not going to go away. It will flare up from time to time, but I don't think it's going to flare up into direct confrontation that has to be worried about."



The situation intensified after Saudi Arabia on Sunday, and then some of its allies in the Gulf, broke diplomatic ties with Iran. That was after after a mob in Tehran burned the Saudi embassy, and Iran's supreme leader said there would be divine vengeance against Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family.

Story continues

Read More Fill 'er up! Gasoline set to tank

"People were confused by some of the reporting around the Saudi-Iran row, but I think it's clear now that it's an intense throw down over market share," said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

Brent crude futures for February (Intercontinental Exchange Europe: @LCO.1) sank more than 5 percent Wednesday, trading as low as $34.13, an 11-year low, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures (New York Mercantile Exchange: @CL.1) also lost more than 5 percent to settle at $33.97 per barrel, a seven-year low.

The market share battle has been apparent in comments from both Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran has been strident in touting it would immediately bring 500,000 barrels to market when sanctions against its nuclear program lift, and that it will bring on another 500,000 as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia shows no signs of backing off its commitment to keep pumping oil while letting the market set prices. That strategy has generated a budget deficit and forced it to cut back on domestic subsidies on fuel and other services.

But as some speculate Iran may now be concerned about the negative impact of its bravado on the oil market, officials this week have been quoted saying they do not want to hurt oil prices when they return crude to the market.

Mohsen Qamsari, director general for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Co., told Reuters that Iran does not want to start a price war, that it will be more subtle in its approach and may gradually increase output. "I have to say that there is no room to push prices down any further, given the level where they are," he said.

While analysts do not expect the friction between Iran and Saudi Arabia to escalate into a military clash beyond the proxy wars in Syria and Yemen, there is still risk.

"There's a potential for this to cause further unrest, and I think that's the real issue," said Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclays. "The thing to understand is while the threat may be higher, the ways in which Saudi Arabia has mitigated that threat has improved over the last decade."

Analysts say that the kingdom has improved security around its oil facilities, but its operations are in the east, home to its Shiite minority.

Helima Croft, chief of commodities research at RBC Capital Markets, said it will be important to monitor that area for any signs of trouble, noting a company bus carrying oil workers was set on fire Tuesday.

"It may not be a shooting war between the Saudis and Iranians, but they fight proxy wars," said Croft. "You have Shiite demonstrations in the east. that is problematic." She said a concern is that Saudi Arabia may now have created a martyr by executing Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Croft said Saudi Arabia knew the regional consequences of its actions but that both the Saudi and Iranian governments are acting more for domestic audiences. Iran has elections coming up in February.

The cleric was executed along with 46 other individuals, many of them said to be members of al-Qaeda. "He did advocate civil disobedience. He did advocate overthrow of the Saudi monarchy but he was never known to be calling for a violent overthrow," she said.

But Morse does not expect the events to change the outlook for oil.

"The literature is filled with how this is going to deteriorate but I think the Saudis are going to pull back a little bit, and things will get a little less awful," he said.

Morse, and others, have been expecting oil to plunge further  possibly into the $20s per barrel  before stabilizing and moving higher later in the year.

"They are vying for market share, and Iran will not come into the market by denting Saudi's market share because the Saudis sell everything in terms of contracts and those contracts last a long while," he said. "Those that are going to suffer will be the ones that sell into the spot market."

Saudi Arabia did reduce its selling price to Europe Tuesday, with Saudi Aramco saying it was increasing the discount for its light crude by $0.60 per barrel to northwest Europe and $0.20 a barrel for February delivery along the Mediterranean, according to news reports.

Morse said Iranian oil will find buyers in Europe. "There are a half dozen companies in Europe that used to import collectively over 600,000 barrels of Iranian crude," he said. "They are going to do that by backing out Russian and Iraqi oil. It won't be at the Saudi's expense, and it will be at Russia's expense or Iraq's expense."

In a note, Morse and other Citigroup analysts noted that there is potential for a further escalation that could put the 17 million barrels a day of oil flowing in the Strait of Hormuz at risk.

"But of more immediate concern is stocks hitting capacity constraints. If the market remains oversupplied and the conflict remains indirect, rallies are for selling. The risk of missteps remains, but Citi's view is that now  with Saudi already struggling with budget deficits and Iran on the cusp of returning to markets  would be a particularly bad time for either side to start a hot war," they noted.





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LOUISVILLE  Louisville Elementary School students earned a notable award at a major robotics contest this past month.

Louisville earned a School Spirit Award in the Wonder League Robotics Competition. Louisville students pocketed fourth place in a contest that included 270 teams from across the United States. Children from elementary schools in Minnesota, Mississippi, California and Pennsylvania also received one of the five School Spirit Awards.

Louisville fourth-grade teacher Kristi Holl said Louisville PTO members purchased Dash and Dot robotic systems for every elementary class this year. The Dash and Dot systems are designed to guide students through the world of robotics and coding. Children can program the robots to navigate mazes, stop and start at various points and make sounds at specific times.

Louisville Elementary School students competed in the inaugural Wonder League Robotics Competition this fall. Children ages 6-11 had to design solutions to real-world science and technology challenges during the contest. Each of the challenges involved using varying degrees of math, science, engineering and programming components.

Holl said 60 LES students in third and fourth grades took part in the competition. Teachers divided students into ten six-person groups for the different missions. Students met after school every Monday and Thursday to work on the projects. They spent from 3:30-4:15 p.m. completing challenges from the Wonder League Robotics Competition website.

The first six missions required students to create a competition field divided into a grid system. Children had to create computer coding for the Dash and Dot robots in order to complete the tasks. Some of the missions were navigating an asteroid field of small cups, traveling around a nearby planet on the board and bringing mineral samples back from a planet.

Students then submitted videos to Wonder League Robotics Competition officials that described how they solved each of the challenges. They also explained how they coded their solutions for the robots.

The Wonder League Robotics Competition was designed to encourage creativity, critical thinking and collaboration skills. Holl said many parent, student and teacher volunteers made it possible for Louisville students to take part in the program.
Ben Marksmeier has shown bravery in a number of ways, including his service in Iraq with the Army National Guard.

This is another way: He has chosen to talk openly about his use of an illegal drug, medical cannabis, to ease the extreme pain he inherited when part of his right leg was blown off and the left one mangled by a roadside bomb that hit his convoy south of Baghdad.

Marksmeier, 30, of Fremont went with Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue last fall to press conferences and media interviews in several Nebraska towns to help promote the need for Garretts bill (LB643).

People of Nebraska need the opportunity to choose, he said. Hed like to have the option to choose cannabis rather than oxycodone or methadone or other powerful, addicting, full-of-chemicals drugs for his pain.

On July 31, 2006, just 2 months before he was set to come home from his deployment in Iraq, Marksmeier and Josh Ford of Pender  both with the Nebraska Army National Guards 189th Transportation Company  were returning to Tallil Air Base after hauling cargo in southern Iraq.

A roadside bomb went off near the town of An Numaniyah, tearing through their truck literally like a hot knife goes through butter, Marksmeier said in a previous Journal Star story.

The bomb took Marksmeiers right leg above the knee and tore up his left leg. It also took his left hamstring, and riddled his lower body with shrapnel.

He doesnt like to complain, he said this week. I dont look back, I always look forward.

But when asked, he will tell you he has a lot of pain, not only from the injuries, the shrapnel, but from what a prosthetic leg can do to his back and hips, and from pressure, tightness, aching and nerve damage.

At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Marksmeier was on a lot of prescription pills, he said. He was grateful for some of them. But some turned on him.

They got real bad, tore up my soul, me physically and emotionally, I mean it was horrible, he said.

He knew he had to get out of that pill cloud, he said.

Youre fuzzy. Youre hazy. Youre not right. ... My focus, my drive. It just wasnt there.

For a time, he was addicted to oxycodone. Getting off of it gave him the shakes and the sweats. I felt like a damn druggie.

While in the hospital, he said, he lost two friends to overdoses of strong pain killers.

Marijuana was never his thing in his younger days, Marksmeier said. But a friend offered him some when he was on leave from Walter Reed. It made him feel better, like it might really help.

I just threw the pills away after awhile, he said.

People have misconceptions about cannabis, Marksmeier said. But he believes there are fewer side effects, compared to the side effects he hears are attached to the prescription drugs he has taken.

It really, truly is a medicine, actually helps people, he said.

He understands cannabis wont cure him, wont bring his leg back or take his pain completely away.

But it helps him live his life more naturally, he said, helps with his incurable chronic pain.

Its a Catch-22. He doesnt like breaking the law. But he also wants to live a productive life and not have his family see him in bed the rest of his life.

He believes the sale and use of medical cannabis should be regulated so it works consistently, and is monitored and taxed. He would like to be able to talk to his doctor about it, to be able to track his use of it and how its working.

Talking about it publicly is a way, he believes, to help people. Thats how he felt about being a soldier. And thats how he feels about this.

Theres too many hard-working people, Americans, Nebraskans, that need this, he said. Why would you make the good people who made Nebraska beautiful suffer in pain?

Thats how Garrett, a conservative, retired 26-year Air Force intelligence officer who has spent the past 12 years working as an intelligence contractor, approaches it, too.

He introduced the medical marijuana bill in the 2015 session. It passed first reading on May 12, but on May 27, Garrett received unanimous consent to hold the bill and carry it over to 2016.

There were just too many questions from other senators on the bill, including on its classification by the federal Food and Drug Administration as a Schedule I drug, the same as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote.

They also questioned how the medical cannabis manufacture and distribution centers would be regulated, and how it would be prescribed and monitored.

Garrett said people frequently tell him they are self medicating with marijuana, for cancer, other illnesses and medical conditions.

It breaks my heart ... the people who desperately needed this, the people who are sick and ailing and out of options that just stole my heart, he said as he commented on the motion to delay the bill.

He promised to continue the fight for the bill in the 2016 session. Well be bigger and better and stronger than ever, he said.

He will make it his priority bill again. And it will come up on second round debate.

Over the interim, Garrett traveled to Minnesota, a state that legalized medical cannabis in 2014 for treatment of a list of illnesses and conditions including severe muscle spasms, cancer, certain terminal and chronic diseases and epilepsy.

It was the 22nd U.S. state to enact a medical marijuana program. About 5,000 people were expected to have legal access to compounds made from cannabis plants.

We all want to be good stewards and promote responsible use of medical cannabis, he said. That is why we are following the Minnesota model.

With Minnesotas program, he said, dosages are determined by scientific research. Law enforcement there has reported no issues with patients or manufacturers.

The No. 1 takeaway is it works. There are no major glitches, he said.

More than 600,000 veterans are being prescribed medical heroin, in the form of opioid-based drugs, he said. And we have seen the failure.

More people in America now die of prescription drug overdoses than in car accidents, Garrett said. And 22 veterans commit suicide every day.

While America deals with its self-inflicted opioid/heroin crisis, why not grant veterans who suffer from PTSD and incurable pain the ability to use cannabis ... , he said.
A day after announcing a ban on checked baggage for select long-haul flights from Kuala Lumpur to Europe, Malaysia Airlines confirmed on Wednesday normal check-in baggage allowances were available on all flights across the network. Due to a combination of strong headwinds and longer flight routes, Malaysia Airlines announced yesterday that the carrier will not allow check baggage on routes from Kuala Lumpur to European destinations Paris and Amsterdam.

A day after the announcement, Malaysia Airlines released another notice saying, All Malaysia Airlines flights from Kuala Lumpur to London, Paris and Amsterdam from tonight, 6 January 2016, will resume flying its normal route. Normal baggage allowance has also been restored.

Passengers are able to check in 2 pieces of luggage of up to 30kg for Economy Class, 40kg for Business Class and 50kg for First Class.

Malaysia Airlines said based on its current risk assessment, which was being done on a daily basis, it was now able to take a shorter route on European flights.
New York's Hometown Airline, JetBlue announced the start of service to its newest destination Daytona Beach. With the launch of services between New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB), JetBlue now serves eight Florida destinations and offers more flights between the Empire State and the Sunshine State than any other airline with up to 83 daily non-stops.

Flights operate daily and provide the only non-stop service between Daytona Beach and New York City. Customers traveling to JetBlues home at JFKs T5 can also take advantage of convenient connections to many other JetBlue cities as well as international destinations offered by some of JetBlues more than 40 airline partners.

JetBlue's arrival in Dayton Beach is part of the overall renaissance that the greater Daytona Beach area and Volusia County is experiencing, said Rick Carl, airport director, Daytona Beach International Airport. Having the most convenient airport in the east central Florida region, Daytona Beach International Airport is well-suited for the partnership with JetBlue.

The new service to Daytona Beach will create a direct link between JetBlue's main base of operations in New York and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace. In 2007, JetBlue partnered with Embry-Riddle to launch the University Gateway Program, a unique opportunity that creates a path to a career with the airline for aspiring aviators.

JetBlue Schedule Between New York (JFK) and Daytona Beach (DAB) JFK  DAB Flight #393 DAB  JFK Flight #500 10:29 a.m.  1:13 p.m. 2:00 p.m.  4:21 p.m.

Flights will operate daily on JetBlue's spacious, award-winning, 150-seat A320 aircraft featuring the most legroom in coach, free Fly-Fi, the fastest broadband internet in the sky, unlimited snacks and soft drinks, including the airline's signature TERRA Blues, and 36 channels of live DIRECTV programming at every seat in addition to 100+ channels of Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
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Oil swooned again yesterday, from $35.97 to $34.15. It's down again today.



Were the month to close here (charts below captured yesterday), this would be the lowest monthly close dating all the way back to December 2003.



Crude Monthly Chart







click on any chart for sharper image



Crude Daily Chart







Volume of contracts traded is displayed at the bottom of the chart.



One Hell of a Collapse



That's one hell of an impressive collapse from a daily, weekly, or monthly chart perspective. But is the bottom in? Some think it is.



For example, EconMatters writes That's the Bottom in the Oil Market.



EconMatters concludes his article, posted yesterday, with "You may now go long the oil market in your preferred instrument. Just stay away from companies that are going to go bankrupt, but in buying something like the USO oil futures ETF, you will definitely have a positive expected return over the next six months to a year going forward."



I sympathize with that conclusion, but would not use the word "definitely". I am not even positive about saying "likely".



One thing I can guarantee is that oil is far closer to the bottom than the top. My statement is simply a mathematical truism.



The top was $147 in June of 2008. The bottom is zero, and that bottom would assume free energy is coming.



Realistically, the bottom has to be above zero.



Disturbing Analysis



In between his opening statement and his conclusion, EconMatters makes a couple of claims that are worthy of comment.



"It took over 500k in futures contracts just to push oil futures below $34 a barrel on Wednesday, and trust me it wasn't an easy task for those involved in the pushdown. They now are stuck with being far too short the market at a level they don`t even like being stuck short."



"This entire move in equities and oil was already preplanned at the beginning of the year."



Conspiracy Nonsense



The idea that there is some "preplanned" force attempting to suppress the price of oil is patently absurd. It's equally nonsensical "this entire move in equities" was preplanned.



Commitment of Traders (COT) data is notably lagging so I don't know who is long or short or why. It's possible a squeeze is coming due to a supply disruption, a pickup in demand from China or elsewhere, or a war between Iran and Iraq breaks out.



I would not be short here, but the notion someone is stuck at a "level they don`t even like being stuck short at" is also ridiculous.



No combined force has preplanned where oil will go. And even if they did, EconMatters would be the last (besides me) to know.



Oil is trading lower, not because of any conspiracy, but because supply has increased in the face of a slowing global economy.



Volume Nonsense



Let's now investigate EconMatter's claim regarding volume.



The second chart from the top shows a volume, not of 500,000 contracts but rather 690,700. On that chart, volume certainly looks impressive.



It's not impressive by a long shot as the following chart shows.



Crude Daily - Nearest Contract







Volume is on the left, open interest on the right.



This is essentially the same chart as one second from the top.



What's the difference? The first daily chart shows volume specifically for the February 2016 contract. The Daily Nearest chart shows volume for the nearest unexpired contract.



In August of 2015, there were not many people trading the February 2016 contract, but they were trading the then front-month contract.



The Daily Nearest chart shows 500,000 oil contracts is relatively low amount of trading. Yesterday's volume of 690,700 contracts is just about average. Let's doublecheck for an entire year.



Spotlight on Oil Trading Volume for One Year







Using 700,000 contracts (not 500,000) as volume capitulation, one might have declared a bottom at $49 in January of 2015, at $60 in June of 2015, at $54 in July of 2015, at $42 in December of 2015, at countless points in between, and of course now at $34 on mere average volume.



Reflections on Value



My point here is not to pan the idea of buying energy.



Rather, my point is to call into question nonsensical conspiracy ideas and other rationale that people use to justify their position.



The lower the price goes, the more I like the sector. And I do find energy increasingly attractive from a value standpoint.



Mike "Mish" Shedlock
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey provides a review of the top ag issues in Iowa in 2015.

Many farmers saw the best ever yields in 2015 as it was a year of record production for both corn and soybeans in Iowa. Unfortunately there were several challenges as well. Iowa was at the center of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak this spring. Also, a significant drop in crop and livestock prices have created real challenges economically for farmers, Northey said. However, farmers are optimistic and are looking forward to 2016 and new opportunities.

Avian Influenza

The USDA has described the H5N2 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak of 2015 as the largest animal health emergency in U.S. history. Nationwide there were 223 detections of HPAI from Dec. 19, 2015 through June 17, 2015. There were 48 million birds in 21 states affected, but Iowa and Minnesota were the most severely impacted.

In Iowa, there were a total of 77 premises in 17 counties and 31.5 million birds were affected with the disease. This includes 35 commercial turkey flocks, 22 commercial egg production flocks, 13 pullet flocks, 1 chicken breeding flock, 1 mail order hatchery, and 5 backyard flocks.

As of early December, all HPAI quarantines have been lifted. Iowa poultry producers are resilient, with all but one of the 72 commercial poultry farms that had quarantines on their facilities having begun the restocking process or are fully restocked. To lift the quarantine, all sites completed the cleaning and disinfection process and had negative environmental tests. They also underwent a 21 day fallow period following disinfection.

The Iowa response operated under a Unified Command involving the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services.

The Department had responsibility for maintaining safe movement of poultry and poultry products from farms that were affected by HPAI. IDALS issued a total of 3,700 movement permits to 42 states and the Virgin Islands. This includes 2,323 permits issued for movements within Iowa and 1,377 permits have been issued for movements out of state.

Iowa Water Quality Initiative

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is continuing to expand efforts to work with all Iowans to make water quality improvements.

Earlier this year Northey announced that 1,800 farmers committed $3.5 million in cost share funds to install nutrient reduction practices in each of Iowas 99 counties. The practices that were eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer. Participants include 980 farmers using a practice for the first time and more than 830 past users that are trying cover crops again and are receiving a reduced-rate of cost share. Farmer using cost share funding contribute 50% or more to the total cost of the practice.

In addition, 29 demonstration projects are currently located across the state to help implement and demonstrate water quality practices. This includes 16 targeted watershed projects, 4 projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices and 9 urban water quality demonstration projects. More than 100 organizations are participating in these projects. These partners will provide $16.72 million dollars to go with the $11.11 million in state funding going to these projects.

Northey also highlighted that more than $325 million in state and federal funds have been directed to programs with water quality benefits in Iowa last year. This total does not include the cost share amount that farmers pay to match state and federal programs and funds spent to build practices built without government assistance.

More information about the initiative can be found at www.CleanWaterIowa.org.

Record Production, Economic Challenges

A near ideal growing season in much of the state saw Iowa farmers produce record corn and soybean crops. The 2.49 billion bushel corn crop is 5 percent above the 2014 production and tops the previous record, set in 2009, by 4 percent. A record yield of 189 bushels per acre is 11 bushels above last year and exceeds the previous record of 181 bushels per acre set in 2004 and 2009.

Iowa farmers produced a record 550 million bushels of soybeans, up 10 percent from 2014 and 5 percent above the previous record of 525 million bushels produced in 2005. The yield of 56 bushels per acre is 5.0 bushels above 2014 and 3.5 bushels above the previous record yield, set in 2005.

However, crop prices have continued to fall as a result of large crop production worldwide, softening global demand and a strong dollar. Average statewide corn prices fell from $3.76 to $3.48 from Dec. 2014 to Dec. 2015 and statewide average soybean prices fell from $9.89 to $8.17 over the same period.

The livestock industry faced challenges as the prices they have received have fallen as well. Fed cattle have seen the price drop from $161 per hundred weight down to $116. Hogs are down from $76 to $49 per hundred weight.

The tighter margins seen on the farm are starting to ripple through the economy. Land prices are down 3.9 percent. There have been several announcements of layoffs at manufactures, machinery providers, seed companies, and other business that serve the agriculture industry.

Despite the challenges, opportunities remain. In general, exports remain strong. Agricultural exports account for 10% of the U.S. exports and supports nearly one million jobs across the country. Value added products such as ethanol and meat products have made up the largest share of agricultural exports at approximately 63%.

Iowa is a leading producer and exporter of agricultural products, ranking 2nd among the 50 U.S. states in the value of its agricultural exports in USDAs most recent calculations. Iowas exports help boost farm prices and income, while supporting about 77,300 jobs both on the farm and in related industries such as food processing, transportation, and manufacturing.

To help continue to grow exports, Northey participated in trade missions with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, USDA and Iowa Agriculture organizations to Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Japan.
OSAGE  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for greater assistance for caregivers of autism patients during a campaign stop on Tuesday.

Flanked by fire trucks, Clinton told a crowd of about 275 people inside the Osage Public Safety Building that she is proposing a plan to encourage earlier screenings and to expand research, housing and job opportunities for the estimated 3.5 million people with autism.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates care for an autistic child can vary between $17,000 and $21,000 annually.

Thats a physical and financial burden, Clinton told the crowd.

The proposal would also push states to honor Medicaid coverage requirements for children and implement a state-by-state compliance scorecard.

Autism is five times more likely to occur in boys than girls, according to the CDC. It estimates 1 in 68 children have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

Clinton also said she backs President Barack Obamas push to expand gun background checks.

If you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy a gun, she said.
MASON CITY  North end improvements, quiet zones, redevelopment of the Southport area  all are among City Council priorities for the next one to two years.

Council members commented on the priorities at Tuesdays meeting. They were developed at a planning session late last year.

The list also includes following through on the River City Renaissance Reinvestment District and the bicycle/pedestrian trails plan; locating an industry for the citys shovel-ready site; working on fleet management and financial transparency; and initiating a 2025 visioning process.

Councilman Bill Schickel noted that most of the priorities had action words applied to them such as execute and implement.

Plans without actions have little value, he said. Im excited about this.

Councilman John Lee agreed. This is more than just we hope this happens, he said.

Councilman Travis Hickey said he was impressed with the priorities the council has set but is also proud of what has been accomplished in the past six years. Sometimes we dont sell our successes as much as we should, he said.

The council also approved overall goals of increasing the citys population by at least the state average; providing for a safe and healthy community; providing excellent government services; and providing a premier economic development location in the Midwest.

Among ongoing commitments is completion of the 19th Street Extension project that was begun last year that will extend 19th Street Southeast from Kentucky to Illinois Avenue.
FOREST CITY  New Chief Executive Officer Mike Happes employment agreement with Winnebago Industries allows him to establish an office presence in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

Happe plans on living within 35 miles of his home in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Happe will not relocate to Forest City.

A requirement of Happes employment is that he will not work any farther than 35 miles from his current home unless he agrees to that.

Winnebago will pay Happe $880,000 in a base salary and signing bonus as part of his employment agreement.

Happe will receive a base salary of $550,000 plus a signing bonus of $330,000 to be paid within 30 days of his employment. Happe is scheduled to start as Winnebagos CEO on Jan. 18.

Happe has the ability to earn his $550,000 base salary plus a $1.1 million bonus during his first year as CEO, the employment agreement said.

Happe was the executive officer and group vice president of Toros residential and contractor business. The Toro Co. makes outdoor care equipment for lawns, turf, snow removal and also irrigation systems and similar products. Toro is based in Bloomington, Minnesota.

A Feb. 5 story in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal said Happes annual salary package at Toro was $1.5 million.

When Winnebago announced Happes hiring in a Dec. 21 news release it said the company would expand its corporate footprint in the Minneapolis St. Paul area but that would not have a significant impact on employment at the corporate headquarters in Forest City.
MASON CITY  Joseph Donachricha says hes not a rock star.

His teachers, doctors and his family think otherwise.

Joseph, 8, is a Roosevelt Elementary School student with cerebral palsy who has had medical complications his entire life. These complications caused Joseph severe pain, but you wouldnt know it.

Hes my rock star, said Sheree Brussa, Josephs mom.

Im not a rock star, Joseph protested.

When asked if he was famous, he smiled, shook his head and emphatically responded, No!

He has hydrocephalus and requires a shunt to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid in his brain.

Joseph had kidney failure and spent the majority of his life on dialysis until March 15, 2015, when he had both kidneys removed and received a transplant. Joseph was on a feeding tube until recently.

While on dialysis, Joseph shared his love of country music and Luke Bryan with his doctors, and they loved it.

He and the doctors used to rock out to country and Luke during dialysis, Sheree said. They call him a rock star.

Michelle Robison, a paraprofessional who stays with him all day at school, and Kara Hansen, his special education teacher, both noticed that he loves country music and constantly talks about Bryan.

They found out that Bryan would be at the University of Northern Iowa for a concert in February and decided to make a video to help him meet his idol.

The video has more than 5,500 likes on Facebook and more than 1,000 shares. Thats only counting the original post. On YouTube, its titled Mojos Wish after his school nickname.

We never thought it would get this much attention. There are no words, Robison said.

He doesnt have to meet Bryan to be happy, Sheree said.

My son would be happy with a CD or a picture or whatever, if he even gets anything, Sheree said.

He loves watching YouTube videos and music videos, she said.

While other kids watch Nickelodeon, he watches CMT, Sheree said.

Joseph and Sheree lost their home and car in a 2012 flood in Illinois, bringing them to stay close to family in Mason City.

Hes so happy, and thats amazing after all the pain hes been through and losing his home, Sheree said. He inspires me.

She emphasized the power of music in Josephs recovery.

He always loved country music and then he started listening to My Kinda Night and it just grew from there, Sheree said, getting emotional. Luke Bryan was his man and Luke Bryan got him through everything. There are no words for what it would mean for him to meet Luke.

In less than a year, Joseph has improved immensely. At the end of the video, Joseph holds up a side-by-side photo of himself. The one on the left was taken in September and the one on the right is Joseph now, showing how much hes changed.

When he walked in the doors this school year, he looked like a totally different kid, Hansen said.

They said he grew 4 inches ... he shot up and thinned out, Robison said.

He went from eating baby food to eating beans and SpaghettiOs. He is learning to talk more and his social skills are improving.

This is his first six months straight that hes been out of a hospital since he was born and his first Christmas at home, Sheree said. Luke really is a big guy in his life.

The Globe Gazette attempted to contact Luke Bryan representatives but have yet to hear a response.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave., with the Rev. Kent A. Mechler of Good Shepherd Health Center officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Interment will take place in Memorial Park Cemetery. Military honors will be conducted by the Mason City Veterans Association. Memorials may be directed to the Donald Hamlin Memorial Fund in care of the family. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.majorericksonfuneralhome.com.
Rudolph Nelson

SCARVILLE  Rudolph Nelson, of Scarville, passed away Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. He was three days from his 92nd birthday.

Funeral service will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, 2015, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Scarville, with Pastor Randy Baldwin officiating.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Mittelstadt Funeral Home, 902 E. Main St., Lake Mills, and one hour prior to the service at the church.

Military honors will be performed by Lake Mills Otto/Chose American Legion Post #235. Burial will be at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Scarville, Iowa.

Rudolph (Rudy or Dede) was born in Scarville on Jan. 6, 1924, to his parents Miler and Myrtle. He graduated from Scarville High School in 1941, and went on to attend Waldorf College prior to enlisting in the Army and serving in World War II in 1943.

In World War II, Rudolph served in Europe with the 103rd Infantry Division (Cactus Division), which fought in several battles, including the Battle of the Bulge, as part of the Rhineland Central Europe Campaign. During this time, Rudolph independently learned German and became an interpreter in the war. For his service, he received the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Battle Stars and the Expert Marksmanship and Combat Infantryman Badge.

Upon returning from the war, he continued his education, receiving an associate degree from Waldorf in 1947, a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Iowa in 1950, and masters degree in political science from the University of Iowa in 1951. During this time he married Helen Arlene Twito in the fall of 1948.

In 1951, he began employment at the Hormel Foods Corporation in Austin, Minnesota, where he held several positions until his retirement in 1989 as a corporate purchasing executive.

Throughout his life, Rudolph was an active member in the community. He was a scout leader, a pilot, a Mason, a Shriner, a Flying Shriner, a Ys Men, a Legion member, an Austin City Council member, the St. Olaf Church President, an Elks Club member, and a member of the Sons of Norway.

To those who knew him, and to those he just met, he radiated irrepressible wit, humor, and kindness.

Rudolph is preceded in death by his parents, Miler and Myrtle, and sister LuVerna Kingland. He is survived by his wife Helen Arlene, his two daughters Deborah and Cynthia, his brother and sister-in-law KarLyle and Lois Nelson, his son-in-law Ryoji Tsuruta, his grandchildren Akane, Kai, and Koh Tsuruta, his niece Ann Hinman and her family, and an untold number of friends who will miss him dearly.

You can contact the family with on-line condolences at: www.mittelstadtfuneralhome.com.

641-592-0221
Deerfield Beach, FL, Jan. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Research has published a new report titled Fast Food (Burgers/Sandwiches, Chicken, Pasta/Pizza, Asian/Latin American Food, Sea-Food, and Others) Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014 - 2020 According to the report, the global fast food market was valued at approximately USD 495.0 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD 645.0 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 4.5% between 2015 and 2020.

As the name fast food itself indicates that the food which can be prepared and served very quickly. Fast food is increasing in popularity among people because of the good taste, low price and convenience. There is vast variety of fast food including pizza, noodles, pasta, chicken, burger, sandwiches, sea-food and others. Fast food has become staple food in U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Browse the full "Fast Food (Burgers/Sandwiches, Chicken, Pasta/Pizza, Asian/Latin American Food, Sea-Food, and Others) Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2014  2020" report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/fast-food-market-z39802

The global fast food market is mainly driven by modern lifestyle, changing food habits and increasing disposable income in the hand of middle class people. Rapid growth of population and increasing urbanization is one of the major growth drivers. Strong economical growth, rising income level, increasing tourism and business travelling is resulted into growing demand for fast food. However, increasing health awareness and increasing obese population is expected to limit the growth of this market.

Based on product types, the fast food market has been segmented into burgers/sandwiches, chicken, pasta/pizza, Asian/Latin American food, sea-food, and snacks. Pizza/pasta and burger/sandwich are the largest segments of fast food market and is expected to exhibit robust CAGR between 2015 and 2020. Asian/Latin American food and chicken are also key segments and expected to be the fastest growing market for fast food owing to health benefits and bold & spicy test.

Browse 15 Market Tables and 13 Figures spread through 70 Pages and an in-depth TOC on Fast Food Market - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020

Get Sample Research Report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/fast-food-market-z39802#RequestSample

Asia Pacific and North America dominated the fast food market and together accounted for around 65% shares in total demand in 2014. The growing demand for fast food in these regions is fueled by the modern lifestyle of people and convenient restaurant food. Strong demand for fast food in North America is mainly stemmed from U.S. North America is followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. However, Asia Pacific is expected to be one of the most lucrative regional markets in the coming years. This growth can be attributed to increasing population and favorable demographics. Increasing fast food popularities in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is expected to trigger the growth of this industry in these regions.



Some of the key players in the Fast Food market are McDonalds Corporation, Yum! Brands Inc., Dominos Pizza Inc., Doctors Association Inc, Burger King Worldwide Inc., Wendys International Inc., Jack in the Box Inc., In-N-Out Burger, Whataburger, Sonic and Steak-N-Shake.

Related Published Reports:

Bottled Water Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/bottled-water-market-z39681

http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/bottled-water-market-z39681 U.S. Pet Food Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/us-pet-food-market-34819

http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/us-pet-food-market-34819 Cold Chain Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/cold-chain-market-for-fruits-vegetables-bakery-35741

This report segments the global fast food market as follows:

Global Fast food Market: Product Segment Analysis

Burger/Sandwich

Pizza/Pasta

Chicken

Asian/Latin American Food

Sea-Food

Others

Global Fast food Market: Regional Segment Analysis

North America U.S.

Europe Germany France UK

Asia Pacific China Japan India

Latin America Brazil

Middle East and Africa

Browse Fast Food Market Press Release: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/news/global-fast-food-market-set-for-rapid-growth-131

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Market Research Store is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. MRSs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.

Each MRS syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food and beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve the overall research requirement of clients.

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MELVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE:PKE) reported net sales of $34,323,000 for the 2016 fiscal years third quarter ended November 29, 2015 compared to net sales of $34,679,000 for last fiscal years third quarter ended November 30, 2014 and net sales of $37,947,000 for the 2016 fiscal years second quarter ended August 30, 2015. Parks net sales for the nine months ended November 29, 2015 were $110,099,000 compared to net sales of $125,845,000 for the nine months ended November 30, 2014.



Park reported net earnings before special items of $4,209,000 for the current years third quarter compared to net earnings before special items of $2,433,000 for last years third quarter and net earnings before special items of $4,639,000 for the current years second quarter. In the current years third quarter, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $158,000 related to the closure in fiscal year 2013 of the Companys Nelco Technology (Zhuhai FTZ) Ltd. facility located in the Free Trade Zone in Zhuhai, China and the closure in fiscal year 2009 of its New England Laminates Co., Inc. facility located in Newburgh, New York. In last years third quarter, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $496,000 in connection with cost reduction initiatives in the United States and $140,000 in connection with the aforementioned facility closures. In the current years second quarter, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $91,000 in connection with the aforementioned facility closures. Accordingly, net earnings for the current years third quarter were $4,109,000 compared to $2,031,000 for last years third quarter and $4,569,000 for the current years second quarter.

For the nine-month period ended November 29, 2015, Park reported net earnings before special items of $13,715,000 compared to net earnings before special items of $16,027,000 for last fiscal years first nine-month period. The current years nine-month period included pre-tax restructuring charges of $373,000 related to the facility closures mentioned above. Last years nine-month period included pre-tax restructuring charges of $496,000 in connection with the cost reduction initiatives mentioned above and $490,000 related to the facility closures mentioned above. In addition, the Company recorded a pre-tax charge of $260,000 during the nine-month period ended November 30, 2014 for additional fees incurred in connection with the 2014 fiscal year-end audit. Accordingly, net earnings were $13,455,000 for the current years nine-month period compared to net earnings of $15,202,000 for last years nine-month period.

Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.21 for the current years third quarter compared to basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.12 for last years third quarter and basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.23 for the current years second quarter. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.20 for the current years third quarter compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.10 for last years third quarter and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.23 for the current years second quarter.

Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.67 for the current years first nine months compared to basic and diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.77 and $0.76, respectively, for last years nine-month period. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.66 for the current years first nine months compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.73 and $0.72, respectively, for last years nine-month period.

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results at 11:00 a.m. EST today. Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed in this conference call. The conference call dial-in number is (844) 466-4114 in the United States and Canada and (765) 507-2654 in other countries and the required passcode is 11267339.

For those unable to listen to the call live, a conference call replay will be available from approximately 2:00 p.m. EST today through 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. The conference call replay can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 in the United States and Canada and (404) 537-3406 in other countries and entering passcode 11267339 or on the Company's web site at www.parkelectro.com/investor/investor.html.

Any additional material financial or statistical data disclosed in the conference call will also be available at the time of the conference call on the Company's web site at www.parkelectro.com/investor/investor.html.

Park believes that an evaluation of its ongoing operations would be difficult if the disclosure of its financial results were limited to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) financial measures, which include special items, such as restructuring and audit fee charges. Accordingly, in addition to disclosing its financial results determined in accordance with GAAP, Park discloses non-GAAP operating results that exclude special items in order to assist its shareholders and other readers in assessing the Companys operating performance, since the Companys on-going, normal business operations do not include such special items. The detailed operating information presented below reconciles the non-GAAP operating results before special items to earnings determined in accordance with GAAP. Such non-GAAP financial measures are provided to supplement the results provided in accordance with GAAP.

Park Electrochemical Corp. is a global advanced materials company which develops and manufactures high-technology digital and RF/microwave printed circuit materials principally for the telecommunications and internet infrastructure and high-end computing markets and advanced composite materials, parts and assemblies and low-volume tooling for the aerospace markets. Parks core capabilities are in the areas of polymer chemistry formulation and coating technology. The Companys manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, France, Kansas, Arizona and California. The Company also maintains R&D facilities in Arizona, Kansas and Singapore.

Additional corporate information is available on the Companys web site at www.parkelectro.com

Performance table, including non-GAAP information (in thousands, except per share amounts unaudited):

13 Weeks Ended 39 Weeks Ended 11/29/15 11/30/14 8/30/15 11/29/15 11/30/14 Sales $ 34,323 $ 34,679 $ 37,947 $ 110,099 $ 125,845 Net Earnings before Special Items1 $ 4,209 $ 2,433 $ 4,639 $ 13,715 $ 16,027 Special Items, net of Tax: Restructuring Charges (100 ) (402 ) (70 ) (260 ) (666 ) Audit Fees - - - - (159 ) Net Earnings $ 4,109 $ 2,031 $ 4,569 $ 13,455 $ 15,202 Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share: Basic Earnings before Special Items1 $ 0.21 $ 0.12 $ 0.23 $ 0.67 $ 0.77 Special Items: Restructuring Charges (0.01 ) (0.02 ) - (0.01 ) (0.03 ) Audit Fees - - - - (0.01 ) Basic Earnings per Share $ 0.20 $ 0.10 $ 0.23 $ 0.66 $ 0.73 Diluted Earnings before Special Items1 $ 0.21 $ 0.12 $ 0.23 $ 0.67 $ 0.76 Special Items: Restructuring Charges (0.01 ) (0.02 ) - (0.01 ) (0.03 ) Audit Fees - - - - (0.01 ) Diluted Earnings per Share $ 0.20 $ 0.10 $ 0.23 $ 0.66 $ 0.72 Weighted Average Shares Outstanding: Basic 20,253 20,947 20,337 20,379 20,917 Diluted 20,253 20,989 20,340 20,386 21,002 1 Refer to "Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures" below for information regarding Special Items.

Comparative balance sheets (in thousands):

11/29/2015 3/1/2015 Assets (unaudited) Current Assets Cash and Marketable Securities $ 229,643 $ 272,133 Accounts Receivable, Net 20,093 21,431 Inventories 12,641 14,439 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets 5,177 5,256 Total Current Assets 267,554 313,259 Fixed Assets, Net 22,257 26,537 Restricted Cash 25,000 - Other Assets 11,113 10,886 Total Assets $ 325,924 $ 350,682 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities Current Portion of Long-Term Debt $ 13,750 $ 10,000 Accounts Payable 5,598 6,882 Accrued Liabilities 4,884 4,767 Income Taxes Payable 2,316 4,141 Current Deferred Income Taxes 362 3,934 Total Current Liabilities 26,910 29,724 Long-Term Debt 72,750 84,000 Deferred Income Taxes 47,053 54,155 Other Liabilities 1,095 1,204 Total Liabilities 147,808 169,083 Shareholders Equity 178,116 181,599 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 325,924 $ 350,682 Additional information Equity per Share $ 8.79 $ 8.69 Total Cash, Restricted Cash and Marketable Securities $ 254,643 $ 272,133

Comparative statements of operations (in thousands  unaudited):

13 Weeks Ended 39 Weeks Ended November 29, November 30, August 30, November 29, November 30, 2015 2014 2015 2015 2014 Net Sales $ 34,323 $ 34,679 $ 37,947 $ 110,099 $ 125,845 Cost of Sales 24,026 26,081 27,586 78,074 88,147 % of net sales 70.0 % 75.2 % 72.7 % 70.9 % 70.0 % Gross Profit 10,297 8,598 10,361 32,025 37,698 % of net sales 30.0 % 24.8 % 27.3 % 29.1 % 30.0 % Selling, General & Administrative

Expenses 5,264 5,754 5,009 16,074 18,602 % of net sales 15.3 % 16.6 % 13.2 % 14.6 % 14.8 % Restructuring Charge 158 636 91 373 986 % of net sales 0.5 % 1.8 % 0.2 % 0.3 % 0.8 % Earnings from Operations 4,875 2,208 5,261 15,578 18,110 % of net sales 14.2 % 6.4 % 13.9 % 14.1 % 14.4 % Interest: Interest Income 227 222 317 809 595 % of net sales 0.7 % 0.6 % 0.8 % 0.7 % 0.5 % Interest Expense 355 361 356 1,080 1,074 % of net sales 1.0 % 1.0 % 0.9 % 1.0 % 0.9 % Net Interest Expense (128 ) (139 ) (39 ) (271 ) (479 ) % of net sales -0.4 % -0.4 % -0.1 % -0.2 % -0.4 % Earnings before Income Taxes 4,747 2,069 5,222 15,307 17,631 % of net sales 13.8 % 6.0 % 13.8 % 13.9 % 14.0 % Income Tax Provision 638 38 653 1,852 2,429 Effective Tax Rate 13.4 % 1.8 % 12.5 % 12.1 % 13.8 % Net Earnings $ 4,109 $ 2,031 $ 4,569 $ 13,455 $ 15,202 % of net sales 12.0 % 5.9 % 12.0 % 12.2 % 12.1 %

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures (in thousands  unaudited):
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - HR Certification Institute (HRCI), the premier professional credentialing organization for the human resources profession, is introducing the first early HR career certification, the Associate Professional in Human Resources (aPHR). The aPHR, which demonstrates foundational knowledge of human resource operations as practiced in the United States, is designed for professionals who are embarking on an HR career or transitioning into the HR field.

"The aPHR joins HRCI's family of the most recognized, respected and sought after credentials for HR professionals in the world," said HRCI CEO Amy Schabacker Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE. "Holding an aPHR will tell employers you are committed to excellence and give you a competitive advantage when seeking a new job or promotion. The aPHR will set you on a path for career success from the start."

Individuals planning a career in human resources starting with high school graduates and college students seeking a degree in HR, those serving in HR support roles or who have HR responsibilities but do not currently hold an HR position, as well as military personnel seeking HR professional development or transitioning to civilian HR roles will be particularly interested in this certification, explained Dufrane.

The aPHR exam focuses on the fundamentals of HR principles and practices including recruitment, HR development and retention, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and health, safety and security. HRCI's competency-based Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential is the next step up from the aPHR and requires at least one to two years of high quality on-the-job professional HR experience, expertise and applied knowledge.

With the addition of the aPHR, HRCI now offers a portfolio of seven professional credentials designed to meet the needs of HR professionals around the globe from the very beginning of their career through their veteran years and as they practice in different geographic locations and specializations.

"HRCI's commitment to HR professionals from the start of their careers through the most senior levels remains unmatched as we celebrate 40 years of serving HR professionals and advancing the HR profession," said Dufrane.

Registration for the aPHR pilot exam opens February 16 for test dates in early May, and registration for the first aPHR testing period opens April 1 for test dates in November 2016 through January 2017. Individuals passing the aPHR exam during either testing window will receive the aPHR designation. Learn more at hrci.org/aphr.

HRCI also announced that, effective February 1, 2016, its credentials for HR professionals practicing outside of the United States, the Human Resource Management Professional (HRMP) and Human Resource Business Professional (HRBP), will be renamed Professional in Human Resources  International (PHRi) and Senior Professional in Human Resources  International (SPHRi), respectively.

"The renaming fully unifies our portfolio of professional HR credentials and capitalizes on the strength of HRCI's flagship credential  the internationally renowned and respected Professional in Human Resources, or PHR," said Dufrane. "The PHR is highly sought after, rewarded and increasingly required by employers and quite lucrative for individual HR professionals."

In fact, a recent large-scale and comprehensive independent study on the value of HR certification  which looked specifically at the PHR and SPHR  demonstrated that supervisors of HR teams recognize HRCI certifications as a powerful indicator of an HR professional's potential value to an organization. More specifically, HRCI certificants were found to have more HR expertise, perform at higher levels of excellence, have greater potential for higher level positions and perform better at strategic HR tasks than their non-certified peers. HRCI-credentialed professionals surveyed in the study had significantly higher annual income, faster income growth and significantly greater career satisfaction than their non-certified peers.

About HRCI

HR Certification Institute (HRCI) is the premier professional credentialing organization for the worldwide human resources profession. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in the United States, HRCI is celebrating 40 years of setting the standard for HR mastery and excellence around the globe. An independent nonprofit organization, HRCI is dedicated to advancing the HR profession through developing and administering best-in-class certifications including the NCCA-accredited Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). All of HRCI's credentials are recognized as the most rigorous, meaningful, and grounded professional certifications demonstrating competency, real-world practical skills and knowledge in the field. Together with HRCI-certified professionals in 100 countries around the globe, HRCI ensures, strengthens and advances the strategic value and impact of HR.

This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/01/prweb13153557.htm
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D., Heartbeat International's President for the last 22 years, has been selected by the organization's Board of Directors to serve as its new Board Chair. The change goes into effect Thursday, Jan. 7.



The first full-time president in the organization's 45-year history, Hartshorn is now resuming a role she held from 1990 to 2004 at Heartbeat International. She was also a founding board member for Columbus-based Pregnancy Decision Health Centers, dating back to 1981, giving her over 36 years of experience steering an organization from a board level.



Along with her fellow board members, Hartshorn's first action in her new position has been to appoint former Vice President Jor-El Godsey as Heartbeat International's new President, a change that is also effective immediately. A long-time pregnancy center leader on the local level dating back to 1988, Godsey has served as part of Heartbeat International's senior leadership since 2006.



"We are so pleased, as a Board of Directors, to extend this call to Jor-El Godsey as our organization's new President," Hartshorn said. "Jor-El has established himself as a great leader, both within our network of life-affirming pregnancy help and more broadly, among our peers in the international pro-life community. We have every confidence that he will continue to lead Heartbeat International into a new era of excellence as we strive together to make abortion unwanted today and unthinkable for future generations."



Shocked when the Supreme Court handed down its landmark ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973, Hartshorn and her husband, Mike, thrust themselves into the pro-life arena immediately. They opened their home to pregnant women beginning in 1974, then served together to open a pregnancy help center and pregnancy helpline in Central Ohio.



Hartshorn has written much of Heartbeat International's core training materials for staff and volunteers at local pregnancy help organizations, including The L.O.V.E. Approach, which was first released in 1994 and is now in its third edition. She was also instrumental in founding Option Line, a pregnancy helpline serving the U.S. and Canada that has reached more than 2.4 million women with life-affirming pregnancy help since first answering the call in 2003.



As Board Chair, Hartshorn will now focus the majority of her time on crafting new training manuals and building upon her 2011 release, Foot Soldiers Armed with Love: Heartbeat International's First Forty Years, with writing that connects the pregnancy help community into the larger pro-life community.



A leader and director at local pregnancy centers from 1988 to 2006, Godsey holds a Life-Affirming Specialist designation through Heartbeat International's Academy, and, like Hartshorn, is a widely sought-after speaker among pregnancy help organizations throughout the U.S. and globally.



Major accomplishments under Peggy Hartshorn's presidential tenure:

Launch of 24/7 pregnancy helpline, Option Line (1-800-712-HELP, OptionLine.org), which has answered 2.4 million calls, texts, emails and live chats since 2003.

Growth of affiliation from 100 in 1993 to nearly 2,000 at the beginning of 2016.

Expansion of affiliation to include maternity homes under National Maternity Housing Coalition, medical clinics with ultrasound, and mobile ultrasound units.

Strategic partnerships established with joint affiliation partners on every inhabited continent.

About Heartbeat International



Heartbeat International is the first network of pro-life pregnancy help organizations founded in the U.S. (1971), and now the largest and most expansive network in the world. With nearly 2,000 affiliated pregnancy help locationsincluding pregnancy help medical clinics (with ultrasound), resource centers, maternity homes, and adoption agenciesHeartbeat serves on all six inhabited continents to provide alternatives to abortion. For more information, see www.HeartbeatInternational.org.

Photos accompanying this release are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=38371

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=38372
NEW YORK, Jan. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Informations Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Program will present, Holocaust by Bullets: Yahad-In Unum - 10 Years of Investigations, as part of its 2016 Calendar of Holocaust Remembrance Events. The exhibit will be displayed in the United Nations Lobby from January 7  February 10, 2016.



Based on ten years of research and investigation by the French organization Yahad-In Unum and its founder, Father Patrick Desbois, the exhibit chronicles the lesser-known side of the Holocaust through eyewitness testimonies, photographs and maps. It presents Yahads identification of the dehumanizing steps that took place almost systematically for every mass killing throughout Eastern Europe leading up to the executions. Along with the installation, monitors are available to view extended video of eyewitness testimonies. The exhibit is in both English and in Spanish so as to reach a wide spectrum of the population.

Known as the Holocaust by Bullets, the systematic killing of all Jews and Roma started before the creation of concentration camps throughout the ex-Soviet Union from 1942 to 1944 and continued until WWIIs end. The form of genocide detailed by Yahad-In Unums exhibit is unlike any other study of genocidal activity ever conducted and presented.

In this exhibit, the visitor becomes a witness to the heinous crimes of the Nazi death squads, says Father Desbois. Some of the images are, of course, disturbing but we tried to present them in a thoughtful and discreet fashion. However, it is important for everyone to experience and learn from these crimes because the world is still consumed with the disease of genocide.

In Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, the Balkans and Syria, such mass killings are modeled after what Father Desbois calls the archetype of these horrors  the village-by-village, on site massacres perpetrated by the Nazis and their collaborators in Eastern Europe.

Accompanying the exhibit is a 130-page Teacher's Guide that provides educators with material to enable an in-depth study of the Holocaust by Bullets with sample questions and exercises to generate discussions about the issues surrounding genocide and the individuals responsibility to guard against such atrocities.

Background



Between 1942 and 1944, more than 2 million Jews were massacred when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In a period of two and half years, the Nazis killed nearly every Jew in the region. The mass murder was part of the Holocaust, Hitlers genocide of the Jewish people. Until recently, this chapter of Holocaust history, referred to as the Holocaust by Bullets, was relatively unknown. To date, Yahad-In Unum has identified over 1700 mass killing sites and interviewed over 4,000 local, non-Jewish eyewitnesses in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Romania, Republic of Macedonia and Poland.

About Yahad-In Unum



Yahad-In Unum combines the Hebrew word  Yahad meaning together, with the Latin phrase In Unum, meaning in one. Founded in 2004 by Father Patrick Desbois, the organization is dedicated to systematically identifying and documenting the sites of Jewish mass executions by Nazi mobile-killing units in Eastern Europe during World War II. Yahad-In-Unum is not a politically affiliated organization, nor does it advocate any political, economic or military action be taken by any group or nation. Rather, its mission is to uncover facts of genocidal practices wherever they are found and provide a voice of protest on behalf of all victims and potential victims of genocide. For more information, please visit http://www.yahadinunum.org/

The exhibition will be shown at:

United Nations Visitors Lobby

760 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan

Entrance: 1st Avenue at 46th Street

New York City 10017

Admission is free.

Government-issued photo identification required for visitors 16 years and older.

Security screening is carried out before entering the United Nations Headquarters. Groups should allow 45 minutes for this.

January 7 to Feb 10, 2016

Monday  Friday, 9:30 am  4:30 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sera Prognostics, Inc., a womens healthcare company, today announced that findings from the 5,501 patient Proteomic Assessment of Preterm Risk (PAPR) study will be reported in an oral presentation during the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicines (SMFM) 36th Annual Pregnancy Meeting in Atlanta, February 1-6, 2016.



The abstract data will be presented Thursday, February 4th at 3:15 PM Eastern Standard Time by George R. Saade, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. The presentation, Clinical Validation of a two-protein test for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) prediction in a large multicenter prospective study of asymptomatic women, will focus on the results of a rigorous blinded evaluation of Seras PreTRM test. The PreTRM test is a novel proteomic biomarker blood test designed to provide an early, objective, and individualized assessment of a womans risk of preterm birth.

We are very pleased and honored to have Dr. Saade present these data as a podium presentation at this most prestigious meeting in maternal-fetal medicine, said Gregory C. Critchfield, MD, MS, Chairman and CEO of Sera Prognostics. This study encompassed four years of research using proteomic technology to analyze hundreds of candidate proteins to identify the relationship of two key biomarkers that are highly predictive of spontaneous preterm birth. This is a milestone enabling the achievement of Seras goal to address the enormous societal and economic consequences of preterm birth. The value of predicting which women are at risk early in the pregnancy will help physicians be more proactive in managing patients, with the goal of prolonging pregnancies and improving neonatal outcomes. Important future research will be made possible by this work.

Data on the proteomic biomarkers discovered, verified and validated as preterm predictors will be presented as well in other SMFM posters:

Poster Abstract # 193 Verification of a proteomic serum-based classifier to predict spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic patients

First Author: Kim Boggess, MD

Poster Session I: February 4th 10:30 AM -12:30 PM ET

Abstract # 253 Mechanistic insights from serum proteomic biomarkers predictive of spontaneous preterm birth

First Author: Jeff Flick, PhD

Poster Session I: February 4th 10:30 AM  12:30 PM ET

The Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine was established in 1977 to provide a forum for maternal-fetal medicine physicians and scientists to share knowledge, research methods and clinical best practices in order to improve the care of mothers and babies.

About Preterm Birth

According to the March of Dimes, globally preterm birth affects 15 million infants each year, with 1 million deaths occurring from prematurity. Of the 4 million babies born annually in the U.S., more than one in nine is born prematurely. Preterm birth is defined as any birth before 37 weeks gestation, and is the leading cause of illness and death in newborns. Preterm birth is associated with a significantly increased risk of major long-term medical complications, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory illness, intellectual disability, seizures, and vision and hearing loss. The complications from preterm birth can also extend beyond the first year of life, and can generate significant costs throughout the lives of affected children.

About the PreTRM Test

The PreTRM test is a powerful blood test that provides an early and individual risk prediction for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) in asymptomatic, singleton pregnancies. The PreTRM test can help physicians identify early in the pregnancy (during weeks 19 and 20 of gestation) which women are at higher risk so that they can take action early with the goal of prolonging pregnancies and improving neonatal outcomes. Using proteomic technology, the PreTRM test measures and analyzes proteins in the blood that are predictive of preterm birth. Better understanding of the proteins expressed in pregnancy may lead to understanding the causes of preterm birth and making further advancements in prolonging gestational age and improving newborn outcomes.

For more information about the PreTRM test, please visit www.PreTRM.com.

About Sera Prognostics, Inc.

Sera Prognostics is a private biotechnology company developing innovative diagnostic tests designed for the early prediction of preterm birth risk and other pregnancy complications. Sera's tests are designed to help better inform the care of a mother and her unborn child during pregnancy, and potentially lead to improved health. The company has assembled a strong management team and Board of Directors with significant clinical development and women's healthcare diagnostic experience. Sera has conducted the Proteomic Assessment of Preterm Risk (PAPR) study, one of the world's largest and broadest clinical trials to validate the performance of the Company's PreTRM test. PAPR enrolled 5,501 patients from 11 centers across the United States, representing the diversity of the intended use population for asymptomatic singleton pregnancies. The PreTRM test is available to healthcare providers and their patients throughout the U.S. The Company is supported by a strong group of investors, including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chione, Ltd, Domain Associates, InterWest Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, UpStart Life Sciences Capital, and Osage University Partners. The Company is working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to translate its discoveries and develop technologies to benefit women and infants in underserved countries worldwide. Sera Prognostics is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.seraprognostics.com.
Sat, 10/15 (12pm ET): Getting into Stanford GSB with GMAT 770 - How David Made it Possible in 6 Months
MADRID  As 2015 draws to a close, new steps  albeit small and tentative  have been taken toward ending the war in Syria. The United Nations Security Council has adopted Resolution 2254, expressing its backing for a transition out of the conflict, and the International Syria Support Group has set a date for its next meeting, to be held next month. But the ISSG comprises both allies and adversaries  for example, Saudi Arabia and Iran  meaning that continued progress will be a challenge.

Now, another pair of countries in the process, Turkey and Russia, appear headed down the road to mutual enmity. Turkey, whose proximity to Syria generates both challenges and opportunities, could play an especially significant role in shaping how the peace process plays out. But Turkeys downing of a Russian warplane on its border with Syria last month has spurred a swift and sharp deterioration in bilateral relations, with the Kremlin imposing retaliatory economic sanctions.

Russia, for its part, is facing the tough reality of maintaining an active military presence in the Middle East. Its efforts to bolster President Bashar al-Assads regime (and thus to strengthen its own role at the negotiating table) places it at odds with the countries  including NATO member Turkey  that want Assad out.

The problem for Turkey is that its interests are not as straightforward as stopping the Islamic State (ISIS), or even driving Assad from power. It also aims to ensure that Kurdish groups  such as the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of Syria, which is closely affiliated with Turkeys Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)  do not consolidate control of territory in Syria, now or during the post-conflict reconstruction.

Since the summer, when several severe outbreaks of violence effectively ended a two-year old ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government, the Kurdish conflict in Turkey has once again been burning white-hot, raising fears about the impact of an empowered PYD. Ongoing domestic political upheaval, including two parliamentary elections in just six months, has complicated Turkeys situation further.

Turkeys opposition to empowering the Kurds has been a source of tension with its traditional ally, the United States, which believes the Kurds are the only force on the ground capable of fighting ISIS.

The rekindled hostility between Turkeys government and the PKK is thus undermining Turkeys interest in the success of the Syrian peace negotiations.

Amid these challenges, however, is a ray of hope: Turkeys relations with the European Union have lately improved markedly. Europes desperation to resolve the refugee crisis has strengthened its incentive to cooperate with Turkey. This creates an important opportunity to restart negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU  a prospect that had been nearly extinguished.

To be sure, in its latest report on Turkeys progress toward meeting the accession criteria, the European Commission noted significant shortcomings relating to the judiciary, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly, and appealed for the resumption of efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue. But now the mood is significantly improved. Already, the EU and Turkey have agreed on a joint-action plan, which entails some visa liberalization, and there has been talk of a possible privileged bilateral relationship.

Moreover, there has been some promising forward movement on the Cyprus issue, a longstanding impediment to Turkeys EU accession. With Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders having resumed talks in May, Turkey now has the opportunity to take decisive steps toward uniting the island.

In short, the refugee crisis has tilted the EU toward Turkey. But defeating ISIS remains a top priority.

This will require negotiating with Russia  something that EU members have recognized. Since the Paris attacks in November, efforts to strengthen cooperation against terrorism, including between France and Russia, have intensified. If Turkey wants its relationship with the EU to continue to improve, it will have to engage, too.

The tension between Turkey and Russia has also hurt Turkeys own position in Syria. Beyond the economic sanctions, Russia has now equipped its warplanes with air-to-air missiles, making it more difficult for Turkey to defend its airspace and maintain its influence over the northeastern Syrian border, an area that it considers critical to prevent the PYD from crossing the Euphrates to the West.

Turkey should reflect on its position. It cannot risk being perceived as a country that jeopardizes basic freedoms, thereby widening the gap with the EU. Two factors will sustain its position as an essential ally of the US and the EU: improved relations with the Kurds and progress toward a settlement in Cyprus. In the Syrian peace process, the decisions Turkey makes can either drive or impede progress toward a settlement.

The myriad factors shaping Turkeys position make decision-making very difficult. But there is a way out of the current tangle: a strategic approach that makes the most of rapprochement with the EU, recognizes the importance of stabilizing Syria as soon as possible, and clarifies, once and for all, Turkeys role in the fight against the Islamic State.

Turkey recently demonstrated its ability to overcome complex challenges, wisely restoring full diplomatic relations with Israel after a five-year breach in ties. Given this, reconciliation with Russia cannot be ruled out. Such an approach would, no doubt, facilitate the management of a host of risks that have been exacerbated by the Syrian conflict.



Read more at https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/turkey-russia-relations-syrian-war-by-javier-solana-2015-12#5FPTXC8kk0LcoTqM.99
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Police have arrested the father of a missing pregnant woman after they found her body in the basement of the Bronx home they shared. Friends and family members reported Andrea Caruth, 39, missing on Monday after she disappeared the day prior from the Baychester home she shared with her boyfriend and her father William Caruth, 61. Caruth, a day care operator who was five months pregnant, was supposed to meet a friend for brunch that morning, but vanished, leaving behind her coat, keys, and phone.

Police searched the house once, but found no sign of her. They came back on Tuesday with dogs, and early Wednesday morning, discovered her body in a basement crawl-space, partially covered in rubble and stuffed into what reports describe as a hollowed-out section of concrete. ABC7 reported:

Sources said that she had been at her house that morning when she went down to the basement to change a light. While doing this, authorities believe her father, who lives in the basement, started some sort of argument with her  killing her soon after, sources said.



Sources tell ABC 7 that they believe William Caruth strangled his daughter and beat her in the head with a hammer. The Medical Examiner's Office ruled that her death was caused by strangulation and blunt impacts to her head that fractured her skull and injured her brain.

Police told the New York Post that the two were having a dispute over money. An unidentified friend told NBC4 that Andrea Caruth was "a strong-headed girl," and that though she was grown up, her father was "very controlling man, a very stern, firm man." A police spokesman said he could not confirm a motive, or that the body was found near where the elder Caruth slept.

Police also questioned her boyfriend, but released him on Wednesday. Friends, neighbors, and family members mourned Caruth at a vigil outside the 47th Precinct station house on Wednesday night.

William Caruth is facing charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Information about who his attorney is was not immediately available.

A woman who sent her daughter to Andrea Caruth's daycare told the New York Post she couldn't grasp what had happened.

"She was just starting life," Sydney Jones said. "Thats the beginning of your life, when youre having a child. And to know that she was just killed over  what? It doesnt make any sense."


Thanks to a tipster, police arrested a man suspected of attacking a woman walking on West 23rd Street in Manhattan yesterday morning. The victim, Amanda Morris, posted photographs of her injury on Facebook, explaining, "Today was a difficult day that I never thought I would have to go through, I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and put in an unfortunate situation, but I would like to do what I can now to raise awareness."

Morris, a 24-year-old Brooklyn resident, had been walking on the north side of West 23rd Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, to head to her job at the Whole Foods on 7th Avenue at West 24th Street. She didn't have any contact with the suspect before he struck. "It was unprovoked and I did not have any association with this man prior to the incident, we have never seen each other before," Morris wrote on Facebook.



Amanda Morris posted these photos to her Facebook page, "Today was a difficult day that I never thought I would have to go through..."

She also told WABC 7, "He was kind of stumbling around. I could tell that he didn't really have anywhere he was going specifically. He was just kind of out there, waiting for something. I guess waiting for me." She also said she considered crossing the street because he seemed "weird...but you don't think these things are going to happen to you."

Morris didn't realize her face had been cut. She told the NY Post, "I felt like I got punched in the face. It was like, oh thats weird, why would someone punch me? Suddenly, blood was all over my hands, and I started crying." The Post reports:

Feeling faint, Morris ducked inside the Malibu Diner, where workers gave her a towel for her gushing wound. They looked at the cut and said its definitely caused by a knife or razor  it couldnt have possibly been done by somebodys hand, she said. I was freaking out, and I didnt really know what to do. A diner employee took her to the Whole Foods, where Morris supervisor called the cops.

Police found surveillance footage of the attack:

In the evening, around 6 p.m., police say that a man walking near St. Patrick's Cathedral recognized the suspect "from a surveillance video he had seen on television. The male called 911 and began to follow the suspect. As he followed the suspect, the male came upon two New York City Police Department Mounted Officers and advised them of what was going on. The mounted officers called for assistance and officers from the Midtown North precinct took the suspect into custody."

Kari Bazemore, 41, of the Bronx, was arrested and charged with felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He apparently has been arrested 32 other times, and the Daily News notes, "In 2013, he was arrested for forcible touching in Manhattan and was charged with grand larceny last February. On Dec. 30, the career criminal was busted for randomly punching a woman on East 8th St."

On Facebook, Morris also wrote, "I want everyone to know that I did have a bad feeling about this man as soon as I saw him. His walk was irregular and he appeared under the influence by his body language and stance. Always, always trust your gut instincts. Even in a safer neighborhood such as Chelsea you should always stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Had I crossed the street this could have been avoided; never feel that you have to stay in an uncomfortable situation out of politeness/fear/etc."
A 43-year-old homeless man is facing murder charges after turning himself in to the NYPD on Wednesday, following the fatal Monday morning stabbing of a McDonald's night manager in the Bronx.

Rafael Gonzalez has been charged with manslaughter and second degree murder. The NY Times reports that he was a "regular" at the McDonald's where the stabbing took place, and frequently used the bathroom to clean up.

According to the NYPD, officers responded to a 911 call from the McDonald's at 5765 Broadway near West 236th Street, just before 4:30 a.m. on Monday. There, they found 28-year-old employee Adam Garcia with multiple stab wounds to his neck and torso. Garcia was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

The murder took place less than a block from the 50th Precinct station house.

Garcia had reportedly stayed late after his Sunday night shift, and attempted to escort Gonzalez from the McDonald's were he had been sitting for about eight hours.

Police said the two men argued in the restaurant parking lot, and Gonzalez stabbed Garcia in the neck and chest multiple times before fleeing. Garcia managed to return to the restaurant, where a coworker called 911. The NYPD released surveillance footage of the suspect soon after the attack.

The News reports that authorities were tipped off by two Bronx librarians who recognized Gonzalez in surveillance footage. The librarians said that they believed Gonzalez had harassed female employees at two local branches of the public library. The librarians tipped detectives off to Gonzalez's Facebook, prompting the NYPD to contact his family for confirmation.

Gonzalez is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday. Investigators described him earlier this week as "mentally unbalanced."
Are the Internet's most cherished viral rat videos the work of a mysterious woman who trains rats to do her bidding for an elaborate series of YouTube stunts? Possibly. Meet Eric Yearwood, an actor and member of the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) improv theater. He says he was paid $200 to star in the "Selfie Rat" rat video, which was probably the least convincing of the 2015 viral rat videos, but it still got plenty of press.

In the Selfie Rat video, a man sleeping on a Brooklyn subway platform is awakened by a rat crawling on his lap. After he scrambles to his feet, he realizes that the rat pressed a button on his smartphone and took a selfie. A witness named Don Richards said he was visiting NYC from Connecticut when he saw the rat crawling on the subway sleeper and filmed it.

Richards later shared the video with a local Fox affiliate, and the rest is completely insignificant history.

OR IS IT? Yes, it really is. Nevertheless, Yearwood says he was in fact the sleepy man visited by the rat in the video, and it was all staged, including "Don Richards," who was in on it. A woman who goes by the name Zardulu had reached out to Yearwood last year.

"She said she was a NYC-based performance artist and wanted help with a project and was going to pay me a little bit of money," Yearwood recalls. "You get weird casting calls and stuff all the time, so I didn't really think too much of it, and when she described the project to me, it seemed pretty weird. Especially the part where there wasn't going to be any sort of revelation at the end of it. I would not be able to take credit for it and neither would she."



One of Zardulu's rat training manuals.

Another UCB actor who says he's helped Zardulu plan similar stunts tells us he was required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Via email, he says Zardulu "makes these fake scenarios, releases them as real through news, social media and whatever else. Many have been HUGE stories. Weirdest part is that she never comes forward or capitalizes on them whatsoever."

Why not take credit for the stunts? Our source says Zardulu told him, "Revealing one of my pieces would be like waking the world from a dream. I can not imagine a more terrible thing to do."

Another actor, who asked not to be named for fear of losing work, says that after visiting Zardulu's studio, they saw costumes that led them to believe she was responsible for recent sightings of the "Bishopville Lizard Man":

Yes, even the Lizard Man is fake. But what about Pizza Rat? Our UCB source who signed the NDA claims, "It's the same rat in all the rat videos. I'd bet my life on it. She told me a year ago about the rat training, just not the specific performance art pieces." Yearwood, however, declined to speculate about other rat videos.

Jason Munshi-South, an Associate Professor of Biology at Fordham University, tells us pet rats and lab rats "can certainly be trained to do simple tricks or repetitive tasks. They respond to the same types of basic training as many other mammals." But Munshi-South says it "would probably be difficult to get the rat or rats to respond in the same way when placed in a noisy, stimulating environment like a subway station."

Asked about the sensational video showing a rat dragging a slice of pizza down a set of subway stairs, Munshi-South says the rat "seemed to exhibit typical wild rat behaviors that I've seen in the city. They do drag food into the burrows, and if are somewhat acclimated to people they will forage out in the open sometimes... It wouldn't be that hard to 'bait' wild rats with pizza or other foods and get them used to eating it."



One of Zardulu's rats during training.

The Pizza Rat video was filmed by one Matt Little, who, like Yearwood, is a member of UCB. Perhaps that's just a coincidence! Little emphatically denies that the video was staged, and says he doesn't know Yearwood.

"My friend Pat and I saw a rat dragging pizza down the subway stairs at 3 a.m.," Little tells us. "If this woman [Zardulu] was involved, she'd have to have been one of the homeless people in the subway."

Little signed a contract with a licensing agent after the video went viral, and says that he's made "somewhere between zero and 8 billion dollars" off the licensing rights.

"I am not a good enough liar to perpetrate any kind of hoax like this and keep it up," Little insists.

Little's friend, Pat Baer, tells us, "I have no info on that rat before or after our encounter. If someone trained that rat to drag pizza down the subway stairs, that's quite a strange accomplishment. But not one I can comment on. As far as I know, Matt and I were just in the right place at the right time."

Like Little and Yearwood, Baer is also a member of UCB.

It's unclear how deep this rat rabbit hole goes. Reached by phone yesterday, the man who sent us a "Cannibal Rat" video last weekend insisted he knows nothing about Zardulu and stands by what he saw. But he declined to comment for attribution.

Like many of us, Professor Munshi-South thought the Selfie Rat video looked "a little bit strange. The rat would be just as or more startled by the human waking up and shaking it off, but that rat seems to just calmly drop off the man and stay in the vicinity. That said, that rat could have been sick, injured, stunned, etc." Still, pet rats "would be comfortable climbing around on people," the professor adds.

The anonymous actor says they're "shocked by the vast nature of these things Zardulu is releasing into the media" without taking credit. Is Selfie Rat just the tip of a rotting, viral iceberg made of elaborate hoaxes? What is real?

Reached by email, Zardulu did not deny involvement in the Pizza Rat or Selfie Rat videos, but refused to discuss her work: "I'm not interested in an interview and I'm not interested in the story."

Zardulu continued, "I anticipated a betrayal, as I was threatened with such, but not from anyone with this email. I think there are better stories to tell. Why wake the world from a beautiful dream when the waking world is all so drab?"

Update: After reading this article, Zardulu reached out to say this: "Lizard man in South Carolina? Lol. I work only in the NY area. I don't even own a car. That, I will tell you, is patently false."
The NYPD has agreed to allow an independent monitor to oversee its secret counterterrorism investigations to ensure that the police arent illegally gathering intelligence on political or religious activity.

Until just a few weeks ago, the NYPD had argued that their spying was above-boarddespite two Gothamist reports detailing how a female undercover detective infiltrated student groups for Muslims and people of color at Brooklyn College. Though the detective maintained her cover for years, at least until early 2015, none of the students were charged with any wrongdoing.

Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street protesters also reported being watched and questioned by the police with no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Todays agreement will place an independent attorney appointed by the mayor on a committee that will review investigations like these, and explicitly prohibits NYPD investigations where race, religion, or ethnicity is the substantial or motivating factor.

The agreement also settles two lawsuits: Raza v. City of New York, which was filed in part by the NYCLU in 2013 after a series of AP reports revealed the NYPDs blanket surveillance of Muslims in New York, and Handschu v. City of New York, filed in 1971 to stop the NYPDs Red Squads from spying on political groups like the Blank Panthers.

This has always been about whoever is the other of the moment, the suspicion-raising other in society. Its been the Jew, the Italian, the Communist and African-Americans at various stages, Jethro Eisenstein, one of the original attorneys on the Handschu case, told the Times.

The Handschu litigation had been guiding the NYPDs surveillance activities in New York City, which included independent oversight, until the NYPD argued and won its removal after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.

The City admits no wrongdoing in the settlements (which still have to be approved by a judge), but they do restore much of the oversight lost after 9/11.

We have nothing to hide, Lawrence Byrne, NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters told the Times. And if this adds transparency and a level of public trust that were continuing to keep the city safe, but in a lawful way, we welcome and embrace that.

Arthur Eisenberg, the NYCLUs legal director and lead attorney in the Handschu suit, said in a statement, This settlement is a win for all New Yorkers. It will curtail practices that wrongly stigmatize individuals simply on the basis of their religion, race or ethnicity. At the same time, the NYPD's investigative practices will be rendered more effective by focusing on criminal behavior.

A similar suit to Raza, filed in New Jersey against the NYPD (the NYPD spied on Muslims all over the east coast) by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Muslim Advocates, Hassan v. City of New York, is still set to be litigated.

You can read the changes to the Handschu guidelines below, courtesy of a release from the NYPD.

Current and Proposed Modifications of Handschu Guidlines
The warnings were rolling in all year"What a hot summer!" "It's the hottest September ever!" "December 13th has never been so hot hot hot!" "LOOK AT THE TREES, THEY'RE ALL BLOOMING AND IT'S NOT EVEN WINTER YET, HAHA, WE'VE HIT END TIMES, MY GOD I'M SWEATING SO MUCH IN THIS LIGHTWEIGHT CARDIGAN." And so, it comes as no surprise that scientists have proclaimed 2015 to be the second hottest year this country's ever seen. 2015 WAS HOT, BABY. Too Hot. Too Hot To Handle (If You Are A Penguin).

How hot WAS it? Pretty fucking hot. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 29 eastern states suffered through their hottest recorded Decembers. Remember that time you wore shorts on Christmas? Yeah, that's not normal. "2015 really blew away the competition," NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch told reporters this week. YAY WE WON (certain death).

The West struggled too, with Washington and Oregon experiencing warmer than average temperatures, and though California suffered a serious drought, drier states like Oklahoma and Texas got record-setting rain.

Granted, 2015 wasn't the United States's hottest year since we started keeping records in 1895that honor goes to 2012, whose average temperature was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit (this year's was 54.4 degrees Fahreinheit, NICE TRY 2015). But before you pull up your climate change denier pants, note that 2015 was the 19th straight year in which our annual average temperature overtook last century's average.

The bumblebees are dying, the lobsters are dying, the adorable penguins are dying, and it literally took until last month for the World to get around to signing a sweeping international climate accord, which will certainly be somewhat helpful but scientists are still like HEY YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL? IF WE'D DONE THIS LIKE 50 YEARS AGO, I MEAN C'MON GUYS, BEIJING IS LIKE BASICALLY JUST A GRAY BLOB.

But, wooooo shorts in December! Summer forever! Eternal summer! Who's gonna die, not me!
Sport

Neymar denies wrongdoing over Barca transfer, says he signs what his father tells him to

Neymar only signed documents his father gave him and did nothing illegal, the Brazil superstar told a Spanish court on Tuesday where he is on trial for alleged irregularities over his transfer to Barcelona nearly a decade ago.






After Saudi Arabia executed the Shiite cleric and political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, Iranian protesters burned the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, and the diplomatic fallout between the two nations sent ripples across the region, the immediate and facile take attributed the events to sectarian enmity. Historian Toby Craig Jones, author of Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia, has been attempting to complicate that framing. In a New York Times op-ed and in a conversation with NPRs All Things Considered, Jones has helped to foster an understanding of this latest surge in tension as something more and different than a Sunni-Shia rift.

To begin with, Jones shows the importance of understanding that even when conflict can be mapped onto sects its often a modern political dispute merely passing for a centuries-old religious one, sometimes having been manipulatively positioned as such. As Jones explains in Desert Kingdom, the Saudi royal familys claim to power has always been buttressed by a social and political contract with Sunni leaders:

Since early in the twentieth century, when Saudi Arabias founding monarch, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, stormed Riyadh with a small band of warriors, wrestled power away from his familys rivals, and launched his quest for suzerainty, the legitimacy of his rule has been based on a grand bargain. In exchange for their blessing of his right to worldly power, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud granted central Arabias conservative clergy, the legatees of the eighteenth-century founder of Wahhabism, the power to oversee and police the social and cultural life of those the new polity came to rule. Islam and its Wahhabi interpreters played a key role in sanctioning the legitimacy of the new regime and have done so ever since.

Now, with the depositions of the Arab Spring in recent memory, the Saudis have as much reason as ever to fear challenges to their rule. Heres Jones in his NYT piece:

Why did Saudi Arabia want this now? Because the kingdom is under pressure: Oil prices, on which the economy depends almost entirely, are plummeting; a thaw in Iranian-American relations threatens to diminish Riyadhs special place in regional politics; the Saudi military is failing in its war in Yemen. In this context, a row with Iran is not a problem so much as an opportunity. [] The Saudi authorities have good reason to be concerned about new calls for reform. About a week before Sheikh Nimrs execution, the kingdom announced that it was facing an almost $100 billion deficit for its 2016 national budget. Declining oil revenues may soon force the kingdom to slash spending on social welfare programs, subsidized water, gasoline and jobs  the very social contract that informally binds ruler and ruled in Saudi Arabia. The killing of a prominent member of a loathed religious minority deflects attention from impending economic pressure.

But, as he discussed with NPR, the most prominent reformers from among that loathed religious minority would likely characterize their agitation as a push for democracy, human rights, and inclusion, rather than for sectarian concern. The Sunni Saudi Arabia versus Shiite Iran narrative, he says, is merely the way the Saudis and their allies in the Arab world have framed the conflict, choosing Shiites as a scapegoat in their efforts to address the threats they see from below and from across the region.

Saudi Arabian aggression is of course a particularly awkward challenge for the United States, which has always allowed oil to outweigh the anti-democratic actions of Saudi rulers. But even against that backdrop, with surging domestic energy production seemingly threatening American dependence on Saudi Arabian crude, Saudi leaders may see threats to their global political standing. As Jones writes, the prospect of an insecure Saudi leadership should be frightening but also clarifying, dispelling the notion that Saudi Arabia is a force for stability in the Middle East.
This was passed along from Bob B. and also credit to Kevin Sorbo. For me When the State tells you its safe to go to Home Depot to buy a ...
Continuing in our series of articles on birding, I want to share with you the most exciting and relevant new development in birding: eBird.

eBird is a web-based program as well as an app for both Apple and Android phones, notepads and iPads. The phone app is simply a field version of the web-based program.

I used to keep handwritten notes in the field on bird observations and then enter those notes into a computer program such as BirdBase or Avisys at home. I still do that, but I am also using ebird because the data is automatically shared with birders and scientist around the world.

The advantage of the ebird app is that I no longer have to make field notes on observations, and then enter the data in eBird at home. In the past, depending on how busy I was, I sometimes entered the data the same day, but often I would get a backlog of field notes and went several days before I entered the data. With the phone app, I have been able to enter the data in the field and it is automatically entered in the ebird database. I have also gotten more specific on where my observations are made. I used to do one list for the entire day, such as the Upper Clark Valley. Now I start a new list every 5 miles of observations, making the data much more site-specific.

The app allows you to record the birds you see in the field, keep track of your bird lists, share your sightings with others, explore graphs and maps on the trends in bird species and contribute to science and conservation.

If you want to add the app to your Android phone or tablet go to Play Store and type in BirdLog. You will see BirdLog NA (North America) as a free app. You will also find that there are free BirdLog apps for many parts of the world, such as Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, etc. If you want the BirdLog World there is a charge for that app. You probably should familiarize yourself with North America before you download other ebird apps.

If you have an Apple phone or iPad, go to iTunes and download eBird mobile. You should also access the web version at home and register both. That way your mobile app and web-based ebird will operate seamlessly.

I use the PC and Android versions. I do all of my field work on the Android and then study and manipulate the data and print out reports on my PC. The important thing to remember is that all of the data that you enter with your phone or tablet is automatically placed in your personal database and accessible on your PC or Apple product.

One change I recently made in the way I use BirdLog is switching from using my smart phone to using a data line-connected tablet. The advantage for me is that the screen is larger, it's easier to see and the keyboard fits my hands better. I purchased a mini-pad so it is not too large and still usable in the field. In addition I downloaded four field guides to the mini-pad so I have everything in one unit. The mini-pad is Bluetooth-enabled so I can use an external wireless speaker for playing bird songs from the field guides.

How many birders are using eBird? There are currently 262,109 users, who have posted from 2,774,557 locations and 262.6 million bird observations. This provides for an incredible data base for you to explore.

So how do you use the program? When you are in the field, open the program and tap submit sighting.'' It then asks choose a recent location or new location.'' The program remembers your recent locations and gives you a list to select from. If it is a new location you select choose location from a map.'' The app will bring up a map with an arrow on your exact location and give the location a name.

You then enter the time and date. Then, based on the date of the submission and the location, the program searches the 262 million entries and provides a list of birds you could expect for that location and time of year. You then enter the number of birds for each species that you see. Once you are done you click whether it is a complete checklist or not, the distance you traveled observing the current list, the amount of time it took to see the birds on the current checklist and the number of observers in your party.

You now click submit the list. If you have no phone connection click save and then submit it later. You also have the option of sharing the list with others through email.

When you are home using your computer, you have lots of options as to what to do with your field data. On the ebird home page click my data,'' and a screen will come up with your bird statistics and your lists.'' Under your list you can either click on life or year list, and that list will appear on the screen with the birds in taxonomic order. To the right of the species name will be the date you first saw the species and the location. If you click on the species a list will appear of every location you have seen the species for a given year, and if you click on the location, every species seen at that location will appear. All lists are printable.

The other option is to click on explore data.'' On this page you can get a list of species for any region. Another option is a map of the United States with dots for all of the sightings for a particular species. On this option you can select the date and get real time data on the migration of a species in the spring or fall. You can also select line or bar graphs for a particular species at a given location during a calendar year.

A fun option on this page is the Top 100 for a location and a year. It is interesting to see how many species you have seen compared to others in an area for a particular year. For instance, in 2015, I am currently in 12th place in Montana; in 2014 I was 17th, 2013 eighth, and in 2012 first.

There are many other ways to use ebird besides those I have described. I encourage you to explore ebird for yourself and begin to enter your observations. Using ebird, will make you a better birder. Its free, its fun, and you will be contributing significant data, used by scientists to study population trends and migration in North American and around the world.
Mert Alas and Marcus PiggotMadonnas Rebel Heart tour is for mature audiences only, according to Singapore. Asian publication The Straits Times reports that the Queen of Pop's February 28 concert in the country has been given a rare R18 rating by Singapore's Media Development Authority.

The MDA cites "sexual references" for the rating and restricts concertgoers to those 18 and older. We're guessing the show's inclusion of pole dancing nuns might be partly to blame.

Singapore is known for being strict on musical performers. In 2012, Lady Gaga's Born This Way tour was given an "Advisory 16 and above" rating for "some controversial religious content," and in 2013, Adam Lambert's concert was given the same rating for "some mature content."

The country is one of several stops on the Asian leg of Madonna's Rebel Heart tour, which kicks off in Taipei on February 4 and makes stops in Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. Tickets for the Singapore show go on sale tomorrow.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published on July 29, 1990.

Retail sales at Capital Hill Mall are defying the experts, who say that Montana's retail economy is stagnant.

Sales at the Helena mall are anything but stagnant. In fact, it would be an understatement to say that they are soaring.

According to reports submitted by the mall's 40 merchants to facility manager Sue Aleksich-Akey, retail sales increased by $5,873,851 in 1989 and are continuing on a sharply upward path this year.

Retail sales at the mall, Aleksich-Akey said, increased from $24,154,749 in 1988 to $30,028,600 in 1990.

The increase translates into a 24.3 percent growth rate in retail sales in a single year.

And it's continuing.

See PDF for remainder of the story.
Though Montana's newly redesigned driver's licenses and identification cards include increased security features, they still do not meet federal standards that might soon be required for air travel and access to federal buildings.

Montana Motor Vehicles Division Administrator Sarah Garcia said the design changes were needed to process drivers license information more smoothly on the MVDs computer platform, as well as to comply with security standards authored by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

The look, feel and design of the cards have all been completely revamped, according to a press release from the Montana Department of Justice. They also include new security features that will help reduce driver's license fraud and identity theft and feature a more durable laminate, the release says.

Garcia said Montanans will not have to swap out their old license for a new one, so long as it hasnt yet expired.

However, she said drivers may have to trade in their cards if and when Montana is forced to comply with more stringent license requirements spelled out under the decade-old federal Real ID Act.

State legislators unanimously voted in 2007 to forbid implementation of those federal standards, citing provisions they said would prove needlessly expensive and inimical to the security and well-being of the people of Montana.

"That new security feature happens to be compatible with certain measures called for by REAL ID," John Barnes, communications director for the Montana Attorney General's Office, said in an email. "Regardless, Montana remains noncompliant with REAL ID."

A spokeswoman for the Attorney Generals Office confirmed Wednesday that Montana had been granted a Real ID compliance extension effective until Oct. 10, 2016.

"Montana's license will work for airline travel and federal building access at least until next October," Barnes added.

The new cards are available at driver exam stations in Helena, Missoula, Superior, Great Falls, Choteau and Fort Benton. They will be available in Bozeman Thursday and Billings Friday.

The remaining locations across Montana are expected to begin issuing the new cards by the end of February.

The new design on the licenses includes a graphic based on a photo taken in Glacier National Park, as well as images of the state flower, the state bird, the word "Montana" and ponderosa pine trees.
It was nearly 17 years ago that a pair of conservation-minded Montanans began a quest to help working ranchers and farmers keep their land in agriculture. In the recently passed federal budget bill, the initiative Rock Ringling and Bill Long spearheaded became a permanent part of conservation law.

Conservation easements are offered by a variety of state and federal agencies and nongovernment organizations to private landowners. The terms can range from payment for development rights to securing perpetual public access, but Ringlings organization, Montana Land Reliance, specializes in easements restricting subdividing in favor of traditional uses that maintain open space.

While the federal tax code is a maze of deductions and credits, the pre-2007 tax incentives allowed conservation easement donors to deduct between 30 and 50 percent of the value against their income, with deductions eligible for up to six years. The code worked well for landowners with sizeable incomes that could recoup the values of the easements. But for classic working ranches with plenty of land but lower incomes, often the numbers just could not add up.

Depending on your income you really couldnt use it, Ringling said. So you were leaving the entire donated value of the conservation easement in the dirt so to speak.

Inspired by the idea of putting land-rich, cash-poor landowners on a path to recouping their donations, in 1999 Ringling and Long approached former Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Were a small land trust sitting in Helena, Montana, and we didnt know any better. So we went out and tried to sell this idea, Ringling said.

They first approached the lawmakers with an idea for a tax credit, but the senators were not interested in another credit in the tax code. Instead, staffers pitched the idea of raising the deductible value and extending the time period to take it. The bill offered landowners up to a 100 percent deduction against their adjusted gross incomes and extended the period to 16 years.

The changes meant that a land-rich, cash-poor landowner could deduct enough income to match the value of the easement while also adding flexibility to deduct more in economically down years.

With the bills language in place, the crash-course in Washington, D.C., politics became an odyssey of attending hearings and lobbying -- a process that lasted until 2007.

By God, one day we woke up and it got passed, Ringling said.

The passage led to an uptick in conservation easements, with ranchers and farmers wanting to maintain their land but waiting for the incentives to make financial sense, he said. But after the initial surge, it became clear that the seemingly continual need for Congress to reauthorize the incentives, at times retroactively, made on-the-ground planning increasingly difficult.

If youre a landowner youre generally working with a land trust for nine months, said Glenn Marx, executive director for the Montana Association of Land Trusts. Youre right on the cusp of a conservation easement, both parties agree to terms, but at that time the incentives might not be in place. The land trust can say theyre pretty sure Congress will reauthorize them, but it put everyone in a place of uncertainty. So that added a lot of stress and pressure at the end of the year not knowing.

The coalition of organizations responsible for the original legislation continued the push, this time to make the incentives permanent. That effort lasted until 2015 when the legislation, which received support from Montanas delegation and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., among others, was included in last months tax reform package.

Its important to be able to plan for peoples taxes and for estate purposes into the future, and we need more than one-year extensions to do it, said Prickly Pear Land Trust Executive Director Mary Hollow. So thats probably the biggest advantage of no longer having to worry about constant lobbying to make these happen.

In the latest push for tax reform, those incentive programs not included in the budget bill are likely off the table for good, Ringling said.

Looking through the mirror today, if we wouldnt have gotten this made permanent we might never have gotten it done, he said. We probably wouldnt have had the political power to make it happen.

Marx applauded the achievement not only as a benefit for legacy ranching, but as a tale of perseverance.

One thing that I think is amazing is that these guys from Montana who were just driving down the road changed the way America is governed, he said. They affected national change in a tangible way thats an impressive, historical achievement.

With the tax incentives now permanent, Ringling believes the program can sustain the need for new conservation easements for the next two decades. Montanas aging ranching population and shifts in commodity prices will also dictate the market, he added.

Ringling estimates Montana Land Reliance spent up to $1 million on the effort, along with other organizations at the national level. Private land issues are not a priority for many federal lawmakers, but enough key senators and representatives saw the incentives as a program working for every private landowner in every state, he said.

Had I known it would take 16 years I probably wouldnt have done it, Ringling said. I still cant quite believe it happened. Its kind of nice to know because not everybody in the United States can wake up in the morning and say you helped pass a significant piece of conservation law.
On Oct. 3, 2015, I was inducted into an elite club, the Sunday Mountain club, of which I am honored to be a member. Reaching the top of Sunday Mountain in the Swan Range led by Lee Boman with the Montana Wilderness Association gave incredible views of the Missions, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Swan Range itself.

I would have little chance for this back in my home state, Virginia. Coming to college in Montana, I have realized how grateful I am for this opportunity and I love to support legislature and programs that would open up more places like this.

The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and we want the Montana delegation to know we support it. Its a wonderful collaborative between diverse stakeholders to protect some of the Montana landscape that we all hold dear.

The BCSPs main outcomes are restoration, recreation and conservation. This is accomplished by funding for stewardship and restoration practices in Seeley Lake, supporting a biomass cogeneration facility, and expanding snowmobile areas in the Seeley Lake area. These outcomes will also bring an increase in jobs and the local economy. Best of all, it will designate 87,000 acres of the Lolo National Forest as wilderness!

This project has been a phenomenal collaborative effort for years between many agencies and interest groups for a great cause of expanding wilderness. Please join me in supporting this by letting our Congressional delegation know of your support.

Sarah Gaulke

Missoula
From the get-go, let me be clear: The occupation a federal building by an armed militia as an act of protest is not a good thing. In fact, its quite bad. I condemn it.

One of the worst parts of this protest is some of the religious language utilized by the militia, their sympathizers and their relatives. Its a fairly well known fact that the Bundy family is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, of which I am also (full disclosure) a member. Though the presence of religious language may not immediately be apparent to the average American, its plain and obvious to those familiar with Mormon culture.

It upsets me that members of my own faith, a faith with a heritage of religious persecution at the hands of American government officials, both state and federal, would suggest that God is calling them to take up arms and openly revolt by occupying a federal building. God is not telling them to do it. Even LDS Church leadership has condemned the actions of this militia.

And yet, on at least one level, I empathize with these militia men. Their method is wrong, and their religious motivations are very wrong. But I agree with their assertions about federal lands, assertions that have been a common refrain from western states against the federal government for 40 years.

Its easy to forget, given the armed occupation, that this whole issue began because the Hammonds built a fire that ended up on federal land. Whether this happened because the Hammonds were trying to protect their land or cover up illegal poaching is less important to me than the fact that the land was owned by the federal government. If the feds hadnt owned the land in the first place, odds are there would never have been an issue.

The fundamental reason America broke away from the British Empire was because our ancestors didnt feel like local interests were being taken into fair consideration. Does the phrase taxation without representation sound familiar? They didnt feel their local concerns and wishes were being heard in King Georges court, and they were right.

This militia that has taken up residence in Burns, Oregon, feels the same way. It goes way overboard in expressing its angst, but it feels the same way.

The fundamental reason these occupants stormed the federal building is because they dont feel like the BLM, a federal agency in which officials are appointed rather than elected, takes local interests into account. In general, they feel the BLM and the federal government have exceeded constitutional limits. They feel like the BLM is more concerned with pleasing non-local, environmental interests that clash with those of local residents.

Its not hard to understand why theyre unhappy, especially if youre an environmentalist. Take the story of Tim DeChristopher.

DeChristopher is an environmental activist that was jailed for deliberately running up prices in a federal oil and gas auction under false pretenses and as an act of protest in 2008. He was sentenced to two years in prison, fined $10,000 and given three years supervised probation. But he could have been given 10 years. The only differences between him and the Oregon occupants is that he is on the other end of the political spectrum and that he didnt involve guns in his protest. Twenty-six fans of DeChristopher, however, were arrested at his sentencing for getting out of hand in their protests.

Although its impossible to say for sure, my guess is DeChristopher probably felt like both his concerns and the concerns of animals in the desert werent being taken into account in the management of federal lands. Same story, different method, both illegal.

I am with these militia men with respect to their grievances over the management of federal lands. Local, state, or private ownership of public land is a good thing, or at least its better than ownership by the federal government. Local voices should win out in the management of public lands. Tourists may come once a year, but locals are there year-round.

But in the same sense that I cant accept as legitimate the radical environmentalist movement and its tactics, I cant accept as legitimate the actions of the militia in Oregon either, especially when they have inappropriately involved religion in their protest.
Montana lawmakers plan to revisit a familiar front in their ongoing battle against federal driver's license requirements.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines on Thursday said he would reintroduce legislation to repeal the federal Real ID Act, a decade-old law requiring all states to adopt more stringent security and fraud-prevention features on state-issued driver's licenses.

On Wednesday, Montana officials announced the release of new driver's licenses and identification cards that include increased security features.

Montana's licenses are already largely in compliance with the act, despite state legislators unanimous vote in 2007 to forbid implementation of federal standards they said would prove needlessly expensive and inimical to the security and well-being of the people of Montana.

Daines, who introduced similar repeal legislation while serving in the House, promised to continue to push back against this (REAL ID) overreach.

As a result, Montanans may not be able to use their state-issued driver's licenses for air travel or to access federal buildings when the state's REAL ID compliance extension expires in October.

It remains unclear what state residents will do if Daines latest repeal effort fails and that extension is allowed to expire.

Neither the Republican senator nor Attorney General Tim Fox -- who joined Daines for a Thursday press conference on the topic -- ruled out accepting another extension, though Fox said federal authorities have warned they will not offer further clemency to the state.

An October letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shows Montana has already adopted or intends to adopt all but four of the 40 Real ID provisions spelled under federal law.

Fox said the state made those changes on its own, in what he said could fairly be called a coincidental series of federally compliant tweaks to Montana licenses.

Certainly Montana has always had both the responsibility and the authority to deal with their own drivers licenses, Fox said. We update them for a number reasons.  We also do it without sharing huge amounts of private information about our citizens with the federal government, that has a knack for misusing that information and for allowing it to be breached and disseminated to others who shouldnt have it.

Foxs remarks came on the heels of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security announcement that REAL ID requirements will soon be enforced when Americans fly.

Daines said he is still seeking co-sponsors to help resuscitate Real ID repeal efforts. He said fellow Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke will introduce a companion law in the House of Representatives.
DECATUR  From saving frying squirrels to building a more reliable power grid to keep the lights on, Ameren Illinois told Decatur business leaders Wednesday it's got them covered.

The utility spelled out the improvements and upgrades it's made and is making to the electrical system under a modernization action plan lawmakers voted into law in 2011.

But the 100-strong audience at the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting laughed out loud when the topic of reliability touched on electrified squirrels.

Paula Heinkel, community relations coordinator for the utility, said squirrels and raccoons climb into substations regularly seeking warmth and short-out electrical systems  killing themselves and the lights.

The answer, now busily being installed, said Heinkel, is an electrified fence around the substations. Now for those of you who might be laughing or thinking how terrible for these poor little varmints, really, the fence is not so bad, she told her audience at the Decatur Club. Because if they do actually get into the substation, it's certain death. So this is actually better: the fence stuns them and they go 'All right, I'm not going into the substation.'

Heinkel's presentation, fully charged with statistics, had earlier outlined how the grid was being upgraded and hardened against failure. She pointed to millions of dollars being spent to install smart switching systems, substation upgrades and new wiring and poles.

She said Ameren Illinois was working its way through a program to install 780,000 smart meters over the next 10 years. These will enable customers to tap into new power-saving programs and monitor and adjust their own power use.

Heinkel said strict standards are built into the 2011 law. The utility must reduce power outages by 20 percent by 2023, and cut their duration by 15 percent.

Job creation goals are also part of the improvement standards, and Heinkel said Ameren Illinois had hired 144 workers (including herself, a former TV reporter) in the Decatur area alone in 2015. Statewide, since 2012, it has hired 550 new employees and some 1,500 contractors as grid enhancement continues.

Heinkel didn't bring it up the cost of the grid upgrades, passed onto businesses and families with a healthy profit margin for the utility. The deal with lawmakers means those costs can also be recovered faster with annual updates: Ameren Illinois just won a power delivery fee hike for 2016 worth $106 million, and a natural gas delivery rate increase valued at $45 million.

Having reliable energy here in our community is absolutely critical, said Mirinda Rothrock, Chamber president. We do always need to remain competitive when we are retaining our businesses and attracting new ones.
CINCINNATI (AP)  An Ohio man pledged Tuesday to not let his "zombie Nativity" display die without a fight, while an apparent supporter dressed as a zombie was jailed for contempt of court.

Jasen Dixon pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of violating zoning rules in the Cincinnati suburb of Sycamore Township. He is due back in court Feb. 2 for a hearing on the case.

"It's a First Amendment issue," Dixon told reporters outside a Hamilton County a courtroom, saying he's not worried about potentially having to pay fines that could total in the thousands.

He's been at odds with township officials the past two Decembers about his front yard display and said he made changes to comply.

It features ghoulish figures including a sharp-toothed creature in the manger where baby Jesus would be in traditional Christmas Nativities. It has drawn some complaints, but also widespread attention.

Dixon said he took the display down after Christmas, but he told WCPO-TV he plans to bring it back "bigger and better" next holiday season.

Township officials have declared that they aren't anti-zombie, but are enforcing rules about an improper "accessory use" structure in a front yard.

In other zombie-related developments in Cincinnati on Tuesday, a man who wore make-up and dressed as a zombie in an apparent show of support for Dixon was held in contempt of court for disrupting an unrelated civil trial.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman found John Thomer, 28, guilty of contempt that obstructed the administration of justice.

Specifically, the judge wrote, he "was growling into a megaphone and disrupted my trial."

Ruehlman said Thomer was given three chances to stop and refused. He added that he had him arrested "not for the content of his speech," but because of the loud delivery method by megaphone.

Thomer was ordered held for three days in Hamilton County Jail. No messages could be left for him there Tuesday.

___

Follow the reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

For some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-sewell
In interviews and on the stump, Sen. Ted Cruz likes to attack President Obama, Hillary Clinton and "some of the more aggressive Washington neocons" for their support of regime change in the Middle East.

Every time we topple a dictator, Cruz argues, we end up helping terrorists or extremists.

He has a point. But what interests me is his use of the word "neocon." What does he really mean?

Some see dark intentions. "He knows that the term in the usual far-left and far-right parlance means warmonger, if not warmongering Jewish advisers, so it is not something he should've done," former George W. Bush advisor Elliott Abrams told National Review. Another former Bush adviser calls the term "a dog whistle."

I think that's all a bit overblown. Cruz is just trying to criticize his opponent Marco Rubio, who supported regime change in Libya. There's little daylight between the two presidential contenders on foreign policy, and this gives Cruz an opening for attack.

But Abrams is right, and Cruz surely knows, that for many people "neocon" has become code for suspiciously Hebraic super-hawk. It's an absurd distortion.

At first, neocons weren't particularly associated with foreign policy. They were intellectuals disillusioned by the folly of the Great Society. As Irving Kristol famously put it, a "neoconservative is a liberal who was mugged by reality and wants to press charges."

Kristol later argued that neoconservatism was not an ideology but a "persuasion." William F. Buckley, the avatar of supposedly authentic traditional conservatism, agreed.

The neocon belief in democracy promotion grew out of disgust with Richard Nixon's detente and Jimmy Carter's fecklessness, but it hardly amounted to knee-jerk interventionism. When Jeane Kirkpatrick articulated a theory of neoconservative foreign policy in Commentary magazine in 1979, she cautioned that it was unwise to demand rapid liberalization in autocratic countries, and that gradual change was a more realistic goal than immediate transformation.

During the Cold War, neocons weren't any more hawkish than anyone else on the right.

Even through the late 1990s, neocons were far from outliers in their belief that the United States should use its military power to support democracies abroad. Many members of both parties held that view.

After 9/11, some neoconservative intellectuals had off-the-shelf foreign policy ready for George W. Bush -- which, yes, was hawkish in nature, but other Republicans and even Democrats supported their prescriptions, at least at first. As the Iraq War went south, the neocons were the only ones left defending it, and so got all of the blame.

The association between neoconservatism and Jews stems partly from the fact that the first neocons were mostly Jewish, partly from the reality that they are all to this day pro-Israel.

Today the neocon sociological persuasion is simply part of the conservative mainstream. The idea that self-identified neocons are uniformly more "pro-war" than other conservatives is ludicrous.

Cruz, for his part, said he wants to "carpet-bomb ISIS" until the "sand glows." There are many criticisms one can level at the position, but isolationist isn't one of them.

Meanwhile, the right is having a long overdue, and valuable, argument about how to conduct foreign policy. Keep it going, just leave neoconservatism out of it.
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Romanian police working with European colleagues have cracked down on a group suspected of using malicious software in order to crack and rob ATM machines across European countries for nearly a year.

The Monday police operation saw the arrest of eight people following an extensive investigation into a Romanian and Moldovan crime group. The group had been emptying ATM machines accross Europe between December 2014 and October 2015.

Seven locations in Romania were searched, and police arrested the alleged leader of the group, a Moldovan national, and seven of his alleged associates.

Police says the group is suspected of illegally accessing information systems, computer fraud, disruption of operations and altering integrity of computer data.

The group was allegedly involved in large scale ATM "jackpotting"  the proccess of utilizing malware to manipulate the ATM's software through the ATM PIN pad in order to empty it. The suspects allegedly installed the malware in the network of various banking institutions in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Spain, Russia and other European countries. Authorities estimate that they stoleabout 200,000 (more than US$ 217,000) from a number of ATM machines in total via numerous smaller transactions.

According to the Deputy Director of Operations to the European joint police force, Europol, Wil van Gemert, ATM attacks with the use of malicious software have significantly increased over the past few years.

"The sophisticated cybercrime aspect of these cases illustrates how offenders are constantly identifying new ways to evolve their methodologies to commit crimes," stated Gemert.

occrp.org
Turkish authorities have captured a vessel carrying more than 13 tons of marijuana that was reportedly meant to be distributed to European countries, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency(AA) news portal.

AA reports that police said the Bolivian-flagged vessel was heading towards Turkey when it was captured off the coast of Libya, near the Tobruk port, late Tuesday. Authorities arrested the ten member crew, and prosecutors said they will launch a probe into the suspected drug-trafficking group.

According to the Hurriyet Daily News portal, the seizure was part of the the Albatros Campaign  Turkey's first security operation in international waters in years, authorised by the Ministry of Interior incooperation with the Bolivian government.

The operation was initiated after Turkish authorities received information about the drug ladened Bolivian vessel heading towards Turkey, and the Turkish Coast Guard reportedly located it on Sunday and started to pursue it with a plane and a ship.

AA reports that Interior Ministry officials said the vessel was carrying the largest amount of drugs ever seized in a single Turkish police operation - about 13.6 tons of marijuana.

Turkey continues to be a major trade center for a variety of illegal drugs destined for the European Market, according to the US State Department 2015 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The country has historically been a connection between East and West due to it's geographic location, and traffickers frequently use it as a transit country for goods headed into European markets.

occrp.org
Its now plain that our supposedly super-accurate RAF bombers have done very little in Syria since the great Parliamentary vote on the subject. If the military need was so urgent, why is this so?

It seemed to me at the time and seems to me now that Parliament and the governments regiment of media toadies were actually being invited to authorise raids on Jeremy Corbyn. The government also wanted to implicate us in some way in military action in Syria, presumably to make Saudi Arabia happy and to make deeper engagement possible later - if we can find a way of backing the pro-Saudi rebels who have done so much to turn Syria into anarchy and ruins.

But the ridiculous praise for Hilary Benns fatuous speech (regarded as Churchillian by the sort of people who think Downton Abbey is great drama), and the Labour applause for it, were the real victory. Had the Oldham by-election (the following day, on 3rd December) gone the other way, the Blairites in New Labour would have mounted a putsch against Jeremy Corbyn, and tried to recapture their party from its annoying members. This sort of thing has been done to the Tories, when IDS ( a far less competent leader than Mr Corbyn) was overthrown by a supersmooth, pinstriped putsch.

The timing of the Syria debate, in retrospect, looks rather suspicious. There was no special military or diplomatic reason, as is quite obvious now, for holding it that night. The only reason for hurry was the Oldham poll. There was nothing else on the grid that couldnt be altered. A humiliation for |Mr Corbyn on Wednesday night at Westminster and another one on Thursday night in Oldham Town Hall, and the brave boys of New Labour would have acted.

Alas for Blairism, the people of Oldham didnt do as the Blairites wanted. This, of course was immediately said to be in spite of Jeremy Corbyn, and not to his credit. If it had gone the other way, it would (I promise you) have been entirely his fault, and the peoples verdict on Corbynism.

David Cameron and his media helpers really, really want to destroy Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Camerons attitude towards Mr Corbyn at Question Time is one of real, venomous enmity. He ignores Mr Corbyns actual questions (this week those questions were by common consent pertinent and well-asked) and instead fans the undisguised and inevitable hostility between Mr Corbyn and his MPs.

Why does he do this? Youd think hed want to keep Mr Corbyn there, if hes as awful and useless as we are constantly being told.

On Channel Four News last night ( a programme which might once have been a good deal more sympathetic to Corbynism than it would now like to admit, having become a Blairite organ like all the rest) , there was speculation after the supposedly disastrous Labour reshuffle that we were heading for a one-party state, as Labour is now so enfeebled.

Again, youd think the Tories would like that. But they plainly dont. The identifiable sycophants of David Cameron in the media are dedicated to attacks on Mr Corbyn, attacks so relentless that you would think there was nothing else to write about, that the economy was fine (rather than poised on a precipice) that the NHS was perfect (rather than in increasingly deep difficulties) and that the Prime Ministers attempts to escape his EU referendum pledge (a hopeless, illogical tangle) were going well. Not to mention disasters visible to me daily such as the hopeless delay on the electrification of the Great Western mainline, miles behind timetable and mountains of money over budget. Lets forget HS2 and the Heathrow expansion, or the relentless slither towards a Scottish secession, and the utter failure of all attempts to control our borders.

No, the most important thing in politics turns out to be whether Mike Who swaps jobs with Brenda What, and if Stan Nobody has quit his non-job as deputy minister for Tramways and Fine Arts, in protest at the easing out of Albert Whatsit from his non-job as Shadow Secretary of State for Wind Farms.

Billed for weeks as the revenge reshuffle, it was supposed to be a sort of Westminster version of the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, with the Shadow Cabinet corridor knee-deep in blood and littered with grotesque political corpses and the weltering, obscene figures of the dying, crying treachery! and murder! What, I wonder, was the source for this fantasy? I dont think Mr Corbyn talks much to the Parliamentary Lobby, who he rightly recognises are not his friends.

The actual event (in which great crowds of reporters hung about stairwells and lift-shafts trying to find something, anything interesting to write about) involved Jeremy Corbyn boring a few colleagues half to death with conciliatory, polite conversations, and getting rid of a few people from (unpaid, unimportant) jobs because they disagree with him about major policy issues. Well, I never. A party leader who wants allies in his Shadow Cabinet.

Well, I never, a party leader whose authority comes from the old-fashioned left-wing party membership clashing with a new-fashioned left-wing Parliamentary Party whose authority comes from their endorsement by the media and the money men who decide whos top in politics.

For the first time in my life, this country is actually coming to resemble the Marxist caricature of crude money and power, concentrated in a power elite, versus the disdained people  a caricature that has never hitherto been true at all and which does not prove that the Marxists were right.

For the power and the money are all lined up on the side of the revolutionary radicals of Blairism, whose origins (even if they dont know it) lie in the raw pre-Lenin, (and pre-Kautsky) Marxism of 1848 - fanatical egalitarians ready to wreck the education of millions for an ideology , wild, dogmatic warmists ready to wreck our economy for the sake of their faith, flingers-open of borders at any cost, wagers of liberal wars and bombing campaigns, overthrowers of foreign governments which dont conform to their desires, servile slaves of foreign authorities which accord with their desires, viciously intolerant promoters of the most all-embracing social and cultural theory since the Reformation.

To these people, now dominating the House of Commons, the media and the academy, Mr Corbyn is (paradoxically) an infuriatingly conservative person, who (for the wrong reasons, but never mind) keeps open the possibility that they might be wrong, and (worse) that they might one day be defeated by discontent. He thinks in categories they have long ago abandoned, nation, class and history. His old-fashioned good manners alone are a reproach to the modern go-getter who has none.

No, no, I dont agree with him. Dont get carried away. But they loathe him just as much as they loathe me  and for what is basically the same reason - anyone with a memory is an obstacle to their project

The only opposition they are ready to tolerate is one that doesnt raise any awkward questions. They expect to beat Labour whoever leads it. But they dont want the Leader of Her Majestys Opposition - still an implicitly influential position - to haunt them with memories of when this country had a genuinely two-party system and all that went with that. As Richard Neville said so perceptively right at the start of this revolution 50 and more years ago There is an inch of difference between the two parties  but it is in that inch that we all live .

I think thats it, anyway. I just felt like letting rip against all this humbug and garbage.
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Mashed potatoes are one of my top comfort foods, and I love an ultra-smooth, creamy version laden with butter and cream or milk. Theyre also a blank canvas when I feel like changing it up a bit, and one of the easiest additions is some sour cream. The thick, tangy dairy is a natural in mashed potatoes, adding a subtle tangy flavor. Sour cream mashed potatoes are as easy to make as regular mashed potatoes, and you can channel some sour cream-and-onion vibes with a sprinkle of chives or scallions at the end.
The board that oversees health benefits for state workers plans to vote next month on a move toward self-insurance.

After a special meeting Thursday to discuss the issue, the Group Insurance Board, largely controlled by the governor, is set to vote Feb. 17 on whether to issue requests for proposals from companies that would assist the state in self-insuring workers, on a regional or statewide basis, starting in 2018.

Such proposals would give the board better information on whether the move would be good for workers and taxpayers, said Jon Litscher, board chairman.

Currently, we dont have hard data to make a final choice, Litscher said.

The state could save $42 million a year by self-insuring state workers instead of buying insurance from 17 HMOs, Segal Consulting said in a report to the board in November.

The state would pay benefits directly and assume the risk for large claims, likely hiring one or more insurance companies to administer the program.

Previous consultant reports have said self-insurance could save $20 million a year or cost $100 million a year.

Separately, the board is considering another recommendation by Segal to offer no more than two health plans in each of three regions, plus one statewide plan. That move, which would involve no more than seven HMOs, could save $45 million to $70 million a year, Segal said.

The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, which represents 12 of the 17 HMOs in the current program, said the moves would disrupt the states competitive health insurance market, reduce access for patients and increase risk and costs to the state.

Legislators and state worker unions have also expressed concerns, in part about the impact on the states health care system overall.

In December, Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill giving the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee oversight of any contract for self-insurance. Walker had opposed a broader version of the bill.

Nearly 250,000 state workers and family members are covered by the $1.4 billion health benefits program.

Nearly 100,000 of them are in Dane County, where Dean Health Plan, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Physicians Plus and Unity compete for their business.

Twenty states self-insure all state employees, and an additional 26 states self-insure some of their workers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Wisconsin self-insures less than 5 percent of state workers, through a plan outside of the 17 HMOs administered by Monona-based WPS Health Insurance.

Ken Vieira, a consultant from Segal, told the board that Wisconsin should join most states in self-insuring most of its workers.

It seems very practical that you would go that route, he said.

But board member Michael Heifetz, referring to Wisconsins unusual predominance of regional health systems and provider-owned health plans, said: Our market is vastly different than other markets.

Segals report in November said self-insurance would let the state avoid $18 million in Affordable Care Act fees, cut $11 million in administrative costs and eliminate $11 million in insurance company profits, among other savings.

The move would also give the state more control over benefits, which would help it avoid the health laws planned Cadillac tax on rich benefit programs, Segal said.

To prepare for unexpected claims, the state would need to increase its cash reserves, Segal said.

But the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans noted that in December Congress suspended the Affordable Care Act fees for 2017 and delayed the Cadillac tax from 2018 to 2020.

Is it responsible to increase the states costs and create new financial risks for projected savings that now are much smaller than previously estimated and, in the long run, may not materialize? the groups CEO, Nancy Wenzel, asked in a letter to the state in advance of Thursdays meeting.

Segal said the state could save $45 million to $70 million a year through regional consolidation of health plan contracts by maximizing gains in pricing and provider discounts.

Wenzel said the regions proposed dont match provider delivery systems and referral patterns, however, and the resulting disruption would increase costs and harm patient access.

Meanwhile, the board is also considering changes in pharmacy benefits and wellness programs, along with restructuring the cost tiers for health plans.

Last year, it doubled most out-of-pocket costs for medical services this year, though premiums are down slightly.

The 11-member board includes the governor, the attorney general and three state administrators, or their designees, plus six members appointed by the governor.
Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-01-07 Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/> TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW No. 03/16 06-07.01.2016 [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Bozkir: Very important developments await the "TRNC" and Turkey in 2016 [02] Bozkir: "2016 is an important year" [03] Talat met with Turkes in Ankara [04] Turkes will visit the breakaway regime [05] Ozersay established the People's Party in the breakaway regime [06] The water from Turkey has started flowing in the occupied Panagra Dam again; The political crisis on the water management still goes on [07] A land of 16.5 km2 belonging to Greek Cypriots in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus has come into Turkish possession since 2006 [08] The "ombudsman" has launched investigation against the so-called council of ministers' decision [09] Ankara looks to strengthen ties with EU during the Dutch presidency [10] Davutoglu: Ball in Parliament's court on new Constitution [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Bozkir: Very important developments await the "TRNC" and Turkey in 2016 According to illegal Bayrak television (online, 06.01.16), Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir paid illegal visits to " government officials" in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus on Wednesday morning. First, he met with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci. Self-styled foreign minister Emine Colak, the illegal Turkish ambassador to the occupied part of Lefkosia Derya Kanbay, Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ozdil Nami, Akinci's undersecretary Gurdal Hudaoglu, self-styled foreign ministry undersecretary Erhan Ercin, Akinci's spokesman Baris Burcu and a delegation that accompanied. Bozk?r to the occupied area of Cyprus were all present at the meeting.The press were only allowed to record some footage before the meeting that took place behind closed doors. After Bozkir concluded his visit with Akinci, he met self-styled parliamentary speaker Sibel Siber. In a statement he made during the visit, Bozkir said that as the EU Affairs Minister of the 64th government of Turkey he was very pleased and honoured to be visiting the "TRNC" (editor's note: the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus). Noting that very important developments awaited the "TRNC" and Turkey in 2016, Bozkir said that in respect to the solution process on the island a very important phase has been reached in Cyprus and added that Turkey's EU membership negotiations process has also reached a new platform. Pointing to the importance of visiting the "TRNC" prior to his visit to Europe, the Turkish Minister said that he first wanted to exchange views in the "TRNC" before going to Europe and expressed the hope that the expectations of the "TRNC" are met in the near future. He also voiced his desire for the "TRNC" to take part as a new founding partner in a bizonal, bicommunal new Cyprus State based on political equality. Siber, for her part, said that important developments in 2016 are a joint desire of the two "countries". "We want to reach a bizonal, bicommunal solution based on political equality. Despite the negative remarks made by the Greek Cypriot Parliamentary Speaker (editor's note: as he refers to the House Speaker of the Republic of Cyprus) regarding the Cyprus issue, we generally use the language of peace", Siber argued. "We expect the Greek Cypriot Parliament and other Greek Cypriot officials to show respect to our rights", said Siber and added that the Turkish Cypriot "people" want a solution where they will not feel as though they are a minority. "We want a solution where we will feel safe. That's the only time we will say yes to a solution", Siber noted. Bozkir also met with self-styled prime minister Omer Kalyoncu. During his visit with Kalyoncu, the Turkish Minister said that he wants to show the importance he gives to Cyprus before he goes to Europe and touches upon Turkey and "TRNC" EU harmonization workings. "Over 250 EU reform laws have been prepared and we are prepared to give every kind of support to the 'TRNC' during their EU harmonization efforts", said Bozkir. Kalyoncu, for his part, pointed to the infrastructure workings that are taking place regarding the European Union and added that what is important is to find a solution to the Cyprus problem first. Bozkir then paid a visit to Colak and held a meeting with her during a working lunch. On the same issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen (07.01.16) reports that during her meeting with Bozkir, Colak expressed her pleasure to meet with the EU Minister Bozkir and his delegation, adding that their meeting will consist of three main headings. Colak stated that they will discuss the role of the EU in the ongoing negotiation process, as well as the committee which is established under the umbrella of the negotiations, adding that they will engage in an exchange of views regarding what sorts of legislations are necessary from the "TRNC government and parliament" to expedite the process. Stating that she will also inform EU Minister Bozkir regarding the issues which may potentially arise during the settlement and post settlement processes, Colak thanked Minister Bozkir and his delegation for their cooperation. Colak concluded by saying that she wants to be briefed by Bozkir on his contacts in the EU. In the afternoon he further met with the self-styled public works, environment and cultural minister Kutlu Evren and self-styled communications minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu respectively. Bozkir also gave a conference titled 'Political Science and International Relations' at the illegal Girne American University (GAU), where he received the title of honorary PHD from "GAU's senate". (DPs) [02] Bozkir: "2016 is an important year" Under the front page title: "2016 is an important year", Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (07.01.16) reports that Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir, in statements to illegal Bayrak television, expressed the view that 2016 will be an important year not only for the Cyprus problem but also for Turkey's EU negotiation process. Stating that Turkey's ties with the "TRNC" are based on healthy conditions, Bozkir added that their first priority is to support the "TRNC" in all matters. "There were a lot of important developments in 2015, our expectations continue for this year as well. The Cyprus problem exists for 50 years now and for various reasons it was not possible to be solved. Even the Berlin wall has fallen; it is not right for Cyprus to be divided", Bozkir said. Supporting that the Cyprus problem has reached to a point that is possible to be solved, Bozkir added that the natural gas and the water transferred from Turkey are important factors as well. Stating that many hopes exist that the Cyprus problem will be solved this year, Bozkir recalled that if the two leaders agree on a final text, this would be set to a referendum. Bozkir also pointed to the importance of reaching to a bi-zonal, bi-communal solution based on the political equality of the two communities in the island and reiterated Turkey's full support to the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci. Evaluating Turkey's EU negotiation process and its connection with the Cyprus negotiation process, Bozkir alleged that the Cyprus problem and Turkey's EU bid are two separate matters in spite of the fact that the Greek Cypriot side exerted efforts to connect them. He further said that if the Cyprus problem is solved, then Turkey's EU negotiation process will progress as well. Bozkir also added that the solution of the Cyprus problem is amongst Turkey's priorities and said that the solution will please Turkey. (AK) [03] Talat met with Turkes in Ankara Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (06.01.16) reported that the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Mehmet Ali Talat paid a one day visit to Ankara on Tuesday in order to participate in a round table meeting on the Cyprus problem organized by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV). Talat met during his visit to Ankara with Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Responsible of Cyprus Affairs Tugrul Turkes. Speaking to Yeni Duzen after the meeting, Talat stated that they discussed with Turkes the developments on the Cyprus problem, the issue of the administration of the water transferred from Turkey and the economic reforms that are needed to take place in the breakaway regime. Reporting on Talat's visit to Ankara, Kibrisli (06.01.16) reported that Talat also met with the former Speaker of the Turkish Assembly Cemil Cicek. (CS) [04] Turkes will visit the breakaway regime Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (07.01.16) reports that Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Responsible of Cyprus Affairs Tugrul Turkes, will visit the breakaway regime next week. Turkes made this statement during a meeting he held with the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Mehmet Ali Talat in Ankara. (CS) [05] Ozersay established the People's Party in the breakaway regime Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (07.01.16) reports that Kudret Ozersay established a new political party in the occupied area of Cyprus under the name "the People's Party" (HP). The motto of the new party is "New policy with the will of the people". Speaking during a press conference Ozersay stated that the new political formation was born out of the need for a new political understanding. "The aim of the People's Party is to create a democratic, secular, open and accountable party which protected people's basic rights", he stated. Refering to the Cyprus problem, Ozersay stated that the party will support a solution "that will be accepted by the two peoples on the island". "A balanced solution that protects the rights and interests of the two peoples on the island and where there are no losers is what the People's Party supports", he added. (CS) [06] The water from Turkey has started flowing in the occupied Panagra Dam again; The political crisis on the water management still goes on Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (07.01.15) reports that Birol Cinar, "director of the water transferred project in the TRNC", in statements to the paper, said that all technical problems appeared recently with the flowing of the water from Turkey to the occupied Panagra dam were solved and as of last Monday, the water flowing continues constantly in the dam. Stating that in case no other technical problems appear, the dam will totally fill up in four months, Cinar said alleging that Turkey's State Water Affairs Department (DSI) will cover all the cost until the filling up of the dam and also all the electricity cost expenses. Meanwhile, the paper adds that although the technical problems were almost overpassed, the political crisis towards the issue of the water management continues. In statements on the water management crisis, so-called minister of agriculture, natural resources and food, Erkut Sahalli, said that their efforts towards solving this issue has not yield to a result yet. He proposed the issue to be solved thought a mechanism envisaging cooperation and partnership of the private-state sectors and clarified that it is out of question for them to accept any impositions towards the water management. (AK) [07] A land of 16.5 km2 belonging to Greek Cypriots in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus has come into Turkish possession since 2006. Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (07.01.16) reports that the "immovable property commission" established by Turkey in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus announced that land of 16.5 km2 belonging to Greek Cypriots in the occupied area of the Republic of Cyprus has come into Turkish possession since 2006. Ayfer Erkmen, "vice president" of the "commission" announced that since 2006, 6,250 persons have applied to the "immovable property commission" and only 730 cases of them have been concluded. Noting that until today 220 million British sterling were paid to the applicants as compensation by the "commission", Erkmen added that around to 50 more cases that have been concluded will also be compensated. He explained that there is a delay due to some works in the "finance ministry" and added that the payments are around to 50 million British sterling. Erkmen said that during the meetings the Greek Cypriot property owners have with the "ministry of interior" under the name of "friendly settlement", in case there is an agreement on the price issue, the "immovable property commission" starts its investigations. Erkmen explained that in case the "commission" considered it appropriate, then the process starts at the "land registry office. He added that with the signature of the documents, the Greek Cypriot property becomes automatically a Turkish property and at the same time, the person who lives inside this property becomes the owner of the property. Erkmen announced that 16.5 km2 of Greek Cypriot immovable property has passed into Turkish land property. Erkmen concluded by saying that 5,520 applications are still pending. (DPs) [08] The "ombudsman" has launched investigation against the so-called council of ministers' decision Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (07.01.16) reports that the so-called council of ministers has decided to provide to a foreign company the control-inspection services of the T&T airport company. The above foreign company will carry out inspections and controls to the T&T airport company which undertook the management of the illegal Tymbou airport with the build-operate transfer (BOT) model. The foreign company will provide services for a period of 50 months and this will cost 11 million 250 thousand US dollars, writes the paper. According to the paper, Emine Dizdarli "ombudsman" in the occupied area of Cyprus, reacted strongly over the decision of the "council of ministers" to assign a foreign company for this matter and announced that they had decided to launch an investigation since no tenders took place. Dizdarli further said that the control services could be provided by the "attorney general", the "ombudsman" or other organizations in the "TRNC". (AK) [09] Ankara looks to strengthen ties with EU during the Dutch presidency Turkish daily Sabah (online, 07.01.16) reports that Ankara is hopeful that its EU accession process will accelerate during the Netherlands' term in the European Council presidency. The Dutch envoy to Ankara says that the EU-Turkey summit held in Brussels last November restored trust and brought fresh impetus to relations. Dutch Ambassador Kees Cornelis van Rij spoke to officials in Ankara on Tuesday evening at an event organized by the Dutch Embassy to commence the start of the Netherlands' term in presidency over the European Council, which they will hold for the first half of 2016. Cornelis van Rij said that the Dutch presidency is significant for the credibility of the EU enlargement process and that the Netherlands anticipates the speeding up of Turkey's accession process. "The EU-Turkey summit held in Brussels last November restored trust and brought fresh impetus to relations between the two countries," the newly appointed Ambassador said. Turkey's EU negotiation process began in Ankara with the previous Dutch presidency in 2004, with officials now planning to open five additional policy chapters in the first half of 2016. The Netherlands' work program focuses on four key areas, including migration, international security, sound finances and a productive Europe. These areas will focus on innovation, job creation and climate and energy policies that focus on the future. "We welcome the European Commission's commitment to completion of preparatory efforts in the first quarter of 2016 to open additional chapters, including the crucial Chapter 23 and 24 on justice and fundamental rights," van Rij said. Ambassador Hansjorg Haber, head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey, emphasized in his speech that Ankara and the EU are committed to meeting deadlines and succeeding in the process with emphasis on the implementation of standards and criteria rather than deadlines. "Our plan is sincere, and so far [we are] convinced that the timeline we have agreed on can actually be met. What we need under these conditions is very close and trustful cooperation in both directions," he said. Underlining that their government is aiming to achieve reforms in various fields, including EU-related reforms, EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir said that the government has announced more than 250 reform packages and reiterated its determination to achieve these goals. "We take these steps for the European Union to make important progress in many aspects in Turkey. Making progress according to the chapters also affects the daily lives of Turkish citizens. Of course, what we will be able to achieve in terms of reform will be one of the most important elements to potentially change the negative concept of Turkey in the Western world," Bozkir added. [10] Davutoglu: Ball in Parliament's court on new Constitution According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 07.01.16), the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and two other opposition parties have reached a consensus on a number of key issues necessary to produce a new Constitution and now the Parliament is responsible for moving the process forward, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated on Dec. 6. "I think six months will be enough [to write a new Constitution] when the current acquis on the matter is also considered," Davutoglu told press members. "A new constitution was a priority among our election pledges," he said after meeting with Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman earlier in the day. Davutoglu said that the Parliament Speaker would now be inviting the opposition parties, including the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), to found commissions to conduct work for a new charter. The current number of seats of the AKP does not allow it to produce a new Constitution on its own and so the text should be a product of all parties in Parliament, he recalled. As expected, all three opposition parties expressed their objection to the adoption of a presidential system and proposed instead to correct malfunctioning and weaker parts of the existing parliamentary system. The commission is planned to be composed of members from all four parties equally, like similar previous commissions, but uncertainty continues over whether it will have to take decisions unanimously or by a simple majority vote. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio (DPs / AM) Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-07 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/> CONTENTS [01] PM Tsipras: It is our social responsibility to safeguard the sustainability of the social security system [02] Opposition parties need to participate in dialogue on pension reforms, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili [03] Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.6 pct in Sept [01] PM Tsipras: It is our social responsibility to safeguard the sustainability of the social security system It is our social responsibility to safeguard the sustainability of the social security system and we owe it to the next generations, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday said in a meeting with the representatives of the labour unions. Tsipras is meeting with labour unions representatives within the framework of the debate on social security reforms. [02] Opposition parties need to participate in dialogue on pension reforms, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili on Thursday in statements to real.gr stressed the importance of the opposition's participation in a constructive and of national importance dialogue to decide upon the social security reforms. Gerovassili underlined that the participation of the opposition parties in such a dialogue would strengthen Greece's negotiating position. She concluded that the Greek government has submitted a comprehensive framework of social security reforms to the social partners, the political parties and the EU institutions. [03] Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.6 pct in Sept Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.6 pct of the workforce in September, slightly down compared with 24.7 pct in August but 1.5 percentage points down compared with September 2014 (26.1 pct), Eurostat said on Thursday. The EU executive's statistics arm, in a monthly report, said that the Greek unemployment rate remained the highest in the EU (including youth unemployment 49.5 pct), followed by Spain (21.4 pct and 47.5 pct respectively, November figures). Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
"President Obamas action not only dismissed the elected representatives right to vote but, in essence, went against the very fundamental concerns that the President and his Democratic party often decry," Stella said in a statement. "That would be alleged voting suppression and unity; Congress should have had the opportunity to weigh in on the Presidents proposal for any new gun control laws."

In a three-way race in the 11th CD Republican primary to oust Democrat incumbent Bill Foster , Nick Stella , a cardiologist from Darien, criticized the president's actions Wednesday. Stella said the president circumvented Congress with his executive action to boost gun control, and eliminated the people's elected representation.

DARIEN  President Obama's executive action on Tuesday opened up discussion the Constitution and balance of powers among those in Illinois seeking Congressional seats in 2016.

Stella said Obama's order would call for an additional 230 FBI investigators to conduct federal background checks that were already mandated by law - all of which would need Congressional approval for the additional funding needed. Stella said he is also concerned that Obama's EO may produce some disturbing trends and possible breaches to federally mandated personal medical privacy rights as described in HIPPA laws. However, Stella says, those in need of mental health assistance should be encouraged to seek help.

"We do need serious, comprehensive mental health assistance and access available for those in need of such services," Stella said.

Most of all, Stella said, the Constitution should be the cornerstone of government activity.

"There is a dire need for a federal government that respects the voices of the American people, who elect representatives that they entrust to enact laws via serious consideration, discussion, as prescribed by the Constitution and any Supreme Court established precedents to arrive at a voted upon consensus," Stella said.

Other Republicans seeking nomination in the 11th CD include Tonia Khouri and Herman White.
The same day, Rubio released the following campaign ad in Iowa. In the first state to hold a 2016 primary contest, Rubio's clearly not ceding Iowa's all-important evangelical vote to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz or Donald Trump .

Wednesday, his campaign in Illinois submitted a full delegate slate with a impressive list of Republican conservative office holders and activists, including former and current members of the U.S. Congress, the Illinois Senate and House, as well as GOP officials throughout the state.

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio continues to show up in national and state polling as one of the top three Republican candidates vying for the White House in 2016.

Our goal is eternity, the ability to live alongside our Creator and for all time, to accept the free gift of salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ. The struggle on a daily basis as a Christian is to remind ourselves of this. The purpose of our life is to cooperate with Gods plan, to those who much has been given much is expected and we will be asked to account for that. Were your treasures stored up on earth or in Heaven and to me I try to allow that to influence me in everything that I do.

New Congress member Darin LaHood - the highest ranking Illinois Republican elected officials officially behind Rubio - announced his support for Rubio in October.

Senator Rubios uplifting plan to create good paying 21st Century jobs will ensure more people are able to achieve the American Dream. Marco is a transformational leader, with a bold vision for a New American Century. I am proud to be a part of his team, and I look forward to serving as Co-Chair of his Illinois presidential campaign, LaHood said.

Former Congress members Tom Ewing, Tom Johnson and Bobby Schilling are running on the March 15th ballot as Rubio delegates.

Former candidate for lieutenant governor Jason Plummer is on the Rubio slate for the 15th CD.

Al Salvi, a former Republican State Representative and candidate for United States Senate and Illinois Secretary of State, is on the Rubio team, a statement from the campaign says, "as a champion of conservative ideology and a frontline warrior against government overreach, as demonstrated in his battle with notorious Internal Revenue Service bureaucrat Lois Lerner, who reportedly used IRS threats in an attempt to chase him from public service."

From the Illinois Senate Republicans, Rubio state co-chairman Mike Connelly is a Rubio delegate candidate, along with Jim Oberweis, Jason Barickman, Dale Righter and Dan Duffy.

Several Illinois House Republicans are among Rubio delegate candidates, including Mike Fortner, Tom Morrison, Terri Bryant, Keith Wheeler, Sheri Jesiel, Margo McDermed, Barbara Wheeler, CD Davidsmeyer and Michael Unes.

Connelly, Duffy, Morrison, and Barb Wheeler all hold 100% ratings with the national American Conservative Union.

Local officer holders such as Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, Ogle County Board member Zachary Oltmanns, DuPage County GOP Chairman Darlene Ruscitti, DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan, Lake County Board member Nick Sauer and former Cook County Board Commissioner Herb Schumann are among Rubio's team.

Chicago 42nd Ward GOP Chairman Eloise Gerson is listed, as is Maine Township GOP Committeeman Char Foss-Eggemann.

Monee Mayor Jay Farquhar and Chicago community activist Corey Brooks are also among the Rubio delegates.
Not so! Instead, S 1177 represents an unprecedented expansion by the federal government into education, which contrasts the conservative view that education decisions should be made by state and local decision.

Proponents of the "Every Student Succeed Act" (ESSA) -- a bi-partisan, progressive, 1061-page "No Child Left Behind" reauthorization education bill passed by Republican majorities in both houses and signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015  have argued that the bill is worthy of conservative support, claiming it stops Common Core, reins in Obamas Department of Education, and consolidates a number of federal education programs.

According to Conservative Review:

The bill retains the fundamental mandate requiring states to concoct uniform standards in reading and math that would be applied statewide throughout all jurisdictions. The bill also keeps the plethora of federal testing requirements that have been the driving force behind the adoption of Common Core, and does nothing to address the duplicate and wasteful programs funded by the Department of Education. Although a few programs were cut, the bill retains many more programs and even adds a few, such as a pre-K program grant, which will increase spending levels increase over the life of S. 1177. And despite popular rhetoric from supporters, ESSA does not eliminate Common Core, much to the outrage of millions of parents.

Jane Robbins, a respected writer and author on education issue (including Common Core) for "Truth in American Education", has this to say regarding the newly added ESSA's preschool program (extending federal tentacles over toddlers) and its institution of President Obama's pet project, "21st-century community learning centers."

"The latter means that schools will be expanded to replace family and church as the center of every child's life, offering myriad "services" including mental-health programs. Few things should alarm parents more than the prospect of the government's assessing their child's mental health and proceeding to fix any problem the government claims to find. But this is what the Republican Congress has given us."

ESSA represents a further erosion of local control and the continuation of a data driven model which corporate interests will benefit from, with its data collection, competency based pay for teachers, pipeline services from birth to age 20, an expansion of data driven computer adaptive testing, and in-school mental health services which will not be protected by HIPPA privacy protection laws.

Laurie Higgins, in writing for Illinois Family Action (sister organization to Illinois Family Institute) on December of 2015, sums up the most pressing problems inherent in the l061 page No Child Left Behind reathorization bill:

No provision for states to opt out of programs that fall under the ESSA through FY2020.

No portability for Title I public school funds, therefore, limiting parental choice of schools.

Authorizes $250 million for a new federal preschool program to be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.

Education spending levels rise in accordance with the Obama-Boehner budget deal that lifts spending caps and waives debt limit.

The Heritage Foundation offers these additional shortcomings of S 1177:

It doesn't stop Common Core.

It doesn't rein in Obama's Department of Education.

It consolidates a number of federal education programs.

It is rumored that S. 1177 bill rushed through the U.S. House with too little time for voters to read and digest it in order to protect Jeb Bushs floundering campaign. It hasn't helped so far. Bush did admit to helping re-write the bill.

According Emmett McGroarty in his December 21, 2015 article titled, "Obama Administration Reveals GOP Leaders Betrayal on Common Core in Ed Bill", Senator Lemar Alexander, Rep. John Kline, and House Speaker Paul Ryan carried out a cynical scheme to betray their constituents and give the Administration everything it wanted after Anti-Common Core activists tried for months to warn Congress that the new federal education bill (the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA) was a disaster that would cement, not overturn, the odious progressive-education philosophies of the Obama Administration, Except for 64 House members (click here to see how your member voted) and 12 senators (click here to see how your senators voted) who were brave enough to buck Republican leadership, their warnings were dismissed.

The Republican betrayal was revealed by Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan -- assuming Duncan is telling the truth and as a lame duck on his way out the door, why shouldnt he? In relating a conversation he had with Speaker Paul Ryan a month before the final Senate passage of the bill, Duncan asked whether Ryan was willing to take on the far right. Ryan replied, Absolutely. We're going to back this."

So Alexander, Kline, and Ryan asked the Administration to keep quiet, not to specifically praise bill and let it get through, while they slipped policies into the bill that they would then market to their far right as something that overturned what has been the core of progressive education goals from Day One. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Congressman John Kline (R-MN) then fed this bill to their colleagues with talking points that it returns local control, provides more flexibility for states, and ends Common Core. Heard over and over again was how this bill will end the national school board.

Is it not surprising that Arnie Duncan took a victory lap after the bill was passed. And why not? Just as the grassroots warned, the core of the [leftist] agenda is embodied in the unread 1,061 pages of ESSA. Every member of Congress who claims to be conservative and who voted for this, deciding to trust the establishment rather than the knowledgeable constituents who know this issue intimately, should hang his or head in shame.

Had members of Congress actually read the bill, they would have seen the bill for the leftist educational agenda that it represented.

Now that the damage has largely already been done, it is up to states to peel themselves away from Common Core and other unauthorized federal incursions on their programs. In that the federal footprint has not been reduced in any meaningful way insures that ESSA will maintain its current accelerated spending pace.

Unfortunately, the S 1177 conference report represents a missed opportunity for Republicans to provide a contrast with the left on this important issue, and to enact legislation to significantly improve our nations K-12 education system.

Thorner: Common Core alive and well, thanks to Republican support
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(BURNS, Ore.) -- Federal officials and local law enforcement have been in a standoff with protesters for days at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.



But authorities dont see a compelling need to take immediate action against the protesters, according to law enforcement sources.



The FBI is looking to determine the safety of people inside and whether the group poses a threat to anyone nearby before deciding on a course of action, according to Brad Garret, ABC News consultant and former FBI special agent.



Anything that would potentially harm others is going to drive a decision by law enforcement to do something, he said.



Since the land is remote, there were no hostages and the armed men do not appear to have explosive devices, the FBI is likely to try to negotiate and gather intelligence on the situation before making any major moves, said Garrett.



The FBI, which is working in conjunction with the Harney County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police, took over as the lead investigative agency for the situation at refuge earlier this week.



Harney County Sheriff David Ward told The Oregonian that steps are being taken to resolve the standoff, but that law enforcement do not want to get into an armed conflict with the protesters.



We're not amassing some army because we're looking for a fight," he said to the newspaper.



The sheriff has called on the occupying protesters to leave peacefully.



Law enforcement has not had a visible presence at the refuge, a haven for birdwatchers, since Saturday when militia members including sons of Cliven Bundy -- who was involved in a standoff with the government over grazing rights in Nevada in 2014 -- set up a roadblock, took over buildings and began occupying the federal land.



The protest initially began as a rally in support of local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr., and his son, Steven Hammond who were convicted setting fires on lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.



But it became an occupation of federal lands, continuing even after the Hammonds turned themselves over to authorities.



The 187,757-acre refuge is open to the public year round and is staffed by federal employees, but no one was working there at the time of the takeover. The facility is will remain closed as authorities monitor the situation for additional developments according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.



"You don't want to end up in a situation where you've actually emboldened their behavior," Garret said.



Although the Oregon protesters have refused to leave, they have repeatedly said they are not looking for a violent outcome.



Nobody here will fire that first shot. We will protect ourselves, but thats not what we want and I dont think thats what they want, said militia member John Ritzheimer to ABCs Neal Karlinsky at the refuge.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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The Karnataka Bank Limited has released an employment notification, inviting interested and eligible candidates to apply for the positions of Officers (Scale-I).

By India Today Web Desk: The Karnataka Bank Limited has released an employment notification, inviting interested and eligible candidates to apply for the positions of Officers (Scale-I) to be positioned at its branches/offices located across India. Selected candidates will be on probation for a period of one year, and will be confirmed on satisfactory completion of the probationary period, subject to rules and regulations of the bank.

Vacancy details

Name of the posts:

Officers (Scale-I)

Eligibility criteria

Educational qualification:

The candidates interested in applying for this post should be post graduates in any discipline (excluding PG Diplomas) or graduates in Agricultural Sciences or Law.

Those who are awaiting results shall not be eligible to apply.

Age limit:

The age of the candidates applying for this post must not exceed 28 years and must be a minimum of 21 years. Relaxation in age will be provided as per the government norms.

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Selection procedure

A written test and an interview will be conducted for shortlisting and selecting the candidates. The test will be held at Bengaluru, Belagavi, Dharwad, Hubballi, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Udupi centres. The selected candidates should execute a bond to work for a minimum period of three years, failing which, they are required to pay the liquidated damages as may be prescribed in the appointment offer.

Pay scale

The selected candidates will be getting a consolidated monthly salary of Rs 37,400.

How to apply

The candidates interested in these posts are required to apply at the official website www.karnatakabank.com.

Important dates

The last date for submission of online application is January 18

The last date for submission of online fee is January 18

The online exam will be conducted in February

For more latest government jobs, click here http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/category/government-jobs/1/734.html


One year has passed since the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack: Some facts you must remember.

By India Today Web Desk: One year has passed since the terrifying Charlie Hebdo attack. The world stood witness to the horror that gripped Paris for hours. On January 7, 2015, around 11:30 am in local time, two terrorist brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi gunned down 12 people, including a police officer, and injured 11 others in the office of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

The world has witnessed many more such terrorist attacks last year. Paris itself has been under militant attack again. World leaders have declared war against terrorism and against the terrorist organisation that took responsibility for the attack, Al-Qaeda.

On its first anniversary, we bring to you some facts about Charlie Hebdo and the attack:



1. Charlie Hebdo is actually a magazine that publishes anti-religious, secularist cartoons, articles and jokes. It was first founded as a supplementary journal of the monthly Hara-Kiri magazine in 1970.

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Publisher Georges Bernier and editor Francois Cavanna published its first edition. Cavanna built a team of artists including Roland Topor, Fred, Jean-Marc Reiser, Georges Wolinski, Gebe, and Cabu.

2. In 1981, publication of the magazine ceased. It was resurrected in 1991 by Gebe, Cabu along with musician Phillipe Val as a reaction to the First Gulf War.

3. The title Charlie Hebdo means Charlie Weekly. The name Charlie was taken from the character Charlie Brown from Peanuts, one of the comics it originally published. Hebdo is short for 'hebdomadaire', French for 'weekly'.

4. Cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, who was murdered in the attack on the magazine, had been the editor-in-chief since 2009. Stephane was added to the hit list of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which was published in its English magazine Inspire, in 2013.

5. The two gunmen, the Kouachi brothers had mistaken the address of the Charlie Hebdo headquarters. They first burst into 6 Rue Nicolas-Appert, which is the archive of Charlie Hebdo. After realising their mistake, they went to 10 Rue Nicolas-Appert, the right address.

6. They threatened cartoonist Corinne Rey at gunpoint to enter the building using her passcode to unlock the door. Rey later reported that the men spoke perfect French.

7. Upon entering the premises, the gunmen sprayed the lobby with bullets killing maintenance worker Frederic Boisseau. The terrorists forced Rey to lead them to the second floor where 15 employees were having their first news conference of the year.

8. The gunmen fired at will and shot into the heads of the journalists after calling out Charbonnier's name. Rey and reporter Laurent Leger survived by hiding under the desk. The gunmen also killed psychoanalyst Elsa Cayat and let crime reporter Sigolene Vinson go saying, "I am not killing you because you are a woman", and asking her to read the Quran.

9. The gunmen escaped in a hijacked car after firing at police officer Ahmed Merabet who tried to stop them.

10. The magazine was targeted because it published a controversial depiction of Prophet Muhammad, which is forbidden according to some interpretations of Islam.

READ: Countries most vulnerable to terrorist activities

Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section.
The Union Home Ministry's disaster management experts have warned that North India might be at a risk of high intensity earthquakes, ranging 8.2 magnitude on the Richter Scale.

By India Today Web Desk: The Union Home Ministry's disaster management experts have warned that North India might be at a risk of high intensity earthquakes, ranging 8.2 magnitude on the Richter Scale. According to the reports, the earthquakes will be of higher intensity than the one that struck Manipur. The Ministry of Home Affairs' National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) further warned that the ring of fire is surrounding North India, especially the mountainous region.

NIDM director, Santosh Kumar said that the interconnected plates across India, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar impose a greater threat of high intensity earthquakes. The impact of the possible earthquake will stretch to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi, which fall under the seismic Zone IV classification.



What are seismic waves?

Recordings of seismic waves documented from earthquakes resulted in the discovery of the earth's core and the layers of the earth. Seismic waves alter their speed and intensity at the boundaries between layers below the earth's surface.

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Three types of seismic waves are generated as a result of earthquakes.

They are P (primary) waves,

S (secondary) waves and

Surface waves, which arrive simultaneously at seismic recording stations.



Both P and S waves travel through the interior of the Earth while surface waves do not. Due to this, P and S waves are also known as "body waves". Surface waves are trivial to seismic topographers because they do not penetrate deep inside the Earth providing little information about unapproachable terrain.

Here are some interesting facts about seismic waves:

1. They are waves of energy that travel through the Earth both on the surface and through it.

2. As a result of an earthquake, explosion, or a volcano, low-frequency acoustic energy is recorded.

3. Seismic waves are calculated by geophysicists who are known as seismologists.

4. Seismic waves are recorded by a seismometer, hydrophone for water and accelerometer.

5. Types of seismic waves are mainly body waves, surface waves, S waves and P waves.

6. Scientists have employed indirect calculation and seismic waves from earthquakes to determine the internal configuration of the earth.

7. Scientists have seismographs set up all over the world to monitor movement of the Earth's crust.

8. Surface waves travel along the surface of the earth and are not important for seismic activities.

9. The S and P type of waves are the most destructive types during an earthquake.

10. Seismic waves are not always detectable by seismometers.
FTII students who are protesting against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan have been manhandled by the police and around 40 students have been detained and taken to the Deccan Gymkhana Police station.

By India Today Web Desk: Ganjendra Chauhan is all set to take charge as the chairman of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India; however, students who are protesting against his appointment have been manhandled by the police. Around 40 students have been detained and taken to the Deccan Gymkhana Police station.

While students claim that they were protesting peacefully, the police said that they were not following the law. Earlier, on January 6 the police had served notices to 17 FTII students warning them of action if they create law and order situation when Gajendra Chauhan takes charge as the chairman of the institute on January 7.





The Deccan police issued notices to 17 students who held FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive during their strike. In their notice, police said action will be taken against students if they create trouble on the campus, creating law and order problem. The FTII students have been protesting against the appointment of Chauhan since he was appointed as the chairman of the institute on June 9, 2015. The students who had also gone on hunger strike, however, called off their strike in October after 139 days.

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READ: FTII Pune students' protest: Director Prashant Pathrabe released from student captivity after few hours

For more updates on education news, click here.


By India Today Web Desk: An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale hit South Korea and parts of China and Japan. In the time when natural earthquakes are frequent in the world, this news would not seem unique. But that's not the end of it. This particular earthquake was not natural.

What happened?

North Korea, South Korea's domineering neighbour, is being blamed for the phenomenon. On the same day, North Korea had detonated a highly dangerous Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb) at Punggye-ri, North Korea's primary nuclear testing site.

South Korean sources have reported that the centre of detonation and the epicentre of the earthquake is close to each other and that is reason enough to accuse North Korea of causing damage to its neighbouring countries.

Why is North Korea being blamed?

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The epicentre of the earthquake is located in the central part of North Hamgyong province in North Korea, near the border of Ryanggang. The Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located nearby. According to seismic readings, the depth of the earthquake was 10 kilometres, which is not common in natural earthquakes.

Image source: Amazonews

The incident has been frowned upon by all world leaders including Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said, "This act is a serious threat to our country's security and will significantly damage peace and security in north-east Asia and the international community."

Testing an H-Bomb so powerful at a site, which is very close to any international border, is considered as a violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

WATCH: Hydrogen Bomb Explosion

Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has invited application for recruitment on various posts.

By India Today Web Desk: The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has invited applications for recruitment at various posts. Interested and eligible candidates can apply for the posts before January 25.



Vacancy details:



Total number of posts: 53



Name of the posts:



Assistant Project Manager: 2

Assistant Grade 2: 1

Assistant Grade 3: 2

Data Entry Operator: 9

Information Manager: 1

Lekhapal: 33

Chowkidar: 2

Cook: 1



Eligibility criteria

Educational qualification:



The candidates applying for the posts should have passed graduation/diploma/class 12 or its equivalent from any recognised board/university.



Age limit:



The candidates should not be more than 35 years of age. Age relaxation is applicable as per rules of Government of India.



Pay scale:



The candidates will be paid salary of Rs 10,612 to Rs 20,342.



Selection process:



The candidates will be selected on the basis of merit.



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Application process:



The candidates can apply for the posts through the official website, the link for which is www.surguja.gov.in.



Important date:



The last date for sending application is January 25.



READ: Karnataka Bank Limited releases job notification: Hiring begins for Officers(Scale-I)posts

For more updates on government jobs and vacancies, click here .


By India Today Web Desk: Earth is believed to be over 4 billion years old.



A team of Australian geologists from Curtin University had been trying to find a 1.7 kg meteorite that plunged to Earth last November, and by New Year's Eve, figured its location, a remote spot on Lake Eyre in Australian Outback.

But what they didn't expect was that the meteorite dug out by geologist Phil Bland with his hands would turn out to be 4.5 billion-year-old. Geologists say the meteorite appears to have travelled from farther away than Mars.

Professor and team leader Bland said in the university's press release, "It was an amazing effort. We got there by the skin of our teeth."

The meteorite was discovered with the help of a new series of 32 camera observatories across the Outback, called the Desert Fireball Network, reports the Time.



As per ABC News in Australia, the meteorite is older than Earth itself and is thought to be from the early formation of the solar system.

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The Bengaluru police have arrested 4 people in connection with the murder of a saree trader in the city.

By Aravind Gowda: The Bengaluru police have arrested 4 people in connection with the murder of a saree trader in the city.

Abdul Suban (28), Arif (24), Syed Wasim (27) and Imroz (24) were accused of murdering Yakub from Padarayanapura in the city. According to sources, Yakub, a saree trader, had taken loans of several lakhs from Abdul Suban.

However, he failed to repay the loans on time despite several warnings from Abdul.

On 31st December night, a gang of four kidnapped Yakub and assaulted him.

A day later, Yakub succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital. On the basis of a complaint filed by Yakub's family, the police probed the case arrested the four accused.
Travel to New Zealand to see these five amazing filming locations of the Lord of the Rings movie series.

The Matamata town of Waikato, which was the filming location for the town on Hobbiton. Picture courtesy: Flickr/trevorklatko/Creative Commons

By Samonway Duttagupta: Filming locations of popular movie and television series have for long been major tourist attractions. In fact, they have been known to boost the tourism of a place to a great extent. The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) has been no less in this regard. The entire franchise, including the three movies made in the past, and with The Hobbit trilogy, has given a major push to New Zealand's tourism for the last decade or so. The filming locations used for these films have been known to inspire travellers to visit these parts. New Zealand's tourism board also organises special tours to these place. We pick those five amazing locations from the entire movie franchise that you must visit at least once.

Matamata (Hobbiton)

The Hobbit holes have been kept intact at Matamata, which was the location for Hobbiton. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Cat Burton/Creative Commons

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This little town, located in Waikato, has acres of lush dairy farming landscape, which has been used to portray the village of Hobbiton -- a place where LOTR characters Frodo, Bilbo Baggins, Merry, and Pippin belong to. The place still has the Hobbit holes that were built for filming. Matamata has been one of the most popular LOTR destinations, attracting tourists from all parts.

Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook (Laketown)

Lake Pukaki was used as the location for Laketown in The Hobbit trilogy. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Greenstone Girl/Creative Commons

The stunning Lake Pukaki was chosen as the location for Laketown in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second installment of the The Hobbit trilogy. The glacial lakes spread across the area feed this lake with blue water. Mount Cook at the backdrop makes this place one of the most picturesque locations in New Zealand. The place is also a favourite fishing, walking and cycling spot.

Kaitoke Regional Park, Wellington (Rivendell)

The Kaitoke Regional Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Chris/Creative Commons The Kaitoke Regional Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Chris/Creative Commons

The Kaitoke Regional Park in Wellington became the shooting location for Rivendell, the place where a major movie sequence shows Frodo survive a knife attack. The grassy area, with its surrounding forests, make this place a favourite among nature loving travellers.

Pelorus River, Marlborough (Dwarves floating sequence)

The Pelorus River, where the dwarves were seen floating on giant barrels. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Jeff Hitchcock/Creative Commons

This beautiful river was chosen by director Peter Jackson for a sequence in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, where the dwarves are shown floating in giant barrels down the river in order to escape an Elven town. Travellers can choose to go on riverside walks or take guided kayak tours in this place.

Fernside Gardens (Lothlorien)

A screenshot of Lothlorien from the LOTR movie series. Picture courtesy: Wikimedia/Galadree-el/Creative Commons

The Fernside Gardens was shown as the stunning Eleven town of Lothlorien where Queen Galadriel was shown giving advice to Frodo before he goes on his final journey to Mordor for destroying the ring. The place is known for being one of the oldest and grandest gardens in New Zealand, and has a beautiful rustic charm to it. This place was also used as the location for Smeagol's battle with Deagol over ownership of the ring.
The police chief in Cologne has said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African" origin.

By Reuters: Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed the German authorities on Thursday to get to the bottom of what happened in attacks on women at New Year celebrations in the city of Cologne that have shocked the country.

About 90 women reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at New Year celebrations outside the city's cathedral by young, mostly drunk, men, police said on Tuesday, in events they described as "a new dimension in crime".

The police chief in Cologne has said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African" origin.

"What happened at New Year is completely unacceptable," Merkel told a news conference in Berlin after meeting Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.

"The feeling women had in this case of being completely defenceless and at mercy is for me personally intolerable and so it is important that everything that happened must come out into the open," she added.

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She said she would consider steps, including changing the law and increasing police numbers.

"We must also keep talking about the basis of our cultural coexistence in Germany and what people rightly expect is that actions follow words," she said.

She added that continually reviewing policy on deportations was needed "to send a clear signal to people who do not want to stick to our legal framework."

Also Read: Germany identifies 3 suspects in New Year attacks on women

Also Read: New Year sex assaults in Cologne shock Germany, Arab migrant suspects




Recently the official Twitter account of Baahubali franchise tweeted out the making video of the sequence. The VFX for Baahubali was handled by Tau Films. The video is as interesting and grasping as the end product.

By India Today Web Desk: It is safe to say the quality of Computer Generated Imagery sequences in SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali are the best till date for Indian film standards. Be it the out-of-the-world waterfalls or the spectacular war sequences, everything in the film kept the audience mesmerised. One such breathtaking scene is where Bhallaladeva tames the mammoth-sized bull.

Recently the official Twitter account of Baahubali franchise tweeted out the making of the sequence. The VFX for Baahubali was handled by Tau Films. The video is as interesting and grasping as the end product.

Part of the credit goes to Rana Daggubati. The actor at some instances had fought with an imaginary bull, but with his facial expressions and body language Daggubati has made it look real.

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Watch the video here:

Ever wondered how Bhallaladeva fought the Bull? Check out this video, courtesy of the talented Tau Films team! https://t.co/Aa9nGsNzgt Baahubali (@BaahubaliMovie) January 6, 2016

Baahubali: The Beginning, starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty and Sathyaraj, is an epic war drama about two brothers fighting over a kingdom. The first part ended in a cliffhanger, creating a huge anticipation for the sequel, Baahubali: The Conclusion. The sequel has already gone floors and might hit the screens in 2017.
A 35-year-old woman in Mumbai has accused a police constable of insulting her and calling her a prostitute.

By India Today Web Desk: A 35-year-old woman in Mumbai has accused a police constable of insulting her and calling her a prostitute.

In her complaint, the woman, who is a resident of Aarey Colony in Goregaon East, said that while returning from the airport, the cab she was travelling in was stopped by the constable at a check point.

The constable questioned the cab driver and also asked the lady for her identity card. Thereafter, the constable began abusing her.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ramkumar has ordered a probe into the incident.

"The lady has been asked to record her statement whenever possible," he said.

Joint Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti said, "We have identified the constable. We have taken cognisance of the matter. Strict action will be taken if he is found guilty. We should be able to come to a conclusion by tomorrow."

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Dawood's Delhi Zaika may be re-auctioned after journalist turned activist S.Balakrishnan failed to raise Rs 4 crore needed to formally acquire the property which he had won in an auction last year.

By India Today Web Desk: A roadside cafe once owned by fugitive mob boss Dawood Ibrahim may be re auctioned after journalist turned activist S Balakrishnan failed to raise almost Rs 4 crore needed to formally acquire the property which he had won in an auction last year.



Balakrishnan, who runs an NGO Desh Seva Samiti, failed to submit the bank draft of the requisite amount on the last day today. Another round of auction may have to be called as Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Trust, the second highest bidder of the property, is not in favour of chipping in.

"I asked the Dawoodi Bohra Trust to pay the amount that they had bid and use the property for the betterment of the area. But due to fear (of the don) or other reasons they also refused," he claimed.

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Balakrishnan had emerged the highest bider at Rs 4.28 crore for Delhi Zaika, located near Dawoods house in Pakmodia Street, which went under the hammer along with other properties of the gangster in December. Balakrishnan had deposited Rs 30 lakh at the time of the auction.

He had planned to start a computer education centre for poor children in the now-defunct eatery.

"I feel very sad to say that I failed to raise the amount. The fear of Dawood Ibrahim was the foremost reason why people didn't come forward to support me," he told reporters.

Balakrishnan said he had approached as many as 70 businessmen for raising money, but they turned him down.

"You see Rs 4 crore was not a big amount in the city where a flat is sold for over Rs 15-20 crore. So, I personally appealed and wrote to 70 businessmen across the country, but none of them came forward to help.

"They told me that they are ready to donate for any other project or social-welfare cause, but they don't want themselves to be dragged into any matter pertaining to Dawood Ibrahim," he claimed.

Balakrishnan, who is now set to lose Rs 30 lakh in deposit, requested the government not to go for a second auction and to use the property to build a police station.

The auction was held by the government through a private firm under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Properties) Act, 1976.
The next instalment of the Fast and Furious series will be shot in Cuba.

By India Today Web Desk: Reports have suggested that Universal Pictures has selected a shooting location for the 8th sequel of the Fast & Furious franchise. And this time Dominic "Dom" Toretto and the rest of his team have chosen Cuban islands for yet another adrenaline-charged car chase.

ALSO READ: People's Choice Awards 2016 - Fast and Furious award is a tribute to Paul Walker, says Vin Diesel

ALSO READ: Vin Diesel confirms Fast and Furious 8, to release in April 2017

ALSO READ: Eva Mendes being courted for role in Fast and Furious 8



According to The Hollywood Reporter, the director of Fast & Furious 8, F Gary Gray, recently made a trip to Cuba to scout for locations for his upcoming project. A source revealed that Universal Pictures has moved forward with the paperwork to take permission to shoot the action film in Cuba.

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"Universal Pictures is currently in the process of seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to explore shooting a portion of the next instalment of the Fast & Furious series in Cuba," said a statement from the studio.

US and Cuba imposed an embargo on each other in 1960 and since then, there has been no economic or commercial trade between the two countries. It was only in 2015 when US President Barack Obama tried to re-establish ties with Cuba and ease restrictions on American travel to the island that a new possibility for Hollywood to shoot movies has opened up.

It is said that shooting for Fast & Furious in Cuba could be a difficult task for the crew as the Havana film industry is not that well-equipped. A big and ambitious production such as Fast & Furious 8 needs a huge team to pull off production, which is going be the biggest challenge.

Nevertheless, it will be worth waiting for the film to release as the series suffered a serious jolt after the unfortunate death of its lead actor Paul Walker.

The main production of Fast & Furious 8 will be based in Atlanta, Georgia, like the previous instalments. But the production house is looking towards other exotic locations such as Russia and Iceland to shoot the film.

Fast & Furious 8 is slated for release on April 14, 2017.
For chef Sabyasachi Gorai, the best holiday is the one that has sea in it.

By Lipla Negi: What is your idea of a perfect holiday?

A lazy holiday in a leisurely destination where I can just sit back and relax.

What do you enjoy most on holidays?

I enjoy lazing around, long drives, and exploring the local cuisine.

One holiday destination you keep going back to.

Australia for the Great Ocean Road.

What is your happiest holiday memory?

The fishing trip to Ramganga Pancheshwar with my uncle. We were driving in the hills, angling and building campsite with a bonfire.

Which is your favourite culinary destination?

Singapore!

A city or place that completely surprised your taste buds?

Bangkok and Tokyo have always surprised me in terms of the wide range of flavours and food.

A destination that's on your bucket list.

Mexico. The old-world charm, food, culture and music of Latin American countries have always intrigued me.

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What is your favourite travel destination in India?

Kolkata. There is a lot of nostalgia attached with it. I love the food.

Which destination would you call a foodie's paradise?

Thailand. You get world's best ingredients there and most amazing dishes at the cheapest prices.

Where would you like to have your holiday home?

Australia, as I love fishing!

What's your best travel advice?

Travel light, pack sensibly and carry bags with four-wheels. If you are going to the hills carry backpacks. And always carry most comfortable shoes and a basic medicine kit.
More than 20 Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students were today detained by the Pune police after they staged a protest against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India.

Gajendra Chauhan presided over his first meeting with other members of the governing body.

By India Today Web Desk: Amidst massive protests and detentions, actor Gajendra Chauhan took charge as the Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) today. Chauhan presided over his first meeting with other members of the governing body.

To ensure the meeting went smooth, police forces were deployed in the campus. The cops prohibited any student movement close to the television wing, where the meeting took place, in the college premises.

More than 20 FTII students were detained after they staged a protest outside the campus, against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, before the meeting.

To protest against the contentious appointment of Chauhan and five others, several students gathered outside the college premises to prevent the entry of the newly elected committee. Despite being warned of consequences before hand, students were seen protesting and shouting slogans against the chairman.

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Following the commotion, police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the agitating crowd. Several protesters were also pushed inside vans and taken to the police station.

The students alleged that they were not allowed to enter the institute's premises and were heckled by the police instead.

Vikas Urr, a senior student, told India Today, "It is a shameful incident. Despite knowing that students were protesting peacefully, police forcefully cordoned off the area and pushed the students inside the vans. I was handcuffed by the deputy commissioner of police. We were treated like criminals."

"This is our home. We stay here. We cannot accept Chauhan as FTII chairman. Ill-treating us will only intensify our protests. We will continue to protest," he added.

Students Vikas Urs and Rakesh Shukla also questioned the officer incharge, DCP Tushar Doshi, on what basis were they denied movement in the area close to where the meeting took place.

However, police officials said that they were only adopting precautionary measures to maintain law and order in the institute.



Watch full video here:
The attack took place at a hotel on a road leading to the pyramids.

By Reuters: Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on tourists as they boarded a bus in Cairo on Thursday but there were no casualties, security sources said.

The attack took place at a hotel on a road leading to the pyramids. One gunmen was arrested at the scene and security forces surrounded the other attacker in another part of Cairo, said the sources.

The tourists included two Israelis, the sources said.

Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy, which has been struggling to recover from political turmoil triggered by the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared an all-out war on Islamist militants, who hope to destabilize Egypt through suicide bombings and shooting attacks.

Islamic State's Egypt affiliate has said it planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai on Oct. 31, killing all 224 people on board.

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Also Read:Bomb by Islamic State likely caused Russian plane crash, say security sources

Also Read: Pakistan part of Saudi Arabia's 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism
The picture captured by the Hubble telescope shows galaxy NGC 6052, which is a whopping 230 million light years away in the constellation Hercules.

By India Today Web Desk: Hubble which is a joint initiative of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) released a picture on December 28, 2015.

In the description for the picture ESA officials wrote, "It would be reasonable to think of this as a single abnormal galaxy, and it was originally classified as such. However, it is in fact a "new" galaxy in the process of forming. Two separate galaxies have been gradually drawn together, attracted by gravity, and have collided. We now see them merging into a single structure."

They explain, as the process of merging continues the individual stars are thrown out of their original orbits and placed onto entirely new paths, some very distant from the region of the collision itself.

Since the stars produce the light we see, the "galaxy" now appears to have a highly chaotic shape. Eventually, this new galaxy will settle down into a stable shape, which may not resemble either of the two original galaxies.

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The universe is absolutely fascinating, ain't it?
Issuing a statement, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan on Thursday said he never took money for the campaign as it was a service to the nation and he would do that in the future.

Two months ago, Aamir had made controversial comments on perceived intolerance in the country for which he was criticised by many senior Union ministers.

By India Today Web Desk: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan today welcomed the government's decision in which he ceased to be the face of the Incredible India campaign after his contract expired.

Issuing a statement, he said he never took money for the campaign as it was a service to the nation and if given a chance will do it again in the future.

Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma stated on Wednesday that Aamir ceases to be the face of the campaign because his contract has expired.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will replace Aamir Khan as brand ambassador of the campaign run by the tourism ministry of the country.

Two months ago, Aamir had made controversial comments on the perceived intolerance in the country for which he was criticised by many senior Union ministers.

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The contract worth Rs 2.69 crore which the Tourism Ministry had with McCann Erickson, that engaged Aamir Khan, is over now.

Atithi Devo Bhava campaign, part of the Incredible India campaign was launched during the UPA regime.



Here are the Highlights Aamir Khan's press conference:



It has been an honour and a pleasure for me to be the Brand Ambassador for the Incredible India campaign for the past 10 years: Aamir

I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it: Aamir

I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me: Aamir

It is always an honour for me to be of service of my country, and this is how it will always be: Aamir

It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be: Aamir

I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services: Aamir

I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country: Aamir

Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that's the way it should be: Aamir

ALSO READ:

Aamir Khan wasn't fired, but is off Incredible India campaign


"As far as PDP is concerned, we are unanimous that Mehbooba shall succeed Mufti Sahib," senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig told reporters.

By India Today Web Desk: Mehbooba Mufti, the daughter of the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, will take over the reins as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba, 56, will be the first woman chief minister of the state.

"As far as PDP is concerned, we are unanimous that Mehbooba shall succeed Mufti Sahib," senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig told reporters.

However, Mehbooba's ascent to the post of the Chief Minister would require approval of BJP, the junior coalition partner in the state government.

According to sources the BJP is on board for Mehbooba to take over and there is consensus in the coalition. Decks are all clear for her to be the first ever woman chief minister for Jammu and Kashmir.

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Although no one from the BJP has so far opposed Mehbooba's elevation, a final decision on the issue will be taken by the party high command. In the 87-member J and K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

Mehbooba, who has assumed an image of a fiery leader, started her political career in 1996 by joining Congress along with her father. The 56-year-old mother of two daughters is also president of the PDP. She won her first Assembly election as Congress candidate from her home segment of Bijbehara.

Mehbooba played a key role in her father's victory as Congress candidate in Lok Sabha elections of 1998 when Sayeed defeated NC's Mohammad Yousuf Taing from south Kashmir.

The Muftis, along with some key associates, floated their own regional party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999.

In 2002 Assembly elections, PDP bagged 16 seats and Sayeed for the first time became Chief Minister with the support of Congress and some independent MLAs. In 2004, Mehbooba contested and won her first Lok Sabha election, from south Kashmir.

In 2008, she contested and was returned as MLA from Wachi segment of Shopian in south Kashmir when PDP bagged 21 seats but lost power to NC-Congress coalition.

In 2014, she was yet again returned as Lok Sabha member from south Kashmir. Later in November-December Assembly elections, PDP got 28 seats and in March 2015 it formed its second government in Jammu and Kashmir---this time in an alliance with BJP.

Mehbooba has never lost an election from South Kashmir so far.


Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who was admitted in AIIMS passed away early this morning.

By India Today Web Desk: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is no more. Founder of the People's Democratic Party was elected as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on November 2, 2002 and the first phase of his tenure which lasted till November 2, 2005, was nothing short of remarkable.

Known to be a game changer of J&K politics during his tenure, 79-year-old politician was sworn in as the CM for the second time on March 1, last year.

Born on January 12, 1936 in Anantnag district's Bijbehara, he completed graduation in law from Srinagar and pursued a post-graduate course in Arab's history from Aligarh Muslim University.





Stages of his political career:

He kick-started his political career during late 50's holding his first formal post as a member of the Democratic National Conference.

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He remained with the DNC under the leadership of Ghulam Mahammed Sadiq for a long time, but had a fall out. He then joined the Indian National Congress. Sayeed was instrumental in making INC a major political force in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1972, he was appointed as a cabinet minister under the leadership of Mir Qasim. During the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah-led government, Mufti was appointed as the Union Tourism Minister.



India's first Muslim Home Minister

Sayeed joined the VP Singh-led government after quitting Congress in 1987, after row over the Rajiv-Farooq accord. However, within a few days of taking office, the country was thrown into turmoil when one of his three daughter's Rubaiya was abducted by militants on December 2, 1989.

The VP Singh government negotiated with the militants for the release of his daughter. This incident had a far-reaching impact in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir and Sayeed's career.

His tenure as the home minister was not a smooth ride, it was during this period the state saw the rise of militancy and human rights violation at an unprecedented level and this led to the infamous exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990.

Mufti made a comeback to the Congress party during PV Narasimha Rao's tenure, but later moved on to form his own party called the People's Democratic Party, along with his daughter Mehbooba Mufti in 1999.

In the 2002 assembly elections in J&K, Sayeed made a grand entrance as the chief minister. His party squarely defeated the National Congress and made an alliance with the Congress party.

His office as the Chief Minister during the first phase was stellar. He was known for his dexterity in handling political strategies and changing the political equation both at regional and national level.

Sayeed cracked down the increasing civil rights violation with an iron hand. He brought about the much needed development in the capital, Srinagar



The suave political strategist brought a thaw in bilateral relations

His efforts led to the direct engagement of estranged neighbors, India and Pakistan . The first initiative of peace efforts was when he invited Prime Minister AB Vajpayee to address a rally in Srinagar.

Under his leadership, the fist bus crossed Aman Sethu, the peace bridge, in March, 2005. This paved the way for increased ties between Pakistan and Kashmir wherein Kashmiri's could cross the border without visa and passport. He strongly felt exchange of good and people through the border was the best way to improve political ties.

Sayeed soon grew to be a 'people's man' and became a popular crusader for salvaging those the hurt and brought hope to those in despair.

In the 2014 elections, Sayeed's PDP won three out of the six parliamentary seats of the state. The PDP formed a government by allying with the second best party, the Bharatiya Janata Party.



The late CM recently hinted his daughter Mehbooba who will take over the office. "I only sit in the office but she works in the field. I did not get time to meet people. She has better access to people and the party workers than me, and she understands their problems.

"She deserves it (to be chief minister)," Mufti had said. If this wish of Sayeed comes true, Mehbooba will be the first woman chief minister of the state.
Farooq Abdullah wasn't happy with the exchange of militants for Rubaiya Sayeed, but why?

By Sanjana Agnihotri: Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Home minister of India Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped by the members of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in 1989.

Rubaiya was then a 23-year-old who was working as a medical intern at Lal Ded Memorial Women's Hospital when she was abducted.

On December 8, 1989, four militants forced her out of her vehicle at gunpoint, only 500 metres away from her home at Nowgam, into a waiting Maruti car and disappeared.

The representatives of the JKLF called up a local newspaper, Kashmir Times, and claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and demanded the release of a JKLF area commander Sheikh Abdul Hameed, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, younger brother of the deceased separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, Noor Muhammad Kalwal, Muhammed Altaf, and Javed Ahmed Zargar.

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Also read: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Rise of a lawyer to country's only Muslim Home Minister



Rubaiya, Mufti's third daughter, was kidnapped within five days of Mufti becoming India's first Muslim Home Minister. She was kept as a hostage for six days during which negotiations through Zaffar Meraj of the Kashmir Times were done with the involvement of a few others.

Farooq Abdullah, the then CM of Jammu and Kashmir, displayed his apprehension about the release of the jailed militants. It was believed that Abdullah had discouraged the exchange as he was of the opinion that surrendering to the terrorists' demands would open the floodgates.

Also read: Mehbooba Mufti to be first woman CM of Jammu and Kashmir



Former RAW Chief AS Dulat has mentioned Abdullah's discomfort in this regard in his book titled Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years.

Two hours after the government released the militants, Rubaiya was set free on December 13.

Eventually, Abdullah claimed his government was threatened by the Central government and pushed to succumb to JKLF's demand. This incident was said to have heightened the issue of militancy in the state.
By India Today Web Desk: Tourists travelling to Mysuru will soon have a new spot to visit as a new tourism gallery on river Cauvery is going to come up at the place. The gallery will be established under a joint agreement signed between National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) and the State Tourism Department.

Since river Cauvery is the lifeline of Bengluru and Mandya districts, the gallery will provide visitors with information on its importance, history, and origin. Besides, the museum will also touch upon subjects such as its impact on the farmers' lives, and the environmental threats it is facing over time, among other things.

Being the first river gallery in India, the responsibility of executing and maintaining the project will lie on NASI for the initial three years, before handing it over to the state's tourism department. In the course of this time, NASI officials would give useful training to the local government authorities on how to maintain and administer the gallery. According to reports, the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) would also join hands by facilitating the implementation of the project. This move might help in boosting tourism in Mysuru, which is already in the traveller's map due to its grand palaces.

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The North's fourth nuclear test since 2006, which triggered the equivalent of a 5.1-magnitude earthquake and was felt in parts of northeastern China where some border towns were evacuated.

N Korean leader Kim Jong-un during an inspection at a defence site. N Korea has hailed its first hydrogen bomb test as 'total success'.

By Ananth Krishnan: North Korea on Wednesday claimed to have carried out its first ever successful test of a 'miniaturised hydrogen bomb', triggering strong concerns from its neighbours and raising the prospect of further sanctions against the reclusive state.

The North's fourth nuclear test since 2006, which triggered the equivalent of a 5.1-magnitude earthquake and was felt in parts of northeastern China where some border towns were evacuated, was 'an act of selfdefence against the US', the country's state broadcaster announced.

If successful, experts said the test will reflect a significant advancement in the North's capabilities, including the ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of reaching the US.

Condemnation

While the test brought international condemnation and the threat of further sanctions, it was hailed by the North as a 'total success'.

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The country had 'proudly joined the advanced ranks of nuclear weapons states', the government said, with the test seen as bolstering the standing at home of new leader Kim Jongun, 32, who took over in 2012 following the death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong-il.

But whether or not the North's claims of success were true was promptly doubted by experts, who pointed out that the seismic impact was not much greater than the North's previous test, as would likely be the case if a hydrogen bomb was indeed detonated.

South Korea's military and intelligence agency both questioned the claims, with the country's meteorological agency not detecting any radiation.

A leading Beijing expert on the North's nuclear programme said the claims were "hard to believe". The country did not have the necessary "industrial capability", Zhai Dequan of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association told the Global Times.

The announcement still brought angry reactions from the North's neighbours, with the United Nations Security Council calling for an emergency meeting to discuss the test which comes in violation of UN resolutions and may trigger further sanctions.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye termed the test "a grave provocation" while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the test was "a grave challenge" to international non-proliferation efforts.

Analysts said any attempt to restart the stalled Six Party talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula now remains increasingly unlikely.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said it was "a matter of deep concern" that the North "acted in violation of its international commitments". "Our concerns about proliferation links between North East Asia and our neighbourhood are well-known," the statement said in an apparent reference to Pakistan's past track record of proliferation, including to the North.

Even China, the North's only regional ally and biggest source of food and financial aid, expressed "firm opposition" and said it would summon the North's ambassador in Beijing.

China, however, has continued to back the regime with economic support, seeing it as a buffer against the US and its Japanese and South Korean allies, as well as fearing the spillover effects of a regime collapse.

Beijing, however, said it was not notified in advance of the test, which took place at a site only 100 km from the China border, according to Chinese State media.

The test-triggered quake was felt by Chinese residents in border towns of Yanji and Changbai, with schools evacuated and examinations halted.

Chinese authorities said they were carrying out tests for radiation levels.

Lu Chao, a scholar in northeast Liaoning, said residents were living in fear and anxiety after buildings shook and traffic came to a standstill, especially as concerns about the North's unreliable technology have raised worries about possible leakages and environmental damage.

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The twin threats have cast a shadow on the progress of various big projects, as employees and labourers hired by the firms are too scared to continue work at different sites.

By Giridhar Jha: Maoists and criminals appear to be working in tandem to demand levy from the construction companies engaged in mega infrastructural projects launched by the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar.

The twin threats have cast a shadow on the progress of various big projects, as employees and labourers hired by the firms are too scared to continue work at different sites. A private engineering firm engaged in the construction of the ambitious Ganga Expressway, popularly known as Marine Drive, has sought security from the Patna police due to fear of the workers to work at the project site at night.

The firm, Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd, has asked for security at two of its base camps to instil confidence among the workers who had refused to work in the wake of a murder near the site.

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The 21.5-km-long Deedarganj-Digha Expressway, being constructed along River Ganga at the cost of `3,150 crore, is a dream project of CM Nitish Kumar. The firm had been working round the clock to complete a major portion of the project in in the next two years, but the workers had stopped working at night due to fears of the criminals and extortionists.

Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had recently visited the site and directed officials to ensure round-the-clock work to finish the project at the earliest.

However, the killing of two engineers, Mukesh Kumar Singh and Brajesh Kumar Singh, working on a road project in Darbhanga by an extortionist gang late last month had cast its shadow on all the major under-construction projects. A criminal gang, said to be headed by jailed gangster Santosh Jha, had demanded `75 crore from the construction firm in Darbhanga. According to police, its members led by sharpshooter Mukesh Pathak had gunned down the two engineers after they failed to pay the ransom.

The criminals, however, are not the only ones placing extortion demands. The Maoists have also become active again. In Saran district, the Red rebels attacked the base camp of a private firm constructing the Rs 672-crore Chapra-Ara bridge earlier this week and blew up its generator set.

The Maoists also planted three bombs near a pillar of the 4-km long bridge, but they didn't explode due to chilly and foggy weather. Before leaving the site, the Maoists left a leaflet threatening to kill the company's senior officials if they did not deliver the levy amount. In another incident, a sewerage plant was also targeted by the suspected Naxals in Vaishali district
By Priya Pathak: Chinese company OnePlus on Thursday announced that the OnePlus X Ceramic variant -- which is a limited edition -- will go on open sale (for the first time) in India on January 8. Though the phone would be available only at selected locations and for limited time, the customers can take joy in the fact that the sale is going to be invite-free. Usually, OnePlus phones, and especially newer ones, require an invite before a consumer can purchase them.

The sale will be held from 7pm to 9pm at French Connection retail stores in New Delhi (Select CityWalk, Saket), Mumbai (Palladium Mall, Lower Parel), and Hyderabad (Forum Mall, Kukatpally). OnePlus has also said that there will be a flat 10 per cent discount on the device for first 50 buyers in each city along with a goodie bag from the retailer. The sale will continue till the stock lasts.

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After the sale ends, phone will be available only through invites on Amazon India website at a price of Rs 22,999.

"The Ceramic edition is a special device in the OnePlus X line. The unique craftsmanship required to produce the Ceramic edition requires time and precision. Our fans have been eagerly waiting to own the OnePlus X Ceramic ever since we announced its launch and we see the perfect partner in French Connection, a brand that is synonymous with style and celebrated as a top-of-the-line fashion label," said Karan Sarin, head of marketing.

OnePlus that has created buzz in the market with its aggressively priced phones has launched three phones so far -- OnePlusOne , OnePlus 2 and OnePlus X. While the OnePlus One was launched in 2014 at a price of Rs 21,999 in India, OnePlus 2 and OnePlus X came with price tag of Rs 24,999 and Rs 16,999, respectively.


The upcoming Budget Session of Parliament could be advanced by a few days to clear pending legislative business.

By India Today Web Desk: The upcoming Budget Session of Parliament could be advanced by a few days to clear pending legislative business.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu today met Sonia Gandhi to seek Congress support for early passage of the GST and Real Estate Bills.

Naidu reportedly told Sonia Gandhi that government will keep in mind the issues raised by Congress on GST.

Govt has also accepted all recommendations of the select committee on real estate bill. Sonia said will get back after internal discussion.

The GST bill was not passed in the Winter Session of the Parliament amid the uproar over the National Herald controversy.

Also Read

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GST bill looks set for next session



--- ENDS ---
Speaking on the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "The ball is in Pakistan's court". "The immediate issue is Pakistan's response," he added.

By India Today Web Desk: India may call off the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 14-15, in light of the terror attack at Pathankot air force base. The talks may be rescheduled.

India wants Pakistan to act on the Pathankot attack perpetrators on the basis of the information provided to it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif firmly on the phone two days ago that India wants to see urgent action taken against those who conceived and executed the attack.



Sharif on January 5, 2016, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and assured of all help in investigations launched into the audacious terror attack on India Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot. Six terrorists were killed in the attack which took place in the wee hours of January 2, 2016.



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MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup briefs the media on the issue in New Delhi. Speaking on the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "The ball is in Pakistan's court". "The Immediate issue is Pakistan's response," he added.



We now await prompt and decisive action from Pak PM: Vikas Swarup, MEA Spox pic.twitter.com/OAt4iCEx2B&; ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016 Here are the highlights:



India has not imposed any deadline on Pakistan: MEA

There is a lot of time between 7th to 15th January, we will wait to see what happens in this time: MEA

It will be premature for me to say anything more at this point: Vikas Swarup, MEA



We have said that cross border terrorism should stop and we have provided evidences: MEA

We now await prompt and decisive action from Pakistan PM: MEA

PM Modi spoke to PM Sharif who assured us prompt response. India now awaits that prompt response: MEA

Ball is in Pak's court. Immediate issue is Pak's response to the #PathankotAttack and actionable intelligence thats been provided to it: MEA

#PathankotAttack has once again put renewed focus on challenge of cross-border terrorism: MEA

Pakistani Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif holds a series of meetings with top officials.



ALSO READ:

Modi-Sharif cup of tea cost us 7 jawans, says Shiv Sena


Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf and others have been identified by India as 'handlers' behind Pathankot terror attack.

By India Today Web Desk: Indian probe agencies today identifed the Pakistani handlers who were in touch with the 6 terrorists who launched a pre-dawn Fidayeen attack on the IAF air base Pathankot in Punjab on January 2, 2016.

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf and others have been identified by India as 'handlers' behind Pathankot terror attack.

The other perpetrators are: Maulana Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Abdul Shakur, Kasim Jaan and MM Azhar.

Initial probe revealed that Pathankot air base terror plot was hatched in Markaz, Pakistan. Security agencies believe there were six terrorists and they were divided into two groups - one of 4 and the other with 2 members. Afghan pilots training at Pathankot air base was the terrorist's prime target, sources said.

It is said that the Pakistani handlers even arranged a taxi for the terrorists by calling from a mobile number of that country.

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Details of phone call records of terrorists, mobile numbers of their handlers based in Pakistan and proof that they came from across the border have been reportedly shared with the neighbouring country.

The government today made it clear that it expects urgent action from Pakistan on the intelligence shared with Islamabad if talks between the Foreign Secretaries of both countries are to go ahead as scheduled next week on the 15th.

Meanwhile, the BSF has constituted a team, headed by DIG, Amritsar, to probe security lapses that lead to the attack. The BSF will submit the internal probe report within a fortnight.

Several questions have emerged after the fatal Pathankot Air Force base terror attack took place on January 2. The alleged mishandling of intelligence reports and lapses on part of the security agencies have been criticised by many over the last few days.

ALSO READ:

Pakistan's ISI has revived Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad



Nawaz Sharif chairs high-level meeting, discusses Pathankot attack

2 suspected terrorists spotted in Gurdaspur, security forces on toes


Former BSF DG and security adviser EN Rammohan on Thursday said heroin smugglers from Pakistan bribe BSF and the recent terror attack on our air base is the result of the alleged drug cartel-terrorism nexus.

By India Today Web Desk: The recent terror attack on the IAF's Pathankot base has exposed chinks in the country's security armour. Former Border Security Force (BSF) DG and security adviser EN Rammohan on Thursday told India Today Television that corrupt BSF officials are hand-in-glove with drug rackets active in Punjab and they helped the Pakistani terrorists sneak into India from the border with Pakistan.

Rammohan on Thursday made damning charges on the alleged mishandling of intelligence reports and lapses on part of the BSF while the paramilitary force zeroes in on two intrusion theories - a tunnel on the Punjab border and Kashmir route.

Rammohan said heroin smugglers from Pakistan bribe BSF and the recent terror attack on our air base is the result of the alleged drug cartel-terrorism nexus.

Former BSF DG and security adviser EN Rammohan.

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"There is money in this. And, a small percentage of BSF officials are involved in this," Rammohan told India Today Television.

"Money can buy the personnel of BSF on the ground. There are cases where officers have succumbed to temptation of money. It is not only that the politicians are corrupt... There is no shortage of equipment, no shortage of thermal imagers, no shortage of personnel, nothing," Rammohan added.

However, the BSF rejected Rammohan's smuggling theory and made it clear that it did not find any breach anywhere in the fence in 20-km stretch of border. The paramilitary force, which will submit the internal probe report on Pathankot terror attack within a fortnight, also rejected that some corrupt officials inside the security force helped the terrorists to sneak into Indian territory.

BSF speculates, the terrorists might have used a tunnel on the Punjab border to sneak into India or have come all the way from Jammu and Kashmir to launch a Fidayeen attack on the IAF base in Pathankot, Punjab.

ALSO READ:

#PathankotAttack: Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar identified as handler

Act against Pathankot attackers first, talks later, India tells Pakistan
The foreign secretary-level engagement between India and Pakistan is scheduled for January 14-15, but now looks doomed.

Top Indian officials tell Mail Today Jan 14-15 talks likely to be postponed after such attack, terrorists were trained in Pakistan airbases.

By Mail Today: The Pathankot terror attack has another potential casualty on its list -the forthcoming India-Pakistan talks. The foreign secretary-level engagement between the two countries is scheduled for January 14-15, but now looks doomed.

Top south block officials told Mail Today on Wednesday, requesting anonymity, that to go ahead with talks, India would want Pakistan to take some positive action based on proof that has been sent to Islamabad on the terror attack at the Indian Air Force base. Collected material indicates that the attack on the base was carried out by agents from across the border.

"Even if Pakistan responds positively and initiates some action, it is too short a timeframe to hold the foreign secretary-level talks next week," said an official.

The sources, however, indicated that there may not be a blanket freeze on talks and they might be resumed later.

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Security establishment officials said the terrorists were trained in either Lyallpur or Chaklala air base in Pakistan, and knew exactly what - aircraft, hangers, ammunition depots, fuel dumps etc - to look for to destroy.

Apart from sophisticated weapons, they were carrying the lethal aluminum powder which makes any fire extremely difficult to douse, even with heavy extinguishers.

Mission flushout

Government officials said the operation could from no angle be called a security failure. "There was no intelligence failure. Response time was far shorter than that witnessed in 26/11," said an official.

"And despite a whole posse of extremely well-trained terrorists coming in with the best weapons, just one soldier died in battle. Five died unarmed when terrorists entered and opened fire and one died trying to recover a terrorist's body," the official added.

He said the army was in charge of the operation throughout and Inspector General (operations) of NSG Major General, Dushyant Singh, was in command of the rescue operation.

It took time to flush out terrorists from the base because forces wanted to limit casualties. "If they had reached anywhere near our strategic assets, we would have risked more casualties with a whirlwind operation," said the official.

The last two terrorists to die, security officials believe, were kept as second in line. They were supposed to crawl out at night when guns fell silent and would try to blow up a parked aircraft.

"The forces were asked to keep firing intermittently and headlights of defence vehicles were kept on to stop the two from sneaking out of their hideouts and causing bigger damage. And it worked," the official said.

Our response The Indian security forces hinted that they had given a befitting response to the terrorists without elaborating on the matter. The IAF, in a statement released on Wednesday evening, trashed the notion that the operation was 'botched up'. The IAF said all strategic locations around the airfield were well protected following the tip-off about a possible attack and aerial surveillance by remotely piloted aircrafts, the C-130J Special Operations aircraft and helicopters with night vision and thermal imaging devices, was carried out. The movement of terrorists was first detected by a remotely piloted aircraft. The surveillance prevented terrorists from entering the sensitive technical zone where aircrafts were parked and fuel, weapons were stored.

The officials also confirmed that terrorists had most likely used the cross-border drug route to get into Punjab with the help of corrupt officials, which Mail Today had reported about on Tuesday.

The role of Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh is also suspect. Officials said Singh's late night visit to a shrine near Kathua on December 31 is inexplicable. The SP was allegedly abducted on his way back from the shrine.

Officials found it strange that Singh was allowed to leave unharmed along with his cook and his friend Rajesh Verma was attacked. Salwinder Singh told Mail Today in an interview that the terrorists did not harm him as he was not in uniform.

Also under scanner is the failure of the Border Security Force (BSF) to check infiltration from the international border. It is possible that the arms used by the terrorists could have made their way through drug trafficking arteries that are thriving despite high security alert in the state.





Also Read:

Pathankot terror attack planned by ISI: The inside story



ISI is behind Pathankot air base attack: US



Jaish-e-Mohammad planning Pathankot-like attack in Delhi
Proud parents, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, release two photographs to share the moment with the world.

By India Today Web Desk: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to share with the world a defining moment of their elder child, Prince George's life-his first day at nursery.

The two pictures, released by royal officials on the twitter handle @KensingtonRoyal, show the two-year-old prince in a blue jacket and with a sky-blue backpack, arriving at Westacre Montessori School Nursery in Norfolk, eastern England. The nursery is located near the family's country home at Anmer Hall.

The Duke and Duchess have released 2 photos to mark Prince George's first day at Westacre Montessori School nursery pic.twitter.com/a5ScewaRJ4 Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 6, 2016

George, who is third in line for the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles and father William, will attend the nursery while his parents are staying at Anmer Hall, but not when they are at their London home, Kensington Palace.

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The nursery, located in a former chapel, reportedly costs 5.50 an hour to attend.

These photographs of Prince George were reportedly taken by his mother Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as she and Prince William dropped him off for his first day at nursery.

While the older generation of British royals did not typically attend nursery, George is following in the footsteps of his father. William was sent to an exclusive nursery school near Kensington Palace by his mother, the late princess Diana, who had herself worked at a nursery before her marriage to Charles.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, passed away this morning. He was 79.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, passed away this morning. He was 79.

The Chief Minister had complained of exhaustion during his hectic tour of Srinagar city on December 22. He was flown to New Delhi on December 24 and was kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of AIIMS. The departed leader will be accorded State funeral. The state has also declared seven-day mourning as a mark of respect to the departed leader. All State government offices and educational institutions in the State shall remain closed today. National & State Flags will be flown half-mast during the mourning on all buildings and places where these are flown.

A strong votary of friendly relations between India and Pakistan

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Born on January 12, 1936, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had an illustrious political career, that culminated when he became the Chief Minister of the state for the first time in 2002. He was sworn in for the second time as Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on March 01, 2015. Mufti Sayeed had also earlier served as Union Home and Tourism Minister.

One of the last politicians in Jammu & Kashmir, who had grown into the mould of an upright and unblemished statesman, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed represented courage of conviction and a lifelong political struggle spanning over five decades. His vision for the state of Jammu & Kashmir as a distinct feature of the idea of India is complemented by the clear-cut democratic construct of his political thought, an inclusive polity and ingenious development.

As he assumed office of Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir for the second time on 1st March 2015, it seemed Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was destined to be the man for hard times. In 2002 when he became the Chief Minister, with just 16 seats in the State Assembly, in alliance with the Congress, J&K was reeling under extremely adverse conditions on politico-economic fronts. Personal liberties were severely restricted and our army was in an eye-ball to eye-ball confrontation with Pakistan in the aftermath of the attack on Parliament.

Responding to the people's innermost yearning for peace with dignity, Mufti after assuming charge as the Chief Minister of J&K in 2002, crusaded the "Healing Touch" policy to repair the people's hurt psyche, salvaging their bruised dignity, rekindling a new hope in their hearts and motivating them to mould their destiny through a participatory political and democratic process. The result was there for all to behold and fortunately, the country's leadership, at that time also understood and appreciated the rejuvenating and hopeful political transformation in the State and responded to it in good measure.

Seen as a visionary leader, a smart political strategist and masterful politician, Mufti's arrival on the stage in J&K in 2002 and his deft handling of the delicate political equations resulted in an almost instant change in the situation, both within the State and in the regional context. His invitation to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to address a rally in Srinagar, first ever for a Prime Minister in nearly two decades, from the PDP stage, triggered a new wave of peace efforts which culminated in withdrawal of forces from forward areas, ceasefire along the borders, disbanding of instruments like STF and SOG, scrapping of POTA and release of political prisoners. It also led to a direct engagement between India and Pakistan and of the Central Government with the separatist leaders in Kashmir.

Mufti's vision for the State and the region articulated in PDP's Self-Rule framework besides suggesting a slew of economic and political measures advocating a sub-regional trade arrangement with a Free Trade Zone in Jammu & Kashmir to be implemented under SAFTA or under a separate arrangement between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed believed that facilitating free movement of goods and people through the traditional cross-LoC routes in Jammu & Kashmir would help the policymakers on the two sides of the divide to facilitate the political changes that the people in the region so badly need. He saw the opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote roads along the LoC as a stepping stone towards forging a new economic alliance in the region.

Within the State, Mufti's political focus was on connecting communities and regions into one conglomerate of harmonious diversities. His emphasis on improving the trust levels between two main regions of Kashmir and Jammu has remained the driving force for his party PDP's political engagement in all the regions and sub-regions that it could emerge as a unifying force that offers channels of aspirations and representation to each one of them.

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Early Life

Born in Baba Mohalla in Bijbehara town of district Anantnag on 12th January 1936, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's early life was typical of the new bourgeoisie that emerged in Kashmir in the middle of the century. Having graduated from S. P. College in Srinagar, he went on to obtain a degree in Law, and a post-graduate degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Although Mufti Mohammad Sayeed hoped to gain government employment, he was persuaded by his friends to start a law practice in Anantnag, and to join politics. He joined the Anantnag Bar Association and briefly practiced as a lawyer at District Court, Anantnag.

Political Career

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was a strong votary of friendly relations between India and Pakistan, which he believed was critical to the political stability in J&K as well the Subcontinent. He was a staunch believer in the democratic polity and was responsible for introducing political competition in the state.

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In the late 1950s he joined the circle around prominent lawyer and National Conference (NC) leader P. L. Handoo. He followed Handoo into the breakaway Democratic National Conference (DNC), led by G.M. Sadiq, along with D. P. Dhar, Syed Mir Qasim and G. L. Dogra. He was appointed District Convener of the new organization - DNC, the first formal political post he held.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was elected to the Assembly from Bijbehara in 1962, and retained the seat in 1967. As a result, he was appointed a Deputy Minister by G.M. Sadiq.

In 1972 the late leader became a minister in the Cabinet, headed by Syed Mir Qasim and was also elected the party's leader in the Legislative Council.

In 1975, he was made the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress President. He continued to hold the post of PCC Chief in J&K for over a decade.

In 1986, he was appointed as Union Tourism Minister in the Government headed by the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed resigned from the Union Government and the Congress following Rajiv-Farooq Accord of 1987. He later joined the Jan Morcha, led by V. P. Singh and was appointed Union Home Minister in 1989, after having won the Lok Sabha elections of that year as Jan Morcha candidate from Muzaffarnagar, in Uttar Pradesh.

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Mufti Mohammad Sayeed returned to J&K politics after having rejoined the Congress in 1996. He won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in 1998, but soon resigned from both his position and the Congress party to form a new regional political party- the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

After remaining in the Congress for better part of his life, Mufti along with some likeminded associates and Mehbooba Mufti, his daughter, founded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999 and led the first PDP-Congress coalition government in the State from 2002 to 2005.

In 2002, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir for the first time. His party PDP won 16 seats and formed an alliance with Congress to assume power from October 2002 to November 2005. PDP was an important ally of United Progressive Alliance-I at the Centre.

The late leader's first term as the Chief Minister of the State between 2002 and 2005, led to significant steps like opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, initiation of trade and travel across the Line of Control (LoC) without passports and visas, with India and Pakistan making some significant concessions on Kashmir.

The prospects of PDP started to shine again in the Lok Sabha election of 2014 when it won all the three seats in Kashmir Valley.

Under the astute leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, PDP has emerged as a dominant regional political force in Jammu & Kashmir introducing democratic competition in J&K.

A much-respected politician, Mufti Sayeed will be remembered for his tenacity, focus, steadfastness, and ability to make critical decisions during difficult times.

Also read:

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Rise of a lawyer to country's only Muslim Home Minister

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: A suave politician

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's demise leaves a huge void: Modi, others on Twitter



Daughter Mehbooba Mufti to succeed Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as J-K CM


Here are the trends that will be dominating the itineraries of the Indian traveller.

Travelling to lesser known cities, small towns and remote villages is going to be a big trend. In order to closely experience local culture, discerning travellers will be backpacking to explore offbeat places like Kasol. Picture courtesy: Mail Today

By Lipla Negi: One resolution that is on almost everyone's list is 'to travel a little more' this year. The insatiable appetite of Indian travellers for new discoveries is taking them to places.

Pushing the boundaries of budget and time, travellers today are more than willing to explore and experiment. Travel is no more about that customary visit to one's grandparents' house during the summer or Christmas vacations. To see more of the world and experience different cultures - this has become a standard resolution for many of us.

A rising number of people are making travel a passionate pursuit. They want to keep adding new places to their 'been there, done that' list. It helps them beat stress and ditch the daily rut. "Travelling is one experience that never gets aged with the passing of time. However, each new experience creates a milestone down to our memory-lane forever," agrees Shefali Walia, founder, WeTravelSolo.

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Every year new trends come and shape the travel industry. Trends that help people 'ditch the usual' and 'experience the unique'. Here we put together a list of top trends that will dominate the itineraries of Indian travellers this year.

Travelling solo

Travelling is all about meeting new people. However, travelling with total strangers is slowly gaining popularity among Indian traveller. Exploring a destination with a bunch of strangers is an exciting experience in itself. "People will be looking for better groups to associate with, while travelling. There will be an increase in the number of backpackers who will be open to taking longer international holidays on cheaper budgets. Travelling will become a way of meeting like-minded people," says Walia.

Small going big

Travelling to lesser-known cities, small towns and remote villages is going to be a big trend. Travellers are looking at ways to 'do the new' and lesser-known places; maybe the place at a shorter distance will be in the spotlight. Going small also allows travel junkies to understand and closely experience the regional culture.

"People will be exploring more offbeat places like Kumbalgarh, which is at a small distance from Udaipur, or Kasol, which is at a small distance from Manali, etc. It's the easiest way to beat the rush," says Walia.

Slow travel

Giving the choc-o-bloc itinerary a miss, people will be shifting towards the slow travel trend. Tired of the cookie-cutter approach to vacations, this new emerging class of traveller prefers visiting a destination at their own pace; staying in a reasonably priced hotel or opting for a homestay, and soaking in the local culture and history. These discerning traveller like to interact with locals and understand customs and traditions. "A local drink in the pub adds to the cheer," adds Karan Anand, Head - Relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd.

The girl gang

In recent years, the number of trips planned by women traveller has increased. "Solo women travel is increasing and so are the group, family and couple trips planned by women. These solo trips, taken by women, will continue to gain momentum in the year 2016 and the average trip length will also increase to be 5-7 days. Such trips are gaining popularity across all age groups and are extremely popular in the 18-24 and 24-36 age groups," says Hari Nair, founder and CEO, HolidayIQ.

Destinations such as Kerala, Goa, Pondicherry, Manali, Auli, Shimla, Corbett, Bandipur and Coorg are most popular among woman travellers.

Culinary vacations

Food and travel are joined at the hip; one can't do without the other. Food, however, is slowly becoming the sole reason to travel for many. "There is a growing interest among Indian traveller to go on culinary vacations to experience the flavours of a destination. They travel on such vacations wherein they can engage with a local chef or an experienced hand at cooking and spend a few days understanding various culinary styles," shares Anand. Food trails are also a great way to get a firsthand experience of the region.
The family has now received the MMS of their daughter being gangraped by those goons which has gone viral.

By India Today Web Desk: Forty days after a distressed, hopeless family approached the Sunghadi police in Pilibhit (UP) with a complaint that their daughter had been abducted by some unidentified goons on November 23, 2015, the family has now received the MMS of their daughter being gangraped by those goons.

The woman, with her three-month-old infant, had left for her husband's house in Badaun district from her parents' place on November 23 but did not reach the destination. The family was taken aback some four days ago when the woman's brother received a video clip on Whatsapp showing four to five men raping her and they approached police and a case against unknown person lodged on Tuesday.

The apathy of the police was such that they turned the family away and had even refused to lodge an FIR in the case. This latest gangrape MMS which has gone viral raises serious questions over the competence of the police.



The SP however says that the video which is being circulated is old and is of a woman from Hyderabad. The police meanwhile is investigating, and an investigative team is being constituted to probe into the matter. Also, the police has suspended the SHO not taking victim family missing case seriously.

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Also read:

Nirbhaya's parents demand fast track of rape cases


By Saurabh Singh: There's no denying that Windows 10 is more than just an operating system for Microsoft. It's a vision. At the same time, it's a sneak peek into the future for long-term Windows fans and enthusiasts. Call it a teaser trailer if you may. And users seem to be embracing the new OS with arms wide open, to say the least. "There are more than 200 million monthly active devices around the world running Windows 10," Microsoft announced on January 4. Moreover, "Windows 10 continues to be on the fastest growth trajectory of any version of Windows," it said.

Windows OS, which has dominated the world's personal computer market taking over the offices, schools and homes of almost every computer user in the world since November 20, 1985 (when Windows 1.0 went on sale) hasn't lost a beat 30 years hence. And Windows 10 is ensuring things stay that way. That being said, Windows 10 carries additional responsibility on its shoulders - to resurrect Windows Phone from the dead.

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With Windows 10 Microsoft is striving towards device unification across smartphones, tablets and PCs?one OS to rule them all. Microsoft keeps harping about the "explosive growth in mobile devices over the last decade" and the "creation of totally new app experiences" to justify its shift to Windows convergence. The company may not be entirely wrong when it says this. Needless to say, Microsoft - just like any other big company - is looking to grab its fair share of the pie, maybe more. And who's to say, Windows Phone may get its long overdue spotlight moment after all, should Microsoft has its way.

According to Microsoft, "a growing number of customers want their experiences to be mobile across ALL their devices and to use whatever device is most convenient or productive for the task at hand." Enter Continuum.

--What is Continuum?

"Windows 10 enables one app to run on every Windows device -- on the phone in your pocket, the tablet or laptop in your bag, the PC on your desk, and the Xbox console in your living room," says the company. Continuum is the fabled unicorn that makes all this possible. Continuum essentially lets the operating system (Windows 10) to adapt to the way a device is being used at any given moment: as a PC with a keyboard (and mouse) or as a smartphone (or tablet) with touchscreen input.

For instance, it lets you connect your Windows 10 phone to a monitor - and additionally to a keyboard and mouse - and transform it into a full-blown PC, sort of.

--Is it a hardware or a software feature?

Continuum is a software feature that has been built into Windows 10, but you need selective hardware to access it (in case of phones). The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL support something called as a Microsoft Display Dock - sold bundled as well as separately at Rs 5,999 - to make use of the functionality. The Display Dock has numerous connectors: 3 x USB 2.0, HDMI, DisplayPort and a USB Type-C connector for power supply. The Dock comes bundled with a USB-C cable and a power cable in the box. HDMI and/or DisplayPort cables are not included in the bundle.

In addition, Continuum can also be tapped using a Miracast dongle.

--Setting up Continuum

Setting up the Display Dock is a walk in the park, so is Continuum. The front of the Dock has just the one USB Type-C port for connecting the Lumia phone. Meanwhile, the back houses a number of ports, namely three USB 2.0 for connecting your keyboard and/or mouse, one charging/power port (again USB-C), one HDMI and one DisplayPort for connecting your monitor. You can also connect your keyboard and mouse wirelessly with the phone. Once everything is connected as it should be the fun begins. You see a welcome screen to begin with, followed by a short video showcasing Continuum and voila you're onto the main show.

--Transforming your Lumia phone into a PC, sort of

On first look it would appear that Continuum is merely mirroring (and amplifying) your phone onto a monitor, and to an extent it is. By that we mean, how everything looks and feels. There's the Start screen, the Action Centre, your phone's network bars (including the 4G/3G icon), so on and so forth. Everything's right there, only bigger. But wait, there's more to it than meets the eye. There's now a fully-functional task bar at the bottom, much like the way it is on a PC. You can switch between apps back and forth and they'll sit comfortably inside the task bar, as also the multi-window view icon that give you a glimpse into your running apps and helps in multitasking, just the way it is on a Windows 10-powered PC.

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--What is all this sorcery?

Continuum relies heavily on Universal Apps, which are essentially "apps built to scale smoothly from screen to screen so they look good from the smallest app window up to the largest 8k displays," according to Microsoft. This also means one app to rule them all. So if you have one Universal App installed on your phone, it will run seamlessly across devices. You won't have to install a separate version of it to use Continuum and enjoy it on a larger screen.

Microsoft's core apps like the Edge browser, Word, Excel, Photos, Mail, Cortana and third-party apps like Facebook work with Continuum right now. Apps like Twitter and WhatsApp are not supported.

--The good

Core Microsoft apps like Word and Excel scaled up for your monitor allow you to work on them just the way you would on an actual PC. Only this time, it's your phone that's powering the whole thing. You can also use your phone's screen as trackpad should you forget your mouse. Best part is, you can continue to use your phone independently and simultaneously while using Continuum on PC. This way you can continue to chat/text while filing your Word document. The experience is seamless and navigation between apps spot-on.

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--The bad

Although there's multi-window support, you cannot run two or more apps side by side simultaneously using Continuum, which is a bummer. Makes the whole point of a desktop experience rather pointless. You cannot resize Windows. You can only minimise them to the task bar or close them altogether. Also, the Charms panel which give you quick access to settings via a dedicated swipe on the screen is gone.

--The ugly

Continuum is supposed to make everything right for Windows 10. And it does where it can. Sadly, there's not a lot that it can do right now. Microsoft has always been cricticised for the lack of enough Windows apps in the Store. There are even lesser Universal Apps in the Windows Store right now. And yes, forget about playing any games. Unless Microsoft comes up with more Universal Apps carrying around a Dock and monitor instead of an actual laptop doesn't seem like a very good idea.

--- ENDS ---
The company will make sure that there are enough units of the phone for consumers upon launch.

By India Today Web Desk: Chinese company Xiaomi has for the first time gone on record to confirm that its upcoming flagship phone Mi5 will come packed with Qualcomm's latest and greatest mobile processor, aka Snapdragon 820. Xiaomi's co-founder and senior VP Liwan Jiang took to Chinese social media website Weibo to confirm that the Mi5 will indeed come with Snapdragon 820 and is has entered mass production.

That's not all. Jiang has also confirmed that the company will launch the Mi5 phone after the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) which is scheduled to start from February 8 2016. The company will make sure that there are enough units of the phone for consumers upon launch. At the same time, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun shared his thoughts about the Mi5 on Weibo as well going on to say that he had spent some time with the Mi5. Earlier Jun had said that the Mi5 was "worth waiting for."

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Earlier it was being said that Xiaomi's Mi5 may not launch anytime before April 2016 since Samsung holds exclusivity to Qualcomm's next flagship Snapdragon 820 processor until April.

The Mi5 is rumoured to have a 5.2-inch display and will reportedly come in two variants: 3GB of RAM with 32GB inbuilt storage, and 4GB of RAM with 64GB memory. It is expected to sport a 16-megapixel camera on the rear and a 13-megapixel camera on the front. It will reportedly run Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based MIUI and use a 3,600mAh battery.
A lack of awareness and general knowledge among some tour companies is Tacna has given rise to confusion in disseminating the area's tourist potential.Archaeologist Jesus Gordillo Begazo cautioned that certain travel agencies are promoting the Miculla Archaeological Area's petroglyphs as part of an extraterrestrial visitation. "Miculla's cultural and archaeological narrative is being distorted, which reprehensible indeed."The expert stated that an agency was responsible for the error in disseminating the information, which was swiftly spread across social media."I suspect that this is what appears in their brochure, or it could be a tour guide's own interpretation. The fact is that all tour guides must employ a text about Miculla that has been approved by the Direccion Desconcentrada de Cultura (Decentralized Cultural Office) and Directur," he added.David Rendon Cohaila, president of the Regional Chamber of Tourism (Caretur) believes that some parties are swindling tourist groups visiting Tacna with the unfounded notion that Miculla is a hot spot for sightings. "Some unscrupulous parties promote it as a UFO area. That's a swindle. There is no scientific evidence to suggest it," he explained.The fact is that both Rendon and Gordillo agreed that "it is necessary for Tacna's tour operators to train their tour guides.""What is being disseminated is truly irresponsible, since they hire youngsters who are still in school in order to pay them little. They're not even in their third year of Travel and Tourism and they're sent to the field," complains Rendon.
Investigative reporting from the inner city to Wall Street to the United Nations This is the blogspot version InnerCityPress.com
Seibels Selects Guidewire Software for Insurance Claims Management

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By Casey Houser

Contributing Writer By Casey HouserContributing Writer

Business process outsourcing company Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. (Seibels) recently announced that it has selected the Guidewire ClaimCenter, Claim Portal for Policyholders, and Claim Portal for Vendors as the software it will use for claims administration as it completes operations this year.





Seibels, which provides insurance services to a range of customers on behalf of the companies it represents, says this upgrade will become instrumental to its future functioning. The Seibels president and chief claims officer, Dester Terry, commented on the deal by noting the importance of these three tools to the satisfaction of its clients.

We offer our customers comprehensive claims administration services and we view our adoption of ClaimCenter, Claim Portal for Policyholders, and Claim Portal for Vendors as instrumental in our ability to continue enhancing our service capabilities going forward, Terry said. We are also excited to provide our employees with the best technology possible to do their jobs.

Until this point, Seibels has used its own, internally-developed claims management system to handle the insurance services it provides. At one time, this home-grown approach may have served the company well, but it has moved beyond the capabilities of that product and sought more that only a third party software developer could deliver. By offering these products, Guidewire can help Seibels experience more efficient operation while also increasing the capability of the claims management in question.

The announcement of this adoption of services shows that Seibels will now have greater visibility of all its claims. Guidewire softare will be essential in asserting industry best practices that improve the way Seibels employees can harness their data  such as the use of analytics and associated reports. It will also allow policy holders and vendors to handle claims on their own by offering them a self-service portal.

There is a clear link between the capabilities that Guidewire software promises and the operation of all employees and the actions of all clients involved. The ClaimCenter, Claim Portal for Policyholders, and Claim Portal for Vendors seeks to empower everyone inside the Seibels organization as they reach out to customers. And in that same manner, they seek to empower each individual customer as those individuals get a personal handle on their claims.

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Edited by Peter Bernstein
APA petitions are one more tool we use to protect public lands or threatened wildlife by engaging federal agencies and pushing them to do better for the ...
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has handed over to representatives of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE the data about the presence of heavy military equipment banned under the Minsk agreements in a number of populated areas of the temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk region.

The OSCE SMM "were provided with the information about the presence of tanks and the TOS-1 Buratino multiple rocket launcher, which are banned by the Minsk agreements, near the towns of Novohryhoryivka, Makiyivka and the city of Donetsk," the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate reported on Wednesday.

The TOS-1 heavy flamethrower system is a Soviet 220mm 30-barrel or 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis.

The TOS-1 was designed for defeating enemy personnel in fortifications, open country, and in lightly armored vehicles. The TOS-1 can be used in both offensive and defensive missions to provide support to infantry and tanks.

The TOS-1 was developed by the Design Bureau of Transport Machine Building based in Omsk in the late 1980s and small numbers were used in military operations in the early 1990s.
Militants have shelled the positions of the Ukrainian troops in Donbas on 21 occasions since midnight, the press center of the headquarters of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) said.

The situation has deteriorated. The enemy has fired weapons against Ukrainian servicemen on 21 occasions in the course of the day, the press center said in a statement on its Facebook page (the report as of 1800 Kyiv time on Wednesday).

In particular, according to the Kyiv data, militants have simultaneously fired small arms and grenade launchers of different systems on four checkpoints of the Ukrainian military in the area of Maryinka.

Meanwhile, the enemy sought to hit units of the ATO forces by a precise small-arms fire in Shyrokyne. A sniper was firing near Zaitseve.

Militants have repeatedly waged a disturbing fire by small arms and large-caliber machineguns in the direction of the Ukrainian positions in the area of Pisky and Opytne.
No document about amnesty of parties to conflict in Donbas exists

No bill or document about amnesty of parties to the armed conflict in Donbas was discussed by working groups in Minsk, Ukraine's envoy in the Minsk Trilateral Contact Group's subgroup for humanitarian affairs, MP from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction Iryna Gerashchenko has said.

"There are many speculations around the issue. Now we really study experience of many countries in amnesty, but no concrete bill or document on amnesty was discussed. This will be responsibility of the Verkhovna Rada," Gerashchenko said in an interview with Channel 5 TV on Tuesday.

MP said that from global experience no country declared amnesty during conflicts.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has approved a concept for the creation and development of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) with two stages in 2016 and 2017, SOF Commander, Major General Ihor Lunev has said.

"Now the concept has passed all the procedures and has been approved by the order of the defense minister of Ukraine. SOF are separate military units. The work on the law on SOF is underway. The SOF command has been formed to control military unites that will be transferred to the SOF. First, these are combat units and information and psychological operations units," Lunev said in an interview with Radio Liberty published on Wednesday.

He said that the concept has been discussed with the experts in the SOF department of General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces and with representatives of the NATO office, in particular, Lithuania.

"The concept includes the gradual training of operational and combat skills. At the first stage, in 2016, military special task units will be subordinated to SOF command. Control, servicing and guard units will be created in 2016. One of the key issues is the creation of the SOF center. The decision to create it has been made, the place of location has been selected and the table of authorized personnel has been approved," Lunev said.

He said that now future training staff is being trained on the base of the special operations unit in Khmelnytsky. Separate small units are trained with the involvement of training staff from NATO ally countries. Military servicemen who have combat experience in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone were selected as training staff.

"At the second stage, by the end of 2017, it is planned to improve training of all units under NATO standards. Ukrainian units will be harmonized with NATO special operation forces. Joint drills with western colleagues are planned," he said.

Lunev said that it is planned to pay attention to technical equipment of units, and western partners of Ukraine are ready to help with the issue.

"This concerns communications, navigation, delivery and evacuation means," he said.
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020.

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018.

* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

* Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010.

* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.
During the period of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made public statements in which he said that Iran would accept no foreign imposition regarding its national defense, and that the nuclear agreement would include no limits on Irans ballistic missile stockpiles.

While this is technically true of the July 14 deal, the United Nations and European Union resolutions governing that deal do call upon the Islamic Republic to refrain from any further work on or testing of missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, for a period of eight years. Until that deal and the associated resolutions go into effect, separate UN resolutions remain in place barring Iran from such work, without exception.

But since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations, other Iranian officials including President Hassan Rouhani, who is regarded as a moderate by some in the West, reiterated Khameneis positions on the nations missile stockpiles. Tehrans commitment to non-cooperation was made clear in October when it test-fired an Emad-class missile that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The UNs panel of experts on Iran recently confirmed that this constituted a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1929.

That demonstration closely coincided with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps decision to broadcast images of an underground missile silo on state media. It was followed up in November by another missile test, this time of Ghadr-class weapon capable of carrying an even larger payload, and for an even longer distance. The comparative specifications effectively confirm that the latter test is also a violation of UNSCR 1929.

Because the Emad missile test is banned under this resolution, Tuesdays unveiling of the new missile depot has also been described as a violation, since the state television images showed the same type of missiles housed therein.

The broadcast appears to be the latest in a series of provocations responding not only to the existence of the relevant resolutions, but also to tentative US plans to enforce those resolutions with respect to the October missile launch. The Treasury Department indicated last week that it was preparing new sanctions against individuals and businesses with ties to the Iranian ballistic missile program.

But soon afterward, those plans were put on hold, possibly out of concerns that Iran would regard any new sanctions whatsoever as grounds for canceling the nuclear deal. Such a hardline response to the enforcement measures is evidently endorsed even by the so-called moderate Rouhani, who personally responded to the sanctions plans by ordering his defense minister to increase the size of Irans ballistic missile stockpiles.

At approximately the same time, IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami publicly claimed that those stockpiles were already so large that the country had run out of space in which to store its weaponry.

Irans latest effort to show off its arsenal contributes to the threat invoked by such boastful public statements by Iranian officials. But more than that, it comes at a time when concerns over nuclear weapons have already been escalated in some circles, given North Koreas recent claim that it had tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb.

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post raised this issue in order to compare the failure of Clinton-era nuclear agreements with North Korea to the possible failure of the current nuclear agreement with Iran.

The Jerusalem Post also quoted Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz as saying, Israel and the US should increase intelligence sharing in order to ensure that Iran is not breaching its nuclear agreement through involvement in North Koreas nuclear project.

Suspicions about such collaboration have substantial precedent. The National Council of Resistance of Iran issue a report last May extensively detailing apparent collaboration between Iran and North Korea on nuclear development, including secret visits to Tehran by North Korean nuclear scientists.

For the NCRI, the Israelis, and other critics of the nuclear agreement, each of Tehrans efforts to defy ballistic missile bans is further justification for skepticism about its willingness to abide by the deal itself, or to cease clandestine work such as its collaborations with North Korea.
Later on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that the Arabian nation of Qatar had recalled its ambassador from Iran, effectively downgrading diplomatic relations with the Shiite theocracy in much the same way that the neighboring United Arab Emirates had done earlier. Al Jazeera added that Djibouti had also cut ties with Iran, while Jordan and Turkey had each made public expressions of support for the Saudis in the midst of the emerging conflict.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan dismissed the Iranian protestors justification for the violence, saying that the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was a domestic issue in which Iran had no rightful say. He also criticized Iranian outrage over the execution, suggesting that it was hypocritical in light of Irans willful contribution to so many other deaths through its support for the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad throughout the five year civil war.

Erdogans remarks are conspicuously similar to those levied by Iranian officials themselves, in situations where they have sought to diffuse criticism of their own allegedly political imprisonments and executions. For instance, Tehran has repeatedly dismissed American and other Western activism aimed at securing the release of American citizens held prisoner in the country, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini. Iran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, persistently describes these individuals as Iranian citizens and argues that they should be subject to Irans domestic laws, without foreign intervention.

The essential difference between these cases and that of Nimr is only that the relevant identity motivating the protests is not national, but religious. As such, many commentators were quick to point out that the violent protests and subsequent deterioration in diplomatic relations are likely to inflame the already prevalent sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East.

But whereas the Iranian mobs apparently sought to protest the supposedly politically motivated killing of a single influential Shiite, there is reason to believe that the response from Gulf Arab states has much more to do with genuine concerns over national security and an ascendant Islamic Republic of Iran. This helps to explain the widespread coordination over the issue, which, according to First Post, will see the Gulf Cooperation Council gathering in Riyadh on Saturday to discuss member states short and long-term strategies with respect to Iran.

Those states apparently have much more political cover for their diplomatic withdrawals than Iran does for the attacks that initiated them. The National contributed to this conclusion on Wednesday when it reported that the violation of the sovereignty of the Saudi embassy and consulate was a also a violation of United Nations conventions to which Iran is a signatory. This in turn helps to support the assessment of Woodrow Wilson Center scholar Aaron Miller, in an article published by CNN on Wednesday.

Miller concluded that Iran appeared to be the big loser in this current round of international tensions, and that Saudi Arabia was making gains, at least in the short term, as it utilized the embassy attack to further justify actions by the Gulf States in the absence of US leadership on the Iran issue. Saudi Arabia and its partners have been skeptical of US policy in the region since nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 began to lead to the lifting of former Western economic and political restraints on the Islamic Republic.

The Saudis have naturally been joined in their skepticism by a range of other parties who fear the consequences of empowering Iran. These include congressional Republicans, many Democrats, Israel, and the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Most of these critics of current Western policy are quick to place the blame for worsening sectarian tensions upon the Iranians.

Tehran, predictably, has taken the opposite position in the midst of the fallout from the embassy fire, with the Iranian foreign ministry blaming the Saudis for using the Nimr execution and the subsequent response to fuel general sectarian tensions, according to Leader Call. Furthermore, the New York Post pointed out that a number of Iranian news outlets had adopted a familiar strategy of much official Iranian state propaganda, putting forth conspiracy theories blaming foreign interlopers for events taking place among Iranians.

In the present case, these conspiracy theories intimate that Saudi Arabia itself, or perhaps Israel or the West, had masterminded the attack on the Saudi embassy and consulate, in order to contribute to the destabilization of the region. Leading Iranian officials have taken pains to distance themselves from the attack, but these denials are made suspect by the various threatening statements made by many of those same officials in the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of Nimrs execution.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty reported on Wednesday that in the days before the storming of the embassy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had specifically threatened harsh revenge for the execution. Around the same time, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei phrased these threats in more religious terms by predicting divine vengeance for the Saudis.

RFE/RL also points out that the notions of foreign sabotage and the protestors independence from the Iranian government are both undermined by the fact that those who stormed the embassy were generally not afraid of being identified, and were in fact happy to share images of their activities on social media. This seems to suggest that the perpetrators had  or believed they had  the support of the IRGC or other government entities and would not face consequences from security forces that are notorious for their repression of protests and peaceful gatherings. This explanation is supported in turn by the fact that this particular protest went on for an hour and a half before a police commander arrived on the scene.

So it seems likely that despite Tehrans superficial criticisms of the embassy protestors and of Saudi sectarianism, the worsening sectarian conflict is being actively or tacitly supported by officials on the Iranian side. And fittingly, bilateral escalation is another major takeaway of this incident that was presented by Aaron Miller in his CNN editorial, and it is something that the US and Western powers are warning against, albeit without an articulated plan of action for prevention.

On the issue of Syria, the Obama administration has apparently drawn back from its former position of staunch opposition to the Assad regime, raising concerns that the US might be coming around to Irans side, if only to avoid damaging the rapprochement between the two traditional enemies.

A major concern for Western policymakers, therefore, is that the deterioration in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will seriously affect the dialogue over a political solution, in which the Saudis and Iranians are both expected to participate later this month during a new security conference in Geneva.

The embassy attack may further motivate Iran to dig in its heels on its anti-Assad position, while also motivating other Sunni states to provide greater support to Syrian rebels and other sources of opposition to Irans regional activities. But meanwhile, the Nimr execution and the general breakdown in relations with Sunni states could be exploited by the Iranians to drive recruitment for their Shiite proxy militias not only in Syria but also in Yemen, Bahrain, and elsewhere.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Bahrain had made several arrests as it broke up a Shiite militant group with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Tehran-controlled Lebanese paramilitary Hezbollah. Such reports presumably contribute to concerns regarding the sectarian conflicts that may be yet to come.

And Miller suggests that such conflicts, along with the general power struggle between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia will lead to serious challenges for the US as it attempts to straddle a fence with insufficient credibility and influence with both sides. So while it may be in Americas interests to bring the sectarian tensions under control, it will be extremely difficult for the US to do so without jeopardizing its relationship with one side or the other.

Meanwhile, it is not clear that there is any other global power that is prepared to step into the role of mediator. The Associated Press indicated on Wednesday that the only nation to make a specific offer along these lines was Iraq. But this is an implausible solution, as Iraq lacks the neutrality to mediate between its two neighbors, as well as the strength to enforce any supposed solution.

Although Saudi Arabia sent an ambassador to Baghdad last week for the first time in 25 years, the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government still maintains close ties with Tehran, as well as being influenced by numerous Iranian-supported Shiite militias operating inside the country and fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

In absence of effective foreign intervention in this situation, it appears likely that Saudi-Iran relations will continue to deteriorate, possibly leading to a prolonged cold war, attempts at economic warfare, or an expansion of existing proxy conflicts. The long-term effects of such escalation are uncertain, but just as Miller observes that Iran is the short-term loser in the current situation, the Wall Street Journal concluded on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would have a clear advantage in an economic war, such that if it was willing to absorb budget deficits of its own, it could potentially keep Irans oil prices to about half of the price assumed by Irans current-year budget.

This could be a source of significant economic pain for the Islamic Republic at a time when Tehran is anticipating a swift removal of US-led sanctions and a dramatic increase in oil exports to the global market. This is to say that notwithstanding the USs commitment to rapprochement with Iran, the regional response to Irans provocations could still have the effect of counteracting very much of that rapprochement.
This blog focuses on our travels to the western part of the United States in the Summer of 2021
I had a couple of questions, so I called to speak with someone a few days before our stay. My call was transferred to an offsite service. The person I spoke with sounded willing to assist me; however, I did not feel confident that our needs would be met after the call. The day before our arrival, I browsed the online check-in process. The highest floor guestroom available for online check-in was on floor 8, and this hotel has 19 floors. I also saw that a king bedroom was now the same price as the king studio we had booked, so I decided to call the hotel again. This time, I spoke with someone directly in the hotel, and she changed our guestroom to a 1-bedroom suite.

cute door knocker peepholes on every door!

Suite 1207

screen shot of the bathrobe photo

shown on the hotel website

floor diagram on back of guestroom door



























Food & Beverage - breakfast and evening social

breakfast

breakfast

contents from one of the

snack bags we received

Pool area

Misc. and overall

Please feel free to share this post for future Chicago travelers!

On the day of our arrival, we had taken the Amtrak to Chicago in the morning. We arrived at the hotel around 10:30 a.m. We went to the 6th floor where reception is located, and spoke with the front desk agent to let her know we were in town. She said check-in is at 4:00 p.m., and she took my cell phone number to call us, if our room became available before then. We checked our bags with the bellman on the ground floor, and our guestroom was ready shortly after 2:30 p.m.I waited behind another guest when I returned to the front desk to get our keys. The agent provided that guest with hotel information, and she gave him a paper bag to get snacks and beverages from the lobby. She asked how many were in his party, and then told him he could get three beverages and some snacks. We did not receive any information or snacks when she provided our keys. I thought maybe we did not receive snacks because I have bonus points chosen for my Hilton on-property benefit, so I did not ask about this. When we got on the elevator, we encountered a staff member who was bringing a bag of goodies to our suite.This guestroom is on the 12th floor, and it is located on the south side of the building near the east end.The layout and amenities were similar to other Homewood Suites I have stayed in: kitchen area with full size fridge, coffeepot with supplies, electric burners, microwave, dishwasher, table with two chairs; living room area with sofa, flatscreen TV, coffee table, and end table; bedroom with door, king size bed, nightstands, flatscreen TV, armoire; bathroom with separate vanity area, tub/shower combination, toilet, long vanity, Neutrogena bath amenities, hairdryer, and closet containing a folding luggage rack, extra bedding, iron, and ironing board.We appreciated that housekeeping, or someone, had turned the ice maker on in the freezer, and there were a few cubes in the tray. This is often not the case, and then we have to find an ice machine when we first arrive.The suite was in dire need of a facelift. Hence, the renovations going on. The bathroom sink was cracked, one of the closet doors was off the track and did not slide, the carpet was torn and/or stained, and the furniture was not very comfortable. The pictures I am providing in this review are mainly for guestroom layout purposes, as I imagine most furnishings will be replaced when the guestroom is remodeled. The guestroom was basically the same as the diagram on the hotel website with a few minor differences. The kitchen and bathroom configurations were slightly different from the model shown online. The most important thing for me when traveling is sleep quality, and the sleep quality in our room was great. The pillows and bed were comfortable, and the bedding was clean. The time on the clock in the bedroom was an hour off. It happened to match our home time zone, so we did not attempt to change it. A disappointment for me, was that this hotel did not have bathrobes. The hotel website shows a picture of a bathrobe under every room type. One of the reasons I had called before our stay was to confirm that they did have bathrobes. The person I spoke with the first time I called, told me yes, and she added a comment to my reservation requesting a bathrobe in the guestroom.There was not a robe in the guestroom when we arrived, so I called to request one. The manager answered the call, and he said they do not have bathrobes. I kicked myself for not re-asking this question when I had called back the second time and spoken with someone in the hotel. I am an extremely light packer, and I had packed my luggage based on the information from the person I spoke with the first time I called.One thing I like about the studio guestrooms is that they have a walk-in shower rather than a tub/shower. Since we were staying New Years Eve, I thought a 1-bedroom suite would be a better choice, because the bedroom has a door. I was right about needing the bedroom door because there were some noisy guests in suite 1205 across the hall. After we had been woken up the third time, at 4:00 a.m., I decided to call the guestroom. No one answered after four or five rings, so I hung up. Possibly, the guests thought a hotel staff member was calling about the noise because we did not hear any more noise after my call. Before I called, there had been a lot of door slamming (from people going in and out, as the doors shut loudly), and we could smell cigarette smoke - the smell was in our suite kitchen area, and not in the bedroom with the door closed. I smelled it when I walked into the kitchen to look out and see where the noise was coming from.The complimentary Internet in the guestroom was kind of irksome. Even though we were staying for three days, we could only sign in for one day at a time, so I had to enter my information to "re-join" everyday. If you need the Internet in your room for work or something important, you may want to consider the purchased service. The complimentary WiFi was slow and it often disconnected.Even though I am detail-oriented, and I often stay in hotels, I sometimes forget to check little details. Especially, when I am half asleep. The first morning, I poured water in the coffee pot and started it. I always skimp on the water, since we like strong coffee. A few minutes later, when I thought the coffee should have been done, I returned to the kitchen and found the canister almost ready to spill over. Apparently, there had already been water in the reservoir, when I added more. That coffee ended up down the drain, and my husband went down to the lodge/breakfast area to get us two cups of coffee. After I finished waking up, I thought I probably should have realized the coffee pot seemed kind of full.Along with breakfast everyday, this hotel provides a complimentary evening social on Monday through Thursday, and the menu was posted on the fridge in the suite. I have attached photos of the food offerings for December 2015 and January 2016, which can be enlarged by clicking on the photos. You can find details of our experiences under the Food & Beverage heading below.Similar food items were offered foreach morning: scrambled eggs, sausage patties or links, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, diced mango pieces, breads and bagels, oatmeal, cold cereals, fat-free and 2% milk, juices, hot beverages, and French toast or pancakes. The second hot item with the scrambled eggs changed each morning: tater tots, potato wedges, or sausage biscuits and gravy. We were disappointed that bacon was not served one morning. The scrambled eggs tasted good the first morning; however, after three days they were not so appealing.All the foods were fresh, and the whole fruit was the best I have ever had from a hotel breakfast buffet. Extremely fresh and delicious bananas, apples, oranges, and grapefruits were in a bowl on the counter.The first evening of our stay, theincluded cheesy broccoli soup, fresh salad, pork sliders, and cookies. I think there was also some type of snack item, like chips, although I am not certain, since I only tried the items shown in the plate photo here.All of the foods that I tried at the evening social were fresh and delicious. I was impressed with the quality of the food at this Homewood Suites.Three types of wine were available in the evening: rose, white, and red. I do not know the wine brand. The red wine was okay for a glass or two without becoming too sweet. Bud Light was the only beer type served. I imagine soda was also available, although we did not see any.I had contacted this hotel by email before our stay because I wanted to find out if they were going to have the evening social on New Years Eve, a Thursday. The reply I received said, "The evening social will take place as usual." We planned our activities and dining arrangements based on that reply. After we got settled in our guestroom, I noticed there was not anything written on the fridge calendar for Thursday, December 31st. When I learned they had decided to cancel the evening social, I shared the information I had received via email before our trip. Along with some extra snacks, we received a card with an apology and a gift card for Season's 52 across the street. Again, I was impressed.The pool and fitness center were located on the top floor. There is a good view of outside from both rooms. The water temperature in the pool was warm. Several lounge chairs were located on the pool deck, and there were a few tables with chairs, as well. Even though construction was going in the rooms outside the pool area (one guestroom right next door), we did not hear any noise while in the pool area.If you want to purchase any groceries while staying at this extended stay hotel, there is a Jewel-Osco located around the corner on State St. I suggest bringing your own shopping bag(s) to the store, if possible.We were happy at this hotel, and I would choose to stay here again. All staff members provided excellent care, including housekeepers, doormen, and food attendants. The evening front desk agent (Jeremiah, I think), manager on duty the afternoon we arrived, and Erich T. were especially cordial. I have stayed in at least seven different hotels in downtown Chicago, and this is the first time employees made me feel genuinely welcome. During our stay, we experienced a couple of mishaps/miscommunication, and it was the way things were handled that won me over.As I already mentioned, the hotel was being renovated at the time of our stay. There was quite a bit of noise Wednesday afternoon when we arrived, and on Saturday before we departed. In between times, we were either not in our room, or the noise was minimal. The fact that we had a reasonable rate made these disruptions tolerable.I did not like the telephone system/procedure when dialing into this property. If you want to speak with someone in the hotel, I suggest starting right in with your question after the call is answered. Both times that I called, a female answered the call, and then said, "How may I direct your call?" The first time I called, I stated the reason for my call (wanted additional hotel information), and I was transferred to the offsite service where I received incorrect [bathrobe] information. The second time I called, I asked a question, rather than stating the basic reason for my call. The employee answered my question, and then assisted me with my remaining questions/requests. I would have preferred my call being initially answered by a recorded message with options to direct my call, as long as one of the options had been to speak with a hotel member.In order to keep this post from getting any longer, I have written a separate post with additional Chicago information:, and a couple of localand
Ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep, and swim deep!

A prophet w/ a heart for the people disconnected from the spring well of life saw a vision where a river of life flows from the east side of the altar of the Lord's sanctuary, flowing to the east, then going south, making an otherwise infertile lands go green with fruit trees lined up along side, bearing fruit in season and out of season, with the waters of the river healing the lands and people, making the waters teem with fish, so that fishermen would stand on the river banks catching beautiful fish like trouts. So what is the source of the spring fountain of the living waters?








What You Can't Discuss:

This is a partial list of taboo topics within progressive-left venues around the Arab-Israel conflict. You cannot discuss this material because it undermines the "Palestinian narrative" of perpetual victimhood. This narrative is a club used by the Arab and Muslim enemies of Israel, along with their western progressive allies, to delegitimize that country in preparation for its eventual dissolution.



1) The centuries of Jewish dhimmitude under the boot of Islamic imperialism.



2) The recent construction of Palestinian identity, its connection to Soviet Cold War politics, and how this is an Arab people with a Roman name that refers to Greeks.



3) Arab and Palestinian Koranically-based racism as the fundamental source of the conflict.



4) The ways in which contemporary progressive anti-Zionism serves as a cloak for gross anti-Semitism.



5) The Palestinian theft and appropriation of Jewish history.



6) "Pallywood."



7) The historical connections between the Nazis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Palestinian national movement.



8) The perpetual refusal of the Palestinian-Arabs to accept a state for themselves in peace next to the Jewish one.



9) The progressive portrayal of terrorists as those fighting a righteous war of "resistance."



10) The Arab-Palestinian indoctrination of children with Jew hatred.



11) Human rights violations against women, children, and Gay people in the Muslim Middle East.



12) The fact that violent Jihadis call themselves "Jihadis" and claim to love death above life.



This is only a partial list, so please let us know the many more that we are missing.
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[January 06, 2016] Baron & Budd, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and Berkeley City Attorney File 5th PCB Lawsuit Against Monsanto for Contaminating Storm Water and San Francisco Bay

Today, Baron & Budd, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and the City of Berkeley filed the fifth lawsuit of its kind against Monsanto for PCB contamination of Berkeley's city stormwater and the San Francisco Bay. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are toxic chemicals which cannot be contained and last for decades. PCBs off-gas from their original application, enter into city storm water through urban run-off, and deposit into San Francisco Bay. Berkeley joins San Jose, Oakland, San Diego, and Spokane, Washington, all which have filed similar lawsuits against Monsanto. The case was filed in federal district in the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:16-cv-00071-DMR. Monsanto produced PCBs for approximately 50 years until the U.S. Congress banned them because they endanger human and environmental health. Despite the 1979 ban, today PCBs are a common environmental contaminant found in all natural resources including water and plants as well as tissues of marine life, animals and humans. PCBs bioaccumulate in the food chain and are associated with illnesses and cancer in humans. "Monsanto unleashed an environmental virus that cannot be contained and is now in virtually every living organism in our food chain," says Baron & Budd attorney Scott Summy, who leads the litigation for each of the 5 cities. "Toda, Berkeley is standing up for clean water and holding Monsanto responsible for manufacturing a product it knew would become a global contaminant."



During the five decades prior to the 1979 ban, Monsanto's PCBs were incorporated into a wide variety of products and applications including power transformers, electrical equipment, paints, caulks and other building materials. Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and could not be contained as they readily escaped into the environment, finding their way into bays, oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, soil and air. Although documents show Monsanto recognized PCBs were becoming a global contaminant, Monsanto continued to manufacture PCBs and ignored the health risks to humans and the environment. "PCBs are found in the consumable tissue of fish and other wildlife. Monsanto's PCBs are perhaps one of the largest public nuisances on the planet," says attorney John Fiske of Gomez Trial Attorneys. "It's unfair that California's taxpayers and cities should be required to clean up Monsanto's mess."

California's Water Quality Control Board has determined that the presence of PCBs in storm water runoff in Bay Area cities, including Berkeley, threatens fish and wildlife in San Francisco Bay. On November 19, 2015, the Regional Water Board issued a new Municipal Stormwater Permit requiring a reduction in the total maximum daily load of PCBs that flow through Bay Area cities' storm water system into the Bay. Berkeley will incur significant costs to remove PCBs in its storm water if it were to meet the levels set by the new permit. The new permit affects the entire San Francisco Bay region. Baron & Budd, P.C., based in Dallas, Texas, has represented hundreds of public entities nationwide whose water supplies, properties or natural resources are affected by chemical contaminants. Gomez Trial Attorneys, based in San Diego, represents cities and families in water contamination cases. For questions, please contact Scott Summy at Baron & Budd at [email protected] or John Fiske at Gomez Trial Attorneys at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160106006766/en/

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[January 07, 2016] Global Auction Buyers Find IAA's New And Improved Registration Site Easier To Use And Mobile-Friendly

WESTCHESTER, Ill., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA), a business unit of KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR), and the leading live and live-online salvage auto auction company, today announced the launch of a newly improved buyer registration platform. With the new mobile-friendly display, buyers from around the world can take part in an auction within 24 hours of registering and can complete the process online, without being required to fax or email documents. "It's quite simple, we want to be top-of-mind, easy to do business with, and provide a great experience to our buyers around the globe," noted John Kett, CEO and president, IAA. "Regardless of the technology or service we are building, the end-user is at the core of our development strategy. Today, our new buyer registration platform is streamlined, and the user interface has been completely overhauled to make registering with IAA easy, flexible and mobile friendly. In fact, we've nearly doubled our registrations year over year since launching the new registration platform on September 1, 2015." The platform's advances in efficiencies include instant upload for IDs and business licenses via scanned documents or digital images. As with all other IAA apps, the online process isbuilt for mobility and compatible across all devices  computers, smartphones and tablets alike.



IAA's Buyer Services provides assistance to buyers in English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, French, German, Polish and Chinese. They also assist with registration, bidding, payment (accept wire transfers and process payments), vehicle pick up and more. They also help answer questions about buyer rules, auction policies and all web and mobile application issues. Hours:

Mon-Fri 6:30am  7pm (CT) and Sat-Sun 8am  5pm (CT), toll-free at 877-937-4243 or International  708-492-7080, or email [email protected]. To learn more, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCvnxxkH2I0. To Register, go to: https://www.iaai.com/Registration/Free.

About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. Insurance Auto Auctions is the leading live and live-online salvage vehicle auction company and a business unit of KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR). Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, IAA has over 170 auction facilities throughout North America offering towing, financing and titling services. With the most auction facilities in North America, IAA provides registered buyers from around the globe with millions of opportunities to bid on and purchase donated and salvaged vehicles. Since 1982, IAA has sold millions of vehicles through its weekly auctions for insurance companies, fleet and rental companies, financing companies, charity organizations and the general public. IAA also leverages its business model to assist charitable organizations in the US through its One Car One Difference campaign. To date IAA has provided millions of dollars in additional funding to charities by assisting in the processing of donated vehicles. Learn how we are making a difference by visiting www.1car1difference.com. With a talented team of over 2,000 employees, IAA is committed to providing customers with the highest level of services in the salvage auto industry. Go to www.IAA-Auctions.com to learn more, and follow IAA on Facebook and Twitter. Jeanene O'Brien | Vice President

(708) 492-7328 | www.iaai.com Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150617/223790LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-auction-buyers-find-iaas-new-and-improved-registration-site-easier-to-use-and-mobile-friendly-300200967.html SOURCE Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.

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[January 07, 2016] Baron & Budd, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and City of Berkeley File 5th PCB Lawsuit Against Monsanto for Contaminating Storm Water and San Francisco Bay

Today, Baron & Budd, Gomez Trial Attorneys, and the City of Berkeley filed the fifth lawsuit of its kind against Monsanto for PCB contamination of Berkeley's city storm water and the San Francisco Bay. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are toxic chemicals that cannot be contained and last for decades. PCBs off-gas from their original application, enter into city storm water through urban run-off, and deposit into San Francisco Bay. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107006012/en/ "Monsanto unleashed an environmental virus that cannot be contained and is now in virtually every living organism in our food chain," says Baron & Budd attorney Scott Summy. "Today, Berkeley is standing up for clean water and holding Monsanto responsible for manufacturing a product it knew would become a global contaminant." Berkeley joins San Jose, Oakland, and San Diego, California, and Spokane, Washington, all which have filed similar lawsuits against Monsanto. The case was filed in federal district in the Northern District of California, Case No. 5:16-cv-00071. According to the lawsuit, Monsanto produced PCBs for approximately 50 yars until the U.S. Congress banned them because they endanger human and environmental health. Despite the 1979 ban, today PCBs are a common environmental contaminant found in all natural resources including water and plants as well as tissues of marine life, animals and humans. PCBs bioaccumulate in the food chain and are associated with illnesses and cancer in humans.



"Monsanto unleashed an environmental virus that cannot be contained and is now in virtually every living organism in our food chain," says Baron & Budd attorney Scott Summy, who leads the litigation for each of the 5 cities. "Today, Berkeley is standing up for clean water and holding Monsanto responsible for manufacturing a product it knew would become a global contaminant." During the five decades prior to the 1979 ban, Monsanto's PCBs were incorporated into a wide variety of products and applications including power transformers, electrical equipment, paints, caulks and other building materials. According to the lawsuit, Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and could not be contained as they readily escaped into the environment, finding their way into bays, oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, soil and air. Although documents show Monsanto recognized PCBs were becoming a global contaminant, Monsanto continued to manufacture PCBs and ignored the health risks to humans and the environment.

"PCBs are found in the consumable tissue of fish and other wildlife. Monsanto's PCBs are perhaps one of the largest public nuisances on the planet," says attorney John Fiske of Gomez Trial Attorneys. "It's unfair that California's taxpayers and cities should be required to clean up Monsanto's mess." California's Water Quality Control Board has determined that the presence of PCBs in storm water runoff in Bay Area cities, including Berkeley, threatens fish and wildlife in San Francisco Bay. On November 19, 2015, the Regional Water Board issued a new Municipal Stormwater Permit requiring a reduction in the total maximum daily load of PCBs that flow through Bay Area cities' storm water system into the Bay. Berkeley will incur significant costs to remove PCBs in its storm water if it were to meet the levels set by the new permit. The new permit affects the entire San Francisco Bay region. About Baron & Budd, P.C. and Gomez Trial Attorneys Baron & Budd, P.C., based in Dallas, Texas, has represented hundreds of public entities nationwide whose water supplies, properties or natural resources are affected by chemical contaminants. Gomez Trial Attorneys, based in San Diego, represents cities and families in water contamination cases. For questions, please contact Scott Summy at Baron & Budd at [email protected] or John Fiske at Gomez Trial Attorneys at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107006012/en/

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Ventings from a guy with an unhealthy interest in budgets, policy, the dismal science, life in the Upper Midwest, and brilliant beverages.
DEAR ABBY: Do you think parents should intervene in arguments between 10-year-olds? My daughter, "Amy," was playing at a neighbor's house with two other girls and they had an argument over something stupid. The neighbor's daughter, "Kathy," started to cry, so her mother asked my daughter and the other girl to leave because they had upset Kathy. Afterward, she called and wanted me to punish my daughter for upsetting hers.

I didn't do it because I think 10-year-olds are old enough to make amends with each other. When Amy explained the situation, I concluded that Kathy started to cry because she didn't get what she wanted. The girls were playing with each other again two days later.

This isn't the first time this has happened, but it's annoying because they make a big deal out of it. Kathy is an only child and we have three children. What do you think about this? -- AMY'S MOM IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM

DEAR AMY'S MOM: Hang onto your sense of humor and take "Helicopter Mom's" suggestions regarding parenting your child with a grain of salt. Kathy's mother means well, but she should stop trying to fight her daughter's battles for her.

DEAR ABBY: I have two brothers and two sisters. We all earned a modest but comfortable living and made plans for our retirement -- except for one. He blew his money on cars, vacations and gambling. He retired as early as possible, and because of it he doesn't get much Social Security. Now he's broke.

He thinks one of us should take him in and complains that we are a "bad family" because no one has offered to let him live with us. None of our retirement plans were made with provisions for him. He is selfish, irritating and untrustworthy. I don't want to spend my retirement being miserable. What do I do? -- RETIRED IN CHICAGO

DEAR RETIRED: If taking your irresponsible brother in would ensure that your retirement would be miserable, you shouldn't do it. Your brother has lived his life the way he wanted, without consideration for the consequences. If his retirement plan was gambling that you and your siblings would support him for his poor choices, it appears he has lost that bet, too. As a kindness, direct your brother to resources that help low-income seniors.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I decided to go our separate ways and have filed for divorce. Although I moved out, we agreed to keep prior engagements. One of them is a trip to Europe to visit family and friends.

When we talked about traveling together, my understanding was that it meant sitting next to each other in the car and on the plane. Now he is making the hotel arrangements and has asked me if he should book a room with two beds or two separate rooms. This is confusing and it's making me feel awkward. How should I answer? -- THE EX-MRS. IN MICHIGAN

DEAR EX-MRS.: Be honest. If the idea of sharing a room with your almost-ex-husband makes you uncomfortable, tell him you would prefer separate accommodations.

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)
MATTOON -- Lake Land College spring classes begin Monday, but there is still time to register.

Lake Land College will hold extended registration hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday in the Luther Student Center on campus in Mattoon. Late registration is the final opportunity to register prior to the start of the semester on Monday. Students may add and drop classes through Tuesday.

Counselors will also be available for extended walk-in hours to help students register for classes from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 11 and 12.

Please note that on Friday, all college offices will be closed from 8 -10 a.m. Services will resume at 10 a.m.

Students can contact Counseling Services at 217-234-5232 or counsel@lakelandcollge.edu for additional information regarding the enrollment process or to schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor.

Lake Land College courses are offered throughout east central Illinois at convenient times and locations. Take a class online, in your community or on campus in Mattoon. For a list of spring classes throughout the Lake Land College district, look for the View Schedules button at lakelandcollege.edu.

For a map of Lake Land College, visit http://www.lakeland.cc.il.us/col/map/index.cfm. To stay up-to-date with activities, deadlines and information, be sure to like the Lake Land College Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/lakelandcollege.
MATTOON -- Discussion of the recent arrest of a former guest of Mattoon Area PADS led to an airing of concerns regarding this homeless shelter during Tuesday's Mattoon City Council meeting.

The discussion began when council member Dave Cox noted that Lee A. Hearns, 26, a former Chicago resident who lists PADS as his home address, was arrested Thursday evening for allegedly confronting a police officer who was directing traffic near a fire scene.

Cox said PADS representatives have reported that a majority of the shelter's guests are from the Mattoon area and those who are not tend to move on soon. He cited the incident Thursday night as an example of instances in which PADS guests from outside the area have stayed locally and gotten in trouble with the law.

PADS needs to be questioned regarding the number of guests from outside the area who stay at the shelter and held accountable regarding any criminal activity involving these guests, Cox said.

"It's frustrating. It's an issue that is not going away," Cox said.

Regarding the arrest of Hearns, he was taken into custody at 11:18 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of South 21st Street on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a peace officer.

Police Chief Jeff Branson said the incident Thursday night involved Hearns allegedly yelling insults at a police officer and the police department's chaplain, and then placing his hands into his pockets to imply that he was armed. He said the subject was arrested after he subsequently confronted a bystander.

Branson said Hearns was so combative during his arrest that he had to be taken directly to the Coles County jail instead of first being taken to the Mattoon police station for booking. During the booking, his driver's license was found to list the PADS shelter at 2017 Broadway Ave. as his home address.

The police chief also expressed frustrations regarding the number of calls for police service regarding PADS guests.

"We are having multiple contacts with multiple residents there," Branson said. He later added that the department seems to handle calls on an almost weekly basis regarding PADS.

Contacted at home after the council meeting, PADS board President Nancy Cole said she received a report from the shelter on Tuesday that Hearns had not been a guest there since the summer.

Cole said she needs to look up the records for police contacts with PADS before she can address the related concerns raised at the council meeting. She said the police department does do background screening for prospective shelter guests and sometimes sends an officer in person to handle these calls.

Regarding guests from outside the area, Cole said PADS does not advertise its shelter services and cannot control who comes into the community. She said there is public housing and other social services, besides PADS, in the Mattoon area that can make it a destination for those facing financial hardships.

Information on other discussion and actions taken at the council meeting will be included in a follow-up story.
Let's take a break from all the seriousness of the world and enjoy some humor and off-the-wall news.

Besides, I have a cold and I feel crummy. Wah!

Sheriff: Stolen Kentucky whiskey may be destroyed, not sold

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Prized bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon that were spirited away by a whiskey-theft ring in Kentucky might end up being destroyed rather than auctioned off, a sheriff said Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton backed off his suggestion that 28 bottles of the prestigious Pappy Van Winkle brand be sold at auction, with proceeds going mostly to charitable causes.

Julian Van Winkle III, grandson of Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr., raised concerns about putting the purloined whiskey up for sale, Melton said. Van Winkle wants the stolen bourbon destroyed because of concerns it might have been tampered or contaminated, the sheriff said.

"We totally respect his wishes," Melton said.

But ultimately, a judge will decide the fate of the confiscated whiskey once the theft case is completed.

The 28 bottles of the super-premium bourbon were confiscated by the sheriff's office as part of the investigation into the theft ring. Officials say it was led by rogue distillery workers. The scheme went on for years and involved tens of thousands of dollars' worth of whiskey before it unraveled last year, authorities said.

Melton said he suggested the auction because he wanted to "see some good" come out of the theft case. He suggested auction proceeds go to such causes as the Kentucky Sheriff's Association's Boys and Girls Ranch.

Industry observer F. Paul Pacult, editor of the newsletter Spirit Journal, said Wednesday that it would have been "foolhardy and irresponsible" to auction the bottles.

"What if, by chance, these stolen bottles ended by being stored improperly by the alleged robbers, causing damage to the whiskey or, worse, if they had been tampered with by the accused," Pacult said. "In Van Winkle's eyes, the risk of harming the reputation of his hallowed brand isn't worth the publicity."

Not everyone agrees, though. Carla Carlton, who writes a blog about bourbon, said destroying the bottles "seems like adding a crime on top of a crime."

Carlton said she doubted that winning bidders would buy the whiskey to drink, which would lower the value of the bottles. Instead, they'd probably display the bottles as collector's items, she said.

Carlton sent a letter last spring to then-Gov. Steve Beshear, asking him to "Pardon My Pappy." She also launched a social media campaign urging bourbon fans to show support on Facebook and Twitter.

She said she plans to resume the campaign by reaching out to new Gov. Matt Bevin.

In announcing multiple arrests last spring, authorities said more than $100,000 in bourbon was stolen from the Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace distilleries in the heart of Kentucky bourbon country. Pappy Van Winkle is made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery, using a family recipe that traces back to the 1800s.

Prosecutors at the time said the heists included more than 20 cases of Pappy Van Winkle bourbons, 50 to 70 cases of Eagle Rare bourbon and other barrels of whiskey that were stolen but not recovered.

***

Now that would be a shame -- destroying such nice liquor. Perhaps there's a third option: Save it for a happy occasion and serve it up for free. They'd just need a fleet of designated drivers to help out, and it'd all be good. (urp!)

***

Study: Star clusters might host intelligent civilizations

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP)  Clusters of stars on the fringes of our Milky Way galaxy may be home to intelligent life. That's that word from an astrophysicist who's new to probing extraterrestrial territory.

Rosanne DiStefano of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, presented her theory Wednesday at the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting in Kissimmee Florida.

DiStefano said the approximately 150 globular clusters in our galaxy are old and stable, a plus for any civilization. In addition, so many stars are clumped together it would be easy to hop from one planet to another, keeping an advanced society going.

She says the first step is to locate more planets in these clusters. So far, only one has been found.

***

Maybe all the science fiction humans have been making up for decades isn't such fiction after all. But it's still fun to see made-up funny looking characters like on "Star Wars." Wouldn't we be disappointed if there are beings on other planets and they pretty much look just like us?

***

Finally, for this one...I have no words.

Spat erupts over state bill to bar women's exposed (you know what)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  A top state legislator warned his colleagues Wednesday to be civil following a social media spat over a bill barring women from exposing their (you know what) in public.

Lawmakers "have a responsibility to act with dignity, to act with respect, because we represent not only ourselves but our constituents and, in fact, the entire state of New Hampshire," Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper told the 400-member body in remarks to open the 2016 legislative session.

Jasper's admonishment comes after two male legislators were criticized for crude Facebook comments aimed at Democratic Rep. Amanda Bouldin, who opposed the legislation and noted that it had all male sponsors. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for women to purposely expose their (you know what) publicly without regard for whether it might offend or alarm someone. It includes an exemption for breastfeeding.

A Republican representative filed the bill in response to the rise of the national "Free the Nipple" movement that is gathering steam (there). Two New Hampshire women appeared in court last month for violating an ordinance in Gilford that prohibits women from going topless, and they're trying to get the law changed.

In response to Bouldin's Facebook post, Republican Rep. Josh Moore, one of the bill's co-sponsors, wrote that women who want to expose their breasts should have no problem with a man's inclination to stare at it and "grab it."

Rep. Al Baldasaro, another Republican, chimed in to disparage Bouldin's appearance.

"No disrespect, but your (you know what) would be the last one I would want to see," he wrote. "You want to turn our family beach's (sic) into a pervert show."

Jasper didn't specifically mention those comments during his call for civility, but earlier Wednesday his leadership team attempted to block the bill from being introduced. The effort failed, and the bill will be up for a public hearing and debate this year.
100 years ago, Jan. 7, 1916

MATTOON -- At a meeting of the members of the board of trustees of Mattoon Memorial Hospital Thursday afternoon, S.W. Phillips, president of the board, was authorized to name committees for selecting a site and building plans for a new hospital, he to be the chairman of each committee. Also on the site selection committee are S.G. Bauer and Rev. G.F. Oliver. The committee on planning also includes G.H. Cokendolpher and Miss Delphine Pierson... CHARLESTON -- The responsibility of a grandparent for the support of his grandchildren, the father and mother being alive, was the feature of the day in court yesterday. The court decided that the grandparent, John P. Wright, should pay $15 monthly for the support of his three grandchildren, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Pearly Wright. Pearly Wright, father of the children, is an invalid and unable to support his family. He and his wife and children lived on a farm owned by his father. The elder Wright lived on the same farm. Last fall, Mrs. Pearly Wright left her husband and lived in a house belonging to her uncle, I.B. Mitchell. The court ruled in favor of Mrs. Wright that her children's grandfather should make a monthly payment.

50 years ago, 1966

TUSCOLA -- Kim Benner, 11, of Tuscola discovered several sheets of bogus $5 bills as he was making a raft along the Kaskaskia River, west of Tuscola. He took some of the sheets to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Benner, Route 3 Tuscola, who informed authorities. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office and federal agents searched along the river and recovered more bills, estimated by local sources to total $50,000... MATTOON -- Martin T. Garbe was named chairman of the newly formed Junior College Public Relations Committee for the Mattoon school district at a meeting Thursday night. Leo Nelson was named vice chairman; Mrs. Chester Smith, secretary; and Frank J. Ronchetti, treasurer. Similar public relations committees are being formed in the other 13 school districts comprising the Eastern Illinois Junior College District. The function of the committees is to establish speakers and publicity bureaus to provide the public with information about the proposed junior college.

25 years ago, 1991

SHELBYVILLE  People sledding on the Lake Shelbyville dam are being asked to use caution. Ice on the slopes this year enables sleds to reach much higher speeds than normal. Straw bales have been placed at the bottom of the hill for sledders protection MATTOON  The annual City Bridge Tournament was held recently at the Cross County Mall. Defeating the other 13 teams entered in the tournament was the team of Edna Anderson and Corky Kepp. Duplicate bridge games are held at the mall each Monday and Wednesday evening. A beginners group also meets on Wednesday evenings FORT DIX, N.J.  Eastern Illinois University graduate Ali Dashti plans to help liberate his country from Saddam Hussein. Dashti is one of nearly 200 Kuwaiti residents stranded in the United States who have volunteered for training before shipping out to Saudi Arabia to join U.S. forces in Operation Desert Shield.

100 years ago, Jan. 8, 1916

CHARLESTON -- According to a telegram received from Washington by the Charleston Courier this morning, the name of Frank Johnston, one of Charleston's leading Democrats, was sent to the United States Senate by President Wilson to be Charleston's postmaster. Mr. Johnston is chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee and one of the leading Democrats of Coles County... MATTOON -- The house occupied by the Clarence Morgan family, 3312 Marion Ave., together with its contents, was destroyed by fire about 4 o'clock this morning. The six members of the household, three of them small children, made a bonfire on a vacant lot near the ruins of their home and remained there barefooted and scantily clad until 9 o'clock this morning when Mayor Bell, Supervisor Hoots and Dr. R.E. Kleckner, city health officer, broke into a nearby vacant house and provided them with temporary refuge. The Morgan home had been quarantined for about three weeks, two or three members of the family having been afflicted with a highly contagious disease.

50 years ago, 1966

MATTOON -- Stinging cold invaded the Mattoon area last night, pushing the mercury to the lowest readings of the winter. This morning a temperature of 4 degrees above zero was recorded at the Central Illinois Public Service Co. The mercury stood at 34 degrees yesterday morning before a cold front pushed into the area... CHARLESTON -- Marriages showed a large increase in Coles County during 1965, according to Coles County Clerk Harry Grafton's office. A total of 455 marriage licenses were issued last year by the clerk's office. In 1964, a total of 363 licenses were issued. Births recorded in the county dropped to 977, well below the 1,137 births recorded in 1964.

25 years ago, 1991

CHARLESTON  Ice on streets and sidewalks continue to plague residents and workers. The citys street maintenance workers need a little help from Mother Nature. Street Superintendent Duane Horath said crews are spreading salt and sand daily but it freezes back over at night. Walt McKenzie, principal of Lincoln School, said the hill on Division Street was so slick that some children had trouble walking up the hill to reach the school. The school district is only operating buses on snow routes CHARLESTON  Gov.-Elect Jim Edgar and his family will come home Jan. 15 during his first full day as governor of Illinois. An informal reception will be held at Eastern Illinois Universitys Union Grand Ballroom. Edgar will make a brief address at the reception that is open to the public.
Image via Wikipedia Well the election is over or nearly over, Murkowski still has to win in Alaska but for all intents, it is over; now what...
Thursday, January 07, 2016 Governors Gone Wild: Big Bill's Accident, Gary Running For Prez As Susana Recovers From Holiday Bash Gone Bad, Plus: SOS Race Begins And A Sanchez-Tripp Link



There was Big Bill back in the headlines Wednesday



Susana: Bill, can't you see karma is on my side. Your accident makes me look good. Just like that boat wreck you had down at Elephant Butte. You've been doing that for years. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Deal with it.



Big Bill: Relax and have another drink or three, Susana. Soon enough you'll know what it's like to be banished from national office, just like me. And if the cocktails don't chill you out, try throwing some bottles off a hotel balcony. I hear that works nicely.



Governor Gary: Look, when I'm president I'll settle this. Bill will be my spokesman for national auto safety and Susana will be the national anti-DWI coordinator. Both will report directly to me under the Office of Cannabis. Now pass that joint. . .



This seems an appropriate time to issue belated birthday greetings to our fair state which marked its 104th birthday Wednesday. Thanks to the current and former governors for their gifts.



SOS RACE



GOP Secretary of State Dianna Duran crushed her hopes last time but maybe this time--with a little help from Duran's sorry record as Secretary of State--Bernalillo County Clerk



That is more than campaign rhetoric as Duran became the first SOS in state history to resign when she became embroiled in a campaign finance scandal that was brought about by her gambling addiction.



Becoming the first GOP SOS since the 30's when she defeated incumbent Dem Mary Herrera in 2010, Duran



Duran defeated Oliver in 2014 for another four year term ending in 2018. But because she resigned the office it is back on the ballot in '16 to fill out the rest of her term. The office will again be on the ballot for a full four year term in 2018. GOP ABQ City Councilor Brad Winter was appointed by the Governor to fill Duran's shoes, but he says he will not seek election. No R's are yet officially in the race.



The wild card for Oliver is if any other Dems challenge her for the nomination in the June primary. So far, the coast is clear.



WHY ONLY HERE?



Why is it only APD reporting



The big question: Why can't we staff the department? Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden says the department has been inundated with applications, but very few are making the cut. He told city council this week full staffing likely wouldn't be reached until summer 2017. "We had an applicant disclose to us that they were involved in stealing copper," Eden said. That sums up Eden's frustration -- hundreds of APD applicants with no business being cops.



IT'S TWINS!







And look at this: The "twins" are



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.





( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2016 It seems we have more than enough for an inaugural edition of "Governors Gone Wild."There was Big Bill back in the headlines Wednesday being cited for leaving the scene of a downtown Santa Fe fender bender just hours before former GOP Governor Gary Johnson was again tilting at windmills and announcing a second Libertarian bid for president. And all that came against the backdrop of current Gov. Martinez trying to recover from her boozy pizza party that has put her through a political meat grinder. So let the finger-pointing among our Guvs begin:This seems an appropriate time to issue belated birthday greetings to our fair state which marked its 104th birthday Wednesday. Thanks to the current and former governors for their gifts.GOP Secretary of State Dianna Duran crushed her hopes last time but maybe this time--with a little help from Duran's sorry record as Secretary of State--Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver will have a better shot. She will make official her entry into the race for the Dem SOS nomination today, saying, "I'm running to restore integrity and public trust in the Secretary of State's office."That is more than campaign rhetoric as Duran became the first SOS in state history to resign when she became embroiled in a campaign finance scandal that was brought about by her gambling addiction.Becoming the first GOP SOS since the 30's when she defeated incumbent Dem Mary Herrera in 2010, Duran was sentenced to a month behind bars.Duran defeated Oliver in 2014 for another four year term ending in 2018. But because she resigned the office it is back on the ballot in '16 to fill out the rest of her term. The office will again be on the ballot for a full four year term in 2018. GOP ABQ City Councilor Brad Winter was appointed by the Governor to fill Duran's shoes, but he says he will not seek election. No R's are yet officially in the race.The wild card for Oliver is if any other Dems challenge her for the nomination in the June primary. So far, the coast is clear.Why is it only APD reporting this problem among police departments around the state?Reader Preciliano Martin in Raton thinks he has discovered one of the biggest secrets of La Politica. Look at this picture, he says, and ask if anyone can any longer deny that State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and State House Speaker Don Tripp are actually twin brothers? Preciliano is busy digging deep into the family archives of both leaders to confirm this astounding discovery.And look at this: The "twins" are meeting today in the first step to craft a deal over the divisive issue of driver's licenses. If the upcoming legislative session goes smoothly despite the political differences between Dem Sanchez and Republican Tripp, you'll know why. It's all in the family!This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)
Anita Raybould, who founded Lincoln's B&R Stores with her husband, Russ, died Monday. She was 90.

The former Anita Jaworski grew up on a farm near Tarnov, a small village near Columbus. After graduating from St. Bonaventure High School (now Scotus Central Catholic) in Columbus, she went to college in Omaha where she met Russ Raybould while she was working for Union Pacific and he was finishing up his studies at Creighton University.

The pair moved to Lincoln in the late 1950s, and Russ worked at Safeway until the early 1960s, when he and a partner bought a store at 17th and Washington streets and named it B&R IGA.

Over the years, that one store grew into the largest Nebraska-based supermarket chain, with about 20 stores and 2,000 employees.

Anita Raybould was a co-founder of the company and served as secretary and treasurer of its board of directors. She also helped with payroll and other duties as needed.

The entire B&R Stores family is saddened by the passing of Anita Raybould," the company said in a statement. "Anita was a true partner with her husband, our founder, Russ Raybould. Anita worked behind the scenes to ensure the success of B&R Stores, and just as importantly, she was devoted to her family and our community. She will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Raybould family.

She is survived by son, Pat, president of B&R Stores; daughter, Jane, an executive with the company, was a Lancaster County Commissioner before joining the Lincoln City Council; and another son, Michael, who is a doctor in the Kansas City area. Other survivors include several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 2014.

Funeral services are set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Blessed Sacrament Church, 1720 Lake St. A rosary will be Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the church.
While you shouldn't expect gas prices to stay below $2 a gallon in 2016, they will remain lower than they have been for several years, which will allow drivers to continue to save at the pump.

That's the prediction from GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks gas prices across the country.

GasBuddy on Thursday predicted a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline will average $2.28 a gallon nationally this year, 12 cents less than last year.

If that prediction is accurate, it would be the lowest gas price average in at least a decade, beating out the $2.35-a-gallon average in 2009.

It also would mean consumers will spend $17 billion less on gas in 2016 than they did in 2015.

That doesn't mean prices won't rise at some point in the year to be significantly more than they are now. GasBuddy projects a peak national average price of about $2.75 a gallon in May, when demand is ramping up for summer travel and refineries have switched to more-expensive "summer blend" fuels.

And unexpected events, such as a major hurricane hitting the U.S., refinery shutdowns and volatility in the Middle East could send the price higher, GasBuddy said.

While there are always some unforeseeable surprises, were confident that when we reach the end of the 2016, the roller coaster ride will net savings over fuel purchases of last year, especially for savvy motorists who shop for the cheapest gasoline prices, Gregg Laskoski, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst, said in a news release.

GasBuddy's forecast is similar to one released late last week from AAA, which predicted national prices will average somewhere between $2.25 and $2.45 a gallon.

Neither organization offered state-level predictions, and while GasBuddy does forecast prices for some large cities, neither Lincoln nor Omaha is among them.

However, AAA Nebraska spokeswoman Rose White said the expectation is that Nebraska and Lincoln will see similar price conditions.

"We do expect it to follow the national trend," White said.

She said local and state prices should continue to drop for the next few weeks thanks to wholesale processed fuel prices that have fallen 8 to 10 cents a gallon in just the past few days.

White said Lincoln, which is the only major city in Nebraska yet to see its average price drop below $2 a gallon, should fall below that level in the next few days.

As of Thursday, Lincoln's average price according to AAA was $2.01. That compared with a state average of $1.92 and a national average of $1.99.

GasBuddy listed Lincoln's average even higher, at $2.03, although the site also reported that at least 15 stations in the city are selling gas for $1.89 a gallon or less.

White said that barring any unexpected shocks, prices should stay low until mid to late February, when seasonal trends typically cause them to rise.
Paving the way for another big boost in spending on Nebraska roads, Gov. Pete Ricketts and key lawmakers unveiled plans to pull up to $150 million from the state's rainy-day fund to pay for highway construction and related work.

The move would establish a "transportation infrastructure bank," a state fund to provide up-front money for major highway projects that might otherwise take years longer to complete.

"We need to grow Nebraska, and of course our infrastructure is vital to that," Ricketts said during a Thursday news conference at the Capitol.

State Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, chairman of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, will formally propose the changes next Thursday following the governor's annual State of the State address.

Most of the money would go toward major projects like finishing Nebraska's expressway system, but some would be set aside to help local governments with bridge work and updates that help attract and support new or expanding businesses.

The $150 million transfer from the state's cash reserve would be phased in over time as projects become ready.

Some in the Legislature quickly raised concern about the price tag.

"This is flat-out an irresponsible proposal" given the state's financial situation, said Appropriations Committee Chairman Heath Mello of Omaha.

Money from the state's $728 million cash reserve might already be needed this year to plug a $110 million budget shortfall, pay for a $26 million prison expansion and cover other unexpected costs.

Mello said he supports the general concept of an infrastructure bank to boost roads funding, but opposes "earmarking" the cash reserve to do so and will fight to have the bill heard by his committee instead of Smith's Transportation Committee.

Meanwhile the deal brings Ricketts into the fold with roads boosters a year after he came out against raising the state's gas tax by 6 cents per gallon. That effort, championed by Smith and passed over the governor's veto in 2015, is expected to boost roads funding by $76 million a year once fully implemented.

Lawmakers also carved out a quarter-cent of the state sales tax in 2011 to provide about $70 million a year for highway improvements.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist on Wednesday proposed eliminating that law, the Build Nebraska Act. He questioned its necessity given the gas tax increase and the new infrastructure bank proposal  especially since Ricketts opposed the gas tax hike to begin with.

"The administration didn't want any money to build roads," Krist said.

Smith said the money was and is needed "above and beyond" what the state was already spending on roads. An infrastructure bank would give road builders an advance on the Build Nebraska Act and gas tax revenue, allowing projects to begin sooner, he said.

"I'm very, very excited about it," said Dirk Petersen, vice president and general manager at Nucor Steel in Norfolk.

His community is pressing hard for a four-lane expressway to connect Norfolk with Omaha, and Petersen thanked Ricketts for working with lawmakers and others on a proposal that could hasten the project.

"That's what leaders do," he said.

Sen. John Stinner of Gering, whose legislative district includes portions of the still-incomplete Heartland Expressway, said he was "tickled with the governor" for supporting the proposal.

Stinner sits on the Appropriations Committee and acknowledged $150 million would be a "heavy lift." But, he said, "We're going to tee it up and see what happens. ... I think things positively could be done."

Smith's legislation will also propose changes to how the Nebraska Department of Roads interacts with contractors. Those too are intended to speed road and bridge work, state Roads Director Kyle Schneweis said during Thursday's news conference.

One change would let the Roads Department to bid projects all at once for design and construction, rather than seeking bids on construction only after engineering work is complete.

Another change would allow the state to hire private construction managers to help with preliminary design and project oversight.

Forty-seven states can currently use one or both of those "tools" for transportation-related projects, Schneweis said.
Senators have proposed a number of changes this session for how the Nebraska Legislature operates.

The nine proposed changes range from requiring the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each day to making votes for committee chairs and speaker a roll call rather than secret ballot to changing the number of members of several committees.

Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion, along with Sens. Laura Ebke of Crete and Mike Groene of North Platte, are pushing for an open-voting rule again this session. Last year, the Legislature's Rules Committee, led by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue, voted unanimously to kill a proposal that would have made individual votes for committee chairs open and recorded.

One of the reasons given for rejecting the change were hard feelings that could result from an open vote. But Kintner said he and several others posted their votes for chairs, speaker and such last year, and they didn't seem to generate ill will.

"Everyone pretty much knows where I stood. There's no hard feelings. We still need 25 people (to pass a bill). They need my votes, I need their votes," he said. "Life goes on. We're fine."

The people's business should be done with maximum transparency and daylight, Kintner said.

Now, the Pledge of Allegiance is recited once a week before the opening, when few senators are in the chamber. Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins would like to see it done every day of the session during opening formalities.

Bloomfield has always lined up the senators to lead the pledge. But starting next year, he won't be around to do that, he said.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, chairman of the Executive Board, proposed a change to the number of members for several committees.

The Legislature has two important constitutional duties: To balance the budget and to provide for the education of children. The Education, Revenue and Appropriations committees have a lot to do with those duties, but Revenue and Education have eight members while Appropriations has nine.

Krist's rule change would add a member to Revenue and Education and reduce the number of members on the Agriculture, General Affairs and Government, Military and Veterans Affairs committees from eight to seven.

Having nine members on Revenue and Education would provide for three from each caucus, he said, as determined by the three congressional districts.

Other proposed changes include:

* Requiring any transfer from the state's rainy day fund for one-time expenditures to be included in a separate budget bill with a separate appropriations bill (Sen. Mike Groene).

* Providing a statement of intent for each bill no later than 24 hours following the decisions by the referencing committee as to which committee the bill will be sent (Sen. Heath Mello). Now, the statement of intent is submitted much later: 24 hours prior to its hearing.

The Rules Committee will meet Thursday afternoon to hear senators' proposals.

The rules would go into effect next year.
A fugitive was in critical condition Wednesday night after allegedly shooting himself as federal and tribal law enforcement were trying to arrest him, an FBI spokeswoman said.

FBI agents were investigating a shooting involving an unnamed man on the Santee Reservation in northern Nebraska, spokeswoman Sandy Breault said in a news release.

Breault declined to identify the man, who refused to surrender peacefully and allegedly shot himself. KTIV News in Sioux City reported the U.S. Marshal Service confirmed the man involved in the incident on the reservation was David Hoffman of Santee.

He was taken to a local hospital, Breault said. No officers were injured in the incident.

Hoffman, 25, was wanted on suspicion of assaulting a Niobrara police officer and fleeing with the officer's gun Tuesday after being arrested on a burglary warrant for stealing curling irons, hair dryers, jewelry and cash from a beauty salon.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office got a report about 1 p.m. Tuesday that the officer had been assaulted while trying to arrest Hoffman on a Knox County warrant. Hoffman disarmed the officer, pointed the handgun at him and took off on foot into the river bottom along the Niobrara and Missouri rivers without firing the weapon, according to the sheriff's office Facebook page.

Niobrara schools and nearby businesses were put in lockdown during the search, and some vehicles were searched on the edge of Niobrara, the post said.

The sheriffs office evacuated employees from Niobrara State Park. Three employee residences, 15 cabins and numerous outbuildings were searched. The search, which included help from the Nebraska State Patrol air team, police dogs and SWAT unit, continued until 10 p.m., when it was determined Hoffman had left the area, the post said.

A Knox County warrant says Hoffman was wanted for burglarizing Terry's Hair Salon on Dec. 18, taking items including jewelry, the hair dryers and curling irons, plus $75 for a loss totaling $750.
A Facebook group with more than 19,000 members is trying to piece together what happened to Craig Baxter, a 28-year-old optometry student who went missing Monday.

Members of the group, Craig Baxter Missing  URGENT PLEA FOR HELP, hope spreading his picture and information on social media will bring him home. A twitter hashtag, #findcraigbaxter, took hold Wednesday night and a search shows examples of people tweeting to national news outlets and personalities asking for coverage.

A flier with Baxters picture and information is being printed and distributed throughout Lincoln and Omaha.

Baxter hasnt been seen since he left his sisters Lincoln home early Monday, heading to his first optometry rotation at Omaha Eye & Laser Institute. By noon Monday, his family reported him missing.

While the Lincoln Police Department is heading the search, other agencies have offered their assistance, including the Nebraska State Patrol, which now lists Baxter as a missing person on its website.

Police are checking any tips they receive. Several people have reported seeing the SUV Baxter was driving, but none were his. The dark blue 2005 BMW X3 has the license plate number 15-B187.

The North Platte native is a fourth-year student at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, and back in Nebraska for his externship.

The colleges vice president for student services, Joseph Hauser, released a statement Thursday morning saying, Over the last few days, the college has received many expressions of concern for Craig. ... I know the Baxter family has appreciated all the prayers and positive thoughts for Craig.

Classmates and others at the college observed a moment of silence on Thursday.

Wednesday night, St. Patricks Church in North Platte held a rosary prayer service for Baxter and more than 50 people gathered at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Lincoln to pray.

Baxter is described as 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who sees Baxter or his SUV are asked to call Lincoln police at 402-441-6000 or 911.
A couple stole a Chihuahua puppy from an east Lincoln pet store Monday evening, police said Wednesday.

Pet Doctor employees told police Tuesday a man and woman came into the store near 66th and O streets about 5:30 p.m. and asked to see the puppy, Officer Katie Flood said.

The manager got the 10-week-old dog from its cage and let the couple play with it in an observation room, Flood said.

Some time later, the manager saw the couple go out the store's west exit with the $900 dog.

As the manager yelled and ran after them, they fled in a sedan with Butler County Nebraska plates.

Police have only general descriptions of the suspects.
Randall Jones, a former executive with the American National Red Cross, will run the city of Lincoln's Aging Partners.

If approved by the Lancaster County Board and the Lincoln City Council, Jones will succeed June Pederson, who retired in December after directing the agency for 13 years.

Randy will bring years of budget and management experience to Aging Partners, Mayor Chris Beutler said Wednesday. He will also bring an outside perspective on programs and operations.

Jones is a native of Lincoln and has been with the American Red Cross for 34 years, the mayor's office said in a news release. He was CEO of the Cornhusker Region of the American Red Cross for 17 years until he went to the National American Red Cross in 2011 as divisional director of service delivery for 10 states in the western U.S.

Jones has a bachelors degree in sociology from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Im very excited to return my career focus on Lincoln and surrounding counties, he said in the news release. The growth of our aging population provides us great opportunities to engage this wealth of experience. I believe the character of a community is defined by how it engages and cares for its aging citizens."

Jones will be paid $85,000 annually.

Aging Partners is administered by the city of Lincoln and serves Butler, Fillmore, Lancaster, Polk, Saline, Saunders, Seward and York counties.
A national trend in which local paramedics make house calls is starting to take root in Nebraska.

Firefighters in McCook are expected to start making visits to homes starting this month, the McCook Gazette reported.

Other communities in Nebraska, including Lincoln, should pay close attention. Community paramedicine offers a way to help local residents and make the local health care system more efficient.

The practice of utilizing fire department paramedics or private paramedics has skyrocketed in the past five years, fueled in part by provisions of the Affordable Care Act that penalize hospitals when surgery patients are readmitted.

In McCook city officials hope the new program will reduce the number of emergency calls, as well as improve local health care. The program will target residents who have made frequent visits to the emergency room in the past, and those who are may require emergency ambulance service in the future.

The overall goal I think for us to minimize those transports and in turn lessen the emergency calls, McCook Fire Chief Marc Harpham told the Gazette.

In the home visits paramedics will do things like take blood pressure and other vital signs, check blood sugar, educate patients on how they can stay out of the hospital and reinforce previous messages on what people need to do to cope with chronic medical conditions.

One of the first communities to try community paramedicine was Forth Worth, Texas. Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar in Fort Worth, said that when the program started there were only three in the country. Now there are about 230, he told the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.

In Omaha a pilot partnership between Immanuel Medical Center and Medics at Home, which is owned by Omaha Ambulance Service, provides follow-up care after area residents return home from a hospital.

Pending in the Legislature is LB543, introduced by Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, which is aimed at addressing some of the issues surrounding community paramedicine. Harr last year described the bill, which is still in committee, as an effort to get people talking about the concept.

One of the issues is how to pay for the programs. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that payment models are still evolving. Some are covered by grants, some by state Medicaid and some by Medicare programs that reward hospitals for innovative programs intended to save money. In McCook the Community Hospital Health Foundation has committed $10,000.

Previous attempts to introduce new ideas to Lincoln Fire and Rescue, like the experiment with sending alternative response vehicles (pickup trucks) to some emergency calls rather than fire engines, have not been greeted with enthusiasm. Change, however, is relentless. Community paramedicine is a trend that is worthy of study.
Once again Ernie Goss is paid to write a report recommending that another government agency be privatized ("Report: Is public power still affordable?" Dec. 30). Once again our Governor through his partisan foundation the Platte Institute trashes a competent state agency so that private companies can pick our pockets. If Professor Goss and the Governors company truly wanted low rates for Nebraskans, they would have pushed our representatives in Washington DC to let states take advantage of the tax breaks that private companies now receive but they are not interested in a level playing field. They are not interested in continued low rates for Nebraskans. They just want to privatize Nebraskas energy and help their wealthy friends make a buck off us tax payers.
TransCanada has filed a lawsuit and a $15 billion NAFTA claim seeking to recover costs and damages in response to President Barack Obamas rejection of a permit for its Keystone XL pipeline.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Houston and says Obamas November decision to deny a cross-border permit for the $8 billion pipeline violated his power under the Constitution.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company spent $3.1 billion trying to bring the project to fruition. The $15 billion figure takes into account what it says is the lost value of its investments and its lost economic return.

The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement signed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico lets corporations sue member nations for payback for violations of international law. Known as a Chapter 11 claim, TransCanada's suit would be heard by a three-person tribunal and could leave U.S. taxpayers on the hook for monetary damages. The process could take years.

The federal lawsuit seeks to have Obamas denial overturned and asks the judge to declare that no further presidential action is needed for construction of the Keystone XL to start.

TransCanada called the denial unjust and said it was based on symbolism rather than the merits of the proposal to build a 36-inch-diameter underground line to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would hook up with existing pipelines and carry as many as 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The State Department itself concluded that Keystone XL would not significantly increase global greenhouse gas emissions, and that alternative methods of transportation would be more greenhouse gas intensive than the pipeline, TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said in an email.

The project became a political lightning rod, with opponents saying it would exacerbate global warming by encouraging development of Canadian oil sands and endanger groundwater and sensitive landscapes like the Nebraska Sandhills. Proponents touted job creation and said it would provide oil from a reliable U.S. ally.

In denying the permit, Obama cited the urgency of climate change but said the pipeline would have been neither an economic silver bullet nor an environmental disaster.

Bold Nebraska leader Jane Kleeb, one of the main opponents, said TransCanada should have no right to reimbursement.

The rejection of Keystone XL was justified in order to protect the land, water and property rights of farmers and ranchers. This desperate attempt by TransCanada is a move to show their shareholders they have a viable project when they have hit a dead end, she said Wednesday.

In its court filing, TransCanada argues Obama violated the Constitution by stepping on Congress power to regulate interstate and international commerce.

Omaha attorney Dave Domina, who waged a legal battle on behalf of Nebraska landowners opposed to the Keystone XL, said it is ironic TransCanada made its announcement on the same day oil prices hit an 11-year low, diving below $35 a barrel.

All credible news sources seem to be reporting that the world is turning away from fossil fuel energy, he said in an email. More and more members of the investing public, and the consuming public, know that tar sands mining and oils should be left in place and not surface mined, shipped, refined at distant locations, and allowed to contribute in multiple ways to environmental problems.

He called the NAFTA filing a frivolous attempt to shake money from taxpayers.
As it is February, I resisted writing yet another boring story about Valentines Day.

As St. Valentine was martyred via beating, stoning and decapitation, that article promised to be less than romantic. So instead, we are going to feature the greatest holiday of all  Presidents Day  and the wine traditions of those men in office.

Wine has been with us ever since Plymouth Rock was ambled upon by the Pilgrims. Rumors even exist that they only landed there due to a shortage of alcohol and a desperation for refueling.

John Hancock had a boat seized (pre-big signature) with a cargo load of Madeira.

The founding fathers chose to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence with 60 bottles each of Bordeaux and Madeira with 20 bottles of Port as good measure.

George Washington owned a major distillery after he served as president. In the final year of his life, 1799, his distillery produced an impressive 10,000 gallons of rye whisky.

Ironically, only five years earlier in 1794, Washington led troops to squash The Whiskey Rebellion.

The Rebellion was in response to a completely unfair excise tax on all producers of alcohol in the West, which almost caused a civil war. In August of that year, 7,000 frontier militiamen marched into Pittsburgh threatening to destroy the city. Washington mobilized 13,000 troops to diffuse the situation, and his popularity sunk so low that he decided not to run for a third term.

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, he immediately repealed the despised tax.

Jefferson was considered the greatest wine enthusiast of all presidents. Prior to election, he served as ambassador to France and stocked the wine cellars of the White House for decades.

He also grew dozens of grape varietals at Monticello and correctly predicted that America would compete with the wines of Europe. Jefferson had such a love of food and wine that it was the cause of his bankruptcy. I can certainly relate.

The only bachelor to occupy the White House was James Buchanan. His inauguration had a $3,000 wine budget, which was considerable in 1856  and also my annual salary when I was a bachelor.

Skipping well ahead, we come to Richard Nixon. He was known to serve California wines, though his favorite was French Bordeaux. It was common knowledge that he always covered a bottle of Chateau Margaux to drink for himself while his guests consumed something more pedestrian. Not a crook indeed?

The modern presidents have continued the history of offering great wines, but a quote from Jefferson sums it up beautifully:

No nation is drunken where wine is cheap, and none sober where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage. Wine brightens the life and thinking of anyone.

Wishing you all a great Presidents Day!!
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Racine native and pianist Big Joe Kennedy will be back in town next week to play a free, 8 p.m. show at Georges Tavern, 1201 N. Main St., on Monday, Jan. 11. But that gig  as fun as it may be  is just part of what has drawn the New Orleans-based musician home.

While hes here, Kennedy will also work with music students at several area high schools, sharing his knowledge and the story of his journey to becoming a successful, professional musician, currently working with the Dukes of Dixieland (www.dukesofdixieland.com). He will visit his alma mater, Walden III High School, on Monday; Case and Park high schools on Tuesday; and the REAL School on Wednesday.

Kennedy  a 2007 University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate who received his masters degree in music with a jazz performance concentration from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas  plans to work with the jazz bands at each school. And while he has spent much of his career performing in venues ranging from Las Vegas casinos to Louisiana shotgun clubs, he is no stranger to the classroom. Kennedy taught at the Louisiana Academy of the Performing Arts for a year, after graduating from UNLV. He left that position to sail the seas as a band leader on cruise ships for a couple years before joining the Dukes as the renowned New Orleans jazz bands full-time piano player in 2013.

I love it, Kennedy said of his job with the Dukes, whose home base is the Steamboat Natchez.

Its amazing, he said, describing his life as a professional musician. Between his time with the Dukes and other solo and band gigs, Kennedy said he averages 30 to 35 hours a week performing, often going two months without a night off. Its an ever-changing adventure and I couldnt have gotten here without the support of the music community I found in Racine, he said. Thats why I want to come back, hang out with the kids, play with them and tell them that there are careers in music that arent the pop stars and mega producers they see. Im making a comfortable living doing what I enjoy, playing piano every day.

For more about Joe Kennedy and his music, go to www.bigjoekennedy.com. Better yet, check him out live at Georges Monday night.

Chili Winter Evening

As you look for reasons to escape your winter cave, dont forget about the River Bend Nature Center, 3600 N. Green Bay Road, and all it offers to the community throughout the year.

Did you know, for example, that River Bends grounds are open from sunrise to sunset every day of the year with no admission charge (buildings are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday)?

The centers 78 acres and two activity buildings offer a variety of outdoor recreation and environmental education programs, which include cross country ski (skis, poles and boots) and snowshoe rentals when there is at least 4 inches of snow on the ground. All rentals are weather-permitting and equipment is available during certain hours. Go to www.riverbendnaturecenterracine.org or call 262-639-1515 for details.

On Saturday, Jan. 16, River Bend will also offer its Chili Winter Evening from 3 to 6 p.m. Visitors are invited to come enjoy chili served over an open fire, marshmallow roasts, winter hikes and live music. Snowshoes and skis will be available for rent, weather-permitting. All ages are welcome.

Cost for the Chili Winter Evening is $15 per adult; $5 per child, ages 10 and younger; and free for children younger than 5. Beverages will be available for sale. Reservations are requested and can be made by sending an email to info@riverbendnaturecenterracine.org or calling 262-639-1515.

River Bend Nature Center is a nonprofit organization that serves the community of Racine County and surrounding areas.
RACINE COUNTY  Legislators are trying again to bring a trail spotlighting Frank Lloyd Wright buildings to fruition.

The trail, which would highlight two Racine County buildings, has been introduced as legislation after Gov. Scott Walker vetoed the plan from the state budget. The bill is expected to receive a public hearing soon.

The proposed trail would begin on Interstate 94 at the Illinois state line, continue to Madison and then to Wrights home territory in southwestern Wisconsin.

In Racine County, markers would be placed along I-94 directing motorists to local Wright-designed buildings: the SC Johnson Research Tower, 1525 Howe St., and Wingspread, 33 E. 4 Mile Road.

Markers also would highlight buildings the Monona Terrace and First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Madison, Taliesin in Spring Green and Richland Museum and Visitors Center in Richland Center under the proposal.

Walker said he vetoed the proposal, which would cost $500,000, from the state budget because it circumvented the usual process for placing highway signs.

The bill was introduced as separate legislation late last year. State Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said he expects a public hearing this month.

Time is running out for the bill to be passed before the end of the legislative session, which is expected to end in February. But it has the backing of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who helped get the proposal into the state budget.

The Speaker continues to be supportive of the bill and would like to see the Frank Lloyd Wright trail become a reality, Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, which would implement the proposal, said the department hasnt yet been involved since its in the legislative stage.

We continue to promote Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and trail through our many promotional channels such as TravelWisconsin.com, social media, printed travel guides, public relations outreach, advertising opportunities and international marketing efforts, said Lisa Marshall, communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
If you see something, say something. This is the unofficial motto of everyone interested in preventing and stopping child abuse. Speak up; dont keep your observations about marks on a childs body to yourself.

All school employees in Wisconsin are presently required by law to report signs of abuse, and a state legislator wants to add school volunteers to that list. Were in favor, with some reservations, of this initiative.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Saturday that the list of mandated reporters of child abuse or neglect would expand to include any adult who volunteers in a school for at least 40 hours in a school year, under the bill authored by state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, and poverty would no longer be a reason not to report signs of a child not having proper food, clothing or shelter. Investigations into neglect or abuse would not be triggered solely because a child was living in poverty.

Current law requires all school employees to report such signs and says if the signs are a result of poverty, then abuse and neglect have not occurred and therefore the signs dont have to be reported.

Bill Savage, a spokesman for Brandtjen, said the bill seeks to identify all children who dont have all of their needs met in order to put social services representatives in touch with parents.

Youre not abusing your child if youre just so poor you cant afford food, said Savage. We make that distinction so that we dont throw people in jail because youre poor. We are, of course, in favor of making a distinction between extreme poverty and child abuse. Help is needed in both instances, but different kinds.

Dan Rossmiller, lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, said in a blog post the bill could have a serious chilling effect on the willingness of people to volunteer in schools.

We doubt that. Someone willing to volunteer in a school seems likely to speak up if he or she spots signs of students who are being abused, so adding them to the list of mandatory reporters seems like more of a formality. The volunteer wants to help children, and shielding them from abuse is one of the most important forms of help that adult can provide.

Where we take issue is that the bill would require volunteers and contractors to receive training on what must be reported. If the training were something onerous, that probably would deter some parents from volunteering; the parent taking time away from work to chaperone a field trip, upon hearing that he or she would first have to attend a training session, might well say Some other kids parent will have to go along to the Heritage Museum.

To us, it would seem sufficient to require school volunteers to notify a school employee of his or her observations. The employee will, presumably, have had the mandatory-reporter training and will know whether to take action.

State Department of Public Instruction lobbyist Dee Pettack testified at a recent hearing on the bill that because the bill removes the words severe or frequent from the phrase severe and frequent bruising in the states definition of physical injury, students who are bruised from normal child activity would be suspected of being abused under the bill. Thats a good point. We cant help vulnerable children as effectively if we remove commonsense from the process. Kids bruise themselves in the innocent play of childhood, and we must not lose sight of the distinction between a skinned knee and bruising which indicates abuse. Again, this is where the volunteer would report an observation to a school employee.

As long as the requirements are not onerous, we believe adding school volunteers to the mandatory reporting list is a matter of requiring that which most volunteers would have done regardless.

If you see something, say something.
The other day in the store, a man complained about the price of milk. I said, but the dairy farmers need to make a living, too. He replied, yes, but I work in a factory and have lost my health insurance and matching retirement money and our wages havent gone up in years. The new hires are just getting minimum wage and they cant live on that.

In the midst of the holidays, many of us have given out of our own pockets to help those, like this man, who can't make it. Americans gave $240 billion in charity in 2013.

However, the president of the Ford Foundation, who oversees millions of dollars in grants, recently wrote: At the Ford Foundation, our efforts will focus on inequality: not just wealth disparities, but injustices in politics, culture and society that compound inequality and limit opportunity.

We must seek to lessen the need for future charity, even as we support those in need today. Economic justice and equal opportunity must be goals of our charity, as well as providing immediate relief to those in need.

As St. Augustine said 1,600 years ago  Charity is no substitute for justice denied.

Bill Dagnon

Baraboo
ZION, Ill.  A 38-year-old man wearing a tactical-style vest and carrying an Airsoft BB gun was killed Wednesday morning in a police-involved shooting in Zion, Lake County authorities said.

Sheriffs Detective Christopher Covelli said a white man who police initially thought was wearing body armor was killed after he led officers on a chase that ended in a struggle.

Officers responded just after 8:30 a.m. to 22nd Street and Bethesda Boulevard on a report that a suspicious person was taking photographs of two local schools, according to Zion police and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

The suspicious person was located by officers and a foot pursuit ensued. It appeared the offender was wearing body armor. After the foot pursuit, a struggle with the offender and officers ensued, which resulted in the offender being shot, a statement from the task force read.

During an afternoon news conference, authorities would not release the mans name and hometown. They also declined to say how many times he was shot and where.

Covelli said the body armor was found to be a homemade tactical-style vest with metal inserts. An Airsoft BB gun was recovered from the scene of the shooting, an alley behind the 1800 block of Ezekiel Avenue.

There are no other suspects connected to the shooting, police said. A search warrant was obtained to search the mans home, police said.

The identity of the officer involved in the shooting has not been released. Two Zion police officers were involved in the struggle and treated for minor injuries, according to a statement from Zion police.

The shooting prompted nearby Zion Elementary School District 6 and Beach Park School District 3 to place schools on lockdown while the major crime task force was on the scene. All of the school lockdowns were lifted by noon.

Zion Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Troy said the man was taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. Before paramedics arrived, officers attempted life-saving measures, police said.

Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd, who was called to the hospital at 9:30 a.m. for a death investigation, also would not say where the man was wounded or how many times.

An autopsy has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.

A woman who declined to be identified said she heard gunshots while inside her home between 8:30 and 8:40 a.m.

She said she went outside and saw a man lying on the ground in the alley between Ezekiel and Ezra avenues. CPR was being performed on the man before paramedics took him away in an ambulance, she said.

She did not hear any commotion or shouting before the gunshots.

This was actually in my backyard, the woman said after providing police an official statement. Im from Chicago so Im not too surprised, but it was right here in my backyard.

Another neighbor, Dawn Jordan, also said she heard the shooting.

I heard very loud shots, but I thought at the time it was the backfire from a vehicle, said Jordan, who has lived in the area for 51 years.

Barbara Rossmann, 61, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, said she considers the area to be safe.

Its very shocking, very unusual, she said. It can happen in any community.

The police-involved shooting is the second in the far north suburb since early April, when a white Zion police officer fatally shot a black 17-year-old in the back. The shooting of Justus Howell fueled dissatisfaction among minority residents and activists who linked the case to other shootings of African-Americans across the country, as well as Lake Countys history of flawed criminal justice.

Lake County States Attorney Mike Nerheim ruled Howells shooting justified, saying investigators determined that Howell had a gun in his hand and turned toward the officer just before he was shot, contentions that authorities said were supported by video of the incident.

On Wednesday afternoon, Nerheim said his office was not yet involved in the investigation, though he said prosecutors would eventually review the circumstances of the shooting to determine if any law was broken.

When asked about the two fatal police-involved shootings in less than year, Zion Police Chief Stephen Dumyahn declined to comment beyond saying, Its part of the job.

Kim Hall, administrative assistant for Zion District 6, said preschool and early childhood classes at Lakeview School let out at 11 a.m. with police escorts. The afternoon classes were canceled, she said.

All of our kids and staff are safe, said Hall, who called the police escorts a precaution.
Two Yemeni men captured in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo Bay for 14 years have been released to Ghana, officials said [press release] Wednesday. These two are among the 17 detainees scheduled for release this month [JURIST report]. The men were suspected of training with al Qaeda and fighting with the Taliban but were never charged. They had been cleared for release in 2009, but they required a host country to accept them in order to be released. Ghana has also accepted two individuals from Rwanda who were tried in connection to the Rwanda genocide [JURIST report]. Finding host countries is critical for Obamas mission to shut down Guantanamo Bay, which has been one of his goals since being appointed to office.

The Obama administration has promised to close Guantanamo but has struggled due to Congresss opposition to relocating detainees to the US, as well as slowing the process of transferring prisoners to other countries. In November the US Senate passed [JURIST report] the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (NDAA) [text, PDF], which prohibits Guantanamo detainees from being transferred into the US. Obama signed the bill into law, despite the fact that it will delay his plan to close the prison. The NDAA comes after the Department of Defense said [JURIST report] they were sending teams to review three Colorado prisons as part of Obamas efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in October. The Guantanamo Review Task Force (GRTF) was created in response to a 2009 presidential executive order [text, PDF] to review the status of all detainees. In September White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama was considering a wide array of options [JURIST report] for closing the prison.
[JURIST] A court in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, on Wednesday agreed to hear Chinas first legal challenge over a refusal to issue same-sex marriage applications. A 26-year-old man filed a case [Telegraph report] against a civil affairs bureau for refusing to grant a marriage application to him and his same-sex partner. China legalized homosexuality in 1997, but same-sex marriage is not legal [SCMP report], and same-sex couples have no legal protections.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. In December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [text] Tuesday in favor of a man convicted of jaywalking during a 2012 protest in Moscow. Yevgeniy Frumkin was attending a demonstration in Bolotnaya Square to challenge the reelection of Vladimir Putin [BBC profile] to his third term as president. When the anticipated route for the march was curtailed by Russian authorities, protesters became disoriented, and police subsequently terminated the demonstration amid the confusion. Frumkin was arrested after an order for dispersal was given, and he remained in the street and was detained for approximately 36 hours prior to his trial. He claims that he was unable to immediately comply because of the crowded conditions and confusion. The court held that Russian authorities violated multiple articles of the European Convention on Human Rights [text, PDF]. Failure by the police to ensure peaceful conduct and the subsequent arrest and penalty violated Frumkins freedom of assembly and association, the court said. The court further held that his right to liberty and security was violated by the 36-hour pre-trial detention and that the arrest and detention were unlawful. The court ordered Russian authorities to pay 25,000 in damages and 7,000 in expenses.

The treatment of activists in Russia has received recent scrutiny. In August a Russian military court sentenced [JURIST report] two Ukrainian activists to substantial jail time for the charge of conspiring to commit terror attacks. Oleg Sentsov, a filmmaker, and Aleksandr Kolchenko, an ecologist and antifascist activist, received 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for alleged arson attacks against pro-Russian groups during the Russian occupation of Crimea that took place last year. Sentsov and Kolchenko were outspoken activists against the Crimean annexation. Their trial and sentence have drawn much criticism for what some view as the suppression of dissidents by the Russian government. In March Russian liberal political activist Boris Nemtsov was shot in the back four times in the middle of busy downtown Moscow. Nemtsov was openly politically opposed to Russias annexation of Crimea and its role in Ukraine, and many believe Putin ordered [JURIST report] the killing. In February Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was handed a 15-day prison sentence [JURIST report] for distributing leaflets attempting to publicize an anti-crisis demonstration.
Guatemalan prosecutors arrested 17 former military and government officials on Wednesday on charges of committing massacres and other human rights abuses during the Guatemalan civil war. Government security forces have been blamed [AP report] for the vast majority of the 245,000 killings and disappearances that occurred during the conflict. The prosecutors brought charges against officials suspected of involvement in the 1982 massacre at Plan de Sanchez, Baja Verapaz department, in which soldiers and militia members tortured, sexually abused and killed local residents. The prosecutors also brought charges against an ally of President-elect Jimmy Morales and moved to have the immunity of office lifted for Edgar Justino Ovalle, a member and co-founder of the party of Morales. The suspects were ordered to be held in a military base prison ahead of a court hearing expected Friday.

The ongoing trial of former dictator Rios Montt for his actions in the Guatemalan 1960-1996 civil war [Global Security backgrounder] continue to gather international attention. In August UN rights experts called [JURIST report] on Guatemala to stop delaying the dictators genocide trial despite the fact that he suffers from dementia. In January of last year a Guatemalan court convicted a former police official for the killings of 37 people when the Spanish Embassy burned down during the countrys civil conflict in 1980. He was sentenced to 90 years in prison for the homicides, and crimes against humanity for ordering officers to keep anyone from leaving the embassy as it burned. In May 2014 the Guatemalan Congress approved a resolution [JURIST report] denying any existence of genocide during the civil war.
The Obama administration on Monday called on [brief, PDF] the US Supreme to strike down a recently passed Texas abortion law which the administration argues will harm womens health. According to US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli [official profile], the law would continue to close [Reuters report] many of the states clinics. Verrilli further stated that the challenged requirements do not produce actual health benefits, and that they indeed, would harm, rather than protect, womens health. The administration argues that the requirements are more restrictive than those previously upheld by the court. The new regulations require that any facility providing abortions meet the standard of ambulatory care centers, and that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at hospitals no more than 48 kilometers from the clinics at which they practice.

Abortion and reproductive rights [JURIST backgrounder] have been at the forefront of legal debate over the past several months in the US. Last month the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit placed a temporary injunction [JURIST report] on an order from Utah Governor Gary Herbert that would have ended the states contract with Planned Parenthood and cut federal funding to the organizations Utah branches. In November the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a state law [JURIST report] that bars an individual from bringing a wrongful birth suit. In October the US House of Representatives approved [JURIST report] the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, a bill that would cut all federal funding to womens healthcare provider Planned Parenthood. Also in October the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee lifted [JURIST report] a temporary restraining order that limited the state in enforcing new abortion laws regarding licensing standards for clinics. In July Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker enacted [JURIST report] the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, limiting the ability of a woman to seek an abortion more than 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
[JURIST] TransCanda [official website] on Wednesday brought a lawsuit against the US Government in federal court challenging President Barack Obamas decision to reject the expansion of the Keystone pipeline. TransCanada filed its suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas [official website] claiming that Obama lacked the constitutional authority to veto the expansion. The complaint alleges that Obama exceeded his authority acting without statutory authority and contrary to the expressed will of congress. TransCanada also claims that the act to stop expansion violates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), calling it arbitrary and unjustified. The lawsuit does not seek compensation but rather to have Obamas decision reversed.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline has generated significant controversy [JURIST report]. In March the US Senate failed [JURIST report] to override Obamas veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. Expansion [WP report] of the existing Keystone pipeline would allow for the transmission of 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the tar sand producing regions of Alberta, Canada, to refining facilities on the Gulf of Mexico. TransCanada, the company seeking to build the pipeline, indicates [project website] that this development would support crude oil production in the Bakken Shale formation, which lies primarily in North Dakota and Montana, and that it is crucial to energy security in the US. Under US law, TransCanada must receive a permit from the US Department of State [official website] because the project crosses the US-Canada border. According to the State Department, Executive Order 13337 [text, PDF] grants the Secretary of State the power to decide whether a project serves the national interest before granting a Presidential Permit.
A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that the nation plans to sue Russia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on claims of financing terrorism. The claims surround the Russian annexation of Donbas and Crimea. Pavlo Petrenko, the Justice Minister for the Ukraine [official website, in Ukrainian], told press that the pretrial procedure has already commenced [Interfaxt report]. This suit is one of many the minister anticipates to come against Russia from the Ukraine this year. The ICJ is the paramount judicial body for the United Nations.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued to be a prevalent topic ever since the Crimean Annexation [JURIST backgrounder] in March 2014. In December the UN issues a report about serious human rights concerns [JURIST report] that persist in the Ukraine. In August a Russian military court sentenced [JURIST report] two Ukrainian activists to substantial jail time for the charge of conspiring to commit terror attacks. In March the EU committed to stand by [JURIST report] its policy of refusing to recognize Crimeas annexation, as they purport the illegality of Russias referendum. In February Russian liberal political activist Boris Nemtsov was shot in the back four times [BBC report] in the middle of busy downtown Moscow. Nemtsov was openly politically opposed to Russias annexation of Crimea and its role in Ukraine, and many believe Vladimir Putin ordered [JURIST report] the killing. The conflict has often been labeled the biggest crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned [JURIST report] Russias military intervention in the region as a violation of international law.
Venezuelas National Assembly [official website, in Spanish] swore in [press release, in Spanish] three opposition deputies on Tuesday despite a Supreme Court ruling that barred [JURIST report] the induction of the elected lawmakers. The ruling suspended four elected lawmakers for alleged election fraud in the December 6 elections. The elections resulted in the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition winning 112 seats and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) 55 seats, giving the opposition a two-thirds super-majority and extra powers such as removing judges from the top court and calling for a referendum to remove current President Nicolas Maduro. The new speaker, Henry Ramos Allup, said [BBC report] that he would seek a government change within six months. Members of the Socialist party maintain that the action by the Assembly is null and void.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] ruling was made after Maduro claimed in a speech that the December 6 polls in which his party lost control of the National Assembly were fraudulent and challenged his opponents victory in the courts. The election results are seen as a setback to the ruling party [statement, in Spanish]. Jesus Torrealba, executive secretary for MUD, said in an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that [t]his is a victory for democracy. He went on to say on Twitter [official account] that The National Assembly represents the sovereignty of the people, and the president is trying to violate that using a biased court. On January 5, we will swear in the National Assembly and preserve that sovereignty as the Venezuelan people and international observers look on.
7 killed, 22 injured in Dang accident

At least seven persons died and 22 were injured when a microbus collided with a school bus at Tripur-3 along the Ghorahi-Tulsipur road section in Dang district on Wednesday morning. Condition of some of the injured is said to be critical.
Aamir still Incredible India brand ambassador: Government

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is still the brand ambassador of Incredible India, the government said on Wednesday.
Businessmen torch motorbikes of Morcha leaders in Janakpur (with video)

In what seems to be a retaliation against the protracted Tarai agitation, local businessmen of Janakpur on Thursday torched motorcycles of Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) aligned district leaders.
Call to promote private forestry for prosperity

Association of Family Forestry Owners Nepal (Affon) has urged the government to come up with appropriate legal framework to promote private forestry for economic prosperity through forest conservation.
First batch of Chinese tourists receive Nepals visa fee waiver facilities

Nepal has formally implemented visa fee waiver policy for Chinese tourists. The first batch of Chinese mainland tourists received the free on arrival travel visa at the Consulate General of Nepal in Lhasa, city in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Guantanamo detainees transferred to Ghana

Two Yemeni detainees held at the controversial US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been transferred to Ghana.
Indian porters, protesters clash at Birgunj border

A group of porters, mostly Indian nationals, carrying essentials from bordering Indian town of Raxaul to Nepal clashed with the cadres of Sanghiya Samabeshi Madhesi Gathabandhan (SSMG) at Miteri bridge near Birgunj-Raxaul border on Wednesday morning. Three protesters sustained injuries in the incident.
Koirala govt breached trust

In what appears to be a clear act of breach of trust, the Sushil Koirala government had given instructions to table a bill to elevate Manmohan Institute of Health Sciences to the status of an autonomous academy, contrary to an agreement and assurance Koirala had given to Dr Govinda KC, a former health minister claimed.
Morcha to close educational institutes in Janakpur from Friday

A constituent party of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha on Thursday decided to intensify the agitation in Tarai-Madhes and enforced shutdown of schools and colleges as a part of its protest from Friday.
PM Oli likely to visit India next month

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is likely to visit India next month.
Poudel assures Swaraj, Singh of early solution

Nepali Congress (NC) Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel has assured Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh that his party is collaborating with ruling parties to resolve the Tarai crisis.
Prime Minister condemns Pathankot attack

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Wednesday sent a message to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and condoled the loss of lives in a terrorist attack on Pathankot air force base on January 2.
Pramod Mishra is a biweekly columnist for The Kathmandu Post. He is the department chair of English Studies at Lewis University in the United States.
So near, yet so far

Although Nanglebhare is in Kathmandu, the plights of its people are similar to those of the remotest areas
Victims return to damaged homes

Lal Bahadur Rana of Sahalkot-9 in Palpa district had his house completely damaged in the April 25 earthquake. He was left with no option than to move to temporary shelters that were built for earthquake survivors like him.
We're up early for day two of the oldest festival in Bhutan, the Jampalhakhang Drub - the consecration of Jampa Temple. The night before we'd attended the Mewang (Fire Offering) and Naked Man dance and became mesmerised by the trance-like dancing, while our necks crinked trying to find a vantage point to see the dancers and our butts froze on the ice-cold flagstone pavement of the temple courtyard when we did eventually find a front row squat spot. I'm determine to get a front row seat first thing in the morning for day two and encourage our guide to collect us from our hotel at seven-thirty am....even though the day's swirls, twirls and trance dances are due to start at nine.





We arrive early, along with a lot of other tourists, and peg out our perfect vantage spot. As the courtyard fills up I find myself feeling a little disappointed - most of the spectators are tourists - western tourists - there's barely a Bhutanese person among us. We all sit there with our tri-pods, fancy SLR cameras and for many, whopping great lenses. Lens envy starts to creep up on me when I see some of these expensive fancy-pants toys. The chanting soon starts and the festival comes to life and all thoughts of Ooh-la-la techno are soon gone as I am transported into an ancient time.



The second day of the festival is called the Tsukton (beginning) and is the 'proper' start of the festival - the dance circle has been purified by the Black Hat Dance and so now the mask dances can be preformed.

These dances have wonderful sounding names like Yamantaka Yab-Yum Dance and the Three Wrathful Dance. The Yamantaka Yab-Yum which is also called the Shinje Yab-Yum Cham, is performed first to expel evil spirits lurking about in the area. The bull-like mask is bright red with sharp horns which represent compassion. We're told that if the dance is viewed with faith and devotion, then we will receive powerful blessings. I would love to say that I viewed the dance with intense devotion, but the cheeky clowns wandering around the dance circle kept taking our attention and had us in fits of giggles...as well as trying to catch them in photos.

Dressed in a lairy version of what looks like mens hospital PJ's, the puce-faced masked clowns ( Atsaras ) wave with gay abandonment oversize bright red phalluses, teasing and gesticulating at everyone and their cameras. The lewd gestures become more and more cheeky as the clowns sing ribald songs with very eyebrow raising racy motions. Part way through the day, one of the clowns discovers we are filming the spectacular and decides to give his own dance - 'bonking' our camera.

The chief Atsara however is more than just a clown, he is also the manager of the festival from beginning to end, making sure the dancers motions are in sequence or, if the performer makes a mistake - helps them get back on track. If a dancers mask falls off or there's a problem with the fabulous costumes then the Atsara is there to immediately assist.





The Stag Dance (Shazam Cham) is performed next, nimble and strong, taming the earth spirits and bringing blessings for all beings. It is a magnificent display of trance like movements and seems to go on and on.





The dances blend into one another and soon the arena is filled with mask dancers swirling and jumping, a flourish of colour and vitality. We have no idea what the story lines are or why so many incredible dancers fill the circle but we take delight in the spectacular.

As the morning turns to afternoon we are transposed to another realm and become lost in the Lord of the Cremation Ground Dance (Durdag Cham) when masks of white skeletons dance in slow ethereal movements. At times they carry a large black cloth which holds a linga representing an evil spirit. The evil spirit is dissolved and sent to the pure land thus giving us, the spectators a mind free from obstructions and open to enlightenment. It's a beautiful dance and I am held spellbound.

It is getting late and we are still to visit another festival, the Prakhar Tsechu which is held at the tiny Prakhar Goemba, a good half hour drive from Jakar. Our guide tells us that today is a practise day and that not much will be happening, there'll be no masks or costumes...all very quiet he says.

The Goemba is perched on a tiny hillock across from a river and it is a lovely ten minute walk from the road to it, across a swing bridge.

When we enter the courtyard of the Goemba, we are immediately held transfixed. There are only two other tourist and a handful of local Bhutanese - some children and elderly women - watching the trance like-dance being performed by magenta robed monks. Each of the monks hold a large drum in their hands. They appear to all be in meditative focus, their eyes closed tight, their mouths twisted as if in pain and peace at the very same time.

Mal and I take a seat on the grassy courtyard and watch. They are performing the Drametse Ngacham - the Drum Dance from Drametse. This dance was designated by UNESCO in 2005 as an 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" - described as a tradition/living expression inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants. An incredible dance it is considered to be sacred, symbolizing attainment and generating 'good karma to be reborn in paradise' and goes through a process of twenty-one sessions all performed in in a meditated state, focusing on the power of compassion and visualizing the nine stages of becoming enlightened. It is said that watching this dance in all its glory removes obstacles and brings peaceful activity to the spectators - and one's wishes will be fulfilled. I feel an incredible sense of peace as I am pulled into the beat of the drums and watch the monks spin and fly as if in another world, a world where peace is attained.








































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Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, How I sold out to da Man. Robbie Bell again performs: Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells and Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to Dancing with the Stars, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.



Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and Big Cat Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).



Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.



Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".



In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word jackass was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.



In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.



Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.



Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!



This is definitely a Beaver production.



Note: Security provided by INS.


The White House has tasked the Pentagon to test smart-gun technology as part of President Obamas executive action on gun control.

The executive action contains instructions for the Defense Department to "conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology that would reduce the frequency of accidental discharge or unauthorized use of firearms."

We dont know all the implications of this yet, but my sources are telling me that it most likely will not mean any type of mandate for the Pentagon to require the services to start buying smart-gun tech.

The details of this are pretty thin right now, but what it likely means is that the administration is turning to the military for its expertise in guns and gun testing.

The U.S. Army, for example, is responsible for small arms for all of the services. It has testing facilities and procedures in place and routinely evaluates all kinds of gun technologies.

One of the technologies that might be looked at is the Safe Gun Technology fingerprint access retrofit kit.

The Columbus-based firm is showing off an AR-15 Bushmaster rifle equipped with a fingerprint-activated sensor on the pistol grip, according to the Smart Tech Challenges Foundations website.

The sensor is part of SGTis unique retrofit kit which allows a firearm to fire only when activated by an authorized users fingerprint and renders the firearm inoperable for anyone else. The company has fully integrated a biometric sensor onto the live firearm and is inviting feedback from the firearms community to refine and improve their Alpha prototype.

Based in San Francisco, the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation was formed in 2013 to foster innovation in firearm safety, according to its website. The Smart Tech for Firearms Challenge granted $1 million to innovators from around the globe developing user-authentication features for firearms.

Obamas directive to DoD sounds very proactive, but its unlikely that anything significant will come of it.

It would be difficult to make these types of safety features mandatory and nearly impossible to enforce since there are more than 300 million guns in the United States.
A woman reacts near a display board showing a plunge on the Shanghai Composite Index at a brokerage in Beijing, Thursday. Chinese stocks nosedived, triggering the second day-long trading halt of the week and sending other Asian markets sharply lower. / AP-Yonhap



Yuan devaluation weighs on Korean currency, Seoul Bourse

By Kim Jae-won

The devaluation of the Chinese yuan is increasing volatility in Korea's financial markets, forcing the local currency to lose further value and causing Seoul's stock markets to tumble, analysts said Thursday.

The won closed at 1,200.60 won against the U.S. dollar, losing 2.7. This was the first time in four months that the exchange rate has surpassed the 1,200 won line.

The benchmark KOSPI also dropped 21.10 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,904.33. The tech-savvy KOSDAQ finished at 679.66, down 7.61 points, or 1.11 percent.

"The yuan's devaluation put downside pressure on the already-weak won," said Lee Jong-woo, head of IBK Securities' research center. "The won will likely maintain its weakness, trading around 1,200 won per dollar for some time because the Korean government may intervene in the market to slow down the devaluation rate."

China's central bank surprised markets by setting the reference rate on the yuan at 6.5646 per dollar, the lowest since March 2011. That was 0.5 percent weaker than the day before and the biggest daily drop since last August, when an abrupt near 2 percent devaluation of the currency also roiled markets.

Chinese stocks fell 7 percent after less than half an hour of trading, triggering a newly introduced circuit-breaker mechanism. Shanghai and Shenzhen markets closed for the rest of the day. The CSI300 index fell 7.2 percent to 3,284.74 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 7.3 percent to 3,115.89 points.

Korean policymakers said that uncertainties in the Chinese economy along with political tensions in the Middle East and North Korea's nuclear test are increasing volatility in global financial markets.

North Korea claimed Wednesday it had succeeded in conducting a hydrogen bomb test, hours after seismic activity was detected close to the North's nuclear test site.

"We need to deal with changing circumstances with a high level of alertness," said Kim Yong-beom, secretary general at the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The Korea Exchange, the nation's bourse operator, also said it will increase its level of monitoring of stock markets by focusing on the Chinese market and foreign investor trading.

Meanwhile, the World Bank said that China's faster-than-expected slowdown remains a risk to the economic outlook in the East Asia and Pacific region. The bank expected China's expansion to ease to 6.7 percent this year.

The Washington-based organization said the Chinese government needs to shift its growth strategy.

"For policymakers in China, a key short-term challenge is to rebalance the economy towards a more consumption- and services-based growth model while limiting financial vulnerabilities," said the international organization in a statement.

The bank said countries that are heavily reliant on trade with China may need to diversify their economies to hedge against risks.
LIGONIER  Looking ahead to her eighth year in office, Ligonier Mayor Patty Fisels top priority in 2016 is to finish projects that have already been started.

At the top of the list is completing the final portion of the $5 million wastewater treatment upgrade. Shes also excited to hear the decision about a potential apartment development downtown, and will be looking to secure funds for a horse shelter.

While Fisel wants to focus on finishing whats been started, she does have a few things she hopes the Ligonier City Council will consider that could affect the citys quality of life: sidewalks, trees and first impressions.

Fisel shared those plans, goals and ideas in an interview Tuesday at City Hall.

Wastewater project: a top priority

In March 2015, the city embarked on a $5 million wastewater treatment project that included separating the citys combined sewers on the east side and making substantial upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility. The city is under an agreed order by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to make the changes by 2025.

Fisel said the project should be completed by late spring.

We are ahead of schedule by nine years, Fisel said. Once the project is completed, Fisel said the city wont have any major infrastructure projects.

The project also brings the city in compliance with its longterm control plan.

Building a retaining wall

In November 2015, Ligonier received a $356,810 state grant to build a retaining wall on the Elkhart River on Cavin Street.

Buildings on the east side of Cavin Street are threatened by the river as water continues to inch closer to the properties. The building will help protect the bank on the Elkhart River from erosion.

The project will be started sometime this year, and could mean a better looking alley for building owners. The alley that runs along the Elkhart River on the east side of Cavin Street is private property, however businesses signed easement agreements allowing the city to build the retaining wall.

I am envisioning a new alley, Fisel said.

A second chance

In 2015, the city lost out on a state grant that would have helped upgrade the citys water department. The city will re-apply for the same grant with the help of Region 3-A Development and Regional Planning Commission. Fisel said this time around they will have a stronger application, because they know why they lost out in 2015.

The waterworks upgrades would help alleviate problems with rusty water, Fisel said, and streamline employees jobs by upgrading to a better meter reading system. The water department also needs a software upgrade, and hydrants need to be repaired.

This time we have better information on our application, Fisel said

Encouraging development

By Feb. 25, Herman and Kittle Properties Inc. will find out if they qualify for a low-income housing tax credit. The Indianapolis-based developer is hoping to build a three-story apartment complex on the former Wirk Garment property. If Herman and Kittle doesnt receive the funding this year, they will re-apply, Fisel said, and the city will hold onto the property for them.

Im anxious to hear, she said. We need housing. We are desperate for housing.

Welcoming the Amish community

In 2015, the city razed a structure on Fourth Street that was the starting place for Superior Sample Co. The building was later used by several other businesses, but without adequate parking for employees it sat empty for years. Now, with the building gone, Fisel would like to see a horse shelter constructed for the Amish community.

Weve never done anything to welcome them to the community, Fisel said. They are an important part of the community.

Presently, hitching racks for horses and buggies are on Fourth Street next to the Ligonier Fire Station. That location is a safety factor, Fisel said.

The Hagen Foundation has already donated $10,000 for the shelter, and Fisel estimates the project should cost nearly $45,000. She plans to address the Ligonier Redevelopment Commission to see if they would be willing to pay the balance on the project.

In the shelter, horse manure would be collected in a holding tank and the street department would use a specialized truck to get rid of the manure.

We dont want it going into the drains, Fisel said.

The horse shelter would be a cleaner and safer alternative, she added.

Creating the Strawberry Valley Greenway

The Strawberry Valley Greenway is one of several trail projects included in a new regional trail network. The trail network was included in the winning bid for the Regional Cities Initiative.

The proposed trail in Ligonier would connect Fashion Farm to the downtown area, and eventually to West Noble High School. The Ligonier Redevelopment Commission has already pledged funds for the project, and after the city received the grant for the retaining wall, more money has become available.

Fisel said if the trail is completed it could link up with other area trails.

We have to look at the advantages it creates, she said.

Looking at annexation

Fisel believes the city will continue to grow and officials should look at what they can do to spur growth.

Were limited by the legislature, but we should we look into what could done, she said. Her vision would be to eventually annex south of U.S. 6 and out to Fashion Farm on Lincolnway West. The city already provides water for West Noble High School.

We need to always be mindful about what we can do, Fisel said. Though, annexation is not one of her top priorities, Fisel said, We just want to see the possibilities.

Making a better first impression

At the Dec. 14, 2015, council meeting Fisel urged the City Council to consider funding new welcoming signs on U.S. 6. Fisel said shes pleased with the sign at the viaduct on S.R. 5, but the council should think about the other entrances to the community.

I would really like to see something new put in there, she said.

Starting somewhere

Fisel said shes not sure where the funding would come from, but she would like to see something done about the citys sidewalks and trees.

I dont care how small we start, lets just start somewhere, she said.

Sidewalks in some residential areas need to be redone, and she believes planting new trees could help beautify the city.

Lets look at what other communities are doing. We dont have to reinvent the wheel.
GARRETT  Garrett isnt ready to roll out the welcome mat for a proposed residential county corrections program, according to city leaders Tuesday.

In the first meeting of his administration, Mayor Todd Fiandt issued a statement to the Garrett Common Council and community in general. He said the DeKalb County Commissioners decision to locate the facility in an 18,200-square-foot building at 1850 S. Randolph St., reported in The Star that morning, is not a done deal. Nothing can be further from the truth, Fiandt said.

Fiandt objected to the countys lack of transparency in the decision-making process.

Being a new mayor, I am uncertain as to how one governmental entity should communicate with another, but I and everyone else would have appreciated and expected more input from the country prior to the headline in the paper, he continued,

Fiandt said he did have one conversation with county Commissioner Don Grogg where he was provided some information, but that took place before he was sworn into office and not officially mayor.

A group of private investors have accepted the countys $500,000 bid for the building, pending rezoning and other permits. If approved, the facility would not open until 2017 at the earliest, county officials said.

At Tuesdays council meeting, Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools Superintendent Dennis Stockdale said he was very surprised to read the announcement of the proposed facility in the newspaper, noting the working relationship between the school and the community corrections department. He said the school never was brought into the conversation regarding youth services and how that might look under a new program.

But Stockdales chief concern is the lost property tax revenue if the site becomes a government agency, noting the assessed valuation at nearly $750,000.

I just want to be sure as these discussions are moving forward, that we realize if we take three-quarters of a million dollars off the tax roll, the city, the library and the school will only have two options  raise taxes or cut programs or services, because we have to find the money somewhere, Stockdale said.

If (the county) makes unilateral decisions that affect Garrett, our community members need to understand there will be cuts or raising taxes, not only short-term but long-term, Stockdale added. He asked that transparency prevail and that the school be included in any financial discussion.

I am a little frustrated with the (lack of transparency) on that side, coming into our community that we have worked so hard together to make a place people want to come, Stockdale said, noting positive enrollment in the school system. So things that affect that, both positively and negatively, I just hope we work together.

Grogg was invited to attend the next Garrett Common Council meeting Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Garrett Learning Center, 510 S. Second St., to discuss the topic with city leaders and the community. Fiandt encouraged citizens of Garrett to express their opinions by contacting council representatives and the mayors office and to attend the several meetings at which the topic will be discussed.
AUBURN  Judge Kevin Wallace sentenced eight people for criminal offenses during hearings in DeKalb Superior Court I Monday and Wednesday:

 Laura Barnette of the 200 block of Spencerville Street, Hicksville, Ohio, received a conditional discharge for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. If she successfully completes one year of probation, the charge will be dismissed.

 Hank Lanham of the 600 block of East Union Street, Waterloo, was sentenced to 1 1/2 years of incarceration, all suspended except 120 days, for domestic battery with a previous conviction, a Level 6 felony. He received 14 months of probation.

 Michael Moore of the 600 block of East Union Street, Waterloo, was sentenced to one year of incarceration for criminal trespass, a Level 6 felony. He was fined $1.

 Lyle Lanning of the 800 block of West Ensley Avenue, Auburn, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all suspended except 20 days, for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class A misdemeanor. He was placed on probation for one year and was fined $100. His driving license was suspended for one year.

 Tanya Renfrow of the 3500 block of Harris Road, Fort Wayne, received a 90-day suspended sentence and one year of probation for battery, a Class A misdemeanor. She received one year of probation and was fined $1.

 Kyle Ferrell of the 8600 block of East 500 South, Wolcottville, received two 180-day sentences for resisting law enforcement and theft, both Class A misdemeanors. The sentences will be served at the same time and are suspended. He received one year of probation and was fined $1.

 David Hicks of the 5800 block of C.R. 34, Butler, received two 2 1/2-year sentences for possession of a legend drug injection device and possession of methamphetamine, both Level 6 felonies. The sentences will be served at the same time and are suspended except for one year. He received 1 1/2 years of probation and was fined $1.

 Amy Hunter of the 800 block of C.R. 64, Garrett, was sentenced to one year in jail, all suspended except 58 days, for driving while suspended, a Class A misdemeanor. She received credit for time spent in jail while her case was pending. She was placed on probation through Dec. 7, 2016, and was fined $75. Her driving license was suspended for 90 days.
AUBURN  A truck driver from Auburn is recovering in a California hospital after being shot in the stomach by someone trying to break into his cab, according to our news partner, WANE-TV.

WANE reported that Lloyd Jerry Matson Sr., 72, was making a delivery to the Oakland Oracle Coliseum, where he has made trips to before. He was supposed to make the delivery on the morning of Dec. 15, 2015, but he arrived early.

WANE said the security guard didnt let Matson park on the property, but told him to park in a nearby, secluded area.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Matson said he was asleep in his cab when he was awakened by someone who was shaking the cab in an effort to break the drivers-side window using the butt of a gun.

Matson said he was still disoriented when the glass shattered. Matson said he did not have a weapon himself, so he attempted to distract the intruder. Matson said he lunged into the broken window, which caused the attacker to fall backward and fire a single shot from a .45-caliber gun, according to the Mercury News.

Police recovered a shell casing at the scene, but the suspect ran off, WANE said.

Matsons daughter, Christy Matson, has set up a Go Fund Me page to help the family with expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $6,000 had been raised.

After several hours of surgery that night to repair the damage, my dad has had two other surgeries due to complications. We live in Indiana, this happened in California. My mom has been out there with him since, Christy Matson said on the page.

She said her father will require rehabilitation once he is released from hospital.
AUBURN A local olive oil shop owner wasnt surprised by a report on 60 Minutes Sunday that said the Mafia is tampering with olive oil being imported to the United States.

The CBS program reported on rancid, adulterated olive oil being sent to the United States from Italy that can be potentially harmful for consumers.

The report claimed the Mafia has tampered with olive oil by producing a taste-alike product to sell to American consumers.

Its not surprising to us, but it reassured us that were with the right importer, said Lori Berndt, owner of The Olive Twist store in downtown Auburn,

A few years ago, Berndt and her husband, Terry, had lunch with Thomas Mueller, author of Extra Virginity, the Truth in Olive Oil and heard his lecture on the Italian olive oil industry as well as the corruption taking place.

I was also excited about the report, because if we dont fight back and expose whats going on to educate Americans, were going to be putting something unhealthy into our bodies, said Berndt. I wasnt surprised that its coming to a head now, but its nice for us to be able to explain and educate people a little bit better.

The mass production of olive oil is based on the Southern and Northern hemisphere harvest seasons.

During April and May, the Southern Hemisphere olive oil harvest comes from Chile, Argentina, Australia and Peru. The Northern Hemisphere harvest comes from California, Greece, Italy and Spain and takes place September to January.

The importer that we use oversees the crushing process, and it gets chemically tested so we know were getting true, extra virgin olive oil, said Berndt. When you taste inferior olive oil or something thats been adulterated and put it beside a fresh, extra virgin olive oil, youre able to taste a big difference.

Last October, the Berndts visited an olive summit in California to learn about industry changes and updates while also watching the olives being picked and crushed on-site, trying some of the freshest olive oil theyd ever tasted.

The more seed oil they put into it, the more tasteless it becomes, Berndt said of the adulterated oils. When tasting a true virgin olive oil, you should experience a kind of peppery burn in the back of the throat, which is the antioxidants working in the oil.

Visiting the grocery store, Berndt says shoppers should be aware of three elements: the type of oil, color of bottle and month of purchase.

Stay away from light or plain olive oils, Berndt said. You always want an extra-virgin, first cold-pressed oil. You also want a dark bottle, never a clear bottle. Lastly, you want to watch when youre purchasing the oil, so say for instance in October, you dont want to purchase an Italian or Northern Hemisphere olive oil because its almost a year old at that point. Right now and in the next month or two is the best time to purchase Northern Hemisphere crush, and July through August is the best time to purchase Southern Hemisphere crush.

Other than the business-side of selling olive oil, Berndt specializes in educating the general public through Olive Oil 101 classes through Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne as well as free classes taught at The Olive Twist.

I hope that people become aware that theres is a huge difference in quality of olive oil and freshness. I also hope that they get themselves educated, then they can make a good quality choice for their family, Berndt said. So much of our food today is processed, adulterated or chemically altered, so if we can get naturally grown foods to get our bodies more alkaline then the healthier well become.
Late last year, a report in the Journal of the American Planning Association revealed just how in love with parking Los Angeles truly is. The figures quoted were quite staggering: they discovered that, in 2010, 14 percent of LA County land was being used for parking, with an estimated 200 square miles of Los Angeles eaten up by some 18.6 million parking spaces. That's 1.4 times more land devoted to parking than to streets and freeways. If the numbers alone aren't enough to hit home exactly how much space parking is taking up in LA, now there's this striking visual of exactly what that looks like. Shane Phillips at the Better Institutions blog (via Streetsblog LA) went ahead and massed all that parking square footage into one big blob and set it down on an LA map to give some perspective on the area's parking addiction. If this parking blob ever gained sentience, it would be certain doom for us all!

The giant red circle represents the 200 square miles of parking if they were all massed together, resulting in a blob that measures 16 miles in diameter, stretching from Burbank to Inglewood north to south, and Santa Monica to Boyle Heights west to east. Some 2.3 million people and 900,000 homes fill the space taken up by the parking blob.

Phillips got the idea for the parking space visualization from an article on the blog Copenhagenize titled "Arrogance of Parking Space" which mapped the same parking statistics for the city of Copenhagen in Denmark. Compared to LA's "parking crater," Copenhagen's is actually kinda cutetotal land devoted to parking amounts to about 1.25 square miles compared to LA's 200 square miles. Just for fun, let's see how Copenhagen's parking woes look on a map of LA.

Looks like it would stretch from about Silver Lake to MacArthur Park. Pretty manageable, actually, and not surprising since only 22 percent of people in Copenhagen own a car, and 10 percent drive on a daily basis. Maybe the solution to LA' parking problems isn't in demand-based pricing or new signage. Maybe about 80 percent of Angelenos have to give up their cars for good.

Nah.

 Visualizing LA's 18.6 Million Parking Spaces as One Enormous Blob [Streetsblog]

 14 Percent of Los Angeles County Land is Dedicated to Parking [Curbed LA]

 Arrogance of Parking Space [Copenhagenize]
Sipping coffee in the Midway Diner, Michael McHugh has a good view out the window of his 38-foot deluxe recreational vehicle, equipped with four TVs and three slideouts. The road yacht, which looks like something a rock band might take on tour, will be McHughs home for not-even-he-knows-how-long. He and his wife, Linda, are hitting the road, with a very vague agenda and no definite plans for returning.

Im just going to chase that sun where its warm someplace, McHugh said, just a few days after his last day as Holmens police chief after more than 36 years on the job.

Hes traded in his uniform and badge for jeans, white button-down shirt and a black leather jacket, but it still doesnt quite register for him that his working days are over. It still seems like a vacation right now. The reality is its my time.

McHughs last day on the job was Dec. 23, and with his departure the department loses a huge chunk of institutional memory. He has more years of service than the next two longest-serving officers (Terry Kind and Crystal Sedevie) combined, and he has been the chief of police for all but about four of the 40 years that Holmen has had an official police department.

Before 1975, law enforcement in Holmen was done by constables. McHughs great-grandfather, also named Michael, was a constable in the early days in addition to being one of the founders of the village. The constable when McHugh was growing up in Holmen was Paul Brown, who became the villages first police chief in 1975 when the department was first formed, with two full-time officers and a part-timer.

McHugh knew and admired Brown as he was growing up, and he had another big law enforcement role model, his father. James Bud McHugh was an officer with the La Crosse County Traffic Police and served as county sheriff from 1966 to 1972.

McHughs father encouraged him to do anything he wanted with his life, as long as it didnt involve becoming a police officer. And when McHugh graduated from Holmen High School in 1971, he had no plans to follow his fathers path. He wanted to become a teacher, something well-suited to his mild-mannered demeanor.

After a few years of college at what is now the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, though, McHugh realized the job prospects for new teachers was bleak. He moved to Milwaukee to study criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He served on the UW-M police force, and later joined the Milwaukee Police Department, where he was introduced to police work that was far more stressful than what he his father had to deal with back in Holmen.

It was very intense. You had a lot of officers, but you were still out there on your own sometimes, McHugh said, noting that he never had a night on duty in Milwaukee where he didnt have to draw his gun. It was just nonstop.

McHugh sees some parallels between his Milwaukee days and the present day. Then and now, he said, there was a lot of racial tension and a lot of heat on the police. The world certainly wasnt as complicated as it is now, he said. But we did the same things we do now with less equipment to do it.

After five years in Milwaukee between the city and UW-M police departments, McHugh decided it was time to move home. The first of his two children with his first wife had been born and Holmen seemed like a better place than Milwaukee to raise a family.

McHugh applied for the Holmen police chief position, but ended up being hired as an officer after the chief job went to Dave Monson. About six months later, though, Monson quit and McHugh stepped in, starting in early September 1979.

As police chief with a department of only four full-timers and one part-timer, the chief was responsible for just about everything. There was no secretarial or clerical help, so McHugh had to do all the filing and organizing of the card index (no computers back then) and ordering of office supplies. He also pulled a regular shift patrolling the streets, too.

Anything that came along, that was your job. It was a challenge, McHugh said. It was a luxury when we got our first part-time secretary.

While Holmen wasnt quite the constant barrage of crisis after crisis that Milwaukee was, McHugh said he saw just about everything here he had seen in Milwaukee. He just didnt see things as often.

In his time as Holmen police chief, McHugh has seen four murders, two early on and two in the past 14 months, bookending his career in a way. The first one, which was in 1983, wasnt hard to solve. A young man got in an argument with his roommate and when the roommate went to leave he was shot in the back with an arrow. The killers lawyer called the police to tell them there had been a murder before police even knew there was a body.

The other early case, like one of the two recent homicides, involved child abuse  a baby was shaken to death.

One case that stands out involved a mentally unstable young man, whom Holmen police took to the psych ward in La Crosse, where he was soon released. The next night, McHugh recalled, the man went on a rampage, beating a 2-year-old in the head so hard with an all-day sucker (a jumbo lollipop) that they found the boy with candy embedded in his skull and with a barbell across his neck.

Its a miracle he was alive, McHugh said.

McHugh and another officer went looking for the suspect in a basement of a nearby house. The officer went to the right, McHugh went to the left and as he neared a bar at the end of the basement, the suspect popped up from behind the bar. He, too, was lucky to be alive. McHugh never fired his gun in the line of duty, but he said he came the closest that night.

Also during the 1980s, a serial killer got his start in a life of crime in Holmen. McHugh said Michael Tenneson, now 55, had started breaking into older womens homes to burglarize them, turning on the furnaces so the noise would mask his activities. One night, an elderly woman woke up and surprised him in the act. He beat her and raped her and fled the scene.

Holmen officers tracked him from the heart of the village all the way out to Tennesons home near where the Holland Town Hall is, following his footsteps in the snow.

In 1987, Tenneson was serving time in the La Crosse County Jail and failed to return from a work-release excursion. Ten days after his escape, he broke into a La Crosse home and shot three people to death  a 73-year-old woman, her son and her sons girlfriend.

Tenneson fled to Colorado, where two months later he shot two men to death at the end of a night of partying with them. He was soon arrested after he raised suspicion by showing off a car he had stolen from one of his victims. He came within one jury vote of getting the death penalty for the Colorado murders.

We did have our share of violent stuff going on in the early 80s, McHugh said.

While putting the bad guys away was the priority early on, McHugh said his approach evolved to helping people solve their problems before they got to be bigger problems. I worked the first half of my career trying to put people in jail, and I spent the second half trying to keep them out, he said. Holmen was doing community-oriented policing before that buzzword ever came up.

While serving the community as police chief, McHugh also served in another way  in elective office. He served seven years on the Holmen School Board and 11 years on the Onalaska Town Board. He won his first term on the town board in 1985 as part of a recall-election candidate slate with Karl Butch Halverson, who went on the next year to win his first term as county sheriff. The recall was organized by a group called Citizens for Removal of Arrogance in Government.

Politics in village government was probably the toughest part of being police chief for McHugh. He sat through a lot of board and committee meetings that were frustrating at times.

Its pretty common for law enforcement officers to retire in their 50s. McHugh could have retired at age 53 with full benefits, but he put in almost 10 years beyond that thanks to the support of his wife, Linda, and because of the people who worked with him.

Its always been a great crew. If we hadnt had such a good staff it would have been harder to keep working so long, McHugh said. Plus I still liked the job. Thats the bottom line.

One thing that made it easier for McHugh to put his police chief days behind him was having a replacement he was confident in. Shane Collins, McHughs lieutenant, jumped right into McHughs place starting the last week of 2015.

Im sure hes up to it, McHugh said, noting that Collins has been taking on more duties over the past couple years and took the initiative to get the command training he needed to become chief. Shane really took it upon himself to become a true leader.

Collins said he knew right away when he came to the Holmen Police Department that McHugh was going to be a great guy to work for. My first impression was he was going to be a very good boss. He is easy-going, lets you do your job, but hes there for you when there were problems, Collins said. I think people will remember him as being fair and friendly.

McHugh set a good example for Collins on how a chief should operate. Collins said McHugh always emphasized that he was available at all times, 24-7, to answer questions if an officer had any doubts about what to do in a tricky situation. Collins appreciated that, as did the other officers.

McHugh said it was worth any lost sleep to make sure he had his officers backs. I always told the guys, You get one chance to get it right. If youre not sure, call, McHugh said. If theres a decision that has to be made, Ill take the responsibility for it. The last thing Id want to do is hang one of the guys out to dry. If theres any heat, then Ill take the heat.

Collins said McHugh also set a great example for putting others problems above your own, even if youre swamped. One thing I learned is when someone comes in, make time for them, even if youre busy, Collins said.

On McHughs last day of work, he was surprised with an honor from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an award that only one other La Crosse County law officer (former La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki) has received.

I was totally shocked by that, McHugh said. It was very nice of them to do that.

That day, McHugh got to see a lot of now-retired former officers and was touched at the community sendoff he got at the Holmen American Legion at the end of the day.

For McHugh, its almost hard to fathom all the years hes put in. Thereve been so many good memories. So many tragedies, he said. I dont know how you sum it all up. Ive enjoyed every minute of my career. Ive got no regrets.
Melinda Braun, a 1993 graduate of Onalaska High School, had a dream fulfilled last year when her first young adult novel, Stranded, was published by Simon Pulse (an imprint of publishing giant Simon & Schuster).

Braun, who now lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and 6-year-old daughter, earned a psychology degree from the University of Minnesota in 1998. Like many twenty-somethings, however, she wasnt exactly clear on what the next step might be.

I wasnt quite sure what I wanted to do, Braun said, but I knew I didnt want to go to grad school in psychology. I was always been around books a lot and I liked reading, but it never occurred to me that it could be an actual profession.

Fortunately, Braun got a job working for Minitex, an information and resource sharing program associated with the universitys libraries. The job entitled her to take some free classes so Braun signed up for some writing courses and discovered that she really enjoyed them. By 2006, shed finished up an English degree.

I tried to do a novel, but I didnt quite know how to do it, Braun said of the years after she got her second college degree. She finished the novel in 2009 but the birth of her daughter that same year kind of put things on hold for a while.

Braun eventually realized she wasnt likely to get anywhere in the publishing world without an agent working on her behalf. Finding an agent willing to work with you is a hurdle many prospective authors never get over, but Braun believes she got lucky.

An agent named Hannah Bowman showed interest in her novel. It was kind of out of the blue, because she was just starting out and looking for new clients, Braun said. The novel was science fiction  Braun is a self-described science dork  and although it was successful in getting Bowman to work with Braun, the two were ultimately unable to get a publisher to commit to it.

That project came really close to being bought, Braun said, so I said OK, Ill try something different.

The next step came when Bowman, whos based in New York. was having lunch with some editors from Simon & Schuster. When she learned that they were planning on launching a series of young adult novels based on survival situations, Bowman told them she knew a writer (Braun) who might be just what they were looking for.

Braun was asked to submit a 30-page sample of her writing before Simon & Schuster would give her a go-ahead. They said, Yeah, we love this! We want you to do two books, Braun recalled. Although the publisher provided Braun with a rough outline of what the books would be about  young adults surviving against the elements  Braun was free to choose the setting.

She decided to set it in northern Minnesotas Boundary Waters Canoe Area because she was familiar with it, she said. Id gone camping there, but never for a week out in the wilderness so I asked relatives who had done that.

Braun spent part of 2013 and much of 2014 writing what would become Stranded. After turning in the final chapters there was another six months or so of back and forth between Braun and her editors before the book was finally published. That was in August of this year and, although its not the first book Braun has had published  shes written one book for younger children and illustrated another  it is her first novel.

Braun recently finished the rough draft for her second Simon & Schuster book. Once that project is done, Braun and her agent will be free to negotiate other books  either with Simon & Schuster or someone else. Braun expressed a great deal of gratitude for the work of her agent throughout the process.

This would never have happened without her, Braun said.

Meanwhile, Braun still has a part time job with Minitex. Shes aware that a very small percentage of writers make a living solely through their work, but that dream is still out there for her.

Eventually Id love to do that, Braun said. That would be great, but I want to keep practicing. I want to keep getting more opportunities so I can keep getting better. Id like to write the kind of books that would win awards.
With the arrival of a new year, area community leaders were asked to look into their crystal balls and share what they see happening in 2016. Heres what they had to say.

Onalaska Mayor Joe Chilsen

Running for a second term, Onalaska Mayor Joe Chilsen will learn whether voters will return him to the mayors office. While its not certain who will be the mayor after Aprils election, the person filling the position will have a lighter work load.

Much of the mayors work load will be taken on by a city administrator. The Onalaska Common Council approved creating the position of city administrator last year, and the city hopes to have someone hired by April.

I think the city administrator will bring new views, opinions and processes to our governance structure for the betterment of the city, said Chilsen.

Projects Chilsen anticipates taking on momentum in the new year include the Great River Landing, a Mayo Clinic Health System project near Menards and more boundary agreements with neighboring municipalities.

Building the Great River Landing project will finally commence after years of inactivity, said Chilsen. I trust that Mayo will announce their development plans in three stages for the new medical development district formerly known as the Menards site, and I believe new boundary agreements will be finalized between town of Medary and the city of Onalaska and between the city of La Crosse and the city of Onalaska.

Holmen Village President Nancy Proctor

Holmen will see a number of building projects in 2016. In addition to private developers projects currently underway and those projected to start in 2016, the village is looking at its own major building project. Late last year, the Holmen Village Board approved including funding in the 2016 budget for a new public library.

I look forward to a wonderfully busy year for 2016, said Holmen Village President Nancy Proctor. We should have plans out in early spring with hopes of picking a contractor for the new library, who can possibly start to build in the fall, with completion in spring of 2017. Its going to be a phenomenal building, which will be loved by our community.

The village will also be looking at getting design and engineering underway for a new wastewater treatment plant. The village board decided to build its own treatment plant after it learned the city of La Crosse would charge the village more than $2 million to hook into its wastewater treatment facility.

The village had planned to connect its wastewater system to the city of Onalaskas system to transport Holmens sewage to La Crosse for treatment.

The wastewater treatment project has been in the works for several years, and we were greatly disappointed with the announcement by Mayor (Tim) Kabat of the connection fee, said Proctor. We had been working with the city of Onalaska, getting ready for a hook-up in 2016. Our Administrator Scott Heinig and Public Works Director Dean Olson have their heads on straight and will be able to pull this project out of the muck.

The village also anticipates more development projects will go into the villages tax increment finance districts in 2016, with announcements coming in the spring for a number of them.

Onalaska Superintendent Fran Finco

With the completion of an expansion at Northern Hills Elementary and a new gymnasium at Irving Pertzsch Elementary and remodeling of the elementary schools old gym into classroom space, the district can put more focus on new learning opportunities for the students in the Onalaska School District.

Our facility work will be done in a few weeks, and the only thing left will be some tuck pointing, said Superintendent Fran Finco. Expanding the use of technology will be one thing we will be concentrating on as well as developing more personalized learning opportunities for students.

With a full year of facilities improvements coming to a close, the Onalaska School District will be watching for assessment policies resulting from the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

ESSA, which replaces the No Child Left Behind legislation, allows states to develop their own assessments for determining the quality of the education programs provided in their school districts. School districts throughout the state are awaiting the development of the new assessment tools.

I received an email from State Deputy Superintendent Michael Thompson with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction saying they are working on it, said Finco. We are a district that takes continuous improvement seriously and are constantly working at getting better. That means looking at local data and making the necessary changes to close gaps.

The legislation requires states to continue to test students each year in math and reading in grades 3-8 and once in high school. The states then report students test scores according to race, income, ethnicity, disability and whether students are English-language learners.

Finco said the district also will monitor any legislation brought before the state Legislature that would impact education.

Once again this year we will be keeping an eye out for anti-public school measures coming out of Madison and the legislative bodies and lobby accordingly, said Finco.

Holmen Superintendent Kristen Mueller

The Holmen School District will be making upgrades and improvements to the grounds and buildings in the district in 2016. The district got the go-ahead on the improvements when a spring 2015 referendum providing the funding was passed by district voters.

Part of the referendum funding will be used to expand the districts bus fleet with the purchase of three new buses.

According to Superintendent Kristin Mueller, the growth in enrollment means the district needs to plan for a larger student body.

Over the past few years we have experienced a constant growth in student enrollment, said Mueller. Our plan is to evaluate this phenomenon further and to forecast the expansion needed in the future to accommodate this growth.

That referendum also included money to invest in technology upgrades in the district. The district has started its one-to-one technology program, with all eighth-graders receiving Chromebook computers. Sixth- and seventh-graders will get Chromebooks next, and the one-to-one program will expand to the high school.

The districts administration also will be concerned with developing and providing students with academic opportunities.

Students will have the opportunity to enhance their global learning through innovation, creativity and hands-on experiences through the use of the new technology, said Mueller. A committee will be formed to analyze the 4K program in the district to meet the needs of the students and community.

Holland Town Chairwoman Katherine Warzynski

Along with added duties involved with holding four elections in 2016, the town of Holland will continue to maintain town roads, roadsides, parks and the other services the town provides, according to Holland Town Chairwoman Katherine Warzynski.

We look forward to improving and maintaining the towns parks to provide residents with pleasant recreational facilities, said Warzynski. We are facing another busy year in the town of Holland with optimism.

Warzynski said the town board will continue to explore and move forward on projects begun in past years, including a solar energy farm on land just south of the town hall and researching the possibility of starting a town fire department.

The town is still pursuing its appeal of the Wisconsin Public Service Commissions ruling on the ATC Badger Coulee Transmission line. In 2014, the town asked PSC to turn back a revised application submitted by Xcel Energy and American Transmission Company for their Badger Coulee transmission line project because the renewed application doesnt reflect the conflict between a planned transmission line route and the towns residential development plans.

Onalaska Town Chairman Rolly Bogert

While the town waits for a decision on its petition to incorporate as a villag, the Onalaska Town Board is engaged in boundary negotiations with Holmen and the city of Onalaska.

The boundary agreements will be accomplished this year, said Town Chairman Rolly Bogert. Talks have gone well, with all parties working together for the common good.

The town first filed to become the village of Midway in the summer of 2013. When the first petition was dismissed by a county judge, the town submitted a second petition, which was approved at the county level. The next step would be state approval, followed by a town referendum.

The board also will be engaged in moving forward with business started in 2015. The board will seek residents input through a referendum whether the town should change to an automated refuse cart system for trash removal.

The change to carts will be the choice of the residents, said Bogert. It does appear that most residents do want this. Sometime in the next year we will be selecting a company to do the rubbish and recycle collections. There will be several in the bidding for the contract.

With changes made to the agreement forming the Holmen Area Fire District Association finalized, the HAFDA board will be working to expand the roster of firefighter/emergency medical personnel, according to Bogert, who chairs the HAFDA board.

We are presently engaged in writing a grant for all new compliant personal turnout gear for our firefighters, Bogert said. There have been several past members who have returned to the department as well as new people volunteering. There seems to be a positive movement to move forward and make this department a highly skilled department of people working together to serve the communities they service as well as working with our neighboring fire and rescue departments.

The new volunteers signing on with the department will start entry-level firefighter training soon. The board hopes to be able to upgrade the EMS service from first responder to EMT sometime in the next year as well as upgrading the status of the firefighters to Cert 1 and Cert 2 levels.

We are setting our goals high and will be working hard to achieve them, said Bogert. It should be a year of accomplishment and forward motion.
MADISON (AP)  The prosecutor who put Steven Avery in prison for killing a young photographer says a Netflix documentary chronicling the case is slanted toward the defense.

Avery made headlines in 2003 when he was released from prison after spending nearly two decades behind bars for a rape he didnt commit. Two years later, Avery was charged with killing Teresa Halbach, a freelance photographer who visited the Avery family salvage yard to take photos of cars on Halloween and was never seen alive again.

A jury convicted Avery of first-degree intentional homicide and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos condensed hundreds of hours of footage into 10 one-hour episodes of the Making a Murderer series. The documentary features Averys defense attorneys suggesting police planted evidence to frame Avery.

Ken Kratz, the special prosecutor in the case, said the filmmakers never gave him a chance to answer the defense attorneys allegations. He said the documentary ignores up to 90 percent of the physical evidence that links Avery to the homicide.

He said Netflix should give him an opportunity to tell his side of the story.

Anytime you edit 18 months worth of information and only include the statements or pieces that support your particular conclusion, that conclusion should be reached, Kratz said.

He added that hes received dozens of threats and insults over the documentary.

Suggestions that I shouldnt even be walking around was offered, the good cheer that I happen to develop stomach cancer for Christmas and really lots of really troubling pieces of correspondence, he said.

The series producers told WLUK that Kratz was given opportunities to speak with them and they tried to show all viewpoints.

We believe the series is representative of what we witnessed, Demos said. The key pieces of the states evidence are included in the series.
BLACK RIVER FALLS  The Ho-Chunk Nation is organizing a rally at the state Capitol next week to voice opposition to a bill that tribal leaders say endangers sacred Native American burial sites.

The Save the Mounds rally is slated for Tuesday and comes after native and nonnative people have expressed concern and opposition to the proposed legislation.

We initially knew that this bill was going to be a big issue and we wanted to have a voice and a say in it, said Collin Price, the Ho-Chunk Nations public relations officer. It just kind of grew. The support from organizations, from community members, from tribal members and non-tribal members  the noise was just so loud that they were saying we have to do something.

The proposed bill, from Republican state Sen. Chris Kapenga, would force the Wisconsin Historical Society to allow property owners to excavate in order to prove whether human remains exist in effigy mounds on their land  a move that Ho-Chunk leaders say would open the door to destroying grave markers that have cultural and historical significance.

Ho-Chunk Nation tribal members are descendants of the original mound builders, who started the construction of the sites thousands of years ago. They have historical and cultural significance to the Nation and Wisconsin, and their number already has dwindled.

There were about 20,000 when the first Europeans arrived. Now, theres an estimated 4,000 or fewer mounds remaining in the state, including a few sites on private land in Jackson County, said Bill Quackenbush, the Nations tribal historical preservation officer.

It is very important to protect grave sites across the board. Wisconsin has a diversity of population and cultures that has practiced forms of burial throughout a long period of time, he said. One type of grave (or) burial process rightfully shouldnt be afforded favor over another. Yet the proposed bill serves to allow certain ones the ability to destroy not only conical and effigy mounds  but also pre-historic and historic burial sites, including not only Native American graves but early pioneers, family graves and burial and burials of the unknown.

Ho-Chunk Nation members and officials already attended a town hall meeting sponsored by Kapenga, during which they expressed opposition to the legislation, which Price also noted has impacts beyond Native American burial sites.

It opens the door for other sites, including cemeteries, and I think thats what caught the attention of nontribal members that this isnt just exclusive to Indian Country, he said. The other part is the disregard for oral tradition and culture. Theres no room (in the bill) for a tribal member or a tribal preservation officer or anybody to say, well, actually theres stories for this particular site having significance because it will only lie with the historical society.

I think its just the thing that no one can fathom digging up someones remains  thats just crazy talk. The fact that were now trying to discuss something that would allow someone doing that is crazy.

Henning Garvin, a Nation legislator with a background in anthropology, is one of many tribal members who hopes the bill will be stalled. Anger turned to disappointment after the proposed bill was made public, and he hopes the importance of sacred sites will prevail.

Theyre tremendously important to Ho-Chunk people  theyre historically important, theyre culturally important, he said. They are sacred to the Ho-Chunk people. You just cant stress that enough.

The rally is set for noon on the west side of the state capitol in Madison. For more information, e-mail mounds@ho-chunk.com.
TOMAH  A challenger has emerged to state Sen. Julie Lassa in the 24th state Senate District.

Patrick Testin announced his campaign for the seat Wednesday. The 29-year-old Stevens Point Republican is a sales representative for a wine distributor.

We need action and leadership in the Legislature to create jobs, grow the economy and train a young workforce, not complaints and finger-pointing, Testin said in a press release. I am a leader who believes in lower taxes, simplified regulations and local control in education to tackle the challenges facing the 24th Senate District and Wisconsin.

His political experience includes chairmanship of the Portage County Republican Party, deputy field director for U.S. Rep. Sean Duffys 2012 re-election campaign and campaign treasurer for Julian Bradleys Secretary of State campaign.

In 2012, he was Republican nominee in the 71st Assembly District and lost in the general election to Democrat Katrina Shankland.

Testin said hell run a modern campaign that relies both on social media and a boots-on-the-ground approach.

Im looking forward to a community-based, crowd-sourced campaign that focuses on issues important to voters, not the partisan politics of Madison, Testin said. Its time voters get the chance to elect a real leader who moves the community and state forward together.

Democrats wasted no time attacking Testin. State Senate Democratic Committee executive director Matt Ullsvik referred to Testin as Tea Party Testin and criticized him for using footage of UW-Stevens Point and the Wisconsin Rapids School District in his announcement video after publicly declaring his support for Gov. Walkers budget that made historic cuts to public education.

As someone who has spent his entire career pitting Wisconsinites against one another, it should come as no surprise that he has been a vocal supporter of Gov. Walkers divisive agenda, Ullsvik said.

Lassa, a Stevens Point Democrat, was elected to the state Senate in a 2003 special election and has been re-elected three times. She served in the Assembly from 1999 to 2003.

Her district was significantly altered by reapportionment after 2010 to include the northern half of Monroe County, including the cities of Tomah and Sparta and villages of Oakdale, Warrens and Wyeville. It also includes five towns in Jackson County.

A primary, if necessary, will be Aug. 9. The general election is Nov. 8.
Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers are proposing reforms designed to increase safety at the states prisons and calling for swift legislative action.

Corrections officers have raised concerns about unsafe working conditions caused by state budget cuts, inadequate staffing, equipment shortages and poor leadership, said state Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, whose district includes the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution.

Legislation drafted by Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, and circulated Wednesday for co-sponsors calls for increased training for new correctional officers, limits forced consecutive overtime shifts and would allow the officers to collectively bargain workplace safety issues.

Proposals also require that prisons staff at least five first responders, guard towers and perimeters 24 hours a day.

No one wants to see a death or a riot to spur the kind of action that I think we need to have in our corrections department, Erpenbach said. Its not a situation where institutions are just in Republican districts or Democratic districts. Theyre across the board, so we should be working together on this.

Efforts to address prison staffing shortages by Gov. Scott Walkers administration and the state Department of Corrections have failed, said Erpenbach, who called on the governor and DOC Secretary Ed Wall to meet with corrections officers to find ways to recruit and retain employees.

We have people with a lot of experience who are just saying, The hell with this, and theyre walking out the door, Erpenbach said. Corrections is that last place that can afford to lose somebody because its a bad workplace.

The governors office and DOC did not respond to requests for comment.

In January 2015, the state Department of Justice launched an investigation into Lincoln Hills School for Boys, a juvenile prison in Irma, Wis. The FBI is looking into potential crimes, including sexual assault, child abuse and intimidation of victims and witnesses, while there have been other reports of assaults on correctional officers and inmates, Shilling said.

You talk to any officer in any institution around this state  it is very difficult to justify getting out of bed and going to work that morning knowing you might not be going home that night, Erpenbach said. There may be an incident where youre beaten up, which seems to be happening weekly now. You may be ordered to a second shift.

Erpenbach expects to introduce the legislation next week.
John Behling, vice president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and chairman of its Tenure Policy Task Force, attempts to square the circle in his recent column about changes in tenure at UW schools (Sundays Tribune).

On the one hand, Behling wishes to maintain a strong tenure policy and workplace protections for faculty. On the other hand, he insists that universities must operate like businesses in which workers may lose their jobs for a wide variety of reasons without recourse.

The Board of Regents cant have it both ways; it can either uphold a strong tenure policy or it can give administrators more flexibility to fire faculty. The purpose of a strong tenure policy is precisely to limit administrators flexibility to reallocate resources and staff so that such decisions do not infringe on academic freedom and are based on educational considerations as determined primarily by the people most qualified to do so, namely, the faculty.

To justify the erosion of tenure, Behling endorses the canard that tenured faculty cant lose their jobs, even when they dont do them. This complaint has been ginned up by Republican politicians who stridently declare that higher education is rife with sinecures.

Behling is eager to tilt at this windmill even though there is no evidence that the protection of incompetent faculty is a serious or widespread problem at the University of Wisconsin. In fact, the university could already fire tenured faculty under the old tenure policy, but it had to demonstrate that the faculty member was incompetent or behaved unprofessionally or the institution was in serious financial difficulty.

Thats not a job for life; its a right to due process. Without it, faculty cannot challenge conventional wisdom, test controversial ideas, or question university administrators on academic and educational issues without fear of reprisal.

While there is no evidence that protection of incompetent faculty is a serious or widespread problem, there is clear evidence of the reprisals and interference that faculty would face without strong tenure protections.

When UW-Madison economist Steven Deller found that wages are lower in states with right-to-work laws, state Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, denounced his research in March 2015 as partisan garbage that wasted resources at the university. And in November 2015, a Republican legislator in Missouri declared that a public university should not fund research on the effects of that states recently imposed 72-hour waiting period for abortions.

How soon until Wisconsin Republicans follow suit? The erosion of tenure will surely encourage more of this heavy-handed interference in research and teaching.

The regents can run the university like a business that hires and fires at will, or they can uphold the strong tenure standards that their predecessors proudly defended in 1894 when they stood up to an earlier attempt to trammel inquiry. The regents cant do both.
Driver rescued after tractor-trailer plunges into bay  VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.  A truck driver was hospitalized in stable condition after his 20-foot tractor-trailer plunged into the Chesapeake Bay. Authorities say the incident occurred Wednesday when the driver tried to pass a slower vehicle on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The drivers name was not immediately released. Bridge-tunnel spokesman Tom Anderson told The Virginian-Pilot that the driver is lucky to be alive. Officials say seven trucks and three cars went over the side of the bridge-tunnel from 1964 through 2011, and only one person in those crashes survived. After the tractor-trailer went into the bay, the driver was found floating with a piece of debris in 49-degree water. A bridge-tunnel worker tossed the driver a life ring, and he held on for about 40 minutes until rescue crews could reach him.

Janet Jackson says shes recovering, denies cancer  LOS ANGELES  Janet Jackson says she doesnt have cancer, but she isnt specifying the illness that interfered with a concert tour. On her Twitter account Wednesday, Jackson posted a two-minute clip from her song The Great Forever, followed by a personal message in which she said shes recovering but offered no further details. She said her doctors have approved her concerts as scheduled in Europe. She denied having cancer, an apparent response to online reports that she was suffering from throat cancer. The announcement came less than two weeks after Jackson said she was postponing her Unbreakable tour to have an unspecified surgical procedure.

Judge rules monkey cannot own selfie photos copyright  SAN FRANCISCO  A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that a macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs cannot be declared the copyright owner of the photos. U.S. District Judge William Orrick said in a tentative opinion Wednesday that while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act. The lawsuit filed last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought a court order allowing PETA to administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as 6-year-old Naruto.

California issues 605,000 drivers licenses to immigrants  SACRAMENTO, Calif.  California issued more than a half-million drivers licenses under a new law granting the identifying documents to immigrants who may be in the country illegally. The Department of Motor Vehicles announced Wednesday that 605,000 licenses were issued since AB60 took effect last January. Thats out of 830,000 applications. AB60 allows people who cant prove theyre in the country legally to obtain drivers licenses using identification from their home countries. They also must prove California residency and pass written and driving tests. Supporters pushed for the law as a safety measure, arguing that many immigrants already get behind the wheel but lack the training and testing required of other drivers and may not carry insurance.

Police: Wounded boy, 2, rescued after being held hostage  ATLANTA  Police found a 2-year-old boy with a serious gunshot wound Wednesday at a home where his father held him hostage during an 18-hour standoff in a neighborhood in Atlantas northeast suburbs, police said. The father and child were each found with a gunshot wound when authorities entered the master bedroom of the home after hearing gunfire about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera said. Pihera said the father shot himself when officers entered. Pihera said the boy was taken to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta and his father was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center. Both were in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Pihera said.
A mental health worker at the Tomah VA Medical Center has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting patients on the hospitals troubled psychiatric unit.

According to court documents, Charles W. Davis, a peer support specialist, made lewd comments and gestures, exposed himself to female patients and received oral sex from a patient in his office.

Davis, 47, was arrested Monday by the Tomah VA police and booked into the Monroe County jail. He was released on a signature bond Tuesday and is expected to be charged next week.

Potential charges include sexual assault by therapist, lewd and lascivious behavior, and intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, although Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger said those charges could change.

According to an affidavit filed in Monroe County Circuit Court, a 26-year-old veteran who was receiving treatment for past military sexual trauma said Davis rubbed her leg under the table during a new patient orientation meeting while a member of the VA police was making a presentation.

Davis began making comments about her appearance within a week of her arrival, made lewd gestures toward her and later groped her in his office, the document states.

According to the affidavit, Davis called her into his office in late December and exposed himself.

A 32-year-old veteran told police she met with Davis after entering the VAs substance abuse program in March and that he made sexual comments when he met her in the hallway, according to the affidavit.

She said Daviss behavior got worse when she returned to the VA in November after a hiatus, and that he sent her sexually explicit photos and videos that she believed were of himself.

The veteran said Davis invited her to his office in December where she performed oral sex on him, according to the affidavit.

Both women said Davis rubbed his crotch and made lewd gestures while they were in meetings and he thought no one else could see him, the affidavit states.

Davis could not be reached at either of the numbers he provided to the court.

According to the VA, Davis was hired in 2013 as a housekeeper and promoted several months later to peer support specialist. Peer support specialists, who have experienced mental illness or substance abuse themselves and have specialized training, are certified in Wisconsin by the state Department of Health Services.

A VA spokesman was unable to say Wednesday whether Davis had that certification.

Victoria Brahm, acting director of the hospital, sent an email to all employees after Daviss court appearance Tuesday saying, there has been an unfortunate incident in our medical center. I wanted you to be aware in an effort to be transparent and foster trust.

Brahm said a patient reported inappropriate behavior by a peer support specialist on Thursday and he was removed from clinical duties and placed on administrative absence. The statement did not name Davis.

According to the affidavit, the investigation began two days earlier when a VA staffer reported allegations of Daviss sexual misconduct with patients on the VAs psychiatric ward.

The investigation is being led by the Tomah VA Police Department with assistance from Tomah city police.

The Tomah VA has been plagued with scandals since a story by the Center for Investigative Reporting last year detailed high levels of opioid prescription at the facility, which patients dubbed Candy Land because physicians there dispensed prescription painkillers so freely, and a pervasive culture of intimidation and retaliation against employees who spoke out.

A 35-year-old Marine veteran died in the hospital from a lethal combination of prescribed medications.

At least three top officials  including the medical chief of staff and the centers director  were later fired.

In November a nurses aide was cited for disorderly conduct after allegations that he shoved a patient in the mental health unit. The VA has yet to identify the aide or release reports requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a statement Wednesday calling the allegations deeply disturbing.

If they are true, and if patients at the Tomah VA suffered sexual assault, it would be an absolutely deplorable violation of the duty this nation and the VA owe to the finest among us, especially those seeking relief for physical and emotional wounds, Johnson said. Nearly one year after serious problems at the Tomah VA came to widespread attention, it is of utmost importance that the VA protect our veterans from wrongdoers. I will continue to hold VA officials accountable while also addressing the other problems that have engulfed the Tomah VA.
Fred Nelson, the man who earned the title Mr. Viroqua throughout a lifetime of good deeds in the city, passed away at age 91, last Thursday.

Nelson was the namesake for Viroquas cornerstone business, Nelson Agri-Center. He was remembered as an optimist, who was a good listener and a major contributor to Viroquas renewal over several decades.

I cant say enough good things about Fred, said Mark Brueggen, who Nelson hired in 1979. He was always the same  always pleasant. You would never know if he was having a bad day. He would always pat us on the back. He was always making us feel good.

Brueggen and Dan Kanis have been co-owners of Nelson Agri-Center since about 2000. Brueggen said Nelson hired him over the phone and the pair quickly became friends and colleagues.

He was a visionary, Brueggen said. We had, I believe, the first computer in a hardware store in the nation... He could see what was coming. He was always on the cutting edge.

He was a great speaker and even a better listener, Brueggen continued. He always listened to ideas. He would take in all the information and dissect it. He was soft spoken, but when he said something, he knew what he was talking about.

Viroqua Mayor Larry Fanta said Nelson was key to renewal in the city  especially the renovation of the downtown and the historic Temple Theatre.

Fred has been the face of Viroqua for a long time, Fanta said. He has given so much. Not just of his money, but of his time. He was a caring and kind man.

Fanta said Nelsons ability to cut through difficult issues and bring people together was an asset to the community.

When Fred told you something it was the gospel, Fanta said. He was a sweetheart of a man and always willing to listen. He was always interested in what was new with the city. Youd tell him and hed say, Thats great! He was one-of-a-kind.

Viroquas Thor Thorson was a long-time friend of Nelsons and introduced Nelson when Nelson was honored by the Temple Theatre in 2011. Thorson included excerpts from Nelsons life story.

Nelson was born in Viroqua and left the city with his family when he was two. His childhood was spent in Colorado and Scottsbluff, Neb., where he graduated from high school. His father ran a feed business.

Nelson served as a navigator in the United State Navy during World War II on a LSM (which is a landing ship) as a navigator and was in the Pacific, planning for the invasion of Japan, when the war ended. He was a 1943 graduate of Scott Bluff High School in Nebraska, and then entered Northwestern University, where he graduated from a four-year program in two-and-a-half years via the Naval Reserve Officer Training program.

He studied business and accounting at Northwestern. After the war he returned to Chicago to work as an accountant. He traveled through small towns in Illinois and southern Wisconsin doing seed company audits. He began to enjoy small town life and could see that these businesses made money. He returned to Michigan State University, where he enrolled in a course in elevator and farm supply management. He practiced his new trade in Michigan for a year-and-a-half before returning to Viroqua, where his parents had retired.

He wanted to run a feed business, so with the help of his parents, toured many states and looked at mills that were for sale, but returned to Viroqua. The Farmers Exchange, located right on the railroad just one block off Main Street in Viroqua, became available for sale soon after. Fred purchased it with his fathers help in 1954.

The business expanded in 1969 and 1976, when farm parts and hardware were added, and later house wares and a gift center. He sold the business in 1989.

He served on the Viroqua Area Foundation Board as treasurer, served as treasurer for ARTT, among being a board member for several community service organizations.

He said, A person can be successful in business, but isnt there more to a persons life than gathering treasurers for themselves and their family? Isnt there a broader sense of responsibility to our fellow man?, Thorson said. Fred saw himself as a steward of these treasurers that really belonged to a higher being and he was just the manager while on this earth.

I liked his comment that life isnt about I and me, but community  reaching beyond the boundary of Viroqua and even Vernon County, Thorson continued. He claims that the happiest people are the givers and the unhappy people are the I and me people. Just think about that.

Nelson and his wife, Liz, raised two daughters, Julie and Amy, in Viroqua. Nelsons wife passed away in 2010.

Brueggen said people should remember the good Nelson did in the community.

I dont want people to be sad he passed away, we should be happy we got to know him. The whole of Vernon, Monroe and Crawford counties is better because of Fred Nelson.
Jennifer Buros, the Westby school district business manager, updated the school board during its Dec. 14 meeting on the state of the districts food service program, which she said is currently operating in the black, but has less student and staff participation than the same time last year.

For years the Westby Area School District food service program has struggled without success to fund itself. The program survived a boycott by students in 2009, a conversion from in-house to outside management of the program in 2011, and underwent yet another change in 2015, after the Board of Education voted to return operation of the entire program back to the district beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.

Buros said the program currently has a $4,100 in its account as of the end of November, compared to $12,000 at the same time last year. She said overall participation numbers are down across the board, but did not provide a breakdown as to where the fall off in participation was the greatest.

According to Buros, comparing the numbers from this year to the previous year is not an apples to apples comparison since Aviands, the Minnesota food service management company that Westby outsourced its food service program with since the 2011-12 school year, operated off a slower invoicing system, which created delays in payment processing, while the in-house program provides for prompter payment of the bills keeping the financial books more current.

Returning the food service program to an in-house operation would not come about without a number of challenges. It required a lot of outside advise and in-house cooperation as the district began to rebuild the program in its efforts to make it self-funding, instead of a drain on the general fund.

Changes to the 2015-2016 program:

Severing district ties with Aviands, a system that provided the daily menus, a food service director, supervision for in-house food service employees, a management team to oversee the Westby program, and food for the program.

No longer employing a full-time food service director (John Parkyn). Parkyns duties were taken over by a head cook (Pam Schute). Schute works closely with administration (Jennifer Buros and district administrator, Chuck Norton) who oversee employee management, while the clerical duties are now handled by the district business office (Emily Nelson and Annette Wedwick).

The current food service staff congregate in the high/middle school mornings to batch produce the noon meals.

The district joined the Coulee Region Food Purchasing Consortium, a current group of 10-plus schools that banded together several years ago with the sole purpose of improving their food buying power.

The food service department has also undergone a number of larger equipment repairs, which were not budgeted for, but none the less had to be repaired.

Board President David Eggen said he was pleased to hear the program was operating in the black, since he feared otherwise from past precedence.

School food service programs are designed to be self-supporting covering with all costs associated with its operation from food purchasing, employees expenditures, to equipment upgrades.

Since 2008, the school district has been forced to transfer Fund 10 monies to the food service program to balance the account at the end of the year. The last time the program showed a fund balance was at the end of the 2005-06 school year, and that surplus was depleted in 2008.

This year $449,139 was budgeted for the food service program, compared with $503,753 in 2014-2015. The school district employs four full-time and four part-time employees in its food service program.

The Board of Education will meet again at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, in Coon Valley.
Wisconsin Farmers Union will celebrate its 85th state convention Jan. 29-31 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. Farmers and family farm advocates are invited to attend the event, with a theme of Remembering Our Roots. Workshop sessions will delve into some of the big issues faced by family farmers and rural communities today and will look at ways to build a more vibrant future for the next generation.

The weekend will kick off at noon Friday with a pre-convention workshop, Beyond Traditional Agritourism: Cultivating Community on Our Farms. The cost to attend is $35 for WFU members or $65 for nonmembers (includes one-year family membership.)

During the convention, which opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, workshops will cover groundwater issues, money in politics, narratives of modern agriculture, investing in soil health, developing agricultural infrastructure, building allies and celebrating the gift of laughter. WFU President Darin Von Ruden will update attendees on the past years accomplishments, ongoing projects and a vision for 2016.

National Farmers Union Honorary Historian Tom Giessel will present the afternoon keynote, sharing the rich history of Farmers Union. Giessel is a farmer in Pawnee County near Larned, Kan. He raises wheat, corn, milo and alfalfa. He has been active in Farmers Union all of his life, serving as vice president of the Kansas Farmers Union for nearly two decades. He currently serves as president of the Pawnee County Farmers Union.

During the banquet Saturday evening, award-winning illusionist and magician Jared Sherlock will present his modern comic magic act. Throughout the weekend, the grassroots membership will be at work shaping the bylaws and policy that guide WFUs work. Other activities include a concurrent Youth Co-op Convention, the Torchbearers Award Presentation for youth program graduates and a WFU Foundation Fundraiser Friday evening for Kamp Kenwood, WFUs historic youth camp near Chippewa Falls.

The convention is open to the public but only member delegates may vote on policy issues. On the final day of convention, delegates will elect directors from District 3 (Eau Claire, Chippewa and Clark counties), District 5 (Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk and Vernon counties), and District 8 (Brown, Calumet, Dodge, Door, Fond du Lac, Forest, Florence, Kewaunee, Langlade, Marinette, Manitowoc, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Shawano, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha and Winnebago counties.) A delegate will also be elected to represent WFU at the National Farmers Union Convention March 5-8 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Early bird registration ends Jan. 14. Register at www.wisconsinfarmersunion.com. For more information, contact the WFU State Office at 715-723-5561.
On this site, which was short-listed for the SAHGB Colvin Prize in 2019, I present the results of my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.
Where have the past couple of weeks gone....

Is it really time for good-byes already.

Feeling very sad as the time draws close to farewelling the girls before they head back to Copenhagen..

It means that once we farewell them, we only have another 15 hours with Pete before he takes off as well.....

Steve and I headed out to the airport to farewell them also.

It helped that we were able to cart a lot of their luggage as it would not have fitted in Pete's hire car...

The girls had travelled light so that they could each take home a suitcase full of Pete's gear from Australia....

That in it self made me feel sad, as it pretty much indicates to us that Denmark will be his new home...

I guess there was a little bit of the Mum in me that was hoping that one day soon they would both come home to Australia to live....

Somehow I don't think that is going to happen as they are talking about buying an apartment to settle in Copenhagen once they get married....



Family photo with our new Daughter in law to be... Love you Maria

Sending Maria home in a wheelchair

Caring sisters to be her carers as they headed home...

Getting waited on hand and foot....

Family shot,,,

Heading off to Departures...

Pete enjoying his coffee whilst the girls do all the work...

We already feel like we are a part of Maria's family..

So looking forward to heading to Denmark this year for Pete and Maria's wedding. Looking forward to meeting Maria's folk in real life too. We have met online but it will be nice to share this very special day with them...
Saturday, January 2, 2016

There are many reasons I have been telling colleagues and students that 2016 is likely to be a HUGE year in the marijuana law, policy and reform space, and I am obviously not alone in looking toward this new year as defining a dynamic and likely historic year in this arena. To that end, here are links to (and brief excerpts from the start and headings of) two notable recent articles sounding these themes:

From Rob Kampia, executive director, Marijuana Policy Project at The Huffington Post, "2016 Will Be the Biggest Year Yet for Marijuana Policy Reform":

I don't often use superlatives, but it's easy to say that 2016 will be the most significant year yet in the battle to repeal marijuana prohibition in the United States. Up until now, the two biggest years were 1996, when California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, and 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. 2016 will likely comprise a cornucopia of cannabis policy advances, which I'll enumerate in the form of predictions. Federal Policies ... State Ballot Initiatives ... State Legislation ... On-site Consumption ...

From Sean Williams at The Motley Fool, "Here's Why 2016 Could Be Marijuana's Most Important Year Yet":

Although marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, many aspects of how marijuana is treated have changed dramatically over the past two decades. In 1995, there wasn't a single state that allowed marijuana to be prescribed by doctors, support for marijuana's legalization stood at around 25% in Gallup's national poll, politicians avoided the topic like the plague, and the idea of recreational marijuana amounted to nothing more than a joke. Yet, here we stand 21 years later with 23 states having legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, more than half of all respondents in Gallup's national poll sharing a favorable view of marijuana, politicians freely taking a stance on marijuana, and four states -- Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Alaska -- all legalizing the recreational use of marijuana since 2012. To opine that marijuana is gaining steam might be an understatement. For marijuana supporters, access to new treatment pathways and the potential to use the drug recreationally without the fear of federal prosecution are the ultimate goals. For the states, it's all about the money. Tax revenue generated from the retail sale of marijuana can be critical to funding education, law enforcement, and even securing jobs within a state. Colorado's Proposition BB, which passed in a landslide in the November elections, secured $40 million in marijuana retail tax revenue for schools within the state. But as exciting as marijuana's last two decades have been, the coming year could be its most important yet. The way I see it, there are three events in 2016 that could shape the future of the drug and marijuana businesses. 1. The 2016 elections ... 2. A look back at Oregon's first year of sales ... 3. Can Epidiolex deliver? ...

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/2016/01/gearing-up-for-historic-2016-in-the-arena-of-marijuana-law-policy-and-reform.html
Wednesday, January 6, 2016

As many of you may recall, in March 2010 the Illinois Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the Illinois Department of Revenue denying a charitable property tax exemption to what was then Provena Covenant Hospital in Urbana, IL (now Presence hospital). For prior blog posts about that decision, see here and here. After the court decision, the Illinois Legislature in 2012 enacted a new statute to define eligibility for charitable property tax exemption (for a blog post about that statute, see here). In essence, this new statute permitted hospitals to get a tax exemption if the amount they spent on specified community benefits (such as charity care for the uninsured, although the list of qualifying expenditures was very broad) at least equaled the value of the tax exemption.

The city of Urbana, where another large nonprofit hospital (Carle Hospital) is located, however, was not happy with the statutory fix, which would have resulted in their losing over $1 million a year in tax revenue from Carle's exempt status. Urbana and other local taxing districts affected by the new law challenged it in court, and today (Wednesday, January 6) the Illinois 4th District Court of Appeals held the new statute unconstitutional on its face. You can find the opinion here.

The Illinois Supreme Court previously had smacked down the Legislature for expanding the definition of charity for property tax exemption purposes in Eden Retirement Center v. Department of Revenue. The court's view is that the outer limits of charitable exemption are set by the Illinois Constitution; accordingly, the Legislature can narrow the definition of charity for tax purposes, but it cannot enlarge that definition beyond what the courts have established as the constitutional requirements for charitable exemption. Or put another way, what is "charitable" for Illinois property tax purposes is ultimately a matter for the Illinois Supreme Court to decide, not the legislature.

The 4th District found that the new hospital exemption statute went beyond the constitutional limits on exemption. Specifically, the Illinois Supreme Court previously had held that the constitution requires that exempt property be used "primarily" for charitable purposes. But the hospital exemption statute did not require exempt property to meet the "primary use" requirement. Indeed, the statute permitted a hospital to keep its exemption by simply paying another recognized charity an amount equal to the value of the hospital's exemption. As the court noted, in essence this permitted a hospital to "buy" exempt status without regard to the charitable use of the hospital's own property. And since charitable use is a constitutional requirement, this approach made the statute unconstitutional on its face.

At the time the statute was passed, I had serious questions about its constitutionality. Although the court's analysis took a different tack than my own, it seems those concerns were justified. This case, however, is clearly headed to the Illinois Supreme Court. It will be very interesting to see whether the court delivers yet another smackdown to the Illinois Legislature, which is pretty much batting .000 on recent major legislation (its pension "reform" law having been declared unconstitutional in a strongly-worded opinion by the Illinois Supreme Court last year).

In the meantime, the appellate opinion isn't going to have much effect, I suspect. It may result in a "hold" on processing a few hospital exemption applications or renewals pending the inevitable appeal (I can't imagine that this case won't be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court), but it is likely that everyone - both taxing districts and hospitals - will simply operate under the current status quo until the matter is finally resolved. If the Illinois Supreme Court upholds the appellate opinion, however, then things are going to get very, very interesting for nonprofit hospitals in Illinois, many of whom may face loss of exemption as a result.

John Colombo

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2016/01/illinois-appellate-court-declares-hospital-tax-exemption-law-unconstitutional.html
Thursday, January 7, 2016

The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court continued to defy the US Supreme Court and a federal district court and reiterated his order for probate courts to not issue same-sex marriage licenses in the state. Since same-sex marriage was legalized throughout the country, Alabama has been among the most recalcitrant of the states when it comes to allowing the implementation of marriage equality. The leader of the battle has been Roy Moore, the oft in the news Chief Justice who has made headlines in the past with his resistance to the removal of a ten commandments monument among other controversial causes. However, it does not appear that his order has much impact with most courts continuing to issue licenses although the Mobile County probate court has refused to issue marriage certificates to any couples in order to comply with both conflicting court orders. No word yet on the what measures will be taken by the federal district court in reaction to this latest provocation.

See Chris Geidner, Alabama Chief Justice Says Ban On Same-Sex Marriages Still In Effect, Buzzfeed, January 6, 2016.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2016/01/alabama-chief-justice-continues-to-defy-constitution.html
. . . . Emperors and kings

Are but obeyed in their several provinces,

Nor can they raise the wind or rend the clouds;

But his domain that exceeds in this

Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man.

A sound magician is a mighty god.



* * *



Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,

And burned is Apollo's laurel bough,

That sometimes grew within this learned man.

Faustus is gone; regard his hellish fall,

Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise

Only to wonder at unlawful things,

Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits

To practise more than heavenly power permits.





Christopher Marlowe, "Dr. Faustus" (before 1593)




French police shot and killed a man as he sought to attack a police station Thursday.

The incident took place on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine by Islamic extremists.

The police shooting happened in northern Paris. The man carried a knife and appeared to be wearing an explosives vest.

French officials say the man was thought to have shouted Allah Akbar (God is great) before police shot him. Police were reported as saying the vest contained no explosives.

News of the shooting came after French President Francois Hollande announced new security guidelines for armed police. He also remembered and honored the three officers who died in the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

Two French-born brothers killed 11 people inside the magazines office on January 7, 2015. A police officer was shot and killed outside the office. A Jewish grocery store was also attacked on that day. A total of 17 people were killed.

Hollandes comments were made at a ceremony at Paris police headquarters. The president honored the officers killed while protecting French citizens one year ago. He also praised the countrys security forces. Many are now deployed around schools, airports and other public places to defend against terror attacks.

France remains under a state of emergency following the November 2015 attacks in Paris and its suburbs.

Im Anne Ball.

Information for this report came from VOAnews.com and the Associated Press. Jim Dresbach adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

vest  n. a special piece of clothing that you wear on your upper body

grocery store  n. a store that sells food and household supplies

suburbs  n. a town or other area where people live in houses near a larger city


This is Whats Trending Today

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks is a hero from the American civil rights movement in the 1950s.

Parks, an African-American, is famous for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus in favor of a white passenger. She was arrested by police for disobeying the rules.

This happened in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. But since then, Rosa Parks name is sometimes used when Americans are talking about taking a political or social stand.

Maybe you are following the story about the men who are occupying a U.S. federal building in rural Oregon. Some believe that Ammon Bundy and his followers are taking a stand.

This morning on Twitter, people expressed their outrage when a Twitter account that people thought belonged to Bundy compared what is happening in Oregon to what Parks did 60 years ago.

Rosa Parks name was mentioned on Twitter all day as people expressed their opinions.

Gwen Ifil hosts a political talk show on PBS in the United States.

She wrote: I was so excited to see Rosa Parks trending. Then, cruel disappointment.

But later in the day people said they didnt think the account @Ammon_Bundy belonged to the militia leader. A reporter from the broadcaster MSNBC who is following the story in Oregon says Bundy does not have a Twitter account.

Until then, several stories had already been written about Bundys alleged comparison.

Twitter Character Count

Everyone who uses Twitter has another problem.

You compose an awesome tweet, but run out of room, like this:

The 140-character limit is to blame.

Twitter started as a micro-blogging service almost 10 years ago.

But when more people started using the social media platform, the complaint of I dont have enough room was heard far and wide.

Instead of a short quip, people started sending a series of tweets on the same topic. Sometimes it was hard to understand which tweet should be read first.

Well, it looks like Twitter is thinking about expanding its character limit to 10,000. The service thinks increasing the character limit might entice new users to join the platform.

Thats why the hashtag #Twitter10k started trending.

Some people are for the expansion.

Some people are against it.

But either way, lots of people have an opinion.

Over 124,000 tweets were sent with that hashtag.

An Old Ship Is Discovered

A construction crew in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., unearthed an interesting artifact this week.

A ship from the 1770s emerged as a construction team was digging out land where a hotel will soon be built.

The archaeological company found some old wood at the site. It turns out the wood was part of a 50-foot long section of a boat that may have been three times that size.

One of the archaeologists called the discovery the jewel in the crown.

The firm that is building the hotel is going to pay to remove the ship. The City of Alexandria will have to decide how to preserve the ship.

And thats Whats Trending Today.

Im Anna Mateo.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

What would you do with thousands more characters on Twitter? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

awesome  adj. extremely good

entice  v. to attract (someone) especially by offering or showing something that is appealing, interesting, etc.

militia  n. a group of people who are not part of the armed forces of a country but are trained like soldiers

platform  n. something that allows someone to tell a large number of people about an idea, product, etc.

artifact  n. a simple object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past

emerge  v. to rise or appear from a hidden or unknown place or condition :to come out into view

take a stand  v. to believe in something strongly

preserve  v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition


The United States and South Korea have ordered their military forces on the Korean peninsula on high alert following North Koreas nuclear test this week.

On Thursday, the U.S. and South Korean defense ministers discussed measures to answer the latest nuclear test. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said, Both ministers agreed that North Korea needs to pay price for its provocation.

U.S. and South Korean officials, however, wonder whether North Korea has the ability to produce a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb. Such a weapon would be much more powerful than the three atomic bombs the North tested in the past.

The U.S. military is attempting to confirm if it was a hydrogen bomb test, as North Korea claims. The U.S. Air Forces reportedly sent an atmospheric collection aircraft to gather radioactive particles made by the explosion.

North Koreas growing nuclear threat

North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear weapons. Many security experts say that is more than enough to answer any supposed threat of invasion from the United States or South Korea.

The North Korean government reportedly restarted a uranium enrichment center last year to produce more for nuclear weapons.

The U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated that North Korea could have between 20 and 100 nuclear weapons by 2020.

The test this week followed reports of a failed North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile test. If North Korea could develop such a missile, it would have the ability to strike anywhere in the world, including the United States.

North Korea continues to develop missiles with the ability to travel great distances. The country is believed to have 1,000 missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan.

South Korea considers military options

These arent really so much for retaliation or defense anymore, said Robert Kelly, a North Korea expert with Pusan National University. These are kind of like society breaking weapons. If you drop a hydrogen bomb in Seoul or a couple on South Koreas big cities, youre not going to just kill a lot of people. You are also threatening the ability of North Korea to continue to function as a state.

Some lawmakers in Seoul say South Korea should develop its own nuclear weapons to answer the growing nuclear threat from the North. There have also been calls in Seoul to set up a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. China reportedly opposes deployment of the system to East Asia because of concerns it could be used to stop Chinese missiles.

Robert Kelly said he would like to see South Korea start taking THAAD more seriously. He said, I would like to see the Americans and South Koreans and Japanese start really working seriously on regional missile defense But you know if we dont go down that route and diplomacy doesnt seem to be working, my sense is you will see people starting to call for airstrikes.

Calls for more actions against North Korea

Other observers said the United States should push for a wider economic action to punish North Korea.

Robert Manning is with the Atlantic Council. He said, take away Kim Jong Uns credit cards. I think that would cause some real pain at a time when he has promised that his regime is going to improve the economy -- which is a long shot to start with.

U.S. and United Nations sanctions are already in place against North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong UN, for the countrys earlier violations of nuclear treaties.

Barry Blechman is a national security expert with the Stimson Center. He said that, We got the U.N. Security Council to establish tighter and tighter sanctions. We have gotten them pushed out of the international banking system. But it is still not enough so long as the Chinese continue to allow a kind of fundamental level of survival to continue there.

He added that efforts to increase pressure on North Korea would have limited results until China fully honors existing international actions against the North.

Im Jonathan Evans.

This report was based on information from VOANews.com. George Grow adapted this material for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

high alert  expression. heightened or increased preparedness

provocation  n. an action that makes someone angry

aircraft  n. an airplane, helicopter or other machine able to fly

retaliation  n. the action of answering an attack

couple  n. two of something

function  n. the special purpose or activity for which something exists

route  n. a path or way of getting from one point to another

credit cards  n. a card used as a method of payment

regime  n. a government; a system or planning way of doing things

sanctions  n. a threatened punishment for disobeying a rule or law

allow  v. to permit or let

fundamental  adj. of central importance


Venezuelas opposition party took control of the National Assembly Tuesday.

It was the first time in 16 years.

The Democratic Unity won a two-thirds vote in Decembers election, but Socialist President Nicholas Maduro remains in office.

During Tuesdays opening session, members of both the Democratic Unity and Socialist Party loyal to President Maduro shouted at each other.

The two sides chanted slogans at one another. They also said the other was corrupt and disloyal, Reuters reported.

Socialist Party members walked out.

Maduro was elected in 2013 to replace the late Socialist President Hugo Chavez. Chavez led major changes in Venezuelas economy with more government control over major industries. Maduro has continued the Chavez policies.

On Tuesday, veteran opposition legislator Harry Ramos was elected to lead the Assembly.

What did we offer in our campaign? To recover the autonomy of the legislative branch, Ramos said in his opening speech, according to Reuters. This has been the loudspeaker of the presidential palace, the echo chamber of the executive branch.

Ramos said there will be big changes.

When a socialist deputy complained that Ramos violated legislative rules, Ramos responded: Take it easy congressman, things have changed here.

There were other signs of a power switch in the assembly. A portrait of the late President Chavez that hung in the assembly chamber was removed. And reporters were able to walk freely on the floor of the assembly for the first time in years.

It remains a big question how much the new assembly can fix the nations economy. The socialist government led by Maduro controls agencies that decide major economic policies.

Leaders of the new majority promise to deal with shortages of food, drugs and other things people need daily. But they have not offered specifics.

First on the agenda is legislation to free opposition activists jailed for protesting the Maduro government, Reuters reported.

The Democratic Unity coalition also wants to grant property titles for citizens who received homes from the government. Party members said it will ease residents concerns they could lose their homes at any time.

In the December elections, the opposition coalition won 112 seats. That represents a two-thirds majority  enough to put legislation blocked by Maduro to a referendum. It is also enough to draft a new constitution.

But the Venezuela Supreme Court in December blocked three opposition members from taking their seats, according to news reports. The court ruled that election fraud charges must be investigated. The Democratic Unity Coalition said the December ruling amounted to a judicial coup.

For now, the coalition lacks a two-thirds majority.

I'm Mario Ritter.

Bruce Alpert adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and other news sources. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

chant  v. to say a word or phrase) many times in a rhythmic way usually loudly and with other people

slogan  n. a word or phrase that is easy to remember and is used to attract attention

disloyal  adj. failing to support or be true to someone or something

veteran  adj. someone who has a lot of experience in a particular activity

loudspeaker  n. a device that is used to make sound such as a persons voice louder

echo  adj. the same position as someone else

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page.
Disclaimer: Some of the links and banners on Life in Israel are ads, and some are affiliate links. Affiliate links are links that will earn me a commission off any purchases you might make after clicking on the link/banner, though you will not pay more because of that.


"A cemetery may be considered as abandoned when all or practically all of the bodies have been Removed therefrom and no bodies have been buried therein for a great many years, and the cemetery has been so long neglected as entirely to lose its identity as such, and is no longer known, recognized and respected by the public as a cemetery. 1953 OAG 2978."
Welcome to the land of the loons, written by a loon about loons, for those fortunate few who cherish loonacy:

Hurry up. The loons! The loons! They're welcoming us back.



Look! Look! Oh, look, I've spotted the loons! Oh! Oh, they're so lovely.



I never saw such big loons in my life.



The loons have been calling for rain all night long. Rain! Rain! Bring us the rain!



That's what the loons said, huh.



It's a dead loon, Norman. The poor thing. Oh, it smells too.

- On Golden Pond
Music is my life..the lyrics are my story!!

Name: Sandra

Role: Editor

Contributions: 1793 translations, 255 transliterations, 706 songs, 9807 thanks received, 491 translation requests fulfilled for 162 members, 290 transcription requests fulfilled, added 4 idioms, explained 11 idioms, left 2585 comments
The actress who is currently making waves in South Indian cinema is the bold and charming Parvathy, who is on a roll. Parvathy is currently the numero uno actress in Malayalam cinema, and does the occasional Tamil and Kannada films.

She specialises in doing films, which are different within the commercial format and strong female characters, which have struck a chord with the youth audiences. Towards the end of 2015, Parvathy came out with back to back super hits in Malayalam, such as Ennu Ninte Moideen with Prithviraj and followed it up with Charlie, with Dulquer Salmaan.

Ennu Ninte Moideen is based on a 1960 real life love story set in Mukkam, in the suburbs of Kozhikode, and is probably the best love story to have graced the screens in the last decade in Malayalam cinema. The highlight of the film is the love story of a Muslim youth Moideen (Prithviraj), and an upper caste Hindu lady Kanchanamala (Parvathy). Parvathy got into the skin of the character, and proved that she is an actress of substance.

Subsequently, Parvathys Christmas release Charlie also went on to become a super hit. She is earnest and convincing as Tessa, a bold and inquisitive youngster in search of the bohemian artist Charlie (Dulquer) whom she has never met but starts admiring after reading his diary. In real life Parvathy hates to be typecast as the typical glam girl on screen and is very choosy about the films that she signs.

In a Facebook post she had spoken about dropping her last name as she doesn't believe in being labelled, First and foremost my name is Parvathy. I have nothing against anyone who holds caste as their surname by default or by choice, as long as they do not use that as a weapon of discrimination.

Last week Parvathy took on a troller who abused her, by saying What a great day, people! Here, let me introduce you to Alfred. When I posted a photo of Kanchanamala and I watching Ennu Ninte Moideen together, this most cultured boy felt the need to ask me to "go poop". Proud moment for his family! Proud moment for us, we seem to churn out cyber bullies at such a tender age! Taking cue from my fellow soldier @swati194 (thanks bub), here I break my silence. No more of this, people. No one is taking this anymore.

Parvathy, who completes 10 years in the industry, spoke exclusively to Firstpost about her career and movies. "I do not believe in the number game. In 10 years, I have done just 17 films and Im happy that I got to play some memorable roles like Kanchanamala (ENM). I always look at characters that push the envelope in more ways than one. I know commercial films can be fun but they arent my cup of tea. Some people may call my films serious or off-beat, but I love doing them," she said.

She is looking forward to the remake of her super hit film Bangalore Days in Tamil as Bangalore Natkal. Speaking about her doing a remake in Tamil, Parvathy said, RJ Sara in Anjali Menons Bangalore Days is one of my favourite characters. When I signed the Tamil remake, I made it clear to Bhaskar, the director of Bangalore Natkal, that he essence of the original should remain the same. The film has come out well and Bhaskar has kept his promise. As of now, I dont think I will ever reprise another character of mine.

Parvathy has not signed any new films for now. She is one actress who dares to be different, has no managers, make-up people accompanying her, no personal trainer or maid, travels by public transport and stays alone. Prod her on her preferences, and she concludes, Yes Im a very private person and will decide on my next film only if the role excites me irrespective of the rest of the star cast.
Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday said his organisation is not against "pleasant and friendly" ties between India and Pakistan but rubbished the four-point formula which had been mooted by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the Kashmir issue.

Hurriyat is not against a "pleasant and friendly relationship" between India and Pakistan "but it is in no way acceptable to Kashmiris that the two countries ignore their wishes, aspirations and sacrifices and talk about potato and onion trade," the separatist leader said.

"India and Pakistan should keep this reality in mind that the real stakeholders of the Kashmir issue are its people," he said.

Referring to Musharraf's four-point proposal, Geelani said, "This formula is nothing more than softening of borders, people-to-people contact and easing of travel formalities...It is a diplomatic trick of converting the 'Ceasefire Line' into permanent border which was rejected by Kashmiri people in one voice."

He described it as a "formula of burial of the wishes, aspirations and sacrifices of Kashmiris" and added it was also against the Constitution and national policy of Pakistan regarding Kashmir.

The Hurriyat hawk said the formula was just a "deception" and any such proposal would again be rejected by the Kashmiri people.

The formula envisaged softening of Line of Control (LoC), self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops from entire Jammu and Kashmir and joint supervision by India and Pakistan.

PTI
Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of the Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed was in constant touch with the six terrorists who stormed an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in the early hours of 1 January and killed seven Indian soldiers.

New Delhi linked the scheduled Foreign Secretary-level talks to prompt response Islamabad takes on actionable intelligence provided by India on the Pathankot attack. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistan counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry are scheduled to meet on 15 January.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his cabinet colleagues that bilateral talks would not resume until Islamabad took action against the terror group and he had made this clear during a phone call with Sharif, reports The Hindustan Times.

Action is a must. We are going to be very strict about it, Modi reportedly said at the meeting.

Former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon says "if six terrorists can stop you from discussing serious business with your biggest neighbour, for me, thats not a good signal to send."

India has shared the telephone numbers and the identity of the handlers with Pakistan and has asked it to act on these individuals, senior government officials have reportedly said.

India has identified JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, Ashfaq Ahmed and Kashim Jaan as the chief villains of the Pathankot attack.

While Azhar oversaw the operations, his brother Asghar and two others were in touch with the terrorists.

India has also given the details of two types of Pakistan-made drugs  Neuro Bedoxine and Dicloran  found on the bodies, as evidence.

A senior official said the government also decided to constitute a high-level committee to study the gaps in security along the Pakistan border, especially on the Punjab frontier. It is through a riverine stretch in the Bamiyal sector of Gurdaspur district that the terrorists involved in the Pathankot attack as well as the July 27 attack on the Dinanagar police station are believed to have sneaked into Indian territory.

Experts of the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee have been tasked with finding solutions to detect intrusions from a riverine route.

Terrorists spoke in Kashmiri: FIR

Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, who is under a cloud for his account of the events that led to the snatching of his Mahindra XUV in which the terrorists reached Pathankot airbase, has said that the terrorists were also speaking in Kashmiri, reports The Indian Express.

Salwinder Singh's statement to the police is part of the First Information Report registered at Narot Jaimal Singh police station. Singh has said the terrorists dressed in army fatigues were talking in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Kashmiri.

Nawaz Sharif chairs high level meet

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the Pathankot terror attack as he directed officials to speed up work on the leads given by India, sources said.

Issues pertaining to national and regional security were discussed during the meeting, the Prime Ministers Office said in a brief statement.

The meeting was attended by Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Interior; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor; Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary; Aftab Sultan, chief of Intelligence Bureau and other officials.

A source privy to the details said that the meeting discussed the Pathankot attack and the information shared so far by India.

The meeting decided to speed up work on the leads given by India, he said on anonymity.

Another official said that the information provided by India was not enough as it was just limited to telephone numbers and Pakistan might ask for additional information.

We would like to have solid information to build a case for action otherwise courts intervene and the suspects are bailed out, he said.

He added the meeting agreed that strong action would be taken after probe against anyone found guilty of involvement in the attack.

The meeting came as India said it is waiting for prompt and decisive action as promised by Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a telephone call on Tuesday.

India has provided specific and actionable information in this regard to Pakistan.

On Wednesday, Pakistans army chief Gen Raheel Sharif reaffirmed zero tolerance for terrorist organisations and took a detailed review of overall internal and external security situation in the country.

He made the remarks while presiding over the Corps Commander Conference held at General Headquarters, a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

In a pre-dawn attack on January 2, a group of heavily- armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab.

Who is Maulana Masood Azhar?

Maulana Masood Azhar was the general secretary of another terror group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) in 1994 and was on a 'mission' in Jammu and Kashmir when he was arrested on 11 February the same year. When he was released, the HuA had been included in the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations which had compelled the outfit to rename itself as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). The Indian Express explains the re-emergence of JeM after years of staying low key.

However, Masood Azhar decided to float the new outfit JeM rather than rejoin his old outfit. He was also reported to have received assistance in setting up the JeM from Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the then Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and several Sunni sectarian outfits of Pakistan.

JeM, like other terrorist outfits in J&K, claims to using violence to force a withdrawal of Indian security forces from the state. The outfit claims that each of its offices in Pakistan would serve as schools of jihad. In its fight against India, he boasted that the outfit would not only "liberate" Kashmir, but also would take control of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Amritsar and Delhi.

Masood Azhar, the amir (chief) of the outfit was arrested by Pakistani security forces on December 29, 2001, after pressure from India and other foreign countries following the December 13, 2001 attack on Indias Parliament. However, a three-member Review Board of Lahore High Court ordered on December 14, 2002, that Azhar be released.

With Agencies
Mumbai: The Narendra Modi-led government has taken a historic decision to leapfrog into Euro VI emission norms by 2020, four years prior to what the earlier Congress-led government planned to do, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday.

In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government on Wednesday decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 by skipping BS-V altogether.

"We are bypassing Euro V norms and will adopt Euro VI norms by 2020. The Modi government has taken a historic decision to leapfrog into Euro VI norms by 2020," Javadekar told reporters at the BJP office in Mumbai.

People have welcomed this decision, which will help reduce particulate matter pollution by 90 per cent, the Environment Minister said.

The industry, which already produces Euro VI compliant vehicles for export, will be mandated to produce such vehicles for the domestic market as well in four years, he said.

"We are also giving incentives to electric vehicles," he said, adding that the Heavy Industries department is giving 30 per cent subsidy on electric vehicles.

"We are also finalising the construction and demolition waste rules," Javadekar said.

At present, BS IV norms are followed in parts of India and by April 1, 2017, the whole of the country is scheduled to be covered under it.

The decision to leapfrog to BS-VI was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

A government-commissioned panel had earlier suggested implementing BS VI norms from 2024, but in the larger interest it has been decided to advance the dates, Gadkari told mediapersons on Wednesday.

PTI
The Indian Army countered growing criticism of the NSG-led operation against the terrorist infiltration and attack at a Pathankot airbase with the the GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh Wednesday calling the operation a complete success but both local and global headlines tell a different story.

Military analysts weighing in on the Pathankot attack are calling India's response to the attack "amateurish" and a "near fiasco".

"Four days to neutralise no more than five or six militants is unacceptable in a confined open space where there is little or no scope of any civilian collateral damage," the BBC quotes a military analyst as saying.

The Indian Express nuances the criticism on time cost, saying that forces elsewhere in the world have taken longer to terminate operations in smaller areas. The glaring holes, though are in planning, command, training and equipment, says the report.

The Express report signs off on a chilling note: "In practice, that meant all potential targets in Pathankot were expected to ensure their own perimeter was secure until they were assaulted by terrorists, in the kind of dramatic frontal assaults fidayeen units have often staged elsewhere in the country. This assumption was where things went wrong."

For his part, Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh told a media briefing in Chandi Mandir that the decision to deploy NSG was a multi-pronged one. "There was NSG, Air force, Garud commandos. Application of NSG was a joint decision taken at an appropriate level which included service chiefs," He said that the operation was a "complete success" which saw "synergy" between the NSG, Army and Air Force.

There has been criticism of the decision to deploy the NSG personnel flown from Delhi on Saturday morning in the air force base in Pathankot when a larger number of army commandos were available in nearby garrison in the border city itself. Army's special forces commandos were said to be better equipped to deal with the siege.

Lt Gen Singh said terrorists holed up in buildings in the air force station took "advantage" of that location which took time in eliminating them.

He said they also wanted to avoid a hostage situation as a large number of families and foreign trainees were residing inside the base.

"The buildings in the air force base station are such that which are located close to family quarters. The final group of two terrorists were in a two-storeyed structure where in the first our own troops were there. They (the families) had to be evacuated first and we had to avoid hostage situation because of that it took time.

"I also want to tell you that within these barracks, which are MES constructions they are covered with steel doors. It is like sitting inside a bunker and so the terrorists took advantage of it. The final body was recovered from inside of this structure," said Lt Gen Singh.

Lt Gen Singh said "excessive" firepower was not used because of the presence of families in the quarters and civilians pockets in the area.

"The basic concept is to safeguard the strategic assets. We also follow a principle of calibrated use of force. We have too much fire power which cannot be used in this operation because there were family quarters and civilian pockets outside the air force base. This is why we used that much fire power which was required in that condition.

"For that we had to take risks. It took time....We had to localise them (terrorists) to a very small area and finally eliminated them. We were under instructions and it was our concept to avoid unnecessary casualties. We took calculated risks so as not to have unnecessary casualties," he said.

"There are strategic assets here and there can be hostage situations as there are 11,000 people live here and 3,000 families, and above all, foreign trainees and had there been any hostage situation, it is NSG which is specially trained to rescue them," he said.

Lt General said that it was the success of this operation that the Air force station was operational. Had there been any damage to the airport, how could we have brought NSG here?" he asked.

"NSG was brought in because firstly strategic assets were over here. Secondly there can be hostage situation. People were living inside the campus which could have taken hostage...NSG are special troops (to handle such situation)."

"We got information on 1 January during the afternoon. It was a serious alert as we were told that six-eight (terrorists were there)," he said.

To a question about the source of the alerts, Lt Gen Singh said, "We got alert from Punjab Police also and from Central agencies."

He said the alert issued by Punjab Police on 30 December was very general which said that 15 militants had entered into the Indian territory.

On reports about Punjab Police's lapse in Pathankot terror attack, he said, "I will not comment on it. It is a subject matter of inquiry."

"We had initially report of four-six militants and then we made contact with six of them and all of them were eliminated," he said.

Asked whether there could be any local support to terrorists, Lt Gen said, "Some localised support cannot be absolutely ruled out. It will all be looked into. NIA will look into it. All aspects of this case will be looked into."

Asked why terrorists struck at the air force base, Lt Gen said, "It is strategically important. Imagine the kind of publicity you can gain that you have targeted strategic air base. Secondly it is in the vicinity. It is easy to reach here. It is only 25 km from the area."

On asked about potential hostage situation when terrorists attacked Pathankot air force base station, he said, "It could have developed into a hostage situation. In any case, all along the operation, there was a great possibility of taking a hostage situation because there are air men living in those barracks/residential area.

"They were brought out by army columns, NSG officials. They were brought down from the windows," he said to a question how two of militants were eliminated.

When asked whether army started any combing operation between the period of getting first alert and attack by terrorists, he said, "Combing of those areas was the primary the responsibility of police. We had to ensure security to our strategic assets. Area was checked out and QRT was in place. Air Force also carried out searching for terrorists," he said.

To a question on militants' bodies, he said, "There are four bodies of militants. Two have been cooked up. Some parts of bodies were scattered around there which are being forensically examined. The other four bodies which are recovered a call will be taken whether to destroy them or not because they were carrying explosives."

Asked about the cordoning off of Tibri in Gurdaspur, he said, "There is some information. Police and army were looking into it. Every day there are two or three cases of such informationit is being checked out."

"There was no collateral damage during the operation. We all must take into account that there are a large number of civilian pockets in that area. No collateral damage was caused to civilians pocket and villages which is in its vicinity (of air force base station).

"More importantly there were 23 foreign trainees from four friendly countries at air force base station. No one was harmed," he said, adding that this operation was a "complete success".

The foreign trainees are from Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

"After getting alert about terrorists, a large number of pre-empt action were taken. We sounded red alert. QRT were sent to important places. That is because our reactions were timely (to the attack) and after immediate contact with terrorists, they were localised," GOC-IN-C Western Command said.

"We even side stepped some resources. Some specialised resources like specialized forces, mine-protected vehicles. They were centrally located and they were side stepped," he said.

"Now combing operations and sanitization are currently on and after sanitization is over, the assets will be handed over to the air force," he informed.

He said out of nine columns of the Army, seven were used inside the air force station while two were kept outside. "A bomb disposal team, a dog squad and there were nine mine-protected vehicle were there," he said.

"Such operations require turnover. You are under a live situation, so a turnover was carried out and due rest was given.

"Currently, we have two columns, two mine-protected vehicles and bomb disposal teams is inside the station which is helping the combing and sanitization operation," he said, adding.

Talking about the total contact time between security force and terrorists, he said it was 10-11 hours. "In my perception, the total contact time was 10-11 hours. Balance period is that the terrorists remained dormant," he said.

He also rejected media reports that in the anti-terror operation, there was a limited role of the Army.

"It (media reports) is not correct. Because, the first contact was made by DSC, Garuds (with terrorists). Second contact was made by army column and after that they were localised.

"Third and final contact was made by army. A joint operation was launched in which army column was there, Garud, NSG was also there. Then NSG neutralized them," he said.

He added that Army's bomb disposal team is still working at the air force station in Pathankot and they are playing a "large role" at the base.

With Agencies
Crowd funding maybe the buzzword for start-ups. The "sunrise state" of Andhra Pradesh, as its Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu fondly calls it, in its enthusiasm to showcase the activity of building a world class Capital city, Amaravathi, is leaving no opportunity untapped to raise resources.

Nobody has any issues with that. Even the naysayers to the idea of a grandiose capital and, of course, its location, have now fallen in line.

What perplexes people are the target audience it is choosing and the paltry sums it is eyeing from them on one hand, and its profligacy on several things like splurge on multiple camp offices, renovation of Chief Ministers Office at Secretariat in Hyderabad, which is hardly used, and the office at Vijayawada and many such activities, on the other.

Any idea, in a cash-strapped state, should augur well for the people in long term or short term evolving itself into an economic activity with a proper return on investment, instead of making a spectacle of the government.

The latest brainwave of Naidu of collecting a donation of Rs 10 each from students and staff of over 64,000 educational institutions, with a view to imbibing a sense of belonging among all sections of people across the State in the capital building process, has proved to be a damp squib. The State was compelled to make amends to the impetuous move.

Child activists and civilians have reacted sharply. The Government had to eat crow and revise the circular making the donations voluntary. Child rights activists have gone to the extent of drawing a parallel between the so-called donation and the poll tax imposed by Aurangzeb.

Though it doesnt appear to be a well-thought-out plan of action, the AP Government has had its Commissioner of School Education issue a circular  RC/A&I/2016  asking senior officials of the department to collect donations from students and staff at the rate of Rs. 10 each. The estimated accrual to the exchequer by way of this wangled donation is pegged around at a meagre Rs. 7.50 crore. The circular that was signed by V N Mastanaiah, Joint Director, on behalf of the Commissioner K Sandhya Rani was issued on Monday (January 4, 2016).

The intent is to get this donation deposited to My Capital, My Amaravathi, My Brick program. In fact, the AP Government launched My Brick My Amaravathi program and opened a website for donation of bricks by pricing every brick at Rs. 10 each. By January 7, 2016, the total number of bricks collected were 53,26,470 from 2,22,912 people. This alone comes to a donation of Rs. 5.32 crore.

Though the Government is claiming that it is for involving everyone in the process and is brushing aside the opposition to the process as just a cavil, the justification isnt standing legal scrutiny.

The tenor of the circular to officials to raise donations from students and staff that laid emphasis on treating it as most urgent stunned everyone. The circular was issued at the behest of Minister for Human Resources Development Ganta Srinivasa Rao.

The circular instantly evoked very serious reaction from child rights activists.

The Balala Hakkula Sangham has demanded that the circular be rolled back forthwith, as it is in contravention of Right to Education. Anuradha Rao, president of the Balala Hakkula Sangham, has fretted and fumed at the government calling it a forced donation and that it was usurping of the basic right of the children to education. She has said that the government is pursing an anti-children policy.

As if this is not enough, the State Government has extended this donation program to junior colleges by way of another circular Rc.No.Acad I-1/MCAMB/2016 issued by M V Satyanarayana , IAS, Commissioner of Intermediate Education, and signed by Ch Tata Rao. The donors are students and staff of Government and government-aided junior colleges.

However, on seeing the widespread criticism, Ganta Srinivasa Rao had to come in front of the media and deny that the circular was forcing pupils to donate. He said the donation was voluntary and the idea was involve every one and create a sense of ownership of Amaravathi so that everybody will feel that they have played a role in the Capital building.

Former Union Minister and YSR Congress party floor leader in the AP Legislative Council Ummareddy Venkateswarlu has described it as cheap gimmick and demanded that the Government must stop such practices immediately.

Donation is something that has to come as a reflex from people with a service motto from their hearts. By forcible collection of Rs 10 from every student, Rs. 100 each from DWCRA women and pensioners, a months salary each from Government employees, and public donations, which do not have any transparency, smacks of the intellectual bankruptcy of the government. The Government money means public money. Why again should they collect donations in the garb of inculcating a sense of belonging, he asked.

The State Government, which has put up hundi (money boxes for fund raising) at CMO, secretariat and other important places some time ago, removed them immediately after the move received more brickbats than bouquets.

As expected, the circular on donations from students issue has gone before the High Court and Justice Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday directed that the students should not be forced to donate. A carpenter, S K Basheer, of Guntur challenged the circulars issued by the Education department for the My Capital, My Amaravathi, My Brick. The court found fault with the tone and language used in the circulars. The petitioner contended that these are unlawful, compulsive and coercive.

Posting the case to February 8, Justice Sanjay Kumar said that making the donations mandatory was unacceptable and asserted that we will not spare any one indulging in such coercive activities.

Dr Venkateswarlu and the Child Rights Activists also welcomed the High Court verdict.

The Government, whose acts are portraying it as a spendthrift, is coming under fire frequently from the Opposition and people in general for doling out a largesse to consultants  estimated to be Rs. 150 crore  for the capital construction, the grandiose foundation-laying functions, building of temporary secretariat (estimated at Rs. 300 crore) and the Chief Ministers camp offices in Hyderabad, Amaravathi and Vijayawada and the frequent foreign jaunts by large official delegations along with the Chief Minister, etc.

The Government should realise that what was dented was not the anticipated income to the exchequer, but its credibility.
New Delhi: The Congress party on Thursday rebuffed suggestions of a breakthrough on a landmark tax reform, hours after the government said it had accepted the demands set by the main opposition party to back the measure.

The proposed goods and services tax (GST), India's biggest revenue shake-up since independence in 1947, seeks to replace a slew of federal and state levies, transforming the nation of 1.2 billion people into a customs union.

Supporters say the new sales tax will add up to two percentage points to the South Asian nation's economic growth.

The Congress party, the original author of the tax reform, has opposed what it calls the "flawed" version now before parliament, where it has been able to block a key constitutional enabling amendment in the Rajya Sabha.

"The government is using optics of meetings and is not serious about GST," senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal told reporters.

His comments came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the government had agreed to accept the opposition party's demands.

Naidu also said the government was willing to bring forward the next parliament session to pass the proposed goods and services tax (GST) bill if Congress backed the measure.

The minister met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday to convey the government's decision. Gandhi did not assure him of her party's support, however.

"Sonia said they (Congress) will discuss among themselves and take a final decision," Naidu said.

We had invited Soniaji and Manmohan Singhji and discussed with them the GST and other bills. In the same context, as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of the government, I met the Congress president and recalled to her that as per the discussion held earlier, the Congress should finalise its stand. They had raised some issues, which were answered by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Since the government had already spoken to Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the House Anand Sharma in this regard, I reminded her that a quick decision should be taken and we should move forward immediately on the GST and the real estate bill, Venkaiah Naidu said.

But Sibal said the party was still waiting for written proposals from the government.

Congress wants the government to cap the GST rate at less than 20 percent, scrap a proposed state levy and create an independent mechanism to resolve disputes on revenue sharing between states.

The political slugfest between the two sides has ensured that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's self-imposed deadline of April 1 for the GST's launch will be missed.

While Jaitley has yet to set a new date for the rollout, aides say passage of the constitutional amendment bill in February's budget session of parliament would allow them to implement it by October.

Yet even that deadline, which would fall in the middle of the tax year, appears optimistic, say economists.

"There is still a substantive legislative process that has to be completed," said Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, the Indian arm of rating agency Moody's.

REUTERS
New Delhi: BJP on Thursday made it clear it will go with the PDP's choice for the post of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, clearing the decks for Mehbooba Mufti to take over the reins of the state following her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's death.

"It is for PDP to decide who will be their leader," BJP vice-president and its Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna told PTI when asked about his party's stand on Mehbooba succeeding her father, who died earlier in the day at New Delhi's Aiims.

"Our alliance is with PDP," Rai added, indicating it was the coalition's senior ally's prerogative to choose the leader for the top job.

56-year-old Mehbooba, who is the PDP's president, has had her share of detractors in the saffron ranks for several reasons, including her passionate espousal of her party's 'self-rule' concept, which used to be dubbed "as soft separatism" by many in the BJP.

Sources said the sudden death of Sayeed leaves BJP with little choice but to go with his obvious successor.

"It was one thing for her to take over from her father when he was still around and totally another when he is gone. She is the obvious choice," they said, adding that both parties had invested a lot in bringing about an alliance that was seen as improbable.

PDP leaders have thrown their weight behind Mehbooba following her father's death.

Sayeed, who crafted an unlikely alliance with BJP helping it share power for the first time in the Muslim majority state, died after a brief illnes.

With BJP giving clear signals for Mehbooba's elevation to the coveted post, the mother to two daughters, is all set to become the first woman chief minister of the state.

In the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

PTI
Kolkata: West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury has claimed that party workers want to forge an alliance with CPI(M) in order to oust "undemocratic" TMC regime.

But the senior Congress leader put the ball in party high command's court, saying that high command would take a call on the matter.

"It is for the Congress High Command to take a call on this matter (of forging alliance with CPI(M) in Bengal). But as far as I know a large section of Congress workers want to forge an alliance with CPI(M) in order to oust this undemocratic TMC regime," Chowdhury told PTI.

"Both the TMC and BJP are trying to spread the seeds of communalism in Bengal. So it is for the secular forces in the state to unite and fight against these communal forces," the party state president said.

The alliance issue has been cropping up for sometime with a section of the leaders of Bengal CPI(M) and state Congress reportedly rooting for such a tie-up to take on the ruling Trinamool Congress in the assembly elections.

Omprakash Mishra, WBPCC spokesperson recently has written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking seat adjustment with Left Front in the upcoming polls.

In his letter, the copy of which was released to the press, Mishra, an AICC member said, "A Congress-Left Front seat adjustment with a declared common minimum programme would dethrone the TMC government and usher in a Congress-LF alliance in West Bengal."

PTI
Paris: A man wielding a meat cleaver and carrying the emblem of the Islamic State group was shot dead as he tried to attack a police station in Paris on Thursday, a year to the day since jihadists killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo newspaper.

The unidentified man tried to enter the building in the northern 18th district of the French capital wearing what was at first thought to be an explosives vest, but was later found to be a fake.

News of the incident came just after President Francois Hollande concluded a sombre speech at police headquarters to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Paris office of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015.

"On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police," interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.

The prosecutor investigating the case said the man was found to be carrying "a mobile phone and a piece of paper on which the flag of Daesh was printed, as well as a

n unequivocal claim handwritten in Arabic". Daesh is the Arabic name for Islamic State.

Explosives experts were sent to the scene in the largely north African district of Goutte d'Or, close to the tourist hotspot of Montmartre.

The man was found to have been wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device "contained no explosives", a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the "remarkable work" of the security forces in the incident.

"In a country where the level of threat is extremely high, the police, gendarmes, the security forces... are in the frontline," he said.

With France still grieving after the massacre of 130 people by jihadists in Paris in November, Hollande used his speech to call for greater cooperation between the security services to thwart attacks.

"Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service -- police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military -- work in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal," the president said.

Many of the assailants in both January's rampage and the attacks in November were known to French security services, having either travelled abroad to fight with jihadists or been blocked from doing so.

Hollande said that since the attack on Charlie Hebdo, nearly 200 people in France had been placed under travel restrictions to prevent them joining up with Islamic State in Syria or Iraq.

'Died so we could live'

The president said the three police officers killed in January's attacks "died so that we could live in freedom".

A police bodyguard who was guarding the newspaper's editor, Charb, was killed alongside him by brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi and they shot dead another policeman, Ahmed Merabet, as he sprawled on the pavement near Charlie Hebdo's offices.

The next day, a policewoman was killed by jihadist Amedy Coulibaly in the southern Paris suburb of Montrouge, apparently as he was heading to attack a Jewish school.

Among changes set to be introduced in the wake of the November attacks are new guidelines allowing police to keep their weapons even when off-duty.

The president reiterated his pledge to boost the number of police and armed gendarmes by 5,000.

Rocker Johnny Hallyday will perform at a concert in Paris on Sunday to mark the day one year ago that one million people gathered in the capital in support of freedom of expression following the deaths of Charlie Hebdo's best-known cartoonists.

The newspaper had been in the jihadists' sights since it first published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006.

Since the attacks, it has moved to ultra-secure offices in a secret location, and has refused to tone down its provocative form of humour.

On Wednesday it published a special edition featuring a gun-toting God under the headline: "One year on: the killer is still at large."

AFP
Paris, France: A man shot dead by police as he tried to attack a police station on Thursday on the first anniversary of the jihadist assault on Charlie Hebdo had a knife and what appeared to be an explosives vest, the government said.

The man was also heard to shout "Allahu Akbar" as he approached the police station in the multi-ethnic neighbourhood in the north of the capital, the interior ministry said.

"On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police," said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

"Bomb disposal experts are at the scene working to secure the site," he said, adding that Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had left for the scene.

News of the attempted attack came after President Francois Hollande addressed New Year's greetings to France's police and gendarmes, and called for greater cooperation between the security services.

The population of the Goutte d'Or district where the incident occurred is predominantly of north African and sub-Saharan African origin.

AFP
Editor's note: This piece was originally published on 7 January, 2016. In light of the truck attack in Nice, France, we are republishing this article.

It is exactly one year to the day when Stephane Charbonnier (Charb) and his team of satirists were deep in argument in the second-floor newsroom of Charlie Hebdo.

Amid a lot of irreverent leg-pulling and ideation, they were brainstorming about the victims of racism in France and how best to make it the subject of their next edition when the killers stormed inside, called the cartoonists by their names and sprayed bullets.

Three other editorial staff, a guest, the cartoonists bodyguard, a caretaker and a policeman on the pavement were also murdered.

"Allahu Akbar! The Prophet has been avenged," they cried out before driving off, secure in their belief that they have taught a lesson to the blaspheming cartoonists.

It was all over in a matter of few minutes.

One year into the Charlie Hebdo massacre, it now seems increasingly clear that those few minutes are all it took to change the way how the world at large and Europe in particular looks at and deals with terrorism.

Unlike, perhaps, the 9/11 attacks in the US, Madrid train bombings or 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, this wasn't an elaborately planned or professionally executed terrorist assault. There were no foreign militants kidnapping an airplane or sneaking past the border to inflict mayhem. There were no handlers pulling the strings from across the border and giving step-by-step instructions.

Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi were born in Paris and were known to the French authorities as radicalised troublemakers. In fact, the way their mistook Charlie Hebdo's archives for the headquarters before realising their mistake makes it clear there was little, if any, reconnaissance of the site. They didn't seem to have a concrete escape plan and even left an ID in the car.

And yet, the attack's far-reaching effectiveness lied in its simplicity. In an increasingly vigilant western world that figured out a way to behead terrorist groups by cutting their revenue streams, bombing bases and thwarting would-be terrorists from traveling abroad, Charlie Hebdo strike ushered in a year of altogether different and far more difficult challenges.

The Kouachi brothers were soon located and killed two days later but the massacre provided a model that would soon be replicated elsewhere. All it needed were a few motivated individuals with scant resources willing to die for their cause.

January 7, 2015, brought the terror home.

On the same day that the French police killed the Kouachi brothers in a fierce encounter, Amedy Coulibaly, a radicalised Frenchman claiming to be working with the Kouachis, took Parisian shoppers hostage in a kosher supermarket and killed four people before he was shot.

In a flurry of attacks all over the world in the past 12 months, Boko Haram continued their massacre in Nigeria, Tunisians were slaughtered, a Russian plane downed and a couple in San Bernandino gunned down party-goers. The year culminated in another round of deadly killings in Paris.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram killed over 2000 in a bloodbath in the town of Baga in Borno but the attack wasn't as widely reported.

In March, an Islamic State-affiliated terror group launched twin suicide bombing attacks at two mosques in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, killing over 100. Just a month later, about 148 were butchered in Kenya when Al Shabaab terrorists a college campus. Some survivors said the gunmen singled out non-Muslims.

This was also the year when Islamic State gained international notoriety with graphic videos of beheadings and violence. In May, they struck at a Shi'ite mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing around 150.

On June 26, Islamic State, which by now had eclipsed Al-Qaeda as the face of global terrorism, did a double strike in two different locations in the world. In Kuwait, a suicide bomber entered a Shia mosque and blew up 27 worshippers during the holy month of Ramzan.

And on the same day, a gunman singled out and shot mostly British nationals at a plush Tunisian resort. Turkey suffered twice last year. In July, and in October when Ankara twin blasts claimed over 100 lives.

Russia was not to be spared. A passenger airplane, carrying a 'home-made bomb equivalent of up to 1 kg of TNT', crashed in the Sinai desert in Egypt in October, killing all 224 on board. Islamic State claimed responsibility, again.

And in the deadliest attack in Paris since the second World War, Islamic State terrorists carried out a string of attacks in restaurants, cafes on November 13, killing 130 among which 89 were gunned down in Bataclan concert hall alone during a performance by rock group Eagles of Death Metal.

That wasn't to be the last terror strike of the year.

In December, Syed Farook, a US citizen and his Pakistan-born wife Tashfeen Malik left behind their six-month-old infant and armed.223 caliber assault rifles, entered a San Bernardino community centre where a party was under way and shot dead 14 people, many of whom had been present in their baby shower event.

On Thursday, the day of Charlie Hebdo's first anniversary, BBC reported that French police shot dead a man who was apparently trying to attack a police station.

Minutes earlier President Francois Hollande had praised his cops in a speech commemorating the Paris killings. In his address, Hollande said 5,000 extra police and gendarmes would be added to existing forces by 2017 in an "unprecedented" strengthening of French security.

Coinciding with the terror attacks, Europe found itself in the midst of a refugee crisis.

As thousands and thousands of refugees, mostly from Middle East and Africa, crossed the Mediterranean Sea or through the south-east Europe hoping for asylum in the EU, France, meanwhile, found itself torn in a culture war that threatens to rip apart its civil society.

The divisions are huge. There are several Frances and they are clashing, says Brice Teinturier, head of the Ipsos polling organization in France, describing a France of big cities turned towards the future, a rustbelt France that feels crushed by globalization, and a France of housing estates that feels forgotten.

Inevitably, 2015 also saw the rise of hate attacks against Muslims and dominance of xenophobic and far-right forces in the US and Europe. US presidential hopeful Donald Trump vowed to "close the American border for Muslims" and French far right leader Marine Le Pen gained prominence.

And back home in India, we can no longer be sure that Pakistan-sponsored terror is the only kind we will have to deal with.

Islamic State, which hopes to spread its caliphate from Syria to India, on Thursday threatened MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi for a statement he made in November 2015 that the terror outfit is a blot on Islam.

Its better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State if you don't know the truth, Islamic State will invade india soon (sic), a Twitter handle in the name of @abotalout warned Owaisi.

One year from Charlie Hebdo, it's now a different universe.
by Ashok K Singh

Its fire and dynamite in a room with Saudi Arabia and Iran sitting there. Thats the way Jamal Khasogi, veteran Saudi journalist, described the situation in the Middle East on Wednesday. The two regional rivals are already on a short fuse, could the situation become worse? "Its going to be worse" he told Christian Amanpour of CNN.

That doesnt mean Saudi Arabia and Iran are going to war directly; they have never fought one. But that certainly means proxy wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen escalating. It portends the 25 January peace talks over Syria going up in flames, no respite to war in Yemen, and the possibility of gains over Ramadi in Iraq against the Islamic State being reversed. The worsening of the Saudi-Iranian row also poses threats of sectarian conflagrations in the larger Islamic world including Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Yemen has already become a casualty of the escalation as a result of the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr by Saudi Arabia. A ceasefire that had come into effect after weeks of UN efforts was broken on 2 January within hours of the Saudis announcing the execution of Nimr and 46 others. It wasnt, perhaps, too much of a coincidence that the Saudis executed the cleric a few days after Ramadi was captured from the Islamic State.

The simmering tension between the two traditional rivals which has escalated into a full-fledged political and diplomatic face-off has dragged the entire region to the precipice of a wider conflict with unpredictable consequences. After the Shia clerics execution, enraged Iranians attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran following which the Saudis retaliated by snapping all diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran. Saudis allies and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council  Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait have  rallied behind either by cutting diplomatic relations or downgrading ties. Outside the GCC region, Sudan too has severed diplomatic ties with Iran. The GCC has called an emergency meeting of its foreign ministers on 9 January where they are expected to announce further measures against Iran.

Saudi Arabia had made no secret of its intention to execute Al Nimr, who had been convicted on charges of sedition and was in prison since 2012. The cleric was a champion of Shias in Saudis restive Shia-majority eastern province. Shias have been raising voices against persecution in the eastern province for long. But the sectarian divide has become wider since the Arab Spring.

First, Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Bahrain to suppress protests by the Shia majority who had taken to the streets inspired by the Arab Spring. Later the Saudis sent troops to Yemen against the Houthis, a Shiite subsect, who adhere to a branch of Islam known as Zaidism. They are one-third of the population and control North Yemen against the South under Sunnis control. In Syria, Saudi Arabia supports Sunni militants who are engaged in a war to dethrone President Bassar Al Assad, who belongs to the Alawi sect of Islam, treated as heretic by die-hard Sunnis. Iranian forces are fighting to save Assad. And in Iraq, the Saudis were incensed by the persecution of the Sunnis by the erstwhile Shia-dominated government of Nuri Al Maliki that exacerbated the sectarian conflicts to the extent that Sunni tribes joined hands with the Islamic State. Iraq too has condemned Nimrs execution.

Anticipating tough Iranian reaction and the sectarian Sunni-Shia divide in the Middle East to widen further after Nimrs execution, Saudi Arabia had been rallying for the support of Sunnis-dominated nations. Saudis announcement to form a coalition of 34-Muslim nations in Riyadh on 17 December ostensibly to fight the menace of global terrorism could be seen as a move to rally support against Iranian reactions besides being a part of its larger strategy to contain the arch Shia rival.

Indias neighbour Pakistan who is Sunni-majority but with a substantial Shia minority has been under Saudi Arabia pressure to commit militarily to the war in Yemen and other hot spots which have strategic interests for Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has been finding it tough to fend off Saudis pressure to avoid any ripple effect of its choice in the Saudi-Iranian face-off. In terms of size of population, Shias in Pakistan constitute the second largest number in the world after Iran which makes the country vulnerable to frequent sectarian violence.

World powers are scrambling to contain the Saudi-Iranian tensions to ensure that the Vienna process moves on, the crucial Syria talks dont get scuppered and the fight against the Islamic State doesnt get further derailed in Syria as well as Iraq. Though Riyadh has assured Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, that the Saudi-Iranian row would not impact the schedule Syria talks on 25 January, few believe the process will go ahead unhindered.

The United States and Turkey are working hard to salvage the Syria plan.

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution condemning the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran that has put Iran in a tight corner with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promising to protect diplomats.

But on the execution of the Shia cleric, Rouhani sounds non-compromising. Saudi Arabia has severed ties with Iran to cover its crime of Nimrs execution, he said. Saudi Arabia is not backing down either. The conflict was not started by execution. It always existed. We are already in conflicts. We have to choose between accepting Iranian hegemony or push them out. We have no option. said Jamal Khasogi echoing the feeling of the Saudis. Its about the future of Middle East, he said. Turkey has described the Saudi-Iranian tension as a tinderbox.

The future of the Middle East hangs in balance.
Wildbad Kreuth, Germany: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday won support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for EU reforms to protect European welfare systems, arguing that what is good for Britain is also good for Europe.

Cameron is seeking backing for his demands for EU reforms, which he is battling to secure before Britain's referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc by the end of 2017.

Speaking in southern Germany, where he held talks with the Christian Social Union -- sister party of Merkel's CDU -- Cameron said he was "even more confident after the discussions here that these (reforms) are possible and not just good for Britain but actually good for Europe".

"Not simply because other European countries will benefit by Britain continuing to be a member of Europe, but I think it's important that (the EU) shows it has the flexibility of a network and can address concerns of an individual member rather than the rigidity of a bloc," he said.

Cameron wants the EU to cut bureaucracy and shift more powers from Brussels to member states.

He is also seeking guarantees that Britain will be protected from closer EU political integration and from economic decisions made by the 19 EU members that use the euro currency.

Those demands have so far proven relatively uncontroversial.

However, a key sticking point for several EU members is Cameron's aim to restrict benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in Britain.

Critics of the plan say the measure would harm the EU's central tenets of non-discrimination between EU citizens and freedom of movement between member states.

'Germany can help'

While Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has said that "the fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate, in what is a clear reference to this proposal.

However Merkel later Thursday acknowledged that it was "not the intention of the law of free movement" to immediately allow EU migrants to claim benefits from host member states.

"That means that you can work everywhere in Europe but this intention does not include drawing social benefits everywhere in Europe from day one," she told reporters in Berlin.

She said her own Labour Minister, Social Democrat Andrea Nahles, had also proposed new restrictions "which to a certain extent mesh with what Britain is seeking".

The CSU has more eurosceptic leanings than its bigger sister party, the CDU, and has signalled support for Cameron's bid to limit benefits for EU migrants.

In an article for Germany's Bild newspaper on Thursday, Cameron also reiterated his belief that the changes he is seeking "will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them."

"We want to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first," Cameron wrote.

"Like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years."

Cameron is later expected to travel to Hungary for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has come under fire from fellow EU states for his hardline stance against a record influx of refugees to Europe.

The British leader is keen to avoid a so-called "Brexit", but faces a large eurosceptic contingent within his Conservative party and growing public discontent over Britain's relationship with Brussels.

Highlighting divisions over the EU, Cameron on Tuesday said his ministers would be allowed to campaign for or against Britain's EU membership ahead of the referendum.

AFP
A WA Nationals MP has admitted he acted inappropriately by planning to hold a $1000-a-head fundraising lunch aboard a Navy warship using vouchers he'd bought for a fraction of the price at a charity auction.

Paul Brown, a member of the WA Legislative Council, advertised 20 spots for lunch aboard HMAS Perth this Sunday with state leader Terry Redman and senior party figures.

The HMAS Perth has been caught up in a fundraising scandal. Credit:Cameron Spencer

But his plan ran aground badly  he failed to tell the Navy about the planned fundraiser. It is understood senior Defence figures were furious when they found out.

The lunch, which included a tour of HMAS Stirling base where the Anzac class frigate is berthed, was based on gift vouchers which had been auctioned at a Royal Flying Doctor Service charity event last year with the Navy's blessing.
The Macau Orchestra is set to play a chamber music concert titled All About Beethoven at Dom Pedro V Theatre on Saturday, January 16. They will present two iconic ensemble works from the influential German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven.

The orchestra will perform Beethovens String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, composed originally in 1826, which the Cultural Affairs Bureau says is both a technically challenging piece and a remarkable and profound work.

Also planned for the night is another outstanding piece from the German composer, titled Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola in D Major. The piece features a delicate combination of the three musical instruments, representing the work in a clear, soft and elegant way.

The concert, which will commence at 8 p.m., is being held under the supervision and planning of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC).

In March last year, the Macau Orchestra held another Beethoven concert, titled Obsessed with Beethoven, which featured two pieces: Wind Octet in E-flat major and String Quartet No. 1 in F major.

Tickets for next Saturdays show are now available to the public and can be purchased at Macau Ticketing Network outlets. They are priced at MOP120 and MOP100. For more information, interested parties can visit the Macau Orchestras website: www.icm.gov.mo/om.
CHINA Rescuers have dug out dozens of bodies from a massive landslide that occurred at a construction waste dump in Shenzhen more than two weeks ago, bringing the death toll to 58, authorities said yesterday. The city government said authorities had identified 52 of the 58 bodies and that an additional 25 people remain missing.

CHINAAnti-corruption campaigns hurt high-end luxury consumption, but mid-end luxury is more affordable for the middle class, and it will gain traction in China, said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. Investors are looking at a big trend of moving towards a more service- and consumption-driven economy in the mainland.

BANGLADESH The top court yesterday upheld a death sentence given to the leader of Bangladeshs largest Islamist party for atrocities and multiple killings he committed during the nations independence war against Pakistan in 1971. The verdict came as a wave of deadly assaults late last year on foreigners, secular writers and members of the Shiite community intensified.

IRAQI officials say the Islamic State group has stepped up attacks on the western town of Haditha, where 45 Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters have been killed in clashes over the past three days.

Syrian activists and an official with an ultraconservative rebel group say gunmen have shot and killed the groups commander in the main central province. Labib al-Nahhas of Syrias Ahrar al-Sham Islamic rebel group mourned on his Twitter account yesterday the death of Abu Rateb al-Homsy, the groups leader in Homs province. It was not clear when al-Homsy was killed.

UK The Labour Party has begun the new year at war with itself as veteran left-winger leader Jeremy Corbyn struggles to assert his authority over restive lawmakers. Yesterday, Corbyn moved defense spokeswoman Maria Eagle, who opposed him on nuclear weapons, to another post, and fired two other members of his team who had criticized him. Legislator Jonathan Reynolds later resigned as Labours railway spokesman, saying he wanted more freedom to speak out.

GERMANY Former New York Philharmonic principal conductor Pierre Boulez, who moved between conducting, composition and teaching over a long career that made him one of the leading figures in modern classical music, has died at age 90 in Baden-Baden. Born in Montbrison, France, Boulez initially studied mathematics as a youth before switching to music and studying at the Paris Conservatory.

HOLLYWOOD Spotlight (pictured), Straight Outta Compton and The Martian were among the 10 feature film nominees announced for the 27th Producers Guild Awards, usually a prelude to the Oscars nominations. Conspicuously missing were critics favorite Carol and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a wild card thus far in award races.
The French people have voted to grant Algeria its independence in a referendum.

The result was a clear majority for self-determination, with 75% voting in favour.

In Algeria, a slightly lower percentage  69%  voted in favour. More than 40% of the electorate abstained in response to a campaign by the rebel pro-independence group FLN to boycott the vote.

The FLN, led by Ben Bella, has been waging an increasingly violent guerrilla war against French colonists for seven years, causing a political crisis in France.

The French President, Charles de Gaulle, was elected back into office three years ago on a mandate to prevent the war in Algeria spilling over into France.

The referendum result was welcomed by French Prime Minister Michel Debre as a clear and striking response.

General de Gaulle was informed of the results by telephone at his country home at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises and remarked that the good sense of the people had prevailed.

He had staked his political future on the referendum result, saying in a broadcast to the nation three days ago that it would be a matter between himself and the individual voter.

There was an atmosphere of high tension in Algeria as voting took place.

Security was at its highest in the capital, Algiers, where an estimated 20,000 French troops were on patrol.

In the event, however, the voting passed off relatively peacefully.

There was some violence  in one of the worst incidents, ten Algerians and a French army corporal were killed in the south of the country when officials said the rebel FLN staged a raid on a polling booth. But overall the authorities expressed relief that it had not been worse.

Algeria has the largest white settler population of any French African colony, with a million people of French descent holding power over eight million Algerian Muslims.

The Muslim population has little political or economic power, and few legal rights, and discontent is now at such a level that half a million French troops are stationed in the country.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

French settlers in Algeria reacted with outrage to this clearest sign yet that Algeria was heading towards independence.

The former military commander in Algeria, General Raoul Salan, founded the Organisation de lArmee Secrete (OAS), an extremist organisation of French settlers determined to fight the independence movement.

Led by Salan and a group of French army officers it staged an unsuccessful coup in Algiers in April 1961 as well as carrying out several bomb attacks in mainland France and attempting to assassinate President de Gaulle on several occasions.

Salan was captured in Algiers in 1962 and imprisoned from 1962-1968.

After his arrest the OAS gradually disintegrated. The Evian Agreements between the French government and Ben Bella for the FLN brought independence to Algeria in July 1962.

French officials estimate the eight years of terrorism and warfare leading to independence cost 350,000 lives  Algerian sources put the figure much higher at 1.5 million.

In 1965 de Gaulle was elected president for a second term but resigned in 1969.

He died of a heart attack on 9 November 1970, aged 79.
Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man wearing a fake explosive vest at a police station in northern Paris yesterday, French officials said, a year to the day after an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital.

Luc Poignant, a police union official, said the man cried out Allahu akbar, Arabic for God is great.

The man was wearing what looked like an explosive vest, but it was fake, according to two French police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. They said the man has not yet been identified.

Just a few minutes earlier, elsewhere in the city, French President Francois Hollande had finished paying homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including three shot to death in attacks last January.

A Paris police official said police were investigating the incident at the Paris police station yesterday as more likely terrorism than a standard criminal act. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be publicly named according to police policy. The neighborhood in the Goutte dOr district of northern Paris was locked down.

Hollande had said earlier that what he called a terrorist threat would continue to weigh on France.

On Jan. 7, 2015, two French-

born brothers killed 11 people inside the building where Charlie Hebdo operated, as well as a Muslim policeman outside. Over the next two days, an accomplice shot a policewoman to death and then stormed a kosher supermarket, killing four hostages. All three gunmen died.

In a speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, Hollande said the government was passing new laws and ramping up security, but the threat remained high.

Hollande especially called for better surveillance of radicalized citizens who have joined Islamic State or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.

We must be able to force these people and only these people to fulfill certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest  because they are dangerous, he said.

Three police officers were among the 17 dead in the attacks last January, which ended after two days of bloodshed in the Paris region.

Hollande said officers die in the line of duty so that we can live free.

Following the January attacks, the government announced it planned to give police better equipment and hire more intelligence agents.

France has been on high alert ever since, and was struck again Nov. 13 by extremists in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group that killed 130 people at a concert hall and in bars and restaurants.

Survivors of the January attacks, meanwhile, are continuing to speak out.

Cartoonist Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, who is known as Riss, told France Inter radio security is a new expense for the newspaper budget.

This past year weve had to invest nearly 2 million euros to secure our office, which is an enormous sum, he said. We have to spend hundreds of thousands on surveillance of our offices, which wasnt previously in Charlies budget, but we had an obligation so that employees feel safe and can work safely.

After the attacks, people around the world embraced the expression Je suis Charlie to express solidarity with the slain journalists, targeted for the papers caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

Its a phrase that was used during the march as a sign of emotion or resistance to terrorism, Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Corinne Rey  known as Coco 

told France Inter radio. And little by little, I realized that I am Charlie was misused for so many things. And now I dont really know what it means. Lori Hinnant & Elaine Ganley, Paris, AP

police clear the area

Police have cleared hundreds of people from the neighborhood of the attack amid fears that other assailants could be at large.

Tensions were high in the Goutte dOr neighborhood in Paris 18th arrondissement, a multi-ethnic district not far from the Gare du Nord train station.

Police expanded the security cordon about an hour after the attack, swiftly and roughly clearing out hundreds who had gathered at a subway station and along nearby streets.

Shops were ordered to be shuttered along neighboring streets.
CHINA Eleven workers trapped underground in a coal mine collapse have died, authorities in central China said, the latest in a series of mining disasters. The miners were found yesterday afternoon, a day after the mine in Shaanxi province collapsed, Yulin citys propaganda department said in a statement. The reason for the collapse is under investigation, it said. The rest of the 49 miners who had been working in the privately run mine escaped.

MIDDLE EAST President Barack Obama and Iraqs leader are discussing ways to prevent a diplomatic dust-up between Saudi Arabia and Iran from exacerbating ongoing sectarian conflict in Iraq. Obama spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.The White House says both leaders were concerned about Saudi Arabias execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and subsequent attacks against Saudi diplomatic outposts in Iran.

GHANA Two men who were captured in Afghanistan and held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly 14 years without charge have been released and sent to the West African nation of Ghana for resettlement, officials say.

EUROPE Unemployment across the 19-country eurozone has fallen to its lowest rate in a little more than four years, official figures showed yesterday in the latest sign that the economic recovery in the region ended 2015 on a relatively chipper note. Following surveys this week that suggested the eurozone economy is poised for solid growth in 2016, statistics agency Eurostat found that the unemployment rate in the region fell to 10.5 percent in November from 10.6 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed fell by 130,000 people during the month.

VATICAN The Vatican is loaning a deeply symbolic religious relic to a meeting in Britain discussing the future of the 80 million-strong Anglican Communion that has been badly divided over issues of female bishops and same-sex marriage. The ivory top of the pastoral staff of St. Gregory the Great  the 6th-century pope who dispatched missionaries to England to spread Christianity  will be displayed in the Canterbury Cathedral before and after the Jan. 11-16 meeting of Anglican primates.

JAMAICA Violent rivalries among Jamaicas lottery scam rings have helped drive the Caribbean islands homicide rate to the highest level in five years, according to police.
Malaysia Airlines yesterday lifted a much-criticized ban on checking in baggage on flights to Paris and Amsterdam, a day after limiting bags to lighten the plane and save fuel.

The airline had banned check-in baggage for Tuesday and Wednesday flights to the two European cities due to unseasonably strong headwinds on a longer flight path it was taking. Passengers slammed the airline on social media and suggested it could have reduced the number of passengers or refused to carry freight instead.

The airline told The Associated Press that it uniquely has been using a routing (to Europe) via Egypt, which has been up to two hours longer than other carriers for safety reasons.

Headwinds over the past four days exceeded 200 knots, which can burn up to 15 percent more fuel on its Boeing 777-200 aircraft, it said.

It lifted the ban less than 24 hours after imposing it after concluding it could take a shorter route.

The airline in an e-mail to the AP said it does a daily risk assessment to determine the most optimum route for flights and that currently, it is taking a more northerly route. It didnt elaborate.

A Malaysia Airlines jet flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a missile in eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. Earlier that year, a Malaysia Airlines flight heading to Beijing disappeared and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean. AP
A local government official has proposed the transformation of Coloanes empty stilt houses into cultural and creative products stores in order to promote tourism, Macau News reports.

Islands Community Services Consultative Committee member Ku Man Tai, who also sits on the board of the Macau Islands Industrial and Commercial Association, proposed the idea at a meeting with government officials on Tuesday.

Stilt houses stand elevated above water level by (often) slim wooden beams that support the underside of the structure. They are an integral part of Coloanes cultural memory and are popular with tourists exploring the Coloane Heritage Walk, which meanders through the historic village on the island.

Ku estimated that there are around 20 stilt houses in the area near the Coloane ferry pier, most of which have been empty for a while.

The remaining stilt houses are either restaurants or dried food shops, said Ku at the meeting. There are not many [shopping] options for tourists [in the area].

Ku met with government officials from the Marine and Water Bureau on Tuesday at a community center in Rua da Ponte Negra in Taipa, run by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.

Ku added that the government could consider allowing residents to operate hostels in some of Coloanes village houses, which could attract more visitors and boost the islands tourist trade.

The Marine and Water Bureaus Vessels and Crew Department chief, Lei Veng Seng, who also attended Tuesdays meeting in Taipa, said that the long-

delayed Macau-Guangdong individual yacht travel scheme should be launched within the first half of 2016.

According to Macau News, Lei said that the Shenwan Town Marina in Zhongshan is now undergoing final inspections.

The Marine and Water Bureaus director, Susana Wong, had previously told the press that she expected the scheme to commence operations by the end of last year.

Once open, the Shenwan Town Marina will be the first of its kind on the mainland to make yachts available for visitors from Macau.
Itd be hard to find anyone in Hong Kong who honestly believes that the five missing booksellers were not blackmailed, kidnapped or perhaps honey trapped; set up in sex-related situations. A Beijing mouthpiece Global Times editorial said recently that there were ways to get people to cooperate in investigations without abducting them. So was it enforced removal, seduction and blackmail or is it all innocent legal behaviour? I am sure a bookmaker would give very long odds on a bet on the latter. Perhaps its a combination of all of these.

The latest disappearee, Lee Bo, told the South China Morning Post recently, in an interview, that he felt safe in Hong Kong but not over the border. He then went missing without telling his wife; highly suspicious. I am not worried. I have avoided going to the mainland for many years; That he then phoned his wife from Shenzhen in Putonghua  not the language he uses with her  is also suspicious. Despite these circumstances Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has said the investigation into the disappearance would continue and urged especially Mr Lee Bo to contact the police and provide information. As if he could.

Highly suspect too that a pro-Beijing lawmaker claimed that all five from Mighty Current publishers were arrested for sex with prostitutes  after secretly taking a boat to China. The sex recorded by mainland police. More, its ridiculous; considering that the other four went missing in October. Mighty Current publishes books critical of, or embarrassing to President Xi Jinping and other current or former party leaders, and runs a bookshop which sells other books banned in China.

So according to the legislator, or most likely the fabricator of this story, this is what happened. Lets walk this through. The four decide to lie low in October, one during a holiday in Thailand. Next all of them, who knew they would be detained if they set foot in China, simultaneously, a few days ago, took the risk of long jail terms to see prostitutes in Shenzhen.

In the words of Alice from Alice in Wonderland in another absurd fairly tale: curiouser and curiouser.

The legislator, Ng Leung-sing, said, in a Legislative Council meeting, that he was relaying a message from a friend. Later Ng apologized, saying that he was only trying to add another theory to explain Lees disappearance. His many critics say he was re-circulating an online rumor  but on orders, or of his own volition?

Another suspicious event is Lees wife withdrawing her request for police help after receiving a handwritten fax, which, she said, was in her husbands handwriting.

There are two very serious concerns here. Firstly Hong Kong residents, who may have antagonized individuals over the border, may worry about disappearing and reappearing over the border. Then, charged with some vague, catch-all-law  meaningless here  be tried in a court whose decision has been made in advance by Party officials; as is the regular process in cases deemed to be political. Problem is, with well connected mainlanders many disagreements can be made to be political.

Secondly if, as widely suspected, mainland security forces were involved in Hong Kong, it was in violation of the Basic Law and one country two systems. This would not be the first time. In one widely publicized case two mainland police officers were arrested for loitering outside a residential building in Pokfulam with handcuffs. They were released with no action taken.

All in all this episode does not bode well for journalists, or publishers and freedom of the press and expression, as guaranteed in the Basic Law.

On balance we also have to question the judgement of the publishers. On the one hand they made available reliable books of public interest, such as The Tiananmen Diaries and the autobiography of the late liberal leader, Zhao Zhiyang. However on the other hand, they sold some hasty  and what appear to be gossip and rumoured-tinged books  embarrassing to senior Chinese figures. Nevertheless respecting our legal system, libel actions here would be the appropriate course of action rather than what seems to have happened.
North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test yesterday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyangs quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal.

South Koreas spy agency and outside nuclear experts cast strong doubt, however, saying the estimated explosive yield from North Koreas fourth nuclear explosion was much smaller than what even a failed H-bomb detonation would produce.

The doubts didnt stop jubilation and pride in Pyongyang. A North Korean television anchor, reading a typically propaganda-heavy statement, said a test of a miniaturized hydrogen bomb had been a perfect success that elevated the countrys nuclear might to the next level. State media later crowed that its H-bomb of justice lets it stand firm against U.S. aggression.

A large crowd celebrated in front of Pyongyangs main train station as the announcement was read on a big video screen, with people taking videos or photos of the screen on their mobile phones and applauding and cheering.

In Seoul and elsewhere there was high-level worry. South Korean President Park Geun-hye ordered her military to bolster its combined defense posture with U.S. forces and called the test a grave provocation and an act that threatens our lives and future. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, We absolutely cannot allow this.

Washington and nuclear experts have been skeptical about past North Korean claims about H-bombs, which are much more powerful and much more difficult to make, than atomic bombs. A confirmed test would further worsen already abysmal relations between Pyongyang and its neighbors and lead to a strong push for tougher sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations. The Security Council quickly announced an emergency meeting.

Whatever the type of the test, North Koreas fourth nuclear explosion will likely push Pyongyangs scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a bomb small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

A successful H-bomb test would be a big new step for the North. Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission. In a hydrogen bomb, radiation from a nuclear fission explosion sets off a fusion reaction responsible for a powerful blast and radioactivity.

A South Korean lawmaker said the countrys spy agency told him in a private briefing that Pyongyang may not have conducted an H-bomb test given the relatively small size of the seismic wave reported.

An estimated explosive yield of 6.0 kilotons and a quake with a magnitude of 4.8 (the U.S. reported 5.1) were detected, lawmaker Lee Cheol Woo said the National Intelligence Service told him. Thats smaller than the estimated explosive yield of 7.9 kilotons and a quake with a magnitude of 4.9 that were reported after the 2013 nuclear test, he said, and only a fraction of the hundreds of kilotons that a successful H-bomb tests explosion would usually yield. Even a failed H-bomb detonation typically yields tens of kilotons, the NIS told Lee, who sits on the parliaments intelligence committee.

A miniaturized H-bomb can trigger a weak quake magnitude, but only the U.S. and Russia have such H-bombs, Lee cited the NIS as saying.

While also noting the quake magnitude was likely too small for an H-bomb test, Jaiki Lee, a professor of nuclear engineering at Seouls Hanyang University, said the North could have experimented with a boosted hybrid bomb that uses some nuclear fusion fuel along with more conventional uranium or plutonium fuel.

After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un bragged of H-bomb capabilities in December, nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis also questioned Pyongyangs ability to build such a bomb.

But, he wrote on the North Korea-focused 38 North website, The North has now had a nuclear weapons program for more than 20 years. This program has yielded three nuclear tests. North Korean nuclear scientists have access to their counterparts in Pakistan, possibly Iran and maybe a few other places. We should not expect that they will test the same fission device over and over again.

In Pyongyang, meanwhile, the announcement was greeted with an expected rush of nationalistic pride, and some bewilderment.

Kim Sok Chol, 32, told The Associated Press that he doesnt know much about H-bombs, but added that Since we have it the U.S. will not attack us.

University student Ri Sol Yong, 22, said, If we didnt have powerful nuclear weapons, we would already have been turned into the slaves of the U.S.

It could take weeks before the true nature of the test is confirmed by outside experts  if they are able to do so at all. North Korea goes to great lengths to conceal its tests by conducting them underground and tightly sealing off tunnels or any other vents though which radioactive residue and blast-related noble gases could escape into the atmosphere.

The U.S. Air Force has aircraft designed to detect the evidence of a nuclear test, and such aircraft could be deployed from a U.S. base on the Japanese island of Okinawa to search for clues. Japanese media said Tokyo has also mobilized its own reconnaissance aircraft for sorties over the Sea of Japan to try to collect atmospheric data.

North Koreas previous nuclear test was in early 2013, and Kim Jong Un did not mention nuclear weapons in his annual New Years speech. Some outside analysts speculated Kim was worried about deteriorating ties with China, the Norths last major ally, which has shown greater frustration at provocations and a possible willingness to allow stronger U.N. sanctions.

Just how big a threat North Koreas nuclear program currently poses is something of a mystery. North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs.

Some analysts say the North hasnt likely achieved the technology needed to manufacture a miniaturized warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. But there is a growing debate on just how far the North has advanced in its secretive nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea needs nuclear tests for practical military and political reasons. To build a credible nuclear program, the North must explode new nuclear devices  including miniaturized ones  so its scientists can continually improve their designs and technology. Nuclear-tipped missiles could then be used as deterrents, and diplomatic bargaining chips, against its enemies  and especially against the United States, which Pyongyang has long pushed to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.

This is indeed a wakeup call, Lassina Zerbo, the head of the Vienna-based U.N. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, which has a worldwide network of monitoring stations to detect nuclear testing, told AP by phone. I am convinced it will have repercussions on North Korea and international peace and stability. Foster Klug, Seoul, AP
A U.S. Marine has asked a Philippine court to reverse his conviction in the killing of a transgender Filipino and sought a bail and a reduction of his six to 12-year jail term, his lawyer said yesterday.

Lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores said she would insist that her client, Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, did not kill Jennifer Laude in a motel room after they met in a disco bar in October 2014 and that his sentence should be eased because he surrendered to authorities.

In December a judge convicted Pemberton of homicide, not the more serious charge of murder as prosecutors sought  and sentenced him to a lighter jail term than what the victims family sought.

The regional trial court judge in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila, said she downgraded the charge because conditions such as cruelty and treachery had not been proven.

The court will start to hear Pembertons appeal today.

Were going for an acquittal, Flores said by telephone. He defended himself because he felt he was being conned but he did not kill Laude.

In case the court upholds the conviction, Flores said she and other defense lawyers asked the court to consider easing Pembertons sentence because he surrendered to authorities and that he had no intention to commit so grave a wrong.

The killing sparked anger in the Philippines and reignited calls by left-wing groups and nationalists for an end to Americas military presence in the country at a time when the U.S. is reasserting its dominance in Asia and Manila has turned to Washington for support amid an escalating territorial dispute with China.

Pemberton, an anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of thousands of American and Philippine military personnel who participated in joint exercises in the country in 2014. He and a group of other Marines were on leave after the exercises and met Laude and her friends at a bar in Olongapo, a city known for its nightlife located outside Subic Bay, a former U.S. Navy base. At least two witnesses testified that Laude was a sex worker.

Pemberton, 21, has been detained at a compound guarded by Philippine and American security personnel, at the main military camp in metropolitan Manila, and not in an ordinary jail as demanded by Laudes family.

The emotional case has sparked concerns about special treatment for visiting American forces, and left-wing activists have called on the government to fight Pembertons appeal.

Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on charges of raping a Filipino woman in 2005. He was held at the U.S. Embassy in Manila until a Philippine appeals court overturned his conviction in 2009, allowing him to leave the country amid anti-

U.S. protests.

If we allow Pembertons conviction to be reversed or reduce his sentence, this will send a wrong message to U.S. soldiers: That they can commit crimes and get away with it, left-wing activist Renato Reyes said. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
Protest organizers were seen outside the Grand Lisboa yesterday in preparation for a demonstration planned for tomorrow night.

A man setting up a banner outside the casino resort told the Times that a demonstration was due to be held on Saturday night to protest a recent investment scandal in Taiwan.

According to the protester, who did not want to be identified, Taiwanese residents who were scammed by the investor are organizing the protest to demand their money back. They claim that the scammer is linked to casino executives.

A banner reads: Lei owes the Taiwanese fellows their hard-earned savings. Brother Fu should come out and uphold justice.

One of the scam victims was supposed to arrive in Macau yesterday to make a speech at 7 p.m., but no one was present when the Times visited the area. Staff reporter
Leading business groups, often at odds with President Barack Obama, are looking to give momentum to one of his priorities before he leaves office: approval of a trade pact linking 12 nations along the Pacific Rim that make up 40 percent of the world economy.

The Business Roundtable, made up of chief executive officers from large U.S. companies, endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement yesterday. A trade group representing manufacturers did the same earlier in the week.

Their influence could make supporters in Congress more eager to take the agreement up in an election year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently urged Obama to hold off on sending the agreement to Congress before the elections, warning that it didnt have the votes.

John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, and a former Republican governor of Michigan, said his organization is hoping Congress will approve the pact before it heads home for its August recess.

The hope is to send the signal now that were getting pretty comfortable with the agreement and lets get ready to give it serious consideration, Engler told The Associated Press.

The trade agreement took more than five years to stitch together. Participating nations would reduce or eliminate thousands of tariffs that apply to foreign-made goods. The agreement also rolls back regulatory requirements, such as the need to establish an office in a particular country or partner with a local entity, in order to access their markets.

Several presidential candidates in both parties as well as members of Congress have panned the Trans-Pacific Partnership since agreement on the deals terms was announced in October. Donald Trump said its a terrible deal. Democrat Hillary Clinton said it didnt meet my standards.

Thats led to questions about whether Congress would pass the trade pact, even though lawmakers just last year passed legislation designed to speed TPPs passage without the threat of amendments or filibuster. Support from business groups could ease some lawmakers concerns about the political environment.

The trade group representing manufacturers came out with its endorsement Monday. The groups president and CEO, Jay Timmons, said that without the agreement, the United States would be ceding economic leadership to other global powers, letting them set the rules of economic engagement in the region.

The group has frequently clashed with the Obama administration over new environmental regulations and recently sued to stop stricter limits on smog-causing pollution.

Labor unions have come out overwhelmingly against the trade agreement, saying it will drive wages down, and its clear that for Obama to get a legacy-setting victory, hell have to rely on the Republican party to push the legislation to victory. Engler said hes confident that the pact would end up getting more votes than the fast-track legislation that passed last year.

He said not all members of the Business Roundtable supported TPP, but there was broad consensus.

We cannot have a robust economy if the goal is to make things here and sell it to ourselves, Engler said.

The White House said it welcomed the endorsements and that it showed that companies big and small feel the agreement is vital to their ability to compete globally. Kevin Freking, Washington, AP
American-Punjabi rapper Himanshu Heems Suri is set to perform a live show on Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Live Music Association (LMA) in Macau.

A former member of an alternative hip hop group from New York City called Das Racist, Heems is known for his witty take on urban society and humorous lyrics, which make satirical comments on politics and contemporary culture.

He has featured as a guest on tracks from well-known groups such as Vampire Weekend and Small Black. In 2012, the rapper released two solo mix tapes, Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom.

After Das Racist split in 2012, Heems headed to Bombay, India, to begin work on his solo album. The debut studio album, entitled Eat Pray Thug, was released early last year to favorable reviews.

Time Out New York wrote that the album juxtaposes cold-blooded hedonism and scathing social commentary. Meanwhile, a reviewer from Pitchfork Media observed a deeper side to the album, noting that a handful of songs draw directly on his experiences as an Indian-American in a post-9/11 world [and they are] painful, emotional, and deeply quotable.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for MOP120, or in advance at the Macau Design Center or the Portuguese Bookshop for MOP100.
The top executive of the Volkswagen brand worldwide says hes optimistic that U.S. environmental regulators will approve fixes within the coming weeks or months for diesel engines that cheat on emissions tests.

Brand CEO Herbert Diess said yesterday at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas that the company is having constructive discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.

Diess says VW already has received approval to fix 8.5 million cheating cars in Europe. Repairs will start this month and most will be fixed this year.

But the U.S. cars are more problematic because they emit up to 40 times more toxic nitrogen oxide than allowed. About 500,000 cars are affected in the U.S., with a total of 11 million worldwide. Diess spoke as the company unveiled a concept of an electric-powered Microbus that could go into production in 2019.

U.S. fixes could be complicated and take several years. VW has admitted cheating on about 500,000 diesel cars nationwide by installing software that turns emissions controls on during government tests and turns them off on real roads.

Diess apologized for the scandal. Im optimistic that we will find a solution, we will bring a package together which satisfies our customers first and foremost and then also the regulators, he said.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Volkswagen this week over emissions-cheating software, potentially exposing the company to billions of dollars in penalties for clean air violations.

The company is in the midst of negotiating a massive mandatory recall with U.S. regulators and potentially faces more than USD18 billion in fines for violations of the federal Clean Air Act.

The company and its executives could also still face separate criminal charges, while a raft of private class-action lawsuits filed by angry VW owners are pending.

The company first acknowledged in September that the cheating software was included in its diesel cars and SUVs sold since the 2009 model year, as well as some recent diesel models sold by the VW-owned Audi and Porsche brands. Tom Krisher, Las Vegas, AP
Oakley Valley Arts Holding Open Auditions

Oakley  Oakley Valley Arts Council Auditions for SOMETHINGS AFOOT! directed by Walt Robberson will be held on Thursday, January 7th, 7:00 p.m.9:00 p.m. January 9th, 9:00 a.m.Noon at Howells Opera House in Oakley. Please come with a prepared short musical number with your own accompaniment (CD or pianist).

You will be expected to read from a provided script in a British accent. Performance dates are March 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, and 19.

Those 16 and older are invited to audition.

Somethings Afoot is a zany, entertaining musical that takes a satirical poke at Agatha Christie mysteries and musical styles of the English music hall of the 30s. Ten people are stranded in an isolated English country house during a raging thunderstorm. One by one theyre picked off by cleverly fiendish devices. As the bodies pile up in the library, the survivors frantically race to uncover the identity and motivation of the cunning culprit.

2016 Lets Talk About It Schedule

FILER  This years theme is Classics of Western Fiction. The sessions will start at 7 p.m. at the Filer Public Library, 219 Main Street, phone: 208.326.4143

Check out books, read, return to talk about it.

Jan. 19 Owen Wister: The Virginian

Feb. 16, Ken Kesey: Sometimes a Great Notion

March 1 Ivan Doig: English Creek

March 15 Barbara Kingsalvex: The Bean Trees

TF Senior Center Plans Fundraising Breakfast

TWIN FALLS  The Twin Falls Senior Center will hold its monthly fundraising breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at 530 Shoshone St. W.

The all-you-can-eat breakfast includes eggs benedict, ham, sausage, bacon, roasted red potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pastry tray, fruit and beverages.

Cost is $7 per person. Information: 208-734-5084.

NARFE to Meet Jan. 11

TWIN FALLS  The National Association of Employed and Retired Federal Employees meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 11, at the Loong Hing Restaurant, 1719 Kimberly Road, Twin Falls.

The speaker will be James Gentry, professor of history.

This is an opportunity to meet with your peers and discuss the many changes occurring regarding Federal Employees and Retirees Benefits.

If you have any questions, please call 208-308-1670.

Pesticide Workshop Set for Feb. 5 in Shoshone

SHOSHONE  A Pesticide and Weed Workshop will be held Friday, Feb. 5, at the Lincoln County Community Center, 201 S. Beverly St.

The workshop is sponsored by Wood River Soil and Water Conservation District, Gooding Soil Conservation District and Blaine Soil Conservation District

Sign-up will begin at 8:45 a.m. with an introduction at 9 a.m. by Carl Pendleton, WRSWCD chairman. The presentations will include: 9:05 a.m., Reducing invasive weeds after fire by Tony Owens, Bureau of Land Management; 10:05 a.m., Environmental safety factors and procedures with Ronda Hirnyck, University of Idaho Extension specialist and Sherman Takatori, Idaho Department of Agriculture pesticide specialist; 11 a.m., Current noxious weed issues by Terry Ruby, Tri-County Weed Control; 11:30 a.m., Identification and education of biological control to reduce weed pressure by Micah Smith, Lincoln County Bug Crew advisor; 1 p.m., Pests control (voles) and mode of action, damage characteristics with Carmen Willmore and Steve Hines, UI Extension educators; 1:45 p.m., Resistance, drift control, surfactants and herbicide selection by Adam Daggs, Winfield Solutions; 2:30 p.m., Other methods of bio control  the effect of fungus on cheat grass by George Newcombe, UI professor of plant symbiosis and plant pathology; and 3:30 p.m., Range and pasture weed management, herbicides and weed control with Brenden Brazee, NRCS, state range management specialist.

Lunch will be sponsored by Valley Wide Cooperative, with a PowerPoint on mitigating pesticide impacts on water quality.

Six credits will be available for pesticide recertification.

Reservations are requested by Jan. 27; call 208-886-2258, ext. 101, or email wrswcd@gmail.com.

Magic Valley Writers Earn Awards

Several Magic Valley writers brought home 47 awards from the Idaho Writers League 75th Anniversary Conference held September in Burley.

The writing contest winners are Loyd T. Bakewell, Loy Ann Bell, Evonne Biggins, Bernice Conder, Mike Cothern, Jean Cowden, Loraine Fischer, Ginny Greene, Marge Holley, Vaughn Phelps, Janice Urie, Pat Walch and Cathy Wilson. In addition, Vaughn Phelps was named Writer of the Year and Ginny Greene was given Poet of the Year honors.
TWIN FALLS  High school students, parents, teachers and counselors are invited to attend the College of Southern Idahos dual credit night.

The information session is 6-8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25 at CSIs Health Sciences and Human Services building on North College Road.

Event organizer Karrie Hornbacher and other volunteers will provide information about applying for admission to the dual credit program, funding and scholarships, and class advising.

The event is free and open to everyone. Register in advance online at csi.edu/admissions/dualcreditnight. Drawings will be held for four dual credit scholarships, each worth $195 or three credits.

Dual credit is the statewide program allowing high school students to take specially-designed classes during their junior and senior years that earn both high school and college credit.

Nearly 4,000 Idaho students are enrolled in CSIs dual credit classes this school year. High school students pay only $65 per credit, compared with $120 per credit for regular students.

High schoolers can save thousands of dollars on their higher education costs and a year or more of time toward earning their college degree. Idaho also offers several scholarship programs to help high schoolers pay dual credit tuition.

Because of construction on North College Road, visitors are advised to access the Health Science building on North College Road only from the direction of Washington Street North.

For information, contact Hornbacher at 208-732-6276 or at khornbacher@csi.edu.
BOISE  Legislation to get rid of the need for a concealed carry permit within city limits will be introduced early in the 2016 session, the bills sponsors announced Tuesday.

Reps. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, and Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, said in a statement that they had worked through the summer and fall with legislators, law enforcement, gun owners, and other groups to produce a well-written and sound constitutional carry bill.

The Idaho Sheriffs Association is comfortable with the language of the bill now, the two lawmakers said. The sheriffs association had opposed a version that was circulated in late summer/early fall 2015, worried it would let felons, undocumented immigrants and the mentally ill carry concealed weapons, the groups lobbyist Mike Kane said. However, Kane said, the new version of the bill addresses these concerns, and the sheriffs association hasnt taken a stance for or against it.

Scott and Nate urged people to contact their legislators in support of the bill.

The constitutional carry bill is an opportunity for Idahos legislature to demonstrate its respect for individual freedom and for the Second Amendment, they wrote.

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance has been lobbying for constitutional carry, as its supporters call it, in Idaho, introducing a bill in 2015. It was held in committee; instead, lawmakers ended up passing a rewrite of the weapons code that, among other changes, explicitly removed the need for a concealed weapons permit outside of city limits.

Although most states require a permit to carry a concealed handgun, constitutional carry has been gaining steam and is now the law in seven states. Kansas and Maine were the latest to do away with their permit requirements in 2015.

In a series of interviews in late December, Magic Valley lawmakers offered a range of opinions. Several of them, referring to the older version of the bill the ISA opposed, said they were concerned about letting criminals or the mentally ill carry handguns.

All of us are Second Amendment advocates, said Rep. Steve Hartgen, R-Twin Falls. The question is, how do you have an enforceable Second Amendment law that gives law enforcement the tools it needs? Particularly in light of terrorism concerns and other things.

Rep. Donna Pence, D-Gooding, said Idahos current gun laws work and she sees no reason to change them.

I carry guns, she said. I have a concealed weapons permit. I still am uncomfortable with people just being able to get it and carry it without any kind of training, and I think thats one way of getting the training.

Rep. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, said he would need to see what his constituents think, and that the opinions of law enforcement would also be a major factor.

Are there no boundaries? Kauffman asked. Are there no guidelines? I guess Ill just wait and see what it says exactly, and then well take it piece by piece and see what the practical implications would be on the ground.
Imagine cooking meals and canning vegetables over a wood-burning stove inside an unconditioned home in the heat of the summer.

Some families didnt have to put up with the heat from the stove. If they had enough money, they spared their home by cooking in a summer kitchen  a tiny house often built in the back yard.

After Herman and Lucy Strickers log cabin burned down in 1900, they built a Victorian mansion  complete with a summer kitchen  at Rock Creek, five miles south of todays Hansen.

The summer kitchen still stands in the back yard of the Stricker home, at the Rock Creek Station and Stricker Store and Homesite owned by the Idaho State Historical Society.
BURLEY  The Idaho Attorney Generals Office on Thursday launched an investigation into a joint law enforcement committee in Cassia County over allegations it violated state open-government laws. A Cassia County district judge ordered two special state prosecutors to be appointed in the case.

The law enforcement committee was a panel of citizens appointed by the city and county to study the police services contract after negotiations between the two government entities broke down. The committee also developed a cost model for the controversial contract between Burley and the county.

The Times-News called for the investigation after obtaining the committee members emails through a public records request. The newspaper found evidence the committee violated the states open meeting laws, which require public bodies to operate with transparency.

Cassia County District Judge Michael Crabtree signed an order Thursday morning appointing deputy attorneys general Steven Olsen and Carl Withroe to investigate allegations brought by the Times-News.

The order was based on a request Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth made asking that special prosecutors be appointed because of a conflict of interest.

We cant comment or provide any timeline for the investigation, Attorney Generals office spokesman Todd Dvorak said in an email to the Times-News. And from this point forward, the office will more than likely decline to comment on the case, citing office policy not to comment on pending litigation.

Dvorak said the case was initially referred to the Attorney Generals criminal division, even though open meeting law cases are civil in nature. The criminal division lacked the resources to take the matter on, so the case was referred back to Abenroth. Attorney General staff later decided to have the Civil Litigation Division take the case.

Emails obtained by the newspaper show the committee colluded to keep information from the public if media was present at the committee meetings.

Committee chairman Bill Parsons said he was trying to keep the report out of the hands of Jay Lenkersdorfer, co-owner of the Weekly Mailer who was also a candidate for Burley City Council. His email said: Linkensdorf (referring to Lenkersdorfer) is moving around and I do not want him to have any information until we present to both bodies. We will not turn on computer until we see who is there.

Emails received in the public records request showed a pattern of similar behavior by Parsons.

The emails also revealed that the committee may have held an illegal meeting in February at Parsons office, which was never publicized.

At least one member of the committee, Robert Squire, questioned whether the group was violating the law. Squire sent an email to Parsons asking, Does that comply with open meeting requirements? Are we able to hold executive sessions?

The Times-News filed records requests with each committee member on Oct. 24 after Parsons accidentally sent the email advising committee members to lie about their progress on the contract if the media showed up. In a Times-News story about the incident, Parsons took responsibility for sending the email but fell short of apologizing.

The paper reviewed hundreds of pages of emails, which included typical items like plans on what the committee would have for lunch and who would present information to the committee. But the review also turned up emails detailing how information would be withheld from the public if media were present.

While we applaud the work of the committee, weve reviewed the groups emails and found evidence it broke the law, Times-News editor Matt Christensen said. It was our obligation to share that evidence with prosecutors, and were confident an investigation will serve as a warning to other governments that public business must always be done in the open.

On Nov. 18, Times-News attorney Benjamin Cluff formally asked Abenroth to investigate and alerted the Attorney Generals Office. The letter asked Abenroth to seek the appointment of a special prosecutor because he serves as the countys attorney and the joint committee was formed by the county and the city.

I am currently seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Times-News allegations that the joint law enforcement committee violated Idahos open meeting laws, Abenroth said in a prepared statement in December. After receiving the Times-News letter, I requested the Idaho Attorney General to agree to the appointment as special prosecutor, but the Attorney Generals office declined the appointment.

Thursday, Abenroth emailed the Times-News saying the Attorney Generals office reversed their initial decision declining the request.

No hearings have been set in the case.
BURLEY  Mini-Cassia is on the cusp of change as new businesses open their doors, a school district moves forward to make up shortages in construction bond funds, police work on unsolved cases and Burley makes a decision on whether to move its airport.

Burley Airport

The city of Burley has worked for two decades to relocate its airport, which is situated between a river, a highway and other infrastructure. The city hired an engineering firm that is in the middle of a master airport plan study. But the study is on pause while the community decides if it really wants a new airport. If the airport is not moved, it will could eventually shutter due to lack of funding.

The Federal Aviation Administration gave the city a deadline of early 2016 to show that Minidoka County and Cassia County officials are in support of the project or the plug will be pulled. In the next few weeks, city and county officials will meet to seek approval for the project.

Crime

Cassia County Prosecutor Doug Abenroth will decide whether his office will file charges in Whitney Murphys death. Murphy, 26, was killed at her home northeast of Declo in October 2014. The sheriffs office turned the file over to Abenroth but the suspects name has not been released to the public.

There are several upcoming court dates for Ronnie Kincaid Jr. who was charged with first-degree murder and mayhem along with other charges in the death of his wife, Melissia Kincaid. His son Ronnie Kincaid III was charged with accessory to murder after police said he helped wash blood from his step mothers body Sept. 6. Kincaid Jr. is set to be arraigned into District Court Jan. 12. Kincaid III has an April 5 pretrial conference and a trial is set for April 11.

21-year-old Tiffani Streling has been missing since May. There have been no charges filed in her disappearance, and Cassia County detectives are still following leads. Reports of sightings of Streling have come from as far away as Arizona but so far, none have panned out.

Mini-Cassia residents are awaiting a development in the torture of a beloved Shetland pony named Patches. In September, the pony was dragged about a mile and half along a road to a spot outside Rupert known as Tumas Pond. Despite large rewards from the Humane Society of the United States and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, there have been no arrests.

Education

The Cassia County School District plans to bring another bond to voters, this would cover a nearly $15 million shortfall for facility projects.

School trustees will have to file election intent paperwork by mid-January, Superintendent Gaylen Smyer told the Times-News in December.

Theyll likely pursue an election on the earliest date this year  possibly, in March, he said.

Economic development

Young Automotive Group announced this week that it completed acquisition of Advanced Powersports, south of the companys facility. The Polaris and Arctic Cat store on Overland Avenue, now under construction, is open for business as Young Powersports.

Young Automotive Group has been in Idaho for more than two decades since purchasing Bonanza Motors in 1995. The new automotive dealership, next door to Bonanza Motors is set to open in February. The new 24,000-square-foot dealership will sell Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles and will have a showroom and parts department. The original building will remain and house GMC and Buick vehicles.

The new Rivergate Crossing plaza is ready for retail stores in north Burley. The plaza is under construction by a local investment group that purchased the property in 2014. The company has brought in a Panda Express, Dominos and GNC in a separate building on the property.

PerforMixs state-of-the-art facility will open its doors in Rupert around late spring and early summer. The liquid and dry feed company, which produces supplements for beef and dairy animals, will create about 15 jobs including transportation, manufacturing and high-level management, said Kelly Anthon, Ruperts administrator.

Rupert residents can look forward to recreation as the city prepares for a YMCA to open at the old Pershing School in late spring or early summer. The center will include exercise facilities for weight training and cardio, rooms for meetings and exercise classes and child care areas. The YMCA will have after school care and several youth programs including healthy eating, Anthon said.

At the Rupert Square, a committee will work with landscape architects and others to develop master plans for renovations, answering the question In 20 years, what will the Rupert Square look like? Anthon said. The city will also work with Southern Idaho Economic Development Organizations Operation Facelift initiative to revamp the Squares storefronts.

Local Government

Heyburn begins 2016 under new leadership. A mix of familiar faces in different roles will be at the helm as Councilwoman Cleo Gallegos, whose campaign platform was focused on transparency and getting younger people active in government, takes over as mayor. Past Councilwoman Joanne Justesen, eager to work with agencies to draw business growth to the city, reclaims a spot on the council. Rupert attorney Michael Tribe replaces Steve Tuft, who retired in December after 40 years of serving the city.

Heyburn residents will also see the continuation of work on water line connections and paving along 21st street, a major road south of Interstate 84 connecting the city to Burley west from Highway 30. The project will add a turning lane to the busy road and sidewalks and will increase water capacity for residents living along 21st Street.
Your continuing articles on global warming are a fools errand. First of all, scientific consensus is nothing more than liberal leftist psychobabble. Global warming, climate change, ETs, and AI are figments of the tyrannical element of this current administration to stick the middle class with severe economic consequences of using energy. Science does not rely on consensus. It relies on replicable fact.

If 400 of our most prominent liberal democrat politicians went to the north shore in Hawaii and locked arms on the beach in an attempt to stop an ocean wave, they would fail. We had an ice age approximately 15,000 years ago during which glaciers receded, scoured the land and caused the seas to rise. Man was but a microcosm on the earth. What did man do to cause global warming?

Your statement in a recent article stated that there was a 97 percent consensus among climatologists that man-made global warming is real. As someone with a degree in environmental science, I could not disagree more. This is a totally made up bogus statistic. Do some fact checking. Man-made global warming has been discredited by many reliable sources.

Mike Tylka

Jerome
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About Me Mohd. Kamal bin Abdullah I am Mohd. Kamal bin Abdullah, who resides in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. I hold a post-graduate law degree from the United Kingdom. I blog to tell MALAYSIANS THE TRUTH. View my complete profile

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Another month is here, so it's time to link up with Carolyn Astfalk and chat about books! Without intending to, I wound up reading book...
Matt of All Trades blog, like the title suggests, is by a Vermont author and offers offbeat musings on pop culture, media, journalism, humor, weirdness, stupid people, smart people, my life as a journalist, landscaper, photographer, married gay man, dog lover and weather geek and more. It's run by me, Matt Sutkoski, a native Vermonter living in St. Albans, Vt.
As the ruing Nidaa Tounes party continues to struggle with internal differences and the country facing threats and attacks from extremist militants linked to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Habib Essid embarked on a major cabinet reshuffle which saw the replacement of the interior, justice and foreign ministers. The position of the Secretary of State no longer exists.

Reasons for the reshuffle were not made public but the string of attacks during the past year which has contributed to the further weakening of the economy and also kept away tourists are believed to have contributed to appointment of Hedi Majdoub as the new Minister of the Interior while Khemaies Jhinaoui occupies the ministerial post at Foreign Affairs and Omar Mansour will serve as the Justice Minister. According to Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, the outgoing government members will be assigned other duties.

The reshuffle comes a week before Tunisia commemorates the fifth anniversary of the outing of President Ben Ali from power. The country known as the cradle of the Arab Spring has been praised for its peaceful and democratic transition but its security and stability continues to be threatened by radicals linked to extremist Islamist groups forcing the country to spend much of last year under a nationwide state of emergency.

The ruling Nida Tounes party has also lost the majority in parliament after 31 of its deputies resigned from the party in November due to internal disputes over leadership roles while its secretary general Mohsen Marzouq said the party was near death before leaving to form a new party.

Uncertainty still looms over the country, forcing investors to be cautious in their dealings which are hampering the economys revival and growth.
Baghdad wants to play the role of a mediator in the Saudi-Iran diplomatic row as its Foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari visited Tehran on Wednesday and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif. U.S President, Barack Obama, in a telephone discussion with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi also raised concerns about the tensions which many fear could lead to regional sectarian tensions.

During a joint press conference after their meeting, Jaafari stated that Iraq cannot stay silent in this crisis because of the relations it has with Iran and Arab brothers. He stated that Baghdad was active from the early moments to lessen tensions, to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region before revealing their willingness to alleviate tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Minister Zarif accused Saudi of terrorism and extremism during the press conference and President Rouhani in a speech broadcasted on state television alleged that Riyadh is trying to cover up its defeats and domestic problems by creating tension in the region.

Saudi Arabia has not reacted to Baghdads open request of mediating between them and Tehran even though Jaafari said the execution of Sheikh al Nimr is a crime and the diplomatic row could have wide-ranging repercussions.

Several Gulf States have recalled their ambassadors to Tehran but a statement from the White House stated that Obama and al-Abadi agreed on the importance that all (regional) parties maintain diplomatic engagement and dialogue and the need to demonstrate restraint, avoid provocative rhetoric or behavior, and avoid a worsening of sectarian tensions.

Analysts believe that sectarian tensions would be unfavorable to countries like Iraq as the country tries to battle the Islamic State.
There are conflicting reports over the control of the strategic Red Sea port of Midi as both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi Movement claim control over the area. The coalition has been trying to take over the port which is close to the border with Saudi and believed to be used by the Houthis to get supplies and also launch rocket attacks on Saudi villages.

Major General Adel Qumairi said coalition forces have completely taken control of Midi but Spokesman Sharaf Luqman of the Houthis and their allies claimed that the latter was faced with heroic resistance causing them great material and human losses. The Houthis control a long stretch of the citys coastline.

Reuters reported that pro-Hadi forces attacked the port following weeks of airstrikes and naval shelling but met heavy Houthi resistance and landmines; citing residents as sources. Since the beginning of Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthis last March, the poverty-stricken Hajja province, where Midi is located, has been hit hard by hundreds of air strikes.

A government official stated that Haradh, Abes and Midi are cities that have been bombarded and shelled by the coalition destroying most of the infrastructures and striking any car suspected of carrying Houthi fighters. The fight for Midi has been ongoing since last month after coalition forces took over neighboring Haradh.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition to reinstate President Hadi as president but the Houthis have been resisting since it began on 26 March 2014. The liberated city of Aden which has been declared as the temporal capital has been under a curfew since Monday after violence blamed on suspected jihadists killed at least 17 people, pro-government media and security sources said.
The first two of the 17 detainee scheduled to be released from Guantanamo Bay prison this month will be transferred to Ghana, U.S. military officials announced Wednesday.

The detainees, Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby are Yemeni and both have been held since 2002.

Both of the men released Wednesday, were held as enemy combatants, accused of training with al-Qaida and fighting with the Taliban. They had been cleared for release in 2009, but the U.S. wont send Guantanamo prisoners to Yemen because of instability there and officials had to find another country to accept them.

Ghana, which has not taken in any Guantanamo prisoners previously, said the men were cleared of all terror charges, but suggested they may only be allowed to stay in the country for a limited time.

We have indicated our readiness to accept them for a period of two years, after which they may leave the country, Ghanas foreign ministry said in a statement.

The United States is grateful to the government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, The U.S Department of Defense stated.

Since 2002, a total of 779 detainees have been held at Guantanamo in connection with Washingtons war on terror.

President Barack Obama has made closing drown the military prison one of his goals before he leaves office.

This is the first time that the U.S. has transferred Guantanamo prisoners to a sub-Saharan African country.
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid announced on Wednesday a major cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to boost the effectiveness of his government as it grapples with a growing jihadist threat and a feeble economy.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche and Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli were among those replaced in the reshuffle, which is the first since Tunisian President Beji Cais Essebsi took office in late 2014.

Since November, the interior ministry had seen several personnel changes at lower levels following a suicide attack in the capital November that killed 12 presidential guards.

The attack followed two other attacks claimed by IS on the National Bardo Museum in Tunis and on a hotel near the Mediterranean resort of Sousse which have killed a total of 60 people, damaging the countrys economy.

According to the official statement, the former presidential adviser Khemaies Jhinaoui would take the helm of the foreign ministry and Hedi Majdoub would become interior minister.

The North Africa nation has been praised as a model for democratic transition since its 2011 revolt overthrew longtime autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

It is the only Arab Spring country to have solidified a new democracy, but it is facing serious economic and security challenges.

Tunisia has also been shaken as thousands of its citizens have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State. The exodus has confounded policy makers and earned Tunisia an unwanted distinction as a wellspring of regional extremism.
Burkina-Faso President Marc Roch Kabore on Thursday appointed Paul Kaba as the new prime minister, a week after he was sworn in as the countrys first new leader in almost three decades.

Thieba, who is an economist, has been charged with forming President Roch Kabores government.

According to his official biography, Thieba, 56, worked for many years as an economist for the West African central bank, BCEAO, in Ivory Coast as managing director of the WAMU Financial Stability Fund.

Last week Kabore said the next government needs to improve access to water, healthcare and education.

We need to organize ourselves to take in hand the whole countrys preoccupations because our first objective is not simply to revive the economy but at the same time to satisfy the fundamental needs of the entire population, Kabore said.

The challenges are numerous and multiple in Burkina Faso. They include education, healthcare, access to clean water and the economy, he added.

In his words, we must do everything to show that civilians can ensure the correct government of the country and restore it to democratic normality.

Mr Kabore, a former banker seen as a consensus figure by some and an opportunist by others, has pledged to build a new Burkina Faso.

Landlocked Burkina Faso produces cotton and gold but remains impoverished. Its economy has slowed due to lower global commodity prices and a failed coup attempt that cost more than $50 million.
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Concealable stigmas affect a large part of the population on a daily basis, whether they are part of a sexual minority, suffer from chronic illnesses, psychological disabilities, or are members of a minority religion. The decision to disclose a concealable stigma to an employer is a complex one. In a new paper: The Disclosure of Concealable Stigmas: Analysis Anchored in Trust, Ben Capell and Simon L. Dolan of ESADE-Ramon Llull University and Shay S. Tzafrir of the University of Haifa examine the role of trust in the decision to disclose.

The authors examine how to create a sense of safety for individuals facing this situation and conclude that trust, a critical condition for reducing any employee's sense of vulnerability, is a major factor.

'Given the impact of discrimination and of the emotional toll associated with hiding one's stigma, understanding how to create a more supportive workplace environment is really important' said contributing author Simon Dolan. 'Previous research on the disclosure of concealable stigmas at work has mostly overlooked whether or not employees trust in their supervisor and organization at large. The absence of trust from this field of study can limit efforts to foster inclusion at work, and we set out to rectify that.'

The paper presents a framework for examining the multiple linkages between employees' trust in their direct supervisors and their organization, and looks at how important it is to embed trust in an organizational context, both in terms of the legal framework and the HR policies and practices.

Explore further What to know about disclosing mental illness at work

More information: Ben Capell et al. The disclosure of concealable stigmas: Analysis anchored in trust, Cogent Psychology (2016). Ben Capell et al. The disclosure of concealable stigmas: Analysis anchored in trust,(2016). DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2015.1121066
Credit: George Hodan/public domain

Valuing your time more than the pursuit of money is linked to greater happiness, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

In six studies with more than 4,600 participants, researchers found an almost even split between people who tended to value their time or money, and that choice was a fairly consistent trait both for daily interactions and major life events.

"It appears that people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritizing time is associated with greater happiness," said lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a doctoral student in social psychology at the University of British Columbia. The findings were published online in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

The researchers found an almost even split with slightly more than half of the participants stating they prioritized their time more than money. Older people also were more likely to say they valued their time compared to younger people.

"As people age, they often want to spend time in more meaningful ways than just making money," Whillans said.

The researchers conducted separate surveys with a nationally representative sample of Americans, students at the University of British Columbia, and adult visitors of a science museum in Vancouver. Some of the studies used real-world examples, such as asking a participant whether he would prefer a more expensive apartment with a short commute or a less expensive apartment with a long commute. A participant also could choose between a graduate program that would lead to a job with long hours and a higher starting salary or a program that would result in a job with a lower salary but fewer hours.

A participant's gender or income didn't affect whether they were more likely to value time or money, although the study didn't include participants living at the poverty level who may have to prioritize money to survive.

If people want to focus more on their time and less on money in their lives, they could take some actions to help shift their perspective, such as working slightly fewer hours, paying someone to do disliked chores like cleaning the house, or volunteering with a charity. While some options might be available only for people with disposable income, even small changes could make a big difference, Whillans said.

"Having more free time is likely more important for happiness than having more money," she said. "Even giving up a few hours of a paycheck to volunteer at a food bank may have more bang for your buck in making you feel happier."

Explore further Want to do something good for your health? Try being generous

More information: Whillans, A., Weidman, A., and Dunn, E. (2015) Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated with Greater Happiness, Social Psychological and Personality Science. dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550615623842 Journal information: Social Psychological and Personality Science Whillans, A., Weidman, A., and Dunn, E. (2015) Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated with Greater Happiness,
For a period, 2001-2014, there were numerous visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Hope you enjoy reading my emotional outpourings, written on the road.. from a lover of Cuban Mind and Affections inside the island and the innocence of the Indigenous peoples..







We live with great expectation that the new rapprochement with the Govt of President Obama, will bring more changes, intellectual and cross cultural contacts and a broadening of the minds on both sides of the Straits.





I highly recommend that you come to visit CUBA now..

Ever since I was a child, I have lived in two countries at a time and the countries changed: Brunei, Australia, Sweden, USA, England, Jamaica, various places in the USA..Now Cuba and USA with a definite commitment to the North American Indians (Los Indios)..
The News in Brief

Lawyers Association and opposition requests Council of Justice to be dissolved



Non-parliamentary opposition groups and the Lawyers Association are demanding that the High Council of Justice be dissolved.



According to a statement released today, dissolving the High Council of Justice is a necessary step, and changes must be made to any reformed incarnation of it.



More attention should be paid to the professional and public reputation of the candidates as well as the social consensus, reads the statement.



Representatives of non-parliamentary opposition groups as well as members of various NGOs have gathered at the Lawyers Associations office today. They are protesting Levan Murusidzes (a judge with a history of giving controversial verdicts) selection as a member of the High Council. (IPN)







Bidzina Ivanishvili to assess governmental changes



The former PM of Georgia will soon make his first comment over the proposed governmental changes. He will also visit the GDS TV Company.



According to the TV Company, Ivanishvili will assess Garibashvilis activities over the past 2 years and answer questions about Giorgi Kvirikashvilis appointment as the PM.



He will also touch on the recent decisions and actions of the High Council of Justice. (IPN)







Ancient Georgian statue features at top international exhibition



A bronze statue discovered in western Georgia is among antique relics from across the world presented within one of the largest archaeological displays of the recent times in Washington.



Historical enthusiasts were invited to see the 2nd to 1st Centuries BC Torso of a Youth by visiting the Power and Pathos exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in the United States (US) capital.



Discovered in the town of Vani in 1988, the bronze statue was among 50 examples of Hellenic sculpting art on display at the Gallery in what was called "one of the best exhibitions of sculpture you may see " by The New York Times newspaper.



The exhibition opened on December 13 and included relics from museums in Europe, Africa and the US.



Researchers believed the Vani sculpture was originally made in the area - as opposed to having been imported from another location.



Their conclusion was formed as a result of the presence of a 3rd to 2nd Centuries BC casting pit outside the town.



Historians involved in studying the sculpture also considered the statue likely to have been created as a depiction of Apollo, an ancient Greek deity.



Before its display at the Washington venue Torso of a Youth was exhibited at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy earlier this year.



The bronze sculpture's displays in the US were a result of the Georgian National Museum's collaboration with the Los Angeles venue.



The statue will return to the Vani Museum of Archaeology after the venue reopens following the conclusion of its ongoing renovation in 2016.



The exhibition at Washington's National Gallery of Art will run until March 20, 2016. (Agenda.ge)







Prime Minister will hold meeting with representatives of society



Giorgi Kvirikashvili held the first sitting of the government as the Prime Minister. Giorgi Kvirikashvili appealed with the new initiative and stated that he will hold a meeting with various representatives of society.



"In the near future, we will begin very intensive meetings with different groups of society representatives. I would like to ask the business ombudsman, Giorgi Gakharia, to arrange meeting with representatives of business community. I also would like to arrange meetings with the most vocal NGOs and listen to their suggestions on how to make our work more effective and transparent,"said Giorgi Kvirikashvili. (Rustavi2)




via PortMiami Facebook

The PortMiami plot of land where David Beckham failed to secure a MLS stadium site has become the location desired by Miami-Dade County officials to build a terminal for ferries running between Miami and Cuba, reports the Miami Herald. It's a project Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado calls "inevitable."

The report names Key West, Port Everglades and Port Manatee as additional Florida ports interested in the Cuba ferry service. The potential location for a new terminal at PortMiami would be the southwest corner, overlooking downtown Miami.

Port Director Juan Kuryla anticipates "it's going to be a flourishing business here in Miami.

"What's better for us than creating another berth, for a very legitimate maritime purpose? Which is a ferry option." Cuban authorities, however, must give the green light for this dream to become a reality, with a potential hurdle being a Cuban law prohibiting those born in the country from commuting to and from the country by boat.
State Rep. Richard Corcoran of Land O'Lakes is one of five Florida House members in New Hampshire Thursday, traipsing through frigid New England in support of former Gov. Jeb Bush's struggling presidential campaign. A new statewide poll by Public Policy Polling has Bush tied with Ted Cruz for fifth place in the GOP field, with 10 percent. Donald Trump remains far in front of the pack at 29 percent.

Joining Corcoran are three Republican House members from Miami-Dade: Reps. Jose Felix Diaz, Jose Oliva and Carlos Trujillo. Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, also made the trip, Corcoran said. All five are expected in Tallahassee by Monday for Tuesday's start of the 2016 legislative session, and the Miami lawmakers all have a joint fund-raiser scheduled for Monday night. New Hampshire's legislative session opened Wednesday.

Corcoran joked that he had to scrounge through his closets before finding a winter coat "from about 1980" to keep warm in Manchester, the first stop of the day. Morning lows there were in the low 20s with a forecast high of 38 degrees on Thursday.
@ByKristenMClark

Although Florida lawmakers don't plan to revamp the beleaguered Florida Standards Assessments this session, they're likely to consider a related proposal to let students take other standardized tests -- like the ACT or SAT -- instead.

State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, filed this week a highly anticipated plan to let students make use of "rigorous alternative assessment options" in lieu of taking the controversial FSA, which had a rocky debut last year that fueled a mounting resistance to standardized tests and high-stakes exams.

"The FSA has been, at best, a mixed bag," Gaetz told the Herald/Times last month, as he was drafting his proposal. "The implementation problems associated with FSA have eroded the publics confidence in the result. The fact that the FSA was developed by an entity that is not well known and is therefore not well-respected by the public has had a negative consequence."

Gaetz's plan would allow parents and students to choose from a variety of national name-brand assessments that measure students' knowledge on given subjects. The options he puts on the table include various ACT exams for students in third grade through high school, and also for high-schoolers: the pre-SAT, SAT, Advanced Placement tests and industry certification exams, among others.

Its unclear yet how well Gaetzs bill will be received. At least one Democrat is on board, and other lawmakers from both parties have said theyre interested in the concept.

It is certainly worthwhile, and it is an appropriate step especially in terms of the recent history of the FSA and the difficulties weve had, said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, who also works as CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Florida has embraced the idea of choice, so why not give parents and students a choice?

Gaetz said Thursday he is talking with influential members of the House to also get it considered there, possibly through a committee bill.

The bill (SB 1360) calls for implementing the use of alternative assessments as early as next school year. School boards throughout the state would have the power to choose which options to make available in each district, but the FSA would continue to be the uniform option statewide, Gaetz said.
@PatriciaMazzei

Marco Rubio speaks into the camera in his latest campaign ad -- a sort of trademark for him. But this TV spot is a little different. It doesn't talk about running for president. It talks about his Christian faith.

"Our goal is eternity, the ability to live alongside our Creator for all time. To accept the free gift of salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ," Rubio says. "The struggle on a daily basis as a Christian is to remind ourselves of this. The purpose of our life is to cooperate with God's plan."

The ad is squarely aimed at Republican evangelicals in Iowa, where the spot will air. It doesn't mention that Rubio is a practicing Roman Catholic, though he sometimes also attends an evangelical church preferred by his wife, Jeanette.
@PatriciaMazzei

We give in. Now that a voter -- a real, live voter -- has remarked about Marco Rubio's footwear, we admit our attempts to avoid writing about political fashion have failed. (Though it's an improvement from talk about women's pantsuits.)

To recap: A New York Times reporter on tweeted a photo Monday of Rubio's stylish shoes in New Hampshire, a pair of black leather booties with a mid-heel. The photo went viral.

Marco Rubio is rocking some seriously fashionable black boots today in New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/lwiSWuuCUt  Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) January 4, 2016

Vanity Fair tried to figure out if Rubio had splurged on designer footwear. Politico found they were $135 Florsheims.

Ted Cruz's campaign made a comment about them. (The Texas senator himself is known for his mid-heel cowboy boots.)

Rubio supports Italian boots on the ground pic.twitter.com/fPOnncpWjP  Brian Phillips (@RealBPhil) January 5, 2016

Rand Paul cracked a joke about them.

I was in Whoopi Goldberg's dressing room picking out new show shoes. Eat your heart out @marcorubio! pic.twitter.com/vF06UzZgAL  Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 6, 2016

And then, Thursday in Nashua, came the (male) voter: "Senator, I'm one of the undecideds in the room, and it didn't really make a difference to me, but I am glad you made a better shoe-choice today..."

"My kids told me about this last night," Rubio quipped. About the booties, he added: "I like them." (But he wasn't, in fact, wearing them.)

Rubio turned the remark into an opening to talk about the seriousness of the problems facing the next president.

"This just tells you where we are as a country," he said. "ISIS is cutting people heads off, setting people on fire in cages, Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the verge of a war.... But boy are we getting a lot of coverage about a pair of boots! This is craziness." (They "may make a comeback here soon," he promised.)

For the record, few modern U.S. presidents have been less than 6 feet tall. Rubio measures 5'10". The last president under 6 feet was Democrat Jimmy Carter.

UPDATE: Rubio told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 later Thursday the boots were a gift from his wife and kids.

"I think they're pretty cool. They're only for special occasions. Like I think tha's the day the Dolphins were playing the Patriots. I was trying to see if they had any good luck associated with them," Rubio said. He added that he doesn't wear them every day: "They kind of hurt your back a little bit."

BuzzFeed News also reported that front-runner Donald Trump, when asked about Rubio's boots in a radio interview Thursday, called the heels "really up there."

"Well, I can't quite, I don't, you won't see me wearing them," Trump said on the The Howie Carr Show. "I dont know what to think of those boots."

"It helps to be tall," added Trump. "I don't know, they're big heels. They're big heels. I mean, those heels were really up there. But you know, it's almost like, it doesn't matter too much. Probably he would have been better off not going that route. Would you say? I noticed he's taken a lot of hits. I just hope it works out fine for him."
@PatriciaMazzei

The outraged comments came fast from many Republican members of Congress this week after President Barack Obama announced executive actions on gun control. So it stood out Thursday when a Miami Republican congressman took a different tone.

U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo condemned Obama for acting on his own, without lawmakers, saying using presidential authority "has further politicized what should be a non-partisan issue." But Curbelo then agreed with some of Obama's proposals, saying they "should be considered on their merits."

"At the heart of this debate over the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution is the need to reduce crime in our neighborhoods," Curbelo said in a statement. "I agree that we need more FBI agents to process background checks for people trying to buy firearms, and this latest action will allow for 230 additional examiners to review applications in a timely manner."

Curbelo also backed Obama's plan for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to require all firearm sellers to obtain a license and conduct background checks for customers.

"Whether it be at a gun show, a small shop, or over the internet, it is critical that we ensure those purchasing firearms are legally permitted to do so," Curbelo said. He also called on congressional leaders to push legislation to invest in mental-health treatment.

"By using executive authority to take these actions, the President has further politicized what should be a non-partisan issue," he said. "However we in Congress must act deliberately, with input from Members representing both urban neighborhoods and the sprawling countryside, to strike a balance between protecting Constitutional rights and keeping our communities safe."

Curbelo, a freshman and a moderate, represents a swing Westchester-to-Key West district that got more Democratic under a court-approved map that redrew political lines in Florida. He's already drawn a Democratic challenger, Annette Taddeo, with others in her party also considering candidacies.

Curbelo's office says he proposed one mental-health law, in September, that would put the issue on a postal stamp to raise awareness and fund neurological research. He's also co-sponsored five other bills.

UPDATE: Taddeo lambasted Curbelo for his statement, saying the congressman's words ring hollow when the GOP-controlled Congress has failed to take up any gun-control legislation.

The president "wouldn't be having to do this if the Republicans in Congress would do something," she said. "To say that this is political is just outrageous. I mean, say that to the people who have lost loved ones. Say that to the parents of Sandy Hook."

"Maybe it's political for Curbelo, since the NRA sent $67,000-plus for him to get elected," Taddeo added. "He loves to talk out of one side of his mouth in the district, but then goes to Washington and votes for a leadership that continues to do nothing. It's two-faced."

Hello, 2016.
@MichaelAuslen

Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, is weighing a run for Florida Senate against incumbent Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami.

Rodriguez confirmed his interest in the seat Wednesday after news broke that Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Coconut Grove, plans to move north to run for re-election in a more solidly Democratic district. He has not yet filed for the seat or made a final decision about whether to run, he said, but its something hes putting a lot of thought into and talking to his family about.

When youre considering it, youre also sort of preparing for it, Rodriguez said. This is a unique and fresh opportunity to be able to continue representing these communities but in a different form where hopefully I can have a bigger impact fighting for them.

All of his current House district is inside the boundaries of Senate District 37, created in a court ruling last week as part of a redistricting trial over the state Senate maps. After the auditor general randomly selected district numbers Tuesday, current and would-be lawmakers started scrambling for open seats, particularly in areas where two or more sitting senators were drawn into a district together, as in 37.

Its something Ive been literally studying for less than 48 hours, Rodriguez said.

The new district is heavily Hispanic and leans Democratic. In 2012, it elected Barack Obama with 53.6 percent of the vote. That could be helpful in taking on Diaz de la Portilla, a member of one of the areas most prominent political families.

Rodriguez has challenged members of the family before. In his first election for the House in 2012, he beat Alex Diaz de la Portilla, himself a former senator.

The new district maps need to be affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court, and the Senate still has the option to appeal.
@PatriciaMazzei

Ted Cruz's campaign has stepped in on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party vice-chairman who may get the boot for publicly endorsing the Texas senator for president.

Ahead of Thursday night's expected effort to oust Manny Roman from his local Republican Executive Committee position, Cruz political director Mark Campbell sent Miami-Dade GOP Chairman Nelson Diaz a letter asking him not to hold the vote.

"This motion is nothing more than a blatant political attack aimed at stifling the growing support for Ted Cruz in Florida," Campbell wrote. "This act flies in the face of the principles of the Republican Party."

The letter was first reported by the conservative blog The Shark Tank.

Campbell also takes a shot at Cruz rival Marco Rubio, suggesting Rubio would prefer to give "free speech rights" to immigrants in the country illegally than to Miami-Dade Republicans for Cruz. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects free speech before the government, but says nothing about political parties setting their own endorsement rules.

The more pertinent question is whether the Florida Republican Party of Florida rules do in fact ban Roman from taking a public position.

A vote on Roman's future is scheduled for Thursday evening's Miami-Dade GOP meeting, which will likely be held behind closed doors. Roman supporters plan to rally outside.
From the Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- Maurice R. Hank Greenberg, who built American International Group Inc. into a world-wide financial powerhouse before its controversial government bailout, has donated $10 million to the super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, making him one of the largest contributors in the 2016 race.

Mr. Greenberg joins the ranks of a handful of supersize donors. A group of super PACs backing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has collected some of the largest checks of the election from donors including the Wilks family of fracking billionaires ($15 million), hedge-fund manager Robert Mercer ($11 million) and private equity-fund founder Toby Neugebauer ($10 million).

Mr. Greenbergs largess, confirmed by people with knowledge of Right to Rise USAs fundraising, becomes another milestone in the unprecedented flow of money in the 2016 election.

Looks like Miami healthcare magnate Mike Fernandez is no longer the single largest donor to Right to Rise.
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Thoughts on the military and military activities of a diverse nature. Free-ranging and eclectic. Blog ego cogito ergo sum.
It only took a fall on the ice for Dave and Mary, a retired couple, to realize that their home might need some modifications if they wanted to continue to live in their community.

They liked their neighbors and were comfortable in their house, but the recent fall resulting in a broken hip had them concerned. Thanks to an occupational therapist and a Montana Access Loan, Dave and Mary are now feeling pretty good about being able to stay in their home.

There are lots of people like Dave and Mary in Montana, as Montana is in the top 10 states with the highest concentration of residents older than age 50. As baby boomers like them reach retirement age, the term aging in place is becoming more common. The goal of aging in place is to enhance the quality of life for older adults in their home environment, allowing them to participate in activities that they value and ensuring they can make the necessary modifications needed to stay in their home.

In a recent AARP survey of Americans age 50 and older, 88 percent of respondents reported that it is very important to have home- and community-based services that allow aging in place. Even more enlightening, a study commissioned by Clarity and the EAR Foundation found aging adults fear moving into a nursing home and losing their independence more than they fear death. Boomers want to live as well and as comfortably as they can in the environment in which they are familiar, ensuring the maximum freedom and allowing them to participate in community activities.

What are some things you can do to ensure your safety and help perform activities that are becoming difficult or even dangerous? Depending on your particular challenges and needs, a range of modifications might be necessary.

First, go through your home to determine whether you can perform tasks safely, whether everything is accessible, and whether there are items that could be adapted so that you can get around more easily and safely. You can find an online checklist at rebuildingtogether.org  follow the link for Resources, then Home Modifications).

If you're thinking about home modification, consider getting help from a specialist. Dave had the assistance of an occupational therapist who came to his home and did an assessment. Many physical therapists can also perform home evaluations. In addition, certified aging-in-place specialists can assess the home. Find specialists in your area by visiting AARP's website at aarp.org  follow the link for "Family," then "Housing & Mobility," and look for the "CAPS Locator" in the "Resource" section.

Many modifications are relatively inexpensive. Low-cost modifications include replacing cabinet knobs with pull bars, installing grab bars in the bathroom, adding night lights and increasing the wattage of light bulbs. Other steps you can take dont cost any money. Eliminate furniture and other obstacles such as throw rugs, and regulate water temperature to avoid scalding. But other modifications can be expensive, such as the wheelchair ramp Dave and Mary needed just to enter their home.

However, there are several ways to get assistance to pay for the cost of home modifications. Explore your options and get the best possible deal. Funds from local area agencies on aging, Medicare and Medicaid, and community development block grants may be available. But if you are having difficulty financing any home modifications or assistive devices, RDI Community Lending may be able to help with a Montana Access Loan.

Dave and Mary were able to borrow the money needed for a licensed contractor to build a ramp so Dave could more easily enter their home. RDI Community Lending provided low-cost financing at a term that easily met their budget. They were also able to meet with a financial counselor for advice on other ways to save money each month.

RDI Community Lending is a nonprofit organization committed to providing borrowers with low-interest loans so they can afford devices that make their lives easier, more productive and more independent. Limited income? Lack of credit? RDI Community Lending can still assist you with financing for devices, from hearing aids to wheel chair ramps. Our loan products are affordable, flexible and specialized.

To learn more, contact Karen or Elaine at RDI Community Lending at (406) 454-5707 or karenh@ruraldynamics.org.

***

This month's Missoula Aging Services column was writted by Karen Dove-Heisler, executive director of RDI Community Lending, offering Montana Access Loans in partnership with MonTECH programs of UMs Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities.
VICTOR  Melvin J. Gaudin, known best to his friends and family as "Mel" or, often times affectionately nick named "Cajun," a loving husband, father, papa, friend, musician, Realtor and lover of life passed away on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, in Hamilton, due to natural causes at the age of 92 after living a long healthy life.

Mel was born to Melvin and Leoncia Gaudin, on June 11, 1923, in Convent, Louisiana, in the Gaudin family home on the banks of the Mississippi river, where he grew up in a large, loving family with four brothers and two sisters. Mel graduated from Romeville High School in Romeville, Louisiana, and immediately began his secondary education at Louisiana State University where he majored in music. Mel attended LSU for two years until he joined the U.S. Army in 1943. Mel heroically served his country during World War II as a medic stationed at the 111th General Hospital in England where he cared for injured American soldiers returning from battle. Upon conclusion of the war, Mel was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and, it was during this time where Mel met the love of his life, Earlene Roberts of Victor, while she was working in Olympia, Washington, as a telegrapher for Western Union. As the story goes, Mel had gone into the Western Union to send a telegram to his mother in Louisiana when his eyes met Earlene's, and it was love at first sight. Mel and Earlene were happily married on Aug. 30, 1946, at St. Mary's Mission, in Stevensville by Fr. Leonard Jensen. At the time of Mel's passing, he and Earlene had cherished each other's company as husband and wife for 69 years.

Early in their married life, Mel and Earlene ventured south to Louisiana in their 1917 Model T Ford, a trip that took 11 days traveling at breakneck speeds of 22 mph. The newlyweds resided in New Orleans for a short time, and while many exciting stories survived the trip, Mel and Earlene's love of Montana and music beckoned them home to Big Sky Country where Mel enrolled at the University of Montana. Mel completed his bachelor's degree in music in 1950 and, upon graduation, he accepted the position of music teacher at Bridger School in Bridger. They resided in Bridger for six years before moving back to the Bitterroot Valley where Mel earned his master's degree in music education at the University of Montana all the while teaching part time at Stevensville High School. On weekends, they performed with the Roberts  Gaudin Family Orchestra playing dance jobs throughout the Bitterroot Valley from the 1940s through the 1960s. Local Bitterrooters danced to the tapping of Earls drums, Alice on the piano, Earlenes saxophone, and the blues and soul of Mel's trumpet.

Mel's unforgettable 20 year career in music took him to Stevensville, Florence, Corvallis and Victor. His deep passion for music enriched many students' lives from elementary to high school. His bands were built around the value of Esprit de Corp and strict discipline resulting in near perfection, earning him recognition for his commitment to American Ideals by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. In conjunction with teaching, Mel thoroughly enjoyed leading his band at school plays, sporting events and marching events. The finale of his music career was directing the 105 piece Bitterroot Valley Symphonic Band at the 1974 World's Fair in Spokane.

Mel's love of people and his contagious spirit provided great joy in his second career as a real estate broker, where he was highly successful and cherished the challenge of meeting people's real estate needs. Mel enjoyed working alongside his wife, Earlene, and father-in-law, Earl Roberts, at Roberts Realty in Victor, and took tremendous pride when his son and daughter, Mike and Cheryl, joined him in the real estate business. As a civic minded leader, Mel was a member of the Knights of Columbus and served many years on the Victor Volunteer Fire Department, Victor Sewer Board and Victor School board.

Mel truly embraced Montana and loved all the wonderful things it had to offer. He enjoyed hunting and fishing in the Bitterroot Valley back country. In later years, he loved taking his family snowmobiling in the winter and boating in the summer. Mel's family from Louisiana visited often and he enjoyed showing them Montana's treasures.

Mel always enjoyed a good trip with Earlene, whether it was an afternoon drive or a little run to Jackpot, Nevada. Their travels took them to Europe, and a few years later on to Nova Scotia to trace the Gaudin lineage. Recently, in 2010, Mel, Earlene, Cheryl and Chelsey traveled to Louisiana. He called it his Alpha and Omega trip, because he visited the home where he was born and raised. In addition to visiting his Louisiana family, he returned to the French Quarter, listened to Jazz at Preservation Hall, and paid homage to the Roosevelt Hotel where he worked as a valet.

Mel is survived by his wife, Earlene; son Michael Gaudin (wife Sherri); daughter Cheryl Gaudin Smith (husband Butch); and granddaughters, Chelsey Smith Kukuk (husband Erik), Chenelle Smith, Paris Gaudin Dickerson (husband Drew), Cierra Smith and Sedona Gaudin. Additionally, Mel was so very happy to welcome his first great-granddaughter, Savannah Mae, born Oct. 19, 2015, to Chelsey and Erik. Mel is also survived by his brother, Edwin Gaudin; sister Flora Rivette and numerous nieces and nephews in Louisiana.

To celebrate a life well lived the Vigil will be Monday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m., at Daly-Leach Memorial Chapel in Hamilton. The funeral Mass will be on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 11 a.m. at St. Francis Parish with Father Jim Connor and Father Jack Darragh concelebrating. Military honors will be presented by the U.S. Army and the Corvallis American Legion. A luncheon will follow immediately after military honors. Due to the weather private interment will be held later that afternoon at the Victor cemetery. Condolences may be left for the family at dalyleachchapel.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Marcus Daly Hospice, 1200 Westwood Drive, Hamilton, MT 59840.
I read Fred Reed's essay ("UM must ensure product lives up to advertising," Dec. 21) with chagrin, thinking that as a sociologist, Professor Reed has a responsibility to demonstrate a greater deference to facts. As New York's United States senator, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once memorably said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts."

According to Reed, "(The University of Montana) needs to review the productivity of its faculty as well as their work ethic," the suggestion being that when it comes to research and publication the faculty are sluggards. Funny, but I do not find evidence of this when taking note of my own English Department colleagues. In recent years, their books have been published by Oxford University Press, University of Toronto Press, University of Notre Dame Press, Louisiana University Press, Knopf-Doubleday, Norton, Penguin Books, Viking, Houghton Mifflin, University of Chicago Press, University of Wisconsin Press, Ashgate, Putnam, University of Nebraska Press, Routledge, University of Georgia Press, St. Martin's Press, Brill, Palgrave-Macmillan and on and on. Faculty have been recipients of three Guggenheim awards, several National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities awards, as well as awards from Brown University and The American Academy of Arts and Letters. And like the book publications, the awards go on and on, as do the journal publications and accolades for faculty achievement. Just in the past semester, one might point to Professor Beverly Chin's receiving the 2015 NCTE Richard W. Halle Award; Professor Dee McNamer's receiving a Montana Arts Council award; Professor Joanna Klink receiving an invitation from Williams College to join its faculty as a guest poet; and the several-page celebration of Professor David Gates's fiction in the London Review of Books (Aug. 27).

As for the wider university's faculty, it was their work  and one might say their work alone (a stellar 72.1 percent citation rank being the reason)  that led to the university, as recently as 2013, being listed by the most respected of university ranking forums, Britain's "The Times Higher Education Supplement," in the top 300 of world universities, outranking in the category of citation many a university that one might have imagined as performing better, such as: University of Georgia, SUNY-Buffalo, University of Miami, Texas A&M University, Hebrew University, University of Florida, London School of Economics and Political Science, Rutgers University, Purdue University, University of Tokyo, Georgetown University, University of Kansas, University of Connecticut, University of Missouri, University of Iowa, University of Alberta, etc.

In the years since 2013, UM's ranking in "The Times Higher Education Supplement" index has been allowed to slip, the moment not having been sufficiently seized. Responsibility for this slippage (approximately a hundred places, despite a still very handsome citation index of 65.5) is perhaps manifold. Yet the abiding fact is that so long as the state's leaders demonstrate little interest in ensuring that the university's fiscal footing is set upon solid ground, the future will probably never prove as bright as the recent past.
The worldwide move toward cleaner energy continued to gain momentum in 2015. Actions at the state, national and international level are all sending an undeniable message that the rise of clean energy is here to stay.

As usual, states are leading on clean energy. In May, Hawaii became the first state in the nation to require that all electricity be sourced from renewable resources by 2045. In June, Vermont set its renewable energy requirement at 75 percent by 2032. Perhaps of most economic significance, California, the worlds eighth-largest economy, upped its renewable energy requirement to 50 percent by 2030. State leadership on clean energy is likely to continue into 2016 as well, as Oregon and Washington are expected to debate legislative bills this winter designed to reduce their consumers reliance on coal energy, increase renewable energy consumption, or make meaningful progress on cutting carbon emissions. And both states appear set to bring policies before the voters as ballot initiatives if their elected representatives fail to accomplish the task.

Of course states werent the only ones leading in 2015. This December in Paris, all 196 nations attending the United Nations conference on climate change, including developing countries like China and India, agreed to stem their greenhouse gas emissions this century. With this global agreement, the world is now united around the goal of limiting the worst effects of climate change and deploying clean energy technology to curb emissions.

At the national level, clean energy won another important victory in late December when Congress passed long-term extensions of the wind energy production tax credit and the solar energy investment tax credit. The extensions trade certainty for an eventual phase down of the federal subsides. Under the new policy, the wind energy PTC will gradually phase out by 2020, eliminating federal subsidies to Americas most popular and often cheapest energy resource by 2020. No other major energy resource is on track to be free of federal subsidies by 2020, including coal, nuclear, oil and natural gas.

Meanwhile, the 30 percent solar energy ITC has been extended in full through 2019, then it is set to phase down to 10 percent by 2022 for utility-scale solar developments.

These measured phase-outs of federal subsidies for wind and solar have been celebrated by the renewable energy industry for providing certainty and time to adjust. They have also been made possible by extraordinary cost reductions in wind and solar energy as the industry gained experience and technical know-how. Over the last six years wind energy has achieved 61 percent cost reductions and solar energy prices have dropped by a whopping 82 percent over the same time period, with further cost reductions expected. Today wind and solar energy often outcompetes natural gas as a low cost energy resource.

With wind energy set to stand on its own and the federal subsidy for solar energy set to be dramatically reduced, now is the time for Congress to remove the long standing subsidies for energy sources like coal, oil, natural gas and other long established energy industries.

Unfortunately, utility-scale renewable energy development largely stalled in 2015 for Montana. Aside from a few community solar projects, Montana didnt add any utility-scale energy generation of any kind in 2015. We did, however, witness the decommissioning of the 46-year-old Corette coal plant near Billings. Looking ahead, it isnt a political statement to observe that Montanas coal plants including Colstrip wont last forever, perhaps not much past 2030. The same forces that are propelling clean energy forward are the ones weighing aging coal plants down: namely cost, environmental responsibility and flexibility.

In 2016 there will be a lot of continued discussions (and political posturing) about how to comply with the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Power Plan, which requires Montana to cut carbon emissions by 47 percent by 2030. While compliance is important, it shouldnt be the entirety of our state energy policy. We must also work to keep Montana, a historic energy exporter of about 50 percent of the energy we generate, competitive in a market that is rapidly moving away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy resources.
The last legislature came to Helena a year ago with an overwhelming majority of Republicans controlling both the House and Senate. Of the many controversial issues discussed was the question of state funding of nonpublic schools in Montana.

For the first time in our history the legislature enacted a tax credit that included tax dollars for private schools. Our 1889 Constitution clearly prohibited any nonpublic schools from receiving directly or indirectly any public school money.

The legislature was warned by its own Legislative Legal Services that public school tax money cannot be paid to nonpublic schools. Ignoring all warnings, these legislators passed a bill that would provide a tax credit for all schools, public and private.

The Department of Revenue has the first duty to enact rules that are constitutional regardless of whether some legislators would like to ignore the Constitution.

The Department of Revenue has proposed rules allowing tax dollars for public schools but not for nonpublic schools. Some legislators were quick to criticize the Revenue Department for following the constitution and not the flawed bill they passed.

At the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention we debated this question and we overwhelmingly voted to continue what the voters of Montana approved in obtaining statehood upon the signature of republican President Benjamin Harrison on Nov. 8, 1889.

Legislators who want to drain our already scarce public school dollars are now demanding that our tax dollars pay both sides of an expensive lawsuit which will eventually be decided by the Montana Supreme Court.

These legislators who were elected to not waste tax dollars are now wanting to authorize expensive litigation in the district and the Montana Supreme Court.

Before they do this they should first be required to personally pay all litigation costs.

Bob Campbell,

Missoula
HAMILTON  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials will use a windfall in logging receipts to expand thinning work on a Bitterroot Valley wildlife management area.

FWP Forester Jason Parke said another 127 acres will be added to the project on the Three Mile Wildlife Management Area.

As a result, a total of 350 acres of elk winter range will be thinned to encourage growth of more forage.

The additional 127 acres were initially analyzed in the environmental analysis for the project, but were dropped following concerns that it wouldnt be economically feasible to get that work completed, Parke said.

The bid for the project came in twice the minimum amount allowed under the contract.

The Missoula-based Salmon River Wood Inc. bid $10.07 per ton. The minimum bid allowed under contract was $5.

The timber will go to either Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake or the pulp operation in Bonner.

That additional funding allowed the state to complete some work in an area that included aspen stands and thickets of smaller evergreens that would have to be sold as pulp. There were also some open grassland meadows that were being encroached by pine and fir trees.

We would like to remove some of those trees to improve the bunch grass that is growing on those sites, Parke said.

The state received two bids on the sale that is expected to produce about 550,000 board feet of timber, or about 120 loads on a log truck.

While the timber market isnt great right now, Parke said there is a scarcity of logs that drive stumpage costs up.

Parke said people should start seeing logging trucks in the Three Mile area either by the end of this week or next week.

The weather has been really favorable, he said. If it stays like this, they should be done in maybe a month and a half.

Parke said the public will like what they see when the wildlife management area reopens next spring.

I think its going to look good, he said. Its a similar prescription throughout. The timber is really dense in an area where historically it was more open. The primary goal is to enhance forage production. There should be a lot more grass.

Elk are the primary reason we are doing this, Parke said. This is an elk winter range.
Montanas newly designed drivers licenses make their debuts this week in Helena, Bozeman and Billings, but there are already 2,000 or more western Montanans packing a holographic Glacier Park scene in their pockets or purses.

The Department of Motor Vehicles Missoula driver exam station on Palmer Street was the first to roll out the new licenses and ID cards on Dec. 2.

Were enjoying it, office manager Patty Ehli said Wednesday. Were very excited about the new product, the actual license, simply because our old license and material had a lot of returns because the laminates were not adhering to the base of the license. We had a lot of issues with them losing validity.

The first new design in eight years is more secure, with features that meet federal regulations, though they dont meet standards of the contentious federal Real ID card. Thats something Gov. Steve Bullock, Attorney General Tim Fox and Montanas congressional delegation have vigorously opposed  and the Department of Homeland Security is just as vigorously pushing.

In October, the department granted Montana and other anti-Real ID states a second one-year extension to comply.

Fox and the Montana Department of Justice issued a news release Wednesday announcing the introduction of the new driver's license.

Missoula and its pilot station in Superior came on-line first. Great Falls, Choteau and Fort Benton were next.

The new licenses were available at Helenas exam station Wednesday. Bozeman starts Thursday, followed by Billings on Friday. Officials hope to have driver exam stations in all 56 counties issuing the new cards by the end of February, a month later than originally announced.

Im not exactly sure why they chose here first, Ehli said. This is a seasoned staff and maybe we just felt more comfortable with the change. We were pretty much the pilot station for Montana, so we could check any errors that might be unforeseen in entries, production and how the (computer system) was going to work.

Ehli said many on her nine-person staff at the Missoula station have paid $10 to get duplicate licenses to show the new ones off, as any Montana driver can do.

The background graphic is based on a photo of Lake McDonald and Glacier National Park by Donnie Sexton of the Montana Office of Tourism, in a design thats representative of the beauty of Montana, the DOJ release stated.

Some of the embedded optically variable security features found on the new card are also recognizable elements of Montana, including our state flower, our state bird, the word Montana, and ponderosa pine trees, according to the release.

Drivers licenses and ID cards for people under 21 are printed in a vertical format.

A report out of Great Falls, where the new licenses were issued starting Dec. 15, said the new look has caused some confusion.

Over the last few weeks there have been instances reported where a local bar or retailer wont accept a customers ID because theyre unfamiliar with the new design, KFBB-TV reported on Monday. As a result, they believe its fake.

Ehli and her staff havent heard any such feedback in Missoula.

Highway Patrol was all notified of the change. I think thats who Id be more concerned about than the bars, she said.

According to Sarah Garcia, state Motor Vehicle administrator, the 2015 Legislature approved money to update the three Driver License Bureau computer platforms, which were still operating on Microsoft Windows XP software.

One of the platforms included the drivers license and identification card. Motor Vehicles is working with two separate vendors to install the new equipment across the state.

It was a process that required the Missoula exam station to be closed for just half a business day.

Its an undertaking, Ehil said. The crew that came in removed all the old equipment, and in with the new. Everything has to go, and all those programs have to be up and functioning. So those crews have a lot of work to do.

Fox said the DOJ and Montana Motor Vehicle Division is always looking for ways to enhance the security of the Montana drivers license and protect the privacy of Montanans information.

A complete revamping of the look, feel and design of the card, and security features such as ultraviolet ink that appears green when exposed to an ultraviolet light source, will do just that, he said.
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MISSOULA  Holidays or not, early mornings at Missoula International Airport havent been very festive lately.

Crowds of harried, yawning travelers trying to check bags and board three closely bunched Delta Airlines flights have strained ticket counters and tempers. In many cases, theyve also missed their flights.

I travel twice a month and I think Ive seen it all, other than a plane crash, Dave Kendall of Missoula said Tuesday. This is not the kind of random act of craziness. This is a planned debacle.

Thats because Delta launched a daily flight to Seattle on Dec. 19 that takes off from Missoula at 6:15 a.m. Thats just 35 minutes after a Delta plane to Minneapolis departs, and 10 minutes after another heads to Salt Lake City.

The planes, at least for the heavy travel season, are usually the larger Airbuses, with capacities of 126 passengers or more. By 4:30 a.m., lines are already starting to snake from the Delta counter to beyond the airport gift shop as passengers wait to get their tickets and drop off their luggage.

A fourth staffed ticket computer has been opened at the adjacent Frontier Airlines counter to handle the overflow, airport director Cris Jensen said.

Dozens of people, adding to up to perhaps more than a hundred, have failed to make their flights because the ground staff cannot handle the volume of people needing to check their bags, Kendall wrote in a letter to Delta after speaking with airport and ground crew personnel.

Kendall got a first-hand dose early Sunday, when he and his wife arrived at the airport to put their son, Bo, on a plane back to college.

Bo Kendall made his 6:15 a.m. flight only after being told by ground personnel 15 minutes before departure that he couldnt check his bag. His parents wound up shipping it to him at school in Santa Clara, California, at a cost of $63.12. Its due to arrive Wednesday, two days after Bo needed his equipment for the first practice of the lacrosse season.

A friend of ours in line wasnt so lucky because he couldnt leave his luggage behind, Dave Kendall said. He had to drive three hours to Spokane to catch another flight.

Kendall called what he saw and heard Sunday the second-worst case of airline incompetence and malfeasance.

The worst, he assured Delta, was on American Airlines.

With the addition of Seattle service and on (Sunday), a very high-volume day, Delta customers experienced much longer processing times than we would like, allowed Ashton Morrow of Deltas corporate communications office in Atlanta.

Morrow said Delta strives to provide first-class service to every one of our customers, and we are working closely with the Missoula airport and TSA to see how delays can be avoided in the future while we continue to grow our service for the Missoula community.

The situation has caught the attention of a congressman.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has been in contact with Jensen at the airport and Delta in Atlanta to help facilitate a resolution to passenger wait times, said Marnee Banks, Testers communications director.

The new flight from Missoula to Seattle is great for our economy and great for folks in western Montana, Tester said in a statement to the Missoulian on Tuesday. Ensuring that passengers have a seamless and safe travel experience is important, and Ill continue to work with folks on the ground to make sure that happens.

Jensen said a couple of issues are at play.

No. 1, I do think (Delta) is experiencing some growing pains based on some bigger airplanes and also the new Seattle flight, the airport director said. The other part of it is the facility challenge.

Additions and modifications to the original 1958 facility have resulted in a terminal thats not intuitive and is not user-friendly, Jensen said following the announcement of the new Delta flights to Seattle last month.

He pointed on Tuesday to two large columns in front of the ticket counter that do little more than get in the way when things get crowded.

The facility itself wasnt designed for these numbers, Jensen said.

A multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation is planned over the next few years, but for now well do whatever we can within our limited options, he said. At the same time, we hope Delta will do whatever they can within their limited options.

Kendall and Jensen agreed that the bottleneck is at Deltas ticket counter, where on Tuesday morning four employees dealt with a steady stream of ticketing questions from customers both understanding and not so much. A handful of passengers booked on the 5:40 a.m. flight to Minneapolis were shut out, but those on the two later planes appeared to board in time.

Ground crew officials for the Delta subsidiary, DGS Aviation, were not available for comment.

We were worried the checkpoint would be challenged, but it actually flows really well. TSA has done an excellent job, Jensen said. If we can just get people checked in. ... Really what we need is for people to get to the airport as early as they can. I know thats not always easy with these early morning flights.

Jensen orchestrated a conference call Tuesday in which Delta, DGS Aviation and TSA were asked for input. He said Delta officials are earnest in their intentions to fix the check-in problem.

I do think that they are giving this their full attention and that they are serious about coming up with a solution, Jensen said, adding that the airport is very happy with the expanded service Delta is offering Missoula and western Montana.

As we hope to gain more and expanded service in the future, we want to make sure that we are prepared to handle the additional passengers, cars and aircraft, Jensen said.

Kendall said he is a Delta Platinum flier with any number of amazing experiences with the airlines  "most of them good."

He told Delta in his complaint that its employees in those cases took the initiative to solve an urgent problem and got me on my way.

Not so this time.

The unbelievable part of this experience is that the problem was utterly preventable and numerous attempts had been made by the Missoula airport staff to do just that, Kendall said. Delta has known about this problem and failed to deal with it while continuing to promise that it can deliver the service it sold to customers. I am not a lawyer, but that sounds like fraud to me.
Commissioners approved a $260,850 loan Wednesday night to help finance the new MacKenzie River pub-centric restaurant on the Flat thats now expected to open in late March.

Ground was broken on the new building at 3450 Monroe St. in late October with hopes of it opening in February. But Collin Higgins, who owns the Butte restaurant and three others, said workers missed their asphalt window for laying the parking lot by one day because of cold, snowy weather in November.

Also Wednesday, the council cleared the way for the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department to buy 20 Scott brand Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, or SCBAs, for about $173,500 without seeking bids.

Fire Chief Jeff Miller says there are several reasons for the sole-source purchase, the first being safety. Since different brands of the breathing gear operate differently, using two or more types at fire scenes could lead to disastrous consequences, he said in a recent letter to commissioners.

The loan to MacKenzie River is part of $460,100 in outside financing to help build and furnish the planned MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub at 3450 Monroe St., which is north of the current, smaller restaurant at 1925 Elizabeth Warren Ave.

The $260,850 portion will come from a revolving Anaconda ARCO loan fund that was established years ago and is overseen by the Butte Local Development Corp. MacKenzie River also is seeking nearly $200,000 in outside loan money from the BLDC through a state revolving program.

Andy Zdinak, marketing director for the BLDC, said the loans will fill in financing gaps but the primary lender for the project is First Montana Bank. The total project will cost about $2.3 million.

We see the benefit of this being development in that area (of Butte), Zdinak said. They have done very well and have pretty much outgrown the facility they are in now.

The new restaurant will be 6,600 square feet  about 1,900 more than the current location at 1925 Elizabeth Warren Ave.

Asphalt for the parking lot was going to be put down one day in November but the weather did not cooperate.

The weather forecast said it was supposed to be in the mid-30s but we got a 22-degree day and then it dumped about five inches (of snow) on us, Higgins said.

Other work has continued, he said, and the roof will be put on soon. That will allow much of the interior work to be completed, too.

Even as it stands, Its a sexy looking little building, Higgins said, and they are now shooting for an opening in late March.

The council approved a resolution that will allow the fire gear to be purchased without bidding, a process authorized by state law under certain conditions. They include only one source being acceptable to supply or service an item.

Besides safety, Miller said several Butte-Silver Bow firefighters are factory trained and certified to work on the Scott SCBAs. He also said the vast majority of volunteer departments in the county use Scott SCBAs and it wouldnt be wise to switch brands.

The council backed the move on a 9-1 vote. Commissioner Jim Fisher voted no, saying firefighters do a great job but should not be deciding such large purchases without taking bids.

"Because they are professional firefighters does not mean they are professional buyers," he said.
Must our politicians knees jerk so predictably, and so thoughtlessly?

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., clearly believed he was correctly reflecting the will of his constituency  and his donor base  when he sent out a news release Tuesday headlined Daines Statement on Obamas Unlawful Gun Grab.

It took another few minutes for U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to weigh in with Statement on President Obamas Gun Grab.

To be clear: We do not believe executive action is the optimal or even correct way to make such changes. This is clearly the purview of Congress  although its equally clear that the Capitol is where even the most innocuous gun regulation goes to die.

Yes, you can debate the wisdom of President Obamas executive actions Tuesday. And you can debate their legality or illegality. But absolutely nothing in Obamas executive actions can rationally be considered a gun grab.

President Obama is jeopardizing the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans with his latest efforts to undermine the Second Amendment, Daines said in his statement. It is a gross abuse of executive authority for the President to unilaterally move forward his ineffective, anti-gun agenda with the stroke of his pen. As Montanas voice in the United States Senate, I will continue to fight against President Obamas endless assault on Montanans Second Amendment rights.

No surprise given his tyrannical record, Zinke contributed.

While it may be popular among some gun groups to use such overheated rhetoric to describe absolutely any attempt at gun regulation, we believe its pure demagoguery thats beneath the offices Daines and Zinke hold.

It is a perfect example of why no progress has been made on this issue, despite the fact that the number of Americans supporting background checks for gun purchases is north of 80 percent in poll after poll. A large majority of gun owners themselves support background checks. But with such language setting the baseline for discussion, its unsurprising nothing has happened on the issue in Congress.

Lets look past the inflamed language at exactly what Obama did Tuesday.

One of his actions included a more detailed definition of which gun sellers must apply for federal dealers licenses  meaning they would need to conduct background checks, as the sellers in about 60 percent of the nations gun transactions do now. Will that close the gun-show loophole? Perhaps partially. But requiring a background check is not a gun grab.

Obamas orders also create new requirements for reporting guns lost or stolen in transit. How, exactly, does that undermine the Second Amendment? Sounds like common sense.

Also, one of his measures allows more mental health records to be submitted to the federal background check registry. That also does not seem to jeopardize any Constitutional rights.

Guns are a huge part of Montana culture and life. We understand that. We also understand that gun violence is a huge problem. Just as responsible gun ownership requires safeguarding guns so that children cannot access them  Buttes spate of student suicides is unhappy evidence of that  responsible gun regulation requires efforts to keep guns out of the hands of clearly dangerous individuals like convicted felons, terrorists and the mentally ill.

Nobodys guns are being confiscated by Obamas executive actions, and it is the height of political irresponsibility to suggest otherwise.

We know one organization that didnt view Daines statement as demagoguery, and thats the National Rifle Association.

Rather, the NRA leadership looked upon it as return on investment.

The NRA gave Daines more than $100,000 in his 2014 campaign alone. And clearly, they are getting what they paid for  knee-jerk rhetoric thats politically expedient and slides right past the facts.
The January 6th issue of The Montana Standard gives a front-page account of President Obamas executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence. The article belongs on the Opinion Page. Reporters DeHaven and Fraser couch the exaggerated language of gun control opponents with their own alarmist words.

Sweeping executive action  a spate of new measures meant to tighten law enforcements grip on firearm sales. Such is the stuff of editorial comments, not news accounts.

I support most of President Obamas proposed steps. Most of them are relatively moderate  even tame  in scope. According to www.forbes.com (online business magazine), he will beef up the administrative ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions (ATF) to ensure that anyone in the business of selling guns does two things: (1) gets a license, and (2) conducts background checks. He will seek Congressional approval of funding for 200 new ATF agents to help enforce existing gun laws. He will seek Congressional approval of $500 million to expand access to mental health care. He will encourage federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security to advance gun safety research.

President Obama encourages states to provide the ATF with more complete criminal history records. He also wants states to provide information on persons disqualified from owning a gun due to mental illness. It is this last initiative that I have concerns about. Many individuals living with a mental illness function as well as someone living with diabetes or heart disease. Most exhibit no signs of violent behavior. What criteria will be used by health care providers in determining that a person presents a danger to themselves or to others and therefore ought not own a firearm? Do people living with a mental illness give up their right to go hunting? Do they give up their right to protect themselves from a physical attack?

On the whole, however, I support President Obamas actions to reduce the horrific incidence of gun violence in this country; 32,000 gun-related deaths a year is shameful, and demands action.

I ask The Montana Standard to be more measured and fair in future articles on the issue of gun safety.

-- Doris Fischer, Sheridan
At the start of a new year, lets resolve to prevent what long has been the No. 2 leading cause of death among Montana teens, suicide.

The latest Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that nearly 30 percent of Montana high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities. Thats the highest percentage recorded since the survey began in 1991.

On another 2015 survey question, 15.5 percent of high schoolers said they had made a plan for suicide within the previous 12 months, the highest percentage since 2001.

Among the 8.9 percent of high school students who said they actually attempted suicide in the previous 12 months, most reported that the attempt resulted in an injury or poisoning, or overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse. Those numbers havent changed much in recent years.

Montana needs to reduce many risk factors that threaten our young people. Yet suicide risk stands out because of the trend revealed by this biennial survey. While fewer students are reporting some other risk factors, more are reporting that they are thinking about suicide.

These are very disturbing statistics. The 2015 survey was completed by 4,486 students in 49 Montana public high schools last February. The students are not identified by the survey, which covers a wide range of health risks from driving without seat belts to eating junk food and abusing drugs.

Nationwide, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 24, following motor vehicle crashes, other accidents and homicide. Fortunately, Montanans are less likely than most Americans to die by homicide. However, our state has the nations highest rates of suicide.

The 2015 Legislature authorized schools to provide suicide prevention training and programs, but did not fund such efforts. The current state budget does include grants for innovative programs to serve youth in crisis.

One of those grants was awarded to a large coalition of Yellowstone County childrens services organizations. The Yellowstone Youth Crisis Network aims to get disturbed young people and their families the immediate help they need to stay safe and start restoring health. Importantly, Billings Public Schools is a key partner in this community effort with a coordinator based at Lincoln Education Center.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction is in the process of updating health enhancement curriculum standards, which havent been updated since 1999. Proposed standards will go to the Board of Public Education and to an interim legislative committee this year, according to OPI. If the new standards are approved by those panels, they would be effective in the 2017-2018 school year. The proposed standards for K-12 emphasize good decision making and helping students understand factors that affect personal health.

Its critical that Montana students are offered the tools and skills necessary to cope with all health concerns, particularly mental health needs, Superintendent Denise Juneau said, adding that she hopes the updated health enhancement content standards will help educators address students needs.

There isnt a single thing that will reverse Montanas long trend of high suicide rates. But many efforts of Montana health professionals, educators, parents and youth have made a positive difference. Talking about suicide prevention can help destigmatize the problem. Offering help may save a life.

As this Gazette opinion is being written and read, Montana youth are thinking about or attempting to end their lives. This is a crises that demands the attention of parents and policy makers. When office seekers ask for your votes this year, ask them what they have done to provide mental health care and suicide prevention for Montana youth.

-- The Billings Gazette
WAPELLO, Iowa  A Louisa County man accused of three sex charges involving a teenage girl has been served a no-contact order on behalf of the alleged 14-year-old victim.

Scott Duane Jordan, 36, Wapello, is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, enticing a minor under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose and dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to minors, according to online court records.

Jordan was arrested by Wapello Police on Friday, Nov. 27. He is free on bond.

He has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Jordan has not entered a plea to any of the charges as yet, according to court records.

Louisa County Attorney Adam Parsons said Jordan's arrest was the culmination of a lengthy investigation involving the review of electronic records and witness interviews.

Jordan knew the victim and the alleged crimes happened through electronic communications, Parsons said but he declined to be any more specific about the mode of communication allegedly used by Jordan.

Peggy Senzarino, Muscatine Journal
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Local gun store owners said they don't see an immediate affect on them by President Barack Obama's announcement for tighter restrictions on gun sales and questioned whether he knows what the's doing.

On Tuesday, Obama addressed the nation with speech about the new executive orders he plans to sign Thursday to reduce gun violence. A press release form the White House states that the president's main focus would be to keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks, make communities safer from gun violence, increase mental health treatment and report to the background check system and shape the future of gun safety technology.

The official executive order has not yet been released, and gun owners and seller in Muscatine said that the actions being taken will not have an affect on them at this time.

At Shooting Star's Gun Range, co-owners Theda Lewis and Lynn Einfeldt said they will remain skeptic of what Obama will do until they see it in back and white.

"Based on what I heard on TV, it really wont affect what we do now because we have to have a carry permit or permit to acquire and that proves that your background has already been done," Einfeldt said.

Einfeldt added that she doesn't believe the president understands the laws that exist for purchasing a gun online.

"It has to go to an FFL (Federal Firearms License) dealer. So they could ship it here, then we have to make sure youve had that background checked," Einfeldt explained.

Einfeldt noted that gun shows in Iowa already require background checks.

"Im not sure what Obama thinks the loophole is. Just like the gun shows now, if they go to one in the state of Iowa, that background has to be done," she added.

The only thing Einfeldt and Lewis think may change for the state of Iowa, from what they understood, is vendors at a gun show would have to have a FFL license and right now they dont.

"It may also change the individual selling to each other because you dont have to do that I you are selling it to someone you know. Depends on how the laws are written you may have to come in and have it done through an FFL dealer," said Einfeldt.

The owners also explained the increase in people coming to visit the gun range and purchasing guns.

"Weve had a lot of people who want to get guns before they outlaw guns. So theyre coming in and learning how to shoot and taking the carry-conceal classes," Einfeldt said.

According to Lewis, this has been the busiest time on record. There has also been a lack of ability for certain guns because of the demand.

Two patrons at the Shooting Star's Gun Range, who did not want to be named, expressed their dislike of Obama's speech, calling his executive orders unconstitutional because they are surpassing congress and the will of the people.

Scott Lucas, owner of Big River Guns, LLC, agreed that there would no effect as of right now.

"We dont know the exact letter of the law thats going to be because I dont think he is going to sign the executive order until Thursday from what I understand so the details of it are really yet to be determined, but from what his speech said, it wont affect us a lot right now as far as background checks because we already do background checks," Lucas said.

The only concern that Lucas had some worry about what Obama's plan to alter guns.

"The only thing I was concerned about is that hes talking about altering guns to make them safer and that could affectedly change guns quite a bit," explained Lucas.

Lucas also stated his sales have increased, but credited it towards other factors, such as the holiday season, hunting and the recent incident in California.

In the eyes of the local Democratic party, they are please with that Obama came up with, especially in the area of mental health.

According to Don Paulson, Muscatine County Democratic chair, it makes sense to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and especially made sense to close the gun show loophole.

"We've got to start somewhere because Congress has been unwilling to do anything about it and giving everyone a gun is not the answer," Paulson said.
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa  When the all-female West Liberty City Council was gaveled to order for the first time Tuesday night, one of its actions was to unanimously vote down the second reading of an ordinance that would have specified the city manager to live within two miles of the city limits.

The previous council had approved the first reading during the council's Dec. 15 meeting. On Tuesday night, new council members Diane Beranek, Joey Iske, and Cara McFerren joined sitting members Melody Russell and Felicie Simmons in voting down the second reading after they determined that two rules already on the books are at odds with each other.

Beranek circulated an ordinance that stated every city officer, whether elected or appointed, except the city manager, must live within a 25-minute drive of the city. And it was noted another ordinance requires the city manager to live within the 627 telephone exchange or within the boundaries of the West Liberty School District.

"Both of these need to be changed to be in alignment with each other," said Russell.

City Manager Lawrence McNaul said he will turn the writing of a new ordinance proposal over to the city attorney in order to avoid a possible conflict of interest.

Engineer's report

City Engineer Leo Foley briefly reported on three projects:

The Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project is under construction contract. "The contractor has just barely started," Foley said.

The IDNR is still reviewing plans for the Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project. "I will come back at the next meeting with a recommendation to start the bidding," Foley told the council.

Surveying needs to be completed, Foley said, for the Maxson Street Improvement Project, which will include widening and resurfacing Maxson between Columbus and Calhoun as well as redoing storm and sanitary sewers.

In other business:

The council approved payment of claims totaling $78,012;

The council approved a resolution permitting the American Legion to place a flag drop box in public right of way adjacent to Legion property at 307 North Calhoun St.;

The council decided to forego a Jan. 19 work session in lieu of the Jan. 27 strategic planning session.
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
From Sierra Nevada:





WHAT:



Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will host its second Beer Camp Across America (BCAA) festival tour in June 2016 with stops in Tampa, Fla., Seattle, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles. BCAA festivals will offer craft beer fans the opportunity to sample specialty brews from hundreds of local and regional brewers while interacting with some of the most influential names in craft brewing. Every craft brewery is invited to pour at any of the six festival locations. Each event will also celebrate and serve six limited edition collaboration beers  each one created by a different regional team of five breweries alongside Sierra Nevada.





WHERE & WHEN:



 Sat., June 4, 2016: Tampa, Fla.



 Sat., June 11, 2016: Seattle, Wash.



 Sat., June 11, 2016: Milwaukee, Wis.



 Sat., June 18, 2016: San Francisco, Calif.



 Sat., June 18, 2016: Boston, Mass.



 Sat., June 25, 2016: Los Angeles, Calif.



 May, 2016: Special release events in Chico, Calif. and Mills River, N.C. (dates TBA)





ABOUT BEER CAMP ACROSS AMERICA 2016:

Presented by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Beer Camp Across America (BCAA) is the largest craft beer celebration, bringing together brewers from every corner of the country to create one-time-only collaboration beers and to stage huge beer festivals in craft-centric cities. BCAA showcases the creativity and camaraderie that make American craft beer extraordinary, and everyones invitedbrewers and beer fans alike.





More information and updates available at www.sierranevada.com/beercamp and on Twitter and Instagram at @SierraNevada.
We attend school not only to become educated but to ultimately become active members of our society and contributing members to this world.

For example, OECD.org details, Education can bring significant benefits to society, not only through higher employment opportunities and income but also via enhanced skills, improved social status and access to networks.

Education in other countries are similar in this mindset, Vietnam being a prime example.

Education is surprisingly highly valued in Vietnam, and as Jeffrey Hays explains, the Vietnamese view education as the path to success and honor to the family. To detail this, the country has a very high literacy rate of 94.5 percent, according to a 2015 report by the CIA.

In lieu of this, the school day is very short, about four hours long, meaning students spend much of their time participating in extracurricular activities such as music. Even if this totals to quite a bit of stress on students, it is only to help them achieve more and keep them occupied.

Children in Vietnam should be required to attend school due to its significant cultural value along with its long-term benefits: success. With their great focus on education, the Vietnamese tend to be smarter and more hard-working, which could also apply to the rest of the world if everybody were to have access to a proper education.

Children in every country should be required to attend school and gain the education they need to thrive and reach their full potential. Even if the education systems in other countries are still developing, it is still better than none at all.

To detail why we attend school, Professor Kingo Mchombu of Namibia University explains, Without education, there is no development.

If everybody in our world were able to attend school, not only our own society here in the U.S. but everywhere, our world would further advance, creating a luminescent age of vast development.

Robert Adan, Dominic Liberti, Austin Malinowski and Juliana Tran are students at American Canyon Middle School. They wrote this editorial for a class project.
Festival del Sole, the annual summer music festival, has been renamed Festival Napa Valley. Festival Napa Valley will take place July 15-24.

Rick Walker, president and CEO of the Napa Valley Festival Association, said, The new name reflects the vital role the festival now plays in the life of the community.

In its 10-year history, the festival brought internationally acclaimed artists to the valley, presented free performances and donated tickets to veterans, seniors and students. In 2015, Festival Napa Valley awarded $275,000 to arts organizations, including a grant to underwrite the first-ever arts education master plan for Napa Valley Unified School District.

The 2016 festival is dedicated to founding board member and Napa Valley doyenne, Margrit Mondavi. No one better represents and exemplifies the philanthropic spirit and the passion for art, music, food and wine that Margrit and the festival share, said board Chairman Timothy Blackburn.

The 2016 festival schedule will be announced in early March. For information, visit FestivalNapaValley.org.
RAMALLAH, West Bank

Abbas in first public appearance since rumored ill health

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made his first public appearance since rumors began circulating last week that the 80-year-old was rushed to a hospital with serious heart problems.

Abbas office has dismissed the rumors as baseless, and on Wednesday he delivered a 40-minute televised speech to Christian leaders in biblical Bethlehem. Abbas office had urged journalists to attend to ensure maximum coverage.

The rumors of ill health have drawn attention to the lack of a successor or a process for picking one. Abbas aides alleged the source of the rumors was Mohammed Dahlan, a former top aide seen as one of several possible contenders to succeed Abbas.

In Wednesdays speech, Abbas dismissed Israeli concerns that his self-rule government might collapse.

PILLARO, Ecuador

Devilish dancers invade Ecuador highlands town

The devils invade this picturesque highlands town on New Years Day and take over the streets for six days, donning fearful masks to dance to the rhythms of local bands.

Ecuadors annual Diablada festival fills 12 blocks of this town 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Quito and ends on Three Kings Day, the Roman Catholic holiday celebrated on Jan. 6

Plenty of liquor is imbibed and local fare consumed while street vendors take advantage of the influx of thousands of tourists to sell paintings of the Virgin Mary.

Diablada festivals are held in several Andean nations. They mix pre-colonial with Catholic traditions, celebrating the clash of good and evil.

One popular explanation for the Pillaro version is that it began as a way for men to anonymously court women.

The masks that participants don typically include enormous horns, pointed ears and diabolical smiles. Costumes extend to black capes and long tails.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

Dutch to host conference to discuss global fight against terror

The Dutch foreign minister has called an international conference next week to discuss the global fight against terror.

Foreign Minister Bert Koenders says next Mondays meeting will bring together members of the Global Counterterrorism Forum and the coalition fighting the Islamic State group. Koenders said Wednesday that terrorism ... is a virus that is continually adapting itself and states have to work together even more closely to combat it.

He says the conference at the headquarters of European Union police organization Europol will also discuss intelligence sharing, measures to prevent terror and how better to protect civilians against terror attacks.

Delegates will include ministers from countries hit hard by attacks including Nigeria and Tunisia as well as representatives from Europol, Interpol, the United Nations and the E.U.

GUATEMALA CITY

Guatemala arrests ex-presidents brother in massacres

Prosecutors arrested the brother of deceased former President Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia in connection with killings and disappearances during the countrys 1960-1996 civil war.

Benedicto Lucas Garcia is a former army commander credited with founding Guatemalas paramilitary groups.

His brother ruled Guatemala with an iron fist from July 1978 until March 1982.

Prosecutors said Wednesday they also arrested retired Gen. Francisco Luis Gordillo, who helped bring former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt to power from 1982 to 1983.

Both face charges of crimes against humanity and disappearances of people.

Peace accords brought an end to the 36-year civil war in 1996. Government security forces have been blamed for most of the 200,000 killings during the war.

JERUSALEM

Israeli reporter stabbed while demonstrating protective vest

An Israeli reporter was accidentally stabbed on the job Wednesday while demonstrating a protective vest.

Reporter Eitam Lachover was filming a story about a company making protective vests at a time when Israel is facing near-daily stabbing attacks by Palestinians.

Linda Bar, a spokeswoman for Israels state broadcaster, said Lachover was asked to try on the vest and demonstrate a thwarted stabbing. But the knife penetrated the vest, lightly wounding him in the upper back.

Yaniv Montakyo, a vice president at the company that makes the vest, told Israeli Channel 2 TV he stabbed Lachover in an area of the vest where there was no protective material. He says an earlier take was successful and did not harm the reporter.

Bar said that despite the mishap, the news item would be broadcast Wednesday.

Lachover said on Twitter he got stitches and was discharged from the hospital.

A nearly four-month wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence is roiling the region.
CALISTOGA  At Indian Springs, the birthplace of Calistoga, residents, dignitaries and history lovers gathered Wednesday morning to mark the citys 130th anniversary of incorporation.

Sam Brannan, as played by Dean Enderlin, shared some of Brannans history as the founder of the city and developer of the Napa Valley Railroad in the 1860s.

Mayor Chris Canning opened up a question-and-answer period for audience members with Brannan. Canning asked Brannan, who is sometimes reflected in history as a bit of a scoundrel, what led to his divorce.

Brannans 21st century alter ego didnt go into details, but did say that his wife wanted cash in the divorce settlement. And though he was a landowner of a great deal of property, the nation was in what is now called the Long Depression. Thus, he was unable to sell property to satisfy the settlements demands.

Some of Brannans property was taken by the Sacramento Savings Bank. If todays Calistoga residents were to check the deeds on their homes, they might see the banks name there, he said.

Supervisor Diane Dillon said she has been studying the history of the Board of Supervisors. Early on, supervisors represented three districts, she said, that were divided into townships. Calistoga was originally known as the Hot Springs Township.

Mike Kirn, interim city manager and public works director, said he had done a little math and determined that the council, once called trustees, had held about 3,900 meetings since incorporation and, at an average of two hours per meeting, there have been 7,800 hours of government sessions.

In the early 1880s, Calistogas civic leaders, following the lead of St. Helena, recognized that for the city to grow, formal cityhood was necessary. Calistogans put the matter on the ballot Dec. 23, 1885, and it passed almost unanimously.

Prior to Calistogas incorporation on Jan. 6, 1886, the first Anglo settlers arrived in 1840, the Hot Springs Resort was created in 1862 and the Napa Valley Railroad Co. was established in 1868.

Calistoga held an all-day party when it turned 125 that included music, food and games during an extended farmers market that stretched across the Napa River into Pioneer Park.

The post office marked the event with a special cancellation stamp, and the community pool offered a special discounted admission of $1.25, a symbolic nod.

For the 130th celebration, a brochure highlighting the history of some of the citys buildings  information compiled by Kent Domogalla  is available at the Visitors Center at 1133 Washington St.

When a brochure holder visits the stores and restaurants marked with an asterisk, those merchants will stamp the brochure (no purchase is necessary). Collect five stamps between now and Sunday and earn a chance to win a swag bag with gift certificates from participating merchants.
New Year's Eve is nearly upon us. If you are like me, you have the dress, the shoes, the bag, the accessories and the only thing left t...










One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache Track Listing:



1. One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache 2. Fleshworks 3. The Butcher 4. Gehorwilt 5. World of Hope And No Pain 6. Himmel Und Holle 7. Bottled Urn 8. The Little Death 9. Cain * 10. Abel *

* Bonus track



Forged in 1999 in Little Rock, Arkansas and now based in Portland, Oregon, THE BODY has been massively prolific since their inception with a sound that is uncategorized and unmatched. The duo writes and acts as one, a deafening wail against a failing species.



FULL OF HELL was formed in 2009 in Ocean City, Maryland. In similar ethos, the band has remained relentlessly productive both onstage and in recorded form and has continued to challenge themselves, channeling resonances from across the spectrum of extreme music into a nihilistic wall of oppressive sound.



Through their own respective recordings, both THE BODY and FULL OF HELL are internationally-revered as forward-thinking entities of harsh music, delivering their audio torment through incredibly intense and often unorthodox methods. THE BODYs 2010-released All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood sophomore LP stands among the bands high points and remains on of the most groundbreaking and frightening albums in recent times. Their subsequent releases, including several LPs and more have continued to expand upon this seminal release. Similarly, FULL OF HELL rapidly became a favorite amongst hardcore, grind, death and noise metal fans upon their formation with an incredibly energetic and destructive live attack. Their 2013-released Rudiments Of Mutilation sophomore LP solidified them as one of the most damaging new acts going, and since its detonation, the bands intensity and hunger for experimentation continues to magnify.



Forged in 1999 in Little Rock, Arkansas and now based in Portland, Oregon,has been massively prolific since their inception with a sound that is uncategorized and unmatched. The duo writes and acts as one, a deafening wail against a failing species.was formed in 2009 in Ocean City, Maryland. In similar ethos, the band has remained relentlessly productive both onstage and in recorded form and has continued to challenge themselves, channeling resonances from across the spectrum of extreme music into a nihilistic wall of oppressive sound.Through their own respective recordings, bothandare internationally-revered as forward-thinking entities of harsh music, delivering their audio torment through incredibly intense and often unorthodox methods.s 2010-releasedsophomore LP stands among the bands high points and remains on of the most groundbreaking and frightening albums in recent times. Their subsequent releases, including several LPs and more have continued to expand upon this seminal release. Similarly,rapidly became a favorite amongst hardcore, grind, death and noise metal fans upon their formation with an incredibly energetic and destructive live attack. Their 2013-releasedsophomore LP solidified them as one of the most damaging new acts going, and since its detonation, the bands intensity and hunger for experimentation continues to magnify.

Both acts are proven collaborators, relishing the results of collective efforts to create life-numbing constellations of distortion and depravity. The two members of THE BODY have joined forces with arcane producer The Haxan Cloak (Bobby Krlic) for the I Shall Die Here long player, Louisianas darkest sludge troupe Thou for Released From Love and You, Whom I Have Always Hated, as well as Nothing Passes with Braveyoung and a myriad of splits with artists as diverse and detesting as Australias Whitehorse, Japans Vampillia, Rhode Islands Sandworm and New Jerseys Krieg taking their virulent, insidious influence to unsuspecting destinations both stateside and abroad. FULL OF HELL made a huge impression on the ears of fans and those previously unfamiliar with the band with 2014s two-part alliance with internationally feared noisemonger Merzbow, which resulted in the FULL OF HELL & Merzbow LP and the subsequent Sister Fawn EP. Their discography is littered with noise-sodden demos and splits that wrench FULL OF HELL into fresh dimensions of heaviness and extremity, and their constant live actions never cease to stun.





One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache on March 25th, 2016 with preorder bundles Neurot Recordings will issueon March 25th, 2016 with preorder bundles AVAILABLE NOW.









www.facebook.com/The-Body

www.FullofHell.com

www.facebook.com/FullofHell





Neurot Recordings is very pleased to deliver a full-length collaborative debut between apocalyptic doom duo,, and grindcore/harsh noise sculptors,, this March. Fittingly titled, the offering boasts eight scathing hymns along with two bonus tracks sure to leave you traumatized and cowering in a corner.Both acts are unstoppable tour machines and joined forces for a massive 2015 North American live takeover. Amidst the chaos, the two groups found time to record together at Machines With Magnets in Providence, Rhode Island. The session eventually culminated into, which is ultimately an audio reflection of their surroundings and their inability to cope therein.
Dollar goes up, euro falls in Armenia

MFA: France position on achieving Armenia-Azerbaijan peace is unchanged

EU mission delegation visits some border communities of Armenias Gegharkunik Province (PHOTOS)

Putin imposes martial law in new territories of Russia

Yerevan to host Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting

Putin holds meeting of Security Council

Armenia MOD spox: Azerbaijan still preventing search operations

Iran announces retaliatory sanctions against EU

Russian Defense Ministry reports on strike on military facilities in Ukraine

Artsakh Foreign Minister receives Ruben Vardanyan

Israel calls Australia's refusal to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel 'pathetic decision'

Armenia to tighten penalties for overloading of trucks

Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey army elite units conduct demonstration military drills

Luxembourg parliament speaker: Azerbaijan aggression is direct attack on Armenia sovereignty

Russia Investigative Committee chief confirms theory of Crimean Bridge explosion accomplices

Uruguay vice president: We express our solidarity with Armenian people

GeoProMining's ZCMC has tripled tax payments to the state budget of Armenia

Paul Krekorian unanimously elected as LA City Council President

ThePrint: Armenia eyes procuring Akash missiles, loitering munitions from India

Armenia MP to international colleagues: Azerbaijan intends to carry out new aggression

Ukraine military hits Energodar city hall

Armenia PM: We hope Azerbaijan will cooperate in clarifying destiny of our compatriots

Newspaper: Where is 1991 declaration by which Armenia, Azerbaijan once recognized each other's territorial integrity?

Azerbaijan fires at Armenia positions at midnight

PACE lawmakers call for Azerbaijan militarys immediate withdrawal from Armenia

Australia reverses decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel capital

Armenia MPs meet with European Parliament colleagues, reflect on recent Azerbaijan attack

Nouriel Roubini: In some sense, World War III has already started

EU considers paying Elon Musk to provide Starlink Internet to Ukraine

U.S. will continue to take practical, aggressive steps to make it difficult for Iran to sell drones to Russia

German Prosecutor's Office searches Deutsche Bank headquarters

Head of Germany's national cybersecurity agency fired amid reports of ties to Russia

Uruguayan Chamber of Deputies condemns Azerbaijan's invasion of Armenian territory

Spanish minister: EU is far from solution to energy crisis

Fake Azerbaijani names of Syunik province communities removed from Google Maps and Google Earth apps

Artsakh President presents details of meetings held in Yerevan to MPs

Lavrov: Russia sees no point in maintaining its previous presence in Western countries

UAE: OPEC+ decision has no political motive

Opposition to David Price: Right to self-determination is the right of people of Artsakh to survive

Iran is ready to negotiate with Ukraine to resolve ambiguities

Deputy Speaker of Armenian National Assembly: 47 PACE deputies made written statement condemning Baku's aggression

Lapid will discuss Kiev request for Israeli systems with Kuleba

Morawiecki: Poland is not afraid of losing EU funds

Armenian President meets with Sofia Mayor

Speaker of Armenian National Assembly to Norway FM: Withdrawal of Azerbaijani Armed Forces from Armenia is a priority

Nikol Pashinyan receives delegation headed by Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt

Iran responds to Borrell's garden and jungle statement: EU needs to accept realities or it will continue to wither

Pashinyan: No one can accuse Armenia of evading its obligations

Congressman: U.S. was not active in terms of security in Armenia, but now situation is changing

Indian defense company Solar group says it has received orders from Armenia for 'Pinaka' missiles

Price: U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan will not be used for offensive purposes against Armenia

Military expert assesses possibility of new hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Russian Embassy: Armenians' attitude towards Russians who moved to Armenia remains very friendly

Clarification by Price: What Could Armenian-American military cooperation look like?

Armenian Defense Minister visits DEFEXPO exhibition in India

President of Artsakh talks about results of discussions held in Armenia

Borrell angers UAE with his comparison of world outside Europe to 'jungle'

Public Council formed in Artsakh

China Daily: Party's anti-graft efforts generate fruitful outcomes

Price: We demand that Azerbaijan return to its initial positions

Aghajanyan: This visit should be seen as another stage in dynamic development of Armenian-American relations

Ukraine will officially ask Israel for transfer of air defense systems

Head of National Assembly Commission: 2023 state budget turned out to be biggest in Armenia's history

Turkey conducts test launch of its own ballistic missile over Black Sea

Students of Brusov State University hold protest outside building of Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia

Armenia MFA: Yerevan has always openly and publicly stated its position on dialogue with Turkey

Military exercises of IRGC Ground Forces on border with Azerbaijan continue for second day in Iran

Blinken accuses China of violating status quo on Taiwan

Armenian Foreign Minister: We see Azerbaijan's unconstructive behavior

Izvestia: European banks stop accepting SWIFT-transfers from Russia

Mirzoyan calls on Cavusoglu to speak for himself

Norwegian FM visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex and pays tribute to victims of Genocide

Mirzoyan: We need to understand to what extent CSTO recognizes this aggression against Armenia

MFA: Armenian authorities apply to OSCE to send observers to border with Azerbaijan

NYT: Conflict between Turkey and Greece may cause split of NATO

Ararat Mirzoyan Details of peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan were presented to Norwegian FM

Price of gas in Europe drops to almost $1,200 per 1,000 cubic meters for first time since June

Armenian Defense Minister meets with his Indian counterpart

First images of damage to Nord Stream are published

Erdogan's spokesman: Meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is impossible now

Peskov redirects question of drone purchases from Iran to Russian Ministry of Defense

Secretary of Armenian Security Council presents consequences of recent Azerbaijani aggression to Brazilian ambassador

Trial of Robert Kocharyan and Armen Gevorgyan is held in Yerevan

IAEA chief says he wants to meet with Putin again

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan creates fake news on ceasefire violations by Armenia

US House of Representatives members visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Taliban, Iran border guards fire at each other

Another high treason exposed in Armenia

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan armed forces violate ceasefire in Sotk-Kutakan sector

World oil prices on the rise

Trump slightly ahead of Biden in New York Times poll

Armenia defense minister heads for India

Newspaper: Karabakh dissatisfied with President's Yerevan visit, meeting with Armenia PM

Azerbaijan fires toward Armenia positions at night

Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs much more modern air defense systems

Liz Truss is called upon to resign

EU to review relations with China

White House accuses Iran of lying

Poland may not receive 75 billion euros in regional aid from EU

Crash of SU-34 in Yeysk captured on video
The three-year-old crossed-eyed cat Muni became the family member of the Hovsepyans, when their daughter saved the two-month kitten from winter frost.

Ani went out to the yard and saw a kitten which was crying. She felt sorry for it and brought the kitten home, Anis mother, Alenush Hosepyan, told Armenian News  NEWS.am correspondent.

But for her crossed eyes, Muni is totally healthy. And the girl and her parents no longer notice the fact that her eyes look at different sides. We took her to a vet, checked and then gave her a warm place in the house. The first several days she was perhaps tired and constantly slept. Then she gradually revived. When Muni was little, squinting disturbed her. But later she got used and now shes good at catching flies. She's only lazy about catching mice: she runs after them but cant catch, Alenush said.

The peculiarity of Muni's eyes has become her visit card, making her a celebrity. She has a great number of fans worldwide: thousands of subscribers follow her Instagram page, leaving love confessions under her photos and videos. Famous world media outlets also wrote about Muni. The cat with an unusual look has indeed become a star.

The Hovsepyans took care of pets before as well, but Muni is the smartest, the calmest and the most obedient of all of their pets. The owners think Muni achieved this kind of success for a reason. This may serve as a good example for all those who are indifferent to the animals which live nearby and need help.
In an interview with Armenian News  NEWS.am, Ambassador of Brazil to Armenia Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro expressed dissatisfaction with the current level of economic cooperation between the countries, told a funny story which happened to him on New Year and expressed hope to see as much Armenians as possible during the Summer Olympic Games to be held in his country.

Mr. Ambassador, which are the main achievements in bilateral relations between Armenia and Brazil in 2015?

Brazil and Armenia have a relation that is still growing. In terms of investments, there has not been Brazilian investment in Armenia in any substantial way. [But] I believe that there is a lot we could do. Brazil has invested in many countries in areas that are present in the Armenian economy, such as agriculture, mining, and several kinds of financial services. But again I have the impression that there has not been a lot of promotion of Armenian investment opportunities for Brazilian exporters, importers and other companies that could come and work here. [Nevertheless,] Something special happened this year that I should mention. One of the biggest Brazilian exporting companies, which is very active in the mining sector and also produces some very special industrial components, has started working with Armenian companies. The company is called Magnesita. What they are doing in Armenia is very important. They are working with companies which produce steel and cement. They produce a kind of brick, special brick which has to be used inside of ovens, for example, where you burn material to make cement. So this is actually not just an export; its more of a partnership that is created between the Brazilian and Armenian companies. Two big Brazilian companies in the field of agriculture were Sadia and Perdigao: actually these two are working together now. They are now big players around the world and have production in the United States and Asia.

To me the most important change would be contacts. How do you make contacts? You have to come to Brazil. Brazil is very far, people would tell me. So dont come to Brazil: go to very important trade fares in Europe: Germany, Italy and France. Look if there are any Brazilian companies there. Probably there will be such in many cases, because thats how they operate. So you can come to Europe to meet them. There are Brazilian companies with offices in Dubai, in the Middle East and also Moscow. We have a lot of Brazilian companies working in Russia. So I think that what is lacking is some [kind of] decision. In terms of investment and trade, the relations are not yet at the level we would like them to be. But there are possibilities.

How is the New Year celebrated in Brazil? Are there any special Brazilian traditions?

One of the biggest New Year celebrations in the world takes place on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. It is estimated that 1,5 million people come together  its a huge beach. And what we do there is basically what we do at home: people come, they organize some tables, bring some food and drinks. There is music the Mayor of Rio provides. People come early - by 7-8 pm - and celebrate by drinking, eating, listening to music. And then at midnight there is a very big firework display. I think it lasts for more than 20 minutes, Im not exaggerating.

But there are also private celebrations. We can get together at home and again have some food and drinks with friends and listen to music. And at midnight we do the counting down until the New Year comes. Then we drink, shout and brace each other. There is really a very festive mood all around the country. People enjoy celebrating New Years Eve. Remember that it is summer time for Brazil which makes it very convenient for people either to have a public celebration. In terms of food and drinks, there is not something special that I could say is Brazilian. Brazil is a country that received immigrants from all over the world. So when it comes to New Year and Christmas, we do what the immigrants brought to Brazil. And we drink wine. Its interesting because Brazil was not until very recently a wine-drinking country. Wine was drunk only in the south of Brazil, but not all over the country. We prefer beer: cold beer goes very well with summer time. But on Christmas and New Years Eve there was always wine coming from the southern Brazil or other countries.

Could you remember an interesting story related to the New Year?

Let me tell one story about myself. On New Years Eve, when my daughter was 8 months old, we came to a little village [in Brazil], where my family - my Mother, Father and brothers were living - to spend the New Year together. At about 11 in the evening on December 31 we realized that there was not enough milk in the house for my daughter and the following day  the first day of the year - the shops would be closed. So I was asked to go and try to find milk. And I went out, at about 11:15. I found a place, bought the milk and when I was walking back home, I passed by a bar, and some of my friends were there and they called me. They said they were cooking the special kind of crepe we have here. I said Im going to take the milk for my daughter. They said: Just leave it here in the fridge. You bought it already, so its safe. And I started eating the crepes and drinking the beer and talking. And then I realized it was already the following year. So when I got home people were waiting for me with very long faces and I had to explain I could not pass my friends I would not see very often, because I wasnt living there any more. The fact is that from that day on I became known as a father who goes out to buy milk for his daughter and only comes back the next year, which of course is not fair, but is true.

Would you like to add something?

Im very happy with the level of cultural exchanges that we are having with Armenia. Despite the difficulties and economic crisis, as well as less money being available for everything, we have been able to do some cultural promotions in areas such as music, cinema, and the martial art Capoeira.

Im also very happy to say that this year is a special one because we signed an agreement with Armenia to exempt Armenians from visas for short-term visits to Brazil. And this I think is a good sign, a good indication and a good message. Brazilians now can also come to Armenia for short visits without a visa. I hope this will stimulate more exchanges in tourism, which is an area which I think can grow. And last but not least, I think this agreement came just on time because next year we have the Summer Olympics and the Summer Paralympic Games in Brazil. And that will be the time when we will expect visitors from many countries. Armenia will have some athletes competing and I do hope that a good number of Armenians will come to Brazil to cheer for their athletes, celebrate when they win some medals, which Im sure they will, and then, generally, to get to see Brazil. So Im very optimistic in relation to the next year also because of these new changes in our relations when we now have an open door for each other.
YEREVAN.  Syrian Armenians are leaving Armenia not because of despair, but to seek a better life.

The Minister of Diaspora, Hranush Hakobyan, told the aforementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

She added that the Syrian Armenians argument, according to which there are no conditions in Armenia for living and doing business, is absolutely unfounded.

Of course, there is poverty and unemployment in Armenia, Hakobyan said. [But] I dont accept the matter of not creating conditions [for them in the country]. () They [i.e. the Syrian Armenians who came to Armenia in recent years] were confident that the crisis [in Syria] can be resolved in a few months and they will return. But it wasnt resolved, and they stayed [in Armenia]. () Its an absolute inaccuracy to accuse of not creating conditions [for them in Armenia].

As per the minister, these Syrian Armenians were given unprecedented loan benefits, which helped many of them to get established in Armenia.

And whoever [from them] went [from Armenia], went to have better conditions, Hranush Hakobyan added. There are some who complain, and I say: Lets objectively discuss, set up a meeting, and let them give you an answer.
YEREVAN. - The most significant event of 2015 was the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, since it was possible to make it a global event. The mass served by Pope Francis was also very important. Samvel Nikoyan, MP of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), told the aforesaid to Armenian News  NEWS.am correspondent.

According to him, the negative side of last year was the tension on the border. Its difficult to notice a progress in the social and economic life, the MP said. The expectations werent satisfied most probably due to the economic situation in the region. This couldnt but impact the economic activity in Armenia, Nikoyan stressed. The government has set a 2.2 percent threshold of economic growth for 2016. If we can reach this, I think we will be able to solve the tasks put before us. And the dependence from external factors is the fate of small countries. Even Russia experiences economic fall. And the external factors impact small countries faster, he added.

To the question what happened to the slogans Towards secure Armenia and Go, Armenia, Nikoyan responded: As to the security of the citizens, Armenia is among the calmest and most secure states in the world. People from all over the world feel very secure in our country.
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will present a lecture at Emory University School of Law in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14, at the law school's Tull Auditorium, 1301 Clifton Road, Atlanta.

Ifill has had a distinguished career as a litigator, constitutional law scholar and public intellectual. A frequent commentator on Sunday morning talk shows, she has litigated landmark voting rights cases and written the critically acclaimed On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, which discusses the continuing legacy of Jim Crow-era lynchings on communities today.

Her talk, to be held just days before the MLK holiday, and one of many events commemorating the day across campus, was organized by Dorothy Brown, professor of law at Emory and frequent commenter on the salience of race in America.

Dr. Martin Luther King is often remembered for this quote: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,'" says Brown. "The Legal Defense Fund has been at the forefront of ensuring that our legal system bends towards justice. What better time than now when some in our country are still debating whether all black lives matter, to hear from such a beacon of light in this multi-generational struggle?

Ifill's lecture is free and open to the public. A reception in Hunter Atrium will immediately follow.
Secondary education professor Chris Street, from left, Claire C. Cavallaro, College of Education dean, and Larry R. Chapa, Early Assessment Program and College Readiness coordinator, are presenting the "College Readiness" forum for high school educators.

What:

Cal State Fullertons Early Assessment Program hosts a Jan. 11, forum to promote California State Universitys College Readiness initiatives and resources to measure and improve high school students preparedness for college-level coursework.

Who:

About 200 local school district superintendents, high school principals, vice principals, teachers, counselors and other educators are expected to attend the invitation-only College Readiness Breakfast. The event features updates on initiatives and examples of innovative approaches to help get students ready for the rigors of college. Members of the media are welcome to attend.

When:

Monday, Jan. 11

8:3011:45 a.m.

Where:

Fullerton Marriott, 2701 E. Nutwood Ave., Fullerton

Additional:

In recent years significant steps have been taken by the CSU and school districts to more concretely define and measure college and career readiness, said Larry R. Chapa, CSUFs Early Assessment Program and College Readiness coordinator. This transition has spurred much innovation and creativity as schools and districts devise tangible systems designed to increase student preparedness for college and career, said Chapa.

In line with this, the college-readiness rate at CSUF has continued to increase each year. Since 2009, the number of CSUF freshmen who enter ready for college-level coursework in math and English  without the need for any remediation  has increased from 48.5 percent to 83 percent in fall 2015, Chapa noted.

An 83 percent college-readiness rate is phenomenally good. Nationwide, remedial rates at four-year universities are between 35 to 45 percent, meaning those entering without remedial need is only between 55 to 65 percent, he said.

Schedule Highlights:

8:30 a.m.  Welcome, Claire C. Cavallaro, dean of CSUFs College of Education

8:50 a.m.  Lourdes Kulju, Outreach and College Readiness Program manager, CSU Chancellors Office, CSU Updates on College Readiness

9:20 a.m.  Larry Chapa, CSUFs Early Assessment Program and College Readiness coordinator, Remediation & College Readiness, the Broader Perspective

9:55 a.m.  Jessica Wagoner, CSUF director of admissions, Early Start Program

10:30 a.m.  Chris Street, CSUF professor of secondary education and Early Assessment Program faculty director, CSU Expository Reading and Writing course for high school teachers

11 a.m.  April Moore, director, curriculum and instruction at Corona-Norco Unified School District, Motivating Students toward College & Career Readiness

Visit online for additional details.

Media Contacts:

Larry R. Chapa, Early Assessment Program, 657-278-8386

Chris Street, Secondary Education, 657-278-5905

Debra Cano Ramos, 657-278-4027
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12:23

Here's what's happening at FTII, Pune, where the much-loved Gajendra Chauhan is set to formally take over as the chairperson of the institute.





Police used force to disperse and round up a group of about 40 FTII students protesting against TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan.



Notwithstanding a warning issued by police yesterday to maintain peace on the eve of the first meeting of the new FTII Society headed by Chauhan, members of the FTII Students Federation (FSA) staged a protest demonstration at the institute's gate shouting "Gajendra Chauhan go back" which led to a scuffle between the students and police.



"We have been brutally targeted by police who lathi-charged us with the knowledge of FTII administration," alleged one of the students as he was put in a police van and whisked away. The students of the prestigious institution here were on a strike opposing Chauhan's appointment since June 12 last year and called it off on October 28 and returned to the classes.



An FSA representative Vikas Urs said, "We had withdrawn the strike but we have not given up our resistance to the wrong appointments. Police have attacked on our peaceful protesters in connivance with the FTII administration. Our protest will continue". "We had asked the students to demonstrate peacefully but we had to use force because they wanted to block the way to the institute and therefore we had to detain them. We used minimum force," said Tushar Joshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police who was on the spot.



The FSA has alleged that Chauhan lacks stature to head the FTII. A tough posture by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which steadfastly refused to accept the FSA demand for removal of Chauhan, a crackdown on some students and their arrest subsequent to gherao of the institute director Prashant Pathrabe ultimately saw the long drawn out agitation by students fizzle out last year as they returned to academics.



Meanwhile, the first meeting of FTII Society scheduled to be held today at the campus, is likely to be attended among others by Anagha Ghaisas, Rahul Solapurkar, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak -- the members whose appointments have been objected by the FSA for being political and allegedly lacking in merit and stature for the post.


BANGALORE: Organisations looking to unlock their full business potential must keep in sync with the upcoming technology trends and must master a wide range of digital technologies which are critical to connecting with customers (and employees) now. Mr. Yatish Mehrotra, Regional Head Mobility  South, Tata Teleservices talks about a few trends that made news in 2015 and are further expected to evolve in the coming year for the enterprises to take notice:

Here comes the age of digital disruption

We are in a period where digital technologies are reshaping relationships between customers and companies as well as blurring the boundaries between industry sectors. Organizations are having to reinvent not only their operating models, but in many cases their business models as well, just to survive.

However, research suggests that, digital disruption and the need to prepare for it is still not receiving the direct attention at the Board level. Companies are either not acknowledging the risk of digital disruption, or have not addressed it sufficiently. Digital disruption is not just a buzzword  it is here to stay, and to bring around radical change in the way companies think and operate. In 2016, we see the trend of transitioning from traditional methods of managing the business to getting real-time analytics of every aspect of the business solidifying and becoming a part of mainstream business.

Read Also:

Here's What You Can Expect at CES 2016

10 Most Innovative Ideas from IITians
Odds are good that risky gambling choices are influenced by a single brain connection, Stanford research shows

Whether a person will place a risky bet comes down to a newly discovered tract of neurons spanning two brain regions. The findings could help understand and treat gambling or addiction disorders.

One person's risky bet is another's exciting opportunity.

The difference between those outlooks comes down to more than just disposition: It turns out that people with a stronger connection between two brain regions have a more cautious financial outlook.

L.A. Cicero Brian Knutson, associate professor of psychology, said his team's recent finding of a brain connection involved in risky decision-making provides a starting point for understanding gambling and addiction.

"Activity in one brain region appears to indicate 'uh oh, I might lose money,' but in another seems to indicate 'oh yay, I could win something,'" said Brian Knutson, associate professor of psychology. "The balance between this 'uh oh' and 'oh yay' activity differs between people and can determine the gambling decisions we make."

Researchers have tracked activity in those two brain regions  known as the anterior insula and nucleus accumbens  for the past decade, but Knutson was curious how the two work together. Are they directly connected, or do they both influence a different brain region that makes the ultimate decision?

Knowing this could help scientists and policymakers who want to better understand risky decision-making in the context of gambling and addiction and develop more effective interventions.

Knutson's team employed a technique developed at Stanford that identifies tracts of neurons that connect brain regions and measures the strength of those connections in terms of how well insulated they are.

Using that technique, called diffusion-weighted MRI, Knutson and graduate student Josiah Leong found a tract that directly connects the anterior insula and nucleus accumbens  something that had been seen before in animals but never in humans.

What's more, they found that the thicker the sheath of fatty tissue insulating the bundle  an indicator of the strength of the connection  the more cautious the study participants' decisions were in a gambling test. The neuronal connection appears to be a conduit for the more cautious brain region to dampen activity in the more enthusiastic region.

"Most people love the small chance of a huge win," Knutson said. "But people vary. Some people really, really like it. But people who have a stronger connection don't like it as much."

Magnetic gambling den

In the study published Jan. 6 in the journal Neuron, the researchers gave each participant $10 that they could gamble, or not, in a series of games with different odds. The participants got to keep any money left at the end of the experiment.

Money in hand, participants entered an MRI chamber where they could see a roulette wheel and the odds for winning or losing. In one bet, they might have equal odds to win or lose $3. In another, they might have higher odds of winning a small amount and small odds of losing a lot or vice versa.

As the participants weighed the various gambles, the researchers tracked activity in the two brain regions. The team noticed that all gamblers  even the cautious ones with a well-insulated connection  would sometimes place risky bets. And when they did, the more cautious region stayed quieter while the enthusiastic region grew more active.

"We could predict the person's upcoming bet based on the balance of activity in these regions," said Knutson, who is also a member of Stanford Bio-X and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

The stronger, better insulated the connection between the regions, the less likely it was that the enthusiastic region would become active at the prospect of a large but unlikely win.

Knutson said that finding the connection between the two regions won't immediately lead to new interventions for people with gambling problems or other issues relating to risky choices, but it does provide a starting point for studying interventions.

"Now we can start asking interesting questions about impulse control and gambling," Knutson said. "For example, does the connection change over the course of therapy?"

Anything that strengthens the connection might potentially help people reduce risky decisions, whether in gambling, drug addiction or other potentially risky behaviors.

Knutson is a leader of the NeuroChoice initiative, part of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute, that has a goal of both understanding the brain regions and pathways involved in how people make choices and working with colleagues in public policy, law, business and education to apply those findings in the real world.

"This finding is a step toward achieving some of the goals we set out in NeuroChoice," Knutson said.

Other scientists who contributed to the study include former graduate student Charlene Wu; Franco Pestilli, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University; and Gregory Samanez-Larkin, assistant professor of psychology at Yale University. The research was funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, the Stanford Neurosciences Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

Media Contact

Amy Adams, Stanford News Service: (650) 796-3695, amyadams@stanford.edu
UF colleges partner to present play about cystic fibrosis

Brennen Reeves uses one word to describe the play he co-created with David Lee Nelson: honest.

Breathe chronicles Reeves journey to live beyond the odds, detailing his struggle of living with cystic fibrosis and being a double lung transplant. The University of Floridas College of the Arts and College of Public Health and Health Professions are partnering to bring the one-man play to UF Performing Arts Squitieri Studio Theatre Jan. 16-17.

Breathe was created after Reeves took a solo performance class with Nelson at the College of Charleston. First previewed in November 2014 at Theatre 99 in Charleston, SC, the play was named one of the top five shows at the 2015 Piccolo Spoleto Festival in South Carolina.

It was at that festival that Lucinda Lavelli, dean of UFs College of the Arts, saw the play and believed the UF and Gainesville community would find the story compelling. She approached Michael G. Perri, dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions, about a co-sponsorship to bring the production to campus.

Creating Breathe and opening up about his personal story was not easy, Reeves said.

Everyone has baggage; everyone has their Breathe show, he said. I've found my voice in life, and I hope people can see that. My show is funny  dont take life too seriously  and its said  one step forward, two steps back. That's what my life has been.

Reeves, who majored in theatre performance, lives in Charleston where he continues to perform both on stage and in film. He has appeared in more than 10 shows and is involved in Charlestons comedy scene where he performs stand-up and sketch comedy. While traveling with his show, Reeves is working on a creative non-fiction novel about his life. Nelson, director/co-creator of Breathe, is an award winning actor, playwright and solo performer.

Attendees of the Jan. 17 performance are invited to stay after the show for a panel discussion moderated by Jill Sonke, director of UFs Center for Arts in Medicine. The panel will feature Reeves and Nelson along with Dr. Mutasim Abu-Hasan of UF's Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine and Dr. David Fedele of UF's Department of Clinical and Health Psychology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Reeves said that coming to UF is a dream.

I hope students, professors, anyone and everyone that can come, comes, he said. My wish is that everyone goes home after the show and relates their lives to Breathe."
Terming it a 'huge loss to Indian politics,' apex industry body ASSOCHAM today expressed profound sadness and grief over demise of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. "Sayeed was a visionary leader, pro-trade and industry and always stood for maintaining friendly relations between India and Pakistan to promote peace in the region," said President, ASSOCHAM, Sunil Kanoria. "As the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, he was totally focused on equitable development of the state and as part of his efforts to revive the state's economy he recently facilitated all kinds of help to the film industry for shooting in the valley to further promote growth of tourism, handicrafts and other relevant sectors," said the ASSOCHAM chief. (ANI)
Carwale, India's leading automobile portal, has begun 2016 by announcing that they now have a network of over 1,000 new car dealer outlets as their partners across the country. To celebrate this milestone and express gratitude to the dealers for their trust, support and loyalty, Carwale will host 1,000 parties over the next two weeks- one at each of their partner dealer outlets. Elucidating further on the success story, Mohit Dubey, CEO, Carwale commented, "We are absolutely delighted to announce this achievement, and this makes our 10th year more special. Now we can stake the claim that not only are we the most visited auto portal in India, but also the most trusted by dealers." "We will continue to innovate and bring in new offerings which help consumers as well as dealers and the entire auto industry," added Mohit. CarWale's new car dealer business has grown exponentially over the last two years. As more and more car buyers research their next car purchase online, dealers too have been turning to digital to generate more leads and drive sales further. Carwale has also rolled out several dealer initiatives this year, the most prominent of which is its dealership loyalty and rewards Programme- Premier Circle- the first programme in the country that recognizes the efforts of dealer sales teams and rewards their successes. (ANI)
"Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahib's passing away. I'm shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace," tweeted Abdullah.

"My heart felt sympathies to Mrs Syed, Mehbooba & the entire family in this most difficult of times. My & my family's prayers are with them," he added.

Sayeed was admitted in a private ward in AIIMS on December 24 after he complained of fever and chest pain. The 79-year-old He was later detected with sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia.

He was put on ventilator yesterday after his condition had started to deteriorate. (ANI)
As reported by the New York Times, the White House said that any kind of nuclear test is 'provocative and a flagrant violation' of the UNSC resolutions.

The US, however, said that the initial data from its monitoring stations in Asia were inconsistent with a test of a hydrogen bomb, adding there was no evidence so far to support North Korean 'Hydrogen Bomb' claim.

According to various experts, the seismic wave left by the explosion was smaller than expected from the detonation of a true thermonuclear weapon. Some experts said it was possible the North had increased the yield of a more traditional device by using tritium, a common technique in the 70-year history of nuclear weapons.

A closed-door morning talks between the 15-member Security Council were called by the United Nations and Japan yesterday.

The North Korean authorities on Wednesday said they have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb amid reports of a tremor near the main nuclear test site.

The State media announced the test after monitors detected a 5.1 magnitude quake close to the Punggye-ri site.

The North is thought to have conducted three previous underground nuclear tests there since 2006. (ANI)
Vice-President M Hamid Ansari today condoled the death of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, describing him as ''a consensus builder'' who placed the nation's interest ahead of other consideration. Expressing grief over his demise, Dr Ansari in a condolence message said the Mufti was as an ''eminent statesman and popular leader''. ''Mufti Sayeed made immense contribution to the progress and welfare of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He was a consensus builder and always placed the nation's interest ahead of every other consideration. His death is an irreparable loss to the people of India,'' he said in his condolence message. UNI SD RSA 1133 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0352-525591.Xml
He is survived by his wife, three daughters, including PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, and a son.

In a condolence message, the Chief Minister said, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was a great leader who belonged to the masses. His statesmanship moulded the lives of the people in Jammu and Kashmir. His death leaves a huge void which will be never be filled. My heart-felt condolences to the family. May his soul rest in peace.UNI XC RSA GC1148

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Sayeed breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital early this morning.

Jammu and Kashmir government today announced a seven-day mourning period in state as a mark of respect to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh will attend Sayeed's funeral in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the PDP has hinted that party president Mehbooba Mufti would take over as the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sayeed, who was born in 1936 in Bijbehara, Jammu and Kashmir, had previously served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2005. He was also the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

He had founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in 1999. (ANI)
The 73-year-old tweeted, ''Hurt rib from shoot... but ok... taking friends Ef to WAZIR at South City Mall, Kolkata this evening!

Yea.''

However, he says there's nothing to worry about.

Big B shared the news today on his blog, which reads, ''No nothing to worry... I have injured my rib cage, it pains and so when I breathe it hurts. Am doing ice-pack and pain-killers, spoken to my doctor... should take 48 hours to heal, he says. Else we do X-Ray or MRI or whatever he decides,''

Despite the injury, he is continuing his promotion spree for his forthcoming movie "Wazir" which also features Farhan Akhtar and releases this Friday.

While "TE3N" is helmed by Ribhu Dasgupta, produced by Sujoy Ghosh and features actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vidya Balan.UNI RB NV AE GC1536

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Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (79), who passed away at New Delhi this morning, after a brief illness. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described Sayeed as a leader of masses, seasoned politician, an able administrator and true Parliamentarian and above all, a fine human being with the rare qualities of head and heart. He said in the death of Sayeed, a void has been created in the political circles of the country in general and that of Jammu and Kashmir in particular, which would be difficult to be filled in the near future. Sharing his heartfelt condolences with the members of the bereaved family, specially his daughter Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti, Mr Badal prayed to the Almighty to give courage to bear this huge loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed soul.UNI DB RJ AS1555 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-526004.Xml
Former defence minister A.K. Antony on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence on the terror attack at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab. "There was a serious lapse and there were enough hints... but no action has been taken. Hence, Modi should tell the country as to what happened," Antony said at a public meeting here. It was the first public appearance of the senior Congress leader after his visit to the US for a medical check-up. "The attack occurred after Modi visited Pakistan. The country wants to know how this attack occurred. It is a serious matter. The prime minister cannot remain silent anymore and has to speak up and tell the country what happened," Antony added. Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early Saturday morning on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan. All the six terrorists were killed by security forces later. --Indo Asian News Service sg/tsb/vt ( 176 Words) 2016-01-07-16:25:35 (IANS)
Uttar Pradesh police has traced out the missing Dalit woman along with her four-month-old daughter from Punjab. Superintendent of Police (SP) Jawahar Kushawaha confirmed to UNI here that the woman has been recovered from Punjab as she was staying with her lover. However, the SP refused to give further detail about the recovery. Meanwhile, police said the MMS sent to the family members of the woman was an old one, which had already debated on one of the national channel way back in February last year. The video at that time, first surfaced in Hyderabad, police investigation revealed. Earlier, a police team had been sent to Punjab to locate the woman, while an FIR was registered on the basis of MMS of the gang rape of the woman, sent to the family members. Police sources said that the MMS was an old one and it did not relate with the woman, who is missing since November 23 last. On November 23 last year, the aggrieved family approached the Sunghadi police in Pilibhit district with a complaint that their daughter had been kidnapped by some unidentified goons. But, police turned them away, refusing to lodge an FIR in the case. Forty days after that, yesterday, the family received an MMS from the criminals that showed the girl being gangraped. The woman left for Badaun, her in-laws place, on a bus via Bareilly on November 23 but after Bareilly, her mobile phone got switched off. Thereafter, there was no news of the woman so far. The woman had come to Pilibhit during Diwali festival to her parent's place and was returning back to her in-laws house in Badaun, when the incident occurred. The SP said a police team had been sent to Bareilly and the Circle Officer of the city is handling the case now. The mobile number from which the MMS was sent is being traced by surveillance team. The woman from Pilibhit was probably kidnapped somewhere in Bareilly while on her way to Badaun on November 23. After Sungadhi police turned them away when they went to them with a missing person complaint, the family of the woman petitioned everyone they knew for help, but without success. Matters escalated only after the sister of the victim received an eight minute rape clip through WhatsApp.UNI MB RJ CS1642 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-526117.Xml
Swatch Bharat Mission Director Dr Nipun Vinayaktoday called upon the Corporate Sector to invest 10 per cent oftheir earnings in the Swatch Bharat Abhyana taken up on PPP model. Speaking on the sidelines of a Session in National ScienceCongress which concluded here, he said the Corporate Sector shoulddisplay their social responsibility by joining the nation buildingmission. "If you spend one dollar in the sanitation you will get ninedollars in return, he added. He said that now the focus has been shifted from building oftoilets to that of a stress on behavioral change. Over 3.5 milliontoilets built earlier are not being used due to lack of behavioralchange. Hence, he said that the target is not how many toilets arebeing built, but how many villages have become free of open defecation. He said that Sikim State has become free from open defecationwhile in other States there exists 50 per cent open defecation. Theopen defecation was just 4 per cent in Bangaladesh and ten per centin Sri Lanka. He said open defecation causes diarrhea and pneumonia leading todeaths of several lakh children in the country every year. Dr Vinayak said that the District Collectors and representativesof Panchayats are trained in such skils to effectively disseminatethe menace of open defecation. The private partnership throughcorporate social responsibility is also being used for the purpose. Speaking on the occasion Priya Nair, Executive Director and VicePresident, Hindustan Liver Ltd, said that they have already startedthis mission and trying to reach out 75 million Indians across thecountry. They will also taken up Swatch Basti modal in Mumbai andDelhi slums shortly.UNI BSP MSP KVV AK1620 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-526135.Xml
"Karnataka has comeforward to sanction 100 acres of land andother infrastructure for the Park," he added.

Speaking after inaugurating Indha Pharma and India Medical Expohere he said that an MoU for establishing the Pharma Park will besigned by the Karnataka Government during the 'Investors Meet' to beheld next month.

He said that Pharma Park will come up at Gujarat, Rajastan,Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Hyderabad besides Karnataka.

Mr Kumar said that out of five tablets taken by people in theworld One are manufactured in India.

Stating that China is the main competitor to India, Mr Kumar saidthat if the prices comes down by 30 per cent India can compete inthe world market effectively. Since last 30 years the Drug Industryis progressing in phased manner.

The Minister assured that he will bring to the knowledge of UnionFinance Minister about the need for continuing tax rebate to R and Dsector which is backbone for Drug Research and development.He will lead a delegation of Drug manufacturers.

Mr Kumar said that steps have been taken to establish 12 NationalInstitute of Pharmacetical Education and Research (NIPER) forproviding Human Resources to Drug Industries. The Institute will beopened at Mohali, Ahamadabad, Hyderabad, Madurai, Raiberli,Hanjipura, Kolkota, Gauwati. "Proposal has been sent for inclusionin the 2016-17 budget for establishing NIPER in Karnataka, MadhyaPradesh and Andhra," he added.

Karnataka Minister R V Deshpande, speaking on the occasion,assured all help from the State government for the proposed Pharma Park.UNI MSP KVV AK1630

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A Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) delegation today expressed keen interest in partnering with the Haryana government in the areas of education, information technology, solar energy, green technology, agriculture and sports. The ICCC delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in Ontario Patrick Brown, called on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here. Interacting with the delegation, Mr Khattar described his visit to Canada a great experience as there is lot of similarities in both the countries politically and economically. He informed that the state government has decided to organise Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit on March 7 and 8 at Gurgaon where entrepreneurs from across the globe would participate. While expressing willingness for large participation from Canadian entrepreneurs, the Chief Minister invited Mr Patrick in the summit. Apart from this, Pravasi Haryana Diwas would also be organised on the following day of the two-day summit on March 9 at Gurgaon, he added. Mr Patrick Brown, leader of the largest party in the Ontario legislature, said that Canadian entrepreneurs are very much keen to invest in Haryana as the state offers fertile ground for all kinds of investment and a conducive environment for industry to flourish. The Canadian leader, who is on his sixteenth tour to India, said that Haryana is a success state in all spheres. He considered Haryana as his second home after Canada as there are lot of similarities in Canada and Haryana. Describing Mr Khattar as a visionary Chief Minister, Mr Brown said that now Haryana is offering very promising opportunities and it is very opportune for Haryana to have Mr Manohar Lal Khattar as its Chief Minister.More UNI DB ADG AS1642 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-526069.Xml
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today said a master plan of Rs 625 crore has been prepared for the development of hill shrine and its surrounding areas. In a release here, the Chief Minister said Rs 100 crore project has been chalked out for the development of Erumeli. The State Government has spent Rs 65 crore already for the development of Sabarimala this year and Rs 40 crore will be spent next year and development of infrastructure facilities at Sabarimala is the top priority of government, he pointed out. The Chief Minister said the previous UPA Government had handed over 13 hectare forest land between Sannidhanam and Pamba for the development of Sabarimala. Various facilities including queue complexes are functioning on this land. He said major chunk of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala are from South India. The state government is committed in setting up more infrastructure facilities for the pilgrims with the participation of southern states, he noted. Mr Chandy said a decision to allot five acres of land at Nilakkal to Southern states was taken as part of this move. Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have expressed their interest to take over the land. The Chief Minister said the government expect that Andhra Pradesh would come forward soon. The pilgrims from other States would be benefited, if officials from neighbouring states and their office start functioning at Sabarimala, he added. UNI DS KVV AK 1655 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-526067.Xml
Andhra Pradesh Government will take up innovative programmes to create awareness among farmers and villagers about the availability of underground water resources and water levels by organising demonstrations, displaying maps and photos.In a Tele-conference with the officials here today, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said in Kurnool district the people were apprised about the underground water levels in their areas by displaying maps and photos, which received overwhelming response. The Chief Minister asked the officials to organise similar programme in all the villages so that the farmers and villagers could know the underground water resources in their respective areas. Comparing consumption of water with withdrawing money from bank, the Chief Minister said that everybody would see the bank balance before withdrawing money. If the balance is less, they withdraw lesser money and the same should be applied in utilising underground water, he reasoned. Mr.Naidu also asked officials to prepare latest statistics on underground water levels.UNI DP KVV AK 1750 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-526433.Xml
Mr Sandeep Garg, Secretary, Home-II department and Joint Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections has been posted as Secretary, Finance department against a vacant post while Mr Saket Kumar, awaiting orders of posting, has been posted as Director, Ayush vice MrGulshan Ahuja.

Mr Vivek Atray, Director and Special Secretary, Industries and Commerce department has been given the additional charge of Director, Renewable Energy vice Mr Rajnarayan Kaushik, who has been posted as Additional Secretary, Home-II department and Joint Commissioner Gurdwara Elections.

Mr Dhirendra Khadgata, ADC-cum-CEO, DRDA and Special Officer, APZ, Bhiwani has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Board of School Education, Bhiwani against a vacant post.UNI DB AE AS1724

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The BJP was instigating clashes between Hindus and Muslims by adopting the "divide and rule" policy of the British Raj for the party's political advantage, Patel reservation agitation leader Hardik Patel has said. Hardik Patel said this in a letter sent on Thursday to Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. The 22-year-old Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener, who has been leading an agitation for reservation for the Patel community, sent another letter to members of his community to give up the indefinite hunger strike to press for his release from custody. Patel's letter to the chief minister, a copy of which was also sent to state BJP president R.C. Faldu, said his fight was not only to demand reservation in jobs and education but also for the abolition of discrimination between men and women and between rich and poor. Patel, who has been charged with sedition and is under custody, said members of the community had made sacrifices for the rise of the BJP in Gujarat in the last two decades but now at least 80 of them were serving jail terms since the 2002 communal violence. He said he was surprised by the chief minister's recent remarks accusing the agitating Patel members as selfish. "The BJP has made use of Patel votes and money to come to power. Now that the party has come to power, its government has killed as many as 10 Patel youths and jailed hundreds of us. Don't be under the illusion that you (Anandiben Patel) will continue to enjoy power for long," he warned. "Patels are now united. We are neither the pocket-borough of the BJP nor are agents of the Congress. We will throw out those who have betrayed the community. "The BJP has still not risen above strife between Hindus and Muslims and between upper castes and lower castes," he said. He, however, apologised to the chief minister for "any mistakes" that he might have committed during the pro-reservation agitation. He said his agitation was a reaction to growing unemployment and poverty in the state. "There are thousands who are forced to go without food in Gujarat, farmers are being driven to commit suicide, higher education has become exorbitantly expensive. The reservation agitation by the Patel youths was a reaction to all this," he said. Hardik Patel said that though the chief minister was herself a Patel, she unleashed police on the Patel youths and sent them to jail. "She is not a Patel," he said. By withdrawing some cases against the pro-quota agitators, he said it was like first slapping them on the face and then apologising for the slap. Meanwhile, Anandiben Patel held a meeting with some of her cabinet colleagues and Patel leaders over reaching an agreement on withdrawing cases against the agitating Patel youths who were still behind bars. --Indo-Asian News Service desai/pm/dg ( 487 Words) 2016-01-07-19:15:36 (IANS)
A 16-year-old girl student was allegedly repeatedly raped by her school lecturer for about five months by threatening to upload the videos on the net in Lakshmipura village at Bundi district of Rajasthan, police said today.Lecturer Ramesh Kumar Nayak sexually assaulted the XI standard student about five months and repeated the crime by blackmailing the student of uploading the videos on net, Talera police station SHO Jitendra Singh said. Nayak, a Hindi lecturer at a senior secondary school, was promoted as principal and transferred to a school in Ramgangbalaji village two months ago, but he continued his contact with the girl, Mr Singh said.The victim, in her complaint, has alleged that despite being a winter break in school, the accused had called the girl five days ago and raped her in a nearby jungle, he said.The girl, struggling with guilt and depression, told her parents about the ordeal yesterday. Her parents lodged a complaint against the accused, who has been absconding since then.The accused, a resident of Bundi, was booked under Section 376 of the IPC and relevant Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SHO added.UNI PJJ RJ AE 1915 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-526803.Xml
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai today held a meeting with other Cabinet colleagues, senior officials and discussed with them the impact of the odd-even formula in the city.Addressing a press conference here, Mr Rai said,''A meeting comprising Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain, Environment Minister Imran Hussain and other senior officials was held earlier in the day to assess the impact of the odd-even scheme and it was found that pollution levels have dipped since its implementation.''It was found that buses on an average were running with minimum passengers and there was still space for 8 to 10 lakh passengers, he said.''We also held a meeting with auto-drivers and received positive response from them,'' Mr Rai said.Informing about challans issued in the day, Mr Rai said around 295 people were challaned till evening.Also, 40,000 people had so far downloaded the 'Poochh-O' app on their smartphones to avail services of autos and taxis.Regarding the pollution data, Mr Rai said interior pockets of the city had seen welcome results.''Pollution levels that used to range between 400-450 during this time and climatic conditions had lowered to as low as 161,'' he said.Speaking about giving permanency to the formula, the Delhi Transport Minister said,''We will take feedback after the drill is complete and then then after compare it with the data received from car-free day.The levels of pollution in these activities will be analysed and anything substantial would follow later on.''The Delhi government had proposed the odd-even formula to curb the rising menace of pollution in the national capital, under which restrictions will be imposed on private vehicles based on their registration numbers and violators will be penalised with a sum of Rs 2,000 as fine. The restrictions are an interim measure to be in place for 15 days from 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs, except Sunday. Women drivers, two-wheelers, CNG-certified vehicles, VIPs are among the 25 categories exempted from the scheme.UNI PR DJK AE 1940 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0412-526817.Xml
According to an official information, Collector Pannalal Solanki, Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Pandey and senior officials of the District Forest Division reached the ravines at the village yesterday.

Land mafia had cleared forests in more than 3,000 bigha land and had put it into cultivation. More than 25 borings had been done on the land. On seeing the team arrive, over 50 people fled from the spot.

Official sources claimed that most encroachers belong to Rajasthans Baran district. Besides, land mafia from Sheopur district are also involved. All the tube-wells have been razed to the ground. Hundreds of cut trees have been seized besides tractors and other resources.

The anti-encroachment drive continued for nine hours. Steps are being taken to identify land mafia and register cases against them. Freed land is estimated to value at over Rs 300 crore. UNI XC-PS CJ AS1911

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-526585.Xml
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said the party is not against talks with Pakistan, but these should be specific and issue-based and shawl-saari diplomacy is unacceptable. Addressing a press conference here in connection with Pathankot terror attack, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the foreign policy of the Modi government is directionless, that leads to sour relations with Nepal and other neighboring countries. He said after Dinanagar attack, in the last seven months it is the second attack but nothing has come out of the probe of Dinanagar case. While paying homage to the martyrs, the AAP leader said it is because of the sacrifice of Jawans that the people of country are safe today. He said that the Prime Minister has no right to disgrace the armed forces. Security of the nation is a serious issue and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not tackle the issue in a childish way, he added. Attacking the Badal government, Mr Singh said that the nexus of Akali leaders, drug peddlers and terrorists resulted in Pathankot terror attack. He said the role of Punjab Police SP is doubtful in the case and it is assumed that he might have helped terrorists to reach the attack spot. It is clearly visible from the contradictory statements of the SP and his presence at the odd hours, that too in an area where he is not posted and without his security guard, raises serious questions. Moreover, such postings are directly overseen by the political masters and the Home Minister of the state in particular, he added. The AAP leader said all these developments raise several questions about the possibility of narco-politician-terrorists nexus. He said it is very much doubtful why the terrorists spared the SP, who also met a political leader night before the attack, and killed the taxi driver. He demanded a probe by a committee, led by a Supreme Court judge, as the issue is related to the security of the nation and it should be taken seriously. AAP Punjab Convenor Suchha Singh Chottepur and AAP legal cell head Himmat Singh Shergil were also present on the occasion.UNI DB RJ RK1908 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-526621.Xml
In a statement issued here today, Capt Singh said, ''In Mufti Sahabs death the country had lost a great statesman. He said, the void created by his death will be difficult to be fulfilled,'' he said.

Praying for the peace to the departed soul, the former Chief Minister expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. UNI XC AJ AS1903

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A Mahila Court here today convicted and sentenced a 46-year-old man to undergo ten years Rigorous Imprisonment (R.I) for sexually assaulting a 11-year-old girl in 2010. The culprit Murugan a, a Coolie labourer sexually assaulted the girl in an isolated location at Kalkudi village near Viralimalai on July 27, 2010. The girl, a Class six student of government school at that time of incident, was going to the field to assist her mother. On a complaint from the victims parents, Viralimalai police had registered a case and arrested Murugan. When the case came up for hearing, A.Leyahath Ali, Sessions Judge, Mahila Court sentenced Murugan to ten years R.I and slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on him, failing which he should undergo another one year imprisonment term. Later, he was lodged in Tiruchirapalli Central Prison. UNI GSM KVV AK1955 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-526887.Xml
The 103rd Indian Science Congress held at thecentury old University of Mysore came to end with great success withlargest delegates of 12500, a sort of record in the history ,attended in the five days mega event which discussed futureadvancement on science and technology . The theme for the year 2016 was "Science and technology for indigenous development in India". The biggest Science and Technology meet of India was inaugurated and presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Make in India" a term coined by the PM, was acknowledged in various platforms during the meet. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, speaking on the valedictoryfunction, called upon the scientists particularly the youngsters totake forward the nation top among the world leaders in the field ofscience and technology. However, regretted that some of ideas andsuggestions made during his tenure as prime minister was not takenoff well. Complemented Prof K S Rangappa vice chancellor of University ofMysore for his efforts to bring the biggest science congress of thecountry to this university which is celebrating centaury year. Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala and Higher EducationMinister T B Jayachandra spoke on the occasion. Several awards of 103rd Indian Science Congress for the youngscientists of the country was presented on the occasion. Dr Ashok Kukamr Saxena, General President of the ISC handed over the torch to next president Dr D Narayna Rao. Mr Rao announced that the next 104 Indian Science Congress will be held SRM University ofChennai from January 3 to 7 2017. In over 50 halls around the campus, 620 hours of platformpresentations. This includes plenary sessions, sectional sessions and special talks. Sectional sessions were held at BIMS Auditorium, IOE Seminar Hall, B. M. Shree and Senate Bhavan. Over 5000 speakers delivered talks on various topics and addressed various issues. A total of 12,500 delegated and 500 Scientists participated at the 103rd Indian Science Congress. Over 150 institutions from around India and abroad took part in the meet.Sectional sessions and symposiums were held on 14 topics, namely,Agriculture and Forensic Science, Animal, Veterinary and FisherySciences, Anthropological and Behavioral Sciences, Chemical Science,Earth System Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environment Sciences,Information and Communication Science and Technology, MaterialSciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences, New Biology,Physical Sciences and Plant Sciences. The most awaited part of the ISC was the talks by Nobel laureatesScientists; Prof John B Gurdon, UK, Nobel in 2012 for Medicine , Prof Manjul Bhargava, USA, Fields Medal (Nobel Equivalent) in 2014, Prof David J Gross, USA, Nobel in 2004 for Physics, Prof Dan Shechtman, Israel, Nobel in 2011 for Chemistry, Prof Serge Haroche, France, Nobel in 2012 for Physics and Arthur B. McDonald, Canada, Nobel in 2015. Eminent Indian Scientists like Prof C N R Rao, Prof Kasturirangan and Prof Goverdhan Mehta and others also delivered lectures and expressed their views on the science development in the country. Overall, strong congregations of around 500 Scientists were present at 103rd Indian Science Congress. On the inaugural day of the 103rd Indian Science Congress organised at the University of Mysore, twelve scientists from India who made a mark in their respective fields and the six Nobel Laureates who were invited as speakers on the occasion of the science congress received gold medals from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The scientists who are the recipients of the honour were Prof. Bhola Ishwar, Dr. C N Manjunath, Prof. Dinesh Kumar, Dr N.K Venkataramanaa, Dr. J N Murthy, Prof. E.D Jemmis, Prof. Satyamurthy Lakkavalli, Prof. M Y S Prasad, the recipient of the Padma Shri and the Vikram Sarabhai award, Prof. Aditya Shastri, Prof. Meenakshi Balakrishnan and Dr Tarun Kant. Womans Science Congress which was inaugurated by HRD Minister Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani calling for inclusive participation of women was appreciated by all. Children Science Congress which was inaugurated by Nobel Laureate John B Gurdon called for youth participation and added that it is necessary that we introduce and create awareness among children at early age. Children, who achieved great feat in the field of science and technology were identified and felicitated. Science Exhibition was a major attraction in the 103rd Indian Science Congress which features exhibits from DRDO, ONGC, Biocon, NTPC, HAL, KBITS, ASL, and various other organizations both private and government attracted a huge crowd. This also featured a Hall of Fame, an apt tribute to our former President, Late. APJ. Kalam. The other crowd puller was Children exhibition arena as part of Children Science Congress. More then 2 lakh School children from across the city and other states visited the exhibition and got insight. In all, the 103rd Indian Science Congress was a feast for theintellectual minds as it explored various aspects of science.UNI BSP RS KVV AK2025 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-527047.Xml
The state government will finalise the name ofthe retired judge who will be appointed as the Lok Ayukta in twodays, CM Siddaramaiah said. He said the government is considering two retired judges, JusticesS R Nayak and Vikramjit Sen. He said the final decision will betaken in two days. Speaking to newsmen s at Periyapatna that the government will notdelay the process of appointing the next Lok Ayukta and will sendthe name to the governor Vajubhai Vala. He said there are no chargesagainst Justice Nayak. Later Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for widening anddevelopment works of Hassan-ramanathapura-priyapata state highway21. With world bank assistance the total project cost is Rs 221.93cores. While speaking to reporters at t Hassan, the CM said Congress isready for the elections to the Zilla and Taluk panchayats. He saidthe party is focusing on winning the ZP and TP polls seriously andwill chalk out a strategy. The CMs visit to Hassan, a bastion of JDS, comes days after theparty trounced the JDS in the elections to the legislative councilfrom the Hassan local authorities constituency.UNI BSP RS KVV AK2030 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-527056.Xml
An eleven-year-old Kashmiri boy identified as Arshad Ahmed, resident of Kupwara in J&K, was reportedly murdered with sharp-edged weapons by unidentified miscreants in local Bhagatpura locality on today, police said. Javed Akhtar father of the deceased said he was selling Kashmiri shawls by roaming door to door in Phagwara and was residing in a quarter with five other kashmiris in Gali no 5 in Bhagatpura Phagwara. His son came from his village ten days back. He went to the market to sell the shawls leaving his son behind to cook food, but found his son lying on the floor in the pool of blood. Superintendent of the Police Phagwara Ashwini Kumar and DSP Manpreet Dhillon rushed to the spot. He told reporters that the body of the boy had multiple injuries near abdomen and neck. The Police has registered a case under section 302 IPC and investigating the case. Former Minister Joginder Singh Maan and Councilors Sarabjit Kaur and Paramjit Kaur also rushed to the murdered site. Interestingly the killers did not took away cash of Rs 90,000 lying in a trunk in the quarter, said SP Ashwini. The body of the deceased has been sent to local civil hospital for post-mortem examination. The police is working on various angles to find out the cause of murder.UNI XC AE NS2001 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-526670.Xml
The 79-year-old leader was admitted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for the past 15 days and was on ventilator, he breathed his last on Thursday morning.

Union Home Ministers Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office Dr Jitendra Singh, former J&K chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior political leaders across party lines and officers of the state government attended the last rites of the departed leader.

The Union Cabinet, under Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, passed a resolution on Thursday expressing profound sorrow on the demise of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed.

It said the nation has lost an eminent and distinguished leader, a true nationalist and a stalwart from Jammu and Kashmir. The Cabinet has extended its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

The Jammu and Kashmir government announced a holiday on Thursday and a seven-day mourning as a mark of respect to the departed Chief Minister.

An official order in this regard said that the flags atop buildings of constitutional authorities and state government establishments will fly at half-mast during the mourning period.

The national flag will fly at half mast on Thursday in the capitals of all states and Union Territories as a mark of respect to Sayeed. (ANI)
"Digital India is going great. We are working on digital literacy, and we aim to educate 1 crore people of this country under digital literacy through different programmes," Prasad said in an interview to ETV.

"We are interconnecting 2.5 lakhs gram panchayats, which would be over by the end of next year," he added.

Prasad also outlined the benefits of electronic manufacturing, common service centre for the common people.

"The government is also working on e-governance, which would let people avail certificates of caste and agriculture easily very easily," he said.

The Telecom Minister also said the government is getting a plan ready to bring 22 constitutional languages under computerised Digital India programme.

"Almost 10 languages have been done, but 12 are left, which would be done very soon," he added.

Prasad also pointed out that the 4 G technology would be a game changer in the country.

When asked to respond on telecom companies moving to court over issue of compensation for call drops, Prasad said the government would answer them in the court only.

"But I want to tell all the telecom companies that they need to rectify the call drop system. I am working to best of my abilities and I want this situation to improve," he added. (ANI)
Chinese author Feng Tang, whose translation of a collection of poems by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had created controversy, has pulled out from Delhi World Book Fair 2016, casting a shadow on the event where China is the guest of honour. Ten authors from China were expected to participate in the nine-day fair, touted as Asia's largest book fair, which is slated to begin from Saturday at Delhi's Pragati Maidan. Feng was in the eye of a storm over the obscene language used in the translation of "Stray Birds," a collection of poems by Tagore, from English to Chinese. Consequently the work was withdrawn from the shelves by Zhejiang Wenyi Publishing House in December last year. According to media reports, Fang has been pulled out of the book fair fearing adverse reaction in India. However, the Chinese delegation told IANS that the author cited personal reasons for pulling out of the delegation. "Author Feng Tang has cited personal reasons for not participating in the book fair. It's only on December 31 that we received this news from him. We had made all arrangement for his trip," said Lin Linying, director, Beijing International Book Fair. She further added that she came to know about more details from Indian media reports. In his book, Feng translated the original lines "The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover" into Chinese to read "The world unzipped his pants in front of his lover". In another instance, instead of the word "hospitable" in the line "The great earth makes herself hospitable with the help of the grass", Feng uses the Chinese word "sao" which is closer to the English word "flirtatious", as quoted by the Chinese media. Denying knowledge of the development, Rita Chowdhury, director, National Book Trust said that they were not aware of the withdrawal. "There was no communication from the Chinese side on this. So I don't want to comment on this," she said. As the Guest of Honour country, China has a significant presence in the fair with a delegation of 257 comprising publishing houses, authors among others. The effort is to boost the ties between both the countries, said Lin. Major attractions of the Chinese pavilion will be India-China cultural contacts photo exhibition, contemporary Chinese books display, collection of children's books, a Chinese digital publication area and many more. "To attract students, we have 300 titles of translations and illustrations of children's books from Chinese and it's free for children," added Lin. The other authors from China include Liu Zhenyun, Mai Jia (whose book is published by Penguin), Wang Xufeng, Xi Chuan, Shu Ting, children's author Cao Wenxuan, Lan Lan, and Xiong Liang --Indo-Asian News Service pn/anu/vd ( 464 Words) 2016-01-07-21:39:36 (IANS)
The padyatra had started on January 12 last year and will reach Kanpur a year after it was flagged off from Kanyakumari.

The padyatra is organised by Manav Ekta Mission and is aimed at spreading communal peace and brotherhood amongst people.

Government spokesman said today that a few officials of Manav Ekta Mission had met Chief Minister on November 19 last and had requested him to receive this yatra in Kanpur. Chief Minister has given his assent to receive the yatra in UP, he said.

The proposed yatra will cover 913 kms and will cover 13 districts of the state. It will leave UP on February 11 and head towards Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Kashmir.UNI MB CJ AJ 2114

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-526987.Xml
"I really wanted to meet the students of the institute. I am willing to talk to protesting students any time and listen to their grievances," Chauhan told reporters here.

When asked to respond on the protesting students, Chauhan said, "Staging a protest is someone's democratic right, taking action on them is not under our jurisdictions it is for police to look into the matter."

"I came here to fulfill my responsibilities and the meeting has been very fruitful and it has been conducted with lot of positive attitude," he said.

"The most prominent part of the meetings was that the decisions were taken unanimously without any opposition," he added.

The newly appointed Chairman outlined that the governing council was committed to the Union Government's vision of transforming FTII into a national institute of excellence.

Chauhan, who had a forgettable outing on first day as FTII chairman, saw 40 of the agitating students allegedly manhandled and detained by the Pune police. (ANI)
"He will meet External Affairs Minister (Sushma Swaraj) for bilateral talks of mutual interest. He will also meet the Indian leadership during his stay," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing.

Al-Muallem will be accompanied by four other delegation members - the vice foreign minister, the advisor to the deputy prime minister, chief of cabinet of the deputy prime minister and another official from the minister's office.

The visit assumes importance in view of fresh initiatives taken by the UN to bring about peace in war-torn Syria, where more than 300,000 people have been killed in the past four years and seven million have fled to other countries.

European nations have also witnessed a huge influx of Syrian refugees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Moscow last month, held detailed talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the growing threat of Islamic State and the Syrian crisis.

Since the Paris terror attack, many Western nations have directly or indirectly established contact with the Syrian government to counter activities of the Islamic State.

Special advisor to the Syrian president, Buthina Shaban, had visited India in March 2013.

--Indo-Asian News Service ab-manzoor/vd

( 234 Words)

2016-01-07-22:41:37 (IANS)
The state government has turned down Jadavpur Universitys (JU) proposal to hold the student union election at the varsity on February 18. The rejection has resulted an among the students, and a section of them who are associated with CPI(M)s student wing, the Student Federation of India (SFI), has launched in an instant agitation at the campus. The executive council of JU had on January 5 taken a decision to conduct the student union poll on February 18 and sent a proposal to the state higher education department on this yesterday. The present student union will exhaust its one year term on January 31. In reply, the higher education department today sent a communique stating that the poll could not be held until May as was told by a circular on November 29. The reason behind this is the high and higher secondary exams that will begin next month, and then the Assembly elections tentatively scheduled for April-May. Higher education department had issued the circular, following an announcement in this regard by state education minister Partha Chatterjee. But the governments decision has been facing severe criticism from the Opposition student organisations, especially those belonging to the Left parties, who allege it to be an attempt to rob democratic rights of the students. SFI and other Left leaning student organisations have been mounting pressure on JU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das for some time now, to hold the union election at the varsity at the earliest. Consequent on this, the varsitys executive council took an unanimous decision to conduct the poll on 18 February and the counting of votes the next day. Ruling Trinamool Congress student wing, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, have very little support base at JU. Hence, the union poll, if conducted ahead of the Assembly polls, will result in a setback for the ruling party.UNI BM AJ NS2245 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-527145.Xml
The alleged member of the terror group, identified as Maulana Anzar Shah, was arrested on Wednesday night, Police sources said.

According to sources, he was plotting to carry out a series of terror strikes in the country. "The aim of the group was to attack some prominent leaders along with the crowded and tourist places."

Shah has been brought to Delhi on transit remand and would be produced at the Patiala House court here on Friday.

He was arrested by the anti-terrorist Special Cell wing of Delhi Police in its ongoing operation against al-Qaida in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS).

The Special Cell had in December last year arrested two AQIS operatives Zafar Masood and Abdul Rehman. Reportedly, Shah's name popped up during their interrogation.

Another terrorist in custody, Mohammed Asif, the recruitment and training head of AQIS, had also confessed to meeting Shah at a religious congregation in Bengaluru, sources said.

According to sources, Shah had reactivated himself to provide logistical support when contacted by the AQIS operatives.

The Special Cell also has the details of financial transaction between them and Shah, the source added.

--Indo-Asian News Service rak/pku

( 220 Words)

2016-01-08-01:59:37 (IANS)
Park and Obama spoke by phone for about 20 minutes, sharing views that North Korea should pay a corresponding price for its nuclear test while agreeing to maintain close cooperation in adopting strong resolutions in the UN rapidly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Obama stressed the need for the strongest and the most comprehensive sanctions against Pyongyang, according to the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

North Korea on Wednesday announced that it had successfully conducted its first test of a hydrogen bomb, the fourth nuclear test in total, which Pyongyang claimed was a perfect success.

Obama vowed to take all necessary measures to defend the safety of South Korea, saying that its commitment to the defence of its ally is unflappable.

In response, Park appreciated Obama reaffirming Washington's defence commitment and expressing its strong will to tackle Pyongyang's nuclear test, saying that she anticipates close cooperation with the US at the UN Security Council.

Park and Obama agreed to address North Korea's nuclear issue with the most urgency and robust will, sharing views that North Korea's nuclear test should be tackled in cooperation with Japan and China.

Seoul's foreign ministry said earlier Thursday that South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se and his US counterpart John Kerry had a phone conversation overnight to discuss countermeasures following North Korea's nuclear test.

--Indo-Asian News Service ksk

( 264 Words)

2016-01-07-10:23:37 (IANS)
President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi today discussed their "mutual concern" over Saudi Arabia's execution of Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and attacks on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Iran, the White House said."They agreed on the need for all regional parties to demonstrate restraint, avoid provocative rhetoric or behavior, and avoid a worsening of sectarian tensions," the White House said in a statement. "They agreed on the importance that all parties maintain diplomatic engagement and dialogue."REUTERS GAU PR 0405 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-525411.Xml
US presidential candidates and members of Congress demanded more sanctions on North Korea after its latest nuclear test, but major powers will likely be reluctant to take the tough steps necessary to force Pyongyang to abandon its weapons program, former U.S. officials and analysts said.North Korea is already under a wide array of international sanctions, and diplomats said UN Security Council members were expected to discuss the possibility of adding to these in coming days. But the steps taken so far stop short of the all-out economic offensive that forced Iran to the nuclear negotiating table.Asia analysts said China would likely support more UN sanctions, even though it is North Korea's neighbor and main ally, but within limits, for fear of destabilizing what has long been a physical buffer between it and US backed South Korea.Washington, too, has been cautious. While U.S. sanctions have aggressively targeted Pyongyang's military and weapons program, the United States has not imposed crippling economic sanctions, in part because these would hit Chinese firms and banks that do the vast bulk of business with North Korea, former US officials said."We are deeply interlinked and if you hold an economic gun to China's head, you are holding it to your own head," said Joseph DeThomas, a former U.S. diplomat who worked on sanctions on North Korea and Iran, referring to the close economic relations between the world's two largest economies.Republican front-runner Donald Trump urged China to rein in its ally or face trade repercussions, while his main Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, said the United States should tighten sanctions on North Korea and called on Beijing to be more assertive in deterring Pyongyang's "irresponsible actions."U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States would work with the international community on an "appropriate response" to Pyongyang. He said this would be "measured, deliberate, tough, clear and concise."DeThomas, the former diplomat, said China could exert more pressure on North Korea by restricting energy supplies and investment in areas such as minerals and mining. It could also restrict informal border trade, or even take a different approach to North Korean refugees - allowing them in rather than shutting them out.In 2013 China, which has often played as moderating influence on North Korea, cut crude oil exports to North Korea as an apparent punishment for an earlier nuclear test.But DeThomas said any discussions on sanctions at the United Nations would go nowhere close to the steps necessary to effect change in North Korea."From China's perspective, North Korean nuclear weapons are a bad thing, but the collapse of the North Korean regime would be worse thing," DeThomas said.NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS BILLRepublican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are considering a vote as soon as next week on long-delayed legislation to impose stiffer punishments on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang, U.S. congressional sources said yesterday.The bill would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.A Republican congressional aide said U.S. sanctions could go even further by freezing the assets of North Korean leaders as they had targeted leaders in Belarus, Zimbabwe and Russia, or focus on money laundering as they had done in Myanmar and Iran.Jeff Bader, Obama's top Asia adviser during his first term, said the Obama administration had discussed in the past going after the assets of North Korean leaders. But tracking down their finances would be no easy task, said Bader, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank.Peter Harrell, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for counter-threat finance and sanctions, said blockading major sectors of North Korea's economy, like textiles, could have an impact and convince Chinese firms to back away from North Korea trade. But he said the policy could backfire if it alienated Beijing or made North Korea more aggressive.Unlike in the case of Iran, the United States has not sought to strangle regular trade between North Korea and the international community, with threats to blacklist any company that does business in the country.To cut Tehran off from international trade, Washington used so-called "secondary sanctions" that threatened to expel from the financial system any company, anywhere in the world, that purchased oil from Iran. But secondary sanctions against Pyongyang have so far remained off the table.Adam Smith, a former senior adviser at the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces US sanctions, said even the toughest steps might not change North Korea's behavior, given its small, isolated economy, which unlike Iran's had few international connections."It's not clear to me that if they maxed out sanctions and made it like Iran that it would make any policy difference," he said. REUTERS GAU PR 0525 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-525431.Xml
President Barack Obama talked by phone on Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about the international response to North Korea's nuclear test, the White House said. Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Japan's security and the two leaders "agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior," the White House said in a statement. "Separately, the President congratulated Prime Minister Abe on the recent agreement between Japan and the ROK (South Korea) to resolve the longstanding 'comfort women' issue," the statement said. REUTERS AY PR0841 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0352-525459.Xml
As the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan today came under cloud after Indias tough message to Pakistan on Pathankot terror attack, China today expressed the hope that the two countries will ''properly deal'' with their bilateral problem through dialogue.Beijing said India and Pakistan should maintain the momentum in normalising their ties.''China welcomes all actions that are conducive to improvement of relations between India and Pakistan,'' Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a media briefing here.She also said China supports the joint counter-terror operations between the two countries.Earlier, China had condemned the Pathankot terror attack.UNI XC NAZ AJ 2133 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-527082.Xml
Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan's isolation in his island jail near Istanbul amounts to an "invitation to war", a prominent pro-Kurdish lawmaker said today, as conflict flares between security forces and rebels in southeast Turkey.Ocalan, jailed in 1999, has not been allowed visits by a delegation of pro-Kurdish lawmakers since April. The 67-year-old leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has also not seen any family members since 2014 or his lawyers since 2011.Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast is currently experiencing its worst violence since the 1990s after a two-year ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish state collapsed in July, wrecking a peace process launched by Ankara and Ocalan."Isolating Ocalan, sowing worries among the people about his life, safety and health conditions, is issuing an invitation to war," said Sirri Sureyya Onder, spokesman for the delegation that often visited Ocalan before the peace process fell apart."The path to prevent this is clear ... They must enable Ocalan to speak with his lawyers, us and his family," he told a news conference in the capital Ankara.Two inmates sent to join Ocalan in jail on the island of Imrali to end his isolation were transferred to another prison two weeks ago, Onder added. Ocalan's family have voiced concerns about his well-being.PEACE PROCESS "ON ICE"Onder stressed that his comments should not be understood as a "call to war". His Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says it is opposed to violence and wants a peaceful solution for Turkey's large Kurdish minority.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan initiated the peace talks with Ocalan in 2012 with the aim of ending a three-decade conflict with the PKK which has killed around 40,000 people.Erdogan, who says the peace process is now "on ice", said yesterday some lawmakers and mayors from the HDP were behaving like members of a terrorist group and he called for legal action against them.He views the HDP as an extension of the PKK, a group deemed terrorist by Turkey, the United States and European Union.Clashes have intensified in recent days as a major military campaign entered its fourth week. Residents complain that the operations are indiscriminate and that round-the-clock curfews have even left the sick unable to get to hospital.In the town of Cizre, near the Syrian border, tanks pounded apartment blocks today, Reuters television footage showed. Helicopters circled and gunfire echoed through the town.The authorities say the military campaign is targeting PKK militants, not civilians, and that it was launched in response to attacks on the security forces.Erdogan said more than 3,100 PKK militants and 300 members of the security forces have been killed in the operations. Human rights groups estimate about 150 civilians have perished. The figures could not be independently verified. REUTERS MI SB2151 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0387-527131.Xml
The UN refugee agency censured Denmark today for measures that were an "affront" to refugees' dignity as its new head urged Europe not to throw up barriers to block a tide of asylum-seekers.The UNHCR criticised Danish government proposals which would make reunification of refugee families and acquisition of refugee status more difficult.In a document sent to the Danish government it zeroed in on a measure allowing police to confiscate asylum seekers' belongings worth more than 436 dollar to help pay for their stay which it described as "a deeply concerning response to humanitarian needs" and "an affront to their dignity".Filippo Grandi, an Italian diplomat who took over as UN High Commissioner for Refugees this week, separately told a news briefing that Europe must set an example by welcoming refugees and not erecting barriers, while sharing the burden fairly across the continent.He singled out Germany, Turkey and Lebanon for praise for giving asylum to huge numbers of Syrians and other refugees.More than a million people fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa arrived in Europe in 2015, with Germany taking in the most. Denmark has now imposed temporary checks on its border after Sweden put in place controls to stop refugees moving further north."If Europe had a coherent, coordinated response ... these border reactions that sometimes are justified, like in the case of Sweden by a huge arrival of people, wouldn't be happening," Grandi said."We will of course continue to say 'You manage your border as you see necessary', but the right of people to seek asylum should not be jeopardised. That's very, very important."The European Union must implement its own agreement to improve identification and registration of refugees in Greece and Italy, relocate them equitably across the bloc, and provide humane return for those whose claims are rejected, he said.Grandi praised the welcoming stance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has come under much pressure to stem the influx and who he said had made "a gesture of leadership" towards the rest of Europe."Now if Europe starts setting limits, pushing back, erecting barriers, being hostile, the rest of the world will follow, I can tell you," he said.The UNHCR would ask countries to take in more Syrian refugees for resettlement at a March 30 conference, but has not yet set a target.Under the Danish government's proposals criticised by the UNHCR, refugees will have to wait three years before applying to reunify with families abroad.The duration of temporary residence permits will be shortened, forcing people to reapply, and refugees will be accepted on the basis of their "integration potential" rather than their status solely as refugee.Most controversial of the measures is that police will have the right to take away belongings and valuables worth more than 3,000 Danish crowns ($436.89) to help fund their stay in Denmark.REUTERS MI NS2210 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0387-527167.Xml
Yemen's foreign ministry has declared the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights persona non grata after what it said were unfair statements, a news agency run by the Saudi-allied government reported today. The news agency, sabanew.net, quoted an official source as saying that the representative had "lost professionalism and is persona non grata". The location of the unnamed representative was not immediately clear. REUTERS MI NS2253 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0387-527212.Xml
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Theres nothing more glamorous and classic than a blonde with bright red lips. Claire Danes epitomized old-school beauty at the Peoples Choice Awards on Wednesday night thanks to makeup artist Matin, who also works with Rachel Bilson and Katie Holmes.

Read more L'Oreal Aims To Change Red-Carpet Talk With #WorthSaying Campaign

A photo posted by Matin (@itsmatin) on Jan 6, 2016 at 9:46pm PST

Said the artist, "I was inspired by Claires elegant and uber feminine Burberry Prorsum dress. I created a statement red lip paired with a delicate eye for a chic, youthful look." He also called her pout the "highlight of the look."

Read more Golden Globes Beauty: Get Your Glow On

To attain such a perfect, vibrant look, Matin first prepped her lips with Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm ($33), one in a range of Eight Hour products makeup artists everywhere swear by. Next came the shade: Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick in Power Red ($25) for, as he said, "a bold and beautiful pop of color."
Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa and the United States have agreed on health and safety standards of US meat exports, Pretoria announced Thursday, ending a deadlock that put at risk a key preferential trade arrangement.

In November, US President Barack Obama threatened to eject South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), citing continued barriers to US imports and setting a December 31 deadline.

That deadline passed without resolution, but intense negotiations resolved the impasse over the last week, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said at a press conference Thursday.

"All negotiations have been concluded and all outstanding documents have been signed by both parties," he said.

"We expect South Africa can now participate in AGOA without any interruptions to trade flows."

During months of negotiations, South Africa last year agreed to a 65,000-tonne quota of US chicken imports and also lifted a ban on US beef imports in place following outbreaks of mad cow disease.

But concerns over salmonella levels in US chickens had remained a sticking point in discussions.

AGOA was created in 2000 to help boost exports from African countries deemed to be democratic and applying good economic governance.

If South Africa had been thrown out of AGOA, farmers faced substantial losses in export revenue, compounding problems for the slowing economy.

In 2013, the country shipped $253 million worth of agricultural products to the United States.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman hailed the deal as a "positive outcome for both our countries".

"For South Africa, our agreement will reserve a portion of the new trade in poultry for historically disadvantaged importers, thus providing new business opportunities," he said in a statement.

"It will also allow "South African consumers the opportunity to enjoy high quality American poultry, pork and beef."
By Colleen Jenkins

(Reuters) - The chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court ordered the state's probate judges on Wednesday not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year legalizing gay marriage.

Gay marriage activists and legal experts assailed the order, arguing last June's landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision afforded same-sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states.

In a phone interview Chief Justice Roy Moore, who issued the order, said judges were bound by the state Supreme Court's decision last March halting same-sex marriage until that court determines the effect on the state of the national ruling.

A federal judge in Alabama overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage last January.

"There is a great confusion out there as to what orders to obey," Moore said. "Im not causing the confusion, Im trying to clarify it."

Many probate judges were issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples while others refused to do so, he said.

One probate judge, Steven Reed in Montgomery, Alabama, said his office would not heed the administrative order. "Judge Moore's latest charade is just sad & pathetic," Reed posted on Twitter.

But the Mobile County probate court said on its website that it would stop issuing marriage licenses to any applicants gay or straight until further notice "to ensure full compliance with all court rulings."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has an ongoing ethics complaint against Moore, said he should be removed from the bench for telling the state's judges to enforce Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage.

"Its a disgrace to his office that he occupies it," said Richard Cohen, president of the Alabama-based law center. Cohen said judges who follow Moore's order risked being held in contempt of court for violating the federal judge's ruling.

In Kentucky last year, County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed for five days after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, making her a focal point in the U.S. gay marriage debate.

Story continues

Moore, a Republican, has been a hero of conservative causes before. In 2003, he was removed from office after a federal judge ruled he was placing himself above the law by refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument.

He won the chief justice job back in a 2012 election, vowing not to do anything to create further friction with the federal courts.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Additional reporting by Steve Bittenbender in Louisville, Kentucky; Editing by Tom Brown and Sandra Maler)
By Letitia Stein

(Reuters) - Alabama officials sued the U.S. government on Thursday to force the Obama administration to provide more information on the settlement of refugees from Syria and other countries in the state.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Birmingham, accused the Obama administration of failing to consult state officials about any refugees to be settled in the state, in violation of the federal Refugee Act of 1980.

Republican Governor Robert Bentley is among more than two dozen U.S. governors who have sought to block Syrian refugees from the state after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris for which the group Islamic State claimed responsibility.

The lawsuit follows a legal challenge filed by Texas, another Republican-led state, to stop the immediate entry of nine Syrian refugees. A judge last month dismissed the state's request for a restraining order, calling the evidence presented "largely speculative hearsay."

Bentley said the White House has not answered three letters that he sent seeking information about plans to place refugees in Alabama.

"The process and manner in which the Obama administration and the federal government are executing the Refugee Reception Program is blatantly excluding the states," he said in a statement.

The lawsuit, which names the heads of multiple federal agencies as defendants, seeks to force the government to disclose information on each refugee, including medical history, and to certify that the individual does not pose a security risk.

In the Texas case, the Justice Department said the refugee act requires the government to consult regularly with states about the sponsorship process and distribution among states but that it is not obligated to discuss individual resettlements in advance.

Alabama is intensifying its fight after Republican Governor Nathan Deal in neighboring Georgia on Monday rescinded his own executive order seeking to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees, because the state's attorney general ruled he lacked the authority to do so.

Story continues

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the Alabama case.

The Southern Poverty Law Center said Bentley lacks the authority to bar the resettlement of refugees, and added that his "grandstanding is fueling xenophobia and helping to create an environment ripe for hate and violence."

(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; editing by Richard Chang and Steve Orlofsky)
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - An American citizen who authorities say supported al Qaeda and assisted in preparing a 2009 car bomb attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan could face new charges that carry the death penalty, a U.S. prosecutor said Thursday. The announcement came as Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, 30, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to charges that he played a role in helping prepare one of two explosive devices for use in the Jan. 19, 2009 attack. Prosecutors said an accomplice detonated one device, while Al Farekh's fingerprints were found on packing tape for the second device, which a second accomplice carried and did not detonate. The military base was not identified. In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said prosecutors were considering bringing charges over the death of Afghan nationals in the attack based on evidence authorities had been gathering over the last few months. Ahmad said prosecutors had also obtained a search warrant for Al Farekh's DNA to see if it matches a sample recovered from the packing tape. "We expect in a month or two we'll know what we can prove," she said. Seth Maher, Al Farekh's lawyer, said the announcement meant the Texas-born man could face "potential death-eligible counts." He urged U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to limit prosecutors from continuing to expand the case, which was first announced in April 2015 after Al Farekh was flown to the United States from Pakistan, where he was detained. "It seems to me seven years is more than enough time to consider if a death can be added to these charges," Maher said. The hearing came after prosecutors unveiled a revised nine-count indictment on Wednesday charging Al Farekh with conspiring to murder Americans, use a weapon of mass destruction, bomb a government facility and aid al Qaeda. Prosecutors initially accused Al Farekh of conspiring to support al Qaeda by traveling with two fellow students from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada to Pakistan with the intention of fighting against American forces. The other university students Al Farekh traveled with in 2007 included Ferid Imam, who has also been indicted and whose whereabouts are unknown. Prosecutors said Imam provided training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan in 2008 to Najibullah Zazi and two other men later convicted of plotting a bombing attack in the New York City subway system. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Lake Erie is bountiful in highly prized walleye and rainbow trout. But populations of these commercially important fish could plummet if Asian carp manage to invade the lake, according to a new report.

In the first-of-its kind study, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Notre Dame found that carp, which are moving at a rapid clip toward the Great Lakes, could make up a third of all fish in Lake Erie by weight within 20 years if the invasive species overcomes efforts to keep them at bay.

Voracious eaters, Asian carp feed on plankton, tiny organisms which form the basis of the food web. Small fish that live in Lake Eriesuch as the Emerald shiner, gizzard shad, and rainbow smeltalso feed on plankton, and their numbers could fall dramatically if they have to compete with carp for food, according to the study published in the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. That in turn would hurt walleye, a commercially valuable species that eat the smaller fish.

Two Asian carp species found in the United States, the big head carp and silver carp, have reached watersheds near the Great Lakes. In October, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists discovered that silver carp had advanced a record 12 miles up the Illinois River in just one month, traveling 66 miles toward Lake Michigan since the beginning of 2015.

RELATED: A Terminator Fish Is Moving at Record Speed Toward the Great Lakes

Back in the 1970s, the carp were introduced purposely to clear out cat fish farms in some ponds in Arkansas, said Ed Rutherford, co-author of the study and a fisheries biologist with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. They escaped from there during some flooding and made their way into the watershed of the Mississippi, and are now very abundant in the Mississippi and the Illinois rivers.

The carp now make up about 80 percent of all the fish by weight in those rivers he said, but computer modeling study shows that the potential impact on Lake Erie would not be as extreme.

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Thats because Lake Erie has more potential predators for young Asian carp than in those rivers, Rutherford said.

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By Hilary Russ NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved changes requested by Governor Chris Christie to legislation aimed at helping stabilize Atlantic City, the state's financially distressed gambling hub. Christie vetoed the package of bills at the last minute in November, after they sat on his desk for months during his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. In his veto message, Christie said the bills did not require enough accountability on the city's part and failed to establish a true path to economic revitalization. Among other changes he required to the trio of bills, the state, not the city, will have initial control over $30 million of casino payments to the city in lieu of taxes for two years. In addition, the state could withhold that funding if the city does not agree to certain changes under a financial recovery plan. Overall, the payment-in-lieu program will last 15 years. That bill aims to stabilize the city's property tax base, which has been eviscerated as casino values dwindled because of increasing gambling competition from neighboring states. The other bills reallocate an alternative tax to pay the city's debt service costs and redirect money used for marketing to the city's coffers instead. With the state Senate's approval on Thursday, the changes now go back to the governor, who is scheduled to be in New Jersey on Tuesday for his State of the State address. "The governor knows exactly what's in these bills - there should be no delay in signing them," Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, a Democrat whose district includes Atlantic City, said in a statement. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Chris Reese)
Paris (AFP) - Thursday's failed attack on a Paris police station is the latest incident in France inspired by radical Islam since the massacre at satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo exactly a year ago:

- January 7-9, 2015: Two men armed with Kalashnikov rifles storm the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo killing 12 people including eight cartoonists. A policewoman is killed just outside Paris the following day, while a gunman takes hostages at a Jewish supermarket, four of whom are killed. The Charlie Hebdo attackers and the hostage-taker are killed in separate shootouts with police, but not before claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) respectively.

- February 3: Three soldiers guarding a Jewish community centre in Nice on the French Riviera, are attacked by a knife-wielding man. The 30-year-old assailant, Moussa Coulibaly, is arrested. In custody, he expresses his hatred for France, the police, the military and Jews.

- April 19: Sid Ahmed Ghlam, an Algerian IT student, is arrested in Paris on suspicion of killing a woman who was found shot dead in the passenger seat of her car, and of planning an attack on a church in the Paris suburb of Villejuif. Prosecutors say they found documents about Al-Qaeda and the IS at his home, and that he had been in touch with a suspected jihadist in Syria about an attack on a church.

- June 26 : Frenchman Yassin Salhi, 35, kills and beheads his boss Herve Cornara and displays the severed head on the fence of a gas plant surrounded by Islamic flags. He tries to blow up the factory at Saint-Quentin-Fallavier in southeast France, but is arrested. He commits suicide in his jail cell in December.

- July 13 : Four young men aged 16 to 23, including a former soldier, are arrested on charges of planning an attack on a military camp to behead an officer in the name of jihad. They proclaim allegiance to IS.

- August 21 : American, British and French passengers prevent a bloodbath on a high-speed Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris, tackling a man who opened fire on passengers. He was armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, an automatic pistol, and a box-cutter. The gunman is identified as 25-year-old Moroccan national Ayoub El Khazzani, known to intelligence services for links to radical Islam.

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- November 13: Nine men -- most of whom had fought alongside IS extremists in Syria -- unleash explosives near the Stade de France stadium and open fire on people enjoying a night out at bars and restaurants in Paris, and at the Bataclan concert hall that lies just a short walk from where the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists were killed. In all, 130 people lose their lives and 350 are wounded. On November 14, the IS claims responsibility.

- November 18: A teacher at a Jewish school in the southern city of Marseille is stabbed by three people shouting anti-Semitic obscenities and expressing support for the IS. The man, himself Jewish, is injured in the arms, legs and stomach.

- January 1, 2016: A Frenchman of Tunisian origin tries to run down troops guarding a mosque in the southeastern town of Valence. He is charged with attempted homicide after telling emergency responders he "wanted to be killed by soldiers and to kill soldiers a way for him to appear like a martyr."

- January 7, 2016: A man wielding a meat cleaver and carrying the emblem of the IS is shot dead as he tries to attack a police station in Paris. Convicted of theft in 2013, the man identified himself at the time as Sallah Ali, born in the Moroccan city of Casablanca in 1995.
By Donna Owens

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A Baltimore police officer charged with manslaughter in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray on Thursday appealed a judge's order that he testify against two fellow officers also facing charges in the April incident.

Lawyers for the officer, William Porter, asked the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to overrule a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge's order on Wednesday that he testify in the murder trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. The trial is set to begin on Monday.

Goodson was the driver of the police van in which Gray, 25, sustained the broken neck that killed him after his arrest. He has been charged with second-degree depraved heart murder, the most serious of the criminal charges filed against the six officers involved in Gray's arrest.

Gray's death was one of a series of high-profile police killings of black men that stoked a U.S. debate about race and criminal justice. It set off a day of rioting and arson in the city of 620,000 people.

Porter was the first of the six officers to be tried for his role in Gray's death. The proceeding ended last month in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Prosecutors have said they intend to retry Porter and want him to testify against Goodson and Sergeant Alicia White. The three officers are black.

"There is not a single reported case of one codefendant being compelled to testify against the other in the way the circuit court envisages happening here," Porter's lawyers wrote in their appeal. "There is a reason for that: It effectively renders the Fifth Amendment all but meaningless."

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against self-incrimination. Prosecutors had offered Porter immunity for his testimony, but defense lawyers noted that prosecutors had accused him of lying on the witness stand at his trial and could be laying the groundwork for a perjury charge.

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Prosecutors contended Porter lied about Gray's condition when he saw him in the back of the police van. Porter is scheduled to be retried in June.

The state courts office said White's Jan. 25 trial date had been rescheduled to Feb. 8. The trial of Officer Garrett Miller, which had been set for Feb. 9, was moved back to March 7, the office said in a statement.

(Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)
By James Pearson and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - The godfathers of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme were an elderly trio: a nuclear physicist, a military general, and a broker with contacts in Pakistan. The broker is reported to have died in 2014, but together, the three helped lay the groundwork that led to the isolated country's fourth nuclear test on Wednesday. Roughly 6,000 people are involved in North Korea's nuclear and missile programme, according to a 2009 report by South Korea's Science & Technology Policy Institute, and they are an elite corps. Many are given brand new houses and those at the very top are awarded medals listing them as heroes of the state. "Just like the Manhattan Project, in order to build a nuclear bomb you need eggheads, logistics personnel, and military personnel," said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership. "That's guys like So Sang Guk, Jon Pyong Ho, and O Kuk Ryol". Even by the standards of secretive North Korea, the three have remained firmly behind the scenes. Some sketchy details however have pointed to their role in the isolated state's nuclear programme. The brain, experts say, is 77-year-old So Sang Guk, a skilled scientist and PhD who rose to become the head of Kim Il Sung University's Department of Nuclear Physics. According to North Korean state media, So is the author of forty books, with titles including "Quantum Mechanics" and "Elementary Particle Theory". A decorated hero, So was given a spread of food for his 60th birthday in 1998 by then-leader Kim Jong Il, state media reported at the time. "He was Kim Jong Il's tutor on nuclear physics and nuclear science," said Madden. So was appointed to the Organisation and Guidance Department (OGD), a secretive body used by Kim Jong Il to wrest power from his father before becoming leader in 1994. "The reason he had the OGD title was to supervise personnel and give people jobs in the weapons programme," said Madden. "A job there also effectively gave him security clearance so that he could have access to secret documents as he needed them". Using connections forged as a young student in the Soviet Union, So made a solo trip to Russia to arrange a deal to import nuclear parts, South Korea's Yonhap news reported in 2006. His daughter won a place at a top music school thanks to her father's patronage, according to Jang Jin-sung, a North Korean defector who left in 2004 but studied alongside So's daughter as a student. "She once complained she could not study abroad because her father was engaged in some big, secretive project," Jang told Reuters. So was listed as a target of financial sanctions by the European Union in 2009. GENERAL O: THE MILITARY MAN Late leader Kim Jong Il built patronage with gifts and around 2001, he gave two of his most-trusted aides in the nuclear department a large American van each as a present, according to Jang, the defector. So Sang Guk received one van. Jang said the other was awarded to O Kuk Ryol, a slender man with thinning hair and tinted spectacles said to be the military coordinator behind the nuclear programme. A health nut who walks several miles a day, the 85-year-old O is an "anomaly" among the North Korean elite for avoiding excessive partying, according to Madden. He was promoted to general in 1984 and was born in China, according to South Korea's Ministry of Unification. His rapid rise in the Korean People's Army was aided by being related to a guerrilla soldier who fought alongside North Korea's founder President Kim Il Sung during the Japanese colonial period. O was named in U.S. sanctions against North Korea's weapons programme in 2013 specifically to "further impede North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes". He was last seen in state media alongside Kim Jong Un in November last year. JON PYONG HO: THE LOGISTICIAN In July 2014, state media said Jon Pyong Ho, the ruling Workers' Party bureaucrat credited with the development of Pyongyang's ballistic missile programme, had died. He had helped broker a deal with Pakistan in the 1990s that provided Pyongyang with critical technology for its uranium enrichment programme, experts have said. Jon was the main contact for North Korea with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme who confessed in 2004 to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. Hwang Jang-yop, a former mentor to the late Kim Jong Il and North Korea's highest-ranking defector before he died in 2010, once told a Japanese newspaper that Jon had approached him to ask if they could "make a few more nuclear bombs". "Can we buy some more plutonium from Russia or somewhere?" Hwang quoted Jon as asking him. "By the autumn of 1996, he said 'We've solved a big problem. We don't need plutonium this time. Due to an agreement with Pakistan, we will use uranium'". A graduate of Moscow State University and a close adviser to Kim Jong Il, Jon worked for more than four decades as a senior figure in the production and development of North Korean arms before retiring from public life in 2011. Jon was the logistician who oversaw the factories, scientists and technicians working on the isolated country's missile and nuclear programmes, according to Madden. "Although he has passed away," an obituary for Jon in state media said, "the exploits he performed on behalf of the party, the revolution and the country will shine on". (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
London (AFP) - Former British prime minister Tony Blair urged Moamer Kadhafi to stand aside and find a bolthole in the early days of the 2011 Libyan uprising, telephone transcripts released Thursday showed.

Blair urged the Libyan dictator to stop the violence, start a process of change, stand aside, resolve the situation peacefully and keep communications open between them.

Kadhafi insisted Libya was under attack from sleeper cells from the Al-Qaeda terror network who wanted to take north Africa and attack Europe -- and if Western forces intervened, Libya would end up "like Iraq".

"If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully," Blair warned.

The transcripts cast light on Kadhafi's thinking as the uprising began to escalate.

They were published by the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, which is examining the Western intervention in Libya's civil war and Britain's options now concerning the troubled country.

Committee chair Crispin Blunt said they would consider "whether Kadhafi's prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups... was wrongly ignored" due to his "otherwise delusional" world view.

Evidence suggests "Western policymakers were rather less perceptive than Kadhafi about the risks of intervention," he said.

The committee quizzed Blair in December on his relationship with Kadhafi, after which the ex-premier, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, provided the phone transcripts released Thursday.

The uprising that overthrew Kadhafi's regime began in mid-February 2011.

The two calls from Blair were made on February 25, 2011, the second after Blair reported back to US and European Union figures.

Kadhafi fled Tripoli that August and was killed on October 25.

- 'This has to stop' -

Libya has since plunged into lawlessness, with the country splitting into two warring factions.

Though out of office, Blair had influence with Kadhafi as his 2004 so-called "deal in the desert" brought Libya in from the cold as Tripoli scrapped its chemical weapons.

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Kadhafi claimed Al-Qaeda cells had been attacking police stations, saying: "They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe."

Blair said: "The way to deal with this is the leader says and makes clear he wants a peaceful outcome.

"The use of airplanes to attack cities and the use of force against civilians -- this has to stop."

In the second call, Kadhafi said he was preparing to "arm the people" for a battle against "colonisation".

"If you want to reap Libya we are ready to fight, it will be like Iraq," he said.

Blair urged Kadhafi to take the initiative and lead a peaceful transition process.

"I repeat the statement that people have said to me, if there is a way that he (Kadhafi) can leave he should do so now," Blair said.

"If we don't find a way out in the next few hours I don't know what will happen.

"This is the last chance to resolve this peacefully."

The conversation ends with Kadhafi saying "just leave us alone" and Blair urging him to "keep the lines open".
By Caroline Stauffer SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil is shipping corn to South Africa, a traditional maize exporter suffering from an El Nino-related drought, as it seeks new markets for its growing corn production. Brazil exported 321,662 tonnes of corn to South Africa in 2015, up from none the previous year, data from the Trade Ministry showed on Wednesday. Three more cargoes are on the way or likely to leave Brazilian ports soon, according to shipping data as well as a South African trade source. The exports are an indication of Brazil's growing influence as a corn producer with two annual crops and ample room to plant new fields. The figures are also indicative of the global trade disruption caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon. South Africa may need to import as much as 5 million tonnes of maize this year, roughly half of its requirements, due to its worst drought in three decades, the country's largest producer group said on Wednesday. India, another traditional corn exporter suffering from drought, issued a tender to import 320,000 tonnes of yellow corn free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), European traders said on Tuesday. Brazilian trade data showed 4,020 tonnes of corn were exported to India from January to November 2015, up sharply from 126 tonnes in the same period in 2014, though corn exports to India were not included in the full-year report. Ministry representatives were not immediately available to explain that omission. No Brazilian corn cargoes are currently scheduled to sail to India. Brazil is the world's No. 2 corn exporter after the United States, and its overall corn exports in 2015 totaled a record 30.7 million tonnes thanks in part to a weaker local currency making them more affordable, the cereal exporters' association Anec said. Buyers will soon have to look elsewhere for corn, however, as Brazil's ports will switch from corn to soybean exports in late February or early March. Paulo Molinari, a corn analyst at Brazil's Safras & Mercado consultancy, said Brazil would likely export 5.5 million tonnes of already-sold corn in January and then see exports fall off in February, with new corn sales starting up again in June or July. But the plentiful corn supply and high demand may delay the start of soy export season, said Sergio Mendes, director-general of Anec, who also said he thought corn exports would continue well into March. (Additional reporting by Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg and Gustavo Bonato in Sao Paulo, editing by G Crosse)
Budapest (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron secured encouraging signals from the leaders of Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands as he swung through Europe Thursday, despite key reservations over an EU reform deal he wants at a summit next month.

Cameron held talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who expressed optimism about a deal even as he denied his countrymen were "parasites" seeking British welfare benefits -- and the leaders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's sister party.

The British premier is battling for a deal at an EU summit in February before holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the bloc, possibly later this year, but he faces opposition to his controversial demand to limit benefits for EU migrants.

Orban, a polarising figure in Europe for his own right-wing anti-immigrant politics, said Hungary "fully supported" three out of Cameron's four demands, adding that he had "reason to be optimistic to find a common agreement".

Cameron's other demands are for the European Union to give Britain safeguards against more political integration, to protect countries that do not use the euro currency, and to boost economic competitiveness.

But Cameron's final demand -- a four-year delay before EU migrants working in Britain can claim welfare benefits -- was "difficult" amid concerns in many countries that it is discriminatory, Orban told a press conference with Cameron.

- 'Don't want to be parasites' -

"We are citizens of a state that belongs to the EU, that can take jobs anywhere in the EU, so we donat want to go the UK and take something away from them, we donat want to be parasites," Orban said.

Cameron laid out his plans to fellow EU leaders at their last summit meeting in December, urging them to help him to make the reforms and avoid a "Brexit" from the 28-nation bloc.

Speaking in Budapest, Cameron said the welfare plans remained on the table but that he was "open to alternative solutions", while holding out the possibility that a deal could take longer than the February summit.

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"We obviously now have a limited time between now and the February (EU) Council, I am confident that if we work hard with goodwill on all sides we should try for an agreement," he said.

"But as I said I only have to hold my referendum by the end of 2017. If it takes longer to make an agreement, what matters to me is the substance rather than the timing," he added.

Cameron has vowed to hold the in-out referendum by the end of next year but British media have reported he could hold the vote as soon as June 2016 if he gets a deal at February's summit.

- Merkel supportive -

In Germany, Cameron met Merkel over dinner in Berlin on Wednesday and on Thursday held talks in the southern town of Wildbad Kreuth with the Christian Social Union -- sister party of the chancellor's CDU.

While Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has said that "fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate -- including the core principle of freedom of movement.

However Merkel later Thursday acknowledged that it was "not the intention of the law of free movement" to allow EU migrants to claim benefits from host member states immediately.

"That means that you can work everywhere in Europe but this intention does not include drawing social benefits everywhere in Europe from day one," she said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country assumed the EU presidency this month, said Thursday he was "relatively optimistic' that Britain can secure a deal in February.

"It is very important to come to a successful conclusion, I think we could get there in February, I am relatively optimistic," Rutte said at a press conference in Amsterdam alongside European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"But still a lot of work needs to be done to come to a decision and a conclusion in February," added Rutte, under whom the Netherlands will hold the presidency of the European Union for the next six months.
Ouagadougou (AFP) - Burkina Faso's new president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, on Thursday chose experienced economist Paul Kaba Thieba as prime minister of the west African nation, a presidential decree said.

Thieba, 55, a former central banker, who is little known to the public, now will form a government.

His nomination follows the swearing in last week of Kabore, Burkina Faso's first new leader in almost three decades who has pledged to "reform institutions and modernise the government, for more social justice, democracy and freedom."

Kabore takes over from an interim administration that followed a popular insurrection in October 2014 that toppled Blaise Compaore, who had been in power since 1987.

Thieba has a finance and banking doctorate and leaves an administrator's job in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, one of two regional bodies coordinating economic activity in nations sharing the CFA franc, which was historically pegged to the French currency.

The new premier has also held several posts in the Central Bank of West African States.

Kabore, who was elected with more than 53 percent of the votes in a presidential poll late November, also has an economic background, but turned in the 1990s from a banking career to politics.

In January 2014, he went into outspoken opposition against Compaore and played a role in the "Citizen's Broom" movement that brought down the regime, to become the first democratically elected civilian leader of the country.

Both Compaore and his predecessor Thomas Sankara were soldiers.

Kabore has pledged to build "a new Burkina Faso" by fighting youth unemployment, improving education and modernising the health system in the country of 17.4 million. More than 46 percent of Burkinabe people live below the poverty threshold.
By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday declared a Los Angeles-area natural gas leak that has been sickening nearby residents for more than two months an emergency, calling for alternatives to stop the underground leak if existing efforts fail. Southern California Gas Co, which operates the well that is the site of the underground methane leak, is trying to stop it by drilling a relief well to reach a damaged pipeline, then injecting fluids and heavy mud into it. The governor's office said in a statement the utility will need to identify how it will stop the leak if a relief well fails to seal it - or if the existing leak worsens. The leak was discovered on Oct. 23 at a well used for natural gas storage in Aliso Canyon just outside Los Angeles' Porter Ranch neighborhood, which is home to more than 30,000 people. Thousands of residents were forced to move over the holidays, with the company underwriting their temporary housing. Officials from Southern California Gas, a division of Sempra Energy, say they expect to stop the leak in late February to late March. The leak, which state officials have said accounted at its peak for a fourth of California's 20 million metric tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions from methane, is believed to have been caused by a broken injection-well pipe several hundred feet beneath the surface of the 3,600-acre (1,457-hectare) field. Nearby residents have complained of such ailments as headaches, nausea and respiratory irritation from mercaptans, the odorants added to natural gas, according to Los Angeles County health officials. They have said past studies found no long-term health effects from mercaptans. The governor's office said it had taken steps to coordinate the local, state and federal response to the leak, which at last count was releasing more than 30,300 kilograms of methane per hour, and stop it as soon as possible. "It has become so complex and there are so many different state agencies involved that it needs to be coordinated and directed in an organized way, like for a disaster," said Kelly Huston, deputy director of the governor's Office of Emergency Services. The emergency declaration by Brown, a Democrat, follows calls by local officials in Los Angeles for increased state regulation of gas storage facilities. The declaration allows the governor's administration, if necessary, to quickly waive laws in the future to deal with the crisis, said the governor's spokesman, Evan Westrup. Residents of Porter Ranch have said they want the gas field shut down. The governor, who visited Porter Ranch on Monday, in his declaration called for regulators to assess the long-term viability of natural gas storage facilities in California. "As we have since this incident began, SoCalGas stands willing and ready to cooperate with the governors office, all state and local officials and regulatory agencies," Dennis Arriola, president and chief executive of the company, said in a statement. The storage field is the second largest such facility in the western United States by capacity. (Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)
By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday proposed a new state budget that increases public spending in education, healthcare and infrastructure, the latest indication of the most populous U.S. state's rebound from years of economic doldrums.

Brown, a Democrat, proposed a new budget plan for fiscal year 2016-17 that topped $122 billion in spending from what is known as the general fund, the money appropriated by the legislature and approved by the governor each year, and a total state budget of $170.7 billion.

The spending increase - 6 percent in the general fund and nearly 2 percent in the overall budget - reflects unexpectedly higher revenue at the end of 2015. But Brown warned against overspending and advised that the state stay focused on real needs.

"It's always a temptation to let your roof deteriorate while you take a vacation or send your kids to college or go out to dinner," he said.

The 77-year-old, who also served as governor from 1975 to 1983, has been notoriously tight-fisted since returning to office in 2011, reining in the state's liberal Democratic majority lawmakers to build a rainy day fund and hold down expenses after facing down a $27 billion budget deficit.

Republican leaders welcomed Brown's approach, which included a $2 billion payment to the state's rainy day fund.

"The Governor is going to have to be very strong, because the legislature has a big appetite, said Senate Republican leader Jean Fuller of Bakersfield.

The budget would also boost school spending to $10,591 per student, an increase of nearly $3,600 from four years ago.

Over the next decade, Brown plans to provide $36 billion to improve state infrastructure, including highways, roads and public transit.

Since voters in 2012 approved a temporary tax increase that allowed the state to cover its budget gap and restore some social services, California's finances have stabilized.

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But Brown's fiscal caution has left advocates for the poor and disabled angry, and frustrated some of his fellow Democrats.

The proposed budget reflects a Jan. 1 increase in the states minimum wage to $10 per hour and continues a tax credit for the working poor. It would also provide a cost-of-living increase for aged, blind and disabled Californians.

Brown's proposal must still be approved by the legislature and will likely change by the end of June, when a spending and revenue package for the 2016-17 fiscal year must be enacted.

(Additional reporting by Robin Respaut and Rory Carroll in San Francisco; Editing by Diane Craft, Matthew Lewis and Bernard Orr)
Wildbad Kreuth (Germany) (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday won support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for EU reforms to protect European welfare systems, arguing that what is good for Britain is also good for Europe.

Cameron is seeking backing for his demands for EU reforms, which he is battling to secure before Britain's referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc by the end of 2017.

Speaking in southern Germany, where he held talks with the Christian Social Union -- sister party of Merkel's CDU -- Cameron said he was "even more confident after the discussions here that these (reforms) are possible and not just good for Britain but actually good for Europe".

"Not simply because other European countries will benefit by Britain continuing to be a member of Europe, but I think it's important that (the EU) shows it has the flexibility of a network and can address concerns of an individual member rather than the rigidity of a bloc," he said.

Cameron wants the EU to cut bureaucracy and shift more powers from Brussels to member states.

He is also seeking guarantees that Britain will be protected from closer EU political integration and from economic decisions made by the 19 EU members that use the euro currency.

Those demands have so far proven relatively uncontroversial.

However, a key sticking point for several EU members is Cameron's aim to restrict benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in Britain.

Critics of the plan say the measure would harm the EU's central tenets of non-discrimination between EU citizens and freedom of movement between member states.

- 'Germany can help' -

While Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has said that "the fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate, in what is a clear reference to this proposal.

However Merkel later Thursday acknowledged that it was "not the intention of the law of free movement" to immediately allow EU migrants to claim benefits from host member states.

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"That means that you can work everywhere in Europe but this intention does not include drawing social benefits everywhere in Europe from day one," she told reporters in Berlin.

She said her own Labour Minister, Social Democrat Andrea Nahles, had also proposed new restrictions "which to a certain extent mesh with what Britain is seeking".

The CSU has more eurosceptic leanings than its bigger sister party, the CDU, and has signalled support for Cameron's bid to limit benefits for EU migrants.

In an article for Germany's Bild newspaper on Thursday, Cameron also reiterated his belief that the changes he is seeking "will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them."

"We want to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first," Cameron wrote.

"Like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years."

Cameron is later expected to travel to Hungary for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has come under fire from fellow EU states for his hardline stance against a record influx of refugees to Europe.

The British leader is keen to avoid a so-called "Brexit", but faces a large eurosceptic contingent within his Conservative party and growing public discontent over Britain's relationship with Brussels.

Highlighting divisions over the EU, Cameron on Tuesday said his ministers would be allowed to campaign for or against Britain's EU membership ahead of the referendum.
Budapest (AFP) - Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday won broad backing from Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban for his EU reform proposals but not for his idea to freeze welfare benefits for EU migrants in Britain.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Cameron in Budapest, Orban said Hungary "fully supported" three out of four of Cameron's proposals but not his plan to restrict benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in Britain.

"We are citizens of a state that belongs to the EU and one whose people can take jobs anywhere in the EU, we donat want to go the UK and take something away, we donat want to be parasites," Orban said.

"Hungarians contribute well to the British economy so they shouldn't accept discrimination," Orban said.

Battling to secure support before Britain's referendum on membership in the 28-nation bloc by the end of 2017, Cameron wants the EU to cut bureaucracy, and shift more powers from Brussels to member states, as well as slash benefits for migrants.

Cameron said the plans "remain on the table" but that he is "open to alternative solutions" before a meeting of EU leaders next month in Brussels.

"Goodwill and creative thinking can find solutions," he said.

Orban said he was "optimistic" however that agreement on Cameron's proposals among the 'Visegrad 4' bloc of central European EU members -- including Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic -- could be reached, even on the "more difficult" including welfare system reform idea.

A common position by the Visegrad 4 bloc was necessary as other countries like much larger Poland were more affected by Cameron's plan on benefits.

Some 55,000 Hungarian-born citizens are working in Britain according to Orban, although unofficial estimates put the figure at several hundred thousand.

The word "migrants" in Cameron's proposals has also been a sticking point for Orban who has fought a year-long battle to keep migrants from entering Hungary including building border fences.

"It is very important that we are not considered as migrants, words matter here...language plays a very important role in our politics".
By John Tilak and Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian equity issues reached a six-year high in 2015 with a flurry of energy-sector deals and a few large transactions, according to data released by Thomson Reuters on Thursday. The 13 percent increase to C$42.6 billion ($30.2 billion) came despite a slowdown in deal activity in the latter part of the year, when a spike in volatility and further pullback in oil prices weighed on sentiment. Royal Bank of Canada topped the league tables for underwriting equity issues, followed by Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto Dominion Bank. Large transactions, which included Element Financial Corp's C$2 billion issue and a C$2.2 billion offering by Emera, helped offset an overall decline in the number of deals. Other marquee deals included an initial public offering by Hydro One, which was one of Canada's biggest ever. "A longer, lower commodity price is certainly going to increase the probability of equity financings," said Kirby Gavelin, head of equity capital markets at RBC. He expects continued market volatility in 2016. Energy deals dominated activity in 2015 as companies moved to strengthen their balance sheets. "The window is still open for energy companies to raise money if they want to," said Benoit Lauze, CIBC's head of equity capital markets. Market volatility jumped during the summer, triggered by concerns about China's economic growth. An equity market selloff in China earlier this week sparked another global wave of market weakness. "Looking out into 2016, there is an unusual degree of uncertainty," said Peter Miller, head of Canadian equity capital markets at BMO, which was the top overall adviser on IPOs in Canada in 2015. Cross-border activity increased, with Canadian companies using financings to fund acquisitions in the United States. "It was really a cross-border year," said Brad Hardie, head of financial institutions at BMO Capital Markets. "It's a theme that will drive financial services' financings in 2016." Initial public offerings, which also included Shopify's successful listing, recorded their strongest year since 2010. Some advisers expect the market choppiness to weigh on IPOs in 2016. "Volatility is an evolving trend that is starting to ratchet up," said Stikeman Elliott partner Curtis Cusinato, who advised on Shopify's IPO. "And it will have an impact on deal activity." (Reporting by John Tilak and Euan Rocha; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
One year later, artists are still affirming the power of the pen.

Cartoonists have been paying tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack that took place at Charlie Hebdos office in Paris on Jan. 7 last year. The tragedy evoked widespread compassion for the French people and artists in particular  especially those who challenge social mores as the satirical magazine routinely does.

On Thursday morning, a year after the tragedy, illustrators were showing their belief in free speech as Paris police dealt with a threat outside one of their stations. An officer shot and killed a butcher-knife-wielding man who was wearing a fake explosive vest. According to early reports, a piece of paper with an ISIS logo and a claim of responsibility on behalf of the terrorist group was found on his body.

Tjeerd Royaards, a Dutch editorial cartoonist based in Amsterdam, drew a group of people walking down a winding road that represents the past year. Early on, many free speech supporters could be seen carrying Je suis Charlie signs and holding up pencils in defiance.

Tjeerd Royaards, a cartoonist based in Amsterdam, drew a picture about the Je Suis Charlie-feeling after the terrorist attack in January 2015 and how much of it remains today.

But that solidarity peters out as the walk continues, and subsequent signs allude to the debates and commentaries that followed: some question if we truly are Charlie and another maintains that she is not Charlie.

At the end of the road, all that remains is a singular cartoonist holding a stick figure drawing, which presumably depicts the Prophet Muhammad, standing before an armed terrorist. The illustrator is looking backward at the largely empty road behind. At the far end, a man holds a sign that reads, You are Charlie.

My cartoon is about how much of the 'Je suis Charlie' feeling is left after the attack. Being a cartoonist can be a risky profession these days, and support for what you do is important, he told Yahoo News. So my cartoon is a warning that we should not forget how we felt last year, and to keep reminding ourselves that cartoons are important, because freedom of expression is important.

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Royaards, the editor in chief of the Cartoon Movement in Amsterdam, a global platform for comics journalism, does not necessarily see eye to eye with everything the politically incorrect magazine publishes, but he supports its right to do so without censorship or violent intimidation.

And for me, Charlie Hebdo is freedom of expression, he continued. I might not agree with every cartoon they publish, but thats precisely the point. Disagreement and discussion are essential for freedom of expression to exist.

Mark Chambers, a picture book illustrator from the United Kingdom, shared one of his drawings from after the attack on Charlie Hebdo to mark its one-year anniversary.

Also on the one-year-anniversary, Mark Chambers, a picture book illustrator from the United Kingdom, shared an image he drew of a boy proudly holding up a pencil while standing atop an overturned box in a field. Its caption reads, Je suis Charlie.

I did this illustration after the attacks last year, he told Yahoo News. It was important to me as an illustrator to show solidarity with the cartoonists who tragically lost their lives and with the artist community who created similar illustrations to honor them and others who are courageous enough to fight for the freedom of speech with the pen!

Rod Emmerson, an editorial cartoonist for the New Zealand Herald, drew a cartoon that shows two jihadis carrying a large red pencil that reads #Je suis Charlie. One terrorist tells his partner that the infidels will shiver when they realize they have this hideous technology  all they have to do is learn how its used.

Rod Emmerson, an editorial cartoonist from New Zealand, said that satire is more powerful than any AK47.

My cartoon carries a pointed message: Satire in art (cartooning) has been around for a very long time  long before newspapers were printed  and will exist long after the last newspaper is published. It's a potent messenger  more powerful than any AK47. Guns eventually run out of ammunition  satire doesn't, he told Yahoo News.

Emmerson said he never totally agreed with Charlie Hebdos mantra of provocation for the sake of provocation; it is not what he does as a political cartoonist.

My work is researched, calculated and sits with a purpose. But that said, the ideology behind the 2015 attack was an attack on all cartoonists and all publishers everywhere. We live with intimidation daily, and there is no way I am going to be dictated to by gun-wielding nutcases, he said.

Royaards, Chambers and Emmerson were far from the only cartoonists using their skills to honor the victims and show solidarity with the magazines current staff.
With Bill Clinton stumping for his wife in New Hampshire, Hillary Clintons presidential campaign will become a completely family affair when daughter Chelsea comes to Southern California this month for three fundraisers in support of her mothers efforts, according to invitations obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Chelseas events, which have a hip young edge, will take advantage of arts-oriented venues. Styled as conversations with the former first daughter, one gathering will occur on Monday, Jan. 25 at the Venice office of Pritzker Prize-winning super architect Frank Gehry. The next day, there will be a similar conversation at the historic Venice Lantern House compound of author and computer code entrepreneur S. Scott Meyers.

Chelsea Clinton, who is pregnant with her second child, will also host a fundraiser at the Newport Beach home of real estate investor Michael Chegini and his wife Sholeh, a human resources executive.

Read More: Donald Trump on Hillary Clinton Insult: "Schlonged" Is Not a Vulgar Term

Chelsea will be back in New York after the Los Angeles trip to host a $2,700-per-person fundraiser at Tribecas trendy SoulCycle fitness club.

As THR previously reported, Hillary Clinton will be back in Los Angeles this week for a Thursday luncheon fundraiser at the San Gabriel Valley home of Congresswoman Judy Chu. Afterward, Clinton will head over to the Henson lot  former home of the Muppets  for a family celebration with general admission tickets starting at $500. (Those contributing $5,400 in primary dollars or raising $10,000 will be allowed to take a family photo with Clinton.)

Following the Henson event, Clinton will join billionaire investor and campaign supporter Warren Buffett at the Mack/Goldsmith home. Tickets for that event are $2,700. Those who raise $50,000 will be given a spot in the photo line.

Read More: Hillary Clinton Heads to Comedy Central's 'Broad City'
Washington (AFP) - China's recent landing of aircraft on a contested reef in the South China Sea is raising tensions and promoting instability in the region, the Pentagon warned Thursday.

A Department of Defense spokesman said three civilian flights are now believed to have landed on one of the islands, corroborating Chinese state media reports that three civilian aircraft have landed on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed Spratlys island group.

"We clearly are concerned by these flights... and we're concerned by all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the South China Sea," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters.

"Anything being done by any country to try and raise tensions over these disputed islands, and to try and militarize or engage in reclamation activities in these islands, we think only adds to instability in the South China Sea."

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have partial claims.

China has asserted its claim by rapidly building artificial islands, including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets.

"We call for a diplomatic resolution to these issues in the South China Sea and certainly these flights do nothing to foster further stability and understanding in that part of the world," Cook said.

China's initial aircraft landing on Saturday prompted a formal diplomatic complaint from Hanoi, which labelled it a violation of sovereignty.

The Philippines also said it would file a protest.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has sent an envoy to Saudi Arabia and Iran amid an escalating feud, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, calling on all sides to exercise restraint. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming was currently in Saudi Arabia and would travel on to Iran, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. "We hope the situation in the Middle East can move in the direction of amelioration," Hua told reporters. Tension between Shi'ite-majority Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia has spiralled since the execution of a Shi'ite cleric in Saudi Arabia. Qatar recalled its ambassador to Iran on Wednesday, state news agency QNA said, after allies Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cut their ties with Tehran following attacks on Saudi missions by Iranian protesters. "We hope that all parties can remain calm and exercise restraint and appropriately resolve relevant issues via dialogue and consultation," Hua added. While relying on the region for oil supplies, China has tended to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has been trying to get more diplomatically involved. The ministry said that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had met the head of the Western-backed opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC). Wang told SNC president Khaled Khoja he hoped the SNC would attend peace talks without preconditions, the ministry said in a statement. China has repeatedly called for a political resolution and warned that military action cannot end the crisis. Khoja's visit comes two weeks after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem visited China. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
No surprises, please.

Thats what one Chinese employer is telling women employees about getting pregnant, saying that if they plan to have a little bundle of joy, theyll need to give one years notice first. That way the pregnancies can be scheduled to efficiently share the workload and avoid short staffing, the Changchun-based employers told state media and the BBC. The companys HR director told Chinese media that the current rush to have babies has forced its hand.

The headline resulted in a backlash on social media in China, where the right to have children has stoked much criticism. Some say the Changchun companys policy harms women by limiting their employment; others say they are overreacting to Chinas recent baby boom.

Chinas Communist Party leadership ended its decades-old one-child policy late last year, announcing that married couples are now allowed to have two children. The decision came amid fears that Chinas aging population may not be able to keep pace with the future employment demands of its economy, overturning decades of a strict policy implemented by Deng Xiaoping. Dengs contemporaries feared that the unchecked growth of the Peoples Republicnow at 1.4 billion and countingwould lead to poverty and hunger.

Such limitations might seem intrusive or authoritarian in the West, but at least once the babies are born in China, moms get 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. The U.S. cant say the same.

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Original article from TakePart
By Sarah N. Lynch and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc , under scrutiny for months over outbreaks of foodborne illness across several U.S. states, said on Wednesday it was served with a subpoena in a federal criminal probe linked to norovirus cases in California last year. Shares of the burrito chain fell nearly 5 percent to $426.67, the lowest in more than two years. That brought their decline to about 30 percent since Oct. 31, when its first E. coli outbreak was reported. Chipotle in a regulatory filing also projected a 14.6 percent plunge in fourth-quarter same-store sales, compared with a previously estimated 8-11 percent drop. That would be the company's first quarterly same-store sales decline since it went public in January 2006. (http://1.usa.gov/1JtQlLV) Chipotle said it received the subpoena in December as a part of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Food and Drug Administration. A federal grand jury will decide whether to press charges in the case. Norovirus is the leading cause of food-related illnesses and outbreaks in the United States. It is highly contagious, often spreading when infected restaurant employees and food workers touch raw ingredients before serving. Food was the suspected source of the California outbreak, a state health department document from September showed. The latest investigation adds another headache for Chipotle, whose sales have slumped since an E. coli outbreak sickened more than 50 people in nine states in October and November. Since last fall, Chipotle has had to sanitize restaurants and throw out food while sending ingredients for testing at government labs, as company and public health officials attempt to pinpoint the source of the infections. The week of Dec. 7, 120 Boston College students fell ill from a norovirus incident at a restaurant in Brighton, Massachusetts. More Chipotle-related E. coli cases were announced late December. The same month, nearly a quarter of Americans who were aware of the E. coli cases said they were eating Chipotle less often, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. (http://1.usa.gov/1JtQlLV) A Justice Department official declined to comment on the Chipotle investigation. But he said the agency has prioritized food safety and stepped up enforcement, through prosecutions and injunctions to stop problems before they lead to outbreaks. BROAD RANGE OF DOCUMENTS The subpoena requires Chipotle to produce a broad range of documents related to an August norovirus incident at its restaurant in Simi Valley, California, which sickened more than 200 people, including 17 workers. That same month, two California residents sued Chipotle for damages in U.S. court after they said they became sick from eating at the Simi Valley location. Alyssa McDonald vomited repeatedly and developed "explosive diarrhea," while another customer said she had to go to a hospital emergency room, court documents showed. The Ventura County Health Department found McDonald's stool tested positive for norovirus, the lawsuit said. Doug Beach, a Ventura County health official, said his office was interviewed by the FDA and U.S. Attorney's office in the fall, whose lines of inquiry focused squarely on Chipotle. The county turned over files about the incident to federal prosecutors, he added. "It's unusual to have the federal government involved." The federal government's involvement in a one-restaurant outbreak is surprising since there was no clear interstate element, said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based lawyer who represents Chipotle customers sickened in Simi Valley. The FDA declined to comment on the investigation. Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold declined to discuss most aspects of the probe, but the company said the subpoena covers only the "isolated" Simi Valley case. Health officials in several U.S. states that had Chipotle-related outbreaks, including New York, Washington, and Oregon, said they had not been contacted by federal investigators. Days after managers shut down the Simi Valley restaurant, and threw out all remaining food and disinfected surfaces, a health department inspection on Aug. 24 turned up multiple violations, such as unclean equipment and restroom facilities. On Aug. 27, an inspector found that at least some of the "violations observed on previous inspections have not been corrected." Chipotle, one of the restaurant industry's top performers for years, is struggling to rebound since the wave of illnesses. In its Wednesday filing, Chipotle said same-restaurant sales for December were down 30 percent, the company said. Any more incremental bad news, particularly if there is an unfavorable decision from the grand jury, could trigger consideration among shareholders of a management change, Maxim Group analyst Stephen Anderson said. The company, which also announced a $300 million share buyback in a bid to soothe investors, said it will fully cooperate with the probe. (Reporting Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago, Siddharth Cavale and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru, and Sue Horton in Los Angeles; Writing and additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang)
Well that was fast.

On the first full day of the new session of Congress, a group of influential conservative lawmakers signaled to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) that the heady days that closed out 2015 are over.

"I think it is fundamentally unfair to try and judge the speakership of Paul Ryan over the last month or so. But, as I have also said, the honeymoon is over," Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, said during a Capitol Hill press conference.

Related: Trump Denounces Paul Ryan and His 'Stupid' Budget Deal

Ryan, who became Speaker in September, [must ] start putting up real conservative reform in the House and doing the things that are necessary to show the voters that he is a different speaker than John Boehner because frankly, everything he has done so far is no different than what John Boehner would have done, he added.

That statement could be considered a threat in some Capitol Hill circles, since Boehners clashes with the Freedom Caucus helped drive him from office, but Labrador was quick to temper his comments.

"I do think he has a year to make that up and I think we all want to give him that opportunity to make that up, he said.

Just weeks into his speakership, Ryan helped push a wave of legislation through the House, including a budget deal to fund the government for the next two years, the framework of which was negotiated by Boehner.

Many hardliners were ultimately disappointed with the nitty-gritty details of the agreement, arguing it didnt contain enough conservative provisions on issues like funding for Planned Parenthood or Syrian refugees. However, the far right still gave Ryan a pass, believing he made the best of a bad situation.

Related: Why Congress Will Get Even Less Done in 2016

But comments by Labrador and others indicate all bets are off in 2016. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has likewise begun to complain about Ryans job performance, calling the budget deal stupid.

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The Wisconsin Republican is mindful of unrest on his right flank, though, and slated the first day of the new congressional session for a vote on legislation to repeal Obamacare.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said the only yardstick that should be applied to Ryan is if lawmakers fund the government in a responsible, thoughtful and constitutional manner.

If we are here in January of next year or December of next year having just passed an omnibus or looking at an omnibus that is an F-, he said. If we pass 12 appropriations bills and stand our ground and force the Senate to face these issues, thats an A. And there you have it.

The comments come as House and Senate GOP lawmakers prepare to hold their annual retreat in Baltimore next week. The joint pow-wow, only the second of its kind, will allow members to brainstorm ideas and chat about the agenda for 2016.

Related: With Early Test Out of the Way, Paul Ryan Eyes 2016

House Freedom Caucus chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) said that he would like to see tax reform legislation that we vote on, not just talk about, as well as overhauls to the countrys welfare and healthcare systems.

Not just talk about them but pass legislation and say, Heres what were for.

Labrador said, The question is, will Ryan just be a good speech maker or a good policy maker? So far hes shown that hes a great speech maker.

The question is not just can you deliver on the speech but can you deliver on the substance. The question is whether the Republican Party is a conservative party or not. I'm afraid that so far we've shown that were not a conservative party, he told the audience.

Labrador actually credited House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who lost the speakers gavel in 2010, for implementing policies, like President Obamas signature healthcare law.

Thats what a leader of your party does. She knew how to do it. I havent seen a republican leader know how to do it on our side, he said.

The GOP must decide whether it wants to be a transformational party or just a little bit better than the Democratic Party, Labrador added.

Thats not what I signed up to do.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
(Reuters) - Fixing Flint, Michigan's lead-contaminated drinking water infrastructure could cost as much as $1.5 billion, the city's mayor said on Thursday after meeting with the governor to discuss the crisis, according to Detroit newspapers. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in Lansing, the state capital, where she met with Governor Rick Snyder, that the cost to fix or replace the city's water pipes has been estimated in a range of millions of dollars to up to $1.5 billion, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press reported. A spokeswoman for the mayor could not be reached to comment. However, Keith Creagh, interim director of the state's Department of Environmental Quality, said it was premature to estimate the total costs, according to the governor's spokesman. The financially strapped city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched its source of tap water to the nearby Flint River in April 2014 from Detroit's water system to save money. Flint, about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit, returned to Detroit water in October after tests found some children had elevated levels of lead in their blood and lead was found in higher-than-acceptable levels in the water. Snyder on Thursday apologized for a second time for the state's role in the crisis. "This is a situation that no one wished would have ever happened, but it has happened," Snyder told reporters. "We're taking this extremely seriously." Snyder promised more testing and more filters in Flint, as well as a "suite of services to improve things in Flint for this unfortunate situation that I do apologize for." This week, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit said it was investigating the lead contamination of Flint's water and Snyder declared a state of emergency in Gennessee County, which includes Flint, authorizing additional state resources to address health and safety issues. Snyder apologized in late December for the state's mishandling of the situation and accepted the resignation of the state official whose agency, the Department of Environmental Quality, is responsible for overseeing water quality. Flint residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and state of endangering their health. The Detroit News, citing internal emails, reported on Thursday that Snyder's chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, recognized as early as July that Flint's residents were "basically getting blown off by us" in the state's response to the lead contamination problems. Dave Murray, the governor's press secretary, said Muchmore had been meeting with Flint community leaders throughout the year and was following through on community concerns. (Reporting by Ben Klayman in Ann Arbor; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
(Reuters) - Roger Federer took 55 minutes to dispel all injury doubts with a 6-2 6-1 routing of unheralded German Tobias Kamke in the second round of the Brisbane International on Thursday. Media speculations swirled around the fitness of the world number three less than two weeks before he launches his bid for a fifth Australian Open title and the Swiss maestro dismissed them by dropping only three games in a lop-sided contest. "I'm going to do my best to stay injury free and give myself a chance to win another grand slam," Federer said after setting up a quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov. Bulgaria's Dimitrov came from behind to beat Viktor Troicki 5-7 7-6(6) 6-2, while big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic battled through to the last eight with a 6-7(2) 6-1 6-4 win over Croatian Ivan Dodig. In the women's draw, American qualifier Samantha Crawford continued her breakout run by storming into her first WTA semi-final after pummeling Andrea Petkovic. The 20-year-old Atlanta native, ranked 142nd in the world, blasted 22 winners against the befuddled German in a 6-3 6-0 rout to further enhance her reputation. "It happened fast. I was trying to not think about it too much, not psych myself out," the former U.S. Open junior champion said. "Right after I won, on the on-court interview I was like shaking, and then in the locker room I was like sitting for just like a little bit. "But yeah, this is awesome." Crawford is playing in just her sixth WTA Tour event and her strong showing at an event which has seen the top seeds succumb to injuries should bring her inside the top 100 for the first time. The American, who spent time growing up in China and speaks fluent Mandarin, has yet to drop a set in Brisbane after dispatching another rising talent Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second round. She faces twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka who trounced U.S. Open finalist Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-2. Germany's Angelique Kerber also booked a semi-final spot with a 6-4 6-4 victory against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At number four, the German is the highest seed remaining after injury robbed the tournament of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza. In the last four, she takes on Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro who rallied past American Varvara Lepchenko 4-6 6-4 7-5. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore and Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
San Jose (AFP) - A first group of 180 Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica is to fly out of the country next Tuesday to continue their journey through Central America and Mexico to new lives in the US, officials said.

If the trip is deemed a success, most if not all the 7,800 Cubans stuck in Costa Rica will be following, under an agreement struck last week between several Central American nations.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez told a news conference on Wednesday that "the beginning of the pilot plan will take place on January 12 with a second flight planned for a week later.

Costa Rica, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration, scrambled during the height of Central America's tourist high season to find a charter flight able to take the migrants.

The need to use a plane resulted from neighboring Nicaragua's decision mid-November to close its border to all US-bound Cubans. Managua is an ally to Havana's government.

Gonzalez said the 180 Cubans will fly out of the northern city of Liberia, close to the Nicaraguan border, to El Salvador, where they will take buses to cross through to Guatemala to the Mexican border.

The selected Cubans are to pay the $535 cost of the air-and-land journey themselves, and will have to find their own way across Mexico to the US border.

America has a policy dating back to the Cold War to accept any Cuban who sets foot on its soil. The number of migrants attempting the trip jumped last year, in the wake of a December 2014 thaw announced by Havana and Washington.

Stuck with the problem of a growing number of Cubans, Costa Rica on December 19 stopped giving any more arrivals visas and threatened to deport illegal migrants back to Cuba.

As a result, nearly 1,000 more Cuban migrants are stranded in Panama, unable to cross north over the border into Costa Rica.
(Reuters) - A Detroit man convicted of the 2013 felony murder of a French street artist was sentenced on Thursday to up to 60 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Dionte Travis, 19, who was charged as an adult, was found guilty in December by a jury in the killing of Bilal Berreni, whose body was found at a vacant building near downtown Detroit.

Travis was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years to 60 years in prison by Judge Bruce Morrow, the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Berreni, known by the street moniker "Zoo Project," began painting murals in his native Paris neighborhood aged 15. Before he went to Detroit, Berreni had traveled and painted murals in Tunisia in 2011.

Police have said a group that included Travis had decided to rob someone after losing money in a dice game and saw Berreni, whose body was found with a gunshot wound to the head in July 2013. The body of Berreni, who was in his early 20s, was not identified until early 2014.

A jury in September found Travis guilty of armed robbery in the Berreni case, but could not reach a verdict on the murder charge, leading to a retrial. He was sentenced previously to up to 40 years in prison on the armed robbery conviction.

Two other men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and were sentenced to up to 40 years in prison each. A fourth male was convicted of murder as a juvenile in the case.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Alistair Bell)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday he was "relatively optimistic" that the European Union could strike a deal with Britain on EU reforms at a summit in mid-February. At a news conference marking the start of The Netherlands' six-month presidency of EU councils, Rutte said: "I think we could get there in February. I'm relatively optimistic. But still a lot of work needs to be done." Rutte, whose country is a traditional ally of Britain over its free market views in Europe, declined to detail where difficulties lay, saying that it would not be "helpful" to make those public. Prime Minister David Cameron wants changes to EU rules before putting Britain's continued membership of the 28-nation bloc to a referendum before the end of next year. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)
Mexico City (AFP) - An Egyptian probe into a erroneous military attack which killed eight Mexican tourists has criticised the travel agency for taking the group to a dangerous area, Mexico's top diplomat has said.

The tourists and four Egyptians were killed when they came under fire from the air by the Egyptian security forces during a lunch break on their way to the Bahariya Oasis in the vast Western Desert. Another 10 people were wounded.

Survivors say the attack was staged by a plane and a helicopter, prompting Cairo to open an investigation.

Speaking late on Wednesday, Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu said the Egyptian tourism ministry "found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit, and in that sense would eventually be responsible".

She said Egypt had informed the Mexican government that the investigation was "nearing completion".

So far, the Egyptian government has remained tight-lipped about the deadly event that outraged Mexico, saying only that the tourists had entered a restricted area in the Western Desert and were "mistakenly" killed as security forces chased Islamist extremists.

Six other tourists who suffered shrapnel wounds, burns, fractures and respiratory ailments in the attack, were repatriated to Mexico days later.

Cairo has promised a full and "transparent" inquiry, although media in Egypt have been banned from publishing any details on the incident or the investigation.
San Salvador (AFP) - El Salvador has vowed to arrest 17 retired soldiers accused of killing six Jesuit priests and two women in 1989.

The announcement came two days after a Spanish judge sent a new request to international police agency Interpol demanding their arrest.

"We consider compliance with international arrest warrants to be mandatory, and we must proceed with immediate implementation by the Salvadoran authorities," Salvador's human rights ombudsman David Morales said late Wednesday.

In 2011, the former soldiers evaded a Spanish order for their arrest by taking refuge in military barracks in San Salvador.

They also secured a ruling from El Salvador's Supreme Court saying they were protected by an amnesty that pardoned the atrocities committed during the 1980-1992 civil war.

But this time, Morales urged the High Court to "proceed immediately to ensure the arrest of the accused."

Spanish High Court Judge Eloy Velasco has reissued the orders for the arrest of the former soldiers.

They include Colonel Inocente Montano, a former vice minister of public safety who is serving a 21-month sentence in the United States for immigration fraud.

Morales urged the United States to allow his extradition to Spain.

He also called on the military to "abstain" from blocking the arrest of the former soldiers.

Five of the priests killed in November 1989 were Spanish and one was Salvadoran. The soldiers also killed the priests' housekeeper and her daughter.
Amsterdam (AFP) - The European Union said Thursday it is far from satisfied with Turkey's cooperation in stemming the flow of migrants to Europe after a landmark deal clinched late last year.

More than one million refugees and migrants have flooded Europe's shores in the last year, most of them crossing from Turkey to Greece, in the biggest crisis of its kind the continent has faced since World War II.

In November EU leaders pledged three billion euros ($3.2` billion) in aid for the more than two million refugees currently sheltering on Turkish soil from the Syrian civil war, in exchange for Ankara acting to reduce the flow.

But the number of migrants travelling in the last couple of weeks via Turkey remains "relatively high," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told a press conference in Amsterdam at the launch of the Netherlands' six-month EU presidency.

"We have seen the first results which are encouraging, but we are a long way from being satisfied," he said. "We will continue discussing ways of improving the effectiveness of their cooperation."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the press conference his priorities for his country's EU presidency were to lower the numbers of migrants entering Europe and ensure EU member states share the burden fairly.

Rutte called for implementing an EU scheme, which was approved in October over the opposition of several eastern European capitals, to relocate 160,000 asylum seekers from frontline countries Greece and Italy to other member states.

So far only about 270 people have been relocated.

- 'Very confident' -

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meanwhile said he was "very confident" the Dutch presidency would fulfil an EU plan to set up a pan-European border and coast guard force to protect the bloc's external border by the time its mandate ends on June 30.

EU leaders set the deadline at a summit in Brussels last month, although Poland and other countries have expressed concerns the force would infringe on their sovereign right to manage their own borders.

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The leaders acknowledged they had been too slow to carry out a joint strategy to tackle the crisis that Juncker's commission, the EU executive, revealed in May following a shipwreck in which nearly 800 migrants drowned.

Turkey remains a lynchpin of the EU's plan.

Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister who has led the EU talks with Ankara, said he will travel to Turkey next Sunday to discuss the implementation of a joint action plan agreed last November.

The EU has also agreed to kickstart stalled talks on Turkey's push for membership in the 28-nation bloc and end the visa requirement for Turkish visitors to the EU's passport-free Schengen zone, which is under pressure from the migrant influx.

In return, Turkey vowed to take steps to halt the migrant outflow, including cracking down on people smugglers and cooperating with the EU on taking back economic migrants who do not qualify as refugees.

Turkey is the main launching point for mainly Syrian refugees and migrants who make the dangerous sea crossing to Greece before travelling up through the Balkans to Austria, Germany and other wealthy northern EU countries.
By Maiya Keidan LONDON (Reuters) - Blackstone Group is planning to bring its multi-manager hedge fund platform Senfina Advisors to Britain, three sources with direct knowledge of the move told Reuters. The platform, which allows investors to access a number of underlying hedge fund managers, was launched in the United States in 2014 and had almost $2 billion in assets under management last month, the first source told Reuters. The move follows a strong performance for Senfina last year. It rose 23 percent between January and November, the first source said, while hedge funds rose 0.27 percent on average over the same period, data from Hedge Fund Research shows. In preparation for the British launch, the date of which has yet to be decided, two of the sources said that Blackstone is in the process of searching for portfolio managers. Senfina provides investors with exclusive access to a range of underlying portfolio managers, who are employed by their respective firms, and charges a basic annual fee of up to 2 percent based on average assets under management. The managers' trading ideas are assessed centrally by Blackstone before the firm allocates money to invest. In addition to the basic fee, investors pay for trading and other costs, plus a performance fee on profits between 15 percent and 20 percent, SEC filings show. By launching in London Blackstone will join rivals such as U.S. peer Millennium Management and Sweden's Brummer & Partners in developing a British base for its hedge fund platform. Senfina forms part of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, which had $68 billion under management at Sept. 30, 2015, its website said. (Editing by David Goodman)
By Idrees Ali and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Wednesday it had successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb, leading to questions about what a hydrogen bomb is, why it is seen as a threat, and how the test could be detected. ATOMIC BOMBS--The first nuclear weapons, developed during World War II, atomic bombs, or fission weapons, use a process by which neutrons collide with an atoms nucleus and release energy with explosive force. U.S. aircraft dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, leading to hundreds of thousands of Japanese deaths and bringing a quick end to World War II. Each of the five countries confirmed to have tested a hydrogen bomb first developed a fission atomic bomb, according to Matthew McKinzie, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. HYDROGEN BOMBS: Hydrogen bombs, or thermonuclear weapons, have an explosion that can be more powerful than an atomic bomb. The hydrogen bomb uses a two step process: a fission bomb acts like a trigger, creating enough energy to create fusion that releases substantially more energy than fission alone. MINIATURIZATION: Hydrogen bombs are a threat because they can pack explosive power into smaller, light-weight packages that can be delivered by ballistic missiles, according to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). What makes the hydrogen bomb more concerning is this miniaturization process. BOOSTING: Nuclear "boosting" is a process by which the energy created by a weapon is more powerful than a fission reaction. To accomplish this, tritium gas is injected into a hollow core inside the either highly enriched uranium or plutonium contained in a standard fission bomb, said Cheryl Rofer, who worked as a chemist on nuclear weapons at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Some analysts believe the North Korean test conducted Jan. 6 involved boosting. DETECTION: Four techniques are commonly used to monitor nuclear blasts, according to the CTBTO, an international agency that enforces the anti-nuclear treaty. Seismic technology measures waves of seismic events and monitors for underground nuclear explosions. Hydroacoustic monitoring listens for underwater explosions. Infrasound monitoring measures changes in the atmosphere to test for atmospheric nuclear explosions. Radionuclide monitoring, which detects particles and noble gases in the atmosphere, is key to confirming the existence and type of nuclear explosions. TESTING THE NORTH KOREA BLAST: In confirming the nature of the North Korea explosion, specialized aircraft will collect air samples that will be analyzed for radioactive particles and gases that are byproducts of thermonuclear blasts. The particles will vent out from the underground test over a period of weeks, said Rofer, a nuclear weapons chemist. The U.S. Air Force uses the WC-135W Constant Phoenix, a modified Boeing aircraft, to collect air particles and any debris in the atmosphere. DETECTION CHALLENGES: The radioactive gas xenon and other traces of a nuclear blast decay rapidly, so time is of the essence. "It may be that we wont get much in the way of isotopes and particles, Rofer said. The North Koreans in the past have been proficient in sealing the underground shafts in which they detonated test devices. (Reporting by Idrees Ali. Editing by David Greising and Andrew Hay)
The nations federal campaign and election regulator could soon have a new address  and it wouldnt necessarily be in Washington, D.C.

Federal Election Commission officials confirmed to the Center for Public Integrity that a move appears increasingly likely since a real estate investment group controlled by Jordache Enterprises  best known for its designer jeans  purchased the agencys headquarters building last year.

The FECs lease expires in September 2017; the stately, nine-story structure the commission occupies sits atop prime real estate at 999 E St. Northwest near Washington, D.C.s burgeoning Gallery Place-Chinatown district.

Short-term, moving to a new building could create yet more inconvenience and tumult for the agency, which is already struggling with internal ideological battles and low employee morale. Long-term, however, a new facility could upgrade employees office environment and save taxpayers money.

My gut tells me that the FEC, theyre going to go, but I cant tell you exactly whether theyre going to stay or going to go, said Jonathan Bennett of Jordache Enterprises Nakash Holdings.

FEC commissioners arent sure, either.

Its up in the air. There are still several shoes left to drop, said FEC Chairman Matthew Petersen, a Republican.

Democratic Commissioner Ann Ravel, whose tenure as agency chairperson ended last week, said its less likely that the FEC will stay put and more likely itll move to a yet-to-be-determined location.

This much is certain: the FECs current headquarters is one pricey piece of property.

Jordache Enterprises, which owns several dozen hotel, resort, residential and office properties, purchased the FECs headquarters building for $83.5 million, according to District of Columbia property records.

In 2015, the Districts Office of Tax and Revenue valued 999 E St. NW at $77,100,800.

The building  we love it. We love the location, the proximity to the Smithsonian, its all great, Bennett said.

Story continues

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Created in 1975, the FEC has operated out of its current building since 1985. Before that, a building at 1325 K St. NW in Washington, D.C., housed the agencys operations.

The federal governments General Services Administration is responsible for negotiating with Jordache Enterprises and its development partner, Douglas Development Corp.

If lease negotiations fail, the GSA must secure alternate office space for the FEC, whose roughly 350 employees enforce and administer the nations federal election laws or support such efforts.

A headquarters move could mean the FEC  like its neighbor across E Street, the FBI  ditches its downtown digs for a location in Virginia or Maryland, far outside Washington, D.C.s core.

Its also entirely possible the FEC could move elsewhere within the District of Columbia, which appears to be GSAs preference.

The GSA recently published a presolicitation notice indicating its seeking between 87,000 square feet and 105,000 square feet of space to lease at a building thats within the District of Columbia and a half mile of a Metrorail train station. A formal request for proposals is forthcoming.

The FEC today leases nearly 137,000 square feet, and GSA records indicate its current annual rent is about $5.35 million.

"Currently, it is premature to provide information pertaining to  the movement of their headquarters, GSA spokeswoman Kamara Jones said.

Securing federal government office space isnt cheap.

For example, taxpayers have already funded $5 million in "lease expiration and replacement lease expenses" related to the FECs headquarters.

But Republican FEC Commissioner Lee Goodman says finding a new headquarters could provide long-term benefits, both in terms of lower costs and improved working conditions.

Related story: New FEC chairman aims to calm agency at war with itself

Goodman described the FECs current office space as dingy, even junky in places, with needlessly wide hallways and large offices from a different era.

A modern office would boost morale of the people who work here, said Goodman, adding that federal officials involved with the potential move tell him theyre hoping to identify suitable space within a five or six block radius of our current location.

Ravel agreed: In many ways, our building doesnt serve our purposes.

Republican FEC Commissioner Caroline Hunter says shed prefer the FEC stay in its current building, particularly given its attractive location and proximity to public transit stations. If not, I hope that we can stay in Washington, because I think thats best for the members of the public that come in to meet with us, Hunter said.

The 999 E St. NW building houses just one other tenant beside the FEC: a street-level Hard Rock Cafe.

Hard Rock Cafe spokeswoman Amanda Early said the restaurant chain does not have an update to share about the future of its Washington, D.C., location, although Bennett from Jordache Enterprises called the music-themed restaurant a great tenant.

Were the FEC to occupy its current address past 2017, Bennett said his company would definitely improve the interior  something Goodman insisted is essential.

In the meantime, expect negotiations between the federal government and Jordache Enterprises to begin soon but last throughout the year.

There isnt a sense of urgency yet on anyones part, Bennett said.

This story is part of Politics. Campaign donations, lobbying and influence in government and reports on the special interests that are funding elections and buying power. Click here to read more stories in this topic.

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Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
The Hague (AFP) - Workers in Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, went on strike Thursday for the first time in 13 years, fighting to keep hundreds of jobs they say may be lost to automatisation.

"The union is demanding assurances that there will be no forced job cuts as a result of the implementation of new highly-automated terminals," the two unions, the FNV and the CNV, said in a statement.

The 24-hour strike began at 1415 GMT, the daily Financieel Dagblad said, adding however that some of the terminals were still at work later in the day.

According to the financial daily, workers last downed tools at the port some 13 years ago.

The Dutch news agency ANP said 700 workers -- out of a total workforce of around 3,600 -- had joined the strike.

Port authorities did not respond immediately to a request from AFP to comment on the situation.

The unions claim some 800 jobs are under threat following the opening of new terminals at an extension to the Rotterdam port known as Maasvlakte.

The biggest maritime project in several decades in the Netherlands, Maasvlakte has doubled the port's capacity for handling containers.

Some 450 million tonnes of freight and cargo passes through Rotterdam each year, carried on some 30,000 seagoing vessels and 110,000 inland vessels which visit the port annually.

The unions are urging that no one be forced to leave their jobs before 2020 and that conditions for older workers improved.

Strikes are rare in the Netherlands which has a strong tradition of social dialogue. According to the European observatory of industrial relations (EIRO), there were between five to seven strike days in Holland between 2005-2009, compared with 132 in France over the same period.
PARIS (Reuters) - The French financial prosecutor's office announced on Thursday it had launched a preliminary investigation into far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her father Jean-Marie Le Pen on suspicions that they misrepresented their wealth. A French body in charge of transparency in public life lodged a case in December against the Le Pens, saying they may had underestimated their wealth held in common in 2014. Marine Le Pen appealed to the State Council, France's highest administrative body, but the appeal was rejected. "After analysis, the national financial prosecutor decided today to launch a preliminary investigation," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. It said the probe had initially targeted Jean-Marie Le Pen. "The scope of the investigation is now expanded to the misrepresentation of Marine Le Pen's fortune," it said. Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of the FN, was excluded from the party last year by his daughter after several controversial statements. He is suspected of aggravated tax fraud, aggravated laundering and misrepresentations to authorities. (Reporting by Sophie Louet and Gerard Bon; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Brest (France) (AFP) - Celebrated French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau's iconic ship the Calypso -- out of commission after an accident 20 years ago -- will sail again in a few months, its owners said Thursday.

The ship became a household name for millions of television viewers in the 1960s and 1970s with a gripping documentary series the "Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau."

The Cousteau Society said the vessel will "be getting a whole new life" after it sank in 1996 in Singapore when a barge rammed into the ship just as it was departing for an expedition in the Yellow River in China.

"At the end of the first trimester of 2016 Calypso will be able to leave the... shipyard, to begin its new life," a statement said.

"Restored, she will sail again as an Ambassador for the Seas and Oceans, as Captain Cousteau wished."

The vessel was docked at a shipbuilding yard in Brittany in France for repairs in 2007 but a spat emerged over payment and the Equipe Cousteau was ordered by court to pay the shipyard 300,000 euros in repair costs by March last year.

It then raised the money through public contributions.

The Calypso began its life as a British minesweeper in 1943 and was acquired in 1950 by Cousteau.
Gary Johnson wants you to know that hes not delusional.

The former New Mexico governor knows that his campaign for the presidency, which he announced Wednesday on the Fox Business Network, wont end with him in the White House.

I have no delusions of grandeur here, Johnson told me shortly after his announcement, in his characteristic frankness. I know what happened last time.

By last time, Johnson means the 2012 presidential election cycle. He ran first as a Republican, visiting early primary states like every other candidate, but, he notes, without the national attention others received. He switched his affiliation to the Libertarian Party by late 2011, and competed as its nominee. In a creative interpretation of his bid, a campaign press release on Wednesday said that he placed third in 2012 as the Libertarian candidate. Its a role he hopes to fill this year, too.

Johnsons presidential ambitions were hiding in plain sight for months, before he announced his bid on Wednesday afternoon, citing big and unwieldy government as the biggest problem the nation faces. The move comes just ahead of the Iowa caucuses, and after eight major-party contenders have already dropped out of the contest.

Recommended: The Tea Party of the Left

Reason, a libertarian publication, noted in a story early Wednesday morning that Johnson appeared ready to announce. His plans didnt exactly come out of nowhere. My colleague Molly Ball noted back in 2012 that he wouldnt rule out a 2016 run if his earlier effort flamed out. Earlier this year, Johnson told The Daily Caller that he hoped to run, and provided more specifics on his tenure as governor and his intent in an October Tumblr post. In a missive titledrather transparentlyWhy I would run for President, Johnson laid out his political accomplishments and worldview.

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Johnson told me his campaign is about making sure his viewpointthat of a classic liberal, whos fiscally conservative but socially liberalis aired at the most competitive level possible. He doesnt see any candidate in either party who fits that criteria, but believes the label fits most Americans, he said. Calling himself a reality-based person, Johnson said hes got nothing to lose by mounting a campaign.

I like to think that on my deathbed, I will think of myself as a voice of reason in this process, Johnson said.

Johnsons voice has been particularly loud on the issue of marijuana legalization; hes a longtime advocate, and until this week he was the CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc., a pot branding and marketing company. The company cited political opportunities for Johnson as his reason for leaving.

Recommended: What the Left Gets Wrong About the Oregon Standoff

Wes Benedict, the executive director of the Libertarian National Committee, said Wednesday that the group is thankful Gary Johnson is willing to do the hard work again by running for president. The committee endorses Johnsons effort to sue the Commission on Presidential Debatesthrough his 501(c)(4), Our America Initiativeto try to change the qualifying rules for debates so third-party candidates can more easily appear alongside the Democratic and Republican nominees.

If you run for president as a libertarian, its a major endeavor for a cause you care about, Benedict said. Its not to seek political power.

Johnson acknowledged to me that his signature issue, a too-big government with too many trillions in debt, might not ignite voters passions like national security. But hes going to talk about it anyway, as everyone else has their head in the sand.

In his October note, Johnson also criticized the current field, suggesting the Republican candidates arent bringing anything new to the table and calling the Democratic options equally alarming. He suggested that Senator Rand Paul, whos closest to him ideologically, had sold out, and took aim at the glaring exception to the same-old-GOP field, Donald Trump.

Johnson told me he understands voters dissatisfaction with the status quo and the desire to support a candidate without any ties, but he condemned primary voters current candidate of choiceTrump, whom Johnson believes will be the GOP nomineefor his anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric.

He wants to provide a singular voice in the presidential field. Will it get heard? Johnson asks, rhetorically. Ill be the first person that says probably not, but nowhere does the voice exist.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
(Reuters) - A 43-year-old man shot and killed his young son before taking his own life in an Atlanta-area home on Wednesday, ending a nearly day-long standoff with police, authorities said.

Police were called to the home in Gwinnett County late on Tuesday to investigate a report of a domestic dispute. Inside, a man identified as Thy Anh Ho was holding his two-year-old son hostage at gunpoint, police said.

SWAT teams descended on the home, and after a 19-hour standoff with Ho, gunshots rang out, Corporal Deon Washington, a spokesman for Gwinnett County police, said during a news conference.

"All of the gunshots were fired before the police entered the actual room where the suspects were. No law enforcement personnel fired any shots during this whole incident," Washington said.

The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. Ho died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

The boy's mother told media Ho had also threatened her and her teenage son but they escaped from the home. She told WXIA-TV her young son was "so smart."

Ho had served about four months in a Georgia prison in 2012 for theft, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Rich McKay

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A prosecutor on Thursday said he would seek a murder charge against a white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed, naked black man at an apartment complex near Atlanta last year.

DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said he will seek the indictment of Officer Robert Olsen on felony murder and other charges from a criminal grand jury expected to hear the case on Jan. 21.

"It is the position of this office that a crime was committed," James told a news conference.

The death of Anthony Hill, 27, was one of a series of killings of black men by law enforcement officers around the United States that have prompted debate and protests about police use of force.

Olsen, who is on paid administrative leave from the DeKalb County Police Department, shot Hill twice in the chest on March 9, 2015 in a suburban area near Atlanta. Neighbors had complained that Hill was crawling around naked, knocking on doors and "acting deranged," police said.

Olsen testified before a civil grand jury in October that he felt threatened by Hill, according to a lawyer for Hill's family.

The family has argued that the officer could have used a stun gun or other methods to subdue Hill, a U.S. Air Force veteran who was experiencing a "non-violent mental episode" from a disorder developed while serving in Afghanistan, according to a wrongful death lawsuit they filed in November.

The family has said he was medically discharged from the military in 2013 and was an aspiring musician.

The civil grand jury recommended further investigation into Hill's death but could not agree on whether District Attorney James should take the case to a criminal grand jury for possible indictment.

James said the United States has been on edge over officer-involved shootings, but he said his decision was based solely on the facts of the case.

He said he will seek indictments on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, violation of oath of office and giving false testimony.

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Olsen and his attorney were notified of the action late on Wednesday, James said. Efforts to reach them through the police department were not immediately successful.

Hill's girlfriend, Bridget Anderson, said she and his family had been praying for charges to be pursued against the officer.

"I didn't think it would get this far," she said. "We're one step closer to justice now."

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)
Internet users all across the United States are desperate for Google Fiber to make its way to their city, but one South Austin neighborhood is currently experiencing one of the pitfalls of a project this large.

READ MORE: Microsoft shows off just how much data its collecting from Windows 10 users

According to a report from Austins NBC affiliate KXAN, homeowners are convinced that Google Fiber contractor, MasTec, is responsible for making flooding in the area even worse than it would have been by failing to clean up construction material once they had finished installing the fiber optic cable in the ground.

This is a man-made error, not a natural error, homeowner Steven Garza told KXAN. My neighbors are all stressing as well. Theres no communication and very slow to please these folks whove been disrupted.

Garza says that he has never seen the area come close to flooding in the 15 year since hes lived there, but he thinks that the gutter socks used by MasTec, which werent removed from the drains before the rain started coming down), have certainly contributed to the issues that he and his neighbors have been dealing with for weeks now.

Google released the following statement regarding the flooding:

Our sympathies are with the families affected by the historic Halloween floods. Were still working closely with our contractors to understand the details of the situation. Whenever we learn of issues, we do everything we can to identify and resolve them appropriately.

Some of the homeowners are happy with the offers theyre receiving from Google, but others are concerned that the payout wont cover the damage to their homes.

We didnt cause this, said Garza. We didnt want this to happen.

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Guatemala City (AFP) - The Guatemalan security forces Wednesday arrested 17 retired military personnel accused of massacres and other human rights abuses during the Central American country's 1960-1996 civil war, prosecutors said.

Of the suspects, 13 are accused of involvement in at least 88 massacres of indigenous people between 1981 and 1986, top prosecutor Thelma Aldana told a news conference.

Four others are accused of the disappearance of a boy, Marco Antonio Molina Theissen, near the capital Guatemala City in October 1981.

They were arrested in raids in the north and center of the country.

Among them was Benedicto Lucas, former army chief of staff.

The investigation relied partly on evidence from a mass grave containing remains of children, adults and elderly people, unearthed between 2012 and 2015.

The state prosecution service has also applied for another retired military figure, Edgar Ovalle, to be stripped of the immunity he enjoys as a deputy-elect.

Ovalle is a member of the conservative FCN-Nacion party of president-elect Jimmy Morales, who takes office on January 14.

Separately a court is due on January 11 to start judging a case against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who is accused of genocide.

He will be represented in court by his lawyers because he is suffering from dementia and health problems.

The war between government troops, left-wing rebels and right-wing vigilante groups left an estimated 200,000 people dead or disappeared, according to the United Nations.
Khartoum (AFP) - Unidentified gunmen ambushed a patrol of UN-African Union peacekeepers in Sudan's western Darfur region on Thursday, seizing weapons and ammunition from them, the mission said.

The incident took place in North Darfur state, in western Sudan, where the UN-AU mission (UNAMID) has been deployed since 2007.

"The perpetrators, who greatly outnumbered UNAMID's peacekeepers, seized one machine gun, four rifles and rounds of ammunition. One peacekeeper was injured in the incident," the mission said in a statement, without giving further details.

"UNAMID condemns such attacks on its personnel" and is investigating with the Sudanese authorities, the statement said.

Darfur has been mired in conflict since 2003 when ethnic rebels mounted an insurgency against the Arab-dominated government of President Omar al-Bashir, complaining they were being politically and economically marginalised.

Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide charges related to the conflict.

UNAMID deployed to the region to protect civilians and secure humanitarian aid.

But gunmen sporadically attack the peacekeepers and in 2014 Khartoum told UNAMID to prepare to leave after the mission's attempts to investigate the reported rape of 200 women and girls in a North Darfur village sparked government anger.

Some 300,000 people have been killed and nearly 2.5 million displaced in the conflict, the UN says, although the government puts the death toll at 10,000.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on Israeli tourists as they boarded a bus in Cairo on Thursday but there were no casualties, security sources said, while the Interior Ministry said the attack was directed at security forces. Egypt declared it would step up security at major tourist attractions last year after Islamist militants carried out several attacks, causing its struggling tourism industry to slump further. Thursday's shooting took place at the Three Pyramids Hotel, on a road leading to the Giza pyramids southwest of the capital. It is likely to raise questions over President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's repeated promises to stamp out militancy in Egypt. Security sources said the tourists boarding the bus were Israeli Arabs. The Interior Ministry said in a statement 15 people who had gathered on a side street near the hotel threw home-made fireworks in the direction of security forces stationed there. PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY "One of the loiterers fired a home-made pellet gun in the direction of the security in front of the hotel, causing some damage to the glass facade of the hotel as well as the window of a tourist bus. No injuries occurred," it said. Security forces apprehended one person who was hiding behind the hotel, the ministry said. One gunman was arrested at the scene and security forces surrounded the other attacker in another part of Cairo, said security sources earlier. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Bilal Mahajne, deputy mayor of Umm el-Fahm, an Arab town in northern Israel, said on Israel Radio that one of his associates had spoken to some of the tourists who were on the bus. Mahajne said: "They are all safe and well, and back in the hotel in Cairo." He said the group was on an organized tour. In June last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor, wounding three Egyptians. A week earlier, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of the tourism police at Giza. Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy, which has been struggling to recover from political turmoil that began with the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. In one of the worst attacks, Islamic State's Egypt affiliate has said it planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai on Oct. 31, killing all 224 people on board. Egyptian jihadists, who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
This story first appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

In a backroom at Panavision's Woodland Hills offices, Robert Richardson stumbled upon a Holy Grail of sorts. Quentin Tarantino had turned to the Oscar-winning cinematographer to figure out how to fulfill his dream of releasing The Hateful Eight as a 70mm movie. Richardson discovered a set of classic Ultra Panavision 70 lenses, last used for 1966s Khartoum, that would allow him to shoot in superwide 2:76:1 ratio.

I was told those lenses no longer existed, says Richardson, explaining that it was while he was at Panavision to meet with the companys optical engineering vp Dan Sasaki that he discovered these very funky-looking lenses. Adds the cinematographer: Quentin was extraordinarily happy because he wanted the widest format possible. First, though, those vintage lenses required some refurbishing. The problem was these lenses hadnt been used since the 60s, so none of them would work on a modern film camera, explains Sasaki. So I offered these to Robert not knowing Id get the whole company involved in supporting the project. In the end, Panavision retrofitted 15 of the lenses with varying focal lengths in just a few months.

Read More: Cinematographer Roundtable: Cons of CG, Betraying Oliver Stone and When to Quit a Film

Since Tarantino and Richardson wanted long takes for the movies dialogue-heavy sequences, Panavision also developed larger magazines for the film cameras while Kodak made longer 1,800-foot film rolls (as opposed to the usual 1,000-foot rolls) of 65mm Kodak Vision3 5219 film. That allowed for takes as long as 16 minutes, filming at 24 frames per second, compared with the slightly less than nine minutes that would have been available on 1,000-foot reels. The wide format also allowed Richardson to include many of the films characters in the same frame at once, capturing their reactions to one another. Thats what Quentin loved most  to be able to include as many characters as possible within the shot without having to single them out, says Richardson. Having them all there, especially as the tension rises, makes it more of a thriller. You have visual evidence of their whereabouts in almost every shot.

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It was an arduous shoot, much of it shot on location in the snow near Telluride. We were above 10,000 feet. Usually when we arrived on set, it was between minus-10 and minus-20 degrees, says production sound mixer Mark Ulano. Most of the physical locations are not something you drove to  you were on a snowmobile to a drop-off point, where you then might hike another quarter-mile in sub-zero temperatures.

On the other hand, for shots where the production needed to remove walls to fit the camera gear, the interior of Minnies was additionally built on a stage at Red Studios in Hollywood, Richardson notes that to get the actors breath to show onscreen, Quentin got a fleet of air conditioners; it was colder on stage than on location. It was also so moist, because to get the breath, you needed the right dewpoint. We had blankets on the camera.

>>>>>>>
In announcing his new executive actions on gun control on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama made the frequency of suicide via firearms a sticking point in his argument for why his initiatives are necessary.

We have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns," he said. "We have suicides that are committed by firearms at a rate that far exceeds other countries.

As of 2012, the US had the 50th highest suicide rate per 100,000 citizens in the world, according to the World Health Organization. When compared to fellow advanced countries, the US was in the top 10 worldwide.

Breaking down the suicide rates by state, there is a positive correlation between states with stronger gun-control laws and a lower suicide rate. Of course, this relationship does not prove that stronger gun control prevents or even reduces suicides, but it does show that the two are linked in a potentially important way.

Gun friendly states, gun ownership, and suicide

In the states ranked in the top 25 most friendly for gun owners in 2015 by Guns & Ammo Magazine, the suicide rate per 100,000 people was nearly 16. That number was closer to 13.5 in the 25 least gun-friendly states from the same list, according to 2014 data from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). In the 12 states deemed the least gun-friendly, that number falls to 11 per 100,000.

More than 50% of suicides are carried out with guns, according to the AFSP. The next most common method is suffocation, which accounts for about 25% of suicides.

There also appears to be a link between state rates of gun ownership and suicide.

Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska  the states with the three highest gun-ownership rates  have the three highest suicide rates in the country, according to a 2012 study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. And those three states are also among the top 11 most gun-friendly, as ranked by Guns & Ammo.

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The literature suggests that having a gun in your home to protect your family is like bringing a time bomb into your house, Dr. Mark Rosenberg, an epidemiologist who helped establish the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, told The New York Times in 2013. Instead of protecting you, its more likely to blow up.

In a 2006 effort to curb suicide attempts among soldiers, the Israeli Defense Force changed a policy that allowed soldiers to take their weapons home with them on weekends. In the following two years, the number of soldiers killing themselves on the weekend dropped 70%, according to a 2010 study, and overall suicide rates among soldiers dropped 40%.

These data clearly emphasize the effectiveness of decreasing access to firearms on suicide prevention; the 40% decrease in rates of suicide is an achievement unparalleled by any other means of suicide prevention, the study said.

Also, researchers did not see an uptick in suicides by other means, such as suffocation or overdose, contrary to claims some people have made that this would happen if guns were unavailable.

Veterans make up more than 22% of all suicides in the US, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, while veterans and active military members make up just north of 7% of the overall population, according to FiveThirtyEight.com.

The results of this study indicate that decreasing access to firearms can significantly decrease rates of suicide among adolescents, a finding that should encourage policy makers to decrease access to firearms, the study said.





'Gun friendly states, gun ownership, and murder

There is also a correlation between gun ownership, gun friendliness, and murder, although it is not quite as strong as it is between gun ownership, gun friendliness, and suicide.

In the top 25 most gun-friendly states, the murder rate per 100,000 people in 2014 was 4.76, whereas it was 3.36 in the 25 most restrictive states. But the state with the lowest murder rate (New Hampshire) actually has the 10th most lenient gun laws in the nation. Also, the second most restrictive state for guns (New Jersey) has a significantly higher murder rate than the state thats the second most lenient (Vermont).

The states with the four highest murder rates do fall inside the top 25 best states for gun owners, as do 10 of the top 12.

And roughly 70% of murders involve a firearm, according to 2011 data from the National Institute of Justice.

Whether its via suicide, murder, or accidental firing, guns kill roughly 89 Americans each day and nearly 34,000 each year, according to estimates from the CDC.

We can prevent a lot of these deaths and maimings, Norah Vawter, who was shot in 1984 by a stranger, wrote in The Washington Post blog Post Everything on Thursday. Her mother was shot by the stranger as well, and she died years later due to her injuries. We can prevent pain and heartache. We just have to try.

NOW WATCH: Watch President Obama break down during an emotional speech on gun violence





More From Business Insider


Hillary Clinton is headed back to late-night.

The Democratic presidential candidate will stop by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Jan. 14, NBC announced Thursday.

This marks the former First Lady's first appearance on the show since Sept. 16, and comes just weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9.

Read More: Donald Trump Books 'Tonight Show' Return Ahead of Debate

Not coincidentally, Clinton's visit comes days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will sit down with Fallon on Jan. 11  also his first since September. Clinton's sit-down also coincides with the next GOP debate, which will air on Fox Business Network.

The day before her Tonight Show appearance, Clinton will appear on Amanda de Cadenets interview series The Conversation on Lifetime.
This story first appeared in a special awards season issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The fact that Geoffrey Unsworth was David Lean's original choice to shoot Lawrence of Arabia speaks volumes about how respected he was among British cinematographers. (The reason he wasn't behind the camera on Lawrence is that he had already committed to doing the forgettable Danny Kaye comedy On the Double.) Unsworth had started out as a camera assistant on black-and-white films at London's Pinewood Studios in 1932, but it was with color that he really made his mark.

The first film to bring international attention to his work was 1964's Becket, starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, for which Unsworth received his first Oscar nomination. (He'd eventually win two: for 1972's Cabaret and 1979's Tess.)

It was a few years later, while shooting Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, when Unsworth demonstrated that his ability went beyond putting lush images onscreen: He also was enormously skilled at integrating cinematography and special effects.

That talent was put to good use on 1978's Superman, where he helped develop a photography process that produced more realistic images for the flying sequences. "He was like a human computer when it came to mixing effects and cinematography  and this at a time when there were no computers," says Superman director Richard Donner. "His mind was totally attuned to the visual. George saw how to transpose the ideas to celluloid. And he was a great guy  the personification of a wonderful English character."

Unsworth only worked on two films after Superman: The Great Train Robbery and Tess. In 1978, while on location in France during the third month of shooting Roman Polanski's take on Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Unsworth, 63, died from a heart attack. Most of his completed work was on exteriors in the film's first half. The remainder was shot by Ghislain Cloquet. They both received Oscars for best cinematography.

Read More: Cinematographer Roundtable: Cons of CG, Betraying Oliver Stone and When to Quit a Film
Tegucigalpa (AFP) - Honduras said Thursday it was starting a major archeological dig for a mysterious, ancient "White City" supposedly hidden in jungle in its northeast that explorers and legends have spoken of for centuries.

"Today a group of archeologists and scientists is traveling to the White City to start excavations in coming days," President Juan Orlando Hernandez said in a speech to private universities.

The hope is that they will uncover incontrovertible proof of the existence of the fabled site, which has also been called "the City of the Monkey God" and, in Spanish, "la Ciudad Blanca."

According to 16th-century Spanish conquistadors and to legend, the settlement, dating back thousands of years, is meant to be filled with fabulous riches.

Explorers over the past century have claimed several times to have spotted the White City in the thick jungle inside the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve on Honduras' Caribbean coast. Archeologists in recent decades found what looked like ancient mounds.

Then in 2012 an American documentary team using mapping technology in a small plane discovered what appeared to be the overgrown remains of an ancient civilization. National Geographic magazine reported last October that some carved stone artefacts had been found at the site.

The new expedition by Honduras intends to confirm the find by digging down to discover what lies under the soil.
Disregarding the record-smashing movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens for a moment, we cant ignore The Martian, one of the most interesting movies of 2015. As some fans have pointed out, the film is about saving Matt Damon  yet again  from an inhospitable place. And thats just one of the key points that the brilliant honest trailer for The Martian captures.

DONT MISS: Theres more to Reys mysterious flashback in The Force Awakens than meets the eye

For those of you unfamiliar with the Screen Junkies YouTube channel, you should know the gang behind these videos releases honest trailers for all sorts of movies on a regular basis. As such, its not surprising to see The Martian get a similar treatment.

Ridley Scotts movie gets a hilarious trailer thats almost five minutes long and you definitely dont want to miss it, especially if youve seen and enjoyed The Martian.

Screen Junkies makes fun of the fact that Matt Damon needs to be rescued yet again from space, and of all the math involved in this huge science-filled NASA commercial. But we wont spoil it for you because its definitely a fun one to watch.

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Here's the first trailer for Judd Apatow's Netflix series

'The Walking Dead' mid-season premiere has a brand new trailer

See what the original 'Star Wars' trailers would look like if they came out today

More from BGR: Microsoft shows off just how much data its collecting from Windows 10 users

This article was originally published on BGR.com
By Meredith Shiner



Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., continued his offensive against President Obamas just-announced executive orders on guns, telling Yahoo News Katie Couric in an exclusive interview Wednesday that he wished the president had demonstrated the same kind of [emotional] reaction in response to the killing of American journalist James Foley by the Islamic State.

When asked whether he was moved by Obamas tears Tuesday, shed as the president recalled the 20 first-graders who were gunned down in their Connecticut classroom in 2012, Ryan told Couric: I was affected by it, but I thought we shouldve had the same kind of reaction when James Foley was beheaded, when San Bernardino and Paris occurred. Thats the kind of reaction I had when those occurred.

In the 24 hours since the presidents announcement that he would direct more government resources toward enforcing current gun laws, Ryan has reiterated that he believes Obama should be more focused on fighting ISIS. The speaker, who dismissed the executive orders as a distraction, was especially forceful when he invoked Foleys death, implying that the president fell short in his compassion for the victims of Islamic State terrorism.



Though Obama did not openly cry while delivering his statement in August 2014 mourning Foley, he did say repeatedly he was appalled by Foleys execution in a speech that had its share of emotional moments.

Jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world, Obama said in a press conference from Marthas Vineyard, where he was vacationing at the time. Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim. All of us feel the ache of his absence. All of us mourn his loss. We keep in our prayers those other Americans who are separated from their families. We will do everything that we can to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for.

(Photo: Mary F. Calvert for Yahoo News)

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Slideshow: Behind the scenes of the Katie Couric interview with House Speaker Paul Ryan >>>

Republicans, and especially Ryan, the most powerful member of his party in Washington, consider Obamas Middle East policy weak and ineffective, explaining why Ryan would bring it up in the context of a seemingly unrelated question about the new regulations on gun sales.

I see it as a distraction.  What I think hes trying to do is distract from basically his failed policies, Ryan said of the executive actions. I think a week [when] we can talk about gun control is a week were not talking about our failure to confront ISIS fully, the failure to take care of the threat thats on our doorstep.

I think the president should put as much effort into going after homegrown Jihadists and going after terrorist infiltration of our refugee network and going after defeating ISIS than he is in trying to frustrate the law-abiding citizens Second Amendment rights, Ryan continued.

In 2015, there were approximately 50,000 recorded incidents of gun violence in the United States, including almost 13,000 deaths by homicide, unintentional shooting or murder/suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The speaker urged the president to better enforce existing gun laws  exactly what the administration said it was doing in the executive actions Tuesday, which among other things directed more resources to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI for monitoring gun sales and conducting background checks of buyers.



Besides being an election year, 2016 also will be Ryans first full year as speaker, and one of his first major events of the year will take place this weekend in South Carolina, where he and home-state Republican Sen. Tim Scott will hold a forum to discuss poverty. Several Republican presidential candidates, including Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Ben Carson, are expected to participate.



Though Ryan has proved himself to be an adept political foe of Obama a skill he honed as Mitt Romneys running mate in 2012  an early focus of his speakership has been on substantive policy issues, especially legislation aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

I believe if we measure success on fighting poverty by how many programs in Washington we can create and how much money we can throw at those programs, well keep getting the same results, the status quo. Forty-six million people living in poverty, among the highest poverty rates in a generation, Ryan told Couric. What were trying to do is get out of the status quo and go at these bigger problems with better solutions. And that, to me, means customizing. That, to me, means getting at the local level. So I think the wrong question to ask is, Why dont you throw more money at failing programs?

Ryan dismissed longstanding Democratic claims, which began at the time he unveiled his first budget proposal in 2011, that people at the bottom of the income scale would be hurt by his plans to make cuts to federal safety net programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.



Ryan hasnt endorsed a presidential candidate and would only say Wednesday that whoever the GOP nominee is would make for a better president than Obama. He also denied that the Republican Party is divided over its future.

Some people think that were in a civil war. I dont think thats the case. I think we are in the midst of unifying, Ryan said. I think with presidential primaries, youre going to have schisms and skirmishes because thats what primaries do.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:


KINSHASA (Reuters) - Rwandan Hutu rebels killed 14 civilians from a rival ethnic group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Thursday morning and wounded nine, the army said, in a sign of the ethnic tensions that persist in the conflict-torn region. Fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) attacked the ethnic Nande civilians in the town of Lubero in North Kivu province at around 2 a.m. (7 p.m. ET), said Mak Hazukay, a local spokesman for Congo's army. Hazukay said the killings appeared to be revenge for a series of attacks launched by Nande Mai Mai militias against the FDLR. The Nande, who dominate commerce in North Kivu, are historic rivals of the local Hutu. "For some time now, the FDLR and Mai Mai have fought over the zone and that has provoked high tensions between the two communities," Hazukay said. The Centre of Study for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO), an activist group that documents violence in North Kivu, confirmed the death toll of 14 and said the victims had been shot or hacked to death. The FDLR's spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. Ethnic rivalries, foreign invasions and competition for land and rich mineral deposits among in eastern Congo's dozens of rebel groups have fueled persistent conflict that has cost millions of lives over the last two decades. The FDLR, a Hutu militia founded by some of the perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide who fled into neighboring Congo, is the largest rebel group, estimated by analysts to have more than 1,000 members. Congo's army attacked the FDLR last February. The FDLR accuses Congolese forces of collaborating with local rebel groups to attack Hutu civilians, a charge the government denies. (Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Edward McAllister and Kevin Liffey)
Seoul (AFP) - Indonesia signed a $1.3 billion deal with South Korea Thursday to jointly develop Seoul's next-generation fighter jets, the South's aircraft manufacturer said.

Under the deal signed with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Indonesia's defence ministry will invest about 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) programme.

The programme is aimed at producing new, homegrown fighter jets to replace the South's aged fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters imported from the US.

A consortium of KAI and the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin last March won a 8.6 trillion-won contract to provide 120 fighter jets to Seoul's air force.

The investment from Indonesia will account for about one fifth of the total cost of the project, with up to 100 Indonesian workers taking part in development and production, KAI said in a statement.

Indonesia will be given one prototype plane and gain access to some technical data and information involving the project, it added.

The South Korean military plans to put the new fighter jets into service by 2025 to guard against threats from the nuclear-armed North Korea.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and Saudi Arabia took further steps to sever commercial ties on Thursday, intensifying a feud between the regional rivals, as Tehran announced a ban on imports from Saudi Arabia and Saudi groups called for boycotts of Iranian products. Iran's government said it had forbidden imports from Saudi Arabia after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday morning, according to state news agency IRNA. The cabinet also reaffirmed a ban on Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca - which are both lucrative for Saudi Arabia and important to Muslims - first imposed in April in response to an alleged sexual assault on two male Iranians by Saudi airport guards. Trade between Saudi Arabia and Iran is small compared with the size of their economies, but tens of thousands of Iranians travel to the kingdom every year to complete the haj as well as Umrah pilgrimages made outside of haj season. Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday over the storming of its embassy in Tehran, intensifying a diplomatic crisis set in motion by the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric the previous day. Foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters on Monday the kingdom was halting air traffic and trade links with the Islamic republic, although none of the few Saudi companies with interests in Iran has yet announced changes to their operations. Savola, the kingdom's largest food products company, which earns some 13 percent of total revenues from Iran, said on Tuesday it plans to maintain its investments there despite the standoff. But it and the few other Saudi companies doing business in Iran faced increasing public pressure over the course of the week, as consumer and business groups called for boycotts of Iranian products. Chamber of commerce leaders told local daily newspaper al-Riyadh that Saudi businesses should replace Iranian goods with alternatives from other Arab and Islamic countries. A trade boycott would cause the kingdom little economic harm, they said, noting that imports from Iran mainly consist of pistachio nuts and pickles. Consumer activist group Mogatah also urged Saudi businesses to remove Iranian goods from their shelves, posting photos of Iranian products for sale in Saudi Arabia on social media along with calls to support the government's policy. The group scolded Swedish home goods retailer Ikea for selling a Persian carpet with a "made in Iran" label at its stores in Saudi Arabia, and applauded a local Riyadh-based carpet shop chain for deciding to end sales of Iranian rugs. (Reporting by Katie Paul and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Stamp)
Why Crude Oil Bearish Traders Continue to Celebrate ahead of 2016

(Continued from Prior Part)

Irans crude oil production

Iran produced 2.8 MMbpd (million barrels per day) of crude oil in November 2015. Irans crude oil production peaked at 5.5 MMbpd during the late 1970s. However, civil war and lower investments in Iran led to a catastrophic fall in the countrys crude oil production. Since 2011, Irans crude oil production has fallen due to Western oil sanctions, which led Iran to lose its position as the second largest producer within OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Iran has 10% of global crude oil reserves and 13% of OPECs crude oil reserves.

Irans game plan

The easing of oil sanction means Iran could scale up production as soon as possible. Preliminary estimates suggest Iran could scale up production by 0.5 MMbpd1 MMbpd in 2016. Iran is searching for strategic ventures with major oil companies such as BP (BP), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), Total (TOT), Eni (ENI), Repsol, and OMV. Iran is luring oil giants with new long-term petroleum contracts and attractive perks.

Impact

An increase in oil production from Iran could add to the glut market and put further pressure on crude oil prices. This could send oil prices to new lows, despite the fact that oil prices are already trading at an 11-year low. For more on this, read the series Why History Suggests that Crude Oil May Be Low for Next 2 Decades. Lower oil prices would affect the margins of oil producers like ConocoPhillips (COP), ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD).

Oil tracking ETFs like the United States Oil Fund (USO) and the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) are also influenced by lower oil prices. Read how the US dollar could weigh on oil prices in 2016 in the next part of this series.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has reportedly been wounded in an air strike in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a military statement said on Thursday. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. "There are confirmed reports that the so-called terrorist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani the spokesman of the Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists was wounded in an air strike ... in the region of Barwana," the military statement said. Adnani lost "a large amount of blood" in the attack a few days ago, before being moved to the northern city of Mosul, Islamic State's capital in Iraq, the statement added. More than 100 Islamic State fighters were killed in and around Barwana this week by air strikes aimed at helping the Iraqi army repel militant offensives near the city of Haditha, according to the U.S.-led coalition. Adnani is a Syrian from Idlib who pledged allegiance to Islamic State's predecessor al Qaeda more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution. Adanani has been the chief propagandist for the hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning large swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria. William McCants, a Brookings scholar who is author of the book "The ISIS Apocalypse," said if true, Adnani's wounding could be a significant setback for Islamic State. "If he's incapacitated, Baghdadi has lost a very trusted adviser," he said by phone, referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. "His name has been floated as a possible successor... and he's an effective propagandist." U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the coalition bombing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, could not confirm the Iraqi military report but said Adnani had not been targeted by a coalition air strike. (Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Andrew Roche and Cynthia Osterman)
Rome (AFP) - Italy's acrimonious debate over gay civil unions intensified on Thursday after the interior minister said the paid use of surrogate mothers should be treated like a sex crime.

Angelino Alfano's comments sparked outrage amongst gay rights groups and other supporters of legal recognition and protection for same sex couples, an area in which Italy lags behind its European neighbours.

Alfano, the leader of the New Centre Right (NCD) party, the junior partner in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's coalition government, won backing for his stance from conservative politicians and leaders of the Catholic church in Italy.

The row erupted as the Italian parliament prepares to debate a bill on civil unions which Renzi promised to make a priority after taking over as premier in February 2014.

Draft legislation includes provision for lesbians and gay men who enter into civil unions to adopt their partners' children -- a clause that has been opposed by the NCD and others, slowing the bill's progress through parliament.

Italian law already prevents couples from using a surrogate mother in any circumstances.

In theory, anyone caught entering into a surrogacy arrangement faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to a million euros.

Alfano's proposals to upgrade the gravity of the offence would mean much harsher penalties: sex crimes are liable for jail sentences of between five and 14 years under the Italian penal code.

In an interview with Catholic weekly Avvenire, the minister said the clause, for which the English term "stepchild adoption" is widely used, "risks bringing the country closer to wombs-for-rent, towards the most vile, illegal trade that man has invented."

He then added: "We want wombs-for-rent to become a universal crime, which is punished with a jail term. Just as happens for sex crimes."

The minister did not elaborate on how the concept of "wombs-for-rent" would be defined.

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Legislating to allow surrogacy but preventing women doing it as a source of income has proved tricky in other countries, notably because of the difficulty in distinguishing between reasonable compensation for a woman's time and medical expenses and sums that could constitute an incentive to enter into the arrangement.

- Adoption, surrogacy confusion -

Emma Bonino, a former minister and European commissioner who is one of Italy's most prominent feminists, said Alfano's proposals would simply result in couples going overseas to find surrogate mothers if there was no other way they could have a child.

"Mr Alfano should reflect on the fact that saying, 'I would not do it' must never become 'therefore nobody should do it'," Bonino said.

But Edoardo Menichelli, the Archbishop of Ancona, welcomed Alfano's stance, describing surrogacy as "a degrading practice for women who are reduced to being the incubator for the desires of others".

The 76-year-old cardinal added: "To have a child is not a right, we believe. As Pope Francis says, every child who comes into this world has the right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother."

Gay rights groups accused Alfano of sowing confusion between surrogacy and adoption rights in bad faith in a bid to capsize the civil unions bill.

"Either the minister does not know the Italian law or he is speculating at the expense of children, which is something really vile," said a statement issued by the Luca Coscioni association and two other groups.

Italy was condemned last year by the European Court of Human Rights for failing to offer adequate legal safeguards to same sex couples.

Parliament is due to begin debating the civil unions bill at the end of January. Renzi is expected ultimately to get the bill through, but that may not be the end of debate, with Alfano having pledged to campaign for a ratifying referendum if the adoption clause is enacted.

Opinion polls suggest a majority of voters back civil unions but are more evenly split on the adoption issue. Support for civil unions increased significantly after Ireland, one of the few countries with as strong a Catholic heritage as Italy, voted decisively in favour of gay marriage last year.
Jake Gyllenhaal is making his first move into television with a series that will explore American cult personalities.

The "Southpaw" actor is developing an anthology series with A&E that will explore some of the biggest personas in US cult history, reports Variety.

Gyllenhaal will executive produce the show which starts with the story of Jim Jones, the infamous cult leader of The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ. In 1978, 900 of his followers who had moved to Guyana and created the Jonestown commune died in a mass murder suicide via cyanide poisoning.

"Jim Jones is a complex character -- one who has found his way into the collective unconscious. We want to focus on the undeniable magnetism of zealots and the danger of that kind of charisma," said Gyllenhaal.

"A notion not only pertinent to cult leaders but to the geopolitical climate of today."
The Daily Beast

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared Tuesday that there is no need to maintain a diplomatic presence in western countries, in the latest sign that Russia may be toying with the idea of completely severing diplomatic ties with western countries as its war in Ukraine nears the nine month mark.There is neither point nor desire to maintain the previous presence in Western states. Our people work there in conditions that can hardly be called human, Lavrov said, acco
Jason Jones is ready to hit the road on his new TBS comedy The Detour.

The former Daily Show correspondent is the creator and star of the family sitcom, set to bow in April, about a road trip gone wrong. The hour-half is just one example of the new brand of hard-hitting comedy that TBS and TNT president Kevin Reilly plans to usher in as he attempts to transform the basic cable channel.

Co-created by Jones' wife and former Daily Show colleague Samantha Bee (whose late-night talk show Full Frontal premieres next month on the same network), The Detour is inspired by the couple's own experiences with family vacations, as Bee and Jones have three children.

The 10-episode season follows Nate (Jones), who loads up the car with his wife Robin (Natalie Zea) and kids Delilah (Ashley Gerasimovich) and Jared (Liam Carroll) for an adventure to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from their home in Syracuse, N.Y.. Along the way, their journey is fraught with disaster as they encounter one unexpected calamity after another.

"The core of it is how I speak to my children, which is in a very honest and blunt fashion. I don't see that on television a lot," said Jones on stage at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour of the concept for the show, adding, "When you throw in a close, cramped quarters on a trip, it gets even more open and honest."

Read More: Jason Jones-Samantha Bee Comedy Lands TBS Series Order

Jones went on to give an example of his and Bee's parenting style. When a question about sex arose with their kids at a very young age - they thought eggs were planted in foreheads and came out of "mommy's tummy scar," Jones explained - the 42-year-old dad felt compelled to have a mature conversation with his children. "I couldn't live with my kids being that dumb," he said to laughs in the audience.

The Canadian-born Jones also shut down comparisons to the 2015 Ed Helms-Christina Applegate film Vacation. "It's nothing like [that] movie. It starts out that way, but it goes off on a ... detour. It's one journey that becomes something very different as it goes along," he said, hinting that his character may have a Walter White-like secret and that he wouldn't be disappointed if someone called the series "Breaking Bad: The Comedy."

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When asked later in the show's half-hour in front of the press about the balancing act of being both Bee's co-worker and spouse, Jones shrugged off the question with a joke: "I'm actually just a terrible husband and a terrific exec producer. We just actually stay together for our careers. We look to the Clintons."

The Detour is set to premiere Monday, April 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TBS.
Bruce the shark, the famous seafaring predator from Jaws, has found a new home at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum.

The Academy announced Thursday that a full-scale model of the shark, the last surviving one from the 1975 movie, has been donated to the museum by Nathan Adlen. During filming of Jaws, director Steven Spielberg nicknamed the shark Bruce after his lawyer Bruce Ramer.

The Fiberglas model is the fourth and final version made from the original mold. Created for display at the Universal Studios Hollywood at the time of the films release, the prop remained a popular backdrop for photos until 1990, when it was moved to the yard of Aadlen Brothers Auto Wrecking, a firm in Sun Valley, Calif., that regularly bought or hauled used vehicles from Universal Studios. With the business slated to close this month, owner Nathan Adlen is giving the historic prop to the Academy Museum, which is set to open in 2018.

The shark model will join other holdings  including an underwater apparatus and fin used in Jaws and Jaws II  as the largest object in the collection to date.

Read More: 'Jaws': THR's 1975 Review

Jaws was the original summer blockbuster  a movie that marked a turning point in culture and society  and Bruce is the only surviving version of its unforgettable central prop," said Kerry Brougher, director of the Academy Museum. "This extraordinary addition to our collection, made possible through the generosity of Nathan Adlen, is a major contribution to the resources we will use to illuminate film history and enhance the publics understanding of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.

Directed by Spielberg and based on the 1974 Peter Benchley novel, Jaws helped to establish the modern blockbuster. It was selected by the Library of Congress in 2001 for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The creation of the films mechanical shark was undertaken by art director Joe Alves, who designed a prop with a 25-foot long body, 400-pound head and jaws nearly five feet wide. The mold yielded three latex and rubber casts that were used in production. Following the movies release, the three rubber casts deteriorated and were discarded. But the fourth cast, made of Fiberglas for promotional use, has survived. In 2010, it was authenticated by Roy Arbogast, a member of the films special effects crew.

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I am delighted to be part of the new Academy Museum through the gift of this beloved American icon, said Adlen. Bruce caught the eye of my father, Sam Adlen, at first glance back in 1990, and for many years hes been like a member of the family. And the May Company building, where the Museum is being created, feels like part of the family too, since I grew up in the Miracle Mile district and shopped with my parents at the May Company, where my wife even had a part-time job. This is going to be the perfect place to share this extraordinary treasure with the world.

The Academy is currently raising $388 million to support the building, exhibitions and programs of the Academy Museum. The campaign was launched in 2012, under the chairmanship of Bob Iger and co-chairmanship of Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. To date, the Academy has secured more than $250 million in pledges from more than 1,300 individual donors.

Read More: 'Jaws': How "Massive" Promotion Built a Summer Blockbuster
By Steve Holland and Alana Wise MEREDITH, N.H. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Wednesday ruled out a third-party candidacy should Donald Trump win the party's 2016 nomination but held tight to his belief that Trump is a "jerk" and not qualified to be president. At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, a questioner asked the former Florida governor whether he would launch an independent run for the White House if Trump were to win the Republican nomination for the November 2016 presidential elections. "No. I'm not going to run as a third-party candidate, no matter who wins the nomination," Bush said. "I've been supporting Republicans since Richard Nixon." Trump, a billionaire real estate developer and reality television star, has been leading the Republican field. Bush, lagging in the polls nationally and in the early voting state of New Hampshire but drawing energetic crowds during an intense focus on the state, insisted he would ultimately win the nomination. But he was reminded of the popularity of Trump when Tom Emanuel, a selectman from nearby Laconia, New Hampshire, told Bush he was leaning toward supporting Trump and wanted to know why Bush had recently called the New York mogul a "jerk." Looking at his watch, Bush drew laughter in the crowd when he replied: "Let me see how much time we have." Turning more serious, Bush said he admired some aspects of Trump, such as his successful business record, although he said he thought Trump might have exaggerated some of it, and to an extent liked his ability to speak his mind without resorting to politically correct statements. Still, he said, Trump's disparaging of a disabled New York Times reporter and frequent insults of other people have gone too far. "When somebody disparages a person with disabilities, that sets me off," he said. "That's why I called him a jerk." Bush has more than any of his Republican rivals taken aim squarely at Trump and tried to define him as a man unqualified to serve in the Oval Office. Bush said a purported North Korean test of a hydrogen nuclear bomb underscored Trump's challenge, pointing to Trump's inability at a Dec. 14 debate to talk credibly about the three elements of the U.S. nuclear "triad," the arsenal of missiles based in the air, at sea and on land. "I think when you're asked about the nuclear triad, and you're running for president of the United States, you'd better have a good answer," he said. For more on the 2016 U.S. presidential race and to learn about the undecided voters who determine elections, visit the Reuters website. (http://www.reuters.com/election2016/the-undecided/). (Reporting by Steve Holland and Alana Wise; Editing by Sandra Maler)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's financial hub Johannesburg hit a record temperature of 38 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the South African Weather Service said, as a drought persisted in Africa's largest producer of maize. The previous record of 36.5 degrees Celsius was recorded in November 2015, the weather service said. Temperatures in the capital Pretoria scaled a new high of 42.5 degrees Celsius, from a previous record of 41, with the latest rolling heat wave to scorch South Africa expected to last until Friday. South Africa may need to import as much as 5 million tonnes of maize this year, roughly half of its requirements, because of its worst drought in three decades, the country's largest producer group said on Wednesday. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia)
File photo of the causeway bordering Malaysias southern state of Johor. Photo: AFP

The recent announcement of the RM6.5 million in traffic fines owed by Singaporean drivers to the Johor police has drawn criticism from Singaporean and Malaysian netizens alike.



The top commenter, Mohammad Kaiszer on Yahoo Malaysias Facebook post wrote, Well, intelligent law enforcer. Wouldnt it be easier if you guys just stop their car before they return back to Singapore and make them pay before they proceed back? Just what they did with Malaysian cars over there in Singapore. Now, who in Singapore would want to waste their time to collect summonses for you?

Singapore netizens however criticised the Johor police for a lack of transparency in collecting fines.

Debbie Lau, who responded via Yahoo Singapores Facebook page remarked, He didnt mention how many millions of coffee money were received in lieu of fines. Her post garnered more than 380 likes.

Other commenters on the articles comments section echoed her thoughts.

Timothy, who commented in the articles comments section, wrote, I ask that your police please be transparent and set up a place where we can pay in black & white. No demanding for extra $$$ no demanding for extra bribery or unclear summons (sic).

Another commenter added, If Singaporeans owe RM6.5m in unpaid summons, just imagine how much money has been sandwiched between the passport.

The article has been shared more than 270 times on Yahoo Singapores Facebook at the time of writing.

According to the Johor Police, more than 40,000 traffic offenders from Singapore are responsible for the RM6.5 million in unpaid traffic fines. These offences date back over two years.

Johor police traffic chief Superintendant Baharudin Mat Taib said an operation to track down these traffic offenders will be conducted before the Chinese New Year holidays.
Three extremely rare fossil specimens of an extinct squidlike animal provide new evidence of the 10-armed creature's body structure and suggest that it may have been a swift swimmer, a new study finds.

The fossils represent Acanthoteuthis, a genus of squid relatives that lived during the Jurassic period and measured between 9.8 and 15.7 inches (25 and 40 centimeters) long. What makes the specimens so exceptional is their preservation of soft body parts like the animals' fins and feeding structures, which are usually lost to time. Now, an analysis of the new material reveals never-before-seen organs, offering scientists their first glimpse of features that suggest how Acanthoteuthis may have lived, millions of years ago.

Acanthoteuthis is a cephalopod, part of the ocean-dwelling group that includes modern octopus, squid and cuttlefish, with an evolutionary history spanning 500 million years. But even though cephalopods have been around for a long time, unlike many other extinct animals, they don't leave much of themselves behind in the fossil record. Their soft bodies don't preserve well, and the isolated bits that do fossilize tell only a partial story of what the living animal might have looked like. [See Photos of a Vampire Squid from Hell]

Acanthoteuthis belongs to a group of cephalopods called belemnites, which are particularly abundant in the fossil record  or at least a small part of them is. Belemnites had tough internal shells capped by hard parts called "rostra," which preserve well, as roughly bullet-shaped fossils. Rostra fossils are plentiful, and marks on them can even reveal traces of where the belemnites' fins attached to the mantle, the cone-shaped, muscular part of the body that forces water through a siphon for jet-propelled swimming.

Making an impression

So what kept these specimens in such good condition and preserved so much of their bodies? Christian Klug, co-author of the new study and a curator at the Paleontological Institute and Museum at the University of Zurich, said the reason had to do with the site in Solnhofen, Germany, where the fossils were found.

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"Solnhofen and its surroundings are world-renowned for exceptionally preserved fossils," Klug told Live Science in an email. "These fossils were embedded in fine-grained sediments in more-or-less quiet water lagoons between coral reefs. Additionally, microbial mats stabilized the sediments, guaranteeing perfectly flat bedding." Rapid burial and certain chemical conditions in the soil would also have played a part in the preservation, Klug added.

The discoveries of the well-preserved Acanthoteuthis specimens were certainly very special, and Klug and his colleagues were eager to see what the fossils might reveal. "Since we knew that the material was important, we figured we should get the most out of it," he said.

Synchrotron scanning, a powerful X-ray technique frequently used to visualize delicate fossils, yielded disappointing results that were too low-contrast to reveal much detail, Klug said. So they turned to ultraviolet (UV) imaging. Klug said study co-author Helmut Tischlinger's expertise with UV photography was a vital part of the process, sometimes taking days of experimentation with different filters to get the images just right. His efforts revealed morphological details that were previously invisible. [Images: 'Kraken' Trolled the Triassic Seas]

Tischlinger's UV images showed the hyponome, a funnel that directs the water jets from Acanthoteuthis' mantle cavity; the esophagus; and statocysts, which are sensory organs responsible for maintaining balance and detecting movement and change in direction.

A strong swimmer

Two other details  the collar, and mantle structures made from cartilage  were especially important, Klug said, because they provide clues about the swimming abilities of Acanthoteuthis. Generally speaking, Acanthoteuthis' fins and bullet-shaped body, much like modern squids', suggest that it would be a good swimmer, rather than relying on ocean currents to carry it where it needed to go. But the structures revealed in the UV photos indicate a muscular mantle and cartilage support system that would have strengthened the connection between the mantle and the water jet and head, and would be directly involved in rapid swimming, Klug said.

Other structural evidence suggested to the researchers which ocean depths Acanthoteuthis could have inhabited. Calcified structures in the statocysts  the balance-managing sense organs  resembled structures found in pelagic squid, which occupy the water column, the part of the ocean between the bottom and the shore. The researchers concluded that Acanthoteuthis probably inhabited the same ocean region.

"We are unable, however, to determine more precisely in which water depths they lived," Klug told Live Science, adding that they probably couldnt have dived deeper than 219 to 328 yards (200 to 300 meters) below the ocean surface, or the shell chamber inside their mantles would have imploded.

The findings were published online Jan. 5 in the journal Biology Letters.

Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Aramco

As The Economist is reporting in its upcoming January 9 print edition that Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company believed to be the world's most valuable company, might issue shares for the first time in its history.

Aramco is a monster.

The Economist noted that the company produces 10 million barrels of oil each day, a number equivalent to the US's entire daily output, and has 10 times more oil reserves than Exxon.

Aramco is also very good at what it does. Saudi Arabia's break-even price for oil production is a mere $15 a barrel, second-lowest only to Kuwait and well below oil's current $32-per-barrel price, according to The Economist.

There are any number of reasons why Aramco would go public, which range from encouraging investment in the Saudi stock market to bringing some limited transparency to a notoriously opaque company. But the biggest reason just might be revenue generation.

According to The Economist, Aramco would be selling "perhaps 5%" of the company to investors. Five percent of, say, $1.5 trillion is still $75 billion. Saudi Arabia might need the cash.

Last month, Saudi Arabia released an annual budget that included unprecedented austerity and taxation measures. As Reuters reported on December 30, Saudi Arabia will cut spending and implement a value-added tax, a notable move for a country with a cradle-to-grave welfare system for most citizens and very little taxation. Riyadh will also be taking "steps that will directly hit the purchasing power of citizens  in particular, raising domestic gasoline, kerosene, water and electricity prices," Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia faces several long-term pressures that might explain its current need for greater revenue.

Money buys internal stability, at least for the time being. The legitimacy of the country's oppressive monarchical government is based partially on its ability to deliver petroleum-funded benefits to its citizens. Saudi Arabia's oil revenues fund its strategic outreach to Sunni Arab states enticed by the kingdom's vast reservoirs of cash  and they fund Saudi military operations in places like Yemen as well.

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Screen Shot 2016 01 07 at 4.44.58 PM

Saudi Arabia also seems determined to keep oil prices low in order to undercut the oil-dependent economy of Iran, its chief regional and geopolitical adversary.

The rivalry with Iran, which also involves funding a network of Saudi allies, proxies, and religious and educational institutions throughout the Middle East and beyond, is an expensive one for Saudi Arabia. It only looks to intensify as Iran's strategic position improves in the wake of the July 2015 nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, there's been a sustained global plunge in crude prices alongside the possibility of increased market supply  which would come onto an already oversupplied market  after the anticipated removal of most oil-related sanctions on Iran.

With oil prices low and tensions with Iran heating up, Saudi Arabia has every reason to want to raise revenue at what's becoming an increasingly anxious point in the country's history. A partial Aramco sell-off is consistent with the government's recent austerity plans  and with sustaining its assertive foreign policy.

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MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A Kenyan primary school teacher who recruited pupils into the Islamist militant group al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a court on Thursday. The judge ruled the teacher, Samuel Wanjala Wabwile alias Salim Mohamed Wabwile, had taken advantage of poverty in the coastal county of Kilifi where school children walk in tattered uniforms without shoes to bait them using incentives like food. The East African nation has suffered a string of deadly attacks by al Shabaab in recent years, which scared away tourists and damaged economic growth. Officials say dozens of youths have crossed into Somalia in the past three years for training by the militants after being recruited and radicalised at home. Wabwile was arrested in June last year and charged with three counts, including being a member of al Shabaab. The court convicted him of radicalising his pupils during Islamic lessons at the school where he taught in Kilifi, contrary to the law on the prevention of terrorism. "The accused preyed on the pupils' feeble minds to impart his ideological beliefs," magistrate Diana Mochache said. Al Shabaab is blamed for attacks in parts of Kenya including one in April last year on Garissa University in the east where 148 students were killed. In June 2014, the group killed 65 people over a 24-hour period in and around Mpeketoni in Lamu county. It was also responsible for a raid on Nairobi's Westgate Mall in 2013 that killed 67 people. The group seeks to overthrow the Western-backed Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It has said it has targeted Kenya because of its participation in an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. (Reporting by Joseph Akwiri; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Janet Lawrence)
By Lesley Wroughton and Ju-min Park WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States called on China on Thursday to end "business as usual" with its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing it had tested a hydrogen bomb. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he made clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China's approach to North Korea has not succeeded. "China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that," Kerry told reporters. "Today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual." China is the North's main economic and diplomatic backer although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years. The vast majority of North Korea's business dealings are with China, which bought 90 percent of the isolated country's exports in 2013, according to data compiled by South Korea's International Trade Association. North Korea carried out a nuclear test on Wednesday, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang's assertion that the device it exploded was a powerful hydrogen bomb. The test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice. The top U.S. diplomat, Kerry said he and Wang agreed to work closely to determine what measures could be taken given increasing concerns about the nuclear test. Kerry said America has a "firm and continued commitment to regional security and global nonproliferation." As of Thursday morning, "sniffer" planes and other sensors had yet to detect any evidence, such as particles in the air, that would substantiate the North Korean assertion that it had set off an H-Bomb, a U.S. government source said. North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturizing the hydrogen bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan. U.S. CONGRESS TO ACT U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to further tighten sanctions on North Korea. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday. The legislation was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last February but it was stalled until Pyongyang jolted the world by setting off an underground nuclear bomb test. The House measure would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency. "We understand Republican leadership plans to move a bill strengthening U.S. sanctions on North Korea. That will have strong bipartisan support," Pelosi said, adding that "we will support it." It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006 while paying little heed to international pressure. The United States and its ally South Korea are limited in their military response. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States. The test also alarmed Japan. Its prime minister, Shinzo Abe, agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said. Obama also discussed options with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. A White House spokesman said there had been no talk with South Korea about any introduction of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a move opposed by China. "There have been no discussions or consultations with the South Koreans" about the deployment of anti-ballistic missile capability," the spokesman, Josh Earnest, said. The system has radars that can track multiple ballistic missiles up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away, a range which would reach deep into China. In response to the latest test, South Korea said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from Friday, which is likely to infuriate its isolated rival. The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South's Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. "Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," a South Korean national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Meeyoung Cho, James Pearson, Se Young Lee, Christine Kim, Jee Heun Kahng and Jack Kim in SEOUL, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu and Arshad Mohammed in WASHINGTON,; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Howard Goller)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday the implementation of a nuclear deal agreed between Iran and six world powers was only days away, allowing tens of billions of dollars in sanctions against Iran to be lifted. There is no date set yet for "implementation day" of the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed on July 14 in which Tehran agreed to shrink its nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief. Outlining foreign policy milestones of the past year, Kerry pointed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action "from which we are days away from implementation, if all goes well." He said he discussed implementation of the nuclear deal with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during a phone call on Thursday. They also talked about tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia triggered by the execution by the Saudis of a Shi'ite cleric, he said. "The foreign minister made it clear to me they intend to complete their obligations with respect to implementation day as rapidly as possible," said Kerry told reporters. "We are currently engaged ourselves in making certain that we're prepared to move on that day. And I think it could come -- without being specific -- sooner rather than later." Kerry said the United States would continue to ensure that Iran lives up to its commitments under the nuclear deal and press for the release of American prisoners "that have been unjustly detained" by Iran. Senior Iranian officials have dismissed speculation that Iran is considering a prisoner exchange with the United States. Among Americans held by Iran is Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, who was arrested in July 2014. Others include Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati, a former sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Robert Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in Iran in 2007. Iran has claimed that the United States holds some 16 Iranians for bypassing sanctions and around 60 prisoners for other crimes. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton)
By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The heads of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority will be asked later this month by a panel of members of parliament to explain their "curious decision" to ditch a review into banking culture. The review was part of the FCA's 2015 business plan but last month it was shelved, sparking concern among some MPs that the watchdog was under pressure from the government to soften its approach to banks. Improving the way they operate is seen as core to restoring trust in banks that have been fined billions of dollars over the past four years for trying to rig interest rate benchmarks and foreign exchange markets. The FCA has said that engaging with banks individually was a better way of improving conduct. "The FCA's decision to drop its review of bank culture does seem curious," Andrew Tyrie, chairman of parliament's Treasury Select Committee, said in a statement. The committee has asked FCA Chairman John Griffith-Jones, and acting chief executive, Tracey McDermott, to appear before it on January 20. It is not the decision to drop the review that is crucial, but the need for the FCA to fully implement reforms set out in a parliamentary report to improve conduct in banking, Tyrie said. The MPs will assess the watchdog's efforts to meet the extra responsibilities given to it over the last few years. "Getting it right  securing better protection for consumers and markets while at the same time ensuring they dont make life unduly burdensome for business, from which everyone would ultimately be the loser  is a big undertaking. The Committee will want assurance from the FCA that it is up to the job," Tyrie said. The FCA was launched in 2013 with a remit to protect consumers after its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority, failed to spot the costly 2007-09 financial crisis coming or end a string of mis-selling scandals from pensions to home loans. Britain has been among the toughest of banking regulators since the crisis, with the Bank of England and FSA engineering the departure of Bob Diamond as head of Barclays in 2012 after the bank was fined for trying to rig the global Libor interest rate benchmark. Chancellor, George Osborne, signalled a change in tone last year by calling for a "new settlement" with banks as HSBC decides whether to move its head office from Britain. Osborne has also ousted Martin Wheatley, the hardline inaugural chief executive of the FCA, whose role McDermott has been temporarily filling. The finance ministry has also eased new rules making top bankers more accountable from next March. Osborne told the BBC on Thursday he played no role in the FCA's decision to scrap the culture review. "That was a completely independent decision that I had no advance warning of, no foreknowledge of. It's got to be an independent decision for our banking regulator," Osborne said. Osborne, who is expected to name the FCA's new CEO in the coming weeks, also said that McDermott does not want the top job permanently. (Additional reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Jason Neely, Greg Mahlich)
This story first appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

Renowned British film editor Anne V. Coates, 90, will be presented with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Career Achievement Award at the group's Jan. 9 awards dinner in recognition of her 60-plus-year career, one that has encompassed David Lean's iconic epic Lawrence of Arabia, for which she won an Oscar, as well as the four other pictures for which she was nominated for film editing: Peter Glenville's Becket, David Lynch's The Elephant Man, Wolfgang Petersen's In the Line of Fire and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight. For Coates, the movie business is very much a family affair: Her husband, Douglas Hickox, who died in 1988, was a director; their sons, Anthony and James, both direct; and their daughter, Emma, became an editor. Today, Coates says the "best in my life" are her grandchildren. She spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about what editors really do, succeeding as a woman in Hollywood and how Fifty Shades of Grey, her most recent film, could have been sexier.

Read More: Oscar-Winning Editor Anne V. Coates to Receive L.A. Film Critics Career Achievement Honor

What's most misunderstood about the role that film editors play?

In the old days, it was quite funny. People thought what we were doing was editing out the censor material  if it was too violent or too sexy or whatever. They didn't realize that we're really part of telling the story of the film, which is very important. We continue where the scriptwriter and director leave off. We work very closely with them. It's very difficult for awards because I don't really think many people understand editing. [The editing community] is trying now to get [editing categories added to awards programs] because often a film festival will give awards to the cinematographer and sometimes the production designer but not the editor because they don't really understand our contribution. We are a little underrated.

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How did your famous match cut in Lawrence of Arabia  the cut from a close-up of Peter O'Toole blowing out a match to a wide shot of the sun rising over the desert  come about?

By accident. When we were cutting Lawrence, we were working on film, and so when we were running the sequence, we saw it cut together. Nowadays using digital, you would have done a [dissolve] in the machine, and you never would have seen it cut together like it was. Almost at the same moment, David Lean and I looked at each other and said, "That's a fabulous cut." He said, "It's not quite perfect  take it away and make it perfect," and I literally took two frames off the outgoing shot, and that's the way it is today.

What was it like working with Lean?

For most of Lawrence, he was out in the desert or in Spain, where we shot a lot of it. When he finished shooting, he spent a lot of time with me in the cutting room. We were working seven days a week, all hours of the day and night, because arrangements were made for a big premiere with the queen, and you don't alter the queen's dates.

Read More: How Sam Taylor-Johnson Will Follow 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

What did you learn from him?

To have the courage of your convictions. I was a little nervous putting forth ideas. But he said, "If you got an idea, Annie, I want to hear it." He taught me to hold onto shots. In Lawrence, we do hold onto shots for quite a long time, and I'm not sure without David encouraging me I would have done that. And I think I helped him in a way because the French films were being cut in a rather different way at the time, the nouvelle vague. David had never seen that, and I suggested he go to the cinema and have a look, and of course he loved it  and then he did it better. He was the first person who made me realize maybe I had some talent for editing.

How difficult was it for you, as a woman, to build a career?

I always thought of myself as an editor, not a woman. I had three brothers, and I was always very competitive with them. When I tried to get into the industry, there were only certain jobs open to women. Things like hairdressing didn't really interest me. I might have been interested in photography, but women couldn't do that in those days. I found the most interesting job a woman could do, other than acting, was editing. I didn't know much about editing when I went into it, but I learned to love it.

What was it like to work on Fifty Shades of Grey?

It was kind of fun. I thought it could have been a little more raunchy myself. Creatively, it was quite interesting because they were trying to get as sexy as they could and get an R rating. So we were very delicately going around some of the scenes. I was surprised to be asked to do it, but I think it was because I did [Adrian Lyne's] Unfaithful, which was fairly sexy.
Lille (France) (AFP) - Former France winger Morgan Amalfitano has signed for Ligue 1 club Lille, three months after being released by Premier League side West Ham United.

The 30-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Lille through to June 2018.

Amalfitano won one cap for France, against Germany in 2012 when he was playing for Marseille.

He spent time on loan at West Bromwich Albion before a spell of just over a year at West Ham.

Lille have also brought the young Portuguese midfielder Rony Lopes back to the club for a second loan spell.

Lopes, 20, has joined from Monaco for the rest of the campaign after a successful stint last season when he belonged to Manchester City.
In a galaxy far, far away, even minor Stormtroopers have their own lives  such as the guy who fought Finn with a lightsaber-resistant baton on the surface of Takodana in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Apparently, he's not only got a name of his own, he's appeared outside of The Force Awakens. Who knew?

The official Star Wars website revealed that that the Stormtrooper is actually called FN-2199  Finn, you might remember, was originally FN-2187  and trained with Finn in the tie-in young adult novel Star Wars: Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka. "That explains why he seems just a little extra angry upon seeing Finn during the attack on Mazs Castle," the site adds.

The revelation follows a surprise online following growing for the character, who had been dubbed "TR-8R" by fans after his yell of "Traitor!" towards Finn before their duel, with the figure being photoshopped into a number of gifs and memes across the Internet since the movie's release last month.

The men behind FN-2199 are Liang Yang, a stunt performer who wore the armor  and performed the impressive baton twirling ahead of the fight that's proved so meme-worthy  and Skywalker Sound sound editor David Acord, who has worked on Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens and both the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels animated series, and provides FN-2199's voice.

With background characters from The Force Awakens already being spun off into their own stories, how long will fans have to wait before FN-2199 gets his own series of adventures?

Read More: 'Star Wars: Aftermath' Author Responds to Complaints Over New Gay Hero
By Kylie MacLellan and Krisztina Than BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's prime minister said on Thursday he believed central European countries could reach a deal on Britain's demand to curb benefits for migrant workers from EU countries in a bid to persuade Britons to stay in the European Union. Viktor Orban told a joint news conference after talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron they had agreed on most of Britain's reform agenda for the 28-member bloc and he was convinced there would be a deal on social benefits too. "I think we, the Visegrad four, together we will represent the same stance and we will reach an agreement " Orban said, referring to an alliance comprising Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The issue has emerged as the toughest of a series of demands Cameron has put to EU partners in a renegotiation of London's relationship with the bloc before it holds a referendum possibly as early as June on whether to stay in the union. An opinion poll published on Thursday showed that a majority of Britons who have made up their mind would vote to leave the EU, making Britain by far the most reluctant member. Orban did not say how a deal on benefits could be achieved. He echoed other central European leaders in saying there must be no discrimination on grounds of nationality among EU citizens, but he was open to helping tackle abuses. "For us it is very important, first of all, that we should not be regarded migrants," the nationalist Hungarian leader said. "We do not go to Britain to be parasites, we do not want to take away from people living there... we want to go there and we want to work." Cameron insisted his demand to deny in-work benefits to newcomers from EU countries for four years remains in play but made clear he was open to alternatives. "As I've said I am open to listening to alternative solutions ... I'm sure that a lot of hard work is going to be done between now and the February Council to reach agreement. But I am confident we can reach agreement," he said. OPPOSITION TO EU GROWING As Cameron pushed for a deal to improve London's membership terms, including protecting its large financial services sector from being overruled by the euro zone, an ORB poll indicated that opposition to the European Union was growing in Britain. While 21 percent of voters are still undecided, 43 percent want to leave the EU and 36 percent want to stay, it showed. When the undecided are stripped out, 54 percent of voters want a British exit, or 'Brexit', up from 51 percent a year ago, and 46 percent want to stay, down from 49 percent. The public scepticism contrasted with Cameron's latest declaration of optimism that a deal can be struck on his demands for changes in Britain's relationship with Brussels. "We believe that all these issues can be dealt with. The discussions are going well," Cameron said in Wildbad Kreuth, Bavaria, after what he said was an "excellent meeting" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over dinner on Wednesday. The ORB poll indicates that the referendum could be far closer than some politicians had assumed and that the result will depend on a fifth of voters who are still undecided. "Despite the impending vote on Brexit, significantly more people report to have felt further removed from Europe over the last twelve months than closer to it," Johnny Heald, managing director of ORB International, told Reuters. "If the Prime Minister is to avoid disaster on his watch someone needs to start convincing the public very soon on why we should remain a part of the EU." A British exit would shake the Union to its core, ripping away its second largest economy and one of its top two military powers. Pro-Europeans warn an exit from the EU would hurt Britain's economy and could trigger the break-up of the United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote. Opponents of EU membership say Britain would prosper outside the bloc. "REASONABLE DEAL" Cameron is urging fellow leaders to clinch an agreement at an EU summit on Feb. 18-19. Before Wednesday's dinner with him, Merkel said it was important in the coming weeks to "make decisions in our own interest in order to achieve a reasonable package that will allow Great Britain to remain a part of the European Union." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, an ally of Cameron's whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency for the next six months, said he was "relatively optimistic" that a deal could be reached at the mid-February meeting. Cameron addressed a session of the Christian Social Union, the sister party of Merkel's CDU, before travelling to Budapest to meet Orban, a prickly Eurosceptic ally whose civil rights record has been widely criticised in the EU. "I'm confident with goodwill - and there is goodwill I think on all sides - we can bring these negotiations to a conclusion and then hold the referendum," Cameron said at the CSU meeting. Orban, whose outspoken opposition to admitting refugees and embrace of "illiberal democracy" have boosted his popularity at home but drawn condemnation abroad, was Cameron's only ally in a failed 2014 attempt to block the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president. (Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in London and Irene Preisinger in Wildbad Kreuth; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
The White House and Change.org petitions demanding a presidential pardon for Steven Avery, the subject of the Netflix series Making a Murderer, are a definite sign of support for the Wisconsin man who many believe was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2007.

But in terms of real-world implications, it doesnt appear that they will amount to much more than wishful thinking.

While the White House petition surpassed 100,000 signatures  the threshold that qualifies the petition for White House review  this week, Obama is constitutionally barred from pardoning Avery, because he was convicted in state court.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Steven Avery Believes Brothers May Have Killed Teresa Halbach

Under the Constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those adjudicated in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the President, the Department of Justices website explains. In addition, the Presidents pardon power extends to convictions adjudicated in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense.

Likewise, Avery wont be pardoned by current Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, to whom the Change.org petition is also addressed. In a statement, Walkers press secretary noted that Walker has made it a policy not to issue pardons.

These events took place before Governor Walker took office, press secretary Laurel Patrick said, according to the Huffington Post. Governor Walker has not watched this documentary. As you may know, early in his administration, Governor Walker made the decision not to issue pardons  Those who feel they have been wrongly convicted can seek to have their convictions overturned by a higher court.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer' Prosecutor Ken Kratz Says Documentary 'Very Well Done'

In 2011, a state appeals court shot down Averys attempt to obtain a new trial in the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. However, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there is currently a pending federal court action aiming to have the conviction tossed, or to grant a new trial.

The White House has not yet responded to TheWraps request for comment on the petition.

The Netflix documentary series, which premiered in December, has sparked heated debate, not just among viewers in general, with Ken Kratz, the prosecutor in Averys case, claiming that the series omitted key evidence.
Promises to wrest political power away from Washington, DC and deliver it to the people of the United States have been like giving away Vote for Me buttons in the Republican presidential primary. But with an op-ed in USA Today that went up late Wednesday afternoon, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio moved the goal post.

Saying the government has been hijacked by politicians and bureaucrats who disregard the will of the people, rack up trillions in debt and expand the federal bureaucracy into more and more aspects of our lives, Rubio called for a Constitutional Convention of the states  a never-used process vaguely outlined in Article Five of the Constitution  to rewrite the nations founding document.

Related: Insider or Outsider? Rubio Tries to Have it Both Ways

The promise, which Rubio has made in campaign stops since late December, provides a highly visible platform to an idea that has been percolating in conservative circles for decades, but which comes with a huge amount of uncertainty about how it would work and what its results would be.

The provision for a constitutional convention of the states as a method for amending the Constitution was included in the document at the insistence of George Mason and others among the founding fathers concerned that Congress would become a tyrannical body unresponsive to the will of the people. It directs that in addition to Congress being able to propose Constitutional amendments, that the various state legislatures should have the ability to do so as well, through a process that requires no Congressional approval.

Article Five obligates Congress to call a Constitutional convention if two-thirds of state legislatures request one. And if the convention approves amendments to the Constitution, they will be considered valid if three-quarters of the states ratify them. Again, the point is that all this would happen with no input from any of the three branches of the federal government.

It sounds relatively simple but the wording leaves major questions unanswered. For example, it provides no rules for how the convention would be organized, which has led academics who have studied the question to assume that the convention itself  like the original convention of 1787  would have to write its own governing rules before getting down to business.

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According to his op-ed, Rubio appears to believe that the scope of changes contemplated in a constitutional convention could be restricted to a few areas.

Related: How Trumps Big Lead Could Fall Apart in a Hurry

The amendment process must be approached with caution, he wrote, which is why I believe the agenda should be limited to ideas that reduce the size and scope of the federal government, such as imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court and forcing fiscal responsibility through a balanced budget requirement. Limiting the agenda will prevent the convention from being overtaken by special interests.

Limiting the scope of the convention, though, may not be so simple. The very point of the provision allowing states to launch an effort to amend the Constitution was to protect the ability of the people to change the way the country is governed without federal interference.

So, could anyone limit the scope of a convention? In theory, the states could collectively promise to do that in advance. However, the mandate of the original Constitutional convention was to simply amend the Articles of Confederation. By the end, the participants had scrapped them and produced an entirely new document, greatly exceeding their original mandate.

As noted by Michael Leachman and David A. Super here, many legal scholars think there would be no effective restraints on a constitutional convention once it was convened. Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Warren Burger wrote in 1988 that a convention in modern times would be a free-for-all for special interest groups.

Related: What Is a Hydrogen Bomb and Does North Korea Have One?

Again, Chief Justice Burger: There is no way to effectively limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the Convention to one amendment or one issue, but there is no way to assure that the Convention would obey.

Or, as current Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia put it somewhat more pithily, I certainly would not want a Constitutional Convention. Whoa! Who knows what would come out of it?

Rubio, an attorney by training, is surely familiar with the Constitution. In his article, he is very careful in the way he refers to the role he sees himself playing in his proposed Constitutional Convention. He would promote it, he says. He would work together with the states, he says.

But one of the things that a plain reading of Article Five of the Constitution makes clear is that the President of the United States would have absolutely zero authority over any element of a constitutional convention.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
LONDON (Reuters) - American Tyler Alexander, who helped Bruce McLaren found the McLaren Formula One team in the 1960s and remained a part of it for more than 40 years, died on Thursday at the age of 75. "Tyler Alexander was one of the first pillars of our company," said McLaren Group head Ron Dennis in a tribute on the McLaren website. "Bruce couldnt have asked for a sturdier pair of shoulders upon which to help build the teams reputation. "Tyler was one of the finest of the old school: hardy, humble and wise, leaving a reputation and a legacy that will remain indelible in the history of international motorsport," added Dennis. Raised in Hingham, Massachusetts, Alexander befriended Pennsylvania lawyer Teddy Mayer, who was involved in motorsport with his racing driver brother Timmy, and then met New Zealander McLaren in England. After starting out as chief mechanic with McLaren in 1963, Alexander filled a number of roles at the team and ultimately became a director. Although he left in 1983 to run an IndyCar outfit with Teddy Meyer, who had taken over as F1 team principal after McLaren's death in 1970 and relinquished control to Dennis in 1980, he returned in 1989. Alexander then worked for the team until 2008 when he retired after attending every race in a season that ended with Britain's Lewis Hamilton taking his first career title with McLaren. "Quite simply, Tyler lived and breathed McLaren," said Dennis. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Justin Palmer)
By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to respond decisively to assaults on women in Cologne on New Year's Eve which have stoked a fierce debate about her refugee policies after police said the attackers appeared to be of foreign origin. Some 121 women are reported to have been robbed, threatened or sexually molested there by gangs of mostly drunk men between 18 and 35 years old while out celebrating. Police say they have identified 16 suspects. Cologne's police chief, under pressure for the force's handling of the event, has said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African" origin. German magazine Focus and newspaper Die Welt said police had found registration papers on some of the suspects, suggesting they had only recently arrived in the country. But authorities have not confirmed that. Merkel, whose support slipped last year when she resisted pressure to impose caps on refugees, insisting Germany could cope with the 1.1 million migrants who arrived in 2015, said the events were "completely unacceptable" and "intolerable". "There are some very serious questions which arise from what has happened which have relevance beyond Cologne," she said, including establishing whether there are common patterns of behavior by some groups of people who do not respect women. She said she would consider changing the law, boosting police numbers and making sure the deportation system was effective. She added that "cultural coexistence" must be continually discussed. "We have a duty to give the right answers," she said. Germans have been shocked by the attacks, which are reported to have taken place on a smaller scale in other cities including Hamburg. A poll for broadcaster ARD showed that 30 percent of those surveyed said they would avoid big crowds because of the events in Cologne. Similar events may have taken place in other countries. Finnish police say they received information that assaults had been planned on women at new year. In Switzerland, about six women have reported being sexually molested and robbed during New Year's Eve celebrations in Zurich after being surrounded by groups of men. The ARD poll also showed 57 percent of those asked wanted to bring back border controls, up 12 points from September. Right-wing parties in Germany, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), have jumped on the events to renew calls for a limit on the number of refugees allowed into Germany and for Merkel to close the country's border. Top-selling daily Bild published excerpts of a report from a policeman on duty in Cologne on New Year's Eve which was later confirmed as accurate by police. One man is reported to have grinned as he ripped up his residency permit and told a policeman: "You can't do anything to me. I'll just pick up another one tomorrow." Another is reported to have said: "I'm Syrian. You need to be nice to me. Frau Merkel invited me here." German weekly Die Zeit contrasted the violence in Cologne with the feel-good scenes in Munich four months ago when locals greeted arriving refugees with cheers, food and blankets. Even if there was no proof the attackers were recent arrivals, the newspaper said that what happened seemed to confirm the fears of some Germans that young men were coming into the country who were violent, disdainful of women and prepared to ignore German laws. "Cologne is a tipping point. Policy toward refugees must not be reinvented because of these assaults. But can only be sold successfully if the rule of law is defended with determination," the paper wrote. (Additional reporting by Paul Carrel, Noah Barkin, Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki and John Miler in Zurich; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
A single mother of conjoined twin girls born fused at the chest, abdomen, and pelvis has suffered two excruciating losses since the babies were born: First, one of the twins, Olivia, died during a five-hour separation surgery performed shortly after their August birth. And then, in December, the mom, Amber McCullough of Hastings, Minn., was banned by the hospital, which is in Colorado, from visiting her surviving preemie, Hannah, who remains in the neonatal intensive care unit there.

But that second loss was turned around this week, as Childrens Hospital Colorado reinstated her visiting rights on Tuesday, reports KUSA.

STORY: Anchors Emotional Story of Losing Her Babies: A Club No Parent Ever Wants to Join

The whole mysterious mess began in November, when McCullough, according to posts on her Facebook page that have since been taken down, claimed that she had been punished for speaking out in her babys defense and filing a complaint after she witnessed alleged mistreatment of Hannah as staffers tended to a hematoma on her face. McCullough also had posted conversations shed recorded to show her side of the story, and has posted some on a GoFundMe page for her newborn. Then, according to her lawyer, James Avery, who spoke with KUSA, she was deemed disruptive by hospital staff and limited to two-hour daily visits with her newborn.

After she allegedly violated the agreement, she was briefly banned from visiting Hannah altogether. But as of Tuesday, shes reportedly allowed back for up to four hours at a time  only not on Sunday through Tuesday. And, Avery noted, she was asked not to record any further conversations.

STORY: Photographer Captures Amazing Images of Conjoined Twins Before and After Surgery

While Childrens Hospital Colorado will not comment on any specific patient, a statement provided to Yahoo Parenting by the hospital says, in part, that it is committed to family-centered care, but if a parent is disruptive to our nurses and care providers or interrupts direct patient care, their actions can jeopardize the safety and well-being of their own child, as well as the care of the other medically fragile patients in the unit. This is not acceptable, and we will take action.

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In addition, it says, There are times Behavioral Agreements are created to provide structure and support to families and treatment teams to foster healthy, cohesive teamwork during times of crisis and stress. In rare instances, where a parent and/or legal guardians actions deliberately violate an agreed-upon Behavioral Agreement and compromise the health care teams ability to provide care for the patients of Childrens Hospital Colorado, the hospital places the patients well-being and safety first, and will take measures to ensure that well-being and safety remains the focal point. Repeated violations can lead to restricted visitation. Visitation restrictions, the hospital notes, are EXTREMELY rare and only utilized as a last resort. Out of all the children who were treated at Childrens Hospital Colorado in 2015, approximately 0.00005% had visitation restrictions. Families with Behavioral Agreements are given ample opportunities to be a part of their childs care.

In the meantime, McCullough reportedly intends to transfer Hannah to Boston Childrens Hospital, although the move is contingent on Medicaid approval, which could take several weeks.

Its a really unbelievable situation, Avery said.

Top photo: Amber McCullough

Please follow @YahooParenting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Have an interesting story to share about your family? Email us at YParenting (at) Yahoo.com.


A NASA telescope captured a huge blast of gas coming back out of a black hole - which astronomers have likened to the black hole burping.

Its thought that the force of such 'burps could have shaped galaxies as they formed in the early universe.

NASAs Chandra space telescope captured an outburst in the supermassive black hole centered in the small galaxy NGC 5195. T

Both of these galaxies are in the Messier 51 galaxy system, located about 26 million light-years from Earth.

For an analogy, astronomers often refer to black holes as eating stars and gas. Apparently, black holes can also burp after their meal, said Eric Schlegel of The University of Texas in San Antonio.

Our observation is important because this behavior would likely happen very often in the early universe, altering the evolution of galaxies. It is common for big black holes to expel gas outward, but rare to have such a close, resolved view of these events.

In the Chandra data, Schlegel and his colleagues detect two arcs of X-ray emission close to the center of NGC 5195.

We think these arcs represent fossils from two enormous blasts when the black hole expelled material outward into the galaxy, said co-author Christine Jones of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

This activity is likely to have had a big effect on the galactic landscape.
Content-streaming site Netflix has an action-packed year in store, with projects involving familiar faces from both the big and small screens. Ashton Kutcher, Gerard Depardieu, Baz Luhrmann, Winona Ryder, Judd Apatow, Matt Smith and Jason Momoa are all billed in the site's 2016 line-up of series.

After airing "Narcos," "Jessica Jones," "Bloodline" and "Sense8" in 2015, Netflix is to add to its range of original content in 2016 with over a dozen new shows.

As from February 19, the site's subscribers can tune in to Gus and Mickey, the main characters in "Love," a quirky new romantic comedy series created by American comedy heavyweight Judd Apatow. This will be followed on February 26 by "Fuller House," a reboot of the 1990s sitcom "Full House," which brings back original cast members such as Bob Saget, John Stamos and Dave Coulier. The Olsen twins will not, however, be starring in the 2016 series.

The comedy continues with Ashton Kutcher, teaming up with his former co-star from "That 70's Show," Danny Masterson, in "The Ranch." The pair play two brothers helping out with the family business on a Colorado Ranch.

Historical and political dramas

Netflix is set to unveil its first French production, "Marseille," in March. This sees Gerard Depardieu star as the city's mayor, under threat from an ambitious young politician played by Benoit Magimel. The series is created by Dan Franck, who worked on the French political drama "Spin." It will be available in all Netflix regions.

Netflix is also heading to the UK with "The Crown," a drama following the first years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Claire Foy plays the Queen -- who replaced her father George VI as monarch in 1952 -- and stars alongside John Lithgow as Winston Churchill and Matt Smith ("Doctor Who"). "The Frontier," starring Jason Momoa ("Game of Thrones"), takes viewers to 18th century North America, a time of tension between Native tribes and European settlers as the fur trade reached its height.

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Luhrmann looks to more recent history for his first foray onto the small screen: 1970s New York is the setting of "The Get Down," which stars Jimmy Smits and will tell the story of teens in the Bronx and the emergence of hip hop music.

From superheroes to the supernatural

Hot on the heels of "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones", a third Marvel superhero is set to land on Netflix this year. Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter -- who already stars as the same character in "Jessica Jones" -- is to get a stand-alone series. Cast members include Alfre Woodard and Rosario Dawson, who already star in "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones".

Winona Ryder will be starring in "Stranger Things," a supernatural series set in the 1980s in Montauk, New York, where a young boy disappears.

On top of brand new original content, Netflix subscribers will see many of the platform's hit series return in 2016. The fourth season of "House of Cards" will air on March 4, and a fourth season of "Orange is the New Black" is scheduled this year. New seasons of "Daredevil," "Bloodline," "Sense8," "Narcos," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" are also due in 2016.
By Ju-min Park and Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device. South Korea also said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from Friday, which is likely to infuriate its isolated rival, in response to its fourth nuclear test. The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device North Korea tested on Wednesday was a hydrogen bomb, but calls mounted for more sanctions against it for its rogue nuclear program. The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea's main ally, pointing to a strain in their ties. The test also alarmed Japan. Its prime minister, Shinzo Abe, agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said. Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options. A South Korean military official told Reuters the two countries had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States. South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said. The test was a "grave violation" of an August agreement by the two Koreas to ease tension and improve ties, a South Korean national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement. "Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment." The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South's Yonhap news agency reported late on Thursday. The United States is limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang, said Anthony Cordesman, a defense policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. "Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation," Cordesman said. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman called for a resumption of so-called six-party talks between the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "We are worried about how things are developing," the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told a briefing. Asked about a suggestion from U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that China could do more to rein in North Korea, Hua said: "What constructive efforts have they made?" Hours after the nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive. SURPRISE North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the United States and its Asian allies but its assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise. North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturizing the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan. The U.S. State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim. "The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. The test took place two days ahead of what is believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday. North Korea called the device the "H-bomb of justice", but its state news agency also said it would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed. The impoverished state boasts of its military might to project strength globally but also plays up the need to defend itself from external threats as a way to maintain control domestically, analysts say. Hydrogen bombs use a two-step process of fission and fusion that releases substantially more energy than an atomic bomb. However, it will likely take several days to determine more precisely what kind of device was set off as a variety of sensors, including "sniffer planes", collect evidence. A U.S. government source said Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of atomic bombs. (Additional reporting by Meeyoung Cho, James Pearson, Se Young Lee, Christine Kim, Jee Heun Kahng and Jack Kim in SEOUL, Louis Charbonneau at the UNITED NATIONS, Matt Spetalnick, Ayesha Rascoe, Doina Chiacu and Megan Cassella in WASHINGTON, Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)
By David Brunnstrom and Joel Schectman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates and members of Congress demanded more sanctions on North Korea on Wednesday after its latest nuclear test, but major powers will likely be reluctant to take the tough steps necessary to force Pyongyang to abandon its weapons program, former U.S. officials and analysts said. North Korea is already under a wide array of international sanctions, and diplomats said U.N. Security Council members were expected to discuss the possibility of adding to these in coming days. But the steps taken so far stop short of the all-out economic offensive that forced Iran to the nuclear negotiating table. Asia analysts said China would likely support more U.N. sanctions, even though it is North Korea's neighbor and main ally, but within limits, for fear of destabilizing what has long been a physical buffer between it and U.S.-backed South Korea. Washington, too, has been cautious. While U.S. sanctions have aggressively targeted Pyongyang's military and weapons program, the United States has not imposed crippling economic sanctions, in part because these would hit Chinese firms and banks that do the vast bulk of business with North Korea, former U.S. officials said. We are deeply interlinked and if you hold an economic gun to Chinas head, you are holding it to your own head, said Joseph DeThomas, a former U.S. diplomat who worked on sanctions on North Korea and Iran, referring to the close economic relations between the world's two largest economies. Republican front-runner Donald Trump urged China to rein in its ally or face trade repercussions, while his main Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, said the United States should tighten sanctions on North Korea and called on Beijing to be more assertive in deterring Pyongyang's "irresponsible actions." U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States would work with the international community on an "appropriate response" to Pyongyang. He said this would be "measured, deliberate, tough, clear and concise." DeThomas, the former diplomat, said China could exert more pressure on North Korea by restricting energy supplies and investment in areas such as minerals and mining. It could also restrict informal border trade, or even take a different approach to North Korean refugees  allowing them in rather than shutting them out. In 2013 China, which has often played as moderating influence on North Korea, cut crude oil exports to North Korea as an apparent punishment for an earlier nuclear test. But DeThomas said any discussions on sanctions at the United Nations would go nowhere close to the steps necessary to effect change in North Korea. From Chinas perspective, North Korean nuclear weapons are a bad thing, but the collapse of the North Korean regime would be worse thing, DeThomas said. NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS BILL Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are considering a vote as soon as next week on long-delayed legislation to impose stiffer punishments on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang, U.S. congressional sources said on Wednesday. The bill would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency. A Republican congressional aide said U.S. sanctions could go even further by freezing the assets of North Korean leaders as they had targeted leaders in Belarus, Zimbabwe and Russia, or focus on money laundering as they had done in Myanmar and Iran. Jeff Bader, Obama's top Asia adviser during his first term, said the Obama administration had discussed in the past going after the assets of North Korean leaders. But tracking down their finances would be no easy task, said Bader, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank. Peter Harrell, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for counter-threat finance and sanctions, said blockading major sectors of North Koreas economy, like textiles, could have an impact and convince Chinese firms to back away from North Korea trade. But he said the policy could backfire if it alienated Beijing or made North Korea more aggressive. Unlike in the case of Iran, the United States has not sought to strangle regular trade between North Korea and the international community, with threats to blacklist any company that does business in the country. To cut Tehran off from international trade, Washington used so-called secondary sanctions that threatened to expel from the financial system any company, anywhere in the world, that purchased oil from Iran. But secondary sanctions against Pyongyang have so far remained off the table. Adam Smith, a former senior adviser at the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions, said even the toughest steps might not change North Korea's behavior, given its small, isolated economy, which unlike Iran's had few international connections. Its not clear to me that if they maxed out sanctions and made it like Iran that it would make any policy difference, he said. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Joel Schectman; additional reportng by Matt Spetalnick, Patricia Zengerle and Lesley Wroughton)
By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council said on Wednesday it would begin working immediately on significant new measures in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test, a threat diplomats said could mean an expansion of U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. North Korea said it successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen nuclear bomb on Wednesday. Atomic weapons experts cast doubt on the isolated nation's ability to make such an advance, but the test rang international alarm bells. "The members of the Security Council ... recalled that they have previously expressed their determination to take 'further significant measures' in the event of another DPRK (North Korea) nuclear test," Uruguay's U.N. ambassador, Elbio Rosselli, president of the council this month, told reporters. "In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution," he said, calling the test "a clear violation of Security Council resolutions." Rosselli spoke after an emergency council session requested by the United States, Japan and South Korea. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said in a statement the 15-nation council should impose "a tough, comprehensive, and credible package of new sanctions," and ensure "rigorous enforcement of the resolutions it has already adopted." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called North Korea's latest nuclear test "deeply troubling" and "profoundly destabilizing for regional security." "This test once again violates numerous Security Council resolutions despite the united call by the international community to cease such activities," the United Nations chief, a former South Korean foreign minister, told reporters. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters: "We plan to work with other countries so that a resolution with strong content can be adopted at the U.N. Security Council as swiftly as possible." Japan is a member of the council for the next two years. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters Moscow was calling for "cool heads" and a "proportionate response" to the nuclear test. Several Western diplomats said that if the latest North Korean nuclear test was confirmed, the United States, European council members and Japan would seek to expand existing U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. Pyongyang has been under U.N. sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. The U.N. blacklist includes 20 entities and 12 individuals, as well as an international ban on the export of luxury goods and missile and nuclear technology to North Korea. Individuals are barred from international travel and the assets of all entities and persons on the blacklist are to be frozen. One senior Western diplomat said possible additions to the U.N. sanctions list could be foreign representatives of the North Korean organization that administers its nuclear developments and people linked to one of its key procurement companies. "All of this depends on the appetite of the council, particularly the Chinese position," he said. "There are more things we could do in terms of listing more people, brokers and intermediaries, broaden out the circle of people on the list." Traditionally, China has supported the expansion of sanctions against its ally and neighbor North Korea over nuclear tests and missile launches, although it has pushed hard to ensure the measures are not what it considers excessively harsh. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)
Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama is set to nominate the chief of the Special Operations Command to head the military's vital Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, a US defense official said Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said General Joseph Votel would be nominated to lead Central Command, whose area of operations include Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

His nomination would reflect the increased role special operations troops are carrying out in the region.

Obama has repeatedly said he doesn't want large-scale American deployments in Syria or Iraq, and instead has been relying on air power and smaller units of elite specialists to partner with local forces fighting Islamic State jihadists.

If approved by the Senate, Votel would replace General Lloyd Austin, who has headed CENTCOM, as the command is better known, since March 2013.

Austin has kept a relatively low public profile as CENTCOM head.

In September, he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where lawmakers blasted him over the pace of the anti-IS fight and allegations that senior military officials altered information to downplay the strength of IS fighters and Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria.

Votel's planned nomination was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The White House did not immediately confirm the possible nomination.

The Pentagon last year announced it was sending about 50 special operations commandos into Syria to conduct raids, gather intelligence and work with local forces.

Thousands of other troops on special missions are also working in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In October, US special operations troops and Kurdish peshmerga stormed an IS-run prison near Hawijah in northern Iraq, freeing some 70 captives who were facing imminent execution. One US fighter died in the operation.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan promised last month that passing a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be his top priority in 2016. For those who have watched the political machinations surrounding Obamacare for the past seven years, that sounds like deja vu. The House of Representatives has passed dozens of bills repealing Obamacare ever since Republicans took control of the lower chamber five years ago.

This time, though, there is one key difference. Thanks to the Republican takeover of the Senate, Republicans can for the first time complete the legislative process and send the repeal to President Barack Obamas desk. To manage that feat, Senate Republicans will use the budget reconciliation process to pre-empt a Democratic filibuster and keep Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on the sidelines. Republicans learned that maneuver from Reid in 2010  when he used it to pass the Affordable Care Act after losing a filibuster-proof majority in the Massachusetts special election six years ago. The irony and poetic justice of using Reids maneuver will be lost on few people, and certainly not on Harry Reid.

Related: Conservatives Tell Paul Ryan, the Honeymoons Over!

Of course, President Obama will veto the bill, which also bans funding for Planned Parenthood. It has no chance of becoming law at this point. So whats the point? Why is this such a priority for the GOP? On one level, as a show of defiance, it serves Paul Ryans interest as Speaker. More broadly, it demonstrates a belated effort by the Republican Party to deliver on its promises  but this effort might be too little, and too late.

Ryan rose reluctantly to Speaker in the fall after a series of conservative revolts against John Boehners leadership finally left him too weak to succeed. The opening didnt immediately generate any consensus candidates, and the support that existed for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy evaporated after suggesting that one purpose of the Benghazi probe was to damage Hillary Clinton. Conservative House members demanded a change in direction for caucus leadership from Boehners team, and Ryan was drafted into the role after first publicly rejecting it.

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In exchange for agreeing to replace Boehner, Ryan insisted that conservatives work with him to clear the decks on the FY2016 budget bill, and a return to regular order afterward. Conservatives demanded a fresh start in the New Year, with a real focus on the issues that mattered to their constituents. On the top of the list, at least on domestic policy, are Obamacare and federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Getting this bill past Senate leadership fulfills Ryans agreement with the conservative caucus members, at least in spirit. This success, even while limited, makes it more likely that the rest of Ryans year goes more smoothly than any Boehner experienced.

Related: How Trumps Big Lead Could Fall Apart in a Hurry

On the broader level, the bills passage in both chambers is obviously intended to blunt the frustration and anger among Republican voters who twice gave the party large midterm victories, only to see very little for their efforts. That anger and frustration has transformed the Republican presidential primary into a platform for outsiders in a cycle where the GOP had more fresh talent within its tent in a very long time. Addressing the midterm priorities of those voters could have prevented the revolt seen in 2015, and now the big question will be whether Congress matters any more to the rank-and-file.

This effort could have been made a year ago, and should have been made a year ago, when the GOP took control of Congress. Instead, Boehner and Mitch McConnell made an understandable but mistaken choice to focus on process rather than issues. Republican leadership wanted to prove it could become a governing party in advance of the 2016 elections, but voters wanted evidence of change instead. That miscalculation not only became the undoing of Boehner but of the Republican Partys standing with its grassroots voters, who cared much less about process and more about winning on the issues.

In a strange way, Republicans share a failing with Barack Obama: overpromising and underdelivering. Obama spent the last three months promising dramatic action on gun control, only to offer an ambiguous (but still potentially troublesome) adjustment of the definition of a firearms dealer, thanks to the limitations of his executive authority. Republicans spent 2014 promising dramatic action on a number of priorities, especially Obamacare, on which they could never substantively deliver thanks to the limitation of their majorities in the legislative branch. On top of that, the GOP didnt even bother to offer a symbolic victory until now.

Related: 1 in 5 People with Health Insurance Can't Afford Their Medical Bills

This repeal would have garnered cheers in January or Feburary 2015, even with an Obama veto and no way to override it. A year later, it seems doubtful that it will do much to restore the GOPs credibility. Bait-and-switch strategies will have that effect and send consumers looking for other options. With just weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primaries, there is little time and almost no opportunity to fix that problem in time to address the anti-establishment fervor in the Republican electorate. Paul Ryan will need to keep delivering in 2016, though, in order to give the GOP enough credibility to fight in the 2016 general election, no matter who the party nominates.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Bernie Sanders, who needs to consolidate the populist left of his party, has been decidedly less liberal on gun violence than either of his rivals. (Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP)

President Obama pushed guns to the top of the national agenda this week, announcing a series of modest executive actions to be followed by a televised town hall Thursday. And thats probably not the best news in the world for Bernie Sanders, whos making a serious push in Iowa just four weeks before the caucuses, and who would rather be talking about almost anything else.

The problem here for Sanders isnt just that the renewed conversation on guns takes away from his monastic focus on economic fairness, which he renewed with a combative speech in Manhattan Tuesday. Nor is it simply that gun violence is the one issue where Sanders, who needs to consolidate the populist left of his party, has been decidedly less liberal than either of his rivals.

The real issue is that, if you pay close attention, the logic Sanders deploys to defend his record on guns just happens to undermine the very core of his case for the presidency  and his case against Hillary Clinton, too.

Lets start by taking a longer look at the history of gun legislation and Sanders voting record on the issue, which has repeatedly been characterized as mixed by reporters who, generally speaking, know as much about gun laws and firearms as I do about the migration of barn swallows. (I think they go south.)

There have been only a handful of truly pivotal congressional votes to broadly redefine gun rights in modern America. The first was in 1968, in the aftermath of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, when Congress voted to prohibit certain kinds of citizens  convicted felons, fugitives, mental defectives  from walking into a store and buying a gun.

That stood as the defining law of the land until 1993, when Bill Clinton led a successful and divisive push to expand those restrictions through what came to be known as the Brady Law. That law instituted a mandatory waiting period (now a maximum of three days) for all guns bought through licensed gun stores, so that federal background checks could be completed. The following year, Congress added a ban on certain assault-style weapons, which the industry quickly circumvented.

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None of this, however, stopped the flow of illegal guns into American cities. So in the late 90s, a coalition of cities, inspired by the successful litigation against the tobacco industry, started suing the gun industry and some of the less scrupulous dealers, charging that they were negligent in their business practices and asking to be recouped for the costs of gun violence.

In 2006, after years of trying, the gun lobby finally succeeded in getting Congress to grant special legal immunity to gun makers and dealers, effectively shielding them from any liability having to do with basic negligence. This was an extraordinary intervention on behalf of an entire industry, unparalleled in the modern annals of Congress.

So where was Sanders in all this? As a second-term congressman, he steadfastly opposed the Brady Law (although he did bring himself to vote for the largely symbolic assault-weapons ban). In 2006, when he was running for Senate, he voted with pro-gun, pro-corporate Republicans on the odious immunity bill.

I guess you could call this a mixed record, in the same way that I could throw a shot of rum into a barrel of Coke and call it a mixed drink. But not all votes carry the same weight, and if you know what youre talking about, its hard to see Sanders record as anything but grossly pro-industry.

On the two most meaningful pieces of gun legislation in American history  one that is the foundation for federal gun restrictions, and the other a clear effort by lobbyists to use their muscle to subvert the legal process  Sanders came out on the side of industry. Whatever other votes hes taken since becoming a senator (including one to extend Brady to private sellers at gun shows) have to be considered less consequential.

Now, to be clear, my point isnt to castigate Sanders for the votes he cast on a single issue over a 20-year span. My guess is that Sanders would do it differently now if he could, but on the list of things that make me think he might not be the next president who ends up on Mount Rushmore, the gun record sits pretty far down.

But heres the thing: When Sanders and his supporters defend his votes, they like to make the point that Sanders has represented Vermont, where an awful lot of pickup trucks sport NRA stickers, and where an awful lot of gun dealers make a decent living and dont want to get sued out of business.

I come from a rural state, and the views on gun control in rural states are different than in urban states, Sanders explained during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas in October. In an interview on CNNs State of the Union last year, he said: The people of my state understand, I think, pretty clearly, that guns in Vermont are not the same thing as guns in Chicago or guns in Los Angeles. In our state, guns are used for hunting.

In other words, Sanders was representing the interests of his constituents. And you know what that makes Bernie Sanders?

A politician, thats what.

And this is the problem the gun issue creates for Sanders. Because a politician is precisely what he purports not to be. His entire rationale as a candidate is that he alone chooses principle over polls, that he votes his convictions and cant be corrupted by powerful interests or his own ambition.

Conversely, his main indictment of Clinton  which he laid out again this week, as Obama wept publicly over the human wreckage of gun violence  holds that she is a puppet of Wall Street, unwilling to break up the banks or reinstitute 20th century regulations because shes a creature of political calculation rather than conscience.

It turns out, though, that Sanders understands political reality, too. He voted against the Brady Law because it wasnt popular or especially relevant in Vermont, and you can bet he was already eyeing higher office back then. He voted for immunity at the very moment when he was also running for an open Senate seat, and thats not a coincidence.

All of which is fine. Theres nothing wrong with winning. We elect senators to represent our interests at home, not to go off chasing their own utopian ideals at our expense.

But you cant very well say that its all right for Sanders to look out for rural gun sellers in Vermont (over the welfare of poor kids in Chicago or Los Angeles), and yet somehow Clinton is the embodiment of venality because she took money and advice from Wall Street.

Her job in the Senate, after all, was to represent New York, the banking capital of the world. Like it or not, the financiers were her constituents, too.

The next Democratic debate will be held a week from Sunday in Charleston, S.C., a city shattered by a horrific mass shooting last year. And you can be sure that Sanders will reprise the argument he made this week  that Clinton is a subsidiary of the bankers and their narrow agenda.

When he does, Clinton might point out that shes no more a sellout to Wall Street than Sanders is to the gun lobby. Both candidates have shown themselves to be pragmatists when they need to be.

Only one of them admits it.
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Women who accidentally keep taking oral contraceptives after becoming pregnant shouldn't worry about birth defects, a new study suggests. An analysis of nearly 900,000 births found no connection between oral contraceptive use right before or during pregnancy and birth defects in babies, researchers report in The BMJ. "For women who do become pregnant either soon after stopping oral contraceptive use or even if theyre still taking the pill, they should know that exposure is unlikely to cause their fetus to develop a birth defect," said lead author Brittany Charlton, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Nine percent of women become pregnant in the first year of taking oral contraceptives due to missed doses, drug interactions or illnesses. Other women may get pregnant soon after they stop taking birth control pills, or they might continue on the pills, not realizing they're pregnant. In these scenarios, the researchers say, the fetus might be exposed to the hormones in the pills. Some research has suggested that exposure may cause birth defects by altering levels of vitamin A and folic acid, which are crucial to fetal development. "The literature has just been unclear," Charlton told Reuters Health. For the new study, she and her co-authors used Danish registry data on 880,694 births between 1997 and 2011 to analyze the effects of oral contraceptive use. During that time, 2.5 percent of children were born with a major birth defect like limb problems, cleft lips or palates, spina bifida or heart defects. Based on information from a national prescription registry, 8 percent of mothers had stopped using oral contraceptives within the three months before becoming pregnant. Another 1 percent had used contraceptives after becoming pregnant. These women had no increased risk of giving birth to a child with a major birth defect, compared to women who never took the drugs or stopped them months before becoming pregnant. The risk was about 25 birth defects per 1,000 births regardless of exposure to oral contraceptives. There was also no increased risk of birth defects when the researchers included other factors like stillbirths and induced abortions. "Thats especially reassuring given that our results remained consistent," said Charlton. She cautioned that the study has some limitations. For example, some birth defects are so rare that even with data on nearly 900,000 births, they still couldn't test for associations with certain defects. Still, the researchers conclude that exposure to oral contraceptives near the start of a pregnancy is unlikely to cause major birth defects. "Our finding should reassure women as well as their healthcare providers," said Charlton. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1Z89LYH The BMJ, online January 6, 2016.
Islamabad (AFP) - Pakistan on Thursday welcomed Saudi Arabia's initiative to form a military coalition of 34 countries to fight "terrorism" in the Islamic world.

The gesture came as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Riyadh announced the formation of the coalition last month signalling a more assertive foreign policy by the kingdom.

The regional Sunni power said the alliance would share intelligence, combat violent ideology and deploy troops if necessary.

Saudi Arabia also leads a military coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

"Pakistan welcomes Saudi Arabia's initiative and supports all such regional and international efforts to counter terrorism and extremism," a foreign ministry statement quoted Sharif as saying.

Islamabad initially reacted cautiously to the announcement of the coalition, saying it was awaiting further details to decide the extent of its participation in different activities of the alliance.

"The prime minister affirmed that the people of Pakistan will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Saudi Arabia against any threat to territorial integrity and sovereignty of Saudi Arabia," said the statement.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denounced international "terrorism" and has itself seen an upsurge of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group over the past year, against minority Shiites and members of the security forces.

The kingdom is founded on the teachings of fundamentalist cleric Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab, whose thought has been accused of fuelling deadly Sunni extremism around the world, including that of IS.

Al-Jubeir briefed Sharif on the situation in Saudi's relations with Iran, after Riyadh cut diplomatic ties following an arson attack on its embassy in Tehran.

"Pakistan expressed deep concern at the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of Saudi embassy in Tehran," the statement said.

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Sharif called for the "resolution of differences through peaceful means in the larger interest of the Muslim unity in this challenging time".

The attack on the embassy was sparked by Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Shiite-dominated Iran, which accused Saudi warplanes Thursday of deliberately bombing its embassy in Yemen, also announced a ban on imports of all products from its Sunni-ruled rival.

The Saudi foreign minister also held delegation level talks with the prime minister's advisor Sartaj Aziz.

"The two sides underscored the need to develop jointly a counter narrative against extremism and terrorism with the help of religious scholars."

It was agreed "both countries would make a concerted effort to promote multi-faceted cooperation and work together to defeat our common enemy - terrorism and extremism".

The two sides also discussed ways and means to further expand areas of cooperation.

"Pakistan has shown a slight leaning towards Saudi Arabia by staying in the 34-nation alliance whose objectives are not very clear," analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

"Pakistan has, however, kept some options open on how to deal with the situation of conflict with Iran and Saudi," he said.

"It seems that now the Iranians will contact Pakistan to get certain clarifications after the Saudi foreign minister's visit."
Panasonic is showing off a new line of DX900 UHD TVs at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), running an updated version of Firefox OS. Instead of trying to push its OS further into the smartphone sector, the Mozilla Foundation is continuing its collaboration with the Japanese tech giant.

The latest version of Firefox OS (2.5) helps users find their favorite channels, applications (e.g., Vimeo, Atari, AOL On, Giphy), videos and websites quickly, as well as pin favorite content onto the TV's home screen.

The first Panasonic TVs to come loaded with Firefox OS were presented back at CES 2015, in the firm's new series of Viera 4K smart TVs.

The 2016 line-up comes at a tricky time for the Mozilla Foundation, which announced in December 2015 that it would be halting development on its free, alternative mobile operating system (Firefox OS) for smartphones. Launched less than three years ago, it's currently available in around 40 countries in primarily budget handsets sold by local cellphone networks. However, the system hasn't managed to find a place for itself in a market heavily dominated by Android and iOS, which account for 98% of sales according to Gartner's figures.

Although conscious that the platform doesn't offer an optimal user-experience after several years of development, Mozilla has decided to continue experimenting with its system in connected devices such as TVs.

CES runs through January 9 in Las Vegas. Website: cesweb.org
(Reuters) - The parents of a Mexican immigrant fatally shot by police in Washington state have filed a wrongful death suit against local authorities and the officers who killed him, accusing them of excessive force, an attorney said on Wednesday.

Antonio Zambrano-Montes, a farm worker in the small city of Pasco, 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Seattle, was shot by three patrolmen on Feb. 10, 2015 during a confrontation that was recorded by a passerby and posted online.

On the video, Zambrano-Montes was seen throwing rocks at the officers near a busy intersection before running away.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington, Zambrano-Montes' parents say their son's death was a violation of federal law that prohibit police use of excessive force when making an arrest.

"In this case, its obvious that 17 shots, resulting in 7-8 bullet wounds in a man who was first fleeing and then attempting to surrender - was excessive in the extreme," attorney Charles Herrmann said in a press release.

The killing was among a series of fatal incidents across the United States that have put law enforcement agencies under scrutiny over their use of force, particularly against minorities. It prompted demonstrations in Pasco, which has a Latino majority.

The lawsuit names the city of Pasco, its police chief, Robert Metzger, and the three officers who fired at Zambrano-Montes.

Two of the officers involved, Adam Wright and Adrian Alaniz, were cleared of wrongdoing in September and returned to duty following an internal police investigation. The third officer, Ryan Flanagan, resigned.

Police said the officers followed proper protocol and two stun guns failed to subdue Zambrano-Montes.

Zambrano-Montes' widow, Teresa de Jesus Meraz-Ruiz, filed a federal wrongful death suit last year seeking more than $25 million in damages.

His parents' legal action does not name an amount, but the Tri-City Herald newspaper reported that a claim was filed with the city of Pasco in advance of the lawsuit seeking $4.76 million.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Beijing (AFP) - China's favourite cola of the 1980s is to be relaunched, 20 years after an ill-fated deal with Pepsi consigned Tianfu Cola to the sidelines of the country's soft-drink market.

The sweet, supposedly medicinal drink will be returning to the country's shelves for the Lunar New Year holiday in early February, the official news agency Xinhua reported Thursday.

Once commanding a 70 percent market share in the country, Tianfu -- which means "heavenly palace" -- fell to a 1 percent stake after forming a joint venture with Pepsi in 1994, before production was finally stopped.

At the time of the Pepsi deal, Tianfu Cola was making inroads into Russia and the United States, but the combined unit slashed output in favour of the American product.

Many other Chinese soft drink brands suffered a similar fate as the country opened up economically in the 1980s and 90s.

After 12 years of losses, debt-ridden Tianfu sold its remaining shares in the joint venture to Pepsi, then successfully sued the US giant in a Chinese court for the right to its own recipe.

Tianfu Cola includes herbs drawn from traditional Chinese medicine and a 1995 Chinese study claimed to show it had anti-carcinogenic effects.

"Our joint venture with Pepsi put the brand on ice, so we lost 20 years," Qian Huang, general manager of Chongqing-based Tianfu, told a press conference on Wednesday, according to the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper.

On China's Twitter-like social media service Weibo, many users hailed the return of Tianfu Cola as a patriotic victory for the Asian giant, which has risen to become the world's second-largest economy and carries increasing diplomatic heft.

"Protect the nation's brands!" wrote one user.

Another declared: "You know Tianfu cola is pure China, much better to drink than Pepsi or Coke."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Th U.S. Defense Department continues to review options with South Korea to respond to North Korea's nuclear test, the Pentagon said on Thursday, reiterating that the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security is ironclad. "We are confident that we, working in lock steps with South Koreans, can respond appropriately to this action and continue to review all options that need to be considered at this point," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a briefing. He was replying to a question about reports that South Korea had asked the United States to deploy strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula. Cook did not give details about any such request. (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by David Alexander)
Its easy to get really annoyed at big events like CES 2016 because vendors are constantly pitching you to write about products that just arent very good. However, this doesnt mean that CES is totally worthless but rather that you have to filter out the truly promising products from the products that are just a waste of your time. 10 products announced at CES 2016 really caught my eye this year and I think they have the potential to really go somewhere in the coming years. Lets check them out.

FROM EARLIER: How to disable Binge On and stop T-Mobile from throttling your videos

802.11ah HaLow

OK, so this isnt really a product so much as a wireless standard. However its also the most potentially important long-term announcement of the show since it will enable better communications between all of the different devices we have in our homes. 802.11ah is a new Wi-Fi standard announced at CES 2016 that promises to double the reach of current Wi-Fi radios while also using even less power. In short, this standard will be the glue that holds the smart home of the future together.

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Although Tesla is by far the most hyped electric car manufacturer, General Motors generated some buzz of its own at CES 2016 with the unveiling the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt 2017. The car can get an estimated 200 miles per charge and, even more importantly, is affordably priced at $30,000 after government incentives.

LGs wild rollable display

LG turned a lot of heads at CES 2016 this year with the unveiling of an 18-inch flexible display that the company says can be rolled up like a newspaper. Devices like last years Samsung Galaxy S6 edge showed us just some of the potential of curved displays but displays that can actually be rolled up or folded are taking these innovations to a whole new level and I cant wait to see the applications LG comes up with for this technology going forward.

Parrots Disco drone

Drones were a big hit at CES 2016 this year and one of the most impressive came from manufacturer Parrot, which unveiled its new Disco drone. Unlike most drones on the market, the Disco is a full fixed-wing aircraft and it can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and can stay in the air for up to 45 minutes at a time. Parrot says the drone is also able to intelligently fly itself and avoid crashing into objects that may be in its path. It has no release date or price yet but you can bet it will be high on many hobbyists lists of things to buy this year.

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The Razer Blade Stealth and Core

This is a brilliant idea for a PC gaming rig that can also serve as your everyday laptop. Essentially, Razers Blade Stealth laptop is designed to be sleek ultrabook that you can bring with you wherever you go. When you feel like turning into a powerful gaming PC, you can then plug it into the Core dock that will give you all the processing power you need to play your favorite PC games on max settings.

The Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator

I I cant believe Im including this here either. Yes, its a refrigerator that costs $5,000 but its just so awesome. This fridge has a gigantic touchscreen and built-in stereo speakers so you can streaming your favorite music or watching your favorite Netflix shows via a connection with your Samsung smart TV. It also lets you shop for food directly from its touchscreen thanks to a partnership with MasterCard that will let you order food from multiple retailers. While this fridge certainly isnt for everyone, its also the first kitchen appliance ever unveiled at CES that has ever even remotely intrigued me. And that is quite an achievement.

The EHang 184

Unmanned aerial drones are so last year. This year at CES, a Chinese company called EHang unveiled the first aerial drone thats large enough for you to ride inside. The EHang 184 is loaded with sensors that are designed to help it avoid any potential dangers while in the air and the device can be controlled manually from inside using a simple tablet interface. While this drone looks incredible, I imagine its going to be a while before we see it go on sale in the U.S. as the FAA will likely not be eager to have everyone flying around in their own personal mini-helicopters.

Samsungs SUHD TV lineup

Samsung really, really does TVs well. Samsung at CES 2016 unveiled its new flagship SUHD TV line that will begin rolling out later this year and will be available in sizes ranging from 49 inches to 88 inches. What makes these TVs really distinctive is their curved bezel-free displays that will offer you beautiful 4K resolution. The new SUHD TVs will come loaded with Samsungs Tizen operating system that includes several key features such as the SmartHub that is your access point to all the content you watch, whether its on Netflix and Hulu or on regular network TV. The new TVs will start shipping in March.

Samsung Portable SSD T3

Samsung is really bringing the heat when it comes to SSD technology and its new Portable SSD T3 offers up to 2TB of storage encased in a device thats the size of your palm and that weighs less than two ounces. The Portable SSD T3 is compatible with USB 3.1 and USB 2.0, it has a sequential transfer speed of up to 450Mbps, and it includes AES 256-bit hardware encryption.

LGs Signature OLED TV

How much thinner can our TVs get? LG is trying to answer that question with its new LG Signature OLED TV that measures in at just 2.5 millimeters thick, or the same thickness as four stacked credit cards. The TV runs on webOS, the long-dead smartphone operating system that LG acquired from HP to use on its own home appliance and entertainment products. LG says that the new TV will start rolling out in March, although no pricing information has been revealed yet.

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This article was originally published on BGR.com
Occupy Wall Street protesters in Portland, OR (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Occupy Wall Street protesters in Portland, OR (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The Assembly and Petition Clauses of the First Amendment state, Congress shall make no law  abridging  the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

On January 19, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Heffernan v. City of Paterson, a case that asks whether public employees can be punished at work for supporting a particular political candidate.

Joining We the People to discuss the constitutional issues in Heffernan and the future of the rights to assembly and petition are two leading First Amendment scholars who wrote about the Assembly and Petition Clauses for the National Constitution Centers Interactive Constitution.

Burt Neuborne is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties and the Founding Legal Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

John Inazu is an Associate Professor of Law and Associate Professor of Political Science at the Washington University School of Law.



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This show was engineered by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Joshua Waimberg and Danieli Evans. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

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Warsaw (AFP) - Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday signed into law a controversial bill handing the conservative government control of state media, despite EU concern and condemnation from rights watchdogs.

Critics see the move as the latest bid by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) to consolidate power and render ineffective any organ that could keep it in check since taking power late last year after eight years in the opposition.

"It's important to the president that state media be impartial, objective and credible," presidential spokeswoman Malgorzata Sadurska told reporters, claiming that the media had been flouting those guidelines.

"That's why the president signed into law the radio and television bill" that the conservative-dominated parliament approved last month, she said.

Under the new law, senior figures in public radio and television will be appointed -- and can be sacked -- by the treasury minister. They will no longer be hired through contests organised by the National Broadcasting Council.

The new legislation will also see the current managers and supervisory board members of Poland's public broadcasters fired with immediate effect.

"It's the first step in a media takeover. I'm afraid the next laws will somehow limit the freedom of non-state media," said Katarzyna Lubnauer, a lawmaker from the liberal Nowoczesna party.

The PiS had earlier said it plans to turn the PAP news agency and public television and radio -- all currently state-owned businesses -- into national cultural institutions like the opera or the national museum.

The governing party, led by former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, already raised alarm in recent months by replacing the heads of the EU member's secret services and reforming the constitutional court, the latter despite mass protests and opposition complaints that the changes threatened judicial independence.

Duda, who was elected in May and is backed by the PiS, also signed into law Thursday a public service bill that allows the conservatives to hire top state institution officials without holding competitive exams -- another measure slammed by the opposition.

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- 'Let's not overdramatise' -

The Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights watchdog, had urged Duda against signing the media law.

The director general of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Ingrid Deltenre, said in a statement she was "dismayed by the president's decision".

"The fact that the government refused any discussion, or to accept any expert legal advice from the European Commission, Council of Europe or other media expert organisations, appears to reflect its overall attitude towards European institutions and fundamental democratic values," she said.

French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin said Poland's new media legislation "profoundly goes against" Europe's "underlying values".

According to Polish media there is another bill in the works that would terminate the contracts of all state media employees.

They could then be rehired if their positions and they themselves were deemed useful.

The government's legal manoeuvres have prompted escalating warnings from the European Commission that it could intervene, including two letters from its vice president, Frans Timmermans, asking Warsaw for information.

In an unprecedented move, the Commission is set to debate the state of rule of law in Poland on January 13, which could lead to potentially punitive measures.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday denied that Brussels was unfairly targeting Poland over its government's controversial changes.

"Let's not overdramatise. It's an important issue but we have to have friendly and good relations with Poland," he said before news broke that Duda had signed the media bill.

"Our approach is very constructive -- we are not bashing Poland."
Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama vowed not to campaign or vote for any candidate, including Democrats, who opposes tighter gun laws, as he publicly challenged critics of his policies.

In a concerted effort to garner support for contentious unilateral measures regulating the sale and purchase of guns, a sometimes combative Obama took to television to make his case.

Around 30,000 people are killed in America every year by guns, mostly in suicides.

In an opinion article in the New York Times and in a primetime CNN debate that featured questions from gun owners, Obama argued for executive measures regulating the sale and purchase of weapons, controversially bypassing Congress.

"Even as I continue to take every action possible as president, I will also take every action I can as a citizen," he said in a message posted on the Times' website.

"I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support commonsense gun reform," Obama said.

That relatively short list could include Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who voted against gun reform in 2013.

On television Obama chastised critics who he said have "mischaracterized" his position and falsely believe he wants to repeal the right to bear arms and seize the estimated 350 million weapons in the United States.

"It is a conspiracy," Obama said. "I'm only going to be here for another year."

"Keep in mind I've been president for over seven years and gun sales don't seem to have suffered during that time."

"I've been very good for gun manufacturers," he said.

In a bid to empathize with gun owners, Obama also said he skeet shoots from time to time at Camp David, a presidential retreat near Washington.

- Aiming at the NRA -

Obama had less empathy for America's most prominent pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association.

Obama repeatedly trashed the organization -- which helps fund the election campaigns of strident gun advocates -- notably for not taking part in the debate near its own headquarters in Virginia.

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"There is a reason why the NRA is not here," Obama said. "They are just down the street. And since this is the main reason they exist, you'd think they would be prepared to have a debate with the president."

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told the event host that "the National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House."

- 'It gets me mad' -

Earlier this week a tearful Obama said unilateral measures were needed to tackle US gun violence.

Flanked by survivors and relatives of some of those killed, Obama became emotional as he remembered 20 elementary school children shot dead three years ago in Newtown, Connecticut.

Obama on Thursday admitted he had surprised himself by shedding tears.

According to a CNN poll 67 percent of Americans support the measures -- which include an increase in background checks and registration of gun dealers -- while 32 percent oppose them.

Obama's proposals have prompted a fierce response from Republicans looking to replace him in the White House.

On the campaign trail, party frontrunner Donald Trump said that if the people of Paris had guns, they could have prevented an attack by militants linked to the Islamic State group, who killed 130 people.

Trump also vowed to put an end to gun-free zones, if elected.

"You know what a gun free zone is to a sicko? That's bait," he said.

"I would get rid of gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. On my first day, it gets signed, there's no more gun-free zones."

Senator Ted Cruz, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination, emailed supporters an image of the president in combat uniform, complete with helmet, claiming "Obama wants your guns."

The White House called that message "irresponsible."

"I think he's appealing to people's anxieties and insecurities and even outright fears in an attempt to win votes for his presidential campaign," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"That's unfortunate, in some cases it veers into the territory of being irresponsible. But, you know, ultimately, that's clearly what he's up to."
The toxic morass that was Americas nuclear weapons complex is no secret. Hazardous conditions in places like the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio moved Congress in 2000 to create a compensation program for former workers who developed illnesses that may have been caused by radiation or chemical exposures.

The program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, assumes that conditions significantly improved at nuclear sites after 1995 and processes claims accordingly. A new report by federal health investigators, however, casts doubt on that assumption.

The report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, dated December 21, 2015, summarizes the results of a NIOSH inspection at Portsmouth begun two years earlier. The Center for Public Integrity, which highlighted historical problems at the site in an article last month, obtained it this week from a former worker.

The most notable finding: air sampling in Building 326 of the now-closed uranium enrichment plant, undergoing decontamination and decommissioning, showed the presence of hydrogen fluoride, a potentially lethal gas, in concentrations up to 30 times the NIOSH ceiling limit, described as a value that should never be exceeded. Apart from its capacity to kill, hydrogen fluoride, commonly known as HF, can cause chronic lung disease, skin damage and blindness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Investigators also noted that there was no sampling for nitrogen dioxide, another dangerous gas. Acute effects of exposure include vomiting, labored breathing and dizziness, according to the CDC; there also can be long-term effects on the immune system and the lungs.

Hydrogen fluoride, a remnant of production in Building 326, can be unleashed by the cutting of pipes, compressors and converters. Nitrogen dioxide is generated by the cutting itself.

The NIOSH team met with 16 people who worked at Portsmouth at the time, 10 of whom expressed concerns about poor communication between management and employees and concerns about retaliation for reporting safety problems, the report says. Concerns included having inadequate information about chemical(s) used, chemical exposures, and potential health effects. Five workers reported rashes they believed to be work-related.

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Several employees expressed concern that they felt rushed to complete job tasks and that some managers placed production goals ahead of safety, the report says. Employees believed these problems have led to near misses and accidents.

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program is intended to provide payments to and cover the health care of people harmed by working at nuclear-weapons sites. Many claimants and some members of Congress find the program deeply flawed and question the Labor Departments rationale for denying claims.

A year-old department circular directs claims examiners to presume that no significant exposure to any toxic agents occurred after 1995 unless there is compelling data to the contrary. Advocates who have pushed the Labor Department to reverse the policy say the NIOSH report is the latest example of recent problems. They worry about undocumented hazards going unnoticed.

This is probably not an isolated incident, said Deb Jerison, director of the Energy Employees Claimant Assistance Project, whose physicist father worked at the Mound Laboratory in Ohio and died of bone cancer. If people dont look, they wont find.

Labor Department spokeswoman Amanda McClure said the NIOSH report doesnt require a policy change.

The departments circular, based on Energy Department efforts to improve safety throughout the weapons complex, does not negate the fact that there may have been higher levels of exposures at certain sites in individual cases after 1995, McClure wrote in an email. The agency takes those circumstances into account when they arise, and we will take NIOSH's Portsmouth facility report into consideration on a case-by-case basis.

The dismantling of the Portsmouth plant involves more than 2,000 workers and is being overseen by Fluor BWXT, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy. In a letter to NIOSH dated December 3, 2015, Fluor BWXT said it has robust industrial hygiene and hazard-communication programs and closely monitors workplace hazards. The company said it had taken more than 57,000 air samples for radiological hazards in Building 326 since 2012. These samples, combined with urine testing, have shown no reportable internal exposures to workers, it said.

In an interview, Bob French, Fluor BWXTs environment, safety, health and quality director, said NIOSH was invited to Portsmouth in 2013 by both the company and the United Steelworkers union.

Last months report brought no surprises because NIOSH kept Fluor BWXT officials apprised during its two-year inquiry. As NIOSH would raise safety issues, the company would correct them, French said.

Theres nothing we want more than to assure the safety of our workers, he said. Building 326 is targeted for demolition in June 2017.

Energy Department spokeswoman Joshunda Sanders wrote in an email that the agency "considers worker health and safety to be a top priority, and we take all recommendations to improve safety seriously. This [NIOSH] letter is being reviewed in that context."

This story is part of Unequal Risk. Workers in America face risks from toxic exposures that would be considered unacceptable outside the job. Click here to read more stories in this series.

Don't miss another Environment investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email.

Jeff Walburn, a former security guard at Portsmouth, said he found the NIOSH report disconcerting.

On the morning of July 26, 1994, Walburn was working in the L-Cage  a storage area for contaminated liquid waste  in Building 326. The plant, then still in production, was operated by Lockheed Martin.

The atmosphere suddenly changed, Walburn said, and he became agitated. Another guard was in the same area. It was like we were being stung by bees all over, Walburn said. His lungs were burned. His hair fell out in clumps. He wound up in the emergency room and spent 11 days in the hospital and two months recovering after that.

Walburn blamed his injury on HF exposure. NIOSHs findings suggest that similar risks remain for decommissioning workers, he said.

There are thousands of miles of pipe and pockets of gas trapped within those thousands of miles of pipe, said Walburn, who brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against Lockheed Martin. The 326 [building] is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

In a written statement to the Center last month, Lockheed Martin said it had investigated worker allegations of safety lapses and could not substantiate them.

This story is part of Unequal Risk. Workers in America face risks from toxic exposures that would be considered unacceptable outside the job. Click here to read more stories in this series.

Related stories

Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former American International Group Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg has donated $10 million to Right to Rise, the Super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the group's fundraising. The donation makes Greenberg one of the largest contributors to the November election, the newspaper said, and adds further to the unprecedented pool of money funding the race. Greenberg, 90, who was ousted from AIG in 2005 after nearly four decades at the helm, told the Journal he did not deny making the contribution but did not want to discuss it in an interview. The Super PAC is not required to disclose donations until the end of the month. Super PACs, political groups that can raise unlimited funds to advocate for candidates as long as they do not coordinate with them, have multiplied the amount of money spent on ads for candidates compared with previous election cycles. But the link between money spent and support received is not clear. The group backing Bush has led in spending on advertising, but the former Florida governor has lagged in the polls. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Bush tied for fourth place among Republican contenders for the nomination, with 8 percent support. (Reporting by Megan Cassella; Editing by Dan Grebler)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tension over the South China Sea highlights the need for the United States to maintain a strong Navy to serve as a deterrent, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday, criticizing the Obama administration for proposals he said would reduce the U.S. naval fleet. "This just shows that we need to have a strong Navy," Ryan said at a news briefing. "We should not have a president proposing to lower our ship count to pre-World War One levels. This means we need to have a strong military and a strong Navy, and a real foreign policy, which we do not now have." Three civilian Chinese flights have landed in recent days on a new island runway China has built in the disputed South China Sea, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Thursday. "We're concerned by all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the South China Sea," Cook said. In addition to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims to territory in those waters. The first flight landed on the island on Saturday, and two flights landed on Wednesday, according to China's Xinhua state news agency. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio echoed Ryan's call, saying that, if elected, he would sail U.S. ships through the contested South China Sea to challenge China's claimed air and sea rights and work with other allies in the region. "We need to reinvigorate our Pacific military alliance, and that begins with the United States investing the resources necessary to rebuild our Navy," Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, told Fox Business Network. The assertion about the smallest U.S. Navy since World War One has become a popular talking point among Republicans, but has been widely discounted because contemporary ships are far more advanced and significantly larger than those in use a century ago. Neither Ryan nor Rubio said how much they would allocate in resources for the Navy. Republicans, who are seeking to take control of the White House from the Democratic Party in the November presidential election, have made U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy a key campaign issue. The United States has not taken a stance on the competing claims, and the Obama administration has repeatedly pressed for free, lawful navigation in the area. "We again call for all claimants to reciprocally halt land reclamation, further development of new facilities, and militarization on their outposts and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behavior in disputed areas," State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said. Other top Republican lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration for not conducting more patrols in the South China Sea. U.S. Navy officials have said the dispute could lead to a possible regional arms race. Asked if he would intervene militarily to stop such Chinese plane landings if elected, Rubio said the United States needs to challenge China's claims. "We should reject their sovereignty over these areas and we should continue to fly our airplanes over it and sail our ships though it," he said. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, David Brunnstrom and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis)
By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ringleader of a scheme in which four former Saks Fifth Avenue employees used stolen customer data to buy $430,000 of luxury goods from the retailer's flagship Manhattan store, with plans to resell them on the black market, has pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.

Tamara Williams, 38, of Queens, pleaded guilty to grand larceny, identity theft and scheming to defraud, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said on Wednesday.

Three other former Saks employees, as well as an additional defendant recruited as a "shopper" to impersonate Saks cardholders, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison or jail, Vance said.

A lawyer for Williams declined to comment.

Vance said that from April to August 2014, Williams provided personal information, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, about more than 20 Saks cardholders to her co-workers, who then bought goods she pre-selected.

The district attorney said the ring was responsible for 91 transactions in which shoes, bags and other items from brands such as Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Ferragamo, Kate Spade and Louis Vuitton were purchased.

In some cases, the employees provided these goods to three shoppers who Williams recruited to aid the scheme, including the black market sales, Vance said.

The cases against two of the three shoppers remains open, Vance said.

Saks is owned by Canada's Hudson's Bay Co. Neither Saks nor its parent was accused of wrongdoing.

The case is New York v. Williams, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 4196-2014.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)
By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - The diplomatic rupture with Iran triggered by the execution of a Shi'ite cleric was probably a side effect of a decision taken by Saudi Arabia for domestic reasons, rather than the outcome of a deliberate ploy to enrage its regional opponent. But whether or not they intended to raise the heat in a tense rivalry that already underpins wars across the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's new rulers have shown no sign of regret. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also defence minister, reassured the world on Thursday the crisis would stop short of an all-out war between the Gulf region's main powers. "A war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure we will not allow any such thing," he told the Economist. But in the days since the execution, Riyadh has done nothing to halt an escalation in confrontation, demonstrating a level of comfort with brinkmanship unheard of in the typically cautious kingdom before King Abdullah died a year ago and was replaced by his brother King Salman. The night after a Saudi executioner put Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr to death in a high-security prison, Iranian protesters stormed Riyadh's Tehran embassy and Mashhad consulate. Riyadh responded by cutting off diplomatic ties. "I do not think this would have happened under King Abdullah. Either the executions or the cutting of relations," said a Saudi political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity in an absolute monarchy where publicly questioning rulers' decisions is taboo. "I personally wish they had only withdrawn the ambassador. It makes it less difficult to change later," the analyst said of the decision to cut diplomatic ties. Salman, the sixth brother to rule as king since 1953, has set in motion the first transfer of power to a new generation for six decades, appointing his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as crown prince and his own son Mohammed bin Salman as deputy. Saudis say the rupture with Iran is the latest evidence that the new rulers are less hesitant to act than their predecessors. Sources close to the Riyadh authorities say the stormings of the diplomatic buildings in Iran came as a surprise, even though such attacks are hardly unprecedented: the British embassy in Tehran was torched in 2011 and one Saudi diplomat was killed in a similar attack in 1988. Nevertheless, one well-connected Saudi said that while he did not believe the Saudi rulers expected the embassy attack, they would have been willing to risk Iranian reprisals to carry out an execution they believed was fully justified. "The mood with the government is to push back against Iranian encroachment. So if Iran tries to intervene in a domestic matter, it's complete anathema," the Saudi said. He added that Iranian threats may even have made Riyadh more determined to go ahead with Nimr's execution. "It's a Saudi citizen convicted of crimes in Saudi Arabia. They think 'we will not take international, and especially Iranian, opinion into consideration.'" RUPTURE FOLLOWS STEPS TOWARDS THAW King Salman and the two princes have taken aggressive steps over the past year to confront what they see as growing Iranian influence in the Middle East - going to war in neighbouring Yemen to halt a takeover by Shi'ite rebels they consider Iranian pawns, and increasing support for rebel groups fighting against Iran's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Nevertheless, many in Riyadh insist the government was not trying to pick a new fight with Iran by executing Nimr, a cleric Riyadh had long accused of stirring up unrest, and who was executed along with dozens of Sunni Muslims also accused of terrorism. They point to a series of steps Riyadh had taken in recent months towards a thaw with Tehran, including working hard to get a new ambassador approved in Iran after a months-long hiatus, opening a new embassy in Shi'ite-ruled Iraq, and sitting opposite Iran at Syria peace talks last month in New York. Saudi officials say that by taking offence at the execution of Nimr, Tehran has demonstrated its claim of dominion over all Shi'ites regardless of national borders, which Riyadh in turn calls a fundamental threat to the international system. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir this week told Reuters Iran needed to decide if it was a normal nation state or "a revolution". (Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Peter Graff)
London (AFP) - Arsene Wenger has ruled Chile forward Alexis Sanchez out of Arsenal's FA Cup third round clash with Sunderland on Saturday.

Sanchez missed the entire Christmas and New Year programme after suffering a hamstring injury in Arsenal's draw at Norwich in November.

The 27-year-old was expected to make his comeback for the win over title rivals Manchester City before Christmas but suffered a setback in his recovery.

In his absence, Arsenal have opened up a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League and open the defence of their FA Cup trophy against strugglers Sunderland.

Gunners boss Wenger is not ready to rush Sanchez back into the team with crucial league fixtures to come and a Champions League tie against Sanchez's former club Barcelona on the horizon.

"The bad news of the week is that Alexis is not quite ready," Wenger told Arsenal's website on Thursday.

"It is a precaution because of his hamstring, and it takes a few more days. He's not bad but he's not ready."
Friday will be James Tracy's last day on the faculty at Florida Atlantic University. The Boca Raton school is cutting ties with the associate professor after he was accused of harassing the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, in which a man shot and killed 20 children and six staffers.

Lenny and Veronique Pozner published an op-ed in South Florida newspaper the Sun Sentinel in December, expressing their grief over losing their son, Noah, and calling out Tracy, who taught at FAU's School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, for spreading conspiracy theories about the incident.

Tracy, wrote the Pozners, received national attention from over 800 news outlets when he began publicly doubting that the shooting had occurred, alleging the entire incident was not only a hoax, but actually the work of President Barack Obama.

According to their editorial, Tracy went on to vilify the couple for their attempts to keep photos of their son from conspiracy theorists, and wrote letters to the Pozners demanding proof that they had a son at all. When they filed a report of harassment with the police, Tracy accused them of using copyright claims to derail investigation into the shooting and called them "alleged parents" on his blog. (On the blog, Tracy has made similar claims about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, which he calls "staged-managed [sic] events" designed to justify national security and gun control policy.)

Sandy Hook Truther Fired From Faculty Position at Florida Atlantic University

Source: Info Wars/YouTube

"FAU has a civic responsibility to ensure that it does not contribute to the ongoing persecution of the countless Americans who've lost their loved ones to high-profile acts of violence," wrote the Pozners in their editorial.

Predictably, as Tracy continued to make headlines, prospective students began withdrawing their applications to the university and students dropped his class.

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On Tuesday, university officials released a statement announcing their decision:

"Florida Atlantic University today issued James Tracy with a Notice of Termination. This follows the Notice of Proposed Discipline issued to James Tracy Dec. 16. The effective date of the termination is Jan. 8, 2016. James Tracy was scheduled to teach three classes during the upcoming Spring semester. Alternative instructors will be assigned to teach those classes."

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Tracy said he might sue the university on the grounds of and according to the Sentinel story the United Faculty of Florida will provide him with legal counsel. But Tracy's lawyers may have trouble making this defense: Officially, he is being terminated not for his comments, but for insubordination and obstructing the university's investigation of the incident.

In the school's notice of disciplinary action, published by the W, FAU vice provost Diane Alperin wrote to Tracy, "You publicly engage in external personal activity that requires your time and effort ... You have repeatedly and willfully failed to provide the administration the information it needs to discharge its responsibilities."
In recent days, news of Saudi Arabias execution of the Shia leader Nimr al-Nimr, and the diplomatic clashes with Iran that followed, has often been accompanied by an explanation that, in simplified form, goes something like this: The schism between Sunni and Shia Islam is an ancient one, expressed today in part through the rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran. Those two countries are intractable enemiesfire and dynamite, as one Saudi journalist memorably described them. Their proxy battles and jockeying for leadership of the Muslim world have ravaged the Middle East and, as has been vividly illustrated this week, could yet ravage it further.

Frederic Wehrey doesnt buy that narrative. A scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who researches identity politics in the Persian Gulf, Wehrey believes the execution of Nimr, rather than being the latest salvo in the Saudi-Iran shadow war, was primarily motivated by domestic politics in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the Saudi royal family wanted to appease powerful Sunni clerics angered by the kingdoms cooperation with the United States in the fight against ISIS, a Sunni jihadist group.

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Nimr, Wehrey pointed out in an interview, was executed along with dozens of Sunni jihadists. To Wehreys knowledge, the Shia cleric never called for armed insurrection against the state (as the state alleged he did). But Nimrs biting condemnations of the royal family made him an easy target for the House of Saud to throw in and dispose of, and they could say to their Sunni constituents, Look, were not being soft on Iran, were not abandoning the Sunnis even though were fighting ISIS. (Wehrey, who in 2013 visited the village in Saudi Arabias Eastern Province where Nimr preached until his arrest in 2011, characterized the cleric as a populist who didnt appear to be a full-throated supporter of Iran. Nimr, he said, advocated not just an end to discrimination against Saudi Arabias minority Shiites, but also economic development for the downtrodden community where he worked.)

Wehrey also challenged the idea that Iran and Saudi Arabia are the puppet masters of the regions sectarian strugglesfrom Syria and Iraq to Yemen and Lebanonarguing that the two countries are just as much at the whim of forces well beyond their control.

When you have the regional order collapsing, regional states are collapsing, these two oil-rich powerseach of which claims to be a leader of the Islamic world and a leader of the Middle Eastare drawn into the vacuum, he told me.

Nor, he added, can the Sunni-Shiite split fully or even largely explain hostilities between Iran and Saudi Arabia. As Wehrey and several coauthors detailed in a 2009 study, the Saudi-Iranian relationship has actually oscillated between cooperation, competition, and confrontation in recent decades, even as religious differences between the two nations have remained constant.

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This notion that these two powers are predestined for immutable rivalry because of the ancient Persian-Arab divide or the ancient Sunni-Shiite dividethat can only get us so far, he said.

What is so dangerous about this wave of sectarianism is that it has escaped the ability of states to manage it.

Likewise, in Wehreys view, Sunni-Shiite tensions are not some intrinsic dimension of the Middle East; instead, theyre the product of a series of tectonic shifts in the regions power politics, which in turn have prompted state (and, increasingly, non-state) actors to advance their interests by manipulating religious sentiments. What matters most in this story of upheaval is the interplay between government institutions and individual identity, he argues, not religion per se.

The reasons these religious differences get inflamed or get sectarianized is because of a breakdown of governance, a breakdown of economic distribution, Wehrey asserted. There have been plenty of times in the Middle East when these differences have been subsumed by other identities.

According to Wehrey, were currently witnessing a third wave of sectarianism brought on by the Syrian Civil War and the ascent of ISIS, and accentuated by social media. The first wave followed Irans Islamic Revolution in 1979 and Saudi Arabias decision to promote the fundamentalist Salafist strain of Sunni Islam to counter Tehrans Shia ideology. The second gathered force in the power vacuum resulting from Saddam Husseins ouster in Iraq in 2003, and swelled amid the rise of Sunni jihadism, the renewed assertiveness of Iran, and the spread of the Internet.

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What I think is so dangerous about this wave of sectarianism that were in right now ... is that it has escaped the ability of states to manage it, Wehrey told me.

An edited and condensed transcript of my conversation with Wehrey follows.

Uri Friedman: We hear rumblings from time to time about a Saudi-Iran proxy warthe two countries supporting opposite sides of conflicts in Syria, in Yemen, in Lebanon, and elsewhere in the region. Is the news surrounding Nimrs execution an example of the shadow war coming above the surface and suddenly being evident to people?

Frederic Wehrey: I would not place the execution in the context of a proxy war or shadow war, because Iran was not waging a proxy war inside Saudi Arabia or the Gulf.  Since the 1990s, Iran has pulled back from really meddling in the Gulf and trying to stir up violence and unrest in the Gulf. 

When you have the regional order collapsing, regional states are collapsing, these two oil-rich powerseach of which claims to be a leader of the Islamic world and a leader of the Middle Eastare drawn into the vacuum, for a variety of reasons. A lot of it is rooted in the domestic politics of each country. In Iran, you have a hardline Revolutionary Guard clique that is trying to assert itself vis-a-vis the pragmatists that have just signed the nuclear deal [with world powers], so theyre trying to assert themselves on the regional front by saying, We still are a power to be reckoned with. Theyre asserting themselves in these regional conflicts. In Saudi Arabia, theres this new king ... who is using these regional wars as a way to bolster his bona fides and raise his nationalist profile and build support. We cant really separate the regional adventurism from the domestic politics of each country.

We cant really separate the regional adventurism from the domestic politics of each country.

But this notion that these two powers are predestined for immutable rivalry because of the ancient Persian-Arab divide or the ancient Sunni-Shiite dividethat can only get us so far, because theres been periods where [Iran and Saudi Arabia have] been on the same sides of conflicts, theyve cooperated in a chilly mannernever warm. During the Cold War, they were both monarchies, they both faced a threat from a communist insurgency, [and] from [Egyptian President Gamel Abdel] Nasser. They cooperated there.

Now, what [the rivalry is] really about is different styles of government. When the Iranian regime came to power, [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini was against monarchy, he promised to overturn monarchy; the Saudis are a monarchy. Its also about regional legitimacywho speaks for Muslims. And I think there was a period, not so much now, but around 2006, where Iran seemed to be stealing the thunder from the Saudis on issues that matter to the Arab street  [like] Palestine, standing up to the West, fighting the American occupation in Iraq. Iran was really seizing the day on all those issuesespecially during the 2006 Lebanon War, where you had Arabs cheering in the street for this Iranian-backed proxy group [Hezbollah]. There was this famous poll that was taken in Cairo where [the pollsters asked] Whos the most popular Arab leader? and the average Egyptian on the street said its [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad. Were well past that now because now Iran is being forced into a sectarian mode, the mask is off, they are clearly against Sunnisyou could argue theyre against Arabs.

Friedman: Can you go into more detail about the domestic component of the execution of Nimr? Put yourself in the House of Saudin the head of King Salman. What do you think was the primary motivation for the execution?

Wehrey: At the time when Nimr was sentenced to death, the Saudis had just signed up for the anti-ISIS coalition with the Americans, and so that put them in a difficult position vis-a-vis their Sunni clerical constituency. The Sunni clerics have always said, Well, ISIS is kind of bad, but at least ISIS is standing up to the Shias in Iran, and there was some question about the royal family [being] allied with the Americans against ISIS. Now, there is a real threat to the royal family from the Sunni militants, from Sunni jihadists. The Saudi regime decides to execute all of these Sunni criminals. To soften the blow, they have to throw in a couple Shia. Thats the way I see this. They lumped it all together, they did it all at once, because Nimr has been such an object of hatred and venom for the Sunni clerics. He was an easy target for the House of Saud to throw in and dispose of, and they could say to their Sunni constituents, Look, were not being soft on Iran, were not abandoning the Sunnis even though were fighting ISIS. Its this sectarian balancing. 

Another point we should emphasize is that its been tremendously useful to the Saudis to inflate the Iranian threat as a way to ingratiate themselves with the U.S., as a way to distract from their own failings at domestic governance, to rally the rest of the Gulf into a state of emergency. The sense that theres this external threatthe Gulf states need to form this union and the Saudis are best-equipped to lead itits a classic nationalist strategy: Create this external enemy to deflect attention from domestic pressures and challenges. 

Iran definitely is backing proxies in Syria, definitely in Lebanon, but in the Gulf the real roots of Shia unrest are local.

Iran definitely is backing proxies in Syria, definitely in Lebanon, but in the Gulf the real roots of Shia unrest are local, they are not Iranian proxies. There may be a few fringe, marginal groups that receive Iranian support, but the majority of the dissidents and the protesters are homegrown, and many of them want change within the system. Theyre not seeking to overthrow the governmentthey want reforms that are non-sectarian, constitutional, releas[ing] political prisoners, economic reform. Thats what I heard when I was in the Eastern Province. 

Friedman: In the coverage of the Iran-Saudi spat over the last few days, theres been a lot of talk about the Sunni-Shia struggle, and that these countries are the two titans of that struggle. To what extent do you think that sectarian framing of the conflict is valuable versus a red herring?

Wehrey: We are living in a sectarian age where sectarianism has resonance. There are people, there are elites, there are media, there are clerics that peddle it, that inflame it, but they would not be doing so if there werent an appetite for it. It matters in the sense that this is the way that identities are being constituted with the breakdown of institutions, the breakdown of governments; people are turning to these identities. And you have these two regional powers that are inserting themselves into conflictsthat are backing proxies that are themselves very sectarian.

Does that mean that [officials are] sitting in Tehran and saying, We need to think about how to safeguard Shia in the region? I dont think they really care, and I think statesmen and politicians and policymakers view the region in more cold, realist, power-political ways, and I think they see a vacuum, they see a rival. Theyre using sectarianism as a way to advance interests, especially the Saudis. The Iranians have always downplayed sectarianism because if youre a Shia minority in the Sunni world, it doesnt serve your interests to highlight the sectarian divide, because that means youre always going to be in the minority. [The Iranians] have always said that, We want to speak for all Muslims, we advance all Muslims, or they play the class card. They say, We advance the interests of the oppressed. The oppressed can be Palestinians, the oppressed can be Bahrainis. It just so happens that the oppressed in many regions are in fact the Shia. But that logic hasnt really helped them with Syria, because theyre backing a [Shia] government that is killing its own. 

I dont doubt there are [Saudi] royals that genuinely hate the Shia and are sectarian, but I think from a political and policy perspective, they are looking at the region in realist terms and they also see an expediency to sectarianism. And the actors that theyre backing on the ground in these places are very sectarianare Salafis, are Sunni jihadists. 

What I think is so dangerous about this wave of sectarianism that were in right nowand I call it third-wave sectarianismis that it has escaped the ability of states to manage it. There was this notionI think [U.S. President Barack] Obama may have alluded to itthat if only Iran and Saudi Arabia were to bridge their differences and reach an accommodation, the sectarianism in the region would go away. And thats true to a certain extent, maybe the temperature would be lowered a bit. But whats happening on the ground in Iraq, and the struggle for local power between Sunnis and Shias, is very real, and its beyond the ability of Saudi Arabia and Iran to stop or manage or maybe control.

Now does that mean its all about these two rival sects of Islam? I think a lot of this is about governance, its about access to economic resources, its about the center and the periphery, its about class. There are other ways of looking at it. The reasons these religious differences get inflamed or get sectarianized is because of a breakdown of governance, a breakdown of economic distribution. There have been plenty of times in the Middle East when these differences have been subsumed by other identities. Some of the early members of [Iraqs Sunni-dominated] Baath Party were Shia. The Saudis did in fact back the Shia candidate in the [2010] Iraqi elections, [Ayad] Allawi. Iran is backing Hamas, which is a Sunni power. There are examples of this theory collapsing elsewhere.

The U.S. needs to not get drawn into talking about Shia-Sunni reconciliation. The U.S. needs to focus on governance in the region and restoring the broken system.

The U.S. needs to not get drawn into talking about Shia-Sunni reconciliation. The U.S. needs to focus on governance in the region and restoring the broken system. How does the region meet the needs of its citizens? If there were more open societies, if governments were more representative. I heard this in the Gulf: If we had a more representative political system, people wouldnt be drawn into these Sunni-Shia identities. They would matter less, there would be other forms of affiliation. But you have ruling families in the region that find it very expedient to play the sectarian card to keep power.

Friedman: If were currently experiencing third-wave sectarianism, what were the first two waves?

Wehrey: I think the first wave was from 1979 up until the 1990s, and that was where you had the Iranian Revolution, which was a real threat to the Sunni systemto the Sunni monarchies and the Sunni governmentsand it sparked a counter-reaction led by Saudi Arabia that was sectarian. So the Saudis thought, Whats the best way to marginalize and isolate the Iranian threat? Well, its to whip up a Sunni sense of identity and play up [the fundamentalist movement known as] Salafism. This is when you have the emergence or the mushrooming of Salafism as a counterweight to Iranian ideology; a lot of the Saudi religious tracts that are anti-Shia that we see right now originated from that period. It was an attempt to demonize and exclude Iran as an aberration from the mainstream. There was [then a] lowering of tensions, a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in the 1990s.

I think the second wave was with the fall of Saddam in Iraq and later with the rise of an aggressive Iran under Ahmadinejad in 2005, which was seen in Arab capitals as part two of the Iranian Revolution. The removal of Saddam as an Arab buffer, the breakdown of an Arab state, created this vacuum. You also had the rise of jihadism. The second wave is when you start to have non-state actors using sectarianism. You have [al-Qaeda in Iraq leader] Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, you have Hezbollah in Lebanon. This also coincided with social media. ... [In the past] if there was a massacre of Shia in one corner of the region, maybe people didnt know about it. Maybe they saw it later on TV, and then you had Al Jazeera, and now you have YouTube, now you have Twitter, so its instantaneous. It creates a form of instantaneous participation in an event that exacerbates feelings of partisanship among sects. A Sunni that is watching the killing of Sunni in Bahrain, that is watching the killing of Sunnis in Fallujah, Iraq, it creates a shared affinity and it gives a platform for very sectarian voices to propagate their vitriol. 

The third wave was post-Arab Spring. The Syria conflict was this vortex of sectarianism that really sectarianized the Arab Spring. The Arab uprisings were not about sectarian grievanceseven in [the Shiite-led protests in] Bahrain, many of the grievances were about housing, about reform, and there were some Sunnis that participated. Certainly there were Shia. The Arab Spring really took a nosedive with Syria and then, of course, the Islamic State. We know where were at with that.

Friedman: You often hear commentary that Iran and Saudi Arabia are orchestrating turmoil and local actors in the Middle Eastthat theyre inflaming sectarian conflicts. But you seem to be describing both countries as subject to forces they dont totally control anymore and responding to larger regional breakdowns, without necessarily the agency that some people ascribe to them.

Wehrey: Its a misunderstanding of how power politics works in the Middle East to ascribe authority or control to any power to control events on the ground. Yes, the Iranians have [the ability] to train and equip and control these proxies, but I can tell you from working in Iraq and having followed this Iranian regional power from the Pentagon, that thats not always the casethat the Iranians have been surprised, frustrated, flummoxed, angry at the way things have happened on the ground. And the same thing with the Saudis. The Saudis have even less of an institutional capability to create and manage proxies. They typically just distribute cash, whereas the Iranians at least have advisors on the ground. 

I dont think this is being stage-managed by these two powers. The analogy there is the Cold War. It wasnt like the Kremlin was central for everything. We [Americans] tended to have that mistaken view, but many of [the real players] were autonomous actors across the Third World.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Tehran (AFP) - Iran said Thursday it would protest to the UN Security Council after claiming Saudi warplanes bombed its embassy in Yemen, in a new escalation of tensions that have reverberated across the region.

The Saudi-led coalition combating Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen denied the accusation, saying no operations were carried out near the mission.

Shiite-dominated Iran also announced a ban on imports from its Sunni-ruled rival.

That comes days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Tehran said an unspecified number of embassy staff had been wounded in the raid on the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, which has been targeted by months of coalition air strikes.

"This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said, quoted by state television.

"The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured," Ansari added, without specifying when the alleged strike took place or the seriousness of the injuries.

"The Islamic republic reserves the right to pursue its interests in this matter," he said.

Later, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that "during an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded".

"We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours," he said, adding that "Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa".

But the coalition said an investigation showed that the "allegations are false".

It added: "No operations were carried out around the embassy or near to it... The embassy building is safe and has not been damaged."

Story continues

Iran also announced that a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the year-round minor pilgrimage, known as the umrah, would remain in place indefinitely.

- Somalia cuts ties -

Longstanding frictions between the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shiite Muslim powers exploded into a full-blown diplomatic crisis at the weekend when Riyadh executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr.

Nimr's death unleashed a wave of anger across the Shiite world, and protesters in Iran stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in second city of Mashhad.

Iran denounced those attacks, but the repercussions quickly rippled across the region with Saudi allies Bahrain, Sudan and Djibouti also cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Somalia followed suit Thursday, saying it had given Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave.

"This step has been taken after careful consideration and in response to the Republic of Iran's continuous interference in Somalia's internal affairs," a statement said, without elaborating.

Among other Saudi allies, the United Arab Emirates has downgraded relations with Iran, while Kuwait and Qatar have recalled their ambassadors.

Iran's embargo on imports from Saudi Arabia will reportedly affect goods worth about $40 million (36.7 million euros).

The Yemeni conflict, which pits the rebels known as Huthis against pro-government forces backed by Riyadh and other Gulf Arab states, is one of the main sources of dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

- Diplomatic fallout -

The two countries also support opposing sides in Syria. Tehran is providing military assistance to close ally President Bashar al-Assad against rebel groups, some backed by Saudi Arabia.

The growing tensions have heaped doubt on a UN-backed plan that foresees talks between the Syrian sides this month in a bid to end a war that has claimed more than a quarter of a million lives.

The roadmap, adopted by the UN Security Council, calls for creation of a transitional government within six months and elections within 18 months.

The latest crisis also threatens a fragile UN-backed initiative to end the war in Yemen, where the world body says at least 2,795 civilians have been killed since March.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has called for a new round of talks on January 14 but the sides have yet to confirm that they will attend.

At the same time the row has dealt another blow to the unity of the OPEC oil cartel, which includes both Iran and Saudi Arabia, at a time when a glut of crude on world markets has sent prices plunging.

The growing Middle East tensions have further reduced expectations of any action by OPEC to try to shore up oil prices.

With fears of weaker Chinese demand also mounting, New York's main crude contract slid to a 12-year low of $32.10 a barrel Thursday.
BANGKOK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Stock markets in Singapore,

Thailand and the Philippines suffered their worst drop in more

than four months on Thursday, as trade in Chinese shares was

halted following a sell-off, while weak oil prices put pressure

on energy stocks.

Singapore's Straits Times Index, Thailand's benchmark

SET index and the Philippine composite index

finished down almost 3 percent each, their biggest single-day

fall since Aug. 24.

Trading volume in Singapore was 2.2 times the 30-day

average. The heavy sell-off was partly due to stock sales

programmes by proprietary funds and hedge funds, an equities

dealer in Singapore said.

"It was the reaction that affected Singapore. In the case of

most funds, if they invest cross-country and cannot sell in

China to raise money, then they will have to sell it elsewhere,"

the dealer said.

The Thai bourse said foreign investors sold shares worth a

net 1.5 billion baht ($41.35 million), a fourth straight session

of sales this year. The Thai baht hit its weakest since

Oct. 6 amid continuous foreign selling.

Bank of Thailand assistant governor Chantavarn Sucharitakul

said the weakening baht was largely in line with the trend in

regional currencies, and there were no signs of panic in the

market.

Among the worst-hit energy shares, Thai PTT Exploration and

Production plunged 10 percent, Philippine Energy

Development Corp shed 7.4 percent and Malaysia's

Sapurakencana Petroleum dropped 7.3 percent.

After China witnessed a fall in the yuan, global shares

tumbled for the sixth session on Thursday, oil prices fell to

near 12-year lows, and Shanghai shares tumbled 7 percent,

igniting fears of competitive devaluations across Asia.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 2729.91 2804.27 -2.65

Kuala Lumpur 1655.13 1667.97 -0.77

Bangkok 1224.83 1260.04 -2.79

Jakarta 4530.45 4608.98 -1.70

Manila 6618.88 6813.90 -2.86

Ho Chi Minh 565.36 574.57 -1.60

Change on year

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Market Current End 2015 Pct Move

Singapore 2729.91 2882.73 -5.30

Kuala Lumpur 1655.13 1692.51 -2.21

Bangkok 1224.83 1288.02 -4.91

Jakarta 4530.45 4593.00 -1.36

Manila 6618.88 6952.08 -4.79

Ho Chi Minh 565.36 579.03 -2.36

($1 = 36.2800 baht)

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Sherry

Jacob-Phillips)
Ever find yourself spending what seems like eons looking for the perfect Netflix movie or TV series to binge on next? Thats certainly understandable considering the companys huge catalog of content that gets refreshed on a regular basis. But what if there were a way to only search for certain types of films and shows and ignore Netflixs algorithm thats ready to suggest what to watch next?

DONT MISS: This is the Netflix hack the world has been waiting for

Fortunately, there are tricks to help put with that including using multiple profiles to watch Netflix, one for each different mood you might be in. And now theres an even better way to find certain content categories that might otherwise stay hidden from view.

It turns out that Netflix engineers use secret codes to designate even more content categories than users have access to by default. As a result, you can further narrow down the kind of content you want to watch if you know about these special codes.

The trick is in the URL, Gizmodo explains. For example, the numbers at the end of this link http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/6839 designate a certain category. And there are unofficial online resources that list all of those codes, so you can simply follow those links in your browser (see this link and this link). If those lists arent enough, then you should also read this one-year-old article in The Atlantic that explains how Netflix organizes its content in tens of thousands of micro-genres.

Dont be surprised if not all of the codes work out, as some content categories might not be available any longer. But you can definitely try to hunt down the movie niches you were looking to discover inside Netflix using this great trick.

Related stories

Watch the first trailer for Daredevil season 2, coming March 18th to Netflix

Watch Netflixs new trailers for 'The Get Down and 'The Crown

Netflix expands its content empire to 130 more countries

More from BGR: My picks for the 10 most promising products unveiled at CES 2016

This article was originally published on BGR.com
By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seven New York Army National Guard members were arrested on Wednesday on charges they schemed to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in referral bonuses for recruiting dozens of new soldiers.

Married recruiters Darryl Harrison and Evette Merced provided potential soldiers' personal information to four National Guard members who then falsely claimed referral bonuses on the recruits, according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

Staff Sergeants Siul Celeste and Jeanette Arizaga and Sergeants Yesenia Adames and Renetta Edwards then kicked back thousands of dollars to Harrison and Merced, who as recruiters were not allowed to seek the bonuses, the complaint said.

Celeste, Arizaga, Adames and Edwards received bonuses totaling $111,000 for recruiting 60 soldiers, 47 of whom said they were not referred to the National Guard by them, the complaint said.

Another sergeant, Jefferson Simbanamuzo, who was also a member of the New York City Police Department, likewise fraudulently received $10,500 in referral bonuses for claiming to have recruited six soldiers, the complaint said.

Simbanamuzo told investigators he obtained information on potential soldiers from recruiters who he had previously assisted in the National Guard's Bronx office, the complaint said.

"Those who join the National Guard nobly serve their fellow citizens," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "But as alleged, these defendants used their positions in the National Guard to steal."

Merced, a 45-year-old staff sergeant, and Harrison, a 51-year-old sergeant first class, were arrested on Wednesday in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where they live, prosecutors said.

Adames, 43, was arrested in Virginia, while Celeste, 29, Arizaga, 41, Edwards, 40, and Simbanamuzo, 41, were arrested in New York.

Colonel Richard Goldenberg, a New York National Guard spokesman, said the investigation stemmed from allegations discovered during a routine U.S. Army audit. The New York National Guard cooperated in the probe, he said.

Story continues

Merced and Harrison face four counts each of conspiracy to commit bribery, solicitation and receipt of bribes, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft.

Celeste, Arizaga, Adames and Edwards face two counts each of conspiracy to commit bribery and theft of government funds. Simbanamuzo faces one count of theft of government funds.

Lawyers for the defendants declined comment or did not respond to requests for comment. All of the defendants were released on bail on Wednesday except Adames, who will appear in court in Virginia on Thursday.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis and Andrew Hay)
Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat can connect you with friends and family, deliver daily trends and news and even help you find lost pets. But if you're not using these popular sites to save money, then you're missing out on one of the most helpful features.

Brands have long taken advantage of connecting with their customers on these channels. By following or "liking" your favorite stores, you can take advantage, too. Many stores and restaurants will post coupons and sales on social media before email newsletters or their website, granting loyal fans first access to discounts. Others offer codes just for liking their Facebook page. Look in a page's "About" section to see if anything is listed. Budget travel companies, airlines and hotels are known for frequently posting limited time only deals on social media too, so if you're looking to take a trip make sure to check these out first.

You can find plenty of discounts and money-saving tips on Twitter, too. Organize your favorite accounts in Twitter lists for easy browsing, such as one list for stores, another for coupon websites and another for money-saving experts. These experts often use Twitter to share 140-character tips and nuggets of wisdom that you can use for a more frugal lifestyle.

If you want to do a deeper dive into one topic, keep your eye on Twitter chats. Often money experts or media outlets will host an hour-long discussion about topics such as holiday shopping, renting versus buying or eliminating debt. Some finance experts host chats weekly. This is a wonderful free resource to chat with money-saving authorities and even ask your own burning questions.

I recommend lookout out for chats to join regularly and chiming in with your own suggestions, too. It's almost like crowdsourcing your bargain-hunting, because everyone is sharing information and tips with each other. After a while, you'll start to feel part of a community, too. The best part is, you all share a common goal of saving.

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When you're shopping for something specific, or want to find deals at a certain store, use hashtags to tailor your search. This works especially well in Twitter and Instagram. Using #deal or #coupon alongside the name of a product or store brings up a list of real-time results including those terms.

Blogs and brands use social media to host sweepstakes and give away prizes to loyal fans. The more popular the brand behind the contest, the more entries there will be, but it's always worth a try. You can find contests to win anything from gift certificates to products to an all-inclusive getaway.

Referral programs have been revolutionized by social media. By sharing your own unique link on social media, it's incredibly easy for companies to track how many people signed up or made a purchase because of you. Then you get the benefit with a discount or bonus, and it only took you a few clicks.

Pinterest is another social media website that offers plenty of ways to save money. You can easily search topics such as "couponing," "saving money," or "DIY" and find a list of pinners that link to the exact content you're looking for. Follow specific boards on these topics, or pin links to your own boards to remember and check on later. There are endless tutorials to DIY or hack otherwise expensive projects for a fraction of the costs. Again, one of the benefits is being part of the community, which encourages you to save more and embrace a frugal lifestyle.

Another website to join when you're looking to save money is Reddit. This popular community offers hundreds of subreddits on specific topics, such as r/personalfinance and r/frugal. You can browse content for tips and advice, or ask your own questions to the community. Just make sure to adhere to any subreddit's precise guidelines for posting.

I hope this information will encourage you to look towards your own communities (or new ones) the next time you are searching for a deal, in need of financial advice or trying to boost your income. The best part is, all the communities mentioned are free to join!

Jon Lal is the founder and CEO of coupons and cash back website BeFrugal.com, which saves shoppers an average of $27 per order thanks to coupons plus an average of 7 percent cash back at more than 4,000 stores.
House members came rolling into town for the new session this week, and the merry band of conservatives who made life so exciting for Speaker John Boehner last year wasted no time in warning his replacement, Paul Ryan, that they consider him on probation.

The honeymoon is over! declared Representative Raul Labrador, the unofficial spokesman for the House Freedom Caucus, to a roomful of political reporters at the monthly Conversation with Conservatives on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Like many in the Freedom Caucus, Labrador is miffed about the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that Ryan shepherded through the House just before the break. And although members acknowledge that the omnibus wasnt really Ryans faultmost of it was hammered out by Boehner on his way out the doorLabrador nonetheless suggested that if the new speaker isnt careful, things just might have to get ugly again.

He needs to start putting up real conservative reform in the House and doing the things that are necessary to show the voters that he is a different speaker than John Boehner, because frankly, everything he has done so far is no different than what John Boehner would have done, said Labrador. He did, however, graciously allow that Ryan, has a year to make that up.

This is precisely the sort of ominous, were-prepared-to-blow-the-joint-up-again talk that has even some die-hard conservatives on edge about the Freedom Caucus. Talking with GOP staffers from both chambers of Congress, a number of caucus-related questions popped up: Having blown up the House leadership last year, what does the group plan to do for an encore? What issues are its members fired up about? Most importantly, just how much mischief do they plan to make as their party labors to coax voters into returning it to the White House?

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Theres no question that caucus crusaders remain plenty worked up about myriad issues, from immigration to Planned Parenthood to the ultimate evil of Obamacare. Representative Mark Meadows, the member who filed the motion to vacate the speakership last year, cites tax reform as a top priority, along with finding a way to track foreign visitors who overstay their visas. Caucus chairman Jim Jordan also considers tax reform key, along with health-care reform and welfare reform. These policy areas and many, many more are to be discussed at House Republicans annual retreat next week in Baltimore. Not that the Freedom Caucus members expect to get any of their big ideas enacted this year, mind you. They simply aim to put forward bills that, before they get shot down, give voters a sense of how the GOP would shake things up if it were wholly in charge. (Case in point: On Wednesday, House Republicans were celebrating having sent a reconciliation bill to the presidents desk that would repeal large chunks of Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood for a year. They acknowledge it will be vetoed. But they get to brag to constituents about having passed it regardless.)

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Moving from policy to process, most Freedom Caucusers expect Ryan to keep his promise of returning the House to regular order, meaning committee chairmen and rank-and-file members will have greater opportunities to introduce, debate, and amend legislation. To this end, many members say a key test for the Speaker will be working to ensure that at least some of the 12 appropriations bills to fund the government are allowed to wend their way through the committee process, rather than getting mushed together at the 11th hour into one big omnibus. As Representative Thomas Massie explained his yardstick to grade for Ryan at Conversation with Conservatives, If we are here next year having just passed an omnibus, that is an F-minus. If we pass 12 appropriations bills and stand our ground and force the Senate to face these issues, thats an A. (Opinion varies on how many need to be passed this way: Meadows would consider eight of 12 a win. Mulvaney would be happy with three or four.)

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Now, these are pretty ambitious aims. Still more so when you consider that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has zero incentive to make his members take any hard votes in a year when he could struggle to hold his majority. One might naturally fret that this primes the House for even more melodrama and dysfunction in the coming months.

Except it most likely wont. Thanks to the omnibus, which kicked most of the cliff-hangery financial deadlines way down the road, there simply wont be that many opportunities for the Freedom Caucus to wreak havoca fact that the caucus members themselves acknowledge when pressed. There is very little leverage that we can bring to bear in order to drive our particular message, says Mulvaney. Im not sure where well be able to drive the discussion for, say, defunding the presidents immigration policies. There wont be as much head-butting, he predicts, because there wont be a lot of must-pass votes that theyre in a position to butt heads over.

Meadows too believes the lack of fiscal deadlines will change the focus away from showdowns and toward setting a positive, goal-oriented policy agenda. Not that he isnt prepared to fight for his constituents priorities, clarifies Meadows. But he expresses optimism that the new speakers more inclusive style will make it less necessary to yell. I can tell you that for me, I know that there has been a reset button and fresh start both ways, he says, praising Ryans aggressive outreach.

Recommended: A Rough Guide to Every Major Clinton Scandal

The reality of presidential election-year-politics has further lowered the temperature. Nobody on or off the Hill expects Congress to get much of anything done this year, which could give Ryan more leeway to let conference members play around with symbolic votes and messaging bills. Better still, House members understand that they cannot get too wrapped up in policy specifics, because ultimately they arent the ones driving the train. Thats sort of the nature of the beast of a presidential year anyway, says Mulvaney. Whoever our candidate turns out to be should start to drive the debate. Its all well and good for House conservatives to offer tax ideas, says Mulvaney. But wed be kidding ourselves if we didnt recognize that our tax policy will turn in large part on the tax policy of the Republican nominee.

So for all of the anxiety and anticipation and bluster, for the Freedom Caucus, this year could wind up being somewhat Shakespearean, full of sound and fury signifying  not a helluva lot.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
South Korea said Thursday it was imposing partial restrictions on entry to a joint industrial complex in North Korea, a day after the hermit kingdom shocked the world with its fourth nuclear test.

The Unification Ministry said it will only permit South Korean businessmen and those directly involved in the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex to cross the border for the time being for safety concerns.

"The entry restriction is a measure to ensure the safety of the citizens in this state of emergency," a ministry official told AFP, asking not to be named.

Around 500 South Koreans still crossed the border to Kaesong on Thursday, but the official said the number would quickly be reduced.

The move was described as "an initial countermeasure", with the official suggesting further Kaesong-related restrictions could be imposed in the future.

"Once we get the full picture of international sanctions on North Korea, the measure will need to be reviewed," the official said.

With backing from China, Pyongyang's sole major ally, the 15-member UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned the test and said it would begin work on a new UN draft resolution that would contain "further significant measures".

The Kaesong industrial estate opened in 2004 and currently hosts more than 120 South Korean companies which employ some 53,000 North Korean workers.

The estate is a precious source of hard currency for the isolated and impoverished North. The South Korean firms get cheap labour as well as preferential loans and tax breaks from the government.

The business park -- virtually the last remaining form of economic cooperation between the Koreas -- has become increasingly vulnerable to turbulent swings in inter-Korea politics.

In 2013, during a period of heightened cross-border tensions, Pyongyang effectively shut down the zone for five months by withdrawing its workers.
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's warring parties agreed on Thursday to share ministerial positions in a transitional government of national unity, the chair of the body monitoring a peace deal said. President Salva Kiir and his rival, former vice president Riek Machar, signed an accord last August to end fighting that killed thousands of people and drove more than 2 million people from their homes. The deal stated that a transitional government would be created for a period of 30 months followed by an election. Festus Mogae, the chair of the monitoring commission, said Kiir's government will nominate 16 ministers, including the ministers for finance, defense and justice. Machar's SPLM/A will nominate 10 ministers to portfolios such as petroleum and interior which were reserved for his side. Smaller parties will get four slots including the foreign affairs brief and the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, Mogae said in a statement. He did not say when the appointments will be completed. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Angus Berwick MADRID (Reuters) - The leader of Spain's opposition Socialist party, Pedro Sanchez, ruled out a pact with the ruling People's Party during a visit to Portugal on Thursday to study its leftist coalition government's success in booting out a right-wing leader. The centre-right People's Party (PP) failed to win a majority of seats in last month's indecisive general election and its return to government is dependent on forming a German-style grand coalition with the second-placed Socialists to break the political deadlock. "We say 'no' to a grand coalition between the PP and the Socialists, and we say 'yes' to a government that brings together all the progressive forces that want to change Spain and repair the damage the right wing has done over the last four years," Sanchez told a news conference in Lisbon. Socialists and hard-left parties in neighboring Portugal joined forces in November to oust a centre-right government which had won the most votes in an October election but had also lost its parliamentary majority. "What is clear is that when the forces for change join together the people reap the benefits, and Portugal's government is the best evidence of this," Sanchez said after meeting Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Sanchez's PSOE lost much of its support to the anti-austerity party Podemos in the election, but the two might be able to form a coalition along with small regional parties to oust acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's PP. However, matters are complicated by Podemos' support for a referendum on independence in Catalonia, which the Socialists have said is unacceptable. The PP criticized Sanchez's overtures to Podemos and said a leftist coalition would be "electoral fraud" as it would be against the Spanish vote. "It would be smart for Sanchez to correct himself, instead of continuing to say 'no,' and be open to agreements and talks (with the PP)," Rafael Hernando, the party's spokesman in congress, told Cadena Ser radio. Earlier on Thursday, Alberto Rivera, leader of the newcomer centrist party Ciudadanos, dismissed comparisons of the Spanish political situation with Portugal because of the Catalan issue. "As far as I know, there is no party in Portugal that wants to break up Portugal. In Spain, there are parties that want to break up Spain," he told reporters at the parliament in Madrid. Rivera, whose party failed to secure enough seats to play a king-maker role, suggested a minority government might be the answer. (Additional reporting by Angus MacSwan and Blanca Rodriguez; Editing by Sonya Dowsett and Andrew Roche)
Its been eight years since the Great Recession caused many states to scale back their higher education budgets, and the vast majority of states havent fully restored that spending despite improvements in the overall economy.

A new report from the research firm Young Invincibles, a millennial advocacy group, finds that 48 states -- all but Alaska and North Dakota -- are spending less per student on higher education than they did before the recession. Louisianas funding has fallen the most since the recession (41 percent), followed by Alabama (39 percent) and Pennsylvania (37 percent).

Related: Never Pay Full Tuition: 3 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College

On average, states have cut funding per student by 21 percent since the recession. Tuition at public schools has increased 28 percent over the same period. (Private school tuition has increased about 20 percent in that period, according to the College Board.)

Tuition hikes vary greatly by state, with Ohio, Missouri and Maryland seeing total increases of less than 10 percent since 2008. The cost of public higher education in some other states has skyrocketed, led by Arizona (72 percent), Georgia (68 percent) and Louisiana (66 percent).

Analysts graded each of the states on its support for higher education, with 19 states receiving a failing grade, up from 11 states last year. Wyoming was the only state in the country to receive a grade of A on the report.

Three-quarters of American college students attend public colleges. A separate December poll by Young Invincibles found that more than 80 percent of millennial voters supported increasing state funding for higher education.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Los Angeles - Actor Steve Carell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday. Accompanied by his family and fellow funnyman Will Ferrell and "The Big Short" co-star Ryan Gosling, Carell thanked fans for coming to the event despite the rain. Ferrell paid tribute to Carell during the ceremony, quickly getting the crowd laughing. "Today there is not just one Steve Carell, there are thousands. We are all Steve Carell. Join me in saying, 'I am Steve Carell,'" he said, as the crowd joined in. Carell shot to fame in the U.S. version of television series "The Office". He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in 2014's "Foxcatcher". "It's really above and beyond," Carell said. "Everyone who is standing there looking like miserable wet cats, this means an awful lot to me."
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - The high rate of side effects and hospitalizations after gastric bypass surgery should make development of new weight loss procedures a high priority, say researchers from Denmark. People who had gastric bypass generally said their wellbeing improved after surgery, but about 90 percent reported at least one side effect and one-third were hospitalized, the authors report in JAMA Surgery. Future research should focus on "alternative methods like sleeve gastrectomy and other procedures that would have fewer complications afterward," said lead author Dr. Sigrid Bjerge Gribsholt, of Aarhus University. Gastric bypass - formally known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass - is one of the most common weight loss operations. Surgeons reduce the size of the stomach and also reconstruct the gastrointestinal tract so that food will bypass part of the intestines as it's being digested. While there are several other forms of weight loss surgery, gastric bypass is considered the "gold standard," according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Common problems following gastric bypass include gallstones, kidney stones, hypoglycemia, diarrhea, anemia, nerve problems and general stomach issues. For the new study, the researchers surveyed 1,429 people who had gastric bypass between 2006 and 2011, along with 89 people who were similar in age and weight, but didn't undergo surgery. About 87 percent of the gastric bypass patients said their wellbeing improved since before their surgery, but 89 percent also reported at least one symptom during an average of five years since their surgery. About 68 percent of gastric bypass patients required healthcare after their surgery due to symptoms, compared to about 29 percent of those in the comparison group. The most common symptoms leading to healthcare visits in the surgery group were abdominal pain, fatigue and anemia. Those who had surgery were also about four times more likely to be hospitalized during the study period than people who didn't have gastric bypass. "We were not that surprised," said Gribsholt. "Previous studies had found quite similar numbers, but they only looked at complications one at a time." The new study doesn't mean gastric bypass is a bad procedure, she stressed. After all, most said their wellbeing improved after the procedure. "We found that 80 to 88 percent felt better," she said. Also, some people may go to the doctors with symptoms that seem like unintended side effects but are really results of the surgery's effectiveness. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between "what are the effects and what are the side effects of the operation," Gribsholt told Reuters Health. She and her colleagues also caution that they relied on patients' memories for the surveys. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1TF1VEn JAMA Surgery, online January 6, 2016.
Seoul (AFP) - North Korea's latest nuclear test poses a stark challenge to the international community which, analysts say, will struggle to come up with a concerted, effective response, despite the chorus of global outrage at Pyongyang's move.

Condemnation of the North's claim on Wednesday to have tested its first hydrogen bomb has been swift and universal, but the real battle will be converting the indignation into concrete action that has the same across-the-board backing.

While the UN Security Council has agreed to draw up "significant" punitive measures, there seems little consensus on what can effectively be added to the rafts of sanctions imposed on North Korea following its three previous tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Wednesday's test amply demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the sanctions regime to date, and the core debate now is whether the way forward lies in harsher sanctions, dialogue -- or a combination of the two.

Current US policy, backed by ally South Korea is one of "no reward for bad behaviour" and requires North Korea to take a tangible step towards denuclearisation before proper talks can begin -- a pre-condition many view as hopelessly unrealistic.

-- Sanctions 'not working' --

"Sanctions alone just aren't working, we've seen that," said Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation and author of "Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late".

"There has to be a path opened to discussions, however difficult that may be to swallow," said Cirincione, who added the current US strategy amounted to little more than the hope that ignoring Pyongyang might make it go away.

"But North Korea is like that Glenn Close character from Fatal Attraction. It will not be ignored," he added.

Pyongyang's claim that Wednesday's test was a sophisticated hydrogen bomb has been largely dismissed by experts, who say the apparent yield was far too low for such a powerful device.

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For now, the general consensus is that it could have been a boosted-fission bomb, which would be more powerful than the simply fission implosion devices it tested before, but far short of a genuine two-stage H-bomb.

But whatever device it turns out to be, the message from North Korea is the same -- no matter the cost exacted by the international community, it will continue to develop its nuclear weapons capability.

-- The need for engagement --

"Success in developing simple thermonuclear devices is likely a matter of time and a relatively small number of additional tests," said David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

"A priority must be to find ways to both further pressure North Korea to limit its nuclear weapons capabilities and engage it diplomatically," Albright said.

There is room to increase pressure by imposing the sort of extensive economic sanctions that helped bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme.

But to be effective, these would impact Chinese companies and financial institutions that account for the lion's share of North Korea's overseas business.

China is likely to balk at any such move and Washington would be wary of pushing Beijing at an already sensitive time for relations between the two powers.

And the United States will have trouble enough just coming up with a unified strategy of its own, given the toxic nature of the North Korean issue in election season.

US Republicans have gleefully painted the latest test as another foreign policy failure for President Barack Obama's outgoing administration, and it would be a brave presidential candidate who suggested dialogue with Pyongyang as a way forward.

-- China fears --

China, meanwhile, is unlikely to back any moves that could genuinely destabilise the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, given its overriding fear of a reunified, US-allied Korea directly on its border.

"China, no matter how strong the language it uses in its criticism on the North, will not join any Security Council punishment that may have a real impact on the North's regime," said South Korea's former national Security Adviser, Chun Young-Woo.

"And North Korea knows that," he added.

So if China won't back genuinely punitive sanctions, and the US sticks to its policy of not engaging North Korea, the prospect of any new response to the North's latest provocation looks quite bleak.

Cirincione, however, hopes that the shock of the H-bomb announcement -- whether a bluff or no -- might have been enough to push Beijing to increase pressure and Washington to risk exploring a dialogue route.

"And it is a risk, because there's no guarantee negotiations will work. But then nothing else has worked.

"So it just seems the risks of inaction must be greater than the risks of action," he said.
By Megha Rajagopalan and Joseph Campbell TUMEN, China (Reuters) - A day after North Korea said it exploded a nuclear device at a site near the Chinese border, security was tighter but there was no obvious sign Beijing's anger at the test had translated into any action to stem trade with its isolated neighbor. China is North Korea's main economic and diplomatic backer, and expressed anger with Pyongyang for the test. Beijing said it had not received any prior warning. Security was tighter than usual and officials were skittish on Thursday at Tumen, a border crossing on the remote northeastern end of the frontier, but trucks were regularly crossing the bridge across the frozen Tumen River that divides the two countries. Uniformed military personnel, as well as plainclothes police, dotted the boundary and prohibited tourists and locals from taking photos of North Korea. Chinese children ice skated at a pond overlooking the border, but very few North Koreans could be seen in the village on the other side. Security officials briefly detained two Reuters reporters near the border and ordered them to leave by train. China has signed up for tough United Nations sanctions on North Korea and insists it follows them, including carrying out border inspections, but China also provides large amounts of aid off the books to Pyongyang, experts and diplomats say. Still, a nuclear-armed North Korea is not something Beijing wishes to see. The official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial there would be "no tolerance and compromise" from Beijing when it came to North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal. "By refusing to engage in any meaningful talks for years, and by playing the nuclear card time and again, the DPRK (North Korea) is only alienating itself further from the international community," the paper said. China fears North Korea's nuclear program destabilizes its neighborhood and gives the United States a pretext to send weapons and forces to the region. But many Chinese experts fear that if China pulled back support for its neighbor, it could destabilize the country and send a flood of refugees into China. Xie Tao, a North Korea expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said if China dramatically changes courses with North Korea it would raise questions about historical mistakes made by the Chinese Communist Party. "We fought a war," he said, referring to the 1950-53 Korean War in which China sided with North Korea. "Half a million Chinese people died, and now you say sorry, we made a terrible mistake. If you made that terrible mistake, are there any other terrible mistakes that you made since 1949?" At the border, however, the concern was more about the environment. "I'm worried about the health impacts. The test was so close to us, and a nuclear bomb is a dangerous thing," said a man surnamed Liu outside a train station in Tumen, just about 200 km (120 miles) from North Korea's nuclear test site. "Right now I feel a little afraid," said Piao Yanjin, 23, an ethnic Korean student at Yanbian University in Yanji, a nearby town. "If they're going to carry out even larger-scale nuclear weapons tests, this will definitely harm our lives. We should definitely think of more ways (to prevent it)," Piao said. (Writing by Michael Martina; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas trooper who arrested a black motorist who was later found hanged in her jail cell was indicted on Wednesday by a grand jury on perjury charges over statements he made in his arrest report and public safety officials said he would be fired.

Trooper Brian Encinia who arrested Sandra Bland, 28, in July, was indicted by the grand jury in Waller County, outside of Houston, a special prosecutor and a court clerk said. Bland was found dead in her cell three days after her arrest.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement on Wednesday that it would begin proceedings to discharge Encinia.

Bland's case was one of many around the United States that raised questions about racial bias by police.

Encinia could face up to a year in jail if found guilty of making a false statement when he said in his report that he pulled Bland out of her car to further investigate the traffic stop, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Special prosecutors were not immediately available for comment on the proceedings, which were held behind closed doors.

In December, a grand jury in the same county decided not to indict any members of the jail staff over Bland's death.

Bland was pulled over on July 10 by Encinia for failing to signal a lane change in Prairie View, about 50 miles northwest of Houston.

The stop escalated into a verbal altercation after Encinia asked Bland to put out a cigarette and she refused. A dashcam video of the incident showed Encinia telling Bland, "I will light you up."

The Texas Department of Public Safety faulted Encinia for his conduct during the traffic stop. The video showed him shouting at Bland and failing to answer her when she asked numerous times why she was being arrested.

Bland was charged with assaulting an officer, a felony.

Her body was found in her cell three days later with a trash bag around her neck. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Local officials have said she was not mistreated in jail.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz)
Every year since 1957, automakers from around the world have come to Detroit in January to show off their latest and greatest. This year, however, many of them are stopping in Las Vegas firstand scooping their own show.

Sin City is the site of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, also held in January, which used to be dominated by computers, smartphones, TVs and other digital doo-dads. But automakers have crashed the party, becoming a top draw for many attendees. That partly reflects all the new gizmology showing up in vehicles, from dashboard apps to self-driving sensors to smartphone-enabled car controls. But its also an effort by automotive executives to shed their industrys industrial-era image and rebrand the car business as a trendy, tech-enabled growth sector.

Here are a few of the announcements that would normally take place at next weeks Detroit auto show (officially known as the North American International Auto Show), but are instead rolling out at this weeks Super Bowl of tech in Las Vegas:

* General Motors (GM) is unveiling the Chevrolet Bolt, an all-electric compact car thats supposed to retail for less than $30,000. (Its predecessor, the Chevy Volt, debuted at the Detroit auto show in 2007.)

The Chevy Bolt.

* GM CEO Mary Barra introduced the Bolt in a keynote speech at CES. In Detroit, her public remarks will be limited to part of a Chevrolet presentation with other GM execs.

* In another CES keynote, Ford (F) CEO Mark Fields laid out a new vision for Ford as a mobility company that plans to expand beyond the mere production of automobiles into transportation services such as mass transit, ride sharing and rentals.

* Volkswagen showed off a new electric microbus it might build someday, along with a futuristic gesture-controlled touch screen coming soon on some of its cars.

* BMW revealed a new mirrorless system that replaces side-view mirrors with cameras embedded into the chassis, along with lots of other cool technology.

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* Toyota has begun to fund and staff nearly 30 projects on robotics and artificial intelligence.

* A Chinese-backed startup called Faraday Future took the wraps off a concept car (sort of a science project that may or may not get built) that looks like the Batmobile, has race-car specs and will powered by electricity from a regular outlet.

The Faraday Future FFZERO1 concept vehicle. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ AP Images for Faraday Future)

* Many other automakers and suppliers at CES are touting plans for self-driving vehicles, electric wondercars and connected ecosystems that will be a delirious marriage of home and car.

Automakers have been coming to CES since 2007, so theyre not a new phenomenon at the tech show. But they're taking up 25% more space at this year's show than they did last year. And theres good reason for wanting to sex up the industrys image: Automaker stocks have become unloved dullards lagging far behind tech darlings such as Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and Facebook (FB). Wall Street thinks this is the best the business will get," Mark Fields of Ford told Yahoo Finance recently. "They have no faith the business can grow." But if investors start to view cars as connected gizmos brimming with technological promise, that view might change and automaker stocks might take off.

The question, however, is whether there will be any excitement left for Detroit. Sure, there will be introductions of new models such as the Chrysler Town & Country minivan, the Ford Fusion, the Mercedes E Class and the revived Lincoln Continental. But does that get you excited? As much as a new Batmobile, mirrorless BMWs or magical cars that come when you wave your hand?

It might just be that the consumer show in Las Vegas is where car companies and their aficionados go to strut, preen and party, while the Detroit show has become a duty call where the industrys unglamorous business takes place. Vegas gets all the fun.

Rick Newmans latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.
(Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc said on Wednesday up to 320,000 customers may have had their email passwords stolen.

The company said email and password details were likely gathered either through malware downloaded during phishing attacks or indirectly through data breaches of other companies that stored Time Warner Cable's customer information, including email addresses.

The company said it has not yet determined how the information was obtained, but there were no indications that Time Warner Cable's systems were breached.

Time Warner Cable spokesman said it was recently notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that some customers' email addresses including account passwords "may have been compromised."

The company said it is sending emails and direct mail correspondence to encourage customers to update their email passwords as a precaution.

(Reporting by Sneha Banerjee and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
It was only six years ago that moviegoers met the Cody family in the 2010 Australian film Animal Kingdom.

The pic managed to net then-relative unknown Jackie Weaver an Oscar nomination, but the executive producers behind TNT's upcoming drama of the same name are hoping viewers will be able to accept a fresh take on the story.

"There are any number of fantastic films which became very good television series because the initial material was rich," executive producer John Wells told reporters Thursday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour. "When you think of MASH, do you think of the film MASH or do you think of the television show M*A*S*H*  both had their own aesthetic, wonderful performances by a number of actors."

Animal Kingdom is a family crime drama set in a gritty surf community of Oceanside, Calif.  a far cry from 1985 Melbourne, which served as the setting for the film.

The movie "only scratched the surface on how far down we can drill down on these characters, and Smurf is a great example," said showrunner Jonathan Lisco. "You learn that she's capable of great menace, some emotional cruelty, but also capable of great love ... but it never really answers the question whether or not her capacity of cruelty or her capacity for love is the scarier component of her character, and I know thats something we want to explore in the course of the series. I think thats a rather bottomless pit when you have an actress like Ellen Barkin."

Read More: 'Animal Kingdom,' 'Good Behavior' Nab TNT Series Orders

Barkin had the biggest challenge, taking over Weaver's role as Smurf, the loving but also smothering matriarch of the family.

"She's a very different character but lives in that same space as a mother," said Wells. Lisco elaborated: "We're going to make it a more nuanced portrayal of a mother who both loves her sons but also vandalizes them and has emotionally warped them while at the same time coddled them."

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Added Lisco, "We wanted to be very careful that we not try and replicate performances from the film."

Barkin herself said she had no problem taking over a role made famous by someone else, comparing it to joining a play revival. "I dont really think I'm stepping into anyone's shoes," the actress said. "I don't think the movie was a beginning, a middle or an end point for us. It was more like source material as much as a book I might read."

In addition to watching the movie, Barkin said she also did extensive research about the real Australian family that the film was based on and came to learn that the matriarch had a glass eye after having been shot in the face.

"I tried to convince John and Jonathan to let me have a glass eye," Barkin said with a laugh.

Animal Kingdom brings Wells and Lisco back to TNT after the two worked on the network's gritty cop drama Southland. TNT famously rescued the series when NBC axed it in 2009 after one season.

Wells, who also has a series  Showtime's Shameless  on pay cable, spoke of how the TV landscape has changed since Southland. "There are so many different opportunities to do different kings of programming. Thats all changed completely over the last seven or eight years," he said. "Creatively, we're having many more opportunities to tell more difficult stories."

He called the difference between network and cable programming "substantial," as compared to earlier in his tenure. "A lot of the things that I was involved in early in my career could never be on network television  they would all be on premium cable," said Wells, who was also behind NBC's landmark drama ER. "So TNT, all these various outlets, are giving us the opportunities  to do the work that we always wanted to do but oftentimes was a real uphill slog at the broadcast networks."

Animal Kingdom premieres later this year on TNT.

Watch the trailer below:
Paris (AFP) - A key French member of the Islamic State group, Salim Benghalem, who had ties to the Charlie Hebdo attackers, was sentenced in absentia by a Paris court on Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Six other men, who have returned from Syria and Iraq, were given sentences of between six and nine years.

Benghalem, 35, is thought to have been in Syria since 2013 and is subject to an international arrest warrant.

He is believed to be one of the IS jailers of Western journalists and aid workers who were later executed, working alongside Mehdi Nemmouche, who later carried out a fatal attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels in 2014.

Benghalem is listed as a "foreign terrorist combatant" by the United States, and is known to French intelligence services for his "active participation in combat" in Syria, a security source told AFP last year.

He came to the attention of French authorities for his involvement in the Buttes-Chaumont network of would-be jihadists in Paris that included Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo newspaper exactly one year ago.

Benghalem was jailed in 2007 for his part in gang violence, and was released in 2010, after which he is thought to have travelled to Yemen, a security source said.

He is considered to be a central figure in the recruitment of radicalised young men for IS.

Intelligence sources believe Benghalem is one of the highest-ranked foreign fighters in the Islamic State chain of command.

He appeared in an IS video released in February, praising the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and calling for more violence.

The daily Le Monde reported that he was the target of a French air strike on the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria in October.

Another of those convicted on Thursday spent a year and a half in Syria, fighting for several groups including the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, and is accused of recruiting four of his co-accused.

He was recorded in a telephone conversations complaining that others had not stayed in Syria for long enough, saying they had left "without doing a thing" and adding: "It's not Club Med here!"

One of those in the dock has never been to Syria.
Donald Trumps efforts to stir up controversy over Ted Cruzs citizenship has earned the Republican presidential frontrunner some unlikely admirers.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest seemed to enjoy the situation.

Related: Ted Cruz Wants to Be Tougher Than Trump on Illegal Immigrants

"It would be quite ironic if after seven or eight years of drama around the president's birth certificate, if Republican primary voters were to choose Sen. Cruz as their nominee  somebody who actually wasn't born in the United States and only 18 months ago renounced his Canadian citizenship," Earnest said, his sense of schadenfreude almost palpable.

Cruz was born in Calgary but is an American citizen by birth thanks to his mothers citizenship. Only natural-born Americans are eligible to be president.

As he has done before with other GOP rivals, like in October when he plead ignorance about Ben Carsons Seventh-day Adventist faith, Trump not so subtly raised doubts about Cruz in an interview earlier this week.

Related: Cruz Rakes in the Cash as He Closes In on Trump

"Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? Thatd be a big problem, said Trump.

Itd be a very precarious one for Republicans because hed be running and the courts may take a long time to make a decision. You dont want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head."

The billionaire said hed hate to see something like that get in his way. But a lot of people are talking about it, and I know that even some states are looking at it very strongly, the fact that he was born in Canada and he has had a double passport.

Related: Trumps Message to Iowa: Ted Cruz Isnt One of Us

The Texas lawmaker took to Twitter in response, posting a clip from Happy Days showing Fonzie jumping the shark.

My response to @realDonaldTrump calling into question my natural-born citizenship? https://t.co/gWfAHznlCY  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 5, 2016

Cruz was more serious at a campaign stop in Iowa.

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"People will continue to make political noise about it, but as a legal matter it is quite straightforward and I would note that it has occurred many times in history, he said, according to the Associated Press.

Of course, this isnt Trumps first foray into birther territory.

In 2011, when he was mulling a possible presidential bid, Trump questioned if Obama, whose father was Kenyan, was born in Hawaii as he claimed.

He even launched a public pursuit of Obama's birth certificate, announcing he sent private investigators to the Aloha State to see what they could find.

Obama eventually released the long-form version of his birth certificate in response to the uproar. Trump said he was proud of himself because he had accomplished something nobody has been able to accomplish.

This new accusation leaves what was once a bromance between Trump and Cruz in tatters. The pair, who teamed up at a Capitol Hill rally against the Iran nuclear deal last year and went out of their way not to criticize each other in the GOP presidential debates, have been engaged in an increasingly noisy feud over the last several weeks as Cruz has surged in the polls.

The pot may boil over for good when Republicans take the stage again next Thursday.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Tunis (AFP) - A Tunisian appeals court on Thursday freed on bail six students whose three-year prison sentences for homosexuality outraged human rights campaigners, their lawyer said.

The court in the coastal city of Sousse ordered each man to pay bail money of 500 dinars (230 euros, $249) pending a new hearing on February 25, said attorney Fadwa Braham.

Their jail terms, handed down in December by a court in the central city of Kairouan, were the harshest possible under Article 230 of the penal code that criminalises sex between males.

The defendants, aged between 19 and 23, were also banned from Kairouan for five years.

Amnesty International called the December ruling a "shocking example of deep-rooted sanctioned discrimination" while Human Rights Watch denounced it as a "grave case of infringement on people's private lives and physical integrity".

The six were arrested in November after neighbours denounced them, and were made to undergo anal examinations, according to their lawyers.

After the verdict, 13 human rights groups called on Tunisia to decriminalise homosexuality by revising Article 230, and condemned the use of anal exams.

In December, in a separate case, an appeals court reduced the sentence given to a student for homosexual activity from one year to two months.
TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid named 12 new ministers on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle he hopes will boost the effectiveness of his government as it battles jihadist violence and tries to revive the economy. Tunisia has been under a state of emergency since an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked presidential guards in November in the capital Tunis following two previous militant attacks on foreign tourists that have damaged the country's economy. Essid named new ministers of the interior, justice and foreign affairs, among others. He gave no reason for the changes but late last year he said he would replace ministers to increase the efficiency of his government. Tunisia, praised as a model for democratic transition since its 2011 revolt ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, has mostly avoided the violent turmoil of other "Arab Spring" countries which also toppled long-standing rulers. But an attack by jihadist gunmen on the Bardo museum in Tunis in March, and a gun attack on foreign tourists at a beach hotel in Sousse resort in June, have left the government struggling to find the best strategy to counter militants. In a statement Essid's office named Hedi Majdoub as the new interior minister and a former presidential adviser, Khemais Jinaou, as foreign minister. More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight for Islamic State and other groups in Iraq and Syria and increasingly in neighbouring Libya. The government has cracked down on militants at home but has faced criticism about how security forces are protecting human rights. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Ece Toksabay ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey summoned Iran's ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shi'ite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week's visit to Riyadh by President Tayyip Erdogan. "We strongly condemn the linking of our president's recent visit to Saudi Arabia to the executions sentenced in the country in stories published on media outlets linked to Iranian official bodies," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement also condemned remarks that directly accused President Erdogan, and said the publications aimed to create a negative image of him in the eyes of Iranian people. A row has been raging for days between Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and the conservative Sunni kingdom since Saudi Arabia executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr, an opponent of the ruling dynasty who had demanded greater rights for the Shi'ite minority. "It was stressed to the ambassador that the attacks on Saudi Arabian embassy and consulate in Tehran and Meshed were completely unacceptable and inexplicable," the statement read. Last week, President Erdogan paid a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met King Salman bin Abdul Aziz for talks focused on the Syrian crisis and energy cooperation between the two countries. (editing by Andrew Roche)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Micro-blogging site Twitter filed a lawsuit in an Ankara court on Thursday, seeking to annul a fine by the Turkish authorities for not removing content Turkey says is "terrorist propaganda", a source familiar with the case told Reuters. A Turkish official said much of the material in question was related to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which Ankara deems as a terrorist organization. A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed the company has taken legal action over the fine without providing further details. Ankara has taken a tough stance on social media under President Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling AK Party he founded. It has temporarily banned access to Twitter site several times in the past for failing to comply with requests to remove content. But the 150,000 lira ($50,000) fine, imposed by the BTK communications technologies authority, was the first of its kind by Turkish authorities on Twitter. Twitter, in its lawsuit, is arguing that the fine is against the law and should be annulled, the source said. The content Turkish authorities have asked to be removed includes tweets in relation to the PKK, which is also considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, a Turkish official said. Some tweets are related to the far-left DHKP-C. "We have shown 15-20 tweets from several accounts to Twitter as examples. We have imposed the fine because Twitter failed to comply with the court order," this official said. Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday that Turkey would not give up on its demand for Twitter to pay the fine. The government has also introduced legislation making it easier for such bans to be imposed. Turkey is among the top countries with the highest number of content-removal requests to Twitter, data from U.S.-based company shows. (Reporting by Yesim Dikmen, Humeyra Pamuk and Ercan Gurses; Editing by Daren Butler and Richard Balmforth)
Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Two former Central African Republic premiers, Anicet Georges Dologuele and Faustin Archange Touadera, will vie for the presidency of the strife-torn nation in the final January 31 round of elections, provisional results showed Thursday.

Dologuele won 23.78 percent of the vote in the first round on December 30, trailed by Touadera, who picked up 19.42 percent, according to the results that still need to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court.

Dologuele, a 58-year-old former central banker, came to be known as "Mr Clean" after his attempts to clean up murky public finances during his spell as premier from 1998 to 2001.

Touadera, also 58, is a former maths professor who served as prime minister under disgraced ousted leader Francois Bozize. He was considered an outsider among the 30 candidates running for the top job.

The National Election Authority (ANE) said turnout at the presidential and parliamentary elections reached a high 79 percent.

Nearly two million people in the country of around five million were eligible to vote in the elections, seen as turning the page on nearly three years of sectarian violence, the deadliest since the country won its independence from France half a century ago.

Despite security concerns, the elections went off without major incident after initial delays caused by logistical glitches.

The head of the UN's MINUSCA peacekeeping mission in the country, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, called on the two remaining candidates in the race for the top job to continue campaigning in "a calm and civil manner" to "preserve the spirit of peace and restraint that has prevailed until now".

One of the world's poorest countries, Central African Republic descended into chaos in 2013 after Bozize was ousted by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance.

Thousands of people were killed and around one in 10 fled their homes in attacks by rogue rebels on remote villages and brutal reprisals by Christian vigilante groups against Muslim communities.

The government on Tuesday dismissed a call for the two-round election to be stopped after several presidential candidates alleged massive fraud and branded the elections a "masquerade."

"There has certainly been fraud in some areas and there have been huge logistical glitches which have disrupted the process but massive fraud is unlikely," said a diplomat on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
MADRID (Reuters) - Two Indian men arrested in Spain for smuggling Russian anti-aircraft missiles were extradited to the United States, Spanish military police said in a statement on Thursday. Spanish police detained the pair in Barcelona in 2014 along with two Pakistani men, who have already been extradited, as part of a joint operation - dubbed Operation Yoga - with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bust a smuggling ring based in the Catalonia region. The group had offered the Russian-built Igla missiles to foreign paramilitary groups. The police could not immediately confirm when the pair were extradited. The attorney's office in New York has charged them with drug and arms trafficking, and with financing terrorist organizations, the statement said. They face up to 30 years in prison. (Reporting by Angus Berwick; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives could vote in the coming days on legislation backed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers to broaden U.S. sanctions on North Korea, House leaders said on Thursday, a day after Pyongyang announced it had tested a hydrogen nuclear device. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan did not provide a timeline for the vote on the long-delayed legislation but a congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Republicans, who control the House, were likely to move a bill as early as next week and that Democrats would support it. She said there was strong backing in both parties for the legislation. The measure would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency. Congressional sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Republican House leaders were discussing the sanctions bill and planned a vote as soon as next week. Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Eliot Engel, the panel's top Democrat, introduced the measure last year, and it was passed by the committee in February. House Republican leaders did not bring the measure up for a vote in 2015, but North Koreas announcement on Wednesday left lawmakers clamoring for a strong U.S. response. The vast majority of North Korea's business dealings are with its ally China, which bought 90 percent of the isolated country's exports in 2013, according to data compiled by South Korea's International Trade Association. There was no immediate word on whether the U.S. Senate planned to consider similar legislation. Senators do not return from their year-end recess until next week. For the measure to become law, it would have to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by President Barack Obama. U.S. lawmakers from both parties expressed outrage over North Korea's action and called for an international response. (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Will Dunham)
By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Lebanese financier Ali Youssef Charara and his telecommunications company, saying they supported the militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. action freezes assets of Charara and his company that are in the United States or in the control of Americans, and prohibits Americans from engaging in transactions with them. The U.S. Treasury Department said Charara, chairman and general manager of Lebanon-based Spectrum Investment Group Holding SAL, has received millions of dollars from Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects that support the group. Charara and Spectrum, which provides telecommunications services in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, could not be immediately reached for comment. Hezbollah, the Shi'ite Islamist political and military group backed by Syria and Iran that wields considerable power in Lebanon, has long been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. "Hezbollah relies upon accomplices in the business community to place, manage and launder its terrorist funds," said Adam Szubin, acting Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "We are committed to exposing and disrupting these networks to pressure Hezbollah's finances and degrade its ability to foment violence in Lebanon, Syria and across the region." Thursday's designations were the first under a strengthened sanctions law passed last month, the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015. Under the law, foreign institutions that process transactions for Hezbollah or entities linked to the group risk being barred from accessing the U.S. financial system. "It not only means that American institutions can't do business with those entities... but it also threatens to cut off anybody who continues to provide them services from the U.S. financial system," said Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury official now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "The more designations that come out, the more meat, the more power, the more strength it gives to the legislation." Similar so-called "secondary" sanctions against foreign companies doing business with Iran were used by the United States to prod Iran into making concessions on its nuclear program. The U.S. and other world powers reached a deal with Iran last year that would lift those sanctions in return for limits on the nuclear program. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington and Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Editing by Will Dunham and David Gregorio)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are looking at possible formal congressional authorization to fight Islamic State, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters on Thursday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce are "beginning the process of gathering ideas and having listening sessions with our members about whether and how we could do an AUMF (Authorization to Use Military Force) on ISIS," Ryan said at a news briefing, using an acronym for the militant group. (Reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday the Syrian government has allowed access to an opposition town near the border with Lebanon where concerns about starvation are growing. The UN said in a statement it was preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days to the town of Madaya, which is being besieged by pro-government forces, and to two Shi'ite towns in the province of Idlib which are under rebel siege. (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Dustin Volz and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior White House officials and U.S. intelligence and law enforcement figures will meet with Silicon Valley executives on Friday to discuss how to counter the use of social media by militant groups, sources familiar with the meeting said on Thursday. In an escalation of pressure on technology firms to do more to combat online propaganda from groups such as Islamic State, the meeting follows attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, that underscored the role played by social media companies such as Twitter Inc, Alphabet Inc's YouTube and Facebook Inc. Invited participants include White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, presidential counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, National Intelligence Director James Clapper and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, one of the sources said. A source familiar with the meeting said it would focus on social media content, not encrypted communications, another topic of discussion between Silicon Valley and the White House. Twitter, Apple Inc, Facebook and Google are attending, the companies said. Several other Internet firms, including Microsoft Corp and Dropbox, are expected to attend, according to those familiar with the meeting. Most companies are expected to send high-ranking executives, but not their chief executive officers. An administration announcement is expected following the conclusion of the summit, according to a source. Twitter last week updated its policies for policing its content to explicitly prohibit "hateful conduct." Other websites have similarly updated and clarified their abuse policies within the past 18 months. The meeting agenda covers how to make it harder for militants to recruit and mobilize followers on social media, as well as helping ordinary users create, publish and amplify content that can undercut groups like Islamic State. The meeting also will touch on how technology can be used to disrupt paths to violent radicalization and identify recruitment patterns, and how to make it easier for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify militant operatives. The Obama administration "has been clear about the importance of government and industry working together to confront terrorism, but we do not have any specific meetings to announce or preview at this time," a senior official said. Amid rising public concern about the potential for more attacks, President Barack Obama in a speech in December said, "I will urge high-tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice." Tech firms have been increasingly cooperative, taking down content viewed as capable of inciting violence or recruiting militants. But those same firms are often reluctant to appear too cozy with government investigators, a concern that grew after Edward Snowden disclosed wide government surveillance. (Reporting by Dustin Volz and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Will Dunham and Lisa Shumaker)
By Letitia Stein TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The manatee, a species long considered at risk of extinction, has recovered in sufficient numbers to move from endangered to threatened status, U.S. wildlife officials said on Thursday. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to reclassify the protection status of the West Indian manatee, including a Florida subspecies listed as endangered since 1967. The decision, announced at the Miami Seaquarium, reflects a finding that about 6,300 manatees live off the Florida coast today, compared with roughly 1,200 counted when aerial surveys began in the early 1990s. Federal and state officials described the likely reclassification as good news for the whiskered "sea cow" popular among Floridians. "Based on the best available scientific information, we believe the manatee is no longer in danger of extinction," Michael Oetker, deputy regional director for the U.S. wildlife agency's southeast office, told a news conference. Federal regulators were petitioned to downgrade the status of the manatee by the Pacific Legal Foundation acting on behalf of Save Crystal River Inc, a non-profit advocating for the rights of recreational water users in west central Florida. Motorboat propellers and speedboats are a leading cause of death and injury to Florida's manatees. The West Indian manatee, related to the African and Amazon species and to the dugong of Australia, grows to 10 feet and more than 1,000 pounds (450 kg). It has no natural predators, but is vulnerable to prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 68 F (20 C) degrees. The 2012 petition noted that U.S. regulators in 2007 had recommended downgrading the manatee to threatened status but never took action to reclassify the species. "Its taken eight years and two lawsuits to get the government to follow up on its own experts recommendation to reclassify the manatee," Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Christina Martin said in a statement. To be defined as endangered, a species must face imminent risk of extinction, wildlife regulators said, while being threatened indicates they could become endangered in the future. If finalized, the classification change would not diminish protections for the manatee under the Endangered Species Act, wildlife officials said. Manatees also are protected under another federal law for the conservation of marine mammals. The range of the West Indian manatee extends into the U.S. southeast, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. Regulators are seeking public comment on the proposed reclassification. The agency has 12 months to adopt the change, or explain why it will not do so, said Martin of the Pacific Legal Foundation. (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Tom Brown)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tension over the South China Sea highlights the need for the United States to maintain a strong Navy to serve as a deterrent, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday, criticizing the Obama administration for proposals he said would reduce the U.S. naval fleet. "This just shows that we need to have a strong Navy," Ryan said at a news briefing. "We should not have a president proposing to lower our ship count to pre-World War One levels. This means we need to have a strong military and a strong Navy, and a real foreign policy, which we do not now have." Three civilian Chinese flights have landed in recent days on a new island runway China has built in the disputed South China Sea, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Thursday. "We're concerned by all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the South China Sea," Cook said. In addition to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims to territory in those waters. The first flight landed on the island on Saturday, and two flights landed on Wednesday, according to China's Xinhua state news agency. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio echoed Ryan's call, saying that, if elected, he would sail U.S. ships through the contested South China Sea to challenge China's claimed air and sea rights and work with other allies in the region. "We need to reinvigorate our Pacific military alliance, and that begins with the United States investing the resources necessary to rebuild our Navy," Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, told Fox Business Network. The assertion about the smallest U.S. Navy since World War One has become a popular talking point among Republicans, but has been widely discounted because contemporary ships are far more advanced and significantly larger than those in use a century ago. Neither Ryan nor Rubio said how much they would allocate in resources for the Navy. Republicans, who are seeking to take control of the White House from the Democratic Party in the November presidential election, have made U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy a key campaign issue. The United States has not taken a stance on the competing claims, and the Obama administration has repeatedly pressed for free, lawful navigation in the area. "We again call for all claimants to reciprocally halt land reclamation, further development of new facilities, and militarization on their outposts and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behaviour in disputed areas," State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said. Other top Republican lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration for not conducting more patrols in the South China Sea. U.S. Navy officials have said the dispute could lead to a possible regional arms race. Asked if he would intervene militarily to stop such Chinese plane landings if elected, Rubio said the United States needs to challenge China's claims. "We should reject their sovereignty over these areas and we should continue to fly our airplanes over it and sail our ships though it," he said. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, David Brunnstrom and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis)
The FTSE 100 Index has dipped below the 6,000 mark following more stock market turmoil in China that has resulted in a controversial share price stability mechanism being scrapped.

European shares fell sharply after trading overnight in China was halted for the second time this week as prices plunged again amid continued investor panic.

The FTSE 100 closed 119 points or 2% lower at 5,954 with only three companies making gains.

UK shares have had a miserable start to 2016 this week, driven by fears over China - the world's second biggest economy. The slide continues a plunge in blue-chip stock values over recent months.

Global share falls have been compounded by the slide in the price of oil, with Brent crude collapsing to fresh lows close to $32 a barrel - the lowest level since April (LSE: 0N69.L - news) 2004.

The FTSE 100's current weak performance is a far cry from last April when London's leading share index reached record highs above 7,100.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) came as Chancellor George Osborne warned of a "dangerous cocktail" of threats to the UK economy, during a speech in Cardiff.

Chinese markets have lurched up and down as regulators gradually withdraw measures that were imposed after the main stock index plummeted in June.

The latest plunge came after China accelerated the depreciation of its currency, the yuan.

A similar stock market drop on Monday caused a sell-off on markets around the world.

Trading was suspended on Thursday after a market index, the CSI 300, dropped 7% half an hour after markets opened, triggering a "circuit breaker" that came into effect on 1 January.

:: FTSE Faltering After Latest China Turmoil

For the "circuit breaker" - a 15-minute pause in trading - to have been activated, the CSI 300 had to fall 5% within 30 minutes.

However, Thursday's decline was so fast that before that could take effect, the index hit the 7% limit that ended trading for the day.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) later said of the "circuit breaker": "After weighing advantages and disadvantages, currently the negative effect is bigger than the positive one. Therefore, in order to maintain market stability, CSRC has decided to suspend the circuit breaker mechanism".

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The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 7.3% to 3,115.89, while the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange slumped 8.3% to 1,955.88.

The yuan's depreciation should help China's manufacturers because it makes their goods cheaper for foreign buyers. But it hurts foreign producers trying to sell to the Chinese market because it makes their goods dearer - unless they cut profit margins.

:: Stock Markets Fall As China Halts Trading

Investors fear that the scale of the yuan's depreciation could mean that the slowdown in China's economic growth is even worse than previously thought.

UK-listed mining stocks such as Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) and Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) were badly hit by the latest developments as China is the leading consumer of global metals. Companies that export to China, such as fashion brand Burberry and car maker BMW (Swiss: BMW.SW - news) , also fell.

The FTSE 100 Index is not a barometer of the health of the UK economy as many of its constituent companies derive most of their business overseas. But its movements will affect British investors and funds held by UK employers' pension schemes (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .
Helsinki (AFP) - Finnish police reported Thursday an unusually high level of sexual harassment in Helsinki on New Year's Eve and said they had been tipped off about plans by groups of asylum seekers to sexually harass women.

Helsinki deputy police chief Ilkka Koskimaki told AFP: "There hasn't been this kind of harassment on previous New Year's Eves or other occasions for that matter... This is a completely new phenomenon in Helsinki."

Security guards hired to patrol the city on New Year's Eve told police there had been "widespread sexual harassment" at a central square where around 20,000 people had gathered for celebrations.

Three sexual assaults allegedly took place at Helsinki's central railway station on New Year's Eve, where around 1,000 mostly Iraqi asylum seekers had converged.

"Police have... received information about three cases of sexual assault, of which two have been filed as complaints," Helsinki police said in a statement.

"The suspects were asylum seekers. The three were caught and taken into custody on the spot," Koskimaki told AFP.

Police said they had increased their preparedness "to an exceptional level" in Helsinki for New Year's Eve after being tipped off about possible problems.

"Ahead of New Year's Eve, the police caught wind of information that asylum seekers in the capital region possibly had similar plans to what the men gathered in Cologne's railway station have been reported to have had," police said in a statement.

Dozens of apparently coordinated sexual assaults against women took place on New Year's Eve in the western German city of Cologne.

Cologne police said they had received 120 criminal complaints by Thursday and quoted witnesses as saying that groups of 20-30 young men "who appeared to be of Arab origin" had surrounded victims, assaulted them and in several cases robbed them.

Koskimaki said police did not see a link between the Cologne and Helsinki incidents.

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Shortly before New Year's Eve, Finnish police also arrested six Iraqis at an asylum residency centre in Kirkkonummi, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Helsinki, suspected of "publicly inciting criminal behaviour". They were released on January 2.

According to Koskimaki, the arrests were linked to the information police received in the run-up to New Year's Eve.

In November, Finnish authorities said around 10 asylum seekers were suspected of rapes, among the more than 1,000 rapes reported to police in 2015.
Seoul (AFP) - The United States and its two main military allies in Asia, South Korea and Japan, pledged a combined push Thursday to secure a comprehensive, hard-hitting international response to North Korea's latest nuclear test.

The leaders of the three countries, who have long sought to project a united front against the North Korean nuclear threat, spoke by phone a day after Pyongyang's shock announcement that it had tested its first hydrogen bomb.

While the announcement prompted widespread condemnation and calls for new stiff sanctions against the secretive state, it was also greeted with some scepticism, with experts suggesting the apparent yield was far too low for a thermonuclear device.

In Seoul, the government took unilateral action by announcing the resumption of high-decibel propaganda broadcasts into the North -- a tactic that had prompted Pyongyang to threaten military strikes when it was last employed during a cross-border crisis last year.

The consultations between the US, Japan and South Korea followed a meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council in New York which, with backing from China, Pyongyang's sole major ally, strongly condemned the test and said it would begin work on a new UN draft resolution that would contain "further significant measures".

UN diplomats confirmed that talks were under way on strengthening several sets of sanctions that have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

- Anger in South Korea -

In South Korea, the mood was uncompromising, with President Park Geun-Hye calling for a strong international response to what she called a "grave provocation".

Park spoke with US President Barack Obama on Thursday morning, with both leaders insisting that the test merited the "most powerful and comprehensive sanctions," her presidential office said in a statement.

"The two leaders agreed that the North should pay the appropriate price... and vowed to closely cooperate to get a strong resolution adopted at the UN Security Council," it added.

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The White House, for its part, condemned North Korea's "latest reckless behaviour".

"President Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of the ROK (Republic of Korea)," the statement said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name.

Seoul said it would resume propaganda broadcasts using batteries of giant speakers along the border with North Korea from noon (0300 GMT) on Friday.

The move is likely to infuriate Pyongyang which, during an extended and increasingly hostile cross-border stand-off last year, had issued Seoul with an ultimatum to halt the broadcasts or face imminent attack.

The South only unplugged the speakers following a compromise accord reached on August 25.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also spoke with Obama on Thursday and agreed they should spearhead the effort to impose harsher penalties on Pyongyang.

"We will take firm and resolute steps, including considering measures unique to our nation," Abe said, hinting at unilateral moves.

Meanwhile, Britain summoned the North Korean ambassador to stress its condemnation of the nuclear test.

- All eyes on China -

Park and Abe also spoke by phone and made similar pledges to work together under the aegis of the UN Security Council.

The censure and sanctions threats had a familiar ring, given similar outrage that greeted the North's previous tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and some voices stressed the need to find a strategy that combined coercion with negotiation.

"A priority must be to find ways to both further pressure North Korea to limit its nuclear weapons capabilities and engage it diplomatically," said David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

All eyes at the UN will now be on China, a veto-wielding council member, to see just how far it will go in tightening the sanctions grip on its recalcitrant neighbour.

US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday urged China to take a tougher line, saying Beijing's cautious approach had not borne fruit.

"Now China had a particular approach that it wanted to make and we agreed and give them time to implement that," he said, describing his call to Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"But today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual."

Acquisition of a working H-bomb -- with a destructive power that dwarfs the bombs it has tested in the past -- would represent a massive leap forward in the North's nuclear weapons capability.

In announcing that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, North Korea said it had "joined the rank of advanced nuclear states" such as Russia, France and the US that also boast thermonuclear devices.

The order for the test was personally signed by leader Kim Jong-Un, with a handwritten message to begin 2016 with the "thrilling sound of the first hydrogen bomb explosion".
Washington (AFP) - The United States named an alleged financier of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah to its sanctions blacklist Thursday in a mounting effort to crack down on the group's financial resources.

The US Treasury said Ali Youssef Charara and his Beirut-based telecommunications company Spectrum Investment Group Holding have received millions of dollars from Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects.

The sanctions freeze any assets of Charara and Spectrum under US jurisdiction and forbid Americans from doing business with them.

It was the first such move since President Barack Obama signed a new law in December making it easier to target Hezbollah's finances.

The United States has officially labelled Hezbollah a terrorist group and has already taken actions against its business network, which spans to West Africa, where Charara has interests in the telecommunications sector, the Treasury said.
Washington (AFP) - The United States marked the first anniversary Thursday of the murderous attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and shoppers at a kosher deli with a vow to always stand by ally France.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement to mark one year since a group of jihadist gunmen killed 17 journalists, police officers and bystanders over three days in Paris.

"No country knows better than France that freedom has a price and that no rationale can justify attacks on innocent men, women and children," he said.

"But what was intended to sow fear and division has, in fact, brought us together," he said.

"Just as we tackle todays most daunting challenges side by side, the United States and France will always stand together."

In Paris on Thursday police shot dead another alleged jihadist armed with a meat cleaver who had apparently decided to mark the anniversary by attacking a police station.
Guatemala City (AFP) - Central American nations Wednesday received some of the first groups of their citizens deported under tough new raids in the United States against illegal immigrants carried out by President Barack Obama's administration.

In Guatemala, four mothers and 10 children aged two to 17 sent back walked off a plane that had arrived at a military airbase on the outskirts of the capital.

They refused to speak to reporters, with some using sweaters to hide their faces, and authorities took them away, out of sight.

One old man outside the base waiting for his niece and her two children in the group, Alfredo Vicente, told AFP about how US immigration officials had knocked at her door in Atlanta asking for her and then arrested her.

She had gone to America two years ago after being unable to find work as a teacher, he said, adding that she and her family were indigenous Guatemalans.

"Here, there are no sources of work and we are asking them not to deport people. They were there working decently," he said.

- US election issue -

US officials last weekend began the raids that American media reported were to spread nationwide in an unprecedented operation to rid the country of immigrants with court-issued deportation orders against them.

The action comes at a politically sensitive time in the United States, which is in feverish campaign mode ahead of a November election to choose a successor to Obama, who is finishing his last term.

Immigration is one of the hot-button issues, with candidates from the opposition Republican party arguing that more should be done to bar to undocumented migrants -- especially from Latin America and war-ravaged Syria -- from coming to their country.

Donald Trump, a leading wealthy Republican, has been especially vehement on the topic, putting Obama's ruling Democrats under pressure to show they are not weak on immigration.

According to the US secretary for Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, 121 adult and child illegal immigrants were rounded up last weekend for deportation, and more would soon be apprehended.

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Many of the Latinos targeted are from Central America, fleeing rampant violence, corruption and poverty that grip Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

The three countries, collectively known as the Northern Triangle, have some of the highest murder rates in the world.

Preliminary figures from police recorded 17,422 homicides in those three countries last year, an 11 percent rise over 2014.

The statistics showed El Salvador as the nation with the highest murder rate in the world: 104 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

By way of comparison, America's homicide rate is around four per 100,000.

- Tips to citizens -

El Salvador's government on Sunday issued tips to its nationals in the US, telling them that immigration agents have to present an order signed by a judge to enter their homes.

"If you are detained by an immigration agent, remain calm," it said in a statement.

"If you have immigration papers, present them. If not, ask immediately to contact your attorney or the nearest consulate of El Salvador."

In Guatemala, the head of the state CONAMIGUA agency tasked with helping returned citizens, Alejandra Gordillo, said she believed the US operation would bring the level of deportations up to levels seen in years past.

Those forced returns hit a record high for Guatemala in 2014, with 51,157 deportees. Last year, the number slumped by 39 percent.

For the other two Northern Triangle countries, it was a similar picture of sharp decreases in deportations in 2015. El Salvador recorded a 25 percent drop to 21,752 returnees, while Honduras saw 19,000 of its citizens deported, around half the figure from 2014.

"We're worried about the deportations because, beyond the human drama it causes, there is a difficulty due to adult unemployment," said Marisol Garcia, who monitors migration issues at the Human Rights Institute of the University of Central America.

For young people and families forced back to their homelands, there was also the "exposure to an environment of insecurity that they had fled."

- Remittances at risk -

Obama's government has sought to help the Northern Triangle address those issues by this year allocating $750 million to improving security and prosperity in the three countries. But whatever results that aid could bring about is years in the future.

In the meantime, the stepped-up US focus on deportations could have an immediate deleterious effect on the countries economies, which rely to a big extent on remittances from Central Americans living and working in America.

In Guatemala, for instance, they amount to $10 billion annually, equivalent to half of the country's export earnings. In El Salvador, emigrants send back $4.2 billion per year, or 17 percent of gross domestic product. In Honduras, remittances total more than $3 billion.

"There us a significant number of people working over there.... It's clear that this (deporting them) will have a significant effect," said Aracely Romero, head of Honduras' CAMR center for returnees.

According to Guatemala's CONAMIGUA, before the new US operation, typically 85 percent of those deported had been caught trying to clandestinely cross over the border into America.

But the raids on homes could change that. "We estimate around 60 percent of the deportees will be those intercepted at the border and the rest will be people living in the United States who are from family units given short-term permission to remain," Gordillo said.
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Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to take a tougher line with North Korea after its latest nuclear test, warning in a call to his Beijing counterpart Thursday that it cannot be "business as usual."

Rejecting criticism that the United States had neglected the North Korean threat while focused on halting Iran's nuclear program, Kerry said China -- Pyongyang's sole major ally -- had taken the lead on the issue.

China's cautious approach to its isolated and unpredictable totalitarian neighbor has not borne fruit, however, and now Washington is pushing for stronger international action.

"Let me make it clear: North Korea has never been left unattended to. Not for one day," Kerry told reporters.

"Now China had a particular approach that it wanted to make and we agreed and give them time to implement that," he said, describing his call to China's foreign minister Wang Yi.

"But today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual."

North Korea has carried out four nuclear tests since 2006, including this week's, which it claimed -- to international skepticism -- was of its first hydrogen bomb.

China joined the global chorus of outrage but has not yet said whether it will impose tough new sanctions.

After Kerry's comments, a US official admitted that "China has an influence on North Korea that nobody else has."

Washington has said it will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and will continue to pile on diplomatic and economic pressure until Pyongyang backs down.
San Sosti (Italy) (AFP) - A former PR consultant to the Vatican on trial along with four others for leaking or publishing secret papers said on Thursday she would not ask Pope Francis for a pardon.

"Those who are innocent do not ask to be pardoned," Francesca Chaouqui told journalists, ruling out a similar course of action to former pontiff Benedict XVI's butler who was found guilty in the first Vatileaks trial in 2013 but later pardoned.

Chaouqui insisted prosecutors have "nothing that could lead to a conviction", and the only thing that ties her to the leaks are accusations made against her by Spanish priest Lucio Vallejo Balda, who is also on trial.

Vallejo Balda has portrayed his former friend Chaouqui as a manipulative temptress, saying he was tempted to break his vow of celibacy because of her sexual advances, a claim she has rubbished.

Chaouqui insists that while she did stay in a hotel with him in Florence, he shared the room with his mother that night.

The pair are accused along with a third person of stealing and leaking documents which provide evidence of corruption and mismanagement in Vatican spending, which were used as the basis of books by two investigative journalists.

The journalists, Italians Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, are also on trial for publishing the leaks.

- 'Political motives' -

"I introduced the journalists to Monsignor Balda, but I didn't hand over one single document," Chaouqui said.

Vallejo Balda, who was arrested in November over the accusations but released from jail and placed under house arrest at the end of last month, has claimed he was coerced by the reporters into handing over the papers.

Chaouqui laid the blame for her arrest on the Vatican's Secretariat of State, which is now headed up by Pietro Parolin, claiming the office had been annoyed not to have had a say in her appointment as advisor to a papal commission.

"The Holy father did not sign my arrest warrant. It was an act of the secretary of state," she said, adding: "If a court can put me on trial without proof, it can find me guilty for political motives".

Story continues

Francis has distanced himself from the PR consultant, saying her appointment was a mistake. Eyebrows had already been raised in 2013, after it emerged Chaouqui had been highly critical of the Vatican on Twitter in 2012.

Tweets -- which she claimed were written by a hacker -- included one saying Pope Benedict had leukaemia. Another said high-ranking Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was corrupt and another accused a former Italian minister of being gay.

The Vatican's embarrassment only increased when racy photos of her went viral on the Internet.
Swedish bombshell Elsa Hosk graces the cover of Victoria's Secret's Swim Catalogue 2016 in a barely-there crochet bikini, one of the big beachwear trends expected to make waves this season.

Shot in Bora Bora by fashion photographer Guy Aroch, this edition marks the first time Hosk has appeared on the cover.

Though her first cover, Hosk is no stranger to Victoria's Secret, having appeared in several print and TV campaigns, and walked the famous runway since 2011.

The 2016 collection includes surf and boho-inspired swimwear featuring neoprene-like crochet and zip styles meant for active days, and colorblock graphics and strap details for more fashionable options.

The catalogue can be viewed at VictoriasSecret.com, on their app, and hits stores beginning January 12.
If you thought Netflix had a busy year in 2015, just wait until you see what the streaming company has in store for 2016. Over the next 12 months, Netflix plans to release at least 28 new originals that touch upon every genre imaginable, including kids shows, superhero thrillers, and even interesting reboots like Fuller House.

To generate a little bit of buzz for its slate of new programming, Netflix at CES earlier today rolled out brand new trailers for two of its upcoming shows, The Crown and The Get Down.

DONT MISS: This is the Netflix hack the world has been waiting for

Well start with The Get Down, as that title seems a little bit more interesting. A musical drama created by Baz Luhrmann and Shawn Ryan (of The Shield fame), The Get Down takes place in New York City during the 70s and features an all-star cast which includes Giancarlo Esposito (aka Gus from Breaking Bad) and Jimmy Smits. A premiere date for the show hasnt yet been released.

And next up we have The Crown, a period piece about the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Netflix in 2015 released approximately 320 hours of original programming, and it stands to reason that it will eclipse that figure by a wide margin in 2016. We previously highlighted the full gamut of new Netflix programming set to air in 2016, a list which you can check out over here.

Related stories

Netflix expands its content empire to 130 more countries

Watch the live video stream from Netflix's CES 2016 keynote

This is the Netflix hack the world has been waiting for

More from BGR: Microsoft shows off just how much data its collecting from Windows 10 users

This article was originally published on BGR.com
By Barbara Lewis LONDON (Reuters) - The Finborough Theatre, a tiny off-West End stage tucked away above a pub, has built its reputation on innovative new writing and on occasions has a knack for seizing highly topical issues for its plays. Still, even the award-winning theatre could not have planned to open In-Sook Chappell's "P'yongyang" on the day its subject - isolated and idiosyncratic North Korea - would grab global headlines by announcing its first hydrogen bomb test.[L3N14Q2DH] Chappell, born in South Korea and brought up in Britain, doesn't directly touch on North Korea's nuclear tests. But she takes us behind its regimented displays of military might into the suffering of citizens who have lived through decades of international sanctions, isolation and malnutrition. She was inspired to write the play after visiting the eerie Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea and hearing accounts from North Korean refugees of the starvation and brutal treatment they had endured. Founded in 1980, the Finborough Theatre in West London has nurtured talents including actress Rachel Weisz and Laura Wade, who shot to fame as the writer of Posh, which shone a spotlight on Prime Minister David Cameron's decadent, privileged student past. To try to make her difficult subject accessible to a Western audience, Chappell said she decided to root it in "a very simple love story" between a hero and heroine wrenched apart by the North Korean regime. The Finborough Theatre typically rejects scripts based on conventional love stories as too hackneyed, but it made an exception for a play that uses a romance as a way into a deeper political drama. "I want people to be entertained. I want people to hear stories they have not been told before. I want them to be moved, but I guess I want them to question how this is allowed to continue," Chappell said. It's a question behind the latest headlines as the world wonders whether the huge explosive Pyongyang fired off really was an H-bomb - the United States government and several experts doubt that - and why it chose to hold an atomic test now. (Editing by Tom Heneghan)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that it is confident that President Barack Obama and his administration acted lawfully when rejecting TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada. TransCanada launched a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Wednesday and said it plans to seek $15 billion in damages from a tribunal under the North American Free Trade Agreement. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was limited in what he could say about the pending litigation, but the decision was consistent with U.S. obligations to NAFTA. He noted the United States has never lost a NAFTA investor lawsuit. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Doina Chiacu; Editing by David Alexander)
What I Got Right (and Wrong) in 2015

(Continued from Prior Part)

What Was A Total Miss

This leaves the big misses, starting with high yield. While high yield didnt experience a 2008-style meltdown this year, it did struggle, experiencing negative returns and more volatility. I had assumed high yield would enjoy one more year of relatively decent returns. I didnt foresee the collapse in oil and its impact on high yield issuers.

Speaking of oil, while I was negative on commodities, I will also put this one in the miss column. Coming into the year, my expectation was for oil to remain low, but range bound. I assumed the lower end of that range would be around $50 per barrel, not $35.

Finally, while I had modest expectations for emerging market (or EM) assets, I certainly missed the latest meltdown in EM currencies, many of which have been depreciating faster than during the financial crisis.

Market Realist  High-yield bonds underperformed in 2015 as oil prices crashed.

Crude oil (USO) prices slumped by a whopping 31% in 2015 after a precipitous fall of over 50% between August to December 2014. The slump in oil prices was part of a full-fledged commodity (DBC) rout in 2015. You may not have expected this rout at the start of the year. Most commodities fell below their 2009 lows. This was mainly because of slowing growth in China (MCHI), which is a massive market for commodities, though the stronger dollar was also a factor.

Some commodity-oriented economieslike Brazil (EWZ) and Russiaare now in recessionary territory due to the rout. A lot of Latin American economies, including Brazil, export raw materials to China. Chinas slowing demand hurts these economies. Lower commodity prices compound their problems. Commodity-oriented economies currencies took a beating in 2015.

Meanwhile, high-yield bonds (HYG) have had an underwhelming year. Their yields rose by ~200 basis points in 2015, as the graph shows. Energy and mining companies make up as much as 20% of high-yield bond issuers in the United States. Energy names make up 15% of the market. So lower oil prices directly impact these companies bottom lines, increasing the probability of a default. As the above graph shows, oil prices and junk bond yields have a high negative correlation.

Story continues

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A version of this story first appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

The last big outing Toni Howard took didn't end so well for her right arm. The veteran ICM Partners agent fractured her humerus in mid-May when she fell while on holiday in Marseille, France, with longtime friends Sherry Lansing and husband William Friedkin, Judge Judy Sheindlin and husband Jerry Sheindlin, and her own husband, David Yarnell.

But in late December, no such incidents dogged the group  who were joined by fight promoter Bob Arum and wife Lovee Arum  as they headed south for a VIP vacation on David Copperfield's island, Musha Cay, in the Bahamas. The eight travelers took over the island (only 24 guests can enjoy the resort at any one time) at the suggestion of the Sheindlins, who previously had stayed there.

Read More: Where Mark Wahlberg, George Lucas and the Rest of Hollywood Went on Holiday

Howard confirms the trip to THR, adding that they took their awards-season screeners to watch at the outdoor cinema dubbed Dave's Drive-In. "Fascinating to see The Hateful Eight and The Revenant outside," says Howard, before applauding the aquatic skills of her fellow vacationer: "Sherry is an amazing swimmer."

Another major bonus on the trip, which included up close and personal encounters with island attractions like tortoises, toucans and a pool table, was the ice cream.

"The Good Humor truck was also fabulous," Howard notes.
Tours (France) (AFP) - A corruption trial over fake Chinese wedding trips in France ended Thursday with a 30-month jail sentence for a former French official.

Lise Han, originally from Taiwan, was sentenced after being found guilty of fraud and mishandling public funds by a court in the central city of Tours.

The court heard earlier that while she was working at City Hall on tourism issues, she was also running a private company organising the so-called wedding trips between 2007 and 2011.

The trips did not include a real ceremony but Chinese couples travelled long distances and paid large sums for what were billed as "romantic wedding" packages and were photographed in wedding attire in stunning locations, including the Tours City Hall.

Although Han had officially resigned from her job as head of the organising group, Time/Lotus Bleu, she was accused of continuing to run the firm while at City Hall, which was in turn subcontracting the work to her firm, netting hundreds of thousands of euros.

The sentencing came after another accused in the case, a former mayor of Tours, committed suicide.

Jean Germain, a close ally of President Francois Hollande, was found dead in the garage next to his house just moments before the trial was due to begin in April 2015, having shot himself with a hunting rifle.

The 67-year-old ex-mayor had been due to stand trial for alleged complicity. Han was a member of his staff.

Han's husband were also convicted in the case, as were two other former city officials.

Those found guilty have been ordered to jointly compensate the city of Tours to the tune of 500,000 euros ($550,000), as well as pay 30,000 euros in damages for the stain on the city's image.
Geneva (AFP) - Several women were allegedly robbed and sexually assaulted in Zurich on New Year's Eve, Swiss police said Thursday, saying the attack method appeared "a little bit similar" to that used in a spate of assaults in Germany.

Six women reported being surrounded by "several dark-skinned men", who had robbed, groped and molested them, police said, adding that this was an unusually high number for Switzerland.

The statement mentioned the shocking rash of sexual assaults in several Germany cities also on New Year's Eve.

"It's a little bit similar," Zurich police spokesman Marco Cortesi told AFP, stressing though that the scale of the alleged attacks was "difficult to compare."

More than 120 criminal complaints have been filed in Cologne alone about robbery and sexual abuse, including two reported rapes by perpetrators who allegedly staged orchestrated attacks on revellers in the crowds.
International DJ competition to focus on soca

Full Moon Ltd has partnered with Andrew Bailey and Andre Jeffers from Perception Management with the intention of revolutionising this phenomenon of disc jockeying, according to a media release from organisers Full Moon Ltd.

The competition is open to DJs from around the world but will specifically focus on the genre of soca music. Twenty finalists will vie for a prize on January 30 at the Queens Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

Harand? Elie, managing director of Full Moon Ltd, in a media release describes the competition as, the natural progression of an art form that currently jostles for minuscule Carnival gigs cramped into one time of the year that does not fully display the DJs skill set. TT has a wealth of talent with many young and aspiring DJs, however, there is an absence of an existing structure that celebrates not only the young and aspiring DJ but the established DJ as well, the release said.

On the international scene, pop culture has been taken over by DJs like Major Lazer, David Guetta and DJ Khaled, to name a few.

It is time for our local industry to take ownership of this DJing art form within our culture. It is time for us to embrace and experience DJ-ing as a part of the Greatest Show on Earth, the release said.

DJs interested in the competition must pay a registration fee at any Scotiabank, account number: 36045-11.

The deposit slip number is required for online registration.

A five-minute video displaying the entrants DJ skill set must also be sent to the International Soca DJ Competition Event Page: https://bit.ly/ ISDJTT -2016.

All entries must be submitted by tomorrow.

For more info: isdj@gmail.com
Chief Magistrate steps down

At the start of the hearing in the Port-of-Spain Eight Magistrates Court, Gaspard informed Ayers-Caesar of the prosecutions position.

He said the State was mindful of the need to protect the integrity of the trial process.

He said after making certain inquiries and having regard to the evidence of the police during their investigations, the State had no objection to the application for her recusal.

Defence attorney Criston J Williams, who represented most of the accused persons, had previously submitted that Ayers-Caesar recuse herself from presiding over the enquiry on the grounds of apparent bias.

In his application made last year, Williams submitted some of the officers of the Criminal Gang and Intelligence Unit (CGIU), who interviewed the accused men, had, at one time, formed part of Ayers-Caesars security detail.

Williams emphasised that he was not submitting that the Chief Magistrate would in fact be biased towards the accused men, but it would appear to be so, given the circumstances.

He made a similar application in another matter in which suspected gang leader Rajaee Ali and one of his brothers were charged with attempting to murder radio personality Kevaughn Lurbz Savory in December 2014. Ali, two of his brothers and eight other men are before the Chief Magistrate charged with Seetahals murder. In the other case, Ayers-Caesar recused herself after the prosecution did not object to Williams application and another magistrate was reassigned to hear it.

Gaspard yesterday referred to that case, saying while it may be unrelated, it involved some of the same persons.

He reminded that the prosecutions position in that case was the same.

Chief Magistrate Ayers-Caesar, in acceding to the recusal application, said there were administrative issues to treat with to have another magistrate assigned to take over the case and adjourned it to January 28.

As is customary whenever the accused are brought to court, there were restrictions to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic along the section of St Vincent Street immediately outside the court building.

Inside the court, only one family member for each of the accused men was allowed in the courtroom.

Ali, along with his brothers Ishmael and Hamid Ali; Devaughn Cummings; Ricardo Stewart; Earl Richards; Stephan Cummings; Kevin Parkinson; Leston Gonzales; Roget Boucher and Gareth Wiseman are accused of murdering Seetahal on May 4, 2014, at Hamilton Holder Street, Woodbrook.

Appearing alongside them were Stacy Griffith, Deon Peters and David Ector on charges under the Anti-Gang Legislation.

Stephan Cummings again complained that the area in which he was being held in prison  a converted shipping container  was hot and he was not being allowed his mandatory airing period.

Cummings said he preferred to return to where he was kept previously in the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca.

The Chief Magistrate assured that his complaints would be forwarded to the relevant authorities.
90 YEARS FOR TORTURE

In 2003, Darren Samuel, 32, and Marlon Gregory John, 34, both of Quinam, kidnapped a girl and her boyfriend at gunpoint, took them into the Quinam forest where she was raped and robbed. Yesterday, Samuel was sentenced in the San Fernando High Court to 20 years for kidnapping the girl; 20 years for false imprisonment; ten years for robbery; ten years for possession of a gun; ten years for possession of ammunition; ten years for possession of a gun to endanger life and ten years for possession of ammunition to endanger life.

In passing sentence on Samuel, who went on trial last December and was found guilty by a jury for several offences, except rape, Brown-Antoine recounted the harrowing incident the couple endured on Saturday July 26, 2003, at about 1 pm at the Quinam Beach. Brown-Antoine said the boyfriend and girlfriend, at the time in their 20s, had gone to the beach to lime and eat.

But the sheds on the beach-front were occupied.

In fact, seated under one of the sheds were the two accused men Samuel and John. The couple were forced to resort to sitting on a log in a more secluded part of the beach where they ate together.

Suddenly, John and Samuel confronted the couple with a gun and a cutlass. They were then marched into a forested area where the girl was raped.

Browne-Antoine said the boyfriend was eventually sent out of the forest by the two accused men to get money from his car and bring it back to the men who had his girlfriend hostage.

The male victim never returned to the forest and instead raised an alarm which resulted in people on the beach going into the forest in search of the woman. Eventually, a police aerial search was mounted for the female victim.

Brown-Antoine said the girlfriend underwent a six-hour ordeal inside the forest, during which she was raped, sexually abused and tortured.

In 2007, John was tried and found guilty of kidnapping, rape, robbery, sexual assault and possession of a firearm and was sentenced by Justice Rajendra Narine to a total of 191 years in jail.

Narine, said this was the worst case of rape and torture he had ever come across in his career as a judge.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the 25 years jail term for rape.

John was also ordered to receive 25 strokes, but he appealed.

Justices Paula Mae Weeks, Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Mark Mohammed added five more years to the 25 and ordered John to serve 30 years.

Samuel was not tried together with John because he had absconded and police had to re-arrest him.

In December last year, Samuel went on trial before Browne-Antoine and a nine-member jury in which State Attorney Shabaana Shah called 18 witnesses. The jury found him guilty of all the charges, but not guilty of rape.

Attorney Kerianne Byer defended Samuel.

Yesterday, the boyfriend and girlfriend were seated in court as Browne-Antoine gave her sentencing against Samuel in which the judge ordered that the sentences were to run concurently. Samuel, therefore, will begin serving 20 years from yesterday.

Brown-Antoine said she agreed with the comment of Narine that this was indeed the worst case of rape and torture she came across in her judicial career.

Additionally, the judge ordered that the three years, plus 14 months and 25 days during which Samuel was incarcerated, be deducted from the 20- year jail term. Samuel therefore will serve approximately 15 years in jail for the crimes.
Man killed in Caroni crash

According to reports, at about 2.30 pm the driver of the Almera car Amarnath Ramlogan, 70 of Kelly Village, Caroni was proceeding in a northerly direction along the Southern Main Road when the driver of a Toyota Hilux, heading in an easterly direction, collided with a gas truck.

Ramlogan tried to avoid slamming into one of the two vehicles swerved to avoid collision but the car spun out of control and overturned.

Ramlogan died at the scene while the drivers of the truck and Hilux suffered minor injuries.

Officers of the Caroni Police Station visited the scene, carried out enquiries and arrangements were made to have the vehicles removed from the roadway.

Traffic backed up for miles along the Southern Main Road and the Caroni South Bank Road as a result of the fatality.

Officers of the Caroni Police Station are continuing enquiries.
River of tears for brother, sister

No one, who attended the service, left without shedding tears. Carmen wept bitterly as she walked from one coffin to the next. She screamed, Why....

why..why! Relatives attempted to console the distraught woman, but she continued to weep as she watched the bodies of her son Junior Gang-Gay Jaikaran, 49, and daughter Dennese, 51, who died minutes apart from each other on Sunday night.

Delivering the eulogy at the funeral service close relative, Camille Jackman, described the deceased siblings as inseparable even in death.

On Sunday, Jaikaran collapsed and died inside a bar, not too far from his Penal home.

Minutes later, when she was awakened and told of his death, Dennese ran out of their home and collapsed in the yard. She was pronounced dead on arrival at a health centre. Autopsies confirmed they both died of heart failure.

Yesterday, at the family Penal Rock Road home, the house was packed to capacity as villagers, close family members and friends also lined the streets.

Addressing mourners, Jackman said family members hearts were heavy as the task of saying their final farewell to Junior and Dennese was heartbreaking.

She described Junior and Dennese as kind hearted individuals.

They both would smile genuinely with you, even on a bad day they would somehow end the day with laughter,Jackman said.

Also paying tribute, Denneses son Keanu Chandler said that he would forever cherish the memories of his mother.

She sacrifice herself for my happiness and that of Sean. I could have always counted on her to be there for us, Chandler cried. On January 17, 2014, Dennses first son Sean Jaikaran, 29, was shot and killed.

His body was found at the TCL Recreation Ground in Claxton Bay.

On Sunday, Junior went to a bar in Penal to purchase a drink and while sitting on a stool in the bar, he collapsed and died.

Minutes later at the family home, Dennese was awakened from sleep by a fellow villager who alerted the family to her brothers demise.

Dennese who lived downstairs the familys home with her son, ran out of the house and collapsed in the yard. She died later at the district health centre.

Officiating at the service was pastor Deolal Ramdial. The siblings were later laid to rest at the Penal Rock Road Cemetery.
TTPS: 9 murders committed in 2016...so far

Acting ASP Michael Pierre, who made the call at yesterdays police press conference at Police Headquarters, Port-of-Spain said, the reduction in serious crimes last year was due to a partnership with members of the public, including the media.

To date, we have eight murders. Last year we had 15 for the same period, he said.

A ninth murder was reported to Newsday hours after the TTPS press conference.

With the assistance of the media and the members of the public to the Help Solve Crime Initiative, he expressed the hope that, we are going to see a greater reduction in crime in TT in 2016. The Help Solve Crime Inititaive is a new campaign the TTPS has embarked on this year to encourage collaboration from the public to help find missing persons, and to solve more murders.

The TTPS is going to release pictures of missing persons and persons of interest who have been killed. On the issue of the misuse of fireworks which has seen a number of persons injured, he said, it has become a nuisance.

We would like to see a reduction. Asked if the TTPS has made any recommendation to Government to amend laws governing the use of fireworks by members of the public, Pierre said he was not aware of such information at the time. The eight murder victims are Jodel Ramnath, six; Alvina Warner, 69; Nathan Barcoo Campo,13; Ravi Maniedeo, 27: Orcale Kerbie Smith, 25: David Ricardo aka Forty, 27: Ricardo Boodan 31; and Quincy George.

George of Enterprise was shot several times on Tuesday evening and succumbed to his injuries yesterday.

George was aged 27.

According to police reports shortly after 5 pm on Tuesday, George was at Chrissy Lane in Enterprise when a gunman walked up and shot him several times.

He was rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope and died at about 5 pm yesterday
$3B laundered in TT

This was not legal money, this was money that the financial institutions and businesses reasonably suspected came from crime. She said the huge profit, which only represented the amounts reported, showed the attraction of crime and that is why people take the risk, that is why they conduct criminal activity, that is why they commit crime, because of the huge profits which are generated. Francois was speaking at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) in Maracas at the launch of the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Institute in Trinidad and Tobago, a joint effort by the University of the Southern Caribbean and the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.

The two institutions have teamed up with the Florida-based Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Institute (MLFC) which itself is a joint venture between the St Thomas University and ComplianceAid, an international consulting firm specialising in anti-money laundering; countering the financing of terrorism and preventing financial crimes.

Francois added that while people consider money laundering as white collar crime, the three billion dollars which were reported came from violent crime while white collar crime does not usually involve violence, or injury to the person.

But that three billion dollars, a lot of it could have come from kidnapping; murder for profit; extortion; intimidation and related offences such as drug trafficking; human trafficking; trafficking in arms, and ammunition and those crimes cause destruction, serious bodily harm, if not death to persons. She said that tracing the money back to the criminal was necessary in order to detect the crime to prosecute it, and to dismantle the criminal network and seize and confiscate their criminal wealth.

She said measures to deter and detect the crime were crucial strategies in combatting the crime of money-laundering.

According to Francois, just as drug traffickers find inventive ways to hide and smuggle their drugs, so the money launderer will find new ways to disguise and move the money earned from his illegal activity.

This is why education and awareness are necessary tools, tools which are necessary to create a hostile environment for organised criminality. Francois said that under the existing legislation there are about 2,000 institutions registered with the FIU as being resposible for implementing anti-money laundering laws and regulations combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/ CFT) and each of these institutions must have a compliance officer, and an alternate compliance officer, a total of 4,000 persons.

She said these officers need to be trained.
CDA head mulls $55M debts

Pierre was replying to Newsdays query as to what matters had been unearthed to require a review by the new Board of the CDAs activities under the former administration, as stated in a recent CDA statement. That statement had disclosed that a due diligence exercise and a review of the CDAs past activities will be done over the next ten weeks by auditors Ernst and Young, during which time certain CDA officials were being asked to stay home in line with standard practice.

Pierre said the due diligence had begun on Monday and would inform the Board on various issues that the Board had found to be of concern. He said it is not a forensic audit, but a fact-finding exercise to ascertain what had taken place prior.

Asked what were the Boards preliminary concerns that had warranted this due diligence, Pierre replied, The CDA is in a very precarious financial position despite a lot of Government subventions. He added that the CDA owes $38 million to $40 million in unpaid bills, plus a $15 million shortfall in contributions to the employees pension plan. He lamented that hitherto there had been no effort to address the pension issue, to the detriment of CDA retirees. Persons are not getting a pension, said Pierre.  Persons who had worked for 30 or 40 years, he lamented.

This is a priority for us. However, despite these current bills, Pierre later expressed confidence that the CDA could hugely improve its financial position.

Pierre urged the general public not to jump to any conclusions of any witch-hunt, but said the new Board merely wants to address governance issues, and to ensure that the CDA got value for money, and that past contracts were awarded fairly. He named the CDA officials sent on leave during the review as CEO Joycelyn Hargreaves; divisional manager operations, Hugh Thomas; divisional manager corporate, Brent Meade; chief of security, Wade Lalsingh; corporate communications specialist, Peter Campbell; programme manager, Rudranath Singh.
All normal after Monday protests

On Monday, aggrieved residents engaged in fiery protests over deplorable road conditions and the high rate of unemployment which rendered the southern main road, La Brea virtually impassable.

The protests prompted a whirlwind visit by four government Ministers, including Olivierre and Point Fortin MP Edmund Dillion, to appraise the situation and offer solutions to the aggrieved residents.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Brighton/ Vessigny councillor Gerald Debesette, said remedial works had begun along the main thoroughfare linking La Brea to the rest of the southwestern peninsula.

He however noted that discussions were continuing with several of the major companies at the Labidco Industrial Estate and the members of the La Brea village council regarding possible solutions to the areas high unemployment.

Meanwhile, in a media statement yesterday, South Western/ Point Fortin Chamber of Commerce Executive, George Alexis, pointed out that Mondays protest action had impacted on almost everyone living and or working in Point Fortin and its surrounding districts. Commuters were stranded for hours, business suffered as employers could not get to work and some schoolchildren were late for their examinations, Alexis stated adding, the cost in lost productivity, if it can be calculated must be high indeed. While the Chamber cannot condone action which leads to the loss of productivity, we also cannot support the lack of action or tardiness in treating with the deplorable condition of the road. It is ironic that the worst part of the road is within walking distance from the MPs Constituency office, he observed. The Chamber also pointed out that, in addition to the Southern main road, the connector road between Sobo Village and the Point Fortin highway was now heavily traversed also and requires attention.
Recession hits Kiddies Carnival

The society held the launch of its annual childrens carnival event yesterday at the Hasley Crawford Stadium, VIP Lounge, Wrightson Rd, Port-of-Spain.

The society will be celebrating its 60th anniversary of childrens carnival.

Its vice chairperson, Trevor Fung said to the audience, However, the economic tidal wave that is predicted to hit the entire country from 2016 will definitely affect us in sponsorship, attendance and even participation. He added, Most of our traditional sponsors are back with us this year, although some have reduced their contributions. We are still appealing to the other sponsors to stay with us, even if it means giving a little. Fung told Newsday that although he was unable to provide a total percentage on, by how much the sponsorship has been reduced by, one sponsors contribution was cut by 30 percent.

This means that its contribution to the Princess Elizabeth Home for Handicapped Children would be less if it does not get the crowd, and support it needs.

But despite the economic downturn, the society is assuring that the event will go on. Its patron, Reema Carmona, wife of president Anthony Carmona, implored the public to support the event. But Carmona also called on the sector to develop its manufacturing capabilities.

She said, Carnival, with its inherent energy, has always offered endless possibilities, and we have often dropped the baton in tapping into such possibilities. We are experiencing a downturn in our economy and this must not lead to a downturn in the quality of our Mas because we have the creativity and innovative acumen to ensure, that it simply does not, and will not happen. The downturn in our economy could further be made into an upturn. She advised that the country should begin to create and export its own line of things like feathers and beads. Carmona said, There is however, a wider issue and we must engage more comprehensively in the economics of mas. We need to start creating and manufacturing our own artificial feathers, head pieces, beads, glitter and costumes. We simply have been talking about it too long.

We need to, and can create a manufacturing industry that provides for Mas exclusively in Trinidad and Tobago and worldwide.

It is a copout, to revert to tired explanations and platitudes that we always need foreign material and input to produce our costumes. The society also paid tribute to past chairman, Dr Anna Mahase and its Diamond sponsor, Citibank. The society will begin registration today, and close on January 22. The event will begin at 11am sharp on January 30 at the Queens Park Savannah. Tickets will cost $20 for children and $40 for adults.
POLITICS F.B.I. Evidence Is Often Mishandled, an Internal Inquiry Finds By MATT APUZZO and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT DEC. 19, 2014 Photo The J. Edgar Hoover F.B.I. building in Washington. Auditors have found many problems with how the bureau handles evidence. Credit Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story Share This Page Email Share Tweet Save More Continue reading the main story F.B.I. agents in every region of the country have mishandled, mislabeled and lost evidence, according to a highly critical internal investigation that discovered errors with nearly half the pieces of evidence it reviewed. The evidence collection and retention system is the backbone of the F.B.I. s investigative process, and the report said it is beset by problems. It also found that the F.B.I. was storing more weapons, less money and valuables, and two tons more drugs than its records had indicated. The report
START-UP India Launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th January, 2016

New Delhi, Thu, 07 Jan 2016 NI Wire

The Government of India is launching the "Start-up India," movement on January 16th, 2016 in New Delhi. The event is aimed at celebrating the entrepreneurship spirit of country's youth and will be attended by CEOs and founders of top Start-ups (over 1500) from across the country. The closing session will be addressed by the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi who shall formally launch the initiative and unveil the Start-up Action Plan.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley shall inaugurate the event in Vigyan Bhawan at 9.30 am on 16th January 2016. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman shall be the Guest of Honour for the event.

The event shall be a non-stop day long global workshop on Start-up Entrepreneurship and shall include panel discussions on topics such as Unleashing Entrepreneurship and Innovation: What do Indian Startups Need to Grow and Prosper, Celebrating Women: Stories of Innovative Women Entrepreneurs, How digitization will change Indias future, Making Indian Healthcare Leapfrog and Financial inclusion is within reach. The panel discussion on Show Me the Money: How do we Capitalize Entrepreneurship? shall be chaired by Minister of State for Finance Shri Jayant Sinha. A unique Question and Answer (Q&A) session titled Face-to-face with Policy makers is also being organized wherein Secretaries of Key Government Ministries and Departments will answer questions on how Government will be creating an enabling ecosystem for Start-ups. The objective is to reinforce commitment of the Government towards creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of Start-ups. The panel shall comprise of Secretaries from Department of Revenue, Department of Human Resources and Development, Department of Corporate Affairs, Department of Financial Services, Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Department of Skill Development. Additionally, the panel will have representation from Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The event shall also feature interactive talks with global leaders and venture capitalists such as Mr. Masayoshi Son (Founder and CEO, SoftBank), Mr. Travis Kalanick (Founder, Uber) and Mr. Adam Nuemann (Founder, WeWork). A delegation of over 40 top CEOs and founders of Start-ups, Venture Capitalists and Angels investors from Silicon Valley will be attending as special guests for the event and will be taking part in interactive Q&A sessions. Google shall be conducting an innovative session titled Launchpad Accelerator which will involve live pitches being made by early stage Start-ups to potential investors. Nikesh Arora, President & Chief Operating Officer, SoftBank shall be interacting with participants on aspects relating to Start-up funding. A virtual exhibition is also being organized as part of the event to showcase some of the unique and innovative work done by Start-ups in the country.

As Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had indicated as part of his last Mann ki baat radio programme, a full Action Plan of Start-up India shall be launched as part of the event. The plan shall highlight initiatives and schemes being undertaken by the Government to address various aspects relating to developing a conducive Start-up ecosystem in the country.

Considering the importance of this event towards promotion of Start-up culture in the country, the event will be telecast live in IITs, IIMs, NITs, IIITs and Central Universities and to youth groups in over 350 districts of India.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is organizing this event along with Invest India and Start-up ecosystem players iSpirt, YourStory, NASSCOM, SheThePeople.tv and Kairos Society and youth wings of FICCI and CII.

Source: PIB
First Company of Ganga Task Force deployed Ganga Gram Yojana launched

New Delhi, Thu, 07 Jan 2016 NI Wire

As a major initiative towards fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme the first company of Ganga Task force Battalion was deployed at Garhmukteshwar. Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti said that three such companies will be deployed soon at Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad. The Minister said the Jawans of the Ganga Task force will be deployed on the banks of the river Ganga to ensure that industry and civilians do not pollute the river. She said that keeping Ganga clean is not the responsibility of our Jawans only but it is the duty of every Indian living near the river to keep it clean. She said, unless every citizen of the country keep this reasonability in mind the clean Ganga programme which is the dream project of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will not be successful.

Sushri Bharti also launched Ganga Gram Yojana at Village Puth in Hapur district of U.P. 1600 villages situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed under this scheme. In the first phase of the progamme 200 villages have been selected. In these villages open drains falling into river Ganga will be diverted and alternative arrangements for sewage treatment will be made. The villages will have toilets in every house hold. It is proposed to incur and expenditure of Rs. One crore on every village.These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model. It may be noted that Sichewal is situated in Punjab, where cooperation of the villagers has been solicited for the water management and waste disposal in a meticulous way.

Later in a function , Sushri Bharti gave away prizes to the students who took part in Namami Gange arts competition at Bhagirathi Inter college. Speaking on the occasion the Minister exhorted the students to contribute significantly into the success of Namami Gange progamme.

Earlier the Minister inspected two under construction sewage treatment plants at Garhmukteshwar. These STPs are expected to be operational by June this year. The Minister also inaugurated Namami Gange Photo exhibition at Garhmukteshwar and administered the pledge to the people to keep Ganga clean. The Minister also reviewed the progress of Namami Gange progamme at Garhmukteshwar with local officials.

Source: PIB
BURNS, OREGON, IS NOT BUNDY RANCH



By Chuck Baldwin

January 7, 2016

NewsWithViews.com

Let me be clear: the situation in Oregon does not remotely compare to the events that took place at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada. In Nevada, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was the aggressor, which included a very real threat of violence against the Bundy family. The Bundy family appealed to their neighbors and friends for help. And help rightly arrived. The legal nuances of the Bundy situation notwithstanding, BLM gave the appearance of preparing another Waco incident that just could not be tolerated. Over 80 innocent Americans, including elderly men and women and small children, were murdered by our federal government during that unconscionable raid. There must NEVER be another Waco in this country.

The decision of Ammon Bundy (Cliven Bundys son)--and the men who are with him--to mount an armed takeover of the remote, empty Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building in Harney County outside Burns, Oregon, is unwise, careless, and downright foolish. There is no just cause for such action.

Previous to the move to take over the federal building, a peaceful protest in support of the Hammond family had taken place in Burns. This protest was commendable and well-conducted. Hundreds of local residents took part in that peaceful protest. The local community of Burns was very sympathetic to the plight of the Hammonds and rightly angered by the federal governments treatment of them.

Dwight Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven had been arrested, tried, and convicted of arson for the burning of federal land that adjoins Hammond land. The Hammonds say they were burning their land for agricultural purposes and the fire inadvertently spread to federal land. The feds say the Hammonds burned the land to cover up poaching. The two men were found guilty by a jury and sentenced to five years in prison. A district court judge found the sentences to be excessive (and therefore unconstitutional) and sentenced the men to less time; but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the lesser sentence and the five year prison term was reinstated.

Even if the prosecutor's version of the story is true, a five-year prison sentence for such a crime is overkill beyond description--the Ninth Circuit decision notwithstanding. There are thousands of people who have been convicted of various forms of manslaughter who have not served that many years in prison. People in Burns are justified in being angry at the sentence handed to their friends, the Hammonds.

But the truth is, the conflict between the federal government and ranchers, farmers, and miners in the western states has been ongoing in earnest since at least the 1970s. And in this writers opinion, the people of the western states are completely justified in being angry at the way the federal government continues to encroach upon the liberties and properties of the people of these states. In truth, it is long past due that the governors and State legislatures of these states grow some man stuff and start reclaiming so-called federal land. And while they are doing that, they should tell the BLM to go back to Washington, D.C.--or go to hades for that matter--and get their hind ends out of their states. If State governments and county sheriffs in the West would do what is right--and would start protecting the liberties and properties of the citizens within their states from these federal abuses--most, if not all, of these conflicts would go away.

So, the peaceful protest in Burns was certainly justified. And as a result, the momentum for reclamation of State sovereignty and individual liberty was further enhanced. People all over America--especially in the West--are growing increasingly impatient with overbearing, bullying federal agencies such as BLM.

But immediately following the successful protest, Ammon Bundy and several other men decided to take aggressive action and mounted an armed takeover of the remote federal facility about fifty miles south of Burns, which was empty for the holidays. By taking this action, these men gave up the moral high ground and, in essence, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

In the first place, the Hammond family publicly repudiated the actions of these men and chose to give themselves up to officials to serve out the sentence that had been handed them. There are great disagreements about whether the Hammonds motives in burning the land were innocent or malicious. And, as noted, there is room for much debate regarding if the crime (if it was a crime) truly warranted the sentence they received. Regardless, the Hammonds chose to accept their sentence and reject any attempt (especially one involving a show of force) to interfere. This fact alone settles the matter.

Citizens coming together to peacefully protest a perceived injustice is as American as mom and apple pie. But a group of citizens acting as a mob and, with a show of force, taking over a public (or private) facility when there is no threat to life is just plain wrong--anger with BLM notwithstanding. As my mother often told me, Two wrongs do not make a right. Indeed.

Some have tried to compare the takeover of the federal buildings near Burns to Lexington and Concord. But the comparison just doesnt exist.

Our colonial forebears endured a long train of abuses (Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence) for decades. Even the Boston Massacre in 1770 did not trigger an armed response from the colonists. The battles of Lexington and Concord took place when British troops marched on the Massachusetts villages in an attempt at mass gun confiscation. There is nothing of the sort going on in Burns, Oregon.

Neither was there a threat of violence against innocent men, women, and children at Burns as was the case at Bundy Ranch. In truth, these men in Oregon are acting as aggressors, not as defenders. Bundyville was a justified act of self-defense; Burns, Oregon, is not.

I was at Bundy Ranch. I publicly supported the efforts of the men who went to Nevada in the defense of the Bundy family in this column, from the platform of Liberty Fellowship, and in numerous interviews with the media. I even had the honor of bringing a Bible sermon to the brave men at Bundyville--which also included Nevada public officials, by the way. In that address, I strongly cautioned all of them to make sure that our actions were always pure and right in eyes of just law--and especially in the eyes of a Just and Holy God. I invite readers to watch the video of my address at Bundy Ranch here.

Make no mistake about it: if our federal government (or any other government) attempts to confiscate our firearms as did British troops in 1775, a Natural state of war against the American people will have been declared at that moment, and I will be at the front of the line in calling for armed resistance. Burns, Oregon, is not remotely close to that. There is absolutely NO COMPARISON between the current situation in Oregon and Lexington and Concord.

In the next place, I personally believe that government agent provocateurs infiltrated and agitated these men into taking this action, thereby giving the federal government the excuse it needs to justify Obamas Executive Order enacting stricter rules on gun purchases. In my opinion, both of these events happening during the exact same week is NOT a coincidence.

I am very familiar with people who are on the ground in Oregon, and I can tell you that at least two of the men involved in the armed takeover of the federal facility near Burns were also agitators and provocateurs at Bundy Ranch. Fortunately, at Bundyville, those men were plainly instructed to leave the area before they were able to inflict any significant damage. Although, I can tell you that it was only due to the cool heads and calm spirits of the good men at Bundy Ranch that kept those agitators from potential violence and resultant loss of life. Unfortunately, those same men are now in Oregon. If these men are not government provocateurs, they are certainly helping the government with a lot of free work.

Whether my supposition is true or not, it doesnt justify the individual decisions of Ammon Bundy and his followers to act in this manner. If I could talk to them, I would encourage them in the strongest terms possible to peacefully walk away from this situation. All this does is fuel the anti-gun hysteria of already hysterical anti-gun zealots in and out of Washington, D.C., and also serves to allow the anti-gun media to further demonize proponents of the Second Amendment and constitutionally-ordained militia.

By taking the action they did, Ammon Bundy and the others are helping to reverse the pro-freedom, pro-Second Amendment momentum and to provide an excuse for gun-grabbers like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to justify more anti-gun legislation. In other words, Ammon and his followers are actually assisting the very people they claim to be resisting.

Speaking of Obamas gun grab, we can all thank House Speaker Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans such as Montana congressman Ryan Zinke for Obamas Executive Order further restricting the purchase of firearms. It was Ryans $1.1 trillion Omnibus bill that fully funded Obamas executive decision.

See this report here.

Furthermore, while bemoaning the Presidents decision, Republican House members have said absolutely NOTHING about defunding Obamas Executive Order, which is in their power to do, and which would completely take away the means for the executive branch to enforce the order.

See this report here.

There is no justification for what Ammon Bundy and his followers have done in Burns, Oregon--all other factors notwithstanding.

At the same time, our federal government needs to be careful not to overreact to this situation by resorting to a Waco-style assault against these men. People all over America are growing weary of their own train of abuses from Washington, D.C. They will not sit still for another Waco. These men are isolated in a remote wilderness area and pose no risk to innocent life. Hopefully, federal officials will use patience and restraint and allow this situation to defuse peacefully. Better yet, the Feds should completely stay out of the situation and let the sheriff of Harney County handle it. I do not trust this administration any more than we could trust the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton who authorized the raids at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas. I ask all readers of this column to join together in prayer for divine intervention and a peaceful, non-violent resolution of this matter.

P.S. To help people understand the importance of Natural and divine law relative to these crucial issues, I have a DVD containing four messages on the subject. The titles of these messages are:

Biblical Evidence For Natural Law

Christs Law Of The Sword

The Law Of Necessity

Liberty In Law

In light of the fact that so many freedom-minded patriots seem unable to understand the difference between Bundy Ranch and Burns, Oregon--and given the volatile nature of the times in which we live--it is absolutely critical that we understand the difference between just and unjust resistance. The fact that the vast majority of our pastors no longer teach these Biblical principles contributes mightily to the ignorance now rampant among us.

If we do not have the blessing of Heaven upon our attitudes and actions, there will be no positive result--no matter how good our intentions might be. I believe the events in Oregon demand that people familiarize themselves with these immutable principles.

Order the four-message DVD entitled Liberty And Law here.
Small-deck ships such as destroyers and frigates could greatly increase their effectiveness if they had their own unmanned air systems (UASs) to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and other capabilities at long range around the clock. Current state-of-the-art UASs, however, lack the ability to take off and land from confined spaces in rough seas and achieve efficient long-duration flight. Tern, a joint program between DARPA and the U.S. Navys Office of Naval Research (ONR), seeks to provide these and other previously unattainable capabilities. As part of Terns ongoing progress toward that goal, DARPA has awarded Phase 3 of Tern to a team led by the Northrop Grumman Corporation.

The first two phases of Tern successfully focused on preliminary design and risk reduction. In Phase 3, DARPA plans to build a full-scale demonstrator system of a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS designed to use forward-deployed small ships as mobile launch and recovery sites. Initial ground-based testing, if successful, would lead to an at-sea demonstration of takeoff, transition to and from horizontal flight, and landingall from a test platform with a deck size similar to that of a destroyer or other small surface-combat vessel.

The design we have in mind for the Tern demonstrator could greatly increase the effectiveness of any host ship by augmenting awareness, reach and connectivity, said Dan Patt, DARPA program manager. We continue to make progress toward our goal to develop breakthrough technologies that would enable persistent ISR and strike capabilities almost anywhere in the world at a fraction of current deployment costs, time and effort.

ONRs and DARPAs partnership on Tern continues to make rapid progress toward creating a new class of unmanned air system combining shipboard takeoff and landing capabilities, enhanced speed and endurance, and sophisticated supervised autonomy, said Gil Graff, deputy program manager for Tern at ONR. If successful, Tern could open up exciting future capabilities for Navy small-deck surface combatants and U.S. Marine Corps air expeditionary operations.

Through Tern, we seek to develop and demonstrate key capabilities for enabling distributed, disaggregated U.S. naval architectures in the future, said Bradford Tousley, director of DARPAs Tactical Technology Office (TTO), which oversees Tern. This joint DARPA-Navy effort is yet another example of how the Agency collaborates with intended transition partners to create potentially revolutionary capabilities for national security.

The Tern Phase 3 design envisions a tailsitting, flying-wing aircraft with twin counter-rotating, nose-mounted propellers. The propellers would lift the aircraft from a ship deck, orient it for horizontal flight and provide propulsion to complete a mission. They would then reorient the craft upon its return and lower it to the ship deck. The system would fit securely inside the ship when not in use.

Terns potentially groundbreaking capabilities have been on the Navys wish list in one form or another since World War II. The production of the first practical helicopters in 1942 helped the U.S. military realize the potential value of embedded vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft to protect fleets and reduce the reliance on aircraft carriers and land bases.

The Tern demonstrator will bear some resemblance to the Convair XFY-1 Pogo, an experimental ship-based VTOL fighter designed by the Navy in the 1950s to provide air support for fleets. Despite numerous successful demonstrations, the XFY-1 never advanced beyond the prototype stage, in part because the Navy at the time was focusing on faster jet aircraft and determined that pilots would have needed too much training to land on moving ships in rough seas.

Moving to an unmanned platform, refocusing the mission and incorporating modern precision relative navigation and other technologies removes many of the challenges the XFY-1 and other prior efforts faced in developing aircraft based from small ships, Patt said. Tern is a great example of how new technologies and innovative thinking can bring long-sought capabilities within reach.

SOURCE -DARPA
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Corn: The corn market closed virtually unchanged. US weekly ethanol production came in at 996,000 barrels per da, up 4,000 bpd from the week before. Informa estimated the 2015/16 Brazilian corn crop at 81.3 MMT, unchanged from previously. They raised Argentina by 1 MMT to 22 MMT. The December USDA estimates were 81.5 MMT and 25.6 MMT respectively. Weakness of the Brazilian real and Argentine peso continue to make corn production a much more attractive proposition there than it currently is in the US. One private exporter in Brazil said that they expect 30.7 MMT of corn to be exported from the country throughout the next year, up 9.3 MMT versus 12 months previously. Crude oil closed at new lows - below $34/barrel. Widespread talk of prices in the $20/barrel range lean bearish for corn. So too does continued US dollar strength. Greenpeace said that that farmers in China are illegally growing genetically modified corn in the northeast of the country. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report range from 400,000 to 600,000 MT. Mar 16 Corn settled at $3.53 1/4, up 1/4 cent; May 16 Corn settled at $3.58 1/2, unchanged.



Wheat: The wheat market closed with small gains. The size of the fund short position in wheat is the most positive thing that the market has to cling to. right now. US exports are weak. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report are moderate at only 200,000 to 400,000 MT. The strong US dollar remains a thorn in the side. "French wheat hit a four-month low today, as Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, said that it would be enforcing a 'zero tolerance' policy on ergot contamination in wheat shipments," report Agrimoney. A cargo of French wheat was rejected last month, after trace levels of ergot were detected. Three vessels are still said to be waiting for the arrival of letters of credit before they can start loading French wheat in Dunkirk for Egypt. Gasc vice-chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah told Reuters that the delay was due to administrative issues, not any lack of liquidity, and the letters of credit will be supplied shortly. That market isn't quite so confident. What happens when the world's largest wheat buyer runs out of money to pay for it's wheat? May 16 CBOT Wheat settled at $4.68 1/4, up 1 1/2 cents; May 16 KCBT Wheat settled at $4.70 1/2, up 1 1/4 cents; May 16 MGEX Wheat settled at $4.97 1/2, up 1 1/2 cents. 06/01/16 -- Soycomplex: Beans closed firmer, adding to yesterday's gains. Informa Economics today kept their Brazilian soybean crop estimate unchanged stable at 101.4 MMT. They were also steady on Argentina at 58.3 MMT. There are one or two rumblings that Brazil's crop is getting smaller, nevertheless, despite what Informa might say. Dr Cordonnier said that the arrival of recent rains in central/northern states has come too late to save early planted/maturing soybeans and that yields for those will be down. Conab are due to update us with their thoughts next Tuesday, when the USDA are also out with their WASDE report. The USDA were 100 MMT for Brazil and 57 MMT for Argentina last month. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales are 400,000 to 700,000 MT. Jan 16 Soybeans settled at $8.75 3/4, up 8 cents; Mar 16 Soybeans settled at $8.64 3/4, up 7 1/2 cents; Jan 16 Soybean Meal settled at $266.90, up $1.60; Jan 16 Soybean Oil settled at 29.59, down 4 points.Corn: The corn market closed virtually unchanged. US weekly ethanol production came in at 996,000 barrels per da, up 4,000 bpd from the week before. Informa estimated the 2015/16 Brazilian corn crop at 81.3 MMT, unchanged from previously. They raised Argentina by 1 MMT to 22 MMT. The December USDA estimates were 81.5 MMT and 25.6 MMT respectively. Weakness of the Brazilian real and Argentine peso continue to make corn production a much more attractive proposition there than it currently is in the US. One private exporter in Brazil said that they expect 30.7 MMT of corn to be exported from the country throughout the next year, up 9.3 MMT versus 12 months previously. Crude oil closed at new lows - below $34/barrel. Widespread talk of prices in the $20/barrel range lean bearish for corn. So too does continued US dollar strength. Greenpeace said that that farmers in China are illegally growing genetically modified corn in the northeast of the country. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report range from 400,000 to 600,000 MT. Mar 16 Corn settled at $3.53 1/4, up 1/4 cent; May 16 Corn settled at $3.58 1/2, unchanged.Wheat: The wheat market closed with small gains. The size of the fund short position in wheat is the most positive thing that the market has to cling to. right now. US exports are weak. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report are moderate at only 200,000 to 400,000 MT. The strong US dollar remains a thorn in the side. "French wheat hit a four-month low today, as Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, said that it would be enforcing a 'zero tolerance' policy on ergot contamination in wheat shipments," report Agrimoney. A cargo of French wheat was rejected last month, after trace levels of ergot were detected. Three vessels are still said to be waiting for the arrival of letters of credit before they can start loading French wheat in Dunkirk for Egypt. Gasc vice-chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah told Reuters that the delay was due to administrative issues, not any lack of liquidity, and the letters of credit will be supplied shortly. That market isn't quite so confident. What happens when the world's largest wheat buyer runs out of money to pay for it's wheat? May 16 CBOT Wheat settled at $4.68 1/4, up 1 1/2 cents; May 16 KCBT Wheat settled at $4.70 1/2, up 1 1/4 cents; May 16 MGEX Wheat settled at $4.97 1/2, up 1 1/2 cents.
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" ... How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public... "

[From George Washington's farewell address.]

Other Quotes:

"Don't worry about genius and don't worry about not being clever. Trust rather to hard work, perseverance and determination. The best motto for a long march is ' Don't grumble. Plug on.'....Be honest. Be loyal. Be kind. Remember that the hardest thing to acquire is the faculty of being unselfish. As a quality it is one of the finest attributes of manliness." Sir Frederick Treves

"...To be clear, the Constitution of the United States of America is the United States of America. They are one and the same. Any individual or agency which seeks to subvert the Constitution and wage political and/or rhetorical war on it, are self-declared enemies of the United States of America, as they are subverting and waging war on the United States of America." - Pat Dollard

The truth to the matter is that Obama lies but he does it with such finess that the easily fooled are easily fooled. ~ Norman E. Hooben

"Going for the grandest illusion of all, [Obama] ... told the New York Times: 'We've actually been operating in a way that has been entirely consistent with free-market principles.' Excuse me while I pick my jaw off the ground. Everyone knows -- or should know -- that putting more and more of the government in charge of more and more of the economy is entirely inconsistent with free-market principles. This means that the president's statement to the contrary is what is known as a big lie." --columnist Diana West



When you trust a stranger more so than your friend, you become stranger than the stranger; Barrack Husein Obama is a stranger. - Norman E. Hooben

We the peopleWe the people now have a New World Order that we the people did not order. Norman E. Hooben

"We are now in a great civil war of words and you have the honor of participating as a true patriot. The battle has not been won but you will be there when we are victorious. The pen is mightier than the sword and you will inscribe your name in the book of freedomand that, my friend is an honor

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves ." -

Winston Churchill

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

-

Ronald Reagan

Thomas Sowell

For those who promote a race they are called, "racists". For those that promote American they are called "American". For 'American' is a 'concept' and no racial tones are tolerated either in shades or sounds. -Norman E. Hooben

(In reference to Lourdes Galvan of San Antonio, Texas racial bigotry regarding American military heroes.)

Note to NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA (

Hola! I know you are watching):

Will Rogers never met Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. -

N. E. Hooben, July 2008

Harvard University was once an all boys school...today they have no balls at all. - N. E. Hooben

I will stand with the Constitution For The United States of America should the political winds shift in an ugly direction

Politicians are like vampires...

Whether its blood or money they want to suck it out of you till you die. ~ N. E. Hooben

(Norman E. Hooben in response to a writer who complained of not having the honor of serving in the U.S. Military)Back in the days of "The Lone Ranger" program, someone would ask, "Who is that masked man?" People need to start asking that question about Barack Obama. -N.E. HoobenThe Police State of Massachusetts is now imposing laws against nature. Massachusetts is by far the most un-Constitutional government of the State, by the State, and for the State than any among the the fifty that hold a star on the banner of freedom. It is run by Socialists and hypocritical so-called Christiansthe worst among them are the Catholics who go to Church on Sunday and forget what they Prayed for on Monday. - Norman E. Hooben - "A proud Catholic proud of my Faith. A proud Catholic NOT so proud of my Church!" - July 16th 2008 N. E. Hooben

When a people are satisfied with receiving gifts paid with their own taxes as a way of life Anarchy is sure to follow. - Fred Boutin 2008

From the first time I heard about the boogey-man as a child to the first time I got shot at in Vietnam, nothing in my entire lifetime, THAT'S NOTHING! has put more fear into me than this man Obama. - Norman E. Hooben - July 2008

We are here for only a mini-second in the sands of time. Then we become the dust that makes the sand; and the Hand of God molds us anew. Take care my friend and may God Bless... - Norman E. Hooben on the death of our dearly beloved pet dog, Stirling

The evidence is overwhelming!

In order to save America we must destroy the Socialst Marxist Party... - N. E. Hooben

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within." -- Josef Stalin --

When it comes to lying, prudent people are guided by a Higher Authority driven by thou shall not written in stone. Whereas Bill Clinton has no Higher Authority to guide him, thou shall not has no conscious objections; for without a conscience there is no guilt. - Norman Hooben

The victor will never be asked if he told the truth. - Adolph Hitler

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. - James Madison, the Federalists Papers

There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some Exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked,'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly, the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity. The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America.

The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms- just a little at a time.

One should always remember 'There is no such thing as a free Lunch!' Also, 'You can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

You apparently don't share a sense of patriotism, Americanism, freedomism, or whatever kind of 'ism' that true Americans believe in... You do however, display a bit of socialism, communism, marxism or whatever kind of 'ism' that you make excuses for... ~ Norman E. Hooben (in response to an Obama supporter's views about the ACS census)

A nation that knows not from where it came, knows not where it is going! Today, Americans know too little about the foundations of our nation. The result is a nation now in chaos, its people unable to discern what is wrong with the transformation (paradigm shift) of our society and form of government that, if left unchecked, will destroy every facet of freedom, liberty and justice. The price of freedom is vigilance; the price of vigilance is knowledge. Many of America's founding documents are now available on the web. ~

Learn USA
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid amid growing criticism targeting his management of affairs appointed a new cabinet marked by 13 new entries including news secretaries at Foreign and Interior Ministries in a bid to boost efficiency.

Most members of the former cabinet have kept their places following the reshuffle except handful of ministers including Foreign and Interior Ministers who have been removed.

Interior Minister Najam Gharsalli under whom the country witnessed its deadliest terrorist attacks has been replaced by Hedi Majdoub, former Secretary of State in charge of local affairs and former cabinet director at Interior Ministry.

Prime Minister Essid has also replaced Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche by former presidential adviser Khemais Jinaou, also known as veteran diplomat.

Essid also appointed Omar Mansour as Justice Minister after former ministry occupant Mohamed Salah Ben Aissa was fired following a fall-out with his boss.

The new cabinet according to analysts is highly expected. The country is going through a tough economic period with an economic growth at its lowest rate; nearly 0 per cent in 2015.

Essids new team is also expected to provide solutions to curb terrorist acts ever growing in the one-time most secular country among Arab countries now troubled by Islamist threats.

Tunisia lived its darkest modern time last year after the country was rocked by three terrorist attacks which killed more than 70 people. March 2015 two gunmen said trained in Libya massacred 21 people mostly foreign tourists at Bardo Museum in Tunis. Also in June a lone Tunisian believed trained in IS camp in Libya mowed down 38 people among whom 30 British tourists at a Sousse resort hotel. Furthermore In November a suicide bomber killed 12 members of the presidential guard.

Tunisia is also facing unprecedented exodus of its nationals to hotbed conflict zones including Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen where they fight in the terrorist groups ranks. A UN working group estimated that more than 5,000 Tunisians including 700 women have left the country to join terrorist groups.
Rabat has summoned Mauritanian ambassador to Morocco to protest against hoisting of the Mauritanian flag by Mauritanian soldiers in the border town of Lagouira, South of Morocco, reports say.

Rabat is extremely displeased with Mauritanian soldiers who hoisted their countrys flag on a territory that entirely belongs to the kingdom of Morocco, Moroccan daily Akhbar Al Yaoums sources said.

In its January 7 publication the daily points out that the Mauritanian ambassador has been summoned to protest against the move which violates Moroccos sovereignty.

It also reported that Morocco has complained about Mauritanias military presence in the border town.

Reports argue that Mauritanias mustering of military presence in the border town was the main reason why Moroccan officials including Yassine Mansouri Head of Studies and Documentation (DGED), Gen. Bouchaib Arroub General Inspector of Moroccan army and Salaheddine Mezouar foreign minister visited President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz on December 12, last year.

The two countries have developed military cooperation aiming at preventing Polisario movement to take positions in the region. Morocco also reportedly offered some rocket launchers to help the Mauritanian army beef up its positions at the border against terrorists.
President Alpha Conde has set Guinea on a new path of economy recovery and investment attraction for his new mandate, new faces and highly qualified Guineans are vetted for the new vision, international veteran Malado Kaba will drive the countrys economic revival.

Malado Kaba, 44, is branded as the flagship of the new the team of 31 ministers and is one of the seven women appointed as ministers. She is in charge of three key Departments; Economy, Finance and Plan, representing the skeleton of the country development apparatus.

The 44 years old woman has several years of experience at the international level. Before her appointment, she was Country-Head of Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; a position she took in 2014 where she dealt mainly with macroeconomics and budget analysis as well as public finance.

She also boasts of vast experience with the European Union with which she worked on several development projects focusing on macroeconomic and institutional supports to countries in Africa and in the Caribbean.

She also spearheaded analysis of the EUs partnership with South Africa related to macroeconomic dialogue and budgetary transparency, as well as operational issues related to public reforms.

She is also presented as an expert of social development with significant impact in Jamaica and at home where she worked with the EU in supporting several projects in health, education and decentralisation worth more than 100 million Euros.

Kaba is not a new face to Guinean leadership. From 1996 to 1999, she worked at the ministry of economy, finance and plan as adviser and performed on macroeconomic analysis and follow-ups on public expenditure.

Kaba graduated from Paris University where she obtained her DESS in Development Economics in 1994.

Analysts say the yoke waiting her is daunting in a country which has just been declared Ebola-free. Many investors have left the country due to the epidemic while youth unemployment is ever increasing with health system nearly on its knees.
When you look at the renders for the condo conversion set to take place at 90 Morton Street in the West Village, the penthouse looks as though it's about to be eaten up by a forest. But that's not a bad thing when you consider the concrete jungle that is New York City. So, it certainly comes as a welcome sight to see the conversion being undertaken by Dutch real estate firm, Brack Capital, which will see the former commercial building take the shape of a 35-unit residential with 29 condos. 6sqft was the first to report on the development.

Brack purchased the site, which also goes by the address of 627 Greenwich Street back in 2014 for $105 million. The conversion was stalled for several years prior to that, according to Crain's. The building was previously owned by Peter Moore who in 2008 was able to rezone the former commercial building for housing, but as the housing bubble burst, the project collapsed.

But Brack Capital is giving it a new lease of life - and a pricey one at that. The selling price for all the apartments combined, when the conversion is complete will be a staggering $326 million.

Here's how the apartments will be laid out in the building: Floors two through seven will have four apartments each. The eighth floor will have three. Nine through 11 will have two, and top floor will be occupied by the lush penthouse.

Isaac and Stern Architects have been contracted to design the conversion.

 Revealed: Brack Capital's 90 Morton Street Condo Conversion to Have Terraced Penthouses [6sqft]

 Owner flips Village property for $30M gain [Crain's]

 627 Greenwich Street Archives [Curbed]
Photo: David McNew/2012 Getty Images

More than a year after medical marijuana was legalized in New York, the citys first dispensary will open its doors today just a few blocks from Union Square. The dispensary is run by Columbia Care, a health-care company that specializes in medical marijuana. Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vita told the New York Daily News he wants patients to feel comfortable when they visit the facility: People [will] know that this is their home, he said. This is a place where they can come. We set it up so that it encourages community.

Despite its homey atmosphere, Columbia Care isnt messing around  its facility is strictly regulated, and anyone wishing to obtain a prescription must first navigate a maze of bureaucratic red tape. Dispensaries run by additional companies are planned for Murray Hill, Queens, and the Bronx, but right now Manhattan is the only option for New Yorkers who want to pull an Abbi Jacobson in Whole Foods. With that in mind, heres everything you need to know about Columbia Cares facility.

Where is it located?

At 212 E. 14th Street, near 3rd Avenue  prime tourist stomping ground.

Whos eligible to buy medical marijuana?

Only people diagnosed with epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrigs disease, Parkinsons disease, Huntingtons disease, neuropathies, spinal-cord injuries, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. The health commissioner has yet to decide whether to add Alzheimers disease, muscular dystrophy, dystonia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and rheumatoid arthritis. Conditions can be added or removed at any time.

We will be providing products and services to a chronically ill patient that hasnt had a great deal of success relying on the standard of care, Vita told CNBC. Part of our mandate is to provide the highest-quality products, services and information so patients can make the right decisions with their physicians.

How can New Yorkers get a prescription?

Patients will need to be certified by a doctor who is part of their continuing care, and whos registered with the states medical-marijuana program. Theyll receive an ID card, which they must carry at all times. Obtaining the certification will cost $50 per year, but the fee may be waived due to hardship. Terminal patients will qualify for certification that lasts until their death, and other patients can be certified for a year or less, depending on what their doctor recommends. The drug probably wont be covered by insurance plans, as its still illegal at the federal level.

How many doctors in New York are eligible to hand out prescriptions?

The website MarijuanaDoctors.com lists only four doctors registered with the New York State Department of Health: one in Brooklyn, one in Elmhurst, and two in Manhattan. In theory, any doctor can become eligible to prescribe medical marijuana by completing a state-mandated online training course.

How long will visits last?

The first appointment will take an estimated 25 to 30 minutes. All subsequent appointments will take ten minutes or less.

How many people does the dispensary employ?

Four pharmacists will be on staff when the dispensary opens, but Vita expects to employ up to 20.

How will marijuana be grown and distributed?

The drug must be produced, manufactured, and distributed in New York State (though somehow, we doubt it will replace Greek yogurt as lawmakers favorite locally made product). Five manufacturers were granted grow licenses by the state, and each is allowed to run four dispensaries. Legislators can increase those numbers later, if theres greater demand. The dispensaries can be for-profit or nonprofit, and guidelines will be developed to ensure that theyre spread throughout the state.

There will be a 7 percent sales tax on the pot, and counties where the dispensaries are located will receive 22.5 percent of that revenue. Officials said they have no way of estimating how many people will buy the drug, or how much the state stands to collect in taxes.

What can patients buy? How much will it cost?

According to Vita, the first wave of patients will be able to purchase an eyedropper full of liquid marijuana they can drop under their tongue. These will cost between $100 and $300 each.

Why no smoking?

We have spent billions of dollars in the effort to eliminate smoking, and it goes against all the wisdom of public health to turn our backs on all that we have done in this area, acting State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said when the law was passed. He claimed edibles, oils, and vaporization can deliver marijuana just as effectively as smoking, but Gabriel Sayegh, the New York director of the Drug Policy Alliance, disagreed. The cost of purchasing a vaporizer and the extract products will likely leave many low-income patients behind, and there is little research on the long-term health effects, Sayegh told the Daily News. He added, The decision about the mode of administration for any medication should be left up to doctors and their patients.

Are there any other states that ban smoking?

Of the 22 states that have approved medicinal marijuana, Minnesota is the only one that bans smoking.

Could smoking medicinal pot still be added to the law?

While the health commissioner can change some parts of the program, expanding it to include smoking would require another vote by the Legislature.

Will it really be that hard for someone whos relatively healthy (aside from their, uh  debilitating insomnia and back pain) to obtain a prescription?

Yes, unless you know a doctor willing to risk spending four years in jail. The law will make prescribing marijuana for patients who dont qualify a felony. Anyone else who tries to sell or distribute medical marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor.

So, when can the rest of us smoke legally?

Several New York legislators introduced a bill in 2013 that would have legalized recreational marijuana, but Cuomos spokesperson called it a non-starter. During the medical-marijuana debate, Cuomo described pot as a gateway drug, citing the states heroin and opiate prescription drug abuse problems, so it appears hes not evolving very quickly on the issue.

This post was originally published in June 2014. Its been updated with new information about the law and New Yorks first dispensary.
Rand Paul was supposed to be Joshua to Ron Pauls Moses, but lost his way to the libertrarian promised land. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

There was nothing all that unusual about the latest announcement of presidential candidacy. 2012 Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, once the Republican governor of New Mexico, will again pursue his new partys nomination. He will come with some fresh notoriety as the former CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a Nevada-based marijuana products and licensing company, as Politico describes it.

But Johnsons announcement probably marks the sad realization of many libertarians that the mainstream political breakthrough, or moment (as Robert Draper put it in a much discussed New York Times Magazine feature in August 2014), they had hoped for isnt happening. Thats because the presidential campaign of the supposed vehicle for that breakthrough, Senator Rand Paul, has made even Jeb Bushs effort look effervescent.

Its instructive to compare Senator Pauls standing right now to that of his father  supposedly marginalized by his eccentric congressional record, unsavory associations, and peculiar obsessions  at this point in 2012. According to the RealClearPolitics polling averages, Rand Paul is currently running seventh nationally with 3 percent. Twenty-six days from the first votes in 2012, Ron Paul was running fourth nationally with just under 10 percent. In Iowa, Rand Paul is tied for seventh place with 2.6 percent. Ron Paul was tied for second place with 17.4 percent at this point in 2012. And in New Hampshire, supposedly a very libertarian friendly jurisdiction, Rand Paul is in ninth place with 3.8 percent. In 2012 at this juncture, Ron Paul was in third place with 14.5 percent.

The whole premise of the Draper piece was that Rand Paul had taken the old mans creed and modified it enough to make it acceptable to mainstream Republican audiences, while potentially adding some independent and even Democratic voters to an old white GOP base badly in need of new recruits. Instead, he seems to have lost some of the old magic of the Revolution, and more than a few voters.

Its probably too early for a complete postmortem of Paul 16, but one theory is that Rand sold his birthright for a mess of hypothetical pottage that was ultimately worthless. Libertarians, not the most compromise-prone political tribe, may be happier to go into the general election with Johnson, who lets his freak flag fly.
For whatever reason, Republicans cant find a way to take down Donald Trump. So theyre hoping to get lucky in Iowa and New Hampshire. Photo: Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters/Corbis

Six months ago, when Donald Trumps rise to the top of the GOP nomination contest was new, it was very widely assumed the Donald would crash and burn or grow bored. But if somehow that didnt happen, of course, then the Republican Establishment  that shadowy cabal of elected officials, donors, and opinion leaders that many pundits and most political scientists believe is in total control of the presidential nominating process  would engineer the demise of his candidacy. The presumed means for doing so varied from the sheer freezing effect of the Establishments disdain (picked up on by actual voters, always anxious to their superiors bidding, in the view of many academics) to a mammoth ad campaign pointing out the numerous things about Trump that did not comport with the ideals of a family-values, free-market, anti-government party.

As we all know now, Trumps candidacy did not self-destruct, even though he kept saying things previously considered disqualifying. Even a political scientist would admit that GOP voters are not waiting around anxiously for hints from elected officials in order to choose a nominee pleasing to party elites. And the supposed fail-safe mechanism  tens of millions of dollars in anti-Trump ads  has yet to appear.

Veteran conservative reporter Byron York of the Washington Examiner took a long look at the nonappearance of saturation ads blasting Trump to hell, and came up with this comprehensive set of explanations:

[B]eyond condemning Trump and fretting among themselves that he could destroy the party, top Republicans, including the donor class, have mostly chosen not to confront Trump. Why? There are several reasons. First, creating an organization and spending millions of dollars to carpet-bomb Trump with negative ads in key states isnt easy; there arent many people who could pull it off. Second, some donors think an anti-Trump offensive not only would not work but would backfire on an already unpopular GOP establishment. Third, some who do believe it could work think it should not be attempted until Trumps critics have agreed on an alternative candidate  which they havent. Fourth, the anti-Trump opposition cant decide who should lead such an effort. And fifth, most GOP strategists and money movers continue to believe Trump will ultimately fail on his own, that in the end he will not be the Republican nominee.

Id add to this impressive list that even if someone was willing to bankroll a Rolling Thunder ad campaign against Trump, and even if Republicans could agree on the timing and the roles of various organizations, and even on an alternative candidate, theres this little question of what message to use. The Club for Growth thought it could bring down the Donald with ads demonstrating hes not a true conservative. Turns out the kind of people who might respond to that message werent supporting Trump in the first place, or were sufficiently excited by his nationalist themes and the horror he inspired among Democrats and RINOs that they were willing to overlook the odd heresy. If theres some silver bullet for bringing down Trump, its not clear anyone has identified it.

But the last factor York cites could be providing a convenient excuse for avoiding the hard work of going medieval on the wily tycoon: They finally see signs of vulnerability in the early states. On this front, Ted Cruzs Iowa surge has been welcomed avidly by Establishment types who would otherwise just as soon throw the Texas senator off the nearest bridge wearing concrete cowboy boots.

And so you begin to see the scenario the Establishment is hoping for: Cruz takes Trump down a notch in Iowa, some acceptable Establishment candidate beats both of them in New Hampshire, and then order is restored.

At FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver and his colleagues conducted a Slack chat Wednesday on this very subject, and they conclude Trumps enemies are confident enough that he will stumble in Iowa and New Hampshire that they are willing to pause once again before panicking and going after Trump with tire irons. The one thing thats still troublesome, however, is that the Establishment has yet to choose its own candidate to harvest the preordained victory in New Hampshire. Rubio seemed to be the Guy until recently, but now theres fresh buzz about Christie, and no one can talk Jeb Bush out of the race so long as hes got $50 million or so in super-pac money left to burn. If the wrong Establishment candidate winds up finishing well in Iowa and gets the inevitable bounce in New Hampshire, it will probably be too late for the movers and shakers to recalibrate their strategy. And it would be something of a Pyrrhic victory for the Republican Establishment to block Trump at the price of giving Ted Cruz a path to the nomination as wide and straight as the Iowa stretch of I-80, which is what hell have if he wins the first two states and heads into the southern primaries like the second coming of Barry Goldwater.

All in all, the Republican Establishments gamble is big enough and dangerous enough that Im sure theyd prefer that the Koch brothers or Sheldon Adelson  about the only people with the money and the arrogance to presume to take down Trump on their own accord  could take up the cup and deal with the demagogue before those unpredictable voters weigh in. But theres no reason to bet the farm, or the Republican Party, on that proposition.
Iranian foreign-ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari. Photo: ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/Corbis

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of launching an aerial attack against its embassy in Yemens capital, escalating the two nations growing conflict. The Saudis have called the claim not credible and called for an investigation, and, indeed, early reports from witnesses say the strike was not aimed at the embassy.

Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff, Irans foreign-ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaber Ansari, reportedly said on the state television network, adding that the damage was deliberate and intentional.

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, told Reuters that the embassy wasnt hit, although there was some shrapnel strewn nearby. That account was echoed by the embassys own guards, who told the New York Times that the nearest bombs landed on the home of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president who was overthrown in 2012.

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have run high since the Sunni monarchy rang in 2016 with the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Iranian hardliners responded by burning the Saudi embassy in Tehran, prompting Riyadh and several Arab allies to cut their diplomatic ties with Iran. On Thursday, Iran announced a ban on Saudi imports and prohibited its citizens from joining pilgrimages to Islams holy cities of Mecca and Medina.



That diplomatic rift has dampened hopes for a timely resolution to Yemens civil war, where Iran backs Houthi rebels who are seeking to reinstall former president Saleh. The Saudis support a coalition of forces loyal to Salehs recently ousted successor, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

While Riyadh views the Houthis as Iranian proxies working to expand Tehrans influence, the rebels themselves insist that their sole aim is to liberate their nation from a corrupt government. According to The Independent, the civilian death toll has risen to nearly 2,800.



This post has been updated throughout.
Soliders in the demilitarized zone. Photo: South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

North Korea made the planet very angry when it conducted yet another nuclear test this week. (North Korea says it was an H-bomb of justice; most experts think theyre exaggerating.)

Now world leaders are trying to devise the most effective way to punish Kim Jong-un for breaking the rules. The U.N. Security Council is thinking up significant measures, and the United States is working with South Korea and Japan to think of additional ways to deal with the isolated and fractious nation. The world might be running out of options; there are only so many ways you can sanction a country.

Meanwhile, South Korea is set to begin carrying out the most terrifying vengeance it can imagine  something that has worked very well against its northern neighbor.

The country is pulling out its dozens of speakers.

And it will play K-Pop and propaganda until North Korea has learned a lesson.

The loudspeakers will start playing at noon on Friday  Kim Jong-uns birthday. If that doesnt work, South Korea might also drop democracy-pushing pamphlets, too.

However, the loudspeakers have a history of working. Back before 2004, the Koreas were basically in a speaker stalemate, routinely blasting radio broadcasts at each other until they decided to try not being so miserable toward each other for awhile. This August, South Korea fired the speakers up for the first time in forever, after a land-mine incident injured two South Korean soldiers. The music and propaganda drove North Korea so crazy that they threatened to go to war if the psychological warfare didnt stop. Two weeks later North Korea promised to be nicer, and the countries agreed to let relatives separated by the Korean War continue to hold reunions.

One of the messages that was blasted at North Korea during the last loudspeaker offensive was, Kim Jong-uns incompetent regime is trying to deceive the world with its lame lies, per the Washington Post. The songs played have lyrics like, Tell me your wish, tell me your little dream, imagine your ideal type in your head, and look at me, Im your genie, your dream, your genie.
A picture taken on January 7, 2016 shows a makeshift memorial for the victims of Paris attacks at the Place de la Republique. Photo: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images

As Paris quietly remembered the 12 people who died during the Charlie Hebdo attacks exactly one year ago, police officers shot dead a man who approached a police station in the 18th Arrondissement with a fake suicide vest and, reportedly, a meat cleaver.

The attacker, killed shortly before noon, also carried, according to the police, a note bearing the ISIS flag and a claim of responsibility for whatever act he had sought to carry out, as well as a cell phone. He carried no identification.

The police shot him before he was able to enter the building.

Nearby schools are on lockdown, metro stations not too far away have been closed, and residents have been warned to stay inside. Those trying to enter the neighborhood were thoroughly searched, and the heightened police presence in the entire city is palpable. Police are investigating the attacks possible connection to a terrorist undertaking. He appears to have worked alone, but police are investigating that, too.

French police patrol near the Rue de la Goutte dOr in the north of Paris on January 7, 2016. Photo: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images

Witnesses heard the attacker yell, Allahu Akbar.

According to The Guardian, the man was found to have been wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device contained no explosives. France24 adds that Pictures posted on Twitter showed the alleged assailant wearing a camouflage coat, lying on the pavement after being shot. A police bomb disposal robot appeared to be inspecting the body.

Meanwhile, French president Francois Hollande was giving a speech on national security to police forces. He said that France would have to continue worrying about the threat of terrorism in the upcoming year  and it was thus essential that security personnel work in perfect harmony.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet later added, The terrorist threat is real and its very high. We must be constantly vigilant.

In Libya, a far deadlier attack took place on Thursday. More than 50 people, mostly police officers and recruits, were killed after a truck bomb exploded at a police training center in Zliten. At least 200 more were injured by the massive blast, many quite seriously. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but lots of people are glancing toward ISIS, which has been wreaking havoc all over Libya and had been trying to inflitrate the region attacked on Thursday. Smugglers headed for Europe are also notorious for causing trouble in the area. Zlitens mayor told Reuters, It was horrific, the explosion was so loud it was heard from miles away. All the victims were young, and all about to start their lives.
Come on, man, you were born in Panama. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP/Corbis

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz repeated whats become a familiar pattern on Tuesday: Trump tried to derail his closest rival by saying something completely unhinged, and Cruz deflected by tweeting a pop-culture reference. This time Trump dusted off his old birther accusation, swapping in the Texas senator for President Obama, and Canada for Kenya. A lot of people are talking about it and I know that even some states are looking at it very strongly, the fact that he was born in Canada and he has had a double passport, Trump told the Washington Post.

The question seemed to amuse White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. He said at Wednesdays press briefing that it would be quite ironic if Republican primary voters nominated somebody who actually wasnt born in the United States and only 18 months ago renounced his Canadian citizenship.

Other Obama-administration alums agreed.

I have to admit, kind of fun, as an old @BarackObama hand, to watch @realDonaldTrump and @tedcruz erupt in Birther wars. What goes around...  David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 7, 2016

FWIW: Basically the only people who believed the birther claims against Obama were GOP primary voters, Cruz should not take this lightly  Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) January 6, 2016

Ann Coulter took the birther bait:

NYT: Cruz was born outside the U.S. to 1 American parent: "Under the Constitution this makes him a 'natural born citizen.' Absolutely false  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 6, 2016

Same lawyers who said anchor babies are in the Constitution now tell us being born outside U.S to 1 American parent = natural born citizen.  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 6, 2016

Only to be mocked because she, like Trump, has previously said Cruz was eligible to run.

The matter should have ended there, but when asked about Cruz during an interview on the radio show Kilmeade & Friends, Rand Paul quipped, You know, I think without question he is qualified and would make the cut to be prime minister of Canada. Absolutely without question, he is qualified and he meets the qualifications.

As a trolling enthusiast, theres no way Paul can resist joking about a rival being a secret Canadian.

My friend @tedcruz has still not pledged to issue exec order declaring Canadian "bacon" is not real bacon. Makes me suspicious. #Festivus  Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2015

But when pressed, the Kentucky senator suggested Trumps claim should be seriously considered. You know, Im not an expert on the natural-born clause in the Constitution and people have various opinions, Paul said. Some people believe it means you need to be born here, some people believe it means you can be born in another country as long as your parents are citizens.

Paul added that theres a double standard because people went after Obamas eligibility hot and heavy, but there hasnt been really the same outrage at all for someone who actually is born in another country.

And if there was any hope that this insignificant issue would vanish on Thursday, cowed by its own stupidity, Trump sent off a tweet to try to keep distracting people for as long as possible.

.@SenTedCruz Ted--free legal advice on how to pre-empt the Dems on citizen issue. Go to court now & seek Declaratory Judgment--you will win!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2016

The Tea Party Express told everyone to stop already and focus on the issues again. The groups co-founder said in a statement, according to the Hill, that Bogus attacks and insinuations do nothing to advance conservatism and only distract from the important, issue-based contrasts that should be at the forefront.

There hasnt been much outrage because theres widespread agreement among legal scholars that Cruz is eligible to run for president. The framers did not spell out the exact definition of the Constitutions requirement that the president be a natural born citizen, but its commonly understood to mean someone who was a U.S. citizen at birth, as opposed to someone who becomes a naturalized citizen later in life.

A report published by the Congressional Research Service in 2008 supported that definition, as did a recent Harvard Law Review op-ed in which two former solicitor generals, one Democrat and one Republican, looked at British common law and the actions of the First Congress. Both confirm that the original meaning of the phrase natural born Citizen includes persons born abroad who are citizens from birth based on the citizenship of a parent, they wrote. That would include Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Canada, to an American mother, and has thus always been an American citizen.

Still, several presidential candidates have had their citizenship questioned, including George Romney (father of Mitt), Barry Goldwater, and John McCain. One might think that would make the Arizona senator sympathetic to Cruz (particularly after Trump questioned his war-hero status), but he actually fanned the flames in a radio interview on Wednesday. I dont know the answer to that, McCain said on the Chris Merrill Show when asked about Cruzs eligibility.

McCain noted that he was born in Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. military base, but said, thats different from being born on foreign soil. He added, I am not a Constitutional scholar on that, but I think its worth looking into. I dont think its illegitimate to look into it. McCain said we may need the Supreme Court to address the matter, but because the issue is mostly settled, the court has refused to take up legal challenges on the meaning of natural born citizen  most recently, as PolitiFact notes, when such cases were filed against McCain in 2008.

McCains stance makes a bit more sense when you recall that he really hates Cruz, but he and the rest of the Republican establishment should probably think twice before adding legitimacy to Trumps accusations. Marco Rubio, who may be their best shot at nominating someone who isnt Trump or Cruz, was born in Miami, but hes been the subject of birther conspiracy theories for years.

Orly Taitz, one of the most fervent of the Obama birthers, does not think Cruz or Rubio are natural-born citizens.

She told U.S. News & World Report that if the courts dont deal with this issue soon, anybody could run for president  it could be the son of Ayatollah Khomeini, it could be the son of the king of Saudi Arabia, it could be the son of Mullah Omar, or the son of [ISIS group leader] al-Baghdadi.

A few Democrats have waded into the issue, perhaps forgetting the lessons of the Obama birther brouhaha. On Thursday, Minority House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about it and replied, I do think there is a distinction between John McCain being born to a family serving our country in Panama than someone born in another country, but again, this is a constitutional issue that will be either decided or not. Whoever they choose, we will be ready to make the contrast. I wish them well in their process.

Another Democratic representative, one who happens to be running for Marco Rubios Senate seat, is plunging into the debate with far more relish. Alan Grayson, best known for constantly saying controversial things, told Fox News in November, I dont know, the Constitution says natural-born Americans, so now were counting Canadians as natural-born Americans? How does that work? Im waiting for the moment that he gets the nomination and then I will file that beautiful lawsuit saying that hes unqualified for the job because hes ineligible.

He told U.S. News & World Report that hes still thinking about that lawsuit this week. Both the senator and others say she was born in Delaware, Grayson said, but theres no record of it.

The question has made it to far smaller war theaters than cable news and the halls of Congress; one voter in Cincinnati asked the county board of elections to decide if Cruz was eligible to be president. Tim Burke, the boards chair and a prominent local Democrat, responded, As much as I believe Hamilton County is the battleground county in the battleground state, I dont think Hamilton County is in position to make that determination.
Hes coming into the hornets nest. Youve got to have some cojones to do that. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Burlington, Vermont, is a city of about 40,000 people. Donald Trump is visiting on Thursday night, and his campaign has given out 20,000 free tickets to supporters.

The space where he will be speaking can only fit around 1,400 people. At least 6,500 people are expected to attend.

So Trumps visit to a state that last voted for a Republican president decades ago is starting off about as well as youd expect.

Massive crowd in VT tonight. Venue not big enough. Officials say NO to outside event and sound system. Arrive early!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2016

The police department says It is common for event planners to over-issue tickets to political rallies to compensate for efforts by a candidates detractors to reserve seats and then leave them empty  something the Trump campaign was perhaps especially worried about in the city that houses the campaign headquarters for Senator Bernie Sanders. The Hill reports that many Sanders supporters were urging people to buy up seats online  but, again, it wont be too hard a venue to fill.

If Phish was holding a free concert at the Flynn and gave away 20,000 free tickets, we would cancel the event out of public safety concerns, Burlington police chief Brandon del Pozo added to the Burlington Free Press. We are committed to accommodating the campaign because political speech is the very essence of the First Amendment.

Local alt-weekly Seven Days went to check the line snaking out in front of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts earlier today. At the front of the line was a local who has no intention of voting for Donald Trump and had been waiting since 4:30 a.m. to get inside. I just want to ask [Trump] a question that will bother him, he said.

Another woman in line whispered, Im actually for Hillary. I want to give Trump the finger or something. A University of Vermont student told WCAX, I dont support him at all, but one day I can tell my kids, back in 2016 election, I saw Donald Trump at the Flynn.

The spectacle of seeing a presidential candidate  especially in a place that most candidates write off, given its well-documented voting history  was exciting enough for quite a few people to wait in line. It isnt clear how many of the people who end up watching the speech will be excited to cheer the candidate, who has gotten very used to inspiring rambunctious encouragement wherever he goes. Whatever happens, however, Trump is clearly already getting plenty of his favorite brand of motivation  lots of attention. Also, loud protests from a place associated with liberals is basically the GOP primary equivalent of a Girl Scouts badge.

Reporters found plenty of Trump supporters waiting eagerly to hear the candidate speak, too, many from upstate New York, not too far across Lake Champlain. One fan told Seven Days that he was not pleased by all of the un-American protesters who gathered outside the event and are likely to make the already overcrowded event even more of a zoo.

The Burlington Free Press talked to one man who is glad that Trump is coming and that the free-speech absolutists won, even though he doesnt agree with him.

The New York Times spoke to one person in line who likes Sanders and Trump: Bernie is my No. 1 choice, and Trump is No. 2. Theyre not that different.

A few of the people protesting outside the event space will be Republicans. According to WPTZ, several prominent local Republicans  a few worked for former Republican governor Jim Douglas  paid for a full-page ad in the Burlington Free Press that said, America is great. Not perfect, but great. The Vermont Republican Party released a statement last week that read, The Vermont Republican Party did not invite Mr. Trump and has no role in his event. Like all presidential candidates, he is welcome to share his thoughts with Vermonters.

Some business owners have found other ways to quietly protest, while still taking advantage of the fact that thousands of potential customers might be descending on downtown. A few people put Bernie signs out front. Others came up with creative Trump-themed specials.
Tears were shed. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. To kick off 2016: Obamas gun-control push, the Donald dredging up Bill and Hillarys past, and the simmering rage of white America.

Once America decided killing children was bearable, one gun-control commentator memorably wrote when reforms failed after Sandy Hook, any effective debate on guns in the U.S.was over. Does President Obamas emotional call for new measures this week create any political movement to change that?

Given the initial response by the GOP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the NRA, youd have to say no: The presidents move was greeted with the usual hysterical blather about how The cruel despot Obama is coming to take your guns! and the usual pooh-poohing about how Nothing hes proposing would have stopped the mass shootings of Sandy Hook, Charleston, San Bernardino   And in truth, the effect of his proposed executive actions will be small gruel indeed  enabling, perhaps, some thousands of additional background checks. Thats a pittance in a nation where, in 2015 alone, there were more than 23 million background checks on gun sales, and who knows how many gun transactions requiring no vetting at all. And yet: Am I, a longtime pessimist about progress on this issue, completely delusional to see a tiny bit of movement in the right direction?

As polling has long showed, more than 90 percent of Americans favor rigid background checks on gun buyers, making it a well-chosen focus for the presidents initiative. Even Bill OReilly came out in agreement with Obama on this point this week  potentially a more influential voice in changing hearts and minds than, say, the preaching-to-the-choir front-page editorials in the New York Daily News and Times. And, as the Times reported in a recent front-page news story, Michael Bloombergs serious capital investment in fighting for gun reform, initially fruitless, has quietly started to notch up a few political victories over the NRA at the local level.

Meanwhile, those (on the left as well as the right) who have typed Obama ad infinitum as a passionless law professor can no longer say that he doesnt have or show emotions  despite some attempts on the right to claim that his tears were a hoax. What did turn out to be a hoax was Jeb!s oft-repeated anecdote that he was given a rifle by Charlton Heston when receiving the NRAs Statesman of the Year Award  a claim revisited by BuzzFeed in the run-up to Obamas press conference. There is no such award, Jeb! didnt win it, and Heston gave him no rifle. It was another small but immensely enjoyable setback for Second Amendment fanatics this week.

Hillary Clinton has so far made good on her New Years resolution to avoid talking about Donald Trumps personal attacks on her and Bill  despite seemingly constant pressure to do so from reporters following her as she takes the trail in Iowa. How many nonanswers can she give before the press stops pursuing Trumps line of questioning?

If she sticks to her resolution, it will fade fast. And certainly many in the Republican Establishment, including some of Trumps rivals, hope it will fade. Thats because they are smart enough to figure out that attacks on Bill Clintons unsavory sexual history, no matter how they are framed, are destined to backfire on the GOP rather than hurt Hillary Clinton. That political equation became clear in the aftermath of the scandals that led to impeachment in the late 1990s: The more salacious the headlines, the more sympathy accrued to Hillary Clinton, and the more Bill Clintons approval ratings went up, reaching a whopping 73 percent in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky revelations. It was not for nothing that Lindsey Graham, a so-called House manager of impeachment during Clintons 1999 Senate trial, declined to call attention to that chapter during his own presidential campaign even though it was arguably the most famous interlude in his political career. Rand Paul, the one 2016 candidate who did bring up Bill Clintons predatory behavior before Trump did, has fared almost as poorly in his presidential bid as the impeachment-stained Graham did in his now-kaput bid for the White House.

Whats been fascinating, though, is that one prominent enclave of the conservative Establishment, The Wall Street Journal editorial page, has ignored the lessons of Clinton-era political history, taken Trumps bait, and elected to jump on Bill Clintons bimbo eruptions as if it were 1998 all over again. Back then, the Journal had been a dogged prurient chronicler of Clinton sexual activity, so much so that it published no fewer than six fat books collecting its reportage and editorials about Clinton administration scandals. In the aftermath of Trumps attack, the Journal has run an editorial giving readers a primer on Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, et al., and chuckling that the Clinton war on women will trump any efforts by the Democrats to talk about the GOP war on women in 2016. One Journal columnist, William McGurn, went so far as to equate Clinton to Bill Cosby, and to rationalize Trumps misogyny by drawing a moral distinction between his aggressive male boorishness and Clintons outright sexual abuse. Granted the Journal has an aging readership, but surely someone there must know that this sort of mens-club blather is offensive and probably baffling to younger voters, at least some of whom werent born when the Lewinsky news broke. Hillary Clinton can only hope that more and more of her political adversaries will follow the Journals example in jumping on the Trump bandwagon and help assure her path to the White House.

An online poll on American rage released this week by NBC News, Esquire, and SurveyMonkey found that over the past year no groups had a bigger increase in self-reported anger about current events than white people and Republicans  angrier, in fact, than black Americans, who would seem to have more reason to be enraged in the 2015 of Ferguson, Charleston, Cleveland, and Chicago. Where does this anger lead?

This poll confirms what the former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum wrote in the current issue of The Atlantic  that the angriest and most pessimistic people in America arent the protesters of Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter or the DREAM-ers demanding immigration reform but the people we used to call Middle Americans. Middle-class and middle-aged; not rich and not poor. Indeed, this poll, unexpectedly, finds that black Americans are more optimistic about the future of the country, about the future of the American dream, and even about their own financial standing than white Americans higher up on the economic ladder.

Frum makes the point, with which I agree, that this anger and pessimism resides in both parties, and that neither party is addressing it, thus giving rise to both the serious insurgent candidacy of Bernie Sanders and the rage-fueled crusade of Trump. On the assumption that neither of them will be president, this rage is going to continue to boil, and boil over, in ways that could ultimately make the Trump disruption look relatively benign. Or such could be the case if whatever government takes charge on January 20, 2017, doesnt address the grievances many Americans have against what Frum calls the power of organized money (whether that power is held on Wall Street or by the Koch brothers).

One footnote in this poll worth citing: The one unifying source of rage in the entire survey  the only national phenomenon that 90 percent of all Americans regardless of race or class or party are mad as hell about  is school shootings. This too may offer a sliver of hope that Obamas leadership on gun-law reform this week might be a harbinger of change we can believe in, not just another impotent gesture in this long-running American tragedy.
What shape would you say Earth is? A sphere? Ha-ha, nice try. You could not be more wrong. Earth is a disc.

This is according to Tila Tequila, the model, porn star, Juggalette, erstwhile Nazi, and living monument to the ancient lost culture of MySpace.

But, you might stammer, I was always taught that the earth was a sphere. Oh, yeah? Who are you going to trust? The failing American public-education system or a two-hour documentary posted on YouTube by Yodas Flat Earth Channel?

The Flat Earth movement  by which I mean the evergreen alternate scientific/conspiracy theory that posits that the earth is a flat disc  has been around since the late 19th century. (A few ancient cultures did indeed assume the world was flat, though it was never as widely held a belief as some later historians would claim.) The first Flat Earthers, and most of their descendants, tended to push the theory as a confirmation of the Bibles truth; early texts include The Inconsistency of Modern Astronomy and Its Opposition to the Scripture and the proto-listicle One Hundred Proofs That the Earth Is Not a Globe.

The evidence against the flat earth? Physics, photographs from space, the experience of watching a ship meet the horizon. Evidence for a flat earth? Well, you know, everything looks pretty flat. Allow Tila Tequila, the most friended person on Myspace v1.0, to explain:

It's 2016 & nobodys been able 2 prove 2 me that the earth is round. Where is the curvature in the horizon? #FlatEarth prove me wrong dammit!  Tila Tequila (@AngelTilaLove) January 7, 2016

Why are all the buildings in NYC standing straight up? If earth was round then some of the buildings would have a slight tilt. #FlatEarth  Tila Tequila (@AngelTilaLove) January 7, 2016

If the earth was a spinning globe then how come airplanes can still land w/out crashing? Because the face of the earth is flat. Not a globe.  Tila Tequila (@AngelTilaLove) January 7, 2016

(Its worth noting that these tweets were sent in the middle of the night, the optimal time to fall down a YouTube k-hole.)

Social-media icon and director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson has not yet responded to Tequila.

The main organization pushing the Flat Earth theory (which is a theory in the same way that gravity is a theory, a.k.a. fact) is the Flat Earth Society, founded in 1956 by a songwriter named Samuel Shenton (who died in 2001) and resurrected in 2004 by Daniel Shenton (apparently no relation).

Heres what a flat earth looks like:

The earth is in the form of a disk with the North Pole in the center and Antarctica as a wall around the edge. This is the generally accepted model among members of the society. In this model, circumnavigation is performed by moving in a great circle around the North Pole. The earth is surrounded on all sides by an ice wall that holds the oceans back. This ice wall is what explorers have named Antarctica. Beyond the ice wall is a topic of great interest to the Flat Earth Society. To our knowledge, no one has been very far past the ice wall and returned to tell of their journey. What we do know is that it encircles the earth and serves to hold in our oceans and helps protect us from whatever lies beyond.

Flat Earthers also posit that the sun hovers above our flat earth and acts like a spotlight and shines downward as it moves, which explains the day-night cycle.

The theory has had a resurgence in recent months. In a petition on Change.org, the society wrote, We ask Google to recognise this movement, which has trended over 600% in just the past 12 months, by marking 01/01/2016 as the anniversary of the Flat Earth Movement and changing the Google Doodle image appropriately. (Their emphasis.)

Its tough to gauge quite how serious individual Flat Earth believers are about the movement (this post, for example, is not serious). The Twitter account @FlatEarthToday is one of the more active accounts and claims to represent the Flat Earth Society at theflatearthsociety.org. Another account, @FlatEarthOrg, also claims to be the Flat Earth Society, located at tfes.org. Their account only consists of tweets to YouTube videos from conspiracy theorists, and retweets that clearly vary in seriousness, but their site contains a well-maintained explanatory wiki. The line between actually believing the theory and enthusiastically entertaining is unclear.

Being a Flat Earther exists in the same online space as chemtrails and the notion that 9/11 was an inside job: There are some who believe it sincerely, and magnitudes more who entertain the notion ironically. Conspiracy theories are very funny once you lean into them! Imagine finding out that a basic assumption about your life is completely wrong. Its liberating, in a way. If nothing else, it gives you something to talk about.
In the hours since North Korea announced it had detonated a hydrogen bomb at its nuclear test site, the small nation has become the subject of fierce condemnation from the U.S., the U.N., Russia, and China. But one world power has been more measured in its cricisim: Google Maps reviewers.

At least two years ago, some wise guy added a North Korean nuclear test facility to Google Maps. The facility currently has 74 reviews, averaging 3.2 stars out of 5. The middling three-star review, however, is actually the least represented. Five-star reviews are the most represented, followed by two-star reviews.

As one user writes:

 As far as nuclear test sights go, its not that bad, however the propaganda pictures can be a bit much. They are everywhere! Also my wife and I found a listening device in our room..crazy.. It also needs to be a little more closer to attractionsthis thing is in the middle of nowhere

Another one was more  radiant about the facility:

 I cant rate anything besides 5 stars! It was truly the highlight of my Asian holiday experience. The staff there had a sort of glowing persona about them. Their mere presence made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you want to learn about East Asian culture, travel to North Korea. They taught me that there are truly 50 different shades of grey. If youre looking for a remote exrierience, this facility is for you. Even the loudest of noises doesnt seem to bother anyone. Dont worry about being exposed to the element., The North Korean countryside seems to have a natural heat that keeps you warm at night. Overall, I have no complaints about my explosive North Korean adventure!

This guy had the opposite experience, though:

 While we were there, I decided to get a haircut at the spa. Not sure how the barber was trained, but the sides of my head are now bald and the hair in top is all kinda piled up.

Better get to work, Kim! Those online reviews can make or break hardworking upstart local businesses like yours.
Strong Christmas sales ease pressure on Majestic's Gormley

Majestic Wine plc has posted strong sales growth for the ten-week Christmas trading period.

The figures follow on from disappointing half-year results announced in November, which saw profits drop by 50% to 4.3 million for the 26 weeks to September 28.

When the acquisition of Naked Wines is excluded, together with fluctuating exchange rates and other variables, the groups sales rose 12.2% for the ten weeks from October 27, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

Sales in Majestics retail arm grew 7.3% over the period, compared to a fall of 1.7% the previous year.

Like for like sales in mature Majestic stores had been in decline since 2011.

The results are an affirmation of new chief executive Rowan Gormleys three-year turnaround strategy for the group.

Gormley has abandoned the companys distinctive six-bottle minimum sales policy and scaled back its previous plans to expand its number of stores by 50%.

Majestic currently has 211 stores, a number it now plans to grow to 230  as opposed to the 330 targeted by previous chief executive Steve Lewis.

Naked Wines, which the group acquired in April for 70 million, recorded growth of 28.9% over the Christmas period, reflecting both the strength of the underlying business model and the groups renewed investment in its online platforms.

Majestics commercial arm grew 10.2%, while Lay & Wheeler fell back 3.5%.

Gormley said: This is an encouraging result. However there is still much to do. We are only three months into our three-year plan and although this performance is pleasing, it is too early to call it a trend.

I take my hat off to the 1,000+ people we have, from Aberdeen to Sydney, who worked flat out during the festive season and deserve a large glass of wine.

The teams have embraced our changes and worked exceptionally hard to deliver a better experience for our customers.

Hannah Maundrell, editor-in-chief at www.money.co.uk, said: Majestic recognised the need to move away from its wholesale-style business model before it was too late.

By making its customer experience more 'lifestyle' with better-looking stores, wine tasting and the ability to buy bottles in any quantities, it has managed to widen its appeal.

But Majestic Wine can't rest easy. It needs to continue working hard to stand up against Aldi and Lidl's ever-popular cheap-wine offerings.

Related articles:
Sadly I really doubt Steven will get a new trial barring new evidence. But I really, really hope Brandon does

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I think even if they found new evidence, he'd probably mysteriously turn up dead in prison.

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Yeah as heartbreaking as it sounds I really believe Steven will die in prison :(

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I just... ugh... honestly the idea of Brendan really, actually, for-real spending the rest of his life in prison... like... I could cry. I could literally cry. It always resonated with me how in the doc, Strang said that he had to just try not to think about it. Because like, if you think about it too much, it's just too horrible.



I still know some people that (somehow) still think Steven did it. But I dont know anyone that thinks Brendan was involved at all. It's so damn tragic. :( :( :(

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Omg I marathoned the first 5 episodes of this last night and its sf insane, I still can't even believe what I'm seeing

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It really is addicting and frustrating at the same time.

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I seriously want to punch all those cops/ prosecutors in the face. Pls don't spoil it for me but I really hope they all went to prison in the end

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I marathoned the entire 10 yesterday. I couldn't stop.



...and now I'm outraged.

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The same rifle he was then trying to sell. Shadyyyyy

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my group of friends is obsessed with this case right now and our friend is coming over tonight to give us his presentation on why he thinks it was scott lol.

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omg

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you have to come back and tell us how it went, please.

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lmao i love this

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FILL US IN TBH

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I'm only 4 in, who is Scott?



the brother who let police search the land?

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It WAS Scott & Bobby though, I am 100% convinced. Like. No one could convince me otherwise.

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The most popular theory I heard is that it was Scott and Bobby. I can believe it. The two weren't investigated, had only each other as alibis, were on the property when she was there, etc. It's so maddening that the authorities didn't even glance at those two and just honed in on Steven right away.

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i watched the first 10 minutes of the first episode or so and i was all wtf. then i passed out. exhausted from work.

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Can the president at least open an inquiry into the case though? In England we're always opening inquiries into stuff and the role the FBI played in this seems shady surely that's something that could be looked at?

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The whole point of the system is that the president can't just walk into any forum and do whatever he wants. If you're liberal-leaning, expecting the president to get involved in state matters is one of the last things you want. Maintaining states' rights is one of the main defining characteristics of the Democratic party.

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I thought republicans were the ones obsessed with states rights and "small" government.

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ahhh :/

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Oh hell no that is not true. Speaking as an attorney that practices civil rights law, states rights is totally a Republican and Conservative mindset. Liberals believe in states rights but as a very narrow interpretation of the 11th amendment. Conservative have an extremely broad view of the 11th amendment. Thanks.

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i don't know that i believe he didn't do it but i feel bad for his nephew.

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His connection with it all is fishy (I'm currently on episode 5), but at this point with all of the evidence of the county being corrupt I don't feel he should be locked up for it

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You can't see what's wrong with a man being framed for murder?

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He was framed once for a crime by this county and as soon as they got the chance they blamed a second crime on him because he was suing them for their fuck up

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I meanit's only the first episode. And you gradually fill with rage as the documentary goes on. And I think people should care because it could happen to them or a loved one. Law enforcement does it all the time.

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i watched the first two and was bored. i gave up and started reading halfway through ep 2.

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I was very much "this is so messed up" but generally was not enraged. UNTIL they got to the nephew. THEN I got so damn angry.

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Seriously? He was wrongly imprisoned for 18 years of his life, got out, was probably about a win millions and millions of dollars in a lawsuit when he magically gets convicted of murder even though the investigation was shady as fuck and it's likely that much of the evidence was planted.

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lmao hope this shit never happens to you then wtf is wrong with you

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Keep watching, shit gets insane

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If you're not hooked by the first episode I guess just let it go.



I was fucked, I swear there were times when I needed to go out for a smoke in between episodes.

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It really depends on how much sympathy you can muster up for someone who kills animals and molests teenagers. Yeah, it sucks that his upbringing and natural lack of intellect basically set him up for failure, but I'm not upset that a violent drunk driver/petty thief/child molester/animal torturer is in prison.

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I found the first ep kind of boring ngl. It wasn't until the end of the ep when they showed a preview for the next ep when they said something about missing Teresa and her car and having him in custody that I was like oh shit and got into it.

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I fell asleep through the first episode. BUT I watched all of it the next day, and I am now in with the everyone else, that it is worth watching through.

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I don't think it'll happen tbh. Honestly above all else, Brendan really needs to be freed. Of all the cases I'm following rn, I realistically could see Adnan Syed being released after all of the evidence from Undisclosed. Especially the autopsy findings and Brady violations. Idk about Avery and Dassey tho. It's so fucked up.



This kind of ties into this but a few months ago did anyone read that piece in the NYT that PoC (understandably) rolled their eyes at about heroin hitting white, middle-class families now? And that ~now~ the system needs to change bc now white people see it? That might be the only silver lining to Making A Murderer. That white people can see that it can happen to them. That unless you're wealthy, the system could fuck you up too. I think Kid Fury tweeted that same hope so I take it I'm not the only one

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OMG I was so freaking addicted to Serial. Is there more information for that case out there?

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I just answered my own question, I will be obsessively listening to Undisclosed now!

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what kind of new evidence is there? i tried listening to some of undisclosed and couldn't get into it

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Endless. Everything from Urick's corruption, calls/pings were wrong, stuff from AT&T, LensCrafters, Don's timecards were likely faked, lividity evidence, Brady violations. But the autopsy stuff is the most compelling. And just the failure of Gutierrez talking to witnesses. There's a reason why there's so many episodes.



He has also Barry Scheck as a lawyer which is a pretty huge deal.

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When I was a kid, junkies were the worst, Doug Griffin, 63, Courtneys father, recalled in their comfortable home here in southeastern New Hampshire. I used to have an office in New York City. I saw them.



Noting that junkies is a word he would never use now, he said that these days, theyre working right next to you and you dont even know it. Theyre in my daughters bedroom  they are my daughter.



When the nations long-running war against drugs was defined by the crack epidemic and based in poor, predominantly black urban areas, the public response was defined by zero tolerance and stiff prison sentences. But todays heroin crisis is different. While heroin use has climbed among all demographic groups, it has skyrocketed among whites; nearly 90 percent of those who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white.





the link if anyone else is interested

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/heroin-war-on-drugs-parents.html yeah I did see that article and while I empathized, it made me so angry:the link if anyone else is interested

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I don't know who did it but I know that the police did a lot of illegal shit during the investigation and trial and for that alone both of them should have walked.

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This is exactly how I feel about it. And if/when Steven gets out he needs to move far FAR away

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MTE. that moment it's like.......okay so some obviously shady shit was going down

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that was BANANAS

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i legit lost my shit when i watched that part

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Not only that, but when the DNA specialist submits inconclusive tests as conclusive...like what the fuck?

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I got goosebump rage during that scene. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS A THING.

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Pretty much the overarching lesson

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what the fuck was this response? :[

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"obama can't help but look at all the awesome stuff he's done"

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president can't pardon state crimes so wtf else was he supposed to say

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the fact that someone even made this a petition is embarrassing like do your homework and petition the governor of his state dumbasses.

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I'm convinced Steven is guilty, having read up on him on the internet and can't believe anyone would want him pardoned. I know that the criminal justice system is corrupt and that people give false confessions all the time, but in this case I don't think justice failed.

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Did you actually watch Making a Murderer though? The county continuously does illegal things to ensure they can keep him in prison

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What have you read up on? Wondering what's out there besides what reddit "uncovered"

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His criminal history probably. He tortured animals and was arrested for a bunch of crazy stuff.

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ok kratz, get off the internet

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he shouldn't have been convicted though, that trial/investigation was a massive shit show. do you think brandon is guilty too? why do you think steven is guilty? i'm curious.

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but that's not the point of the criminal justice system. the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that steven committed the crime. regardless of how you feel about steven's involvement, there still should have been no way that he should have been convicted given all the inconsistencies in the prosecution's stories and problems in the investigation.

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steven avery is certainly not a good person, but the case the prosecution presented didn't prove that he did it.

u can't lock ppl up because they MIGHT do something

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our justice system exists to protect the innocent NOT to convict the guilty. even if he did do it, the way the trial was processed was unfair and extremely biased.

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steven can be guilty AND the trial could've been a corrupt disgrace - it doesn't have to be exclusive





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OK i'm not gonna force my opinion on you but why would he do it? They basically stole 18 years of his life and all he wants to do is fuck it up somehow? doesn't make any sense.



Edited at 2016-01-07 09:53 pm (UTC)

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What was his motive tho?

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There wasn't enough prove that he killed her, it is innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. He should have never been charged unless they had enough evidence to prove without a doubt he was guilty.

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it failed in this case because there was so much reasonable doubt.

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What exactly did you read? His animal abuse (killing a cat) was documented in the series and he already served time for that. He threatened a lady with a shotgun which was also in the first episode of the series.



I've been seeing A LOT of weird accusations of his character like the child molestation one with no sources at all. There's also one about how he creeped out Theresa which was sourced back to a quote from Kratz himself.



I feel like everyone's racing to to "uncover" things the documentary didn't disclose to show its bias. Of course there had to be some bias but the Avery's were a disliked family in their town, they were the white trash of a hick town. I didn't see them as likeable people or particularly good people but definitely not evil.

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Lemme guess, because he killed a cat once?

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Huh. I always just assumed the president can pardon whoever the fuck they want. The more you know!

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i wonder how manitowac is reacting to being exposed so badly. regardless of steven's guilt, its easy to surmise evidence was planted and the investigation was handled terribly and all the goddamn press conferences the prosecution had were ridiculous.



my understanding is if steven had successfully sued manitowac, the money would have came from the cops, sheriffs etc themselves? bc a frame job wouldn't be worth all this hooplah to me if i were the sheriff, but i guess they never planned on netflix happening.



plus the potential of having a depraved rapist and murderer on the loose while 2 innocent men rot in prison is just baffling to me. id rather be poor with a clean conscience.



if steven is truly guilty, i just hope there's one decent person in manitowac who has a high position in law enforcement who can reopen the case & start at the beginning, bc only 1 sus intensely investigated with all those shady ass dudes involved is crazy. not to mention the 8 day search with those shady ass cops.

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The ex boyfriend alone seems sketchy af

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i thought so too, but i dont think he killed her, i think it was scott & bobby. if the investigation was handled properly and they were interrogated, i bet you their weak ass alibi would have been torn to shreds and bobby would have confessed to it.



but it wouldn't surprise me if the ex bf was harassing/stalking her and left threatening voice mails, maybe he got jealous of the other male roommate idk. then when teresa went missing he could've went to her brother to ask him to get into her shit and delete them so he wouldn't be a suspect.

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there was a lot of crazy shit in this doc but one of the absolute craziest things to me was the sheriff (i think?) saying that if they wanted to get rid of steven avery they would've killed him, not framed him for murder!

LIKE

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Apparently a lot of people who were there for the entirety of the trial (journalists, court employees) think Avery's guilty. Some of it is surely small town insanity, but there really is a fair amount of evidence (not included in the doc) that point toward Avery.

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at my work, we have a big customer from manitowoc, wi. I was like ooooo when I realized because that name mean something completely different to me now.

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Every time I finish an episode I wonder (how do they still have enough shit for x number of hours?!) and then the next episode starts and I see there's so much more left.



I had to stop for a few days when I got midway through episode 4 purely because what happened to Brendan was eating at me. I'm finally getting back through it because I want to finish it and know completely how fucked the whole thing is.

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I already knew the President can't pardon people involved in state cases, but it's still good that people are bringing this case into national and even international attention. Steven's chances for a new trial are incredibly low unless somehow there's new DNA evidence found or they can somehow prove his case was mishandled. I think Brendan stands a better chance of a new trial because it was so obvious that his confession was coerced and he was not aware of any of his rights due to his incompetent, uncaring lawyer.

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i think that lawyer is who mad me the most angry. what an absolute bastard, jesus christ. he could've protected Brenden if he wanted.

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Brendan would have had a completely different outcome if his lawyer had actually done his job. I can't believe that he wasn't allowed a new trial even after evidence clearly showed his lawyer abandoned him.

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That man is scum, he clearly didn't want to go all out for a boy he thought committed murder. He was too worried about preparing for the next judge race. How the fuck was he never disciplined?

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ugh brendan's attorney was the worst. he should be fucking disbarred.

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Unfortunately Brendan's appeals have been denied by every state court in Wisconsin, so he will need new DNA evidence too. He has a federal appeal pending but federal courts can only reverse the state court decisions in very limited circumstances.

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I was livid when those two detectives interrogated Brendan for the second time... without his lawyer present... let alone that the lawyer himself called the meeting. What a scumbag. I hope he loses his job after this.

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Daniel Yergin and other experts say that U.S. tight oil is the swing oil producer of the world.

They are wrong. It is preposterous to say that the worlds largest oil importer is also its swing producer.

There are two types of oil producers in the world: those who have the will and the means to affect market prices, and those who react to them. In other words, the swing producer and everyone else.

A swing producer must meet the following criteria:

 A swing producer must be a net exporter of oil.

 A swing producer must have enough daily production, spare capacity and reserves to influence market prices by balancing supply and demand through increasing or decreasing output.

 A swing producer must be able to act authoritatively and quickly to increase or decrease output.

 In the real world, a swing producer is a euphemism for a cartel. No single producer has enough oil leverage to balance the market and influence prices by itself. That includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States, the top 3 producers in the world. Obviously, it also includes U.S. tight oil.

 A swing producer must have low production costs and have the financial reserves to withstand reduced cash flow when restricting or increasing supply is necessary to balance the market.

So, lets go down the list for OPEC and U.S. tight oil. Related: 10 Key Energy Trends To Watch For In 2016

OPECs net exports for 2014 were 23 million barrels per day (mmbpd) (Figure 1). U.S. net exports were -7 mmbpd. In other words, the U.S. is a net importer of crude oil. A net importer of oil cannot be a swing producer.

Figure 1. OPEC and U.S. 2014 net crude oil exports.

Source: OPEC & Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc.

(Click image to enlarge)

This will not be substantially changed by the repeal of the crude oil export ban because U.S. consumption of crude oil (16.3mmbpd) exceeds domestic production (9.2 mmbpd) by 7.1 mmbpd. If exports of tight oil increase, imports will have to increase by an equal amount to meet demand.

That should be enough to end the discussion about whether U.S. tight oil is a swing producer but I will finish going through the list. Related: Oil Prices Continue To Slide As Gasoline Inventories Build

OPEC exists because none of its members alone meet the criteria needed to balance the market and affect prices. OPEC produces 31.4 mmbpd of the crude oil + condensate (47 percent of world production). It has approximately 1.5 million barrels per day (mmbpd) of spare capacity, and it has 72 percent (1220 billion barrels of oil) of the worlds proven reserves (Figure 2). The members of the cartel represent countries whose leaders have the authority to cut or increase oil production at will. Saudi Arabia alone has about $660 billion in cash reserves. Its production costs are less than $10 per barrel.

Figure 2. Comparison of OPEC and U.S. tight oil production, spare capacity and reserves.

Source: EIA, Drilling Info & Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc.

(Click image to enlarge)

U.S. tight oil accounts for less than 5 percent of the worlds production of crude oil + condensate (3.7 mmbpd). It has approximately 0.23 mmbpd of spare capacity and less than 1 percent of the worlds proven reserves (13 billion barrels of oil). U.S. tight oil producers do not and cannot act together. Tight oil producers spend twice as much money as they make, and have up to 5 times more debt than annual revenue. Its production costs are $65-$70 per barrel.

U.S. tight oil is on life-support at $35 per barrel oil prices.

OPEC is a swing producer. U.S. tight oil is not. Related: BPs CEO Finally Sees Oil Prices Bottoming Out

Truth vs. Confirmation Bias

In April 2015, Yergin told CNBC, What does it mean when you say the U.S. is the new swing producer? Its much easier to swing down than swing up.

What he meant was that over-production of U.S. tight oil helped cause the global price of oil to collapse in 2014, to swing down. It had nothing to do with really being the swing producer.

That was a few days before CERA Week, the pricey annual love-fest that Yergins company IHS throws in Houston for the oil and gas industry to feel good about itself. It was a clever-sounding trailer to publicize the $7,000-per-ticket event.

Later, in June 2015, Yergin told the Wall Street Journal that now the U.S. is a swing producer, albeit an inadvertent swing producer as it didnt set out to take that role.

A swing producer cannot be inadvertent. A swing producer deliberately increases or decreases its production to balance the market, whether for short-term price advantage, or for demand stimulation and long-term price advantage and market-share.

Either Yergin doesnt understand what a swing producer is or his swing-producer comments were manipulative and meant to support some agenda.

Many Americans want to believe that the U.S. is nearly energy independent and a major geopolitical force in the world because of oil and gas production from shale. They would like to stick Americas thumb in OPECs eye.

Yergin said the U.S. was the new swing producer. What was heard was that America had made OPEC impotent. It was repeated enough by the press and other supposed experts that its truth was confirmed because people want to believe iteven though it is untrue.

Confirmation bias is the tendency to find support for our preconceptions. It may make us feel good but it is a poor basis for decisions. Investors beware.

By Art Berman for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Venezuelas socialist President Nicolas Madur says the new majority in the National Assembly plans to privatize the countrys most lucrative industries, the state-run oil and telecommunications sectors.

Members of Democratic Action, which had made up an opposition party for 17 years under the late President Hugo Chavez and Maduro, his successor, were sworn in Tuesday as the countrys new legislative majority.

Democratic Action had won a two-thirds majority in last months elections, giving it super-majority status in their challenge to change Maduros approach to government. But at the last moment, the countrys Supreme Court refused to allow four of them to take their seats because of accusations of electoral fraud, and only 163 of the 167 took oaths of office. The two-thirds majority status is now in limbo.

Still, Maduro is leery of the plans of the new majority party, which he says is planning to destabilize the country with a threat to privatize the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela and the state television channel CANTV. On Monday he announced plans to take steps that he said would avert an economic emergency. Related: BPs CEO Finally Sees Oil Prices Bottoming Out

Im evaluating the strengthening of a strategic plan, Maduro said in an address to the nation. We are going to activate an emergency plan and reconstruct our economy.

The president gave the speech after holding a meeting at Miraflores Palace, the countrys executive mansion, with senior officials of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, known by its Spanish initials PSUV, to discuss how to cope with a newly hostile National Assembly.

During that meeting he praised fellow PSUV member Hector Rodriguez, a lawmaker from the state of Bolivar, for creating a legislative bloc opposing Democratic Action and for criticizing the new majority party for choosing Henry Ramos Allup, its secretary-general, as the new president of the National Assembly. Related: 10 Key Energy Trends To Watch For In 2016

The PSUV views Ramos Allup as a relic of the countrys old guard, when Democratic Action controlled not only the National Assembly but also the presidency during the 1980s, a time when capitalism ruled in Venezuela to the point where private companies were in charge of public services. Official corruption also was rampant at the time.

It was this corruption and economic imbalance that eventually led to the election of Chavez in 1998.

In an interview with Venezuelas Globovision network, Ramos Allup said the National Assembly intends to work cooperatively with Maduros administration, though he conceded that legislators are empowered under Venezuelas constitution to oust Maduro before the next presidential election, scheduled for 2019. Related: Oil Prices Continue To Slide As Gasoline Inventories Build

In fact, he said, the National Assembly may consider mounting a nationwide referendum on an amendment to the constitution that would shorten a presidents term in office, a move that also would be allowed by the constitution.

If the president wants to resign, thats [also] a mechanism, Ramos Allup said. Its the governments decision, and I think President Maduro should be thinking of that possibility.  If its an avenue that helps solve the political crisis, why discard it?

But Ramos Allup made no reference to plans by Democratic Action to privatize the countrys oil and telecommunications industries.

By Andy Tully of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Confirmed this week  2015 was a record year for natural resource investment. With data from private equity analysts Preqin showing that resource funds raised $63 billion during the past year.

And this week we got news about two more big sources of funding for mining and energy projects.

The government of Oman led things off  announcing plans for a new fund to invest in the mining industry.

Oman sovereign wealth vehicle, its State General Reserve Fund will cooperate with other state funds and private investors to create the new fund, officials reported. With the venture to be called Mining Development Oman, having total capital of $260 million  making it a sizeable venture. Related: Petro Currencies Under Fire As Oil Keeps Sliding

Officials said the fund will look to take partial stakes in mining projects. And that it will consider investments on a local, regional, and international scale  suggesting we could see this strategic investor popping up worldwide.

And that wasnt the weeks only good news for resource developers. With China also announcing the start-up of a major new fund  this one aimed at energy and infrastructure investments.

Government agency China Insurance Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that 27 insurance companies across China, along with 15 asset management firms, have combined investments to create the new fund  known as China Insurance Investment Ltd. Related: Saudi Arabia Throws Down The Gauntlet, But To Whom?

The fund has big capital  having reportedly raised $6 billion as part of its launch. And its already starting to deploy this cash, taking a stake in Russias Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

No details were given on how much the fund is contributing to Yamal or what share of the project it will receive  but the deal shows that the new vehicle is moving fast in making investments.

The fund was said to be focusing specifically on overseas assets, with regulators noting it will also help finance port projects in Sri Lanka, Turkey and Djibouti. Regulators also said the fund might take stakes in clean energy projects.

All of which is worth noting for resource developers in a variety of sectors worldwide. Theres always money somewhere  for the right projects.

Heres to following the cash

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Saudi Arabias Sudeiri-line leadership of the House of Saud began 2016 with a major push to save its position and control of the Kingdom. It was also a bid to solidify regional power as the Kingdom moved well beyond the shadow of the major power relationships which had dominated its existence since the creation of the State in 1932.

Saudi Arabias execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, 56, on January 2, 2016, along with 46 other political dissidents also sparked a divide between Iran on the one hand and Saudi Arabia and several of its allies on the other.1 It was a salvo in a geopolitical war, which is far more deeply-constructed than the seemingly intra-Muslim sectarian war, which is often characterized by symbolic actions and rallying calls.

That is not to say that there was no religious element  even motivation  to the actions. There clearly was a significant religious aspect, but the actions of the Saudi leaders stemmed mostly from an attempt to preserve their position at the head of the geopolitical entity of the Kingdom as well as through their claim to religious leadership from the position which they seized in 1932 as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

This was a crisis which had been brewing for some months, and the execution merely served  and deliberately so on Riyadhs part  as a catalyst for more visible divisions. GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Yossef Bodansky said that the execution potentially cast Sheikh Nimr in that catalytic position as the Archduke Ferdinand of the Middle East. As Bodansky also reported on May 18, 2009: The fiery Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr (40+) of Awwamiyah is reported to be the spiritual guide of the new Republic [of Eastern Arabia] which was declared in the Shia areas of Saudi Arabia, reason enough for the Kingdom to want his head: he had called for the break-up of the Kingdom.2 Sheikh Nimr was not the unimportant cleric many Western media reports claimed.

But, by the beginning of 2016, the Saudi leadership needed to galvanize support for its leadership, even its legitimacy, both within the Kingdom and abroad. Concerns over internal social and political fracturing may, arguably, have been more important than winning additional support from other Sunni states for Riyadhs primacy in wars against Yemen and Syria.

The ramifications of the symbolism of the executions  which immediately appeared profound within the region  seemed likely to be even more significant than the reactive outcry indicated.

Of significance is that the event once again, as a byproduct, damaged U.S.-Saudi Arabian ties, or served to show that Riyadh had moved beyond the influence of Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had, immediately after the anti-Saudi riots which destroyed Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, telephoned Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to discuss the issue. He then telephoned his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, only to be told that the Saudis did not wish to speak to him. This was the worst snub to the U.S. by Saudi Arabia since the late King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz al Saud cut short U.S. Pres. Barack Obamas State visit to the Kingdom on March 28, 2014.

Thus, the growing rift between the Saudi bloc and Iran now appears to be beyond the scope of the U.S. to influence. This begs the question as to how the Saudi-Iran confrontation may now progress, and who might benefit or suffer from it. It was immediately clear that the event threw into chaos negotiations for a peaceful end to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Continuation of that conflict threatens to exacerbate the Saudi budget crisis, which has already led senior Saudi princes to challenge the wisdom of the current leadership. Related: What Comes After The Commodities Bust?

This may cost Saudi Arabia dearly, particularly if the U.S. position as a Saudi ally is simultaneously thrown into doubt. What now seems significant is that the only major power capable of taking advantage of the situation  given the overall spread of conflict from Syria to Yemen, and even across the Red Sea  is Turkey. The U.S. and European Union (EU) have no influence; Russia is perceived as being in support of Iran; and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is attempting to take no side in the rift.

It also begs the question as to what provoked the Kingdom into the mass executions of dissidents as the unified symbolic message, which it was.

Part of it lay in the fact that the Saudi leaders had come under increasing pressure from domestic and regional hard-line Wahhabists to demonstrate their credentials and legitimacy. This included pressure from Islamic State (DIISH) supporters as well as domestic radicals and even mainline members of the Royal Family who had become disillusioned with the rash destruction of the Saudi economy by escalating spending on foreign wars.

It is significant that, of the 47 dissidents executed on January 2, 2016, three were indeed Saudi Shias, but about a third were al-Qaida-linked Saudis, the majority were Sunni.

In the meantime, although the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis, it was clear that the GCC itself was not in harmony, and nor could it represent a balanced view of the situation. Iran, for example, is not represented in the GCC. But within the GCC there is strong antagonism between Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman because the Saudis felt that Oman had acquiesced to Iranian delivery of weapons and combatants to Yemen, overflying Omani airspace to skirt Saudi Arabia and possible U.S. Navy interdiction. Those flights  by Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76MD and Boeing 747 transports  had transported major weapons systems, such as the Iskander-E (NATO codename SS-26) battlefield ballistic missile, and HizbAllah combatants to the Zaidi Shia Houthi forces fighting the Saudi coalition.

Oman had, in November 2015 (and later), played a role in bringing the Houthis into the Geneva Peace Talks on Yemen. Talks between the Yemeni Government of Pres. Abd al-Rab Mansour al-Hadi and the Houthis began in Geneva, under United Nations auspices, and on December 15, 2015, both sides called for an immediate ceasefire for seven days. [A previous ceasefire, in June 2015, collapsed before the parties met.] Breaches of the ceasefire began almost immediately, and the talks again broke down and ended by December 20, 2015. Related: Peak Oil Production Is Still Years Away

Significantly, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen had been addressing more than merely the Zaidi Houthis; various Sunni al-Qaida groups were also been in conflict with the coalition. On January 1, 2016, pro-Hadi Government fighters killed al-Qaida judge Ali Abed al-Rab bin Talab (aka Abu Anwar) and three others in Abyan province of southern Yemen. Abu Anwar was the chief al-Qaida judge in neighboring Hadramaut Province, which also abuts the southern Omani border.

The Saudi coalition forces were making a major push in late December 2015 against Houthi forces in areas just outside the capital, Sanaa, and the coalition was pushing additional forces into the area. Qatar, at odds with Saudi Arabia on several key issues, was supportive of the Kingdom on this front. In September 2015, Qatar committed 1,000 troops, supported by 200 armored vehicles and 30 Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships, to support the Saudi operation. More Qatari forces were expected to follow to help the coalition take the Jawf Governorate of Yemen. Coalition casualties on the ground have been heavy, and several combat aircraft have been lost to surface-to-air missile fire and accidents: the Royal Moroccan Air Force lost one F-16 in May 2015, and the Bahraini Air Force lost an F-16 in Jazan region, near the Saudi-Yemen border due to a technical error in December 2015.

Broader Ramifications: The polarizing of what was portrayed as a Sunni-Shia rift  in reality a geostrategic rivalry  had a range of other attendant issues:

1. Domestic Security: The attempt by the Saudi leadership, acting in the name of King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz al Saud, but particularly galvanizing around his son, Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 30, to suppress the growing dissent over within the extended Royal Family over the conduct of national affairs and the growing decline in the economy and economic outlook. This known dissidence has reinforced other, non-Royal, dissidents, and all opposition was now being treated as terrorism.

2. Regional Fears: There is no doubt that there has been concern within the Government, as well as regionally, that the Russian intervention in the Syrian conflict has taken the initiative away from the collection of often mutually-opposing Sunni forces, and restored the initiative to the Government of Bashar al-Assad and, therefore, to his ally, Iran. Moreover, successful actions by the Shia-dominated Iraqi Government against Islamic State (DIISH) forces in recent months had also reduced the impetus of Sunni forces in Iraq, which could be influenced by Saudi Arabia, and given momentum to Iran. Iran, too, was gaining in strength by its ability to shape the conduct of the war in Yemen, by ensuring no quick victory for Saudi-led forces. This was compounded by the reality that Iran would only gain in economic and military strength (and regional influence) as the international sanctions against it were lessened as a result of the 2015 deal which Iran struck with the G5+1 team, led by the U.S., ostensibly to end Iranian nuclear weapons programs. Little wonder that the Saudi leadership viewed the U.S. as no friend.

3. Economic Pressures: Both Iran (freed from oil sanctions) and Saudi Arabia committed to increasing crude oil production in early 2016. Saudi Arabia was counting on the fact that falling international oil prices were helping to drive U.S. shale oil producers out of business. Although the U.S. shale production technologies have proven to have evolved more rapidly towards low-cost viability than expected, the decline in oil prices by more than 60 percent since June 2014 has driven the number of U.S. oil rigs from a peak of 1,609 rigs in October 2014 to a low of 524 on December 11, 2015.

Some Saudi analysts would argue that the gamble to continue strong oil production in the face of low prices was paying off. But the continued high budget deficits which the Saudi Government is incurring threaten to exhaust its $700-billion of financial reserves within five or so years. And Saudi Arabias oil and gas reserves have been estimated to last  at the current rates of depletion  for only another 18 or so years. Saudi Arabias policies, however, are a gamble that the low price of oil has been determined largely by the increased supplies made available by U.S. shale exploitation. This is not the case: current and anticipated global economic malaise has also limited demand. Moreover, a rise in global economic fortunes (and therefore energy demand) would also trigger a resumption of the rise in U.S. production, quite apart from the reality that a future U.S. administration would at some stage approve a widening of the exploitation of the larger U.S. oil and gas reserves which currently have been ruled out of bounds. But for the Saudi leadership the existential nature of short-term survival outweighs long-term considerations. Related: Oil Companies Shun South China Sea As Geopolitical Tensions Rise

4. Rash Actions: Saudi Arabias very real concerns that the Yemen war was dragging on far longer than it could realistically sustain has made it undertake rash actions, such as the steps, in concert with the United Arab Emirates, in 2015 to cut relations with Djibouti and bolster Eritrea and potentially Somaliland.5 The way in which this occurred de facto caused a threat to Ethiopia, which depends vitally on Djibouti for its exports. Despite Saudi Arabias feelings of distrust for the U.S. at present, the U.S. had, in fact, supported Saudi Arabia and the UAE over its rift with Djibouti, at potentially significant strategic cost to the United States ability to sustain power projection in the Red Sea. This, too, jeopardizes Ethiopias security, and the polarization of Saudi-Ethiopian feelings seems likely to impact on Saudi Arabias and the UAEs military support for Eritrea, reviving the belief by Pres. Isayas Afewerke in Asmara that he could (with help from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi) resume his proxy war against Ethiopia.

It was not insignificant that Ethiopia was jarred on January 2, 2015, to learn that the U.S. had unilaterally withdrawn from its use of the Ethiopian Air Base at Arba Minch, from where it had conducted UAV strike and reconnaissance operations against Somalias al-Shabaab and other jihadist rebel groups. The Ethiopian leadership had pinned all its strategic hopes on the protective umbrella of the U.S., but that was now being gradually eroded. Rash Saudi actions have continued elsewhere, and the least obvious of these, the construction of Wahhabist mosques around the world, may finally face opposition, not just in Western countries, but even in Pakistan and Ethiopia. But Saudi Arabias financial support for anti-Chinese jihadist groups, such as the East Turkistan Independence Movement has alienated PRC support for Saudi Arabia. Russia, by September 2015, had become the primary oil supplier to the PRC, a situation which seemed likely to continue. There is little doubt that, as U.S./Western strategies persist, and Saudi-Qatari-Turkish support for jihadism continues, Russia and the PRC have found growing identity of strategic interests.

5. Egypt and Others: Where does the Saudi direction leave Egypt? Saudi Arabia and the UAE were vital economic supporters of Egypt when popular dissent drove then-Pres. Mohammed Morsi from office in mid-2013. They remain the most critical investment partners of incumbent Pres. Abdul Fatah al-Sisi. As a result, Egypt has been compelled to support the Saudi-UAE drive into Yemen, and to remain silent on Saudi actions  in concert, often, with Qatar and Turkey  in Syria, even though Cairo has grave concerns about Saudi actions. The Egyptian Government has also remained notably quiet on issues such as the Saudi and UAE rift with Djibouti and Riyadhs and Abu Dhabis move to create military bases into (and provide military and economic support for) Eritrea. Saudi Arabias and the UAEs actions with regard to Yemen, Eritrea, and Djibouti profoundly affect Egypts most vital trade route: the Suez/Red Sea sea-line of communication (SLOC). But Saudi Arabias seemingly messianic war against Shiism in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and domestically within the Kingdom has made some of its historical allies, such as Pakistan (where some 20 percent of the population is Shia), nervous.

Not surprisingly, Pakistans National Assembly voted unanimously on April 10, 2015, to reject Saudi Arabias request to join the anti-Houthi military coalition, despite the extremely close ties which Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has had with the Kingdom. Even for Egypt, which has no Shia population of any significance, Saudi Arabias marriage with intra-Sunni rivals Turkey and Qatar causes concern. Clearly, Egypt is seeking cultural and strategic leadership within the Arabic-speaking world, but has not sought the kind of religious leadership of the Sunni community which has been sought by the Saudis, Qatar, and Turkey. As if to reinforce his secular credentials over the religious, Egyptian Pres. al-Sisi on December 26, 2015, met with Iraqi citizen Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who had been kidnapped and assaulted by DIISH fighters when they took control of Sinjar city in August 2014. The Yazidi religion of Sharfadin is pre-Islamic and linked to ancient Mesopotamian religions.

Unspoken in all media reporting is the position of Israel, which has significant, close intelligence ties with Saudi Arabia, but which is concerned over Turkish, Qatari, and Saudi (and U.S.) attempts to replace Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad. The latest Saudi moves seem likely to consolidate consultations between Egypt, Israel, and Jordan, in particular.

Bahrain, committed to the Saudi coalition in Yemen, and yet with a majority Shia population, immediately sided with Saudi Arabia in breaking diplomatic relations with Iran. This may have been an attempt to limit any Iranian Embassy-based inspiration of riots against the Government, but even so, Irans reach into the Bahraini community is clearly deep and discreet, and Bahrain could soon experience significant unrest. This would impact U.S. and British military deployments based in that Kingdom.

6. Syria and DIISH: The question remains as to whether the significant upsurge in internal security actions, which the January 2, 2016, executions symbolized, would detract from Saudi Arabias physical ability to fund and staff military, intelligence, and jihad-related activities against Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad and in tacit support of DIISH (Islamic State). Saudi Arabia cannot afford to absent itself from the leadership of the Sunni cause in Syria and Iraq, but neither can it afford the physical cost of a significant military contribution. Thus, the Syria/Iraq intervention would likely continue to be a function of the intelligence services, particularly the General Intelligence Presidency (Al Mukhabarat Al Aamah) and the military intelligence agencies.

In the short term, Saudi Arabia seems likely to continue to escalate its military activities in Yemen to attempt to force a settlement  and a public indication of victory  as quickly as possible. Irans function would be to defer, mitigate, or defeat this goal. Saudi Arabias next step, already underway, must be to mobilize to the maximum the radical and moderate Sunni Muslim support, galvanized around Wahhabism, to fight its geopolitical war against Iran as a religious war.

In such a war, assertions of moral and dialectical correctness are major weapons of legitimacy, but they are not the underlying cause of the conflict. But by launching a new dynamic, Saudi Arabia has helped further unleash proxy and follow-on (or competing non-governmental militancies) over which it has little or no control. It is true that the Saudi leadership has not thought about second- or third-order effects of its current, expedient actions. But it is also true that the factors actually beyond measurable calculation or control, such as the social motivations within the Muslim worlds various factions, may be the determinants of whether the situation could trigger an irreversible and major conflict, or the collapse of states.

Saudi Arabia could still be one of the major casualties of its own actions. And while the break-up of Yemen, once again, now seems like a foregone conclusion, the break-up of Saudi Arabia could occur with equal speed.

By Gregory Copley

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Heavy rains have brought historic floods to the St. Louis region on the eve of the New Year, causing the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to overflow.

The high water levels are traveling south, potentially bringing major flooding to Mississippi and Louisiana. That raises the question about the safety of the nuclear power plants located in the vicinity of the floods.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is closely watching the situation, but the nuclear watchdog said that it does not expect the floods to adversely affect any of the plants. In a January 5 update, the NRC ran through some of the specific reactors located in the flooding zone.



Related: Petro Currencies Under Fire As Oil Keeps Sliding

Nebraska has the Fort Calhoun and Cooper power plants, and the NRC says the Missouri River probably wont be high enough to force the plants to take protective measures. The same is true for the Callaway plant in Missouri.

The Mississippi River is expected to crest on January 15 in Mississippi, but the Grand Gulf Station in the state shouldnt be affected. Louisianas River Bend and Waterford Stations should also be in the clear. All three of these plants are operated by Entergy.



Related: These Two New Sources Of Financing Give Hope To The Energy Industry

After the Fukushima meltdown in Japan, the U.S. tightened safety requirements on nuclear power plants. Each plant is required to prove that it can withstand extreme flooding and shut down safely if it needs to. The plants have back up diesel generators to ensure no interruption of electric power to keep the plant cool occurs.

But the latest floods could be harbinger of greater risks in the future if flooding worsens with climate change. Nuclear power plants are intentionally cited near bodies of water, such as rivers or the ocean, because of large reactor cooling needs. In the past, power plants have been forced to shut down during severe storms, including reactors in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and in Florida during Hurricane Andrew in the early 1990s.



Related: Oil Touches $32 Handle As Panic Takes Hold Of Chinese Markets

Sea level rise will also present threats to a handful of plants located along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf Coast. The industry and the NRC are confident that the nations nuclear power plants can withstand severe storms and other flood risks. The nuclear industry is in the process of implementing a strategy its calls FLEX, which encompasses stationing vital emergency equipment, including generates and backup power, in multiple locations so that it can be deployed to plants in need during emergency events.

By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
It all depends on whom you believe.

Suncor Energy Inc. CEO Steve Williams says a majority of shareholders in Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. support his hostile bid to buy their company. His counterpart at Canadian Oil Sands, Ryan Kubik, says they dont.

The truth will come out Friday night, when Suncors bid for Canadian Oil Sands expires. Its been on the table for nearly 15 months. Suncor has offered 0.25 of one of its shares for each share in Canadian Oil Sands, and Williams said Tuesday that Canadian Oil Sands shares could lose up to 40 percent of their value, or a total of US$3.1 billion, unless the sale goes through.

Kubik says hes spoken with his companys investors, both retail and individual, and says theyre opposed to a takeover by Suncor. But in an interview Monday with Bloomberg, William said that weve been getting a very different message from shareholders  that Canadian Oil Sands shareholders do not support an independent Canadian Oil Sands.



Related: 10 Key Energy Trends To Watch For In 2016

As a result, Williams said, Suncor has no intention of increasing its offer to buy 67 percent of the shares in Canadian Oil Sands. Let me be clear and frank, Williams said in a conference call on Tuesday. We believe our offer is full and fair and we have no plans to increase the offer for Canadian Oil Sands.

Kubik told Bloomberg Canada TV that the managers and boards of both companies have not been in touch with each other since April about sweetening the offer, although he added that Canadian Oil Sands has discussed with others the possibility of maximizing value for his companys shareholders and concluded that the best option was for Canadian Oil Sands to remain independent.

The companys shareholders believe Suncors offer is substantially undervalued and they dont intend to tender their shares, Kubik said.



Related: Oil Prices Continue To Slide As Gasoline Inventories Build

Suncors ultimate goal is not so much to own Canadian Oil Sands but to raise its share in its bitumen mining joint venture with Syncrude Canada Ltd. from its current level of 12 percent to 49 percent, which would make it the largest of Syncrudes seven shareholders. The company that now holds that title is Canadian Oil Sands, which is struggling under the weight of depressed oil prices.

Since 2010 Syncrude has failed to achieve its output targets. And since crude oil prices began their plunge in the summer of 2014, the companys production levels fell to their lowest in 10 years. This has a similar negative effect on earnings by Canadian Oil Sands.

As a result, Williams said, Canadian Oil Sands investors need to accept Suncors offer. Let the facts speak for themselves, he said.



Related: BPs CEO Finally Sees Oil Prices Bottoming Out

One major investor in Canadian Oil Sands, though, is letting full-page advertisements in several Canadian newspapers speak on his behalf. Seymour Schulich, who owns about 5 percent of the company, urged fellow shareholders to reject Suncors offer, at least at its current price. In the ad he wrote, The fact is Suncor needs Canadian Oil Sands more than we need them.

In an interview Tuesday with CBC News, however, Schulich acknowledged that he wasnt certain that his strategy of resisting Suncors offer was guaranteed to succeed. I used to tell my clients when I was a money manager that if I could read the future I wouldnt have to do this for a living, he said. I have no idea [whether his plan might succeed].

But Schulich stressed, Ive had a lot of people talk to me who dont like the bid.

By Andy Tully of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The paintings of the King and Queen made by a British Army officer before they were taken to Vellore
The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

The worst job I ever had was the first job I had in journalism.

I worked at UPI, one of two wire services in the country. It was during the Vietnam War, and every week, UPI released a list of soldiers who had been killed. The list was broken down by state.

My job was the call the families of the Wisconsin victims to ask them how they felt and then to write kind of a roundup of the reactions of Wisconsin families. Twice things were so fouled up that I actually asked how a family felt before they were even told that their kid had been killed.

I vividly remember the sadness. I couldnt imagine the grief for these families that would stay with them all their lives. I wished there were some way to lessen the pain.

I am reminded of this by the news that each of the people who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days will receive compensation of $4.4 million  each of them, or their estates if they have died. The law, signed by President Barack Obama in his last huge spending measure, provides $10,000 for each day of confinement. In addition, their spouses and children are each going to receive a lump payment of about half a million dollars.

I really dont mean to be hard-hearted about this whole thing, but someone needs to explain this to me.

Im sure being a hostage for 444 days is no vacation. I imagine people were afraid and very worried about their futures. Im equally sure their families back home were bedeviled by concerns and their own fears.

The hostages have been making claims for years, and court after court  including the U.S. Supreme Court  has turned them down. But in typical congressional backdoor dealing, the payments were included in the gigantic budget bill.

How come we are paying these people because they were held hostage through no fault of their own or of the United States?

I mean we didnt do anything to make them become hostages. We spent hours and days and weeks and months trying to gain their release. There was even an armed rescue attempt at the embassy, and eight American servicemen were killed.

Wisconsin had one of the most prominent of all the hostages in Kevin Hermening, who was a 20-year-old Marine when he was captured. He now runs a financial planning group in Wausau.

He was our very own poster child, and we called him a hero. He most recently was paraded as a foreign policy advisor to Gov. Scott Walkers abbreviated campaign for president and has written and spoken about the Middle East.

In an opinion piece for the old Milwaukee Journal, he called for several things, including the two following points:

"The immediate and unequivocal deportation of every illegal alien and immigrant, with a focus on removing those of Middle East descent and especially those who reacted with glee at the horror of Sept. 11 (if you dont have permission to be here, get the hell out)." "The erection of security fences along the entire perimeter of the United States with electronic and human monitoring to prevent tampering and illegal entry."

We are giving this guy $4.4 million because he was captured and held hostage.

"We are getting this (compensation)," he said, "because we faced refusal to sue for damages."

I pushed him to get an answer to why his group was so special that they deserved these payments, and he dodged the question, time and again. He cited his letter in the newspaper as "something you should read." But he was totally unable or unwilling to explain why these payments ought to be made. He did send a copy of a letter he had written to his clients that tried to explain the payment procedures and told me that I could, "find the answer in the letter."

As close as I could come is this paragraph.

"Finally, there are those in our nation who feel slighted; certainly, the men who were held as POWs in Vietnam and Korea were never given their due. In the past decade, the men and women who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan were never properly welcomed home after performing heroically in our nation's most recent wars. For decades, I have advanced these causes so America remembers their service  and sacrifice. They deserved better, and this payment will permit me to raise awareness of their sacrifices."

Hermening did say that he would donate his payments to charities.

Former hostages are getting millions of dollars to compensate them for the time they spent in Iran. Each one gets about $4.4 million, but it seems like soldiers who gave their lives might also get some compensation.

The measure was introduced by Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, who released a statement from his office explaining why he thought this was a good idea.

"The Iran hostages sacrificed mightily for our country, and Im delighted that these brave men and women and their families are finally getting some semblance of justice and closure for what they went through," Isakson said.

The money to make these payments will come out of a $9 billion fine the French paid for violating American sanctions on Cuba, Iran and the Sudan.

Which brings me back to the families of the dead soldiers I had to call during the Vietnam War.

My guess is that those families were a lot sadder for a much longer time than the families of the hostages. After the 44 days, the hostages returned to their homes to cheers and hugs and parades.

Those soldiers who died didnt come home. Nobody had parades. Nobody interviewed them on television. There was just an empty place at the table for them.

Forever.

If we are going to compensate Americans who were held hostage for a year and their families, maybe we should just find a way to compensate the families who have an empty place in their hearts that will last much longer than 444 days.
According to "Agromafia," a report that aired Sunday on "60 Minutes," its likely that at least 75-80 percent of the extra virgin olive oil on grocery store shelves in the U.S. is fraudulent.

Shocking? Absolutely. But, exactly what does it mean?

According to the report, fraudulent extra virgin olive oil is oil thats either been diluted with other types of oil (usually sunflower or hazelnut oil) or even treated with chemicals or additives to make it smell and taste more like the real thing.

The fraud is nothing new. In fact, its been going on for centuries. But as the food business has expanded so have profits, and that means fraud is an even more lucrative business than it was in the past.

"Mafia copies of fine olive oil, wine and cheese have fueled an explosion of food crime in Italy," the "60 Minutes" report says. "It's estimated to be a $16 billion-a-year enterprise. The Italians call it 'Agromafia' ... and it's a scandal for a people whose cuisine is considered a national treasure."

Its also a scandal for food lovers in the U.S. who value the quality of the food theyre eating.

Know your oil

According to local olive oil expert Josh Saiia, owner of Milwaukee-based Oro di Oliva, there may be an upside to the issues raised by the "60 Minutes" report: the more people who know about this, the more people can be empowered to make good decisions.

Saiia admits that he was shocked himself by the statistics presented in the report, noting that one of the largest issues he finds with grocery store olive oil is that its often old oil thats been produced cheaply or held too long to maintain its quality.

"This isnt just mishandling; its deception," he says. "But its a big relief to know that theres no risk that someone might come into my store, buy a bottle, send it to a lab and find that it isnt what it is. And thats really cool."

But, how can he be so sure? Saiia says he avoids the potential for olive oil fraud by working with Delizia Brand Olive Oil Company, a California-based purveyor who works directly with private olive groves.

"The owners of Delizia started a thing where, at first, they were purchasing olive oil from people who presented good olive oil to them," says Saiia. "But today, theyve actually begun to work with olive growers who are producing oil to their specifications. Theyre commissioning growers to handle olives in a way that meets an ultra premium standard."

Ultra Premium means the olive oil meets standards higher than those created by the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) and the California Olive Council (COOC)  standards which include not only freshness and flavor, but also the level of polyphenols, the antioxidants in extra virgin olive oil that produce its health-giving benefits. Polyphenols also produce the slightly bitter tingling or coughing sensation in your mouth when you sip the oil.

And polyphenols are key in the olive oil business. Earlier harvest olives (unripe) typically contain more polyphenols than late harvest (ripe) olives. And the older an oil becomes  or the longer it sits in storage  the fewer polyphenols are present. Ultimately, the quality of the oil itself matters: the more an oil is refined, the fewer phenols it will contain.

"Weve done the research, trained with taste testers, and we trust our purveyor," says Saiia, who says that the real test for olive oil of any kind comes in simply tasting it. And he says you dont need special training to know when olive oil is bad. "Sometimes its easier to detect a bad olive oil than it is a good."

What does bad oil taste like?

Saiia says rancid or turning oil can take on flavors that resemble Crayola Crayons, Play-Doh, Silly Putty or oil-based paint. And even a subtle hint of any of those is a sign the oil is past its prime.

"It doesnt matter where you pick it  California, Italy, Australia, Spain ... if its handled properly, nature will do its work and youll have a beautiful olive oil. But if you adulterate it or let it get old, any olive oil will end up tired and rancid."

He also says that one of the biggest things to look for on an olive oil bottle isnt the expiration or "use by" date, its the harvest date. He says oil should be used within a year of the harvest date, noting that Northern Hemisphere harvests typically occur during our winter months, while Southern Hemisphere oils are harvested during our spring and summer.

Ultimately, Saiia says, the industry has to change. But that change comes directly through the action of consumers.

"The more awareness there is about what good olive oil is, the more it will drive change for the better in the industry," notes Saiia. "The fact is, we dont battle the mob here in the U.S.; we just battle awareness. So, its great for someone like 60 Minutes to raise that awareness."
MaryNell Regan, the recently appointed executive director of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, has set a goal in her new job: to promote "a happy and healthy community" where citizens are knowledgeable about how the commission works and can discuss public safety issues with commissioners.

"I recognize the important need for police and fire department members to have a voice, and for the community to have a voice, so my goal is to let that happen," Regan said. "I do want community members to know anyone can call any time," she added.

The commission has been repeatedly embroiled in controversies about police use of force, treatment of suspects and interactions with the citys minority population.

Regan, whose appointment was confirmed by the Common Council on Sept. 1, said her preferred approach is collaboration and education. She added that she wants to be "out and about" in the community to educate citizens about the role of the Fire and Police Commission and to establish links with community members.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who appointed her to the position, said Regan is already doing that. "Shes definitely reaching out into the community," Barrett said. "Shes giving the Fire and Police Commission a presence at community events. Shes going out and offering information," passing out material about the commission and answering questions, Barrett said.

Jennifer Hazard, a local activist, said she is "encouraged but cautious" about Regans potential impact on the commissions relationship with the community. She added that she would like to see the commission "be more representative of the citys population, including at least one member who works on a very grassroots level with the population most often targeted by police interaction." She also suggested that a youth representative serve on the commission. "We need people on the board who know the streets," Hazard added.

The seven-member Fire and Police Commission is responsible for all aspects of public safety operations in Milwaukee. Members set policy, hire and fire police and firefighters, and take disciplinary action when needed. The body was established in 1885 by state law to combat corruption at a time when, according to the commission website, the fire and police chief appointments were a form of political patronage controlled by the mayor.

David Crowley, a candidate for 7th District alderman and a board member of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he would eliminate the Fire and Police Commission in favor of a a Citizens Accountability Board. "Right now the people who are sitting on this commission are appointed by the mayor. If theyre appointed by the mayor and the police chief is appointed by the mayor wheres the accountability?"

Mary Watkins, an activist who has spoken before the commission, said she sees some positives in Regans performance so far. "She did review the citizens complaints from January to September, and she pledged to have a complete report ready to present to the board after the years end," Watkins said. Watkins also noted that the pace of disciplinary hearings for officers has accelerated, but she remains suspicious of Regans establishment ties. "Shes a former assistant city attorney.  It just seems like no matter what they do they always manage to pick an insider."

Regan went to high school in Oregon and received her law degree from Marquette University in 1994. She was in private practice before taking a job in the city attorneys office, where she worked for 16 years before moving into her new job. She cites her experience working with "four police chiefs and four fire chiefs before this position" as an advantage in her current role.

According to her former boss, Deputy City Attorney Miriam Horowitz, Regan is well equipped to assist the commission in human resource matters. "Shes a very effective communicator," Horowitz said. "Shes very experienced and knowledgeable in employment law," which of course is a big part of what the fire and police commission deals with.

"She has always been dedicated to the idea of diversity, equal opportunity and maintaining high standards for civil rights," Horowitz said. "Shes deeply committed to that."

Regan took the executive director position at a time when the Milwaukee homicide rate is climbing. The total stood at 152 as of Dec. 28 compared to 84 in 2014, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Homicide Tracker.

"I think people are very frustrated about the growing homicide rate, and they are frustrated," Regan said. "So my goal is to provide avenues for them to let off some steam and let their voices be heard." For Regan, an effective citizen complaint process is critical to maintaining trust between citizens and law enforcement. Regan pledged "to monitor complaint investigations to completion."

Shawn Moore, of Project Make a Change and the Safe Zones Initiative, doubts that Regans outreach efforts, however sincere, will translate into positive results for the minority community.

"Id love to see her honor her word about communication, but what will be the outcome? Will police training change? Will police be held responsible for their actions? I doubt it," Moore said.

Khalil Coleman, of Occupy the Hood and the Safe Zones Initiative, said hes been trying to get citizens more involved with the commission for several years. He echoed the concerns of Hazard and Crowley, and suggested adding an ad hoc citizens review committee to the mix, with representatives from each area of the city actively monitoring police activity and reporting back to the commission. So far the commission hasnt taken him up on the suggestion, he said.

Coleman also said there should be a mechanism for citizens to record their complaints immediately after an encounter with authorities, while the incident is still fresh in their minds.

"After someones had a bad experience with police, its not reasonable to expect them to jump through hoops to make a formal complaint by going right back to the police where the problem started in the first place," he said.

Still, Coleman said he appreciates Regans professed willingness to set up direct lines of communication with city residents. He said he just might give her a call.
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All attackers were local Kashmiris: Secretary general UJC

MUZAFFARABAD: An alliance of Kashmiri Mujahideen groups rejected on Wednesday reports that the attack on Pathankot airbase had been carried out by Jaish-i-Mohammad, a banned militant outfit blamed for the 2001 attack on Indian parliament.



Its just a false impression. In fact the attackers are a squad of mujahideen drawn from different member outfits in our alliance, said Shaikh Jameelur Rehman, secretary general of the United Jihad Council (UJC), the conglomerate that brings together over a dozen groups, struggling to overthrow Indian rule in Kashmir.



Jaish-i-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba enjoy observer status in UJC.



All attackers are local Kashmiris, based in India-held Jammu and Kashmir. And they have been facilitated by local Hindu, Sikh and Muslim officers, Mr Rehman said.



He said that since the attackers were stationed in areas along the national highway in India, they were referred to as `National Highway Squad.



Mr Rehman said the attack on the airbase was in line with what he called the code of conduct of Kashmiri fighters.



We have not hit any civilian but a military installation. Indian troops are killing us and wherever we find any of them we will hit and kill him, he said.



Mr Rehman said that since the peace process between India and Pakistan did not protect the Kashmiris from massacres they (Kashmiris) were not bothered about it.



When our lives, honour and properties are not safe and when our genocide continues with impunity...why should we bother about the peace process? he said.



When this correspondent contacted Mufti Asghar Kashmiri, in-charge of Jaish-i-Mohammad in Jammu and Kashmir, for his comment, he said: Those who have carried it out have also claimed the responsibility for thatThats all.
Bangladesh diplomat expelled from Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has asked Bangladesh to withdraw one of its diplomats from Islamabad, Dhaka said Wednesday, in an apparent retaliation after the expulsion of a Pakistani envoy who allegedly funded a suspected extremist on trial for espionage.



Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said Islamabad had on Tuesday asked Dhaka to recall senior diplomat Moushumi Rahman from its high commission in Islamabad within 48 hours.



The political counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad has been given till Thursday to leave the country, Haque told AFP.



The Bangladesh foreign secretary did not offer any reason for Pakistan's decision to expel Moushumi Rahman. Diplomatic sources in Islamabad told Dawn.com that Rahman indulged in 'anti-state activities in Pakistan' and that concerned security agencies continued to monitor her.



This is the first time that Pakistan has expelled a Bangladeshi diplomat.



On December 23, Islamabad had recalled one of its diplomats  Farina Arshad  from Bangladesh at Dhaka's request, after she was alleged to have financed a suspected extremist accused of spying for Pakistan.



A formal statement from Islamabad dismissed the charges as baseless, adding: an incessant and orchestrated media campaign was launched against her on spurious charges.



Pakistan and Bangladesh have had a rocky bilateral relationship in recent months.



Bilateral relations soured when Bangladesh executed senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat-i-Islamis secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid in November.



The two had been convicted of genocide and rape by a domestic war crimes tribunal called International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which had been set up under a 1973 legislation that was amended in 2009 to resume the trials.



The original 1973 legislation for the establishment of war crimes had been set aside by Hasina Wajids father and Bangladeshs founding father Mujibur Rehman after a tripartite agreement signed in April 1974 for the repatriation of war prisoners. Rehman had then agreed that in the interest of regional peace, no one would be put on trial for alleged crimes committed during the 1971 war.



Bangladesh had felt offended when Pakistan reminded it of its founding fathers promise contained in the 1974 tripartite agreement under which Dhaka had agreed not to proceed against those whom it had accused of war crimes during the 1971 war.



In response, Pakistans High Commissioner in Dhaka Shuja Alam was summoned by Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mijanur Rahman to receive a protest over a statement issued by Pakistani Foreign Office in which it regretted executions of the two Bengali leaders.
No change in the route of CPEC: Ahsan Iqbal

PESHAWAR - Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said that there was no change in the route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and it would pass through all the provinces.



Addressing a press conference here at Peshawar he said that the decisions taken at the All Parties Conference (APC) held on CPEC were being implemented. He briefed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and parliamentarians on the CPECs route, as identified by different working groups formed after the signing of agreement on July 5, 2013.



He said that no route was agreed before signing of the CPEC agreement. However, different working groups later identified three main routes that would pass through all the four provinces.



He said that he addressed all the 13 reservations of the Pakhtukhwa chief mininster and asked him to give evidence, if any, regarding the route that was agreed before 2013 agreement. The concerns of the Pakhtunkhwa parliamentarians were addressed by him through documentary proofs, he said.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
It has taken a watchdog outside group, the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, to ferret out this waste. The coalition, driven by its sharp curiosity, frequently uses the Maryland Public Information Act to request public records and keep track of district decisions and spending.

We commend the coalition for its important work on this front. It is saving county residents money as inappropriate spending has been uncovered.

July 16, 2014
"Free your mind, and your ass will follow." -- George Clinton and Funkadelic
Jillian Kestler-D'Amours More than 70 percent of the guests had their visa applications denied [Marc Braibant/AFP] T...
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Phuket, 6 January 2016  Amari Phuket launches a special dining promotion to welcome the Year of the Monkey and celebrate the Chinese New Year Festival, on 8 February 2016 at Rim Talay Restaurant from 19:00 onwards. The promotion is priced at 1,490 THB++ per person (excluding beverages). Children under 12 years of age will get a 50% discount.

With spectacular views of Patong Bay, guests will enjoy an exclusive buffet, offering Chinese delicacies, and be entertained with several Chinese cultural shows on the stage, live DJ music and the Chinese lion dance, which is the highlight of the evening.



For more information and reservations, please contact +66 (0) 7634 0106, rimtalay@amari.com or visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AmariPhuket.

Address: Amari Phuket, 2 Muen-ngern Road, Patong Beach, Kathu, Phuket 83150
GR is part of a family of steroid receptor proteins that control cells' responses to hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and aldosterone. Our genomes contain separate genes encoding each one. Scientists think that this family evolved by gene duplication, branch by branch, from a single ancestor present in primitive vertebrates. Credit: Eric Ortlund

A mechanism by which stress hormones inhibit the immune system, which appeared to be relatively new in evolution, may actually be hundreds of millions of years old.

A protein called the glucocorticoid receptor or GR, which responds to the stress hormone cortisol, can take on two different forms to bind DNA: one for activating gene activity, and one for repressing it.

In a paper published Dec. 28 in PNAS, scientists show how evolutionary fine-tuning has obscured the origin of GR's ability to adopt different shapes.

"What this highlights is how proteins that end up evolving new functions had those capacities, because of their flexibility, at the beginning of their evolutionary history," says lead author Eric Ortlund, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Emory University School of Medicine.

GR is part of a family of steroid receptor proteins that control cells' responses to hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and aldosterone. Our genomes contain separate genes encoding each one. Scientists think that this family evolved by gene duplication, branch by branch, from a single ancestor present in primitive vertebrates.

When GR turns genes on, two protein molecules grasp each other while binding to DNA. When it turns genes off, the two protein molecules bind on opposite sides of the DNA helix, adopting a slightly different shape to do so.

The repressive mode is thought to be responsible for the inhibitory effects of cortisol and GR on the immune system. The other steroid receptor family members only bind DNA in the activating mode.

With collaborators from University of Chicago (Joe Thornton), Georgia State (Ivaylo Ivanov) and Scripps Research Institute (Douglas Kojetin), Ortlund's laboratory has been examining the structure and function of steroid receptors from organisms that are now extinct.

The researchers "resurrect" the ancient proteins through computer analysis and then synthesis. They were surprised to find that an ancestral steroid receptor - giving rise to the modern day steroid receptors including GR (see figure)could bind DNA in both activating and repressing modes.

"We tested the present-day receptors first, and saw that only GR, out of the five steroid receptors, had the ability to bind DNA repressively," says lead author Will Hudson, PhD, a former Molecular and Systems Pharmacology graduate student at Emory. "So we presumed that this distinctive function of GR's must have been a relatively recent development in the course of evolution."

"Instead, it looks like GR's repressive DNA binding activity goes way back, and that subsequent mutations shut that activity off in other family members besides GR," Ortlund says.

Additional investigation showed that the mutations that squelched steroid family members' ability to bind DNA repressively didn't affect the part of the protein that directly contacts the DNA. Rather, they affected its flexibility and its ability to adopt different shapes.

"This adds to the evidence that the ability of ancestral proteins to access different conformations, and not structural stability, is important for their potential to evolve new functions," Ortlund says.

Explore further Steroid hormone receptor prefers working alone to shut off immune system genes

More information: William H. Hudson et al. Distal substitutions drive divergent DNA specificity among paralogous transcription factors through subdivision of conformational space, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2015). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences William H. Hudson et al. Distal substitutions drive divergent DNA specificity among paralogous transcription factors through subdivision of conformational space,(2015). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1518960113
Andre Turcat on the flight deck of the first Concorde. Credit: Concorde, CC BY

Last year it was reported that a design for a successor to Concorde, which would fly between London and New York in one hour at more than 4.5 times the speed of sound, had been patented by Airbus. This would have been thrilling news to French test pilot Andre Turcat, the man who first took Concorde supersonic in the 1960s  and who recently passed away at the age of 94.

Turcat, who served in the French air force as a transport pilot and later as a test pilot, is perhaps the airman most identified with the 100-seater supersonic jet. He was a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique, the most selective French Grande Ecole (though his grades limited his options when he left the school and he "accidentally" opted for a career in the Air Force).

Towards the end of World War II, Turcat joined the (Free) French Air Force and, in 1947, became certified as a pilot. He was quickly noticed for his flying abilities, notably on board the Dakota C-47. After serving in the Indochina War, he graduated as a test pilot in 1951, tested for the Air Force and later for Nord-Aviation, flying the Nord 1500 Griffon II (a supersonic scram-jet aircraft) and later winning the Harmon Trophy for his feats in 1958 with that aircraft.

In 1962, as the Concorde programme was starting, Turcat joined the state-owned Sud-Aviation. He went on to become Concorde's first test pilot as well as the company director of flight testing. On March 2 1969 he flew Concorde on her maiden flight and on October 1 1969, he took her supersonic for the first time.

Flying high

This was the beginning of a great era for Turcat (who instantly became a household name in France) and for the European aerospace industry more generally as Concorde was developed out of the Anglo-French collaboration between Aerospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).

Concorde demonstrated significant technological progress, on wing design notably and also on engines, flight controls and avionics. Air compression at Concorde's high speeds of travel also posed material and structural challenges leading to potential fatigue issues and to the expansion of the aircraft body and structures, which needed to be addressed. At take-off, the rotation from flat to a steep 18 degrees also meant significant stress on the wing structure and on the landing gears.

The aerospace industry made a monumental leap forward with this aircraft. Speaking in 2009, Turcat said his March 2 1969 flight marked "a significant acceleration in the history of (civil) aerospace". The interest of other nations, in particular America and Russia, was piqued by this early European technological success  it challenged them, as did the emergence of Airbus in later years.

Sadly the technical success that was Concorde did not translate into commercial success, though it laid some of the groundwork for the establishment of the modern industrial giant Airbus, through Aerospatiale notably, which had worked alongside BAC to build Concorde. Aerospatiale was also engaged with Deutsche Airbus, which eventually led to the constitution of the "Airbus economic interest group", with Hawker Siddeley and Fokker, in 1970.

Concorde's economics were also problematic, making assumptions on fuel costs that were later dispelled by the 1973 oil crisis. A supersonic Concorde consumed more fuel but could also fly more sorties; this economic model was viable only while fuel costs were a smaller component of the overall operational costs. Concorde's first operational flight took place in 1976 (certification was granted on December 4 1975) but by February 1973, most airlines who had expressed an interest in acquiring it had cancelled their orders.

In the end British Airways and Air France were the only two airlines to take them on  and then only with government subsidies. The Americans also objected to the aircraft  mainly on environmental grounds. As a result Concorde had a limited, if prestigious, career. On April 10 2003 Air France and British Airways announced Concorde's retirement and the great supersonic aircraft completed its final commercial flight on October 24 2003.

Feet on the ground

As Concorde started its career in 1976, Turcat was in the process of writing his first book: Concorde: Essais et Batailles and ending his flying career. He was also preparing for his future as a politician, in local government in Toulouse and, as an MEP in Europe. Following his retirement from the aviation sector, he went back to university, obtaining a PhD on Christian art in 1990.

In his later years, Turcat was always keen to talk about Concorde and came out of retirement to defend the aircraft and its designers after the 2000 crash in Gonesse, France, but he was also personally very shaken by the accident and the loss of the aircraft  and depressed at the outcome of the inquiry.

It is undeniable that the life of Andre Turcat and the technological history and prowess of Concorde are closely intertwined. It is also clear that his passion for technology and Concorde echoes that experienced during the formative years of the programme in France and in Britain, with the renewed pride and heritage that came with it.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.


A reconstruction of dinosaurs engaged in sexual display activity: artwork by Lida Xing and Yujiang Han. Credit: University of Colorado Denver

Dinosaurs engaged in mating behavior similar to modern birds, leaving the fossil evidence behind in 100 million year old rocks, according to new research by Martin Lockley, professor of geology at the University of Colorado Denver.

Lockley, a paleontologist, led an international research team that discovered large 'scrapes' in the prehistoric Dakota sandstone of western Colorado. These ancient scrapes are similar to a behavior known as 'nest scrape display' or 'scrape ceremonies' among modern birds, where males show off their ability to provide by excavating pseudo nests for potential mates.

"These are the first sites with evidence of dinosaur mating display rituals ever discovered, and the first physical evidence of courtship behavior," Lockley said. "These huge scrape displays fill in a missing gap in our understanding of dinosaur behavior."

The study will be published in the journal Scientific Reports on January 7.

Lockley, a world-renowned expert on dinosaur footprints, found evidence of more than 50 dinosaur scrapes, some as large as bathtubs, in an area where tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs have also been confirmed. The display arenas, also called 'leks' were found in two National Conservation Areas (Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge) on property permitted by the Bureau of Land Management near Delta, Colorado.

Lockley also discovered evidence of mating areas at Dinosaur Ridge, a National Natural Landmark, just west of Denver.

University of Colorado Denver researcher Martin Lockley (right) and Ken Cart pose beside large a dinosaur scrape they discovered in Western Colorado. Credit: University of Colorado Denver

This new fossil evidence supports theories about the nature of dinosaur mating displays and the evolutionary driver known as `sexual selection.' Since prehistoric times, males looking for mates, have driven off weaker rivals. Females, meanwhile, have chosen the most impressive male performers as consorts.

Similar sexual selection behaviors are common in mammals and birds. But until now scientists could only speculate about dinosaur mating behavior, assuming it might be similar to that of their modern relatives, the birds.

"The scrape evidence has significant implications," said Lockley. "This is physical evidence of pre-historic foreplay that is very similar to birds today. Modern birds using scrape ceremony courtship usually do so near their final nesting sites. So the fossil scrape evidence offers a tantalizing clue that dinosaurs in 'heat' may have gathered here millions of years ago to breed and then nest nearby."

Lockley and his team were unable to remove the scrape marks from the gigantic slabs of rock without damaging them. Instead, they created 3-D images of the scrapes using a technique of layering photographs called photogrammetry. They also made rubber molds and fiberglass copies of the scrapes that are being stored at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Explore further Pair of star-crossed oviraptors yield new clues about dinosaur mating habits
A member of the Indian civil defence stands at a traffic intersection in New Delhi on January 1, 2016

An Indian court on Wednesday challenged the Delhi city government to prove that its restrictions on cars were improving air quality in the world's most polluted capital.

The Delhi high court said a trial ban, that allows most private cars to use the roads only on alternate days, was causing inconvenience to the public due to inadequate public transport.

With pollution levels still running at 10 times the international safe limits, it ordered the government to submit data for January 1-7 by Friday so the impact of the ban could be assessed.

The Delhi government launched the trial ban last Friday in an attempt to thin the toxic blanket of smog that has settled over the city.

"In these six days you must have collected data related to pollution level, we think it's sufficient for you," the bench of Judges G. Rohini and Jayant Nath said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

"You will have to think about the inconvenience caused to public at large," the judges said, responding to a handful of petitions against the scheme.

Air quality, which traditionally worsens in winter as the cooler air traps pollutants and people start lighting fires, remains poor despite the trial restrictions which are due to last 15 days.

Environmentalists, however, say it would be unrealistic to expect a rapid improvement and attribute the smog to low winds and a fall in daytime temperatures.

The Delhi government defended the scheme, saying it had helped decongest the city's clogged roads and resulted in less pollution from cars.

"We have increased the frequency of the metro, increased the number of buses, people are carpooling... all of Delhi has come together to support this campaign," the city's transport minister Gopal Rai told news channels after the court order.

"Vehicular pollution, which is the most harmful of PM 2.5, has come down significantly in the interior part of Delhi," he said.

PM2.5 refers to microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and are particularly harmful to health.

India's state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research showed PM 2.5 concentrations at a "very unhealthy" 272 level on Wednesday and advised against going outside.

It recorded Delhi's PM 2.5 concentration hovering between "very poor" and "severe" levels since January 1, with Monday's reading spiking to 280, well above the World Health Organization safe limit of 25.

A 2014 WHO survey of more than 1,600 cities ranked Delhi as the most polluted, partly because of the 8.5 million vehicles on its roads.

Explore further India's top court slaps ban on new diesel cars in capital

 2016 AFP
A small anchor and other objects that were observed during the Lost Whaling Fleets expedition. Credit: NOAA

NOAA archaeologists have discovered the battered hulls of two 1800s whaling ships nearly 144 years after they and 31 others sank off the Arctic coast of Alaska in one of the planet's most unexplored ocean regions.

The shipwrecks, and parts of other ships, that were found are most likely the remains of 33 ships trapped by pack ice close to the Alaskan Arctic shore in September 1871. The whaling captains had counted on a wind shift from the east to drive the ice out to sea as it had always done in years past.

The ships were destroyed in a matter of weeks, leaving more than 1,200 whalers stranded at the top of the world until they could be rescued by seven ships of the fleet standing by about 80 miles to the south in open water off Icy Cape. No one died in the incident but it is cited as one of the major causes of the demise of commercial whaling in the United States.

With less ice in the Arctic as a result of climate change, archaeologists now have more access to potential shipwreck sites than ever before. In September, a team of archaeologists from the Maritime Heritage Program in NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries scoured a 30-mile stretch of coastline in the nearshore waters of the Chukchi Sea, near Wainwright, Alaska. Previous searches for the ships had found traces of gear salvaged from the wrecks by the local Inupiat people, as well as scattered timbers stranded high on the isolated beaches that stretch from Wainwright to Point Franklin.

This map shows the area that was surveyed during NOAA's Lost Whaling Fleets expedition. Credit: NOAA

Using state-of-the-art sonar and sensing technology, the NOAA team was able to plot the "magnetic signature" of the two wrecks, including the outline of their flattened hulls. The wreck site also revealed anchors, fasteners, ballast and brick-lined pots used to render whale blubber into oil.

"Earlier research by a number of scholars suggested that some of the ships that were crushed and sunk might still be on the seabed," said Brad Barr, NOAA archaeologist and project co-director. "But until now, no one had found definitive proof of any of the lost fleet beneath the water. This exploration provides an opportunity to write the last chapter of this important story of American maritime heritage and also bear witness to some of the impacts of a warming climate on the region's environmental and cultural landscape, including diminishing sea ice and melting permafrost."

James Delgado, maritime heritage director for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said he believes the wrecks were pressed against a submerged sand bar that rests about 100 yards from shore. Working from first-hand accounts of the loss of the fleet, he said the ice opened the hulls to the sea and tore away the upper portions of the ships, scattering their timbers on the beach, while the lower hulls, weighted down with ballast, and in some cases still anchored, stayed in place against the sand bar.

Abandonment of the whalers in the Arctic Ocean, September 1871, including the George, Gayhead, and Concordia. Scanned from the original Harpers Weekly 1871. Credit: Robert Schwemmer Maritime Library

"Usually, the Arctic does not destroy ships if there is a natural obstacle like a sand bar, large rocks or a sheltered cove to partially divert the force of tons of ice," Delgado said.

On Sept. 12, 1871, the captains of the 33 whaling ships caught in the ice convened aboard the Champion to consider their options for saving the 1,219 officers, crew, and in some cases, families, from their fate. Although, their situation was dire, there was some small glimmer of hope for rescue by seven nearby ships.

However, to save such a large party, the rescuing whale ships had to jettison their precious cargoes of whale oil, bone and their expensive whaling gear to make room for the survivors. The rescue ships were able to sail safely out of the Arctic and back to Honolulu, where hundreds of native Hawaiian whalers aboard the stranded vessels lived, while others sailed on to San Francisco, New Bedford and other cities.

Explore further Citizen-science climate project adds logs from historic Arctic whaling ships
In this picture taken October 14, 2015, vegetation is seen covered with a coat of bauxite-laden dust outside a palm plantation now being razed to mine bauxite at Bukit Goh in Malaysia's rural state of Pahang

Malaysia Wednesday announced a three-month ban on bauxite mining in its rural state of Pahang from mid-January amid mounting concern over hazardous dust and pollution.

Demand for bauxite, which is used in aluminium production, is soaringfuelled by heavy demand from China.

"Everything will come to a complete stop on January 15," Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told a press conference, adding that current stockpiles would be cleared within the next three months.

He also said new measures would be put in place such as a better drainage system in the port at Pahang's capital Kuantan to prevent bauxite contamination which has turned the sea red.

The ban would be extended if the industry is unable to mitigate the pollution hazard.

"If it (the industry) is not able to manage the situation in three months, then we will extend the moratorium," the minister said.

When AFP visited Kuantan recently, red dust swirled around the pits and along the roads on which bauxite-laden trucks rumbled towards Kuantan for shipment to China.

Residents complained of a rise in respiratory problems and skin rashes.

There are also fears of heavy metals entering the water supply or the food chain.

Bauxite mining took off in Malaysia shortly after Indonesia, a top producer, banned mineral ore exports in January 2014 to encourage the domestic processing of metals. This left major consumers like China short of the commodity.

Malaysia, previously an insignificant producer of bauxite, helped fill the gap with a sharp rise in miningmost of it illegal.

Pahang's Chief Minister Adnan Yaakob urged residents to stay calm about pollution.

"We are doing everything to assist them," he told the press conference, adding that authorities were working on a "grand plan" to overcome problems permanently and get a better grip on illegal miners.

Kuantan's opposition member of parliament Fuziah Salleh hailed the temporary ban.

"The 700,000 people living in Kuantan are exposed to pollution. The rivers, a source of drinking water are polluted, the air is filled with red dust and fish in the rivers have died," she said.

"We must stop the destruction of Mother Nature."

Adnan said he was not concerned about a drop in revenue during the ban, saying the moratorium would help push up prices later on.

Malaysian bauxite output more than quadrupled year-on-year in 2014 to nearly 963,000 tonnes, according to government figures.

Explore further Malaysian court asked to stop rare earths plant

 2016 AFP
Purchase, NY, January 6, 2016  MasterCard today announced the promotion of Tara Nathan to executive vice president of Public-Private Partnerships.

Nathans appointment comes as Ed Brandt, who has led the companys Government Services and Solutions group since April 2012, announced his retirement after 10 years at MasterCard.

Nathan was most recently the companys executive director for International Development. In this role, she focused on creating partnerships with multilateral and bilateral development organizations, international financial institutions, corporate foundations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), designed to use payments technology to advance financial inclusion, humanitarian response, government transparency and economic formalization.

In her new and expanded role, Nathan will continue to manage the companys International Development efforts, while adding oversight of Government Services and Solutions initiatives. Nathan and her team will leverage the companys innovation capabilities to help governments around the world address critical needs.

Since 2012, MasterCard has implemented more than 1,000 government programs in 60 countries.

Nathan recently played a critical role in the launch of the MasterCard Aid Network, an end-to-end, non-financial service designed to streamline aid distribution even in the absence of telecommunications infrastructure. Her team also helped establish MasterCard Labs for Financial Inclusion, with support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Taras proven experience and demonstrated leadership make her the ideal person to lead this important area going forward, commented Walt Macnee, vice chairman of MasterCard. Tara and her team will build on the work that weve established by using our people, our expertise and our technology to address the critical challenges facing governments and NGOs  today and in the future.

Nathan originally joined MasterCard in 2010 to lead the commercial development of the MasterCard Mobile Payments Gateway across key markets including Egypt, Brazil and Turkey. Before joining MasterCard, she held various management roles at Citigroup. Earlier, Nathan was a diplomat at the U.S. State Department, holding posts in Taiwan, Japan and China.

Nathan serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Humanitarian Response. She holds a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.

Id like to thank Ed for all that hes done for MasterCard over the past decade. He has played a significant role in strengthening the companys global government partnership approach, and he leaves an excellent foundation for us to carry forward. On behalf of the entire MasterCard family, I wish Ed and his family all the best in retirement, said Macnee.



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Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association

Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, on Tuesday co-sponsored legislation Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., introduced Oct. 1 to block the lifting of certain Iran sanctions unless documentation is provided, according to the Library of Congress government information web site.

The Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act -- HR 3662 -- had 56 co-sponsors, as of Thursday, all Republican.

Elsewhere in New York, Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, co-sponsored it Dec. 11.

Click here to read the legislative summary of the bill.
GLENS FALLS | AngioDynamics isnt waiting to invest the approximately $4.3 million in tax savings it will realize in each of the next two years.

Im going to take that money and Im going to create jobs, President and CEO Joseph M. DeVivo said Wednesday at the Glens Falls manufacturing plant. I dont believe the industry has any credibility if we dont start adding jobs now and we dont start investing in that now. We cant sit back and take this as a profit enhancement and make the excuse that, until its permanent, I cant do anything about it.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-Brooklyn, State Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, and local dignitaries joined DeVivo on Wednesday for a tour of the Glens Falls Tech Park facility, mainly to celebrate the passage of a two-year freeze on the medical device excise tax.

Schumer was instrumental in getting the two-year suspension attached to a government funding bill approved last month. The 2.3 percent tax was a tax on innovation, Schumer said, because it taxed revenue, not profits.

Since the tax was put in place in 2013  to help fund the Affordable Care Act  DeVivo said AngioDynamics has paid approximately $11.6 million to the government.

It taxed manufacturers and importers at the sale price of the device  2.3 cents per dollar, Schumer said after touring the local plant and learning about some of the devices made there.

That is a dumb tax, because a company could be losing money and theyve still got to pay the tax, he said.

DeVivo, who began working with other medical device industry leaders to educate lawmakers about the broader impacts of the tax soon after it was implemented, pointed out that startup companies, which often dont realize a profit for years and must reinvest every cent of revenue into research and development, were particularly hurt by the excise tax.

That has had an impact on overall investment in the medical device industry, stifling new product development, he said.

I spent a lot of time, and I fundamentally disagreed with this tax, DeVivo said. Whether its an AngioDynamics issue or my industry ... Ive been in this industry for a long time and it was a well-intended effort  nothing spiteful.

I made it my business to join all my colleagues in the industry to spend the type of time to educate (lawmakers), and after about a year, it went from a Republican issue to a bi-partisan issue, because theres nothing partisan about hurting jobs.

DeVivo said the revelation that AngioDynamics would be free of the tax starting Jan. 1 has already affected the companys spending.

Last week, the firm decided to move up a research and development program for a next-generation NanoKnife device, he said. The cancer-fighting system uses high-voltage but low-energy electrical pulses to damage tumor cell membranes, thereby destroying the tumors.

Another research and development program was ahead of the NanoKnife project in the pipeline, though, and the company didnt have the resources to do both at the same time.

Ive been working on a concept of working with a third-party R&D firm to help me accelerate development, but I havent been able to afford it, DeVivo said. When I heard, at the end of December, that this (excise tax freeze) is going through, just last week I signed the contract with this R&D firm.

As a result, the new NanoKnife product could end up in production faster, resulting in manufacturing jobs, he said.

In the interim, jobs are being added now at the companys research and development operation in Marlborough, Massachusetts, DeVivo said.

Schumer said the next step is to work on bipartisan legislation that will repeal the tax entirely, without hurting the Affordable Care Act.

The two-year freeze enacted in December was compensated for in such a way that the ACA, also called Obamacare, will not suffer as a result of the reprieve, Schumer said.

So I will be working overtime with my colleagues in Congress to ensure we are boosting, rather than hindering, the companies that are working every day on breakthrough treatments and equipment to improve the lives of patients and further innovate the medical device industry, Schumer said.

Local officials who attended Wednesdays event included Warren County EDC Chairman Edward Bartholomew and Glens Falls City Councilman-at-Large Dan Hall, who stood in for Mayor John Jack Diamond, who was ill.

When you walk through (the AngioDynamics facility) and you see people working  and thats really what people want; they want to be able to have a job, they want to be able to support their families, to do the things that are needed for their children, for their parents or whoever  it just really means something, Little said. So, for him to have made a difference for these people that are working here, I just want to thank him very much.

AngioDynamics employs about 800 people between the manufacturing operation in the Glens Falls Tech Park and a distribution center in Queensbury.
QUEENSBURY  A new mandate to guarantee round-the-clock daily advanced life support staffing will increase Bay Ridge Rescue Squad paid staffing expenses by $26,883 this year.

The increase would bring paid staffing to $250,000 per year.

In 2015, the town provided the squad with funding for paid ALS staffing 12 hours a day, with the remaining hours covered by ALS volunteers, when available.

The town also paid for Basic Life Support staff, a lower level of training, 12 hours per day, which would continue at 12 hours per day this year.

The Regional Physician Council, a panel that oversees emergency medical squads, said it would not certify the squad this year unless round-the-clock advanced life support coverage was guaranteed, said Conni Tucker, the squads president.

Without the certification, the squad cannot operate.

Tucker said the physicians are pushing to bring staffing up to typical national levels.

Its because were behind the rest of the country up here in the North Country, she said.

Tucker said she economized in other areas of the budget to keep operating spending and debt payment the same in 2016 as in 2015.

Insurance costs would increase $1,000 in a two-year proposed contract that will be the topic of a public hearing at the Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Queensbury Center.

The contract would increase 6.4 percent to $461,075 this year and then increase .71 percent to $464,349 in 2017.

Third Ward Councilman Doug Irish stipulated language be included in the contract the squad will operate round the clock.

If were paying for 24-7, then I think we should expect to see Bay Road rolling 24-7, he said.
LAKE LUZERNE | The photographs on the walls of Adirondack Folk School show happy times  students displaying pack baskets, forging metal, sanding canoes. But a look at the organizations books paints a grimmer picture.

The nonprofit organization is falling $40,000 short of its minimum operating costs for the year and will be forced to close its doors if it doesnt get the money by next week, said Rand Condell, president of the schools board.

Grants have been slow this year, he said.

The school, where artisans teach Adirondack-style crafts and skills to students who pay tuition for classes, operates on tuition, membership fees, fundraisers, donations and grants, Condell said. Its annual budget is $200,000.

We have a lot of generous donors, but we dont want to go back to them year after year, said Dan Green, vice president of the board. Our thinking is, theres gotta be a better way to do this.

Jim Mandle, founder of Adirondack Folk School, isnt sure there is.

With the school itself, you can only make so much money with class tuition, he said, especially since the school keeps courses affordably priced. There are expenses year-round you just cant cover.

There has to be other ways for money to come in: grants, fundraisers, donation, Mandle said. Its a constant diligence; somebody has to go out and beg for money.

When Mandle, a longtime summer resident of Lake Luzerne who lives in Florida, created the school in 2010, his vision was to preserve Adirondack arts, support craftspeople and artisans and create an economic engine for the community.

I thought if we had something that was a magnet, to draw people into Luzerne, it would have a spillover effect, and thats exactly what it turned out to be, he said.

Jerry Callahan of Kinderhook is the type of student Mandle had in mind.

Callahan has taken five classes at the school, making the 75-mile trek to the southern Adirondacks, buying gas at local stations, staying in the towns motels and eating sandwiches he grabs from Joes Mini Mart.

Its the kind of place you go back to, said Callahan, who has crafted sleds for his grandchildren, kayak paddles, a shaving horse and, in the schools most expensive and longest class, a wee lassie canoe.

The things you do are durable and have lasting meaning for you or for the people you made them for, he said, remembering how proud he was to give his son the boat he built as a wedding gift.

When you get into doing things by hand, doing things for yourself, its an entirely different skill set, said Larry Benjamin of Pennsylvania, who summers in Fourth Lake and teaches the canoe-building class at Adirondack Folk School. Its a completely different experience and it gives you an appreciation for things constructed in the past.

You can go to the store and buy a loaf of bread, he said, or you can learn how to construct the oven, build the fire to fuel it and mix the ingredients yourself.

Its all about the connection between you, the process and the end product, Benjamin said. People are missing that connection, and the school provides the opportunity to make that connection.

The satisfaction in that attracts between 80 and 100 instructors a year, from all over the United States and even as far away as Russia, said Green, the board member.

When you leave here, youve got something thats going to outlive you, he said.

The school offers classes in fly-tying, jewelry-making and beading, quilting, spinning, wood-fire cooking and coopering, among other things. It is also home to one of the nations premier blacksmithing schools, boasting nine coal forges and one gas forge.

Its very highly regarded in the folk school environment for what we do and for its connection to the Adirondacks, said Benjamin, the boat-builder.

The schools impact on the town is as tangible, said Lake Luzerne Supervisor Eugene Merlino, who is working on securing grants to help the school out of financial danger.

It gets to a point every once in a while, finances get in the way of all good projects, he said.

Its just going to take time and we have to make sure they hang in there long enough to get some of the grants were trying to line up, he said.
Two unrelated and irrelevant events took place this week  one in California, one in Paris.

In Redding, California, on Tuesday, a man ranting about President Obamas gun control initiative opened fire randomly in an apartment complex, hitting no one, and was eventually killed by police officers.

In Paris on Thursday, a man carrying a meat cleaver and shouting Allahu Akbar tried to enter a police station and was shot dead by officers. No one was hurt, except him.

Neither incident should influence local school leaders or parents when deciding where students should go on school trips.

California is a beautiful and historic place, and if students want to go there and can afford it, they should go. Neither rantings from a random armed nut nor the slaughter in San Bernardino by fanatic Muslim terrorists should stop anyone from visiting California.

If San Bernardino had something to recommend it for a school trip (Im not sure it does), the shocking but uncharacteristic massacre at a holiday office party would be no reason to cancel the trip.

Likewise, its nonsense for Lake George to cancel the trip planned for March to Paris. Ironically, after justifying the cancellation on the basis of student safety, Superintendent Patrick Dee then said the school may organize a trip to Spain next year.

In 2004, Muslim terrorists bombed commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people and injuring more than 1,800. That attack was worse, in terms of casualties, than the terror attacks by Muslim extremists in Paris.

Is Spain somehow safer because its attack, although bloodier, took place 12 years ago?

Does the attack in Paris mean that France is more or less likely to be a target in the future?

No one knows the answers to such questions. What we do know is that both France and Spain are relatively safe.

The intentional homicide rate in the U.S. is almost four times higher than in France and almost five times higher than in Spain.

Among the worlds regions, western and southern Europe have the lowest homicide rates, according to a United Nations report from 2010. The rate of assaults in west and central Europe is at least three times lower than in North America; the rate of rape about five times lower.

You can quibble with the figures. Perhaps things have changed a bit in five years. Perhaps some crimes arent being reported accurately. But a little research makes obvious that the big cities of France, Spain and the rest of Europe are safe when compared with major sightseeing sites in the U.S. like New York and Washington, D.C.

We are not going to stop taking schoolkids to the Bronx Zoo or the Washington Monument.

What happened in Paris was terrifying, but unless it starts happening on a regular basis, its no reason to cancel a school trip.

What we should do is use our heads  isnt that what were supposed to learn in school?  to quell the fears that naturally arise when something frightening happens and go on with life.
The customers have been agitating for the release of their investments after the Bank of Ghana released the funds the frozen accounts of DKM Microfinance in October 2015 after the central bank placed a 120 day moratorium on the company for flouting the Banking Act.

Consequently, other microfinance companies in the area who had promised similar lofty returns on investments similar to the 50% promised by DKM also panicked at demanded the release of their investment, all with little luck.

According to the customers management of the Microfinance companies have not forthcoming with their investments.

Meanwhile, the Customers of DKM Diamond Microfinance in the Berekum Municipality attacked the District Chief Executive for Nkoranza North in the Brong Ahafo region.

The DCE, Kwadwo Adjei Dwemoh was on Tuesday pelted with sachet water by the youth of the community over the inability of microfinance company, DKM, to pay them their monies.
Government after the meeting said it will not reverse the tariff increments considering the impact on the economy and efforts to solve the 4 year old power crisis.

Organised labour had earlier failed to broker a deal with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission for a reduction in the 59.2% increment in electricity and 67.2% increase in water tariffs(effective December 14,2015).

There is growing anger about the introduction of a new wave of taxes through the implementation of the new income tax law by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) replacing the repealed Internal Revenue Act, (Act 592).Prices of Petroleum products have also increased between 22 and 27% this year following the passage of the Energy Sector Levy (ESL) by Parliament in December, and took effect January 4, 2016.

Organised labour has rejected what it calls the lazy recourse to taxation and its attendant economic and social hardships on the already overburdened Ghanaian.

Labour says it is disappointed in the manner in which parliament went about the promulgation of the energy sector levies Act, 2015(Act 899).

Organised labour says the increases in tariffs , taxes and levies are reckless and a display of insensitivity on the part of the managers of the economy and accordingly condemns it in the strongest terms.
The customers who took to the streets of Sunayani on Wednesday in a massive demonstration, wielded placards like inscriptions like, " The Dead Goat Must Rise", echoing their requests for the president of the Republic to intervene in the release of their locked up funds.

The customers of DKM Microfinance, one of the companies in the region, have been agitating for the release of their investment since October 2015 when the company's frozen accounts were released by the Bank of Ghana. The Central Bank accused the company of flouting the Banking Act, by taking on more investments than their assets could support.

On Tuesday, the customers of DKM took their agitations further by attacking the government officials in their regions, vowing to make life unbearable for them if government does not intervene. Customers in Berkwai in the Ashanti Region, Tuesday, also attacked the District Chief Executive of the area for keeping mute on the matter.
In a statement signed by the Director of Public Relations, Dan Osman Mwin, on Thursday, the Ministry advised all eligible students to "avail themselves of this rare opportunity."

Read more: Sege MP awards scholarships to students

The World Bank funded project which was launched by President John Dramani Mahama in 2014, will provide scholarship packages to 125 schools from selected districts across all ten regions.

The package caters for relevant approved school fees, transportation to schools, uniforms, house attire, PE kits, shoes and bags and other relevant stationery.

The scholarships are available to JHS students in their final year or graduates who wrote their Basic Education Certificate Examination in the last three years and selected schools benefiting from the SEIP.

See also: Allowances released for 10 Ghanaian students studying abroad

The statement noted that "the prospective beneficiary of the scholarship scheme must be a Ghanaian, be qualified and needy."
The man attacked and slighty injured a policeman outside the station in the Goutte dOr district in northern Paris.

A wire protruded from the jacket and was connected to a package taped to the inner lining.

Upon examination, it was found that the package contained no explosives, the source said.

Police rubbished a report, circulated by the Twitter feed of a bogus journalist, that the attacker was Salah Abdeslam, the missing survivor of the jihadist death squad which attacked Paris on 13 November.

he body of a bald man, wearing blue jeans and a grey flak jacket, lay on the pavment outside the police station for more than an hour after the shooting.

A small robot camera on wheels was sent out from the station to examine the body and the apparent explosives belt. Experts finally arrived and decided that it was fake.
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The section of the Kumasi Central Market currently being engulfed by the fire is where yams, live birds, shea butter and other miscellaneous items are sold.

There was no casualty. Eyewitnesses said the fighters did their best to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas as victims count their losses.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Hanna Tetteh had in a statement said the Yemenis and the Syrians are being assisted as a result of the crisis in the Middle East.

The development has raised fear and panic among some Ghanaians who argue that the country is under security threat if the said refugees are allowed residence in the country.

But speaking to Pulse.com.gh, Prof. Bluwey said there is no cause for alarm.

"We are not in danger just by playing hosts to a few refugees. I don't think they pose any economic problems for us; security - I don't think either. Let them come. I don't really see any threat to Ghana arising out of it. I think we can do with a few of them around and we are offering hospitality to people in distress," the international relations expert said.

The United States in November 2015 passed a bill that would suspend the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the U.S. until key national security agencies certify they don't pose a security risk.

Touching on the latest approach, Prof. Bluwey said unlike Ghana, the US is justified in taking such a decision.

"The US has a reason. Everybody who goes there becomes a master of his own. Very soon they get in touch with technology and become wealthy in no time and begin to interfere in their politics and they become a threat to their security. But this place [Ghana] hasn't got those attractions. I don't see any small group of people causing trouble for us," he added.
Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby are being offered humanitarian assistance in Ghana.

Bin Atef is an admitted member of the Taliban and fought for Usama bin Laden, while Al-Dhuby trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

But an International Relations expert, Professor Keith Bluwey has condemned the government for its decision to accept the Guantanamo Bay inmates.

According to him, the decision was only accepted by the government because Mahama and some other government officials would financially benefit from the deal.

In an interview with Pulse.com.gh, Professor Keith Bluwey said "it is reckless for a president of any nation to accept Guantanamo bay detainees into his country. You know Ghana is only a few years away from coup regimes. We have just been blessed with about 20 years or so without a coup detat. If you bring such people in our midst, they are professional criminals; they will start their work again."

Read more: Two Guantanamo prisoners transferred to Ghana

However, a statement from the foreign affairs ministry said, the assistance being offered the ex-inmates is at the request of the US government.

In a statement on its website, the US Department of Defense said it provided the necessary security assistance to Ghana in order to ensure a smooth transfer of the inmates.

"As directed by the presidents Jan. 22, 2009, executive order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of these cases. As a result of those reviews, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, Atef and Al-Dhuby were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force," the statement said.
Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby are being offered humanitarian assistance in Ghana.

Bin Atef is an admitted member of the Taliban and fought for Usama bin Laden, while Al-Dhuby trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

The two inmates are the first of a group of 17 detainees expected to be transferred out of Guantanamo Bay that includes multiple bad guys and Al Qaeda followers, the Fox NewS has reported.

However, some Ghanaians have expressed disappointment in government for accepting to resettle the detainees in the Ghana.

"Why should they be brought to Ghana I think it's not good at all, they can bring a whole lot of evil deed to this place. " One gentleman told Pulse.com.gh "They can influence a lot of people... there are a lot of people here who are not employed as you already know the employment rate in Ghana is very high so when they get motivation from people who do bad stuff they will easily join them."

"It is not safe for us as Ghanaians to accommodate people like that." Another said, "Ghana is known to be a peaceful countryit is actually a security threat to Ghanaians"

Meanwhile, International Relations analyst, Professor Keith Bluwey has condemned the government for its decision to accept the Guantanamo Bay inmates.

According to him, the decision was only accepted by the government because Mahama and some other government officials would financially benefit from the deal.

In an interview with Pulse.com.gh, Professor Keith Bluwey said "it is reckless for a president of any nation to accept Guantanamo bay detainees into his country. You know Ghana is only a few years away from coup regimes. We have just been blessed with about 20 years or so without a coup detat. If you bring such people in our midst, they are professional criminals; they will start their work again."
Dr Abu Sakara, the 2012 presidential candidate of the CPP on January 6,2015 announced that he has left the party to contest the 2016 presidential elections as an independent candidate.

In a statement, Dr. Sakara said The purpose will be to provide a more focused national interest platform on which we can truly build national consensus around the key issues that will really transform our nation for the good of all of us.

Dr. Amoako Baah has told Pulse.com.gh, one cannot rule out the fact that Samia Nkrumah contributed to Sakara's resignation.

"Even if she [Samia] is not at the centre of all the disagreements that have made Abu Sakara leave she has contributed to it for sure.

"Look at what happened the last time round. Paa Kwesi Nduom broke away and formed PPP and did better than CPP. If they had stayed together, they would be a real contender, they would be a party that is on the way up instead of the way down," he said.

He added that "if she is gone to contest for the flagbearship. I'm sure she is popular with the party operatives, the electoral officials and so who has a good chance of beating her in the primaries.

Dr. Sakaras resignation leaves Samia Nkrumah as the only front runner in the race for the flag bearer for now.

Commenting on the matter, Dr. Amoako said he is doubtful as to whether the leadership style adopted by Samia Nkrumah would help the party in the 2016 elections.
A statement signed by the leader of the Group, Richard Nyamah said "Mrs Charlotte Osei as the chairman of the electoral commission is also a board member of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited. Evidence we possess show that Mrs, Osei before her appointment as EC chair and since her appointment has remained a member of the board of the company.

"We demand that Madam Commissioner resigns her post as member of the board of directors of Ghana Reinsurance Company or as the Chairman of the electoral commission with immediate effect," the statement added.

Below is the full statement:

It has come to the notice of the Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF) that the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana is in breach of article 44 clause 4 of the 1992 republican constitution which states the chairman and the two deputy chairmen of the commission shall not, while they hold office on the commission, hold any other public office

Mrs Charlotte Osei as the chairman of the electoral commission is also a board member of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited. Evidence we possess show that Mrs, Osei before her appointment as EC chair and since her appointment has remained a member of the board of the company.

We demand that Madam Commissioner resigns her post as member of the board of directors of Ghana Reinsurance Company or as the Chairman of the electoral commission with immediate effect.

Secondly, she should by 30 January, 2015 pay back all allowances received as board member of Ghana reinsurance or her salary and entitlements as chairman of the commission, which ever option she chooses to exercise from 1 July, 2015 till date.

Failure to do any of the above, PNF will exercise all legal rights we have to ensure the right thing is done.

We wish to use this opportunity to admonish all Ghanaians, especially those holding public office to refrain from breaking the law and shun corruption in whatever shape or form it comes in 2016 and beyond.

SIGNED
According to the Washington Post, the BET founder popped the question to his lady of five years last month in Paris with a 7.5 carat diamond. The ring was reportedly nestled on a giant ice sculpture in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, natch and came complete with a shower of rose petals and a bottle of Dom Perignon, which he presented after a private after-hours tour and dinner at the Musee Rodin. Not bad for a 69-year-old.

Interestingly, the grand Parisian proposal wasnt the first time Johnson asked the 36-year-old international business-management PhD student to be his wife. In fact, the billionaire actually popped the question on his first date with the young beauty, saying it was absolutely love at first sight.

Though the student turned down that first proposal, this time around she didnt hesitate to say yes and the pair is now planning for a summer wedding.
Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, leading to condemnation from Western governments which imposed sanctions on Russia in response. Only a handful of countries have recognised Crimea's incorporation into Russia.

Coca-Cola said that the map, which appeared on Dec. 30 on Coca-Cola's page on VKontakte, a Russian social networking site similar to Facebook, had been changed by an advertising agency without Coca-Cola's approval.

Furious Ukrainians took to social media to vent their anger against Coca-Cola, and some threatened to boycott the company's products.

Ukraine's embassy in the United States said in a statement on its Facebook page that it had expressed concerns to the company and to the U.S. State Department.

"The Embassy emphasized that Coca-Cola's actions violate the official U.S. position condemning Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea, which is and has always been an integral part of Ukraine," the statement said.

Coca-Cola is not the only multinational company to have inadvertently faced embarrassment recently because of the festering tensions between Russians and Ukrainians.

Google said on Tuesday that problems experienced by some users in translating terms into Russian from Ukrainian using Google Translate were the result of errors in its automated algorithms, Russian agency RBC reported.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The deceased who owned the wooden structure apartment where Alabi and 10 other tenants lived in Alajo, a suburb of Accra, the nation's capital, had reportedly the suspect for having his bath in a demolished bathroom after all tenants were warned to use the public shower.

The confrontation led to a serious disagreement which culminated in a fight an Alabi ash into his room an emerged with a knife with which he used to stab Goka in the stomach. Other tenants reportedly rushed the injure man to the 37 Military Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Alabi was arrested shortly after being in hiding for three days.

Confirming the arrest of the suspect, the Nima Divisional Police Commander, ACP Nuhu Jango, said the incident occurred on January 2, 2016, but the suspect was finally arrested around Nima Roundabout on January 5, 2016.

It was also gathered that in the evening of the incident, Alabi had reported to the Kotobabi Police that his landlord had inflicted knife wounds on his fingers and was subsequently given a medical form to go to the hospital for treatment.

But later that day, one Vincent Dzramado went to the station to report Alabi had stabbed his brother, Goka, in the stomach with a knife with the injured man being rushed to the Maamobi Polyclinic for medical attention where he was referred to the 37 Military Hospital for proper medical attention but died on arrival.
The incident which happened in Khorof Harar, eastern Kenya, left doctors at the Wajir County Hospital where she was rushed to, dumbfounded as they did could not figure out the safest way to remove the knife without causing more damage to the tissues in her face.
By the time the left, the primary school pupil was one of the many injured as he was shot in the mouth, destroying his upper lip and jaw.

The young victim, Geoffrey

Photo Credit: Facebook

Posting the photo of the poor boy who was left for death on Facebook, a resident of the state, Dachung Bagos, had this to say:

On my visit to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), I met this young chap Geoffrey, from Robb in Barkin Ladi. Geoffrey is 12 years old, early this month, he was ambushed and attacked around 4pm on his way home by suspected Fulani herdsmen who were hiding in the bush and came out to attack him.

He was shot in the jaw and his upper lips/side of the eyes cut, he was left lifeless thinking he was dead.

To cut the story short, so far, Geoffrey has gone through about two constructive surgery and he still have to undergo more surgery.

I kept wandering what this boy did to deserve this inhuman act. As it is today, children in Barkin Ladi and Riyom are almost wiped out in over 50 villages that are destroyed, the ones left are in IDP camps.

Let's make Geoffrey smile again. I believe God has a plan for him to be someone great in future; so let's put our hands together and support him to be healed and go to school."

This young boy was attacked by Fulani herdsmen
Sunday Vincent, 27, was arrested and charged before a Kado Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Thursday which later sentenced him to three weeks imprisonment for public nuisance.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, reportedly gave Vincent an option of paying N3,000 in fine, warning him to desist from committing any other crimes following his incerceration.

Vanguard reports that the convict, had no fixed address, and had been tried and convicted for wandering the streets of Abuja without a satisfactory explanation on his reasons for doing so.

The prosecutor, Zeerah Doglass, revealed to the court that Vincent had earlier been arrested by the police patrol team attached to Ademola Adetokunbo street, Wuse two, Abuja, before being taken to the Kado Police Station Abuja, on January 1.
My name is . I am 43-years-old and have been married for over 20 years now without a child of my own, a situation that has turned me into a laughing stock especially from my husband's family who have made life difficult for me.

When I got married to my husband, I was never a spoilt woman as he was the first and only man to sleep with me. So accusations that I must have killed all my children through abortion as a young woman are just baseless.

My husband has been wonderful as he has stood by me all these years despite all his mother has done to get him to marry another wife.

In our quest for a fruit of the womb, we have gone to so many places including doctors, spiritualists, pastors and even herbalist all to no avail. The assurance I keep getting from men of God is that no matter how long it takes, God will bless me with my own baby but I am not getting younger and with the pressure on me from , I am tempted at times to commit suicide.

No one can even begin to imagine the insults, embarrassment, abuses and disgrace she has put me through even in the market place. In her bid to get me to leave her son's house, my mother-in-law once fought me in the church and stripped me naked.

I don't know how I have offended God to allow me go through this kind of life.

Chidinma,

Enugu."
Ambode spoke on Wednesday while receiving the report of a five- man Tribunal of Inquiry set up on Oct. 22, 2015 to look into causes of civil disturbances that occurred at the LFTZ on Oct.12, 2015.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Managing Director of Lekki Worldwide Investment Company,Alhaji Tajudeen Disu, was shot by assailants during an official visit to one of the villages within the zone.

The late Disu was resolving a land dispute between members of Okunraye community and some private companies embarking on various massive projects within the LFTZ.

Ambode said: "We will do everything to ensure the success of the project and any issues concerning its success will be treated with dispatch.

"Let me assure members of the public and investors that the state government will always uphold the rule of law and continue to provide a conducive atmosphere for businesses to thrive."

The governor said that the panel was primarily set up with the aim of looking into the origin, factors and circumstances leading to the breach of peace within the zone.

"The report of the tribunal has been submitted; the state government will give serious consideration to the recommendations of the tribunal.

"We will also take decisions to ensure that such incident does not occur again," he said.

Ambode commended the panel for its diligence within the time frame of 45 days given to carry out the assignment.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Adesuyi Olateru-Olagbegi, said that members looked into the remote and immediate causes of disturbances which claimed the life of Disu.

He said that the tribunal also considered ways and means to be adopted to prevent a recurrence.

Olateru-Olagbegi said that the tribunal received 22 memoranda and had 33 witnesses, while 24 recommendations were made.
Oyebade said further that the army would not allow any group or sect threaten the peace and stability of the country, Vanguard reports.

He is said to have made the comments on Wednesday, January 6, 2016, while addressing journalists at the Divisions headquarters in Kaduna.

They are like any other sect in the land, but as long as they obey the law of the land no problem, but if any group chooses to challenge the authority of the land, it means they do not value the sanctity of life and the constitution of Nigeria, Oyebade said.

The army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country, and so we have no apology to any group, either Shiite Islamic sect, Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.

We dont have any issue with the Shiites or any sect at all in the land as long as they obey the law of the land. But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution of the land.

Even in the military, we have Shiite members, but there is no issue with them because they are law abiding citizens. But we have issues with those who create a State within a State, and our rules of engagement are very clear, that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full blown.

We know the business of violence but we apply it professionally if the peace of the land is being threatened, so we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence stay off, he added.

Oyebade had earlier said that the Army followed the necessary rules of engagement in handling the Zaria incident and as such could not be blamed.

Meanwhile, the Shiites have urged the Federal Government to reveal the location of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky if it truly wants a peaceful resolution to the crisis between the group and the army.

Iran has also said via its Foreign Ministry that it had taken necessary steps to warn Nigeria on the continued detention of El-Zakzaky.

Soldiers engaged the Shiites in a battle after the group allegedly attempted to assassinate Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai on Saturday, December 12, 2015.

The conflict escalated after soldiers surrounded El-Zakzakyhome and arrested him. The Shiites have claimed that about 1000 members of the group died during the confrontation.

------------------------------------------------------
The attacks occurred on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, in the Gwoza area of the state, AFP reports.

A resident, identified as Isyaku, told AFP that the first attack took place in Izgeki village.

I received information from my relatives who fled the attack that some Boko Haram gunmen on bicycles attacked Izgeki across the river from Izghe on Tuesday morning where they killed two people, Isyaku said.

The attack forced villagers to cross the river into Izghe. The gunmen pursued them. One of them who had a suicide belt on him blew himself up near the market, killing five people, he added.

The second attack took place in Nchiha Village, according to resident, Ayuba Chibok.

Luckily no-one was hurt but they (Boko Haram gunmen) looted food and burnt a large part of the village, he added.
Magu made the statement on Wednesday, January 6, 2016, at a forum with online and broadcast media managers in Abuja, ThisDay reports.

The effect of this, which is obvious for all to see, is the investigation, arrest and prosecution of some of the most powerful forces in Nigeria, who have questions to answer on their stewardship whilst in office, he said.

A former National Security Adviser (NSA), former ministers, former governors, serving and retired military men, a media mogul and several others, are among those we have called to answer critical questions concerning the management of our commonwealth.

As we speak, many more influential Nigerians are on the radar of the EFCC, and in the coming weeks, they would have their days in court and Nigerians will be kept fully abreast of the results of our investigations," he added.
Punch Newspapers reports that the Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat confirmed the arrest of the suspects.

They are: Asupha Emeka, 34; Ebipre Ebebi, 25; Samuel Joe, 27; Okilo Matthew, 25; and Timiere Matthew, 25.

Also, Butswat said On the January 6, 2016, at about 1500hrs, based on a tip-off, detectives from the Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Vice unit stormed a hotel premises in Swali community, Yenagoa, and arrested five suspects.

The suspects are Asupha Emeka, Ebipre Ebebi, Samuel Joe, Okilo Matthew and Timiere Matthew.

Another security source who spoke to Punch said "The planned attack on Jonathans house was to give an impression of violence ahead of the supplementary election in the state. What the mastermind intends to achieve through that is what I cannot fathom.

You know this is the time of politics when politicians design all manner of tricks, crisis and strategies to heat up the polity. This is one of those aspects of dangerous politics they are playing, the source said.

The source also said The ringleader of this dastardly act, we learnt is a member of Jonathans party. The whole plot was contrived to give the impression that the opposition is the one responsible.
The judgment was given today, January 7, 2015, by Justice Ahmed Mohammed.

Both suspects were ordered to pay N300million each and produce two sureties each, in like sum.

The court also told the former PDP Chairman and his son to submit their passports to the court.

The Bellos have been accused of committing fraud to the tune of N300million by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They were arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation of the $2 billion arms deal fraud which was allegedly spearheaded by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

Dasuki is at the center of a massive money laundering investigation and is alleged to have supervised the looting of the funds which were meant for the procurement of arms for Nigeria's military.

He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the EFCC the day after.

The former NSA is reported to have implicated several prominent persons in the deal including former governors, ex-ministers and members of the PDP.

Dasukis lawyer however denied the report that his client had become an informant while the former NSA said that ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan was aware of the transactions he had made.

Jonathan has however denied authorizing the release of the stated funds despite the former NSAs claim that he got the necessary presidential approval for the transactions.
The Shiite, Army clash started, when members of the sect allegedly attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

Speaking to newsmen, the Public Relations Officer of the sect, Jamila Awwal said the groups members were tortured and raped before they were killed by soldiers.

According to Punch Newspapers, she said Some of the women were raped before they were killed by the soldiers as confirmed by some survivors who were also tortured after their arrest.

The soldiers molested our women and removed their hijabs which is a serious violation of Islamic rights.

Adding that All these were followed by propaganda by the government and the army to paint the movement and its leader in a bad light thereby instigating sectarian sentiment and creating tension in the country.

The authorities have remained insensitive to our plight as they unjustly continue to keep our revered leader, El-Zakzaky, and members in various military facilities and prisons.

She also described the continued detention of the sects members as illegal, while calling on the government to facilitate the release of their husbands and children.

The Iranian government has also warned Nigeria to tread with caution, following the clamp down on the sect members.

Also prominent traditional leaders have called for the issue to be treated wisely, adding that the mismanagement of a similar incident with Boko Haram, was what gave rise to the violence in the North-East.
Owoseni disclosed this while reviewing activities of the command in 2015.

He said that some of the men died through different illnesses, while others died from accident related incidents, exchange of gunfire with robbers among others.

The commissioner of police paid tributes to the fallen officers and commiserated with their families for the irreparable lose.

Owoseni said that between Dec. 12, 2015 and Jan. 6, 2016, no fewer than 47 suspected armed robbers and 14 cultists who had been on the wanted list of the police and SSS for murder cases were arrested.

He said that two armed robbers were killed during exchange of gunfire with the police, while 16 different ammunitions and 24 vehicles were recovered.

The commissioner attributed the success recorded in the fight with criminals to the constant raids of black spots, which led to the arrest of 1,110 suspected hoodlums.

"We had 745 convictions, 155 discharged by court, 128 others awaiting trials.

"We also had 1,055 motorcycles impounded during the period under review, he said.
This is contained in a statement issued and signed by the agency's spokesperson in Lagos, Mr Mitchel Ofoyeju.

''The Agency also received a total of 183 Nigerians made up of 176 males and 7 females deported on drug related offences,'' the statement said.

The statement quoted the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr Ahmadu Garba as giving the breakdown of seized drugs.

According to him, the last arrest in 2015 is that of a 37 year old lady recruited on facebook to smuggle drugs to Malaysia.

''The airport command arrested 122 males and 20 females with 594.002k of drugs valued at 3.7 billion naira.

''The drugs consist of 172kg of cannabis, 160kg of ephedrine, 114kg of methamphetamine, 96kg of cocaine, 45kg of tramadol and 5kg of heroin.

''Interestingly, the last arrest for the year was that of a lady who was recruited by a facebook lover based in Malaysia.

''The suspect Gloria Ezeabata was caught with 1.325kg of methamphetamine on her way to Malaysia.

''One Mr Philip Akpaka, 39, who is the suspected leader of the drug cartel in Nigeria and who prepared the travel documents of Gloria was equally arrested.

''Out of the total number of those arrested, 55 were importing drugs from other countries, 62 others were exporting drugs out of the country, while 25 were arrested within the State,'' he said.

The statement also quoted the acting Chairman of the agency, Mrs Roli Bode-George, as saying that the monetary value of seized drugs underscores the threat posed by illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse.

''Drug trafficking is a serious crime capable of undermining our security.

''The Agency is working very hard to seize drugs and financially incapacitate drug trafficking organisations.

''Efforts will be intensified to drastically reduce drug trafficking through continuous arrest and prosecution as well as drug demand reduction programmes.
Nwawuisi made the revelation in a statement he submitted to the Department of State Services (DSS) after his arrest, Punch reports.

He stated:

I came to know about Chidiebere and Obioma one day the security woman called me to tell me that that they will like to install a radio (transmitter) on one of my sites at Ngwo in Enugu State and I told them that I dont know who they are that if they can make out time so that we can see face to face because I dont know them and that was in May.

So the next day, they called me. I was working in one of my sites at St. Michael Catholic Church Asata in Enugu State. I asked them to come down to that site and that was the place I saw them for the first time and they introduced themselves as Chidiebere and Obioma.

They also asked for my name and I said David. They also asked for my native name and I said Chukwugozie and from there Chidiebere started saying that the radio (transmitter) they are asking for my permission to install in my site is to help them educate our people (Igbo) and let them know their brothers and where they come from.

They called me again to remind me of that and that was when I told them ok and we agreed that they are going to be paying N25,000 only per month which they paid six months upfront. N75,000 cash was given to me that day they came for the installation and out of that I gave N5,000 to the security woman. The balance was paid into my account at Ecobank after the First Bank (account) I gave to Obioma failed to accept the payment.

The payment of the balance was done two weeks after the installation of the radio (transmitter). On three different occasions, Chidiebere and Obioma called me to do some maintenance on the radio (transmitter). I gave them access into the site and left and when they finished, the security woman informed me that they are through and I came and locked the site.

Nwawuisi has been charged for the crime along with Radio Biafra founder, Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently being held by the DSS for committing treason.

President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out the likelihood of the Biafra leader being freed on bail after revealing that he came into Nigeria without a passport.

Kanu was arrested in October and supposedly granted bail but he was never freed.
The statement reads:

This morning, I saw only the headlines in one or two print media regarding the 80th Birthday dinner to which I was hosted by the former governor of Rivers State, the Honorable Rotimi Amaechi, now Minister of Transportation.

I ignored them. It was not, and remains not my business to probe into the catering and logistical implications of the hundreds of institutions and governments all over the world to whom I acknowledge an immense debt of unsolicited recognition over the years.

Since then however, I have learnt of some unsavory statements by the insecure incumbent of the Rivers State government Lodge. These included a loose invitation to anti-crime agencies to investigate the potential crime of being honoured through any occasion.

The unprecedented call by this governor is prescient of a warning I recounted in my recent pamphlet publication THE REPUBLIC OF LIARS, and was taken from my address to an anti-corruption global conference that took place in Tunisia two years ago. Those words were: CORRUPTION STRIKES BACK.

In this ongoing instance, that expression translates most vividly as Those who are neck deep in the sewage of corruption ensure that they splatter sewage in all possible and improbable directions.

I do however fully support the Wikeleaks call for multi-directional probes. I recommend further that he involve the services of INTERPOL to guarantee its extension to all international organisations and governments to whom I owe uncountable events of recognition  including birthday luncheons, dinners, cultural receptions and events of real, fictitious, or simply opportunistic flavoring  to which I have submitted myself.

The descent to this present level of abominable distractions makes one truly despair. It is one that even I did not envisage when I warned  CORRUPTION STRIKES BACK! Whether it brings honour or dishonour to the nation is another matter  I am saddened, but indifferent. EFCC and company  over to you! You all know where I live.

The claim was made by the states Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, while addressing Government House correspondents in Port Harcourt.
Yakassai, in a telephone interview with our Punch Newspapers, said the money was not up to the reported amount.

He said The amount being bandied about is not what was given to me. It is true Chief Anenih gave the committee of eminent persons which I headed some funds for our assignment, the money being quoted is not what we received.

Adding that The committee of nine persons which I led was given an assignment to reach out to traditional rulers on the need for them to ensure peaceful elections in their domains because there was tension in prior to the 2015 general elections.

We went round 18 states and Abuja where we met two in each of the states we visited, we started with the Sultan of Sokoto, we could not meet with traditional rulers in Gombe because on the day of our visit, Boko Haram attacked the town and there were reports that they were targeting the Government House where we were at that time, Yakassai said.

He said No. We were not given any money to give any of them and we did not give them any money.

The money the committee received was for logistics such as transport and accommodation. We wrote a report after our assignment which started on January 14 and ended on February 15, 2015, the records are there.

Tanko Yakassai has since denied receiving any money directly from Goodluck Jonathans administration.
Speaking after talks with President Muhammadu Buhari, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde also said she was not in Nigeria to negotiate a loan.

She backed what she called Buhari's "very important" fight against corruption and said the president's reform push could have a positive impact across West Africa.

"His determination to bring about transparency and accountability at all levels of the economy were very important agenda items and very ambitious goals that need to be delivered upon," Lagarde told reporters at the presidential villa in the capital Abuja.

Buhari was elected in March after a campaign in which he promised to clamp down on the endemic corruption that has left many in Africa's biggest economy mired in poverty despite its enormous energy wealth.

He then announced a record budget for 2016, forecasting a doubling of the deficit to 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion) and a tripling of capital expenditure intended to help the country adjust to the downturn in oil, which has lost around two-thirds of its value since mid-2014.

Lagarde said she and Buhari discussed the challenges posed by the falling oil price and the need for fiscal discipline.
The claim was made by the states Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, while addressing Government House correspondents in Port Harcourt.

Amaechi made the denial via a statement released by his media aide, David Iyofor.

It reads:

Wike must stop these silly distractions. Rivers people are not interested in his lies and witch-hunt. Rather, Rivers people want to know what will happen to their children that he stopped and cancelled the funding of their scholarships abroad.

Rivers people want to know why the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), an agency setup by law is no longer functioning under Wike? Why instead of quality education, a standard set by his predecessor, under Wike, grasses and weeds have taken over the beautiful schools built by Amaechi?

Rivers people want to know why the standard health facilities and services put in place by the Amaechi administration are rotting away, not this petty rambling. Rivers people want to know why the Wike government does not care about the security of their lives and property, as violence and criminals have taken over.

Rivers people want to know why it feels as if there is no government in Rivers State, and this is in spite of the billions of naira that has accrued to the Wike administration and the tens of billions of naira borrowed.
Isa was supposed to have been nominated as the Kano State nominee but Buhari picked former Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahman Dambazzau instead, The Cable reports.

Buhari initially wanted Isa, but he was disappointed when he got this report on him, a source in the Presidency said.

Indeed, Buhari delayed naming his cabinet partly because it turned out that many of the people he initially wanted to pick did not pass the integrity test, the source added.

Isa has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with investigations into the $2.1 billion arms deal fraud which Dasuki allegedly spearheaded.

The former NSA reportedly gave the money to Isa in order to secure his support in the 2015 general elections.

Dasuki is at the center of the massive money laundering investigation and is alleged to have supervised the looting of the funds which were meant for the procurement of arms for Nigeria's military.

He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the EFCC the day after.

The former NSA is reported to have implicated several prominent persons in the deal including former governors, ex-ministers and members of the PDP.

Dasukis lawyer however denied the report that his client had become an informant while the former NSA said that ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan was aware of the transactions he had made.

Jonathan has however denied authorizing the release of the stated funds despite the former NSAs claim that he got the necessary presidential approval for the transactions.

Dasuki was released on bail from Kuje Prison in December 2015 but was soon re-arrested by the DSS.

---------------------------------------------
He said I must hasten to assure you that there is nothing like the much flaunted $2.1 billion armsgate. The competent courts of our land would sooner or later prove this coinage aimed at decimating the leadership and membership of our great party to be nothing but a hoax.

Dokpesi also said Some of us are reminded of the events of 1984/85 which by any stretch of comparison are similar to the unfolding events of today. As I have said not too long ago, we must stand resolutely united especially in the face of this momentary political adversity. For one thing, I say again that the PDP is not dead, is not dying and will not die.

The media mogul, who was undefinedafter meeting his bail conditions, also said We may be harassed, we may even be bent, but we are resolute and will not be broken. Even as I speak, the relentless pursuit of our members across the country is being intensified and I can say with some measure of certainty that a lot more lie in stock for the PDP and its members.

You will recall that the in connection with the alleged looting of $2 billion in funds meant for the procurement of arms for Nigerias military.

Dokpesi also admitted receiving the sum of N2.1 billion from the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State and former Senatorial candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Adewale Abel, made the appeal in Lokoja in an interview with Vanguard.

Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives and running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu, had rejected the candidacy of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, whom the APC fielded as Audu's replacement and eventually became the state's Governor-elect.

He insisted he was the right replacement to the late politician.

In reaction to Faleke's position, Abel said it is time for him to sheath his sword and accept the new power shift.

I quite understand the position of my brother, Hon. James Faleke but he must stop fighting now and embrace the new power structure in the state.
Okupe said The Federal Government should not try to dabble into or control the finances of the PDP. The way and manner the ruling party is undertaking its selective probe by hounding opposition leaders is unbecoming and very disheartening.

"Party finances are not the business of the government. The former National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, cannot deny that he didnt collect money for campaigns during the last elections.

The PDP chieftain also warned the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Federal Government not to meddle in PDP's finances.

He said Why is the Federal Government not asking questions on the sources of the APCs campaign funds? The way the PDP spent billions of naira to fund its campaigns in the media was the same way the APC did theirs? Where did the APC get its campaign funds from? The opposition must be given the liberty to thrive.

Okupe also advised President Buhari to take a cue from former President Goodluck Jonathan, who never retaliated when people insulted him.
The commission approached the Chief Magistrates Court in Wuse Zone 2 for an order to detain Metuh, who was arrested on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at his Abuja home.

He was picked up over his involvement in the $2.1 billion arms purchase scandal in which former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki is facing trial for.

Metuh allegedly received N400million meant for arms purchase from the Office of the National Security Adviser, which was paid into the bank account of Destra Investment Limited - a company the spokesman has interest.

According to The Nation, the EFCC sought an order to detain Metuh because some of his accomplices are on the run.

Moving the application at about 2.34pm, the EFCC counsel, Mr. C.O. Ugwu, said: Your Lordship, we have a remand proceeding brought by way of ex parte motion pursuant to Section 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

The application is supported by Form 8, which is the stipulated form for an application of this nature. It is of 16-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Junaid Saidu, a detective officer with EFCC.

We place reliance on the entirety of the deposition in the said affidavit, especially paragraphs 4-15. In a nutshell, we have brought this application because the investigation involved in this case is a bit complex and there are also persons reasonably suspected to be involved in the fraud who are yet at large.

We need the suspect in the custody so as to aid us in our investigation. So, we have come with this application to respectfully apply for an order of this Honourable Court authorising us to keep him in custody.

By the provision of Section 296(1) of the ACJ Act, Your Worship is enjoined to grant an application of this nature for a period of 14 days.

May I conclude my submission by referring this Honourable Court to the case of Lufadeju v. Jonhnson(2007) 8NWLR Pt 1037 at Page 535.

This is a case where the Supreme Court held that it is constitutional to detain a suspect so as to aid investigation and to ensure that the right of the suspect is protected.

This is because we have approached the court to justify his detention by operation of law. So, there is no way we can detain him unnecessarily since the court is in the picture.

Relying on sections 293 and 296 of the ACJ Act, the EFCC counsel pleaded with the court to allow the anti-graft agency to detain Metuh.

Section 293 says: A suspect arrested for an offence, which a magistrates court has no jurisdiction to try shall, within a reasonable time of arrest, be brought before a magistrates court for remand.

An application for remand under this section shall be made ex parte and shall (a) be made in the prescribed Report and Request for Remand Form as contained in Form 8, in the First Schedule to this Act; and (b) be verified on oath and contain reasons for the remand request.

Section 296 reads in part: (1) Where an order of remand of the suspect is made pursuant to Section 293 of this Act, the order shall be for a period not exceeding 14 days in the first instance, and the case shall be returnable within the same period.

(2) Where, on application in writing, good cause is shown why there should be an extension of the remand period, the court may make an order for further remand of the suspect for a period not exceeding 14 days and make the proceedings returnable within the same period

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Okeagu Azubuike said: This court has read carefully the affidavit in the Form 8 to support this application as well as the legal authorities submitted thereto.

This court has therefore found merit in this application and hereby allows the applicant to detain the respondent(Olisa Metuh) in their custody from the 6th of January to 13th of January, 2016, pending the investigation.
According to PremiumTimes, the cleric, Adeola Abdul-Rasheed and fellow former cultists, also signed an undertaking that they will be turning a new leaf in Ogun state.

This took place Ewekoro Local Government under the supervision of Ogun State Police Commissioner and some village heads led by traditional ruler of Itori, Fatai Akamo.

Due to the intervention of some personalities in the state, the former cultists were considered for amnesty, but required to publicly renounce cultism.

Each of the men were required to take an oath of renouncement while handling either the Holy Bible or Holy Q'uran, depending on their religious affinities.

The Islamic cleric, who happen to be the oldest in the group, assured that he has seen the error of his ways and would not return to the criminal act.
The cover was an anniversary edition, commemorating the attacks a year ago when Islamist militants killed 12 during an assault on the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris. The cartoon on the cover shows an angry God with blood on his hands and a rifle strapped to his back.

"One year later, the assassin is still on the run," the headline says.

"Behind the deceptive flag of an uncompromising secularism, the French weekly once again forgets what religious leaders of every faith have been urging for ages - to reject violence in the name of religion and that using God to justify hatred is a genuine blasphemy," it wrote in a short commentary.

"Charlie Hebdo's move shows the sad paradox of a world which is increasingly sensitive about being politically correct to the point of being ridiculous ... but does not want to recognise or respect believers' faith in God, regardless of their religion."

Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical covers lampooning political and religious leaders, lost many of its top editorial staff when Islamist militants broke into an editorial meeting on Jan. 7, 2015, and opened fire.

After that attack, Pope Francis took issue with Charlie Hebdo's anti-religious stance.

"You can't provoke, you can't insult the faith of others, you can't make fun of faith," he told reporters during an Asian tour. The Vatican later issued a statement that said the pope's comments were not intended as a justification for the attacks.

An editorial released before publication of Wednesday's special edition said the magazine would continue despite religious extremists who wanted to muzzle it.
Rev. Cynthia Meyer, the former Assistant Dean of Students for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, came out in a sermon to the Edgerton United Methodist Church in Edgerton, Kansas.

After 25 years of pretending to be straight, Meyer explained that she will no longer be hiding her true self.

She said: The Lord has led me here, to share my deep truth with you. Its time.

Ive been an Ordained United Methodist Pastor for 25 years at last I am choosing to serve in that role with full authenticity, as my genuine self. As a woman who loves and shares my love with another woman.

I remained single through 20 years of my ministry, then a few years ago a wonderful relationship began to develop.

In the midst of much prayer, at long last Mary and I decided that the Holy Spirit had brought us together.

Our relationship is a holy part of Gods calling. We decided to commit our lives in love and covenant with one another. It was time.

Ideally, my telling you that I am in a committed relationship would simply mean that I could relate to you and to everyone else in openness and honesty, offering my most valuable gift  my full self.

She added: I could stop saying Im going on vacation with a friend. I could use the great sermon illustrations than come from ordinary day-to-day life as a couple.

I could stop pretending to live alone. I could stop denying who I proudly, faithfully am, and who I proudly, faithfully love.
Pastor Kallamu Musa Dikwa, in an interview in Kaduna today, has said that, due to the proactive measures against corruption taken by the president, he had become the enemy of so many Big men who might kill him before end of his tenure.

According to him, 95 percent of the top government officials who have been arrested due to corruption charges, are highly placed and rich individuals in the society and they might gang up against the president.

The Borno-based pastor said, President Buhari right now has thousands of enemies because he came out with full force to fight corruption in this country. He started arresting people that are involved in the armed deals including former National Security Adviser and some top government officials and politicians across the country.

Some of these people that I gathered have returned the looted money and all those involved in the arms deal are not happy and so they will like President Buhari to be out of the office either by killing him or otherwise. He hinted.

Dikwa also urges President Buhari to extend the fight against corruption to religious bodies in the country, stressing, So far, we are aware of the massive funds shared to religious bodies before 2015 elections in the country and nothing was done about it.
This is contained in a statement signed by the state's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde.

The statement said Fagbohun, a professor of Environmental Law, was until his appointment Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos.

It said that following the expiration of the tenure of Prof. John Obafunwa as the seventh substantive Vice-Chancellor of LASU on Oct. 31, 2015, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor ,Administration, Prof. Fidelis Njokanma assumed the position of Acting Vice-Chancellor.

According to the statement, Fagbohun, was born on Oct. 19, 1966 and hails from Akesan in the Alimosho Local Government area of the state.

It said Fagbohun joined the Faculty of Law of LASU as an Assistant Lecturer in January 1991.

The statement said he rose through the ranks, and by 2004, was appointed Associate Professor.

It said Fagbohun studied Law at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.

According to the statement, he obtained his Masters of Law Degree at the University of Lagos and attended the Obafemi Awolowo University for his doctoral degree programme.
Speaking on his behalf, George Sorial the spokesperson for Trump Organisation said Any action to restrict travel would force The Trump Organization to immediately end these and all future investments we are currently contemplating in the United Kingdom

Westminster would create a dangerous precedent and send a terrible message to the world that the United Kingdom opposes free speech and has no interest in attracting inward investment.

This is coming on the heels of reports in the media that the UK parliament is planning to debate on a petition calling on the legislators to issue an order barring the multi-billionaire.

According to reports, concerned citizens initiated an online petition, which got over 570,000 signatures, calling for him to be barred from entering the UK.

You will also recall that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron said Trumps comments about Muslims is stupid.
Thieba, who has little political experience, is charged with forming President Roch Marc Kabore's government as the country continues with a democratic transition after 27 years under leader Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown in October 2014.

Thieba, 56, worked for many years as an economist for the West African central bank, BCEAO, in Ivory Coast.

Kabore has said the government needs to improve access to water, healthcare and education.
All about coming up with a good plan and trying to execute it to its best: UAE's Aryan Lakra

PKL 9: It's important for me to guide the youngsters in our team, says Fazel Atrachali

KL Rahul will score tons of runs in T20 World Cup; England favourites for title, predicts Pietersen
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The city of Bettendorf is seeking help to relieve property owners from extremely high monthly flood insurance premiums.

In hopes of assisting those who potentially face foreclosure, Bettendorf is applying for federal grant funds to acquire properties within the citys 100-year flood zone.

Bettendorf City Planner John Soenksen recently sent letters to 743 properties along waterways in Bettendorf that are located within the city's regulated flood zone. Of those, 26 homeowners expressed an interest in potential buyouts, and 28 of the properties remain vacant, Soenksen said.

What we've always feared might happen may have already started, added Soenksen, who assumes individuals who formerly lived in those now-vacant homes have walked away from their mortgages. Youve got to think thats whats going on.

Aldermen this week authorized the city to hire Davenport-based Koestner, McGivern & Associates to appraise 13 homes prone to flooding located within a target area near where Duck and Greenway creeks intersect under Parkway Drive. The remaining 13 homeowners calling for help currently stand in line on a waiting list.

The Biggert-Waters Act of 2012 caused several local homeowners' monthly flood insurance premiums to skyrocket.

In 1978, cities were required to produce flood-zone maps. The documents identified properties that would be subject to a 100-year flood, which is an event that has a 1 percent probability of occurring in any given year.

As of a year-and-a-half ago, about 362 Bettendorf homeowners had purchased flood insurance.

Meanwhile, Soenksen is handling the city's application for federal funds. In order to apply for the funds available to cities in Iowa  $1.68 million in total  Bettendorf will front $252,000, or a 15 percent match.

If Bettendorf secures the funds, Soenksen predicts the city potentially could acquire and demolish between 10 and 13 of those homes, all of which stand between 608 and 610 feet above sea level.

The application process, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security oversee, could take several months, Soenksen noted.

"I really dont have a timeframe on when we could start a project if we get a grant," he said. Its a lot of hurry-up work and wait.

The lowest of four bidders for the upcoming appraisal project, Koestner, McGivern & Associates will charge Bettendorf $2,925 to inspect the 13 homes.

Once the Davenport firm begins the property-evaluation project  which Soenksen predicts should start next week  appraisers will have 30 days to complete the work, according to the contract.
One of two people accused of vandalizing multiple cars in Davenports west end in October pleaded guilty Wednesday in Scott County District Court.

Shane D. Wheeler, 26, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced Feb. 17.

In a written plea agreement filed Dec. 30, Assistant Scott County Attorney Andrea Glasgow wrote that prosecutors will not resist a sentence of supervised probation if Wheeler is deemed appropriate for placement in a residential corrections facility.

If incarceration is recommended, Glasgow wrote that prosecutors will recommend that the sentences run at the same time.

The recommendation is conditional on Wheeler paying restitution, she wrote.

Wheeler also must testify truthfully as to his own involvement and that of his co-defendant, Ralph A. Richardson III, 17, Glasgow wrote.

During the early overnight hours of Oct. 3 and into Oct. 4, and during the early morning hours of Oct. 5, Davenport police were called to more than 60 incidents of criminal damage in which vehicle windows had been shot out with a BB or pellet gun.

The incidents occurred between River Drive and Kimberly Road from Division Street west to the city limits. No one was injured.

A witness provided a vehicle and suspect description that led to a search warrant of Wheelers residence, according to police.

Wheeler confessed that he and Richardson shot out vehicle windows and did other damage as they drove through several west-end neighborhoods. Wheeler said the two shot at cars randomly and estimated they struck about 75 vehicles, according to police.

Richardson was charged as an adult with one count of first-degree criminal mischief. He has a final pretrial conference Feb. 3.

Wheeler has been in the Scott County Jail since Oct. 13.

Less than a month before his arrest in the vandalism case, Wheeler was charged with breaking into a home and a truck. He was released from the jail after posting $5,000 through a bail bonding company.

In November, Wheeler was charged with second-degree arson and trespass, a serious misdemeanor, stemming from an incident that happened sometime between Aug. 22 and 23.

Police say Wheeler and a juvenile co-defendant entered a locked, gated area of West Lake Park near a boat ramp and broke the metal chain that secured a 14-foot Crestliner boat. The two then drove the boat in the lake and set it on fire by uncapping the gas tank cap, pouring gasoline into the bottom of the boat and throwing a match onto the boat.

On Wednesday, Wheeler also pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary in the September incident and conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony in the August incident. Both charges are a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

If a judge accepts the plea agreement at sentencing, prosecutors will dismiss additional charges of third-degree burglary and third-degree theft in the September incident and the arson and trespass charges in the August incident.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa  Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a roomful of people in Cedar Falls that its important for the next White House occupant to get the country on track monetarily, militarily and morally.

Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and 2008 Iowa caucus winner, said it is politically incorrect to talk about morality, before explaining his desire to see the courts decide with finality the personhood of a fetus.

But he said after the town hall with more than 40 people in attendance at Tonys La Pizzeria on Wednesday afternoon that his definition of morality is simply: Do unto others as youd have them do unto you.

That kind of settles morality, Huckabee said. Morality doesnt necessarily mean that you are imposing a religion. It imposes a basic sense of self-respect and respect of others that is equal to the respect you have for yourself.

Huckabee kept true to that sense of morality when the former pastor was asked about his stance toward atheists. Though he disputed the use of the phrase separation of church and state for not being in the U.S. Constitution, Huckabee agreed the government ought not to favor a particular religion.

I would absolutely defend a person who is an atheist, whether its you or anybody else, would absolutely have a right to be an atheist and be protected in that. I just want to make sure that people who are Christian are not criminalized for their Christian beliefs, Huckabee said, before once again defending the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Huckabee said he has publicly stated previously  and reiterated Wednesday  that he would rather support an atheist running for office who is honest about his or her beliefs than support someone who pretends to be Christian.

When his back-and-forth on atheism with Waterloo resident Justin Scott ended amicably, Huckabee took to criticizing a culture that is often quick to judge others.

One of the things that is so frustrating in our culture today is sometimes people think that they can judge immediately. For example, I get judged because I am a Christian. People assume they know everything that I believe, and they dont. I think I just surprised you, Huckabee said.

Scott, a member of the Cedar Valley Atheists, said after the meeting that he loved Huckabees comments and appreciated that he answered the question head-on. He said his only concern is that Huckabee sticks to that same message outside of the small gathering in Cedar Falls.

In fact, Huckabees 150-event tour in the last month before the Iowa caucus is in part centered on his message of being genuine.

The one thing I know about the people of Iowa ... people here want authenticity, Huckabee told MSNBCs Morning Joe on Tuesday. When people hear my message, they know its going to be the same message that Im delivering in Marshalltown, Iowa, that I would deliver in Manhattan.

Huckabee currently is polling at an average of 2.6 percent in Iowa polls, according to Real Clear Politics, though he has noted that most Iowans remain undecided ahead of the caucuses.

Chris Simenson, of Dunkerton, Iowa, said he liked Huckabee's message of the importance of the Iowa caucuses and their continued focus on candidates meeting with voters.

The strength, the power and the genius is that the Iowa caucus has historically forced candidates to come and earn the vote, Huckabee said at the beginning of his town hall. If any other thing will win the Iowa caucus, it will be the death of it.

Simenson said he always has liked Huckabees message and likes the grasp of the issues that governors tend to have, but he was otherwise tight-lipped about who he plans to support in the Feb. 1 caucus.

Still open. I still have an open mind, Simenson said. Call back and Ill tell you who Im supporting. Thats why I am here.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa  Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul on Thursday detailed his libertarian foreign policy stances as he sought to get traction for his campaign in the crucial weeks before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.

Paul, a U.S. Senator from Kentucky who was celebrating his 53rd birthday, spoke to 90 people at the Wilbur Aalfs Library in downtown Sioux City. He discussed his opposition to a new gun control proposal by President Barack Obama and also shared his longstanding libertarian bent to try to avoid foreign conflicts.

"Sometimes there is variations on both sides of a civil war, and that's what the problem is in the Middle East. But if there is one thing we should ought to learn from history, it is that when we've toppled secular dictators in the Middle East, we've gotten chaos, the rise of radical Islam and we've gotten less safe," Paul said.

Foreign policy issues have risen in the presidential campaign after the terror attacks in Paris, reportedly linked to the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. Paul differentiated himself from Republican rivals on defense, saying he's the sole candidate not eager for another overseas war.

"I have been making the argument for two years that we should not be arming the allies of ISIS. It is ridiculous, ISIS rides around in $1 billion U.S. Humvees; they have 43 of our tanks," Paul said.

The 12-candidate Republican field in Iowa has been led recently by Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. In the mid-December Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa, Paul received 2 percent support.

James Gengler, of Sioux City, said he supported Paul's father, Republican Ron Paul, when he ran for president in 2008 and 2012. Both Pauls embrace libertarian principles, which Gengler said he likes.

"The federal government is supposed to be limited in scope. We are not supposed to have a military presence in 130 nations," Gengler said.

Elizabeth Widman, of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, said she will caucus for Paul. Widman has seen him three times in person and said she likes his policies of fiscal conservatism and international restraint.

"We go in with good intentions (militarily), but there are unintended consequences," Widman said.

Paul panned a series of new executive orders announced Tuesday by Obama in an effort to reduce gun violence. Paul said some people may want to address gun violence, but using chief executive power isn't the right way.

"It is unconstitutional for the president to write law," Paul said.

The crux of Obama's plan is a more sweeping definition of gun dealers that the administration hopes will expand the number of sales subject to background checks. Under current law, only federally licensed gun dealers must conduct background checks on buyers. But at gun shows, websites and flea markets, sellers often skirt that requirement by declining to register as licensed dealers.

Paul also summarized his view on limited government, including less intrusion into personal lives.

"We need to get back to constitutional founding principles. We have to defend economic liberty, personal liberty, the Bill of Rights for everyone. I think I offer something unique to the race. I think we have a great chance of winning in Iowa," Paul said.

Paul was joined by his wife, Kelley Paul in the city event, and she also appeared with him in his other Thursday stops in Council Bluffs, Carroll and Boone.
The Rock Island Library will offer free Tween Gaming nights on the second Monday of each month from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th St.

Kids ages 8-12 can play an age-appropriate selection of videogames for fun and learning on the library's large screen and meet other kids who love gaming. Tween gaming nights will be offered Mondays, Jan. 11, Feb. 8, March 14, and April 11.

The library also will offer a free Tween Galaxy Scavenger Hunt on Monday, Jan. 25 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. as part of Use the Force: Read winter reading activities for kids ages 8-12. The event will start in the Main Library Community Room. Kids ages 8-12 will work on finding clues in the Rock Island Library "galaxy." Prizes are awarded for finding all the clues. Registration is not required.

For more information, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, call 309-732-READ, or follow the library on Facebook or Twitter.
Michael Akers of Galesburg, Ill., said he normally does not buy lottery tickets.

But when he walked into the Sara Mini Mart on River Drive in Davenport, he recognized one of the clerks and purchased a ticket from her.

Akers said he usually considers the odds of winning too long.

Its not something I normally spend money on, but I know the clerk, and I bought the ticket from her, he said. Who knows, maybe Ill be lucky because of it.

As of 6:35 p.m., the lucky winning ticket would net him an estimated $500 million, according to the Powerball website. The one-time cash payout would be $306 million.

Jesse Vasquez said he just got back to the Quad-Cities from a visit to Mexico and saw the amount of the Powerball jackpot.

I bought 20 numbers, 10 for me and 10 for my company, Vasquez said, who said he is in real estate.

Dev Bastola, owner of the Sara Mini Mart, said the store normally sells about 100 Powerball tickets in a day. Maybe we sell $200 worth on any given day, he said.

But Wednesdays sales were virtually non-stop.

By 6 p.m., he had sold more than $2,600 worth of Powerball tickets, and there was a line of people waiting to buy theirs.

Its going to be like this until the time to cutoff sales, Bastola said. Its not a bad thing. It brings people into the store and helps my sales. Its the same thing for other stores that sell the tickets. In-store sales go up.
To the Editor:

I enjoyed Tuesday's story on the Iowa clean water issue. Our Legislature is finally standing up and taking notice but the solutions being offered would just adds to the problem.

We know that nitrates from farm runoff are polluting our waterways. We know there are ways to remediate this and some farmers are applying them. We also know that voluntary complance only works if everyone is doing it.

Now our lawmakers are asking for a sales tax boost to increase funding for clean up costs. I did not dump the nitrates into our rivers and I should not have to pay to clean it up. Many farmers over the years were misled on the damage caused by these nitrates.

I say tax the source. Tax Monsanto and the makers of this byproduct. Don't tax me, don't tax the farmer. Tax Monsanto. Between 1995 and 2012 we gave Monsanto $377,514 in government subsidies while they made millions in profit.

Taxing us is another way of subsidizing Monsanto. Why have they been ignored in this fight? When President Obama was elected he appointed former Monsanto VP Michael Taylor as head of food safety at the Food and Drug Administration. He appointed Tom Vilsack, another biotech shill, as secretary of agriculture. Terry Bransdat and other legislatures are in lock step with Monsanto because of all the money they dump into their political campaigns.

Monsanto's herbicide Roundup is found in every drop of rain water that falls in Iowa.

Tax the makers of the products causing this pollution, not the citizens that are affected by it.

Charles Messmer

Davenport
NEW IN THEATERS:

"The Revenant": A fur trapper (Leonardo DiCaprio) seeks vengeance against the companions who robbed him, left him for dead and murdered his son after a vicious bear attack. R: 156 minutes. Carmike 10.

"The Forest": A young woman (Natalie Dormer) goes searching for her sister, who has mysteriously disappeared in Aokigahara Forest, the Japanese woods beneath Mount Fuji where people go to commit suicide. PG-13: 93 minutes. Rushmore 7.

NOW PLAYING:

Movies showings are subject to change.

"The Hateful Eight": In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an ex-Union Soldier (Samuel L. Jackson) and an ex-Confederate (Walton Goggins) find shelter in a cabin inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters. R: 167 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"The Big Short": When four outsiders (Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt) saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, they had an idea: The Big Short. R: 130 minutes. Carmike 10.

"Joy": PG-13: 124 minutes. Carmike 10.

"Concussion": PG-13: 123 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"Daddy's Home": PG-13: 96 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"Point Break": PG-13: 113 minutes. Carmike 10.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens": PG-13: 136 minutes. Carmike 10.

"Sisters": R: 118 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip": PG: 86 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"Creed": PG-13: 95 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"The Good Dinosaur": PG: 92 minutes. Rushmore 7.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay  Part 2": PG-13: 136 minutes. Carmike 10.

"The Martian": PG-13: 144 minutes. Elks Theatre.

"The Peanuts Movie": G: 93 minutes. Elks Theatre.

"Spectre": PG-13: 148 minutes. Elks Theatre.

"Hotel Transylvania 2": PG: 89 minutes. Elks Theatre.

NEW ON VIDEO ON DEMAND:

"Sicario": In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid in the escalating War on Drugs. She's partnered with a defector from the cartel (Benicio Del Toro). R: 121 minutes. Amazon Video, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play.

"The Visit": A single mother finds that things in her family's life go very wrong after her two young children visit her grandparents. PG-13: 94 minutes. VUDU, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play.
An Ohio man pledged Tuesday to not let his "zombie Nativity" display die without a fight, while an apparent supporter dressed as a zombie was jailed for contempt of court.

Jasen Dixon pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of violating zoning rules in the Cincinnati suburb of Sycamore Township. He is due back in court Feb. 2 for a hearing on the case.

"It's a First Amendment issue," Dixon told reporters outside a Hamilton County a courtroom, saying he's not worried about potentially having to pay fines that could total in the thousands.

He's been at odds with township officials the past two Decembers about his front yard display and said he made changes to comply.

It features ghoulish figures including a sharp-toothed creature in the manger where baby Jesus would be in traditional Christmas Nativities. It has drawn some complaints, but also widespread attention.

Dixon said he took the display down after Christmas, but he told WCPO-TV he plans to bring it back "bigger and better" next holiday season.

Township officials have declared that they aren't anti-zombie, but are enforcing rules about an improper "accessory use" structure in a front yard.

In other zombie-related developments in Cincinnati on Tuesday, a man who wore make-up and dressed as a zombie in an apparent show of support for Dixon was held in contempt of court for disrupting an unrelated civil trial.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman found John Thomer, 28, guilty of contempt that obstructed the administration of justice.

Specifically, the judge wrote, he "was growling into a megaphone and disrupted my trial."

Ruehlman said Thomer was given three chances to stop and refused. He added that he had him arrested "not for the content of his speech," but because of the loud delivery method by megaphone.

Thomer was ordered held for three days in Hamilton County Jail. No messages could be left for him there Tuesday.
The Belle Fourche City Council passed the second reading of the new planning and zoning ordinance, but only on a 5-3 vote.

At a previous city council meeting, more flexibility was created for owners of older mobile homes regarding building code.

At that Dec. 7 meeting, Ali DeMersseman presented the purpose of the new ordinance overall, which is to:

eliminate conflicts in existing ordinances

make the ordinance more user-friendly and easy to administer

create an ordinance that supports the citys vision for the physical development of Belle Fourche and

address changing demographics and recommendations of a 2013 Housing Study

DeMersseman is the community development planner for Black Hills Council of Local Governments. She has been working with the local planning and zoning Board to create the ordinance.

Council members Steven Ritch, Katie Satzinger and Greg Raisanen each voted against the second reading at the Jan. 4 meeting.

After the meeting, Ritch told the Butte County Post there is too much distrust with the ordinance.

"I'm a firm believer in that if the community doesn't support it I shouldn't vote for it," he said.

Satzinger believes the ordinance is too restrictive to the residents of Belle Fourche.

Both Satzinger and Ritch said they would have been more comfortable passing the ordinance in pieces rather than all at once in bulk.

Raisanen, who said he has read through the ordinance several times, didn't feel 100 percent comfortable with certain areas the ordinance will affect.

"Once it's passed it's law, so we should get it right the first time," he said. "We've made some changes to accommodate certain areas, but there area areas where we should have done more."

Raisanen added that it is necessary to pass the ordinance comprehensively, because bits and pieces have been passed for years leading up to this ordinance.

He also added, "they did a lot of work on it, and they did a fantastic job with all the public input and hearings, but there should have been more work in some area. We're close, but not quite there."

The council also appointed Mayor Gloria Landphere to the Belle Fourche Rail Authority effective January 2016 for a three year term.

The council also appointed Jim Doolittle as a member at large to the rail authority. Karen Wagner abstained from that vote.

Council members did ask for clarity of the bylaws and member nomination regarding the rail authority board, so a Thursday meeting at 9 a.m. at City Hall has been scheduled to explain the process.

The council also left the municipal election date as it currently is, which is combined with the Belle Fourche School District on April 12. The other option was to combine with the county and the school on the primary election day on June 7.
This year, I had the opportunity to nominate 24 exceptional South Dakota students to our nations military service academies for the fall 2016 semester.

Each year, I can nominate a certain number of students to the four service academies that require a nomination. They include the Military Academy at West Point, New York; the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. All academies offer a great opportunity for young people to become leaders in our nations military.

It is truly an honor for me to nominate young South Dakota students to become the next generation of military leaders. The United States service academies are looking for the best and brightest to join their ranks. Each of the students nominated this year exemplify the leadership qualities and academic excellence that our countrys service academies are looking for in their recruits.

Being admitted to the service academies isnt easy. Only a small number of students are selected each year, and those who do get accepted are the best of the best. They must meet difficult eligibility requirements in leadership, physical fitness, character and scholarship. That being said, those who graduate from the academies can go on to do great things. They are among the highest caliber our country has to offer, and that is a direct result of the training and education they received at whichever academy they attended.

The multi-part process of applying to the service academies can be difficult and oftentimes confusing. I have staff members in my South Dakota offices who are experienced in the process. They can assist with the application and answer any questions students or their parents may have. Additionally, I have implemented Military Academy Day events throughout the state. We held a series of these events in 2015 and will do so again in 2016. At these seminars, my staff is joined by representatives from the academies to give presentations and answer any questions from interested students and parents. They are a good way for students who are thinking of attending a military service academy to learn more about the application process and see what life is like at an academy. Dates and locations for 2016 Military Academy Day events will be released in the coming months.

To learn more about academy nominations, visit my website at www.rounds.senate.gov or call any of my state offices. You can also email academy_nominations@rounds.senate.gov. By attending an academy, not only will students have the opportunity to serve our nation and help lead the best military in the world, but they will receive an excellent education at a top-notch institution. It is an honor for me to be able to nominate South Dakota students to the U.S. military service academies.
For one of their regular outings, Shaina Hargens took her 14-year-old friend Casie Leathers to watch a documentary on human trafficking in Rapid City on Wednesday night.

Hargens, who works as a marketing coordinator for a Rapid City publishing house, knows that human trafficking can happen anywhere and wanted the girl she mentors to be informed about the risks.

This happens to normal people, said Hargens, 26. She is the target age group, and knowledge is power.

The documentary, "Chosen," tells the story of two American girls who get involved in sex trafficking rings. It also informs the audience how to help potential victims, and to watch for signs of potential dangers. The film was shown as part of a community forum at the Elks Theater in downtown Rapid City that included the screening and a panel discussion among experts who are committed to preventing trafficking, aiding the victims and holding criminals accountable.

The visible signs of victimization include having an older boyfriend who may groom a girl by giving her extra attention and then isolating her from family and friends; girls wearing expensive clothing or jewelry that they otherwise could not afford; and having tattoos or special body marks. Especially vulnerable, the experts said, are people who are impoverished and have previously been victims of sexual assault.

In the past eight years, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center has recorded 233 victims of human trafficking within South Dakota, the majority of whom were targeted by sex traffickers.

Also, about 40 percent of sex trafficking victims in the state are Native women. The South Dakota Coalition Ending Domestic and Sexual Violence is among the groups working to help prevent trafficking on reservations, including cases being perpetrated by Native men and women against their own people.

Native people have kind of been denying that its been happening, said Carla Marshall, a grant coordinator with the coalition and member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. When you start talking about human trafficking or sex trafficking, theyre thinking the stereotypical Las Vegas and Reno prostitution.

The state has made 17 convictions in sex trafficking cases in the past five years, said Gregg Peterman, an assistant U.S. Attorney in South Dakota. The convictions include two of the longest sentences handed down nationwide for such crimes, Peterman said. Five more sex trafficking cases are currently pending in federal court, but he declined to provide details.

South Dakota in 2013 ranked worst in the nation in a ranking of effectiveness of human trafficking laws, according to a study by the advocacy group Polaris. The state moved up a tier the following year after new laws gave police the authority to seize sex traffickers' assets and allow victims to collect civil damages.

State Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, said he hopes that this year the South Dakota legislature can create an expansive law to address human trafficking. Craig said he might also refile a bill that didnt make it through last year, which would have made traffickers similar penalties as prostitution pimps.

Members of the Rapid City community, which came close to filling the 600-seat Elks Theater for the documentary showing yesterday, expressed concerns during the open forum that the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline might bring more man camps to the state, and in turn raise the incidents of sex trafficking locally.
To Douglas Wells, a professor of physics at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, four newly discovered chemical elements could be powerful tools in the struggle to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Discovered by teams of scientists in Japan, Russia, and the United States, the new elements were confirmed by The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry this week.

The new elements fill in four gaps in the seventh row of the periodic table, completing the current version of the chemical chart of elements.

From a chemists standpoint, this is the Holy Grail, Wells said.

The four new super heavy elements, which occupy slots 113, 115, 117, and 118 on the periodic table, were synthesized in particle accelerators, a favorite tool of discovery among nuclear physicists.

The former director of the particle accelerator at Idaho State University, Wells explained in simple terms how the science works.

Imagine if I smash two hunks of Play-Doh together really hard, Wells said, twining his fingers. There might be fragments going around in various directions, but there will be some central part that sticks together. Thats what these guys are  except a nuclear version.

Jan Puszynski, a chemical engineer and the vice president for research at the School of Mines, said the use of particle accelerators to generate the new elements means they are man-made and do not occur in nature.

I would argue thats not true, Wells said, emphasizing he hasn't actually discussed the topic with Puszynski. Where youre going to find them, if they exist in nature, is in supernova explosions, which are hard to get close to. But if our models are correct, they occur there as well.

What the two colleagues do agree on is that if there are any practical uses for the new elements, they probably will be found in the field of nuclear medicine.

To understand why, Wells, a specialist in nuclear-medicine research, went back to the very beginnings of the periodic table.

When the chemical table was first discovered, there was a hole in it right there, he said, his finger landing near the center of the chemical chart on element Technetium 99. Thats because theres no naturally occurring Technetium on Earth."

Technetium 99 was first synthesized in a particle accelerator in 1925, according to a history of the element published on Harvard University's website.

Now its responsible for about 85 percent of all nuclear-medicine procedures, Wells said. Thats about 17 million people a year.

Like Technetium 99, the four new elements are radioactive, and can perhaps, in Wells view, be put to use as effective treatments against such diseases as cancer or HIV.

As they decay, Wells explained, radioactive atoms continuously emit what are called alpha particles, composed of two protons bonded with two neutrons.

Alpha particles can damage diseased cells. The more protons a radioactive atom has, the more alpha particles it can produce, and therefore, the more damage it can do.

The newly discovered radioactive element Ununoctium (Uuo) has 118 protons, more than any element discovered thus far. (Each of the four new elements has a similarly difficult-to-pronounce name beginning with U, clunky monikers that are temporary as scientists consider their official names.)

Back in the micro-world, the challenge, Wells said, is for pharmacists and molecular biologists to find effective ways to get radioactive atoms inside diseased cells so they can tear the cells apart from the inside, leaving healthy cells intact.

If an atom is in there, and it emits an alpha particle, it wont even exit the cell, so its short range makes it very attractive, Wells said. Its like a nuclear scalpel.

The subject of much research, such injections, if perfected, could make the new elements ideal candidates for treating diseased cells, Wells said.

Puszynski is more skeptical.

The new elements are unstable, and once they are created in a particle accelerator, they tend not to last very long. Their lifespan, Puszynski said, can be counted in hours, even seconds in some cases.

The use of particle accelerators to create them also makes the new elements potentially very expensive to mass produce.

You have to be careful with these materials because they are super heavy elements, so they might have other effects, Puszynski added. They might be bad for your body.

Puszynski said he thinks useful applications may be created for the new elements, but only time will tell.

Meanwhile, as a scientist, he is eager to see what happens next with the new discoveries. It filled the gaps in the table we had, but we dont know what else is ahead of us, Puszynski said. Thats the beauty of research.

The last time scientists identified new elements  flerovium (Fl) and livermorium (Lv)  was five years ago.

Wells said he thinks there will be another row of elements to add to the table someday, likely ending somewhere within the range of atomic weight 126.

The chemists have yet to be persuaded that there is anything beyond (118), he said. The onus is on the physicists to show theres anything heavier.
Don was born April 3, 1937, in Stuttgart, AR, to Ned and Mildred (Eichler) Wheeler. He graduated from high school and had also attended college. Don enlisted in the US Air Force in 1955, serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and retiring in 1975. He lived in Louisiana from 1970 to 2002; Great Falls, MT, for four years; and moved to Rapid City in 2006.
Hague court announces arbitral proceedings against Russia over Crimean airport

MOSCOW, January 7 (RAPSI, Vladimir Yaduta) - The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration announced on Wednesday about proceedings commenced by Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky against Russia over an airport in the breakaway region of Crimea.

The legal action was brought by Kolomoisky and Aeroport Belbek LLC on January 9, 2015.

The claimants allege that they were deprived of their property, contractual rights to operate a passenger terminal for commercial flights at the Belbek International Airport as a result of measures taken by Russia, the court said in a press release.

Russia so far has filed two letters with the court raising objection to its jurisdiction and the admissibility of the claims.

On October 30, 2015, the court ordered that the proceedings would continue notwithstanding Russias failure to answer to the claims.

Hearing dates for the preliminary procedure have yet to be fixed, according to the court.

In the meantime, Russian authorities brought criminal charges against dozens of individuals, including Kolomoisky and Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, on suspicion of the "organized murder" of civilians in eastern Ukraine. Kolomoisky and Avakov are accused of using of prohibited means and methods of warfare, as well as the abduction of journalists. Russian courts ordered the seizure of a list of assets owned by Kolomoisky in Crimea.




Montanas newly designed drivers licenses make their debuts this week in Helena, Bozeman and Billings, but there are already 2,000 or more western Montanans packing a holographic Glacier Park scene in their pockets or purses.

The Department of Motor Vehicles Missoula driver exam station on Palmer Street was the first to roll out the new licenses and ID cards on Dec. 2.

Were enjoying it, office manager Patty Ehli said Wednesday. Were very excited about the new product, the actual license, simply because our old license and material had a lot of returns because the laminates were not adhering to the base of the license. We had a lot of issues with them losing validity.

The first new design in eight years is more secure, with features that meet federal regulations, though they dont meet standards of the contentious federal Real ID card. Thats something Gov. Steve Bullock, Attorney General Tim Fox and Montanas congressional delegation have vigorously opposed  and the Department of Homeland Security is just as vigorously pushing.

In October, the department granted Montana and other anti-Real ID states a second one-year extension to comply.

Fox and the Montana Department of Justice issued a press release Wednesday announcing the introduction of the new driver license.

Missoula and its pilot station in Superior came on-line first. Great Falls, Choteau and Fort Benton were next.

The new licenses were available at Helenas exam station Wednesday. Bozeman starts Thursday, followed by Billings on Friday. Officials hope to have driver exam stations in all 56 counties issuing the new cards by the end of February, a month later than originally announced.

Im not exactly sure why they chose here first, Ehli said. This is a seasoned staff and maybe we just felt more comfortable with the change. We were pretty much the pilot station for Montana, so we could check any errors that might be unforeseen in entries, production and how the (computer system) was going to work.

Ehli said many on her nine-person staff at the Missoula station have paid $10 to get duplicate licenses to show the new ones off, as any Montana driver can do.

The background graphic is based on a photo of Lake MacDonald and Glacier National Park by Donnie Sexton of the Montana Office of Tourism, in a design thats representative of the beauty of Montana, the DOJ release stated.

Some of the embedded optically variable security features found on the new card are also recognizable elements of Montana, including our state flower, our state bird, the word Montana, and ponderosa pine trees, according to the release.

Drivers licenses and ID cards for people under 21 are printed in a vertical format.

A report out of Great Falls, where the new licenses were issued starting Dec. 15, said the new look has caused some confusion.

Over the last few weeks there have been instances reported where a local bar or retailer wont accept a customers ID because theyre unfamiliar with the new design, KFBB-TV reported on Monday. As a result, they believe its fake.

Ehli and her staff havent heard any such feedback in Missoula.

Highway Patrol was all notified of the change. I think thats who Id be more concerned about than the bars, she said.

According to Sarah Garcia, state Motor Vehicle administrator, the 2015 Legislature approved money to update the three Driver License Bureau computer platforms, which were still operating on Microsoft Windows XP software.

One of the platforms included the drivers license and identification card. Motor Vehicles is working with two separate vendors to install the new equipment across the state.

It was a process that required the Missoula exam station to be closed for just half a business day.

Its an undertaking, Ehli said. The crew that came in removed all the old equipment, and in with the new. Everything has to go, and all those programs have to be up and functioning. So those crews have a lot of work to do.

Fox said the DOJ and Montana Motor Vehicle Division is always looking for ways to enhance the security of the Montana drivers license and protect the privacy of Montanans information.

A complete revamping of the look, feel and design of the card, and security features such as ultraviolet ink that appears green when exposed to an ultraviolet light source, will do just that, he said.
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RoadDog's RoadLog Blog: Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.
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Coppins was the country home for the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their family. It also welcomed a host of royalty, including kings and quee...
Note To Race Organisers/ Promoters

If you want to drum up your events (not limited to roadraces) in this blog, feel free to send me your press releases, entry forms, flyers, maps, invitations to your launchings etc. I would be delighted to get the first hand info for the readers of this blog.



Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara!




Five Saudi military vehicles destroyed in Jizan





JIZAN, Jan. 06 (Saba) - The army and popular committees forces destroyed on Tuesday five Saudi military vehicles in Jizan region, a military official said.



The army and popular committees destroyed the Saudi military vehicles as repulsing an attempt of Saudi hostile forces and their hirelings to advance towards al-Tewal-Harad outlet, the official said.



Many Saudi soldiers and mercenaries were killed and several others wounded during this failed attempt, the official said.



HA/AF

Saba

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[06/January/2016]
Saudi aggression wages raids on districts in Sanaa, Hajjah





SANAA, HAJJAH, Jan. 07 (Saba)  The Saudi aggression war jets have launched sorties on several districts in Sanaa and Hajjah provinces.



A local official in Sanaa province told Saba that the Saudi warplanes waged two raids on al-Subaha area in Bani Matar district and another on Zajan area in Bani Hushish district, which led to damages in houses , public and private property and agricultural lands.



In Hajjah province, the aggression waged four raids on Abs city, targeting citizens farms in al-Jar area with internationally-banned cluster bombs, a local official said.



He pointed out that the hostile warplanes continued hovering for hours over the cities of Abs and Harad and other areas in the province.



BA

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[07/January/2016]
Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace

Statement on Nuclear test by North Korea

January 7, 2016

For immediate release

The Coalition of Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) strongly condemns the nuclear weapons test by the Democratic Peopleas Republic of Korea (DPRK). The North Korean regime, which is highly authoritarian and militarist, has tried to consolidate itself internally through such aggressive moves. Carried out in defiance of the opinions of international citizens groups desirous of peace, this display of nuclear bravado will only embolden the nuclear hawks in other countries, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, thereby promoting the possibility of further nuclear weapons acquisition while adding fuel to regional and global militarization and arms racing.

Shortly after the end of the Cold War there were promising steps taken towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula which was even agreed to by North Korea which had not tested nuclear weapons then. This outcome however was contingent above all on the United States normalizing political relations with North Korea. When the United States eventually decided not to do this and decided instead to further its regional geopolitical interests, it sought to portray North Korea as an existential threat in the region going so far as to name it as part of the aaxis of evila . While the North Korean regime must be condemned thereafter for carrying out its multiple nuclear tests, therefore, the United States must also share a considerable part of the blame for this development, both through imposing sanctions (always done selectively) and for failing to move towards disarmament in the Korean peninsula and elsewhere.

More generally, it is hypocritical of all Nuclear Weapons states, including the United States and India, to condemn North Korea for acquiring nuclear weapons while rationalizing and justifying their own nuclear arsenal. All of them bear responsibility for the global nuclear predicament.

For CNDP,

Achin Vanaik

Lalita Ramdas

Abey George

Kumar Sundaram
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Tiny house being built in Salina to help homeless people in Missouri

For the fifth year and second in Salina, a local group is partnering with Tiny House Ministries to help homeless people in Missouri.
Melissa



I am the writer of this blog! This is where my random thoughts and outbursts have made it onto the internet! I am an Army wife, a mama, and a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH). I graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene, an Associate of Science degree in Dental Hygiene, and a minor in Communication Disorders. I am a certified Bereavement Doula with Stillbirthday, and a navigator through pregnancy loss with my stillborn son and 5 angel babies guiding my way. I like simple, can't stand clutter, and commas confuse me so I tend to use too many. You'll find a little of everything on here but mostly our travel adventures and lots of pregnancy & infant loss awareness. God gave me this story, I'm just trying to write it....

Eric



Eric is my husband and my hero! He has a Bachelors degree in Natural Science Education and a Masters degree in Leadership. He is a kind and gentle man, our rock who absorbs my neurotic energy and gives soothing energy in return, and just so happens to be the world's best homework-helper. Eric felt God's calling to serve the military full-time, so after 16 years enlisted in the Nebraska National Guard he was commissioned into the Army.

Journey



Journey is a European Golden Retriever who was born in France (we imagine his inner voice to be an old man who smokes cigars with a French accent and wears a beret). Journey knows three languages: French, German, & English... he is a genius and we adore him! Even though he is a Mama's boy, Daddy is his bestest friend in the entire world. He loves peanut butter, popcorn, & rolling in mud puddles, but hates bath time! His favorite place to lay is right in the middle of the kitchen when we are cooking or at Daddy's feet, wherever his feet might be. God put the sweetest soul into this guy!

Carley



This is Carley. You rarely hear about her because she is strictly Isabelle's cat and hates almost everyone, except Isabelle. Carley is a fierce sock huntress- no sock is safe when she is around! Her greatest wish in life is for one of us to leave the screen door open just long enough for her to get out into the backyard where she can use her sock hunting skills on the leaves that taunt her- so far, no such luck. She continues to wait.

SalutesandSmiles


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Massachusetts Education Again Ranks No. 1 Nationally Boston Learning Lab: Education Weeks annual national report, Quality Counts, gave Massachusetts the top spot because it has the nations top fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores, high postsecondary degree attainment and rising AP test scores.

Walton foundation puts up $1 billion to boost charters AP: A foundation run by the heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton said Thursday it will spend $1 billion over the next five years to improve public education by backing new charter schools and helping programs already up and running....

Feds quietly close long-running probe of Milwaukee voucher program Journal Sentinel: The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a long-running investigation into whether the Milwaukee private school voucher program discriminates against students with disabilities, with no apparent findings of major wrongdoing.

Emanuel appoints Guzman to Board of Ed Chicago Sun-Times: Guzman also ran CPS department overseeing the approval of new privately run but publicly funded charter schools from 2007 to 2009, according to the district

School Superintendents Think Parents Just Don't Understand, Gallup Poll Finds District Dossier: The survey also reveals that most superintendents believe that measuring the success of schools should include factors such as student engagement and student hope.

How To Help Kids In Poverty Adjust To The Stability Of School After Break NPR: Returning to school after a few weeks away is a tough transition for many kids, but it's even harder for children living in stressful homes.

Florida Professor Who Cast Doubt On Mass Shootings Is Fired NYT: James F. Tracy suggested that the 2012 massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary and other mass shootings were a hoax designed by the Obama administration.

Georgia Town Teaches Fight Back as Option in Mass Shootings NYT: In Douglasville, Ga., and other cities, seminars instructing residents to stay alert, and to attack the attacker if necessary, have become increasingly common.

40 Alumni Assert Sexual Abuse at a Rhode Island Prep School NYT: The scope of the scandal at St. Georges School in Rhode Island has expanded, with reports covering three decades.
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This well-established Blog is worth visiting on a regular basis for a wealth of information of interest to Armenian nationals and to the Armenian Diaspora world-wide. Although it has a particular role in promoting international recognition of the Genocide, the Blog encompasses much more and includes many articles of general appeal to all those concerned with Armenian affairs. Much of the content is difficult or impossible to find elsewhere and the long list of links provided gives easy access to a plethora of material on social, political, religious, educational and cultural matters, and many news items from around the world.






Following President Obama's Tuesday press conference announcing new executive action on gun control, Oakland city officials moved yesterday to pass new laws of their own with the goal of reducing gun violence.

The Oakland City Council unanimously passed the measures, reports CBS 5, which include banning high-capacity gun magazines and requiring that firearms be secured in lock boxes when stored in homes and vehicles. The heightened storage requirement comes after a string of incidents wherein guns were stolen out of vehicles  a problem not unique to Oakland as many similar incidents have occurred right here in San Francisco.

As to be expected, at least one pro-gun group has already come out in opposition to the common sense measures.

Yih-Chau Chang, spokesperson for Responsible Citizens of California (though how "responsible" the group really is may be up for debate, as they appear to have let their website domain expire), told NBC Bay Area the group would likely challenge the new laws.

"When it comes to banning standard capacity magazines," furthered Chang, "the City of Oakland will likely run afoul of state preemption laws, which dictate that local gun control laws cannot be stricter than state laws."

Here in San Francisco, Supervisor David Campos proposed legislation this past November making it a crime to leave an unsecured gun in an automobile. At the time, the Supervisor told the San Francisco Chronicle that he expected the law to be opposed by the gun lobby.

If weve learned anything about the gun lobby in this country, its how extreme it is.

Related: Campos: Leave Your Unsecured Gun In The Car, Go To Jail


The fate of Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, the alleged leader of the Ghee Kung Tong crime syndicate in SF's Chinatown accused of racketeering, murder, and many other things, now rests in the hands of a jury. Closing arguments concluded Tuesday with flamboyant defense attorney Tony Serra calling the prosecution's case a frivolous and over-enthusiastic chase after a "trophy" conviction, based on turncoat informants, after spending over $1 million wining and dining a man who was trying to set himself straight after a former life of crime.

Meanwhile the prosecution, as the Examiner reports, refuted Serra's claims in their rebuttal, and said his closing argument contained few facts to weigh against their "mountain" of evidence against Chow.

As KRON 4 quotes, Serra called that "shadows of evidence, the echoes of evidence, and flimsy when all is said and done.

Amusingly, Serra pulled no punches when it came to attacking the prosecution's witnesses, who included an undercover federal agent known only as David Jordan, a pseudonym, and multiple former colleagues of Chow's who were testifying only to have charges against themselves reduced. Per the Chron and elsewhere, Serra called them all "scumbags" and "snakes," and said of the prosecution's sweep for witnesses, "They went to the toilet and they scraped the bowl."

He also said, "You find sick people in law enforcement and you find it in informants," and attacked the character of Jordan saying, he had a "Judas syndrome" in his dealings with Chow, "To kiss and then to kill."

Grandly, he concluded his passionate, anti-government closing statement saying, "The most glorious, freedom-fraught words in any criminal litigation is not guilty. Its like church bells. It means we are a free society."

On the prosecution side, federal prosecutor Susan Badger urged the jury to ignore whatever Serra and Chow had said during the trial about Chow being a changed man, saying that deception is part of his nature and "He is not the victim here. He is not the worlds most misunderstood criminal."

In a Chronicle opinion piece, though, Debra Saunders points out that Serra has a point about this "mountain" of wiretap evidence, in which Serra argues there is no smoking gun to prove that Chow directed or participated in any crimes. "But really, after years of audio surveillance, youd think prosecutors would have enough evidence to put Chow away for a long time without cutting deals [with witnesses who are themselves criminals]. If they dont have the goods without deals for leniency, what does that say?"



All previous coverage of the Shrimp Boy case here.
In the rush of holiday stuff we missed the news that the wildly popular and critically lauded Broadway musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manual Miranda of In the Heights fame, had already announced a national tour with a definite stops in Chicago, San Francisco, and LA, with "extended runs" planned for all three cities according to Vulture.

The ingenious and original show, which is all but guaranteed to sweep the Tony Awards this year, premiered last spring at the Public Theater and moved to Broadway last summer, with Miranda in the title role and Looking star Jonathan Groff starring as well.

If you (somehow) haven't heard, it is a hip-hop musical with a primarily African-American cast based on Ron Chernow's lengthy biography of Alexander Hamilton, who never served as President but nonetheless made it onto your ten-dollar bills because he was a right-hand man to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, the original architect of our financial system, and the country's first Secretary of the Treasury. He was also an immigrant born out of wedlock on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies, and the show tracks his rise to prominence as a Founding Father, his marriage and family, and his life-long rivalry with Aaron Burr.

Miranda was inspired by Hamilton's writings, and Chernow's depiction of his life, first to start writing a concept album titled The Hamilton Mixtape, a piece of which he performed at the White House in 2009. The musical grew out of that, and President Barack Obama has gone on to be a big fan, attending the Broadway show when it was in previews with his two daughters last July.

As the New York Times' Ben Brantley gushed, "I am loath to tell people to mortgage their houses and lease their children to acquire tickets to a hit Broadway show. But 'Hamilton,' directed by Thomas Kail and starring Mr. Miranda, might just about be worth it  at least to anyone who wants proof that the American musical is not only surviving but also evolving in ways that should allow it to thrive and transmogrify in years to come."

It is currently the hardest ticket to get on Broadway, with Stephen Colbert even joking about it during the Kennedy Center Honors last week. (I was lucky enough to get a chance to see it over the holidays via a New York friend and it is, I promise you, worth all the hype  and Groff was hilarious as the mincing, incredulous, pompous King George.)

But according to Mic.com, the first definite scheduled stop for a national tour has been set for a September 27, 2016 opening in Chicago. Producer Jeffrey Seller was careful to announce that he wants this national tour  which is coming together faster than most  to be as close a replica to the Broadway experience as possible. "My goal is as follows: to create the production that currently plays eight times a week at the Richard Rodgers Theatre exactly like it is at the Richard Rodgers Theatre ... in Chicago." He added, "When we come here, it won't just be a tour. The entire creative team will come here, live here for a month to give this show the same tender loving care they gave it in New York."

That same production will then move on to SF and LA, though perhaps not in that order  announcements of those dates will be upcoming. Demand being what it already is in New York, with sellout houses through next summer, chances are the runs in these other cities will sell out extremely fast as well, much like Book of Mormon did in its first and second tours.

Miranda, who was a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, also said in October that he'd been approached by multiple filmmakers about filming the musical as-is, with the current cast, to be broadcast perhaps in movie theaters or on television. No definitive announcement has been made about that as yet.

Stay tuned for updates later this year about Hamilton's arrival date in SF.

Update: Hamilton will be opening in SF in March 2017 following a long, five-month run in Chicago, and will then move on to Los Angeles after five months here.


A crested macaque monkey who lives in a rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi can not legally own the copyright to his own selfie, even if he pressed the button to take the photo himself. That is the tentative opinion of a federal judge in San Francisco, where the case was brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), following a battle waged between a photographer and Wikipedia. As ABC 7 reports, PETA filed suit in the case last year, arguing that not only should the monkey own the copyright, but that proceeds from the photos ought to go toward protecting the monkey's habitat.

British nature photographer David Slater originally facilitated the photographs of Naruto, the six-year-old monkey, on a trip to Indonesia in 2011. He and the company for which he shot the photos, Wildlife Personalities Ltd, subsequently had to sue Wikimedia Commons in 2014, claiming that he's lost money since the photo was posted to Wikipedia  which assumed the photo was ineligible for copyright  and the site has still refused to remove the photo.

As the Guardian reports, the US Copyright Office subsequently updated its own policies in 2015 to clarify that copyrights can only be registered for works produced by human beings. So, yes, these elephant paintings can't be owned by the elephants who painted them.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick wrote in his tentative opinion Wednesday that there is "no indication" that the US Copyright Act should extend to animals. As Ars Technica reports, Orrick said from the bench, "I'm not the person to weigh into this. This is an issue for Congress and the president. If they think animals should have the right of copyright they're free, I think, under the Constitution, to do that."

Meanwhile, the internet has already decided that this case is dumb, and Slater's attorney, who's asking Orrick to dismiss the case, said, "I slapped my forehead like everybody else did," when he heard about the lawsuit.

PETA, nevertheless, is a master at publicity  they also made headlines this week delivering vegan jerky to the Oregon militiamen. And their attorney, Jeff Kerr, who says he's representing Naruto the monkey, still contends, "Naruto created [the photos], and he should be entitled to the copyright in those photos just like any other photographer."

PETA's official statement today said, in part, "We will continue to fight for Naruto and his community, who are in grave danger of being killed for bush meat or for foraging for food in a nearby village while their habitat disappears because of human encroachment. This case is a vital step toward fundamental rights for nonhuman animals for their own sake, not in relation to how they can be exploited by humans."

The judge is expected to leave the door open for PETA to amend its complaint.

Meanwhile, outside the court, Wednesday, ABC 7's Jonathan Bloom made a funny:
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A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer's memories and views of his years in upcountry Sierra Leone from 1968 to 1970
As she campaigned in Sioux City Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she supports a series of new executive orders by President Barack Obama that bypass Congress in the effort to reduce gun violence.
SIOUX CITY | Briar Cliff University will be hosting a grant competition, Swimming with the Sharks, this February.

The competition will give local entrepreneurs a chance to get a win up to $4,000 for their business.

Applications are due by midnight on Feb. 1. Seven finalists will be chosen for the final judging, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Briar Cliff. The seven finalists will be notified by Feb. 3.

All applicants must be located in Siouxland and must agree to report back in September. In addition, the application must reflect the need for funding for research, development of a business plan, seed money to start and for a cash infusion.

The online application can be accessed at briarcliff.edu/sharks

Judges at the Feb. 26 competition will be professionals and will be judging the applicants on the viability of the business idea and completeness of the application.

Before the final competition, there will be a consulting fair at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 hosted by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
DES MOINES | Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature will start their 2016 work on Monday about $127 million apart in their required task of crafting a state budget topping $7 billion.

Not an insurmountable divide, leaders say, but one that could consume the election-year sessions scheduled 100 days and then some depending on how willing the partisans are to compromise and work with Gov. Terry Branstad after last years overtime assemblage that ended on a sour note.

State revenue estimators last month projected the state would collect more than $7.327 billion during the 12-month period that begins July 1  a 4 percent increase that would provide Branstad and the split-control Legislature about $7.254 billion under Iowas 99 percent spending limitation law.

The states economy is strong and is growing. There is no economic emergency, but we will certainly have to focus on priorities, said House Speaker-select Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, in sizing up the states financial outlook. Were continuing to grow, which is a good thing, but were growing more at a moderate to slow pace than an exuberant pace.

Most legislators agree with that outlook but generally thats where the agreement ends as negotiators break down the numbers.

Republicans who control the Iowa House took the Revenue Estimating Conferences growth estimate and subtracted the $7.174 billion authorized to be spent from the states general fund in the current fiscal year to come up with a figure of $153.1 million in new money available for budgeting in the upcoming session.

Democrats who control the Iowa Senate figure each percentage of state revenue represents about $70 billion and 4 percent growth means budget-makers will have about $280 million in new resources to spend in fiscal 2017.

Budget officials within the Branstad administrations Department of Management project the state has $343.1 million in new funding available to spend in the coming fiscal year based on the 99 percent limitation and a projected $232.3 million carryover balance that state law allows. That number would be reduced if supplemental appropriations are needed yet this fiscal year to cover a Medicaid shortfall or other financial issues that may arise by June 30.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Democrats focus this session will be on the long term by making sure there are adequate resources dedicated to preparing young people with the skills they need to compete in the economy of the future.

Its really about the next generation so people really have to take the long view and were going to look for willing partners, Gronstal said.

Gronstal said he expected some budget areas would need to be cut to make room for increased spending for education and human services  especially since a delay in implementing Branstads Medicaid changeover to privately managed care likely will reduce the projected savings.

Adding to the budget pressures are commitments made during the 2013 to commercial property tax relief, education reform and Medicaid expansion that carry sizable price tags and promises by the governor and lawmakers to fully fund them going forward.

One partisan flashpoint in the human services budget negotiations will be the insistence by legislative Republicans and pro-life lobbyists that taxpayer money flowing to Planned Parenthood be halted in light of a national controversy over secretly filmed videos involving the agencys employees.

No state money currently is being spent directly on abortions in Iowa, but conservative activists and GOP lawmakers are pressuring Branstad to take action in halting any government money going even indirectly to Planned Parenthood organizations in Iowa as part of an ongoing outcry over a series of videos released by an anti-abortion organization that purportedly show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting and selling of aborted baby organs.

Top legislative Democrats say Planned Parenthood provides important family planning, cancer screening and health services for women  some that help avoid pregnancies  and dismantling the agency as pro-life forces demand would result in more abortions, not less.

Gronstal said the split-control Legislature could be in for a very long session if majority House Republicans and their Senate counterparts try to remove Planned Parenthood as a certified Medicaid provider during fiscal 2017 budget negotiations that already could be contentious.

However, Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, said GOP legislators are willing to stretch out the session if thats what it takes to insure that nonprofit organizations that provide abortion services do not receive taxpayer-funded government support.

Its now time to let these abortion providers exist on their own financial devices, Johnson said. This is where the session getting completed within its designated 100 days is not likely."
Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar.

Audubon Society meeting: The Loess Hills Audubon Society will hold their regular meeting 7:30 p.m. at Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, 4500 Sioux River Road. Brian Fernando will be the guest speaker presenting Dinosaurs Among Us. The public is invited to this event. Email Rex Rundquist at rrundquist@aol.com for more information.

Gourmet Double Chocolate Caramel Apple Fundraiser: The Siouxland Humane Society will be taking orders for its gourmet caramel apples through Feb. 7. Call 712-252-2614 ext. 7 to place an order. Pick-up locations will be the Southern Hills Mall, Center Court and the Siouxland Humane Society at 1015 Tri-View Avenue. Apples can be picked up 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 9 or 10. Apples are $15 each.

Biological and Pre-medical Illustration: Includes work from the Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration Program at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The primary focus of the art exhibited at Pearson Lakes Art Center, 2201 Highway 71 N., in Okoboji, Iowa, was created from the 2015 field illustration course field trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Visit www.lakesart.org for more information.
I agree totally with the writer of a Dec. 30 Letter to the Editor headlined This Republican wont support Trump, Cruz."

One is a bombastic, billionaire bigot. The other, disliked by scores of Republicans ever since his Ivy League days. Journal readers can figure out which is which and who is who. Nominate either one for president and the GOP will go bye-bye for a long time.

I also agree with the Dec. 30 Letter writer that America needs solutions. There is one Republican candidate who has the strength and experience to trump Russian President Putin and Iran without putting our nation on cruise control powered by an ego-driven agenda instead of our national security.

Carly Fiorina.

When this former CEO of the worlds largest technology company says she wants to give back to her country, Ms. Fiorina says it likes she means it, and she does. Starting out as a secretary in a small real-estate firm, Carly has pulled herself up to leading a company doing business in more than 170 countries, serving as an adviser to the CIA, building ties to leaders around the world, organizing an international charitable Christian organization, and more.

Theres no silly rhetoric from Carly Fiorina, only solutions that spell common sense. Its what you expect from a real-life Washington outsider. - David Johnson, Republican state senator, Ocheyedan, Iowa
Iowans understand the responsibility of hosting the Iowa caucuses. Its a privilege to ask those who run for the presidency hard questions about their vision for America.

With less than one month to go, the conversation between candidates and Iowans is beginning to broaden. We agree the economy, national security and health care play significant roles in our lives every day. Still unclear are other issues that directly impact the future of our state. Lets talk about wind and solar energy and conservation and land stewardship and preserving our natural resources.

Iowa is a national leader in wind production. Today, more than 25 percent of all electricity generated in the state comes from wind turbines. The economic impact of wind energy benefits land owners, energy companies, consumers and the workforce. More than 6,000 Iowa jobs are tied to wind energy, and wind yields more than $16 million annually in lease payments to landowners. Whats more, wind energy cuts water waste, saving an estimated 3.2 billion gallons of Iowans' water annually. Now, we are poised to see growth in Iowas solar power industry, bringing even greater energy security, job opportunities and savings.

It is important presidential candidates understand the significance these energy sources play in powering Iowas lights and economy, while conserving our water, our soil and the air we breathe. Help share the positive things happening in Iowa, and ask the candidates if they share the vision. - Adam Pitts, Cherokee, Iowa
Aryan Khan In Brahmastra 2? Absolutely Baseless, Says Source Close To Karan Johar

Speculative journalism has no end. The conjectures could go on and on skipping and hopping from one lie to another without rhyme or reason. The latest...
If you recently formed a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or incorporated, you have taken an important step toward setting the legal foundation for your business and protecting your personal assets. While you may have had several questions leading up to the decision to form an LLC, you probably have even more on what to do after.

Is creating an LLC enough to let you legally open your doors for business? Not exactly. Here are 10 things to consider before youre ready to do business.

What You Need To Do After Forming An LLC

1. Obtain Any Necessary Business Licenses and Permits

Many new business owners think that forming an LLC or corporation is the same as getting a business license. Then unfortunately, some realize this isnt the case when they are fined for operating without a license. Think of it this way: getting an LLC is the first step and creates a legal foundation for the business. A business license gives you the right to operate.

Depending on what kind of business you have and where you live, you may need to get business licenses from your state, county, or town. Examples include: zoning permit, permit from the health department, professional licenses, a general business operation license, and home occupation permits. Most licenses are relatively inexpensive and getting one upfront will save you money and keep your business legit. Check with your local board of equalization offices, or find a service to determine which permits your business needs to legally operate.

2. Get a Sellers Permit

Many states require what is called a sellers permit (or a similar name). This permit is required for sole proprietors, LLCs, partnerships, and corporations that sell taxable goods and services. For example, in California, a sellers permit must be obtained by any business that sells or leases property thats subject to the states retail sales tax. Make sure you get this permit before you start selling.

3. Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN)

An EIN, also known as a federal tax ID number, is a way for the IRS to identify your business and track its transactions. Think of an EIN like a social security number for companies. If you plan on having employees, an EIN is mandatory. However, getting an EIN is good practice even without employees. Thats because you can give the EIN, instead of your personal social security number to clients and vendors.

4. Apply for S Corporation S Treatment (If Applicable)

An LLC has pass-through tax treatment, meaning that the business profits and losses are passed along and reported on the business owners tax return. As the owner of an LLC, you must report all profits (or losses) of the business on a Schedule C with your personal tax return. LLC owners who are active in the business must also pay self-employment tax on the profits.

In some cases, it may benefit you to elect S Corporation status. This enables you to split your business profits into salary and distributions. Youll pay self-employment tax (or Medicare/social security tax) on the salary portion, but not on the distributions. To elect S Corporation status, you need to file form 2553 with the IRS (its free) within 75 days since forming the LLC, or 75 days from the start of the current tax year.

5. Open a Business Bank Account

Once you have established your LLC, you can open a business bank account under the LLC. This will allow you to accept checks made out to your business name. In addition, owners of corporations and LLCs are legally obligated to keep their personal and business finances separate  so having a dedicated business bank account is a must.

6. Apply for a Business Credit Card

In addition to opening a separate bank account, using a business credit card is a smart idea. By putting all your business expenses on the business card, youve got an instant audit trail of your years expenses when tax time rolls around. In addition, having a business-specific credit card will help you maintain your corporate veilthats what protects your personal assets.

7. Insure Your Business

While forming an LLC or incorporating does help protect your personal assets from any liability of the company, it doesnt protect the business itself from losses. Thats why you should consider getting a general liability insurance or a Business Owners Policy (BOP). These policies will broadly cover your business against accidents, injuries, and negligence claims. In addition, if youre selling a product, youll need product liability insurance. And, if you provide a professional service (i.e. lawyers, accountants, notaries, real estate agents, insurance agents, hair salons, consultants), youll need to take out a professional liability policy.

8. Foreign Qualify in Other States (If Applicable)

If your LLC will be doing business in a state other than the state where you formed the LLC, you will need to register in the new state(s). Examples of doing business can include: Opening an office or store in another state, when a significant portion of your companys revenue comes from another state; when you have employees working in another state; and when you frequently conduct in-person meetings in a state.

9. Get a Doing Business As (DBA)

If like most businesses you are going to be operating under any variation of your official company name (i.e. Company vs. Company.com vs. Company, Inc), you will need to file a Doing Business As (DBA) for each of the variations. You should have your LLC file the DBAs so they operate underneath the LLC.

10. Make a Plan to Keep Your LLC Compliant

Once you become a corporation or LLC, youve got to operate your business at a higher administrative level than youve been used to as a sole proprietor. Both LLCs and corporations often need to file an annual report with their state, as well as keep up with their quarterly tax payments. Mark these important dates on a calendar ahead of time, or sign up for a service that will automatically send you alerts ahead of key state and federal filing deadlines.

Working from Home Photo via Shutterstock

CorpNet offers business formations, filings, state tax registrations, and corporate compliance services in all 50 states. Express and 24 hour rush filing services available upon request. Click here to learn more.
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(SS) Wal-Mart still plans to build a new supercenter on Oakland Park Boulevard and Northeast Sixth Avenue, even if it has to take the city to court to do it.

For the second time in five months, City Commissioner Sara Guevrekian thwarted the company's efforts to move forward with the project.

While commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday in favor of a resolution supporting Wal-Mart's plat application  with only Guevrekian opposed  the city requires the approval of three commissioners for a resolution to pass.

The plat is a Broward County document that outlines how development will occur on the property. There must be a plat in place before construction can begin.

Despite Guevrekian's success in blocking the plat, it's far from certain the city's decision can withstand a legal challenge.

Commissioners were advised by City Attorney D.J. Doody that the state Supreme Court has ruled the only way plats can be denied is if the opposition is based on "competent substantial evidence" that it doesn't meet the county's standards.

Their staff told them it met the standards. So did the city's Planning and Zoning Board. Commissioners Jed Shank and Michael Carn agreed, voting in favor of the plat.

There was no expert testimony presented against the plat, only the opinions of a few residents and some others who disapproved of various aspects of the proposed project.

But Guevrekian said she could not support the proposal, concerned about how the two planned entrances and exits on Northeast Sixth Avenue would affect traffic. She said the plat was "adverse to the public's interests."

"I didn't base it on any of the comments that were made," Guevrekian said. "I based my decision on the information that was supplied by the applicant."

Steve Wherry, an attorney representing Wal-Mart, said the company has requested dispute resolution using a special magistrate who will hear testimony and issue a recommended order for the commission to consider. Wherry said the company could also proceed simultaneously with a lawsuit, but that decision has not been made yet.

A new obstacle for the project also surfaced on Wednesday. Commissioners voted 3-0 against giving Wal-Mart a waiver from rules that require new developments of more than 5 acres to have overhead power lines buried. Wherry told commissioners Wal-Mart would have the lines put underground if required, but he also said Florida Power & Light has told the company it would not allow transmission lines on the east side of the property to be placed underground.

Mayor Tim Lonergan and Vice Mayor John Adornato excused themselves from voting because of potential conflicts of interests. Lonergan works for United Health Care, which provides health insurance plans to Wal-Mart, while Adornato's employer has received grants in the past from the Walton Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization started by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

Wal-Mart is attempting to build a new supercenter on the former Kmart site. The proposed supercenter would be 121,345 square feet, substantially smaller than the average supercenter size of 180,000 square feet.
The former SunTrust Bank on Northeast 26 Street was purchased in 2015 by MIGLOBAL for $3.6 million.

A spokesperson for MIGLOBAL, which designs and builds hospitals, dialysis centers and other medical facilities, said the company has not decided yet how the building or property will be used. MIGLOBAL, a company located in the United States and Central and South America, already has offices in Fort Lauderdale. MIGLOBAL purchased the property in September from Unity Church which moved to Fort Lauderdale.

According to Wilton Manors From Farming Community to Urban Village, written by Wilton Manors Historical Society Secretary Benjamin Little, the 3.27-acre property was built in 1955 as the Wilton Manors National Bank and later became a SunTrust branch.

SunTrust sold the property to New Urban Communities in 2005. New Urban had hoped to build 61 apartments and 6,648 square feet of commercial space in a mixed-use development but plans never materialized. New Urban sold it to Unity Church in 2012.
Chief critical of cookie cutter assessment of WMPD

For the second year in a row, Wilton Manors has gotten a perfect 100 from the Human Rights Campaign [HRC].

Were really proud to be recognized by the HRC. Its not something thats happened without a great deal of thoughtfulness and effort, said City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson. Wilton Manors is one of only three Florida cities to get a perfect HRC score; Orlando and St. Petersburg were the others. The city got 89 standard points and 16 bonus points. HRC only counts a maximum of 100 points. Fort Lauderdale got an overall score of 80 and Oakland Park an 86.

The HRC evaluated 408 municipalities nationwide and scored them based on how LGBT friendly their policies are. Categories include non-discrimination practices, how welcoming the city is to LGBT individuals, the availability of transgender health benefits and the existence of an LGBT police liaison or task force.

Its that last category, where the city got 5 out of 10 points, that Chief Paul O'Connell was critical of.

After review of the criteria I have to respectfully disagree with their cookie cutter assessment of WMPD. A police department of our size serving a small community of our size does not have the luxury of dedicating one sworn position to this important, but limited, task. In the alternative, WMPD does have a full-time Community Police Officer assigned to the entire community . . . straight, LGBT, black, brown & white, young and elder, wrote O'Connell in an email.

Henderson agreed with OConnell. I think, being a small city, thats really the only way we can do it.

According to Henderson, Wilton Manors score was a combination of an initial evaluation by the HRC and feedback by the city. We were able to identify some areas [HRC gave us a lesser score on] and increase our points where we underscored. It gave us an opportunity to reflect a score that better reflects our policies. The citys original score was 98; 84 standard points and 14 bonus points.

Other points lost by the city were for not offering transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits to city employees, something Deanna Muniz, the parent of a transgender child, pleaded with commissioners to add.

Muniz, who lives in Sunrise, asked commissioners to add the benefits during their Dec. 8 meeting. I have other children and I can take them to the doctor and theres no issues. With my son theres a lot of layers. Its very difficult to tell my son, Your sister can go to the doctor but you might need alternative care or our insurance doesnt cover your care. Its just a reminder that hes different.

Resident Michael Rajner also supported adding the benefits and said the city already covers HIV and AIDS-related healthcare, which is more expensive than transgender procedures. Theres no Ryan White-like program to cover [transgender healthcare], he said.

Recently, Commissioner Julie Carson advocated the city take a look at adding the benefits but commissioners have yet to make a decision. Henderson said the issue is being researched by the Human Resources Department and could come back to the commission by late January or early February. An initial estimate by Dio Sanchez, director of Human Resources, puts the total cost of a transgender procedure at about $75,000. The city could budget money specifically for that purpose or add it to their policy.

Attempts to contact the HRC were unsuccessful because the organizations offices were closed for the holiday break.
With over 1,344 megawatts of solar experience, Moss Solar has a lot of experience building solar projects.

But it wasnt until April of last year that the company finally harnessed the power of solar at its own headquarters.

Moss Construction, which owns Moss Solar, built a solar parking canopy at its headquarters on Andrews Avenue in Wilton Manors.

The canopy, which has electric car charging ports, 200 solar panels and can generate 88,375 kilowatts per year has been helping to power the building since April of last year at an estimated savings of about $11,000 per year.

Moss other solar projects are located in other parts of Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana and Canada.

Moss Solar is building thousands of kilowatt facilities across the country. We have seen how well this proven technology has worked for our clients to reduce their carbon footprint while cutting down on electricity cost. It was a decision that made sense for the environment as well as our bottom line. Additionally, our employees cars will be sheltered from the sun for the majority of the day, which in South Florida is an added benefit, wrote the company in a press release.
Young star NRAO

A detailed study of young stars and their surroundings has produced dramatic new evidence about how multiple-star systems form and how the dusty disks that are the raw material for planets grow around young stars.

Teams of scientists used the National Science Foundations Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope to study nearly 100 newborn stars in a cloud of gas and dust about 750 light-years from Earth, in which new stars are forming.

Images made from the study showed unprecedented detail of a number of the young stars, and are helping astronomers resolve important questions about how stars, binary stars, and planets get their starts. The astronomers presented their results to the American Astronomical Societys meeting in Kissimmee, Florida.

Looking at young multiple-star systems, one team concluded that two different formation mechanisms may be at work to produce such systems. They noted that the systems they studied fall into two distinct types, based on the distance between the stars in the system. The closer systems have stars separated by about 75 times the Sun-Earth distance, and another group has its stars separated by about 3,000 times the Sun-Earth distance. They also found that more than half of the youngest stars they studied are in multiple systems, suggesting that star formation tends to produce multiples rather than single stars.

Several different processes have been suggested for how multiple-star systems form, and our results indicate that the separation between stars may tell us which of these processes is responsible for a particular system, said John Tobin, of Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands.

Stars form in giant clouds of gas and dust, when tenuous material in such clouds collapses gravitationally into cores that then begin to draw additional material inward. Infalling material forms a rotating disk around the young star. Eventually, the young star gathers enough mass to create the temperatures and pressures at its center that will trigger thermonuclear reactions. The rotating disk around the star provides the material from which planets may form.

The researchers concluded that the more widely-separated multiple-star systems form through turbulent fragmentation of the larger cloud, while the closer systems are the result of fragmentation within the disk of material orbiting the original protostar. They also found that somewhat older systems have fewer widely-separated companions than the youngest group of protostars. This, they said, suggests that perhaps some young stars that form as widely-separated systems are not gravitationally bound and simply drift apart over time.

Another team, led by Dominique Segura-Cox, of the University of Illinois, found that the dusty disks around some of the protostars are larger than some theoretical models predict. These disks are essential to the formation of planets, some binary companions, and the young stars ability to draw in additional material. Despite their central role in these processes, however, their formation mechanisms have been debated among astronomers.

As material falls inward toward a young star, it pulls magnetic fields along with it. Theorists suggested that these fields, which become stronger as they are concentrated closer to the star, could be aligned so that they drastically slow the disks rotation, limiting the size of the disk. Theoretical models predicted that this effect, called magnetic braking, would limit the disks to a radius about 10 times the Earth-Sun distance, or slightly more than the distance from the Sun to Saturn.

We found disks with radii that are at least 15-30 times the Earth-Sun distance, significantly larger than the magnetic-braking model would allow, Segura-Cox said. This is a lower limit, and the disks may actually be larger. Studies of other systems have indicated that disks are larger when observed at radio frequencies different than the ones we used in this project, she added.

One explanation for the larger disk sizes may be that, in some systems, the magnetic field and the rotation axis of the star are misaligned, a configuration that reduces the magnetic-braking effect. Evidence for this has been seen in some objects, the researchers said.

In another study published last December, a team using data from the same project found that the material falling toward one protostar is twisting the magnetic field lines and changing their configuration as it drags them inward. That study, which measured the magnetic-field alignments near the star, indicates one mechanism for minimizing the magnetic-braking effect.

These observations of disks around such young stars suggests that all the elements needed for planet formation are present very early in the life of a star. Plus, it is probable that there are already centimeter-sized particles in these young disks, meaning that the growth of solids progresses rapidly, Tobin said.

The images for this work came from a project called the VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey. This survey used 264 hours of VLA observing time from 2013 to 2015 to study protostars in the Perseus Molecular Cloud, about 750 light-years distant. The Perseus Molecular Cloud, containing as much material as 10,000 Suns, is one of the closest regions where low- to intermediate-mass stars are actively forming, and thus serves as a valuable laboratory for astronomers seeking to understand star formation.

This survey sampled the largest number of young stars, and revealed fainter objects than we could study previously, and did so in greater detail. The information it provided has dramatically improved our knowledge, Tobin said.

The disks we studied are difficult to observe as they are obscured by the cloud in which they are forming, but these new VLA observations reveal the disks and provide critical data into their formation mechanism, Segura-Cox said.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
ANIMAL shelters all over Slovakia are reporting increased numbers of puppies being taken in over the holidays.

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Many of the animals are unwanted Christmas presents, and also unwanted puppies resulting from females in heat in the autumn that their irresponsible owners had not had neutered, and sick puppies from illegal breeders.The situation is a result of non-systematic addressing of the issues surrounding animals in Slovakia, Dorota Krakova from activist organisation Animal Ombudsman informed.

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We have statistics from 13 associated animal shelters indicating there are more than 40 cases of puppies thrown out after Christmas, which is only a fraction of the total number for the whole of Slovakia, said Zuzana Stanova from Animal Ombudsmans team for the TASR newswire. Stanova said that many people do not realise what it takes to take care of a living creature.

One case of an unwanted puppy is a two-month old female called Stela, found on the street on December 26 in Malacky in Bratislava Region and had a pink blanket and dog food with her, said Krakova. Stela was taken in by civic association Majme Srdce (Let's Have a Heart). Stela is now in temporary care, waiting for new owners.

The public does not realise that apart from the unethical aspect of illegal breeding it is also a crime, according to the Animal Ombudsman. The aim of the organisation is to put pressure on legislators to ban illegal breeders. According to estimates, more than 100,000 puppies from such breeding farms are exported from Slovakia annually.

City representatives went to the city-supported shelter at Polianky in Bratislava, to check on how effective the city finances are managed. There, 141 dogs and 8 cats are currently placed, chairperson of the Sloboda zvierat / Animal Freedom civic association that operates the shelter Pavla Dugovicova informed.

Animals get to the Polianky shelter not just when captured roaming the streets, but also by being taken in by local inhabitants (after Christmas, 51 animals were received in this way). Still before the holidays, 14 animals were brought by Bratislava inhabitants. Thus, the shelter  as well as others throughout Slovakia  may need more finances or more food for the animals there, including help with afternoon walking of the dogs living at Polianky. The hope remains that some of the volunteers who come to walk the dogs may want to keep them.
PRIEST Anton Srholec, a communist-time dissident and charity proponent, died on the morning of January 7 in Bratislava, at age 86.

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He died after 68 years of monastic life, of which he was a priest for 45 years, spokesman of Salesian monks, Rastislav Hamracek, informed the SITA newswire. In recent months, he suffered from cancer which was also the cause of his death.

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The life of Anton Srholec was a symbol of the fight for faith, freedom and humaneness.

He was born on June 12, 1929 in Skalica. After he decided to study theology, which was not possible in then communist-Czechoslovakia, he tried to illegally emigrate abroad in 1951 to study there. However, he was caught and sentenced to 12 years in prison, of which he served 10, mostly in uranium mines in Jachymov; after his release in 1960, he was a labourer working at construction sites.

Later, he worked as a labourer and secretly studied theology  also at the papal university in Torino. In 1970, he was ordained as a priest by Pope Paul VI, yet after he returned to Czechoslovakia, Srholec could not pursue a clerical career, and he was first a sexton and then a popular preacher in the Bratislava church of Blumental. He was also sent to smaller parishes in the vicinity of Bratislava.

In 1985, he was stripped of state approval after he had organised religious festivities at Velehrad. He worked again as a labourer and retired in 1989.

In the following years, after the fall of communism, Srholec was active in the Helsinki Committee and other organisations, as chairman of the Confederation of Political Prisoners of Slovakia (KPVS), and he mostly focused on working with homeless people. In 1992, he founded a re-socialising facility for the homeless, Resoty, in the borough of Podunajske Biskupice, which offers a shelter for dozens of deprived people.

Srholec was active in public life, lectured and wrote stories and books. He received many national and foreign awards. In 2003, Anton Srholec received the Order of L. Stur 2nd class from the then-Slovak president.

His death was bemoaned and his life and importance was stressed by Slovak president Andrej Kiska who said, as quoted by the SITA newswire, that Srholec found God in good deeds and smiles of people. Srholec helped make Slovakia a better and nicer place, and wanted it to be a true home for people, not a house being left by its inhabitants, Kiska added.
THE KIA Motors Slovakia company produced 338,000 cars last year, which is an increase of 4 percent year-on-year.

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Compared to the previous year, also the production of engines increased, by 18 percent, when their number exceeded 582,000 in 2014.

The production in our plant has been growing continuously for the sixth consecutive year, president of Kia Motors Slovakia, Eek-Hee Lee, told the SITA newswire. I firmly believe that the currently renewed product portfolio will help maintain this trend also in the upcoming period.

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Last year, the car factory invested 110 million; the investment was directed mainly to the launch of serial production of new models. In June, Kia introduced a product-improved version of cee'd, and in December, also the fourth generation of Kia Sportage. In addition, last year the two-millionth car and three-millionth engine were produced in its Zilina plant.

In 2015, Kia Sportage constituted 58 percent of annual production in Zilina. Of the total volume of cars produced, cee'd accounted for almost one third, and Kia Venga 9 percent. Vehicles made in Slovakia covered last year 56 percent of all sales of Kia in Europe; they were most attractive in Russia (14 %), the UK (14 %), Germany (8 %), Spain (8 %) and Italy (6 %).

The most demanded engine produced by Kia in Slovakia was the 1.7 litre diesel engine; last year, diesel engines comprised about 50 percent of the total production. Almost half of the engines were exported to Kia affiliated plant Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech in the Czech town of Nosovice.

Kia Motors Slovakia, built between 2004-2006, is the only production plant of Kia Motors Corporation in Europe. Currently, it employs more than 3,800 people in Slovakia, and produces models Kia cee'd in three body versions, Kia Sportage and Kia Venga. Kia Motors Slovakia now belongs among the three biggest carmakers and car exporters in Slovakia.
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IN ORDER to keep Slovakia safe, the creation of a compact Muslim community in the country must be prevented, Prime Minister Robert Fico said at a press conference on January 7, adding that this would happen if the mandatory quota system on migrants was applied.

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This is the only way to eliminate risks, said Fico, as quoted by the TASR newswire, in response to events in Cologne, Germany, where dozens of women were sexually harassed and/or robbed during the city's New Year celebrations.

About 90 women reported to police that they were sexually harassed by young, mainly drunk men, who threatened them and robbed them. According to Cologne Police the suspects were of Arabian or northern African origin. Two women reported that they had been raped.

We dont want something like what happened in Germany to occur in Slovakia, declared Fico, as quoted by TASR, imagining Slovak women being harassed in public places.

The PM stated that the government has to direct its financial aid addressing the migration crisis mainly to the protection of the Schengen area borders.

Fico went on to state that that there is a clear link between migration flows and the events in Cologne, as well as with the November terrorist attacks in Paris. However, he said he does not apply the concept of collective guilt.

We protect Slovakia ... There are security risks linked to the migration wave and it is my obligation to talk about them, Fico said, as quoted by TASR. I am accountable.

The Islamic Foundation in Slovakia responded that it rejected the direct or indirect connection of terrorism or sexual violence with Islam or even with the Muslim community in Slovakia.

Sadly, whether we want it or not, we are becoming an issue of the pre-election campaign, reads the foundations statement. We fear that the current social atmosphere could endanger the safety of our families, particularly women and children. Therefore we ask our political representatives as well as public figures and media to please have regard to that.

The government is misusing the issue of migrants to divert public attention away from real problems such as collapsing health care, blossoming corruption, dysfunctional education and a worsening business environment, Most-Hid chair Bela Bugar said in response.

Fico further stated that if the attacks in Paris failed to open the eyes of people in Slovakia who deliberately make light of security risks, the events in Germany will succeed in this because the security risks are simply enormous. He was alluding to the New Years remarks made by President Andrej Kiska, plus those of the media and of opposition politicians who claim that Slovakia is overreacting.

These events should be an answer to those who say that migrants with a different religion can easily be integrated, Fico said, as quoted by TASR. They cant, it simply doesnt work.

According to Fico, the European Union and some of its member countries did not manage the risks linked to unfettered inflow of migrants into Europe.

We expect that up to three million more migrants will come to Europe this year, said Fico, as quoted by TASR. Currently the weather is holding them back.
Its an unfortunate aspect of the coffee industry that in many of the places producing coffee, gender equality does not existunfortunate, but not unalterable. The Coffee Quality Institutes Partnership for Gender Equity is tackling this issue in a three-step approach, the first phase of which began this November in the form of a research report entitled The Way Forward.

CQIs Kimberly Easson is the engineer of this initiative. She enlisted Susan Cote, Inge Jacobs, and Colleen Anunu to work with her on this stage of the process. Each of the four women had a different role in developing, collecting, and collating the research presented in the report, and each brought a different perspective to gender equity in conversations I had with themparsing out the details of the report, their approaches to research, the difficulties of undertaking such a large and complex issue, and the factors that can make gender equity efforts more sustainable. Their report is worth reading even if you dont work in coffee, but is an essential read if you do. What follows are my takeaways from the report, and Easson, Cote, Jacobs, and Anunus expansion on specific areas.

Gender equity: good for people, good for coffee.

One thing the 75-page report stresses from multiple angles, and through diverse evidence, is that gender equity is good for people, is the right humanitarian action, yes, but more than that, gender equity is good for coffeegood for the coffee business.

Susan Cote, who formerly worked for Green Mountain Coffee heading up its marketing division, used her expertise to craft an industry input plan for CQI, conducting focus groups and interviews with a broad spectrum of coffee professionals and industry leaders to better understand what would make them more interested in participating in gender equity projects, what concerns they had about promoting gender equity at origin, what theyd already been doing to promote gender equity in coffee, and how much the industry generally understood the issue.

Cote feels businesses have a huge role to play in creating change. Thats where most of our leverage will ultimately come fromthe money to invest in programs, or the folks whose day-to-day decisions in the way that they conduct their business can impact the lives of producers, said Cote.

Ultimately efforts are more sustainable, from a funding viewpoint, if they are win-win situationsif the efforts are effective not only in improving farmers lives and livelihoods but also make good business sense and improve the product.

That isnt just a crass profit-seeking motive, Cote explains. Its because, ultimately, those efforts that are most sustainable are those that make business sense, that make sense for all the stakeholders. If only one party is benefitting, it makes it hard for any kind of effort to be sustained over time. If a for-profit business is doing things that dont help that business and only help others, theres a limit to how much of that they can do. In other words, in order for aid from the private sector to have longevity, it needs to also help the businesses supporting it.

Stressing that gender equity aids the coffee business situates it within the context of all the other efforts being made to ensure an abundance of quality coffee. In many ways, the imbalance of gender rights can be considered as much a threat to the sustainability of quality coffee as global warming, access to water, plant disease, or an aging farmer populationissues that are (for the most part) more tangible, easier to directly address, and, therefore, have effort devoted to them more often.

Just think about this: women comprise half of the coffee growing workforce and are most involved in plant care, harvesting, and processing activities; however, they are often excluded from trainings and decision-making at not just the household level but also the farm and local organization levels. Plant care, harvesting, and processingmany would argue that these are the most important steps in creating high-quality coffee.

Its in these essential steps, which arguably have the most impact on coffee plants health and crop and processing quality, that women do most of the work. It stands to reason (and the report verifies this through its findings) that making sure women have equal access to training as men, consulting with women of farming communities to see what aspects of training theyre most interested in, and pinpointing what factors prevent them from accessing not just training but credit and leadership positions is essential in improving coffees sustainability and quality, would benefit coffee as a whole. The more coffee workers with access to training and resources, the better for the coffee industryespecially if those workers are doing the bulk of harvesting and plant care.

Finally, monetary incentives make gender equity endeavors more sustainable for producers. Colleen Anunu did the background research and literature review on this subjectwhich involved reading many peer-reviewed studies and papers on gender equity and agricultureand helped develop and conduct workshops that the CQI Partnership organized and participated in at four different coffee-producing regions around the world. Anunu pointed out the benefits of monetarily incentivizing producers to participate in gender equity actions. According to Anunu, coffee producers are growing a cash crop, which means theres only one thing they can do with itsell it. If you employ a methodology that enables farmers to see for themselves that practicing gender equity measures not only has the ability to produce a higher-quality crop but that doing so could also potentially enable them to enter into direct contracts with buyers who place a certain amount of priority on gender equity, those farmers will have two very logical, fiscally beneficial reasons to want to practice gender equity. Kimberly Easson, the chief architect of the project agreed.

In the world of competing for new market opportunities, even companies just offering the ability to develop a relationship to establish a sourcing contract, that in itself can be a plus, Easson says. Buyers can build incentives into those contractspremiums, investments, trainings, or creditthat in and of themselves can be more inclusive of women but which also can be in exchange for better gender equity practices on the part of the producer. Those practices could look like asking [the producer or producer organization] to have a gender policy in place or that theres a person on the staff of the farmer organization or the producer entity that is accountable in some way for raising awareness about gender. Easson says developing these sorts of incentives and policies is exactly what the Partnership and the industry should spend more time developing. However, she says, Its not unusual to do these kinds of things. We [the coffee industry] do it a lot with standards whether it be Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance or quality standardsthere are all kinds of buyer requirements that are already being put in to place, so for Easson the question, now, is how do we incorporate some gender measures as incentives or even just standards inside of a contractual agreement?

The coffee industry and its concerns about promoting gender equity measures.

Cote, who conducted the industry focus groups; Inge Jacobs, who co-authored the report, is a human rights expert, and works for MARS developing womens environment and gender strategy in the Ivory Coast; and Easson, all told me that they heard two primary concerns voiced by the industry in pursuing a push for gender equity. First: avoiding cultural imperialism or interfering in the personal and private lives of farmers. And second, ensuring that enough research had been done that their investments towards promoting gender equity would actually accomplish the betterment of farmers lives and livelihoods.

The second was generally a concern of very large companies who have to answer to investors. Easson is the first to admit that there is ample room for more researchyou can never really have enough data, the issue is so complex and the specificities of each region (and regions within regions) are so different and so influential on the issuebut the report and the research that the Partnership has done has gone a long way to fill the void of information about gender equity at origin.

The first concern is a bit trickier. All four women admitted that gender inequity is a more sensitive issue to approach than, say, installing a well for a co-ops use. However, that doesnt mean that it cant be approached or shouldnt be approached, it just means that its much more important for companies interested in promoting gender equity at origin to know how to approach it in the right way without overreach[ing] their boundaries in terms of telling a community what they should be doing, as Anunu explains. Its more of an exploratory and evolutionary and participatory process. Thats a large part of what this entire initiative is about; its why data collection and research and the workshops at origin that get farmers input and feedback are so important.

What it basically boils down to is this: gender equity doesnt mean men versus women, it doesnt mean barging in and telling people what to do, it doesnt mean excluding men. Despite the apparent pervasiveness of these misunderstandings, that is not what gender equity (or gender equality, for that matter) actually means. Gender equity is, as the report says, the process or approach of treating women and men fairly. It takes into consideration the different needs of women and men and includes measures to address womens historical and social disadvantages. Gender equity is a means to achieve gender equality. The UN, multiple human rights conventions, and most nations around the world support the value of gender equity.

In order to achieve a better understanding of gender equity and better gender equity practices, it is possible that certain cultural practices within a specific society might need to be addressed. There are entire books about cultural imperialism that decline to define it because the expression is a generic umbrella term that encompasses several roughly similar phenomena and the concepts of the terms imperialism and culture are so politically and intellectually complex that they cannot be defined in isolation from their discursive context and the real processes to which this relates.

I will not attempt to define cultural imperialism in order to explain the difference between it and the recommendations in the report for promoting gender equity. What I will do, however, is assume that those industry concerns were generally coming from a place of respect for others and a desire to continue building good and meaningful relationships with coffee producers that empower them and better their lives. In that regard, the methodology and values recommended by the Partnerships report are in complete alignment.

Ill also echo the report in saying that, for the record, gender gaps exist in every country in the world. Yes, that means in the US, and in France, and England, and every other developed Western nation. While some of the highest inequalities can be found in coffee producing countries, they are by no means the only places where gender gaps occur and no one is stopping a company from implementing gender equity incentives in its contracts with farmers at origin and also taking a look at its own practices in the US and making sure that they support gender equity at home, too. Though this report focuses on gender inequity at coffee origin, it in no way confines the gender gap problem to just those locations. Rather, because those locations have such a large gender gap, have such a huge impact on the coffee industry, and have largely been neglected as far as addressing gender inequity is concerned, the report focuses in on them.

Should those seeking to provide aid or incite change have a deep understanding of and respect for the people theyre trying to help? Absolutely. Should they ask those people what it is they want and need in order to better their lives and future? You bet. Should the process be inclusive and participatory? Yes. Promoting gender equity doesnt have to be divisivein fact it shouldnt be. Rather it should facilitate bringing people together. Promoting gender equity is an imperative, one that will not only help women but will also help men, families, farms, cooperatives, and coffee.

So how do you promote gender equity in a way thats inclusive, participatory, and culturally sensitive? What can coffee companies do to promote gender equity?

The report details eight essential steps to promote gender equity at origin:

1) Increase womens participation in training programs and revise training programs to be gender sensitive

2) Invest in programs to reduce time pressures for women

3) Improve womens access to credit and assets

4) Achieve greater gender balance in leadership positions

5) Support joint decision-making and ownership of income and resources at the household level

6) Specifically source and market coffee from women producers and coffee produced under conditions of gender equity

7) Develop a list of gender equity principles for coffee

8) Continue to build understanding through research and measurement

The report then goes into detail about what each of these recommendations might entail, giving examples of farms or projects that exemplify the recommended actions and cautioning against unintended consequences that can be easily avoided. Speaking with Anunu, Cote, Easson, and Jacobs, all of them mentioned three methodologies they felt really worked to bring communities together to talk about gender inequity and to find some resolutions to common gender imbalances: Farming as a Family Business, Village Savings and Loan Associations, and Gender Action Learning Systems.

That last, which is commonly referred to as GALS, Easson and Anunu actually adapted to help them collect data at the workshops they conducted (and participated in) in Colombia, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Indonesia. The GALS methodology involves in-depth community training workshops that bring men, women, and communities together and facilitates open discussions about gender, gender roles, family responsibilities, gender-based responsibilities, community goals for the future, and the steps towards reaching those goals. GALS participants, as Easson said, on their own, distinguish the power dynamics at the household level and the community level, the issues that they were facing and the barriers. They discover for themselves how gender imbalance impacts their well-being and their future vision for themselves, their families, and their children.

Differences across cultures were placed in larger perspective. In Uganda, there were very accepted behaviors of men that wouldnt fly in Nicaragua. They wouldnt fly in the United States, said Anunu, citing a lack of womens rights to hold assets or control income, or the permissiveness of gender-based violencebeating women. Its not necessarily this way all the time but some of the conversation that was generated about the things that women didnt like about being a woman in their community was being beaten by their husbands, and one of the things that men didnt like in their community and about their role of being a man was having to beat their wives, said Anunu. It was a very tough conversation to have.

It just breaks your heart, Easson remembers. I know domestic violence is very closely linked to poverty and so I know it happens in many, many communities where coffee is sourced but to have it brought out so directly and so publicly was really heartbreaking. So the fact that domestic violence is part of this equationand also, too, in Indonesia, what really stood out was it was almost as if the men didnt even know that the women were doing work in coffee. It was as if they didnt exist. So here they are contributing so much and its just as if its nothing, not valued, and it didnt even occur to the men that they are doing work.

On a more positive note, Easson says, One of the most powerful experiences that Ive had in looking at this issue is being with a group of men in Nicaragua who were saying yeah, it was hard for me to want to change but then I saw why it was important for myself and then I decided to stand up and actually talk to my peers. So when it starts to become more of the norm, like hey man, you should invite your wife to the training!then it starts to become the favorable kind of peer pressure where the men are actually all part of helping to foster this change because they see benefits to themselves in terms of better income overall for the family.

So, where do we go from here?

First, read the report. If youd like more information, sign up for one of the webinars that Easson hosts. Become a member. Keep up to date with stage two and three developments (rememberthis is only the completion of stage one!) of the Partnership for Gender Equitys initiative by signing up for the Gender in Coffee newsletter. Keep an eye out for CQI and Partnership talks at SCAA as well as gender and coffee talks by other longstanding gender equity promoters such as the International Womens Coffee Alliance or Sustainable Harvest. Stay informed. Have open discussions. Start to reevaluate practices that are already in place.

What Im hoping is that more people just start to ask more questionsstart being more active about pushing some of these issues forward, says Anunu. Ask questions. Push forward.

Rachel Grozanick is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon. Grozanick has contributed previously to Bitch Magazine, 90.5 WESA in Pittsburgh, and 90.7 KBOO in Portland. Read more Rachel Grozanick on Sprudge.

All photos courtesy of Colleen Anunu.
The New York Public Library has unleashed a treasure trove of searchable photographs, texts, and historic delights from the institutions heaving archives. All types of blogs are going gaga over this content, and were no different. But hey, look at what we found! NYPL archives contain photo evidence of what very well might have been be the worlds very first Brewers Cup competition, held right here in America during the famous 1939 Worlds Fair in scenic Queens, New York.

Not much is known about the contest but from what we could glean from the four images available, its clear that the brewer of choice was percolator, and the jacket/hat combination on contestant sixteen is simply resplendent. Also, it seems all contestants brewed at the same time? And also shared a very lovely table cloth.

Contestant #15 brewed into an ornate service vessel and into what looks to be three girthy cups. Is that some sort of heating element on the table? There also seems to be a bowl of sugarpackets? Check out those sweet barstools, perhaps for the judging panel?

Contestant #15 was the winner, the collection tells us. We can only imagine the photographer asking the winner to pretend like youre pouring more coffee in the cupthats it, thisll be perfect, in eighty years some coffee blog is gonna write about this!

And wouldnt you know it? Brazils own historically fabulous Carmen Miranda is seen enjoying a cup of the winning brewer in this delightful photo. Look at those furs! We love you Carmen!

Expect more coffee history coverage from the NYPL archives as we explore them further, and have a look yourself over at New York Public Librarys Digital Collections.
"Need to explain to the international community. Reporters can come to make sure this is the truth, they are welcome," Gaddafi told the former Prime Minister.

When Blair told Gaddafi to step down as the head of the state, the former Libyan leader insisted that he was defending his country and the entire North African coast from Islamic extremists.

"We are not fighting them, they are attacking us The story is simply this: an organization has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa. Called the Al-Qaeda Organization in North Africa," Gaddafi said.

During his second conversation with Blair, in which the former British Prime Minister re-iterated that Gaddafi must step down to bring peaceful changes to his country, Gaddafi refused to leave and said he'd have to arm troops loyal to him to crush jihadist groups taking over Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.

"Libyan people will die, damage will be on the med, Europe and the whole world these armed groups are using the situation as a justification  and we shall fight them," Gaddafi said, according to excerpts from their 2011 phone conversation with Blair, the Telegraph reported.
Turkey loses sales and tourism, but the big deal is the gas/oil and joint investments in pipelines and transportation projects.

Russia imposed economic sanctions on Turkey on January 1 after Turkish fighter planes shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber on November 24 and those sanctions have had an immediate impact on the Turkish economy, Institute for Gulf Affairs Policy Analyst Adam Whitcomb told Sputnik.

The sanctions noted create an economic dip within the Eurasian country, Russia is Turkey's third largest trading partner, 10 percent of all Turkish tourists are Russian, and the sanctions have been estimated to result in a total loss of $20 billion, 2.5 percent of Turkey's GDP.

However much Turkey suffers from the new sanctions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unlikely to apologize to Russia to get them lifted, Whitcomb predicted.

Beyond the facts of economics lie the implications of geopolitics Turkey will not go scrambling back to Russia to make amends for their actions in spite of a waning economy.

Erdogan was unlikely to succeed in his tactic of trying to get the World Trade Organization (WTO) to force or persuade Russia to lift the sanctions, Friedman stated.

I don't expect the WTO could have a rapid effect to reverse impact of Russian sanctions. Are they going to tell Russian tourists they should continue to vacation in Turkey? No. That Russian companies and government should continue to invest in joint infrastructure? No.

Erdogan should swallow his pride and publicly apologize to Russia for shooting down the aircraft, Friedman argued.

Turkey has made their point about protecting borders. Is it time now to pay compensation for the Russian planes, with some face-saving agreement to avoid such incidents in the future and back to business with normal trade and investment?

Even if that happened, Turkey faced the likelihood of a serious economic slump because of the rapidly growing tensions and conflicts across the region, Whitcomb warned.

Acts of international violence over the past few months have caused regional superpowers in the Middle East and Eurasia to retract communication, air travel, and commerce with each other, ultimately deepening the divide between Western allied and non-allied nations.

Russia's Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev has stated that Turkish vegetables account for 20 percent of vegetable imports to Russia but Moscow was free to buy such produce from other countries and it could also find buyers for its wheat exports in other parts of the Middle East.
I would simply underline the fact that the Saudis are deliberately precipitating a crisis in the hope that it will force the United States to be more anti-Iran. I doubt that it will work, Porter told Sputnik.

Lauria argued that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and his son, 30-year-old Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, had led the country into a series of stinging foreign policy humiliations and failures and were seeking to distract public attention by provoking a crisis with Iran.

It appears that the failure of the Saudis to win in Yemen, the reversal of the fortunes of the extremists it backs in Syria after the Russian intervention, and above all the Iranian nuclear deal have put the Saudi leadership, particularly the young defense minister, under extreme pressure.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also second in line to the throne as deputy crown prince, threw his own prestige into the war in Yemen and is now gambling with even higher stakes in taking acts calculated to enrage the Iranians, Lauria noted.

He cannot afford to lose his war in Yemen. So Sunnis are being riled up against Iran and Iranian-back Shia in what looks like a reckless gambit to maintain its regional influence, the analyst said.

Saudi Arabias growing economic crisis caused by the global slump in oil prices was also a factor in motivating the policy of confrontation, Lauria suggested.

Some analysts are saying that this is about a faltering economy and a need to distract the population from a reduction of pay outs that have kept them in line over the decades.

The entire Middle East was likely to suffer from Riyadhs rejection of efforts to build diplomatic bridges to Tehran, Lauria warned.

This is all the more disturbing because last month high-level talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia were announced-now no doubt canceled. Without a Saudi-Iranian accommodation crises across the region from Lebanon to Yemen will remain on the boil.

Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan joined Saudi Arabia in cutting all their diplomatic ties with Iran on Monday.

Commercial ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran are nowhere near what they are between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). If you see the Emirates suspend [its ties] to Iran, then we know this is a major provocation by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Lauria added.

Porter predicted that because of Washingtons inability to rein in the Saudis, the crisis was likely to get steadily worse.

After these Saudi provocations, [relations] will become no doubt worse. How much worse is anyone's guess but I also have little hope that [US President Barack] Obama is capable of forcing the issue of irresponsible and destructive Saudi behavior with Riyadh.

In December, Riyadh and Tehran announced they would hold high-level talks to try and improve relations, but those negotiations would probably become a casualty of the new escalating tensions, Porter advised.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests since it officially acknowledged its nuclear status in 2005. According to Russian estimates the plutonium bombs Pyongyang tested in 2006, 2009 and 2013 did not exceed 40 kilotons of TNT.

In December 2015 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country had built a hydrogen bomb which it would be ready to use to defend the countrys territorial integrity.

Most experts are skeptical about Pyongyangs claim that Wednesdays test was of a hydrogen bomb, but it will take a few more days to analyze air samples and study data about the nature of the 5.1-magnitude earthquake detected near North Korea's Punggye Ri nuclear site.

However, even a detailed analysis cannot say for sure whether the device Pyongyang tested on Wednesday was really a hydrogen bomb and not a regular, atomic one.

Wednesdays blast of what Pyongyang called its H-bomb of justice was less powerful than the plutonium-based atomic bomb it detonated in 2013, raising doubts that North Korea has managed to build a massively more sophisticated and destructive weapon.

The initial analysis is not consistent with the North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

In Moscow, nuclear expert Alexander Uvarov said that the relatively small power of Wednesday explosion  less than 6 kilotons  could have been the result of a failed hydrogen test.

He added that North Korea could have actually tested a regular atomic device as part of its ongoing effort to develop a full-fledged hydrogen bomb.
Without giving any outlook, he said that the downward trend will stay and prices may go even "lower than anybody could conceive."

At the same time, he assumed that in the future oil prices are likely to jump, as for many companies the price of oil is making staying in business too expensive.

"They are definitely going to go up in the next few years because supply is going to dry up. Drilling is drying up; everything is drying up, and so youre going to have much higher oil prices in the future," Rogers said.

Rogers noted that China, which needs a lot of oil to keep its massive economy working, is watching the developments in the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Tehran. Despite the fact that China is neutral in the ongoing tensions in the Middle East it may hold the key to resolving many of the regions problems.

"China certainly does not want a war to erupt between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and China is seen as much more neutral than anybody else. America is not neutral; the Europeans are not seen as neutral. [] If anybody can calm things down its probably China," he concluded.
Exporters in the countrys southern Antalya province have been hit the hardest by the closure of the Russian market and are bracing up for a hard winter looming ahead, the English-language daily Todays Zaman wrote on Wednesday.

Wholesalers in Antalya have been seriously affected. There are those [who are] going out of business, and trucks are coming back. In light of the crisis, we have been forced to look toward the domestic market, but we do not know to what extent it can handle this, exporter Ali Yandk said.

The list of products Turkey is no longer allowed to sell to Russia includes frozen chicken and turkey parts, fresh and frozen tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, oranges and tangerines, apricots and strawberries.
Finally, climate change is already causing significant damage, with extreme weather events becoming more and more frequent and destructive, the author wrote.

"Yet it is Europe that may turn out to be the ground zero of geopolitics in 2016," he assumed.

Roubini analyzed the actual crises which pose threats to Europe and outlined the main risks which are likely to change the European geopolitical landscape in the near future.

To begin with, a Greek exit from the Eurozone may have been only postponed, not prevented, as pension and other reforms put the country on a collision course with its European creditors, the article read.

According to the author, the so-called "Grexit" could launch the collapse of the European monetary union as investors would wonder which member country will be the next to leave.
On January 8, an assailant gunned down a female police officer and a street cleaner in Pariss southern suburbs of Montrouge, fleeing the scene. The officer was killed and the man was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

On the morning of January 9, two men armed with automatic weapons stole a car in the Oise department. Later, the two assailants, who turned out to be the Kouachi brothers, took a hostage in the Seine-et-Marne department and tried to shoot their way out, killing two and injuring 20 people.

Later that day, the brothers holed up in Dammartin-en-Goele were killed by commando units and their hostage was freed.

On the same day, a man armed with two Kalashnikovs, burst into a kosher supermarket at Porte de Vincennes in east Paris, opened fire and took hostages. He was also the one to who was involved in the Montrouge attack.

The extremist said in a telephone conversation with a BFMTV reporter that he was acting on behalf of Daesh (Islamic State, outlawed in Russia among other countries) and coordinated his actions with Cherif and Said Kouachi, demanding their release.

At about 5 p.m. (at the same time as the operation at Dammartin-en-Goele), commando units stormed the supermarket, killing the assailant. He was identified as Amedy Coulibaly, 32. Four people were killed in the shootout, 15 hostages were released. All four were killed by Coulibaly.
While it doesn't seem likely at this point that Japan or South Korea will develop nuclear weapons in response, the US nuclear presence in the region is very strong and the danger of a conflict in the region becoming nuclear is now greater than ever, Armstrong stated.

Armstrong concluded that, if North Koreas bomb is indeed hydrogen, the probability of the countrys destructive power will just expand.

United Nations sanctions against North Korea for their bomb test is almost a definite, if the countrys claims turn out to be true, Council on Foreign Relations US-Korea Policy Program Director Scott Snyder told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Another UNSC [United Nations Security Council] resolution, then biting and fully enforced sanctions designed to reverse DPRK's [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] current strategic policy or risk regime survival through continued defiance of the international community, Snyder stated.

Snyder argued that North Koreas bomb test could lead to closer cooperation between the United States and China in trying to push North Korea to stop its nuclear program.

The main task and question centers on whether this DPRK test is a clarifying moment in Beijing that leads the PRC to overcome or put aside suspicions of the US rebalance to join a coordinated and sustained campaign to bring DPRK to its knees and pressure the existing leadership to abandon its nuclear development efforts, Snyder said.

Snyder concluded that impact on Asian-Pacific countries will depend on their decision for a possible coordinated response to the situation.

South Korean intelligence said earlier on Wednesday the hydrogen blast in North Korea was unlikely hydrogen-based, assuming that a magnitude of an earthquake caused by the nuclear test was not high enough.
According to Smith, Obama's other two foreign policy mistakes include his Middle Eastern policies, namely the Syrian crisis and a possible failure to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran.

The peculiar thing is that by establishing warmer relations with Russia from the get go, the Obama Administration could have probably avoided foreign policy failures in the Middle East; or at least made them less grim than they currently are.

By needlessly provoking Russia, the Obama Administration "missed opportunities for cooperative action with Russia on everything from terror to global warming," Smith argued.
Platform-M is the latest such robotic combat system, created to fight without entering into contact with the enemy.

Armed with a grenade launcher and a machinegun, it is a universal combat unit ideal for reconnaissance and patrol missions, as well as for guarding important sites.

The Uran-6 is a multipurpose demining robot, powerful enough to replace 20 sappers. It can be remotely operated from a safe distance of about one kilometer.

Armed with bulldozer blades and trawls, the Uran-6 detects, identifies and destroys mines containing up to 60 kilograms of TNT. Its companion, the Uran-14, is an obstacle-breeching and fire-fighting robot.

The Argo remotely-operated robotic platform can also swim, which makes it an ideal means of fire support for Marine landing units. The Argo is armed with a single 7.62mm machinegun and a troika of RPG-26 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

The list of military robots slated to enter active service in 2016 also includes the YULA-N mobile mini-robot. Weighing about a kilogram, it can transmit information to an operator up to 100 meters away for a whole two hours non-stop.

And, of course, one should mention the Kadet  a miniature scouting robot which can also be used to haul small cargoes.
"In addition to sending the men of the family to prison for long enough to financially crush the family ranch, the Federal government somehow ends up with a first right of refusal on their ranch land," Molt said. She said the federal government forced the farmers to sign away their land rights upon being released from prison.

"It is too bad that some of the people in Harney County, that finally took their heads out of the sand, are only screaming for Ammon Bundy to leave," Molt said.

She said Oregon ranchers should use this opportunity to change things from how they have been.

"If they allow this opportunity to pass, they will be picked off one by one as their former fellow ranchers has been, leaving the western way of life to die a painful and disgraceful death for the lack of courage to stand up for themselves," Molt concluded.

On Wednesday, the militia groups website spokesperson John Asturias told Sputnik that their protest continues to remain peaceful and the group is only armed to defend themselves in exercising their Second Amendment rights guaranteed in the US Constitution.
I Like My Boss did it again, beating the top trotters at the track with a speedy victory in the $21,000 Open/Handicap trot at Dover Downs on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The all-Delaware bred I Like My Boss made his first 2016 start a memorable one, scoring in a lifetime best 1:53 in the top trot of the week. With regular driver George Dennis at the controls, the now five-year-old altered son of Don Boss Vita-Wild One turned back veteran Tough Mac (Corey Callahan) for his 25th lifetime win in 51 races for owner-trainer Bob Shahan, his breeder with grandchildren Jimmy and Ashley Parsons. I Like My Boss has now won $340,180. Tough Mac held on for second with Indiana stakes winner Bluebird Reverend (Montrell Teague) third.

The sub-feature $15,000 Four- and Five-Year-Old trot was won by Drinksforthehouse, guided by Corey Callahan. Despite post 8, the four-year-old Conway Hall-Pacific Photo gelding won his second in a row for trainer John Cabot and recent owners Howard and Josh Kaufman. Lighter Hanover (Vince Copeland) won the battle for second edging Machuca (Allan Davis).

The sterling-bred Ragazzo Dolce re-enforced his title as king of the claiming trotters recording his seventh straight victory, as Jim Morand pulled the Muscles Yankee-Bella Dolce five-year-old gelding out of third on the final turn and blew away his rivals for a 1:56 victory in a $15,000-$20,000 Claiming Handicap. It was his 14 career win in 52 assignments and lifted his all-time earnings to $113,855. Ronan (Tony Morgan) came on to finish second. Early leader Brew Master (Teague) held on for third.

Strong-finishing Ashes Cash was best in the stretch in a $12,000 trot, chalking up a 1:54.2 victory for owner-trainer Leigh Raymer of the Tyler Raymer Stable and driver Corey Callahan picking up the third of four winners. Hemi Seelster (Brett Miller) was right there second in front of Five Towns (G. Dennis). An eight-year-old gelding owned by David Miller, Ashes Cash (Cash Hall-Ashameg) won for the 26th time in his career and now has earned $182,560 lifetime.

The other $12,000 trot went to Providence Wests Odessa, a 1:58.1 winner for drover Justin Vincent and trainer Kim Vincent. The win was the second straight for the Crown Prince Gar-Current Yield gelding. Phantom Rusty (Jonathan Roberts) was runner-up with Simply Sassy (Morgan) the show finisher.

GIANT SCULPTURE, BLACK AQUILA A HEAD THURSDAY FEATURE

Giant Sculpture, Black Aquila A and Rock N Roll Jet lead nine to post in the Thursday, Jan. 7 feature at Dover Downs. First post is 4:30 p.m.

Bill Emmons Giant Sculpture has been racing well against the top claiming pacers at the track and now drops back into the conditioned ranks with Allan Davis holding the lines. Breakway Racing and Bonuccelli Racings Black Aquila A, with Corey Callahan, drops down in class while Dawn Webb and trainer Buddy Brights Rock N Roll Jet, a winner last start with Art Stafford Jr., steps up a notch. Frank Chicks recently acquired Savannah Splendor and George Dennis should be a factor.

Pierce, owned by Engel Stable and Nick Surick Stable, gets a good post with Marcus Miller in the bike. Leslie Betts well-bred Teresas Beach makes his first start in 2016 and starts from post 1. Owner-trainer Bill Moffetts Leyden and Ross Wolfenden must overcome starting from post 8. Steve Warringtons homebred Rebel Soldier driven by Jim Morand and Steve Goods Ts Electric has been racing well at Rosecroft. Jonathan Roberts will drive.

Dover Downs now features a $5,000 Pick-4 daily.

(with files from Dover)
It is hard to find horsemen that are more savvy than Ben Wallace and Jody Jamieson when it comes to speaking with the media. They are impeccable. The duo has been handed the tough task of having to articulate the devastation that the Classy Lane Training Centre barn fire has left, and the emotion in their interviews has spoken volumes regarding the impact that the tragedy has had on both them and the entire harness racing community in southern Ontario.

An emotional Ben Wallace took time out of his hectic Tuesday morning to discuss the tragedy. In terms of his training business, Wallace was quoted as saying, Its gone. I have nothing. I have nothing. I dont even have a stopwatch. Nothing. Anything I owned going forward, as far as my profession, is gone. To listen to Wallaces interview, click here.

Jamieson discussed the barn fire on Wednesday morning (January 6) on the John Oakley Show on AM 640 in Toronto.

Like Wallace, Jamieson had to fight back emotion during the interview and did his best to convey the various degrees of loss that horsepeople have been forced to accept in the wake of the tragedy, which has received a wealth of attention in virtually all aspects of the media.

.People are left out this morning without any realization that they might get something back financially, Jamieson said. Peoples lives have been turned upside down here and I dont know the best way to explain it other than its devastation  weve lost family members (the horses). If you can get through the emotions of this tragedy, you then immediately deal with the financial tragedy. Its a really tough situation.

Ben owned (at least a part of) 11 horses that were in there (the fire), said Jamieson. He had five employees that (now) dont have a job I cant even put it into words, even this morning.

Oakley asked Jamieson about millionaire-earner Apprentice Hanover, and the OBrien Award winning driver explained that he had just qualified the six-year-old bay hours before the tragedy struck.

I literally sat behind Apprentice Hanover (on) Monday night (during a qualifying race at Woodbine Racetrack) and he (unfortunately) got home in time to be a part of this tragedy. Its just something that you cringe at. I got a phone call late that night and I just couldnt believe it.

Im being a bit selfish because he was one of the best horses that perished in the fire, but there are just so many great people that have been affected by this Im still in a state of shock this morning, I have to be honest.

Everybody in the horse racing industry is encouraged to donate funds to the affected horsepeople via an official GoFundMe page that has been set up by the Central Ontario Standardbred Association. For more on the COSA initiative, or to contact COSA, click here.

It took less than 24 hours for some of the major players in North American harness racing to step up and call for the industry to help support those affected by the blaze. Jeff Gural, Ron Burke, Mark Weaver, Michael Bruscemi and Tony OSullivan have all announced that they are doing what they can to help, and they want others to follow their lead. For complete information, click here.

Efforts have also been started to find jobs for the grooms and assistants that have been suddenly left without employment due to the situation. Additionally, an equipment / stable-supplies drive has been initiated to help affected trainers start to build their businesses back up. For complete information on the official GoFundMe account, the employment relocation efforts and the equipment drive, click here.

(With files from AM 640)
Trustworthy Kid won his final start of 2015 and began the new year in much the same way, collecting a hard-earned victory from post 8 in Wednesdays $22,500 Winners Over $10,000 Life/Preferred Handicap Trot at The Meadows.

Trustworthy Kid saved ground in last until Brian Zendt sent him three wide into the final turn. The seven-year-old SJs Caviar-Penn Worthy Lane gelding swooped the field and triumphed in 1:55.2, 1/2 length better than the first-over Major Athens. Keystone Chester shot the Lightning Lane for show.

Walter Boots Dunn trains the homebred Trustworthy Kid, who boosted his career bankroll to $350,552, for Dunn Stable. It was one of three wins on the 15-race card for Zendt, including a pair for Dunn.

Handicapping Contests Set

Throughout January, The Meadows will offer Standardbred and Thoroughbred handicapping contests, both on track and at its Harmar location, for Racing Player Rewards members. The Meadows Racing Handicapping contest occurs each Wednesday. Entry is free, with the winner at each location earning 40,000 points and the overall winner collecting an additional 20,000 bonus points.

The Road to Louisville Thoroughbred handicapping contests, each featuring a Kentucky Derby prep, are set for Saturdays beginning Jan. 9 with the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita. Entry fee is $5. Each location winner receives all entry fees collected plus 20,000 points while the overall winner receives an additional 20,000 bonus points.

For more information or to enter, visit the retail counter at either location.

(with files from The Meadows)
It has been announced that horseman Richard 'Dick' Baumann, 70, passed away on Sunday, January 3.

Baumann was an avid horse owner and trainer for more than 30 years.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, January 9 from 2-4 p.m. at the Lebanon Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Ohio.

Memorial contributions may be made to Autism Speaks at autismspeaks.org.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Dick Baumann.

(USTA)
Heartbeat International to Shift Roles of Executive Team

Contact: Jay Hobbs, Heartbeat International , 614-885-7577COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 7, 2015 / Standard Newswire / -- Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D., Heartbeat International's President for the last 22 years, has been selected by the organization's Board of Directors to serve as its new Board Chair. The change goes into effect Thursday, Jan. 7.The first full-time president in the organization's 45-year history, Hartshorn is now resuming a role she held from 1990 to 2004 at Heartbeat International. She was also a founding board member for Columbus-based Pregnancy Decision Health Centers, dating back to 1981, giving her over 36 years of experience steering an organization from a board level.Along with her fellow board members, Hartshorn's first action in her new position has been to appoint former Vice President Jor-El Godsey as Heartbeat International's new President, a change that is also effective immediately. A long-time pregnancy center leader on the local level dating back to 1988, Godsey has served as part of Heartbeat International's senior leadership since 2006."We are so pleased, as a Board of Directors, to extend this call to Jor-El Godsey as our organization's new President," Hartshorn said. "Jor-El has established himself as a great leader, both within our network of life-affirming pregnancy help and more broadly, among our peers in the international pro-life community."We have every confidence that he will continue to lead Heartbeat International into a new era of excellence as we strive together to make abortion unwanted today and unthinkable for future generations."Shocked when the Supreme Court handed down its landmark ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973, Hartshorn and her husband, Mike, thrust themselves into the pro-life arena immediately. They opened their home to pregnant women beginning in 1974, then served together to open a pregnancy help center and pregnancy helpline in Central Ohio.Hartshorn has written much of Heartbeat International's core training materials for staff and volunteers at local pregnancy help organizations. She was also instrumental in founding Option Line, a pregnancy helpline serving the U.S. and Canada that has reached more than 2.4 million women with life-affirming pregnancy help since first answering the call in 2003.Hartshorn will continue crafting new training manuals and building upon her 2011 release, Foot Soldiers Armed with Love: Heartbeat International's First Forty Years.A leader and director at local pregnancy centers from 1988 to 2006, Godsey holds a Life-Affirming Specialist designation through Heartbeat International's Academy, and, like Hartshorn, is a widely sought-after speaker among pregnancy help organizations throughout the U.S. and globally.
One of the most astonishing things to come out of a three-day hearing in federal court in Scranton, where noted prisoner-for-life Mumia Abu-Jamal was last month seeking an injunction to force the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to provide him with medication to treat his raging Hepatitis-C infection was the discovery that the state has been withholding that life-saving treatment not just from him but from almost all of the 6-7000 inmates in state prisons who have active Hep-C cases, and that the states doing this not just for medical reasons, but as punishment for prisoners found guilty of misconduct or suffering from any addiction.

Word of this medieval and sadistic approach to medical care for prisoners in a state that as a colony and later as a young state in the new nation of the United States of America had pioneered humane punishment came late in the hearing when the attorney for the DOC, Laura Neal, admitted that she had at her desk in the courtroom a copy of a protocol for treatment of Hep-C.

At first, Neal was not even going to admit that there was such a protocol. In fact, under cross-examination by Abu-Jamals attorneys, a DOC witness testified that the state had until 22 months earlier been at least offering some infected inmates treatment with the then best medical option  interferon  but that even this had been halted because of medical studies concluding that it wasnt very effective and that the side-effects could be worse than the cure.

This was, it turned out, only half the story, though. The actual national medical guidelines in question had said to stop using interferon all right, but the other part of those new guidelines said the reason for dropping interferon treatments was precisely because by 2013 there were several new medications available that have few side effects and that offer cure rates for Hep-C as high as 95% of those treated.

The Pennsylvania DOC, however, simply stopped treating prisoners at all, and didnt offer the new medicines.

Once she had conceded that she had in her possession a new November 2015 DOC protocol for treating Hep-C, Atty. Neal told Federal District Judge Robert Mariani she didnt want to have it placed into evidence, except if it were sealed from public view. She said she was only planning to use it in questioning the states expert witness, and didnt intend it to be entered into evidence in the case.

Pressed further about her reason for wanting to keep the protocol secret, Neal admitted she didnt want it getting into the hands of a legal team that has filed a class-action suit in western Pennsylvania seeking to compel the DOC to provide the new medication to all infected prisoners in its facilities, where, as in the US prison system nationwide, there now is a raging Hep-C epidemic.

The judge was not sympathetic to this argument and ordered her to provide the protocol to the court, unsealed.

A copy was obtained by ThisCantBeHappening! courtesy of Bret Grote, legal director of the Abolitionist Law Center and one of Abu-Jamals attorneys in this case.

The document is stunning in its callousness and sadistic punitiveness, which belies any notion that the states prison system has anything to do with redemption or correction. It is in fact, positively medieval in its heartless language and punitive philosophy.

Under the protocol, as I wrote earlier [1], a prisoner with Hep-C is considered ineligible for treatment with anti-Hepatitis drugs unless found to have advanced cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis, a deadly and irreversible scarring and functional destruction of the liver, is a sign of advanced Hepatitis infection, not an early sign of the disease. Nonetheless, once found to have a sufficiently serious case of cirrhosis, the ailing prisoner must still cross a second medical hurdle in order to obtain treatment: He or she must undergo an endoscopy of the esophagus, where doctors must find present a condition called esophageal varices.

The Mayo Clinic defines esophageal varices as:

abnormal, enlarged veins in the lower part of the esophagus  the tube that connects the throat and stomach. Esophageal varices occur most often in people with serious liver diseases. Esophageal varices develop when normal blood flow to the liver is obstructed by scar tissue in the liver or a clot. Seeking a way around the blockages, blood flows into smaller blood vessels that are not designed to carry large volumes of blood. The vessels may leak blood or even rupture, causing life-threatening bleeding.

In other words, a person doesnt even have a shot at getting the new medicine that cures the Hep-C infection unless he or she is near death from cirrhosis and at risk of any moment suffering deadly internal bleeding.

But then, if varices are found in the esophagus, theres yet one more thing in the way. A death panel of DOC executives and top medical personnel from the for-profit contracting firm that provides what passes for medical care at the DOC next looks into the case to see whether the inmate in question has any record of misconduct involving obtaining a tattool, whether the person may have shown evidence over the prior 12 months of any addiction problem, or whether the person has a history of failing to follow medical procedures.

Now remember, most of the prisoners crowding Pennsylvanias prisons are not hardened killers. They are, for the most part, just folks who have committed felonies of one kind or another, many of which are relatively minor, may have been non-violent in nature, like fraud, check kiting, drunk driving, or maybe burglary, and who are serving sentences of five years or less, yet here the DOC is effectively sentencing them to death from complications of untreated Hep-C. And its handing down this capital sentence not even for any serious reason  simply for someone having taking the health risk of getting tattooed, or having an addiction problem.

Gov. Tom Wolf, to his credit, has put a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania, and yet here he is allowing the states prison system, in effect, to condemn to death inmates who have active Hepatitis-C cases by denying them available medicines that could cure their disease  a disease which they may well have actually contracted while in prison.

There is only one word for what is happening here: barbaric.
Er is iets heel griezeligs aan de gang in Nederland. Dat wij geleidelijk aan in een totalitaire 'democratie' wegzinken wordt steeds ...
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
The South Bays economy is in a strong place, but continued inflation and a likely recession are among the future challenges, experts predict.
Linda Eddleston will read from her memoir, My Three Friends, during the next WordFest gathering from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

The memoir tells the story of four young girls living in the Oregon suburbs of the 1950s. She describes their choices, successes, trials, tragedies and their enduring friendship framed by the decades they grow up in.

Eddleston is a retired elementary and special education teacher living in Longview. Her work has been published in The Childrens Ministry Magazine, That Holiday Feeling anthology and in The Daily News. My Three Friends is her first book.

Karen Bonaudi, former president and long-time board member of the Washington Poets Association, will read a selection of new and used poems with a look at what happens off the page. A former Longview resident, Bonaudi she now lives in Renton, where she edits www.sirensrock.com and publishes books by other writers.

Also at Wordfest, Lilly Brock will read from a work of historical fiction that she is currently writing. Now retired, Brock and her husband moved from Olympia to live next to the Columbia River.

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

For more information, contact event organizer Alan Rose through www.alan-rose.com.
Longview police Tuesday arrested 10 more people on suspicion of drug activity, continuing a surge in drug arrests in the last month.

One of two houses agents raided Tuesday is owned and rented out by local chiropractor Ronald Gerne, marking the second time in a month that drug busts have occurred at homes where Gerne is a landlord. Gerne owns two homes at 361 Oregon Way. At one of them, police arrested four Tuesday on suspicion of drug activity.

On Dec. 7, Longview police led one of its largest drug busts ever at 2311 West Castleman St., arresting 12 people at the home Gerne leases and sublets to tenants.

Gerne told The Daily News on Tuesday that hes trying to evict more people from the home at 361  Oregon Way. Gerne filed four evictions last year against five people at the Oregon Way homes, according to court records.

Gerne said he didnt know drug activity was going on at the Oregon Way house and did his best to prevent it. He said he always has tenants sign agreements not to do illicit drugs and does background checks on all his tenants.

With this town, there is drug activity, ... meth and heroin. Its a police issue as well as a city issue. Its unfortunate that drug activity is going on, he said. You just have to keep watching and keep talking (to residents).

On Tuesday, police also arrested six at 5 Cottonwood Place in West Longview on suspicion of drug activity and a warrant. The two busts are the latest in a string of busts in the Kelso-Longview area that collectively have resulted in 36 arrests during the last month.

Sgt. Marc Langlois, head of the Longview Street Crimes Unit, said the unit recently ramped up drug investigations because its had an increase in calls about suspicious activity in the city.

Police officers said they found methamphetamine, heroin, packaging material, scales and other drug paraphernalia at both homes.

The following four people were arrested after the search at 361  Oregon Way: James Anthony Baechler, 48, transient, on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine; Brian Allen Smith, 42, Kelso, on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine and a dangerous weapon; Crystal Dawn Littlejohn, 32, Longview, on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine; Autumn Stanfield-Shadday, 23, Rainier on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of heroin with intent to deliver and three counts of delivery of heroin in a school zone.

The following six people were arrested after the search at 5 Cottonwood Place: Megan Rose Vivian, 34, Kelso, on suspicion of possession of heroin and oxycodone; Kenneth Lee Wilson, 64, Longview, on suspicion of possession of heroin and operating a drug house; Arianna Audelia Hadley, 24, Kelso, on suspicion of possession of heroin; Odin Michael Turner, 45, Kelso, on a warrant for probation violation; Michael Angelo Salaz, Sr. 34, transient from Alaska, on a warrant and suspicion of possession of heroin; Sunny David Cronk, 37, transient, on a warrant.
Blue-collar jobs have been in decline locally and nationally for decades, but Joe Phillips hopes to reverse the trend, at least in Longview and Cowlitz County.

Phillips, 52, went to work Jan. 4 as the citys new economic development coordinator, a job in which he is supposed to recruit job-creating businesses and help existing businesses thrive. The city hired him out of Pierce County after a year-long search.

Why is he optimistic that he can energize the areas industrial sector, in which there has been a steady decline of jobs over the last three decades?

He says some manufacturing industries are coming back to the U.S. or are looking statewide to expand existing operations. As available commercial property dwindles on the outskirts of Seattle and Portland, Longview offers the perfect mid-point location between the two major cities, as well as commercial property, a legacy of skilled workers and utilities built for industrial interests, Phillips says.

If commercial land is available closer to the urban area, that is where business tends to go first, Phillips said in an interview Wednesday. But as land gets used up and its price rises, developers look to more rural locations.

I think if we are out there marketing ourselves ... I am optimistic we can capitalize on that because the local area has a legacy of blue-collar skills that can be put to use with a little more training, Phillips said. Its even conceivable that the area could benefit from the expansion of Boeing supply chain and land companies that serve the aerospace industry, he said.

We have operators and machinists that have been associated with blue-collar business for decades, Phillips said.

City officials say having someone dedicated to attracting businesses to Longview will help bolster existing efforts by the Cowlitz Economic Development Council. Phillips will market Longview and its Mint Farm Industrial Park, which has not attracted the job-rich businesses the city had hoped for. They say he can be a point person for investors to deal with regulatory and permitting needs.

John Brickey, the citys director of community development, said Phillips was selected because he has a background in economic development, planning and knowledge of business needs. His total compensation package, including a car and cell phone allowance, comes to just over $85,000 annually, Brickey said.

Ive worked on both sides of the counter: companies that are looking to come in, and working on the government side to understand what regulations are in place, and why, Phillips said. To be that person that understands what companies are looking for and matching that, and to understand how to make that happen  thats what Im bringing to the table.

Phillips formerly worked for the Pierce County Economic Development Department, where he was involved in a project with Boeing to expand operations throughout the county. He also worked to attract consumer stores, such as Ikea.

I started out working in economic development, and then community planning, then Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and then came back in another economic development position, said Phillips.

Phillips said having relationships within the real estate community has helped him  and will help him in Longview  connect with businesses who may be looking to relocate or branch out into other communities. His involvement in organizations such as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association give him an inside track into when and where commercial development projects happen, he said.

The relationship between the city of Longview and the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, which also recruits new employers, will continue to be a cooperative one, Phillips said. If he cant find a way to meet the needs of a company interested in settling in Longview, hes happy to help surrounding communities in Cowlitz County accommodate them.A rising tide lifts all boats, he said.

One challenge Longview faces in attracting businesses, Phillips said, is the lack of visibility. He said just making businesses aware of the kind of turn-key, industrial spaces with convenient access to Interstate 5  like the Mint Farm Industrial Park  that are available would go a long way in improving sales of city-owned commercial property.

Its too early to promote a particular strategy for improving the economic environment, Phillips said, but he has ideas based on success in other places.

Right now, its going to take a little while to know more. Its going to be a little learning curve, to work with the City Council. Well put together a marketing plan, Phillips said.
Longview police continue to investigate Wednesdays three-vehicle wreck on Tennant Way that crushed a Ford Ranger and backed up westbound traffic from Third Avenue to Interstate 5.

The driver of the Ford Ranger, Kenneth Daniel Holt, 51, of Castle Rock, was cut out of his mangled truck and airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Holt was listed in critical condition Thursday, according to PeaceHealth. Holts vehicle was squished between a semi-truck in the front and a flat-bed delivery truck in the rear.

So far no citations have been issued. Police said it did not immediately appear that alcohol was involved, but toxicology tests are pending.
WASHINGTON  Every Republican of the type concerned with winning in November has been asking the question (at least internally), What if the worst happens?

The worst does not mean the nomination of Ted Cruz, in spite of justified fears of political disaster. Cruz is an ideologue with a message perfectly tuned for a relatively small minority of the electorate. Uniquely in American politics, he has made his reputation by being roundly hated by his colleagues  apparently a prerequisite for a certain kind of anti-establishment conservative, but unpromising for an image makeover at his convention.

Cruzs nomination would represent the victory of the hard right  religious right and tea party factions  within the Republican coalition. After he loses, the ideological struggles within the GOP would go on.

No, the worst outcome for the party would be the nomination of Donald Trump. It is impossible to predict where the political contest between Trump and Hillary Clinton would end up. Clinton has manifestly poor political skills and Trump possesses a serious talent for the low blow. But Trumps nomination would not be the temporary victory of one of the GOPs ideological factions. It would involve the replacement of the humane ideal at the center of the party and its history. If Trump were the nominee, the GOP would cease to be.

Whatever your view of Republican politicians, the aspiration, the self-conception, of the party was set by Abraham Lincoln: human dignity, honored by human freedom and undergirded by certain moral commitments, including compassion and tolerance. Lincoln described the promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance.

It is this universality that Trump attacks. All of his angry resentment against invading Hispanics and Muslims adds up to a kind of ethno-nationalism  an assertion that America is being weakened and adulterated by the other. This is consistent with European, right-wing, anti-immigrant populism. It is not consistent with conservatism, which, at the very least, involves respect for institutions and a commitment to reasoned, incremental change. And Trumpism is certainly not consistent with the Republicanism of Lincoln, who admitted no exceptions to the promises of the Declaration of Independence and was nominated, in part, because he could appeal to anti-slavery German immigrants.

Liberals who claim that Trumpism is the natural outgrowth, or logical conclusion, of conservatism or Republicanism are simply wrong. Edmund Burke is not the grandfather of Nigel Farage. Lincoln is not even the distant relative of Trump.

Trump, in some ways, is an odd carrier of ethno-nationalist beliefs. He held few of them, as far as I can tell, just four years ago. But as a demagogue, he has followed some of Americas worst instincts wherever they have led, and fed ethnic and religious prejudice in the process. All presidential nominees, to some extent, shape their parties into their own image. Trump would deface the GOP beyond recognition.

Trump is disqualified for the presidency by his erratic temperament, his ignorance about public affairs and his scary sympathy for authoritarianism. But for me, and I suspect for many, the largest problem is that Trump would make the GOP the party of racial and religious exclusion.

American political parties are durable constructions. But they have been broken before by powerful, roiling issues such as immigration and racial prejudice. Many Republicans could not vote for Trump, but would have a horribly difficult time voting for Clinton. The humane values of Republicanism would need to find a temporary home, which would necessitate the creation of a third party. This might help elect Clinton, but it would preserve something of conservatism, held in trust, in the hope of better days.

Ultimately, these political matters are quite personal. I have spent 25 years in the company of compassionate conservatives, reform conservatives, Sams Club conservatives, or whatever they want to call themselves, trying to advance an agenda of social justice in Americas center-right party. We have shared a belief that sound public policy  promoting opportunity, along with the skills and values necessary to grasp it  can improve the lives of our fellow citizens, and thus make politics an honorable adventure.

The nomination of Trump would reduce Republican politics  at the presidential level  to an enterprise of squalid prejudice. And many Republicans could not follow, precisely because they are Republicans. By seizing the GOP, Trump would break it to pieces.
The states largest industrial emitters, including several in Cowlitz County, would be required to reduce carbon emissions by 5 percent every three years under a proposed rule released Wednesday by state regulators.

The Department of Ecologys proposed Clean Air Rule would initially apply to about two dozen manufacturing plants, refineries, power plants, natural gas distributors and others that release at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon a year. Many more facilities would likely be covered by the rule as that threshold is lowered over time. New businesses also will eventually be affected.

Kapstone Paper and Packaging, Weyerhaeuser Co., the Mint Farm generating station, Cowlitz County landfill near Silver Lake and Cardinal Glass in Winlock would all be subject to the new rule in 2017.

State officials say the rule is needed to protect human health and the environment from climate change.

Its important that we act now to protect our water supplies, infrastructure and economy for future generations, Ecology Director Maia Bellon said in a prepared statement.

Environmental and other groups applauded the draft rule as a crucial step in addressing climate change. Carbon dioxide traps heat, and scientists claim increasing amounts produced by burning fossil fuels are changing and destabilizing the earths climate. But business groups and others have worried the efforts could hurt the states ability to attract and retain industries.

The draft rule comes after Gov. Jay Inslee failed last year to get legislation passed on his ambitious cap-and-trade plan that would have charged industrial facilities a fee for carbon emissions. In July, Inslee directed Ecology to limit carbon pollution using its existing authority under the states Clean Air Act.

Meanwhile, two competing efforts are trying to limit carbon pollution through statewide initiatives.

In one effort, backers of Initiative 732 have turned over 350,000 signatures on a proposal to tax carbon pollution at $25 a metric ton while lowering other state taxes. If verified, I-732 would go before the Legislature. If lawmakers dont act, the measure would go on the 2016 election ballot.

A coalition of environmental, labor and social justice groups, the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, is also planning a statewide ballot initiative. That measure hasnt been finalized, but it could impose new fees on carbon pollution and direct the money to clean-energy projects, low-income communities and other projects.

Officials say its Clean Air Rule would capture about 60 percent of the states overall carbon emissions, but it would not get the state all the way toward its mandate to limit emissions of greenhouse gases to the 1990 level.

The rule would initially apply to facilities releasing at least 100,000 metric tons. As that threshold drops by 5,000 metric tons every three years, it would apply to more entities.

Ecology identified nearly four dozen facilities such as Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the University of Washington that could eventually be covered by the rule as the threshold is lowered over time. The University of Washington, for example, last reported over 90,000 metric tons of emissions, Ecology said.

There are elements that are concerning to us, said Brandon Houskeeper, government affairs director with the Association of Washington Business, which represents most of those who would be covered by the proposed rule.

Lowering the threshold means more entities would be covered by this rule. What signal does that send to businesses hoping to relocate to Washington? he asked.

Facilities would have different ways to comply with the rule, including buying credits from another carbon market system such as Californias or sponsoring projects that permanently reduce carbon pollution.

The agency has scheduled four public hearings. It expects to finalize a rule by summer.
tech2 News Staff

After the launch of the Tizen-based Gear S2 smartwatch at IFA 2015, Samsung has revealed at CES 2016 that the smartwatch will soon be compatible with iOS devices as well. Earlier, it provided the flexibility of running on non-Samsung devices too that supported Android 4.4 KitKat with more than 1.5GB RAM. How closely knit it will be with iOS will be clear only later this year. For now, it is undergoing development and no other details have been revealed.

September last year saw a similar move by Android Wear when Google announced in its blog that all future Android Wear watches, including those from Huawei, Asus and Motorola would support iOS.

According to reports, two new variants of Gear S2 have also been unveiled. One with an 18 K rose gold display with an ivory leather belt and a Platinum-plated one with a black leather belt.

There are reports of a Samsung Pay app coming soon as well. It will require a Samsung device and users will be able to make payments from their wrist like Apple Watch users do with Apple Pay.
tech2 News Staff

Instagram today launched its first ever photo exhibition in India in Kolkata, at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Themed, Bengals Diversity in Pictures, the exhibition showcased images and stories captured by the Instagram community in the state of Bengal.

The three-day photo exhibition runs from January 7-9, and was inaugurated by Derek OBrien, Member of Parliament and Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party Leader, Rajya Sabha. Images shared ranged from landscapes to people, food, festivals, wildlife, architecture, and more.

Members of the Instagram community featured in this exhibition constitute a group of 17 individuals from Kolkata across various age groups and professional backgrounds "Instagram worked with the local community Instagram Calcutta (@ig_calcutta), to curate images which reflected the theme of diversity in Bengal."

Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director India, South & Central Asia, Facebook said, Every day, people come to Instagram to be transported, to be inspired, and to learn something new about the world around them. By holding our first photo exhibition in India focused on Bengal, we want to shine a light on the diversity of voices and visual storytelling by the community on Instagram.

Derek O'Brien, Member of Parliament and Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party Leader, Rajya Sabha said, "The cultural diversity, energy and vibrancy of Bengal is perfectly portrayed through this Instagram exhibition. Bengal is rich in diversity and creativity and this exhibition serves as an important reminder of the inspiring people, food, architecture and wildlife we have on our doorstep."

Listed below are the links to the Instagram images selected to be displayed at the exhibition:

Chhau Dance A photo posted by Arghya Chatterjee (@arghya005) on Jan 1, 2016 at 10:40pm PST

Back home A photo posted by Debarshi Duttagupta (@ushwaia1) on Dec 28, 2015 at 5:18pm PST
tech2 News Staff

TRAI indeed seems to be taking stand against call drops and operators by deciding to stay firm with its decision on call drop penalties. The mandate which was imposed on cellular operators, adds a rule that makes its compulsory for them to pay consumers Re 1 per call drop, subject to a cap of Rs 3 a day.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) took a call on this decision, while revealing that operators have not been spending or rather investing in infrastructure; but just spending on radio spectrum. The regulatory body commented that apart from radio spectrum, the wireless access service segment had risen by only 4.6 percent, while comparing Rs.2,02,399 crore investment in 2012-13 to Rs.2,11,691 crore in 2013-14.

The topic had surfaced when the Cellular Operators Association of India moved a writ petition against TRAI's 16 October 2015 mandate, which stated that mobile operators had to pay consumers a fixed charge.

TRAI soon filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court challenging the same which stated, "However, they cannot be permitted to ignore the quality of service of voice calls, which continues to be the primary service for the telecom consumers."

According to a report in The Hindu, The Division Bench differed the hearing in the case till 7 December to enable the petitioners to file a rejoinder to TRAIs affidavit.
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PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
Perendale Publishers Limited produces a range of services for the aquaculture industry as well as the global grain, feed and flour milling field.

To find out more please visit:

www.perendale.com
BNP slams govt for snub to dialogue offer

Criticising the government for turning down its dialogue offer, BNP on Wednesday said the ruling party is out to implement its ill-motive to hang onto power.

"If they (govt) restore democratic and human rights of people, then there'll be a change in the governmentthey won't be able to stay in power any more. So, they're bogged down in their false pride and ill-motivated plan," BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office.

He alleged that the government snatched all the democratic rights of people, including their franchise, in its bid to prolong its power through 'muscle power'. Accusing the ruling party men of obstructing BNP men from joining their January-5 rallies in different places, he said the government is in fear that it will fall if the democratic space is widened.

Referring to the recently concluded municipal election, Rizvi said the people experienced the violent incidents of vote rigging on December 30 last. Terming the Election Commission the 'thief of statistics', he said the EC claimed that the voter turnout was 74 percent denying the incidents of vote fraud, and assisted the government in snatching votes. "The government is the thief of votes, while the Election Commission is the thief of statistics," he said. The BNP leader demanded unconditional release of BNP's Dhaka city unit convener Mirza Abbas and other BNP leaders and withdrawal of the 'false' cases filed against them. The court on Wednesday sent Mirza Abbas to jail rejecting his bail petition. BNP assistant organising secretary Abdus Salam Azad and its assistant office secretary Asadul Karim Shahin were, among others, present at the briefing.
Cameron appeals to Germany to help avoid `Brexit`

David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) at the final EU summit of the year in Brussels.

AFP, London :British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday appealed to Germany to help him achieve the European Union reforms he needs to persuade Britons to remain in the 28-nation bloc.Britain is expected to hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EU by the end of 2017, and Cameron is currently in Germany to renegotiate ties with the union to help counter burgeoning British euroscepticism."Support for our membership has declined over many years. So I am negotiating changes which will address the concerns of the British people," Cameron wrote in an article for Germany's Bild newspaper."But these changes will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them."Cameron wants the EU to cut bureaucracy and shift more powers from Brussels to member states.He is also seeking guarantees that Britain will be protected from closer EU political integration and from economic decisions made by the 19 EU members that use the euro currency.Those demands have so far proven relatively uncontroversial.However, a key sticking point for several EU members is Cameron's aim to restrict benefits for EU migrants for their first four years in Britain.Critics of the plan say the measure would harm the EU's central tenets of non-discrimination between EU citizens and freedom of movement between member states.While German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen as generally supportive of Britain's position, she has stressed that "the fundamental achievements of European integration" are not up for debate."We want to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first," Cameron wrote."Like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years."Cameron is later expected to travel to Hungary for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.The British leader is keen to avoid a so-called "Brexit", but faces a large eurosceptic contingent within his Conservative party and growing public discontent over Britain's relationship with Brussels.Highlighting divisions over the EU, Cameron on Tuesday said his ministers would be allowed to campaign for or against Britain's EU membership ahead of the referendum.Meanwhile, a majority of Britons who have made up their minds would vote to leave the European Union in a forthcoming referendum, making Britain by far the most reluctant member of the 28-nation bloc, an opinion poll published on Thursday showed.As Prime Minister David Cameron pushed for a deal from other EU leaders to improve London's membership terms before a vote he could call as early as June, the ORB poll indicated that opposition to the European Union was growing in Britain.While 21 percent of voters are still undecided, 43 percent want to leave the EU and 36 percent want to stay, the survey showed. When the undecided are stripped out, 54 percent of voters want a British exit, or 'Brexit', up from 51 percent a year ago, and 46 percent want to stay, down from 49 percent.The public scepticism contrasted with Cameron's latest declaration of optimism that a deal can be struck on his demands for changes in Britain's relationship with Brussels, including reducing benefit rights for EU migrants working in the UK.
Snow makes migrants journey through Europe even harder

AFP, Sentilj :

It's the first time that Arman Butt, a Pakistani man desperately seeking to reach western Europe, sees snow.

But as the 30-year-old goes limp in the harsh chill, stuck at the Slovenian-Austrian border, he wishes it was not quite so cold.

He is one of about 50 men braving freezing temperatures and walking the short distance that separates the Austrian border post from Slovenia.

Butt is from Lahore, in the east of Pakistan. He has been on the move since September 20.

A few hours ago, he was pushed back into Slovenia by Austrian border guards. Wearing canvas shoes, his feet are frozen and he can barely walk. Yet he is determined to keep trying until he makes it across.

Slovenian civil defence teams and army troops march alongside the migrants towards Austria's Spielfeld frontier post.

Every day, about 900 refugees and migrants who have braved freezing-cold temperatures arrive here on trains from Croatia, further south.

Most people reaching Europe's shores have fled wars, violence and persecution in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many others though, like Butt, are in search of a better life. They are facing major difficulties in getting across borders on the so-called Balkan migrant route to western Europe.

Another large group of men at the Slovenian border post of Sentilj -- mainly Moroccans and Algerians -- told AFP they have been pushed back from the Austrian frontier up to five times each in recent days, leaving them in a state of limbo between the two countries.

During the last week of December, Austrian police manning the border post of Carinthia said they had pushed back "several hundred" migrants suspected of having claimed a false nationality in a bid to get through.

The Slovenian interior ministry on Tuesday said Austria had pushed back 956 migrants since December 26.
Indian scientist meets DU VC

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique talks with Indian scientist and Director of IFGL Bioceramics Ltd, Dr G Banerjee at DU VC Office on Wednesday.

Campus Report :

Renowned Indian scientist and Director of IFGL Bioceramics Ltd, Dr G Banerjee called on Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique on Wednesday at the latter's office of the university.

Chairman of DU Chemistry Department Prof Dr Md. Entazul Huque and teachers of the same department Prof Dr Abu Bin Hasan Susan, Dr Md. Mominul Islam, Dr Muhammed Shah Miran and Dr Saika Ahmed were present on the occasion.

During the meeting they discussed various issues including development and expansion of education and research on chemistry in the world especially in Dhaka University.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Siddique thanked the guest for his visit to DU and interest of strengthening mutual academic and research relationship with DU Chemistry Department.
Leather sector fails to achieve export target

Economic Reporter :

The exporters of leather sector have failed to achieve the export target in the first half (July to December) of the current fiscal 2015-16.

The government set the export target of $ 574.37 million during the first six months, but the sector earned $ 560.92 million, according to the latest data of Export promotion Bureau (EPB).

The government has set the export target at $1212.81 million for the leather sector in the ongoing fiscal. Country's export earning was $1130.51 million in the last fiscal from the leather sector.

Engineer M Abu Taher, Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather goods, and Footwear Exporters Association said that the production of leather-made items has been increasing in the country.

The sector has the potential for becoming the second largest foreign currency earner after readymade garments.

Country's leather industry is facing a number of problems. The tanneries at Hazaribagh in the capital have not been fully shifted to Savar.

The transfer cost of the industry in the EPZ area will be approximately Tk 5,500 crore, but the government has sanctioned only Tk250 crore, said Abu Taher.

He demanded easy bank loan to make it a vibrant leather sector, which will definitely facilitate the export earning for the betterment of economy.

Currently, the banks are disbursing loan to the entrepreneurs at the rate of 10 per cent, which is very high against the demand.

He urged the central bank to soften bank loan at the rate of three per cent.The sector may achieve the target by the end of the current fiscal year although it missed the target in the last two years, said Saiful Islam, President of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh.

Local leather goods manufacturers see bright prospects because of a policy-change in China.

The EU, USA and Japan are becoming worried over future supply from China. Already, the western importers are desperately looking for new sourcing destinations and Bangladesh is in the spotlight now.

Bangladesh exports leather products mainly to Italy, New Zealand, Poland, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the US, Canada and Spain. Besides, Japan, India, Nepal, Australia and some other countries are emerging as potential importers of Bangladeshi leather goods.

Bangladesh now occupies only 0.5 per cent share in the global leather. So, huge opportunity is waiting for us, he explained.Actually, in the international arena, Bangladesh does not have the membership of the International Footwear Conference. Bangladesh needs to become a member of this association like other competitors in global leather industry including China and India, he also said.

Saiful Islam urged the government to draft adequate policy and sanction financial support to the leather sector.
JS body discusses Payra seaport activities



The parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Shipping on Thursday focused on short, medium and long-term planning for Payra seaport to provide modern port facilities for the southern region.

The committee recommended formation of a committee by the ministry to make identical organograms for all sea ports.

The committee made the recommendation at its 22th meeting at Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Bhaban here, said a press release.

It also discussed activities of the Mongla Seaport, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and Payra seaport.

Chairman of the committee Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam, Bir Uttam presided over the meeting.

Committee members Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Talukdar Abdul Khalek, Md Abdul Hai, M Nurul Islam Sujan, M Abdul Latif and Momtaj Begum Advocate attended the meeting.

Among others, Acting Secretary of Shipping Ministry, chairman of Mongla seaport, Managing Director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and concerned officials of the parliament secretariat were also present.
President suggests changes in Army training strategy

UNB, Rajbari :

Mentioning that the challenge of security related sectors is increasing due to revolutionary expansion of information technology, President Abdul Hamid on Thursday stressed bringing changes in the dimension and strategy of training in Bangladesh Army.

"Training is an ongoing process. A soldier can reach the peak of efficiency through training. The challenge of security related areas is increasing because of the revolutionary expansion of IT," he said.

Abdul Hamid said this while addressing a Darbar organised as part of the winter exercise of 55 Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army in Kalukhali upazila.

President Abdul Hamid, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Chief of Army Staff General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq and other top civil and military officials witnessed the exercise.

The President said, "Changes to be brought in the dimension and strategy of training to take the army ahead keeping pace with the developed countries. There's no alternative to training for the development of a disciplinary force."

He also emphasised upgrading the efficiency of every member of Bangladesh Army to international level and said the force discharges multifaceted duties both in national and international arenas apart from maintaining national security.

"In many cases, Bangladesh has the command at the international level comprising the army of different countries. So, the efficiency of every member of Bangladesh Army must be upgraded to the international level," Hamid added.

Extending his sincere appreciation to the army in holding the exercise, President Hamid said this winter exercise bears the testimony to professionalism of Bangladesh Army.

"I'm really proud of watching such a skillful exercise . . . you're the apt successor of the patriotic army which has been built based on the spirit of Liberation War," he said.

Later, the President distributed warm cloths among the local people.




Schools should fix tuition fee through consultation

THE New Nation reported on Thursday that students and guardians were demonstrating in front of city's different private schools since Sunday protesting the phenomenal rise in tuition fees to pay for higher salary for teachers and school staffs. Guardians alleged that school managements have taken the decision unilaterally without consultation and the range of tuition fees hike varied from 46 to 62 percent.

Guardians said they have to pay Tk 500 for a Class Six student now up from Tk 350 for a month. Class Three students' tuition fees have been raised to Tk 400 from 250 before. It may cause more dropouts. What they said is that school management can't take such unilateral decision taking guardians' hostage. As it appears that the school management remains defiant on their part not to withdraw or reduce the tuition hike and the guardians vow to continue the protest thus going in turn to create a tense situation at private primary to secondary schools level.

The tuition hike at city's private schools has produced two scenarios that include cost free education at government primary schools and nominal fees at secondary schools but exorbitant tuition fees at private schools. It shows the growing disparity in the education system from the lower tier of our society. Moreover, the huge pay hike for government officials under the new pay scale has created another kind of discord at upper education level. Public University teachers and government college teachers are already agitating to get further rise in their salary complaining that they have been downgraded in comparisons with BCS administration cadre officers who build the bulk of the bureaucracy.

So it is obvious that when some people are getting more than what they deserve it is forcing others also to call for an end of discrimination. Schoolteachers may have their own logic to raise their salary increasing tuition of their students. As buyers in the market, purchasing power is all that matters and the city's private schools have acted accordingly. But who would protect the poor at the lower tier who are not organized and vulnerable to exploitation. As it appears that the private sector is most unprotected and also ignored by the government.

The lavish pay scale that the government has offered to bureaucrats showed that a government that is not properly elected by the people is not also accountable to the people. It only wants to appease the bureaucracy to stay in power. But the socio-economic impact of the blindfolded government policy is already agitating other professionals adding new tension at grassroots level. Guardians of private school students will bear the brunt this time. In our view the school management should review the fees to make it tolerable to lower income parents.
Mufti Sayeed passes away

NDTV, New Delhi :

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi on Thursday morning. He was 79.

The Mufti's daughter and the president of his Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti, 56, is expected to take over as the first woman chief minister of the state, sources said. The PDP rules Jammu and Kashmir in partnership with the BJP.

Mehbooba Mufti arrived at AIIMS this morning. Vice President Hamid Ansari, union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah also visited.

Mr Sayeed had been in hospital for two weeks and was being treated for a lung infection. He was put on ventilator support yesterday after his condition worsened.

The Mufti's body has been flown back to state capital Srinagar. It has been kept at his official residence for people to pay their last respects. His last rites will be performed at his ancestral village in Anantnag's Bijbehara in south Kashmir later today. As a mark of respect, the Jammu and Kashmir government has announced a seven-day state mourning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the Mufti at the Palam airport in Delhi this morning. He had earlier tweeted: "Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to J&K through his leadership. He will be missed by all of us. Condolences to hs family & supporters (sic)."

"The contribution of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to Jammu and Kashmir and India through long years of public service will be always remembered," said President Pranab Mukherjee in a condolence message.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the patron of PDP, took oath as chief minister on March 1 last year, after weeks of negotiations with the BJP, an ideological opposite.


Political, illegal billboards still on display

Deadline for removal expires

This photo was taken from in front of Matsya Bhaban in city on Thursday.

SM Mizanur Rahman :Many political and illegal billboards are still on display on both sides of the city roads though the deadline to remove all those was December 31.In December last year, two mayors--Annisul Huq of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Sayeed Khokon of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)-declared that capital would be completely free from political and illegal billboards by year end.But the political billboards, posters, banners and festoons with photos of leaders and workers of ruling Awami League and even the mayors Sayeed Khokon and Annisul Huq are still on display.Prior to the eviction drive on December 17 last year, Mayor Sayeed Khokon said that all the billboards, banners and festoons would be removed within 72 hours.When contacted, Chief Executive Officer of DSCC Khan Mohammad Bilal said, they are facing extreme difficulties in removing the political and illegal billboards from the city. "We have been conducting drives against illegal billboards regularly. As soon as we remove the billboards in daytime, a vested quarter installs those at night," he said.Talking to The New Nation, DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq claimed on Thursday that out of twenty thousand billboards in his area fifty only could not be removed. "We have removed a total of 19950 political and illegal billboards from the north city. We could not remove fifty billboards only as these have been installed in the areas of the Armed Forces," he said.He said the remaining fifty will be removed soon. "On the other hand, owners of buildings requested me to give them time to remove the billboards installed on the rooftops," he said. He claimed, it is quite impossible now to display any new advertisements by installing illegal billboards right now. "After the removal of the billboards, the places are being occupied overnight for installing billboards again. But we are alert at night to take stern action against those involved in installing political and illegal billboards," Annisul Huq. "We can sentence an illegal billboard owner to jail, or impose fines, or to do both. We have already blacklisted the illegal billboard owners. They won't get permission forever," he said.An official of DSCC said, the removal of illegal, political and risky billboards drive undertaken by the both city corporations has been stopped due to influence of powerful quarters and other procedural complexities. "Actually it is very difficult task for us to remove the illegal and political billboards from the city roads as an influential quarter blessed by the ruling party men," he said. Apart from the billboards, many of the iron structures are still on the rooftops or at the important intersections of the city tarnishing the beauty of the city.Besides the two city corporations, on December 14 last year, the ruling Awami League reportedly asked its leaders and activists and associate bodies not to use photos of anyone except Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on billboards, posters, banners and festoons.But the billboards containing the photos of ruling party leaders and the Mayors of Two City Corporations still remain on the city's many roads. The oversized and illegal billboards erected across the city by government and private organizations have become a cause for concern for the city dwellers, posing as serious threat to the commuters as well as the transports. The haphazard billboards along with their steel support structures often fell on pedestrians or vehicles during strong wind or storm, causing damage, injuries and even death.
Iran bans imports from KSA

Trend News Agency :Iranian government has said it banned the import of products from Saudi Arabia, as well as the import of goods of the Saudi origin from other countries.The decision was made during an extraordinary meeting of Iran's Cabinet of Ministers, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, on Jan. 7, the state TV channel IRINN reported.The move comes after Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran on Jan. 3, after Iranian protesters, angered by the Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, attacked Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad. Riyadh at the time also announced that it halts air traffic and trade links with the Islamic Republic. Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti, Kuwait and the UAE have also rallied to Saudi Arabia's side, breaking off or downgrading relations with Iran in recent days.Meanwhile, Iran's government also decided Jan. 7 to continue a ban for Umrah pilgrimage of Iranians, which was set April last year. The ban was imposed following misconduct by Saudi security guards at Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport sexually harassing two teenage boys on pilgrimage from Iran.
Man shot at by police in Paris

Reuters, PARIS :

A man who was shot dead trying to enter a northern Paris police station on Thursday was wearing a fake explosive belt, a police union source told Reuters.

"The man did have a belt, but it was a fake. The bomb-disposal unit confirmed it was a fake," the police union source said.

A spokesman for the interior ministry had said earlier that the man may have been wearing an explosive belt when he entered the police station shouting "Allahu Akbar" but that it was too early to say whether it was operational or not.

The incident took place just moments after President Francois Hollande had given a speech to security forces in an another part of Paris to mark the anniversary of last year's deadly Islamist militant attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in the French capital.
Qatar recalls envoy from Tehran

RT :

Qatar has recalled its ambassador to Tehran, becoming the latest contributor to a growing Saudi-Iranian rift over the killing of Saudi Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in the kingdom's latest mass executions and subsequent violent protests in Iran.

"Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled today Qatar's Ambassador to Tehran following the attacks on the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and general consulate in Mashhad," said Director of Asian affairs department at the Qatari foreign ministry, Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Hamar.

Qatar has also handed over a protest note to the Iranian embassy in Doha, over the attacks that according to a foreign ministry statement constitute a "violation of the international charters and norms that emphasize the protection of diplomatic missions and their staff."

Sheikh Nimr was among 47 people beheaded or shot by firing squad across Saudi Arabia on Saturday - the largest number of individuals executed in a single day since 1980. The Shiite cleric's death sparked massive outcry across theShiite Muslim world with demonstrations igniting in many countries in the region.

The historic Saudi Arabian foe in the region, Iran, where over 90 percent are Shiite, held massive demonstrations with protesters storming and setting fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran in addition to the kingdom's consulate in the second city, Mashhad. Following the assault on the Saudi diplomatic mission, Saudi Arabia immediately severed ties with Tehran, uniting Sunni Arab allies in the region against Iran. Kuwait, Bahrain and Sudan have also recalled their ambassadors from the Islamic Republic.

The United Arab Emirates downgraded relations with Iran. Jordan summoned Tehran's envoy to protest the attacks on Saudi missions. Even the tiny African nation of Djibouti, joined in with the regional tensions and has halted diplomatic ties with Tehran.

"Djibouti cut its diplomatic ties with Iran out of solidarity with Saudi Arabia," Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said on Wednesday.

As Iranian diplomats from Riyadh and its consulate in Jeddah flew home Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Saudi Arabia to stop confronting Iran.

"This trend of creating tension must stop. We need to stand united ... and stop those who are adding fuel to the fire," he said.

Zarif said that Saudi Arabia has been "opposing" Iran's diplomacy in the region for the last for two-and-a-half years, accusing Riyadh of "taking measures against the Iranian people" by artificially keeping the oil prices low and opposing the historic nuclear agreement.
Dhaka, Riyadh agree to fight terrorism

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have expressed their firm resolve to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and extremism through meaningful cooperation.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali had bilateral talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Arabia Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Wednesday and discussed the issues, the Foreign Ministry here said on Thursday.

The two Foreign Ministers reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations between the two countries as well as exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including mutual cooperation, at the UN and other international fora including the OIC.

Both the ministers agreed to work on a number of instruments for cooperation on investment, culture and education, agriculture etc. ahead of the visit so that those could be signed during the visit. They also agreed to sign the MoU on Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) between the two countries during the visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister. The Saudi Foreign Minister lauded the role of Bangladesh community in the Kingdom which is contributing to the economic development of both the nations.

He also agreed to have further cooperation in recruiting more skilled and semiskilled workers from Bangladesh, including doctors and nurses. In this regard, both the Foreign Ministers agreed that a delegation from Saudi Health Ministry may undertake a visit to Bangladesh to inspect the medical degrees and other facilities for future recruitment of Bangladeshi health professionals.

Referring to the recently held Joint Commission Meeting between the two countries and the decisions taken there, Mahmood Ali further briefed about recent developments in Bangladesh as well as described pool of quality workers and world-class export items such as RMG and pharmaceutical products for their possible export to the Kingdom.

The Saudi Foreign Minister was convinced that Saudi businessmen can explore further opportunities in trade and investment in Bangladesh and they can visit Bangladesh to see the facilities of pharmaceutical industry.

He directed the high officials concerned of the ministry present in the meeting to advise their embassy in Dhaka to issue business visa to Bangladeshi business men.

Both agreed to work for opening of branches by Bangladeshi commercial banks in Saudi Arabia which would be helpful for boosting trade and investments between the countries.

Bangladesh proposed for cooperation between the respective training institutions of civil administration of both countries, which was welcomed by the Saudi side. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister is paying an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Jan 5 at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir. He is scheduled to return home on January 8.
BD diplomat leaves Pakistan to join mission in Lisbon

Sagar Biswas :Bangladeshi diplomat Moushumi Rahman, who was posted at the Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, left the country on Thursday after being declared persona non grata by the Pakistani government.Rahman, who was a political counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad left the country on Turkish Airlines flight TG711 via Istanbul within 48 hours of ultimatum given by Pakistan authority, according to information received in Dhaka last night. It is still not clear what charges have been brought officially against Rahman. Pakistan, however, has expelled a Bangladeshi diplomat for the first time."It is [the expulsion] nothing but an act of retaliation. So far we think, Rahman was compelled to leave Islamabad as Dhaka recently expelled a Pakistani diplomat after being accused of spying," a senior official of Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MoFA] told The New Nation yesterday requesting to remain anonymous. Quoting diplomatic sources, the Pakistani media reported that Moushumi Rahman indulged in "anti-state activities in Pakistan" and that concerned security agencies continued to monitor her.But refuting the allegation, State Minister for MoFA Shahriar Alam on Thursday said that Rahman would join the Bangladeshi Embassy in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. "Pakistan's 'request' to withdraw Bangladesh's diplomat without providing a reason was not 'supportive' for relations between the two countries. There was no explanation from Islamabad. They could not cite any valid reason when they asked the Bangladesh High Commission to send back the counsellor.Such acts never help the relationship," the State Minister said with a tone of dissatisfaction. Alam said, "We [Bangladesh government] had been expecting the move of Pakistan. We knew that something was being cooked up in Islamabad. We were prepared and that helped us to take a quick decision giving her [Rahman] a fresh diplomatic assignment to Portugal upholding the country's image."When contacted, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told The New Nation last night, "The political counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad Moushumi Rahman was given time to leave the country till Thursday."Will she come to Dhaka or go to Lisbon directly, the Foreign Secretary said, "I can't tell you anything about this right now." Pakistan had asked Bangladesh on Wednesday to withdraw Rahman from its high commission in Islamabad within 48 hours in apparent retaliation for the expulsion of a Pakistani envoy Fareena Arshad.On December 23, Islamabad had recalled second secretary of Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh - Fareena Arshad -at Dhaka's request, after she was alleged to have financed a suspected extremist accused of spying for Pakistan.But Islamabad in a formal statement dismissed the charges as "baseless", adding: "an incessant and orchestrated media campaign was launched against her [Fareen Arshad] on spurious charges".Meanwhile, the bilateral relation between the two countries turned bitter in late November following the executions of two opposition leaders - Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat-e-Islami's Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed -- convicted of crimes against humanity during the 1971.Defying all diplomatic norms, at the time Pakistan's foreign ministry expressed "deep concern and anguish" at the executions, describing the trials of those involved in alleged atrocities during the 1971 war as "flawed".The two BNP-Jamaat leaders had been convicted of genocide and rape by the International Crimes Tribunal [ICT], which had been set up under a 1973 legislation that was amended in 2009 to resume the trials.Bangladesh took it seriously when Pakistan protested the move reminding the 'tripartite agreement signed in 1974' under which Dhaka had agreed not to proceed against those whom it had accused of 'war crimes' during the 1971 war.In response, Pakistan's High Commissioner in Dhaka Shuja Alam was summoned by the then Foreign Secretary Mijanur Rahman to receive a protest over a statement issued by Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
Richard and Jo deMeester.

Some updates from the road.
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Monet rahapelien ystavat ovat viime vuosina loytaneet netticasinot ja olleet ihmeissaan. Verrattuna kotimaisen Veikkauksen kivijalkarahapeleihin puhutaan aivan eri tason palautusprosenteista ja lisaksi pelaaminen on aarimmaisen helppoa ja turvallista. Netticasinoiden maara on tana paivana todella suuri ja niita loytyy jokaiseen lahtoon, suurin ongelma aloittelevalla pelaajalla onkin tehda valinta siita, minka netticasinon valitsee. Kaikkien netticasinoiden mainospuheet naet lupaavat kauniita asioita ja niiden lapinakeminen on tietysti tarkeaa. Nyrkkisaantona voidaan kuitenkin jo kattelyssa todeta, etta jos valitsemasi netticasino on lisensoitu ETA-alueella, sen kanssa ei tule olemaan ongelmia, ellei niita itse jarjesta. Kay tutustumassa parhaisiin netticasinoihin osoitteessa www.ilmaiskierroksia.info!

Ensimmainen nyrkkisaanto on siis varmistaa, etta valitsemallasi netticasinolla on ETA-alueen lisenssi. Suurimmassa osassa tapauksista se on Maltan eli MGA:n lisenssi. Myos Viron, Englannin ja Gibraltarin lisensseja nakyy ja naissa valvonta on jopa Maltaa tiukempaa. Lopputulema on kuitenkin se, etta ETA-alueen lisenssi takaa suomalaisille verovapaat voitot seka sen, etta niita valvotaan kontrolloidusti. Maailmalla on iso nippu Curacaon lisenssilla toimivia netticasinoita ja niistakin suurin osa on laadukkaita. Ne eivat kuitenkaan ole suomalaisille asiakkaille verovapaita, joten emme suosittele niita.

Tana paivana markkinoille on ilmaantunut paljon ETA-alueella toimiva netticasinoita ilman rekisteroitymista. Jos tarkoitus on vain pelata yksittaisia pelikertoja, on varsin helppo suositella naita. Netticasinot ilman rekisteroitymista tarjoavat palvelun tunnistautumisen verkkopankin avainlukulistan avulla ja saman palvelun kautta tapahtuvat talletukset ja mahdolliset voittojen nostot silmanrapayksessa. Normaaleihin netticasinoihin pitaa asiakkaan rekisteroitya, tehda talletukset ja tunnistautua dokumenttien avulla. Tama on lisenssiehtojen mukainen kaytanto, eika kovinkaan monimutkainen, mutta silti monet asiakkaat haluavat yksinkertaista ja nopeaa palvelua. Toki normaalit netticasinot tarjoavat usein asiakkailleen laadukkaita talletusbonuksia ja erilaisia kampanjoita, joten kannattaa tarkkaan punnita, kumman ratkaisun valitsee. Kannattaa myos muistaa, etta tunnistautuminen tehdaan vain kerran, joten mikaan jatkuva riippakivi se ei ole.

Suomalaiset asiakkaat ovat netticasinoille tarkeita, joten kaikilla vahankin laadukkailla netticasinoilla on suomenkieliset sivut seka suomenkielinen asiakaspalvelu  suomenkielisyys kannattaakin ottaa netticasinoa valittaessa nyrkkisaannoksi. Vaikka tana paivana englanninkielisyys on harvoille ongelma, on suomenkielisten netticasinoiden maara niin valtava, etta suosittelemme niiden kayttoa. Rahansiirrot ovat tana paivana niin hyvassa mallissa, etta niiden kanssa tuskin tulee mitaan ongelmia. Kolme tarkeinta segmenttia: Suomalaiset verkkopankit, luottokortit (Visa, Mastercard) seka nettilompakot (Skrill, Neteller) loytyvat jokaisesta laadukkaasta netticasinosta. Viime vuosien trendiksi noussut verkkokauppa on kehittanyt rahansiirrot niin laadukkaiksi ja nopeiksi, etta niiden suhteen ei ole enaa vuosiin ollut ongelmia. Luonnollisesti netticasinot kayttavat naita samoja palveluita ja hyotyvat kehityksesta.

Naiden isojen linjojen jalkeen netticasinon valintaan vaikuttavat luonnollisesti tarjottavat tervetuliaisbonukset  uudet asiakkaat saavat tana paivana kovan kilpailun myota merkittavia etuja netticasinoilta ja niita kannattaa luonnollisesti vertailla. Erilaiset talletusbonukset, ilmaiskierrokset seka ilmaiset pelirahat tuovat suuriakin rahanarvoisia etuja ja niiden vertailu on ehdottomasti kannattavaa. Myoskaan useampien tilien avaaminen ja tervetuliaistarjousten kayttaminen ei missaan nimessa ole huono idea.

Kun edella mainitut asiat ovat mieleisia ja vaihtoehtoja on vielakin jaljella, mennaan jo nyansseihin. Toki pelivalikoima on yksi kriteeri, mutta taman paivan netticasinoissa tamakin asia on paasaantoisesti varsin samanlainen. Toki useamman samantasoisen netticasinon vertailussa kannattaa yleensa valita se, jossa on eniten peleja tarjolla. Vaikka omat suosikit loytyisivatkin useammasta, voi tulevaisuudessa mielenkiinto nousta joihinkin muihin peleihin ja silloin on tietysti mukavampaa, etta ne loytyvat valikoimista. Viimeisena voidaan nostaa esiin kaytettavyys  joidenkin netticasinoiden sivut ovat vilkkuvia, valkkyvia ja epakaytannollisia. Omaan silmaan ja kaytettavyyteen sopiva sivusto on luonnollisesti aina se paras valinta. Tarjonta netticasinoissa on tana paivana valtava ja jokaiselle loytyy varmasti se oma netticasino  onnea matkaan!
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
The grim reality of unseasonable flooding that led to a levee break in Alexander County last week might be compounded when high waters finally recede.

After the 1993 flood, it cost about $4 million to repair the Len Small Levee, said Alexander County Board Chairman Chalen Tatum.

He also pointed out that the '93 levee break was smaller than last weeks breach.

Its too early to know how much the latest breaks will cost  a second, smaller breach occurred sometime after Fridays breach  but Tatum believes repairs will cost more than they did 23 years ago, just considering inflation.

The good news is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will likely cover 80 percent of those costs if the Levee District meets a long list of conditions, a Corps spokeswoman said.

The bad news  in a sparsely populated area of small towns and farmland in one of the states poorest counties, there's still the 20 percent to come up with.

Tatum is hoping for a dry spring, fearing there will be no quick fix to the levees latest woes, he said. Those fears are partly based on challenges two decades ago he said he was told about.

What I heard is they were fighting and fighting, trying to get money, he said.

Further aggravating the Districts ability to find money for repairs is a shrinking tax base, in part fed by the countys flood buyout program that began about a year ago, but put on hold this summer as state elected leaders continue to grapple with passing a new budget.

To date, 42 homes or businesses out of 169 have been bought out, property slated to be razed. Some former owners have left the county, spreading the tax burden to those who remain, Tatum said.

Rauner tours flood damaged communities OLIVE BRANCH  Gov. Bruce Rauner on Saturday repeated a common plea made throughout last wee

It is too soon to tell how bad the levee damage was, at Len Small or elsewhere in Southern Illinois.

Most levees in the region, as well as the state within the Corps St. Louis District, are currently at minimally acceptable or unacceptable status of Corps standards. That means repairs needed outside of flood damage must be locally funded.

Most of those levees are also Corps built, unlike the Len Small Levee. For those levees, the Corps will pay 100 percent of the cost for flood-related repairs.

Several districts, including the Grand Tower Levee District and the Degonia and Fountain Bluff Levee District have enrolled in a Corps program designed to provide technical advice to restore systems to acceptable levels.

Officials in Jackson and Union counties said it is still too early to assess damage, though it appears the flood did not cause significant damage.

The worst might be at the Degognia and Fountain Bluff Levee and Drainage District, President Carl Heins said. Some sliding on the levee wall did occur that will likely need to be built back up.

I think it stayed pretty well where it was, he said.
MURPHYSBORO  After five years as executive director of the Murphysboro Chamber of Commerce, Bruce Wallace is hanging up that hat for another.

This past Monday, Wallace started as an energy consultant for the Mount Vernon-based Affordable Gas & Electric (AGE). He left the Murphysboro Chamber at the end of December.

One of Wallace's successes as executive director was helping local businesses realize savings on their energy purchases, said Dan Bost, a Chamber member and representative of Bost Truck Service.

Wallace introduced Chamber members to the Southern Illinois Chamber of Commerce Bulk Electricity and Natural Gas Buying Group, which AGE coordinates. The Buying Group aggregates and negotiates bulk electricity and natural gas rates for chamber members from several local chambers, according to a company news release.

That is some of the work Wallace will do for AGE. In his new role, Wallace will be working closely with Chambers and their members in Murphysboro, Carbondale, Carterville and Herrin.

I still plan to remain active in community and economic development issues," Wallace said in the release. "My role with AGE encourages time for me to work more closely on these types of specific issues, but will now allow me to provide a private-sector perspective as well. Im very excited about this new opportunity to become more involved in all of Southern Illinois economics.

Additionally, Wallace is credited with reintroducing a project that showcased the work of Southern Illinois University architectural students who did mock redesigns of the city's downtown area.

Wallace earned a bachelor's degree in workforce education and a master's degree in public administration from SIU; he worked for 25 years in his family's third-generation car dealership in Murphysboro.

Wallace, who said he will help train his successor, said he forwarded four applications for the position to the Chamber board members.

The Murphysboro Chamber of Commerce expects to announce a successor next week, Bost said.
MARION  The case involving the former veterinarian from Creal Springs who faces numerous charges for allegedly practicing veterinary medicine without a license and neglect of the dozens of animals police confiscated from her home is progressing toward a jury trial.

Elisa Kirkpatricks attorney, John Clemons of the Southern Illinois Law Center, said negotiations thus far with Williamson County States Attorney Brandon Zanottis office have not resulted in a disposition.

The client is maintaining her not guilty pleas, Clemons said.

At a pretrial hearing Monday morning, Circuit Court Judge Brian Lewis moved forward with scheduling a jury trial date in Kirkpatricks case for March 15.

Prior to that, there is another pretrial date scheduled for March 7. A plea agreement could still be reached prior to the start of the jury trial, but the scheduling of the trial indicates it is progressing in that direction.

Kirkpatrick faces 10 charges, including one Class 4 felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly intentionally performing surgery on an animal in an unsanitary environment, which directly led to its death. A longtime popular veterinarian at Carbondales Kitty Klinic, Kirkpatrick's license was suspended by the state months prior to her arrest.

The suspension in December 2014 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation stemmed from a 2011 complaint by the owner of a cat that had been boarded at the clinic off Giant City Road who claimed the cat was neglected during its stay.

According to state records, Kirkpatrick never responded to several requests to address the complaint, and after missing two hearings on the matter in June and August of 2014, the state took action to suspend her license.

Kirkpatrick additionally faces five Class A misdemeanor counts of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. She is alleged to have continued to practice into 2015 without a valid license, operating a mobile clinic where she picked up animals at owners homes and treated them at her house.

She faces four lesser Class B misdemeanor counts for allegedly failing to provide adequate shelter for the wild and domestic animals under her care.

On May 22, Williamson County Sheriffs deputies and animal control officials raided her home in rural Creal Springs, taking into their possession some 40 dogs, 15 cats, two pigs, a donkey, a cockatoo, an opossum, a bobcat and an African serval. Sheriff Bennie Vick said at the time they had responded to the home after being alerted by a man attempting to serve papers on behalf of a bank as part of a foreclosure process on Kirkpatrick's home, that he detected an odor so strong he was worried a body was decomposing inside.

62 animals found in woman's home CREAL SPRINGS  Forty years before law enforcement raided her home wearing HazMat gear, befo

After the incident, many rushed to the defense of Kirkpatrick, saying she was a years-long respected veterinarian who had gotten in over her head and continued to spiral downward as her father became ill and then died in January 2015.

In an interview with the newspaper following the raid of her home, Kirkpatrick said she had kept practicing despite having a suspended license because she needed the money to keep the animals fed.
SPRINGFIELD  Bernie Sanders presidential campaign on Wednesday announced a full slate of delegate candidates to back the Vermont senator at this summers Democratic National Convention.

Supporters said during a news conference at the state Capitol that they would submit nearly double the required nominating petitions for 102 delegate candidates from all 18 of the states congressional districts. The deadline to file was Wednesday, and the group went en masse to the Illinois State Board of Elections after the announcement to submit petitions for the delegate candidates and Sanders to appear on the March 15 primary ballot.

The campaign of Sanders main Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, submitted its petitions Monday, when filing began. Former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley also filed but didnt recruit a full slate of delegates.

Among the nearly two dozen Sanders delegate candidates present at the announcement was Zachary Braun of Normal, a 20-year-old Illinois State University sophomore majoring in political science and political communication. He is a delegate candidate in the 13th Congressional District, which includes Decatur and part of Bloomington-Normal.

Braun said that as a student, Sanders proposal to make tuition free at public colleges and universities is among the issues that have resonated with him.

I come from a household where the contribution (to college expenses) is next to nothing, said Braun, whos originally from South Beloit. I support Bernie Sanders because he wants to make it easier for people to get an education and enter the workforce.

Andrew Spiro of Springfield is a Sanders delegate candidate in the 18th Congressional District, which includes a large portion of McLean County and is considered a Republican stronghold.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we started in Normal  and everywhere we went and we asked people to sign Bernie petitions, they were curious about Bernie, Spiro said. They wanted to know about him, and they were more than happy to sign his petitions.

Spiro said he supports Sanders because of the candidates stances on income inequality and climate change, which he called the two main issues that none of the other candidates are talking about.

Sanders faces an uphill battle in Illinois, where Clinton grew up and enjoys strong party support. Her slate of delegates features a laundry list of elected officials from across the state, including Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie of Chicago and state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill.

The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Sanders also can count some current and former elected officials among his delegate candidates, including state Rep. LaShawn Ford of Chicago and former Rep. Naomi Jakobsson of Urbana, who also spoke at Wednesdays news conference.

Unlike the Republican side, where delegates are elected from each congressional district independent of which presidential candidate receives the most votes, Democratic delegates are allocated to the candidates based on the percentage of the vote they receive in each district. Democratic candidates must receive at least 15 percent of the vote in a district to be awarded any of its delegates.

In the Republican primary, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, businessman Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson had all filed by the Wednesday deadline, though not all had filed a full slate of three delegates and three alternates.
Special to The Washington Post, published Wednesday

In her syndicated newspaper column on Jan. 6, 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, "America is not a pile of goods, more luxury, more comforts, a better telephone system, a greater number of cars. America is a dream of greater justice and opportunity for the average man and, if we can not obtain it, all our other achievements amount to nothing."

That afternoon, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his annual State of the Union address and elaborated on what America is and is not. He spoke powerfully about the fundamental values at the heart of American democracy, which he portrayed as a potent antidote to the tyranny overtaking Europe. He envisioned a world with "four essential human freedoms" at its core: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. And he proclaimed that such a world could be "attainable in our own time and generation."

Seventy-five years later, Roosevelt's vision is being threatened by a retrograde politics that treats freedom as the punch line of a cruel joke against the American people. On the eve of the 2012 election, I argued that Republican politicians  in their fealty to billionaire mega-donors, zealous opposition to a woman's right to choose, callous disregard for the working poor and terrifying enthusiasm for assault weapons  had perverted the four freedoms beyond recognition. Now, as voters prepare to choose the next president, the idea of freedom is once again under stress and being tested in new ways.

Although Donald Trump is leading in the polls, the real winner of the GOP presidential primary contest has been the politics of fear. With his signature bombast and bellicosity toward immigrants and Muslims, Trump has seemingly mastered the demagogic art of fearmongering. But he is certainly not alone in cynically sowing fear and hysteria among voters. During last month's debate on national security, for instance, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie promised to escalate an already dangerous confrontation with Russia, citing President Obama's aversion to military aggression as evidence that he's a "feckless weakling." Christie then defended his bluster in a nationally televised interview the next morning, declaring, "We're already in World War III."

Meanwhile, in the wake of horrific attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., overheated political rhetoric and sensationalistic media coverage have contributed to an exaggerated sense of the dangers of terrorism. As Stephen Kinzer recently wrote in the Boston Globe, "Fear is becoming part of our daily lives. Yet it is not justified by reality. The true terror threat inside the United States is a fraction of what many Americans want to believe." We are rapidly becoming, in Kinzer's words, "the United States of Panic."

This suspension of freedom from fear has jeopardized another of Roosevelt's four freedoms: freedom of worship. Whereas "religious freedom" has been abused for years to justify everything from restricting access to contraception to discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, we are now witnessing political threats against an entire religion. Trump has called for a database of American Muslims, while Sen. Marco Rubio, Fla., has suggested closing down "any place where radicals are being inspired," including mosques. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas, and former Florida governor Jeb Bush have argued for a ban on refugees fleeing the Middle East unless they can prove they are Christian. Hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise. And yet, Rubio, the purported establishment Republican candidate, asks: "Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims?"

Roosevelt believed that freedom from want is inseparable from freedom itself. That was the basis for his "Economic Bill of Rights," which he introduced in 1944, saying, "True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence."

Today's Republican Party clearly does not share that understanding. Beyond their typically regressive tax proposals, the Republican candidates overwhelmingly support plans that would reduce Social Security benefits, such as raising the retirement age and means-testing recipients. Until recently, Ben Carson supported abolishing Medicare and Medicaid; Carly Fiorina opposes the federal minimum wage; and Bush claimed that Democrats appeal to black voters with "free stuff." Indeed, as conservative writer Ramesh Ponnuru observed, Republican candidates simply have not offered "ideas that would give any direct help to families trying to make ends meet."

And while there is nothing new about their neglect of those who are struggling, Republican politicians are increasingly hyper-attentive to the demands of billionaire donors, who fund the super PACs propping up their campaigns. Ever since the Supreme Court ruled that money equals speech, the cost of our elections has exploded, making it harder for ordinary Americans to have a say in the political process. At the same time, with the corporate media setting the parameters of legitimate debate and drowning out independent voices, dissenting opinions often do not get the public hearing they deserve. Taken together, the result is that freedom of speech applies to a privileged few more than everyone else.

In 1941, Roosevelt spoke with clarity about the serious threats to America "from without." Today, we are facing a different kind of danger  one that also demands our attention  from within. On the 75th anniversary of Roosevelt's four freedoms speech, may people fight to defend the core freedoms that have animated our nation at its best. In 2016, we are not just choosing a president. We are choosing what kind of country we want to be.
Alee Quick Local news editor Alee Quick is the local news editor for The Southern. Follow Alee Quick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

My guilty pleasure? Crime drama.

I consume the genre in all its forms: TV shows, especially the kind that can be enjoyed in an hours-long binge, whether truth or fiction; novels and nonfiction true crime epics; documentaries and blockbusters; and more recently, podcasts and online message boards.

Review: 'Making a Murderer' depicts justice gone awry NEW YORK (AP)  "Making a Murderer" is the latest series to demand you not just watch, but binge.

So it's no surprise I fell head-first into the world of Steven Avery through "Making a Murderer," Netflix's true crime documentary series, released late in December.

This show is just the most recent true crime cultural obsession and social media phenomenon.

It follows similar shows like the podcast "Serial" and HBO's "The Jinx." With the help of social media to fan the flames, these shows have captured Americas collective attention and held it. We have watched the drama continue to unfold outside the confines of the shows that made their cases famous: "Serial's" Adnan Syeds case was reopened (he was convicted in 2000 of killing his high school girlfriend), and "The Jinx's" Robert Durst was arrested just before the show's final episode aired on HBO (he is suspected of killing an acquaintance).

"Making a Murderer" plays out in 10 episodes, all available for our bingeing pleasure: Steven Avery is convicted of sexual assault in 1985. Hes freed after nearly two decades behind bars, after DNA evidence ultimately implicates another man. After Avery is freed, he sues the county where he was convicted. He is arrested, tried and convicted of murdering a woman in that same county two years later.

Making a Murderer offers a subtle critique of the American justice system as a whole, and like "Serial," examines the idea of reasonable doubt. Part of these shows' allure is that they rise above true crime for the sake of true crime, and become important shows that we should explore to better understand our world.

Quick: The year of the torch and pitchfork At midnight tonight, night will turn to morning, Thursday will turn to Friday, December will

The legal system can be confusing, and I think thats part of what captures our imaginations so fully about Avery's story and others like it: What are our rights? Could we be convicted of something we didnt do? What would we do as jurors for a trial like Averys or Syeds?

"Making a Murderer," "Serial" and "The Jinx" have elevated true crime to a high art. Which has directed a lot of public attention toward these cases, and has provided the possibility of any wrongs in the cases to be made right. It has also made the cases into media to be consumed, drama to entertain us.

On NPR Tuesday morning, I heard an interview with the filmmakers behind Making a Murderer. At one point in the interview, the host warned listeners: this, by the way, is a good moment to tune out if you havent started watching the series, before the interview turns to the big twist in the story: Averys murder conviction.

Ive been surprised by the way Making a Murderer and Averys case have been discussed in mass and social media. Every blog, news article, news segment and radio interview about Avery is accompanied by a big, fat spoiler alert.

All of us who feel so invested in the way Averys story plays out on Netflix cant seem to remember one essential thing: Its all true.

The Netflix series launched the case into the publics consciousness, but not for the first time. The two women who created the series said they were inspired by a New York Times story about Avery from 2005 headlined: Freed by DNA, now charged in new crime. (Spoiler alert.)

This isnt the newest episode of The Walking Dead. There are no spoilers in real life.
COLUMBIA  The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced its 2016 Competitiveness Agenda that includes infrastructure funding, workforce development and business licensing reform.

 Infrastructure accountability and funding: The chamber calls on the General Assembly to make the Department of Transportation accountable to the governor in order to ensure public trust in government. Additionally, the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank should be reformed for increased government transparency. The chamber will push for the General Assembly to set and require the STIB to follow the current prioritization system for allocation of funding.

The chamber calls for the General Assembly to dedicate at least $600 million of additional revenue annually to maintain and improve roads and bridges. Lawmakers should diversify the revenue stream in order to create a sustainable long-term funding mechanism instead of one that is excessively dependent on the gas tax.

 Workforce development: The chamber supports a plan that includes financial support for critical skills training, enhanced collaboration and resource sharing between technical colleges and career and technology centers, and expansion of dual-credit courses and improved articulation from high school to higher education.

Also, the chamber supports legislation that identifies one agency, or a council, that will continue strategic statewide planning for future workforce needs.

 Business licensing reform: The calls on the General Assembly to standardize the business licensing process statewide with a uniform application, renewal dates and standard classifications.

The agenda is formed through a survey of chamber members along with input through meetings held throughout the state during which chamber representatives listen to local business concerns.

The issues of concern are compiled by the South Carolina Chamber and taken to the chamber board to be vetted, developed and placed on the agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
The excitement of the 51st anniversary of the Grand American Coon Hunt is on tap this weekend at the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds.

Gates will open at 7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8, and the barns will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parking is $5 daily per vehicle. (The event will be free to all early arrivals beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7.)

A big crowd is expected for this year's event, with previous Grand Americans attracting an estimated 30,000 people.

We have hunters from all over the United States to come and hunt. We dont even shoot the raccoons. They are not harmed, Harry "Coon Dog" Ott said. Coon hunting is just a sport to score points in.

During the treeing contest, hunting dogs are used to chase raccoons up a tree. Four dogs per cast compete against each other.

The dog that strikes the raccoon on the ground and chases the raccoon up the tree receives 125 points for running up the tree.

During the bench show, judges rate the dogs on confirmation. Good confirmation consists of strong bone structure, straight legs and the physical fitness of the dogs. The top show dog in this competition becomes the Grand American Bench Show champion.

The Kids Bench Show will be held before the licensed Bench Show begins.

All kids that show a dog in the competition get a trophy, Ott said.

The top double cast winners hunt for the title of Grand American champion. On Saturday, four dogs will hunt in a place they're unfamiliar with. The dog with the highest score will be announced as the Grand American champion.

You can almost buy anything you want at this event, such as hunting supplies or art. Vendors will be selling (women's) and childrens items, Ott said.

There are a lot of great things to see while out there, said Dede Cook, president of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce.

Dogs will also be sold at the Grand American Coon Hunt -- almost any type of dog except bulldogs, Ott added.

He said the Grand American is more than just a coon hunt.

A lot of people come down to meet old friends. Its kind of like a family reunion. You meet new people one year, come back and meet some more people. Its like a homecoming. Its a family affair, Ott said.

Food, country music and door prizes will be featured.

The events lineup is as follows:

Friday, Jan. 8

8 to 10 a.m. - Bench Show entries taken for Registered, Dual Champion and Pairs in the Bates Building. A United Kennel Club Easy Entry card or registration certificate is needed.

10 a.m.  Opening ceremonies in the Bates Building, and Bench Show begins

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Changes or corrections due on advanced entries for either Friday or Saturday nights, in the headquarters building corner office.

12 p.m.  Confirm all advanced entries for either Friday night hunt, in the headquarters building corner office. A UKC Easy Entry card or registration certificate required to enter.

1 p.m. - Treeing Contest

2 p.m.  Deadline to confirm all entries.

3:30 p.m.  Prayer/drawing out of casts at the headquarters building. Handlers must report to Stake.

Saturday, Jan. 9

3 a.m.  Friday night scorecards must be returned to the headquarters building corner office.

7 a.m.  Gates open

8 a.m.  6 p.m.  Barns open

8 to 10 a.m.  Bench Show entries taken for Champion, Grand Champion and Overall Grand American winner in the Bates Building. A UKC Easy Entry card or registration certificate is needed.

9 a.m.  Presentation of trophies/Friday night winners' photos to be taken.

10 a.m.  Entries close for Bench Show; Kids Bench Show will be held before the licensed Bench Show begins.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Changes or corrections due on advanced entries for Saturday night hunt, in the headquarters building corner office.

12 p.m.  Confirm all advanced entries for Saturday night hunt, in the headquarters building corner office. UKC Easy Entry card or registration certificate is required to enter.

1 p.m.  Treeing Contest

2 p.m.  Deadline to confirm all entries.

3:30 p.m.  Prayer/drawing out of casts at the headquarters building. Handlers must report to Stake.

Runner-up will receive a dog box from Clinch Mountain.

Sunday, Jan. 10

3 a.m.  Saturday night scorecards must be returned to the headquarters building corner office.

3 a.m. (after scores and placements have been tabulated) - Presentation of trophies/Saturday nights winners photos to be taken.

Night hunt entry rules

Entries must be filled out completely to be accepted.

All hunters will be drawn out of the basket.

All dogs must be UKC registered to hunt.

UKC and Grand American reserve the right to assign observers to any cast.

All guides must be residents of South Carolina and members of a participating club.

Any cast that becomes separated must return to the fairgrounds or be scratched.

Alcoholic beverages, firearms and illegal drugs are not permitted while participating in the hunt or in the buildings the day of a UKC-licensed event.

No bulldogs of any age, breed or type is allowed on the grounds. All dogs on grounds must have proof of rabies vaccination.

Some of the events sponsors are The Dog Food Center, South State Bank, GTs Hunting Supply, J-K Pet Foods, C&H Publishing and Lazer Light Company.
Messing with history is not a cool thing to do. But there is a lot of it going on; particularly, pulling down monuments, or going after other peoples religious statues. This kind of heresy goes from the grotesque to the downright evil.

Topping my list of the grotesque is Nkotozo Qwabe, a young South African now studying as a Rhodes Scholar, who leads a movement to pull down the statue of Cecil John Rhodes at Oxford and, among other things, to ban the French flag from the campus. Compatriots of this ingrate have already removed a statue of Rhodes at South Africas University of Cape Town.

On the evil side is ISIS, and its continuing destruction of antiquities in Iraq and Syria  most recently, the monumental ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra in the Syria. With it, as with their razing of Nineveh, Nimrud and other archaeological sites, ISIS has turned to dust the whole heritage of the world: a cultural heritage and artifacts so precious that they rise above religion.

ISIS and the anti-Rhodes activists are trying to adjust history to passing present values. Knocking down an ancient temple or a statue is, in its way, book burning. It is destroying the record in order to distort the record.

Universities, here and abroad, are vulnerable to the demands of minority groups. Oxford has already removed one Rhodes plaque. At Princeton, students are demanding that Woodrow Wilsons name be expunged for his support, as they see it, of white supremacy.

Decent people and institutions accede to the inane and foolish wants of minorities to appear reasonable to the unreasonable. Princeton has already gone some way down that slippery slope.

At Oxford, Qwabe is not content with just demonizing Rhodes. He has denounced the French for their colonial and current activities, and compared the French flag to the Nazi flag. And he has criticized Oxford University for being Eurocentric. Why would it be anything else? Founded in 1096, it is the second-oldest European university.

Qwabe would have us, and the people of Africa, believe that Rhodes was a villain of unspeakable proportions, practicing racism and genocide. In reality, by todays standards, he did some bad things and some very good ones, which include funding Qwabes attendance at Oxford.

Qwabes history is about as shaky as his gratitude. Rhodes was a controversial figure who believed absolutely in British exceptionalism as epitomized in the British Empire. He went to South Africa from England for his health and made a fortune in diamond mining. He entered politics, where he became prime minister of Cape Colony, on the tip of South Africa. There he seemed very enlightened, establishing a franchise that was open  as open as any at the time  and was not to be matched in South Africa until the fall of apartheid.

Where Rhodes dealings get murky is when he financed the push into what is now Zimbabwe. Rhodes defrauded the king of the Matabele, Lobengula, in the south of the country, but saved the Shona tribe, in the east and central region, from certain extinction at the hands of the Matabele, a newly arrived offshoot of the Zulus in South Africa who conquered lesser tribes, killed the men and boys, and forced the women into polygamous marriages.

Another good thing that Rhodes did was to cut off a chunk of South Africa, then known as Bechuanaland, now Botswana, from control by the Afrikaner Boers in 1895.

Rhodes also lavished his wealth on universities, including his alma mater  Oxford  and South African universities, including Cape Town, located on his former estate, and Rhodes, the eponymous university.

Rhodes did some reprehensible things but he believed in the public good as he saw it  that being a manifestation of the British way of life, justice and values. Obliterating Rhodes historical role, and the few statues that point to it, is to meddle with the truth.

This same poison is at work on U.S. campuses, where student radicals bar speakers they disagree with from appearing. Punishing the memory of the great figures of history because they fail the social acceptability tests of the present is a disturbing part of the current academic scene, where free speech is under attack and free ideas are doctored to fit the values and prejudices of the moment.

There is a linkage between the thinking that is destroying the precious monuments of pre-Islamic civilization and punishing the memory of Rhodes and Wilson. The difference is only in degree.
A start-up company announced Wednesday it plans to make barrels for the bourbon industry in Bamberg County.

Black Water Barrels LLC plans to invest $3.6 million, resulting in the creation of 57 new jobs over the next five years.

"We are very excited for the opportunity to build our barrel-manufacturing company in Bamberg County," Black Water Barrels LLC President Greg Pierce said in a prepared statement.

"During the process of visiting several states and counties, the people of Bamberg welcomed us with open arms. We look forward to being part of such a great community and working with the county and state to become South Carolina's only cooperage, he said.

To house its operations, the company purchased the 9,000-square-foot former Zeigler Chevrolet dealership at 3941 Main Highway. The company plans to add an additional 12,000 square feet. The property has about seven acres.

Zeigler Chevrolet closed its doors in April 2014 after being in business for 40 years.

Black Water Barrels expects to be fully operational late in the second quarter of 2016. It anticipates hiring will begin in April 2016. The average wage will be $15 an hour.

Black Water Barrels will manufacture 53-gallon barrels made of first and seconds (FAS) grade, quarter-sawn American white oak. The wood will come from South Carolina, North Carolina and Ohio.

Black Water Barrels will have the ability to produce barrels of other sizes, including, but not limited to, 60 gallons and 30 gallons. In addition, other wood profiles will be available to serve the spirits, beer and wine industries.

Southern Carolina Regional Development Alliance Vice President of Marketing Kay Maxwell said Black Water was looking for an abundant supply of American white oak, which it was able to find in Bamberg County.

"This area is known for wood products," Maxwell said, noting the company will be using German machinery to manufacture the barrels. "A lot of manufacturers in the area use that type of machinery."

Bamberg County Council Chairman Joe Guess said, "Black Water Barrels will be a welcome addition to our manufacturing community and another great wood products industry in Bamberg County."

"The people of Bamberg appreciate the jobs that Black Water Barrels will create, and we appreciate the support we have received from Governor Haley, the S.C. Department of Commerce, SouthernCarolina Alliance and our county council in helping this new company locate here," Bamberg County Economic Development Commission Chairwoman Clara Thomas said. "We look forward to working with the Black Water Barrels manufacturing team."

The announcement received praise from across the state.

"It's exciting to see new companies choose our state as their home for the future because it proves that Team South Carolina's approach to providing a business-friendly environment is working," Gov. Nikki Haley said. "Black Water Barrels' investment, and the 57 new jobs it will create, will make a real difference in Bamberg County, and is a reason to celebrate across South Carolina."

"Entrepreneurial activity and the success of new businesses is critical to South Carolina's economy," Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said. "I offer my congratulations to Black Water Barrels on this remarkable achievement and look forward to supporting them as they grow and prosper in our state.

To make order inquiries or obtain additional information on the company, contact info@blackwaterbarrels.com.
The Bamberg County Litter Enforcement Department has once again been awarded a $5,000 grant by PalmettoPride.

Last year when we received this grant, it helped to offset many costs associated with starting this new department. Receiving this grant again, for the second year in a row, is only going to help us achieve more goals, said Bill Johnson, Bamberg County Code Enforcement director.

Johnson said David Harley, the county's litter control officer, has investigated more than 40 litter cases throughout Bamberg County.

"His job will ultimately assist in changing the economic impact of Bamberg County in a positive light," Johnson said.

Harley daily patrols for litter and uncovered loads, conducts surveillance of litter spots and investigates illegal dump sites.

Whenever we begin a new litter case, for example on an illegal dump site, one of the first steps we take is to find the owner of the litter. If we are able to locate that subject, we will then contact that person to perform a mandatory cleanup, or they will face a fine and community service, in which they will be court-ordered to clean up litter, Harley said.

If an owner cannot be found, I contact Mallory (Biering) with Keep Bamberg County Beautiful or the local South Carolina Department of Transportation office to conduct a cleanup," he added. "At this point in time, we will use cameras, purchased with grant money from PalmettoPride, to conduct a more thorough investigation of the area.

Harley said this department was contacted over the weekend by a resident about 29 bags of trash that had been illegally dumped on private property.

"We did an investigation and were able to find the owner of the litter. The owners were contacted and came to clean up the area. Unfortunately, not all cases are this simple," he said. "There are locations throughout the Ccounty, like Carlisle Street, Spring Branch Road, Accumulator Road and Locust Street, under ongoing investigations.

Without grant funds from PalmettoPride, the job conducted by Johnson and Harley would not be possible.

When we check for the grant recipient announcements on PalmettoPrides website, it is always such a blessing when we see Bamberg County," said Biering, KBCB director. "Without PalmettoPride, we would not have been able to accomplish so much. They have been there from the start of Keep Bamberg County Beautiful, from the start of the Litter Enforcement Department, and we know they will be with us every step of the way as we continue to make Bamberg County litter free."

The grant was written by Biering with the assistance of Johnson and Harley. Many hours were spent researching for the best prices on materials to ensure the grant money would be spent locally and efficiently, she said.

Biering said the grant will be used to purchase equipment for the department and will cover the cost of Johnson and Harley to attend the South Carolina Litter Association Conference in February.

Our Litter Enforcement Department has and will continue to help us with our economic impact to the county. Litter, on both public and private property, is a source of environmental degradation and blight, and in some situations may constitute a public safety hazard," said Bamberg County Councilman Joe Guess, who served as council chairman in 2015. "Mr. Harley, Mr. Johnson and Ms. Biering work on a daily basis to make Bamberg County beautiful and litter free. I speak for the rest of council when I say we applaud their efforts."

He also thanked PalmettoPride for its continued support.
A woman was shot multiple times in Holly Hill on Thursday morning. A suspect is in custody.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said a suspect was taken Into custody just before 11 a.m.

Credit Investigator Rob Boyne for bringing in this suspect in less than three hours after the shooting occurred, the sheriff said.

Ravenell said a preliminary investigation determined the shooting happened just before 8 a.m. Thursday at an Old State Road residence.

A woman has been airlifted to an undisclosed hospital where her condition remains unknown to law enforcement at this time.

No other suspects are being sought in the case.

No motive has been determined at this time. However, the altercation is believed to have been a domestic-related incident, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

The sheriffs office, the Holly Hill Police Department, Orangeburg County EMS, Eutawville Police Department and Holly Hill Fire Department responded to the scene.
Mexico is the first country in the world to tax sugar-sweetened drinks in an effort to curb consumption blamed for obesity and related diseases  and it appears to be working.

Analyzing the first release of data on the effects of the tax, researchers found that sales of sugary beverages across the country dropped by an average of 6 percent in the first year after Mexico implemented the 1 peso (about 6 cents) per liter tax on Jan. 1, 2014, according to a study report published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal.

The decline reached 12 percent for December 2014, and it was even larger among poorer households, the study showed.

Mexico is a good example that the tax is working, and it can be implemented in other countries, said Aranxta Colchero, a health economist at Mexicos National Public Health Institute and lead author of the study.

Researchers from Mexicos National Public Health Institute and the University of North Carolinas Department of Nutrition used nationally representative data gathered by Nielsen Mexico's Consumer Panel Services on food purchases between January 2012 and December 2014 from more than 6,200 households in 53 Mexican cities with populations of at least 50,000.

During 2014, the study found, consumers in Mexico bought an average of 6 percent fewer sugary drinks than would have been expected without the tax, which increased the cost of sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages by about 10 percent. They bought an average of 4 percent more untaxed drinks, such as bottled water.

While Mexicans across income levels bought fewer sugar-laden beverages, it was the poorer households that seemed most affected by the taxes. Their sugary drink purchases declined by an average of 9 percent in 2014, and by 17 percent by the end of that year.

The researchers said that while their study didnt look at smaller towns or rural areas, it shows the tax has promise in deterring Mexicans from drinking so many sugar-sweetened drinks. They expect the effect to continue in the long term.

Based on economic studies and the teams previous work, Colchero said they could expect an even larger decline in soda sales with a tax of at least 2 pesos (about 12 cents) per liter  about a 20 percent price increase. But she added that the tax should be implemented alongside other policies, such as public health campaigns and labeling on food and drinks containing excessive added sugar.

We need to have potable tap water available for households and in schools, she said. People should be aware of what theyre drinking.

In an op-ed that accompanied the paper, Franco Sassi, head of the public health division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), lauded the results for confirming that taxation can be an effective way to encourage healthier behavior.

However, he agreed with Colchero that such measures should complement other policies, adding: Taxes can be part of a public health strategy  and Mexicos is a great example for other countries  but they cannot be viewed as a magic bullet in the fight against obesity."

Mexico is one of the worlds top consumers of sugary beverages. The average Mexican drinks 111 liters of sugar-sweetened drinks per year, while the average American drinks 103 liters a year, according to a 2015 Euromonitor report.

Mexico also has the highest prevalence of diabetes among OECD countries, according to the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.

In November 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its first-ever recommendation that Americans limit their sugar intake to no more than 10 percent of their daily calories, or roughly the equivalent of one soda per day.

The World Health Organization made the same recommendation in March 2015, but added that cutting sugar to less than 5 percent of daily calories would provide additional health benefits, and would help prevent diabetes and heart disease.
The Orangeburg County Community of Character program is a success story.

In 2000, the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association, the Orangeburg County Development Commission and The Times and Democrat to build a community of character.

The initiative was based on a similar program in the City of Aiken. In Orangeburg County, there was the ambitious approach of going countywide with a focus on building positive character traits among citizens. It worked, with all of the countys municipalities signing on in support.

Orangeburg Countys efforts have received statewide recognition in the form of resolutions from former Govs. Jim Hodges and Mark Sanford.

In September 2005, Orangeburg Countys program became a model for others. The first statewide Community of Character Conference held here was an event at which people from other locales came together to learn more about the effort and assist it. A second conference was held in 2009.

The Community is Character campaign in and of itself will not instill positive traits in people, but it educates all, from the youngest to the oldest, about the importance of character traits in daily life. Focusing on character makes ours a better community, and communities that exhibit positive traits are those that are attractive places to live and work.

In January, Community of Character focuses on wisdom as a positive trait.

We find that particularly appropriate with Community of Character as 2016 begins gaining new leadership in the person of Evelyn M. Disher as executive director. Getting a person with strong local ties, lots of knowledge and experience, and passion for the job is a stroke of good fortune for Orangeburg.

She is the daughter of Georgia Montgomery, the 2015 winner of the The Austin. The award goes to a person who serves the community in the spirit of the late Austin Cunningham, who was instrumental in founding and sustaining Community of Character. Further, Disher is the daughter of the late Dr. Spencer Disher, who served the Orangeburg community for more than 43 years.

Returning to Orangeburg after a career with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, Disher is a 1978 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School who earned a degree from Hampton University. Experience in purchasing, sales and finance are just part of the resume she built with a company that she says offered expansive opportunities to gain knowledge.

Returning to Orangeburg in September, Disher is anxious to put that knowledge to work for Orangeburg County Community of Character.

I always wanted to come back, she said Tuesday in her first week on the job. It all seemed perfect. The kind of job I like doing.

Best of all, she said, It is a community I care about.

Toward building her own knowledge base  wisdom if you will  for the job, Disher is surveying the community. She wants to know what people think about the character campaign, what they know about it, what they believe its focus should be.

How do we get more people involved? she said. Lets look at what has worked and what can work.

You can help Disher and the campaign. Respond to the short survey for which youll find a link with this editorial at TheTandD.com.

It asks about familiarity with the campaign, and how and when you learned about Orangeburg County Community of Character. Importantly, there is a place for comment. Share your wisdom with the new campaign leader.
The year 2015 was the second warmest and third wettest year in the United States since recordkeeping began 121 years ago, according to a new federal report released Thursday.

The annual report, put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), found that along with extreme weather came more frequent and destructive natural disasters, including 10 extreme weather events in the U.S. in 2015 which racked up more than $1 billion in damage.

The worst month of the year was the last. In December, when floods and tornadoes battered large swaths of the South and Midwest, temperatures were the warmest ever for the month  6 degrees above the average for the 20th century, the report found.

This is the first time that a month has been both the wettest and the warmest month on record, said Jake Crouch, an NOAA climate scientist.

Every state in the contiguous U.S. was warmer than average for the year, and four states  Florida, Montana, Oregon and Washington  had their warmest year ever.

Overall precipitation in 2015 was lower only than in 1973 and 1983, which like last year were both marked by an occurrence of the El Nino weather event, which is characterized by a warming of surface water in parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists were careful not to tie the warmth and wetness of 2015 to any one factor. It was the 19th consecutive year of average temperatures rising higher than the average for the 20th century.

We live in a warming world, and a warming world is bringing more big heat events and more big rain events to the United States, said Deke Arndt, chief of the climate-monitoring branch of the NOAA. 2015 is emblematic of what we have already seen, and what we would expect in the future.

Precipitation during the year hit some areas of the country harder than others. While Oklahoma and Texas had record amounts of rain, the West and Northeast had less rain than usual, and California had its 13th driest year on record. The Golden State would have had an even lower precipitation total if it had not received rain during the last weeks of the year.

Meanwhile, 10 extreme weather events struck the country in 2015, including tornadoes in the Dallas area during the last days of December and flooding along the Mississippi river about the same time. The Mississippi River often floods in spring, but it is rare to see such an event in winter.

I think the fact that it was so warm in the East did contribute to the flooding, Crouch said. If it had been colder, a lot of that precipitation would have fallen as snow.

The year was further distinguished by the wide variety of weather-related disasters, from drought to flooding to severe storms, massive wildfires and winter storms, NOAA scientists said.

It is more common to observe three or four of these major disaster event types in a given year, as opposed to five or more disaster types that exceed $1 billion in the same year, said Adam Smith, an applied climatologist at the NOAA.
Authorities in Tehran on Thursday accused the Saudi-led coalition currently intervening against Houthi rebels in Yemen of hitting the Iranian Embassy in Sanaa in an overnight airstrike.

The reported incident in Yemen's capital comes amid rising tensions between Tehran and Riyadh. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran after attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, which followed Riyadhs execution on Saturday of a prominent Shia cleric.

Iran's foreign ministry said Thursday that Saudi jets deliberately struck its embassy in an air raid that injured staff. This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions, foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state television.

However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage at the building.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate Iran's accusation, said coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, according to Reuters. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies has been fighting the Shia Houthi movement, which controls the capital.

An Iranian official told Agence France-Presse that Tehran would protest the purported Saudi bombing to the U.N. Security Council.

While Riyadh sees the Houthis as a proxy for Iran  Saudi Arabia's bitter regional rival  to expand its influence, the Houthis deny this and say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and Gulf Arab powers beholden to the West.

Almost 6,000 people have died in the conflict, nearly half of them civilians. United Nations-backed peace talks have yet to produce any substantial progress.

The ongoing diplomatic standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia began Saturday, when the kingdom executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges  the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. On Wednesday, Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia returned to Tehran, according to state media.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies  including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar  have cut or reduced their ties as well.

Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also defended the kingdom's execution of Nimr in an interview with The Economist magazine, published online Thursday night.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed said: It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region.  For sure we will not allow any such thing.

Meanwhile Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the cabinet of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

In eastern Saudi Arabia, where Nimr agitated for greater political rights for Shias in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, three days of mourning over his death were to end Wednesday night. Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikh's brother, said people planned to hold a funeral Thursday for the cleric, though Saudi authorities already buried his corpse in an undisclosed cemetery.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalize their relations.

Al Jazeera and wire services
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Lowell, Massachusetts, Jan. 4, 2016. Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images

LOWELL, Mass.  Lisa Sefarian smiled and laughed with her family as she walked out of Donald Trumps rally at the Paul E. Tsongas Center on Monday night. She went to the event skeptical of Trump, the longtime front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. But, she said, he won her over. I just thought he was really good. Hes very charismatic. Hes very positive. And its just nice to see positivity, said Sefarian, a 58-year-old teacher from Wayland. I think he would bring the country together instead of dividing it. She was not alone. Many supporters said Trumps unapologetic style and tough attitude were exactly what they believe is needed to overcome dysfunction in Washington and restore Americas reputation around the world. Yet not everyone felt the positivity. Protesters at and outside the rally accused Trump of making crude comments about women, undocumented immigrants and Muslims that amount to hate speech. We have a huge diversity of students here on our campus, said Ture Carlson, 19, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where the Tsongas Center is located. Its not fair to them to have this sort of hate speech directed toward them on our home turf. Trumps rally in Lowell amply illustrated the dual nature of his campaign. On the one hand, his blunt rhetoric and willing embrace of extreme political positions drew widespread support, especially in a hardscrabble city like Lowell, which has long endured economic hard times that have hit its working-class residents especially hard. On the other hand, many of those working-class residents are immigrants and thus feel demeaned by Trumps casting them as outsiders in America. Far from unifying the American electorate, as Sefarian believed, Trumps stop in Lowell seemed to show how deeply he was dividing it. Certainly Carlson believed so. He created a Change.org petition asking university administrators not to allow Trump to speak on campus. The petition called him racist for accusing the Mexican government of sending criminals to the U.S., saying thousands of Muslims celebrated in New Jersey on Sept. 11, 2001, and proposing that Muslims be barred from entering the United States. The Trump campaigns first TV ad, released on Monday, doubled down on his promises to build a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border and to ban Muslim immigrants. His popularity has increased during the past few months, to a national poll average of 35 percent, according to Real Clear Politics. Trumps closest rivals, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio, are polling at 20 percent and 11 percent, respectively. In a statement released in response to Carlsons petition, UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney said the university supports free debate of ideas but also praised the spirit of the petition. It is in the academic tradition to speak out on behalf of what we believe is right, and I have no doubt some members of our community will do so in the days ahead, she wrote.

Dump Trump

As thousands of supporters lined up in single-digit weather to see Trump speak, some 300 protesters held banners and chanted Dump Trump in an icy free speech zone set up by police on the other side of Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The rally was sponsored by Community Advocates for Justice and Equality, Black Lives Matter and the ANSWER Coalition. But Carlson credited the petition with bringing a lot of people out. I didnt expect that it would explode like it did, at all, and get the kind of attention it did. It really got a lot of people riled up, he said. Its a reason, I know, that a lot of the people are here. Rana Nashi, 25, moved to the U.S. from Iraq with her family when she was 9 months old. While her family is not Muslim, she said Trumps comments are racist and that they hurt all immigrants. Donald Trump, he wants to bring hatred, said Nashi, a senior at UMass Lowell studying nutrition. We say no to hatred. Crystal Gomez, 18, grew up in Lowell and said she worries about the impact Trumps rally will have on her community. The citys population is 17 percent Hispanic and 20 percent Asian-American, according to 2010 census data, and it has one of the largest Cambodian populations in the United States. This city, this entire city, was built on immigrants, she said. America was built on immigrants. Here, theres no room for Trump. Theres no room for his supporters. Thats why Im here. Many protesters slipped into the arena, among thousands of Trump supporters. Groups stood up and began chanting at least six times during his speech, though supporters quickly drowned them out with cries of Trump! and USA! USA! Disruptions have become a fixture at Trump rallies, and the candidates supporters have sometimes reacted violently. In the most widely known confrontation, Trump supporters at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama, reportedly kicked, shoved and punched Mercutio Southall Jr. when he began shouting, Black lives matter. At Mondays rally, organizers asked those in attendance not to touch or harm protesters. Trump has asked his supporters to be gentle with protesters. But he seemed to mock that approach during Monday nights rally, as security removed one group of protesters from the arena. See, in the old days, you wouldnt have that, because it would be pretty rough when they take them out. Nowadays we have to be politically correct and take them nice and easy, Trump said. Sir, would you please come with us? In the old days, this wouldnt happen.

Use a little bit of tact
If the shoe fits, wear it: "... in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt." -- Bertrand Russell



"There's no firewall for stupidity." -- Mike Hamilton



"I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said." -- William F. Buckley, Jr.



"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." -- Sren Kierkegaard
For Tehran, possible gas supplies from Iran to Georgia will have a political context, not an economic one, said Vagif Aliyev, head of the Investment Department of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in an interview with ANS TV channel.

He added that while Georgia is a close neighbor and strategic ally of Azerbaijan, each state determines its own energy strategy.

"SOCAR has strong position in Georgia. Over the past five years, SOCAR has become the largest taxpayer in Georgia. Georgia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on gas deliveries until 2030, Aliyev said. We are the main supplier of natural gas to the country, in addition, another part of the volume Tbilisi receives as transit fee for transportation of Russian gas through its territory to Armenia.

Azerbaijan exported 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia in Jan.-Nov. 2015.

Gas from Azerbaijan to Georgia is delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which transports gas produced in "Shah Deniz" gas-condensate field in the Caspians Azerbaijani sector. SOCAR supplies its own gas to Georgia via a pipeline that passes through the Azerbaijans Gazakh district. Power flow of gas through this pipeline is about three billion cubic meters a year.

Azerbaijan is the main supplier of gas to Georgia with a share of 77.9 percent of total imports of this category.

Speaking about possible gas supplies to Georgia from Iran, Aliyev said that it could happen, most likely, on the small scale.

"It is important to think how important the Georgian market is for Iran," he said.

According to the agreement with Georgia, Iran has to deliver gas to Armenian border and Georgia will receive it on its border with this country.

Currently, Iran exports gas to Turkey in the framework of the gas swaps with Azerbaijan  to Nakhchivan, as well as to Armenia.




/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan Fashion Week for the first time will be held in Moscow on March 6-8.

Organized by the Moscow-based Azerbaijani Culture studio in partnership with the Russian-Azerbaijani Friendship Center, the event will take place in Moscows President Hotel.

The two-day event stipulates holding of a fashion show, after party, exhibition and sale, welcome party and workshop for the guests.

Local fashion designers and domestic brands including fashion, perfumes, cosmetics, accessories, and others are invited to take part in the Azerbaijani Fashion Week.

For the detailed information please contact Ulker Kurbanova on +7(495)7961044; or mail [email protected]
/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

The first week of January marks the anniversary of liberation of Fizuli regions Horadiz village from the Armenian occupation.

In 1994, 21 settlements and Horadiz village of the Fizuli region were liberated thanks to a successful operation of the Azerbaijani armed forces. The Armenian armed forces` attack on Beylagan was prevented thanks to Horadiz operation, and the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-attack to liberate 20 villages of Fuzuli region, Horadiz settlement and Jojug Marjanli village of Jabrayil region.

A parade was held on January 5, 2016 to mark the liberation of the Horadiz city and Fizuli regions villages from the Armenian invasion. The residents of the region, soldiers of the military units participated at the event held in Horadiz.

The former fighters who took part in the Horadiz operation voiced readiness to liberate the occupied territories from Armenian occupation at any time.

As a result of Fizulis invasion on August 23, 1994, some 51 villages and the centre of the region were seized by the Armenians leaving more than 55,000 inhabitants displaced.

From 1988, the Fizuli region has been subjected to constant attacks by Armenians. As a result of the occupation, more than 1100 inhabitants of Fizuli were martyred, 113 - were taken prisoner and 1450 people were left disabled.

The region covers a territory from the south eastern slopes of the Karabakh Mountain range to the Araz River. It borders on the Azerbaijani regions of Khojavand, Jabrayil, Agjabadi, Beylagan and Iran along the Araz River.

The ancient historical monuments of world importance in Fizuli region were left under occupation and many of them were destructed. After invading Azerbaijan's territories, Armenia has been pursuing the campaign of ruining cultural and historical monuments of Azerbaijani people. The most famous of these monuments is the Azykh Caves, known as a living site of stone-age man.

Unfortunately, the fate of this, as well as other ancient monuments is unknown due to the Armenian occupation. The operations section supervising the devastating effects to the environment and natural resources in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has identified a number of facts of destruction of natural resources by Armenians in the Fuzuli region in the occupation period. Armenians cut down all the trees in the village of Dovlatyarli located in a forest zone and destroyed the green spaces along the roads in the Gochahmadli and Yaglivand villages.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, over 4,000 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.
/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Release of the two Azerbaijanis captivated by the Armenian military in Azerbaijan's occupied territories two years ago remains topical in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks.

The release of the Azerbaijanis was one of the major issues of discussion at the last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Bern. President Ilham Aliyev raised the issue of immediate release of Asgarov and Guliyev from the Armenian captivity.

Yerevan ignores calls to release Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who were captured by Armenian special forces in Shaplar village in July 2014, while they were visiting the graves of their relatives.

Armenia holds under control 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, changing the area into a polygon of arms, drug trafficking and contraband.

Baku has repeatedly stated that Armenia should put an end to the provocative actions accompanied by serious violations of international humanitarian law and immediately release hostages.

Professor Elkhan Alasgarov, the head of the expert council of "Baku Network", told Trend that a good chance emerged for return of the Azerbaijani hostages, who were captured by the Armenian side in Azerbaijans occupied Kalbajar region.

The Azerbaijani government takes necessary steps for return of Asgarov and Guliyev," Azerbaijani expert stressed. "The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People works in this regard.

Alasgarov believes the work should be divided into two parts: efforts made by the government for the release of these individuals and the second, the steps taken by their family members and relatives. From legal point of view, the second step should be taken without delay. The family members should appeal to the court for protecting their rights.

He went on to say that this issue should be considered within the legal framework. The incident occurred in the territory of Azerbaijan and they were taken hostage in Azerbaijan. Their family members should appeal to the court of the region where the Azerbaijanis were taken hostage. This important step will support the work of the government for the release of our compatriots.

Asgarov and Guliyev were subjected to physical, mental and psychological tortures, which is in gross violation of international legal norms. Following an expedited judicial process" in December 2014, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years.

The Armenian special forces killed another Azerbaijani citizen Hasan Hasanov in the same incident. Unwilling to return Hasanovs dead body, the Armenians said they buried him in Khankendi. However, after Azerbaijans persistent negotiations, the remains of Hasanovs corps were handed over to Azerbaijan in October 2014.

One of the hostages, Asgarov, is a Russian citizen, and earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Armenia to immediately release the hostages

The Armenian side ignoring all calls and violating the international rules and norms was subjecting the Azerbaijanis under the Armenian captivity to various tortures.

Alasgarov stressed that the violated rights of hostages should be protected at the international level.

The two parties to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have undertaken obligations to provide information about the fate of the hostages and missing people, are committed to return dead bodies.

Yerevan avoids providing information about the missing persons, mass graves and the people who can give testimony in connection with captives and hostages taken during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Colombia, the 4th largest country in South America, is keen on developing the cooperation with South Caucasus energy-rich country Azerbaijan, located in favorable geographical position linking Europe to Asia.

Enjoying good relations with Azerbaijan, Colombia is interested in further fostering the economic ties.

Assad Jose Jater Pena, Charge dAffaires of the Colombian embassy in Baku, said his country is seeking to increase the trade turnover with Azerbaijan. He stressed the importance of holding mutual business forums to promote the relations in the trade field.

Pena made the remarks during his meeting with journalists in Baku on January 7 over the completion of his diplomatic mission.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in September 1994. The diplomat stressed the necessity of expanding cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy, agriculture, tourism, and engineering.

Emphasizing the importance of developing relations between the regions of Azerbaijan and Colombia, Pena said a strong base exits for deepening ties in the field of tourism.

Azerbaijani citizens are not required to get visas to visit Colombia, the diplomat added.

He further voiced pleasure with the hospitality he was shown over the two years of his stay in Baku.

The Columbian embassy launched its activity in Azerbaijan's capital Baku in February 2014. Pena has been heading the embassy since then.

The diplomat voiced a belief that bilateral ties will continue to develop in the future, adding that the embassy attached special importance to the areas of culture and education in 2015.

We would like to bring together Colombian and Azerbaijani scientists so that they can achieve academic innovations. We also think its necessary to strengthen cooperation between the regions of Azerbaijan and Colombia. Although there is a solid cooperation in this area, we do hope it would be better in the future, Pena said.

The diplomat also announced the name of his successor. The newly-appointed Charge d'Affaires, Martha Galindo, will arrive in Baku in coming days, according to Pena.

The relations between the two countries successfully develop in various areas, as well as in political sphere. Colombia supports the position of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Recall that Colombia became the second Latin American country after Mexico, whose parliament recognized the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

In April 2012, the Colombian Senate has passed a decision on Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories and recognized the crimes committed by Armenians in Khojaly in 1992 during the Karabakh war as genocide. The decision was taken unanimously after 102 votes required for its adoption were successfully collected.
A group of 42 Azerbaijani peacekeepers operating as part of NATO's Resolute Support non-combat mission left for Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said.

The peacekeeping contingent of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces has been serving under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since November 20, 2002.

Currently, the peacekeeping mission includes 94 Azerbaijani servicemen, 2 medical officers and 2 sappers.

/By AzerTac/
We were living on tree leaves, on plants, said Majed Ali, 28, an opposition activist who spoke to Reuters by phone from Madaya. But now we are struggling in a snowstorm, and there are no more plants or leaves.

Ali said he lost close to 30 percent of his weight since the siege began, dropping from about 250 pounds to 176.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said at least 23 people, including children, have died in Madaya because of the siege, and at least 300 children are suffering from malnutrition.

Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Damascus, also outlined the scale of suffering in the area.

We have seen credible reports that people are starving  People are hungry, and it is very cold out there with no electricity or fuel, Krzysiek told the DPA news agency.

Medical professionals in Madaya said people were eating grass to stay alive.

We cannot provide milk for infants, Dr. Khaled Mohammed told DPA this week. Today a 10-year-old child died of malnutrition.

Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, told Al Jazeera that hundreds of thousands of people are in similar situations across Syria.

We believe there are 400,000 people in 15 towns and cities who are in a situation where they are besieged by different parties to the conflict, Fleming said.

Besieged translates into civilians completely cut off from any humanitarian aid: no food, no medicine, shelters without heat and water. These are situations under which people cannot survive any more, she said.
/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

Russian energy giant Gazproms refusal to purchase Turkmen natural gas may push Turkmenistan into a complicated situation.

Gazprom Export cited current trends on the global gas markets, as well as "a number of financial and economic issues" as reasons for the decision, Turkmengaz State Concern reported on January 4.

Bruce Pannier, an expert on Central Asia, and the Senior Correspondent at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, believes that the biggest problem Turkmenistan faces from Russia stopping imports of Turkmen gas is that it leaves Turkmenistan with just the two customers  China and Iran.

Turkmenistan is still exporting some gas to Iran, somewhere between 6 to 8 billion cubic meters annually, so Ashgabat can count on some revenue from those sales. However, following the easing of relations with world powers and removal of international sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program, Iran will likely not be a customer of Turkmen blue fuel for much longer.

Turkmenistan is also exporting a large amount of gas to China, and the figures vary between 30-45 bcm. However, the problem with sales to China is that some part of the gas Turkmenistan is exporting is counted as repaying multi-billion dollar Chinese loans to develop Turkmen gas fields and build the pipelines connecting Turkmenistan to China.

"China and Turkmenistan have never made public the deals they have reached, so it is difficult to know how much gas China is taking as repayment or even how much China is paying for the gas, though there were some reports a few years ago that suggested the price was just under $200 per 1,000 cubic meters," Pannier noted.

Gas sphere was one of the strategic areas of partnership between Turkmenistan and Russia until recently. Turkmenistan transports its gas to Russia via the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline that was constructed during the Soviet period and monopolized by Russias Gazprom Company.

Turkmenistan, which has the fourth largest proven gas reserves in the world and produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas a year, is actively implementing an energy strategy aimed at increasing exports of the blue fuel and diversifying its supply routes to the largest global markets, where the demand for energy resources is growing.

"However, it appears that soon Turkmenistan will only be exporting gas to China. That leaves Turkmenistan in a bad position to negotiate the price of its gas since China could simply refuse and then no one would be buying Turkmen gas," Pannier added.

Taking these challenges into account, Turkmengaz has already expressed its willingness to negotiate with Gazprom Export a wide range of issues related to the economic ties between the two companies.

Russia's decision has political motive

The expert believes that there is a political motive in Russias decision to suspend purchases of Turkmen gas and increase purchases of gas from Uzbekistan.

"Russian-Turkmen relations are not good. Up to now, Moscow has not been able to find a political mean to put pressure on Turkmenistan, but halting gas imports, even the relatively meager amount Turkmenistan was sending, hurts Turkmenistan in a very public way," he said.

So far, Russia has purchased natural gas only from three countries of the Central Asian region - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Supplies from Turkmenistan are regulated by the intergovernmental agreement of 2003, which envisages the cooperation until 2028. The document envisages the supply of up to 80 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Russia via the Central Asia - Center and East - West pipelines.

Despite the contracted annual volumes of 70-80 billion cubic meters, firstly, the volumes were decreased to 10-11 billion cubic meters per year throughout five years. The annual volumes dropped by 2.5 times in 2015 and stood at 4 billion cubic meters.

Last year, Turkmenistans Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources reportedly said that Gazprom Export LLC (100-percent subsidiary of Gazprom) doesnt pay the remaining money for the actually delivered Turkmen natural gas, without explaining the reason.

Gazprom said in early 2015 that it will purchase only 4 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan and was going to challenge the terms of the contract in the Stockholm arbitration.

Later, the world media reported citing the sources close to Gazprom that the company has filed a lawsuit in Stockholm Court against Turkmengaz demanding to revise the prices in the gas supply contract.

The gas monopoly attributed reduction in gas purchases to the fact that demand for Russian gas in Europe and in Ukraine had shrunk, said Forbes.

Due to declining gas export prices in Europe, linked to the constantly falling oil prices, the previously set price for Turkmen gas at $240 per 1,000 cubic meters appeared unsatisfactory to the Russian side.

Having failed to negotiate lower prices, Gazprom unilaterally shifted to payments at European export breakeven price in January, said Forbes.

Gas payments in the first five months of this year have been carried out by Gazprom under this scheme.

Little chances for huge gas projects

Commenting on possibility of acceleration of energy projects envisaging export of Turkmen gas to various countries, the expert said that despite the fact that the Turkmen government wants very much to diversify gas export routes and is pushing both Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India and the Trans-Caspian pipeline projects, there is little chance either of those projects will even be close to being completed.

"TAPI is routed through Afghanistan and the Baluchistan region in southern Pakistan, two areas facing huge security problems. Russia, at least, and probably Iran will oppose construction of the TCP on the grounds that the legal status of the Caspian Sea is not yet decided and there could be dire environmental consequences from the pipeline. Recent Russian Navy activity in the Caspian Sea guarantees no one could build the pipeline without Moscow allowing it," he noted.

Therefore, the choice does not depend on Turkmenistan, but on many factors outside Turkmenistans control.

"My guess is that neither TAPI nor TCP will be built and operational within the next decade and it probably will be much longer than that, if ever," the expert stated.

Gazprom to increase supplies from Uzbekistan

Meanwhile, Gazprom has announced that it will increase the purchase of Uzbek gas. This information was confirmed by Alexei Miller, the Head of the company.

"We highly appreciate the results of the negotiations reached with our Uzbek friends. Uzbekistan is our reliable partner in the gas sector, and we will continue to further develop our mutually beneficial cooperation. And, quite naturally, the volume of purchases of Uzbek gas will increase this year," he told journalists on January 4, Russian media reported.

Pannier believes that Uzbek gas can easily replace Turkmen gas.

"Gazprom now says it will import at least 3.1 bcm of gas from Uzbekistan in 2016. Uzbekistan only exported some 1 bcm to Russia last year. Just a few years ago Uzbekistan was exporting several times that amount of gas to Russia," he said.

Since January 1, 2016, Gazprom has increased the volume of purchases of natural gas from Uzbekistan. The agreements were reached at the end of December 2015. However, no concrete figures were revealed.

"It is worth mentioning that Gazprom is developing gas fields in western Uzbekistan and the Uzbek gas that Gazprom buys will probably be gas from Uzbek fields Gazprom is developing," Pannier stated.

"Uzbekistan probably should not become accustomed to selling gas to Russia for long. If world prices remain low I think Russia, Gazprom, will stop buying any gas from Central Asia soon," he concluded.
Approximately 850 km of pipes has been already produced for the the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), Head of the Investment Department of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Vagif Aliyev said in an interview to ANS TV station.

He said that the projects progress is in line with scheduled plans.

All preparation activities are completed and the practical phase has started," Aliyev said, adding that the mentioned 850 km of pipes have been tested and delivered to contractors.

He further said that a 600-km land area has been prepared for pipe laying, and the welding works have already been carried out on 230-km area.

TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The projects total cost is estimated at $10 billion.

Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are: SOCAR  58 percent, Botas  30 percent and BP  12 percent.

The initial capacity of TANAP pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the remaining volume will be supplied to Europe.

The contractors for constructing TANAPs 1,337 kilometers long onshore section are: Fernas Insaat A.S., Sicim-Yuksel-AKKORD Adi Ortakligi and TEKFEN Insaat ve Tesisat A.S. These companies will build the pipelines section running up to the city of Eskisehir.

/By Trend/
The Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations  named after the secretary general who died in 1961  doesn't make the news very often. Meant to be used by the professional Secretariat staff of the UN and by national delegations, it stores documents and publications from the UN and related organizations, as well as a raft of other books and materials on international relations, law, economics, and other UN-relevant topics. So, you know, a library.

But even the UN's library has a social media presence now, and recently it tweeted the publication that got checked out the most frequently in 2015:

To be clear: The UN is full of delegates representing awful dictatorships, and the book that got checked out the most from the UN library was about  how to be immune from war crimes prosecution. That does not seem like a good thing!

The book in question isn't a UN document  it's a doctoral thesis from the University of Lucerne by Ramona Pedretti, pursuing the question of when heads of state and other government officials can be charged in foreign courts. Generally, she explains, there are two forms of immunity in international law from which heads of state can benefit.

"Immunity ratione personae prevents incumbent Heads of State from being subjected to foreign criminal jurisdiction," Pedretti writes. "In contrast, immunity ratione materiaeprotects official acts, i.e. acts performed in an official capacity on behalf of the State, from scrutiny by foreign courts."

She concludes that immunity ratione personae is absolute, and thus that domestic courts in one country can't indict the sitting leader of another nation, whereas ratione materiae can be invalidated for defendants who've left office  as happened with the arrests of the Nazi fugitive Adolf Eichmann by Israel and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet by Spain. Basically, Pedretti is arguing that incumbent heads of state can't be charged and prosecuted by a foreign court, whereas past heads of state can.

Matters are slightly different for the International Criminal Court, a treaty-based permanent court that has indicted incumbents  notably current Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2009. As Pedretti explains, those cases can still raise ratione personae issues, and the African Union invoked that principle in condemning Bashir's indictment. The Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC disagreed, arguing that international courts are generally exempt from ratione personae restrictions, which are only meant to apply to domestic courts in foreign countries (e.g., it means the United States can't indict, say, Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe in American court).

Pedretti ultimately argues that leaders of countries that ratified the ICC's underlying treaty, and ones whose cases were referred by the UN Security Council (like Bashir's), are vulnerable to seeing their ratione personae immunity taken away, but that it goes too far to say that all heads of statement lack immunity before the court.

It's all very nuanced and interesting stuff, especially if you have reason to think you've committed crimes that could land you in the Hague!

/By Vox/
/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Despite the global population hits seven billion, experts predict the world an acute shortage of women.

An "alarming demographic masculinisation" trend in some countries indicate that the birth rate of female infanticide decreases every year.

Many demographers believe the resulting shortage of adult women over the next 50 years will have as deep and pervasive an impact as climate change, according to the Phys.org internet news portal.

The trend seems also to hit Azerbaijan, as Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Idris Isayev said that number of boys has increased in Azerbaijan since the early 1990s and today the country sees 117 boys born for every 100 girls.



He said from 171,000 babies born in 2014, some 46.4 percent were girls and 53.6 percent made up boys.

Today, Azerbaijan has no problem with demography, since for the last five years the country recorded an increase in the number of population by 172,000 people. However, boys born in the last couple of years may face a "girl" problem in future.

The disappointing statistics gave to birth to media reports about rewarding parents up to 10,000 manats (about $16,000) for a second daughter. The news was greeted with applause, whilst later became nothing more than rumors.

Department Head at the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population Elman Babayev said that It's too premature to speak about this type of "encouragement."

None state agency said about 10,000 manats and I have no idea about the source of such media reports. Indeed, there are several options and one of them is encouragement. But its too early to speak about this option, he said.

Anyway, the issue remain topical, making the government stimulate the growth of the female population, by revising abortion policy and carrying out activities on the application of intensive gender education programs.

Economist Vugar Bayramov told AzerNews that the number of abortion in the country has increased, according to some investigations. Azerbaijani families are more interested in boy babies, since they consider boys as assistance ground to the family in economic terms in the future, he said.

He believes that this disbalance may lead to serious economic and demography problems.

Decrease in the number of girl babies would have negative effect for economy, the economist says, as the labor market can experience a lack of female power in the future.

Talking about the amount of the money compensation, Bayramov noted that rewarding is not allocated for the maintenance of a child, but as a stimulating measure.

While many believe that these measures can adjust the imbalance in the country, others think that rewarding can give a negative effect.

Azerbaijani MP Aydin Mirzazade feared that some families may abuse the law, killing baby boys in pursuit of rewarding.

This time, it may create to the male shortage after 10 years. This, in turn, may lead to unmarried women, missing soldiers, uncreated families and unborn children. Thats why its necessary to pay attention to enlightenment work in public instead of encouraging for the second daughter, he said.
First-leg win marred by injuries

, 6 January,



Tom Cleverley, Romelu Lukaku and Seamus Coleman all had to be withdrawn from the 2-1 in over City and the Blues had to play the last few minutes with 10 men because Roberto Martinez had no more substitutes.

The manager told reporters after the match that Coleman's appears to be the most serious of the three, the Irishman picking up a calf strain in the closing minutes. Martinez said that he expects the fullback to be out for 3-4 weeks, leaving him exposed in an area of the field where Everton are short on natural cover.

Lukaku, meanwhile, took a knock to his ankle shortly before he scored what proved to be the winner on the night but Martinez does not expect the Belgian to be out for long.

"Rom will be assessed," he said. "I don't know if he'll be available for the weekend, but I don't expect it to be too serious."

Cleverley's injury, meanwhile, was a flare-up of the calf problem that has dogged him over the last couple of weeks.

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Gulf Capital, one of the leading alternative investment firms in the Middle East, has raised $175 million for the first closing of its second credit and mezzanine fund, Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund II.



The fund targets a final close of $250 million, with a hard cap of $300 million, a statement said.



Dr Karim El Solh, chief executive officer of Gulf Capital, said: I am particularly delighted by the size of the first closing of our second credit fund as well as by the quality of the regional and global institutional investors that are coming in this first closing.



Our first credit fund has delivered a high cash yield and attractive returns and has positioned Gulf Capital as the leading credit and mezzanine asset manager in the Middle East. With this latest closing, Gulf Capital is entering 2016 particularly well-funded with ten funds and investments vehicles across its credit, private equity and real estate divisions, he added.



Fund II will provide bespoke financing solutions to mid-market companies and private equity sponsors operating in Mena, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa.



Gulf Credit Partners, the managers of Gulf Capitals credit funds, will be investing in companies that generate revenues between $25 million and $250 million and operate in growth sectors that are non-cyclical in nature, have experienced management teams, a good track record of financial performance and robust cash flow generation with strong corporate governance practices.



Walid Cherif, managing director and head of Gulf Credit Partners, the credit and mezzanine division of Gulf Capital which manages the both GC Credit Opportunities Funds, said: The mid-market is still facing financing challenges in a region where the SME sector plays a critical role in the growth and stability of the economy.



Asset-light companies which operate in non-cyclical growth sectors, still find it difficult to obtain financing from the traditional debt markets, even when they have experienced management teams, a good track record of financial performance, a robust cash flow generation and strong corporate governance practices.



Our funds are able to fill this market gap and provide growth capital, acquisition finance and buyouts through a variety of debt instruments, including mezzanine finance, preferred equity, convertibles and senior debt for companies operating in the Middle East, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa region, he added.



The new fund is expected to make 10 to 12 investments of $15 million to $30 million each throughout its ten-year life and to generate significant cash yield and overall returns.



The companys first credit and mezzanine fund, which was closed in 2013 at around $221 million, is currently over 90 per cent invested, a statement said.  TradeArabia News Service
Leminar Air Conditioning Industries, a leader in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) ductwork manufacturing, has announced the opening of the region's largest ductwork manufacturing facility in Dubai, UAE.



A member of the Al Shirawi Group of companies, Leminar was set up in 2000 to meet the growing requirements of the HVAC industry and provide industrial clients in the area with professional and reliable materials.



The new production unit, which is spread over 325,000 sq ft, has been set up at a cost of Dh100 million ($27.2 million) in Dubai Industrial City (DIC), said a statement from Leminar.



This giant facility will enable Leminar Air Conditioning Industries to exponentially increase production capacities and better serve regional markets, it stated.



The launch was held in the presence of Abdulla Belhoul, the chief executive of Dubai Industrial City, Mohan Valrani, senior vice chairman of the Al Shirawi Group, and Mohamed Al Shirawi, the deputy managing director and other senior officials.



The new office has been fitted out with sophisticated, state-of-the-art machinery including a fully-automated coil line with CGF-1 integrated flange system, it added.



Speaking on the occasion, Navin Valrani, the chief executive of Leminar Industries said: "In 2000, Leminar Air Conditioning Industries ventured into the promising industry of HVAC ductwork. We are now leaders in the sector."



"In less than 12 months from the ground-breaking ceremony for our new facility at Dubai Industrial City, we are proud to have set up the largest HVAC duct manufacturing factory in the region. This revolutionary facility is a cornerstone of our commitment to serving as a global HVAC player," he added.-TradeArabia News Service


German industrial group Siemens has signed key agreements with Iran for development of the country's railway infrastructure, said a report.



As per the agreement, the global technology powerhouse will help Iran in the electrification project of Tehran-Mashhad railroad, besides the construction of Tehran-Isfahan high-speed railway and maintenance of 500 passenger cars, reported Trend Agency.



Under this deal, Siemens will also take steps to transfer technology to Iran though selected Iranian partners, it added.


Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man wearing a fake explosives vest outside a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials said, a year to the day since an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital.

France has been under a state of emergency since a series of attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, and tensions increased this week as the anniversary of the January attacks approached. Soldiers were posted in front of schools and security forces were even more present than usual amid a series of tributes to the dead.

Officials said the man shot to death Thursday wore a fake explosive vest and threatened officers at the entrance of a police station minutes after French president Francois Hollande, speaking in a different location, paid respects to officers fallen in the line of duty. The man was carrying a paper printout emblem of ISIL, police said.

Alexis Mukenge, who saw the shooting from inside another building, told the network iTele that police told the man, "Stop. Move back." Mukenge said officers fired twice and the man immediately dropped to the ground.

The Goutte d'Or neighborhood in Paris' 18th arrondissement, a multi-ethnic district not far from the Gare du Nord train station, was locked down, as were two metro lines running through the area, though they later reopened.

Police expanded their security cordon about an hour after the attack, swiftly and roughly clearing out hundreds who had gathered at a subway station and along nearby streets. Shops were ordered shuttered along neighboring streets, and shop owners hastily rolled down metal shutters.

Neighborhood resident Nora Borrias was unable to get home because of the barricades. Shaken by the incident, she said "it's like the Charlie Hebdo affair isn't over."

Hollande had said earlier that what he called a "terrorist threat" would continue to weigh on France. The government has announced new measures extending police powers to allow officers to use their weapons to "neutralize someone who has just committed one or several murders and is likely to repeat these crimes."

On Jan. 7, 2015, two French-born brothers killed 11 people at the building where Charlie Hebdo operated, as well as a Muslim policeman outside. Over the next two days, an accomplice shot a policewoman to death and then stormed a kosher supermarket, killing four hostages. A total of 17 people died, as did all three gunmen.

Hollande especially called for better surveillance of "radicalized" citizens who have joined ISIL or other insurgent groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.

"We must be able to force these people and only these people to fulfill certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest ... because they are dangerous," he said.

Hollande said officers die in the line of duty "so that we can live free."

Following the January attacks, the government announced it planned to give police better equipment and hire more intelligence agents.

France has been on high alert ever since, and was struck again Nov. 13 by extremists in attacks that killed 130 people at a concert hall and in bars and restaurants.

Survivors of the January attacks, meanwhile, are continuing to speak out.

Cartoonist Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, who is known as Riss, told France Inter radio "security is a new expense for the newspaper budget."

"This past year we've had to invest nearly 2 million euros to secure our office, which is an enormous sum," he said. "We have to spend hundreds of thousands on surveillance of our offices, which wasn't previously in Charlie's budget, but we had an obligation so that employees feel safe and can work safely."

After the attacks, people around the world embraced the expression "Je suis Charlie" to express solidarity with the slain journalists, targeted for the paper's caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

"It's a phrase that was used during the march as a sign of emotion or resistance to terrorism," Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Corinne Rey  known as Coco  told France Inter radio. "And little by little, I realized that 'I am Charlie' was misused for so many things. And now I don't really know what it means."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launched a drive to raise awareness about prevention of cervical cancer during the DHAs #smart_clinic social media initiative.



Information was disseminated via the Authoritys Twitter page, Instagram and through Periscope.



Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus or womb. Seven to eight women out of 100,000 women in the UAE have cervical cancer. Globally, half a million new cases of cervical cancer are detected annually and according to WHO cervical cancer is responsible for more than 270 000 deaths annually, 85 per cent of which occur in developing countries.



Dr Aisha Ali Karam, consultant family medicine and head of womens health unit at DHAs primary healthcare sector, said: Cervical cancer is one of the worlds deadliest  but most easily preventable  forms of cancer for women and therefore it is important to raise awareness about vaccination and screening. The most important regular check-up for all women who are married is the pap smear test to check for cervical cancer.



If screened early on, we can detect the pre-cancer cells and actually prevent cancer from developing. If a woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer at an early stage, it can be completely treated with minimal side effects. Therefore, screening is absolutely vital and it should take place every three years after marriage, said Dr Manal Wahba, gynaecologist at Dubai Hospital.



Dr Suad Hashim, family physician and head of clinical prevention and health promotion unit said women should also be aware of the fact that they can be vaccinated against cervical cancer. Almost all cases of cervical cancers are caused by HPV; persistent HPV infection is the biggest risk factor for cervical cancer and therefore women should get the HPV vaccine before marriage to protect themselves. The vaccine has three doses and it is available as part of the mandatory pre-marital counselling program that DHA offers across all its primary healthcare centres.



Dr Maryam Mohammed Abdulkarim, consultant gynaecologist at Dubai Hospital said that HPV vaccine and regular pap-smear tests are the two major steps towards prevention, early detection and timely treatment of cervical cancer.  TradeArabia News Service
Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), a leading district cooling company, has been re-certified in integrated management systems by Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification (TIC).



The re-certification was issued after being audited by Bureau Veritas, said a statement from the Dubai-based company.



The achievement is a clear indicator of Empower's excellence and ongoing commitment to integrate and adopt world-class practices and measures in the fields of quality, health, and safety, it added.



Empower was audited for three management systems ISO 9001:2008, OHSAS 18001:2007, and environmental management systems ISO 14001:2004, it stated.



The certifications recognise set of standards for quality, occupational health and safety, and environmental management systems.



"This recertification reflects Empower's intensive efforts to improve the quality of service and further enhance performance of occupational health, safety and environment systems," remarked its CEO Ahmad Bin Shafar.



"This new achievement will be added to Empower's track record of corporate excellence and international recognition of its high performance levels. Empower adheres to the highest of international standards and strives to provide world-class service to our customers to ensure their comfort and happiness," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Iran and Saudi Arabia took further steps to sever commercial ties on Thursday, intensifying a feud between the regional rivals, as Tehran announced a ban on imports from Saudi Arabia and Saudi groups called for boycotts of Iranian products.



Iran's government said it had forbidden imports from Saudi Arabia after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday morning, according to state news agency Irna.



The cabinet also reaffirmed a ban on Umrah pilgrimages to Makkah, first imposed in April in response to an alleged sexual assault on two male Iranians by Saudi airport guards.



Trade between Saudi Arabia and Iran is small compared with the size of their economies, but tens of thousands of Iranians travel to the kingdom every year to complete the Haj as well as Umrah pilgrimages made outside of Haj season.



Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday over the storming of its embassy in Tehran, intensifying a diplomatic crisis set in motion by the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric the previous day.



Foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir told Reuters on Monday the kingdom was halting air traffic and trade links with the Islamic republic, although none of the few Saudi companies with interests in Iran has yet announced changes to their operations.



Savola, the kingdom's largest food products company, which earns some 13 percent of total revenues from Iran, said on Tuesday it plans to maintain its investments there despite the standoff.



But it and the few other Saudi companies doing business in Iran faced increasing public pressure over the course of the week, as consumer and business groups called for boycotts of Iranian products.



Chamber of commerce leaders told local daily newspaper Al-Riyadh that Saudi businesses should replace Iranian goods with alternatives from other Arab and Islamic countries.



A trade boycott would cause the kingdom little economic harm, they said, noting that imports from Iran mainly consist of pistachio nuts and pickles.



Consumer activist group Mogatah also urged Saudi businesses to remove Iranian goods from their shelves, posting photos of Iranian products for sale in Saudi Arabia on social media along with calls to support the government's policy.



The group scolded Swedish home goods retailer Ikea for selling a Persian carpet with a "Made in Iran" label at its stores in Saudi Arabia, and applauded a local Riyadh-based carpet shop chain for deciding to end sales of Iranian rugs. - Reuters
Iran on Thursday said Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in Yemen's capital, a development that would exacerbate tensions between the two major powers in the region, and Riyadh said it would investigate the accusation.



"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by Iranian state television news channel IRIB.



Residents and witnesses in the capital Sanaa said there was no damage to the embassy building in Hadda district.



They said an air strike had hit a public square about 700 metres (yards) away from the embassy and that some stones and shrapnel had landed in the embassy's yard.



A Sanaa resident went to the embassy on Thursday and reported no damage but said there was some shrapnel strewn nearby.



Saudi coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night to target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi Arabia.



He said the coalition would investigate Iran's accusation and added that the Houthis has used civilian facilities including abandoned embassies.



Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply it with coordinates of the location of their diplomatic missions and that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis "have no credibility".  Reuters
Travel agents yesterday (January 6) rushed to cancel or reschedule flights booked by scores of Bahrainis, who planned to travel to Iran in the coming weeks. Some were also trying to get Bahraini tourists stranded in Iran out by booking flights with other regional airlines. It comes a day after Bahrain suspended all flights to and from Iran following the severing of diplomatic ties with Tehran for its continuous blatant interference in internal affairs, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

To read further, please visit GDNonline
British Airways crew members were forced to restrain a passenger on board a flight from London to Dubai after he "went berzerk" and threatened to blow up the plane, a report said.

According to a report in The Telegraph, a male passenger became aggressive about five hours into BA flight 105's journey and began fighting with and spitting at the staff, the father of one of the passengers had claimed.

After the 45 minute ordeal, five crew members and another passenger had to handcuff him and cover him with a blanket because he reportedly began spitting at everyone.

Steve Penk, whose daughter witnessed the chaos on board, tweeted about the incidents. some guy went berserk on board 5 hrs into the flight claiming he had a bomb and everyone was going to die. It took 5 crew and the help of another large passenger to restrain him.

My daughter Natalie says the guy was literally screaming and shouting he couldn't breathe. He shouted everyone was going to die. Absolutely terrifying, Penk tweeted.

The flight landed in Dubai as scheduled and the man was handed over to the Dubai police.

Penk later posted: "The BA crew on board were amazing apparently. Thank you to all the crew on BA flight 105 last night x."
Police on the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru are investigating an alleged assault on a child refugee by another refugee, the government said on Thursday.

Nauru is home to Australia's controversial refugee detention center, which hosts about 500 asylum seekers and has been widely criticized for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that an Iranian refugee had caught another refugee in the act of sexually assaulting his 6-year-old daughter on Dec. 29.

The man had pulled his and the girl's trousers down, and abused her near the cafe where her father worked, the Guardian reported, adding that the attacker had not been arrested or charged.

The Nauru police force is investigating the alleged assault, the government said on its Twitter account.

NPF will not discuss details of alleged child assault investigation but confirm alleged victim and alleged accused both from refugee community, the government said on Twitter.

Child assault allegation involves accusation against a refugee by another refugee, it added.

Several rights groups have criticized the harsh conditions at the Nauru detention center.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in 2013 that the center was inappropriate for the care and support of child asylum seekers, according to a Human Rights Watch report to an Australian parliamentary committee.

Asylum seekers intercepted while trying to reach Australia on rickety boats have been sent to camps on Nauru, located about 1,800 miles northeast of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea.

According to Australian government statistics, Nauru hosted 543 asylum seekers, including 70 children, at the end of November.

In early October, Nauru unexpectedly opened the gates of its detention center, allowing asylum seekers to move freely around the island, and said it would immediately process all asylum applications.

Wire services
Caspers airport received high marks for its performance during the first eight months of 2015.

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport recently placed 29th out of 322 airports around the country, according to rankings from travelmath.com.

The rankings looked at six categories, including the percentage of cancelled flights, delayed flights, average time of delay, taxi time, average fare and number of TSA claims. The site used information from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2015 to determine its rankings, according to the website.

Other Wyoming airports ranked in the study included Gillette-Campbell County Airport (32), Laramie Regional Airport (35) and Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport (37).

Jay Lundell, director of the Gillette-Campbell County Airport, said his airport has benefited from a new jet service, free parking and competitive airfares. He also noted that the airport set an all-time record in 2015 with 62,624 passengers. Elsewhere in the state, Jackson Hole was ranked 152nd and Yellowstone Regional in Cody was ranked 137th.

Casper/Natrona County International Airport director Glenn Januska said it was clear looking at the list that most of the top airports were smaller. Only 1.78 percent of Caspers flights were cancelled and the average flight delay was a single minute, according to travelmath.com.

Its easy to get in and out of the airport, Januska said. If youre from Casper or Natrona County, when youre home, youre kind of home.

Januska said Caspers airport has a friendly feel and offers comforts that are unique to flying out of a smaller community airport.

Its a nice place and a nice atmosphere for people who travel, he said.

Larger airports rounded out the bottom of the list, including LaGuardia airport in New York and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey.
A Casper city councilwoman asked her colleagues to investigate a local housing organization in the wake of a newspaper article critical of a rival housing agency, according to an email obtained by the Star-Tribune.

In an email to her council colleagues and city officials last month, Robin Mundell alleged that the Casper Housing Authority (CHA) was trying to discredit the Community Action Partnership of Natrona County (CAP).

The Dec. 27 email cited an article that ran three days earlier in the Star-Tribune. The story profiled two women who were upset with changes to a Community Action Partnership housing program. Mundell, who resigned from the Council this week to move to Las Vegas, implied the Housing Authority was behind the article.

The time to intercede and stop the continued overt and not so overt attempts by the CHA to continue to work against the CAP has come, Mundell wrote. Only Council/staff can make this happen.

However, the women gave no indication to the Star-Tribune that they were being influenced by the Housing Authority, which provides affordable housing for low-income residents. They said they contacted the newspaper after reading about changes to the Community Action Partnership's program.

Housing Authority Executive Director Kim Summerall-Wright, meanwhile, said she was shocked to learn of Mundells complaints. She said her organization has been routinely reviewed and held to high standards.

I consider this a personal issue, Summerall-Wright said. I believe (Mundell) is using her position on the Council to launch personal attacks against the Housing Authority.

Transitional housing

On Dec. 24, the Star-Tribune published a story about two women who had been residents of a transitional housing program run by the Community Action Partnership. They left the program after the organization decided to move residents from the Life Steps campus in Casper to various apartments in the city.

The woman were critical of the changes, but in an interview this week, Mundell said the article did not correctly portray the Community Action Partnership's actions.

The group recently received a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to help families pay to lease apartments. The partnership, which helps homeless people get back on their feet, placed 11 families in new homes and is helping each pay rent. The move was part of a program shift from transitional housing to permanent housing.

The organization plans to stop accepting families who need transitional housing in October. At that time, the program will help chronically homeless people with a mental or physical disability by placing them in permanent housing.

Some program participants were upset over the changes because they felt they were being pushed out of the program for not meeting the permanent housing requirements. Those tenants instead requested vouchers from the Housing Authority to live in low-rent public housing apartments.

Mundell called Community Action Partnership's actions a responsible decision.

Her email included other criticisms of the Housing Authority. Mundell stated a Housing and Urban Development representative for Wyoming told her the Housing Authority has a lower occupancy rate than it should. She also stated the Housing Authority has developed programs that are already being carried out by other community nonprofits.

In addition, Mundell asked her council colleagues to inquire whether the Housing Authority has any findings of noncompliance by federal officials. She also requested the Housing Authoritys board of directors be dismissed and replaced with an advisory board because members have served for too long.

Summerall-Wright said she has often asked Mundell to visit the Housing Authority, but she has not received a response from Mundell for over a year.

Council response

Mayor Daniel Sandoval said there will be an inquiry, rather than an investigation, into the Housing Authority. But, he said, all agencies that receive city money will be scrutinized to ensure they are acting as efficiently as possible, considering the downturn in revenue statewide.

(The Housing Authority) definitely will get some scrutiny because it is an agency that gets its authority from the city to do what they do, Sandoval said. Were going to look at agencies that we fund and maybe get a little more draconian on outcomes and look for duplication of services.

He added that its no secret theres a rivalry between the Housing Authority and Community Action Partnership.

City Councilwoman Kenyne Schlager said she does not have concerns about the Housing Authority. She said the group has responded to all of the Councils requests for reports and information.

Community Action Partnership, on the contrary, often dismisses requests from the Council for documentation, and thus she feels uncomfortable providing funding for their agency, she said.

I think what Council is going to want to look at is making sure our human service needs are being met, she said. And if organizations cant get along and cant accomplish that, then well take our business elsewhere.
Guadalupe Beltran told her 3-year-old son, Angel, to play nicely. But Angel wanted to investigate the heap of brightly colored toys littering the play room. He wanted to pick things up and, maybe, throw them down again.

Angel has Aspergers Syndrome. The dark-haired boy was focusing intently on his toy of the moment -- not necessarily on his mothers admonitions.

Beltran was one of five mothers dropping children off at the Casper Family Literacy Center last month. The center is one of the beneficiaries of the Wyoming Family Literacy Program, which is overseen, and funded by, the Wyoming Community College Commission. The program offers early childhood education, and partners with other groups such as Casper College, to offer adult education classes and English language courses.

The approximately $3.3 million that the commission uses from its general budget to run the eight family literacy facilities across Wyoming every year was questioned by lawmakers during a budget hearing in December. The program will be reconsidered by lawmakers this month.

Legislators wanted to know why a community college agency is funding early childhood development.

But in Casper, and in the seven other literacy programs, child care is just one component of the overall program, said Troy Tallabas, manager for the Commission's family literacy and high school equivalency certificate programs.

Early childhood education meshes really well with what we are trying to do (in community colleges). (The program) exists because of the fact that we are trying to make a multigenerational impact on literacy and poverty, Tallabas said.

***

The literacy program was originally federally funded. It was called Even Start, and was part of the now defunct No Child Left Behind Act. When the federal dollars disappeared, the Commission stepped in, and so did the state, Tallabas said.

Family literacy programs fits into the Commissions strategy: to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by educating children and parents, he said.

A primary indicator on a childs academic success is a mothers education level. When we look at a mothers education level, we can tell within certain parameters, how well a child might do, he said.

The Literacy Center in Casper currently serves about 17 families, said Director Kat Bohr-Buresh. The parents attend high school equivalency classes or English Language classes at Casper Colleges Adult Learning Center. Guadalupe Beltran, for instance, is taking classes in English language or other skills. A native Spanish speaker, Beltran wants to improve her English to find better opportunities and communicate with Angels teachers and doctors.

The parent is the childs first and most important teacher, Bohr-Buresh said.

Families in the program make $12,000 or less per year, and many of them are immigrants, she said. Of the five families present at the Literacy Center that morning, only one was a native English speaker: Carmen Pesce, who moved to Wyoming from Kansas, with her 2-year-old son, Roscoe, last year.

Pesce drops Roscoe off at the center, which allows her to go to school.

She is about halfway through her high school equivalency classes and wants to become a photographer.

Right now I dont have a car. (The Literacy Center) provides transportation. That helps me in every single way, Pesce said.

***

The center is also focused on building a better relationship between parents and children, she said.

We are serving people, families, who fall out of that mainstream, (where) you read to your child before bed, you talk about school, about your day, she said. Those cultural mismatches are the biggest predictors for what they call the achievement gap.

Yusla Murillo grew up in Honduras in a large family, lots of little cousins, brothers and sisters to take care of, she said. In that sense, she has had experience that helps her raise her two sons, 2-year-old Santiago and 1-year old Mateo. But the Literacy Center tries to instill other things as well. Some of which culturally differ from her background, Murillo said.

They teach us how to care for kids, how to speak to kids and correct them in a way that they learn, Murillo said. Its very different. In Honduras, you have to discipline kids.

Her English classes help her feel less isolated by the language barrier, she said. Her husband works, and she stays at home with the kids.

When children like Mateo and Santiago reach the Natrona County School District, the Literacy Center will offer services until the boys are 12, and will chart their attendance in school, their performance in classes. But, in some ways, the district takes over at that point.

The most important thing for the English Language kids beginning school is that they have been exposed to the language, much like an English-speaking kindergartner, said Kim Jones, English Language Service Program Leader for the district.

Language acquisition, generally speaking, can take five to seven years: from a student who speaks no English to a student who is proficient compared to their proficient English peers, Jones said. If you think about it in context of English-speaking students, they have been exposed to English for five years before they come to school.

There are about 285 English Language students in the district, or about 2 percent of the overall number of kids enrolled in Natrona County schools, Jones said.

The Joint Appropriations Committee will meet Monday to begin the two week process called mark-up. Lawmakers will go through the budget requests from departments and agencies a second time before making suggested cuts to the final state budget.

Whether or not the Wyoming Family Literacy Program will continue depends on the lawmakers decision, Tallabas said.
Startup Tucson is offering $300,000 in free training in the second year of a federally-funded program to help second-stage startup companies grow rapidly.

The Thryve ScaleUp program is funded through a five-year, $1.44 million contract with the U.S. Small Business Administrations ScaleUp America program, awarded to Startup Tucson in late 2014.

The intensive, nine-week program serves companies that have been in business for at least two years and have revenues of at least $150,000 per year. About 70 companies have gone through the Thryve ScaleUp program since January 2015.

Applications are due Jan. 17 for the spring program, which is expected to include 10 to 15 companies in each of two, back-to-back cohorts starting Feb. 1. Startup Tucson says it generally receives 50 to 75 applicants for each cohort of students.

Thryve ScaleUp teaches business owners the growth-focused methods of Silicon Valley startups, lean business practices, experimentation, validation and covers legal, accounting, marketing and hiring practices, said Tony Ford, director of Thryve ScaleUp.

The non-profit Startup Tucson offers a variety of programs that support local entrepreneurs, including other Thryve business incubator programs, Startup Weekend, the CoLab Workspace and IdeaFunding, a conference that helps entrepreneurs find funding.

Thryve ScaleUp, formerly known as Thryve Next, is aimed at taking established businesses with high-growth, national scale potential to the next level, Ford said.

Our goal is to build $20 million to $25 million companies, or to get them on that track, he said.

Though the program is relatively new, its already had some success in its goal of helping companies achieve rapid growth or find new funding within two or three years.

Ford cited Thryve ScaleUp graduate RBar Energy, a local energy-bar company that last year was awarded a $250,000 Innovation Challenge Grant from the Arizona Commerce Authority. RBar, headed by retired competitive cyclist Brian Cornelius, has shown rapid growth, doubling revenues last year and inking deals to put the Tucson-made energy bar in stores and airports across the nation.

Thryve Scaleup participants in the fall group were 2Shoes Inc., The Perfect Box/ABC Containers LLC, AquaPure Hydration Companies, CPR2U LLC, Darling Geomatics, Fed By Threads LLC, BD Matboard, iCropTrak, The Arizona Bilingual Magazine LLC, The Underestimated City/Reptuc LLC and Yellow Brick Coffee.

Ford said though interest in Thryve Scaleup is keen, he wants to see more veteran-owned and women- and minority-owned businesses apply.

Were trying to represent those kinds of businesses that can become national-scale companies, and there are lots of them in Tucson, he said.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) agreed Thursday to a series of reforms, including the reinstatement of a civilian monitor to oversee its counterterrorism efforts, as part of a proposed settlement that follows a pair of federal lawsuits alleging that officers used discriminatory surveillance practices against Muslims.

The settlement marks a major achievement for the citys Muslim groups and civil liberties organizations, which argued that the NYPDs practice of targeting Muslims in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks was illegal and discriminatory.

"We are committed to strengthening the relationship between our administration and communities of faith so that residents of every background feel respected and protected," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement Thursday.

De Blasio, who criticized the NYPDs use of surveillance during his mayoral campaign, ended the program shortly after taking office in April 2014.

The terms of the settlement are still subject to the approval of two federal judges, according to a press release by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), one of the organizations involved in bringing the lawsuits, which were filed in Brooklyn and Manhattan federal courts.

In addition to reinstating a civil monitor to oversee counterterrorism efforts, the reforms agreed to in the proposed settlement will prohibit investigations in which race, religion or ethnicity is a substantial or motivating factor;" require articulable and factual information regarding possible unlawful activity before the NYPD can launch a preliminary investigation into political or religious activity;" and oblige "the NYPD to account for the potential effect of investigative techniques on constitutionally-protected activities such as religious worship and political meetings."

The NYPD surveillance program, which included city police infiltration of Muslim student groups, informants in mosques and other tactics that spied on Muslims, became widely known after a series of articles by the Associated Press, which reported that police officers were conducting surveillance throughout the greater New York region in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The terms of Thursdays proposed settlement do not require the city to admit any wrongdoing. The NYPD says that the reforms amount to current police policy.

The plaintiffs in the case, including New Jersey imams, business owners and students, sued New York in 2012, claiming the surveillance subjected them to discrimination, threatened their careers and caused them to stop attending religious services, among other effects.

Thursday's settlement was hailed as a victory for those who fought against what they said were unjustified measures that singled out and stigmatized entire communities based on their religion.

Despite the fear and stigma that unwarranted NYPD spying has fostered in Muslim communities, representatives of those communities and their allies organized and took a courageous stand to demand change, through this lawsuit and in many other ways. This settlement offers all New Yorkers a solid platform from which to pursue further reform," said Ramzi Kassem, a professor of law at CUNY and founding director of the advocacy group Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR).

With wire services
The original Zona 78 Italian restaurant on West River Road and North Stone Avenue closed its doors Dec. 30, and has reopened as a new concept called Stray Dogs. The new restaurant serves gourmet American fare like burgers and small pizzas, at an affordable price point in a family-friendly atmosphere, said Zonas co-owner Rick Fink.

Weve been in business for a long time here, he said. The economys changed, the areas settled in a little bit, and 13 years is a long run. ... Its time to do a little something new in this part of town.

Fink and his business partner Tom Firth have made a few changes to the interior of the restaurant, adding high-definition TVs and stripping down the tables to give them a rustic look.

The menu features casual dishes such as hormone-free burgers and brats. Pickles and sauerkraut will be prepared in house, along with the french fries.

The Stone Avenue retail corridor just north of the Tucson Mall has proved to be a challenging location for both small businesses and national chain restaurants including Ruby Tuesday and Chilis Grill & Bar, which both called it quits in the past few years.

In June, the Star reported that Tucson restaurateur Daniel Scordato is moving his Scordatos Pizzeria from St. Philips Plaza to a spot just across the street from Stray Dogs. The restaurant is expected to open at the former Mr. Ks BBQ at 4911 N. Stone Ave. around the end of January.

Fink said that the two concepts can work together to create a more desirable neighborhood for local diners.

Were happy to have Danny moving in, Fink said. Were thinking thats gonna be a little synergy for all of us. ... Its time to revamp and make some good food.
Hanson to conduct TSO

Masterworks program

George Hanson is back with his baton.

The Tucson Symphony Orchestras conductor laureate steps up to lead TSOs next Masterworks program.

The program, Moonstruck: Schumann and Schmidt, will include the world premiere of the orchestral version of Heather Schmidts Lunar Reflections.

The piece was commissioned by the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in 2008. Schmidts intent was that the music reflect phases of the moon.

Also on the bill are two works by Robert Schumann, Manfred, a German translation of the Lord Byron poem of the same name, and Spring Symphony, inspired by a poem by Adolf Bottger.

Performances are at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive. Tickets are $55-$65 at tucsonsymphony.org or 882-8585.

National organization lauds Tucsons Bierny

Jean-Paul Bierny has helped make chamber music central to Arizonas cultural landscape.

And his work has not been ignored: The long-time head of Arizona Friends of Chamber Music won an Arts Patron Lumie award from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in 2012.

And this year, he has won the Chamber Music Americas CMAcclaim Award for his contributions to the field of chamber music in our area.

Bierney, who had been president of AFCM for 35 years when he stepped down in 2013, is co-founder of the organizations Tucson Winter Chamber Musical Festival, where new pieces commissioned by the Friends are on the program, and world-class musicians settle in Tucson for a week to perform staggeringly good chamber music.

In the announcement letter to Bierny, the organization lauded his tireless work in bringing high-quality chamber music to the Tucson area. Also key to the award was his commission program and the Piano and Friends series for young artists.

This years Chamber Music Festival is March 13-20. Though not confirmed, it is likely the award will be presented to Bierny during that week. For more information on the event, go to arizonachambermusic.org
Greek mythology meets Celtic lore in By the Bog of Cats, currently on The Rogue Theatres stage.

The 1998 play by Marina Carr, one of Irelands leading playwrights, uses Euripides Medea as a launching pad. Its a dark place to start  Medea, first produced in 431 BCE, is a barbarian who takes vengeance on her husband by killing her children.

But like Medea, By the Bog of Cats is much more than a mother who does awful things.

Medea vs. By the Bog of Cats: In both cases, the central figure is an outsider and rejected by the community, says director Joseph McGrath. Medea is a barbarian, and Hester Swane is a gypsy. He thinks the playwright wasnt looking to redo Medea, but rather to find out why she did this (kill her child). We see the world from the point of view of the woman being thrown aside. Euripides did not make Medea a sympathetic character. Hester, however, is one, said McGrath. The death of (her daughter) Josie becomes a force of nature; it is a disaster that we feel should somehow be avoided, as opposed to an evil that we wag a finger at. Hester feels shes saving Josie from the awful life shes had to endure.

The story: Hester Swane is a traveler  or gypsy, as they are sometimes called  and she and her 7-year-old daughter, Josie, live in the often-foreboding bogs of rural Ireland, a land to which she is deeply connected. Hesters life is haunted by betrayal  by her mother and her lover, the father of her child, both of whom abandoned her. Hester is about to be driven from her home, her lover is set to marry another woman, and she is haunted by ghosts and consumed with revenge. The play interweaves supernatural, religious and mystical elements with earthy people and fierce human emotions.

The characters: In addition to Hester and Josie, the play is populated by a community of delicious Irish folk: Her lover, Carthage, who has abandoned her to marry a woman with money; Carthages mother, Mrs. Kilbride, who hates Josie and Hester, but adores her son; Monica Murray, a neighbor of Hesters and a calming voice in her life; the Catwoman, who wears a coat of cat fur, is part creature and acts as Hesters spiritual mother; the Ghost Fancier, who predicts Hesters death at the beginning of the play; the ghost of Joseph Swane  Hesters brother, whom she killed in a fit of jealousy he is not happy about that and torments his sister; and Xavier, a rich farmer and the father to Caroline, whom Carthage is marrying.

The humor: A play as black as this needs humor to keep it afloat, and there is plenty of that, says McGrath. As I was going through the play and following the Hester and Medea lines, I was so thrilled at how Carr has brought in the comic elements, making it easier to move through.  I once had an instructor who said you will never cry for a character who has made you laugh. (The humor) is one of the things that make this so full and rich and lovely.

The outsider element: I think the idea of the outsider is an important aspect of the story, says McGrath. You get to see something from the perspective of the outsider, and I think it will allow us to give some sympathy to the outsider.

That has particularly strong resonance today, he adds.

To some extent, we are all outsiders trying to be understood in some way.  These days, with immigration and diversity issues, understanding the outsider is more and more important.
Kids with a dash of talent in the kitchen can enter their favorite healthy side dish recipe in the Walk On! Kids Cooking challenge, hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, now through Jan. 27.

The requirements are simple: Children must be ages nine to 12 and live in Arizona.

Recipes must be original recipes for a hot or cold dish, include at least one fruit and/or vegetable and be able to be cooked within 20 minutes  including prep time.

The top five recipes will be chosen based on nutritional value, taste and originality. Finalists will get to present their dish at a Phoenix Suns home game Feb. 6 at the Talking Stick Arena.

After the demonstrations, recipe details will be posted online at walkonaz.com for a public vote, which will be open Feb. 6 through Feb. 17.

The grand prize is a new bike.
A Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy shot and wounded a man northwest of Tucson who fled from U.S. marshals last week while stabbing himself in the neck, authorities said Wednesday.

Kyle Montgomery, 25, was shot just after 2 p.m. near West Najo Lane and North Sandario Road, a rural area near West Picture Rocks Road, authorities said.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who was at the scene, said Montgomery was armed with a modified short-barrel rifle, and one deputy "perceived a serious threat" and fired, striking Montgomery.

The deputy was not injured, and neither were two other deputies who also chased Montgomery after he ran from a Family Dollar store in the area, said Deputy Courtney Rodriguez, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

Deputies responded to the area after receiving a report of a suspicious man at the Family Dollar on North Sandario Road. When deputies arrived at the store, the suspect ran and deputies chased him, Rodriguez said.

The man hid in the bushes, and deputies gave repeated commands for the man to come out. The man produced "what appeared to be some weapon, and that is when the officer-involved shooting occurred, said Rodriguez.

Montgomery, who was shot in the shoulder area, was taken to Banner-University Medical Center, with non-life threatening injuries, said Rodriguez.

Last Wednesday, Montgomery was seriously injured after stabbing himself in the neck while fleeing from law enforcement officers on the northwest side, authorities said.

At about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 30, a U.S. marshals task force was looking for a suspect at the Red Roof Inn, near Ina Road and I-10, when they encountered a man matching the suspect's description, said Arizona Department of Public Safety Spokesman Quentin Mehr last week.

The man saw the marshals and fled on foot before they could make contact, running across the eastbound lanes of I-10 and over the median, Mehr said.

While the suspect was running across the westbound lanes of the freeway, he was almost struck by a semi truck, then took out a pocket knife and stabbed himself in the neck, according to Mehr.

Northwest Fire responded to the scene and transported the man to Banner-University of Arizona Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.

While being admitted to the hospital, the man, who was not the suspect the marshals were originally seeking, was found to be in possession of narcotics, Mehr said.

DPS referred the case to the Pima County Attorney's Office to review possible charges, but the man was not arrested at that time, and was undergoing treatment.

Nanos said Montgomery was suppose to undergo a mental health evaluation stemming from the incident last week after he fled marshals and stabbed himself. "Our mental health support team served an order  a civil order for him to go to court for a hearing on his mental health status on Monday. He was suppose to go to Superior Court for a mental health evaluation," said Nanos.

"He did not go. He was in a mental health care facility, Sonora Behavioral Health (Hospital and Inpatient Treatment), because he was in custody there," Nanos explained. "The facility released him sometime after that. I don't understand this."

"I just cannot believe this," said Nanos, adding that Montgomery could have shot one of the deputies. "It is ironic that we don't have a mental health care system in place here. We need some of the money President Obama approved in his package for mental health care treatment," Nanos said.
A sheriffs deputy shot and wounded a man Wednesday who had been taken into custody last week after running from U.S. marshals while stabbing himself in the neck, authorities said.

Kyle Montgomery, 22, was shot northwest of Tucson just after 2 p.m. near West Najo Lane and North Sandario Road, a rural area near West Picture Rocks Road.

Montgomery is facing charges of possession of a weapon by a prohibited possessor and possesion of a prohibited weapon. He has been booked in the Pima County jail.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who went to the scene after the shooting, said Montgomery was armed with a modified short-barrel rifle, and one deputy perceived a serious threat and shot him.

The deputy was not injured, and neither were two other deputies who also tracked Montgomery after he ran from a Family Dollar store in the area, said Deputy Courtney Rodriguez, a sheriffs spokeswoman.

Deputies responded to the area after receiving a report of a suspicious man at the Family Dollar at 6641 N. Sandario Road. When deputies arrived at the store the suspect ran, Rodriguez said.

The man hid in the bushes and deputies repeatedly ordered him to come out.

The man took out what appeared to be some weapon, and that is when the deputy fired, said Rodriguez.

Montgomery, who was shot in the shoulder, was taken to Banner-University Medical Center, with non-life-threatening injuries, said Rodriguez.

Deputy Kurt Dabb, a 14-year veteran of the department, was identified as the deputy that shot Montgomery. He has been placed on administrative leave during the shooting investigation, which is standard procedure.

On Dec. 30, Montgomery was seriously injured after stabbing himself in the neck while fleeing officers on the northwest side, authorities said.

A U.S. marshals task force was looking for a suspect at the Red Roof Inn, near West Ina Road and I-10, when they encountered a man matching the suspects description, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Quentin Mehr said last week. The man saw the marshals and ran before they could make contact, running across the eastbound lanes of I-10 and over the median, Mehr said.

While the suspect was running across the westbound lanes of the freeway, he was almost struck by a vehicle, then took out a pocket knife and stabbed himself in the neck, according to Mehr.

Fire crews took the man to Banner-UMC to be treated for his injuries.

While being admitted to the hospital, Montgomery, who was not the suspect the marshals were originally seeking, was found to be in possession of narcotics, Mehr said.

DPS referred the case to the Pima County Attorneys Office to review possible charges, but the man was not arrested at that time, and was undergoing treatment.

Nanos said Montgomery was supposed to undergo a mental health evaluation stemming from the incident last week.

Our mental health support team served an order, a civil order, for him to go to court for a hearing on his mental health status on Monday. He was supposed to go to Superior Court for a mental health evaluation, said Nanos on Wednesday.

He did not go. He was in a mental health care facility, Sonora Behavioral Health (Hospital and Inpatient Treatment), because he was in custody there, Nanos explained. The facility released him sometime after that. I dont understand this.

I just cannot believe this, said Nanos. It is ironic that we dont have a mental health-care system in place here. We need some of the money President Obama approved in his package for mental health-care treatment.
A former state lawmaker from Southern Arizona faces misdemeanor charges over over allegations he was found hunting in a closed area in Fort Huachuca..

Former Republican state Senator Frank Antenori attended an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tucson Wednesday on the charge he unlawfully entered land to hunt game.

The state charge against Antenori is a class two misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of four months in jail, two years probation and $750 in fines. The matter is being handled in federal court, however, because it occurred on federal land.

This is clearly, in my opinion, payback for my creating headaches for the environmental folks at Fort Huachuca, Antenori told the Arizona Daily Star Thursday morning. Antenori said he was bow hunting in an area where he has done so numerous times.

Antenori said hes certain the case will be dismissed when the U.S. magistrate judge hears the facts of the case.

Those facts, Antenori said, include Fort Huachuca biologists closing sites for hunting without notice and without reason.

He said hes complained about the issue to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Congresswoman Martha McSallys office and the office of Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.

Antenori entered a not guilty plea at Wednesdays hearing. He has another court appearance scheduled for March 7.
TUSD board members Adelita Grijalva and Kristel Foster will lead the Governing Board for the fourth consecutive year in their roles as president and clerk, respectively.

Nominating Grijalva to retain the chair of Tucsons largest school district, Foster said that Grijalvas consistent leadership has resulted in several achievements for the district including a lack of layoffs, pay raises, increasing scores on AP exams and an invitation to the White House to share progress on limiting the school to prison pipeline.

Fosters colleague Cam Juarez nominated her to retain her position as clerk.

The board majority of Grijalva, Foster and Juarez supported both nominations. Governing Board member Michael Hicks, who has complained of being silenced by the board majority, voted against the nominations.

Board member Mark Stegeman, who participated in the meeting by phone, had a bad connection and was unable to cast his vote but later told the Star that he, too, would have opposed the nominations.

In the 60-plus year history of the board operating with five members, there has never been two people holding the same seats for more than two years in a row.
Poland's president signed a new law giving the government control of state radio and television, an official announced Thursday, despite concerns from the European Union about media independence in the country.

Andrzej Duda signed the legislation because he wants state media to be "impartial, objective and reliable," his aide Malgorzata Sadurska said. She added that the president doesn't believe the broadcasters guarantee objective information in their current form.

The new legislation allows for the immediate ending of the terms of the heads of state radio and television, and gives the treasury minister the authority to appoint successors. It also limits the number of members sitting on the state broadcasters' supervisory and management boards.

Sadurska said the president is fully aware of the European Union's concerns, and believes the new law won't be detrimental.

Some EU leaders, however, have expressed alarm, saying that Poland's media freedom is being threatened. On Tuesday, European Union human rights commissioner Nils Muiznieks appealed to Duda not to sign the law.

The Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights watchdog, also urged Duda against signing the proposed media law. Its commissioner for human rights, Nils Muiznieks, called on him "to uphold the independence of Poland's public service television and radio" in a statement Tuesday.

The European Commission will debate Poland's rule of law on Jan. 13, a step that could eventually result in the country losing its European Union voting rights on matters that concern the entire 28-nation bloc. Poland joined the EU in 2004.

In reaction to Duda signing the law, European Commission deputy head Frans Timmermans said he was looking forward to having a dialogue with Poland about the changes in legislation.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Poland is an "important and full member of the EU" and he didn't want to speculate about the consequences of steps being taken by the new government in Warsaw.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said he wants to meet Friday to discuss "strange and unclear statements" by European Union commissioners concerning the changes in the law.

The relationship has soured quickly between the EU and Poland, which for years was considered a success story within the bloc for its building of democracy and its strong economic growth.

But the liberal, pro-EU Civic Platform that ruled for the past eight years lost presidential and parliamentary elections last year amid accusations that large social groups were excluded from participating in the economic success. Law and Justice won on promises it will work to remove the inequalities.

Duda will have a chance to discuss the situation when he travels to Brussels on Jan. 18 to meet EU President Donald Tusk, who was the head of Poland's previous government before taking the European Union job in December 2014. Duda is also to meet NATO head Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the agenda for the alliance summit to be held in Warsaw July 8-9.

Wire services
PHOENIX  Democrat and Republican party leaders had their first skirmish of the year Wednesday even though the legislative session doesnt actually start until next week.

And the fight, perhaps predictably, is about money.

During an appearance at a Chamber of Commerce event, House Minority Leader Eric Meyer noted that voters are being asked to approve Proposition 123 at a special election in May. It would put an additional $3.5 billion into K-12 education for the next decade.

Prop. 123 when it passes will move Arizona from 49th in per-pupil funding to 49th, Meyer said, citing Arizonas ranking against other states.

Meyer said the state ended the last fiscal year with $325 million in the bank. And with less than half of the current budget year gone, revenues already are running more than $200 million above projections.

That money, Meyer said, should be used to reverse some of the cuts made in education funding in the prior seven years.

The suggestion drew a sharp response from Senate President Andy Biggs.

When your mantra is repeatedly Not enough money, that money solves all problems, then you get kind of wrapped around the axle, he said.

Biggs chided Meyer and other Democrats for voting last year to increase aid to schools but against the specific plan in Proposition 123 to tap an existing education trust fund account.

But the Senate president said even if that were not the case, the argument by Democrats is flawed.

He said its wrong to rely the data from the U.S. Census Bureau that puts Arizona near the bottom of per-student funding.

More significant, Biggs disputed any link between money and education achievement. He said that, overall, Arizona students score higher than those in five of the seven states that spend the most.

But Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs said that, at some point, money does matter.

Our schools have done heroic jobs in maintaining standards and quality during all these years of legislative neglect and cuts in funding, she said. But thats not sustainable.

And Meyer said that Arizona students, hobbled in part by lack of funding, are not doing as well as the rest of the country.

In pushing Proposition 123, Gov. Doug Ducey has called it a first step in education funding. But Ducey, who attended Wednesdays event, was unwilling to make a specific commitment to add additional dollars this coming budget year, even with the surplus.
A Pima County supervisors effort to maintain free parking for a constituent to attend their meetings could be a violation of non-interference rules, the county administrator says.

The issue stems from Pima County Supervisor Ally Millers bid to reserve a free parking spot in the employee parking area of an underground parking garage for an Oro Valley resident who attends most of the weekly supervisors meetings.

The resident, Geri Ottoboni, comments at most meetings during the call to the public.

At Millers request, Ottoboni had been parking in the A-Level parking garage handicapped spaces in the basement of the County Administration Building, directly under the supervisors meeting room.

These parking spaces sit empty, I rarely see anyone parked in them, she said.

Miller said the regular or handicapped parking at the public El Presidio Parking Garage to the north of the administration building was too difficult a walk for Ottoboni.

She made a motion to allow residents in need of accommodation to access board meetings or county facilities generally A-Level parking and pay if necessary.

The motion failed for lack of a second.

Supervisor Richard Elias said the county already makes accommodations for people with disabilities and doesnt need a policy change, noting instructions on how to request the accommodation are listed on the front page of every board agenda.

That notice reads: The Board Hearing Room is wheelchair and handicapped accessible. Any person who is in need of special services (e.g., assistive listening device, Braille or large print agenda material, signer for hearing impaired, accessible parking, etc.) due to any disability will be accommodated. Please contact the Clerk of the Board at (520) 724-8449 for these services at least three (3) business days prior to the Board Meeting.

Miller said she was not aware of the published notice.

County Administrator Chuck Huckleberrys memo on the issue notes the clerk of the board has not received any request for special parking or other accommodations.

The memo also notes a potential violation of county code connected with the issue.

In arranging for the A-Level parking space for Ottoboni, Miller contacted a facilities management employee through email asking that a space at the garage be available on meeting days.

I would like to request you continue allowing a resident of district 1 who is disabled and elderly to park in the A level parking garage, Miller wrote.

A copy of the email was provided at the meeting.

Huckelberry wrote in his memo to the board that he would discuss a possible violation of the noninterference rule with the county attorney.

The noninterference provision is intended to prevent board members or their staffers from giving orders to county employees who dont work for them.

Huckelberry said the reason for the rule was to keep employees free from board politics.

Miller said she did not violate the rule.

I never sent a memo or directed anyone to do anything, she said during the discussion.

After the meeting, Miller questioned why the board was even making an issue out of the parking.

At the end of the day, an accommodation for a senior citizen who is disabled should never even have been discussed, she said.
More than 30 years since the Sanctuary Movement that originated in Tucson, faith leaders say they are reliving the same situation as the government seeks to deport families who came through in 2014.

We feel as we are once again living through a nightmare all too familiar to us, said Alison Harrington, pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church, which was the home of the Sanctuary movement in the 1980s that protected thousands of Central Americans fleeing war.

Faith leaders called on the federal government to put an end to the raids and said they are ready to open their doors again to protect those at risk.

The gift of sanctuary is what churches and faith communities can give them, Harrington said during a conference call Wednesday with religious leaders and immigrant groups.

Im sure we will have a sanctuary case nationally in the next week because theres the need for it, because people are scared to death, because moms want to keep their babies safe, Harrington said after the conference, and communities of faith are outraged moms and kids are being deported back to what? We know its extreme violence.

Over the past weekend, federal immigration officers arrested 121 Central American single parents and their children who crossed the border after May 1, 2014 and had a final order of deportation during targeted operations in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina.

Since the summer of 2014, more than 240,000 unaccompanied minors and single parents traveling with their children have been apprehended at the border, mostly in Texas. The number of apprehensions in 2015 were nearly half of what they were the year before, but the numbers are rising again.

Immigrant advocates say the federal government is violating its own asylum policies and laws by not fully protecting the Central Americans who have fled from violence.

The government has taken a deterrence approach from the beginning, said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

There is basically a hemispheric bias in our refugee system, she said. These families that are also fleeing violence  the same way as other refugees coming from other parts of the world  are not being welcomed to our country. Instead, we are at risk of deporting them back to their persecutors, deporting them back to their death, deporting them back to rape and sexual assault.

They say many of these families have been processed without legal representation and, in some cases, ineffective representation.

The idea of Sanctuary immediately came up after the news of the raids, Harrington said, because she doesnt see another option.

I feel weve advocated, weve protested, weve marched, weve done everything we can and when it comes to human lives we kind of feel our backs are against the wall, she said. The last thing that we have available to us is the strategy of sanctuary.

Harrington got a call from another group in Chicago on Christmas Eve after the Washington Post broke the story about the governments plans.

Since then, she said shes been calling Tucson faith leaders and churches in other parts of the country to help organize.

Organizers are trying to get information of where the raids are happening and what churches are willing to provide sanctuary, she said. There will also be a webinar Monday for interested faith leaders and shes meeting with Tucson clergy this week.
As the midterm elections come ever closer, it can feel as if were stewing in a cauldron of tribalism, of our side vs. their side with no middle ground and little agreement on much of anything. That makes it a good time to take a breath and realize the consensus weve reached on some issues that were incredibly contentious not long ago. It gives us hope in the angry days ahead.
PHOENIX  A veteran state lawmaker wants to block communities trying to boost their revenues through a special interim census from counting residents who are not in this country legally.

The legislation crafted by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, would allow cities, towns and counties to count only those who are U.S. citizens, nationals of U.S. territories, or are legally admitted to the United States. More to the point, SB 1044 would forbid counting anyone who is an illegal immigrant.

Kavanaghs move come as several Arizona cities are conducting mid-decade counts to get a more accurate figure of how many people are present. That can have immediate financial consequences as some state dollars are doled out to communities based on population.

Theres a lot of money involved.

This past budget year the state distributed nearly $609 million in urban revenue sharing. State transportation dollars also are allocated to communities at least in part based on population.

In general, the larger the community, the bigger the slice.

How many people are here illegally remains a guess at best.

Pew Hispanic estimated there are 11.3 million undocumented individuals in the country. And its most recent figures for Arizona put the figure at about 300,000.

Where they are within the state, however, is one of those unknowns that Kavanagh hopes to determine through his legislation.

The question remains, though, whether its fair to cut aid based on whether someone who is living in a city or town is legally present.

Kavanagh, whose wife, Linda, is the mayor of Fountain Hills, sees the issue from a different perspective.

Why should the people in Fountain Hills get less state-shared revenue because there are more illegal immigrants in Phoenix? he asked.

Nor is he dissuaded by arguments that communities have to provide services to all in their borders, here legally or not.

If a city that has that problem wants to perhaps pressure the federal government to do their job and remove these people, then this will encourage that, Kavanagh said.

He conceded there are flaws to the plan.

One is that, no matter what happens in a mid-decade tally, the Census Bureaus official decennial count will include all residents, legal or not. So the new revenue sharing figures after 2020 would be reset based on total population.

Then theres the simple question of why anyone would admit to someone who shows up at the door there are people present who are not here legally. But Kavanagh said his 20 years as a police officer suggests otherwise.
PHOENIX  Bypassing six appellate court judges and even members of his own Republican Party, Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday chose a lawyer known for his views and legal battles on limited government to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court.

In selecting Clint Bolick of the Goldwater Institute, Ducey said in a prepared statement that he is nationally renowned and respected as a constitutional law scholar and as a champion of liberty. And the governor cited his unwavering regard for the rule of law.

What Ducey did not mention in his announcement is Bolicks long history of filing suit  and sometimes winning  against government agencies at all levels.

But the governor, speaking later to reporters, said he does not see that as a negative.

He has pushed for decades in support of the United States Constitution and the Arizona Constitution, Ducey said.

Bolick said that being put on the bench does not mean his activist days are behind him.

I think any judge is going to be an advocate for his or her interpretation of the law, he said. But youre moving from a position of advocating for your client to advocating for the Constitution and the laws.

Bolick, sworn in just hours after the governors announcement, said being self-labeled an activist does not mean to him what it does to some others.

I am what is referred to as a texturalist, he said, taking the words of the Constitution literally.

When judges stray from the text of the Constitution and supplant their own ideas  theyre amending the Constitution, Bolick continued. That, to me, is beyond the scope of proper judicial action.

Duceys first appointment to the court could have an effect on the entire five-member bench, a fact that Bolick acknowledged.

Among the justices on the Arizona Supreme Court, I probably have devoted more attention to arguing under the state constitution rather than the federal Constitution, and looking at the distinct rights and opportunities that are protected by the Arizona Constitution, he said. So, in that sense, its probably a different direction.

But Bolick said hes not concerned that, given his background, some people may be keeping tabs on his rulings.

Im used to a life of scrutiny, he said.

I think that judges should write opinions that people are going to want to read, going to want to argue about and, hopefully, find inspiring, Bolick said. And if I can do that Ill be very proud.

Bolick, a 1983 law school graduate of the University of California at Davis, has spent much of his legal career with organizations known for their battles with government over regulation.

That included a stint at the Mountain States Legal Foundation which advocates for limited government and free enterprise, the Institute for Justice which describes itself as a libertarian public interest law firm which sues over issues of school choice and property rights, and the Alliance for School Choice which has been at the forefront of using tax dollars for private and parochial school education.

But it has been at the Goldwater Institute, where Bolick has worked since 2007, that he has been the most active in his litigation, some of it against the state.

Bolick replaces Justice Rebecca White Berch, who is retiring.

Ducey chose Bolick from seven names sent to him by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. By law, it screens applicants for vacancies and must give the governor at least three names.

No more than two-thirds can be from any one political party. And the governor is required to choose from that list.

By naming Bolick, Ducey becomes only the second governor to go outside his own party since the current selection process for justices was approved by voters in 1974.

In his application, Bolick said he was a Republican until 2003, choosing at that time to become a political independent.

Republican Jane Hull was the only other governor to ignore party labels, naming Democrat Ruth McGregor to the high court in 1998.

Bolick also was the only one on the list sent to Ducey who was not already on the state Court of Appeals. In fact, Bolick has no judicial experience at all.
The diplomatic crisis brewing between Saudi Arabia and Iran could spell trouble for the entire Middle East, as the rivalry between the regions leading Sunni and Shia powers threatens to escalate their various proxy conflicts in the region. But the timing is particularly unfortunate for Syria, whose stalemated peace process was due to formally restart in Geneva later this month  and hinges on cooperation between Riyadh and Tehran.

After five years of bloodshed, fueled largely by foreign cash and weapons, diplomats from Saudi Arabia and Iran finally sat at the same table in Vienna in October to discuss an end to a conflict that has claimed nearly 300,000 lives. That the U.S. and its allies, who back the Syrian opposition, had finally relented and allowed Tehran, which arms and provides troops to defend the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a place in diplomatic negotiations was considered a major breakthrough for brokering peace  if deeply concerning to U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, which fears Irans creeping influence in the region.

But tentative hopes that progress could finally be made now that every foreign stakeholder is at the table were thrown into jeopardy on Jan. 2, when Riyadh announced it had executed the prominent Shia cleric dissident Nimr al-Nimr on disputed charges of fomenting violence in the countrys east. The circumstances of the execution  he was killed along with dozens of convicted Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) members  and allegations that Nimr was merely being persecuted for anti-government activity, was seen by many Shias as a deliberate provocation. When an angry mob in Tehran responded by torching the Saudi embassy there, Riyadh and its Sunni Gulf allies promptly severed diplomatic ties or withdrew their ambassadors from Iran  sparking the most serious diplomatic crisis in the region since the 1980s.

With fiery sectarian rhetoric emanating from both sides of the Persian Gulf, U.N. diplomats are scrambling to dispel fears that the crisis will engulf Syria talks before they even begin on Jan. 25. Steffan de Mistura, the current U.N. envoy to Syria, emerged from a meeting in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Tuesday insisting that nothing had changed. There is a clear determination on the Saudi side that the current regional tensions will not have any negative impact on the Vienna momentum and on the continuation of the political process that the U.N., together with the International Syria Support Group, intend to start in Geneva soon, de Mistura said, according to a U.N. statement. "We cannot afford to lose this momentum despite what is going on in the region."

Jubeir echoed that optimism, saying that the brewing crisis would not affect the peace talks negatively, according to the official Saudi news agency.

The consensus among analysts is that escalating antagonism between Riyadh and Tehran wont help matters. Before this, it was a mess to get something organized in Syria. This has complicated it even more," Richard Murphy, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Syria, told Al Jazeera.

But for many, those concerns belie the very low expectations they had for talks to begin with. I dont see this affecting the peace process, because the process was dead anyway, said Bilal Saab, a Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. It doesnt help that Saudi and Iran are more at odds now. But it wont be the primary cause for why peace talks will fail."

Even as a burgeoning refugee crisis and fears about the imminent collapse of the Syrian state lend urgency to the stagnant peace effort, there has been little movement on the key disputes that have halted the peace process for years  above all, Assads departure, which Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey insist on, but Iran and Russia have thus far dismissed out of hand. Significantly, Assad's future was not mentioned in the roadmap for peace signed by the UN Security Council in December.

Other stumbling blocks include which of Syrias disjointed opposition armed and political factions should represent the opposition at peace talks. The Assad regime and its backers want to bar most of the armed factions, branding them terrorists," while Saudi Arabia and its allies, who back a wide range of these groups, argue that no peace process can proceed unless the most powerful rebel factions are represented.

These substantive divides, more so than Riyadh and Tehrans mutual animosity, are the reason for the diplomatic stalemate, Saab said. Opposition leaders have called on the regime to make trust-building concessions before talks begin, namely lifting sieges in certain towns like Madaya and halting its deadly barrel bombing campaigns. But it isnt yet clear to diplomats what concessions the regime side will be willing to make, Saab said. Beyond Assad [remaining in power], were not clear what the other red lines are. Certainly the Russians and Iranians have not communicated them to the Saudis, he added.

Others worry that Saudi Arabias execution was intended to escalate regional pressure on Iran and thereby build leverage ahead of Syria negotiations. Most believe Riyadh is acting out of a mixture of anxiety about creeping Iranian influence in the Middle East and fears about U.S.-Iran rapprochement, as well as to quell looming domestic turmoil  distracting attention at home from its interventions in Syria and Yemen, both against Iranian proxies, that are perceived as costly failures.

But Syria watchers predicted that all sides of Syrias proxy war would take steps to improve their bargaining positions as the peace process kicked off. On the regime side, the airstrike that killed a key rebel leader in the Damascus suburbs, and a heightened aerial campaign on the most important rebel-held city, Idlib, could be seen as examples of such escalation. Saudi Arabia's actions might fit a similar pattern.

Even so, few believe stirring the pot with Iran will bolster Saudi interests in Syria. The bigger obstacles facing its rebel proxies, after all, are an Assad regime that has been strengthened by Russias intervention and by waning Western interest in dethroning the Syrian president since ISIL seized control of much of Syria and Iraq. Moreover, delaying the Syrian diplomatic process a few months longer is unlikely to deter Iran.

Even though the Syrian civil war has been very costly to Iran in terms of resources, soft power and standing in the Arab world, Tehran views the survival of its ally ... as reconfirmation of Irans power and deterrence, said Trita Parsi, an expert on U.S.-Iran relations and professor at Georgetown University. Although Iran cannot be declared a winner of the Arab Spring, it has probably lost the least compared to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S.
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Help India!

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Emerged as a strong Muslim group in Eastern Uttar Pradesh with bagging more than 2.25 lac votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Ulema Council has launched its political front, and is set to contest the coming Assembly elections in the state.

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We have launched Rashtriya Ulema Council as a political party. We are at a very comfortable footing (after the election results) and we are consolidating ourselves in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. We are preparing ourselves to contest Assembly elections in the state, said Dr Tasleem Rahmani, organizing secretary of the political outfit, talking to TwoCircles.net.







Rashtriya Ulema Council was launched on 15th May, a day before the results of the Lok Sabha elections were announced. They are in the process of getting registration from the Election Commission. Ulema Council, however, will remain as the parent body of the political party.

I am of the firm opinion that Ulema Council must exist as an independent body of Ulema belonging to each and every sect of Islam, and that body must be a parent body of its newly launched independent political party, says Dr Rahmani who was Ulema Council candidate in Jaunpur Lok Sabha constituency. He polled 51278 votes and came fourth in the race for the seat by 16 candidates.

The Azamgarh-based Ulema Council was formed in the backdrop of the infamous Batla House encounter in Delhis Jamia Nagar in September 2008. It was formed to tap the anger of Azamgarh Muslims over the implication of its dozens of youths in terror blasts in the country.

The Council fielded six independent candidates in this Lok Sabha election in eastern Uttar Pradesh. They bagged 2,17,444 votes together. Three of them got 4th position in their constituencies.

Excerpts of an interview with Dr Tasleem Rahmani on Ulema Councils performance in the Lok Sabha elections and future planning:

Performance of Ulema Council in Lok Sabha elections

Quite satisfactory. In just three months campaigning we were able to get about 2.25 lac votes. We got 75% of Muslim votes polled. It is very good and encouraging.

Why people voted for Ulema Council?

Nobody was assured that Ulema Council was going to win elections, yet they voted for it. They wanted to show their strength. They wanted to show their unity for a political force.

Issues raised in the campaigns

Fake issue of terrorism, fallout of faulty counterterrorism policies of the centre and some state governments, discriminatory attitude of governments towards general public including minorities, and lack of infrastructurewater, electricity, job, education

Do you regret helping unwittingly BJP in Azamgarh?

I do not regret at all because we are not responsible for division of secular votes. For the BJP win in Azamgarh the very political parties which call themselves secular are responsible. They call themselves secular but never get united to keep away communal forces.

Polarizing Muslims helped polarize Hindu votes?

We are doing politics and on the first step we have to polarize our vote chunk. Only then can others feel our political force and join it. It is not true that Hindu votes polarized against Ulema Council. In fact we got their votes also. Had it been the case, BJP would have won all seats.


Help India!

By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net

Uzma Naheed comes from a family of the founders of Darul Uloom Deoband. She is a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and has been working for the upliftment of the Muslim women in India and abroad.

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Though she comes from the religious establishment she is very critical of religious establishment for keep Muslims in intellectually and socially miserable condition.

In a candid interview with TwoCircles.net she talked about the situation of Muslim women in India, her work with IQRA, and the launch of IQRA International Womens Alliance (IIWA).

Her background:

Uzma Nahid comes from a family of the founders of University of Deoband. Her father Moulana Ahmad Salim Qasmi is the vice chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband Waqf.

Moulana Qasim Nanutwi the founder of the Darul Uloom Deoband was her grand grand father. The very famous Vice Chancellor of the Darul Uloom deoband, Qari Tayyab was her grand father.She was born in 1960 in Deoband. She completed her graduation from Aligarh Muslim University and did her masters in Islamic studies from Deoband itself.

On the situation of Muslim women in India:

She considered the situation of Muslim women in India as miserable.

We have visited all the states in India and we found Muslim women in miserable condition. I can feel their plight very well. They are neither opinion maker nor the decision maker. The most unfortunate thing is that they are not able to realize their loss. They dont know what kind of status they have got from Quran and the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

She came down heavily upon the men folk of the Muslim community. She pointed out that the most tragic thing is that Muslim women have accepted happily and internalized the kinds of roles their men want them to live with. They are told that this is what they are made to do and which they should be happy doing

She said the situation has gone so bad that they have surrendered their rights to men. You go and ask any women be it a simple women or any Aalima about the concept of Talaq in Islam. They will simply tell you that it is the right of men. They dont have any idea whether even they have got some rights or not.

She criticized men for confining their women folks to only the household works and for making her feel that she is doing every thing. She said that it is not always the case that women are happy doing the household work. They can not be happy as such only by doing the household chores because this is what they do usually.

Apart from that she questions that if a woman doesnt want to do the household work does Islam compel her to do all the things which are otherwise portrayed as her aim of life?

She said categorically that there is no legal sanctity through which the Muslim men can justify the roles they have provided to the women.

Uzma Naheed speaking to TwoCircles.net



About IQRA International Womens Alliance (IIWA):

IQRA International Womens Alliance is (IIWA) is an international association of Muslim women and NGOs to be formed to facilitate development initiatives with the mission to empower the women by building their capacities through education, health and skill based development through community participation.

IIWA leaflet describes it as a social initiative of Iqra Education Foundation. IIWA has been established to strategize alliance of Muslim womens organizations and individuals, working for equal opportunities of women in all spheres of life.

IIWA is committed to serve as leading information, consultative and training center, an active participant in the international consultative process, and an advocate for gender equality and partnership of the sexes, in compliance with international standards in this field and the Shariah.

Uzma Nahid pointed out that Muslim women in India are largely marginalized, faceless and voiceless in their own social circle in particular and in the larger Indian social context in general. So IIWA was launched with a long term project to give exposure and voice to this marginalized section of the Muslim community.

Apart from this there are many misconceptions and stereotypes to demean Islam with particular reference to women. IIWA provides a platform for Muslim women to come forward, express their views and work positively for the Ummah strictly within the framework of Islamic Shariah thereby break those stereotypes.

IIWA was formally launched in a program convened from 7th to 9th November 2008 in Mumbai.

I really want to bring them out. They should feel that the household duties which they think as their only responsibility actually depends upon their wish and will. These are not their Maqsade Hayat (purpose of life) in Islam. I feel that the purpose of life can be different. It can be service to humanity and Islam but it should be in ideal manner she added.

She also pointed out that we have always raised this question and even now we raise this, that by saying Naqisul Aql do you (read male dominated Muslim clergy) refer only Muslim women or all the women of the world?

[It is repeatedly pointed out in the traditional Muslim circles in India that women are Naqisul Aql (intellectually inferior than men).]

So we question if it is the women gender itself then one needs to see that the women of other communities are no where behind their men folk. They are the CEOs of companies, they lead organizations and in certain areas they lead even men.

By implication she questioned that why it is that only Muslim woman is made to feel naqisul aql.?

She pointed out that the psychology of woman is very different from that of a man and men usually issue fatwa without knowing their psychology and circumstances and this has been disastrous for the whole Ummah.

Explaining her point further she said for instance the curriculum and the syllabi which are being followed in girls Madarsa across India is not ideal for them.

That curriculum is actually was formulated for men 150 years back keeping in min the needs, rights and responsibilities of men.

It didnt take into account the complexities and differences between a man and a woman. The rights, responsibilities, complexities and status of women are not dealt with in detail in this syllabus.

So if one asks a question from an Alima (a woman clergy) she will reply in the same manner Aalim (man clergy) replies ignoring the complexities and difference of circumstances that a woman goes through she argued.

So the result of this is that thousands of Aalimas graduate every year. They couldnt produce an ideal generation which has been the aim. But if you will look in the areas of Hyderabad, Malegaon Surat and the pockets of madarsas of girls then the divorce rates have increased manifold among them.

If we are not going to look into this matter then there are some other destructive groups are looking for the opportunities to make the issue controversial and thereby defame Islam she added.

So IIWA wants to raise this question also and will try to bring about a viable solution for this.

IIWA has called for an international conference of clergy on November 7, 2008 to think seriously about the women question. Fortunately on this issue we are getting support from the clergy. There is going to be a discussion on all the aspects and complexities on the question of woman.

IIWA wants the clergy to raise the women question in its Juma khutbas and lectures so that the awareness level increases among the general masses.

Then IIWA also wants to bridge the gap between the women NGOs and the Islamic clergy. There is a huge communication gap between the two equally important classes because of which the two always criticize each other. So in order to bridge this gap IIWA has called for an international gathering of the women NGOs.

She informed that IIWA has adapted all the modern art and crafts like Fashion Designing, Textile Designing, Interior Designing, Cooking, Beauty Culture, Computer Skills, Journalism, Photography, Handicrafts, Candle Making and Soft Toys Making, etc. within the parameters of Islamic Shariah and we have imparted empowered Muslim women by teaching them these arts and creating a market for them.

She also explained the issue of economic empowerment of women on which IIWA wants to work.

There is a big class of women among the lower classes and poorer section of society which make their living by handicraft, but unfortunately they are not able to get more than 40-50 rupees a day because a big percentage is taken by the exporters.

IIWA wants to make these women its sleeping partners and it will make their work directly available to the market without the middle men.

We are putting the advertisement of their products on our website and whatever money it will fetch will go directly to the woman concerned.

We also have the plan to convene an annual exhibition of Muslim women artists so that they get an exposure and an opportunity to interact with each other.

There will be a three days exhibition of handicrafts produced by the women artisans supported by IIWA from different parts of the country from 7 to 9th November 2008.

IIWA also want to get in touch with the youths particularly the Muslim girls because they are increasingly becoming disenchanted from the Islamic way of life because of which they are becoming rebels. Inter-caste marriage is increasingly becoming a norm for them because they have always been suppressed.

They have not been allowed to speak their wishes and views instead only the dos and donts have been enforced upon them.

So IIWA has also called for delegation of Muslim girls across India and they have been encouraged to speak freely as to what they think of certain issue because it wants them to tell their frank views so that the problems which exist in the way the community is treating its children could come to the fore and the leadership of the community can think about those problems.

IQRA International Education Foundation (IIEF) was established in USA by Aabidullah Ghazi 25 years back with an aim to impart knowledge to children about Islam in a moderate way and according to their psychology.

She is the Convener and the Executive Director of IQRA Education Foundation in India.

She explains that to educate the children about Islam in a globalized world, one needs a new and innovative approach. So IIEF has formulated a syllabus and a methodology after its consultations with hundreds of the educators and curriculum designers across the world.

For this it trains around 3000 teachers across South East Asia the methodology of how to teach the children about Islam today. It organizes a two day workshop where they are introduced with the methodology of teaching Islam to the children in the globalized world. The teachers are encouraged to practice the methodology in their schools.

After this extensive workshop IQRA constitutes a group to supervise the situation of Islamic education in the schools. It also provides the syllabus and books about Islamic education to the schools at lower prices.

It remains in continuous touch with them in order to help them with any further difficulty that the teachers may face while teaching Islamic education to the children. It has been launched in 2000 schools in India since its introduction in 1998.

Link:

http://www.iiwaindia.org/


Help India!

New Delhi : Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla on Thursday expressed condolences over the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, saying that he died when he was needed the most.

Today, when the threat of terrorism looms large over us, he could effectively handled the situation and also give useful inputs to the central government. His death is an irreparable loss to the country and Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said in a message from Chicago, where she is on a personal visit.

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She said Sayeed was a leader with a vision and provided great leadership in the terrorism-hit state.

Mufti Sayeed was one of the most popular leaders of Jammu and Kashmir. He rendered exemplary services to the state and the nation during his long political tenure. He had a deep understanding of the problems of Jammu and Kashmir, Heptulla said.

Sayeed, who was also Indias first Muslim home minister, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital on Thursday.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Pune: A couple of days after filing an FIR against two BJP members for issuing threat for making remarks against PM Narendra Modi, well-known Marathi author Dr. Shripal Sabnis has now claimed receiving a second threat.

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Sabnis said Sanatan Sanstha lawyer Sanjiv Poonalekar tweeted: Tumhi sakali morning walk la ja, Shripal Sabnis (Go for a morning walk, Shripal Sabnis).

The advice from Poonalekar apparently refers to the killing of rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar, alleges Sabnis. Both these rationalists were killed when they were out for a morning walk. Unidentified gunmen killed Dabholkar in August 2013 in Pune, while Pansare was shot in Kolhapur in February 2015.

Interestingly, Poonalekar is representing prime accused Sameer Gaikwad in the Govind Pansare murder case in Kolhapur. Gaikwad is an active member of Sanatan Sanstha that is providing legal aid to defend him, alleging that police has implicated him in the case.

However, Sanatan Sanstha has distanced itself from the purported tweet of Poonalekar saying it is his personal views.

Speaking with the media, Sabnis said, This is a direct threat to my life. I have already conveyed this to police through the lone security personnel assigned to me.

Terming the tweet as brazen, he has also sought a strong action against Poonalekar and said, They are out to silence voices of sanity. The society should see through their game and rise to put them in (their) placeThey are now clearly targeting me because I vehemently oppose bad tendencies.

Meanwhile, Poonalekar agreed with the tweet and said he was not going to delete it.

I have done nothing wrong. The tweet is not a threat and therefore I will not delete it. But if people want to read motives into it, I dont care. If anybody wants to take action against me, let them take action, he said.
A truck bomb detonated at a military training center in a western town in Libya has killed dozens and wounded many more, according to reports.

Witnesses said on Thursday the vehicle crashed into the gate of the academy in the coastal city of Zliten, around 100 miles east of the capital Tripoli.

A hospital source told Reuters that at least 65 people were dead following the attack.

Libyan local news agency LANA put the death toll at more than 50.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Libya has been beset by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi and groups affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been gaining increasing influence.

The U.N. envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said on Twitter that the blast was a suicide attack.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote.

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when a militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The United Nations is pressing both sides to accept a power-sharing deal.

On December 17, under U.N. guidance, envoys from both sides and a number of independent political figures signed a deal for a unity government, but the agreement has yet to be implemented.

World powers fear Libya could descend further into chaos and become a stronghold of IS on Europe's doorstep.

The group claimed a string of atrocities in Libya last year, including the January attack on a luxury hotel in Tripoli known for hosting foreign diplomats and Libyan officials, which killed nine people.

A month later it released a video showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians, all but one of them Egyptians, that armed men said they captured in Libya in January.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council in November, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that ISIL had been responsible for at least 27 car and suicide bombings in Libya in 2015.

ISIL has in recent days launched a series of attacks on oil facilities in eastern Libya, pushing east from the group's coastal stronghold of Sirte.

Officials have warned of crippling consequences for the country if the group manages to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

Oil is Libya's main natural resource, and the country sits on reserves estimated at 48 billion barrels, the largest in Africa.

Al Jazeera and wire services
Water flows around the Brown Bridge Dam dewatering structure on the Boardman River, south of Traverse City, Michigan. Plans to remove the dam went awry in 2012 when a construction accident caused a lake formed by the dam to empty in hours rather than weeks. John L. Russell / AP

VANDERBILT, Mich.  For generations, visitors flocked for peace and quiet to this nook of tranquillity, a 45-acre lake nestled amid the lush pines of a state forest in remote Northern Michigan. Yet the lake was far from natural. Though it had existed for as long as any living person could recall, the lake was the result of a 13-foot-tall dam, called Song of the Morning, which stood downstream on the nearby Pigeon River. By the time state authorities decided the 125-year-old dam had become a largely useless hazard that ought to be demolished, almost everybody cheered.

Plans to remove the 125-year-old Song of the Morning Dam in northern Michigan prompted opposition from a nonprofit group that owned land on the lake behind the dam. Courtesy Huron Pines The holdout: Golden Lotus, the owner of 800 acres  including the dam, the lake and the popular Song of the Morning yoga retreat. The nonprofit fought in court for years against a state order to remove the dam  even after a devastating 2008 breach killed 800,000 trout downstream and left the owners liable for $1.5 million in damages. In court documents and media statements, Golden Lotus repeatedly bemoaned the loss of the lake. But a settlement eventually was reached, and in October the jackhammers and backhoes arrived to undam the Pigeon. Still, the episode reflected the challenges local communities can face even as a movement has gained traction over the past decade to demolish the seemingly eternal structures that have altered river flows for generations. Its almost never easy, even when its obvious the dam is causing harm and very little, if any, good, said Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, the associate director for river restoration with American Rivers, an environmental nonprofit. The Song of the Morning Dam  failed three times in 50 years, and still the owners didnt want to part with it. That shows the connection some people have and how resistant they can be to change.

Theres always 10 people who have the dam in their backyard and they have a row boat tied up on a dock. They dont want to give it up. John Waldman biologist at Queens College

Thirty years ago, removing dams was typically dismissed as a radical environmentalist notion or an effort by Native American tribes to restore fish populations, their traditional food sources, which have been devastated by hydropower projects. But in the 1980s, as more of the countrys roughly 80,000 dams began to fail, knocking down the aging structures became increasingly necessary and cost-effective. The dam removal movement accelerated with the passage of a law in 1986 that required the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees dams, to balance the environmental impact of a dam against the value of the electricity it produces when deciding whether to renew expiring licenses. In an increasing number of cases, the commission refused to relicense dams, especially ones that produced little hydroelectric power or no longer played important roles in water storage or farmland irrigation. The most prominent example was the Edwards Dam. The 900-foot structure was removed from the Kennebec River in Maine in 1999 after the owners and the government agreed that bringing it up to current construction standards and adding fish elevators would be more expensive than simply tearing it down. (Fish elevators are complex systems in which fish and water are artificially transported around dams in order to help fish continue their runs.) After the Kennebec returned to its free-flowing state  for the first time since Andrew Jackson was president  salmon, herring, sturgeon and alewife populations resurged quickly, bringing credibility to the arguments of groups such as the Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited and American Rivers that waterways can recover quickly after dams are removed. Eventually the local bald eagle population, which relies on the alewife for food, rebounded too, generating more positive publicity. Those early removals showed how remarkably resilient rivers are. Since then, high-profile dam removal projects have captured headlines along the Penobscot River in Maine, the Sandy River in Oregon and the Elwha River in Washington.

The Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine, in 1993. It was removed six years later. Robert F. Bukaty / AP They took [the Edwards Dam] down. It opened up 18 miles of habitat, and the next year, 1 million alewives showed up. Salmon and shad showed up, said Karin Limburg, a fisheries ecologist at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. This fall, she taught a class in which she tasked her students with analyzing the potential consequences of removing the 105-foot Conowingo Dam, on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is in the process of determining the Conowingos future, with the power giant and dam owner Exelon fighting in court against a mandate to tear down the dam unless the company can find ways to help 800,000 shad travel past it. Still, most of the roughly 1,000 dams removed from American rivers since 1990  a pace that has accelerated significantly since 2007  have been smaller projects like Song of the Morning. They were built, in some cases, to help float lumber to nearby communities or to power a mill, and the resultant bodies of water and waterfalls created by blockages of rivers were often beloved by the surrounding communities. While the dams had long since been rendered obsolete by the development of the regions electric grid or other water storage methods, their removal nonetheless incited political and legal drama. One of the stories about the Penobscot was that there was this old lady who said, That dam is my private waterfall. Oh, I love having my waterfall, Limburg says of the removal of the 30-foot Veazie Dam, near Bangor, Maine. John Waldman, a biologist at Queens College and co-author with Limburg of a study on possible uses for the land exposed when the reservoirs and lakes formed by dams are drained, agreed. With little dams which have very little societal value in terms of hydroelectric power production or water storage or drinking or whatever, theres always 10 people who have the dam in their backyard and they have a rowboat tied up on a dock. They dont want to give it up.

Figuring out how to prevent sediment and silt built up behind dams over decades from turning into a toxic mudslide is among the biggest logistical challenges of dam removal.

Excessive eagerness can also cause problems. Members of the City Council in Fremont, Ohio, have been so anxious to remove the crumbling 102-year-old Ballville Dam on the Sandusky River before it fails that they voted in early 2015 to demolish it without a clear plan for the release of about 840,000 cubic yards of sediment that has built up behind the 34-foot structure. Opponents collected enough signatures to delay the City Council decision until a referendum could be held on dam removal. In November, voters approved the dams takedown by a 13-point margin. Before the vote, the Sierra Clubs Ohio chapter, typically an advocate for dam removal, sued in federal court to forestall the Sanduskys undamming. In the suit, filed in July, the club demanded that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers force the city and state to study the impact of the sediments release. In October the Corps of Engineers agreed that more study is warranted, putting on hold both the lawsuit and the dams removal. Jen Miller, the director of the Sierra Clubs Ohio chapter, noted that in the dams century of service, the river has absorbed runoff from the regions farms as well as industrial waste. That makes study of the silts properties even more urgent, she said, particularly because the river feeds into Lake Erie, one of the worlds largest freshwater commercial fisheries. You have 100 years of nitrogen, phosphate, DDT. There was a paint thinner spill there a couple decades ago. There was benzene, all kinds of very dangerous chemicals, and its 18 miles from the already incredibly distressed western Lake Erie watershed, Miller said. Figuring out how to prevent sediment and silt built up behind dams over decades from turning into a toxic mudslide is among the biggest logistical challenges of dam removal. The water behind dams, because its still and shallow, is generally warmer than most river water, and the combination of a tsunami of sediment and changing water temperatures has caused high-profile fish-kill disasters. Critics still point to the 1973 removal of the Fort Edward Dam on the Hudson River near Albany, New York. The project released 2.65 million cubic yards of PCB-laden earth downstream, requiring hazardous-materials cleanup. A similar, more recent incident has stymied dam removal in Michigan. The takedown of the Brown Bridge Dam, the first of three planned removals along the Boardman River near Traverse City, went awry in 2012 when a construction accident caused a 170-acre lake that had been formed by the dam to empty in six hours rather than three weeks as planned. Sixty-six properties were flooded or destroyed, stalling the removal of the other two dams and requiring a massive, expensive cleanup effort. People read about that sort of thing and they think, Well, I dont want my dam to come out, because its going to get out of control and cause these kind of problems, Hollingsworth-Segedy said. Ninety-five percent of dam removals dont have these kinds of problems. While some groups  including the Sierra Club  believe that all dams are perversions of nature that should be corrected, scientists such as Waldman are less absolute. He would like to see a national scorecard created so that dams can be assessed and their costs and benefits weighed. Theres no doubt many dams play important roles, but many, many, many medium and small dams sit there because of inertia, said Waldman, who has written a book on dam removal, Running Silver: Restoring Atlantic Rivers and Their Great Fish Migrations. We need to get them out of the water again. They dont belong there.

The members [of Golden Lotus] have come to realize that dams are not good things and that restoration is a good thing. Bill Schlecte Golden Lotus attorney
The largest airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the flag carrier of the Emirate of Dubai , Emirates , has announced that it will ...
Second test flights performed at Nansha Islands Updated: 2016-01-07 08:26 By Li Xiaokun(China Daily)

China successfully carried out test flights of two commercial airliners on Wednesday at a newly built airfield in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The airfield will provide more routes for flights over the South China Sea, according to a government media release.

Insiders, who declined to be named, said the test flights were different from the one reported on Saturday. That flight aimed to test communication between the planes and the airfield, while Wednesday's were "real test flights".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed on Saturday that China had finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao in China's Nansha Islands. It is the most southerly airfield in the country.

She said Saturday's test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards.

Xinhua News Agency reported that two civilian aircraft departed from Haikou in Hainan province on Wednesday morning and landed on Yongshu Jiao after flights of nearly two hours. They returned to Haikou in the afternoon.

The official media release by Xinhua said, "The test flights proved that the airfield has the capacity to ensure safe operation of large civilian aircraft."

This will help with the transportation of goods and personnel as well as with healthcare on the islands, it said, adding that the airfield will also serve as an alternate one for flights in the region.

Pan Wei, chief engineer at China Rescue and Salvage under the Ministry of Transport, said the airfield will significantly cut travel time between the Nansha Islands and the Chinese mainland.

Pan said the airfield will help to ensure flight and navigational safety for airplanes and ships in the area and greatly improve the ability of marine salvagers.

As a responsible country, China will continue to promote the building of emergency response and rescue facilities, Pan said.

It will shoulder the international obligations of search and rescue operations, marine environmental protection, disaster prevention, and navigational safety in the South China Sea.

Nearly 40 percent of global trade is carried through the South China Sea, which sees the passage of at least 40,000 ships annually.

Vietnam and the Philippines have protested over the new airfield's completion. But Hua said on Saturday the test flight that day was completed "completely within China's sovereignty".

Xinhua contributed to this story.

lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/07/2016 page3)
Double amputee teen intends to soar as pilot Updated: 2016-01-07 08:27 By Huang Zhiling in Dujiangyan, Sichuan(China Daily)

Huang Meihua and her mother at the Guangya School. HUANG ZHILING/CHINA DAILY

Resilient spirit inspires flying school to give girl all-expense paid lessons

An earthquake buried Huang Meihua in the rubble of her primary school, crushing the then 11-year-old's legs, but not her spirit.

The resilience she showed in the days after the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008, waiting helplessly in a makeshift shed without medical care, has continued to define her character.

The roads inaccessible, a military helicopter finally flew Huang to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, where doctors had to amputate her legs.

"How I wished I had wings to fly to safety," she said. "It is due to this experience that I have a special feeling for pilots and flying."

In December, the experience prompted Huang to apply for training as a pilot at the Imperial Canadian Flying School when it enrolled trainees from the Guangya School where she has been a student for nearly seven years.

Moved by her story and enterprising spirit, the school offered the 18-year-old free training in Vancouver for three weeks in February, covering all her living expenses.

"One doesn't need feet to fly a plane. As a straight-A student most of time, I believe I can be a pilot," Huang said, sitting in her wheelchair in her dormitory at the Guangya School in Dujiangyan, Sichuan.

After her initial recovery, Huang studied in a makeshift primary school in Beichuan county, earning the highest scores in all of her subjects. A year after the earthquake, she started as a sixth grader at the Guangya School, offered a free education by headmaster Qing Guangya until her graduation from its high school in 2016.

Guangya, the first private school in Sichuan, educates students who will pursue university studies in English-speaking countries. All subjects are taught in English.

Upon entering the school, Huang could not understand English. In the first semester, she scored 66 of 100 in English, but she was quick-witted and studied very hard and received a score of 98 in the next semester, teacher Yi Jing said.

"She has been a top student in her class of 20 ever since and she is very good at English, biology and chemistry," Yi said. "She is fluent in English when she talks with foreign teachers."

Huang's mother, 44-year-old Yan Xiaorong, wheels Huang to her classroom every day. The school offered the family free lodging and Huang's 54-year-old father Huang Seqing obtained a job in the school canteen.

Huang Meihua always has a smile on her face. Despite her disability, she has confidence.

The school treats disabled students as equals and allows her to participate in all activities, such as dancing and physical education, said Xu Wencan, Huang's classmate.

With a score of 101 out of 120 on the English-language TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, Huang has applied to 12 top-notch universities in the United States, including Stanford. She hopes to get a full scholarship to major in biology or chemistry upon graduating next summer.

"When I receive the training in Canada, I will try to learn about universities there. If possible, I would also like to apply for one there," Huang said.
Air pollution is big news in China - and an opportunity for companies big and small that can help monitor the problem.

Microsoft Corp and IBM Corp already have come up with pollution-forecasting technologies at their research labs in China.

Now a San Francisco-based startup will look to establish itself in China with its portable "Atmotube" device.

The Atmotube, a portable air-pollution detector. Provided to China Daily The wearable titanium metal tube, which weighs 1.4 ounces, contains sensors that check the air for dangerous gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Among the pollutants that the Atmotube detects are carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, acetone, propane, toluene, methlylene chloride and xylene.

Carbon monoxide and VOCs have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, liver and brain damage, and cancer.

A user synchs the Atmotube via Bluetooth to his or her smartphone for a current reading on the air they are breathing, indoors or out. An LED light on the front of the device measures air quality: red=severely polluted; orange=very polluted; yellow=polluted; green= moderate; blue=good. The app also gives a numerical reading of air quality from 0-100, with 100 the best.

Vera Kozyr, a computer science graduate of St. Petersburg State Technical University in Russia, is the co-founder and CEO of notanotherone.com, an "Internet of Things" company that works on R&D, design and software with mobile carriers and tech startups. The Atmotube is the first proprietary product for the firm, co-founded by Igor Mikhnenko, who is the device's chief designer.

Let Kozyr describe how the Atmotube works: "It utilizes micro-hotplate technology, which provides a unique silicon platform for our metal oxide gas sensor and enables sensor miniaturization, significantly lower power consumption and fast heating times."

The company has raised $172,000 for Atmotube so far through indiegogo.com, a crowdfunding website. The device will generally retail for $89.90.

China, because of its air-pollution challenges, is one of Atmotube's target markets. In fact, it will even be assembled there - at a plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

"We certainly plan to promote our device in countries with air pollution problems; China, India, Mexico are the first in our list," Kozyr wrote in an e-mail from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she and her team were attending CES 2016.

"We plan to make a Chinese version of our website in April and start the online sales," she said. "We do realize it's difficult to get to the China market without proper connections, so we hope to make a deal with local distributors during the CES or later on in January-February 2016.

"We travel to China a lot because of our work, and it is actually one of the reasons why we started this project," she said. "We always knew the air there was not great, but we never knew exactly how harmful it was, in which areas it was bad and when, whether it was a time to put on a mask or stay in our hotel instead of going to a factory.

"So a real-time air pollution monitor seemed like a perfect thing to have," she said. "And we don't even have any lung diseases; for people who have asthma or allergies, it gets even more critical to monitor the air they breathe."

Meanwhile, China has stepped up efforts recently against air pollution.

Beijing reached its annual target for reducing hazardous pollutants in 2015 and is drafting a long-term plan to improve air quality to clean by around 2030, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said.

In 2015, the capital had 186 days with air quality that exceeded the national safety standard, 14 days more than in 2014, said the bureau's annual report on air pollution control.

"PM2.5 (particulate matter) pollution is still the prominent problem in Beijing and requires strengthened efforts," said Fang Li, the bureau's deputy director.

Coal burning and motor-vehicle exhaust emissions were major factors in the recent smog, the report said.

A State-level supervision team went to Hebei province on Monday for a monthlong

inspection of the province's environmental protection efforts, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Hebei, just south of Beijing, has serious air pollution problems. Seven of 11 cities in the province - Baoding, Xingtai, Tangshan, Hengshui, Handan, Shijiazhuang and Langfang - have ranked among the top 10 most-polluted cities in China in recent years.

"Blue sky and sunshine are now the most luxurious things for us," said Zhang Ning, a teacher in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

The government of neighboring Shandong province is doubling rewards and fines for cities' air readings. It will pay cities that cut air pollution 400,000 yuan ($64,500) for each microgram of pollutant reduced per cubic meter, under a regulation that took effect on Jan 1.

Fines for those whose air quality deteriorates will be doubled, said Xue Mei, an official at the Shandong Bureau of Environmental Protection.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com
China to take lead in 3D printer-making Updated: 2016-01-07 11:51 By Niu Yue in New York(China Daily USA)

China will surpass the United States to become the largest 3D printer-manufacturing country in 2016, according to a recent report.

In 2014, sales volume was 34,000 and was predicted to reach 77,000 in 2015, a growth rate of 120 percent, according to a report by the International Data Corp (IDC), an American market research, analysis and advisory firm.

IDC predicted that China would produce more than 440,000 3D printers by 2020, with an annual compounded growth rate of 43 percent.

A staff displays 3D print soft tissues produced by a German high-tech company during the 2015 China Yiwu International Manufacturing Equipment Expo on Nov 30. Xinhua

Mo Minyi, analyst for IDC China, said China's output of 3D printers will reach 160,000 next year.

The growth mainly is coming from desktop 3D printers, whose prices are typically below $5,000, Mo said.

China regards 3D printing as one of its prioritized industries in its Made in China 2025 strategy, according to He Zaihua, an analyst of the high-tech manufacturing industry.

He said that China was currently popularizing the use of 3D print technology nationwide.

"Both China's 13th Five-Year-Plan and Made in China 2015 call for more innovative breakthrough in the restructure of manufacture and production," He said. "China's outlook on the 3D market will maintain a relative high-speed growth."

IDC's report also showed that the US would still hold the lead in total market revenue.

The output of low-end desktop 3D printers accounts for more than 90 percent of the market, said James Yu, sales manager for Xery Corp, a 3D printer company based in Anhui province.

However, compared with the relatively inexpensive desktop 3D printers, the expensive professional 3D printers still control most of the margins, especially those 3D printers for products with high-definition functions.

China's growth in the market is driven primarily by low-end products that typically sell for 20 to 30 percent less than their American counterparts.

The US 3D printer industry features high-end machines specialized for high definition and versatility of all industry applications, Yu said.

IDC predicted a surge of demand for high-end machines as China is actively promoting manufacturing restructuring and upgrading. Industries such as aviation, space and high-speed railways require more from the high-end 3D printing industry.

"Chinese 3D printer manufacturers should not solely rely on their low price but learn to provide more innovative and customized products to the segmented 3D printer market," concluded Mo. "Chinese 3D printers should also make up their minds for better after-sale service in their overseas market to enhance the consumers' interest and confidence."

Long Yifan in New York contributed to this story.
This is especially true of workers in the health care industry, who are often considered essential employees and who may be required to stay and work extra shifts during a disaster. Dr. Flavio Casoy, a Manhattan psychiatrist and former executive vice president of the Committee of Interns and Residents, the doctors union, is concerned that health care workers who are on the front line of any public health emergency have unmet needs that could make a crisis worse.

Researchers recognize that workers are the first line of defense in a crisis for any place of employment  be it a corporation, hospital, university or nonprofit organization. As climate change advances, workers in many cities and towns will be asked to brave harsh weather conditions or the wreckage left by devastating storms to keep their employers functioning. Dan Tepen, who normally takes a ferry on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to get to his job from his home near Brussels, Illinois, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Jan. 2 that this weeks floods have forced him to drive 75 miles each way to work instead. One would think that such dedicated workers would be treasured assets; instead, they are often considered low skilled and are paid only the minimum wage.

This is all great publicity for Waffle House. But any emergency preparedness plan depends on the willingness of employees to risk their necks driving on flooded roads or around downed power lines and to leave families at home to show up and serve food or do other work through what may be the worst experience of their lives.

If a Waffle House closes, you know things are dire. The Georgia-based, 24-hour, low-cost breakfast chain has developed a sophisticated emergency response system that allows it to keep its doors open. In Joplin, Missouri, for instance, Waffle House kept serving food immediately after a 2011 tornado devastated the town. When a Waffle House closed temporarily in Columbia, South Carolina, during the deadly flooding there in October 2015, it made the Twitter feed of New York Times reporter Alan Blinder.

As the waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries rise and crest in the worst flooding the Midwest has seen in decades, Govs. Jay Nixon of Missouri and Bruce Rauner of Illinois have declared states of emergency. At least 31 people have died because of the floods, caused by nearly triple the normal rainfall since Nov. 1. Communities are being evacuated. Business as usual is impossible. Oil refineries and sewage treatment plants have been forced offline. Forecasters expect flooding farther south in the coming weeks, in Tennessee and Mississippi. But the real measure of this crisis will be whether all the local Waffle Houses will stay open.

Waffle Houses low wages keep its employees perpetually vulnerable. But in a crisis, their team efforts earn their employer the distinction of being one of the best-prepared companies in the US.

When you mandate that someone stay, you have to provide for their basic needs and allow them to take care of their family, he says, citing the need for beds and food to be made available just for staff. During a major snowstorm in New York City in 2010, he saw that hospital employees needed to be able to be excused from work to call home and to figure out child care and other family needs. Often, he adds, that time is not protected, and people are sneaking around trying to do this on the fly. In the hospital, that creates problems, like insufficient staffing on the unit when folks are on the stairway calling home.

Beyond the physical and support needs, Casoy says, it is critical to have clear policies in place for compensating people who work heroically through a disaster. How are you going to pay people? he asks. He says that when roads are dangerous or impassable, many employees who clock out are unable to leave. The folks who are mandated to stay, they can get overtime. The folks who arent able to leave, are they going to be paid? Are they entitled to overtime? This is time at work.

Low-wage and hourly workers are increasingly speaking up about the fact that they cannot survive on $8 or $9 per hour. The Fight for $15 movement, which supports a minimum wage of $15 per hour and is backed by the Service Employees International Union, has built a broad base of support among fast food workers and has recently expanded to include home health workers. At an April 15 Fight for $15 demonstration in New York, Wendys employee Jacqueline Martincic told CNN, Im out here because I dont make a living wage. I only make $8.75 an hour. Thats not enough for me to survive on. Waiters and waitresses at Waffle House, according to the website Glassdoor, make an average of just $13,262 per year, including tips.

Even in the nonunion South, companies and public health departments that depend heavily on a low-wage workforce should reconsider how they compensate those workers. Disaster preparation expert Dr. Daniel Barnett of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health called for a similar evaluation in a 2012 article in the journal BioMedCentral, writing, LHDs [local health departments] may wish to re-examine their policies on employee requirements for responding to different emergencies in order to increase potential likelihood of response.

A natural disaster presents an opportunity for ordinary working people to become heroes by showing up to work in adverse conditions and by responding with their best selves. But it shouldnt come at such a high cost to them.

The actual stress of going through the disaster has to be addressed, Casoy says. If a staff member cant find their family, is the expectation that they will still do their job? You have to take care of people. Especially low-income folks who are probably operating at a higher level of stress.

Which brings us back to Waffle House. The chains low wages keep its employees perpetually vulnerable. But when they act together to respond in a crisis, their team efforts earn their employer the distinction of being one of the best-prepared companies in the U.S. The Fight for $15 movement and unions such as the Committee of Interns and Residents provide a glimpse into how these workers could harness such collective power to make sure that they and their families are adequately compensated and cared for  before heading out into the oncoming storm.
A-bomb far less powerful, according to experts Updated: 2016-01-07 08:29 By Associated Press in Tokyo(China Daily)

The announcement on Wednesday from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that it had carried out a nuclear test brought to the front lines of global attention a phrase not often heard since the Cold War - "the H-bomb".

As opposed to the atomic bomb, the kind dropped on Japan in the closing days of World War II, the hydrogen bomb, or so-called "superbomb" can be far more powerful - experts said, by 1,000 times or more.

Pyongyang's first three nuclear tests, from 2006 to 2013, were A-bombs on roughly the same scale as the ones used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which together killed more than 200,000 people. Pyongyang announced on Wednesday that it had detonated its first H-bomb; while seismic data supported the claim of a large explosion, there was no immediate way to confirm the type.

Atomic bombs rely on fission, or atom-splitting, just as nuclear power plants do. The hydrogen bomb, also called the thermonuclear bomb, uses fusion, or atomic nuclei coming together, to produce explosive energy. Stars also produce energy through fusion.

"Think what's going on inside the sun," said Takao Takahara, professor of international politics and peace research at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. "In theory, the process is potentially infinite. The amount of energy is huge."

The technology of the hydrogen bomb is more sophisticated, and once attained, it is a greater threat. They can be made small enough to fit on a head of an intercontinental missile.

"That the bomb can become compact is the characteristic, and so this means Pyongyang has the US in mind in making this H-bomb announcement," said Tatsujiro Suzuki, professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University.

More technology needed

But the H-bomb requires more technology in control and accuracy because of the greater amount of energy involved, he said. Both the A-bomb and H-bomb use radioactive material like uranium and plutonium for the explosive material.

The hydrogen bomb is in fact already the global standard for the five nations with the greatest nuclear capabilities: China, the United States, Russia, France and United Kingdom. Other nations may also either have it or may be working on it, despite a worldwide effort to contain such proliferation.

The hydrogen bomb was never dropped on any targets. It was first successfully tested in the 1950s by the US, in bombs called Mike and Bravo. Soviet tests soon followed.

Terumi Tanaka, head of Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Federation of A-Bomb and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, has been working to ban nuclear weapons for years and was stunned by reports of the H-bomb test.

"It defies hopes for progress," he said. "I am outraged."

(China Daily 01/07/2016 page11)
India's Congress Party slams Modi for surprise visit to Pakistan Updated: 2016-01-07 09:20 (Xinhua)

NEW DELHI - India's main opposition Congress Party Wednesday made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent surprise visit to Pakistan.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said that Modi's Lahore visit to meet Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif showed he trusts Pakistanis more than his ministers.

"Looks like the prime minister trusts those on the other side of the border more than us even when they have betrayed us again and again," Tiwari told the media in the national capital.

The senior Congress leader and former Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister, also slammed Modi for not consulting opposition parties before making such a overture towards Pakistan.

"Modi should have taken opposition parties into confidence before taking such a step. He went there uninvited. Look what followed," he said, referring to the terror attack on Pathankot air base.

Some 10 days back, Modi had made a surprise visit to Lahore to meet Sharif on his 66th birthday while returning from Afghanistan, in an indication that bilateral relations are warming up again.
5 suspects arrested in France over violent robbery against Chinese Updated: 2016-01-07 09:51 (Xinhua)

PARIS - French police arrested five youngsters believed to belong "to an ultra violent" group of muggers targeting Chinese traders and tourists in Aubervilliers, northeastern Paris, local media reported on Wednesday.

Four youth aged between 18 and 19 years and a minor were allegedly targeting Chinese women in the industrial area of Aubervilliers where wholesale textiles are sold, because the youth thought they might be carrying large amounts of cash, a source close to the inquiry told the daily Le Parisien.

The gang was accused of carrying out 23 robberies over a two-month period, it added.

Chinese tourists have been the target of muggers in the French capital because of the belief they are more likely than other holidaymakers to carry cash on their person.
India to deploy more border guards at international border with Pakistan Updated: 2016-01-07 16:28 (Xinhua)

NEW DELHI - India will soon deploy more border guards at the international border with Pakistan in the northern states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the recent terror attacks on a key air base, sources said Thursday.

"Some 2,000 additional para-military Border Security Guards personnel may be deployed at the international border in these two states. The move comes after the deadly terror attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot," the sources said.

The Border Security Force mans the international border in Jammu sector and Punjab, while the Indian Army guards the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"The recent terror attacks have indicated the need for more vigil at the international border, given many terrorists sneak into this country from Pakistan using this border, despite it being electrically fenced," the sources said.

Some seven Indian security forces personnel were killed and 20 other injured in the terror attack on the Pathankot air force base, just 30 km from the international border with Pakistan. All the militants were killed and the base secured after an 80-hour operation.
Across border, residents tell of strong tremor, loud bang Updated: 2016-01-07 08:26 By Liu Mingtai and Zhao Lei(China Daily USA)

What the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed was a "successful hydrogen bomb test" brought a jolt on Wednesday morning to residents of Hunchun, a border city in Jilin province that is near the test site.

A woman who manages a farm equipment station in Hunchun's Fusong township and who wished to be identified only as Lei told China Daily that she felt a tremor around 9:30 am when she was in her office.

A desk, chair and flowerpot on the windowsill shook, Lei said, adding that the jolt lasted about three seconds, stopped for two seconds and then restarted for another three seconds.

Nie Qiming, a resort owner, said he did not feel a strong tremor but heard a big bang.

The city center of Hunchun is about 14 kilometers from the Shatuozi border port and 45 km from the Quanhe port.

Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper, quoted an office worker surnamed Ren as saying that he and his colleagues ran out of their office building after a strong shake.

A restaurant owner surnamed Wan told the newspaper that the jolt was very strong and that many people almost fell over.
Get your NASCAR selfies at Hisense booth Updated: 2016-01-08 00:13 (China Daily USA)

LINDA DENG / CHINA DAILY

Hisense, the electronics manufacturing giant, showed off its NASCAR car on Wednesday at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hisense has a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing as the primary sponsor of the No. 20 Toyota Camry (pictured). In 2015, Hisense sponosored the Hisense 250 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and the Hisense 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The races were part of the NASCAR XFINITY Series. But Hisense also was looking to put its products in the CES winners circle this week. Hisense has 22 new models making their CES debuts, including those with 4K and the companys proprietary ULED (ultra light-emitting diode) technology as well as disruptive values and wide availability of HDR (high dynamic range) technology. Theres also a partnership with Sharp at the Hisense booth that shows new picture technology, an expanded 4K range and a streamlined smart TV platform. We received very positive feedback from the attendees and plan more good products for the US and global markets, Mark T. Viken, vice-president of Marketing Hisense USA Corp, told China Daily. Hisenses annual revenue exceeded $16 billion in 2014 and it is ranked No. 3 in the global TV market, up one spot from last year, and No. 2 in the global 4K TV market. Hisense is on the rise in the US (currently ranked eighth in units and seventh in sales). The NPD Group identified Hisense as the fastest-growing 4K TV brand in the US during the first three quarters last year. At a press conference on Tuesday, the Chinese company stated that its goal is to become the No. 3 TV brand in the US in three years. Our advantages are Hisenses ability to bring all the best technologies and to offer our US customer affordable prices for our products, Viken said. These US products are also an example of moving upmarket. Our US strategy is to keep both the Hisense brand and Sharp brand with product lines targeting different markets. It doubles our power in the market, he said. Hisense says that by leveraging its R&D innovation and working with Sharps engineers to meet its picture-quality and brand guidelines, the Sharp brand will remain a pioneer of premier large-screen LCD technology and a beacon of quality and trust in the television industry.
Device quietly records vitals as you sleep Updated: 2016-01-08 00:13 By Hezi Jiang in Las Vegas(China Daily USA)

Yao Xuan, co-founder of iFutureLab, demonstrates how the companys sleep tracker can be put at many unobtrusive locations, including under the mattress, to monitor heart rate, breathing and sleep stages and cycles. Hezi Jiang / China Daily

Health-focused wearables have gotten a lot of attention at this years Consumer Electronics Show, as more and more people are showing an interest in monitoring their well being.

Some Chinese engineers, however, are looking for ways to take health monitoring beyond the wearable.

Silicon Valley and Shenzhen-based iFutureLab showed off a tiny white square that monitors your sleep.

We think its the future trend to develop health trackers that dont come in contact our body and dont require any extra effort to use, said Yao Xuan, co-founder of iFutureLab. Our goal was to bring the most convenient sleep-tracking system available and we succeeded.

Fitsleep, a small white square, can be put under mattresses, pillows or even sofa cushions. It monitors heart rate, breathing, sleep stages and sleep cycles. By the time you wake up, all the data is already downloaded on to your phone with 99 percent accuracy, said Yao.

iFutureLab is a one-year-old company established by college friends Yao Xuan and Ken Lu. With help from other friends, they developed the product in Silicon Valley, and manufactured it in Shenzhen.

China encourages young people to innovate and start businesses, so we gave it a try, said Yao.

In the future, we hope to connect the tracker with beds or even lights, he said. The bed will adjust itself automatically according to the results from the tracker. And maybe when you wake up, the lights will just turn on automatically.
White militants continue to occupy the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in solidarity with two ranchers  Steven and Dwight Hammond  who were convicted and imprisoned for arson after setting a series of fires that spread to public land. The end goal here is that we are here to restore the rights to the people here so that they can use the land and resources, Ryan Bundy, a spokesperson for the militants, told Fox News on Monday. The media coverage of the standoff between the militants and government authorities has thus far focused on the occupation, but a closer look at the incident reveals the complicated historical legacies of westward expansion and the seizure of Native American land by white settlers.

Northern Paiute in Eastern Oregon NPS The Hammonds, who are distancing themselves from the armed militia, were convicted and sentenced in 2012 to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison under a 1996 antiterrorism law. Most coverage of their trial mentions the arson only briefly and portrays their actions as justifiable, meant to reduce the damaging effects of invasive species on their land. But the arson was neither a trivial nor a one-time offense. It was not their only crime either. In 2001, the Hammonds illegally set a series of fires on land they leased from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for cattle operation. The arson was an attempt to cover up their illegal poaching of deer in the area, according to federal prosecutors. The fire burned 139 acres and forestalled grazing for two seasons. In addition to endangering the lives of firefighters, the damage cost the federal government more than $1 million. As The Oregonians Les Zaitz points out, Steven Hammond and his son set another fire in 2006 to prevent a blaze caused by lightning from destroying their ranch and winter feed. As with their militant supporters, it is clear that the two ranchers felt entitled to break laws they believed were unjust or antithetical to their interests rather than attempting to change them.

The federal governments subdued response to the Oregon takeover reflects the racial double standard that was part and parcel of westward expansion.

Moreover, the militants claim to be careful stewards of the land and regional history. Yet their behavior and the narratives their supporters tell about the land reveal the narrowness of their vision. The land on (and around) the refuge has a complicated history and mixed-use purpose, which the Hammonds ignored believing that they knew how best to utilize the property. The actions of the Hammonds and their militant supporters mirror the practices of Oregons earlier white settlers, who made, in the words of Indian Agent W.V. Rinehart in 1878, no secret of their intention to occupy and use the land that had been reserved for Native Americans. The settlers illegally took up residence on the Malheur Indian Reserve, grazed their cattle there and refused to vacate. The ensuing standoff between Native peoples and white settlers led to the Bannock War of 1878. In the wake of the fighting, in 1879, the U.S. Army rounded up 500 members of the Northern Paiute tribe and forcibly relocated them to the Yakima Reserve in Washington State. At least 100 Paiutes died during the brutal relocation effort.

Bannock prisoners at the Snake River Reservation in Fort Hall, Idaho, September 1878. Smithsonian Institute Archives
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Donald Trumps candidacy for president has triggered a cascade of bigotry: first against Mexicans, then against women, and lately, in the wake of the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, against Muslims. Trump continuously defends his outlandish statements, responding to criticism with different iterations of Im so tired of this politically correct crap  suggesting, in other words, that the problem is not his overt racism, but an intolerant society of overly sensitive liberals who violate his freedom of speech.

Trumps recent call to ban Muslims from entering the United States enraged Democrats and Republicans, and even elicited criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Trump is relentless in his bigotry, and has declared a war on political correctness, using his presidential campaign as its first offensive.

His war is escalating, nearly unabated; although his hateful slurs are despicable, theyre perfectly legal in the U.S. A nearly all-encompassing defense of speech, enshrined in the First Amendment, is a cornerstone of the American legal system. The amendment serves as a check on government overreach, allowing citizens to freely criticize those in power without fear of repercussion. That promotes a culture of debate, characterized by protest and disagreement. Long-serving Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, an ardent defender of the First Amendment, famously described its protection against exceptions to the rule, saying that Congress shall make no law  abridging the freedom of speech means no law.

But that system is not universally revered. It has obvious costs: Tolerating bigoted speech means that people  particularly the marginalized  often get hurt. The alternative means taking punitive measures. Earlier this year, brothers at the University of Oklahoma fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon were filmed chanting, There will never be a nigger [at] SAE, you can hang him from a tree. Two of them were subsequently expelled  the rest were disciplined and the fraternity was closed  prompting outcry from lawyers who argued that, as a public institution, the university had violated the First Amendment.

But for many, the students reference to lynching was a chilling echo of a dark past, and should be rejected. After the incident, Kent Greenfield, a professor at Boston College Law School, wrote that embracing the right to chant racist slogans is a bloated and ham-fisted interpretation of the First Amendment that should compel us to rethink its meaning.

The students expulsion may have sent that message, and was generally popular among students. Still, opponents cited numerous court rulings that disallow universities from disciplining students based on speech. It later came to light that the students had learned the racist chant years prior at a national fraternity event; an investigation showed that it had been an institutionalized part of fraternity culture for the last 50 years. At the time, some argued that the expulsions offered a swift way to postpone addressing deeper issues of racism on campus.

In other countries, the Oklahoma expulsion would have been a no-brainer, and Trumps hate speech would certainly not fly. France is a good example. When National Front politician Anne-Sophie Leclere compared Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, a black woman, to a chimpanzee, she received a nine-month prison term and a 50,000 euro fine. The penalty is currently under review, but the mere fact that she was tried for her racist remarks  and handed a clearly disproportionate sentence  is indicative of Frances interventionist free-speech regime.
SALT LAKE CITY  It was an average day in Salt Lake City for Anndorie Cromar. Shed sent two of her kids off to school and was at work. Her mother was at home taking care of her twin 2-year-old boys when someone left a business card on the front door. It was a caseworker from Child Protective Services. When Cromar spoke to her on the phone, it marked the beginning of a grueling journey. They basically said that they were investigating me and that the child I just had tested positive for methamphetamine, Cromar said. But Cromar hadn't just given birth. When she tried to explain this to the Child Protective Services officer, they didnt believe her. Their response was, We know you're a drug addict. Don't try to change the subject. This has to do with the baby you left at the hospital, Cromar recalled. I said, 'I think you have the wrong person. I'm a mother of four,' and they said, 'Oh, we know all about the four children you have at home and we're as concerned for their safety as we are for the safety of the baby. You're using methamphetamine  all four of your children are in danger.'" What they didnt know  and what Cromar wouldnt find out until days later  was that her drivers license, stolen from her car earlier that year, had made her the victim of medical identity fraud.

Anndorie Cromar at home with her four children America Tonight Medical identity fraud is a growing problem that hospitals, medical service providers and patients are facing nationwide. Medical and insurance information is estimated to be 10 times more valuable on the black market than your credit card number. Experts say that is because it offers access to bank and insurance accounts, and the ability to obtain prescriptions. Theres also huge lag-time between the theft of the data and realization by the victim that its being fraudulently used. In Cromars case, her name, which was taken from her stolen drivers license, had been used to gain admission to a hospital, obtain services like an ambulance ride and ultra sound and was ultimately put on the birth certificate of someone elses newborn. The real mother, Cromar suspects, was hoping to hide her drug addiction. As a result, Cromars life was turned upside down. "I spent nights crying on the bathroom floor, Cromar said. I would wake up in a panic in the middle of the night, worried that somebody was going through my car, or that somebody was going to take my kids." To top it off, she was now legally the mother of the newborn child in question.

'Bad data'

When Cromar tried to untangle the mess, her progress was hindered by medical privacy laws, which meant that once she reported her case as medical identity theft to the hospital, they restricted access to her own medical records  making it difficult for her to know if they were correct. They wouldn't let me see my medical records [it is as if] the hospital is trying to protect the perpetrator of the crime instead of the victim of the crime, she said. To this day, Cromar says she doesnt have any right to go in and make sure that her medical records got cleaned up.

Rios says medical identity fraud is an unintended consequence of new requirements about information sharing America Tonight Billy Rios, a cybersecurity expert who specializes in health data security, says once the bad data is out there, its next to impossible to reel it back in. You can't revoke someone's patient history, and the decisions that are made based on that data are really important, Rios said. It's an ecosystem of things that are connected together, and you can't have security in one without having security in the other. Otherwise, the ecosystem's going to fall apart. In addition to Cromar nearly having her children taken away from her by Child Protective Services and her medical records populated with dangerously false information, she was also billed for the newborns medical bills  two hospitals, an anesthesiologist, an ambulance ride and an ultrasound tech  amounting to $10,000 in bills. Months of DNA testing, lawyers and court appearances would follow in an attempt to unravel the mess and clear her name. Cromar said that despite the proof and court documents, "it seemed like forever" before some of the companies demanding payment would relent. "Some of them didn't believe me, Cromar said. It wasn't something that they were willing to just say, Oh, yeah, medical identity theft. We'll take it off. We'll stop billing you. It doesn't work like that."

Unintended consequences

Rios says medical identity fraud  and the problems addressing it when it happens  is an unintended consequence of new requirements about information sharing. Under the law, medical information is increasingly available and exchangeable through Electronically Shared Health Records, or EHRs. "A lot of hospitals now have actually requirements to make it so they can share data and interchange data, Rios said. It's not that they want to do this. They have to do it." Another unintended consequence: Once someone is a victim, it makes it harder to ensure that their records are rectified. "I don't know what information got transmitted electronically to some other database, Cromar said. I still don't know what's put in the baby's medical records. I don't know if the baby's medical records say, Cromar was a meth addict and had this baby. She fears for the day that she needs urgent medical care. What happens if I need a transfusion and go to the hospital? she asked. Which blood type do they go off of? Do they go off of her blood type? Do they of off of my blood type?" For Cromar, the emotion of the ordeal didnt end when the bills stopped. She worried about the baby shed never met, but for whom she was named the legal mother. "You know, it felt different to be called the legal mom of a child, and there was some emotional responsibility, she said. Cromar says she thought about trying to get custody of the baby. I knew that they were going to have to take the child and place it in a home. First of all, the child was born addicted to drugs. Second of all, nobody knew who or where the mom was, she said. "And there was a part of me that was like, Well, I'm already the legal mom. Maybe this is what's supposed to happen." Cromar chose not to pursue adoption, but she says it took her several years to feel like her life was separate from the child she had never met. But there are still reminders when she least expects it. While things may have been straightened out on paper, electronic data in the vast system still contains false, potentially harmful information  the baby still carries Cromar's name. "Still to this day, sometimes I'll go to the pharmacy and along with my kids, this child will pop up [in my records]  so it'll be my kids  and this extra child that kind of pops up and is grouped in, Cromar said. Information just gets in electronically and there's no way to really be sure that it's fixed all the places that it goes."
CLEVELAND  When Joseph Worthy thinks of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old shot by Cleveland police while playing with a pellet gun, he sees family.

I have a lot of nieces and nephews in the city of Cleveland. They like to play in the park, Worthy said. So for me, when I see what happened to Tamir, I cannot see how that can not happen to my own family, to the kids that Im responsible to help raise and bring along in this world.

Worthy runs the Childrens Defense Fund Office in Cleveland. Last June, he became one of the Cleveland Eight, a group of community activists and church leaders who petitioned an Ohio state court to hear evidence in the Rice case. The group had felt frustrated by the local prosecutors failure to seek indictments against Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot Rice only two seconds after arriving in a local park. What the Cleveland Eight sought was a clear legal evaluation of the evidence, and in response to the groups petition, Cleveland Judge Ronald Adrine found probable cause that a crime had been committed.

But Adrines ruling failed to have an enduring effect, as a local grand jury declined to indict Loehmann and his partner in late December. Nevertheless, Joseph Worthy says he is vowing to keep up fighting for the cause of non-violent change in the criminal justice system, to help other youth in Cleveland avoid the same fate as Rice.

As a community of activists and non-violent practitioners, as people who believe black lives matter, we have to commit ourselves to struggle in this country to get it done, he said. Its the only way its ever gotten done in this country.

Worthy described community activism in prosaic terms  picking up participants for meeting, delivering writing supplies and ordering food, but he said that in these simple actions lie the seeds of democratic change.

I dont have the luxury of being tired. I have family in this city who are on the prison pipeline, who have stared down the barrel of police guns. Some who are not even one year old yet, he said. I understand that, so I cant be tired. I cant give up. I just have to look at new ways to get this done. Im not going to sacrifice the lives of my nieces and nephews by being overwhelmed by the situation. I cant. My family cant do that. We arent afforded that privilege.

America Tonight sat down with Worthy and his colleagues at the New Abolitionist Association, formed through the Childrens Defense Fund to address issues of incarceration, or what its members call the cradle-to-prison pipeline.

Below, hear from those activists, who described their work as following a decades-old legacy of social activism advanced by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Childrens Defense Fund, and Gene Sharp, a leading philosopher of non-violent struggle for social change. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.




Preah Vihear Temple built dedicated to God Kutisvara Shiva High Prince. In fact, Siamese Temple illegally occupied since 1940 and incorporated Vihear temple to the list of Siam in the 1940s. Then Siam Guard from 1941. Washington agreement dated 17 May 1946 - 1941 Convention considered null and void, and needed to keep the situation before the year 1941. border nerve Siam ceded Wat Phou Laos Siamese but not awarded the temple to Cambodia. In November 1953, the government used its sovereignty claim, seconded by three Khmer temple. But these three ethnic Khmer people were leaving the Temple absolute control back from the Thai authorities. At the end of March 1954, with concerns in the restoration of order in the border area north of the Cambodian government has warned to Bangkok to send young Cambodians to the temple to aid guards Cambodia, which had departed from nerve past, but prior to this project, the temple was occupied by illegal armed forces Siam. In June 1959 kyao from his official visit to the Kingdom of cloth Co., Mom, Thai Foreign Minister, Government of Cambodia submitted a new proposal for Siam. Temple management proposal that is jointly by the country retains its sovereign rights not agree that the country will file a complaint to the court in The Hague. Siam did not respond to this request on 6 October 1959, the Cambodian government has filed a complaint with the international court. The Hague Tribunal has decided to Khmer won the case on 15 June 1962. Hague verdict on 15 June 1962: Preah Vihear Temple built dedicated to God Kutisvara Shiva High Prince. In fact, Siamese Temple illegally occupied since 1940 and incorporated Vihear temple to the list of Siam in the 1940s. Then Siam Guard from 1941. Washington agreement dated 17 May 1946 - 1941 Convention considered null and void, and needed to keep the situation before the year 1941. border nerve Siam ceded Wat Phou Laos Siamese but not awarded the temple to Cambodia. In November 1953, the government used its sovereignty claim, seconded by three Khmer temple. But these three ethnic Khmer people were leaving the Temple absolute control back from the Thai authorities. At the end of March 1954, with concerns in the restoration of order in the border area north of the Cambodian government has warned to Bangkok to send young Cambodians to the temple to aid guards Cambodia, which had departed from nerve past, but prior to this project, the temple was occupied by illegal armed forces Siam. In June 1959 kyao from his official visit to the Kingdom of cloth Co., Mom, Thai Foreign Minister, Government of Cambodia submitted a new proposal for Siam. Temple management proposal that is jointly by the country retains its sovereign rights not agree that the country will file a complaint to the court in The Hague. Siam did not respond to this request on 6 October 1959, the Cambodian government has filed a complaint with the international court. The Hague Tribunal has decided to Khmer won the case on 15 June 1962. Hague verdict on 15 June 1962:

1. Temple is the legacy of the Khmer and Khmer sovereign territory.

2. Thailand must withdraw personnel and armed forces out of the temple of the Khmer Thailand was awarded to Cambodia marble statues and other artifacts Siam collected from the Preah Vihear temple. 46 years later, the Court Justice Culture International of The Hague, the Netherlands has sentenced clear that: the temple as a wealth of Khmer located in the sovereignty of the country to come just to now, there are politicians a small group remembered wanted demand to oversized want to manage, especially want How to bother Government of Cambodia to enter and register Preah Vihear World Heritage List of UNESCO. Khmer temple in the World Heritage nhkhi will be discussed again on July 2 to 12, 2008 in Quebec City, Canada.




Lord Shiva: As a Greatest Environmentalist in the World, a paper that was to be presented at the 103rd Indian Science Congress here on Wednesday, could not be presented as author Akhilesh K Pandey failed to show up.

The science meet has already been marred by controversy after another paper, Blowing of the Shankh by Rajeev Sharma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, was found to have no scientific base but was still presented.

While it isnt known why Pandey failed to show up at the event, participants have questioned why the organising association let the topic graduate to the presentation stage in the first place despite preparations to weed out mythology from this years event.

Gangadhar Mishra, sectional president-environmental science at the International Science Congress Association (ISCA), claimed that the body received 380 papers related to environmental studies, out of which 30 papers were picked, including the one about Shiva.

We are venturing into everything that can give you information, including mythology, said Mishra on the sidelines of the event. Whether it has any science or not will be challenged before the speaker when he comes and delivers his lecture.



Mishra, a retired professor of chemistry and dean, faculty of science, at the Ranchi University, is the director of Dr Mishras Laboratories Pvt Ltd, which produces medicines that he claims were discovered from ancient Indian scriptures.

Only pure science is our real business this time, Arun Kumar, general secretary of ISCA, had said on Saturday. Last year, we had certain issues when mythology overshadowed science. We are staying away from it and concentrating only on science.



Papers sent to the ISCA are not peer reviewed or published. Once these are presented at the event, the association cross-examines the author before selecting or rejecting the paper for publishing.

In the great Hindu epic, The Mahabharata, Lord Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God and is often referred to as the Tryambaka Deva. The sun is said to be his right eye, the moon the left eye and fire is his third eye, reads an abstract of Lord Shiva: As a Greatest Environmentalist in the World.

Mythology creeping into the event is not a new phenomenon. The 102nd edition of the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai was marred by a controversy over the presentation of a so-called scientific paper claiming aircraft were developed in India during the Vedic period.

Ashok Kumar Saxena, general president of ISAC, said he wasnt aware of the latest development. General secretary Arun Kumar wasnt available for comment.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had apparently snubbed Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), a scientific association backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, by deciding not to present it with an award at the inaugural ceremony of the 103rd Indian Science Congress.

A Jayakumar, general secretary of VIBHA, claimed the organisation was to be awarded for its achievement of finding a mention in the Guinness World Records for successfully conducting the worlds largest practical science lesson on December 7.

On Tuesday, Blowing of the Shankh was presented under the anthropological and behavioural sciences section by Sharma, the IAS office from UP, suggesting that the shankh had spiritual and mysterious powers. The presentation drew the ire of the audience, who claimed there was no scientific backing to Sharmas claims.
Emphasising that India had not imposed any deadlines on Pakistan, spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vikas Swarup said the evidence for the Pathankot attack had been provided to Islamabad and the ball was in Pakistan's court.

But he implied that there would be no forward movement by India on Foreign Secretary-level talks until Pakistan had responded to Indian concerns. "There is a lot of time between 7th to 15th January, we will wait to see what happens in this time," he said at an official briefing.

"We have said that cross border terrorism should stop and wehave provided evidence (of it).We now await prompt and decisive action from Pakistan PM," he added. Swarup hinted at the structure and scope of the Indian Foreign Secretary's brief when he said the Pathankot attack had once again put renewed focus on challenge ofcross-border terrorism.

This means cross border terrorism will be one of the most important issues put forward by India in the talks. In the parallel, moving fast, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was closeted with top officials and ministers including National Security Advisor Nasir Khan Janjua and Foreign Advisor Sartaj Aziz to mull strategies on how to address India's concern without a domestic boomerang.

Although Sharif has reportedly told the Indian PM that action will be taken against groups if the evidence proves they were involved in attacks against India, thiswill not be received well inside Pakistan. However, while Chief of Army Staff, Gen Raheel Sharif said publicly that terrorism will end in Pakistan in 2016, he may have been speaking of the Zarb e Azb campaign against separatist groups within Pakistan and not the activities of anti-India groups.

How quickly Pakistan declares results on the Pathankot attack will determine if the Foreignn Secretaries will resume the dialogue.
To ensure more money for micro and small enterprises, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved conversion of Mudra Ltd (Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency), into a bank, beside the setting up of two credit guarantee funds.

The two funds will cater to loans disbursed under the Mudra Yojana and the Stand-Up India scheme, to support women entrepreneurs and those from backward classes. The renamed Mudra agency (to be called the Small Industries Development Bank of India Bank), will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Small Industries Development Bank of India. It will undertake refinancing operations.

The department of financial services sought approval to set up two credit guarantee funds. The first one is being established for the Mudra loans and another for Stand Up India. With each passing day, banks have been further activating the loans under Mudra, said finance minister Arun Jaitley after the meeting.

The said funds are expected to guarantee Rs 1 lakh crore worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance, and help in reducing risk taken by banks and financial institutions in the case of defaults under the scheme.

The number of beneficiaries under Mudra had reached 17.3 million. We were keeping track of all direct beneficiaries. Since we are in early January, there is significant headspace, for public and private sector banks to issue loans under the scheme. So I hope more and more people take the financing, Jaitley added.

For the Mudra credit guarantee fund, the government is looking at a corpus of Rs 3,000 crore. It is going to be settled by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company, in existence on a portfolio basis, to a maximum extent of 50 per cent of the amount in default.

OTHER DECISIONS PPP-Ganga

The cabinet approved creation of a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to explore and develop new markets for treated wastewater, as part of the Namami Gange programme which seeks to integrate efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river. Bangladesh-Haat

Also approved was an agreement with Bangladesh to set up border haats (markets), signed in October 2010. It would begin on an experimental basis in four places. Four-laning of highways

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved four-laning of the Nagina-Kashipur section of National Highway 74 in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, for Rs 2,536 crore. The total length will be 99 km. Czech protocol

India has signed a protocol with the Czech Republic to promote bilateral cooperation in heavy industry, especially in industrial cooperation and facilities construction, the Cabinet was apprised



ILO

An instrument adopted by the International Labour Organization on recommendations fortransition from the informal to formal economy was approved. Terrorism

The Cabinet gave ex post facto approval to a pact between India and Bahrain on combating international terrorism and drug trafficking. Corporate Affairs

Agreements signed by MCA, fair trade regulator CCI and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs with foreign organisations to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information, were today approved by the Cabinet. FARAKKA-LAND

The government has approved transfer of land from Farakka Barrage Project to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for construction of navigational lock parallel to the one at Farakka.

We expect the banks to pick up credit guarantee fee as far as the portfolio is concerned. The rate of refinance is one per cent and varies according to the risk assessment, said department of financial services secretary Anjuly Chibb Duggal.

The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) will be a wholly-owned company of the Government of India, constituted under the Companies Act to manage and operate various credit guarantee funds.

Three products available under the Mudra Yojana are Shishu, Kishor and Tarun, to signify the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit or entrepreneur. Shishu covers loans up to Rs 50,000, while Kishor covers above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh. The Tarun category provides loans of above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh.

The Reserve Bank has allocated Rs 20,000 crore and the first tranche of Rs 5,000 crore has been received by Mudra as refinance.

The 2015-16 Budget had proposed to set up the Mudra Bank and a credit guarantee fund, with a refinance corpus of Rs 20,000 crore and a corpus of Rs 3,000 crore, respectively. A credit guarantee fund was also set up for Stand-Up India, for scheduled caste/tribe and women entrepreneurs.

Every branch of every bank will at least two persons, one SC/ST and a woman entrepreneur. Total amount to be sanctioned to them for setting up a new business will be Rs 10 lakh to one crore, said Jaitley.

Duggal said the Stand-Up India credit guarantee fund will have a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore. The amount guaranteed will be 75 per cent of loans. This will be on an individual basis, she said.
A Chinese state-owned power company will develop a major hydropower project in Pakistan as part of the implementation of USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor connecting the two countries through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) will develop the Kohala Hydropower Project, the firm's biggest investment in the Pakistani hydropower market. It is expected to have an installed capacity of 1.1 million kilowatts, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and energy infrastructure to assist development in Pakistan and boost growth for the Chinese border .

In September, CTGC registered a subsidiary for the project in Pakistan.

A Pakistani government supporting letter for the project was issued last week, CTGC said.

Established in 1993, CTGC is "a clean energy group focusing on large-scale hydropower development and operation."



It manages the development and operation of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project in terms of installed capacity.
Punjab's Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts remained on high alert on Thursday after earlier reports of suspicious people being seen in the area. Security forces carried out a thorough search operation in several villages around the Tibri army cantonment area near here.

Villages in a 10-km area around Tibri Cantt were sealed by security forces, comprising the army and Punjab Police, to look for suspicious people.

Police officers involved in the massive search operation said that security forces had to face difficulty in searching in some parts due to the standing sugarcane crop in the entire belt.

A resident of Pandher village near Gurdaspur had informed the police that he saw two men in army fatigues moving suspiciously near an agricultural field and then entering a sugarcane field on Tuesday.

The search operation was launched on Wednesday evening with over 1,000 security personnel scanning the area.

The high alert in the border belt follows last Saturday's terrorist attack on the Pathankot air base in which six terrorists and seven security personnel were killed in an operation lasting over three and a half days.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the attack, the circumstances leading to it and security lapses, continued to question Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh.

The NIA teams continued to reconstruct the chain of events from the India-Pakistan international border in the Bamiyal sector in north Punjab to the Pathankot air base. The terrorists are believed to have taken this route to enter the air base.
Terrorist group praises Australias Israel position The Albanese Governments decision to no longer recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has been welcomed by listed terrorist organisation Hamas.

Major announcement on Marinus Link Anthony Albanese was with Jeremy Rockliff in Tasmania on Wednesday to make a major announcement on new under-sea transmission cables to connect the Apple Isle with Victoria.

Loud bang: Earthquake rattles town in Victorias north An earthquake has shaken a small Victorian town and is the latest blow for residents facing the threat of further flash flooding in the state's north.

Coatsworth slams AMAs response to Medicare scandal Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth says the survival of Medicare depends on "us cleaning up our own act" following allegations of the public system wasting billions of dollars.
Seventeenth in a series of stories highlighting the 2015 20 Under 40 recipients.

WATERLOO  Lalaina Rabarys focus on others envelops her job as well as an extensive volunteer agenda.

Professionally, Rabary handles communications and marketing for the Waterloo-based VGM Groups People for Quality Care division. There, she advocates to provide medical care and equipment to those in need.

She continually strives to ensure that every member of our community regardless of race, age or disability is treated fairly and with respect, said Tom Blanford of NXT Bank in Cedar Falls, a fellow member of Rotary who nominated Rabary for 20 Under 40 honors in 2015. I have been extremely impressed with Lalainas efforts in promoting the highest quality of life for everyone in the Cedar Valley, and I feel that she truly represents one of the best members of our community under 40 years of age.

Rabary, 27, a native of Madagascar, has been a member of Rotary for five years.

But, shes more than just a member.

Ive chaired committees, headed up Polio Plus campaign last year and various fundraising activities, she said. In 2013, I collaborated with a friend of mine on a Welcoming Week for immigrants. I helped with the Human Rights Commission. We did a voter registration last November. Im currently helping out with the Womens Center for Change, and some friends of mine are collaborating to put together a transportation program for the residents.

She also volunteers with the Job Foundation, an organization that teaches youths about finances.

These are at-risk youths, Rabary said. They can teach them how to be good stewards.

Rabary said her parents were profound influences on her, and her younger brother, who was born with Charge Syndrome  a rare genetic condition that left him with a hole in his heart.

When he was born they said hed die; now, hes 24 and hes the foundation of why I work really hard for others.

Rabarys father, Jean, is a pastor, and her parents faith runs strong through the family, she said.

They came to the states with nothing and they had a son when they came with major disability, Rabary said. Their faith has shown me to have faith, as well. My dad said, Sometimes life is a mountain and the prize is at the top, and you have to be educated. I came from a strong Christian family and so they pushed education. Just watching them go through all these struggles and not giving up, that really has inspired me.

Thats actually part of her calling as a volunteer and as a young leader in the community, Rabary said.

A leader is someone whos able to inspire people, to mobilize people around various causes and missions, she said. A leader is able to believe in others, see their worth and pool talents together. A leader has great ethical practices but is humble and is able to come and meet people where they are and walk with them. A leader is somebody is who is thirsty for more knowledge, always trying to learn. And a leader collaborates with other people.

A leader never gives up, Rabary said.

My personal goal is to continue to be a good leader in the community, a good daughter, a great friend, a great servant and a good partner, too, to always be there for people, to be more present in my life, she said.

See the interviews with 20 Under 40 winners at WCFCourier.com.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Despite what seems to be 24/7 coverage, Iowas first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses remain a mystery to many people  including Iowans, according to Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University political science professor who fields caucus questions from media outlets around the globe.

Schmidt is offering answers to anyone curious about the caucuses that kick off the presidential nomination process for both Democrats and Republicans. Its all part of ISUs first MOOC  massive open online course  that runs through Feb. 2 at www.iowacaucusesmooc.org.

Schmidt will explain the history of the caucuses, which began to play a significant role in the nomination process in the 1970s. Hell discuss famous events that propelled Iowa to the forefront and share caucus anecdotes.

Its a four-week, self-paced course where participants can chose any topic of their choice and explore it, said Ritushree Chatterjee, instructional development specialist, who works with Schmidt. There are interactive discussion forums for them engage with fellow participants and voice their thoughts on the caucuses.

Typical of the comments, Schmidt said, was this from a Spanish network correspondent who said in 45 minutes he got insights that improved his coverage of the American presidential candidate selection process and with great humor and interesting anecdotes.

More than 400 people participated in the previous session. The basic content in each session is the same, Chatterjee said, But infused with the latest happenings in the caucus and political scene with analysis by Dr. Schmidt.

Schmidt also will explain how the GOP and Democratic caucuses actually work on caucus night. Each party has its own format for measuring candidate support.

Participants can spend as much time as they want and not a minute more in the course, Schmidt said, and can engage in discussions with him and other participants. So far, more than 400 people have taken the online class.

He also invites participants to share Iowa caucus stories, images, audio, movies and text that will be added to the Iowa Caucuses MOOC Museum.
CEDAR FALLS  Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a roomful of people in Cedar Falls that its important for the next White House occupant to get the country on track monetarily, militarily, and morally.

Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and 2008 Iowa caucus winner, said it is politically incorrect to talk about morality, before explaining his desire to see the courts decide with finality the personhood of a fetus.

But he said after the town hall with more than 40 people in attendance at Tonys La Pizzeria on Wednesday afternoon that his definition of morality is simply: Do unto others as youd have them do unto you.

That kind of settles morality, Huckabee told The Courier after his meeting. Morality doesnt necessarily mean that you are imposing a religion. It imposes a basic sense of self-respect and respect of others that is equal to the respect you have for yourself.

Huckabee kept true to that sense of morality when the former pastor was asked about his stance toward atheists. Though he disputed the phrase separation of church and state for not being in the U.S. Constitution, Huckabee agreed the government ought not to favor a particular religion.

I would absolutely defend a person who is an atheist, whether its you or anybody else, would absolutely have a right to be an atheist and be protected in that. I just want to make sure that people who are Christian are not criminalized for their Christian beliefs, Huckabee said.

Huckabee said he has publicly stated before  and reiterated Wednesday  he would rather support an atheist running for office who is honest about his or her beliefs than support someone who pretends to be Christian.

When his back-and-forth on atheism with Waterloo resident Justin Scott ended amicably, Huckabee took to criticizing a culture that is often quick to judge others.

One of the things that is so frustrating in our culture today is sometimes people think that they can judge immediately. For example, I get judged because I am a Christian. People assume they know everything that I believe and they dont. I think I just surprised you, Huckabee said.

Scott, a member of the Cedar Valley Atheists, said after the meeting that he loved Huckabees comments and appreciated that he answered the question head-on. He said his only concern is that Huckabee sticks to that same message outside of the small gathering in Cedar Falls.

Huckabee is polling at an average of 2.6 percent in Iowa polls, according to Real Clear Politics.

Chris Simenson, of Dunkerton, said he liked Huckabees message of the importance of the Iowa caucuses.

The strength, the power and the genius is that the Iowa caucus has historically forced candidates to come and earn the vote, Huckabee said at the beginning of his town hall.

Simenson said he has always liked Huckabees message and likes the grasp of the issues that governors tend to have, but he was otherwise tight-lipped about who he plans to support in the Feb. 1 caucus. Still open. I still have an open mind, Simenson said. Thats why I am here.
Salvation Army seeks donations

WATERLOO  The Salvation Army of Waterloo-Cedar Falls has raised 77 percent of its holiday fundraising goal of $730,000. Another $169,600 is needed to complete the campaign, which accounts for 40 percent of the Salvation Armys annual budget.

For every $100 donated, the Salvation Army can do one of several things, including:

Help four people get to vital medical appointments.

Ensure five families have enough food to eat.

Give an at-risk youth the experience of three days at summer camp.

Shelter an individual for eight nights.

The Salvation Army will continue to collect toward the goal in the month of January. Gifts can be made at www.sawaterloo.org; P.O. Box 867, Waterloo 50704; or 89 Franklin St. in Waterloo.

County to sell radon test kits

WATERLOO  The Black Hawk County Health Department will sell radon test kits to residents from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Monday. in the main floor lobby of the Pinecrest Building, 1407 Independence Ave.

Kits are always available on the fifth floor at the health department during regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

One kit is sold for $8 or two kits for $15; cash or checks only.

Booths sought for CultureFest

WATERLOO  CultureFest will be at the Waterloo Center for the Arts on April 7.

The CultureFest committee is now taking registration applications for exhibitors for the event. CultureFest is the Cedar Valleys largest celebration of cultural diversity. It is a two-hour event where families can explore and learn about the many people, businesses and organizations that both create and support the diversity of the Cedar Valley.

For more information on how to showcase recreational activity, community service, educational opportunity or information of general interest, go to www.waterlooschools.org.

Hawkeye named tops for veterans

WATERLOO  Military Advanced Education & Transition has awarded Hawkeye Community College the designation of a Top School in its 2016 Guide to Colleges and Universities, measuring best practices in military and veteran education.

Hawkeyes military and veterans services office includes a coordinator and resource center providing veterans with a central point of contact and making it easy for a one-stop-shop approach to determining funding and resources.

The guide was released late in December and is available at www.mae-kmi.com.
Editors note: This story contains graphic information about alleged crimes that some readers may find disturbing.

WEST UNION  The question of Leroy Kula Jr.s guilt or innocence rests with Judge Richard Stochl after a two-day bench trial wrapped up Thursday in Fayette County District Court.

Kula, 35, faces two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Each charge is a felony, and a conviction could mean up to 70 years in prison.

The alleged victims in the case were three girls, at the time 4, 5 and 6 years old. Prosecutor Denise Timmins, an assistant Iowa attorney general, tried to prove Kula while living in Arlington performed sex acts on at least two of the girls and recorded videos and took photos of at least two.

Chief Deputy James Davis, however, revealed on the witness stand Thursday morning additional victims allegedly exist. Investigators discovered at least eight children in homemade videos seized at Kulas most recent residence.

Two of the children live in Fayette County, but authorities do not know who all the kids are.

There are two or three that have yet to be identified, Davis said later.

Kula allegedly made videotapes when he also lived in Oelwein, Independence and Grinnell. An outstanding arrest warrant is pending in Poweshiek County, according to Davis.

All of the information has been turned over to the attorney generals office, he added.

Timmins declined to comment, noting her offices policy of not talking about ongoing investigations.

On the witness stand, Davis said he and two other officers searched Kulas home Oct. 31, 2014. They found more than 200 VHS tapes and hundreds of CDs and DVDs, as well as digital cameras, storage devices and a recording system.

Davis described Kulas surveillance system as extensive and obvious with up to two cameras in most rooms. The cameras, though, could not record but fed video images by cables to VCRs in a bedroom closet used by children and another in the kitchen.

The small cameras had to be powered on and off manually and so did the VHS recorder. The cameras sat on shelves or hung on nails, and most were portable, according to Davis.

Davis reviewed the videos, which were marked with names of television shows or movies. Within the programming, Davis testified, Kula attempted to disguise his videos of children dressing and showing him engaged in sex acts.

To find the incriminating evidence, you had to watch the whole thing, Davis testified.

On cross-examination by defense attorney Matthew Hoffey, Davis acknowledged Kula was not the only man in the house. The father of one of Kulas alleged victims spent considerable time with Kula, and an older boy was also there.

In her closing argument, Timmins told Judge Stochl the evidence supporting guilty verdicts is clear.

These are young children. They have no reason to make this up, Timmins said.

What they are describing are not within childrens knowledge, she added.  ... Obviously, the court has to believe these girls, and you have no reason not to.

Timmins conceded Hoffeys point the girls accounts of the events do contain inconsistencies. However, she noted the identity of their alleged abuser has been consistent.

That has never wavered, never changed. They have never accused anyone else, Timmins said.

Kula, she argued, can not reasonably claim the videos of girls undressing were accidentally captured by a surveillance system. His acts were intentional.

This is something hes done for a long time. ... There is a purpose to this for him, and the purpose is sexual arousal, Timmins added.

In his final statement, Hoffey focused on variations in the girls stories. He also suggested no corroboration exists for the inconsistent testimony that was vague and without detail.

Judge Stochl promised to review the evidence and render a verdict as soon as possible.
CEDAR FALLS | Police are continuing to investigate a hit-and-run accident that injured two people during New Years Eve festivities.

According to police, staff from Voodoo Lounge on Main Street alerted officers to a fight outside around 12:05 a.m. Friday. During the shuffle, someone fled in a vehicle in an alleyway behind the business.

The vehicle backed up, striking Isaiah Thompson, 19, and then pulled forward, hitting Elliott Thompson, 21, and left the area, police said. The Thompsons, both of Waterloo, were taken to a hospital for treatment and have since been released, police said. The vehicle was described as a white passenger car, possibly a Chevrolet Impala.

Authorities said the incident wasnt related to a man who was arrested hours later in the same area for carrying weapons. Patrol officers noticed a man who appeared intoxicated at about 2 p.m. and found a set of brass knuckles in his pants pocket. Javan Tierra White, 31, of Cedar Falls, was arrested for carrying weapons and second-offense public intoxication.
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CEDAR FALLS  Ardelle Brown will lead AAUW participants in an introduction to and discussion of Heidi Durrows The Girl Who Fell From the Sky on Jan. 11.

Cedar Valley Discuss, Discover Diversity will hold this discussion on the second floor of the Cedar Falls Public Library. Participants need not have read the book to join the discussion.

Durrows novel is inspired by true events. All Cedar Valley residents are welcome to join the discussion of this girl who struggles with a new school, and her confusion about whether she is African-American like her father or white like her Danish mother.

CV3D is supported by the Cedar Falls branch of the American Association of University Women and assisted by the support of the Cedar Falls Public Library.
WATERLOO | Salaries for Black Hawk County's elected officials continue to lag behind pay in other large Iowa counties.

Members of the county Board of Supervisors will have a chance this year to narrow the gap.

The county Compensation Board voted Tuesday to recommend 4 percent pay raises effective July 1 for the county's 10 elected officials  county attorney, sheriff, auditor, recorder, treasurer and five part-time supervisors.

The supervisors by law can cut the recommendation during their budget process, provided the reductions are equal across-the-board, but cannot approve pay raises higher than those proposed by the Compensation Board.

"Black Hawk County is low in some areas in terms of pay according to the county information we have from across the state," said Compensation Board Chairman Tom Powers.

"We wanted to give the supervisors the ability to give some pay raises that would help boost folks up," he added. "Our people work has hard as people in other counties."

Compensation boards consist of individuals appointed by county elected officials and are tasked under state law to recommend fair compensation. The supervisors then make the final decision based on political and budget realities.

Salary information from the Iowa State Association of Counties shows the total payroll for Black Hawk County's elected officials ranks ninth despite Black Hawk being the fifth most-populous of the state's 99 counties.

The disparity is worse among individual positions. County Attorney Brian Williams' pay ranks 11th while Sheriff Tony Thompson's salary is 10th highest in the state. The supervisors' pay ranks 26th.

About 10 deputies working under the elected officials  and who receive pay based on a percentage of their boss  also are affected by the recommendation.

For the second straight year, the Compensation Board also recommended the supervisors consider making their positions full-time in the future and to provide board members with health insurance.

"If we want to recruit new people to run for these positions, health care is a big issue," Power said. Three large Iowa counties have full-time supervisors.

Neither the insurance or full-time status fall under the duties of the Compensation Board, but Powers said board members felt it was important to provide that input to the policy makers.
Many Americans of a certain age, black and white and brown alike, doubted theyd live long enough to see an African-American elected president.

Barack Obamas historic, if somewhat surprising, achievement was likely a decisive factor in a January 2009 poll showing 77 percent of respondents believed race relations in the United States were very good or fairly good, the highest point ever in NBC News/Wall Street Journal surveys on the subject.

That was before Trayvon Martin, of course. And Michael Brown. And Eric Garner. And Freddie Gray. Before the violence in Ferguson. And Baltimore. And Berkeley. And Charleston.

After those far less proud moments  and many more like them  in recent years, Americans are much less positive about race relations than they were after Obamas first inauguration. Only 34 percent think relations are very good or fairly good, according to a recent survey by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal. The percentage is the lowest since October 1995, following the divisive trial of accused murderer O.J. Simpson.

This is a very sad chart, Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling firm that conducted the poll for the news organizations.

The decline began in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted in Martins shooting death in Florida. Its a reminder  what a continued rupture point in our country race is, McInturff said.

As in past surveys on the topic, there were notable differences in perceptions by race and ethnicity. Twenty-six percent of African-Americans, 33 percent of whites and 38 percent of Hispanics said they believe race relations are very good or fairly good today.

The deaths of unarmed black men  and their killers subsequent trials or lack thereof  clearly are a factor in those perceptions. In the survey a year ago, three-fourths of African-American respondents said the grand jury decision not to charge the Ferguson police officer who killed Brown hurt their faith in the criminal justice system.

That view was shared by only one-fourth of whites. A similar schism emerged around a grand jurys decision not to indict police officers involved in Garners chokehold death on Staten Island.

Today, black men are seven times more likely than white men to die by police gunfire while unarmed, a recent Washington Post analysis found. The reaction to that statistic varies by race  and, apparently, political perspective.

This months survey indicated 22 percent of Democrats considered the debate about the use of force by police one of the most personally important news events of 2015, compared to 7 percent of Republicans.

Still, there are signs of hope amid the turmoil.

Student protests at the University of Missouri-Columbia this year drew attention to long-running problems with race relations on campus and prompted major changes in leadership.

Not everyone was happy with the outcome, of course. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, hardly a unifying force in race relations, called the decision by top officials to resign disgusting and said they set something in motion thats going to be a disaster for a long period of time.

The June 17 mass murder of nine worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S. C., for which a 21-year-old white supremacist has been charged, shocked the nation.

The public response did little to advance the discussion about gun control or improving mental health care, but it did prompt a long-overdue debate in the South about its blithe embrace of Confederate symbols and their destructive effect on race relations.

As Confederate flags and other misplaced homages were removed from public places, a renewed interest in fostering better race relations in the South appeared to take hold, at least in most places.

Law enforcement officials are working to improve tracking the causes of police shootings nationwide. The FBI is expanding the information it gathers on violent police encounters, a move that should shed more light on the disproportionate number of cases where unarmed black men are killed.

This summer, Obama said he cautions young people not to overstate the nations struggle with race relations: Do not say that nothings changed when it comes to race in America  unless youve lived through being a black man in the 1950s, or 60s or 70s. It is incontrovertible that race relations have improved significantly during my lifetime and yours, and that opportunities have opened up, and that attitudes have changed.

But, he continued, What is also true is that the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives  you know, that casts a long shadow. And thats still part of our DNA thats passed on. Were not cured of it.

The cure remains elusive, and  at least for now  it appears the publics confidence in progress is wavering. But, as Obama points out and as his presidency illustrates, historic changes have occurred and they remain within our reach today. But American leaders must seek to unite, not to divide.
Disney

It isn't hard to see why the legendary Obi-Wan is such a fan-favourite, having been brought to life by the late Sir Alec Guinness and also Ewan McGregor too, the iconic Jedi is one of the only elements of consistency in the saga, with the brilliance of the character coming from the fact that he is as equally as fantastic in 'A New Hope' as he is in 'Revenge of the Sith,' or both the Clone Wars animated adaptations.

McGregor actually got a minor cameo in The Force Awakens, and one can only hope that another appearance is on the cards for The Last Jedi. There are plenty of stories left to be told, all of which possess great potential to tell a fundamentally different and engaging Star Wars feature. Indeed, Obi's one of the biggest personalities in the Star Wars canon, and it must be said that a solo feature - one free from the ensembles that have so often dominated the franchise - is long overdue.

It would be a deviation from the norm of past literature, but given the success of Rogue One, change - at least in respect to a galaxy far, far away - can only be a good thing.

8. Bring Back Ewan McGregor

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One of the few redeeming features of George Lucas's much maligned return to the saga, McGregor's performance as Obi-Wan was a more than commendable take on the role brought to life by Alec Guinness.

McGregor managed to embody the sarcasm, irony, and most importantly the intelligence of the character that had come to define the Jedi as soon as he walked onto screens in Star Wars' debut in 1977, which pretty much makes him a no-brainer to return to the role if Disney pursue it further.

All signs at this stage point towards the Star Wars veteran reprising his role as the character, with the actor previously stating he'd be more than enthused about returning if given such an opportunity.

McGregor's brief appearance in Rey's vision during The Force Awakens' second act would indicate that the House of Mouse is at least dabbling with the prospect of seeing the actor don the Jedi robes once more, but it's about more than just retaining a simple sense of continuity. McGregor navigates the character with such a proper sense of self-awareness yet emotional warmth that makes him irreplaceable in the position.

Furthermore, if we were to take the belief that Disney are looking to position the character in his self-imposed exile on Tatooine, McGregor is at the perfect age to explore his early years on the planet, watching over a young Luke Skywalker yet unable to train him at the behest of his adopted family.
Scott Stewart/AP

Bruce Springsteen acquired the nickname 'The Boss' during The E Street Band's early days playing clubs and bars. It was Springsteen's job, as the band leader and foreman, to collect the money they made on the night and pay the band members accordingly. Yes, it was as innocuous as that. But while the moniker may have humble origins, it has grown to mean so much more to legions of Springsteen fans around the world.

Although he has made around $150m over the last few years thanks to hit records and worldwide tours, he has frequently demonstrated that he hasn't lost the common touch. Deep down, away from all of the glitz and glamour, he's just a kid from New Jersey who wanted to sing and play guitar because he saw The Beatles on TV one night. During the short-lived The Ben Stiller Show in the early nineties, the comedian-cum-actor would play The Boss in a series of sketches called 'Legends of Springsteen' which presented fictional stories of Bruce delivering babies, cleaning up bars and saving the world from alien invasion in his spare time, playing off his reputation as a man of the people.

The funny thing is, there are some real-life Bruce stories that aren't too dissimilar from Stiller's parodies and prove that Springsteen is, was and always will be, The Boss..
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Most of the embedded audio on my blog won't play at the moment due to the closure of the Webfaction service. I hope to have it back online shortly.
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Focusing on the world of wines, beer, and spirits that we experience through our travels at WineCompass.com and theCompass Craft Beverage Finder.
Let's stop ALL the bickering and Banter and arguing and learn to LOVe one Another and get along. We can make the world more perfect if we learn to work together. If certain races or people outside of our own don't want to help, let's not let that stop us. We can work within the Black race, among Africans of the Diaspora, to better ourselves and have a more positive impact on the world.
What is Living History?

What is Living History?

Living history makes history come to life. To do this members emulate different sorts of people from history. These can include blacksmiths, seamstresses, housewives, farmers, woodsmen and woodswomen. We wear the clothes of the time and learn and use the life and trade skills of the period.

What period of history does the NECLHG re-enact ?

Approximately 1680-1760 on the New World Frontier.

Why this period of history and why a New World lifestyle and not Australian?

The New World was settled much earlier than Australia and enables us to choose from a larger variety of nationalities, occupations and skills. All of these options make the activities more fun.

Australian settlement was in a later period and founded on a penal colony. There are other re-enactment groups for people interested in the Australian colonial period.

Is joining NECLHG expensive?

No. There are no membership fees for the group. The activity is only as expensive as you want it to be! Many members make all their own period style clothing and equipment. This is an ideal activity for people who like to make things and be creative.

What if there are some items I can not make myself or I am too busy to make?

You always have the option of buying or trading for items. People who want to purchase their clothing and equipment can do so; there are many specialist suppliers. Also you can trade for items you can not make .

Can my family join this group?

Yes we are very family oriented.

What is experimental archaeology?

This is the term used when someone makes and uses a period tool or item. This can be anything from lighting a fire with a flint and steel to building and sailing a ship on an original route! It is the only way to really discover how things were done back then.

What is historical trekking?

This activity is trekking and camping in an historically accurate manner. People on a historical trek wear the clothing of the period and carry and use only the equipment used in that period. These treks are a great way to learn woods lore and survival skills.

What sort of period skills can we learn and practice?

You can learn and use any skill that was used in the period you reenact. For the mid-18th century these include spinning and weaving on a loom, finger weaving, tomahawk throwing, fire lighting, blade sharpening, leather making and leather working and much, much more.

Is the NECLHG a gun club?

No. Some on our members may carry a period gun on treks and camps as part of their persona. These guns are flintlock muzzle-loading antique guns or copies. The highest level of safely is maintained at all times. Guns are not carried loaded and all gun carrying members are licensed.

What about women members?

In the 18th century women performed many traditional and non traditional roles. There were women blacksmiths, naturalists, artists, and woods-women. Some accompanied militia on scouts . In the NECLHG a women can be what ever she wants to be!

What about children.?

Children are always welcome. Naturally children are the responsibility of their parents. Children really enjoy the living history activities and skills. It is a wonderful way to learn history and it makes their school based history a lot more meaningful. Also children can learn bush craft, survival skills and camping skills.


Youve got a decent hand. Youre sure of it, but you dont want to bet everything on it because you know the game and know that youll lose. What do you do? That depends in part upon how strong your hand is (or isnt). For example, if you have an ace low flush, you might be tempted to fold, knowing you probably wont make money betting with it. On the other hand, if you hold a pocket pair, you may have enough confidence in the strength of your hand to bet all-in, hoping for a full house or better. In order to get the most from your hand, you need to understand what the odds are against each possible outcome. Heres how you can figure out whether or not you should push your luck with a particular hand.

The decision of the player to do the okbet login will provide him good return in the future. This is the platform that is considered as the reliable option. It provides the players with the high stake of the winning. Even a representative is there who will work to serve the people.

The Value of A Pair

Lets assume weve just dealt two cards and one player has three suited cards and another has four. If the first player bets, then hes going to win about half the time (assuming everyone else folds), so his expected return is 50 percent. The second player has a much tougher time. Hell have a good chance of winning only when he gets three of a kind, which happens 1/4th of the time. So he has a 25 percent chance of winning. When he makes the call, the third player has a 55 percent chance of winning. His expected return is 45 percent. Of course, if the first player loses, then the chances of the third player winning go way up  about 80 percent. All of these percentages are based on the assumption that all players will fold.

The value of the hand is calculated by taking the probability of winning times the amount you would win if you did win. This gives us a number between zero and 100. Well use $5 as our basic unit for calculating the value of the hands. If you had 10 chips and could choose any five, what would you pick? Well, wed obviously take the top hand, which is worth $50. The second best hand is a little bit worse  $45  since youre giving up some equity for the opportunity to win more. So now lets calculate the value of the remaining hands.

If the second player chooses a third card, his expected gain is $25, which represents the difference between the two hands. A fourth card increases the expectation to $30, while adding a fifth card drops it back down to $20. Since there are no sixth cards, the value of the hand is equal to the average of the five cards, which is $24.60.

The value of a suit

We can also figure out the value of a suit by looking at the value of each individual card within that suit. Lets say were dealing a standard deck of 52 cards. One person holds a KQ; the next person has a 7D; and the third has a 2S. Each person has a 20% chance of winning. What is the expected return of having this group of cards? Well, the KQ has a 5% chance of winning, the 7D has a 4% chance, and the 2S has a 3% chance. So the total expected return is 25%. The same logic applies to the other suits, where the probability of winning goes up as the value of the card decreases. For instance, the Aces have a 9% chance of winning, Kings have 8%, Queens have 7%, Jacks have 6%, and Tens have 5%. So the expected returns add up to 36%.

Now lets add all of these numbers together to get an estimate of the value of a hand. Assuming that each hand was equally likely to come up, our total would be 60 percent. But we know thats wrong! Not every hand is created equal. It turns out that a royal flush beats the rest of the pack pretty consistently. So were going to adjust our calculations to reflect this fact.

Royal Flushes

So far, weve assumed that all of the cards were equally likely to come up. Actually, most poker players believe that Royal Flushes are extremely unlikely. In fact, many experts estimate their frequency at less than 0.1 percent. To account for this, lets increase the probability of winning for each card in a Royal Flush by 10 percent. Now when we calculate the value of a Royal Flush, well find that its actually worth 62.5 percent of what it used to be. The value of the cards in each rank will still add up to 100, but theyre now weighted differently.

So what does this mean for you? Well, if you hold a Royal Flush, youre probably going to win about 75 percent of the time. And if you hold a hand like QJT, youll win about 75 percent of the time too. And if you hold a straight, youll win nearly 70 percent of the time. In short, the bigger your hand, the more likely you are to win. Of course, even though youre getting a higher hit rate, youll also tend to lose more often. So if you hold a straight, youre almost guaranteed to lose. But if you hold a Royal Flush, youre going to win about one-quarter of the time, and youll win about twice as much money. So youre almost certain to profit from such a hand, but youll also take a lot of losses.

Now, I mentioned that youll lose money on any hand. In fact, youll lose money roughly half the time. So if you hold a straight, youll lose about 25 percent of the time. If you hold a flush, youll lose about 40 percent of the time. And if you hold a pair, youll lose 35 percent of the time. In addition, if you hold a set  one of the two highest ranks  youll lose 35 percent of the time. Finally, if you hold a high card in the lowest rank, youll lose 30 percent of the time.

But the interesting thing is that youll lose less money on those losing hands than you do on winning hands. Why is that? Well, suppose you hold a straight. Theres a 65 percent chance youll win. But suppose you hold a pair instead. Theres a 65 percent chance youll win. But you lost on your last hand. So theres now a 75 percent chance that youll lose again. On the other hand, if you hold a straight and lose, theres still a 65 percent chance youll win again. So youre only losing about 15 percent of the time.

This means that you can minimize your losses by playing only hands that are reasonably likely to win. So if you hold a straight, youll probably lose around 25 percent of the time. But if you hold a flush, youll probably lose around 40 percent of the time. And if you hold a pair, youll probably lose around 35 percent of the time. And if you hold a set, youll probably lose around 35 percent of the time. But if you hold a high card in the lowest rank, youll probably lose around 30 percent of the time.

In summary, the higher the probability that youll win, the lower your loss percentage will be. And the lower the probability youll win, the higher your loss percentage will be. So the optimal strategy is to play only hands whose probability of winning exceeds your expected return. If you hold a straight, theres a 65 percent chance of winning, so youll lose around 25 percent of the time. If you hold a flush, theres a 65 percent chance of winning, so youll lose around 40 percent of the time. And if you hold a pair, theres a 65 percent chance of winning, so youll lose around 35 percent of the time. But if you hold a set, theres a 65 percent chance of winning, so youll lose around 35 percent of the time. And if you hold a high card in the lowest rank, theres a 65 percent chance of winning, so youll lose around 30 percent of the time.

Of course, you shouldnt ignore your opponents actions entirely. You should always give them credit for being smart, making decisions, and doing whatever it takes to beat you. But just remember that youre being punished for having a decent hand.
" " The Egyptian god Anubis had the head of a jackal and body of a man. iStockphoto /AmandaLewis

In ancient Egyptian culture, the god Anubis ruled over cemeteries and protected bodies in the afterlife. Standing tall and foreboding with the head of a jackal and the body of a man, the patron deity of mummification held a crook-shaped flagellum of Osiris to symbolize his authority in the underworld. Certainly, jackals were predominant along the landscape in ancient Egypt considering that they were the most abundant wild dog, or Canid, in Africa in those days. The Canid family includes the jackal, wolf, fox and wild dog. Today, their habitat has shrunk due to industrialization and development, but jackals remain among the least threatened wild African canid species.

Three species of jackals roam sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia and southeast Europe. The tawny golden jackal prowls in the open, grassy plains; black-backed jackals with signature dark stripes down their spines inhabit the savanna from Sudan to South Africa; the side-striped species prefers to prowl near water sources in dense vegetation [source: African Wildlife Fund]. Though some adult jackals lead solitary lives, males and females may also mate for life. Jackal packs follow a looser hierarchy than the rigid wolf pack organization; they're usually made up of a mating pair, their offspring and, in larger packs, nonbreeding adults.

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Females give birth to litters between four and six pups, which she hides in burrows or dens for protection. Jackal pups are most vulnerable from birth until around 14 weeks. For the first two months, adults feed the pups regurgitated food like baby birds; an omnivorous species, jackals may eat anything from small carrion to insects and garbage. Adults return to the den every couple of hours to check up on the pups, and even after they're weaned, pups stay close by adults for the remainder of their first year.

Though male jackals will spend time with their offspring in their burrow, the females bear most of the responsibility for postnatal care. Just like energy-strapped human mothers will call in reinforcements to assist with those first crucial weeks following childbirth, so might jackals (particularly of the black-backed species) call up the babysitters.
Linking the Cyprus issue to the Kurdish issue of Turkey is the only effective way to [a] uncover Turkish hypocrisy on her approach to majority-minority community relations [b] bring about a fair and permanent settlement to Cyprus' Turkish problem and [c] help bring community status recognition for the close to 20 million Kurds of Turkey. A win-win-win for the Kurdish, Turkish and Cypriot peoples. It may also bring about the first ever truly democratic constitution in Turkey's history!
The Business Side of Green Blog is where Peter Arpin gets to interact with the community on an ongoing basis. Here, Peter will share his thoughts and ideas when it comes to helping our community move towards a more sustainable future. Peter is also looking for your ideas and thoughts to promote and share through the Arpin Broadcast Network and its affiliates, Arpin Group, Arpin Van Lines and Arpin International Group.
Kelly has written a book: "My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy" (over 350 images!)

by clicking on the links above.(You may also read some of the inside pages on this site.)



Above: Cover for book:

"My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy"

by Kelly Borsheim



Order the book today

from the artist. (Click on image above.)

Also Available on Amazons in Europe ... UK and Italy, for example.

Thank you for your support.
We felt dumb anyway as we watched from a distance as our peers collected end of year prizes; the rest of us being told that wed go back to our villages and plant kaukau that the smart kids would buy from us.

Then we grew up a bit and went to school and our teachers scolded us and called us dumb-dumbs.

We were told to repent, which we did and continue to do, and then forever ask forgiveness because we are horrible sinners.

As children, we were told that there was once a perfect world that Adam and Eve screwed up sending us all to eternal damnation.

IF we are truly honest to ourselves, we will admit that growing up and living in Papua New Guinea is a negative experience.

Then we grew up and realised it was all a lie.

Now were miserable because the engineer and the economist struggle to find accommodation at Morata settlement whilst the buai seller who didnt go to school owns a trade store and a PMV bus.

In addition, if our colleagues at work reckon were smart, they plot against us to stop us becoming more successful. We also find that hard work isnt rewarded unless we have connections.

I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and everyone keeps telling me that they are the back page of PNG, the last people.

But many of these back page communities have better road and water links than the truly remote people of Nomad or Wawoi Falls. Many are only a few hours away from a main centre compared to the number of days it takes for me to travel from Daru to my village.

Why do they therefore perceive themselves as being backward?

Perhaps what I am describing is what is referred to by some as structural violence. Structural violence refers to types of economic, political, legal, religious and cultural arrangements that stop individuals, groups and societies from reaching their full potential.

As I ponder this issue, I ask myself, What are the determinants of the way things turn out in PNG?

I do not know.

But I cant help think that perhaps any avoidable impairment of a persons ability to reach their full human potential is a form of violence.

I have met so many young people around the country and each time we have a chat they talk about what needs to be done or how much help they or their communities need. And when I point out what they can do, Im usually confronted with a blank stare.

Many of our people have been so beaten down by various forms of structural violence that its ubiquitous nature has been normalised as a stable experience.

Being told theyre dumb constantly gets normalised as mi nidim moa save  I need further studies.

If a pickpocket kid is apprehended, the crowd usually shouts paitim em. Yet some of that same crowd would also be ranting on Facebook about police brutality. What is acceptable and what isnt acceptable violence, one may ask?

There are so many young people in PNG doing nothing when there is so much work to be done. Many are dreaming of going to school and getting a job because they need more knowledge.

There is also the violence of foreign aid and government.

Last year, whilst filming outside Lae city, the Tanim Graun TV crew came across an aid post near Markham bridge that had a power line just a few metres away but no lights at night.

Everyone of course was waiting for gavman to fix it when they themselves could have assisted.

The aid post also had a gutter and tank but no water because there was no downpipe connecting the gutter to the tank. The cost of buying and installing a downpipe would be less than K100 but no one did anything.

PNG does have major challenges in terms of its difficult terrain. Indeed, I think thats the only physical challenge to tackle  taming the terrain.

The rest of our problems exist in our heads because of the cognitive dissonance arising from the normalisation of various forms of structural violence.

The changes Papua New Guineans want to see in their lives and communities will come when people act based on what they can do rather than dwell on what theyve been told they cannot do.
But this is only possible if state agencies and the industry provide quality data and contextual information through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Informing communities about the importance of knowing their rights to resource projects and benefit sharing is especially important for all citizens, said PNGRGC coordinator Martyn Namorong.

THE Papua New Guinea Resource Governance Coalition (PNGRGC) is calling for greater transparency by the government and extractive industries through the disclosure of information related to the value chain of PNGs natural resource extraction.

Mr Namorong said that the people of PNG had the right to know about the exploitation of their resources and called for greater transparency of information across the board, including contracts, licences, payments made by government and industry, and other data.

EITI is a voluntary, global effort designed to increase transparency, strengthen accountability and build public trust for the governance of natural resources.

PNGRC is helping to secure concrete commitments from governments, resource owners, companies and civil society to improve natural resource governance so Papua New Guineans can see their natural resource wealth translated into sustainable human development.

In December, Mr Namorong and other members of the Coalition attended two capacity building meetings on resource governance in the Asia Pacific. He said 2016 will see EITI roadshows in the highlands and southern regions with PNGs first EITI report also to be published early this year.

The PNG government through the Department of Treasury has provided funding to setup PNGRGC and for its national awareness and advocacy on EITI.
Jan 7, 2016 | By Tess

Clothing tailors have been around since the 18th century, making bespoke and custom fitted clothing for men and women alike. Even today, many tailoring processes remain traditional, with tailors taking measurements using a tape and making suits based on the numbers, though the practice has started to dwindle because of a lack of interested young tailors. In Hong Kong, one of the worlds most popular destinations for custom tailoring, however, one company has decided to revive the practice by incorporating modern technologies into their work.

Hong Kong based Gay Giano has recently developed a 3D scanning system that effectively scans the clients body to compile a set of detailed and accurate measurements to base the bespoke suits design off of.

Matthew Lee, business development director for Gay Giano, explains the necessity of bringing tailoring practices into the contemporary, technological world. He says, Theres a huge disconnect between these traditional craftsmen or craftswomen and the next generation. Theres no one taking over. So we felt that, if thats the case, its either a dying trade or we can revitalize it with technology that could enhance or keep a better record of their knowledge.

The 3D scanning technology that Gay Giano has started to use in its tailoring process consists of a changing room equipped with 14 infrared sensors, where customers are asked to stand in form fitting underwear. In just under ten seconds the sensors are able to gather information from over 120 measurement data points that include not only length and width measurements, but also exact angles. In comparison, traditional tailoring practices usually gather about 25 body measurements using a measuring tape. Once the 3D scanning process is done, the measurements are sent to a tablet through an app, where the tailors can more easily visualize their clients body.

Alan Chan, who ordered a custom suit from Gay Giano and underwent the scanning process explained, Well, efficient-wise, of course being scanned inside a changing room is a lot more efficient. Ive tried the traditional measuring method, it felt more personal, but it took up more of my time. And i felt like the 3D [scanner] managed to measure more thoroughly and more parts of myself. If i had to go to a traditional tailor and have myself measured the way the computer did, I think that would take much longer.

Of course, by using the 3D scanning technology, many of the traditional manufacturing processes of the bespoke suits remain the same, so the quality of the suit should remain unchanged. If anything, the digital model of the clients body would help the tailors who make the suits, who do not usually take the measurements themselves, to more easily visualize and understand the clients body type and posture.

Soddy Cheng, an experienced tailor consultant adds, So during the process of making the suit, they can easily imagine the customers body shapes, and also things like do they crouch? Do they stick their chest out? Do they have big bellies? These ideas can help them during the process.

The Hong Kong based tailor claims to be the the first bespoke suit shop in the city to use 3D scanning technologies, though other Hong Kong companies have also been using the technology in areas such as womens clothing and lingerie. Who knows, perhaps someday soon well even be 3D printing bespoke suits!

Posted in 3D Scanning

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Yannick wrote at 1/7/2016 1:05:52 PM:It also exits in france with the company my taylor is free




Amy Silverberg in The Offing:

Style, for example, is not  can never be  extraneous Ornament . . . and if you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it  whole-heartedly  and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.  Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, On the Art of Writing

[K]ill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribblers heart, kill your darlings.  Stephen King, On Writing

1. Instead of killing your darlings, torture them until they compliment your writing.

2. Name your children after your darlings. This is your son, Description Of Ocean At Dawn, and your daughter, Gratuitous Sex Scene.

3. When the Inca Gods come back to rule the world, throw your darlings into a volcano to ensure a good crop. Let the Gods know you arent fucking scared of sacrificing your loved ones.

4. Take one of your darlings to a wedding as your plus one. Let it give a toast, which will be overly earnest and run long, of course. Remember this doesnt mean youre romantically involved with your darling. But maybe you are.

More here.
Adam Gopnik at Literary Hub:

I read Charlie Hebdo for the first time on early sojourns in France, in the 1970s. I am probably a bit of a coward when it comes to comedyI probably like it sweeter than I shouldbut I am at least an instinctive pluralist: I really like there to be things in the world, and on the newsstand, that I dont like. Charlie Hebdo was not to my taste but, on subsequent, much longer sojourns in France I was always glad to see it persisting; it spoke of an older, rawer French tradition that I could appreciate even if I didnt much care for it. Crude, scabrous, explicit, sacrilegiousits cartooning lacked the charm of the bande dessinee. But France is an uptight country that needs the relaxation of the truly, weirdly unfastenedRabelais could only be French, exactly because the refined needs the raw.

As time passed, I went on to graduate school, and the history of caricature and cartooning became my academic specialty. And so I began to have a greater appreciation of the ancient roots and impious nobility of the magazine. The Charlie cartoonists worked, I realized, in a peculiarly French and savage tradition, born in a long 19th-century guerrilla war between republicans and the Church and the monarchy, which had long ago become vestigial everywhere else. Satirical magazines and name cartoonists might survive in London and other European capitals, particularly Brussels, but they tend to be artier in touch and more media-centric in concern.

more here.
Sophia Nguyen in Harvard Magazine:

A new study of identical and fraternal twins by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health offers a clearer picture of how genetics and the environment influence cancer risk within a family. The researchers found that if one fraternal twin was diagnosed with cancer, the other was more likely to develop cancer as wellbut not necessarily of the same type. Moreover, some of the strongest familial associations were seen for less common malignancies, like testicular cancer. The results, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association this week, provide new family-risk estimates for rarer conditions; previous studies (limited by size or follow-up time) were unable to arrive at reliable figures. When a fraternal twin was diagnosed with cancer, the other siblings risk of getting cancerof any kindincreased by 5 percent. For identical twins, risk increased by 14 percent. Among cases where both siblings developed cancer, more than two-thirds developed different types. The magnitude of that was a surprise to us, reports Lorelai Mucci, associate professor of epidemiology and a co-lead author of the study. That finding adds to a growing body of research that shows some hints that there might be a shared genetic predisposition to develop multiple cancers. Its been shown that prostate cancer and melanoma co-occur in families, for example.

The Nordic Twin Cancer Study is the largest familial study of cancer to date. Mucci and investigators at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Helsinki examined the twin registershealth records gathered from more than 200,000 twins in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway between 1943 and 2010. The team compared the data from identical twins (who share all their genes) and fraternal twins (who, like ordinary siblings, share half) to determine the degree to which genetic factors (heritability) contribute to family risk. Significant heritability was found in skin melanoma (58 percent), prostate cancer (57 percent), non-melanoma skin cancer (43 percent), ovarian cancer (38 percent), kidney cancer (38 percent), breast cancer (31 percent), and uterine cancer (27 percent).

More here.
Lisa Zyga in Phys.org:

Under ancient Jewish law, if a suspect on trial was unanimously found guilty by all judges, then the suspect was acquitted. This reasoning sounds counterintuitive, but the legislators of the time had noticed that unanimous agreement often indicates the presence of systemic error in the judicial process, even if the exact nature of the error is yet to be discovered. They intuitively reasoned that when something seems too good to be true, most likely a mistake was made.

In a new paper to be published in The Proceedings of The Royal Society A, a team of researchers, Lachlan J. Gunn, et al., from Australia and France has further investigated this idea, which they call the paradox of unanimity.

If many independent witnesses unanimously testify to the identity of a suspect of a crime, we assume they cannot all be wrong, coauthor Derek Abbott, a physicist and electronic engineer at The University of Adelaide, Australia, told Phys.org. Unanimity is often assumed to be reliable. However, it turns out that the probability of a large number of people all agreeing is small, so our confidence in unanimity is ill-founded. This 'paradox of unanimity' shows that often we are far less certain than we think.

The researchers demonstrated the paradox in the case of a modern-day police line-up, in which witnesses try to identify the suspect out of a line-up of several people. The researchers showed that, as the group of unanimously agreeing witnesses increases, the chance of them being correct decreases until it is no better than a random guess.

More here.
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"PEACE IS A BY-PRODUCT OF VICTORY. PROSPERITY IS A BY-PRODUCT OF LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. "

"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States QUESTION: WHICH VERSION OF ISLAM DID MUHAMMED PRACTICE, "MODERATE ISLAM"OR "RADICAL ISLAM"?



THE ANSWER IS THE ONLY THING YOU REALLY HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT ISLAM - AND ITS APOLOGISTS.

Blog Archive
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Item No "x x x. The elements of the crime of theft as provided for in Article 308 9 of the Revised Penal Code are as follows: (1) t...
Distribution of company announcements to the professional platforms, finance portals and syndication of important corporate news to a wide variety of news aggregators and financial news systems.
U.S. Rep. John Katko pledged to vote against any effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, unless there's an alternative measure ready to replace the law.

On Wednesday, Katko, R-Camillus, followed through on his promise.

The House of Representatives approved legislation that would repeal key parts of the 2010 health care law and defund Planned Parenthood for one year. While most Republicans voted for the bill, Katko and two other GOP members  U.S. Rep. Robert Dold of Illinois and U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna of New York  opposed it.

For Katko, his decision was based on the pledge he first made to voters on the campaign trail in 2014.

"While there is no question that our current health care law is badly flawed, I made a promise to central New Yorkers that I would not support an outright repeal of Obamacare unless a suitable replacement was presented," he said. "Unfortunately, the legislation before the House today fails to provide an infrastructure for replacement and fails to address the rising costs of health care in central New York and across our country."

The action was reminiscent of one of Katko's first votes after he took office in 2015. When the Obamacare repeal measure was brought to the House floor for consideration, he joined two of his GOP colleagues in opposing the legislation.

In an interview after last year's vote, he said it would be "irresponsible" to repeal the law without a replacement in place.

While he opposed the repeal measure again Wednesday, he still believes Obamacare needs either a "major overhaul" or full repeal.

"I know that families and businesses in central New York have seen their premiums and deductibles rise and that local employers have been forced to scale back hours and insurance for their employees," he said. "That's why I will continue to work in Congress to reverse the misguided policies of this law."

Katko has pushed for the repeal of the medical device tax, a key component of the health care law. In December, Congress approved an omnibus bill that included a two-year suspension of the tax.

The tax has been targeted by Katko and others members of Congress due to its impact on medical device manufacturers, such as Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls.

He supports other changes to the law, including increasing the full-time work week defined in Obamacare's employer mandate from 30 hours to 40 hours.

"Although I did not support today's legislation, I have and will continue to support comprehensive, market-based changes to Obamacare while still working to maintain the aspects of the law that ensure individuals and families in our community have access to health care," he said. "I hope that Congress gets to work on replacement legislation that reflects these principles, and if it does I will eagerly support it."

With the House's vote Wednesday, the repeal legislation will now go to President Barack Obama's desk for his review. He has signaled that he will veto the measure. Republicans in Congress don't have the votes to override his veto.
The 17 miners who were trapped in an elevator shaft 900 feet below the surface at the Cargill-owned Cayuga Salt Mine in Lansing have an Auburn crane company to thank for their rescue.

Auburn Crane and Rigging was called in early Thursday to rescue the miners. The company used a crane to lower a large basket down to where the trapped miners were located.

The first group of miners were brought up around 7 a.m., according to social media posts by the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response. The rescue operation was complete by approximately 8:30 a.m.

Brian Dahl, Cayuga County's emergency management director, said he was contacted by Tompkins County officials to see if he knew of a crane company that could provide assistance.

It didn't take Dahl long to think of one. His agency has worked with Auburn Crane and Rigging in the past. It also helped that he went to school with the owner of the company, Steve Bilinski.

"I've known the family for years," he said. "We passed the information off to the Tompkins County fire chief. We weren't intimately involved. Just getting the contacts."

Mark Klein, a spokesman for Cargill, told the Associated Press that the incident began at 10 p.m. Wednesday. The miners were on heading into the mine to begin their shifts when the elevator malfunctioned.

While the miners were trapped, they were able to use radios to communicate with emergency crews. Blankets and other supplies were provided to the miners to help deal with the cold temperatures in the elevator shaft, the Associated Press reported.

Tompkins County officials caught a break when they contacted Dahl. He noted that around this time of year, most cranes are "tied up."

"It just so happens that (Bilinski) had a crane available at the time," he said.

Representatives from Auburn Crane and Rigging weren't immediately available for comment.
Intuit announced security enhancements across its suite of professional tax products, including Intuit Tax Online, ProSeries and Lacerte, as part of the companys continued work with the Internal Revenue Service, states and industry to combat tax fraud.

The security features provide additional ways to authenticate tax preparers identities when signing in and to verify their e-file identification number before electronic filing. Intuit is also offering taxpayers tips in safeguarding themselves and their clients.

Intuits specific security enhancements for Intuit Tax Online, ProSeries and Lacerte are:

Multi-factor authentication, implemented for tax year 2015, to help authenticate user identities and enable secure sign-on for tax professionals. When tax professionals access their account for the first time from a new device, they will be sent a unique six-digit code to their pre-designated device to be input in combination with their password to access their account.

A requirement that all electronic return originators possess IRS-issued e-file identification numbers before e-filing, with new tax professionals needing IRS documentation of EFIN registration on file before e-filing through Intuits products. Intuit will also notify tax preparer customers when it appears their EFIN may have been compromised so they can reinstate it with the IRS.

With these new security enhancements in place, our professional tax customers can be confident they are providing their clients industry leading standards of protection, stated David Williams, chief tax officer at Intuit. Our tax professionals rely on us to deliver technology and resources necessary to help them further protect their information and the information of their valued clients.

Inuit also provided security tips heading into tax season:

Shred financial records, including sensitive client information before disposal.

Restrict access to client files and computers with strong passwords, which should contain a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Paper files should also be locked under restricted access.

Beware of phishing scams, which are fraudulent emails sent from criminals to create fake websites and lure users into revealing private account information. Users should be suspicious of unsolicited emails asking for confidential or sensitive information with a link to a website, and should mouse over the link to see in the address appears legitimate. Intuit posts notices for phishing emails on the Intuit Online Security Center.

Install or update anti-virus software on computers, use the latest version of a web browser, and install security patches and software updates as soon as they are available.

Educate clients on how to protect themselves online, both on their computer and mobile device, including the creation of strong passwords and being alert to phishing scams.

The Intuit Pro Tax Center offers more resources.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday he has directed officials from two state agencies to investigate how 17 miners at a Tompkins County salt mine became trapped Wednesday night.

The incident occurred at Cargill Salt Mine in Lansing. The miners were stuck on a large elevator heading down into the 2,300-foot-deep mine at approximately 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Cargill officials.

The Associated Press reported that the miners communicated with emergency responders while they were trapped in the mine. While stuck on the elevator, they were provided blankets and heat packs to stay warm.

Crews lowered a basket to bring the miners back to the surface. All of the miners were rescued by 8:30 a.m.

The 17 miners are in good health, Cuomo said. He is sending inspectors from the state Office of Emergency Management, Office of Fire Protection and the Department of Labor's Division of Safety and Health to investigate what caused the miners to become trapped about 900 feet below the surface.

"The health and safety of New York's workforce is paramount and every step will be taken to ensure this incident is not repeated in the future, and anyone potentially at fault is held accountable," he said.

Cuomo also thanked the first responders who spent hours working to rescue the trapped miners.

"This is the perfect example of New Yorkers coming together in times of need, and I am grateful for the efforts of all those involved in this operation," he said.

Cargill officials say the mine, which is located near Cayuga Lake, has been open for 100 years ago. There are 200 employees at the mine.
Make a difference

Will you make a difference in someone else's life today? We have all heard someone say, "Take care of your people and their families." Have you ever stopped to think why we hear this so often?



As Airmen, our number one responsibility is to accomplish the mission. However, without smart, dedicated, hard-working people and the unconditional support of their families, the mission would not get accomplished. This philosophy is not new. In fact, it's been a fundamental concept in our Air Force culture for many years, but are we truly putting forth our best effort on a daily basis to be involved in the lives of our people and understand the needs of our Airmen?



Genuinely caring for your Airmen is essential and helpful when providing honest and realistic performance appraisals. Mentor those whose development with which you are charged. Make sure they can do your job someday. Teach them from your experiences -- the good, the bad and the ugly.



Share your successes and failures and tell them how you handled them. Make it a teaching moment so you can make them better leaders.



Taking the time to develop Airmen is not an easy task and it's not something that can be done only online or by computer based training. It takes human interaction, patience, effort, and an ability to evolve. Enable and motivate people to accomplish the mission. Give a sense of accomplishment and make sure they are recognized for it. If done properly, no doubt you will instill confidence in others and ensure the success of tomorrow's leaders.



It's not about you. It's about other people. When you take care of your people, help them accomplish their goals and live up to their potential, and great things will happen. Not only will the mission get accomplished, but innovation and excellence will ensue. These things can happen when you realize it's not about you and you take care of your people. You and I share a common blessing in that we are members of the finest country in the world. I have faith that you will endeavor to make our country even better in the future by making a difference in someone else's life today.



I was entrusted with the incredible responsibility to be a supervisor more than 25 years ago. I started something that first morning as I prepared for work. As I was so proudly putting on my Air Force uniform I looked into the mirror and said, "Will you make a difference in someone else's life today?" I have asked that question every day since. When I get home at the end of my duty day, as I take off my uniform, I look in that mirror again and ask myself, "Did you make a difference in someone else's life today?" Sometimes the answer is no, so what do I do the next day? Try harder!



So I ask you; will you make a difference in someone else's life today? If you do, it could inspire an Airman for a lifetime.
The chief justice of Alabamas Supreme Court ordered the states probate judges on Wednesday not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year legalizing gay marriage.

Gay marriage activists and legal experts assailed the order, arguing last Junes landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision afforded same-sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states.

In a phone interview Chief Justice Roy Moore, who issued the order, said judges were bound by the state Supreme Court`s decision last March halting same-sex marriage until that court determines the effect on the state of the national ruling.

A federal judge in Alabama overturned the states ban on same-sex marriage last January.

There is a great confusion out there as to what orders to obey, Moore said. Im not causing the confusion, Im trying to clarify it.

Many probate judges were issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples while others refused to do so, he said.

One probate judge, Steven Reed in Montgomery, Alabama, said his office would not heed the administrative order. Judge Moores latest charade is just sad & pathetic, Reed posted on Twitter.

But the Mobile County probate court said on its website that it would stop issuing marriage licenses to any applicants gay or straight until further notice to ensure full compliance with all court rulings.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has an ongoing ethics complaint against Moore, said he should be removed from the bench for telling the state`s judges to enforce Alabama`s ban on same-sex marriage.

Its a disgrace to his office that he occupies it, said Richard Cohen, president of the Alabama-based law center. Cohen said judges who follow Moore`s order risked being held in contempt of court for violating the federal judge`s ruling.

In Kentucky last year, County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed for five days after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, making her a focal point in the U.S. gay marriage debate.
Owaisi says that he receives such threats everyday and will continue to speak against ISIS.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has received a threat from Islamic State (IS) on social media for speaking about his views on the terror outfit and recent Pathankot terror attack. Owaisi had earlier appealed to Muslim youth to not fall prey to the overtures of ISIS agents. He has said that the Pathankot terror attack was a huge embarrassment for the nation. Owaisi nonetheless gave a befitting reply to the tweets posted on his twitter account.

It was reportedly written on Owaisis Twitter Wall that its better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State if you dont know the truth, Islamic State will invade India soon.

However, the tweet has since been deleted.

If someone tells us on Twitter that we will invade IndiaWe will give an answer to it. India is our motherland and we will give a reply to such nonsense, Owaisi said.

I receive such threats everyday. I will live as long as Allah wills, he said.

He said the IS had nothing to do with Islam as it indulges in violence, including against Muslims.

The thinking of ISIS is in itself an evil mindset and it has nothing to do with Islam, he said.

Rubbishing the reported threats, he said, We dont know in what corner of the world this person is sitting like a rat and speaking from there.

Asserting that MIM is against those against India, he said his party has been speaking against the IS for the last three years.

Stating that IS ideology is devilish and based on hatred, Owaisi said there was need to finish this ideology.

They dont know mercy. They dont know the meaning of mercy. They massacred 1.5 lakh Muslims including scholars, he said, pointing out that all Islamic scholars in India and abroad have condemned IS actions and urged people to be cautious.

Many scholars in the country have spoken against the terror outfit and condemned its actions, he said, adding he doesnt fear such threats.

This is such an ideology that needs to be ended. This ideology is based on enmity. Muslims of the whole world are against them. Big scholars have given fatwas against them, he said.

On the issue of terror attacks in Punjab, Owaisi said the Central government failed to detect the entry of terrorists into Pathankot. Against this backdrop what are the gains of the Prime Ministers visit to Pakistan, he questioned.
The record of San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Maliks US visa interview in Pakistan shows it was conducted without any obvious irregularities and triggered no significant suspicions, according to a source familiar with the official State Department file.

The apparent lack of anything untoward in Maliks interview in Pakistan for a K-1 fiancee visa that she was subsequently granted underscores the difficulty facing President Barack Obamas administration as it seeks ways to improve security vetting of visa applicants. Current and former US officials with knowledge of the visa vetting process said that even if the interview and security checks had been more stringent, it is unlikely they would have turned up any red flags on Malik.

The one-paragraph interview record, details of which have not previously been reported, cites documents that Malik used to prove her relationship with US-born partner Syed Rizwan Farook, including a photograph of their engagement ceremony, e-mails and financial transfers between them, the source said.

The file shows that Malik told the consular officer who conducted the May 22, 2014 interview that she had met Farook online. The record says Malik correctly specified the date of Farook`s birthday and his job as a food safety inspector  tests to confirm that she genuinely knew him.

It contained no information about her political or religious views. The documents that Malik is believed to have shown to the interviewing officer were not retained in the file, the source said.

The brief interview report does not specify exactly where in Pakistan the interview took place, how long it lasted or the specific questions that Malik was asked.

After being granted the visa, Malik joined Farook in San Bernadino, California, where they married. She subsequently was granted a permanent residence, or Green Card, visa which required an additional security vetting process and an interview in the United States. On December 02, the couple carried out an attack in San Bernadino that killed 14 people and which US officials believe was inspired by the extremist Islamic State group.
Judith Kaye, the New York State Court of Appeals' longest serving chief judge and the first woman on the court, has died. She was 77.

Acting Chief Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. announced Kaye's passing in a statement Thursday. She died Wednesday night after battling an illness, according to the New York Daily News.

"She served tirelessly and compassionately for over 25 years," Pigott said. "The Court of Appeals and the entire New York State Court System is saddened by her loss."

A Barnard College and New York University School of Law graduate, Kaye was appointed to the state Court of Appeals in 1983 by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo. After being confirmed by the state Senate, she became the first woman to serve on the court.

A decade later, in 1993, she was elevated to chief judge of the state Court of Appeals. She was the first woman to hold the post in New York's history.

She retired in 2008.

After leaving the court, Kaye joined the Commission on Judicial Nomination in 2009. The panel is tasked with recommending judges for the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

Soon after being named to the commission, Kaye was appointed chair.

Late last year, the commission led by Kaye recommended candidates to fill two vacancies on the Court of Appeals. One of the panel's nominees was Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, who was selected by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to become the court's next chief judge.

After learning of Kaye's death, Cuomo directed flags on all state government buildings to fly at half-staff Friday in honor of the late judge.

"She stood for justice and equality for all people, and embodied the spirit of integrity in public service like none other," Cuomo said in a statement. "Chief Judge Kaye's passing is a true loss to our state, and I have no doubt that her legacy will continue to be felt for years to come."
Japan said it has detected no changes in radiation levels within its territory, following North Koreas claimed test of a hydrogen bomb the day before.

Concern in Japan over potential radiation drifting across the sea from North Korea skyrockets whenever it conducts underground nuclear tests, though none has ever been traced to the country after its three previous ones.

Japan is particularly sensitive to North Koreas nuclear and missile tests as prevailing winds blow from the Korean peninsula towards Japan and Pyongyangs ballistic rockets have flown over Japan into the Pacific Ocean.

There was no particular change so far in levels of radiation after Pyongyangs surprise underground explosion, Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said in a statement.

It added that no artificial radioactive nuclides were detected from air samples collected by three Japanese air force planes which flew over the archipelago on Wednesday.

Also, some 300 monitoring posts across the country registered no meaningful change in radiation levels between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning as of 8:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), the NRA said.

Satoshi Yamamoto, an NRA official, told reporters late Wednesday that in general radioactive material is not even expected to be released in the case of underground nuclear tests.

Nevertheless, nuclear authorities are strengthening their monitoring activities to confirm that radiation levels remain normal after North Koreas test, Yamamoto said.

Japan did not detect artificial radioactive materials at the time of Pyongyangs three previous nuclear explosions between 2006 and 2013, he said.

Fresh results from a second round of flight by air force planes Thursday will be announced Friday, the NRA said.

But even if artificial radioactive material is detected, it would be difficult to discern whether it came from atomic bombs or a more destructive hydrogen device as the only material an H-bomb produces that an atomic bomb does not is helium, Yamamoto said.

Separately, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his South Korean opposite number Yun Byung-Se agreed Thursday in a telephone call that their countries will closely cooperate with other key players including China and the United States in responding to the test, Japans foreign ministry said in a statement.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir breathed his last and departed for another journey. He was a great leader who strived for the states autonomy within the frame work of Indian constitution. He was one such leader from Jammu and Kashmir, who showed great respect for his state and as an Indian always cared for the welfare of Kashmir. At least now the two countries should bury their hatchet and coordinate their efforts to combat terrorism. Mufti Sayeed might have disappointed his admirers outside Jammu & Kashmir when he joined hands with the BJP to form the government in the state, still he remained as a hero for Muslims. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed dies a true Indian Muslim who looked at the Kashmir problem through the prism of Indian ethos and believed in re-writing the destiny of troubled Jammu and Kashmir with out-of-box ideas.

Mehbooba Mufti, the daughter of the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, will take over the reins as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba, 56, will be the first woman chief minister of the state. The two-time CM changed the political course of marginalised mainstream politics in Kashmir, pitted against the wide-base separatist movement. Sayeed received Vajpayee at the Srinagar airport and insisted that he accompany him in his car up to the venue. No one knows till date what transpired between the two in the 40-minute ride. Later, Vajpayees speech surprised his National Security Advisor (NSA) and PMO officials when he extended a hand of unconditional friendship to Pakistan.

Sayeed was never trusted by Kashmiri residents the way he wanted them to trust him. He could only manage to win the Kashmir polls twice between 1962 and 1967 and his stint with anti-National Conference forces like G.M. Sadiq and Mir Qasim earned him the wrath of the NC till he won assembly polls first time in 2002 from Pahalgam constituency. Mufti was even under the attack of right wing politicians until he aligned his party to power with BJP. Then also Sayeed tried his level best to repay his image as a secular leader. Sayeed believed in resolving Kashmir through his slogan healing touch and self-rule. While, he saw Indian constitution as the cornerstone of his healing touch policy and his self-rule was embedded in the federal growth of India. Mufti was also brain behind the April 19, 2003 speech of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that came in the backdrop of growing hostility with Pakistan brewed by the Kargil war and the Parliament attack.

Sayeed may have served as Union Tourism Minister in the Congress rule and much-critiqued as the Home Minister during the V.P Singh government, for releasing his kidnapped daughter Rubiya Sayeed on December 8, 1989  which he claimed in private conversations being the only regret  the man always eyed to change the complex polity of Jammu and Kashmir. Sayeed would have been the youngest chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir had the Congress not withdrawn support to the National Conference (NC) in 1975.

Arch rival of National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Sayeeds biggest asset was his invincible patience. He first realized his dream to head the state in 2002 where he changed the political course of marginalised mainstream politics in Kashmir pitted against wide-base separatist movement. He not only brought legitimacy to mainstream leaders but also vowed to make them stakeholders between India and Pakistan.

According to sources, the BJP is on board for Mehbooba to take over and there is consensus in the coalition. Decks are clear for her to be the first ever woman chief minister for Jammu and Kashmir. Although, no one from the BJP has so far opposed Mehboobas elevation, a final decision on the issue will be taken by the party high command. In the 87-member J&K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 seats while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12. Mehbooba, who has assumed an image of a fiery leader, started her political career in 1996 by joining Congress along with her father. The 56-year-old mother of two daughters is also president of the PDP. She won her first Assembly election as Congress candidate from her home segment of Bijbehara. Mehbooba played a key role in her fathers victory as Congress candidate in Lok Sabha elections of 1998 when Sayeed defeated NCs Mohammad Yousuf Taing from south Kashmir.

The Muftis, along with some key associates, floated their own regional party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999. In 2002 Assembly elections, PDP bagged 16 seats and Sayeed for the first time became Chief Minister with the support of Congress and some independent MLAs. In 2004, Mehbooba contested and won her first Lok Sabha election, from south Kashmir. In 2008, she contested and was returned as MLA from Wachi segment of Shopian in south Kashmir when PDP bagged 21 seats but lost power to NC-Congress coalition. In 2014, she was yet again returned as Lok Sabha member from south Kashmir. Later in November-December Assembly elections, PDP got 28 seats and in March 2015 it formed its second government in Jammu and Kashmirthis time in an alliance with BJP.

Mehbooba has never lost an election from South Kashmir so far. In 1989, within few days of taking office as the Union Minister for Home Affairs, his third daughter Rubaiya was kidnapped by terrorists. She was released in exchange for the release of five militants. Mohammad Sayeed survived several attacks in his life by Kashmiri separatists who oppose Indian rule. A great leader has strived for the states autonomy within the frame work of Indian constitution.
Underworld don Chhota Rajan cannot be physically produced before a special MCOCA court in Mumbai due to a threat to his life, a Delhi court has said and directed CBI to urge Maharashtra government to arrange video conferencing from Tihar jail here for the purpose.

Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar said this after the agency informed the court that there was a serious life threat to Rajan from various underworld mafia groups and intelligence inputs have been received in this regard.

CBI also said that Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai may be requested to procure Rajans attendance through video conferencing.

The agency said this in its reply filed on an application moved by the superintendent of Tihar Jail, where Rajan is currently lodged under judicial custody in an alleged fake passport case.

In his plea, the jail superintendent said a production warrant was issued by MCOCA court at Arthur Road prison premises in Mumbai for his production before it today.

During the hearing on the plea, Rajan, who was produced through video conferencing, submitted that he was likely to be killed by his rivals if he is sent to Mumbai.

His counsel also said that sending Rajan to Mumbai may put his life under serious threat.

I have considered all facts and circumstances and I am of the opinion that physical production of the accused before the MCOC Court is not feasible at this stage. However, CBI is directed to request the State of Maharashtra to arrange production of the accused before the said court concerned through video conferencing, the court said in its order.

The court further said, Copy of order be sent to jail superintendent, who has sought appropriate orders from this court on receiving production warrants from the MCOC special court, Mumbai.

It also said that CBI should send a copy of its order to the special MCOC court in Mumbai immediately.

The case in which production warrant was issued was lodged against Rajan and others in 2011 under various sections of IPC, including 302 (murder), the Arms Act, the Mumbai Police Act and under the provisions of MCOCA.

(Reopens LGD3)

In its order, the court noted that due to the threat perception to Rajan, he was being produced before it also through video conferencing here.

The court had earlier ordered that remand proceedings in the alleged fake passport case, in which Rajan was arrested by CBI, would be conducted through video conferencing from Tihar jail.

Deported after being on the run for 27 years, the 55-year-old gangster, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, was sent to high-security Tihar prison in judicial custody on November 19 last year in connection with the case.

Rajan, once a close aide of fugitive terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has been brought to the country to face trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai.

After his arrest in Bali (Indonesia) on October 25 last year, India had pressed for his early deportation.
Al-Qaidas East African affiliate has released a video to recruit American blacks and Muslims that includes a clip of US presidential candidate Donald Trump calling for Muslims to be banned from entering America.

The 51-minute video by the Somalia based al-Shabab militant group says there is institutionalized racism and religious segregation in the US and radical Islam is the way to fight back.

In the clip of Trump, he calls for the total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

The video, which SITE Intel monitoring group said was released by extremists yesterday, presents several Americans who died fighting for extremism in Somalia and encourages American youths to follow their example.

Al-Shabab is fighting a Somali government backed by African Union troops.
In the black and white world of the media, there is no controversy here. Vaccines are safe. Everyone should get them. Vaccinated kids have immunity. Unvaccinated people spread diseases.

The measles outbreak is clearly being used to try and silence anyone who thinks vaccines are dangerous/linked to autism and to end parental choice when it comes to vaccination.

(Forbes reporters Peter Lipson and Dan Diamond want to crack down on dissenters. Diamond said that non-vaxxing parents should be sued if their children spread disease and Lipson called for doctors who don't vaccinate to lose their medical licenses.)

The media have not been kind. Parents are being called "selfish" and "irresponsible." They've been misled into believing vaccines cause autism by the like of actress Jenny McCarthy and a British doctor who lost his license to practice medicine. News reports are adamant: There is no link between vaccines and autism. Dr. Manny Alvarez at Fox News is so convinced that children should be vaccinated that he called on President Obama to eliminate any exemption other than a medical one.

By Anne Dachel Things have never been this heated in the media. The press is on a rampage. There have been literally thousands of stories published about the 100 cases of measles linked to an unvaccinated person at Disneyland. Measles is being described as a life-threatening disease that was eliminated in America, but now is being reintroduced by all these parents who exempt their children from vaccines.

In the real world parents don't believe these claims. They are increasingly skeptical about vaccine safety, despite the endless studies showing how safe vaccines are. In fact, studies have shown that the better educated parents are, the more likely they are to exempt their children from the mandated schedule. Reporters can't understand this. The networks and newspapers have given us years of coverage featuring experts from big name universities all vouching for the safety of vaccines.

Of course that isn't authentic journalism. Real journalism involves truth and balance and that's never part of the discussion.

If reporters were honest, they'd do more than give us talking points from health officials. They would cover the dissenters.

By dissenters I mean the people who've admitted the truth. And it may surprise you, but big names in American medicine have publicly said, that for certain children, VACCINES TRIGGER AUTISM. Incredibly, they weren't ostracized by the medical community and demonized by the press. As far as I know they're still in their important positions.

On Jan 25, 2015 former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson reposted an interview she'd done with Dr. Frank DeStefano, the director of Immunization Safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sept 2, 2014.

DeStefano was part of the 2004 CDC MMR study that an agency whistleblower now claims was falsified. Attkisson said that DeStefano told her that while there was no causal link between vaccines and autism, vaccines could be the trigger for autism. Attkisson wrote,

"In a telephone interview last week, DeStefano defended the study and reiterated the commonly accepted position that there's no "causal" link between vaccines and autism.

"But he acknowledged the prospect that vaccines might rarely trigger autism.

"'I guess, that, that is a possibility,' said DeStefano. 'It's hard to predict who those children might be, but certainly, individual cases can be studied to look at those possibilities.'"

It's hard to move on after hearing that a top U.S. health official admits that while vaccines don't cause autism, they can trigger it in susceptible children.

Attkisson's FB post went on to cite Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, Director of Medical Research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. He was the expert on behalf of Hannah Poling who said that he'd 'personally witnessed [Hannah's] developmental regression' following 'vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation.' (Hannah Poling's vaccine injury claim was quietly conceded by medical experts at HHS and she was awarded substantial compensation.)

Attkisson continued, "Zimmerman concluded that Hannah was vulnerable to vaccine injury because she had a metabolic disorder called mitochondrial dysfunction. While vaccines are safe for most children, in Hannah, they triggered a brain injury, according to Zimmerman.

"Whether vaccines 'caused' or 'triggered' Hannah's autism, the result was the same: but for her vaccinations, Zimmerman said, 'Hannah may have led a normal full productive life.' Instead, she suffers 'significant lifelong disability.'"

How can this be happening? The Hannah Poling case was in the news in 2008. If Dr. Zimmerson was saying these things, how come no one followed up on it? Hannah Poling got a lot of mainstream news coverage. Her father, Dr. Jon Poling and her mother, Terry Poling, a nurse, were interviewed on the major networks. They were treated with respect when they explained how the nine vaccinations Hannah received in a single doctor's visit caused her regression into autism. So why didn't anyone talk to Zimmerman, the doctor who backed the Polings' claim? Why does the media today act like there never was a Hannah Poling?

In truth, two things that are never supposed to be connected in any manner: VACCINES AND AUTISM, can be--if the child is predisposed to vaccine injury--that's what parents have been saying for years. After publicly admitting this, these two experts are never heard from again. The outrage on the part of parents over this fraud, can't be imagined. How can the press and the CDC keep on lying to us?

And there's more.

One of the top experts on autism in the U.S, Dr. David Amaral, research director at the M.I.N.D Institute at UC-Davis was interviewed on PBS by Robert MacNeil in April 2011.

Dr. Amaral was asked if vaccines can cause autism and he said, "I think it's pretty clear that, in general, vaccines are not the culprit. There has been enough epidemiological evidence showing that if you look at children that receive the standard childhood vaccines that, if anything, those children are at slightly less risk of having autism than children that aren't immunized. And so, you know, I think it probably is a waste of effort at this time to try and understand vaccines as a major culprit for, or a major cause of, autism.

"It's not to say, however, that there isn't a small subset of children who may be particularly vulnerable to vaccines. And in their case, having the vaccines, or particular vaccines, particularly in certain kinds of situations -- if the child was ill, if the child had a precondition, like a mitochondrial defect. Vaccinations for those children actually may be the environmental factor that tipped them over the edge of autism. And I think it is incredibly important, still, to try and figure out what, if any, vulnerabilities, in a small subset of children, might make them at risk for having certain vaccinations."

Finally, there's Dr. Walter Zahorodny, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark and he was the lead researcher on the New Jersey portion of a CDC rate study. He was interviewed for Philly.com in March, 2014 about the update in the autism rate to one in every 68 children. Zahorodny said, 'It's a true increase. It's a change of great magnitude. It's silly to go on debating that.' Furthermore, he said the numbers are going to get even worse.

Back in April, 2012, Zahorodny was featured on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio.

During the interview, the host brought up research on the possible causes for autism and he made this comment: "I guess we know what they aren't, for instance, childhood vaccines, right?"

This was Zahorodny's stunning response: "Vaccines don't play a significant role in autism increasing. Some small number of children probably do have autism because of an adverse vaccine reaction, but they don't make for the overall rise. Similarly, thimerosal, the additive in vaccines which was almost entirely out of the picture by 2000, which was when our children in the '08 study were born. So these kids, which would have seen declining autism prevalence if thimerosal was an important risk factor, not increasing prevalence. So I rule those two things out. There are other factors that would be more likely at play-demographical factors related to parents' age and other factors linked to that."

So a "small number of children" have autism because of their vaccines. Shouldn't we all be concerned?

While Zahorondny's claim that thimerosal was removed by 2000 is clearly wrong, his admission that yes, some kids really do become autistic after vaccinations, was alarming.

So how much of the rate increase is because of the vaccines children receive?

Just like DeStefano, Armaral contradicted himself on tape. They both claimed vaccines don't cause autism--except, under certain circumstances, when they do. Zimmerman was the expert behind the claim of Hannah Poling's vaccine-induced autism, and Zahorondny also admitted a connection.

Andrew Zimmerman, David Amaral, Walter Zahorodny, the CDC's own Frank DeStefano--in their own words, there is a link.

This cannot continue. We've heard it from the top experts. Vaccines are crippling our children. They're making our children autistic. It has to stop.

The independent research backs what parents are saying, we just never get to hear about it. Instead, the media ad nauseam gives us official studies from the agency that runs the vaccine program--all with ties to the vaccine makers.

The truth is, this isn't about the science; it never has been. It's about who will be held responsible when we finally publicly admit what an unsafe, unchecked vaccine schedule has done to our children. There are lots of people who are doing everything they can to prevent that from happening.



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which is on sale now from Skyhorse Publishing.
Brownstein: Dr. Lipson must be poorly informed here as there has not been a single flu vaccineand the flu vaccine has been around for over 70 yearsthat has been shown to work for the elderly. In the best of the flu studies (which are hard to find), the efficacy for younger people is around 7-10%. That means the vaccine fails nearly all the elderly and fails around 90% of younger subjects. Dr. Lipson might want to review the research on the flu vaccine for the elderly. A 2005 study of a 33-season national data set found the national influenza mortality rate among seniors increased in the 1980s and 1990s as the senior vaccination coverage quadrupled. (Arch. Int. Med. 2005;165:265-272). A 2012 systemic review found the original recommendation to vaccinate the elderly was made without data for vaccine efficacy or effectiveness. (Lancet Infect. Dis. 2012;12:36-44). Nothing much has changed since then. And, injecting the elderly with mercury? Nonsense. More about that later.

Still, it did put a damper on the summer for many kids. Last winter, another in which we had a flu strain not well-covered by the vaccine, I lost nearly half-a-dozen patients. All were elderly, and really didnt stand much of a chance. But if the people around them had been immune they might have lived through the winter never knowing what might have happened.

I spend a week every summer helping to keep an eye on the kids at one such camp. During the flu epidemic of 200809, I watched as dozens of kids came down with a new flu strain, one for which a shot had not yet been developed. It was a frightening lesson in what can happen in unvaccinated populations. Thankfully, the strain wasnt deadly in this population. Among the hardest hit were pregnant women.

Dr. Brownstein practices in the heart of Michigans Jewish community. Among American Jews, summer camping has been an important part of childhood for nearly a century. In the early part of the 20th century, it was felt that city children would benefit greatly from exposure to nature. Jews were not allowed to attend most camps and started their own. The tradition has remained strong.

Dr. David Brownstein is a family doctor whose goal is to inform the world about the power of holistic health solutions, whatever that might mean. Yesterday he posted a dangerous and poorly-informed piece on his website. First a bit of cultural background.

I asked Dr. Brownstein for a response to what Peter Lipson wrote about him.. Here Brownstein comments on the charges Lipson made against him (in italics below):

This all started when Dr. Brownstein wrote No Vaccines? No Camp For You! on Dec. 31, 2015. This piece outlined Brownstein's objections to a vaccine mandate in order to go to summer camp. Forbes published a critique of Brownstein, and incredibly, it ignored the concerns that were expressed in Brownstein's article.

Lipson also made a strange reference to Nazi eugenics experiments in a story criticizing Dr. Wakefield in 2014. This latest coverage is because Dr. Brownstein is not a shrinking violet on the vaccine issue.

Pharma-friendly Forbes (Dr. Peter Lipson) is on the attack. Dr. David Brownstein is in their sights. The media likes to pretend that doctors like Brownstein and dozens more we know don't really exist, so for the most part, they're ignored.

My daughter, who attends the same camp as I did, has had every shot, always on schedule. Thankfully so have her friends. Id be very hesitant to let her play with kids who werent vaccinated, both because of the small but real risk she could catch something, and because I would not want her to give an illness to someone else.

One of our largest summer camps here reportedly sent out a letter this week informing the community that all staff and campers must be fully immunized to attend camp next summer. This is great news for our kids.

But Dr. Brownstein doesnt think so. His blog lists the usual arguments against requiring vaccination, all of which are, to be blunt, total bullshit. Its not even good bullshit, but bullshit that has long been known to be, well, bullshit.

Brownstein: That is unprofessional and uncalled for. We can argue the science if you would like. We should talk to each other like professionals.

For those of you who want the detail, read on. If you dont, feel free to skip to the final paragraph for a summary. So lets go through Brownsteins arguments point-by-point:

You might assume that Tamarack Camps, which has been around for over 100 years, must have had an outbreak of a communicable disease. However, if that is true, I missed it. In fact, I would be interested in any data from Tamarack Camps of any outbreak of a communicable disease in its 100-year history.

I call this the seat belt argument. Ive never been in a serious crash, but studies clearly show that if I were, wearing a seat belt could make the difference between life and death. The same is true for vaccination. While we may not see a lot of tetanus in this country, we still need to protect ourselves. Tetanus is a particularly hideous death, and we see so little precisely because of our vaccination efforts.

Brownstein: As far as I know, tetanus is not a communicable disease. Therefore, I am not sure why Dr. Lipson is arguing this point. How much tetanus do we see? According to the CDC, from 2001-2008, there were 233 cases of tetanus out of 322 million people. The annual incidence is 0.1 per 1,000,000 population. During this time period, among 92 subjects, out of the 233 reported cases where the vaccination status was available, 60% were vaccinated. In other words, the majority who got tetanus were vaccinated. Do we need to give routine tetanus shots to 322 million people to prevent about 30 cases of tetanus per year? Will that work? Those are questions that need to be answered. Moreover, the Td vaccine (Tetanus vaccine in multi dose vials) still contains mercury. Dr. Lipson is fine injecting mercury into people, but I am not.

Perhaps Camp Tamarack is unaware that over $3 billion has been awarded by the Federal Government to children and adults injured by vaccines. Maybe Camp Tamarack can assure all who will have to be fully vaccinated to attend camp that it is safe to inject numerous doses of neurotoxins like mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde into any living being. As far as I am aware, there are zero  ZERO  safety studies on injecting a neurotoxin into a living being. I would like to see where Jewish law says it is safe to inject a neurotoxin into a baby or any living being.

This is completely wrong in every conceivable way. First, the $3 billion thing: vaccines are not very profitable, and people who listen to Brownstein might be tempted to sue a drug company after getting a vaccine and having something bad happen. Serious vaccination reactions are vanishingly rare, but in order to protect the public and to protect the companies that make vaccines, the government has set up a vaccine court. While you may sue a drug company for causing injury through a poorly manufactured vaccine, you cannot sue them simply because you think you had a reaction. This court liberally awards money to people who feel they have been injured by a vaccine. The level of evidence needed is minimal. It is meant as a safety net both for those who are truly injured and for those who think they are, even if they might not be able to prove it in a normal court.

Brownstein: Vaccines are not very profitable? GIVE ME A BREAK! I dont think I need to comment any further about that. I am amazed that Dr. Lipson even brought that up. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that the U.S. vaccine market is projected to rise to $100 billion dollars by 2025.



Basically, Dr. Lipson says to trust Big Pharma without question. Since when does Big Pharma deserve our trust? What is wrong with questioning Big Pharmas reasons for demanding no liability for their vaccines?

Serious vaccination reactions are rare. That is correct. However, the vaccine court has never liberally awarded funds. That is a fact. I have spoken to patients who have gone through the vaccine court. The vaccine court is a miserable experience for those who suffer vaccine injuries.

The toxin gambit uses scary words out of their scientific context. Aluminum is used in some vaccines in order to help create a stronger immune reaction. This allows us to use less of the actual antigens derived from the germ. It is not present in amounts that cause harm. Formaldehyde is sometimes present in tiny amounts left over from the preservation process. Your own body manufactures more formaldehyde in a day during its normal chemical processes than you would get from a lifetime of vaccines. The tiny amount that might be left in your shots is trivial for your body to deal with.

Brownstein: Oy vey! A neurotoxin, is a neurotoxin, is a neurotoxin. Injectable aluminum is a neurotoxin. That is a fact. If Dr. Lipson would simply search Pub Med for aluminum and neurotoxicity he could find 393 papers.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen. Formaldehyde is not produced in the human body. As with injecting anything, there is 100% absorption of formaldehyde via injection. There are reports of inflammatory diseases developing after injection of formaldehyde in vaccines. (Cutan. Med Surg. 2015 Sep-Oct;19(5):504-6)

Formaldehyde is a direct acting genotoxic compound that affects multiple gene expression pathways including those involved in DNA synthesis and repair.

There have been no safety studies finding that is safe to inject formaldehyde into a living being (at least none that I am aware of).

Mercury is not present in most vaccines. It is present in a few in the form of thimerosal, a preservative that keeps vaccinations from becoming contaminated. Thimerosal in vaccines has been found in study after study to be harmless. No neurotoxins are injected into our children as part of the vaccination process. That is either a lie or profound ignorance of biology. Tetanus, on the other hand, produces a potent neurotoxin that kills people in a uniquely painful way.

Brownstein: Mercury is still present in vaccines. Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to mankind. There are ZERO studies showing that it is safe to inject mercury into a living being. Injectable mercury has not been found to be harmless. Dr. Lipson, please present the safety studies with injectable thimerosal.

Animal studies have shown that injectable mercury easily crosses the blood brain barrier in both the animal and the fetus. Further studies looking at the cells form the brains of mice injected with Thimerosal indicate that Thimerosal causes cell damage and death. (Appl. Microbiol. 1967;15:590-3. Toxicology. 2004;Jan 15;195(1): 77-84)

In 1982, the FDA proposed to ban Thimerosal from over-the-counter topical drug products because it was found to be deadly to human cells in vitro. (U.S. Mercury in medicine report. Congressional Record. May 21, 2003;1011-1030). Perhaps it is too toxic for topical use, but ok for injectable use? Common sense should answer this question.

Thimerosal has also been found to be associated with cellular toxicity in studies of both human nerve and skin cells. (Toxicol. Sci. 2003. Aut;74(2):361-8). This study found Thimerosal induced DNA breaks, membrane damage and cell death in doses the most American children received before it was removed from many childhood vaccines.

And, I have a question for Dr. Lipson: Would you expose any living being to a known neurotoxin if there were safer alternatives? Common sense should also answer this question, though I am not sure of his answer. This reminds me of a famous quote: Common sense is not so common. Voltaire.

Maybe Camp Tamarack should take notice that there is a whistle blower at the CDC  a senior scientist who authored research papers on childhood vaccinations  who has stated that the CDC has hidden and altered data that confirmed a link with the MMR vaccine to autism. Or, perhaps they could provide an explanation of why another whistleblower scientist who worked at Merck (who manufactures the MMR vaccine) has filed a federal lawsuit saying the mumps data used to justify the MMR vaccine was falsified by Merck.

This bears repeating: There is no link between MMR vaccines and autism. None. The link was from a fraudulent paper published in a British medical journal by Dr. Andrew Wakefield. The paper has been retracted and his license has been revoked due to his fraud.

Brownstein: I did not write about Dr. Wakefields paper. I wrote about the senior scientist at the CDC, who co-authored a 2004 paper that found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Ten years later, the same scientist came forward and said he and his colleagues altered the data to report no link when such a link did, in fact, exist. Furthermore, he made claims that his superiors ordered him to throw out incriminating data. Get your facts straight, Dr. Lipson.

Dr. Brownstein goes on to make an argument that would be funny if it werent so dangerous. He argues that as vaccination rates have risen, so have childhood disabilities. Any 7th grade forensics student could tell you what the problem is here: just because two things occur at the same time does not mean one is the cause of the other.

Brownstein: There is nothing funny about any childhood illness or any child with a disability. An association does not equal causation. However, this association calls for more research and more debateat least that is what I was taught in medical school.

For example, in the same time period cited by Brownstein, lead exposure in kids decreased dramatically, mostly due to the elimination of leaded gasoline. So was lead exposure protecting our kids from learning disabilities and autism? (For the definitive, ground-breaking book on the rise of autism, see Steve Silbermans Neurotribes.)

Brownstein: No, Dr. Lipson. Lead causes problems, it does not prevent them. I am glad lead was taken out of gasoline. I would like the same done with mercury and aluminum in vaccines.

Maybe you skipped the details above and have arrived down here to the bottom of the page. Heres the short version.

Vaccination, along with water sanitation, has saved billions of lives. Most of us are too young to remember life before vaccines, but before the fifties, being a parent was terrifying. Vaccination has been shown over and over to be safe and effective, so much so that there is nothing that unites the medical community more strongly. Failing to vaccinate your child puts them at risk, and puts others kids at risk.

Brownstein: Just because you make these statements does not make them true. Deaths due to communicable diseases were dramatically declining before mandatary vaccines were used and that includes every childhood illness that is presently being vaccinated for.

Water sanitation and better living conditions have been true public health miracles.

Many vaccines do work. They lower the incidence of illness. But, are we healthier for injecting more and more vaccines in our kids? And, should we continue to inject more and more vaccines in our population?

Dr. Lipson, you may not want to ask the appropriate questions, but I do. I have seen both the good and bad with vaccinations. We need better vaccination studies and safer vaccines. Unfortunately, due to rhetoric like yours, there is no need to do further researchjust keep giving more and more vaccinations and hope that we are doing a good thing.

Summer camps are intimate environments, with kids sharing space, clothes, water bottles. Ive seen what an outbreak of a mild disease can do. Can you imagine what would happen if, say, meningitis broke out at a camp? You dont have to imagine it, all you have to do is read history.

Brownstein: So, I get accused of fear mongering, but you can make a ridiculous statement like that? If the CDC whistleblower is telling the truth, then we will all have to deal with one in forty five children suffering on the autistic spectrum from mandatory (or coerced) vaccination.

Camp Tamarack should be lauded for their policy of full vaccination. If there is a kid who for some medical reason cant get all their vaccines, this policy will protect them from unvaccinated cabin-mates. And there is no downside to the policy.

Dr. Brownstein is wrong on the facts. Thats not my opinion. What is my opinion is that doctors like him are a threat to public health. Doctors who spread incorrect information about health and disease are endangering my child and yours. They are a threat to public health. It is my personal belief that doctors who practice so strongly against the standard of care should lose their license to practice.

Brownstein: To the reader: You judge who is right or wrong on the facts.

Perhaps you are right, Dr. Lipson; We should practice the standard of care without questioning or thinking. Then, we can go back to prescribing Vioxxwhich caused 50,000 deaths and 100,000 heart attacks and strokes. By the way, Big Pharma Merck knew Vioxx would do this before it was released. In case you did not know, Merck is the same Big Pharma company who manufactures the MMR vaccine.

And, dont forget the standard of care in medicine in promoting smoking. Both the AMA and most physicians promoted the use of cigarettes even though data showed their negative effects.

Perhaps we need more critical analyses of the standard of care instead of less. I teach the medical students who rotate through my office to question everything and do their own research. Only then, can they make rational medical decisions for their patients. Dr. Lipson, you might want to try that.

Finally, if, as Dr. Lipson states, all doctors who dissent from the standard-of-care should have their licenses taken away, medicine will be in a very sorry state. How will we ever improve if we dont ask tough questions?

Let me finish with a quote from Galileo.

Facts which at first sight seem improbable will, even on scant explanation, drop the cloak which had hidden them and stand forth in naked and simple beauty.

(Note: I edited my comment about formaldehyde on 1.4.16 to state that formaldehyde is not produced in the human body. Thanks to Dr. Cutler for this. DrB)

David Brownstein, MD

There you have the real disconnect.

In the chemical paradise of Peter Lipson, known neurotoxins like mercury and aluminum, along with multiple live viruses, can be injected into babies and pregnant women with no ill effects. No one needs to worry that a pre-existing condition may set a child up for a vaccine reaction.

I want to know what other medical product or procedure Dr. Lipson would universally recommend for every child, like he does when it comes to vaccines. AND IF THERE ISN'T ANYTHING ELSE---Why is that? Why do advertisement for vaccines warn us not to get the vaccine if we're allergic to any of the ingredients in the shot? And how could someone possibly know if there's a chance for a reaction when it's a day-old infant?

When it comes to vaccines, we're expected to believe in MEDICAL MAGIC. All the science is put on hold. Toxic elements are transformed into healthy additives. Six vaccines, seven, eight in a single doctor's visit---it's all safe for every child.

And why should we accept all the claims are true? Because all the pharma-funded science and liability-free doctors like Peter Lipson say so. And if that's not enough to convince you, they'll take away your right to choice. Any public activity like attending school or summer camp will be closed to the unvaxxed. And dissenting voices will be silenced too. Lipson would like see doctors like David Brownstein lose their license to practice medicine.

The real message from Dr. Lipson is that EVERYONE MUST COMPLY. NO CAN OBJECT. IT IS NOT YOUR RIGHT. EXPERTS WHO DISSENT MUST BE SILENCED.



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2016 - A widely used neonicotinoid insecticide poses a risk to honey bees, EPA said in an analysis released today that drew criticism from a leading manufacturer of the product as well as environmental groups.

The neonic is imidacloprid, and EPA said that it potentially poses risk to hives when used on crops that attract pollinators. Citrus and cotton, in particular, appear to present a risk to honey bee hives and other pollinators, the agency said.

Other crops such as corn and leafy vegetables either do not produce nectar or have residues below the EPA identified level at which adverse effects were observed, EPA said in its news release.

But the preliminary risk assessment itself contained numerous caveats. It focused primarily on the best known and most economically important species, the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and said more study was needed to fully evaluate the effects of imidacloprid on all pollinators.

The assessment is the first of four EPA will conduct on neonicotinoids. The public will have an opportunity to comment for 60 days once a Federal Register notice is published.

Preliminary assessments for clothianidin, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran are scheduled to be released for public comment in December 2016. A preliminary risk assessment of all ecological effects for imidacloprid, including a revised pollinator assessment and impacts on other species such as aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants, will also be released in December 2016, EPA said.

Although EPA estimated thresholds above which adverse effects on honey bees could be expected, its assessment also said that risks of imidacloprid to other species of bees  bumble bees, for example  may differ . . . due to differences in their exposure and sensitivity to imidacloprid. Therefore, uncertainty exists in extrapolating the risk findings of this assessment.

Bayer CropScience, a major manufacturer and registrant of imidacloprid, responded quickly: We will review the EPA document, but at first glance it appears to overestimate the potential for harmful exposures in certain crops, such as citrus and cotton, while ignoring the important benefits these products provide and management practices to protect bees. We hope the final risk assessment is based on the best available science, as well as a proper understanding of modern pest management practices.

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) which has sued EPA to force it to conduct assessments of pesticide risks, said the analysis was flawed in numerous ways.

EPA focused solely on one bee species, ignoring the 4,000 native (bee species) in North America, CBD Environmental Health Director Lori Ann Burd said in an email. It glossed over the fact that effects on individual bees were found for most crops. And rather than considering the many published bee colony studies, this risk assessment relied on a single study submitted by the pesticide registrant.

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The assessment said that although there were other evaluated colony studies conducted with colonies of Apis mellifera, only this study was considered acceptable for quantitative use in this risk assessment. It also said that a robust registrant-submitted dataset was available to characterize the acute and chronic toxicity of imidacloprid to (individual) adult and larval honey bees.

EPA also said that it worked with Health Canadas Pest Management Regulatory Agency and Californias Department of Pesticide Regulation to evaluate more than 75 studies investigating the toxic effects on Apis and non-Apis bees at the individual and colony level.

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016  South Africa has agreed to end its trade bans on U.S. poultry, pork and beef after years of negotiation and a recent ultimatum from President Barack Obama, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Obama gave South Africa until New Year's Eve to remove the multiyear bans it had put on U.S. poultry, beef and pork. If the country refused, Obama said the U.S. would revoke its agricultural benefits including duty-free exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Negotiations continued, however, and now, seven days later, South Africa has agreed to meet the presidents demands.

This agreement is a positive outcome for both our countries and was made possible because of South Africas constructive efforts over the last several months, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Thursday in a release.

The true test of our success will be based on the ability of South African consumers to buy American product in local stores, Froman continued. We will be working to ensure that this final benchmark of entry of poultry is achieved so that South Africa continues to have the advantage of full AGOA benefits, including by working with the U.S. and South African industries to expedite the shipment of eligible product as soon as possible.

Under the agreement, the U.S. may export as much as 65,000 metric tons of chicken to South Africa annually, with incremental increases in subsequent years. In the case of future avian influenza outbreaks in the U.S., South Africa must regionalize any trade bans on poultry imports to the U.S. states that are affected, as opposed to instituting blanket bans, as it has in the past.

According to USTR, the agreement will allow South Africa to reserve a portion of its new trade in U.S. poultry for historically disadvantaged importers.

Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, and Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, said they were pleased with the agreement.

Although success will ultimately be realized when U.S. chicken is imported into South Africa, todays announcement is a positive step to bringing increased economic benefits to U.S. chicken farmers and companies across the country, they said in a joint release. But the real winners are South African consumers, who will now be afforded even more options when it comes to wholesome protein sources.

The two groups and other chicken industry stakeholders worked with USTR and the South African government to finalize an agreement on U.S. poultry in June. The Paris agreement, as it was called, required South Africa to ease its bans on poultry  a policy South Africa says it enacted to protect its food supply from avian influenza, and more recently, salmonella  as well as its anti-dumping duties that were imposed on U.S. chicken in 2000.

Ron Prestage, president of the National Pork Producers Council, also welcomed USTRs announcement, but said he hadnt seen the fine print of the agreement yet.

NPPC understands that some restrictions on U.S. pork may remain, Prestage said in a release. While dropping the ban on U.S. pork is great progress there is no scientific reason to restrict any of our pork, so well continue to work with both governments to get complete access to the South African market.

South Africa banned U.S. pork imports in 2013 following the U.S. outbreak of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome. The risk of the disease spreading through trade was negligible, NPPC said.

Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Chris Coons, D-Del., co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, said U.S. poultry could enter the South African market within the month, eventually leading to tens of millions of dollars more in annual export sales.

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South Africas decision to finally fulfill the obligations of the settlement reached last summer means that after more than 15 years of illegal anti-dumping duties and unfair trade policies, American poultry will finally be able to enter the South African market, the senators said in a release.

The poultry industry contributes over $15 billion annually to Georgias economy and about $4.6 billion to Delawares.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a release that the agreement was good news for American farmers, ranchers and poultry, pork and beef companies.

We welcome this move by South Africa and will continue our efforts to break down barriers and expand access for high-quality, safe and wholesome U.S. food and agricultural products around the world, he added.

According to USDA, U.S. poultry, pork and beef exports to South Africa could generate $75 million of shipments annually.

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The statements are pouring in after it was announced that Judith Kaye, the first woman to serve on the New York State Court of Appeals and the first woman to become chief judge, passed away Wednesday. She was 77.

Here's what top New York officials and other leaders are saying about Judge Kaye:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Chief Judge Judith Kaye. Throughout her more than 25 year career in public service, Chief Judge Kaye was a force for progress who had a profound impact on our state. When she was appointed to the Court of Appeals by my father in 1983, she became the Courts first female judge, and later continued her trailblazing legacy as the first female Chief Judge, serving in that role for more than 15 years. Over the course of that distinguished career, she was an exemplary role model for women everywhere. She was an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, believed in the fundamental promise of equal rights for all New Yorkers, and dedicated herself to strengthening our judicial system and our juries, along with many other worthy causes.

After her tenure on the Court of Appeals, Chief Judge Kaye continued to serve New Yorkers as my independent special counsel in public integrity matters while I was Attorney General. And she continued to serve the court as Chair of the Commission on Judicial Nomination.

She stood for justice and equality for all people, and embodied the spirit of integrity in public service like none other. Chief Judge Kayes passing is a true loss to our state, and I have no doubt that her legacy will continue to be felt for years to come. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli

New York lost one of our legal pioneers today. Former Chief Judge Judith Kaye led our states top court through difficult decisions and rightly pushed the boundaries of the law and tradition. Her contribution to New York will be remembered, studied and make a difference for years to come.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman

Chief Judge Kaye was a world-class problem-solver, dedicated to making New Yorks legal system work fairly for all people. Her dedication to innovation in our courts helped move New York closer to the ideal of equal justice under law. As the first woman chief judge of the states top court, Judge Kaye was dedicated to New Yorks rich history of diversity and equality. Her devotion to the highest ideals of justice made her a great lawyer, judge, colleague, and role model for thousands of lawyers.

U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, former Nassau County district attorney

Im shocked and deeply saddened by the death of Judge Judith Kaye. Judge Kaye was a brilliant woman with an unrivaled knowledge of the law and an unwavering commitment to justice and equality. She was one of the kindest, most compassionate people Ive ever worked with, someone who spent her life serving and advocating for others, especially children. I offer my prayers and condolences to her family and friends, and I have no doubt that Judge Kayes legacy will forever inspire all those who were lucky enough to know her.

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan

My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and loved ones of Judith Kaye, the former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, who recently passed away.

As the first woman to rise to the position of Chief Judge, she was a trailblazer for New York women who were seeking to establish a career for themselves in law or in the Courts. In more than 15 years as Chief Judge, Judith Kaye cemented herself as a thoughtful jurist and dedicated public servant for New York.

Even after leaving the Court, Judge Kaye continued to serve the profession and left a lasting imprint not only on the Judiciary, but also on New York. She will be missed by all.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie

Today we have lost a true champion of social justice. Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye committed her lifes work to making New York a better state for every individual and every family regardless of their socioeconomic status. As the first woman to be appointed to the states highest court and the first to be named chief judge, she was a trailblazer who has inspired all of us to be better public servants. Chief Judge Kaye was among the first to call for restorative, not punitive justice, which acknowledges the challenges facing our society, especially the plight of poor communities and young men of color. She advocated for policies to help struggling families heal and led the charge to strengthen New Yorks child welfare system. Because of her commitment to preserving New Yorks families, our courts became a meaningful partner in improving the quality of life for people across all across the state.

Chief Judge Kaye fulfilled her service to this great state with the conviction that it is our duty to pursue equality and opportunity in all things. She secured a wave of reforms to the justice system that increased fairness and transparency and boldly reminded us of our duty to secure the best education possible for our children. We will continue fighting for a brighter future for all New Yorkers, remembering her courage and her inspiration that we should never abandon our compassion or our sensibility in the pursuit of justice. I know we will continue to grow stronger because of that vision.

New York State Bar Association President David Miranda

Chief Judge Kaye saw the Judiciary, in her own words, as 'the guardian for the nation's fundamental ideals.' It is a vision that she honored every day during her 25 years on the bench. A distinguished jurist, she was always warm, dignified and gracious-and often humorous.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2015 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he would decide very soon whether to provide new subsidies to cotton growers, but he suggested that the industrys proposal may lack legal authority.

The industry, which is struggling to deal with a sharp decline in cotton prices, is asking USDA to allow cottonseed to qualify as an oilseed under the new Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs that were created by the 2014 farm bill.

Vilsack told reporters on Wednesday that the prime issue with the proposal is whether theres the legal authority to do what has been requested.

He noted that Congress, when it authorized the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) insurance policy for cotton in the farm bill lawmakers specifically took out cotton oil seeds from the program, which I think is a pretty significant piece of information as we look at what was intended at the time.

A spokeswoman for Vilsack said that he was referring to the fact that cotton wasnt listed as an eligible commodity for PLC and ARC.

Vilsack also told reporters he also had to consider the cost of the industry proposal and whether subsidies for cottonseed would have to be offset by cuts elsewhere in his departments budget.

"All these issues are being looked at. The general counsels office is involved. Foreign Ag Service is involved. Farm Service Agency folks are involved, so that I get a 360-degree review of this issue, so that we can figure what we can do to be as helpful as we can be within the confines of the law, Vilsack said.

According to internal USDA estimates obtained by Agri-Pulse, the cottonseed subsidies could total as much as $1 billion a year. Under the 2014 farm bill, USDA oilseeds not specified in the law would receive a PLC price guarantee, or reference price, of $20.15 per hundredweight, which is well above recent market prices.

A congressional aide familiar with the industrys proposal said a very plain reading of the farm bill shows Vilsack has the authority to designate cottonseed as an oilseed eligible for coverage under the commodity programs.

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If Congress intended to exclude cottonseed from that list, we would have done so, the aide said in an email. Instead, Congress is silent on the matter and leaves it to the Secretarys discretion.

Cotton growers say Chinas manipulation of cotton supplies drove cotton prices to levels that are unsustainable for U.S. producers. Shane Stephens, vice chairman of the National Cotton Council, told a House Agriculture subcommittee in December that U.S. cotton acreage is at its lowest point in 30 years, exports their lowest in 15 years, and prices are seeing lows not witnessed since the 2009 recession.

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Did you watch 60 Minutes on Sunday? If you are a foodie and missed it, youll be sorry. A whole 15-minute segment was about olive oil from Italy. Watching it nearly caused me to start using butter to saute with, rather than oil. But, then, how pure is that?

The story revolved around the fact that as much as 70 percent of the oil shipped here from Italy is severely adulterated. Not only is pure extra virgin olive oil mixed with cheaper oils, sunflower and canola, but other things are added to mask the taste and adjust the color. The story pointed out the fact that if the wrong person  one who, for example, was allergic to peanuts or various seeds  got some of this adulterated olive oil, they could conceivably have an allergic reaction, and could even die.

Since the very best olive oils can cost $50 or more a gallon to produce, it is easy to see the profit margins if the adulterated oils cost only $7 to make. The program also talked about a special force of Carabinieri, the Italian national police unit, made up of nearly 1,500 people who are assigned to police food fraud. Some police warehouses, pressing factories and olive groves. They showed about 60 people in a lab whose job it is to sip a bit of olive oil, swish it around the mouth and then spit it out. They can tell a lot in just that little taste. Fascinating.

Of course, most food people realize that there has always been a bit of fraud in the manufacture of olive oil. Italy does not have enough trees to produce enough olives for the millions of tons that it exports. For years, olives have been imported from other areas, particularly from Turkey and Tunisia. That has been accepted because the oil is pressed and produced in Italy. It is still pure olive oil. In essence, our U.S. Customs insists that the country of origin be on the label; it is. Most often, it is on the front of the label in bold letters, "Imported from Italy, but you really have to look at the other origins of the oil in very small letters on the back label. Aside from the above two, more is imported from Morocco, Spain and Greece.

All olive oils begin by changing the olive fruit into an olive paste by crushing or pressing under heavy weight. The paste is then slowly churned to allow the oil droplets to come together. Then the oil is separated from water and the fruit pulp with another pressing.

Extra virgin olive oil is that from the first pressing of the olive and, by law, must be made by mechanical pressing only. There should be no chemical extraction. Usually it has a pleasant greenish color. And it has a very low acidity. Then, as the best is siphoned off, the next grade, virgin olive oil, is separated out. It is more tan in color, and has nearly twice the acidity of extra virgin  yet it's very good to use.

And then we get to those oils sold only as olive oils. This oil is refined with heat, and sometimes chemicals that do not alter its structure. But the refining does tend to remove color, odor and flavor; a very pure form of olive oil.
This blog is written solely by John Ray, who has a Ph.D. degree in psychology and 200+ papers published in the academic journals of the social sciences. It does occasionally comment on issues in psychology but is mainly aimed at giving a conservative psychologist's view on a broad range of topics. There are very few conservative psychologists.The blog originated in Australia and many (but not most) posts discuss Australian matters. Australians have an unusually good awareness of events outside their own country. Australian newspapers feature news from Britain and the USA not as an afterthought but as a major part of their coverage. So Australians do tend to have a truly Western heart, which is the reason behind the old name for this blog. So events in Australia, Britain and the USA all feature frequently here, plus occasional coverage of other places, particularly Israel.SCOTUS is the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the landThe "GOP" stands for "Grand Old Party" and refers to the Republican party. The GOP is at present center/Right, while the Democrats have been undergoing a steady drift Leftwards and now have policies similar to mainstream European Leftist parties.The ideological identity of both parties has however been very fluid -- almost reversing itself over time. In the mid 19th century, the GOP was the party of big government and concern for minorities while the Democrats advertised themselves as "The party of the white man" -- an orientation that lasted into the mid 20th century in the South. The Democrats are still obsessed with race but have now flipped into support for discrimination AGAINST whites.Was Pope Urban VIII the first Warmist? Below we see him refusing to look through Galileo's telescope. People tend to refuse to consider evidence if what they might discover contradicts what they believe.Climate scientist Lennart Bengtsson said. The warming we have had the last 100 years is so small that if we didnt have meteorologists and climatologists to measure it we wouldnt have noticed it at all.The term "Fascism" is mostly used by the Left as a brainless term of abuse. But when they do make a serious attempt to define it, they produce very complex and elaborate definitions -- e.g. here and here . In fact, Fascism is simply extreme socialism plus nationalism. But great gyrations are needed to avoid mentioning the first part of that recipe, of course.Beatrice Webb, a founder of the London School of Economics and the Fabian Society, and married to a Labour MP, mused in 1922 on whether when English children were "dying from lack of milk", one should extend "the charitable impulse" to Russian and Chinese children who, if saved this year, might anyway die next. Besides, she continued, there was "the larger question of whether those races are desirable inhabitants" and "obviously" one wouldn't "spend one's available income" on "a Central African negro".Hugh Dalton, offered the Colonial Office during Attlee's 1945-51 Labour government, turned it down because "I had a horrid vision of pullulating, poverty stricken, diseased nigger communities, for whom one can do nothing in the short run and who, the more one tries to help them, are querulous and ungrateful."The book,, authored by T.W. Adorno et al. in 1950, has been massively popular among psychologists. It claims that a set of ideas that were popular in the "Progressive"-dominated America of the prewar era were "authoritarian". Leftist regimes always are authoritarian so that claim was not a big problem. What was quite amazing however is that Adorno et al. identified such ideas as "conservative". They were in fact simply popular ideas of the day but ones that had been most heavily promoted by the Left right up until the then-recent WWII. See here for details of prewar "Progressive" thinking.R.I.P. Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet deposed a law-defying Marxist President at the express and desperate invitation of the Chilean parliament. He pioneered the free-market reforms which Reagan and Thatcher later unleashed to world-changing effect. That he used far-Leftist methods to suppress far-Leftist violence is reasonable if not ideal. The Leftist view that they should have a monopoly of violence and that others should follow the law is a total absurdity which shows only that their hate overcomes their reasonFranklin Delano Roosevelt was a war criminal. Both British and American codebreakers had cracked the Japanese naval code so FDR knew what was coming at Pearl Harbor. But for his own political reasons he warned no-one there. So responsibility for the civilian and military deaths at Pearl Harbor lies with FDR as well as with the Japanese. The huge firepower available at Pearl Harbor, both aboard ship and on land, could have largely neutered the attack. Can you imagine 8 battleships and various lesser craft firing all their AA batteries as the Japanese came in? The Japanese naval airforce would have been annihilated and the war would have been over before it began. FDR prolonged the Depression . He certainly didn't cure it. WWII did NOT end the Great Depression . It just concealed it. It in fact made living standards worse Joe McCarthy was eventually proved right after the fall of the Soviet Union. To accuse anyone of McCarthyism is to accuse them of accuracy! The KKK was intimately associated with the Democratic party . They ATTACKED Republicans!People who mention differences in black vs. white IQ are these days almost universally howled down and subjected to the most extreme abuse. I am a psychometrician, however, so I feel obliged to defend the scientific truth of the matter:The average African adult has about the same IQ as an average white 11-year-old and African Americans (who are partly white in ancestry) average out at a mental age of 14. The American Psychological Association is generally Left-leaning but it is the world's most prestigious body of academic psychologists. And even they have had to concede that sort of gap (one SD) in black vs. white average IQ. 11-year olds can do a lot of things but they also have their limits and there are times when such limits need to be allowed for. America's uncivil war was caused by trade protectionism . The slavery issue was just camouflage, as Abraham Lincoln himself admitted . See also here Leftist psychologists have an amusingly simplistic conception of military organizations and military men. They seem to base it on occasions they have seen troops marching together on parade rather than any real knowledge of military men and the military life. They think that military men are "rigid" -- automatons who are unable to adjust to new challenges or think for themselves. What is incomprehensible to them is that being(to use the extreme Prussian term for following orders) actually requires great flexibility -- enough flexibility to put your own ideas and wishes aside and do something very difficult. Ask any soldier if all commands are easy to obey.
As winter is in full swing in much of the country, TV reporters who are stuck doing live shots in the cold wear hats to stay warm. But for reporters on Chicagos Fox affiliate, WFLD (Fox 32) and specifically, the morning show, Good Day Chicago and even more specifically, female reporters, they were not allowed to wear them.

According to Chicago media reporter Robert Feder, Fox 32 Executive Producer Dan Salamone issued a directive that women should not wear chapeaus because they look a lot better without hats, but he would make an exception if its 20 below. How nice of him.

Now this directive did not apply to the male reporters so they could wear hats of their choosing. How Salamone felt he could get away with this without bringing on an Equal Employment Opportunity lawsuit is baffling.

This whole policy came to light when a reporter at crosstown WLS (ABC7) made it public on Twitter:

@RobertFeder One local TV station is telling it's reporters NOT to wear hats during the winter months. #ForCryingOutLoud!  Jessica D'Onofrio (@donofrioABC7) January 5, 2016

Once the story went public, station general manager Dennis Welsh told Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune that Salamones directive wasnt well-received in his office:

It was an ill-conceived, ill-thought-out email, Welsh said Wednesday, a few hours after he said he learned of the email via Feders post. Its not a station policy. The station doesnt stand by the email. We have no policy about wearing hats.  Its nothing that came down from above.

And to top it off:

That person will receive appropriate disciplinary action, Welsh said.

So the women on Good Day Chicago are back to wearing hats and not just when its 20 below. The GM went even further:

Of course we want our reporters to be warm and theres nothing wrong with wearing a hat in Chicago.

What disciplinary action Salamone will face isnt known, but suffice to say that hell learn a valuable lesson when writing another memo regarding hats.

[Robert Feder/Chicago Tribune]
January 6, 2016

CAIRO  Egypts legislators will be going back to school if one member of parliament's proposal passes  but given the plans controversial nature, they should be strong debaters by the time they get there.

Mohammed Anwar Sadat, president of the Reform and Development Party, wants to establish an academy for parliamentarians. The school would help members of parliament better conduct their oversight and legislative duties, he said, particularly new members who have never performed such tasks.

Sadat stressed that oversight and legislation require tools that must be properly used to safeguard the publics rights and solve problems. Sadats proposal is causing widespread debate, both inside parliament and among political observers.

In explaining his idea, Sadat told Al-Monitor that the idea involves establishing an educational academy attached to the parliament building  and contracting with faculty members who specialize in the relevant disciplines such as law, constitution, finance, economy, etc.

The school would be for members of parliament and their assistants.

Sadat said there is no truth to rumors that members of parliament would be required to pass the curriculum taught in the academy, since members of parliament are chosen by the people. The aim is not to embarrass them, but to raise their awareness and help them carry out their duties. But assistants, who will be graded on their performance, will either pass or fail.

Sadat added, The academy will be independent from the government represented by the Ministry of Higher Education. It shall be managed by specialists and fall under the direct financial and administrative purview of parliament. I shall not play any role whatsoever in its management, with my role confined to submitting the proposal and the implementation thereof.

He further pointed out that the academy would be free for members of parliament and assistants, because developing the latter's capabilities is a state responsibility. It would be inconceivable, he said, that members of parliament who draft the countrys general budget and are paid 15,000 Egyptian pounds (about $2,000) a month, would be asked to pay educational fees.

The plans cost will depend on yet-to-be-determined details such as whether a new facility will be needed or if the academy could use existing space in the parliament building. Also, parliament would have to consider the cost of paying faculty members who are knowledgeable enough to teach what members of parliament need to learn.

However, member of parliament Sami Ramadan, who represents the district of Kurmoz in Alexandria governorate, doesnt think an academy is needed.

Parliaments job is to legislate and not educate. The current parliament is composed of MPs who hail from a variety of professional backgrounds and who need to address all kinds of legislative matters, including economic, health, educational, youth and other matters, Ramadan told Al-Monitor. No one person can excel at all these disciplines. But MPs can, if stumped by a problem related to an economic piece of legislation, for example, consult with specialists in that field. As such, I think that such an academy would be a waste of time and effort, considering that it relates to MPs chosen, as is, by the people.

In contrast, parliament member Khaled Yussef, who represents the Kafr Shukr district of Qalyubia governorate, told Al-Monitor, The idea is commendable, for education is unrelated to age or position, and people are supposed to continue learning until they die. Therefore, if an MP desired to further his knowledge in some particular field that he wanted to specialize in parliament, then the academy could play a very positive role in that regard.

Furthermore, the academy being attached to the parliament building would save those MPs a great deal of time, and I would be the first to enroll.

But Amna Noseir, a professor of Islamic doctrine and philosophy at Al-Azhar University who represents the For the Love of Egypt coalition, thinks parliament members should already be well-versed in political knowledge when they start their jobs.

Preparing MPs must begin during the basic stage of education, through curricula that develop citizens who are cognizant of their rights in and duties toward their country. This is something that we currently lack, for Egyptian universities are graduating students who are culturally illiterate, she said.

More surprising, even, is that some actually illiterate students, for the lack of proper oversight during exams, are cheating to pass their basic educational requirements. We cannot ask ourselves why [public] education, which affects the quality of MPs, is so poor, when students only pay 50 pounds [$6.25] in yearly tuition fees. Egyptian families can afford to pay 300 [$37.50] instead of 50 pounds per year, thus increasing revenues, which would be reflected in the quality of the educational process, while exempting from the increase those students who cannot afford it.

Hassan Nafaa, head of the political science department at Cairo University, said that at this point, parliaments money, time and effort would be better spent ensuring its autonomy. There are priorities in everything, he told Al-Monitor.

We would be better served if the primary goal here were to guarantee the independence of parliament in its decision-making process and its ability to perform its legislative role without interference from the executive branch, Nafaa said. The intellectual, organizational, financial and political independence of the legislative branch from its executive counterpart must be the main objective of MPs in the coming phase.

He concurred that the idea of improving the performance of members of parliament is in the interest of the nation, but said such a development would be futile if decisions were dictated to members of parliament by the executive branch.
January 6, 2016

On Jan. 5, the Assembly of Experts, the body that elects the supreme leader of Iran, held examinations for the candidates who registered to run in the 2016 elections. Of the 531 candidates who registered for the assembly elections, 400 attended the exam. Of the 131 missing from the examination, the most notable was Hassan Khomeini, the most prominent grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hassan Khomeinis absence surprised many, including Reformist and moderate figures and media, who were hoping to use the Khomeini family name to increase their political clout both in the assembly and parliamentary elections. His absence was stranger still because the test was administered in Qom, Irans religious center 80 miles south of the capital, a city Khomeini often resides in.

According to his family members, Khomeini was never informed of the details regarding the test. Family members said that while the test was being administered, he was teaching a class. They even released a picture on social media showing the young cleric sitting at the center of what looks like a hosseinieh, or religious center, supposedly at the same time of the test.

Family members also denied reports that Khomeinis absence suggests he is pulling out of the elections.

The Guardian Council responded to claims that Khomeini was not informed of the test by saying that all the candidates were sent a text message about the test. They reiterated that no candidates would receive special concessions regarding how they would be informed. Dana website claimed that the Guardian Council had even prepared a special room for Khomeini to take the test, though this was denied by sources close to Khomeini.

The spokesman for the Guardian Council, Nejatollah Ebrahimian, said that missing the test would not automatically disqualify a candidate from running, and that if a candidate wants to pull out of the elections, it has to be put in writing. Nevertheless, he added that if a candidate does not take the test, the Guardian Council is unable to authenticate whether a candidate is qualified to run in the elections.

But there are doubts about the text message. Ebrahimian told Etemaad newspaper that the Guardian Council had put out a public statement regarding the test. He said there was no written or personal invitation to take the test. He added that only candidates who have not been approved previously to run in the elections are required to take the test.

Etemaad, a Reformist paper sympathetic toward Khomeini, quoted Dec. 15 comments by Ayatollah Mohammad Momen, a member of the Guardian Council, who said that if a cleric teaches classes and has made public political statements, a religious test is not necessary and there is enough information to judge his qualifications.

Conservative media, concerned about the popularity of Khomeini, were quick to exploit his absence from the examination. Even before this round of controversy, on Jan. 3, Mohammad-Ali Mohsen-Zadeh, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' 41st Sarallah Division, warned that a new sedition was being planned by the family of Ayatollah Khomeini.
January 6, 2016

The Obama administration tells Al-Monitor that it "strongly opposes" an Iran sanctions bill that is scheduled for an initial vote this week, setting the scene for the first of what promises to be a long list of showdowns over Iran policy in 2016.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 7 is set to mark up legislation from Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., that would restrict the administration's ability to lift sanctions on Iranian financial institutions as called for under the Iran deal. Administration officials say the bill is a transparent attempt to derail the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Were aware of this draft legislation, and as we have long said, we are opposed to any legislation that interferes with the implementation of the JCPOA," a senior administration official told Al-Monitor via email. "From what we have seen of this bill, it would interfere with the implementation of the JCPOA, and therefore, the administration strongly opposes it."

The bill would require the administration to certify that Iranian financial institutions have not knowingly helped fund Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, foreign terrorist organizations and several other entities before they can be removed from the Treasury Department's list of specifically designated nationals. The Iran deal requires that the United States cease its nuclear-related sanctions on those banks as part of its obligations under Annex II of the deal.

"It means that we can't do the deal," said Richard Nephew, a former principal deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the State Department, now with Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. "I think it's written with the deliberate intention of making it such that we cannot delist the banks that are supposed to be delisted."

The committee counters that the bill's goal is to "ensure the administration does not lift sanctions against individuals involved in Irans ballistic missiles program or terrorism," according to a markup schedule. Republicans  and not a few Democrats  are incensed at the administration's failure to sanction Iran for recent missile launches and have vowed to do all they can to keep punishing Iran for its support for terrorism and other activities.

"Weve ended up with the president negotiating a deal here which has to be enforced now," committee chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., told reporters in a year-end press conference last month before leaving town for the holidays. "And we dont see the intention at this point on the part of the administration with respect to a will to enforce. And this will be a key issue next year.

The procedure and timing of this week's action, just days into the new year, suggests deal skeptics are scrambling to try to tie the administration's hands before sanctions are lifted on implementation day, which could happen as soon as this month. Sanctions bills are typically worked out between Royce and his Democratic counterpart, New York Rep. Eliot Engel, but in this case the bill being marked up was introduced by a committee outsider (Russell sits on the armed services and oversight panels) and hasn't been endorsed by a single Democrat  or even by Royce himself.

"It's disappointing, but I suspect the Republican leadership came down from high," Engel told Al-Monitor. "This is not a serious attempt. This is an attempt to play partisan politics with a very serious issue, and I don't want to be a part of that."

Russell's bill is theoretically retroactive  it would apply to President Barack Obama's actions going back to July 19  but it's not clear that would survive a challenge by the administration. The congressman's office told Al-Monitor that he hopes to get a floor vote on the bill shortly; no companion bill has yet been introduced in the Senate.

"Congressman Russell has been working with leadership on the timing of this bill, and we hope to see it come to the floor soon," a Russell spokesman said via email.

Advocates of the Iran deal say some of the financial entities that are supposed to get relief under the deal were sanctioned specifically because of their ties to some of the actors designated by Russell's bill, making the certification impossible.

The bill "would effectively bar the president from lifting sanctions on Iranian banks in ways that would contradict US obligations under the JCPOA," Tyler Cullis of the pro-deal National Iranian American Council argues in an email to Al-Monitor. "It would do so by mandating the president to certify that the Iranian banks had not provided financial services to designated Iranian entities, despite the fact that such banks were themselves designated for precisely doing such."

Cullis also raises concerns with a section of the bill that would give lawmakers the ability to review  and potentially void  administration licenses for the export of certain products to Iran.

"Some in Congress have grown concerned over the powers currently enjoyed by President Obama to lift sanctions on Cuba and Iran and signaling their intent to limit those powers in future," he told Al-Monitor. "This provision would allow Congress an effective veto over any presidential modifications to the USs trade embargo with Iran, which highlights the serious concern by Iran hawks that the nuclear agreement foreshadows a broader rapprochement between the US and Iran."

Nephew predicted such bills will keep popping up even after implementation day.

"I fully expect that there will be challenges to the JCPOA by skeptics in Congress for the entire life of the JCPOA," he said. "Are they trying to tie [the president's] hands? Sure. Will they be trying to tie his hands in a couple of months? Sure. This is the life we now lead."
January 6, 2016

The year 2015 saw the liberation of several areas of Salahuddin (Tikrit) and Anbar (Ramadi) provinces from the grasp of the Islamic State with operations toward that end ongoing. Yet, to date no serious reconstruction projects have been undertaken in those liberated areas, as the Iraqi government is faced with a difficult challenge  eradicating terrorism not only requires military effort, but also mobilization aimed at rehabilitating the residents before the area's infrastructure can be rebuilt.

Mosul fell on June 10, 2014, after a surprise attack by IS and the withdrawal of the Iraqi army and other security forces from the city. IS subsequently continued to rapidly advance toward Baghdad, and in a matter of days gained control of areas adjoining the capital, approximately 40-60 kilometers (25-37 miles) away, in Salahuddin province in the north and Anbar province in the west.

IS thrust came to a halt only after large numbers of volunteers, such as the Popular Mobilization Units, joined the ranks of the security forces to combat IS, following a fatwa issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on June 13, 2014. In September 2014, IS began a gradual retreat from occupied areas as a result of the aerial campaign that was initiated the month before by the US-led military coalition.

In 2015, IS experienced a major setback in Iraq, where it lost control of key cities and large swaths of land, among them Tikrit, liberated in March, Sinjar, freed in November, and Ramadi, where Iraqi forces are currently routing IS out of its last strongholds, on Dec. 28.

Areas in Iraq occupied by IS suffered extensive damage to infrastructure, the local economy and private property, with the Parliamentary Services Committee estimating a total of $25 billion in damages up to April 2015.

Since then, this amount has significantly increased, and local authorities in Anbar and Diyala estimated that 80% of essential services were damaged and destroyed in their provinces, including bridges, as well as the electricity, health, water and education sectors. In addition, there has been a loss of state financial resources such as those associated with the agricultural sector in areas with abundant arable land.

As areas started to be liberated, the Iraqi government announced reconstruction plans, with a fund set up on March 11 for construction projects and the return of the displaced. The government allocated, within the 2015 budget, 500 billion dinars ($451 million) to the fund.

In addition, on March 17, immediately after the liberation of Tikrit, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers announced the adoption of two separate tracks for the reconstruction of liberated areas: a short-term track focused on providing security, water, electricity, food, shelter, medical care and education, and a long-term track for rebuilding infrastructure.

In that regard, the secretary-general of the Council of Ministers, Hamid Khalaf Ahmad, said March 24 that rebuilding liberated areas would require cooperation between international organizations and donor countries. He stressed the need to quickly coordinate and establish ministerial crisis cells tasked with expediting the implementation of the reconstruction plan, as part of the long-term track.

To date and despite the many promises by the government for an immediate launch of reconstruction projects in liberated areas, no projects have been initiated. In fact, no detailed plans have been announced yet with regard to reconstruction projects. The Parliamentary Services Committee on Oct. 19 criticized the absence of reconstruction plans for liberated areas, with service ministries still having to draft such plans, in addition to a lack of sufficient financial allocations to initiate reconstruction plans.

Diyala's governor said Nov. 21, Reconstruction plans for the liberated areas of the [Diyala] province have been ready for implementation for months now and include all sectors. The governorate awaits the disbursement of funds allocated by the government to the reconstruction fund, to initiate construction operations.

However, as of now, no reconstruction projects have been launched in Diyala or elsewhere, with promises postponed as usual, at a time when the administration of the Diyala province announced Dec. 21 that the reconstruction plan for liberated areas will be launched in 2016, without specifying a date.

Iraq is gripped by extremely difficult economic conditions, due to its budget deficit over the past two years and this fiscal year, resulting from low oil prices, the exorbitant cost of defeating IS, management of the tragic conditions suffered by millions of refugees, as well as the ordinary task of providing services to its citizens. In that regard, several countries, including the United States, have promised to back Iraq financially in order to ease its humanitarian crisis. Iraq has yet to receive this support.

Furthermore, international financial institutions have allocated funds to be invested in Iraq once warfare ends there; for instance, on June 26, Asia Frontier Capital established a development fund to support the Iraqi economy in the postwar period.

There are no plans to launch urgent reconstruction projects in liberated areas, either by the Iraqi government or foreign entities. This comes at a time when the tragic circumstances in those areas and the need to economically shield them from the threat of terrorism require the adoption of comprehensive reconstruction projects. Implementing reconstruction projects in liberated areas would have a major effect on Iraq as a whole, by improving its overall strategic economic position and solving the refugee crisis that has weighed heavily on other Iraqi areas, as well as on the Iraqi government.
January 5, 2016

In the West Bank these days, one thing is clear: The current status quo of random terror by individuals and a Palestinian Authority (PA) cooperating on terror prevention with Israel will not be maintained for long. The Palestinian street buzzes with rumors about a third intifada, the downfall of President Mahmoud Abbas and the collapse of the PA. All this speculation is grounded in realistic analysis of where the current Palestinian despair may lead.

A senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Fatah Central Committee told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Abbas may be forced to make good on the warning given in his speech to the UN General Assembly Sept. 30 and pass responsibility over the West Bank to Israel as the occupying power.

I doubt that the authority can survive the current crisis, said the official. With daily Palestinian casualties, without any hope on the horizon for a political process and with growing economic hardships, the authority risks collapsing. In the current situation, the existing agreements are whitewashing for the occupation. Israel is exploiting the status quo to prevent Palestinian statehood through massive settlement expansion. We have thoroughly contemplated the meanings and ramifications of dismantling the authority in such a way that at the end of the day would bring about a process for Palestinian statehood together with the international community. The days of us serving as [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahus alibi for sustaining the occupation are over.

These words make it clear that the Palestinian leadership has a tentative strategy in place for the dismantlement of the authority. It is not clear, however, if and when it will be applied.

This new approach/possibility of handing over the responsibility for West Bank security and civilian affairs to Israel means first and foremost moving the Fatah leadership headquarters from Ramallah to Cairo or to Amman. It also means the dismantlement of the West Bank's separation into Areas A, B and C, as Israel would regain full civil and security control.

The source detailed other key elements: Palestinian security cooperation with Israel would come to an end, and instead of assisting the PA directly, international aid would be channeled to Palestinian nongovernmental organizations and refugee camps in coordination with the Palestinian leadership abroad.

In parallel, he said, the UN General Assembly would pass a resolution by September 2016 declaring the West Bank a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines under Israeli occupation. Such a drastic change would have grave repercussions on the region. There is little doubt that within such a scenario, a violent full-fledged intifada would break out. Most likely, this outbreak would be a combination of the first and second intifadas: the kind of popular uprising we have seen lately combined with armed struggle by Fatah's Tanzim, presumably in cooperation with Hamas forces from Gaza.

The region as a whole would be forced to express its solidarity with the Palestinian uprising, endangering the Israeli-Egyptian and Israeli-Jordanian peace treaties.

It's possible that fundamentalist terror groups would join the battle, especially Hezbollah and perhaps also the Islamic State operating from the Sinai Peninsula or the Golan Heights.

Under such circumstances, Israel would face a major economic burden, both from a security point of view and in terms of dealing with the Palestinian population in the West Bank under its responsibility. Strong political pressure would be exerted by the far Israeli right on the current government to annex part of this territory. The international community, including the UN and the EU, would then be obliged to intervene in the conflict, as was the case before the Oslo Accord.

A senior PA official close to Abbas confirmed to Al-Monitor the eventuality of the dismantling of the authority. This source, who has a great deal of experience in past Israeli-Palestinian peace processes, said that the goal of such a dramatic move would be to provoke an intervention by the international community toward a two-state solution process.

The man noted that such a diplomatic process would resemble international initiatives of the pre-1991 Madrid Conference period, composed of three stages. The first would be a cease-fire agreement and an international peace conference. The second stage would consist of formulating terms of reference for an international peace conference on the two-state solution, with a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, and with an agreed upon timeline for implementation. The last step would be the reinstitution of the PA as a transitional institution ahead of establishing the Palestinian state government, based on the terms of reference of the international peace conference.

The above ramifications of the dismantling scenario are deeply concerning developments that could be avoided if such a peace conference took place today. Unfortunately, this seems impossible before another round of senseless bloodletting in the region breaks out.
January 6, 2016

The timing couldnt have been worse. Just one day before the deadly attack on the Tel Aviv bar Jan. 1, The New York Times published a glowing account of how people could spend 36 exciting hours in the city. The piece described an open and secular city, where the LGBT community seems to take precedence over Israels complicated politics. Among the advantages described in the article were 300 days of sunshine a year, great bars, exciting nightclubs, world-class restaurants and lively flea markets.

The article offered a very accurate picture of life in the city. Tel Aviv is, after all, an icon of liberal, progressive Israel, a place where normal life can go on in the heart of the pressure cooker that is the Middle East. The Tel Aviv bubble is a derisive term used by other Israelis to describe people who live in the city. It implies that they are detached from reality, self-absorbed and focused on having a good time. Yet all these things are marks of normalcy.

The perpetrator who killed two young people and wounded several others managed to escape. Unsurprisingly, the fact that he wasnt shot or at the very least captured sparked a wave of criticism against the people of Tel Aviv, who failed to neutralize the shooter. In the flurry of media reports on the day of the incident and after, Tel Aviv residents were even compared to Jerusalemites, who would never have let a fiasco like this one happen. After being subjected to months of violence, many people in Jerusalem now carry a gun, as do all the security forces spread across the city as a matter of course. That is why after just about every attack in the current wave of violence, the perpetrator was neutralized, a popular euphemism for captured or killed.

This kind of criticism targeting Tel Aviv shows how jumbled and disordered the mood really is in Israel, which describes itself as a civil society.

The expectation that a group of young people who came together to celebrate a birthday one wintery Friday afternoon in a relaxed atmosphere over beer should have been ready to engage in armed pursuit is more than just unreasonable. It threatens the vital bastions of normalcy in a strong and healthy society.

Jerusalem is much more sensitive. It lies at the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so life there follows different codes of behavior. Jerusalem is always on the ready. It is a prime example of a city that has largely given up on normalcy. The idea that Tel Avivs pubs should be packed with armed youngsters is not just ludicrous, it is downright dangerous. It would be a sign that the state has abandoned its role in ensuring the safety of its citizens.

The thing is that due to the general madness that has overwhelmed the system since the start of the latest unrest, now an intifada of individuals, Israels leadership has been relaying the message that citizens will be best off if they take security matters into their own hands. As strange as it sounds, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon himself recommended in a series of interviews that citizens take responsibility for their personal safety. In an interview with Channel 10, for example, the defense minister said that the public must be alert and prepared for a sudden attack.

Anyone with a gun, he added, ''should shoot to neutralize the terrorist.

Yaalons comments were received as a natural response, even if they were troubling. What the defense minister was actually doing was privatizing citizens personal safety and forcing people to take responsibility for themselves, as if there were no state in place, and as if there were no security apparatus that costs the state billions of shekels.

Calls by Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan and other Knesset members to ease the process of obtaining gun licenses also reflect that disconcerting trend of responsibility for personal safety being imposed on the citizens themselves.

Obviously, it is important that the public remain alert and act, if necessary, to defend itself from assailants and even to neutralize them. The problem arises when this course of action becomes a primary and systematic response. It is the obligation of every government to provide security to its citizens, but especially of a government headed by someone elected on the security ticket and especially if that someone brags incessantly that he is the only person who knows how to keep Israel safe.

What makes this process even worse is the sense that the public has come to terms with its fate and is accepting this new responsibility imposed on it by the countrys leaders. The result is a quietly increasing trend encouraging citizens to be armed. With sticks, knives or guns, everyone must be ready to defend themselves and their loved ones. Yet, this readiness is not part of the unwritten contract between Israelis and the countrys leadership.

That is why the people who went out to have a good time or just to take a stroll down bustling Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv last Friday afternoon are the normal ones in this story, as they werent armed and ready to engage an attacker in battle.

The city and people of Tel Aviv may have the reputation for living in a bubble, but Tel Aviv has seen other horrific attacks. It has even come under rocket fire. Nevertheless, there is still something at the heart of the city that keeps it on the front lines of sanity in Israel, as The New York Times so rightly observed.
January 6, 2016

The reaction in Israel to the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris was one of amazement and disdain. Israeli security experts wondered why there had not been any advance warnings. How could Islamic terrorists operate so freely on the continent? Why werent the naive Frenchmen able to cope with events of this type on their own turf? Subsequently other rhetorical questions were asked: How could Brussels lock its gates for more than a week because of a warning? And how was it possible that a few terrorists were able to throw large European countries into such turmoil, without any proper response?

Israel, with the cumulative experience of more than 70 years of fighting Arab and Islamic terror, views itself as an upgraded, well-oiled machine in everything connected to the war against terror. We, the Israelis boasted, know how to deal with these sorts of situations.

Then, a man named Neshat Melhem arrived on the scene. On Jan. 1, which was a regular workday in Israel, Melhem, a 28-year old Arab Israeli from Arara village, showed up in Tel Aviv. Carrying a small backpack, Melhem ambled along Dizengoff Street, Tel Avivs equivalent to New Yorks Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. He entered a vegan health food store, walked around and filled a bag with dried fruits; he then changed his mind and emptied the bag. He proceeded to the exit where he stopped and calmly placed his backpack on a shopping cart. He then removed an Italian-made Spectra submachine gun from the bag. Melhem walked out the door, leaving the bag in the store, and in that moment, as if bewitched, he transformed into a killing machine: He began to spray Dizengoff Street with bullets, shooting at the neighboring HaSimta pub, where he killed two youths. He continued his rampage for about 30 seconds, then ran amok and disappeared. He was seen on the security cameras replacing the weapons magazine while running. He then disappeared without a trace.

Five full days have now passed since the attack and the perpetrator is still at large. In the past, Israels Shin Bet justifiably prided itself on its rapid and efficient solving of far more complicated and deadly terror attacks than the one in Tel Aviv. Israel knows how to extract Palestinian terrorists from the depths of the casbahs in refugee camps located in the very hubs of Palestinian cities, with the help of precise intelligence information. This is true even when the attacks take place in the middle of the night in isolated locations, without eyewitnesses, security cameras or any other leads.

This time, the attack transpired in the middle of the day in central Tel Aviv, in front of dozens of eyewitnesses and quite a few security cameras. The attacker's identity is known, and all this happens a few hundred meters from a large police station. Yet somehow, Melhem succeeds in making a laughingstock of Israels experienced, well-oiled security machine.

It has been five days since residents of the Dan region in central Israel have been walking around gingerly. Parents are afraid to send their children to school, and police forces and special units comb neighborhoods, fields, streets and hiding places without having the slightest idea of where Melhem disappeared to.

While at first Melhem was believed to be in Tel Aviv, he was then thought to have returned to his village in Wadi Ara in the north of the country. He was then believed to be in south Tel Aviv, Bat Yam or the West Bank, where he could have found shelter in one of the Palestinian villages.

The more time that passes, the foggier the picture becomes. It has emerged that in his flight Melhem hailed a cab and then murdered the cab driver close to the beach in north Tel Aviv. The cab driver, an Arab-Israeli father of 11 children, is now also counted among the victims of the terror attack.

The weapon used by Melhem belonged to his father, which, the father says, his son took from the safe in the family home in Arara. The father has been a volunteer with the Israeli Police for 30 years, and the family has no prior terror connection. Shortly after the attack, Melhem's father told the police that he had recognized his son on the security camera footage. Two days after the attack, the Shin Bet began to detain family members; first one brother, then another brother. On Jan. 5, Melhem's father was also detained together with five family members. It is unclear what they are suspected of, though it has become known that a telephone call took place after the attack between Melhem and his father.

The Israeli Police and the Shin Bet are unable to answer the questions of the public, and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is placed in a difficult position. In his distress, Netanyahu found recourse  as he always does  in inciting against the Arab public. (Mazal Mualem detailed this in an Al-Monitor article.) On Dec. 30, Netanyahus government approved an unprecedented budgetary allocation of 15 billion Israeli shekels ($3.8 billion) to be invested in the Arab sector, in an effort to bridge economic gaps and alleviate inequality. Then, the Tel Aviv attack happens and the prime minister takes the opportunity to stipulate all kinds of preconditions for implementation of the funds. What concerns him is not the Arab sector, but the primaries for Likud Party chief; Netanyahu has moved the primaries forward to February. In addition, Netanyahu has found himself on the receiving end of scathing criticisms by right-wing Yisrael Beitenu Party head Avigdor Liberman, and he is dealing with the police investigation of his wife, Sara, who was interrogated for the second time this week.

Since a few weeks, a new general commissioner heads the Israeli Police. Contrary to regular procedure, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan did not appoint to the job one of the deputy police commissioners, but instead he employed Roni Alsheich from outside. Alsheich served as deputy director of the Shin Bet and was a leading candidate for the next head of the Shin Bet. The appointment caused a storm of protest in the police command ranks as well as in the media and with the public, but was perceived as a winning move that came to change and shake up the scandal-ridden, ossified police force. Only days after Alsheich (regarded as "Mr. Security") assumed his new office, a high-profile attack takes place in the heart of Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, neither the police nor the Shin Bet have any answers, as a young Arab makes a public laughingstock of them both.

The question being asked now in Israel is whether Melhem is sane, or whether he has a mental illness. He has a criminal past and spent five years in an Israeli prison for trying to grab a weapon from a policeman. He has committed in the past several violent crimes and has gone through psychotherapy, including an anger management workshop, and medicinal treatment. His family members also report that he is mentally unstable.

Melhems behavior in the course of the attack represents a quandary: If he wanted to kill as many Jews as possible, why didnt he simply remain in the store and kill everyone inside? There were customers there who had nowhere to escape to. Why did he shoot erratically in the street? The problem is that according to the security cameras, Melhem appeared professional, premeditated and calculated. Most importantly, he succeeded in carrying out a terror attack in the heart of Tel Aviv, killing Jews and escaping unharmed. Luckily, there arent many more insane people like him.
What used to be a Hobby Lobby store will now offer a new hobby for children and adults alike in north Alabama.

A group of investors behind Veloce Indoor Speedway in Milwaukee are bringing a go-kart facility to the former Hobby Lobby building on 1030 Old Monrovia Road N.W., in Huntsville. The space has been vacant since Hobby Lobby moved to Strong Station next to Sprouts Farmers Market in January 2015.

There are currently three Veloce locations in the works in Huntsville, Nashville and Knoxville. Miguel Castro, head of marketing for the company, said Huntsville has the right combination of demographics and population size.

"We felt it was a great city to go into, and so far we have not been proven wrong," he told AL.com. "The people here are awesome. The kind of response we've gotten has been unreal, and we are so thankful for the support."

Castro said Veloce (Italian for "fast") will be a "premier go-karting experience" with adult and junior racing leagues and plenty of space for private birthdays, bachelor and bachorlette parties, group events, fundraisers and more. Adult karts will operate at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

The track will accommodate 65 customers per hour at maximum efficiency, while the building itself will comfortably host about 250 people. Vending machines with snacks and beverages will be available.

"We've found out that we're really good at the go-karting thing and not so much at the restaurant and bar thing," Castro said. "Our sole focus is delivering a true racing experience while keeping everyone safe. With the kind of high-powered karts we have at our facilities, safety has to be a priority."

Children must be at least 48 inches tall to use the junior karts, while taller children and smaller adults can begin using the adult vehicles when they are 56 inches tall. You do not have to have a driver's license and there is no minimum age requirement to participate.

A single race will cost $16, but multi-pack pricing will be available from $39 to $150. Veloce will offer a buy two, get one race free special on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Construction is still underway at the building. There is a bamboo wall behind the registers and railing systems in place to separate spectators from the track. Castro said they also built a garage for kart maintenance and repairs.

Castro said Veloce had hoped to open in January.

"At the moment it is unlikely," he said. "There are a few key pieces to our operation that are missing and have held us back some. We will definitely make a big announcement when we have a date set for opening."

Madison resident Matt Spencer said he first heard about Veloce through his local running group, the Panera Pounders. Spencer, who sometimes rides go-karts when he visits Gatlinburg, looks forward to starting a new tradition at home.

"I will definitely frequent it if their early advertising meets my expectations," he said.
Two federal prosecutors in Alabama say that Alabama probate judges are not free to disobey the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage and deny gay couples marriage licenses, despite an order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

"The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has issued an administrative order, directing probate judges that they may not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on marriage equality," according to a statement issued Wednesday night by U.S. Attorneys Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama and Kenyen Brown of the Southern District of Alabama.

"We have grave concerns about this order, which directs Alabama probate judges to disobey the ruling of the Supreme Court," Vance and Brown stated. "Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not to disobey it. This issue has been decided by the highest court in the land and Alabama must follow that law."

Two law professors agreed that the U.S. Supreme Court was clear that its same-sex marriage ruling applied nationwide and probate judges who go against it could find themselves facing lawsuits.

Moore on Wednesday issued an order to state probate judges saying that a ruling issued last March by the Alabama Supreme Court remains in effect and that probate judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary" to Alabama's law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore speaks to the congregation of Kimberly Church of God, Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Kimberley, Ala. Moore lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, saying said the decision was against the laws of nature. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

At least a few probate judges have shut down same-sex marriage or all marriage licensing in response to Moore's order. Several others, including Jefferson, Shelby and Montgomery counties, say they are continuing to issue licenses to everyone.

Probate judges said they made their decisions after considering the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year and an earlier ruling by a federal judge in Mobile that declared Alabama's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges , the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that states are required under the 14th Amendment to issue marriage licenses to people of the same sex and to recognize those marriages from other states.

In his order Moore says the Alabama Supreme Court continues to deliberate on how the U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects its orders from March.

Moore cited a portion of an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a case. "The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that Obergefell did not directly invalidate the marriage laws of states under its jurisdiction. While applying Obergefell as precedent, the Eighth Circuit rejected the Nebraska defendants' suggestion that Obergefell mooted the case."

The ruling in Obergefell addressed laws in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Moore stated in his order.

Confusion and uncertainty exist among Alabama probate judges as to the effect of Obergefell on the Alabama Supreme Court's existing order from March - before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Moore states in his order.

Some probate judges are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the opposite gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses, Moore states in his order. "This disparity affects the administration of justice in this State," he wrote.

Two law professors questioned Moore's legal reasoning.

"I think he's wrong," Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.

"When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling it covered the nation, which includes Alabama," Tobias said. "It was a national ruling and it applies nationally."

The last big controversy since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June was Kentucky clerk Kim Davis' refusal to issue the licenses, which resulted in her serving a short jail term, Tobias said. But it seems almost everywhere else has been in full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, he said.

Tobias said he doesn't think the 8th Circuit ruling supports what Moore is saying.

University of Alabama Law Professor Ron Krotoszynski, Jr. said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states must issue the marriage licenses to same-sex couples. "They could not have stated the rule any more clearly," he said

While the Alabama Supreme Court hasn't removed its March injunction to the probate judges the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell "overrules both the reasoning and result" of the Alabama order, Krotoszynski said.

Moore's order is no different than former Alabama Gov. George Wallace telling boards of education in the state more than a half century ago to maintain segregation in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v Board of Education, Krotoszynski said. "Wallace's order didn't trump the Supreme Court then and I don't think Moore's order is going to trump the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell," he said.

Moore's order provides no plausible cover for probate judges around Alabama, Krotoszynski said. "Politics is not law," he said.

Judges who disregard the U.S. Supreme Court ruling could find themselves facing lawsuits and ultimately the probate offices would have to pay attorney's fees and court costs, which can be considerable, Krotoszynski said.

Moore has gotten support for his ruling.

Jay Hinton, an attorney for Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams who has fought against having to issue same-sex marriage licenses, said he believes it is within Moore's rights as Chief Justice to issue such an order.

Under the Alabama Constitution probate courts are under the auspices of the judiciary, Hinton said. "I think as a general rule anytime your immediate boss tells you what to do, you ought to do it," Hinton said.

Alabama is within the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hasn't ruled on the issue, Hinton noted. "The 11th Circuit has not applied it (the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling) in our circuit," he said.

In a statement from Williams on Wednesday he wrote that states, not the federal courts, are the ones that manage marriage, divorce and child custody issues and should be the ones that define marriage.

"Federal courts lack the 'judicial expertise' possessed by state courts 'because of the special proficiency developed by state tribunals over the past century and a half' in marriage/divorce/child custody type matters. He hopes that the Alabama Supreme Court will soon reaffirm the authority of Alabama's Constitution over marriage and will rule consistent with the limits of federal jurisdiction over these matters."

Eric Johnston, an attorney for the Alabama Policy Institute which filed the petition that resulted in the Alabama Supreme Court's orders in March, said he agrees with Moore that there has been confusion. He said there is a need to hold off the same-sex licensing while awaiting an Alabama Supreme Court order that either agrees that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling or defies it.

If the Alabama Supreme Court issues an order that disagrees with the Obergefell order then the state court could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, Johnston said.

Johnston also agrees with Moore that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell does not address Alabama. "Does the Alabama Supreme court have to follow the U.S. Supreme Court when it ruled on a law in another state?," he said.

Moore, in his order, cites an update Johnston wrote in December for the Southeast Law Institute.

"To answer all the questions, we must await the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court," Johnston wrote. "We are encouraging all of those who have great concern over this issue to be prayerfully patient in hopes for the right outcome.

Sanctity of Marriage Alabama also issued a statement of support for Moore's ruling.

Sanctity of Marriage Alabama applauds Chief Justice Roy Moore for doing his job and clarifying what is, in fact, the... Posted by Sanctity of Marriage Alabama on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Krotoszynski said Moore's order also could have one unintended effect involving an Alabama lesbian adoption case.

That case involves an Alabama Supreme Court order in September that declared void a woman's adoption in a Georgia court of three children she and her lesbian partner had through artificial insemination. The Alabama Supreme Court found that Alabama did not have to recognize the adoption by the woman - V.L. - of her partner's biological children because it found the Georgia court didn't properly apply Georgia law regarding second-parent adoptions.

The U.S. Supreme Court in December blocked, at least temporarily, the adoption ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court while they decide whether to review the Alabama mother's appeal. The order also gave the mother visitation rights to see her adopted children while the court decides to hear her case or until there is a decision.

Moore's order could push the U.S. Supreme Court toward taking on the appeal of an Alabama Supreme Court lesbian adoption ruling, Krotoszynski said. "The U.S. Supreme Court doesn't react well to open defiance," he said.

Updated at 11:17 a.m. Jan. 7, 2016 with comments from Eric Johnston
It is shaping up to be a cold, wet night in Flagstaff.

As of 4 p.m., the National Weather Service was predicting rain and snow would continue to turn more showery and less continuous heading into Thursday evening. Snowfall is expected to continue through Friday morning. Heavier bands of snowfall could dump as much as 2 inches of snow per hour overnight in the Flagstaff area. The overnight low temperature is forecast to his 18 degrees with winds between 11 and 14 miles per hour and gusts as high as 20 miles per hour.

As of 11 a.m., nearly 27 inches had accumulated in the Flagstaff area since the snow started to fall on Monday. As the storm moves out of the region on Friday, temperatures will drop and the wind will pick up slightly. The high temperatures, with windchill, will hover between 5 and 15 degrees in the Flagstaff area, said Benjamin Peterson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bellemont.

Coconino Countys Emergency Management department has been monitoring the series of storms this week, but so far there havent been any situations that have triggered the need for additional resources, said Robert Rowley, director of emergency management.

At this point, the amount of snow the region has received isnt expected to be heavy enough to cause any roofs to cave in, Rowley said.

We aren't looking at a real snow load issue, he said.

At HomCo Lumber and Hardware, about 80 percent of the business on Thursday was snow-related, with people buying everything from shovels and snowblowers to Carhart jackets and gloves, said Tom L'Angelle, an employee at the store.

The store went through 11 snowblowers, which range from $900 to $1,000 between Wednesday and Thursday and sold 80 percent of its stock of snow shovels, LAngelle said.

When it snows we sell that stuff bigtime, he said.

Local towing companies also were busy. On Wednesday, Am/Pm Towing had three times as many calls as it usually does, company owner Russ Kinkade said. The calls came from across the area, including several from Snowbowl Road, Kinkade said.

Tow Rite also saw business double on Thursday, employee Jessica Keeney said.

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said the department responded to about a dozen incidents of vehicles sliding off of the road Thursday.

Graves said officers responded to three rollover crashes in the Flagstaff area, though all injuries were minor. The department did not respond to any major injury or fatal crashes Thursday.

Flagstaff Police Department responded to 14 accidents between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday. Sgt. Margaret Bentzen said most of the calls were for slide-offs and vehicles stuck in the snow. No major injuries were reported.

Graves said driving conditions south of Flagstaff remained extremely dangerous, with virtual whiteout conditions extending to near the Yavapai County border. Graves cautioned drivers to drive slowly in the harsh weather conditions. Bentzen had a similar warning for drivers in Flagstaff, where roads are expected to be slick and icy overnight.

On Saturday, a weaker storm system is expected to move in, bringing another wave of cold air and dropping a couple inches of snow, Peterson said.

It wont be until Tuesday that temperatures will climb substantially above freezing, according to the current forecast.

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2 p.m.: While the mounds of snow on Flagstaff's streets look imposing, one local roofer said he isn't expecting many repair calls.

"There's not enough snow to really do damage," said Olin Little of Little's Custom Roofing. "It's the kind of snow that, once the sun comes out, it'll melt pretty quickly."

About three or four years ago, the city got 2 to 3 feet of heavy, wet snow that caused some damage, he said. But for this type of snow to start becoming a real problem for businesses and homes with flat roofs, the city would probably need another 2 feet.

The city of Flagstaff is recommending that home and business owners who have flat roofs covered with 2 feet of snow or more have them shoveled. City staff is also recommending that plumbing vent pipes be cleared of snow to make sure that sewer gases can escape.

Robert Rowley, with Coconino County Emergency Management confirmed that at this point there isn't a concern about snow loading on roofs.

Since last night, Flagstaff has received more than 8.9 inches of snow.

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12 p.m.: More businesses and services have announced full-day or early closures today as snow continues to fall in Flagstaff. Williams has received 12 inches and Flagstaff nearly 9 inches.

The Flagstaff City Coconino County Public Library will close at 3 p.m.

Arizona Public Service has announced its business offices in Flagstaff and Williams will be closed Thursday due to the snowy weather. Customers in need of assistance can call the 24-hour APS Customer Care Line at 800-253-9405.

A power outage this morning in Munds Park has been resolved but another, much smaller outage is affecting eight APS customers between Leroux Spring to Taylor Spring Lane and Roundtree Road to Snowbowl Road. The outage occurred at 9:21 a.m. and is still being investigated.

Snowfall will continue through tonight with periods when snowfall rates may be as high as 3 inches per hour. Snowfall intensity will decrease by early Friday morning.

Following are snowfall totals from the latest storm:

LOCATION AMOUNT TIME/DATE

WILLIAMS 12.0 IN 1230 PM 01/07

3 NNW PARKS 9.0 IN 0954 AM 01/07

FLAGSTAFF AIRPORT 8.9 IN 1100 AM 01/07

TONTO VILLAGE 8.5 IN 0550 AM 01/07

1 ENE FOREST LAKES 8.0 IN 0918 AM 01/07

3 WNW PRESCOTT 7.0 IN 1006 AM 01/07

3 WSW PRESCOTT 7.0 IN 1006 AM 01/07

PINE 7.0 IN 1240 PM 01/07

MOUNTAINAIRE 6.5 IN 0554 AM 01/07

JACOB LAKE 6.0 IN 1006 AM 01/07

4 NNW DONEY PARK 6.0 IN 0833 AM 01/07

GRAND CANYON VILLAGE 5.0 IN 0710 AM 01/07

PINETOP-LAKESIDE 4.2 IN 0759 AM 01/07

DONEY PARK 3.4 IN 0632 AM 01/07

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9:15 a.m.: All non-essential city services are on a one hour delay and will open at 9 a.m. and close at 3 p.m.

City snow plow crews are working to keep priority one streets clear and spread cinders. Priority one streets include major streets, hills, downtown, Mountain Line and school bus routes. Once priority one streets are cleared, the city will start working its way into the neighborhoods. However, due to the snowfall it may be several hours before they can get to residential streets.

Property owners are reminded that they are required by city ordinance to clear the snow and ice from the sidewalks surrounding their businesses and homes.

The city's snow parking ban ordinance is also in effect. There is no parking on city streets from midnight until 7 a.m. from Nov. 1 to April 1, whether there is snow on the ground or not. This allows the snow plows to clear the streets safely.

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8:30 a.m.: Heavy snow overnight and Thursday morning has continued to affect power, airport and road conditions.

The Flagstaff Pulliam Airport has closed given current conditions. All incoming and outgoing flights today are cancelled until further notice.

The National Weather Service is reporting whiteout conditions across Interstate-17 and Interstate-40 and is advising people to avoid travel if possible.

Coconino County has closed a 7 mile stretch of Lake Mary Road adjacent to Mormon Lake. The section stretches between the two points where Lake Mary Road intersects with Mormon Lake Road. Mormon Lake Road will remain open as a bypass so that people can still travel between Flagstaff and State Route 87, said Andy Bertelsen, director of Coconino County Public Works. The county decided to close the road as a precautionary measure because that section of road is highly exposed and gets a lot of blowing snow, Bertelsen said.

Its so people dont get stranded in that area, he said.

The county expects to reopen the road when the weather clears, which could be as late as next week, he said.

Meanwhile, shuttle bus service at Grand Canyon National Park has been halted until further notice due to weather.

Nearly 100 customers in Munds Park are experiencing a power outage that occurred at 4:58 a.m. Thursday. APS crews are en route to investigate the situation. APS also has scheduled equipment repairs in an area of Flagstaff near Industrial and Fourth Street from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Power will be out for 34 customers during that time.

An updated forecast from the National Weather Service shows that Flagstaff is expected to receive between 9 and 13 inches of snow between 4 a.m. today and 11 a.m. Friday.

Up on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona Snowbowl has received 18 new inches overnight and today, on top of 13 inches of snow yesterday. Since Monday, 39 inches of snow have fallen on the mountain, said J.R. Murray, general manager.

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5:30 a.m.: Due to weather and road conditions, all FUSD schools will be closed Thursday, January 7.

Wednesday update: Below-freezing temperatures and an additional 12 to 18 inches of snow are on tap for Flagstaff on Thursday and Friday, according to the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service.

The third snowstorm of the week moved into the region Wednesday evening, bringing snowfall through Friday. The heaviest snowfall is forecast to occur between 3 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday. Lighter snow showers are then expected to continue until early Friday.

Temperatures will drop into the upper 20s.

The National Weather Service has upped snowfall totals in its storm forecast through Friday to as much as 18 inches in Flagstaff and Williams. Doney Park could get between 7 and 11 inches.

That's on top of the 13.3 inches recorded at Pulliam Airport since Tuesday night.

And even more snow is due to fall southeast of Flagstaff. Forest Lakes is predicted to get 17 to 23 inches, and Pine-Strawberry 16 to 22.

In Page, where light snow has fallen, schools will be on a 9:30 a.m. delayed start Thursday.

The snow that fell Tuesday night into Wednesday forced the closure of most Flagstaff-area schools and delayed the start of Coconino Community College by two hours.

After closing Wednesday morning due to a rockslide, Highway 89A reopened mid-afternoon Wednesday. Interstate 17 northbound also closed from approximately 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Four power outages occurred south and west of Flagstaff, the majority of which were resolved by early Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is asking frequent fliers to check in with American Airlines before trying to make the drive out to the airport.

It's the airlines that cancel the flights, not the airport. If you call the airport, they will direct you to call the airline, said Airport Director Barney Helmick.

The first flight out of the airport Wednesday morning was canceled by American Airlines because the airline could not get the plane into the airport last night, Helmick said.

Helmick said the runways at the airport are clear, but due to the way the snow is falling, visibility is very poor and it is unlikely that any flights would be making it out of the airport today unless the visibility improves.

"As long as it keeps falling the way it is, its going to be a problem for them (pilots)," he said.

Travelers can reach American Airlines at (800) 428-4322.

A total of 17.2 inches have already fallen in Flagstaff since Monday, meaning that the area could see a total of 33 inches of snow over the week. That would likely make the week historically significant in terms of consecutive days of measurable snowfall, said Brian Klimowski, head meteorologist at the National Weather Services Bellemont station.

When it comes to the amount of snow that has fallen each day, though, this storm wont be making any records. The top 15 snowfall amounts in Flagstaff on any given calendar day are 20 inches or more, Klimowski said.

Like the two others that have hit Flagstaff since Monday, the current weather system is originating off the coast of California, Klimowski said.

He reiterated the storms associations with the Pacific warming event of El Nino.

This is very consistent with the type of snow or rain event we would expect during a strong El Nino, he said.

Klimowski also emphasized that Thursdays storm is colder than the ones that rolled through the area earlier this week. That means more hazardous driving conditions and no mid-day melting of roads and sidewalks like what happened on Wednesday, he said.

And Friday might not be the end of it. Preliminary forecasts are showing another weaker storm moving into the area from late Saturday through early Sunday.

That system could deliver a handful of inches to elevations above 6,000 feet, Klimowski said.
A 68-year-old Hoover man was charged, and pleaded guilty, today to possession of child porn.

Joseph Whitlow Blackburn, a retired Samford University Cumberland School of Law professor and the ex-husband of Senior U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Blackburn, first came under investigation in 2013. His arrest and plea were announced today by U.S. Attorney David Rivera in the Middle District of Tennessee, where the case was transferred because of potential conflict of interest.

Between Jan. 30, 2013 and April 16, 2013, agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force carried out an investigation into the sharing of child pornography over Internet and found video files that showed child pornography, according to federal court records. Agents eventually identified the IP address associated with the downloads, and carried out a search warrant at Blackburn's Hoover home, according to Rivera's press release.

The search warrant, executed in April 2013, seized computers and other electronic storage devices including three cameras, three cell phones, one table, two thumb drives and other storage devices. A computer forensics analysis of those devices turned up pornographic images of children.

According to the plea agreement, Blackburn admitted he possessed child pornography. He told investigators he used the ARES program to download adult pornography on his office computer, and that he may have seen downloads with child pornography but deleted them. "Shown photographs taken from child pornography videos downloaded from his residence, Blackburn stated that he recognized one of the girls pictured,'' federal records show.

Blackburn told agents he had never used the search term "child" when searching online for pornography, but said he was not sure if he had ever used the term "young." He admitted to knowingly possessing child pornography between January and April in 2013.

He agreed to accept a three-year prison term, followed by 10 years of supervised release. According to conditions of that plea agreement, Blackburn must register as a sex offender. He also has to participate in sex offender and treatment.

Additionally, Blackburn cannot associate with children under the age of 18 nor frequent, volunteer, or work at places where children congregate, such as playgrounds, parks, malls, daycare centers or schools unless approved by his probation officer. He cannot have any contact with any identified victims in the child pornography he collect, according to the agreement.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynne T. Ingram of the Middle District of Tennessee. Judge Blackburn and her former husband divorced at least 14 years ago.

According to Blackburn's LinkedIn profile, he was a professor at Cumberland from 1976 through 2013. He taught corporate taxations, business planning and law and accounting among other subjects. He was also a tax attorney at Sirote and Permutt from 1986 through 2008.

Mr. Blackburn is represented by Michael Rasmussen, a former prosecutor now in private practice. "The case against Mr. Blackburn is a lesson on the dangers of the Internet. Over several years, Mr. Blackburn, like many people, used a file sharing service to download files of various kinds, without preview, from the Internet. A handful contained prohibited images,'' Rasmussen said. "When Mr. Blackburn became aware of one, he deleted it but failed to track down and delete the others. Some files were in an older computer that was no longer in use, and a newer computer."

"There were no prohibited images on any cell phones, cameras, or thumb drives. I think it is important that no images were on the cameras or phones because that implies direct participation, which never occurred,'' he said. "Although Mr. Blackburn has a spotless record, he has accepted responsibility for the presence of the files in his computers and has already reached a settlement of this case with the government."

AL.com reporter Kent Faulk contributed to this report.
A Jefferson County man was convicted Wednesday on charges of receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography, federal authorities announced.

Mark Alan Love, 50, of Pinson, was convicted following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge David Proctor, according to a joint statement from U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier. The jury deliberated less than one hour before convicting Love for receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography between 2010 and 2014.

Love used his home computer and a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download and share thousands of images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children under 12 years old, according to the statement.

Federal Public Defender Kevin Butler, whose office represented Love, declined comment after the verdict.

Love remains in federal custody. He is to be sentenced April 19.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and ALEA's State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, according to the statement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Hutzell and Daniel J. Fortune prosecuted the case.
Tuscaloosa lawmen have cancelled their request for help identifying a man wanted for questioning in the sexual assault of a woman sexually assaulted at a Tuscaloosa motel over the weekend.

The Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit Gary Hood said the man showed in surveillance footage released Wednesday has now been identified and is being questioned by detectives. He has not be charged with any crime, and Hood said he will release additional information when it becomes available.

Tuscaloosa police and Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide investigators responded at 8 a.m. Saturday to America's Best Value Inn at 3500 McFarland Boulevard on a report of a sexual assault. Lt. Kip Hart said the 30-year-old victim, who is from Georgia, woke up in her room to a black male sexually assaulting her.

The suspect fled, Hart said, and the victim called police. She told investigators she and a friend had been out and she was brought back to the motel by another friend. She said that as she was going into her room, a black male who said he was security guard approached her and said he would help get her into the room.

She fell asleep, and woke up a few hours later to the same man assaulting her. She said he was in his 20s or 30s, and was wearing blue jeans and hoodie. The motel said they do not have a security guard. The victim was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center for treatment and later released.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call the Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide Unit at 205-464-8690 or to call Crime Stoppers at 205-752-STOP (7867).
A gunman wearing a ski mask who stormed an Adamsville pharmacy on Tuesday is now charged and held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.

Mark Alexander Smith, 36, was taken into custody about two hours after police say he robbed Campbell's Pharmacy and fired at least one shot following the holdup.

Smith, already a convicted robber, is now charged with first-degree robbery and with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The incident happened about 9:30 a.m. at Campbell's Pharmacy on Veterans Memorial Drive. Adamsville police said he entered the store and demanded Dilaudid, Valium, Xanax and opiates. The pharmacist handed some of the drugs to him, and Smith fled. Lt. Ira Leniger said the assailant fired at least one shot during the robbery. He declined to confirm whether any pharmacy employees returned fire, but witnesses said multiple shots were fired. Store employees had no comment.

Joy Hazel was in the waiting room at Adamsville Family Medicine, which is next door to the pharmacy, when the shots rang out. "I was just sitting in the doctor's office and I seen (the employee) come by and duck down. I seen him walk in front of the car and then I seen him shoot. He came back by, ducked down behind the car and raised up and shot again,'' she told AL.com. "We thought it was a car backfiring but it wasn't. He was shooting at someone who robbed him."

Hazel said the robber returned fire. "I was sitting on the back wall and turned around and I was face to face with it,'' she said.

Hazel said she didn't see the gunman or gunmen. " I just ran,'' she said. "The door was locked and I was yelling at someone to let me back there (behind the front counter at the doctor's office). They let me in and we all hid in the back."

She said there were spent shell casings in the parking lot. No people or cars were hit. She said investigators recovered a glove from the scene.

"I've never been so scared in my life,'' she said. "That's the first time I've ever experienced anything like that."

Police said they tracked down Smith in Wylam and took him into custody on Minor Parkway. Court records show he was convicted of third-degree robbery in 2009, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the time of his arrest on Tuesday, he was awaiting trial on charges of receiving stolen property, unlawful breaking and entering ,and reckless endangerment.
Three people were taken to the hospital this morning after an SUV barreled through the front door of the Carver Theatre.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service firefighter had to break in to the theatre at 1631 Fourth Ave. North to rescue two of the victims. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

A witness said the Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling southbound on 17th Street when it collided with a Nissan Maxima traveling westbound on Fourth Avenue North. The force of the impact sent the Tahoe almost all of the way into the building's lobby. "Everybody was running over there to help," said Charles Smith. "I helped the people out (of the Altima). One of the ladies was real shaken up."

Those inside the SUV were able to get out of the vehicle on their own, fire officials said. However, firefighters had to break in to the theatre to get to them.

Two people from the Nissan were taken to the hospital, as was one person from the Tahoe.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell said he was one block away when he received word of the crash. He stood by as firefighters busted their way inside.

"I'm just always amazed at how our fire and rescue people go about rescuing people,'' Bell said. He said he was thankful the injuries weren't more serious. "We can always get new glass, brick and mortar."

April Odom, Bell's spokeswoman, said this evening that the City of Birmingham building inspectors examined the theater and said the damage is limited to the lobby area. The SUV damaged two storefront doors.

The Public Works Department shored up the door frame and header, and removed the debris until the permanent repairs are made. They also barricaded the entrance with plywood until the doors can be replaced, Odom said. No other areas of the building were affected.
French Muslim Moussa Tchantchiung says he was in the country to help Rohingya refugees there when he was arrested.

The French government, human rights organisations and social media users worldwide have spent the past two weeks calling on the Bangladeshi government to release Moussa Tchantchiung, who was arrested on December 22.

Tchantchiung is a French citizen and a member of the French NGO Barakacity, a human rights organisation providing humanitarian services to needy communities in 22 countries. He was arrested by the BGB, an elite Bangladeshi police unit while on his way to visit Rohingya refugee camps in the country. The Bangladeshi government has since accused him, among other charges, of having ties to terrorism.

The #FreeMoussa campaign, which has been trending on Twitter, was started in reaction to his arrest, while online petitions have called on the Bangladeshi government to release him. Celebrities and intellectuals have been publicly drawing attention to the case.

Barakacity insists that Tchantchiung had merely travelled to Bangladesh to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya population, which has been living in camps in the south of the country that the Bangladeshi government considers illegal.

The Rohingya established the makeshift camps, 50km from the border with Myanmar, in an area surrounded by Bangladeshi military checkpoints that allegedly prevent them from moving further into the country to seek refuge.

Amnesty International considers the Rohingya, an ethnic, linguistic and religious minority from Myanmar, to be the most persecuted refugees in the world.

Barakacity says that Tchantchiung had been visiting Rohingya schools and was then stopped at a checkpoint while on his way to the camps in the south.

He has since been held in conditions described as catastrophic by his supporters following audio statements recorded by Tchantchiung and released via social media. In the clips, Tchantchiung explains how he has been moved between a tiny prison cell shared with more than 40 other  mostly Rohingya  prisoners  and a solitary confinement cell in the Central Prison in Coxs Bazar in southern Bangladesh.

He is still waiting to hear what his official charge will be and whether he will be forced to spend 10 years in prison if found guilty of having links with terrorism.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity, a representative from the Bangladeshi embassy in France said that Moussa is in safe custody, in good health and has access to French officials who have already met with him.

The issue is that he was found near the border [with Myanmar], which worries the officers working there because extremism and terrorism cross over into Bangladesh from there.

In Bangladesh, humanitarians can work freely anywhere but in the border area [where most of the Rohingya are forced to remain], the representative continued, describing it as a sensitive area.

On the subject of why Tchantchiungs arraignment has been repeatedly postponed, including most recently on Thursday, the representative told Al Jazeera that legal procedures in Bangladesh take time, so you just have to wait.

The French government, meanwhile, has been criticised by activists and observers who believe that it has not done enough to help Tchantchiung. The director of Barakacity even accused the government of double standards, suggesting to Al Jazeera that the government would have done more for a French citizen who was not Muslim.

But Romain Nadal, the spokesman for Frances ministry of foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera that the French government has been in contact with Tchantchiung, his family and Barakacity, and has looked into the conditions of Tchantchiungs imprisonment.

Like every other French detainee in the world, [Tchantchiung] has received French consular protection, said Nadal.

Tchantchiung s supporters have also been concerned with sections of the French press, which have portrayed Barakacity as an organisation that is too religious and involved in suspicious activities.

Francis Chouat, the mayor of the Evry suburb of Paris, where Barakacity is located, accused the NGO of having links to terrorism and said that humanitarian assistance should not be provided on the basis of Islamic principles.

My objective was for the Rohingya to be recognised by Moussa Tchantchiung

Barakacity maintains that there is no evidence to support the claims that it is anything other than a humanitarian organisation, and that it has provided sufficient proof of its work with the Rohingya.

Tchantchiung, has released some statements since his arrest, sayng: My objective was for the Rohingya to be recognised. He added that he hopes his imprisonment and the campaign for his release has at least achieved that.

Al Jazeera spoke with Idriss Sihamedi, the director of Barakacity in Paris, about Tchantchiungs case, the plight of the Rohingya in Bangladesh, and the work of the NGO there.

Al Jazeera: What are the latest developments in Moussa Tchantchiungs case?

Idriss Sihamedi: During the last hearing [on January 5], the judge decided that taking any further decision would have to wait until more inquiries were done.

Moussa had seven lawyers present  five Bangladeshi and two French. This surprised the court, as they are not used to the presence of foreign lawyers and international campaigns.

Our lawyers arrived yesterday [on January 6] and were stuck at the border for a very long time. When they finally met the prosecutor, he asked them three questions: Did Moussa want to visit the Rohingya? Was he working with an NGO? What was he doing at that place where he was caught?

The lawyers are saying that, given the questions, this case has clearly come about because Moussa was in touch with the Rohingya, and they are trying to hide it by saying different things. They say he had the attitude of a suspect, even though he was walking toward the camps but he had not yet even crossed the red line into the illegal camps.

They also accused him of possibly trafficking organs, and of being linked to terrorist activities. And then they accused him of falsifying papers as well.

They based everything on [an article in] the Bangladeshi constitution, which allows them to persecute him due to his supposedly exhibiting suspicious behaviour or activities.

Al Jazeera: Did Moussa go on the mission officially for Barakacity?

Sihamedi: Yes, he did. But we didnt officially seek permission from the Bangladeshi government because we were going to see the Rohingya who are being held in illegal camps  and the government has already made it clear it will not let anyone to do so. We had already gone there six or seven times before, however, without any issues.

The Rohingya are living in illegal camps there, where the humanitarian conditions are catastrophic. It is getting more and more difficult, especially since 2009, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was elected. She doesnt want any humanitarian organisation to go anywhere near the Rohingya.

Their condition is so awful, it is even worse than in Myanmar. She doesnt want them to be officially recognised, and her platform since she came into power has been Why should they be Bangladeshs problem?

Moussa, with Barakacity, was going to conduct some audits  to document their condition, their numbers, cases of rape and other major human rights violations being committed against them, and so on.

And Barakacity is not the only organisation that has had issues when dealing with the Rohingya. There is another organisation called Global Rohingya Centre, which has had issues with the Bangladeshi government as well.

I think about three human rights workers went to prison there for their work. The government has made it a point to prevent people from accessing the persecuted Rohingya.

Al Jazeera: Have you been in touch with the Bangladeshi government?

Sihamedi: Weve only been in touch with the Bangladeshi embassy in France . Weve only been able to get information from our own people on the ground there, as opposed to any official government voice.

Al Jazeera: What about the French government?

Sihamedi: We contacted the Quai dOrsay [the French foreign ministry] and the French embassy in Bangladesh, but we have yet to officially receive any information from them.

Whats crazy is, we have someone like Serge Atlaoui in Indonesia who was linked to drug trafficking, and the whole French government stood up and questioned the sovereignty of Indonesia to carry out a death sentence against one of Frances own citizens.

And yet, with Moussa, a human rights worker who went to Bangladesh for a just cause, the French government has yet to do anything.

Al Jazeera: The spokesman of the French foreign ministry tweeted saying that the consul went to visit Tchantchiung in prison. How did the meeting go?

Sihamedi: It was actually pretty awful.

The consul told us he spent more than an hour and a half talking to Moussa and that it was a productive meeting. However, when we were able to get in touch with Moussa he told us the meeting went very bad and didnt even last 20 minutes. Moussa said the consul was very condescending and he felt judged  for going on a mission to help the Rohingya.

So yes, officially, they say they are doing something but in reality it is not exactly true.

[When Al Jazeera put Sihamedis claim about the meeting to Romain Nadal, the spokesman for Frances ministry of foreign affairs, he said that the French consular officer in Bangladesh had a very long and productive meeting with Tchantchiung and that he was extremely surprised to hear otherwise.]

Al Jazeera: Recently, the mayor of Evry said that working to help free Tchantchiung should not be mistaken with helping an organisation [Barakacity] that supposedly has links to terrorism. The media has portrayed your organisation in a similar light. What is your response to these accusations?

Sihamedi: Barakacitys media backlash is just a reflection of the present French political climate. Suspicion, fear, Islamophobia  this is what we are dealing with on a regular basis now.

However, ordinary citizens are, thankfully, not intimidated by the governments game. Barakacity is a very successful NGO, fully supported and funded by private donors. It is operating in 22 countries, doing work that many organisations arent doing.

Saying that we are solely a Muslim or an Islamic organisation isnt the right way necessarily to describe us. We work with Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

For example, in the Central African Republic we did a lot of work with Christian women who unfortunately suffered from human rights abuses like rape. Lots of our work is not being done by any other organisation.

We are basically causing an inconvenience to the government because we are very active and independent.

Al Jazeera: What are the possible outcomes in Moussas case?

Sihamedi: Were remaining positive with regards to Moussas case now. But even if Moussa does go to prison, this doesnt mean that Barakacity will stop sending people to visit and work with the Rohingya.

We are a humanitarian organisation and we defend human rights. If we have to go to prison to defend the rights of the Rohingya then we are ready.
Hitlers Mein Kampf is back on sale in Germany amid much controversy, discussion and criticism.

Hitlers anti-Semitic manifesto Mein Kampf will be on sale in Germany on January 8, for the first time since World War II.

In accordance with European law, a copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author, whereupon the published writings are officially in the public domain.

A team of six scholars from the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich led by Christian Hartmann will release 4,000 copies of the now 1,984 page book, which will include 3,700 critical annotations by the historians to demystify Hitlers propaganda.

In the face of controversy over their decision to publish a new version of the book, with critics saying you cant annotate the devil, the academics arguedthat the world is better off with their version in the mix.





We are like a bomb disposal unit, rendering relics from the Nazi-era useless, the author told ZDF, a German TV station.

Its 90 years since the book was written, so it has lost its power to influence people, Hartmann commented further on the Heute current affairs show.

Specific topics covered in it are forgotten in history, Hartmann said. We now have a critical reference to the book, which will work internationally.

Mein Kampf wedding gift

One person who wont be buying a copy is 100-year-old Lottie Franzen, who received it on her wedding day, like so many other Germans.

Speaking from her single-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Stuttgart, a city destroyed during the war by more than 140,000 bombs and 53 air strikes, Franzen said that she and her family lived in terror of the Nazis while they were growing up.

We lived in constant fear of our lives. If you did something the SS didnt want you to do, you were gone, she said of Hitlers dreaded security organisation. Its not a myth!

My husband and I married in 1940, and we got a copy of the book. I had a glance through it, but I remember thinking it was utter nonsense.

The inscription on the first page of the book read: To the newly wed couple, we wish the best for a happy and blessed marriage. On the next page, there was a photograph of Adolf Hitler and a date  1937. Almost 800 pages of Hitlers poorly written mumbled ideologies followed.

My Scottish mother couldnt bare the Nazis and found great difficulty in doing the Sieg Heil [Nazi salute] in restaurants when she was trying to have a meal, but you had to, Franzen remembers. You had to do it everywhere.

Everywhere people went, Mein Kampf was stuck down peoples throats, she said. It was free so people received it at work, weddings, everywhere.

Hitler wanted to instil Kraft Durch Freude [strength through joy] and promised good mood and fortune, but as soon as the war kicked off in 1939, he changed his tune. My husband, brother and brother-in-law were called to service shortly afterwards. It was horrific, she said.

Hitlers best wishes for my the newly wed families were short lived.

Franzens husband was spared, but many women werent so lucky. Cities all around burned, colouring the sky in a constant red. With their men having departed never to return, the women were left alone to raise their families through unimaginable hardships.

For years, war refugees came to occupy their houses, as did American soldiers, taking up any available space, even living in the bathrooms.

Children had to share one pair of shoes between themselves. There was no food, so you had to exchange carpets and other items from the house in return for it. Everything was destroyed, she said.

D-Day

When the Americans arrived in 1945, the local population had to hide anything that appeared to have pro-Nazi sentiments, again for fear of death, Franzen recalls.

We got rid of any newspapers or photographs depicting German soldiers. If they found Mein Kampf, theyd often burn your house down, so you had to be meticulous, she said. Much to everyones dismay, not all the Americans wanted to save us.

Franzen said people thought being German meant being a Nazi. And that just wasnt the case. I remember one time, two Americans discussed how pretty my sister and I were, and then they followed it up with shame theyre Nazis.

Because [they thought] we were Nazis, we were treated badly and robbed and we couldnt do anything about it, said Franzen. In truth, the men in my family who fought in the war and the [other] men I knew, [told us that] they didnt know what was really going on with the Jews, that they didnt know about the gas chambers, she insisted.

After World War II

Once the war was over, no one discussed it for years. Children didnt learn about Hitler in school and any time the war was mentioned it was when women were alone, mourning the deaths of their loved ones. Mein Kampf was cast into the corridors of history, never to be seen again.

Lion Feuchtwanger, a German-Jewish novelist and playwright, who took exile in France while the Nazis burned his books and took over his home, wrote in an open letter in the exile newspaper Pariser Tageblatt (Parisian Daily News) that he thought the Fuhrers 140,000 words were 140,000 offences against the spirit of the German language.

But, Dr Edward Arnold, an assistant professor and lecturer in European Studies in Trinity College, Dublin explained that: If you want to gain an understanding of the danger of irrationality in politics then Mein Kampf is an important read. In one of [my courses] my students study extracts of the book.

His poorly written, clumsy style reflects the way he spoke German and demonstrates how he saw politics. It is easier to sway people by using the spoken rather than the written word, said Arnold in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Hitler had contempt for intellectuals and understood early on that to succeed in politics a leader needed to appeal to the majority, Arnold said.

A new Mein Kampf

It remains to be seen whether people will openly buy a copy of the book in a bookshop without feeling judged. It sold well online, in a less public format, where only two years ago, in January 2014, Mein Kampf topped numerous eBook charts including Amazon.co.uks propaganda and spin chart and its Fascism and Nazism chart.

In the United States, a 99 cent version topped the retailers propaganda and political psychology chart, The Guardian newspaper reported.

The imminent release of the book has made headlines around the world, and historians, experts and members of the Jewish community have been called on to comment. How Dangerous is Hitlers Mein Kampf Today? one newspaper asked.

According to Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews, not very. Knowledge of Mein Kampf is still important to explain national socialism and the Holocaust, he told the German Handelsblatt business daily newspaper.

It was Hitlers aim to saturate the German psyche with his manifesto, of which 12.5 million copies were in circulation between 1933 and 1945. How many copies will be sold this time round is anyones guess.

In 2012, the Bavarian state government stated that it would support the annotated edition with 500,000 euros ($543,000) but pulled out citing concerns that it would offend families of Holocaust victims and survivors.

But no doubt Der Fuhrer himself would be happy to hear his book is not just online, but also back in peoples minds, 70 years after his death in an underground bunker in Berlin.

Franzen wont be buying the book all the same.

No thanks, she said. Annotations or not, I think Ill pass. Its not worth a possibility of a paper cut.

Its initial printing run will be 4,000 copies and the book will sell for 59 euros ($64).
Journalists and critics in Afghanistan say freedom of speech requires sacrifice  and many have made the ultimate one.

Ahmad Saeedi, an Afghan political analyst and former diplomat, is a prominent critic and supporter of free speech in Afghanistan. He was shot and wounded by attackers in November 2015 in an attempt he believes was made to silence him.

Saeedi has criticised the countrys endemic corruption as well as anti-government elements embedded within the framework of the state, referred to in Afghanistan as the fifth column. Saeedi says it is this fifth column that is behind the attack on him, which nearly took his life.

While he survived, his hearing and sight were damaged. He still fears for his life.

Many journalists and critics have been attacked and killed for being critical of the Taliban. In October 2015, the Taliban threatened journalists from two Afghan news channels, Tolo News and 1TV, with elimination for disrespectful and hostile actions towards them.

Al Jazeera spoke to Ahmad Saeedi about the violence against those with critical voices.

Al Jazeera: Who is behind the attempt on your life?

Saeedi: I believe that the enemies of the people of Afghanistan have not been victorious in the face-to-face war against the government, now they want to silence the media in order to force the government towards dictatorship.



Taliban kills scores in Kandahar airport attack

Since I am a critic of the government, its the terrorists who attempted to kill me. This is the least that they could do to challenge the government and put it in a difficult position and make it seem like the government is trying to silence the media. But I think this is the work of the enemies of Afghanistan.

Al Jazeera: Why are there attempts to silence you?

Saeedi: I was one of the strong critics of the former government of Hamid Karzai and will continue to be.

I am not in favour of the return of Taliban or al-Qaeda or Daesh (ISIL). I regard the current system [of government] to be 1,000 times better than Daesh or the Taliban or other groups like those.

My concern is that if the government does not bring reforms and does not put things in order and work with the people, history has proven that the situation will undoubtedly tilt in favour of the enemies of Afghanistan.

Al Jazeera: To what extent has the government followed your case  to identify or arrest your attackers?

Saeedi: I am not the only one who has been targeted in Afghanistan; there are others who have been killed or left wounded. Most of the cases have not been resolved. It is almost 40 days since I was attacked and so far no evidence has been found as to who was behind the attempt. A committee has been formed, but no progress so far.

Al Jazeera: Are you in contact with this investigative committee? Do you believe your attackers will be caught?

Saeedi: I have been in contact with the head of the criminal investigation unit and he said so far we dont have any solid evidence that we can share with you or the media, however, we are trying our best.

If they could not find any evidence in the last 40 days, I dont think there will be any progress in the future either.

Al Jazerra: In your recent press conference, you said there was CCTV footage of the attempted assassination, but the initial report says it doesnt exist. What do you think happened?

Saeedi: In the area where the attempt on my life was made  cameras that are static were installed and had captured the incident. I asked them [the investigators] about the footage and they said we do not have access to it, they are destroyed somehow.

Al Jazeera: You have said earlier the government or the fifth column within the government staged the attack on you. Is this true? If yes, could you elaborate please?

Saeedi: No  I did not say government, it is a misunderstanding. If you study the history of Spain in 1932, you will find there were people who on the surface were working with the government  but in essence were against it. Thats what is happening now here in Afghanistan. There are people who on the surface work with the government but underneath they collaborate with the enemies of Afghanistan. It is these people that are called the fifth column and are responsible for the attack carried out on me.

Al Jazeera: Do you trust the judiciary if the perpetrators are brought to justice?

Saeedi: My case has not gone to the judiciary yet so its too early to express my trust or lack of it. But I repeat that I do not believe my case would be investigated in a manner that could gain my satisfaction.

Al Jazeera: Earlier you have stated the government and intelligence services constantly contact you and warn that your life is in danger and you should not speak, write or be in contact with the media. You have also said they are waging a psychological war on you.

President Ashraf Ghani has offered you an ambassadorial post as a way to take you out of the country and foreign governments too have urged you to leave. Do you feel pressured?

Saeedi: What you said is correct, but I have no intentions to leave Afghanistan. I was born here and I will be buried here. Currently, emotionally, I have not been provided any security. And with the threats and warnings that I get, I do feel I am psychologically affected and pressured. I receive warnings from them [officials] through whoever that comes to visit me. They warn me not to travel around the country, to be cautious, and protect myself. Obviously when so much warning is given to someone, that person would be psychologically affected and pressured.

Al Jazeera: Do you still fear for your life?

Saeedi: Undoubtedly. The enemy has not been defeated yet.

Al Jazeera: In your opinion, do you think freedom of speech will be sacrificed for peace with the Taliban?

Saeedi: Freedom of speech and media in Afghanistan cannot be achieved easily. It requires sacrifices. You see the war in Afghanistan is multidimensional. There is a local and regional war ongoing here. When there are intelligence wars between countries, they try to exert pressure from different angles. This way the media is silenced and individuals who fight for freedom of speech are threatened. And some are bribed or recruited, reluctantly we are drawn in such a war.

Al Jazeera: You have said if it were not for the media this government would become a dictatorship and act in a fascist manner. Do you think President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah are no longer committed to freedom of speech?

Saeedi: On the face of it they say they are committed, and so far they have not tried to suffocate it. But in Afghanistan  where there is war and interference from our neighbours and countries afar  the people should not let the load of this responsibility weigh on the shoulders of the president and chief executive.
Heavily dependent on Saudi Arabia and Iran for oil, China cannot afford a full-scale war in the region.

The ongoing Saudi-Iranian diplomatic crisis has quickly morphed into a full-scale regional Cold War.

Shortly after protesters stormed the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad, Saudi Arabia chose to cut off diplomatic ties with Iran. Other Sunni Arab nations, from Bahrain and Qatar to Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, have followed suit by either downgrading or totally severing their diplomatic ties with the Shia powerhouse.

Worried about a dangerous escalation of regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which has already affected conflict-ridden nations such as Yemen and Syria, world powers have stepped in.





The Obama administration called for maintenance of diplomatic engagement and direct conversations, while John Kerry, the US secretary of state, directly appealed to his Iranian and Saudi counterparts to de-escalate tensions.

Emerging discords

A Russian official, meanwhile, has indicated Moscows willingness to mediate the settlement of existing and emerging discords between the two estranged neighbours.

Both Washington and Moscow are worried that the Saudi-Iranian spat will torpedo ongoing efforts at bringing about peace in Syria, while undermining the prospects of mobilising an international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). China is another major power that is deeply worried about the geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East.

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia and Iran and how we got here

The Asian juggernaut is heavily dependent on Saudi Arabia and Iran for oil. And it cant afford a full-scale conflagration in a region, which is the source of the bulk (51.2 percent) of its energy imports.

Beijing is ... worried about how worsening sectarian disputes in the Middle East will further fuel extremist ideology. by

Confronting a burgeoning insurgency in its Muslim-populated regions, particularly in Xinjiang, Beijing is also worried about how worsening sectarian disputes in the Middle East will further fuel extremist ideology, providing a haven for international terror groups, which have China in their crosshair.

Alliance of civilisations

In The Clash of Civilizations (1996), one of the most controversial books in recent times, Samuel Huntington warned the West about the emergence of a hostile Confucian-Islamic alliance of civilisations, which is bent on opposing the West on a range of issues, including human rights and arms build-up.

Among Confucian countries, he singled out China and North Korea, emphasizing their long-running strategic and military cooperation with (Shia) Iran and (Sunni) Pakistan. China was instrumental to the development of conventional military as well as nuclear capabilities of both Muslim nations.

With respect to Iran, Beijing viewed the Middle Eastern power as both a reliable bulwark against Western hegemony in the Middle East as well as a steady and affordable source of hydrocarbon resources.

Over the years, amid deepening tensions between Tehran and the West, particularly over the formers nuclear programme, China replaced Europe as Irans top source of technology and capital.

But this didnt prevent China from cultivating deeper economic engagement with Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which gradually anticipated a post-US order in the Middle East.

Over the past decade, Chinas trade with the Middle East expanded by 600 percent, reaching $230bn. Despite its growing economic preponderance, Beijings policy approach to the region, however, was marked by commercial pragmatism and low-key diplomacy.

Proactive diplomacy

The deepening sectarian conflagration in the Middle East, however, is threatening Chinas expanding interests in the Middle East. Though Saudi-Iranian tensions have so far had a minimal impact on oil prices, any major regional conflict will adversely impact Chinas energy security.

READ MORE: Iran and Saudi Arabia: The art of Islamic tolerance

It was precisely the concern over regional stability that encouraged Chinato play a key role in facilitating the implementation of the Iranian nuclear agreement, even if this allows a post-sanctions Tehran to reduce its economic dependence on Beijing. Saudi-Iranian cooperation is also key to resolving the ongoing civil wars in places such as Yemen and Syria, which have gradually become a haven for extremist groups.

Beijing's troubled relations with its Muslim minority ... is a key reason behind China's growing anxieties... by

Amid the diplomatic breakdown between Tehran and Riyadh, China expressed its concern that this may intensify regional disputes, encouraging involved parties to enhance their communication on the issue of counter-terrorism and focus on forging joint efforts against terror groups.

Beijings troubled relations with its Muslim minority, particularly the Uighur population in Xinjiang, is a key reason behind Chinas growing anxieties over the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and beyond.

Just recently, China introduced its first counterterrorism law, which is broadly seen as a new measure to suppress any form of protest and rebellion among the Uighur population, who have opposed socio-political and cultural marginalisation under Beijings rule.

Communal violence

In light of increased communal violence and the spread of radicalisation in Xinjiang, Beijing fears that the infiltrationof ISIL and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups into its western borders.

Crucially, ISILs execution of a Chinese national in late-2015 prompted Beijing to discard its low-key diplomacy in the Middle East in favour of a more proactive, albeit calibrated, approach. And regional powers such as Iran have openly welcomed this development.

There have been reports that China has dispatched military advisers to aid the fight against ISIL in Syria, with the Peoples Liberation Army Navy roaming the Mediterranean to provide any necessary support in an event of contingency.

More than ever, China finds itself sucked into the quagmire that is the Middle East. And as other great powers have long ago discovered, China has no easy options in this hostile theatre. Any conflict between its two leading regional partners, Iran and Saudi Arabia, will only compound Chinas dilemma.

Richard Javad Heydarian is a specialist in Asian geopolitical/economic affairs and author of Asias New Battlefield: US, China, and the Struggle for Western Pacific.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Detonating the bomb is a reminder he does not appear to care much about what the international community thinks.

Andrei Lankov is professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University, Seoul. He is the author of "The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia".

In early January 2011, many North Koreans learned that January 8 was going to be a special day. It was to be marked with numerous events to commemorate the young man who had recently been promoted to the rank of four-star general and made a member of the top executive bodies of North Korea.

The young mans name was Kim Jong-un, and everybody knew him to be the son of the Dear Leader, now dearly departed, Generalissimo Kim Jong Il, even though this family connection had never been explicitly mentioned in the official media.

His birth year was kept secret, although rumour has it that he was born in 1984. It seems that North Korean agitprop shock troopers were embarrassed by the young age of the heir designate. Kim Jong Ils health was deteriorating at the time, but no one expected an immediate succession.





Kim Jong-uns name first appeared in the open-access press in September 2010, but a mere 14 months later, he was made the leader of the entire country after his fathers sudden demise in December 2011.

Kim Jong-un is in control in North Korea

At the time, most observers expected that the young Kim would spend the next few years as apprentice to the old guard, his fathers senior advisers  who would play the collective role of a council of regency (in all but name).

However, Kim Jong-un is very much his own man. From the first weeks of his rule, he began to break one established pattern after another, showing little interest in the advice of supposed regents.

ALSO READ: This just in: More crazy news from North Korea

What eventually happened to the trio of the top advisers speaks to the situation as a whole. One adviser was arrested in front of cameras at a government meeting and executed the following week, while another, after being invited to an early Sunday morning government meeting, was never heard of again, and yet another is said to be under house arrest (she is the young Kims aunt, after all).

The strange haircut, eccentric clothing, and penchant for purging top officials ... has made Kim Jong-un the object of ridicule in the world media, but this has led us to overlook some of his achievements... by

Kim Jong-un has indeed shown himself to be a tough manager of personnel. Up to 70 top officials  army generals, cabinet ministers, party secretaries and the like  have been executed during his brief tenure.

Among last years victims, we should not neglect to mention the minister of defence who disappeared in April and is widely believed to have been executed, and a chief negotiator with South Korea who recently died in an ominous sounding car accident  North Korea has one motor vehicle per 100 inhabitants.

The strange haircut, eccentric clothing, and penchant for purging top officials and generals has made Kim Jong-un the object of ridicule in the world media, but this has led us to overlook some of his achievements, which are indeed significant.

Even his opponents, the emigre community in South Korea chief among them, generally admit that the young leader is popular with the majority of North Koreans. Purges and executions have only touched the tiny elite in Pyongyang, while for the average person, Kim Jong-uns rule has been a time when living standards have improved dramatically.

North Korean economy is growing

This might all sound surprising to readers of the Western media, but the four years of Kim Jong-uns rule has been marked by significant growth, with the annual growth rate being estimated to be around 3 to 4 percent each year. The previous two decades were a time when the economy fell off a cliff, then stagnated. Things began to get better in the last years of Kim Jong Il, but under his son the improvement speeded up.

Partially, this unheralded success has resulted from changes to the agricultural management. For decades, North Koreans worked for the state, with fixed rations, but Kim Jong-un in 2012 changed the system.

Now farmers work for a share of the harvest, usually some 30 percent. Predictably they work harder, and North Koreas food situation is now better than ever  though only by the standards of East Asia.

Another part of Kim Jong-uns policy has been to overlook the flourishing of the private economy, which is far more powerful than many realise.

In spite of all the Communist rhetoric, nowadays in North Korea one can find not only private restaurants and inns, but also private mines and even oil refineries, not to mention private  and highly profitable  fishing companies. Unlike his father, Kim Jong-un tacitly tolerates private business, and sometimes, quietly encourages it.

ALSO READ: North Koreas nuclear leverage

This birthday, Kim Jong-un obviously treated himself with a nice present. On January 6, he conducted a test of what the North Koreans claimed to be a thermonuclear device. This was yet another reminder that the young North Korean leader can afford not to care much about the international community and that he feels as secure internationally as he does domestically.

The young hereditary leader of North Korea who was indeed born in 1984, is going to celebrate his 32nd birthday. This nearly coincides with the fourth anniversary of his reign. His first few years in power have been hectic and turbulent but definitely not disastrous. Nonetheless, it has been a tough ride, and is likely to remain so for a time to come.

Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean Studies at Kookmin University in Seoul. He is the author of The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Flint has faced a lead-saturated drinking water disaster affecting almost 100,000 residents over the past 18 months.

The US state of Michigan has declared a state of emergency in the city of Flint after its water supply was poisoned by toxic lead, leading to severe illnesses among its 100,000 residents with children suffering the worst.

Flints mayor has described the situation as a man-made disaster over the past 18 months after the impoverished American city stopped receiving its water supply from the nearby Detroit because of unaffordable price rises in water rates.

Sean Kammer, an assistant to Flints administrator, told Al Jazeera that the city is in the process of turning a corner as its administration seeks funds to revamp its antiquated water infrastructure, which played a major part in the lead poisonings.

READ MORE: Water is a human right, but who is considered a human being?

The city administration has tried to provide water filters to all of Flints 30,000 households and potable water to its schools.

After Detroit raised its rates in March, Flint started sourcing its water locally from the Flint River. However, the nature of its water caused the old pipelines to corrode.

The toxic, lead-filled mixture was consumed in most homes, causing severe and irreversible health damage to many children.

David Murray, press secretary for Michigans Governor Rick Snyder, told Al Jazeera the state administration had been working closely with the city to focus on health issues affecting children and other city residents, and address water infrastructure challenges.

The state also has offered more than $10 million in grants and other financial assistance to cover part of the payment for the temporary switch to the Great Lakes Water Authority until Flints new water source is ready to go online, as well as efforts to improve existing city water infrastructure and purchase water filters for residents, Murray said.

However, residents say the states efforts came too late and they accuse the administration of ignoring public concerns over the tainted-water crisis since it started.

READ MORE: Detroits water: Behind the crisis

Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician conducting research on the health crisis in Flint, told Al Jazeera that her main concern was how children have been affected, since they are the most vulnerable to the life-altering effects of lead poisoning.

First of all, there is no safe level of lead. Our research showed that lead levels doubled in most children screened. In the poorer neighbourhoods, those levels tripled, said Hanna-Attisha.

Lead poisoning has long-term impacts. It affects your cognitive development, your intelligence, and it is directly linked to violent behaviour.

She also noted that a recent study had found lead poisoning can have a multigenerational impact.

DNA changes caused by lead exposure have affected grandchildren, Hanna-Attisha said.

The doctor is pressing for measures that could soften the impact of the health crisis by working with state legislators to provide better public access to nutrition and medical care in the impoverished city.

Hanna-Attisha is one of many in Flint who blame Michigans government for failing to pay heed to the US Environmental Protection Agencys calls to apply corrosion control to the Flint Rivers pipe system before using its water supply.

The people have been traumatised and lied to for 18 months. The people are angry and they have little trust in government, Hanna-Attisha said.

Michigan Senator Jim Ananich has said that it is alarming that no one within the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality seemed to see there was a lead problem, despite numerous red flags.
Academic in hot water for wearing a hijab to class to support Muslims and highlighting Islam-Christianity similarities.

A Christian college in Chicago has begun the process of sacking a professor who wore a hijab to class in solidarity with Muslims and posted on Facebook that there are many similarities between Islam and Christianity.

Larycia Hawkins, 43, an associate professor of political science at Wheaton College, said she wore the headscarf last month to show support for American Muslims who  in the aftermath of mass shootings in San Bernardino and Paris  face increasing incidents of bias and discrimination.

Hawkins wrote on her Facebook page: I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me  a Christian  are people of the Book.

She added, And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.



Muslims in San Bernardino in shock after mass shooting

Hawkins was placed on administrative leave in December after her statements and actions.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the professor said school officials offered her the best case scenario to return to teaching, which included two years of multi-layered, ongoing conversation about the theological implication of my Facebook post and my actions in wearing a hijab.

She added the school said it will revoke her tenure during those two years, without guaranteeing it would be restored.

Wheaton College cannot intimidate me into cowering in fear of the enemy of the month as defined by real-estate moguls, senators from Texas, Christians from this country, bigots, and fundamentalists of all stripes, said Hawkins.

Wheaton College issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that Provost Santon Jones had delivered a notice of recommendation to initiate termination-for-cause proceedings to Hawkins.

The notice is not a termination, rather it begins Wheaton Colleges established process for employment actions pertaining to tenured faculty members, Jones said.

A December 16 college statement said: Dr Hawkins administrative leave resulted from theological statements that seemed inconsistent with Wheaton Colleges doctrinal convictions, and is in no way related to her race, gender or commitment to wear a hijab.

American Muslims continue to be the target of demeaning remarks from US politicians such as presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson, and by evangelical Christian leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr, a television evangelist and president of the Virginia-based Christian college Liberty University.

On December 4, Falwell urged students to arm themselves so they can be ready to end those Muslims before they walked in  and killed them.

In response to the speech, Wheaton students Nathan Heath and Ciera Horton published an open letter in Wheaton Colleges newspaper denouncing Falwells remarks and urging religious tolerance.

They asked fellow students to stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters who share our human dignity.

Follow Ali Younes on Twitter: @ali_reports
Announcement comes after accusations that the nations largest police department casts a shadow over Muslim communities.

New York Police Department will appoint an independent monitor to review police investigations as part of reforms designed to protect Muslims from discriminatory and unjustified surveillance, officials said.

The announcement on Thursday of a deal following months of negotiations formally ended litigation over accusations that the nations largest police department cast a shadow over Muslim communities with a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.

We are committed to strengthening the relationship between our administration and communities of faith so that residents of every background feel respected and protected, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

The civil rights lawyers said the deal requires the NYPD to modify guidelines to prohibit investigations based on race, religion or ethnicity. It also installs an independent civilian representative on a special committee that reviews terrorism and other confidential investigations.

READ MORE  US Court: Muslims can sue NYPD over mass surveillance

Civil liberty campaigners welcomed the changes, drawn up to settle two lawsuits, saying the move by the countrys largest police force sent a powerful message at a time of rising anti-Islamic sentiment.

The terms of the settlement, which were reached after more than a year of negotiations, must be approved by a federal judge.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which helped bring one of the suits, welcomed what it called a watershed settlement.

Much needed constraints

Hina Shamsi, the ACLUs national security project director, said that it introduced much needed constraints on law enforcements discriminatory and unjustified surveillance of Muslims.

At a time of rampant anti-Muslim hysteria and prejudice nationwide, this agreement with the countrys largest police force sends a forceful message that bias-based policing is unlawful, harmful, and unnecessary, she added.

The independent monitor would have the power to ensure all safeguards are followed and serve as a check on investigations directed at political and religious activities, ACLU said.

They must report any violations to the police commissioner, who must investigate and report back, it added.

The reforms will also limit police use of undercover and confidential informants, and end open-ended investigations by imposing time limits and require status reviews every six months, ACLU said.

The police said that the proposed settlement would not weaken its ability to investigate and prevent terror activity.

John Miller, the deputy police commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, will retain sole authority over all intelligence investigations and decisions, the police department said.

The mayor will appoint the independent monitor in consultation with the police commissioner.
Gaza  Three years ago, a teenage boy plummeted three storeys to the ground in the pitch dark after accidentally stepping out of the side of his Gaza home, which was missing a wall due to Israeli shelling.

Taken to the emergency room at al-Shifa hospital, he was handed over to Ben Thomson, a volunteer doctor from Canada.

Thomson began inserting a chest tube to drain the air and blood that had accumulated outside of the boys lungs  a procedure that usually takes only a few minutes to complete. With the power out, however, Thomson struggled to operate.

I couldnt see. I was trying to put this [chest tube] in, in the dark. What would have normally taken me five minutes or less, took me about 25 to 30 minutes, and the boy died  because of something that was easily preventable, Thomson told Al Jazeera.

That could have been fixed. He could have survived, had I been able to see what I was doing. People are dying in Gaza quite often, regularly, every single day because of the lack of electricity.

RELATED: Gaza: Left in the dark

In Gaza, the availability of light in an emergency room often determines whether a patient lives or dies. The besieged Palestinian territory has been suffering from a chronic power deficit for years amid Israels blockade  a situation that worsened after the 2014 Israeli assault, which destroyed Gazas power plant. Even before the war, Israeli-supplied electricity to Gaza met less than half of the territorys estimated needs.

The by Ben

we need to have a sustainable, consistent, reliable source of energy that can be stored and used]

Outages can last for more than 16 hours a day. When it is available, power comes in sporadic, five to eight-hour intervals.

The solution to this seemed very obvious, Thomson said. The solution was [that] we need to have a sustainable, consistent, reliable source of energy that can be stored and used.

Fortunately, Gaza is one of the richest countries worldwide in such a resource: sunlight. Gaza has an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, making solar energy an attractive alternative power source.

Recognising this, Thomson teamed up with several Canadian doctors last summer to launch Empower Gaza, a project that aims to install solar panels in major hospitals throughout the territory.

Organisers raised more than $215,000 on Indiegogo, enough to fund the installation of solar panels at al-Aqsa hospital. Islamic Relief Canada donated another $1.5m, which will help fund six major hospitals in total, including al-Aqsa.

Construction of solar panels at al-Aqsa hospital will start this month, and by June 2017 the panels should be installed in four hospitals.

They will provide a reliable source of energy for emergency rooms, intensive care units and operating rooms 24 hours a day. Currently, diesel generators are the primary power source for hospitals.

Two hospitals in Gaza, al-Shifa and Nasser, already use solar energy to run their intensive care units. Since Shifa installed solar panels in the autumn of 2014 with Japanese assistance, there have been no power interruptions in intensive care, a unit which houses 14 beds linked to monitors, ventilators and lab equipment.





We have [protected patients] from the electricity problems occurring in the rest of the hospital, due to shortages of fuel and dependency on generators that consume fuel equal to $10,000 daily, Medhat Abbas, the director of Shifa hospital, told Al Jazeera.

The United Nations Development Programme is supporting the Empower Gaza project by transporting batteries and panels into Gaza from Israel.

The UNDP has also installed solar panels in schools, healthcare clinics and water facilities in support of the Palestinian Solar Initiative, which aims to meet 30 per cent of energy demands in the coastal enclave with renewable sources by 2020.

INTERACTIVE: Gaza, life under siege

Private use of solar power is also catching on. One solar power unit worth $1,500 can supply a family home with electricity to power fridges, heaters, lamps, water pumps and other appliances. Even so, many families cannot afford this, and instead resort to warming their homes by burning wood and coal.

Some leave the fire on when they go to sleep. Last winter, we had at least three or four incidents where the fire spread in the home because the family left it while they were sleeping  It was a real tragedy, said 29-year-old Gaza resident Nader Abd el-Naby.

Amid Israels blockade, firewood and gas are scarce, while liquid fuel is expensive and not easily available.

These days, people are suffering from a lack in cooking gas. Every one of us wakes up and goes to bed thinking of how to get a filled canister, said Mosab Mostafa, 23, an unemployed graduate in Gaza.

Private businesses in Gaza cite electricity shortages as one of the key obstacles to investment and growth as reported in a study by the World Bank. Gazas unemployment rate, at 43 per cent, is the highest in the world.

Back at Shifa, Thomson recalls an incident when all the respirators were shut off in the intensive care unit. A young man, Ahmed, had his mother by his side, and she learned to squeeze the oxygen bag in and out until the electricity came back on, allowing her son to continue breathing. Other patients died that day.

Ahmed was only alive because his mother was by his bedside the entire time, Thomson said. Empower Gaza was inspired by local Palestinian healthcare workers and engineers  This is by Palestinians, for the Palestinians.
The National Weather Service has upped snowfall totals in its storm forecast through Friday to as much as 18 inches in Flagstaff and Williams. Doney Park could get between 7 and 11 inches.

That's on top of the 12.6 inches recorded at Pulliam Airport since Tuesday night.

And even more snow is due to fall southeast of Flagstaff. Forest Lakes is predicted to get 17 to 23 inches, and Pine-Strawberry 16 to 22.

The storm is expected to intensify starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday and last through 5 p.m. Friday.

In Page, where light snow has fallen, schools will be on a 9:30 a.m. delayed start Thursday.

4 p.m. update: 89A reopens

The Arizona Department of Transportation announced State Route 89A has reopened between Flagstaff and Sedona.

The roadway was closed around 9 a.m. due to a rockslide.

Southbound and northbound lanes are both open at this time on Interstate 17, but ADOT is still warning drivers to use caution and expect delays from winter driving conditions.

_____

1:45 p.m.: Flagstaff has received 12.6 inches of snow since Tuesday evening, according to the latest update from the National Weather Service. A colder winter storm system is expected to move into the area tonight.

The period of heaviest snow from that storm is expected during the day on Thursday. Travel will be difficult. Snow is forecast to decrease by Friday morning and end from west to east during the afternoon and evening.

_____

11 a.m.: Northbound Interstate 17 has reopened.

The Arizona Department of Transportation made the announcement a couple hours after northbound lanes were shut down from the Sedona exit at State Route 179 to Interstate 40 due to crashes and now.

Southbound and northbound lanes are both open at this time on I-17, but ADOT is still warning drivers to use caution and expect delays from winter driving conditions.

State Route 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona was closed around 9 a.m. due to a rockslide. The Arizona Department of Transportation estimates it will reopen at 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.

I-40 remains open statewide but it has heavy snow from Flagstaff to U.S. Highway 93 near Kingman.

Meanwhile, Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is asking frequent fliers to check in with American Airlines before trying to make the drive out to the airport.

It's the airlines that cancel the flights, not the airport. If you call the airport, they will direct you to call the airline, said Airport Director Barney Helmick.

The first flight out of the airport this morning was canceled by American Airlines because the airline could not get the plane into the airport last night, Helmick said.

Helmick said the runways at the airport are clear but due to the way the snow is falling, visibility is very poor and it is unlikely that any flights would be making it out of the airport today unless the visibility improves.

"As long as it keeps falling the way it is, its going to be a problem for them (pilots)," he said.

Travelers can reach American Airlines at (800) 428-4322.

_____

10 a.m.: Northbound Interstate 17 is expected to remain closed all morning at the Sedona exit.

The Arizona Department of Transportation announced this morning the closure at State Route 179 was due to snow and crashes.

State Route 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona is also closed due to a rockslide. There is no estimate for when the road will reopen.

_____

9:30 a.m.: Heavy snow across the Flagstaff region had already caused two power outages and the closure of Interstate 17 northbound as of Wednesday morning.

The Arizona Department of Transportation closed I-17 northbound around 7 a.m. due to heavy snowfall with no current estimate for when it will reopen.

Meanwhile, Arizona Public Service crews are responding to two power outages in Kachina Village. A total of 672 customers are affected by the two outages, one that occurred at 5:20 a.m. and another that struck at 6:59 a.m. Crews are out investigating the power lines but have no estimate for when power will be restored, APS spokeswoman Jenna Schaver said.

According to the National Weather Service, nearly 10 inches of snow have fallen at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport in the past 24 hours.

Flagstaff Unified School District Schools are closed, Coconino Community College classes are on a two-hour delayed start and the first flight out of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport has been cancelled, according to the city of Flagstaff's Facebook page.

_____

5:30 a.m.: Is Flagstaff about to join the 2-in-3 Club?

That's two feet of snow in three days, the upper limit of a National Weather Service forecast that is a wet one, no matter how deep the snow.

The storm that began moving through Flagstaff Tuesday night and continues this morning was set to drop between 6 and 10 inches on Flagstaff and other areas above 6,000 feet.

Doney Park is forecast to get 4 to 6 inches of snow by noon. Williams can expect 5 to 9 inches and Jacob Lake will likely receive between 6 and 10 inches. The North Rim at the Grand Canyon is forecast to receive between 8 and 12 inches of snow.

Then, beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Friday, another storm is forecast to dump between 12 and 16 inches on Flagstaff, according to the Weather Service.

The heaviest period of snow from this storm is predicted for Thursday morning, with winds of 20 to 30 mph sending wind chills plummeting. The snow will linger in the Flagstaff region right through Friday afternoon.

Williams is also in for heavy snow, while areas between 5,000 and 6,000 feet can expect about 4 to 8 inches, and snow could fall as low as 5,000 feet. That means even Sedona, Winslow, Tuba City and Page could see an inch or two.

Daytime temperatures should hover in the 20s and 30s, while overnight temperatures could dip into the teens.

The National Weather Service is urging travelers to use caution, as winter driving conditions will mean slippery roadways and limited visibility. Drivers are urged to give themselves extra time to get to their destinations.

Information on road conditions and closures is available from the Arizona Department of Transportation at 1-888-411-7623 or www.az511.com. Additional weather information is available at www.weather.gov/flagstaff.
Chief Minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, an ally of PM Modi, died of multiple organ failure.

The chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has died of multiple organ failure at at the age of 79.

Sayeed took up the position for the second time in March last year after forming an alliance with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a junior partner in the government. He previously led the state government between 2002 and 2005.

Sayeed, an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, died on Thursday in New Delhi after suffering a brief illness, according to leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Nayeem Akhter.

Mufti Sahab's demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives. RIP.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 7, 2016

He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) last month with complaints of neck pain and fever.

His body will be taken to Srinagar, the capital city of Indian-administered Kashmir, for burial in his ancestral village, Akhter added.

It is a great loss to Kashmir, I am really shocked by his death, Abdul Rehman Veeri, a senior PDP leader and cabinet minister, said. He was an exemplary leader.

Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years.

READ MORE: Welcome to Kashmir

Sayeed had been pushing for more autonomy for the region within India and a dialogue with Pakistan to settle the territorial dispute which has led to three wars between the South Asian neighbours.

His death threatens to bring political uncertainty to the disputed region at the heart of tension between the two countries.

It will be very hard to predict the future of political situation in the region at this juncture, Professor Gul Wani, a political analyst and political science teacher at Kashmir University, told Al Jazeera.

He was an old tolerant man and knew how to play his cards. It has been seen in past that whenever there is a transition, changes do happen  big or small.

Sayeed founded the PDP in 1999 to persuade the Indian government into an unconditional dialogue with the Kashmiri people.

He advocated a dialogue with Pakistan to settle the Kashmir dispute and sought to promote trade and travel between the divided parts of the Himalayan region.

At the start of the campaign against Indian rule of Kashmir in 1989  when Sayeed was Indias home minister  rebels abducted one of his daughters who was later freed in exchange for the government releasing five rebels from prison.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. Mehbooba Mufti, one of his daughters, is expected to succeed him.
UN Security Council to start work on new sanctions against Pyongyang after its hydrogen bomb test claim.

The UN Security Council has vowed to pursue new sanctions against North Korea after the reclusive country said on Wednesday it had successfully conducted a test on its first hydrogen bomb.

In an emergency session, the council strongly condemned the nuclear test and said it would begin working immediately on a new resolution against Pyongyang, whose nuclear test claim sparked a global outcry even as some officials and experts voiced doubts over its validity.

What exactly are hydrogen bombs? Hydrogen bombs are more sophisticated and can be thousands of times more powerful than atomic bombs. In an atomic bomb uranium or plutonium is split,causing an explosion. Instead, a hydrogen bomb encloses an atomic bomb in a layer of a compound called lithium deuteride. When the atomic bomb is detonated, a secondary  and much larger  explosion results, producing temperatures of up to 400 million C and powerful shock waves. Given the technical challenge of building a H-bomb, its suggested North Korea may have actually tested a so-called boosted bomb. Boosted nuclear weapons use a small amount of lithium deuteride to energise the reaction, making them more powerful, but are not considered full hydrogen explosions.

The test was in violation of previous resolutions and a clear threat to international peace and security continues to exist, said the council, which started imposing economic and commercial sanctions on North Korea a decade ago because of its nuclear activity.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned North Koreas announcement, calling it profoundly destabilizing for regional security.

The international community must respond with steadily increasing pressure and rigorous enforcement of existing measures, said US Ambassador Samantha Power.

Al Jazeeras James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said there is already a very strict sanctions regime against North Korea in place  although there are suspicions that some countries may not be fully enforcing it.

Beyond that, all on the Security Council, are aware of the need to tread carefully in order not to further provoke a leader [North Koreas Kim Jong-un] who makes unpredictable, some would rash decisions, and holds a nuclear capability, however primitive.

Meanwhile, South Korea said on Thursday it was limiting entry to the Kaesong industrial park, which is jointly run by the two countries, in response to the nuclear test.

Later on, Seoul also announced that it would resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts that Pyongyang considers an act of war.

The Norths nuclear test was a grave violation of an August agreement reached between the two Koreas to ease tension and improve ties, Cho Tae-yong, a senior presidential national security official, said in a statement.

Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment, Cho said.

The moves come after US President Barack Obama talked by phone with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about the international response to North Koreas nuclear test.

The White House said the countries agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour.

OPINION: What we know about the North Korean leader

A South Korean military official told the Reuters news agency that the leaders of two countries had discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.

The US State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim.

READ MORE: Breaking down North Koreas H-bomb test claim

The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

A US government source told Reuters that Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of old-fashioned atomic bombs.

Powerful device

Hydrogen bombs use a two-step process of fission and fusion that releases substantially more energy than an atomic bomb.

However, it will likely take several days to determine more precisely what kind of device Pyongyang set off as a variety of sensors, including sniffer planes, to collect evidence.





Pentagon officials told the Washington Post that US air force will deploy the Constant Phoenix aircraft, which allows mission crews to detect radioactive clouds in real time and could be used to determine whether the explosion was a hydrogen bomb.

North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the US and its Asian allies without acting on it, but Pyongyangs assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise.

North Korea called the device the H-bomb of justice, but its state news agency also said Pyongyang would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not to use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed.

South Korea said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders.
Many, including EU leaders, fear move is step towards taking full control of state radio and television.

Polands president has signed a temporary new law that is expected to be a major step towards giving the government full control of state radio and television.

The move has sparked a concern for media freedom in the country among European Union leaders and independent journalists.

The legislation, passed on Tuesday, will take effect one day after it is published, which should be within days, and will expire June 30. By then, a sweeping new law intended to overhaul the state-run broadcasters and the PAP news agency is expected to be in place.

President Andrzej Duda signed the new legislation because he wants state media to be impartial, objective and reliable, his aide Malgorzata Sadurska said.

READ MORE: Poland enacts court reforms despite opposition

She added that the president believes that the private views of journalists currently interfere with the objectivity of information in state media.

The new law allows for the immediate ending of the terms of the heads of state radio and television, and transfers the authority to appoint successors to the treasury minister, from a separate radio and TV committee that oversees the media.

It also limits the number of members sitting on the state broadcasters supervisory and management boards.

The legislation was proposed and put on a fast track for approval by the new conservative ruling party, which has embarked on sweeping state and social reforms, including the new media law, that have sparked serious concerns in Brussels.

The European Commission will debate Polands rule of law on January 13, a step that could eventually result in the country losing its EU voting rights on matters that concern the entire 28-nation bloc. Poland joined the EU in 2004.

Contradictory to democracy

The measures taken by the Polish government are contradictory to media pluralism and independence of public service broadcasting, and to democracy in Poland, the European Federation of Journalists said on Thursday in a letter to Gunther Oettinger, the European commissioner responsible for media issues.

They would be in clear contradiction of EU fundamental values, the letter added.

Sadurska said that the president is fully aware of the EU concerns, and believes the new law will not be detrimental. She insisted that Duda wants public media to perform their role properly.

The conservative Law and Justice party that took power in November says that state broadcasters are now serving the previous, liberal and pro-EU government.

On Tuesday, Nils Muiznaiks, the Council of Europe human rights commissioner, appealed to Duda not to sign the law.

Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president, said on Thursday that Poland is an important and full member of the EU and he did not want to speculate about the consequences of the steps being taken by the new government in Warsaw.

Bert Koenders, foreign minister of the Netherlands, which currently holds the EU presidency, noted that dialogue was needed with Poland over the matter.

I have contacted the Polish foreign minister [Witold Waszczykowski] on the importance we attach to a dialogue . that it does not become a confrontation in the EU, Koenders told The Associated Press.
Deputy crown prince tells British magazine an Iran-Saudi war would mean catastrophe for the conflict-wracked region.

Saudi Arabia does not foresee war with its arch foe Iran despite heightened tensions between the regional heavyweights, its deputy crown prince was quoted as saying.

Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran after an attack on its embassy in Tehran on Sunday following the kingdoms execution of Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr, who was put to death along with 46 mostly Sunni Muslims convicted on terrorism charges.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the Economist magazine: It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind.

Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region  For sure we will not allow any such thing.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of embassy air strike in Yemen

The deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, also defended the kingdoms execution of Nimr in the interview with the London-based magazine.

The court did not at all make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shia or Sunni. They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence, and carrying out the sentence, Prince Mohammed said.



Saudi Arabia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran

Tensions between the two regional powerhouses  which support opposite sides in the wars in Yemen and Syria  have risen in recent days. Regional Sunni nations have backed Saudi Arabia in the current diplomatic crisis.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on Thursday as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh.

Iran also accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, but reports said there was no visible sign of damage.

This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions, Hossein Jaber Ansari, a foreign ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by state television.

More countries back Saudi Arabia in Iran dispute

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa said that there was no damage to the embassy building in Hadda district. They said an air strike had hit a public square about 700 metres away from the embassy and some stones and shrapnel had landed in its yard.

Iran will deliver its official report on the alleged strike to the UN later on Thursday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Irans deputy foreign minister, was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate Irans accusation, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said, according to a Reuters news agency report.

Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply coordinates of their diplomatic missions in Yemen and such accusations have no credibility.
UN: Assad forces to let humanitarian aid into besieged town of Madaya where 23 people have reportedly starved to death.

The Syrian government has allowed humanitarian workers access to an opposition-held town near the border with Lebanon where people are reported to be starving to death in the freezing cold weather.

The United Nations said in a statement on Thursday that it was preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days to the besieged town of Madaya. Two Shia towns that have been cut off by rebels in the province of Idlib will also receive UN aid.

Describing the situation as tragic is merely airbrushing reality on the ground by Abu Abdul Rahman, resident of Madaya

Residents of Madaya, about 25km northwest of Damascus, are suffering from severe malnutrition and have little access to fuel and medical supplies because of the siege by government regime forces since July.

Abu Abdul Rahman, a resident in Madaya, told Al Jazeera he had not eaten for four days.

Hungry and weakened, Rahman and his family have been trying to limit their movements inside their house in the Syrian town of Madaya, fearing any activity would drain the little energy left in their bodies.

There are no more cats or dogs alive in the town. Even tree leaves that we have been eating have become scarce, he told Al Jazeera over the phone.

The Red Cross said people in the town are burning plastic to keep themselves warm.

As days pass by, Rahman said that he had little hope he and his family can stay alive.

Describing the situation as tragic is merely airbrushing reality on the ground, he said in a subdued voice.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said at least 23 people, including children, had died in rebel-held Madaya because of the siege.

At least 300 children in Madaya are suffering from malnutrition, the UK-based monitoring group said.

Local activists said an estimated 40,000 people in Madaya have little access to food and medicines.



Starvation as a tool of war in Syria

Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, told Al Jazeera that hundreds of thousands of people were in similar situations across Syria.

We believe there are 400,000 people in 15 towns and cities who are in a situation where they are besieged by different parties to the conflict, Fleming said.

Besieged translates into civilians completely cut off from any humanitarian aid: no food, no medicine, shelters without heat and water. These are situations under which people cannot survive any more.

Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Damascus, also outlined the scale of suffering in the area.

We have seen credible reports that people are starving  People are hungry and it is very cold out there with no electricity or fuel, Krzysiek told the DPA news agency.

Eating grass

Medical professionals in Madaya said people were eating grass to stay alive.

We cannot provide milk for infants, Dr Khaled Mohammed told the German news agency DPA. Today a 10-year-old child died of malnutrition.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Madaya.

The nearby town of Zabadani is also under siege, despite a deal last month that saw Sunni rebel fighters given free passage out of the town in exchange for the evacuation of Shia families from the northern towns of Kefraya and Fua.

The UNs Syria mediator aims to convene peace talks in Geneva on January 25 in the latest effort to end nearly five years of conflict  in which more than 250,000 people have died.
At least 12,800 people imprisoned since 2002 on trumped charges with many facing torture, human rights group says.

Thousands of Muslims in Uzbekistan have been imprisoned for alleged religious extremism as part of a government crackdown on peaceful Muslims who practise their faith outside government-approved mosques, according to a rights group.

At least 12,800 people  including human rights defenders, independent journalists, and activists  have been jailed since 2002, the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders said in an annual report released on Thursday.

At least 300 Muslims have been arrested and convicted in 2015 alone, it said.

The report is based on thousands of documents, first-hand reports from the groups activists throughout Uzbekistan, and interviews with families and former inmates collected since 2002, the groups head Surat Ikramov said.

The figure could be a bit higher, but is in no way lower, he told Al Jazeera.



People and Power  The Long Arm of the Dictator

The former Soviet nation of 31 million is ruled by President Islam Karimov, a former communist official who is known for his repressive and dictatorial policies.

The 77-year-old leader, who has been at the helm since before Uzbekistan broke away from Soviet Union in 1991, considers Muslim groups and political parties a major threat to his iron-fisted rule.

Most of the jailed people are abused, tortured, and have their prison terms extended for the slightest violation of rules, the report said.

Prohibited from praying

In some prisons, the jailed Muslims are prohibited from praying and reading the Koran and are forced to sing Uzbekistans national anthem instead, said Ikramov, who escaped an attack by masked men in 2003.

The report said a conviction triggers a string of arrests, interrogations, and further convictions of family members, neighbours, friends and business partners.

Suspected Islamists are routinely extradited or kidnapped by Uzbek security agents from Russia and other ex-Soviet states  even though some changed their citizenship and asked for asylum, rights groups say.

Karimovs government tolerates no political opposition and cracks down on civil and human rights groups and independent media, the report said.

Massive arrests and convictions of Muslims began in the late 1990s after an alleged assassination attempt on Karimov, and intensified in 2005 after government troops killed hundreds of Muslim protesters in the eastern city of Andijan.

Western governments condemned the massacre, but Karimov did not take the criticism lightly. He expelled a strategic US airbase on the border with Afghanistan and renewed ties with Russia  a former colonial oppressor he had lambasted only months earlier.

Corrupt officials

Most of the Muslims arrested and convicted in the 2000s were labelled as members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a banned group still active in Afghanistan and western Pakistan, and known for its cruelty. Others are alleged to belong to Hizb-ut Tahrir, a group that strives to restore a caliphate  but rejects violence.

In recent months, Uzbek authorities have started jailing alleged sympathisers or members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), mostly labour migrants returning from Russia, Western Europe or Turkey.

Millions of Uzbeks have left their over-populated, arid nation in search of work.

Although hundreds of Uzbeks are believed to have joined ISIL in recent years, the persecution and jailing of alleged ISIL loyalists is just a new tag for Uzbekistans law enforcement agencies, and corrupt officials to continue the repressions, analysts say.

Fighting ISIL in Uzbekistan is not a fight with a mythical Islamist threat. It is often inspired by security agencies to fulfil a quota Daniil Kislov  a Moscow-based researcher on Central Asia whose Ferghana.ru website is banned in Uzbekistan  told Al Jazeera.

It could also be a revenge to business competitors or score-setting with dissenters, he said.

Sometimes, non-Muslims face jail for alleged links to Islamist groups.

On Wednesday, the trial of Aramais Avakian, an ethnic Armenian Christian farmer accused of ties to ISIL, started in the central Uzbek region of Jizzak, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported.

His family denied the accusations and said the trial followed a disagreement with a local official who wanted to take over Avakians fish farm, the report said.

More than 70 years of officially atheist communist rule could not root out Islam in Uzbekistan, where centres of Muslim learning such as Bukhara had flourished for centuries.

Although Bolsheviks purged Muslim clergy and replaced an Arabic alphabet with a Cyrillic one, Uzbeks kept observing Muslim traditions and praying  often clandestinely.
Massive explosion caused by truck bomb after it crashed into centre in Zliten kills and wounds more than 100 people.

A truck-bomb attack on a police training centre in a western town in Libya has killed at least 65 people, according to hospital and police officials.

Witnesses said on Thursday the truck crashed into the gate of the police academy in the coastal city of Zliten, about 160km east of the capital, Tripoli.

Zliten Mayor Miftah Lahmadi told Reuters news agency the truck exploded as hundreds of recruits were gathering at the academy.

The UN Special representative to Libya, Martin Kobler, said the blast was a suicide attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the assault.

Libyan news agency LANA, meanwhile, reported at least 50 people died. The news agency quoted the director of the towns hospital, Abdel-Motleb bin Halim, saying 127 had been wounded.

A suicide bombing today at a military training camp on the coastal road in Zliten #Libya pic.twitter.com/3BibXUPFgT  Anas El Gomati (@AGomati) January 7, 2016

Meanwhile, fires caused by clashes between fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and security forces at Libyas biggest oil ports have spread to five oil storage tanks that were still burning.

At least nine troops were killed and more than 40 wounded in fighting around the perimeter of the area on Monday and Tuesday, said Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for the security forces.

Libya has been sliding deeper into conflict since the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of its main cities and oil wealth.
Social media giant argues $50,000 fine slapped on it for not removing content goes against Turkish law.

Twitter has challenged Turkey in an Ankara court seeking to cancel a $50,000 fine for not removing content from its website, the social media sites lawyer told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

Turkey has banned access to Twitter several times in the past for failing to comply with requests to remove content. But the 150,000 lira ($50,000) fine imposed by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) was the first of its kind imposed by Turkish authorities on Twitter.

A Turkish official told Reuters news agency on Thursday that much of the material in question was related to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara called terrorist propaganda.

Twitter, in its lawsuit, is arguing that the fine goes against Turkish law and should be annulled, the official told Reuters.

READ MORE: Tackling Twitter in Turkey

The content Turkish authorities have asked to be removed includes tweets about the PKK, which is also considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States.

We have shown 15-20 tweets from several accounts to Twitter as examples. We have imposed the fine because Twitter failed to comply with the court order, the official said.

Binali Yildirim, the transport minister, said on Wednesday that Turkey would not give up on its demand for Twitter to pay the fine.

Turkey is among the leading countries with the highest number of content-removal requests to Twitter, data from the US-based company shows.
At least 23 reported dead and hundreds malnourished in the besieged town of Madaya outside Damascus.

Abu Abdul Rahman has not eaten in four days.

Residents of Madaya, about 25 kilometres north-west of Damascus, are suffering from severe malnutrition and have little access to fuel and medical supplies due to the siege imposed by President Bashar al-Assads troops since July.

The Red Cross says that people in the town are heating plastic to keep themselves warm.

And as days pass by, Rahman says he has little hope he and his family can stay alive.

Describing the situation as tragic is merely airbrushing reality on the ground, he tells in a subdued voice.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said that at least 23 people, including children, had died in rebel-held Madaya because of the siege and mines laid around the town by Assads forces, who are backed by fighters from the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

At least 300 children in Madaya are suffering from malnutrition, the UK-based monitoring group said.

Local activists said an estimated 40,000 people in Madaya have little access to food and medicines.



Starvation as a tool of war in Syria

Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Damascus, said the situation in Madaya was very difficult.

People are hungry and it is very cold out there with no electricity or fuel, he told the DPA news agency.

Medical professionals in Madaya said that people were eating grass to stay alive.

We cannot provide milk for infants, Dr Khaled Mohammed told DPA on Wednesday. Today, a 10-year-old child died of malnutrition.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Madaya.

The nearby town of Zabadani is also under siege, despite a deal last month that saw Sunni rebel fighters given free passage out of the town in exchange for the evacuation of Shia families from the northern towns of Kefraya and Fua.

The UNs Syria mediator aims to convene peace talks in Geneva on January 25 in the latest effort to end nearly five years of conflict in which more than 250,000 people have died.
The case against Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, Kenyas election influencers.
After nearly 15 years in Flagstaff, the PEAK School announced its contract in Flagstaff was extended another 20 years by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.

The board voted unanimously to extend the schools contract, after a process that school founder Ron Drossman said took more than a year.

Its only slightly easier than writing your dissertation at a university, Drossman said.

The process includes about 200 pages of original writing, addressing how the school deals with issues like parent needs, special needs education, student academic success and financial information.

The school has one year left on the original contract before beginning the 20-year extension.

PEAK, which stands for Pathways to Educational Acceleration for Kids, opened in 2002, seven years after the first charter schools opened in Arizona. The Arizona Legislature voted to allow public charter schools in 1994, and the first schools began operating in the state in 1995.

Drossman and his wife, Paula, co-founded the school and hold the schools charter. The school uses an accelerated learning program developed by Stanford University.

Our school is different than a traditional gifted program, Drossman said. In a traditional gifted program, students who are already ahead are chosen to push them more ahead. In an accelerated model, all students enrolled are included. We accelerate them no matter where they start. So if a student starts off behind, we work to get them not only caught up, but also pushed ahead.

Drossman said about 86 percent of students who attend the school qualify for free or reduced price lunches.

The school has 185 students on two campuses, which is the largest enrollment the school has ever had, Drossman said. Despite the contract extension, the school has no plans to expand or increase enrollment.

The kindergarten through eighth grade school is split between two campuses: the K-3 campus is located near First Street and Fourth Avenue, and the fourth- through eighth-grade campus is located near First Street and First Avenue.

Drossman said he and his wife had always planned to keep enrollment under 200 students.

Our goal is for everyone on our staff to know each student and each family very well, Drossman said. When enrollment gets too high, it gets harder for them to get to know everyone.
Editors note: This film is no longer available online.

Filmmaker: Katja Esson

The Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center  for 120 years Mohawk ironworkers have raised Americas modern cityscapes.

They are called skywalkers because they walk fearlessly atop steel beams just a foot side, high above the city.

Who are these Mohawk skywalkers and what is their secret for overcoming fear? Has skywalking replaced an ancient rite of passage or is it the pure need to adapt in order to survive?

This Witness film finds out whaty their life is really like, when every Friday they jump in the cars and make the eight-hour drive up north to their families on the reservation.

FILMMAKERS VIEW

By Katja Esson

As a German filmmaker living in New York City, I heard about the legend of the Mohawk ironworkers and reflecting on German fascination with Native Americans, I was intrigued by that story.

After the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11, I was surprised to read in a newspaper article that Mohawk ironworkers from all over the country were among the first to rush to Ground Zero, working many months in the ruins. This was despite the controversies that exist between the Native Americans and the US government over issues such as sovereignty, land disputes and smuggling. I wanted to know more about these men who live as outcasts in the American society and yet are American down to the bone.

I started my research in 2002 and found a deep-rooted distrust of media and outsiders within the Mohawk community because of the ongoing feeling of misrepresentation.

It took me several years to slowly and respectfully immerse myself into the lives of these Mohawk ironworkers. Earning their trust and their friendships is an ongoing process, during which I could feel myself changing as well. The project also helped me evolve as a filmmaker, forcing me to look at things differently, requiring much more spiritual openness, commitment and time in order to truly be able to absorb the Mohawk culture with truthfulness.

Sky Fox Bear, one of the ironworkers said to me: The Ironworkers left an incredible legacy for us to be proud of, but in pursuit of that [they] also left a lot of wounds and scars but I guess any type of glory attained, is a price to pay.

Although throughout the years there have been films about the Mohawk ironworkers, they have been mostly looking at this curious cultural phenomenon from the outside, from a more ethnographic perspective. I tried to look from inside out, tracing and contrasting the personal stories of these Mohawk ironworkers who are building the cities of the future while trying to rebuild their traditions. I attempted to let these stories resonate as metaphors for a better understanding of our common humanity.

We have a new generation of young people who are hungry to restore and rescue our old ways so it is a real powerful time that we are in  this is what I kept hearing from elders and spiritual leaders

And after a while, I could see how old ways and traditions were carefully restored. But I also realised that the restoration of one tradition might be the end of another. I could see that the new generation suddenly saw different options for their future and did not feel they had to become fearless ironworkers like their fathers and grandfathers and I realised that Mohawk ironworking could become a dying trade.
Michael Hardwick started fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in 1986.

In Bowers v. Hardwick, the Supreme Court ruled against equal rights for gay men. About 30 years later, Hardwicks niece  Simone Chriss, a third-year UF law student  co-wrote an article explaining the history of same-sex marriage in the U.S.

Chriss, 25, and Danaya Wright, a UF law professor, co-wrote the article in Italys first journal on sexual orientation and gender identity. The article discussed the Supreme Courts decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark case in June 2015 that granted same-sex marriage as a fundamental right.

Roberto Virzo, a visiting professor from Italy, wrote in an email that he asked her to write the article because of her knowledge on gender law and rights of sexual minorities.

Wright said she wrote a few articles on the case but wanted Chriss to help with the article.

She spent five months working on the article, Chriss said. She researched the history of same-sex marriage, starting with her uncles case.

After the court ruling, the two narrowed the focus of the article to the progress of same-sex marriage in the U.S., she said.

I think its important for people to see that this didnt just happen overnight, Chriss said. I want people to understand how we got where we are today.

Wright said Chriss focused on the details about the progress the U.S. has made on equal rights for same-sex couples.

Wright said they emailed back and forth, with her formatting the article and offering feedback.

She said it was interesting to write for a country whose legal system still has a long way to go in recognizing same-sex marriage.

This gives them a roadmap about how we got to where we are, she said.

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She hopes it will help European countries create their own path to same-sex marriage equality, Wright said.

Chriss, who is openly gay, said she didnt understand her uncles role in the 1986 Supreme Court case when she was younger. Now, she said she understands the fight for equal rights needs to continue.

Its already being chipped away at little by little, she said.

For same-sex couples in Italy, Chriss said she hopes the article provides a source of hope.

Virzo said he expects the European audience to pay attention to the article.

Our hope is to shake the Italian Parlamento out of its apathy, Virzo said. Maybe our goal could be achieved at the end of this month. The Italian Parliament is expected to eventually adopt a law on same-sex partnership.

To view the article visit articolo29.it/genius.

Contact Melissa Gomez at mgomez@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @MelissaGomez004.
American funk and jazz saxophonist, flutist and vocalist Karl Denson will return to Gainesville Wednesday with his band, Karl Densons Tiny Universe.

The jazz band is at the end of its Fantastic Fall Tour and will perform one of its final shows in Gainesville. The bands tour regularly holds over 150 shows annually.

This is Karl Densons first time at High Dive, and first time in Gainesville in about 15 years, Pat Lavery, owner of Glory Days Presents, wrote in an email. This is a very rare appearance for him in the area.

Densons last experience in Gainesville marked the beginning of a craze.

I bought a straw cowboy hat and a couple of guys in the band said it looked cool, so I went through about a year or two wearing cowboy hats because of Gainesville, Denson said.

The band will perform at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave.

Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show begins at 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $21 at the door, and advanced tickets can be purchased for $18 on ticketfly.com.

Lavery considers Densons sound a jazz fusion, mixing elements of funk and rock.

It is more in the jam band world, Lavery said. Karl is a world-class musician and is one of the foremost sax players in the world.

The artist began playing music at an early age when he joined his junior high schools band, which prompted the start of his extensive music career.

It was a good school program back in the day when they were helping kids play instruments all the time, and I guess I enjoyed it, Denson said. I never thought about doing it professionally until I entered college.

Denson decided to make music into a career in college, but he wasnt in it for the money  he didnt make money for a long time, he said.

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I probably made more money in high school playing in wedding bands, than I did all through college, Denson said.

Upon graduating in the 1980s, he found his first road gig working with American television host and producer Don Cornelius from Soul Train.

After Soul Train, I had a really great jazz gig in Orange County playing traditional jazz a few nights a week, my dream job, which I was really happy, Denson said. I ended up working with Lenny Kravitz in 1989.

The musician was also a member of the Lenny Kravitz Let Love Rule-era group for about four years, which helped launch his career.

Lenny Kravitz is a great guy and super funny, Denson said. That was a really nice time and it kind of got me established on my life too, which I thank him for that.

Lenny Kravitz helped him get his spot on the Rolling Stones 2015 Zip Code Tour. Upon the conclusion of his current tour, Denson will return on stage with the Rolling Stones in South America.

My favorite memory with the Rolling Stones is just every night watching the show start, Denson said. Being on a stadium and seeing the whole thing gear up is awesome.

Denson shared a few lessons he learned during his many years in the industry.

Its just about work. When you hang out with people like Lenny and the Rolling Stones, you just know they just work hard, and thats kind of what you learn, he said. You just have to get in there and put your work in and learn how to be yourself.
When I was a kid, I thought I was stuck with a middle part forever. A group of older girls in my dance class told me that since I'd never changed the way I parted my hair, it would stay that way for the rest of my life. It was a straight-up case of beauty bullying, but for the longest time I truly believed I would never be able to wear my hair in any other style. Years later, I'm happy to report I've been able to part with the middle part (pun intended) and flip my hair every which way. And during a recent visit to the salon I was encouraged to switch it up yet again, this time for a reason I hadn't even considered.

"The longer we wear the same part, the more we wear the hair down in that area and cause breakage," explains Annie Rush, a hairstylist at Eva Scrivo Salon in New York City. Exhibit A: the pesky baby hairs that poke up along your part despite every effort to keep them tamed with hair spray, pomade, or a flatiron. "These cover-up techniques tend to strip the hair of keratin, leaving a little white bulb at the bottom of the broken hair that won't recover itself," explains Rush. "Whenever my clients complain about small breakage that won't grow, I know they're Band-Aiding with alcohol and a hot tool. The fix might be good for the time being, but the damage will be three times worse than when you started." The best way to disguise these annoying flyaways? Changing up your part.

Switching your part is actually good for the hair. "You're not allowing the hair to fall in the same position every day, and in turn, the roots are upright and breathing," says Rush. You're also giving certain areas a break from the daily singe of a flatiron. "Too much heat in one spot can decrease the porosity of the hair. This causes dry spots, which will spit out any color or nourishing treatments you put on those short broken bits," she explains.

Making the switch is especially important for those dealing with traction alopecia, a form of permanent hair loss due to constant tension on the hair. "This is often seen in women who have pulled their hair back tightly in braids for years," explains Carlos Wesley, a cosmetic surgeon and hair-loss specialist in New York City. "What starts as subclinical [not apparent] inflammation ends up becoming permanent, scarring hair loss. This is not, however, something that occurs by simply parting your hair and letting it fall to the side of your head."
           2005     ..        




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In Heels, Silk and a Girdle by Elizabeth Andrews Sen. Nelson Calls For New Fla. Primary; Gov Crist Backs 'Do-Over' Who'll Win? Ask Spock Spock.com Engine Predicts Winners

By Site Searches; It Can be Wrong by Jay Bhatti Chatting Up The Cat God Gave Me Dominion Over Him

But I Think He's a Non-Believer by Constance Daley Death of a Thug The Life and Horrors of Suharto by Andreas Harsono ___________________________ This Just In Sierra Club: McCain Ducked All 15 Key Votes On Green Laws (AR) A Work By AR's T.S. Kerrigan Is Chosen As 'Best Poem' By Wordpress Site Murder At Mile 63

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AFTER 5 YEARS, WE'RE STILL LIED TO ABOUT IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Next week is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And it is likely that sometime in the next couple of weeks, the 4,000th American soldier will die in Iraq. [MORE] Momentum

OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - It's 1931, and a 14-year-old girl is standing alone on a stage. She's small and lively with dark curly hair, widespread hazel eyes, slender wrists and an open, eager face filled with the wonder of performing. Her name is Rose, and one day she will be my mother. But now she is performing an Eugene O'Neill monologue called "Before Breakfast" for a ladies' club in a wealthy suburb of Long Island. [MORE] One Woman's World

COMFORTABLE WITH MYSELF by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I'm not sure but I think I may be socially incorrect. [MORE] On Native Ground

ENOUGH FOR A WAR, NOT FOR A PEOPLE by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, the National Governors Assn. met in Washington, D.C. One of the tasks the NGA had on its agenda was to ask President Bush to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects as a way to stimulate the economy. He rejected their pleas out of hand, claiming that infrastructure projects wouldn't offer any short-term economic boost. [MORE] Brasch Words

BEWARE THE SELF-REVERENTIAL PRESS by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Shortly before the primary votes this past week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter called Sen. Barack Obama's surge to the Democratic nomination "inevitable." It also called for Hillary Clinton to "start her campaign for Senate majority leader." [MORE] Constance

A CONVERSATION WITH MY CAT Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Normally, when the cat starts his evening rant of meowing continuously until he makes his point, I just take it as long as I can, pick him up, and put him in the garage for the night. He doesn't want to go, but the meowing stops and I don't care if he likes it or not. [MORE] Momentum

OUT OF STRUGGLE, ART by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center. [MORE] Campaign 2008

HOW TO PREDICT SUPER TUESDAY II WINNERS? ONLINE SEARCH by Jay Bhatti NEW YORK, March 4, 2008, 7:00PM ET -- With the outcomes of the Texas, Vermont, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries to be decided tonight, how possible is it that online searching can predict who will win tonight's primaries? [MORE] One Woman's World

DON'T VOTE; IT ENCOURAGES THEM by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Call me angry and disgusted but don't call me un-American because I won't be voting come November. [MORE] On Native Ground

BUSH AND THE KEYBOARD COMMANDOS by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the days tick down toward the eventual departure of President George W. Bush from the White House, it's a hopeful sign that most Americans are no longer moved by his Administration's constant exploitation of terrorism for political gain. [MORE] Momentum

WHICH AMERICA DO YOU LIVE IN? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's a little confusing. [MORE] Make My Dat

THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] On Native Ground

FIDEL RETIRES: NOW THE COLD WAR IS REALLY OVER by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Maybe now, we can finally say the Cold War is over. [MORE] Make My Dat

THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] One Woman's World

POLITICS IS NO PARTY by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Are you having a hard time focusing your eyes? Do you have faint red spots all over your body? Is there a ringing in your ears and do you see wavy lines when you look at your television set? Do your hands shake when you try to hold a cup of coffee? And have you recently been forgetting what day of the week it is - or what year? [MORE] Make My Day

FOR BETTER OR WORSE ... A LOT WORSE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse." [MORE] Constance

YOU CALL THESE RIGHTS? by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- When you express an opinion you hope to persuade others to your point of view. It doesn't always happen but still, opinion writers try. [MORE] Momentum

THE BRIDGE WOMAN by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. [MORE] On Native Ground

OBAMA AND MY GENERATION by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. [MORE] The Willies:

WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? [MORE] One Woman's World

DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." [MORE] Reporting: Panama

PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES Mark Scheinbaum PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. [MORE] Brasch Words

TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. [MORE] Make My Day

THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1 [MORE] Momentum

THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. [MORE] The Willies

AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT! by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. [MORE] Constance

CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. [MORE] Reporting: Florida

SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. [MORE] One Woman's World

PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. [MORE] On Native Ground

VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. [MORE] Make My Day

REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. [MORE] The Willies

FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. [MORE] Momentum

SUPER TUESDAY BLUES by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. [MORE] The Willies

ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. [MORE] Campaign 2008

AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. [MORE] One Woman's World

STAND BY YOUR WOMAN by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. [MORE] An AR Special

SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF by Ahmar Mustikhan WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? [MORE] Momentum

TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt.  Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. [MORE] On Native Ground

IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. - In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. [MORE] Campaign 2008

CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. [MORE] The Willies

WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. [MORE] Passings: Suharto

DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG by Andreas Harsono JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suhartos house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos residence on Cendana Street. [MORE] Constance

I REMEMBER YOU by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. [MORE]
Even black holes can lose a little glitter. Scientists studying a galaxy containing two black holes have found that one of them seems to be missing the usual crowd of stars surrounding it  a hint that it may be an elusive astrophysical object: an intermediate-mass black hole.

The findings, presented at the 227th American Astronomical Society meeting held this week in Kissimmee, Fla., and recently published in the Astrophysical Journal, could shed light on the evolution of the supermassive black holes that are thought to anchor virtually every large galaxy in the universe.

Finding a galaxy like SDSS J1126+2944, which contains a pair of such sizable black holes, is quite rare. Its thought to be the result of two galaxies crashing into each other, merging into a new whole with two holes.

Ive spent a career working on how to find these things, and there arent very many of them known  theres only 12 of them known, said lead author Julie Comerford, an astrophysicist at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

It wasnt long before Comerford and her colleagues noticed something quite strange about this pair of singularities. One of them was surrounded by the thick entourage of stars that typically surrounds a supermassive black hole, but the other one looked oddly bare, almost stripped, with 500 times fewer stars than its more popular peer.

There are two possibilities for this imbalance, Comerford said. It could be that because of the particular dynamics of the violent merging of two galaxies, one of the supermassive black holes was stripped of its stars. But that would have to be an extreme event for a supermassive black hole to lose that many stellar companions.

But theres another possibility: The naked black hole could actually be a smaller, rarely seen object called an intermediate-mass black hole. While this more modest object would probably still have had some of its stars ripped away, the loss would have been far less extreme because the black hole would have started out with a smaller stellar entourage to begin with.

Black holes are the corpses of collapsed stars that warp the surrounding space-time, capturing anything, including light, that dares cross its event horizon. These objects seem to be divided into two camps: stellar black holes, which are thought to result from the death of smaller stars and which can weigh up to 30 suns or so; and supermassive black holes, which can hold the mass of many millions or even billions of suns.

There doesnt seem to be much lying in the vast gap between these lightweights and heavyweights  which perplexes scientists, who are trying to understand the evolution of supermassive black holes, which lie at the heart of large galaxies (including our own Milky Way). How did these gargantuan objects come to be?

Intermediate-mass black holes, with masses in the range of 100 to a million suns, could offer an answer, Comerford said. Its possible they were the seeds of the supermassive objects we see throughout the cosmos today.

Thats why intermediate mass back holes are interesting to find, because theyre sort of a missing evolutionary link in the chain building up to supermassive black holes, Comerford said.

In recent years, astronomers scanning the heavens have discovered a few (very few) so-called intermediate-mass black holes, which might offer some of the missing links in that chain. But theyre devilishly difficult to detect and confirm.

If the stripped black hole is in fact one of the intermediate-mass variety, studying it could give scientists fresh insight into the evolution of these strange phenomena. Comerford says shell have to observe it with a radio telescope and an X-ray telescope at the exact same time to determine whether its the real deal.
PHOENIX -- Democrat and Republican party leaders had their first skirmish of the year Wednesday even though the legislative session doesn't actually start until next week.

And the fight, perhaps predictably, is about money.

During an appearance at a Chamber of Commerce event, House Minority Leader Eric Meyer noted that voters are being asked to approve Proposition 123 at a special election in May. It would put an additional $3.5 billion into K-12 education for the next decade.

"Prop 123 when it passes will move Arizona from 49th in per-pupil funding to 49th," Meyer said, citing Arizona's ranking against other states.

"So it's a start," he told the audience. "But we need to do more to restore funding to our K-12 system."

Meyer said the state ended the last fiscal year with $325 million in the bank. And with less than half of the current budget year gone, revenues already are running more than $200 million above projections.

That cash, Meyer said, should be used to reverse some of the cuts made in education funding in the prior seven years.

The suggestion drew a sharp response from Senate President Andy Biggs.

"When your mantra is repeatedly 'Not enough money,' that money solves all problems, then you get kind of wrapped around the axle," he said.

Biggs chided Meyer and other Democrats for voting last year to increase aid to schools but against the specific plan in Proposition 123 to tap an existing education trust fund account.

But the Senate president said even if that were not the case, the argument by Democrats is flawed.

He said it's wrong to rely the data from the U.S. Census Bureau that puts Arizona near the bottom of per-student funding. Biggs said even the federal agency admits that each state funds education a different way.

More significant, Biggs disputed any link between money and education achievement. He said that, overall, Arizona students score higher than those in five of the seven states that spend the most.

But Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs said that, at some point, money does matter.

"Our schools have done heroic jobs in maintaining standards and quality during all these years of legislative neglect and cuts in funding," she said. "But that's not sustainable."

And Meyer said that Arizona students, hobbled in part by lack of funding, "are not doing as well as the rest of the country."

He said nearly a quarter of K-12 teachers are eligible to retire in 2018 and will need to be replaced.

"The bottom line is, if we want to put teachers in the classroom in our state, we're going to have to pay them," Meyer said.

"We have teachers leaving our state and going to other states to take jobs," he continued. Meyer specifically mentioned Yuma.

"You can go across the border into California and be paid nearly $20,000 more a year," he said. "It's just economics."

In pushing Proposition 123, Gov. Doug Ducey has called it a "first step" in education funding. But Ducey, who attended Wednesday's event, was unwilling to make a specific commitment to add additional dollars this coming budget year, even with the surplus.

"We have other needs in government as well," the governor said, promising to "work with legislative leadership on the rest of available dollars and needs in our budget."
Out here on the edge of the national forest, in the cattle-ranching, timber-cutting, deer-hunting Arkansas county where I live, this Ammon Bundy guy looks like the Al Sharpton of cows. His publicity seeking has created a media pseudo-event of a particularly modern kind.

Can anybody doubt that the feds could more efficiently resolve the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by confiscating TV cameras rather than guns?

Actually, there's no real "standoff," since law enforcement is nowhere in sight. Blocking the roads, cutting the power and waiting them out looks like the wisest policy, although there appear to be almost as many tribal ideologues on the left hankering for a shootout as anti-government militia types.

The Washington Monthly's normally sensible David Atkins is breathing smoke and fire: "I feel that if Bundy's little crew wants to occupy a federal building and assert that they'll use deadly violence against any police who try to extract them," he wrote, "then they should get what they're asking for just as surely as Islamist terrorists would if they did likewise ... "

"What's good for one type of terrorist must also be good for another," Atkins continued.

Sounds downright Trump-like to me. Elsewhere, racialized insults and cries for vengeance have become common. "Y'all-qaeda," "yee-hawdists," "yokel haram," tweeted New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz. Less witty ridicule is everywhere.

At Salon, Bundy's cowboy patriots are denounced as a "strident example of unapologetic white privilege in action."

Salon proclaims "They'd be killed if they were black: The racial double standard at the heart of the new Bundy family standoff."

"Armed white men seize a federal building. The government stands down carefully. But a 12-year-old with a toy gun?" reads the sub-headline.

Even the Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson couldn't resist making the tempting, but specious comparison between Bundy and Tamir Rice, the Cleveland child killed by cops in a city park. Think harder. Everybody acknowledges the boy's death was a pointless tragedy. Nobody wanted him to die.

It's also clearly false that armed white crackpots are always given a pass. Heard of Ruby Ridge? Waco? But hold that thought.

Robinson does acknowledge the single most salient fact: that Bundy's posse is holed up deep in the Oregon wilderness, 30 miles from a town of 2,800, a threat to nobody but each other. The last thing the U.S. government needs to do is give them the martyrdom a few of the crazier ones crave.

Then too, as a political matter, Bundy appears to have made an almost comical miscalculation. Hardly anybody in remote Harney County appears to support his cause. Even the father-son team of ranchers whose five-year prison terms Bundy's group is allegedly protesting have renounced his support.

Dwight and Steve Hammond did plead guilty to arson, you know.

In a press conference, county Sheriff David Ward addressed the anti-government vigilantes directly: "To the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed occupation. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. It's time for you to leave our community, go home to your families and end this peacefully."

Which is not to say those sentences are either just or equitable. Even among their neighbors, opinions differ. Five years seems like an awfully long time for torching 139 acres of sagebrush and juniper -- particularly given Dwight Hammond's age, 73.

The sentencing judge thought so too, refusing to enforce the mandatory minimum as unconstitutionally severe. After prosecutors objected, the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco imposed the statutory penalty. Indeed, the Hammonds' legal appeals are not complete, making the timing of Bundy's insurrection inconvenient at best.

Detailed accounts in local media make the entire affair sound like a high desert version of "Sometimes a Great Notion," Ken Kesey's manic epic about a western Oregon logging clan. Some stress the Hammond family's business success and generous support of local charities.

Trial records, however, also make it appear that as wealthy ranchers are prone to do, the Hammonds had taken to acting dictatorially. No doubt the Bureau of Land Management bureaucracy can be maddening, but renting grazing rights on government land doesn't convey the freedom of action a rancher has on his own property.

For the past 20 years, the Hammonds have taken to confronting hunters killing "their" deer on federal land, and threatening U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents over water and fencing disputes. According to a 2010 grand jury indictment, "Hammond family members have been responsible for multiple fires" for more than 20 years. The indictment also alleged that one fire was set to destroy evidence of deer poaching -- animals killed not for meat but because they competed with cattle for forage.

If true, the wonder is that they got away with it so long.
Egyptian Streets

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi vowed during a speech at Coptic Christmas Mass to rebuild and renovate all churches and homes that had been torched during violence in 2013.

We have taken too long to fix and renovate [churches] that were burnedthis year everything will be fixed, announced President Sisi as Coptic Pope Tawadros II stood by his side at St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abassiya.

Please accept our apologies for what happenedGod willingby next year there wont be a single house or church that is not restored, added President Sisi, referring to the torching of churches and homes of Coptic Christians following the ouster of President Morsi in July 2013.

We will never forget the honourable, respectful and great stance you and the Pope took during this period, declared President Sisi amid cheers in the Cathedral.

More than 53 churches and Coptic institutions were torched or stormed across Egypt following the ouster of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013. Hundreds of other homes, businesses, and schools were also attacked in Sohag, Minya, Cairo, Assiut and other cities. In one incident, assailants torched parts of one of Egypts oldest churches that was reportedly built in the 4th Century.

Meanwhile, at least 11 Coptic Christians lost their lives in sectarian-related violence following the June 30 protests. In one case in Minya, a Coptic man and his wife were detained before being killed by armed individuals.

Despite the attacks being blamed on Islamists, stories and photographs of Muslims protecting Christians went viral across Egypt during the violent period. In statements to Egyptian Streets in 2013, Coptic Bishop Thomas confirmed that many communities united against extremism.

Poor Muslim families brought blankets to the Christians who lost their homes, and together we formed a civil front not Christians against Muslims but civil society against extremism, said the Bishop.

Since becoming President, Sisi has called for greater religious tolerance and reform in Islamic discourse. The Egyptian President also became the first Egyptian head of state to attend Christmas Mass.
Profile Paul Cochrane Paul Cochrane is an independent journalist. He has written for over 80 publications worldwide, covering business, media, politics and culture in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. He is the co-director of a documentary on the political-economy of water in Lebanon - We Made Every Living Thing from Water (on Vimeo). He is also a media commentator, and has appeared on Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, CBS-NYC radio, Canada's CTV and CBC Radio, Press TV, Etejah TV, Future TV, Al Manar, Sahar TV, Today FM Ireland, and South Korea's TBS eFHM radio. Paul has a BA in International History and International Politics from Keele University, UK, and a MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the American University in Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. He lived in Beirut from 2002 to 2019. He now lives in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. View my complete profile
Benedict, while the "father of the new liturgical movement" (in my estimation at any rate), is not the new liturgical movement; as such the new liturgical movement does not die with the end of his papacy.



- Shawn Tribe, New Liturgical Movement
About Me Bagsy Born Beeston, Notts 1946, my family moved to Dorset 1959. Joined the Royal Navy age 15 years and 50 days serving 10 years. In frigates firstly then over 5 years in the Submarine Service as a Seaman/Diver, reaching the dizzy heights of Leading Seaman, before leaving to join the Merchant Service, working in Ocean Salvage and Harbour Tugs, passenger / cargo ships, trials vessels, etc. Qualified as Mate (Chief Officer) in 1976 and as Master (Captain) in 1978. For my final 20 years of 47 I worked in the Offshore Oil Industry initially on the drilling rig Stena Hunter, then the accommodation barge Borgland Dolphin and finally the Floating Production Platform Buchan Alpha. On the rigs I forged a number of long lasting friendships several of whom shared some of my extensive travels. Setting foot on Caymen, Bermuda, Bahamas and The Azores in March 2013 brought my countries / autonimous regions total to 148. The best, undoubtedly, was Antarctica, followed by Australia, Mongolia, Belize, Zimbabwe, China and Madagascar, in no particular order. Love to all our readers, your in my thoughts. Bagsy View my complete profile
Published by an old curmudgeon who came to America in 1936 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and proudly served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He is a former law enforcement officer and a retired professor of criminal justice who, in 1970, founded the Texas Narcotic Officers Association. BarkGrowlBite refuses to be politically correct. (Copyrighted articles are reproduced in accordance with the copyright laws of the U.S. Code, Title 17, Section 107.)
A Beatrice man previously allowed to participate in the Drug Court program will serve a prison term after multiple failed drug tests.

Brandon L. Dickson, 27, was sentenced Wednesday in Gage County District Court.

He was terminated from the Drug Court program, which offers counseling as opposed to prison for drug offenders, after failing three drug tests. One of the tests followed him showing up to a hearing under the influence.

Despite the failed drug tests, defense Attorney Dustin Garrison argued the Drug Court program had a positive impact on Dickson.

The last nine months there have been three situations in which Mr. Dixon relapsed, Garrison said. I would suppose that before Drug Court, had they tested Mr. Dixon, there would have been a whole lot more times that he tested positive than three in nine months.

Gage County Chief Deputy Attorney Rick Schreiner argued Dickson had nobody but himself to blame for failing at Drug Court.

I never enjoy sentencings of this type, Schreiner said. We have an individual who was presented with a golden ticket to a life that they didnt imagine and it didnt work out. Theres nobody to blame but Mr. Dixon.

Judge Paul Korslund ultimately sentenced Dickson to 20-48 months of prison for the one count of possession of a controlled substance.

It really gets down to how many more chances can you be given? Korslund said. The credibility of the Drug Court program is involved here, too. At some point, enough is enough. That doesnt mean that youre a failure. It just means there have been too many problems to keep you in the Drug Court.

The sentencing stemmed from a May 2014 arrest.

Beatrice Police were patrolling in the 1600 block of Summit Street when they noticed Dickson, who they recognized from previous interactions, on the sidewalk kicking his feet, swinging his arms and heavily twitching his body.

Court documents state the officer could hear plastic wrap in Dicksons pocket making noise as he moved and asked if he could search him.

Documents state Dickson told the officer he had hydros in his pocket. The officer removed the baggie that contained six pills that were confirmed to be Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone.
A Beatrice pharmacy owner will be sentenced in March for defrauding Medicaid by billing customers for a name-brand drug, but dispensing the generic version.

Tod A. Lundberg, 50, pleaded guilty in Gage County District Court to a felony charge of fraud to obtain assistance of more than $500.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of probation. He will also be required to make a restitution payment of $39,759.84.

An investigation of The Medicine Shoppe, located at 601 Court St., dates back to January 2014 when a woman reported the provider to the Nebraska Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Unit (MFPAU).

A month later, the woman, who was a former employee of The Medicine Shoppe, agreed to appear at the MFPAU to provide information regarding the suspected Medicaid fraud scheme as a cooperating witness.

For her cooperation, court documents state it was agreed the woman, who left the company in 2013, wouldnt be targeted in the investigation.

The Medicine Shoppe had been a Nebraska pharmacy provider since 2000, and court documents state Lundberg had an active pharmacy license dating back to February 1993.

The woman told authorities Medicaid was the primary payment source of The Medicine Shoppe.

Court documents state the woman was concerned Lundberg had been billing the preferred brand-name drug Lovenox, although the generic version of the drug was being dispensed.

The woman noticed the scheme in February or March 2013 when she saw a label that read the brand name of the drug and asked Lundberg about it, since the prescription in question had previously been the generic version.

Lundberg allegedly then printed out a new label with the generic name. The worker discovered that billings to Medicaid had always been for the name-brand version of the drug.

The worker allegedly confronted Lundberg about the discrepancy, and was told he ran the prescription through as the brand name then labels it the generic version.

According to court documents the worker told authorities Lundberg said that was the only way he can make money in the pharmacy world and was able to do it because Medicaid didnt send an explanation of benefits to clients, so they were unaware what it was paying for.

The cost difference between the billed Lovenox drugs compared to the generic drugs distributed is estimated to be $1,800.

The worker had reason to believe other generic drugs were being dispensed while their name-brand counterparts were billed due to a note in the companys computer system on other prescriptions reading BBGG, which she found out stood for bill brand, give generic.

She told authorities Lundberg was the only one who entered the data and would review all claims before they were submitted to insurance.

The worker also alleged prescriptions that were dispensed but not picked up were still being billed through insurance.

Authorities interviewed a customer of The Medicine Shoppe who was allegedly getting the generic version of Lovenox, but paying for the name brand. It was determined the customer had received both name-brand and generic versions of the drug.

When interviewed, Lundberg allegedly admitted to billing for Lovenox but giving the generic version of the drug. He told investigators the profits were going into the Medicine Shoppes business account. He was unable to say when he began the practice.
With a presidential election year coming, it's tempting to call 2015 the Year of the Crybaby. Everybody's a victim. Judging by TV and social media, roughly half the nation believes it's being oppressed by the other half. Everybody's throwing themselves a pity party.

There's an awful lot of self-dramatization going on.

Everywhere you look, somebody's getting fitted for a hairshirt.

I was first moved to this thought by an extraordinary "Voices" letter to my local newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A fellow in Siloam Springs was offended by columnist John Brummett's criticism of "extreme evangelical professed Christians in Iowa."

Brummett thinks the Iowa GOP primary gives undue attention to people who think "that God forgives everything but liberalism." This infuriated the reader, who proclaimed his constitutionally guaranteed right to oppose "abortion, divorce, gay marriage, etc." regardless of Supreme Court rulings. Should he lose it, "these United States will cease being America."

Sorry, friend; the First Amendment definitely guarantees you the right to obsess about other people's intimate lives. But not to regulate them. Here in America, you can interpret God's will any way you like. You just can't make anybody obey.

That doesn't make you a victim. It makes you a crybaby.

Ditto Donald Trump's whining about "political correctness" while directing coarse insults toward his rivals. A woman using the bathroom is "disgusting," but poor Donald's the victim.

For most Republicans, it's an imaginary threat. "In the telling of people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly," notes Paul Waldman of The American Prospect, "conservatives live their lives in fear of the vicious mobs of liberals wielding political correctness like a nail-studded club."

Poor little things.

Also on the subject of faking, check out Paul Farhi's Washington Post article, "Six Ways Donald Trump's wrestling career previewed his campaign," particularly the embedded video showing the pompadoured billionaire in action.

If that doesn't open your eyes, they must be sewn shut.

Elsewhere, upwards of half the people in America tell pollsters they're afraid they'll be killed by terrorists. This time last year it was Ebola.

Yo, America, quit lying to yourselves.

Alternatively, you could try emulating Grandpa, who went off to fight World War II with no good expectation he'd be coming back. And you're scared witless by a ragtag band of religious fanatics in pickup trucks?

No you're not. You're just titillated by the melodrama. Which is why CNN and the rest keep feeding it to you.

Of course, where I live, cows are a bigger threat than terrorists.

No joke. A friend almost got himself killed recently after thoughtlessly entering a stall with a newborn calf and its normally placid mama. He escaped with a broken and dislocated shoulder.

Storms blow trees across fences, black Angus cattle wander into dark highways, and bad things happen. Just not on CNN.

Of course the cultural and political left has its own share of melodramatists, whiners and scolds, many on college campuses. Rather like the fellow in Siloam Springs, student "activists" see themselves as morally incorruptible, and their opinions as graven in stone.

Have you seen anything about the great Oberlin College food fight? Students on the Ohio campus decided their cafeteria served "racist" food. Because the sushi was no good, protesters called it "culturally appropriative," an insult to Japanese-Americans. Things got very heated. If Oberlin kids got their way, you'd have to hire a Sicilian chef to order a pizza.

All we ever worried about was saltpeter in the mashed potatoes.

An insult to my Irish ancestors, come to think of it, for whom a boiled potato and a six pack constituted a seven-course meal.

But there I go, making light of something grave. Normally, I take my cues from the critical race theorists at Salon.com, where they celebrated Christmas with an article entitled "The thought of a white man in my chimney does not delight me: Let's stop lying to our kids about Santa."

And no, I couldn't possibly make that up. Along with meditations upon the orgasm, tirades against white folks are pretty much the formerly serious website's entire stock-in-trade.

But the real holiday bell-ringer was a Christmas Eve essay in the New York Times entitled "Dear White America" by Emory University philosopher George Yancy. The professor offers his own struggles to transcend sexism as a model for white men in their efforts to comprehend black lives.

"As a sexist, I have failed women," he confesses. "... I have failed to engage critically and extensively their pain and suffering in my writing. I have failed to transcend the rigidity of gender roles in my own life."

Yeah, well, me too.

In theory, I'm totally against "objectifying women," but Jennifer Lawrence still makes my ears buzz. Then too, my wife kind of likes me that way.

As for renouncing my putative "white innocence," a modest demurral:

Give it a rest, professor. I didn't make this world any more than you.
LINCOLN -- Nebraska lawmakers began the 2016 legislative session Wednesday with a wide variety of proposed bills, touching on several prominent issues from 2015.

Bills proposed Wednesday included a 'Right to Farm' amendment, a ban on dismemberment abortions, a stricter seat belt law and an attempt to preserve Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.

Right to Farm

Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell introduced a ballot measure to guarantee farming and ranching rights in the state constitution.

The proposed constitutional amendment would prevent state officials from passing restrictions on agricultural technology and livestock production without a compelling state interest.

Missouri and North Dakota passed similar "Right to Farm" measures after rural lawmakers argued that farming needed to be protected from environmental groups and animal rights activists.

Critics in those states argued that the proposals would prevent regulators from passing rules to ensure that animals are treated humanely and the environment is protected.

The constitutional amendment would require voter approval if lawmakers pass it. Voters in 2012 adopted an amendment that guarantees the right to hunt and fish.

Dismemberment abortion ban

Bellevue Sen. Tommy Garrett has proposed a new ban on a common procedure used for second-trimester abortions.

The ban would prohibit "dismemberment abortions," a dilation and evacuation procedure often used for women who are more than 12 weeks pregnant. The only exemptions would be if the procedure could prevent death or extreme physical harm to the woman.

Nebraska already prohibits most abortions after 20 weeks based on the disputed theory that a fetus at that point can feel pain.

Kansas and Oklahoma passed dismemberment bans last year, but lawsuits have prevented both from taking effect.

Garrett also proposed a bill to create "Choose Life" license plates through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Stricter seat belt enforcement

Nebraska law enforcement could pull over drivers for not wearing their seat belts under another proposed measure.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha introduced a bill Wednesday that would change not wearing a seat belt from a secondary to a primary offense.

Current Nebraska law allows police to ticket drivers who aren't buckled up, but only if they have first been pulled over for another infraction. The law applies to front seat drivers and young children.

Krist's bill would expand the seat belt requirement to every occupant in the vehicle.

Former Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff sponsored a similar measure that died during debate in 2014.

Offutt Base preservation

Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue introduced a bill designed to preserve Offutt Air Force Base amid fears that its deteriorating runway could cause the 55th Wing to leave.

The legislation would create a Military and Veterans Commission. The commission would serve as a point of contact among elected officials, business leaders and the military.

Crawford said the commission will help the state become more proactive with its military interests. Offutt is a major employer in the Omaha area.

The bill has won support from the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership. Jeff Mikesell, a lobbyist for the group, said Nebraska needs to stay competitive with other states in defending its military installations.

Property taxes and budget shortfall

Gov. Pete Ricketts has identified property tax cuts as his top priority this year, but a projected $110 million budget shortfall could complicate efforts to pass major legislation. Senators expect to fill at least some of the shortfall by tapping the state's cash reserve fund, which is expected to reach a record high of nearly $729 million on June 30.

Even so, the chairman of the Legislature's Appropriation Committee said he has warned senators not to set their sights too high.

"We can make progress, but it's going to have to be very small progress," said Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha.

Sen. Bill Kintner said he believes lawmakers will rely on a combination of cash reserve money and spending cuts to balance the budget, but the appropriation committee member from Papillion first wants to see Ricketts' budget recommendations.

Despite the projected shortfall, Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids said she expects to see a push to increase state funding to schools as a way to lower property taxes. Sullivan helped lead a joint committee over the summer that looked at ways to encourage school districts to lower such levies.
NCGA's Boardman tells Chamber meeting revenue is ahead of schedule

Barry Boardman, the General Assembly's chief economist, speaks to the NC Chamber's tax conference in Durham. (CJ Photo by Barry Smith)

DURHAM  The General Assembly's top economist on Thursday said that, unlike last year, when state tax collections appeared to suggest a shortfall in General Fund revenues, state government is on track to meet its projections for the current budget year.Although he warned not to read too much into just one quarter of financial figures, Barry Boardman, the legislature's chief economist, said that collections are $40.3 million ahead of schedule for the first quarter. Boardman said that the collections were "essentially on target."The budget bill passed by the General Assembly this past session projected that the state would collect $21.9 billion in General Fund revenue during the fiscal year that began this past July 1 and ends June 30, 2016.Boardman addressed the North Carolina Chamber's tax conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Durham.Boardman said. He said that a year ago, state collections were running below projections, primarily because of a change in the way withholdings were being collected. The state still ended up with a $450 million surplus last year.Wages and salary collections are coming in higher than expected, along with corporate income tax collections, Boardman said.Boardman said during a break.Boardman said if collections "continue on our current trajectory," the General Assembly would have more options available to them on tax and budget policy.Lew Ebert, president and CEO of the NC Chamber, said Boardman's projections represent good news.Ebert said.Ebert credited recent policy changes for the improved business climate.Ebert said.Ebert said that some other states have made bad moves with their budget and tax policy, and that has helped North Carolina.Ebert said. He said the state has had aSome states did too much too fast, Ebert said.he said.Boardman noted that most of the revenue for the General Fund  51.7 percent  comes from personal income taxes.Cindy Avrette, a staff attorney for the General Assembly, noted that retiring the state's unemployment insurance debt to the federal government has paid off as well, since both federal and state surcharges on employers were lifted when the debt was retired, she said.
The previous poll on Eastern NC NOW showcased what are many of OUR Constitutional Republic's certain obstacles to remain viable, where the top encumbrance to that continuance as a functioning Republic was the Biden /Harris Wide Open Southern Border. Understanding this overwhelming concern to real America citizens: Do you believe it important to challenge the veracity of those legislated concerns of Democratic Socialists by transporting Illegal Migrants to their Sanctuary cities, counties and states for their direct care?

Yes; test the depth of their sense of well being by giving Democratic Socialists an opportunity to enact all Sanctuary provisions in their communities to test how much they truly do care.

No; the Biden /Harris Wide Open Southern Border Project is designed to only inundate "Red States" to begin their Demographic Upheaval for the benefit of we Democratic Socialists, our politics.
ECU adds 51 pavers to Memorial Walk on Veterans Day

George Warren, left, and James Warren. (Photos courtesy of Edith Warren)

Warren Brothers Honored for Service

George, a Purple Heart recipient, was stationed at Hickam Field in Hawaii during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1940 and served in the Pacific Theater during most of World War II, including the Pacific Ocean nuclear bomb tests. After 23 years of service, he worked seasonally in area tobacco warehouses.



James, also with the U.S. Army Air Force, served in India and Burma during World War II. He was a crewman on the Air Force's transport command that flew military cargo to resupply the Chinese war effort across the Himalaya Mountains. Among his decorations, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He owned and operated the City Barber Shop in Oxford for many years.



Floyd served as ship radioman during the Pacific naval campaign during World War II in the war between the Allies and Japan. He witnessed Japanese kamikaze aerial attacks on his and other U.S. ships almost daily during the campaign from Tarawa to Saipan. He and his family lived most of his adult life in Greenville and later in Goldsboro, where he was sales manager for Keebler.



Dennis Warren Floyd Warren



Dixie served in the Army in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Wounded in Korea, Dixie received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star among other decorations. He also served in Germany, Ethiopia and at Fort Benning in the U.S. After retirement, he worked in banking with First Citizens Bank and Trust in Atlanta. He is the only surviving brother.



Frank served in the Coast Guard on a weather ship during the Korean War and in the active Vietnam War zones. A highlight was sailing through the Northwest Passage. He also passed through the Arctic Circle. During Vietnam, he was a member of Coast Guard Squadron One, marking the first time since World War II that Coast Guard personnel were used in combat.



Frank was wounded during river patrol and received the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Decoration and U.S. Navy Meritorious Commendation Medal among other recognitions. After 23 years of service, he and his family retired to Pompano Beach, Florida, where he worked with the Hillsboro Beach Police Department. There is a monument in his honor as lighthouse keeper at Hillsboro Light Station.



-Information provided by the Warren family George, a Purple Heart recipient, was stationed at Hickam Field in Hawaii during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1940 and served in the Pacific Theater during most of World War II, including the Pacific Ocean nuclear bomb tests. After 23 years of service, he worked seasonally in area tobacco warehouses.James, also with the U.S. Army Air Force, served in India and Burma during World War II. He was a crewman on the Air Force's transport command that flew military cargo to resupply the Chinese war effort across the Himalaya Mountains. Among his decorations, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He owned and operated the City Barber Shop in Oxford for many years.Floyd served as ship radioman during the Pacific naval campaign during World War II in the war between the Allies and Japan. He witnessed Japanese kamikaze aerial attacks on his and other U.S. ships almost daily during the campaign from Tarawa to Saipan. He and his family lived most of his adult life in Greenville and later in Goldsboro, where he was sales manager for Keebler.Dennis served in the European Theater during the occupation of Berlin with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was responsible for building the first and longest floating tactical bridge across the Rhine at Remagen and building and maintaining roads vital to the Allied advance into Germany. After service, Dennis was manager of Bissette's Drug Store and Big Value Discount in Greenville for many years.Dixie served in the Army in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Wounded in Korea, Dixie received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star among other decorations. He also served in Germany, Ethiopia and at Fort Benning in the U.S. After retirement, he worked in banking with First Citizens Bank and Trust in Atlanta. He is the only surviving brother.Frank served in the Coast Guard on a weather ship during the Korean War and in the active Vietnam War zones. A highlight was sailing through the Northwest Passage. He also passed through the Arctic Circle. During Vietnam, he was a member of Coast Guard Squadron One, marking the first time since World War II that Coast Guard personnel were used in combat.Frank was wounded during river patrol and received the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Decoration and U.S. Navy Meritorious Commendation Medal among other recognitions. After 23 years of service, he and his family retired to Pompano Beach, Florida, where he worked with the Hillsboro Beach Police Department. There is a monument in his honor as lighthouse keeper at Hillsboro Light Station.

Frank Warren, left and Dixie Warren.

Kim and Paul Scarborough adopted Ben following his retirement from military service.



Pavers honoring service on Veterans Day 2014 are ready for installation at the Memorial Walk on ECU's campus.





Among the military service members to be honored at East Carolina University's Veterans Day services Nov. 11 is Ben, pictured above. Ben is a military dog who served two tours in Afghanistan and is now enjoying his retirement in Lenoir County. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

Six Warren brothers from Robersonville saw combat in conflicts from World War II through the Vietnam War, but all returned home safely.More recently, Ben, a military dog trained to find explosives, served two tours in Afghanistan. He also came home to the United States and now is an ambassador to veterans, school children and others in eastern North Carolina.The families of the Warren brothers and many more are remembering service members' sacrifices by dedicating engraved pavers in their honor on Nov. 11 in an annual Veterans Day ceremony at East Carolina University.Former N.C. Rep. Edith Warren of Farmville led the effort to remember her late husband Billy's brothers: George Ben Warren, James Henry Warren Jr., Floyd D. Warren, Dennis Warren, Dixie Warren and Frank D. Warren.The six represent more than 75 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard.said Edith Warren. She decided on the pavers after dedicating one for her cousin, Lt. Carl Doughtie, a Navy fighter pilot, last year.Henry and Geneva Warren had 12 children, 10 boys and two girls. Several family members will attend the event Wednesday, where 51 brick pavers will be dedicated at the Memorial Walk beside Christenbury Gym, including the first one honoring a war dog.Ben, whose rank is sergeant, is a 60-pound Belgian Malinois who lives on a Lenoir County farm with Kim and Paul Scarborough.Ben was part of the Army's Tactical Explosive Detective Dogs program, developed to support the surge of U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan. With the drawdown in early 2014, the program was discontinued, and dogs that couldn't be re-trained to work in other areas were retired.Ben suffers from PTSD and couldn't be re-trained for narcotics or security. He's agitated by gunshots, thunder, horses, mopeds or motorcycles  anything that reminds him of the Middle East war zone where he once worked. And his handler, whom the Army gives first choice for their dogs, couldn't be found. The Scarboroughs adopted Ben after hearing from a friend of a friend working as a contractor with the Pentagon who was trying to place him.Kim said.Only a small number of dogs  approximately 1 percent  that enter military training actually make it through the program. Ben knows commands in four languages and can climb straight up a ladder, among other feats.Paul said.Ben was deployed twice  once in 2011 and again in 2012.Kim said.While the numbers of explosives that Ben found are classified, the Scarboroughs have been toldNow his job involves chasing and catching any ball. He helps Paul look after the acres of tobacco, cotton, soybeans and corn on the farm. He also visits Boys and Girls clubs, schools and veterans homes and participates in parades and special events. And Ben's best friend is the Scarborough's cat, Sophie.Kim said.ECU's 2 p.m. ceremony will begin with a ROTC color guard and singing of the National Anthem by Rachel Webb, an ECU student pursuing a graduate degree in music performance with a concentration in voice. Speakers for the program will be ROTC commander Lt. Col. Roxane Engelbrecht, U.S. Air Force, who is a civil engineer and graduate of the University of Missouri, and Lt. Col. Joe Pierce, U.S. Army and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.The Victory Bell will be struck with the reading of the names of each honoree.The engraved pavers honor those who provided service in support of national defense, including military service and service to organizations such as the Veterans Administration, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Support the Troops, the Wounded Warrior Project and similar programs.More than 250 people have been recognized through the paver campaign, which raises funds for Army and Air Force ROTC student scholarships and is sponsored by the ECU College of Health and Human Performance and the Office of Military Programs.
Jones Rejects Show Vote on Refuges; Reiterates Call for Defunding

News Release:



"Defunding President Obama's refugee program is the only way to ensure there is an actual halt to a refugee influx until we can determine without question that we are not giving terrorists a free pass into the United States."



Washington, DC Today, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) voted against H.R. 4038, The American SAFE Act, which would do nothing to cut off the funding for President Barack Obama's plan to import tens of thousands of Middle Eastern refugees into the U.S., and would allow the Obama administration to continue to decide how many refugees to let in, and who. The bill was voted on under a closed rule and no amendments were allowed to be considered. The bill passed the House 289 to 137 and is unlikely to be taken up in the Senate until after Thanksgiving.



Congressman Jones made this statement on the vote: "Defunding President Obama's refugee program is the only way to ensure that America can actually stop a refugee influx until we can determine without question that we are not giving terrorists a free pass into the United States. Congress can defund the program in the appropriations bill which will come to the floor in early December. To ensure our safety, Congress must seize that opportunity and use its constitutional power of the purse. Short of that, even if today's bill were to pass the Congress and be signed into law, the President would still retain the power to let in whoever, and however many, refugees he pleases. And given the President's unwavering support for open borders, unchecked illegal immigration, and mass importation of foreign refugees, we know he can't be trusted with that authority."



On Monday, November 16, Congressman Jones wrote a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan calling for Congress to block funds for the Obama administration's massive Middle Eastern refugee resettlement program when Congress appropriates money for the Boehner-Obama debt deal before the end of the year. In the letter, Congressman Jones states that he will not vote for any bill that provides funding for the Obama administration's dangerous Middle Eastern refugee resettlement program.



Congressman Jones is also a cosponsor on H.R. 4032, the States' Right of Refugee Refusal Act of 2015, which would protect the right of states to reject participation in President Obama's refugee program.



Contact: Maria Jeffrey

Communications Director



Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3)



2333 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515



Maria.Jeffrey@mail.house.gov  (202) 225-3415


I think that every major in college should require a separate test to gain admission to that field of study. Making the grade with a high SAT or whatever the current acronym used to determine qualifications for admission to college or university should be the first step.The SAT gives a general idea of the strength and weakness of any pending college student. But it does not delve deep enough into the specialized qualification for a specific educational major.I am not talking about the continuing argument between Liberal Arts major vs a Business or Science major. There is room for both disciplines in the world. One thing that has become abundantly clear to me is that very few people actually stay in the field that they majored in in college.I have recently read or is it read (English majors, help) a blog from Michael Sigman where he has a statement that I copied and pasted into my Quote Database file for future plagiarized use; " The ability to think clearly and act decisively is the philosophical gift that keeps on giving". I am not prepared to debate the premise of the blog, but it got me to thinking about the journey from college to making a living. I encourage you to read the link above. Apparently, Marco Rubio struck a nerve in Michael with his statement about welders and philosophers. Even though I enjoyed his rebuttal, I enjoyed his work history better.As usual, my post wandered far from the title. That is usually because there is no meat to be added to the title. It is merely a starting point on the circular tour of my mind.However in the interest of closure, I offer my simple test for entry into the world of journalism.What is your reason for wanting to be a journalist?A: To report the facts in context to the public.B: To make a good living and eventually live in New York.C: To change the world.D: To observe and report on the leaders of the world.If the applicant chooses any of the answers other than C: they are admitted entrance into the major. If they answer C: they are immediately denied entrance and are given a "Full Boat Scholarship" to the local technical school in plumbing. Perhaps they will learn how to handle situations that are full of as much s#!t as they are.

This post is approved for posting. Bobby Tony (2015).
As many as 270 may be relocated in state

RALEIGH: From Jan. 1, 2014, through October 31, North Carolina has accepted 59 Syrian refugees, and as many as 270 others are expected to be relocated throughout the state, according to Gov. Pat McCrory's office. The governor's office updated the information Monday, three days after it responded to an open-records request from Carolina Journal seeking a tally on the number of refugees that have been relocated to North Carolina from the war-torn country. The governor's initial report of 44 Syrian refugees was provided hours before news arrived of a series of coordinated attacks by Islamist terrorists in Paris.Meantime, Republican Govs. Rick Snyder of Michigan and Robert Bentley of Alabama announced Sunday they would suspend the admission of refugees from Syria, citing Friday's terrorist attack in Paris.The Syrians are among a total of 4,828 refugees from 36 countries transplanted in North Carolina from Jan. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015, according to a statement the Governor's Office released in response to a public records request from Carolina Journal.Of that number, 2,617 were male, and 2,211 were female. By age, 2,914 were 19  to 64-years old, 1,187 were between 5  and 18-years old, 631 were younger than 5, and 96 were 65 and older.The data was disclosed Friday, the same day global outrage erupted over a wave of Islamist terrorism in Paris  with suspected links to at least one Syrian refugee  that (at press time) resulted in 129 fatalities and an additional 352 injured.BBC News reported Sunday that official sources said a Syrian cell was behind the Paris bombings and mass shootings.to be the location for a terrorist attack, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday on the CBS News program "Face the Nation."Burr said.Burr added that he hoped French President Francois Hollande would seek a NATO coalition toCJ asked the Governor's Office if it had any security concerns about the Syrian refugees, given that ISIS has said it would make sure militant jihadists would be part of the Syrian refugee exodus.by the U.S. Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and participation from multiple U.S. government security agencies, the Governor's Office responded.a statement from the Governor's Office said in response to the CJ records request.which was fewer than 2,000 in the federal fiscal year spanning Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015, the statement said.the statement said.That projection is based on a document from the White House setting a nationwide ceiling of 10,000 refugees from Syria as a country of origin.Even so. Refugee Council USA, a coalition of global humanitarian aid groups helping displaced Syrians, wants the U.S. to accept at least 65,000 Syrian refugees , and some Democratic senators have urged President Obama to grant that request, calling 10,000It is uncertain where the 44 Syrians have been relocated in North Carolina, according to the Governor's Office.the statement said. However, overall refugee numbers going to a specific county are tracked. The statement did not account for how all refugees could be tabulated by locality without knowing the numbers for individual nationalities.In the 2015 state fiscal year Guilford County received the most Office of Refugee Relocation newcomers with 624, followed by Mecklenburg with 593, and Wake with 448.From Jan. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015, 1,287 refugees were relocated to Mecklenburg County; 1,277 to Guilford County; 936 to Wake County; and 504 to Durham County. Craven County received 301, New Hanover County 156, and Orange County 105. Another 262 were divided among 23 other counties.Most of those refugees came from Burma, 1,562; Iraq, 603; Congo, 540; Bhutan, 491; Somalia, 436; Afghanistan, 248; Cuba, 215; Eritrea, 116; and Sudan, 107. Another 27 nations sent fewer than 100 refugees each, including 52 from Iran, and 31 from Ukraine.The departments of State and Homeland Security, along with national voluntary agencies oversee refugee resettlement during their overseas processing and initial resettlement within the United States, the statement said.the statement said.According to the Governor's Office, local governments are apprised of refugees being resettled into their communities.the statement said.according to the Governor's Office. Recipients must be admitted into the United States legally, or approved by the Department of Homeland Security after inspection upon arrival into the U.S.Undocumented individuals are not eligible to receive services.The primary programs and benefits administered by North Carolina for refugees and other Office of Refugee Resettlement eligible populationsaccording to the Governor's Office.Those program benefits include Refugee Cash Assistance for a maximum of eight months from the date of arrival, and Refugee Medical Assistance for a total of eight months. There also are refugee specific Social Services to help with employment, English language learning, and other efforts.The average monthly costs in state fiscal year 2014-15 were $78,000 for the Refugee Cash Assistance program, $175,341 for Refugee Medical Assistance and medical health screening, and $169,469 for Social Services programs. That totals $5.1 million for the year.The projected costs are expected to be about the same in the state's current budget year, according to the Governor's Office.
House passed measure by veto-proof margin, but fate in Senate unsure

RALEIGH Expressing disappointment in President Obama's threat to veto his bill requiring a more thorough screening process of refugees from Syria and Iraq, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8th District, said Thursday he hopes the measure gets the same veto-proof support in the Senate it received in the House.Hudson said in a teleconference call after Thursday's 289-137 vote.He said hisdoes not prevent any refugees from entering the United States, nor does not bar every Syrian or Iraqi refugee from resettling here.Hudson said the bill was responding to admissions from federal national security and intelligence officials that it is not possible currently to verify refugees' identities or to weed out potential terrorists, despite President Obama's claims to the contrary.Hudson said after the vote, in which 47 Democrats defied Obama's veto threat and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's directive for Democrats to oppose the measure.Rep. Walter Jones, R-3rd District, was one of two Republicans voting against the measure. The three Democrats in the state's congressional delegation also voted no.Hudson said Obama attemptedabout the national security threat, andSenate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to defeat the bill in the Senate.But Hudson said ReidHudson is hoping California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who's likely to succeed the retiring Reid as Democratic leader, will work with Republicans to pass his bill. Both Democrats have expressed concerns about the Syrian refugee vetting process and Obama's claims that the Islamic State has been contained.Hudson's legislation bars any refugees from Iraq or Syria from entering the United States unless the FBI director certifies that a thorough background investigation was done. It also requires the secretary of Homeland Security, FBI director, and director of national intelligence to certify to Congress that no refugee poses a security threat to the United States.In addition, the legislation requires the Homeland Security inspector general to assess the refugee approvals independently, including an annual report verifying the locations of the refugees who are here.Gov. Pat McCrory said.McCrory said.The governor has requested that Obama send no more Syrian refugees to North Carolina until a reliable and comprehensive screening process can be conducted. On Wednesday, the bipartisan Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations endorsed McCrory's position.said U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, who voted for the bill.toward eliminating the security risks, Foxx said.said U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-2nd, who also voted for the measure. House members
Judges say constitution gives legislature great leeway in regulating local governments

It is a "local law" relating to "health," "sanitation," and "non-navigable streams," in violation of Article II, Section 24.

It constitutes an unlawful taking of Asheville's property without just compensation in violation of Article I, Sections 19 and 35.

It violates Asheville's rights under the "law of the land" clause found in Article I, Section 19.

RALEIGH  The city of Asheville and customers living outside the city who rely on Asheville for their drinking water long have had a contentious relationship. The issue was again before the state's second highest court in October, this time over whether a law passed in 2013 taking control of the water system away from Asheville could pass muster under the state's constitution.Though Asheville currently operates a water system, it does not provide sewer services. That instead is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County. In 2013, the General Assembly passed a local bill shifting control of the water authority from the city to MSD.The city sued to block the transfer, and in June 2014, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning held that the statute violated three provisions of the state constitution:The state appealed Manning's ruling, which a three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals overturned.wrote Judge Chris Dillon for a unanimous appeals court.Under North Carolina law, localities are creations of the state, and the General Assembly retains the authority to regulate towns and counties except to the degree that it conflicts with the state or federal constitutions.Since 1917, the N.C. Constitution has prohibited the General Assembly from enacting so-called "local" laws that touch on any of 14 subjects, including laws "relating to health [or] sanitation" and laws "relating to non-navigable streams." Asheville contended that the transfer, because it was in a local bill and related to both those topics, was invalid.The Court of Appeals came to a different conclusion.wrote Dillon.(Emphasis in decision.)Dillon noted that litigation over Asheville's water system had established thatExamining the new law's stated purpose and text, the appeals court found that the law appeared to prioritize concerns about governance and the quality of services rendered over health and sanitation issues. Nor did the lawThe city also claimed that the transfer violated the "law of the land" clause of the N.C. Constitution, in that there was no "rational basis" to treat Asheville differently from other municipalities that operate water systems and that there was no "rational basis" to transfer the water system from the city to the MSD.The appeals court disagreed.wrote Dillon.The city also claimed that it was entitled to compensation from the state for the value of the water system. The Court of Appeals again disagreed, noting that in the 1923 case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that compensation in such circumstances was not necessary. The appeals court also noted that cases from the Minnesota and Pennsylvania supreme courts had reached the same conclusion.The case is, (14-1255).
Joyner said she's healthy and used only about $500 in health care services last year, but paid Blue Cross nearly $6,700 in monthly premiums. Her current plan would cost nearly $9,500 in premiums for the full year, plus a $3,500 deductible that Joyner would have to pay before coverage kicked in.

"It's like 2 1/2 car payments for me," she said. "I'd be paying $9,500 a year for my annual physical and lower prescriptions."

Doctors:

Patients:

RALEIGH Obamacare's third annual enrollment period for health insurance is officially underway. Americans who do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, are self-employed, or have been dumped into the individual marketplace by their employers have the opportunity to sign up or renew their government-knows-best health insurance plan.While low-income North Carolinians benefit from plans paid for by other taxpayers, middle-income residents are getting pummeled with some of the highest double-digit percentage premium increases in the United States.A recent article from The News & Observer tells the story of Janet Joyner, a Raleigh resident who is struggling to make ends meet when it comes to paying for health insurance.As health insurance is becoming more expensive, some basic health care is curiously becoming more affordable because an increasing number of primary care physicians are breaking away from the status quo. By cutting the cord with insurance companies, doctors can spend more time with their patients in exchange for upfront cash payments.This simple and effective strategy is known as direct primary care . It brings back the incredible value of personalized medicine, and it's a win for both doctors and patients.Imagine not having to spend over 40 percent of practice revenue on personnel responsible for submitting claims to insurance companies. Opting out of insurance contracts allows solo direct care practices to break even on just four patients per day rather than 32 in today's typical practice setting.DPC heightens providers' professional satisfaction because they can escape the corporate environment of the ever-consolidating health care industry and instead hold fast to their autonomy. Calling their own shots under this business model allows for them to practice the actual art of medicine by scheduling longer appointment times with patients if necessary and even committing to house calls.Because primary care is relatively inexpensive to administer, DPC is an affordable option for the masses. Just ask Dr. Brian Forrest , whose practice is located in Apex.He continues to emphasize this concept after seeing a Medicaid patient and a CEO sitting next to each other in his waiting room. For a monthly payment equivalent to a gym membership (not multiple car payments), patients are entitled to around-the-clock care.Despite limited data on direct care, existing literature concludes that patients enjoy an improvement in health outcomes while saving on overall health expenditures when compared to those navigating the traditional health insurance system. A study conducted by the University of North Carolina medical school and North Carolina State University MBA students found that patients seeking treatment at Dr. Forrest's practice, Access Health Care, spent 85 percent less and enjoyed an average of 35 minutes per visit compared to 8 minutes in a nondirect-care practice setting. Other studies have shown similar results.
RALEIGH The recent movie "Best of Enemies" revisits 1968, one of the most dramatic years in modern American history. Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon have produced a documentary surrounding the 10 televised debates between the conservative intellectual and founder of National Review, William F. Buckley, and Gore Vidal, the radical postmodern essayist and political commentator.The debates were watched by millions and took place against the immediate backdrop of that year's national party conventions, gatherings colored greatly by the ongoing war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and broader cultural upheaval, as well as the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations.The movie makes the debates' most dramatic moment a central focus. During a heated exchange, Buckley responds to Vidal: "Now listen, you queer, I'll sock you in the goddamned face, and you'll stay plastered." Even though Vidal was sneering and antagonistic - he was notoriously nasty to friends and foes alike - he didn't deserve the insult.Buckley had lost his cool and after a few moments stormed off, clearly as annoyed with himself as with Vidal. Its recent embrace in certain gay circles notwithstanding, the term "queer" grates our contemporary sensibilities. It is undoubtedly a slur, and much of the media coverage of the movie has focused on its utterance and what it revealed about Buckley's politics and temperament.That Buckley's outburst was provoked by Vidal calling him a "crypto-Nazi" (Vidal later claimed he meant to say "crypto-fascist") has not been given nearly as much attention. Perhaps the oversight is unsurprising since many people on the Left today toss around the term loosely and frequently label their conservative opponents as quite conspicuous Nazis, not worrying to suggest the trait is hidden in some way.Conservatives also use it to describe their critics - as illustrated by Rush Limbaugh's "Feminazis." I've been called a Nazi before, and in fairly polite conversation, too. The accusation did not hurt, since it was simply untrue and, besides, the epithet has lost most of its meaning through such frequent misuse.It hurt Buckley, though. It is easy to forget that today we are as close to Bill Clinton's first election as president as 1968 was to the end of World War II. At the time Buckley and Vidal clashed, the long dark shadow of National Socialism and Hitler's destruction of Europe and efforts to eliminate the Jews still fell across the Western world.Nearly everyone who was watching that night clearly understood what Nazism was. Hitler's co-conspirator in the division of Poland, totalitarianism, and extermination of political opponents, Josef Stalin, had been dead only 15 years. It was outrageous to put Buckley in a camp such as that.Buckley was a conservative. He understood the idea of obligation, had a deep understanding of history, and respected institutions like the military and organized religion as essential to social cohesion and national greatness.But like most conservatives then and now, he also embraced classically liberal ideas based on a belief that individual liberty should constitute the central organizing principle of societies. He had his differences with people like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman - the latter vigorously debated him on optional but incentivized national civic or philanthropic service - but Buckley was cut from similar cloth.The connection helps explain Buckley's explosion. The architects of the classical liberal revival that followed World War II - Friedman, Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Walter Lippmann, Albert Jay Nock, Karl Popper, Ludwig von Mises, among others - were influenced profoundly by their devastating personal experiences with totalitarianism in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were Jews who came to the United States and Britain with a deep suspicion of the state and desire to be free.The "Nazi" epithet often demonstrates a tremendous ignorance of the origins of the modern center-right in America. Probably more grating to Buckley personally was Vidal's simplistic assertion - often made today - that any critic of modern liberalism and socialism must be some kind of Nazi.Many of Buckley's writers and editors during the early years of National Review had themselves been leftists who opposed fascism and the extreme right in pre-War Europe. But they had come to realize that the Soviet Union and rising communist and socialist movements elsewhere were designed to strangle individual liberty in monstrous bureaucracy that bred conformity, suffocated initiative, smashed opposition, and generally squeezed the hope out of people. Nazis, fascists, and communists were all the same side of the coin. Indeed, just before his outburst Buckley had compared the Viet Cong and its allies to Nazis.The Buckley-Vidal feud continued after the televised debates and became quite toxic. In a back-and-forth on the pages of national magazines during 1969 and 1970, neither draped himself in glory. On that famous nightBuckley certainly contributed to the spitefulness that was to come, but Vidal, we should not forget, played his part just as venomously.
John Hood, is the former President and current Chairman of the John Locke Foundation.

RALEIGH Over the past five years, North Carolina has become a more attractive place to work, live, invest, and do business.The state tax burden is lower  by hundreds of millions of dollars a year  and restructured in a way that reduces the double-taxation of investment in new jobs, facilities, and enterprises. Primarily by allocating existing revenues more efficiently, the state has vastly increased its spending on high-value roads and bridges. And through a series of regulatory reform measures, policymakers have made it easier to start or expand private companies and comply with important health and safety rules at the lowest possible cost.There is promising evidence that these policy initiatives are beginning to bear fruit. Jobs and incomes are growing faster in North Carolina than in most other states. Indeed, over the most recent 12-month period, our state ranked 9th in the nation in the rate of employment growth and 10th in per-capita income growth.Still, we all know that North Carolina's economy has yet to fully recover from the Great Recession, and that outperforming a nation with one of the weakest economic recoveries in modern times is hardly grounds for braggadocio. There's a lot more work to do.Regarding the three main services under the purview of state government  public safety, education, and infrastructure  Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly should continue to reform, restructure, and renew. Spending on public safety is the most likely to result in higher levels of economic growth in the future, according to empirical research, but education and infrastructure expenditures can be growth-enhancing, too, if done wisely.On the revenue side of the public-sector equation, there are already additional tax cuts coming in North Carolina. Because the state has paid off its unemployment-insurance debt to the federal government, and built its trust fund back up above $1 billion, payroll taxes will automatically drop by hundreds of millions of dollars a year . The corporate tax is also scheduled to drop to a highly competitive 3 percent rate by 2017.I favor additional progress on tax reform, to be sure, including provisions such as capital-gains tax relief to further reduce the double-taxation of savings and investment. But I would urge policymakers to make additional progress on regulatory reform , as well. Unneeded or counterproductive regulations are indistinguishable from taxes in their effects on households, businesses, and economic activity. They may not show up in the annual accounting of state taxes and spending, but they are just as present  and just as significant, if not more so.Overregulation is particularly damaging to small businesses, which lack the scale to shoulder compliance costs that large firms possess. A recent report from the Pacific Research Institute ranked all 50 states according to the regulatory burdens they place on small business. North Carolina fared somewhat worse than the national average, ranking 31 overall. Our worst category was occupational licensing , where North Carolina ranked 43rd. We require far too many professionals to get permission from state regulators to do business, and the licensure requirements cost far too much. South Carolina, by comparison, got the highest rank in the country on occupational licensing.Another problem area is energy regulation, where North Carolina ranked 42nd. It's the only state in the Southeast that forces customers to purchase high-cost alternative energy such as wind and solar. We can also do better on paperwork burdens. North Carolina ranked 39th on the filing costs for opening a new business. Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida all fared better in this category.To embrace the need for more regulatory reform is not to reject the value of state regulation altogether. Government has a clear role to play in protecting the "commons"  the air and water resources we all use. Government should also combat fraud, which requires a combination of regulatory and judicial institutions.North Carolina is headed in the right direction. To keep the momentum going, let's do more to reduce the indirect but costly taxes that are embedded in overregulation.
RALEIGH - This year, the Los Angeles Unified School District implemented a new "restorative justice" discipline policy that, according to an article published in the Los Angeles Times, "seeks to resolve conflicts through talking circles and other methods to build trust."Yes, you read that correctly - talking circles.On one hand, the policy has succeeded in slashing the number of students receiving suspensions. On the other hand, teachers are finding that the new methods of addressing student misbehavior, which received the support of the United Teachers Los Angeles teachers union and liberal activists, have created an inhospitable environment.First, it is important to understand why school districts are trying to cut down on the number of student suspensions.Last year, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education jointly published a " dear colleague letter " to address the nondiscriminatory administration of school discipline.The stated goal was to "ensure that their discipline policies and practices complied with applicable constitutional requirements and Federal laws, including civil rights statutes and regulations." But the letter was actually a shot across the bow for school districts, that is, a way to prepare them for more stringent federal regulations and closer monitoring of school district policies and practices.While Washington politicians and bureaucrats seek to impose their will, some suggest that the federal government does not have much of a legal case for doing so.The issue of student discipline received renewed local and national attention in August when the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Study of Race and Equity in Education released a study that identified a disproportionate number of minority student suspensions in Southern states. According to researchers Edward Smith and Shaun Harper, 26 percent of the students in North Carolina are black, but black students account for 51 percent of suspensions and 38 percent of expulsions. They cite "implicit bias and other racist forces" as one of the reasons for the disparity, reinforcing a commonly held belief that student discipline is an outgrowth of racism inherent in a teaching profession dominated by white women.I find several reasons to question the authors' conclusions. For example, Smith and Harper failed to examine the race of the teachers and administrators who initiated the suspensions and expulsions of African-American students.In fact, North Carolina charter schools and school districts that have a majority of black teachers on staff also discipline African-American students at what the authors classify as "disproportionate" rates. This suggests that their charge of "implicit bias and other racist forces" is a deeply flawed explanation for this phenomenon.More importantly, all school districts maintain colorblind behavioral and disciplinary standards, as sensibly required by federal law and common decency. Yet, the authors implicitly blame teachers and school-based administrators for so-called "disproportionate discipline." It would be news to teachers and administrators, however, that their underlying prejudice motivates their decisions to punish students who violate their codes of conduct.In my experience, teachers and administrators simply want to maintain an orderly classroom environment. Suspensions (and the threat of suspensions) are one of many tools used to achieve that goal. LAUSD officials, taking a cue from the Obama administration and liberal activists, have removed those options. The results have been predictable. By all accounts , the new discipline policies are taking an emotional toll on the district's teachers. Even worse, it is likely impeding the learning process for well-behaved students. Those who support the restorative justice policies blame inadequate training and uneven implementation for problems encountered by teachers and administrators.The solution to creating racially equitable discipline is not clear. The process of maintaining a disciplinary record that mirrors racial demographics would either require schools to discipline African-American children less, punish students from other racial groups more, or simply abolish traditional methods of disciplining students.In those cases, the emphasis is misplaced. Correcting behavior that impedes the educational process, not fidelity to demographics, should be the focus of student discipline.In the end, I suspect that LAUSD is the first of many urban school districts to exercise "affirmative inaction," the refusal to punish a misbehaving student because of his or her race.(Note: Thus far there has been no mention of parents and their responsibilities. Certainly the failure of some parents to instill and reinforce respect for others is a serious problem - one best addressed by strengthening social institutions, not government.)
Press Release:

AEDs now deployed

SBC Workshops

Kudos to Keith!

Study Abroad Silent Auction

Tar River Swing Band at Turnage Theatre

BLET Pre-Orientation

Give a High Five

Holiday Decorating Contest

Staff Association Thanksgiving Drawing

Staff Association Christmas Project

Continuing Education Gift Certificates

Personal and Personnel Notes

Our thougts and prayers are with Avis Wainwright upon the loss of her husband.

In the coming weeks, watch for the following:

Thanksgiving Break BCANS Blood Drive, noon, Bldg 12 Tech Tuesday Workshop, noon, Library Computer Lab, Building 5 Media Literacy: Thinking Critically in the Digital Age, noon, LEC Gamma Beta Phi Meeting, 12:30 p.m., Bldg 12, Room 1217 Study Abroad Silent Auction, Building 9 Student Lounge SGA Christmas Social, noon, Building 10 Multi-Purpose Room Associate Degree Nursing/Practical Nursing Diploma Information Session, 1 p.m., Bldg 12, Room 1217 How to Survive Finals, noon, Building 1, Room 119 STAR Appreciation Day, Time and Location TBA BCCC's Best Recognition Ceremony: Involved, noon, Student Lounge Brown-Bag Lunch: Eating Around the Holidays, noon, Building 4, Room 102 Critical Incident Refresher, 9 a.m., Building 8 Auditorium Employee Christmas Luncheon, noon, Building 10 MPR
African, African-American and Diaspora 202: West Africa through Visual Art, Literature, and Film

American Studies 59: Yoga in Modern America: History, Belief, Commerce

Drama 470: Survey of Costume History

History 125: The Social History of Popular Music in 20th-Century America

Music 56: Early-Modern Court Spectacle

African, African-American and Diaspora 50: Defining Blackness

Anthropology 51: Environmentalism and American Society

Communications 53: First-Year Seminar: Collective Leadership Models for Community Change

Religion 246: Supernatural Encounters: Zombies, Vampires, Demons, and the Occult in the Americas

Sociology 51: Emotion and Social Life

Women's Studies 410: Comparative Queer Politics

Young journalists need to have a solid grounding in economics and American history. That's one of the reasons why journalism is such a tricky major: Students often don't learn what they need to know. You won't hear a lot of professional journalists who hire young people complaining about how their cub reporters are over-informed about economics and history. It's exactly the opposite.

Doesn't our epidemic dumbing-down have undeniable advantages for those institutions (the media, the advertising industry, the government) whose interests are better served by a population not trained to read too closely or ask too many questions?

During the "Budget Battle of 1995-1996," which caused a shutdown of much of the federal government for 27 days, I was a freelance reporter for New Jersey's second biggest newspaper.As a freelancer, I had no assigned desk but moved around the bureau to any available open terminal. One day, at the very height of the tension, I was working next to one of the paper's rising stars who would soon be elevated from reporter to assistant bureau chief. Befitting his status, he had been given the plum assignment of covering the federal budget story. I noticed him poring intensely over some papers. Suddenly, he exclaimed aloud in exasperation,I looked up from my keyboard, surprised at such ignorance of basic economics by somebody so highly regarded in the newsroom. I explained that he had mistaken the debt for the deficit, that the debt is a cumulative amount whereas the deficit is the annual difference between revenues and expenditures. Once the light bulb appeared over his head, we went back to writing our respective articles  his on the most important national story of the day, mine (most likely) on some insignificant local matter.One more detail: he was a graduate of the prestigious (currently ranked #18 by College Factual) journalism program at Rutgers, New Jersey's flagship university.Since then, I have frequently been alarmed  and occasionally amused  by the lack of understanding exhibited by professional journalists of, not just economics, but of fundamental history and political theory as well.Which makes the recent decision by UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Media and Journalism to eliminate requirements that journalism majors take certain basic courses in economics, U.S. government, and American History since 1865 seem troubling.Prior to this decision, the UNC J-School had requirements that all journalism majors take four specific courses. They were ECON 101, which introduces students to the basic concepts of both micro- and macro-economics, HIST 128, which surveys U.S. history from 1865 to the present, and two political science courses: POLI 100, a survey course that introduces students to concepts related to the U.S. government, and POLI 101, which does the same on a state and federal level.These four courses also fulfilled the university-wide general education requirements in the social sciences  one course deemed "historical analysis" and two others deemed "social sciences."Students must still meet a J-School political science requirement, although they can now choose one among five political science courses instead of the two specific courses. One problem is that the fundamental course on the U.S. government, POLI 100, is not one of the five. Also cause for concern is the inclusion of POLI 203: Race, Innocence, and the Death Penalty, among the five choices: it not only focuses on an excessively narrow topic but may be susceptible to politicization.The fact that journalism majors now only need to meet the university's general education requirements instead of taking ECON 101 and HIST 128 may be much worse.J-School dean Susan King told the Pope CenterBut that appears to be mere word play, smoke and mirrors. The specific requirements for journalism majors to take ECON 101 and HIST 128 are no more  whether one calls it eliminating requirements or offering choice, it amounts to the same thing. And there is a serious problem with the general education program "choices" that replace those two very important courses.The problem is that Chapel Hill's general education program has so much "choice" that it is meaningless. There are a total of 533 courses listed in the College Bulletin that satisfy the historical analysis requirement and another 533 that satisfy the social sciences requirements.That means that HIST 128  certainly a crucial body of knowledge for anyone working in U.S. journalism to master  can be replaced by such non-essential fare as:Economics 101 could be replaced with any of the following social science courses:While some of the above examples may seem extreme, there are almost no courses that come close to HIST 128 and ECON 101 in importance for journalists; they were longstanding requirements for good reasons.That opinion is hardly mine alone. John Miller, who is the Director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College and a national correspondent for National Review, said the following when told of UNC-Chapel Hill's decision:Rick Henderson, the editor of the Carolina Journal who has worked at many publications, including Investor's Business Daily, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and the Rocky Mountain News, told the Pope Center that the move by Chapel Hill was "terrible." He expressed an opinion similar to Miller's:The comments stand in stark contrast to those made by the UNC J-School leadership. Charlie Tuggle, a senior associate dean for undergraduate studies who served on the curriculum committee that made the changes, told The Daily Tar Heel , the official student newspaper, that,That comment is cause for reflection: one is tempted to ask how far removed from the real world academics are. Even some journalism students struggled to understand why such valuable courses are no longer required.said James Martin, a senior from Washington, North Carolina. He said that the economics courseMartin's comments and those of other students the Pope Center spoke to bring into question Tuggle's comments in The Daily Tar Heel that students found theThat article also quoted from one student who said,But popularity and easiness are hardly true measures of a course's value: pre-med majors may not like organic chemistry  a notoriously difficult subject  but they must master it to move forward as scientists. Some students who are initially against taking challenging courses such as ECON 101 are savvy enough to grasp the importance in retrospect. Victoria Karagiorgis, a senior journalism major from Winston-Salem, told the Pope Center that she found ECON 101 "aggravating" and saidShe said that when she was taking the course, she wondered,But afterward, Karagiorgis said she was glad she took it.She said she heard a lot of "griping" about the course from her fellow journalism majors, but added,The value of economics and history courses goes beyond specific knowledge. In J-School, one learns skills and techniques, not facts, ideas, and [some] reasoning. Ideas and facts they must get elsewhere. Those facts and ideas are needed to form the most important part of a journalist's toolkit: perspective; it is a journalist's job to relate events and trends to the rest of society. That does not mean they should report with biased opinions, but that they must know there is often more to the picture than at first glance.After all, if journalists are ignorant of very basic economics, how can they write about a major macro-economic topic such as government spending? In the case of my New Jersey colleague, the answer is "poorly." Instead of presenting a balanced view that included how continually increasing government debt eventually destroys an economy, as we have seen recently in Greece, he blathered on about how it was necessary to pass a budget immediately because government workers were suffering without their paychecks.Because of the need for perspective, most of the people who rose to the top of the journalism world in the last half-century have not had journalism degrees but studied other pertinent subjects. For instance, Anderson Cooper earned a Political Science degree, Bob Woodward studied History and English Literature, and Charles Krauthammer majored in politics and economics as an undergraduate (and later became an M.D.).This not to say there is no value in a journalism degree. As somebody who occasionally edits student writers (and recent graduates), I always appreciate when they have had some formal journalism training, either in a degree program or as reporters for a student paper. Such writers know how to employ the proper structure, they understand that the story must be told using facts, not opinions, and their writing is not cluttered with excessive rhetorical flights of fancy or derogatory ad hominem attacks.But there is often something missing, too. Much of that comes from the lack of an informed perspective that drives the curiosity to seek more than the facts as they appear on the surface. Too often I read articles in which the journalist accepts, without reservation, statements by public figures that do not pass the initial "smell test" and beg for hard-edged follow-up questions.To me, the move to eliminate a greater understanding of economics and history, plus the enhanced power of reasoning induced by the study of such topics, is unfathomable. Is the decision based on an astonishing lack of awareness, as suggested by Tuggle's comment that nobody on the curriculum committee could figure out why those courses were needed? Or is it due to cynical pandering to students who complain about challenging requirements that force them to expand their horizons?Even worse, has the J-School become so politicized that ignorance of important topics is an actual goal? I am reminded of a quotation from a classic article on high school reading,by Francine Prose, a writer and literary critic for the New York Times:If the people who are supposed to keep us aware are unaware themselves, how can we know how to stand up for ourselves?
Tillis: Omnibus Bill Reaffirms Commitment To Servicemembers And Veterans

News Release:



The Omnibus Appropriations Bill Will Increase Defense and Veterans Funding; Includes Key Military, Veterans, and Small Business Initiatives Supported By Senator Tillis



WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, Senator Thom Tillis voted in support of the omnibus appropriations bill, which, in addition to keeping the federal government running, also boosts defense discretionary funding, provides much-needed pay raises for military personnel, increases funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs by more than 10 percent, cuts $600 billion in taxes for hardworking Americans and small business owners, delays ObamaCare's tax on high quality health insurance and medical device tax for two years, and lifts the 40-year oil export ban.



The omnibus appropriations bill also includes several provisions that were originally introduced or supported by Senator Tillis, including:



The halting of the Army's plan to transfer 24 AH-64 Apache helicopters from the North Carolina National Guard in Raleigh to the regular Army. Earlier this year, Senator Tillis urged Senate appropriators to stop the movement of the Apache helicopters based in Raleigh. The successful inclusion of this provision will help save 400 North Carolina jobs, and most importantly, it stops a plan that would have undermined the combat prowess of the Army Guard, America's first line of defense.



The inclusion of the Wounded Warrior Employment Improvement Act of 2015, which was originally introduced as a standalone bill by Senators Tillis and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) earlier this year. This bipartisan initiative will require the VA Secretary to develop and publish an action plan for improving the training and rehabilitation provided by the VA for veterans with service-connected disabilities.



Funding for the construction of an air traffic control tower at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Last month, the U.S. Air Force announced a preliminary decision to establish a new KC-46A Pegasus Air Refueling Squadron at Goldsboro's Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. The control tower will provide the needed safety for the squadron of tankers, which are expected at Seymour Johnson by 2019.



The partial repeal of mandatory Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL), a mandate that led the World Trade Organization to recently grant Canada and Mexico the authority to seek $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs against the United States, which would have a damaging impact on North Carolina farmers and a wide range of economic industries across the nation.



Key reforms to the H-2B visa program, assisting North Carolina small business owners who depend on the program. This past year, small business owners across the country experienced revenue loss and threats of shutting their doors because they were not able to hire enough works to meet demands. To address this problem, earlier this year, Senators Tillis and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) proposed several reforms to the H-2B temporary worker program to eliminate ambiguities and establish clear parameters for employers hiring H-2B workers, require increased coordination between federal agencies, and bring transparency to the program operations for greater efficiency while ensuring American workers are not displaced.



"While this legislation spends too much and is far from perfect, I ultimately supported it because it was a bipartisan reaffirmation of our nation's commitment to bolstering America's national defense and supporting our brave servicemembers and veterans," said Senator Tillis. "This appropriations bill is especially beneficial to North Carolina's military community, as it stops the planned removal of Apache Helicopters from the North Carolina National Guard in Raleigh and improves safety by constructing an air traffic control tower at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base."


Average teacher pay statistics are misleading

Teacher experience in North Carolina, 2009-2015 School Year 0-3 years 4-10 years 10+ years 2014-15 23% 26% 52% 2013-14 22 25 53 2012-13 18 28 55 2011-12 15 30 55 2010-11 15 30 55 2009-10 13 27 60 2008-09 16 28 56 2007-08 16 26 58 Source: NC Department of Public Instruction, School Report Cards;

Percentages may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.

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In March, the National Education Association (NEA) released their latest Rankings and Estimates report . Last school year, North Carolina's average teacher salary ranked 42nd in the nation and trailed 41st-ranked Louisiana by just over $100. The new edition of the report should be released sometime early next year.According to the NEA report, North Carolina's ranking had dropped from 43rd in 2012-13 (revised) to 47th in 2013-14 (revised). The 2014-15 rebound reflected, in part, legislators' decision to approve an average 7 percent salary increase for classroom teachers. In fact, between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage increase in North Carolina teacher salaries was the largest in the nation.But what is even more remarkable is that the average increased despite the fact that North Carolina's teacher workforce is less experienced than it has been in recent years.The two major components of teacher salaries are credentials and years of experience. Teachers who obtain certain credentials, such as National Board Certification, receive higher annual salaries than those without. Additionally, the more experienced the teacher, the higher their pay. All school districts and states use some version of the credential- and experience-based model, even though researchers agree that it is not a sensible way to keep excellent teachers in the classroom. We'll get to that point later.Because teachers receive pay commensurate with their experience, states that have more experienced teacher workforces will necessarily have higher average salaries than those that skew younger. Basic mathematics says so. The average of a series of relatively high numbers is larger than the average of a series of relatively low numbers.Last year, early career teachers made up 23 percent of North Carolina's teacher workforce, an 8 percentage-point increase from just four year before. Similarly, the percentage of teachers who have more than ten years of experience is at its lowest point in the last eight years. The percentage of teachers in the middle, those with between 4 and 10 years of experience, is back to 2007-2008 levels.Not only do teachers in the 0-3 year bracket receive lower pay because of their inexperience, they likely do not receive a supplement for advanced degrees or certifications. Admission to the National Board Certification program, for example, requires teachers to have completed three full years of teaching. In addition, many of these teachers did not begin their careers until after the NC General Assembly eliminated supplemental pay for advanced degrees. Otherwise, their supplement would have been guaranteed for the duration of their teaching careers.Is it a bad thing that North Carolina has a less experienced teacher workforce? Herein lies the problem with the way we pay teachers. We assume that the more experienced or credentialed teachers are better teachers and therefore deserve higher salaries. In some cases, this is true. In other cases, it is not. The problem with the credential- and experience-based model is that it does not differentiate one from the other. As University of Washington professor Jacob Vigdor pointed out in a superb Education Next article , "the available evidence suggests that the connection between credentials and teaching effectiveness is very weak at best, and the connection between additional years of experience and teaching effectiveness, while substantial in the first few years in the classroom, attenuates over time." In sum, one should not assume that experience or credentials are indicative of effectiveness.Finally, partisans will argue that Republican education policies are to blame for the "greening" of our teacher workforce. It is possible but unlikely. A more plausible hypothesis is that, as student enrollment continues to grow, public schools are forced to hire teachers from states that have a surplus of teachers, particularly those qualified to teach math, science, and in special education settings. Many of these new hires are recent college graduates or relatively new to the profession. National Education Association National Education Association,March 2015, p. vii.
Brody School of Medicine first-year student Jasmine Bryant speaks with supervising physician Dr. Robert Shaw at a student-run clinic at the Pitt County Health Department. With the help of volunteer medical students, pharmacy residents, physician assistant students, dental students and pre-health undergraduate students, the clinic sees an average of eight to 12 patients during every three-hour session. Most people come to the shelter clinic with common health issues such as hypertension and diabetes, but their ailments have progressed because they lack access to regular care. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)



Brandon Winfrey and Talia Horwitz, both second-year students at ECU's Brody School of Medicine, lead a group of their peers in serving the Pitt County Care Clinic -one of two clinics in the area where students regularly work with the under-served.

(Photo by Cliff Hollis)

Walk into the Pitt County Care Clinic on any given Sunday afternoon and you will see a group of enthusiastic yet nervous medical students huddled together, chatting to ease their nerves. Each of them is ready to experience their first dose of patient interaction.Dressed professionally and ready to act the part of doctor, anyone can sense their desire to help people who have nowhere else to turn for their medical care. Meanwhile, the experience is preparing them to practice the clinical skills necessary for their careers.This has been a weekly scene for more than 25 years as students at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine have dedicated their time and volunteered their ever-growing knowledge at two student-run clinics to help the underserved and uninsured populations in Pitt County: the Greenville Community Shelter Clinic and the Pitt County Care Clinic.The Greenville Community Shelter Clinic, founded in 1989, was the first student-run clinic opened in Pitt County. Located at the Crossroads Community Center, the clinic focuses on offering medical care to the homeless. Under the supervision of volunteer faculty, first- and second-year students assist an attending physician by obtaining each patient's medical history, taking their vital signs and learning their chief medical complaint.Students gain real world experience in treating patients because the attending physicians allow them to participate in the diagnosis process as well as the development of a treatment plan for each patient.said Zachary Williams, second-year medical student and student co-director at the shelter.With the help of volunteer medical students, pharmacy residents, physician assistant students, dental students and pre-health undergraduate students, the clinic sees an average of eight to 12 patients during every three-hour session. Most people come to the shelter clinic with common health issues such as hypertension and diabetes, but their ailments have progressed because they lack access to regular care.said Bob Williams, executive director of Crossroads Community Center.Over the years, the students have expanded the services of the clinic by adding a Women's and Pediatric Clinic. In addition to free medical care, the clinic provides patients who live at the shelter access to an onsite pharmacy stocked with medicine donated by local pharmacies. Shelter residents who visit the clinic also receive one free visit annually at the ECU Family Medicine Center.The Shelter Clinic is open to the public every Monday from 6:30-9:30 p.m. for general care and every other Thursday for women and pediatric patients.A second student-operated clinic - the Pitt County Care Clinic - opened in 1998. Formerly known as the Grimesland Clinic, the site has served more than 2,300 individual patients, with 80 percent of them of Hispanic ethnicity.In this weekly operation, which relocated to the Pitt County Health Department in July 2015, first and second-year medical students experience clinical situations in which patients speak another language and may have different cultural practices.Brandon Winfrey, a second-year medical student and student co-director of the clinic, appreciates the ability to work with a culturally different population.said Dr. Harry Adams, director of clinical education in the M1 and M2 years at Brody and volunteer physician at the Pitt County Care Clinic.Like those serving at the shelter, students serving at the Pitt clinic assist attending physicians by obtaining medical histories, taking vital signs and learning the complaints of each patient. Then students observe how the attending physician physically assesses the patient and determines a course of treatment.said Talia Horwitz, a second-year medical student and student co-director of the Pitt County Care Clinic.The most common health concerns patients present here are diabetes, high blood pressure, and viral and bacterial infections. Most medications are provided to patients free of charge - or at minimal cost - through an onsite pharmacy.Horwitz said.The Pitt clinic also benefits from the volunteer participation of physician assistant students, pre-health undergraduates and nurses, so students get a taste of delivering health care as part of an interprofessional team. They collaborate annually with students from the ECU School of Dental Medicine to hold a dental clinic that provides free dental care.The Pitt County Care clinic is open to patients of all ages and genders every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.Both clinics allow first and second-year medical students to get out of the classroom and see what is to come over the next several years in their education, and eventually in their careers.said Horwitz.said Dr. Adams.While gaining clinical experience is helpful for these future health care providers, the clinics provide much more than a blueprint of how to treat a patient. They also remind students that they have a responsibility to use their education to make a difference in the lives of people who need it the most.said Zachary Williams.
RALEIGH - History tells us that we are overdue for an economic recession.Now, History with a capital "H" is not our infallible overlord. Its insights can be imprecise and confusing. Nevertheless, while there is much debate about what causes the business cycle, few deny its continued existence. The economy waxes. The economy wanes. And it does the latter - slip into recession, I mean - every five years or so , on average, since World War II.The Great Recession technically began in late 2007 and ended in the summer of 2009. So here we are, at the close of 2015, having experienced a longer-than-average recovery from the country's last downturn. The current recovery has been extraordinarily weak by historical standards, actually, which may help to explain why we haven't slipped back into recession yet. Indeed, in some communities it feels like the Great Recession never ended.Still, sooner rather than later, it is probable that America's already anemic growth rate will slow to zero, or turn negative. The economic, fiscal, and political consequences will be significant, here in North Carolina and around the country.In Washington, President Obama and the Congress have obviously done little to prepare for the shock. The federal government has run cash deficits of about 3 percent of GDP for each of the past two fiscal years, rather than paying down the debts accrued during the massive budget deficits of 2009 (9.8 percent of GDP), 2010 (8.7 percent), 2011 (8.5 percent), 2012 (6.8 percent), and 2013 (4.1 percent). The total federal debt held by the public is currently estimated at 75 percent of annual GDP, a level exceeded in American history only during the wartime years of the mid-1940s.Most states aren't permitted to run operating deficits, thank goodness. And some have gone beyond just balancing their annual budgets to prepare for the next fiscal storm, by paying down existing debts and building up their savings accounts.North Carolina has done both. State government has paid off a multi-billion-dollar debt to the federal government for unemployment insurance and reduced its total long-term debt - including state bonds and other obligations - from $7.5 billion in FY 2012-13 to $6.9 billion in FY 2014-15. As for cash, the state's main savings account contains $1.1 billion. There is also a $186 million Medicaid reserve plus a current surplus of General Fund revenue over spending of $572 million (including cash rolled over from last year).Depending on how you measure it, in other words, state government has ready reserves equal to between 6 percent to 8 percent of its total annual budget. Many local governments across North Carolina have also paid off debts and built up reserves to the target minimum of 8 percent or above.If even a mild recession were to develop during the coming year, businesses would lose sales and workers would lose jobs. Government revenues would fall short of projections and government expenditures would shoot up for such programs as Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and college subsidies. The nation's leaders would look even more feckless than they do now. The nation's voters, already frustrated by misgovernment in Washington, would erupt in fury.North Carolina would weather that storm better than most states, perhaps, but it would be a storm nonetheless. As I have argued many times, it is impossible to wall off the state's economy from the national one. Federal fiscal and monetary policies predominate. International trends are increasingly decisive. If the national economy went south, North Carolina's jobless rate would soar, as well. Our income growth, although currently tops in the Southeast , would stop cold. Our electorate would also go from seething to furious. The electoral results could be just as dramatic.I have no idea whether such a scenario will come to pass in 2016. But it certainly could, and history suggests it may even be better than a 50-50 proposition. This is one reason why I don't have a confident prediction about who will win the 2016 elections for president, governor, Congress, and other offices. A recession could change everything.
Tom Campbell

In recollecting 2015, I remember legendary CBS Newsman Walter Cronkite, who closed each evening's newscast by saying, "And that's the way it is..,".Two weeks into the year the UNC Board of Governors shocked us, and many of their own board, by ineptly firing President Tom Ross. Dissension within the 32-member board resulted in controversy and a mutiny against chair John Fennebresque immediately after naming new president Margaret Spellings, who takes the reigns amidst distrust and unrest.The academic scandal at UNC Chapel Hill continues, with no ending in sight.The legislature convened January 28th, naming Tim Moore the new House Speaker, perhaps the most harmonious day of a session that didn't adjourn until September 30th. The animus between the House, Senate and Governor was palpable at times. Their most notable action didn't receive much press, the further cut of personal and corporate income tax rates and the intentional shift of our tax policy from a system dependent on income taxes to sales taxes. Legislators stockpiled almost one billion in savings and reserves. Grudgingly, the Assembly restored some of the historic preservation and film tax credits they had cut and gave economic developers more incentive dollars to lure industry into our state.Wanting North Carolina to be a player in the presidential beauty pageant and, in an attempt to save the costs of multiple primaries, lawmakers chose March 15th of 2016 for all primary elections. This frantic and abbreviated filing season that began December 1 and just ended this week was essentially an incumbent re-election plan, since challengers had little time to put together campaigns and raise money.More than 20 veteran legislators chose not to run for re-election. Almost one-third will run unopposed, demonstrating our broken system for redistricting that takes choices away from voters.Governor McCrory strong-armed lawmakers into putting a public infrastructure bond campaign on the ballot in March, even as legislators refused to include a transportation bond referendum. Supporters are struggling to get organized, raise money and stage an effective education message by the Ides of March.A compromise Medicaid Reform bill passed but the final result satisfied few. DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos resigned; as usual the department received incoming salvos (some deserved) from most all directions.The courts once again demonstrated an increased voice in public policy and we end the year awaiting verdicts on Voter ID, separation of powers and other substantive cases. We saw ethics charges over prison contracts, employment contracts and improper expenditures by elected officials.The State's economy continued its slow recovery. We had a strange weather year, the result of El Nino, but were blessed to avoid hurricanes.In education, test scores, textbooks, vouchers and teacher pay were widely discussed, even as starting teacher pay was increased. The commission formed to revamp Common Core punted on trying to recommend changes on math curriculum. Individual student and school grades were disappointing; those scoring the worst had the highest concentration of low-income students. We witnessed more of the intent to move children from public to charter or private schools.2015 was a year of disagreement, disillusionment and distrust. We were not a happy people and come to year's end wanting peace and rest. To paraphrase Walter Conkite, that's the way it is in 2015.
Legislation needed to make sure set-price medical plans not regulated as insurance

RALEIGH - A growing health care alternative in North Carolina that shuns insurance for services provided by physicians at a set price could be incorporated into the state's insurance program for government employees, along with Medicaid - the federal/state health insurance plan for the poor, aged, and disabled.Dr. Brian Forrest, who in 2002 made his Apex medical practice a pioneer for direct primary care in the United States, said state legislation is needed before direct primary care could be expanded to include state employees or Medicaid patients. He warned that laws would have to be drafted carefully to prevent unintended consequences that could be devastating to this emerging alternative to insurance-led systems."We are starting to get some folks interested in doing this in partnership with things like the State Health Plan, and Medicaid," Forrest said. Direct primary care physicians operate in 46 states, and provide a defined set of high-level primary care and prevention services; the median fee per patient is $70 monthly.If government insurance plans were interested in adding direct primary care as an option for members or patients, Forrest said, the General Assembly probably would have to pass legislation requesting a waiver from federal authorities, Forrest said.He said legislation could be necessary "in the next year or so. We'll be all over it, making sure we get the best bill we can."Until then, "It's perfectly legal to practice the way that 15 of 16 practices are operating now" in North Carolina, Forrest said. "We've enjoyed 14 years regulation-free, and it's gone really great."In some states, insurance department officials have classified direct primary care as insurance rather than a medical practice.They say direct primary care's concept of offering services at set prices (in some cases, with no limit on the number of office visits) requires physicians to assume risk, making it insurance; at that point, the states regulate the practice under their insurance codes.Jay Keese, executive director of the national Direct Primary Care Coalition, said 13 states have avoided those regulations by passing bills stating explicitly that direct primary care is not insurance. He recommends other states follow suit, even if their current insurance commissioners are sympathetic to the model."We don't think the take-it-to-the-bank approach is very good," Keese said, because a subsequent commissioner may interpret the situation differently."I have not heard any discussions about this in the General Assembly," said state Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth. He is chairman of both the House Health Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and NC Health Choice."We're not aware of any legislative attempts along these lines," said Kerry Hall, spokeswoman at the state Department of Insurance.Hall said Commissioner Wayne Goodwin "is always receptive to exploring any possible ideas that would benefit North Carolinians. The department would be glad to be at the table for discussions involving all the appropriate stakeholders."Lambeth expects direct primary care "certainly [to] play a role in the future of the health care delivery system," but would not dominate the industry."This is an easier and more efficient model that reduces cost," allowing the primary care doctor to pass savings to patients while avoiding insurance paperwork and delays in payments, Lambeth said. He explored it as an option while he was chief operating officer of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.Forrest said there are "lots of variations" in direct primary care, but offering unlimited services usually get the attention of insurance companies and regulators."You are basically assuming risk because you're saying that for a set fee every month you're seeing people as much as they need to be seen, do as many things as you need to do, in an unlimited fashion," he said.In North Carolina, 15 of 16 direct primary care practices charge a small office visit or other fees in addition to the monthly retainer, avoiding the unlimited service trigger. The Attorney General's Office reviewed and approved that model as differing from insurance, Forrest said.He and Keese "have worked on a lot of this legislation in other states," Forrest said.He agrees that a law declaring direct primary care a medical service potentially could allow the concept to expand in North Carolina. But poorly enacted legislation could damage the industry."The down side is that there have been states where the legislation has actually been bad," Forrest said. "The wrong people got involved, you had too many special interests that tried to tag on, and next thing you know it actually made it harder."He said direct primary care in West Virginia is now under the control of the insurance department instead of the state medical board because legislation went awry.Direct primary care practices are "not allowed to advertise or anything else. So you've kind of got more government regulation and intrusion in states where it was done poorly," Forrest said.In North Carolina, Forrest said, direct primary care physicians are not required to provide extensive details of their practices' activities to state regulators. "In some of the states that have passed legislation, you have to submit an annual report either to the department of insurance or the department of commerce."While some insurers initially felt threatened, and opposed direct primary care in North Carolina, they have backed off, Forrest said, because "it actually saves them money."For example, he said, his Apex office has about 2,000 state employees as patients."Of those 2,000 state employees who have Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance, Blue Cross and Blue Shield hasn't gotten a bill in 12 years. They're saving 100 percent," adding that data shows direct primary care patients stay healthier and are more likely to avoid emergency room visits and hospital stays, Forrest said.Some of "the more forward-thinking" insurance companies are starting to explore plans to include direct primary care, and pay their patients' monthly fees, Forrest said. One will launch this month.Though Forrest said it was premature for him to discuss this specific plan in detail, he said the fixed-premium plan would allow participants to avoid Obamacare's penalty for not purchasing insurance.
RALEIGH In recent years, advocates on the left and right have advanced reforms designed to improve low-performing public schools in North Carolina. Their proposals represent two fundamentally different visions of the role of government.On one side, liberals argue that the state, with help from the courts, should reconstitute school districts, boost resources, and ensure schools are racially and socio-economically diverse. On the other side, conservatives believe that legislative efforts to strengthen accountability, increase educational options, and enhance local control are more promising than throwing more money and mandates at the problem.The recent history of the state's most beleaguered public school district, the Halifax County Schools, suggests that liberal approaches have failed to provide the education that families deserve.In 2009, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, who monitors student performance in low-income districts as part of the Leandro court case, declared that the Halifax County Schools were committing "academic genocide" by failing to provide students a "sound basic education" as guaranteed by the state constitution. Moreover, Manning threatened to subject Halifax schools to state control.But the court did not order the state to initiate a takeover. Instead, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction intensified its turnaround efforts, directing additional resources and support to teachers, administrators, and staff.Despite the ongoing assistance, little progress had been made. Six years after Manning's warning, academic achievement continues to flounder.Just over one-third of the district's third-graders read at grade level, compared to a statewide average of 60 percent. Only one in five Halifax eighth-graders are proficient in reading, while over half of North Carolina students meet this mark.The abysmal performance of students, coupled with the appalling behavior of some school district leaders, prompted the State Board of Education to intervene in the budgetary and personnel affairs of the Halifax County Schools.Some believe that the courts and/or the state should go even further. Attorneys from the UNC Center for Civil Rights recently asked the courts to force the Halifax County Board of Commissioners to merge Halifax County Schools with the other two school districts in the county, Roanoke City Schools and Weldon City Schools.The plaintiffs argue that merging the districts would produce academic benefits, operational efficiencies, racial balance, and a precedent for legal challenges to districts in other states. But there is little empirical evidence that merged districts produce the kinds of academic, budgetary, and demographic outcomes envisioned by UNC lawyers.On the other hand, advocacy groups claim that low-performing districts simply do not have resources necessary to boost student performance. Yet, the Halifax system has one of the highest per-student expenditures in the state. The district spent nearly $11,800 per student last year, which was $3,000 more than North Carolina's statewide student average. These expenditures have allowed the district to maintain lower-than-average class sizes and own more Internet-connected digital learning devices than students enrolled.Others say that school improvement is not possible until state and federal government programs alleviate poverty. But demographics are not destiny.Nearby Gaston College Preparatory, a charter school where nearly 75 percent of students qualify for the federal government's free- or reduced-price school lunch program, spends an estimated $2,000 per student less than Halifax County Schools but produces considerably higher test scores than most schools in the region.Indeed, the success of Gaston Prep suggests that expanding school choice is one way to improve the quality of schooling for students in Halifax County. At minimum, the district should collaborate with successful charter schools and adopt policies and practices that have been successful in those schools. Allowing an "achievement school district" to coordinate one or more school improvement initiatives is another idea well worth exploring.
An old dilemma is growing more vexing as cybercriminals get better at impersonating customers to loot their accounts and as regulators increasingly push banks to adopt multifactor authentication.

The stronger security features designed to keep fraudsters out  passcode key fobs, for instance, and so-called challenge questions (What was the name of your best friend in elementary school?)  can also block legitimate customers from accessing their own accounts. Many banks' mobile apps' listings in the app stores are littered with complaints from customers who had trouble logging in to their accounts. The same is true for desktop banking.

"What customers get frustrated with is if we lock them out of their online banking because they're using their cousin's computer on Christmas break, so they've logged in from a different state, on a different computer with a different IP address, and they can't remember what city their parents met in," said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank. "All they were trying to do was transfer money so they could cover some yearend expense. They get pretty crabby about that."

Insisting that customers provide a passcode from a multifactor token they may have lost, accidentally run through the washing machine or simply left at home won't go over well.

The challenge of toughening security without irritating customers is part of broader cultural changes in our society.

"In this new age of the digital world, customers are finding that lots of things they do are easy, like restaurant reservations, with no consequence from a liability or loss point of view," said Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO of the startup Zenbanx and founder of ING Direct. "So the expectation is I should be able to access, move and do things with my money as easily as making a restaurant reservation."

This puts a lot of pressure on banks. "If there are losses, the customer doesn't want to take responsibility or the loss," Kuhlmann said. But if banks tighten security, making access to money more difficult, then people are unhappy.

"You are between rock and a hard spot," he said.

The impetus for tighter security is growing stronger. In a November letter to all the national bank regulators, the New York State Department of Financial Services called for stronger cybersecurity requirements for banks, including the use of multifactor authentication for customers and employees.

Yet help from law enforcement agencies is not always forthcoming, Kuhlmann said. "When we talk to law enforcement about terrorists, we get attention. When we talk to them about fraudulent activity  they only have so many resources."

Meanwhile, malware and social engineering attacks grow ever more sophisticated and effective, sometimes drawing on personally identifiable data stolen in breaches and available on the black market. Security blogger Brian Krebs described in a recent post how a cybercriminal took over his PayPal account by getting his password reset through the company's call center. The lesson, he said, is that banks ought to at least make two-factor authentication available. (PayPal does offer mobile authentication  a code texted to the user's smartphone  but doesn't require or promote it.)

"It behooves any company doing business online to at least offer two-step or two-factor authentication," Krebs said. "They don't need to mandate it, but for those of us who would take advantage of that added account security, it's a huge plus."

Krebs also acknowledges the need for a balance between security and usability.

"It makes a lot of sense for those organizations to invest in the kinds of back-end technologies that can help minimize account takeovers," he said.

Many banks do. U.S. Bank, for example, does a lot of its security work in the background, to minimize the impact on customers. Like other banks, it applies algorithmic logic to check the device identity and location and the user's behavior patterns, among other things. The bank also offers voice authentication on Apple devices, as well as the ability to instantly lock down all a customer's accounts when a device is reported stolen.

Wells Fargo and USAA also use voice recognition in their apps and call centers to confirm customers' identities and detect bad actors.

"That strikes me as a tremendous benefit for companies, because the people involved in account takeovers are generally doing this on a large scale, and will very often call in to banks and try to assume the identity of multiple individuals," Krebs said. "Rarely are these one-off cases."

Apple made fingerprint recognition popular by including Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology on iPhones and making it part of Apple Pay. Apple device users tend to complain when a mobile banking app doesn't support TouchID  they have grasped the ease of use if not the security benefits. Citi, Chase and Bank of the West are among those using it to let customers log in to mobile banking with the press of a finger.

Many banks offer authentication through an SMS code sent to the user's phone. This form of out-of-band authentication can be gamed by malware, yet it's still stronger than a password.

Atom Bank, a digital "challenger bank" in the U.K., recently announced that it is using face and voice biometrics as credentials for customers logging in. (USAA and Zenbanx are among the U.S. companies that have adopted facial recognition.)

So there are options for forging that middle way between convenience and security. But getting the majority of core banking software providers to support them, banks to invest in them, and consumers to use them, will continue to be an uphill battle for some time.

Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com.
A federal judge is urging the parties of a closely watched pot-banking case to settle their dispute.

In a court hearing Monday in Denver, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson recommended that the defendant, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the plaintiff, Fourth Corner Credit Union in Denver, seek a compromise to the complex legal matter, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Fourth Corner, which the state of Colorado granted a charter in November 2014 for the purpose of serving marijuana retailers, applied to the Kansas City Fed for a so-called master account that would give it vital access to U.S. payments system. The application was denied after a nine-month wait, and the credit union then sued the regulator this summer to force it to issue an account. Fourth Corner also sued the National Credit Union Administration, which denied it access to deposit insurance.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form, including four that allow its recreational use, according to the website Governing. Pot is legal for medical and recreational use in Colorado.

But the U.S. still includes marijuana on its list of illegal drugs, and that is what concerns many financial services executives and some regulators even though federal guidelines were issued in 2014 that permit lenders to serve marijuana businesses if they obey strict rules on oversight and reporting.

The Kansas City Fed opposes letting banks and credit unions serve marijuana-related businesses. Pot-legalization laws like Colorado's "are preempted as in conflict with the federal prohibition," Kansas City Fed attorneys have written in court filings.

In the hearing, Judge Jackson expressed some sympathy with Fourth Corner's stance, describing the federal guidance on pot banking as "nothing-burgers" and "namby-pamby," according to the Times story. But the story said Jackson also expressed reluctance to force the Kansas City Fed to violate federal law.

"Would I be forcing them to give this to someone who will then engage in illegal activity?" he was quoted as asking.

Fourth Corner's chief executive, Deirdra O'Gorman, told American Banker she believes her institution should be granted access to the federal payments system by virtue of its state charter.

"All we are asking for is to be able to play by the same rules that other financial institutions are afforded," she said in an email the day after the hearing.

Kansas City Fed officials declined to comment.

Jackson said he would issue a written decision in the coming days, the Times story said.

Many on both sides of the issue have hoped that Congress would resolve the conflict between federal and state laws. But federal legislation to give marijuana businesses access to the banking system stalled in both the House and Senate, and Congress is not expected to act on the matter until after the 2016 elections.
U.S. Bancorp has tapped two executives to co-head its wholesale banking division as vice chairs.

The $410 billion-asset company named Leslie Godridge and Jim Kelligrew to the positions, effective Jan. 1, according to a Wednesday news release. They will succeed Richard Payne, who plans to retire this spring.

Godridge and Kelligrew also joined U.S. Bancorp's 15-person management committee. They will report to Andy Cecere, chief operating officer.

Godridge had led U.S. Bancorp's corporate and institutional banking unit since 2007, when she joined the company. She previously worked for Bank of New York Mellon and IBM. Kelligrew joined U.S. Bancorp in 2009 and was previously head of fixed income and capital markets. He has worked at Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Lehman Brothers.

In her new role, Godridge will supervise national corporate banking, global treasury management, public and nonprofit finance, and commercial customer service and wholesale support. Kelligrew will oversee middle-market banking, commercial real estate, specialized finance, administration and risk management, and fixed income and capital markets.

Payne had been vice chair of wholesale banking since 2010. He joined the company in 2006 as vice chair and head of corporate banking. Payne has also worked at National City, Wachovia, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Chemical Bank.
A cardinal maxim of political speech is, dont make comparisons to dogs and dont use the image of Adolf Hitler as a reference point. On December 31, 2015, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, was unwise enough to ignore this and to make another one of his questionable and absurd statements. Since his election as president, which he won with 51 per cent of the vote in August 2014, he, like some U.S. presidents, has wanted to rule as a strong executive. This condition, he insisted in December, can exist in a unitary state: There are already examples in the world. You can see it when you look at Hitlers Germany. This utterance, among other things, does not augur well for any Turkish friendship with the State of Israel.

Perhaps, as his spokesperson explained, Erdogan did not mean to glorify Hitler, but nevertheless earlier comments by the ambitious political leader are questionable, if not duplicitous. In a speech at Marmara University on October 13, 2014 Erdogan heralded past and future greatness. In denouncing Lawrence of Arabia as an English spy disguised as an Arab, Erdogan recalled the Ottoman Empire that was able to maintain this entire region in unity and harmony: Once again Turkey is the hope of the whole region.

He implied that the old borders of the empire, the territories lost after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which included the Gaza Strip and Arab countries, were in the hearts and minds of Turks. This may indicate future aggression in the area, but it certainly did not mean allowing Turkey to be divided so that Kurds in Turkey could form their own political entity.

It is not clear whether Erdogan, who wants to limit Turkish secularism, wants to assume the powers of the Islamic Caliphate in Turkey, as well as desiring to rule by executive decrees rather than sharing power with the legislature. In this regard, it is worth remembering that Turkey is not only a member of NATO but its only Muslim member. Erdogans political party, the Justice and Development party (AKP) which won the November 2015 election with 317 parliamentary seats and 49.5 per cent of the vote, does claim, though many would dispute it, to be not simply a Muslim party, but more a conservative and moderate religious one.

Even more potent is that, contrary to NATO requirements, Turkey has acted in undemocratic fashion, and has been an unhelpful if not unfaithful NATO ally. Memories are still vivid of violations of human rights in May and June 2013 that started with the antigovernment protests in Taksim Square in Istanbul. Thousands were arrested at the protests led by environmental activists against the proposed demolition of Gezi Park, a small park said to be the last public green space in the city, in the square, as part of a redevelopment plan that included a shopping mall, and a military barracks near the site.



Erdogan automatically called some of the protestors terrorists, and the police and military crushed dissent in Istanbul and throughout the country. Even Amnesty International condemned the use of excessive force as the Turkish police used brutal methods that included tear gas and pepper spray, in killing a number of people and injuring 8,000. Ironically, it is still unclear whether Erdogan wants to go ahead with the planned shopping mall.

Few would regard Turkey as a true ally of the United States, whether in Middle Eastern affairs or elsewhere. True, Turkey did provide the U.S. with the Incirlik airbase for attacking ISIS in Syria. But its international behavior has been troublesome.

In 2012, Turkey joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a group of six countries, as a dialogue partner, not a full member. Erdogan remarked that Turkey would give up its quest to join the European Union if it was given full membership in the SCO. Also, in September 2013 Turkey surprisingly choose a Chinese company for construction of a long-range air and antimissile defense system.

Erdodan has declared war not on ISIS, the main Islamist international terrorist threat, or on other Islamic terrorist groups, but rather on the Kurds in cities in the southeast of the country. Turkey has had close relations with Iran, Hizb'allah, and until recently, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It bought oil from ISIS, and allowed foreign jihadists, weapons, and funds to pass through its territory to ISIS.

It has collaborated with the al-Nusra front, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, and with other terrorist groups.

In contrast, Turkey has had a hostile attitude to Israel especially since the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010, when it withdrew its ambassador from Israel, though it is now talking, in somewhat schizophrenic manner, of normalizing relations with Israel.

The strongest Turkish attack has been on the Kurds, about half of whom in the Middle East live in Turkey. The main group calling for an independent state, the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.), which has declared autonomous regions, is fighting with rocket launchers to repel the Turkish onslaught against it. Yet, on January 1, 2016, nearly 300 Kurds, members of PKK, were killed in raids by the Turkish military in southeast Turkey.



About 100,000 Kurds have been displaced and businesses have suffered since the start of the Turkish military operation. Erdogan, using strong language, spoke of continuing the fight against the Kurds until the area has been completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established. In addition, he has launched a criminal investigation, alleging constitutional crimes, of the leaders of the pro-Kurdish political party, the HDP, a party that won 59 seats and got 10 per cent of the vote, in the election of November 2015.

Erdogan in recent weeks has suggested better relations with Israel. Yet his rhetoric is again questionable. For some years he has supported Hamas, allowed the Hamas alQassam Brigades to operate on Turkish territory. In September he met in Ankara, for undisclosed reasons, with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. On November 25, 2015 he expressed support for the Palestinian struggle including those brigades in the noble fight in defense of the al-Aqsa Mosque and holy places. Again, on December 2, 2015, the very day when he spoke of better relations with Israel, he also declared his support for the struggle of the Palestinian people against injustice, and the Israeli occupation.

One interesting facet of this animosity towards Israel is Erdogans insistence on a number of factors for normalizing relations with Israel. One was an apology by Israel for the attack on the ship the Mavi Marmara which, as part of a flotilla headed from Turkey and attempting to breach Israels blockade of the Gaza strip, was intercepted. Nine Turks were killed and many wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an apology.

The contrast is striking in the case of Turkey, whose F-16 fighter jet downed the Russian Su-24. Turkey has not apologized to Russia, and Erdogan explained that Turkey does not need to apologize for actions that are violations of its airspace, which in fact in this case was all of seventeen seconds. For his part, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu excused himself by saying he did not order the attack on the plane.

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded instantly and imposed sanctions, including cutting off Russian supply of natural gas, to Turkey. He also on December 3, 2015, has made the most amusing and devastating comment on Erdogan, It appears that Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by depriving them of wisdom and judgment.
Marco Rubio is running an ad where he states that his goal is eternity, the ability to live alongside his creator and the gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ. Rubio adds that he wants to cooperate with God's plan. He further states:

To those whom much has been given, much is expected. Whether your treasure is stored on Earth or in Heaven. I try to allow that to influence me in everything I do.

Basically, he is saying that people should vote for him because he is a devout Christian. His message, while not quite as hollow as Carly Fiorina's giant cross she was sporting at the last debate, was still missing something important.

People are looking to elect a president. But Rubio's ad sounds like he's running for a minister. There is a way for a person of faith to talk about it in a way that is relevant to voters. The way to do it is to talk about the intersection of faith and government power and individual rights and public policy. That isn't what Rubio did.

Here's a better way of connecting the dots, as Ted Cruz did:

At his religious liberty-themed rally in Des Moines on Friday night, Cruz cast himself as the only choice for evangelical voters. There is a "war on faith," he said, as he quoted scripture and paced the stage like a televangelist; evangelical voters will "stay home no longer." In the Iowa ballroom that night, Cruz interviewed Dick and Betty Odgaard, an Iowa Mennonite couple who became icons in the religious liberty movement after they refused to hold a same-sex wedding at their events space, which has since closed; he held Betty Odgaard's hand as she cried and recounted how the couple felt they could not hold a same-sex marriage because it violated their religious beliefs. The couple was sued and later closed their business. And he recounted his legal experience winning religious liberty cases, such as his fight as Texas solicitor general to keep a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state capitol, decided by a 5-4 Supreme Court margin. The high court, he argued, is one justice away from taking down all images of God. "Is the next victim of persecution your pastor?" Cruz asked the crowd. "Your charity, where you volunteer your time at a crisis pregnancy center?"

Rubio just talked about his faith in the abstract. It would have been better for him to use that to connect it to issues evangelical voters care about.

This article was written by Ed Straker, senior writer of NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.
The Islamic State is developing sophisticated weapons capabilities. And it should send a chill down anyones spine. Sky News reports, via exclusive video footage, on weapons development at a jihadi university that exceeds anything the West thought possible. (So much for our imagination.)

Major Chris Hunter, a former special forces bomb technician, writes that the Islamic State is moving closer to being able to attack commercial aviation and that it possesses weapons expertise that eclipses anything any terror group has ever achieved.

 the most chilling aspect of watching this training video was the unprecedented levels of technical expertise and ingenuity of those weapons engineers. (snip) The shocking footage of the improvised fighter jet rocket demonstrated the ISIS instructors advanced understanding of every part of the missiles highly intricate array of components. Terrifyingly, those componentshad all been modified to turn the obsolete munition into a deadly remote controlled surface to air missile that could be fired against a range of aircraft such as helicopters, low flying jets and unmanned aerial vehicles. The ability to reverse engineer and modify advanced weapons of this type, is something no terrorist group has ever achieved. (snip) The footage suggests that ISIS have achieved the previously unachievable and will now be able to export that knowledge to its affiliates all over the world. We know that ISIS is intent on attacking the West - including an intense desire to attack commercial aviation. That threat appears to be dangerously more achievable now. (snip) footage showing the remote control car bomb, complete with a mannequin capable of tricking the advanced early warning sensors at critical/high security facilities particularly concerned me.

Hunter notes that the Islamic States possession of chemical weapons coupled with these unmanned, remote-controlled vehicles is truly the stuff of nightmares.

Stuart Ramsay, Sky News Chief Correspondent, expands on Hunters report, confirming that the Islamic State has a cadre of scientists and weapons experts at their disposal who are developing weapons and training jihadists with plans to carry out spectacular attacks in Europe along with attacks on passenger jets and military aircraft.

From a jihadi university in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the scientists have stunned western weapons experts by producing a homemade thermal battery for surface-to-air missiles. It had been regarded as a virtually impossible feat for terror groups working without a military infrastructure. (snip) Heat-seeking warheads can be used to attack passenger and military aircraft. They are 99% accurate once locked on. For decades terror groups, including the IRA, had these weapons but storing them and maintaining the thermal battery - a key component to the warhead - was very difficult. It seems that IS scientists have got round the problem, and that revelation will shock the world of international security.

Revelations that will shock the world of international security.

Great.

And its a bit disconcerting, to say the least, that a news outlet would possess such valuable intelligence, but Western intelligence agencies would be in the dark.

Sky News came into possession of the training videos after an Islamic State trainer who had the videos was captured in Syria (by whats left of the Free Syrian Army) as he was traveling through Turkey en route to Europe. The FSA passed the videos on to Sky News. And Sky News passed the videos on to the authorities in the U.K. A weapons adviser to the British military described them as an intelligence gold mine.

Meanwhile, Sky News was able to identify the location of the jihadi university using aerial and satellite imagery. They were also able to create order out of a random assortment of eight hours worth of videos that enabled them to better understand the breadth and depth of the Islamic States weapons development program, as well as their training operation.

This is the first hard evidence that confirms what Western intelligence officials have suspected, though the level of sophistication surpasses anything officials imagined or even thought possible. And although these videos were intercepted, it is assumed there are, or will be, many more in circulation and available to jihadists around the world.

So now what?

At this point, among other things, one wonders what Western leaders will do with the intelligence. Well, wonder no more, as the article comes to a close:

Sky News has alerted the authorities to the material that has come into its possession. The Foreign Office responded with a statement: Daesh will use all measures at their disposal to cause harm, and Britain will never be cowed by such terrorists. Our values are so much stronger than theirs. It will take time but this is an organisation that is losing territory and will be defeated.

Please tell me I didnt just read that.

Our values are stronger than theirs? Well, yes they are. (Duh.) But right now, the Islamic State is waging war, and the West is indeed cowed. The Islamic State is waging war with increasingly sophisticated weapons, and were showing up with our values  values that wont mean a damn thing if were all slaughtered.

And lastly: It will take time. Really? How much time? Because at the rate were going, were running out of it. In fact, on the subject of time, why hasnt this jihadi university been bombed by now? Oh, thats right. While were pretending to be at war, we dare not risk a single civilian casualty or an oil spill. (Cue the Islamic State making sure they hang around oil fields and integrate themselves among civilians. Hmm. Where have we seen that tactic used before?)

But not to worry. Our values are better than theirs. So there!

Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs
Evidence is mounting that the North Korean's boast of testing a hydrogen bomb is an empty one. Radiation monitors in Japan, China, and South Korea have all come up empty when looking for a radiation signature at the blast site. This may be due to the test being conducted deeper underground than previous tests.

But the seismic activity generated by the test comes nowhere near what it would be if a thermonuclear device had been detonated. At 5.1 on the Richter Scale, experts say the bomb was even smaller than the fission device we used on Hiroshima.

Claudia Rosett on some of the consequences of the test  H-bomb or not:

Perhaps its tempting by now to hope, or even try to rationalize, that because no North Korean nuclear bombs have yet gone off outside of North Korean test tunnels, they never will. That is an increasingly risky calculus. Way back in the early 1990s, when the U.S. had just won the Cold War and occupied a position far more secure in the world, Bill Clinton considered it a major crisis that North Korea might be producing even one functional nuclear weapon. Today, North Korea openly makes nuclear bomb fuel, amasses an arsenal, parades its long-range missiles and brags up its nuclear tests. In the news right now  think about this for a moment  the big question is whether the Jan. 6 detonation was really a test of a North Korean hydrogen bomb, or a test of what has become the usual North Korean atomic bomb. There is also the alarming likelihood that North Korea, which has long made a practice of selling every lethal creation it comes up with  from guns to missiles to nuclear technology  will share the fruits of this latest test with its longtime customer, ballistic-missile-testing Iran. Or perhaps North Korea will peddle its wares for mass murder elsewhere in the terror vats of the Middle East. Obama has waited-and-talked himself into a very tight corner with North Korea. Its quite possible that this latest test was in part an opening gambit by Kim Jong Un for a North Korean return to the nuclear bargaining table. A hydrogen bomb, whether real or an imaginary embellishment on the usual atomic bombs, would be a nice bargaining chip for Pyongyang.

Blame Obama for inaction on the North Korean threat, but the entire Western world has had its head in the sand when it comes to the very survival of the North Korean regime. Experts have been predicting its collapse for years, but some analysts are saying that this particular test reveals a desperation in the regime that goes beyond a shattered economy and starving population.

The Week:

The regime cannot go on indefinitely. It is astonishingly corrupt and criminal. Even if it wanted to, it probably couldn't manage a China-style policy of opening up its economy to raise people's standards of living while maintaining an authoritarian government to prevent societal collapse. The technocratic know-how simply isn't there. And the only thing holding the regime together is absolute fear, and the total brain-washing of the population  brainwashing which is slowly dissolving as, inevitably,mobile phones and media, including Bibles, seep into the country. When it does eventually collapse, it will be a humanitarian disaster on a scale perhaps not seen since World War II. North Korea's people are famished. To say that alcoholism is rampant is an understatement. Millions of refugees will stream over the borders. On one side, there's China and Russia, who aren't exactly global models of efficiency and humanitarianism. South Korea is a highly-advanced economy  indeed, in some areas, more advanced than the U.S.  but it's still a small nation ill-prepared to cope with the collapse of its similar-sized neighbor. The fall will be a humanitarian disaster, but it will also be a security nightmare. North Korea's military arsenal, though aged, and probably mostly out of repair, is still enormous, and we should expect warlords to emerge. But this is nothing compared, of course, to the risk related to North Korea's nuclear arsenal, which is still a huge mystery. Do you think ISIS would like to buy a nuclear weapon? Do you think nobody in North Korea would sell it to them? These are just a few of the most pressing realities concerning North Korea. But it seems to me that the vast majority of policymakers ignore them in the interest of maintaining the status quo for as long as possible  a situation that will only worsen the inevitable. But why should policymakers do otherwise? Much better to keep a lid on the problem until their term is over.

Both China and Russia see it in their interest to prop up Kim's odious regime by shipping food, fuel, medicine, and other necessities to North Korea. The reason is obvious. A collapse would see millions of desperate, starving North Koreans streaming over their borders. Both nations figure it's cheaper to buy off Kim than the alternative.

Eventually, even these measures will fail, and the regime will collapse. Before that happens, is there anything that can be done to stave off the catastrophe?

I've argued previously that the responsible solution is a military-humanitarian intervention that would secure North Korea's military arsenal and create the conditions for a better future for North Koreans  an administration that would transition the economy towards a freer system and, ultimately, reunite North Korea with South Korea. I think China could be brought on board if America demilitarized Korean Peninsula in exchange. There's a lot to say about this plan  there are many things that could go wrong with it, and it would be very hard to pull off. But at least it's a plan.

It may be a plan, but it's a terrible idea and would probably result in the incineration of South Korea. Even if Kim is overthrown by the military, there is no way any such plan would succeed without unimaginable destruction on the Korean peninsula.

So maybe "wait and see" is a viable alternative anyway. American administrations from Clinton through Bush to Obama have failed utterly in treating this threat seriously. We failed to take out their nuclear program while it was still possible to do so. And now, the world will reap the whirlwind after having sown such a bitter harvest.
About 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, a tweet was published purportedly belonging to an account of Ammon Bundy, who, along with a couple of dozen others, are occupying a wildlife refuge in Oregon.

The tweet was, to say the least, controversial.

We are doing the same thing as Rosa Parks did. We are standing up against bad laws which dehumanize us and destroy our freedom.  Ammon Bundy (@Ammon_Bundy) January 6, 2016

Needless to say, liberals' heads exploded all over Twitterland, and Bundy was denounced by both sides for his inapt analogy.

But after the media storm subsided, it was revealed that Ammon Bundy did not send the tweet. In fact, Bundy's brother said he isn't even on Twitter.

Much hilarity ensued as the media began to backtrack furiously.
I suppose it was inevitable that wed have to go one more round on the natural-born citizen subject before the Iowa caucus. Too many members of the mainstream media and Democrats (but I repeat myself) want to yuck it up. They just love throwing it in the face of people who questioned the many anomalies in the digital versions of Obamas birth record. (For the record, it should be noted that the very first person to raise the issue of Obamas birth was a Hillary supporter in Pennsylvania, back in the 2008 presidential nomination race.)

So it was the Washington Post that raised the question in an interview with Donald Trump, and Trump could not resist the bait. Most subsequent media discussions leave out that little fact. MSNBC in particular is having a field day of snark.

Andrew McCarthy of National Review (who notes that he is a Cruz supporter) does a capable job of summarizing the legal scholarship refuting the entire issue of Cruzs birth in Alberta.

The Constitutions invocation of natural born citizen incorporates this principle of citizenship derived from parentage. That this is the original meaning is obvious from the Naturalization Act of 1790. It was enacted by the first Congress, which included several of the framers, and signed into law by President George Washington, who had presided over the constitutional convention. The Act provided that children born outside the United States to American citizens were natural born U.S. citizens at birth, Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States. As we shall see presently, Congress later changed the law, making it easier for one American-citizen parent to pass birthright citizenship to his or her child, regardless of whether the non-American parent ever resided in the United States. But even if the more demanding 1790 law had remained in effect, Cruz would still be a natural born citizen. His mother, Eleanor Elizabeth Darragh Wilson, is an American citizen born in Delaware; his native-Cuban father, Rafael Bienvenido Cruz, was a legal resident of the U.S. for many years before Ted was born.

But for those in a hurry, just see point g of 8 U.S. Code  1401:
In his latest unfounded attack on Ted Cruz, Donald Trump now accuses Cruz of supporting amnesty for illegal aliens, as Trump himself did for many years.

Ted Cruz tried to derail Marco Rubio's "Gang of 8" amnesty bill by altering the "path to citizenship" to mere legalization status, not because he supported legalization for illegals, but rather because he wanted to make the bill unpalatable to Democrats.

Senator Jeff Sessions, who was the lead opponent of this legislation, supports this interpretation , saying Cruz was "with him every step of the way on fighting the amnesty bill." So agree Mark Levin , Rush Limbaugh, and most leading conservative voices. So if if Donald Trump is right, all the leading voices of the conservative movement must be wrong. At a certain point, you have to start wondering who is really a constitutional conservative and who is not.

Trump also repeated the false claim that he's been calling for a border wall for five years. In fact, Ted Cruz was the one calling for it several years ago, not Donald Trump . And if you look back four years, Trump was criticizing Mitt Romney's self-deportation plan for illegals, calling it " mean-spirited ," and as recently as this past June was still calling for a path to citizenship for illegal aliens.

In fact, by saying that he will deport illegals but invite a lot of them back in, Trump still effectively supports legalization for millions of illegal aliens in the United States. Just listen to his own words :

I think we should let them come back if they are very good people, let them come back legally, I want them to come back. I'm building a wall but I want immigrants to come in... and I want a lot of people to come in.

Donald Trump loses credibility when he claims that Ted Cruz supports amnesty while he himself, for most of his adult life, has supported amnesty for illegal aliens. It shows he will say anything to get elected. It becomes particularly egregious when he accuses others of things that he himself is guilty of.

We need a true conservative to be elected president. That isn't Donald Trump.
Flateyri is a small fishing village located on a narrow strip of land at the edge of the sea in the picturesque Westfjords, in northwest Iceland. The village of only 300 has been a trading post since 1792 and saw its heyday in the 19th century when it became a major whaling center and base for shark-hunting. The fishing industry has always been vital for the villages in the Westfjords, and Flateyri had successfully married this tradition with tourism making the village a very popular destination for foreign sea anglers.

Like so many Icelandic villages, Flateyri is located on the seaside at the base of a steep, treeless mountain called Skollahvilft. The mountain is but steeper than usual and remains covered with snow for much of the year making it susceptible to avalanches. However, no major incident had occurred until one October morning in 1995.

Photo credit: www.ismennt.is

It was 4 am on the 27th, and the residents of Flateyri were sleeping. Suddenly, they were awakened by a deafening roar as ice, rocks, and snow came crashing down the mountain. Seventeen homes, only one of which was thought to lie in the avalanche danger zone, were buried under snow and rocks. Local residents immediately attempted a rescue effort, but the snow had erased all landmarks and they had trouble locating where the houses were. The darkness made matters worse. Twenty people were killed that day. It took search parties two long and grueling days to locate all the bodies.

The disaster was the second deadly avalanche in the same region in ten months. In January, the people in the fishing village of Suavik suffered a devastating avalanche where sixteen residents lost their lives. After that incident, people living in avalanche-prone areas became more prepared and cautious. As winter began the following October, high winds in the West Fjords prompted evacuations across the region. Hundreds of electric poles were snapped by the winds like twigs. Several avalanches occurred the day before the disaster at various places. In Langidalur, a herd of 18 horses were killed, while another slide destroyed a storage building in Sugandafjor.

Two deadly avalanches struck the Westfjords in 1995. One hit the town of Suavik in January, killing 14, the other struck Flateyri in October, killing 20. Photo/GVA

In 1998, a special A-shaped earthen dam was built up the mountain to protect Flateyri from future avalanches. The structure consist of two deflecting dams that form a wedge or A-shaped structure in the mountain side. There is a small catching dam that extends between the two deflecting dams in the lowermost part. The walls are 600 meters long and 15-20 meters tall, while the catching dam is 10 meters high and 350 meters long.

Only a year after the dam was completed, in February of 1999, a large avalanche from the mountain came crashing down into the eastern side of the dam and went into the sea. The village was saved. The next winter, in March, another huge avalanche from the mountain slammed into the western wall and the village was protected again. Other smaller avalanches have occurred regularly, and each time the protection wall has deflected the snow safely away from the village.

A memorial to those who lost their lives. Photo credit: Ulrich Latzenhofer/Flickr

Photo credit: www.verkis.is

Photo credit: www.leeds.ac.uk

Photo credit: www.leeds.ac.uk

Photo credit: ser_is_snarkish/Flickr

Photo credit: ser_is_snarkish/Flickr

Photo credit: ser_is_snarkish/Flickr

Photo credit: ser_is_snarkish/Flickr

Photo credit: www.ismennt.is

Photo credit: www.ismennt.is

Sources: Icelandic Roots / History.com / www.westfjords.is
A beautiful new World War 2 memorial is nearing completion in Michniow in south-central Poland. Set to open in 2016, the Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages will pay tribute to thousands of citizens who were murdered during the German occupation of rural Poland between 1939 and 1945. Michniow, the village chosen for the memorial, suffered one of the most blood-curling act of atrocity where the entire village a population of over 200 was massacred by the German Police over a two-day period.

The Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages was commissioned by the Kielce Region Countryside Museum, and is being designed and built by Polish architect and sculptor Mirosaw Nizio.

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Mirosaw Nizio and his studio Nizio Design International envisage the building as a traditional hut that incrementally deteriorates and crumbles into dust  symbolising the burning of the village, writes architecture and design related website Dezeen.

The building has a characteristic segmented structure. Its tissue is cut across by cracks that divide the architectural form into closed and open parts. This form is the resultant of the sculptural inspirations and thinking of the architecture's consistency with the historical narrative, said a statement from Nizio's studio.

The subsequent closed and open segments  there are five of the former and six of the latter - lead the visitors through the exhibition that shows the history of the pacification and presents its subsequent stages and the process of escalating repression. In parallel to the narrative the building undergoes deformation and "destruction, which symbolically conveys the annihilation that took place here. The gaps between the subsequent closed segments, the walls and the roof boast glass architectural features. the statement added.

The memorial will cover an area exceeding 16,200 square meters, with approximately 2,000 square meters of exhibition space.

Also see: Oradour-sur-Glane: The Village Massacred in WW2 and Preserved Since Then

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International

Photo credit: Nizio Design International
The ragged shore of the Pamlico River: Above. photo by Stan Deatherage Click to expand image.

As the New Year 2016 comes in we would love to have everyone join us on Friday for our First Day Hike at 2:00 pm in the last parking lot. This is a great way for state parks to begin our centennial year of celebration.Throughout the year all the different parks will be holding celebrations commemorating 100 years. You can access all of NC State Park events at www.ncparks.gov and looking under the Things to Do link. We hope that you will attend events at other parks, as well as ours.In the meantime, join us for any or all of our programs on the attached flier. As always, our programs are free to the public. Please share with friends and family and encourage people to enjoy this wonderful part of North Carolina.Have a Happy New Year!First Day Hike - Live Oak, Huckleberry and Mallard Creek Trail HikesCelebrate the New Year with a hike on three of Goose Creek's trails through the pine forest along the Pamlico River. Hike the shorter Live Oak and Huckleberry trails for 1/2 mile or hike all three for a total of 11/2 miles. Meet at the last parking lot.On this one-mile hike with a ranger you will be exposed to a variety of ecosystems while walking under a Spanish moss draped canopy. Please wear proper attire for the weather. Meet in the last parking lot.Did you know that fire plays an important role in the ecosystem at Goose Creek? This presentation covers why we burn, how we burn and some of the equipment we use to incorporate fire into the landscape. Meet at the visitor center.Come out for a short hike down to the water at Flatty Creek where we'll have an amazing view of the marsh and river. While we're hiking we'll discuss some of the ecology of that particular area and some of the birds that make Goose Creek their home during this time. Meet at the Goose Creek Trail parking lot at the entrance to the campground.Meet at the park's visitor center to get an up close and personal look at some of our native snakes. There will be live snakes on display.Take a one-mile walking tour of the boardwalk and view a freshwater swamp that is transitioning to a brackish water marsh all without getting your feet wet. Meet at the visitor center.What is forestry and succession? Find out about its importance, history and practices. Meet in the visitor center.Enjoy your afternoon identifying and studying some of North Carolina's native owls. You'll even learn to communicate with one special species. Please meet at the park's visitor center.This presentation will introduce all of the wonderful things you can find at the park from recreational opportunities to our wonderful natural communities. Great for first-time visitors or anyone wanting to get to know the park. Meet at the visitor center.Do you think there are more black bears located in the mountains of North Carolina or along the coast of North Carolina? Are all black bears actually black? Do we have grizzly bears or brown bears? Meet at the park visitor center to learn some cool facts and debunk a lot of myths about our native black bears. There will be mounts on display for great photo opportunities.Learn about everyone's least favorite critters, how to avoid them, get rid of them and what diseases they can potentially carry. Meet at the visitor center.Vanessa FischerGoose Greek State Park2190 Camp Leach RoadWashington, NC 27889Phone:
Tablets with gigantic screens are definitely becoming a thing. Or at least thats what some electronics manufacturers would have us believe anyways, seeing as more companies are joining the extra-large tablet bandwagon, after Samsung pioneered the segment late last year with the Galaxy View tablet that comes with an 18.4-inch display panel. Following in the footsteps of the South Korean consumer electronics giant, TCL-owned French brand Alcatel OneTouch showed off its extra-large Xess (pronounced excess) tablet at the IFA trade show in Berlin last year. While the device is far from being ready to hit store shelves around the world just as yet, the company behind the gadget seems to be pulling out all stops to spread the word and gain more coverage about its upcoming release.

With a view towards making that happen, the Chinese electronics company has now announced at the CES 2016 trade show in Las Vegas that three Amazon apps  Amazon Shopping, Amazon Music and Kindle  will come preloaded on the aforementioned tablet, as and when it is launched in the open market. According to the General Manager of Alcatel OneTouchs BigPad business, Dr. Stan Hu, We are thrilled to offer consumers the benefit of Amazon applications preloaded on Xess. With a large screen format, and now with Amazon apps, Xess offers consumers an even greater user experiences in the home. While Alcatel is yet to give an ETA for the commercial launch of the tablet, the company helpfully mentioned that it is expected to happen at some stage later this year.

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Not unexpectedly, and very much like the aforementioned Galaxy View, Alcatel is positioning the Xess as a media-consumption device. In its latest press release, the company harps on the portability factor of the tablet by comparing it to a laptop computer, and says that the device will come with a built-in stand that will help users in positioning the device in multiple ways so as to aid visibility and productivity. The tablet of course, comes with a 17.3-inch 1080p display and is powered by MediaTeks MT8783T chipset that comes with an octa-core CPU clocked at a maximum of 1.5 GHz. The device includes 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of expandable internal storage and comes with dual 3-watt speakers from JBL. The Alcatel OneTouch Xess runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and is powered by a 10,000 mAh non-removable battery.
Yesterday, Circus Ponies made an announcement that they will be closing for good. Taking humor in their announcement, the company has posted that they have gone to that great Alphabet company in the sky. This, of course, refers to Alphabet Inc.; which is best known as the parent company of Google and other companies that use to be part of Google. For 13 years, Circus Ponies was in charge of developing the iOS NoteBook app and the note-taking and organizational app used in Mac OSX devices. The company was started by Jayson Adams as an app developing business, and had an office in Santa Monica, California. Adams was previously the VP of NetCode at Netscape and the chief executive of NeXT during the 90s.

In 1991, NoteBook received App of the Year recognition from NeXTWORLD magazine. Although it was originally written for NeXT machine, it was rewritten so it could run on OS X devices. In April 2003, it was released to the public and used on several devices. In 2010, the app was ported to the iPad. A similar clone called OneNote was developed by Microsoft in the early 2000s, as a way of trying to win customers over to their service. Unfortunately, it did not hit it off like the original NoteBook app.

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Now that Alphabet has acquired the company, they do hint that they are the C in the list of companies that are still being compiled. Apart from Circus Ponies and Google, Alphabet has also acquired Nest Labs, Calico, Google X, Google Capital, and GV. When asked why Google had to be restructured, Alphabet Inc. Google CEO Larry Page explained that with this move, Google will be cleaner and more accountable. At the same time, Page wanted this move to improve transparency and oversight of the things they were doing in the company. Considering Google had already acquired several other companies, this transition into a bigger company would give them greater control of companies unrelated to Google. If you still need a copy of NoteBook 4.0 or youre in need of some technical assistance, you can try to send an email to [email protected] However, the company mentions that they cannot promise you will get a reply back as soon as possible, if at all.
In 2010, Google took the decision to scale back their Chinese presence because the authorities had banned, or censored, many of Googles services in the country. Other businesses from around the world must also censor their products and services when being piped into the country. We are now slowly seeing the signs that this is changing and some Google services are being allowed back into the Chinese borders. Google already employ over five hundred people in Shanghai, Beijing, and are advertising for another fifty four posts covering roles such as software engineers, product managers and creative consultants, working for a number of different units including the Google Play Store and mobile division. The advertisements went up a month ago on the 7 December via the LinkedIn professional social network.

Google spokesman, Robin Moroney, said the following: Were always on the lookout for great new employees to join the hundreds of Googlers already working in China and the number of todays postings are about average for the past few years. However, Google have remained quiet about the brands Chinese expansion plans although China is a potentially significant market for both Google and parent company Alphabet. We have seen a number of rumors over the years and most recently, that Google is considering opening an app store for local (Chinese) users. At the time of writing, Google Search, Gmail and YouTube is banned from China and as a result, whilst the majority of smartphones sold into the region run software that is based on Android, the manufacturers and developers have taken full advantage of how flexible and open source the code it.

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Google clearly cannot ignore the Chinese market: the number of non-Google Android devices sold and used around the world is not too dissimilar from the number of Google-enabled Android devices, and indeed this influx of devices has been seen as a threat for Google. We do not know if Googles core Search, Gmail and YouTube services will be opened up into the region but Google offer many additional products and services. It may be the case that a local presence will go a long way towards developing Chinese-friendly applications, products and services.
CES 2016 is a small world full of all sorts of different technology announcements. So far weve seen some new smartphones from LG, some interesting connected devices by Samsung and LG and a number of accessory announcements. High-end audio seems to be a big thing this year at CES 2016, with Apt-X Bluetooth Audio going 24-bit Hi-Res and big names like Optoma NuForce announcing new high-end in-ear monitors. For many interested in the world of headphones however, there has been but one king among kings, the Sennheiser HD 800. Last year, Sennheiser quietly introduced a new, slightly improved version of the HD 800, dubbed the HD 800 S, and the German brand has been exhibiting them during CES 2016.

The HD 800 S are similar to the same audiophile classic that the company has been selling for years now, but Sennheiser say theyve improved reproduction of the mid-range and low-end frequencies. Itll also be sold with two pairs of cables, including balanced XLR4 cables for those looking to get the absolute best out of each driver. They also come in a new color, opting for a shade of black rather than the gray/silver look of the original. These are not your average headphones, and need a headphone amp to be driven adequately. The jack itself is a 1/4-inch jack and wont even fit in your smartphone or tablet. For more portable uses, users could take a look at New Yorks Master & Dynamic MH40. A serious pair of headphones like these require some serious source material and more importantly, serious cash to even own them. With an RRP of $1,700 these are some of the most expensive headphones out there. Take a closer look below.
Its been an interesting few years for Motorola. Being bought by Google in August of 2011, then being split up and having the handset business sold to Lenovo in 2014 for $2.91 billion. And now it appears that the Motorola name will be disappearing pretty soon. When Google bought Motorola, it was largely for the patents. They spun off Motorola Solutions  which is now a totally separate company  then kept Motorola Mobility around for a bit and sold it to Lenovo in 2014. While Google kept the thousands of patents that Motorola held. It was smart by Google, because it means they can be used on any Android device. And keep manufacturers out of the courtroom, hopefully.

Weve heard for quite a while that Motorolas name might disappear, but that Lenovo is looking to use the Moto line as their high-end line of devices. Motorolas COO, Rick Osterloh, was speaking with CNET at CES today in Las Vegas and stated that users shouldnt be surprised to see Motorola disappear from their next smartphone. But the Motorola M will still be there, however accompanied by Lenovos own logo. Osterloh said that they will slowly be phasing out Motorola, but focusing on Moto. So Motorola wont be completely gone, just half of the name, really.

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This is all part of a much larger plan for Lenovo. The main reason why Lenovo wanted Motorola was because Motorola has strong relationships with the carriers in the US and other regions where Lenovo does not currently sell their devices. Its said that Rick Osterloh and his team will be taking over the mobile business in Lenovo. Which will mean bringing the Vibe line of devices to markets where Motorola is already selling devices. And also bringing Motorola devices to markets where Lenovo is already selling them. We saw this already with Motorola re-entering China last year. Osterloh said in his interview, that he expects to bring the Vibe line of devices to the US, but dont expect it in 2016.

A bit of sad news for Motorola fans. The Motorola name has been around since 1928, and essentially created the cell phone and has been the only American smartphone manufacturer for quite a while. We havent heard anything about what will happen to their headquarters in Downtown Chicago at the Merchandise Mart. But given that Lenovo is in China, it wouldnt be too surprising to see many of them move into Lenovos HQ, leaving a lot of empty jobs in the US.

Update: Motorola has reached out to us regarding the term Motorola being phased out from their devices in the future:

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Motorola Mobility continues to exist as a Lenovo company and is the engineering and design engine for all of our mobile products. However, for our product branding we will utilize a dual brand strategy across smartphone and wearables going forward using Moto and Vibe globally. Motorola hasnt been used on our products since the launch of the original Moto X in 2013.
Polaroid has introduced two new Android smartphones dubbed Power and Snap at the CES 2016 trade show being held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The handsets have been positioned in the entry to mid-range segment and will be sold exclusively online to customers in the US. The devices are designed and manufactured by Southern Telecom under license from the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company that was once renowned for manufacturing instant films and cameras that had become ubiquitous back in the 70s and 80s. With digital cameras threatening the biggest USP of Polaroids business, the company had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in 2001. In recent times, the company mostly licenses its brand to companies that market consumer electronics and eyewear under the Polaroid brand.

Taking a detailed look at the first of the two smartphones introduced by Polaroid, this one is an entry-level device and has been named the Snap. The handset will come in three different screen sizes of 5-inch, 5.5-inch and 6-inch denominations and will range from $129.99 for the smallest version to $179.99 for the largest one. All three versions however, will feature 720p screens and as such, will carry identical hardware apart from the batteries, which will vary depending on the size of the device. Each version will be powered by a quad-core processor of unspecified make. The phones will carry 2 GB of RAM apiece, along with 16 GB of storage. The rear camera on the Snap will be a 13-megapixel unit, whereas the front-facing selfie-cam will have a 5-megapixel sensor.

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Coming to the second handset from Polaroid, the device is called Power and comes with a price-tag of $249.99, making it the comparatively higher-end and better specd smartphone of the two. It features a 6-inch Full HD 1080p display and comes with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The handset will come with an octa-core CPU under the hood, but theres no word on the exact chipset here either. As for the cameras, the rear-facing primary camera on the Power is a 13-megapixel unit much like the Snap, but the front-facing camera sees an upgrade to an 8-megapixel sensor. According to Polaroid, the Power will be available commercially this spring, whereas the Snap will hit the market next month itself. The company also says that it will release further info regarding the two devices over the next few weeks.
CES in now well underway and so far, there has been a number of interesting announcements being given and devices being shown off. Only yesterday we got to see two new devices which look to be en route to the U.S. in 2016 from Japanese manufacturer, Freetel. These are the Freetel Kiwami and the Freetel Musashi. Today, TP-LINK, who are more associated with computer network products have announced three new smartphones which are to be available soon. In fact. TP-LINK has announced a new smartphone brand, along with the announcing of the new smartphones. The brand is Neffos and the three devices that have now been confirmed for Neffos make up the C5 series, in the form of the C5, C5L and C5 Max.

As to be expected, the C5 is the standard version of the series and this one is said to come with a 5-inch display which makes use of a 1280 x 720 resolution. Inside, the C5 is equipped with 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and powered by a 64-bit MediaTek (MT6735) Quad-core processor. Cameras on offer include an 8-megapixel rear camera, which is coupled with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. In contrast, the C5L looks to be the more entry-level offering and this one comes sporting a smaller 4.5-inch FWVGA display. Inside, the C5L comes equipped with 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 Quad-core processor. In terms of cameras, it would seem the C5L makes use of the same 8MP/5MP rear/front camera combination. Moving on and completing the new line up is the C5 Max, which looks to be the more premium variant. This one comes sporting a larger 5.5-inch display which makes use of a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Inside, the C5 Max offers 2GB RAM and also comes powered by a MediaTek (MT6753) Octa-core processor. Along with a 13-megapixel rear camera which is coupled with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

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Besides the main announcement, there are few details being provided on the actual availability of the new C5 series from Neffos. As such, there are no firm details on pricing or on when they will be available to buy or even in which regions. Although, they are expected to land running on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).
'Safe harbor' credits could cost nearly $1 biillion, five times more than projected

RALEIGH State officials, lawmakers, and renewable energy consultants attempted Tuesday to downplay the $937.8 million cost of tax credits sought under the state's new Safe Harbor Act - a total more than five times higher than initial projections.Members of the Joint Legislative Commission on Energy Policy also discussed who would monitor compliance for those receiving the 35 percent state tax credit for renewable energy investment and how rigorous that process would be. Some worried the program will be a drain on state finances that will provide large banks and insurance companies a windfall at the expense of taxpayers.state Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, said after the meeting. In December Carolina Journal reported the $937 million estimate, provided by the state Department of Revenue.Rucho was a primary sponsor of the bill allowing renewable energy companies, under specific restrictions, to remain eligible to claim the tax credits after the credit program expired Dec. 31.Rucho said.When the legislation was debated in April before the Senate Finance Committee, Jonathan Tart of the legislature's Fiscal Research Division said applications would be limited mostly toat a cost of $183.5 million.As it turned out, 201 applications and $1.9 million in application fees were submitted to the state Department of Revenue by the Oct. 1 deadline.Tart told commission members Tuesday.the actual fiscal impact for some time.Rucho said he anticipated only 50 to 60 percent of the credits would be taken.Tart confirmed. That does not mean the full tax breaks won't be received.Under the Safe Harbor Act, the tax credits can be spread out over a decade, Tart said. A recipient of the credit may use it to offset no more than 50 percent of tax liability in a single year. Instead of losing part of a credit if it exceeds the 50 percent threshold, the tax break can be pushed forward.Tart said of the projected tax credits. If some projects aren't pursued, or don't meet requirements of the Safe Harbor Act, those tax credits won't be issued.Thomas Boothby, a renewable energy industry accountant with Dixon, Hughes, Goodman of Charlotte, said his company has worked to varying degrees with roughly half of the Safe Harbor applicants.Boothby said.His firm's clients saw the act asin case weather delays, a backlog of permitting, or some unforeseen setback at the very end of the projectIt was unclear from Boothby's testimony how many of those projects were in the pipeline when the Safe Harbor Act was passed, and why the numbers provided then by Fiscal Research were so far off.The gap between projections and applications prompted Rep. Ken Goodman, D-Richmond, to wonder how the fiscal note got written, and whether its numbers presented a realistic cost to the state.Boothby said.Developers must certify by March 1 they qualify for the tax credits, according to Nelson Freeman, Revenue Department legislative liaison, but total credits actually taken would not be disclosed until the Revenue Department releases its 2018 Economic Incentives Report.To be eligible, Freeman said, a project smaller than 65 megawatts must have incurred costs and partial construction of at least 80 percent. Projects 65 mw and larger must have been 50 percent complete to qualify for the credit. An independent engineer and certified public accountant must submit notarized copies of written reports verifying eligibility.House Majority Leader Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, asked about the Revenue Department's level of vigilance and review of those reports.Freeman said.to do that.Hager also expressed his disapproval that companies receiving tax credits for investments in renewable energy projects can sell or transfer them to other parties.Hager said Duke Energy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Bank of America, and other large banks and insurance companies end up with most of the tax credits The renewable credits are "a sweetheart deal," Rucho said. "It doesn't seem very fair that the taxpayers are picking up the burden that should be done strictly by the private sector."Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland, took issue with Rucho. He said renewable energy companies have spent at least $2.6 billion in qualifying expenses alone in North Carolina, and more in ancillary costs.Szoka said.
Transfer Balls: Ronaldo and Bale to Man United, Messi to Man City, Pep to Chelsea

Transfer balls: The British Press is obsessed with Real Madrid. The latest news is that Cristiano Ronaldo will definitely leave Real Madrid in the summer, with Manchester United and Paris St-Germain keen to sign the 30-year-old Portugal forward. So says the Telegraph.

This will trigger a new wave of spending by Real Madrid, who will fight PSG for Chelseas Eden Hazard. The 24-year-old Belgium forward is certain to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, says the Daily Mail.

And there is Gareth Bale, the 26-year-old Real Madrid player who will follow Ronaldo out of the Spanish capital, heading to join Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester United or PSG. Unless he elects to stay in Spain, says the Sun.

Should Bale head to Manchester United he will hook up with that clubs next manager. Yeah, its 56-year-old Carlo Ancelotti, who was approached by Uniteds king makers last November. Back then the Italian rejected the chance to replace Louis van Gaal because he wants to manage Bayern Munich, says the Daily Mail. But hes yet to be offered that job. So it might be United for him.

Bayern, of course, are waving goodbye to their manager, Pep Guardiola. The Manchester Evening News wonders if Pep, 44, is to be Uniteds next boss. News is that he wont be. Apparently United feel hes already set his mind on bossing Manchester City, where, says the Sun, he will attempt to buy Lionel Messi from Barcelona. The Catalans will then attempt to buy Hazard.

Unless the London Evening Standard is right and Pep is going to receive an offer from Chelsea he cannot refuse. In which case, Hazard will stay at Chelsea, Bale will stay at Real and Ronaldo will cancel his flight to Old Trafford.

Meanwhileat Arsenal.

Anorak

Posted: 7th, January 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Swedish TV host tricked into eating marijuana cookie  hilarity ensues

In 2014, a Swedish TV hosts Filip and Fredrik are reporting from a silent retreat. For research purposes Filip eats a cookie laced with marijuana. He thinks a good idea not to be wasted alone, so he hands one to Fredrik, omitting to tell him the secret ingredient.

Says Filip:

This is probably not okay, but in my search for the meaning of life, Im doing something American seekers have done for generations. I follow local customs, and in the USA, what Im about to eat and trick Fredrik into eating, is not as controversial as it is in Sweden.

Lets just say this is shabby thing to do to anyone. Its idiotic and dangerous. And, you know, what goes around, comes around:

Here go you, then. If you learn one thing from this video it is that the Swedish for silent retreat is silent retreat. No sniggering:



Spotter: Reddit, D&T

Anorak

Posted: 7th, January 2016 | In: TV & Radio Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Genoa, January 7 - Three Libyan citizens arrested at Genoa port on Sunday and suspected of links to the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group were interrogated by Italian authorities for more than six hours on Thursday.

Judge Cinzia Perroni will decide at the end of the questioning whether to release the Libyans or to keep them in prison.

The three say they are car dealers who were on their way to Belgium for business. Prosecutors accuse them of being supporters of ISIS. They face charges of money laundering aggravated by international terrorist intent.

Anti-terror police arrested the men on Sunday evening as they disembarked at Genoa port from a ferry coming from Tunis.

They have been named as Abdel Kader Alkurbo, 50, travelling on a Swedish passport, Muhamad Ali Mosa Lufty, 43, resident in Brussels, and Mohamed Abdel Mohamed Amar, 39, travelling on a Belgian passport.

Police found on their cellphones pictures of armed children, scenes of war and of people hailing ISIS, wounded people and images linked to jihad.

One of the pictures showed the men swearing allegiance to the black flag of ISIS, police said.


(ANSA) - Rome, January 7 - The Swedish government on Thursday extended temporary border controls by a month until February 8, the Associated Press reported.

Sweden reintroduced the border controls in November and has extended them several times in a bid to stem the flow of migrants entering the country from Denmark and Germany. Sweden received more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year.

The countries of the visa-free Schengen Zone are not supposed to have any internal border controls but member states can temporarily reintroduce them if they face threats to public order or security.


(ANSA) - Rome, January 7 - November 2015 unemployment hit a three-year low of 11.3%, according to preliminary labor market data from Istat national statistics agency out Thursday. There were 2.871 million people looking for work, down 48,000 over October and by 479,000 people over November 2014. The positive November employment data was due to an increase in permanent full-time jobs and a decrease in temporary work contracts, Istat said. Permanent work contracts grew by 40,000 units (+0.3%) while temp contracts dropped by 32,000 (-1.3%) over October. Full-time jobs grew by 141,000 and temp jobs added 106,000 on a yearly basis, Istat said. There were 36,000 new jobs in November 2015 (+0.2% over the previous month) and a total of 22.48 million people were employed in the period (up by 206,000 over November 2014).

Youth unemployment dropped to 38.1% in November 2015, down by 1.2% over the previous month. The data for people aged 15-24 is the lowest since June 2013. Youth unemployment dropped 1.5% in September-November over the previous quarter, Istat said. Premier Matteo Renzi said Thursday the positive new employment data was thanks to his government's Jobs Act labor reform. "Unemployment continues to decrease," he tweeted. "This proves the Jobs Act is working. Italy is back on track, starting from labour".

However Federconsumatori and Adusbef consumer groups disagreed, saying unemployment is still too high. "We continue astonished at the optimism expressed in the face of the alarming figure of 11.3% unemployment," the two associations said. Youth unemployment is also still too high at 38.1%, and it reaches 60% in the chronically impoverished South were "a job is just a distant mirage," they said. "Let us not forget that every unemployed person weighs on his or her family - which is the true welfare system - with a burden of some 450 euros a month," the associations said. Much more needs to be done to create jobs, they said, calling on the government to enact an Extraordinary Labor Plan and make massive investments.

"Until the country takes the path of growth and development... there will be no true and lasting recovery," they said, urging the government to invest in research and innovation, infrastructure, tourism, and the nation's cultural heritage.


(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JANUARY 7 - The Algerian presidency of the Republic has unveiled a draft reform of the Constitution. The most significant changes include the recognition of Tamazight (Berber) as an official language in all public institutions, including schools and universities, the limitation of two presidential mandates and gender equality in the labor market.



The document presented by the director of the office of the presidency, Ahmed Ouyahia, during a press conference in Dienane El Mithak, also proposes to make national reconciliation constitutional in the introduction. The text will now have to be examined by both chambers of parliament. Other parts of the reform provided in the draft new Constitution include the appointment of a premier by the president of the republic after consulting the parliamentary majority. The text, according to Ouyahia, guarantees freedom of demonstration and expression and affirms the democratic nature of the government, founded on democratic turnover through free elections and on the separation of powers. The consolidation of democracy, he added, will translate into the stronger recognized rights of the opposition, to which a monthly session will be dedicated to discuss issues on the agenda of opposition parties.



Particular attention will be reserved to individual and religious freedom.



The safeguard of individual liberties, concluded Ouyahia, will include the criminalization of inhuman and degrading behavior and the institutionalization, included in the Constitution, of the national council for human rights. The oppositions have been quite cold regarding the announced constitutional changes. The lack of legitimacy of institutions is the main issue cited by parties and leaders who boycotted the vote on the constitutional reform project. (ANSAmed)
(ANSAmed) - ROMA, 7 GEN - The 2015 Olof Palme Prize is awarded to the Palestinian Pastor Dr. Mitri Raheb, and the Israeli journalist Gideon Levy , "for their courageous and indefatigable fight against occupation and violence, and for a future Middle East characterized by peaceful coexistence and equality for all. By their work they both give a ray of hope to a conflict that has plagued and continues to plague millions of people and to endanger world peace". As preacher and Pastor in the Lutheran church, Mitri Raheb sends a clear message to the young generation of Palestinians: "We want you to live, not die, for Palestine." In a Bethlehem confined on three sides by the walls of the occupying Israeli power, and with Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture that he founded and his innovative artistic education in film, art, and drama, Raheb has made it possible for young people to investigate their Palestinian identity, to nurture beauty, and "to invest in a culture of life as tools for a creative resistance against suffocating confinement and towards nation building". Gideon Levy is working "for peace and reconciliation by means of a passionate search for truth and a fearless faith in the victory of reason in a region infested by prejudice and violence, propaganda and disinformation". With parents who were forced to emigrate from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, and as a true patriot, he has "made reconciliation with the Palestinian people the mission of his life. Constantly criticized, and having his life threatened, Gideon Levy wants to remind us of Israel's moral blindness to the consequences of war and occupation, which he sees as a danger to Israel itself." (ANSAmed).


Ive been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for that. Sinc...

6 years ago
Libya: media, truck bomb in Zliten, 50 reported dead Attack targets police training center

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 7 - A truck loaded with explosives struck a police training center in the Libyan city of Zliten, 60 km west of Misrata, with some 50 feared dead, according to the website of Russia Today.



Dozens were reported wounded at the Al-Jahfal training center. The website of Al Jazeera reported that four hospitals in the area are in a state of emergency following the attack.



Russia Today said the hospital of Misrata, some 60 kilometers from Zliten, asked citizens to donate blood.



Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack yet though ISIS is feared to be behind it as the group is gaining ground and taking advantage of divisions within the country. At least nine soldiers were killed in the past few days in clashes with the jihadists and at least five oil depots have been burning for days. (ANSAmed)
- ROME - The Islamic State (ISIS) has called on its followers to reach the Libyan oil terminals of Ben Jawad via sea, according to the SITE intelligence group. Tripoli sources have meanwhile told the Libya Herald that a boat carrying foreigners had arrived on the beaches of Zliten two days before but that security forces had not been able to prevent Thursday's attack. The Ben Jawad oil facilities and those of the neighboring Ras Lanuf are at the center of an ISIS offensive launched at the beginning of the year. ISIS claims to have taken full control of the coastal city and on Thursday posted photos of fighters using its trademark black flag controlling the streets. ''We had information that a boat arrived at the town's shore two days ago carrying a number of strangers,'' Zliten Security Directorate's Serraj Al-Rashdi told the Libya Herald. ''We started an operation yesterday to register all strangers in the town without residency permits, but unfortunately this didn't prevent this catastrophe,'' referring to a suicide attack that killed dozens in a coast guard training camp on Thursday. The daily went on to say that ''there has been at least one other report this week of a boatload of militants, sailing from Tunisia to Sabratha where more militants were picked up and then on, further east. Its destination, however, was said to be Sirte.'' A Libyan study states that at least 10,000 foreign jihadists are fighting for ISIS in Libya, reported the website Akhbar Libya 24 in summing up a report by a Libyan center for terrorism studies. The center warned that the number of foreign fighters could rise and that one of the major countries of origin was Tunisia, followed by Mali, Sudan and Egypt. The latest figures seen as reliable by the UN and Western intelligence services put the number of fighters at around 5,000. The figure is rising, however, after numerous appeals to fighters to go to Libya and not Syria and Iraq. (ANSAmed).


Rubber bullets in Egyptian tour bus attack, says ministry 'Security forces targeted, not tourists' near pyramids

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 7 - The Egyptian interior ministry said Thursday that rubber bullets had been shot in an attack on a tour bus near the pyramids of Giza and that the target had been security forces and not tourists. The ministry statement said that about 15 people met near the Barcelo Three Pyramids hotel on Al-Haram Street and in passing in front of the hotel, they threw ''homemade fireworks at the security forces guarding'' the hotel, who then intervened.



''One of the loiterers fired a homemade pellet gun in the direction of the security in front of the hotel, causing some damage to the glass facade of the hotel as well as the window of a tourist bus that happened to be parked front of the hotel,'' according to the statement, which added that no one had been injured and that one of the attackers had been arrested. Egyptian Streets cited sources as saying that ''the attack was not terror-related, but had been an argument''. (ANSAmed)
(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT - The Syrian government has pledged to allow humanitarian organizations to reach the regime-besieged city of Madaya, UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said Thursday. Aid is expected to arrive in the coming days to the city, where tens of thousands of civilians are struggling to survive and many have starved to death, she added. Opposition forces besieging the two northern, pro-regime cities of Foua and Kafraya have also agreed to allow civilians out. An estimated 40,000 people are trying to survive in Madaya, which was once a resort town. Snow has fallen in recent days, making the conditions even more difficult for the population. Hundreds have also recently been displaced to the city from nearby Zabadani, which was long fought bitterly over between opposition forces and regime and allied ones. (ANSAmed).


- PARIS - A year after an attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical journal's editorial offices, fear weighs heavily on the French capital once more.



The capital is in a continued state of emergency, with a population used to the relentless wailing of sirens and the certainty that more attacks are to come. Anger rages beneath the surface in the Goutte d'Or area, one of the poorest and most disadvantaged as well as being close to such tourist attractions as Montmartre and the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. It is here in the 18th arrondissement, where Salah Abdeslam was to have attacked, that a 20-yar-old Moroccan alleged terrorist was shot down in front of the area police station. ''When I heard shooting, I ran to the window. I saw a man lying immobile on the ground. He was dead,'' said local inhabitant Souhila, who is as terrified as many other Parisians about what is happening in the city. The national police immediately blocked off the entire area, well known for its longstanding cafes frequented by members of the local Muslim community as well as the Barbes market and halal shops. Hundreds of police and bomb squad members were called in and a robot inspected the corpse of the alleged jihadist, who was found with a sheet of paper with the flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) and a claim of responsibility from the group. In this multiethnic zone many of the inhabitants deny the version given by the police. ''I was very close. That man did not have an aggressive attitude at all,'' said Charlotte amid tears, who had witnessed the shooting. She added that ''I saw the individual approach the policemen at the entrance to the police station. He was told to get back and initially he went back a few paces, then he began to go towards them again. He was not running, he had his hands in the air and above all no knife. Perhaps he had dropped it before, I don't know, but I can assure you that at that moment he was not armed. The police nevertheless opened fire and killed him with three shots.'' Like many other witnesses, the girl said that she did not see him yell ''Allahu Akbar'', as all official statements report.



She added that a sort of psychosis seems to have taken hold of the city's inhabitants and the police, tasked as they are with such a difficult and nerve-racking mission. The children of two nursery schools near the police station were locked in class for at least two hours after the attack, and only after 2 PM did police allow parents to pick up their children, checking them individually. Fire squads and psychological support assistants were on hand. Others on the scene said that police had yelled at passersby to go into shops, which immediately rolled down their shutters.



Many inhabitants including the elderly and the disabled were stuck outside of their homes for several hours until the early afternoon, when the police began to reopen some of the streets in the area. It was in the 18th arrondissement that the Belgian-born, French-Moroccan Salah Abdeslam - an alleged terrorist still at large but wanted for the November 13 attacks - was to have carried out an attack. For reasons unknown, he decided not to go ahead with it and he fled to Brussels and possibly to Syria afterwards. In the ISIS claim of responsibility prepared prior to the attacks the area was, however, listed as one of the targets. One year after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the entire city is once more living in fear.


Iran accuses Saudis of hitting its embassy in Yemen 'Damage done, staff injured and international accords violated'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JANUARY 7 - Iran accused Saudi Arabia on Thursday of conducting an airstrike on its embassy in Yemen, causing damage to the building and injuring some staff. ''Saudi Arabia is responsible for damage to the building and the injuring of some employees,'' PressTV quoted foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari. ''The Saudi government's deliberate action violated international conventions on the protection of diplomatic missions under all circumstances.'' The accusation is the same as that Riyadh made of Iran after protestors attacked its embassy in Tehran, leading to the cutting of diplomatic ties last Sunday. A Saudi spokesman quoted by Al-Jazeera said that the Saudi government was looking into the incident. (ANSAmed).




Saudi Arabia: Iran holds back, 'Riyadh is creating tension' Qatar also withdraws ambassador while Iraq offers to mediate

(by Luciana Borsatti) (ANSAmed) - TEHRAN, JANUARY 7 - Tension remains high, the crisis with Saudi Arabia continues and Qatar is following Riyadh's line, already undertaken by Sudan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Djibuti - though not by Oman - of cutting diplomatic relations with Tehran. Iran however wants to cut it short, stressing its engagement in prosecuting those responsible for the attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate Mashhad, while reaffirming it does not want to boost tension in the region and that it is investing in diplomacy. This is also true for the Syrian crisis, where the country's work for UN-sponsored peace talks resuming at the end of January is continuing.



However, Tehran means to push forward with the nuclear agreement whose 'implementation day' is expected soon.



Such a position was summed up by President Hassan Rouhani, who wondered in a number of tweets who was really ''exacerbating divisions between Sunnis and Shiites, bombing Yemen and undermining governments in Iraq and Syria, providing funding and weapons to ISIS''. It is Saudi Arabia, he replied, which executed Shiite imam Nimr al-Nimr and does not want stability and peace in the region ''to cover domestic problems'' and ruinous regional policies.



But Iran, Rouhani also stated, also condemns attacks on the Saudi diplomatic compounds. And the president wants to close the matter so much that he sent a letter today to the president of the judiciary Sadeq Amoli Larijani, asking him to close the probe on the case as soon as possible.



Embassy attackers have nothing to do with his government, Rouhani appears willing to state, which is instead interested in wrapping up a deal so far forged by its diplomats - the Vienna accord and Iran's comeback on the international scenario.



Riyadh, along with Israel and US hawks, has tried to prevent and now see implemented such an agreement, he noted.



But no retaliation has come from Tehran: the suspension of the pilgrimage to the Mecca only concerns the lesser 'Umrah' pilgrimage and not the mandatory one all Muslims must undertake at least once in a lifetime.



The Saudi monarchy for its part won today the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the fact that executions are ''domestic affairs'' and called on all allies in the Gulf and in the area, as well as Qatar's support in the breakup with Iran - but not of Oman, a sultanate that has always been careful in maintaining an open dialogue with its neighbor on the Strait of Hormuz.



A new offer to mediate also came from Iraq, which owes a lot to Iran in the war against ISIS but has also just rebuilt relations with Riyadh after the shutdown of the Saudi embassy in Baghdad in 1990 over the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.



Today, the foreign minister of Baghdad, Ibrahim Jaafari, met in Tehran his counterpart Javad Zarif and the president. And he offered his mediation because ''friendly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia benefit the whole region'', he said. (ANSAmed)
"Are you Islamophobes?"

"Why are you doing this?"If you have any of these questions, please visit





On this website, we engage Muslims and the foundations of Islam without trying to be "PC". We feel honesty is better than disguised language. As you can read on our FAQ, this is out of love, not out of hatred. Thanks, and we're looking forward to seeing your comments!


The motorcade of former president Traian Basescu in endangering tens of lives.

On December 29, without having any kind of emergency, no longer representing Romania, the former head of state is endangering the lives of other road users.

More representative images in this regard were presented Monday on the Daily Summary show on Antena 3.

Contracts with nearly 12 hospitals in Bucharest have been concluded between the years 2010 2012 by Cocos, years during which Romania was subject to harsh austerity measures.

According to the images broadcast one can see how Basescu's car in the motorcade passes over the continuous double line or goes on the opposite way.


Adrian Ursu, producer of the Sequential show on Antena 3, had a special guest the third day of Christmas: Liana Voiculescu, the life partner of Dan Voiculescu, told the viewers about the significant changes which took place in her life after the founder of the Intact trust had been sentenced to prison . Mrs. Voiculescu addressed in particular to those who spend their holidays alone, sharing with them her life experience.The life partner of Dan Voiculescu told, that after the sentence, she was extremely revolted by the injustice of it. Mrs. Mencinicopshi kept telling me we should forgive, but I was not ready for it , Liana Voiculescu said . When I arrived at a monastery in Transylvania, the father abbot asked me, looking at me in the eye, to tell him that I had forgiven Basescu. He looked into my eyes so poignantly, that I could not say no. In time, after I read a lot of books and the Bible, I realized that it's better for me to forgive, she said, and then went on telling a funny little story. A salad seller, who had seen Dan and me may times in the farmers market, asked me one day : Madam , have you forgiven Basescu? I turned and I replied: Yes I have forgiven him, and he replied: I would not have forgiven him.Sure, I understood him. But you have a burden less when you forgive, when you reach reconciliation with yourself, which only God gives you. "
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Suzie M., a sasquatch enthusiast. Crypto-linguists believe that the species known Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti/Yowie ect speak and understand a complex language, which by all accounts seems to stem from Asia. When one listens to it there is definitely a sense of it being Chinese or Japanese. It is a very odd mix of sounds, clicks and what could be actual words. This is the reason some experts are looking into the Asian dialect theory, some have said it could be a lost dialect, which was carried from Asia by the Bigfoot species that colonised America.




Arabian Aerospace's Show Business was announced as the official BIAS daily publication at last year's Dubai Airshow in November, following the signing of the agreement between Ahmed Al Nemah, Bahrain's acting undersecretary for civil aviation affairs (above left) and Mark Brown, the publisher of Arabian Aerospace.



Arabian Aerospace will also once again produce the BIAS Show Catalogue.



Mark said: "The Bahrain International Airshow is a premier networking event providing great business opportunities for participants. We are delighted to be involved again with this prestigious event and are looking forward to producing the official Show Business dailies, both at the show itself and electronically - particularly for those unable to attend - via our online news service."



BIAS will showcase aerospace companies from civil, defence, business aviation and unmanned aerial systems, with the exhibition hall featuring companies that include those directly involved with Bahrains new Airport Expansion Programme.





Arabian Aerospace will be producing its three Show Business dailies from the Bahrain International Airshow, week commencing Monday 18th January. Watch out for your eMag edition and if you have any news for the dailies, please send to: showbusiness@aerocomm.aero






Montanas congressional delegation and Gov. Steve Bullock are seeking a meeting with officials at GE Capital this month to urge the company to keep its Billings facility.

Bullock and fellow Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, and two Republicans, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke, jointly sent a letter released Wednesday to Jeffery Bornstein, chief financial officer for parent company General Electric, requesting a meeting in Washington, D.C.

The push is in response to the October announcement that Connecticut-based GE is selling its commercial lending and leasing businesses, including the Billings facility, to Wells Fargo for $30 billion. The sale was part of GEs overall strategy to pare down its business to core manufacturing.

Since the announcement of the sale, officials with Big Sky Economic Development and others have been trying to convince GE to hold onto the Billings operation, known as the GE Montana Center of Excellence, and its 170 jobs.

We strongly believe that the workforce GE assembled in Montana can continue to be a great asset, and we would appreciate an update on job retention strategies, the letter states.

Tester spokeswoman Marnee Banks said the senator expects to schedule the meeting within the next week. Tester and Bullock discussed the same issue with GEs CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, last year, she added.

According to the letter, the GE center brings $95 million to the Billings area, which includes direct payroll, spinoff jobs and operating expenses.

Steve Arveschoug, president of Big Sky Economic Development, said the letter was sent in December, and he presented it to the agencys board Wednesday.

Were trying to convey how important this is to the state of Montana, our partnership with GE. Im hoping in 2016 were going to get it all resolved, Arveschoug said.

Big Sky owns the $9.3 million, 40,000-square-foot building, which the agency developed specifically to lease to GE in 2009. Whether it stays or not, GE is obligated to continue making lease payments on the building through 2021.

The company also received at least $1.75 million in mostly public dollars to expand in Billings. This includes a $50,000 annual operating incentive for 10 years from Big Sky, a $758,000 federal Economic Development Administration grant for infrastructure and property tax abatements from Yellowstone County and the city of Billings worth $550,000 over 10 years.

The Billings center handles a diverse set of financial services. For example, employees can finance commercial truck purchases and help buyers get licensed in all 50 states, and they also manage paperwork related to property taxes, insurance and title work.

The sale to Wells Fargo is expected to close before the end of March.
Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet...
Courtesy of operationworld.org

SECLUSION

- ALBANIA IS UNIQUE in many ways. This small, mountainous country on the western side of the Balkan Peninsula has a language and also a society that vary significantly from those of its neighbors. Most notably, it is the only nation in Europe with a bulk Muslim populace. Albania has been isolated from the outside world for the majority of its record, in the beginning as a result of the physical inaccessibility of its surface and later due to 500 years of profession by the OTTOMAN EMPIRE.Also during the duration of communist policy after The second world war, Albanian leaders pursued their own specific course in spite of stress from its larger neighbors in Yugoslavia as well as the Soviet Union, causing among one of the most isolated nations around the world-- politically, financially, and also culturally. Considering that reforms started in 1990, Albania has struggled to catch up to the remainder of Europe, delaying much behind in political and economic growth.Mostly all of Albania is hilly, from the southern reaches of the Dinaric Alps in the north to the numerous smaller ranges to the eastern as well as southern. These arrays form Albania's boundaries: SERBIA As Well As MONTENEGRO to the north, MACEDONIA (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) to the east, and also GREECE to the south. Numerous Albanians live across these boundaries, however, mostly in the district of Kosovo to the northeast, but also in Macedonia as well as Greece. The varieties of Albanians residing in these areas is frequently disputed and also is the cause of local stress, as Albanians seek to locate a unified voice on their own throughout the Balkans.The slim coastal plain along the ADRIATIC SEA is the website of Albania's limited agricultural outcome, increasing equipments ideal to a cozy Mediterranean environment: citrus, figs, grapes, olives. The plain is watered by Albania's major rivers, the Drin, Ersenn, and Semani. Higher elevations are suitable for expanding wheat and for often tending lamb and goats. The hills likewise include mineral wealth, but Albania does not have the resources to extract them beneficially. Where the hills meet this level is where the majority of Albania's bigger towns are located, consisting of the capital, Tirana, at the foot of the Dajti Mountains. The other major cities are Shkodra in the much north, Durres on the coastline, and also Vlora in the much southern, where the hills come right down to the sea. These last three cities, long essential for trade in the Adriatic, were Venetian vendor republics for much of their record, mirrored in their historical names, Scutari, Durazzo, as well as Valona.Today, many Italian impacts are gone, and also these cities are repopulated with ethnic Albanians, a people whose origins are uncertain, however who are believed to be the area's earliest inhabitants, predating the neighbor-ing Slavic individuals by a number of centuries. Their language is thought to be originated from that of the ancient Illyrians, an individuals whose kingdoms once controlled the Balkan Peninsula till they were conquered by the Romans in the 1st century B.C.E., then pushed out of much of their original region by shifting Slavs in the 6th to 8th centuries. A middle ages kingdom was resurrected in the 15th century under Albania's primary nationwide hero, Skanderbeg, winning a noteworthy triumph over the Footrest Turks in 1449. Yet within 40 years, Albania had droppeded to the Ottomans and also had to wait till 1913 to recuperate its political independence.In the meantime, Albania came to be the only European district of the Ottoman Empire where most its residents transformed to Islam, and also Albania contributed significantly to the growth of the Footrest state-- several of its boys increased via the ranks to end up being grand vizier, chief minister of the sultan. After getting freedom, Albania veered from republic to monarchy as well as back prior to submitting completely to the stringent socialist program led for four decades by Enver Hoxha. Throughout this duration, Albania's economic situation was One Hundred Percent nationalized (also individual vehicles were owned by the state), and also diplomatic connections were reduced with all of its former allies, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and also finally, even CHINA, leaving Hoxha's regimen totally separated.From 1992, a new routine and also a brand-new constitution have actually attempted to turn around the mistakes of the past fifty years, but Albania remains the least established country in Europe, with about half of its populace working with tiny farms as well as fifty percent of its sector turned off. Today, much of the national earnings derives from remittances sent back from Albanians functioning abroad, primarily in Greece and also ITALY.
If you havent invested in business signage yet, you need to make sure you purchase quality signage that will last for years. The last thing you want is for your signage to be damaged or to lose its beauty, which can be just as damaging to your business as having no signage at all. A good business sign should be eye-catching year-round, and it should be made of a material that can withstand the elements. There are several different materials you can choose from when selecting a business sign.

One of the most popular types of business signs today is an LED banner. This type of sign uses LED lights to display a message on either a short or widescreen. An LED banner is customizable in real-time, and its most common form is the marquee sign. Movie theaters and other businesses use marquee signs to announce events. If you want to make a big impact with your business signage, consider purchasing a LED banner. Its a great way to attract attention and increase sales for your business.

A good sign should reflect your business branding and highlight your products. Technology-based businesses might benefit from a dynamic electronic message center. For a more classy and classic approach, a simple, classic sign can be very effective. If you dont want to spend too much money on a sign, check out Canva, Vistaprint, or Fiverr for a quick sign. There are many great websites online that will design and create your sign for you.

Regardless of the industry, a well-designed signage will give your business an edge over competitors. According to a recent study, up to 68 percent of Americans have purchased a product because of a visually appealing sign. A business owners signage speaks volumes about their brand, and should be made with attention-getting colors and bright lighting. It can be updated as frequently as necessary, and the potential for different products and services to be advertised is huge.

The cost of a sign depends on the materials used and the design. A black-and-white sign will cost much less than a colorful one. Complex designs will cost more than simple ones. Another factor affecting the price of a sign is how long you plan to have it. If you plan to change the design of your sign often, consider using a design that can be easily updated. This will save you money and time in the long run.

If youre planning to get business signs, consider hiring a professional sign company to handle the process. A full-service sign company can take care of the permitting process, submit the required plans, and start creating your signage. Despite the benefits, you should still be careful when selecting business signs. A wrong choice of location can violate ADA requirements and make your business signage unusable. You dont want to end up with a sign that is hard to read or doesnt tell anyone anything about your products or services.

A properly designed sign will draw attention and generate positive emotions. Customers are attracted to beauty and a beautifully designed business sign fulfills that desire. It will also help you earn the loyalty of your customers. A nicely-furnished sign can also show the commitments of your business. Whether youre in a retail store, office, or a restaurant, signage should convey what you stand for. This means that you should take your time choosing a design that fits your business image.

LED lights are a great option for lighting your signs. They can be 80% more efficient than neon lights and have an incredibly long lifespan. LED lights can be easily installed in any space, and you can install as many as you need. However, you should be aware that the color of your signage will depend on the type of LED lights you choose. This is why you need to research LED lights before you purchase them. This can help you choose the right type of lighting for your business signs.

Businesses should invest in digital signage in order to attract potential customers. This is a highly effective advertising option that can reach your target audience in a cost-effective way. It is also a great way to connect with your employees and customers. A digital storefront business sign can communicate with customers, build brand recognition, and make your outlet a landmark. So, it is important to invest in quality signage to make the most of your business. It is important to keep in mind that a poorly designed sign may even cause confusion.
This is the second in my series of how thorny artworld issues that vexed us in 2015 could achieve satisfying resolution in the year ahead:

Parsing Pasternak

Memo to Arnold Lehman: Be careful what you wish for!

The last time I saw the veteran populist director before he retired from the Brooklyn Museum, he described his successor, Anne Pasternak, as my reward for having been here for 18 years. Im a great admirer of what she does.She is coming up to speed really quickly and she shares all the values that we stand forcommunity, accessibility, collaboration.

Maybe so, but one thing that Pasternak doesnt seem to stand for is Arnolds provocative reinstallations of parts of the permanent collection.

Maybe thats a good thing.

In my post analyzing Pasternaks appointmentWhat Were the Brooklyn Museums Trustees Thinking?I slammed her for lacking I would have expected to be the Number One prerequisite for directing a major encyclopedic museumextensive museum experience. I tweeted that her appointment was shockingly reckless.

Then I read the NY Times coverage of Nancy Spectors imminent departure from the chief curatorship of the Guggenheim Museum to join the Brooklyn Museum as its deputy director and chief curator, effective in April.

Annes plan, as reported by Randy Kennedy in his article about Spector, was a pleasant surprise:

The permanent collections need attention, she said. She has already begun to initiate basic redesigns of gallery space, including demolishing what she called all the faux architecture in the museums beloved Egyptian galleries, to get rid of as much visual interference as possible so that we can commune with the art.

Heres the garish faux architecture:

And heres the excavation in progress, in an image from Pasternaks Instagram feed, captioned in her typically effusive fashion: Recognize this gallery? Oh yes! Egypt is about to be reborn at the #brooklynmuseum and I am tingling all over with joy.

Lets hope they also trash those anachronous quotes stenciled on the walls, including one from Gloria Steinem, someone whom Ive always admired, but not as an authority on Ancient Egypt.

At the end of my Dec. 23 post on Brooklyns Francisco Oller retrospective (recently closed), I praised the plan for an Egyptian makeover, adding that Pasternak should also undertake some serious rethinking of the permanent collections somewhat chaotic American art galleries and its Connecting Cultures mishmash on the lobby floor.

To which Anne replied on Twitter: Already on it, #CultureGrrl.

Whoa! Really?

Then I pushed my luck and tweeted that European paintings should be returned to the galleries, from which they had been exiled on Arnolds watch. They now ring the wall of the large atrium on the third floor, obviating interplay among related works.

As it happened, the previous day Anne had posted a letter on the museums website stating this:

Our Egyptian Gallery is under renovation, with European and American galleries to follow [emphasis added]. The goal is to create more space to see more works, and to explore our collections from a fresh lens.

Whats more, she had told Kennedy of the Times that she planned to increase the size of the curatorial staffnow fewer than 20 people for a collection of more than 1.5 million objects. I had been shocked to learn from the curator of European art, Richard Aste, after he squired me around the Oller show, that he was the sole curatorial presence in that large department (i.e., no assistant or associate curators).

It would seem that Pasternak has a knack for hitting the ground running. But does she also have a talent for raising the megabucks needed to support all these sweeping initiatives? More importantly, what will be the interpretive thrust of the reconceived installations? Annes passion, as the former president and artistic director of Creative Time, is contemporary art. In light of this, the bumping from the chief curatorship of Brooklyn veteran Kevin Stayton, a decorative arts specialist (who will assume the new post of deputy director and director of collections and history), is not surprising but it is a bit troubling. His reassignment will allow Spector, a contemporary art specialist, to assume the chief curatorship. Given the richness of Brooklyns diverse, historic collections, art-historical counterbalance is needed at the top.

There was even more cause for concern in Spectors comments to Kennedy:

Heres a museum in which the collections are in fact global, and I began to think about what it would mean to examine that through a contemporary lens, she said, so that they are relevant to the world we live in today. She added, Were in this global age and the model of an encyclopedic or a global museum is very old, and maybe its outdated, but its here to stay and we need to think about how to use it. [Emphasis added.]

There was a relevant-to-today vibe in the Oller shows introductory wall text, which (as I noted in this post) explicitly and provocatively drew a connection between the exhibition and the current political status of Puerto Ricans. Fair enough. But a museum that insistently and consistently emphasizes the contemporary relevance of its historic art is likely to alienate the many members of its audience who prefer to understand art on its own terms, not to drag it into the 21st-century.

Is it time for some fresh blood, fresh perspectives and refreshed installations at the Brooklyn Museum? Absolutely. Until I learn more about Annes plans, Ill have to reserve judgment. Shes already come up with some good ideas. We need to learn more about how she and Nancy intend to implement them.

In the meantime, art-lings, Ill be abandoning you soon for a workation, because I have a lock on the coveted Midwest-in-the-Winter beat. This time (if all goes according to plan), Ill be Squawking in Milwaukee, instead of Cleaving to Cleveland. Once again, Ill be enduring single-digit temps.

Will they have to de-ice the wings?
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Anais Robin

In part two of this series, ASEAN Briefing examines how to set up a Representative Office in Thailand. Part One, covering Private Limited Companies, can be read here.

A representative office is defined as an office in Thailand of a foreign company engaged in the business of international trading.

A representative office is limited to five business activities and, like in many of Thailands neighbors, cannot engage directly in revenue generating activity. The five activities are:

Search for a source of goods or services in Thailand for a headquarters overseas; Check the quantity and quality of the product ordered by the headquarters overseas; Advise the headquarters about what goods to order; Supply Thai customers with information about the headquarters products; and Report economic changes in Thailand to the headquarters.

In such a configuration, all commercial contracts should be concluded in the name of the overseas parent company. Indeed, the representative office cant be representative in making any contract or activities on behalf of the head office or its affiliated companies.

Following this principle, a representative office is not permitted to plan and coordinate with any organization in term of business, to purchase, order, or pay for goods or to coordinate in purchasing or service on behalf of the head office or its affiliated companies.

Concerning the goods that are not produced or sold by the head office or its affiliated companies, the representative office is not authorized to give after sale service or advice about these goods to the end consumer.

Representative offices can only perform quality control and report on the quality and quantity of goods from suppliers to their head office overseas or affiliated intra-group companies.

How to set up a representative office in Thailand

In order to establish an RO in Thailand, the company would need an Alien Business License, which is available for validity periods of five years. Additionally, the foreign company must lodge with the Ministry of Commerce copies of its certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association.

The company must also give a report on the chartered capital and to file an affidavit giving information regarding the company, the directors and the shareholders.

The power of attorney given to the legal representative in Thailand must be broad enough to allow the manager to interact with the Thai government on behalf of the company.

The company must also submit information concerning the offices address, projects, and objectives in Thailand, as well as an overview of the impact of the business activities on the Thai economy and society.

Its also necessary to furnish the estimate expenses for the next three years and the last three years annual financial report of the head office. Finally a list of expected staff must be provided to the Thai authorities.

Application fee is 2,000 baht. If the application is approved, the government fee will be set at the rate of 5 baht for every 1,000 baht or a fraction of the registered capital of parent company, with a minimum of 20,000 baht and a maximum of 250,000 baht.

A company with a representative office can have two work permits to foreign citizens for ROs which act in an advisory capacity in Thailand. Five work permits to foreign citizens are also available for those who engage in the sourcing goods or are responsible for quality control in Thailand.

Benefits and Weaknesses

The representative office is one of the quickest and easiest ways to gain a foothold in Thailand because the process is generally quick and easy. Foreign companies realize numerous benefits by opening representative offices in Thailand.

The office is not subject to Thai Corporate Income Tax. They may not generate revenue so they are not taxed.

One of the key benefits of setting up a Representative Office in Thailand is that obtaining a work permit for a foreigner is not restricted to the standard ratio of one foreigner per every four Thai workers.

However, a representative office in Thailand is very limited in its business activities, and thus is not suitable for foreign businesses wish to derive revenue directly from their Thai operations.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

The 2015 Asia Tax Comparator

In this issue, we compare and contrast the most relevant tax laws applicable for businesses with a presence in Asia. We analyze the different tax rates of 13 jurisdictions in the region, including India, China, Hong Kong, and the 10 member states of ASEAN. We also take a look at some of the most important compliance issues that businesses should be aware of, and conclude by discussing some of the most important tax and finance concerns companies will face when entering Asia.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets

The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies  Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included.

An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia

In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements  all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia.
For the first time since the Russian Revolution, St Isaac Cathedral in St Petersburg, the worlds largest Orthodox church, opens on Christmas Eve. In Istanbul, the faithful leap into the frigid waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. In Moscow Kirill calls for peace in Ukraine, whilst in Greece people pray for the victims of human trafficking.

Moscow (AsiaNews)  Today, some 230 million Orthodox celebrated Christmas around the world swimming in frigid waters, praying for the victims of human trafficking and pleading for peace in the worlds hotspots.

Pope Francis had already began the celebrations in yesterdays Angelus for the day of Epiphany, by expressing his "spiritual closeness to the brothers and sisters of the Christian East, Catholic and Orthodox, many of whom will celebrate the Lord's birth tomorrow. To them, we extend our best wishes for peace and good tidings!

By far, the most impressive celebrations were held in Russia, homeland of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest Orthodox community in the world, which currently has more than 30,000 churches and 800 monasteries in almost 70 countries.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led the Christmas Eve liturgy at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. For the first time ever, the service was held with open Holy Doors to symbolise the openness of Gods word for all.

In his message, the Patriarch called on the faithful to pray for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. "The fratricidal conflict which has arisen in the land of Ukraine should never divide the Churchs children by sowing enmity within peoples hearts," he said.

Christmas Eve celebrations were also held in St. Isaacs Cathedral in St Petersburg, the largest Orthodox church in the world.

The landmark 19th Century cathedral was turned into a museum under the officially atheist Soviet regime. After the USSRs collapse in 1991, it remained a museum, but the Russian Orthodox Church has used it periodically for services. However, yesterdays was the biggest ever.

In Turkey, the faithful met in Istanbuls Fanar district, see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, for a service led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the worlds Orthodox Christians.

Renewing with an ancient tradition, a group of faithful leaped into the frigid waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by Bartholomew. Nicolaos Silos (pictured), a 28-year-old visitor from Greece, was the first to reach it.

In the latters home country, a ceremony was held on the island of Lesbos, the gateway to Europe for many immigrants and refugees, to remember all those who died making the crossing from Turkey.

A floral wreath in the shape of the peace sign was thrown into the sea. The president of the Refugee Club in Lesbos, Makis Venetas, says it honours drowned refugees.

"We honour the memory of the small refugee children that have drowned. They're not to blame, no matter if they're Orthodox, Muslim or Catholic. They're small children that drowned in the Aegean Sea, and that's really shocking to us."

In Egypt, police deployed scores of agents around Cairos Coptic churches against possible terrorist threats.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited some places of worship and promised to fix all Coptic churches damaged in sectarian violence that followed the ouster of his predecessor, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.

As per tradition, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III celebrated Christmas Mass in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, welcomed by hundreds of worshippers in Manger Square.

In his address, the patriarch called on them to "live and work for the peace of the Lord."
Even in the summer, Doug Chabot has winter avalanches on his mind.

This past June, the director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center in Bozeman traveled to the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan to follow up on a devastating avalanche cycle in February that killed an estimated 168 people and injured 53 more.

It was really eye opening, Chabot said. The locals hadnt seen an avalanche cycle like this in over 100 years.

Contrast

While winter avalanche fatalities in the United States may range somewhere between 20 to 35 a year  typically affecting backcountry skiers, snowboarders or snowmobilers  in Central Asia the death toll from a single slide can number in the 100s and bury entire villages.

Over in Asia, they are truly victims, Chabot said.

Avalanche forecasts, such as the ones Chabot and the rest of the centers staff produce daily, warn winter recreationists in mountainous regions about the level of avalanche danger. The centers staff also teaches classes on safe travel in avalanche terrain and publishes avalanche accident reports to try to enlighten recreationists to the hazards.

We have choices in the western world, Chabot said.

But in Asia, there are few avalanche forecasters. Remote weather stations that could alert the forecasters to conditions that would trigger slides are scarce. Accompanying Chabot to the Panjshir Valley was one of the four members of Afghanistans Avalanche Control Team, of which there are only four in the entire country.

Deadly toll

Last years avalanches in the Panjshir Valley struck in the middle of the night on Feb. 25 while villagers were asleep. It was estimated that 30 avalanches roared 5,000 to 6,000 feet down the steep mountainsides into the narrow valleys below after days of heavy snow.

The nearest weather station recorded more than 7 feet of snow accumulation atop the mountains over five days. High winds could have doubled that depth, Chabot wrote in a report about his visit.

When the slides released, some gained so much speed that they crossed the valley floor and climbed up the opposite mountainside.  Some of the slides crossed the river and hit homes 40 meters or more up the opposite side of the valley, Chabot wrote.

Twelve feet of snow buried the only road into the valley, requiring a week of work to clear and reopen. It took days for villagers to walk to the nearest phone to call for help.

It was the largest loss of life in one avalanche event that Im aware of, Chabot said.

Staying put

Killer avalanches like the one in the Panjshir Valley are unheard of in Europe, Canada and the United States. Avalanche forecasts and mitigation prevent such disasters. But even what seems like a simple task to westerners  moving out of an avalanche zone  is problematic in places like Afghanistan.

In some places, moving a home 200 feet would get them out of the runout zone, Chabot said. In other areas it would require moving an entire village.

Some of the homes are built on ancestral land that the homeowners are unwilling to leave because it holds deep meaning to the family. Or, adjacent land may not be for sale.

On top of that theres a fatalistic approach  inshallah, if god wills it, Chabot said. Who am I to decide whether I live or die? Its in gods hands.

So Chabot has been working with a regional humanitarian group to try to educate some of the remote villagers to act as rescue teams and train them about the signs of snow instability  some of the same skills skiers and snowmobilers can learn at one of the Avalanche Centers workshops. Perhaps if the villagers can recognize that the snowpack is unstable, they could be encouraged to temporarily evacuate.

Its one of the few things they could do to lessen the loss of life, Chabot said.
In Changchun, one company requires its female employees to inform management a year ahead of plans to have a baby. Although Chinas Communist party has eased the countrys family planning legislation, restrictions by businesses are growing as economic factors come into play. On social media, many express outrage over the trend.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - Reports have surfaced that a company in north-eastern China is asking its female staff to apply with management a year advance that they plan to have children on the grounds that maternity leave could leave them short-staffed. Nothing is known as to whether the company can refuse the application.

Although Chinas government has eased its one-child policy, more and more reports are indicating that would-be mothers are still discriminated, with the authorities turning a blind eye to the abuse. As the main target in this latest restriction on the family, women could be fired or sued.

The case involves a business in Changchun city, Jilin Province, whose female employees are now required to tell bosses a year in advance that they plan on having a baby, this according to the state-owned New Culture newspaper.

Thousands of social media users have weighed in with their thoughts on the Sina Weibo microblogging site.

One woman said there are "no benefits" to the company's plan, and that it "only continues to hamper female employment".

That's a view shared by some men, with one writing, "We do not want to force employers to become more reluctant to hire female employees."

Plenty of other users think the measure is necessary, describing it as a "practical" move. "I have to say, since the second child policy, our unit now has more than a dozen pregnant women," wrote a female user. "Limitations would be good."

According to the company's Human Resources director, China's new two-child policy has left them "helpless" in the face of a baby boom.

"Some employees said that they wanted to take advantage this policy and have another child," Ms Zheng said. "We have to consider the overall interests of the enterprise."

For the company's boss, hiring staff to cover maternity leave has proved "impossible" because of the economic downturn, leaving colleagues overstretched.

China adopted a one-child policy in 1979 to boost economic development. Subsequently, the plan was eased for ethnic minorities to allow them to have two children, and for farmers, who could have a second child if the first was a girl.

However, the policy was often implemented with violence, with exorbitant fines imposed against violators and even forced sterilisation and near-term abortions.

In 2013 and 2014, the government loosened its policy to let some couples (those in which at least one spouse was an only child) have a second child, expecting 20 million new births in 2014. In fact, only 16.9 million babies were born. By May of this year, only 1.45 million couples  out of 11 million eligible ones  had applied to have a second child.

This imbalance, experts say, is the result of decades of anti-natalist public policies, higher costs of living and the difficulty of finding decent jobs to support a large family.

As a result, the mainland birth rate now stands at 1.18 children per couple, significantly lower than the global average of 2.5 children.
The religious leader and founder of Hizmet is on trial for trying to "overthrow" the Turkish state. He and 68 other people are accused, including high-ranking police officials in Istanbul. Once one of Erdogans main supporters, Gulen is now his main enemy after accusing his son and others of corruption. The US has refused Turkeys request for extradition.

Istanbul (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The trial of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen has begun in Istanbul on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.

Gulen and his supporters pushed for corruption probes in 2013 against then Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, his family (especially his son Bilal) and some of Erdogan's inner circle. The government denied the claims, which it said came from Gulen and his acolytes in the judiciary and police.

The clerics trial involves dozens of former police officers  including the former head of Istanbul police Yakup Saygili and the city's ex-deputy criminal police chief Kazim Aksoy. Both were in court at the start of the legal proceedings.

From his sanctuary in Pennsylvania, Gulen has claimed his innocence, rejecting the charges. In Turkey, his supporters have also backed his stance. Washington, meanwhile, has refused an extradition request from Ankara.

Fethullah Gulen was tried in absentia in Turkey in 2000 and acquitted in 2008 thanks to the protection provided by the Erdogan government. Now the former ally has become his main accuser.

Last year, on the eve of presidential elections Turkish police launched a probe into the Gulen's movement, called Hizmet (Service).

Written orders sent to police in 30 provinces described the movement as planning to seize control of the state and change the existing constitutional order.

The charge sheet alleged that Hizmet acted as an armed group, and that it was involved in a series of murders that rocked Turkey in recent years, like the 2007 assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

For many, Hizmets leader, Fethullah Gulen, is one of Turkeys foremost Islamic scholars and political thinkers.

Members of his movement are said to play a prominent role in the police, the judiciary and 'private education. In 2002, it played a crucial role in helping Erdogans Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalknma Partisi, AKP) win power against the countrys secular establishment.

As such, it has exerted great cultural and economic power in the country, and has gained the backing of Turkish and non-Turkish economic interests, as well as many ordinary Muslims.

Over the years, the movement has set up and run scores of schools and colleges in dozens of countries through a network of facilities that help poor students gain access universities and vocational schools.

Some 500 of these schools are in operation in Turkey alone with many more in the Balkans, Asia and Africa.

The group provides scholarships, housing and moral guidance to students who come from the countryside. It also tries to reconcile science and technology with Islam and organised the Olympics of Turkish culture for Turkish-speaking people around the world.

The group owns two newspapers in Turkey, Turkish-language Zaman (Time) and Today's Zaman, in English, as well as other media.
The process will be led by Msgr. John Barwa, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. He has the task of forming a group of experts and gather information about the martyrs. In August 2008, Hindu radicals killed about 100 Christians. The violence forced 56 thousand people to flee their homes; 10 thousand of them still have not returned. Over 6,500 houses destroyed and 395 churches desecrated.

Cuttack-Bhubaneswar (AsiaNews /CNA) - The Catholic Church in India has decided to initiate the cause of canonization of about 100 Christian martyrs killed by radical Hindus during anti-Christian pogroms in 2008. This was decided in recent days Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Bishops 'Conference of India (CBCI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). The cardinal has appointed Msgr. John Barwa, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, to head the process for "martyrs of Kandhamal".



Msgr. Barwa said: "The opening of the cause is a source of pride for the relatives of the victims and for the whole Church. Our men, women and children, who became martyrs because of their faith, are not forgotten. " "Even if they were killed in a horrible way, their death has brought a new life and a new faith. This makes relatives of the victims proud".



In August 2008, the Hindu radicals have killed about 100 Christians, blamed the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda guru, leader of the Hindu nationalist Vishna Hindu Parishad. Although the Maoist guerrillas have repeatedly claimed responsibility for the assassination of the gurus, Hindu fundamentalists in Kandhamal district unleashed the most violent persecution against the Christian minority ever seen in India.



Christian faithful were killed for refusing to convert to Hinduism. In addition more than 56 thousand people fled their homes and took refuge in the forest, where they suffered from hunger and poverty. The radicals have destroyed about 6,500 homes and 395 churches. To date, nearly 10 thousand people have not yet returned to their homes.



The survivors of the pogroms of 2008 have told stories of atrocious violence, including acts of torture and forced conversions. Card. Gracias decided to give impetus to the process of canonization after meeting one of them last November. The president of the CBCI has already informed Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who announced that he will "speak in person to Pope Francis of violence in Kandhamal and its martyrs."

Archbishop Barwa will have the task of forming a group of experts and gathering information on the victims. He has also decided to erect a monument in their memory. In conclusion, he said: "The official launch of the process is 'a big thing' for Christians in India, especially for the challenges that the minority faces every day. It will serve to strengthen and revitalize the Christian community, affected by the attacks of 2008 ".
Djibouti breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran; Jordan has summoned the ambassador to Tehran to Amman for an official protest. Iraq, after Russia, offers to mediate between the parties to avoid an escalation of tension. President Rouhani writes to the Chief Justice for a rapid investigation against the suspects of the assaults on the Saudi diplomatic missions.

Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Qatar has decided to withdraw its ambassador from Iran, joining Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan who have already broken off diplomatic relations in recent days. The decision is the result of Iranian protesters assault on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashad, triggered by Riyadhs execution of 47 "terrorists", including the Shia al-Nimr Nimr, at the beginning of the New Year.

Yesterday, meanwhile, Djibouti also cut relations with Iran and Jordan summoned its ambassador to Tehran to Amman for an official protest against the assault.

In the past, Qatar has repeatedly clashed with Saudi Arabia for supporting various rebel groups in Syria and the different position with respect to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. However, in recent times there has been a rapprochement between the parties, as seen in Qatars joining the Saudi-led Arab coalition that operates in Yemen against Houthi Shiite rebels.

Qatars Foreign Ministry has called the embassy attack a "violation of international standards, which ensure the safety and security of diplomatic missions and their members."

Also yesterday, Iraq offered to mediate between the parties to mend the breach. Earlier, Russia also said it was ready to mediate. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who is in Tehran, met his counterpart Javad Zarif and said that an escalation of tension between Iran (Shiite) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni) could have serious consequences throughout the region. The United Nations have turned to both parties, asking them to calm tensions.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sent a personal letter to the Chief Justice, requesting an extensive and rapid investigation into 50 suspects of involvement in various capacities in the attack on the Saudi embassy. The letter directed to Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, who heads the Iranian judicial system, was also published on Rouhanis personal website.

The head of state calls for an immediate trial against the alleged perpetrators of the assault on the Saudi diplomatic missions, a gesture that is "insulting to the authorities" of the State.

Rouhani, a moderate elected in 2013, has called the incidents "totally unjustifiable". He has been followed by other dignitaries and other officials that violence had damaged the image of Iran.
The three governments have agreed to work together, both in the UN and individually, to eliminate the risk of nuclear war with Pyongyang. The White House "still doubts" the effective use of a hydrogen bomb. Experts seem divided. South Korea restricts access to the inter-Korean Kaesong complex.



Seoul (AsiaNews) - After a day of frantic consultations the governments of Japan, South Korea and the United States have announced that they "will work together to stop the North Korean nuclear ambitions at all costs ". They are joined by the United Nations Security Council which has unanimously condemned the alleged fourth nuclear test by Kim Jong-uns regime and announced new sanctions. However, Pyongyangs real capacity of nuclear has yet to be confirmed.

At 10 am (local time) yesterday, the government of North Korea announced via state television that it had carried out a successful test of a hydrogen bomb. An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 was recorded near the nuclear site of Punggye-ri after the detonation. Besides being more powerful than a normal atomic bomb, hydrogen bombs can be mounted on lower capacity missiles which the regime has possessed for years.

According to the White House, however, the "initial analysis" show that in its latest nuclear test, North Korea did not use a hydrogen bomb, as the regime claims. American experts are still studying the situation, but the White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that "nothing has occurred in the last 24 hours to change our assessment of North Koreas nuclear capabilities". However, Secretary of State John Kerry has stressed, "that is a highly provocative act by North Korea ".

Several international experts have pointed out that the magnitude of the earthquake "is too limited" to have been generated by a hydrogen bomb, but many others point out that everything depends on the size of the war head. Tetsuo Sawada, a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, believes "it is very hard to judge only by the degree detected. Much depends on how the bomb was placed under the ground, and especially on how big it was".

The Seoul government, led by the conservative Park Geun-hye, has announced that it has limited access to the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong. The complex is home to several Southern companies which employ tens of thousands of workers from the North, in the only example of bilateral cooperation in the peninsula. The development is also an important source of cash for the North Koreans and their government.

Seoul also announced the "possibility" of resuming propaganda operations against the regime: they were stopped at the end of 2015 in an attempt to relax the tension on both sides.

The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has condemned the nuclear test "in the strongest possible terms", described as "a direct threat to the security of Japan." This morning he also telephoned President Barack Obama to "agree a common approach in the United Nations on a response to the threat which posed a grave security threat, and that the international community needs to take resolute action".
Urban redevelopment would have knocked down the 13th century structure, which is part of a religious complex called Musalla. At 32 metres, it is tallest building of its kind in the Fergana Valley. A government-appointed commission is set up to meet residents concerns.

Tashkent (AsiaNews/Agencies) Uzbekistan has abandoned plans to demolish a 700-year-old minaret in the eastern city of Andijan.

Last month, activists, conservationists, and social media reacted to council mock-ups for a redevelopment of the city centre, which included plans for a fountain in lieu of the 32-metre structure, the tallest in the whole Fergana Valley.

Local historians and conservation campaigners complained angrily in a letter to Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The prime minister himself had launched the redevelopment, but his government eventually dispatched a special commission to the city.

"The commission [from the central government] met with local residents who had filed complaints against the demolition plans, said Abdussafi Rahmonov, a high-ranking official with the Andijan provincial government.

The residents voiced their opinion and then the commission decided to disallow the removal of the minaret," he explained.

Residents and activists have in fact stressed the cultural significance of the structure, which is part of a historical religious complex known as Musalla, which is protected as an historical monument.

An official within the city council said the minaret had been earmarked for demolition over concerns that it could not withstand the powerful earthquakes that occur in the region  this despite having done so for hundreds of years.

Local conservationists told the visiting commission that the minaret is already fitted with metal anti-earthquake supports to prevent a collapse.
Ok so heres a little about my situation......



I am an Australian citizen by birth born 1976, and I moved to the USA in 2003, I got married to a USA citizen in 2003 and have been here in the USA since then. My husband and I have been married 13yrs and have a 10 yr old son together. We are now wanting to move back to Australia here soon due to a sick family member. My question to you is I no I can return to Australia no issues but my husband will need a Visa of some sort. Will the Partner Visa 801 work for him or do I need to go a different route??? I would also like to do this while I am in Australia as I fear my Dad who is ill may not make his surgery with us waiting in the USA. Any help you could give me would be helpful as I need to travel here real soon.
Ban on sale of large diesel vehicles in Delhi and severe floods in Chennai affect volumes

Passenger vehicle sales in December witnessed an assorted trend when compared to the same month in 2014. Carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Renault, and Ford posted growth in sales whereas Toyota and Tata Motors saw volumes declining. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) ended the year on a muted note.

While the new products launched in the recent months, low fuel prices, and year-end discounts boosted sales, the ban on registration of diesel vehicles with engine capacities over 2,000cc in Delhi and severe floods in Chennai weighed on volumes of some car manufacturers.

Indias largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki posted a 13.5 percent year-on-year rise in domestic sales to 1,11,333 units in December. Sales of the companys compact car models such as the Swift hatch, Dzire sedan, Celerio and the Baleno grew 14 percent year-on-year to 47,354 units. Sales of its entry-level segment cars such as the Alto and Wagon R recovered from a 4.7 percent decline in November to a 7.5 percent growth at 37,234 units in December.

The South Korean manufacturer, Hyundai, and also the second largest car manufacturer in India, registered domestic sales of 41,861 units, up 28.79 percent from 32,504 units last year due to the strong demand for its Creta SUV, as well as the Grand i10. Following the suit of other major carmakers adding safety features to their vehicles, Hyundai recently equipped its Elite i20 and i20 Active with dual airbag as standard. Moreover, the carmaker also updated the variant line-up for its 2016 i20.

M&M was severely hit by the Supreme Courts ban on registration of large diesel cars and SUVs in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) since the ruling affects the XUV 500, Bolero, Scorpio and Thar among other vehicles. Consequently, its passenger vehicles segment sold 18,197 units in December 2015 as against 17,980 units during December 2014, up by just 1 percent.

Inspite of a challenging external environment, we at Mahindra have closed December on a positive note, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), M&M Ltd said in a company statement.

Toyota sold a total of 10,442 units in December 2015, down 11 percent from 11,738 units in the domestic market in December 2014. The monthly sales of the Japanese manufacturer were also considerably affected by the ban on sale of large cars in Delhi and NCR where Toyota is significantly present, the company stated in a statement. Sales were also hit by the Chennai floods, it said. The carmaker had announced a one-day shutdown in its plant due to parts shortage from its Chennai vendors, according to reports.

Renault India registered a growth of 160 percent with monthly domestic sales of 10,292 units in December 2015 as against 3,956 units in the corresponding month last year. The carmaker said that it has substantially increased its sales and service network reach in India, from 14 sales and service facilities in mid-2011 to 190 currently, and will reach 240 facilities by end-2017.

Passenger vehicles sales at Tata Motors stood at 8,069 units, down 33 percent, compared to 12,040 units last year. The carmaker said that high base effect as a result of significant increase in sales in December 2014 ahead of the increase in excise duty effective January 1, 2015 impacted sales in December 2015.

Ford India registered sales of 5,924 units in December, up 57.81 percent from 3,754 units sold last year. It is now gearing up to launch the all-new Ford Endeavour on January 20, 2016. The vehicle will join Ford's existing portfolio of EcoSport, Aspire and Figo hatchback.
HP

The car is dubbed Monster by Mulliner and is made in partnership with the audio specialists at Monster. As a result, the car has a 3,400 Watt sound system with 16 speakers. Those speakers arent placed in the car just to add up numbers, as the system has been calibrated by none other than Noel Lee, Monster founder and famous entrepreneur.In case youre not familiar with Mr. Noel Lee, well give you a quick briefing. Noel Lee is considered the father of the current audio cable market for developing the industrys first high-quality audio cables meant for the discerning consumer.He started his work in the late 1970s and first showcased his products at a fair in 1979, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. Yes, thats the same as the current CES, but held in a different city. Mr. Lee is also known for his work with the famous rapper Dr. Dre on the Beats brand of headphones.Bentley didnt just let the people at Monster install a custom audio system and called it quits. The British brand took this one-off car to its Mulliner division. The bespoke workshop made this Continental GT V8 S truly unique. The car has an Onyx Black exterior with red Hotspur accents. The hood has vents, the entire body features several tweaks and ornaments and the alloy wheels follow the two-tone color pattern of the body.On the inside, the specialists at Mulliner fitted Beluga and Hotspur leather upholstery. The fascia panel on the dash was laser-etched using a specialized machine and has a pattern that was inspired by the logo of the Monster company.The car also features the motto of Monster on the interior sill plates, special embroidery on the headrests and a dedicated compartment for a set of Monster headphones. Mind you, the headphones mentioned are Monsters 24K gold wireless ones.This one-off variant of the Bentley Continental GT V8 S has not been modified on a mechanical level. Therefore, the bi-turbo 4.0-liter V8 unit under the hood still provides 521and 502 lb-ft. The engine delivers its resources to all four wheels with the help of an eight-speed automatic transmission.
DCT

The car has been developed from scratch, on a new platform and on a chassis specially created to carry the three electrified, efficient and ultra-low emission powertrains.The Ioniq is made from 53% Advanced High Strength Steel combined with lightweight aluminum, and it saves even more weight, 12.6 kg to be more precise, by casting non-structural bodywork from aluminum, such as the hood, tailgate or suspension components.Even though the carmaker wanted to keep the cars weight to a minimum, safety comes first, and where a crash structure or energy absorption was necessary, an Advanced High Strength Steel was used, which is strong enough to withstand significant collision forces.The new vehicle from Hyundai is a hybrid, no doubt about it, but who said these cars can't be fun to drive? To make sure this happens, the Ioniq is apparently different from other hybrid vehicles because it embodies dynamic ride and handling, and by positioning the batteries low and forward, the car has a lower center of gravity, which means better responsiveness and cornering. The vehicles better handling is due to the dual lower arm multi-link suspension fitted at the rear.According to Rag Jung, Head of Project Management Division at Hyundai Motor's Namyang R&D Center, "Ioniq embodies Hyundai Motor's new thinking and bold ambitions for the future. This world-class dedicated hybrid will be the starting point of our future mobility."At the unveiling in South Korea, more details about the three powertrains of the new Ioniq were also revealed. The entire range will feature a choice of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric drivetrains, which is, according to Hyundai, a worlds first for a single model.Under the hood sits the new 1.6-liter Kappa GDi engine that, combined with the permanent magnetic electric motor, delivers maximum outputs of 105 ps and 47 ps, engine and motor respectively. The power unit is said to have a class-leading thermal efficiency of 40% thanks to the split block and head for optimized cooling. On the other hand, the 200 bar high pressure 6-hole direct fuel injector improves fuel consumption and keeps emissions to the lowest level.All three versions of the Ioniq have Lithium Ion Polymer Batteries that deliver better charge and discharge performance, optimizing output from the high voltage motor and allowing for rapid regeneration.The power is sent to the wheels through a hybrid-exclusive Dual-Clutch Transmission (), that delivers a prompt response, acceleration performance, and smooth gear changes.As it has been already launched in South Korea, the Ioniq is expected to reach Europe at the Geneva International Motor Show, and the U.S. at the New York Auto Show, both in March 2016.
In times of crisis, special offers and killer bargains are the only things that can still make people spend money, and this goes for motorcycle road racing, as well. MotoGP and World Superbike may be the highest-ranking motorcycle racing events in the world, but this doesn't mean they're not having a hard time now and then, from a financial standpoint.Dorna Sports, the rights holder for both MotoGP and the World Superbike series, and the management of the Misano Circuit in San Marino reached an agreement for extending the offer made for last year's races. WSBK and MotoGP fans will be able to gain access to both events with the same ticket, for the price of only one race.This means that those who plan to watch the Misano World Superbike races on June 19 and the MotoGP races on September 11 will only have to pay the price of a single ticket. The special offer yielded excellent results last year, as Dorna and Misano officials declared.Ticket prices at the races on the Misano World Circuit remained unchanged since 2007, the same officials say, according to insella . "Last year, the formula has been very successful and we now can confirm the same offer for 2016, at the same price. The cost of tickets will remain the same, as it has been since 2007. Only in Misano you can see two live events such as SBK and MotoGP associating them with one convenient ticket," Andrea Albani, Misano World Circuit manager, says.With the success of last year's promotion, it appears this is a recipe that really works for Misano, and we would not be surprised to see other venues that host both MotoGP and WSBK picking up the idea.The combined WSBK and MotoGP ticket offers general access to the circuit on race Sundays for the price of only 90, which is the equivalent of $97, a true bargain. However, if you want to benefit from this offer, you should be quick and get your tickets before February 20, from Ticket One
The Wolfsburg-based company has to choose from a number of solutions, such as refunding the purchase price of about a fifth of the 580,000 diesel cars affected or offering a new one at a significant discount.As for the rest of the vehicles, Volkswagen presumes they will need major refits, which will mean enormous costs for parts and a lot of time spent in the garage because a big part of the cars exhaust must be rebuilt and then approved.The company will have to decide very soon what happens next, because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently stated that it didnt reach an agreement with Volkswagen yet and insisted that the automaker find effective remedies as fast as possible.Volkswagens employees also want to give a helping hand, as according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung , 50 workers, including several division heads, came up with ideas to help the company surpass what is probably the biggest scandal in its history.Although $48 billion is a lot of money, based on previous similar situations, this sum might get smaller at the end of penance. A few years ago, Japanese manufacturer Toyota was also sued for up to $58 billion for violating the Clean Air Act, but in the end the carmaker had to pay only $34 million.Also, in 2014, Hyundai and Kia paid $100 million to the U.S., for violating the same environmental act.After the University of West Virginia, the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board informed about discovering higher emission levels in certain Volkswagen diesel cars, back in 2014, the German company admitted to having installed a special software in a number of cars sold in the U.S.. This allowed them to pass government emissions tests, while emitting up to 40 times the permitted levels of NOx in real world driving.
BISMARCK  A man wanted in Pennsylvania for charges related to human trafficking allegedly tried to chew off his finger pads to hide his identity after Bismarck police arrested him last week on similar charges.

Thurman Lamont Stanley, 39, is charged in South Central Judicial District Court with two counts of sexual servitude, a Class A felony, after Bismarck police were called to a hotel Dec. 30 for a report of prostitution.

Court records say:

Hotel management reported a man who had been asked not to return was believed to be at the hotel with two women who were working as prostitutes.

Investigators connected the women registered to two rooms at the hotel with online sex ads and searched the rooms Dec. 31.

A man later identified as Stanley initially gave police a different name and while at the jail he attempted to chew off his finger pads to conceal his identity, court records say.

After verifying his identity, police learned there was a warrant for Stanley from Monroe County, Pa., for involuntary servitude, a felony that is the same level of charge as a homicide in Pennsylvania.

The lead investigator from the Pennsylvania case told Bismarck police that Stanley used a high level of violence to recruit and retain women to work as prostitutes. Stanley and his subordinates were the subjects of a nearly yearlong investigation in Pennsylvania but Stanley disappeared after the warrant for his arrest was signed Nov. 3, court records say.

The women told police they were recruited by Stanley in other states and they had arrived in Bismarck a few days earlier.

Stanley is being held in the Burleigh County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bond. If hes released, hes not allowed to have contact with either woman.

His attorney, William Thomason, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 8.
7 January 2016 10:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Rajabova

Release of the two Azerbaijanis captivated by the Armenian military in Azerbaijan's occupied territories two years ago remains topical in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks.

The release of the Azerbaijanis was one of the major issues of discussion at the last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Bern. President Ilham Aliyev raised the issue of immediate release of Asgarov and Guliyev from the Armenian captivity.

Yerevan ignores calls to release Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who were captured by Armenian special forces in Shaplar village in July 2014, while they were visiting the graves of their relatives.

Armenia holds under control 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, changing the area into a polygon of arms, drug trafficking and contraband.

Baku has repeatedly stated that Armenia should put an end to the provocative actions accompanied by serious violations of international humanitarian law and immediately release hostages.

Professor Elkhan Alasgarov, the head of the expert council of "Baku Network", told Trend that a good chance emerged for return of the Azerbaijani hostages, who were captured by the Armenian side in Azerbaijans occupied Kalbajar region.

The Azerbaijani government takes necessary steps for return of Asgarov and Guliyev," Azerbaijani expert stressed. "The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People works in this regard.

Alasgarov believes the work should be divided into two parts: efforts made by the government for the release of these individuals and the second, the steps taken by their family members and relatives. From legal point of view, the second step should be taken without delay. The family members should appeal to the court for protecting their rights.

He went on to say that this issue should be considered within the legal framework. The incident occurred in the territory of Azerbaijan and they were taken hostage in Azerbaijan. Their family members should appeal to the court of the region where the Azerbaijanis were taken hostage. This important step will support the work of the government for the release of our compatriots.

Asgarov and Guliyev were subjected to physical, mental and psychological tortures, which is in gross violation of international legal norms. Following an expedited judicial process" in December 2014, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years.

The Armenian special forces killed another Azerbaijani citizen Hasan Hasanov in the same incident. Unwilling to return Hasanovs dead body, the Armenians said they buried him in Khankendi. However, after Azerbaijans persistent negotiations, the remains of Hasanovs corps were handed over to Azerbaijan in October 2014.

One of the hostages, Asgarov, is a Russian citizen, and earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Armenia to immediately release the hostages

The Armenian side ignoring all calls and violating the international rules and norms was subjecting the Azerbaijanis under the Armenian captivity to various tortures.

Alasgarov stressed that the violated rights of hostages should be protected at the international level.

The two parties to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have undertaken obligations to provide information about the fate of the hostages and missing people, are committed to return dead bodies.

Yerevan avoids providing information about the missing persons, mass graves and the people who can give testimony in connection with captives and hostages taken during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova



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7 January 2016 14:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Rajabova

The expected removal of the nuclear deal opens up new opportunities for Iran. Though the sanctions havent lifted yet, many countries and their respective companies have lined up to gain more advantage from the renewal or restoration of economic ties with the Islamic Republic.

The European countries make the majority among such countries. The delegations from the different European countries have increased visits to Tehran with an aim to get benefits from cooperation with Iran.

On the other hand, Irans traditional partners are also determined not to miss the boat in competition with the Western countries.

Irans partners such as India, Pakistan, China, who continued the cooperation with the Islamic Republic during sanctions-period, have increased efforts to expand the collaboration with Tehran.

Especially, Irans long time partner China is interested in expanding economic cooperation, especially in the field of investment and providing financial resources.

Over the past few decades, China and Iran have developed a broad and deep partnership centered on China's energy needs and Iran's abundant resources as well as significant non-energy economic ties.

One of the main pillars of the relationship is oil and gas. China switched to petroleum primarily to get its energy supply off of coal. In 2011, approximately 10 percent of China's oil imports were from Iran. Approximately 80 percent of Chinas total imports from Iran are oil and the rest is mineral and chemical products.

Over the past several years, China has become Iran's number one oil customer and trading partner.

Because of this reliance on Iranian oil and gas, China is now investing in the modernization of Irans oil and gas sector to secure access to the resource.

China has provided Iran with the technological know-how to develop its energy resources. Chinese engineers have also built bridges, dams, railroads, and tunnels throughout Iran.

Iran has focused on rebuilding its refinery capabilities, hedging against U.S.-led sanctions, and advancing its nuclear energy capabilities. China plays an important role as a major commercial and political partner.

Irans Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh has recently said Iran may award phase two of the North Azadegan oilfield to China for development.

Chinas CNPC and Irans PEDEC have already signed an initial agreement to produce 25,000 barrels a day from the field in the second phase, according to the Iranian official.

CNPC also operated the first development phase of North Azadegan and was expected to begin production around October last year with 75,000 bpd.

In 2013, Iran canceled a $2.5 billion contract to extract oil from the South Azadegan field and another deal to develop phase 11 of the South Pars natural gas field after CNPC spent four years just to start the projects.

Chinas energy companies were reportedly instructed in 2010 to slow or stop work in Iran because of pressures from the US which has a sanctions regime in place against Tehran.

State-run Sinopec Group and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) had been reported to begin producing 160,000 barrels a day of oil from South Azadegan and Yadavaran in southwestern Iran from October.

Sinopec officials have said they expected the first phase of the Yadavaran oilfield to yield 85,000 bpd.

Yadavaran, which Iran shares with Iraqs Sinbad, was awarded to Sinopec about nine years ago in a $2 billion deal to operate the first phase in July 2014 and raise recovery to 200,000 bpd in the second phase.

Chinese companies are also making investments in Irans petrochemical projects. 16 petrochemical projects with a total budget of $16 billion have been introduced for Chinese finance, according to CEO of Investment at the National Iranian Petrochemical Company Amir Hassan Fallah.

He added that so far worth $12 billion of the finance has been referred to the Central Bank of Iran for receiving facilities.

Development of railroad transportation, Tehran-Isfahan high-speed train project, electrification of Tehran-Mashad railroad and development of Chabahar Port and its connection to other Central Asian ports by railroad are also among areas of cooperation between the two countries.

With an aim to help ease their mutual trade activities, Iran and China are moving toward a crucial currency swap mechanism.

The Chinese government has decided to swap currency with Iran, Deputy Chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce Majid Reza Hariri said.

The mechanism envisages payments in yuan to suppliers of commodities and services to Iran in return for the oil that Beijing purchases from Tehran.

China reportedly owes Iran over $20 billion in outstanding oil payments. The cash has been frozen in overseas banks after the US-led sanctions made it difficult for Beijing to transfer money to Tehran. Accordingly, the two countries have reportedly reached a deal to settle a part of the frozen money through Chinas funding of Iranian petrochemical projects.

The decision on currency swap comes after China recently succeeded in making yuan stand as an internationally credible currency.

However, Hariri said it must be seen what method China will use for swapping currencies and when the intention turns practical.

The Iranian officials consider that China is expected to remain Irans top partner in 2016.

China is partner to 25 percent of Irans foreign trade.

In 2015, Iran-China trade fell by 34 percent after key goods such as oil, gas condensates, and iron ore lost much value.

Beyond its oil resources, Iran plays an important role in Chinas regional economic ambitions. Since 2013, China has pushed to expand its overland trade routes through the Silk Road Economic Belt, an initiative to build roads, railroads, and other transportation infrastructure throughout Central Asia. Iran is a critical part of this plan, due to its strategic location with access to key waterways.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova



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7 January 2016 11:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

Armenia bears the responsibility for unleashing the war and using force against Azerbaijan, occupying its territories, carrying out ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and committing other serious crimes.

Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry made the remark while commenting on the illegal economic activity in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

He said that in flagrant violation of Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty, its appropriate laws and the norms and principles of international law, individuals or companies in transactions with Armenia, its organs, natural and legal persons as well as with its subordinate separatist regime in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan run risk of facing appropriate legal proceedings, including in the form of administrative or criminal prosecution.

The Republic of Azerbaijan is the only country possessing the internationally recognized sovereignty over its occupied territories, he said. Like any other military occupation, the occupation of Azerbaijans territories is temporary as well.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

Hajiyev further said that despite the ongoing negotiations towards the solution of the conflict based on the principles of international law and the UN Security Council Resolutions 822(1993), 853(1993), 874(1993) and 884 (1993), the policy and practice of Armenia in the occupied territories, including installation of artificial settlements by transferring people from abroad into those areas, destruction of cultural heritage of Azerbaijani people and altering their origin, illegal commercial activities and preventing the Azerbaijani internally displaced population from returning to their homes testify to Yerevans intention to secure the annexation of these territories.

Under international law such activities in the occupied territories may be qualified as war crimes that entail criminal liability, he said. Additionally, the natural and legal persons also in breach of corporate social responsibility and business ethics code, contribute to the continuation of Armenias occupation against Azerbaijan and violation of fundamental rights, including rights of return and rights of property of over million Azerbaijani IDPs, who were subject of ethnic cleansing."

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are considered illegal and individuals who pay such visits are included in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys black list.

As a result of preventive actions and rising of awareness about legal consequences, the activities of many foreign companies have been ceased in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan, he said.

In the meantime, the criminal proceedings have been taken in relation to German Sterligov, citizen of Russian Federation for his illegal actions in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, he said. The necessary operative-investigative actions are being continued in this regard. The illegal economic activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are also put into the agenda of joint Governmental Commissions and are subject of discussions with the appropriate States.

Hajiyev said that in accordance with their obligations under the international law all states shall do all necessary to refrain their natural and legal persons from unlawful visits to and other activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and prohibit export of any products produced in these areas to their markets.



The Republic of Azerbaijan will continue to take all legal and political measures at the national and international levels to prevent such illegal activities in its occupied sovereign territories, he stated.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats against unauthorized visits to territories under Armenian occupation, stating that such visits violate international law. The country urges all foreign nationals to refrain from traveling to the occupied territories in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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7 January 2016 14:03 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Rajabova

Colombia, the 4th largest country in South America, is keen on developing the cooperation with South Caucasus energy-rich country Azerbaijan, located in favorable geographical position linking Europe to Asia.

Enjoying good relations with Azerbaijan, Colombia is interested in further fostering the economic ties.

Assad Jose Jater Pena, Charge dAffaires of the Colombian embassy in Baku, said his country is seeking to increase the trade turnover with Azerbaijan. He stressed the importance of holding mutual business forums to promote the relations in the trade field.

Pena made the remarks during his meeting with journalists in Baku on January 7 over the completion of his diplomatic mission.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in September 1994. The diplomat stressed the necessity of expanding cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy, agriculture, tourism, and engineering.

Emphasizing the importance of developing relations between the regions of Azerbaijan and Colombia, Pena said a strong base exits for deepening ties in the field of tourism.

Azerbaijani citizens are not required to get visas to visit Colombia, the diplomat added.

He further voiced pleasure with the hospitality he was shown over the two years of his stay in Baku.

The Columbian embassy launched its activity in Azerbaijan's capital Baku in February 2014. Pena has been heading the embassy since then.

The diplomat voiced a belief that bilateral ties will continue to develop in the future, adding that the embassy attached special importance to the areas of culture and education in 2015.

We would like to bring together Colombian and Azerbaijani scientists so that they can achieve academic innovations. We also think its necessary to strengthen cooperation between the regions of Azerbaijan and Colombia. Although there is a solid cooperation in this area, we do hope it would be better in the future, Pena said.

The diplomat also announced the name of his successor. The newly-appointed Charge d'Affaires, Martha Galindo, will arrive in Baku in coming days, according to Pena.

The relations between the two countries successfully develop in various areas, as well as in political sphere. Colombia supports the position of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Recall that Colombia became the second Latin American country after Mexico, whose parliament recognized the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

In April 2012, the Colombian Senate has passed a decision on Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories and recognized the crimes committed by Armenians in Khojaly in 1992 during the Karabakh war as genocide. The decision was taken unanimously after 102 votes required for its adoption were successfully collected.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova



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7 January 2016 17:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

A comprehensive education has always been among key tools for securing better future. Over the past decade, many Azerbaijanis favored education abroad citing the attractive prospect of the benefits of living overseas, familiarizing with a different culture and widening job opportunities.

The government of Azerbaijan realized a state program on education of youth abroad in 2007-2015, which allowed many to study overseas.

However, 2015 was the last year of the state program. Those who dream to study or continue education abroad ask one question-will the government develop and adopt a new program for 2016 and subsequent years?

The Education Ministry told local media that the ministry takes necessary measures to educate talented youth abroad and develop a draft program. The Ministry hinted that there will be innovations in the new program as well.

"Draft state program is being developed given the fact that the State Program on education of Azerbaijani young people abroad for 2007-2015 ends. The scope of the previous program has been expanded in the new program, innovations such as to involve foreign professor-academic staff to education process in Azerbaijan's higher education institutions, and to conduct joint scientific-research works together with their participation have been included in the new program. Currently, the program is at the stage of agreement," a source in the ministry said.

Being a fast developing nation in the region, Azerbaijan has opened up significant opportunities for its youth for receiving quality education abroad. The government sees education as a major source of investment, and is pursuing a policy of investing in the youth.

Investing in the human capital means gaining educated people - highly qualified professionals who can help push the country forward and boost growth in many fields. In this regard, the state program is of significant importance for Azerbaijan.

In 2015, 373 Azerbaijani students got a chance to be included in the list of scholars. Last year, the students who aimed to get master degree in the world's leading universities, were given priority. In particular,176 student got a right to study at the master degree education level, 25 - PhD, 70 - residency, 102 - higher medical and bachelor degree. In general, 3,558 students benefited the state program.

The top five countries where Azerbaijani students preferred to get education were Great Britain, Turkey, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands, while the Harvard University, Cambridge College, Oxford University, London Imperial College, Moscow State University of International Relations, Middle East Technical University, Toronto University, Nanyang Technology University, and Kyoto University were the most opted higher education institutes.

Some 60 percent of Azerbaijani students, who have studied abroad, are currently involved in the private sector, and the remaining 40 percent in the state sector.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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7 January 2016 15:44 (UTC+04:00)

The invitation addressed by Barack Obama to President Ilham Aliyev to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit is a very important event for Azerbaijan and shows its importance as a state, political analyst Arzu Naghiyev told Trend.

US President Barack Obama invited Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. in March 2016 by sending a letter to Ilham Aliyev Dec. 3, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administrations foreign relations department, tweeted Jan.6.

Naghiyev said that today Azerbaijan is the most developed country in the region. That is why the invitation of the president of the United States must be regarded as an event of fundamental importance, he said.

Naghiyev went on to add that this invitation will make an important contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States.

The expert also said that at the same time, this invitation became a message to those who try to damage relations between the two countries.

This invitation once again shows that the US attitude towards Azerbaijan is formed not on the basis of views of individual persons and forces, and the United States attaches great importance to relations with Azerbaijan, said the expert. Azerbaijan is a secular state and is governed according to modern law, and this fact is very well understood in the United States.

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7 January 2016 16:32 (UTC+04:00)

A group of 42 Azerbaijani peacekeepers operating as part of NATO's Resolute Support non-combat mission left for Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said.

Azerbaijan's military personnel have been part of the ISAF contingent in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. The mission of the armed forces in Afghanistan began on November 20, 2002. The Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan doubled in 2009.

Currently, the mission involves 94 servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, two military doctors, and two engineers. Azerbaijan is among the eight partner countries that have confirmed their presence in Afghanistan after 2014.

Meanwhile, two servicemen of peacekeeping forces of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Abdullayev Shukur and Akbarov Gunduz have been awarded under the order of Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov.

The two servicemens professionalism was also praised by the NATOs Turkish Armed Forces Command in Afghanistan, and the servicemen were presented with a letter of gratitude of Commander of Afghanistan Turkish Task Force, Major General Mehmet Cahit Bakir.

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Amanda Rose Steffen requested a partially suspended sentence at her hearing Wednesday.

Steffen appeared from the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, where she was being held until sentencing.

"I feel bad about what I did," Steffen told Yellowstone County District Judge Mary Jane Knisely during the video conference.

The 24-year-old mother was found guilty but suffering from mental illness, and sentenced to 40 years in the state hospital.

She apparently killed the abused baby in June of 2012 in a Billings apartment she shared with her 32-year-old husband, Jeffery James Fox.

Steffen was sentenced on three felonies, including negligent homicide, aggravated assault and assault on a minor.

Steffen was arrested after she walked into a Sonoma County Sheriffs office in California in April 2014 and confessed.

"I feel like it was hard for me to turn myself in, but I didn't want to have all that weighing on me, she told the judge Wednesday. I just want to get help for everything. I was just hoping for some suspended time."

After serving a quarter of her sentence, Steffen will be eligible for parole. She may also be transferred out of the Montana State Hospital at the discretion of the director.

"I recognize the fact that you turned yourself in and that is part of how this case was solved," Knisely said. "And that is admirable under the circumstances. But I am not comfortable suspending portions of your sentence."

The "torture" Steffen's 3-month-old child, Rosanna Fox, underwent was baffling, the judge said. Montana State Hospital psychologist Dr. Virginia Hill's diagnosis and mental health evaluation better explained how someone could inflict such "trauma" on a child, the judge said.

Hill said Steffen has several mental illnesses that affected her judgment at the time of her daughter's death. The major diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition including schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms. Hill said Steffen's addiction problems also played a role.

Billings Police Captain of Investigations Jeremy House said Steffen went to the Sonoma County Sheriff's office and confessed to abusing her 3-month-old daughter to death.

Steffen told investigators she would slap the baby if it screamed or cried. She would scare the baby awake and hold the baby's tongue down, making it impossible to scream, cry or breathe. The baby spent most of its life in a car seat, House said.

Steffen said she put the baby, who was in her car seat, into the closet at about 4 p.m. June 4, 2012, before passing out from smoking marijuana. When she went to check on the baby an hour later, she was dead.

The medical examiner could not determine a specific cause of death but did find a healing skull fracture, other injuries and signs of dehydration, according to charging documents.

Fox admitted his role in the abuse last August, and said the abuse began about two weeks after the baby was born. He pleaded guilty to negligent homicide. The plea agreement calls for a 20-year sentence to the Montana State Prison. Fox is still awaiting sentencing.

Deputy County Attorney Julie Patten said the baby suffered her entire life, which was ended far too soon.

"Forty years gets Roseana Fox the justice she deserves," Patten said.
7 January 2016 17:33 (UTC+04:00)

Costa Rica intends to open an embassy in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced on January 7.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religion of Costa Rica in its addressed verbal note expressed its intention to open a resident embassy in Baku in 2016.

The Azerbaijani side in its response note welcomed the decision of Costa Rica and stressed that the functioning of embassy would contribute to the development of relations between the two countries.

Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion Manuel Gonzalez Sanz visited Baku in October 2015 and held meetings with the countrys leadership.

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7 January 2016 18:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijans national currency manat continues to be the central character of the day for the most part of the population as it has switched to the free-floating rate in December end. The heart-to-heart talk between manat and dollar continues on the background of the oil prices drama.

At present, the official exchange rate of the manat against the U.S. dollar was set at 1.5626 manat on January 7, the same as it was on January 6.

This week, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan has moved to the definition of the manat through auctions. Thus, the average rate of manat is established based on inter-bank transactions in the foreign exchange market.

Vahid Ahmadov, a member of the Parliament, believes that there is nothing irregular in this connection, as the free-floating rate in Azerbaijan is regulated. The manat is affected by the oil prices on the world markets, and the decrease of oil prices influence the national currency rate, he said.

The prices of oil continue falling in the world markets, decreasing Azerbaijani Azeri Light crude oil by $1.59 to stand at $35.77 on January 7. Meanwhile, the U.S. Light crude oil stands at $33.07, and price of the Brent crude oil to trade at $33.19.

Calculations of the global oil market analysts are not comforting, saying that oil prices may drop to $25/b or even lower this year.

Ahmadov said, the CBA is not depreciating the manat sharply now, a soft devaluation will continue, and hardly anything can be done as Azerbaijans economy is based on oil production, and if the non-oil sector will not develop, the manats rate will be problematic.

The manat-dollar-oil-prices triangle stroke the population in Azerbaijan, as the country mostly imports products from abroad buying them with dollars, which increases the price in manats.

There are a number of suggestions to solve this problem, Ahmadov said. We should study the structure of the import, and change it. Stop the import of some products for a period, bringing mostly what the population needs now.

In this unstable situation, the CBA tries to manage the new rate and decrease the number of multiplying speculators.

The Bank tightened currency exchange rules on January 6. From now on, exchange of currency in the amount exceeding $500 will be carried out only with the identity card. This rule regulate foreign currency exchange in banks, their branches and offices, local branches of foreign banks and the national postal operator.

The new rules presuppose that each foreign exchange service is entered into the banks system, and the client receives a bank statement.

Banks are free to determine exchange rates of purchase and sale of foreign currency, and in various offices currency rates may differ, the CBA said, noting that currency exchange rate may vary during the day.

MP Ahmadov said that he endorse this initiative. Payments are performed only in manats in Azerbaijan. While earlier, a lot of foreign currency came to Azerbaijan due to the oil and gas export, in todays situation, it will be better to reveal all the currency exchange in the country, he added.

Moreover, he added, that it will be better to make all the currency exchanges carried out only with the ID, despite the exchanging sum, like it works in Turkey.

Banks get encouragement

The situation first affects national banks, which number reaches 43, with 758 branches and 165 offices.

The Central Bank has changed the reservation rates for poor and risky assets of banks, in order to neutralize the impact of macroeconomic risks on the banking sector within the framework of countercyclical prudential regulation of the sector and support for financial stability.

The bank has lowered the reservation rate for poor assets to 25 percent, and the reservation rate for risky assets  up to 50 percent. Previously, the reservation rate for poor and risky assets was 30 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

At the same time, the rate on satisfactory assets amounts to one percent, restructured controlled assets  two percent, non-restructured controlled assets  one percent, and irredeemable assets  100 percent.

In addition, the Central Bank has amended the rules of restructured assets classification.
7 January 2016 12:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan Fashion Week for the first time will be held in Moscow on March 6-8.

Organized by the Moscow-based Azerbaijani Culture studio in partnership with the Russian-Azerbaijani Friendship Center, the event will take place in Moscows President Hotel.

The two-day event stipulates holding of a fashion show, after party, exhibition and sale, welcome party and workshop for the guests.

Local fashion designers and domestic brands including fashion, perfumes, cosmetics, accessories, and others are invited to take part in the Azerbaijani Fashion Week.

For the detailed information please contact Ulker Kurbanova on +7(495)7961044; or mail [email protected]

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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7 January 2016 16:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

Gubustan, located in 70 kilometers from the capital Baku, is the rarest monument of the world culture and one of the first centers of human civilization.

Unique proves about the habitants of the region of stone age and of the later ages are collected in Gobustan mountains  drawings on rocks, human settlement points, tombstones and others. There are located remains of the great prehistoric cromlech, which can be regarded as the Azerbaijani analogue of Stonehenge.

There are approximately 6000 drawings in Gobustan  petroglyphes - stone and iron-age figures carved thousands of years ago and now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pictures dating back to 8 millenniums reflect different hunting scenes, ceremonial and ritual processes of the habitants of these places.

One can also find a rock beside the approach lane that is the most easterly known graffiti by a Roman legionnaire, which was discovered by scientists in the 30-s of the 20th century. It reads:

Caesare avg

Germanic

L Julius

Maximus>

Leg XII Ful.

It means "The time of Emperor Domitianus Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Lucius Julius Maxim, and Centurion XII of the Lightning Legion."

It is interesting that the XIIth legion of Domician, the Roman emperor, visited the territory of Gobustan in the 1st century A.D.. Flavius Eutropius, an ancient Roman historian who flourished in the latter half of the 4th century, repeatedly reported that during his fifteen-year reign (81-96), Domitian made campaigns against the Chatti, the Dacians, and the Sarmatians  all of whom lived along the northern border of the empire.

Scientists believe that Domitian sent the Legion to the Caucasus to help the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania. And the name of the settlement of Ramana or Romana in the vicinity of Baku perhaps also speaks of the Roman troops stay in Absheron.

In 96 BC. Emperor Domitian was killed by conspirators and the Senate declared him an enemy. All his pictures were supposed to be destroyed, and his name scraping of all inscriptions, however, in the Roman stone in Gobustan it survived intact.

The mystery of Roman inscriptions in Gobustan still remains unsolved. Scientists continue to offer different versions and ideas.

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7 January 2016 17:49 (UTC+04:00)

U.S. President Barack Obama has invited President Ilham Aliyev to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, in March 2016.

This announcement from the Twitter account of Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration and chief of the administrations foreign relations department, has a pleasant echo in political circles, which accepted this invitation as high recognition of Azerbaijan's position in the region.

Obama, in his letter dated to December 3, noted that Azerbaijan has demonstrated steadfast support of the global nuclear security architecture.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has proved itself as a reliable and balanced partner, gaining confidence of many nations. The county's contribution to minimizing global security threats has always been appraised and promoted.

President Ilham Aliyev's invitation to high-profile security summit is an obvious evidence showing the country's role in the global security system.

Azerbaijans participation in the nuclear summit will be symbolic, as the country is not a nuclear power. This is a result of a balanced and well thought-out foreign policy pursued by President Aliyev.

The invitation to Washington stressed the priority the White House attaches to Azerbaijan and also a reply to anti-Azerbaijani forces keen to cool the relations between the two states.

Azerbaijan has always been a staunch supporter of peace and prosperity in the world, which also defines and reinforces the country's position in the international arena. Azerbaijan is one of the leading countries in the region, which has always advocated a peaceful resolution of conflicts, and is an active participant in the fight against terrorism.

That makes the country the most-invited guest of the important international events and gatherings, held to discuss the milestones of the recent developments in the world and look for ways of addressing the problems of global significance.

In his letter, Obama expressed hope that Azerbaijan will continue to prioritize efforts to interdict nuclear and radiological materials.

Azerbaijan contributed to the international efforts in Irans nuclear issue. Recently, U.S. State Secretary John Kerry has praised Azerbaijans role in the withdrawal of Iran's uranium to Russia, saying Azerbaijan played a role in facilitating the shipment.

Iran has shipped its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to Russia as a key step in fulfilling its commitments under the landmark nuclear deal reached with six world powers in July in Vienna.

Some experts believe that the nuclear summit also will be a good chance for Baku to popularize its own hardships.

"Azerbaijan can use this event to explain its complicated geopolitical position and security challenges, and use the opportunity to its advantage," Ariel Cohen, the leading expert of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, principal of International Market Analysis believes.

The Summit will continue discussions over the evolving threat and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism.

The nuclear security summit will be held in Washington, from March 31 to April 1, 2016. The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington in 2010, the second - in Seoul in 2012, the third - in The Hague in 2014.
7 January 2016 13:44 (UTC+04:00)

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) will conclude the remaining large contracts within the project in the beginning of 2016, Lisa Givert, TAP Head of Communications told Trend.

These contracts include offshore pipeline construction and line pipes, compressor stations, according to Givert.

TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe.

Last year TAP concluded the contracts for access roads and bridges, turbo compressors and ball valves.

Early 2016, award of major procurement contracts are expected to be completed within TAP.

Once the procurement and other processes are concluded, TAP will then outline the cost of the project, Givert said.

The approximately 870 km long TAP will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

TAP expects to begin the pipeline construction in the middle of 2016. The overall construction phase will take approximately 3.5 years.

First deliveries to Europe will follow approximately in early 2020.

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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7 January 2016 17:30 (UTC+04:00)

Any coordination within OPEC is highly unlikely amid the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sam Barden, the director of Wimpole International, an energy market development company believes.

OPEC has no future what so ever. It does not fit the notion of a modern economy, and given current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia the likely hope of any coordination is zero, Barden told Trend.

Over the past few days, the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated following the kingdoms execution of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan. 2.

Reacting to al-Nimrs execution, a group of hardline Iranians stormed Saudi embassy in Tehran, smashing furniture and setting fire to the building before being dispersed by police. Officially, Iran expressed strong protest regarding the execution, and the fragile relations between the two countries started going even further downhill from there.

Saudi Arabia and its allies including Sudan, Djibouti, Bahrain and the UAE joined diplomatic action against Iran following the break into the embassy in Tehran.

Barden believes, that the Saudi Arabia-Iran tensions are nothing more than a side show from an increasingly desperate Saudi regime unable or unwilling to modernise.

Saudi regime is close to collapse and they have lost any notion of support from the world population generally. This is tragic for Saudi people, who are highly educated and have the ability collectively to modernise the Saudi economy, Barden said.

This will never happen under the current rulers as they are too busy fighting each other and wasting the national savings through lack of structural investment, he added.

With regard to Iran, Barden believes that the country absolutely must establish a regional pricing hub for its hydrocarbons independent of London (Brent) and New York (WTI) in order to modernise its economy.

Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are the members of OPEC.

Saudi Arabia, by producing 10.25 million barrels per day of oil in the third quarter of 2015, ranks first among OPEC member countries in terms of crude production. The country was the one who pushed OPEC's strategy shift last year to defend market share rather than cut output to support prices, which have already decreased to their 11-years low.

Earlier the country rejected Iran's demand for cooperation on quota coordination by saying that the market can absorb Iran's surplus production and OPEC members do not need to reduce their output.

OPEC's crude oil production increased to 31.5 million barrels per day during last two years, 1.5 million barrels per day more than the determined 30 million barrels per day.

---

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7 January 2016 18:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

SOCAR doesn't need to build a new LNG terminal on the Black Sea coast of Georgia in the near future.

This was noted by Vagif Aliyev, the Head of the Investment Department of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR, in an interview with local TV channel on January 7.

He said that gas consuming countries of the region are located close to gas exporting countries.

"Furthermore, there is not a major consumer of liquefied and compressed natural gas in the region, while the terminal is needed to store large volumes of gas. For this reason, investing in the construction of the terminal would not be practical now. SOCAR has a large oil terminal in Kulevi, which operates very efficiently, and the company has established relevant infrastructure. If any appropriate condition rises in the future, we will consider the possibility of building an LNG terminal," he added.

SOCAR's terminal in Kulevi was put into operation in 2008. The terminal's capacity is 10 million tons of bulk oil cargoes annually. The capacity of the reservoir park of the terminal is 320,000 cubic meters with the possibility of increasing to 380,000 cubic meters.

Iran's gas supply to Georgia to have political context

Touching upon Iran's plans to export its natural gas to Georgia through a pipeline, potentially viewing Armenia as a transit country, Aliyev said that for Tehran, possible gas supplies to Georgia will have a political context, not an economic one.

He noted that while Georgia is a close neighbor and strategic ally of Azerbaijan, each state determines its own energy strategy.



"SOCAR has strong position in Georgia. Over the past five years, SOCAR has become the largest taxpayer in Georgia. Georgia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on gas deliveries until 2030, Aliyev said. We are the main supplier of the natural gas to the country, in addition, another part of the volume Tbilisi receives as transit fee for transportation of Russian gas through its territory to Armenia.



Azerbaijan is the main supplier of gas to Georgia with a share of 77.9 percent of total imports of this category. Azerbaijan exported 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia in January-November 2015.



Gas from Azerbaijan to Georgia is delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which transports gas produced in the giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspians Azerbaijani sector. SOCAR supplies its own gas to Georgia via a pipeline that passes through the Azerbaijans Gazakh region. Power flow of gas through this pipeline is about three billion cubic meters a year.

TANAP is progressing in line with plans

Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project, which envisages the transportation of gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field on the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey, is progressing in line with schedule.

"All preparation works are completed and the practical phase has started," he said adding that approximately, 850 kilometers of pipes have already been produced for TANAP, they were tested and delivered to contractors.

A 600-kilometer land area has been prepared for pipe laying, and the welding works have already been carried out on 230-kilometer area, Aliyev noted.

TANAPs initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Some six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the rest will go to Europe.

TANAPs shareholder list will be as follows: SOCAR, 58 percent; Botas, 30 percent; and BP, 12 percent. The capital costs of the TANAP project are expected to stand at $9.5 billion. It is expected that the TANAP project will be implemented in time - in 2018, and possibly even earlier.

Commenting on the possibility of transportation of Iranian gas via TANAP, Aliyev said that this issue was discussed only at the political level, rather than commercial level.

Meanwhile, he didn't rule out the possibility of supply of blue fuel from other possible sources via TANAP.

"In the first stage, its capacity will be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. But the pipeline is expandable up to 31 billion cubic meters for ensuring supplies from other possible sources. Technically, it will give an opportunity to deliver more gas to Turkey. However, the question of commercial deliveries of the Iranian gas via TANAP has not been discussed yet," he added.

Commenting on the possibility of increasing deliveries of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey on the background of worsening relations between Ankara and Moscow, SOCAR official said that now Turkey does not have any problem with gas supply.

"Currently, there is not such a necessity. Nevertheless, we consider the opportunity to increase the supply, and the current system allows doing it. These questions will be addressed to the extent possible," he stated.

Construction of new gas storage in Nakhchivan irrelevant

Aliyev went on to add that SOCAR considers the construction of underground gas storage in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in the near future irrelevant.

"Despite the fact that Azerbaijans demand for gas is growing, its consumption in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is at an average of 300 million cubic meters a year, so there is no need to build storage facilities there," he said.

Azerbaijan has two underground gas storages facilities, Kalmaz and Garadagh, which are on the balance of SOCAR.

"They are constantly being upgraded, new wells are drilled there, and gas compressor stations have already been installed, Aliyev said. Currently, their capacity is up to 4.5 billion cubic meters, accounting for 30-35 percent of domestic consumption of gas in Azerbaijan. Its sufficient to cover the gas demand.

--

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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7 January 2016 13:08 (UTC+04:00)

By Rufiz Hafizoglu

It is unlikely that the rupture of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran can lead to an open military conflict.

If one recalls the history of relations between Tehran and Riyadh, the peak of these relations was before the Islamic revolution in Iran. After the revolution, the relations with Saudi Arabia weren't friendly anymore.

But there is no doubt that the crisis in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran will have a negative impact on the neighboring countries, where armed conflicts are raging, and it is primarily Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Kuwait, 45 percent of which are Shiite muslims, can also face serious political unrests. Political tensions in such countries as Lebanon and Bahrain arent excluded, either.

Already a number of countries clearly stated that the deterioration of relations between Tehran and Riyadh will negatively impact the entire region.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Jan. 5 urged Tehran and Riyadh not to aggravate relations. He said that Iran and Saudi Arabia are important countries of the Islamic world, and that Turkey is an ally to both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In addition, France already said that it could become a mediator for the resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But no matter how France has sought to mediate between the Arabs and the Persians, Paris lacks real opportunities for such a mediation.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari also said today that Baghdad will be the mediator in the resolution of diplomatic crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But Iraq, as is known, is already a ground for disputes for Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The US, Russia and the Western countries also can not be mediators between the Kingdom and the Islamic Republic on the issue of the resumption of relations.

The question arises: which country can act as a mediator if Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to resume the relationship?

Turkey  is a country that has close ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran.

After the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom invested $300 million into Turkey's construction sector.

In fact, as a Sunni Muslim country, Turkey could act as a mediator between Tehran and Riyadh, but Iran is unlikely to agree. Some Iranian media outlets have already said that the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr after President Erdogans visit to Saudi Arabia is not accidental.

Moreover, Ankara, taking into account cooling of relations with Iran, will unlikely to agree to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh.

Pakistan is the other country that could potentially become a mediator. Being mostly a Sunni country, Pakistan is not hostile towards Iran.

Moreover, previously the country's officials have repeatedly stated that Pakistan maintains a balance in relations with Tehran and Riyadh and Islamabad can mediate for normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, Pakistan is not at odds with Iran over the Syrian crisis. Pakistan stated throughout the military conflict in Syria that the crisis must be solved politically.

Taking this into account, one can say that as opposed to Turkey, Pakistan can be a real mediator for the resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

But, apparently, Tehran and Riyadh are taking time before the decision to normalize the relations is made.

---

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7 January 2016 12:23 (UTC+04:00)

Approximately 850 km of pipes has been already produced for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project , Head of the Investment Department of SOCAR Vagif Aliyev told local media.

He said that the projects progress is in line with scheduled plans.

All preparation activities are completed and the practical phase has started," Aliyev said, adding that the mentioned 850 km of pipes have been tested and delivered to contractors.

He further said that a 600-km land area has been prepared for pipe laying, and the welding works have already been carried out on 230-km area.

TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The projects total cost is estimated at $10 billion.

Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are: SOCAR  58 percent, Botas  30 percent and BP  12 percent.

The initial capacity of TANAP pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the remaining volume will be supplied to Europe.

The contractors for constructing TANAPs 1,337 kilometers long onshore section are: Fernas Insaat A.S., Sicim-Yuksel-AKKORD Adi Ortakligi and TEKFEN Insaat ve Tesisat A.S. These companies will build the pipelines section running up to the city of Eskisehir.

---

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Patrick Neiss didn't own any running shoes on March 8, 2013, according to Wednesday testimony.

The homicide trial for 44-year-old Neiss moved into its third day as prosecuting attorneys continued trying to link Neiss to a weapon or a pair of shoes that could suggest he was involved in the shooting death of Frank Trey Greene, 47, in 2013.

The trial on charges for deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence, which could last two weeks, began Monday before Judge Gregory Todd.

Prosecutors say Neiss killed Greene over a stolen motor. Defense attorneys say investigators ignored other suspects and focused on Neiss too early.

According to testimony from Neiss' mother and a woman friend at the time, Neiss was at home with his son on March 8, 2013. He also didn't own any running shoes at the time, and footprints from a Nike running shoe on Greene's property didn't match any shoes Neiss owned.

Five .40-caliber shell casings were found around Greene's body as well as two spent bullets. The casings matched some found on Neiss' property. All the bullet casings found were fired from the same gun, according to a report by the Montana State Crime Lab.

No .40 caliber handgun has been found at either man's residence.

Darlene Durand, Neiss' mother, testified many people came and shot guns on her property over the years.

Durand and Neiss lived together with Neiss' son at the time of Greene's death. Their property had many dilapidated trailers and structures, including a large tank. On the tank, in nine-foot letters, the word "motor" was written facing the direction of Greene's property.

"I don't know what his intention was," Durand said in a previous deposition, regarding why Neiss had painted the word 'motor' on the tank. In the same deposition she said she thought it was for Neiss' business, but added it could have been a "message."

She acknowledged the word "motor" couldn't be seen from the road.

She said Neiss was at home when she returned from an errand at about 10:15 p.m. on March 8, 2013. She said that to the best of her knowledge, he was at home all evening.

Darlene Durand was charged with perjury in 2014 after speaking to law enforcement about her son. Her case is pending. Durand will be granted immunity for her testimony in the homicide case, meaning her testimony cannot be used against her in her own case. It does not mean charges will be dropped against her.

Durand said after she returned from the gas station, Neiss left to meet Amy Glen, who was friends with Neiss at the time. Durand said Neiss went to return a jacket to Glen.

Glen testified Neiss called her at 8:39 p.m. and asked her to meet him at King Avenue near the railroad tracks. Neiss sounded out of breath, Glen said.

He never arrived, and the two ended up meeting later at about 11 p.m. outside a gas station. Glen said the two spoke for only a short time before law enforcement arrived and arrested them both.

When she was released from jail 10 days later, Glen hung out with Neiss but didn't ask him about what had happened. She said he drank for about 10 days straight and said it was because he was stressed from the raid on his home.

Glen said she had heard Neiss make threats in the past against Greene for stealing his motor but doesn't believe they were serious threats.

FBI special agent Matt Salacinski said he examined Neiss' computer history for any evidence linking Neiss to Greene's death. In January and February 2013, Neiss' computer history showed some of the 22 keywords chosen by Salacinski. This included the words 'murder', 'silencer' and 'suppressor.'

Forensic pathologist Thomas Bennett testified Greene was shot three times, once in the back of the head. Bennett ruled the gunshot wound to the head as the cause of death.

Bennett did not identify any defense wounds on Greene. He also could not determine an accurate time of death.

Neiss was arrested March 8, 2013 at about 11 p.m. Investigators said Neiss was found to have gunpowder residue on his body but wasn't charged for more than a year due to lack of evidence.

Yellowstone County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Price testified when officers arrested Neiss that night, a cause of death had not yet been determined and the investigation was in it's early stages.

Neiss was arrested again in August 2014 and charged. He is being held in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility on a $500,000 bond.

Greene and Neiss owned adjacent properties in Yellowstone County, west of Billings. Greene lived at 800 Homewood Park Drive, and Neiss lived about two thirds of a mile south on Homewood Park Drive, at 7200 Central Avenue.

Neiss and Greene had several run-ins during 2012. Neiss believed that Greene had stolen a motor from him in 2007 while Neiss was in prison, according to court documents.
7 January 2016 17:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

Kazakhstan plans to attract at least 10 transnational corporations to the processing sector in the country.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev informed about this in the article, published by the Foreign Ministry.

We have already had negotiations with more than 26 transnational corporations and have entered into agreements with some of them, he wrote.

The work on establishment of joint ventures together with anchor investors will cover 3 groups of domestic companies in processing, infrastructure, energy industries etc. The first group includes the enterprises subject to deep modernization through reinvesting. The second group consists of the enterprises which will attract the potential of trans-national corporations. And the third group is the enterprises with high market rivalry for anchor investors and emergence of export brands

A central issue of the third reform of the National Plan is the establishment of the International Financial Centre Astana with an independent judiciary system and jurisdiction based on the principles of the British law. English will be official language of the IFCA which will also implement investment residence principle.

The National Plan further includes the measures on development of a number of promising sectors of economy.

First, this is electric power sector and energy efficiency increase. The state needs to cut GDP energy intensity by 25% by 2020 and up to 50% by 2050.

For this we need to attract strategic investors to our energy supply spheres through the performance contracts, the president wrote. It is important to boost development of private energy service companies, to enable them to supply a package of energy conservation services. Reliable supply of electricity to the consumers must be the main task for electric power sector.

To improve reliability of energy supply sector and prevent uncontrolled rise in electricity prices for final consumers, regional energy network companies and electricity supplying organizations will be integrated.

In turn, this will create favorable conditions for attraction of investment in the sector and will allow to regulate the international cross-flow of electricity in favor of domestic consumers and will improve the quality of governmental management of the sector.

We will continue working on formation of science-intensive economy. 65 research projects are being currently implemented in Kazakhstan together with the World Bank. The attraction of anchor TNCs will enable us to establish the technological development centres. We plan to achieve several key indicators of the second five-year stage of the industrial-innovative development, the president said.

The innovative activity of business will be raised by 20% of GDP, while the share of innovative products will be increased up to 2.5%.

More than 7,000 kilometers of highways will be repaired as per Nurly Zhol Program for the purpose of development of the countrys transportation and transit potential.

By 2020, the amount of passage fees will make around 41 bln tenge.

---

Follow Laman Sadigova on Twitter: @s_laman93

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7 January 2016 15:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Nathalie Goulet

War of economy and seeking an upper hand under the guise of religion

Behind the religious differences and centuries-old grudges that Saudi Arabia and Iran have had against each other, there lies a sense of arrogant rivalry and an economic war. Persian Gulf countries, not least of all Saudi Arabia, have never accepted the Iran nuclear deal, regarding which they still preserve their rage against the United States.

It is worth noting that, the Wahhabi king hasnt only to fight the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIL or ISIS), but also prove that fighting the IS is a real objective of Riyadh, even though the country has historically been a funder of the group. Therefore, besides several beheading punishments on the onset of the current Christian year, Saudi Arabia was forced to create a coalition composed of 34 countries against the IS.

In the complicated East, nothing comes as a coincidence. Saudi Arabia knew well that by executing a dissident Shiite sheikh, it would not only trigger anger and demonstrations on the streets of Tehran, but also enrage Shiites in such countries as Bahrain, Yemen, and Lebanon. This was a well-calculated move from Saudi Arabia to incite Iran, and came amid Irans attempts to return to the scene of world politics as Tehran has become an unavoidable venue for politicians, tourists, and businessmen.

Saudi Arabia caught up in its own convoluted government system

Irans revival and return to international arena is unbearable for Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia is facing a historical budget deficit of $87 billion, equal to 20 percent of its GDP, Iran will in the near future gain access to over $100 billion of its assets blocked around the world.

Saudi Arabia has a very convoluted government system. Feeling secluded and abandoned by the US, Saudi Arabia feels downgraded having turned into the USs second ally. Therefore, the Saudis are forced to prove that they really want to fight terrorism.

On the other hand, by executing a Shiite leader and enraging all the Shiites, Saudi Arabia showed it is seeking to control the Gulf  one that in the eye of Saudi Arabia cant be a Persian gulf.

Iranian president did well, but he doesnt have all the keys

Amid the recent developments, President Hassan Rouhani has acted well. He hasnt only condemned the unauthorized protests in Iran, but has also arrested some people and done his best to prevent the case from worsening.

But, who does this crime of attack on Saudi embassy serve? Who is going to gain interests from it? The answer is surely Irans hardliners  the very ones who also were against the nuclear deal and Irans growth.

It was exactly the hardliners who attacked the Saudi embassy in Iran, a scene that was reminiscent of the attack on the US embassy during the 1979 revolution.

Surely, Rouhani cant allow all of his years-long efforts and interests gained by the nuclear deal go to waste. But he doesnt have all of the keys.

Although the US, too, has somehow expressed its disapproval of the Saudi governments act, the strategies of the Saudis are clear: to hamper Irans return to the international arena step by step.

And to attain that, Saudi Arabia intends not only to team up with Persian Gulf countries, but it is also eyeing relations with Turkey and, in particular, Israel.

As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, which seems to be true about governments as well.

A highly militarized region

A meagre spark is needed for a highly militarized region to turn into a blazing furnace, either directly or via intermediary agents, which cant be controlled by Iran.

Although Irans influence is powerful and real, the country doesnt hold ample sway over the operations of militants in Yemen, the Hezbollah, the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia, or those in Bahrain. I doubt that Rouhani would manage to stay away from the battles of foreign groups for a long time and at the same time fight the hardliner opposition at home.

It is feared that, as it was during the Iran-Iraq war, the West would support Irans rivals, at the top of which stands Israel. But today, the world needs unity to fight the IS and we are witnessing a pointless diplomatic pressure rising between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The entire balance and stability of this strategic region is at stake. It seems arms dealers are going to have bright days ahead. But we have to avoid all the factors that aggravate sectarian conflicts between the Shiites and Sunnis, something that is shaping in front of our eyes and may in the end turn against us, with flares going beyond the current conflict boundaries.

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7 January 2016 17:02 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan makes a New Year gift to tourists who want to come to the country, as visa requirements will be simplified.

Earlier, all tourists despite the budget needed to book a hotel room in order to get a visa to Azerbaijan, soon will be able to stay in cottages or private apartments as well.

Head of the Inbound and Domestic Tourism Committee at the Azerbaijan Tourism Association, Murad Keremov told Fins.az that village house will be able to provide the reservation, which is necessary for the visa document.

He added that this rule applies not only village cottages, but private apartments, and tents that meet the necessary standards. Rural houses, mountain shelters and farmhouses were included into the classification of hotels and hotel-type facilities under the recent decision by the Standardization, Metrology and Patents Committee.

This decision is good news for both tourists who want to visit the country as well as for local tourists, Keremov believes.

The positive aspect for foreign tourists is that they can stay not only in hotels now, he said. One part of tourists who wish to visit the country want to stay in village cottages, foreign tourists are not interested in expensive, luxury hotel. Incoming tourists want to stay in the mountains, to go to the top of the mountain, or to taste vegetables grown in the village. This is a type of tourism when the tourists stay in homes of local people, and live with them.

He noted that many of tourists coming to Azerbaijan want to visit ethnic minorities, get familiar with them. The new standard adopted in Azerbaijan will open up the door for this type of tourists.

Azerbaijan has both natural beauty, historical and cultural diversity to show to their visitors.

Currently, the country can accommodate over 35,000 tourists in its 530 hotels, which include a series of luxury hotels  Jumeirah, Excelsior, Hilton, Four Seasons, Fairmont, JW Marriott, Kempinski  as well as many budget hotels for cost-conscious travelers. The country also plans to operate world famous 2-3 stars hotels.

Prices for accommodation in the country start from $15 and increase depending on the hotel class and amenities provided.

Moreover, the new decision will increase competition between hotels and hotel type facilities, which may further decrease the prices.

At present, documents required in Azerbaijani embassies for getting a visa are as follows: 1 application form, 2 color photos (3x4 cm on a white background), passport or ID document, an invitation, tourist voucher, or other information confirming the purpose of visit, and a receipt confirming the payment of the state duty.

Visa applications to Azerbaijan are considered within a month at the latest, or 48 hours if the visit is urgent. Moreover, tourists can also get their visa online at www.evisa.mfa.gov.az.

Local population will also enjoy this new decision as tourist companies will start cooperating with village houses. As a result, everyone will be able to choose tour pack suiting every budget.

Keremov said there are still points to be clarified in this regard, for instance, who will provide tourists with the booking document. The certificate can be presented by either tourism companies or the homeowners.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry said a decision on this issue is yet to be achieved. The ministry is holding discussions with relevant tourism associations.

The simplest versions will be chosen taking into account opinions of both the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the electronic services related to the issuance of visas.

The more attractive prices for foreign tourists that were reached after the recent depreciation of the manat and decrease of prices for services in many hotel type facilities may open undiscovered places in Azerbaijan for tourists who previously preferred to visit cheaper destinations like neighboring Georgia and Turkey.

__

Nigar Orujova is AzerNews staff journalist. Follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

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Stag Bakeries, the Isle of Lewis-based producer, has had its Smoked Dunlop Cheese Straws listed by Marks & Spencer (M&S).

The gourmet straws will be sold in 200 M&S stores in 100g packs for an RRP of 3.50. They are hand-baked and made with the heritage Scottish Dunlop Cheese, an organic, unpasteurised cheese traditionally smoked over whisky barrel shavings.

The listing expands the range of Stag Bakeries products sold by M&S, which has been selling the companys Stornoway Seaweed Water Biscuits and Seaweed Oatcakes since April.

Charlie Macdonald, owner of Stag Bakeries, said: We are obviously really pleased that Marks & Spencer has extended their listing to include the Smoked Dunlop Cheese Straw. We have been supplying them with our Stornoway Seaweed Water Biscuits and Seaweed Oatcakes since April and sales out of the store have been at an exceptional rate.

Marks & Spencer is synonymous with British quality, so we are very pleased that our brand will continue to be featured in-store. This range extension will help showcase the breadth of our product range. We have exciting new products launching in 2016, which will continue to showcase our Scottish island heritage.

Stag Bakeries supplies sweet and savoury biscuits to retail clients across the UK and abroad and produces bread, pastries, savouries and celebration cake for local island customers.
Temperatures start their descent Thursday ahead of a cold snap expected this weekend. The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for south central and eastern Montana and warns of frigid temperatures caused by arctic air from Canada.

The NWS forecasts a high of about 24 Thursday accompanied by cloudy skies. There is a 70 percent chance of light snow during the daytime with an accumulation of up to half an inch possible. North northwest winds of about 9 mph will shift to the east northeast in the afternoon.

The chance of snow increases to 100 percent Thursday night with about an inch of new powder possible. Temperatures will hit a low of about 13 and north winds up to 9 mph are possible.

Light snow is likely to continue Friday, mainly before 11 a.m. Theres a 60 percent chance of snowfall with up to an inch of new accumulation. Mostly cloudy skies are expected with a high temperature of about 18. North winds up to 8 mph will shift to the south southeast in the afternoon.

The chance of snow drops slightly to 50 percent Friday night with under an inch of new accumulation possible. Mostly cloudy skies and a low temperature of about 4 are expected. North winds up to 8 mph will shift to the west northwest in the evening and could drop the wind chill values to as low as 10 below.
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WASHINGTON  "Fragile" is the word that journalist Karen Elliott House used to describe Saudi Arabia in her 2012 book about the country. "Observing Saudi Arabia is like watching a gymnast dismount the balance beam in slow motion," she wrote. The world holds its breath wondering if the Saudis "will nail the landing or crash to the mat."

This past week, the House of Saud seemed to have lost its footing. The kingdom's fear of a rising Iran led it to execute a dissident Shiite cleric, triggering riots in Iran, a break in diplomatic relations and a sharp escalation in the sectarian feud that is ravaging the Middle East.

What led Saudi Arabia to take these risky actions, and what U.S. policies might reduce the danger that the Middle East mess will get even worse? You can't answer these questions without examining the Saudis' insecurity, which has led them to make bad choices.

Saudi Arabia is a frightened monarchy. It's beset by Sunni extremists from the Islamic State and Shiite extremists backed by Iran. It's bogged down in a costly and unsuccessful war in Yemen. And it mistrusts its superpower patron and protector, the United States, in part because of America's role in brokering the nuclear deal that ended Iran's isolation.

Countries that feel vulnerable sometimes do impulsive and counterproductive things, and that has been the case recently with the Saudis.

Compounding Saudi Arabia's external problem is its internal ferment. King Salman's ambitious son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 30, has devised a plan for modernization and economic growth, with input from McKinsey & Co. and other global consultants. The plan makes all the right recommendations: boost private enterprise; diversify the economy away from dependence on oil exports; reduce the stultifying role of the Saudi state. But these reforms would challenge powerful senior princes and disrupt a society that is resistant to change.

47 executions

A defensive, anxious Saudi leadership tried to show its resolve with last week's execution of 47 extremists. Though global attention was focused on the death of Shiite cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, most of the executed men were Sunni radicals who were allied with Islamic State, al-Qaida and other jihadist groups. Some Saudi-watchers think that killing Nimr was partly a cover for the execution of the radical Sunnis. Regardless of the motivation, Nimr's execution was a mistake.

The Saudis compounded their error by rashly cutting diplomatic relations with Iran and pushing other Arab Gulf countries to do the same. The rationale was that the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran appeared to be government-condoned. Saudi pleas for help went unanswered for more than eight hours; the rioters scaled a 20-foot fence; their first target was the embassy computer system. The Saudi action was understandable, but an overreaction.

Saudi Arabia's desire to resist Iranian hegemony had already gotten it in trouble in Yemen. The war is said to be costing the kingdom nearly $1 billion a month, with little to show but rubble on the ground. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have retaliated by attacking towns across the border in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis seemed eager for U.N.-sponsored peace talks on Yemen, until last weekend's blowup.

What's the best policy for the U.S. as the Saudi-Iranian sectarian battle deepens?

Vienna momentum

The Obama administration has rightly tried to protect its Syria diplomacy, which just weeks ago had succeeded in bringing Saudis and Iranians together for negotiations in Vienna. The administration was reassured by a statement Tuesday from U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who said after meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir: "There is a clear determination on the Saudi side that the current regional tensions will not have any negative impact on the Vienna momentum."

The broader U.S. goal should be de-escalation of the ruinous confrontation between Tehran and Riyadh. This inferno has engulfed the region  from Beirut to Damascus, Baghdad to Sanaa  and last weekend's events show how easily it could expand even further. The U.S. is talking to both sides, but it also must restrain them  in part by checking Iran's meddling in other countries' internal affairs.

Saudi Arabia's insecurities have been a driver of conflict for 40 years. Fearful of domestic threats, they bankrolled PLO terrorism, jihadist madrassas, al-Qaida's founders and Syrian warlords. Riyadh's current enemy is Iran, but the anxiety goes much deeper.

The Saudis need reassurance that Washington has their back. Even more, they need to build a society that's self-confident enough to combat extremism, at home and abroad.
The Two Rivers jail in Hardin, which is struggling to find inmate contracts for revenue, is now in standby mode after its cells emptied this week.

"The population did drop to zero this morning," jail warden Ken Keller said Monday.

The jail saw as many as 250 inmates at its peak since it started normal operation in the fall of 2014, but the number has followed a jagged curve. By November, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs dropped its contract with the jail, and the population dropped to nine.

By December, the jail reported an average of 25 inmates, largely through an agreement with Williams County in North Dakota.

The county has been sending overflow female inmates from its Williston jail to Hardin. But now the county is set to expand its own facility, and Hardin jail officials are still waiting for the BIA to return with a new deal.

With no inmates to oversee, the jail has sent most of its employees home. Keller said that they've kept six security officers on the schedule, and the four administrators continue to work. There were about 39 employees a month ago.

The inmate search has been a continual problem for the jail since it opened in 2007. The facility sat empty for seven years until its operational company, Emerald Correctional Management, inked the contract with the BIA.

That provided the most inmates, who were brought in from 18 tribes in multiple states. That included the Crow Tribe's use of the Hardin facility as its only jail.

By the end of October, the contract ended, and the BIA pulled all of the inmates from Hardin.

The BIA has not responded since Nov. 30 to questions about the negotiation.

The jail contracted with Williams County in November. The facility in Williston had been facing overcrowding problems, and officials needed to alleviate its female inmate quarters, which were bursting at the seams.

"They left me no choice when they did the jail inspection," said Williams County Sheriff Scott Busching. "I had to move them."

Busching said that the agreement with Hardin has been working out well, but a plan is already in place to expand the Williams County jail by 108 beds. He said that crews will be "turning dirt in the spring" with hopes to be operational in the summer of 2017.

Short on cash

Keller and his staff have been working to pick up other small contracts, but they still hold hope for the BIA. The jail makes money according to the number of inmates, but the facility has never come close to its capacity of 464.

The BIA paid $76 per inmate, per day. Williams County pays about the same, Busching said.

The jail is still a long way off from paying down a massive debt. Two Rivers Authority, the economic development arm of the city of Hardin, used $27 million in bonds to build the facility.

Through years of vacancy, Two Rivers amassed alarming amounts of interest atop the bonds. In December, the outstanding debt hovered around $40 million.

Officials with Two Rivers and the city of Hardin have said that Hardin residents have no direct obligation to the debt because Two Rivers issued the bonds and local taxpayers are not the bondholders.

Still, Two Rivers has suffered from the stagnancy of its main project  the Hardin jail. As a part of the city, Hardin has bailed out Two Rivers with hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to data obtained from the city.

Hardin has paid $582,595 to Two Rivers since 2004, the documents show. About 45 percent of that money was paid before the jail opened in mid-2007.

Since then, Hardin has made periodic appropriations to an economic development division that has not accounted for much revenue. Two Rivers had more than $388,000 in expenses in its 2014 fiscal year, according to city documents. It made $197 in revenue over the same period.

Waiting game

A regular part of jail life is that the inmate population can change daily. Through the contract with Williams County, prisoners could trickle in at any time.

"That's the way things run right now," Keller said. "And we ran into a little bit of it last year, too."

But the real wait is with the BIA, whose contract is the only large item in consideration right now. Though Montana counties have faced widespread jail overcrowding, the Montana Association of Counties has declined to send people to the Hardin facility.

Once touted as a potential employer of more than 100 locals, the Hardin jail hopes to restore a few dozen.

"We had to do some layoffs with a bunch of the staff," Keller said. "And almost all of them, the majority of them, kept their uniforms. They're just waiting for the call to come back to work."
A stolen handgun used in the October 2014 murder of a Billings man was the personal weapon of federal Bureau of Indian Affairs special agent who had left it in his service vehicle, an agency spokeswoman said.

The gun, a 9mm Glock Model 17, was identified during a murder trial last month in Billings by a police officer as having been used in the Oct. 2, 2014, death of David Vallie. Vallie was found dead from a gunshot to his abdomen outside a downtown apartment complex.

A jury convicted Jonathan Michael Martinez, 29, on Dec. 18 of deliberate homicide in Vallie's death.

Nedra Darling, a BIA spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said on Thursday that it is not protocol to leave a personally owned weapon in a service vehicle. Corrective action has taken place, she said.

The agent reported the theft to his immediate supervisor and to local law enforcement, she said.

The Billings Police officer testified he recovered the gun from a hit-and-run crash the day after Vallies death. A serial number check determined it belonged to BIA Special Agent John Dodd. The vehicle in the crash was linked to Martinez after a woman told law enforcement he had taken her vehicle, court records said.

Dodd, the police officer continued, said the weapon was stolen in June 2014 from his unmarked service vehicle. An analysis by the Montana Crime Lab determined the gun was used to kill Vallie.

Darling said the agency doesnt generally publicize where law enforcement employees are located.

Dodd, however, responded to a call of an assault last October in Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. When Dodd arrived at the residence, prosecutors said he was assaulted as he attempted to arrest a suspect. The suspect, Dean James Small, has been charged in federal court with assault on a federal officer.
Federal, state and local law enforcement are launching an effort to stop illegal straw purchases of firearms.

Straw purchases are firearms that someone buys for someone else who is prohibited from buying them. They aren't all that uncommon, according to St. Petersburg gun store owner Jim Hathcock.

Some people weren't aware they were doing it and we had to stop them in the process," he said. "And we have actually had an instance where we had to call the ATF.

Buying a gun for someone who cant is a federal offense that could land you in prison for as long as 10 years or could cost you up to $250,000 in fines. Law enforcement officials across the nation are stepping up efforts raise public awareness and stop straw purchases with "Don't Lie for the Other Guy."

"A relative or friend could be like Look, I can't buy a gun but I need for you to get me a gun,' " St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said. "And this is going to make you think, is it worth you going to jail for that person now, because if that person can't legally have that gun, then why are you getting that person a gun?"

Holloway points to recent incidents like the massacre in San Bernardino, California, where authorities say the killers used weapons purchased for them by a friend.

Another example is closer to home, where Marty Winters, known as the "Doomsday Prepper," had dozens of guns that federal agents say he obtained through straw purchases.

Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward said straw purchases aren't the only things they worry about.

"It's not only the straw purchases that we're concerned about," he said. "It's also people that legally purchase firearms and leave them in their vehicle unsecured. Those guns and firearms end up out on the street."

The month-long public awareness campaign is officially launching Wednesday with billboards, radio spots and television ads. Officials say the program is funded by the firearms industry, and that no taxpayer dollars are being used.

More information about the campaign can be found at dontlie.org.


CHEYENNE  State leaders are unsure whether to spend more money on the project to renovate the state Capitol in order to make the national historic landmark a bigger tourism draw.

The Capitol Building Restoration Oversight Group was briefed Tuesday on a plan to include educational and interpretive features as part of the three-year project to overhaul the building.

This would include enhancing a planned student learning center and visitor center and adding multimedia and interactive exhibits.

Consultants told the panel last month that preliminary estimates put the cost for this work at $1.5 million to $3.5 million. But a recommendation put forth Tuesday sets the price tag at $3.1 million.

This would be on top of the $300 million that already is budgeted for the Capitol Square Project, which includes the renovations of the Capitol and the adjacent Herschler Building.

Tourism and State Parks and Cultural Resources officials told Gov. Matt Mead and top lawmakers on the group that adding the funds would help attract more visitors to the Capitol.

We are going to have a lot more to sell in terms of the experiences and in terms of spending more time (there), said Milward Simpson, director of State Parks and Cultural Resources. There are so many ways we can leverage this interpretation plan once it is implemented.

The Wyoming Tourism Office estimates that 20,000 visitors, including school class trips, tour the Capitol each year.

Kristin Phipps is a senior manager in the tourism office. She said it is conservatively projected that the visits would initially increase by 30 percent when the project is done if the extra features are added.

That number is projected to level off somewhat in the following years.

But Phipps said this would provide an estimated return on investment of $1.35 million of direct economic impact to the local area in the first year alone.

Members of the oversight group said they agree conceptually with the plan. But many added that they are hesitant to add more funds to the project, which has seen its price tag rise from $259 million to the current $300 million.

We are going to have discussions (on the scope of the project) this session, I have no doubt about it, said Rep. Tim Stubson, R-Casper. Coming in with even a modest request on a very worthwhile project, it is something we need to tread lightly on.

A perhaps more acceptable option, the group discussed calls for spending only about $1 million now to begin the design work and to make sure the infrastructure is in place for the exhibits. Lawmakers then could decide whether to fund the rest at a later time.

But Mead expressed reservations about even moving forward with that. He said officials could have a better idea of what they can afford later this month when a revised state revenue report is released.

We understand the value of this, he said. But before we give any more direction, we should wait a month or so.

In the meantime, the oversight group voted to recommend that the Legislatures Joint Appropriations Committee review the proposal when it resumes budget hearings later this month.

That panel is in the process of crafting its two-year, 2017-18 budget plan that will be presented to the full Legislature when the session begins Feb. 8.
A man wanted in connection with the December shooting death of a teen was arrested at a Pinellas Park motel Wednesday afternoon.

St. Petersburg police got a tip through Crimestoppers that Abrion Witcher, 18, was staying at the Express Inn on U.S. 19. Officers took him into custody as he was leaving the hotel.

Witcher was wanted in connection with the shooting death of Gabriel Wallace, 17, in December.



"This morning when I woke up, I told my boyfriend that I just felt like he's going to get picked up today and it happened," said Peggy Elias, Wallace's grandmother.

Wallace was shot outside a St. Petersburg apartment complex after the two teenagers argued.

Witnesses said they were fighting about Wallace's sister.

"For him to die because someone disrespected his sister, then you're going to put a gun to him and kill him, that's a cowardly act. That was a real cowardly act," said Betty Johnson, Wallace's cousin.

Family members said Wallace was a good kid who was trying to find a job and plan for his future.

They said the last few weeks have been difficult.

"We have each other, that is a healing point. Then we have the man upstairs that we pray to everyday and ask that justice be brought without anymore harm," said Johnson.

The family did express frustration that Witcher was able to elude police for weeks.

"Whoever was helping him hide, they need to be arrested with him," said Elias.

The family said they're relieved about the arrest but they also call it "bittersweet."

"It's going to take some time, it's really going to take some time because you can't bring Gabe back," said Elias.

Witcher is expected to make his first court appearance on the charge of second-degree murder on Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Chris St. Onge and his fiance, Samantha Dilberian, got the surprise of a lifetime Wednesday morning.

The couple was named the winners of this years Old McMickys Farms Mission: I Do, which gives a $30,000 dream wedding to a local military couple.

"I couldnt think of a better way to give back to the people who keep us safe, said the farm's owner, Ralph Zuckerman.

Zuckerman knocked on the couples door and presented them with the giant check.

"I mean speechless, blown away more than anything," St. Onge said. "I really wasnt expecting this."

St. Onge and Dilberians love story is made for Hollywood. St. Onge served in Afghanistan with Dilberians brother, Bryan. He helped save Bryans life after an IED explosion, earning the Bronze Star for his efforts.

St. Onge started talking to Samantha on Facebook to keep up with Bryans recovery.

"Chris was a big part of my strength through my brothers recovery, checking in on Bryan," Dilberian said. "It meant the world to me."

The pair fell in love and now Dilberians brother is going to be St. Onges best man.

"Hes going to be so excited, I know it, Dilberian said.

The couple will wed in the barn at the farm on February 21, 2016.

Zuckerman also donated the farm venue and staff to the three runner-up couples.

Zuckerman has previously been honored as one of our Everyday Heroes, and he's currently in the running to be the Viewer's Choice Everyday Hero. You can find out more about him and the other finalists on our voting page.




Its going to be a bigger ballot for the November election. Thats because all 40 state senators will be up for election, which is due to the new district lines drawn throughout the state.

This means about half of our lawmakers will have to run a new campaign much earlier than expected.

Well, I was certainly one of those that had a four-year-term and was not planning on running, Sen. David Simmons (R-Longwood), said. But its ok.

Simmons is just one of many lawmakers who will now have to shift their focus to fundraising and running a campaign in time for the 2016 election.

I expected it to happen as we were moving through the process of redistricting, Simmons said.

And for some state senators like Simmons, the changes also mean they fall into new districts that will most likely cover different areas other than their current districts.

Now, half of the districts will be running for a four-year-term, while the other half runs for a two-year-term. The Florida Constitution requires that the senate be split to avoid a complete turnover every four years.

In my case, I was going to have to run in 16 anyhow, Sen. Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) said.

Hays was planning to campaign for votes this year, but he will now be running for the shorter two-year-term length due to the new district lines and district renumbering.

So now, [its] just a matter of knowing where the constituents are that I have to get in touch with, Hays said.

And that goes for anyone else now interested in making a run for office.

With this being a presidential election year, more voters are expected to be heading to the polls. So new hats could be thrown into the ring for a chance at a senate seat.

This also means other Senators could be stepping down sooner than expected.

Simmons wasnt planning on another four years. He was aiming to finish his term by 2018 for a run at a higher state office.

The plan is to explore running for Attorney General in 2018, Simmons revealed. Im keeping my options open.
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An '80s television sitcom star will focus on friendship and living a well-balanced life as the keynote speaker at the third annual Jasper Women's Expo next month.

Lisa Whelchel, an actress known for her role as Blair Warner on "The Facts of Life," will discuss her book "Friendship for Grown-ups" during the Feb. 5 event at Harvest Church.
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In the face of conflicting direction from the state and the threat of citizen complaints, local officials are treading carefully on the issue of banning license holders from carrying guns in courthouses.

On Wednesday, five days after Texas became an open-carry state, Hardin County commissioners weighed concerns over safety, gun rights and their own legal vulnerability before voting 4-1 to table a measure that has become a political and financial hot potato for local officials across the state.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen "citizen complaints" have been filed with the attorney general's office alleging that various political subdivisons have tried to ban license-holders from carrying guns where they are legally permitted to, a spokesperson said.

Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel said he would meet with the county's attorney to discuss the next steps for the county. It could come up again in court as early as Monday, when commissioners are scheduled to meet in a regular session.

Before the open-carry law went into effect Jan. 1, state lawmakers passed a law effective Sept. 1 that prohibited local officials from banning people with licenses from carrying concealed handguns in public buildings.

The exceptions are areas specifically included in the law, like judicial and government courtrooms, schools, polling places and other locations.

Like many county courthouses in Texas, Hardin County's contains a mixture of places where guns are off-limits and places where the Legislature, according to written opinions from Attorney General Ken Paxton, decided people can carry guns.

So county commissioners with so-called multi-purpose buildings are faced with making a decision to ban guns throughout their courthouses, as Jefferson County did last month, or banning them only in certain portions.

Commissioners on Wednesday heard from county residents, a state legislator, an elected county official whose office is in the building and a gun-rights activist who threatened to file a complaint against the court if they tried a blanket ban on guns in the building.

The AG's opinion indicates a blanket ban would be illegal, said Terry Holcomb, executive director of Texas Carry, a gun-rights organization. Holcomb, wearing an empty holster on his right hip, told Hardin County commissioners he would file a complaint against them if they banned guns throughout the building.

But while a blanket ban may face a challenge, Holcomb pointed out that Paxton gave commissioners authority to determine what county offices are "essential to the operation of the government court" and ban guns from those places.

That could result in patchwork rules in which some floors of the three-story building and some hallways are closed off to guns, while the main entrances and other offices are not.

Commissioner L.W. Cooper, the only vote against tabling the motion, and Alvin Roberts tried to introduce a measure to completely ban guns from the courthouse, but McDaniel ruled they couldn't because the motion on the issue was previously tabled.

McDaniel said he initially wrote up an order modeled after one Jefferson County commissioners passed last month. He said he reconsidered after reading the attorney general's opinions and opted to have a public discussion instead.

EBesson@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/ericbesson_news
After an appeals court upheld the misdemeanor conviction of former Beaumont ISD employee Jessie Haynes, she is asking the same court to award her a new hearing, contending the justices considered evidence unrelated to the time of the offense.

On Dec. 23, the Ninth Court of Appeals backed the jury's decision to convict Haynes, a former special assistant to the superintendent, of a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a public passageway.
In an ongoing effort by city and county officials to unearth and stop public corruption in Port Arthur, a sixth former city employee has been accused of theft, a number that could rise with a forensic audit starting this month.

Robert Lee Leblanc, 57, former head of the water meter department, was charged this week with five counts of theft of metal by a public servant.

According a probable cause affidavit, Leblanc took old water meters that were to be auctioned so the city could recover some funds and sold them for scrap metal, pocketing the profit.

The arrest affidavit accuses Leblanc of selling almost 22,000 pounds of brass, copper, tin, stainless metal and aluminum to local scrap metal yards over five years.

Leblanc was released from the Jefferson County Jail on Tuesday night after posting a $60,000 bond.

Theft of metal by a public servant is a third-degree felony, carrying a sentence range of two to 10 years in state prison.

"These actions from city employees will absolutely not be tolerated," said City Manager Brian McDougal on Wednesday. "The city and the police have been working very closely with the (Jefferson County District Attorney's Office) to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

BKD, LLP, a national CPA and advisory firm headquartered in Missouri, was recently hired to conduct a forensic audit of the city's finances, McDougal said.

The first scope of work drafted by the firm will be presented to council this month, he said.

The audit was originally rejected by city council early last year, with council members citing the high costs associated with an audit.

Following the criminal indictment of former city employee Shawn Williams in December 2014, more than 1,400 residents signed a petition asking council to approve the audit, which they did in April.

Williams was sentenced that same month to four years' probation and 180 days in the county jail for submitting fraudulent lawn care invoices while working for the city's housing department in 2012.

Read the complete story in the Beaumont Enterprise.

MLibardi@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/ManuellaLibardi
While a Jefferson County jury considered how to punish a man who admitted to killing his best friend in a drunken car crash, the victim's mother embraced the one responsible for her daughter's 2013 death.

Theresa Lewis on Wednesday said no punishment could bring back her daughter, Tiesha Lewis. No punishment, she said, could be worse than living with the guilt and shame of killing a loved one.

Robert Darkins, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. He faces a prison sentence ranging from two years to 20 years, with eligibility for probation.

A jury began deliberating Darkins' punishment Wednesday afternoon. Jurors resumed their deliberations at 9 a.m. today.

Details of the crash were revealed during testimony this week in Jefferson County's Criminal District Court.

On June 3, 2013, Darkins drove drunk near Laurel and 23rd Street in Beaumont, weaving erratically between lanes when he lost control of his mother's Chevrolet Malibu and crashed into a utility pole.

Earlier that night, Darkins drank two 40-ounce beers before picking up Tiesha and her boyfriend Darrell Fulton, according to testimony.

Darkins testified he was previously involved in a car accident with Fulton driving, so he jokingly swerved between lanes to tease Fulton.

"We crashed because of my stupidity and ignorance," Darkins said. "There's no way around it."

Emergency responders at the accident scene testified that they heard screaming from inside the car, where Tiesha Lewis was pinned between the roof and passenger side floor board with her neck contorted in "an unnatural position."

Fulton, who survived the crash with a broken arm and punctured lung, was hanging out of the sun roof. Firefighters had to address that before they could attempt to save Tiesha.

Long before the trial, Tiesha's mother made peace with Darkins, whom she helped raise.

Darkins, like Tiesha Lewis, was raised by a single mother. Theresa Lewis said the families were part of each other's support network.

When testifying Wednesday, Darkins even referred to her as "Mother Theresa."

"Forgiveness is the way of the world," Theresa Lewis said. "If you don't forgive, you're going to constantly be at ends. That's why the world is the way it is, because we're all angry about everything. I know that he did not do it on purpose and I forgive him."

Darkins said he met Tiesha when they were students at Price Elementary, where during recess they were known as the fastest boy-girl tandem in any footrace.

From there, the two were inseparable, though Darkins said they never had romantic feelings for each other.

"That was my sister and she will forever be," Darkins said.

Lead prosecutor Mike Laird argued that forgiveness should not be a reason to let Darkins off the hook.

Laird asked jurors to consider how many other lives Darkins put in jeopardy that night, and what message they wanted to send to the community.

"As a community, we would be letting (Tiesha) down," Laird said of sentencing Darkins to probation. "She can't be here to speak."

Langston Adams, who represented Darkins, said the case is peculiar given the relationship between the two families.

Fulton, Tiesha's boyfriend and a friend of Darkins, testified Tuesday that he did not want the jury to assess a prison sentence.

Both he and Theresa believe there is still hope for Darkins, who has a 6-month-old son.

They want Darkins to continue working to fund a tombstone for Lewis' gravesite, which is barren nearly three years after her death.

"Maybe it's something about this case that should teach us all a lesson," Adams said. "You're seeing the blending of families."

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/BrandonKScott
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The state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African-American woman who was found dead three days later in her Waller County jail cell, has been indicted on perjury charges, a special prosecutor said.

Hours after the decision was announced, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it was initiating termination proceedings against Brian Encinia, the 30-year-old trooper who last July stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change and arrested her.

The announcement came late Wednesday afternoon at the courthouse in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston, during the grand jury's fourth meeting since it was convened this fall to deliberate the circumstances around Bland's arrest and incarceration.

RELATED: Indicted trooper describes Sandra Bland traffic stop

(Story continues below.)

Darrell Jordan, one of five special prosecutors, said the grand jury's indictment stemmed from a statement the trooper made in a one-page affidavit he filed in Bland's arrest, in which he said he pulled her out of her Hyundai Azera to "further conduct a safe traffic investigation."

"They just didn't believe it," Jordan said, adding that a warrant would be issued for Encinia's arrest.

Larkin Eakin, Encinia's lawyer, said he spoke with the trooper after the indictment.

"He was surprised obviously, because he does not feel anything was misleading in his report," Larkin said, adding that Encinia would plead "not guilty" to the charge against him.

Bland's case was one of several high profile lethal incidents between law enforcement and civilians over the last 18 months that prompted nationwide protests about the treatment of people of color by police, and her face was among those that became emblems of the Black Lives Matter movement.

RELATED: Grand jury declines to indict jail employees in Sandra Bland's death

Encinia - who joined DPS in June 2014 - stopped Bland on July 10 for an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, and where she had recently taken a new job. Video of the incident - from a bystander and a dashboard camera in Encinia's cruiser - recorded an increasingly confrontational encounter between the two after Bland refused to put out a cigarette, with Encinia at one point brandishing a stun gun and yelling at Bland, "I will light you up!"

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Encinia has never spoken publicly about the arrest. The only account made public is from the affidavit he filed and the recordings, where he could be heard telling a supervisor the traffic stop was not over when he pulled Bland out of the car.

"The traffic stop was not completed," he said, in the video. "I was trying to get her out over to sign."

Later, he told the supervisor he repeatedly tried to de-escalate the situation, parts of which were out of the frame of the camera, and that Bland kicked him and tried to get away. Later, he can be heard saying he needed Bland on the sidewalk "because I don't want to be out in the middle of the road while we're arguing or whatever."

RELATED: Bernie Sanders says Sandra Bland would still be alive if she were white

Three days after the arrest, jail staff found Bland hanging in her Waller County jail cell from a noose made from a trash bag. Her death, ruled a suicide by medical examiners, sparked disbelief from her family in Chicago and fueled outrage among many across the country over how police use force in encounters with civilians.

After the video surfaced, DPS Director Steven McCraw said Encinia violated department standards and the department's courtesy policy and placed him on administrative duty.

Following news of the indictment, DPS announced it was beginning termination proceedings against Encinia.

"Following the Waller County grand jury indictment of Trooper Brian Encinia today, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will begin termination proceedings to discharge him from the department," the agency said, in a press release Wednesday night.

The indictment follows an announcement in December by special prosecutors that the grand jury had declined to indict any members of the Waller County jail staff or sheriff's office. Jordan said that while the grand jury will continue reviewing other Waller County cases, it had concluded its review of Bland's arrest and death.

Previously, state regulators had found that the Waller County jail was in violation of minimum jail standards, and faulted the jail for not putting Bland on a stricter observation watch and missing warning signs that she was a potential risk for suicide.

Bland's family has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in Houston and has repeatedly criticized Waller County's handling of Bland and the grand jury's review of her death.

Cannon Lambert, one of the Chicago-based lawyers representing Bland's relatives in their lawsuit, said the family still had questions.

"We just don't understand why it took six months to charge him for lying when you can see he was lying in the videotape they have had from the very beginning," he said. "We also don't understand why [Encinia] wasn't charged with assault when he said 'I'll light you up, and with battery for grabbing [Bland] when she was in the car."

"Why didn't they charge him with false arrest?" he continued. "The whole arrest was predicated on a phantom kick - why didn't they charge him with abuse of police power -- all he had to do was give her the warning."

The charge the trooper now faces is a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, Encinia could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal called the grand jury decision a "slap on the wrist."

"What I'm looking for is for the accountability to be placed where it needs to be," she said. "That's what I want to see."

The state Office of the Attorney General - which is representing Encinia in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family against the trooper, DPS, the Waller County Sheriff's Office, and two Waller County jailers - will not be representing him in the criminal case, according to an OAG spokeswoman.

RELATED: Waller County's request to end lawsuit asks why relatives didn't bail out Bland

The outcry following Bland's death led state lawmakers to hold several hearings on jail procedures and safety and for state regulators to change how inmates are evaluated for mental health issues after they are arrested.

After the announcement of the indictment, House County Affairs Committee Chairman Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, who presided over hearings to investigate policing and safety in the state's jails, said in a statement he was "glad that Sandra Bland's family will get their day in court."

"In my opinion, Trooper Brian Encinia's actions were the catalyst for the death of Sandra Bland," he said. "Trooper Encinia is innocent until proven guilty and it is now up to our justice system to make the final determination."

More on HoustonChronicle.com:

Cindy George and Dylan Baddour contributed to this report.
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HEMPSTEAD  Six months after arresting Sandra Bland during a now-infamous traffic stop, state trooper Brian Encinia on Thursday returned to the Waller County jail where Bland died - this time to surrender to authorities on perjury charges.

Encinia, 30, surrendered to Texas Rangers after a Waller County judge signed his arrest warrant, Sheriff R. Glenn Smith said. The Rangers took the trooper to the jail, where he arrived in a gray pickup at 3:26 p.m.

Encinia was fingerprinted, photographed and released on a $2,500 bond.

The day before, a Waller County grand jury indicted Encinia, who had been with the Texas Department of Public Safety for a year before the July 10 arrest of Bland, a 28-year-old African-American woman.

Jailers found Bland dead, hanging in her cell from a noose made from a trash bag, three days after Encinia arrested her. Medical examiners ruled the death a suicide, although her family and others initially questioned the ruling. Her case and others propelled a national conversation about the use of force by police in interactions with civilians, particularly minorities.

Encinia stopped Bland for an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had recently taken a new job. Video of the incident - from a bystander and from a dashboard camera in Encinia's cruiser - documented an increasingly confrontational encounter between the two after Bland refused to put out a cigarette.

At one point, Encinia brandished a stun gun and shouted at Bland, "I will light you up!"

RELATED: Indicted trooper describes Sandra Bland traffic stop

Darrell Jordan, one of five special prosecutors, said the grand jury's indictment stemmed from Encinia's statement, in an affidavit he filed in Bland's arrest, that he pulled her out of her Hyundai Azera to "further conduct a safe traffic investigation."

"They just didn't believe it," Jordan said, referring to the grand jurors.

Bland's family and activists who have followed the case said the perjury charge was insufficient. Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland's mother, compared the indictment to a "slap on the wrist."

Cannon Lambert, who is representing the family in a civil lawsuit, questioned why the grand jury had not agreed on harsher charges, such as battery or false arrest. Encinia's lawyer, Larkin Eakin, said Thursday the trooper planned to plead not guilty. The grand jury, Eakin said, misinterpreted Encinia's statement.

"He is obviously upset but feels very much that he's not guilty, that that particular phrase he used (in his affidavit) was proper," he said.

If convicted, Encinia could spend up to a year in jail and pay a $4,000 fine.

After the indictment was announced, DPS said it was firing Encinia. Larkin said the DPS Officers Association would represent Encinia in the administrative process. A spokesman for the organization could not be reached Thursday.

Smith, the sheriff, said Encinia was "visibly concerned" during the booking process Thursday.

"I can't speak for him and his emotions, but it was obviously an unpleasant time for him," Smith said.

Smith said he believed Encinia chose to turn himself in and to be escorted by Texas Rangers as a "safety issue."

"I can assure you, some of the threats in the last five or six months, it at least makes you looking over your shoulder," Smith said, referring to messages he and others have received in the months since Bland's death.

Still, for Bland's family and friends, the speedy booking and release were a painful contrast to Bland's arrest and the three days she spent in jail before her death.

"It seems like he got royal treatment in terms of turning himself in," Lambert said. "We knew (Encinia) would turn himself in, and he wouldn't be in jail like Sandy was - it's amazing he got bail set lower than she got it set, and her bail was all predicated on a lie." Bland's bail was $5,000.

The indictment and booking came weeks after the same grand jury declined to indict any members of the jail staff or the sheriff's office in connection with Bland's death. Separately, state regulators found that during Bland's incarceration, jail staff did not adhere to minimum state standards.

Bland's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Waller County, two jailers, the DPS and Encinia.

RELATED: Grand jury indicts, DPS to fire trooper who arrested Sandra Bland
SAN ANTONIO  Hillary Clinton returns to Texas later this month for another round of fund-raising stops, including a visit to San Antonio, according to her campaign and media reports.

The Democratic presidential candidate will be in the Alamo City on Jan. 20 for a private fund-raising event at an undisclosed location, according to a campaign announcement on Twitter.
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Gold-plated guns. Wads of cash. Big cats.

That's what photos posted by apparent Mexican drug cartel members to Instagram and Twitter with the hashtags #narcos and #narcostyle show.

One Instagram account called narcoofficial appears to have strong ties with the Sinaloa cartel, the criminal organization headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who escaped from a Mexican prison in July 2015. The account regularly posts photos with the hashtag #sinaloa.

"Mandame sus fotos," the profile reads.

RELATED: Exotic and dangerous animals of Mexican drug cartels

The trend of cartels sharing photos of their wealth on social media is thought to have been started by Ivan and Alfredo Guzman, sons of the Sinaloa cartel leader, according to The Daily Mail.

Several of their photos  some of which show women holding guns and mingling with giant cats  have made their way to the narcoofficial page.

RELATED: Rich kids prove their life is better than yours one Instagram filter at a time

But, some photos don't shy away from the deadly side of cartel work: one photo posted to the Instagram profile narcoofficial shows a Mexican federal police vehicle riddled with bullet holes after a gun battle with cartel members.

And, posting photos to social media hasn't always turned out well for cartel members looking to show off: Jose Rodrigo Arechiga-Gamboa  a high-ranking enforcer for the Sinaloa cartel known as "El Chino Antrax"  was arrested in the Netherlands on Dec. 30, 2013, after months of sharing his exploits online.

Arechiga-Gamboa pleaded guilty in May to a federal charge of conspiracy to import a controlled substance and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison during an Oct. 16 sentencing hearing.

Scroll through the slideshow for a glimpse into the excessive lives of some of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports
If the Legislature is looking for ways to trim unnecessary spending in the next session - and that should be an ongoing task - an obvious candidate has presented itself: A white-collar crime unit within the attorney general's office that has evolved into a costly, separate police force.

There's nothing wrong with the concept behind the Cyber Crimes and Fugitive Unit itself. It has a focus that should not be ignored by law enforcement at any level.

But an investigation by the Dallas Morning News raises serious questions about the need to upgrade its members into fully trained and armed peace officers. These employees don't perform standard police work. They are investigators who primarily work with pens and computers.

But two things happened when these office workers were essentially upgraded to peace officers.

First of all, their pay increased dramatically, as they were placed on the same pay scales as the Department of Public Safety. That meant raises ranging from $10,000 to $44,000 a year for 158 staffers.

Secondly, these employees now devote a significant portion of their time to police-type training at shooting ranges or in K-9 training classes, even though those skills apparently have little relation to their daily duties.

In the last five years, only one attorney general officer has fired a weapon while on duty. Even that was unrelated to the employee's duties as a Medicaid fraud investigator. Taxpayers also spend a lot of money for the weapons issued to these employees and the ammunition they shoot in practice.

In the words of former Assistant Attorney General Rod Boyles, who left the agency after 23 years, "Highly complex investigations are not really assisted by firepower and Kevlar. It's straight, white-collar stuff, and your defendants are typically businessmen and business women."

Attorney General Ken Paxton needs to explain to lawmakers why these employees need to be certified and paid as peace officers. If he can't, they should turn in their guns so they can spend more time at their desks and on their phones.
In North Dakota one can give legal notice by mail to a deceased individual, even though he long ago went to that great oil patch in the sky. It is something out of a Charles Dickens novel. You can communicate and give notice to the dead. A landowner seeking to claim mineral interests may recover the deceaseds mineral interests by giving notice by US mail to an address long ago abandoned  and legally so, according to the Dormant Mineral Act.

The North Dakota Supreme Court, in ruling on the Dormant Mineral Act, stated that ...no reasonable inquiry was required where the surface owner mailed the notice of lapse to the mineral interest owners' address which was of record in 2007, even though the mineral interest owners had died in 1980 and 1999, respectively. When an individual who owned mineral interests in North Dakota dies, they and their heirs may be out of luck if death never kept up the current address in the county recorders office.

The Supreme Court in an important recent case called Capps also stated, ...the address of record need not be the mineral interest owner's correct address for the mailing of the notice of lapse to satisfy the statutory requirement. In other words, a landowner may serve a notice to recover mineral interests by US mail when mailed to the deceaseds last address in the records and thereby obtain minerals formerly owned by the deceased.

Both the legislature and the courts are attempting to make it easier for surface owners to clear title and reclaim lost mineral rights. The Supreme Court in Capps held that this Court made it clear that when the mineral interest owners of record are deceased, the notice must still be mailed to the address of the deceased owners of record. In my practice I have done this. The postman must think I am nuts. This rule derives from the intent to encourage mineral development and extraction.

The Court ruled that the surface owner was not required to conduct a reasonable inquiry into an actual address of a mineral owner even when the owner knew they were deceased. The Court determined that it was immaterial whether the surface owner had actual knowledge of the death of the party notified by mail the party who was the record owner of the mineral interests and the person to whom the statutory notices had been mailed. The Court stated that any heirs of the deceased would have received notice if the deceased had recorded notice of their current addresses. The Court also held that the constitutional safeguards of due process and adequate notice do not apply to the non-litigation Dormant Mineral Act used by the landowners in the Capps case.

The Capps case illustrates the growing body of law that makes it easier to develop and reclaim mineral rights.

David Ganje of Ganje Law Offices practices in the area of natural resources, environmental and commercial law in South Dakota and North Dakota. The website is Lexenergy.net
Aetna decided not to renew its America's Health Insurance Plans membership for 2016 but plans to continue partnerships with groups working toward access to high-quality, affordable healthcare.

Aetna is the third largest insurer and the second mega-health insurance company to leave AHIP; UnitedHealthcare left in June. While UnitedHealthcare said AHIP no longer represented the company's best interests, Aetna indicated pulling out potentially due to antitrust scrutiny associated with the planned Humana merger and new regulations under the Affordable Care Act, according to a company statement reported in Forbes.

So what is Aetna's next move?

Here are five key notes on where the company could be headed:

1. In the wake of increased scrutiny on a proposed merger with Humana, Aetna now feels it has the necessary lobbying presence in Washington, D.C., to affect change. The company added lobbyists and attorneys last year to win clearance for the merger.

2. Aetna is still a member of several business coalitions and associations. One affiliation is the Medicaid Health Plans of America, representing many of the same AHIP insurers.

3. Aetna expects a decision on whether they'll be allowed to move forward with the Humana merger in the second half of the year. The Justice Department is still reviewing the case, and in 2015 brought of 34 merger enforcement actions, according to an IBA mag report.

4. The company is also investing in mindfulness, collaborating with Duke University, eMindful and American Viniyoga Institute to develop mindfulness programs. In 2010, the collaboration released Viniyoga Stress Reduction and Mindfulness at Work to help employees reduce stress. The program was so successful Aetna expanded it to customers as well and could play a part in the company's philosophy going forward.

5. In November, Aetna reported it wasn't making money from their plans on the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges but expects profitability to improve next year. At that time, the payer didn't indicate plans to leave the exchanges despite acknowledging that business was challenging.
Over the past year, the problem of police brutality has been front and center in the national consciousness, and now researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are saying that police-related deaths should be treated as a notifiable public health condition.

Here are five things to know:

1. There is no reliable official U.S. data that exists on the number of persons killed by the police, although deaths of police officers are typically well-documented.

2. In a PLOS Medicine essay, the researchers argue that police-related deaths are countable, as shown by "The Counted," a website launched by The Guardian.

3. The website showed that 500 people were killed by the police in the U.S. from January 2015 to June 2015. This figure is twice the number that would be expected based on FBI estimates.

4. The researchers write that police-related deaths, of both persons killed by law enforcement agents and also law enforcement agents killed in the line of duty, are a public health concern, and not just a criminal justice concern, due to the fact that these involve mortality and affect the well-being of the families and communities of the deceased.

5. The researchers state that if police-related deaths are treated as a public health condition, it would allow public health departments to report this data in real-time, which will help in understanding and preventing the problem.
Three Connecticut hospitals have sued HHS over its decision to reduce Medicare payments for inpatient treatment to account for the adoption of the two-midnight rule, joining several hundred other hospitals across the nation that have already challenged the payment cut.

Under the two-midnight rule, which was introduced in the 2014 Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule, CMS generally considers hospital stays of less than two midnights to be outpatient cases, while hospital admissions for stays spanning two midnights or longer are deemed appropriate.

Expecting a decline in the number of long observation stays and an increase in the number of inpatient admissions, CMS proposed offsetting the cost through a 0.2 percent reduction in inpatient payments.

The payment reduction was strongly opposed by hospitals and sparked many lawsuits challenging the payment cut. Now, three hospitals in Connecticut have joined the legal battle.

The three hospitals  Danbury (Conn.) Hospital, New Milford (Conn.) Hospital and Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital  filed their lawsuit on Tuesday. The action raises the issue of whether HHS' adjustment to the Medicare IPPS standardized amount to account for the adoption of the two-midnight rule was lawful.

The hospitals argue the adjustment exceeds HHS' statutory authority, and that the amount of the downward adjustment is unsupported by data. Like other hospitals that have filed suit against HHS over the two-midnight rule, the three Connecticut hospitals argue HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not providing adequate notice or a meaningful opportunity to comment on the payment reduction.

The hospitals are seeking a court order that would force HHS to reverse its decision to cut reimbursement for inpatient care.

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Today's workplace environment makes it hard to be productive. With consistent breaking news stories and countless alerts on our cell phones, it's challenging to find time to do everything.

Ron Friedman, PhD, author of The Best Places to Work, brought together 26 science and productivity writers for an online summit. He gathered their advice for making people more productive.

Here are nine productivity tips for leaders, according to Dr. Friedman's article in the Harvard Business Review.

1. Use your own time to your own advantage. Sometimes it seems like we're constantly playing defense, fulfilling others' requests and responding to emails. Instead, we should block off some time each day to play offense and work on important projects we've initiated ourselves.

2. Realize busyness is a lack of focus. Being busy and having a lot on our plate is exciting and often makes us feel needed. But too much busyness isn't necessarily a good thing  doing busywork all day is a sign of wasted effort.

3. Understand the idea of the "ideal worker" doesn't exist. The "ideal worker" is seen as an employee who seemingly works consistently, putting his or her needs behind that of his or her job. Top performers don't see it this way  they take breaks and take time to sleep and exercise. Strive to do the same.

4. Purposely leave projects incomplete. Rather than spending hours working on one specific project, get up and take a break. Famous writer Ernest Hemingway utilized the same technique. After taking a hiatus, you'll return to your task refreshed and with new ideas.

5. Make breaks part of your routine. has found "we are more likely to find breakthrough ideas when we temporarily remove ourselves from the daily grind," Dr. Friedman wrote. This temporary removal can be as simple as going for a walk or as monumental as taking a vacation.

6. Resist the urge to over-help. According to Adam Grant, PhD, author of Give and Take, top performers are often those who like helping other people. But giving too much and too often is a recipe for disaster. Instead of saying yes to everyone who asks for help, pick out your passions and help others in those few areas.

7. Know how to say no. It's overwhelming to say yes to too many people, so Dr. Friedman suggests having a strategy for saying no. "Create an email template, or write out a script that you can use when doing it in person," Dr. Friedman wrote.

8. Monitor and measure important behaviors. In her book Better than Before, author Gretchen Rubin writes, "If you want to eat more healthily, keep a food journal. If you want to get more exercise, use a step counter. If you want to stick to a budget, track your spending." Keeping track of the behaviors that are important to you will help you reach your goals.

9. Work today to make time for tomorrow. Top performers look for ways to delegate less important tasks or activities to others. Completing or delegating tasks each day will give you more time to complete key activities the next day.

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As an Affordable Care Act repeal bill makes its way to President Barack Obama's desk to be vetoed, something remains unclear.

Republicans, who have long promised to replace the ACA, have not agreed on a way to do it. According to The Hill, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said his committee chairmen are working to combine many past plans into one. According to the report, when he was asked why a replacement was not included with the most recent repeal bill, Speaker Ryan said, "Just wait."

Republicans expect to discuss further healthcare alternatives at their retreat next week, according to The Hill.

The conservative party is in need of a clearer consensus on healthcare going into the presidential election. As the Los Angeles Times noted, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has offered sparse plans for healthcare reform beyond "everybody's going to be taken care of" and "the government's gonna pay for it."

If the repeal approved in Congress were enacted, it could save $516 billion over the next decade, but it would leave millions uninsured or unable to afford premiums without an alternative law in place.

Some of the pieces already exist  like a plan from Speaker Ryan to use vouchers for Medicare, or a 70-page blueprint from conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute that would use tax breaks instead of subsidies to help lower income Americans afford health coverage, according to the Los Angeles Times.

However, other questions remain unanswered without a unified plan, such as how Republicans plan to maintain coverage without the ACA and Medicaid expansion.

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Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services originally expected its $35 million acquisition of Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton, Pa., to be completed by October of last year and then that date was pushed back to the end of 2015. Now, the deal is set to close Feb. 1, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Prime inked an agreement to acquire Mercy Suburban in March and filed documents in August that showed the price it will pay for the facility.

Although Prime had hoped to close the deal in 2015, Peter Adamo, Prime's regional CEO for the Philadelphia market, understood why the closing date for the transaction was pushed back.

He said there are many operational systems shared by Mercy Health System's hospitals controlled out of the health system's headquarters in Conshohocken, Pa. "That has created some complexities and delays. We've had to restructure some of the original understandings," Mr. Adamo told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Prime's acquisitions of two other hospitals in the region  Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia and Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Pa.  went much smoother than the Mercy Suburban deal. That is because Roxborough Memorial and Lower Bucks were both freestanding and independently owned, according to the report.

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A deal to sell Co Down Shopping Centre Bloomfield has been completed for 54.5m.

The sale of the Bangor retail site was the fifth biggest deal involving a Northern Ireland business in the last year.

It was sold to London investment firm Ellandi and Tristan Capital Partners, which also snapped up Enniskillen's Erneside Shopping Centre. The deal was made by Lisney on behalf of the investors.

Nicky Finnieston, investment and retail director at Lisney, said: "The strength of the tenant line-up and the very tangible asset management opportunities were a big attraction. We are really looking forward to working with Ellandi to deliver the business plan."

It was a busy year for Northern Ireland's retail parks and shopping centres, with a number being sold in 2015. That included Fairhill in Ballymena, which went for more than 45m, while the Showgrounds Retail Park in Omagh was sold for 27m, and Lisnagelvin Retail Park in Londonderry was acquired by M&G for 16.8m.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., says the presidential denial of the Keystone XL pipeline will now cost taxpayers in legal fees.

Unfortunately, the presidents arbitrary decision to turn down the Keystone XL pipeline means we do not have this important energy infrastructure project under construction, or the jobs and other benefits that go with it, but also the American taxpayer is now on the hook for potentially billions of dollars in fines and legal costs," Hoeven said in a statement.

Keystone developer TransCanada is suing the federal government over rejection of its $8 billion pipeline project, seeking to recover $15 billion in costs and damages. The company also announced plans Wednesday to start a claim under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

President Barack Obama rejected Keystone on Nov. 6, following a seven-year review.

"Unfortunately, given Canadas recent track record in suing the United States, I am afraid the American taxpayer will be left holding the bag," Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said in a statement.

Its disappointing we got to this point because of years of inaction from the Administration to make a final decision about the Keystone XL pipeline," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement.
Ryanair is unveiling its long-awaited return to Belfast today - five years after the budget carrier pulled out of the city.

It ceased flights from Belfast City Airport in 2010 following delays to a planned runway extension. It wanted a longer runway so that it could operate flights to a number of European destinations.

Speculation about the move has been growing since new take-off and landing slots became available at London's Gatwick Airport.

But tomorrow the airline is holding a press event, and it is expected it will announce it's setting up a new hub at Belfast International Airport.

It comes after the Belfast Telegraph revealed the airline was making a grand return to the city after five years away.

Ryanair looks set to begin flying to London's Gatwick airport, with around half a dozen other destinations understood to be on the cards.

Ryanair's first indication it could make a return to Belfast came in July, when this newspaper revealed it was eyeing up the new slots.

The airline currently flies to Faro in Portugal and Alicante in Spain from City of Derry Airport.

Its chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, said it was in "discussions with both airports with a view to operating flights to/from Belfast in the future".
Ryanair has returned to Belfast after almost six years away - bringing six new routes over the course of the year

The budget airline is setting up a new hub at Belfast International Airport, creating 90 jobs, while it said a total of 750 could be created over the course of the next 18 months.

It's confident it can bring in an additional one million passengers, and is starting flights to Gatwick from March.

But it's not unveiling a further five routes until October. There had been strong speculation that could include Berlin, but this morning Ryanair's David O'Brien said reports were "premature".

It ceased flights from Belfast City Airport in 2010 following delays to a planned runway extension. It wanted a longer runway so that it could operate flights to a number of European destinations.

This morning, Ryanair called for the abolition of "outrageous" air taxes in Northern Ireland before any decision is made on operating European flights from Belfast.

Ryanair's chief commercial officer David O'Brien reiterated calls for an end to the 13-a-flight tax.

The low-cost Irish airline confirmed that it will operate a four times daily service to London Gatwick from Belfast International from March and said five more routes are to follow in October.

Those destinations have not been decided and could concentrate on UK airports if movement is not secured on cutting tax, Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien said.

He added: "We are not asking the Government for money, we are asking them to stop taking money from us and if they don't we will make decisions on that basis."

Dublin has abolished its air passenger duty and has seen massive increases in passenger numbers. Many travellers from Northern Ireland use services there where fares can be lower because of the different tax system.

However removing APD could result in a large reduction in the block grant from Westminster which runs public services in Northern Ireland.

REACTION

Belfast International Airport managing director, Graham Keddie, said: This is a most welcome announcement. The jobs and investment are considerable and amount to a valuable inward investment at low or no cost to the taxpayer.

The full range of destinations to be served by Ryanair will be revealed later in the year, but from an airport perspective, the potential to add more than one million additional passengers will have a dramatic effect on our business."

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of of Tourism Ireland, said:

"Todays announcement is good news for tourism to Northern Ireland, as we kick off our 2016 promotional drive  particularly given Ryanairs statement to introduce additional flights this autumn. We already work closely with Ryanair and we look forward to co-operating with them to maximise the promotion of this new flight from London Gatwick to Belfast. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated  they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism."

And the SDLP's Patsy McGlone MLA, chair of the Enterprise Trade and Investment Committee, said:

"This multi-million pound expansion offers serious potential for tourism and business here and is expected to add one million passengers using Belfast International Airport every year. Along with the 750 new jobs immediately created by the airline, it could also help develop the Aldergrove site and the surrounding area creating even more jobs.

"Over the years we have seen more and more passengers choosing to travel to and from Dublin which has offered a more frequent and cheaper flights. The first confirmed route to Gatwick from the famed budget airline will put Belfast in the same league as Dublin for commuters traveling to Ireland from London. It will offer more choice to very discerning consumers."

Alliance Leader and South Antrim MLA David Ford said the news would mean employment opportunities in the immediate area.

Airports can act as catalysts  they drive business activity and serve as platforms for enterprise. The airport is at the heart of my constituency and is now set to grow above the five million passenger mark in an exciting expansion.

My earnest hope is we can now push this sector up the list of economic priorities and develop new routes, together with the resultant inbound tourism opportunities.

South Antrim Ulster Unionist MP, Danny Kinahan, said Ryanairs move to open a base at Belfast International Airport will help drive passenger numbers to an all-time high.

"I wish to welcome this heart-warming and very positive development. The jobs, investment and route development are crucial for my constituency and the regional economy and the impact cannot be over-stated.

This will power growth at the International Airport. It will lead to at least one million additional passengers, which means that its highly likely the airport will set a new record this year.

All of those involved in delivering this significant development are to be congratulated. It is so vital that we continue to increase Northern Irelands links to other economies and todays announcement provides more options for people wanting to travel here, whether for business or as tourists."
If muck-spreading and chewing the cud are your thing, fear not. UTV's popular evergreen framing show, Rare Breed returns on Monday at 8pm.

Rare Breed - A Farming Year provides an in-depth look into the successes and struggles of farming life throughout the year.

Eighteen families from Ireland, north and south, give a unique insight into all aspects of farming life from beef, dairy, sheep, pig and poultry farms, to tomato and organic vegetable producers in the new series.

In the first episode Gareth Taylor from County Down discusses his worries over the price of milk while Antrim man James Alexander has his hands full with a new flock arriving from Scotland while trying to export tractors to Thailand.

We also meet the McCrabbe family in Donegal, who are breeding a brand new breed of sheep, the Roubek.

Michael Wilson, managing director, of UTV Television said: Rare Breed  A Farming Year has become a fan favourite amongst UTV viewers who look forward to the return of the agricultural series each year in our New Year schedule.

"The last series attracted an average audience of 207,000 viewers per episode, which is a testament to how popular this locally produced programme is.

"Rare Breed is unique in that it gives viewers an access-all-areas pass to the people behind one of Northern Irelands biggest industries  on farms both big and small.

"In this series we meet five farming families from Ulster with some familiar and new faces.

"We are delighted to welcome Rare Breed back to UTV in 2016.

The series is produced for UTV by local independent production company Crawford-McCann.

Managing director Kelda Crawford-McCann added: "Once again, the Rare Breed cameras have been out in all weathers as farmers worked through storms, freezing weather and beaming sun  from Donegal to Down and everywhere in-between.

"We were delighted with the success of Rare Breed 2015 and the new series will provide an equally intriguing mix of the highs and lows of farming in Ireland.

The level of dedication shown by our farming community is inspiring, in what has been a challenging year.

"Rare Breed has also been an international success, with the series being watched across the world from Greece to New Zealand and Iran to Australia.

Narrated by Mark McFadden, the show begins on Monday at 8pm and runs for 12 weeks on UTV.
Brad Pitt is reportedly in talks to present an important award at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

The Hollywood superstar's movie The Big Short is up for the best motion picture, musical or comedy award on the night and his co-stars Steve Carell and Christian Bale are also nominated. While Brad didn't receive any acting nods, New York Post's Page Six claims he is planning to give away one of the night's top honours.

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This proposal was reportedly discussed earlier this week, but the actor still needs to secure transportation in order to arrive in Beverly Hills on time. If he does attend, a source points out to the publication that he does have reason to take to the stage if The Big Short scoops the prize.

Brad is a nominee - hes a producer of The Big Short - so he will be there on behalf of the film," they said.

Other big names set to present accolades on Sunday include Amy Adams, Channing Tatum, Jim Carrey and Eddie Redmayne, whose role in The Danish Girl has earned him a nomination.

British funnyman Ricky Gervais will be hosting the ceremony once more, despite previously claiming he'd never take on the task again. Speaking to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in an episode that aired on Wednesday (06Jan16), Ricky revealed what's in store this time round.

"They said I could say what I want again," he winked. "Yeah (I say whatever comes to mind). Thats the fun of it really, because sometimes I dont know whats going to happen. So thats good.

"If I didnt drink, I wouldnt be brave enough to say some of the things Im going to say."

He was also asked to name three emotions he feels when hosting the prestigious event, with his choices fear, joy and shame.
Warner Bros Studios in Watford is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter studio tour visitors will be able to step inside the Dursleys' house for the first time as Warner Bros marks 15 years since the first film was released.

A series of new features at the Warner Bros Studios in Watford will celebrate the anniversary of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone's release in 2001 - the first of eight films based on JK Rowling's novels.

Fans will be able to visit the set for 4 Privet Drive, where fictional orphaned wizard Harry Potter grew up with the horrible Dursley family.

The house is filled with ugly sofas, terrible tiles and vulgar curtains and will be open to visitors from May 27 to June 6.

For 11 days in February, the Sorting Hat and stool will be displayed for the first time in the Great Hall set, which was one of the first locations to be built for the wizarding school Hogwarts.

Other props from the film franchise, which starred Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, will be on special display for limited periods.

Half-giant groundskeeper Hagrid's costumes will be exhibited as the techniques used to make him appear so huge are showcased.

Visitors will also be able to see how the creative effects team worked on the Gringott's Goblin prosthetics, and learn how the giant chess pieces were made to move.
Winston McKenzie arrives at the start of the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother

Celebrity Big Brother contestant Kristina Rihanoff has announced to her fellow housemates she is almost three months pregnant.

The Strictly Come Dancing Star was met with cheers when she broke the news at around 8pm.

The 38-year-old said: "There was something (that) happened in my life before I came into the house over Christmas, and obviously I thought it's very private news, you know but because we are living as one family now and everybody is sort of supporting one another now, it happened to be that I found that my boyfriend and I are going to have a little one."

The Russian dancer, who faces eviction on Friday, became tearful after being congratulated, hugged and kissed by her housemates.

She added: "Well I found over Christmas. Thank you guys, I just didn't know how to break it, what to say, when to say, it played on my mind and I wanted everyone to hear."

Former Hollyoaks actress and fellow housemate Stephanie Davis asked how far along she was, to which Rihanoff replied she was "almost three months".

PR man Jonathan Cheban said: "That's so exciting,"

Rihanoff met her partner, rugby star Ben Cohen, when they were partnered on the BBC One show last year. Cohen split from his wife of 10 years Abby following the show.

A spokesman for the mother-to-be said: "Kristina and Ben were surprised and delighted to find out that she was pregnant shortly before she entered the Big Brother house. Kristina is well and looking forward to being a mum."

When Rihanoff entered the house she said she would "try to be the mummy of house" as she admitted she laughed at her "Siberian Siren" nickname.

She said: "I will try to be the mum of the house and hopefully I'll enjoy the experience."

The shock announcement will be broadcast during the live eviction at 9pm on Friday on Channel 5.

Rihanoff is believed to be the first housemate to enter the house while pregnant.

A Channel 5 spokesman said there would be procedures put in place for her care.

In 2005, Big Brother housemate Makosi Musambasi claimed she was "90 to 100% sure" she was pregnant after an alleged romp in the hot tub with Anthony Hutton - but she later denied they had even had sex.

Another housemate to deliver shock news in the history of the show was Jade Goody who withdrew from the Indian version of Big Brother after receiving a cervical cancer diagnosis in 2008.

The late reality TV star, who died from her illness the next year, was told the news during a phone call in the diary room before telling her fellow housemates.

When Rihanoff leaves the house, be it during Friday's eviction or later in the series, she will be able to talk babies with CBB presenter Emma Willis, who is also pregnant with her third child with husband and Busted star Matt Willis due in early May.

Cohen is not Rihanoff's first celebrity boyfriend, nor her first Strictly Come Dancing partner who has become more than friends.

In her autobiography Dancing Out Of Darkness: My Story, the 5ft 3in blonde, spoke about a romance with fellow Strictly dancer Vincent Simone while his girlfriend was four-months pregnant - but she claims she believed he was single.

After partnering boxer Joe Calzaghe in 2009 the pair became an item for four years.

Calzaghe's ex-girlfriend Jo-Emma Larvin claimed he dumped her when he found out he had been partnered with Rihanoff.
The biggest question in the race for North Dakota governor may finally be answered next week.

Fargo businessman Doug Burgum said in a statement Thursday that he will announce Jan. 14 his intentions regarding the gubernatorial race. Additional details will be coming next week, he said.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and state Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, are so far the only Republicans who have declared their intent to seek the GOP nomination at the partys state convention April 1-3 in Fargo.

Burgum, the former CEO of Great Plains Software who led the company through its $1.1 billion sale to Microsoft in 2001, expressed interest in the race after Gov. Jack Dalrymple announced in August he would not seek re-election.

Burgum had said he planned to announce his intentions this month. He initially said he wouldnt rule out a run as an independent, but Adrienne Olson, a spokeswoman for Burgum with his property development firm, Kilbourne Group, said in November that if Burgum did run, it would be as a Republican.

Stenehjems campaign manager, Nate Martindale, told Forum News Service this week that he expects Burgum to skip the Republican Partys nominating convention in April and go straight to the primary election in June if Burgum decides to jump into the race.

Martindale said he expects Stenehjem and Becker to be the only candidates vying for the GOP nod at the convention.

I personally believe if Doug were to throw his hat in the ring, he would go straight to the primary, Martindale said.

Becker said his campaign is preparing the same way whether Burgum enters the race and seeks the nomination or not.

I dont have any expectations. Thats one big fat question mark in my mind. I dont know what Dougs going to do, he said. Im just preparing to push forward, regardless of whos in at what time.

Asked if the party would frown upon Burgum bypassing the convention, North Dakota GOP Executive Director Roz Leighton said state party rules support the convention process and endorsing candidates at that level.

The party will always stick behind the candidate thats endorsed at the convention, she said.

Martindale and Becker said their respective campaigns will ramp up between now and the first GOP district conventions Jan. 19 in Fargo. Neither camp would say how much money theyve raised so far, though Stenehjems campaign has previously disclosed eclipsing $100,000. Year-end campaign contribution statements are due at the end of this month.

Burgum is the founder and chairman of Kilbourne Group, which has renovated and repurposed a number of historic buildings in downtown Fargo. Hes also co-founder and partner of Arthur Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in software companies.

Meanwhile, with an exploratory committee actively raising campaign funds, it appears more likely that former state agriculture commissioner Sarah Vogel will run on the Democratic ticket.

Vogel estimated more than 50 people attended a "Seed Money for Sarah" fundraiser hosted by her exploratory committee Dec. 30 at the Peacock Alley restaurant in Bismarck, with U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., as the special guest.

Ive gotten a lot of support, and Im making plans, but I do not have a date for an announcement, Vogel said. Id say everything is looking quite positive.

Asked if there was anything at this point that would stop her from running for governor, Vogel said, Nothing comes to mind.
Police discovered the cannabis factory in Newry after being tipped off by a member of the public

Cannabis plants worth about 50,000 have been uncovered in Newry.

Police discovered the cannabis factory a t Windsor Bungalows after being tipped off by a member of the public on Wednesday.

Cultivation equipment and other drugs paraphernalia were also seized.

Detective Inspector Keith Gawley from the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "Officers searched this house after a member of the public reported concerns about an unusual smell emanating from the property.

"The discovery of this haul has taken a substantial amount of drugs off local streets and demonstrates that when people report their concerns to us, they are actively helping us stamp out the scourge of drugs in Newry."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on the non-emergency 101 number.
An alleged burglar charged with targeting up to 16 shops and restaurants across Belfast is being investigated in connection with nearly 20 other break-ins, the High Court heard today.

Prosecutors claimed Andrew Aparicio continued his crime spree after falling out with a man accused of being his accomplice in many of the raids, including one where 15,000 worth of clothing was stolen.

Details emerged as the 31-year-old defendant, from Russell Court in the city, was granted bail.

Aparicio is charged with multiple burglaries and attempted burglaries between July and November last year.

He is alleged to have targeted coffee shops, a fashion store, restaurants, a hairdressers and a butchers at locations in the south and east of the city.

Prosecution counsel Kate McKay told the court: "He's also been released on bail while police investigate a further 18 such burglaries."

Police claim Aparicio and 26-year-old co-accused Conor Allen, of Ormiston Drive in Belfast, are part of a crime gang.

A judge was told the business premises were all broken into at night, with the raiders either prizing their way in with a jemmy bar or coming in through skylights.

Both men are accused of stealing 15,000 worth of goods from David Kerr Clothing on the Newtownards Road last August.

More than 2,000 in cash and a safe was allegedly stolen in a raid on a Mexican restaurant on the Lisburn Road a month later.

A similar amount of money and an iPad was taken from an Upper Newtownards Road butchers in September, according to the charges.

It was confirmed in court today that there is no forensic evidence linking the accused to any of the burglaries.

Instead, the prosecution claimed he can be connected by phone traffic and CCTV footage of the masked raiders.

Mrs McKay also claimed Aparicio was attempting to destroy a ski mask when stopped in a car by police investigating a break-in at a branch of Boots in Co Down in November.

Allen was not among others in the vehicle at the time, she confirmed.

The barrister said: "Police believe there's been a falling out with the co-accused Conor Allen around the end of October, but this applicant has continued with his criminality with other people."

Although Aparicio has not been charged with any other break-ins, Mrs McKay stressed the ongoing investigation involves more than 30 incidents since last July.

Defence counsel Richard McConkey attacked the strength of the evidence against his client.

Pointing out that Allen has already been released from custody, he claimed: "The case is very weak against both of them."

Granting bail, Judge Gordon Kerr QC imposed a night-time curfew, electronic tagging and ordered Aparicio's mother to lodge a 2,000 cash surety.

He said: "The risk of further offending in this type of case, which is burglaries taking place in the early hours of the morning, can be dealt with and managed by conditions."
A horse-drawn buggy owned by an Irish American priest who opened his church to the wounded and dying at the Battle of Gettysburg has gone on display back in his homeland.

Father Arthur Michael McGinnis emigrated from Co Armagh to the US in 1856 and was sent to minister in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg five years later, at the outset of the American Civil War.

In 1863, his new home became the focal point for the defining battle of the conflict and the Ulster-born priest transformed his church into a centre to receive the dying and wounded from both Confederate and Union forces.

The cleric's buggy has been put on show at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, Co Tyrone, to kick-off a programme of events to mark the museum's 40th anniversary.

Liam Corry, assistant curator at the Ulster American Folk Park, said: "The buggy is a very important object which has a wonderful story. Ownership of it has moved down the generations through Father McGinnis's family maternal line.

"This new addition to the Ulster American Folk Park's collection tells an engaging story of the buggy itself and also an insight into emigration in the 1860s and the significant part the Irish played in both sides of the American Civil War."

The award-winning museum welcomes around 130,000 visitors each year. It opened in July 1976 following the restoration of the original homestead of Judge Thomas Mellon, the banking and industrial magnate of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who sailed to the US with his parents in 1818 at the age of six.

Since then the museum has developed with over 90 acres and 33 exhibit buildings.

Peter Kelly, head of operations at the park, said: "We are fortunate in Northern Ireland to have a world-class museum which provides a unique setting for telling the story of emigration.

"The museum is one of the North West's busiest visitor attractions and also provides an important learning resource that engages people with all learning styles, abilities and ages.

"The museum has seen much growth and expansion over 40 years and we remain committed to offering visitors the very best in living history."

An exhibition of 11 drawings by Belfast artist Frank McKelvey (1895-1974) of American presidents is also part of the 40th anniversary programme.

Other special events include Easter celebrations, an American Independence celebrations in July and a Bluegrass music festival.
A man has appeared in court on charges linked to the discovery of 2.3m of cocaine and cannabis.

The drugs were found in six different locations in 2013 and 2014 following a surveillance operation by the PSNI and National Crime Agency.

Sixteen other people are currently awaiting trial following the seizures and six more have already been dealt with by the courts.

In Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday was Peter Downs (38), a company director and father-of-five from Mount Street, Chessington, Surrey.

He denied one charge of conspiring with others to supply cocaine and one charge of being concerned in supplying cocaine.

A detective constable from the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch told District Judge Barney McElholm the defendant was arrested in London on Monday by Greater Manchester Police and handed into the custody of PSNI officers in the city on Tuesday.

The officer said the charges were linked to the discovery of 372,000 of cocaine during one of the six seizures. He said the cocaine was found in one of two cars stopped by police on the Dromore Road in Hillsborough, Co Down, on May 21, 2014.

The officer told the court the PSNI had surveillance evidence that showed the defendant had attended two meetings of a drugs crime gang. One was at the Fairways Hotel in Manchester on March 3, 2014, and the second at the Premier Inn in Lisburn on March 21, 2014. He said the defendant flew in from Amsterdam to attend the meetings.

Opposing bail, the police witness said the defendant was a convicted cocaine courier and he did not believe the defendant would answer bail as he had breached conditions on numerous occasions in the past.

He added the defendant had also failed to attend pre-arranged meetings with the police accompanied by his solicitor over a six-month period prior to his arrest in London on Monday.

The detective constable agreed with defence solicitor Michael McGee that there was no forensic evidence linking the defendant to the cocaine.

Applying for bail, Mr McGee said the defendant was willing to adhere to any court-imposed bail conditions.

He also revealed the defendant's mother was willing to put up her house in Manchester as surety.

Mr McGee said if remanded in custody, it would be several months before any trial could take place because of the ongoing payments dispute between local barristers and the Justice Minister David Ford, which has caused a considerable backlog in criminal trials.

Mr McElholm said most of the other defendants in the case had already been granted High Court bail. He released the defendant on his own bail of 1,000 together with a cash surety of 30,000 to appear in court again on January 28.

The defendant, who will remain in custody until the 30,000 is lodged with the court, was ordered, upon his release, to reside at his home address in London, to report to the local police twice a week and to surrender his passport.

He was also ordered not to contact his co-defendants and to always have on his person an operable mobile phone, the number of which he must supply to the PSNI.
Lynne Peyton, who was one of the services first phone line volunteers back in 1986

Children in Northern Ireland face increasing pressures from social media which can lead to low self-esteem and unhappiness, a leading charity has warned.

ChildLine has revealed that the number of counselling sessions for low self-esteem rose by 9% last year. As it prepares to celebrate its 30th birthday this year, it said that in 2014/15 there were 35,244 counselling sessions for low self-esteem.

One 13-year-old girl said she hated herself because of what other people posted online.

She told a counsellor: "When I look at other girls online posting photos of themselves, it makes me feel really worthless and ugly. I'm struggling to cope with these feelings and stay in my bedroom most of the time. I'm always worrying about what other people are thinking of me. I feel so down."

The charity, launched in 1986, has seen dramatic changes in 30 years. At the start, children made contact exclusively by telephone - street boxes or home lines - or freepost letter. The main worries were about family problems, pregnancy, and sexual abuse.

But children are now more concerned about the pressures of social media and battling low self-esteem and unhappiness. Increasingly, children go online to talk about problems as they find it easier to communicate this way.

Independent childcare consultant Lynne Peyton, from Belfast, was one of the first volunteers to answer calls in 1986.

She was a social worker and, with a few colleagues, stayed late to help children using the new helpline. She said: "We received a number of calls and encouraged young people to talk to someone they trusted or to contact local social services offices."

The helpline opened a Belfast base in 1999 and launched a second in the Foyle area in 2006 and now local volunteers help to answer thousands of calls a year. Lynne said: "Two years ago I was privileged to visit the ChildLine service centre in Belfast and saw first hand the professionalism with which the helpline is currently delivered. Staff and volunteers are given specific training, supervised regularly and have easy access to advice and support - a far cry from that first tentative evening in 1986."

Mairead Monds, ChildLine service manager in Northern Ireland, said: "It is clear that the pressure to keep up with friends and have the perfect life online is adding to the sadness that many young people feel on a daily basis.

"The worries young people face and the way they talk to us have dramatically changed since ChildLine was launched, but one thing stays the same - our vital service is often the only place many young people feel they can turn to." Children can contact ChildLine 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 or by visiting www.childline.org.uk
Brendan McGuigan, chief inspector of criminal justice NI, and Nick Hardwick, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, at the press conference in Belfast

HMP Maghaberry was said to have gone backwards since the previous inspection

Fears have been raised that a prison officer could be killed after it was revealed 11 officers were attacked in the past two months at Maghaberry Prison.

The Stephen Nolan Show reported the attacks as inspectors return to the prison following a report which branded the high-security jail one of the UK's most dangerous.

Former prison governor William McKee said he was fearful a prison officer could be killed or very seriously injured.

He said the prison service had lost a lot of experienced staff over the past number of years and that sickness levels in the jail was "particularly high".

One serving prison officer said staff were "over-stretched" and received no support from management.

He claimed staff were told if they didn't like the situation they should hand their notice in and then less experienced staff were brought into replace them.

DUP MLA Edwin Poots said he was "not surprised" with the attacks and that there may even be more.

He said he was aware of four officers who were seriously injured in attacks.

He said: "I believe [there is a threat to a prison officer's life] and we need to be concerned.

"We need to ensure there are adequate numbers of prison officers with the skills and experience to deal with the various situations that arise.

"We need to see all front line staff protected and the courts can not treat those convicted of attacks - on ambulance staff, police or prison officers or any front line staff - with kid gloves."

The Department of Justice has been asked to respond.

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In November, Maghaberry was said to be "a prison in crisis", with "unsafe and unstable" conditions, according to a joint assessment by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI).

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, Nick Hardwick, who was commissioned to assist the CJINI inspection team, said: "This is one of the worst prisons I have ever seen and the most dangerous prison I have been to."

Maghaberry houses almost 1,000 prisoners, including around 50 people with loyalist and republican paramilitary affiliations who are held in separated accommodation.

Following the November report, governor Phil Wragg - who was appointed after the inspection was conducted - said changes had already been implemented and that he expected a more positive report when inspectors returned.
Gerry Hagan, from the Rivers Agency, operates a pump at the home of Jimmy Quinn from Derrytresk, near Dungannon

Residents and business owners in flood-hit parts of Northern Ireland continue to battle against rising water levels.

Efforts to save properties around swollen loughs and rivers suffered another setback with a fresh downpour of rain on Wednesday night.

With flood waters showing little sign of receding, three Stormont ministers organised an urgent meeting with government agencies and local authorities on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill, Regional Development Minister Michelle McIlveen and Environment Minister Mark H Durkan each have responsibility for certain elements of the response.

Low-lying areas around sections of Lough Erne and Lough Neagh have been worst hit.

The home of 72-year-old Jimmy Quinn, who lives alone in the townland of Derrytresk near Coalisland, Co Tyrone, has been surrounded by water for 11 days. Rivers Agency staff having been manning water pumps outside his property 24/7 ever since.

"This is as bad as it's ever been," said Mr Quinn.

"Only for these men (from the Rivers Agency) watching these pumps day and night the water would be in the house."

The house - which is close to a tributary of Lough Neagh, the Blackwater River - has not had a working toilet since the floods began and Mr Quinn has been forced to sleep at his sister's home due to the noise of the water pumps.

He said he needs to wear full-length waders to leave the property.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Minister Michelle O'Neill with local farmers, Gary McManus and Bridget McCaffrey (right) and Kathleen McCaffrey (left), as she views the impact of flooding on homes, roads and farmland at Innishroosk outside Lisnaskea. PA PA Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Michelle O'Neill with local schoolchildren, Kathleen McCaffrey (left) and Sean McCaffrey (right), as she views the impact of flooding on homes, roads and farmland at Innishroosk outside Lisnaskea. PA PA Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Michelle O'Neill with local farmer Jimmy Maguire, as she views the impact of flooding on homes, roads and farmland at Innishroosk outside Lisnaskea. PA PA Flooding near Portadown Farmer Benny Dunlop tends his lambing sheep close to the water level Adrian McKernan and Megan Rafferty inside their flooded home Farmer Roy Allen stands in one of his fields A cottage is cut off by the flood / Facebook

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Whatsapp Minister Michelle O'Neill with local farmers, Gary McManus and Bridget McCaffrey (right) and Kathleen McCaffrey (left), as she views the impact of flooding on homes, roads and farmland at Innishroosk outside Lisnaskea. PA

"Even if you are tall man, the ordinary wellingtons are no good," he said.

Sean Walshe, 57, owns the house next door. One of his older relatives lives there.

"It's just a total disaster," he said. "It's really depressing - it would really get you down. You get no sleep, you are worried every day.

"Every time it rains you are just dreading what will happen. This is the worst ever."

Gilbert Spence, from the Rivers Agency, predicted the pumps will be required at Derrytresk for at least another week.

"We have all come off leave to assist the community and lots of our boys are working maybe 18 to 20 hours a day pumping at these houses," he said.

Nearby, on the shores of Lough Neagh, businesses at the Kinnego Marina have already been swamped by the waters.

Paul Quinn, who runs South Shore Marine and Diesel, said the water level inside his flooded business rose by another inch and a half on Wednesday night.

"This site has been here for 40 years and we've never had anything close to this," he said.

Mr Quinn said he had concerns the authorities could have done more to lower the water levels in Lough Neagh before the winter storms.

But he added: "There are questions to be asked, but it's not the blame game - that's for further down the line. We need some sort of help now."

He said he would only be able to keep on his nine staff if the Stormont Executive delivered sufficient support measures.

He added: "This water could be here for weeks, maybe months."

After the emergency meeting at Loughry college in Cookstown, the Stormont ministers said they had explored measures to enhance flood protection and also considered strengthening the multi-agency response approach.

Ms O'Neill said she would announce details next week of a new grant scheme to help people protect their homes.

"Today, we looked at where more could be done to reduce the risks of flooding in the future," she said.

"As Rivers Minister, I intend to seek resources to use to improve our flood protections where necessary."

Ms McIlveen said agencies had been working round the clock.

"My key priority is to identify any immediate remedial works that need to be carried out on roads which have been flooded to ensure they are opened as quickly as possible," she said.

"As well as carrying out emergency repairs, I will be seeking to identify longer-term measures to address any issues with the roads infrastructure."

Mr Durkan highlighted that a grant system to help people trying to repair flood damage to their homes was already available.

"Over recent years we have seen much heartache for homeowners dealing with the aftermath of flooded homes," he said.

"Flooding can no longer be termed as a one off or once in a hundred years. It is happening on a regular basis. It is important that government ministers and local councils work in a joined up way to tackle the problem and help those most severely affected to get back to normal."

At the meeting the ministers were told that flood gates controlling water flow from Lough Neagh have been fully open since November 10 and that, even when the weather improves, it will take a while for the lough's water levels to drop.

The Cliff Hydro station at Ballyshannon in the Irish Republic controls the flow from Lough Erne. It is also currently operating at maximum flow levels.
An audit found evidence of conflicts of interest concerning Colm McCaughley, a former senior member of Northern Ireland's Housing Executive

A former senior member of the Housing Executive was involved in "fundamental" conflicts of interest over land deals, the audit office said.

Colm McCaughley was director of the public housing body's housing and regeneration division and had a close family member with links to private developers Big Picture Developments.

Mr McCaughley challenged the Housing Executive's objection to a planning application by the developer. His division attempted to alter a response to an Assembly question and wrote an inaccurate letter to planners in a bid to rescind the Executive's position.

Barry Gilligan, a d irector of Big Picture Developments Limited and former Policing Board member, told auditors that no improper contacts were made by him with any NIHE official, including Mr McCaughley.

An audit office report said: "In our view, these conflicts were so fundamental that Mr McCaughley should not have been involved in any land transactions with these companies."

Mr McCaughley told auditors that, in his view, this report does not present potential conflicts of interest within common sense and appropriate boundaries.

In another case he had direct correspondence with the same family member, who was assisting another developer in legal matters surrounding an apartment complex.

Mr McCaughley retired from the Executive in November 2011 after he was suspended following an investigation into a property deal at Belfast's Nelson Street.

Big Picture Developments submitted a planning application in March 2008 for a development of offices and apartments but no social housing .

In September 2008, NIHE objected to the proposed private use because part of the site was zoned for social housing.

On February 12 2009 Mr McCaughley emailed NIHE's Belfast Area office arguing that NIHE's objection was unreasonable.

The audit office report said: " Colm McCaughley had a clear conflict of interest in the Nelson Street case."

He had declared a family member on a Housing Executive register of interests.

At the time of the Nelson Street case the relative was was a director of a property company, based in Dublin, which invested in Northern Ireland through Big Picture Developments Limited.

Later he became a director at Big Picture Developments.

The Audit Office report said: "It appears Colm McCaughley was aware of the conflict, as reflected in comments in emails to other NIHE staff, 'I had best stand aside from the review' and 'I am struggling to stay away from this'.

"Colm McCaughley told us that he was fully aware that his advice to NIHE staff could be seen as a potential conflict of interest but he had limited options.

"In our view this was not a potential conflict but a real one and we have seen no evidence that he sought advice to clarify his position."

His division emailed DoE Planning Service about a technical matter in an inaccurate and premature fashion which may have helped the developer but did not assist the Housing Executive's social housing programme, the report said. That led to an internal audit and referral of the matter to police.

Mr McCaughley was suspended on September 30 2010 having been on sick leave since March 23 2010. The NIHE chairman wrote to the PSNI chief constable outlining his serious concerns with the "actions and behaviour of certain senior NIHE staff" and their connection with Big Picture Developments Limited.

The PSNI conducted a criminal investigation and a file was submitted to the PPS in July 2011 for its consideration but the test for prosecution was not met due to lack of evidence.

No transactions were made between the Housing Executive and Mr Gilligan. No allegations of wrongdoing were made against him in the report.
Thieves failed to quash the Bismarck Pita Pit's employees' Christmas party by stealing their party funds on Dec. 27. While the crime is under investigation, the community and Pita Pit president decided they were not going to let a few grinches spoil any celebrations.

Pita Pit employees were aiming to raise a little extra money to give their Christmas party an extra boost by saving all the coins. In October, the employees agreed to leave the coins to accumulate for their party this month.

Nearing the end of December, the tip jar weighed about 15 pounds and contained more than $400 in change.

"It was about 15 pounds of change," said Jesse DeCoteau, Pita Pit assistant manager.

On Dec. 27, DeCoteau was winding down a Sunday night at the restaurant.

"I sent my employee home 10 minutes prior to this," DeCoteau said. "I went in the back, I just started getting my pre-close stuff done, and I thought I saw someone come in. So I looked up and watched the cameras for a minute. I didn't see anything so I went back to my work."

When DeCoteau finished his closing tasks, he returned to the front of the store and realized the tip jar was missing. After reporting the incident to his managers, he then called police about the theft.

"I was in shock that somebody would steal someone's tip jar," DeCoteau said. "Who steals somebody's tips? People work hard for that."

A surveillance tape revealed that two men had made off with the change.

"It seemed pretty coordinated," DeCoteau said. "One guy came in and stood behind the pop machine and the other came in and stood under the camera, so we couldn't see either of them from the camera angle."

After the bandits positioned themselves, one snagged the tip jar from the counter as the other held the door open for the escape.

Jesse Vetter, Bismarck Pita Pit general manager and co-owner, posted screen shots from the surveillance video on Facebook in hopes of someone identifying the thieves.

Once restaurant patrons and community members caught word of the theft, many wanted to help the employees with their celebration.

Community members visited the Pita Pit to express their condolences by adding to the new tip jar.

"The last thing we were looking for was handouts. We wanted the thieves caught," said Vetter, who expressed gratitude for the community's support.

The new tip jar was filled to $360 in about one week.

After news of the theft made its way to the corporate office, Corey Bowman, Pita Pit president, decided to step into the situation.

"I started my career working a Pita Pit," Bowman said. "I know what it is like to put in the long hours and hard work. Many of our people in executive positions started their careers behind the counter, washing dishes and rolling pitas."

Bowman decided to reimburse the employees for the loss of their saved tips.

"When we saw it was stolen, I thought here is a chance to do the right thing," Bowman said. "These people work hard for us every day."

The Pita Pit employees will be rolling bowling balls rather than pitas for their Christmas party at Midway lanes on Jan. 16. The Bismarck restaurant will be hosting the party for the Minot, Dickinson, Stanley and Brooklyn Park Pita Pit locations.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, Nick Hardwick

Northern Ireland's only high-security prison has been branded the UK's most dangerous, with inmates and staff living in fear in Victorian-era conditions.

HMP Maghaberry, near Lisburn, is "a prison in crisis", with "unsafe and unstable" conditions, according to the joint assessment by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI).

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, Nick Hardwick, who was commissioned to assist the CJINI inspection team, said: "This is one of the worst prisons I have ever seen and the most dangerous prison I have been to."

He said it would struggle to meet UN minimum standards for prisons worldwide and that if the situation was not addressed a major risk of "serious disorder or loss of life" would remain.

Mr Hardwick said conditions inside were akin to those of a Victorian jail. "It feels a bit like going back in time," he added. "Dickens could write about Maghaberry without batting an eyelid."

Maghaberry houses almost 1,000 prisoners, including around 50 people with loyalist and republican paramilitary affiliations who are held in separated accommodation.

Republicans have issued death threats against prison staff in recent years, and in 2012 long-serving officer David Black was shot dead by dissidents.

Inspectors who carried out May's unannounced visit identified a series of serious failings in the regime that had fostered a volatile atmosphere, with the prison on the verge of a riot.

Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, Brendan McGuigan, described the worrying conditions found by the inspection team.

"Maghaberry had become unsafe and unstable and was in a downward spiral that could have led to serious consequences," he said. "This was, in our collective opinion, a prison in crisis."

A month before the inspection was carried out, a number of prisoners set fire to a storehouse, with smoke filling an adjoining accommodation block where inmates were locked in cells. Inspectors said the fire at Erne House almost cost lives, and they called for a separate investigation into the event.

In three out of four measuring standards used by inspectors - safety, respect and purposeful activity - Maghaberry was given the lowest ranking possible.

For the first time ever, inspectors felt the need to issue an "urgent action plan" to prison authorities in the immediate wake of the inspection. In another unprecedented move, inspectors are to return to the jail for a follow-up visit in January. Follow-ups are usually conducted two to three years after inspection.

Inspectors were particularly critical of the management regime at Maghaberry.

Two months after the inspection, the governor Alan Longwell left his post. He was replaced by former governor of HMP Belmarsh in London, Phil Wragg.

Stormont's Justice Minister David Ford insisted action had already been taken to address the failings.

"The appointment of Phil Wragg as governor, and the refreshed experienced senior leadership team put in place at the prison, has already led to improvements in a number of areas, and this will continue," he said.
A damning report published today has revealed how a former senior member of the Housing Executive was involved in "fundamental" conflicts of interest over land deals.

The report by the Audit Office also endorsed a Stormont committee that had accused a section of the NI Housing Executive (NIHE) of being "for many years, out of control".

The report, published today by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO), said the Housing Executive made key failings at a turbulent time in the property market.

These included:

Land not being properly advertised on the open market;

a failure to show value for money, especially when dealing with private developers, and

Serious conflicts of interest.

The report said a number of land and property sales were badly mismanaged by the Housing Executive in recent years - two of which prompted criminal investigations. Both cases resulted in PSNI investigations which were ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence.

In 2010, serious concerns were raised about NIHE dealings over two sites in Belfast - Nelson Street and Hardcastle Street.

Colm McCaughley, director of the NIHE's Housing and Regeneration Division, retired from the Executive in November 2011 after he was suspended following an investigation into a property deal at Nelson Street. A close family member had links to private developer Big Picture Developments.

In June 2006, property developer Barry Gilligan, the director of Big Picture Developments and a former Policing Board member, had been asked to consult on the social housing project for 66 units.

Questions were raised when just one month later his company bought the site and soon submitted a planning application to use it only for commercial purposes.

There were accusations of a conflict of interest when the plan was defended by Mr McCaughley.

In 2010, Mr McCaughley said a family member was then a director of Big Picture Developments, which the auditors said "represented a clear conflict of interest".

It said it appeared Mr McCaughley was aware of the conflict, as reflected in comments in emails to other NIHE staff stating that, "I had best stand aside from the review" and "I am struggling to stay away from this".

No transactions were made between the Housing Executive and Mr Gilligan. No allegations of wrongdoing were made against him in the report.

There was further controversy with the disposal of NIHE land at Hardcastle Street in Belfast. In March 2005 it was sold "off-market" to a developer for 98,000.

The land was not advertised and a private developer complained he was not given the opportunity to bid for it.

The complaint was upheld and the developer was offered 20,000 compensation. He rejected the offer and sued NIHE for 75,200.

NIHE also paid the buyer's planning fees, which reduced the developers' costs and the amount received by the public sector.

The Audit Office report stated: "The Public Accounts Committee concluded in 2013 that 'the Housing Executive's Housing and Regeneration Division had been, for many years, out of control.'

"Our examination of the Housing and Regeneration Division's management of land transactions from 2004 up to 2010 clearly supports the Committee's conclusion."

Mr McCaughley was suspended on September 30, 2010 having been on sick leave since March 23, 2010.

Comptroller and Auditor General Kieran Donnelly said he hoped the report would act as a warning to other public bodies.

"Governance regimes require a culture of compliance if they are to be effective and those entrusted with the leadership must give the lead on this," he said.

Mr Donnelly added that since 2010, both the Department of Social Development and NIHE have acted to address the failings.

Timeline

The Housing Executive is Northern Ireland's biggest landlord, with over 82,000 homes.

It also has one of the largest land portfolios. Some is used to build social homes while other parts go on the open market.

From 2004 to 2010 the local property market was described as "extremely buoyant" with many private developers trying to acquire land from the Housing Executive (NIHE).

Since 2005 there have been 1,374 land disposals, including 161 to registered housing associations for new-build schemes.

In 2005 the value of NIHE land with development potential was estimated at 409m.

Since the property crash this has plummeted to just 31m.

In January 2010 alleged irregularities were raised in respect of NIHE's dealings with a privately owned site at Nelson Street in Belfast. The case was formally referred to PSNI.

In March Colm McCaughley, director of the housing and regeneration division in NIHE, went on sick leave. By September he had been suspended.

In September 2010 the NI Commissioner for Complaints found maladministration in relation to disposal of land at Hardcastle Street in Belfast.

In December NIHE chief executive Paddy McIntyre retired. Colm McCaughley stepped down in November 2011.

By 2013 the PSNI concluded that "there was no likelihood or prospect that it could prove fraud to a criminal standard on the referred land disposal cases".
Paddy Doherty was influential in the events which culminated in the so-called Battle of the Bogside in 1969

Tributes have been paid to a veteran civil rights activist who has died at the age of 89.

Paddy Doherty, who was better known as "Paddy Bogside" passed away at his home in Londonderry during the early hours of Thursday morning following a battle with illness.

A carpenter and builder by trade, he was one of the most prominent figures in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

As a key player in the Derry Citizens Defence Association (DCDA) he was influential in the events which culminated in the so-called Battle of the Bogside in 1969 during which British troops were brought onto the streets for the first time.

He later worked with the Irish Foundation for Human Development in Derry and founded the Inner City Trust.

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he was saddened by the death of a "legendary friend".

He said: "P addy will be remembered by the older generation for his central role in the Derry Citizens Defence Association during what has become known as the Battle of the Bogside and the Free Derry era. But the younger generation will remember him as the driving force behind the many projects designed to regenerate our city and provide much needed employment to hundreds of young people.

"Paddy's enthusiasm for everything he became involved in made a lasting impression on all who had the good fortune to be familiar with him. He never missed an opportunity to promote Derry throughout the world."

SDLP MP Mark Durkan described him as a civic champion.

He said: " Paddy Doherty was a lion of civic ambition and community ethic. He was a true pioneer of methods of engagement and enablement which found wider practice with the development of the peace process.

"Paddy had a huge pride in his city, its hinterland and its history, and an even bigger heart for its people.

"He had dreams which he could turn into schemes, all driven by his ambition for the city and people he loved."

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Elisha McCallion also expressed sympathy.

She said: "Paddy Bogside was a true Derry man who loved his city and its people. On a personal level, Paddy played a major part in my life, he inspired me to become involved in politics and was a dear family friend. I will never forget the positive work he has done for the city, he leaves behind a real legacy that will have lasting benefits for future generations."

A book of condolence is to be opened at Derry's Guildhall.
Police are seeking help in locating a missing 28-year-old man.

Andrew Smith was last seen in the Ballysally area of Coleraine at around midnight on Wednesday January 7.

He is believed to be driving a white Ford Focus.

A police spokeswoman said: "We are keen to establish Andrews whereabouts and that he is safe and well."

Police can be contacted on 101.
A policeman who stole more than 52,000 of warrant money from a Belfast PSNI station has had his sentence deferred for three months to allow him to pay back the amount he pocketed.

Bryan Thomas Stronge, who at the time was station constable at Tennent Street, admitted stealing a total of 52,878.63.

The 53-year old, from Coastguard Lane, Groomsport, appeared at Belfast Crown Court, where Judge Gordon Kerr QC deferred sentencing until April.

The court heard Stronge planned to pay back the money using cash from his pension and the sale of his house.

Judge Kerr agreed to give the ex-policeman time to do this before deciding his final sentence.

At a hearing last month Crown prosecutor Rosemary Walsh said that from the end of 2009 to early 2012 Stronge "was retrieving warrant monies from the safe but treating the money as his own".

Ms Walsh said Stronge began his police career in 1987, but in later years he was assigned as station constable at Tennent Street due to a traffic accident.

Part of this role was dealing with money warrants paid by defendants, and Ms Walsh said that when Stronge began the payment system was paper-based.

This involved the police officer who had executed the warrant issuing a receipt to the defendant, then placing the warrant and money in a safe at the station.

Stronge would empty the safe, and while the warrant details were entered into a form, the money was lodged initially at the Northern Bank, but later with the District Finance Office.

In March 2010 the system changed and all the details of warrants and their statuses were dealt with electronically through a system that could be accessed by both the PSNI and the Court Service. Despite this, money was still paid into the safe and was emptied by Stronge.

Stronge's offending began to emerge in May 2011 when it was realised that two warrants were shown to be paid but the money had not been received by the Court Service.

Stronge claimed neither the paperwork nor the money could be located at Tennent Street. In a witness statement in October 2011 he suggested "other ways that could have resulted in the loss of the warrant money".

The prosecutor revealed that by early 2012 it was "clear that there were a large number of outstanding money warrants where payment had not reached the Court Service".

An investigation found 374 outstanding warrants from November 2009 to February 2012, amounting to just over 53,000.

Ms Walsh said Stronge "was the only person who had responsibility at Tennent Street for monies that were paid into the safe, and no one else would have handled the cash".

Stronge's barrister Frank O'Donoghoe QC said he had lost his career, long-term partner, home and a vast majority of his pension thanks to his actions.

Mr O'Donoghoe apologised on behalf of his client "to anyone who was connected to his case".

He said Stronge was an officer of "considerable experience and lengthy service" and most of his 28-year working record was "impeccable and loyal in the midst of the Troubles and beyond".

Mr O'Donoghoe added that the offending was because of "crippling debts, and the immediate access to very small sums of money, which was a temptation too much".

Following yesterday's deferral Stronge was released on continuing bail and ordered to return to Belfast Crown Court on April 8 for sentencing.
Police hunting for prominent loyalist Mark Harbinson over the discovery of a gun and ammunition pursued his car at speeds in excess of 100mph, the High Court heard today.

Prosecutors also revealed that balaclavas and a banner for the outlawed Orange Volunteers were seized along with the semi-automatic pistol during searches at his Co Antrim home.

Harbinson was only arrested after fleeing first to the Republic of Ireland and then to Cumbria, a judge was told.

The 48-year-old, of Sheepwalk Road in Lisburn, claimed he panicked and left Northern Ireland following the find made on December 21.

Harbinson denies a charge of possessing a firearm, 28 rounds of ammunition and a silencer with intent to endanger life.

With his period on licence for a previous sexual offence now revoked, his application for bail was also refused.

Police carried out searches of his home and an outbuilding under the Terrorism Act based on information received.

Prosecution counsel Kate McKay said the disassembled pistol, silencer and bullets were found inside a biscuit tin in the rafters of the barn.

Three black balaclavas were also discovered in a storage area.

A drinking bar or shebeen was said to contain a number of items associated with the Orange Volunteers, a proscribed loyalist grouping.

Harbinson, who rose to prominence for speeches made during the Drumcree marching dispute, was not present during the searches.

Later that day armed response police attempted to stop a car belonging to him on country roads between Moira and Lisburn, the court heard.

The pursuit reached speeds of over 100mph, with the vehicle forcing other motorists off the road, according to Mrs McKay.

Harbinson later denied being behind the wheel, claiming he had lent his car to a diesel fitter.

It was claimed that on December 22 he was driven across the border after someone brought him his passport, clothes and up to 5,000 in cash.

From there he travelled to England to stay with friends in Cumbria, the court heard.

Cumbrian police, backed by PSNI officers, launched an operation to arrest him on New Year's Eve.

Specialist firearm teams and a police negotiator were drafted in as part of the efforts to detain him.

But Harbinson was said to have escaped as officers moved in, before finally being captured 12 miles away.

During questioning back in Belfast he denied knowing anything about the gun and ammunition.

The former Orangeman told police he had moved away from bands and the loyal orders, further claiming to be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and having a "mental meltdown".

He rejected any links with the Orange Volunteers, allegedly insisting "My campaign is over" and declaring himself to have no interest in modern loyalism.

The court heard that when questioned about a bannerette for the organisation found at his home, he claimed it had been displayed at Drumcree in 1996 and he paid 200 for it as a collector's item.

"He said it had no relevance to his life," Mrs McKay added.

Defence counsel Criag Patton argued that the weapon and balaclavas could have been left at the house by others who attended gatherings organised by his client.

More than 100 people, many of them loyalists, were said to have been at a barbeque held at the address last August.

Another 70 people attended a Halloween party in the barn area.

Mr Patton also claimed Harbinson may not ultimate face the current charge over a broken down gun concealed away in a tin.

Explaining why the accused fled, the barrister said: "Effectively he panicked. His licence is due to expire in November this year and everything had been going well for him."

Harbinson decided to go to longstanding friends in Cumbria who have always provided "a shoulder to cry on", Mr Patton added.

But despite the offer of a 5,000 cash surety from the loyalist's mother, Judge Gordon Kerr QC refused bail.

Citing the "determined efforts to avoid detention", the judge held there was a risk of both re-offending and further attempt to abscond.
Ryanair will operate a four times daily service to London Gatwick from Belfast International from March

Ryanair has called for the abolition of "outrageous" air taxes in Northern Ireland before any decision is made on operating European flights from Belfast.

It is paying 13 (around 17 euro) in air passenger duty (APD) per passenger and senior managers said the cost eats up profits and heightens the commercial risks of flying further.

The low-cost Irish airline confirmed that it will operate a four times daily service to London Gatwick from Belfast International from March and said five more routes are to follow in October.

Those destinations have not been decided and could concentrate on UK airports if movement is not secured on cutting tax, Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien said.

He added: "We are not asking the Government for money, we are asking them to stop taking money from us and if they don't we will make decisions on that basis."

Dublin has abolished its air passenger duty and has seen massive increases in passenger numbers. Many travellers from Northern Ireland use services there where fares can be lower because of the different tax system.

However removing APD could result in a large reduction in the block grant from Westminster which runs public services in Northern Ireland.

A total of three Ryanair aircraft representing an investment of 300 million US dollars (206 million) will be based in Belfast. More than one million customers are expected to use Ryanair in Belfast annually, supporting 750 jobs.

The Gatwick slots became available after they were given up by Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus as part of its take-over by the International Airlines Group (IAG).

Ryanair already flies from City of Derry Airport in Northern Ireland.

Recently Dutch flagship carrier KLM announced plans to fly from Belfast to Amsterdam, there is an established service to New York and Stormont politicians are keen to expand international connections.

Mr O'Brien said he was not making any threats to the powersharing political administration in Belfast over tax but said the airline would make its decisions on a commercial basis.

He added that, with thousands of extra tourists expected to use the routes, one alternative to abolishing the tax could be additional payments from the all-island Tourism Ireland promotional body to help cancel out the effect of the tax.

The senior executive added it would be a missed opportunity for Northern Ireland if APD was not removed.

"If this tax is going to be there, we might as well minimise the amount of flying we have to do to carry passengers, flying for less than an hour rather than flying three hours over to Berlin or wherever it is.

"If you fly less distances on established routes against carriers that are unable to compete against you it seems to make more economic sense rather than take a punt at flying three times as far for unknown returns."

He added: "One of the tragedies for Northern Ireland aviation is that the airports here do an excellent job to achieve efficiencies and low cost bases which is necessary to compensate for an outrageous tax imposition, which is a multiple of the cost base the airport is able to achieve."

Graham Keddie, Belfast International Airport's managing director, is strongly opposed to APD and will give evidence to MPs about the issue soon.

"If we are going to get serious as a country and have a government serious about that then APD is critical."

He added: "The airports have been banging on about this for years, now we have got to see some aspiration and courage from the Government and Civil Service to see what we can do to make the connectivity of Belfast better."

A spokeswoman for Stormont's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) said an assessment had found APD was not a strong tool for economic development.

"Any reduction in APD in Northern Ireland alone would therefore have to be paid from Northern Ireland's public finances. The tax is imposed and set by the UK Government and therefore Northern Ireland Ministers have stated that the onus must be on HM Treasury to deal with APD at a national level.

"Air connectivity is an important driver for economic growth and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (which includes Invest NI and sponsorship of Tourism Ireland) is in ongoing contact with Northern Ireland's airports and airlines to discuss route development opportunities.

"Work to progress an Air Route Development Fund for Northern Ireland is ongoing and the DETI minister intends to be in a position to announce the way forward before the end of the financial year."
The partner of the head of a US-based Sinn Fein fundraising group has been condemned for suggesting that a woman whose sister was murdered by the IRA was not fighting cancer.

Ann Travers, whose sister Mary was shot dead in 1984, said she was "deeply distressed" by remarks on Twitter by Catherine Kelly, from the New York-based Friends of Sinn Fein (FoSF) organisation.

Ms Kelly, partner of FoSF president Jim Cullen, wrote: "Ann Travers made a fool of herself stomping off Twitter in a fanfare then returning with her 'cancer' explanation. I rightly called her on it."

The comment appeared to call into question Ms Travers' high-profile battle with breast cancer, which spread to her bowel before being successfully removed.

She decided to go public with her illness to highlight the symptoms to other women.

Among those to send her messages of support last night was DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Ms Foster, who will be appointed First Minister later this month, said Kelly's words had been motivated by the fact she was "unnerved and unsettled by you and what you stand for".

"To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I have enemies? Good, that means I have stood up for something," the First-Minister-in-waiting added.

Ms Travers wrote on Facebook about how she had quit Twitter in 2014 "after months of trolling from IRA/SF supporters".

"The IRA and SF have done enough to me, I don't need their 'friends' carrying on the abuse," she added.

Ms Travers had been mercilessly taunted for her opposition to the appointment of Mary McArdle - who had been convicted in connection with 22-year-old Ann's murder - as special adviser to Sinn Fein's Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin.

She had also "endured a couple of years of cancer treatment" at the time, and a friend had died from lung cancer. "I was emotionally drained," she wrote, going into detail about how the disease had ravaged her body.

Ms Travers was also targeted by online trolls for backing Mairia Cahill after the west Belfast woman revealed how she had been raped by an IRA man before the terror group forced her to confront him in a kangaroo court.

Journalist Ruth Dudley Edwards described Ms Kelly, who has been photographed with leading members of Sinn Fein, such as former Belfast Lord Mayor Mairtin O Muilleoir and Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill, as "abusive in a dreary, pettifogging, parochial way and is beneath contempt".

Mairia Cahill revealed she "complained to SF and told them - I do not believe she [Kelly] is acting on a solo run".

Sinn Fein declined to comment on the incident.
A Winter Sun In Lisburn. By Tom Porter

Beautiful trees on divis mountains. By Pauline

<b>Gallery of Belfast Telegraph readers' snow pictures </b>Castle Gardens, Lisburn. By Tom Porter

Basil McCrea with residents in Annahilt. Image supplied by Jamie Mackrell

Basil McCrea travelling through Dromara snowfields. Image supplied by Jamie Mackrell

Image of a car between a snow bank. Image supplied by Paul Connolly

House of Stephen Bryden on the Cairn Road outside Carrickfergus. Image sent in by Gerry Millar

<b>Gallery of Belfast Telegraph readers' snow pictures </b>Garden fox - Carrowreagh, Dundonald submitted by Carol Cinnamond March 22 2013

after the snow

Flashback to snowy 2013: Spelga Dam in the Mournes. Submitted on behalf of Lynette Cooke.

The scene in Derry's Brooke Park as snow hits the North West. Photo Lorcan Doherty / pressye.com

Heavy snow at Hillfarm House Deer Sanctuary, Derry. By @kevinharkin3

The scene in Derry's Brooke Park as snow hits the North West. Photo Lorcan Doherty / pressye.com

Snow in the Aghanloo area, just outside Limavady. By @RVE_LTD

The scene in Derry's Brooke Park as snow hits the North West. Photo Lorcan Doherty / pressye.com

Snow in Limavady. By @RichardCraig7

The scene in Derry's Brooke Park as snow hits the North West. Photo Lorcan Doherty / pressye.com

Snow at Creative Gardens Galgorm Castle. Feb 2014. Submitted by Philip Gass.

Snowfall in Coleraine - a creative eye. Submitted by Deanna Partridge Feb 2014

Snow in Maghera, Co Derry with bad weather hitting across Northern Ireland. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Frosty - Snowfall in Northern Ireland Feb 2014. Picture submitted by Stevie Burns

Taken on Portstewart Strand,11/2/14. Some hardy surfers undeterred by a snowstorm. Submitted by Evelyn McCullough

Sheep brave the overnight snowfall in Co Derry, Feb 2014. Picture Margaret McLaughlin

Traffic on the Glenshane Pass in Co Londonderry, as snow is replaced with rain and high winds across the province.

In England, a jay skips through the snow in Kielder Forest

Moonlit snow and stars over derelict house on Glenshane Pass. Photo by Martin McKenna.

A scattering of snow in Fivemiletown. Pic. Julie Brownlee 13/01/2015

Blanket of snow outside Claudy. Pic Stacey Witherow 13/01/2015

A dark winter morning in Belleek, Co Fermanagh. Pic. Katriona Cox 13/01/2015

A snowy morning in Park Village Co Derry. Pic.Fiona Jane Garrett 13/01/2015

Winter wonderland in Florencecourt Co Fermanagh. Pic. Susan Elliott 13/01/2015

Snow lying in Inishowen, Co Donegal. Pic. Trygve de Brun 13/01/2015

A bed of snow glimmers under the sunshine in Strabane. Pic. John Blair 13/01/2015

Traffic slowed down due to snow on the Glendermot road Londonderry. Pic. Marcus Bye 13/01/2015

A blanket of snow over Dungiven. Pic. Natasha Kealey. 13/01/2015

Zoe Adair and Victoria Poole enjoying the snowy spell in Northern Ireland. Pic. Victoria Poole. 13/01/2015

Beautiful wintry image of Loughbrickland Lake Co Down. Pic. Lisa Young 13/01/2015

Dramatic colours as winter takes over Loughbrickland Lake Co Down. 13/01/2015 Pic. Lisa Young

A blanket of snow makes a dramatic view over Loughbrickland Lake. Pic Lisa Young 13/01/2015

Snowball fights in the snow as young and old enjoy the wintry spell in Northern Ireland pic. Michelle Wilmont 14/01/2015

A good day's work in the snow - proudly showing their happy snowman. Pic Michelle Wilmont 14/01/2015

A thick blanket of snow lies in Kildoag, Londonderry. Pic Astrid Coyle 14/01/2015

Proudly showing off their snowmen as children enjoy the snowfall in Northern Ireland. Pic. Michelle Wilmont 14/01/2015

A lone sheep surrounded by snow at a farm near Claudy, Derry. Pic. Fiona-Jane Garrett 14/01/2015

A stunning sky over a blanket of snow in Five Mile Straight, Maghera, Derry. Pic. Hilary McGrath 14/01/2015

Snowfall causes disruption in the village of Claudy

Brothers Brenn (10) and Aodan (7) Doherty sledge along Creggan Hill to the Model Primary School in Derry

A woman throws a ball for her springer spaniel on the snowy west strand at Portrush

A solitary figure is framed by the famous trees of the Dark Hedges. January 15. 2015

Keeper the German shepherd plays in the snow in Ballycastle yesterday. The adverse weather conditions, however, brought misery to many

A low sun rises over a gate in the Moneyrea countryside

Aoife beside her first ever snowman in Ballyronan, Co Derry. Pic. Caroline Glendinning 14/01/15

The magical reflections of the mallards in the sunshine. Oxford Island Craigavon. Pic Noeni Bryars 22/01/2015

The magical reflections of the mallards in the sunshine. Oxford Island Craigavon. Pic Noeni Bryars 22/01/2015

A blanket of snow in Glenarm Co Antrim. Pic Matthew Morrow (28/01/2015)

Sheep and a grouse in fields in Drumbo

Motorists make their way through snowfall in Gortin near Omagh, as many parts of the UK were on snow alert with wintry showers threatening to disrupt travel. Niall Carson/PA Wire.

Slemish looking cold and grey in Broughshane. Pic. Maureen Ballantine 16/01/2015

A snowy scene taken through a bus window while travelling home to Co. Tyrone. 18/01/2015 Pic. Feldore McHugh

Spring is just around the corner. Lambeg Pic: George Wills 25/01/2015

Little 16-month-old Clara has fun as she gets her first glimpse of the snow and takes her first steps in the winter wonderland in Limavady. Pic. Hannah McCausland 13/01/2015

Snow in the Glens of Antrim, as an orange weather alert is announced in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday January 28, 2015. A cold weather front is to sweep in with temperatures expected to drop as much as 10C to below zero overnight into Thursday. See PA story WEATHER Cold. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Sheep in the snow in the Glens of Antrim, as an orange weather alert is announced in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday January 28, 2015. A cold weather front is to sweep in with temperatures expected to drop as much as 10C to below zero overnight into Thursday. See PA story WEATHER Cold. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Snow on the A1 dual carriageway near Newry, as an orange weather alert is announced in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday January 28, 2015. A cold weather front is to sweep in with temperatures expected to drop as much as 10C to below zero overnight into Thursday. See PA story WEATHER Cold. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Shoppers and city workers get caught in the snow which fell in Belfast yesterday

Shoppers and city workers get caught in the snow which fell in Belfast yesterday

Shoppers and city workers get caught in the snow which fell in Belfast yesterday

Four-year-old Anna from Carryduff enjoying an afternoon in the snow. Pic. Claire Scarborough (28/01/2015)

Shoppers and city workers get caught in the snow which fell in Belfast yesterday

A touch of snow on the Coastal Path, Bangor. Pic Arlette Maginness (29/01/2015)

Five-year-old Jasmine with her Olaf snowman in Belfast. Pic Maggie Parker (29/01/2015)

Thomas and Evie put their day off school to good use. Katesbridge, Co Down. Pic. Stepen Brown (29/01/2015)

Snow sun over Annaclone Co Down this morning. Pic: Paula McNeill (29/01/2015)

The McNeill family - twins Cathal and Caolan (3) and big sister Aoife (6) enjoy a day off school in Annaclone, Co Down. Pic: Paula McNeill (29/01/2015)

Hector, a Spanish Water Dog, plays in the snow

A horse braves the sleet and snow in Belfast

A squirrel hunts for food in gardens in west Belfast

A low winter sun peers over the horizon at Dundrod yesterday morning

Snow clings to the trees on the Cochranstown Road near Lisburn

Image of snow in Mayfield area of Glengormely. Submitted by Santhosh John. Jan 2015

Images from Dromore Co Down, submitted by Paul McFarland, Dromore

Olaf from Frozen lives again. Pic by Michelle White.

Readers' winter pictures 2015 - Myself and two friends took advantage of the recent snowfall and went for a hike in the Mourne Mountains. It was a stunning landscape. I shot this image as we were coming off Pierce's Castle 495m. I have aptly named it 'Frozen Landscape'. - David J Campbell. Twitter handle: @Photodave109

Here is a picture of the snow dragon/ dinosaur my wife Sarah and I built on Thursday 29th January outside the in laws home in Carryduff, Belfast. Submitted by Ruiseal McKimm

Readers' snow pictures 2015: Enough snow in Belfast to make a life-size horse! Submitted by Laura

Hillsborough Parish Church and Snow Topped Lisburn. Submitted by Tommy Blake. Jan 2015

Can you do better than this? Readers' snow pictures 2015: To all the sceptics, this is 100% not photoshopped. My boyfriend and I built it dodging cat poo in my garden the entire time. Submitted by Emma Hamill

The rural beauty of Annaclone, Co Down this morning. Pic: Paula McNeill (29/01/2015)

Can you do better than this? A reader's picture from last year: Dundrod Co Antrim, submitted by Paul McFarland, Dromore.

Winter looks set to bite as a warning for snow and ice has been issued for Northern Ireland.

A yellow warning is in place from Thursday January 7 at 7pm until Friday January 8 at 9am.

Counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone are on alert with the Met Office saying the public should be aware and to plan for possible disruption.

The Met Office said a zone of rain and hill snow will affect Northern Ireland.

Snow is expected to accumulate over ground above 200 to 300 metres, especially over Scotland where there is also a chance that snow could fall to lower levels for a time.

As this rain and snow moves away, especially from Northern Ireland, skies will clear allowing temperatures to drop and icy patches to form on untreated surfaces.

Snow and icy patches could lead to some disruption to travel.

The Met Office Chief Forecaster said: "As this frontal zone meets colder air over Northern Ireland associated rain is likely to turn to snow on ground above 200 to 300 metres.

"Similarly as this frontal zone moves in Scotland and northern England and meets colder air here, rain will turn to snow, mainly above 200 metres and, over parts of southern Scotland, perhaps to some lower levels for a time too."
The Rev. Raymond A. Aydt passed away on Jan. 5, 2016, at St. Vincents Continuing Care Center, Bismarck, at the age of 94. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Bismarck, with the Most Rev. David D. Kagan, Bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck, as the main celebrant and the priests of the Diocese of Bismarck will concelebrate. Burial will be at St. Marys Cemetery, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, where a rosary will begin at 6:30 p.m. and vigil service at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Father Aydt was born Oct. 7, 1921, in Minneapolis, the son of Bernard and Barbara (Schellhammer) Aydt. Father Aydt was raised in Minnesota where he attended Ascension School in Minneapolis from 1927-1935, and then Nazareth Hall in St. Paul from 1935-1941. He studied at St. Paul Seminary from 1941-1942, and continued his seminary studies at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver from 1942-1946. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bismarck, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Bismarck, on June 11, 1946, by the Most Rev. Vincent J. Ryan.

Father Aydts first assignment in the Diocese of Bismarck was as an assistant of the Church of St. Mary in Bismarck until Dec. 17, 1949. For a short time, he served as administrator of the Church of St. Martin in Huff. He then became pastor of the Church of St. Theresa in Carson. In August 1955, he was appointed pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Consolation in Alexander for two years. Father Aydt was appointed assistant administrator of the Churches of St. Joseph, Williston, and St. John the Baptist, Trenton, from 1957-1958. He was then appointed pastor of the Churches of St. Philomena, Glenburn, Holy Family, Deering, and St. John, Lansford, for several months.

In March 1959, Father Aydt became the pastor of the Churches of St. Jerome, Mohall, and St. James, Sherwood, until 1967, at which time was appointed pastor of the Churches of St. Joseph, Williston, and St. John the Baptist, Trenton, where he served until 1974. He then became the assistant at these two parishes until 1992. Father Aydts last assignment was that of parochial administrator at the Church of St. Boniface, Grenora, until November 2013, where he then retired to the Emmaus Place in Bismarck. He later moved to St. Vincents Continuing Care Center in Bismarck.

Father Aydt also served as the chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Williston from 1957-2013. He also served as the chaplain to the Civil Air Patrol in Williston.

Father Aydt is survived by seven nephews and their families and his brother priests.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Barbara Aydt and Bernard Aydt; his brother, Leon Aydt; and his sister-in-law, Mary Aydt.

Memorials may be given to the Priest Benefit Association or the Diocese of Bismarck  Emmaus Place.

Go to www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of Father Aydt and sign the online guest book. (Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck)
Former prime minister Tony Blair and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi pictured together in 2007

Tony Blair has strongly denied trying to stop victims of IRA bombings using Libyan weapons from receiving compensation.

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi gave arms and Semtex explosives to the republican group during the Troubles. Semtex from Libya became the IRA's most devastating threat during the Troubles and caused the loss of many lives.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs is considering how UK victims of the late Libyan leader's aid can be compensated. It has invited Mr Blair to give oral evidence. The former prime minister wrote to the committee last month.

Mr Blair wrote: "The attempt to implicate me in deliberately trying to stop IRA victims receiving compensation is utterly without foundation and wrong.

"I appreciate the opportunity you have provided me to set the record straight."

The committee is exploring options for compensating the bereaved like using the frozen assets of the Gaddafi family.

Links between the IRA and Libya date back to 1972 when Gaddafi praised the group.

He later provided the IRA with the weaponry to wage an armed conflict which lasted 30 years and claimed many lives.

The dictator was ousted from power in 2011 and later killed during an assault on his birthplace.

Mr Blair said Libya admitted the extent of its IRA links, from 1992 to 1995.

"The issue of compensation for the victims of IRA terrorism made possible by the provision of material by the Gaddafi regime was not an issue raised with me, as far as I am aware.

"And of course a statutory compensation scheme for victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland was already in existence, having been set up by a previous government.

"The needs of victims were therefore being addressed through the existing structures and mechanisms."

He said he understood why victims of IRA terrorism would have wanted their claims raised at the same time as the 2008 compensation settlement of the Lockerbie passenger jet bombing.

Mr Blair said for the Americans this was never going to be made part of the settlement since they were focused on their own citizens affected by Lockerbie and a Berlin discotheque bombing and were precluded legally from such an action.

"I never tried to get the Americans to exclude the claims of IRA victims. I did not raise this issue with President (George W) Bush.

"The email from former Ambassador Vincent Fean to my office evidences no such thing.

"It was simply a reflection of government policy at the time."

He said he favoured the US having good relations with Libya because it assisted in the fight against terrorism.

Mr Blair added he did not raise the issue of IRA victims in any meeting with Mr Bush in 2008 nor any detail about Lockerbie compensation - he was not in government at the time.

The former prime minister also recorded his sympathy for the IRA's victims.

"It was to ensure that there were not further such victims that I spent more time than any Prime Minister, before me or since, on Northern Ireland and the peace process there."
Former US President Bill Clinton (C), along with National Constitution Center's president David Eisner (R), presents former Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) the 2010 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center September 13, 2010 in Philadelphia

Seamus Mallon (second from right) with David Trimble, former US President Bill Clinton and former Prime Minister Tony Blair

File photo dated 02/07/03 of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former South African President Nelson Mandela and former US President Bill Clinton attending a gala night to mark the centenary of the Rhodes Trust and the establishment of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, at Westminster. Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95, the country's president, Jacob Zuma, said tonight. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday December 5, 2013. See PA story DEATH Mandela. Photo credit should read Chris Young/PA Wire

Tony Blair chats with Bill Clinton before his address to the Labour Party's annual conference October 2, 2002 in Blackpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

An archive of private conversations between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton has been published, allowing the public a rare insight into the two former world leaders intimate relationship.

The records of telephone calls and meetings, which cover the period between 1997 and 2000 when the two men were in power, were obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request to the Clinton Presidential Library.

Many of Mr Blairs contributions to the conversations have been redacted, but the rest of the transcripts  which show the pair sharing jokes as well as voicing their political frustrations at home and abroad  provide a unique view of the lives of Americas 42nd President and the Labour Prime Minister.

Weve taken licks for Gerry

The two leaders spend much of their time discussing the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, is mentioned many times, with President Clinton in particular finding him a tricky character.

Weve all taken our licks for Gerry, he says during one exchange in May 1998. Notably, the two leaders often refer to Gerry and Bertie for the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, but Northern Irelands Unionist leaders David Trimble and Ian Paisley are generally referred to by their surnames.

The pair appeared worried about the delays in the IRA decommissioning. Clinton asks Blair: "What's the date that Gerry does the actual decommissioning? When does the IRA actually have to turn some guns over?" and at another time: "Do you think the IRA has decided they are never going to decommission?"

He queried Adams relationship with the IRA saying: I dont know what the real deal is between him and the IRA. Its hard to put pressure on him when you dont know whats going on. Its just bizarre.

Clinton also promised to help Blair with the Northern Ireland peace process saying: Oh god yes. This is the place in the world where there is the largest disconnect between the leaders and what the ordinary people want.

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Dianas death like a star falling

The day after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, President Clinton phoned Mr Blair from his holiday home in Marthas Vineyard to offer his sympathies. Mr Blair tells the President: She was not the royal family but she was liked by ordinary people, it gave her problems with the royal establishment.

Mr Clinton offers his condolences for the awful event and says: I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you. The Prime Minister describes the death of the Princess as like a star falling.

Mr Blair continues: The problem was the way she lived, in a press frenzy. Its impossible to contemplate how intrusive it was, into every single aspect of her life. The last time I spoke with her she said that were it not for the boys [Princes William and Harry], shed be off the board.

John Prescotts bananas

In February 1999, the President phoned Mr Blair from the Oval Office in the wake of a visit to the UK by Al Gore. Mr Clinton is clearly in a mischievous mood and tells Mr Blair of the Vice Presidents astonishment at the spartan nature of the office of John Prescott, the then Deputy Prime Minister.

He also liked it when he went into Prescotts office and the only decoration was a bowl of bananas. I heard all about it. He was very happy, the President jokes. My staff wont let me talk to you unless I have a banana at hand. Im sitting here with a banana; its a big, ugly, brownish one, he says.

Clinton  presidential babysitter

The news in early 2000 that Cherie Blair was expecting her fourth child, Leo, is greeted enthusiastically by Mr Clinton. The President, due to step down in 2001, tells Mr Blair: You know, after January Im available for babysitting duties. The Prime Minister confided that he was daunted by the prospect of once more becoming a father. He replies: I could do with a bit of help.

Putin is generally honourable

The election of Vladimir Putin as Russian President in 2000 was greeted with guarded optimism in the White House and Downing Street. Mr Clinton tells Mr Blair that he considers the Russian leader to have enormous potential as well as being smart and thoughtful.

When asked how a meeting with Mr Putin had gone, the Prime Minister cannot quite muster Mr Clintons enthusiasm. Mr Blair says: It was fine He feels that he is not understood about the problems he faces there. He was very anxious to impress me.

Mr Clinton says: His intentions are generally honourable and straightforward, but he just hasnt made his mind up yet. He could get squishy on democracy.

As long as you dont parade around naked

Talking about a Blair visit to the White House, Mr Clinton says: Do you want to spend the night at the White House? I wont get in until 1am and you may want to be in bed by then, but its your option. You can sleep in the same bed Churchill did.

Mr Blair replies: I hope its appropriate to which Mr Clinton says As long as you dont parade around naked before the bath. Youre too young and too trim.

In another exchange Mr Blair talks to Mr Clinton while doing a constituency surgery in a local working mens club. Are you in Durham? asks the President. Mr Clinton then waxes lyrical about Durham Cathedral, leading Blair to reveal he was once a choirboy. You still have that choirboy look, the President tells him.

Congratulations on a landslide

The polls had been closed for just 85 minutes when Bill Clinton rang Tony Blair to congratulate him over his landslide victory in the 1997 general election. Mr Blair says Mr Clinton had showed the way.

Independent
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that border controls could be put in place between the Republic and Northern Ireland if the UK was to leave the European Union.

During a trade mission to the Netherlands, Mr Kenny warned of the dangers of a Brexit, but added Britain should continue to be a very strong central member.

"I think they shouldn't leave," he said. "If that were to be contemplated, if Britain were to leave, we would be looking at border controls in Ireland despite the fact that we have a common travel area.

"It would also mean border controls between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

"It would also mean probably that the Scottish people would look for another independence vote," said Mr Kenny, who described David Cameron's decision to allow his Cabinet campaign in favour of a British exit as "pragmatic".

The Fine Gael leader suggested that if the David Cameron didn't allow his top ministers leeway on the issue, it could result in some having to be fired.

It is believed that at least two other senior ministers had made clear to colleagues that they would consider resigning if Mr Cameron attempted to force them to campaign for the UK to remain in the EU.

However, he announced on Tuesday that he would suspend collective responsibility, raising the prospect of up to a dozen members of the Cabinet campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.

The move has been described by some UK politicians as "crazy", but Enda Kenny said it was a sensible move.

"This is an issue that people are going to feel really strongly about and there is flexibility," said Mr Kenny.

During the trade mission yesterday, Mr Kenny took part in a series of engagements involving Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, where he discussed the merits of Irish beef and Ireland's agri-food industry with some of Holland's top Michelin star chefs at a lunch attended by members of the Dutch media.

Enterprise Ireland also signed an agreement to develop a Space Business Incubation Centre, which will support 25 start-up companies in space-related technologies over the next five years. There are more than 45 Irish companies working with the European Space Agency (ESA) near the Hague, in the development of highly innovative technologies for the global market in space systems and space-related services and applications.

"For the ESA to be associated with Irish companies is truly fascinating. What I saw were elements of how people are changing the frontiers up ahead. Some of these [projects] are quiet extraordinary," Mr Kenny said.
Samples of some of the other weapons seized during investigations into dissident republican activity in 2014 and 2015 on display at Garda Headquarters in Dublin

Samples of some of the other weapons seized during investigations into dissident republican activity in 2014 and 2015 on display at Garda Headquarters in Dublin

Dissident republicans are developing deadly rockets similar to those fired by Hamas into southern Israel, gardai have revealed.

A raid by anti-terrorist units resulted in the seizure of a prototype model of the Kassam rocket, capable of being fired over a distance of six kilometres.

The seizure is regarded as evidence of the increasing sophistication of dissident "engineers" as they develop the technology of their terrorist organisations.

After the weapons trawl was revealed, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he was willing to enter talks with dissident terror groups in an attempt to bring an end to their activities. Mr Adams said his previous efforts to reach out to these groups had failed.

"I'm more than happy for Sinn Fein or anyone else to facilitate and support and to help those people who want to be involved in genuine republican politics," he added.

Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahony warned yesterday of the growing capabilities of the dissidents to launch bomb and gun attacks in Northern Ireland with logistical support from their cells operating in the Republic.

He said this view was backed up by the finds made by Garda over the past couple of years when they uncovered a huge arsenal of weaponry from the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and OnH.

A sample of the finds during 2014 and 2015 was put on display at Garda headquarters in Dublin.

Mr O'Mahony said the the force was concerned that the dissidents might attempt to step up their campaign of violence to coincide with the 1916 commemoration events. Garda technical experts said this was the first time they had come across the self-propelled Kassam prototype in a dissident 'factory'. Four were seized in total.

Other previously unknown finds included a new type of detonator and detonating cord and a trigger circuit mechanism involving mobile phones, which could be used to set off bombs remotely rather than relying on wires attached to the devices. Also on display was an adapted beer keg, which had been filled with 50kg of homemade explosive, discovered during searches at Kilcurry, Co Louth, in May 2014.
Ms Rudd said the bills increase would be "only a few pounds"

A Government decision to award 175 million in public subsidies to support diesel power will mean family energy bills go up, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has admitted.

The Government is paying out the cash as part of its capacity market scheme which provides payments to power plants so they are on stand-by to start generating if needed to ensure the lights stay on.

But the shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy today demanded to know what the impact on bills will be.

Speaking during energy questions in the House of Common she said: "Last month the Secretary of State agreed to hand out hundreds of millions of pounds in new public subsidies to diesel and coal power generators through her capacity market scheme.

"Can you tell the House how much family energy bills will rise as a consequence?"

The Energy Secretary replied: "The capacity market is specifically designed to ensure that their energy security is not negotiable.

"Energy security is something that this Government takes very seriously and because of the lack of investment in energy infrastructure over the past decades we have needed to make sure the capacity market is in place to ensure that we don't have any problem at all with energy security.

"Diesel will form a part of the future but only in very small amounts.

"Let us remember it is there as back up and will be switched on occasionally when it is needed.

"The addition of the capacity market to people's bill will be a matter of a few pounds."

Ms Rudd went on to say that the capacity market is needed "because of Labour's woeful under-investment in infrastructure under their government".

When pushed by Ms Nandy on exactly how much bills will rise, Ms Rudd said: "It is a few pounds.

"It will be under 10 and we will ensure that energy security is never going to be a question under this Government."
With scarce supplies and basic facilities, medical staff are severely limited in what they can do to help the town's weak residents

Previously unissued photo dated 09/12/15 of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, which hosts around 80,000 Syrians and opened in July 2012.

Medical staff and aid workers in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya have pleaded with international authorities to step in to save its 40,000 residents from starving to death as they remain surrounded by the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group.

Madaya, which lies north west of Damascus near the border with Lebanon, has been under siege by the Assad regime and its Hezbollah allies since July.

In the past month alone, more than 30 people have died of starvation or been killed trying to escape, according to activists.

Dr Mohamad Youssef, who acts as the manager of the medical council in Madaya, said two or three residents are dying of starvation every day, in addition to about 50 who are either fainting or become severely ill.

Through a translator, he told the Press Association: "People are surviving by consuming water with sugar, salt or spices if they can find any.

"The death toll is striking mostly the elderly, the women and children."

The worsening conditions have given rise to hepatitis, severe diarrhoea, skin diseases and malnutrition-related conditions. With scarce supplies and basic facilities, medical staff are severely limited in what they can do to help the town's weak residents.

Dr Youssef said: "The medical staff are on high alert 24 hours. They are receiving people who are severely ill and fainting all hours - day and night."

One of the only options was to administer saline solution, he said.

In October, the United Nations reported 31 aid trucks with supplies for 30,000 people reached Fouah and Kafraya in Syria's Idlib Governorate, along with Zabadani and Madaya. However, the situation has deteriorated and supplies have dwindled.

Dr Youssef added: "We ask the world and the aid and health organisations, and the UN Security Council, to act now to save the 40,000 people in Madaya who are starving to death in very cold weather."

An aid worker in the town, who didn't want to be named, said some residents had resorted to eating cats and dogs to survive, while others ate leaves.

He said: "Humanity has fallen with the fall of the first man from hunger in Madaya."

Last week, a pregnant woman was among a group of 30 people who attempted to escape the town. She, along with five others, were killed by the army while others were taken hostage, the worker said.

He added: "There is a committee (for) relief, and medical staff are helping as much as possible to avoid a humanitarian disaster, but with the lack of material the inevitable result is either death by starvation or epidemics."

Activist group Syria Solidarity UK said Britain had a particular responsibility, as a member of the International Syria Support Group and as a permanent member of the Security Council, to make sure that humanitarian assistance reached people in need.

The situation in Madaya risked contravening UN Security Council Resolution 2254 - which attracted unanimous approval in mid-December and endorsed a peace process for Syria - and making it "another empty promise", the group said.

On Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said hundreds of land mines had been planted by Hezbollah and Assad forces around the city, which had also been cut off by barbed wires and high fences.

The price of food and supplies had also sky-rocketed and some residents who attempted to gather food around the town had been shot by snipers.
Chiefs of the City watchdog are to be called before the Commons Treasury Committee

Top brass at City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority are being summoned before a committee of MPs to explain why an inquiry into banking culture has been dropped.

The chairman of the influential House of Commons Treasury Committee, Andrew Tyrie, said recent decisions by the FCA were giving the impression of a "weakening of resolve".

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was "deeply worried" that the FCA had been influenced by Chancellor George Osborne to take a softer approach to the banks and was now "almost rudderless".

The FCA was created in 2013 to replace the Financial Services Authority in the wake of the financial crash, with a remit to regulate conduct related to the marketing of financial products.

It has been without a permanent chief executive since Martin Wheatley - widely seen as tough on the banks - left last summer after learning that Mr Osborne would not renew his contract.

As well as dropping the inquiry into banking culture, the FCA has recently decided to take no action against HSBC over allegations of Swiss tax avoidance and has shelved a report into incentive structures for financial product sales staff.

Mr Tyrie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Each in itself isn't necessarily crucial, but cumulatively they do give the appearance of a weakening of resolve. Certainly the FCA's decision to drop its review into banking culture looks odd. After all, it was in their business plan."

Acting FCA chief executive Tracey McDermott and chairman John Griffith-Jones will be called before the committee so MPs can "make sure that they are getting on with implementing the new challenges they have been given by Parliament", said Mr Tyrie.

"They have got a tough job and we want to make sure that they are doing it properly on behalf of millions of taxpayers and consumers.

"I'm concerned that, as we move further and further away from the crash and those awful events, time dims the memory, and therefore it is absolutely essential that we keep in mind all the time that we are trying to get this right.

"It's our job to put in place the best protection we can to make sure that when the next financial crash does come - and we can be sure eventually there will be one - that we are as prepared as we possibly can be for it."

Mr McDonnell told Today: "We now have a body that is almost rudderless. In addition to that, what we have seen is them dropping their inquiry into the culture of banking.

"I believe that is influenced by George Osborne. I have called on him to intervene to try to get that back on track and that hasn't happened.

"Not only do we have a vacuum, but that vacuum is being filled by a politician, as far as I can see, and we are going backwards rather than forwards.

"We are reverting to type and my worry is that is undermining the whole lessons that we learnt as a result of the economic crisis. I am deeply worried about the whole situation."

Mr Osborne insisted that Britain has an "exemplary" system of financial services regulation and denied he was too close to the bankers.

The Chancellor told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There has been a fundamental change in the way we regulate banks. We are splitting retail banks from investment banks in their operations.

"We have introduced new criminal offences, responding quite rightly to the public anger that no-one was jailed for what went on seven or eight years ago in our banking system.

"We've made sure that when people receive these big bonuses, that money can be taken away from them if things go wrong, rather than the taxpayer picking up the bill."

Challenged over whether his regular meetings with leading bankers meant he was personally "too cosy" with the industry, Mr Osborne said: "It would be a bit odd if I, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, didn't meet the people running institutions like the Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds...

"My job is to listen to the arguments put to me and then to make my own judgment, and for the Government to make a judgment, on how we make a more secure economy and a more secure banking system.

"Most people, looking at the UK, would say at the moment we have some of the toughest regulation, the most effective regulation, that we have some of the best people - individuals like (Bank of England governor) Mark Carney or (deputy governor) Andrew Bailey, who regulates banks - in making these judgments.

"We've got a pretty exemplary system of regulation, and that's appropriate because we are the world's global financial centre and that brings enormous numbers of jobs to all parts of the UK."

Mr Osborne said the dropping of the FCA inquiry into banking culture was "a completely independent decision that I had no fore-knowledge of".

And he suggested that the work the inquiry was due to undertake had already been completed by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which reported in 2013

Mr Osborne said Mr Wheatley did "a good job" setting up the FCA, but said the regulator "needs new leadership ... to take it into its more mature phase".

Ms McDermott was "very effective" as interim leader but does not want the job full-time, he added.

"We want successful financial services that are well-regulated and face tough scrutiny so that, yes, they are successful but when they fail you and I and the people listening to this programme don't have to pick up the tab," said Mr Osborne.

"That's what Britain needs and I think we've got the balance right because of the changes we have made in recent years."
Britain must prepare for rises in interest rates, George Osborne has said, as he warned that 2016 will be a "mission critical" year for the UK economy.

In a high-profile economic speech in Cardiff, the Chancellor warned against complacency about the strength of the recovery at a time when Britain faces a "dangerous cocktail" of instability and threats ranging from slowdown in China and unrest in the Middle East to volatility in oil prices.

And he said some economists were warning of the danger of "secular stagnation", which sees extended periods of moribund growth caused by a combination of permanently low interest rates, high savings and weak business investment.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme ahead of the speech, Mr Osborne stressed that the decision on when to raise the base interest rate from the historic low of 0.5% where it has remained since 2009 was a matter for the Bank of England and it would be "wholly inappropriate" for him to seek to influence the timing of such a move.

But he made clear that borrowers should be prepared for more expensive lending, describing the US Federal Reserve's rate hike last month as "the beginning of the exit from the very, very low interest rates and ultra-loose monetary policy that was put in place during the crash".

And he added: "Of course there will come a point where that happens in Britain - a decision made by our independent central bank ... We have got to be ready."

Speaking in Cardiff, Mr Osborne said: "One of the biggest monthly bills that many people pay is their mortgage and an important source of income for people is their savings, so it's no wonder that people are starting to talk about what a rise in interest rates might mean for us all.

"Inevitably, with the US Federal Reserve having made their decision to raise rates last month, there is a discussion of how and when we begin to move out of a world of ultra-low rates.

"Let's be clear - high interest rates are a sign of a stronger economy. The job of government is to make sure we've got in place the policies to measure overall levels of indebtedness among families while backing savings too."

In a swipe at Labour, Mr Osborne said that the greatest threat to the UK economic recovery was people believing that the job of securing the economy was done and the Government can start loosening its purse-strings and scrap planned cuts in spending.

"The biggest risk is that people think that it's 'job done'," said the Chancellor. " I want to issue this warning: unless we finish the job of fixing the public finances, to get Britain back into the black by finally spending less than we borrow, all of the progress we have made together could still easily be reversed."

Mr Osborne said: "The question for the whole United Kingdom is this: are we going to see through the economic plan that is delivering growth at home and security from risks abroad?

"For I worry about a creeping complacency in the national debate about our economy. A sense that the hard work at home is complete and that we're immune from the risks abroad. A sense we can let up, and the good economic news will just keep rolling in.

"To the politicians peddling those views, I have a very clear warning today. Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats from around the world. For Britain, the only antidote to that is confronting complacency and delivering the plan that we've set out.

"Anyone who thinks it's mission accomplished with the British economy is making a grave mistake.

"2016 is the year when we can get down to work and make the lasting changes that Britain so badly needs, or it will be the year we look back at as the beginning of the decline. This year quite simply the economy is mission critical and we have to finish the job."

Mr Osborne's words stood in stark contrast to the optimistic message on the economy in November's Autumn Statement, when he announced that the nation's books were healthier than expected to the tune of 27 billion.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "This Chancellor has mixed his own cocktail of rising consumer debt, an over-reliance on borrowing from overseas, with a lack of sustained investment, while failing to support manufacturing, and topping it all off with lighter regulations for the banks. The problem is that the rest of us taxpayers will be the ones left with the hangover.

"Labour has consistently warned that George Osborne has to wake up and stop being complacent about the warning signs that the global economy could be slowing, but instead he has chosen to play political games with fiscal targets that would simply tie his hands."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "Osborne's excessive and aggressive cuts are a danger in themselves, he risks throwing out all the hard work by the Liberal Democrats in the coalition to stabilise the economy and rebuild the nation's finances.

"Osborne talks of the importance of economic stability yet his Government is the one risking everything through their lack of clarity on our future in the EU."

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said Mr Osborne was right to warn there was no room for complacency.

"Increasing global uncertainty is contributing to the UK's lacklustre trade performance and while low commodity prices have provided a net gain for businesses here, those with a stake in the North Sea have been hit hard," she said.

"That's why it is more vital than ever that UK businesses are supported to grow, compete and prosper. Firms want relief from the building cumulative burden of Government policy, including the apprenticeship levy, national living wage, an out-of-date business rates system and the administrative challenge of pensions enrolment."

Lee Hopley, chief economist at manufacturers' organisation EEF, said: " The Chancellor's recognition that it's far from job done on rebuilding the economy is spot on, however industry wants to see how Government strategy for driving balanced growth is going to be delivered."

James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: " With turmoil on the stock markets, interest rates still at extraordinary lows and various surveys painting a less than rosy - albeit more realistic - outlook for the developing world, the UK must be prepared for all eventualities. First and foremost, that means a continued focus on eradicating the deficit."
Jeremy Corbyn, right, with former shadow rail minister Jonathan Reynolds during a protest over rail fares

Labour MPs have no right to override the wishes of the party's membership on policy, a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone said Mr Corbyn had inherited a parliamentary party which was "well to the right" of the membership, and made clear his belief that MPs should bow to the wishes of activists on the direction taken by Labour.

This week's reshuffle had removed a "disaffected little group of old uber-Blairites" who had been engaged in a "wave of back-stabbing" designed to undermine the leader, he said.

Mr Livingstone's comments came as Mr Corbyn completed his shake-up of Labour's front bench by appointing a number of MPs to roles outside the shadow cabinet.

The much-heralded changes - dubbed a "revenge reshuffle" by critics - saw prominent MPs Pat McFadden and Michael Dugher sacked for alleged "disloyalty", while Kevan Jones, Jonathan Reynolds and Stephen Doughty resigned in response.

Pro-Trident Maria Eagle was replaced as shadow defence secretary by Emily Thornberry, who shares the leader's opposition to renewal of the UK's nuclear deterrent.

New Labour grandee Lord Mandelson was among a string of senior figures to warn that shifting the Opposition back to the policy of unilateral disarmament ditched in the 1980s would leave it "even further away from any prospect of winning a general election".

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell dismissed the trio who walked out as being from "a narrow right-wing clique" who refused to "respect" the strong mandate granted Mr Corbyn by members and supporters in September's leadership election.

And Corbyn loyalist Diane Abbott infuriated Mr Reynolds by referring to them as "former special advisers", sparking him to brand her a "total sell-out" for sending her child to a private school.

Mr Livingstone told BBC2's Daily Politics: "Diane was responding to this wave of back-stabbing by this disaffected little group of old uber-Blairites.

"What we have got to remember is Jeremy has inherited a Parliamentary Labour Party well to the right of the membership. That is because during the four general elections under Blair and Brown, local Labour parties weren't allowed to choose the candidate they wanted, they had to select from a list approved by the party bureaucracy.

"People who were critical of American foreign policy or wanted to crack down on the tax avoidance of big corporations never got onto the list.

"What these MPs can't now do is say `We have got a right to override the wishes of the party membership'."

Mr Livingstone said he agreed that former Europe spokesman Mr McFadden had been disloyal in a statement on the causes of Islamist terrorism.

"A lot of people like Pat McFadden who were central to Tony Blair's government have never come to terms with the fact that invading Iraq was a disaster," said Mr Livingstone. "It led to a million people - almost all of them innocent civilians, men, women and children - being killed.

"They can't ever come to terms with it when people like myself or Jeremy say having interventions and overthrowing governments and trying to control the oil in the Middle East is a big factor in fuelling terrorism."

Among the new appointments to the Labour frontbench are a trio of female MPs first elected to Parliament in last year's general election - Kate Hollern (Blackburn), Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) and Angela Rayner (Ashton-under-Lyne).

Ms Hollern fills the vacancy left in the defence team by Mr Jones's departure, while Ms Rayner joins the work and pensions team following Emily Thornberry's promotion from employment spokeswoman to shadow defence secretary. Ms Stevens takes a post in Labour's justice team.

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald - elected in 2012 - takes a transport brief following the resignation of Mr Reynolds, and long-serving Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton, who has been in the Commons since 1997, goes to the foreign affairs team after Mr Doughty's departure.

Also appointed to the front bench as an education spokeswoman is Darlington MP Jenny Chapman, part of the 2010 intake.
Cancer Research UK has called for a tax on sugary drinks in a bid to curb rising rates of cancer caused by people being overweight

Britain's obesity "crisis" must be tackled as seriously as smoking, David Cameron said in a strong hint that a tax could be imposed on sugary drinks.

The Prime Minister said he remained reluctant to take the radical step but recognised the need to act to prevent increases in diabetes and cancer and cut the costs to the NHS.

A new anti-obesity strategy is due to be published by the Government within weeks.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been spearheading a campaign in favour of increasing prices and a report from Public Health England concluded a tax of 10% to 20% could work.

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) also shows that a sugary drinks tax in Mexico has led to a 12% reduction in sales and a 4% increase in the purchase of untaxed drinks one year after it came in.

Cancer Research UK has called for a tax on sugary drinks for the first time in a bid to curb rising rates of cancer caused by people being overweight.

Asked if he was ready to reverse his previous opposition to the policy, Mr Cameron said: "Of course it would be far better if we could make progress on all these issues without having to resort to taxes. That would be my intention.

"But what matters is that we do make progress.

"We need to look at this in the same way in the past we have looked at the dangers of smoking to health and other health-related issues.

"So that is my commitment: we need a fully-worked up strategy, we shouldn't be in the business of ruling things out but obviously putting extra taxes on things is not something I would aim to do, it is something I would rather avoid."

Speaking during a press conference in Hungary where he held talks with counterpart Viktor Orban, he told reporters: "I don't really want to put new taxes on anything but we do have to recognise that we face potentially in Britain something of an obesity crisis when we look at the effect of obesity not just on diabetes but the effect on heart disease, potentially on cancer, when we look at the costs on the NHS, the life-shortening potential of these problems.

"We do need to have a fully-worked-up programme to deal with this problem and address these issues in Britain and we will be making announcements later in the year."

Downing Street said the industry must do more to tackle the obesity crisis.

The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "As we have said before, more needs to be done to address this challenge and that's not just for government to do.

"It does include the industry doing more to develop alternatives to products that are high in sugar."
David Cameron has insisted he still hopes to complete his EU membership renegotiation next month after his Hungarian counterpart said he was "sure" British concerns about benefits abuses could be accommodated.

At a joint press conference after talks in Budapest, Viktor Orban sharply denied that Hungarians were "parasites" on the UK taxpayer.

But he said he recognised anxiety over "abuse" of Britain's welfare system, and expressed confidence that the V4 - Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia - would agree to a solution.

The comments will have encouraged the Prime Minister at the end of another gruelling diplomatic offensive which saw him meet Angela Merkel in Bavaria on Wednesday evening before heading for Budapest.

Mr Cameron admitted there was now "limited time" before next month's summit of EU leaders, which he had previously earmarked for securing a deal, and stressed that the in-out referendum did not have to take place until the end of 2017.

However, he said he remained hopeful a package could be finalised in time for the Brussels gathering on February 18 - which would mean the national ballot could take place in June.

"I think we have made good progress right across the EU on all these issues," Mr Cameron said.

"I am confident we can reach agreement because there is a bigger picture here as well, which is the importance of Britain remaining in a reformed EU, but also for Europe ...

"We bring a lot to the EU as well as benefiting from the EU."

Mr Cameron said his proposal of a four-year ban on migrants claiming in-work benefits - viewed as the most difficult part of the reform package - was still "on the table" although he reiterated that he was ready to listen to alternatives.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Orban avoided addressing the specific proposal and said he would not accept any "discriminatory" measures.

But he added: "I think we will be able to agree ... "I am sure we are going to be able to find a solution that is going to be suitable for the Hungarian employees."

He said: "The abuses that are seen in social benefits systems have to be eliminated. I made clear that the Hungarian government does not support any abuses at all."

Mr Orban condemned the description of Hungarians in the UK as "migrants", saying the estimated 55,000 working in the country were contributing more in taxes than they took in benefits.

"We would like to make it quite clear that we are not migrants to the UK," he said.

"We are members of a state in the EU that can take jobs anywhere in the EU."

He added: "We do not want to be parasites, we want to work there."

In an interview with German broadcaster ARD, Mr Cameron argued that his proposed four-year benefits ban would not be discriminatory or against EU law.

"The European law has developed through the way that courts have interpreted it. If you go back in history, originally free movement of workers meant that it was the freedom to go and take a job and hold that job in another country," Mr Cameron said.

"60% of the people coming to Britain from the European Union now are job seekers. They're coming because we're creating lots of jobs. We're a very successful economy. But 60% don't have a job when they arrive; they're job seekers.

"So, the law has changed and we should be flexible in Europe. We should try and deal with the problems as they emerge."

Stressing that he did not want to undermine the principle of freedom of movement, Mr Cameron went on: "We're a country that has welcomed migrants, not just from Europe, but from all over the world.

"We don't want to change that, but we do need to address this excessive pressure that we've got at the moment, partly because our in-work welfare system's so generous and you get instant access to it ...

"It's because Britain's got this non-contributory system that the problem arises. So I don't call what I'm proposing discrimination."
Lord Macdonald said the CPS should be required to approve pre-charge bail in terrorism cases

Terror suspects should not be granted police bail unless the decision is signed off by a prosecutor, senior legal figures have said.

It follows revelations about lapses that allowed Abu Rumaysah to flee the UK to join Islamic State despite being on authorities' radar.

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald and Nazir Afzal, who was chief crown prosecutor in north-west England from 2011 until last year, told the Press Association the CPS should be required to approve pre-charge bail in terrorism cases.

Rumaysah - born a Hindu called Siddhartha Dhar - was able to leave the country in 2014 despite being arrested six times.

He was held in September 2014 - when he was 31 - as part of an investigation into alleged support of the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun.

He left Britain with his family the day after being released on bail, travelling to Paris and then Syria.

The episode has come under the spotlight following unconfirmed claims that Rumaysah was a masked militant at the centre of a gruesome film released last week showing the murder of five men accused by IS of spying for the UK.

Lord Macdonald said: "Given the sensitivity of these cases, and their obvious national security implications, any consideration of bail requires special care.

"The Siddharta Dhar case shows that It is not sufficient or safe for the police to decide this question for themselves.

"We urgently need a new rule that no police bail may be granted in terrorism cases without the explicit agreement of a specialist prosecutor from the CPS Counter Terrorism Division."

Mr Afzal said there is a "strong case" for prosecutors to have the final say.

"Fundamentally bail pre-charge has been a matter for the police with prosecutors often expressing a view which does not bind the police," he said.

"In serious cases such as terrorist allegations there is a strong case for requiring the police to not only consult with prosecutors but for the final decision to be made by prosecutors acting in the public interest."

He said that "the two most serious crimes are terrorism and murder" and "suspects in both should of course be given bail if there isn't enough evidence to charge but the prosecutor should always be consulted and they should have the final say".

A CPS spokesman said: "We work very closely with our police colleagues on all terrorism cases including pre-arrest.

"However any decision on bail conditions before a charging decision has been made is a matter for the police."

Following his release on September 26 2014, Rumaysah was given a week to voluntarily surrender his travel documents, which was a condition of his bail.

Earlier this week it emerged that a letter from police reminding him of the need to hand over the passport by October 3 was not sent until more than a month later on November 7.

Anti-extremist group Hope not Hate has claimed that five other suspected extremists who were either on bail or subject to travel restrictions have left Britain in the past 18 months.
Police say they are continuing an "extremely complex" investigation into threats of a massacre at a Blackpool school.

A number of Facebook and Reddit messages on December 30 and 31 described plans to "kill as many people as possible" at Montgomery High School in Bispham on Monday.

The social media poster said the attack would be in revenge for alleged bullying.

In the messages they praised gun killers in schools in the United States and posted: "Nobody talks to me or notices me except when they're calling me a nerd and pushing me around."

When challenged by one student, the person replied: "You think it's a joke? You'll see bullets, bodies, and blood."

The school opened as planned on Monday after police ruled the threat was "not credible". The day passed with no incident as police officers provided a visible presence on site but many parents chose to keep their children away.

That night a futher post on the Blackpool Gazette newspaper's website by a user named 'The Real John Smith' claimed they were the person responsible for the original comments and apologised for their actions, said Lancashire Police.

The senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Gary Brooks, said: "This is an extremely complex investigation further complicated by the vast, global nature of the internet.

"Whilst the public can't visibly see what we are doing, I must stress that we have a dedicated team of officers and specialist resources working behind the scenes to identify who posted the threats and the subsequent 'apology' on the Gazette's website. Complex inquiries of this nature could take some time to complete.

"We are still of the view that the threat was not credible and we do not believe that any staff or pupils are at immediate risk of harm as a result of the posts."

He added: "We are treating this new post as a valid line of inquiry and it may well be linked to the original comments but it's still too early for us to say.

"The person responsible for the original posts may not have realised the seriousness of their actions and the extent of disruption they would cause. I would urge them to come forward and identify themselves. We will continue our inquiries until we trace this person.

"The school is open and we will continue to provide a visible presence."

School principal Tony Nicholson said the school was "rapidly returning to full capacity".

Anyone with information that could assist police with their investigation should call Lancashire Police on 101 quoting incident reference 0006 of December 30 2015.
Tony Blair tried to persuade Muammar Gaddafi to stand aside and accept a change of government to stop protests against his rule descending into violence, newly-released transcripts of telephone calls show.

In the two calls, made on February 25 2011 - a week after the Libyan regime responded with violence to demonstrations in Benghazi and other cities - the former prime minister offered to help Col Gaddafi in working with the US and EU to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

But he made clear that if Gaddafi did not signal his willingness to stand aside, it could result in "bloodshed for a lot of Libyan people".

The transcripts, released by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, were provided by Mr Blair's office after he gave evidence to the committee last month as part of its inquiry into UK foreign policy towards Libya.

As prime minister, Mr Blair played a key role in bringing Libya back in from the cold after years of international sanctions, famously meeting Gaddafi in his desert tent in 2004.

In the second call, a clearly suspicious Gaddafi told Mr Blair his plan sounded like "colonisation" and said he was ready to arm his people to fight any outside intervention.

He insisted that any violence was the fault of al Qaida sleeper cells within Libya and warned that the uprising was part of a plot by armed Islamists to "control the Mediterranean... and then attack Europe".

Mr Blair assured the Libyan leader that he was "absolutely not" suggesting military intervention to restore peace, but warned that the situation within the north African country could quickly become "very destructive" if Gaddafi did not call for an end to the violence and signal his readiness to engage in a process of change.

"The position of the leader is crucial," said Mr Blair. "If he indicates that he wants this to occur now and that he will stand aside and go somewhere safe, I think this will resolve this peacefully. If he wishes this to happen, I can take this message back to the people I have been talking to.

"There is a process of change that is going to take place - that has been made clear by the leader himself. He needs to signal acceptance of that change and he needs to stand aside to let that happen peacefully."

But Gaddafi responded: "There is no bloodshed here. It is very quiet. But if you want to reap Libya, we are ready to fight. It will be like Iraq."

The conversation ended with Gaddafi telling Blair to "just leave us alone", as the former prime minister urged him to "keep the lines open".

The demonstrations later descended into civil war and Britain joined an international campaign of airstrikes to protect Libyan rebels against regime forces.

In October - eight months after Mr Blair's effort to find a solution - Gaddafi's power finally evaporated and the leader was lynched by a mob as he attempted to flee.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Crispin Blunt suggested that, while Gaddafi's view of international affairs was "delusional", he may have been more far-sighted than Western policy-makers on the threat from Islamist militancy in Libya if his regime was allowed to fall.

The aftermath of Gaddafi's overthrow has seen Libya struggle to form a new government capable of controlling the country, and the establishment of outposts of the Islamic State terror group in cities including Sirte. The release of the transcripts came as news emerged of a truck bomb killing at least 60 police officers in town of Zliten.

Mr Blunt said: "The transcripts supplied by Mr Blair provide a new insight into the private views of Colonel Gaddafi as his dictatorship began to crumble around him. The failure to follow Mr Blair's calls to 'keep the lines open' and for these early conversations to initiate any peaceful compromise continue to reverberate.

"The Committee will want to consider whether Gaddafi's prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups following the collapse of the regime was wrongly ignored because of Gaddafi's otherwise delusional take on international affairs.

"The evidence that the Committee has taken so far in this inquiry suggests that Western policy-makers were rather less perceptive than Gaddafi about the risks of intervention for both the Libyan people and the Western interests."

During the calls, Mr Blair - who stressed he was acting "in a personal capacity" - told Gaddafi: "I can help with the international community, but can only do that if there is peaceful dialogue. No violence. The process for change has to happen in a peaceful way."

He said: "I appreciate the difficulty when you are under attack. But the use of airplanes to attack cities and the use of force against civilians - this has to stop, otherwise it is impossible for the international community to act."

And he warned: "If you have a safe place to go, you should go there, because this will not end peacefully and there has to be a process of change. That process of change can be managed, and we have to find a way of managing it."

Mr Blair added: "The US and the EU are in a tough position right now and I need to take something back to them which ensures this ends peacefully."

But Gaddafi - who Mr Blair referred to throughout the calls as "the leader" - insisted that his forces were not fighting the people, but were coming under attack from al Qaida.

He repeatedly called for international journalists and politicians to be sent to observe the situation, and at one point held the telephone receiver up to a TV screen to demonstrate to Mr Blair that there was no unrest.

As the ex-PM spelt out his proposal for Gaddafi to leave, the Libyan leader responded: "It seems that this is colonisation. I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight.

"Libyan people will die, damage will be on the Med, Europe and the whole world. These armed groups are using the situation as a justification, and we shall fight them."

Mr Blair assured him: "No-one wants to recolonise Libya. Libya is for its people."

But he added: "My anxiety is this is happening very, very fast and if we don't find a way out in the next few hours, I don't know what will happen.

"The leader can facilitate and if he doesn't we end up with bloodshed for a lot of Libyan people, and I don't want that to happen."

Warning that the situation could pass "the point of no return" within days, Mr Blair told Gaddafi that "this is the last chance to resolve this peacefully".

"The violence needs to stop and a new constitution needs to take shape", he told the Libyan leader, adding that people would be "content" if they saw he was standing down.

But Gaddafi compared the situation to campaigns of extremist violence in Afghanistan, Algeria, Nigeria and Pakistan and challenged Mr Blair: "Do you support al Qaida? ... Are you supporting terrorism?"
A truck sits at what would normally be a busy truck staging area at the Cargill salt mine, early Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Lansing N.Y. Emergency crews rescued four of 17 miners early Thursday who were stuck for hours in an elevator 900 feet underground at the salt mine that's the deepest in the Western Hemisphere, officials said. (Simon Wheeler/The Ithaca Journal via AP)

The fourth group of workers emerge from an elevator Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, after they were stuck overnight in a shaft at the Cayuga Salt Mine in Lansing, N.Y. Cargill Inc. spokesman Mark Klein said all 17 miners have been rescued. (Simon Wheeler/The Ithaca Journal via AP, Pool)

The last of 17 Cargill salt miners emerge Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, after being rescued from an elevator stuck 900 feet below the surface at the Cayuga Salt Mine, in Lansing, N.Y. A rescue cage was lowered from a crane to bring them up four at a time. (Simon Wheeler/The Ithaca Journal via AP, Pool)

Seventeen miners trapped in one of the world's deepest salt mines have been rescued, ending a 10-hour ordeal that began when their elevator broke down 900ft underground.

The workers were descending to the floor of the 2,300-foot-deep Cayuga Salt Mine - nearly deep enough to fit two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other - to start their shift when the elevator broke down on Wednesday night, said Mark Klein, a spokesman for mine owner Cargill Inc.

The miners were never in any danger, Mr Klein said.

Emergency workers communicated via radio with the miners, who had blankets, heat packs and other supplies lowered to them.

A crane hoisted the first four to the surface in a basket on Thursday morning at the mine in Lansing, about 40 miles outside Syracuse. Another four were rescued about 30 minutes later, and seven more were then brought to the surface, Mr Klein said. The last two were rescued a few minutes afterward, he said.

The mine, which Klein said is the deepest salt mine in the Western Hemisphere, produces road salt that is shipped throughout the Northeastern United States. The mine is located on the shore of Cayuga Lake and extends beneath its waters.

Mining at the Lansing site began 100 years ago. Minneapolis-based Cargill bought the mine in 1970, and it now employs 200 workers at the operation, Klein said.

The company conducts evacuation drills annually, Mr Klein said.

"While we hope to never make use of that practice, it's helping us today," he said.

Mining operations will be shut down for the rest of the week as company officials and federal government mine safety inspectors investigate what caused the elevator, one of several at the site, to malfunction, Klein said.

"We want to take a step back, check things out," he said.

Mr Klein said the last serious accident at the mine occurred on the surface in March 2010, when a 150-ton salt bin collapsed, killing a contract truck driver and injuring another man. The US Mine Safety and Health Administration later determined a piece of the bin corroded and caused it to give way.

Shawn Wilczynski, the mine manager, later added that with temperatures in the elevator shaft in the teens - the same as the surface - the miners were cold but otherwise unharmed.

"Their spirits are tremendous. I'm inspired by them, to be quite honest with you," Mr Wilczynski said. "The first four that came out of the mine waited until the last two came out."

The rescued workers ranged in age from 20 to 60, and their mining experience ranged from a few months to four decades, Mr Wilczynski added.
French president Francois Hollande says what he calls a "terrorist threat" will continue to weigh on the country, which was struck a year ago by Islamic extremists.

In a speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, Mr Hollande said the government was passing new laws and ramping up security, but the threat remained high.

On January 7 2015, a pair of extremist gunmen stormed the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people inside and a policeman outside.

Three police officers were among the 17 dead in the attacks last January, which ended after two days of bloodshed in the Paris region.

Mr Hollande said officers die in the line of duty "so that we can live free".
The Saudi military said it intercepted the missile in Jizan province

Iran has accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of hitting its embassy in the capital, Sanaa, in an overnight air strike.

The accusation comes amid a dangerous rise in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days, following the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.

Analysts have feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's eastern Shiite heartland prepared to hold a funeral service on Thursday night to honour the executed Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. That could spark further unrest, as witnesses in eastern Saudi towns have reported hearing gunfire overnight and armoured personnel carriers have been seen driving through neighbourhood streets.

On Thursday afternoon, Iran's state-run news agency said a Saudi-led air strike the previous night hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage to the building.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed Mr al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges - the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980.

Mr al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdom's Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence. Saudi Arabia and its allies say Mr al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and that condemnation of the execution amounts to meddling in Riyadh's internal affairs.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late on Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. On Wednesday, Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia returned to Tehran, according to state media.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies have cut or reduced their ties as well.

On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

In eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of Mr al-Nimr and much of the kingdom's roughly 10% to 15% Shiite population, three days of mourning over his death ended on Wednesday night. Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikh's brother, said people planned to hold a funeral on Thursday for the cleric, although Saudi authorities already buried his corpse in an undisclosed cemetery.

There are concerns new unrest could erupt. Mr al-Nimr's brother, as well as another local resident of al-Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, said they have heard gunfire on recent nights.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalise their relations.

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince said he did not believe war would break out with Iran.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind," Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defence minister and 30-year-old son of King Salman, told The Economist magazine.

"Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region.... For sure we will not allow any such thing."
The Islamic State group has stepped up attacks on the western Iraqi town of Haditha, where at least 45 Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters have been killed in clashes over the past three days and another 30 wounded, according to Iraqi officials.

The attacks come after Iraqi forces aided by US-led air strikes drove IS militants out of the city centre of Ramadi, the capital of the sprawling Anbar province west of Baghdad.

Following that victory a week ago, US officials said the extremist group has lost 40% of its territory in Iraq and 20% in Syria.

Coalition officials described a multi-pronged attack on Haditha beginning early this week.

IS suicide attackers driving cars loaded with explosives approached the town from three fronts, while other militants fired mortar rounds at the nearby al-Asad air base, home to some 450 foreign coalition forces, none of whom were wounded in the attack.

Khalid Salman, a provincial councilman from Haditha, and Shaalan al-Nimrawi, a local tribal sheikh, confirmed the casualty figures among the Iraqi forces.

Iraqi forces held on to Haditha and a nearby hydroelectric dam as IS overran much of Anbar province in the summer of 2014. The US-led coalition launched air strikes near the dam to protect it in September of that year.

The coalition officials downplayed the recent attacks on Haditha, describing them as an attempt to distract attention from the recent loss of Ramadi.

IS militants "don't have the ability to hold terrain," said US Army MajOR Michael Filanowski, adding that the extremist group had suffered heavy casualties as it lost territory.

"Those attacks were limited in nature - what we call harassing attacks," said Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based coalition spokesman, adding that Iraqi government forces were able to "either push the attackers back immediately or regroup and counter-attack with the support of coalition air strikes."

Despite the recent losses, IS still holds much of northern and western Iraq, including Mosul, the country's second largest city. It also controls Fallujah, a town near Ramadi where US troops fought some of their bloodiest battles in the years after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

In an address marking Iraq's national armed forces day on Wednesday, defence minister Khalid al-Obeidi said troops should ready themselves for the next major battles.

"The coming days will witness big and pitched battles to liberate what remains of our territories," he said.
American singer Janet Jackson has denied rumours that she has throat cancer

Singer Janet Jackson has denied she has cancer after postponing a US concert tour to have surgery.

On her Twitter account, the 49-year-old posted a two-minute clip from her song The Great Forever, followed by a personal message in which she said she is recovering but offered no further details.

She added that her doctors have said she can go ahead with concerts scheduled for Europe.

Jackson denied having cancer, an apparent response to online reports that she was suffering from throat cancer.

The announcement came less than two weeks after she said she was postponing her Unbreakable tour to have an unspecified surgical procedure.

Jackson had next been scheduled to perform in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday. She is due to do a series of concerts in Europe in March.

Her Unbreakable tour has been in the Top 20 global concert tour listing compiled by Pollstar.
The truck bomb exploded in the Libyan town of Zliten, officials said

A massive truck bomb exploded near a police base in the western Libyan town of Zliten, killing at least 60 police officers and wounding around 200 others, officials have said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but a local Islamic State affiliate has been trying to gain a foothold in Zliten, spreading westward from its central stronghold of Sirte along the North African country's coast.

Hours after the blast, rescue crews at the scene had only managed to extract 60 bodies out of the wreckage, said a hospital spokesman, Moamar Kaddi. Libyan officials said they believed there might be dozens more dead.

The police base, where about 400 recruits were training, was used by Libya's border police, a Zliten security official said.

Border police foiled numerous human smuggling attempts off the coast of Zliten last year.

Smugglers operating in Libya are notorious for responding with violence to any attempt to disrupt their lucrative operations, but there have been no reported incidents in which they used car bombs, suggesting that Islamic militant are more likely to have been behind Thursday's attack.

Also, it was not immediately clear whether the attack was a suicide bombing, a hallmark method of Islamic militants.

In recent years, thousands of migrants seeking a better life in Europe sailed from Libya on rickety, overcrowded boats. Hundreds have drowned in those crossings.

Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The oil-rich country is torn between an Islamist government based in the capital, Tripoli, and a rival, internationally recognised administration in the east. Meanwhile, a UN-supported unity government sits in neighbouring Tunisia.

Residents in Libyan coastal cities have long expressed fears of the variety of smugglers and traffickers who run lucrative operations along the Mediterranean Sea. Authorities have echoed the same concerns, claiming they are unable to fully tackle these networks without international assistance.

The UN special envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, denounced the attack and urged Libyans to "put their differences aside and unite to confront the scourge of terrorism".

The bombing was yet another reminder for Libyans that "urgent progress is required" towards empowering a unity government and rebuilding state bodies, Mr Kobler said in a statement.
Dozens of women have accused Bill Cosby of sex assaults or attempted molestations in incidents dating back more than four decades (AP)

Prosecutors in Los Angeles declined to charge Bill Cosby with sexually abusing two teenagers in 1965 and 2008, citing time limits and a lack of evidence.

The decision comes about a week after Cosby, 78, was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 inside his home near Philadelphia.

It was the first criminal case brought against him from the torrent of allegations that destroyed his good-guy image.

His lawyers have called the charges in that case unjustified and said they expected Cosby to be exonerated.

"We are satisfied that the Los Angeles DA's office fully and fairly evaluated all the facts and evidence, and came to the right conclusion in declining to file charges against Mr Cosby," his lawyer, Monique Pressley, said.

Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sex assaults or attempted molestations in incidents dating back more than four decades.
An attacker has fired at an Egyptian security post outside a hotel near the Giza Pyramids, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry said no one was hurt in the incident at the Three Pyramids Hotel, but the attack damaged the hotel's facade and also a bus parked in front of the building.

According to a ministry statement, the shooter was part of a group of about 15 people who threw flares at the hotel's security post. A suspect was arrested and police were still searching for the rest of the group, the statement said. It did not identify the arrested suspect.

The motive for the attack was unclear and no one immediately claimed responsibility for it. However, a witness at the scene indicated the attack was more organised than the ministry described and that deadly weapons were used.

"The first thing they fired was flares, and then they started firing at the bus. Later they started firing birdshot at the hotel and tried to throw Molotov cocktails at the bus," said Jaber Jabarin, an Arab Israeli citizen who was staying at the hotel and witnessed the attack.

After throwing Molotov cocktails, Mr Jabarin said the attackers "started firing at the hotel with live bullets." He described heavy, continuous gunfire.

In Jerusalem, Alon Lavi, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said the bus that was hit was in use by a group of visiting Arab Israelis but that no one was inside the bus at the time of the incident and that no Israelis were hurt. He said Israel was briefed on the incident by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The attack came as Egyptian's Coptic Orthodox Christians were celebrating the Orthodox Christmas in predominantly Muslim Egypt. Most Orthodox Christians follow the older, Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas on January 7.

In Egypt, thousands of policemen were deployed across Cairo and other cities to protect churches and Christian celebrations.
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed died at the age of 79 at a hospital in New Delhi (AP)

Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, a top elected pro-India leader of Kashmir who tried to win over insurgent groups in the troubled region, has died of pneumonia aged 79.

Mr Sayeed, who took over as the top elected official of the region in March last year, was admitted to hospital in the Indian capital, New Delhi, two weeks ago.

He died on Thursday, said his party leader and Kashmir state Education Minister Nayeem Akhter.

Mr Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. Mehbooba Mufti, one of his daughters, is expected to succeed him as the chief minister of the Indian portion of Kashmir.

His body will be taken to Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir, and then buried in his ancestral village, said Mr Akhter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Mr Sayeed "provided a healing touch to Kashmir through his leadership".

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir, divided between them since 1947.

He advocated a dialogue with Pakistan to settle the dispute, and sought to promote trade and travel between the divided parts of the Himalayan region.

At the start of insurgency in the Indian portion of Kashmir in 1989, rebels abducted one of Mr Sayeed's daughters. He was India's home minister at the time.

His daughter was later freed in exchange for the Indian government releasing five militants from prison.

Mr Sayeed became the chief minister of the Indian portion of Kashmir, with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party as a junior partner in the government after no single party won a clear majority in state elections.
Somalia has cut diplomatic ties with Iran and ordered all Iranian diplomats and embassy staff out of the country within 72 hours.

"This step has been taken after careful consideration and in response to the Republic of Iran's continuous interference in Somalia's internal affairs," Somalia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It did not mention the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, nor give specifics about the alleged interference.

The ministry accused Iran of trying to destabilise the country and said it has recalled its acting ambassador to Iran.

Somalia joins Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Bahrain in cutting ties to Iran. Other countries have downgraded their ties to Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed prominent opposition Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr over the weekend.

Iran is seen as the guardian of the Shiite Muslim faith.
South Korea has said it will retaliate for a North Korean nuclear test by resuming cross-border propaganda broadcasts which Pyongyang considers an act of war.

The South's presidential office made the announcement on Thursday, a day after the North claimed to have carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. The claim has been disputed by outside governments and experts.

The South stopped earlier broadcasts after it agreed with Pyongyang in late August on a package of measures aimed at easing animosities.

Seoul said the broadcasts will resume on Friday.

Meanwhile, experts are trying to uncover more details about the detonation which drew worldwide scepticism and condemnation.

It may take weeks or longer to confirm or refute the North's claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal.

Even a test of an atomic bomb - a less sophisticated and less powerful weapon - would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the US mainland.

Statements from the White House said President Barack Obama had spoken to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. The statements said the countries "agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour".

Mr Obama also reaffirmed the "unshakeable US commitment" to the security of South Korea and Japan, according to the statements.

South Korean and US military leaders also discussed the deployment of US "strategic assets" in the wake of the North's test, Seoul's Defensce Ministry said.

Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what US military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.

When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Korea's third nuclear test, the US took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes - B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers - to drills with South Korea in a show of force. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

South Korea also said it will limit entry to a jointly run factory park in North Korea, the last major symbol of inter-Korean co-operation. The park's operation is unlikely to be affected much as the restriction will apply to clients, potential buyers and service providers from South Korea, rather than managers who commute to work with North Korean labourers.

The United Nations Security Council, meanwhile, held an emergency session and pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a "clear violation" of previous UN resolutions.

Four rounds of UN sanctions have aimed at reining in the North's nuclear and missile development programmes, but Pyongyang has ignored them and moved ahead to modernise its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

North Korea said on Wednesday that it had successfully tested a "miniaturised" hydrogen bomb which elevated the country's "nuclear might to the next level".

But an early analysis by the US government was "not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test", White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

South Korea's spy service said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than that which even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Some believe North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.

But even if the North exploded a boosted fission bomb, its explosive yield, estimated at 6.0 kilotons, showed the test was probably a failure, Seoul's Defence Ministry said. An explosion two to five times more powerful would have been reported if it were successful, an official said.

After the North's 2013 test, a yield of 6-7 kilotons was estimated, according to South Korean officials.

Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission. In a hydrogen bomb, a nuclear fission explosion sets off a fusion reaction responsible for a powerful blast and radioactivity.

The hydrogen bomb is already the global standard for the five nations with the greatest nuclear capabilities: the US, Russia, France, the UK and China. Other nations may either have it or are working on it, despite a worldwide effort to contain such proliferation.

Just how big a threat North Korea's nuclear programme poses is a mystery. North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multi-stage, long-range missile to carry smaller versions of those bombs.

Some analysts say the North has probably not achieved the technology needed to make a miniaturised warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the US mainland. But debate is growing on just how far the North has advanced.

To build its nuclear programme, the North must explode new and more advanced devices so scientists can improve their designs and technology. Nuclear-tipped missiles could then be used as deterrents and diplomatic bargaining chips - especially against the US, which Pyongyang has long pushed to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.

US aircraft designed to detect evidence of a nuclear test, such as radioactive particulate matter and blast-related noble gases, could be deployed from a US base on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Japanese media said Tokyo mobilised its own reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan to try to collect atmospheric data.
Aid will begin entering the Syrian villages in the coming days, the UN said

The Syrian government has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into three beleaguered villages following reports of deaths from malnutrition in that part of the country, a UN official has said.

A statement from Yacoub El Hillo, UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said aid will begin entering the villages in the coming days.

Two of the villages in question are the adjacent Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in the country's north, which have been besieged by anti-government militants for more than a year. The third is the village of Madaya near the border with Lebanon, which has been under siege by government forces since early July.

"The UN welcomes today's approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Foua and Kfarya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days," said Mr El Hillo.

Activists have said that several people have died over the past weeks in both areas because of malnutrition. There are currently some 30,000 people in the two Shiite villages and an even higher number in Madaya.

"Almost 42,000 people remaining in Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation," Mr El Hillo warned.

Mr El Hillo said the UN is particularly concerned about the plight of nearly 400,000 people besieged by parties to the conflict in areas including the eastern city of Deir el-Zour as well as the Damascus suburbs known as eastern Ghoua.

In the meantime, Syrian president Bashar Assad's government has repeatedly denied UN requests to deliver aid to specific areas.

"In the last year, only 10% of all requests for UN inter-agency convoys to hard-to-reach and besieged areas were approved and delivered," the statement said.

He added that up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need.

The conflict that began in March 2011 has killed more than 250,000 people and wounded more than a million. The crisis has also displaces half of Syria's pre-war 23 million people.
December's wild El Nino pushed 2015 in the United States to near-record levels for heat, moisture and extreme conditions, US government weather officials have said.

The year that just ended was the second warmest and third wettest in 121 years of record-keeping for the lower 48 states, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced.

The 12.4C average last year was second only to 2012.

"The combination of El Nino plus climate change clearly has brought the US some weirdly memorable, highly unusual, and quite troubling weather," said climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University. "As for the influence of climate change, it's just the beginning."

These are just US statistics. Globally, it's almost certain to be hottest on record with exact figures coming out later this month, and the US near-record is emblematic of that, said Deke Arndt, NOAA's climate monitoring chief.

"We live in a warming world and a warming world is bringing more big heat and more big rain events to the United States," Mr Arndt said during a NOAA press conference.

For much of the spring and summer, climate change was the big factor pushing US temperatures above normal. But in November and December, El Nino took over and supercharged the global warming effect while turning on the heavy rains, said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at DuPage College outside Chicago.

El Nino is the natural warming of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide. It occurs every two to seven years or so with one of its most noticeable affects being heavy downpours in California.

Going into December, it was just the fifth warmest and ninth wettest year in the United States. Then a record-setting December pushed everything up a few notches.

At 3.6C - six degrees warmer than the 20th century average - December was nearly a full degree warmer than the record set in 1939. And the 3.93 inches of precipitation in December surpassed the old record by more than a sixth of an inch.

This was the first time that a month was both the warmest and wettest on record, said NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch.

Last year, the US lurched from one extreme to another. Going into December, the US was flirting with a record low number of tornado deaths. Then a series of nasty tornadoes killed 24 people in four days, making it the second deadliest December for tornadoes on record.

NOAA compiles a climate extremes index that puts all sorts of extreme weather - hot and cold, wet and dry - into one lump statistic. It showed 2015 was 70% more extreme than the average over 106 years. It was the fourth most extreme year in the United States.

Ten weather disasters last year caused one billion US dollars (686 million) or more in damage - ranking fourth highest for number of billion-dollar disasters in 35 years of record-keeping.
The appearance in court of an Army veteran of the war in Afghanistan has sparked a necessary debate on how we treat our soldier heroes. James Burns was in the dock because he went into a prohibited area at Windsor Park during a Northern Ireland football match and began singing The Birdie Song.

It later emerged that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his service and needs daily medication.

His father maintains that he has been let down by the country that he served, going to Afghanistan aged just 19. He says James has been left to suffer.

So, is this a country fit for heroes, as the Labour Party's famous slogan put it after the Second World War?

Not so, according to some of our politicians. DUP MLA Brenda Hale, whose soldier husband died in Afghanistan, argues that veterans here are worse off than their counterparts in other regions of the UK.

The Military Covenant, introduced in 2000 but never made law, was an attempt to ensure that servicemen and women would be properly treated and supported after they returned from war.

While the intention was good, the response of the Government and other relevant agencies is kept under regular review and there are constant complaints that all the promises are not being kept.

In Northern Ireland ex-service personnel are even more disadvantaged, with less access to medical services, social housing and help with their rates. That is a disgraceful state of affairs.

Northern Ireland has a disproportionately large number of ex-service personnel and they deserve to be given exactly the same privileges and assistance as offered to their counterparts in other UK regions.

How can we as a society ask young men and women to put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms and then turn our back - at least partially - on them after they complete the job?

Many of those fortunate enough to survive combat are left scarred physically and, more insidiously, mentally. They have given nearly their all for their country. How can it be too much to expect the country to give something back - medical care a home, prospects of a job in civvy street - when they need it?

They did their duty, and it is up to society to do its, and care for veterans like James Burns.
New Year message, the new leader of the SDLP, Colum Eastwood, says that all those who died in 1916 at the GPO and the Somme deserve respectful remembrance. He goes on to say: "In essence, the Rising and its aftermath were a proclamation of faith that the Irish people have the right and the freedom to govern and shape our own destiny."

The SDLP have long declared they are opposed to violence and there is no justification for it - nor was there ever any.

Maybe Colum didn't read the history books, but the Easter Rising was an armed rebellion, fought with artillery, gunboats and rifles. Yet the SDLP seems ready to jump on the bandwagon for political expediency in honouring the people who fought in the battle.

Is Colum Eastwood - as the new leader of the SDLP - agreeing that violence is acceptable in certain circumstances and that people have the right to use armed struggle for the right and the freedom to govern and shape their own destiny?

Colum states he has "new ideas" for the SDLP, yet so far we have only seen the same old attempt to have two positions of claiming to oppose violence while attempting to cash in on the celebrations of one of the most violent weeks in Irish history.

You can't have both, Colum, so please clarify: will you be glorifying armed struggle, or maintaining the SDLP position of opposing it?

MELISSA KAVANAGH

By email
At some point next Monday, January 11, Arlene Foster will be nominated and then elected as First Minister. First Minister in her own right this time, not just filling in for a few weeks and looking over her shoulder for a nod of approval from Peter Robinson.

Her position is also much stronger than it would have been had she been required to consult with Nigel Dodds - as party leader - before making decisions. She is her own boss.

And while it looks like Robinson may now stay in the Assembly until the end of this mandate - rather than step down and allow a replacement to be co-opted - it is unlikely that he will keep a hand on the tiller.

Her priority, of course, is the Assembly election on May 5, and her main challenge is from the UUP rather than Sinn Fein. A couple of years ago the DUP didn't worry about Mike Nesbitt. They didn't have to worry about him because every time he opened his mouth he put his foot in it.

He was tetchy in interviews, his "vision" was incoherent and he sounded like he was just making up policy as he went along. His line about "recovery requiring two election cycles" was interpreted by the DUP - and by me, too, as it happens - as a pre-packaged excuse for not doing well.

But then the UUP did begin to do well. It got rid of problematic figures like David McNarry, John McCallister and Basil McCrea. Nesbitt took no nonsense from others whom he regarded as disloyal. The party did better in the local council and general elections than anyone had expected.

It has attracted defectors from other parties. It wrong-footed the DUP when it withdrew Danny Kennedy from the Executive. And, so far, it has avoided any spectacular own-goals.

So, when Nesbitt says that the UUP is going to do well in a few months' time, the media and other political parties are taking him seriously.

Foster's first job as leader is to burst the UUP bubble. She does not want to be touring the media studios on May 6 explaining why the UUP has done well - particularly at the DUP's expense. She does not want a strong UUP Assembly group setting itself up as a credible opposition to a DUP/Sinn Fein coalition.

She does not want the old guard of the DUP (in spite of what she says, there is an old guard) getting jittery and wondering if her elevation was a political and electoral mistake. The DUP has got used to winning.

What she has to do, therefore, is convince unionists - particularly those who have concerns that the legacy issue is being ignored, that the IRA Army Council still has an everyday influence over Sinn Fein and that the DUP and Sinn Fein are just running a self-serving cartel - that her leadership of the DUP will make a difference for the better.

In 2007 and 2011 the DUP was able to play the "vote DUP to stop Martin McGuinness being First Minister" card, but that won't be as easy this time. Partly because there is so little evidence to suggest that Sinn Fein is on an electoral roll, but mostly because it is very difficult to play that card against a background where the DUP and Sinn Fein negotiated and took joint responsibility for the Fresh Start agreement.

In other words, she has to play a more subtle hand; persuade unionists to accept that a DUP/Sinn Fein axis is preferable to any other combination. Trying to scare unionists into voting for the DUP isn't going to work this time.

She not only has to convince unionists that she is a better option, she also has to explain why voting UUP or TUV would be against the best interests of unionism.

And that means a pretty brutal intra-unionist battle lies ahead. So brutal, in fact, that you can dismiss the prospect of some sort of last-gasp election pact between them.

The DUP hasn't had to fight this sort of campaign before. Until 1998 it was the poor relation of the UUP. Between 2003 and 2015 it was the buoyant, confident, electorally successful alternative to "rollover unionism". Yet, today, it has to explain why it seems so comfortable with Sinn Fein, even though very little ever seems to be done. It's a difficult pitch for the party, particularly at a time when it has the UUP, TUV, PUP and Ukip all capable of snatching seats from it.

She also needs to put her own stamp on the DUP, if only to distance her from the Robinson identity. He controlled every single aspect of the DUP (and, as I wrote last year, he had already decided she was to be his successor), so she has to earn loyalty in her own right.

She has the opportunity next week of a reshuffle to replace herself as Finance Minister and to deal with the problem that three of the DUP's ministers (Hamilton, Bell and McIllveen) are based in Strangford and that two of them are ex-UUP.

She'll want to send a signal to the broader party and build a few bridges.

The other thing she'll need to do is sort out the relationship with Sinn Fein. Even though Robinson and McGuinness have insisted that they had a good personal relationship, the general view was that the DUP/Sinn Fein relationship was fractious and destructive.

She needs to construct a mutually agreed strategy with Sinn Fein for ending that fractiousness and ensuring that they can deliver policy together.

And she needs to bear in mind that it may not be McGuinness she is dealing with.

He has been deputy to both Ian Paisley and Robinson since 2007, and it can't be taken for granted that he fancies another four years as deputy to someone else.

Sinn Fein are masters of surprise. It likes to stir the pot and catch other people off guard. So I wouldn't be all that surprised if, at some point after the elections (the Republic's one is due around the same time), it decided to replace McGuinness. The DUP has taken a calculated gamble with Foster. It sees her as an answer to the "Peter problem" (similar to the UUP's "Trimble problem" in 2003) and as someone who can win over potential UUP voters and undermine Nesbitt.

It also sees her as someone who can attract the stay-at-home pro-Union female vote, particularly young professionals.

More importantly, it sees her as someone who can construct the sort of relationship with Sinn Fein that will make business easier and allow policies to be delivered.

This is the DUP's most important poll since November 2003, the contest in which Foster was first elected as an MLA - albeit for the Ulster Unionists.
As a nation we have a duty of care to those who serve in our armed forces.

This duty was formally codified as the Military Covenant back in 2000 and is meant to ensure that those who are prepared to put their lives on the line in the service of their country can expect to be treated properly and supported after their return from conflict.

It is clear, however, that the promises made in the Military Covenant are not being fully honoured.

In Northern Ireland we face the further difficulty that local veterans do not even have the same access to medical services, social housing and help with their rates as compatriots across the rest of the United Kingdom do because of the existence of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

The physical scars borne by veterans are often plain to see, but the effects on the mental health of those who served are a hidden but increasing problem among many veterans.

The impact of mental health difficulties on the lives of those who served are also much less understood by the public as a whole than physical scars.

Just under two years ago the Government received the Veterans Transition Review and committed to implementing many of its recommendations.

I invited Lord Ashcroft's team to Northern Ireland during the consultation and they did highlight issues around Section 75 and the impact upon veterans in Northern Ireland. However, this has not yet been acted upon at Westminster.

Northern Ireland makes up around 3% of the UK's population; 20% of reserve forces regularly deployed on operations come from the province.

Those men and women from Northern Ireland deserve to be treated properly.

While there are steps which must be taken across the UK to make good on the duty of care we owe the armed forces, locally our first challenge has to be the full implementation of the covenant here.

This is not about special treatment or privileges for those who served, but fairness and a recognition of sacrifices made.

Brenda Hale is a DUP MLA for Lagan Valley
Pedestrians have a variety of options when trying to negotiate the puddle

Thousands of Britons downed tools as they watched a live stream of people crossing a big puddle on the internet.

Around 20,000 people watched the video on app Periscope and a Twitter hashtag of Drummondpuddlewatch was one of the highest trending across the country.

The puddle appeared just off Jesmond Road West, Newcastle, and was videoed out of the window of marketing company Drummond Central Ltd.

For hours passers by were seen attempting to navigate around the mass of water without getting their feet wet.

This involved running and jumping, climbing round the side and a slow tip-toe walk.

Soon the puddle's fame began to spread and people began arriving holding surfboards and a lilo.

Beth Hazon, managing director of Drummond, said they had been watching people try to cross the puddle for weeks.

"It's crazy, we watch it every single day," she said. "There's been so much rain in the past month that we've seen people try and navigate their way across the puddle as its quite a busy stretch.

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"So we decided to stream it purely for our own amusement. I'd love to say there's some clever deep strategy but it is just genuinely hilarious."

Richard Lovejoy, a 20-year-old student, was making his way home when he came across the obstacle.

"I didn't know anything about the furore online," he said. "But I can see why it would be funny to watch."

Even Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey tweeted to say he was watching it.
A few weeks ago I received an email announcing a workshop that was being held at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Nassau in the Bahamas. Taught by Joan Borysenko, it is called Writing Down the Light and the focus is re-writing our life stories and as a result, re-wiring our brains. The invitation had me at hello, for all three of those reasons. Who wouldnt want to go to the Bahamas in January? And for this writer-yogini, the location and topic were sheer perfection. In addition, Joan is a consummate teacher and heart-felt healer.

The workshop itself begins tomorrow night, but the retreat commenced the moment I decided to sign up. I had already begun re-writing my life story, as I let go of so many old worn out beliefs about myself and how I thought life was supposed to be.

I had set the alarm for 5:30 this morning, so I could get to the airport in time to get through TSA and then customs. My head alarm went off at 5:22 and I was ready in plenty of time. Made it through pre-check (I love when that happens), sailed through customs, almost empty flight, so I had the row to myself, arrived early. Wonderful taxi ride as I chatted with the driver whose name was Jackson. His cab featured tapestry designed seat covers and he played classical music.

The sky was overcast and wind gusts blew the boat that ferried us across the bay. Choppy water and sea spray soaked us as we laughed our way through the waves. By the time we arrived on the opposite shore, I felt we had passed the first serenity test.

The rest of the day included a lengthy pranayama and yoga class overlooking the bay. As I sat on my mat, I watched the clouds scuttling by and felt as if my own storms were raging. Much that I had held onto that was holding on to me. Sun salutations didnt bring the sun out as the teacher laughingly suggested that it might. Realizing how stiff and perhaps inflexible I had become in many areas of my life, I did what I could to stretch my body and my mind to accommodate the reality of my day to day existence. In childs pose, I felt petulance kicking in as stored up Its not fair, feelings arose. I settled her down with more deep breathing. No tears, as I anticipated there might be.

Vegan dinner in the picnic tabled dining room that was nourishing to body, mind and spirit, with lively conversation, as people from all over the world gathered to break bread together. Afterward, I immersed my hands in soapy water as I offered Seva (service) doing dishes.

The evening ended with a Satsang (teaching), meditation and chanting the names of God in Sanskrit. Felt full of blessings when I went to bed earlier than I do at home, since wake up call is 5:30 a.m.

Sweet dreams~
Moana is an upcoming animated, musical, and adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film will follow the journey of a young teenager named Moana as she sails the Pacific Ocean to complete her ancestors quest. Disney has described the movie as a mythic adventure set around 200 years ago and across a series of islands in the South Pacific.

The first look into the film is generating buzz among Disneys many fans. Many are pleased at the fact that the new princess will add diversity to the typical barrage of blonde-haired, blue-eyed princesses of Disney.

Back on October 7th, 2015 the animation studio released a video announcing the casting of 14-year-old Hawaiian native, AuliI Cravalho, who will portray Moana. She is joined by Dwayne Johnson who will be voicing Maui, a powerful demi-god, in the film.

The movie is set to release on November 23rd, 2016.
Mercury is now retrograde, bringing with it cluttered thinking and a tendency to grasp at the wrong solution to difficult issues (if you arent familiar with the concept, click HERE and HERE for all the details). This is a time when Mercury-ruled things like packages in the mail and short trips and software updates and agreements can all go unexpectedly wonky. Good ideas can turn out badly, and sometimes bad ideas can gain ground. Like, for instance, that time the Indiana State Legislature tried to re-write how The Universe works.

Politicians love simple, straightforward facts. Unfortunately, life is too often filled with messy details that dont fit into a soundbite or a poster. Politicians sometimes respond to this by rounding the uneven corners off of The Truth. And, in one rather famous case, they decided to tell the Universe how to do its job.

Youll probably recall the concept of pi () from High School: its the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In other words, if a circle is 1 meter across, it is  meters around.  itself is whats called an irrational number like 2, for example. Most kids sitting in a classroom get a little nervous at the concept of a number that is, in fact, a long string of numbers (3.1415926535897932 and on and on for billions of decimal places with no end).

So, on January 18th, 1897, with Mercury retrograde in dont tell me what to do Aquarius, and with Saturn (the traditional ruler of Aquarius laying down the law) conjunct Uranus (the modern ruler of Aquarius the weirder the better!) the Indiana State Legislature began debate on a bill which defined  as exactly 3.2. Thats all: just plain old 3.2. Finally, a government makes things simpler and easier to use! Too bad that the bill contradicted the Known Universe actually works. Other than that small problem.. great idea guys!

The original mind behind the bill was a Dr. Edwin J. Goodman, an amateur mathematical enthusiast and physician who had claimed to have discovered the true value of pi right down to patenting the idea, so that anyone attempting to use the more accurate version of the mathematical constant would owe the good Doctor a users fee. His math may have been questionable but his business instincts were impeccable.

The bill passed the House unanimously, and moved on to the State Senate. Fortunately for Indiana engineers (and the people who rely on their vehicles and elevators and public schools) the Bill died in the Senate once an actual Professor of Mathematics explained to the Senators how utterly ridiculous the concept was. So  once Mercury was no longer retrograde  the bill died.

So you see: dont feel too badly about any bad decisions youve made lately, any drunk dialing to exes you may regret, or any recent bad decisions. You may have misinterpreted what The Universe wanted you to do but at least you didnt tell The Universe how to do its job.

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Governments from South to Southeast Asia are voicing grave concern about this weeks announcement by North Korea that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore joined an international chorus that either condemned North Koreas latest reported nuclear weapons test or called on Pyongyang to restrain itself from testing more nuclear bombs.

This (test) is in contravention to the U.N. Security Council Resolutions No. 1718, 1874, 2087 and 2094 and the non-proliferation regime, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a statement expressing concern about the North Korean hydrogen bomb test, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the state-run news service.

The ministry called on North Korea to refrain from further activity that could potentially escalate the situation.

According to BSS, Dhaka had expressed similar alarm about earlier North Korean nuclear tests and missile launches, and had called those unfavorable for maintenance of peace and stability in [the] Korean Peninsula and the world in general.

In neighboring India, the Ministry of External Affairs described the test as a matter of deep concern, saying that the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (DPRK) had again acted in violation of its international commitments. 

Our concerns about proliferation links between North East Asia and our neighborhood are well-known, said the statement from India which, along with rival Pakistan, is one of two nations in South or Southeast Asia armed with nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, the Indian Express published a story headlined North Korea nuclear test: A cancer that spread from Pakistan.

The article claimed that North Korea agreed in 1996 to trade its long-range missile technology in exchange for Pakistans highly enriched uranium program. It also claimed that the architect of Pakistans nuclear program had sold uranium enrichment centrifuge designs to North Korea.

Profoundly destabilizing

North Koreas latest nuclear weapons test  the fourth one carried out by the isolated regime took the world by surprise. Even China, its neighbor and major ally, reportedly had been left in the dark prior to the detonation.

Pyongyang claimed it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device for the first time  a more powerful bomb than those tested in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

North Koreas official state-run KCNA News Agency called the weapon the H-bomb of justice.

The successful H-bomb test was a measure for self-defense the DPRK took to protect its sovereignty and the vital rights of the Korean nation from the escalating nuclear threat and blackmail by the hostile forces, as part of its efforts to reliably defend the peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional security, KCNA reported.

International seismology monitors recorded a 5.1-magnitude tremor next to North Koreas Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

International experts, however, expressed skepticism about North Koreas claim of testing a hydrogen bomb, pointing out that a chemical test would be necessary to verify it and that the tremor was not as strong as would be expected for a hydrogen bomb.

Nonetheless, the news of the test drew immediate condemnation from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders.

I demand the DPRK cease any further nuclear activities and meet its obligations for verifiable denuclearization, Ki-moon said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

This act is profoundly destabilizing for regional security and seriously undermines international non-proliferation efforts. I condemn it unequivocally, he went on to say.

After North Koreas first three nuclear tests, the U.N. Security Council condemned them and imposed economic and trade sanctions on the regime.

In response to the latest North Korean test, the council met on Wednesday and agreed to prepare a set of further unspecified measures against Pyongyang, Agence-France Presse reported Thursday.

Dangerous and provocative

In Southeast Asia, statements from the governments of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all expressed alarm at Pyongyangs latest nuclear move.

This is a dangerous and provocative act with serious implications on the peace and stability of the region and the DPRK itself, Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that it intended to convey its concerns about the test to the North Korean ambassador.

Thailand called for the resumption of Six-Party Talks involving North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States in an effort to establish peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

For its part, Indonesia called on all parties to respect and adhere to all related U.N. Security Council Resolutions, exercise self-restraint and place diplomacy and dialogue at the forefront in creating conditions conducive to peace, stability and development in the region.

And Malaysia expressed similar concern, saying it deeply regrets this latest incident which constitutes a grave threat to regional and global peace and security. It also undermines global efforts toward achieving the universal goal of complete and general disarmament.
Mourners carry the coffin of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during funeral prayers in Srinagar, Jan. 7, 2016.

Residents of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir are mourning the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, saying they lost a legendary leader who strove for peace and development in the troubled region.

His demise is indeed a huge loss to the people of Jammu and Kashmir yearning for the restoration of peace and resolution of the Kashmir conflict, Abrar Ahmad Malla, a social activist from Baramulla district, told BenarNews.

Sayeed, 79, who died in a New Delhi hospital on Thursday after suffering from sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia, had led a state government that only took power in predominantly Muslim J&K 10 months ago. Sayeed had been hospitalized in New Delhi since Dec. 24, according to media reports.

The state government he headed was forged through an alliance between his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu nationalist party that also heads Indias governing coalition.

The PDP-BJP coalition, however, was tested in its first months in power by some unilateral decisions made by Sayeed, such as his decision to free imprisoned Kashmir separatists, a move that angered BJP leaders.

Despite strong opposition by BJP, Mufti went ahead with his program of releases of political prisoners in the state soon after he took to power last year. Kashmiris will badly miss his services, Naseer Ahmad Malik, a post-graduate student from Srinagar, told BenarNews.

Sayeeds daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, is likely to be sworn in sometime in the next few days as the first woman to serve as chief minister of the state, a senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader requesting anonymity told BenarNews.

Following the death of Sayeed, who had also served as Indias home and tourism minister during a political career that spanned six decades, the state government announced seven days of mourning in his memory.

Top politicians across India paid tribute to Sayeed, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had reportedly clashed with him last year over the issue of the release of political prisoners.

He will be missed by all of us. Through his leadership, Mr. Mufti provided a healing touch to Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said in a message posted on Twitter.

A challenge for relatively inexperienced Mehbooba

Nonetheless, tensions between the states coalition partners linger and it will not be easy for Sayeeds successor and the late leaders party, the PDP, to resolve these issues with the BJP, according to a political analyst.

On some contentious issues including the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, release of political prisoners from jails and abrogation of Article 370, there are serious ideological differences between the coalition partners, analyst Noor Mohammad Baba told BenarNews.

The act gives Indian security forces sweeping powers, including allowing personnel to make warrantless arrests, to enter and search any premises, and shoot any suspect. Article 370 grants special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The state encompasses the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, a Himalayan region disputed by India and neighboring Pakistan since 1947, and which has been in the throes of a separatist insurgency since the late 1980s.

In such a situation, it will be challenging for relatively inexperienced Mehbooba Mufti to head the coalition government in the state. But the alliance will continue as both BJP and PDP would suffer a political loss if any of the two partners withdrew support, he added.

Baba said it would be interesting to see how Mehbooba would handle the BJP over such contentious issues in her fathers absence.

On Thursday evening, Mehboobas father was laid to rest with full state honors in his hometown of Bijbehara, in south Kashmir Anatnag district.
For this writer, kissing last year goodbye was less a buss on the cheek than it was a kick in Old Man 2015s behind. The previous year was chock-full of banalities and trivialities regarding religious shareholder activists and their opposition to fossil fuels and the companies that bring them to market  all while hypocritically traversing the globe in their luxe tour buses and big jet airliners to lend supposed Divine authority to the religion of Gaia.

Lets tick off some of the most egregious anti-fossil fuel activities of the nuns, priests, clergy and other religious affiliated with such groups as As You Sow and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. First, of course, was the proxy resolutions they filed with oil, gas, coal and utility companies. Second was the veritable River Dance of interminable jigging conducted for the better part of the summer and fall subsequent to release of Pope Francis Laudato Si encyclical. Third was the preening and posing coordinated during the United Nations Sustainable Innovation Forum (COP21) held in Paris this past month.

The above comprise the three legs of the religious lefts 2015 anti-fossil fuel stool. For example, As You Sow boasts on its website:

 Carbon Asset Risk: We are filing shareholder resolutions with companies asking for scenarios and mitigation plans to address the potential stranding of fossil fuel reserves. If fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned, companies holding these reserves will be overvalued, and the resulting carbon bubble created by overvalued reserves puts investors at risk.

 Carbon Divestment: The risk implied by the carbon bubble creates an imperative for shareholder engagement and/or fossil fuel asset divestment. As a result of the carbon bubble, fossil fuel investments, especially those that are most carbon intensive, represent significant unappreciated risk that has not been priced by the market. We support the movement in academia, cities, states and corporations to redirect fossil fuel investments into investments in low-carbon or carbon free assets.

 Fossil-Free Investment: We provide resources and education to the investment community about carbon-free portfolio options and responsible clean energy re-investment opportunities to shift capital into infrastructure and technology needed to build a clean energy future.

Conveniently forgotten in all the above folderol is the tremendous benefits wrought from fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. Since were making lists, lets begin with Benefit One: Fossil fuels replaced whale oil and the burning of dung for light, heat and cooking, which isnt an insignificant achievement. Benefit Two: Fossil fuels are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Benefit Three: Fossil fuels have assisted in reducing world poverty substantially.

Coincidentally, perhaps with a bit of providence, 2015 also marks the year economist Angus Deaton was recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences with a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Since most of the press coverage of Deatons award focused on his work on income inequality, its doubtful our faithful shareholder activists havent dug any deeper lest they challenge their respective confirmation biases. As noted by Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution Research Fellow David R. Henderson in the Wall Street Journal:

World poverty is falling, life expectancy is increasing and higher wealth makes you somewhat happier. If you want to understand Mr. Deatons thinking, read his 2013 book, The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality. Life is better now than at almost any time in history, writes Mr. Deaton in the books opening. More people are richer and fewer people live in dire poverty. Lives are longer and parents no longer routinely watch a quarter of their children die. Yet millions still experience the horrors of destitution and of premature death. The world is hugely unequal. What is behind this explosion in wealth and health? In the 19th century, an important factor in economic growth and the decline of poverty was the Industrial Revolution. In the early 20th century, Mr. Deaton notes, cleaning up water supplies, extending vaccinations, and applying germ theory to disease prevention were crucial for improving health. He worries, though, that the very wealthy are having and will have a disproportionate influence on the political system. Countries with the highest per capita income have, by and large, the highest life expectancy. The hinge point beyond which that relationship flattens is at about $8,000 per capita in 2005 U.S. dollars. Below that income, Mr. Deaton writes, infectious diseases are important causes of deaths, and many of the deaths are among children, so that in the poorest countries, about half of all deaths are of children under the age of 5. At higher incomes, deaths of children are fairly rare, and most deaths are of old people who die not from infectious disease but from chronic diseases.

The answer, writes Henderson following Deaton, isnt decreasing wealth in the developed world to assist the poorest nations. The answer  yes, dear readers who already are ahead of me  is to assist the poorest nations become wealthier through good governance. Concludes Henderson:

Mr. Deaton is a strong critic of foreign aid. He believes that the approximately $5 trillion given by governments of rich countries to poor countries over the past 50 years has undercut good governance by making poor countries leaders less accountable to their own citizens.

And, it should go without saying, access to cheap and plentiful energy to fuel developing economies. The WSJ commented this past month as COP21 was wrapping up:

The other big item on the Paris agenda is the one that these confabs always come down tocash. Most developing-world INDCs [Intended Nationally Determined Contributions] are conditioned on an enormous wealth transfer. To try to resuscitate talks in 2009, Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State pledged a $100 billion public-private fund that would flow to poorer nations for climate mitigation. But the poor countries have wised up and are now demanding much more for climate justice. The best insurance is not to force-feed windmills on India, or hand more power to government mandarins who will parcel out how much carbon each country can emit. The remedy is faster economic growth so richer societies are better able to adapt to whatever happens.

Yup, and in the meantime the necessary growth will derive mainly from the same substances swishing about in the tanks of those jet airliners and buses carting nuns and other religious from one photo opportunity to another.
I am a full-fledged member of the instant generation. I want what I want, and I want it RIGHT NOW! I want to watch television shows on demand. What do you mean I have to wait until next summer for new episodes? I want them now. When I send you a text message, I expect you to get back to me immediately. Aint nobody got time to wait around ten of fifteen minutes! I need you to respond NOW! When I select Two Day Shipping on Amazon, I expect that package to arrive at my front door in exactly two days. I dont want any excuses about shipping plant fires, UPS workers strikes, or snakes on a plane. I want immediate results. And if you have the guts to post a video on YouTube, it better play right away without any buffering. Otherwise Im out. Ive got other, really important videos to watch, mainly of people putting Mentos into bottles of Coke.

I have been trained, for good or for bad, to expect immediate results.

The only problem is that God doesnt usually do immediate. He doesnt usually do fast. He doesnt do overnight shipping. He works according to his timeline, not mine. And the wonderful reality is that God is usually doing a thousand things when it looks like hes doing absolutely nothing.

While Joseph sat in prison, it appeared that God wasnt doing anything. He probably felt forgotten, abandoned, discarded. He probably felt useless. Meanwhile, God was doing a thousand things as Joseph sat idly in prison. God was preparing Josephs brothers for reconciliation, Pharaoh to receive Joseph as from God, and the entire nation of Egypt to depend on Joseph as a wise steward of food.

While David was a fugitive, on the run from Saul, it appeared that God wasnt doing anything. David probably felt like his best years were being wasted. Like his talent was going to waste. Meanwhile, God was doing a thousand things while David hid in caves and pretended to be insane. God was working on David himself, preparing David to be a man after his own heart. He was teaching David to trust him and to wait on him. And he was preparing Israel to receive their divinely appointed king.

While John Bunyan sat in prison, it appeared that God wasnt doing anything. Bunyan probably felt like his ministry was being hampered and hamstrung. He was a gospel preacher who wasnt able to preach the gospel. Meanwhile, God was doing a thousand things while Bunyan languished in his jail cell. God was preparing Bunyan to write the book that would be read by millions and would inspire millions to love the Lord. Bunyans prison cell was the womb for Pilgrims Progress.

Just because I cant see God working doesnt mean he isnt working. It may seem like my prayers for my children are pointless, because I cant see anything happening. But my prayers arent useless. God is working, and someday I will see the glorious fruit of those prayers. It may seem like my prayers for spiritual growth are futile, because I cant see much spiritual growth. But my prayers arent futile. God is working, and someday Ill see the fruit of my prayers. It may seem like my prayers for reconciliation with a friend are wasted, because I cant see anything happening. But my prayers arent wasted. God is working, and someday Ill see the delightful fruit of my prayers.

Just because I cant see God working doesnt mean God isnt working. God is doing a thousand things when it seems like hes doing nothing.

Stephen Altrogge serves as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church. Find out more at The Blazing Center.
By Mick Boersma

Pastors have many roles. They are teachers, evangelists, caregivers, guardians, and leaders. Much is written about these areas of endeavor, but perhaps none as much as leadership. Recently the Society of Human Resource Managers released figures from a global survey of corporations that revealed 57% of all of the organizations surveyed employ outside vendors to provide leadership training. Companies know the great importance of good leadership.

When listing great leaders, we think of Nehemiah, the man who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem during the time of the great Persian Empire. Many books have been written about his skillful handling of a desperate situation. But Id like us to look at his heart as he expertly leads. When looking for a new king, the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart  (1 Sam. 16:7).

As we follow Nehemiah upon his arrival at Jerusalem, a broken city, verses 11 through 20 of Nehemiah chapter 2 reveal several key features of his leaders heart. Having sought permission and been given support for his venture, he arrives in Jerusalem after a long and arduous journey.

Many would arrive at such a scene and immediately decide what needs to be done, give orders, and push for a quick solution. Not Nehemiah. While he was a man of action, he was also a man of careful observation:

He cared enough to accurately assess the circumstances confronting his people.

It seems he took three days to re-gain strength after his nearly 1000 mile trek. And after resting up, he took a few men and quietly toured the walls so as to not alert the many enemies of Gods people, those who did not want Jerusalem to regain its position as a place of worship and influence.

He also very carefully inspected the walls, making sure to note the exact circumstances facing the people. Being careful with such details would assure a wise approach to the project and success in bringing protection to Gods people and honor to His name.

One of my hobbies is working with wood, building furniture and other items of household use. Woodworkers have a saying: Measure twice, cut once. It is better to make sure your measurement is correct than to try and stretch a board you have cut too short!

We demonstrate a leaders heart when we take care to know our people, their circumstances, and the challenges they face in their lives. Such leaders do not force solutions on others, but listen to the hearts of their people and create ministries that meet their needs. Careful sermon preparation, program planning, organization, and counseling reflect the heart of a leader who honors God.

Having done his careful inspection, Nehemiah speaks to the leaders and says: You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire (v. 17). Here we see a second feature of Nehemiahs heart:

He was sensitive to the brokenness of his people.

The walls he examined had been compromised for over 140 years. The city had lived in this desperate state for so long, the people most likely did not even notice the brokenness.

My wife and I own a house near our university. Occasionally we repaint the walls. When we take down pictures and other ornaments, stand back and look at the wall, we are always amazed at how dirty the walls really are. We did not see this until we cleared away the wall hangings.

Nehemiah, as one not living in the rubble, but in the courts of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, was sensitive to the damage, the hopelessness, and the reproach these people had been to their neighbors and most importantly, to the Lord their God. A leaders heart remembers what once was true, and what could be true again. He or she is sensitive to the broken spirit, the lamenting soul. Faithful ministers see the heartaches of their people, and they take to heart the neediness of those they are called to love in Christ Jesus.

As we read on in verse 17 and through verse 18, we see Nehemiahs response to the brokenness of the city and its people, and discover another most precious feature of a leaders heart:

He was focused continually on redeeming the lives of his people.

When Nehemiah first heard of the plight of his brethren in Jerusalem, he sat down and wept and mourned for days... fasting and praying before the God of heaven (1:4). In this, he reflected the heart of Jesus, who viewing the city centuries later would weep over it, desirous that his own people recognize the salvation that was at hand (Luke 19:41).

It is so important to notice that in responding to the mess in Jerusalem, Nehemiah does not berate the people for allowing this to continue, but instead includes himself in the pain when he says, You see the bad situation we are in. And again, Come, let us rebuild the wall... that we may no longer be a reproach (v. 17).

From the day he arrived on the scene, Nehemiahs heart was bent on restoring the beauty of the eternal city. He did not come with an accusative heart. He came with a desire to redeem, restore, and bring grace to his people to the glory of God. Yes, the people are later called to repentance and restoration of their spiritual obligations as Gods chosen. But even in this, he and all the leaders include themselves in confession and renewal.

We, too, as shepherds of Gods people, must keep the eyes of our heart on redemption, restoration, helping our people know the freedom of forgiveness, the beauty of Gods grace, the hope of the gospel. We do not criticize, blame, or become bitter at the brokenness of lives and the struggles of the church. Instead, we call upon the Lord our God to deliver, to show mercy and grace to all as we worship and serve him.

Now, the project ahead was going to take everyones cooperation and effort. In light of this, we will see, in our next installment, the approach Nehemiahs heart takes in meeting this great challenge.

For more, visit the Good Book Blog, a seminary faculty blog from Talbot School of Theology.
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For Immediate Release, January 7, 2016 Contact: Jaclyn Lopez, (727) 490-9190, jlopez@biologicaldiversity.org Ignoring Ongoing Threats, Feds Propose Downlisting Florida Manatee MIAMI The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal today to downlist the endangered Florida manatee from endangered to threatened. The proposal comes despite the fact that hundreds of manatees die each year from boat strikes, habitat loss and other causes. The Florida manatee has come a long way but is still threatened by boat strikes, cold stress and undiagnosed mass die-offs in the Indian River Lagoon said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity. In the face of these chronic and mounting challenges, the Service should not move forward with downlisting without a proven, viable plan for further reducing boat strike mortality and for preserving vital warm water habitat. Florida manatees have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1973. By 1979 the Service estimated there were only 800 to 1,000 individuals. Through careful management of the manatee and its habitat, the Service and its Florida partner, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, have helped increase the population of Florida manatees. Today, it is estimated there are about 6,000. Despite this positive trend, the same threats against the manatee that landed it on the endangered species list persist today. Manatee mortality from all sources has increased since 1973 and these threats limit its ability to fully recover and avoid the ongoing risk of extinction. Collisions with watercraft are a persistent threat to manatees. A 2014 Center report found that at least 668 manatees died from collisions with watercraft in Florida between 2008 and 2015. Despite these threats, both the Service and Army Corps of Engineers continue to authorize the construction of thousands of projects that facilitate increased watercraft access to Florida waters. On Dec. 14, 2012, the Service received a petition to downlist the Florida manatee from endangered to threatened. Todays announcement opens a public comment period. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, January 6, 2016 Contact: Aruna Prabhala, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7122

George Hague, Sierra Club, (951) 313-0395

Drew Feldmann, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, (909) 881-6081

Nina Erlich-Williams, Public Good PR, (510) 336- 9566 Lawsuit Challenges Riverside County's Sprawl-inducing Changes to General Plan Amended General Plan Weakens Future Environmental Review

While Exacerbating Harm to Wildlife and Climate Change RIVERSIDE, Calif. Environmental groups sued Riverside County over its general plan amendment and climate action plan, which set the county on track for greater sprawl, increased air pollution, loss of wildlife and open space and uncontrolled greenhouse gas emissions. Both plans were approved by the board of supervisors on Dec. 8, 2015 after facing criticism from local and statewide environmental groups. Instead of reducing sprawl, Riverside Countys updated general plan threatens open space and wildlife, said George Hague of Sierra Clubs San Gorgonio Chapter. Instead of reducing pollution, this plan will harm air quality in our non-attainment areas and set us on a path of ever-increasing contributions to climate change. Riverside County developed its first ever climate action plan purportedly to outline how it plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. Rhetoric included in county documents indicates that staff and elected officials understand the significant threats associated with climate change, and that the countys long history of supporting sprawl-type development is unsustainable. Nonetheless, the approach taken in the climate plan misses opportunities to effectively curb emissions and meet long-term climate change goals. Rather than addressing the serious threat of climate change by requiring new developments to do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the county has created a vague framework with loopholes ensuring its failure, said Aruna Prabhala, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. The county has missed a great opportunity to be a climate leader and push the region toward sustainable growth. Riverside Countys updated general plan will doom the region to decades of growing sprawl and significant losses in farmland, said Sara Clark of Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger, LLP, who represents Sierra Club on this matter. Californias environmental laws clearly require the county to do everything it can to limit these types of impacts. To the contrary, this plan is a step in the wrong direction. Riverside County also suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the nation, according to the American Lung Association. The regions heavy reliance on transportation by car is a significant contributor to poor air quality, and the updated general plan continues to support scattered development instead of promoting increased density in existing cities and towns. The plan clears the way for increased development near sensitive wildlife preserves like the San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Riverside County, which is home to nearly 350 animal and plant species that are considered imperiled under state and federal laws. Local at-risk species include the yellow-billed cuckoo, southwestern willow flycatcher and arroyo toad. The environmental review document for the updated general plan failed to identify opportunities for limiting the likely impacts it would have on these sensitive species. The county has set us on a path towards less wildlife, less open space and more sprawl, said Drew Feldmann, conservation chair of the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society. The people of Riverside County deserves better than the future the general plan amendment lays out for them. The lawsuit filed in Riverside Superior Court argues that the county violated the California Environmental Quality Act by certifying an inadequate environmental review document that falls short of state requirements. The lawsuit was filed by San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society; Center for Biological Diversity; and Sierra Club, which is represented by Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP. # # # The Center for Biological Diversity (www.biologicaldiversity.org) is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society (http://www.sbvas.net/) is a local chapter of the non-profit National Audubon Society, whose mission includes protecting birds and other wildlife and the quality of life for people throughout Riverside County. Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org) is a national non-profit organization, and its San Gorgonio Chapter represents 2,600 Riverside County residents who are members of the Club. Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP (www.smwlaw.com), whose attorneys represent Sierra Club, specializes in government, land use, natural resource and environmental law. Since 1980, the firm has provided representation to public agencies and community groups throughout California.
 At LA Times, Slain Hamas Gunman Is 'a Palestinian Man' | Main | "Apartheid" and Ethics on Twitter: NPR, CNN Journalists Tweet Inaccuracies 

November 06, 2012

Cheap Shots: Tamimi Girl Ups the Ante

Mahmoud Abbas congratulates A'hd (right) and her cousin Marah for their "bravery" (From the Nabi Sabeh Solidarity blog, first posted by Snapshots on Sept. 11, 2012)

It was just a question of time. Two months ago, CAMERA described in a Times of Israel Op-Ed ("Cheap Shots: Palestinians Put Kids in the Line of Fire") how A'hd Tamimi, 11, and her cousin Marah took a lead role in the Nabi Saleh demonstration against the Israeli army. The weekly clashes often result in violence. Photographs of the girls being restrained by Israeli soldiers (see below, for example), subsequently were featured in Australian newspapers illustrating alleged Israeli abuse of Palestinian children.

This Aug. 24 AFP photograph of an Israeli soldiers restraining A'hd Tamimi, 11, was featured in Australian papers, and was all over Facebook

We noted in the Times Op-Ed:

Ahd is the daughter of Narimen and Bassem, prominent activists in the Popular Resistance, and Marahs father is Naji, another leader in the weekly demonstrations. In other words, the girls parents are among those who determine the protests strategies. Rather than keeping their children at a safe distance from the often-violent clashes, the parents encouraged their children to play highly visible roles in the confrontation with the army. . . Though photographs of the crying and constrained Ahd and Marah are actually products of Palestinian manipulation and exploitation of children, the Australian media outlets publish them unquestioningly as ostensible evidence of Israeli abuse of Palestinian children. In other words, the Tamimi girls pulled off a photographic coup, as their parents had hoped. For this, they were rewarded with a meeting with Laila Ghannam, the Palestinian Authoritys Governor of Ramallah, and President Mahmoud Abbas, who congratulated them for their bravery.?

Encouraged by their parents as well as their national leader, the Tamimi girls are back again in front of the cameras. But this time A'hd ups the ante, kicking and hitting soldiers, as photographers crowd around to shoot dramatic images of a young girl wearing her iconic "love" t-shirt (again) confronting armed soldiers:

Palestinian protester during a protest against the expanding of Jewish settlements in Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah on Nov. 2, 2012, the anniversary of the Balfour declaration. The Balfour Declaration was made on November 2, 1917, when then British Foreign Secretary James Balfour officially promised the leader of a Jewish community in a written letter to give the Jewish people all over the world a national homeland. Photo by Qais Abu Samra/AA/ABACAPRESS.COM

Update: Ynet reports: A senior IDF source told Ynet that intelligence indicates that pro-Palestinian activists pay Palestinian children from Nabi Salih and the nearby villages to confront the soldiers. The weekly protests in the areas used to involve hundreds of people, but over time the numbers have dwindled to just a few dozens. According to the officers, the majority of protesters are foreign pro-Palestinian activists. "The soldiers are briefed on the fact that these protests are staged for the sake of provocation, so that they could be filmed acting violently and so that those videos could be distributed worldwide in an effort to harm the IDF's image," the officer explained.

Posted by TS at November 6, 2012 05:49 AM

The "love" t-shirt might be iconic. It is certainly ironic.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 6, 2012 01:02 PM

The BBC also distributes this Pallywood photo opportunity in Israel court jails Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi. Do they do this blindly or do they really not have a clue? Theres plenty to complain about with this article, from the circumstances of Tamimis latest arrest to the gratuitous cut-and-paste illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this boilerplate. This is unfortunately old news. The new news is their use of the staged scene to illustrate the article. It shows the blond child in apparent confrontation with an Israeli soldier and is captioned Bassem Tamimi has helped organise protests in Nabi Saleh against land seizures by settlers Could this be ironic? Is the BBC finally admitting that Tamimi incites children to confrontations with soldiers in the hope of a photo-op? Stealth edit to the caption on the way? The BBC has a history of illustrating articles with dubious photographs, particularly against Israel, but how could supposed professional journalists and editors have missed the current controversial origin of this one?

Posted by: David Guy at November 7, 2012 06:02 AM

These unfortunate girls seem to be Christian and not Moslem, if their apparel (what there is of it) is anything to go by. They should be grateful that their provocative antics are against cool, humane Israeli soldiers and not wild, cold-blooded, quick-on-the-draw Syrian or other Arab soldiers as otherwise they'd already be 6 feet under. As it is, they should beware of their own parents who may very well one day tie bombs to their bodies and send them off to blow up Israelis....and themselves into the bargain.

Posted by: TeeGee at November 8, 2012 10:44 AM

David -- BBC Watch, a CAMERA affiliate, has this post about the article you flagged: http://bbcwatch.org/2012/11/08/bbc-uses-photo-of-exploited-child-to-promote-anti-israel-propaganda/

Posted by: TS at November 8, 2012 02:44 PM

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A study recently published in the American Journal of Managed Care found that more than half of primary care providers reported that they made what they considered unnecessary referrals to a specialist because patients requested it. Many physicians said they yielded to patient requests for brand-name drug prescriptions when cheaper generics were available. This study was conducted by Sapna Kaul, assistant professor of health economics in The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston department of preventive medicine and community health, in collaboration with researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Thirty percent of U.S. health care expenses each year are thought to be unnecessary. Physicians are increasingly expected to consider the costs of their treatment plans on the health care system when making medical decisions. However, little is known about how physicians balance cost-saving expectations in the face of patient requests.

Specialty referral rates have more than doubled in the last decade, raising questions about what is driving this pattern. Recent research shows that almost half of physicians report at least one patient request per week for what a doctor considers an unnecessary test or procedure.

In this study, researchers used data from a nationally representative survey of 840 primary care physicians in family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics.

In response to patient requests, 52 percent of the surveyed physicians reported making what they considered unnecessary referrals for a specialist and 39 percent prescribed brand-name drugs despite generic alternatives. Family physicians and internal medicine physicians were more likely than pediatricians to prescribe brand-name drugs and make unnecessary referrals. Other factors of giving into to patient demands included interactions with drug/device representatives, more years of clinical experience, seeing fewer underinsured patients and medical practices with only one or two physicians.

"Unnecessary medical practices may cause unneeded emotional and financial stress for patients and their loved ones," said Kaul. "Both physician and patient-level strategies are required to limit wastage of medical resources. Efforts to reduce unnecessary practices could include educating physicians about the benefits that result from avoidance of over/under use of medical services and implementing incentives to create a system of value seeking patients."

Source: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
 The Guardian of Biased Christmas Coverage | Main | Pat Buchanan Rants Against "Wolves" Opposing Hagel, Cites E 1 Canard 

December 30, 2012

More Accolades for Young Palestinian Media Star

A'hd Tamimi receives the Handala Courage Award in Istanbul (Photo:Cihan)

A'hd Tamimi, the young Palestinian girl from Nabi Saleh who has repeatedly been featured in mainstream media photographs confronting Israeli soldiers, and who has been awarded by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for her "bravery," receives additional encouragement. According to Istanbul Today's Zaman:

Palestinian Ahed Tamimi, a girl who challenged Israeli soldiers as they arrested her brother, was presented with the Handala Courage Award in Istanbul on Wednesday. Visiting Turkey as the guest of Istanbul's Basaksehir Municipality, 13-year-old Tamimi attended a series of events ahead of the award ceremony including the opening of an art exhibition titled Being Children in Palestine.?

Here is A'hd in her some of her most memorable moments:

This Aug. 24 AFP photograph of an Israeli soldiers restraining A'hd Tamimi, 11, was featured in Australian papers, and was all over Facebook

Palestinian protester during a protest against the expanding of Jewish settlements in Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah on Nov. 2, 2012, the anniversary of the Balfour declaration. The Balfour Declaration was made on November 2, 1917, when then British Foreign Secretary James Balfour officially promised the leader of a Jewish community in a written letter to give the Jewish people all over the world a national homeland. Photo by Qais Abu Samra/AA/ABACAPRESS.COM

(Hat tip: J. Jones)

Posted by TS at December 30, 2012 04:54 AM

She does not look like Arab, more like Russian, as well as the rest of the kids. Probably a daughter of a Russian woman and Arab father, as there are many Russian women in Gaza and in the West Bank. What business she has there?

Posted by: Alex Shapiro at January 3, 2013 07:00 PM

yes, she is an Arab Palestinian. Where her family came from is rather moot, given that she claims she is Arab, and they come from Arabia.

Posted by: Mara Cohen at June 19, 2015 03:19 PM

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 Palestinian Officials Continue to Promote Antisemitic Blood Libel | Main | Where's the Coverage? Bahrain Foils Terror Plot 

The email below was sent on Dec. 29, 2015 to Washington Post foreign editor Doug Jehl, deputy foreign editor Mary Beth Sheridan and others at the papers foreign desk. A follow-up email was sent by CAMERA on Jan. 6, 2016 and received a response from Post assistant foreign editor Sylvester Monroe who stated we stand by the post as published and do not believe that a correction is required.?

Here is the text of the email:

Image 46, taken by Mohamad Torokman for Reuters, appears to show an Israeli soldier being besieged by four individuals, including at least one woman and two children. Behind them can be seen four persons, including one holding a camera, with his face covered by a keffiyeh. The caption reads Palestinians try to prevent an Israeli soldier from detaining a boy during a protest against Jewish settlements in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah.

The caption does not inform readers that the Israeli soldier was attempting to detain the boy for the potentially lethal act of rock throwing and that the event as photographed and featured in The Posts gallery has been exposed as a staged production complete with actors who frequently appear in anti-Israel agitprop.

CAMERAs Israel Director, Tamar Sternthal has noted that the town of Nabi Saleh, near the Jewish community of Neveh Tzuf, is where photographers gather every Friday to document repetitious scenes of Palestinian residents and international activists clashing with Israeli soldiers and where activists often place their children in danger to score propaganda points.

So it is the case with the children seen in image 46 as displayed in your photo gallery. The girl seen in the picture biting the Israeli soldier is Ahed Tamimi, also known as Shirley Temper, a recurring Pallywood child actress, who has appeared in numerous staged pictures and videos (see here for examples including YouTube videos). The term Pallywood refers to the staging of scenes by Palestinian journalists and/or activists in order to present the Palestinian Arabs as hapless victims of Israeli aggression.

Ahed is the daughter of Narimen and Bassem Tamimi, prominent activists in the 'Popular Resistance' who encourage their children to endanger themselves for propaganda purposes. The boy who threw the rock was her brother Muhammad Tamimi.



CAMERA has previously documented how Ahed Tamimi has appeared in confrontations staged for the cameras, dating at least back to 2012 (Telegraph and Daily Mail Retreat From Tamimis Latest Pallywood,? Aug. 30, 2015).



In an act condemned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Bassem Tamimi, reviving the ancient antisemitic blood-libel, has accused Israel of harvesting childrens organs. ADL has noted that Tamimi was on an anti-Israel speaking tour and was known for engaging in weekly demonstrations at Nabi Saleh. The league added that Tamimi has occasionally been arrested for leading children to throw stones at Israeli soldiers.

The Daily Mail, a U.K. newspaper, which originally reported the image without the above mentioned context, later changed its headline and article to reflect that the biting attacker was revealed as prolific Pallywood star. The Telegraph originally ran a story on the altercation with the headline Palestinian women wrestle Israeli soldier off injured small boybut later pulled the account from its Web site, presumably after the Tamimi actors backgrounds were revealed.

The image and caption featured in The Posts gallery does not amount to journalistic story-telling. Rather, it is propaganda in category of fauxtography, as disseminated previously by Hezbollah and Hamas, and of which Post media reporter Paul Farhi has taken note (for example, Story behind image of dead Palestinian baby highlights photographer challenges, Post, March 12, 2013 online, March 13 print). Accordingly, CAMERA requests its removal, preferably with a note explaining why.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sean Durns

Media Assistant

CAMERA-Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America?
The ANP will negotiate within our party in order to use diplomatic methods for the release of these two Burmese citizens. The Burmese government also needs to use required diplomatic methods [for their release]. I want to request the National League for Democracy (NLD), which will lead the new government, to get deeply involved in this case, says the party's Chairman Dr Aye Maung.

Thailands Koh Samui Provincial Court gave handed down death sentences to Ko Win Zaw Tun and Ko Zaw Linn on December 24th ,, following a closely watched trial.

Dr Aye Maung continued that the two men still need to file for an appeal in line with the judicial system of the respective country. He urged the Thai government and the Privy Council of Thailand to review the case in the interest of Thai Burma relations.

As a lawyer, I want to say that a ruling set down by a court is not final. They have the right to appeal in higher courts. There have been precedents of winning appeals at the higher courts for rulings set down by the lower courts because each court may or may not share the same view, he added.

The controversial verdict garnered a lot attention in Burma with protests taking place daily in front of the Thai Embassy in Rangoo. Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut has responded to the protests by defending the verdict.

Daw Aye Nu Sein a seinior figure in the ANP says its natural that many in Burma including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing would show concern in the case. Its common for each country to talk about the judgment of a country. This case is a law of conflict where our citizen fell under the law of the other country. At this time, [Thailand] cant tell Burma not to interfere. For example, if it is a British citizen, Britain would also talk. We have the right to criticize, point out, and make demands. [Thailand] cant say we shouldnt point out and make demands, she told BNI Election Newsroom.

The ANP won the most seats in Arakan also known as Rakhine state in the last election however Dr Aye Maung did not win his seat. The party won 12 out of 17 seats in the lower house of parliament and 10 of 12 seats in the upper house. The ANP's 23 seats in the state parliament means that the it is the largest party at the state level but this is one seat short of a full majority.
Chin State had 273,673 eligible voters in the 2015 Election and 79.29 percent of these voters voted in the election. The District Commission Officer said the ratio of valid votes in Chin State, which often described as the poorest state in the country, was nearly equal to that of Rangoon Region.

Chin State ranks first in all of Burma when the number of eligible voters and the number of voters were calculated said U Myo Min, the district commission officer.

The Commission worked independently. We were not under anyone. If it was against the law, we didnt follow anyones instructions. We worked in line with the law, he added.

Salai Tin Ro Yar, project manager from a group called Chin Agency says his organization help boost the voter turnout. The Chin Agency has given trainings on public awareness and democratic principles in seven townships in Chin State. In the past, the public felt reluctant and afraid to vote and go to the polling station. When we gave our training, we first made them understand the value of each vote. Then, we demonstrated how to vote and avoid casting invalid votes so it was quite effective, Salai Tin Ro Yar said.

In the run up to the election Chin State had five voter education groups operating in the state. Smaller groups led by young people in their respective townships visited each house to give voter education.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide in Chin State capturing most of these seats from the state. The Zomi Congress for Democracy (ZCD) won five seats while the Union Solidarity and Development Party won four seats.
We applied to the UNA because the UNAs policy is the same as our policy. The policy on having a state for the Burmese and working together as a union are the same. In forming an alliance, we can only cooperate when we share the same policy. Thats why we have applied to become permanent member of the UNA.

The UNA was formed with eight registered ethnic parties. The National League for Democracy (NLD) is also an ally of the UNA.

There are three groups formed with political parties in Myanmar. The NBF (Nationalities Brotherhood Federation) accepts the policy for 15 states. The FDA (Federal Democratic Alliance) doesnt have a clear-cut policy. [The policy] is mixed up. As for the UNA, we share the same aim, policy, and goal, so I believe we can work together, U Ngai Sak explained.

UNA member the Mon National Partys Secretary Dr Min Kyi Win told the BNI Election Newsroom that the organization policy and rules and regulations of the UNA were approved during the meeting of its leaders held on December 29 and 30. The UNAs leaders have decided at the meeting to inform six extern political parties whether or not they will be allowed to enter the UNA.

Among the parties that have applied for membership, the CLD has submitted an official letter while the Chin Progressive Party has only made a verbal request to become a member. Neither party won any seats in the recent national election. Currently, the Zomi Congress for Democracy (ZCD) is an UNA member and it won six seats during the election.

The NLD won the majority of seats in Chin State, followed by the ZCD, which is a local ethnic party, and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Established on May 18, 2002, the UNA comprises the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (NLD), the Arakan National Party, the Mon National Party, the Karen National Party, the Kayan National Party, Shan State Kokang Democratic Party, Zomi Congress for Democracy, and the Kachin National Democracy Congress Party (KNDCP).
He said that students, parents and camp officers attended the ceremony at Nayapara camp where Shujid Mewar the camp's education officer and Jalal Uddin the camp supervisor made speeches and gave prizes to the students who came top of their classes.

According to Aman a Nayapara Camp Committee member Jalal Uddin, in his speech at the ceremony, said that most Rohingyas are uneducated, which can lead to extreme hardships for them. If they get an education their future will be more prosperous and it is very important for the Rohingya community to be educated as education is the backbone of the nation.

Aman said that when Shujid Mewar spoke at the ceremony he asked the parents to send their children to school to get educated and said that the camp would support future education programmes.

After the speeches were made the prizes were distributed. Almost 100 students received prizes, as did some teachers.



Prize giving time at the event Prize giving time at the event

Wahid from Kutupalong refugee camp said that there was a similar ceremony at Kutupalong Camp that was attended by refugees, students and other local officials. The Kutapalong Camp Supervisor made a speech and was the main guest of honour.

Between them the two official camps house over 32,000 refugees, with over 19,000 in Nayapara and over 13,000 in Kutupalong.

Habib a teacher from Nayapara camp said that there are over 4,000 students being taught by 80 teachers in 11 schools at Nayapara while in Kutupalong Camp there are 4,500 students studying in 12 schools.

At present refugee students can only study up to grade seven. Ahmed, a Refugee Committee member from Nayapara camp, said that the refugees have asked the relevant authorities and foreign delegations to provide opportunities for further study.

Habib said that the camp education programmes are supported by the IKEA Foundation, the UNHCR (United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees), Save the Children and VERC (Village Education Relief Center),

Edited in English by Mark inkey for BNI
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Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) has backed off his executive order telling state agencies not to cooperate with federal agencies responsible for the resettlement of refugees because that's not actually within his authority.

The turnabout comes days after Attorney General Sam Olens said in a formal opinion that Georgia cant legally resist the resettlement of Syrian refugees, a decision praised by refugee advocates who threatened a drawn-out legal battle over Georgias stance. Olens wrote that he is unaware of any law or agreement that would permit a state to carve out refugees from particular countries from participation in the refugee resettlement program, no matter how well-intended or justified the desire to carve out such refugees might be.

Governor Deal vowed to fight the federal government over the program and said he would defend his executive order in court if necessary, but that's certainly more difficult to do if your own attorney general says you have no legal ground to stand on.

Republican governors across the country and Republicans in Congress have vowed to fight the Obama administration over the resettlement of Syrian refugees, but so far their impotent protests have had no effect.
It's a new year which means it's the beginning of a new legislative session in many states and that means conservative state lawmakers will be up to their usual tricks in the coming weeks and months.

Lawmakers in Georgia are preparing to consider two "religious liberty" bills that would legalize discrimination in the state, because "liberty," as it were, apparently isn't a universal concept.

SB 129, introduced by Sen. Josh McKoon (R), would prohibit the government from burdening an individuals religious beliefs similar to the federal RFRA that was expanded by the Supreme Courts Hobby Lobby decision. This protection would be used to circumvent local laws across the state that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; for example, a wedding vendor who refuses to serve a same-sex couple could claim that doing so burdens her religious liberty. [...] In 2016, SB 129 will not be alone. Sen. Greg Kirk (R), a former Southern Baptist pastor, is planning to introduce a companion bill similarly intended to enable discrimination. He has not filed it nor made its text publicly available, but he claims it would mirror the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) introduced in Congress.

This is just the latest example of the conservative Republican notion of sovereignty which they do not covet unless it's only theirs to have.

Republican state lawmakers and governors have no qualms about exerting control over cities and municipalities that vote to raise their minimum wage or, in this case, bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

That is to say they believe in "states' rights" only if they control the state.

As far as "liberty" goes, I think we've covered that.
Lobatse High Court has made a final order to place under liquidation Messina Copper Botswana Pty Ltd  a subsidiary of African Copper Mining - after the company failed to fulfill contractual payment obligations to Diesel Power Mining.

Diesel Power Mining had petitioned the court to have Messina Copper Botswana liquidated for delayed payments. Lobatse High Court Judge Abednego Tafa confirmed and made final the provisional order of winding up of the company in the hand of the Master of the High Court. Messina Copper Botswana Pty Ltd did not object to being placed under the hammer. Through its lawyer Gorata Dibotelo, the company agreed to the final order made by Justice Tafa last week Friday.

Dibotelo confirmed to the court that her client is not opposed to the provisional order being made final. Appearing for Diesel Power Mining Walter Mushi told the court that adverts were placed on newspapers regarding the provisional liquidation and no one has come forward to object to the order being made final as per the rule nisi issued by the court last month.





Justice Tafa ruled that subject to a finding of proof of publication of the order of the 13th November 2015, the order will be made final. He said the petitioner may not uplift the order until they have filed proof of publication, which the petitioner promised to file on that same day.

A statement released by Diesel Powers JSE-listed parent company, Buildmax, revealed that a provision against the debt is likely to affect the companys 2016 financial results by up to R90 million. It said Diesel Power Botswanas current aggregated exposure to Messina Copper Botswana is approximately P47 million.

African Copper through its subsidiary Messina Copper Botswana Pty Ltd awarded a long-term contract to provide hard-rock open cast mining services to Diesel Power Mining Pty Ltd a subsidiary of Buildmax Limited in respect of African Coppers existing open pit copper mining operations at Thakadu and Mowana mines.

The $112.7-million (about P1 billion) contract, which started in February 2014 and had duration of 52 months, would see Diesel Power undertake mining activities at Thakadu for the first four months before moving to Mowana Mine for the remaining 48 months.

The scope of the contract outlined the application of conventional open pit mining and drill, with the majority of the required $18-million mobile plant and equipment to be sourced from the existing Buildmax fleet. All required asset-based funding were to be jointly funded by Diesel Power and a third-party financier. Under the terms of the contract, Diesel Power would deploy a highly-qualified management team with extensive experience in Africa, while Buildmax would establish permanent support structures at the Mowana Copper Mine.

Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila recently told Parliament that since the economic downturn in 2009, Mowana Copper Mine has been struggling to keep a positive cash flow, which prompted government to defer royalties in order to sustain the mining operation and avert closure. He said operations at Thakadu Mine have been suspended since February this year and since October at Mowana Copper Mine.

Mowana Copper Mine has been receiving support from its shareholders through funding and guarantees to help them meet liabilities. The mining contractor at Mowana Copper Mine, Diesel Power Limited suspended operations on 10th October 2015 citing delayed payments as reasons. Mowana Copper Mine then submitted a payment plan to Diesel Power Limited, however the plan was rejected and the contractor approached the court for intervention to liquidate Messina Copper, he said.
The biggest bout this year in the labour movement has been between Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) and their former mother body, Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU).

Just like last year when the federation expressed its strong affection for the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), BOPEU has this year differed with BOFEPUSU at every turn. BOPEU says it was not necessary to be affiliated to a political party because there are issues that affect workers that need urgent attention.

At several press meetings that the federation addressed this year, BOPEU was always absent and there was no concrete explanation given. The writing was on the wall that the marriage between the two would eventually collapse. It was not surprising therefore when BOPEU delegates voted recently at Palapye to disaffiliate from the federation because it was not helpful.





The leadership noted that during the negotiations of the 2015/16, BOPEUs submission even though duly received was never considered by the mother body. In so doing, denying BOPEU an opportunity to represent its constituents, BOPEU Secretary General Topias Marenga wrote.

He said that BOPEU leadership observed that there has been no attempt on the part of the current BOFEPUSU executive to address BOPEUs concerns raised at the February 2015 BOFEPUSU congress relating to the unavailability of the audited books of account. But observers argue that the battle between the union and federation is not only limited to unaudited books but is also political. BOPEU which is slowly building its millions through a number of business schemes is viewed by some as a sellout union which is supporting the ruling party.

When BOPEU was involved in an industrial action over a pay-rise for its members at Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), the federation chose not to offer solidarity support saying they were not invited. They only wrote to every union but no official communication to the federation, said the federations Secretary General, Tobokani Rari.

During the federations elective congress this year, both parties agreed that BOPEU would ascend to the presidency, but the leadership of the federation somersaulted at the last minute and settled for Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) President, Johannes Tshukudu. BOPEU withdrew their candidate from the election in protest. Two months down the line BOPEU wrote a letter to the federation to withdraw their monthly subscriptions.

Marenga wrote at the time that BOPEU was concerned by, the simmering and unhealthy hostilities which continue to buildup unabated between the mother-body (BOFEPUSU) and BOPEU.

Last month, during the BOPEU elective congress, BOFEPUSU allegedly sponsored BOPEU deputy president, Sikalame Seitiso to contest against Andrew Motsamai who they accused of masterminding the poisoned relationship between the two. Motsamai however emerged victorious.



BLLAHWU Vs BLLAHWU BURIAL SOCIETY

The other fight that is far from over is between Botswana Landboard and Local Authorities Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) and their subsidiary, BLLAHWU Burial Society. The bone of contention is the control of the societys millions. The union argues that the society is not independent, but a part of the union, but the society is having none of that and insists it is autonomous and must be left to run its affairs.

The battle between the two dates back to 2011 when the former union leader, Goretetse Kekgonegile wanted to assume the position of chairperson of the society acting on the precedent set by his former leader, Pelotshweu Baeng who was chairperson. The society was against this move and a legal tussle ensued with Kekgonegile losing in the end.

This year the union announced its plans to team up with the new insurer - BONA Life - to establish a similar funeral cover for 6100 members that are currently covered by BLLHAWU Burial Society. BBS was established under the Societies Act to provide an affordable funeral scheme for the union members. The annual turnover of the society is currently P8.6 million.



The society through their lawyers, Baoleki Attorneys has written to the Chief Executive Officer of Bona Life Insurance, Regina Sikalesele-Vaka regarding what they term the misrepresentation and falsehoods about BLLAHWU Burial Society products by the union.

The society has also threatened to approach the High Court on urgency if Bramer Life ignores the request by the union. The union lawyers, Moahi Attorneys responded by saying, the Central Executive Committee of the Union does not need the societys consent to act howsoever in the interest of its members including in the present case.
Think, please, back to territory advances made by past regions in efforts to advance status and power. Look, now, to the former U.S.S.R. standing accused of supporting a pro-Russian side, while nearly 9,000 people are dead. And look now, please, to Syria. where American-backed opponents of the Syrian government have seen friends dead from Russian involvement. Might I mention how the former U.S.S.R. is accused of bombing the people the U.S. are backing?



Can you tell me with a straight face, we're not at war?



Nicholas J McGuire,

Willowick
March

Former assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development and Member of Parliament for Mogoditshane constituency, Patrick Masimolole withdraws a petition to the High Court in which he was challenging the outcome of the 2014 general election in which he lost to newcomer Chilly Kgoroba of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

Masimolole wanted the court to issue an order declaring the counting process of ballots at Mogoditshane improper and irregular. He said the election in Mogoditshane constituency was marred by irregularities.



April

Botswana Movement for Democracy Youth League (BMDYL) elective congress held in Mochudi is marred by controversy as some senior party leaders are accused of meddling in youth affairs. A lobby group led by Rodger Mphafhe withdraws from the race for the youth league executive committee election. Phenyo Segokgo retains his seat as the BMDYL President.

Founding member of the BMD, Sidney Pilanes name crops up after the youth congress. He is alleged to be planning a comeback but Pilane dismisses the claims as efforts to divert attention from the problems faced by the movement.



March-July

During its National Council held in Gaborone, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) resolves to welcome disgruntled members who left the party to contest as independent candidates.





The candidates contested as mekoko (Independent Candidates) following what they called the failure by the party to address their concerns. Minister of Health Dorcus Makgato enters the race for the BDP Womens Wing chairperson and wins. Vice President Mokgwetsi Masisi declares his interest for the Chairmanship of the BDP.

He gets overwhelming support within the party as the right candidate to replace Ponatshego Kedikilwe as party chairman. As the contest for the top seat heats up among the seven contestants, Masisi is accused of using his executive position as vice president to abuse state resources during campaigns. After losing the election in Mmadinare against Masisi some contenders among them former Botswana Ambassador to the US, Tebelelo Seretse complains to the partys central committee but their grievances were dismissed.



May

UDC Member of Parliament for Goodhope-Mabule, James Mathokgwane shocks the country as he quits politics barely six months after being voted into the political office. He cites ill health as his reasons for resigning. His resignation causes uproar as his party the UDC and the electorate at his constituency learnt about the resignation from the media.

Mathokgwane later lands a plum job at Selibe-Phikwe Diversification Unit. He would later publicly apologise for not bidding his constituents farewell. Allegations fly thick and fast suggesting Mathokgwane has been bought by the BDP to cause a by-election but he dismisses the claims saying he would never be bought.



June

Kgosi Lotlamoreng II of Barolong resigns from his seat as paramount chief and deputy chairman of Ntlo ya Dikgosi. He says he is pursuing other personal interests and dismisses claims that he is joining politics. He would later be unveiled as the UDC candidate for the Good-Mabule by-election.



July

Parliament turns chaotic as opposition MPs want an urgent motion calling for investigations into the water and power crisis. Deputy Speaker Kagiso Molatlhegi refuses to have the motion tabled before Parliament. Opposition MPs led by Opposition Whip Wynter Mmolotsi push for the motion to be tabled. Mmolotsi is escorted out of Parliament after he refuses to obey an order to leave Parliament.

MP for Gaborone Central Dr Phenyo Butale is manhandled by security and police officers out of Parliament. Other opposition MPs walk out of Parliament to protest the way the deputy speaker handled the issue.



July-Aug

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) elective congress held in Kanye over the President Holidays in July resolves to engage the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) for possible cooperation talks. The party is however divided over the issue as some of the members are against working with the UDC and believe the BCP still has a chance to go it all alone in the 2019 general election.

At the same congress party leader Dumelang Saleshando is unchallenged for the partys presidential seat.

Specially elected MP and Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Eric Molale resigns both as minister and MP. Within hours President Ian Khama uses his powers under section 42 of the Constitution to re-appoint him as minister for the same portfolio for a period of four months. Under this appointment Molale would not attend Parliament.

Molales candidacy divides the BDP, as some believe he could have paved the way for other equally capable individuals. Fankie Motsaathebe challenges the outcome of the Goodhope-Mabule Bulela-ditswe results but the party leadership dismisses his appeal. Molale loses the by-election to Kgosi Lotlamoreng II in what observers say was a punishment against the BDPs decision to field Molale against the better judgement of the party faithful in the constituency.

BCP suspend four of its activists among them the BCP Youth League Secretary General Thato Osupile for alleged misconduct. They are alleged to have colluded with some senior BDP members to recruit BCP members to the BDP. All four would later dump the BCP to join the BDP before the BCP could conduct disciplinary hearings. They accused the party leadership of deciding on behalf of the membership for cooperation with the UDC.

Division within the BCP over cooperation talks forces the party leadership to engage on a nationwide tour to consult the members on whether to initiate talks with UDC or not. All the 14 regions give the partys central committee a go ahead to engage UDC. Saleshando announces that the party is ready to engage in talks with the UDC. He reveals that his party will go into the talks with an open mandate.



August-Nov

Sydney Pilane applies for readmission into the BMD after he dismissed as rumours, claims early this year that he wants to rejoin the movement. His application divides the party. After the Gaborone North Branch rejected his application on grounds that he is not trustworthy and is likely to fuel factions within the party, the Mochudi West constituency on the other hand readmitted him.

His re-admission divides the party executive committee and the Party President Ndaba Gaolathe gets pitted against Secretary General Gilbert Mangole and Chairman Nehemiah Modubule over whether Pilanes admission was procedural or not.



October-Nov

President Khama unveils the Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) during at a BDP Special Congress held in Gaborone. Khama indicates that the ESPs aim is to accelerate job creation, diversify the economy and stimulate the economy. President Khama suggests Molales name for nomination as a Specially Elected MP. Even though some BDP MPs are against this move they agree with Khama on the name during a party Parliamentary caucus.

Unidentified MPs nominate Saleshando and BDP Secretary General Botsalo Ntuane on the floor of Parliament without their consent. Molale emerges victorious as Specially Elected MP. Opposition MPs abstained from participating in the voting saying the process was fraudulent because Ntuane and Saleshando were nominated without their consent. BDP through its chairman Masisi accuses the opposition of nominating Ntuane with the aim of sowing seeds of discord in the party.

The opposition hits back demanding answers on how Masisi was able to see who nominated Ntuane and Saleshando while the Speaker of Parliament Gladys Kokorwe declined to reveal the names.



December

BCP formally approaches the UDC to start cooperation talks. The party also proposes Memorandum of Understanding for all by-elections in the build-up to 2019 general election.
Fund and private wealth managers are waiting with bated breath for the release of Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTL) Prospectus which will provide never seen before corporate details of the privatised corporation.

Institutional investors polled by Botswana Guardian on Wednesday stopped short of openly admitting that this is the stock they have been waiting for. However, before they can invest their clients funds in the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the countrys biggest telecommunications company, they need an assurance of what kind of stock they will be buying.

Before we can comment on whether the share price is attractive, we need to see the Prospectus first. This is when now we can see if this price of P1, 00 or value of P800 million is really what they say it is, said Justin de Klerk of African Alliance asset management division. We need to see what we are getting.





The IPO Prospectus will contain the company directors, its financial history (minimum three years), its services, valuers, brokers, legal advisors among others. In a development that shows that government is serious about letting go part of BTCL after several delays, it stated that BTCL is currently valued at P800 million. It said its share price (for the IPO) will be set at P1, 00. However, while investors appear excited that BTCL will finally float part of its shares, they said the devil is in the detail.

An investment analyst at private wealth management firm, Blackthread Capital, Karabo Tladi told Botswana Guardian that, Chances are government has deliberately underpriced BTCL shares so as to allow room for growth. Nonetheless, Tladi said that at P1, 00 the price is fair, as government wants as many citizens to take part in the IPO. The price is fair, especially for retail investors, she stressed. The company he works for manages wealth on behalf of clients.

Clare Mathe-Lisenda concurs with de Klerk and Tladi. We have not received the Prospectors, so we dont have much to say about the IPO, said the Senior Manager: Investment Management at IPRO Botswana. IPRO is an Africa-focused investment specialist. We work with numbers which are contained in the IPO, stressed Mathe who has worked for Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF). A source told Botswana Guardian this week that, the Prospectors will be released as early as next week.

In an exclusive interview, Transport and Communications minister, Tshenolo Mabeo could not be drawn into the date of the IPO. We want to launch the process (of the IPO) before the end of December, disclosed the minister. The IPO is launched at a time when most prospective consumers and investors have already committed their funds for the December period.

Mabeo said he is aware of that and the IPO will run for eight weeks, with possible extension so as to ensure all interested parties are given a fair chance of taking part in the whole process. Previous valuations of BTCL stood at well over P2 billion. Is the current P800 million a fair value of the government parastatal?

Remember, at some point some assets of BTCL were separated to form BoFiNet. This means some of these assets have been transferred to the new entity. In valuing BTCL we have appointed a team of professionals. Who am I to doubt them? asked the minister rhetorically. BoFinet is a government-owned company, which sells wholesale telecommunications services to providers in the country.

The IPO process of BTCL has been rigorous. Relevant stakeholders such as Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), PPADB, BTCL, finance and development planning ministry, have been consulted, said the minister. The BTCL listing has been delayed for several years now. The completion of the valuation of the fixed and non-fixed telecommunications company paves way for its subsequent listing at the BSE.

The actual listing is likely to be conducted in the first quarter of 2016. It will be the first of its kind in which a government entity is being part-sold under the privatisation process. Under the approved BTCL Transitional Act, 49 percent of the company will be ceded to local investors.

IPO or stock market launch is a type of public offering in which shares of a company usually are sold to institutional investors that in turn, sell to the general public, on a securities exchange, for the first time. Through this process, a private company transforms into a public company. Companies to raise the expansion of capital, possibly to monetize the investments of early private investors mostly use initial public offerings, and to become publicly traded enterprises.

A company selling shares is never required to repay the capital to its public investors. After the IPO, when shares trade freely in the open market, money passes between public investors. Although IPO offers many advantages, there are also significant disadvantages, chief among these are the costs associated with the process and the requirement to disclose certain information that could prove helpful to competitors. The IPO process is colloquially known as going public.
Your Dec. 15 article, "U.S. food industry tied to slave-peeled shrimp," re-awakened me to the dark side of the "free" trade system. Are working conditions better for the workers who made my new "Christmas" shirt or picked the beans for my coffee? One Taiwanese supplier to Patagonia used labor brokers who demand $7,000 from each worker to guarantee them a job. These fees, and monthly fees to keep their jobs, often left workers in debt, unable to leave their jobs nor make a decent living. The coffee industry is known for the use of child labor, and forced labor has been reported in Cote d'loire and Guatemala.

If your spirit has been refreshed this holiday season, consider making 2016 a better year for workers - buy fair trade products. Fair trade is a global economic system - "middle men" are eliminated and workers get a guaranteed living wage. The children of these workers don't go to work, they go to school. Workers are: protected from discrimination, work in a safe place, and support good environmental stewardship.

Sellers of fair trade include - Revive Clothing Store, 2248 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights; Heinen's (coffee), The InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia (coffee, chocolate, tea, bracelets, ear rings. bags, gift baskets and more); and on-line shopping at the Ohio Fair Trade Network: ohiofairtrade.com



Dale Lindsey,

Cleveland
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Housing says it has to evict the 27 tenants living in Minnedosas Townview Manor because the building needs more work than originally anticipated.

Until last week, tenants were under the impression they would be moved within the six-storey apartment complex during renovations.

That was the initial plan, said Gord Thomas, executive director of property services for Manitoba Housing. But once we actually started doing some destructive testing in the property, we discovered that the systems were in worse shape than we initially thought.

Thomas says the buildings main sewage line needs to be replaced and extensive work needs to be done on interior plumbing. The 56-unit complex was built in the 1970s and Manitoba Housing says plans to renovate have been in the works for a while.

Its very difficult to work around (tenants) from a construction point of view, and its also very difficult for them, Thomas said, adding that water and electricity will have to be turned off regularly and construction crews would be on the property daily.

When the eviction notices were handed out last week, Manitoba Housing provided a list of communities with vacancies and residents were asked to pick their top three choices. Right now, there are no vacancies in Minnedosa.

Thomas acknowledges the significant toll moving out of Minnedosa will have on residents  the majority of whom are seniors.

(Were) fully aware of regardless how painless we make it, its going to be disruptive to their lives to have to move, he said.

Riding Mountain Progressive Conservative MLA Leanne Rowat is aware of the situation and has brought it up with legislature colleagues.

Nobody wants to take responsibility or leadership on it, Rowat said. I have been in contact with the (Housing and Community Development) minister and the Family Services minster, encouraging them to take a stronger role on this file.

Rowat says so far, responses have not been acceptable and Manitoba Housing should have had better communication with residents ahead of the eviction notice.

Its of no fault of their own that theyre being displaced, Rowat said. I just believe that this can and should be handled differently.

Kerrie Dycks mother-in-law, Mary, lives in Townview Manor, and she hopes the housing authority will go back to its original plan.

Everyone Ive talked to, thats all they want is just to go back to being relocated within the building, Dyck said, adding that a tight-knit community has formed in the manor and it will be sad to see that disbanded.

The family is trying to get Mary into the local personal care home, where her husband currently lives, but Prairie Mountain Health says that likely wont be possible.

We dont have beds available in the personal care home and we have a waiting list, Prairie Mountain Health CEO Penny Gilson said.

Another concern for Dyck is Marys access to Home Care services  which she currently gets four to six times a day  if she has to move to a small town.

Gilson says that while PMHs Home Care case co-ordinators work out of offices in certain locations, services are available across the region. According to Gilson, the Minnedosa-based co-ordinator doesnt think residents will see a disruption in service.

It may be different workers, but they felt fairly comfortable they should still be able to meet the Home Care needs, Gilson said, although that may depend on where Mary ends up. I cant say that  with absolute (certainty) depending on where they move, but absolutely every effort would be made.

Thomas says Manitoba Housing is also responsible for maintaining care.

If someone had been receiving Meals on Wheels, wherever we send them weve gotta make sure that they still get that service, he said, adding that Manitoba Housing staff is set to meet with manor residents one-on-one to determine specific needs and desires.

Residents have until May 31, 2016 to move out of the building and Thomas expects construction to start in June with renovations set to last approximately 16 months.

The construction contract has yet to go to tender, but Thomas says that will happen in the next couple of months.

 ewasney@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @evawasney
Sample letter to a doctor : " When you are asking for help from a doctor you have never met, but have determined is an expert on your p...
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When you relocate to a new city for a fresh start, the last thing on most peoples minds is attempting a brand new start up venture  and all within a six month timeframe no less. But thats exactly what spunky husband and wife team Scott and Leeann Vigar did, moving their young family from Sherwood Park, Alberta, to Kelowna in the summer of 2013.

Embarking immediately on a major house renovation, momentum came to a screeching halt when it came time to search for furnishings and items to outfit their newly remodeled home that reflected their own love of mid-century modern, high-quality contemporary products. The lack of availability and options sparked a crazy, yet ambitious idea for the couple. Why not open their own store and provide the plethora of items they had such difficulty sourcing themselves? And with that, Factor Furniture  an amazingly a-typical, fun loving, statement making merchant was born.

Eyeing Kelowna as a potential place to set down roots for years, the couple had called Alberta (and even Bermuda for a two year stint in early 2000) home for most of their lives. Wanting a change in scenery to raise their young family, they pulled the trigger, packed up and headed west, intending to explore their options once settled.

Submitted Artwork at Factor Furniture

For Scott, who has an extensive background within the commercial office furnishings industry, the transition into residential furniture retailer seemed a natural and innate fit. But for Leeann, the switch from paralegal into full-blown business owner was a huge career change. For not only do the pair simply own Factor, both share the responsibilities in running and operating the location on a daily basis too.

Of all the complexities that come with a new start-up, finding the right location was a huge challenge initially. Wanting to be close to the downtown scene, with the amenities of a newer structure, the Vigars chose a space within the bustling multi-mix Stewart Centre, right in the heart of Kelownas business hub. Located at 102-1851 Kirschner Road, the store is a haven for those with a penchant for clean lines, contemporary style, and mid-century modern flare, boasting an industrial-feeling open concept, with soaring ceilings and an amazing floor-to-ceiling front wall of glass. For Scott and Leeann, the store envelope was just as important in supporting their design aesthetic as the products they wanted to showcase inside.

And its the unique, quality pieces, and genuinely authentic way the Vigars do business that customers have come to love Factor for. There arent any gimmicks, sales pressures, or distractions within their walls  both care more about the relationships they have built and fostered with their customers, and have let the furniture and products speak for themselves.

Acting as exclusive dealers for many modern lines, Factor Furniture has teamed up with brands (many of them Canadian) like Gus Modern, Pink & Brown, Blu Dot, Elite, Moes, Safavieh, and Huppe, to name only a few, catering to statement making designers, developer/builders, and savvy home owners alike. Customers seeking out local artisans will also find an ever-changing selection of custom artwork, photography, and hand-forged occasional chairs and tables under the Factor roof. And if something catches your eye while youre in, you have the added benefit of taking it home that very day. Virtually unheard of in the furniture world, the Vigars have eliminated the wait time youd typically experience purchasing home furnishings  everything on the floor is take-home ready, and if on the off chance you need to special order, lead times are kept to an absolute minimum.

Dont live in Kelowna? Factor drop-ships wherever you may be, so when you see something you love online, it can be packaged up and sent to you direct.

One of the Okanagans best kept secrets, find Factor Furniture online at factorfurniture.com, or on Facebook.

With a year in business officially under their belts this November, the Vigars are excited to see what new partnerships and opportunities 2016 will continue to bring their way. As the neighborhood landscape continues to expand with niche-type, boutique retailers, their destination setting will continue to grow and evolve right along with it.

One of the Okanagans best kept secrets, find Factor Furniture online at factorfurniture.com, or on Facebook.

Crispin Butterfield owns Urban Theory Interior Design in Brandon; find out how she can help you with your own design projects.

 designchick.ca
California has a statute applicable to dating contracts that gives consumers the right to cancel within 3 days of signing up. Companies must advise clients of this and provide a cancellation mechanism and a full refund. Grindr, an online dating app, allegedly failed to address this in its terms of service. A plaintiff signed up for Grindr Xtra (the monthly fee-based version of its site), cancelled and did not receive a full refund (for the remainder of the month). He sued on behalf of a putative class, alleging violations of Californias Dating Service Contract Act and other claims.

Standing: the court first tackles standing and says that its not adequately alleged here. While plaintiff alleged a violation of the statute, he did not tie that violation to his own injury. Specifically, the court says that, although he cancelled and did not receive a refund, the complaint lacks details about the cancellation. The court cites to cases under Californias Shine the Light statute and says that theres no cause of action for a mere failure to comply with the statute. Rather . . . [statutory standing] requires an injury resulting from a violation. In the STL cases, plaintiffs alleged a failure of companies to post relevant information to request a privacy policy, but did not necessarily try to request or information or allege that they would have had they known where to direct the query. These turn out to be insufficient allegations. Similarly, the court says that here plaintiff fails to allege how he cancelled the contract and whether he did so in accordance with the statute.

Applicability of the DSCA: Grindr said the statute did not apply to it. The statute was enacted in 1989 and did not envision online communities, much less smartphone apps. Grindr argued that the statute was prompted by high-pressure in-person sales tactics and vendors potential to take undue advantage of consumers. The court disagrees. Citing to a California Supreme Court looking at applicability of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act and applicability to download transactions (answer: no), the court says that it should employ a practical, flexible approach:

[i]n construing statutes that predate their possible applicability to new technology, courts have not relied on wooden construction of their terms. Fidelity to legislative intent does not make it impossible to apply a legal text to technologies that did not exist when the text was created. . . . Drafters of every era know that technological advances will proceed apace and that the rules they create will one day apply to all sorts of circumstances they could not possibly envision.

Under this approach, the statute applies to online sites.

Grindr also argued that there was an element of the consumer being able to take advantage of the site by using the services and then requesting a full refund, but the court says that the legislature already considered this issue. By providing a full, rather than a pro rata refund, the legislature evinced its intent to place the costs from cooling off/cancellation on the business rather than the consumer.

The court dismisses the UCL claim as the plaintiff did not offer substantive arguments in response to Grindrs arguments. It also punts on the Article III standing issue, given that it dismissed for failure to allege statutory standing. The court does grant leave to amend.

__

Wow, the California legislature gets in the weeds. That California regulates dating service contracts specifically came as news to me, as well as Im guessing to others. The courts decision on applicability of the statute, which wasnt strictly necessary to the ruling, is a zinger to Grindr and to the numerous other online dating sites that offer subscriptions. For what its worth, Tinders terms contain a cancellation provision that appears tailored to this statute and the statutes of several other states.

The courts decision on causation and standing scrutinizes plaintiffs allegations very carefully. As in the STL cases, perhaps the court got its radar up when it sensed a lawsuit that was driven by a technical violation of the statute, rather than real economic harm. Perhaps the court was influenced by the subscription in question (i.e., rather than a year or months-long subscription, the service appeared to bill monthly).

NB: plaintiffs did file an amended complaint.

Erics Comment: The core issue in this case is whether an online service like Grindr qualifies as a dating service as defined in a statute written for a different era. This is a perennial cyberlaw issue, or more accurately, a classic old law and new technology question. Here, Grindr had good policy arguments that the assumptions embedded into a statute governing high-pressure face-to-face sales should not apply to an online-only process. Still, it had no good arguments to bypass the statutes plain language.

This reminded me a lot of the debates around eBay in the 1990s. eBay would have been toast if it had to satisfy the statutory regulations applicable to auctionhouses because those laws assumed the intermediary took possession of sellers goods as part of the transaction. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and everyone realized than an online auction service like eBay is unquestionably different than a statutorily regulated auctionhouse. Its a good cautionary tale for the regulation of any online marketplace seeking to disrupt traditional offline intermediaries governed by different rules because the laws of physics applicable to the offline world are, in fact, different online.

I understand why the court was less charitable to Grindr here. The legal regulation isnt as niche-crushing as the auctionhouse laws would have been to eBay, and perhaps online daters fears and susceptibilities are not that different online and off. Still, the emergence of online dating sites might be a good prompt for the legislature to reconsider the law and ensure its regulatory scope tracks the modern concerns.

I disagree a little with Venkat about the likelihood Grindr was blindsided by this law. Cooling off laws are well-known in the dating industry and pretty well-known outside of it, so I expect (or, at least, hope) Grindr had some clue. More generally, if youre an online vendor hoping to usurp an industry that has extensive offline regulations, you would be well-served to bone up on that regulatory scheme and, if youre not going to comply with it, develop a clear explanation of why you think it doesnt apply to you.

Case citation: Howell v. Grindr, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167669 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 15, 2015)

Related cases:

Ninth Circuit Turns Out The Lights on California Shine the Light Case

Mens Journal Beats Lawsuit Alleging Violation of Californias Shine the Light Privacy Statute  Boorstein v. Mens Journal

Bad Idea: Overdisclosing Peoples Positive STD StatusDoe v. Successfulmatch

9th Circuit Says Plaintiff Had Standing to Sue Spokeo for Fair Credit Reporting Violations

Is Sacramento The Worlds Capital of Internet Privacy Regulation? (Forbes Cross-Post)

Online Dating App Grindr Isnt Liable For Underage Threesome (Forbes Cross-Post)

Online Dating Websites Arent Required To Warn That Some Members May Be Murderers (Forbes Cross-Post)

Lovelorn Plaintiffs Strike Out Against Match.com  Robinson v. Match.com

Its Illegal For Offline Retailers To Collect Email AddressesCapp v. Nordstrom

California Supreme Court: Retail Privacy Statute Doesnt Apply to Download Transactions  Apple v Superior Court (Krescent)

CA Court Confirms that Pineda v Williams-Sonoma (the Zip-Code-as-PII Case) Applies Retrospectively  Dardarian v. OfficeMax
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  All Manitobans are familiar with the current plight of Lake Winnipeg, but would someone in 1916 have predicted the degraded lake we see in 2016? Excess nutrients, algal blooms, invasive species and expanding development, all now under the influence of climate change, plague our lake. So, as we look into the future, whether 10 or 100 years ahead, what will be the new challenges to our lake?

The science advisory council of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation recently sought to define what the public, stakeholders, scientists and government agencies can do today to be prepared for the inevitable threats of tomorrow.

Below are our recommendations to help sustain the lake for the next century and beyond. The lack of action in these areas over the past decades, despite repeated warnings, has allowed the lake and its larger watershed to deteriorate. Intelligent foresight is useless unless we have a management structure built on vision, leadership and co-operation that can lead to action now and in the future.

We can begin on a high note with the news that the recently elected federal government has made the Lake Winnipeg basin an explicit priority for both Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Department of Environment and Climate Change. This prioritization presents an opportunity for Manitobans to call for direct actions to promote the health of our lake and its watershed.

To begin, we make a number of suggestions:

 We need to see significantly more sco-operation within Manitoba among civic, municipal, provincial, federal and First Nations agencies, as well as between Canada and the United States. Lake Winnipegs watershed is not the domain of any one government body. The causes of the flooding in recent years, or possibly of drought in the future, as well as a growing list of water-quality issues, are not confined within neat political jurisdictions, and our responses cannot be, either. Our neighbours to both the west and the south may have a greater thirst for the water that flows into Lake Winnipeg in the future. We need to be working more closely with them to develop cross-boundary solutions now, and to avoid conflicts in the future.

 We need to liberate valuable scientific information about the lake, paid for by the public, that is gathering dust for lack of easy access. Effective mechanisms to share data among scientists and citizens, coupled with science-based, rejuvenated core-monitoring within the watershed would accelerate research and generate solutions in both the watershed and lake. As highlighted in Scott Forbes eloquent plea on behalf of a sustainable fishery in Manitoba, if we do not know what is happening now or understand the system in which we are living and working, we cannot know when it is imperilled. And it is the responsibility of all public agencies to collect and share their data as stewards of the public interest.

 All stakeholders must now agree on a management plan for the lake and communicate this vision to the people of Manitoba. The lack of a firm, unified vision for the lake has hindered taking action. The plan must balance lake uses for hydroelectric power generation, recreation and the commercial and recreational fisheries against habitat conservation, protection and restoration, which are in obvious conflict at times. At the very least, we need to agree to measures that will reduce activities that may harm the lake.

 Lake management must include measures to ensure long-term sustainability of the lake for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. Stakeholders and their influence, either beneficial or detrimental for the lake, will change in the future. With growing populations, we may see a day where the lake is valued more as a recreational resource. We do a profound disservice when we allow current vested self-interests to control the debate around our obligation to the long-term sustainability of the lake.

 The best way we can prepare for what awaits Lake Winnipeg in the future is to understand how it functions today, be vigilant for threats on the horizon, co-operate with all stakeholders and let science guide us and ensure a legacy

of strong and transparent oversight and management. We are not alone and we can look to what others have done elsewhere to protect their great lakes.

In Ontario, this has taken the form of the Great Lakes Protection Act, passed into law in October, which aims to ensure lakes there are swimmable, fishable and drinkable. It is time for Manitobans to get our collective act together and do what needs to be done now so our lake is a place of pride a century from now.

 Mark Hanson is an associate professor in the department of environment and geography at the University of Manitoba. Alex Salki is a retired Fisheries and Oceans Canada research biologist. This was written on behalf of the Lake Winnipeg Foundations science advisory council, and recently appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/01/2016 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The good news: Manitoba Health Minister Sharon Blady is working on a plan to improve health-care access in rural Westman.

The bad news: The health minister is working on a plan for rural Westman after the NDP has been in power for more than 15 years.

The ugly truth: After watching so many doctors and nurses leave rural Manitoba for greener pastures, having emergency rooms close for weeks or months on end in several communities, and witnessing both the NDP government and the Progressive Conservative government before it try and fail to address issues facing rural health care in this province, Westman residents have good reason to be skeptical of Bladys pronouncement.

All things considered, its not surprising that a large percentage of rural Westman residents recently told Probe Research that health care was one of the top issues plaguing their communities.

While its a frustrating situation, the NDP obviously intends to play election politics with rural health as we trudge ever closer toward the provincial decision in April.

While Blady is apparently working on a health-care strategy, specific details of that strategy were not available when the Sun spoke to her. Presumably the health ministers plans will be duly revealed some time before April 19. And Bladys comments themselves sound like she is in full election mode.

There is a strategic plan that is being developed because I want to make  forward-thinking investments that support hard-working families when they need medical care. I wish I could say more  Im bursting at the seams.

Hard-working families is general parlance for voters these days whenever NDP ministers speak. Nevertheless, she did offer some hints at what her department has planned, including the creation of new primary care clinics like the one that opened in Swan River last July, as well as improvements to the use of MBTelehealth  a video conference service for doctors and patients.

She also paid a little lip service to the potential for constructing regional hospitals, such as the modern facility being requested several years ago for a location between Minnedosa and Neepawa. As we have noted on this page before, were not entirely sure why the province has been taking so long to deliberate on this particular file. Certainly, Blady has blamed the recent amalgamation in 2012 of Manitobas 11 health regions into five for delays in making any real improvements to rural health care.

But that would only be a partial answer, and hardly a satisfying one, considering the fact that the councils in Minnedosa and Neepawa have been requesting some kind of answer  even a no if nothing else  for far too long.

It may simply come down to a lack of cash  building new regional centres takes a great deal of capital. And this is not a government that is flush with cash.

One other idea, suggested by Melita Mayor Bill Holden, is to offer isolation pay for doctors working in rural Manitoba  an increased financial incentive that would require the province to pony up more cash for our already bloated health care budget.

Were not entirely sure throwing more money into salaries to combat doctor and nursing shortages is the answer. And to her credit, Blady seems rather tepid on the idea of sweetening the financial pot for retention of new and existing health care staff, saying she would hope that they wouldnt just be staying in the community for a paycheque.

Clearly many people in Westman think its important that health care becomes an election issue in 2016, and all of these ideas should be hashed out along the campaign trail. As well, we think that the other parties need to step up with their own potential solutions to Manitobas rural health care woes.

Lets have a healthy debate on the issue.
UN-

Japan's U.N. Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa speaks during a press conference after attending a Security Council meeting on North Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. North Korea trumpeted its first hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a powerful, self-proclaimed "H-bomb of justice" that would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang's announcement was met with widespread skepticism, but whatever the North detonated in its fourth nuclear test, another round of tough international sanctions looms for the defiant, impoverished country.

(Bebeto Matthews/The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Diplomatic engagement has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Sanctions have been tightened with little result. And military force could be catastrophic. So what can the world do to bring Kim Jong Un's renegade government into line?

The answer may rest with China.

While Beijing's influence over North Korea appears to have diminished since Kim came to power in 2012, it remains its key trading partner. Experts say China could do more to restrict North Korea's use of Chinese banks and limit supplies of food and fuel that provide an economic lifeline to Pyongyang.

Wednesday's purported hydrogen bomb test will intensify pressure on China to tighten the screws on Kim. It has been leery of taking such steps because of fears that a collapse of North Korea's socialist government could cause an influx of refugees and lead to a pro-American, unified Korean nation on China's doorstep.

China immediately made plain its displeasure with Pyongyang, saying it "firmly opposed" the test. "North Korea should stop taking any actions which would worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing.

China's U.S. ambassador met at the White House on Wednesday with President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, and China joined the U.S. in supporting a U.N. Security Council statement that strongly condemned the test and pledged to pursue new sanctions.

But North Korea has proved adept at circumventing existing restrictions and at using its indigenous capabilities to develop its weapons. Because of its international isolation, the North is less susceptible to financial sanctions than a major economy like Iran.

Incentives haven't worked either. Three U.S. administrations, going back to President Bill Clinton, have coaxed the North to disarm in exchange for aid, but each effort has eventually failed.

And taking a tougher military stance against Pyongyang means unpalatable risks. An American attack could put U.S. ally South Korea in the firing line of the world's fifth-largest army, which could launch a massive artillery barrage on the capital, Seoul.

The Obama administration has claimed improved cooperation from China on North Korea policy. Beijing, for example, supported a U.N. resolution in response to North Korea's last nuclear test in 2013. According to Washington, China has improved its enforcement of existing sanctions, but could do more.

Yet North Korea has balked at returning to international aid-for-disarmament talks as it looks to assert itself as a nuclear weapons state. It claims it needs such weapons to deter an invasion by the United States, which retains 28,000 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended without a peace treaty.

Since the six-nation talks stalled in 2008, the North has conducted three atomic test explosions and blasted its first rocket into space as it hones technology that could help it fire a weapon at America.

Secretary of State John Kerry repeated on Wednesday the U.S. stance that it will never accept North Korea as a nuclear state. "Actions such as this latest test only strengthen our resolve," he said.

Yet North Korea has not been a top priority for Obama, despite his willingness to engage with adversaries and the bold steps his administration has taken with other world powers to arrest Iran's nuclear program.

The administration has gradually increased sanctions on North Korea while leaving the door open to negotiations. The one concerted U.S. effort to revive the six-nation disarmament talks with North Korea quickly failed in 2012 when Kim's government conducted a rocket launch in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

One reason for the lack of urgency has been a three-year hiatus in North Korean nuclear tests or long-range rocket launches. With the U.S. and other world powers preoccupied with turmoil in the Mideast, international concern over Pyongyang's quiet progress in developing its weapons has been muted.

"We've been trying to pretend that this isn't a problem -- as long as things are quiet, it's nice," said Joel Wit, founder of the North Korea-focused 38 North website. "But this is a problem and it keeps coming back."

Pyongyang's announcement that it had tested an H-bomb -- a device which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs -- could be a wake-up call. While the White House said that initial analysis was "not consistent" with North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test, a lesser atomic explosion would nonetheless help the North in its long-running effort to miniaturize a nuclear device that can be mounted on a long-range missile.

Bruce Klinger, a former CIA analyst on North Korea and an expert at the Heritage Foundation, said North Korea probably has the ability already to place nuclear weapons on medium-range missiles that could threaten its neighbors, and a preliminary ability to reach the continental United States with a missile. Washington-based experts estimate that Pyongyang has 10 to 16 nuclear weapons and could have 20 to 100 by 2020.

Republican lawmakers called for a new approach to North Korea.

"The answer to North Korea's threats is more pressure, not less," said Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "This rogue regime has no interest in being a responsible state."

The test will probably give an urgent push to bipartisan proposals that have been introduced in both houses of Congress for stiffer U.S. sanctions to limit Pyongyang's access to the international banking system, in the manner of restrictions that were imposed and subsequently eased against Iran. If such measures were to bite, it would probably mean targeting Chinese banks that handle North Korean transactions, which could upset Beijing.
Ryanair has called for the abolition of "outrageous" air taxes in the North before any decision is made on operating European flights from Belfast.

It is paying 17 in air passenger duty (APD) per passenger and senior managers said the cost eats up profits and heightens the commercial risks of flying further.

The low-cost Irish airline confirmed that it will operate a four times daily service to London Gatwick from Belfast International from March and said five more routes are to follow in October.

Those destinations have not been decided and could concentrate on UK airports if movement is not secured on cutting tax, Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien said.

He added: "We are not asking the government for money, we are asking them to stop taking money from us and if they don't we will make decisions on that basis."

Dublin has abolished its air passenger duty and has seen massive increases in passenger numbers.

Many travellers from the North use services there where fares can be lower because of the different tax system.

However removing APD could result in a large reduction in the block grant from Westminster which runs public services in Northern Ireland.

A total of three Ryanair aircraft representing an investment of US$300m will be based in Belfast.

More than one million customers are expected to use Ryanair in Belfast annually, supporting 750 jobs.

The Gatwick slots became available after they were given up by Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus as part of its take-over by the International Airlines Group (IAG).

Ryanair already flies from City of Derry Airport in Northern Ireland.

Recently Dutch flagship carrier KLM announced plans to fly from Belfast to Amsterdam, there is an established service to New York and Stormont politicians are keen to expand international connections.

Mr O'Brien said he was not making any threats to the powersharing political administration in Belfast over tax but said the airline would make its decisions on a commercial basis.

He added that, with thousands of extra tourists expected to use the routes, one alternative to abolishing the tax could be additional payments from the all-island Tourism Ireland promotional body to help cancel out the effect of the tax.

The senior executive added it would be a missed opportunity for Northern Ireland if APD was not removed.

"If this tax is going to be there, we might as well minimise the amount of flying we have to do to carry passengers, flying for less than an hour rather than flying three hours over to Berlin or wherever it is.

"If you fly less distances on established routes against carriers that are unable to compete against you it seems to make more economic sense rather than take a punt at flying three times as far for unknown returns."

He added: "One of the tragedies for Northern Ireland aviation is that the airports here do an excellent job to achieve efficiencies and low cost bases which is necessary to compensate for an outrageous tax imposition, which is a multiple of the cost base the airport is able to achieve."
Ryanair has announced more flights from Dublin to London.

The airline says the service to Gatwick will operate seven times a day from March.

It currently operates five flights a day on the Dublin to Gatwick route.

Ryanair says it will deliver 12 million customers to Dublin Airport this year.

Ryanairs Robin Kiely said: "We are pleased to announce extra flights from Dublin to London Gatwick, as part of our expanded Summer 2016 schedule, with 85 routes in total, which includes three new routes to Athens, Amsterdam and Vigo.

"Ryanair will deliver 12 million customers at Dublin Airport next year and has single handedly delivered 60% of the total passenger growth at Dublin Airport in 2015."
Tesco are in the social media firing line at the moment thanks to an employee called Linda.

Tesco customer Luke Mitchell, from Essex, found a purchase made at his local store to be less than satisfactory and made this known to the company via Twitter.

@Tesco ?????? Opened my pizza base to this pic.twitter.com/2zceI93ICv  Luke Mitchell (@lukemitch111) January 6, 2016

This picture of mouldy pizza base alongside with the best before date of July 2016 is clearly the issue he is having with the company, however he receives a sleepy response from customer service agent Linda, who must be having 'one of those days'.

'Hi Luke! I'm sorry to ask, but what seems to be the problem with this product, please? Kind regards - Linda'

The complete lack of empathy and understanding for the turmoil and struggle that poor Luke had found himself faced with led to the quote of the moment; Linda do you fucking have eyes?

@Tesco Linda do you fucking have eyes  Luke Mitchell (@lukemitch111) January 6, 2016

As you can see, following the slight mishap, Tesco got back to Luke, this time through the competent and able employee, Charlotte.

@lukemitch111 Please can you DM your full name, address and email address so that I can reimburse you? Which store did you get it from? (2)  Tesco (@Tesco) January 6, 2016

Fair play to her for biting her tongue and ignoring the rampant social media sarcasm party exploding online thanks to Lukes emphatic response.

We understand its policy, but it still takes will power.

@lukemitch111 Can you also confirm how much you paid and if you're happy for me to pass your details to our supplier? Charlotte (3)  Tesco (@Tesco) January 6, 2016

Lets hope Luke gets some fresh, mould-free pizza bases sometime soon, he has certainly earned them.

#lindadoyoufuckinghaveeyes?
collage.jpg

Jessie Ray Mauldin (left) and Kimberly Rene Mauldin.

(GCSO photo)

LUCEDALE, Mississippi -- George County authorities have apprehended a couple who are accused of the Tuesday morning robbery of a local store, according to George County Sheriff Keith Havard.

With assistance from the Lucedale Police Department, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and county constables, the two suspects -- identified as Jessie Ray Mauldin, 30, and his wife, Kimberly Rene Mauldin, 47 -- were taken into custody without incident Wednesday night.

The two are suspects in the robbery of the Rocky Creek Quick Stop on Old Highway 63 in George County.

Jessie Ray Mauldin has been charged with commercial burglary and is in the George County Regional Jail awaiting an initial court appearance. Charges are pending against Kimberly Mauldin.
A clinical nurse manager has accepted that sitting on a female resident of Aras Attracta with severe intellectual disabilities was "unacceptable".

Pat McLoughlin (aged 56) of Lalibela, Mayfield, Claremorris, who is charged with assaulting the woman who cannot communication through speech, said he was having a bit of fun with the woman after she had struck him twice before the incident, but it was not caught on camera.

Mr McLoughlin, a native of the UK who moved to Ireland in 1971, told the court he was about to leave Bungalow 3 when the resident hit him. He was having a bit of playful interaction and thought he would get to the residents favourite chair before her.

In the spur of the moment I sat down partially on her and partially on the side of the chair.

It was a spur of the moment. I was just having a bit of interaction with her, a bit of fun.

RTE footage showed staff telling the resident give Pat a hug. She did so before the defendant left the common room.

The situation was diffused and I left so not to antagonise her.

The court heard that Mr McLoughlin knew the resident, who has severe intellectual disabilities with severe autism, for 10 years. He said she could be challenging at times and was prone to hitting out at staff and visitors and in the past had caused injury to staff.

Clinical nurse specialist Martin Maguire said he had worked on a functional assessment report for the resident prior to the incident and he believed the strategies in place for her were working well.

He told the court that he and Mr McLoughlin had disagreements on how to implement plans.

He described his colleagues actions as unacceptable behavioural management.

Prior to viewing the clip Mr Maguire had considered Mr McLoughlin as a competent nurse.

Its a challenging environment. There were many times we had disagreements but I would have regarded him as a good member of staff.

Gearoid Geraghty BL told the court that his client had contextualised the incident and it fell short of the standard required to prove hes guilty of assault. He sought a dismissal of the charge.

Judge Mary Devins reserved judgement on the case until the trial of the other four defendants is heard.
Update (12.49pm): Clare County Council said that water levels on the Lower River Shannon at Springfield, Clonlara, have risen two inches following overnight rainfall.

Water levels are now approximately 4-5 inches below the November 2009 peak level, which was reached on Saturday night last.

The Council says 8mm of rainfall during Wednesday evening and overnight has contributed to the rise in water levels but that "further increases are not anticipated during today (Thursday) as the ESB has confirmed its decision to maintain the flow of water downstream from Parteen Weir at 470 cubic metres per second (cumecs).

Philip Quinlivan draining flood water in Springfield, Clonlara, Co Clare on Dec 9. Pic: Liam Burke/Press 22.

"Clare County Council Area staff, assisted by The Defence Forces, are continuing to provide support on the ground in Springfield, as well as assist in the transportation of residents of properties isolated by floodwaters."

Read: Read More: Clonlara flood victim threatens to chain herself to the gates of Leinster House

Update 11.20am: ESB Networks is warning emergency services and members of the public to take care when moving around flooded areas in boats.

It says clearance under power lines may be affected in flooding and it could be dangerous to pass under them.

Anyone who sees sagging electricity lines, or wires submerged in water, is asked to avoid them, not to touch them, and to contact the ESB.

Update (9.55am): Residents in Athlone say they have reached the tipping point when it comes to flooding - and are calling for something serious to be done.

Defence Forces in Athlone, January 2

Stephen O'Leary has been one of many people manning pumps in Athlone town, in a bid to keep the water levels down.

There is a little talk about rain coming down from the mountains and what thatll bring, but well just have to wait and see, he said.

But the sandbags are doing their job.

Theres a serious set-up here, and a lot of people have put a lot of work in.

Something seriously needs to be done, its very hard to know, but I think it needs to be a joined-up effort, and sometimes you need to get to a tipping point  and if this isnt a tipping point, I dont know what is.

Update (8am): Around 1,000 homes and businesses are without electricity this morning.

The ESB is reporting power outages in Malahide and Fairview in north Dublin, in Bannagher, Co Offaly, in Kilmeaden, Co Waterford and in Westport, Co Mayo.

Around 700 of those affected are in Malahide, where there was a single tripping fault.

The ESB says that fault was probably not caused by rain last night.

Service should be restored to homes in Dublin this morning, and in other parts of the country by the afternoon.

Earlier: A number of flood alerts remain in place following heavy rain overnight.

Up to 25 millimetres was forecast across the country, with counties Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath the worst affected.

Met Eireann says conditions are expected to improve today, and there are no weather warnings currently in effect.

Sunshine coming your way today? Here's your answer. Peter pic.twitter.com/bYHDWXrxWn  BBC Weather (@bbcweather) January 7, 2016

However, flooding remains a problem in a number of areas, with some national and regional roads still under water.
By Daniel McConnell, Political Editor

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has branded Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin's personalised attack on him as an act of desperation.

Speaking in the Netherlands earlier today, Mr Kenny said the lead opposition party is now convulsed with attacking Fine Gael ahead of the General Election.

Mr Kenny, whose standing as leader was called into question by Mr Martin, said the Fianna Fail leader's attack was an attempt to distract people from the battle his own party is having with Sinn Fein.

Mr Kenny said: "Micheal Martin is a direct link to the party that drove our country off an economic cliff. Every single thing that Fianna Fail has done is now a blind of the row they are having with Sinn Fein."

During a sometimes tetchy radio interview on RTE Radio 1, Mr Martin said the Irish people no longer want Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, adding that it was a recurring theme coming up on the doors.

Mr Martin for the second day in a row, said Mr Kenny's desire to move to a US-style tax system would cause enormous damage to public services.

Mr Martin also told broadcaster Sean O'Rourke that his party can lead the next Government, but struggled to outline a possible scenario which would deliver sufficient numbers in the Dail to make that happen.

Mr Martin said it is still very possible for Fianna Fail to become the largest party after the forthcoming election.

He said there is an immediate perogative to remove Enda Kenny and Fine Gael from office, given the damage they have done to health and other services.

Recently, the partys director of elections, Cork North-Central TD, Billy Kelleher publicly said he expected Fianna Fail to win about 40 seats on a good day  vastly short of being the biggest party.

But today, the Fianna Fail leader insisted that the opinion polls  which put them below 20% and close to their score in the 2011 electoral annihilation  were understating the partys support.

Mr Martin said surveys before the May 2014 general election suggested Fianna Fail would be in third place. But in fact they emerged as the largest party in local councils with 25% of the vote and 266 councillors.

He also delivered a scathing verdict on Fine Gael and Enda Kenny. He said they were offering huge tax cuts which would devastate public services.

He said: "Already the health services were in chaos and there were not enough council workers to fight against problems like flooding  but the Government were pledging American-style rates of tax.

When you have US tax rates  you have US inequality, Mr Martin insisted. Mr Martin said Labour had failed to put the brakes on Fine Gael in government  as they had promised.

In response, the Taoiseach said the Fine Gael and Labour Party coalition "have a clear plan and a strategy to fulfil the remit given to us by the people to fix our public finances and put the country back to work

Fianna Fail has opposed every one of those measures and what they want to do is go back to the same old way where they destroyed public services that we are now rebuilding, he added.

Fianna Fail's desperation attack is something that is now beginning to convulse the party where for our point of view we have a very clear perspective where we want to reduce the taxation burden, create more jobs and then you can have an engine to drive the economy, the Taoiseach said.
Manchester United are expected to announce the cancellation of Adnan Januzajs loan deal with Borussia Dortmund on Thursday.

United sent Januzaj on a season-long loan to Dortmund in August to gain experience, but the 20-year-old has barely played for the German club.

The Belgium forward has started just three matches  all in the Europa League - and his only playing time in the Bundesliga came off the bench.

There was no release clause inserted into Januzajs loan contract when it was signed, but it is understood both clubs have agreed recently that it is their best interests to terminate the deal.

The relevant paperwork is expected to be exchanged that will effectively annul the loan agreement on Thursday.

Januzaj is understood to have stayed in Manchester over the Christmas period and was in the directors box for Uniteds home game against Chelsea on December 28.

United have until 5pm on Friday to register him for Saturdays FA Cup third-round tie against Sheffield United, although Louis van Gaal may decide to ease the forward back into the first team set-up after a couple of games for the Under-21 side instead. Januzaj has not played since Dortmunds 1-0 defeat to PAOK Salonika on December 10.

Van Gaal had warned Januzaj last year he was taking a risk by joining Dortmund, rather than a lower-profile club where he would have been guaranteed to play more.

In a club like Borussia Dortmund, all the players there are also of a certain level and I said in advance: thats a big risk for you because you have to compete with other players of a higher level and that is not so easy, the United manager said in November.
Paul Dunne says he is "devastated " to have had to withdraw from the BMW South African Open.

The Wicklow man was forced to withdraw with a stomach complaint before the first round in Johannesburg today.

Not the best timing to get food poisoning/tummy bug the night before the #BMWSAOpen. Devastated to have to withdraw this morning. #nextweek  Paul Dunne (@dunners11) January 7, 2016

Players and caddies at the tournament were wearing black ribbons in tribute to Christy OConnor Jnr, whose death was announced on Wednesday.

South Africas Jaco van Zyl set an imposing clubhouse target in the BMW SA Open as tournament host Ernie Els suffered another attack of the dreaded yips at Glendower.

Els had been three over par with three holes to play before reviving his chances of a sixth victory in his national open with a birdie on the seventh and an eagle on the par-five eighth.

However, the four-time major winner then three-putted the ninth, his final hole, to card a one-over-par 73, the 46-year-olds par putt from 18 inches not even touching the hole.

Els missed two similar putts in the space of a month towards the end of last season.

Later today Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell will take part in the Hyundai tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
French president Francois Hollande said today that the "terrorist threat" continues to weigh on the country.

In a speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, Mr Hollande said the government was passing new laws and ramping up security, but the threat remained high.

On January 7, 2015, a pair of extremist gunmen stormed the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people inside and a policeman outside.

Three police officers were among the 17 dead in the attacks last January, which ended after two days of bloodshed in the Paris region.

Mr Hollande said officers die in the line of duty "so that we can live free".
Groovy Dinosaurs

This illustration provided by Lida Xing and Yujiang Han in January 2016 shows theropods engaged in scrape ceremony display activity, based on trace fossil evidence from Colorado. The scientists who discovered the long grooves say they were dug by the feet of dinosaurs during a frenzied ritual to attract mates. Such behavior is seen nowadays in some birds, and the discovery suggests that two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods did it about 100 million years ago, the researchers said in a report released Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.

(Lida Xing/Yujiang Han)

NEW YORK -- Scientists say they've discovered evidence of a frenzied mating ritual by dinosaurs: long grooves in the ground etched by the pawing of clawed feet.

Such behavior is seen nowadays in some birds, and the discovery suggests that two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods did it about 100 million years ago, the researchers said.

Martin Lockley of the University of Colorado Denver said the dinosaurs, probably males, apparently gathered in groups and "went crazy scraping" with their clawed, three-toed feet to attract mates. The beasts were built roughly like smaller versions of a T. rex. Footprints near the grooves suggest a variety of body lengths, up to about 16 feet from snout to tip of the tail.

The grooves they carved are up to 6 feet long.

The ritual would have been entertaining to watch, Lockley said in an interview. "These animals would have been really frenzied."

Lockley, an emeritus professor of geology, is an author of a paper on the discovery released Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports. The grooves were found at three sites in western Colorado and another just west of Denver.

Dinosaur expert Thomas Holtz Jr. of the University of Maryland, who didn't participate in the work, said it's reasonable to think that theropods created the grooves. But was it for mating?

Holtz said he wasn't convinced that the new paper had sufficiently ruled out other explanations. But he added that there's no particular evidence for rejecting the mating idea.

"Whatever behavior is being recorded here, it is an expression of the fact that dinosaurs_like all animals_did more than hunt and attack and devour and fight and all that limited set of behaviors that popular culture often portrays," Holtz wrote in an email.
A psychologist at troubled Kids Company in England faces being struck off over allegations she gave MDMA to a patient in a nightclub toilet.

Helen Winter admitted taking the party drug, the active ingredient in ecstasy, and being under its influence while with two clients of the charity at a nightclub in south London in January 2014.

But she denies taking the Class A drug in front of one of the young people, known only as client C, in the toilet cubicle at the club and then giving her some.

Although she admitted using drugs on several occasions during her leisure time, testing positive for cocaine, and letting the vulnerable young people, known only as clients C and D, stay at her flat.

Dr Winter admitted that she was guilty of misconduct and that her fitness to practise is impaired, at the hearing at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPS) in London.

The case is the latest in a series of damaging allegations made against Kids Company, which closed last year following claims it misspent public money.

The charity, which is now under the control of administrators, is also being investigated by police from the complex case team of the Mets Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

Dr Winter took MDMA with a colleague, teacher Nicci Shall, on the night out at Hidden club in Vauxhall, south London, on 24 January 2014.

The pair had met while working at the Urban Academy, a pupil referral unit run by Kids Company in Southwark, south London.

Recalling the night in question, Ms Shall said she had been drinking wine and Jaegerbomb shots in the pub from 4pm when she and Dr Winter decided to carry the night on at Hidden.

She told how they bought some MDMA which they took in the toilet at the club, and later saw clients C and D, who were both in their early 20s, in the same club.

Later Ms Shall went to a toilet cubicle with Dr Winter and client C, a woman who she taught at the academy. There Ms Shall claims she watched the pair take drugs.

She told the hearing: Helen Winter offered client C and me a dab of MDMA which I declined. Helen Winter and client C consumed the MDMA.

Ms Shall said that after she left the club she felt awful about what she had witnessed and wanted to tell her boss, but was persuaded not to.

She said Dr Winter told her the clients had had a good time and nothing had come of it. In a series of texts she told Dr Winter how awful she felt. In one she wrote: I cant believe what we did.

Ms Shall said she felt appalled at the incident and turned to her mentor at Kids Company for advice, but they told her not to take the matter further.

She told the hearing: I stupidly followed their advice and I regret that.

She later added: I contacted someone who had been acting as my mentor at Urban Academy. I was looking for guidance.

They said you shouldnt say anything and I shouldnt take it any further. I really regret taking their advice.

Ms Shall said her mentor reiterated this to her several times over the following months.

They revisited the issue in May 2014 after she heard from another colleague that Dr Winter let client C stay at her home, and it was then that she decided to report the matter to the charitys chief executive, Camila Batmanghelidjh.

She told the hearing: I turned to my mentor again and mentioned about the staying over and he said I needed to go straight to Camila and not my local manager because she didnt think they were competent to deal with this.

Ms Shall said it took months for her to pluck up the courage to alert her bosses because she didnt want to betray Dr Winter.

She was interviewed for an internal investigation, but raised concerns about the accuracy of the report.

Dr Winter broke down in tears and had to take a break from the disciplinary hearing. She sobbed and had to be handed a tissue as she left the room with her lawyer.

The case was adjourned until 9.30am on Friday morning, when Dr Winter is expected to give evidence.

The panel had earlier been told that clients C and D were not being called as witnesses as its not been possible to contact them since the disbandment of Kids Company.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles declined to charge Bill Cosby with sexually abusing two teenagers in 1965 and 2008, citing time limits and a lack of evidence.

The decision comes about a week after Cosby, 78, was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 inside his home near Philadelphia.
The Syrian government has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into three beleaguered villages following reports of deaths from malnutrition in that part of the country, a UN official has said.

A statement from Yacoub El Hillo, UNs resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said aid will begin entering the villages in the coming days.

Two of the villages in question are the adjacent Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in the countrys north, which have been besieged by anti-government militants for more than a year.

The third is the village of Madaya near the border with Lebanon, which has been under siege by government forces since early July.

The UN welcomes todays approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Foua and Kfarya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days, said Mr El Hillo.

Activists have said that several people have died over the past weeks in both areas because of malnutrition. There are currently some 30,000 people in the two Shiite villages and an even higher number in Madaya.

Almost 42,000 people remaining in Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation, Mr El Hillo warned.

Mr El Hillo said the UN is particularly concerned about the plight of nearly 400,000 people besieged by parties to the conflict in areas including the eastern city of Deir el-Zour as well as the Damascus suburbs known as eastern Ghoua.

In the meantime, Syrian president Bashar Assads government has repeatedly denied UN requests to deliver aid to specific areas.

In the last year, only 10% of all requests for UN inter-agency convoys to hard-to-reach and besieged areas were approved and delivered, the statement said.

He added that up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need.

The conflict that began in March 2011 has killed more than 250,000 people and wounded more than a million. The crisis has also displaces half of Syrias pre-war 23 million people.
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The ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals could put an end to a $60 million revenue stream that is being misdirected to the National Pork Producers Council to fund its political activities. Photo by iStockphoto

1.0K shares







Back in August I reported on a lawsuit by The HSUS and a few other plaintiffs to stop a raid on federal dollars by the pork industry, and how a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals could put an end to a $60 million revenue stream that is being misdirected to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) for the purpose of funding its political activities.

I am delighted to report that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which approves the payments in question, has agreed to reconsider the whole scheme. And today, the federal district court here in Washington, D.C. has cleared the way for the USDAs review, over the vehement objections of NPPC, the pork industrys lobbying and trade association.

As part of a negotiated agreement with the plaintiffs  entered today  the USDA will conduct a new financial review of the valuation of the underlying trademark at issue: The Other White Meat, the tired slogan that was sold by NPPC to the National Pork Board, and serves as the ostensible justification for the Pork Boards continued $3 million a year handout (over 20 years) to NPPC.

Within hours of the filing of the agreement with the USDA, NPPC strongly objected and, in a court filing, sought to stop the agency from conducting an independent financial review  understandable, given NPPCs reliance on these federal funds to conduct lobbying campaigns against farm animal welfare and public health reforms.

Any honest review of this illegal use of pork check-off money by a private trade association will show that theres some funny math going on in Washington, D.C. If the new valuation determines that the retired slogan isnt worth the tens of millions of dollars that constitute the balance of payments on the contract, then the annual payments to NPPC will have to cease, or at least be drastically scaled back. Either way, it will be a good outcome for family farmers and for every social reform effort that NPPC works to thwart with the use of these public dollars.

While the new agreement does not end the lawsuit or its underlying claims, The HSUS, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, and the independent pig farmer who joined as plaintiffs in this lawsuit have already succeeded in bringing to light the pork industrys abuses of this producer-funded promotion program. Although the court denied the lobbying groups motion to intervene for now (and questioned NPPCs delay of more than three years to file it), we can expect this fight to continue for some time.

The new contract review and trademark valuation will be completed in May. Until then, we continue to fight for animals, family farmers, and rural residents, as we seek to end abuse of these government programs and their sweetheart deals with Big Pork.
Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Canberra angered by the execution of cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, who was critical of the kingdom's treatment of its Shiite minority.

The cleric was executed by Saudi authorities last week along with another 46 people convicted of terrorism charges, drawing immediate condemnation from Iran and its allies in the Middle East.

Protest organiser Ali Abida said more than two hundred people took part in the protest with many travelling from Sydney and Melbourne by bus.
Cool temperatures and rainy days may seem a distant memory on the weekend with the mercury set to rise to 33 degrees with clear skies.

Weatherzone meteorologist Tristan Myers said the conditions would be perfect for the beach, but urged people to check for water pollution levels after flooding in the Moruya area.

Mark Jekabsons, of Macarthur, took this stunning photo inside a barrel at Diamond Head in Crowdy Bay National Park on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Credit:Mark Jekabsons

"It will also be a little humid because of the recent rain so that will make it feel a little warmer than the forecast," he said.

"Winds won't be too much of an issue as they will be reasonably calm, but there will be some sea breezes."
Markets were tipped into freefall on Thursday with both Australian shares and the Australian dollar crunched in the wake of a deepening round of declines on China's markets amid fears that the Chinese government may not be able to stem investor selling.

For the second time this week, China was forced to suspend sharemarket trading following declines of more than 7 per cent in the Shanghai market as investors dumped shares ahead of the planned removal of a six month ban on share sales by large companies.

The downturn has wiped an estimated $78 billion off the value of Australian shares this week alone with the market falling more than 5 per cent as the key ASX 200 index has slid towards the 5000 point level and the Australian dollar has fallen to two month lows at around US70.

After trading in its sharemarket was suspended on Thursday, China issued new rules to restrict share sales, which prompted fears it may provoke further selling. Last year, to stabilise its market, the Chinese government banned share sales by large companies for six months with that ban due to expire at the end of this week.
The prospect of criminal charges against one or more former senior executives from collapsed Melbourne satellite company NewSat has increased after a US government bank handed damning documents to corporate watchdog ASIC and Washington lawyers.

America's EXIM bank has lost $130 million by backing NewSat's failed dream of launching a satellite. The NewSat debacle caused the US Congress to stop funding the EXIM bank last year.

The report found Adrian Ballintine had effective control of NewSat's board. Credit:Drew Ryan

A report by the bank's inspector general found NewSat management allegedly misled the company's main lender by failing to disclose the true state of its finances and hiding a host of suspect payments to NewSat founder and ex-chief executive Adrian Ballintine's yacht business.

Documents to support these findings have been referred to ASIC and the general counsel for the Washington bank to support "civil or criminal remedies", the inspector general's report reveals.
Cologne has caught the world's attention with breathless headlines that a thousand men roamed the German city sexually assaulting and robbing women on New Year's Eve. But as a hundred complaints began reaching police stations, with one woman reporting she was turned away because they were too busy, the police filed a report saying the night had "passed off peacefully".

It was women who went public with their story some days later, with many media outlets ignoring the incidents, eventually forcing an apology from national broadcaster ZDF.

Even as the news broke, the preferred angle wasn't about sexual assault but refugee intake, given the attackers were described as African or Arab in appearance. Meanwhile, women were told to travel in pairs.

It's another case of women being spoken to but rarely heard when it comes to assault.
The newsreaders on North Korean television reserve a special tone of jubilation for announcing nuclear tests. Whenever their youthful dictator detonates the ultimate weapon, the pink-clad lady who usually tells the world can barely suppress her glee.

She was at her euphoric best on Wednesday, declaring that North Korea had conducted its fourth test with "perfect success", and, even better, this was the most powerful of the lot!

A South Korean army soldier watches a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after North Korea said on Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test. Credit:Ahn Young-joon

First things first: the regime's claim to have exploded a hydrogen bomb  the most destructive brand of nuclear weapon  is probably empty bombast. The earthquake caused by the latest underground explosion at the testing site beneath Hamgyong province was no stronger than the last one in 2013.

For now, the experts' verdict is that Kim Jong-un tried out a hydrogen bomb that fizzled disappointingly  or he let off an enhanced version of an existing weapon.
As well, Farrelly correctly asserts that Turnbull brought this on himself by not initially having the courage to bite the bullet and pass over these recalcitrants instead of trying to appease them. He is yet to show that he can translate silken tongue into strong leadership and, until he truly confronts the Abbott rump inside his tent, we will be saddled with yet another dysfunctional government. As for the Labor Party, the strong performances of Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong while Bill Shorten took a break have surely given the powers-that-be a lightbulb moment as far as their own leadership problem is concerned. Bert Candy Lemon Tree Passage Well done, Elizabeth Farrelly, for telling it as it is. We are growing tired of the the increasing number of dropkicks in Parliament. We have been up in arms over the bad behaviour of some sportsmen over the years, but this is far worse as the offenders are members of our government. Malcolm Turnbull needs to act swiftly and decisively and weed out every MP who fails the quality control standards. He has no choice if he wishes to prove his own worthiness for high office. This is an election year and I suspect most of us will be looking for honesty, decency, respect and fairness in the candidates presented to us. In recent years both major parties failed to apply satisfactory filters in the preselection process.

Graham Lum North Rocks Elizabeth Farrelly's article should have carried the NSFW warning (not suitable for work). How I laughed out loud at her descriptions of the federal ministry population. After wiping away the tears of amusement, the tears of despair threatened. These men (in this instance Mal Brough, Jamie Briggs and Peter Dutton) occupy influential roles and seem to not understand how wrong, out-dated and damaging their attitudes are; attitudes to all, regardless of gender. We deserve politicians who consider name calling, victim blaming and lying to be abhorrent behaviour, not an acceptable manner to shore up their political position. To avoid ongoing destruction to our system of government and our society, these men must be removed from their positions of power. Christine Northam Caringbah

Come on, Malcolm Turnbull! It is time to sack Peter Dutton. Elizabeth Farrelly has analysed it for you. Misogyny must not survive Tony Abbott. Anne Eagar Epping Public response sought to private education issues In the end, it probably will be impossible to stop herds of private providers galloping into the education "market" ("Union accuses private school of underpaying teaching staff", January 7). Whether it is done by international firms such as Pearson or local opportunists such as Crawford Education, compliant governments will pander to private alternatives. As privatisation seems to be the default position of the Baird government, you only have to look at the Technical and Further Education example to have every reason to be concerned for public education in Australia.

The Reddam House case provides another example of labour hire firms employed to circumvent worker protections. It has happened in retail, construction, cleaning and various other industries, so why not in education? Surely though, any public funding, via whatever convoluted accounting processes are involved, that goes towards supporting such abuses in private education establishments has to be thoroughly investigated. Gus Plater Saratoga Reddam House founder and Crawford Education director Graeme Crawford, the leaders of Reddam House and its barristers are undoubtedly all excellently remunerated; not so the early learning staff at Reddam House. The reasons used by Reddam House allegedly to underpay teachers are deplorable. Where are the parents of Reddam House children on this issue? Are Reddam parents happy to see those who directly care for their children deprived of their fair remuneration? Michael Davis Balmain East

Barnaby Joyce not fit to be deputy PM Barnaby Joyce may be a wily political operator but really do we want someone who refers to a female colleague as a "flash bit of kit" being deputy prime minister of this country (" 'The goose' is definitely having a serious gander at the deputy PM job", January 7)? The thought that he will seemingly waltz into the role unopposed fills me with despair at the depth of political talent that we have in this country. Greg Loder Springwood Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, only a heartbeat away from the Lodge. Now we will find out how the American people felt about Dan Quayle. Peter Johnson Blaxland

Before Barnaby Joyce puts his hand up he might reflect on the fact that a cabinet minister, with all the rank and privilege that entails, is not just a "bloke talking to another bloke". Michael Ahern Grafton System at fault Hey, Tony Lyons (Letters, January 7), how about going easy on the "we elected them so what does this say about us?" I'm pretty certain that if we had "first-past-the-post" voting, as they do in many other countries, the "duds now in control" may be planted firmly on the other side of the parliament. Lorraine Nelson Frenchs Forest

Outrage unwarranted I watched the Chris Gayle "incident" and there is no doubt in my mind that his behaviour was sleazy and inappropriate (Letters, January 7). However, I also heard the raucous laughter from the Channel Ten commentators in the background. Have they been fined? Are their jobs on the line? After a Neighbours ad featuring actors in swimming costumes, Andrew Flintoff expressed his eagerness to watch the show again and a colleague suggested it was for the "abs"  this not long before he took to social media outraged by Gayle's comments. The bottom line is that until sideline "dancers" in barely-there costumes disappear, camera people stop focusing in on every woman in shorts and bikini tops and boys stop being boys in commentary boxes, the extreme response to Gayle's faux pas is meaningless. Anne Drayton St Marys I wonder why John Frawley (Letters, January 7) believes that a woman doing her job needs to provide a demeaning response such as "What? With that pathetic hardware, you'd have to be joking" to Chris Gayle's offensive comment. I would not consider using a response such as Mr Frawley provided and I would guess the professional woman concerned would not either. Men may consider it a smart response. I just consider it something I shouldn't have to put up with.

Diana Ryall Birchgrove In all the hullabaloo regarding Chris Gayle in your Letters section (January 7), the name of Tony Abbott has not been mentioned once. Seems strange as he appears to be guilty of everything else. Roger Cedergreen South Hurstville Sun finally spotted I left home this morning for my usual walk, umbrella up as it was pouring with rain. About half way the rain stopped and I saw two strange apparitions in the sky. One was blue sky, the other, I believe, is called the sun ("Enough with the rain, let's have summer", January 7). What a wet wait!

Norman Arnott Forestville Greed is to blame With the exception of our own gun lobby, so politically influential in NSW, and the likes of outspoken MP David Leyonhjelm who thinks gun laws a transgression of freedom, most in this country remain thankful for John Howard's stance on gun control after Port Arthur. They will share President Obama's tears at memories of the US's many mass killings ("Obama sheds tears for victims", January 7). Moir's cartoon (January 7) sums up the real problem: entrenched greed. The excuse trotted out is the Second Amendment, adopted in 1791. The right to self-defence clearly had more relevance to the wild west days than today with its easy availability of such lethal weaponry. The Second Amendment did not preclude firearms regulation though, something Obama appears willing to explore. Nevertheless, a recalcitrant National Rifle Association, shamefully supported by the Republican presidential candidates who see votes in opposing gun control, makes likely the President's tears and gun control efforts will be fruitless. Ron Sinclair Bathurst

Toasting lost pubs I enjoyed reading Bernard Zuel's "A walk on the wild side" (January 7). However, I was disappointed his walk ended at Lawson's without mentioning the Civic Hotel and without walking that little bit closer to Central Station for a walk past the site of the Stagedoor Tavern, where I first saw the Angels and Flowers (before they transformed into Icehouse). It does make me nostalgic for the days of the Sydney beer barns, pubs such as the Royal Antler, Manly Vale, Coogee Bay, Crossroads, Caringbah among others (and an honourable mention for Maroubra Seals, where I recall seeing a mighty Angels concert one night). And let us not forget the underground venues: pubs such as the Lansdale, Hopetoun and Sandringham hotels, and clubs such as the Journos, Graphic Arts and the Phoenician. Mark Phillips St Peters

TAFE under attack Well said Al Svirskis (Letters, January, 7). I agree, but perhaps it is a bloody minded ideological commitment, rather than a mindless one, that is driving the push to ultimately destroy Technical and Further Education? Pasquale Vartuli Wahroonga PC crowd seem to be full of condemnation Atheists "evangelical" and "judgmental" (Letters, January 7)? Surely not. No good news gospel to spread, no judgment day from us. A bit of gentle religious mockery, a few cartoons, perhaps, but secular condemnation looks to be the province of the whole politically correct crowd looking at Thursday's letters and columns.

Tony Reardon Terrey Hills It's left to the right Can there ever be an end to the ABC bias wars ("The ABC is at a crossroad and the new boss has her work cut out", January 7)? The trouble is that as the ABC endeavours to steer an unbiased course, making it centrist, it is seen always to the left by politicians on the right such as Eric Abetz. David Jaffray Huntleys Cove Tax was worthwhile
As many as one in four users of private health insurance have had a claim refused, a shocking new survey finds.

Conducted by the Consumers Health Forum, it finds that only half of all private health insurance customers know with confidence what their policies cover. Only one in four finds it easy to compare policies.

Health Minister Sussan Ley is concerned about the quality of health insurance Australians are getting. Credit:Andrew Meares

The average premium is $1935 for singles, $3955 for couples and $4337 for families. Additional out-of-pocket expenses average $2035, meaning that four out of 10 privately insured Australians face expenses of at least 6 per cent of household income.

One in five face expenses of at least 10 per cent.
The average age of self-managed superannuation fund trustees fell to under 50 years for the first time in 2015 as more working-age Australians opted to pull their compulsory retirement savings out of the industry fund their employer nominated and start their own.

According to the latest available data from the Australian Taxation Office, self-managed super fund owners now control about 30 per cent of the more than $2 trillion superannuation sector.

Working-age women are increasingly opting for self-managed superannuation funds.

In the five years to June 30, 2014, the average assets of SMSFs grew by 23 per cent to more than $1 million for the first time, while average assets per member hit an all-time high of $564,000.

SMSF Association chief executive Andrea Slattery welcomes the trend for more people, particularly women, to start their own DIY fund at a younger age, as seen in the charts.
In its December budget update, the federal government announced plans to cut bulk-billing incentive payments for pathology and imaging services from July 1, saving $650 million over four years.

The government says the bulk billing incentive payments have directed taxpayer money to private companies with negligible results. Credit:Rohan Thomson

But the government has hit back, saying the bulk billing incentive payments - introduced by Labor in 2009 - had directed taxpayer money to private companies, with negligible results.

Medical groups and the Australian Medical Association are claiming patients face hundreds of dollars in up front costs, as the fallout grows from the government's pre-Christmas announcement it would cut payments to pathology and imaging services.

Labor's incentive payments were designed to increase bulk billing rates. The government says bulk billing rates have increased by just one per cent, from 86 per cent to 87 per cent, although data shows the proportion of bulk-billed diagnostic imaging services increased from 66 per cent in 2008-09 to 77 per cent last year.

After Mamamia published a story on Tuesday night claiming pap smears would cost $30 once the changes to pathology incentive payments took effect (a claim that originated with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia), outrage swiftly followed.

A change.org petition had gathered more than 152,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon, with thousands taking to social media to brand the changes a retrograde attack on women's health.

A spokesman for Health Minister Sussan Ley said the government was not proposing to cut rebates, but rather wanted to cut "an inefficient payment  worth between $1.40 and $3.40  that is paid direct to pathology corporations separate to the Medicare rebate".

He said patients should be "rightly suspicious" of providers who claim they will now charge $30 for a test because of the loss of a payment worth just $1.40 to $3.40.
Two months ago, 28-year-old Parkinson woman Yuanyuan Cao was excitedly announcing the birth of her baby girl to the world.

"15/10/15, 3:28am, my little princess was born 3.1 kg at mater hospital," she posted.

It was under the most horrendous of circumstances that the baby girl would return to hospital.
Stinger season is in full swing in the state's north, prompting warnings from surf life savers and health authorities of an "influx" of potentially deadly irukandji.

And a respected toxinologist warned it was only a matter of time before the south-east corner was forced to deal with the problem.

Six marine stings along the Queensland coast in the past few days have been attributed to deadly irukandji.

Irukandji jellyfish were thought to be responsible for six stings just this week with the most recent on Wednesday in waters off a Great Barrier Reef Island popular with tourists.

A 12-year-old boy had to be rushed to the Hamilton Island medical centre after being stung on his upper left thigh by what was thought to be one of the 12 irukandji-syndrome-inducing species.
A planned strike by tug boat crews in all eastern seaboard ports next week will have minimal impact in Brisbane, Port of Brisbane's chief operating officer says.

However the strike by crews working for tug operator Svitzer could have a more serious impact in southern ports.

Tug operators at the Port of Brisbane will strike for 12 hours on Wednesday. Credit:Tug operators in Port of Brisban

It affects fuel tankers, container vessels, car importers and coal exporters, but not cruise ships or defence vessels.

Peter Keyte said the Port of Brisbane Authority was advised of next Wednesday's potential strike on Wednesday night.
Transit police have asked for the public's help to catch a man who exposed himself on a tram in Melbourne's south east.

A 31-year-old woman has told police she was travelling on a Dandenong Road tram in Prahran on December 4 about 7pm when a man aged in his late 20s exposed himself in front of her.

The man stepped off the tram at the intersection of Dandenong Road and Hotham Street about 20 minutes later.

The unidentified man is described as being about 175 centimetres tall, with a small amount of facial hair on his upper lip.

He was wearing a white shirt with three-quarter-length blue sleeves.
Earlier on Thursday, Main Roads, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and WA Police, were forced to close parts of Forrest Highway as firefighters tackled fires in Waroona, Preston Beach and Harvey.

In a statement posted on Southbound's website it was confirmed "with great regret" that they were no longer proceeding with the three-day event, as they were not prepared to compromise the safety of festival-goers facing detours as they bid to get to the Busselton-based site.

Bushfires spreading through WA's South West have given organisers of Southbound festival "no choice but to cancel this year's event" - it was announced on Thursday night.

And with alternative routes from Perth becoming clogged with traffic organisers deemed lives to be at risk in their bid to get to the event.

Southbound Festival has been running for 13 years. Credit:Mac1Photography.

The statement read: "The only alternate route given both main highways are closed is now compromised. The alternative access to the event communicated earlier today is now only open for essential travel. As of news recently to hand festival patrons are now not able to use this road leaving us with no access to the festival site."

It went on to pay tribute to those having to tackle the fires and added that "first and foremost our thoughts are with our local community of South West...We give all our love and support to our local family in this intense time of stress."

"Everyone on site is absolutely devastated as we were working so hard to bring the best Southbound yet. Please understand at this time we will be extremely busy dealing with the cancellation and our thoughts are with those in danger due to the nearby fire," David Chitty, Southbound director, said.
Animal rights group PETA has lost its bid to have a monkey awarded ownership of a series of selfies.

The group filed a lawsuit in the US federal court in San Francisco in September over photos a crested black macaque took on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 2011 with a photographer's unattended camera.

Naruto, in one of his contested selfies. Credit:Wikimedia

The camera's owner, wildlife photographer David Slater, claimed copyright on the remarkable images through his British business and also published them in a book through a US self-publishing service.

PETA argued that the seven-year-old monkey, Naruto, was the rightful owner because he created the images through "purposeful and voluntary actions... unaided by Slater, resulting in original works of authorship".
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Midwood has a new music spot!

A fiery Latin jazz band will heat things up as part of a new music series at the East Midwood Jewish Center on Jan. 9. The concert marks a return of sorts for the bandleader of Sonido Isleno, who organized a series of concerts at the Center a few years ago.

We did a jazz series a few years ago. It was good, but it was just five concerts, said Ben Lapidus, a member of the Jewish Center. Its a full-time job to promote them.

This time around, the Midwood guitar player will just be performing with his six-piece band, leaving the organizing to fellow musician and Center member Hagai Kamil.

He really knows what hes doing, said Lapidus. Hes done a lot to create a space thats really conducive to performing

The Centers 300-person capacity Grand Ballroom has been restored over the last few months, receiving an updated stage and sound system.

Its 90 percent there, said Kamil, who organized the renovations. There are some visual things I want to do to make it even better, but its a really professional set-up.

Kamil, who owns the Brooklyn Music School in Park Slope, started planning the music series because of a lack of local family-friendly events. Several of his students had moved with their families to the Midwood and Ditmas Park neighborhood, and were lacking in places to hear music, he said.

The students that I have  theyre looking for events, said Kamil. Theyre moving into the neighborhood and realize theres nothing to do here. We have the Brooklyn Center [For the Performing Arts] nearby, but thats a bigger venue, and much more expensive.

Kamil used his contacts in the local music community to book bands, and is lining up monthly performers for the next few months, looking for performers who will appeal to the entire local community, not just the regulars at the Jewish Center.

This is not for Jewish people  this is for everybody, said Kamil. Im trying to get out of just depending on the synagogue crowd. We want to appeal to the community as a whole.

The Latin jazz band playing on Jan. 9 is part of that goal. Sonido Isleno have been drawing crowds for almost 20 years, have recorded five albums of blended Latin jazz and Carribbean music, and toured across the U.S., Europe, and South America. Bandleader Lapidus says he is looking forward to taking the Centers stage.

Its great to be from Brooklyn, and play in Brooklyn and have opportunities in Brooklyn that are not just in restaurants or bars, he said. Its a great facility and a great community.

Ben Lapidus and Sonido Isleno at the East Midwood Jewish Center [1625 Ocean Ave. between Avenues K and L in Midwood, (718) 3383800, www.emjc.org]. Jan. 9 at 6:30 pm. $25 ($20 seniors, children free).

Reach arts editor Bill Roundy at broun dy@cn gloca l.com or by calling (718) 2604507.
'Be Apart' is sort of about moving to New York City and wanting to belong. It's about nightlife, about being taken away, losing control, longing for acceptance, and letting go. I imagine the music video portraying some sort of cult or family living in a mansion. The cult/mansion represent both what you might long to be a part of and also the sentiment of longing to be elsewhere, a part of what is outside.
by Bill Pearis

Teleman, the band formed from the ashes of Pete & the Pirates, have announced their second album, titled Brilliant Sanity, which will be out April 8 via Moshi Moshi. They made the album with producer Dan Carey (Hot Chip, Kate Tempest, Bat For Lashes) and you can watch the video for first single "Fall in Time," as well an album trailer and the video for 2015 one-off single "Strange Combinations," below.

No word on North American shows (they toured here in 2014) but they do have UK dates in April. All are listed, along with album art, tracklist, and videos, below...



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Teleman - Brilliant Sanity tracklist:

Dusseldorf

Fall In Time

Glory Hallelujah

Brilliant Sanity

Superglue

Canvas Shoe

Tangerine

English Architecture

Melrose

Drop Out

Devil In My Shoe




photo: Cass McCombs in Brooklyn in 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight's shows, but here are some highlights...

"KTHXBAI: A retrospective of the photographic works of Chris La Putt" @ IDIO Gallery

BV Photo Editor Chris La Putt passed away last year after a long battle with cancer and we are honored to pay tribute to him with this show of his work. Tonight's the opening reception and features special performances by Nellie McKay and Basia Bulat. You can buy prints of Chris' work too, with proceeds going to CancerCare. The event starts at 8 PM, it's a small place so be advised to arrive early. But hope to see you there.

Cass McCombs, Soldiers of Fortune @ Bowery Ballroom

The very talented and prolific Cass McCombs celebrates the release of his new odds-n-sods compilation, A Folk Set Apart: Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc, tonight. It's going to be a special show, with lots of guests, and help from openers Soldiers of Fortune. Should be fun.

Balance and Composure, Roger Harvy @ Saint Vitus

PA alt-rock/post-hardcore band Balance & Composure had been quiet for a while, but they recently played an intimate Brooklyn show and said new music is on the way. This week they play two more small gigs in BK, and both are opened by the indie folk-ish Roger Harvey. This is the second

Pinegrove, Vundabar, Washer, Paper Streets @ Shea Stadium

Recent signees to Run For Cover, Pinegrove make scrappy indie rock and their new album Cardinal (due out 2/12) is one to look forward to. Stream their newest single, "Old Friends," below.

Justin Townes Earle @ City Winery

There's a lot of the Earle family at City Winery this month. While he's got some shows with his dad, Steve, as well, Justin Townes Earle goes it alone tonight.

Bridget Everett @ Joe's Pub

Bridget Everett's acclaimed (and highly irreverent) show "Rock Bottom" returns to Joe's Pub for four shows this week.

Rhett Miller, Rusty Truck @ Hill Country

The Old 97's frontman plays a very intimate -- and FREE -- show tonight as part of Rusty Truck's Hill Country residency. You probably want to arrive early for this one.

Cruel Hand, Drug Church, Culture Abuse, Cautioners @ The Studio at Webster Hall

In their own ways, Cruel Hand, Drug Church and Culture Abuse all find ways to mix hardcore with a more straight-up alternative rock vibe, without ever fitting too neatly into either genre. This should be a good show.

Bowl Train ft. Grandmaster Flash @ Brooklyn Bowl

Brooklyn Bowl's weekly DJ night Bowl Train has a very special guest tonight: Grandmaster Flash, whose influence on the past three decades of hip hop is undeniable.

Joy Again, ROMP, Dark Tones, Glueboy @ Palisades

This show is headlined by lo-fi pop rockers Joy Again (who are managed by Shamir), and if you're going it's also worth catching the crunchy indie-punks ROMP.

Mo Rocca & Michael Ian Black (discussion) @ Symphony Space

Michael Ian Black, who you may know from The State and Wet Hot American Summer and other things, talks tonight with onetime Daily Show correspondent Mo Rocca about his new memoir, Navel Gazing.

Jerry Seinfeld @ Beacon Theater

What's the deal with these shows? Jerry Seinfeld begins his monthly residency at Beacon Theater tonight, that's what.

For all of tonight's shows, and tomorrow's, check out our NYC concert calendar.

For laughs, check out the NYC Comedy calendar too.

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Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.

Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.

Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.
A grand total of 11,678 was raised for charity by the residents of a Burnham-On-Sea cul-de-sac whose sparkling display of over 100,000 twinkling Christmas lights has been dubbed Britains most festive street.

As the Trinity Close lights come down after a busy five week festive season, the residents say they are delighted with the record amount raised.

Crowds of visitors flocked to see the sparkling display, raising cash for PETAL: The Christine Woodberry Memorial Trust and the Friends of Burnham Hospital.

Resident Nick Gardner, who is one of the residents who organises the display, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: It was an exceptionally good festive season and we are all very pleased with the final sum.

To raise 11,688 for charity over the five weeks is incredible  simply superb  and a big thank you goes from us all to those who came along and supported us.

The wet weather provided us with a few extra challenges, creating several electrical shorts, but it didnt deter the visitors.
In a major decision, the Indian government has decided to implement Bharat Standard - VI (BS VI) emission norms for by April 1, 2020, and altogether skipping the BS-V norms. BS norms are the equivalent of euro norms. Union road, transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari described it as "a revolutionary decision.important to address pollution." According to him, along with Swacch Bharat, India should also become a pollution-free country. "We have decided that we will move to BS-VI norms across the country directly from BS-IV norms by April 1, 2020," he said. The petroleum ministry would spend Rs30,000 crore for upgrading refineries to ensure clean fuel technology. The minister was confident the auto industry would support the government's decision. "We will support them in the difficulties that they face but to control pollution, they also need to support us," he said. "Many auto companies already export car engines which support the BS VI norms. Moreover, we have given them time till 2020 to implement it." The government's decision came a day after the Supreme Court urged it to implement clean vehicular fuel norms amid growing concerns on increasing air pollution. The apex court wanted the government to advance the date of implementation of BS-VI, originally scheduled to come into force in April 2021. The move is expected to result in a Rs30,000 to Rs40,000 increase in the cost of cars.

Source : BS Motoring
It was on January 7, 2009, that B Ramalinga Raju, the poster boy of Hyderabad's information technology industry, confessed to forging financial records at Satyam Computer Services.

This shook the entire sector, particularly here, because Raju was credited with putting Andhra Pradesh on the global technology map. Seven years on, though the memory has faded, the scar lingers.

"The only recollection is the shocking silence that prevailed at the Satyam headquarters as we listened to of our founder confessing to fraud. Even after seven years, the - which shattered our lives and blurred our dreams and career prospects--haunts us," says Anand Kumar (name changed), a senior employee who has remained with the company, now Tech Mahindra.

Satyam's employees had to undergo mental trauma, job uncertainty and financial problems, after many were forced to leave.

Though the law caught up with Raju, employees feel the punishment should have been more harsh. Raju, along with eight others, was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment on April 9, 2015. The others included his brother and former managing director B Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Srinivas Vadlamani, and former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors Subramani Gopalakrishnan and T Srinivas. Besides, Raju and his brother were also fined Rs 5 crore each, while the others were fined up to Rs 25 lakh each.

Purnanand, a former associate of Satyam, expresses his disappointment over the bail granted to Raju.

"If you ride a tiger, it is hard to get off'. Did Raju not know this? What he committed was an intentional deception and he should be put behind bars again," he says. Raju had made his confession "with deep regret and tremendous burden". "It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," he had written in his resignation letter on January 7.

The erstwhile Satyam founder, who kept the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the government machinery and the legal system on their toes, was granted bail on May 11, 2015.

The court suspended their sentence after all the nine accused furnished personal bonds of Rs 1 lakh each. Deeksha Singh, a former Satyam employee, finds it difficult to forget those days.

"The burden of the maligned brand that we had carried on our shoulders, and the humiliations and denials we received from other firms when we approached them for jobs - looking at these I think the quantum of punishment awarded to them is very small," says Singh, who is now working for a mid-sized technology company here.

Even after seven years investigators have not been able to trace the money siphoned off. People in the know say Raju and his family run a real estate business outside Andhra Pradesh and in Latin America. This could not, however, be confirmed.

Raju's daughter-in-law Sandhya Raju, had in August 2015 invested Rs 60 crore in a healthcare start-up CallHealth Services.

"The investment was made through Quark Enterprises, my holding company," she had told reporters. Sandhya Raju is the sole promoter of the start-up.

A month later, in September 2015, the Securities and Exchange Board of India had asked 10 entities linked to B Ramalinga Raju, his mother, brother and sons, to disgorge Rs 1,800 crore worth of illegal gains. How Raju and his relatives will cough up this amount remains a million-dollar question.
Setting up a committee under a former judge to resolve the dispute between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) may not be the best way of tackling the issue but probably it is the only transparent way left for the government. Experts familiar with government functioning are not in agreement over the scope of the committee's power.

The panel is facing its first hitch with one of the parties, RIL, deciding not to cooperate with it. Legally, the government or the AP Shah committee cannot bind RIL, or for that matter any former or retired government official, to provide evidence or accept its recommendations unless such a decision has the backing of a court verdict, says Yogendra Narain, a former secretary in the government of India who has also been secretary-general of the Rajya Sabha.

Nonetheless, RIL's assertion that it prefers arbitration does not appear to hold ground either, with RS Sharma, former chairman and managing director, ONGC, saying only parties to a contract can seek arbitration. "In this case, RIL is in contract with the government and not ONGC, so why should ONGC be in arbitration with it?" he adds.

The RIL spokesperson did not respond to phone calls on the issue. When contacted, Shah declined to say anything on the committee's formation or proceedings. "This is an independent committee. Propriety demands I should not speak to media," he said over the phone.

RIL has reportedly challenged the jurisdiction of the committee arguing that the dispute should be resolved by arbitration. The company is looking for a resolution within the terms of production sharing contract signed between the three partners and the Union government. The panel had its first meeting on December 31 and has to submit a report by March 15, 2016.

The ministry of petroleum and natural gas appointed a one-man committee under Shah through an office memorandum issued on December 15, 2015. Its four-point terms of reference include considering "the acts of omission and commission, if any, on the part of stakeholders, including RIL, ONGC, DGH (Directorate General of Hydrocarbons) and the government, and give recommendations on it". The commission has been authorised to formulate its own procedure and call any record and examine any witness it sees fit.

Narain maintains that without statutory backing such a committee's summons or procedures are binding only on serving officers and not on private or individuals. "Even retired officials are private citizens so they cannot be summoned. Such a right is usually exercised by parliamentary committees only," he says.

Though Shah, chairman of the 20th Law Commission and former chief justice of India, does not have any geological expert on the panel, the committee is expected "to quantify the unfair enrichment, if any, to the contractors of the adjacent block KG-DWN-98/3 and measures to prevent future unfair enrichment to these contractors on account of gas migration". RIL is the operator of KG-DWN-98/3, popularly known as KG-D6. BP Exploration and Niko Resources are the two partners in the block, which lies adjacent to ONGC's two blocks off the coast of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

The committee's first term of reference asks it to consider in depth the report submitted by the Dallas-based DeGoyler & MacNaughton on November 30, 2015, and recommend action to be taken by the government considering "legal, financial and contractual provisions".

Sharma, however, supports the constitution of the committee. "It is not require to go into geological technicalities since the terms of reference constitute issues of jurisprudence and processes. There is no issue of analysing the D&M report, but the committee will use it to arrive at a decision. There is no case for revisiting the report," he says. The committee, he points out, was appointed by the government after the consent of both parties.

On being asked why the committee was constituted because the government could have given the job to the DGH, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier told Business Standard this was required because the directorate, too, was a party to the dispute. Sharma supports the move, saying transparency requires an independent person because the government is also the promoter of ONGC.

D&M is understood to have put a question mark on future production from the five ONGC discoveries. RIL, which could be in a spot if the government decides to hold it responsible for migration of natural gas to its production facility from the ONGC controlled acreage, is looking for a solution within the production sharing contract with no impact on its revenue.

D&M has said only 385 billion cubic feet (bcf) natural gas can now be produced from ONGC's area because the natural gas has migrated to RIL's contract area. The lower volume, too, is possible only from RIL production facilities over the life of KG-D6 field development because the pressure built-up crucial to production has fallen significantly, claims a person privy to the report.

ONGC had initially estimated 1.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in-place gas reserves in six discoveries in its two blocks that sit next to RIL's KG-D6 in the Krishna Godavari basin. The report has established that natural gas from five of these discoveries flowed into the RIL area. While 317 bcf has already been produced, a total of 393 bcf has migrated to the D1 and D3 reservoirs of RIL. Further migration could take the figure to 449 bcf over the life of block.

For RIL's KG-D6 block, the consultant has downgraded the total recoverable gas reserves from 2.9 tcf to 2.4 tcf.

The company had originally projected 10 tcf natural gas in the block but in a revised plan submitted in 2012 it brought down the reserves to 2.9 tcf.

The Delhi High Court had in September 2015 disposed of ONGC's petition where the state-run company had alleged 18 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas may have migrated from its KG-D5 and Godavari PML fields to RIL's KG-D6 block.

The court had asked the parties to wait for D&M's report and allowed ONGC to approach it again if the government did not act within six months of the submission of the report.
Unicorn India Ventures, a SEBI-registered AIF-I VC fund, started by Anil Joshi and Bhaskar Majumdar has closed Rs 40 crore of its Rs 100-crore fund.

The fund will invest in early stage startups in the areas like social media, mobile, analytics, cloud technology and Internet of Things (IoT).

Unicorn India Ventures has also appointed Aayush Jain as a Principal for the fund. Jain comes with over eight years of experience in corporate and product strategy, capital raising, business/corporate development and mergers and acquisitions across sectors including technology, media, cloud, digital, consumer and education.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says: Unicorn India Ventures has been started with an aim to discover start-ups that are doing groundbreaking work in their field. We want to be a partner in their journey towards growth and use our resources financial and otherwise to help them scale up. We want to bring best-of-breed international experiences to the start-ups.



The fund plans to invest in 10-12 start-ups in a year, thereby creating a portfolio of 30 in three years. Their modus operandi to evaluate start-ups before investing in them is a unique one too. The partners spend close to 2-3 months with founders of start-ups to understand their business model, team at work and co-founders working relationship among other aspects like potential of scale up, global reach of the company etc.

Unicorn India has been structured as a hybrid fund whose first investment will enable start-ups with an seed round in the range of Rs 50 lakh-Rs 1 crore, which would help build businesses and get ready for next round (Series A) where the fund will also participate as a co-investor.

Unicorn said it is betting on sectors like fintech, app-based business helping enterprise solution, cloud technology but a common thread among any of these start-ups should be that they are solving real life problems of either end users or other businesses.

Unicorn India has also constituted an advisory board which comprise of entrepreneurs and highly experienced professionals who will be mentoring the portfolio to grow. D D Ganguly, a Sillicon-Valley based serial entrepreneur, who started two companies and successfully exited them, is one of the members on the advisory board. The entrepreneurs will be able to use his experience and expertise to scale up their business and provide a good exit for the investors.
The central government may put an end to the practice of naming airports after famous personalities.

The move comes in the wake of the controversy over naming the new terminal at Chandigarh airport. The Haryana government has demanded that the airport be named after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Mangal Sein while Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal demanded it to be named after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

Sources said the civil aviation ministry is considering the proposal to stop the practice of naming airports after personalities. A final decision is yet to be taken and then again the proposal will require Cabinet's approval.

Politics over naming of airports has a historical precedence in the country when the government wanted to name the Delhi airport after Indira Gandhi and the Mumbai government after Jawaharlal Nehru. The Shiv Sena protested and finally the Mumbai airport was named after the king Shivaji.

The process of naming an airport is complex. According to norms, the state government where the airport is situated proposes a name to the civil aviation ministry which has to ratify and seek approval for it from the Union Cabinet. After Cabinet approval, the name will be notified in the government gazette and then the ministry informs International Civil Aviation Organisation to notify all airlines about the airports name.
Film star Amitabh Bachchan, brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism, is Narendra Modi governments first choice as the new face of Indian tourisms Atithi Devo Bhava campaign after actor Aamir Khan ceased to be its mascot.

In a first, the Union government will directly approach Bachchan to become the brand ambassador of Atithi Devo Bhava, a campaign to woo tourists. Bachchan has indicated he would do the endorsement without charging a fee.

So far, brand ambassadors for government projects, including in tourism, have been chosen by creative agencies. Even Khan was selected through McCann Worldwide. Khans removal is being attributed to his remarks made in November 2015 on rising intolerance in India. Khan had not taken a fee for the campaign either.

Last July, Bachchan was in the midst of a controversy over his Rs 6.31 crore deal with Doordarshan for endorsing the DD Kisan channel. Subsequently, Lintas, the ad agency for the project, said Bachchan had decided to do the endorsement free of charge.

The ministry is expected to formally sign an agreement with Bachchan within a week, a source said. Although the terms are not known, it may be for a period of five years.

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan said on Thursday he respects the governments decision to discontinue his services. On Wednesday, tourism ministry had said its contract was with McCann Worldwide and that it was not for the government to decide who should be the brand ambassador of a campaign. Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for tourism, wrote on twitter: Aamir Khan ceases to be the mascot for governments Incredible India campaign, contract for which has expired. The ministry did not hire Aamir Khan, Sharma said.

Khan, who has been the ambassador for the campaign for 10 years, said in a statement, It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be. He added: I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country.



Khan also said, I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for itI would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and thats the way it should be.



Prasoon Joshi, lyricist and chairman of McCann Worldgroup, Asia-Pacific, told Business Standard in a text message: McCann had a contract with ministry of tourism for Atithi Devo Bhava, which we have delivered. Joshi has worked closely with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on some key campaigns.
Should Delhis current odd-even car plying formula be introduced in this city? The ruling partners in the state government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are yet to decide.

Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik has given a petition to the chief minister to do what Delhi has but BJP members say no hasty step should be taken.

Government data showed the number of vehicles in the metropolis had crossed 2.5 million as on end-March 2015, mostly registered in the past decade. Of the 2.5 million, about 757,000 were registered in the island city, 1.17 million in the western suburbs and 573,000 in the eastern suburbs. There were 1.43 million two-wheelers and 800,000 cars. The number of city transport buses, taxis and auto rickshaws were 186,000.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has decided to drop the term drought from its official terminology, as it is outside its purview.

Officials said an order to this effect had been circulated across all offices of IMD. Director General Laxman Singh Rathore told this newspaper: We will not use the term any more and will replace it with rainfall deficiency whenever we have poor rains.



IMD earlier used to term a year as one of drought whenever rain deficiency was more than 10 per cent. When 20-40 per cent of the country faced drought, it was termed an all-India drought year. When spatial coverage of drought was more than 40 per cent, it was termed an All-India Severe Drought Year.

The southwest monsoon in 2015 was 86 per cent of the long period average, which made 2014 and 2015 the fourth case of consecutive all-India deficient monsoon years, during the past 115 years. The insufficient rains led to drought in around 40 per cent of the country.

So far, 10 state governments have declared drought. The Centre has disbursed financial assistance of about Rs 10,000 crore to seven states. Officials have completed touring the remaining three.

However, the deficient rain did not have much of an impact on kharif foodgrain output, except pulses, as the spread was rather even. In the first advance estimate of 2015-16, kharif production this year is expected to be 124.05 million tonnes, around three mt more than the first advance estimate of 2014-15.
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed SYMR Consortium, which collects toll at various entry points to Delhi, to exit the contract on January 31. The apex court also asked the South Delhi Municipal Corporation to make alternative arrangement by 6 am on February 1.

The consortium told the Bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Thakur that the contract was no longer feasible because of the court orders last year to charge environment compensation charge on commercial vehicles entering Delhi. After the orders, the traffic has come down and the expenses on infrastructure and wages have risen. These expenses were not envisaged in the contract, which became operative in May last year for three years.

In the next three weeks, the toll collector must continue to collect the rates, fixed at Rs 1,400 and Rs 2,600 depending upon the power of the vehicles. As ordered, the toll shall be handed over to the corporation and the compensatory charges to the Delhi government. This will flow into a fund to repair the damage done to environment by trucks entering the capital though their destination is in other states.The court asked the corporation to start the process of making alternative arrangements well in time before February 1.

In an elaborate order, the court sorted out the dues owed by the consortium to the government and invocation of bank guarantees. It also sought an undertaking from the consortium managing partner that the order will be complied with. The present consortium shall not be allowed to bid for the new contract.

The corporation did not object to the consortium exiting the arrangement, though there were disputes over the dues. Harish Salve, senior counsel appointed by the court to assist it, also did not oppose the premature termination of the contract but objected to the claims made by the consortium regarding expenses on additional staff and infrastructure. The court settled the dispute over the amounts and passed the order to settle the issues finally, exercising its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
In the 1970s and 80s, a large pool of migrant labourers from Bangladesh in Kolkatas construction sector had no reservations in revealing their identity. Cut to 2016 and there are, officially, hardly any workers from Bangladesh in the sector, according to a city-based real estate developer.Yet, recent World Bank data (Bilateral Remittance Matrix, 2014) show, of the $7.6 billion of outward remittances from India, 54 per cent or $4.16 billion was to Bangladesh alone in that year. Almost every year, 50-55 per cent of Indias total outward remittances are to Bangladesh.Geographical proximity, a large pool of undocumented migrant labour, porous borders, historical ties and, more recently, the increasing interest of Indian companies in Bangladesh are some of the reasons behind the trend.At present, non-banking finance companies are not allowed to facilitate outward remittances from India to there; all the transactions must be routed through banks. However, for major global remittance companies, Bangladesh is a major market.Promoth Manghat, chief executive officer at UAE Exchange, says: Actual outward remittances from India are much more than any official figure. Globally, Bangladesh is a major market for remittances for us. We are actively looking at starting remittance services from India to Bangladesh but regulations do not allow us to do so. We are in dialogue with the regulators.According to Indias 2001 census data, 5.1 million persons were reported as migrants. Nearly three million were from Bangladesh, 900,000 from Pakistan, 500,000 from Nepal and 100,000 from Sri Lanka. Thats only part of the story, for research documents indicate India is home to a large pool of undocumented migrants, especially from Bangladesh and Nepal.Interestingly, after Bangladesh, Pakistan accounts for the second highest remittance outflow from India, at 27 per cent of the total.

This is mainly on account of historical ties and consequent migration flows. General patterns of outward remittance and migration follows a parallel trend. A World Bank report, Remittance Market in India, 2012, by Gabi G Afram, refers to a 2008 study by an A Kumar. It had stated that estimates of irregular migration from Bangladesh to India range from five million to 20 million. Most of these migrants work as unskilled or semiskilled labourers and domestic servants. The report says India is an important destination country for migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Migration from Bangladesh, Nepal and Lanka is mainly of unskilled and semiskilled workers, the study says. Interestingly, World Bank data shows that 90 per cent of outward remittances of India are to the countries with highest migrant population, viz, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Another report by the International Labour Organization quotes a study by P Wickramasekara in 2011, which says migrant movements within South Asia are primarily geared towards India and Pakistan. Although these are largely undocumented, the United Nations Population Division estimates India hosts some six million migrants (mainly from Nepal and Bangladesh)," it says. Business ties with Bangladesh Over the past six-odd years, a number of Indian companies have started operations in Bangladesh. Notably, the definition of outward remittance by the World Bank is wide, including those by workers, compensation of employees and migrants transfers. Thus, remuneration of Bangladeshi employees by Indian companies in Bangladesh is counted as remittance. In recent years, there have been a number of acquisitions by Indian companies in Bangladesh. This apart, there have been a number of joint ventures and alliances by Indian companies; many Indian companies have also opened subsidiaries in Bangladesh, notes Ambarish Dasgupta, head of management consulting and eastern region at KPMG in India.

Between 2011 and 2014, foreign direct investment outflow from India to Bangladesh increased 161%, from $26 mn to $68 mn, says KPMG. Some of the major investments proposals from Indian companies include Reliance Power's $3 billion plan to set up a 3,000 Mw power unit, based on imported liquefied natural gas there, and Gujarat-based Adani Group plan to invest $2.5 bn in building a 1,600 Mw coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh. The government there has also offered to establish two Special Economic Zones for Indian companies, beside allowing Life Insurance Corporation to start operations, says KPMG.
Representatives of the information technology (IT) and outsourcing sectors met Union finance ministry officials here on Monday, to give their suggestions for the coming years Budget. Representatives from leading IT companies had come, including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL.

The governments Make In India programme has included the electronic systems and IT&BPM (business process management) sectors among the 25 key sectors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the consultation meeting, highlighting the contributions of the IT arena, adding India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with its gross domestic product (GDP) growth having accelerated at 7.3 per cent in 2014-15, compared to 6.9 per cent in 2013-14 and 5.1 per cent in 2012-13, indicating the economy is on the path of economic revival.

RAISING RED FLAGS Relief from double taxation on software products, and provide cushion to the industry in view of protectionist measures being taken in the global market

To provide them a staggered payment option to employees which companies are required to make under a notification issued by labour ministry on bonus payment, effective since April 1, 2014

One-time relief for measures being taken in the aftermath of Chennai floods, with regard to benefits being given to staff like relief rehabilitation measures

The IT representatives wanted rationalising of the place of effective management (PoEM) norms. These draft guidelines, issued last month, were aimed to plug tax avoidance by multinational companies (MNCs), Indian or foreign. MNCs will be liable to pay tax in India if those who take key decisions conduct most of their meetings in India, even if the decisions are implemented in another tax jurisdiction, according to the draft guidelines. The proposed rules might force MNCs to locate their regional controller offices outside India, experts have warned.

We have asked for clarity on rationalisation of PoEM norms and have also sought extension of special economic zone (SEZ) benefits (by three to four years), said Anil Chanana, chief financial officer of HCL Tech, after the pre-Budget consultation meeting.

SEZs and national investment & manufacturing zones (NIMZ) get many tax benefits. SEZs get full income tax exemption on export income for the first five years, 50 per cent for the next five years and 50 per cent of the ploughed-back export profit for the next five years. NIMZ has provisions for tax incentives to small and medium enterprises.

We flagged our concerns on double taxation on software products. While the GST (the proposed goods and services tax) will address that, we have suggested that some measures be taken to address the issue till the time GST comes into force, said Rentala Chandrashekhar, the head of Nasscom, the apex sectoral association.

The government levies service tax on software of a foreign source downloaded from the internet; both value-added tax and service tax are levied on software purchased domestically. The IT sector has asked the government to provide a level-playing field between the two.

The larger issue for Indian IT is to remain competitive, in view of the protectionist measures being taken in some large markets, Chandrashekhar said.

The United States, a major source of business for sector majors, raised visa fees by a hefty amount last month for personnel deputed from here. They also urged the ministry to allow staggered bonus payment to employees. The labour ministry had issued an order on this effective April 2014.

We have requested that retrospective orders be avoided. Now, the labour ministry rule on bonus has become a law, observed Chandrashekhar. The companies also asked for one-time tax relief on measures taken in the aftermath of Chennai floods.
Andhra Pradesh government is all set to sign MoUs for projects worth of over Rs 1 lakh crore investments in renewable energy and infrastructure sectors on the opening day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit starting from Sunday at Visakhapatnam.

Over half of the potential investments out of this Rs 1 lakh crore come from projects in renewable energy sector, and this also incoude the NTPC's 1000 mw solar power park that was bid under the National Solar Mission, according to the officials.

These MoUs are slated to be signed in the presence of Union Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, who is expected to be present at the inaugural session along with other Central Ministers. Several private players including Jindal and Essel are signing the MoUs to set up renewable energy projects in the state. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will inaugurate the summit.

In the infrastructure sector the government is signing MoU with Concor, Ministry of Railways, for setting up of Logistic Parks at Krishnapatnam and Kakinada.

The government is also going to sign MoUs for a 5-million tonne capacity LNG Terminal proposed to be set up by Regen Infrastructure India at Krishnapatnam and for a City Gas distribution project covering three districts of East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna proposed to be set up HPCL, according to the officials.

A large number of MoUs in manufacturing sector, ranging from wind turbine making to pharmaceuticals, including the establishment of private industrial parks, have been lined up for the second day of the summit while MoUs for projects in tourism sector will be signed on the third day. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman among other Central Ministers are also expected to attend the event.

Five plenary sessions are going to be held on different topics as part of the three-day event with the first session on 'Partnership for a shared and sustainable world economy' is slated to be held on the opening day. Sessions on 'Sunrise Andhra Pradesh; Turning aspirations into reality-Vision 2029' and 'Smart Urban Housing-Meeting felt needs and beyond:Preparing for Rapid Urbanisation' will be held on the second day. Last day will have two sessions on topics 'Make In India: Drafting India's Global Manufacturing Strategy' and on 'Driving Prosperity through Port-led Development'.
Setting a precedent for the entire country, the Union tribal affairs ministry has revised its views to re-interpret the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and allow the Maharashtra forest department to get control back over forest management and a grip on the lucrative trade worth crores in forest produce such as tendu leaves and bamboo. The ministry had previously concluded that only tribals and other forest dwellers had rights to manage their forests under FRA.

But after a meeting in November at the Cabinet Secretariat between the environment and the tribal affairs ministries, the latter has made a turnaround and re-interpreted the legal provisions of FRA to give the state government control back over the forests with some conditions. The move also comes after personal intervention by two Union ministers from Maharashtra, Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar. The latter is the environment and forests minister, which gave his ministry a say in the issue. Gadkari does not hold a portfolio that is involved in issues of forestry.

In 2014, the state government had passed regulations that ensured its forest department retained control over forest management, which includes the large-scale trade and sale of forest produce. The tribal affairs ministry found this in violation of FRA, which empowers tribals and other forest-dwellers to hold sole rights to manage the forests, including sale of forest produce in areas where they have traditional claims. The tribal affairs ministry repeatedly told Maharashtra that its rules were prima facie in violation of and irreconcilable with the law.

This could now open the Pandoras box with some states such as Madhya Pradesh having already followed suit to put similar regulations in place and states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha working towards such rules as well.

Business Standard reviewed correspondence within the Union government and records of the meetings held that show how the turnaround was facilitated over less than a year after a relentless pursuit by Maharashtra, interventions of the Cabinet ministers. Javadekar is the Union minister for forests, environment and climate change.

Maharashtra holds significance in this issue. It was in Gadchiroli district that rights over the forest produce were first effectively given to some tribal villages under the United Progressive Alliance government. The tribal villages auctioned and collected crores from the sale of bamboo in the few villages.

The erstwhile Planning Commission had estimated in one of its report that the annual trade in forest produce is estimated to be around Rs 50,000 crore. Before FRA was legislated, the trade was almost entirely regulated and controlled by state forest departments, which used to sell these goods through contractors, traders and contractors for industrial use such as beedi making or paper and pulp manufacturing. Tribals were paid wages for extracting the forest produce and substantially lower shares of revenue in some states. The FRA was meant to break this monopoly of forest department and contractors and to recognise rights of tribals and other communities to manage forests  a practice legalised in many other forested parts of the developing world where indigenous people have traditional rights.

Responding to complaints from Maharashtra over the rules called the Maharashtra Village Forest Rules 2014, the ministry of tribal affairs in August 2014 wrote that these regulations were prima facie in violation of FRA and should be kept in abeyance.

Reacting to this, in August itself, Gadkari and Javadekar wrote to the tribal affairs ministry to withdraw its opposition to the state regulations. At that time, the tribal affairs ministry did not relent and reaffirmed that the rules encroached upon and are irreconcilable with FRA and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act or PESA. Maharashtra did not back off. It sent legal advice from additional solicitor general Pinky Anand, which disagreed with the tribal affairs ministry. The ministry stuck to its guns and wrote back that it had sought legal advice too and had concluded Anand was wrong: the rules violated the FRA and were unconstitutional. It gave a detailed explanation on the several provisions of the FRA that were violated by Maharashtras rules which gave control over forest produce to the forest department.

But documents show that on November 17, 2015, the Cabinet Secretariat called a meeting of the tribal affairs ministry and the Union environment ministry after which the tribal affairs ministry finally relented. It passed two orders subsequently on November 27 and December 8 stating its altered stance. A copy of the November order was also marked to the Prime Ministers Office.

In November, it said it had taken note of the recommendations of the environment ministry and the Maharashtra government that other stakeholders too could have rights over forestlands besides tribals though the FRA did apply to all forestlands. It continued to say that there was overlap of powers and unresolved legal differences created by the Maharashtra rules but they should harmoniously construed.

Then in its December order it concluded, that as agreed in the meeting held in Cabinet Secretariat, it would approve the rules of the Maharashtra government with some amendments. The amendments would state that the rules would apply where rights of tribals are not pending or claimed or gram sabhas (village councils) have concluded that no future rights are likely to be claimed. Earlier, it had opposed the rules reading them along with draft gram sabha resolutions prepared by the state government and said the rules required approval of the President of India as they encroached on the two central laws that expressly over-ride other legislations.

The tribal affairs ministry in its U-turn went a step ahead and said the ministry of environment and forests should now prepare a new code for sustainable management of forest resources. For long it has argued that rule making under FRA fell in its domain and traditionally the forest department has been seen antagonistic to letting go of control over forestlands to tribals and other forest dwellers. Till the code is developed by the environment ministry, the state government and others can now carry on with implementing its own rules even if they are legally unresolved by reading them in harmony with forest rights recognised and vested under FRA.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that can grant non-fund based facilities including Partial Credit Enhancement (PCE) to those customers, who do not avail any fund based facility from any bank in India.

However, the regulator said that this is subject to conditions including having a board approved policy, verification of customer credentials and credit appraisal and due diligence by .



As per a circular by the banking regulator in 2003, RBI had asked not to extend any non-fund based facilities to non-constituents borrowers of the banks. The restriction was imposed to prevent frauds, diversion of funds etc. in case bank sanctions 'one-off' transaction facilities without assessment of credit needs of the borrowers on well established credit norms.

RBI said that this led to problems faced by those customers, who require Non-Fund based facilities like Letter of Credits (LCs), Bank Guarantees, but do not avail of any fund-based facility from any bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted bank branches at international financial services centres (IFSCs) to open foreign currency current accounts for entities operating at those locations. RBI also lifted the limit on short-term liabilities these branches, called IFSC banking units (IBUs), could have from banks.The rules have been eased to facilitate investment transactions and give flexibility in operations. IBUs can also open current accounts for non-resident institutional investors to facilitate their investment transactions, the regulator said in a notification.Earlier, IBUs were not allowed to open any current or savings accounts.

They also cannot raise liabilities from retail customers, including high net worth individuals (HNIs). Banks are barred from providing cheque facility to holders of current accounts at IBUs. All transactions through these accounts must be undertaken via bank transfers, RBI said.

On short-term liabilities, RBI said it will not prescribe any limit for raising short-term liabilities from banks. However, the IBUs must maintain Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) applicable to Indian banks on a standalone basis and strictly follow RBI's liquidity risk management guidelines.

Further, Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) will also be applicable to the IBUs as and when it is applied to Indian banks.

Also, exposure ceiling for IBU will be five per cent of the parent's bank's tier I capital for single borrower and 10% in case of borrower group, RBI added.
Environment Minister to Pay Three-Day Visit to North-East from Tomorrow; Will Hold Meetings with Forest Officials, Farmers and Locals in Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura . .

Minister of State (IC) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar will pay a three-day visit to the North-East, beginning tomorrow. He will meet forest officials, farmers and people from local communities in Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. .

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The Minister will start the visit tomorrow, with a meeting with forest officers in Imphal, Manipur, followed by a meeting with farmers practicing shifting cultivation. Later, he will visit the Kangla Fort. .

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On Saturday, Shri Javadekar will visit Loktak Lake and the Keibul Lamjao National Part (KLNP), in Bishnupur district of Manipur. KLNP is the only floating park in the world and is an integral part of Loktak Lake. .

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Subsequently, on his arrival in Lengpui in Aizawl, he will pay a visit to Advanced Research Centre of Bamboo (ARCB), Forest Training School to inaugurate a training institute under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Minister will also hold an interaction with bamboo entrepreneurs in Aizawl. .

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On Sunday, Shri Javadekar will visit Tripura Forest Development Corporation (TFDC) in Agartala and hold discussion with rubber growers and artisans producing rubber products at TFDC. The Minister will also meet forest officials and pay a visit to Siphaijala sanctuary the same evening to conclude the visit. .

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Obamacare Shutterstock Art

Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

For roughly the 2,347th time, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives

, bravely flinging itself upon the battlements in a gesture so futile and pointless that they might as well be fighting in France

c. 1914

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Shocking exactly no one, the House's 240-181 vote on Wednesday broke down along mostly party lines.

And, shocking exactly no one either, President Barack Obama has vowed to veto the bill. The bill had earlier passed the Republican-controlled Senate in a process known as "reconciliation" in order to duck a Democratic filibuster.

As an added bonus, the bill also bars any federal money for Planned Parenthood, as Congressional conservatives had been vowing to do ever since a series of heavily edited, though nonetheless appalling, videos on the sale of fetal tissue touched off a new fight in the Culture Wars.

As CNN reports, Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing.

Because we're a full-service operation, here's how your members of Congress voted on the lightning-rod legislation. You can send brickbats or laurels, according to your conscience:

Voting aye were Republican U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta; Charlie Dent; Mike Kelly; Tom Marino, Glenn G.T. Thompson; Scott Perry; Mike Fitzpatrick; Pat Meehan; Bill Shuster; Tom Marino; Keith Rothfus; Ryan Costello; Tim Murphy and Joe Pitts.

No votes were U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle; Bob Brady; Chaka Fattah; Mike Doyle and Matt Cartwright.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

Something something something controversial Kathleen Kane something something.

State Sen. Rob Teplitz is running for re-election in what's expected to be a hard fought race.

And this year's special elections, thankfully, will coincide with the spring primary, saving the taxpayers some dough.

No, you didn't win Powerball. But no one else did either, PhillyMag reminds us this morning.

PennLive's Candy Woodall looks at how much new regs will cost the Shale industry.

It could be a while before we see any progress in the corruption case against ex-Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed, WITF-FM reports.

Here's all need to know about Big City politics: Get criticized for being bad at your $136,161-a-year job - keep it anyway. NewsWorks/WHYY-FM has the story.

The FBI probe of Allentown City Hall has cast a shadow over the hiring of a new arena chief, The Morning Call reports.

PoliticsPA rounds up Congressional reaction to the POTUS' executive action on guns.

With gas prices dropping, cities are embracing big-ticket transit projects, Stateline.org reports.

President Barack Obama has burned through more chiefs of staff than any of his predecessors. Politico explains why.

Here's The National Journal on the six questions that will decide the 2016 election.

WolfWatch.

With nothing much else going on, Gov. Tom Wolf heads to Pittsburgh today for a 1 p.m. appearance at AlphaLab Gear to tout his "Jobs that Pay" initiative.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's an old favorite from Crowded House that popped up on the way to work this morning. It's "Weather With You," caught live on UK TV.

Thursday's Gratuitous Hockey Link.

We stayed up late for this? Vancouver edged Carolina 3-2 on Wednesday in goaltender Eddie Lack's first appearance since being traded from the Canucks to the 'Canes last year.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
FM: Indian economy has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world with its GDP growth accelerated at 7.3 percent in 2014-15; Economy is firmly on the path of economic revival . .

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that Indian economy has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world with its GDP growth accelerated at 7.3 percent in 2014-15 compared to 6.9 per cent growth in 2013-14 and 5.1 per cent in 2012-13, indicating that the economy is firmly on the path of economic revival. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was making the Opening Remarks during his fourth Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with the representatives of IT (Hardware & Software) Sector today in New Delhi. .

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Highlighting the contribution and importance of IT Sector, the Finance Minister said that the Governments Make in India" programme has included the electronic systems and IT & BPM (Business Process Management) sectors among the 25 key sectors. He said that the Governments recognizes this Sectors potential and the Information Technology sector is a key pillar in various flagship initiatives like digital India, Make in India, Skill India as well as Start-up India among others. .

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The participants expressed their gratitude and congratulated the Government for the measures undertaken in the previous year which facilitated their market performance and enabled them to revive and improve their growth .They expressed full confidence in India being the next big player in the manufacturing field in the world. They further said that Manufacturing will be the major driving force of our economic growth and they will be able to achieve the committed target of creation of job opportunities. .

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Various suggestions were received during the aforesaid Consultative Meeting. Major recommendations were to continue with measures to facilitate the exports, facilitating ease of doing business, measures for simplifying and rationalizing tax procedures. Other suggestions included the provision of Place of Effective Management (POEM) to be deferred by couple of years as this short period can be a hurdle for industrial growth. There was also suggestion that the scope of POEM need to be rationalized and made applicable to overseas shell companies. It was suggested that GST be implemented at the earliest. .

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On the proposal of sunset clause in case of SEZ companies, the tax relief to the eligible development activities and the sales activities by a SEZ unit may be extended till March 2019, as it will be unfair to deny the tax benefits to such SEZ developers who have planned large investments in setting-up SEZ infrastructure. Other suggestions were reduction of corporate tax, specific time bound policy to revive the mobile industry, incentive to pollution free industries and vehicles, TRIPS Plus (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ) commitment need to be relooked, directive to make all State and Inter-State duties and procedures online among others. There is also need to create duty differential benefits for Indian (IT hardware) manufacturers especially in case of mobile and tablets. .

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It was also suggested to reduce Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and utilization period under MAT be increased from 10 years to 15 years. .

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Along with the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, the aforesaid Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with the representatives of IT (Hardware & Software) Sector was also attended among others by Shri R.N. Watal, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, DEA, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms Anjuli Chib Duggal, Secretary, Financial Services and Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA). The representatives of the IT (Hardware & Software) Sector present during the meeting included Shri Ramadas Kamath, Infosys, Shri P.V.Srinivasan, WIPRO, Shri Anil Chanana, CFO, HCL, Shri Pauroos D Karkaria,TCS, Shri R. Chandrashekhar, Chief Economist, NASSCOM, Ms Nisha Tompson, Founder, Datameet, Shri Vinod Sharma, Chairman, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, Shri Nitin Kunkolienker, Vice President, Manufactures Association for Information Technology (IT), Shri Rajoo Goel, ELCINA Electronic Industries Association of India, Shri Hari Om Rai, Co-Chairman Task Force on Mobile Phone Manufacturing, Shri Suraj Saharan Ajit Pai, COO,Delhivery, Shri Sumandro, the Centre for Internet & Society and Shri Vikas Jain, Member, Task Force on Mobile Phone Manufacturing among others.

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Shri Ananth Kumar inaugurates international exhibition and conference on Pharma industry, medical electronics and devices sector . .

The Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Ananth Kumar inaugurated an international exhibition and conference on Pharma industry, medical electronics and devices sector at Bengaluru today. India Pharma 2016 and India Medical Expo 2016 is the first such major composite event in the country for the pharmaceutical and Medical devices industry. The 3-day event is aimed at increasing overall growth of Pharma sector including exports, and focuses on increasing domestic production in the sector. The event also strives to encourage Make in India for manufacturing drugs and pharma machines, and also provides a platform to global investment community to connect with stakeholders. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ananth Kumar said the Pharmaceuticals in the country has the potential to become global leader soon. Invoking the Prime ministers clarion call for Make in India he said that the Government is supporting the domestic Pharmaceutical industry, and removing various bottlenecks. To compete with the other countries, production cost of drugs has to be brought down, and for this purpose Government of India is coming up with Pharma clusters/parks where common facilities and infrastructure will be provided. He said that the issues of making available credit to companies at affordable rates, and continuing the Income Tax exemptions for R&D activities will be taken up with the finance ministry. Shri Ananth Kumar said that for skill development and manpower availability, dozen NIPERs( National Institutes of Pharmaceutical education and research) are being set up, out of which 8 are already functional. Regarding the implementation of Katoch Committee report on bulk drugs, he said that his ministry has already accepted the recommendations, and inter-ministerial consultations are going on. He said that Medical devices sector is upcoming, and the first Medical Device park will be set up in Gujarat. The Minister said that the Government will have a sustained dialogue with the industry and stakeholders so that affordability (quality), availability (ease) and affordability of medicines could be ensured. .

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The Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, addressing the gathering said that the Government is taking several steps to make available affordable medicines to poor and rural people. He said that mobile vans will be put into service for distribution of medicines to far-off areas. He stressed on increased R&D activities and innovation in the sector. .

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The Secretary, department of Pharmaceuticals Dr V.K. Subburaj said that the pharma sector is growing at a great pace, but it has mainly focused on Generic medicines. He called upon the industry to diversify its products and its production facilities in different states rather than being concentrated in four states. Dr Subburaj asked the industry to comply with international quality standards, and also work more on R&D. .

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The inaugural session was also attended by the Industry minister, Karnataka, Shri R V Deshpande, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka Shri U T Khader, Minister for Medical Education, Karnataka Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, captains of the industry and senior officials from Government of India and Government of Karnataka. .

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YB
Barclays Plc plans to close most of its cash-equities business in the Asia-Pacific region as Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley pushes to reduce costs, according to people familiar with the matter. The near-exit from cash equities is part of plans to eliminate about 50 percent of jobs at the wider equities unit in the region, said the people, who asked not to be named because no announcement has been made. They declined to specify how many employees are affected. A Barclays spokesman declined to comment. Staley's move comes as a slowing Chinese economy triggers stock declines throughout ...
South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device.

The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea claimed, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear program.

The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea's main ally, pointing to a strain in ties between the neighbours. The test also alarmed Japan and the White House said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with US President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed. Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options. A South Korean military official told Reuters the two countries had discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said.

The United States is also limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang, said Anthony Cordesman, a defence policy expert at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

"Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation," as well, Cordesman said.

Hours after the latest nuclear test on Wednesday, the UN Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions against Pyongyang, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive.

In the United States, Republican presidential candidates seized on the test to accuse Obama of running a "feckless" foreign policy that enabled North Korea to bolster its nuclear arms capabilities.

US congressional sources said Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives were considering a vote as soon as next week to impose stiffer punishment on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang.

SURPRISE



North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric against the United States and its Asian allies without acting on it, but Pyongyang's assertion that it had tested a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturising the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and potentially posing a new threat to the US West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

The US State Department confirmed North Korea had conducted a nuclear test but the Obama administration disputed the hydrogen bomb claim.

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Wednesday's nuclear test took place two days ahead of what is believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday.

North Korea called the device the "H-bomb of justice", but its state news agency also said Pyongyang would act as a responsible nuclear state and would not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed.

The impoverished state boasts of its military might to project strength globally but also plays up the need to defend itself from external threats as a way to maintain control domestically.

Hydrogen bombs use a two-step process of fission and fusion that releases substantially more energy than an atomic bomb. However, it will likely take several days to determine more precisely what kind of device Pyongyang set off as a variety of sensors, including "sniffer planes", collect evidence.

A US government source said Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of old-fashioned atomic bombs.

The size of the latest explosion was roughly consistent with previous tests and occurred in the same location as earlier tests.

The United States had been anticipating a North Korean nuclear test for some time, with intelligence indicating possible preparations such as evidence of new excavations of underground tunnels at the site.

Jeff Baden, Obama's former top Asia adviser and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think-tank, said the test could have as much, or possibly more, to do with China as the United States.

"China's leadership has concluded that they have to do something to build ties with North Korea, that they have sunk too low - what the North Koreans want to signal is that if we're moving toward normal relations, its on our terms not yours.

"The long term message to the US is we're building a nuclear program because we regard that as the only way we can stand up to you in the Korean peninsula."
Standard gold continued its upward march and gained 1.3 per cent at Zaveri Bazaar here on Thursday, following similar moves in global markets, with stockists' booking on fear of further rise.

The price jumped to Rs 26,200 per 10g in mid-Thursday trade before profit booking took a toll. Gold closed with a gain of around one per cent at Rs 26,110 per 10g. It had jumped to $1,102 an ounce in London before falling marginally to $1,099 an oz in late afternoon trade.

Escalating tension in West Saia, led by Iran severing ties with a number of Gulf countries, plus the hydrogen bomb tests by North Korea, have raised geopolitical uncertainty. Another major factor is global economic uncertainty. With Chinas growth dropping, as seen from falling equity and the yuan's devaluation, traders are taking long bets in gold. "As a consequence, gold saw safe-haven buying from investors, said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director, Commtrendz Research.

And, falling crude oil prices have helped the upward move. Brent crude hit a new multiyear low of $32 a tonne. The international price of the India's oil basket was $31.3 a barrel on Wednesday, a decline from $32.5 a bbl on Tuesday.

The Chinese equity markets' plunge of seven per cent on Thursday prompted a halt in trading, on fear of an economic drawdown. Meanwhile, gold is set to take a direction from US non-farm payroll data, set to be released on Friday. In case of weak data, the price would rise further and vice versa.

A recent Macquarie Research report sees a stronger price in the first quarter of this year and a slightly firmer price in 2016 as a whole. Macquarie believes the dollar would remain stronger for somewhat longer, given the divergence in monetary policy between the US and other currency areas, and the general malaise in commodity pricing, reflecting concern over Chinese demand, something which (at least at the retail level) appears to be affecting gold, too.

With South Korea seeking support from America in terms of installation of nuclear missiles at its border with North Korea, tension is likely to continue. On the economic sentiment in China, no respite is in sight. Therefore, prices are likely to remain firm.

We expect robust buying, as the trend suggests in the past. With prices moving up, consumers are booking more of jewellery instead of investment products like coins and bars, said Kumar Jain, director, Umedmal Tilokchand Zaveri, a bullion dealer and jewellery retailer here.

Silver prices broadly followed and closed with a marginal gain of Rs 50 to Rs 40,000 a kg in the physical market here. It has, however, lagged due to weak sentiment in base metals. Since a third of global silver output is used for industrial purposes, its price normally moves in line with those of metals. Following the trend abroad, silver has risen 1.35 per cent in the past three days, with investors cautious on it.
Investors' stock market wealth eroded by Rs 245,000 crore on Thursday after the BSE S&P Sensex slumped 555 points and hit a 52-week low in an intra-day trade after China's regulators halted trading for the day following a sharp plunge in Chinese shares.

Indian continued to post losses for four consecutive trading sessions mainly on concerns of global weakness and correction in oil prices.

A fresh slump in crude oil and commodity prices, devaluation of Chinese currency by Chinese government and worries of economic slowdown spooked the sentiment of the equities worldwide.

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 2.18% or 555 points, to settle at 24,852, its biggest single-day fall since September 1, 2015, when the index plunged 2.23% or 587 points. CNX Nifty too, plunged 2.23% or 173 points to settle at 7,568.

The total investor wealth, measured in terms of cumulative market value of all listed companies, plummeted by Rs 245,647 crore and stood at Rs 96,91,131 crore at the end of today's trade, the BSE data shows.

Of this, about Rs 92,000 crore was wiped off from the BSE Sensex stocks that include blue chips like Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki India, State Bank of India (SBI) and Axis Bank. These six companies lost market capitalisation of more than Rs 5,000 crore each.

Hindustan Unilever, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), ITC, Infosys , HDFC Bank, Larsen & Loubro (L&T), and NTPC lost m-cap in the range of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.

The market witnessed a nosedive correction amid Yuans continuous depreciation which has negatively influenced the investors preference to the emerging .

We feel that going forward the retail investors are likely to stay away from the market as further depreciation in Yuan cannot be ruled out. Indeed, we are nearing the Q3 results season, so the near term fluctuations will also depend upon the earning guidance and outlook from the companies, said Mr. Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

In past four trading sessions, investors lost Rs 400,000 crore from Rs 100,93,395 crore on January 1, 2016. The S&P BSE Sensex has fallen 5% or 1,309 points from 26,161 levels.
Shares of Peninsula Land were down over 3% at Rs 22.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange amid reports that the company plans to raise funds through non-convertible debentures to refinance debt and extend its debt maturity.

The Mumbai-based property developer of the Ashok Piramal Group, Peninsula Land (PLL), is looking to raise Rs 180 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to refinance debt and extend its debt maturity. PLL is looking to raise another Rs 100 crore through land sales and recoupment of advances extended earlier for acquisition of projects. According to sources, it is evaluating selling one of its land parcels in Pune, according to a Business Standard report. (Click here for the full report).



The stock opened at Rs 23.50 and touched a low of Rs 22.65. At 10:55am, over 46,000 shares were traded on both the stock exchanges.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday refused to revoke the restrictions imposed on two companies, Andhra Pradesh Tanneries and Shayona Petrochem, for non-compliance with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms.

Sebi had in June 2013 imposed various curbs on about 100 firms, including these two companies, their promoters and directors for not achieving the minimum 25 per cent public holding within the June 3 deadline of the same year.

The regulator had frozen the voting rights and corporate benefits of promoters/directors of these companies and barred them from holding any new position on boards of listed firms, among others.

It had also warned of further actions, including monetary penalties, initiation of criminal proceedings and restricting the trading activities of related stocks.

In two separate orders, the regulator has confirmed the directions issued through the interim order in June, 2013 against the companies.

Further, for "proper regulation of the securities market and in view of the continuing nature of the violations" committed by the companies, Sebi may also initiate other actions against the two firms and their respective directors and promoters.

Sebi observed the companies have not complied with the MPS requirements till date and such non-compliance being continuous in nature has confirmed the directions issued against them.

According to the last disclosed shareholding pattern of the companies, public shareholding of Andhra Pradesh Tanneries stood at 11.73 per cent for the September quarter of 2015, while public holding in Shayona Petrochem was 19.24 per cent for the June quarter of 2012.

In a separate order, Sebi has slapped a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh on Chaman Exports for its failure to register with the regulator's online complaint redressal system within the stipulated time, even after repeated reminders.

In April 2013, the regulator had directed all listed companies to obtain Sebi Complaints Redressal System (SCORES) authentication within the stipulated time. However, the firm had failed to obtain registration.

A letter dated December 2, 2013, was issued to the firm, whereby it was once again advised to submit the requisite information regarding SCORES authentication by December 18, 2013, and it once again failed to comply with the directives.

SCORES, launched by Sebi in June 2011, provides a centralised database of all complaints.

Online movement of complaints to the listed companies concerned and upload of their Action Taken Reports (ATRs) are done through this system.
Concerns related to Chinese economy, a stronger yen and regulatory challenges in domestic market led to an erosion of Rs 20,000 crore from the market capitalisation of top auto companies, including Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors. The BSE Auto Index declined 3.7 per cent, significantly higher than the 2.2 per cent decline in the BSE Sensex.

The government on Wednesday announced the decision to leapfrog to Bharat Stage VI emission norms (from existing BS IV norms) with effect from 2020 instead of the earlier plan of 2021, a move that will create challenges for the industry. Prices for BS VI petrol cars could go up by Rs 20,000 and diesel cars could become expensive by Rs 1 lakh, creating pressure on demand.

Maruti Suzuki, the countrys most valued automaker, saw one of the highest single day loss in recent times. The nearly five-per cent drop in its stock price wiped out over Rs 6,400 crore from its market cap. In addition to the domestic challenges, strengthening Japanese yen will result in higher royalty payments (in rupee) to parent Suzuki.

A company official, however, said the trend of yen has to be seen for another month or two before assessing an impact. We anyways hedge for the short-term to avoid uncertainty, he said. The company has recently announced it would make royalty payments on new models in rupee to avoid forex uncertainty.

Uncertainty related to emission norms and diesel vehicles is an issue. There will be a technological challenge in moving from BS IV to VI for these companies, said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president (fundamental research) at SMC Global Securities.

The cut was not limited to manufacturers of passenger vehicles. Three two-wheeler makers  Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Eicher Motors  lost over two per cent each.

Kotak Institutional Equities said the potential implementation of stricter emission norms for two-wheelers could result in a significant increase in costs and have a negative impact on demand.

We estimate that the cost of two-wheeler will rise by three-five per cent (average selling price of Rs 45,000) if the government mandate was to mandate BS IV emission norms for NOx for all two-wheelers, it said. On four-wheelers, Kotak said it expected automobile companies to benefit from any policy intervention to remove older vehicles.
Tata Motors in association with PETRONAS Lubricants International (PLI) today launched the Tata Motors Genuine Oil (TMGO) for its passenger vehicles range in the India market. TMGO will be the first range of co-branded lubricants jointly developed by the Companies. The co-branded range of lubricants Tata Motors Genuine Oil CH-4 15W-40 for diesel vehicles and Tata Motors Genuine Gear Oil 80EP for passenger cars makes part of a bigger range of nine co-branded products that will be rolled out in a phased approach.According to Mr. Dinesh Bhasin, Head, Customer Support, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd., Tata Motors has always worked with a customer centric approach and providing its customers with the best post-purchase experience. With the new co-branded TMGO range of lubricants now available, we are creating a distinct & differentiated value proposition in the market. We will continue to provide our customers with the best lubricant technology expertise and support in todays competitive market place. We are happy to have partnered with PETRONAS in developing this range for our vehicles.

With a commitment to deliver better performance, TMGO will offer trusted support to our customers and will further enhance the customer experience." According to Mr. M. P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS Lubricants (India) Pvt Ltd (PLIPL) PLIPL has recorded steady volume growth at 40% CAGR and is aiming to capture 5% total market share by 2019. PLI in India is now entering the next wave of growth in line with our aspirations and we are confident that the coming together of Tata Motors, a highly-respected leader in automotive engineering, together with PLI will help us better our position in this market as a leading provider of premium lubricants. We are offering a unique proposition through TMGO to further strengthen our relationship with customers and deliver products for engine care that is built upon a strong legacy in lubricants technology." This new range of branded lubricants have been formulated from high performance base oils and additives, providing optimum engine performance through excellent deposit control and wear protection. These lubricants have been developed as per the regulations and specifications required for the Indian passenger vehicles market. These products will be available through PETRONAS distributor network of over 3,500 outlets, across India today and will be rolled out progressively in 2016.

Source : MotorOctane
Terming it a 'huge loss to Indian politics,' apex industry body ASSOCHAM today expressed profound sadness and grief over demise of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

"Sayeed was a visionary leader, pro-trade and industry and always stood for maintaining friendly relations between India and Pakistan to promote peace in the region," said President, ASSOCHAM, Sunil Kanoria.

"As the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, he was totally focused on equitable development of the state and as part of his efforts to revive the state's economy he recently facilitated all kinds of help to the film industry for shooting in the valley to further promote growth of tourism, handicrafts and other relevant sectors," said the ASSOCHAM chief.
Underworld don Chhota Rajan was on Thursday sent to judicial custody in connection with journalist Jyotirmoy Dey's murder case.

Rajan, who is wanted in 71 cases in Maharashtra, was produced before a special MCOCA Court via video conferencing today.

He has asked for some time from the court to engage a lawyer for himself.

A Delhi Court had earlier allowed the CBI to conduct hearing against Rajan via video conferencing, observing that the underworld don has serious threat to his life.

In November last year, Rajan was brought to New Delhi in a special aircraft after being deported from Indonesia.

In a surprise move, the Maharashtra Government had earlier transferred all cases related to the gangster to the CBI.
As the deadlock over passage of the Good and Services Tax (GST) Bill continues, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu met former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Thursday and discussed the concerns raised by the opposition on this issue.

Talking to the media after the meeting held at the Congress president's official 10. Janpath residence here, Naidu said: "We discussed about the GST Bill and I reminded Sonia ji to take the stand over the same."

"The party (Congress) has raised three issues, which have been addressed by the Finance Minister. She has agreed to discuss the matter amongst the party and then proceed," Naidu added.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said the government is hopeful of the passage of the GST Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament, when the numbers in the Rajya Sabha will swing in its favor.

"The next session is going to be extremely important. And half way through the next session, the numbers of the Upper House are also going to change. So, I am reasonably optimistic, as far as the next session is concerned, that we may be able to push it through," said Jaitley while addressing the officer trainees of the Indian Revenue Service on Sunday.

"The next session is going to be extremely important. And halfway through the next session, the numbers of the upper house are also going to change. So I am reasonably optimistic, as far as the next session is concerned, that we may be able to push it through," Jaitley added.

Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram had last week alleged that the 'stubborn' government was not ready to accommodate the views of the opposition on the GST Bill.

Stating that the government at the Centre has failed to deliver its promises on all counts, he added that they are still not able to find a way to accommodate the views of the opposition and pass the GST Bill.

Chidambaram added that the GDP growth is not likely to be higher than seven to 7.3 percent in 2015-16, which means that it will be the same as or lower than in the last fiscal year.

The government, he said, does not seem confident of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 percent for the current financial year. For 2016-17, Chidambaram said the government seems to be toying with the idea of departing from the path of fiscal consolidation, already delayed by a year.

Parliament's Budget session, which is scheduled to start in last week of February, will likely see the Constitution Bill for GST in the Rajya Sabha turn favorable.

The GST regime, touted as the most important indirect tax reform since Independence, aims to integrate central excise, service tax and state value-added tax.

The Constitution Amendment Bill hit a roadblock in the Rajya Sabha, where the government does not have a majority. The Lok Sabha had passed the Constitution amendment on GST in May.

After passage from the Rajya Sabha, it needs to be ratified by 50 per cent of states. The proposed tax regime aims to integrate central excise, service tax and state value added tax.

After passing the Constitution amendment, three other legislations, the central law, the state law and integrated GST will have to be passed, before the new tax regime can be rolled out.
British Minister of State for Employment Priti Patel on Thursday condemned the Pathankot terror attack and said that London will join hands with India and other countries to fight the grave issue of terrorism.

"We, the British Government, will work side by side with the Indian Government and all other governments on this issue to make sure that we support India and those affected by issues of terrorism and attacks of this nature," Patel said in Ahmedabad.

The Gujarati-origin minister, who is presently on a three-day visit to India, also paid condolences to all those affected by the attack in Pathankot.

Patel, however, refused to comment on India-Pakistan relations and said it is for the governments of the two countries to discuss and resolve all issues.

Six terrorists were neutralised in the terror attack at the Pathankot air base that began in the wee hours on January 1.

Seven security personnel were martyred in the terror attack.
Pakistan has asked Bangladesh to withdraw a diplomat from Islamabad in response to the expulsion of a Pakistani envoy, who allegedly supported a suspected extremist on trial for spying.

According to The Dawn, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said Islamabad asked Dhaka on Tuesday to recall senior diplomat Moushumi Rahman from its high commission in Islamabad within 48 hours.

Haque said that the political counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad has been given time till Thursday to leave the country.

The Bangladesh foreign secretary did not offer any reason for Pakistan's decision to expel Moushumi Rahman.

Diplomatic sources in Islamabad said that Rahman indulged in 'anti-state activities in Pakistan' and that concerned security agencies continued to monitor her.
Pakistan has asked Bangladesh to withdraw a diplomat from Islamabad in response to the expulsion of a Pakistani envoy who allegedly supported a suspected extremist on trial for spying.

According to The Dawn, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said Islamabad asked Dhaka on Tuesday to recall senior diplomat Moushumi Rahman from its high commission in Islamabad within 48 hours.

Haque said that the political counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad has been given time till Thursday to leave the country.

The Bangladesh foreign secretary did not offer any reason for Pakistan's decision to expel Moushumi Rahman.

Diplomatic sources in Islamabad said that Rahman indulged in 'anti-state activities in Pakistan' and that concerned security agencies continued to monitor her.
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Pavan Kapoor, who is presently serving as High Commissioner of lndia in Maputo, has been appointed as the next Ambassador to lsrael.

Kapoor, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1990, has served in different capacities in the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva apart from serving in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office during his diplomatic career.

He has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

He has also done a stint at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Political Adviser for Asia and Europe.
Asserting that the BJP-led NDA Government has mastered the art of 'taking unauthorised U-turns', the Congress Party on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'mindless diplomacy' and said his immature handling of Pakistan has belittled the stature of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"The Modi Government doesn't have a policy on Pakistan. They are calling it 'out-of-the-box diplomacy'. Everything is out of the box for him, more like Jack-in-the-box. This is mindless diplomacy," Congress leader Kapil Sibal told the media here.

"Prime Minister Modi wants to make history without learning from history. Immature handling of Pak has belittled the stature of the office PMO," he added.

Launching a tirade against the Prime Minister for his sudden detour to Pakistan, Sibal said that he failed to understand as to why the former broke his journey to visit Lahore.

Array

"We can't understand when Prime Minister was in Kabul, why did he break journey?" he asked.

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"They can't just drop in. There has to be some institutional decision. Why did he stop in Lahore? No one knows. Even his ministers don't know," he added.

Sibal alleged the government doesn't have a policy on Pakistan.

"There have been thousand violations on the border since Prime Minister Modi came to power," he added.

Reacting to the government's claim of handing over the evidences of Pathankot terror attack to Pakistan, Sibal said, "We must wait and watch as to what Pakistan is going to offer."

"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called up his NSA and Army Chief and had discussions with them on the evidence India has given," he said.

".We have given evidence in the past, like on Mumbai attacks. We also told them where Dawood is. They have time and again let us down. Even today, they haven't admitted that the terrorists were sent by Jaish-e-Mohammad, sent by ISI," he added.

Talks scheduled for next week in Islamabad between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan looks in jeopardy in the wake of the Pathankot terror attack.
Prince George may be the most adorable schoolboy in all of Britain as he looked identical to his famous father on his first day of school.

The blond cherub was too cute for words as he took his first steps over to the Westacre Montessori School all zipped up in the chilly January air, reports E!Online.

Thirty years ago, a 3-year-old Prince William gripped a navy blue striped sweater as he made his way to Mrs. Mynor's Nursery School dressed in all red, including a gingham collared shirt, solid shorts and Mary Jane shoes.

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Three decades later, his first son seems to have taken a fashion note from his dad, sporting a red checkered pattern on the inside of his coat's hood.
Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on Thursday condoled death of Mufti Mohd Sayeed, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

In his condolence message, Paswan said, "Mufti Sahib was a man of great vision. He always worked to strengthen democratic values. His demise is great loss for the nation, especially for J&K. His exemplary leadership and passion for people's welfare will be remembered long."

Sayeed breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the capital early this morning.

Jammu and Kashmir government today announced a seven-day mourning period in state as a mark of respect to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh will attend Sayeed's funeral in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the PDP has hinted that party president Mehbooba Mufti would take over as the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sayeed, who was born in 1936 in Bijbehara, Jammu and Kashmir, had previously served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2005. He was also the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

He had founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in 1999.
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If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. CBN's ministry is made possible by the support of our CBN Partners.
A seven-day state mourning has been declared in honour of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the capital early this morning.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Sayeed are being brought to Srinagar from New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier paid his last respects to the departed soul at the Palam Airport in New Delhi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh would also travel to Srinagar to attend the People's Democratic Party (PDP) veteran's last rites.

The PDP has hinted that party president Mehbooba Mufti would take over as the next Chief Minister.

"This matter was not decided, but obviously our choice is the party's president Mehbooba ji. Mehbooba ji has worked against all odds, she is the only choice in the party," said PDP leader Rafiq Mir.

Sayeed, who was born in 1936 in Bijbehara, Jammu and Kashmir, had previously served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2005. He was also the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

He had founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in 1999.
Punjab to invest Rs 720 crore in basic urban infra in 16 cities, Uttarakhand Rs 267 crore in 6 cities

Punjab Government will invest Rs 720 crore in improving basic urban infrastructure in 16 cities while Uttarakhand will spend Rs 267 crore in 6 cities under action plans for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 2015-16. Punjab will get central assistance of Rs 319 crore while Uttarakhand gets Rs 134 crore under the State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) approved today by an inter-ministerial Apex Committee chaired by Madhusudhan Prasad, Secretary (Urban Development).

As per Atal Mission Guidelines, universal coverage of urban households with water supply and sewerage connections and ensuring water availability @ 135 liters per capita per day gets priority followed by provision of storm water drains, urban transport and parks and green spaces.

Under the SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab Government will invest Rs 365 crore in 46 water supply related projects, Rs 288 crore in 37 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs 56 crore for improving urban transport in Amritsar and Rs 12 crore for providing open parks and green spaces in 16 mission cities.

In Punjab, coverage of households in 16 mission cities with water supply connections ranged from 28% in Khanna to 93% in Mohali. Water supply is in the range of 67 litres per capita per day in Khanna to 240 liters in Jalandhar as against the norm of 135 lpcd for urban areas.

Punjab has reported the best infrastructure in the country in respect of sewerage treatment with availability of 100% sewerage treatment capacity in 12 of the 16 mission cities. Only Amritsar, Barnala, Batala and Firozpur are lagging behind in this regard, for which projects have been proposed under SAAP for 2015-16.

Under SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab Government has proposed to invest Rs 154 crore on various basic infrastructure projects in Amritsar, Rs 96 crore in Ludhiana, Rs 73 crore in Batala, Rs 73 crore in Khanna, Rs 56 crore in SAS Nagar, Rs 46 crore in Barnala, Rs 44 crore in Jalandhar, Rs 38 crore in Muktsar, Rs 33 crore in Abohar, Rs 33 crore in Pathankot, Rs 20 crore in Patiala, Rs 17 crore in Hoshiarput, Rs 15 crore in Moga, Rs 11 crore in Firozpur, Rs 10 crore in Malerkotla and Rs 2.0 crore in Bhatinda.

Uttarakhand Government has proposed to spend Rs 133 crore in 20 water supply related projects in 6 mission cities, Rs 110 crore in 6 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs 18 crore in 5 storm water drainage projects and 6 crore on provision of open parks and green spaces.

In 6 Atal Mission cities in Uttarakhand, coverage of households with water connections is 11% in Rudrapur, 15% in Kashipur, 49% in Rourkee, 78% in Dehradun, 80% in Haldwani and 90% in Haridwar.

Water supply is @ 45 lpcd in Kashipur, 49 lpcd in Rudrapur, 109 lpcd in Rourkee, 133 lpcd in Haldwani, 135 lpcd in Dehradun and 187 lpcd in Haridwar.

There are no sewerage networks in Rudrapur and Kashipur while the coverage is to the extent of 10% in Haldwani, 15% in Dehradun, 23% in Rourkee and 52% in Haridwar.

Under SAAP for 2015-16 under Atal Mission, Uttarakhand Government has proposed to invest Rs 67 crore in Rudrapur, Rs 59 crore in Dehradun, Rs 50 crore in Kathgodam, Rs 39 crore in Haridwar, Rs 37 crore in Haldwani and Rs 37 crore in Roorki.

With today's approval, the Ministry of Urban Development has approved city level Service Level Improvement Plans (SLIPs) for 469 cities and towns in 20 States with a total project expenditure of Rs 20,137 crore out of which central assistance will be about Rs 10,000 crore.

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Corporation Bank fell 1.54% to Rs 41.65 at 9:45 IST on BSE after the bank said it will buy 4% stake in LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Asset Management Company from existing shareholders for Rs 5.66 crore.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 368.37 points, or 1.45%, to 25,037.96.

On BSE, so far 9,987 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 40,059 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 42.30 and a low of Rs 41.50 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 78.90 on 22 January 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 39.90 on 18 December 2015. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 6 January 2016, rising 1.32% compared with 0.90% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 4.94% as against Sensex's 5.67% fall.

The mid-cap state-run bank has an equity capital of Rs 204.50 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Corporation Bank said it is going to acquire 4% stake in LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Asset Management Company from its existing shareholder, Nomura Asset Management Strategic Investments PTE, at Rs 5.66 crore as per the valuation derived, subject to necessary approval and agreement, if any.

Net profit of Corporation Bank rose 17.50% to Rs 188.60 crore on 3.9% rise in operating income to Rs 5434.65 crore in Q2 September 2015 over Q2 September 2014.

As per the shareholding pattern, the Government of India holds 69.11% stake in the bank as at 30 September 2015.

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The Solvent Extractors' Association of India has compiled the export data for export of oilmeals for the month of Dec., 2015. The export of oilmeals during December 2015 is reported at 59,818 tons compared to 410,178 tons in December 2014 i.e. down by 85%. The overall export of oilmeals during April-December 2015 is reduced to nearly half (48%) compared to last year and reported at 963,442 tons against 1,862,283 tons during the same period of last year and 3,202,981 tons in 2013-14. Soybean crushing is very much reduced due to continuous disparity and high price of domestic market affecting overall domestic availability of both oils and meals. The capacity utilization is at the lowest. Industry is passing through very tough time and many plants are close down or operating at very low capacity due to disparity in crushing and export. Rapeseed meal export is also reduced to 1/3rd of last year.

The export of soybean meal is at a historical low during current year and reported 61,556 tons during the first nine months of the financial year 2015-16 compared to 444,736 tons in the previous year 2014-15 and 2,010,788 tons during the same period of 2013-14.

Currently FOB/FAS Indian soybean meal is quoted at US$ 490 per ton against Argentina origin soybean meal CIF Rotterdam at US$ 331 per ton. Indian soybean meal is nearly out priced by US$ 160 per ton in international market.

The alarming declines of Indian oilseeds production and crushing are going along with booming import demand for vegetable oils and have brought oilmeal exports from India almost to a standstill. The Association has pleaded with the Central Government for reducing the import duty to 5-10% from the current 30% on high oil content oilseeds like rapeseed/mustard(canola) and sunflower seed. This will have a multitude of advantages viz. reduce import of edible oils, larger availability of oilmeals for local consumption by feed industry and export. Increase value addition in India thus contribute towards the Prime Ministers Make-in-India Programme. Further the oilseeds imports will not have any adverse impact on the farmers as they are protected with an assured M. S. P. by the Government.

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Lupin after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that its US subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceutical Inc. has launched in the US its Tri-Lo-Marzia Tablets (Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 0.180 mg/0.025 mg, 0.215 mg/0.025 mg, and 0.250 mg/0.025 mg) after receiving approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic equivalent of Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Janssen) Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Tablets, (Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 0.180 mg/0.025 mg, 0.215 mg/0.025 mg, and 0.250 mg/0.025 mg). Lupin's Tri-Lo-Marzia Tablets are the AB rated generic equivalent of Janssen Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Tablets. It is indicated for use by women to prevent pregnancy. Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Tablets had annual sales of $488.4 million in the US as per IMS MAT September 2015 data. The product represents Lupin's 16th oral contraceptive launch in the US.

HDFC after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that it will issue secured redeemable non-convertible debentures worth Rs 690 crore on private placement basis to select individuals. The coupon rate on debentures is 8.45% per annum. The issue opens and closes on the same day tomorrow, 8 January 2016. HDFC plans to augment its long-term resources with the proceeds from the issue. The proceeds would be utilized for financing/refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the company, HDFC said.

National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) secured business amounting Rs 8523 crore (approximately) in the month of December 2015. Of the total business, the company said works worth Rs 8195 crore were related to project management consultancy (PMC) and projects worth Rs 328 crore were related to the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business. In a separate announcement, NBCC said it bagged a contract worth Rs 294.78 crore from IIT Mandi for construction of academic building, guest house, gymnasium, hospital and auditorium in the IIT Mandi campus. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016.

Corporation Bank said that the bank is going to acquire 4% shareholding from the existing shareholder namely Nomura Asset Management Strategic Investments PTE of LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Asset Management Company at a price of Rs 5.66 crore as per the valuation derived, subject to necessary approval and agreement, if any. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016.

Deepak Nitrite after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that the project funding committee of board of directors of the company, at its meeting held on 6 January 2016, has approved the allotment of 1.17 crore equity shares of Rs 2 each at a price of Rs 70.90 per equity share amounting to Rs 83.30 crore to the qualified institutions buyers.

Electrosteel Castings after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that the company has made timely payment of the entire principal as well as interest obligations on 6 January 2016 towards redemption of 12.5% Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) of the company.

Enkei Wheels (India) after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 11 January 2016 to allot 7.06 lakh equity shares at a price of Rs 188 each on preferential basis to its promoter i.e. Enkel Corporation, Japan. The shareholders of the company have already accorded their consent for this issue in their meeting held on 4 January 2016.

McNally Bharat Engineering Company after market hours yesterday, 6 January 2016 announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with NIPPO India (NIPPO), a 100% subsidiary of NIPPO Corporation, Japan to jointly work on road construction projects in India.

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The Reserve Bank of India has issued 17 Master Directions covering foreign exchange transactions. Master Directions on foreign exchange being issued today consolidate relevant A. P (DIR Series) Circulars issued so far within the ambit of the relevant regulations, amended up to date and cover different classes of transactions permitted under the rules and regulations framed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Master Directions on foreign exchange matters deal with the manner in which an authorised person should conduct cross border/forex transactions. The Reserve Bank frames regulations in respect of capital account and trade transactions in terms of Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 47 of FEMA whereas the Government of India frames rules in respect of current account transactions and compounding proceedings. Further, in terms of section 3 of FEMA, all cross border and/or foreign exchange transactions are to be conducted through a person authorised to do so under section 10 of FEMA. The Reserve Bank of India thus issues directions [through A. P. (DIR Series) Circulars] to the Authorised Persons under section 11 of FEMA in regard to the manner of conducting these transactions with their customers/ constituents.

It may be recalled that Governor Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan had, in the Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16 announced on September 29, 2015 (Para 29) stated that the Reserve Bank will update all its master regulations, and streamline the required procedure for compliance with the regulations by January 1, 2016.

All master regulations will be fully updated and placed online. The Reserve Bank will also work to improve clarity in regulatory communications.

Accordingly, beginning January 2016, the Reserve Bank will issue Master Directions on all regulatory matters. The Master Directions to be issued will consolidate instructions on rules and regulations framed by the Reserve Bank under various Acts including banking issues and foreign exchange transactions. The process of issuing Master Directions involves issuing one Master Direction for each subject matter covering all instructions on that subject. Any change in the rules, regulation or policy will be communicated during the year by way of circulars. The Master Directions will be updated suitably and simultaneously whenever there is a change in the rules/regulations or there is a change in the policy. All the changes will get reflected in the Master Directions available on the RBI website along with the dates on which changes are made. Explanations of rules and regulations will be issued by way of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) after issue of the Master Directions in easy to understand language wherever necessary. The existing set of Master Circulars issued on various subjects will stand withdrawn with the issue of the Master Direction on the subject.

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Tata Motors lost 4.92% to Rs 347.70 at 11:39 IST on BSE amid fears of slower growth in China, the world's second-largest economy.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 416.62 points, or 1.64%, to 24,989.71

On BSE, so far 4.45 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 6.79 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 359.85 and a low of Rs 347.10 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 605.57 on 3 February 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 279.15 on 29 September 2015. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 January 2016, falling 8.55% compared with 0.90% decline in the Sensex. The stock, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 9.66% as against Sensex's 5.67% fall.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 577.44 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Fears of slower growth in China weighed on the Tata Motors stock. As per reports, China accounts for 25% of Tata Motors' British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)'s revenue and 33% of operating profit.

Economic data this week showed that China's services sector grew at the weakest pace in 17 months in December. Another data showed that activity had slowed in the country's key factory sector. Another concern is of China's weakening currency. China's central bank again surprised markets today, 7 January 2016 by setting onshore yuan's value lower to the US dollar, sending the domestic stock markets tumbling. The People's Bank of China continued to fix the onshore yuan's value lower to the US dollar, at 6.5646, down 0.51% from the previous day's closing level, the biggest move since 13 August 2015, after the yuan's devaluation.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) North America on 5 January 2016, said its US sales rose 30% to 9,638 units in December 2015 over December 2014.

Tata Motors on 1 January 2016 said that total passenger and commercial vehicles sales declined 4% to 39,973 units in December 2015 over December 2014.

On consolidated basis, Tata Motors reported net loss of Rs 429.76 crore in Q2 September 2015 compared with net profit of Rs 3290.86 crore in Q2 September 2014. Net sales rose 1.1% to Rs 60853.03 crore in Q2 September 2015 over Q2 September 2014.

Tata Motors is a market leader in commercial vehicles in India. The company's British unit Jaguar Land Rover sells premium luxury cars.

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To enhance sustainable Biodiversity Management

Tata Power Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to delineate and enhance conservation of the ecological footprints in the locations of the various Tata Power projects. The hallmark of working arrangement would focus on Coastal Gujarat Power (CGPL) area as the learning hub for the enhanced biodiversity management activities.

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A whopping 81 percent in a survey of 30,000 people have voted against Free Basics or any such programme and want an unbiased or neutral internet for themselves, a survey conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles said here on Thursday.

LocalCircles said in a statement that when asked if the central or state government should provide free internet access covering essential or useful citizen services, 78 percent of the respondents said yes.

"This basically redefines the concept of net neutrality and has implications on what is provided as content when the internet is free and provided by the government. Internet evangelists who have stake in the internet being open to all meaning that all websites and apps should be given equal access will be disappointed by what the citizens want," the statement said.

"If the government wants to make electronic books available for free it can make sure that they are at least available on all government hotspots," said LocalCircles chief strategy officer K. Yatish Rajawat.

"This would not be possible if free internet is understood only through what private internet companies are offering. The debate on net neutrality has to take into account that access to internet is important and its misuse is also a possibility," he added.

Industrialist Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCOM) on December 23 said following the Indian telecom regulator's directive, the commercial launch of Facebook's Free Basics has been put on hold till it gets clearance.

RCOM is the only telecom service provider offering Free Basics in India.

The regulator said Facebook's Free Basics service should remain on hold till the ruling on differential pricing on data services - an important aspect of net neutrality - comes.
Japan and the US early on Thursday confirmed to closely cooperate to cope with the hydrogen bomb test conducted by North Korea on Wednesday.

The international community needs to take a resolute action to send strong message to North Korea in order to prevent further provocations from the country, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told US President Barack Obama in a phone conversation.

For his part, Obama said the nuke test was a threat to the region and the international community, and the US would take measures to ensure the security of its allies, including Japan.

Abe on Wednesday strongly condemned the hydrogen bomb test, saying the move was a "significant threat" to Japan's national security. Japan would consider further sanctions against the North Korea, Xinhua news agency reported.

After a magnitude-5.1 shallow-focus earthquake was detected on Wednesday in northeast part of North Korea, the country's official media made a special report and announced it had successfully conducted its first hydrogen bomb test.

The move prompted the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting over the issue and drew international criticism that the test jeopardized efforts to realize a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.
What happens to the students who are still attending low-performing high schools while those schools are being phased out?

A new look at such students at six comprehensive New York City high schools by the citys Independent Budget Office found that those students were more likely to graduate with a local diploma, which is less rigorous than New York states Regents diploma.

Students in the first of two cohorts studied were less likely to graduate college-ready when compared to peers at demographically similar low-performing schools that had not been targeted for closure. In addition, students in the second cohort were less likely to graduate on time when compared to students at low-performing schools that were not scheduled to close, according to a brief the IBO released on Thursday.

The IBO looked at students who were in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades at South Shore, Samuel J. Tilden, and Lafayette high schools in the citys Brooklyn borough, when the announcement was made to phase out those schools in the 2006-2007 school year, during the Michael R. Bloomberg administration. The IBO also replicated the study for a second cohort in similar grades at Bayard Rustin High School and Louis D. Brandeis High School, both in Manhattan, and Franklin K. Lane High School, in Brooklyn. Those schools were announced for phaseouts in the 2008-09 school year.

The graduation rate for the students at Tilden, Lafayette, and South Shore who were in the 2006-2007 group was similar to those in the comparison group, according to the IBO report, 46.2 percent for the study group and 47.3 percent for the comparison group. More than 60 percent of those students in the treatment group got a local diploma, according to the IBO.

For the 06-07 cohort, the IBO found no statistical difference in the students probability of graduating on time. That was not the case, however, for the later group. Students in that group who were attending schools that were scheduled to be phased out were significantly less likely to graduate on time.

For the second cohort, the share of graduates in the treatment group was lower than the comparison group, 44.6 percent for the treatment group, compared to 47.2 percent for the comparison group. In both groups, the impact of the closure on 11th graders was more muted, possibly because those students were already close to finishing high school when the closures were announced.

School closures and their impacts on students are fraught with controversy as schools officials and policymakers continue to wrestle with the best ways to turn around low-performing schools. A November report by the Research Alliance for New York City, which is based at New York University, examined the effects on the students at 29 low-performing high schools that were shuttered during the Bloomberg administration.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has criticized Bloombergs school closure policy. However, the administration recently said that it would close Renewal Schools94 low-performing schools that have received additional funding and supportif they do not meet specific, targeted benchmarks.

You can dig into the full brief here on the IBOs website.
The government must accept "bungling" in the response to the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot and conduct "a proper probe", the CPI-M has said.

At the same time, the Communist Party of India-Marxist also urged the government to stick to its proposed talks with Pakistan, saying a reversal "will only cramp India's strategic options".

Six terrorists believed to be from Pakistan sneaked into Punjab and raided the Indian Air Force base, killing seven security personnel. All six attackers were killed by security forces.

"The (Narendra) Modi government must accept that there has been bungling which raises various disturbing questions," said an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy".

"The government should not stand on prestige; it must acknowledge the shortcomings and conduct a proper probe so that such mistakes do not recur again."

The editorial said what was urgently required was a review "of the muddled and unfocussed response to the terrorist action".

Pointing out that some security experts had called it a debacle, it said: "There are a number of questions which have arisen about the whole operation."

It wanted to know how, despite sufficient warning about the attack, the heavily armed terrorists penetrated the outer perimeter of the sprawling complex and enter it.

"Why was the army not called in for combing operations, especially since there is a big army base in Pathankot?

"The defence of the perimeter was left to the Defence Security Corps jawans, consisting of retired military personnel. It is they who suffered the maximum casualties.

"There seems to have been no proper coordination between the various agencies and forces," it added.

"The home minister declared the operation over and successful after the first day and had to withdraw his tweet subsequently. This speaks of the inept way the whole operation has been conducted."

The CPI-M urged the Modi government to stay on course and not let the "extremist-jihadi groups call the shots.

"The Pathankot incident, in fact, strengthens the government's hand when it takes up terrorism on the agenda in the talks.

"It underlines the continuing failure of the Pakistani state to deal with those jihadi groups which have the patronage of sections of the intelligence and security establishment.

"Any reversal will only cramp India's strategic options and resumption of confrontation will debilitate India's economic recovery and progress," the editorial said.
A suspected member of the terrorist outfit al-Qaida has been arrested by Delhi Police in Begaluru, sources said here early on Friday.

The alleged member of the terror group, identified as Maulana Anzar Shah, was arrested on Wednesday night, Police sources said.

According to sources, he was plotting to carry out a series of terror strikes in the country. "The aim of the group was to attack some prominent leaders along with the crowded and tourist places."

Shah has been brought to Delhi on transit remand and would be produced at the Patiala House court here on Friday.

He was arrested by the anti-terrorist Special Cell wing of Delhi Police in its ongoing operation against al-Qaida in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS).

The Special Cell had in December last year arrested two AQIS operatives Zafar Masood and Abdul Rehman. Reportedly, Shah's name popped up during their interrogation.

Another terrorist in custody, Mohammed Asif, the recruitment and training head of AQIS, had also confessed to meeting Shah at a religious congregation in Bengaluru, sources said.

According to sources, Shah had reactivated himself to provide logistical support when contacted by the AQIS operatives.

The Special Cell also has the details of financial transaction between them and Shah, the source added.
The first meeting of the newly-appointed Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and its governing council was held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of filmmaker Gajendra Chauhan, even as students protested against him outside the campus.

Eminent television serial maker B.P. Singh was elected vice president of the FTII Society, also as vice chairman of the Governing Council. The "C.I.D." producer, an FTII alumnus, will be new chairman of the institute's Academic Council.

The FTII also nominated filmmakers and film personalities Rajkumar Hirani, Satish Shah, Pranjal Saikia, Narendra Pathak and film journalist Bhawana Somaaya to the governing council.

Prominent persons attending the FTII Society meeting included =additional secretary and financial advisor Subhash Sharma, Satish Shah, Rahul Solapurkar, joint secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy, Hirani and B.P.Singh.

Additionnally, there were Anagha Ghaisas, Narendra Pathak, Bhawana Somaiyya, Urmil Thapliyal, Pranjal Saikia, ex-officio members Director-General of Films Division Mukesh Sharma, FTII director Prashant Pathrabe, officer on special duty to Information & Broadcasting minister Chaitanya Prasad, Childrens Film Society of India CEO Shravan Kumar and Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) director Sanjay Pattnayak.

The governing council approved the Annual Report and Statement of Accounts of FTII for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, while revised estimates for 2015-2016 and Budget Estimates for next year 2016-2017 were also sanctioned.

Earlier, the new FTII chairman Chauhan, whose appointment to the post has been staunchly opposed by students, was accorded a warm welcome by the staff, administration and faculty on his first visit to the prestigious institute.

Addressing the gathering, Chauhan said he would do his best to solve the problems of the FTII, including the long-standing demand of pension for the staff.

Chauhan's arrival was marred by huge student protests leading to mild caning and alleged manhandling by police, as also at least 20 detentions when the students attempted to block his entry to the campus Thursday morning.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday said it will take strong action against anyone organising the traditional cock fight games during the Sankranti festival.

The state government filed an affidavit in the Hyderabad High Court when the matter relating to cock fights came up for hearing.

The government told the court that it would take all steps to check cock fights. On the direction of a division bench, the government filed an affidavit in this regard.

The court wanted to know from the government as to what action it proposed to take against those organising cock fights and other games violating the ban.

Sankranti festival spread over three to four days is scheduled to be celebrated next week.

The joint high court for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was dealing with a petition which alleged that arrangements were being made to organise cock fights on large scale and police were not taking action to prevent this.

The high court last year directed police to take action against those organising cock fights with betting, sale of liquor, gambling and subjecting animals and birds to cruelty during the festival.

A BJP leader and two others from Andhra had challenged the high court order on the ground that cock fights are part of tradition and culture. They argued that without this, the festival will lose its significance.

The petitioners claimed that the ban will also affect the revenues which the state gets from visitors, including NRIs, during the festival. According to them during 2012-13, 3,452 NRIs came to these districts and spent nearly Rs.600 crore to see the cock fights and during 2013-14 a total of 3,561 NRIs came and spent nearly Rs.634 crore.

Powerful politicians of all hues, celebrities and businessmen, participate in the betting. The fights between the specially bred and trained cocks are organised in fields as thousands watch them. Three- to four-inch knives are tied to the cocks' legs and the fight continues till the death of one of the two cocks in each round.

Though police deny the permission to conduct such fights, the organisers always have the last laugh thanks to the support from powerful politicians.

Every year, police seize specially bred cocks and money at various places but the cock fights continue to thrive due to political patronage.

The legislators say since the cock fights are part of the culture, they have to respect the people's sentiments.
Authorities intensified security measures on Thursday with Bangladesh's largest Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami observing a nationwide shutdown to protest an apex court verdict that upheld death penalty for its chief.

Thursday's dawn-to-dusk shutdown by the party is in protest against the Supreme Court verdict, which upheld death penalty for its chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for his 1971 war crimes, bdnews24 reported.

Dhaka was, however, largely peaceful in the early hours of the strike. Jamaat activists also did not take out any procession in support of the strike.

Security was beefed up in Dhaka since Wednesday over the apex court's verdict on the Jamaat chief's appeal. He had challenged the war crimes tribunal's sentence.

Nizami is the second war criminal to be sentenced to death for the killing of intellectuals during the 1971 Liberation War. During the war, he was the chief of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the affiliated student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

He was also the chief of the Al-Badr force that was formed by some members of Chhatra Sangha.

The Al-Badr was formed to actively collaborate with the Pakistani occupation forces.
Nearly 340,000 bank employees across the country will strike work on January 8 to protest the implementation of the new Career Progression Scheme (CPS), a leader of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said here on Thursday.

He said the strike will be in protest against the violation of the bilateral settlement by five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), namely State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Travancore.

He said the five associate banks were bent on implementing the new Career Progression Scheme (CPS) for their employees in violation of a bilateral agreement with their respective unions.

"It is the managements of the five banks that are on war path against the employees and not the other way round. At the last conciliation meeting, the chief labour commissioner (CLC) had advised the bank managements to put on hold the implementation of the new service conditions," AIBEA general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS.

The strike will have a great impact on the banking public since January 9 will be a weekly holiday for banks.

"The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is regrettably silent on the matter. We have been forced to go on strike. The branch offices will not be closed but normal operations might be affected due to employees going on strike," Venkatachalam said.

According to Venkatachalam, the five banks also want to abolish permanent cadres like sweepers and outsource labour activity which, it contended, cannot be done unilaterally.

The AIBEA perceives uniform service conditions between the SBI and its five associate banks as a step towards merger.

Venkatachalam said there already was uniformity in technology, branding, work procedure and use of ATMs by account holders of the six banks.
India on Thursday said the ball was in Pakistan's court on continuation of the resumed bilateral talks, following the terror attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.

"As far as we are concerned, the ball is in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue is Pakistan's response to the terrorist attack and the actionable intelligence provided to it," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a media briefing.

"The terrorist attack on the Pathankot air base has once again put renewed focus on the challenge posed by cross-border terrorism," he said.

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists. All six terrorists -- suspected to be from Pakistan -- were killed by security forces.

Stating that the Indian government's Pakistan policy was clear and consistent, Swarup said India wanted friendly relations with all its neighbours, including Pakistan.

"We have extended our hand of friendship to Pakistan but we will not countenance cross-border terrorist attacks," he said.

According to the spokesman, the decision to start a comprehensive bilateral dialogue followed after a "constructive" meeting between the national security advisors of the two countries in Bangkok on December 6 "in which the central concerns of terrorism, peace and security, tranquillity along the Line of Control were discussed".

"Our prime minister (Narendra Modi) had a conversation with the prime minister of Pakistan (Nawaz Sharif). During that conversation, our prime minister very strongly urged the prime minister of Pakistan to take action," Swarup said.

"Actionable intelligence with regard to the terrorist attack and the links with the perpetrators in Pakistan have been provided to the Pakistani side. The Pakistani prime minister promised prompt and decisive action. We now await that prompt and decisive action."

There was a thaw in India-Pakistan relations following a seemingly impromptu meeting between Modi and Shartif on November 30 on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit.

On December 6, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua met in Bangkok.

Two days later, Sushma Swaraj landed in Islamabad to attend the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan.

On December 9, Sushma Swaraj announced that Modi would visit Islamabad in 2016 to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit.

India and Pakistan have since agreed to start a comprehensive bilateral dialogue.

It was when the stage was being set for the foreign secretaries to meet this month in Islamabad that the terrorists mounted the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot.
The BJP, which is a junior partner in the Jammu and Kashmir government, may bargain for a 50:50 formula for rest of the chief ministerial term, sources said, even as the PDP on Thursday named Mehbooba Mufti as its leader in the assembly.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who led the coalition government, died in New Delhi on Thursday morning.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Avinash Rai Khanna, who is in charge of party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, said the chief ministerial issue has not been decided yet, and the party will take a call soon.

"There has been no discussion over the issue of the chief ministerial candidate yet. When the matter comes up, the party will take a call," Khanna told IANS.

"It is for the PDP to decide who will be its legislature party leader," he said when asked about the Peoples Democratic Party nominating Mehbooba Mufti as its leader, in succession to her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Two senior PDP leaders, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and Altaf Bukhari, on Thursday handed over a party letter to Governor N.N. Vohra nominating Mehbooba Mufti as the leader of its legislature group.

However, a top BJP functionary told IANS that the party will push for the formula of 50:50 for the remainder of the chief ministerial term, meaning for half of the rest of the term the PDP would head the government and the BJP for the other half.

"Mufti saheb had proposed earlier too to consider Mehbooba as the chief minister when we were in talks for the formation of the government earlier, but we were not ready," he said.

"We had clearly said that if he himself opts for the top post, the BJP has no problem but if Mehbooba would be projected, the BJP would go for 50:50 formula," the BJP functionary said on condition of anonymity.

In the last assembly elections, the Peoples Democratic Party won 28 seats and the BJP 25. The opposition National Conference got 15 and the Congress 12.

BJP sources said the party's parliamentary board, which is expected to meet on Sunday, will take the final call.
Chinese author Feng Tang, whose translation of a collection of poems by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had created controversy, has pulled out from Delhi World Book Fair 2016, casting a shadow on the event where China is the guest of honour.

Ten authors from China were expected to participate in the nine-day fair, touted as Asia's largest book fair, which is slated to begin from Saturday at Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

Feng was in the eye of a storm over the obscene language used in the translation of "Stray Birds," a collection of poems by Tagore, from English to Chinese.

Consequently the work was withdrawn from the shelves by Zhejiang Wenyi Publishing House in December last year. According to media reports, Fang has been pulled out of the book fair fearing adverse reaction in India. However, the Chinese delegation told IANS that the author cited personal reasons for pulling out of the delegation.

"Author Feng Tang has cited personal reasons for not participating in the book fair. It's only on December 31 that we received this news from him. We had made all arrangement for his trip," said Lin Linying, director, Beijing International Book Fair.

She further added that she came to know about more details from Indian media reports.

In his book, Feng translated the original lines "The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover" into Chinese to read "The world unzipped his pants in front of his lover".

In another instance, instead of the word "hospitable" in the line "The great earth makes herself hospitable with the help of the grass", Feng uses the Chinese word "sao" which is closer to the English word "flirtatious", as quoted by the Chinese media.

Denying knowledge of the development, Rita Chowdhury, director, National Book Trust said that they were not aware of the withdrawal. "There was no communication from the Chinese side on this. So I don't want to comment on this," she said.

As the Guest of Honour country, China has a significant presence in the fair with a delegation of 257 comprising publishing houses, authors among others. The effort is to boost the ties between both the countries, said Lin.

Major attractions of the Chinese pavilion will be India-China cultural contacts photo exhibition, contemporary Chinese books display, collection of children's books, a Chinese digital publication area and many more.

"To attract students, we have 300 titles of translations and illustrations of children's books from Chinese and it's free for children," added Lin.

The other authors from China include Liu Zhenyun, Mai Jia (whose book is published by Penguin), Wang Xufeng, Xi Chuan, Shu Ting, children's author Cao Wenxuan, Lan Lan, and Xiong Liang
The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday suspended the orders of Telangana government, which cut the poll process of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt suspended the Government Order issued earlier this week, reducing poll process to mere 14 days from 45 days.

The court was dealing with petitions filed by Congress leader M. Sashidhar Reddy and others, challenging the amendment to GHMC Act 1955.

The advocate general informed the court that reservation of divisions for various categories will be finalised on Saturday.

The court directed that elections should be held within 21 days from the date of issue of notification.

Reacting to the verdict, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the GHMC polls would be held as per the directions of the court.

In a statement, the chief minister said the duration of poll process was cut to overcome the certain difficulties faced by the government and people.

He said since services of 100,000 government employees were required to conduct elections to 150-member GHMC, and this would affect the governance for nearly a month. The chief minister said long poll process would also cause inconvenience to people in Hyderabad.

The main opposition Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Paty and others had slammed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government for reducing the poll process, terming it as an attempt to win the elections through back door.
After years of being all the rage in Scandinavia, outdoor preschools are making a splash in the United States.

I recently wrote about all of this, with a focus on the Fiddleheads Forest School in Seattle, for The Hechinger Report in a story that also appeared in The New York Times. It was a fascinating and fun reporting gig because how often do you get to interview 4-year-olds about their favorite things about school and get answers like: Running up and down hills? I also got to kneel down in the dirt, literally, and listen to kids explain to their teachers what they were noticing about an old rotting log or where an earthworm liked to burrow.

The research on the power of outdoor preschools is still emerging. And while initial findings about individual aspects of the schools, like the sheer amount of physical activity kids are likely to get outside as opposed to inside (twice as much), are promising, there have been few comprehensive studies about the differences between indoor and outdoor schools. Skeptics wonder what the point is in doing something outside that can be done just as well inside.

But for the converts, there is no question. Outside is better for everything from health, balance, and energy to self-control and inquisitiveness, they say. One guy in Seattle is even trying to get public preschools to head outsidefor every minute of every school day.

And for the kids who attend the programs from Washington state to Massachusetts, its even simpler. They just love school. Full stop.

Read the full story on The Hechinger Report and let me know what you think here.

Photo: Fiddleheads students climbing on a wet log near their outdoor calssroom. (Lillian Mongeau/Hechinger Report)
Forward Daniel Osvaldo has signed a new contract with Boca Juniors in Argentina and joined the club for pre-season training, according to media reports on Thursday.

Osvaldo, 29, who was previously playing for Porto in Portugal, has now returned to the club where he played on loan in early 2015, calling it a "lifelong dream", reports Xinhua.

The news was announced on Wednesday, with Osvaldo playing his first training session under the eyes of trainer Rodolfo Arruabarrena in the afternoon.

"I felt the need to come back because I had unfinished business with Boca. My first time here went well but I felt I could give much more," said Osvaldo ahead of the move.

The forward, who has taken on the Italian nationality and scored four goals in 14 caps for that country, will team up with Carlos Tevez, with whom he played at Juventus in 2014.

At the time of his loan, Osvaldo decided to leave Argentina after a media scandal surrounding his split from Argentinean actress Jimena Baron, with whom he has a son.

This is Boca's third signing ahead of the 2016 season, after having signed defenders Jonathan Silva and Leonardo Jara.
In a fortuitous series of events, doctors in two Delhi hospitals were able to save the lives of three people on Thursday following a laudable act of organ donation by the family of a 17-year-old accident victim.

With the help of a team of experts at Max Healthcare along with other city hospitals and Delhi Police, a 32-km green corridor was set up from Max Super Speciality Hospital in Shalimar Bagh to Max Hospital in Saket at 10.20 a.m. to transport the heart of the road accident victim in 45 minutes and 27 seconds, the hospital said in a statement.

The donor's two kidneys saved the lives of two patients at the Shalimar Bagh hospital, while a 46-year-old woman with end-stage heart failure at the Saket hospital was the recipient of the donated heart.

"Our team worked round-the-clock to ensure a seamless and successful heart transplant," said Kewal Krishan, programme incharge-heart transplant and ventricular assist devices at the Saket hospital.

"Given the abysmal number of heart donors in India, it was crucial to ensure that every step of the transplant was carried out without any roadblocks. We are proud to have successfully performed this transplant with the support provided by Delhi Police in creating the green corridor," Krishan said.

The two corneas were sent to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and the liver to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for transplantation.

"January is a time for resolutions. This month brings with it a hope in everyone to make changes and a chance at new beginnings. The donor's family has given that chance to many today and we take pride in being of part of this brave and generous act," said Rajneesh Malhotra, chief of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) at the Saket hospital.

He said "organ donation is a true sign of humanity" and "we urge everyone to take inspiration from the family of this 17-year-old boy and come forward for organ donation".

"Their one decision has brought back hope and happiness in the lives of many patients and their families," Malhotra said.
Nimr Al-Nimr, the Shia cleric who was among the 47 people executed on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, was a terrorism convict who was "involved in attacks against security personnel and police stations that led to the killing of innocents," the Saudi embassy here said on Thursday.

"All 47 people executed were terrorism convicts, mostly Al Qaeda affliates, according to the Saudi interior ministry," the embassy said in a statement, adding Nimr was also accused of other things.

According to the embassy statement, the executions reflected Saudi Arabia's determination to combat terror and come just weeks after the country's initiative to form an Islamic military alliance against terror.

"Nimr Al-Nimr and a leading Al Qaeda figure, Faris Al-Shuwail, were among those executed," it added.

The statement was issued following reports in the Indian media from which, according to the embassy, "many wrong inferences and conclusions" have been drawn and have led to "misinformed and misleading commentaries and editorials" in some of the Indian media.

The execution of Nimr Al-Nimr, a Saudi national, has created a volatile situation in the Middle East with the Saudi missions in Iran coming under attack and Riyadh cutting off diplomatic ties with Shia-majority Tehran. In India too, there have been reports of protests by Shias, the sect of Islam to which Nimr Al-Nimr belonged.

According to the embassy statement, Nimr Al-Nimr "was involved in inciting people, recruiting people and providing weapons to people".

"He was involved in attacks against security personnel and police stations that led to the killing of innocents."

It also stated all the executed had received an open and fair trial that had been through the court of appeal, and reviewed by the country's Supreme Court.

"Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh, the country's highest religious and spiritual authority, described the executions as just. Many other senior Muslim scholars have done so," the embassy said.

As for the attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Masshad, it said the Iranian reaction to the implementation of the court rulings in Saudi Arabia and the execution of convicted terrorists was "a flagrant act that violated the international law and represented complete disregard to diplomatic conventions concerning protection of diplomatic missions".

"This behaviour goes well with Iran's record in attacking embassies and plotting against the lives of diplomats. Iran has no special right to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries, and its declared hostilities towards its neighbors is the main source of sectarianism, terrorism and instability in the region."

It cited a joint press conference held by the Saudi interior and justice ministries, at which it was announced that "the terrorists were executed for their actions and not for their affiliations".

"The executions were carried out inside prisons across the kingdom. There were no photos or video footage of the executions as it is prohibited by law."

It cited interior ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki as saying that Saudi Arabia condemned all forms of terrorism and considered these acts as the worst kind of corruption.

"Security forces will waste no effort in combating anyone involved with these terrorist groups," he was quoted as saying.

According to the embassy statement, a special court to handle terror-related actions in Saudi Arabia was established in 2008 and has dealt with 2,225 cases involving 6,122 suspects.

"Of the 55 death sentences awarded by the court since that time, four were overturned upon appeal. There are currently 179 individuals whose cases are still open," it stated.

"The kingdom follows the Sharia and rejects any outside interference in our judicial system," it quoted Al-Turki as saying.

According to the statement, 163 people have been acquitted of all charges by the court and have been given monetary compensation.

"Saudi suspects are given legal representation upon their request at government expense. For any non-Saudi suspects or victims, their embassy is always involved in the court proceedings," it added.
Gajendra Chauhan on Thursday morning assumed office as FTII chairman as a large number of students staged a vociferous protest outside the campus. Police caned and detained at least 20 students.

The police, deployed in large numbers, resorted to mild caning after some students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) attempted to block the route taken by Chauhan, who came for his first take-over meeting of the FTII Society. He was appointed its chairman in June last year.

The assembled students shouted slogans "Go back Chauhan" and "Chauhan murdabad" as he arrived at the campus and some attempted to stop him from entering the premises.

At least 17 students had already been served notices warning them of stringent action if they attempted to create a ruckus on the campus during Chauhan's visit.

Some students accused the police of high-handedness and manhandling the students who were protesting peacefully when they were forcibly dragged by the police personnel to waiting vans.

Student leader Reema Kaur told IANS that their demonstration was "silent, and made violent by the police".

"The students were protesting at the gate peacefully. Police staged a lathi-charge. They hurt many students and put them in the riot van. It is a curfew-like situation on the campus," Kaur said.

FTII Students' Association (FTIISA) president Harishankar Nachimuthu was also among those detained, Kaur added.

The FTIISA had announced on Wednesday its plan to 'resist' Chauhan as its demands remained unmet by the authorities concerned.

"Our core demand was to place the newly-appointed society in abeyance and to set proper criteria and procedure to appoint the FTII Society and it still remains the same," the FTIISA said in a statement.

The FTIISA said that "we still have problem with these appointments and will continue to resist it unless the concerned authorities put the society in abeyance and set a process for further appointements, since it is the question of our academics."

The direct protest against Chauhan on Thursday came after the students on June 12 went on strike, which was called off on October 28 -- after 139 days, "against the political appointments of incapable people in the FTII Society".

Chauhan, best known for essaying the role of 'Yudhishthir' in B.R. Chopra's "Mahabharat" besides featuring in small roles in various films like "Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge" and "Baghban", was appointed FTII chairman on June 9, last year.
India has named Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of the banned terror organisation Jaish-e-Muhammad, as well as the organisation itself and others as being responsible for the Pathankot attack in evidence shared by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua, according to sources here.

JeM goes by two other names in Pakistan, after it was banned in 2002.

However, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup refrained from naming any group, while confirming that "actionable intelligence" had been provided to Pakistan.

"We have given some information to Pakistan. They have to act on that information. All individuals and groups will be included in that," the spokesperson said.

Asked about the evidence, Swarup said he "cannot make the intelligence public".

On a question whether JeM was named by India in interactions between the NSAs, the spokesperson refrained from giving a direct reply.

"This is a matter for investigation by Pakistani authorities on the basis of the evidence that we have provided them. Once they have investigated, we will know the exact identity of who is behind it," Swarup said.

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early on Saturday morning on the Pathankot Indian Air Force Station by six terrorists who, according to officials, crossed over from Pakistan. All the six terrorists were killed by security forces later.
Azamgarh-born Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam has been awarded the inaugural UP Ratna award for his contribution as a son of Uttar Pradesh.

An Indian American friend, Dr. Fazal Khan, received the award on Islam's behalf from UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on the opening day of the inaugural UP Pravasi Diwas in Agra on Monday.

Islam, who came to the US in the early 1970s to study at University of Colorado, said the "award means much to me and I am most pleased to accept it with the humility that I have learned as a son of Uttar Pradesh."

Islam praised the Uttar Pradesh government for engaging the diaspora through the Pravasi Diwas and instituting a mechanism to engage the diaspora in a serious and meaningful way for the development of the state.

Offering to help the state especially in the field of education, an area that is close to his heart, Islam said: "I'm convinced that the best way for Uttar Pradesh to realize its vast potential is to empower people by education and economic mobility."

The entrepreneur last year announced a $2 million contribution to Aligarh Muslim University, for building a new school of management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Islam, who has also pledged to provide considerable financial support to develop a technical training school for women in Azamgarh, said he intends to support more such educational initiatives in UP

"Education is the best way that we can build an economy commensurate with the size and potential of the state," he said, pointing out that Uttar Pradesh, despite its massive size and population has a GDP of just $130 billion.

Washington DC, which has just 0.3 percent of UP's population, has an economy roughly the size of Uttar Pradesh.

Islam said creating an NRI department is a great first step towards engaging the diaspora. "Uttar Pradesh has not been able to harness the power of the diaspora the way states such as Gujarat and Kerala have been able to do," he said.

"Non-resident Gujaratis and Keralites have made significant and sustainable contributions to the development of their states. Similarly, let us also roll up our sleeves and step up to the plate."

Islam founded an information technology company, the QSS Company, in 1994 with him as the sole employee. He built the company to more than 2,000 employees and sales of $300 million before he sold it in 2007.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Israeli troops killed two Palestinians and severely wounded another on Thursday after the three allegedly tried to stab soldiers in the West Bank, the Israeli army said.

According to a military spokesperson, three knife-wielding Palestinians arrived at the Gush Etzion Junction, a major crossroad in a Jewish settlement bloc in the West Bank, on Thursday night.

They tried to stab soldiers guarding the junction, and were fired upon, the spokesman said. No Israelis were injured in the latest incident amid a three-month-long wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 139 Palestinians, 23 Israelis and a US citizen have died due to the continuing violence between Palestinians and Israelis since the beginning of October 2015.

Israel has been accusing the Palestinian authority of "inciting" the violence, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli control of their lands.
Karnataka has only tapped a miniscule amount of its wind energy generation potential, leading wind energy company officials said on Thursday.

"Though Karnataka is one of the first movers to take up wind energy, its installed capacity is only 2,600 MW while the potential is about 56,000 MW," said Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) chairman and Regen Powertech managing director Madhusudan Khemka at a workshop to discuss prospects, opportunities and challenges for the renewable energy form in the state.

Major challenges he listed include strengthening of grid infrastructure, unrecoverable tax passed through to investors from the government and acquiring land to set up operations.

"It is imperative that Karnataka government outlines a clear vision for development of wind energy projects in the coming years. We are concerned about the tariff as well as the tax structure currently present... I urge Karnataka government to expedite the policy on renewables," said Khemka.

Requiring no fuel or water to generate power unlike other renewable energy sources, he said wind energy can offer a future proofed power tariff to the government at the rate of Rs.4.50 per unit for the next 20 years.

IWTMA is an association of 19 companies of which 12 are original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and the remaining seven are key components suppliers to the wind energy industry.

The industry association highlighted that Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the key states holding maximum wind energy generation potential in India.

According to IWTMA, Tamil Nadu leads the country with the highest installed capacity of 7,514.76 MW followed by Maharashtra (4,638.35 MW), and Gujarat (3,876.50 MW), along with other states to reach a total installed capacity of 24,759.32 MW.

IWTMA secretary general D. V. Giri said: "India has a wind energy potential of 302 GW. It is important to achieve the goal set by governmentto generate 175 GW by 2022 through renewable energy sources of which wind energy is set to contribute 60 GW."

In the next six years, 35 GW of wind energy must be added or by adding 5-6 GW per year, he added.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday said his government will approach the Centre, seeking a CBI probe into the assassination of CPI-M leader T.P. Chandrasekheran.

K.K. Rema, the widow of the slain leader, had earlier approached the union ministry of personnel, under which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) functions, seeking a probe by the central agency into the conspiracy angle in the killing.

Chandrasekheran, 51, who had launched the Revolutionary Marxist Party, was hacked as many as 51 times by assailants on May 4, 2012, when he was returning home on his motorcycle in his hometown near Kozhikode.

Chandy on Thursday told reporters here that the state government will again approach the Centre.

"We support the demand of Rema and we will again write to the Centre seeking a CBI probe," he said.

Rema told the media that she had approached the state government in the matter, and later decided to approach the Centre on her own.

A court in Kerala sentenced 11 people, including three CPI-M leaders, to life imprisonment, but discharged 24 others, including present CPI-M Kozhikode district secretary P. Mohanan, whose wife K.K. Lathika is a party legislator.

Leader of Opposition and CPI-M veteran V.S. Achuthanandan has said the murder dented his party's image.
In a bid to give an image makeover to West Bengal as a "new business ready" state, the two-day Bengal Global Summit 2016 begins here on Friday, with the state government hoping to draw huge investment commitments from both domestic and international industry captains.

Months ahead of the crucial Assembly polls, the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress regime is showcasing the event in a grand manner to dispel the negative perceptions about Bengal in business circles and attract much needed big ticket projects that would in turn ensure jobs for a large number of unemployed youths.

The state, where the East India Company first set up base ushering in British colonial rule for two centuries, was known as an industrial hub till the first decades of independence.

However, militant trade unionism and what critics have called a deteriorating work culture saw a flight of capital and the industrial scenario turned bleak over decades.

Though the erstwhile Left Front government - that was in office for a record 34 years till mid 2011 - has been largely blamed for the decline, the scenario has remained unchanged, and even worsened to some extent, since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took over.

Her hands-off policy on acquiring land for industries, and widespread allegations of thriving extortion rackets have turned away prospective investors. Consequently, heads of India Inc's big guns like the Tatas, Birlas and the Ambanis - regulars at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Meet - have so far given a miss to the Bengal summit.

However, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani attended Banerjee's investment meet in Mumbai in 2013, and speculation is rife that he may be the star attraction in the upcoming summit.

State Finance Minister Amit Mitra who was camping in Mumbai to woo the country's top industry mandarins, asserted the investment commitments in the coming summit would surpass last year's figure of Rs 2.43 lakh crore.

"We will surpass last year's investment commitments of Rs 2.43 lakh crore. Besides India Inc., you will see a lot of interest from foreign investors," said Mitra, while not disclosing names of industrialists expected to be present.

In the run-up to the summit, the Bengal government had organised an investment road show in New Delhi in September.

Business delegates from a host of countries including the US, Britain, Japan, China, South Korea among others would participate in the summit that focuses on emerging areas like start-ups, design, intelligent cities, IT/ITes, financial hub and industrial infrastructure.

Besides Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari are expected to be present at the gala event. Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and British Minister of State for Employment Priti Patel are also scheduled to attend the summit.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have also been invited by Banerjee. Kejriwal would be present at the inauguration ceremony, according to official sources.

With the opposition targeting her government over the poor industrial scenario and flight of capital from the state, Banerjee has been widely publicising the event inviting investors to "ride on the growth".

Claiming that the state has outperformed the country on several economic parameters, Banerjee has been calling Bengal as "the destination for industries today".

The event would include plenary sessions addressed by national and international entrepreneurs, sectoral breakaway sessions and business to business (B2B) and government-to-Business (G2B) interactions along with expositions and exhibitions.

Exuding confidence about the success of the summit ASSOCHAM President Sunil Kanoria stressed on the need for knowledge-based service industry hub.

"To arrest the 'brain drain' and convert it into 'brain gain' the state government should seriously consider positioning itself as a knowledge-based service industry hub by setting up more number of institutions for research," said Kanoria.
There goes another one.

Delaware announced today that instead of giving the Smarter Balanced assessment in grades 3-8 and 11 as it did last year, it will administer the test only in grades 3-8, and use the SAT in high school in 2015-16.

Delaware is just the latest in a crop of states that have jilted PARCC or Smarter Balanced for college-entrance exams recently. In the last few weeks, weve reported to you that Colorado ditched PARCC for the SAT , and Montana dropped Smarter Balanced for the ACT .

Theres been additional action in the market-share battle between ACT and the College Board, too, as some states, such as Illinois, switch longstanding contracts with one to go with the other. Its starting to sound a bit like the early dating days of the federally funded PARCC and Smarter Balanced consortia, when states belonged to both to see how things shaped up, then eventually chose long-term partners (or, as I liked to say back then, became monogamous ).

Todays announcement from Delaware falls into one specific category: the one that sees states ditching PARCC or Smarter Balanced for a college-entrance exam. There are some serious questions that come along with that choice, as I explore in a story this week on edweek.org. As more states make this switchinvited by language in the new Every Student Succeeds Actthose questions hover over a bigger and bigger swath of the country. Check it out.

In making their announcement, Delaware officials echoed factors that others states have cited too, such as the time-saving aspect of making a college-entrance exam do double-duty as the test for federal accountability. The U.S. Department of Education noted in its press release that Delaware juniors were already taking the SAT on the states dime anyway.

Additionally, state Secretary of Education Steven Godowsky said, the newly redesigned SAT will be a good measure of whether students are ready for college.

Our students deserve an exam that helps them gauge their college and career readiness, and our teachers deserve an exam that provides them with the information they need to guide their instruction. This is one example of how we are reducing the testing burden on our students and teachers, he said in a prepared statement . This is a smart solution that ensures our educators, students, and families get the information they need while mitigating the overtesting concern many share.

The decision also obliges the wishes of state lawmakers, who had been pressing Gov. Jack Markell to replace Smarter Balanced with the SAT at 11th grade. The state began reexamining its assessment regimen last year, when the legislature passed a joint resolution calling for a test inventory.
A young man, who went on Thursday morning to salvage anything of value from a damaged private school run by his uncle, was killed when a portion of the school wall collapsed and fell on him, officials said.

Mangboi Taothang and a friend went to the school site in Leimakhong area in Imphal West district, when the accident took place.

A portion of the school wall collapsed, killing Taothang on the spot and seriously injuring his friend.

Doctors said Taothang was dead when he was brought to the hospital in Leimakhong.

Meanwhile, three experts from IIT-Roorkee told reporters in Imphal on Thursday that there was no need to demolish the damaged complexes of Laxmi and New Market.

The experts accompanied by Manipur's Works Minister K. Ratankumar inspected the damaged market complexes.

"There is no need to demolish the complexes. The damage can be repaired. However, nobody can predict earthquakes and as such, people should not go near the complexes since they are still dangerous," Jogendra Singh of the IIT said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of women vendors have been staging a sit-in protest demanding an alternative market site for them.

"If the women vendors are not happy with the observation of the IIT officials, they should submit a memorandum to the government for necessary action," the minister said.

Social Welfare Minister Akoijam Mirabai also visited the site, and said that if the women vendors lodge a protest, the cabinet will hold a meeting to discuss the issue.

"The government is always ready to hold talks with the women vendors," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Odisha on February 6 on a two-day visit during which he will also inaugurate Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's (IOCL) 15 MMTPA refinery project at Paradip, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.

IOCL has already invested about Rs 35,000 crore in the refinery project, said sources.

The prime minister will visit Puri to have the darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Sri Mandir the same day and would stay the night in the Raj Bhavan at Puri, said Pradhan.

On February 7, Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the permanent campus of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) near Jatani here.

The institute had been temporarily functioning from the premises of the Institute of Physics in the capital city here.

Modi had last visited Odisha on April 1 to inaugurate the modernised and expanded units of Steel Authority of India Ltd.'s Rourkela steel plant.
In a significant ruling, a federal judge in San Francisco has declined to give a macaque monkey the right to his famous selfie in Indonesia in 2011.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) animal rights organisation had filed a lawsuit last September asking a US federal court in San Francisco to declare Naruto - a then six-year-old male, free-living crested macaque - the author and owner of the internationally famous monkey selfie photographs that he took himself a few years ago.

On Wednesday, the judge ruled that the macaque monkey cannot be declared the copyright owner of the self-portraits, Fox News reported.

In an earlier statement, PETA said: "The US Copyright Act grants copyright ownership of a 'selfie' to the 'author' of the photograph, and there's nothing in the law limiting such ownership on the basis of species".

"Naruto has been accustomed to cameras throughout his life, saw himself in the reflection of the lens, made the connection between pressing the shutter and the change in his reflection, and posed for the pictures he took," PETA said in a statement.

PETA had filed the lawsuit against photographer David J. Slater and his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., which both claim copyright ownership of the photos that the black macaque named Naruto indisputably took.

Naruto is known to field researchers in Sulawesi who have observed and studied him for years as they work in the region.

In 2011 in Indonesia, Slater left an unattended camera on a tripod.

That was tempting for Naruto, a curious male crested black macaque, who took the camera and began taking photographs -- some of the forest floor, some of other macaques and several of himself one of which resulted in the now-famous "monkey selfie".
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who led the first coalition government in the state also involving the BJP, died in New Delhi on Thursday, 14 days after he was hospitalized.

Amid national mourning, his body was flown to Srinagar for eventual burial in his hometown Bijbehara.

Sayeed, who was also India's first Muslim home minister, passed away at 9.10 a.m. at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three days after he was put on ventilator following a deterioration in his condition.

A severely diabetic, Sayeed "died due to bone marrow dysfunction", a hospital spokesman told IANS. He was admitted on December 24 with fever as well as chest infection.

Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sayeed - who survived several attacks on him by militants - was chief minister the first time in 2002-05 in a coalition government with the Congress. In his second stint, he allied with the BJP to become the chief minister in March last year as assembly elections produced a hung verdict.

President Pranab Mukherjee led the nation in mourning Sayeed's death, saying his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir and India through long years of public service would always be remembered.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sayeed's "exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives". Crediting him with "statesmanship", he said: "Mufti sahab provided a healing touch to Jammu and Kashmir."

Added Congress president Sonia Gandhi: "Muftiji's contribution as a humanist and to public life in various capacities will forever be remembered."

Sayeed was the third chief minister of the state to die in office -- after G.M. Sadiq (1971) and Sheikh Abdullah (1982).

As Sayeed's body was flown into Srinagar and was received by union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and former chief ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Omar Abdullah as well as relatives, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced a week-long mourning and a day's holiday on Thursday.

Sayeed's funeral prayers and burial will take place in the evening at the Dara Shikoh Park in Bijbehara in Anantnag district, PDP sources told IANS. His body was brought to Srinagar in an Indian Air Force plane.

The body was later taken to Sayeed's official residence here.

Born in Bijbehara on January 12, 1936 to a family of 'Peers' who earn their living by preaching and teaching religious practices, Sayeed studied in Srinagar and then at the Aligarh Muslim University before he joined in 1959.

After taking on the iconic Sheikh Abdullah, Sayeed became a cabinet minister in Jammu and Kashmir in 1972. Just three years later, he became head of the state unit of the Congress party.

He joined Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1986 but quit the next year to throw his lot with V.P. Singh, who revolted against Gandhi's leadership and went on to become the prime minister in 1989.

Sayeed became the home minister in the V.P. Singh government -- the first Muslim to hold the crucial portfolio.

Within days, however, militants abducted his third daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed, in Srinagar, forcing the V.P. Singh government to free five jailed guerrillas from Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1999, after a brief stint again in the Congress when P.V. Narasimha Rao became its leader, Sayeed and daughter Mehbooba Mufti floated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mehbooba Mufti is now tipped to head the PDP-BJP coalition government.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who died in a Delhi hospital on Thursday morning just four days shy of his 80th birthday, was a shrewd negotiator and undoubtedly one of the last mainstream leaders in Kashmir.

Belonging to the old guard of Indian politics, Mufti was a rationalist who never lost sight of the past as well as the future.

However, at a personal level, he was a generous friend who liked a game of bridge with his friends.

One of the best dressed politicians in Jammu and Kashmir, his respect and reach was beyond political affiliations.

Those close to him often said one never knew what was going on in his mind as he spoke.

He often praised late Sheikh Abdullah - whose political supremacy he sought to challenge at the beginning of his political career - and credited 'Sher-e-Kashmir' for creating political awakening among the Kashmiris.

"He was a friend you could always depend on. He would ask me to visit an ailing friend of his not keeping good health. He never used people and later dumped them," said Dr. Sushil Razdan, a renowned neurologist, of the state.

One thing Sayeed never allowed was somebody taking him for granted.

That perhaps was the reason he decided to tour Srinagar in sub-zero temperature on December 23 to attend official functions at 14 venues.

Nobody could tell him that it was something a 79-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary distress shouldn't be doing.

He caught pneumonia the same evening and had to be airlifted to New Delhi in the state-owned plane for treatment.

A chain smoker since his early days, he quit smoking after doctors put a pacemaker three years ago.

He is survived by his wife Gulshan Ara, son Mufti Tasaduq Sayeed, three daughters - Mehbooba Mufti, Mehmooda Mufti and Rubiaya Sayeed - and two granddaughters Illtija Iqbal and Irtika Iqbal.

Born on January 12, 1936, to a family of 'Peers' who earn their livelihood by preaching and teaching religious practices and attending prayer meetings organised by locals to seek penance or as thanksgiving, Sayeed began his political career with the Congress from his south Kashmir's Bijbehara town in Anantnag district.

"I wanted to become the district president of the Congress after joining it, but the post was given to a party colleague senior to me," he once he once told IANS.

Those were the times when the Kashmiris were in awe of the legendary Kashmiri leader and founder of the regional National Conference (NC), late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

Sayeed took upon himself the Herculean task of challenging the political writ of Sheikh.

"It was something you didn't do because Sheikh was much more than a political leader for the Kashmiris. There was an aura around the NC founder. Anybody trying to challenge his supremacy did so at his own peril," said a friend of Mufti Sayeed.

Sayeed however toiled like a foot soldier to create the ground-level cadre that made it possible for the Congress to challenge the writ and command of the NC.

Unfortunately, Sayeed's loyalty to the Congress was finally interpreted as a personal rivalry between the Muftis and the Abdullahs by political pundits.

His daughter and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti told IANS in an interview in 2014: "We were a humble rural family and there was no question of harbouring a personal ambition for power that would push us to challenge the Abdullahs.

"Mufti Sahib always wanted a better deal for his people and that is what he has been doing during his entire political career."

A graduate from a Srinagar college and postgraduate in Arabic from Aligarh Muslim University, Sayeed became a junior minister in the G.M. Sadiq-led Congress government in 1964. He also became the president of Congress state unit later.

It was during this period that the Congress began to emerge as a potential threat to the NC.

Sayeed must be credited for the courage to stand up to the might of a party (NC) that had ruled the hearts and minds of the Kashmiris for decades.

He became the first - and so far the only Muslim union home minister - in 1989 in the V.P. Singh-led government at the Centre.

It was during this period that Sayeed's daughter, Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed, was kidnapped. Rubaiya was released by her kidnappers belonging to the pro-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front after seven of their arrested militants were released by the state government.

Sayeed was instrumental in sending Jagmohan as the J&K governor in early 1990 when terrorist violence took centre stage in the state.

Jagmohan was considered by Sayeed to be the right choice due to his previous tenure as the state governor. Sayeed believed Jagmohan had a developmental vision and an administrative acumen to match.

Sayeed formed the Peoples Democratic Party in 1999. The party fielded candidates in the 2002 assembly elections, winning 17 seats in the 87-member assembly.

Sayeed was sworn in as the chief minister of the PDP-Congress alliance in December 2002 and remained in office till November 2005.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the PDP won 28 seats and after hectic parleys formed the alliance government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Whatever his political adversaries may say, nobody can take away the credit from Sayeed - a young man hailing from a lower middle class family in south Kashmir - for standing up to challenge the otherwise unassailable political foes who hated and loved him at the same time.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)
Hinting at an early budget session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking cooperation on the GST Bill.

"Met Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh over Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue. They had raised some issues which have been addressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley," Naidu told the media after the meeting.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said the leaders discussed the GST Bill and Real Estate Bill.

Naidu also said the government was willing to call for an early budget session if required.
Tourism experts in Nepal have come up with a new proposal for cross-border tourism in the Himalayan region, the media reported on Thursday.

At a forum here on Wednesday, tourism entrepreneurs proposed promotion of the Himalayan region -- including Nepal, Tibet's capital Lhasa, India's north-eastern state of Sikkim and Bhutan -- as a cross-border tourism route, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The symbolic route within four different countries can be a major attraction for foreign tourists," Bikram Pandey, president of Himalayan Expedition Nepal, said addressing the event.

Tourism entrepreneurs here have mulled over two separate Buddhist and Hindu circuits in the region. They have devised a guided tour route, including Kathmandu and Mustang of Nepal; Lhasa, Saga and Mount Kailash of Tibet; Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Sikkim of India and Paro of Bhutan.

They believe that the cross-border connectivity will narrow down the existing gap in the tourism sector across the Himalayan region. However, the experts also pointed to the challenges of this new initiative.

"Transportation, tourism facilitation and government policies can be difficult for cross-border tourism in the initial phase," said Prachanda Man Shrestha, chairman of National Tourism Foundation,

Nepali tourism entrepreneurs have already received the green light from the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation of India.

However, they are yet to hold formal talks with tourism entrepreneurs of China and Bhutan.
South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley, occasionally mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate, will deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address next Tuesday.

With Republican leaders in Congress choosing Haley for the final rebuttal, two Indian-American politicians would be bookending their responses to Obama's speeches as Louisiana's outgoing governor Bobby Jindal did so to his first address in 2009.

In recent years, Republicans have used the rebuttal to showcase the diversity of the party's elected officials.

Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa to Sikh immigrant parents from India, Haley is the first minority governor in South Carolina's history and currently the youngest governor in the country.

The 116th Governor of South Carolina, Haley is the first female governor of the state. She was re-elected to a second term in November 2014.

Haley converted to Christianity when she married Michael Haley, a Captain in the US Army National Guard and combat veteran with two deployments to Afghanistan.

"Nikki Haley has led an economic turnaround and set a bold agenda for her state, getting things done and becoming one of the most popular governors in America," Speaker Paul Ryan said announcing the Congressional leaders' decision.

"In a year when the country is crying out for a positive vision and alternative to the status quo, Governor Haley is the exact right choice to deliver the Republican Address to the Nation," he said.

"Nikki Haley is a proven leader and committed reformer who believes deeply in the promise of the country we all share," Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said.

"Not only has Governor Haley fought to bring opportunity and prosperity to the people of her state, but she's also demonstrated how bringing people together can bring real results," he said.

"Governor Haley knows the American Dream and wants to see every American share in it, and we're pleased that she will be delivering this year's Republican Address?."

Haley said she was honoured to be asked to deliver the Republican address to the nation. "This is a time of great challenges for our country, but also of great opportunities. I intend to speak about both," she said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
As Gajendra Chauhan assumed office as FTII chairman on Thursday morning, several students stood in protest outside the campus yet again. They faced a lathi-charge and as many as 40 of them were detained, a student leader said.

The police resorted to a lathi-charg after the students attempted to restrict Chauhan's entry into the campus for his first FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) Society meeting as chairman. The meeting is underway to finalise the governing council.

"Around 40 students were lathi-charged and detained for trying to enter their own campus gate," student leader Reema Kaur told IANS.

According to media reports, police officers have maintained that students' resistance turned violent, but Reema Kaur asserted the protest was "peaceful".

"The students were protesting at the gate peacefully. Police staged a lathi-charge. They hurt many students and put them in the riot van. It is a curfew like situation on the campus. (There's) police everywhere... They are not letting us go anywhere in campus, there's more police than students on campus," Reema Kaur said, adding that their demonstration was "silent, and made violent by the police".

FTII Students' Association president Harishankar Nachimuthu is also among those detained, Reema Kaur shared.

Nachimuthu had earlier told IANS that the students will be protesting on the campus to register their opposition to Chauhan taking charge.

Chauhan has assumed office seven months after his appointment, which was followed by a series of protests by students and celebrated alumni of the country's premier film institute. The students had even gone on an indefinite strike on June 12 as they questioned his professional credibility to lead the institute due to his lack of "stature" and "vision". The students withdrew the strike in October after 139 days.

Chauhan, best known for essaying the role of 'Yudhishthir' in B.R. Chopra's "Mahabharat" and has also featured in small roles in various films like "Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge" and "Baghban", was appointed as FTII chairman on June 9, 2015.
Pakistan must cooperate with India "with sincerity" to bring to book the masterminds of the terrorist attack on the IAF base if they are indeed Pakistanis, a daily said on Thursday.

"It is clear the two countries will need to cooperate on the issue of terrorism," The News International said in an editorial.

"The word from India is that they are seeking Pakistan's cooperation in identifying the terrorists and tracing their network.

"On our side, we need to work towards that with sincerity," it added.

The daily also said that the January 2 attack on the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab, which killed seven security personnel, had averted a potential crisis in India-Pakistan relations.

India has said that all six attackers, believed to be from Pakistan, were killed.

"It (the attack) threatened to halt the improvement in Pak(istan)-India ties that we have seen over the past weeks - mainly as a result of behind closed doors," the editorial said.

It said the telephonic conversation between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India and Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan following the terror attack helped a great deal to cool tensions.

"This is a welcome break from the past and shows a new willingness to handle things diplomatically and without attempting to stir up trouble."

The daily said it was "very good news" that India refused to bow down to pressure to stop the talks scheduled this month between the foreign secretaries of the two countries.
'Making a Murderer' Makes Lawyer Hero ... Just in Time

Lawyer jokes abound and attorneys are widely mocked and reviled. But the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer has given many Americans a new lawyer to love. And he came just in time, according to The New Republic.

One of the defense attorneys featured in the documentary, Dean Strang, has been making headlines and finding fans based on his portrayal in the series, which covers the murder trial of Steven Avery in 2007, who spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit only to be accused of murder while his exoneration proceedings were happening. Along with defense lawyers Jerome Buting, Dean Strang has been called a hero for standing by Avery, and their timing could not be better.

Goodbye Atticus Finch

The nation's favorite defense attorney used to be the mythical lawyer created by Harper Lee in her classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. But release of an earlier version of the novel this year, entitled Go Set a Watchman, revealed an Atticus Finch less concerned with justice and more of a racist, and Atticus had to go.

Despite the inspiring lines he spoke in the classic novel, the lawyer seen in the more recently released book could no longer claim the title of the ideal American attorney. "America creates lawyer heroes only to be betrayed by them, and yet the cycle continues," writes Sarah Weinman, a writer and editor of crime fiction.

"Atticus Finch may be lost, but now here's Dean Strang. That thoughtful, caring figure we watched in Making A Murderer, is certainly rooted in his true self. But that truth has been heightened and edited, and relies on our need to make a hero out of a lawyer, a cultural fix that comes around once every few decades."

The Good Fight

Weinman reviews the new hero's writing and the national need for lawyer heroes, finding Strang's literary efforts admirable (although she does not sound wowed). He wrote a book about another lawyer hero, Clarence Darrow.

As for why we need lawyer heroes, she writes of Strang, "We can imagine him completing Atticus Finch's speech: 'You rarely win, but sometimes you do.'"

In other words, we have to believe that there are some people who cannot be corrupted and who will fight losing battles just because it is the right thing to do. Dean Strang fits, and he was in a film, so he will fill Atticus Finch's mythical shoes.

But in fact, every day, all over the country, there are hero lawyers who fight the good fight with no recognition, no acclaim, and often very little pay. Making a Murderer highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly in people and the system.

Contact Counsel

If you or anyone you know has been accused of a crime, do not delay. Speak to a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. You don't need a famous lawyer or even a fancy one -- just a lawyer who will do the right thing and fight for you. Many criminal defense attorneys will consult for free or a minimal fee. Get help.

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Rajasthan on Thursday signed an agreement with Cairn Enterprise Centre Society, supported by oil and gas exploration company Cairn India, to provide clean drinking water in Barmer district.

As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the public health engineering department and Cairn Enterprise Centre Society, water plants will be established and maintained to provide clean drinking water to more than 800 villages in Barmer, a part of the Thar desert where drinking water is a precious commodity.

"The initiative will involve setting up of 333 small scale reverse osmosis (RO) plants (1,000-3,000 litres per hour capacity) over the next three years to provide safe drinking water to a large number of people (estimated in excess of one million) living in 800 villages," Cairn India spokesperson Arun Arora said in a statement.

Cairn India's major oil fields are in Barmer district, where the company produces over 175,000 barrels of oil per day.

Cairn India had initiated the "Jeevan Amrit" pilot project in 2014 in collaboration with the state government to ensure safe drinking water to people in Barmer and Jalore through the establishment of reverse osmosis facilities.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said he will attend the last rites of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed in Srinagar.

"Going to Srinagar to participate in the last rites of late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed sahab," Singh tweeted.

He said Sayeed's death is an irreparable loss to Jammu and Kashmir. "His departure has also left a big void in ."

Sayeed died of multiple organ failure here at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 14 days after he was hospitalised.
Actor Rana Daggubati began shooting for Hindi-Telugu bilingual "Ghazi", India's first submarine-based war film, on Thursday here.

"Pushing my experimental envelope towards mainstream cinema yet again!! #GHAZI (Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual) begins filming today (sic)," Rana posted on his Twitter page on Thursday.

The film is based on the true incidents on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistan submarine during the Indo-Pak 1971 war.

Actress Taapsee Pannu is paired with Rana, and she's rumoured to be playing a refugee.

The film will be directed by debutant Sankalp, and it will be partially based on his own book Blue Fish.

"Ghazi" will be produced by PVP Cinema. The story is about an executive naval officer of the Indian submarine S21 and his team who remain underwater for 18 days.
The government has declined Reliance Power's request to reconsider restrictions on production from its coal mines in the Moher and Moher Amlohri Extension blocks linked to its Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) on grounds that the issue is before the courts, official sources said on Thursday.

The union coal ministry in a letter to Sasan Power sent on Wednesday said: "In view of pendency of court case, your representations ... cannot be examined and no decision in the matter can be taken."

In June last year, the ministry had asked Reliance Power to cut down production in the two blocks to 16 million tonnes per annum, from the current 20 MTPA.

The company had requested the ministry to reconsider the matter and withdraw the latter's request to cut production, and had filed a writ petition on the matter in July last year in the Delhi High Court.

Reliance Power had earlier announced that its 3,960 MW Sasan UMPP had been fully commissioned.
Thousands on Thursday evening attended the burial of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who died in New Delhi. While the PDP urged the governor to let his daughter Mehbooba Mufti take charge of the Muslim-majority state, coalition partner BJP said it may bargain for a 50:50 formula for rest of the chief ministerial term.

A huge mass of mourners assembled at the first 'Nimaz-e-Jinaza' (funeral prayer) for Sayeed here and a second in his hometown Bijbehara where he was laid to rest.

Peoples Democratic Party leaders Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and Altaf Bukhari submitted a letter to Governor N.N. Vohra nominating Mehbooba Mufti as the leader of the PDP's legislature party -- which would entitle her to assume charge as the new chief minister.

A senior PDP leader said its coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party backed Mehbooba Mufti's elevation as chief minister.

Mehbooba Mufti, a Lok Sabha member, will have to get elected to the assembly or be nominated to the legislative council (upper house) within six months if she succeeds her late father as the chief minister. She will be the first woman chief minister of the country's only Muslim-majority state.

However, BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna, who is in charge of the party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, said the chief ministerial issue has not been decided yet, and the party will take a call soon.

"There has been no discussion over the issue of the chief ministerial candidate yet. When the matter comes up, the party will take a call," Khanna told IANS.

"It is for the PDP to decide who will be its legislature party leader," he said when asked about the PDP nominating Mehbooba Mufti as its leader in the state legislature.

Another top BJP functionary told IANS that the party will push for the formula of 50:50 for the remainder of the chief ministerial term, meaning for half of the rest of the term the PDP would head the government and the BJP for the other half.

"Mufti saheb had proposed earlier too to consider Mehbooba as the chief minister when we were in talks for the formation of the government earlier, but we were not ready," he said.

"We had clearly said that if he himself opts for the top post, the BJP has no problem but if Mehbooba would be projected, the BJP would go for 50:50 formula," the BJP functionary said on condition of anonymity.

In the last assembly elections, the Peoples Democratic Party won 28 seats and the BJP 25. The opposition National Conference got 15 and the Congress 12.

Sayeed died in New Delhi on Thursday, 14 days after he was hospitalised.

He passed away at 9.10 a.m. at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three days after he was put on ventilator. A severely diabetic, he "died due to bone marrow dysfunction", a spokesman of the AIIMS told IANS. He was admitted to the AIIMS on December 24 with fever as well as chest infection.

Amid seven-day state mourning, his body was flown to Srinagar.

Sayeed, who survived several attacks on him by militants, was chief minister the first time in 2002-05 in a coalition government with the Congress. In March last year, he allied with the BJP to become the chief minister again.

President Pranab Mukherjee lauded his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir and India through long years of public service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sayeed's "exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives". Crediting him with "statesmanship", he said: "Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to Jammu and Kashmir."

Sayeed was the third chief minister of the state to die in office -- after G.M. Sadiq (1971) and Sheikh Abdullah (1982).

Born in Bijbehara on January 12, 1936, to a family of 'Peers', Sayeed studied in Srinagar and at the Aligarh Muslim University before he joined in 1959.

After taking on the iconic Sheikh Abdullah, Sayeed became a cabinet minister in Jammu and Kashmir in 1972. Just three years later, he became head of the state unit of the Congress party.

He joined Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1986 but quit the following year to throw his lot with V.P. Singh, who revolted against Gandhi's leadership and went on to become the prime minister in 1989.

Sayeed became the home minister in the V.P. Singh government.

Within days, militants abducted his third daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed, in Srinagar, forcing the V.P. Singh government to free five jailed guerrillas from Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1999, after a brief stint again in the Congress when P.V. Narasimha Rao became its leader, Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba floated the PDP.
The burial of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who passed away on Thursday morning in New Delhi, will take place in the evening at the family's ancestral graveyard in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district, family sources said.

Sayeed's body will be flown to Srinagar in a special plane from Delhi on Thursday afternoon.

"Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will accompany the body along with bereaved family members and some senior state ministers," official sources told IANS.

The sources said the body would be taken to Sayeed's official residence in Srinagar where it would kept for sometime before it is taken for burial to Bijbehara.

Sayeed passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, where he had been admitted on December 24 for treatment of chest infection.

Sayeed is the third chief minister of the state to die in office after G.M. Sadiq (1971) and Sheikh Abdullah (1982).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Thursday expressed grief at the death of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and said his demise leaves a huge void in the state and national .

"His demise is a great loss not only to Jammu and Kashmir but to the entire nation. It leaves a huge void in which is difficult to fill," Shah said in a statement.

Describing Sayeed as an outstanding politician, popular chief minister and able administrator, Shah said: "He always worked for the development of the state."
Curtains came down on the 103rd Indian Science Congress on Thursday after a five-day session, which saw a record 12,500 delegates participating in various events, including plenary sessions, public lectures and a mega expo on the most fascinating subject from school to university level.

Held in the sprawling 700-acre University of Mysore campus in this heritage city, about 140km from Bengaluru, the annual jamboree attracted a galaxy of scientists, Nobel Laureates, researchers and students from across the country and abroad.

"It was historic for us to host such a major science event during our centenary year and 33 years after holding first time in 1982 when (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi opened it," Vice Chancellor K.S. Rangappa told IANS at the valedictory session.

Addressing the gathering at the valedictory function, Governor Vajubhai R Vala urged each scientist to adopt at least five students and mentor them in their pursuit.

"Scientists should not keep knowledge to themselves but pass on to their students and next generation. Present day students are very intelligent, as they score 96 percent in every exam unlike us when we could score high only in term exams," he said, drawing huge applause from the packed audience in Crawford Hall.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the event on January 3 with a new mantra of 'five 5s' for enquiry and engineering by the scientific community, brain-storming sessions followed in diverse subjects spanning space, technology and developments in their various disciplines.

Unlike the previous congress in Mumbai, when a session on Vedic science triggered controversy, the Science Congress association managed to keep the event free from mythology and non-science.

A IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, however, presented a paper on health benefits of conch (shank) in session on Tuesday, while a botany professor (Akhilesh Pandey) from Madhya Pradesh failed to present a paper on Hindu god Shiva being the "greatest environmentalist" as he failed to turn up on Wednesday following an injury.

The event in Mansagangotri campus also had a children's congress, women's congress and a fair under a'all of Pride' dedicated to former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who expressed a wish to participate before he passed away at Shillong on July 27 last year.

"We had a record turnout of people to the exhibition, especially hundreds of school and college students from the city, demonstrating keen interest and enthusiasm among them for basic and applied science," Rangappa said.

Veteran scientist C.N.R Rao delivered a lecture on "Doing Science in India' on Sunday after the inaugural session, which was webcast for live streaming, about 400 scientists from overseas and across the country and about 100 noted speakers presented papers in various disciplines.

Five Nobel Laureates -- John B Gurdon (medicine, 2012) from Britain, Dass Shechtman (chemistry, 2011) from Israel, David J Gross (physics, 2004) and Arthur B. McDonald (physics, 2015) from the US and Serge Haroche (physics, 2012) from France -- spoke at the panel discussion on "Science & Technology: Present & Future".

Indian-born Fields medallist Manjul Bhargava from Princeton University, New Jersey also gave a public talk on the inaugural day.

Besides Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, union Science & Technology Minister Harsha Vardhan, union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and union Health Minister J.P. Nadda participated in various functions during the event.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and US counterpart Barack Obama have agreed to push for strong UN resolutions over North Korea's fourth nuclear test, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

Park and Obama spoke by phone for about 20 minutes, sharing views that North Korea should pay a corresponding price for its nuclear test while agreeing to maintain close cooperation in adopting strong resolutions in the UN rapidly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Obama stressed the need for the strongest and the most comprehensive sanctions against Pyongyang, according to the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

North Korea on Wednesday announced that it had successfully conducted its first test of a hydrogen bomb, the fourth nuclear test in total, which Pyongyang claimed was a perfect success.

Obama vowed to take all necessary measures to defend the safety of South Korea, saying that its commitment to the defence of its ally is unflappable.

In response, Park appreciated Obama reaffirming Washington's defence commitment and expressing its strong will to tackle Pyongyang's nuclear test, saying that she anticipates close cooperation with the US at the UN Security Council.

Park and Obama agreed to address North Korea's nuclear issue with the most urgency and robust will, sharing views that North Korea's nuclear test should be tackled in cooperation with Japan and China.

Seoul's foreign ministry said earlier Thursday that South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se and his US counterpart John Kerry had a phone conversation overnight to discuss countermeasures following North Korea's nuclear test.
How to Win a Wrongful Termination Claim

No one likes losing a job, and complaining about getting fired can seem like sour grapes. But you do have rights when losing a job and not every firing is legal.

So how do you know if you've been wrongfully terminated? And, more importantly, how do you prove it in court? Here are some legal keys to a successful wrongful termination claim:

Overcoming the At-Will Presumption

"At-will" employment means that the employer can terminate your employment for any reason or for no reason at all. Employers don't even need a good reason to terminate you, nor do they need to give you advance warning or notice. Every state but Montana presumes employment is at-will, absent some evidence to the contrary, like an employment contract.

But there are some common law exceptions to at-will employment that could constitute wrongful termination:

Public Policy Exception: An employee is wrongfully discharged when the termination violates an explicit, well-established public policy of the state, like being terminated for filing a workers' compensation claim or for refusing to engage in illegal activity at the request of an employer;

Implied Contract Exception: An employee is wrongfully discharged when an implied contract is formed between an employer and employee, like an employer making oral or written representations to an employee regarding job security or procedures that will be followed when discipline is imposed;

Covenant of Good Faith Exception: An employee is wrongfully discharged when the termination violates a covenant of good faith and fair dealing, meaning either that employer personnel decisions are subject to a "just cause" standard or that terminations in bad faith or motivated by malice are prohibited.

Not every state recognizes each exception, and the basis of your wrongful termination claim could depend on where you live.

Determining Discrimination

Just because an employer can fire you for no reason, doesn't mean they can fire you for a bad reason. And discrimination is one of those bad reasons. Federal employment law prohibits employers from terminating employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, pregnancy, or age. These laws have also been read to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

If you think you've been wrongfully terminated based on one of these protected categories, the place to start is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is the federal agency in charge of handling federal employment discrimination claims. One of the first steps for taking legal action in a wrongful termination case would be to file a complaint with the EEOC.

Federal law also prohibits harassment based on age, disability, gender, genetic information, national origin, race, religion or sex. If your employer or another employee has harassed you by making offensive or insulting comments or unwelcome sexual advances, you may have a claim for wrongful termination.

Reading Retaliation

Employers also can't retaliate against an employee for engaging in certain protected activities. Just some of the activities for which you can't be fired for include:

Informing an employer about harassment or discrimination;

Filing a complaint with the EEOC;

Taking permitted medical leave or vacation time;

Participating in an investigation of wage and hour violations; or

Taking time off to vote, sit on a jury, or serve in the military or National Guard.

Additionally, many states and the federal government have specific "whistleblower" laws to protect employees who report illegal or harmful activities, like violations of environmental regulations, worker safety laws, or securities laws. If you've been fired in retaliation for any of the conduct above, you may have a wrongful termination claim.

Confirming the Contract

As noted above, most employees don't have a specific employment contract. But if you do, your employer must adhere to it, and cannot fire you in violation of the terms of the employment contract. Written contracts and even statements that promise workers job security, regular advancement, or specific termination procedures, can be seen as proof that your employment was not at-will.

For example, an employment contract could specify that you can only be terminated for certain specific reasons, like failing to meet performance requirements. A firing based on other reasons could be a violation of their employment contract and therefore constitute wrongful termination.

In addition, if an employer handbook or other policy lists specific procedures for discipline and termination (like requiring a certain number of warnings before termination) the employer may be bound to follow those procedures, even if the employment is at-will. So firing an employee in violation of a company's specific discipline or termination policy could be wrongful termination.

Constructing a Case

Your first steps after being fired can be the most crucial in a wrongful termination case. Most important is not reacting out of anger towards your former employer. Instead, try to get as many details about your termination as possible, such as the reasons for your termination and who decided to fire you. You may also need to request your personnel file.

If you had an employment contract, read it in full and become familiar with its contents. In lieu of a written contract, review any promises made by your employer and document them as best as you can. Request and negotiate a severance package, and confirm all agreements regarding your termination and severance in writing, if possible. The more information you have, and the more of it in writing, the better.

Most of all, if you're considering filing a wrongful termination claim, you should contact an experienced employment law attorney to discuss your case.

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Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party got a major boost on Thursday when its candidates for the district panchayat chiefs won on 60 of the 74 seats that went for polls earlier in the day. The BJP and the BSP suffered major setbacks as the former won no seat and the latter just one.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was hit the hardest as the party could not get one single candidate of district panchayat chairman elected in Purvanchal or eastern Uttar Pradesh, polls for which were held earlier on Thursday. What added to the insult is that its candidates lost in all the 10 districts neighbouring Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency.

SP candidates won in nine of the 10 districts while one candidate supported by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) - Pramila Singh - won from Mirzapur, winning 33 votes while her nearest rival - SP's Pairo Devi could garner only 10. SP candidates - Sudhir Paswan (Ballia), Virendra Yadav (Ghazipur), Ansha Yadav (Mau), Meera Yadav (Azamgarh), and Kajal Yadav (Gyanpur-Bhadohi) had already won the polls unopposed.

In the polls for Chandauli on Thursday, SP candidate Sarita Singh got 19 votes to win, beating her nearest rival from BJP who polled 16 votes. In Sonebhadra, SP's Anil Yadav and in Jaunpur, its Rajbahadur Yadav won the high-stake elections. In Jaunpur, the SP candidate polled 81 votes and his rival, an independent, could get only two votes.

Even in Varanasi, SP's Aparajita Sonkar polled 30 votes against BJP-Apna Dal's combined candidate Amit Sonkar who got 17 votes.
Cutting sugar in sweetened drinks by 40 percent can prevent over three lakh obesity-related Type 2 diabetes over the next two decades, a significant study has found.

An average reduction in energy intake of 38.4 kcal (calories) per day by the end of the fifth year will lead to an average body weight decrease of 1.20 kg in adults, leading to a reduction in overweight and obese adults by approximately 0.5 million and 1.0 million, respectively, researchers have found.

This would, in turn, prevent 274,000-309,000 obesity-related Type 2 diabetes over the next two decades.

If fruit juices were excluded from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), the corresponding reduction in energy intake and body weight would be 31.0 kcal/day and 0.96 kg, respectively.

"This would result in a 0.3 million cases reduction in overweight and a 0.8 million cases reduction in obesity, which would in turn prevent around 221,000-250,000 diabetes cases over two decades," the study noted.

The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, was led by Professor Graham MacGregor who chairs the Action for Sugar group.

The predicted impact was greater in adolescents, young adults and individuals from low income families who consume more sugary drinks.

According to the authors, the proposed strategy could lead to a profound reduction in energy intake from sugar-sweetened beverages and could, therefore, lower the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes in the long term.

"The findings provide strong support for the implementation of the proposed strategy," they added.

They conclude that "individuals should also reduce their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in the long term but this can be difficult because of the advertising power of industry".

"Our proposed strategy provides an innovative and practical way to gradually reduce energy intake from sugar-sweetened beverages and its combination with other strategies, including a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, would produce a more powerful effect," they noted.

Writing in a linked comment piece, Dr Tim Lobstein, director of Policy, World Obesity Federation London said that the study brings a very positive message to policymakers.
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Al-Muallem will pay a three-day official visit to India from January 11 during which he will meet the Indian leadership.

"He will meet External Affairs Minister (Sushma Swaraj) for bilateral talks of mutual interest. He will also meet the Indian leadership during his stay," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing.

Al-Muallem will be accompanied by four other delegation members - the vice foreign minister, the advisor to the deputy prime minister, chief of cabinet of the deputy prime minister and another official from the minister's office.

The visit assumes importance in view of fresh initiatives taken by the UN to bring about peace in war-torn Syria, where more than 300,000 people have been killed in the past four years and seven million have fled to other countries.

European nations have also witnessed a huge influx of Syrian refugees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Moscow last month, held detailed talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the growing threat of Islamic State and the Syrian crisis.

Since the Paris terror attack, many Western nations have directly or indirectly established contact with the Syrian government to counter activities of the Islamic State.

Special advisor to the Syrian president, Buthina Shaban, had visited India in March 2013.
Thousands on Thursday evening attended the burial of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who died earlier in New Delhi, with the PDP urging the governor to let his daughter Mehbooba Mufti take charge of the country's only Muslim-majority state.

A huge mass of mourners, inclusive of VIPs, family members and party activists, assembled at the first 'Nimaz-e-Jinaza' (funeral prayer) for Sayeed here and a second in his hometown Bijbehara where he was laid to rest, marking the end of a long chapter in Kashmiri .

Senior PDP leaders Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and Altaf Bukhari, meanwhile, submitted a letter to Governor N.N. Vohra nominating Mehbooba Mufti as the leader of their legislature party -- which would entitle her to assume charge as the new chief minister of the BJP-PDP coalition government.

PDP sources told IANS that the letter urged the governor to administer the oath of office to Mehbooba Mufti after Sayeed's last rites. If and when that happens, she will have to prove her majority on the floor of the 87-member assembly.

But the governor returned to Jammu on Thursday evening, indicating that the oath-taking ceremony of Mehbooba Mufti as chief minister was likely to be delayed.

The swearing in can take place on Friday, said a senior PDP leader, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its alliance partner in the state government, backed Mehbooba Mufti's elevation as chief minister.

Mehbooba Mufti, an MP, will have to get elected to the state assembly or be nominated to the legislative council (upper house) within six months if she becomes the chief minister. She will be the first woman chief minister of the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed, who led the first coalition government in the state also involving the BJP, died in New Delhi on Thursday, 14 days after he was hospitalized.

Sayeed passed away at 9.10 a.m. at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three days after he was put on ventilator. A severely diabetic, he "died due to bone marrow dysfunction", a spokesman told IANS. He was admitted on December 24 with fever as well as chest infection.

Amid national mourning, his body was flown to Srinagar.

Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sayeed - who survived several attacks on him by militants - was chief minister the first time in 2002-05 in a coalition government with the Congress. In March last year, he allied with the BJP to become the chief minister again.

President Pranab Mukherjee lauded his contribution to Jammu and Kashmir and India through long years of public service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sayeed's "exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives". Crediting him with "statesmanship", he said: "Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to Jammu and Kashmir."

Sayeed was the third chief minister of the state to die in office -- after G.M. Sadiq (1971) and Sheikh Abdullah (1982).

Born in Bijbehara on January 12, 1936 to a family of 'Peers', Sayeed studied in Srinagar and at the Aligarh Muslim University before he joined in 1959.

After taking on the iconic Sheikh Abdullah, Sayeed became a cabinet minister in Jammu and Kashmir in 1972. Just three years later, he became head of the state unit of the Congress party.

He joined Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1986 but quit the next year to throw his lot with V.P. Singh, who revolted against Gandhi's leadership and went on to become the prime minister in 1989.

Sayeed became the home minister in the V.P. Singh government.

Within days, militants abducted his third daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed, in Srinagar, forcing the V.P. Singh government to free five jailed guerrillas from Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1999, after a brief stint again in the Congress when P.V. Narasimha Rao became its leader, Sayeed and his daughter floated the PDP.
Himachal Pradesh will seek special assistance from the central government for the construction of a multi-billion-rupee hydropower dam project that is meant to supply drinking water to Delhi, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said on Thursday.

The issue of Renuka dam project will be raised with the union government for special project assistance as it has been declared as project of national importance, an official statement quoting the chief minister said.

He said the state has been consistently seeking funds to the tune of Rs.1,981.35 crore for the project.

The Rs.3,600 crore project, to be constructed on a tributary of the Yamuna river in Sirmaur district, is meant to supply 275 million gallons per day to Delhi and also generate 40 MW of electricity for Himachal.

As per an agreement signed in 1994, water from the Renuka dam, a national status project located some 250 km from Delhi, will be released into the Yamuna river, from where it will flow to Haryana's Hathinikund barrage and finally reach Delhi.

The project has hit a number of environmental roadblocks.

Virbhadra Singh also expressed concern over delay in commissioning of various hydro projects in the state.

Reviewing the state-run hydropower projects, he said a 13.8-km long power transmission line from Bhoktu to Akpa and a 34-km from Akpa to Pooh line have been completed.

The statement said Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd is creating a transmission network with an outlay of Rs.2,200 crore with funding from ADB under the Clean Energy Transmission Investment Programme.

The amount would be made available to the state as 90 percent grant and 10 percent loan.

Himachal Pradesh has identified hydro potential of 27,436 MW out of which 10,264 MW has been harnessed so far.

--Indo-Asian news Service

vg/pr/vt
Numerous highly venomous and potentially deadly yellow-bellied sea snakes have swashed ashore on Australia's southeastern coastline following recent wild weather caused by a significant low pressure system.

Holidaymaker Carolyne Larcombe said on Thursday that she had returned two of the distinctive sea snakes to the water while walking along Congo Beach near the small coastal town of Moruya, 304 km south of Sydney, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I thought they had a better chance of survival back in the water than up high and dry on the sand," Larcombe said.

Herpetology researcher from the Australian Museum, Ross Sadlier, said the snakes were most likely either weak or just plain unlucky to washed south by ocean currants before falling victim to the recent rough seas and washed ashore.

Yellow-bellied sea snakes have been previously sighted along the New South Wales coastline with records dating back to the early 1900s of weak and injured individuals washing ashore during strong storms, Sadlier added.
Bollywood's 'desi girl' Priyanka Chopra's 'thank you' speech for the People's Choice Award was emotional, but perhaps a tad too long for international actor John Stamos.

Priyanka went on a thanking spree when she clinched the Favourite Actress In A New TV Series award, but her speech was cut short by Stamos when he quipped: "It's just a two-hour show."

It was a big moment for Priyanka on Wednesday night here as she was being awarded for her lead role in "Quantico", which marked her foray as an international actress.

"I'd like to thank everyone who voted for 'Quantico'. It is my first year in the US, and to come to another country and actually get this kind of acceptance is, I guess, what America is all about.

"So, thank you for accepting me, thank you to my mom, my manager, the cast and crew, the writer, ABC ... everyone. I'm really overwhelmed," she said.

It was then that Stamos, who himself took home the trophy for Favorite Actor In A New TV Series for his work in "Grandfathered", interrupted the actress in a lighter vein, saying "It's just a two-hour show". Then, they moved on to announcing another nominations.

Priyanka, 33, was presented the award by Hollywood action star Vin Diesel, who will reportedly be working soon with Deepika Padukone in a new project. The shooting for the film is likely to start next month.
In a unique punishment, the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed four youth from Thane, who stand accused of molestation and attempt to murder, to sweep public roads every week for six months, in return for quashing police proceedings against them.

The four accused -- Ankit Jadhav, Suhas Thakur, Milind More and Amit Adhakle -- had moved the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the case of molestation and attempt to murder lodged against them in October 2015.

Police said that during the Dussehra procession in Thane last year, the four in an inebriated state misbehaved with some women and assaulted one person who intervened.

Subsequently, police in Naupada lodged a first information report, charging them with attempt to murder and molestation.

The four accused made the plea on grounds that they had amicably resolved the issue with the complainants.

A division bench comprising Justice R.V. More and Justice V.L. Achiliya said the court will quash the case in return for community service.

The court directed the four to sweep public roads in Thane for eight hours every Sunday for the next six months under the supervision of a police officer.
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said that he will not be cowed down by threats from Islamic State, and continue to speak out against it as it has nothing to do with Islam.

A day after somebody tweeted on his wall asking him to shut his mouth and leave democracy, the Hyderabad MP, who moves around without any security, said he would not seek protection in the wake of threats.

"I receive such threats everyday. I will live as long as Allah wills," he said.

Stating that IS' ideology is devilish and based on hatred, Owaisi said there was need to finish this ideology.

"They don't know mercy. They don't know the meaning of mercy. They massacred 1.5 lakh Muslims including scholars," he said, pointing out that all Islamic scholars in India and abroad have have condemned IS actions and urged people to be cautious.

He said his Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) had taken a political stand that it is against all anti-national forces.

"Nobody can cast an evil eye on India. All Indians irrespective of their religion will unitedly counter any such threat. We have political differences and we will continue to have it but when it comes to the integrity of our beloved country, we are one," he said.

An alleged IS sympathiser had tweeted Wednesday "It's better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State if you don't know the truth, Islamic State will invade India soon."

To this Owaisi replied "Sir you are a bloody Takfiri, if you want to debate on Evil ISIS I am ready you will not be able to counter my Theological Points."

"You can dream so keep dreaming Takfiri read book on ISIS will bring y out of Darkness of ISIS Allah give Taufeeq," Owaisi added.

Takfiri is the word used for those Muslims who accuse other Muslims of apostasy. Owaisi said he replied as he would not have kept quiet on the rubbish of invading India.

The IS sympathiser then tweeted asking Owaisi to leave democracy. "Your Disgrace for Muslims of India. Opposing Islamic state will lead you to hell only repent before end."

Owaisi told reporters that this itself shows that IS thinking is devilish. "The power of sending somebody to hell or heaven rests solely with Allah. It's not in the hands of any human being," he added.

Asked why he did not lodge a complaint with police, the MP said when the government is monitoring everything, it was for the government to trace the person who tweeted and take action.

On Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's statement that the work on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya would start before this year-end, the MIM chief said it was contempt of court as the matter was subjudice.

Swamy had also stated on Wednesday that he hoped the Supreme Court would deliver the judgment in Ayodhya case by August-September.

"How does he know when the court is going to give the verdict," the MP asked and alleged that Swamy is casting aspersions on the Supreme Court.

On the pillars and stones being brought into Ayodhya by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government should take immediate action and seize the material.

Pointing out that the status quo has to be maintained as per the orders of the Supreme Court, Owaisi said though preparations were being made for an offence, the state government was doing nothing, and alleged that the ruling Samajwadi Party is hand-in-glove with the BJP.
Yemeni forces have recaptured a Red Sea port town in Hajjeh province held by Shia Houthi rebels, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Saudi-led coalition warplanes took part in the operation in the port of Midi late Wednesday, a security official said.

The Shia Houthi group and their allies have used the Midi port for smuggling weapons into their main bastions, the official said.

However, sources close to the pro-Houthi forces denied the government reports and maintained that their fighters were still in full control over Midi.

Yemen was plunged into violence in September 2014 when the Houthis invaded the country's capital Sanaa, driving President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out civil war between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, followed by the intervention of a Saudi-led Arab coalition vowing to restore Hadi's legitimate government.
Creativity goes a long way towards making a film great. Sometimes that creativity is found within the inspiration for a screenplay, a unique and interesting concept that could light up the screen. Sometimes it's a bit of inspirational casting that sees a team of actors and actresses cast against type. Sometimes it's none of these elements. Sometimes creativity comes from a penny-pinching producer who knows how to take a random piece of material, transform it, and make it his own.

1990 is an exciting time for humanity. After receiving the very first extraterrestrial communications from outer space. Dr. Farraday (Basil Rathbone) is the man who has been able to decipher the message and has become a de facto emissary for Earth as the aliens are sending their own representatives. When the Alien craft encounters trouble on its way to Earth, the alien delegation ends up crash landing on Mars. With only a faint radio signal, Dr. Farraday has no way of knowing if there are any survivors on the red planet, but that isn't going to stop them from mounting a rescue mission.

Fearless astronauts Allan Brenner (John Saxon), Laura James (Judi Meredith), Anders Brockman (Robert Boon), and Paul Grant (Dennis Hopper) fly off to Mars without any clear idea where the alien craft could have landed. When all hope of saving the delegation is nearly lost, Allan figures that the craft could have landed on one of Mars' moons. With his hunch proving right, Allan is able to retrieve an unconscious alien woman (Florence Marly). Every attempt is made to feed the alien woman, but what the crew has to offer isn't what the Queen of Blood actually craves, she wants something a little juicier and comes in the color red.

You got to love a producer like Roger Corman, the guy knows how to make a movie or rather make a movie out of another movie. Much like Corman's release of 'The Magic Voyage of Sinbad,' 'Queen of Blood' is a hodgepodge of a Russian-produced film that has been re-edited, re-dubbed, or in this case reshot to make a film for American audiences. Corman was well known for his ability to take foreign material and make something else out of it. While there is something ingenious about this approach to repurposing foreign films, it also highlights Corman's knack for stretching a budget. There is no better evidence of this than the fact that Cyrillic letters CCCP are clearly visible on the side of what is supposed to be an American-made spaceship.

The last time I saw 'Queen of Blood' was the better part of 25 years ago when I was a kid. I'd long forgotten the name, but I couldn't forget the Alien Queen's green face and her thirst for blood. I was delighted to rediscover this cheese fest, and now that it's on Blu-ray, I can enjoy it over and over again. Like most Roger Corman productions, you have to have a love for the cheap and goofy if you're going to enjoy this. While I loved the alien queen as a kid, as an adult I got a kick out of watching John Saxon and Dennis Hopper trying to sell this movie. Their commitment to their parts is a hoot, especially when what you're seeing on screen is something that looks like it was reusing sets and costumes from 'Santa Clause Conquers the Martians!'

'Queen of Blood' may not be a tremendous work of art, but it is a movie that knows how to entertain an audience. Basil Rathbone may look like a guy aiming to cash a quick paycheck, but at least he's putting in the effort where other B-movies of the era wouldn't have been able to exploit the star power. Toss in the previously mentioned footage from other films and you have the makings for an evening of fun. This isn't quite a pizza and beer type movie, but it should absolutely be watched with as many friends as possible. You may laugh through it, but you're also going to have a great time and may even appreciate the movie by the time it's over.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Queen of Blood' arrives on Blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber and is pressed on a Region A locked BD25 disc. Housed in a standard case, the disc opens to the main menu.
The Paris Agreement at COP21 reached in mid- December to tackle climate change has elicited mixed reactions. Some feel it is a truly historic agreement, fundamentally accelerating the move towards de-carbonisation of our energy mix, while others believe that nothing much has really changed.

Some of the key elements of the agreement are:



First of all, to keep the increase in global temperatures to well below 2Celsius, with a hope to restrict global warming to 1.5C.

Secondly, most countries announced voluntary pledges to curb emissions (158 submissions covering 185 countries and 90 per cent of global emissions were announced). These submissions are a first step, with most countries having to announce further reductions in 2020 and continuing to increase the cuts every five years.

Thirdly, the developed countries will supposedly provide the poor nations with $100 billion a year till 2025, and then step up this funding.

The problem with the above is that the actions taken do not deliver the desired outcome of limiting global warming to within 2C, forget 1.5C. Not even close.

Prior to Paris, assuming no change in policy, we were on track to achieve a global warming trajectory of about 3.6C. With all the pledges made in Paris, we would see an improvement, but emissions would still keep rising till 2030, and the path towards global warming would improve to 2.7C. An improvement, but nowhere near enough. To limit warming to 2C, carbon dioxide emissions will have to be cut by 25 per cent more than the pledges already made. To limit global warming to 1.5C, we will need additional cuts in emissions of 40 per cent by 2030, according to Bernstein Research.

Just to give a sense of the enormity of the task, the additional emissions cuts needed to restrict warming to 1.5C imply a total phase-out of coal from the energy mix and replacing oil from all transport uses - and all this by 2030. Clearly highly unlikely.

The takeaway from this is that while a target of 1.5C is impractical, we are going to see much higher cuts in emissions than what has been pledged - it is inevitable.

This brings us to the question of stranded carbon: the concept that some of the proven reserves of fossil fuels will never be burnt and will remain stranded.

Thinking of the challenge in terms of a total carbon budget, to stay within the 2C target, we only have about 1,100 giga tonnes (gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) that can still be emitted. Assuming emissions peak today (not likely), we would only have another 22 years or until 2037, before carbon emissions would have to go to zero.

Looked at another way, current proven reserves of fossil fuels are about 812 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (oil, gas and coal). Just burning all these proven reserves (not counting contingent reserves or those yet to be discovered) would generate about 2,512 gt of CO2 equivalent emissions. The world cannot afford to have more than 1,100 gt of incremental emissions if we are to stay within the 2C framework. Thus, no more than 40 per cent of the existing proven reserves of fossil fuels can ever be burnt. Probably even less, as some of the carbon budget will be taken by non- fossil fuel applications like agriculture.

Within the fossil fuel carbon budget, coal will lose out, given its carbon intensity and sheer abundance. Bernstein estimates that only about 25-30 per cent of the proven global coal reserves will ever get used. More than 50 per cent of oil reserves will get burned and upwards of 60 per cent of gas reserves, given its relative carbon efficiency. The major oil companies, given their short reserve life and speed of extraction will not suffer stranded assets - unlike sovereign nations, many of whom like Iran and Iraq, have been too slow to work their reserves. Whatever oil and gas is stranded will be at the cost of the sovereign nations in Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

What are the implications for India?



First of all, we need to ramp up coal production as soon as possible, otherwise the bulk of our coal will never get burnt. There is probably a limited window of another 20-25 years for coal, beyond that it will be impossible to use.

Secondly, there is a possibility that we could see a race to produce as much oil as possible by OPEC members, if countries like Iran and Iraq get convinced that much of their oil will never be burnt if they keep producing at current rates of extraction. This carbon race will be highly damaging to petroleum pricing. We may already be seeing some form of this dynamic playing out, as OPEC production has continued to surprise to the upside throughout this crash in oil prices. The Saudis may be playing a game beyond just crushing US shale: They may simply be maximising the value of their reserves by pumping flat out.

Thirdly, natural gas will gain prominence as the only way to lower emissions in the short term and provide a low carbon bridge to renewables, electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems till they gain economic viability. We need to ensure long-term linkages for gas; it will be far more important than oil in the future. Locking in long-term contracts today when prices are low may be prudent.

An inexorable shift away from coal and other high carbon fuels (oil sands) is underway. This will benefit lower carbon fuels like natural gas, and zero-carbon technologies like renewables, energy storage systems, batteries and electric vehicles. As much as 60 per cent of current emissions come from power generation and transport; both will be disrupted as EVs and solar combined with energy storage gain prominence.

We need to attain a technology position in these new fields. China already dominates solar, and South Korea leads in battery technology powering EVs and energy storage systems. India has to use our likely leapfrogging and mass adoption of these new technologies to build a viable eco-system in these areas. We should encourage local players in both areas.

The writer is at Amansa Capital. These views are his own
Now that the Pathankot anti-terror operation is over, it is time for those in charge of the country's security to introspect on it. Seven Indian soldiers were killed as terrorists attacked the Pathankot air force base on January 2.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statements on the planning and execution of the operation - which were supported by Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh, the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Command - have been faulted by defence analysts, including former army and air force chiefs. Key features of anti-terror operations such as clarity of chain of command were conspicuously absent in the Pathankot operation. The army, best suited for conducting such operations, was made to play second fiddle to the National Security Guard (NSG), a "home ministry outfit".

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, essentially an intelligence department man, committed the mistake of assuming overall charge of the operation. The air force chief too failed in his duty by not insisting on handing over the operation to the army.

Curiously, Home Minister Rajnath Singh - to whom the NSG reports - after committing a gaffe on the first day of the operation, sulked during the remainder of it by absenting himself from key meetings, including the National Security Council meeting chaired by the prime minister on Monday. For the country's security these are ominous signs.

S K Choudhury Bengaluru

can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (011) 23720201E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
The terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot in the first week of this year has shocked the country. Seven Indian security personnel including a Lt. Col lost their lives. The attack brought to fore Indias inability to handle a terrorist attack on a fortified base despite specific and actionable intelligence. Ajai Shukla has already highlighted the ineptitude of the counter-terrorist operation for Business Standard.

The attack came as a bigger shock because it came within days of the audacious Narendra Modi move to drop-in on Nawaz Sharifs birthday in Lahore. The significance of the photo-op with Nawaz and Modi walking hand-in-hand was not lost on the world. This extraordinary and brave move received widespread approval but with the attack, the Pakistan policy of the Modi government has come under sharper focus. Three significant questions emerge.

Is there a policy?



From the high of extending an invite to Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony to the low of cancelling foreign secretary level talks over the issue of talking to Hurriyat to talking about composite dialogues to dropping-in on Nawazs birthday celebrations, Modis Pakistan policy has exhibited signs of bipolarity. Swinging between attempts to come across as a statesman to showing his closest supporters that the talk of being tough on Pakistan before elections was not just rhetoric, Mr Modis Pak policy falls between two stools.

With this attack, the current mood in Delhi may not be in favour of continuing the recent overtures. Having botched-up the counter-terrorism operation in spite of having advance intelligence inputs, the general public mood is also unfavourable for the Modi government to continue in the same vein with Pakistan. The politically astute Indian Prime Minister might be tempted to take a harder line with Pakistan. The govts spinmasters have tried to convey such an impression by talking about how the Prime Minister was firm with Nawaz on the phone call after Pathankot ops. Memories of Kargil are still fresh in Indian minds when an Indian Prime Minister lowered the guard and India paid the price.

The point is that current environment does not leave much elbow room for Mr Modi to maneuver his way out of the mess while pursuing the current, risky policy with Pakistan. So are we going to see the continuation of a fits and starts Pak policy with plenty of U-turns?



Who runs this policy?



This is a unique predicament for the Modi government. Who is in charge of the foreign policy in this government especially with regards to Pakistan? Is it the Prime Minister with his preference for personal chemistry with foreign leaders? Is it the Foreign Minister, who, as Archis Mohan highlighted in a recent column for Business Standard, helped revitalise India-Pakistan relations? Is it run by the professional diplomatic corps headed by Foreign Secretary or is it run by the NSA? Is there an institutional mechanism to put in operation the foreign policy of a sovereign state or will ad-hocism continue to rule?



It might be an advantage if the Indian PM shares a personal rapport with the Pakistani (or any other countrys) counterpart but is it going to be the basis of strategy, especially when dealing with a state like Pakistan, that has demonstrated, over decades, an excellent command over dissembling information about its motives, capabilities and actions (remember denials about Kargil, the Bombay attack or even about the presence of Osama-bin-Laden in Pakistan)? If so, does the PM remember that his Prime Ministership is not permanent, while the Indian state probably is?



The Indian state may or may not have the services of these individuals at a later stage. It is precisely due to this factor that we have institutional mechanisms. Like the dialogues between Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan, now abandoned, since the NSA doubles or rather triples-up as super spy, top diplomat and internal security czar; it mattering little that the NSA is just an advisor to the PM with no executive powers.

Is the Pakistani state separate from the military complex?



After the terror attack in Gurdaspur in July, 2015, the Modi government took great pains to avoid putting the blame on the Pakistani state. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in a statement in the Parliament, refused to expressly name Pakistan-based terror or Pakistan-sponsored terror. This was a reversal of a long-standing Indian view that did not differentiate - rightly - between the Pakistani State and the Pakistani security establishment.

By taking this line, the Indian government seemed to agree with Pakistan administration, that paints itself as victims of terror rather than promoters of terror, that they have repeatedly been proven to be - like in the case of 26/11 attacks in Bombay. After Pathankot operations, the Pak PM once again reiterated this line when he blamed unknown players for trying to disrupt talks.

The Indian administration now finds itself in a fix. Having absolved the Pakistani State yourself, how do you hold Pakistan accountable for terror that emanates from its soil? A sovereign state like Pakistan is not being held accountable for actions that emanate from within its borders. What would it take for India to hold the Pakistani state accountable for these attacks?



Perhaps a notarized agreement - in triplicate - between the Pak govt and the terror group is awaited. The Pakistanis have washed their hands of this attack and the Indian state is left holding the bodies of its soldiers who died in peacetime within its borders while defending national assets and people. Will our Pak policy continue to issue character certificates for the Pakistani state while not holding it responsible for such attacks on India?



Long after this administration is forgotten and the incumbent PM would have retired, this disastrous decision to buy Pakistani propaganda and absolve the Pakistani administration will hurt India. Supposedly non-state actors from Pakistan have been legitimised by the short-sightedness of the Modi government.

What Indias Pakistan policy needs is coherence, calmness and vision. It needs astute maneuvering by adroit hands. The PM should have all the advice that he needs but professionals and institutions ought to run the show. The government can start by taking the parliament into confidence. The government has been rescued from the quagmire of India-Pakistan relations a number of times in the last 19 months thanks to the PMs political capital. That political capital has suffered grave damage after Bihar loss and the Pathankot fiasco.

For the sake of his own legacy, and for Indias long term interest, the PM would do well to try and answer these three questions. The sanest advice for him would be to make haste slowly.
India has eight "Unicorns" - start-ups where fundraising has established a company valuation of $1 billion or above. Indian entrepreneurs always seek innovative ideas. The most banal human activity offers an opportunity.

I foresee the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) experiencing an upsurge in 2016. SBM also deals with the not-so-nice subject of open defecation. Last year, I learnt about all the exciting things that took place during it with regard to our everyday act.

I must recall that in the 1950s, when "breast" was considered inappropriate by the editorial standards of The New York Times (NYT), an article on breast cancer was painstakingly reworded to render it NYT-worthy. Mercifully, editorial standards have changed since then. Before SBM was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I had written an Innocolumn (April 17, 2014) on sanitation and how 57 per cent of Indians defecate in the open compared to five per cent in Bangladesh. I had titled it with a commonly used word for defecation, but the editor dropped the S-word to conform with Business Standard's editorial policy. I respected the editor's decision with the hope that, like with breast cancer, someday, the activity will be called by its better understood name.

According to the SBM website, the mission has government funding of Rs 1.6 lakh crore; it has built half a million toilets during the year and generated national awareness. In fact, defecation has attracted international attention!



In an enduring and endearing book, Gut, Giulia Enders explains how the human colon (puborectalis muscle) becomes straight when a person squats as compared to sitting on a commode; that is why the Eastern habit of squatting is effective compared to the Western way of sitting (note the absence of "h"). I consider "sitting" a Western habit because, to be light-hearted, King Louis IV had his throne made with an inbuilt loo! The very successful Piku elucidated and exemplified "the technical position", with imaginative dialogues by celebrated actors.

In 2010, an American woman got relief from constipation by simulating the squatting position. The satisfied mother, Judy Edwards, and her enterprising son, Robert, designed a top-of-the-pyramid footstool and Americans are buying it for $25. A range of supporting accessories has also arrived under their brand, Squatty Potty that was launched in 2012 and positioned as "the stool for better stools". More than two million Squatty Potty items have been sold since then, with 11 million YouTube viewings; the innovation apparently sold very well as a Christmas gift in 2015!



The problem is not about defecation alone. In 2015, San Francisco city officials implemented a new "pee-proof" paint around the city to combat the persistent problem of public urination. Public works crew painted 10 walls in the city with a special UV-coated, urine-repellent paint. If an offender tries to urinate on a wall coated with the super hydrophobic paint, the urine, instead of running down the wall, sprays back at him, potentially hitting his clothes and shoes. Public urination has been a chronic issue in San Francisco. In 2002, the city passed legislation banning public urination and imposing a $50 to $100 fine on offenders, but the ban has had little or no impact on curbing the problem.

It was also in 2015 that social entrepreneur Joe Madiath of Gram Vikas spoke about better toilets and hygiene at a TED conference. He said it was fashionable to speak in glowing terms about food in all its forms, but after the food was digested, the crap was considered revolting to speak about.

With all these events having occurred in 2015, it is not unreasonable to expect great strides and thrusts to make for a happy 2016. The Indian business womb is pregnant with entrepreneurship and start-ups; within government, the prime minister wants fresh ideas from his bureaucracy although cynics think this is an oxymoron.

My 2016 wish is that innovations through the SBM attracts funding and some unicorn emerges. This unicorn will be for real whereas the others may be suspect!



The writer is author and corporate advisor; gopal.mindworks@gmail.com
Myths, when repeated often enough, can take on the reassuring resonance of truth. In India's case, none in recent memory matches the demographic dividend. Our leaders across the political spectrum, ranging from former urban development minister Kamal Nath to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have lauded a seemingly preordained future of prosperity from podiums in Davos, Delhi and Wembley. It seems plausible that as more young people enter working age and start working and earning, India's economy will grow at a more rapid rate.

This looks unattainable, however. Look, for instance, at the company we keep on tables of education and well-being - those countries, like India, with rankings of about 130 or so on the UN's human development index such as Guatemala, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste do not seem like world-beating economies. Look also at the average years of schooling of just 4.4 years for Indians. Consider that India accounts for the largest number of children suffering from stunting and wasting - from chronic diarrhoea and malnourishment - in the world. Factor in also that, unlike South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, we have very low levels of female participation in the workforce. Can people who have had such a disadvantaged childhood make for a productive workforce tomorrow? Girindre Beeharry, head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India, evocatively argues that one should not be "captive to the womb lottery". Sadly, for hundreds of millions in India, that inequality from their birth and the utterly inadequate schooling and health care they receive thereafter mean that the lottery is stacked against them. As many as 1.4 million die before they have turned five.

The almost unassailable confidence that suggests India's demographic dividend is about to be cashed rests largely on the celebrated arc of development that China has travelled since the late Deng Xiaoping opened the economy to foreign investment in the late 1970s. Yet, China is temperamentally and culturally much closer to the rapidly industrialising South Korea and Taiwan of the 1960s and 1970s than India is. It is far better educated, with literacy rates in excess of 95 per cent and years in school approaching 12 years for recent cohorts of job-seekers. ( THE COMPANY INDIA KEEPS )



As a foreign correspondent covering the bustling factories of southern China between 2010 and 2013, I wrote often about what is called the Lewis turning point - that moment when factory owners see their returns fall because supplies of cheap labour have dried up. Due to the one-child policy of the past three decades, recently relaxed, the working-age population peaked earlier than it should have in China in 2015. Chinese factories were facing labour shortages from the time I arrived in Hong Kong in late 2010. As the economist Tao Wang predicted, "The net increase of working-age population will drop sharply to 23 million this decade, from the 82m during 2001-10 and 90m during 1991-2000."



A factory owner making leather bags for consumers in Italy and elsewhere in Europe told me that just a few years earlier, his employees had thrust the resumes of relatives and friends seeking jobs into his hands. By 2012, however, he had to pay sign-on bonuses to lure workers to his factory and was pleading with employees to recommend his factory as a good employer to their friends and relatives. At another factory in the southern Chinese industrial city of Dongguan, I was shocked to see robots being put to work to help produce woollen sweaters. This huge shift was brought home to me one day as I interviewed Chinese workers attending a labour fair. A young woman in a cycle rickshaw was gliding past the booths with labour agents chasing her with competing offers of work in nearby factories. A Gallup poll in 2012, meanwhile, found that only about a quarter of young Indians held full-time jobs at the time. This number is surely skewed by the very low levels of female participation in the Indian workforce, which puts us in league tables side by side with Middle Eastern countries rather than China.

To the business executive, few countries in the world must seem more dissimilar than China and India - from highways to ports. So it proved when entrepreneurs from Hong Kong started prospecting for cheap labour from 2010. They travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia and even Bangladesh, but seemed uncomfortable with the idea of India. One told me he had visited southern India, but the grinding poverty had upset him and he had chosen to open a shoe factory in Ethiopia instead.

In a recent piece published in Mint, the World Bank chief economist, Kaushik Basu, highlights two shifts in the global economy - "labour-saving and labour linking". Robots such as those I saw in the knitware factory in southern China and indeed in the Ford Sanand plant are part of the first trend, the shift of jobs from the US to places like Gurgaon and Bengaluru part of the second. India benefits from the second, but labour-saving technologies rule out the possibility of hundreds of millions being employed in factories as in China in the past three decades.

The other seemingly insurmountable hurdle is that global trade growth has slowed perceptibly in the past few years. Economic growth in the US and Europe has fallen as well, but China is also producing a larger share of the supply chain for components that go into everything from Apple phones to Samsonite suitcases. This means that even highly labour-intensive jobs that feed into these supply chains will have to be close by in places like Vietnam and Cambodia rather than in India. In the meantime, another large entity with millions of under-educated and poorly fed youngsters looks set to compete with Indians for jobs. By 2100, Africa will be home to 4.4 billion people, according to new data from the United Nations. In the next few years, count on its leaders to vaingloriously predict a demographic dividend for their citizens.



The Long View is an occasional series that analyses different scenarios
A post in the Whispers column ("Left-Congress bhai-bhai", January 5) had noted that the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in West Bengal might be ready to extend an olive branch to the Congress. It appears now that the state Congress is ready to reciprocate the gesture. West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Adhir Chowdhury has said that his party workers want to forge an alliance with the CPI-M to oust the "undemocratic" Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime in the state. He has put the ball in the party high command's court to take a call on the matter. "The TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are trying to spread communalism in Bengal. It is up to the secular forces in the state to unite and fight against these communal forces," Chowdhury told journalists.
Morgan Stanley's latest management revamp puts a chief executive on the market. James Gorman, the $61-billion Wall Street bank's boss, on Wednesday appointed Colm Kelleher as sole president and his heir apparent, leaving co-president Greg Fleming in the cold. Kelleher is the ultimate Wall Street survivor. But Fleming may find his skills in high demand.

Between them, the bankers have helped get Morgan Stanley back on its feet. Fleming oversaw the integration of Citigroup's former brokerage arm, Smith Barney, into the wealth-management division and drove its pre-tax profit margin up to a respectable 23 per cent in the first nine months of last year.

Kelleher has arguably had more of a slog: The fixed-income trading franchise was more of a mess. And he butted heads with his former co-head of the institutional securities division, Paul Taubman. The latter's more strait-laced approach did not gel well with the Irishman's more colourful, salesman-like charm. As with today's shuffle, he came out on top.

But Kelleher's chances of assuming Gorman's corner office are low. The Australian former McKinsey consultant intends staying in charge until he reaches 65, the company's retirement age, in seven years' time. Kelleher is a year older than his boss, so would be more of an interim emergency replacement. That leaves a next generation of potential leaders to groom.

Fleming, 52, may have missed some of the more obvious recent CEO jobs in the financial industry - assuming he wanted them - such as running Barclays. The board of BlackRock, though, may fancy him as a successor to 63-year-old chief Larry Fink, with whom Fleming is close.

American Express' Kenneth Chenault has been having problems of late. The stock has dropped nearly a third in the past 12 months and attracted the attention of activist hedge fund ValueAct after the credit-card and payments company lost a big-ticket contract with retailer Costco. Now on the market, Fleming may hold appeal to Amex's directors as a potential replacement.

Some of America's regional banks may fancy hiring Fleming, too. Advising them on M&A was his speciality earlier in his career at Merrill Lynch. With the Federal Reserve now showing more willingness to allow lenders to merge, Fleming might even be in a position to put his old tricks to use. This may be an occasion on Wall Street when both ferrets emerge from the sack intact.
The government on Thursday made a fresh attempt to push through the goods and services tax (GST) Bill, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her residence. The Congress, however, described the meeting "as mere optics with no substantial proposal from the government". Their rationale was that Naidu had nothing new to explain.

The crucial economic reform Bill is pending before the Rajya Sabha, with the principal Opposition party, the Congress, demanding substantive changes, including stipulating an 18 per cent rate cap.

After stepping out of 10, Janpath, Naidu said, "We had invited Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed with them the GST and other Bills. In the same context, I met the Congress President today (Thursday) and recalled to her that as per the discussion held earlier, Congress should finalise their stand. They had raised some issues, which were answered by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley."



Naidu said the government has already spoken to Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Congress' Deputy Leader in the House, Anand Sharma, in this regard. "I reminded her that a quick decision should be taken and we should move forward immediately on the GST and the real estate Bills."



The fresh burst of activity on the GST front by the government was accompanied by speculation of the Budget session being advanced for passage of these Bills. But Congress leaders confirmed that this had not been mentioned in the meeting with Gandhi.

Dismissing the political outreach, Congress spokesperson and former Union minister Kapil Sibal said, "Venkaiah Naidu meeting Sonia Gandhi on GST is mere optics. There is no substantial proposal from the government. The government itself is not keen on passing the GST. The reality is that the Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) are against it. But, Jaitley ji blames Congress!"



Apart from the cap on the GST, the Congress wants removal of one per cent additional tax on inter-state transfer of goods and a dispute resolution panel. Rejecting reports that the government had agreed to the Congress demands, Sibal said, "Had there been anything substantial, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Jaitley would have gone on Twitter..."



Sources in the Congress disclosed that Naidu had sought a meeting with Sonia Gandhi only last evening. Due to the last minute change of programme, Chattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Bhupesh Baghel could not meet Sonia Gandhi. Naidu told reporters that the Congress President said she would consult her party leaders. Those in the know say any decision would be taken once Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi returns. He was scheduled to return from his Europe trip on Thursday night.

Recently, Jaitley had said that the rolling out of the ambitious GST regime was "certainly" doable this year and added that he was in "continuous touch" with the Congress to persuade them to cooperate. As for the real estate Bill, it was referred to a select committee of Rajya Sabha after demands from the Congress and other Opposition parties. The government maintains that it had accepted almost all recommendations of the committee and expects it to be passed at the earliest.

CONGRESS' THREE DEMANDS ON GST
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a crafty politician who took on the powerful Abdullah family and rose to become the country's first Muslim Home Minister, died today at AIIMS here after his platelets dropped dangerously.

Sayeed, 79, who took charge of the state on March 1 last year heading a PDP-BJP alliance, breathed his last this morning after remaining on ventilator for the past few days.

He was flown from Srinagar in a special plane on December 24 and admitted to the AIIMS where he was diagnosed with sepsis (life threatening complication of an infection) and pneumonia. During hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously, doctors said.

He is the second J&K Chief Minister to die in office, the first one being Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982.

Sayeed's daughter 56-year-old Mehbooba is expected to take over as the first woman Chief Minister of the state with PDP leaders throwing their weight behind her. But this will require the approval of BJP.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Jammu and Kashmir government has declared a seven-day mourning and holiday today. Flags will be flown at half mast.

The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to pay homage. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehera in South Kashmir, about 48 kms from Srinagar.

Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year. In the 87-member J&K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his condolences on Twitter said, "What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum. Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to J&K through his leadership. He will be missed by all of us. Condolences to his family & supporters."

Mufti Sahab's demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives. RIP.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 7, 2016

Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahib's passing away. I'm shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace.  Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) January 7, 2016

Deeply pained to learn of J&K CM Shri Mufti Mohd. Sayeed's demise.He was known for his love for common people, specially the underprivileged  Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) January 7, 2016

Contribution of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to J & K and India through long years of public service will be always remembered #PresidentMukherjee  President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) January 7, 2016

V sad to hear abt Shri Mufti Mohd. Sayeed's demise. May his soul rest in peace. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 7, 2016

Extremely saddened to learn of the passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Saab. My condolences to his family and supporters  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) January 7, 2016

Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, along with several other leaders also took to the social networking site to express their condolences

Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief over the demise of Mufti as she communicated her condolences to his wife and Mehbooba.

"In his death, the state of Jammu and Kashmir as indeed the entire nation has lost a great leader," she said.





Former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah also condoled the death of Sayeed.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed carved a niche for himself in and Jammu and Kashmir with the craftiness and unwavering focus of an avid bridge player he was.

He emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free India's first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 in the V P Singh government and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP, which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed's stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeed's rivals, projected India as a "soft state" for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.
Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the founder of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ex-Congressman, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died on Tuesday in New Delhi.



As a young deputy minister in G M Sadiqs government in 1967, he was a rising star in the Congress. When Delhi found Sadiq dispensable, Mufti was quick to switch sides to Syed Mir Qasim and was made a cabinet minister.



He was made Congress leader in the legislative council from 1972 to 1975. He gathered many IOUs, made many friends and influenced many people. It was in 1977 that things began unravelling. He was chief of the Pradesh Congress Committee. The 1977 elections, seen widely as the only fair elections in the state, proved unfortunate for Mufti. He lost from his hometown. When he lost again in the 1983 election, his alienation from the Congress was deep, his advice having been repeatedly ignored.





ALSO READ: Kashmir after Mufti

In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi tried to win him back and made him Union minister for tourism, but then signed the Gandhi-Abdullah accord in 1987. This proved to be the final straw. He left the Congress and joined V P Singhs Jan Morcha. In 1989, he became the home minister of India  elected not from his home state but from Uttar Pradesh.

ALSO READ: J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away



The virulence and depth of his feelings about the Abdullahs was very public. Farooq Abdullah had sent a message that he didnt want Jagmohan as Governor. However, as home minister, Mufti sent Jagmohan, despite advice to the contrary by the then President R Venkataraman. Abdullah resigned.



As home minister, Muftis tenure was unremarkable. His daughter was kidnapped by militants in J&K and let off in exchange for a deal. In the absence of any grand gestures, the VP Singh governments home policy carried on until the government fell.





ALSO READ: Mehbooba Mufti likely to be first woman CM of J&K

After launching the PDP in 1999 and becoming chief minister in 2002, largely because of the intervention of a man called Manmohan Singh (who invented the three-year rotational chief ministership), did Mufti leave a legacy for Kashmir to remember? He promised to dismantle the Special Operations Group; they now function under the direction of the armed police. In winter, Kashmir saw load-shedding for up to 18 hours a day; that continues. The only employer in Kashmir continues to be the government.

His daughter is running the party. Narendra Modi mockingly told the people of J&K that it was time to liberate themselves not only from baap-beta but also baapbeti. But given the exigencies of the situation, the BJP had no option but to do a deal with PDP.



Mehbooba Mufti will now become Chief Minister. Mufti Sayeeds maturity and sagacity in dealing with militant groups in J&K would be sorely missed.
Fourteen people were killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight by suspected Rwandan rebels accused of repeated attacks in the area, local authorities and the military said today.

The latest assault took place in Miriki, 110 kilometres (65 miles) north of Goma, capital of conflict-torn North Kivu province.

Bokele Joy, administrator of the Lubero area under which Miriki falls, told AFP "14 bodies" had been found.

"The FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) is responsible for this," Joy said, accusing a Hutu group based in eastern Congo, some of whose members are accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Confirming the death toll, Congolese military spokesman Mak Hazukay said the rebels slipped past the army's positions to carry out the attack using knives or other bladed weapons.

Speaking by telephone from Miriki, village chief Gervain Paluku Murandia told AFP his two wives and eldest daughter were among those killed.

A local human rights defender, Souleymane Mokili, corroborated the accounts, saying he had seen the bodies of the victims, which bore "machete and bullet" wounds.

Nine people were being treated in hospital for injuries, he added.

The Congolese army last year launched an offensive to try push the FDLR out of the east, where the rebels have been wreaking havoc since the genocide of mostly ethnic Tutsis across the border in Rwanda.

In October, FDLR members were accused of stabbing three people in Lubero, one of the traditional homelands of central Africa's Nande tribe.

Local sources have linked the attacks in Lubero to attempts by a local Nande leader to bar the return to the area of displaced Congolese Hutus, whom he accuses of trying to "conquer" Nande land.
Fifteen people died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight when Hutu rebels from Rwanda attacked civilians in the latest ethnic killings in the region, authorities and the military said today.

The assault took place in Miriki, 110 kilometres (65 miles) north of Goma, capital of conflict-torn North Kivu province.

The attack left "15 dead and eight injured", said Charles Bambara, public information director for the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO.

Bokele Joy, administrator of the Lubero area under which Miriki falls, told AFP that "the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) is responsible."



The army as well as leaders of the local Nande people, rivals of the local Hutu, also accused the FDLR Hutu group based in eastern Congo and said to include perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Congolese military spokesman Mak Hazukay said the rebels slipped past the army's positions to carry out the attack using knives or other bladed weapons.

A local human rights defender, Souleymane Mokili, said he had seen the bodies of the victims, which bore "machete and bullet" wounds.

The Congolese army last year launched an offensive to try to push the FDLR out of the east, where the rebels have been wreaking havoc since the genocide of mostly ethnic Tutsis across the border in Rwanda.

In October, FDLR members were accused of stabbing and injuring three people in Lubero, one of the traditional homelands of central Africa's Nande tribe.

Local sources have linked the attacks in Lubero to attempts by a local Nande leader to bar the return to the area of displaced Congolese Hutus, whom he accuses of trying to "conquer" Nande land.
Four persons today allegedly tried to commit suicide by drinking poison after they were summoned by police in an abduction case, at Koheda village in Karimnagar district.

They are being treated at a government hospital here.

Sub-inspector P Gopal Rao of Rajagopalpet police station said that he had called B Raghu (20), B Suresh (23), G Sagar(19) and K Srujan (28) of Nawabpet village in Chigurumamidi mandal in Karimnagar district for questioning.

Boini Shankar (25), a resident of same village, is accused of abducting a 17 years old girl from Akkanapalli, police said adding that he is absconding.

"We suspect the involvement of these four men in the abduction. Instead of coming to the police station, they tried to commit suicide by consuming insecticide at about 12.30 pm on the outskirts of Koheda village," the police officer said.

They were shifted to government hospital here for further treatment, police said adding that the probe is on.
Four Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces after attempting to stab them in two incidents in the southern West Bank, the army said.

"Three attackers, armed with knives, attempted to stab soldiers guarding the Gush Etzion junction," a statement said yesterday, adding that troops responded by firing at the assailants.

A military spokeswoman told AFP all three were killed.

Gush Etzion is a settlement bloc south of Jerusalem, and its junction has been a focal point in three months of Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli security forces and civilians.

A short while later, a Palestinian armed with a knife attempted to stab soldiers northeast of Hebron, a statement said. "The force thwarted the attack and shot the assailant, resulting in his death."



The three would-be assailants from the Gush Etzion incident were identified in Palestinian media as Muhanad Kawazbeh, 20; Ahmed Kawazbeh, 21, and Alaa Kawazbeh, 20, all from Sair village, northeast of Hebron.

They were said to be relatives of Ahmed Kawazbeh, 18, who was shot dead after stabbing a soldier at the Gush Etzion junction on Tuesday.

Twenty-two Israelis, an American and an Eritrean have been killed in Palestinian attacks including stabbings, car rammings and gunfire targeting security forces and civilians since October 1.

At the same time, 143 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks.
A suicide truck bombing on a police training centre in Libya's western city of Zliten killed at least 50 people today, in one of the deadliest attacks yet to hit the strife-torn country.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck used for carrying water at a police school in central Zliten, a coastal city about 170 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, a local security source told AFP.

A witness in Zliten told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the training compound at the time of the blast.

Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people had been killed and at least 100 wounded and that victims were being treated in several hospitals. Urgent calls were issued for blood donations.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State jihadist group, which has been growing in power in Libya, has previously carried out many suicide bombings in the country.

A spokesman for the Zliten hospital, Moamer Kadi, told AFP it had received at least 40 bodies and was treating 70 wounded.

"We don't have a clear idea of the total toll, other victims were taken to hospitals in Misrata and Tripoli," he said.

The hospital in Misrata, about 55 kilometres east of Zliten, said it had received at least four bodies and was treating some 50 wounded.

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, denounced the attack and called for national unity.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote on Twitter.

Libya has been beset by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi and IS has been gaining influence.

The country has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The United Nations is pressing the rival sides to accept a power-sharing deal.

On December 17, under UN guidance, lawmakers from both sides and a number of independent political figures signed a deal for a unity government, but the agreement has yet to be implemented. It has so far failed to win unanimous backing from Libya's two rival parliaments, one based in the eastern city of Tobruk and the other in Tripoli.

In a statement after today's attack, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged Libyans to back the agreement.

"Once again the Libyans are mourning victims of an attack," she said. "The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... They have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country.
The Centre has appointed A B Khare as the Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run Madras Fertilzers for a five-year term.

In August last year, the government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) had recommended the name of Khare for the post of CMD at Madras Fertilizers Ltd (MFL).

Khare will succeed I Vijay Kumar. His name was finalised after interviewing 7 shortlisted candidates.

Khare was previously working with state-owned fertiliser firm Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers as Chief General Manager (Commercial).

"The President is pleased to appoint of A B Khare..To the post of CMD, MFL in the pay scale of Rs 75,000-90,000/- for a period of five years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest," the Fertiliser Ministry said in an notification.

MFL was incorporated in 1966 as a joint venture between the Government of India and Amoco India, a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of the USA. It is under the administrative control of the Fertiliser Ministry.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today demanded a probe by a committee led by Supreme Court judge in the terror attack in Pathanakot Air Force base.

"AAP demands a probe by a committee lead by Supreme Court judge," party's Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh said here.

He said that the issue is related to the security of the nation so it should be taken seriously.

Accompanied by state Convener Suchha Singh Chottepur and AAP legal cell head Himmat Singh Shergil, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no right to disgrace the Armed forces.

Stressing that that the security of the nation is a serious issue, he said Modi should not tackle it in a "childish manner" and added that he should stop giving vague statements, instead start working on the issues of public concern.

Singh said that AAP is not against talks with Pakistan but it should be specific and issue based and the 'Shawl-Saari' diplomacy is unacceptable.

He said that the foreign policy of the Modi government is vague and directionless which has led to sour relations with Nepal and other neighboring countries.

He said that after Dinanagar attack, in last 7 months it is the second attack but nothing has come out of the probe of Dinanagar case and addded that the central and state agencies have failed in their purposes.

Attacking the Parkash Singh Badal government, Singh alleged that the "nexus" of Akali leaders, drug peddlers and militants resulted in militant attack in Pathankot.

He said that the role of Superintendet of Police (SP) Salwinder Singh is doubtful in the case and claimed that it is assumed that "he might have helped militants to reach the attack spot".

"It is clearly visible from the contradictory statements of the SP Salwinder Singh and his presence at the odd hours that too in an area where he is not posted and without any of his staff and security guard raises serious questions," he said.

Moreover, such postings are directly overseen by political masters and the Home Minister of the state in particular, he said.

"A close relative of the Home minister and an influential minister in the government Bikram Majithia remained in the . All the developments raise severe questions about the possibility of narco-politician-terrorists nexus," he alleged.

Singh claimed that the SP also met a political leader night before the attack.

Singh said that it is doubtful why the terrorist spared SP and killed just the taxi driver.
A global forum on innovations in agriculture sector will be held in Abu Dhabi next month to harness global efforts and sharing new ideas and developing initiatives aimed at feeding the world.

The third edition of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) will be held from February 16-18.

The exhibition and conference at GFIA forum is aimed at harnessing global efforts to provide enough safe, nutritious food to an expanding population, and will feature more than 300 next-generation agricultural solutions that could shape the future of sustainable farming around the world.

For the second year running, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has set out to assemble some of the world's best scientific minds for a unique Hosted Scientist Programme at GFIA, at a time when official statistics put the number of hungry people in the world at around 795 million, two thirds of them living in Asia.

The program supported by ADFCA is designed as a scientific platform for discussion, sharing of new ideas and development of initiatives aimed at feeding the world as population growth continues against a backdrop of dwindling resources and climate change.

"We're seeking applications from scientists from around the world and from across the entire spectrum of agricultural research. Our priority is to attract those currently involved in ground-breaking research, as the principle aim here is to drive efforts to counter global hunger through pioneering developments in sustainable agriculture," said Ali Yousef Al Saad, Acting Director of Communication and Community Service at ADFCA.

Scientists can apply online via the official GFIA website before January 15.

In its third year, GFIA will run alongside VIV MEA, a new version of livestock production events held in Europe and Asia helping to bring about a rethinking on global food security.

Together, GFIA and the accompanying VIV MEA are expected to host more than 500 exhibitors of innovative technology, making Abu Dhabi home to the largest agricultural event in the region.
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei will display his huge bamboo structures for the first time in France, the upscale Parisian department store that will host the exhibition has said.

The show at Bon Marche, called "Er Xi, Air de Jeux" ("Child's Play") will run from January 16 to February 20 and will centre on the theme of childhood -- with pieces including the bamboo structures, 3D dragons and kites.

"Exhibiting at the Bon Marche is using a new medium, a big store, to meet a new audience, as large as a museum's, but which in principle does not come to see art," the Berlin-based artist said on the store's website.

The 3D figures are made of bamboo and delicate white tissue paper and are inspired by Chinese mythology.

"This exhibition allows me to work under different constraints from those in a museum or gallery," Ai said.

Ai, China's most prominent contemporary artist, was detained in 2011 for 81 days over his advocacy of democracy and human rights as well as other criticisms of the government in Beijing.

Following the detention, he was placed under house arrest and his passport was taken away. The document was only returned in July this year, enabling him to travel overseas.

Last week, the 58-year-old announced plans to create a memorial on the Greek island of Lesbos after meeting some of the many migrants there who risked their lives to reach Europe.
"Trainwreck" star Amy Schumer is dating furniture designer Ben Hanisch.

Schumer, 34 is really happy with her 29-year-old boyfriend, who is based out of Chicago, reported People magazine.

"Amy is so, so happy. She calls him her boyfriend and says he constantly tells her how pretty, sexy and perfect she is. She feels like she hit the jackpot. Her sister loves him and that's important because her and her sis are BFF," a source said.

The couple were spotted together during Schumer's visit to the White House.

She posted a picture from the visit on Twitter, captioning, "Fam and man at the whitehizzy."



Hanisch also shared their loved-up picture on New Year's Day.

"Sometimes in life you get extremely lucky, and the smartest, funniest, most beautiful woman comes along when you least expect it. Here's to what adventures 2016 brings!," he captioned the picture.
With Amaravati being developed as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, MPs from the state have sought better rail connectivity to it.

Cutting across party lines, 16 MPs have sought more connectivity from all parts of AP and important stations of other states to Amaravati, South Central Railway General Manager, Ravindra Gupta said today after a meeting with the lawmakers.

"We have already conducted a survey and the same was submitted to the Railway Ministry. I hope it would be positively considered by the Ministry in the interest of the state," Gupta said.

The MPs submitted a memorandum, demanding introduction and extension of trains, new stoppages, change of timings for certain trains, installation of escalators and lifts facility at various stations among other issues, he said.

"The demands will be considered...Final decision for the proposals submitted by the MPs would be taken at the Board level only," Gupta said.

Railways is mulling constructing a new terminal at Tirupati in view of the increasing traffic, the General Manager added.

Out of the 32 MPs invited, 16 of them attended the meeting.

(Reopens BES28)



Meanwhile, six ruling TDP MPs left the meeting midway, alleging that the Railways failed to meet their previous demands regarding passenger amenities in their respective regions.

The six MPs -- Kesineni Srinivas, T Narasimham, J C Diwakrara Reddy, N Kishtappa, K Narayana Rao, M venkateswara Rao -- walked out of the meeting, and told reporters that such meeting does not provide any solution to the problems of passengers.

"Rail officials are 'adamant' and have failed to meet the passenger requirements. Even small issues, which we had put forward previously, were not resolved by the officials," Srinivas said.

The MPs said Railway (authority) should first fulfil their previous demands and then convene fresh meetings to discuss new issues.

Meanwhile, other MPs from parties BJP, YSR Congress expressed satisfaction during the meeting.

YSRCP MPs YV Subba Reddy and Rajamohan Reddy thanked the Prime Minister and Railway Minister for sanctioning and allocation of funds in the current budget for Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway line. They sought that the project be completed within the stipulated period.

They also demanded introduction of new trains on the Tirupati-Shirdi and Vijayawada-Bangalore routes.
Normal life was affected today in the four districts of Odisha following a 12-hour strike called by the ruling BJD to protest against the Polavaram project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The party also tried to draw the attention of President Pranab Mukherjee after submitting a memorandum for the second time within a span of one month, over the alleged injustice meted out to them.

Report from the districts said business establishments, educational institutions and government offices remained closed in the districts of Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Malkangiri.

Road and rail traffic was also affected.

While the party workers called a 'hartal' in the tribal hinterland of Odisha, ministers and senior MLAs staged a dharna near the Raj Bhavan protesting against the Polavaram project.

A BJD delegation met Governor SC Jamir and handed him over a memorandum addressed to the President.

The party alleged that the Centre accorded National Project status to Polavaram when the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.

"All rules and laws of the land have been violated in order to support the Polavaram project. Is Odisha not part of India," asked Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma said no public hearing was conducted before granting environmental, forest and R&R clearance to the project.

Describing the Centre's attitude towards Odisha as "step-motherly", Tourism Minister Ashok Panda alleged that the Centre blindly supports Andhra Pradesh which has been building a project by violating all norms.

The ruling party alleged that the project will lead to submergence of 7,656 hectares of land in Malkangiri district and displace nearly 7,000 tribal people.

"Three states like Odisha, Chhattishgarh and Telengana would be affected by the project, the Centre supported only Andhra Pradesh," they said.

"We have given a proposal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create three barrages instead to a big dam. If the dam is created 302 villages will be submerged, while if three barrages are created then, only 74 villages will be drowned. But no one is looking into the proposal," the BJD leaders said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today appealed to people to celebrate upcoming 'Pongal' festival in a way that it will create awareness about traditions and culture of the state and foster unity among people.

People of Andhra Pradesh celebrate Pongal as a big festival. Utilise this opportunity to celebrate it in a different way this year to create awareness among the people on traditions and culture of the state, and at the same time such celebrations create unity among the people, an official release quoted the CM as saying.

Naidu made the appeal through a teleconference from his camp at Kurnool.

He appealed to people to organise separate long-run competitions for the youth, women and farmers on the occasion.

'Pongal' or 'Makar Sankranti' falls on January 15.

He asked the officials to organise various competitions for animals, photo exhibitions on the success of government schemes and particularly management of water.

The CM also instructed the officials to prepare a 'water map' for all villages and display it for public viewing to create awareness on the availability of water in their village.
India today said it was awaiting a detailed report from Afghan security agencies on perpetrators of the terror attack on its Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan.

"The Indian Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif was the target of a terrorist attack. The report that we have received from the Afghanistan government yesterday indicate that the armed- terrorists attacked the Consulate General on India...," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Asked if India knew who was behind the attack, he said, "The investigation by Afghan security agency was on and the government awaits a report."



He also referred to the telephonic conversation between Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the Afghan leader briefed him about the attack. In return, Modi thanked him for the exemplary bravery and courage shown by the Afghan National Security Forces in thwarting the attack.
Delhi Police has arrested a madrassa teacher from Bangalore for suspected links with al-Qaeda, police said today.

The accused, identified as Maulana Anzar Shah, was arrested yesterday from Bangalore by a team of Delhi Police's Special Cell and was today produced before a court here, which sent him to police custody till January 20, said a senior police officer.

Shah is suspected to have links with the al-Qaeda module in the Indian sub-continent and allegedly met members of the module, unearthed by Delhi Police around a month ago, said the officer.

"Investigation is underway. Further details will emerge during Shah's interrogation," the officer said.
With a target to surpass business announcements made last year, West Bengal Government is all set to showcase high growth story at the third edition of Bengal Global Business Summit beginning here tomorrow.

Highlighting the advantages of doing business in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already welcomed investors from the country and abroad to exploit the opportunities offered by her government.

"The Mamata Banerjee government is confident of a much higher investment in the state at the summit," state Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra said today.

"We are looking at investment in newer areas, addition of numbers, fructification of projects and labour intensive investments," he said.

Hopeful of major investments during the summit, Mitra said land acquisition was no longer a problem as the state had a large land parcel of 4,400 acres of industrial park at its disposal.

The work culture, he said, had greatly improved in the state and there was no loss of man-days in the last three years.

The summit will be attended by Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, British Employment Minister Priti Patel, Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, besides Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and industry leaders from across the country, officials said.

"Invites have been sent to industry bigwigs such as Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani," state government officials said.

Mitra himself left no stone unturned during his recent trip to Mumbai to woo investors and ensure the participation of big names in the summit.

The summit will focus on emerging areas such as start-ups, smart cities, growth of IT and financial hubs, development of industrial infrastructure, skills and services and cluster leadership for MSME sectors which are expected to drive growth in the coming years.

The summit aims to collaborate with the business community, investors, and intellectual capital from across the country, they said.
With the addition of 25,000 hospital beds and increase in health budget by five times in West Bengal, private hospitals feel that health sector is on the verge of a turnaround in the state.

"Just look at the statistics on the kind of infrastructure which we have built up in the last few years. Health costs have reduced for the poor due to various schemes launched by the government. Health service availability has improved a lot," Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals CEO Dr Rupali Basu told PTI.

Private healthcare providers were working with the government to showcase the success of the state in the health sector during the Bengal Global Business Summit, which starts tomorrow.

During the last 4-5 years, sick newborn care units have increased to 45 from six, indoor treatment and medicines in all government hospitals have been made free for the poor.

A number of fair price diagnostic centres have been set up, which provide services at discounted rates and even for free when it comes to poor patients.

To subsidise health and built infrastructure, plan expenditure out of state budget has been increased by five times to Rs 5159.86 crore during 2011-2015.

Harsh Lodha, chairman, Birla Corporation Ltd, which runs few hospitals including the super-speciality Belle Vue Clinic, says statistics speak for itself.

"I will say that services at government hospitals are now at par with the private sector. It is a big success of the state government," Lodha said.
BJP today paid glowing tributes to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with top party leaders hailing him as a "statesman", "staunch nationalist" and "a great son of India" whose death has caused an "irreparable loss" to the country.

As top saffron leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, showered encomiums on the departed leader, it was as much a nod to the political acumen and stature of the man whose party (PDP) was long accused by BJP of nursing soft separatism before they joined hands last year, paving the way for him to rule the state for a second time.

"He was a rare politician, a popular CM and an efficient administrator. He ceaselessly worked for the state's development. The demise of Sayeed is an irreparable loss not only for Jammu & Kashmir but for the entire country. His death has created a void in politics which is difficult to fill," Shah said.

BJP veteran L K Advani noted that the former Union Home Minister had survived several attacks on his life by Kashmiri separatists opposed to Indian rule and hailed him for "successfully" leading the BJP-PDP coalition government. "He was a very popular leader," he said.

Union Minister and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari described Sayeed as a "staunch nationalist" who always worked for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and devoted his entire life to the welfare of all its regions.

"His death has left a great void in the politics of J&K. Mufti Sahab will be remembered as a great son of India," Gadkari said in his effusive tribute.

Earlier, Modi hailed him for providing a healing touch to J&K through his leadership.

"He will be missed by all of us. Condolences to his family and supporters. What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum," Modi said.

Expressing sadness over his death, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Sayeed passed away when the country and the state needed him the most.

"A true statesman amongst the politicians of the current era," he said.

Sayeed, 79, passed away at AIIMS where he was hospitalised on December 24.

(Reopens DEL41)



BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said Sayeed was a visionary leader who dedicated his entire life to a united and strong J&K and India. "His demise at a crucial juncture is saddening. Condolences," he said.

Madhav had played a key role in sewing up his party's alliance with PDP.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said he was shocked to know about the sudden demise of Sayeed and expressed his condolences.

In a tweet, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said, "Saddened to hear about Mufti Sahab's demise. Wishing his family peace and strength during this difficult time.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair urged Moamer Kadhafi to stand aside and find a bolthole in the early days of the Libyan uprising, telephone transcripts released today showed.

Blair urged the Libyan dictator to stop the violence, start a process of change, stand aside, resolve the situation peacefully and keep communications open between them.

Kadhafi insisted Libya was under attack from sleeper cells from the Al-Qaeda terror network who wanted to take north Africa and attack Europe - and if Western forces intervened, Libya would end up "like Iraq".

"If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully," Blair warned.

The transcripts cast light on Kadhafi's thinking as the uprising began to escalate.

They were published by the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, which is examining the Western intervention in Libya's civil war and Britain's options now concerning the troubled country.

Committee chair Crispin Blunt said they would consider "whether Kadhafi's prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups... Was wrongly ignored" due to his "otherwise delusional" world view.

Evidence suggests "Western policymakers were rather less perceptive than Kadhafi about the risks of intervention," he said.

The committee quizzed Blair in December on his relationship with Kadhafi, after which the ex-premier, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, provided the phone transcripts released today.

The uprising that overthrew Kadhafi's regime began in mid-February 2011.

The two calls from Blair were made on February 25, 2011, the second after Blair reported back to US and European Union figures.

Kadhafi fled Tripoli that August and was killed on October 25.

Libya has since plunged into lawlessness, with the country splitting into two warring factions.

Though out of office, Blair had influence with Kadhafi as his 2004 so-called "deal in the desert" brought Libya in from the cold as Tripoli scrapped its chemical weapons.

Kadhafi claimed Al-Qaeda cells had been attacking police stations, saying: "They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe."



Blair said: "The way to deal with this is the leader says and makes clear he wants a peaceful outcome.

"The use of airplanes to attack cities and the use of force against civilians - this has to stop."



In the second call, Kadhafi said he was preparing to "arm the people" for a battle against "colonisation".

"If you want to reap Libya we are ready to fight, it will be like Iraq," he said.
Keith Vaz, Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP, caused a social media frenzy when he took down his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Vaz, who chairs the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee and is extremely active online, quickly stepped in to quash speculation over his social media disappearance.

"The account is being refurbished with new pictures and a profile for example, but we've created a new account in the meantime, and we're trying to get Twitter to verify that," said a spokesperson for Vaz, who has just returned from a visit to Goa - his home state.

Earlier this week, he met Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and invited him to visit the UK and suggested that a major event be held in the state as part of the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture.

The disappearance of his social media accounts yesterday led some to speculate is a newspaper was planning a story about Vaz.

Others wondered if Vaz had been driven off as a result of abusive messages.

But it seems the Leicester East MP for the Labour party is just going through a New Year makeover.

"Back in the UK to find @jeremycorbyn has reshuffled, parts of the country have flooded and Foxes no longer top. Must not leave again," the minister tweeted from his new temporary account.

Jeremy Corbyn, the surprise winner of Labour's leadership election last year, has been at the centre of a prolonged controversy since last week as he mulled over a reshuffle, which ended with the firing of shadow culture secretary Michael Duhger and shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden.

Shadow railways minister Jonathan Reynolds, shadow foreign affairs minister Stephen Doughty and shadow minister for the armed forces Kevan Jones resigned in protest over the sackings.
Cairn Enterprise Centre Society and Rajasthan Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) today signed a pact to provide clean and safe drinking water in 800 villages in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Cairn has planned the CSR intervention to support the Rajasthan government's on water treatment to make water safe for drinking and ensuring delivery of the safe drinking water to households.

The initiative involves setting up of 333 small scale Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants (1,000 to 3,000 lph capacity) over the next 3 years to provide safe drinking water to a large number of people (estimated in excess of 1 million) living in 800 villages.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency over a massive natural-gas leak that has been spewing fumes into a Los Angeles neighbourhood for months.

In a statement yesterday, Brown said he acted based on the requests of local residents in the community of Porter Ranch and the "prolonged and continuing" nature of the gas blowout at the underground storage facility.

The well, owned by Southern California Gas Co, has been spewing up to 1,200 tons of methane daily, along with other gases. The leak was first reported in October.

The utility is paying to relocate thousands of households after residents complained that the stench has made them sick.

They have reported nosebleeds, nausea and other ailments. Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles school board already have declared the crisis a state of emergency, moving students out of two schools in the neighbourhood.

The governor's move, among other measures, directs efforts by California agencies in stopping the leak, and it orders emergency regulations for other gas-storage facilities throughout the state.

Brown toured the site of the leak for the first time earlier this week. The governor previously has resisted local calls for a state declaration, saying he wanted to make sure the utility, rather than the state, bore the financial cost.
US Secretary of State John Kerry today asserted that one cannot continue business as usual in the aftermath of North Korea's nuclear test, as he said that America had been pushing China to use its influence over Pyongyang but it did not work.

"We cannot continue business as usual," Kerry told reporters at a State Department news conference as he refuted allegations that the US had taken its eye off the lid in last few years from North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

Responding to a question, Kerry said he himself and the Obama Administration at the highest level has been pushing China for past few years to use its influence over North Korea from developing its nuclear weapons programme.

Kerry said that China had promised to work on this and the United States agreed on the Chinese plan of action.

"That (Chinese action plan) has not worked (on North Korea)," the Secretary of State said.

"Let me just make it clear, North Korea has never been left unattended to. Not for one day. We have had meetings, we have had constant consultations," Kerry said.

"On the first trip that I made to China when I raised the issue of the climate negotiation that resulted in China joining with us, I spent most of that trip and most of that time on North Korea," he added.

"Now China had a particular approach that it wanted to make and we agreed and respected to give them the space to be able to implement that, but today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear, that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual," Kerry said in response to a question.

"But there have been any number of trips, any number of conversations that will show you how that premise is absolutely inaccurate, it's without foundation," said the Secretary of State.
Fair trade regulator CCI today approved acquisition of Panasonic's battery business by Japan's GS Yuasa Corp.

In October last year, Panasonic agreed to transfer its lead acid battery business, which is mainly operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Panasonic Storage Battery Co Ltd (PSB), to GS Yuasa.

In a tweet, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said, "...Approves acquisition of lead-acid storage battery business of Panasonic Corporation by GS Yuasa International Limited."



As per the agreement, Panasonic will transfer 85.1 per cent of PSB shares to GS Yuasa and will own the remaining 14.9 per cent for two years in order to support the business transition.

Panasonic will also transfer lead acid batteries business in overseas to GS Yuasa Group in addition to the this transfer.

In India, GS Yuasa is present through a joint venture with Tata group firm Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd. The joint venture -- TATA AutoComp GY Batteries Pvt Ltd produces Tata Green Batteries.

It has its manufacturing unit at MIDC Ranjangaon, near Pune in Maharashtra.

GS Yuasa is engaged in manufacturing and sales of automotive batteries, industrial batteries, power supply systems, switch gear and lighting equipment, among others.
The Competition Commission has given its approval to global private equity firm General Atlantic Singapore Fund's proposed acquisition of 21.61 per cent stake in IIFL Wealth Management for an estimated Rs 1,122 crore.

IIFL Wealth Management Ltd is a wealth management subsidiary of IIFL Holdings Ltd.

The fair trade regulator, which keeps tab on unfair business practices across sectors, has approved the acquisition as the deal may not have an adverse impact on competition in the country.

IIFL Holdings, in October, announced that General Atlantic will make a strategic investment to become a minority shareholder in its wealth subsidiary IIFL Wealth Management.

"General Atlantic's investment will help to support the company's continued growth and platform expansion as the premier wealth management company in India," IIFL Holdings had said.

In a tweet today, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved the "acquisition of up to 21.61 per cent of share capital of India Infoline Wealth Management Ltd by General Atlantic Singapore".

Overall, the IIFL Holdings had said the transactions would result "in total investments of Rs 1,122.34 crore from General Atlantic (GA) leading to an equity ownership by GA of up to 21.61 per cent in IIFLW on a fully diluted basis"



As on September 30, 2015, IIFL Holdings held 76.79 per cent stake in IIFL Wealth Management.

IIFL Wealth was founded in 2008 by IIFL Holdings with Karan Bhagat, Yatin Shah and Amit Shah. IIFL Wealth has about USD 12 billion worth of assets for over 8,600 clients through its over 150 relationship managers.
The central government has given final approval to the proposed Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Chhattisgarh's upcoming capital Naya Raipur.

State Secretary, Commerce and Industries, Subodh Kumar Singh today said that the final approval to the project was accorded by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology during a meeting in New Delhi last week.

Earlier, Chief Minister Raman Singh had urged Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during a recent meeting in the national capital to ensure approval to the project to promote eco-friendly non-core sector in the state.

The proposed EMC to come up in 70 acres area as a special industrial park, will see the manufacturing of television set, CCTV cameras, set-top box, LED lights, computer related equipmentand other electronic gadgets, he added.

It will be located at Tuta village in Sector-22 of Naya Raipurwhere around 61 industries would be set up which are expected to draw investments worth around Rs 2,000 crore.

The industrial zone would provide jobs to at least 3,800 people, he said.

The project will be set up by the state government agency Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) in next three years, Singh added.

State government has completed requisite preparation for development of EMC and work in this regard will start immediately, he added.
Union Minister of State (MoS) for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria today said the Centre was mulling to relieve government school teachers from non-academic assignments such as election duty etc, in order to improve the quality of education.

According to Katheria, deliberations are on to find out a solution so that teachers are not occupied in such non-academic work which adversely affects the education of children.

"These school teachers are given election and Census data collection duties. They are also given assignments for implementing various schemes. Our government has taken up this issue. We are doing deliberations to find out a solution," said Katheria, who was here for the 19th Nirma International Conference on Management held at Nirma University.

He further stated that the government also wanted to make sure that the teachers focused only on imparting education.

The issue of putting teachers for election as well as Census duties has been a widely debated issue in India, as directives also came from Supreme Court in this regard in the past, where it asked the government not to assign such duties to teachers during working hours.

Time and again, various teachers' associations as well as schools across India have raised objections on the practice, claiming such non-academic tasks given to the teachers was hampering the education of children.

On being asked about the government's stand in this regard, Katheria told media persons, "We also want that teachers are not given such duties, so that they can concentrate only on imparting education. We are trying our best to find a solution.
Amid dramatic scenes and vociferous demonstrations by the FTII students, TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan today took charge as Chairman of the premiere institute here, even as police detained nearly 40 protesters who were calling him a "political appointee".

The FTII administration said Chauhan had officially taken over as chairman of the institute.

Earlier, police rounded up about 40 student protesters using force as they staged a demonstration, beating drums and displaying placards with slogans of "Gajendra Chauhan go back". The controversial appointee at that point was confined to his hotel room in the vicinity of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

When asked about the continuing students' protest to his appointment, Chauhan, before reaching the campus, said, "We have come to do a job. We have an agenda and we will do our job."



The FTII Students Association (FSA) members, who had earlier called-off their 139-day strike last year opposing Chauhan's appointment alleging that he lacked stature to head the institute, gathered early in the morning at the main gate of the FTII, ignoring a warning issued yesterday by police to maintain peace at the time of Chauhan's entry on the campus.

A scuffle ensued between police and the protesters as police used force to put them in vans and detain them to clear the gate before Chauhan left for FTII to take charge.

A woman student of the FTII, Shimi told PTI, "We were protesting peacefully to register our dissent because political appointees are taking charge as members of the FTII Society. We got beaten up without provocation and taken to police station. Our protest and resistance will continue."



However, Pune's Deputy Commissioner of Police Tushar Joshi, who was on the spot, said, "We had asked the students to demonstrate peacefully, but we had to use force because they wanted to block the way to the institute and therefore we had to detain them. We used minimum force."



The students continued to raise anti-Chauhan slogans even as his car entered the FTII premises.

Other controversial members of the FTII society with alleged BJP affiliation -- Rahul Solapurkar, Angha Ghaisas, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak -- also attended the first meeting convened by Chauhan as the chairman.

Meanwhile, the FSA said that though they had withdrawn their prolonged strike on October 28 despite lack of response from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to their demand for removal of Chauhan, the students were determined to carry on their resistance to his political appointment in a peaceful manner.
Two persons, who were allegedly involved in the trafficking of a four-year-old boy, have been arrested by Delhi Police from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnore district and the boy has been rescued.

The accused, identified as Nazra (45) and her associate Furkan allegedly kidnapped the boy from old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area, and sold the boy to one Suhail (30). While Nazra and Suhail have been arrested, Furkan is still at large, DCP (North) Madhur Verma said.

On July 31 last year, one Chandu Ram, who along with his wife and two children lived at a shelter home in Chandni Chowk, lodged a complaint in Kotwali police station about the kidnapping of his son Deepak, police said.

Following the recovery of some CCTV footage, police suspected that a woman and a man were allegedly involved in the incident.

"During the six-month-long investigation, a special team was sent to Meerut and Hasanpur districts of UP based on tip-offs, but the efforts did not yield any result," police said.

Acting on a tip-off again, police conducted a raid and the minor was traced at a house in Bijnore, following which the child was rescued and the accused arrested yesterday, police said.

During interrogation, the accused told police that the minor was sold to Suhail for Rs 30,000, police said.

The child has been handed over to his parents and efforts are on to nab the absconding accused Furkan, they added.
A Chinese university will start a school specialising in anti-terrorism courses to cash in on the growing demand for security personnel following the counter-terrorism law that came into effect from January 1.

The Northwest University of Political Science and Law in Xi'an, in the northwest Shaanxi province, which is starting the school specialising in courses like counter-terrorism would take in law graduates and teach them the latest anti-terrorism theories and practices, Zhang Jinping who is managing the establishment of the school told state-run Global Times.

The institute would award masters degrees and doctorates in anti-terrorism studies, the university said.

Enrolment of the first class of undergraduate students is now underway, and the programme will formally commence at the start of the spring term, Zhang said.

Zhang said that students will be required to take courses in conventional disciplines such as law, religion, politics and sociology in addition to anti-terrorism courses, adding that the purpose is to cultivate interdisciplinary competency.

"The school of anti-terrorism is being founded to respond to the country's demand for anti-terrorism specialists," said the professor, who noted that China is still facing severe threats of terrorism.

The university is, in fact, not the first in China to set up an anti-terrorism school.

In 2014, the People's Public Security University of China in Beijing expanded its department of public security intelligence into an anti-terrorism school, Chen Gang, dean of the School of Anti-terrorism told the daily.

"Students in the anti-terrorism track need to have comprehensive knowledge in multiple areas such as religion, ethnicity and criminology," Chen said.

Chen is optimistic about the future employment prospects of the school's graduates.

China's security chief Meng Jianzhu emphasised the importance of improving the country's anti-terrorism capabilities and deepening cooperation efforts at an anti-terrorism work meeting in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region where Chinese security forces are battling militants from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

At the end of that month, China's top legislative body passed the country's first anti-terrorism law.

The drafting of the law was accelerated after a series of terror attacks in China, including the 2014 attack in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, which left 31 dead and 141 injured.

The law, which came into effect on January 1, aims to create a legal framework to both address terrorism at home and help maintain global security.
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The implementation of China's two-child policy from this month is facing difficulties when many working women complained of restrictions imposed by their employers in having second baby fearing staff shortage.

Liu Qian, a 31-year-old bank teller, is eligible to have a second child, but she has to wait because of the unwritten rules of her employer.

"We planned to have a second child after becoming eligible, but when I submitted an application, I was disappointed by the rules of our bank," Liu was quoted as saying by Qilu Evening .

All Chinese couples have been allowed to have two children since January 1 after the national legislature amended the over three-decade-old controversial one-child per couple family planning policy.

"According to the unwritten rules of our bank, those who want to have a second child must give way to those having a first child," she said.

"I am allowed to have a second child in 2018, according to our bank's rules," said Liu.

"If I can't get pregnant within half a year, then I have to wait for the next round," said Liu.

Liu is not alone. A woman surnamed Zheng in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, said she was told to submit an application one year before she wants to have a child, and then the company will make a timetable for those employees who want to have children in case several employees get pregnant within one year.

"Making a timetable for employees who want to have a child is understandable," said Yu Wei, who manages a laundry shop in Jinan, capital of Shandong.

"Half of my employees are female and 20 per cent of them want to have a second child," said Yu, adding that if several employees get pregnant within one year, it will be fatal to his business.

Chen Ruifu, a lawyer at Qilu Law Firm, said employers should talk to employees to see if they can reach an agreement over the timing of having a child.

"It's illegal to meddle in women's reproductive rights. Employers who fine employees for disobeying company rules about having a child violate the national law," Chen said.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women prohibits employers from imposing restrictions on female employees' marriage and reproduction.

China has scrapped one child policy as the world's most populated nation faced demographic crisis with the rapid growth of the old age population.

While previous surveys pointed to lukewarm response to the two child policy, a later survey said nearly seven out of 10 unmarried people in an online survey by a large dating website said they want two children.

Previous surveys by the official media said most of over 90 million eligible couples were reluctant to have second child fearing economic burden.
Coal India arm Mahanadi Coalfields today said it has crossed 100 million tonne production milestone and is taking steps to achieve the target of 150 million tonne output for the current fiscal.

"Coal major Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) today crossed the 100 million tonne coal production milestone in a record 281 days during current financial year 2015-16," the company said in a statement.

"Working hours on January 6, 2016, ended with the MCL registering 100.03 million tonne coal production," it added.

The company, on December 28, 2015, had crossed 100 million tonne dispatch of coal to its various consumers, primarily power producers, it said.

MCL had produced 121 million tonnes of coal during 2014-15.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal production. The government has set a production target of 550 million tonne for the PSU for the current fiscal.

Coal India missed the production target for 2014-15 by 3 per cent, recording an output of 494.23 million tonnes.

The government has set one billion tonne production goal for Coal India (CIL) by 2020.
Seeking to enhance maritime co-operation with Myanmar, especially in the Bay of Bengal region, the Indian Coast Guard chief has embarked on a four-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

Coast Guard's Director General Vice Admiral H C S Bisht's visit commenced on January 6 and it will last till January 9.

A Indian Coast Guard ship 'Varad' also made a port call at Yangon today and it will be there until January 11.

During Bisht's visit to the neighbouring nation, both sides are expected to discuss maritime issues related to smuggling and possible joint exercises.

Myanmar shares land and sea border with India and is also an Indian Ocean littoral state.

During his visit, Bisht will meet several high-ranking officials of Myanmar Armed Forces including Senior General Ming Aung Alaing, Commander in Chief of Myanmar Defence Forces and Commander in Chief of the Myanmar Navy Vice Admiral Tin Aung San.

Bisht will also visit various training and operational facilities at Mandalay and Yangon.

'Varad' undertakes anti-smuggling, anti-poaching patrols in addition to tasks related to preservation and protection of marine environment and search and rescue (SAR) operations at sea. The ship can also carry a Chetak helicopter that enhances the surveillance, interdiction and SAR capabilities of the ship.
Supporters of a Shiite Muslim cleric in Nigeria are calling for his release, more than three weeks after he was arrested by the military during a bloody crackdown on his group.

The military and police have assured followers of Ibrahim Zakzaky, who heads the pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), that he is alive and well.

But nothing has been heard from him since he was arrested with his wife on December 13, fuelling fears about his health and the potential for a new security threat Nigeria could do without.

Human Rights Watch have claimed soldiers killed "at least 300" IMN members in the raid in the ancient city of Zaria, in the northern state of Kaduna that began the previous day.

Three of Zakzaky's sons, his deputy, the group's spokesman and head of security were reportedly among those who died when troops tried to reach the cleric's house.

Nigeria's military, who alleged IMN members tried to "assassinate" chief of army staff General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, dismissed the claimed death toll, calling it "unsubstantiated".

Diplomatically, Iran is watching events closely and has voiced its concern about the situation while there were protests outside the West African country's embassy in Tehran.

Contradictory statements from Nigeria's security services on Zakzaky's whereabouts have added to the uncertainty and sparked anger among his followers.

Buratai himself said on December 17 that Zakzaky had been transferred to "the relevant authorities for prosecution", according to local media reports.

Federal police chief Solomon Arase then confirmed he was in police custody but was waiting for "orders from above" about the next move.

With Zakzaky reportedly shot four times and gravely injured, rumours swirled the police were buying time to allow him to recuperate, fearing a backlash if he was seen in poor health.

On December 29, federal police spokeswoman Olabisi Kolawole was quoted as telling one newspaper Zakzaky had been charged with "criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances".

"He has been remanded in prison custody and the case adjourned," Kolawole was quoted as telling The Punch daily.

But Kaduna prison chief Abubakar Argungu said the next day: "We only have 191 followers of the Shiite sect in our custody. But we do not have their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, with us.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi today expressed shock and grief at the passing away of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and hailed him as a "humanist".

Sonia also visited AIIMS, where Sayeed had been undergoing treatment for the past few days, in the morning to pay her condolences.

The Chief Minister died this morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was admitted for the past 15 days.

Extending her condolences to his wife and daughter Mehbooba Mufti, other family members and friends, the Congress president said that in his death, the state of Jammu and Kashmir as indeed the entire nation had lost a great leader.

Recalling his long association with the Congress party, Sonia said, "Muftiji's contribution as a humanist and to public life in various capacities will forever be remembered."



Rahul, who is away on a vacation to Europe, condoled the Kashmir leader's death on Twitter.

"Extremely saddened to learn of the passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Saab. My condolences to his family and supporters.

"A veteran politician, he had a long & distinguished political career. His loss will be deeply mourned in J&K and across the country," he tweeted.

At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Kapil Sibal said that Muftiji had a very deep rooted relationship with Congress as also with late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
A Delhi court will next week hear the ongoing arguments on an application of Delhi government seeking release of documents seized by CBI during its raid on December 15 last year at the office of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.

The part arguments on the plea was heard by Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain who fixed the matter for January 15.

In its plea, the Delhi government has said that CBI should be asked to release documents which were not essential for the purpose of probe, seized by it "indiscriminately".

It has also sought initiation of stringent action against erring officials responsible for raiding "malafidely the office of applicant and seizing documents which cause immense dislocation of work in the office of the applicant."



"The sole objective of raid at 'said premises' was to malafidely intrude, obstruct and dislocate the work of government of NCT of Delhi as such and cause immense harm, juxtaposed with state's functions to secure societal reforms, welfare, security and privacy," the plea filed by the Delhi government has said.

It also said that documents seized from Chief Minister's office include registers maintained for noting down telephone numbers and appointment details of day-to-day functioning of the office and such documents were not relevant for the probe being conducted by the agency.

Earlier on December 23 last year, the court had directed that photocopies of the files mentioned in the government's plea be supplied to it by December 28 last year.

CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others on the allegations that he had abused his official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments".

The case was lodged for the alleged offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In its order, the court noted that CBI could not explain



what were the illegal commissions obtained in these accounts by the company.

"The basis of seizure of the bank account does not appear that the applicant company has either not performed the work or performed sub-standard work," it said.

"It is not the case of CBI till present stage, according to their reply and arguments, that the applicant company has not executed the contracts properly or performed sub-standard work," the court said.

On December 15 last year, CBI had raided the office of Rajendra Kumar, close to the Chief Minister's office here, in connection with the case.

According to the CBI, "Rajender Kumar had played an active role in the process of promising and facilitating award of tender to a pre determined party i.E., M/s Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd due to extraneous considerations and devoid of public interest which shows clear element of abuse of official position and criminal conspiracy among the accused persons including the Directors of the present applicant company."



CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others on the allegations against the officer that he had abused his official position by favouring the firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments.

Kumar has been booked under section 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly favouring the company in five contracts worth Rs 9.5 crore during 2007-14.
The Communist Party of India will chalk out its strategy for the five poll-bound state during its three-day national council conclave beginning tomorrow at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

"Our party will have preliminary discussions with regard to the polls to be held for the five states (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam). The discussion will focus on the political strategy to be followed for the elections," CPI national secretary D Raja told reporters here.

He said the party will also discuss ongoing political developments at the conclave.

Raja said the NDA Government has "failed" in all aspects and that government is following a "right wing" agenda.

"Country's economy is in bad shape. There is no growth in manufacturing sector. Agriculture is in distress. Unemployment is on rise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no answer for all these issues. We are going to discuss all these issues during the meeting tomorrow," Raja added.

The CPI leader suggested that India and Pakistan could conduct joint operations to flush out terrorists and resolve pending issues.

He condemned the Pathankot terror attack and demanded that government should come out with answers on the "security lapses" that led to the incident.

Meanwhile, CPI General Secretary, Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told reporters in Guntur that the party will hold discussions with other Left parties on probable electoral alliance if the national council decides so.

He said the CPI has decided to declare 2016 as the 'Year of Struggle' against the NDA government's "anti-people and anti-national" policies.

Reddy said the CPI will organise protests throughout the year against various policies of Central government.

"NDA has completely failed to fulfil the electoral promises, particularly curbing the price rise," he said, adding that the government has "failed" to avert the Pathankot terror attack.
About 15 kg of gold, valued about Rs 4 crore, has been seized by the Customs department from passengers who were trying to smuggle them in at the Delhi airport, Customs officials said today.

On January 4, a passenger from Dubai was caught by the Customs officials with 2 gold bars weighing 2 kg following intelligence inputs.

The same night, the officials also caught a passenger coming in from Bangkok with 9 gold bars weighing one kg each.

Similarly, a passenger coming in from Dubai was arrested yesterday as he tried to smuggle in 810 gms of gold concealed in his trolley.

Another passenger coming in from Kolkata was held and 1575 gms were seized. The passenger had taken the gold from the toilet of an aircraft which had come from Dubai.

Six gold bars, weighing 100 gms each, was also recovered from a passenger who had hidden it in an iron, Customs officials said.
The Bombay High Court today expressed surprise at the failure of CBI and the state CID in obtaining a ballistics report from Karnataka CID which reportedly shows a link between the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Kannada scholar-writer M M Kalburgi.

A division bench of Justices R V More and V L Achiliya was informed that Maharashtra CID, which is probing Pansare case and CBI, which is investigating the Dabholkar case, had last year handed over bullets and empty bullet shells to the Karnataka CID which is probing the Kalburgi murder case. The objective was to ascertain possible links between three cases.

Advocate Abhay Nevgi, appearing for the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare, today said as per the media reports the FSL in Bengaluru had claimed that the bullets recovered from the crime spots in these three cases were fired from the same weapon.

CBI lawyer Anil Singh and public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde (for CID) told the court that senior officers from both the agencies had written to the Director General of Karnataka CID for ballistics report, but it was yet to come.

"Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report? We are surprised that CBI is making such a grievance. We are surprised that Karnataka CID is not cooperating with a prime agency like CBI," the High Court said.

"We direct the Maharashtra DGP and the CBI's Director to take up the issue with the Karnataka DGP and the DG-CID and see to it that the reports are made available at the earliest," the HC said.

Non-cooperation from Karnataka CID was hampering the probe, the judges noted.

Maharashtra CID told the court it had filed charge sheet against Sameer Gaikwad, the only arrested accused in the Pansare murder case, and further probe was underway as other accused were yet to be arrested.

The court later adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

While Dabholkar was killed in Pune in August 2013, Pansare was killed in Kolhapur last year. HC is hearing petitions regarding the probe in both the cases.
A mortar attack was the cause of a deadly incident on December 23 at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport that left one person dead and damaged several planes, Turkish prosecutors said on Thursday.

Four mortar shells were fired from a forested area around two kilometres from the airport, prosecutors said in a statement carried by the Anatolia agency.

A Kurdish group calling itself the Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan had claimed the action as revenge for the Turkish army's relentless military campaign in the Kurdish-dominated southeast.

But two weeks after the incident, this was the first official statement confirming an attack.

Airport cleaner Zehra Yamac, 30, died of head wounds while five planes suffered slight damage as a result of shrapnel from an explosion.

"The investigation has revealed that four mortar shells were fired at around 0215 (0015 GMT) from a wooded area about two kilometres from the airport," the statement said.

"Three of the shells landed on the apron landed next to each other while the other landed on a different area," it said, adding that it was "fragments of shrapnel" from the shells that had hit the nearby planes and the cleaning worker.

It said the forested area was still being examined to determine what the specific target was and who was behind the attack.

The Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan (TAK) said in a statement on December 26 that the airport attack was a response to the "fascist attacks that turn Kurdish cities into ruins."



The attack came as Turkey wages an all-out offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with military operations backed by curfews ongoing to flush out the rebels from several southeastern urban centres.

Turkish officials say the TAK is a front for PKK attacks on civilian targets, but the PKK claims TAK is a splinter group over which it has no control.

There is not believed to have been any precedent for a mortar attack on an airport in Istanbul.

In a second statement on December 30, the TAK warned that the Sabiha Gokcen attack was just the start of a new wave of assaults.

It said this was revenge for the jail conditions of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan -- held on the Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmama -- and military operations in Kurdish cities.

"This is just the beginning of a new war we have launched against the Imrali torture system targeting our leader and the mass killing of the Kurdish people by the fascist dictatorship," it said.
Delhi BJP workers and a group of local residents in central Delhi today paid homage to the fallen security personnel in the Pathankot terror attack.

Six terrorists, who had sneaked into the country from Indo-Pak border in Pakistan, had attacked Indian Air Force base in Pathankot during the intervening night of January 1 and 2.

They were killed during a counter-operation by Indian forces that lasted for about three days in which seven security personnel were killed.

Those men gave their lives while fighting terrorists at the IAF base. The nation will never be able to pay back their debt, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said at the programme held outside Palika Bazar in the busy Connaught Place area.

Besides party workers and leaders many locals also attended the programme organised by BJP's New Delhi district unit.

Another such programme will be organised by the BJP Minority Morcha outside Fatehpuri Masjid, Chandni Chowk, at 1.30 pm tomorrow, party spokesman Praveen Kapoor said.
Amidst the economic crisis in China, billionaire investor Geroge Soros today warned developing countries that they will have to make "harsh" choices as funds are no longer pouring into those nations.

"Money is no longer coming to developing countries and harsh choices will have to be made instead of waiting for things to get better," Soros said.

He warned that external global environment will be hostile in the future and that funds would flow out of developing countries.

The world is now in a deflationary situation and developing countries that benefited from the commodity boom, the 85-year-old business magnate and philanthropist said while addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Forum here.

The forum is backed by George Soros's Open Society Foundation and the Centre for Development at Harvard University.

China's central bank devalued the yuan last Thursday, then announced the biggest month-on-month drop in its foreign exchange reserves. A World Bank report has highlighted weaknesses in China's economy as the currency slid to its weakest point since 2011.

Recent moves by Beijing to depreciate the yuan have ignited fears that the world's second-largest economy is slowing more than expected and could trigger another wave of competitive currency devaluation in the region.

China is responsible for 17 per cent of all the world's economic activity, so any downturn in spending there affects the rest of the world, experts say.

At the forum, Soros said he is looking at investment opportunities in Sri Lanka which has a great scope in tourism.

"I am impressed with this government and what they have achieved in a short period of time," Soros said.

Soros said there were opportunities for Sri Lanka in tourism. "Sri Lanka is a bright spot and I think there is great opportunity in tourism."



The country must make a shift from being an agriculture based economy to a knowledge based economy, he added.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his address to the forum said, his country can be a high income nation in the style of East Asia, if the state fiscal problems can be solved and all communities get together.

He said the island nation was facing challenges, which need to be countered if jobs and high income were to be achieved.

Wickramasinghe said Sri Lanka was now on a path to create an inclusive growth after the end of a decades old separatist conflict where all people would have a better life.

The opposition however has criticised the visit of Soros.

They claimed he was responsible for share market crashes of many nations where he had invested.
Deputy Mayor of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation in Jharkhand, Eklavya Singh, sustained bullet injuries in his neck under mysterious circumstances at his residence here today.

The bullet pierced his neck, said the doctors attending on the 30-year-old deputy mayor.

He was first admitted at Central Hospital of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and later in the afternoon doctors referred him to a hospital in Durgapur in West Bengal, a member of his family said.

The incident occurred at around 11.30 AM when Singh was alone in his room at that time, they said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police D N Banka who visited the hospital refused to comment on the incident till initial probe was completed.

A police team led by Superintendent of Police Rakesh Bansal visited the house of the deputy mayor but did not say anything about the incident.

Singh was elected deputy mayor last year.
Sri Lanka has set in motion the process to set up domestic mechanisms to probe alleged war crimes against ethnic Tamils and the consultation for this will begin next week, foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera said today.

"The domestic mechanisms through which we are trying to address this past, are in the process of being developed and the consultation process to design these mechanisms, will begin next week," Samaraweera said.

He was addressing reporters after meeting the visiting Norwegian foreign minister Borge Brende.

"You are coming to Sri Lanka at a time when Sri Lanka is trying to come to terms with its past and to forge ahead," Samaraweera told Brende.

Brende's visit is the first by a Norwegian foreign minister to Colombo since 2005, when the Nordic country was brokering a fragile cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

Relations between the two countries soured after the ceasefire collapsed in 2006 and Sri Lanka's then-government accused Norway of favoring the Tamil Tiger rebels. Sri Lankan troops crushed the rebels in 2009.

Sri Lanka was the subject of UN Human Rights Council resolution in 2014 which called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes and rights abuses blamed both on the government troops and the LTTE.

The previous Mahinda Rajapaska regime did not cooperate with the investigation, saying it was an attack on the island's sovereignty.

The investigators were denied entry to the country.

The UN Human Rights chief in his report at the last September session of the UNHRC reiterated the call for an international investigation and proposed a hybrid court of international and local judges.

This was despite the Rajapaksa successor Maithripala Sirsena opting for a local mechanism instead of an international investigation.

The joint resolution adopted at the end of the session allowed for a domestic mechanism and offered Sri Lanka technical support to set it up.
A truck bomb attack on a police training centre in Libya's western city of Zliten has killed and wounded dozens of people, local media reports said today.

A report from the LANA national news agency under the control of Libya's internationally recognised government said at least 15 people had been killed and 30 wounded.

A rival news agency loyal to authorities in Tripoli, who are in control of Zliten, said at least 50 people had been killed and 127 wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Libya has been beset by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi and the Islamic State group has been gaining increasing influence.

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said on Twitter that the blast was a suicide attack.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote.

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The United Nations is pressing both sides to accept a power-sharing deal agreed in December.
Branding agency DY Works today said it has won the integrated branding rights for the first multilateral development bank formed and operated by BRICS nations.

"The agency has bagged the integrated branding mandate of New Development Bank (NDB) - a multilateral development bank formed and operated by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)," the company said in a statement.

DY Works was awarded the rights among the participating agencies - three leading branding agencies from each BRICS nation were invited for the pitch that comprised four rounds, it said.

In the final round, DY Works and a leading Chinese Agency were shortlisted.

"The mandate to create a brand for a multi-lateral development bank such that it creates a strong differentiation from others on the landscape including the World Bank, Asia Development Bank. IMF and more, is particularly challenging. It was the proposed brand strategy for the same that won us the pitch," DY Works President Alpana Parida said.

The decision was made by the Board of Directors and the senior management of the team from each of the BRICS countries.

As per the mandate, DY Works will develop brand strategy and design across brand identity system.

Besides, the agency will also be responsible for creation of a visual language, design of office environment and brand principles in architecture and environment design, website and online presence among many other brand touch points.

The New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China, the bank is set up to foster greater financial and development co-operation among the emerging markets.

The Bank appointed KV Kamath as its Chairman in July, 2015 and will commence operations in the current year.
An assistant engineer of Building and Factory department of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was arrested today by the anti-corruption bureau of police while taking a bribe. The same official had faced arrest for taking a bribe ten years ago too.

ACB sleuths caught Anum Nevrekar, the engineer, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh. According to the complaint, he had asked for Rs 5 lakh for not taking action against illegal construction in Byculla area here.

The ACB laid a trap and caught him red-handed, said an ACB release.

Nevrekar had been arrested ten years ago for taking a bribe when he was a junior engineer in the water department.
The Supreme Court today asked Nabam Rebia, allegedly removed by 14 rebel Congress and BJP MLAs from the post of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker, to establish the maintainability of his petition challenging dismissal of one of his pleas by the Gauhati High Court.

"How can you challenge it? This is an administrative order which you are assailing in SLP under Article 136 of the Constitution. You (Kapil Sibal) argue on maintainability," a bench comprising Justices J S Khehar and C Nagappan said.

"Tomorrow is the last working day (in the High Court) before the vacation. A democratically elected government will be out," Rebia's counsel Sibal said, adding that either this court or a division bench of the High Court should hear the matter.

"How can you say as to what is coming," asked the bench.

Rebia, who has challenged in Gauhati High Court various decisions of the Governor and Deputy Speaker including his removal from the Speaker's post, alleged the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court "erroneously rejected" his plea, filed on judicial side, in administrative capacity. He had sought recusal of Justice B K Sharma from hearing his plea.

At the outset, the bench suggested to both parties that it may "request" the Acting Chief Justice to set up a division bench to hear the matter and the two judges, mentioned in the petition, will not be part of the new bench.

A battery of senior lawyers including A K Desai, L Nageshwar Rao and Vikas Singh, representing Deputy Speaker and political opponents of Rebia, opposed it.

They said nobody was alleging anything against the judge concerned and setting up of a new bench cannot be done as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court was the "master of the roaster" who was well within his rights to assign judicial work to a particular bench.

The bench then asked Sibal to establish that Rebia's plea before it is maintainable.

Rebia was removed from the post of the Speaker by 14 rebel Congress MLAs, disqualified by the Speaker, and BJP MLAs on December 16 in an assembly session presided over by the Deputy Speaker in a Community Hall in Itanagar.

The Deputy Speaker, before removing Rebia from Speaker's post, had also quashed the disqualification of the rebel Congress legislators.

(Reopens LGD14)



Later, various decisions of the Governor and the Deputy Speaker were challenged by Rebia in Gauhati High Court which passed an interim order keeping in abeyance the decisions of Governor and Deputy Speaker till February one.

Rebia has now moved the apex court alleging that he had filed an interim application on the judicial side by seeking recusal of Justice B K Sharma from hearing his plea in the High Court.

However, the Acting Chief Justice, on January 4, "has erroneously rejected the Petitioner's recusal application" which should have been decided by Justice B K Sharma whose recusal was sought, Rebia said in his petition.

"Whether the Hon'ble Acting Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court committed an error by passing an administrative order on an application which was moved on the judicial side (as an interim application) for being listed before Justice B K Sharma?



"Whether the Acting Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court committed an error by taking unto himself the Recusal Application, which ought to have been listed for hearing before Justice B K Sharma," Rebia asked in his plea.

He also claimed that the plea, filed in the judicial side, was decided by the Acting Chief Justice in his "administrative" capacity.
The European Union today complained that Turkey wasn't doing enough to significantly decrease the number of people making the dangerous crossing into Greece and beyond to the continent's heartland where many EU nations are struggling to cope with the influx of migrants and refugees.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU is "a long way from being satisfied" with the effort from Ankara so far, especially after offering 3 billion euros in aid and political concessions like an easing of visa restrictions and the fast-tracking of its EU membership process only two months ago.

Germany alone has said that about 3,200 people are arriving each day, many through Turkey, and that numbers haven't declined despite commitments to do something about it. In all, nearly 1.1 million people were registered as asylum-seekers in Germany last year, more than 400,000 of them from Syria.

"There is still a lot of work to do there," said Timmermans, who plans to have talks in Ankara on Monday to discuss progress and see how the EU aid can be used there to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. Turkey is supposed to tighten border security and take back some migrants who don't qualify for asylum in Europe.

"We will continue in our efforts to make sure that we deliver the results that we agreed with Turkey," Timmermans said.

Beyond seeking to contain the refugee crisis by helping Turkey to better keep people from crossing into the EU, the continent is also desperately trying to bolster its porous external borders, especially in the Mediterranean to try to decrease the number of tragedies in 2016 compared to last year.

The EU's reaction has been anything but united, with several nations imposing internal border checks again and few member states coming forward to help ease the burden of countries like Germany and Sweden, which have been among the primary destinations for refugees and asylum-seekers.

"There is no solution in going national like this," Timmermans told a small group of journalists. "Nobody should have the illusion that this is a long-term solution." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, was calling on her European allies to better share responsibility to deal with the migrant crisis.
Alleging that "fabricated" studies were published in foreign journals by JNU researchers on pesticide contamination in Indian vegetables, crop protection industry body CCFI and farm leaders today demanded punitive action against the scientists involved as well as the university.

Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) said studies on pesticide residues published in the US in 2014 and in Europe by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholars claimed to have found residues of 20 different banned pesticides in each of 52 vegetables samples collected in and around Delhi/NCR.

"The fabricated reports on pesticide residues published in the USA and in Europe by JNU researchers alleged 100 per cent contamination of Indian vegetables by 20 different banned pesticides," CCFI said in a statement.

A CCFI official said: "The demand for action is against JNU as well as researchers involved."



Demanding "punitive action against JNU researchers", CCFI said the reports have tarnished image of Indian agriculture.

When contacted a senior JNU official said: "The paper was published by our colleague in an international journal. The university does not come directly into the picture because the faculty is independent to conduct research and publish it.

"The administration doesn't interfere with research activities. If there is something, which is brought to our notice about plagiarism or any such issue, then we take note of it."



Hitting out at the reports, CCFI said the researchers who committed laboratory "misconduct" should be sacked and the PhD awarded should be withdrawn as the government research body ICAR has also raised serious concerns about the JNU findings.

"JNU's failure to be transparent with certain basic data proves there are fundamental flaws in the published study. ...The raw data of the public-funded research study should be accessible and verifiable," CCFI Chairman Rajju Shroff said.

In the statement, CCFI said that Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has also raised serious concerns about the "scientific veracity" of the JNU study in the absence of laboratory data.

"ICAR's monitoring studies found vegetable sample carrying 2-3 per cent of pesticide residues above the maximum residue limits (MRL), whereas the JNU study claimed 100 per cent of samples exceeding the MRL," said K K Sharma, ICAR's network coordinator for monitoring pesticides residues.

ICAR has sent three letters to JNU demanding the raw data, but the latter is still dodging, Sharma said in the statement.

Alleging that the central varsity is "covering up the research misconduct", CCFI said "JNU is unable to produce any laboratory data under the RTI Act. Even the exact date of the laboratory analysis and the names of the chemists remain a secret and unknown".

CCFI said JNU initially cited University Grants



Commission (UGC) guidelines to shield the laboratory data from an open, transparent review.

"The UGC has recently denied that there are any such guidelines to privacy of data behind public funded research work," it said.

Further, it added that "neither the published reports carry chromatograms nor is JNU able to provide the same under the RTI Act. The JNU has refused to provide the laboratory data to the Ministry of Agriculture too".

Attacking the JNU for not following approved standards and protocols and for not doing confirmatory tests, the industry body said: "The findings of the JNU are in stark contrast with the findings of NABL-accredited laboratories functioning under the ICAR.

"It is an accepted protocol and mandatory for any laboratory to maintain all laboratory records, including gas chromatography readings for challenge inspection and verification post publication. The JNU has has failed to follow this."



In the statement, farmer leaders Krishenbir Chaudhary and Bhagwan Das said they suspected a "deep conspiracy behind such fabricated research published abroad" and sought to know who at the JNU allowed such publication outside India without checking the scientific veracity of the findings.
CBI has charge sheeted two former Executive Directors of UCO bank, a private firm and two of its Directors for allegedly cheating the bank to the tune of Rs 36 crore by not repaying the loans.

The CBI filed its charge sheet before the Court of Special Judge for CBI cases in Nagpur against Maven Industries Limited, its directors Ashok Kumar Rathi and Kishore Kumar Rathi besides former Executive Directors of UCO bank Bijay Kumar Dutta and Virendra Kumar Dutta among others.

The agency has charged them under IPC provisions related to cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

"CBI had registered a case on March 31, 2015 against the said firm and its Directors and unknown officials of UCO Bank on the allegations that loans were sanctioned in succession in violation of the guidelines of the bank to the accused party who siphoned off the money. The amount involved was Rs 36 crore (approx)," CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said today.
French officials say a man armed with a knife was shot to death by officers at a police station in northern Paris.

Two officials say the man had wires extending from his clothing, and an explosives squad is on site.

The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said the shooting came shortly after noon today, the anniversary of the attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.

Minutes before, French President Francois Hollande had paid homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including three police shot to death last January.

Police said the neighbourhood in northern Paris was locked down after the shooting.
Putting the ball squarely in Pakistan's court, India today linked the Foreign Secretary- level talks to Islamabad's "prompt and decisive" action in the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided "actionable intelligence".

Uncertainty prevails on talks scheduled for January 15 in Islamabad between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry following the terror strike on the Pathakot air base which has originated from Pakistan. There is a widespread speculation that the talks may be put off to enable National Security Advisors to meet before that.

At a media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup faced a barrage of questions on FS-level talks but he remained non-committal on whether the talks will proceed as scheduled or will be put off. "Today is January 7 and there are 8 days to go before January 15," he remarked.

Without setting any deadline for Pakistan to take any action, Swarup said, "The terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase has once again put renewed focus on the challenges posed by the cross border terrorism.

"As far as we are concerned the ball is now in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue in front of us is Pakistan's response to the terrorist attack and the actionable intelligence provided to it."



Swarup was replying to a query about the status of Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks.

Referring to the recent telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, he said, "During that conversation our Prime Minister very strongly urged the Prime Minister of Pakistan to take action.

"Actionable intelligence in regard to the terrorist attack and the links with the perpetrators in Pakistan were provided to the Pakistani side. The Pakistan Prime Minister promised us prompt and decisive action. We now wait that prompt and decisive action."



Asked if there was any time-frame within which Pakistan should take action, he said, "We are not imposing any deadline. At the same time prompt means prompt and we will go by the common sense interpretation of that word," and rejected a contention that India's demand would derail the talks.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani today expressed sorrow over the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who passed away this morning in New Delhi.

Geelani extended his condolences to the bereaved family of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed following his death, which is the undeniable truth of every person, a spokesman of the hardline Hurriyat said.

Sayeed, 79, breathed his last at AIIMS this morning after remaining on ventilator for the past few days.

Sayeed, who was Chief Minister from 2002 to 2005 in coalition with Congress, played a leading part in PDP and BJP coming together to form the first ever coalition involving the saffron party in the state.

The mortal remains of Sayeed were flown in a special Indian Air Force plane to Srinagar and are likely to be buried at his ancestral village in Bijbehara in South Kashmir.
Globular star clusters that hold a million stars in a ball only about 100 light-years across could be extraordinarily good places to look for space-faring civilisations, say scientists, including one from India.

"A globular cluster might be the first place in which intelligent life is identified in our galaxy," said lead author Rosanne DiStefano, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA) in US.

Our Milky Way galaxy hosts about 150 globular clusters, most of them orbiting in the galactic outskirts. They formed about 10 billion years ago on average, researchers said.

Some scientists have argued that this makes globular cluster stars less likely to host planets. In fact, only one planet has been found in a globular cluster to date.

However, DiStefano and Alak Ray from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, argue that this view is too pessimistic. Exoplanets have been found around stars only one-tenth as metal-rich as our Sun.

While Jupiter-sized planets are found preferentially around stars containing higher levels of heavy elements, research finds that smaller, Earth-sized planets show no such preference.

Another concern is that a globular cluster's crowded environment would threaten any planets that do form. A neighbouring star could wander too close and gravitationally disrupt a planetary system, flinging worlds into icy interstellar space.

However, a star's habitable zone - the distance at which a planet would be warm enough for liquid water - varies depending on the star.

"Once planets form, they can survive for long periods of time, even longer than the current age of the universe," said DiStefano.

So if habitable planets can form in globular clusters and survive for billions of years, life would have ample time to become increasingly complex, and even potentially develop intelligence, researchers said.

Such a civilisation would enjoy a very different environment than our own. The nearest star to our solar system is four light-years, or 24 trillion miles, away.

In contrast, the nearest star within a globular cluster could be about 20 times closer - just one trillion miles away. This would make interstellar communication and exploration significantly easier.

"We call it the 'globular cluster opportunity'. Sending a broadcast between the stars wouldn't take any longer than a letter from US to Europe in the 18th century," said DiStefano.

"Interstellar travel would take less time too. The Voyager probes are 100 billion miles from Earth, or one-tenth as far as it would take to reach the closest star if we lived in a globular cluster," she said.

"That means sending an interstellar probe is something a civilisation at our technological level could do in a globular cluster," she said.

The research was presented at the American Astronomical Society in Florida.
The Centre is considering to put in place a policy on naming of new airports in the country, under which they will known after the city's name and not certain personalities or icons amid the on-going controversy over naming of the new Chandigarh airport.

The Civil Aviation Ministry keeps getting requests from different political parties to name/rechristen airports after certain icons and personalities, more particularly after the change of regime at the Centre or in states and a firm and long-term policy in this regard is needed to put an end to the practice, sources said.

"The Government is discussing the issue of naming of new airports and may put in place a policy soon in this regard," Civil Aviation Ministry sources said today.

Under the proposed policy, airports will be known by the name of the city and not individuals, they said adding, "whatever mechanism will be put in this regard will be for long-term."



The developments come in the backdrop of Haryana and Punjab Government locking horns over the naming of Chandigarh International airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.

While Haryana's BJP government reportedly wants the airport to be named after one of the RSS pracharak Mangal Sein, the Badal Government wants it to be named after martyr Bhagat Singh.

At the same time, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has recently said that his government was considering naming the International Airport at Nedumbassry in Kochi after K Karunakaran, who was a Congress leader and former Chief Minister.

The Civil Aviation Ministry had last year, received request from various quarters to change the names of airports such as Delhi, Udaipur, Chennai and Srinagar, among others.

One of the proposals from a BJP office-bearer was to rename the IGIA after Mahatma Gandhi.

At that time Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma had said that Government was not considering changing the name of any of the airports in the country including the Indira Gandhi International Airport while acknowledging that it (the ministry) had received some proposals in this regard.

"It (changing names of some of the airports in the country) is not under our consideration," he had said.
For the first time in over four decades, the government is likely to convert a cess on domestically produced crude oil into an ad-valorem rate from a fixed per tonne levy, at present.

The Budget for 2016-17, the second full year Budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to make changes in the way Oil Industry Development Cess is levied to provide relief to companies like ONGC and Cairn India that are being battered by oil prices plunging to 11-year low.

"There are indications the Budget may announce an ad valorem rate of cess instead of Rs 4,500 per tonne fixed levy currently," a senior government official said.

The ad valorem rate of cess will results in higher payouts when prices are high and lower when rates fall. Currently, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) pay a cess of Rs 4,500 per tonne on crude oil they produce from their allotted fields on a nomination basis.

Cairn has to pay the same cess for oil from the Rajasthan block.

With oil prices dropping to an 11-year low of under USD 35 per barrel, the cess translates into one-third of the realisation going away in just one levy.

The Budget may fix the levy at around 8-9 per cent of the crude oil price, the official said.

The Oil Industry (Development) Act, 1974, provides for collection of cess as a duty of excise on indigenous crude oil. Cess incurred by producers is not recoverable from refineries and thus, forms part of cost of production of crude oil. The cess was levied at Rs 60 per tonne in July 1974 and subsequently revised from time to time.

In 2005-06, when the crude oil prices had increased from an average of USD 40 per barrel to USD 60, the OID cess was raised from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,500 per tonne from March 1, 2006. Again, when the crude prices climbed to over USD 100, the rate of cess went up to Rs 4,500 (USD 12 per barrel) with effect from March 17, 2012.

While the government had effectively linked the cess rate to prevailing crude oil prices in the past, there has been no reduction when the oil prices have declined.

The official said the Oil Ministry has made a formal representation to the Finance Ministry for making the cess ad valorem. Also, companies like Cairn as well as industry associations too have made similar representations.

Oil producers say the current cess rate constitutes about one-third of the oil price, which has severely impacted several small discoveries and marginal fields, making many of the projects unviable.

In the low oil price environment, several countries including the UK, the US, and China have changed fiscal systems to increase production and promote investments.

Most of crude oil produced in India comes from pre-NELP and nomination blocks and is liable for payment of cess.

While New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) blocks like Reliance Industries' KG-D6 are exempt from payment of cess, pre-NELP discovered blocks like Panna/Mukta and Tapti and Ravva pay a fixed rate of cess of Rs 900 per tonne.
Motorcycle-borne masked gunmen opened fire on a tourist bus of Arab-Israeli citizens and a hotel close to the Giza pyramids in Egypt during a rally of Muslim Brotherhood supporters today, but the tourists escaped unhurt.

The attackers, apparantely part of a group of around 15 Brotherhood supporters, used birdshot and targeted the tourists while they entered the hotel on Al-Haram Street, the official said.

No casualties have been reported, however. But the attack caused some damages to the bus and the hotel gate and facade.

A suspect was arrested and police were searching for the rest of the group, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The passengers on the bus were Arab-Israeli citizens, Al-ahram reported, citing a statement by Israeli government.

The attack on the tourists came on a day when Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians were celebrating Christmas in the predominantly Muslim country.

Egypt's security forces have been battling insurgency in North Sinai, which has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

More than 600 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

Some extremists in the restive Sinai peninsula have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group. They have also claimed the downing of a Russian jet that killed 224 people there last year.

Al-Haram Street in Giza, close to the Pyramids, regularly witnesses pro-Morsi rallies and protests.
Form batsman Martin Guptill cracked 58 off 34 balls as New Zealand posted 182-4 batting first in their opening Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka here today.

Kane Williamson also posted a half-century with 53 off 42 deliveries at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval.

The pair gave New Zealand a flying start, taking only 28 balls to reach 50 before Nuwan Kulasekara and Jeffrey Vandersay put the brakes on the scoring spree.

The second 50 took 34 deliveries and the score had just ticked over the 100 mark when Guptill was dismissed.

Williamson called for a quick single only for Chamara Kapugedera to throw down the stumps from side on with Guptill well short of the crease.

Guptill's 58 included four sixes and four fours while Williamson, who was dismissed soon after, reached the boundary with one six and five fours.

Williamson was caught at midwicket off medium pacer Kulasekara, who was the most effective of the Sri Lankan bowlers taking two for 26.

Kulasekara also removed Colin Munro, caught and bowled for 36, while for New Zealand Ross Taylor was not out 22 at the end of the innnings.

- Selfless Watling -



====================



Although that gave Zimbabwe some respite, it also brought Ross Taylor and BJ Watling together and the pair picked up where they had left off in the first Test, when they compiled a 253-run partnership.

On Sunday they added an unbroken 193 for the fifth wicket, with Taylor backing up the 173 not out that he scored in the first Test with an unbeaten 124.

Watling was 83 not out when New Zealand went to tea, but turned down an offer from Williamson to join Taylor and Tom Latham on the list of New Zealanders with centuries in both Tests, allowing the captain to declare instead.

"I think it was more important to give ourselves the time to bowl," said Watling. "We had enough runs on the board and we knew it was going to be hard work to take 20 wickets."



That proved to be the case when Zimbabwe's openers shut up shop in the first part of their reply, scoring just 20 runs from the first 19 overs as they successfully saw off the new ball.

That allowed them to open up in the last 10 overs of the day, with Chibhabha moving to 31 and Mawoyo reaching stumps on 20.

"We're going to come up with some plans overnight and hopefully come out and pick up a few wickets early tomorrow," said Watling.

"The wicket is lower and slower than it was in the first Test, and we're going to have to play the long game.
Punjab's border districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot remained on high alert and security forces conducted extensive search operations for the second day today in the wake of suspicion that some terrorists had sneaked in to carry out an attack.

Locals in a village near Tibri cantonment of Gurdaspur district yesterday reported sighting of two men in army uniform moving in suspicious manner, following which Army and police began the search operation.

Gurdaspur was targeted by Pakistani terrorists in July last year when a police station here was attacked while Pathankot was witness to a terror strike on Air base on last Saturday. Significantly, a day before the Pathankot attack, there were reports of sighting of 4-5 terrorists after a Superintendent of Police was allegedly abducted.

"The two border districts of Gurdaspur and Pahankot are on high alert," said Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Toor today.

Not ruling out the possibility of terrorists hiding, he said, "We are not taking any chance" and complete sanitisation will be carried out.

"Suspicion of possible terrorists is there.... We have cordoned off the entire area and combing operations are going on to sanitise it completly," the SSP said, while informing that no suspicious movement was noticed adjacent to Tibri cantonment today.

Security agencies were on their toes and a combing operation was being undertaken around Tibri military cantonment area here.

"All vehicles and people, in and around the area, are being physically checked," Toor said, adding the situation was under control.

A farmer, Satnam Singh, of Pandher village was the first one to make the claim of having seen two men in army fatigues moving in suspicious manner when he was working in the fields, police had said.

Pandher village is situated about one-and-a-half km away from the Tibri cantonment.

Police immediately swung into action and reported the matter to Army and a joint search operation was launched.

There were also reports that five terrorists had sneaked into the border area of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, following which army formations have been put on alert, officials said.

Six terrorists in army fatigues attacked the Air Base in Pathankot on Saturday last, leading to an encounter that lasted over four days.
The Gujarat High Court today asked Godhra train incident convict Irfan Pada's Pakistani wife Maria to apply for Indian citizenship by January 14 and allowed her to stay in India till February 16.

Justice R M Chhaya passed the direction on Maria's application seeking relief after her long-term visa expired and her application for extension was rejected.

The judge asked her to file an application for Indian citizenship by January 14. If no such application is filed, then the authorities can deport her to Pakistan, the court said.

The Union government must decide her application by February 15, the court said.

Pada and 30 others have been convicted in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and sentenced to life.

He got bail in November 2014 to marry Maria, who had come to India from Pakistan on a long-term visa. The couple has a one-month-old daughter.

The state government rejected her application for visa extension and asked her to leave the country by January 8.

Maria, in her petition in the high court, argued that the state government does not have the power to reject her application based on the adverse opinion of police.
The Calcutta High Court today directed the city police to hand over a copy of its report on the death of a class I student of South Point School to the child's mother within a day.

Justice Dipankar Dutta directed Kolkata Police to hand over the copy of the report, wherein it has reportedly said there was no lapse on the part of the school and that he died of illness, to his mother Ruchira Sarkar by tomorrow.

The city police had filed the report before Alipore Court on December 28.

Rajanya Sarkar, a class I student at South Point School in South Kolkata, was found unconscious in school on May 8, 2014, and had been taken to a local nursing home where he died a little later.

Ruchira Sarkar had filed a complaint with Gariahat police station alleging negligence on the part of the school.

The school authorities have denied any negligence on its part and held that all steps to ensure quickest medical redressal to the child were taken by the teachers.

The mother, who had filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court in 2015 alleging police inaction, today claimed through her lawyer that she had not been supplied with a copy of the report and that she was not intimated that the police was going to file the report before the Alipore Court.

Justice Dutta directed the police to hand over a copy of the report to the mother and gave her liberty to mention the case before the court thereafter.
The Madras High Court today dismissed as withdrawn a criminal original petition filed by actor Simbu who is facing charges of denigrating women through a 'beep song'.

In his petition, Simbu had prayed for a direction to the DGP to instruct all police stations not to register any more FIRs against him with regard to the controversial song.

When the petition came up, Justice R Subbiah questioned senior counsel R Muthukumaraswamy, appearing on behalf of Simbu, with regard to the maintainability of the petition. The counsel said he would like to withdraw the petition.

Recording the submission, the judge dismissed the petition as withdrawn.

In his petition, Simbu said that besides two FIRs, one registered in Coimbatore and the other in Chennai, "various complaints are being filed on the same issue by individuals as well as associations who are not the aggrieved persons before various police stations throughout the state."



He sought a direction to the DGP to instruct police stations not to "register FIR on the same issue.
The Delhi High Court today extended till January 22 the stay on trial court proceedings in the CNG fitness scam till it decides who will prosecute the case.

Justice Ashutosh Kumar extended the interim stay on a plea filed by the AAP government challenging the trial court's nod to LG appointed special prosecutor to conduct the case.

It also issued fresh notice to advocate Sanjay Kumar Gupta, the LG-appointed special public prosecutor (SPP), to respond to the allegations that his appointment was invalid.

The court, however, refused to pass any order on Delhi government's request to transfer the plea before a division bench, which is hearing a total of seven cases arising out of the spat between the LG and the Delhi government.

It said it cannot pass an order without hearing the SPP, as he should "not feel that any order was passed behind his back and without hearing him".

In its plea, AAP government, through its senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra, has pointed out that it had the sole authority to appoint a prosecutor under CrPC since criminal law was the state's preserve.

However to frustrate its prosecution in the scam, the LG nominated another public prosecutor for the trial through a "mere" inter-departmental note which cannot override CrPC, it said while challenging the trial court's decision to overlook its SPP B S Joon in favour of Gupta.

The special court had last year turned down AAP government's notification appointing Joon in the Rs 100 crore transport scam case, observing that the LG-appointed SPP would conduct proceedings in the matter.

The court had dismissed an application filed by Joon who said that being appointed by Delhi government, he was entitled to conduct prosecution of the case in which Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) had filed chargesheet last week.

His plea for supply of documents was not accepted by the court, which had noted that "the application filed by B S Joon is dismissed in view of Article 239AA of the Constitution (special provisions with respect to Delhi)."



The ACB had on September 3, 2015 filed its chargesheet in the court naming nine persons, including two IAS officers, as accused in the case.
A disciplinary committee of Delhi High Court today issued a citizen's charter informing the public about its timings, the facilities available there as well as how people should conduct themselves while inside the court premises.

The high court said that it would continue to ensure equal and easy access to justice and endeavour to decide cases and causes in a speedy and expedient manner by introducing better case and docket management practices.

In order to reduce litigation, the high court has decided to promote mechanisms of alternative dispute resolution like mediation, arbitration, lok adalats and other forms of settlement.

It said it will ensure that all its manpower and infrastructure work to the best advantage of the people and also try to overcome all barriers, physical and infrastructural, in the delivery of judicial services.

Upholding the principle of judicial impartiality and promoting transparency to the maximum possible extent in all the processes and functions of the judicial system, is also part of the high court's vision.

In order to make the working of the court more efficient, it has decided to "assimilate, optimise and employ technological developments".

The high court has said it would also provide its users a "a safe and secure environment by adopting the best environmental practices and optimising the use of all available resources".
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has denounced the ISIS against the backdrop of repeated display of its flag in Kashmir, saying it is a terrorist organisation which does not represent Islam.

"ISIS, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other like groups does not represent Islam. Daesh (alternate name of ISIS) is a terrorist organisation which is killing innocent people and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan is weakening Pakistan internally," the Kashmiri separatist leader has said.

His remarks came against the backdrop of repeated display of ISIS flag by some youth during protests in Kashmir since the last few months.

Geelani, while addressing a seminar on 'UN resolutions on Kashmir' here, also termed as a "futile exercise" the present India-Pakistan dialogue process.

He hit out at the Centre, saying it was talking about dialogue but at the same time terming Kashmir as India's integral part.

"This rigidity have neither benefited them in the past nor will it benefit in the future. India is participating in dialogues just to buy time and it has no interest in the resolution of the disputes," the Hurriyat Hawk said.
Delhi High Court today observed that if telecom operators were compelled to compensate consumers for call drops as per the new TRAI regulations, they would not be able to recover it if the rule was set aside in future.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also said it did not appear that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had considered the objections raised by the cellular operators against the compensatory regulation which mandates them to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs 3 a day.

The bench, however, agreed with TRAI that the regulator had the power to make the present regulation, which aimed at compensating consumers for the call drops.

In his response, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P S Narasimha, appearing for TRAI, said a technical consultation paper was sent to all stakeholders, including telecom firms, on the call drops issue and all their representations were considered before the rule was made.

The ASG said the compensatory rule was made due to consumer complaints that call drops were happening more often and added that the call drops amounted to the service providers "breaching" the contract they have with the users.

He also said the rule was formulated in order to ensure that the telcos invested more and to make them fall in line and provide better service to consumers.

Narasimha contended that currently, the telecom firms were not compensating consumers for call drops by taking advantage of TRAI's undertaking that it would not take coercive steps against them and said the regulation has to be implemented.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the telecom majors, contended that under the Quality of Service regulations, which are to be adhered to as part of the licence conditions, two per cent of call drops are exempted.

He questioned how they can be penalised Re 1, when there was a two per cent exemption.

(Reopens LGD11)



Singhvi told the court that the companies would incur huge loss if they pay the compensation as call drops could occur for no fault in their service.

Narasimha, in response, said in the first quarter of 2015 there were



around 25,787 crore outgoing calls on the network of the 12 licencees/operators and the number of call drops came were 200 crore, whereas the revenue of the service providers was Rs 36,787 crore for the same period.

He said the compensation payable would be only a "flea bite" and thus the regulation must come into force and added that the consumers are demanding that they be compensated for every dropped call, but TRAI has capped it at three.

Singhvi, on the other hand, argued that at the end of a month, consumers would be more interested in lesser call drops in the next month and not in collecting compensation.

He said all the telecom majors want to reduce call drops and were working towards that in a phased manner.

There cannot be seamless connectivity when travelling from area to area and even under the quality of service regulations, the companies are required to maintain 90 per cent coverage, he said.

He contended that the regulation was arbitrary and unreasonable and had no legislative sanction and added that the call drops was occurring due to lack of towers.

On the issue of the regulation being arbitrary, Narasimha said the rule was not an exercise in executive power but was subordinate/delegated legislation and so the question of arbitrariness and unreasonableness does not apply.

After hearing arguments for over two hours, the court listed the matter for further hearing on January 11.

The court was hearing pleas filed by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) and 21 telecom operators, challenging TRAI's October 16, 2015, rule mandating them to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs 3 a day.

TRAI, yesterday, in an affidavit had told the court that the telecom companies failed to keep investments commensurate with the pace of increase in usage and growth in number of subscribers being added by them.

It had also said that lack of investment by telecom firms in network infrastructure like mobile towers, appears to be the main reason behind the "pervasive problem" of call drops across the country.
The Reserve Bank today relaxed norms for the units of operating from International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) and permitted them to open foreign currency current accounts.

Besides, the has also done away with limit for raising short-term liabilities by .

As per the existing norms, Banking Units (IBUs) were not allowed to open any current or savings accounts.

"It has now been decided that the IBUs can open foreign currency current accounts of units operating in IFSCs and of non-resident institutional investors to facilitate their investment transactions," an notification said.

However, such entities cannot raise liabilities from retail customers including high net worth individuals (HNIs) and no cheque facility will be available for holders of current accounts in the IBUs.

All transactions through these accounts must be undertaken via bank transfers, it said.

An caters to customers outside the jurisdiction of the domestic economy. Such centres deal with flows of finance, financial products and services across borders. Some of the examples of are Dubai, Singapore and GIFT City in Gujarat.

"On a review, it has been decided that will not prescribe any limit for raising short-term liabilities from . However, the IBUs must maintain Liquidity Coverage Ratio as applicable to Indian banks on a stand alone basis and strictly follow the liquidity risk management guidelines," it said.

With a view to providing greater flexibility to the such entities in their business transactions, it has been decided that exposure ceiling for IBUs will be 5 per cent of the parent bank's capital in case of a single borrower, it said.

It will be 10 per cent of parent bank's capital in the case of a borrower group, the notification added.

In another notification, RBI allowed banks to give non-fund based services such as letter of credit, bank guarantees to customers who do not avail any fund based facility from any bank in India.

Earlier, there was a restriction placed on banks by the RBI to give non-fund based facilities to non-constituents borrowers of banks to prevent events to fraud and diversion of funds.

Borrower constituents are sanctioned regular credit facilities by banks.

RBI said the said restriction had led to problems faced by those customers who require non-fund based facilities, but do not avail of any fund based facility from any bank.
Seeking to soothe jittery investors after a massive plunge in stock markets, the Finance Ministry today said the domestic economy has "inherent resilience" to withstand global volatility triggered by China fears and the RBI and government are keeping a close watch.

"Volatility is the new normal in global economy. India has the inherent resilience to deal with emerging challenges. Government is watchful," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said in a tweet.

The BSE Sensex fell for the fourth straight day, plunging 555 points today to crack below 25,000 level as investors pulled out money after the devaluation of Chinese currency led to a volatility in global markets.

Das further tweeted, "Yuan volatility: India is well cushioned and continues to be the fastest growing economy. Finmin and RBI keeping close watch."



"Yuan depreciation, a signal that it will become increasingly market linked. An expected development after it became reserve currency of IMF," Das said, adding the outlook for Indian economy is positive.

China today lowered the yuan's central rate against the US dollar by 0.51 per cent to 6.5646, the lowest since March 2011. A lower currency would make Chinese exports cheaper and more competitive in the global markets.

Stock trading in China was suspended for the second time this week today, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped 7 per cent.

Das further said that China is moving towards market-linked Yuan pricing and the devaluation was expected for some time.

The devaluation has increased fears of competitive devaluation by exporting countries, which may have implications for the global economy.

It will also have a bearing on the global oil prices as the imports of petroleum products by China will become expensive, thereby denting demand. Low prices fell to an about 12-year low of USD 32.16 per bbl in global markets.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad today expressed profound grief and sorrow on the passing away of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and said the country has lost a "hard- core nationalist".

In his condolence message, Azad said he was deeply saddened by his passing away.

"My heart goes out in sympathy to Mrs Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti and members of the bereaved family."



He said Sayeed's death has created a void in the socio- political arena of the state and the country "which is very difficult to fill".

Recalling his long association with Sayeed, Azad said, "He was a hard-core nationalist, a true democrat and a pro-people political leader who made enormous contribution to public life at the national and state level."



"I have had a very close and personal relation with Mufti Sahab during his long political career. What made him matchlessly distinct were his indefatigable will, firmness of resolve and inexhaustible energy," he said.

Azad said "one would wonder how at the age of 80 he would work with relentless zeal and untiring energy" and added that "even one day before his illness he was touring Srinagar city in harsh winter condition".

Describing him a self-respecting, seasoned and thinking politician, Azad said he relentlessly strove for the equitable development of all the regions of the state and envisioned unified, inclusive, pluralistic and progressive Jammu and Kashmir and a strong India.

His qualities of head and heart, warmth and concern for others won him friends from across the political spectrum and made him dear to one and all, without any distinction of caste, colour and creed.

"We have lost a towering leader and a highly experienced politician who will be missed for a long time to come," he said in his message.
India Inc today expressed grief over the passing away of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, describing him as a "visionary" focused on equitable development of the state.

Terming Sayeed's death as a "huge loss to Indian politics", Assocham President Sunil Kanoria said: "Sayeed was a visionary leader, pro-trade and industry and always stood for maintaining friendly relations between India and Pakistan to promote peace in the region."



He added: "He was totally focused on equitable development of the state and as part of his efforts to revive the state's economy, he recently facilitated all kinds of help to the film industry for shooting in the valley."



Sayeed died on Thursday morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was under treatment for the past 15 days.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahesh Gupta described Sayeed as a "visionary who has done great work to industrialise the J&K region with pro-active economic and social justice policies".
India must continue dialogue process with Pakistan post Pathankot terror attack as any reversal of the same will only "cramp" New Delhi's strategic options and progress, Left parties said today.

"The BJP government must now stay on course and not let the extremist-jihadi groups call the shots. The time table drawn up for the talks must be adhered to with the terror issue getting due priority.

"Any reversal will only cramp India's strategic options and resumption of confrontation will debilitate India's economic recovery and progress," ex-CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remark in the editorial of the party's mouthpiece 'People's Democracy'.

He further observed the attack, "in fact, strengthens Government's hand when it takes up terrorism on the agenda in the talks".

"It underlines the continuing failure of the Pakistani State to deal with those jihadi groups which have the patronage of sections of the intelligence and security establishment," he added.

Karat said that a review of the "muddled and unfocused" response to the attack was "urgently" required and expressed concerns over terrorists managing to sneak into the air base despite intelligence input about the same in advance.

He alleged there was "no proper" co-ordination between various agencies and forces in handling the incident and referred to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh first declaring on Twitter that the operation was successful and later withdrawing his post on January 2.

"This speaks of the inept way the whole operation has been conducted. The government should not stand on prestige and must acknowledge the shortcomings and conduct a proper probe so that such mistakes do not recur," Karat said.

The CPI seconded CPI(M) over continuing discussion with Pakistan and the way the operation was handled.

The party questioned Narendra Modi Government if it wants to mold its foreign policy to suit the "requirements of domestic politics" or someone else who is "dictating" terms.?



"People are in dark as to what the Modi government actually wants to do. Is foreign policy being molded to suit the "requirements of domestic politics" or someone else dictating terms to which we are obediently following?



"These and many more questions raised regarding the Pathankot episode and even earlier Gurdaspur event need to be answered by the government," it said.
Increasing brand awareness among the youth and higher purchasing power beyond big cities is likely to boost India's luxury market around 20% to $18.3 billion this year, says a study.

The current size of the country's luxury market $14.7 billion, says a Assocham study.

"The factors that have fuelled the luxury industry's growth are the rise in disposable income, brand awareness among the youth and purchasing power of the upper class in Tier II & III cities in India," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Five star hotels and fine-dining restaurants, electronic gadgets, luxury personal care items, and the jewellery sector have performed well in the year 2015 and are expected to grow by 30-35% over the next three years, the study noted.

Big ticket spends on items like luxury cars mainly in the SUV section is likely to continue, with an estimated growth projected at 18-20% over the next three years, driven by consumption in smaller towns and cities, the study added.

Moreover, with the luxury market expected to grow at over 25% year on year, Private Equity investments (PE) in the respective segment is expected to increase and support the enhanced size of the Indian luxury market.

The study segregated the luxury sector into product categories like apparel and accessories, pens, home decor, watches, wines & spirits and jewellery, services like spas, concierge service, travel & tourism, fine dining and hotels and assets including yachts, fine art and automobiles.

The high Internet penetration across tier-II and tier-III cities along with more disposable income shall lead to approximately 100 million transactions through the Internet by 2020. As a result, the luxury consumption is going to increase manifold in the country, highlighted the study.

Some of the significant players across various verticals which performed well in 2015 included GUCCI, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Ocean Style Yachting, Judith Leiber, Geetanjali Group and The Bauers.

The cities where the study was conducted included Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun.

Around 250 employees were selected from each city on an average. In 2015, Delhi ranks first in spending most on luxury brands followed by Mumbai (2nd), Ahmedabad (3rd) Pune (4th) and Bangalore (5th).

Around 55% of the survey respondents were in the age bracket of 20-29 years, followed by 30-39 years (26 pc), 40-49 years (16 pc), the rest over 50.

Over 69% of the respondents said they prefer to purchase well known luxury brands, while 65% indicated they would pay a premium for well-known, popular luxury brands.
India today welcomed "liberation" of the city of Ramadi by Iraqi forces from the control of ISIS militants and said it strongly supports Iraq's fight against terrorism and efforts to preserve territorial integrity.

"We welcome the liberation of city of Ramadi by the Iraqi armed forces from the control of ISIS. India strongly supports the Iraqi people, the government and their war against terror," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said.

He further said India supports efforts to uphold Iraq's "national sovereignty and preserve their territorial integrity".

The Iraqi security forces last week had recaptured Ramadi from ISIS militants, seen as major blow to the dreaded militant outfit which had captured parts of Iraq including the city of Mosul.

After capturing Ramadi, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had vowed to liberate Mosul from the terrorists.

39 Indians were abducted by ISIS from Mosul in June 2014. The government has been maintaining that all of them are alive.
A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman police officer in the UK is facing an internal inquiry over an alleged shoe attack on another woman, reportedly her husband's lover.

Detective Sergeant Prabhjoat Sohi, who is one of the first ethnic minority female officers with Surrey Police and has been commended several times for her work, denied the charge of assaulting Rouksana Haji in April last year.

According to court documents, she is accused of confronting Haji at a medical centre in north west London on April 9 last year and punching the woman before hitting her with her own shoe.

"She hit me in the face and my shoe fell off. She picked it up and hit me in the face three or four times, calling me a 'dirty slag'," Haji told police.

This week a court case against her was dropped as Haji failed to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court in London.

"Prabhjoat Sohi appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court where the common assault case against her following an incident in Pinner [north-west London] was dismissed by the court with no evidence offered," a Surrey Police spokesperson said.

"She has not been suspended and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation," the spokesperson said.

Sohi has been commended several times during her 13-year career with Surrey Police as one of the first ethnic minority female officers on the force.

It is understood that Sohi's husband is still with Haji.

Haji's injuries were shown to the magistrates and were said to include marks and bruises to her back.
Indian and French troops will begin their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise in Rajasthan tomorrow.

The French contingent comprising 56 personnel of 35th Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade, which had taken part in the Afghan war, had arrived in Jodhpur yesterday to take part in 'Shakti-2016'.

A French Army contingent, led by Maj Thibaut De Lacoste Lareymondie today arrived at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges.

The exercise is an important step for the armies to train together and gain from each other's rich operational experience, a statement by the Indian Army said.

Both countries have troops deployed in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations and therefore sharing each other's military experiences will pay meaningful dividends, it said.

The 2nd Battalion of Garhwal Rifles, part of the Sapta Shakti Command has been nominated for this exercise. The unit has been put through a strenuous training schedule to prepare for the exercise, which includes firing, combat conditioning, tactical operations, heli-borne operations among others.

The illustrious selected battalion has varied experience in counter-insurgency/counter-terrorist operations.

The unit was bestowed with the prestigious Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Citation and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command Unit Citation for maintaining law and order, keeping terrorism under check and maintaining sanctity of the border in the northern theatre.

The 35th Infantry Regiment's origin dates back to its raising in 1604 at Lorraine (France). The regiment has as many as 12 battle honours to its credit. The battalion has varied combat experiences, having served in Algeria, Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan, amongst other places.

The joint exercise will undergo a training schedule aimed at combating conditioning, infantry tactical operations in a counter-terrorism environment and planning of joint operations under the United Nations mandate.

This exercise will culminate in a tactical exercise encompassing clearing of pockets of terrorists in rural and urban environment.
Issues including impact of FTAs signed by India, ways to promote start-ups and boost economic growth were deliberated upon during the meeting between Commerce Ministry and the industry chambers here today.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the key issues raised by the industry include surge in imports, competitiveness of some sectors and increasing investments, among others.

The industry chambers also raised concerns over FTAs (free trade agreements) and their impact on Indian industry and commerce, the minister said, adding that the ministry would take inputs from the industry at the time of review of these pacts.

India has so far signed free trade pacts with countries including Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Asean.

Indian industry and exporters have time and again said these pacts have benefited the partner countries more.

"We had a detailed discussion on the industry, investment and understood the situation that is prevailing, the industry's mind about what is happening in the Indian economy today and also from their perspective what is it that government can do or the states can do towards improving situation," she told reporters after about two hour long meeting.

Further, an official who attended the meeting said the minister asked the industry to become more competitive and also allayed apprehensions about the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

She informed the industry about India's focus on CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries besides assuring them to look at their demand on inverted duty structure in few sectors which are impacting domestic manufacturing.

Senior officials of the ministry gave presentation on start-ups, Make in India and trade scenario to the chambers.

The chambers suggested measures to further liberalise FDI regime, new initiatives that could be taken up under Make in India programme and strategy to promote start-ups.

CII President designate Naushad Forbes, who attended the meeting, said that on start-ups there is a need to remove regulatory burden for such firms which are below a certain threshold limit, say less than Rs 5 crore capital and make it more attractive.

On FTAs, he said it was discussed that "how do we turn FTAs to the advantage of Indian industry".

Former Ficci President Harsh Pati Singhania said that the key issues which are discussed include ways to increase growth rate and investments.

"On start-ups we suggested to look at several issues such as facilitating start-ups and closing of start-ups, funding and tax ambiguity for funders," he told reporters.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan today said that 52 countries have confirmed their participation in the prestigious International Fleet Review (IFR) to be held here from February 4 to 8.

Addressing the media after commissioning the indigenously built stealth anti-submarine warfare Covertte INS Kadmatt at Naval dockyard here, he said the IFR will strengthen the relations between friendly countries.

This will be the second international fleet review to be held at east coast Visakhapatnam. The first international fleet review was organised at Mumbai in 2001.

Various participating navies will exhibit their talent and skills during the exercises. Nearly 24 warships from foreign countries and 34 foreign naval chiefs will participate in the IFR.

To a question, Admiral Dhowan said Pakistan is not participating in the IFR.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and a host of delegates from the country would take part in the review.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will inaugurate a maritime exhibition, one of the biggest events of its kind, which will showcase various entrepreneurs in the maritime domain.

President Mukherjee would review the fleet on February 6, while the Defence Minister would inaugurate the two-day international maritime conference on the theme 'partnering together for a secure maritime future', on February 7.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address a gathering at the event and also release a book on the maritime heritage of India.
Saudi warplanes "deliberately" struck Iran's embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, Tehran said today, as tensions between the two regional powers mounted.

"This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state television.

"The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured," Ansari added, without specifying when the alleged strike took place.

"The Islamic republic reserves the right to pursue its interests in this matter," he said.

Often at loggerheads over regional issues, a full-blown split between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran erupted at the weekend when Riyadh executed prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 others.

Nimr's death sparked demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran while Kuwait and Qatar recalled their ambassadors.

A Saudi-led coalition has waged an air war on Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March and the impoverished nation's conflict is one of the main sources of dispute between the two regional adversaries.

Also today, Iran banned all products from Saudi Arabia and said a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage would remain in place "until further notice".

"The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia," a government statement said.
Iran said today that it would protest to the UN Security Council after claiming Saudi warplanes bombed its embassy in Yemen, in a new escalation of tensions that have reverberated across the region.

The Saudi-led coalition combating Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen denied the accusation, saying no operations were carried out near the mission.

Shiite-dominated Iran also announced a ban on imports from its Sunni-ruled rival.

That comes days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Tehran said an unspecified number of embassy staff had been wounded in the raid on the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, which has been targeted by months of coalition air strikes.

"This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all conventions that protect diplomatic missions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said, quoted by state television.

"The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured," Ansari added, without specifying when the alleged strike took place or the seriousness of the injuries.

"The Islamic republic reserves the right to pursue its interests in this matter," he said.

Later, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that "during an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded".

"We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours," he said, adding that "Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa".

But the coalition said an investigation showed that the "allegations are false".

It added: "No operations were carried out around the embassy or near to it... The embassy building is safe and has not been damaged."



Iran also announced that a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the year-round minor pilgrimage, known as the umrah, would remain in place indefinitely.

Longstanding frictions between the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shiite Muslim powers exploded into a full-blown diplomatic crisis at the weekend when Riyadh executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr.

Nimr's death unleashed a wave of anger across the Shiite world, and protesters in Iran stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in second city of Mashhad.

Iran denounced those attacks, but the repercussions quickly rippled across the region with Saudi allies Bahrain, Sudan and Djibouti also cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Somalia followed suit today, saying it had given Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave.
Iran has banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom cut diplomatic ties over attacks on the Saudi embassy following the execution of a Shiite cleric.

Iranian state television made the announcement today. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

Annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about USD 60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.
Iran today said it would protest to the UN Security Council after it accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

"During an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded," Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said, quoted by official agency IRNA.

"We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours," he said.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa," he said.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes since March in Yemen against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.

The Iranian accusations came days after Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response to an arson attack on its own embassy in Tehran by protesters infuriated by Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Several allies of Saudi Arabia, including Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia followed suit in cutting ties, as the crisis between the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shiite Muslim drew international concern.

Abdollahian today also rejected Bahrain's claim of Iranian involvement in an alleged "terrorist" cell that was plotting attacks in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

Bahrain announced yesterday it had dismantled the cell, which it said was linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia and was planning to carry out a series of bombings.

"There is absolutely no link between this fabricated scenario and the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdollahian said.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will be on a three-day visit to the Northeast states of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura starting tomorrow where he will hold meetings with forest officials and farmers to discuss various issues.

Javadekar will interact with officials in the three states apart from meeting people from local communities and farmers practicing shifting cultivation.

The Minister will start the visit tomorrow with a meeting with forest officers in Imphal in Manipur, followed by a meeting with farmers. He will later visit the Kangla Fort.

On Saturday, Javadekar will visit Loktak Lake and the Keibul Lamjao National Part (KLNP) in Bishnupur district of Manipur, an official statement said.

KLNP is the only floating park in the world and is an integral part of Loktak Lake.

On his arrival in Lengpui in Aizawl, the Union Minister will pay a visit to Advanced Research Centre of Bamboo (ARCB), Forest Training School to inaugurate a training institute under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) of the Environment Ministry.

The Minister will also hold an interaction with bamboo entrepreneurs in Aizawl.

On Sunday, Javadekar will visit Tripura Forest Development Corporation (TFDC) in Agartala and hold discussion with rubber growers and artisans producing rubber products at TFDC.

The Minister will also meet forest officials and pay a visit to Siphaijala sanctuary the same evening to conclude the visit, the statement said.

"Data connectivity has been established with 1,101 units



of 17 categories with CPCB and SMS alerts and emails are automatically generated whenever standards are exceeded for more than 15 minutes.

"On an average, around 1,000 SMSs for exceedances are being generated on daily basis besides emails and these SMSs are being sent to stakeholders (CPCB, SPCB and industry). Industries are taking action based on the information received to control emission and effluents and report this action taken on an email id cems.Cpcb@nic.In," Javadekar added.

Some of the industries like oil refineries and petrochemical have requested time upto June 30 since in installation of online monitoring systems for parameters like PM and CO requires shutdown which is carried out as per schedule decided by the Ministry of Petroleum.

Power plants have also requested time upto June 30 for installation of online monitoring system.

"Not only they fitted it, they have improved their processes. They have improved their effluent-treatment mechanism, primary clarifier and for chimneys they also replaced their air bag filters and several other measures.

"This is a big step forward for regulation of pollution and this is a big boost to the Swachh Bharat campaign," the minister said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today expressed grief over the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Das extended condolences to the bereaved family.

The 79-year-old leader today passed away at AIIMS in New Delhi, where he was admitted for the past 15 days.
A jihadist wielding a meat cleaver was shot dead as he tried to attack a police station in Paris today claiming to avenge French military action in Syria, a year to the day since the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

The youth, who was apparently of Moroccan origin and aged around 20, tried to enter the building in the northern 18th district of the French capital wearing what was at first thought to be an explosives vest, but was later found to be a fake.

A source close to the investigation said a piece of paper found on the man's body "vows allegiance" to the Islamic State group and said he was avenging French "attacks in Syria".

The man's fingerprints matched those on file for a thief convicted in 2013, a homeless man who self-identified as Sallah Ali of Morocco, born in Casablanca in 1995, the source said earlier.

The drama unfolded just after President Francois Hollande concluded a sombre speech at police headquarters to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Paris office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015.

Explosives experts were sent to the scene in the largely north African immigrant district of Goutte d'Or, near the tourist hotspot of Montmartre.

The attacker was found to have been wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device "contained no explosives", a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the "remarkable work" of the security forces in the incident.

"In a country where the level of threat is extremely high, the police, gendarmes, the security forces... Are in the frontline," he said.

With France still grieving after the massacre of 130 people by jihadists in Paris in November -- also claiming vengeance for France's role in Syria -- Hollande used his speech to call for greater cooperation between the security services to thwart attacks.

"Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service -- police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military -- work in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal," the president said.

Many of the assailants in both January's rampage and the attacks in November were known to French security services, having either travelled abroad to fight with jihadists or been blocked from doing so.

Hollande said that since the attack on Charlie Hebdo, nearly 200 people in France had been placed under travel restrictions to prevent them joining up with IS in Syria or Iraq.

The president said the three police officers killed in January's attacks "died so that we could live in freedom".

A police bodyguard who was guarding the newspaper's editor, Charb, was killed alongside him by brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi and they shot dead another policeman, Ahmed Merabet, as he sprawled on the pavement near Charlie Hebdo's offices.

The next day, a policewoman was killed by jihadist Amedy Coulibaly in the southern Paris suburb of Montrouge, apparently as he was heading to attack a Jewish school.
Senior diplomat Pavan Kapoor has been appointed India's ambassador to strategically important Israel, where he will succeed Jaideep Sarkar.

Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, is currently India's High Commissioner in Mozambique capital Maputo.

"He is expected to take up his assignment shortly," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

The appointment assumes significance as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to visit India this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also pay a return visit to Tel Aviv.

India's relations with Israel is on an upswing. President Pranab Mukherjee had visited Tel Aviv in October last year, becoming the first Indian Head of State to visit the Jewish nation.

India is Israel's largest buyer of military hardware. Israel has supplied various weapons systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years but the transactions have largely remained behind the curtains.

Kapoor, an MBA from IIM(A), also a has a Master's degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

In his diplomatic career of two decades, he has served in different capacities in the Indian Missions in Moscow, London, Geneva and Kiev apart from serving in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office.

He has also done a stint at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Political Adviser on Asia and Europe.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today left for Kolkata to attend the Global Business Summit being organised by his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, in another sign of growing bonhomie between the two.

A senior government official said that Banerjee had recently invited her Delhi counterpart to Summit beginning tomorrow.

"The Delhi Chief Minister left for Kolkata to attend the Summit and he will come back by tomorrow evening," the official said.

In the midst of his his government's turf war with the Centre, Kejriwal had organised a Chief Ministers' conclave here in September last year which the West Bengal Chief Minister had attended.

Kejriwal, in the presence of Mamata Banerjee, had also contended that only judiciary has the authority to declare the government orders illegal if they go against the Constitution.

(REOPENS DES 26)



Kejriwal alleged that nearly 84 people had died as a consequence of the demonetisation decision and asked the Prime Minister to answer who was responsible for the deaths.

"When will you (Modi) wake up from your slumber," he said, adding that the PM had made the entire country stand in queues.

Citing the example of a farmer in Punjab who allegedly ended his life after being unable to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakhs for his daughter's wedding, Kejriwal questioned how BJP leaders were conducting marriages.

"(Mining baron) Janardhan Reddy spent 500 crores on his daughter's marriage. Are the BJP leaders conductingtheir daughters' marriage with a sum of Rs 2.5 lakhs?"



He claimed the move had pushed the country back by nearly two decades and it would now take a lot of time to revive the economy.

"Businesses are suffering, industries are shutting down, people have started losing their jobs, looms have been shut down in Modi's own parliamentary constituency causing weavers to go hungry," Kejriwal said.

If the government really wanted to act against corruption, they must bring back black money stashed abroad, he said, questioning why the Prime Minister was not taking action against the list of people holding black money abroad.

He mocked PM Modi for "using his aged mother for a political stunt by making her stand in a bank queue".

Kejriwal also alleged that BJP had purchased land in several places before the announcement of the demonetisation measure on November 8.

"How will corruption be eradicated by scrapping Rs 1000 notes and introducing Rs 2000 notes? It will only be doubled. Even BJP men are being caught with RS 2,000 notes," he said.

He exhorted people to teach BJP a lesson in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls by not voting for it.

"It was in Uttar Pradesh that the BJP won the highest number of Lok Sabha seats, which helped Modi become Prime Minister. Now people of the state should teach the party a lesson for their demonetisation move by not voting for them during the upcoming assembly polls," he said.
A court in Kenya has found a teacher at an Islamic school guilty of radicalizing his students by teaching them extreme jihad and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Magistrate Diana Mochache said today Samwel Wanjala Wabwile, also known as Salim Mohammed, was found guilty of radicalizing the Gotani primary school pupils. Mochache says Wabwile, who also taught at a mosque in Gotani village in Kilifi county, had been hiding behind religion to promote extremism.

Kenya is battling recruitment of the country's youth by al-Qaida's East African affiliate, Somalia-based al-Shabab, and lately the Islamic State.

Kenyan youth make up the largest contingent of foreign fighters in al-Shabab. Al-Shabab has carried out a wave of attacks in Kenya since it sent its troops to Somalia to fight the militants.
An AirAsia plane bound for Kuala Lumpur today made an emergency landing here after a 71-year-old Indonesian passenger complained of severe chest pain, airport officials said.

When the plane (D1-171), orginating from Jeddah with 286 passengers onboard was flying near Chennai airspace, the woman passenger felt severe pain and the crew alerted the authorities here seeking approval for emergency landing, officials said.

Immediately, permission was granted and a medical team was kept ready for attending to the ailing woman.

As soon as the flight landed, the woman was disembarked along with her two other attendants. She was rushed to a private hospital at Guindy where she is being treated, officials said.

The flight took off to its destination after about half an hour.
A truck bomb exploded in the western Libyan city of Zliten near a police base, killing at least 60 policemen and wounding 200 today, officials said.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but a local Islamic State affiliate has been trying to gain a foothold in Zliten from its central stronghold of Sirte.

Rescue crews have only managed to extract 60 bodies out of the wreckage, a hospital spokesman, Moamar Kaddi, said.

Libyan officials said they believed there might be dozens more dead.

The base, where 400 police recruits were training, was used by the border police, a Zliten security official said.

Border police foiled numerous human smuggling attempts off the coast of Zliten last year. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Smugglers are known in Libya for responding with violence to any effort to disrupt their operations.

In recent years, thousands of migrants seeking a better life in Europe sailed from Libya on rickety, overcrowded boats. Hundreds have drowned in those crossings.

Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The oil-rich country is torn between an Islamist government in the capital, Tripoli, and a rival internationally recognized government in the east; meanwhile a UN-supported unity government sits in neighboring Tunisia.

Residents in Libyan coastal cities have long expressed fears of the variety of smugglers and traffickers who run lucrative operations along the Mediterranean. Authorities echoed the same concerns, claiming they are unable to fully tackle these networks without international assistance.
An 80-year-old convict, undergoing life imprisonment, was found dead in the district jail here this morning, the prison authorities said.

Amar Dev Singh, lodged in barrack number 6, was found lying unconscious. A doctor was immediately summoned to the prison."After checking Amar Dev's pulse, the doctor declared him dead," Jail Superintendent Nand Kishore Singh said.

The body has been sent for post mortem examination, he said.

The deceased, a resident of Haldi police station area, was serving life sentence since 2009 in a murder case.
General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps Lt General Satish Dua today condoled the death of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, describing him as a leader with "remarkable" political acumen and a statesman.

"Sayeed was a leader with remarkable political acumen and a statesman who had made rich contribution towards political firmament spanning several decades. He endeared all by his amiable disposition and was deeply concerned with the welfare of the people.

"His contribution towards the growth and development of Jammu and Kashmir will be remembered in times to come," Lt Gen Dua said.

The Corps Commander also met PDP president and Sayeed's daughter Mehbooba Mufti and conveyed heartfelt condolences on behalf of the soldiers of Chinar Corps to the members of the bereaved family.

He also prayed for grant of eternal rest to the departed soul.
A youth was allegedly beaten to death and his friend severely thrashed after they were mistaken for apple thieves by the guards at Azadpur wholesale market in northwest Delhi, following which a 38-year-old man was arrested today.

The arrested accused, Sanju, was in an inebriated state and there was no personal rivalry between him and the victims, DCP (Northwest) Vijay Singh said.

The deceased, Sanjay (25), and his friend Raunak were labourers who loaded and unloaded fruit and vegetable cartons at the wholesale market. While Sanjay died in a hospital, Raunak is still recovering, police said.

According to the police, the incident occurred about 9.30 PM last night when Sanjay and Raunak were walking out of the market with a carton of apples and they were mistaken to be thieves, following which a group of guards allegedly thrashed them.

An inebriated Sanju, who was one of the guards, then took the injured duo to his rented room, where he tied them up in chairs and thrashed them severely.

Some locals in the area called up the police and the duo were rushed to a hospital, where Sanjay died and Raunak is still recovering.

Today locals staged a protest about the law and order situation in the area and alleged police inaction in the case. When the police went there to arrest Sanju, some locals also pelted stones at the police team in which a few officials were injured, police said.

Agitated locals also allegedly attacked some vehicles. The situation was brought under control after senior officials intervened and Sanjay's body was sent for post-mortem examination, police said.

"Investigation is underway and more persons can be arrested depending on the evidence and the course of the probe," Singh added.
A minor Kashmiri boy was today found murdered in a rented accommodation in local Bhagatpura mohalla, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Arshad Ahmed (11).

Police said that his father Javed Ahmed had just come here two days ago from Jammu and Kashmir for seasonal selling of woollens garments.

Javed told police that he had been coming here every winter for the last several years for selling woollens garments and clothes.

An inconsolable Javed said that his son had come with him for the first time.

Javed said that he left in the morning for selling garments, leaving the boy behind in the rented room of Gali No 5 of the locality.

But when he returned in the afternoon, he found Arshad murdered.

Police said that the boy was stabbed in the stomach.

When contacted, Phagwara DSP Manpreet Singh Dhillon said police was investigating the motive behind the murder.

"It is suspected that the motive could have been the abortive bid to loot Rs 90,000 lying in the room", the DSP said.

"The boy could have identified the unsuccessful looters who killed him in order to keep their identity hidden", he said.

Dhillon said that Rs 90,000 were found intact in the room.

He said that the body was sent to Civil hospital for the post-mortem and a murder case was registered against unknown persons.
From an obscure lawyer to becoming the only Muslim Home Minister the country has seen so far, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed carved a niche for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics with the craftiness and unwavering focus of an avid bridge player he was.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free India's first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP, which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed's stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeed's rivals, projected India as a "soft state" for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

Sayeed cut his political teeth early, having joined the Democratic National Conference of G M Sadiq in the late 1950s.

Sadiq, recognising the potential of the young lawyer, appointed him as the District Convenor of the party.

In 1962, Sayeed was elected to the state assembly from Bijbehara, the seat which he retained five years later. He was appointed a Deputy Minister by Sadiq, who by then had become Chief Minister.

However, he fell out with the party a few years later and



joined the Indian National Congress, a courageous but risky decision at that time given the unstinted support of most Kashmiris to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who was in jail.

Considered an astute organiser and administrator, Sayeed ensured that Congress not only got a foothold in the Valley but created pockets of staunch support for the party.

In 1972, he became a Cabinet Minster and also Congress party's leader in the Legislative Council. He was made the state Congress president a couple of years later.

As he rapidly grew in stature, Sayeed saw himself as the next Chief Minister of the state. However, all hopes he might have harboured of occupying the hot seat were dashed when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi entered into an accord with Abdullah and facilitated his return as chief minister after a hiatus of 11 years, much against the wishes of Congress workers in general and Sayeed in particular.

Not the one to give up easily, Sayeed engineered a coup of sorts ahead of the 1977 elections as Congress withdrew support to Abdullah's government. The aim was to have a Congress Chief Minister - which would have been Sayeed - in place for elections to control the official machinery but Governor L K Jha brought the state under Governor's rule.

It was the first time that Jammu and Kashmir was brought under Governor's rule. Sayeed would later play a role in imposition of Governor's rule on all five occasions during his epic political career.

The results of 1977 Assembly elections all but killed Sayeed's dream of becoming the Chief Minister as Abdullah's National Conference came to power with a thumping majority.

Sayeed was a key player when Governor's Rule was imposed for the second time in the state in 1986.

The National Conference and Abdullahs have privately held the wily man from south Kashmir responsible for the intra-party rebellion against and subsequent dismissal of Farooq Abdullah by Governor Jagmohan in 1984. The power tussle between Farooq and his brother-in-law G M Shah led to a permanent estrangement and also saw the latter becoming Chief Minister with Congress support.

However, Shah's tenure also did not last long as Congress headed by Sayeed withdrew support to his government leading to imposition of Governor's rule for the second time in 1986.

When militancy broke out in Kashmir and Sayeed became the



Union Home Minister, he appointed appointed Jagmohan as Governor despite protests by Farooq Abdullah, who resigned and the state came under Governor's rule again in 1990.

While the state was brought under Governor's Rule in 2002 and 2014 due to Sayeed taking time to thrash out coalition dispensations with Congress and BJP respectively, it was his manoeuvrings that saw a democratically elected government give way to administration by the Raj Bhawan in 2008.

Sayeed's PDP withdrew support to coalition government headed by Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad in July 2008 following widespread protests over the Amarnath land allotment row that pitted the people of Hindu-dominated Jammu region against the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

Sayeed's stay in national politics was relatively short. As Farooq Abdullah warmed up to Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 to ensure his return as Chief Minister ahead of the 1987 assembly elections, Sayeed was shifted to Delhi and appointed as the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation.

He quit as tourism minister in 1987 and later co-founded Jan Morcha with V P Singh, who had quit Congress over the Bofors scandal. In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh as a Janata Dal candidate and became Union Home Minister in V P Singh's cabinet.

Towards the end of P V Narsimha Rao's tenure as Prime Minister, Sayeed returned to Congress fold with daughter Mehbooba Mufti. Sayeed won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in 1998 general elections, while Mehbooba became Congress MLA in 1996.

With his dream of becoming Chief Minister of the state still unfulfilled, Sayeed parted ways with Congress and floated a regional outfit - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - in 1999. Some of the things associated with the PDP are considered exemplary of Sayeed's political genius.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a crafty politician who took on the powerful Abdullah family and rose to become the country's first Muslim Home Minister, died today at AIIMS here after his platelets dropped dangerously.

Sayeed, 79, who took charge of the state on March 1 last year heading a PDP-BJP alliance, breathed his last this morning after remaining on ventilator for the past few days.

He was flown from Srinagar in a special plane on December 24 and admitted to the AIIMS where he was diagnosed with sepsis (life threatening complication of an infection) and pneumonia. During hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously, doctors said.

He is the second J and K Chief Minister to die in office, the first one being Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982.

Sayeed's daughter 56-year-old Mehbooba is expected to take over as the first woman Chief Minister of the state with PDP leaders throwing their weight behind her. But this will require the approval of BJP.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Jammu and Kashmir government has declared a seven-day mourning and holiday today. Flags will be flown at half mast.

The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to pay homage. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehera in South Kashmir, about 48 kms from Srinagar.

Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year. In the 87-member J and K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

Condoling the death of Sayeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it left a huge void in the nation and that the leader who provided a healing touch would be missed.

"What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum," Modi said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be flying to Srinagar to attend Sayeed's funeral.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief over



the demise of Mufti as she communicated her condolences to his wife and Mehbooba.

"In his death, the state of Jammu and Kashmir as indeed the entire nation has lost a great leader," she said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who expressed his condolences to Sayeed's family at AIIMS, tweeted, "Just heard the terrible of Mufti Sahib's passing away. I'm shocked and deeply saddened. May he rest in peace".

Former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah also condoled the death of Sayeed.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed carved a niche for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics with the craftiness and unwavering focus of an avid bridge player he was.

He emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free India's first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 in the V P Singh government and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP, which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeed's stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya's freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeed's rivals, projected India as a "soft state" for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Master's degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

(Reopens DEL 23)



Sayeed assumed the office for the first time in 2002 when the Indian and Pakistan Armies were on the brink of a war after the attack on the Parliament in December 2001.

He played a key role in bringing the people of the divided state of the Jammu and Kashmir closer as it was during his tenure in 2005 that the first Karvan-e-Aman bus connecting Srinagar with Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), was launched by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

As he assumed office of chief minister for the second time on March 1, 2015, it seemed Mufti was destined to be the man for hard times.

His invitation to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to address a rally in Srinagar, first ever for a Prime Minister in nearly two decades, from the PDP stage, triggered a new wave of peace efforts which culminated in withdrawal of forces from forward areas, ceasefire along the borders, disbanding of instruments like STF and SOG, scrapping of POTA and release of political prisoners.

It also led to a direct engagement between India and Pakistan and of the Central Government with the separatist leaders in Kashmir.

Mufti's vision for the state and the region articulated in PDP's Self-Rule framework besides suggesting a slew of economic and political measures advocating a sub-regional trade arrangement with a Free Trade Zone in JK to be implemented under SAFTA or under a separate arrangement between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Mufti believed that facilitating free movement of goods and people through the traditional cross-LoC routes in Jammu and Kashmir would help the policy makers on the two sides of the divide to facilitate the political changes that the people in the region so badly need.

He saw opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote roads along the LoC as a stepping stone towards forging a new economic alliance in the region.

The late leader's first term as the Chief Minister of the state between 2002 and 2005, led to significant steps like opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, initiation of trade and travel across the Line of Control (LoC) without passports and visas, with India and Pakistan making some significant concessions on Kashmir.
Gulbadin Naib hit a career best, undefeated 82 as Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by two wickets to win the fifth one-day international and take the series 3- 2.

Naib smashed six sixes and three boundaries in his 68- ball knock as Afghanistan chased down their 249-run target to claim a second successive series win over Zimbabwe after winning in Africa in October.

Naib's final six came off the third last ball after his team had been 121-5 at one stage.

His partnership of 85 with Rashid Khan for the seventh wicket proved key after Zimbabwe had appeared to be on course for a third successive win in the series after losing the first two matches.

Hamilton Masakadza had hit 110 after Zimbabwe batted first while Peter Moor (42) and Richmond Mutumbami (40) also starred as the African side had been 167-3.

Afghanistan were 66-3 in reply after fast bowler Luke Jongwe sent back Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran and Narwoz Mangol.

But Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi steadied the innings before Naib took charge with his man of the match performance.

"The partnership with Rashid helped and gave me the energy to carry on," Naib told cricinfo.Com.

Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai hailed his team's win which also cemented their place in the top 10 of the world rankings.

"It's a phenomenal achievement to start off the year with a series win. Gulbadin has proved he's got the skill to play even in ODIs," said Stanikzai.

"Afghanistan are known for their ability to bounce back and we showed that today. It's a historic day for us."



Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura blasted his team's below-par performance.

"I thought we lost it in the last nine overs of our bowling, where we didn't bowl our yorkers well. We bowled into Gulbadin's arc. When it comes to execution of our skills, it wasn't up to the standards," said Chigumbura.

"That was the difference between a win and a loss. I wanted to bowl, but was struggling and felt a bit of pain. We have to look forward now and bounce back in the T20 series."



The Twenty20 series between the two sides gets under way at Sharjah on Friday.

Brief scores: Zimbabwe 248 all out in 49.5 overs (Hamilton Masakadza 110) v Afghanistan 254-8 in 49.4 overs (Gulbadin Naib 82 not out)



Afghanistan won by two wickets



Series: Afghanistan won 3-2.
Scientists have found five objects in other galaxies similar to Eta Carinae - the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light years of Earth - using data from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

Eta Carinais best known for an enormous eruption seen in the mid-19th century that hurled an amount of material at least 10 times the Sun's mass into space.

This expanding veil of gas and dust, which still shrouds Eta Carinae, makes it the only object of its kind known in our galaxy.

A new study using archival data from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes has found five similar objects in other galaxies for the first time.

"The most massive stars are always rare, but they have tremendous impact on the chemical and physical evolution of their host galaxy," said lead scientist Rubab Khan, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in US.

These stars produce and distribute large amounts of the chemical elements vital to life and eventually explode as supernovae.

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae outshines our Sun by 5 million times, the researchers said.

The binary system consists of two massive stars in a tight 5.5-year orbit. Astronomers estimate that the more massive star has about 90 times the Sun's mass, while the smaller companion may exceed 30 solar masses.

Catching rare stars during the short-lived aftermath of a major outburst approaches needle-in-a-haystack levels of difficulty, and nothing matching Eta Carinae had been found prior to the study.

The researchers developed a kind of optical and infrared fingerprint for identifying possible Eta Carinae twins, or "Eta twins" for short.

Dust forms in gas ejected by a massive star. This dust dims the star's ultraviolet and visible light, but it absorbs and reradiates this energy as heat at longer, mid-infrared wavelengths.

"With Spitzer we see a steady increase in brightness starting at around 3 microns and peaking between 8 and 24 microns," said Khan.

"By comparing this emission to the dimming we see in Hubble's optical images, we could determine how much dust was present and compare it to the amount we see around Eta Carinae," he said.

The researchers found two candidate Eta twins in the galaxy M83, located 15 million light-years away, and one each in NGC 6946, M101, and M51, located between 18 million and 26 million light-years away.

These five objects mimic the optical and infrared properties of Eta Carinae, indicating that each very likely contains a high-mass star buried in five to 10 solar masses of gas and dust.

The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The National Flag will fly at half mast today as a mark of respect to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who died here at AIIMS here this morning after being hospitalised for a fortnight.

A Home Ministry spokesman said that the government has also decided to accord state funeral to 79-year-old Sayeed in Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing grief and sorrow over Sayeed's death, the spokesman said, "As a mark of respect to the departed leader, the National Flag will fly at half mast today in capitals of states and Union Territories, including Delhi, and throughout the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The government has also decided to accord state funeral to the departed leader in Jammu and Kashmir," the spokesman said.

Sayeed passed away at AIIMS where he was hospitalised on December 24.

The body of Sayeed was flown in a special Indian Air Force plane to Srinagar and he is likely to be buried in his home town Bijbehara in south Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi drove to Palam technical area where he paid his last respect to Sayeed and offered condolences to the family members.
A distillation unit in adjoining Navi Mumbai was gutted in fire which broke out in the wee hours today.

No one was injured in the fire.

The blaze started at around 4.50 AM in Welcome Laboratory at Khairane MIDC area in Navi Mumbai, fire officials said.

As many as 13 fire tenders were pressed into service and they took over three hours to douse the flames, the officials said.

"We successfully stopped the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings, which house laboratories of other companies," an officer said.

However, the fire destroyed the entire distillation lab. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.
Burkina Faso's new president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, today chose experienced economist Paul Kaba Thieba as prime minister of the west African nation, a presidential decree said.

Thieba, 55, a former central banker, who is little known to the public, now will form a government.

His nomination follows the swearing in last week of Kabore, Burkina Faso's first new leader in almost three decades who has pledged to "reform institutions and modernise the government, for more social justice, democracy and freedom."



Kabore takes over from an interim administration that followed a popular insurrection in October 2014 that toppled Blaise Compaore, who had been in power since 1987.

Thieba has a finance and banking doctorate and leaves an administrator's job in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, one of two regional bodies coordinating economic activity in nations sharing the CFA franc, which was historically pegged to the French currency.

The new premier has also held several posts in the Central Bank of West African States.

Kabore, who was elected with more than 53 per cent of the votes in a presidential poll late November, also has an economic background, but turned in the 1990s from a banking career to politics.

In January 2014, he went into outspoken opposition against Compaore and played a role in the "Citizen's Broom" movement that brought down the regime, to become the first democratically elected civilian leader of the country.

Both Compaore and his predecessor Thomas Sankara were soldiers.

Kabore has pledged to build "a new Burkina Faso" by fighting youth unemployment, improving education and modernising the health system in the country of 17.4 million.

More than 46 per cent of Burkinabe people live below the poverty threshold.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad today today mourned the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and expressed their condolence to the departed leader's family and supporters.

"Deeply saddened to hear of Mufti Sahib's demise. My condolence to his family and supporters (sic)," he tweeted.

In a condolence message, the Bihar Chief Minister said that the country has lost a great, popular and visionary leader in the passing away of the 79 year-old Sayeed.

He said that during a distinguished political career spanning several years, Sayeed had performed various responsibilities with aplomb.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad also mourned the death of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and said he (Sayeed) was a warm, brilliant and exemplary leader.

"Deeply saddened by the sudden demise of Mufti Sahab. He was kind, warm, brilliant and exemplary leader with strong administrative qualities," he tweeted.

"His presence would strongly be missed. My prayers and thoughts are with him and with those he left behind. May God give him eternal rest," the RJD supremo said in another tweet.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister passed away earlier this morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital.
Norway's foreign minister visited Sri Lanka today in a sign of reviving relations since a peace deal brokered by the Nordic country failed to end a civil war.

Borge Brende's visit is the first by a Norwegian foreign minister to Sri Lanka since 2005, when Norway was trying to hold together a fragile cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the now-defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Relations soured after the cease-fire collapsed in 2006 and Sri Lanka's then-government accused Norway of favoring the rebels. Sri Lankan troops crushed the rebels three years later.

With the election defeat last year of Sri Lanka's hard-line President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the new government has sought to mend relations with Western nations that had criticized Sri Lanka's human-rights situation during and after the civil war.

Sri Lanka has told the UN human rights council that it would investigate war crimes allegations against government troops and Tamil rebels.

"You are coming to Sri Lanka at a time when Sri Lanka is trying to come to terms with its past and to forge ahead," Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Brende after a meeting today.

"The domestic mechanisms through which we are trying to address this past are in the process of being developed and the consultation process to design these mechanisms will begin next week," he said.

Brede is also scheduled to meet President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and participate in a business forum.
America's largest gun rights body has declined to send representatives to a town hall with President Barack Obama on gun violence -- just days after he reignited a discussion over the controversial topic.

"The National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam was quoted as saying by CNN.

The NRA strengthened its comment after initially saying the White House had "organised" the event to be held today in Virginia. CNN is moderating the live town hall event.

The NRA, the most influential gun rights group in terms of political persuasion and financial contributions, boasts a membership of about five million people.

A teary-eyed Obama on Tuesday presented a renewed push for further gun regulations, including background checks for firearms purchases through the use of executive action. While pro-gun regulation activists heralded Obama's renewed interest in the issue, his actions have been called into question about whether they would truly help stem gun violence.

Obama said that every single year, more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns. He had also cited the grisly shooting incidents at Sikh worshippers at a Gurdwara in Oak Creek in 2012 to rally Congress support against the powerful NRA.

"The United States of America is not the only country on Earth with violent or dangerous people. We are not inherently more prone to violence. But we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. It doesn't happen in other advanced countries. It's not even close. And as I've said before, somehow we've become numb to it and we start thinking that this is normal," he said.

"So the gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage. We do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom," he said.

He said the US Congress still needs to act to stop gun sales. "The folks in this room will not rest until Congress does," Obama said.

"So all of us need to demand a Congress brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby's lies. All of us need to stand up and protect its citizens. All of us need to demand governors and legislatures and businesses do their part to make our communities safer," he said.

On the overall issue of gun control, 48 per cent of Americans support stricter laws, while 51 per cent were opposed, according a CNN/ORC poll released last month.

The NRA and Obama have been bitter enemies on the issue of new gun regulations -- each accusing the other of engaging in politics instead of working to find solutions to end gun violence.
US President Barack Obama is set to nominate the chief of the Special Operations Command to head the military's vital Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, a US defence official said today.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said General Joseph Votel would be nominated to lead Central Command, whose area of operations include Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

His nomination would reflect the increased role special operations troops are carrying out in the region.

Obama has repeatedly said he doesn't want large-scale American deployments in Syria or Iraq, and instead has been relying on air power and smaller units of elite specialists to partner with local forces fighting Islamic State jihadists.

If approved by the Senate, Votel would replace General Lloyd Austin, who has headed CENTCOM, as the command is better known, since March 2013.

Austin has kept a relatively low public profile as CENTCOM head.

In September, he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where lawmakers blasted him over the pace of the anti-IS fight and allegations that senior military officials altered information to downplay the strength of IS fighters and Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria.

Votel's planned nomination was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The White House did not immediately confirm the possible nomination.

The Pentagon last year announced it was sending about 50 special operations commandos into Syria to conduct raids, gather intelligence and work with local forces.

Thousands of other troops on special missions are also working in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In October, US special operations troops and Kurdish peshmerga stormed an IS-run prison near Hawijah in northern Iraq, freeing some 70 captives who were facing imminent execution. One US fighter died in the operation.
One kg gold, valued at Rs 26 lakh, was seized from a private airlines flight after it arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here from Bangkok today.

An airport customs official said the gold was found concealed in the side panel of a seat while screening the aircraft.

There were no claimants for the gold, he said.

The value of the seized precious metal was put at Rs 26 lakh, the official added.
72,750 farmers were issued soil health cards (SHCs), under the central scheme, for their agricultural land in the current financial year in Chhattisgarh.

Thecardswill have technical and other key information regarding cultivation of the land concerned besides details of type ofsoiland the proper crops to be cultivated in it.

The districts where maximum cards were distributed are Janjgir-Champa (9,300 cards), Durg (7,750), Bemetara (5,890), Rajnandgaon (4,280) and Korba (3,450), a government spokesperson said.

"Under the scheme of Government of India, 72,750 SHCs have been distributed to farmers till last month in the ongoing fiscal," the spokesperson said.

The target is to cover around 36 lakh farmers under the schemewhich will help them better understand the use of nutrients, fertilisers and improve productivity of soil, they said.

As per the guidelines of Centre, the criteria for irrigated and non-irrigated land have been finalised to collect the samples of the soiltoassess the current status ofsoilhealth.

In next three years, farmers will be provided SHC after analysis of 8.78 lakh samples ofsoils, the official said.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, mastermind of IC-814 hijack case, are among four persons identified by Indian intelligence agencies as 'handlers' behind the recent Pathankot attack.

Besides the agencies here claimed to have found evidence that "conspiracy" was hatched near Lahore, top government sources said today.

The details of these four persons have been shared with Pakistan "through proper channel" and India has pressed for stern action against them as a condition for any future talks with Pakistan, the sources claimed.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is understood to have spoken to his Pakistani counterpart ex-General Nasser Khan Janjua and shared all relevant evidences including voice data, they said.

The evidence alleging JeM's involvement in the recent attack may put a question mark on scheduled Foreign Secretary-level talk between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on January 15.

Those identified by Indian agencies are Azhar, Rauf, Ashfaq and Kashim, the sources said. Rauf was mastermind of hijack of Air India plane in Kathmandu, in 1999 which was later taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The eight-day hijack crisis had ended after release of three hardcore militants including Azhar in exchange for the freedom of passengers and crew members who were held hostage.

Asked as to what action India wants Pakistan to take against these four, the sources said they have to be arrested and handed to New Delhi so that they could be questioned in the ongoing investigation.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has recently said there are indications that some of the materials used by the terrorists were made in Pakistan.

Six terrorists, who had sneaked into the country from Indo-Pak border in Pakistan, had attacked Indian Air Force base in Pathankot during the intervening night of January 1 and 2.

They were killed during a counter-operation by Indian forces that lasted for about three days in which seven security personnel were killed.
Pakistan today welcomed Saudi Arabia's initiative to form a 34-nation Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism after the Kingdom's Foreign Minister met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and discussed a host of strategic issues, including bilateral ties and regional security situation.

Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir briefed the Prime Minister on the details of the Islamic military alliance against terrorism after Pakistan had announced its readiness to join it once all details were made available.

In the meeting, Sharif said that Pakistan welcomes Saudi Arabia's initiative and stressed that it supports all such regional and international efforts to counter terrorism and extremism, according to an official statement.

Riyadh had announced the formation of the coalition last month. Islamabad initially reacted cautiously to the announcement of the alliance, saying it was awaiting further details to decide the extent of its participation.

The alliance does not include countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and Pakistan was wary of its constitution as it may pitch Islamabad against many Muslim nations which are not part of it.

Adel and Sharif also discussed regional security situation and matters of bilateral interest.

The Prime Minister called for further strengthening and expanding bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, in all fields of cooperation, including defence, security, economic and commercial ties, according to an official statement.

The Foreign Minister also briefed Sharif on Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of a Shia cleric in the Kingdom.

Sharif expressed deep concern at the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

The Prime Minister called for resolution of differences through peaceful means "in the larger interest of the Muslim unity".

The Foreign Minister also held meetings with the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz and army chief General Raheel Sharif.

Adel was originally scheduled to arrive on Sunday but the trip was delayed due to Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, in the Kingdom.

During the talks with Aziz, the two sides discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and underscored the need to develop jointly a counter narrative against extremism and terrorism.

The two countries agreed to hold political consultations twice a year alternately in Islamabad and Riyadh.

They agreed to make a concerted effort to promote multi-faceted cooperation and work together to defeat "common enemy - terrorism and extremism.
A man carrying a meat cleaver who was shot dead as he tried to attack a police station in Paris today was carrying the emblem of the Islamic State (IS) group, a prosecutor said.

"He was found to be in possession of a mobile phone and a piece of paper on which the flag of Daesh was printed, as well as an unequivocal claim handwritten in Arabic," the prosecutor said in a statement, using the Arabic name for IS.

The incident occurred on the first anniversary of the jihadist attack on the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Several activists of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today held a candlelight vigil across Punjab to pay homage to the security personnel who died in the terror attack at Pathankot Air Force base.

The activists held candles and banners in their hands and paid homage to the slain security personnel, a party spokesman said here.

In Ludhiana city, the vigil was held at Bharat Nagar Chowk in front of statue of Shaheed Major Bhupender Singh.

A large number of party volunteers joined the vigil at several places in the state, the spokesman said.

In Dakha and Jagraon, similar demonstrations were conducted at Dakha Chowk and Rani Jhansi Chowk respectively.

Speaking on this occasion, AAP's Ludhiana zone coordinator Col C M Lakhanpal (Retd) said we are indebted to those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country.

At the same time, a free, fair and transparent probe needs to be conducted including the politician-police-drug peddlers nexus to know the root cause of security lapses, he said.
Facing flak for possible ingres of terrorists from Indo-Pak border under its nose, BSF has constituted a fact-finding team headed by a DIG-level official to ascertain possible route taken by a group of terrorists who later attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot.

The team will submit its report to the BSF headquarters here within a fortnight.

The headquarters has asked field commanders to provide all assistance to the five-member team which will travel to select areas along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB) in Punjab and Jammu.

Officials said a meeting to deliberate on these issues was held today between Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and BSF Director General D K Pathak after which it was also decided to chalk out a fresh protocol for checking infiltration and plugging of gaps along the riverine and dense forest areas of the IB.

The said the DG reiterated during his meeting with Mehrishi that it has found no evidence of a breach or emergence of a tunnel or any secret route along the IB in these two states which could have been exploited by the terrorists to sneak in and launch the deadly attack.

The meeting, it is understood, also discussed deployment of at least two more battalions (about 2,000 personnel) of the BSF in vulnerable areas of the IB in order to keep an effective vigil on the movements here day and night.

The meeting came in the backdrop of the BSF chief undertaking a tour of the most vulnerable and sensitive areas along the IB yesterday, including Bamiyal, a border village in Pathankot, which is believed to have been used by terrorists to infiltrate into the country and subsequently attack the airbase.

Officials said the requirement to constitute the team was also for the reason that if there exists any hidden breaches along the IB which is prone to be exploited by terrorists and other elements, it needs to be checked and plugged immediately.

They said the force has thwarted 72 infiltration bids along the IB in the last year and all of these have been in the Jammu region and none in the Punjab area and hence it will be important to know if there are any vulnerable areas along the frontier here which are being clandestinely used by terrorists to cross over to India.

The BSF had also submitted a 'current ground situation' report to the Home Ministry in this regard putting forth the details of its night 'morchas' and movement of its patrol teams in these areas around the new year, when it is suspected that at least six terrorists crossed over from the other side to reach the strategically important Indian Air Force base.
Punjab Congress chief and 1965 war veteran Amarinder Singh today attacked the government over what he alleged "mishandling" of the Pathankot operation, and questioned the deployment of NSG instead of the Army, which he said is better in counter-insurgency.

He said that by bringing the Security Guard (NSG) those at the helm may have certainly "glamourised and romanticised" the operation but they have also ended up with "more loss of precious lives of our soldiers".

"Even after the passage of seven days nobody is sure whether all the militants have been flushed out or not. We are as unsure and uncertain about the situation today as we were on the day one of the attack.

"Thanks to the total mishandling of the situation we have, by default, served the purpose of the perpetrators by allowing the operation to last unusually for longer duration," he said.

The former Punjab chief minister, who has also served in the Army and participated in the 1965 war against Pakistan, said, "By bringing in the NSG, instead of the army which has better training and expertise in counter-insurgency, those at the helm may have certainly glamourised and romanticised the operation but they have also ended up with more loss of precious lives of our soldiers."



In a statement, Singh said, the deployment of NSG got prolonged media attention "which is the main purpose of those who conceived and executed it".

Amarinder also disagreed with the GOC Western Command Lt Gen K J Singh that it was right to deploy Security Guard (NSG) to flush out militants instead of the Army.

Singh said the General appears to be defending the government decision for obvious reasons of being a disciplined soldier.

"Even former Chief of Army Staff Gen V P Malik and other retired generals have been on record saying that army could have handled the situation better," he said.

Singh said NSG commandos are effective where targets are identified like hostages or hijacking or 'holed up' situations.

"NSG has no experience in counter-insurgency operations and that is the reason one of the elite commandos got killed even after killing one of the terrorists," he said, adding army is best trained and experienced in counter-insurgency operations as compared to the NSG.

He said army has been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir with great success and minimum loss of life.

"Army have got training, experience and expertise and they would certainly have done a better job, in shorter duration and more likely with less loss of life," Singh said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the IOCL's refinery at Paradip to the nation on February 6 or 7, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here today.

The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid foundation stone of the IOCL's refinery project in Paradip.

Modi will also visit the Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri and may inaugurate the newly built campus of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, during his two-day visit to Odisha, Pradhan said.
The Home Ministry is in the process of finalising new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to secure India's border with Pakistan in the wake of recent terror attack in Pathankot.

Both UAVs and RPA are used by Indian security and intelligence agencies for surveillance related works within the Indian air space. The Home Ministry will form new guidelines to help security forces guard the country's frontiers, official sources said.

A meeting was held in the Ministry to discuss the provision of licensing for UAVs and RPA, they said, adding that the role of a centralised agency for their licensing was also discussed.

The move assumes significance as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had recently admitted to "some gaps" that led to attack on Indian Air Force base in Pathankot during the intervening night of January 1 and 2 by six terrorists, who had sneaked into the country from Indo-Pak border in Pakistan.

They were killed during a counter-operation by Indian forces that lasted for about three days in which seven security personnel were also killed.

After new SOPs are finalised, the Ministry may deploy more UAVs and RPA at the country's border with Pakistan, the sources said.
A senior Catholic priest in Kerala today welcomed a meeting of RSS and Christian leaders, which was reportedly held last month.

Father Paul Thelekkatt, former spokesperson of the influential Syro-Malabar Church and Editor of Church-run publication "Sathyadeepam", said in a democratic country one cannot proclaim a group to be against anyone and go on indefinitely.

"Personally I do welcome the proposal....," he told PTI here today days after the reported meeting between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Christian leaders as part of a plan to reach out to the community.

RSS leaders reportedly held meetings with Christian leaders on December 17 in New Delhi.

"I believe that the RSS is ready to dialogue with Christians and not to impose anything on the Christians but to listen to the followers of another religion and to create a better atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation and thus to grow together as equal citizens of this country," Thelekkatt said.

The priest, who still articulates Syro-Malabar Church's position on various issues including politics and religion, said, "uniqueness of Christianity cannot be compromised with; however we as Christians are committed to this culture and this tradition.

"The identity of Christianity is its universal humanism which is winged humanism where love of God becomes love of any and every man who irrespective of time and space, caste or creed is son or daughter of God. We will be missionaries of this humanism which must some way deconstruct the Indian culture and way of life," he said.
Prince George, the third in line to Britain's throne, has taken a step up the educational ladder by attending his first day of nursery school.

He was photographed by his mother, Kate Middleton, as she and husband Prince William dropped off their two-year-old son to Westacre Montessori School in Norfolk yesterday.

Two of the pictures released by royal officials show an excited little prince in a navy-blue quilted coat and with a sky-blue rucksack on his back.

The nursery is near the family's country home at Anmer Hall, near the Queen's Sandringham estate.

George will attend the nursery while the couple are staying at Anmer but not when they are in residence at their London home, Kensington Palace.

Montessori is an approach to educating children developed by the Italian educator Maria Montessori. It is founded on the belief that within each person is untapped potential, with the period from birth to age six seen as when children have the greatest capacity to learn.

The future king is following in the footsteps of his father and uncle Prince Harry, who were also taught at a Montessori nursery in west London.

George's nursery is in a converted chapel on a private road and charges 5.50 pounds an hour.

His low-key first day was in contrast to his father's first day at nursery, when TV cameras and journalists were invited to record the moment and were even allowed inside to film his classroom and his coat hook with his name on it.
Punjab government will invest Rs 720 crore in improving basic urban infrastructure in 16 cities under action plans for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 2015-16.

Followed by Punjab, Uttarakhand government has also decided to spend Rs 267 crore for better urban infrastructure of 6 cities under AMRUT.

Centre will provide an assistance of Rs 319 crore to Punjab while Uttarakhand will get Rs 134 crore under the State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) approved today by an inter-ministerial Apex Committee chaired by Urban Development Secretary Madhusudhan Prasad.

Under the SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab will invest Rs 365 crore in 46 water supply-related projects, Rs 288 crore in 37 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs 56 crore for improving urban transport in Amritsar and Rs 12 crore for providing open parks and green spaces in 16 mission cities.

In Punjab, coverage of households in 16 mission cities with water supply connections ranged from 28 per cent in Khanna to 93 per cent in Mohali. Water supply is in the range of 67 litres per capita per day in Khanna to 240 liters in Jalandhar as against the norm of 135 lpcd for urban areas.

Punjab has reported the best infrastructure in the country in respect of sewerage treatment with availability of 100 per cent sewerage treatment capacity in 12 of the 16 mission cities.

Only Amritsar, Barnala, Batala and Firozpur are lagging behind in this regard, for which projects have been proposed under SAAP for 2015-16.

As per AMRUT Guidelines, universal coverage of urban



households with water supply and sewerage connections and ensuring water availability @ 135 liters per capita per day gets priority followed by provision of storm water drains, urban transport and parks and green spaces.

Under SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab Government has proposed to invest Rs 154 crore on various basic infrastructure projects in Amritsar, Rs 96 crore in Ludhiana, Rs 73 crore in Batala, and Rs 73 crore in Khanna, among others.

Uttarakhand government has proposed to spend Rs 133 crore in 20 water supply related-projects in 6 mission cities, Rs 110 crore in 6 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs 18 crore in 5 storm water drainage projects and Rs 6 crore on provision of open parks and green spaces.

In the six Atal Mission cities in Uttarakhand, coverage of households with water connections is 11 per cent in Rudrapur, 15 per cent in Kashipur, 49 per cent in Rourkee, 78 per cent in Dehradun, 80 per cent in Haldwani and 90 per cent in Haridwar.

Water supply is @ 45 lpcd in Kashipur, 49 lpcd in Rudrapur, 109 lpcd in Rourkee, 133 lpcd in Haldwani, 135 lpcd in Dehradun and 187 lpcd in Haridwar.

Under SAAP for 2015-16 under Atal Mission, Uttarakhand Government has proposed to invest Rs 67 crore in Rudrapur, Rs 59 crore in Dehradun, Rs 50 crore in Kathgodam, Rs 39 crore in Haridwar, Rs 37 crore in Haldwani and Rs 37 crore in Roorki.

With today's approval, the Ministry of Urban Development has approved city level Service Level Improvement Plans (SLIPs) for 469 cities and towns in 20 states with a total project expenditure of Rs 20,137 crore out of which central assistance will be about Rs 10,000 crore.
Qualcomm, Intel, Google and US-based research firm MSCI made the maximum number of offers at the placement session of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) here.

Placement session for 2015-16 began on December 1, but was postponed to this month due to the torrential rains in the city.

The session resumed yesterday and a total of 339 offers were made by various companies and 286 students were placed, IIT Madras said in a statement.

Qualcomm offered placements to 14 candidates, research firm MSCI to 11, Intel gave offers to seven, while e-commerce major Flipkart selected six students.

The numbers for Google were not available.

Chinese electronic major Xiaomi also offered placements to five candidates, the release said.

"Many startup companies like Swiggy and UrbanLadder showed prominence at the placements. This was highly encouraging for the students who were looking to placements after we had to postpone it due to the floods," IIT-Madras' Training and Placement Advisor V Babu said.
Online classifieds platform Quikr today announced that it has merged CommonFloor.Com with its real estate vertical QuikrHomes to create an industry leader in online real estate.

This is Quikr's fourth and the biggest strategic move in the real estate category since the launch of QuikrHomes about four months ago, it was announced at a conference here.

"We have been in the investment phase, right now. Ifyou look at our business right now, we are not a profitable company, but the idea is to get profitable in next couple of years," Pranay Chulet, Quikr Founder and CEO, told PTI after the announcement.

"This is not a shift (in) anyways. It is for accelerating to double down the impact we have made in QuikrHomes," he said.

Asked to divulge the terms of transaction, Chuletsaid, "We wouldn't speak about it. We would keep it confidential for now."



Co-founder and CEO of CommonFloor.Com Sumit Jain said the merger will help leveraging each other's strengths toprovide more value to the end-users.

"The real strategic reason is that we are doing transaction to create more value, not to remove some of the value that has been created. We are one team now, and we want to work on a common platform," Chulet said.

Moreover, this platform will give more choices to the customer, he added.

Also, the coming together of the twocompanies will transform the way people sell and buy, Chuletsaid.

The merger, which is expected to be completed in the next two to three months, will give CommonFloor.Com access to Quikr's 30 million consumers and harness the potential of the cross category nature of the platform.

QuikrHomes willbenefit from CommonFloor's structured data and domainexpertise, Chulet added.

Asked whether the company plans to raise further capital



for its verticalisation, Chulet said, "Right now, by God's grace we have enough resources irrespective of market sentiments. We don't have any such immediate plans."



On whether the company is looking for more partnerships to cater their expansion plans, he said it is open, provided it adds on value to their consumers.

"We would always be open to acquisitions and partnerships, which bring value to the customers," he added.

Asked whether the merger will force the company to lay off employees, Jain said, on the contrary they are looking for doubling the number of employees and certainly there wouldn't be any layoffs.

"In spite of the merger, we still need lot of people compared to what we have right now ... Certainly there are not going to be any layoffs," he said.

The combined force of two entities will create a strong online real estate industry leader, which has the largest inventory and property seeker traffic in the country, he added.

The company will continue to operate both brands in the market and honor the commitment towards their respective customers.

Further, given that the two companies have the same technology stack, the CommonFloor.Com team will have expanded scope across Quikr's four other verticals in order to further accelerate its growth.

Quikr recently had acquired Indian Realty Exchange (IRX), a mobile-first aggregator of real estate broker community and RealtyCompass, a platform that provides builder rating and project analysis.

It also made a strategic investment in A N Virtual Tech, the only company in India that has detailed real life imagery of 90 per cent plus streets and buildings across India's top 50 cities.

QuikrHomes is one of the key verticals for Quikr as 35 per cent of its revenue comes from it.

CommonFloor has over five lakh active property listings from over 200 cities, and over 1 lakh residential projects listed.
Ahead of the upcoming Mahamaham festival, held once in 12 years, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan today inspected the national highways connecting this temple town and said that it would be repaired soon.

Work on about 15 highway projects which was delayed due to recent rains and floods are now being were expedited and work on Kumbakonam-Thanjavur road will commence soon, the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways said.

He said this after inspecting the highways in and around this temple town which is bracing up for the Mahamaham festival to be held next month.

Radhakrishnan also said that he was making all efforts to get the ban on Jallikattu lifted and was in touch with the concerned minister to facilitate conduct of the traditional bull taming sport which has been banned by the Supreme Court in 2014.

Centre would give adequate financial assistance to Tamil Nadu for rain relief after the inter-ministerial officials teams, presently touring the state to assess the extent of damage, submitted its report, he added.
Underworld don Chhota Rajan cannot be physically produced before a special MCOCA court in Mumbai due to a threat to his life, a Delhi court has said and directed CBI to urge Maharashtra government to arrange video conferencing from Tihar jail here for the purpose.

Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar said this after the agency informed the court that there was a "serious life threat" to Rajan from various underworld mafia groups and intelligence inputs have been received in this regard.

CBI also said that Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai may be requested to procure Rajan's attendance through video conferencing.

ALSO READ: Court extends judicial custody of Chhota Rajan till Dec 15

The agency said this in its reply filed on an application moved by the superintendent of Tihar Jail, where Rajan is currently lodged under judicial custody in an alleged fake passport case.

In his plea, the jail superintendent said a production warrant was issued by MCOCA court at Arthur Road prison premises in Mumbai for his production before it today.

During the hearing on the plea, Rajan, who was produced through video conferencing, submitted that he was likely to be killed by his rivals if he is sent to Mumbai.

His counsel also said that sending Rajan to Mumbai may put his life under serious threat.

"I have considered all facts and circumstances and I am of the opinion that physical production of the accused before the MCOC Court is not feasible at this stage. However, CBI is directed to request the State of Maharashtra to arrange production of the accused before the said court concerned through video conferencing," the court said in its order.

The court further said, "Copy of order be sent to jail superintendent, who has sought appropriate orders from this court on receiving production warrants from the MCOC special court, Mumbai."



It also said that CBI should send a copy of its order to the special MCOC court in Mumbai immediately.

The case in which production warrant was issued was lodged against Rajan and others in 2011 under various sections of IPC, including 302 (murder), the Arms Act, the Mumbai Police Act and under the provisions of MCOCA.

(Reopens LGD3)



In its order, the court noted that due to the threat perception to Rajan, he was being produced before it also through video conferencing here.

The court had earlier ordered that remand proceedings in the alleged fake passport case, in which Rajan was arrested by CBI, would be conducted through video conferencing from Tihar jail.

Deported after being on the run for 27 years, the 55-year-old gangster, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, was sent to high-security Tihar prison in judicial custody on November 19 last year in connection with the case.

Rajan, once a close aide of fugitive terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has been brought to the country to face trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai.

After his arrest in Bali (Indonesia) on October 25 last year, India had pressed for his early deportation.
The Delhi High Court today set aside the order of its single judge bench which had directed the Supreme Court registry to provide information to an RTI activist regarding cases in which judgments were pending after being reserved.

A division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said the single judge verdict upholding the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), directing the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the apex court to provide the information sought, cannot be sustained.

The court's order came on an appeal filed by Supreme Court Registry against a single judge's December 4, 2014 order by which it had been directed to provide information to RTI activist Commodore Lokesh K Batra.

"We are unable to agree with the conclusion of the single judge. Hence, the order under appeal to the extent of upholding the direction of CIC in order dated August 3, 2011 not being in conformity with the provisions of the Act cannot be sustained.

"Accordingly, the order under appeal to the extent of the impugned direction as well as the order of CIC is hereby set aside and the appeal shall stand allowed," the division bench said.

Batra in his RTI application had sought data of pending cases in which arguments have been heard between 2007-2009 and judgements reserved.

Citing an earlier judgement, the division bench said, "It is clear that an applicant under the RTI Act has access to only such information that is available and existing with the public authority, subject to the exemptions in Section 8 (of the Act)."



"The provisions of the Act, no doubt, empower the CIC or SIC to require the public authority to take any such steps as may be necessary to secure compliance with the provisions of the Act including by providing access to information if so requested in a particular form," it said.

The bench said it appeared that the provisions of the Act



required only to maintain the records in a manner which facilitates the right to information under the Act.

"'Right to information' under Section 2(j) means only the right to information which is held by any public authority. We do not find any other provision under the Act under which a direction can be issued to the public authority to collate the information in the manner in which it is sought by applicant," the court said while allowing the appeal of the SC registry.

The appeal, filed through senior advocate A S Chandhiok, contended having found that the information is not maintained by CPIO in the manner sought for, "the single judge was not justified in upholding the direction of CIC for compiling such information for disclosure to public in future."



The single judge bench had on December 4, 2014 upheld the CIC order while observing that "the period for which a case remains pending after arguments, is relevant for any citizen who desires to know about the pendency of cases before the apex court."



The CPIO of the apex court had earlier rejected Batra's plea by an order dated January 12, 2010 saying the data is not maintained by the registry in the manner as sought for by him.

His appeal before the First Appellate Authority (FAA) was also dismissed, against which he had moved CIC which had directed CPIO to provide the information.
South Sudan's government and rebels have agreed on how to share the country's ministries for a proposed transitional government of national unity, a group overseeing the implementation of a peace deal to end the two-year civil war said today.

The ministries of finance, defense, justice, and information will go to loyalists of President Salva Kiir, while the rebels under former Vice President Riek Machar, who is slated to retake his post in the transitional government, picked the petroleum and interior ministries in the oil-rich country, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission said.

The commission said a group of former political prisoners unaligned with either Kiir or Machar took the foreign ministry, while a group of unarmed opposition parties will run Cabinet affairs.

The unity government, which will last three years before new elections, will have 30 ministries total. Sixteen go to Kiir's side, 10 to Machar's, and two each to the former detainees and the opposition parties.

Analysts lauded the progress but warned that many of key issues in the peace agreement have not been addressed. "While it's positive, many of the key stumbling blocks to the agreement remain unaddressed...We are not out of the woods yet," said Casie Copeland, South Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group.

South Sudan's civil war started on Dec. 15, 2013, after a skirmish in a barracks in Juba between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and troops who support Riek Machar, who is of the Nuer tribal group. The United Nations says tens of thousands have been killed.

More than 2 million people have fled their homes, including hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
Days after his trip was postponed due to spiralling Saudi-Iran tensions, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister today arrived here and held talks with the Pakistani leadership on a host of issues including regional security situation and Islamabad's concerns over the 34-nation alliance to fight militancy.

Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and held delegation-level talks with the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz. He also met army chief General Raheel Sharif.

Adel briefed the Prime Minister on the details of the Islamic military alliance against terrorism after Pakistan announced its readiness to join it once all details are made available.

Sharif said that Pakistan welcomes Saudi Arabia's initiative and stressed that it supports all such regional and international efforts to counter terrorism and extremism.

They also discussed regional security situation and matters of bilateral interest.

The Prime Minister called for further strengthening and expanding bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, in all fields of cooperation, including defence, security, economic and commercial ties, according to an official statement.

Adel also briefed Sharif on Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of a Shia cleric in the Kingdom.

Sharif expressed deep concern at the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of Saudi Embassy in Tehran.

The Prime Minister called for resolution of differences through peaceful means "in the larger interest of the Muslim unity".

Adel was originally scheduled to arrive on Sunday but the trip was delayed due to Saudi Arabia's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, in the Kingdom.

During the talks with Aziz, the two sides discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and underscored the need to develop jointly a counter narrative against extremism and terrorism.

The two countries agreed to hold political consultations twice a year alternately in Islamabad and Riyadh.

They agreed to make a concerted effort to promote multi-faceted cooperation and work together to defeat "common enemy - terrorism and extremism.
Days after his trip was postponed due to spiralling Saudi-Iran tensions, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister arrived here today to hold talks with the Pakistani leadership on a host of issues including Islamabad's concerns over the 34-nation alliance to fight militancy.

Adel was originally scheduled to arrive on Sunday but the trip was delayed due to Saudi Arabi's growing tensions with Iran over the execution of a Shia cleric in the Kingdom.

The postponement of the visit came a day after Saudi Arabia announced the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 others, garnering condemnation from Shiites across the region.

Al Jubeir was received by Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz at Noor Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi.

The Saudi Minister, during his visit, will call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and meet army chief General Raheel Sharif, officials said. He will also hold detailed talks with Aziz.

It is believed that Pakistan's concerns about the Saudi Arabia-led 34-nation military coalition of Muslim countries to fight militancy and Saudi-Iran tensions will dominate the talks.

Pakistan is in a tight situation due to its nature of relations with both Saudi Arabia and Iran. Domestic pressure is mounting on the government to stay neutral and at best try to reconcile the two countries, observers said.

Pakistan has urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to resolve differences through peaceful means.

The Saudi Foreign Minister will also share details of the alliance against terrorism after Pakistan announced its readiness to join it once all details are made available.

The alliance does not include countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and Pakistan is wary of its constitution as it may pitch Islamabad against many Muslim nations which are not part of it.
A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her school lecturer for about five months in Lakshmipura village here, police said today.

The lecturer, Ramesh Kumar Nayak, about five months ago, had threatened the victim, a class XI student, that he will upload her photos on the internet and on this pretext has raped her five-six times in a nearby jungle, Talera police station SHO, Jitendra Singh said.

Nayak, who was a Hindi subject lecturer at a secondary school, was promoted as principal and transferred to a school in Ramgangbalaji village two months ago, however, he has been in constant touch with the girl, Singh said.

The victim, in her complaint, has alleged that despite being a winter break in school, the accused had called the girl five days ago and raped her in the jungle, he said.

Seeing the deteriorating condition of their daughter while plunging into depression, her parents enquired about it and the girl narrated her ordeal to them, Singh said.

The victim yesterday along with her parents approached the police station and lodged a complaint against the accused, who has gone absconding since then, he said.

The accused, a resident of Bundi, was booked under section 376 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

The victim's medical examination was conducted last evening in a government-run hospital in Bundi.

The efforts are on to arrest the accused, the SHO said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the Pathankot terror attack as he directed officials to speed up work on the leads given by India, sources said.

"Issues pertaining to and regional security were discussed during the meeting," the Prime Minister's Office here said in a brief statement.

The meeting was attended by Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Interior; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, Security Advisor; Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary; Aftab Sultan, chief of Intelligence Bureau and other officials.

A source privy to the details said that the meeting discussed the Pathankot attack and the information shared so far by India.

"The meeting decided ,to speed up work on the leads given by India" he said on anonymity.

Another official said that the information provided by India was not enough as it was just limited to telephone numbers and Pakistan might ask for additional information.

"We would like to have solid information to build a case for action otherwise courts intervene and the suspects are bailed out," he said.

He added the meeting agreed that strong action would be taken after probe against anyone found guilty of involvement in the attack.

The meeting came as India said it is waiting for "prompt and decisive action" as promised by Sharif to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a telephone call on Tuesday.

India has provided "specific and actionable information in this regard" to Pakistan.

Security personnel during their operation against the militants who attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, on Sunday. -- PTI Photo

Yesterday, Pakistan's army chief Gen Raheel Sharif reaffirmed zero tolerance for terrorist organisations and took a detailed review of overall internal and external security situation in the country.

He made the remarks while presiding over the Corps Commander Conference held at General Headquarters, a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

In a pre-dawn attack on January 2, a group of heavily- armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab.
Export of soybean meal (mostly used as animal feed abroad) plummeted by 97 per cent to 5,667 tonnes in December 2015.

Soybean meal export stood at 1,94,012 tonnes in December 2014, registering a sharp fall of 97 per cent, according to an official release.

On a financial year basis, exports during April to December 2015 stood at 61,559 tonnes, as compared to 4,31,368 tonnes during the same period of previous year, down 85.73 per cent, it said.

During the current oil year (October-September), total exports from October 2015 to December 2015 period was recorded at 18,814 tonnes, as against 3,34,508 tons in the corresponding period a year ago, a fall of 94.37 per cent.

The data has been collected and compiled by Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) based on information received from its members, port authorities and other agencies.

The data does not include exports to Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh by rail or road, SOPA Chairman Davish Jain said.
Sri Lanka has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot and reaffirmed its commitment to combat terrorism in all forms.

The Government and people of Sri Lanka extend condolences to the victims and their families, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a release.

Sri Lanka remains committed to work with countries in the region and beyond to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, it added.

In a pre-dawn attack on January 2, a group of heavily- armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab.
Police used force to disperse and round up a group of about 40 FTII students protesting here against TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan who is expected to take charge as the institute's Chairman today.

Notwithstanding a warning issued by police yesterday to maintain peace on the eve of the first meeting of the new FTII Society headed by Chauhan, members of FTII Students Federation (FSA) staged a protest demonstration at the institute's gate shouting "Gajendra Chauhan go back" which led to a scuffle between the students and police.

"We have been brutally targeted by police who lathi-charged us with the knowledge of FTII administration," alleged one of the students as he was put in a police van and whisked away.

The students of the prestigious institution here were on a strike opposing Chauhan's appointment since June 12 last year and called it off on October 28 and returned to the classes.

An FSA representative Vikas Urs said, "We had withdrawn the strike but we have not given up our resistance to the wrong appointments. Police have attacked on our peaceful protesters in connivance with the FTII administration. Our protest will continue".

"We had asked the students to demonstrate peacefully but we had to use force because they wanted to block the way to the institute and therefore we had to detain them. We used minimum force," said Tushar Joshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police who was on the spot.

The FSA has alleged that Chauhan lacks stature to head the FTII.

A tough posture by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which steadfastly refused to accept the FSA demand for removal of Chauhan, a crackdown on some students and their arrest subsequent to gherao of the institute director Prashant Pathrabe ultimately saw the long drawn out agitation by students fizzle out last year as they returned to academics.

Meanwhile, the first meeting of FTII Society scheduled to be held today at the campus, is likely to be attended among others by Anagha Ghaisas, Rahul Solapurkar, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak -- the members whose appointments have been objected by the FSA for being political and allegedly lacking in merit and stature for the post.

Asked to react to the students' continuing opposition to his posting, Gajendra Chauhan who remained confined to his hotel room in the vicinity of the FTII as police cleared the institute gate rounding up the students protesters, said, "We have come here for a job and we will do our job."



A female student of the FTII said, "We were protesting peacefully at the main gate to register our dissent because politically appointed people are taking charge as members of the FTII Society. We got beaten up without any provocation and were taken to police station. Our protest is on and fight will continue."


Congress today mounted a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over relationship with Pakistan and asked him to "stop embarrassing India" as it advocated a "wait and watch" policy regarding talks with the neighbouring country in the wake of Pathankot terror attack.

Alleging that Modi government has mastered the art of taking "unauthorized U-turns", party spokesperson Kapil Sibal ridiculed its functioning saying the government was "not realizing that such u-turns only lead to accidents."



"That is why Pathankot has become Pareshan (disturbed) kot," he said.

Taking potshots at the Prime Minister over his surprise visit to Lahore some time back and other steps on foreign policy, Sibal said Modi is trying to "make history without learning from history".

"Instead of trying to make history, Modi should learn from it. Once bitten twice shy is an age-old adage. We have been bitten not once but several times and yet the immature handling of Pakistan has belittled the stature of the office Mr.Modi holds. The mindless wooing of Pakistan is bound to result in betrayal.

"The government has no cohesive Pakistan policy. It has failed to stop cross-border infiltrations, whose number has crossed over a thousand since this government came to power," Sibal said.

Recalling that Modi met his Pakistani counterpart in Ufa, in Paris and a third time in Lahore as a willing invitee to Nawaz Sharif's birthday and family wedding, the Congress spokesperson said,"acceptance of such an informal invitation without any preparatory homework is unbecoming of a Prime Minister, who has exposed himself to ridicule after yet another betrayal by Pakistan at Pathankot. "



Sounding dismissive of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's overtures after the Pathankot attack, Sibal said that India has given such documents to Pakistan many times and hence "we must wait and watch what Pakistan is going to offer us because Pakistan has let us down on many occassions."



Noting that Modi and his "Bhakts" may term his presence at a family event as out of the box diplomacy, Sibal alleged,"it is in reality mindless diplomacy".

"Modi's uncharacteristic surprises often end up embarrassing the nation. We would like to know, what the country has gained from the meeting of NSAs at Bangkok and Modi's immature decision to drop-in at Lahore on his way back from Kabul," he said.

Since May 2014, Modi's Pakistan policy is "confused, lacks continuity and is bereft of institutional guidance". That is why the Minister of Foreign Affairs is sidelined and none of the other senior ministers are privy of what he is up to. Modi's Pakistan policy is like an unguided missile which creates a spectacle when fired but loses trajectory and inevitably crash-lands. Stop embarrassing India," Sibal said.

(Reopens Del 79)



Taking a swipe at Modi over his suprise trip to Lahore, Sibal said, "sometimes a hug can become a bug".

"Mr Prime Minister, it is our advice that you should neither walk nor talk with terror. And when the country is in the midst of dealing with a terrorist threat, then it is time to skip Yoga lessons and be in Delhi to take charge.

"A supple body also needs a supple mind. A little circumspection before dropping in at the "padosi's" birthday party might have saved us the embarrassment. Sometimes a hug can become a bug," the Congress spokesperson said.

He noted that there has to be some institutional decision.

"Why did he stop in Lahore? No one knows. Even his Ministers don't know. We can't understand when PM was in Kabul, why did he break journey. In foreign policy there are mechanisms in place. They can't just drop in. It's not like visiting a friend in Lutyens Delhi," Sibal said.

The Congress spokesperson said the Prime Minister and his tweeting entourage seem to have "tweeted their way to complete immaturity."



"It is time these ministers, even if they don't take themselves seriously, at least should be serious in their tweets. Our tweeting Prime Minister and his tweeting ministers have tweeted enough. I request them all to tweet that they will stop tweeting and spend those precious moments giving serious thought to finding solutions to highly complex issues," he said.

Noting that in any attack the response of the government is the key to minimizing damage, Sibal said that Government claims that it had prior intelligence, but what did it do?



"Was the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security convened? The answer is 'No'. The Prime Minister was away in Mysuru, the Home Minister was to leave for Assam. There was none to take charge. The entire operation was left to be mishandled by the NSA, who ill-advised the government.

"It is the core competence of the Army and not the NSG to deal with such attacks. It seems the NSA wanted to take credit for this operation and kept the Army at bay," Sibal said targetting NSA Ajit Doval.

"The Home Minister did not even make himself available for the next cabinet meeting held on January 6. The fact is that due to over centralization of power, the Modi government is making tactical blunders jeopardizing the country's security.

"The reality is that this government has no clue. The Services were briefing on their own, the Ministers were briefing on their own, the BSF was briefing on its own and the Home Secretary was briefing on his own. There was no coordination whatsoever between agencies. It was a free for all," Sibal said.

Alleging that Modi has a habit of opposing all good things till the time he is not the author, Sibal cited the instances of MGNREGA Insurance Regulatory Bill and AADHAAR to hammer home the point that had the BJP not opposed the National Counter Terrorism Centre envisaged by UPA government in 2012, the situation could've been handled much better today.
The Madras High Court Bench here today directed the Government Advocate to get instructions on a plea that a special public prosecutor be appointed for conducting the trial in the suicide abetment case against the brother of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Panneerselvam.

Justice S Vaidhyanathan gave the direction during the hearing of a petition by the father of a Dalit priest, who allegedly committed suicide in 2012 unable to bear the "humiliation" he suffered at the hands of O Raja, brother of Panneerselvam.

The petitioner Subburaj has sought a CBI probe into the death of his son S Nagamuthu, a priest of a temple in Thenkarai in Theni district.

Stating that he was not satisfied with the case being handled by the regular Public Prosecutor as the accused was a politically influential person, the petitioner sought appointment of senior lawyer B Mohan, who has 36 years of experience in criminal law, as the Special PP.

The Judge asked the Government Advocate to get instructions on the plea of the petitioner and posted the matter to January 11 for for further hearing.

The petitioner said he was entitled to engage a senior advocate of his choice being the victim under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In his suicide note, Nagamuthu had stated that Raja and others had humiliated him and prevented him from entering the temple and held them responsible for his suicide.

The suicide note was sent for forensic test on the orders of the court and found to have been written by Nagamuthu.
A suicide bomber killed six people, including a child, today at a checkpoint in a Libyan oil region that has been shaken by a recent jihadist assault, the Red Crescent said.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf, said Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, who was at the scene.

"A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf," said Hodeiri.

He said three guards and a 16-month-old baby were killed, and that two other guards had been wounded.

Ati said two other people died in the assault but their identities were not clear. Reports suggested they were relatives of the baby.

The suicide bombing comes after the Islamic State group launched an offensive on Monday against Libya's key oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra.

It also coincided with a suicide truck bombing early today on a police training school in the coastal city of Zliten, east of Tripoli, that killed more than 50 people.

At least four oil storage tanks have been set on fire during the fighting, which also killed at least 10 security guards, according to the National Oil Company and Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for guards at Al-Sidra.

Ras Lanouf and Al-Sidra are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along Libya's northern coast.

IS has been trying for several weeks to push east from its coastal stronghold of Sirte, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for today's attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has in the past said it was behind suicide bombings and other atrocities.

IS has been growing in power in Libya, feeding on the chaos that has gripped the North African country since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Tata Steel today said it expects commercial production at its Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha to begin from April.

"Some units of the plant like coke oven plant, sinter plant have already started production on a trial basis. The blast furnace and steel melting shop will be on trial in the current quarter (Jan-Mar). So we should be able to start commercial production at Kalinganagar plant from April 2016," Tata Steel Managing Director T V Narendran said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of Indian Iron & Steel Sector Skill Council office at New Town here.

With the 3-MT Kalinganagar steel plant's first phase, the Tata Steel India's total capacity will rise to 13 MT.

Narendran said though 2015 was bad for the steel market due to sluggish demand and cheap imports, Tata's Jamshedpur plant will end the year with production close to its rated capacity of 10 MT.

He said India's steel demand is expected to grow by 5-6 per cent in 2016 and the worst seems to be over.

"Last year (2015) was very bad in terms of global steel prices. But I believe steel prices have hit the bottom. Steel prices in 2016-17 will not be as low as in 2015," he said.

"I am more positive on demand ... We are quite hopeful that construction sector, which consumes 60 per cent of the steel produced in the country, is showing sign of improvement. Government's focus on infrastructure and smart cities will help improving demand," he said.

World Steel Council has predicted India's steel demand will grow by 7-8 per cent in the next two years.
A Texas state trooper involved in a controversial arrest of a black woman who was found dead in her jail cell was indicted on perjury charges, US prosecutors said.

A dashcam video captured trooper Brian Encinia, who is white, holding a stun gun and shouting "I will light you up!" after getting into an argument with Sandra Bland during a traffic stop in July.

The video went viral after Bland's family disputed the coroner's conclusion that she committed suicide, insisting Bland was happy about starting a new job and had no reason to kill herself just three days after her arrest.

It comes with America embroiled in a debate over race and police tactics after a series of high-profile incidents in which African Americans were killed by police in disputed circumstances.

A grand jury declined to issue indictments last month against Bland's jailers in connection with her death.

However, Encinia could face up to a year in prison if convicted of lying on the affidavit he submitted justifying the arrest.

"The indictment was issued in reference to the reason that he removed her from her vehicle," a special prosecutor appointed to handle the case told reporters yesterday on the Waller County courthouse steps.

Prosecutors declined to provide further details.

Bland's family has filed a civil suit in an attempt to force the county and individuals involved to take responsibility for their role in her death.

They insist that she never should have been arrested in the first place.

Bland was an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of protests sparked by the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and cases such as that of Freddie Gray, who sustained a fatal spinal injury in a Baltimore police van.
Thailand Culture Minister Vira Rajpoj Chanarat, along with a delegation, today called on his Indian counterpart Mahesh Sharma and discussed the issues of mutual cooperation in the field of culture and tourism.

Sharma assured the visiting minister that the culture relations between India and Thailand "will be strengthened", an official release said here.

"They discussed the issues of mutual cooperation in the field of culture and tourism," it said.

Sharma also said the year 2017 is being celebrated to mark the 70th Anniversary of India-Thailand Friendship.

India can also organize short term exhibitions on Lord Buddha in Thailand, the release said.
A 30-year-old son of a Tihar Prison official, was allegedly shot at by unidentified persons at the residential quarters in west Delhi's Jail Road.

The incident was reported yesterday when two men approached the victim Virendra's house. When he came out to attend them, the accused allegedly fired at him and fled, police said.

The victim, who sustained one bullet injury, was immediately rushed to the hospital and is presently stated to be out of danger, they said, adding that the incident was suspected to be a case of business rivalry.

Virendra's father is an assistant superintendent rank official at Tihar prisons.

Virendra was into the business of financing and his statement was recorded by police today, an official said.

DCP (West) Pushpendra Kumar could not be reached for comments.
Against the backdrop of the terror attack at Pathankot air base, the Archdiocese of Bhopal has said that time has come to unite against terrorism.

"Terrorists are trying to destabilise the peace and harmony in the world. The time has come to unite the peace- loving communities, against all kinds of terrorism," Archbishop Dr Leo Cornelio said here last evening while paying rich tributes to the martyrs of Pathankot strike.

Condemning the terror act, Corenlio said, "Some anti- national elements don't want to see the progress of our country. That's why they plan such type of cowardly act."



Congratulating the defence forces for neutralising the cruel intentions of terrorists, he said, "We are proud of our defence forces for their dedicated service to the country, and we place our faith in them."



He also expressed his deep condolence to the family members of martyrs and prayed for them.

Bhopal Archdiocese PRO Fr Maria Stephen, along with several people from the Christian community, lit candles in front photos of brave heroes who sacrificed their lives in the brutal terrorist attack.

Stephen said, "Any sort of violence is against the progress of humanity.
Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay today visited and paid his obeisance at Kalighat and Dakshineswar temples here.

Tobgay, who arrived here on a four-day visit yesterday, went to the temples in the morning and offered prayers before the Goddess Kali.

Later, he met West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi before joining a dinner party at Eco Park in New Town.

Tobgay is in the city at the invitation of the state government to attend the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit beginning tomorrow.
A key House Democrat said today that there is no evidence the intelligence community was spying on members of Congress, following a report that the National Security Agency swept up some conversations with lawmakers in the course of spying on Israel.

Rep. Adam Schiff, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said lawmakers were fully briefed on the issue yesterday. The Intelligence Committee chairman, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, asked for the committee briefing by the NSA and Director of National Intelligence following the report last week in The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal's report said that even after the president announced he would limit spying on friendly heads of state, the NSA kept watch on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top Israeli officials, and in the process, the agency caught some conversations with U.S. Lawmakers.

Schiff said in a statement today that following the briefing, "There is no evidence that the intelligence community was spying on members, or that the laws and procedures governing any incidental collection on members of Congress were violated in any way."



He said lawmakers would continue to watch the issue and explore whether additional safeguards are needed. Nunes' spokesman, Jack Langer, said the chairman was still collecting information on the issue and had no immediate comment.
A key French member of the Islamic State group, Salim Benghalem, who had ties to the Charlie Hebdo attackers, was sentenced in absentia by a Paris court today to 15 years in prison.

Six other men, who have returned from Syria and Iraq, were given sentences of between six and nine years.

Benghalem, 35, is thought to have been in Syria since 2013 and is subject to an international arrest warrant.

He is believed to be one of the IS jailers of Western journalists and aid workers who were later executed, working alongside Mehdi Nemmouche, who later carried out a fatal attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels in 2014.

Benghalem is listed as a "foreign terrorist combatant" by the United States, and is known to French intelligence services for his "active participation in combat" in Syria, a security source told AFP last year.

He came to the attention of French authorities for his involvement in the Buttes-Chaumont network of would-be jihadists in Paris that included Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo newspaper exactly one year ago.

Benghalem was jailed in 2007 for his part in gang violence, and was released in 2010, after which he is thought to have travelled to Yemen, a security source said.

He is considered to be a central figure in the recruitment of radicalised young men for IS.

Intelligence sources believe Benghalem is one of the highest-ranked foreign fighters in the Islamic State chain of command.

He appeared in an IS video released in February, praising the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and calling for more violence.

The daily Le Monde reported that he was the target of a French air strike on the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria in October.

Another of those convicted on Thursday spent a year and a half in Syria, fighting for several groups including the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, and is accused of recruiting four of his co-accused.

He was recorded in a telephone conversations complaining that others had not stayed in Syria for long enough, saying they had left "without doing a thing" and adding: "It's not Club Med here!"



One of those in the dock has never been to Syria.
TransCanada will sue the US government for $15 billion for blocking its controversial project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico, the firm has said.

TransCanada Corp yesterday said the denial of a permit to complete the Keystone XL pipeline "was arbitrary and unjustified" under the North American Free Trade Agreement, and that the decision also exceeded the constitutional powers of US President Barack Obama.

The Obama administration decided in October to deny the Canadian company a permit to construct a key section of the pipeline across the US-Canada border, ruling it would harm the fight against climate change.

The decision, which came seven years after the company first submitted the project, marred US-Canada relations and angered many in the oil industry in both countries.

The pipeline would carry crude oil from the Alberta tar sands deposits all the way to the US Gulf Coast, and blocking the 1,900 kilometer Alberta-Nebraska section effectively undermined the entire project.

Environmentalists have assailed the project -- and the move to sue -- arguing that the Alberta deposits produce some of the "dirtiest" crude in the world.

TransCanada said in its complaint that the permit denial discriminated against it -- noting that three other pipeline had been granted permits for similar operations carrying Alberta crude into the United States.

It said that the Obama administration had instead bowed to pressure from environmental activists "even though the administration had concluded on six occasions that the pipeline would not have a significant impact on climate change."



"The delay and the ultimate decision to deny the permit were politically driven, directly contrary to the findings of the administration's own studies, and not based on the merits of Keystone's application," the company said in a statement.

TransCanada said it will seek to recover $15 billion in costs and damages as a result of the permit denial, which it said breached US obligations under the NAFTA treaty to treat investors fairly and equally.
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid has announced a major cabinet reshuffle, as his government grapples with a growing jihadist threat and a feeble economy.

Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche and Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli were among those replaced in the shake-up, the first since President Beji Caid Essebsi took office in late 2014.

The interior ministry had already seen several personnel changes at lower levels following a suicide attack in the capital in November that killed 12 presidential guards.

The authorities imposed a nationwide state of emergency after the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The government said Khemaies Jhinaoui would take the helm of the foreign ministry while Hedi Majdoub would become interior minister, without explaining the reason behind the reshuffle.

There is only one politician from the Islamist movement Ennahda - Zied Laadhari - who retains the vocational training and employment portfolio.

Ennahda was the dominant political force in Tunisia after the 2011 revolution and up until the 2014 poll victory by Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes.

Tunisia, the cradle of the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings, has been plagued by Islamist violence since the revolt which overthrew longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Two other attacks last year claimed by IS on the National Bardo Museum in Tunis and on a hotel near the Mediterranean resort of Sousse killed a total of 60 people, all but one of them foreign tourists.

The November suicide bombing of a bus in the heart of the capital prompted calls for the government to rethink its strategy in the fight against extremism.

Thousands of Tunisians have travelled to Libya, Iraq and Syria to fight alongside Islamist extremists, according to the authorities, which say the Sousse and Bardo attackers received arms training in Libya.

The beheading of a 16-year-old shepherd near Sidi Bouzid in November also horrified the country.

Tunisia, which held democratic elections at the end of 2014, is often hailed as a rare success story of the "Arab Spring".

The October 2014 polls saw the secular Nidaa Tounes led by Essebsi come top in legislative polls, and in December of the same year Essebsi won Tunisia's first free presidential election.

Last year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet, credited with saving the democratic transition when it was deep in crisis.
Two labourers were electrocuted to death at an industrial unit near Remalli village in Krishna district today, police said.

The incident occurred in evening when B. Sai Durga Prasad (20) and K. Ramakrishna (23) came into contact with a live wire while loading some fertilisers, they said.

They were rushed to a government hospital where they were declared brought dead.
Two Guantanamo Bay detainees have been transferred from the US military prison to Ghana, the Pentagon said, bringing the controversial facility's remaining population down to 105.

Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby, both from Yemen, are the first detainees to be sent anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa, Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross told AFP yesterday.

The men had been recommended for transfer as early as January 2010, according to their leaked case files published by The New York Times. But bureaucratic hurdles and Yemen's collapse into civil war meant the men could not be sent home.

The duo will be monitored and the Pentagon is confident they do not pose a threat, Ross said. They arrived in Ghana earlier yesterday.

"There are security assurances that have been agreed on," Ross said, without giving details.

"The United States is grateful to the government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Pentagon said in a statement.

According to his leaked file, Dhuby had lived his entire life in Saudi Arabia but claimed Yemeni citizenship. He was a "probable" member of Al-Qaeda and allegedly received militant training in Afghanistan.

His file also states he "probably" engaged in hostile activities against coalition forces.

Atef's file states he was an admitted member of the Taliban and fought under Osama bin Laden's 55th Arab Brigade. He allegedly participated in hostile actions against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama pledged to shut Guantanamo -- reviled by critics as a stain on America's moral character that has helped fuel anti-US jihadist propaganda -- when he took office in 2009, but his efforts have failed and time is quickly ticking down on his presidency.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter last month approved the transfer of 17 low-risk detainees from Guantanamo; Atef and Dhuby come from that group.

Since 2002, a total of 779 detainees have been held at Guantanamo in connection with America's "war on terror."



Guantanamo Bay sits on the southeastern tip of Cuba but is completely fenced off from the communist island.

Inmates are kept without recourse to regular US legal processes and some likely will die in prison without ever being convicted of a crime.
The UK police have recruited a four-month-old puppy and named it after the heroic dog 'diesel' who was killed in a French police raid following the Paris attacks.

A Belgian Malinois, has joined North Yorkshire Police and begun the process that could see her qualify as a fully fledged police dog.

"The name Diesel was chosen out of respect for the police dog that died in a raid on an apartment block in Saint-Denis, Paris, in November," Sergeant Simon Whitby, of the North Yorkshire Police Dog Section was quoted as saying by the Daily Express.

"The death touched us all, and having the name live on is a wonderful way to respect Diesel's memory."



Whitby said Diesel has been assigned to a volunteer puppy walker to ensure she gains experience of a variety of situations, including socialising with people, other animals, busy traffic, crowds of people and loud noises.

Diesel, a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois French police dog was killed during a major counter-terror raid on an apartment block in Saint-Denis on November 18.

She was shot while armed police raided an apartment where Paris attacks mastermind Abdehamid Abaaoud and six other terror suspects were staying.
Britain's Treasury chief is set to warn today of a "dangerous cocktail" of new threats to the economy, insisting that the country is not immune to troubles from abroad.

George Osborne will use a speech to underscore his fears about what he described as "creeping complacency" in the debate about the national economy. In remarks released in advance, he cites a drop in global stock markets and commodity prices, as well as the slowdown in China among the issues buffeting the world economy.

"Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats," Osborne said. "For Britain, the only antidote to that is confronting complacency and sticking to the course we've charted."



Britain's economy is one of the best-performing in the developed world and has expanded for 11 quarters in a row. It grew by 0.4 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous three-month period.

But in his remarks, Osborne expressed concern that the economy would fall down on the list of everyday concerns. "Anyone who thinks it's mission accomplished with the British economy is making a grave mistake," he is to say.
Two motorcycle-borne masked gunmen today opened fire on a tourist bus and a hotel close to the Giza pyramids in Egypt, but the tourists escaped unhurt.

The militants used birdshot and targeted a group of tourists while entering the hotel on Al-Haram Street, the official said.

No casualties have been reported, however.

The attack only caused some damages to the bus and hotel gate and facade.

Security forces have launched a search for the attackers.

The attack on tourists came on a day when Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians were celebrating Christmas in the predominantly Muslim country.

Egypt's security forces have been battling insurgency in North Sinai, which has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

More than 600 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

Some extremists in the restive Sinai peninsula have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group. They have also claimed the downing of a Russian jet that killed 224 people there last year.
The United States named an alleged financier of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah to its sanctions blacklist today in a mounting effort to crack down on the group's financial resources.

The US Treasury said Ali Youssef Charara and his Beirut-based telecommunications company Spectrum Investment Group Holding have received millions of dollars from Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects.

The sanctions freeze any assets of Charara and Spectrum under US jurisdiction and forbid Americans from doing business with them.

It was the first such move since President Barack Obama signed a new law in December making it easier to target Hezbollah's finances.

The United States has officially labelled Hezbollah a terrorist group and has already taken actions against its business network, which spans to West Africa, where Charara has interests in the telecommunications sector, the Treasury said.
The US House of Representatives will vote as early as next week on legislation imposing new sanctions on North Korea.

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi promised today there will be strong bipartisan support for the measure. It comes after the authoritarian regime drew international condemnation by boasting of setting off a hydrogen bomb, though the U.S. Government has cast doubt on that claim.

The legislation by Republican Ed Royce and Democrat Eliot Engel strengthens U.S. Sanctions against the regime, including targeting access to hard currency and other goods and stepping up inspections of North Korean cargo.

Similar legislation passed the House two years ago but did not advance in the Senate.
The US, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong response to North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them security situation in the region following North Korea's test.

"All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said.

"Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said after Obama's phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test.

In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

"He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Korea's provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Secretary of State Nick Burns said the US and Asian countries should pressure the government of China to act much more resolutely to restrain and contain the North Korean regime.
The US, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong global response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour after the reclusive nation claimed that it has successfully conducted first hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them the security situation in the region following North Korea's test.

"All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said.

"Obama reaffirmed the unshakable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behaviour," the White House said after Obama's phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test.

In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

"He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Korea's provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council in an emergency session warned North Korea of fresh sanctions and strongly condemning Pyongyang's action as a "clear threat" to international peace and security.

The 15-nation Security Council, including China, held urgent consultations to address the "serious" situation arising from the nuclear test conducted by North Korea.

The Council members had previously said that they will take "further significant measures" against North Korea if it conducted another nuclear and vowed to take additional measures.
A macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs cannot be declared the copyright owner of the photos, a US judge said.

US District Judge William Orrick said in federal court in San Francisco yesterday that "while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act."



The lawsuit filed last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought a court order allowing PETA to represent the monkey and let it to administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as 6-year-old Naruto, and other crested macaques living in a reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi with an unattended camera owned by British nature photographer David Slater, who asked the court to dismiss the case. Slater says the British copyright obtained for the photos by his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., should be honored worldwide.

PETA sued Slater and his San Francisco-based self-publishing company Blurb, which published a book called "Wildlife Personalities" that includes the "monkey selfie" photos.

The photos have been widely distributed elsewhere by outlets, including Wikipedia, which contend that no one owns the copyright to the images because they were taken by an animal, not a person.

In court documents, Slater described himself as a nature photographer who is deeply concerned about animal welfare and said it should up to the U.S. Congress and not a federal court to decide whether copyright law applies to non-human animals. Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA, said the organization will continue fighting for the monkey's rights.

"Despite this setback, legal history was made today because we argued to a federal court why Naruto should be the owner of the copyright rather than been seen as a piece of property himself," Kerr said. "This case is also exposing the hypocrisy of those who exploit animals for their own gain.
A top American lawmaker has called for re-evaluation of aid to Pakistan in the aftermath of the attack on IAF base in Pathankot, saying the US should not provide assistance to nations that help terrorists.

"It is being reported that members of the Pakistani military may have provided training and assistance to the jihadists who attacked India this week," Congressman Ted Poe said in a statement.

"If this is true, the United States must immediately re-evaluate aid to Pakistan which I have long called for. We should not send money to nations who provide assistance to terrorists," the Republican lawmaker from Texas said.

"We stand with our friend India during this time and urge all nations in the region, including Pakistan, to join together to bring the attackers to justice," said Poe who is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

Poe said the deadly terror attack on the Pathankot air base was a reminder that India faces the same threat of radical Islamic terrorism.

"Unfortunately, India's neighbour Pakistan has provided safe haven to terrorists for years from shielding Osama bin Laden to backing covert terrorist operations around the world," he said.
A top US Treasury official will hold discussions with economists and Finance Ministry counterparts on bilateral financial relations and global economic developments in New Delhi and Mumbai, an official announcement has said.

The under-secretary for International Affairs, Nathan Sheets will today attend meetings at the RBI and Sebi in Mumbai, the US Department of Treasury said.

He is also scheduled to take part in two roundtable discussions with financial sector experts and private sector economists.

Sheets will hold meetings with his counterparts tomorrow at the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi to discuss the state of the global economy and economic developments in the two countries, the announcement said yesterday.

He will also host a roundtable discussion with economists and public policy experts.
The Centre has given nod to the CBI to set up the second Anti-Corruption Zone, primarily to expedite investigations and trials in the multi-crore Vyapam scam, an official said today.

The Central government has given sanction for the formation of Anti-Corruption Zone-II. Under the zone, branches will be set up here in this fiscal, Central Bureau of Investigation's press information officer R K Gaur told PTI over phone.

For setting up the zone, the Centre has sanctioned 321 posts for the investigation and trial of Vyapam scam cases in the current financial year, he said adding that 237 personnel from the rank of constable to deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police will be appointed RPT appointed.

Besides, 20 legal officers and 64 clerical staffers will be appointed RPT appointed in the zone which will be headquartered in Delhi, he said.

According to sources in CBI, the central agency was facing manpower crunch to provide a fillip to the investigations and trial into the Vyapam scam.

The CBI has registered 112 cases against more than 2,000 accused, including high-level officials and politicians in the multi-layered scam, as per the sources.

The STF had also booked MP Governor Ram Naresh Yadav in a forest guard recruitment scam conducted by Vyapam last year. But, the FIR against him was quashed by MP High Court, which observed that he enjoys immunity against criminal prosecution as long as he holds the gubernatorial post.

Over 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with the scam, which came to light in 2013, according to sources in MP police which had earlier investigated the scam before the Supreme Court handed over the probe to CBI.

Majority of the people arrested in the scam had been released after the courts across the state granted them bails. However, more than 300 accused are yet to be arrested, sources added.
Government today told the Supreme Court that wards of government employees, other than Group-A central government officials, can also be provided admission under 60 per cent quota earlier meant only for kids of this section in the prestigious Sanskriti School here.

"The Union Of India had already filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court in which we said that the School has been advised to grant reservation in admissions to the wards of Group B and C employees as well," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, told the bench headed by Justice A R Dave which fixed the matter for passing an interim order on January 11.

The government and the school administration had sought an interim order allowing the institution to continue with the admission process under the old scheme till the matter was finally decided by the apex court.

They said the nursery admission process under the local laws have begun on January 1 and the school was already behind schedule.

They had challenged the Delhi High Court decision to set aside the 60 per cent quota for wards of group-A government officials, who are in the highest class of government servants, in the prestigious school.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, said he was personally not in favour of granting 60 per cent reservation to wards of Group-A central government officials, but there should be some avenues for the wards of other officers also who get transferred often to various places or sent to offshore assignments.

"This is a complex issue where you cannot find a solution in a day or two. May be a statutory provision is needed," Sibal said, adding that a school run by a society may not grant 60 per cent reservation and "this is the heart of the problem".

Rohatgi then said that certain schools like KVS, Sainik Schools gave reservation to the wards of government employees and armed forces personnel besides being backed by specific statutory provisions.

Meanwhile, one Dheeraj Singh, father of an admission seeker, moved a plea through lawyer Akhil Sachar for being made a party in the case, alleging the High Court had already quashed a 2013 notification granting special status to the school and the order had remained unchallenged.

(Reopens LGD5)



While setting aside the 60 per cent quota in Sanskriti School, the high court in its November 6 judgement had said it was "akin to the erstwhile segregation of white and black students in the US and violated constitutional provisions of equality and right to education".

The Centre and the school have separately challenged the High Court decision.

The apex court had on December 15 last year agreed to hear the plea challenging the Delhi High Court decision.

60 per cent seats in Sanskriti school are reserved for children of Group-A officers, 25 per cent for those from the economically weaker sections, 10 per cent for wards of rest of the society and 5 per cent for its own staff.

The high court in its judgement had also observed that various expert commissions have said that the current school system in India and abroad promoted and maintained a wide chasm between the advantaged and disadvantaged.

The high court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue in 2006 after reports that the school was charging "nearly 40 per cent less fee from the children of Group-A officers of the Union Government vis-a-vis other children".
Australia opener David Warner is likely to miss a few matches in the upcoming limited overs series against India as his wife is due with the couple's second child.

Warner and wife Candice have a daughter named Ivy.

According to Australian newspaper Daily Telegraph: "Warner is flying to Perth this morning ahead of Australia's series-opening clash against India at the WACA on January 12. At this point it's anticipated Warner will play that match and the second fixture in Brisbane on the 15th, before potentially resting the rest of the campaign when his newborn arrives."



"However, if bub No.2 was to decide to arrive earlier than scheduled Warner could face a lengthy flight from one side of the country to the other," stated a report in the newspaper.
India's oil imports from Iran fell by about a quarter in 2015 as refiners slowed purchases early in the year to keep imports within the limits of sanctions, preliminary tanker arrival data obtained by Reuters shows.

Western sanctions against Iran's controversial nuclear programme limit the Gulf country's oil exports to 1-1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), with buyers such as India curbing annual purchases to 220,000 bpd.

The annual decline came as imports in December surged nearly 70% from the previous month to 233,100 barrels per day (bpd), but were still down by a third from a year ago, according to the data and a report compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts.

India's December oil imports from Iran were the highest in six months.

Asian imports of Iranian oil have fallen as most of Iran's biggest crude buyers held off from increasing purchases after a July agreement that would grant relief to Iran from sanctions early this year if it curbs its nuclear programme.

India, Iran's biggest oil client after China, shipped in 208,300 bpd of oil and condensate in calendar 2015 compared with 276,800 bpd in 2014, the data showed.

New Delhi's imports of oil from Iran are expected to rise in the next fiscal year, beginning in April, when western sanctions are expected to be eased against Tehran.

Tehran was India's seventh-biggest supplier of oil in the 2014/15 fiscal year, down from the No. 2 spot before sanctions.

A drop in purchases of Iranian oil helped boost exports to India by rival producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries, have shown interest in raising imports from Iran, Mohsen Qamsari, director general for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters.

Reliance, which operates the world's biggest refining complex in India, halted imports of Iranian oil in 2010 under pressure from sanctions.
Shares of the company, whose popular shows include "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", "Daredevil" and "Narcos", jumped 9.3 percent to close at $117.68.

India, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among the major countries where the service was launched, Hastings said at a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"(This is) much sooner and much more ambitious than expected," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Netflix, which had expanded into more than 60 countries before Wednesday's launch, previously said it aimed to reach 200 countries by the end of 2016.

However, all shows will not be available immediately to some Netflix fans.

"We're moving as quickly as we can to have global availability of all the content on Netflix," Hastings said at a press conference after his speech.

U.S. government restrictions on American companies mean Netflix will not be available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria.

The company is still exploring options for providing its service in China, the world's most populous country. Asked if Netflix will make it into the Chinese market in 2016, Hastings said in an interview "we hope so, but you never know."

"With China, you really want to build relationships first, before you get to the practical parts of building a business," he said. "And so we are doing that now and getting to know people, both in government and in partner companies."

"We'll just keep working on the relationships," he said. "We are very patient. Whether it is 2016, 2017, we'll just keep working on it."

Netflix on Wednesday added simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports.

"I think there's been pent-up demand for Netflix outside of the few geographies they were available in previously," Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, told .

Netflix, which has been spending aggressively to expand globally, has said it planned to "run around break-even through 2016" and then deliver profits.

(Additional reporting by Abhirup Roy and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru, Jane Lee in Las Vegas and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel and Sriraj Kalluvila and Diane Craft)
By Simon Falush

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $33 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since April 2004 as a slide in Chinese shares rattled investors already concerned by near-record production and massive stockpiles of unwanted crude and refined products.

Oil prices have fallen by about 70 percent since mid-2014, hurting oil companies and governments that rely on crude revenue.

China allowed its yuan currency to slip on Thursday, sending regional currencies and stock markets globally tumbling. The offshore yuan fell to its lowest since trading started in 2010.

China's stock markets were suspended less than half an hour after opening on Thursday after sharp falls triggered a new circuit-breaking mechanism for a second time since its introduction this week.

"Negative sentiment is hurting demand expectations, growth is easing in China and there is a spillover from the inventory build in (U.S.) gasoline stocks from yesterday and this is reflected in prices," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam.

Brent fell more than 5 percent in early European trade to a low of $32.16 before trimming some of its losses. It was down 1.6 percent at $33.70 at 1439 GMT.

U.S. crude futures hit a low of $32.10, their lowest since late 2003, before bouncing slightly to $33.32.

Prices trimmed early losses, with violence in the Middle East and north Africa offering a measure of support for the market.

A military training centre in the Libyan town of Zliten was hit by a truck bomb on Thursday, causing dozens of casualties, witnesses said, while dozens of air strikes hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

However, oil's rapid fall has made a prediction that Goldman Sachs made last year that crude could fall as low as $20 a barrel seem less outlandish than it then seemed.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note on Thursday that the risk of a dip below $30 has grown.

The average of a number of crudes from members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as the daily basket price, was at $29.71 on Wednesday, the cartel's website said, down from $31.21 on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, U.S. government data showed a 10.6-million-barrel surge in gasoline supplies, the biggest weekly build since 1993.

Analysts said further builds in global inventories are possible, putting more pressure on prices.

"All looks set for yet higher oil inventories on top of already record high levels," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB in Oslo.

"European crude and product inventories are close to full with Asian inventories moving closer to capacity during Q1 2016, with global residual surplus most likely having to be stored in the U.S., resulting in a potentially rapidly rising U.S. oil inventories."

Technical analysts also said there was little to stop the price tumbling further.

"The 'bear-fest' has now begun," PVM technical analyst Robin Bieber said. "The trend is down and likely to accelerate lower - it is not advised to be long. There are targets lower and these are likely to be mere staging posts on a much bigger move south."

Exacerbating the oil market woes is weakening demand, especially in Asia including China, which is seeing its slowest economic growth in a generation.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman)
By Ron Bousso and Emiliano Mellino

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has told investors its purchase of BG can work even if oil prices average $50 a barrel for two years, its lowest estimate to date as it seeks to secure shareholder support for the $51 billion deal amid plunging crude markets.

The Anglo-Dutch group is confident investors will back the deal at a Jan. 27 meeting, even though crude prices are languishing near 12 year lows around $32 a barrel and it faces a cut to its credit ratings due to higher debts, sources with knowledge of its meetings with analysts and investors said.

When Shell announced the deal in April 2015, with oil trading around $55 a barrel, many investors saw it as a bold move to buy a weakened rival on the expectation that prices would recover to around $90 per barrel within three years.

Initially, Shell indicated the combined group would be profitable with prices in the mid $70s a barrel. Last month, it said the merger would work in the low $60s, as it identified new synergies and cost cutting opportunities.

On Wednesday, finance chief Simon Henry told analysts Shell had conducted stress tests that showed it could withstand oil at $50 a barrel over the next two years, the sources told .

A poll on Monday showed analysts expect benchmark North Sea Brent crude futures to average $52.52 a barrel this year.

To weather such an environment, Shell plans to cut capital spending further below the planned $35 billion for 2016, delay share buybacks and extend scrip dividends, where investors are offered discounted shares instead of cash, Henry told analysts.

Shell plans to keep the size of its dividend unchanged, however.

Henry also met this week in London with several of Shell's top 10 investors, including BlackRock and Capital Group, seeking to address concerns about the deal.

Chief Executive Ben van Beurden is expected to meet other leading investors in London on Friday and both he and Henry will hold phone briefings with U.S. investors next week, according to company sources.

The investors are being asked how they plan to vote on the deal. Several so far have confirmed their support, but most have refused to disclose their plans, according to the sources.

Despite weak oil prices, the deal is expected to win the backing of a majority of Shell's shareholders.

"I would be very surprised if the deal didn't get the support of the Shell's shareholders. A 50 percent vote is very likely to happen," one top investor told .

Ben Ritchie, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, a top ten investor in both Shell and BG , had previously indicated his company would vote in favour of the deal.

A Shell spokesman confirmed company executives had held meetings with top investors but would not comment on the content of the discussions.

Shell shares fell 2.9 percent on Thursday, having slumped more than 30 percent since the deal was announced on April 8, trailing most of its peers.

LOWER RATING

In the analyst briefing, Henry said that although the oil market would take time to recover from its worst downturn in three decades, prices would likely average at least $60 a barrel over the next 15 years, the long-term level at which Shell says the deal is profitable, according to sources at the briefing.

The chief financial officer (CFO) nevertheless acknowledged that the weaker outlook and larger debt Shell will assume to finance the deal means credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody's will likely lower their ratings.

Lower credit ratings could make borrowing more expensive but are unlikely to significantly change access to debt markets.

S&P last July cut Shell's rating by one notch to 'AA minus' from 'AA' due to weaker oil prices, warning of possible adverse effects on credit metrics due to the BG acquisition.

Shell has outlined plans to sell $30 billion of assets over the next three years in order to finance the deal, but Henry said Shell was unlikely to achieve a third of that total this year due to low oil prices, the sources said.

(Additional reporting by Emiliano Mellino; Editing by Mark Potter)
Linde to continue supply of carbon monoxide to Celanese in Singapore

The industrial gases company has been supplying carbon monoxide to Celanese's acetic acid plant at Jurong Island in Singapore since 2004

The industrial gases company has been supplying carbon monoxide to Celanese's acetic acid plant at Jurong Island in Singapore since 2004

Linde Gas Singapore, a subsidiary of The Linde Groups Gases Division, has signed an agreement with Celanese as per which Linde will continue to supply carbon monoxide to Celaneses operations on Jurong Island, Singapore, for the production of acetic acid. The agreement enables both parties sustainable future operations in Singapore.



Sanjiv Lamba, chief operating officer for Lindes Asia Pacific business said, Celanese is one of our key global customers and we have been supplying Celaneses carbon monoxide requirements in Singapore for more than 10 years. The new agreement underscores our commitment to Singapore and the Asia Pacific region, and in particular, to our customers in Singapore.



Linde Gas Singapore operates one of the largest gasification plants in Asia Pacific, producing gaseous hydrogen and carbon monoxide, as well as a high performance air separation unit. Celanese began its Singapore acetic acid operations in 2000, and has been supplied by Linde since 2004 when Linde acquired the gasification facility and the air separation unit from a multinational energy company.



Over the last several years, Celanese has focused on enhancing its acetyl chain operating model to ensure it can be competitive in this challenging market environment. This new agreement with Linde advances our ability to improve the flexibility of our acetic acid business, stated Patrick Quarles, president, acetyl chain and integrated supply chain for Celanese.

BS B2B Bureau
Premier Explosives inks MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries

The company to explores business opportunities in aerospace market with Israel firm, which manufactures advanced systems for air, space, sea, land, cyber and homeland security

The company to explores business opportunities in aerospace market with Israel firm, which manufactures advanced systems for air, space, sea, land, cyber and homeland security

The Secunderabad-based Premier Explosives Ltd (PEL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited (IAIL) for exploring potential business opportunities.



IAIL, Israels largest aerospace and defense company, specialises in developing and manufacturing advanced systems for air, space, sea, land, cyber and homeland security. Since 1953, Israel Aerospace Industries has provided advanced technology solutions to government and commercial customers worldwide including: satellites, missiles, weapon systems and munitions, unmanned and robotic systems, radars, C4ISR and more. IAI also designs and manufactures business jets and aero structures, performs overhaul and maintenance on commercial aircraft and converts passenger aircraft to refuelling and cargo configurations.



Premier Explosives, which manufactures the entire range of commercial explosives and accessories for the civil requirement, is currently the only Indian private entity designing, developing and manufacturing solid propellants for Indian missiles, viz, Akash, Astra, etc. In July 2014, Premier Explosives entered into a joint development agreement with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras for carrying out collaborative research projects in the area of high energy materials. This is the company's second such collaboration, the first one being with Gulbarga University, Karnataka, in June 2009.



BS B2B Bureau
With a target to surpass business announcements made last year, West Bengal government is all set to showcase high growth story at the third edition of Bengal Global Business Summit beginning on Friday.

Highlighting the advantages of doing business in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already welcomed investors from the country and abroad to exploit the opportunities offered by her government.

"The Mamata Banerjee government is confident of a much higher investment in the state at the summit," state Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra said on Thursday.

"We are looking at investment in newer areas, addition of numbers, fructification of projects and labour intensive investments," he said.

Hopeful of major investments during the summit, Mitra said land acquisition was no longer a problem as the state had a large land parcel of 4,400 acres of industrial park at its disposal.

The work culture, he said, had greatly improved in the state and there was no loss of man-days in the last three years.

The summit will be attended by Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, British Employment Minister Priti Patel, Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, besides Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and industry leaders from across the country, officials said.

"Invites have been sent to industry bigwigs such as Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani," state government officials said.

Mitra himself left no stone unturned during his recent trip to Mumbai to woo investors and ensure the participation of big names in the summit.

The summit will focus on emerging areas such as start-ups, smart cities, growth of IT and financial hubs, development of industrial infrastructure, skills and services and cluster leadership for MSME sectors which are expected to drive growth in the coming years.

The summit aims to collaborate with the business community, investors, and intellectual capital from across the country, they said.
Tata Group patriarch and lately entrepreneur enthusiast Ratan Tata, who has invested in over 20 startups so far, on Wednesday said unless a newbie "excites" him, he does not invest in that company.

Stating that startups "are an embodiment of creativity and innovation of young India", Tata said he invests in new ventures if "the idea excites" him, and the first impressions of the founders are good.

"Young people are the future of the country, and new startups embody the creativity and innovation of young people ... If a startup doesn't excite me, then I really don't need to make an investment in that company," Tata told TiECON, an event celebrating young entrepreneurs, here this evening.

The Chairman emeritus of Tata Group said he goes with his first impression of the founders and if they are not passionate about the sector, or "do not give him a great deal of comfort", he doesn't invest.

"Interacting with young people has always been a very worthwhile experience, and I've probably learnt a lot more from them than you believe."

Over the past two years, the noted industrialist has invested in over 20 startups and made two fresh investments in Dogspot and Tracxn in the first week of January itself.

Asked by the entrepreneur community about making headlines for his investments, Tata lamented, "I believe one's personal investments should be personal. But the media makes ones idea of investing one's funds an issue for the public domain, which is unfortunate."

Speaking of entrepreneurs value systems, he said one can intuitively make a judgement about a person's value system from how they run their business, and that "one must not confuse ambition and aggression for bad values if they're done with a value system in mind."

Having led big-ticket buyouts of Corus Steel and Jaguar Land Rover during his leadership of the Tata Group, he said these were "not intuitive but strategic acquisitions".

While he successfully turned around JLR, on struggling Corus Steel, Tata quipped, "I simply couldn't have foreseen."

"As far as Corus was concerned, at that time we were stuck in delays in mining licences and we couldn't grow and I thought this would be a way to get an international capability," Tata said, adding "I could not be accused of flamboyance as I did not know that the European economy was going to collapse."

Meanwhile, the first day of TiECON saw participation from over 1,000 delegates comprising domestic and global CXOs, entrepreneurs, investors, thought-leaders and policymakers.

Besides Tata, the other speakers at the event included Harsh Mariwala of Marico Ronnie Screwvala of Unilazer, Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal and Kunal Shah of Freecharge, among others.
The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank will be spending Rs 200 crore on social sector projects this fiscal and meet the mandatory 2 per cent CSR spend norms, its chief Chanda Kochhar said on Wednesday.

This financial year, the bank will be spending almost Rs 100 crore on skill development, the bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive told reporters on the sidelines of a bank event.

When asked about the roadmap for achieving the government-mandated target of 2 per cent of profit on corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, she said, "Our spends group-wide are almost close to the 2 per cent target."

Kochhar was speaking after its 22nd skill development academy was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at suburban Andheri.

She said the bank has already trained 60,000 underprivileged people in 13 specifically identified skill-sets, and is targeting to take the number to 1 lakh in the next 15 months.

Over 30 per cent of the people who have been skilled for free include rural women, she said.

Fadnavis said skilling the population is imperative for the country, failing which the large percentage of population in the working age group will turn into a "demographic disaster".

Fadnavis said his government is creating a framework to skill the population and welcomed the work done by bodies like Pune's Symbiosis, which is planning to set up a skills university.

Kochhar also launched a programme wherein anybody can refer candidates to the skills academy through a dedicated website.

She said four of the 22 academies are located in Pune, Nagpur and Narsobachiwadi.

At the skill academies, pupils are taught diverse vocational skills like air-conditioner repairing, 2-3-wheelers repairing, office administration and sales, among others.

Apart from this, the bank has also helped get electricity to seven off-grid villages in the backward Jawahar tehsil of the newly created Palghar district through solar power, she said.
Nearly 340,000 bank employees across the country will strike work on January 8 to protest the implementation of the new Career Progression Scheme (CPS), a leader of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said in Chennai on Thursday.

He said the strike will be in protest against the violation of the bilateral settlement by five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), namely State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Travancore.

He said the five associate banks were bent on implementing the new Career Progression Scheme (CPS) for their employees in violation of a bilateral agreement with their respective unions.

"It is the managements of the five banks that are on war path against the employees and not the other way round. At the last conciliation meeting, the chief labour commissioner (CLC) had advised the bank managements to put on hold the implementation of the new service conditions," AIBEA general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS.

The strike will have a great impact on the banking public since January 9 will be a weekly holiday for banks.

"The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is regrettably silent on the matter. We have been forced to go on strike. The branch offices will not be closed but normal operations might be affected due to employees going on strike," Venkatachalam said.

According to Venkatachalam, the five banks also want to abolish permanent cadres like sweepers and outsource labour activity which, it contended, cannot be done unilaterally.

The AIBEA perceives uniform service conditions between the SBI and its five associate banks as a step towards merger.

Venkatachalam said there already was uniformity in technology, branding, work procedure and use of ATMs by account holders of the six banks.


With the government and operators claiming improvement on call drop front, telecom regulator Trai is conducting tests in seven cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, to find whether quality of service has improved.

A Trai official said drive tests in seven cities across the country started on December 21 and are likely to end by January 8.

The cities are-Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Indore. Drive tests are conducted to assess coverage and quality of service of mobile networks.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that call drop problem is improving and operators are putting up more tower sites.

The Minister last month said a total of 29,000 new telecom towers were installed by private telecom operators across the country after government took strong exception to the problem of call drops.

Operators have also said that they have taken steps to rein in call drops.

Meanwhile, Trai told the Delhi High Court that "lack of investment" by telecom operators in network infrastructure, like mobile towers, appears to be the main reason behind the "pervasive problem" of call drops across the country.

In an affidavit placed before the court, the regulator said telecom majors, including Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance, "have failed to keep the investments commensurate with the pace of increase in usage and the growth in number of subscribers being added by them".

Trai's response came on the pleas filed by telcos challenging the regulator's order mandating them to pay consumers Re 1 per call drop experienced on their network, subject to a cap of three a day.

Trai had carried out special independent drive tests in Mumbai and Delhi in June and July and found the network quality below par.

It followed up with more such tests in September, which showed there was not much headway.

Other than the metros, the tests had been conducted in Surat, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad.

Trai Chairman RS Sharma met chiefs of telecom companies on October 29 and asked them to improve the quality of service.
It was announced yesterday that Enterprise Ireland has signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a Space Business Incubation Centre in Ireland (ESA BIC Ireland).

The signing took place during the Enterprise Ireland Trade and Investment Mission to Netherlands and Germany led by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD.



The Taoiseach said this partnership between the European Space Agency and Enterprise Ireland will mean that Irish businesses and their innovators will be at the frontier of new space technologies.

"Ireland already has a proud record of building up a cluster of space technology companies and this new space incubator will take advantage of Government investment in research infrastructure in Ireland, the extensive network of technical facilities and expertise of the ESA, as well as the business development resources of Enterprise Ireland," he said.

The Space business incubator has the objective of supporting 25 start-up companies in space related technologies over the next 5 years.

There are currently over 45 Irish companies working with ESA in the development of highly innovative technologies for the global market in space systems and space related services and applications. This number is growing by, on average, 5 companies per year.



The Irish Government's annual investment in ESA is supporting strong growth in the sector in Ireland generating annual revenues estimated at 76M in 2015. This investment has also resulted in the creation of 600 high value technology jobs in Irish industry, projected to double by 2020.



CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon said, "I am delighted that Enterprise Ireland is signing this agreement with the European Space Agency. This agreement will foster increased innovation and business development opportunities within the space industry and research sectors in Ireland and Europe.

"It will also support Enterprise Ireland client companies who are developing new and innovative technologies for the European Space Programme and the global space market, in areas such as advanced materials, microelectronis, avionics and space related services, which will create new opportunities and more jobs in this rapidly growing sector."



Source: www.businessworld.ie
As part of the Enterprise Ireland Trade and Investment Mission to the Netherlands and Germany this week, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny met with representatives of the PM Group.



PM Group has delivered a range of major projects in Benelux and other European locations in the Pharmaceutical, Food, Med Tech and Advanced Manufacturing Technology sectors for companies such as Genzyme-Sanofi, GSK, Sanofi, J&J, Dell and Danone.



They provide a range of services to Janssen (a J&J company) on their state of the art 80m, disposable bulk vaccines facility in Leiden, Netherlands. PM Group were chosen to provide services from the initial feasibility study through to detailed design.

They also provided construction management and commissioning & qualification services for the project in collaboration with two other well renowned Irish companies, Sisk and Dornan Engineering.



The Group had a team of over 50 people involved in the project which was delivered from their centre of pharmaceutical excellence in Cork (Ireland) and supported extensively by their Benelux business unit based in Brussels.



Speaking from Leiden, the Taoiseach said, "The traditional perception that Irish exports involve agricultural and manufactured goods does not cover the full picture. In this case internationally renowned Irish businesses, like PM Group, are producing services and expertise that are in great demand overseas."

CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon added, "We have worked closely with PM Group to help drive their international expansion and now close to 50% of their turnover is gained in export markets.

"This project, which was delivered from PM Groups centre of excellence in Cork, is an excellent example of international expansion from a regional location, directly impacting on employment and prosperity in the region."

Source: www.businessworld.ie


It was announced today that Ryanair has become the first airline to carry 100m international customers in a year, after December traffic grew 25% to 7.5m customers.

Furthermore, rolling annual traffic to December grew 17% to 101.4m customers.



Ryanairs Kenny Jacobs said, "On the back of lower fares in December (following the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels), Ryanairs monthly traffic grew by 25% to 7.5m customers, while our load factor jumped 3% points to 91%.

"Our traffic growth over the past two years has been remarkable, rising by 50% over our December 2013 traffic figure of 5.0m."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
It was announced yesterday that Ezora, an Irish technology start-up, which provides companies with smart cloud based business intelligence and analytics tools, has this week signed a strategic partnership and reseller agreement with Ctrl B.V., a Deloitte owned company in The Netherlands.



The partnership was announced at an Enterprise Ireland event held in Amsterdam which was attended by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny.



The agreement will see Ctrl act as a sales and implementation partner for Ezora within the Netherlands. This partnership will focus initially on the retail sector and will extend to transforming the finance department of businesses across other sectors over time.

Ctrl is a company that optimises the collaboration between accountants, cloud-based software providers and SMEs. Ctrl is currently growing fast in the Netherlands, with plans to extend their services internationally.



Ezora is currently used internationally by leading brands like McDonalds and Starbucks to deliver insights into the key drivers of sales and corporate performance.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny commented, "The deal announced today between Ezora and Deloittes subsidiary business in the Netherlands, Ctrl, is a great example of what is possible when innovative Irish technology businesses think global and look outside of our country to do business."

Source: www.businessworld.ie


Japanese stocks have posted their worst New Year losing steak since 1995 with the benchmark Nikkei falling below levels many market players expected to be a bottom for the year.

The Nikkei share average slid to a three-month low of 17,767.34 on Thursday, dragged down by a slew of bearish factors - slumping Chinese stocks and a weakening yuan, North Korea's nuclear test and tensions in the Middle East.

A rush into the safe-haven yen also added to the Nikkei's woes, pushing the index down 6.7 percent over four days.

Before the new year began, many market players thought the Nikkei was unlikely to fall below 18,000 points with one survey in the Japanese financial paper Nikkei Veritas showing 40 out of 66 respondents not expecting a drop below that level.

In a Reuters poll conducted in December, median forecasts for the Nikkei was to rise to 20,900 by June and 21,500 by December.

The market's outlook was bolstered by improved corporate profits, higher dividend payouts and the Bank of Japan's plan to buy 3 trillion yen ($25.4 billion) worth of shares per year as part of its ongoing stimulus measures.

Many investors, however, expect the poor start to 2016 to be temporary.

"At the moment, panic is driving markets. I don't think the world economy is heading for a recession. The market will soon stabilize when there is evidence the economy is growing," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

"It is a bit scary to buy here but we could see a sharp rebound as soon as next week. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10 percent rise," said Yasuo Sakuma, portfolio manager at Bayview Asset Management, noting that positive U.S. payroll figures due on Friday could be a catalyst.

The up-down ratio, which measures shares that rose over the last 25 days against those that fell, slipped below 70 percent, which often indicates that a bottom is near.

The level of short selling also suggests the same with more than 40 percent of selling in the last few days being short-selling, and foreign investors have sold more than 2.0 trillion yen ($16.95 billion) of futures in December.

While that signals bearish sentiment, such a high level of short-selling is often associated with a selling climax and a short-covering rally, market players say.

But not all investors have a sanguine outlook.

"Investors seem to grossly misunderstand the significance of the impact the appreciating U.S. dollar, and with it, weak commodity prices, have on global dollar liquidity," said Michael Kretschmer, chief investment officer at Pelargos Capital in the Hague.

"The global economy is very weak and all hope hinges on a self-sustained U.S. recovery." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie


After a series of business closings in Logan, its nice to see a story about business expansion and growth. And that is exactly the mode the Maverik convenience store chain has been in over the last few years. Wednesday, the chain officially opened their newest location on 300 South Main in Logan.

Tom Welch, President of Maverik, described the new location in Logan as unquestionably his favorite store and a prime example of what his company wants to be and look like.

Id say this store is the heart of Maverik, Welch said Wednesday at the stores grand opening celebration. This is what we would like to be.

Besides the typical fountain drinks, snacks and gas that are found at all other Maverik locations, the new Logan location features something new: a Bonfire Grill.

The Bonfire Grill is new for us. We are going into food in a major way, Welch continued. Having a site that is downtown where downtown people can walk to lunch is really important. So were spending a lot of time and effort, we tried to do this store right.

Giveaways were handed out to the first customers to enter the store on Wednesday and the store opened with the lowest gas prices in Logan. Within a few short hours, it even dipped below $2 at $1.99 a gallon.

The site for the new location came about when Welch was visiting Logan for another big announcement involving Maverik.

I was driving up here to meet with the president of (Utah State) university to talk about the naming rights on the Maverik (Stadium), he explained, and I was driving along and looked. There were several buildings on this site, but there was a fence around it.

I thought, If we are going to do the naming rights we need a store on Main Street. I called our real estate guy and about two weeks later we had it under contract.

Multiple crews have been working feverishly on the site to get it built, some even doing finishing work right up to the very hour the store opened its doors to the public Wednesday afternoon. Welch called it the fastest build out Maverik has been a part of.

The 300 South Main location isnt the only new Maverik in the Cache Valley. The company is currently working on a larger, truck-stop style facility in Wellsville on Highway 89/91. It is expected to be completed by the first part of June. Other construction projects are also planned.

Well build 24 stores this year, well rebuild five stores, and well remodel another 25, Welch added. We have 274 stores now, well have 300 stores by the end of the year and we are trying to get all of them to have the same look and feel.

A lot of them are our older Country Stores and well have to work with that. Over the next three or four years we hope to have everything to have the same look and feel as you get with this store.
The European Council's conclusions for dummies

Published on December 23, 2015

Story by Aubry Touriel Translation by: Monica Biberson

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During the European Council meetings, the European heads of state set out their political priorities in the form of conclusions. However, a few days before the beginning of the negotiations, journalists already have access to the "draft conclusions". Why do they meet if they already know what will happen?

"Have you got the latest conclusions?" "I've got yesterday's, have you got today's?" A classic conversation between two journalists covering European affairs a few days before the European Council meets. This may seem quite astonishing but, before the beginning of a European summit, journalists already know the result of the negotiations between leaders.

Who does draw up these documents? Will the member states' position change after the meeting? An analysis of the conclusions before and after the December summit allows us to gauge the progress made during meetings between the European heads of state.

The Council's conclusions: how does it work?

European politics can be quite complicated at first, but we'll try to make it simple. The heads of state and government of the 28 EU member states together with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, come together at European Council meetings. Their aim is to establish the EU's general political direction and priorities. During these meetings they set out an EU action plan by adopting conclusions.

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Read also: No beer after 11pm: Behind the scenes of the European Summit

A few weeks before the summit, the President of the European Council holds very discreet meetings with the ambassadors and national representatives to the European Union. Each ambassador defends its country's position on various matters and hopes to influence the text in its favour, that is, add certain points to the agenda. Drawing on these meetings, Donald Tusk prepares the Council's "draft conclusions".

Some journalists manage to get their hands on them thanks to their connections in the diplomatic world. They can thus know the decisions that will be taken by the heads of state even before the event has begun. The draft conclusions will then evolve as the summit progresses. The Council meeting usually ends on an early Friday afternoon. The final conclusions are then posted on the institution's website.

A comparison which speaks volumes

Even though the draft conclusions have already been drawn up in advance, the heads of state can still change them during their meeting. In order to get a better idea, here is a comparative analysis of the draft conclusions dated 14 December and the final conclusions of the last summit in 2015.

Migration: no concrete decision

On the Turkish issue, the politicians gathered around the table decided to give a free hand to the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER), which is made up of the ambassadors to the EU. COREPER was charged with deciding how member states will find the 3 billion euros promised to help Turkey to accommodate refugees.

Member states didn't go in too deep when it came to the European Border and Coast Guard - they will take a decision on the matter "under the Netherlands' presidency", that is, they allowed themselves to wait until the end of June to reach an agreement.

Terrorism: do we really want to do away with heavy weapons?

The Council's ambitions with regard to the fight against weapons were lowered; before the Council met, the draft conclusions read: "The Council will rapidly examine the Commission proposals on combating terrorism and on firearms, in particular with a view to banning high-powered semi-automatic weapons". This had been added, according to the BBC, at the request of David Cameron. The word "banning" was deleted from the final conclusions, to the great displeasure of the British Prime Minister.

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Read also: Lutte contre le terrorisme : quand la protection prend le pas sur la prevention

Internal market: TTIP is (still) around

Absent from the pre-Council version, a point on the transatlantic trade agreement (TTIP) was added to the final conclusions. The European heads of state wished to conclude "an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement," which goes to show their desire to see through a project criticised by many NGOs.

United Kingdom: we'll talk again about Brexit in February

David Cameron's demands related to the referendum on Brexit were discussed during Thursday's dinner. Before that, the section on this theme was empty since leaders were waiting to hear the British Prime Minister's proposals. He explained his four-point plan (the relationship between euro and non-euro member states, competitiveness, sovereignty and free movement) while they had their filet de biche. The 28 heads of state decided to return to this issue at the next Council summit in February.

In short, a comparison of the conclusions before and after the European Council meeting allows us to see who were the winners or losers, as well as to gauge the European leaders' real will to take concrete measures.

Story by Aubry Touriel

Translated from Les conclusions du Conseil europeen pour les nuls
Mind the Gap: changing the conversation about gender equality

Published on January 7, 2016

Story by Anthony Papadimitriu

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Gender equality is a topic that continues to make newspaper headlines. Cafebabel has decided to tackle this issue by lauching a new project  headed up by Julia Korbik  in order to contribute to changing the conversation surrounding gender equality and contribute to the emergence of a constructive debate.

What is Mind the Gap?

Mind the Gap is cafebabels column dedicated to womens issues. Yes, it may be 2016, but lets face it: women in Europe are a long way from enjoying the same rights as men. The same goes for other various minority groups: heterosexuality is still considered to be the "norm", with gay and bisexual people being the "exception". Transgender people are in the spotlight more than ever before  but theyre still marginalised and often presented in the context of a "woman turned man" or vice versa. Thus we are far from a level playing field when it comes to equality.

Media has the power to tell multifaceted stories, highlighting different experiences and to change the conversation surrounding gender equality. Mind the Gap aims to do just that, by putting diverse stories about women from all over Europe front and centre. While women are the main focus of Mind the Gap, we of course also want to cover stories about, and from, the LGBTQ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning).

And who would be better equipped to do this than the multilingual European online magazine cafebabel? For 15 years now cafebabel has been giving a voice to Europes youth. People from all over Europe write for the magazine, share their stories and contribute to a European public sphere. Since its foundation in 2001, cafebabel has become a unique voice in the European mediascape, sending young "on the ground" reporters to uncover exciting narratives, whilst offering a wide array of topics, including gender. Mind the Gap now intends to specifically highlight this topic.

Who can write for Mind the Gap?

Everybody interested in gender topics. (Yes, that includes men!)

How can I become a writer for Mind the Gap?

Its absolutely easy: create a profile on the cafebabel website and get going (if youre not already part of the cafebabel community). Whenever you write an article about womens issues, gender issues etc. propose it to the Mind the Gap group. The cafebabel editors will have a look at it and publish it if everything is fine.

Are you in need of topics, ideas and inspiration for articles? Do you want to pitch a story? Get in touch!

Who is in charge of Mind the Gap?

Julia Korbik, a German freelance journalist based in Berlin. She mainly writes about feminism, politics and culture. In 2014 she published an introduction to feminism for young women: Stand Up. Feminismus fur Anfanger und Fortgeschrittene.

Julia was a cafebabel intern in Paris in 2010 and has been an active member of the community ever since. In Berlin shes vice-president of Babel Germany.

Contact: j.korbik@cafebabel.com

Story by Anthony Papadimitriu
Krakow: What would make you happier, Nowa Huta?

Published on January 7, 2016

Story by Odeta Catana

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Nowa Huta was the first city in post-war Poland to be built virtually from scratch. The district owes its name  the new steelworks  to the industrial complex that was built along with it. Later, in 1951, the town became incorporated as part of Krakow. We ask the young generation of Nowa Huta what changes in their neighbourhood would help to lift their spirits.

Agniezka (31): "I would be happier if Nowa Huta was not so polluted. Its in the top three cities in Europe with the worst air pollution. I have a child now and its not healthy for him to breathe this air."

Nowa Huta was designed as an attempt to realise the utopian concept of the ideal industrial city.

Michal (34, freelancer): "The government has a plan  'Nowa Huta in the future'  to build a new city, whilst they are not doing anything for the city we already have. I would be happy if the government changed things for the better here and now."

Daria (cultural program manager): "I would be happier if there were more solidarity between people. I think we need this more and more nowadays, in the society that I live in."

Jaroslaw (26, culture manager and organizer of cultural activities): "I would be happier if cultural policies were more open to young people so they would be able to be more free and creative."

The location of Nowa Huta  close to Krakow city centre  encourages many young families who have children to move to the district.

Jacek (owner of Klub Kombinator): "I would be happier if there was more social engagement from people. I struggle with the lack of initiatives people put forward."

Karolina (manager of Sfinks cinema): "I would be much happier if more independent American movies were broadcasted at Sfinks cinema."

Maria (50, wheelchair dancer): "I would be happier if I could live in an apartment on the ground floor. I live on the second floor in a block of flats without any elevator. Better conditions for disabled people would make me happier."

Anna (35, activist): "I would be happier if the local government looked more at what people need, if they took more actions with this purpose. It would be great if the state was more inclusive without racist or homophobic beliefs."

For the doctrine of social realism in Poland, architecture was an extremely important weapon at the disposal of the creators of the new social order. The ambiance of a building was more valued than its basic aesthetics. It needed to express social ideas, to arouse a feeling of persistence and power.

Lukas (sailor): "I would be happier if the power of the Catholic Church was minimalised. Politicians have used the church before and they might do this again."

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This feature report is a part of our EUtoo 'on the ground' project in Krakow, seeking to give a voice to disenchanted youth. It is funded by the European Commission.

Story by Odeta Catana
H&M is headed for La Palmera mall.

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By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

Corpus Christi fashionistas are about to have another option when trying to find the perfect accents for that bold statement outfit: global clothing giant H&M is bringing its designs and sales to La Palmera mall.

Details about the project weren't immediately available, but a project submission with the city's development services office calls for $150,000 in landlord improvements and states the facility will be 26,000 square feet.

This will be the first H&M store south of San Antonio. There are also locations in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Beaumont and Austin.

La Palmera officials referred questions to H&M representatives. Calls to H&M were not immediately returned.

The clothing company is in the midst of a rapid expansion phase with plans calling for 10-15 percent increases in store numbers and sales annually. Much of the focus recently for the company has been on adding stores in the U.S. and China, according to the company's website.

The clothing provider was just one of 15 projects either submitted to or updated with the city's development arm. And it was one of two new fashion offerings slated for the city's largest shopping center.

The Buckle also submitted a proposal to finish out a 6,500-square-foot location in the mall. That project is expected to cost about $240,000.

Coastal Bend developers didn't let the holidays slow the rapid pace of submitting project plans for the city to review that began in early December, but just three projects were approved by city officials during 2015's final two weeks.

Those three projects are a construction project by uniform company Unifirst for about $1 million, New Generation Fitness finishing out a location at 7426 S. Staples St. for about $100,000, and a $4-million Hicks Nissan being erected in the 3200 block of the Interstate 69 Access Road.

Some of the larger proposed projects, which have yet to secure the necessary city permits, include a new administrative building for Magellan ($2.5 million), an addition and remodel for TGIF at 5217 S. Padre Island Drive ($750,000) and a finishing out project for a Grub Burger Bar at 4902 S. Staples St. ($650,000).

Twitter: @reportermatt

In the works

Here are the past two week's actions at the Corpus Christi Development Services Department, with a brief description, location and estimated project cost:

New Projects

Harbor Freight, tenant finishing out, $10,946, 333 S. Padre Island Drive Suite 106

Tuloso-Midway Independent School District, remodel, $98,745, 1921 Overland Trail

Grub Burger Bar, tenant finishing out, $650,000, 4902 S. Staples St. Suite A1

Ark Assessment Center Canopy, $48,300, 12960 Leopard St.

Kleberg Bank, tenant finishing out, $80,000, 5350 S. Staples St.

Bay Area, remodel, $51,000, 7121 S. Padre Island Drive Suite 119

Taqueria Jalisco, addition, $9,500, 5322 Everhart Road

The Buckle, tenant finishing out, $240,000, 5488 S. Padre Island Drive

Magellan, new construction, $2.5 million, 973 Poth Lane

Venamex Shell, new construction, $120,000, 6122 Kostoryz Road

T-Mobile, remodel, $6,500, 6434 Leopard St.

U.S. 181 Harbor Bridge project office, tenant finishing out, $175,000, 500 N. Shoreline Suite 501

TGIF, addition and remodel, $750,000, 5217 S. Padre Island Drive

Alliance Health Resources, remodel, $17,045, 5277 Old Brownsville Road

H&M, remodel, $150,000, 5488 S. Padre Island Drive

Permits

Unifirst, new construction, $1 million, 8501 Agnes St.

New Generation Fitness, tenant finishing out, $98,582, 7426 S. Staples St.

Hicks Nissan, new construction, $4 million, 3202 Interstate 69 Access Road
Contributed rendering

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By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

This year, it may pay off to procrastinate a little bit on those Christmas gifts for shoppers in the Coastal Bend.

That's because the Outlets at Corpus Christi Bay  the long-awaited outlet mall headed for Robstown  will be opening Nov. 3, and the project's developers are tailoring every facet of the shopping mecca's design to area residents.

And that includes tenant selection and aesthetic choices. There won't be a traditional food court when the mall opens, but there will be a distinctly Corpus Christi alternative  a food truck pavilion.

"It's something that no one has really done in the country in an outlet center," said Rick Carduner, owner of Carduner Commercial and one of the project's lead developers. "But because of how popular food trucks are around the country and especially in this part of South Texas, we thought it was worth trying out."

The lineup of food truck offerings won't be known until the fall  applications will be accepted in the late summer  and the developers have not determined if the mall will include a traditional food court in the future or if the focus will stay on food trucks, Carduner said.

If phase 2 of the development, which will likely occur a year or two after the grand opening, there are plans for a food court. The most successful food trucks would be given the first chance to apply for a permanent site. That phase could also include a hotel, more shopping space and a movie theater, but those decisions haven't been made yet, Carduner said.

Little more is known about the specifics of the project at this time. The developers announced last month that Express, Guess and Sketchers will be three of the tenants, but who the other approximately 73 tenants will be or when their names will be revealed are details project officials aren't yet publicizing.

The project, which started about a decade ago, was significantly delayed by the recession and weather issues, but the early November opening date will not change, Carduner told the Caller-Times.

"We're 100 percent confident," he said of the opening date. "We have all our financing in place, so there's no stopping us now."

The remaining tenants will be announced on the mall's website, http://www.corpuschristioutlets.com/.

Twitter: @reportermatt
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By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

The Nueces County Commissioners Court selected three local architecture firms to start the next phase of the county's road to compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

JEC Architects, Inc.; CLK Architects and Associates, Inc.; and Solka Nava Torno, LLC.; were selected Wednesday by the county to prepare plans and specifications and conduct inspections for 45 county-owned facilities before the public works department can start taking bids on construction.

Out of those buildings, priority will be placed on nine buildings that are directly related to voting, County Judge Loyd Neal said.

"What the court agreed to do today is to have three different firms look at what amounts to about $1 million dollars worth of work," Neal said. "When they finish that, they're going to bring those plans to the Commissioners Court, which we will make a decision to move forward on going out for bids to comply with all that has to be done."

The buildings that have been prioritized include the courthouse, Ronnie H. Polston County Building in Flour Bluff, Robstown Community Center, Johnny Calderon Building in Robstown, David Berlanga Community Center in Agua Dulce, Banquete Community Center, Bishop Community Center, Hilltop Community Center, and Bill Bode County Building.

"The first thing we looked at is which of the county-owned buildings are directly related to voter accessibility," Neal said. "There's no way the Commissioners Court is going to obligate itself in the first round of things for more than $3 million because that's all the money we have."

So far, the county has paid about $250,000 toward ADA compliance, Neal said. That money has paid for the hiring of an independent licensed architect, two consultants, inspections and temporary fixes made at several polling locations.

When the county sold $20 million in certificates of obligations last year, $3 million was set aside for ADA upgrades, he said. Neal believes the county will have to meet with the Department of Justice again.

"We need more time to spread it out," he said. "We know we're going to go back to the DOJ and say this isn't going to work right now, but we're able to do this (building or buildings) right now. We'll have to see what they do."

Though Commissioner Brent Chesney voted to approve the selection of the local firms Thursday, he said it was the starting point of spending serious money.

Chesney doesn't believe the county has hired the "appropriate people to let us know we've spent our dollars wisely."

"We have a responsibility to the taxpayers that we're not overspending, and I'm not convinced that we're not overspending," he said. "I've never seen a settlement agreement signed for something that you didn't know how much it was going to cost, so that's a little unusual."

There are exceptions that could be granted by the Department of Justice, but the one for cost is "extraordinarily narrow," said Keith Sieczkowski, an attorney hired by the county to assist in ADA negotiations with the DOJ.

"To support an exception for cost, you have to show the cost," Sieczkowski said. "We can't go back and ask for an extension until we know what the cost is."

Twitter: @Caller_Jules

The Nueces County Commissioners Wednesday:

Proclaimed Jan. 18 as the 2016 Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration and Commemorative March hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Corpus Christi Alumnae Chapter. It will be at noon at the Nueces County Courthouse.

Recognized Dr. Hector P. Garcia's lasting legacy and upcoming birthday.

Received an annual report from Diane Lowrance, executive director of the Nueces County Behavioral Health Center, for 2015.

Denied a motion set forth by Commissioner Brent Chesney to sublease two spaces in the Regional Transportation Authority Complex that were reserved by the county for the Department of Social Services and Veterans Services Department. Chesney said the current department spaces in the county courthouse could be reconfigured and the county could save money, or make money, by subleasing the RTA spaces. County Judge Loyd Neal said they entered a contract and the Social Services space was specifically designed to fit their needs.
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES

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By Natalia Contreras of the Caller-Times

An armed robber shot by a man outside his home will likely go from a hospital bed to a jail cell, police said.

About 8:49 p.m. Wednesday a 69-year-old man told officers he and a woman arrived home in the 1300 block of Calle San Carlos and parked in the driveway when they were approached by a 23-year-old man who pointed a gun at them, Senior Officer Kirk Stowers said.

The 23-year-old demanded the man's wallet. The 69-year-old, who police said had a license to carry a firearm, pulled out his gun and shot the 23-year-old, police said.

The 69-year-old held the 23-year-old down until police arrived. The 23-year-old was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial and is expected to survive, Stowers said.

He is under police guard and faces arrest on suspicion of aggravated robbery once he is medically released from the hospital, Stowers said.

Both guns were recovered from the scene and no charges are expected to be filed against the 69-year-old, Stowers said.

Twitter: @CallerNatalia
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By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

A man police shot seven times lost his bid for a lesser bond.

Attorneys for Ray Mancillas, 22, argued he should be released from the Nueces County Jail so his family and private insurance can pay for his travel to San Antonio for medical treatment as a result of the gunshot wounds.

"Mr. Mancillas is currently in jail and is not receiving medical treatment, surgery, or medication compliant with the order of (Mancillas') attending physicians, because the Nueces County Jail is not equipped to properly treat (Mancillas') significant medical needs," defense lawyers' motion states.

Mancillas's local doctor referred him to a doctor in San Antonio for tendon, hand and nerve reconstruction, the motion states. Among other recommended treatments, Mancillas should follow-up with a specialist to treat kidney failure, according to the motion.

About a dozen Corpus Christi police officers attended the hearing.

District 105th Judge Jack Pulcher told Mancillas he finds the man a danger to the community, himself and officers called to his home when the judge denied his motion for a lesser bail. The judge ordered the sheriff's office accommodate hospital visits locally, but defense lawyer Amie Pratt said Mancillas' doctor said there is not a local specialist to treat Mancillas' needs.

Mancillas' mother was tearful in the courtroom after the judge's ruling. She had testified she would accommodate her son's travel arrangements and make sure he comply with any court orders while out of jail on bail.

Mancillas is accused of raising a gun at police May 4 at his residence in the 3800 block of Brookside Drive after his mother called police to have him taken to a hospital for a reaction he was having to drugs. No officers were injured, but Mancillas was shot and treated at a hospital for several months. He had surgery on his stomach, bowel, arm, hand, and foot and had three of his fingers amputated.

Mancillas was awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges of family violence assault and interfering with an emergency phone call at the time of the shooting, according to online court records.

Pulcher raised Mancillas' bail in September from $180,000 to $300,000.

Mancillas' trial is scheduled for Feb. 1.

Twitter: @CallerKMT
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CORPUS CHRISTI POLICE DEPARTMENT Police are looking for a man who robbed a store on Baldwin with a knife Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CORPUS CHRISTI POLICE DEPARTMENT Police are looking for a man who robbed a store on Baldwin with a knife Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.

By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

Corpus Christi police are searching for a man who robbed a convenience store with a knife.

A clerk told officers that a man wearing a white Nike hooded sweatshirt came into the store in the 3300 block of Baldwin Blvd. at about 4:25 a.m. Thursday.

As the clerk moved to grab the item, the man pulled out a knife and demanded cash, according to a police news release. The man took the cash and ran away. The clerk wasn't hurt.

Camera surveillance recorded images of the suspect. If you recognize the man in the photo, call investigators at 361-886-2840. If you would like to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 361-888-8477 or submit the tip online at www.888TIPS.com.
SHARE

Jan L. Senecal, Bishop

When U.S. declares war

I recently heard the President say "We are at war." When did Congress declare war? Congress has formally declared war only five times and the USA won them all. We have not done so well since World War II with the conflicts and undeclared "wars." We have been involved in these longer than World War II and suffered the unnecessary loss of many killed and wounded to end up with, essentially, draws. If we are at war what is the President's problem with Camp America in Guantanamo Bay? When World War II was over there were more than 78,000 POWs in Texas and nearly 425,000 in the U.S. and all were held in camps or installations under military control, not civilian.

Congress should reciprocate by declaring war on terrorist organizations who have declared war on us and our allies and put supporting nations on notice. All prisoners of the declared War on Terrorism should be held at Guantanamo Bay until our enemies surrender. All us citizens who commit treason during this war are traitors and should be executed or imprisoned for life at Guantanamo Bay or Fort Leavenworth, no exceptions.
The brand, media and communications research firm touts the proprietary tool's ability to provide businesses near real-time access to actionable insights on brand health and marketing campaign performance.

The product is now available in Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The company said that DBA will be made available in more markets in the coming months.

Yee Mei Chan, regional director of brand performance programs and business transformation at Millward Brown, said that the company expects DBA to be highly relevant to all clients who are active in digital marketing and want a faster response system for measuring their efforts.

A lot of the social media monitoring or digital monitoring that goes on today relies on the absolute volumes [of mentions] without much consideration to the noise in the data and without understanding how to judge whether movements upwards or downwards, are significant or not, Chan told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

Chan added that through the companys modeling efforts, it is able to decompose and understand the different levels making up the social buzz or search volumeswhether consumer interest is significantly above the baseline or due to seasonality or just within the normal expected fluctuations.

This is why we can be confident that DBA can be a more sensible alert system to marketers, because we can detect with confidence when movements are truly meaningfuli.e. really indicating something extraordinary requiring the marketers attention, she said.

Yee Mei Chan

She added that the company was already talking to a number of automotive clients who have indicated interest.

DBA uses changes in online behaviours to give advertisers real-time feedback on the in-market performance of specific campaigns, allowing them to identify and act on emerging issues and opportunities.

It also monitors long-term health of brands through changing trends in interest and opinion over time, and can identify when brands are over- or underperforming versus expectations or the category.

These always on analyses provide marketers and business managers with consistent metrics that enable them to optimize campaigns and feed long-term strategic decisions.

The global pilots so far have been done using Twitter to establish social buzz levels and Google search data to gauge search interest levels for most countries.

In China specifically, where the digital ecosystem is quite particular, we are using alternative data sources such as Baidu and other vertical portals, said Chan.

Asked what differentiates DBA from other similar offerings in the market, she said that the globally scalable solution was built on extensive R&D and validated to actual business performance.

The solution is designed to show immediate opportunities for action with a quick-turn always on system and is capable of showing both short-term and long-term brand effects from digital signals, she said.

Chan said that solution could also deal with non-English languages, as long as there is access to appropriate data sources in the respective markets.

Well be analysing the levels of brand mentions in social conversations or search volumes for the brand in that respective market, hence language is not an issue, she said.

The company is offering DBA as a one-off, deep dive report, or as an ongoing dashboard with live-feed of the digital signals (post-modelling), which marketers can access in real-time.

It can be used as a stand-alone or integrated into a companys core brand tracking platform.
Last Mothers Day, Chinese internet giant Tencent released a video. A young man thanks his mother for bringing him into the world-by bringing her into his. He shows her the wonders of technology by providing a sweet handwritten guide. He lessens her burdens by showing her how to shop online and shares his achievements from thousands of miles away via an online link.

Tencent hired Fred & Farid to make the video as part of a bid to build their corporate brand image. They are not alone. In past years Chinese tech companies including Alibaba and Baidu have paid more attention to rapid growth than branding. Now, however, that is changing as they focus on brand building. Theyve grown big enough as platforms, its time to [create] their own voice, says Elena Zhang, marketing lead at SapientNitro, China.

In the neighbouring India, too, companies such as Flipkart, Amazon and Urban Ladder are jumping on the branding bandwagon. For consumers, differentiating between separate internet and ecommerce companies is hard. All of them are built on one platformprice, says Debraj Tripathy, managing director of MediaCom India. This results in very little loyalty. Brand building is needed to build an emotional connect and create stickiness.

Investor pressure is also forcing companies to change their advertising tactics. The decline of major local internet productssuch as the Chinese Facebook Renren and Chinese Twitter Weibohas proved just how important it is to create and sustain identity in a highly crowded online marketplace.

To boot, Vineet Arora, managing director with Havas Media Group China, believes that brands are now looking at markets and audiences that are beyond China. He points out that at least 15 per cent of Tencents 650 million monthly active WeChat users are outside the countrya number in excess of 100 million people.

Since making a record-breaking initial public offering in New York September last year, Alibaba has lost over a third of its market value. To attract international investors and to educate them on how the company works, Alibaba updated its corporate web page with Alibaba Defined, an interactive feature explaining in simple storytelling terms online-to-offline commerce (rather than acting as an online shop like Amazon, Alibabas business model links online shoppers to sellers and physical stores).

Critical for their branding effort is promoting founder and chairman Jack Ma abroad. Since the IPO there has been a systematic build of Jack Mas image in the Western media, observes Arora. As with Apples Steve Jobs, it is about creating a personality cult [and] celebrity CEO, who, helpfully, also speaks fluent English.

Another tactic is to hold an annual conference and summit. Globally, this helps to place Chinese companieswhich in the past have been accused of copycat behaviouras places of innovation. Tencents Way to Evolve summit invited guests from the MIT lab and Google. Baidu recently released a video created by Studio Outputs Beijing office that shows an AI future. Everything from a self-driving car (Baidu is already developing the technology with BMW) to digital talking assistants, akin to Apples Siri, were included in the slick ad.

If branding is for investors, it is also aimed at growing a new kind of audience at home. These are very big brands but when you look at the potential market size, they have not even scratched the top five or 10 per cent, says Krishna Krovi, managing director of Adknowledge APAC. They want to go deeper and the only way to do it is to educate their target audience.

In the past, internet companies attracted the urban, young and tech-savvy living in major metro centres. As online buying becomes more everyday, however, companies are moving their focus onto tier-two cities and to a demographic with less online exposure, such as the mum in the Tencent ad.

But if their goals are the same, Chinese and Indian companies are following different tactics, with the former utilising digital and the latter traditional media. While the Chinese economy has suffered a year of instability, its ecommerce sector continues to be an engine for economic growth. At the end of 2014, China had 649 million users online, with 557 million of those using smartphones to access the internet.

In India, however, ads are most effective on television, which still has vast tentacles in society and a low cost per reach. While India has a large base of mobile devices, unreliable broadband and infrastructure means online access is often patchy, even in cities. As such, brand building communication is highly skewed towards TV, comments Tripathy. The share of digital in India is still at sub 10-per cent levels while in China digital commands close to a 30-per cent share of total advertising spends.

Krovi agrees ultimately customers have to be online to buy online, adding Indian companies spend more offline mostly because theres still a bit of education factor coming into play in the market. According to television ratings firm TAM Media Research, Indias top 50 ecommerce firms spent Rs 1,200 crore (US$180 million) on TV ad in the three months ending 30 September, a 46.3-per cent increase from last year.

Whether using digital or television, building up a brand is a long-term game. And however slick a campaign is, ultimately performance and delivery remains paramount. As Tripathy comments: it will take much longer and far more sustained investment to create an emotional connect (hence loyalty) among consumers.

BIG IDEAS

How Alibaba is going beyond China

Josh Gardner, CEO, Kung Fu Data

Ambition, innovation and adaptability power Chinas top internet firms. While obscure to many Western retailers, Alibabas home-grown marketplaces (Tmall and Taobao) have become the worlds largest ecommerce platforms.

When China revealed plans to create free trade zones, Alibaba immediately launched Tmall Global. They followed with an IPO in late 2014 and subsequent effort in 2015 to advertise the wildly successful Tmall Singles Day everywhere Chinese tourists and expatriates congregate. Ads for everything from health supplements to Beats headsets could be seen as far away as New York city.

Like most startups, constant iteration, testing and customisation are woven into the fabric of Alibaba culture. For over two years, they have invested in cross-border infrastructure and integration technology to make it easier for foreign brands to sell direct to the Chinese. A prime example is a new API that integrates product, price, inventory and content from foreign online stores into Tmall Globalautomatically.

Theyve tried to educate foreign brand owners on who they are and why they matter via various activation methods including a website revamp. These efforts are not a response to stock price fluctuations. Such investments are minor compared to Alibabas other high-ticket acquisitions and heavy investments in emerging advertising and media technologies.

Alibaba ambassadors travel the world. Like commercial services divisions of foreign governments, business development teams mine platform data to find brands with a real chance of success on Tmall. They publish lists of pre-approved brands and help them get onboard. Nimble category managers work with brand owners, offering free traffic and private events to qualified merchants.

As an insider closely working on Tmall, I witness the daily implementation of a long-term plan. Jack Mas genius created the first online marketplace where transparency, competition and community reign supreme. He shows the world his open-book model is the future of ecommerce.

Our View: Globally ambitious ecommerce firms have a rich innovation pipeline, but there is a need to educate consumers to create a strong brand.
| BY Ricki Green |

AdFest is now inviting creative professionals from around the world to register to attend next years festival, which runs from 16th  19th March at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.

For the first time, AdFest will be divided over two streams: Craft@ADFEST, followed by Creative@ADFEST. There are also three tiers available: Full Delegate, Young Delegate or Student.

This means there are three different registration packages available:

Craft@ADFEST (16-17 March)

Full Delegate  THB18,000

Young Delegate  THB10,000

Student  THB8,000

Creative@ADFEST (18-19 March)

Full Delegate  THB26,500

Young Delegate  THB16,500

Student  THB12,500

ADFEST (16-19 March)

Full Delegate  THB35,000

Young Delegate  THB22,000

Student  THB15,000

Says Jimmy Lam, president of AdFest: We have redesigned the format of our festival to cater to the needs of our biggest audiences. Craft@ADFEST is ideal for production executives who are interested in connecting with other executive producers, directors, and post, music and sound experts. It is also targeted at digital professionals who are at the cutting edge of new communications platforms and technologies.

Meanwhile, the program for Creative@ADFEST will cater to agency creatives, strategists and executives; designers; as well as branding and marketing professionals. However, creative professionals with an interest across all areas of our industry will find it more useful to attend the entire four-day AdFest 2016, which has the theme Creative Intelligence.

AdFest 2016 takes place at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.
What does it mean if my partner is looking at racy pictures on social media?
"New Acton is a very fine example of place making, but it's actually an island. The connectivity to and from it isn't really that pleasant. We don't want to create any more of them until we fix up what we've got."
Imaginative as McMennamy is we think his imagination is dwarfed by the suburban Canberrans who are imagining ramifications of vegies being grown on strips. What a shame that Canberrans so imaginative about what horrors will happen if anything new and different happens in their neighbourhoods cannot instead invest this creativity in writing poems and short stories, in making surreal paintings. Some of the anti-development submissions to government by the Yarralumla Residents Association are as literary in their way as anything by the Brothers Grimm. What if nature strip vegie growing encourages an influx of cannibal witches who lure little children into cottages made of gingerbread?
"We just need a bit of a review of what it is. The camels have been around since 2011. Do we can continue? If we do, what do we do with them? Put them on at night-time? All those kind of things."
Another mate, although a long-time resident of the coast, notes that she is just not a "fish-type"; saying she has always lacked a courage she thinks is needed for the surf. "The waves always overpower me. The cold thing freaks me out. Maybe I'm just not hard enough. I get swept away. And I'm so fair, I end up looking like a lobster."
Hello my lovely readers! Ive got some news!

Time for a big blog hop giveaway! (Sign-ups)

Lori from Pure Imagination, Angela from Reading Angel and myself are hosting a New Years Reading Resolution Giveaway Hop.

Were hoping a ton of bloggers will sign up.

Heres how it works:

On January 3-9 everyone will host a giveaway on their blogs with books or items related to making a website.

You can give away anything you want, worth as much as you want, as long as its book or website related.

We will provide a link list of all the blogs and people will be able to hop around and enter a bunch of giveaways all week long.

Interested?

Fill out the form below.

SIGN UPS ARE NOW CLOSED

You only have to fill it out on one of our blogs as its the same form.

You must add the giveaway button to your blog.

We will contact you closer to time with more details.

I hope youll come join us!

Its a great way to draw some traffic to your blog, and maybe get a few new followers if they like what they see!

I have the linky up for those who have signed up already. Please check it and make sure its correct and that the link works.

SIGN UPS ARE NOW CLOSED
Modified On Jan 08, 2016 03:29 PM By Saad

The South Indian floods occurred in November-December 2015. Besides wreaking havoc in lives of the people, it also took a toll upon the economy of the states. One of the worst impacts was on the automobile industry, which is still recuperating from this natural catastrophe. Thousands of affected car owners, insurance companies, bankers and dealers are now sending selling request of their flood-hit cars. These cars often range from hatchbacks to luxury sedans and SUVs.

Copart India PVT LTD, subsidiary of the US-based auctioneer currently has piles of flood-hit cars at its Sriperumbudur yard and more counting with each passing day. Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, Managing Director, Copart, said that the cars are being auctioned off as low as ten times of their on-road price. He further stated that cars as new as 2015 models are being sold off at a throwaway prices.

On Wednesday auction, cars like Audi A4 series were available at Rs. 3.4 lac against the actual price range of Rs. 33.5 lac-Rs. 41.7 lac (ex-showroom, Chennai). Similarly, the BMW 3-Series sedan is available at Rs. 6 lac against the current model price range of Rs. 35.5 - 44.7 Lac (ex-showroom, Chennai). Further, the 2012 Porsche Cayenne model is available at base price of mere Rs. 5 lac.

Company has also made it crystal clear that they are only auctioning the cars and the required documents; they are not responsible for the condition and repair of the car. Last week, the online auction portal received 10 cars on a daily basis. The interested buyers are registering with refundable security amount on the website.

Our very own portal cardekhoauctions.com is also working in this field. The portal has launched the Biggest Loss Minimisation campaign for the Chennai Flood Affected Vehicles. The team is working at ground zero since the first week of December with 4 yards in Chennai and nearby areas. The firm has tied up with 16 insurance companies for motor claim and 3-towing agencies for towing of over 50 vehicles/day from the owner's premises to the yards.

Selling over 400 vehicles till date, through multiple Yard Auction & Online Auction events, the online auction portal aims to sell around 5000 vehicles. Moreover, Cardekho auction portal has also collaborated with car-cleaning agencies for cleaning the car in order to avoid further deterioration. It has a huge stock-pile of luxury cars available for immediate disposal at rock -bottom prices.

If you are interested in buying/selling Chennai Flood Affected Vehicles, you can contact Abhishek Gautam on our group id chennaiclaims@gaadi.com .

Also Read
Three college students who first met while attending a Catholic high school in Florida have launched a scholarship fund to help others experience faithful Catholic education at a Newman Guide college. As we went off to different colleges, we kept in touch and found time to catch up whenever we returned []
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Tripura Public Service Commission has released a notification on the recruitment happening. TPSC is looking out for 13 posts Principals and Senior Informatics Officers. To know more about pay scale, eligibility, how to apply, selection procedure and important dates scroll down.

Name of the post and Number of posts allocated

1. Principal: 2 Posts.

2. Senior Informatics Officer: 13 Posts.

Who is Eligible for the TPSC Job?

Qualification and Experience:

Candidates interested to apply for the above post must be qualified as per the organisations requirement. Qualification becomes manadatory to test the skills and their perseverance in doing a certain job.

To know more about the required qualification in detail log on to this organisation's website.

Age Limit:

For Senior Informatics Officer Post: 40 years.

For Principal Post: 50 years.

How to Apply for TPSC Job?

Candidates who are interested to apply for the above mentioned jobs must see that they are eligible for this job. Once they find themselves eligible they can apply for this job through post in a prescribed format. The address where the applications need to be sent is, the Secretary, Tripura Public Service Commission.

Do not forget to send the applications along with other necessary documents.

What are the Important Date Associated with TPSC Job?

Last Date of Submission of Application: 1st February 2016.
During the Ferrari World Finals at the Mugello circuit that hosted the world debut of the Ferrari F12tdf, all of the cars from the Italian marques XX programme hit the famed circuit. Now we have our first opportunity to hear them side-by-side and can finally say which one we think sounds the best.



Starting with the original Ferrari FXX, it was co-developed with Michael Schumacher and ultimately offered in range-toping Evoluzione guise. Its power comes from a naturally-aspirated 6.3-liter V12 engine which as the following video shows, emits a howl not far off Formula One cars from the early 2000s.

Due to its similar albeit slightly smaller 6.0-liter V12, the 599XX and 599XX Evoluzione sound quite similar but dont seem to be quite as loud as the FXX nor as high pitched.

As for the brand new Ferrari FXX K, it is by far the fastest of all thanks to its combination of a 6.3-liter V12 and an electric motor, resulting in over 1000 hp. While it sounds absolutely insane, it sounds somewhat muted compared to the 599XX and FXX.

VIDEO
Aston Martin and technology company Letv have teamed up to unveil a very special Rapide S at CES 2016.



In creating the car, it has been installed with the Letv Internet of the Vehicle (IOV) system which replaces the British sedans traditional centre console and instrument panel with two large digital displays.

The centre console consists of a massive 13.3-inch HD touchscreen similar to the display found on the Tesla Model S. Meanwhile, the gauge cluster now consists solely of a 12.2 inch screen displaying all the vital information youd expect from regular gauges. Both of the screens include speech recognition technology for hands-free use.

Beyond these new features, the Rapide S AutoLink is in fact the same as the all-electric RapidE concept introduced back in October. That vehicle was created to preview an impending Model S-rivaling variant of the Rapide, particularly focusing on the Chinese market.

Commenting on the reveal, co-founder, global vice chairman and China and Asia chief executive of Letv Super Car, Ding Lei, said After a few months efforts, we finished the integration of an Aston Martin vehicle and the Letv IOV system. We have successfully equipped this supercar brand with over 100 years of history with an Internet brain.

Aston Martin is renowned for the beauty and quality of its hand-crafted cars. The integration of Letv advanced connected technologies into this bespoke environment is a natural progression as we look to the future demands of our customers, added Aston Martin chief executive Andrew Palmer.

PHOTO GALLERY
A rare 2002 BMW Z8 Roadster is set to be auctioned off by RM Sothebys on January 28-29 without a reserve.



Revealed in 1999 and going on sale the following year, just 5,703 examples of the Z8 Roadster were ever produced. Of those, 2,543 arrived in the United States at a $128,000 base price. The car is the spiritual successor of the BMW 507 and was brought to life at the firms plant in Munich.

All Z8s produced utilise a naturally-aspirated 4.9-liter V8 engine pumping out a total of 400 hp and mated to the six-speed transmission of the M5. This particular auction-bound car is painted in Titanium Silver, has twin five-spoke wheels as well as an interior combining black leather.

Perhaps the key selling point of this Z8 Roadster is that it has covered just 550 miles since new and also comes complete with the removable hardtop as well as the original books, window sticker, tools, spare keys and the same dealer coffee table book. All told, it is essentially untouched and identical to how it left the dealership in 2002.

PHOTO GALLERY
Volkswagen is having a hard time agreeing with the US authorities on a fix for the diesel models involved in the emissions scandal.



The news came from an anonymous VW source who spoke to Reuters, revealing the tense relations between the two parties almost four months after the reveal of the Dieselgate scandal.

The German company will continue the negotiations with the Californian Air Resources Board and with the US Environmental Protection Authority, hoping to reach an agreement by mid-January, where their deadline expires.

The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG which could result to a fine of up to $48 billion, showing that the company has still a long way to go in order to leave the emission scandal behind them.

VWs CEO Matthias Mueller is expected to meet with EPA and politicians next week after visiting the Detroit Motor Show, with the company declining to comment on the progress of the talks with the EPA.

PHOTO GALLERY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Staub, The Carter Center, Emily.Staub@cartercenter.org, +1 404-420-5126

ATLANTA... Only 22 cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide in 2015, an 83 percent reduction from the 126 cases reported in 2014, the greatest single percentage reduction in human cases in the history of the global campaign. These provisional numbers are reported by the ministries of health in remaining endemic countries and compiled by The Carter Center. When the Center began leading the international campaign to eradicate the parasitic disease in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million Guinea worm cases occurring annually in Africa and Asia.

"As we get closer to zero, each case takes on increasing importance. Full surveillance must continue in the few remaining endemic nations and neighboring countries until no cases remain to ensure the disease does not return," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "The Carter Center and our partners are committed to seeing that this horrible parasitic disease never afflicts future generations."

As of the end of 2015, there were only 20 endemic Guinea worm villages in four countries  all in Africa, compared to 23,735 villages in 21 countries across two continents in 1991. The 22 indigenous Guinea worm cases were reported in isolated areas of Chad (9), Ethiopia (3), Mali (5), and South Sudan (5).

Although Mali and South Sudan each experienced an outbreak in 2014, both programs achieved more than an 85 percent reduction by redoubling their surveillance and response efforts.

"Guinea worm reductions in South Sudan and Mali in 2015 are even more remarkable because both countries have significant insecurity or civil unrest and had the largest number of cases in 2014. For these nations to make this much progress against disease under such dire circumstances is heroic by any measure," said Dr. Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program.

Considered a neglected tropical disease, Guinea worm disease (Dracunculiasis) is contracted when people consume water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae. After a year, a meter-long worm slowly emerges from the body through a painful blister in the skin. Guinea worm incapacitates people for weeks or months, making them unable to care for themselves, work, grow food for their families, or attend school.

Without a vaccine or medical treatment, the ancient disease is being wiped out mainly through community-based interventions to educate and change behavior, such as teaching people to filter all drinking water and preventing contamination by keeping anyone with an emerging worm from entering water sources. Guinea worm will be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first disease to be eradicated without the use of vaccine or curative treatment.

REMAINING COUNTRIES

"We believe that with adequate commitments by the governments of Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan and continued donor support, cases of Guinea worm disease can be reduced to zero worldwide in the near future," said Dr. Donald Hopkins, Carter Center special adviser for Guinea worm eradication. "While occurrence of Guinea worm in dogs in Chad presents a new challenge, we have successfully addressed unexpected developments throughout this 30-year eradication campaign and have put measures in place to tackle this one as well."

Chad  The appearance of Guinea worm in hundreds of domestic dogs in Chad has emerged as a recent challenge. Dogs are not the parasite's natural host. This is an unusual epidemiology not seen at this level in other nations currently or formerly endemic for Guinea worm disease. Human cases in 2014 (13) and 2015 (9) have been found in remote villages spread over hundreds of miles along the Chari River. At those locations, during the annual fish harvest, dogs have been eating raw fish or fish guts carrying Guinea worm larvae. The program continues to expand health education messages, surveillance, and research, with a specific focus on preventing the consumption of inadequately cooked or raw fish by both dogs and humans.

Ethiopia  In 2015, Ethiopia reported three cases from Gog district in the Gambella region, which remains the nation's only Guinea worm-endemic area. Ethiopia is well positioned to stop transmission in 2016. It also reported three cases in 2014. Political will, security, and sensitive surveillance are critical to stopping Guinea worm disease in Ethiopia.

Mali  Since 1992, the Mali Guinea Worm Eradication Program has reduced the number of cases from 16,024 to just five reported in 2015. However, insecurity that began in April 2012 has hindered interruption of Guinea worm disease transmission because the national program has not been able to operate fully and consistently in all of its Guinea worm-endemic regions. In 2015, security improved, and the program reduced cases by a notable 88 percent (five cases in 2015, compared to 40 in 2014). Additionally, the program expanded the total number of villages under active surveillance to 581.

South Sudan  The South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program reported five cases in 2015 compared to 70 cases in 2014, a reduction of 93 percent. The program also maintained seven consecutive months (November 2014-May 2015) reporting zero Guinea worm disease cases. This success is noteworthy in light of continued political turbulence, and the program continues to function effectively. Since 2006, the number of Guinea worm cases in South Sudan (20,582), has been reduced by 99 percent.

"Tens of thousands of community-based health workers have shown daily acts of courage to improve the lives of their families and neighbors over three decades, often under very dangerous circumstances. Because of them, the end is in sight," said Craig Withers, acting vice president of Carter Center Health Programs.

STEPS TO ERADICATION

The Carter Center leads the international Guinea worm eradication campaign and works in close partnership with national programs, the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and many other partners. The Carter Center provides technical and financial assistance to national Guinea worm eradication programs to interrupt transmission of the disease. When transmission is interrupted, the Center provides continued assistance in developing or strengthening surveillance in Guinea worm-free areas and prepares nations for official certification by the WHO. CDC provides technical assistance and verifies that worms from these final patients are truly Guinea worms. The presence of Guinea worm disease in a geographic area indicates abject poverty, including the absence of safe drinking water; UNICEF mainly assists countries by helping governments to provide safe sources of drinking water to priority areas identified by the national Guinea Worm Eradication Programs. The WHO is responsible for certifying countries as Guinea worm-free and is the only organization that can officially certify the eradication of a disease.

For a disease to be eradicated, every country must be certified, even if transmission has never taken place there.

Many generous foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals have made the Carter Center's work to eradicate Guinea worm disease possible, including major support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID); Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) - United Kingdom; the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation; and His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in the name of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The DuPont Corporation and Precision Fabrics Group donated nylon filter cloth early in the campaign; Vestergaard's LifeStraw donated pipe and household cloth filters in recent years. Abate larvicide (temephos) has been donated for many years by BASF. Key implementing partners include the ministries of health in endemic countries, The Carter Center, WHO, CDC, and UNICEF.

Editor's Notes:

###

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

Translations

Le Centre Carter annonce que 22 personnes seulement ont eu la maladie du ver de Guinee en 2015

Related Resources

Learn more

Learn about the Center's 30-year campaign to wipe out Guinea worm disease >
Born in 1914, Shaws horseplay kicked in at the Otis Art Institute, where he met legends Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, who eventually hired the one-time runaway for Harman-Ising Studios. Orson Welles took interest in Shaw during a pitch for an animated adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exuperys immortal sci-fi novella, The Little Prince, which like some of Welles other brilliant ideas didnt materialize. One cant blame Welles or Shaw for that: It took revolutions in technology and animation to (finally) bring an animated feature adaptation of The Little Prince to theaters last year. Some of Shaws work on that project survived, and will be part of An Animator on Horsebacks look back.

Speaking of horseback, expect pictures of Shaws mastery on the polo field, which is where the horseman met Walt Disney, who subsequently hired Shaw in 1937 as an artist as well as the leader of the companys team, the Donald Ducks. Shaws pro skill for horses in motion also came in handy when helping create Disney classics set in animal environments, like Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.

For pop and animation historians, analyzing Shaws pro skills when it comes to representations of race could prove more interesting. The Walt Disney Museums press release for An Animator on Horseback mentioned Shaws Uncle Remus comic strip, whose failure to get published is likely one of the best things that happened to his career. Similarly, Shaws controversial Chinese caricatures  created during his World War II stint in the Pacific as a cartoonist and photographer for The Stars and Stripes assigned to the British commander Mountbatten  got him sent, bags packed, back to sunny California.

Bringing this propaganda to light, which is healthy for both popular and corporate culture, could be one of An Animator on Horsebacks more intriguing offerings. Pixar geeks may also be interested in tracing a line from Shaws redesign of Howdy Doody to Toy Storys iconic Woody. Or how Shaws emeritus return to the Disney fold on underrated films like The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective, after 30 years away, may rival his influence on crossover blockbusters like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

Mel was on a short list of artists who would jump into a new film idea when it was still a blank slate, explained Hahn in the Disney Museums press release. And with his stunning work, hed show us all the visual possibilities.

See below for a preview of pieces that will be on display at the show:
In television and cinema, all involved have to invest big, with 13 or 26 episodes at the same time, before theres any idea of how successful it will be, Calkhoven told Cartoon Brew. On YouTube, you make and upload the first episode, then maybe a second, then maybe a third. If you dont feel like continuing, you simply quit and start another series. If a video we make fails, its not that dramatic, because it cost us barely one week of time.

In early 2013, Pegbarians took the first step towards making a profitable channel by getting famous, also known as leeching off of others success, explained Koole, laughing. It worked: Pegbarians first video, Pokeball Z, earned them 12,000 channel subscriptions in a couple of days. Today, it boasts over 4.5 million views  but it didnt make the animators much money.

We used audio from Freeplay Music  which turned out not to be free use music  so we had to stop monetizing the video, said Koole. That was a tough lesson to learn.

Today, Pegbarians are doing OK financially. Walraven and Calkhoven are making online animation full-time. Koole is doing the same part-time - but not thanks to the monetization of Pegbarians videos.

Its tough, explained Calkhoven. Pegbarians makes us enough to pay our monthly Internet bill, although the channel is still worth it. It brought us many commissions from other channels, which do make us enough money to live on. Those channels happened to like what we did with Pegbarians, and asked us to create stuff for them too. I guess you could say our channel is our portfolio.

Eighty percent of the work Pegbarians create online is for YouTube channels like SeaNanners and Vanoss Gaming. In the beginning, channels paid them a set amount per video, but now they split the revenue 50/50 a month after the video has been uploaded.

This means the channel gets content they didnt have to produce; they press upload without risk of losing money. For Pegbarians, it means more income, because their videos always do well on other channels. Theyve found that animation content generally gets more than double the amount of views than live-action content, because people watch animation several times.

However, animation isnt the ideal art form for the world of YouTube. In 2014, Ross ODonovan criticized YouTubes new monetization scheme for its preferential treatment towards live-action creators. While Pegbarians understood that a new algorithm was necessary, because people were exploiting the system, they also saw it as a short-time solution.

Obviously, this system gives game players the most benefits, said Calkhoven. Im quite sure YouTube doesnt mind making even more money off of Pewdiepie through the new algorithm. Some live-action YouTube friends and I sometimes compare our clicks-per-minute, and they get like 10 times more. Its no wonder animators get discouraged by this system.

Unfortunately, moving onto other platforms isnt a viable option. And while Pegbarians are secretly hoping a serious competitor to YouTube arises, they know its probably not going to happen. So theyre trying to beat the scheme by creating low-key, longer-form content.

We did a live Q&A that worked very well, explained Walraven. Basically, its us talking for about 15 minutes, illustrated with just a few slides that we repeat. Its a time-effective method, and works quite well for the viewers. I was surprised to find that people are not only interested in our animation, but in us as well. They even want to hear about our hobbies.

In the future, Pegbarians would like their channel to return to its initial concept, a series based on the their characters, Red, Tinits, and Knut. But when they have to choose between making something for themselves, or a series for someone elses channel, which pays the rent, its an obvious choice.

The Pegbarians believe the future of their channel is going to come down to crowdfunding. But they also believe that the problem with Patreon and other crowdfunding platforms is that theyve become too popular.

People have been using it too much for things like, I have to go to the grocery store! or small amounts like $400, Calkhoven explained. Come on, just do one commission and youre done.

Despite Pegbarians unclear future, Koole, Walraven, and Calkhoven want to continue creating animation for their YouTube channel. The greatest thing about it is that we can make what we want to make, concluded Walraven.

We can have this really weird idea and say, Lets make it!' agreed Koole. On the Internet, your audience creates itself around you. Pegbarians main audience is nerdy guys, aged 13-17, and thats totally fine. YouTube doesnt pay much, but we get to make butt jokes.
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer Parents and students line up to speak to the board at a recent meeting

A new option proposes reconfiguring grades at schools in Summerland.

School District 67 faces some tough choices for 2016, including possible school closures.

Reconfiguration was discussed at a public meeting, Tuesday, following input sought from the community.

It includes rearranging grades to include: kindergarten to Grade 3 at Giant's Head Elementary, Grades 4 to 7 at Summerland Middle School and Grades 8 to 12 at Summerland Secondary, with Trout Creek Elementary closing.

The district is grappling with declining enrolment and budget pressures.

In recent months, meetings were held in Summerland and Penticton to gather public feedback.

The newest option moves from an elementary/middle school model to a primary/intermediate school model.

It alleviates concerns about loss of exploratory blocks for Grades 6 and 7 and with the cost of retrofitting the middle school into an elementary, as was presented in another option.

The new option is now open for feedback through the district website on SurveyMonkey.

The board will also hold a public consultation meeting at Trout Creek Elementary, from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 12.

Due to this addition, the deadline for feedback on all options has been moved from Jan. 10 to Jan. 15.

Decision day remains Jan. 20, at an open meeting of the board. It is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the IMC building, located behind the board office at 425 Jermyn Ave.

More information can be found on the district website at www.sd67.bc.ca
Photo: Contributed

A group of Lake Country teens are out to show the world Winfield has talent.

Grade 9 student Jonathan Hintz and three friends recently released a music video that was filmed by a fellow student.

I have always been into music and was ready to release my own songs, but then I met these other guys in Grade 10 who were really talented," says Hintz.

And thus the band CYNK was born.

The group started playing gigs like Music in the Park in West Kelowna and the IPE this fall. They recorded their first song, Gone, four months ago and have just released their latest  Moments.

Our sound varies between indie rock to punk rock, but our main style is alternative," says Hintz.

The video to the new song highlights their community.

We knew about a guy in our school, Dylan Monteith, who does a ton of video recording. So, I pitched him the idea for a music video. I sent him our song, and he said he was hooked and could make a great video out of it.

The teens filmed at Oyama Beach and George Elliot Secondary School, among other locations.

We know people in Kelowna just think of Winfield as a small town where nothing goes on. So we wanted to base our video around Winfield, to show some of the things that happen here.

Response has been positive, says Hintz. The video has more than 1,600 views since it was posted Jan. 2.

Up next, the group hopes to record two more tracks and release its first album.

The boys' parents helped with funds to get the band into a recording studio.
Photo: Contributed

A Kamloops man is facing charges after a homeowner was bear sprayed, Wednesday, when he interupted a male breaking into his garage.

RCMP were called to the scene at Furiak Road in Rayleigh just before 7 a.m., but the suspect had already fled in a grey Dodge pickup.

Police say moments before that call they received a report of a truck stolen from Royal Avenue sometime overnight. The vehicle was a grey Dodge Ram.

Three hours later, about 10 a.m., the stolen vehicle was located in the area of Willow Street and Cottonwood Avenue, where police took two males into custody.

Charges are expected to be laid against a 30-year-old local man who, police say, has a criminal record for similar offences.
Photo: Contributed - Google Street View

West Kelowna RCMP are on the scene of what they are calling a sudden death.

The body was found inside a vehicle shortly before noon Wednesday, in the area of Bear Creek Road about two kilometres past Parkinson Road.

Both the RCMP and B.C. Coroners Service are on scene investigating.

The police investigation is in its infancy, and RCMP say they will provide updated information as it becomes available.

Police are not saying whether the death is considered suspicious.
Photo: Contributed - RCMP

An undercover terrorism sting involved thousands of dollars changing hands and officers promising access to guns and explosives, but the lead officer told a trial Wednesday that the operation was in no way meant to appear criminal.

RCMP Sgt. Bill Kalkat told B.C. Supreme Court that officers never encouraged John Nuttall to believe he was dealing with criminal elements.

Nuttall and his wife Amanda Korody were found guilty last June of plotting to blow up the B.C. legislature on Canada Day 2013. But the conviction hasn't been entered until a judge decides after this proceeding if police entrapped the pair during the undercover operation.

"We never said we were al-Qaida, or that (the primary undercover officer) was a terrorist," Kalkat told the court.

"Nuttall might infer that it's a criminal organization. I don't know what he's thinking."

Nuttall and Kordy's lawyers are arguing police manipulated them into attempting to carry out the terrorist act.

Early in the undercover operation, Nuttall was paid $200 to take an unmarked package to a transit-station locker in downtown Vancouver.

He was later directed to transport another parcel, this time by taking a circuitous transit route, and leave the package in the trunk of an unlocked rental car. The court heard he was told to wait for further instructions inside a nearby department store.

"Would any of that behaviour be consistent with the notion that the package is legitimate and legal?" asked Korody's lawyer Mark Jette.

Kalkat emphasized that Nuttall was always informed the contents of the packages were legal but admitted it would have been possible to interpret the operations as illegitimate.

Another scenario in the operation involved officers engaging Nuttall in a "loyalty talk" before showing him $20,000 in cash being exchanged between undercover officers.

"I'm going to suggest to you, that you designed it that way because you wanted Nuttall to believe that (the primary undercover officer) was engaged in nefarious, probably illegal activities," said Jette.

"No, not that he's engaged in nefarious activities, but that he does have contacts and that he's engaged in business and that he has a source of income," Kalkat replied.

"We're showing Mr. Nuttall that we also have a sense of security and to some degree a sense of sophistication."

Kalkat also said he "absolutely" urged his officers to consider Nuttall developmentally delayed, telling the court that the police scenarios were designed to take Nuttall's mental capacity into account.
Photo: Twitter From left to right, James Baker, Norm Letnick and Stephen Fuhr at the Lake Country Food Bank Wednesday.

Five years in the making, the Lake Country Food Bank officially has a new, permanent home.

The Rotary Club of Lake Country handed over the keys to the 2,600 square foot building Wednesday afternoon.

A number of local dignitaries were in attendance at the event, including Stephen Fuhr, MP for Kelowna-Lake Country, Norm Letnick, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country, and James Baker, mayor of Lake Country.

The food bank has been operating out of the basement of the former Winfield Elementary School, which has been put up for sale by School District 23.

The Rotary Club of Lake Country, with fewer than 25 members, spearheaded the effort to find the food bank its own home five years ago.

After a number of small fundraising efforts, the project won Aviva Insurance Canadas Community Projects Fund, which supplied $100,000 to the new building.

Construction on the building began in March 2015 and included the help of 10 students from Okanagan Colleges Vernon trades and apprenticeship program, who put in an estimated combined 6,000 hours of work to erect the walls and roof.

Hundreds of other donors contributed to the project, including one anonymous individual who gave $50,000.

Now that the building has been officially handed over from the Rotary to the food bank, it can start putting shelving, counters and the rest of the finishing touches in place.

The doors are expected to be officially opened for operations at the new building in the spring.
Photo: Contributed

If Statistics Canada was surprised by the Conservatives before the last census, this time it was ready for the unexpected.

Stephen Harper's government revealed it would kill the mandatory long-form questionnaire less than a year before the 2011 census was mailed out and two years after an election campaign where the topic never came up. The statistics agency scrambled to get a voluntary National Household Survey in place.

When the Liberals were sworn into office in November, one of their first orders of business was to announce the reinstatement of the long-form census.

The timeline seemed very tight  the first forms are to go out to residents in the North in February.

But Marc Hamel, the census program director general, says the agency had planned for risks associated with the 2016 census. One of those risks was if a new government decided to bring back the long questionnaire.

"It had already been in the public sphere that opposition parties last year were saying, if they were elected, they would bring back the mandatory long-form census, so we had started to look at how that would be possible," Hamel said in an interview.

The agency decided to design the questionnaire in a more adaptable format.

Rather than sending selected households separate pieces of mail with the short form and then the National Household Survey, the questionnaires were integrated into one document.

"That design was going to be efficient and it was going to work for both approaches," said Hamel. "From that perspective, no redesign was required. We were simply able to move ahead with the same questionnaires that we had already designed for 2016."

Also, because most Canadians fill out the census online  64 per cent in 2011  changing details in a computer system was not a major overhaul.

The letter that accompanies the questionnaires will allow the agency to underline that the long part is mandatory again. Census staff will also drive home the message.

Fewer people will have to fill out the long form than last time, one in four households rather than one in three with the NHS. Statistics Canada has had to print more short-form questionnaires as a result of the change.

The agency doesn't think it will save money with fewer people getting the bigger package. It expects it will have more responses to process because of the return to the mandatory format.

The main challenge will come from adjusting to the data logistics of bringing back the long-form census. Bar codes help the agency keep track of where they drop off which forms and some of that work will have to be rejigged.

There will also be a public awareness campaign to make sure that people realize they need to fill out the forms. Hamel says the agency never really emphasizes the penalties associated with not filling out the forms  a $500 fine or up to three months in jail, or both.

"Census information is really important, and that's where we put the focus," said Hamel.

"What do we use the census information for, why is it important for communities, and why is it important for people to participate."

Census day is May 10, and most people will begin receiving letters and packages on May 2.

Statistics Canada is also busy hiring, looking for about 35,000 workers to help with the census. Details are on its website at www.census.gc.ca.
Photo: Contributed - RCMP

Vernon RCMP are seeking the public's help to identify an ATV thief.

On Dec. 18, a trailer and Polaris ATV were stolen from the 5300 block of 27th Ave.

The vehicle and trailer were later recovered on the 5500 block of Willow Place in Vernon.



Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy said in a press release police are hoping someone will recognize the male caught on surveillance video with the stolen trailer and ATV.



Anyone with information is asked to call Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP at 250-545-7171 or CrimeStoppers at 1(800) 222-8477.
Kamloops

Charlton was reported missing on December 29, and although the teen has been seen with friends in Kamloops as recently as Dec. 31, authorities wanted to ensure she was well.

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Photo: Contributed

Kamloops RCMP are looking for whoever stole items destined to help people in a poor Central American country.

Police received a report on Jan. 4 that a storage facility on Mission Flats Road was broken into shortly after 4:30 a.m.

The warehouse contains items collected for Kamloops Firefighters International Projects. The most recent collection of items is to be shipped to Nicaragua this spring, said Cpl. Cheryl Bush.

Volunteers can confirm that there were tools, bicycles, bike parts and electronics taken during the break in."

Police ask anyone with information to call Kamloops RCMP or CrimeStoppers.
Photo: Contributed - Google Street View

The victim of an early morning break in at a home on the 700 block of Morrison Avenue is not co-operating with the police investigation.

Officers responded to a report of a break and enter in progress shortly before 2:30 a.m., Thursday.

Two masked men, said to be carrying handguns, entered the home through an open door and confronted the occupants. One of the occupants, a 32-year-old man, sustained minor injuries when he was allegedly assaulted.

The suspects fled on foot before police could arrive.

A police dog was dispatched to the area, however, police believe the suspects fled in a waiting vehicle.

Neighbours say the road was blocked off while police searched for the suspects.

Police say this was an isolated incident and believe the suspects are known to the victim.

Anyone with information is asked to call 250-762-3300 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leave a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net or text CRIMES (274637) ktown.
Photo: Contributed

Police are now treating the death of a man found in a vehicle on Bear Creek Road as suspicious.

RCMP were called to an area about two kilometres past Parkinson Road on Jan. 6, where they discovered the deceased male.

Const. Jesse ODonaghey said the West Kelowna RCMP General Investigative Section has assumed conduct of the investigation, and police are treating the man's death as suspicious in nature.

Police are still in the early stages of the investigation.

West Kelowna RCMP GIS continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death with the B.C. Coroners Service, and will provide updated information as it becomes available.
Photo: Contributed - RCMP Some items seized during Wednesday's arrest.

A 29-year-old Midway man faces a laundry list of charges after he tried to evade police during a routine traffic stop, Wednesday.

Events began to unfold shortly after 2 p.m., when police stopped a Mercedes SUV on the 2300 block of Hunter Court. The driver was found to be in breach of a court-ordered 24-hour curfew and, when informed he was under arrest, the suspect forced open the door, grabbed a duffel bag and fled on foot.

The officer pursued the suspect and, with the assistance of bystanders, placed him in handfcuffs.

During the course of the arrest, the suspect allegedly kicked at the officer and grabbed at her weapons belt.

She sustained minor injuries, but continues to be on full duty.

The bag was found to contain more than 360 grams of illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin and crystal meth, along with a loaded .22 calibre handgun with extra magazines, a hunting knife, silicone mask, a silencer, break-in tools and more than $2,200 in cash.

Police later executed a search warrant on the vehicle, which yielded an assault rifle, a drum magazine, soft body armour and a sledge hammer.

The suspect remains in custody and faces numerous charges including:

Breach of a Conditional Sentence Order (CSO)

Assaulting a police officer

Resisting arrest

Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking

Possession of a controlled substance

Flight from a police officer

Possession of a prohibited weapon

Possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose

He is expected to appear before a justice of the peace.
India: JAL to divest stake in cement unit to Shree?

07 January 2016

Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) has reportedly signed an agreement with Shree Cement to divest its stake in the 2.1Mta Bhilai Jaypee Cement (BJCL) as part of debt reduction efforts, the Times of India reports.

A senior banker said JAL has agreed to divest its 74 per cent stake in the joint venture with SAIL as financial pressure has increased.

Neither parties have commented on or confirmed the speculation, with JAL terming the speculation as a market rumour.



In 2014 JAL had signed an MoU to sell the plant to Shree Cement, but the deal did not materialise.



BJCL has a cement manufacturing plant at Satna in Madhya Pradesh and a split grinding unit at Bhilai in Chattisgarh.

JAL has already sold a large number of assets to reduce its debt burden and get back into financial shape.

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Carol Elizabeth Braden Houston, 66, of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 4, 2016.

She was born in Oneida, TN in 1949 and was preceded in death by her parents, Doris Doreen Duncan Brewster and Ralph Edward Brewster of Oneida, TN; and brother, Larry Allen Brewster of Dalton, GA. Carol had a large and loving family.

Carol graduated from Lincoln Memorial University and received her Masters in Social Work from UTC. She moved to Whitfield County where she taught Special Education at NWHS and then became a director and houseparent at Cherokee Boys Estates providing loving care for children whose parents were not able to care for them.

She became the Director of the Infant Pre-school Council whose mission was to help pregnant and parenting teens learn to care for themselves and their children and encourage these young women to further their own education in order to provide the best possible life for their children. She began Camp Le Papillon in the summer of 1987 to provide a week-long recreational learning experience for these young families and this camp still continues each summer.

She spent most of her life helping other people. She was a tireless advocate for social change and worked on numerous political campaigns to help the underprivileged including helping pass legislation to have daycare put in the public school systems in Georgia. Carol was proud to have been the first female to join the local Kiwanis club.

After leaving the Infant Pre-School Council she provided assistance for HIV/AIDS clients to help them live independently in the community. She was a pioneer in her field of social work the benefited everyone whose lives she touched.

She loved her Tunnel Hill United Methodist Church family and her big heart showed in her devotion to everyone she cared about. She was loved and will be missed greatly by her many friends and loved ones and the peoples lifes she has touched through her many charitable endeavors. Her spirit will live on in all of our hearts.

She is survived by her devoted husband, Ron Houston; son, Kenin Braden both of Tunnell Hill, GA; daughter, Nicki Braden of Dayton, TN; two grandsons, Henry and Noah; sister, Cathy Newberry and husband Ernie Newberry, Jr; nieces and nephews, Elizabeth Mckenna and Husband Dave, Joe, Sam, Charleigh and Sonora, Robert, Erin, Ryan and Katelyn all from Crawfordville, FL, Will of Westfield, MA, Cassie Tindell Brewer, Husband Oby and their infant daughter Campbell ; brother, Glen and wife Kristie Brewster, wife Kristie; and sister, Lois Tindell, husband Donald of Chattanooga.

A celebration of life Service will be held at Tunnel Hill United Methodist Church on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 11 a.m. with Rev. Jay Tenny and Dr. Mike Shearon officiating.

Visitation for Carol Braden Houston will be at Ponders Melrose Chapel on Friday, Jan. 8 from 5-8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donation be made to THUMC Disability Fund, 121 N. Varnell RD, Tunnel Hill, GA 30755.



Ponders Melrose Chapel, Dalton, has charge of the arrangements.
Molly Sasse French, executive director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, has announced her resignation effective Jan. 31, after being on medical leave since the beginning of November.

Ms. Sasse French is resigning in order to focus on her health and family.

Molly Sasse French became the executive of the CSO when its very existence was challenged by changes in funding and by a difficult economy, said CSO Past Board President Spencer McCallie. She brought together an efficient and effective staff, controlled expenses, increased fundraising, and enhanced our musical and educational missions to the community. The CSO Board is grateful for her extraordinary leadership. We also thank her for the pleasure we have had serving with her on the CSO Board.



Ms. Sasse French served as executive director of the CSO since 2007. "Her ability to assemble an outstanding staff at the CSO and increase the fundraising capacity of the organization are key factors that have prepared the CSO for the future. Molly was part of the search that the Board conducted for the CSOs current music director, Kayoko Dan, and she ensured a smooth transition when Bob Bernhardt became music director emeritus and principal Pops Conductor. Mollys leadership of the CSO and her advocacy for the Arts have significantly enriched the greater Chattanooga community," officials said,

Molly is the embodiment of arts advocacy in Chattanooga, said ArtsBuild President Dan Bowers. She has served on the staff for a number of arts organizations in Chattanooga, including ArtsBuild. In each of these roles she has made positive changes, advancing the organizations and the arts as a whole. Although she is stepping down from her official role at the CSO, I am certain she will continue to be a passionate advocate for the arts. We wish her all the best.



In light of Ms. Sasse French's upcoming resignation, Samantha Teter, the CSOs director of marketing and corporate partnerships, has been named interim executive director. Samantha has been with the CSO since 2012, and previously worked for the Colorado Symphony and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as director of marketing. She has over 15 years of experience working in the arts, and is a graduate of ArtsBuilds Holmberg Arts Leadership program.

We are very fortunate to have someone of Samanthas caliber who can assume the top leadership role at the CSO on such short notice, said current CSO Board Chair, Don McDowell.



Mr. McDowell was named CSO board chair, succeeding Spencer McCallie, who is now serving as past president. A retired manufacturing executive who spent many years overseas, Mr. McDowell lives in the Chattanooga area with his wife, Mary, and both are supporters of the CSO.
Gaining perspective in a real world workplace reassured Emily Peigen that she had made the correct career choice. As a student in Chattanooga States Engineering Technology Power Plant Operations program, Ms. Peigen said she realized that all the book knowledge she acquired over the course of the program challenged her to apply what she had learned into real life situations during an internship at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Bolstered by her success, Ms. Peigen is now a performance testing and analysis technician at XcelEnergy Texas.

XcelEnergy supplies electric power and natural gas services to eight states and Ms. Peigen works in the Texas/New Mexico region. As a cooling tower and pump expert, she calibrates and sets up all of her own equipment, ranging from power meters to pressure transmitters and thermocouples.

Uncovering problems, reporting the findings, and making recommendations are part of her job.

Recently, I performed a test on a condensate pump because they were unable to run one pump over 40 percent power without causing a back up pump to kick-in, said Ms. Peigen. Running a six-hour test at different loads uncovered several problems. I was able to present to the plant my report on the findings and a recommendation on how to address the problem during the next outage."

In field dominated by men, Ms. Peigen is one of a growing number of women entering the nuclear power workforce. Doing her homework before deciding on a career, Ms. Peigen spoke with friends as well as Chattanooga State instructors. She credits Lisa (Tami) Miller as one of her greatest inspirations and says, Ms. Miller previously worked in nuclear power operations. She is extremely knowledgeable and really stands out among her peers. Besides having a great knowledge base of power plant operations, she will push you to succeed.

Ms. Peigen's ultimate goal is to become a testing specialist within her field of work. I am going to be returning to school to take classes and finish my Bachelors degree in Engineering Technology while I am working so that one day I can step into a leadership role, she states.

For more information on Chattanooga States Nuclear Power Engineering Technology Concentration, visit https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/nuclear-power-engineering-technology or call 697-4434.
John Morgan, chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, on Thursday announced his plan to retire at the end of the month.

Chancellor Morgan, who has served as chancellor of the states university and community college system since October 2010 and led the systems transformation to become more comprehensive and student-focused, called the announcement bittersweet and said it was timed to acknowledge the accomplishments achieved by the systems institutions over the past five years.

I have been honored to serve the state for many years, but my role with the Tennessee Board of Regents and this opportunity to work with the people who shape the next generation of our citizens and leaders has been the most rewarding of my life, he said.

Never before has higher education been more important to our state and our economy. The TBR institutions and the faculty and staff who serve them have embraced our efforts to focus everything we do through the lens of its impact on student success, and their work is recognized around the country.

We have scaled many innovations and practices to move the needle on success and completion across the system to efficiently and effectively meet the challenges of Drive to 55, and I am proud and honored to have led the army of individuals who have eagerly initiated and enacted those efforts.

His departure, he said, will allow Governor Haslam to actively engage in the selection of a new chancellor and to spend meaningful time with the new system leader while focused on new initiatives during his final term in office.

Chancellor Morgan has successfully guided the TBR systems plans to address the demands of the Complete College Tennessee Act enacted by the General Assembly in early 2010. The law became the boldest attempt by any state in the country to focus the energies and resources of its public higher education enterprise on meeting the states economic development needs.

One of the architects of the law, he played a key role in crafting a clear vision of higher education improvement during his term as deputy to then-Governor Phil Bredesen, his role before being selected to lead the TBR, officials said.

Over the past five years, Chancellor Morgans primary focus has been on increasing post-secondary degree and certificate production and ultimately producing a better, more highly educated workforce. He created the systems Completion Delivery Unit to help the system and its institutions focus their attention on those efforts.

Since he has been chancellor, the number of degrees awarded from the TBRs six universities has risen about 3.6 percent, and the number of associate degrees and certificates awarded by community colleges has increased more than 40 percent. Together, credentials awarded rose almost 18 percent, placing TBR institutions well above the targeted goals for the states Drive to 55 campaign to increase the number of Tennesseans with a post-secondary credential.

The TBR has also become nationally recognized for its ability to achieve collaboration to focus institution goals on meeting the states needs.

Most recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the system a $2 million grant to support implementing system-wide efforts among all institutions to increase graduation rates. The TBR has also received more than $1 million from the Lumina Foundation to boost college degree completions.

With the Complete College Act and the Drive to 55 initiative, the state has been asking more of its higher education system than ever before, and John has guided the Tennessee Board of Regents system admirably since becoming chancellor in 2010, said Governor Bill Haslam. Hes served the state in a number of roles since 1976, including serving as deputy governor to Gov. Bredesen and 10 years as the states comptroller, and I am grateful to John for his service to Tennessee and wish him all the best.

Chancellor Morgan was invited to participate in both of President Obamas White House Summits on expanding college opportunity and has been asked to serve in leadership roles with a number of national higher education organizations.

He serves as vice chairman of the National Association of [Higher Education] System Heads, as an officer on the board of directors for Complete College America, and holds strategic roles with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, including membership on the Presidents Council. He helped launch the national initiative Higher Education for Higher Standards, a multi-state coalition of higher education leaders in support of the common core state standards in K-12 education.

He also serves on the boards of directors for the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and holds membership in the American Society of Public Administration.

During his tenure, Chancellor Morgan has led the successful searches for new presidents at five of the TBR universities and seven community colleges across the state. He has also recommended new leaders for 14 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

At 64, he has spent nearly 40 years of service with the state in various roles. He was deputy to the Governor from January 2009 until he joined the TBR. Prior to that, he had served as Comptroller of the Treasury for the State of Tennessee. His public service career dates back to 1976 except for a brief stint in the late 1980s with Third National Bank.

We are deeply grateful for Chancellor Morgans leadership and distinguished service, said TBR Vice Chair Emily Reynolds. We will continue to encourage and make progress toward the systems completion goals in support of Governor Haslams Drive to 55. The Board will meet to consider an interim chancellor appointment very soon.
Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry has announced formal verification of four new chemical elements, recognizing the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its collaborators for the discovery of elements 115 and 117.

In their report, IUPAC concluded that the collaboration of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia, and the Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories had met the criteria for the discovery of elements 115 and 117.

The IUPAC announcement invites the team to submit names and symbols for the two elements for review.

RIKEN in Japan was given priority for element 113, and a JINR-LLNL collaboration was given priority for element 118. Official recognition of these new elements completes row 7 of the periodic table and provides evidence for the long sought island of stability for superheavy elements.

"These new elements expand our understanding of the nucleus, extend the periodic table, and provide evidence for the possibility of discovery of even heavier nuclei," says ORNL director Thom Mason. "The results demonstrate the power of international collaboration for addressing complex challenges in science."

Six atoms of element 117 were originally observed in 2010 during six months of intense bombardment of a berkelium target from ORNL with calcium ions at one of the world's most powerful heavy ion accelerators at JINR. Atoms of element 115, originally seen in earlier experiments at JINR, were also produced in the 2010 experiment from the decay of element 117. These results for elements 115 and 117 were confirmed in 2012 and 2013 by additional experiments at JINR and at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, also participated in the experiments.

The berkelium target material was produced during a six-month irradiation in the world's most intense thermal neutron flux at ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month campaign at ORNL's Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, resulting in 22 milligrams of ultrapure berkelium. In addition to providing this unique target material, ORNL participated in all aspects of the experiments and contributed advanced detector technology to the effort.

The island of stability, originally proposed by Glenn Seaborg in the 1960s, refers to a region beyond the current periodic table where superheavy nuclei with enhanced lifetimes may exist. Such an "island" would extend the periodic table to even heavier elements, and the increased lifetimes would enable chemistry experiments on these elements.

"The element 117 results include the observation of 11 new heavy isotopes that represent our closest approach to date to the proposed island of stability," says ORNL's Jim Roberto, who played a major role in forming the collaboration with JINR, LLNL, UT and Vanderbilt. "These new isotopes continue a trend toward increasing stability with increasing neutron number for superheavy elements, providing evidence for the existence of the island."

The Russia-U.S. collaboration is currently searching for even heavier nuclei at JINR using a unique target of a mixture of californium isotopes, a byproduct of decades of californium-252 production at ORNL. A new detection system for radioactive nuclei developed at ORNL and UT is enhancing the discovery capability of this experiment.

Elements 115 and 117 bring to three the number of new chemical elements discovered by ORNL with its collaborators. Element 61, promethium, was originally observed in 1945 from the chemical analysis of fission products at ORNL's Graphite Reactor. Overall, isotopes from ORNL have helped enable the discovery of nine chemical elements.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have manufactured transparent electrodes for use in touchscreens using a novel nanoprinting process. The new electrodes are some of the most transparent and conductive that have ever been developed.

From smartphones to the operating interfaces of ticket machines and cash dispensers, every touchscreen we use requires transparent electrodes: The devices glass surface is coated with a barely visible pattern made of conductive material. It is because of this that the devices recognise whether and where exactly a finger is touching the surface.

Researchers under the direction of Dimos Poulikakos, Professor of Thermodynamics, have now used 3D print technology to create a new type of transparent electrode, which takes the form of a grid made of gold or silver nanowalls on a glass surface. The walls are so thin that they can hardly be seen with the naked eye. It is the first time that scientists have created nanowalls like these using 3D printing. The new electrodes have a higher conductivity and are more transparent than those made of indium tin oxide, the standard material used in smartphones and tablets today. This is a clear advantage: The more transparent the electrodes, the better the screen quality. And the more conductive they are, the more quickly and precisely the touchscreen will work.

Third dimension

Indium tin oxide is used because the material has a relatively high degree of transparency and the production of thin layers has been well researched, but it is only moderately conductive, says Patrik Rohner, a PhD student in Poulikakos team. In order to produce more conductive electrodes, the ETH researchers opted for gold and silver, which conduct electricity much better. But because these metals are not transparent, the scientists had to make use of the third dimension. ETH professor Poulikakos explains: If you want to achieve both high conductivity and transparency in wires made from these metals, you have a conflict of objectives. As the cross-sectional area of gold and silver wires grows, the conductivity increases, but the grids transparency decreases.

The solution was to use metal walls only 80 to 500 nanometres thick, which are almost invisible when viewed from above. Because they are two to four times taller than they are wide, the cross-sectional area, and thus the conductivity, is sufficiently high.

Ink-jet printer with tiny print head

The researchers produced these tiny metal walls using a printing process known as Nanodrip, which Poulikakos and his colleagues developed three years ago. Its basic principle is a process called electrohydrodynamic ink-jet printing. In this process scientists use inks made from metal nanoparticles in a solvent; an electrical field draws ultra-small droplets of the metallic ink out of a glass capillary. The solvent evaporates quickly, allowing a three-dimensional structure to be built up drop by drop.

What is special about the Nanodrip process is that the droplets that come out of the glass capillary are about ten times smaller than the aperture itself. This allows for much smaller structures to be printed. Imagine a water drop hanging from a tap that is turned off. And now imagine that another tiny droplet is hanging from this drop  we are only printing the tiny droplet, Poulikakos explains. The researchers managed to create this special form of droplet by perfectly balancing the composition of metallic ink and the electromagnetic field used.

Cost-efficient production

The next big challenge will now be to upscale the method and develop the print process further so that it can be implemented on an industrial scale. To achieve this, the scientists are working with colleagues from ETH spin-off company Scrona.

They have no doubt that once it is upscaled, the technology will bring a host of advantages compared with existing methods. In particular, it will likely be more cost-efficient, as Nanodrip printing, unlike the production of indium tin oxide electrodes, does not require a cleanroom environment. The new electrodes should also be more suitable for large touchscreens due to their higher conductivity. And finally the process is also the first to allow you to vary the height of the nanowalls directly while printing, says ETH PhD student Rohner.

Another possible future application could be in solar cells, where transparent electrodes are also required. The more transparent and conductive they are, the more electricity that can be harnessed. And lastly, the electrodes could also play a role in the further development of curved display using OLED technology.
A woman reacts near a display board showing the plunge in the Shanghai Composite Index at a brokerage in Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Chinese stocks nosedived on Thursday, triggering the second daylong trading halt of the week and sending other Asian markets sharply lower as investor jitters rippled across the region. (Ng Han Guan / AP)

BEIJING  After watching a stock-market collapse wipe out $5 trillion of wealth in less than three months last year, Chinese authorities hatched a plan to stem the pain: circuit breakers that would be triggered by daily declines of 5 percent.

The new system went into effect on Jan. 4. It lasted all of four days. After two harrowing sessions -- on Monday and Thursday -- that tripped the breaker repeatedly and convulsed global markets, officials suspended the system. While they didn't explain their rationale, the decision effectively is an acknowledgment that they feel the breakers, at least in their current form, are only exacerbating investor anxiety and deepening the selloff. But by flip-flopping on the rule in such a short span, they only added to the sentiment among investors across the world that they're improvising -- and to ill effect - - as they try to stabilize markets and shore up a faltering economy.

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"They are changing the rules all the time now," Maarten-Jan Bakkum, a senior emerging-markets strategist at NN Investment Partners in The Hague with about $206 billion under management. "The risks seem to have increased."

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced the suspension on its official microblog account on Thursday night. The benchmark CSI 300 Index had plunged 7.2 percent earlier in the day, triggering an automatic shutdown within 30 minutes of the open, as declines in the yuan eroded investor confidence in the world's second-largest economy.

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The circuit breakers, which halt exchanges for 15 minutes after a 5 percent drop in the benchmark and for the rest of the day after a 7 percent retreat, have been criticized by analysts for exacerbating losses as investors scramble to exit positions before they're blocked from selling.

The rout -- the CSI benchmark has declined 12 percent this week and the yuan tumbled to five-year low -- has radiated across global equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average average headed for a third drop of more than 1 percent this week, the yen reached a four-month high and gold surged on haven demand.

While China's economy is showing signs of stability after decelerating to its slowest annual pace since 1990, investors are concerned how deftly, or ineptly, the authorities will manage its equities and the currency.

The stock market has gone from boom to bust and back again more times in the past 12 months than most major peers do over the course of a decade.

On the currency front, policy makers have pledged to keep the yuan stable, drawing down a record $108 billion from foreign reserves to prop it up. At the same time, the People's Bank of China set its reference rate at unexpectedly weak levels this week, raising speculation that it's more tolerant of depreciation to spur exports.

"The more alarming thing is that they weakened the currency after saying they wouldn't," said Patrick Chovanec, New York- based chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management Group. "So that raises all these issues of mixed signals, confusion. It is very unclear what the policy is, whether they know what the policy is, whether they know how to implement the policy."

Officials proposed circuit breakers in the wake of a market crash in June and saddled many of the nation's 99 million individual investors with losses. The mechanism adds to trading restrictions that include a 10 percent limit on daily swings for individual stocks and a so-called T+1 rule preventing investors from buying and selling the same shares in a single day.

Critics say circuit breakers exacerbated the stock rout because investors expedite the selling for fears of being locked out. The threshold for trading halts is set so low that they would have kicked in 20 times last summer alone. In the U.S., trading is halted temporarily after declines of 7 percent and 13 percent in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, and only suspended for the rest of the day if losses reach 20 percent.

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"Knowing that the market is going to be shut down and people are not able to trade that adds a lot of anxiety to traders," said Michael Mullaney, who helps manage $12 billion as chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co. in Boston. "They've been ineffective."

Chinese regulators moved to control the damage earlier Thursday, imposing a new limit on the amount of stock that major corporate shareholders can sell. That followed intervention by government funds to prop up shares on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

China's central bank is considering new measures to prevent high volatility in the exchange rate and will continue to intervene in the currency market, according to people familiar with the matter. Measures being considered aim to restrict arbitrage between onshore and offshore rates, the people said. The monetary authority didn't reply to a fax seeking comment.

Authorities are being forced to scale back efforts to let markets have more sway after an end to three months of relative calm on the nation's equity exchanges. Policy makers went to extreme lengths to support shares in the midst of the rout last summer, including ordering stock purchases by state funds, suspending initial public offerings and allowing trading halts that froze hundreds of mainland-listed shares.

Regulators abandoned the circuit breaker because "it wasn't working very well or wasn't doing the job it was supposed to," Geoffrey Dennis, head of global emerging-market strategy at UBS Securities, said by phone from Boston. "I think its more of a move to try to improve, a technical adjustment that may end up with a better designed instrument down the road."

Bloomberg
Bill Gothard is the target of a lawsuit by 10 women, charging him and leaders in his ministry with sexual abuse, harassment and cover-up. (Institute in Basic Life Principles )

Ten women on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Bill Gothard, who for decades was a major force in the conservative Christian homeschooling movement, charging him and leaders in his ministry with sexual abuse, harassment and cover-up.

Gothard, who urged Christians to shun things like short skirts and rock music, is accused of raping a woman. The same woman says she was raped by one of the ministry's "biblical counselors."

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The lawsuit is part of a battle between dozens of women and the Oak Brook-based Institute in Basic Life Principles, which was until recently an influential homeschooling ministry, and its charismatic leader Gothard, who urged Christians to focus on their "biblical character" and have large families. Gothard has never been married.

Gothard, 81, resigned from the ministry in 2014 after more than 30 women had alleged that he had molested and sexually harassed women he worked with, including some who were minors.

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Reached by phone on Wednesday, Gothard said he has not seen the lawsuit and denied allegations that he had raped one woman. "Oh no. Never never. Oh! that's horrible," he said. "Never in my life have I touched a girl sexually. I'm shocked to even hear that."

Gothard denied sexually harassing women. "That really is not true," he said. "I'd rather hold off to comment until I see what's in the lawsuit."

A smaller group of the same women filed a lawsuit in October against IBLP. In Wednesday's amended lawsuit, more women have joined the lawsuit, and the lawyers added Gothard to the complaint as a named defendant. The ministry, which has training centers across the country and about a dozen across the world, asked the court to dismiss the complaint, and the judge gave the plaintiffs' lawyers permission to file a new complaint.

Gothard's ministry was once a popular gathering spot for thousands of conservative Christian families, including the Duggar family from TLC's "19 Kids and Counting." Gothard's Advanced Training Institute conferences, where families would learn from Gothard's teaching, were popular among homeschooling families. He has also rubbed shoulders with Republican luminaries like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Wednesday's lawsuit includes an undated letter in which Gothard allegedly wrote to the women who were accusing him. "I was very wrong in holding hands, giving hugs, and touching their hair and feet. I was also wrong in making statements that caused emotional turmoil and confusion," the letter reads, describing what he did as "sin."

In Wednesday's interview, Gothard declined to confirm or deny whether he had written the letter. "I need to get more facts here, OK?"

The lawsuit filed Wednesday, a copy of which lawyers provided to The Washington Post, includes an affidavit signed by Gothard saying IBLP's board has not contacted him for information or for assistance and has not met with the women or their attorneys. Gothard said in the affidavit that the board is "handling the case unwisely as I have the information they need. This is a shameful waste of donors money."

"I assume that the IBLP Board thought that the plaintiffs and their counsel were bluffing and that they would not sue," Gothard wrote. "Obviously that is not the case."

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Although Gothard resigned, his affidavit makes clear he intends to return to the ministry he started in 1961.

"During the past seven months, God has allowed me to publish six new books that contain a powerful new message that I want to get out to all of the alumni," Gothard wrote, adding that over 2.5 million alumni have attended his seminars.

Gothard confirmed that he worked with the plaintiffs' lawyer on the statement but denies giving the lawyer permission to use it in the lawsuit. He declined to comment further.

IBLP was in the headlines last year after In Touch magazine reported that Josh Duggar, the eldest son of reality TV stars, had been sent to an IBLP training center as a teenager after he admitted he had sexually abused four of his younger sisters and a family friend. IBLP did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

The ministry posted a statement Wednesday saying it welcomes "the structure and integrity of the court process as a means for determining the truth with respect to these allegations."

"Many of these allegations concern conduct that allegedly occurred as early as the 1990s, and, as claimed, primarily involved Mr. Gothard," the statement says. "Since March 2014, Mr. Gothard is no longer associated with the Institute."

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The lawsuit alleges that IBLP is liquidating its assets of over $100 million and plans to sell off its holdings in Illinois, where most of the allegations took place, and move to Texas, which Gothard confirms in his affidavit.

Each of the 10 plaintiffs - Gretchen Wilkinson, Charis Barker, Rachel Frost, Rachel Lees, Melody Fedoriw, Jamie Deering, Ruth Copley Burger and three Jane Does - are seeking at least $50,000 in damages, alleging that Gothard and the organization, claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, willful and wanton and civil conspiracy.

The lawsuit in DuPage County Circuit Court in Illinois, where IBLP's headquarters is located, charges that IBLP, its employees and board members received reports of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and "inappropriate/unauthorized touching" from women and girls. But, the women allege, the defendants never reported the "potentially criminal allegations" to law enforcement authorities or the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services as required by state law.

One of the Jane Doe plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleges that she was raped by her father and other relatives and says she was sold by her father through human trafficking when she was a minor. She said she reported the abuse and trafficking to IBLP staff, which failed to report to authorities.

Families in the ministry would sometimes send their children to institutes across the country, including its headquarters in Illinois. When the Jane Doe plaintiff was at a ministry's training center, she and Gothard both called her father and Gothard asked him if abuse allegations were true, the lawsuit states. After her father denied the allegations, she said Gothard threatened her. Gothard taught that children were to obey their parents even if they were being sexually abused, the lawsuit states.

The Jane Doe then alleges that Gothard had sexual intercourse with her without her consent, saying she notified IBLP of the rape through an email in 2013. She alleges that an IBLP-employed counselor also raped her in his office at an IBLP training center in Indianapolis. David Gibbs III, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said she is not sure how old she was at the time of the alleged rapes, but was likely around 17 or 18 years old. Another woman in the lawsuit, Ruth Copley Burger, who was the adopted daughter of the counselor in question, alleges that her father sexually molested her.

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Gibbs said that he believes both women went to the police with the allegations but he is not sure why law enforcement didn't prosecute the cases. Allegations of sexual abuse that happened years ago are often difficult to pursue due to the possibility that the statute of limitations - the time period during which prosecutors are able to pursue a crime - has expired.

"It would not surprise me if law enforcement got involved in this case [now], but we're not anticipating it at this time," he said.

For the past few decades hundreds of young people from around the country would come to the ministry's training centers, some sent by their parents, others by juvenile court, for counseling.

"This wasn't just a church youth group," Gibbs said. "This was holding itself up as an expert in counseling and care for children." Gibbs said he has been contacted by more women and men who are alleging abuse within the ministry and expects more plaintiffs to be added to the case.

Since 2012, the website Recovering Grace, run by former IBLP-affiliated women, began posting stories from more than 30 women alleging they experienced sexual harassment and abuse.

Gretchen Wilkinson, a plaintiff who is now based in Winchester, Va., says that she went to work for Gothard in 1992 at IBLP's headquarters in Oak Brook, when she was 16. During her time there, she said Gothard would play footsie with her and hold her hand. At one point, she said, he had coordinated a ride from the airport for them to be together and molested her.

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"He was built up to a godlike state in our eyes because he was a man who could do no wrong. I looked up to him as a father figure, almost like how Catholics look up to priests, bishops or their pope," said Wilkinson, who is now 40. "Now I can see a photo of him and say, 'You can't touch me.' That's incredibly freeing to me."

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A different Jane Doe plaintiff alleges in the lawsuit that after she wrote about sexual harassment on the Recovering Grace website, Gothard called her and verbally assaulted her for three weeks until she had the stories taken down.

In the lawsuit, a woman named Jamie Deering alleges that Gothard sexually abused her multiple times. She said he would play footsie with her and he would sit across from her with an erection and with his legs spread wide apart.

After he resigned in 2014, Gothard denied the sexual harassment charges, saying "God is my witness that I have never kissed a girl, nor touched any young lady in a sensual way."

In 2014, IBLP conducted an internal investigation, writing in June 2014 that "no criminal activity has been discovered," saying that what Gothard did was "inappropriate behavior" and "sin." The investigation was conducted by the Christian Legal Association, and the lawsuit says none of the women were contacted during the investigation.

Rachel Frost, who alleges in the lawsuit she was sexually harassed from 1992 to 1994 when she was a minor, and then again when she was an adult, said she was initially afraid to share her story. She said Gothard was able to control and micromanage any allegations until women began sharing their stories online.

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"I feared the backlash of people who would question my motives, asking why I would come out against such a famous and charismatic leader," Frost said. "He could not control social media and victims coming together and validating each other and realizing they were not alone."

The court's first hearing on the amended lawsuit will be Jan. 13.
"Horse Money" is the latest, now at the Siskel Film Center. It imagines Ventura near the end of his life, revisiting his past one moment, one crossroads, after another. For newcomers to the Lisbon, Portugal-based director, Costa's patient, steady rhythm and mostly stationary camera may cause itchiness, distress and the urge to flee in order to find a filmmaker more in tune with the usual visual storytelling ways and means. Costa's compositions, sharply angled and fiercely concentrated, are often so striking they throw out your usual notions of what's important in a movie. The director has plenty of influences, Stanley Kubrick and Old Hollywood classicists such as John Ford among them. But his style is his own: exacting, but dreamlike.
Indonesia: Officials raised the alert level on Sulawesi after Soputan volcano erupted Tuesday. The eruption shot smoke more than a mile into the sky and prompted authorities to establish a safety zone, prohibiting tourists from coming within 2.5 miles of the volcano. The country's Center of Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation recommended staying even farther away, at least 4 miles in the southwest and northwest regions of the volcano.

France: Two months after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, the city continues to provide an increased number of security personnel, particularly at and around many of the city's most popular tourist sites, including the Louvre, where security guards patrol in groups of four. The number of tourists, however, has declined greatly along the Seine and at many popular restaurants and cafes. The French government will continue to provide heightened security measures throughout the country through Feb. 26.

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Germany: Police in Munich closed metro stations Saturday after uncovering leads suggesting a planned terror attack in the city. A terror alert was issued again Tuesday, urging tourists and locals alike to avoid large crowds and the main train station, the Hauptbahnhof. Authorities recommended that travelers also avoid the Pasing train station and remain alert during this period of ongoing heightened security around the country.

Scotland: Officials issued 30 flood warnings in the Tayside, Angus and Dundee regions, as well as areas of Aberdeenshire, as rising rivers and high coastal waves continue to damage and close roads and bridges throughout the area. Other parts of Scotland, including Moray, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire, have been warned about the possibility of continued flooding, and officials reported that rail service may be disrupted over the coming weeks as repairs are made to flood-damaged tracks.

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Thailand: Two tourists  one American, one Australian  were arrested and fined for public nudity on the popular tourist island of Phuket after hanging topless out of a moving vehicle. The women were arrested after a video of the incident went viral online. Police traced the vehicle back to their vacation rental and took them into custody, where they were ordered to pay the $9 fine and released. Tourists should be aware and respectful of decency laws and other customs wherever they travel.

Compiled from news services and travel sources. For updates, check with the State Department at 888-407-4747, www.travel.state.gov.

Larry Habegger and Dani Burlison are freelance reporters.
But something happens to hamsters when we jump off the hamster wheel. You return from the time off, and you take a look at that stupid wheel, so still, so silent, and you think: What does it mean when people say, "I could give two figs." What do the two figs represent, really?
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, shown at a news conference Jan. 5, 2016, said Jan. 7 that he will open a "third-party" inquiry into practices at the city's Law Department. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Two days after saying it was "not possible" his Law Department is part of the cover-up culture that has tainted his Police Department, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will bring in a "third party" to review the city's legal practices after a federal judge found that city attorneys have withheld evidence in police cases.

It's the latest in a series of reversals for the mayor in which he has staked out a position on the city's handling of police misconduct, only to quickly change course after facing blowback.

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Since a court order forced Emanuel to release the Laquan McDonald police shooting video in late November, the mayor has moved from describing the tragedy as the fault of one rogue cop to acknowledging a need for "total reform" in the department. He also stood by former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy before firing him days later, and opposed a federal investigation of the Police Department before welcoming it.

Earlier this week, the mayor told reporters that the federal probe should not expand into the Law Department after U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang sanctioned two city attorneys for withholding evidence in a lawsuit over a police shooting. In his ruling, Chang also faulted lax training and oversight in the city's Law Department, which is run by Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton, for hampering the production of Police Department records when officers are accused of misconduct.

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On Thursday, Emanuel said he would cooperate if federal investigators decide to expand their current probe into the Police Department to include the work of city lawyers but did not call for them to do so. "I as mayor don't direct the Justice Department. If they choose, we're going to cooperate," he said.

There is no reason Emanuel couldn't ask the Department of Justice to look into the Law Department, however.

Instead, Emanuel said Patton will soon announce that a "third party" will look at the Law Department's Federal Civil Rights Litigation division, where attorney Jordan Marsh worked until he stepped down Monday after Chang found he had intentionally withheld evidence and lied about it in a trial over a fatal 2011 Chicago police shooting. In all, Chang has cited and rebuked five city attorneys within the past year for withholding evidence in two separate police misconduct cases.

"Steve Patton, in short order, will be announcing that they're going to bring in a third party to look at that division, create standards and make sure the standards are clear as it relates to professional standards, and to have the training that goes with that," Emanuel said after a ribbon-cutting at the Malcolm X College campus across the street from the United Center. "And that's what will happen, because it's essential for people's confidence."

But Emanuel was vague on the specifics of the outside probe, not naming the "third party," whether it will look into past cases the Law Department has handled or how much it will cost taxpayers. The lack of details reflects the Emanuel administration scrambling to determine what the review will include after the mayor quickly pivoted and decided to publicly call for one.

Emanuel's latest about-face came a day after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner blasted the mayor for not welcoming the Justice Department to look at the Law Department.

"Why would the mayor fight an investigation of that department, given these facts, just the way he fought the federal investigation, civil rights investigation of the shooting incident?" Rauner said on WIND-AM 560's "Morning Answer" program. "It's just out-of-touch, and just a failure of leadership."

Spurring Emanuel's reversal was Chang's Monday ruling that found Marsh, who has handled many of the city's high-profile police misconduct cases, intentionally concealed evidence by not informing the court about a relevant emergency radio dispatch in a police shooting case. The judge also found that Marsh misled the court about his thought process for withholding the evidence and ruled that the co-counsel on the case, city attorney Thomas Aumann, failed to make a reasonable effort to find the radio recording.

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That reversed a decision last March in which a jury found in favor of Officers Raoul Mosqueda and Gildardo Sierra, concluding that they were justified in killing Darius Pinex during a January 2011 traffic stop.

At the trial, the officers testified that they had pulled Pinex's Oldsmobile over because it matched a description they heard over their police radios of a car wanted in connection with an earlier shooting. But according to court records, the officers did not hear the dispatch because it aired over a different radio zone.

It wasn't until the middle of the trial that Marsh admitted he had failed to turn over a recording of the dispatch that actually went out over the officers' radios that night, a call that talked about a different Oldsmobile Aurora that didn't match Pinex's car and was not wanted in a shooting.

The questions about the Law Department compound the intense criticism Emanuel has faced since the release in late November of police dashboard-camera video of white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting African-American teen McDonald 16 times in 2014 in the Archer Heights neighborhood.

Critics are calling for Emanuel to step down, suggesting he worked to delay the video's release until after he won re-election. The mayor has denied that.

Though the large public demonstrations that marked the weeks after the court-ordered release of the McDonald video have faded, Emanuel still faces protesters. As he walked to his waiting SUV outside Malcolm X on Thursday, Emanuel encountered 27-year-old Jared Steverson.

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"Get out of our city! This is our city! What else are you covering up, mayor?" Steverson shouted, approaching the vehicle as Emanuel got in the back seat. When the mayor's ride pulled away, Steverson spit in the street.

jebyrne@tribpub.com

Twitter @_johnbyrne
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration has chosen two companies to develop long-discussed universal taxi hailing apps designed to help traditional cabs compete with ride-share companies, new technology that could come with higher rates for passengers who use the service.

Arro and Verifone were picked from 11 applicants to put in place the taxi apps, and all of the city's 12,700 licensed cab drivers will be required by Feb. 1 to use one service or the other while on duty, according to a Wednesday announcement from Emanuel's office.

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Arro has developed a cab-hailing application in use in New York. Verifone's Curb application is already used by about 4,000 cabs in Chicago, a company official said in the city announcement.

Emanuel's administration has talked about the universal cab application since late 2014 as part of a series of rule changes meant to calm angry cab drivers as the mayor was locked in a tough re-election fight. Organizations representing cabbies say Emanuel favors ride-share companies like Uber while levying tougher rules on traditional taxis.

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The mayor's 2016 budget included fare increases for taxis and gave ride-share companies access to the lucrative pick-up market at Chicago airports. It also included language allowing traditional cabs to charge higher rates than usual if the rides are hailed through "any Internet-enabled application or digital platform."

"Surge pricing" already is enjoyed by Uber and similar companies at high-demand times like rush hour, bad weather or outside concerts and sporting events.

Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection spokeswoman Mika Stambaugh said that if the cab apps utilize surge pricing they will need to provide fare estimates and follow other rules that also apply to the ride-share apps. Stambaugh said the companies will be paid based on a system established with the drivers, and that no city money will go to the companies. The city will work with Arro and Verifone to advertise their applications, she said.

The city will not get a cut of proceeds from the apps under the contracts, which are set for one year "with options to renew," Stambaugh said.

jebyrne@tribpub.com

Twitter @_johnbyrne
Harney County Sheriff David Ward listens to concerns during a community meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. (Rick Bowmer / AP)

BURNS, Ore.  Three Oregon sheriffs met Thursday with an armed group occupying a federal wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon and asked them to leave, after residents made it clear they wanted them to go home.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward, accompanied by two other sheriffs, asked Ammon Bundy and his group to respect the wishes of residents and end an occupation that began last weekend to protest federal land management policies.

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"There are some positives that could come out of this," Ward told Bundy during their meeting at the intersection of two remote roads.

"Before this thing turns into something negative, which would ruin all of that, I think we need to find a peaceful resolution to help you guys get out of here," Ward said.

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Bundy replied that his complaints about federal land management policies are not being addressed.

"We're getting ignored again, sir," said Bundy.

"I didn't come to argue," Ward said, and Bundy replied neither had he.

Ward said he would call Bundy on Friday to talk more.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday called the occupation "unlawful" and said it had to end.

"It was instigated by outsiders whose tactics we Oregonians don't agree with. Those individuals illegally occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge need to decamp immediately and be held accountable," she said.

On Wednesday night, residents attended a community meeting to air their views about the two dozen or so armed men holed up at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns.

Locals said they sympathized with the armed group's complaints about federal land management policies but disagreed with their tactics.

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At that meeting, Ward said he hoped residents would put up a united front to peacefully resolve the conflict with the group.

"I'm here today to ask those folks to go home and let us get back to our lives," Ward said.

Schools were closed following the seizure of the refuge because of safety concerns in the small town in eastern Oregon's high desert.

Bundy's group, calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, says it wants an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land. Participants came from as far away as Arizona and Michigan.

Bundy came to Burns to rally support for two local ranchers who were sentenced to prison on arson charges. The ranchers  Dwight Hammond and his son Steven Hammond  distanced themselves from Bundy's group and reported to prison Monday.

The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago and served no more than a year. A judge later ruled that the terms fell short of minimum sentences requiring them to serve about four more years.

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Associated Press
In the public eye, Bill Cosby's goose is pretty much cooked. As a legal matter, however, his conviction on sexual-assault charges stemming from an incident in 2004 will likely rest on whether the trial judge decides to admit what is known as "prior bad acts" evidence. This question, now being heavily mooted in the press and on legal blogs, is a tricky one.

The "prior bad acts" in question are of two forms: Cosby's own testimony, in a deposition unsealed last fall, that he obtained Quaaludes to facilitate sex acts with women, and the accusations of several dozen women that what Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, claims the entertainer did to her, he also did to them. Most of us by now believe that there's fire behind the smoke, and that Cosby, a man the world once revered, is a deeply troubled or perhaps deeply evil human being.

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But the jury will never hear everything the public does, and for good reason. In the courtroom, unlike in the real world, the fact that a defendant has acted in a particular manner on another occasion cannot be taken as evidence that he acted that way on the occasion in question. This is what is known as propensity evidence, and it has long been forbidden in U.S. courts.

Let's divide the "bad acts" evidence into two categories. Cosby's admission in the deposition should come into evidence easily. As a general rule, a party's own past statements are fair game. The tougher question involves the testimony of other women about what Cosby allegedly did to them. I think it's likely the court will admit the evidence, but I'm not sure the court will be right.

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No matter what the rest of us think, it's a hallowed rule of procedure in the U.S. that past behavior can't be used to show guilt. Pennsylvania, like nearly every state, has adopted what is known as Rule 404(a): "Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person's character in order to show that on a particular occasion the person acted in accordance with the character."

The rule forbids the introduction of what's known as "propensity" evidence  evidence intended to make the jury think, "Well, he's done this other bad stuff, so he probably did this too." What this means in practice is that if A is on trial for selling drugs, the jury likely will never hear that A has a conviction for the same crime on his record.

The hallowed rule naturally has hallowed exceptions, and the prosecution will doubtless try to take advantage of them. In news reports, lawyers have suggested that the testimony of other women about what Cosby allegedly did to them should be admissible under the exception for "modus operandi" evidence. But the argument isn't as simple as it may seem.

The "modus operandi" exception has been around for a long time, but isn't actually found in the rule. The traditional definition is rather technical, but the way commentators on the Cosby case are using the term, it's a way of summarizing several important parts of the exception under Rule 404(b) for evidence tending to show "motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident."

Like most evidence professors, I teach my students that these exceptions are narrowly construed. Otherwise they swallow the rule. The question, in much-quoted language, is "whether the characteristics relied upon are sufficiently idiosyncratic to permit an inference of pattern." The subtle but important point is that the exception exists for cases in which the pattern of past crimes is so distinctive and unusual that it's highly unlikely that anyone else committed the charged crime. The courts often refer to this pattern as a "behavioral fingerprint."

How strict is the requirement? Consider the notorious case of Kristen Gilbert, the nurse convicted in 2001 of murdering four patients at a Veterans Affairs facility in Massachusetts. Even though the prosecution contended that Gilbert killed the patients by injecting fatal drug doses, evidence that she'd tried to do the same to her husband was excluded. The risk that the jury would engage in forbidden propensity reasoning was too high.

Why then do I think the Pennsylvania courts will admit the evidence? Because of a case on point decided just last June. In Commonwealth v. Tyson, the defendant was on trial for rape. According to the prosecution, the accuser felt weak after donating blood and decided to leave work early. Resting at her apartment, she asked the defendant, an acquaintance, to bring her food. He did so. She fell asleep, and awakened to find the defendant having intercourse with her. She made him stop, then fell asleep a second time, and the same thing occurred.

At trial, the prosecution sought to introduce evidence that the defendant had a prior conviction for rape. The trial court said no. An appellate panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed, pointing to the similarity of the facts as charged. In both cases the defendant was casually acquainted with the victim. In both cases the victim was black. In both cases the defendant was in the victim's home by invitation and found her to be in a defenseless state, unable to give legal consent. Wrote the Superior Court:

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"The relevant details and surrounding circumstances of each incident further reveal criminal conduct that is sufficiently distinctive to establish ... a common plan or scheme."

One could reasonably argue (as an earlier Superior Court panel had found in the same case) that the "relevant details" on which the court rested its opinion "do not amount to more than insignificant details common to many instances of sexual assaults." But the court went the other way  part of a recent trend toward a broader, pro-prosecution reading of 404(b)  and in so doing, I would think, doomed Cosby's chances of keeping the testimony out.

At this point the wise non-lawyer reader will object that in the Tyson case, the defendant had actually been convicted of the previous rape, whereas Cosby has never before been charged. But that's irrelevant. If the offered prior acts are such that a reasonable jury could find a modus operandi or common plan to exist, then they are admissible as long as the jury could find by a preponderance of evidence  that is, a 51 percent chance  that Cosby committed them.

Let me emphasize, lest the point be lost, that I am not defending Cosby, and I share the general outrage at what he's evidently gotten away with for all these years. But when we stretch the rules of evidence to make sure we get all the bad guys, we reduce the protections that the rest of us are due.

Bloomberg

Stephen Carter is a Bloomberg View columnist and a law professor at Yale.
A man in Seoul, South Korea, watches a television news broadcast on North Korea's nuclear test on Wednesday. North Korea said it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb, but experts are expressing skepticism about the claim. (SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg)

The earth rumbled beneath the Korean peninsula Tuesday evening, signaling an underground nuclear test by rogue nation North Korea. Pyongyang claimed to have set off its first hydrogen bomb, but experts looking at seismographs saw evidence of a much smaller explosion  likely the country's fourth atomic bomb test since 2006. Possibly, it was an atom bomb boosted by additional nuclear material.

H-bomb or A-bomb, the impact is clear: a nasty reminder that one of the world's most isolated regimes poses a great danger.

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North Korea said Jan. 6, 2016, it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test. If confirmed, the defiant and surprising move would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP) (Associated Press)

There's a clockwork-like predictability to North Korea's belligerence and brinkmanship: Every so often  just when the world seems fully focused on other crises  the North ratchets up tension by testing a bomb or ballistic missile.

There's a frightening pattern to the world's response too, which began again Wednesday: condemnations followed by threats of more sanctions, though the North already is thoroughly sanctioned. Then, expect an uncomfortable shrug because past negotiations failed and war is not an option against a nuclear-armed country that values the survival of its regime and not much else.

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Within weeks, the world probably moves on, and so will North Korea, on its march to perfecting weapons of mass destruction.

So what do we have to show for decades of patience with North Korea? Um, four nuclear tests.

About that shrug. The Obama administration actually has a name for it: "strategic patience." The phrase was first used by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009. The idea is to wait out the North, using subtle pressure to coax it back to the negotiating table to strike a grand bargain on its nuclear program.

So what do we have to show for decades of patience with North Korea? Um, four nuclear tests. And some ballistic missile tests too, putting the North further along the path to its presumed goal of testing nuclear-armed missiles capable of striking the United States.

This is the problem with endless patience and wandering attention. A wily foe such as North Korea will not waste its opportunity to cause trouble.

About that wily foe: Kim Jong Un, North Korea's third-generation leader, shows no more interest than his father or grandfather in changing North Korea's paranoid approach. He uses threats and bluster to keep the outside world off balance. At home, his regime keeps the population under absolute control, in near complete isolation, allowing the government to spin a fantasy about North Korea as a worker's paradise bravely facing down enemies.

In North Korea's alternate reality, testing an "H-bomb of justice" is needed to fend off "a gang of cruel robbers"  yes, the United States. A North Korea statement Wednesday justifying the nuke test was filled with such flourishes: "Nothing is more foolish than dropping a hunting gun before herds of ferocious wolves," it said.

What to do? Waiting around for North Korea to change is folly. The country, bumping along in poverty and always at risk of famine, has an apparently limitless capacity to endure hardship. North Koreans don't know any better. The Kim family designed their country that way.

There is one untapped vulnerability. Most of North Korea's imports, including food and energy, come from China. A Congressional Research Service report said it plainly: Food and energy aid from China is "an essential lifeline for the regime."

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China's main worry is preventing the collapse of North Korea, which could cause a refugee crisis on China's border. Just as bad, from China's vantage point, would be for the North to be absorbed by South Korea, a key American ally.

Still, there are signs Beijing may be frustrated with Kim Jong Un. The Chinese government protested the nuclear test as loudly as the U.S., and China's President Xi Jinping has never met Kim, seemingly a snub. Beijing knows that the more Kim stirs up trouble, the more active the U.S. will get in defending the Pacific, tightening ties along the way with South Korea and Japan. That threatens to hem in China.

Relying on China to protect American interests shouldn't be at the top of anyone's New Year's resolution list, but with four nuclear tests in the bag, it's time for the U.S. to replace "strategic patience" with some urgency. Let's find out if China is ready to push North Korea into serious talks. Meanwhile, the U.S. should put additional pressure on North Korea through a greater show of military force in the Pacific.

North Korea's menacing behavior is a reminder of why the U.S. has to demand strict adherence from Iran on its nuclear deal. The negotiators of that deal seemed to learn something from the failed nuclear agreement with North Korea reached by Bill Clinton in 1994. But that lesson will be lost if the U.S., as it seems to be doing so far, is willing to let Iran duck and dodge.

Nor can the U.S. allow other issues  including Iran  to distract from the threat of nuclear North Korea. The next bomb Pyongyang detonates in a test could be big enough to truly frighten the world, or small enough to place on an intercontinental ballistic missile.
As a way to promote the upcoming Geneva Film Festival in March, organizers are showing repeat performances of past fan favorites this weekend.

The Geneva Film Festival is featuring its best family-friendly short films from its first eight seasons during a one-off Winter Sampler event Jan. 9 at the Geneva Park District's Playhouse 38.

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Award-winning movies appropriate for all ages will be shown at 1 and 4 p.m., said the festival's executive director Scott Rolf of Geneva. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

The Winter Sampler serves as an appetizer for the Geneva Film Festival, which will be March 10-12 in downtown Geneva. Started by the City's Cultural Arts Commission in 2007, the festival's mission is to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the talents of independent producers and directors, he said.

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"When we teamed up with Playhouse 38 last summer we were trying to satellite exhibitions to keep the Festival current, so we  devised a Summer Sampler, which was held during Festival of the Vine last summer," he said. "That went over pretty well. Basically, we were trying to attract an audience that hadn't heard of the Geneva Film Festival before or seen any of the films  we were trying to reach a new audience. It went well, so we decided to repeat that getting closer to the Festival, and that's how the Winter Sampler was born."

The Winter Sampler features the best of the best family-friendly films that have been in the Geneva Film Festival, he said. The 1 p.m. screening will be a series of short films and the 4 p.m. feature will be a showing of one of the most popular films from last year called "Teenage Ghost Punk."

"It was a pretty popular film," Rolf said. "It's kind of a Disney-esque film that's appropriate for families, but has a little bit of an edge."

"Teenage Ghost Punk"'s director, Mike Cramer of Oak Park, will be on hand to discuss the film and answer questions, Rolf said.

It is described as a supernatural, punk-rock comedy starring the director's real-life son, Jack Cramer, as the ghost of a '80s punk rocker who died after being struck by lightning while playing guitar on the roof of the house during a thunderstorm. He haunts his old house, where a new family has just moved in. The newcomers have a 16-year-old daughter, Amanda (played by Grace Madigan of Oak Park), and Brian the ghost takes a liking to her.

New this year, the Geneva Film Festival will be in multiple locations, Rolf said.

"There's no place that can house us under one roof anymore, which is a good problem to have," he said. "The Winter Sampler is something to get people interested in the festival, as well as some other things we have coming up."

This will be the festival's ninth year. Rolf has been involved for seven of those years, with six of them at the helm as executive director, he said.

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If you're curious about the Geneva Film Festival, the Winter Sampler is the perfect time to see what the organization is all about, he said.

"It' a good representation of the festival itself," he said. "It's a cross-sample of what the festival is all about. If you've never been, it's a good way to get a taste."

Annie Alleman is a freelance writer.

Geneva Film Festival Winter Sampler

When: Jan. 9

Where: Geneva Park District's Playhouse 38, 524 W. State St., Geneva

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Cost: $5

Information: srolf@genevafilmfestival.org; GenevaFilmFestival.org
Stand up for our president: I want to comment on the caller who said they didn't vote for President Obama the first time or the second time. It's a person's prerogative to vote for who they want. Everyone tries to blame Obama for everything that happens. In most people's eyes, he hasn't done such a bad job. Are there things he could have done better? Yes, there are. Are there things other presidents could have done better? Yes, there are. Can't satisfy all the people all the time. I was watching the GOP debate. For the Pillsbury Doughboy from New Jersey to make statements about how weak our president is, that's just plain ludicrous. If you're going to complain about the president, keep it indoors. You have ISIS watching. You have Russian President Putin watching. No American president should be called anything like that out in the open.

Terminate terrorists: I would like to know why the sentence for people who commit treason or terrorism is not death. That's what it should be. They should face a firing squad. Why should we house these people? They are not worth it.

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Miffed about Merkel: Is Time magazine kidding us when they announced that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the Person of the Year? She is the person responsible for laying the groundwork for the downfall of Germany and most of Europe with her acceptance of these out of control Muslim fanatics. Go on YouTube and see the videos that the news will not show you. What's going on there is an absolute tragedy. Watch these videos before you nominate a knucklehead like that as Person of the Year. What's happening in Europe will be happening here. We better wake up and wake up soon.

Pump up the print: I'm just calling about the print size for the obituaries and actually a few other things. They are almost impossible to read. I don't know why the print can't be larger. Couldn't this be solved in some way?

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Violence comes from within our borders: I would like to say that in America, we have scared Americans with guns. We have racists with guns. We have gangbangers with guns. We have mentally ill people who also have guns. We have almost 35,000 people killed in America every year in some way or another. Americans have killed more Americans than anyone else on this earth. I ask you, who are we really at war with? Be afraid, Americans, but be afraid of your fellow Americans.

Climate change: It doesn't pay a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out climate change. Common sense will tell you climate change comes from more people in the world, more automobiles, more manufacturing and more homes. That's why manufacturers and others need to find ways to reduce energy into the climate. It will take great scientists and engineers to figure it out.

People judged by their religious beliefs: I guess I was fortunate. I come from a family with so many different religious backgrounds. Regarding the young woman at the Wheaton school where she decided to wear her head covering because of her religion, and then she said that Muslims worship the same God that Christians do, well that's kinda sorta. Haven't most religions evolved from one God? Every religion will have its crazies and extremists. They twist their holy books to their advantage. Think of the Crusades. I come from a family where we have Christian Scientists, Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants and Methodists. Nobody cares what religion you follow as long as you are a good human being. There are good and bad Muslims and good and bad Southern Baptists. At this time of year, is it really that hard to look at this young woman and not at her religion? Seriously, think about it.

Seeking equality: I was reading a Speak Out, and the caller brought up Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. I would like to say that I was raised in Chicago. I can tell you some real horror stories about police and politicians during the '70s and '80s, and I can also tell you good stories about police officers. The only thing that black people really want is to be equal. That's it. You might say they are equal, but walk a mile in their shoes and find out. Black people haven't been equal since they were brought over on those horrible ships. As long as they are not treated equally, there will always be these hate groups. We have to stop this and all be Americans first.

In a funk about junk mail: Junk mail is getting almost impossible. You go to your mailbox, walk to your recycle container to throw away the junk mail, and then go back into your house with maybe one or two good pieces. What a waste of paper and our trees. We thought that with computers, there would be less paper communication. Not true. It seems more than ever that paper is mailed to your home. I wish these companies wouldn't sell your name to other companies. Privacy is almost a thing of the past in this electronic age.

Musing about Cruz: I see Ted Cruz and the rest of the GOP are ticked off because one of the news media made fun of Cruz's children. I don't condone that. I think children should be off limits when it comes to politics. Nobody should ever make fun of anyone's child. On the other hand, when you put your child out there to make comments about your opponents, you are opening up the door. You are sticking your child in a volcano. That is also wrong. You can argue that President Obama had his daughters in one of his campaign commercials, but they never made a stab at his opponents. You cannot have these children making a stab at Hillary Clinton. By doing that, he opened Pandora's Box on his children. Ted Cruz should also be ashamed.

Editor's note

Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line.
It was business as usual Wednesday morning at this Dunkin' Donuts on 95th Street in Chicago Ridge. An armed robbery took place there Tuesday afternoon. (Steve Metsch / Daily Southtown)

An employee of a Chicago Ridge doughnut shop robbed by a gunman Tuesday said she "prayed to God" she would not be shot during the chaotic and terrifying incident.

And she's grateful a quick-thinking co-worker had the presence of mind to call police from her hiding spot in a bathroom during the robbery.

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Charges are pending against two Chicago men, ages 18 and 19, captured shortly after the robbery, Chicago Ridge police said in a news release. Nobody was injured, although a gunshot was fired into the ceiling during the incident, police said.

One man drove the getaway car and the other, clad from head to toe in black, robbed the store at gunpoint, police said.

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The employee, who declined to be named, was on duty at Dunkin' Donuts, 6408 95th St., working the drive-through window, when the man wearing a black hoodie walked in around 3 p.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, she recounted a work day she won't soon forget.

One co-worker was making coffee, a second was preparing smoothies and a third was fortunately in the bathroom, unbeknownst to the gunman.

Also in the shop were seven students from Simmons Middle School, located a block northwest of the shop.

"All of a sudden I hear, 'Everybody get on the (expletive) ground,' and then he jumped over the counter and started screaming at the kids to get on the ground and to shut up," she said. "He told my co-worker, 'Open up the register and give me all the money.'"

The employee did as she was ordered, but some money fell on the floor.

"He told her to pick it up, and said 'Do you want to die today?' because she wasn't picking up the money fast enough," the woman said.

That's when he fired a shot into the ceiling, she said. The bullet hole was visible Wednesday in a ceiling tile above the counter.

He then demanded that the drive-through cash register be opened, and grabbed the money from the drawer, the worker said.

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But that wasn't enough.

"He started yelling, 'Where are the 100s? Where are the 100s?' I told him we didn't have any. I was ready to give him more coins and then he just took off," she said.

Stunned customers and employees didn't know what to do, but the worker in the bathroom did. When the commotion broke out, she called the Chicago Ridge police, who arrived at 3:06 p.m., moments after the man fled on foot.

Still shaken by the incident, the woman said Wednesday, "Sometimes, even though they take the money, they still shoot you. It was shocking that he did it with all these people in here."

He was seen climbing into a dark-colored Pontiac that was parked on 94th Street and driven east to Ridgeland Avenue.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Armed with that description, Chicago Ridge police put out a bulletin. Oak Lawn police on patrol saw a car that fit the description at 87th Street and Central Avenue at 3:16 p.m. and pulled it over. Witnesses brought there by Chicago Ridge police identified the gunman, police said. The men remained in custody at the Chicago Ridge Police Department Wednesday afternoon with charges pending.

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Store manager Amin Ali of Skokie said he has worked at the store since 1999 and this was the first time it was the target of an armed robbery.

"I'm just glad nobody was hurt," Ali said.

Ridgeland School District 122 Supt. Julie Shellberg said the students in the shop at the time of the robbery, "seemed a little shaken, but seemed to be OK" in school on Wednesday. Some met with a social worker, she said.

"How scary is it to see a guy waving a gun around and then hear a gunshot? It was very scary for them," she said. Several ran into the bathroom for safety, she said.

School had already been let out by the time of the robbery so only a small number of students were in the building for after-school activities, she said. The school was not put into lock down, but students were told to stay inside until rides arrived, Shellberg said.

smetsch@tribpub.com
Lake County prosecutors are trying to block a convicted murderer's request for a new trial, according to a court motion filed Wednesday that calls for a judge's ruling without a hearing involving witnesses and arguments.

Defense attorneys for Marvin Williford, found guilty by a jury in the 2000 death of a North Chicago man, have petitioned for a new trial, based largely on DNA evidence obtained after the trial was held.

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In a lengthy motion filed by assistant state's attorneys Ari Fisz and Scott Turk, the state is arguing that because Williford was convicted on evidence including eyewitness identification and testimony, DNA results from the scene do not diminish the validity of his conviction.

Fisz did not comment beyond what was written in the state's motion, but Williford's defense attorney, David Owens, called the state's motion an attempt to "short-circuit" the defense petition without a full hearing.

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"My first response is it appears the state is applying the wrong legal standard pertaining to our proceedings," Owens said.

The state's motion notes Williford's conviction on charges including first-degree murder and armed robbery in the death of Delwin Foxworth, who was "beaten and burned alive."

It states that the conviction was the result of eyewitness testimony of a person present during the attack, evidence of attempted witness intimidation and the establishment of a motive  a debt owed to Foxworth by Williford.

Owens, an attorney with the University of Chicago Law School's Exoneration Project, has said several DNA profiles at the murder scenedo not match Williford, which he said merits a new trial. One of the DNA profiles, Owens said, matches semen found at the scene of the 1992 rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker in Waukegan.

The state's motion said the DNA, taken from a board used in the attack, does not exclude Williford's participation because it may not have been the only item used in the attack, and because any other participants could have been wearing gloves. According to the motion, there were several DNA profiles that could not be developed enough to confirm or exclude anyone.

The eyewitness identified Williford and said she saw him up close in good lighting, according to the motion. The witness is also quoted in court documents as saying Williford "looked at Delwin and he said, 'How about a little fire'" before dousing him with gasoline.

Foxworth died in a hospital two years later as the result of his injuries. Officials have said two other unidentified men participated in the attack with Williford.

Judge George Bridges set a court hearing for Feb. 24. The defense is expected to have a formal reply to the state's motion at that time.

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Williford is serving an 80-year prison sentence for the murder.

jrnewton@tribpub.com

Twitter @jimnewton5
A woman who blamed her erratic driving on an unfaithful boyfriend has been sentenced to 60 days in DuPage County jail, after being convicted of driving drunk nearly two years ago near downtown Naperville.

The woman, Alexandra J. Davit, would go on to be arrested six weeks later for DUI after being found asleep at the wheel of her car in Lisle, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.

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Davit, 26, lives on the 1900 block of Hillside Lane in Lisle. She pleaded guilty last year to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol in both cases, court records showed.

Naperville police arrested Davit at about 2:15 a.m. April 20, 2014, after a patrol officer saw her driving her 2011 Honda Civic east on Chicago Avenue from Washington Street, a written police report said. The car at one point crossed the double yellow line in the roadway, according to the report.

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The officer stopped Davit as she drove south on Brainard Street in the opposite lane of traffic approaching Highland Avenue. Davit also ran a stop sign at that intersection, the report said.

Despite having "bloodshot, glassy eyes and a flushed face" when stopped, Davit denied that she had been drinking or using narcotics, the report stated. "Davit claimed that her poor driving was due to her being upset after finding a cheating boyfriend," the officer wrote in the report.

Davit's blood-alcohol content at the time proved to be .173, or more than twice the legal limit under Illinois law, according to the report. Police also found a small amount of marijuana and a blue glass smoking pipe in her car.

Lisle police arrested Davit at 6 a.m. June 7, 2014, after finding her asleep at the wheel of her running vehicle, court records showed. Those records did not include the location of Davit's arrest.

Davit also was stopped in June 2011 in Naperville on suspicion of inebriated driving, according to court records. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 of that year to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana and was ordered to perform community service work and placed on court supervision, court records said.

Associate Judge James J. Konetski on Tuesday sentenced Davit to jail in the Naperville DUI case. Davit will begin serving that term on July 5, records showed.

Konetski also placed Davit on two years of probation and ordered her to enroll in the county's DUI school and pay fines and court costs in both the Naperville and Lisle DUI cases, records indicated.

A message left late Wednesday afternoon at a telephone number provided for Davit was not immediately returned

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"Freedom Train" runs Jan. 11-15 at Theatre at the Center in Munster. (Theater at the Center / Handout)

The inspiring story of a courageous 19th-century woman comes to life in "Freedom Train"  a theatrical account of the historic Underground Railroad.

The production is part of the 2015-16 season of Theatre at the Center's Theatre for Young Audiences.

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Running Monday-Jan. 15, in Munster, "Freedom Train" relays the saga of Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery at a Maryland plantation via a route that became known as the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad encompassed safe houses that runaway slaves could use on their journey north to start new lives.

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Through perilous conditions, Tubman led more than 300 slaves  including her parents  to freedom.

"She's one of the pioneers of civil rights," said Charlie Misovye, Theatre for Young Audiences coordinator.

"Freedom Train" is a production of Theatre Works USA in New York City.

"It's a play with music," Misovye said.

Noting that "Freedom Train" is essentially geared toward fourth- through 12th-graders, Misovye believes it can impart an important message about individual will.

"It does show how one person can make a change," he said.

According to promotional material on Tubman's escape from slavery, she was forced to run from dogs and slave catchers as she used Quaker assistance on an escape route that made use of "secret hiding places in churches, barns, cellars and homes."

Background information from Theatre Works USA also states that Tubman  during the course of about 20 secret trips  guided hundreds of slaves, including her parents, to lives that could be lived free.

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The play's author, the late Marvin Gordon, was a dancer on Broadway, and also worked as a director and choreographer in New York City theater. His production has a melodic side.

"There's a lot of music in it," Joy Kelly, the director, said in a recent phone interview. Spirituals and melodies from the period are featured.

Six performers are in the cast of the historical play, which will be touring the United States into the spring, according to Kelly.

Although relaying serious information about a crucial time in the development of America, "Freedom Train" is not overly somber. "There's a lot of humor in it, too," Kelly assured. "It's not all super, super serious."

Aimed at a youthful market of elementary and high school students, "Freedom Train" is a 19th-century saga that is relatable to today's youngsters, according to Kelly.

"Harriet Tubman was a rebel; she was rebellious," the director said.

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Nhadya Salomon is portraying the heroine in "Freedom Train"  a role that presents challenges. "There's so many layers to Harriet," Salomon said.

Originally from Jacksonville, Fla., Salomon said she strives to be honest in her portrayal of Tubman by addressing her vulnerability and other facets of her personality.

"She had a humorous side, as well," the New York resident said. "At the core of her is a very strong and determined person."

Because "Freedom Train" tells the story of life on the run, Salomon faces a role that demands physicality. "There's a lot of running around, climbing on things, under things," she related. Tubman, who died in 1913, was an abolitionist who served as a Union Army spy during the Civil War. Her efforts helped even more slaves gain their freedom.

Tubman's story is being brought to Munster by 55-year-old Theatreworks USA, which states that its mission is "to create, produce and provide access to professional theatre for young and family audiences nationwide." Its mission includes delivering theater to "disadvantaged youth and under-served communities."

Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer.

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'Freedom Train'

Where: Theatre at the Center in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster

When: 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Monday-Jan. 15

Tickets: $6.50-$9.50
I saw the recent story about "Citizens for a Safer Society" wanting the Skokie Village Board to join them in trying to stop a gun shop from opening in neighboring Niles. The bottom line is "Citizens for a Safer Society" has succeeded so far in shutting down a legal, legitimate business before it has a chance to open. Their reasoning appears to be they don't like firearms, with the final objective of confiscating them. They want all firearms dealers to have additional licenses. The politicians will love revenue enhancement and we will have more government interference where none is needed.

They keep pointing out the dealership would be close to schools, etc. Whether the distance is one block or 10 miles, so what? Do they believe children would wander over after lunch to buy a gun and ammo, and come back and shoot up the school? Dealers will not allow anyone to even touch a firearm unless they have a FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) card. Having a FOID card means you have been checked out by the Illinois State Police. What other establishments can come close to this? Nothing is 100 percent, but it's hard to do better. The clerks are all armed, as well as most of the customers. Hard to be safer in an urban environment.

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I very much resent the charge by "Citizens for a Safer Society" that this type of business invites unsavory elements, like myself. The cross-section of customers include people who simply enjoy target shooting. The noise is contained and the air filtered; so no environmental impact. "Citizens for a Safer Society," please find another cause where you can actually do some good.

Harold G. Cohon

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Morton Grove
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Ruairidh Mcpherson

They can often be difficult to navigate, yet with a population of almost 1.4 billion people, Chinas family planning laws are incredibly important. While many people may be aware of Chinas previous one child policy, the country also had a number of other rules and regulations in place designed to control population growth. These included late-marriage or late-childbirth incentives, in the form of extra holidays, to encourage couples to marry later and give birth to just one child.

2016, however, has seen these policies dropped in a dramatic change in the governments stance. In the closing months of 2015, the Chinese government began its pivot to a looser family planning approach, indicating that it would soon allow couples to have two children. More recently, on January 1 of this year, new family planning legislation was enacted and late-marriage and childbirth incentives dropped, further relaxing population controls. With the average marriage age in China becoming increasingly older, and the one child policy being abandoned altogether, many incentives to discourage childbirth are no longer necessary.

New Legislation for 2016 & Impact on Businesses in China

Up until last year, base maternity leave across China stood at 98 days. Those couples that decided to delay childbirth beyond a certain age would be granted with an additional period of leave. Specific regulations varied by province, but typically, late childbirth was defined as having a child after the age of 24. Additional leave periods varied from 15 days to 60 days, by province. This no longer stands, however, as the new regulation drops these clauses.

While some out-dated policies have been abandoned, they will likely be replaced, to some extent, with added benefits in the form of extended maternity and paternity leave on a local level. However, despite national policy being effective as of January 1 this year, there have still not been many announcements from provincial governments. The southern province Guangdong is the first in the country to revise its maternity leave rules in the wake of the two-child policy being introduced nationwide.

New national and local legislation may cause complications for businesses operating in China on two fronts. Firstly, despite the new legislation applying nationwide, individual provinces may soon publish their own additions. Although China is moving towards a two-child policy, its important to be aware that local changes to maternity leave, and related laws, will likely occur.

Secondly, businesses may be in a vulnerable position during the transition period between the old and new regulations. Local government in Shanghai has taken steps to address concern surrounding this cross-over period by stating that only those who were married before December 31 will be able to enjoy the benefits previously associated with late-marriage or childbirth. Nonetheless, its important to maintain a cautious approach and be receptive to any changes in the coming weeks, particularly on a local level.

RELATED: Payroll and Human Resource Services

Guangdong Province First to Publish Local-Level Legislation

Being the first area to publish local legislation, Guangdong sets a precedent for what we might expect to see from other provinces in the coming weeks. While national policy is aimed at encouraging more couples to have two children the province has, in addition to scrapping late-marriage and late-childbirth incentives, loosened a number of other rules. Adoption no longer influences your right to give birth to your own children, and restrictions have also been lifted concerning giving birth to more children in cases where a child dies. Notably, maternity leave has been increased from the national baseline of 98 days to 128 days; whilst paternity leave now stands at 15 days, up from 10 days. At this point, those who still choose to have just one child will continue to receive certain benefits, as was previously the case.

A Cautious and Prudent Approach Is Advisable

In late-2015 there existed an examination system for those couples that wished to have a second child. This has now been abolished on a national level and replaced with a far simpler registration procedure, opening up the possibility of a second child to all couples. Despite these advances the Guangdong local government has reiterated that the era of family planning in China is not over  rather, legislation has merely been revised from a one-child policy to a two-child policy.

However, its important to bear in mind that each province may end up following a slightly different approach. Shanghai, for example, has yet to publish local legislation but is widely expected to follow a similar approach to Guangdong. Thus far, in line with the state policy, late-childbirth and late-marriage incentives will no longer be offered. Most provinces are expected to publish legislation in the coming weeks or months, likely replacing previous incentives to discourage childbirth with longer maternity leave, and other benefits designed to reverse population trends.

The New Year has heralded significant reform to Chinas family planning legislation, as the government looks to shift its course to a two-child policy and re-balance the population. Although only Guangdong has so far released accompanying revisions, many other provinces are expected to take similar action and make adjustments to maternity leave and related laws. Late-marriage and late-childbirth benefits have been discarded, but other benefits will now be introduced to take their place. During the cross-over period, it is advisable to take a cautious approach, following the new national legislation but also remaining aware of any local revisions that may occur in the opening months of 2016.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

Human Resources and Payroll in China 2015

This edition of Human Resources and Payroll in China, updated for 2015, provides a firm understanding of Chinas laws and regulations related to human resources and payroll management  essential information for foreign investors looking to establish or already running a foreign-invested entity in China, local managers, and HR professionals needing to explain complex points of Chinas labor policies.

Employing Foreign Nationals in China

In this issue of China Briefing, we have set out to produce a guide to employing foreign nationals in China, from the initial step of applying for work visas, to more advanced subjects such as determining IIT liability and optimizing employee income packages for tax efficiency. Lastly, recognizing that few foreigners immigrate to China on a permanent basis, we provide an overview of methods for remitting RMB abroad.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2015

Doing Business in China 2015 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies that already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.
Huawei Technologies Co's latest smartphone model Y6 debuted in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

About 20 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur, on the platforms of Sri Petaling light rail station, passengers eagerly wait for China-made rakes that can carry them to the heart of the Malaysian capital.

A bunch of state-of-the-art six-car rakes made by China's CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co have been operating on the line since October 2015. Hydraulic brakes provide a quicker and safer stop mechanism to the rakes, which are China's first high-tech railway exports to a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China moves up the exports value chain

The light rail system symbolizes China's evolution on the exports value chain, a December 2015 report of the Asian Development Bank shows.

Exports of high-tech products are now a key driver of the Chinese economy, the ADB said in the report.

By 2014, China had become the largest exporter of high-tech products in Asia with a 43.7 percent share, overtaking Japan, which had a 30 percent share nearly a decade ago. They are followed by South Korea and Malaysia.

About one-third of exports from China were of high-tech products, according to the ADB report.

Chinese technologies related to railways, nuclear power, shipbuilding and telecommunications are now popular in overseas markets.

Here's a rundown on the China's brightening manufacturing prowess:

Information technology

Telecom equipment exports to Asia drive Chinese manufacturers' profits these days.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's biggest telecom equipment maker, is helping phone companies in Asia to build networks. It also sells smartphones and smartwatches in developed markets, aiming to challenge Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the consumer telecom market.

Li Jin'ge, president of Huawei Asia Pacific, said telecom technologies, particularly broadband, cloud computing, and big data, are already driving the digitization of all industries, which is making Asian economies vibrant.

"These technologies are also promoting improvements in planning and construction, management and operations, livable environments, giving a human touch to cities around the world."

In Central Asia, Huawei is providing products and services to a number of oil and gas companies, including Beineu Bozoi Shymkent Gas Pipeline in Kazakhstan, Asia Trans Gas in Uzbekistan and Amu Darya in Turkmenistan. The area is the world's third-largest oilfield and plays an important role in the global oil and gas industry.

The Chinese company said its "digital pipeline" technology, which improves efficiency, reduces energy consumption, and enhances operational safety of oil pipes by researching operational data, has been applied to a total of 4,623 kilometers of gas pipelines in Central Asia.

Huawei's key projects include the Kazakhstan-China natural gas pipeline, called the AB line, which is the world's first and longest digital natural gas pipeline.

Mike Han, president of Huawei's Central Asia and Caucasia Enterprise Business, said: "Since we established our business in Central Asia in 1997, Huawei has been providing competitive communication products and services to telecom carriers, enterprises, and consumers by bringing cutting-edge communications technologies and products."

In the consumer telecom market, Huawei sells smartphones in emerging Asian markets, but it has been outpaced by some of the smaller vendors.

For instance, Xiaomi Corp, a Beijing-based smartphone maker, sells its own smartphones in India, Indonesia and other Asian countries via local shopping websites.

In May 2015, Xiaomi partnered with Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group to open its first overseas smartphone manufacturing plant near the southern Sri City in Andhra Pradesh state.

It is the five-year-old company's first overseas manufacturing site.

Lenovo Group Ltd, the biggest personal computer maker, quickly followed suit. It has started to assemble devices in the eastern port city of Chennai. Meantime, Lenovo is aiming to let the newly acquired Motorola Mobility unit to tap into the high-end smartphone markets such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

Fiberhome Technology Group, a network equipment maker that develops metropolitan broadband Internet Protocol communications technologies, said the expanding demand for optical fiber cables in overseas market, provides a good opportunity for the Wuhan-based company.

Lyu Weiping, vice-president of Fiberhome, said its technology advantage is helping the company edge out global competition. "We tailor-make products for different overseas markets depending on the demand and factors like population density," Lyu said.

Fiberhome said its 2014 export revenue exceeded 2.4 billion yuan ($305 million), a 90 percent increase year-on-year.

"China's Belt and Road Initiative has been fueling the sales," said Lyu. The company said it will focus on growth in neighboring markets and attract research talents in the region. The Belt and Road strategy, the brainchild of the central government, encourages exports of high-tech products.

Machinery

With growth in the Chinese market stabilizing, some heavy equipment manufacturers struck out on their own, seeking to enter Asian markets yet to open up.

The Liuzhou-based LiuGong Machinery Co, a major player in the heavy machinery market, said its products such as cranes and excavators have been exported to Southeast Asia a decade ago and are largely used in government projects in the fields of transportation, hydraulic engineering and infrastructure.

"Countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Cambodia are our target market and we have been in Thailand for more than a decade, because those markets have huge potential for growth with increasing demand for infrastructure construction," said Zeng Guang'an, president of LiuGong.

The Chinese heavy machinery market, which used to be dominated by foreign players, had started to pick up steam around 2000 and saw its golden era after 2008 when China rolled out a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package.

But the whole industry has been shrinking as a result of oversupply and a slowing economy.

Zeng said the only way out is to make inroads into overseas markets, especially those along the Belt and Road Initiative, which are likely to give a boost to the sluggish industry.

He was referring to the blueprint unveiled by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a trade-and-infrastructure network that includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The network connects Asia, Europe and Africa, and passes through more than 60 countries and regions with a population of about 4.4 billion.

LiuGong set up its regional headquarters in Singapore to manage a distribution network, support for local distributors and after-sales services for major projects.

Last year, 178 excavators and cranes from LiuGong worth $14 million were exported to Uzbekistan and Cambodia, the company said.

While LiuGong is planning ahead to grab a share in the heavy equipment market of Southeast Asia, some others are switching their focus to the farming industry by rolling out tractors instead of cement mixers to bag foreign orders.

For instance, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co said it is expanding its overseas presence in the farming machinery industry, targeting Southeast Asian and Central Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

The current overseas operations, however, account for a small share of the company's overall business, Zhang Jianjun, a senior executive at the company, said.

But the figure will grow to about 40 percent by 2020, he said.

Zhang said Asian countries' demand for farming machines is surging due to rapid modernization in recent years.

Chinese companies are competitive in terms of advanced technology, reliability and lower prices, he said. "We believe the agricultural equipment market will be a major force in driving our company's growth."

Shipbuilding

As the global shipbuilding industry was hit by declining demand in recent years, Shandong-based CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd shifted its sights to export of offshore oil rigs and engineering vessels.

The subsidiary of China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd, the country's transportation equipment producer, registered $1.8 billion in sales of offshore engineering products from international markets in 2014. Energy companies from Malaysia, Norway and Russia were its main clients.

Yu Ya, president of CIMC Raffles, said Chinese shipyards should look at high-tech areas to keep growth as low-end markets yield no profits for them.

"Developing maritime engineering vessels and equipment and racing against South Korean and Japanese competitors will be key to Chinese shipyards," Yu said.

Statistics from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry show Chinese shipyards received orders for new vessels with a collective capacity of 11.19 million dead weight tons in the first half of 2015, accounting for 27.6 percent global market share.

Light rail systems

CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, maker of light rail rakes operating in Malaysia, built a manufacturing and maintenance plant in the state of Perak in that country.

It began operations in July 2015. The plant makes trains for the entire ASEAN region. It has annual production capacity of 100 rakes, including locomotives and light rail cars.

Zhou Qinghe, president of CRRC ZELC, said as the Chinese railway network expands, it is time for exporting technology, expertise and services.

"Because most countries in Southeast Asia have just kicked off construction of new railway lines, the demand for technological support from China is very high," said Zhou. "We can also share our experience in daily operations, maintenance and staff training."

CRRC ZELC, a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the largest train manufacturer in the country, has bagged 8 billion yuan worth of deals in five rail equipment and service projects in Malaysia, including a 200-kilometer high-speed rail line between Kuala Lumpur and the northern city of Ipoh.

The Chinese company now owns three subsidiaries in Malaysia. Around 90 percent of its employees are locals. Collectively, the subsidiaries make up the biggest rail transportation equipment provider in Malaysia, accounting for 85 percent market share.

Luo Chongfu, CRRC ZELC's vice-general manager, said even though export of trains is a profitable business, the company is trying to reach out to its arms for maintenance services, to ensure long-term gains.
A Chinese aircraft lands on the newly constructed runway at Yongshu Jiao in China's Nansha Islands during a test flight on Wednesday.[China Daily]

China successfully carried out test flights of two commercial airliners on Wednesday at a newly built airfield in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The airfield will provide more routes for flights over the South China Sea, according to a government media release.

Insiders, who declined to be named, said the test flights were different from the one reported on Saturday. That flight aimed to test communication between the planes and the airfield, while Wednesday's were "real test flights".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed on Saturday that China had finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao in China's Nansha Islands. It is the most southerly airfield in the country.

She said Saturday's test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards.

Xinhua News Agency reported that two civilian aircraft departed from Haikou in Hainan province on Wednesday morning and landed on Yongshu Jiao after flights of nearly two hours. They returned to Haikou in the afternoon.

The official media release by Xinhua said, "The test flights proved that the airfield has the capacity to ensure safe operation of large civilian aircraft."

This will help with the transportation of goods and personnel as well as with healthcare on the islands, it said, adding that the airfield will also serve as an alternate one for flights in the region.

Pan Wei, chief engineer at China Rescue and Salvage under the Ministry of Transport, said the airfield will significantly cut travel time between the Nansha Islands and the Chinese mainland.

Pan said the airfield will help to ensure flight and navigational safety for airplanes and ships in the area and greatly improve the ability of marine salvagers.

As a responsible country, China will continue to promote the building of emergency response and rescue facilities, Pan said.

It will shoulder the international obligations of search and rescue operations, marine environmental protection, disaster prevention, and navigational safety in the South China Sea.

Nearly 40 percent of global trade is carried through the South China Sea, which sees the passage of at least 40,000 ships annually.

Vietnam and the Philippines have protested over the new airfield's completion. But Hua said on Saturday the test flight that day was completed "completely within China's sovereignty".
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Sanya in the island province of Hainan tops the list of smog-escape routes since it offers blue skies, blue seas and warm weather. Photo: China Daily/Bao Xinguo)

Travel agencies are pitching popular 'smog-escape routes' as pollution propels Chinese to places with clean skies.

Chinese travel itineraries are increasingly written by the sky.

More than ever, "getaway" refers to escapes not only from the office but also from acrid air.

Urbanites are heading overseas for "breathers", in every sense of the term.

Travel titans caught a whiff of the trend in late December, soon after Beijing issued its first and then second red smog alerts. The country's largest online travel agency, Ctrip, for instance, has since started pitching "smog-escape routes"with great success.

"Our app and website searches for destinations rise in pace with smog levels in users' respective cities," says Yan Xin, publicity manager of Ctrip.

More than 60 percent of Chinese cities reported high air pollution around Christmas. This gave oomph to overseas escapes' allure during the New Year holiday's three-day weekend, industry insiders say.

"Many customers moved their departure dates forward or switched from domestic to international destinations to escape the severe air pollution people expected around the New Year and the Spring Festival holiday (Feb 7-13)," Yan says.

Beijinger Zhang Guangqi took two extra days off around the New Year to visit Okinawa with his friend.

"It was a spontaneous decision," Zhang says.

"I didn't have any specific plans for my visit. I just wanted to escape the air."

Still, smog caught up to many who'd escaped over the New Year as they returnedor tried to.

Pollution grounded 100 flights in Shandong province's capital Jinan and closed all major expressways between Hebei province and neighboring Beijing, plus many throughout North, East and Central China during the return rush on Sunday, Xinhua reports.

International travel agencies from such countries as Singapore adjusted plans for citizens visiting the Chinese mainland in early December.

CTC Travel ordered its Beijing branches to give its 280 Singaporean visitors filtering facemasks, the Straits Times reports.

The newspaper quoted Dynasty Travel spokesperson Alicia Seah as saying: "We are worried. We've instructed our ground operators to stock up on masks and we will replace outdoor activities with indoor shopping trips or acrobatic shows, if need be."

Singapore's Chan Brothers Travel also dispensed masks and publicized an emergency hotline among its customers last month, the paper reports.

Ctrip's top 10 international smog-escape routes around Christmas, according to bookings, were Japan, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United States, Maldives, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates.

Reservations for Japan's Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa rocketed.

Thailand's Bangkok, Phuket Island and Chiangmai have remained popular during the holiday period, althoughperhaps unbeknown to many Chinesethe country's capital and Phuket are often blanketed in smog.

The Phuket Gazette called Chinese arrivals "surprisingly resilient" given the island's air pollution last year but said they weren't too disheartened "because it didn't differ much from what they were used to back home".

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A new duty-free shop opened by China Duty Free Group (CDFG) in southwestern Cambodia's Sihanoukville will boost the tourism industry in the coastal resort, local media reported Wednesday, citing a senior official.

Preah Sihanouk provincial deputy governor Sam Sam At said the CDFG duty-free shop, which opened on Dec. 30, showed confidence in the surging number of tourists, especially Chinese nationals, to the province.

"Sihanoukville has been attracting more foreign tourists every year," he was quoted by the Khmer Times as saying.

He said that around 1.5 million foreign tourists visited the province last year, up about 15 percent from 1.3 million in 2014. By nationality, Chinese tourists were at the top of the list.

CDGF, one of the biggest state-owned enterprises in China, opened its first subsidiary outside of China with a duty-free shop in northwestern Cambodia's Siem Reap province in August 2014.

Shopping traffic at Angkor Duty Free Store has nearly reached 20 million people since then, officials said previously. The complex has created more than 300 jobs and generated more than 300 million U.S. dollars in tax revenue for the government, officials said.

According to the official figures, some 573,287 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in the first nine months of 2015, a 26-percent rise compared to the same period in 2014.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 6, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

Premier Li Keqiang met with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond at Zhongnanhai in Beijing on Jan 6.

Premier Li commented positively on the development of China-UK relations, especially after President Xi Jinpings visit to the UK in 2015. He said that China is willing to maintain a high level of exchanges with the UK, and jointly develop in areas such as innovation, finance and nuclear energy.

The Premier said that China is now in its transformation stage, during which the country will change its previous reliance on natural resources to human resources as well as innovation. This will encourage the newly developed industries, and has created many great opportunities of cooperation between China and the UK. He also said that China is willing to deepen its cooperation with the UK in international affairs.

Hammond passed on the new year greetings from Britains Prime Minister David Cameron to Premier Li, including a letter signed by Cameron. Hammond said that the relations between China and the UK have deepened greatly in recent years, and the UK is willing to work more closely with China during Chinas age of transformation. He said that Cameron is also looking forward to pay his visit to China this year.

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China Aid

(BeijingNov. 30, 2015) Wang Qiaoling, the wife of Li Heping, a Christian human rights lawyer, released a letter describing her experiences on the night of his detention and in the events which followed. Li disappeared into police custody on July 10 during a widespread crackdown on human rights lawyers across China.

Wangs account, translated from Chinese, can be found below.

On July 10, a day like any other, I went to my sons school to attend a discussion for his classs graduation trip and came home at noon. Fortunately, my young daughter had been pestering her father to let her go to work with him. She had finally succeeded, so I was free. As I was congratulating myself, the door suddenly opened. Heping [my husband] came in escorted by several men, passed our daughter to me, and was then taken away by two men. The other two stayed in my home and kept me from using my phone. I thought the public security merely wanted to talk with Heping, but they made a big ordeal of it.

What followed was beyond anything I expected: a large number of police in plainclothes came in and out, and one was left to stay with me. The persons outside knocked on the door, the person inside told me open it. This felt like a performance for their own benefit, and I, displeased, angrily said: Open it yourself! Sure enough, they opened the door themselves and showed me a search warrant. To be honest, my fingers were trembling. I do not know what happened!

If I had known that in the days to follow [I would become] a wife looking for her husbands whereabouts and never available, I dont think I would have signed.

At the time, I signed. I knew that within 24-48 hours, I would receive a notification from the police, and the lawyers would then be allowed to meet with [him]. Looking back now, my expectations then should have been right, but reality did not match.

After 48 hours, we could not find a department that would claim responsibility for this case in Tianjin, and I was actually scared! During the time of 9/11, there were terrorist organizations that admitted that they were responsible matters [like this], so how can the dignified Chinese police dare to arrest people without daring to admit it? So 7/10 is 9/11 in my life [Editors note: Li Heping disappeared into police custody on July 10]. I, the fool, was at long last enlightened by the Chinese police. Furthermore, I see how they truly handle [these things]: on one hand they shout loudly about rule of law, and on the other they wantonly trample on Chinas legal system!

I was truly afraid! I was hardly sleeping at nightalways restless. Before, I rejoiced to hear the sound of a knock on the door: [it was] either a messenger delivering things or friends stopping by to talk. But now, whenever I hear a knock, I always grab the children, warily ask [who is there], then dare to open the door. Sometimes I take the risk of opening the door, always planning for the worst afraid to open the door, [only to see] a group of police outside!

This fear lasted until I sued CCTV and Xinhua.net. Everyone thought I was summoned for writing articles, but I was not. I appointed a lawyer, wrote the petition, which was reprinted by Boxun Network. I was summoned for causing a disturbance. I was taken to the police station by six or seven police, who collected blood, fingerprints, footprints, palm prints, height, and weight. Alas, I really do not want people to know my weight! But I was suspected of a criminal offense, and it was necessary to collect a full set [of information]. (Because of this, I sued the Beijing Public Security Bureau in the Dongcheng District Peoples Court.) I was taken to an interrogation room. I had no experience [with this kind of thing]. I was asked, and I answered. I saw notes instructing my interrogators to produce a work permit. I understand [now] that if they do not produce a work permit, then I have the right not to answer. Truly a good lesson!

This took five hours, in addition to the four hours I was too scared to open the door that morning. After nine hours of [this] experience, I was not scared anymore. The worst result would be to be disappeared like Zhang Liumao [Editors note: Zhang Liumao, a human rights activist, died in detention, possibly due to torture.] Things cannot be avoided just because of fear. The police mean [Heping is] not allowed to see a lawyer nor allowed to send a text message. As a metaphor, I said it is like robbers entered and looted the house, beat me, and took things away, and afterward, I am supposed to report to the police, right? Is it right that if the robbers said dont report this, then I shouldnt, and if the robbers said dont leak the news that we robbed you, then I keep silent? If I dont keep silent, am I spoiling the robbers wrongdoing? I cannot guarantee I can protect myself if robbers visit again, but I am always obligated to warn my neighbors: bandits are very cruel, you should be careful, right?

So, 7/10 has enriched my knowledge and experience. I have learned during this run through of the legal system. [Now,] I know that if the police find you to talk, you can say no. If they insist that you talk, ask them to produce a document first. This is your right; it will be useless if you dont use it. There is more knowledge here, and I will write later to list it.

One hundred thirty daysone-third of the year. A third of the years time is gone in such a way! Now, what I am most worried about is the safety of the persons who have been missing. A Zhang Liumao is enough to make us shudder with fear, not to mention so many lawyers in [detention]. However, if we overcome the fear, you will find that your goal is no longer simply hoping that everything goes by quickly. Such things are never gone! The day before yesterday [it was] a writer, yesterday [it was] a public welfare advocate, and today, a lawyerwho will it be tomorrow? One day when the public authority is not limited, everyone will encounter this. Up from the high ranking officials, down to the civilian population. We look forward to not only these lawyers being released, but [also to the day when] every citizen understands that protection of human rights has never been [a fight] that someone else should fight for us, but [is rather something] you should fight for yourself within the system of law. Do not say now is dark, for every dynasty is dark. The key point is should we live in the light? It is the light of hope within, and no matter how others trample goodness, we still dont hate it. That hope is my belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Police detained our loved ones, bullied and intimidated us, and wanted to see our collapse. If there is no God, you will crash. If there is a God, youll like this:

An eighty-year-old Christian woman told me: do not be afraid, for they should be [the ones] in fear. If God does not allow it, not a single hair of your husbands will fall.

What a great faith in God!

Another Christian friend said: If you live in joy and hope, theyll tremble in their hearts when they see you.

I suppose I cannot see the state of their hearts, I cannot their read minds, but I can try to live in joy, and where there is hope, there is no fear. Yes, no more fear!

Also, do not hate those who did specific evil. Because they know not what they do! [Editors note: This is a reference to Luke 23:34] But I know not to be afraid of those who would kill the body, but rather be afraid [of the one] who destroys the soul. [Editors note: This is a reference to Matt. 20:28] Hope that evil hands give up their ways now, do not wait until they face God in that day.

This is my truth.

After all, the clothes on your body and the wages in your hands are all the fruits of the peoples labor. But now, you are harming the peoples flesh and blood.

China Aid Contacts

Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.chinaaid.org
The logo of Wanda Plaza is seen in Shanghai December 23, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Dalian Wanda Group Co is venturing into the healthcare sector with a 15 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) investment in three hospitals in China, to be managed by a United Kingdom company.

Wanda, led by Asia's richest man Wang Jianlin, has joined hands with the UK-based International Hospitals Group for hospitals in Shanghai, Chengdu, Sichuan province, as well as Qingdao, Shandong province.

First off the block would be the international hospital in Qingdao, which is likely to open in July 2018, while construction on the other two will begin this year.

The hospital in Shanghai will be the largest among the three hospitals. It will have an investment of 8 billion yuan and 1,000 beds.

The hospitals will provide international standard care overseen by foreign directors, it said.

"Wanda is looking to bring top international hospitals to China to cater to the high-tech healthcare demand in cities," said Wang.

The cooperation with Wanda will help IHG enter the fast-growing healthcare market in China, said Chester King, chairman of IHG in Asia. The UK firm manages 450 healthcare programs across 50 countries.

IHG signed contract with the local government in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, in March 2015 to establish a public hospital and the program will fructify in three years.

Other high-end foreign hospitals are also setting their sights on the Chinese healthcare market.

Local government officials in Guangdong province said last year that the United States-based Massachusetts General Hospital would manage a 500-bed hospital in the province that would open by 2018.

Mayo Clinic, another leading healthcare group from the US, is already present in China through a joint venture with Hillhouse Capital Group.

It is the best time for private capital to flow into the Chinese healthcare sector as the government has announced several favorable policies for the sector, said Zheng Jiabao, an analyst with Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, a Shenzhen-based consulting firm.
Huawei Technologies Co's latest smartphone model Y6 debuted in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

An ADB report shows that the country has overtaken Japan, South Korea, Malaysia

About 20 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur, on the platforms of Sri Petaling light rail station, passengers eagerly wait for China-made rakes that can carry them to the heart of the Malaysian capital.

A bunch of state-of-the-art six-car rakes made by China's CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co have been operating on the line since October 2015. Hydraulic brakes provide a quicker and safer stop mechanism to the rakes, which are China's first high-tech railway exports to a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The light rail system symbolizes China's evolution on the exports value chain, a December 2015 report of the Asian Development Bank shows.

Exports of high-tech products are now a key driver of the Chinese economy, the ADB said in the report.

By 2014, China had become the largest exporter of high-tech products in Asia with a 43.7 percent share, overtaking Japan, which had a 30 percent share nearly a decade ago. They are followed by South Korea and Malaysia.

About one-third of exports from China were of high-tech products, according to the ADB report.

Chinese technologies related to railways, nuclear power, shipbuilding and telecommunications are now popular in overseas markets.

Here's a rundown on the China's brightening manufacturing prowess:

Information technology

Telecom equipment exports to Asia drive Chinese manufacturers' profits these days.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's biggest telecom equipment maker, is helping phone companies in Asia to build networks. It also sells smartphones and smartwatches in developed markets, aiming to challenge Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the consumer telecom market.

Li Jin'ge, president of Huawei Asia Pacific, said telecom technologies, particularly broadband, cloud computing, and big data, are already driving the digitization of all industries, which is making Asian economies vibrant.
A family get out of their caravan at a scenic spot in Lin'an, Zhejiang province, in June last year. [Photo/China Daily]

A visit to a recreational vehicle expo during a recent tour of Hainan, the tourist resort island in southern China, impressed me with huge numbers of cheerful participating families flocking to experience the personal feel of a "home on wheels".

A survey conducted by the organizer found that 77 percent of the respondents hope to experience RV travel, and a friend of mine who accompanied me to the expo said he was interested in one of the models and may buy one to realize his dream of "traveling around the world" in a RV of his own when he retires next year.

I also noticed a similar enthusiasm among visitors to the numerous RV camping leisure exhibitions held in succession across the country last year. The events attracted nearly all major producers in the world to showcase their latest motorhomes.

Behind this high frequency of exhibitions of RVs is the desire of the government and RV manufacturers to generate greater public interest for RV tourism in China - the world's largest potential RV travel market.

Self-driving tours are becoming increasingly popular in China as people care more about comfort while seeking leisure. Many dream, inspired by some movies, that they could have an RV that serves as a "seaside home".

While RV tourism has been well-established in Western countries for many years, it became available in China only about 10 years ago. There are currently about 20,000 RV owners in China, but most have little experience of traveling in such a vehicle.

21rv.com, a leading website for RV information in China, said that among the country's 140 million car owners, the rate of people who prefer self-drive holiday tours is 15 percent. Based on Western experience, it forecasts that the number of people traveling with RVs in China will reach 11.48 million by 2020.

The China Automobile Industry Association said that by 2020, Chinese people will have 500,000 RVs and the number may even be double that under the most optimistic conditions. And the market value of the RV industry and RV tourism can be counted in billions of yuan.

This rosy outlook seems well founded.

By the end of 2014, China had become the largest car market in the world, and the number of middle-income people is expected to hit 300 million in five years from the current 204 million, according to the latest China Household Finance Survey.

In addition, China boasts 15,000 large-scale national and regional natural and cultural tourist resorts and the number of people who traveled reached 3.3 billion (trips) last year, and 60 million of these visits were made with private cars.

So what are the challenges and factors that may have hindered RV tourism in China?

Prices of vehicles stand top of the list. Most RVs cost more than 400,000 yuan ($62,000), well beyond the reach of most Chinese consumers.

Manufacturers should do something to convince the public that RVs are not only for the wealthy.

A lack of RV camps, renting and trusteeship services are also big obstacles. There are only 80 standard campsites for RVs in China, while the United States has 16,500 and Europe has more than 25,000, according to the China RV Camping Alliance.

More importantly, regulations governing the use of various roads by RVs and driving licenses for RVs need to be clearly defined. And China needs a careful plan for the development of the RV travel industry.

There are also encouraging developments, however.

The government is busy boosting RV camp construction and RV tourism will be a hotspot for investment during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Chinese automobile makers, meanwhile, have started to make RVs at affordable prices.

I can see that ordinary consumers are getting closer to their dream of traveling in a mobile home, and this new lifestyle will create huge demand for RV products and services.
Amit Lang, director general at Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry [Photo/China Daily]

China's investment in Israel is expected to grow quickly, as the two countries beef up cooperation in areas such as technology, medical devices and water management, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday.

Amit Lang, director general at Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry, said in an interview with China Daily: "China's investment in Israel is growing rapidly and we believe the trend will be more pronounced in the next few years."

According to him, Israel is an ideal place for China to make investments because the two countries are highly complementary in industrial structures.

"We excel at coming up with innovative ideas but as a small country, it is impossible for us to put them into mass production. That's exactly where China can play a big role," Lang said at the sideline of a China-Israel technology and investment conference in Beijing.

Currently, China's investments chiefly go in two directions: venture-capital funds which are used to finance a wide range of high-tech startups, and full-fledgling companies in sectors such as technology, agriculture and life-science solutions, he added.

Search engine giant Baidu Inc and tech company Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, for instance, both poured money into Israeli venture capital fund Carmel Ventures in 2014. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd also invested an undisclosed sum in Visualead, an Israeli company specializing in QR code technology, in last January.

"Compared with their American counterparts, Chinese enterprises have bigger interests in medical devices, water management and green food technology. Because they are eager to improve people's daily lives."

China's growing investment in Israel comes as the country's enterprises are stepping up efforts to go global. According to the Ministry of Commerce, China's outbound direct investment is forecast to hit $128 billion in 2015, up 24 percent year-on-year.

"We are prioritizing investments from China because it is the best way for Israeli enterprises to enter the huge China market and even global market, since China is also a big exporter," Lang said.

To lure in more China capital, the Israeli government introduced easier visas for Chinese businessmen and streamlined procedures to help investors walk through bureaucracy.

Gene Cao, a Beijing-based analyst with Forrester Research Inc, said Chinese enterprises can access cutting-edgy technologies through their investments in Israel but warned that China is relatively a new comer to the market and needs to have a better understanding of the country.
A pedestrian uses his mobile phone in front of a logo of online travel search service Qunar in Jinan city, East China's Shandong province, February 15, 2015. [Photo/IC]

As of Jan 5, nine airline companies including Air China and China Eastern Airlines said they have stopped doing business with Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd, China's second-largest online travel agency.

Qunar has launched self-inspection and a new round of supervision, according to the latest statement released yesterday.

On the last day of 2015, China Southern Airlines, Asia's largest carrier in terms of fleet, said it has suspended its association with Qunar and closed its flagship store on the platform following growing passenger complaints about ticket purchases and refunds through Qunar.

Afterwards, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, Chongqing Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Lucky Air also released similar statements.

Qunar confirmed the suspensions and said the issue was about air ticket ranking. "Airline companies insisted that we change the order of ticket display on our website from an order by price to a chronological order. However, we think that displaying tickets by the order of their prices is more suited to the typical booking search habits of users," it said.

As some small- and medium-sized agents, through their special "channels", can get even cheaper tickets, flagship stores of airlines are ranked behind.

The problem stems from irregularities in the ticket agent industry, the Securities Daily cited an insider as saying. Before 2014, about 10 percent of tickets were sold directly by major airline companies, while the remaining were sold through ticket agents. Some small- and medium-sized agents sell some tickets illegally to earn more profits.

Meanwhile, ticket agents have given airline companies high costs for a long time. In 2014, the agent fee reached nearly 4 billion yuan, the Securities Daily cited an official at a State-owned airline company as saying. And the higher costs are passed on to the customer.

So, if airline companies want to bring real benefit to consumers, they have to reduce the agent fee. If they want to reduce agent fees, they have to raise the ratio of direct sales tickets.

Authorities said earlier that over the next three years, the big three airline companies should increase the share of direct sales tickets to 50 percent, meanwhile, the agency fee should reduce by 50 percent.

Actually, in 2007, domestic airline companies had started to raise the ratio of direct sales tickets to lower cost. For example, China Southern Airlines was the first one to reduce the commission to zero from one percent. However, the move had little effect.

According to Jinlv Consulting, a travel research agency, by the end of last year, the ratio of direct sales tickets of the four big domestic airlines was about 20-30 percent.

Wang Wen contributed to this story.
A worker welds at a construction site in Yiliang, Yunnan province, February 28, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

China's economic growth is forecast to decline to 6.7 percent this year from an estimated 6.9 percent in 2015, amid the on-going restructuring and transformation, said a World Bank report on Wednesday.

In June the bank had estimated 2016 growth of 7 percent in the world's second-largest economy.

The faster-than-expected slowdown in China, coupled with widespread weakness in other major emerging markets, could have significant spillovers to the rest of the world, according to the bank's January 2016 Global Economic Prospects.

The bank cut its global economic growth forecast to 2.9 percent this year from a June estimate of 3.3 percent, as showings from developed countries such as the United States will also be anemic.

Global economic growth, estimated at 2.4 percent, was less than expected in 2015, when falling commodity prices, flagging trade and capital flows, and episodes of financial volatility sapped economic activity.

"Compared to six months ago, risks have increased, particularly those associated with the possibility of a disorderly slowdown in a major emerging economy," said Kaushik Basu, vice-president and chief economist of the World Bank.

"A combination of fiscal and central bank policies can be helpful in mitigating these risks and supporting growth," he added.

Firmer growth ahead will depend on continued momentum in high income countries, the stabilization of commodity prices, and China's gradual transition toward a more consumption and services-based growth model, said the bank.
CHONGQING - The Chinese cola brand Tianfu, once the country's top-selling soft drink, will return to the market after being absent from shelves for nearly two decades, according to the producer on Thursday.

Tianfu Cola will be relaunched around Spring Festival (the Lunar New Year), which falls on Feb. 8 this year, said Qian Huang, general manager of the company.

Qian said Tianfu would still use its natural traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbal recipe to produce the "healthy drink."

Back in 1980s and 1990s, the Chongqing-based company was the largest soft drink maker in China with a strong hold of 70 percent of the soft drink market. Tianfu Cola was sold beyond China and started to gain market recognition in Russia and America.

In 1994, the company set up a joint venture with American cola producer Pepsi, which was not successful. By 2005, Tianfu Coke's market share had plummeted to 1 percent.

Qian attributed the failure to the decision to decrease the production of Tianfu Coke to make way for the production of Pepsi-Cola.

In 2006, the company sold its stakes in the joint venture to Pepsi, however, Pepsi refused to give back Tianfu's production right.

In 2010, Tianfu took Pepsi to court accusing the US firm of stealing the secret recipe for its beverage. The court ordered Pepsi to return the formula and technical secrets, but rejected Tianfu's request for 1 million yuan ($151,700) compensation.

Qian said 2016 would witness a "reincarnation" of Tianfu. In addition to the reproduction of Tianfu Coke, the company plans to debut a new series of soft drinks including fruit juice and a protein beverage.
The new Google logo is seen at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California November 13, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Massive hiring drive online focuses on mobile play and 'university outreach'

The buzz that Google Inc may be mulling a comeback to the Chinese mainland became louder this week after the Internet giant's numerous job postings appeared on social media.

On professionals' online network LinkedIn alone, Google advertised as many as 60 jobs in Beijing and Shanghai.

What started as a trickle of job postings in December gained momentum around the year-end and acquired dimensions of a vacancy deluge this week, as if to reinforce that whatever Google does tends to be on an epic scale.

Google has not officially announced a return to the Chinese mainland yet. But it is seriously seeking to hire a wide range of professionals in Beijing and Shanghai, among other places, suggesting its comeback may be nigh.

From interns to executives, Google is seeking to fill a variety of positions in China, across marketing, ad sales, business development, software development, product management, customer service, client relations, and creative and technical services.

Google, which withdrew most of its operations from the Chinese mainland in 2010, declined to comment for this story and did not confirm or deny earlier reports of its possible return.

But people who have worked with Google on projects related to its reopening said earlier that the company may announce its return in the first half of 2016.

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc, Google's parent, said in November that Google still has about 500 employees in the Chinese mainland. Most of them are in its research and development and marketing departments who offer advertising services for Chinese companies that want to go global.

Now, Google's job ads suggest it wants to accomplish much more. In its own words, it wants its new hires in China to do the following, among other things:

 Drive incremental growth across export retail client portfolio

 Help new and existing local businesses grow by using its latest advertising products and technologies

 Develop and implement strategies for university outreach

 Focus on undergraduate and business school hiring

 Create innovative automated test systems "for something that's never been done before"

 Source, structure and negotiate with top publishers such as portals, e-commerce, developers, media networks, video platforms, search engines and carriers

 Guide technical integration of existing Google products with mobile ecosystems

Gene Cao, a Beijing-based analyst with Forrester Research Inc, said Google's recruitment drive confirms the company's interest in the app store market, since it is hiring many Google Play-related personnel, such as business development managers and mobile application engineers.

In September, multiple sources told China Daily that Google was working on a China-specific version of Google Play, its app store for Android-powered devices, for the mainland market.

"But I doubt whether it can take a big pie from local players. The company has already missed out the highs in the country's smartphone industry, when sales peaked," he said.

Eleven homegrown app stores, including those launched by Qihoo 360 Technology Co, Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd, commanded a double-digit market share each as of May 2015, according to the Chengdu-based Big Data Research Center.
An iPhone 6s buyer at the Apple Inc retail outlet in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.[Photo/China Daily]

Less than six months after Apple Inc debuted its latest series of iPhones, the United States company is cutting production because of lackluster sales.

Analysts said iPhone shipments in China, Apple's biggest market, are set to fall in the coming months.

James Yan, a Beijing-based smartphone analyst with IDC China, said shipments for January will face "a significant slump" in the country compared with a year ago, when the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were the flagship devices.

"The first quarter shipments will be greatly lower than a year ago as well," Yan said, adding buyers are already looking to the next-generation device.

Yan's comments came after a Nikkei report said that Apple is reducing output of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models by about 30 percent in the first quarter compared with its original plans. Though retailers will get a chance to clear out pending inventories, suppliers may see steep cuts in orders.

Stocks of Apple and its major suppliers, such as Sharp Corp and Pegatron Corp fell on Wednesday while Chinese mainland suppliers stayed afloat as the country's stock market advanced.

Apple did not comment on the matter.

Nicole Peng, director of Canalys China based in Shanghai, said the scale back will have a limited impact on Chinese suppliers as many of them have tied up with local smartphone companies.

"The production cut will hurt the confidence of the channel and supply chain ... But (many Chinese suppliers) are already partners with firms such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and vivo Mobile Communication Technology Co Ltd which are focusing on high-end products," Peng said.

"2016 will be a challenging year (for Apple)," she said.

Apple was the biggest smartphone vendor in China during the first quarter of last year, shipping 14.5 million devices thanks to the strong adoption rate of the iPhone 6 series that were compatible with the newly launched fourth-generation telecom technology. Its market share was quickly eroded by Huawei and Xiaomi Corp as the Chinese firms released cheaper, but good-quality handsets.

Weaker-than-expected iPhone 6S and 6S Plus sales saw Apple jostling with smaller local vendors such as vivo and OPPO in the third-quarter of 2015 while Xiaomi and Huawei clinched the top two spots, according to IHS Technology, another research firm.

The US company is opening bricks-and-mortar stores in smaller Chinese cities and announced plans to introduce mobile payment service Apple Pay to China in a bid to lift its presence in the market.

But rapid advance of local players in the above 3,000 yuan ($457) segment pulled down Apple's market share.

According to data from China Academy of Telecommunications Research, overseas smartphones accounted for just 17 percent of the total handset shipments in China during November. Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd were the only big foreign firms in the list.
Jin Liqun, president-designate of the AIIB [Photo/China Daily]

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is to hold its annual meetings in June each year, with the first being convened this year in Beijing, according to a Finance Ministry official.

The meeting will come just five months after the bank becomes formally operational this month, according to the official, who declined to be named.

The first meetings of the bank's board of governors and board of directors, due to be held from Jan 16 to 18, will elect the first president and 12 constituency directors. It will also draw up rules on operations, financing and human resources.

The AIIB's annual meetings will gather governorsusually represented by finance ministers of each founding member. The meetings could also be held in other cities, the official said.

When the $100 billion multilateral lender was formally launched on Dec 25, 17 prospective founding members, representing 50.1 percent of the subscribed capital, had seen their domestic legislatures ratify the bank's chartera critical condition for the bank to be legally valid.

Since then, another two members, Russia and the Maldives, have approved the charter, with the 19 countries representing 56.77 percent of the subscribed capital.

The other 38 prospective founding members are expected to have the charterformally known as the Articles of Agreementapproved domestically before the deadline at the end of this year.

Countries that have not formally subscribed to the charter will be allowed to take part in this month's board of governors and directors meetings as observers and constituency representatives.

The AIIB is likely to welcome more countries this year. Nations can join as long as they receive approval from more than half of the governors who hold more than half of the voting rights.

Jin Liqun, president-designate of the bank, wrote in an article published in People's Daily on Tuesday that the first loans are expected to be granted in the second quarter.

Initial priority financing sectors include energy and power, communications, rural development, water supply and treatment, environmental protection and logistics.

Jin said the AIIB is committed to investing in digital infrastructure.

The bank has been born in the information era, so Internet-based innovative thinking and the ability to contribute to information infrastructure will become the bank's "unique advantage".

It can also draw on the experience of established multilateral development banks, giving it another advantage, Jin said.

"The AIIB will seriously study the Chinese government's Internet Plus strategy and the European Union's Digital Single Market initiative as well as other digital initiatives proposed by developing countries," Jin added.

A bank is born

October 2013: President Xi Jinping, in a speech in Jakarta, proposes AIIB as an institution that will finance infrastructure construction and promote regional connections.

Oct 24, 2014: 21 Asian countries sign MOU on establishing the bank.

March 2015: Britain applies to join AIIB as prospective founding member, followed by France, Italy and Germany.

April 15: Number of AIIB prospective founding members finalized at 57.

June 29: Delegates from the 57 attend signing ceremony for the Articles of Agreement.

Dec 25: AIIB formally established in Beijing as AOA take effect.
Liu Qian, a 31-year-old bank teller, is eligible to have a second child, but she has to wait because of the unwritten rules of her employer.

"We planned to have a second child after becoming eligible, but when I submitted an application, I was disappointed by the rules of our bank," Liu was quoted as saying by Qilu Evening News.

All Chinese couples have been allowed to have two children since Jan 1 after the national legislature amended the family planning policy.

Liu has worked as a bank teller in Jining, Shandong province, for seven years.

She said that among the five tellers at the bank branch, four are female, and she is the second oldest.

"Being allowed to have a child becomes a welfare benefit we scramble for," said Liu. "According to the unwritten rules of our bank, those who want to have a second child must give way to those having a first child."

"I am allowed to have a second child in 2018, according to our bank's rules," said Liu. "If I can't get pregnant within half a year, then I have to wait for the next round."

Liu is not alone.

A woman surnamed Zheng in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, said she was told to submit an application one year before she wants to have a child, and then the company will make a timetable for those employees who want to have child in case several employees get pregnant within one year.

"Making a timetable for employees who want to have a child is understandable," said Yu Wei, who manages a laundry shop in Jinan, capital of Shandong.

"Half of my employees are female and 20 percent of them want to have a second child," said Yu, adding that if several employees get pregnant within one year, it will be fatal to his business.

"Each month, I allow no more than two female employees to have a child," said Yu.

Chen Ruifu, a lawyer at Qilu Law Firm, said employers should talk to employees to see if they can reach an agreement over the timing of having a child.

"It's illegal to meddle in women's reproductive rights. Employers who fine employees for disobeying company rules about having a child violate the national law," Chen said.

The Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women prohibits employers from imposing restrictions on female employees' marriage and reproduction.
Smoke rises from a chimneys of a steel mill on a hazy day in Fengnan district of Tangshan, Hebei province February 18, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

For the first time, Chinese environmental protection authorities have shown their teeth as part of State power by summoning provincial leaders for a talk-down session over local pollution problems.

The central government's inspection team on environmental protection called the top bosses of Hebei province for a meeting on Tuesday, official media reported.

Hebei, which surrounds Beijing and Tianjin, has many highly polluting heavy industries such as coal power, steel and cement. The province has recently seen repeated hazardous-smog alerts.

Both Zhao Kezhi, provincial Party chief and Zhang Qingwei, governor of the province, were present at the meeting.

Zhao pledged his support for the inspection team's work and to the provincial authorities' resolution to punish the officials found responsible for Hebei's heavy pollution - "especially for those suspected of dereliction and abuse of power".

He made the remarks on Monday at the start of the inspection, which is expected to conclude on Feb 4.

The inspection team's talk with Hebei officials focused on environmental problems in the province.

The provincial authorities are all willing to listen to the inspectors' suggestions and requirements and to step up their effort to narrow the gap between the province's challenging realities and the central government's expectations, Zhao said.

The inspection team has begun to collect information on the sources of pollution via telephone and email as well as by field investigations, and has received about 150 complaint calls daily, Central China Television reported on Tuesday.

In contrast with previous inspections by the Ministry of Environmental Protection at city- and county-level governments and companies, the central government's inspection teams are now focusing on provincial governments and Party committees, according to a ministry statement.

The inspection team's leaders are former and current deputy ministers of environmental protection and officials from the offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council - indicating the team's higher authority.

The inspection results will go directly to the State Council and related ministries and will provide important references for officials' annual performance assessment and allocation of central funding or subsidies for environmental protection.

The CCTV report said that when the team has exposed severe problems involving pollution and behavior of governments officials, it will report to the State Council directly and transfer the cases to personnel organizations, anti-corruption authorities and Party disciplinary organs.

For any problems that are found, Hebei must take targeted measures to control the pollution and report the province's improvement plan to the central government within 30 working days.

Hebei is the first province to undergo the inspection, and the other provinces will also have the inspections from central inspection teams within two years.

CCTV quoted Zhang Shiqiu, director of the Environmental and Economy Institute of Peking University, as saying that the key improvement in the central inspection teams is their focus on the provincial Party committees and government and on any bad behavior such as abuse of power and corruption.

"It's a good time to change the weaker inspection and law enforcement," she said.

But it's more important to build a long-term mechanism for environmental protection to strengthen law enforcement and to upgrade the economic and energy consumption structure, she said.

Hebei has seen severe air pollution since 2013. Six or seven of its cities have consistently been among the 10 most severely polluted cities in the country.
A Chinese aircraft lands on the newly constructed runway at Yongshu Jiao in China's Nansha Islands during a test flight on Wednesday. ZHA CHUNMING/XINHUA

China successfully carried out test flights of two commercial airliners on Wednesday at a newly built airfield in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The airfield will provide more routes for flights over the South China Sea, according to a government media release.

Insiders, who declined to be named, said the test flights were different from the one reported on Saturday. That flight aimed to test communication between the planes and the airfield, while Wednesday's were "real test flights".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed on Saturday that China had finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao in China's Nansha Islands. It is the most southerly airfield in the country.

She said Saturday's test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards.

Xinhua News Agency reported that two civilian aircraft departed from Haikou in Hainan province on Wednesday morning and landed on Yongshu Jiao after flights of nearly two hours. They returned to Haikou in the afternoon.

The official media release by Xinhua said, "The test flights proved that the airfield has the capacity to ensure safe operation of large civilian aircraft."

This will help with the transportation of goods and personnel as well as with healthcare on the islands, it said, adding that the airfield will also serve as an alternate one for flights in the region.

Pan Wei, chief engineer at China Rescue and Salvage under the Ministry of Transport, said the airfield will significantly cut travel time between the Nansha Islands and the Chinese mainland.

Pan said the airfield will help to ensure flight and navigational safety for airplanes and ships in the area and greatly improve the ability of marine salvagers.

As a responsible country, China will continue to promote the building of emergency response and rescue facilities, Pan said.

It will shoulder the international obligations of search and rescue operations, marine environmental protection, disaster prevention, and navigational safety in the South China Sea.

Nearly 40 percent of global trade is carried through the South China Sea, which sees the passage of at least 40,000 ships annually.

Vietnam and the Philippines have protested over the new airfield's completion. But Hua said on Saturday the test flight that day was completed "completely within China's sovereignty".

Xinhua contributed to this story.

lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn
A court in Central China's Hunan province has accepted a case of two homosexuals who sued the government agency for not allowing them to register their marriage.

It may be the first time in the country that a same-sex couple is seeking the right to marry through legal means.

One of the men, surnamed Sun, and his boyfriend went to the marriage registration office under the civil affairs bureau of Changsha's Furong district in June but were refused by the office staff who said the laws did not allow gay marriage.

"They told me that only a man and a woman can get married. But in my understanding, 'husband and wife' not only refers to a man and a woman, but also two males or two females. Laws that permit gay marriage are considered nondiscriminatory," Sun said.

Shi Fulong, the attorney for the couple, said that in view of the uniqueness of the lawsuit, it should go down in history whether Sun and his boyfriend win or lose.

"Marriage is one of the fundamental human rights, and such rights of gay and lesbian people should also be protected. But people hardly care," Shi said.

"Some countries have provided legal recognition of same-sex couples in recent years. Maybe it's too early in China to yearn for legal changes, but the lawsuit can serve as a beginning to raise public attention and propel changes," he said.

Homosexuals account for roughly 4 percent of China's population, according to Li Yinhe, the country's best known sexologist.

Liu Junjie, a partner at the Shanghai branch of Dacheng Law Offices, believed Sun and his boyfriend will undoubtedly lose the case. "There is no basis for their suit in substantive law," he said.

Sun and his boyfriend submitted materials to the court in mid-December requesting an order that the civil affairs bureau's response was an administrative error.
Level of seasonal employment in Dongguan has fallen substantially from previous years

The demand for seasonal winter workers has dropped this year by more than 50 percent in Dongguan, a major production base in Guangdong province, and one of the reasons may be the increasing use of robots, according to an employment professional.

"A growing number people are now arriving in Dongguan to become temporary workers during the winter vacation, but the number of companies that are seeking temporary workers is down compared with the previous year," said an executive surnamed Xu at a job-search market in Dongguan.

Most of the people seeking employment are polytechnic school students from Guizhou, Yunnan and other provinces and regions in the inland areas, Xu said.

A staff member at a job agency in Dongguan's Houjie township also said many local companies once sought employees at the start of a new year.

"But the number of companies has been reduced while the number of job seekers has grown this year," said the staff member, who did not want to be named.

Most of the temporary workers earned between 2,000 and 4,000 yuan ($320 to $640) a month in January and February, he added.

Apart from the poor global economic performance, the introduction of industrial robots and other high-tech equipment is the main force behind the reduction in demand for temporary workers in Dongguan this year, insiders say.

According to Xu, one company reduced the number of front-line workers by about 90 percent when around 1,000 industrial robots were put into operation earlier last year.

"With the use of industrial robots, the company only needs to recruit a few software technicians and management personnel," Xu said.

He said robots will help companies maintain production stability and product quality.

"Using robots can help manufacturing companies to upgrade their production processes, reduce costs and ensure the quality of their products," Xu said.

"The use of industrial robots may become even more significant in the future, as Guangdong's manufacturing industry seeks to adjust to labor shortages," he said.

Economists have suggested that the Pearl River Delta - in particular the major cities of Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Foshan, Huizhou and Dongguan - should further upgrade their technology and make much greater use of intelligent robots.

The authorities in Guangdong have said they will invest 943 billion yuan ($152 billion) to replace people with robots over the next three years.

The local government will push for the use of robots by 1,950 companies across the province, and it plans to build two advanced robot production plants by the end of 2017.

More than 80 percent of manufacturing operations in Guangzhou, the province's capital, will be using industrial robots and related "intelligent" technologies by 2020.
Huang Meihua and her mother at the Guangya School. HUANG ZHILING/CHINA DAILY

Resilient spirit inspires flying school to give girl all-expense paid lessons

An earthquake buried Huang Meihua in the rubble of her primary school, crushing the then 11-year-old's legs, but not her spirit.

The resilience she showed in the days after the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008, waiting helplessly in a makeshift shed without medical care, has continued to define her character.

The roads inaccessible, a military helicopter finally flew Huang to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, where doctors had to amputate her legs.

"How I wished I had wings to fly to safety," she said. "It is due to this experience that I have a special feeling for pilots and flying."

In December, the experience prompted Huang to apply for training as a pilot at the Imperial Canadian Flying School when it enrolled trainees from the Guangya School where she has been a student for nearly seven years.

Moved by her story and enterprising spirit, the school offered the 18-year-old free training in Vancouver for three weeks in February, covering all her living expenses.

"One doesn't need feet to fly a plane. As a straight-A student most of time, I believe I can be a pilot," Huang said, sitting in her wheelchair in her dormitory at the Guangya School in Dujiangyan, Sichuan.

After her initial recovery, Huang studied in a makeshift primary school in Beichuan county, earning the highest scores in all of her subjects. A year after the earthquake, she started as a sixth grader at the Guangya School, offered a free education by headmaster Qing Guangya until her graduation from its high school in 2016.

Guangya, the first private school in Sichuan, educates students who will pursue university studies in English-speaking countries. All subjects are taught in English.

Upon entering the school, Huang could not understand English. In the first semester, she scored 66 of 100 in English, but she was quick-witted and studied very hard and received a score of 98 in the next semester, teacher Yi Jing said.

"She has been a top student in her class of 20 ever since and she is very good at English, biology and chemistry," Yi said. "She is fluent in English when she talks with foreign teachers."

Huang's mother, 44-year-old Yan Xiaorong, wheels Huang to her classroom every day. The school offered the family free lodging and Huang's 54-year-old father Huang Seqing obtained a job in the school canteen.

Huang Meihua always has a smile on her face. Despite her disability, she has confidence.

The school treats disabled students as equals and allows her to participate in all activities, such as dancing and physical education, said Xu Wencan, Huang's classmate.

With a score of 101 out of 120 on the English-language TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, Huang has applied to 12 top-notch universities in the United States, including Stanford. She hopes to get a full scholarship to major in biology or chemistry upon graduating next summer.

"When I receive the training in Canada, I will try to learn about universities there. If possible, I would also like to apply for one there," Huang said.
Yiran's elder brother, 9, shows the jacket which got torn when he tried to save his younger sister from the kidnappers on Jan 6, 2016. [Photo/IC]

A kidnapped five-year-old girl was rescued nearly 56 hours later by police, who traveled about 600 kilometers from East China's Anhui province to North China's Hebei province and arrested the suspects.

Two suspects on a motorcycle stopped their bike in front of her house, pretended to ask directions and then kidnapped the little girl named Yiran who was playing with her elder brother at around 2pm on Sunday in a village in Taihe county, Fuyang city, East China's Anhui province.

A rescue team made of police from East China's Anhui province, Central China's Henan province, especially from She county, Handan city, North China's Hebei province, arrested the suspects in She county at around 11pm on Tuesday and rescued the girl.

Accompanied by the police, the girl reunited with her family at around 6pm on Wednesday in Taihe county, Fuyang city, East China's Anhui province.
Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with workers during his visit to Guoyuan Port in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, Jan 4, 2016. Xi made an inspection tour in Chongqing from Jan 4 to 6.[Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang paid their first inspection visits in 2016 to Chongqing and Shanxi province respectively. But what political implications do these visits have?

New year inspection visits by senior leaders is routine, which usually sets the tone for the rest of the year.

Chongqing is a fast-developing municipality directly under Central Government, whereas Shanxi ranks among the provinces with the slowest GDP growth rate. This shows the emphasis in 2016 is to nurture the economic growth point and to push forward the economic upgrading.

Chongqing's economic prowess

While in Chongqing on Jan 4, Xi visited Guoyuan Port, the heartland of Liangjiang New District, and then BOE Technology Group.

The economy of Chongqing grew by 10.9 percent in 2014. The figure was even higher in 2015, reaching 11 percent. By contrast, the national GDP growth rate barely surpassed 7 percent.

The last time Xi visited Chongqing was five years ago. But Chongqing is a different city now, with its economy outrunning those of the other provinces and driving the economic development in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Premier Li Keqiang rides in a tramcar as he inspects the Guandi mine of Xishan Coal Electricity Group Co Ltd in North China's Shanxi province, Jan 5, 2016. [Photo/Chinanews Service]

Shanxi's dire problems

Good examples are to learn from, whereas bad practices should be avoided.

Premier Li Keqiang, meanwhile, headed for Shanxi province for his first inspection visit in 2016.

Among the 34 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, Shanxi, along with northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, has the lowest economic growth rate.

In the first half of 2015, Shanxi's economy grew by 2.7 percent, only 0.1 percent higher than that of Liaoning province, the last of the 34.

What is worth noting is that Li paid a special visit to the Chinese Businessman Museum in Shanxi. Through his visit, Li encouraged Shanxi to reduce its dependence on natural resources and switch to human capital.

"Coal is valuable, but the Shanxi Businessman Spirit is an inexhaustible mine and should not be ignored," said Li during his visit.
BEIJING - Beijing's average PM2.5 density from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 rose 75.9 percent year-on-year in 2015, despite the general improvement of air quality, the environmental regulator said Thursday.

Beijing witnessed continuous smoggy days this winter, due to high pollution and unfavorable weather. The local government issued red alerts, the highest, for heavy air pollution twice.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said the overall air quality improved last year, but it still did not meet public expectations.

The data monitored showed that PM2.5 density in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta dropped by 10.4 percent, 11.7 percent and 19 percent respectively last year.

The PM10 density in 2015 in 338 cities dropped 7.4 percent on average year-on-year and PM 2.5 density dropped 11.3 percent on average in 161 cities.

The MEP urged all local environmental authorities to prepare for the upcoming Spring Festival, a time when Chinese set off firecrackers which could lead to more air pollution.

The ministry asked local departments to strictly monitor the sales and use of firecrackers and punish violators in a bid to alleviate pollution caused by firecrackers.
CHONGQING - President Xi Jinping has urged the strengthening of the armed forces through reforms when inspecting troops in Southwest China.

Xi said the military must be guided by the objective of building a strong army, carry out military strategies under the new circumstances and advance army building through the enhancement of political awareness.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection of troops in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing on Tuesday.

Xi also called for building a strong army through reforms and commanding the military in line with laws and rules.
Foreign minister Wang Yi urged opposition parties in Syria to participate in peace dialogues and negotiations without any preconditions when he met with a leader from the Syrian opposition force in Beijing on Thursday.



The meeting with President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Alptekin Hocaoglu came just two weeks after Beijing hosted the Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

Observers see Beijings engagement with both the Syrian government and the oppositions as a more active mediation role for conflict issues in the Middle East.

A civil war broke out five years ago in the oil-rich country and has since turned the nation into a war-torn land with increasing terrorism forces.

The UN Security Council unanimously agreed on a resolution last month, which calls for Syria peace talks to begin in early January.

It also calls for a nationwide cease-fire in Syria to come into effect "as soon as the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition have begun initial steps towards a political transition under UN auspices".

While meeting with Alptekin Hocaoglu, Wang urged opposition parties in Syria to support the UNs peace effort and "participate in relevant talks and negotiations without preconditions".

As a representative of the Syrian opposition parties, the National Coalition can adopt measures that are more positive to help bring a ceasefire and coordinate with the UNs efforts, Wang said.

China has been pushing for peace and dialogues in Middle East issues, insisting that the primary judgment to solving those problems focuses on whether it will bring peace and happiness for the people there, Wang said, adding that China will continue to offer more humanitarian aid for Syria.

Alptekin Hocaoglu arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a four-day visit.

He was quoted in a Foreign Ministry press statement saying that his coalition is ready to participate in the UN-led dialogue without any precondition, and advocate that the Syria government and oppositions should take measures to build trust gradually, and solve all problems through dialogue and negotiation.

He said he hopes China will play a bigger role in pushing for the political solution of the Syrian issue.

China has actively participated in international mediations to draw opposition parties in Syria to the negotiating table ever since the civil war broke out five years ago.

China announced that it would extend an additional 40 million yuan ($6.06 million) in humanitarian aid to Syria while hosting visiting Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who arrived in December.

Wang Mingming, a researcher of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the efforts China has been making to bring a negotiation shows the country is playing a more constructive role in addressing Middle East Issues than before.

Both the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition parties believe that China has a "relatively equitable" stance in the Syrian issue due to its "detached" position. Wang said, adding that he is optimistic that China will help address the issue.

Former Chinese special envoy on the Middle East issues Wu Sike said the willingness to negotiate between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition parties shows that the international community has realized military measures cannot solve problems, and the most urgent issue now is to work together to fight terrorism.

"China has long been expressing its stance of addressing the Syrian issue through political solutions, and its effort to talk it through to both the Syrian government and opposition parties has paid off," Wu said.
A scene from Little Door Gods featuring the elder brother of the door gods duo who checks a hint left by his missing younger brother.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese mythology typically depicts a "nian" as a lionlike creature that lives under the sea or in the mountains. And once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people.

But in a new animation feature, the "nian" shows up in the human world as heavy smog covering the sky.

When this scene in Little Door Gods appeared on screen at a Beijing preview before the film's Jan 1 nationwide release, members of the audience burst into laughter.

It is little touches like this in the filmwhich focuses on old traditions and modern concernsthat has won the 103-minute fantasy movie critical acclaim.

Up to 160 animators from Beijing-based Light Chaser Animation spent two and a half years to produce the 1,940-take movie, which is now widely regarded as having "scaled new heights" in the country's animation film sector.

For the movie's director and scriptwriter Gary Wang, the inspiration for the film came from his interest in "little figures" and a dying culture.

As Wang says: "Many of the traditions cherished by older generations have vanished. Door gods is one of them.

"I was curious about how a celestial being would respond if he is no longer worshipped by humans," says Wang as he explains why he went ahead with the project.

"I have always had more of an interest in grassroots gods as compared with great gods, such as the rulers of heaven. The struggles of these little figures have always fascinated me."

It is traditional during the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, to place painting s or statues of menshen (door gods) on or in front of doors to drive away evil spirits. But in recent years the tradition has almost vanished due to rapid urbanization.
China monkey stamp perfed. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The island of Jersey in the English Channel, an autonomous dependency of the British crown, is among the first to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Year of the Monkey, with the release of a stamp issue on Jan 5 designed by Beijing illustrator Wang Huming.

The rich, red and gold illustrations by Wang, the deputy chief designer of the Postage Stamp Printing Bureau of China Post, were created in Beijing and printed in France.

Melanie Gouzinis, head of philatelic at Jersey Post, said: "The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar and is celebrated by Chinese and ethnic communities around the world."

Chinese zodiac animals have symbolic meanings given to them by the ancient Chinese, and people born in each animal's year are said to have some of that animal's personality. Those born in the year of the monkey are said to be smart, quick-witted, optimistic and ambitious.

Gouzinis said: "The design Wang Huming has created for our Lunar New Year issue shows the monkey holding a peach and uses gold colors against a red background. While the peach is a symbol of long life in Chinese culture, red is considered the luckiest color and is widely used during festivals.

"We are very fortunate to have worked together with such a high-profile artist as Wang on this stamp issue as well as our links with China issue (a series of flower stamps) released earlier this year."

Related:

Generations of Chinese zodiac stamps
A woman performing tea ceremony at the exhibition. [Photo/Xinhua]

A seed, an academy and a movie, carrying three stories of Central China's Hunan province recently traveled across the ocean to land in the US.

"I hope you may find your interest in Hunan after I share with you the three little stories," Zhang Wenxiong, director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, said Monday at the opening ceremony for the exhibition, This is Hunan, at the UN center in New York.

"Hunan is tied with the world in many ways, and most prominently, through Yuan Longping's hybrid rice, which changed the world by providing a robust food source in areas at high risk of famine," Zhang said. He noted that Hunan is the most rice productive province in China, and it is a province that has the longest tradition of growing rice.

The second story Zhang shared starts with well-known Yuelu Academy, one of the four most prestigious academies in China, which was set up during the Song Dynasty (960-1276).

"The academy is only one aspect of how Hunan is a culture-rich province. The paper making technique originates in Hunan, the ancient anthology of Chinese poetry, The Song of Chu, was written by Quyuan in Hunan, ancient Chinese philosopher Wang Fuzhi comes from Hunan and Chairman Mao is also a Hunan local," Zhang said.
A sculptor draws lines on a statue at Zhang Yucheng's studio in Lianyungang in Jiangsu province on Jan 4. [Photo/Xinhua]

Sculptor Zhang Yucheng is carrying forward the intangible cultural heritage. Born in Hebei province in 1976, Yucheng began learning the art of jade carving at the age of 15 under the guidance of a senior artist in Beijing and began crystal sculpting in 1996. He combines different colored crystal together and creates a new style of sculpture.

He has been honored with many awards in recent years. With his elder brother Zhang Jucheng and little sibling Zhang Licheng who also specialize in crystal sculpting, Yucheng established an art studio that joined "the national center of crystal" in Lianyungang in Jiangsu province in July 2015.

Yucheng said he and his two brothers will work together with the local crystal sculptors in Lianyungang to study the future development of crystal carving. And they will endeavor to improve their skills and pass them on to the younger generation of sculptors.
Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 26, 2015 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un making a congratulatory speech at the 4th National Conference of War Veterans on July 25, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua/KCNA]

The claim by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Wednesday that it had successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb has sent shock waves across the world.

Naturally the claim, which came after a 4.9 magnitude quake was detected close to its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, has sparked widespread criticism from the international community, because, if true, it was risky, irresponsible and reckless.

The Chinese government's stance is clear and consistent: It unequivocally opposes the test and nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as only denuclearization of the peninsula conforms to the region's shared interests in peace and stability. China's Foreign Ministry has "strongly urged" the DPRK to keep its promise on denuclearization and stop actions that will lead to the situation deteriorating.

There should be no tolerance and compromise on this issue.

The nuclear test, if confirmed, not only challenges the UN Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, it also violates a string of UN resolutions already in place against Pyongyang.

It will almost certainly lead to a push for a tightening of international sanctions, which will worsen the economic woes of the country already in desperate need of international assistance, and make life harder for its people.

Pyongyang cited the United States' "stance of aggression" as an excuse to justify its development of nuclear weapons, which it hopes will make it more secure.

It will not.

The DPRK has yet to realize that it can only ensure its security through negotiations under the framework of the Six-Party Talks, which aims to make the peninsula nuclear free.

By refusing to engage in any meaningful talks for years, and by playing the nuclear card time and again, the DPRK is only alienating itself further from the international community. This is definitely detrimental to its interests.

Despite the hard-nosed push by Pyongyang to acquire nuclear weapons, the international community needs to remain sober-minded and try to prevent tensions on the peninsula from escalating. Countries in the region must be alert to an arms race developing in East Asia, because that will further complicate the situation and pose a grave threat to regional peace and stability.

Moreover, if the DPRK's latest test is confirmed it will indicate that measures taken by the international community to curb the DPRK's nuclear ambitions have been to no avail.

The international community needs to reaffirm its collective wisdom and determination and better coordinate its actions to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses reporters on the first official business day of the New Year during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Japan has agreed to pay 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) to help the Republic of Korea set up a fund to support Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army before and during World War II, in order to settle the "comfort women" issue.

Later, during his talks with ROK President Park Geun-hye over the phone, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the deal was "final and irreversible" and rendered apology to the Korean women who were forcibly "recruited" as sex slaves. Park, on her part, said she expected the agreement to help develop bilateral relations in a stable manner with an eye to the future.

For many, it is surprising to see the sudden settlement of the sore point in Tokyo-Seoul relations, although some uncertainties remain. To begin with, the deal is actually a compromise between Japan and the ROK in which the United States seems to have played a vital role. US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the agreement on the very day it was announced, saying it "will promote healing and help to improve relations between two of the US' most important allies". Applauding the leaders of the two countries "for having the courage and vision to reach this agreement", he even urged the international community to support it.

Apparently, the last thing Washington wants to see is its "pivot to Asia" falling apart because of the widening fissures between its allies in East Asia, and this could explain its consistent intervention in Japan-ROK bilateral affairs.

Failing to make progress in some longstanding territorial disputes and convince its neighbors of its "sincere" remorse over its war crimes, Japan had been caught in a diplomatic stalemate and was thus desperate to seek a diplomatic breakthrough. As much as Abe hates to admit, reconciling with the ROK was a decision he was forced to make because his extensive diplomatic maneuvers over the past two years had not been able to end its "neighborhood dilemma".
Migrant workers walk out of the Haozhou Railway Station, East China's Anhui province, Jan 18, 2014.[Photo/CFP]

The end of a year is usually a time to ensure migrant workers are paid their due wages. Given that many enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, are suffering because of the economic slowdown, it is likely migrant workers will face difficulties getting their wages before they return home for the annual Spring Festival holiday, which starts early next month.

The data released by a trade union in December indicate that cases of wage cuts or defaults involving migrant workers increased by 34 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2015. Also, unlike the past, wage defaults are no longer limited to the construction industry; they have spread to other labor-intensive manufacturing sectors. This unfortunate trend could deepen because of the economic woes many domestic enterprises are suffering from.

According to a report from business news website Yicai.com, only 30 percent of domestic manufacturing enterprises can pay wages to employees on time and many of them have to lay off workers because of their financial difficulties. As a group that is widely believed to be in a disadvantageous position for lacking the bargaining power when it comes to employers, migrant workers are usually the worst victims of wage defaults.

A National Bureau of Statistics report in April 2014 said there were 274 million migrant workers in China, whose average monthly income was 2,864 yuan ($437), with 0.8 percent, or 2.19 million, of them being denied payment on time. The average per person wage default was 9,511 yuan. The lack of labor contracts between many migrant workers and their employers usually mean unpaid workers have no effective channels to resolve their pay disputes.

In its work report to the country's top legislature in 2004, the central government vowed to basically solve the wage default problem for migrant workers within three years. But the problem persists even today, although a series of measures have been taken by governments at various levels. The cash deposit system to be set up in some regions, which could be used to pay migrant workers being denied wages by their employers, has largely become ineffective because it has not been strictly implemented.

In the face of being denied wages, many migrant workers still resort to extreme means such as violent confrontation with their employers, or committing suicide or threatening to do so. In December, nine migrant workers in Anhui province climbed to the top of a high-rise building and threatened to jump down after they were not paid their wages. They were detained for a few days by police on the charge of "refusal" to come down from the building and threatening to commit suicide. That was only one of the many "suicide threats" migrant workers have used in recent years to get their wages. To help her migrant worker father get his years of overdue wages from his employer, a 14-year-old girl from Sichuan province jumped to her death from a building in North China's Hebei province in January 2015.

Wage default cases are usually resolved by government departments or officials to address public grievances after they become headline news, but the country is yet to set up a preventive mechanism or issue a set of effective regulations to prevent such cases. The extreme means some migrant workers use when their wages are denied, which are not rare, should prompt authorities to make efforts at the national level in order to provide relief to migrant workers by helping them get their hard-won wages on time.

Local governments have to put migrant workers' interests first and come up with concrete and workable measures, for example, making a blacklist of enterprises that intentionally default on migrant workers' wages and denying the enterprises credit to stop them from defaulting on wages. But in the absence of such systematic guarantees, labor departments, trade unions and public welfare organs should be ready to intervene to help the hardworking but usually underpaid migrant workers get their due wages before Spring Festival.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.
Visitors walk at the Tian'anmen Square amid severe smog in Beijing on Dec 15. [Photo/IC]

THE GOVERNMENT of East China's Shandong province recently issued a regulation that will more heavily reward or punish city governments in the province according to their performance in curbing air pollution. Those cities whose PM2.5 levels exceed the set limit will be fined 400,000 yuan ($61,000), while those with PM2.5 levels below the limit receive a similar amount as reward. Will that help curb air pollution, asks Beijing Times:

The regulation of Shandong province has aroused speculation online. Where does the bonus money come from? What if the bonus is stopped in the future?

More importantly, it is the legal responsibility of local governments to promote air quality, so why do they need a financial incentive to do their duty?

In practice, how to implement the regulation will be a challenge as well. Who will measure the PM2.5 in the air? How to prevent local officials from falsifying the data?

But that does not mean the bonuses and fines should not be used. It might not be the best strategy, but it is definitely one of the most practical at the moment.

The key to fighting air pollution lies in both encouraging and pushing municipal governments to take effective actions, and offering economic benefits is probably the most effective encouragement.

Shandong province has been imposing fines and giving bonuses since last year and this has proved effective. From January to September 2015, the provincial government gave bonuses of 129 million yuan to 17 cities, of which Linyi got 12.85 million yuan. The once heavily polluted city has finally reversed the trend and become the city with the greatest improvement in air quality.

Of course, the province cannot rely on just bonuses and fines to fight air pollution, these should be considered temporary not permanent measures. It is necessary for the provincial government to establish lasting mechanisms to ensure the air quality meets the required standards.

It will be a long process to make our air clean and all innovative measures aimed at doing so should be encouraged. But in the long run, we need lasting measures to ensure the air quality improves.
Julia Jalo

My year has been very surprising and full of new experiences, new friends and outlooks.

In January I went to the Philippines to renew my visa. I had just finished one project and really needed a new job. I really did not have an idea about my current job when snorkeling in the clear waters of the Philippines. A serious work opportunity arose sooner than I expected from a direction that really surprised me. My friend recommended me to a company that very soon indicated they were interested in hiring me. I decided to take the job to have the opportunity to work in China.

Things were proceeding slowly but steadily to arrange my work visa. I was preparing to make a trip to Hong Kong to change the visa status when I got sad news from Finland: my father had passed away. I needed to leave for Finland.

The visa procedure was very slow and I had to stay in Finland for one and a half months. It was nice to see a glimpse of the Finnish spring and participate in the baptism of my cousins son. Because of the delay I got a chance to spend a week with my goddaughter.

Finally, at the end of April everything was ready and I was to fly back to China for the new job at the insurance company. It was hard to leave since this time I wasnt sure when I could return, but at the same time I was excited and anxious to meet my new colleagues and learn about the new job. Since I have started working in Beijing, I have totally learned about a new branch of business from scratch. My colleagues are all Chinese, so my Chinese has also improved. More than that, I have learned a whole new vocabulary of this branch of the business.

Time has really passed with incredible speed; in a moment I had already worked for eight months, a whole summer, an autumn and a part of the winter. From day to day I have adjusted, tolerating traveling with the crowds on the metro in the mornings. Ive gotten used to buying my breakfast on the street corner on my way to the office. I have sung Happy Birthday in Chinese at least every two weeks to my colleagues on their birthdays. We have had company dinners and outings on several occasions. I have learned to let loose and have fun with colleagues outside the office. We have played water war on a lake, we have sung karaoke and danced in the discos in Sanlitun. We have had farewell dinners and welcoming dinners for colleagues leaving and arriving.

As a highlight of the year I got a role in a play at the companys annual party. Rehearsing for it was so funny, but also a good chance to better know some of my colleagues. Our show at the party was a success and we earned praise from all of our colleagues. That was really fun!

Work is not all in ones life, so I have started going to the gym, running, dancing and lifting weights. I think I might never have been able to run so long as I can do now. I have been really healthy and did not get a single cold after coming to China. It must have something to do with the new healthy lifestyle. The year also included some traveling, although a bit less than before. This year I did some day trips from Beijing, for example to Fangshan, Shunyi, Cuandixia, Xuanhua and one longer trip to Huludao. I did not forget to party either; I was partying hard whenever there was something to celebrate.
As of Jan 1, 2016, Xiamen city in Fujian province is authorized to offer a sales tax refund to foreigners and residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, China's Finance Ministry announced on Dec 29.

The policy only applies to those who have stayed on the Chinese mainland for no more than 183 days.

To trigger reimbursement, a 500 yuan price floor is set for purchases made at a single outlet by any one individual.

Unpacked or used commodities are not valid for refunds. Neither are goods purchased more than 90 days in advance of a departure date.

Purchased goods must be carried by travellers in person or in their checked luggage when leaving the country.

The tax rebate rate is 11 percent. A 2-percent poundage fee will be charged either by Industrial Bank's local branch or Xiamen Bank  the two appointed agencies for handling the drawback procedure.

The Xiamen government has selected 10 venues to implement the tax policy, including the Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen hotel, three Edenus brand ceramic craft stores, the Sumgo Tea shop, and the Caishi lacquer threaded sculpture retail outlet.

For now, only two cross-border transportation portals are allowed to handle the business. They are the Gaoqi International Airport and Wutong passenger ferry port  the latter mainly serves traffic between Xiamen and Kinmen in Taiwan.

The tax refund policy is expected to further boost tourism in Xiamen, following the 72-hour visa free policy for transit passengers and the 24/7 customs clearance service at Gaoqi airport  two initiatives taken in 2015 that helped increase stay-over tourists from overseas markets by 10.25 percent to 1.83 million in the first 11 months of 2015.

Along with Xiamen, Tianjin city and Liaoning, Anhui, Fujian, Sichuan provinces also got the nod to carry out this tax refund policy from the beginning of 2016. Three other regions were previously empowered to offer the service -- Hainan in 2011 and Beijing and Shanghai in July 2015.

By Liu Sitong and edited by Peter Nordlinger
In today's trending, little kids star in famous painting reenactments, a truck driver has a dummy as a companion, and dog reveals owner's secret stash.

A school boy in third grade plays a maiden in the world famous classical oil painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. [Photo/IC]

Primary school students cosplay famous paintings

A set of photos of famous paintings and their reenactments has become popular on WeChat Moments, a social media platform. The reenacments feature primary school students as models.

A primary school in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province held an art competition to encourage students to simulate famous paintings through cosplay or recreation. More than 400 creations were submitted and 70 were awarded and displayed on campus on Tuesday, dfic.cn reported.

The competition aims to improve students' aesthetic ability and help them enjoy appreciating classical art works, said Su Yan, Vice President of the school.

A pupil plays a character in the painting The Scream by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. [Photo/IC]

A five grader uses tomatoes, white radish, red beans and other food to replicate the painting Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. [Photo/IC]

In our next story, a lonely truck driver uses a dummy as his companion on the road.
Applicants for visas wait in line at the British visa center in Beijing. [WANG JING/CHINA DAILY]

Britain's travel and retail industries welcomed new measures that significantly relax visa rules for Chinese tourists.

Chinese visitors are currently issued a six-month tourist visa that costs 85 pounds ($131). Under the new rules, which start in January, the visa will provide multiple entries to the UK over two years without the need for extra paperwork or expenditure.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the new policy on Wednesday during the state visit of President Xi Jinping.

Cameron also announced his intention to go further with plans for a new 10-year multi-entry visa for Chinese tourists at no extra cost.

Changes also include expanding the UK's mobile fingerprinting service to 50 Chinese cities from the present nine. The two governments are negotiating an increase in the number of visa application centers.

"China is becoming one of our fastest-growing tourism markets, so making it easier and more convenient for Chinese visitors to come to the UK is extremely important," Cameron said.

Cameron said that it is great news for the tourism industry and great news for the British economy to maximize Chinese spending power.

The new policy was welcomed by Britain's tourism and retail industries.

"The Chinese really admire the quality, creativity and craftsmanship of British luxury goods. Today's announcement makes it easier for the Chinese to visit and shop here," Michelle Emmerson, CEO of Walpole, a London-based alliance of British luxury brands, told China Daily.

Britain's 32 billion pound luxury industry is particularly dependent on Chinese shoppers, the world's largest luxury consumer group.

Chinese nationals buy about three-quarters of their luxury goods outside of the Chinese mainland, according to Exane BNP Paribas.

Chinese tourists currently contribute 500 million pounds annually to the UK economy, according to VisitBritain, a government-funded agency.

The number of Chinese visiting Britain has tripled in five years, and their spending is up by the same proportion. Chinese visitors spend an average of 2,688 pounds per visit, four times as much as other visitors.

But Britain wants to attract even more Chinese. Of 117 million Chinese who traveled abroad in 2014, only 185,000 went to Britain, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

"When these new visa policies take effect, it will have a significant positive impact on the number of Chinese visitors coming to the UK," said David Scowsill, president and CEO of the London-based international organization.

"With the Chinese being the top spending tourists in the world, the UK's economy, retail and hospitality industries will receive a tremendous boost," Scowsill added.

The UK has adopted various tactics to encourage Chinese tourism, including spending 1.6 million pounds in 2014 on a campaign to give some UK landmarks Chinese names.
People at a railroad station in Seoul watch a news report on Wednesday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced that it had conducted its first hydrogen bomb test. JUNG YEON-JE/AFP

Beijing urges neighbor 'to halt actions that will deteriorate the situation'

OVERVIEW OF TESTING SITE



AFP/CHINA DAILY

Beijing stated its "resolute opposition" on Wednesday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced earlier in the day that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

Countries and international organizations said they were still examining the test's details and impact, since some key facts were believed missing in the official statement released through the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The nuclear test, the fourth by the DPRK, was conducted at a site close to the Chinese border. Previously, the DPRK conducted three nuclear testsin 2006, 2009 and 2013drawing fierce international objections and sanctions.

On Wednesday morning, the China Earthquake Network Center said a magnitude-4.9 quake jolted the DPRK at 9:30 am Beijing time "at a depth of 0 km".

Then the state-run Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un had ordered the hydrogen bomb test on Dec 15 and signed the final order on Sunday. The test was a "total success" and was conducted "in a safe and perfect manner", it said.

In response, Beijing issued a rare written statement in the afternoon, in which the Foreign Ministry said: "We strongly urge the DPRK to honor its denuclearization pledges and stop taking any action that will deteriorate the situation."

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection is "monitoring the data and will conduct an all-out radiation emergency test in the border area", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

By 1 pm, local readings of gamma radiation had been normal, the environmental ministry said.
ROK questions whether DPRK tests H-bomb By Agencies in Seoul (China Daily) Updated: 2016-01-07 08:29

Test on Wednesday is met with a burst of jubilation and pride in Pyongyang

The defense ministry and spy agency of the Republic of Korea on Wednesday questioned whether the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had tested a hydrogen bomb given the tiny size of seismic activity caused by the hydrogen device detonation.

ROK's Vice-Defense Minister Hwang In-moo told reporters after a meeting with lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party that "for now, it is unlikely" for the DPRK to have succeeded in testing a hydrogen device, according to local media reports.

Hwang said that a procedure is needed to assess the explosion based on numbers by calculating how powerful it was and how it can be gauged through further data analysis.

The DPRK announced that it had successfully carried out its first test of a "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb, but the National Intelligence Service, ROK's spy agency, said that there is a possibility that it was not an H-bomb test given the small size of the seismic activity.

The seismic activity, caused by Wednesday's nuclear test, was at a magnitude of 4.8 on an explosive power of 6 kilotons. It was lower than a magnitude of 4.9 and a blast of 7.9 kilotons that were caused by the DPRK's previous nuclear test in 2013 of an atomic bomb.

The DPRK's first nuclear test in 2006 caused a 3.6 magnitude of seismic activity, with the second test of an atomic bomb in 2009 triggering a 4.5 magnitude of tremor.

The spy agency claimed that if it was an H-bomb, its blast size should have been hundreds of kilotons or at least tens of kilotons even under the failed test scenario.

The Korea Meteorological Administration, ROK's weather agency, said that the artificial quake happened at a magnitude of 4.8 in a location near the DPRK's underground nuclear test at Punggye-ri site in the northeast region.

All the three previous nuclear tests were conducted at the Punggye-ri nuclear facility.

The test on Wednesday was met with a burst of jubilation and pride in Pyongyang.

A DPRK television anchor, reading statement, said, "The test of a miniaturized hydrogen bomb was a perfect success that elevated our nuclear might to the next level".

Song Chol, a resident of Pyongyang, said: "The United States is the aggressor with all kinds of nuclear weapons, waiting to invade our country, so having a hydrogen bomb is the right thing, the legitimate right of a sovereign state, which nobody can complain about. It would be stupid to put down your gun as you are faced by fierce wolves rushing at you."

Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 01/07/2016 page11)
World reactions (China Daily) Updated: 2016-01-07 08:29

China

"We strongly urge the DPRK to honor its commitment to denuclearization, and to cease any action that may deteriorate the situation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

Republic of Korea

President Park Geun-hye vowed a tough response to DPRK's bomb test. She said the government "must get North Korea to face corresponding measures based on close cooperation with the international community".

United States

The White House said it can't confirm the nuclear test, but said it would condemn such a test as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Russia

Foreign Ministry said it hasn't been confirmed that the DPRK has carried out an actual nuclear test. The ministry called on "all interested sides to preserve maximum restraint and to not take actions that could rouse the uncontrolled growth of tensions in Northeast Asia".

Japan

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the DPRK announcement of a hydrogen bomb test is a threat to his nation's safety. "We absolutely cannot allow this, and condemn it strongly."

EU

The EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the DPRK's nuclear test, if confirmed, would represent "a grave violation of the DPRK's international obligations not to produce or test nuclear weapons".

United Kingdom

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that if a nuclear bomb has been detonated, it would be a grave breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

France

President Francois Hollande said "France condemns this unacceptable violation of Security Council resolutions and called for a strong reaction from the international community".

AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/07/2016 page11)
Women hold up placards that read "Mrs. Merkel: Where are you? What are you saying? This worries us!" during a protest in front of the Cologne Cathedral, Germany, January 5, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her outrage over series of sex attacks committed against women in the western German city of Cologne on New Year's Eve, demanding a hard response from the law, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Tuesday.

Merkel spoke in the afternoon with Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker over the offenses which took place around Cologne's main train station on the New Year's Eve in a phone conversation.

"Everything must be done to find the perpetrators as quickly and comprehensively as possible and to punish them regardless of their origin or their background," said the statement.

In an interview with German media Tagesschau on Tuesday evening, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere strongly criticized the work of the Cologne police on New Year's Eve, and also described the incidents in Cologne as "obnoxious, outrageous and unacceptable".

Meanwhile, he also stressed that there should be no general suspicion towards refugees.

On New Year's Eve, many women were surrounded, harassed, robbed, while one was raped in Cologne by around 1,000 men, who came "from the Arabic or North African region regarding their appearance", according to police.

By Tuesday evening, the number of criminal complaints filed has spiraled to more than 90. However, the police still have no leads about the perpetrators, said the city's police chief Wolfgang Albers in a press conference.
NEW DELHI - India's main opposition Congress Party Wednesday made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent surprise visit to Pakistan.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said that Modi's Lahore visit to meet Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif showed he trusts Pakistanis more than his ministers.

"Looks like the prime minister trusts those on the other side of the border more than us even when they have betrayed us again and again," Tiwari told the media in the national capital.

The senior Congress leader and former Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister, also slammed Modi for not consulting opposition parties before making such a overture towards Pakistan.

"Modi should have taken opposition parties into confidence before taking such a step. He went there uninvited. Look what followed," he said, referring to the terror attack on Pathankot air base.

Some 10 days back, Modi had made a surprise visit to Lahore to meet Sharif on his 66th birthday while returning from Afghanistan, in an indication that bilateral relations are warming up again.
Porter Ranch residents Danielle Michaels (L) and Michelle Theriault (R) hold signs outside Los Angeles City Hall during a demonstration ahead of the testimony before the Los Angeles City Council on the ongoing natural gas leak in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles, California December 1, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

LOS ANGELES - California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Wednesday declared the gas leak in Porter Ranch a state of emergency.

The massive gas leak, which was discovered on Oct. 23, 2015, at a well used for gas storage in Aliso Canyon, has forced thousands of local residents to evacuate from the small town about 30 miles from Los Angeles.

In his statement, Brown asked state departments and related companies to take all necessary and viable actions to stop the leak, protect public health and safety, ensure accountability, strengthen oversight.

The statement also urged all state agencies to "utilize state personnel, equipment, and facilities to ensure a continuous and thorough state response to this incident."

Earlier this week, Brown toured the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility, including the site of the leak and one of the relief wells.

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services has established an incident command structure, including a physical post on-site at Aliso Canyon to better coordinate the local, state and federal response and information sharing, the governor's office said.

It is also maintaining a public webpage to provide real-time information regarding the state's multi-agency response and air quality monitoring, it said.

The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources is investigating the leak and overseeing Southern California Gas Company's efforts to stop it, including issuing emergency orders in November and December directing Southern California Gas Company to halt gas injections into the storage facility, immediately work on alternatives to stop the leak and provide testing results, data, daily briefings and a written plan and schedule for sealing the well.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is reviewing air quality measurements, evaluating public health concerns from the gas leak and assisting other state agencies in determining whether additional actions are needed beyond those already required by local public health agencies.

The California Public Utilities Commission is investigating the gas leak to determine its cause and any possible violations and is collecting information about the costs of responding to and fixing the leak.

The California Air Resources Board is measuring the leak rate and estimating total methane emissions over the duration of the leak and is using ground-level monitoring, specially-equipped airplanes, and satellite information to provide updates of emissions.

Last month, Brown sent a letter to the CEO of Southern California Gas stating that the company's response has been "insufficient" and must be sped up, while noting that state agencies' multiple ongoing investigations will be coordinated with the California Attorney General's Office.
The first collection of documents on the Tokyo War Crimes Trials (1946-1948) was released on Wednesday by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Publishing House in Beijing, according to a media report.

The collection consists of trial records, documentary evidence, and interrogation records of the International Prosecution Section. The first part of the collection, released on Jan 6, contains 50,000 pages of the English version trial records of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East Charter, 700 photos of the courtrooms and those being trialed, and some videos, according to the China News Service.

Mei Xiaokan, researcher at the universitys Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies, said more than 10 judges from China like her father had made enormous contributions to the trial of Japanese war criminals. She was also quoted as saying that the collection will enhance Chinas studies on the trial.
The Chinese students accused of kidnapping and torturing a peer stand trial at the Pomona Superior Court in Pomona, California, on June 3, 2015. [Photo/uschinapress.com]

Three Chinese students accused of kidnapping and torturing a peer in LA, California are set to be sentenced to 6 to 13 years in prison after they pleaded guilty and reached an agreement with local prosecutors on Tuesday.

They would be expelled from the US as well when serving out their jail term, judges said. And a formal court decision of the punishment is expected to be announced early next month.

The three defendants, all of whom were born in 1996, were accused of abducting and torturing a fellow female Chinese student in March in Rowland Heights, an affluent, unincorporated community in Los Angeles County with an almost 60 percent Asian population.

The victim said they beat her, stripped her clothes off and even burned her nipples with lighted cigarettes. She was also forced to the ground to eat sand.

According to the girl's statement, the torture lasted five hours, and the assault left her seriously injured.

The prosecutors dropped charges of torture against them after the three admitted crimes of kidnapping and great bodily injury and assault.

More controversy ensued from the case when the father of one of the defendants tried to pay off a witness, hoping to "settle" the case. He was later arrested for bribery of a witness.

It is revealed that the dispute arose because of jealousy between the victim and one of the female defendants.
NEW DELHI - India will soon deploy more border guards at the international border with Pakistan in the northern states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the recent terror attacks on a key air base, sources said Thursday.

"Some 2,000 additional para-military Border Security Guards personnel may be deployed at the international border in these two states. The move comes after the deadly terror attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot," the sources said.

The Border Security Force mans the international border in Jammu sector and Punjab, while the Indian Army guards the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"The recent terror attacks have indicated the need for more vigil at the international border, given many terrorists sneak into this country from Pakistan using this border, despite it being electrically fenced," the sources said.

Some seven Indian security forces personnel were killed and 20 other injured in the terror attack on the Pathankot air force base, just 30 km from the international border with Pakistan. All the militants were killed and the base secured after an 80-hour operation.
BEIJING -- China on Thursday confirmed contact with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Embassy in Beijing after the country's latest nuclear test conducted Wednesday.

"China has made its stance clear through a Foreign Ministry statement yesterday. Senior officials of the Chinese Foreign Ministry further elaborated China's stance (on the test) to the leading official of the DPRK embassy in Beijing," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.

"The test is against the normal development of China-DPRK relations," she said.

She said China had participated in an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China will continue to take part in the following discussions of the Security Council in order to promote the denuclearization and non-proliferation of the Korean Peninsula and safeguard the stability in Northeast Asia," Hua said.

The DPRK announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. China was not notified of the test beforehand, Hua told reporters Wednesday.

The test, if confirmed, is the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. The previous three were carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

China "firmly opposes" the nuclear test, said the Foreign Ministry statement issued Wednesday, strongly urging the DPRK "to honor its commitment to denuclearization and to cease any action that may deteriorate the situation."

Peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia meet the common interests of all concerned, Hua said.

She said China is determined to advance denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and settle the nuclear issue through six-party talks.

The six-party talks, which involve the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, launched in 2003 but were stalled in December 2008. The DPRK then quit the talks in April 2009.

"The suspension of the six-party talks in recent years shows exactly the urgency and necessity of resuming the talks," Hua said, adding that China still views six-party talks as "the only effective and realistic way" to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula.
BEIJING-- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged views Thursday evening with his US counterpart John Kerry on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, underscoring China's firm stand on promoting denuclearization and safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula.

China is willing to communicate with all parties involved, including the United States, Wang told Kerry in a phone conversation.

Kerry explained US stance on the latest nuclear test launched by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying that the US hoped to maintain communication and coordination with China on the current situation on the peninsula.

During the phone call, the two top diplomats also exchanged views on the Iran nuclear issue and China-US relations.

Earlier on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will continue to take part in the UN Security Council discussions "in order to promote the denuclearization and non-proliferation of the Korean Peninsula and safeguard the stability in Northeast Asia."

The DPRK announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

The test, if confirmed, is the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. The previous three were carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013, respectively.

China "firmly opposes" the nuclear test, said a Foreign Ministry statement issued Wednesday, urging the DPRK "to honor its commitment to denuclearization and to cease any action that may deteriorate the situation."
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(Photo : ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images) China has conducted another successful runway test of its airstrip on the Fiery Cross Reef.

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China has conducted another test of its newly built runway on the Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea.



On Wednesday, two civilian aircrafts landed on the Yongshu Jiao airfield at 10:21 a.m. and 10:46 a.m. local times respectively, Xinhua reported. The planes returned to Meilan Airport in Haikou, Hainan Province, where they came from in the afternoon of the same day.



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Although the models of planes used used in the mission were not specifically identified, they were descibed as civilian aircrafts and the test is said to have been successful. The test landing apparently proves that the new airport has the capacity to ensure the operation of large civilian aircraft.



Despite the fact that China says it has no hostile intent in constructing the airfield, which is capable of having large-sized aircraft, other nations with competing claims in the region raised alarm when the project got underway and after the first flight landing test.



Over the weekend, China carried out its first test of the runway and this sparked protests from Vietnam and the Philippines. Both countries, among others, have claims in the said disputed territory.



China, however, has called for a break in the geographical contest, saying the airport signifies a breakthrough in ocean exploration for humankind.



Due to its location, the airport can be helpful to what could be a base for maritime research and conservation, in that it will aid in search and rescue, disaster prevention, disaster reduction, and navigation safety.



However, the United States has a different opinion on what could possibly happen, according to Reuters. The U.S. states that China could use the new airfield for military purposes despite China's public announcements aimed at promoting peace and stability.



This is because the runway at the airfield is a 3,000-meter stretch capable of handling long-range bombers, transport aircraft and jet fighters.



The new airport is one of three that China has been building for more than a year. It was constructed by dredging sand up onto the reefs and atolls to create a large surface area.


(Photo : Reuters) Valve has released the SteamVR Performance Test to assess whether a computer system is powerful enough to run a VR device.

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Smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp has innovated a disparate range of products like the virtual reality (VR) devices. These devices will be the main focus of the company in the next 10 years, according to the company's CEO and co-founder Cher Wang.



When one uses a computer or a mobile phone, one is restricted to only images and sound. But with VR devices, one can get a more diverse and colourful experience in a wider horizon. This is why HTC's first VR device the HTC Vive was launched in December in Beijing. It can convey images and sounds to make the virtual world look real.



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The handset was originally designed for educational, medical care and online gaming purposes. It was introduced first in the China High-Tech Fair in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in November last year. The new technology attracted thousands of visitors.



Specialists told Cher when she visited Beijing that VR technology can be applied in diverse fields like education and surgery. Just imagine a patient seeing his arteries and blood cells with the assistance of a VR device. This should aid them to submit for surgery, Wang said.



She explained that VR technology can be utilized by apartment designers and car sellers too. Wang says that German carmaker Volkswagen Group Audi brand will set-up the HTC Vive in flagship stores in China in 2016. This will make customers see their cars in a different perspective.



To get the best of VR technology, HTC had its first developers' summit on Dec. 18 in Beijing. Top executives from many virtual reality and online gaming companies were present at the event. There were also around 300 virtual reality start-up entrepreneurs, developers and engineers who wanted to know about VR technologies and the latest market trends.



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TagsHTC Vive, HTC, VR, Virtual Reality, HTC Vive Release
(Photo : YouTube) Review and comparison of Asus Zenfone Max and Lenovo P1m, which are both affordable and come with long battery life.

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Mobile phone manufacturers are constantly innovating new styles of smartphones to suit the growing demands of consumers. Competition in the smartphone industry is market by different manufacturers attempting to offer the most advanced specifications. But to support many features, handsets may lose the power in their batteries quickly. If you are searching for phones that have large battery life, there are a range of options to select from.



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Here, we will compare the Asus Zenfone Max with Lenovo P1m, which are both affordable and come with long battery life.



Display

Lenovo P1m's display measures 5-inches with 1280x720P resolution and has Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Asus Zenfone Max comes with 5.5-inches HD IPS display, 178-degree viewing angle with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection.



RAM, Processor and Storage

Lenovo P1m is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor with 2GB RAM. The Zenfone Max is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon Qualcomm 410 processor coupled with 2GB RAM ad Adreno 306 GPU. Both phones come with 16GB storage that can be further expanded using microSD cards.



Battery

Both phones have large batteries with Lenovo P1m having 4,000mAh battery, while the Zenfone Max offers 5,000mAh. For talk time, Zenfone Max offers 37.5 hours while P1m offers 16 hours.



As both phones have large batteries, this means longer time for charging. Lenovo has addressed the issue by integrating the Quick Charge technology. The P1m offers a dedicated manual button for power saving activation to extend battery life.



Price

In comparison, Lenovo P1m wins with an inexpensive price tag of $120, which is now offered in Flipkart. The Zenfone Max cost Rs. 2,000 higher than P1m, but is quite reasonable. It is sold in Amazon India and Flipkart for $150.



Verdict

Mobile phones from Asus and Lenovo are the smartest phones when it comes to battery life. Asus Zenfone Max offers a larger battery life, with better performance for an extra price. However, if the price of the phone does not suit you, there's always the Lenovo P1m.









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TagsAsus Zenfone Max vs Lenovo P1m, Asus Zenfone Max vs Lenovo P1m Specs, Asus Zenfone Max vs Lenovo P1m performance, Asus Zenfone Max vs Lenovo P1m Battery
(Photo : Reuters) A court in Changsa has accepted to hear a case filed by a gay man against a government agency for denying him the right to marry. This is the first time any Chinese court has agreed to hear such a case.

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A Chinese court will hear its first same-sex marriage case after a gay man, who was denied an application for a marriage license, filed a case against officials of the civil affairs bureau.



Sun Wenlin, 26, filed a case in December against the civil affairs bureau for denying him the right to marry his partner. On Tuesday, a court in Changsa, southern Hunan province, accepted to hear the case. LGBT activists have described the move as a 'breakthrough' in upholding gay rights.



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While China is rather lenient on homosexuality with large cities teeming with same-sex couples, same-sex marriage is still illegal and same-sex couples continue to live together without any legal protection at all.



"I think from a legal point of view, we should be successful," Sun said. "Our marriage law says there is the freedom to marry and gender equality. These words can be applied to same-sex marriage."



Sun said he filed the case last December because he wanted to get married to his 36-year-old partner and later on, adopt a child together .



Sun said when he tried to register to marry his boyfriend in June, his application was outrightly denied by an official at the Furong district civil affairs bureau.



The Furong official told him, " marriage had to be between a man and a woman."



LGBT activists say the court's acceptance of the case is 'significant' and will likely be a springboard to more of such cases being filed in court.



Activists view the court's acceptance of the case as some sort of 'willingness' of the judicial system to address the LGBT issues and concerns.



Sun's lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the court will hear the case within six months.



"From the standpoint of improving visibility, this case is no doubt a victory," said Sun's lawyer.



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TagsChangsa court, same sex marriage, civil affairs bureau, LGBT community, Sun Wenlin
(Photo : Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) Alibaba is planning to "consolidate and expand" the Chinese market in 2016

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Alibaba Group will shift its focus from the global market to China this year. The retail giant believes that it would benefit if it expands and refines its products and service offerings in China and focus on growing in rural areas.



Writing in the company's blog, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said that the Alibaba will "consolidate and expand" the Chinese market in 2016.



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This move comes at a time when China is facing a slowing economy, heightened e-commerce competition and new markets. While other companies scramble for global reach, Alibaba is turning its efforts on defending its stand in the domestic market to provide possible growth opportunities in the long run.



After all, China is Alibaba's biggest market, accounting to 83 percent of its 2015 revenue. A slowdown in the economy may not have a severe impact on the company as roughly 44 percent of China's Internet users (accounting to 668 million Chinese as of June 2015) have not yet gone shopping online. With more effort from the company poured into China's market, Alibaba may have the chance to lure more people to online shopping, thus, avoiding any possibilities of enduring the economic slowdown.



But this does not explain all the reasons for Alibaba's latest move. The fact is that competition in China's hinterland is getting tougher, with JD.com, Alibaba's biggest competitor, spending more and more of its resources on logistics and training centers.



Alibaba will definitely not let itself fall behind as it gears towards reaching customers in rural areas, who comprise 46 percent of China's total population.



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TagsJD.com, china retail, daniel zhang
(Photo : Reuters) China lambasted North Korea after the latter reportedly detonated a nuclear weapon Tuesday with tremors being felt by border towns in the mainland following the blast

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An irate China has summoned the North Korean ambassador to explain reports that Pyongyang detonated an underground nuclear weapon on Tuesday in grave violation of the provisions of international law.



China, so far the closest ally of North Korea, lambasted the hermit kingdom over the nuclear blast and issued a strongly-worded statement rebuking its reckless actions.



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"We strongly urge the North Korean side to remain committed to its commitment of denuclearization and stop taking any actions that will make the situation worse," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.



In a press conference on Wednesday, Hua told reporters that North Korea's claim that it detonated a hydrogen bomb and not a nuclear weapon is yet to be confirmed.



She, however, said the detonation was felt in the border towns of China. Some schools in the region were forced to close due to successive tremors, which reports said were recorded at a magnitude of 5.1, she added.



Hua said China was not informed of such a test by North Korea despite the seismic impact felt by the Chinese people after the nuclear blast. The blast reportedly caused panic among residents in the border region.



China has been the closest ally of North Korea over the years, but since Kim Jong Un assumed power, the bilateral relations between the two nations has deteriorated significantly.



Political analysts say China's decision to publicly rebuke North Korea over the detonation would further strain their bilateral relations and both countries will likely continue to fall out with one another.



If the status quo persists, experts say North Korea's economy stands to suffer as it will get out of the good graces of Beijing.



A weakened economy in North Korea could result in nationwide famine and more atrocities being committed.



Over the years, China has been extending humanitarian aid to the people of North Korea as well as economic assistance in the form of loans and goods to improve their living conditions.



China has been sending food aid to the North Korean population over the years even before Kim Jong Un came into power.



Hungry North Koreans have been committing atrocities to feed themselves with soldiers ransacking Chinese border towns and even killing residents. Meanwhile, Japan has recently been swamped this year with ships full of dead bodies believed to be those of North Korean fishermen who perished while fishing in the open ocean.



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TagsChinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying, North Korea, nuclear weapon
A Chinese farmer holds newly picked ears of corn.

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Environmental group Greenpeace on Wednesday said that in China's northeast farmers are unlawfully planting and growing genetically modified corn.



Beijing, China's capital city, has resorted to grow genetically modified crops with the hopes of solving one of the country's major issues - food supply. Although Beijing's authorities have spent a huge amount of money in developing GM crops, their commercial cultivation has not been approved yet.



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Greenpeace's announcement about the illegal GM crops in China may likely trigger more doubts about the government's ability to guarantee safe food supply. These findings prove that extensive contamination of GM to the food chain is possible.



Greenpeace shared that 93% of the samples gathered last year from various corn fields in five regions of Liaoning province tested positive for being genetically modified. Even crops from grain markets and supermarkets also tested positive for being GM.



According to Greenpeace, how the GM corn seedds got into the marketplace is still unknown. There are speculations that GM plants are been illegally sold to farmers for commercial use. Greenpeace has suggested that the authorities carry out an annual inspections of crops in north China and ensure firmer supervision of GM crop cultivation and research.



China's agricultural ministry has not yet given any response to the report. The ministry has said that the regulations are already changing to enhance management of biotech products that are being developed.



The situation may be beneficial to Beijing in the sense that authorities would be more cautious in pursuing the commercialization of GM crops. Moreover, supporters of biotech products believe that commercialization would ensure farmers' do not choose unapproved crop varieties.



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Tagsagriculture, crop, genetically modified, corn
070116 MISSING BOAT CONFIRMED

By Aloysius Laukai



The Director of the Bougainville Disaster and Emergency Services, FRANKLYN LACEY today confirmed that one boat is still missing since the 31st of December, 2015.



The boat owned by RABANZ Guest House was travelling to Nissan from Buka with eight adults on board when it failed to arrive at its destination.



Director, LACEY said that the skipper never reported to the Operation centre and that the missing boat was only reported on the 4th of January, 2016 five days later.



He said that all maritime districts have been alerted ever since the matter was reported and including maritime provinces in PNG and the Solomon islands.



MR. LACEY said that as of today there has not been any sighting of the missing boat.



He said that he has reported this to the National Disaster and Emergency office to assist in searching for the missing boat.



Ends


The unknown can be frightening for anyone, no matter the stage or season. Anytime we step outside our comfort zone and try something new, we may hear that little voice of doubt inside that says, "Can I really do this?" How loud and clear that voice is depends on one's mindset.
Reverend Ronnie Park credits his deep love for the Korean immigrant church to the positive models that he found in older Korean pastors throughout his professional and personal life. Park is the lead pastor of the English congregation at Good Stewards Church.

Parks ties with first generation Korean pastors begin within his own family. His grandfather, Reverend Young Chang Park, and his father, Reverend Young Nam Park, are both pastors, and fall under the first generation category in the sense that both of them were born in Korea and immigrated to the U.S. His grandfather in particular was a renowned pastor within the Korean community, as he was active in the Korean independence movement during the Japanese colonial rule in Korea.

My grandfather is my greatest hero, Park said.

He instilled in me the value of being Korean, and what it means to be a minister  When he found out that I wanted to go into ministry, he went all out, telling me, You have to do this, do that, dress this way, etc., Park recalled.

From an outsiders perspective, some of his grandfathers demands may have seemed harsh, but Park said he appreciated all of it.

Hes 100 years old. He can tell me anything he wants to and I should listen to him, he explained. I tried to take in everything he told me in a way that would benefit me, because number one, hes my hero, number two, hes 100 years old, and number three, he loves me and wants the best for me.

Even outside of his family, Park had only good things to say about the older Korean pastors that he has worked with during his career. Park started out as an intern youth pastor at Oriental Mission Church, during which time he served under Reverend Joshua Choon Min Kang, who was the senior pastor at the time. Kang spoke to Park in English, raised support for Parks education, and invited Park to his home for meals.

He was the senior pastor of one of the biggest churches at the time, and here he was speaking to an intern pastor in English and clearing my plate, said Park. He was my first example of a senior pastor and I thought this was normal.

Park also spoke highly of the founding and current senior pastors of Good Stewards Church. Reverend Timothy Kwang Il Song, the founding pastor, Park described as being so humble, so personable,  a servant, and one of those men you want to be like. And Park described Reverend Byung Joo Song, the current senior pastor, as one with a different level of ministry drive and as a gifted vision caster and leader. With both pastors, Park has had ample communication. The founding pastor spoke to Park in English and even held pastoral staff meetings in English. And the current pastor also tries to speak to Park in English, while Park tries to speak to him in Korean.

But his experiences in pastoring werent all a bed of roses, as Park put it. He also had his seasons of difficulties  yet, he says, his difficulties werent specific to an immigrant church context.

When Park took on the role as the lead EM pastor at Good Stewards eight and a half years ago, he was actually tasked with beginning a ministry from the ground up. Previously, Good Stewards had had a relationship with Good News Chapel  a previous EM in Good Stewards that became an independent church. The two churches had shared the same campus, and Good News Chapel became the next ministry destination for the youth students at Good Stewards after graduating from high school. But when Good News Chapel decided to become completely independent, Good Stewards suddenly became in need of an English ministry and an EM pastor.

And as the only full-time education pastor at the time, Park was asked to take on the role. Up until that point, Park had served as a youth pastor and then as the education pastor at Good Stewards.

Taking on a lead pastoral role challenged him to open up to the congregation and to minister on a much deeper level than he was used to, Park explained. And that deeper level of intimacy also put him at greater risk of getting hurt.

When youre starting something new like this, and one, two, three people start leaving, its a big deal, he said, because you have all these high hopes.

Park described this season as simply a part of being a pastor, regardless of what kind of context he may have been.

Thats just a part of ministry, Park said. If you want to be a minister, you need to be ready to get hurt. Thats not just a thing about the immigrant church. Being hurt is a part of being a minister. The hurts have nothing to do with it being a first generation and second generation issue.

This is a point that Park emphasizes  that he hopes Korean American pastors would be able to differentiate their difficulties in the church from the cultural versus the individual. He said he tries to tell people around him his stories of positive experiences with older pastors in the Korean immigrant church to show that there are indeed individuals in the cultural context of the first generation who serve as positive role models for younger pastors.

There are people out there who have legitimately been hurt and wronged by older pastors, Park elaborated. But they have to ask whether the wrongdoing was a result of the culture or because he or she simply had a bad boss, Park said.

We cant generalize what our experience was like with one person to an entire group of people, he added.

I think when you go into something with preconceived notions, its easy to see it in a bad way. You can think of the hierarchical nature of an immigrant church, or being asked to go to dawn prayer, in a bad way. But for me, its like, of course church is hierarchical  even non-Korean churches are hierarchical. And you can see dawn prayer as a legalistic thing, or you can see it as a sign of how devoted the older generation is to prayer. Theyre praying in a way that the whole world is acknowledging, explained Park. He added that he admires the get-it-done attitude of the older generation  an attitude that they will do whatever they feel convicted about, no matter how impossible or costly it seems.

Theyre going to get it done, period. Theyre going to build the church building, period, he elaborated. Theyre going to go to Mexico, even if they dont know Spanish  they will do it. Theyre going to do homeless outreach ministry even if they dont know English. Its not practical, per se, but theyre going to do it. Theyre willing to make the sacrifice because they believe its honoring to God.

There are so many things that the immigrant church has to offer that I hope our generation is not missing out on because of being jaded, he continued. Theres a rich spiritual heritage that we have in the Korean immigrant church.
For the first time, a Korean Christian documentary film about homosexuality has been produced and released late last year: I Am No Longer Gay.

Suffice to say, the film has been garnering much attention from the Korean public all over the world. But the director, Brian Kim, chose to have the films first ever screening not in South Korea, where most of the research and interviewing was completed, but in America. After the first screening in a Los Angeles church on December 8, two more screenings took place in the Orange County area, and two screenings also took place on the East Coast thereafter, in New York and New Jersey. Subtitles in English were also provided to give access to English-speaking Korean Americans and non-Korean audiences.

As the U.S. recently legalized same-sex marriage nationally, Kim said he felt a significance in screening the film in the U.S. first.

We wanted to share Gods message here first, Kim said. We believe that there will be a spiritual breakthrough starting from here.

However, Kim said the goal of the film is not to make those who have same-sex attraction feel outcasted or hated.

Instead, Kim said the film was produced with three main goals: to share facts about homosexuality that even those who are homosexual may not be informed of; to spread awareness that there are many in the church who know and love Jesus but also have same-sex attractions; and to ask the church, How will we embrace those who identify as LGBT?

One of the facts that Kim emphasized in particular is the relationship that homosexuality has with AIDS. According to Dr. Ansub Yeom, the director of a convalescent hospital specializing in AIDS patients in Seoul, 100 percent of the over 100 patients who have been in his hospital responded that their disease was caught due to sexual relations with another man.

The film also cites studies that show strong correlations with homosexual intercourse and greater likelihoods of being infected with HIV. The studies, Kim said, have been banned by the South Korean government from being publicized in the media.

Highlighting the AIDS issue is not to propagate a homophobia, Kim argued, but to ensure that youths and young people dont engage in unsafe sexual relationships due to misinformation or a lack of information.

They have a right to know these facts. Media and mainstream society distort or omit certain facts to depict it in a certain way, he said.

Numerous ex-gay individuals who are active in the church also share their stories of how they felt when their sexual curiosities led from one thing to another, to the point that they felt they had gone too far and couldnt come back.

It was this feeling of having reached a point of no return of sorts that caused them to seek after homosexual relationships even more, they say.

How should leaders of the church respond to such members? One female pastor who was interviewed for the film had a strong word of advice.

If you say, If you really love Jesus, you wouldnt do that anymore, you are essentially killing them twice over, she says. These are individuals who really do love Jesus.

During opening comments at the screening in Los Angeles, Director Kim compared the struggle that gay Christians may be facing to the struggle many face with pornography, and described it as a sinful addiction.

They want to stop, but their bodies remember it and crave it, so they do it again, and they regret it. Its an addiction, Kim said. We as the church simply have to wait alongside them.

Yet another aspect of homosexuality that Kim didnt mention specifically as a goal of the film, but was inevitably discussed, was the question of whether homosexuality is innate or a choice. The very focus of the film  highlighting those who were once homosexual but are no longer  makes the assumption that homosexuality is a choice.

Ex-gays, current gays, those in the church and outside of it share their opinions on the issue. Most whose interviews are shown in the film say they believe its a choice.

If it was innate, I should still want that lifestyle. But now, at age 40, I dont want it anymore, shares a Christian woman who was once lesbian.

I dont think being gay innate, says a gay man who was interviewed at a bar, and whose identity was made hidden. Saying its innate is not taking responsibility for it ... If it really is love, wouldnt God have allowed some way to bear the fruit of that love?

I Am No Longer Gay was completed over a period of one year and 10 months, and with an investment of some $200,000.

RTMedia, the production company behind the film, has been raising funds online (http://go.MissionFund.org/exgay) to host more free screenings at churches, schools, military bases, and other locations, and to provide subtitles in 10 different languages.

I cant say I know everything about homosexuality, Kim said. But there is one thing I do know, and that is this: if we stay by their side, they will come back.
I first met the late Ed Dobson when he was a columnist for Fundamentalist Journal, a publication published by Jerry Falwell. I was raised not far removed on the theological spectrum from fundamentalists, so I read each issue of the publication with great interestand a tinge of fear. Would they represent the fundamentals in a positive or a cringe-worthy manner?

I came to depend on Ed Dobson's column as one place you could always find clear biblical convictionsas you would expect from one of the architects of the Moral Majoritybut articulated with great compassion. To Ed, people weren't just souls to be won (and tallied for their PR value), or voters to be recruited, but individuals to be loved as Christ loved.

When Ed became pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it wasn't long before I was tapping him for Leadership Journal (LJ).

I was impressed that some of his first contacts in Grand Rapids were with local leaders of Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women. This certainly wasn't in any pastors manual at the time. But because Dobson took Jesus's words so seriously, he was determined to seek out such leaders to determine how he could be a good neighbor and "love his neighbor as himself." He sought ways to find common cause even with those he disagreed with politically and theologically.

The exchange below comes from a 1993 LJ interview, when I asked Dobson about his efforts to, in good conscience, find common cause with the gay and lesbian community. Editor, Leadership Journal, Marshall Shelley

Dobson: One way our church has attempted to love homosexuals is by extending love to those who have AIDS. I began by calling the national ...

1
Free Speech Double Standard: Rutherford Institute Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Declare Unconstitutional Its Own Ban on Expressive Activity on Plaza

Contact: Nisha Whitehead, Rutherford Institute, 434-978-3888 ext. 604, nisha@rutherford.org



WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare its own ban on expressive First Amendment activity on the Supreme Court plaza unconstitutional. In asking the Court to hear the case of Hodge v. Talkin, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia's decision to uphold a 60-year-old federal statute criminalizing expressive First Amendment activity on the Supreme Court plaza conflicts with the high court's own rulings regarding expressive activity in public elsewhere.



For example, in 1972, the Supreme Court struck down limits on similar protests on the Capitol grounds, located across the street from the Court's plaza. The Court of Appeals ruling was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Rutherford Institute attorneys on behalf of activist Harold Hodge, who was arrested while standing silently in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on a snowy day wearing a sign voicing his concerns about the government's disparate treatment of African-Americans and Hispanics.



The Rutherford Institute's petition for a writ of certiorari in Hodge v. Talkin is available at www.rutherford.org. Affiliate attorney Jeffrey Light is assisting The Rutherford Institute in defending Hodge.

"This is definitely a first: asking the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional their own statute limiting expressive activity," said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. "It's our hope that the Supreme Court will reconcile the inconsistencies inherent in this First Amendment ban on what is essentially their front porch and reinforce their historic commitment to free speech activities in public places."

On January 28, 2011, Harold Hodge quietly and peacefully stood in the plaza area near the steps leading to the United States Supreme Court Building, wearing a 3' X 2' sign around his neck that proclaimed: "The U.S. Gov. Allows Police To Illegally Murder And Brutalize African Americans And Hispanic People." The plaza is a place where the public is allowed to gather and converse, and is in all relevant respects like a public square or park where citizens have traditionally met to express their views on matters of public interest. However, Hodge was handcuffed, placed under arrest, and then transported to U.S. Capitol Police Headquarters for violating 40 U.S.C.  6135, which broadly makes it unlawful to display any flag, banner, or device designed to bring into public notice a party, organization, or movement while on the grounds of the U.S. Supreme Court, thereby banning expressive activity on the Supreme Court plaza. Rutherford Institute attorneys subsequently filed a lawsuit challenging  6135, and in June 2013 a district court judge struck down the law finding the ban to be "repugnant" to the Constitution, "unreasonable, substantially overbroad, and irreconcilable with the First Amendment," not to mention "plainly unconstitutional on its face." In response, the government not only appealed that ruling, but the marshal for the Supreme Courtwith the approval of Chief Justice John Robertsissued even more strident regulations outlawing expressive activity on the grounds of the high court, including the plaza. Rutherford Institute attorneys have since filed a related lawsuit challenging the Supreme Court's more strident regulations.
UNC excavation crew in Galilee region of Israel uncover first known depictions of biblical heroines An excavation team in Israel has discovered the first known depiction of two biblical heroines from the Old Testament.

World to reach 8 billion people in November, India to unseat China as most populous in 2023: UN By Nov. 15, the worlds population is projected to reach 8 billion, and by 2023, India is projected to surpass China as the worlds most populous country, according to a new report from the United Nations.

Single, non-religious young adults are most unhappy Americans post-COVID-19: report Young adults under 35 who are single and non-religious report the highest levels of unhappiness since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since 1972, when the General Social Survey began measuring levels of happiness among Americans, a new analysis from the Institute of Family Studies suggests.
Bishops protest death penalty ahead of serial killer's execution

Florida's Catholic bishops have urged the governor to end the death penalty ahead of the execution of serial killer Oscar Ray Bolin, scheduled to take place today.

Pointing to Govenor Rick Scott's support for many pro-life causes, the executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Michael Sheedy, urged him to "recognize that the life of each person has dignity and should be respected, even those who have done great harm."

Writing on behalf of Florida's Catholic bishops on 5 January, Sheedy said: "Our society is increasingly aware of the flaws in the application of the death penalty, which is inconsitent and too often applied in error."

"Florida was one in only six states to carry out executions last year, and continues to lead the nations in the number of death row exonerations," he added.

Catholics across Florida are planning to gather today to pray for Bolin, his victims and their families and for an end to capital punishment.

Bolin is scheduled to be put to death at 6pm this evening for the murder of Teri Lynn Mathews in December 1986.

He has also been convicted of the murder of two other young women, Stephanie Collins and Natalie Holley, in the same year.

In an interview with Fox 13 News yesterday, Bolin denied that he was guilty.

"I did not murder these women," Bolin said. "My conscience is clear. Florida's just killing me. [The families] are not getting any peace by executing me tomorrow."

Matthews' mother, Kathleen Reeves, said Bolin's execution will bring a sense of closure, however.

"It's been so long. The pain doesn't change," she said. "It's just time for it. It's due. It's past due."
1 COUNTRY STORE: Get ready to shop til you drop. Grace Community Church presents its 75th annual Country Store rummage sale at the church, 1150 Wyoming St. Divided by departments, the sale, scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, will feature furniture, electronics, clothing, shoes, jewelry, holiday and home decor, hardware, appliances and more. It also features baked goods and chili made by church members.
Catholic Church protests easing of abortion laws in Northern Ireland

The Catholic Church in Northern Ireland is calling for an appeal against a November legal ruling in Belfast's highest court that will allow abortions in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality.

The Church claims there are grounds for a "fundamental challenge" and is seeking to persuade the attorney general to appeal against the landmark ruling.

The Presbyterian Church has said it also does not support the easing of the law, claiming it was "content" with the current law allowing abortion when the mother's life or her mental stability was at risk.

The secretary of the Catholic Council for Social Affairs, Tim Bartlett, has said the Catholic Church rejects the easing of the law for a number of reasons.

"The most obvious" one to reject, he said, was "the claim by the judge that there is no life to be protected in cases of so-called fatal foetal abnormality". He added that the Church preferred the term "life-limiting condition".

"In the Church, we work with women whose babies have life-limiting conditions, and these children can live for minutes, hours, days, weeks and in some cases years. The child is still technically, clinically and in every sense alive as a human person, and is entitled to have their life protected," he said.

He reiterated the Church's position that "the right to life of an innocent is always inviolable" and that "that right begins from the moment of conception, and science affirms that".

This right "is a fundamental moral principle on which society and human rights should stand", he added.

While admitting that rape was "the most heinous of crimes", he said the Church also rejected the right of a raped woman to an abortion, as "the answer is not to take the life of an innocent third party. The challenge is to give that person every possible support and care."

The Presbyterian Church agrees with the Catholic position on fatal foetal abnormality and cases of incest and rape, according to Norman Hamilton, a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church. However, unlike the Catholic position, the Presbyterian church holds that "where the mother's life is in serious danger, or if there is substantial risk to mental health, then the law allows abortion and we are content with that".

Admitting the declining political weight of the church in Northern Ireland, and claiming he had "no difficulty in the church being something of a minority voice in society", he said the abortion debate is larger than religion.

"This issue goes beyond faith. The right to life is a shared human value, not a uniquely religious value."
Donations to Christian Aid fall: Charities face 'perfect storm'

In what may be a sign of troubled times ahead for charities, Christian Aid's income fell by four per cent last year.

Analysed by Third Sector magazine, its latest accounts show that the annual Christian Aid Week fundraising appeal, supported by thousands of churches around the country, raised less than previous years, falling by 600,000 to 11.1 million. Overall, donations income was down by four per cent.

The greatest fall, however, was in the amount received from institutional contracts in which Christian Aid receives funding to carry out particular pieces of aid work; this fell by 13 per cent. The charity's total income was 99.9m in the year to 31 March 2015, compared with 103.6m in the previous year.

At 15 million, the charity's reserves also showed a shortfall of 5 million against its target of 20.3 million. There is also a relatively small deficit of 5.9m on its final-salary pension scheme.

However, despite the below-par returns from Christian Aid Week, the charity's Christmas appeal exceeded expectations. It raised 3.6m in 2014, 2.1m more than the previous year.

In the charity's annual report, chief executive Loretta Minghella says: "Despite the record-breaking success of the Christmas appeal, the enormous generosity of our supporters and our continuing track record in securing and successfully completing large-scale government-funded contracts, our income was less than we had planned for, particularly from Christian Aid Week.

"We are beginning to implement new approaches now, as we learn from the success of our Christmas appeal, and with a focus on better use of digital communications."

The chief executive of another Christian charity, Embrace the Middle East, has warned that UK charities face "an almost perfect storm" in 2016.

Jeremy Moodey wrote in a blog post of the increasing calls on charities' help because of the scaling back of welfare support in the UK and war and refugee crises abroad. "Charities are needed more than ever. Yet on the other hand the environment in which they have to work is becoming increasingly difficult," he said.

Referring to a recent survey showing a decreasing level of public trust in charities, he said: "Their credibility with donors has sunk to unprecedented levels, their executives have become the new 'fat cats', and their ability to raise funds is likely to be severely constrained by government regulation."

Moodey says that the latter issue is likely to prove the most serious. He is particularly critical of the government's proposal to introduce a Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) which could enable people to opt out of all charity fundraising communications, whether by telephone or mail. "This could devastate the UK non-profit sector," he said, and would particularly impact smaller charities. "The risk is that the bigger charities with more aggressive fundraising strategies will continue to over-mail potential supporters who will then in desperation sign up for the FPS and thus inadvertently prevent smaller and less aggressive charities, including those they currently support, from ever contacting them."

Moodey concludes: "Yes, some charities (particularly the bigger ones) need to raise their game. But the longer-term consequences of the government's actions for civil society organisations in this country, including faith-based charities such as Embrace, could be catastrophic."
Larycia Hawkins hits back at Wheaton for firing her

Larycia Hawkins, the Wheaton College professor who is facing termination because of her Facebook comment that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, has said that she is "flummoxed and flabbergasted" by the college's actions.

Speaking at a news conference at First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple on Wednesday at which she was surrounded by around a dozen Wheaton faculty, alumni and students and dozens of other religious leaders, she suggested that the college's response to her post might have been influenced by "uniformed donors" who had put pressure on it.

According to the Chicago Tribune, she warned of the danger of such behaviour for the future of Christian liberal arts education.

"I teach at a university that exudes a zeal not only for knowledge and for experience of Jesus but also for experience of the word  freedom of thought, freedom of action within the confines of our commitment to live charitably and righteously as Christians," she said. "While Wheaton College can signify that employees sign a statement of faith and adhere to it  and I do  they did not give me Jesus, and they can't take him away from me."

She said academic freedom and higher education had been put in danger by Wheaton's actions and that academic staff should be aware that any of their communications could be used against them.

"When calling on one member to, over and above every other member of the campus community, answer for a Facebook post that was actually committed to living out the love of Christ and the principles of the statement of faith, no one's safe," she said. "If they're not safe on their Facebook page, they're not safe in the classroom. And that's the end of liberal arts. That's the end of Christian liberal arts. That's the end of the academy."

Hawkins was told on Monday that the process to terminate her employment had begun. Among the reasons Wheaton gave, Hawkins said, were "her unqualified assertion of religious solidarity with Muslims and Jews" as well as statements that Muslims and Christians come from the same clay, and that Muslims and Christians are people of the book and worship the same God.
Pope set to honour victims of worst anti-Christian violence in India

One of the most savage acts of anti-Christian violence could soon be marked by Pope Francis. The Pontiff has been asked to recognise 100 of the victims of persecution in India as saints.

The horrific violence took place in 2008 in Orissa state, which like many in India is overwhelmingly Hindu. Extremist Hindus went on a series of murderous rampages eight years ago.

Churches were attacked and Pentecostal, Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians all became victims.

Now, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay and the most senior Catholic leader in the country, says he will ask the Pope to mark some of the victims as saints.

The process may take some time but is sure to raise the profile of the attacks, which were of a shocking ferocity and included gang rape, acid burning and assaults with clubs and axes.

More than 50,000 Christians were displaced from their homes during the violence and had to live in makeshift camps. Nearly 400 churches were attacked during the persecution, which began after a Hindu leader was assassinated.

Christians were blamed for his death but it is thought the killing was actually carried out by communist rebels.

The current situation is better than it was, but Christian Solidarity Worldwide says there are still parts of India where Christians remain under threat. A spokesperson said, "It's very worrying. There has been targeted violence against Christians and Christian institutions."

The India specialist goes on, "Christians in rural villages have been forcibly converted to Hinduism, churches have been vandalised or demolished, missionaries have been detained and beaten, and an elderly nun was gang-raped. Christians in India continue to live in bleak uncertainty of their future as Indian citizens."
Sex education curriculum changes in U.S. schools 'rape children of their innocence,' parent says

Officials of a public school district in the U.S. state of Nebraska met with parents on Monday night to discuss the proposed changes in the sexual education curriculum in the district's schools, which has stayed the same for 30 years.

The Omaha Public Schools (OPS) board held a public meeting with parents on Monday night, KETV reported

Many parents are opposing the proposed changes in Omaha Public Schools (OPS), which would add information about LGBT, STDs, HIV/AIDS, abstinence and contraception, according to OPS Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Dr. ReNae Kehrberg.

Maris Bentley of the Save Nebraska Children said, "When you look at the history of comprehensive sex education, it comes straight out of a mentality of sexual freedom."

The organisation's paid ads were displayed on a mobile digital billboard before Monday's meeting.

She said as a former teacher and school counsellor in central Nebraska, she is concerned about how children are really taking in what's being taught.

"It's not appropriate for children and it's really ideologically driven," she said.

One parent said, "Yes we need to give children an education. But the curriculum you have, the standards you have, gives children too much information. It rapes children of their innocence."

Another parent said providing students the information is like giving them alcoholism.

"Just because kids want to drink, do you give them a bottle of alcohol to help with alcoholism? You all need to stop with all this hidden agenda stuff," she said.

In a video, according to Raw Story, one woman is caught screaming, "It's my daughter! My daughter! Who's going to keep her pure? Nobody! I am! Not OPS! Not OPS!"

Kehrberg said abstinence will always be the backbone of sex education for the district, adding that classes will continue to include education on protection, sexual harassment and abuse, and it's up to the board to include abortion and emergency contraception.

"Not every parent is going to know what to talk about, so it's up to the school district to make sure that if a parent doesn't feel safe enough to educate their kid about sex ed, they have an opportunity to opt their kid into this subject or opt their kid out," OPS board member Marque Snow said.

OPS is proposing the addition of topics such as gender identity, biological sex and sexual orientation as well as reproductive prevention such as condoms, birth control and abortion.

The school board will have a final say on the matter but stressed that the new curriculum will not include Planned Parenthood.

It added that the new curriculum will be published on the district website for parents to see. The board will have a final vote on Jan. 20 and changes will be implemented in the fall.
Syrian town is starving to death under loyalist siege

Residents of a loyalist-held Syrian town about 30 miles from Damascus are starving to death, according to a Guardian report.

Up to 30,000 people have been held in the town of Madaya since July by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The residents are starving; so far, only one aid delivery has been allowed into the area, and that was in October.

Families are surviving by killing their pets, stripping leaves off trees and eating petals from flowers. The price of rice has soared on the black market to as much as 170 per kilogram.

"People are dying in slow motion," Louay, a social worker from the town, told the Guardian. "We had some flowers growing in pots at home. Yesterday, we picked the petals and ate them, but they were bitter, awful."

"We used to say nobody could ever die from hunger, but we have seen people actually die of hunger", he added. Louay shared photos of the bodies of several elderly men who were recent casualties to starvation.

"Whether you are a man, woman, child, whether you're 70 or 20 years old, you will have lost about 15kg of your weight," said Ebrahem Abbass, who was formerly a sergeant in the Syrian army but defected. "You don't see a child whose eyes aren't sunken and staring from hunger."

Another activist shared a picture of a boy sat in a pushchair that was far too small for him because he was too weak to walk.

The town is being starved of food, medicine and electricity, forcing children well enough to risk their lives by going to the minefields on the edge of town to collect plants to eat.

Madaya and neigbouring Zabadani  once a stronghold for the opposition  are being held by Assad's forces in retaliation to the suffering of two villages under anti-government forces. Last Spring a coalition of rebel forces called Jaysh al-Fateh captured a large area of north-western Syria from Assad and besieged two Shia areas called Fua and Kefraya.

Foreign forces are seeking to arrange a population swap of the two areas under ceasefire, however only the wounded have been evacuated so far.

An aid official who visited Madaya in October last year described the deep suffering he witnessed at the time, now intensified both by time and the bitter cold that winter has brought.

"Here, we no longer call on anyone," Louay told the Guardian. "We have called for help so many times and nobody has heard us. But we want to ask the officials and decision-makers out there, if you were in this position, and your children were dying from hunger in front of you, what would be your reaction to the world outside that let you down? Don't forget to ask your readers this question."
The Holy Bible is right: International study shows water came from beneath the Earth

We all know this fact: water sustains life on Earth. It is necessary for the survival of plants, animals and human beings on the planet.

There is, however, a persistent question about this vital element: where did water come from? Did it originate from above, below or outside the Earth?

Affirming the Holy Bible's explanation on where water on Earth came from, an international team of scientists cited evidence that the precious liquid sprung from beneath our planet, not from the atmosphere or even asteroids as some other scientists earlier suggested.

The Holy Bible is clear about water on Earth coming from below the ground. The Story of Creation told in the Old Testament's Book of Genesis tells of how God initially created Earth as a water-covered sphere, and then separated the waters from the waters to create the sky or atmosphere.

In support of the Creation Story is the Bible's account of the Great Flood survived by Noah and his family, which describes how "the fountains of the great deep" broke open and covered the entire globe with water.

In a study published on the journal Nature, the scientists also concluded the underground origin of water.

"The ultimate origin of water in the Earth's hydrosphere is in the deep Earththe mantle," the scientists wrote in their report, as quoted by Christian News.

The researchers reached this conclusion after carefully studying diamonds discovered in Brazil, which are believed to have originated from deep inside the mantlethe region of the Earth's interior between the crust that we see, and the innermost core.

"The presence of hydrous ringwoodite in a diamond from transition-zone depths supports the view that high fluid activity, notably that of water, has a key role in the genesis of ultradeep diamonds," the scientists explained in their nine-page report.

They also suggested the existence of a "major repository for water" located at the layer of the Earth's mantle about 250 to 410 miles below the surface.

The research team's leader, Canadian geochemist Graham Pearson, said there could indeed be an abundant supply of water in the Earth's mantle.

"It's actually the confirmation that there is a very, very large amount of water that's trapped in a really distinct layer in the deep Earth," Pearson said, according to Live Science.

"It translates into a very, very large mass of water, approaching the sort of mass of water that's present in all the world's ocean," he added.
We will rebuild your torched churches, Egypt president tells Christians

The president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has pledged to rebuild every single one of the dozens of churches, Christian institutions and homes destroyed during the last two years of anti-Christian violence in his troubled nation.

President al-Sisi, a Muslim who has spoken in the past of the need to "revolutionise" Islam, was addressing Christians during a Coptic Christmas Eve mass yesterday at St Mark's Cathedral in Abbassiya. Mass was celebrated by the head of the church, Pope Tawadros II. Orthodox churches, which follow the traditional Julian calendar, mark Christmas two weeks later than the Western Christian churches which follow the Gregorian calendar.

Extremist Islamic groups are still influential in Egypt in spite of the defeat of the the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. Shortly after former President Morsi was ousted, there was an increase in violence against Coptic Christians and at least 65 churches, Christian bookshops, schools and convents were burned down, looted or destroyed, according to Open Doors.

President al-Sisi, who last year became the first Egyptian President to attend a Christmas mass, greeted the Coptic Christian community and while emphasising the diversity of Egyptians, said that the way to overcome hardships was to remain united as a nation.

"On this occasion, I want to exhort you all, let no one come between us. Nothing can harm us, not our economic conditions or political conditions. Unless we diverge, we can overcome anything."

He continued: "God Has created us different, in religion, manner, colour, language, habit, tradition, and no one can make us the all same."

He admitted the government should have acted sooner to help the Christians.

"We have taken too long to fix and renovate churches that were burned. This year everything will be fixed. Please accept our apologies for what happened. God willing, by next year there won't be a single church or house that is not restored.

"We will never forget the stance you and the Pope took during this period...thank you all. Merry Christmas."
Why are people in rich countries less religious?

Reuters

It's often been said that the Gospel should, "Disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." It sounds great in theory  Jesus offers relief and joy to those who have been downtrodden, while making sure that those in power and authority realise they need to be humble.

This old aphorism was brought to mind by a piece on the Telegraph website this week. In the article, entitled 'This graph shows how strongly people around the world feel about religion' we were told that, "Only 21 per cent of people in the UK said religion was very important in their lives."

This lack of importance attached to religious faith is mirrored in other industrialised countries like South Korea, Germany and Australia. We here in the UK are also in the company of countries like Russia and China which oppressed religious affiliation for generations. In the US, the figure for people saying religion is very important is higher at 53 per cent. But that is still much lower than in many other nations around the world. Countries like Ethiopia, Pakistan and the Philippines have populations for whom well over 80 per cent see religion as important in their lives.

The Telegraph doesn't offer us any convincing analysis of why this might be. "Many feel Britain is becoming a less religious country," the article says. Well, knock me down with a feather. But even a casual examination reveals an interesting, if not cast iron, conclusion. Countries which are poorer and less developed tend to be much higher up the table of those who affix high importance to religious faith, whereas those at the bottom of the table are mostly prosperous and more industrialised.

Should we be surprised when we look at these data? I reckon not. If the Gospel is supposed to comfort the disturbed, then wouldn't we find a greater reliance on faith in places where life is, in economic and social terms, harder? I suspect we would. What about disturbing the comfortable? Well, that's not quite as attractive a proposition...

Of course the survey only deals with 'religion' rather than Christianity. So we're lumping in the Abrahamic faiths, as well as other world religions, local folk religions, ancestor worship and so forth.

Pew

However, this doesn't necessarily invalidate the idea that we should expect those who are materially poorer to be more devout. While richer countries have more access to material goods, which make people feel more satisfied, it appears that people find more 'meaning' in religious faith.

In an Atlantic article looking at some psychological research on this phenomenon, the author said, "The researchers found that this factor of religiosity mediated the relationship between a country's wealth and the perceived meaning in its citizen's lives... it was the presence of religion that largely accounted for the gap between money and meaning."

In other words, there may be something psychologically significant about a belief in the transcendent which offers more meaning to people than wealth  in spite of the good things wealth can provide.

Anyone who has travelled outside of the Western world and worshipped with Christians can probably attest to the depth of faith they've experienced. In my own brief trips to parts of Africa and Asia, I have certainly found a strength of devotion that is much rarer here.

Even so this isn't restricted to other parts of the world. Here in the West, there are areas which have seen religious devotion that outstrips the rest of the country.

Think about the Welsh revival of the early 20th Century which took place primarily among the working class coal miners of the valleys. Think about the passionate religiosity of the Civil Rights Movement across the poorer parts of The South of the United States.

Obviously, just because a country has a large number of people who attach an importance to their religious faith isn't in itself a good thing. I have no doubt that if this survey was conducted in territory currently controlled by ISIS, many people would answer that, yes, religion is very important in their lives. The motivation of ISIS fighters isn't simple. But those who suggest ISIS has no basis in Islam are surely burying their heads in the sand.

In the same way, Christians would be foolish if we failed to acknowledge that the horrors perpetrated by the Inquisitors, the Crusaders and the Conquistadors were nothing to do with Christianity. Had you asked the men responsibly for these calamitous schemes how seriously they took their religion, they'd have told you that they took it very seriously indeed. One of my favourite places in the world is a beautiful spot just north of Jerusalem. Nabi Samwil - the Tomb of the Prophet Samuel - is the highest point in the Jerusalem area. When the Crusaders reached this point and they first saw the Holy City, they are said to have wept. They did this before slaughtering many, many thousands in the city itself.

So, what can we learn from these figures overall? I suspect there's a different lesson depending on where we sit on the faith spectrum.

We are one of the richest countries in the world, yet English children are some of the unhappiest in the world. Atheist progressives should realise that a society which doesn't as a whole take religion very seriously isn't necessarily a better society.

On the other hand we Christians should be wary too. Many of us are hopeful that we can see a turnaround in the decline of the Church in the West. But are we willing to have our comfort disturbed in the process? Becasue there's a chance that's what may follow.
This site is kept by Boyce Richardson, journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker, of a leftist persuasion. Established 1996
Yes ISIS is abhorrent. But here's why we can't just support Assad

In the last days of 2015, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report entitled If the Dead Could Speak. The result of a painstaking nine-month investigation into more than 28,000 photos smuggled out of Syria by a military defector, it documented evidence of widespread torture, starvation, and disease in Syrian government detention facilities.

You are warned, before looking at the gallery of photographs online, of distressing content. Bodies are emaciated; faces bruised and bloodied.

The process of verification was a grim one. Human Rights Watch interviewed family members who had spent months, or years, searching for news of their loved ones. They included Dahi al-Musalmani, who identified a picture of his nephew, Ahmad, a 14-year-old who disappeared after officers found an anti-Assad song on his phone.

Ahmad is one of more than 117,000 people arrested and detained in Syria since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, according to estimates by the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Human Rights Watch believes that the photographs represent a "fraction" of those who have died in custody and that the use of torture in Syria is "so widespread and systematic that they indicate a clear state policy, meaning they constitute crimes against humanity."

In the same month that this report was published, articles appeared in the Daily Telegraph urging the British Government to practise some realpolitik in its dealings with Syria.

"Let's deal with the Devil," wrote Boris Johnson. "We cannot afford to be picky about our allies."

In arguing in favour of airstrikes in Syria and working with Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, he explained that he didn't want the victims of ISIS on his conscience. Close to his heart, too, is Palmyra, the UNESCO world heritage site facing demolition at the hands of the militants.

"Am I backing the Assad regime, and the Russians, in their joint enterprise to recapture that amazing site?" he asked. "You bet I am."

Missing from Johnson's account was any explanation of how the "devil" Assad got his name. There was no mention, for example, of the fact that the regime is the biggest killing machine in Syria, responsible for far more civilian deaths than any other group. No reference to the oil drums packed with explosives and metal shards raining down on neighbourhoods, the "widespread violations of human rights" condemned by the UN Security Council, or, indeed, Assad's role in the growth of the very extremists the airstrikes are designed to eliminate.

 Those making the case for a pact with the Devil need to be clear about exactly who we are dealing with 

Johnson is right that Islamic State must be defeated, but those making the case for a pact with the Devil need to be clear about exactly who we are dealing with. In recent weeks, I have been taken aback by the extent of ignorance about the Assad's regime. Perhaps I should not be surprised. While Islamic State revels in disseminating evidence of its atrocities, the Syrian government is engaged in a campaign of denial and distortion. It has learned over the course of the past five years that it can ignore UN Security Council resolutions and bomb civilians with impunity. Witness Assad's amused response when asked by Jeremy Bowen last year about his use of the aforementioned barrel bombs

With Assad's accountability not even on the agenda at the current peace talks, we owe it to his victims to learn the truth about his actions and to echo their demands for justice, however long it takes to arrive. We can start by remembering the origins of the uprising in Syria. The protests first broke out in Daraa in response to the detention and torture of children accused of painting anti-government graffiti. When the parents of Hamza Khatib, a 13-year-old boy, collected his body they found it mutilated, and covered in bruises and cigarette burns. The demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful but the government responded to its people's demands for democracy, justice, and the rule of law, with shelling, arbitrary arrests, disappearances and systematic torture in detention. Human Rights Watch has interviewed families who saw their unarmed relatives mown down by government and pro-government forces. It has also gathered evidence of chemical attacks by government forces. A UN report into a massacre at Houla in 2012 found that Government forces were responsible for the killing of more than 100 people. Amnesty International reports that "all had been shot dead, except for a few children whose skulls had been smashed, presumably by rifle butts".

The regime's narrative that it is a bulwark against terrorism also requires scrutiny, for Assad is an arsonist posing as a fireman. In 2011 he released from prison jihadists who had fought in Iraq while retaining in detention those who had supported peaceful protests. He was then able to claim that the uprising was orchestrated by foreign-backed extremists and to present himself as the solution to the violence. This article explains this strategy, including how Assad left IS to construct its "caliphate", while focusing his attention on other elements of the opposition. Researchers from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation have explained here how his regime has "repeatedly and deliberately conspired in killing some of its most vulnerable citizens" and argued that any attempt to rehabilitate him in the eyes of the international community would be "morally bankrupt."

Where do Syrian Christians fit into this? How should we respond when we see pictures of smiling churchgoers attempting to take selfies with Assad just before Christmas? Or when a Syrian archbishop pleads with Britain to stop backing opposition to the President? Can we really expect Christians, a vulnerable minority in the Middle East, facing an existential threat from extremism, to speak out against a man who promises them protection and, occasionally, arrives as liberator?

There are good reasons why some Christians express nostalgia for the Syria they knew prior to the Arab Spring and why they fear what might follow the removal of President Assad. It is not that church leaders are blind to the moral ambiguity of their position, as this article explains. Nadim Nassar, a Syrian Anglican priest, offers a useful corrective to those who demand that Christians in the region back calls for regime change. Such rash action could result in a vacuum filled with violence.

But we also owe it to civil society activists, such as Bassel Shehadeh, killed during a government attack on Homs, to learn the truth about Assad's regime, to speak out, and to pray for justice as well as peace. It is easy to get the impression from media reports that Syria is devoid of light or hope. New Internationalist has done an excellent job of giving a voice to "Syria's Good Guys". I also recommend watching A Syrian Love Story, which follows two activists involved in the early days of the uprising.

"Many of the former detainees who were held in these nightmarish conditions told us they often wished they would die, rather than continue suffering," HRW's Nadim Houry said, at the launch of If the Dead Could Speak. "They begged countries involved in seeking a peace process to do everything they can to help the people still being held in Syria."

With peace talks now underway, let us call for justice and truth-telling and remember those who no longer have a voice.

Madeleine Davies is deputy news editor of the Church Times, writing in a personal capacity. Follow her on Twitter.
If you cant come up with a decent gift for your friends and family, please dont resort to a gift card. Nobody wants a gift card.

A Vox analysis of Google Trends showed the one item in each state that people wanted to return. The most common search: How to return gift cards. More specifically, iTunes gift cards.
January 6, 1923: On this day, the Houston Post ran an ad for Wamba Coffee, a brew that was "bound to satisfy, because it is a pure coffee, blended from selected beans". Another ad declared that only "the discriminating housewife serves Wamba Coffee." They even went so far as to write a letter to "Mrs. Housewife". But, those were different times.

A decade earlier, in 1913, if you were one of the first ten women to visit the Magnolia Coffee Company's booth at the Made-in-Houston Exhibit, you would've received a pound of Wamba coffee. Magnolia Coffee Company, which is not related to the Magnolia Brewery, was founded in Houston in 1909, and its Wamba brand of beans quickly became one of the most popular in all of Texas.
Fans of deceased radio DJ and Houston hip-hop champion Anthony Zin Mills have started a petition to change Dowling Street to Zin Way in his honor.

Mills was well-known to listeners of KPFT as one of Houstons biggest champions of hip-hop and socially conscious music. He was one the founders of Damage Control with Matt Sonzala. He also hosted SOS Radio and created ALL Real Radio, a 24-hour internet station. He was killed earlier this week in a car accident in Denver, where he lived part-time.
On Monday, the White House announced a slate of executive actions the president is taking to address gun violence in America.

Some people might say the measures "might not have stopped the last massacre or the one before that or the one before that, so why bother trying?" President Obama said Tuesday. "I reject that thinking. We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil. But maybe we can stop one act or violence, one act of evil."

Despite presenting them in relatively modest terms, Obama's directives  to reallocate resources, clarify rules and redouble existing efforts  could go a long way toward addressing issues that were at play in some of the high-profile mass shootings of the past decade, and a slew of other gun-related problems.

Of course, it's impossible to say whether any particular tragedy could or would have been prevented if Obama's rules had been in effect. But these examples do shed light on some of the loopholes in U.S. gun laws that Obama is seeking to fix.

1. The FBI will hire 230 additional personnel to process background checks, increasing its numbers in that arena by 50 percent. The agency is also partnering with the U.S. Digital Service to modernize its systems so it can process background checks 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why this matters: Two months before the 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, gunman Dylann Roof was arrested for possession of the drug Suboxone. That charge would have disqualified him from purchasing a gun if examiners from the FBI-run National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, had processed his application in time to catch it. Instead, the three-day waiting period imposed on firearms dealers in the U.S. expired without a decision, which meant that under federal law Roof was allowed to buy the .45-caliber Glock 41 he used to kill eight parishioners and the church's pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, during a Bible study session.

2. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will upgrade it systems and expand personnel, too. The ATF is budgeting $4 million to improve its ballistics database  to find links between crimes that take place in multiple jurisdictions  and will hire 200 new agents to enforce gun laws.

Obama also clarified the penalties dealers can face for violating those laws (for instance, for selling without a license or failing to conduct background checks): up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. And he clarified that the licensee shipping a gun is responsible for notifying law enforcement if the gun goes missing.

Why this matters: According to the White House, in the last half decade an average of 1,333 guns recovered in criminal investigations every year are traced back to a licensee who claimed he or she never received the gun, but who also failed to report the weapon lost or stolen.

3. On Monday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch directed 93 U.S. attorneys to focus their resources on prosecuting gun crimes, with special attention paid to cases concerning "violent offenders, illegal firearms traffickers, and dangerous individuals who bypass the background check system to acquire weapons illegally."

Why this matters: During the push for increased gun regulations after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, NRA president Wayne LaPierre told Congress that the U.S. didn't need new gun laws  it needed to use the ones it had. "Prosecuting criminals who misuse firearms works," LaPierre said. "Unfortunately, we've seen a dramatic collapse in federal gun prosecutions in recent years." To a certain extent, he was right: According to a 2013 Syracuse University study, gun prosecutions dropped under Obama's administration, compared to George W. Bush's.

4. Lynch also issued a letter to the states emphasizing the importance of reporting "complete criminal history records and criminal dispositions, information on persons disqualified for mental health reasons, and qualifying crimes of domestic violence" to the federal government.

Why this matters: The shooter in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, Seung-Hui Cho, passed two separate federal backgrounds checks in order to buy the two guns he used to kill 32 people and wound 17 others. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence argued in the aftermath of the shooting that Cho shouldn't have passed either background check since a Virginia court ruled he was a danger to himself two years earlier. It's the state's responsibility to report "mental defectives" to the federal government; after Virginia Tech, Congress passed legislation incentivizing states to make more of their records available to NICS.

The same principle applies for cases of domestic violence. Last year, 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg used a .40-caliber Beretta handgun, purchased by his father, to shoot four classmates and himself. The father, Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr., would have been prevented from buying the gun if the state of Washington had reported the fact that he was the subject of a domestic violence restraining order years earlier.

5. Among the directives AG Lynch issued Monday was one asking U.S. attorneys' offices around the country to "renew" their efforts to combat domestic violence and keep abusers from buying guns.

Why this matters: Domestic violence and gun violence go hand-in-hand; the risk of homicide is 20 times higher in homes where both a gun and a history of domestic violence are present, and abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if that abuser owns a firearm.

6. There are various methods to avoid background checks: one is to purchase a gun through a legal entity. Obama's executive orders change an ATF rule to require background checks for people trying to buy weapons and other items through a trust or corporation.

Why this matters: Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner purchased through a trust the rifle and silencers he used to kill four people and himself during a weeklong rampage that terrorized three Southern California counties in 2013. Dorner wrote in his manifesto that all he needed to create the trust was access to the accounting software Quicken and $10 for a notary.

7. Other ways to circumvent background checks include buying guns at gun shows and through some online retailers. Obama took a step to fix that on Monday by clarifying ATF rules to ensure all gun dealers  even those selling a small number of guns, and those selling online or at gun shows  obtain a license and conduct background checks.

Why this matters: Both James Holmes, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooter, and Seung-Hui Cho purchased over the Internet the guns and ammunition they used during their shooting sprees. (That said, they both also passed background checks  despite their documented histories of mental health issues.)

8. Obama asked the Social Security Administration to make sure Americans who have been deemed a danger to themselves or others, and those who are receiving benefits for mental health conditions, be entered into the federal background check database. He directed the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a directive confirming that states would not be violating privacy laws if they reported mental health issues to the federal database. Obama also proposed devoting $500 million toward expanding access to medical help for the mentally ill.

Why this matters: Gun advocates often say that the problem with gun violence is not access to weapons, but mental illness. In fact, an analysis of 21 studies found people who have mental illnesses are four times more likely to be the victims of violence than those who don't. Increased access to mental-health services could benefit both the would-be victims and would-be perpetrators of gun violence.

9. Finally, Obama announced Monday that he is directing the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security to increase research and development to make it easier to track lost and stolen guns, and harder to use someone else's weapon or to accidentally discharge a gun.

Why this matters: Last year alone, 1,943 Americans were killed in accidental shootings, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

This article originally appeared on Rollingstone.com: 9 Reasons Obama's New Gun Rules Matter
The son of a Houston woman alleges his mother died when a local pharmacy filled her prescription with a high dosage of the wrong medicine, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Harris County court.

Lee "Mama Esther" Hudson, died in December 2013 at age 82 in Houston, burial records show. The lawsuit was filed by her son, Gary Fosha, 49.

According to court documents, on Oct. 28, 2013 Hudson went to the Walgreens pharmacy at 5202 Almeda Road to fill a prescription for 75 mg per day of hydroxyzine, an antihistamine used to treat itching, issued by her physician.

But the pharmacy gave her hydrochlorothiazide, a medication used to treat high blood pressure, usually prescribed at 25 mg per day, the lawsuit said.

Upon taking the wrong prescription, Hudson lost blood pressure, suffered kidney failure and was hospitalized on life support until her death on Dec. 14.

Maria Wormington, attorney for Fosha, said, "There is no dispute that the pharmacy misfilled the prescription at issue. However, I do not yet have the expert review back that would further describe how this misfill was a proximate cause of the damages alleged."

Walgreens declined to comment on the pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges gross negligence on the pharmacy's behalf and demands damages between $250,000 and $1 million.
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It's unclear how an 18-wheeler got wedged under a historic Galveston live oak branch, caught with its tires off the ground.

There's no question, however, that the native Galvestonian who lives where it happened is upset at what he sees as a too-common occurrence.

"This is a prime example of what's been happening," Paul Monford said of the accident at noon Wednesday in the 1300 block of Sealy in Galveston's historic East End.

Monford, who was born on the Island and has lived in the historic district about 25 years, said illegal big-rig traffic in his neighborhood began to pick up about five years ago with improvements to the Port of Galveston after Hurricane Ike in 2008.

"What's happened is that the port has opened a terminal on Harborside and 14th Street," he said. "We're talking huge trucks. They come straight down Broadway, turn left on 14th, go straight north and head straight to the terminal."

In Wednesday's incident, the truck apparently hit the tree after turning east onto Sealy from northbound 14th Street, Monford said.

The port did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

According to Galveston's municipal code, heavy trucks are allowed only on designated truck routes, which exclude most of the East End.

Priscilla Files, senior arborist and executive director of the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy, said the damage to the century-old live oak made it necessary to remove a branch that was about 45 to 50 feet long, 18 inches in diameter and 56 inches around.

"I think the tree is going to recover as best it can, considering that it's still recovering from Hurricane Ike," Files said Thursday. "That tree is in one of the neighborhoods most affected by Ike. Anything that happens to them affects their recovery, even pruning. While I do think this tree is going to recover -- the rest of it looks healthy -- it still is at risk."

Monford said he has complained repeatedly to city management and the police department about illegal truck traffic but has not been satisfied with the response.

"They say they don't have enough people (to enforce truck routes), but how hard can it be to get the state to put up a sign on I-45 telling truckers not to come into (residential) Galveston?" he said.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation said the agency typically does not erect signs about city streets, particularly those telling drivers where not to go.

"But there might be some coordination we could do with the city of Galveston regarding the route that trucks are encouraged to take to access the port," spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis said. "It looks like more of an enforcement issue than a signage issue."

Galveston city spokeswoman Kala McCain said Thursday that the city is aware of issues involving trucks and is in the process of hiring two additional police officers to focus on traffic safety and commercial vehicle compliance with regulations.

"As always, we take into consideration the public's comments and concerns and strive to find a better solution," McCain said.
Kaustubh Gopal has dreamed of becoming a doctor since childhood, which was a continuous stream of visits to doctors for his congenital heart defect.

Instead of making him squeamish about medicine, his experience made him determined to shape lives and care for others.

"I want to do something with the resources I was given," Gopal said. "I've always had this special bond with cardiologists and realized that I wanted to do (cardiovascular) surgery after seeing open heart surgery."

To help him reach his goal, the 18-year-old College Park High School Science Academy senior has spent the last three years volunteering at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital through its junior volunteer program. Gopal was one of several dozen students selected to participate in the annual program, which is now in its nineteenth year. The high school-aged volunteers commit to a minimum of one, three-hour shifts a week for at least a year. From discharging patients to shadowing doctors, Gopal has seen the ins and outs of a major hospital.

"Volunteering through the hospital, you gain all these connections. You're able to see parts of the hospital that normally people don't see. I got to see truly how the hospital works, what the doctors go through and it gave me another perspective of the medical field," Gopal said.

Gopal has applied to three universities with plans to pursue a pre-medicine degree plan majoring in biology. But Memorial Hermann's junior volunteer program is more than a line on his college resume. He hopes to take what he's learned about volunteerism and civic responsibility to pursue medical work with Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian-aid organization best known for its works in war torn countries.

"I really wanted to do something where not many people are willing to go out there. That's literally my whole dream, to be a doctor. I think going out there will make me a better doctor. It's everything I dream of, trying to alleviate poverty and make some difference," Gopal said of his hopes of joining Doctors Without Borders.

For the shy 17-year-old Heidy Benitez, an Oak Ridge High School senior, the volunteer program at Memorial Hermann not only solidified her desire to pursue medicine instead of engineering, it helped her develop interpersonal and basic office skills. In two years with the program, she's become a volunteer leader, which entails managing her peers, assigning duties and increased responsibility. Working at the hospital isn't always easy, especially when juggling family, friends, homework, extracurriculars, college applications and volunteer work.

"Walking into the hospital, you have to leave everything that's going on at home or the stress of school. People don't know that and they shouldn't have to," Benitez said. "Being here is a privilege, and that's a responsibility that I owe to the hospital. ...I love it so much."

Some of her fondest memories as a junior volunteer include watching an oophorectomy, which is an ovary removal surgery, and seeing a natural birth. Benitez hasn't pinned down her medical field of choice, but she hopes to become a surgeon.

"If I hadn't been a volunteer here, I don't know if medicine would have been for me because I think you have to be exposed," Benitez said. "After I spent those three days I spent in the (operating room), it was mind-blowing for me. We are so complex on the inside. ...It really hit me how you're able to make an impact on someone."

Volunteers provide much needed assistance at the hospital. They work in a variety of settings, from the gift shop to the emergency room. Junior volunteers may even help patients with physical therapy. They're able to provide that extra bit of attention that may get lost in a fast-paced clinical environment.

"We get a lot out of it. When you're looking at that many kids that go through, we get so many comment from our patients because they have the time to spend with the patients. When they deliver flowers they can spend time and talk. Sometimes, they play music and sing songs to them - just the kindness that sometimes in a clinical setting you might not have the time to do that," said Linda Nelson, director of marketing and volunteer services at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital.

Although the help is appreciated, these junior volunteers are more than an extra pair of hands for hospital staff, which hopes the program will instill a passion for medicine at a young age and, just maybe, shape its future medical practitioners.

"The value that we offer these kids, it's really special," Nelson said. "You see the full circle, and we do have a couple nurses here who started in the program."

Want to know more?

Only students between the ages of 15 and 17 when they begin the program are eligible to apply to be a junior volunteer. Applications are accepted between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15, and the program is a one-year commitment. A total of 65 students are in the junior program. At the end of the program, students are eligible to apply for a college scholarship, the funds of which come from a portion of the hospital gift shop sales.
Two former Houston Community College officials charged a San Francisco college thousands of dollars for travel, food and other expenses -- including more than $3,000 spent at Best Buy -- the San Francisco Chronicle found.

Art Tyler, a former HCC deputy chancellor, took the top job at the City College of San Francisco in 2013. He led HCC while former Chancellor Mary Spangler battled a terminal illness. Tyler created a presidency position at the San Francisco school for Virginia Parras, a former HCC operations officer, in 2014.

Tyler, who was hired as chancellor in San Francisco to help the college manage an accreditation crisis, was paid $600,000 in severance when he left HCC. In all, HCC paid $1.2 million purging its top administrators in 2013.

In San Francisco, Tyler traveled so often he was absent a third of his time in office, the Chronicle reported. Tyler gave up his post in June and was reassigned to run the college's facilities department until his contract expires July 20. Parras was fired in July.

Over the last three years, administrative spending at the college ballooned by 29 percent, while spending on faculty dropped by 9 percent, according to the Chronicle.

Parras spent a week in China, Taiwan and Vietnam on the college's dime and the school's records don't explain why the trip was necessary, though officials there told the Chronicle she was recruiting high school students.

Parras was also reimbursed for thousands of dollars worth of meals at high-end restaurants and the college's records did not identify the purpose of many of the meals or with whom she dined.

City College also reimbursed Parras for purchases worth $1,759 and $1,377 at Best Buy and $735 at Amazon Marketplace. Again, the records don't show, and the college could not explain, what was bought and why taxpayers were charged, the Chronicle reported.

California law authorizes colleges to reimburse only "actual and necessary" expenses, according to the Chronicle.

Parras declined to be interviewed, but told the San Francisco Chronicle she had given the college detailed documentation about her expenses. Tyler said he had been forbidden from speaking by the college's new chancellor, who also declined to comment.

The college spent thousands of dollars on Tyler's travel, some of it explained and some not, the Chronicle reported. Tyler served as chancellor during a period of crisis at the college, where accreditation remains in question. Enrollment there has dropped by more than 20,000 students since 2012.

Houston was among Tyler's most frequent destinations, though he also traveled to conferences in various U.S. cities and in Ireland.

Tyler, who made a base salary of $289,284, was also paid $1,000 a month to spend on "community relations." Tyler never submitted an annual report of how he spent that money that was required by the college.
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An air of heaviness and confusion appeared to cloak terror suspect Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan as he was escorted into a Houston federal courtroom on Friday morning to hear the three charges against him.

The 24-year-old Houstonian is accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing false information to obtain citizenship and making false statements to U.S. officials. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy read the charges against him and he interacted with her via an interpreter.

Al Hardan appeared in court in a rumpled black and gray long-sleeved plaid shirt with khaki pants and glasses.

Prosecutors asked for him to be detained pending trial and the judge ordered a detention hearing on Wednesday.

More for you Feds arrest Sacramento refugee on terrorism charge

Milloy also appointed David Adler to represent Al Hardan.

Al Hardan was one of two people arrested Thursday as part of federal investigations into alleged terrorist plans. The other man, from Sacramento, Calif., was identified as Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab.

Al-Jayab was charged with making a false statement involving international terrorism. The 23-year-old allegedly "traveled overseas to fight alongside terrorist organizations and lied to U.S. authorities about his activities," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin in a statement. He was scheduled to appear in a California courtroom Friday morning.

According to the indictment, Al Hardan is an Iraqi refugee of Palestinian heritage who entered the United States in 2009 the month before he turned 18. He was granted legal permanent resident status in 2011.

During the hearing, more details emerged about the defendant. He told the judge he is married with one child and lives in a Harris County apartment.

Through an interpreter, Al Hardan said he made it to the 11th grade in Jordan and can read and write English "a little bit, but not much." He said he earns about $1,800 a month from three incomes sources and has about $1,700 in the bank.

When the judge ordered him to pay $700 toward his legal representation and leave another $1,000 for his wife's living expenses, Al Hardan said the money was for his parents to acquire an apartment.

She explained that he was required to pay and Al Hardan said he would comply.

Milloy said the terrorism charge carries up to 20 years in prison, the false citizenship information up to 25 years and the false statement as long as eight years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Imperato, who was joined by a trial attorney from the Justice Department's counterterrorism section, asked for the defendant to be detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk. Al Hardan will remain in custody until a determination on bail can be made during a detention hearing next week.

U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson of the Southern District of Texas said Al Hardan was arrested Thursday at a Homeland Security office, but would not confirm whether the defendant was there voluntarily.

In an impromptu briefing with reporters after the hearing, Magidson declined to provide many details about Al Hardan's background or alleged efforts related to terrorism beyond the indictment, including whether the accused activity was an individual effort or linked to others  namely the Sacramento resident, Al-Jayab. The U.S. attorney also would not say if there were any other local people connected to similar allegations.

Magidson said the defendant had been trained to use an automatic weapon but that the Houston community was never in danger.

"It could happen in any city in the United States  anywhere in the world," the prosecutor said. "We're trying to be attentive to all the needs to ensure the public safety at all times."

Magidson did expound of the severity of the allegation about providing false information to obtain citizenship, but would not discuss when and where Al Hardan is accused of lying.

"We consider applications for citizenship to be very serious matters. When people come into to this country and apply for citizenship, we expect honest answers from them," the U.S. attorney said. "If he's convicted and he's not a citizen of the United States, steps will be taken to deport him."

Magidson also declined to discuss statements from Gov. Greg Abbott and other elected officials who said the arrests confirm the concerns of Texas officials about an influx of Mideast refugees into Texas who have not been properly vetted.

"I'm not going to go into whatever anybody else said," he said. "My responsibility as the United States attorney is to ensure that the interests of the United States are followed. We ensure that people that are charged with federal crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That's where my focus is and will always be. I'm a career prosecutor. Politicians and American citizens are free to say whatever they want."

On Thursday, the governor and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued statements continuing to criticize the resettlement of refugees.

"This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists," Abbott said in a statement. "I once again urge the president to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans."

Patrick echoed that sentiment.

"Based on the facts, as we know them, today's action (the arrests) may have prevented a catastrophic terror-related event in the making and saved countless lives," Patrick said. "This is exactly what we have repeatedly told the Obama administration could happen and why we do not want refugees coming to Texas. There are serious questions about who these people really are, as evidenced by (Thursday's) events."

Multi-agency investigation

According to the six-page indictment, Al Hardan was born in Iraq on Christmas Day, 1991, and entered the U.S. as a refugee around Nov. 2, 2009. He was granted permanent resident status about Aug. 22, 2011.

The indictment states that almost three years later, around May 2014, he "did unlawfully and knowingly attempt to provide material support and resources ... training, expert advice and assistance, to a foreign terrorist organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... knowing that the organization is a designated foreign terrorist organization and knowing that ISIL engages in, and has engaged in terrorist activity and terrorism."

Read the full indictment below.

When applying for citizenship in August 2014, the indictment alleges that Al Hardan "represented that he was not in any way associated (either directly or indirectly) with a terrorist organization, whereas in truth, the defendant knew he associated...with a terrorist organization."

Then late last October, he allegedly covered up this association when he "participated in an interview" with Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations. When he was questioned about his application for naturalization, Al Hardan indicated "he had never received any type of weapons training" when in truth he had been trained "on an automatic machine gun," according to the indictment

The charge of attempting to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The charge of false citizenship procurement has a maximum sentence of 25 years and the charge of making false statements carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and Homeland Security with the assistance of the Houston Police Department.

In the Sacramento case, Al-Jayab "allegedly traveled overseas to fight alongside terrorist organizations and concealed that conduct from immigration authorities," said Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, in a statement.

Wagner added that while Al-Jayab "represented a potential safety threat, there is no indication that he planned any acts of terrorism in this country."

Read the full indictment below.

The release noted that an ongoing investigation is being conducted.

'No current threat'

Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston, confirmed the Houston arrest in a statement and said additional information would be made public when Al Hardan makes an initial court appearance.

"I can confirm that there was a national security-related arrest (Thursday)," she said. "There is no current threat to public safety associated with this arrest." Details of the arrest were not immediately disclosed.

In California, the Sacramento Bee reported that an unusual closed-door hearing was underway late Thursday afternoon, reportedly involving the case.

California Gov. Jerry Brown's office did not disclose whether officials in California had been briefed, the Bee said.

San Bernardino in Southern California is the site of the latest and deadliest terror attack -- the slayings of workers last month by two ISIS supporters -- since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Islamic State has emerged as a major threat in recent years. Last May, U.S. Rep. David Brat, R-Virginia, contended that ISIS had established a base in Texas -- an assertion that was quickly denied by state officials and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Texas officials have warned for years that any possible terrorism activity in Texas was being closely watched.

Federal officials said a separate arrest in Milwaukee that grew out of the Sacramento investigation is not related to national security.

Staff writer Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
Three Salvadoran mothers and their children were removed Thursday from a federal plane in Laredo that was returning them to their native country after the nation's highest immigration court agreed to halt their deportations while evaluating their asylum petitions.

Two already had claims pending with the Board of Immigration Appeals, and attorneys said they were filing one for the third.

The last-minute stay comes a day after the court also temporarily stopped the removal of five other Salvadoran families, raising questions about the government's claims that the immigrants have exhausted their options to legally stay here and that removing them is justified.

They are part of 28 Central American families -- 121 women and children in all -- detained last weekend in a high-profile national operation, the first of its kind to target these recently arrived immigrants, whose unprecedented arrival in 2014 overwhelmed the Obama administration and became a political flash-point.

The New Year's weekend operation, occurring mainly in Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, targeted adults and children caught crossing the border after May 1, 2014, who have been told to leave the country by an immigration court and who Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said this week were ineligible to stay in the U.S. by seeking asylum or through other means.

But the decision by the court in the cases of the seven mothers and their children casts doubt on whether that's actually the case.

A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. In a statement, the agency said that the recent operation targeted families who were subject to final orders of deportation and who didn't have pending appeals at the time of their arrest.

Attorneys with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project working in the Dilley detention center outside of San Antonio where the immigrants are being held said they have been able to interview 12 of the 28 families detained there.

But they said they couldn't get access to the remaining 16 mothers and children and some have already been deported back to Guatemala and Honduras.

The operation has sparked furor among immigrant advocates who claim the women and children are being denied their rights to due process. Attorneys working with some of the families said the operation involved ICE agents arresting some mothers and children in the middle of the night, refusing to show them warrants upon request and preventing them from seeking legal assistance.

Proponents for reducing immigration meanwhile say the 121 migrants are such a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of Central American families who have flooded over the southwest border in the past two years that it doesn't make a dent in the crisis.

The issue also highlights the lack of quality legal representation in immigration courts, which unlike criminal courts do not provide attorneys for those who cannot afford them.

Advocates say the fact that most of the small pool of immigrants who received legal assistance this week obtained a temporary delay in their deportation shows they are being wrongly removed. They say many face deportation orders simply because they don't know they must show up to court or are afraid to or because they lack legal help to navigate the complex asylum process.

As of Nov. 24, judges had decided 905 cases of parents who were caught with their children at the southwest border and held at one of three detention centers for families, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the agency overseeing immigration courts.

Of those, 80 percent - or 726 cases - ended with migrants ordered deported. In 67 percent of those deportation cases, judges issued the orders in absentia because the migrants did not appear for their hearings. They were allowed to legally remain in only 17 percent -- or 156 -- of the cases which have been decided.

By contrast, 82 percent of more than 16,000 Central American women screened by asylum officers after crossing the border were found to have a credible fear of persecution if they return to their home countries, a criteria for applying for asylum in the United States.

An analysis of about 26,300 deportation cases involving mostly Central American women with children who arrived after 2014 showed less than 30 percent had attorneys, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Without counsel, only 1.5 percent were allowed to stay compared to more than a quarter of those with attorneys.

"This whole issue shows yet again how important it is to have good representation" said Doris Meissner, former commissioner of the then-U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "The whole system moves much more efficiently both for people with hearings in the courts and for the enforcement agencies if there's representation."
An 18-year-old Houston man has been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of a man inside his apartment, possibly over a set of car rims.

Eligah Haywood was arrested on Jan. 6 by the Harris County Sheriff's Office and charged with the murder of Adrian Neal.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson on Thursday expanded pretrial diversion for suspects of shoplifting and drug possession cases, including so-called crack pipe cases.

Anderson made the announcement, along with several other reforms, flanked by representatives of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council at a news conference detailing their application for a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

In May, the foundation gave Harris County $150,000 to study and develop a plan to improve the criminal justice system. In March, as many as 10 jurisdictions from around the country will receive awards ranging from $500,000 to $2 million a year for two years to put their plans into effect.

The committee, which includes judges, county commissioners and representatives of law enforcement, announced several reforms to improve the system, including pretrial release and diversion for mentally ill homeless people cycling in and out of the Harris County Jail.

In preparing the application, county officials gathered data on arrest and release decisions, case processing and diversion and looked into recidivism and re-entry initiatives.

The committee also looked at racial and ethnic disparity in the system.
A Waller County grand jury has indicted a state trooper, Brian Encinia, on perjury charges in the July 10 arrest of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black motorist who was found dead in her jail cell three days later. Prosecutors said the grand jury's indictment stemmed from a statement the trooper made in a one-page affidavit he filed in Bland's arrest in which he said he pulled her out of her Hyandai Azera to "further conduct a safe traffic investigation." Encinia, who the DPS has begun termination proceedings against following a Texas Rangers investigation of the arrest, provided his most extensive account of the controversial arrest to a supervisor in a conversation captured by the audio portion of the dash-cam video. Here are excerpts from his account:

"I tried to deescalate her and it wasn't getting anywhere at all. I put the Taser away. I tried talking to her, calming her down, and that was not working.

"I'm trying to get her detained, get her just to calm down, just calm her down, stop throwing her arms... She never swung at me, she's just flailing, stomping around and all kind of stuff. And I said, 'All right, that's enough.' That's when I detained her. And there (she) started going off, she started kicking and (inaudible)."

"We were in the middle of the traffic stop and... the traffic stop was not completed. I was trying to get her out over to sign. And you know just explain to her what was going on because I couldn't even get to do what I was telling her. I mean she just started going, 'This is a M.F. You give me M.F. ticket for a lane change.' I mean, she just started going...I just stepped back into the car and was like, 'Are you done, m'am. I need to tell you why and what I'm giving you.' And it just kept on going."

"I don't have serious bodily injury (laugh). But I was kicked."

"She's in the back of the car right now. She requested EMS because she said I threw her down intentionally for nothing. 'No, I put you down because you kicked me and you were fighting back.' I mean, I kept telling her to calm down, calm down...."

"She was detained...that's the key. That's why I'm calling you and asking, because she was detained. When she started -- that's when I was walking her over to the car, just to calm her down and just to stop -- and that's when she started kicking me... I don't know if it'd be (resisting arrest) or if it would be assault. I kind of lean toward assault versus resist, because...technically she's under arrest when a traffic stop is initiated...You're not free to go."

"I didn't say you're under arrest (to Bland). I never said, 'Stop. Hands up.'"

"Correct, that did not occur. It was just the assault part."

"She gave me her driver's license. I came back to the car, started running her stuff, printed it out. Went back to the car to complete, tell her what she was receiving, and what to do and so forth. And by that time, she's still very much irritated and so forth about my pulling (her) over because she didn't turn on her signal and so forth... I mean she wouldn't even look at me, she was just looking straight ahead and mad. And I'm at the driver's side and so I need to get her out of the car and over to the side on the sidewalk because I don't want to be out in the middle of the road while we're arguing or whatever. Well, not arguing. But I'm trying to tell her what she doing and she's arguing with me and so forth."

"When I had down her on the ground and the other officer came, I told her to stop resisting and that's when I told her, 'You're under arrest." I didn't tell her what for. At least I don't think I did."

"Yes, she kicked me, she started yanking away and trying to get away. And that's when I grabbed her arm. She's in front of me still. I controlled and I grabbed her by the shoulders and I brought her down into the grass away from the pavement."

"I mean, no weapons, she's in handcuffs...I only took enough force as I see necessary. I even deescalated once we were on the pavement, you know, on the sidewalk. So I allowed time. I'm not saying I just threw her to the ground. I allowed time to deescalate and so forth..."

"I've got some cuts on my hand. That is an injury, but I don't need medical attention. I've got three little circles from the handcuffs when she was twisting away from me."

"Over a simple traffic stop. Yeah, I don't get it. I really don't."
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A San Antonio family and the Alamo Heights community are grieving the loss of their 16-year-old son, younger brother and classmate who committed suicide as the result of suffering prolonged bullying, his family said.

David Molak was a sophomore, an Eagle Scout, avid Spurs fan, fitness enthusiast, and, since October, had been the target of bullying at Alamo Heights High School, his brother Cliff Molak told mySA.com in a phone interview on Thursday.

Cliff Molak, 24, authored a now-viral Facebook post pulling on the heartstrings of thousands of San Antonians and others across the country as he announced the death of his youngest brother and urged people to reevaluate the treatment of others.

What happened to my beloved brother was a tragedy, he wrote. A tragedy set into motion by a boy whom I will not further empower by naming.

RELATED: What we know about the suicide of a bullied teen in Alamo Heights

AHISD Superintendent Kevin Brown said he is devastated by what he calls the district's "worst nightmare."

"Right now, we don't know all the facts of the case and we're really trying to help our students through the grieving process, we're working on healing" he said in a phone interview with mySA.com on Thursday. "We will be looking at the facts as they become available to us and we will take very strong and appropriate action."

According to an SAPD report obtained by mySA.com, David Molak was found dead in his backyard before dawn Monday. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide.

The report, which is heavily redacted, includes a statement given to police by an unidentified friend or relative of David Molak that he had attempted suicide twice before.

Another statement given to police at the time indicated he was being bullied on social media over his physical appearance, the report said.

RELATED: Bullied Texas teen who shaved hair after student poured glue in it gets international support

Cliff Molak described how bullying has transformed into a social media-fueled problem in the Facebook post.

In todays age, bullies dont push you into lockers, they dont tell their victims to meet them behind the schools dumpster after class, they cower behind user names and fake profiles from miles away constantly berating and abusing good, innocent people, the post said, adding that that's exactly how the final night of David Molaks life played out.

The Molak brothers were spending Sunday night together, hours before the pure spirit of the youngest of three was quieted when a series of text messages became the final straw in his battle against his tormentors and he decided to end his life, he said.

A set of six to 10 unknown numbers added David Molak to a group text in which he began receiving comments berating him on his physical appearance, Cliff Molak recalled.

My first response to him was These kids suck, thats really the best insult they can come up with? but I didnt get the response I wanted. I thought he would laugh but he just stared off into distance and you could see his pain, Cliff Molak said in an interview. He just felt that people hated him.

Cliff Molak spoke of a social hierarchy at Alamo Heights High School  one he said his brother did not exactly hold a top spot on  which is why his tormentors found his relationship with a girl he described as the schools queen bee upsetting, he believes.

RELATED: San Antonio native's perfect response to Internet meme featuring Trinity athlete wearing turban

These people were bashing him for no reason, Cliff Molak said. He did not do anything to them besides having an attractive girlfriend.

Cliff Molak said the treatment his little brother was handed at school was the exact opposite of what he yearned for.

He was just a pure-spirited guy, Cliff Molak said. But, they crushed his spirit and took away his motivation to do anything.

RELATED: 100 San Antonio-area schools with the most drug, alcohol offenses

At the brunt of his brother's situation, Cliff Molak said his parents recently decided to transfer his younger brother from Alamo Heights to San Antonio Christian School in an effort to alleviate the problems. He was a student at the school from Dec. 18 to Nov. 16, but it was all too much to bear. And, on the eve of his return to the private school, David Molak took his own life.

He just couldnt handle the idea of going to a new school while still being bullied by people at his old school, they just sucked his spirit, Cliff Molak said.

Alamo Heights ISD is a well-regarded, award-winning school district with a strong academic record. It has long been considered the most affluent school district in Bexar County, based on property values, though an Express-News profile noted in 2014 that the stereotype was outdated, with its student body less than 55 percent Anglo and with one in four students economically disadvantaged under the states poverty definitions.

The district went through a self-improvement process in recent years that involved a great deal of parent input to produce multiple goals and a handful of principles that include closing the achievement gap, engaging students and tackling social and emotional problems in their community, according to the profile. It quoted Brown saying the district had listened to suggestions from parents whose children were struggling with drug addiction. The districts hiring of a wellness coordinator had saved lives, he said.

David Molak was already planning his life after college by following his siblings path to Texas A&M University and eventually starting his own family, his brother said. A life already set in motion toward a path of success, but halted by tragedy is what pains Alamo Heights High School principal Dr. Cordell Jones.

RELATED: Controversial high school murder case ends  very quietly  with plea bargain for lesser charge

Personally Im devastated. Im struggling too, he said in an announcement issued to students and parents of AHHS. (Im) shedding some tears as I think about him not growing up to be the wonderful man I envision him being.

Patty Perales, spokeswoman for the district, said counselors are on hand at the school and will be at David Molak's funeral offering support for his peers.

In the collective grief, the Molaks are working to ensure something is learned from their loss.

The main message I want to get across to as many people as I can is this all comes down to character  to end bullying, youve got to start at the ground level, Cliff Molak explained. Parents and the school system need to teach their kids about the realities of bullying and character, its the fundamental way to end all sorts of bullying and discrimination.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO-TV) An Oklahoma City World War II veteran has been presented with France's highest honor for his service in the liberation of France.

The Honorary Consul of France Grant Moak presented veteran Joe Maguire with the rank of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor at his home Sunday night.

"It's a great honor. That's what it felt like," Maguire said. "I felt really humbled to get it."

The consul honored Maguire for his time on active duty during the European Theater of Operations.

>> RELATED GALLERY: Photos of World War II, 70 years after VE Day

Now at 92 years old, the Oklahoma City native recalls his time serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot during the liberation of France more than 70 years ago.

"Being a kid and being the age I was, it was scary sometimes," Maguire said.

Maguire flew a C-47 type twin-engine aircraft and transported fuel for tanks throughout Europe.

"France is a country that needs to be honored because of the beating that they took and the way they stood up to it," Maguire said.

The medal Maguire received adds to a notable collection. He also has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters, the European African Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal, the American Theater Service Medal and the Victory Ribbon.

Story originally published on KOCO-TV.
JACKSON, Miss. (WAPT-TV) A Mississippi lawmaker wants "Scarlet Letter" license plates to make sure the public can spot some drivers convicted of drunken driving.

State Rep. Gary Chism is introducing the bill, which proposes a yellow license plate for second-offense DUI offenders.

"We still have so many people driving after they've gotten a DUI," Chism said. "After your first offense, on your second offense, you will have to buy a 'Scarlet Letter' tag."

If the bill passes, offenders will have to use the license plate for one year.

"It's going to be a bright yellow tag with red writing on it, and everybody will know you've been caught twice driving drunk," Chism said. (Story continues below)

>> RELATED GALLERY: Fines around the U.S. for drunken driving



Rep. Cabir Karriem said the idea is ludicrous.

"Just because someone has made a mistake, they should (not) have to walk around with a 'Scarlet Letter' on their car," Karriem said.

Chism said the tag will help to hold people accountable.

"Surely it's going to embarrass you," Chism said.

Karriem said while DUI laws need to be abided by, he opposes a shaming method for offenders.

"They need to be penalized, but I don't think they need to continuously be penalized for a mistake they made," Karriem said.

Chism said he expects to see a lot of debate over the bill.

Story originally published on WAPT-TV.
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Science has long held that what goes into a black hole will never come out. That might not be true, and Texas researchers have photographs to prove it.

An unprecedented view of a black hole belching up space gases could yield clues to the lives and deaths of the grandest cosmic creations  the galaxies.

Eric Schlegel, astrophysicist and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, spent a year with his team reviewing data from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory and comparing it to other sources before announcing the discovery Tuesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Florida.

"This hasn't been seen before," Schlegel said. "It's been inferred, but not seen."

RELATED: NASA's Hubble images of Veil Nebula supernova show a massive space explosion

It's a valuable find because most questions about black holes remain unanswered. Scientists know they are massive  tens of millions of times the mass of our sun  yet they are invisible, detected only by their effect on their surroundings. They bend space around them, as Einstein's theory explained.

And they suck stuff up like a drain in a cosmic bathtub -- but no one knows where it goes. Some scientist have speculated the black holes are links to other universes.

The black hole in question lies in the center of a relatively nearby galaxy, dubbed "NGC 5195," currently weathering the late stages of a collision with a neighboring spiral galaxy, 26 million light years from Earth.

One year ago, Schlegel and his three-person team noted a suspicious formation of super-heated gas that seemed to be emanating outward from the center of NGC 5195 when viewed in X-Ray light. Skeptical of his own interpretation, Schlegel dug up past studies of the same galaxy.

RELATED: NASA funds research to recycle human waste for deep-space travel

He found that 25 years ago, before deep-space X-Ray imaging was possible, researchers scrutinized an optical photo of the same galaxy and noted that visible gases seemed to have been "snowplowed" by a shockwave. The X-Ray pictures caught the shockwave in action.

"That's when we realized that, wow, this was actually happening," Schlegel said. "The material they reported has in fact been snowplowed."

He determined two possible explanations for the outward-arching waves.

In one scenario, gas could have been drawn by the pull of the black hole, then whipped around its orbit and sling-shotted back into space, stretching out into long wisps in the process. But Schlegel doesn't buy it; there's no reason why the gas in that scenario wouldn't just end up in the black hole like everything else, plus there is so much debris in the region that the gas would just crash and get stuck, he said.

RELATED: NASA's head of science says humans 'are on the cusp' of answering the ultimate question

The only other possibility yet suggested is that the waves came out of the black hole.

"This has to have been some sort of burst, and the exact nature of that burst is not clear yet," Schlegel said. "How this process works is very unknown."

Yet the discovery unlocks big clues to the forces that shape the galaxies. Astronomers know little about how galaxies form and die, largely because the human experience is far too short to watch it happen. Observations show that, somehow, galaxies turn to great, lifeless clouds of warm gas in the end, when their billions of stars have fizzled and their planets iced over.

But what happened to the stars and planets? Perhaps they've been digested and excreted. Perhaps the very structures of the galaxies are made by massive material pulses sent out from mysterious portals at their centers.

"The story is pretty incomplete at this stage," Schlegel said. "But this is another piece to that puzzle."
It seems like only yesterday that skeptics of Barack Obama's birth in Hawaii rushed to the Supreme Court to try to block the son of an American mother and Kenyan father from taking office as president. The justices turned away those challenges as fast as they arrived at the courthouse door, much as lower courts did.

Seven years later, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is dealing with pointed remarks from rival Donald Trump that Cruz's birth in Canada to an American mother and Cuban father raises doubt about his eligibility to be president and could dog his campaign for the White House. Trump had also famously questioned whether Obama was really born in Hawaii.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
New Business Immigration Programs in Ontario Provide Fresh Opportunities to Invest in Canada CIC News Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Entrepreneur and Corporate streams differ from old Investor category

Canadas most populated province, Ontario, has provided details on two new business immigration programs that are now open to eligible candidates wishing to invest in the Canadian economy. As the leader in attracting foreign direct investment of any province or state in North America, Ontarios new business streams are likely to prove popular.

The Entrepreneur Stream and the Corporate Stream both operate under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program that allows Ontario to nominate individuals deemed to have credentials that would benefit the local labour market. Ontario is home to Canadas capital city, Ottawa, and Canadas largest city, Toronto, which is located close to other major North American markets.

The OINP Entrepreneur Stream

The OINP Entrepreneur Stream is designed to attract individuals who are looking to implement a new business initiative or buy an existing business in Ontario. The OINP Entrepreneur Stream operates on an Expression of Interest model, whereby eligible participants must be invited to apply before they may submit a complete application.

Successful applicants will obtain a temporary work permit support letter, based on a performance agreement, to establish the business in Ontario. If the investment and job creation agreements outlined in the performance agreement are adhered to, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to be nominated for Canadian permanent resident status through the OINP. To learn more about the OINP Entrepreneur Stream, click here.

The OINP Corporate Stream

The OINP Corporate Stream helps and supports established international corporations looking to expand into Ontario or buy an existing business. Once the business has been successfully established, key staff are eligible to apply for a provincial nomination certificate, allowing them to eventually become permanent residents of Canada.

There are a range of requirements for this stream, with criteria covering the corporation, the investment, local job creation, key staff and employment. To learn more about eligibility requirements and processes for the OINP Corporate Stream, click here.

How are the new business streams different from the old Investor category?

Ontario closed its OINP Investor category on October 29, 2015, and announced that details of the new business streams would be provided in due course. Now that these details are in the public domain, stakeholders are wondering how these options differ from each other, as well as how they compare with the now-defunct Investor category.

The two new business immigration streams for Ontario really are a breath of fresh air. It looks like the government of Ontario has done its homework and noted what works in other regions of the world, says Attorney David Cohen.

The Entrepreneur Stream is not too dissimilar to the EB-5 program in the United States, the main difference being that the Ontario version, like many new Canadian immigration programs, operates under an Expression of Interest system. The main benefit of this to the province and candidates alike is that it is demand-driven; this should allow for quick program delivery processes, and applicants will know that they have actually been chosen by the government based on their strong profile.

Meanwhile, the Corporate Stream is all about either taking a successful business operation and expanding it into one of the most open, diverse, and stable markets in the world, or identifying an existing business in Ontario and taking it to the next level. Successful applicants to either of these streams will be developing their careers and portfolios in a beautiful and thriving region of North America.

Comparative analysis

A comparative analysis of the Investor category, Corporate Stream, and Entrepreneur Stream is available on CanadaVisa.com.

To find out if you are eligible to make an application or an Expression of Interest through the Entrepreneur Stream or Corporate Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, please fill out a business eligibility assessment form today.

 2016 CICnews All Rights Reserved
Express Entry Candidates Consider Next Steps if no Invitation to Apply is Received Within a Year CIC News Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Twelve months after the initial launch of Canadas Express Entry immigration selection system, candidates who were quick to create an Express Entry profile last year are being advised on how they may realise their Canadian immigration goals during 2016.

Many candidates in the Express Entry pool are becoming more proactive in their pursuit of Canadian permanent resident status. For some, this entails a renewed effort to increase their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, while others are focusing more on immigration options outside the Express Entry system; indeed, both strategies may be pursued simultaneously.

A candidate for immigration to Canada under Express Entry can only stay in the Express Entry pool for one year from the date he or she was accepted into it. The profile will be deleted after one year, though a new one may be created. In any event, candidates in the Express Entry pool, as well as those considering entering the pool in 2016, may have cause for optimism due to some recent comments from CIC.

CRS point requirement expected to decrease in 2016

As covered in the previous edition of CICNews, a CIC Policy Analyst made some important announcements regarding the short- and medium-term future of Express Entry at a webinar hosted by CIC on December 16, 2015:

The number of invitations issued per round is expected to increase as the pre-Express Entry inventory of applications is finalised. In turn, it is expected that the minimum score of those that are invited to apply will drop, she stated, adding that we expect that in the new year when our rounds start growing  to meet our new levels plan  that the score will reduce.

These on-the-record comments have galvanized some candidates who, in spite of not having yet received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence, remain confident that they may receive an ITA. As such, it is expected that many candidates will create new profiles over the opening months of 2016. Indeed, the first Express Entry draw of 2016 has already taken place, with 1,463 candidates receiving ITAs on January 6.

Creating a new Express Entry profile

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) advises candidates who anticipate having to create a new profile to save screen shots of (or print out) your profile to make it easier to re-enter your data. Do not create a new profile until your existing one expires. You can create a new profile at any time once yours expires.

Candidates in this situation should note that they will have 60 days to fill out and validate the information in their profile. If they still meet minimum entry criteria, a new Express Entry profile number and Job Seeker Validation Code will be provided.

These numbers should be used to update the Job Match account in the Job Bank, if applicable. This step is necessary for candidates without a qualifying job offer or a nomination from a province or territory.

Once a profile is created, candidates can try to improve their core human capital factors by improving their language test results, by completing an additional year of work experience, and/or by completing a higher level of education. Certain candidates may also benefit from their spouse or common-law partners core human capital factors being considered, if applicable. In addition, candidates can initiate or improve a successful strategy to connect with Canadian recruiters and employers.

Candidates who decide not to create a new Express Entry profile are advised to remove any references that they are a candidate for Express Entry from any private job board websites, if they used any.

Canadian immigration options outside the Express Entry system

Candidates in the Express Entry pool, as well as other individuals interested in immigrating to Canada, should note that Express Entry is an application management system for only a handful of immigration programs. At the same time, there are other programs  the Provincial Nominee Programs  that have immigration streams that operate outside the Express Entry system. Many individuals are expected to make a successful application to one of these programs in 2016.

For example, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) International Skilled Workers  Occupations In-Demand sub-category, which exists outside Express Entry, was one of many sub-categories that reopened for applications this week. Within a few hours, however, the application cap had been reached. Many, if not all, of those who managed to submit an application had done prior research and preparation, allowing them to be ready to make an application when the program reopened.

In addition, there have been many positive developments with respect to the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) over recent days, weeks and months. To read more about this on CICNews, click here.

The QSWP and SINP are only two of many non-Express Entry Canadian immigration options.

From transition to new opportunities

We dont know the extent to which the scores may decrease or how the system may change in the future, or when. However, most of the recent signals are positive, and candidates who have not yet received an Invitation to Apply should take heart, says Attorney David Cohen.

Candidates in the pool are visible, so to speak, to the Canadian provinces that are looking to welcome newcomers through the Provincial Nominee Programs. People are also realizing that a candidate in the pool has far more leverage when discussing a possible job opportunity with a Canadian employer than a candidate who is not in the pool.

Moreover, it might well be the case that some candidates have been so focused on Express Entry that they havent fully grasped that there are many paths to Canada. Some lateral thinking may be required in order to fulfil ones Canadian immigration dreams. To this end, candidates should note that Canada has a highly decentralized immigration system in which the provinces are also able to select newcomers, and many of these programs operate outside the Express Entry system.

To find out if you are eligible for any of over 60 Canadian immigration programs, please fill out a free online assessment today.

 2016 CICnews All Rights Reserved
While Europe is bogged down by internal bickering and a rather feeble war against radical Islamism, events are transpiring in Asia that could define the future of global politics. Naturally, they are going unnoticed in the West. However, we only need to look at a major recent concession made by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to the president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, to get a sense of how Chinas hegemonic ambitions have Asias leaders on edge. The Japanese government has taken responsibility for the enslavement of several thousand Korean comfort women during World War II, and has granted $8 million to the 46 survivors who currently reside in a Gwangju shelter. These women are often met by journalists and visiting politicians in order to showcase Korean rights and highlight the abuses of Japanese imperialism.

The cause is valid, but South Korea has used it increasingly as a tool for propaganda over the last few years. President Park Geun-hye, whose father Park Chung-hee was the military dictator of South Korea from 1962 to 1979, has just outlawed the sale of a detailed, profound work by Korean academic Park Yu-ha. The study reveals that wartime prostitution was both highly complex and, for the most part, managed by Korean collaborators. Park Chung-hee was himself a junior officer in the Japanese army occupying China during the war. Perhaps his daughter is trying to conceal her fathers past through her anti-Japanese sentiment?

The Japanese government has nevertheless admitted its responsibility, though less in an act of contrition than to restore, if possible, healthy relations with South Korea. This willingness belies Japans greatest fear, and one which Europeans would share if they knew where to look. South Korea already has close economic ties to China, and Japan is worried Seoul will accept Chinese President Xi Jinpings proposal to unite North and South Korea on the condition the two countries become neutral states.

This Chinese ploy is the Asian version of a 1970s Soviet strategy to unite Germany in exchange for its neutrality. At the time, this idea was known as Finlandization, and presupposed a neutral Europe supervised by the USSR. This notion appealed enormously to the Western far Left. Germanys leaders didnt fall into the trap, but President Park Geun-hye has hardly displayed a passion for democracy and transparency. Agreeing to Chinas ploy would allow her a place in history as the woman who united her country.

How would the American military react to this scenario, given that it has 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea? With Barack Obama as president, the American military may not react at all. Japan, on the other hand, would probably equip itself with nuclear weaponsit wouldnt take longin preparation for an eventual war with China. Japanese public opinion is relatively pacifistic, but anti-Chinese sentiment is rising quickly. If the Finlandization scenario plays out, China would have managed to lock down the North Pacific Ocean. Even today, China is moving forward with its creation of artificial islands in the South Pacific Ocean around Vietnam and the Philippines. These islands could be easily transformed into naval bases, enabling China to control the southern maritime route from Asia to Europe and the United Statescurrently the main artery of globalization used to transport all of our electronic devices.

For now, the security of this vital trade route is ensured by the United States Seventh Fleet. Chinas driving objective is to displace American naval power in the region. If successful, it would herald the end of free trade between West and East, most likely lead to the fall of Taiwan, and suffocate Japanthat is, if the Japanese failed to react, which they probably wouldnt. Its no secret that Chinese leaders are looking to divide the world, with the United States in the West and China in the East; Chinas strategy can be consulted freely in a range of works published in Beijing.

A China that utterly dominates the East would impose a false symmetry in the international system, as the role of the United States in the West is accepted, in particular by NATO. On the other hand, Chinese ambition is resisted and feared by its neighbors, who are unwilling to accept Chinas imperialist, Communist, and anti-democratic government. But the Chinese leaders do have a strategy and are rolling it out step by step. The Wests sole strategy is to preserve the status quo, but it is pursuing this strategy with remarkably little energy. Japan remains the Wests only ally in the East, but the Japanese people will not commit to fighting alone. Japans acceptance of responsibility for the fates of 46 unfortunate Korean women between the ages of 80 and 90 may seem minor. But in a match of the popular ancient Asian board game Go, each turn is decisive; players simply have to pay attention in order to predict the next move.

Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Netlfixs explosive documentary series Making a Murderer pits police and prosecutors, who seem hell-bent on convicting a man of murder, against a pair of valiant defense attorneys. The 10-part series follows the 2007 murder trial of Steven Avery in Wisconsin. He had recently been exonerated after serving 18 years in prison for a rape that DNA evidence later attributed to another man. Amid the legal battle, viewers also get a glimpse of a rather offputting supporting character: the press.

Filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi use clips of the media in a manner that simultaneously advances their narrative and criticizes the press. But reporters were doing their jobs in searching for informationalbeit in a sometimes unseemly fashion; the only difference was that this time, someone had a camera on them. In their depiction of the press, the filmmakers commit the same sin they attribute to local reporters: focusing unduly on isolated moments, rather than the bigger picture.

Dozens of TV, print, and radio reporters covered Averys six-week trial, in which the defense theorized that law enforcement, angered by Averys celebrity status after his exoneration and by a civil suit he filed against Manitowoc County and its former prosecutor and sheriff, had framed him. Many of these journalists had been on the case since November 2005, when the car of the murder victim, Teresa Halbach, was found in the Avery familys junkyard. It made for a complex mess to be deciphered by the press, which was unaware it would become part of the story.

Of course we were going to be covering it as we would a high-profile case, says Angenette Levynow known as the hot reporter in some online circleswho reported on the trial for Green Bays CBS affiliate, WFRV. We were looking for answers. We were looking for truth.

Making a Murderer does offer reason to scold the press. Take the scene in episode seven, in which reporters for a Fox affiliate beg for comment from Averys mother, who says their camera lights are obscuring her vision. Reluctant to back off, the journalists hound her through a snowy parking lot until she slams her car door in their faces. It gets worse. Right now, murder is hot, one jaded Dateline producer tells the filmmakers. Thats what everyone wants, thats what the competition wants, and were trying to beat out the other networks to get that perfect murder story. That attitude harms journalism and exposes its practitioners to public scorn.

Right now, murder is hot. Mass media definitely has no alibi in #MakingAMurderer. Shameful reporting. Sign up for CJR 's daily email  Ben Rawson-Jones (@rawsonjones) December 26, 2015

But most of the reporters covering the Avery trial came from local outlets in and around Green Bay and Milwaukee to cover what was a humongous story in their state, and their methods were sometimes taken out of context. The documentary often shows Levy asking tough questions and responding to officials answers with a look of doubt. The film makes ample use of her facial expressions. Whether theyre meant to suggest the presss hesitance to believe a particular theory, the fact that that theory is actually unbelievable, or nothing at all, is unclear. The internet, meanwhile, has held Levy up as the kind of skeptic journalism needs.

One of my favourite things about Making a Murderer is @Angenette5s This is some bullshit Im hearing face when interviewing prosecutors  Chase Failey (@ChaseFailey) January 3, 2016

But as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinels reporter on the trial tweeted this week: Glimpses of any one facial expression may reveal nothing more than a reporter digesting lunch.

At one point, Levy also asks the defense what the police officers accused of framing Avery should say to their embarrassed children. This moment in the documentary seems to imply that the local press may be overly sympathetic to law enforcement. But taken in the context of a daily news conference, the question looks more like a journalist seeking another entry into an important question: These are serious allegations. What do you have to back them up? It was designed to provoke an aha moment, as Levy puts it. I dont think anybody should read into my question [that] I was buying the states argument versus the defense.

Nevertheless, the implication is there. Levys question lands in the middle of a film that regularly homes in on the defenses concern that the media had poisoned Averys chances of getting an unbiased jury. The defense attorneys make a fair point, but saturation coverage by the local press was all but unavoidable, says Aaron Keller, who covered the case for Green Bays NBC affiliate, and who has since been dubbed the silver fox on social media.

Avery was known throughout Wisconsin because of his exoneration; news outlets had an obligation to thoroughly cover his alleged fall from grace. The families of both the victim and the accused also had an above-average degree of comfort with the press, says Keller, who is now an attorney and college professor in New Hampshire. Had the families not made themselves available as often as they had in the very early stages of the investigation, the story would not have gained as much air time. Wisconsin also allows cameras in the courtroom, which made the trial especially TV-friendly.

Heres part of the problem: The reporters were scrambling for information, most of which came from the state or the defense. Some tried to request public records, like documents related to Averys time in prison or prior investigations. Others scored one-off interviews with Avery or his family. But most of the headlines came from the he-said-she-said of the courtroom, as is so often the case in trial coverage. The press was caught in a storm of spin. That looks bad on film, but the Netflix audience isnt apprised of the scope or depth of the coverage. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, for example, provided consistently even-keeled and incisive reporting, and is now re-promoting its stories, perhaps hoping to use the films success to lure new readers.

The filmmakers, unlike the local reporters, had the benefit of time. They got to watch how the trials of Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was charged with helping him kill Halbach, played out, and make judgments based on the totality of what theyd seen. Thats the fundamental difference between a documentarian and a daily journalist: One gets the birds eye view, while the other is trying to climb out of an anthill. Both are susceptible to blindness.

Theres no way the filmmakers could include their almost 700 hours of video footage in Making a Murderer. It was an admirable feat to condense what they had into 10 deeply compelling hours. But thats opened the series up to criticism from people who believe the film was one-sided or, in some cases, lacking context. They just kind of used snippets, says Emily Matesic, who covered the trial for Green Bays ABC TV affiliate, when asked how she feels about the medias portrayal in the series.

With the success of the film, Demos and Ricciardi now find themselves at the center of another sort of media storm. A representative said they had received a barrage of interview requests, and their booked schedule meant they would be unable to speak with CJR before next week. Wisconsins local reporters, busy with daily coverage, dont have much time to reflect, either. Several said they hadnt yet watched Making a Murderer. But when those who have seen it look back on the footage, theyre proud of their work. For them, it was just another day at the courthouse.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jack Murtha is a CJR Delacorte Fellow. Follow him on Twitter at @JackMurtha
At the end of last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels John Fauber completed the sixth and final installment of an 18-month-long series dissecting the US Food and Drug Administrations approval process for drugs. The storiesthoroughly reported like so much of Faubers work amount to a damning indictment of how the FDA conducts business, sometimes putting the health of the public at risk. The series is also, notably, the fruit of an ongoing partnership with MedPage Today, a New York-based trade publication aimed at doctors and healthcare professionals. Since 2009, the paper and the trade pub have been teaming up to examine pharmaceutical marketing, conflicts of interest in medicine, inappropriate treatment, and, for this most recent series, the shortcomings in the drug approval process. The overarching themes of their work are the influence of money and other non-scientific forces on the practice of medicine.

How did a New York-based trade outlet offering a mix of news and continuing education programs for physicians come to partner with a Wisconsin newspaper on deep-dive investigative work? For one, Fauber and MedPage Today editor-in-chief Peggy Peck had crossed paths professionally over the years and were familiar with each others work. [I] cant underestimate the role necessity played, says Peck, who approached the paper to propose the partership. Our need was a way to develop an investigative unit. The Journal Sentinel and John especially needed a way to make his continuing role as an investigative reporter in medicine a good deal economically. Peck notes that MedPage Today pays half of Faubers salary, frequently underwrites his reporting travel expenses, and provides help with database analysis, video, and access to some subscription data servicesnot to mention additional reporting heft (reporters Coulter Jones and Kristina Fiore have frequently shared bylines with Fauber). Storiesabout 80, including sidebars, over the course of the partnership so far, by Pecks countare published similtaneously at both sites, though MedPage tags the work Slippery Slope and the Journal Sentinel has used the tagline Side Effects and, more recently, Risk/Reward.

Pretty unique, is how Journal Sentinel deputy managing editor Greg Borowski describes the joint effort, pointing, for one, to its longevity. Because of the partnership, Borowski says the quality of stories has gone up, depth of reporting has gone up, volume of what weve been able to do has gone up. Peck confesses she wasnt sure the partnership would last more than one year, was really surprised by how well the content was received by our users, and gratified by how willing our staff was to embrace the concept and work with the Journal Sentinel folks.

As for readers, theyve been guided through the workings of the medical-industrial complex, the role of big money from Big Pharma in pushing pharmaceuticals, and the risks posed by many new drugs coming on the market. The big message for patients and to some extent doctors is they may not know all the details of the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, Fauber says. For the stories done last year, they found 14,000 deaths reported to the FDAs adverse events reporting system after the products got on the market. Most recently, their work focused on the FDAs use of less stringent measures of effectivenessso-called surrogate measures to fast-track approval of some drugs. For example, if a drug shrinks a tumor as evidenced by an X-ray or a lab test, its often approved even if theres no proof patients will live longer or have a better quality of life. Fauber summed it up this way in December:

Journal Sentinel/MedPage investigations have found the FDAs reliance on surrogate measures has led to a steady stream of costly drugs of dubious value over the past decadenot just in cancer, but for conditions such as diabetes, low testosterone and obesity.

On sticking, more recently, with this common thread of the FDAs use of surrogate measures, the Journal Sentinels Borowski says the more you do, the more their message gets into the conscience of readers and eventually to policy makers who can make a difference. Some stories over the years have help spark Senate investigations. Both outlets say their joint work enjoys healthy readership (without giving specifics). Says Journal Sentinel deputy manging editor Borowski, Theres also impact beyond how many people read the stories. How could you measure how many people had a better conversation with their doctors about a drug? Theres no way to tell.

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The idea youd have an open pipeline between two news organizations sharing judgments and reporters and working in two different media cultures was a radical proposal in 2009, Peck says. But this is the news biz, and competitive juices still run deep. When I asked Fauber what was next on the list for this partnership, he hesitated to tell me too much. I live in constant fear that someone will get to these stories before we do, he said, adding that the team would continue looking for potential harm and where regulators have not been as demanding as they should be. Given the reality of weaker FDA regulation, there cant be enough probing eyes on these industries. The enduring Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today partnership shows what can be done and the value of continued focus.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Trudy Lieberman is a longtime contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review. She is the lead writer for CJR's Covering the Health Care Fight. She also blogs for Health News Review and the Center for Health Journalism. Follow her on Twitter @Trudy_Lieberman.
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron couple is accused of making methamphetamine and growing marijuana with the woman's three children in the home.

Darcey Beach, 35, and Hunter Edwards, 36, are charged with illegally manufacturing meth, possessing meth-making chemicals, three counts of child endangering and marijuana growing.

Both are being held in the Summit County Jail until their Friday court appearances.

Akron police reported that they followed up on a tip made about 11 p.m. Wednesday about a meth lab at the couple's home in the 1300 block of Childs Avenue.

Officers found a one-pot meth lab bottle on the back porch and items in the trash used to make the drug, according to police reports. They also could see other meth-making items when they looked through an open window.

Beach let officers search her home. The officers discovered more meth-making materials in the basement, along with a marijuana-growing operation, police reports say.

Akron's Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team was called to handle the volatile meth-making chemicals.

Edwards arrived at his home while officers searched his house. Edwards had a loaded handgun in his waistband and a blackjack in his back pocket, court record say. He also had a small bag of marijuana in his pocket.

Three children, ages 14, 11 and 10, live in the home and were at the house when officers arrived. Summit County Children's Services took custody of the children.

Edwards has three prior felony convictions for aggravated drug possession, breaking and entering and domestic violence.
COPLEY, Ohio -- A man robbed a Burger King restaurant on Tuesday and was arrested on Wednesday inside a motel room with a 9-month-old baby.

James Jones, 22, of Akron, is charged with aggravated robbery. The baby's mother, Brittany Haas, 20, is charged with child endangering, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The robbery happened about 10 a.m. at the Burger King on Montrose Road West.

Jones walked into the restaurant and implied that he had a gun by holding his left hand in his coat pocket, police said. He also threatened to kill an employee, court records say.

He walked away from the restaurant with less than $154.

Copley police found Jones, Haas and two others inside a room at the Best Western Motel. Officers found cash, heroin and needles inside the room, police said.

They also found Haas' 9-month-old son crawling on the ground inside the room near the boy. The child was placed in the custody of Summit County Children Services.

Jones has no felony record and has five misdemeanor convictions for obstructing justice and disorderly conduct.
Summit County Juvenile Court and Detention Center

A 14-year-old boy was booked into the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center on Wednesday on suspicion of aggravated robbery.

(File photo)

AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron teen is accused of threatening to kill a man with an airsoft replica gun after stealing the man's lawn ornament.

The 14-year-old boy, a student at Roswell Kent Middle School, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery and booked into the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.

A 20-year-old man reported about 4 p.m. Wednesday that he was pulling into his home in the 1600 block of Sunset Avenue when he saw the teen take the ceramic bird ornament from his lawn.

The man confronted the teen about the theft. The teen pulled the gun from his waistband, pointed it at the man and threatened to kill him, according to police reports.



The orange tip that is supposed to help people identify if the gun is real or fake was removed, according to police. The man told officers that he thought the gun was real and feared for his life.

The boy then smashed the ornament on the sidewalk and walked away with a 13-year-old girl. Several officers searched for the boy until they found him walking along East Wilbeth Road near Burkhardt Avenue.

Officers found the toy gun, a Desert Eagle spring-loaded B.B. gun, in the boy's sweatshirt pocket. The man identified the boy as the person who threatened him, police reports say.

The boy told police that he found the ornament on the sidewalk and that he accidentally dropped it. He also said he found the gun while he was walking.

He denied threatening the 20-year-old man.
AKRON, Ohio -- Chapel Hill Mall is losing Macy's -- one of its three department stores, a blow to to the struggling shopping center, which has been working to recover since declaring bankruptcy in 2014.

Last summer, many retailers, including a manager at the Macy's, told cleveland.com they noticed an improvement in foot traffic and sales at Chapel Hill. Occupancy ticked up slightly and the mall's new owner, McKinley Inc., brought back popular attractions like Archie the Snowman.

Among strong points at the struggling mall were the anchors -- JC Penney, Sears and Macy's -- still intact despite closures at other malls across the nation.

Wednesday's news begs the question, then, is Macy's departure a fatal blow to Chapel Hill, once Akron's most-visited mall?

Anchor stores matter, a lot

Macy's departure isn't just bad for the mall's owner, which now faces the task of finding a new tenant or forfeiting rent from the property, but is also bad for the other tenants in the mall.

Part of the economic magic that makes a shopping mall work is the collective benefit of grouping stores togehter. It's a sort of communal market, where even competitors benefit from each other's customers.

"The best thing about a mall is you can go and do a variety of shopping at a variety of diverse stores and they all feed off each other," real estate developer Dan Dehoff said. Dehoff's firm manages shopping malls in the Canton area and around Northeast Ohio.

Even when a competing business opens in one of Dehoff's malls, tenants will see their income increase.

"If you're a Chick-fil-a and a McDonald's opens up, your revenue somehow goes up," Dehoff said.

The inverse is also true. If one store closes at one of Dehoff's malls, even if there are other competitors selling similar things, everyone's revenue will drop.

Not only does a big box tenant improve the overall appeal of the mall, but also many of the mall's interior tenants have now introduced leases that tie their rent to a big draw. That means that if a store like Macy's leaves, tenants inside the mall will pay less rent.

"That could quickly spiral out of control," Dehoff said.

This closure is not unusual

In closing 36 of its roughly 800 stores, Macy's is eliminating about 5 percent of its retail capacity in the latest round of closures. This is nothing alarming, according to Itzhak Ben-David, a finance and real estate professor at The Ohio State University.

"Five percent is what you would expect a large corporation to do every once in a while. Not every business decision is perfect and so you see executive make adjustments," Ben-David said. "Is this a death sentence to the mall? My guess is no."

The immediate impact at Chapel Hill will depend on how well the other two anchor tenants, JC Penney and Sears, are drawing customers.

The fact that Chapel Hill's Macy's was one of the bottom 5 percent of Macy's properties indicates that overall harm to foot traffic at the mall might not be as great as expected, Ben-David said.

Successful malls have found ways to attract new businesses that aren't affected by the erosive growth of online shopping.

Consolidation has also left an over saturation of department stores in many areas. The nearest Macy's store is just one freeway exit away, at the Stow-Kent Plaza on Ohio 59. It, like the Macy's at Chapel Hill and at Summit Mall in Fairlawn, has existed since the 1960s in a succession of brands -- O'Neil's, May Co., Kaufmann's, then Macy's.

It is unlikely that Macy's will lose many of the customers that relied on the Chapel Hill store to do their shopping, Ben David said.

"If you only lose 15 percent of your revenue from that area, and you cut one-third of your cost, I would say that's probably a good business decisions," Ben-David said.

Will Chapel Hill recover?

In order to survive, experts say Chapel Hill must quickly replace Macy's with another big tenant, one that keeps the box from devolving into an eyesore and attracts its own foot traffic.

Retail has been a much maligned industry in recent years as online stores like Amazon siphon shoppers from traditional big box and department stores. Still, some businesses are looking for large communal spaces.

Think Dave and Buster's. That will mean big changes at the mall.

"That space will have to be completely retrofitted, think of it as a repurposing," Dehoff said.

Chapel Hills has been one of Summit County's busiest retail centers for decades. The streets around the mall teem with discount stores, fast food restaurants and plazas. The area's problems seem to stem not its general location, off of Ohio 8, a few minutes from downtown Akron, but from the blighted Akron neighborhoods to the south. Crime in the area has been a detractor for many middle class shoppers.

Former Cuyahoga Falls mayor Don Robart told cleveland.com that he started receiving complaints about the mall, neighboring his city, in the early 2000s.

"What we saw is that there were large masses of young people and that was very intimidating to adults," Robart said in a June interview. "The managers at the mall called and asked if we could do anything to help."

If Chapel Hill manages to attract an exciting new tenant, Dehoff thinks it could prove a turning point that might draw shoppers back from the growing communities of Stow, Munroe Falls and Hudson.

"If it's a Halloween store, they're screwed," Dehoff said. "Blight will end up ruining the mall."
The agony of the oil patch continued Wednesday when crude fell to levels not seen since December 2008  leading Jim Cramer to ask when the pain would finally come to an end.

That is why Cramer turned to the insight of oil magnate, financier and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens, to discuss the future of energy for the U.S.

The recent rout in oil has prompted many investors to ask what could be in store for 2016, as many speculate that crude will continue to trade in the $30s for the foreseeable future.
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The "farm-to-table" movement  emphasizing ethically, locally sourced food  evokes a pastoral fantasy of a simpler time. But now that a bellwether of the trend is under scrutiny for foodborne illnesses, reality may be testing the limits of the farm-to-table foodie craze, experts told CNBC. Chipotle Mexican Grill warned investors Wednesday that sales had been pummeled by fallout from E. coli and norovirus incidents. It also said a grand jury has subpoenaed it in an investigation of a separate norovirus outbreak. The latest news sent yet another shock wave through a chain known for touting local ingredients on an unprecedented scale. Is the dining darling's downward spiral a death knell for local sourcing? No good deed goes unpunished, said Joe Bastianich, host of CNBC's "Restaurant Startup."

"These are viruses that are transmitted because the produce is real," Bastianich said. "Because it comes from the earth  the dirt. It's not grown in some lab, in some vaporless environment. It's real stuff. And that is both a positive and a negative." Local produce is bought during the summer months, primarily, and accounts for about 10 percent of Chipotle's overall purchase of produce in a given year, the company's co-CEO, Steve Ells, told analysts at the Bernstein Consumer Summit in December.

It has taken the limelight in recent months because determining the cause of an outbreak is already a lengthy ordeal. That's compounded when fresh produce from many suppliers could be spoiled and no longer available for testing by the time an outbreak is detected. "Maybe there is a bit of naiveness," said Bastianich. "I think [Ells] and the company are so committed to that idea of direct products. It is such a good idea. But then, of course, you have to be cognizant of what that brings with it. In this case it didn't work out great for them."

Shares of Chipotle have dropped 31 percent since it was first linked to an E. coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest. But other fast food restaurants continue to pile on commitments for more natural fare. The latest? Carl's Jr. , announcing the launch of all-natural turkey burger patties, and Subway, with cage-free eggs. Rather than the end for natural foods, it may be just the beginning as restaurants search for the sweet spot between an industrial supply chain and a truly local one with hundreds of farmers individually supplying local restaurants, an expert said. "There are two things going against these local supply chains," said John Gray, associate professor of operations at The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. "My research has shown that larger firms do seem to have more consistent compliance [with food safety standards]. Instead of dealing with one firm, dealing with a hundred firms does increase risk."
The markets always have a hard time factoring in potential nuclear catastrophes. The combination of the unknown and inherently irrational North Korean government and thermo-nuclear weaponry is the complete opposite of reassurance for investors.

As soon as Cramer learned that North Korea claimed that it detonated a hydrogen bomb on Tuesday night, he knew Wednesday would be a difficult trading session.

"Remember, nobody ever made a dime panicking, and that is still true even when everybody is freaking out about thermo-nuclear war," the " Mad Money " host said. (Tweet This)

Sometimes, the market wants to go lower, and nothing will stop it. But Jim Cramer reminded investors not to let fear obscure the concrete positives that are happening right under their noses.

There is no universe where we should be down more than South Korea on this news, yet that is exactly what happened

Cramer was shocked when the U.S. stock market was eviscerated, while the South Korean market  the country that really should be worried  seemed to take the whole thing in stride, dropping only about 1 percent on the news before rallying and closing almost unchanged.

"There is no universe where we should be down more than South Korea on this news, yet that is exactly what happened," Cramer said.

Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer

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Cramer: Dumpster diving the S&P's losers of 2015

Cramer: Communist China is guessing with stocks

In Cramer's perspective, investors should not be worried about North Korea, at least no more worried than they were before. North Korea has had missiles for years now, but Cramer does not believe it will use those weapons because it does not want to be wiped off the map in retaliation.

And while everyone was worried about North Korea's H-bomb, many people missed a crucial negative event in the market  the rate hike bomb. ADP reported very strong employment numbers, which is bad news because it suggests that the Fed may continue to tighten.

However, the Fed's vice chairman, Stanley Fischer, told CNBC on Wednesday morning that he was not married to the idea of hitting the market with four rate hikes this year. Cramer thought this was incredibly positive news given the damage that an aggressive Federal Reserve could do to the market.

"I'm simply urging you to maintain a sense of perspective, rather than losing your head and panicking. Even if you want to sell everything you own, today was not to do that. You will likely get a better chance at higher levels if you are simply willing to be patient," Cramer said.

So, while Cramer understands that the market is descending into a spiral where balance sheets no longer matter to stocks, he reminded investors to stay calm and look for weakness so they can pick up high-quality stocks at bargain prices.

"I know nothing is more painful than to hear that it is worth staying the course, yet sometimes the most painful thing to do is the right thing to do, and that is why I am advocating the outrageous position of not jettisoning your stocks just because everyone else around you seems to be doing exactly that," Cramer said.
Investors should be most concerned about about the yuan when weighing the situation in China, UBS' Art Cashin and longtime bull Jeremy Siegel said Thursday.

"They've lost a good deal on foreign exchange reserves. That's going to present a little bit of a problem for them," Cashin, the bank's director of floor operations, CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."



China's foreign exchange reserves fell by $512.66 billion in 2015 to $3.33 trillion, central bank data showed on Thursday. That marks their biggest annual drop. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) had set the yuan midpoint at 6.5646 per dollar on Thursday, 0.5 percent weaker than Wednesday's fix, the biggest fall between daily fixings since the devaluation began in mid-August.

"What this does is, again, push inflation on the rest of the world at a time when central bankers are struggling to get inflation up to its target. That's one reason why I think the Fed's going to stay its hands," Siegel, the finance professor at The Wharton School, told CNBC's "Fast Money: Halftime Report" on Thursday.



Chinese equities fell 7 percent for the second time this week, triggering the newly placed circuit breakers. In fact, the Chinese trading session only lasted 29 minuted before being shut down.
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China is playing a dangerous game with its currency, moves that could send the global economy into recession. China's control-minded central bank allowed the biggest fall in the yuan in five months on Thursday, roiling global markets and sparking new fears about Asia's largest economy. Trading in the country's stock markets was suspended for the day after only 29 minutes. Part of the fear driving those markets lower is that investors are struggling to understand the People's Bank of China's goals  with official statements pointing to an apparent policy struggle between conservative stability and liberalizing reform. "They have a problem, and they don't like any of the options available to them," said Patrick Chovanec, managing director and chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management.

An employee counts 100-yuan (15 USD) banknotes at a bank in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on January 7, 2016. China weakened the value of its yuan currency by 0.51 percent to 6.5646 against the US dollar on January 7, figures from the China Foreign Exchange Trade System showed. STR | AFP | Getty Images

The problem is that most outside traders consider the yuan to be more than 10 percent overvalued against the U.S. dollar. Allowing the market to take the exchange rate to that value could potentially devastate China's domestic economy, but it's an expensive  and potentially impossible  task to fight the market now that the yuan is a global currency.

While the country's leadership had hoped to offer some amount of currency reform while still maintaining stability, it's finding the process hard to control, according to Jonathan Fenby, China director at Trusted Sources. "Once you start to do it, you can't be half pregnant," he said of the currency liberalization process, one that likely began as a politics-inspired goal of having the yuan included in the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket of important reserve currencies. Beijing has long pressed the IMF to make the yuan part of the select club of currencies, along with the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and British pound sterling. The addition is scheduled to take effect this year.

As Chovanec saw it, China's central bank has three main options: The central bank defends the currency. China sets an exchange price that its economists believe is defensible against outside speculation, and then the bank uses its considerable (but decreasing) foreign currency reserves to fix that price.



The PBOC institutes a single devaluation so large that the currency actually begins to experience upward pressure from outside traders.



China allows for a controlled, gradual deprecation. The central bank uses some of its reserves to manage the slide, but the yuan sees a steady fall to near market expectations Each of those options has its pros and cons, but it seems so far as if the PBOC is opting for the third course of action, Chovanec said. On Thursday, the bank set the official midpoint rate on the yuan 0.5 percent weaker at 6.5646 per dollar, the lowest since March 2011. But then it also intervened, according to Reuters sources, in order to boost the exchange rates of the offshore-traded yuan.

Jumping into the international markets is a way to reduce the spread between the officially set onshore rates and the trader-affected ones, a key metric that influences the currency's overall momentum.

But any PBOC devaluation (or market-led depreciation) could cause a domino effect across the world. Other countries could be forced to lower the value of their own currencies to remain competitive with China. The U.S. dollar would then spike on a relative basis, and that would in turn swell the value of dollar-denominated commodities and corporate debt  which would likely grind global growth to a halt. The apparent Chinese decision to allow for a drop in the yuan "will be very detrimental to the global economy," Chovanec predicted. "If everybody gets into the act, it's a risk they push the U.S. into recession." "They're riding a bronco that they didn't quite know they were unleashing," Fenby said, pointing to the risks to Chinese political stability if its middle class were significantly affected by a yuan-influenced global downturn.
Despite trimming losses, European markets still closed sharply lower on Thursday, as further turmoil in the Chinese stock market and a turbulent oil environment, rocked investor sentiment.

European markets



The pan-European STOXX 600 finished down 2.2 percent provisionally, with all sectors sharply lower, in what had been a turbulent day for markets. The German DAX index slipped below 10,000 points during trade, for the first time since mid-October, however the index came off its session lows, to close down 2.3 percent. London's FTSE finished 2 percent lower, dragged down by its mining stocks, while France's CAC ended 1.7 percent down.

Circuit breaker suspended

The China Securities Regulatory Commission suspended its circuit breaker system Thursday after trade in China was halted for a second time in a week overnight. A 7 percent stock drop triggered a circuit breaker, with Chinese markets open for less than half an hour in total.

The news of the suspension helped markets recover slightly, however, markets in Europe and the U.S. remained under pressure.

"I think China's suspending their circuit breaker rule was a great help ... The thinking is there's not going to be this mad rush to the opening bell," said Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities.

The triggering of the circuit breaker for a second time, was a blow to markets across Asia, which were already wallowing after a weaker open due to concerns over China's currency, the economic slowdown and a fall in oil prices.

Oil prices recover

Oil also remained on the radar for investors. Brent crude fell sharply to levels not seen since April 2004, with it trading around $32.77 a barrel in early trade, however since then Brent came off session lows to trade higher, last trading at $34.45. Much of the earlier negative sentiment came from concerns over the Chinese economy and continued worries over oversupply in the market, however, violence in the Middle East and North Africa offered reassurance to traders. U.S. crude also fell to their lowest since late 2003 before recovering, last trading at $33.99. Despite the late recovery, oil and gas stocks remained badly hit. Seadrill closed off over 7.5 percent while oil majors such as Subsea 7 , Sbm offshore and Shell all finished sharply lower, over 3 percent. And oil was not the only commodity affected. Metal prices were under pressure as the turmoil in Chinese markets has sparked demand worries. Basic resources was the worst-performing sector, down some over 5 percent. Anglo American was one of the STOXX 600's worst performers, down 11 percent. Glencore and BHP Billiton were both closed more than 5 percent down. One commodity stock that bucked the trend was Randgold Reserves , which was up around 1.7 percent, on the back of rising spot gold prices.

Autos, luxury fall on China worries

China worries also hit a number of auto stocks, given that many sell into the world's second-largest economy. Germany's BMW and Daimler were down sharply over 4 percent. Volkswagen was off 4.7 percent on a report by German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung suggesting that it may have to buy back 115,000 cars in the U.S. as a result of the emissions scandal. Pressure was also on for luxury stocks, many of which rely on Chinese consumers. Swatch , Richemont and Christian Dior all closed lower. However, Danish jewellery maker and retailer Pandora shot up 4.5 percent after it said on Thursday that it plans to add between 200 and 300 stores a year between 2016 and 2018 after sales jumped by 40 percent in 2015, Reuters reported. Apple's stock closed down 2 percent on Wednesday and briefly fell below the $100 mark after reports the U.S. technology giant is slashing production of its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices. This had a knock-on effect on Apple's European suppliers with Dialog Semiconductor off more than 9 percent and Austria Microsystems down over 5 percent.


Yohei Hasegawa, the earthquake and tsunami observations division director of the Japan Meteorological Agency, points to a graph of ground motion waveform data observed in Japan during a news conference in Tokyo on implications that an earthquake sourced in North Korea was triggered by an unnatural cause on Jan. 6, 2016.

In the days and weeks ahead, nuclear experts will be hunting for airborne radioactive particles that could shed light on North Korea's assertion that it tested a hydrogen bomb, but drawing an independent conclusion could prove lengthy and difficult.

Seismic monitoring stations operated by governments around the world detected an earthquake on Wednesday morning that the U.S. Geological Survey measured at a magnitude of 5.1.

The location of the quake, near a known North Korean nuclear test site, and its seismic characteristics led experts to quickly conclude that North Korea had probably conducted a fourth nuclear test. Pyongyang then announced it had done so.

But it is the detection of airborne radioactive particles that will give clues as to the type of device that was set off and whether it was a hydrogen bomb, which is more powerful than an atomic bomb and would mark a technological advance for North Korea.

Another possibility is that it was not a nuclear device at all but a conventional high-yield explosive.

Following the North's last nuclear test, in 2013, it was 55 days before radioactive xenon gas was detected at a monitoring station in Japan, located about 1,000 km (600 miles) from the test site, which pointed to a nuclear blast by Pyongyang.
Pharma bad boy Martin Shkreli has used his E-Trade brokerage account  which contained a cool $45 million as of Wednesday  to secure the $5 million bond that has kept him out of jail since mid-December, when he was indicted on federal securities fraud charges.

Here's one guy who REALLY doesn't want the stock market to tank any further  or he might get locked up.

A magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York, agreed to accept Shkreli's account as collateral for the bond, but placed a number of tight restrictions on the deal. Shrekli had until Friday to determine what assets he wanted to use to secure his release.

The judge, Kiyo Matsumoto, barred Shkreli, any of his relatives, employees or other associates from selling off or transferring any of the holdings in the E-Trade account, or using the account to secure any other debt. Matsumoto also ordered E-Trade to let federal prosecutors in Brooklyn know if the assets in the account are valued at less than $5 million.

Shkreli, 32, was arrested last month on charges related to his actions at the hedge fund he previously ran, and the pharmaceuticals firm, Retrophin , that he founded and ran until his ouster by the company's board of directors in 2014. Shkreli is accused of looting Retrophin to pay off investors whom he was suspected of defrauding at the hedge fund, and also is accused of misrepresenting the amount of assets his fund had under management.
Even after a brutal few days for markets, stocks don't look to be cheap. But on the other hand, it's not as if the market is in a bubble.

A peek at the 's valuation shows that the markets are trading in line with recent average valuations. The S&P's current price is about 15.8 times the earnings analysts expect to see from S&P 500 companies over the next year, according to FactSet. This is exactly in line with the average forward price-to-earnings multiple going back to the beginning of 2000, and a bit lower from the average multiple seen over the past two years.

There are about as many ways to gauge where stocks are going as there are investors. But at the most basic level, a stock is simply an ownership stake in a company, which gives the owner of that stock residual rights to some of that company's profits. This is why determining whether a stock is expensive or cheap often comes down to assessing how much that company is likely to earn, and then seeing how many times that number investors are being asked to pay.

Using consensus analyst estimates is a way of allowing the experts do that difficult first part for you. A forward P/E metric simply takes that number and compares it to the current price. And the same may be done with an index, by aggregating and weighting earnings estimates and using the index price.

Read More Bob Doll: No bear market this year


U.S. oil prices of around $20 per barrel could still happen, Citigroup's Ed Morse, said Thursday as crude briefly hit 12-year lows of just over $32 per barrel.

"You never know where the bottom is," Morse told CNBC's "Squawk Box." He said the recent tumble has been more severe than he'd anticipated. "We think the pressure is still going to be on for lower prices," he added.

West Texas Intermediate crude was falling around 3 percent early Thursday, after a decline of 5.5 percent on Wednesday.

China's stock rout this week sparked new concerns about a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy and what that might mean for global oil demand at a time of near-record production and massive crude stockpiles.

Read MoreOil slides further as China turmoil rattles investors

"The market is itself much more fragile than the price of oil would indicate," said Morse, Citi's global head of commodities research. He added that any supply disruptions due to political uncertainty in Venezuela, Nigeria or Iraq, for example, could just as easily send oil prices higher.

"We have like a 95 million barrel-per-day market. And maybe, a million and a half barrels a day of oversupply right now. That's 2 percent  2 percent at a time when the Saudis are producing all out," he said.

Noting that narrow oversupply margin, oil magnate T. Boone Pickens told CNBC Wednesday that it would not take much to balance the oil market.

Read MoreBoone Pickens to Cramer: Oil is close to bottoming

Morse agreed with Pickens on that point. "We think the market is going to balance ... by the end of the year." To get there, Morse predicted that production will finally be cut, with U.S. producers bearing the brunt of the lost output.
A new report commissioned by NASA highlights many of the risks connected with one of the agency's major goals: putting more humans in space for longer periods of time.

Astronaut Scott Kelly on the International Space Station. Kelly has broken the record for most days spent in space as well as the most consecutive days spent in space. Source: Scott Kelly | NASA

Space missions with humans have grown far longer and more complex since the early days of the space program. NASA's One Year Mission, launched in March 2015, will keep astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station for a full year. Nearly twice as long at the typical ISS mission, the One Year Mission is in part designed to help NASA understand the effects of living in a weightless environment with tightly limited resources. The 2015 Review of NASA's Evidence Reports on Human Health Risks, released Thursday, is the third of five such documents produced by a committee of researchers at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. The review's recommendations include that NASA: Study the way different risks affect each other  such as the impact food and nutrition have on physical and mental health and performance;

Stress the differences between spacewalks outside the ISS versus work outside vehicles on planets, where environments could be totally different;

Consider a wider array of spacesuit designs  the current reports discuss only one;

Begin tailoring more research to individuals and account for the differences between individuals. The reports are being done at NASA's request to further the agency's understanding of how it can improve safety and quality of life for travelers on space missions, especially longer ones where the health effects of celestial travel are less well understood and potentially more severe.

Each report in NASA's Human Research Program takes a sample of the agency's studies and identifies both areas where research is solid, as well as potential research problems or questions that still need to be addressed.

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Apart from longer trips to the ISS, NASA is also evaluating the feasibility of setting up bases or outposts on the moon, deep space missions to bodies such as near-Earth asteroids, and travel to other planets, such as Mars.

"I think it would be fair to say the context in which all of this is happening is there will be longer tours of duty and longer missions," said committee chair Carol E.H. Scott-Conner, a doctor and professor of surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. There are myriad risks an astronaut faces in space  from muscle and bone loss to psychological health to nutrition, and risks change based on the type of mission or activity an astronaut undertakes. "Space travel is so complex and difficult, and space is such an unforgiving environment, that it is almost impossible to identify any one thing that is a greater risk than anything else," Scott-Conner told CNBC

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Muscle loss is a well-documented problem in environments with little or no gravity  astronauts in space typically spend two hours a day working out simply to compensate for it. NASA has estimated that muscle size and function can decline 20 to 40 percent without countermeasures.

Space can also affect the body's ability to take up oxygen  a key indicator of aerobic fitness  and can impair the body's ability to regulate blood pressure. Astronauts can injure themselves while performing tasks or suffer excessive radiation exposure, especially while donning space suits and working outside a vehicle or space station. NASA has been working on new spacesuits in part to reduce the risk of injury or sickness while on space walks or venturing outside vehicles. There are also food supply and nutrition issues. Food can spoil during long missions, it can lack needed nutrients, and it can even bore or frustrate astronauts when it tastes bad or lacks variety.

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Ride-sharing app Uber is softening the blow of China's market turmoil by offering discounts to some of its Chinese users, just hours after trading was suspended on the country's stock markets, a company spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday.

Users of the taxi app in Shanghai were notified via text about their discount which read: "It's great working in the security trading industry - you can go home early when market is bearish," according to a translation sent to CNBC.

Uber customers were asked to input a promo code in Manadrin a pun for "miserable 100%"  to get 50 percent off their ride. The discount was capped at 10 renminbi per trip ($1.52).

The idea came when Ba Shusong, a chief economist of the China Banking Association, took to Weibo  China's version of Twitter  Thursday to tell a joke about how many traders had been fired and had become Uber drivers.

"Starting 2016, I find Uber drivers standard overall got to another level: dressed in nice suits and shoes, very polite and good manners, even know astronomy, geography and all kind of sciences...I couldn't help but curiously ask today at 10am, and found out that they are all security trading companies staff!," he wrote, according to a translation.

Shusong has over 9 million followers on Weibo.

Uber said that the promotions were created by each individual city team. While users in Shanghai were offered in discount, people in other city saw something different, the company's spokesperson, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNBC via email.

In Chongqing and Shenzhen users saw the car icons in the app turned into stock market charts. In Chongqing, users were also given 8.88 renminbi off their first trip. Eight is considered a lucky number in China.

China has been a big focus for Uber this year. Uber raised $1.2 billion for its Chinese business from search giant Baidu in September. Chief executive Travis Kalanick also said that 30 percent of trips on Uber's app now take place in the world's second-largest economy.
As the Chinese economy rapidly expanded, hot money flowed into the country, mostly in the form of U.S. dollars. The Chinese central bank was more than happy to take these U.S. dollars in exchange for yuan and then it bought U.S. Treasurys. This symbiotic relationship allowed China investment to expand while the United States benefited from a ready, willing and able creditor. In short, the Chinese economic expansion financed the U.S. budget deficits. That process is now going into reverse.

We know the Chinese economy is slowing, perhaps dramatically. However, whether the Chinese can engineer a soft or a hard landing is inconsequential to investors. If investment returns in China have diminished, then it is time to move money out of the country. This is exactly what is occurring and is the reason for the yuan weakness. While a weaker currency certainly benefits Chinese exporters, it is unlikely that the central planners would want a weaker currency at the expense of their own stock market.


hi



Hi all..

I have to compare two text box values whether they are equal or less than or greater than like textbox1.text<=textbox2.text...

I am comparing date as string values..

Thanks in advance..



F-ES Sitecore wrote: to covert the string values in the textboxes into DateTime variables, and you can then compare the DateTime variables using ">>" "<" "==" etc. I would suggest using the

DateTime.Compare Method[^]

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!







The operators[^] return the result of comparing the InternalTicks property for both instances.



The Compare method[^] does almost the same thing, but calculates and returns an integer ( -1 , 0 or 1 ), which you then have to test to determine the result. (You also have to remember which value represents which result.)



What benefit do you see in using the Compare method over using the operators, when all you want to do is determine whether one value is less than another?





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer









I learned something today

Put that way, there really is no benefit.

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!



Hi,



I am using a TextBox in my code and a Panel and some Rad controls in it. When I click a button beside the TextBox it opens the Panel as Popup and when makes change to the fields in the Popup and say Save then Popup closes and TextBox should have the changed value. But TextBox is still showing the old value but when I put mouse over its .text field in the code behind it is showing changed value.



Is there any way I can change the showing value of the textbox as well. I tried in all the events by keeping mouse over every event in code behind shows the changed value but still it doesn't show up in the screen.



Any help is appreciated code snippet, link or even any suggestion, thanks in advance.

Thanks,



Abdul Aleem



"There is already enough hatred in the world lets spread love, compassion and affection."



Hi,



I am new to the Telerik controls, I am using RadEditor, when I don't put the RadAjaxManager its giving me error like AjaxManager doesn't exist, but when I put in my content page, the error is gone and page loads but it is not enabling the RadEditor to edit the values.



Can anybody please help me in this any link, suggestion or a code snippet would help, I am struggling a little bit and I am also researching to find the reasons for it.



Thanks in advance

Thanks,



Abdul Aleem



"There is already enough hatred in the world lets spread love, compassion and affection."







If you could post your code (suitably obfuscated) it'd help.





Thanks,



Abdul Aleem



"There is already enough hatred in the world lets spread love, compassion and affection."



C# Copy Code Can help me about to make online Shopping Website. My query is under: 1 . How to add cart 2 . how to show product value in repeater (with Image) 3 . how to process billing. 4 . what is way of return process Please suggest me my database is in linq (No SQL) so Help me as well as earlier. Thank You







1) Just add a new table which would hold the details for every new order.

Copy Code Table: Orders OrderID (int) | UserID (int) | DateTime (Date) | Purchased (bit)

That done, you can now add more items in this. Note that, I am not specifically talking about an SQL table. Instead, I am talking about a "data object" that can store these informations. You can use Entity framework, NoSQL (I have no idea of this!) or plain-text files.



2) There is no such thing as product value. It is the product, and then its value, the amount that has to be charged. That would require plain-HTML code. Just a simple loop. Is that too tough?



3 and 4) Billing would require an eCommerce service, a payment gateway and so on. You should not build it yourself, instead get a third-party service such as PayPal, Skrill or Google Wallet etc. and then allow clients to make a payment. Billing and other return procedures are your own policies. You have to define them yourself as they would be of your interest! You should never ask anyone to build your policies, instead build them yourself. Contact a lawyer or any official or legal personnel and then make up the policies and terms of conditions.



You may mess up with the payment gateways and other services. Trust me, anything that has money involved is a very big lawsuit, and you as a beginner must be aware of that!



Creating a shop website in ASP.NET[^]

The sh*t I complain about

It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem

~! Firewall !~



modified 5-Jan-16 6:28am.



I am developing desktop-apps. Now I want to go to a web-based approach with asp.net mvc as a framework.



I want to skip the Silverlight-approach and instead want to do it html5-JScript-based (with asp.net mvc).



I do not have such kind of modern high-end-multimedia screens. Instead, my requirement is to keep the "usual desktop like UI" as menues, win-forms, .... for showing things like datagrids



Can you give me some hint how to make the first steps?



Thank you in advance





modified 4-Jan-16 15:46pm.







The theme of the website would look much like Windows Desktop applications. WinJS is based on the style themes natively in JavaScript and CSS. You can get it, learn more about it and even share it. (Look at the links provided below



WinJS Everywhere | Building Apps for Windows[^]

winjs/winjs-modules  GitHub[^]

The sh*t I complain about

It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem

~! Firewall !~







I created my first asp.net-site, following this link Building your first MVC 6 application  ASP.NET MVC documentation[^]



I have no problem with the "Model-View-Controller"-Pattern, but:



a) I am intimidated by this enormous bunch of tools I had to setup before the project was built successfully



b) there is an endless number of files generated which tells me nothing



Finally:

I am sure, nobody in this world is able to understand what's going on here



I have a list called List < Accounts > where I can add customers' info after supplying the needed data and clicking the Add button on my webform. To persist my data between postbacks I stored my data in a session variable then retrieve them from that session variable later on.



The problem is the session variable only shows one account even though I added multiple accounts. The folloewng is my code.



C# Copy Code List<Account> accts = new List<Account>(); protected void btnShowAccountDetails_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { StringBuilder acctDetails = new StringBuilder(); if (Session[ " acctObjects" ] != null ) accts = (List<acct>)Session[ " acctObjects" ]; foreach (Account acct in accts) { acctDetails.Append( " ID: " + acct.Name + " Account ID: " + acct.AccountID + " <br/>" ); } litCtrShowAccountDetails.Text = acctDetails.ToString(); } protected void btnAddAcctount_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { Account acct = new Account(); StringBuilder acctDetails = new StringBuilder(); if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(txtName.Text)) { acct.Name = txtName.Text; } else { ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript( this , GetType(), " EmptyName" , " EmptyNameAlert();" , true ); } if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(txtAccountID.Text)) { acct.AccountID = txtAccountID.Text; } else { ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript( this , GetType(), " EmptytAccountID" , " EmptytAccountIDAlert();" , true ); } accts.Add(acct); Session[ " acctObjects" ] = accts; }



Please help me resolve this issue, thanks in advance.



modified 4-Jan-16 13:23pm.





There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.





These two lines of code always replace whatever object present in Session["acctObjects"]

C# Copy Code accts.Add(acct); Session[ " acctObjects" ] = accts;

To avoid the overwrite, whenever you want to add a Account to List<Account> stored in session, get the List from session, add new Account to that list and store it back to session. Here is how you can do it.



C# Copy Code if (Session[ " acctObjects" ] != null ) accts = (List<acct>)Session[ " acctObjects" ]; accts.Add(acct); Session[ " acctObjects" ] = accts;







C# Copy Code if (Session[ " acctObjects" ] != null ) accts = (List<acct>)Session[ " acctObjects" ]; else accts = new List<acct>(); accts.Add(acct); Session[ " acctObjects" ] = accts;


A 2015 silver 3-ruble coin from Russia celebrates the first credit card in the country, by mimicking the shape and security traits of actual credit cards.

When it comes to cash or credit, the Central Bank of Russia is turning the question on its head.

On Dec. 15, the bank issued a noncirculating legal tender commemorative coin that celebrates the first credit card in the country. The Proof .925 fine silver 3 ruble coin is even shaped like a credit card.

The obverse of the coin bears an image of the state coat of arms of the Russian Federation, with inscriptions translating to Russian Federation and Bank of Russia. The denomination and year of issue, 2015, also appear, with symbols indicating the metal, purity and the Mint mark of the Saint Petersburg Mint.

The reverse side of the coin reproduces a credit card, with 16 account number digits, gold accents, and an apparent hologram (of the ruble symbol) meant to mimic security traits employed in actual credit cards. An inscription toward the upper part of the design translates to Issue of the first payment card NSPK.

The coin weighs 31.1 grams and measures 51 millimeters wide and 32 millimeters tall. The mintage limit is 5,000 pieces.

Interested collectors will have to search the secondary market to obtain this coin.
Hazing anniversary a time of reflection for Santulli family

Danny Santulli's family hopes the attention given to his situation can help end hazing nationwide, Santulli's father, Tom Santulli, told the Tribune.
January 6, 2016 - Billy Alexander and Randy Vanderable (left) with the Mid-South Food Bank sort through sweet potatoes from Hernando Produce at the Food Bank's warehouse before sending them out to one of the area food pantries. A new federal tax deduction benefits farmers who donate fresh produce to food banks

SHARE January 6, 2016 - Ulysses Hall pulls a pallet of fresh vegetables out of the cooler at the Mid-South Food Bank's warehouse.

Encourages farmers to give extra produce

By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal

Food banks in Memphis and America expect an infusion of fresh food following the $1.1 trillion spending and tax bill that President Barack Obama recently signed into law.

The bill includes a provision that officials say will encourage farmers to donate more fresh produce.

In past years, enhanced tax deductions for donated food were only offered off and on, mainly to large corporations, diminishing donations to food banks, particularly from smaller donors, said Carrie Calvert, director of tax and commodity policy for Feeding America, a national network of food banks and pantries.

Now those enhanced deductions will be available to other taxpayers such as small businesses and farmers.

At the Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis, Food Resource Manager Bob Fritchey said the tax deduction has been temporary, convoluted and mainly benefited larger farmers.

"It mainly benefited the bigger farmers because it depended on how they did their taxes, whether it was an accrual method or a cash method," Fritchey said. "It depended on how they did their taxes and most little farmers did not benefit."

"It looks like maybe this is now permanent, which is wonderful, because then people can start counting on it," he said.

Farmers' hearts may be in the right place and they don't want to see crops rot in a field, but at the same time, it may cost them money to get it out of the field and donate it, Fritchey said.

Knowing that the tax benefit is available will help prime the pump for donations of fresh produce, he said.

"What I found is that farmers love the idea of this food not going to waste and so if we get that opportunity to promote this, if they find out about it and their accountants find out about it, it could be a big shot in the arm for not only our food bank, but food banks around the country," Fritchey said.

Currently, the Mid-South Food Bank works with some Mississippi growers in the Hernando and Senatobia areas to get fresh produce including sweet potatoes, red potatoes and onions, he said. The food bank has received sweet corn and tomatoes from farther south in Mississippi. In Tennessee, the food bank is working with growers in the Covington and Ripley areas to provide from their harvests.

Fritchey also pointed to a program called Invest An Acre, founded by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's brother Howard, that encouraging donations to food banks from farmers that grow row crops like soybeans and cotton. Those donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co.

Farmers in the Aberdeen, Mississippi area have pledged $10,000, which with the Monsanto match will grow to $20,000 credited to an Aberdeen food pantry, he said.

Feeding America projects an increase of 100 million donated meals because of the law.

It will have a "tremendously strong impact" for people who rely on food pantries for sustenance, Calvert said.

"Farmers want to do the right thing, but it's hard when it costs more to donate than to leave the food in the field," she said.

The Chicago Tribune contributed to this article.
Giannotto: Morant, Grizzlies are finally in spotlight. Are they ready?

As the Grizzlies begin their highly anticipated follow-up to last season's breakthrough, all eyes are on what Ja Morant can do next.
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By Ted Evanoff of The Commercial Appeal

Former Wisconsin hospitality executive Kimberly K. Schaefer has joined Education Realty Trust Inc.s board of directors.

Education Realty, a publicly traded Memphis real estate trust commonly known as EdR, buys, develops and manages student housing on college campuses throughout the nation. In U.S. companies, the board of directors sets broad policy and oversees the chief executive officer.

Schaefer recently stepped down as chief executive of Great Wolf Resorts Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin. She had been chief executive since 2009 of the company, the nations largest operator of indoor water parks.

Great Wolf was purchased by New York investor Apollo Global Management for $703 million in 2012 and sold last spring to New York investor Centerbridge Partners for $1.3 billion.


By Ted Evanoff of The Commercial Appeal

Verso Corp. of Memphis said it sold a Maine subsidiary to Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC for $62 million.

The struggling Memphis paper maker released a statement Thursday morning saying cash from the sale will help it address its previously disclosed cash flow and liquidity concerns.

In the statement, Verso said executives continue to evaluate other potential asset sales in connection with its exploration of various debt restructuring alternatives.

Eagle Creek acquired Verso Androscoggin Power LLC, which owns four hydroelectric generation facilities linked to Verso's Androscoggin pulp and paper mill at Jay, Maine.

Eagle Creek, founded in 2010 in Morristown, New Jersey, owns 47 hydroelectric facilities.

Verso laid off 300 Jay employees in December and has indefinitely shut down its mill in Wickliffe, Kentucky.

For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Verso reported a $111 million loss on revenue of $782 million.

Verso merged last year with Ohio rival NewPage Holdings in an effort to reach economies of scale in a paper industry losing volume to online publishing.


First Tennessee officials have asked for permission to change a parking lot and alley, providing more security for its Midtown branch at Union and Cleveland. (Thomas Bailey Jr. / The Commercial Appeal)

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By Thomas Bailey Jr. of The Commercial Appeal

First Tennessee Bank wants to close a public alley behind its branch on Union at Cleveland so armored cars and employee parking can be more secure, according to a request before the Land Use Control Board.

The bank wants to close part of the alley that extends from Cleveland to Claybrook, north of Union and south of Monroe. Now, the alley is used for access to the rear of the bank.

First Tennessee is changing the parking lot to "allow for greater security for armored car pick-up and drop-off,'' land planner Forrest N. Owens of ETI Corp. states in a letter the Office of Planning & Development. "Additional security is needed for employee parking as well. A portion of the parking lot will be by gate access only.

Bank officials on Thursday did not mention security issues in explaining the request to close the alley. The changes will "enhance the banking experience for customers and upgrade the location for employees,'' states a written response to questions from First Tennessee.

The upgrades are in keeping with First Tennessees investment in the Crosstown community, said Bruce B. Hopkins, president of the bank's West Tennessee Region. We are making minor modifications to beautify the site and add attractive green spaces that will improve the parking lot for our customers and employees.

First Tennessee plans to provide a new public right of way that will allow traffic to enter and exit from the remaining alley to Monroe Avenue.


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By Thomas Bailey Jr. of The Commercial Appeal

The locally owned Newmark Grubb Memphis firm has been acquired by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, continuing the sweep of changes, acquisitions and consolidation among commercial real estate firms nationally and in Memphis.

BGC Partners, a global brokerage company for the financial and real estate markets, announced Thursday that its Newmark Grubb Knight Frank business bought affiliate firm Steffner Commercial Real Estate, which has operated as Newmark Grubb Memphis.

The local firm's owner, Joe Steffner, now will head Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Mid-South region.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank plans to expand its presence across Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, and the acquisition of Newmark Grubb Memphis anchors that plan, company officials said in a release Thursday.

The firms did not disclose how much was paid for the Memphis business.

Newmark Grubb Memphis has well-established roots and a strong track record in the Memphis market,'' Barry Gosin, chief executive officer of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, said in a prepared statement. "Our longstanding partnership has provided NGKF with deep knowledge of this region, in which commercial activity is reaching a tipping point across all property types.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank plans to establish a "dominant presence'' in the region, he said.

Newmark Grubb Memphis focuses on the leasing, sale and management of office, industrial, retail, medical, multifamily and investment properties. The firm represents more than 3.5 million square feet of managed and leased property in the Memphis metro area.

Steffner founded the Memphis firm in 2004 as Steffner Commercial Real Estate, and two years later partnered with Grubb & Ellis to become Grubb & Ellis Memphis. In 2013, the firm became an affiliate of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as Newmark Grubb Memphis.

Steffner said NGKF's resources have been made the key difference in helping his firm be successful. "And I look forward to working with NGKF's leadership to grow our operations across the Mid-South,'' said Steffner, whose title is now senior vice president and regional managing director for NGKF.

Joining Steffner as senior managing directors are Jim Rainer and Scott Pahlow.

The transaction is just the latest in a spate of acquisitions.

Last week, the Los Angeles-based CBRE Group announced it had acquired its longtime Memphis affiliate, CBRE/Memphis.

A month ago, the Canadian-based Avison Young established a Memphis office by hiring away two brokers from Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors.

Avison Young first sunk roots in Tennessee after the Chicago-based DTZ acquired for $2 billion the Cushman & Wakefield national alliance. After that acquisition, 82 brokers who had been with the Cushman & Wakefield/Cornerstone firm left and opened Avison Young offices in Nashville and Knoxville.

A recent Wall Street Journal report explained the trend in commercial real estate, saying that firms are changing to rely less on uneven broker commissions and more on consistent fees that landlords, corporations and other clients pay for property management and consulting.

For their part, clients want to use firms that have a broader reach and technological resources, the report states.
MICHAEL DONAHUE/The Commercial Appeal Shanghai ribs at Mosa Asian Bistro

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By Michael Donahue of The Commercial Appeal

When I told my colleague, Brad Vest, I was going to try the ribs at Mosa Asian Bistro, he said, "Just what this town needs. More ribs."

Well, Shanghai ribs aren't those hefty, smoky ribs slathered in thick barbecue sauce. They're savory, delicate with a hint of sweetness. "No way you can compare these to the Memphis style barbecue," said Alex Pao, one of Mosa's owners. "This is its own separate beast."

Pao described the pork baby back ribs, which they call "Shanghai ribs," as "Taiwanese Chinese comfort food at its finest. Rustic, but delicious."

Shanghai ribs are Mosa owner Eddie Pao's take on hong shao rou, which is "red cooked pork," but they're not anything like those ribs found on numerous Chinese restaurant buffets. "Dad put his spin on it," Alex said.

The ribs are cooked in a gravy with a soy garlic base. "They're slow cooked and braised in this giant wok for two and a half to three hours," Alex said.

They're served with a succotash made of beans sprouts, scallions, asparagus, potatoes and diced carrots. The succotash "complements the savory flavor of the ribs," Alex said.

The dish comes with a side of white or brown rice."We add a little of the rib gravy on top of it to give it flavor."

The recipe was handed down from his mother's mother, Alex said. His mom served the ribs at family dinners at Thanksgiving. They found their way to Mosa's menu a week after Eddie brought them to the restaurant for a Thanksgiving feast for employees. They urged him to put them on the menu, said Mosa sous chef Richard Adams,

Mosa also serves beef or pork Asian Seoul Sliders. They come with cilantro and Asian slaw, which is made with daikon and pickled carrots, topped with aioli and served on a toasted challah bun from Ricki's Cookie Corner & Bakery. They're fabulous.

Mosa Asian Bistro is at 850 S. White Station Road; 901-683-8889
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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

A Memphis caretaker who defrauded a woman's estate of more than $80,000 was sentenced Wednesday to 27 months in prison, said the office of Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

Shirley Hardaway, 60, who was the owner of Companion Plus, cared for the victim for about four to five years before the woman died in September 2009. She was 91.

"The deceased victim left behind more than $80,000 in two investment accounts at Franklin Templeton Investments, an investment managing company headquartered in California," Louis Goggans, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said in a news release. "Nearly two years after the victim's death, in June 2011, Hardaway mailed fraudulent change of address requests to Franklin Templeton on the decedent's investment accounts, changing the address used for future correspondence between the parties to Hardaway's address."

She then worked with a co-conspirator to open a bank account in the victim's name and requested the investment company transfer the money.

"Upon receiving the request to liquidate both of the deceased victim's accounts, Franklin Templeton electronically transferred more than $80,000 to the bank account," according to the news release. "Hardaway then transferred the money to her personal Bank of America savings account and withdrew it all via cashier's check."

She pleaded guilty in October to one count of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

She was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Jon Phipps McCalla and ordered to pay $124,630.54 in restitution. The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case which was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Leetra Harris.
October 29, 2015 - Lorenzo Clark, 36, consults with his attorney Bill Massey, during a hearing at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center Thursday. Clark appeared on the state charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is charged with state and federal gun violations in connection with the October 11 fatal Cordova shooting of off-duty Memphis police officer Terence Olridge. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE Lorenzo Clark is charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun in connection with the killing of off-duty Memphis police Officer Terence Olridge in Cordova.

By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

A man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of an off-duty Memphis police officer in Cordova pleaded guilty Wednesday in a federal gun case. His wife, who was charged with providing the gun used in the shooting to her husband, a felon, also entered a guilty plea.

Lorenzo Clark, 36, and Terence Olridge, a 31-year-old officer, exchanged gunfire about 12:50 p.m. on Oct. 11 before Olridge was leaving for his shift at the Airways police precinct. Olridge was fatally shot with a Glock 9mm gun. Clark, the officer's neighbor, surrendered at his home in the 2700 block of Long Shadow.

Clark was indicted on federal charges of possessing the Glock, a Colt rifle and an Escort 12-gauge shotgun.

Clark pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of the Glock. He entered the plea in an agreement with a recommendation for a punishment of 51 months in prison, said defense attorney Lorna McClusky.

Clark's wife, Natalie Clark, 38, was charged with providing three guns to her husband, and she pleaded guilty Wednesday to providing the Glock to Clark. She entered her plea in an agreement with a recommended sentence of no more than 18 months.

"We can ask for probation," said her attorney, Blake Ballin. "They hopefully will not oppose that request. It's our goal obviously to obtain a sentence of probation rather than incarceration."

Clark was charged in state court with being a felon in possession of a handgun, but that charge was dropped in November as the federal case continued.

Clark was not charged with killing the officer, and there appeared to be evidence that Clark shot the officer in self-defense, defense attorney Bill Massey said in October. Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said in a news conference Oct. 13 there was not enough evidence to substantiate other charges.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office's case against Clark deals only with felony possession of a firearm," Louis Goggans, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said Wednesday. "Whether or not Clark acted out of self-defense is not a consideration."

Olridge was shot three times, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday. He was struck in the chest, the right arm and his left wrist. According to the medical examiner, the fatal shot hit Olridge in the chest, then entered both lungs and his spine.

The shots are described as coming from an "intermediate" range, which is not defined in the report.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Memphis Police Department investigated the case which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marques Young.

Lorenzo and Natalie Clark are both scheduled for sentencing in April.

Commercial Appeal reporter Yolanda Jones contributed to this report.
<p>May 20, 2015 a Noura Jackson (middle) confers with her attorneys Michael Working (left) and Valerie Corder (right) before pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2005 stabbing death of her 39-year-old mother, Jennifer Jackson. Jackson, was initially convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 and was awaiting retrial of the case before offering a Alford Plea to the lesser crime. As part of the plea Jackson, who has served nine years, agreed to a 15-year sentence as a career offender. (Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)</p>

By Samantha Bryson,Beth Warren

Noura Jackson, 28, sobbed at Jail East when her attorneys told her about a plea offer that would shave years off her prison stint. After nearly a decade behind bars, she soon would be free  but at a cost.

Her first words, But my mom! No one will ever figure out who killed my mom.

Prosecutors maintain they know the answer: an entitled and haughty teen who stabbed her mother more than 50 times to protect her partying lifestyle.

A Shelby County jury wont get to decide. Neither side wanted to back down, but both acknowledged obstacles to winning in court, agreeing to meet in the middle during a plea deal finalized Wednesday.

Jackson entered an Alford plea, also known as a best interest plea, to voluntary manslaughter, a killing that was provoked and in the heat of passion.

Its an unexpected development after nine months of contentious pretrial hearings with no trial date in sight.

After Wednesdays hearing, Jacksons attorneys, Valerie Corder and Michael Working, immediately faxed the plea agreement to officials with the state Department of Corrections to allow her to go home.

They maintain that, with good time credits, she should already be eligible for release. It is unclear how long that process will take.

Jackson refused prosecutors initial offer to confess to the slaying and apologize.

She insisted on maintaining her innocence and only agreed to a plea deal Tuesday after prosecutors met with her attorneys at a Cooper-Young coffee shop and offered to allow her to enter the Alford plea. That meant she didnt have to admit guilt but had to accept the punishment and burden of being a felon.

Jackson accepted a 15-year sentence. Voluntary manslaughter, unlike second-degree murder, allows release after 30 percent of the sentence has been served, and Jackson has already served nearly a decade, or 60 percent of the sentence.

Jacksons plea is similar to the deal that freed the West Memphis Three in 2011. Damien Echols, who spent years on Arkansas Death Row, entered an Alford plea to first-degree murder along with Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin in the 1993 slayings of three 8-year-old boys. All three defendants, teens at the time of their arrests, still insist they are innocent.

One of their investigators, Rachael Geiser, also worked on Jacksons case and was in court for its conclusion Wednesday.

It brings back a lot of memories about Damien, she said. Im thrilled for Noura.

Relatives left without commenting about the deal.

Jackson initially wanted a chance to prove her innocence before a new jury, but grew increasingly skeptical of receiving a fair trial while waiting in vain for nine months for a bond hearing.

She would have fought an additional 10 years on principle, Working said. But who wants to give up their 30s on principle?

After the hearing special prosecutor Michael Dunavant said he was pleased with the outcome of the case because his offices priority was to make sure there was a finding of guilt on the record for the knowing, intentional killing of Jennifer Jackson.

The fact that Noura Jackson insisted on being allowed to legally maintain her innocence by entering the Alford plea was not a consideration in his decision to accept the negotiated settlement, he said.

Prosecutors initially sought a conviction in 2009 for first-degree murder, a killing with intent and premeditation, and a life sentence. But Jackson was sentenced to 20 years and nine months for second-degree murder, an intentional killing without premeditation. Working said she wouldnt have been eligible for parole until 2023.

Dunavant fell short of saying the victims family supported the plea deal but said his office had remained respectful of their input and opinions in its pursuit of a resolution.

In coming to his decision, Dunavant also said he had carefully considered what the Supreme Court already acknowledged last year in its written ruling  that the states case against Jackson was almost entirely circumstantial.

Jacksons attorneys say the teen and her mother were close, sharing a love of shopping sprees and nights of movies and popcorn. Prosecutors, however, say Jennifer Jackson, a successful bond trader, was trying to curtail her daughters drug and alcohol abuse. With her mother gone, they argued, the teen could do as she pleased and gain unimpeded access to her deceased fathers estate.

Faced with the challenge of building a new case 10 years after the stabbing, Dunavant said he expected many of the states 2009 trial witness to be hard to find or unavailable. He also acknowledged that the evidence about Jacksons drug use and sexual activities that was heavily relied upon by prosecutors at the 2009 trial would not be allowed in a retrial, per the Supreme Courts admonition.

Defense attorneys heavily criticized this tactic, which they say amounted to little more than irrelevant and prejudicial character assassination.

Dunavant was tapped in March to take over the prosecution after Shelby County Dist. Atty. Amy Weirich, who had been the lead prosecutor during the first trial, voluntarily recused herself and her office from the retrial.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said Weirich committed several errors, including during her closing argument when she appeared to directly address the defendant and point to a gap in her alibi.

Weirich also neglected to hand over a key witness statement to the defense, which she said had been misplaced in the flap of a trial notebook by a member of her staff. According to the high court, that statement would have been critical in the defenses ability to cast doubt on testimony that placed Jackson at the scene of the crime.

On Wednesday, Jacksons demeanor was polite and somber as she answered Yes, sir to a series of questions from Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft, who accepted her plea.

Ten years is a long time to fight for justice, said Corder, whos been Jacksons lead attorney since 2005. Miss Jackson is pleased to have a resolution that the state proposed to her that would allow her to put this behind her and to be released very quickly.
January 06, 2016 - Richard Hamlet, founder of the Global Ministries Foundation, right, speaks with media while supporters say a prayer before Hamlet addressed the Shelby County Commissions core city, neighborhoods and housing committee about the progress of upkeep to the apartment complexes GMF owns in the city. The committee decided to ask GMF to return and give an update in 30 days before returning again in 60 days to vote on a resolution that would ask HUD to remove GMF from its subsidy program until it takes steps to make Warren and Tulane apartment complexes safe. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE January 06, 2016 - Cynthia Crawford, left, and Jessica Peterson, cofounders of the Warren apartment tenants association look over the committee agenda before speaking on behalf of tenants living within the Global Ministries Foundation apartments in Memphis. The committee decided to ask GMF to return and give an update in 30 days before returning again in 60 days to vote on a resolution that would ask HUD to remove GMF from its subsidy program until it takes steps to make Warren and Tulane apartment complexes safe. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal) Related Coverage HUD forces Global Ministries to relocate tenants

Feds execute search warrant at Global Ministries

By Linda A. Moore of The Commercial Appeal

Following assurances from Global Ministries Foundation president Rev. Richard Hamlet that problems at his federally subsidized apartment complexes are being corrected, a Shelby County Commission committee agreed on Wednesday to delay its vote on a resolution that would ask the federal government to take away GMF's subsidies.

Hamlet spoke to the commission's core city, neighborhoods and housing committee, which was slated to vote on a resolution that asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to suspend GMF's Section 8 agreement until it had addressed safety issues at the Tulane and Warren apartment complexes.

Instead, the committee has asked GMF to return in 30 days with an update on its progress. It will vote on the resolution in 60 days with a commitment from the faith-based nonprofit landlord that the repairs will be completed.

Problems at GMF's properties include reports of mold, bedbugs and overall disrepair have resulted in an extensive list of code violations and have landed GMF in environmental court.

It is also being investigated by HUD, while an investigation by The Commercial Appeal found that millions of dollars had been shifted from the housing nonprofit organization to Hamlet's religious nonprofit.

In October, a group of commissioners toured several properties and spoke with residents about their problems.

But on Wednesday, Hamlet assured commissioners that he is focused on the needs of the tenants.

"I, before God will say, I love my residents and I got into this to make a difference. And there have been some mistakes made, but I am confident we are on the right path," Hamlet said. "We will continue to invest in these properties and we want to make a difference. I believe we have the management team in place now to help us go forward."

Commissioners acknowledged that the resolution was only a recommendation and worried that if HUD acts, the residents would have no place to live.

"I see everybody's concern, but what are you going to do with these people?" wondered Commissioner Mark Billingsley. "Are you going to put them out on the street?"

"I believe the commission has not only a role but a duty to hold people accountable," said Commissioner Heidi Shafer. "But we've got to give people time to work. The last thing I want to do is put people out on the streets."

And Commissioner Eddie Jones, a code enforcement supervisor with the city of Memphis, acknowledged GMF is making progress.

Hamlet brought with him supporters from the faith community and a resident at the Tulane complex.

Residents at other properties also spoke about how long it takes for repairs to be made, that they aren't made correctly and that LEDIC, the company hired to manage the properties, has retaliated against organizers of the residents association with eviction threats.

Commissioner Melvin Burgess bristled at the committee's inaction.

"Not one time did we mention what these babies gotta go back to," Burgess said of the children who were with their parents at the meeting. "Let's get these babies out of there."

He proposed that the commission find a way to temporarily house the residents elsewhere until their homes are habitable.

Advocate Brad Watkins, executive director of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center, left the meeting angry and disappointed.

He pointed out that HUD is obligated to house the residents and that they would not have been homeless.

Also, he said, had the commission acted, it would have joined governments across the Southeast that have already lodged complaints with HUD against GMF.

"We just sat here and watched a gross miscarriage of justice," he said.
Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal January 7, 2016 - Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong (left) announces his decision to leave the MPD at the end of January to take a job as director of security for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital as Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland looks on during a press conference at Memphis City Hall.

By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal

Police Director Toney Armstrong is walking away from the Memphis Police Department to step in as director of security at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

After five years as head of MPD, Armstrong is leaving at the end of the month and will start his new role with the hospital Feb. 1, more than a year before he was set to retire through the citys Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP).

"Toney Armstrong truly is a Memphis hero," Mayor Jim Strickland said at a press conference Thursday. "He has dedicated his entire adult life to helping us, starting as a patrol officer and moving up the ranks, and has been a remarkable director of police. He will be missed."

Strickland has yet to name an interim police director.

An emotional Armstrong publicly thanked his mother, who died last year, and his family for understanding that heading up police in Memphis is a "calling, not a job."

"I'm just grateful to God I have another calling now, a calling that's going to be just as purposeful as this has been," he said.

Armstrong, 48, joined the Memphis Police Department in 1989 and was appointed director in 2011. He's overseen the department that was in many ways characterized by tight budgets, benefits cuts that contributed to the departure of more than 400 officers, and four line-of-duty deaths at a time when there's a national call for more accountability of police.

"You're talking about five years of some the most stressful and trying times that this city has ever seen," he said. "So, absolutely, there were mistakes made  but there were a lot of wins as well."

Strickland said his administration is looking to hire a firm to conduct a national search to find Armstrong's replacement.

Armstrong will receive a lump sum DROP payment of $142,454.20, plus interest, when he retires. DROP lets employees freeze their participation and contributions to their retirement plans, creating long-term savings for the city. In return, they increase their take-home pay and the city puts pension payouts into an interest-bearing account, which employees receive in a lump sum at retirement.

Before becoming director, Armstrong served as a police officer, working as an undercover operative and supervisor in the Organized Crime Unit; as an investigator and supervisor in the robbery and homicide bureaus; as a precinct commander; and as a deputy chief in charge of several precincts. He was promoted to major in 2008, appointed by then-director Larry Godwin to the positions of colonel, deputy chief and, in 2010, deputy director.

Armstrong was the youngest person to hold the police director post, according to the city's press release.

"I am extremely grateful to have served the city in this capacity," Armstrong said in the prepared statement. "Because I wanted to stay in Memphis, I searched for a position that was as purposeful and as meaningful as law enforcement has been to me, and St. Jude was the answer."

In its press release, St. Jude noted Armstrong's appointment comes as the hospital begins a significant period of growth in clinical care and research. Over the next six years, the hospital expects to increase the number of patients it treats by 20 percent, while also increasing its workforce at the hospital and ALSAC to about 7,000 employees.

"Toney Armstrong's service with the Memphis Police Department has been distinguished by his efforts to strengthen community relations in the greater Memphis area and his commitment to leadership," said James R. Downing, St. Jude president and chief executive officer. "We are fortunate to have someone of Toney's caliber lead our security operations at St. Jude as we work to ensure that our campus continues to be safe and secure for patients, families, employees and visitors."

Armstrong will be the architect for security at the St. Jude campus, while current St. Jude Security Services Director Ken Carlton will oversee patient security, among other responsibilities, a hospital spokesman said.

Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, said on the U.S. House of Representatives floor Thursday that of all the directors he'd known, "none were better" than Armstrong.

"It's a tough job being a policeman and a tough job being director of an urban police department, but he did a fine job," Cohen said. " Tony Armstrong and St. Jude: Thank God for each."
January 7, 2015 - John Duncan, Collierville's Economic Development Director, delivers a presentation during a lunch meeting in the Adminstrative Conference Room at the Collierville Town Hall Thursday. The Collierville Industrial Development Board met to discuss FedEx's demand for an additional 20 years worth of tax breaks from Collierville. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

FedEx is seeking an additional 20 years of property tax breaks to keep its big tech center in Collierville, and at a town Industrial Development Board meeting Thursday, all signs suggested the company  the town's biggest employer  will get what it wants.

No vote was taken at Thursday's meeting, but no one spoke in opposition either. The IDB will vote on the request later this month.

"The impact of FedEx in this community, it's hard to put your finger on it, but it's gigantic," board member Terry Cochran said after the meeting.

With lease expirations approaching, FedEx has threatened to move the tech center elsewhere. The company already received tax breaks starting in 1998, and those breaks expire in 2018. In exchange for not leaving, FedEx would get most of its town and Shelby County property taxes written off for many more years: 20 years for town taxes, 15 years for Shelby County taxes, for a total savings of $75.5 million, according to a work sheet distributed at the meeting.

John Duncan, Collierville's economic development director, endorsed the tax breaks by noting the information technology center employs 2,425 FedEx workers with a total annual payroll estimated at $233.8 million. An additional 400 contractors work on site. FedEx has promised to invest tens of millions of dollars more in facilities and equipment in the coming years, he said.

After Duncan's presentation, he said, "Questions? You guys are awful quiet." The board members made a few fact-finding inquiries, but no one criticized the proposed deal. In less than 45 minutes, the meeting was over, setting up a vote at the next Industrial Development Board meeting on Jan. 21. Ratification by the town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen would be on the Jan. 25 agenda. The Shelby County portion of the tax breaks can be finalized in Collierville and doesn't have to go to the Memphis area's larger economic development agency, called Economic Development Growth Engine, according to Reid Dulberger, head of that organization.

FedEx representatives didn't speak at the meeting at Collierville Town Hall, which was attended by Mayor Stan Joyner and other town notables.

Collierville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kanette Keough-Rodgers said the organization backs further tax incentives to support FedEx.

Moving the tech center out of Collierville wouldn't necessarily be easy for FedEx, said John J. Barrios, chairman of the chamber's board of directors: "It costs a lot of money to move." But he said just a few miles south of Collierville in Mississippi, other governments are offering big subsidies to companies willing to invest.

"It's kind of like a high stakes poker game," Barrios said. "Somebody might be bluffing. But can you take that chance?" He said continuing to give tax breaks to FedEx is probably the town's best move.
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The new Memphis City Council and new Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland got off to a good start Tuesday.

The six new members on the 13-member legislative body  Frank Colvett Jr., Martavius Jones, Worth Morgan, Patrice Robinson, Philip Spinosa and Jamita Swearengen  appeared to have done their homework, efficiently chairing Tuesday's committee meetings and asking good questions during the meetings and the regular council meeting.

Despite the fresh start, at least one thing had not changed. Council member Janis Fullilove could not keep her emotions in check, launching a verbal assault at Chief Financial Officer Brian Collins, a Strickland holdover from the administration of former mayor A C Wharton. During a committee meeting on Strickland's appointees, Fullilove implied that Collins lied about the city's financial condition to keep Wharton from looking bad. She later apologized during the regular meeting.

All in all, it was mostly honeymoon time for the city's elected officials during the first meeting of the year in a new era of city government. That was helped, we think, by the fact Strickland assumed the mayor's chair after serving two terms on the council.

The council, however, demonstrated it was not going to be a rubber stamp. The new and old members raised good questions regarding the salaries of Strickland's appointees, zoning issues and Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division matters.

Strickland said, "I'm glad the spirit of cooperation is working between the mayor's office and the council."

But how long will that spirit last?

The city, as Strickland acknowledged Tuesday, is facing some tough financial issues. The seven veteran council members have differing views on how to deal with the problem. Endorsement interviews for the October city elections between members of The Commercial Appeal's editorial board and council candidates showed the new members have their own ideas about relieving the city's financial situation.

When city budget deliberations begin this spring, Strickland, working with the council, will have to find an extra $30 million-plus to ramp up the city's yearly payment into its pension fund to $73 million to $75 million to bring the fund into solvency by 2020. Solvency is mandated by state law.

An opinion Tuesday from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III could make the city's financial situation worse. He opined that Shelby County government is not responsible for paying the dissolved Memphis City Schools system's $1.1 billion liability for retiree health benefits unless the Shelby County Commission votes to assume the obligation. The debt "shall remain the obligation of the town, city or special school district," Slatery said in the opinion, which does not carry the force of law.

During commission committee meetings Wednesday, commissioners said the city was the responsible party, but Memphis Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen said the city is not responsible for the liability of a special school district created by the state, and would fight any lawsuits to pay the money.

Expect this one to end up in court. If the city loses, it could potentially turn the city's financial situation into a crisis.

There is bound to be some rough spots in the relationship between Strickland and the council as the year progresses, but we think the new mayor's eight years on the council will help mitigate any animosity, or is that too much to expect?.
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By Mark V. Holden

What should Tennessee lawmakers' New Year's resolutions be? I have a suggestion: Break down barriers to opportunity for the least fortunate.

Elected officials in Memphis City Hall and the statehouse in Nashville should start by rolling back burdensome occupational licensing regulations, which stand in the way of low-income job-seekers and budding entrepreneurs.

Most people have never heard of occupational licenses, yet they are a growing hindrance to economic mobility in Tennessee and across the country. Before you can work in many professions, you are forced to seek permission from your state or local government in the form of an occupational license. To make matters more difficult, you often have to pay a significant sum of money or spend months  and sometimes years  in training before beginning your career.

That wasn't a huge deal when occupational licenses only applied to lawyers, doctors and airline pilots. But other businesses quickly found they could handicap competitors and innovative startups if they licensed their own industries.

In July, the White House released a report detailing how occupational licensing laws have proliferated: "[M]ore than one-quarter of U.S. workers now require a license to do their jobs." At the state level, "the share of workers licensed  has risen fivefold since the 1950s." One recent academic estimate even puts the number of licensed jobs at nearly one in three.

Today, after years of lobbying campaigns by special interests, occupational licenses apply to hundreds of different entry-level and midlevel professions. Tennessee is no exception. It's the 10th most heavily licensed state in America.

According to the Institute for Justice, no fewer than 53 of the 100 most common low- and moderate-income jobs in the state require licenses. Barber. Locksmith. Shampooer. On the whole, the average Tennessee license costs $218 and requires 222 days in education or training. Many basic jobs require more training than an emergency medical technician.

And those are just some of the state occupational licenses. There are even more passed by cities like Memphis, which only restrict further an individual's attempt to earn a living. These laws vary  and conflict  from city to city and state to state, making it that much harder for Tennesseans to find work and make a living.

We're starting to learn just how much harm occupational licenses have caused. The White House again put it best, saying that licensing can "raise the price of goods and services" and "restrict employment opportunities" for those who need them most.

In fact, a 2011 academic study found that occupational licenses have prevented the creation of nearly 3 million jobs. They also cost consumers a whopping $203 billion in higher costs every year.

Occupational licenses also turn away potential entrepreneurs, especially in low-income communities. A 2015 study by an Arizona State University researcher found that heavier licensing correlates with an 11 percent lower entrepreneurship rate for people at the bottom of the income scale.

These licenses also harm those who have run afoul of the criminal justice system. Once nonviolent ex-offenders pay their debt to society, they should be encouraged to rejoin it by finding a job or starting a business. Sadly, their own government bars them from pursuing a career that requires a license.

Knocking down these barriers is both morally praiseworthy and economically beneficial. Lawmakers in Memphis and the state government in Nashville should  at the very least  prevent the creation of new occupational licenses. Better yet, they should roll back those that already exist. If lawmakers do this, they'll help countless low- and middle-income Tennesseans improve their lives and climb the ladder of opportunity.

Surely that's a New Year's resolution worth making  and keeping.

Mark V. Holden is general counsel and senior vice president at Koch Industries of Wichita, Kansas.
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First a bit of perspective. Being a PR person is hard. Your clients expect you to be able to deliver them articles in every single broadsheet at the drop of a hat. Very few clients can even start to comprehend that your hiring of a new janitor for your Series A funded startup isn't a cause for Time magazine to feature you on the cover of their next issue. PR folks have to take a lot of flack -- on the one hand, they have grumpy press and analysts mouthing off at the slightest provocation while on the other they need to balance telling their clients the truth, while still massaging some big egos.

All of which means that sometimes PR agencies need to pitch a story that, frankly, isn't really a story. That happens all of the time and a good journalist (or, frankly, any journalist) will happily click the "archive" button in Gmail to nicely dispose of such releases or pitches.

But every now and then, one comes through the door that simply makes my jaw drop and, depending on my relative grumpiness at the time, or the amount of work I need to do that day, might just get written up into a rant. Since today (the day I'm writing this post, rather than the day you're reading it), is a Sunday, and I have a couple of hours to kill, I thought I'd expose one fantastic example of press release numbskullery.

Recently I got a pitch from an agency, the name of which I'll not share so as to avoid any public embarrassment. Said agency works for a company that is involved in the security space. Now, anyone watching the tech industry will know that the security space is white hot and pretty much anyone coming out of Israel's crack 8200 cyber warfare division can pick up some venture funding for their idea. What this means is that there is an over-supply of security startups, all trying to find an angle to justify their claim to competitive differentiation.

This company has decided that containers are their angle and, as such, they've decided to claim to be the only security company focusing on containers (which neglects to recognize the other 125 also doing so, but no matter). Said company arranged for a survey, the results of which were being pitched to me by the agency.

"86% of IT Decision Makers Say They Use Containers or Will Deploy Them Within One Year," thundered the press release, closely followed by the factoid that "91% Are Concerned About Container Security."

Where to start. I spend lots of time talking to traditional enterprise IT people. Not those in Silicon Valley trying to sell the latest, greatest thing, but those in the banking, airline, manufacturing and shipping industries all of who are doing their best to deliver outcomes to their workers. These are the IT folks who manage workloads sitting on mainframes, who are still delivering software to end users sporting Windows XP, and to whom the cloud is some term they've yet to get their heads around.

The only thing that containers mean to these folks is some relationship to a chain of homeware stores that sell nifty little plastic kitchen aids. There is, technically speaking, a snowball's chance in hell likelihood that 86% of IT decision makers have heard of containers, let alone being ready to deploy them. As for the suggestion that 35% of said organizations are already broadly deploying containers across their networks... not a chance.

This sort of pitch does nothing for agency or vendor credibility, all it does is make lots of people look stupid. Please don't waste my time, your time or your client's money even thinking about pitching me such a load of baloney.

Rant over.
Well, gang, it's finally happened: We've made it past the point of no return. The notion of hardware being "smart" has, as tech-lovers love to say, officially jumped the shark.

It's been headed that way for some time now, of course. But while we've been watching it wobble with random goofy gadgets for a while, this year's CES convention in Vegas has taken the balance and slammed it firmly downward in the direction of silliness.

The main culprit? Samsung's Family Hub Refrigerator -- a "smart" fridge (oh yes) that comes with three cameras (uh huh) and a built-in Internet-connected tablet (yup). It'll cost $5,000 (no joke) and will be available to anyone with lots of expendable income (cha-ching) and very little good judgment (durrr) sometime this spring.

The concept is novel, to be sure, but it's also a new extreme of making something connected for the mere sake of making it connected -- and thus creating a "smart" appliance that's more gimmicky than practical and spattered with troubling asterisks.

It's real, all right: The Samsung "smart" fridge in all of its $5,000 glory

Let's examine this a bit more closely, shall we? The selling point of the Family Hub Fridge is that it'll make your kitchen modern and convenient. Sounds sublime, right? In theory, sure. But the problem, as I pointed out on Twitter earlier this week, is that there's a difference between something sounding neat on paper and something actually being useful in real life. And it seems safe to say Samsung's "smart" fridge falls firmly into the former category.

Oh, JR, you're just being surly!

Maybe. I do have such tendencies, after all. But initial "neato!" factor aside, this concept really does present some serious issues.

So get into them already, then, you rambling goat-stalker!

I would, if you'd quit interrupting already. (And keep my goat-adoring habits out of this, buddy. How'd you know about that, anyway?!)

The core issue with Samsung's "smart" fridge is that it's integrating hardware and software with short shelf-lives into an expensive appliance that should last a solid 13 to 17 years (according to a variety of news articles about refrigerators, which I actually looked up while mulling this subject -- the things I do for you!).

On the hardware front, think about how different a tablet today is from one you would have bought five years ago. Now think about the fact that the tablet in the Family Hub Refrigerator is stuck there eternally, even as standards and expectations invariably evolve.

And on the software front, think about how much trouble Samsung has keeping its phones and tablets up to date with new releases over time. Do you honestly think the company's going to be sending timely OS upgrades and security patches to your refrigerator -- a product that's sure to sell in far lower numbers than its already-update-challenged smartphones and tablets -- two years from now? What about six years from now? Or 10?

Security implications aside -- and that's no small cookie to consider -- outdated software could result in key features failing to work as interfaces evolve over time. It's a struggle owners of previous (albeit less ambitious and less high-profile) Samsung "smart" fridges have already complained about, and it seems all but inevitable at the rate such areas progress.

Uh, so what exactly are you saying here?

Here's what it boils down to: This sort of "smart" appliance isn't being created because it's useful or practical for families. It's being created merely because it's possible -- and potentially profitable (especially if manufacturers manage to convince shoppers to "upgrade" and get new models more frequently than they do now).

The benefit here is almost entirely for the manufacturer, in other words, and it comes at the cost of the consumer.

Wait a minute, muchacho. You must be exaggerating, right? I mean, this thing is gosh-darned futuristic! And futuristic has to mean cool, doesn't it?

It does give good "wow" at first glance -- I'll grant you that. When you really stop and think about it, though, almost everything Samsung's "smart" fridge offers could be accomplished in a more effective manner with a standalone tablet and a cheap stand.

Consider some of the appliance's marquee features:

Posting, sharing, and updating calendars

Leaving notes for other family members

Sharing photos and artwork

Creating a shared online grocery list

Managing recipes

Streaming music through a built-in speaker or to nearby Bluetooth speakers

Playing videos in your kitchen

Any of those tasks would be more practical and more convenient on a screen that's not permanently stuck to the front of your fridge (and, let's be honest, some of them would be more sensible with good old-fashioned paper and magnets). Crucially, a standalone tablet could also be upgraded and/or replaced over time so it doesn't turn into a poorly functioning and insecure eyesore.

The one function of the Family Hub Refrigerator that couldn't be replicated (without a heck of a lot of work, at least) is its ability to let you use fridge-mounted cameras to peek inside your fridge from a phone. So if that possibility's worth $5,000 and all the accompanying headaches to you, proceed as you will. (For perspective, most standard non-"smart" fridges start at well under $1,000 and go up to around $2,500 for higher-end hardware store models.)

Samsung's "smart" fridge isn't the only dumb use of connected technology, of course; it's just the final straw that's shifting the balance in an increasingly comical field. (See also: the world's first Bluetooth-connected pregnancy test! Because in those tense moments, the thing you really want is an extra time-consuming complication that adds absolutely nothing of value to the experience. Technology! Huzzah!)

For most of us, the question to ask with "smart" products is simple: Why? If you can't figure out the answer -- if the product doesn't do anything that you actually need and that can't be accomplished more simply, effectively, and cheaply in another already-existing manner -- establish yourself as the smart one in the relationship and walk away.

Your future self will thank you.
LAS VEGAS -- Two top federal regulators on Wednesday urged tech companies to expand their efforts to protect consumer privacy.

"There is a responsibility if you collect [personal] information," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said at CES.

He said Internet service providers (ISPs) have a responsibility to make sure personal data is held securely and that companies are transparent about what's being captured. Wheeler also said consumers need to know that they have a choice -- opting in or out -- as to whether their personal data is collected.

Blair Hanley Frank FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler speaks at a panel during CES 2016 in Las Vegas.

"There's no question that with connected devices, data is becoming today's currency, and we need to be aware of the impact of that on consumers," added Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. The two chairs spoke separately in an interview format during a session at CES. Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro asked the questions.

Ramirez said personal data is collected in so many ways that consumers might not be fully aware of information they've opted to share.

"It could be a smart fork to document what I'm consuming late at night," she added. Devices are "gathering increasingly sensitive information about us, and how it is being used or shared, and the potential for unintended uses, is a concern."

Ramirez was especially concerned that Pew Research Center recently reported that a significant minority of Americans are conflicted about sharing personal information with companies.

Pew found that 47% of Americans lacked confidence that they understand what would be done with personal information and had mixed feelings about whether or not to share it.

Ramirez added: "As companies amass all this information about us, they can reach inferences from seemingly benign information." She said the FTC wants to try to provide guidance to the public on addressing such concerns.

Recognizing that Apple received wide consent from consumers to share personal health data for medical research, Ramirez said: "Consumers are willing to share if they can be assured ... they understand what it is used for -- if for the greater good or if shared for other parties for purposes we don't know.... It's clear, based on research...that consumers care very deeply about privacy."

Ramirez didn't single out any companies that might be raising privacy red flags, but did argue that companies "need to more clear" with how they will use private data. She also said it is important that "companies don't collect information that they truly don't need...that exposes risk."

She called out lengthy and legalistic warranties that come with new devices and apps, which most consumers just click through quickly. "We need to do a lot more work in this area; most [consumers] are concerned how the information is used."

Ramirez is personally concerned about sharing some of her own personal health data: she pulled out an older, small unconnected pedometer that she uses to measure her steps, noting that she prefers it over a smarter, connected device like a Fitbit. She said she was using an "old school pedometer; I don't want to share."

The FTC has brought 50 cases against organizations over data security lapses in recent months, and Ramirez said such actions show that companies need to have reasonable security protections in place to protect the personal information collected and used.

"We're here to protect consumers and if companies run afoul of the law, we're going to take action," Ramirez said.

This story, "At CES, Feds prod companies to expand privacy efforts" was originally published by Computerworld .
DO YOU have a Boulevard Aristide-Briand near you? Or do you send your child to school in a Jules-Ferry or a lycee Emile Combes? If so, you are already familiar with key names in the construction of the French Republic.

Between them, these three politicians were responsible for free state schooling, obligatory education for girls and the rock of state neutrality towards religion on which la Republique is built: the principle of laicite.

The term is very much in the news, with a new laicite charter being introduced into schools this autumn alongside classes in morale laique. Presenting the charter, Minister for Education Vincent Peillon explained: Everyone is free to have his own opinions but no one has the right to contest teaching content or miss a class in the name of religious precepts.

Public debate over the Muslim community in France pops up in the news regularly and is nearly always related in one way or another to perceived challenges to this element of the Constitution. Peillons remarks refer also to repeated evangelist pressure to alter class content, in particular regarding the theory of evolution. A recent example was the proposal to swap two Christian holidays with Jewish and Muslim ones: confusing whether France was secular or multi-religious.

Left and Right politicians often unite to initiate laws to protect laicite. Once the source of conflict with the Catholic Right over private education funding, the principle, an important element in the integration process, regularly generates ill feeling these days among extremist sectors of the Muslim community. That is why, a century after the original 1905 law, several new laws have been passed to protect it.

First, a few explanations. Laicite does not translate well. Secularity is close but confusing. Laicite is not easy to define either. It has evolved over two centuries and is evolving still. The concept was born of the Revolution, which guaranteed freedom of conscience to all and first separated State and Church.

Napoleon backtracked, signing a concordat with the Vatican in 1801 that was to poison Church-State relations during the 19th century and put laicite on the back burner for much of it. (For historical reasons, this concordat still applies in Alsace and Moselle.)

Having been suppressed by the Vichy regime (along with liberte, egalite, fraternite  without which laicite could not function), the principle was cast in the constitution of the Fourth Republic in 1946  the State is indivisible, laic, democratic and social  and remains firmly in that of todays Fifth.

To understand the concept is to go a long way towards understanding the French. Maybe it could be defined as their permanent search for a delicate balance between sharing what they all hold in common, the Republic, and catering for diversity.

It is the principle that protects both personal and collective liberty and, as such, is the responsibility of both State and citizen. The indivisibility of the State is the States refusal to recognise any religious or ethnic community. France is one. There are two major dates in the history of laicite: 1881 and 1905. In 1881-82, Minister of Education Jules Ferry decreed school to be publique, gratuite et laique  state-run, free and non-clerical.

Teaching in French to a national programme provided children, whatever their linguistic background or beliefs, with the theoretical possibility of equal opportunity.

It created a framework in which adults could bring no pressure to bear on pupils to adhere to any philosophy, religion or political idea. That remains the basis of the French educational system today.

The 1905 law, engineered by Emile Combes and Aristide Briand, enforced the neutrality of the State and State institutions through the separation of the Churches and the State. Since that date, the State recognises no religion and therefore cannot directly fund any either.

If the same law grants the individual total liberty and privacy regarding beliefs, there is one condition: they must not disturb public order.

Given the repeated trauma that religion has caused in Frances recent history  from the Wars of Religion to the expulsion of the Huguenots and the Dreyfus affair  this means no proselytising and nothing that could be remotely interpreted as such.

It also explains why, in France, religious belief is far more than a private matter. Things spiritual belong to the realm of intimacy. It is extremely unusual to see anyone wearing any conspicuous religious symbol in public. To do so is perceived as a deliberate act, a message to others.

It is unthinkable to ask someone what their religion is and most people will be frankly embarrassed by anyone saying what theirs is. When Nicolas Sarkozy publicly announced he had appointed Frances first Muslim prefect, he sent shockwaves throughout the land.

Knowing this helps in understanding intense French reaction to young girls wearing veils. It is seen not only as an unacceptable way of bringing religion into the public sphere, but also a form of peer pressure on other girls to do the same. Which takes us back to Jules Ferry and neutrality in the classroom.

This insistence on the privacy of beliefs was of course also reinforced after World War II by the fate of Frances Jews under the Vichy regime, and the obligation to publicly show their religion by wearing the yellow star. As a result of the trauma of State responsibility in their deportation and extermination, no statistics may be made regarding peoples religious beliefs, ethnic origin or colour.

All citizens are not only equal, but remain neutral in the eyes of the State.

The mosque debate

The 1905 law was finally well accepted by both Catholic and Protestant churches in France, who benefited financially when the State handed existing buildings and their costly maintenance over to local authorities. But the State cannot fund new religious buildings.

Hence the mosque-building debate and recent legislation allowing local authorities to contribute. For with generous donations from Saudi Arabia and Muslim foundations abroad pouring in, the inherent risk of encouraging fundamentalist movements to develop in France is obvious.

Under the Nicolas Sarkozy government, the training of imams in France to Republican principles was considered.

But the State cannot finance religious education either. The impasse has been paradoxically circumvented by the Catholic University offering courses, and Algerian imams due to work in France being trained in French and laicite at the government-funded Institut Francais in Algiers.

Conspicuous symbols and full-face veils

After a number of potentially inflammatory cases in which some schools were confronted with Muslim girls wearing Islamic headscarves, legislation was passed in 2004 banning the wearing of any conspicuous religious symbol or sign in state schools. Never specifically aimed at the Muslim community (kippas, large crosses and Sikh turbans fall under the same category), the new law, despite fears it would be perceived as discriminatory and arouse further reaction, had the almost immediate effect of calming the situation, though some veiled Muslim girls and turbaned Sikhs found their way to private schools.

But this legislated solely for public schools, not privately run establishments. In March of this year, Fatima Afif, an employee dismissed in 2008 from the privately run Baby Loup creche in the Yvelines for refusing to remove her headscarf, won on appeal for wrongful dismissal on the grounds of religious discrimination.

New legislation is now under consideration to cover pre-school structures and religious symbols in the workplace, none of which are currently covered by law.

When, in late July, a police officer in the town of Trappes stopped a fully veiled young women for an ID check in the middle of Ramadan, he did not know he was unleashing days of rioting. But Cassandra, 22, was not infringing any law on laicite. This time it was the one against dissimulating the face in the public sphere, put into effect by the Sarkozy government in 2011.

Introduced ostensibly as anti-terrorism legislation, many felt its real purpose was more anti-veil. In fact, the number of women in France wearing the niqab is extremely small, and the number of women fined likewise.

Laicite with an adjective

The latest solution of Frances politicians to calm the debate has been to add adjectives. Sarkozy invented laicite positive, in which the government took into account the existence of religious groups in France.

He created a representative Muslim council, through which to address the Muslim community in France. Representative of only a portion of Frances Muslims, many of whom are non-practising, it has created more problems than it has solved.

The Hollande government has coined laicite apaisee, a low-profile approach in which negotiation would replace legislation as the best way of winning over those who regard the principle with suspicion.

True laicistes believe the principle cannot survive any moderating tags. It must exist alone.

Universities oppose campus headscarf ban proposal

In early August, Le Monde published a report signed by members of the Haut Comite de lIntegration (HCI), a body no longer briefed to deal with laicite since the creation of a separate mission last April. It called for a Muslim headscarf ban in universities.

Government replies were swift but hardly in unison. Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls stated evasively that the subject needed to be considered, while Genevieve Fioraso, Minister for Higher Education, warned that we should avoid problems where there are none.

For Gerard Blanchard, president of La Rochelle University, and vice-president of the national CPU, Conference des Presidents dUniversite, laicite is not an issue on his campus or anywhere in France. We have 14% foreign students in La Rochelle, mostly from South East Asia, and we only ask women students to take off their veils in science laboratories, for safety reasons. That has never posed a problem.

The University Presidents Conference has issued a public statement against any specific university ban. For Blanchard, the over-mediatised debate that burst upon us mid-summer is without foundation. He is adamant that he has never had a complaint from a teacher. An environmentalist, he is far more concerned by pressure that could be brought on teachers to introduce non-scientific versions of the origins of the universe into the syllabus. No university teacher should ever have to submit to any pressure on the content of his teaching.

Jean-Loup Salzmann, president of the CPU, and president of Paris XIII, in the heart of Seine- Saint-Denis, one of the most multi-cultural universities in France, firmly believes in laicite, but sees no need for new laws on the campus. His main concern is elsewhere. He is angered by the incongruity of the State promoting laicite on the one hand, while financing the Catholic universities on the other.

Expressing a personal opinion, he said: The main issue for these young Muslim women, who have enough problems coping with family pressure, is to achieve independence and emancipation through their studies, whether they wear a veil or not. An anti-veil law would achieve the opposite of what we want. Many of these women would then not have access to university at all.

How the principle of laicite is applied today

NICOLAS Cadene, chairman of the Observatoire de la Laicite, a watchdog committee created last April by President Francois Hollande to report on how the principle of laicite is applied in France today, spoke to Connexion.

Can you define this difficult concept for our readers?

Laicite is a principle which allows us all to live together. It is not a ban on religion or religious practices. On the contrary, it guarantees believers and non-believers alike the freedom to express themselves, to practise or not to practise a religion as they choose, on condition that public order is not disturbed. The State adopts an attitude of total impartiality towards citizens, who are all equal in the eyes of the State.

Do the current religious bank holidays not favour one religious group?

Christian festivals have, for the majority, become traditional holidays with little religious significance. Still, the State does not want to be seen as favouring one religion over another. In 1905, there was no Muslim population. But I dont think this poses a real problem. Employees can use their RTT (recuperation of unpaid overtime in the form of days off) as they wish. The Stasi Commission (set up by President Jacques Chirac in 2003) went a long way towards identifying issues in the workplace. We shall build on that.

The conspicuous religious symbols ban was seen as directed only at women. Is that not a form of discrimination?

If people set out to present themselves in a way which is obviously a proselytising or a provocative attitude, that is not acceptable. It is not so much what people wear or their physical appearance, as the reason behind the choice. This is one of the subjects we shall be working on.

Islam has no clerical hierarchy. Isnt the laicite legislation trying to apply to individuals a law aimed at an institution? Doesnt the 1905 law need to be adapted?

Not at all. The principle enables us all to live together. But, of course, we must avoid situations in which one group feels stigmatised by the law. That is one of our major subjects of reflexion. But there is no question of adapting the principle to new circumstances. It is one of bringing people to understand that laicite is not a ban on religious practice but a system of personal freedom and helping them to adapt to the principle.

There has been talk in the press over banning the Islamic headscarf at university. [The full-face veil is already banned anywhere in public].

The State has a duty to protect minors from any form of ideological persuasion, hence the headscarf ban in schools. University is a world of adults. But the Republic has a duty to protect its citizens against the dangers of extremism. Some people attribute to laicite powers it simply does not have. There is an urgent need for strong political action, at state and local level, in order to resolve the many problems the threat of extremism has brought to certain sectors of society.

The Observatoire has published its first report, a history and background to the concept. What else has it achieved?

We helped draw up two important documents: the laicite charter and the syllabus for non-religious morality for schools. Both take effect this year. In addition, our report has pinpointed situations needing close attention in public administrations and local authorities (non-Metropolitan France included), as well as in the private sector.

How do you see your work developing?

We need a better definition of laicite that reiterates the States position of neutrality and is more clearly understood by all, in France and at an international level. We are drawing up guidelines for the application of laicite and religious practice in the workplace, and in the wake of the Baby Loup issue [see main article], for pre-school structures. We must show people how to react to situations. Overreaction is one of the major problems we face, when so much could be achieved by negotiation and taking things calmly.
A UK police force has named one of its latest canine recruits in honour of Diesel, the French bomb disposal dog killed during raids following the November attacks in Paris.

North Yorkshire Police said that naming the four-month old Belgian Malinois, which has begun training to become a police dog, was a wonderful way to respect Diesel's memory.

Diesel was killed during a raid on a flat when suspect Hasna Aitboulahcen detonated a bomb vest in a suicide attack.

Paris police chief Jean-Michel Fauvergue said the actions of the dog, which has already been decorated posthumously for bravery, almost certainly saved its handlers life.

A week after the attacks, Russia offered a puppy named Dobrynya to French police as a replacement.

We have decided to call her Diesel pic.twitter.com/JSz2Vjd1mL North Yorkshire K9 (@NYPDogSection) November 29, 2015
You, as a consumer, no doubt think cheap oil is great. It has reduced the price of gasoline to levels not seen in nearly a decade.

But perhaps nothing so perfectly illustrates the gulf between the interests of Wall Street and Main Street as falling oil prices, because Wall Street definitely doesn't see it the way you do.

In recent weeks, stock prices have moved in tandem with oil prices. Oil prices plunge, so does the stock market. Oil prices rally and stocks surge.

Bloomberg News does an excellent job of explaining why Wall Street has such a different view of oil prices, and it boils down to this: too many institutions made big bets that oil prices would keep going higher. You could say they bet the bank on it.

Shale producers had to borrow a lot of money to fund their operations. That debt paid high interest rates and was eagerly purchased on Wall Street. Sound familiar?

Remember the housing bust?

A similar thing happened during the early 2000s housing boom, when subprime mortgages in particular were prized for their high interest rates. At the time, very few people thought home prices could actually go down. But they did.

In 2008 bad mortgage bets nearly sank the economy. Today's nervousness is due in part to the fear that bad oil bets pose their own systemic risk. So when oil prices get so low that U.S. producers can't be profitable, the people who have bought their debt get very nervous.

Making matters worse, in Wall Street's eyes, consumers are saving lots of money at the gas pump but aren't spending it. Instead, they're saving it for heaven's sake, or paying off their credit cards. So the complaint is that consumers are benefiting from low oil prices but aren't sharing the wealth, so to speak.

Economists rightly point out that this can be a problem. Since the Great Recession, the one area where the U.S. economy has enjoyed strong growth has been in the oil industry. Now that industry appears to be going down for the count, and with it the huge contributions it has made to the nation's economy.

It was hoped that the extra money flowing to consumers through lower gas prices would get spent elsewhere, providing a lift to the economy. That isn't happening, so the net effect is the slowdown in the oil industry has produced a drag on the overall economy.

Weak growth

But instead of blaming consumers for socking away the money they are saving at the gas pump, perhaps economists might better explain why the U.S. economy, absent the recent contribution from the oil industry, is so weak. Why haven't other sectors recovered? And why is it up to consumers to take up the slack?

Maybe one of the reasons Wall Street has been so volatile this month is the realization that there doesn't seem to be much there to backstop the economy when the oil industry isn't providing the economic growth it has over the last few years.

Was it always this way? Definitely not. But in the first quarters of the last two years, the U.S. economy has contracted. Will it be the same this year?

If so, there may be a lot of blame to go around. But it may not be fair to blame American consumers who have finally caught a break in the form of lower gas prices.
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When he was 6 years, Dunia Sibomana was playing with two other boys when a few chimpanzees killed his friends and mangled his face, according to scienceworldreport .

Dunia, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is now 8 years, and will undergo a rare and complicated surgery at Long Island hospital to repair his face. The attack made him lose his lips and he could not communicate properly. One of the cheeks had been torn away, with such muscle damage that he is not even able to swallow or eat properly.

" Difficulty eating, drools a lot, certain speech sounds, psychosocial sides are most damaging, made fun of. Other children in his position, they withdraw, they isolate themselves," Dr. Leon Klempner, Stony Brook Children's Hospital explained, via CBS News.

Dunia is now getting ready for surgery. He was brought through Klempner's non-profit organization Smile Rescue Fund For Kids. and is at present staying with a host family in Hauppauge as he gets ready for operation.

Health officials are hoping to repair his lips with the help of tissue from his forearm. However, the tough part will be to give life to his lips, including the secret of moving and feeling, according to Dr. Alexander Dagum, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Stony Brook.

Three to four operations in the next six to eight months can help to fix his face, according to the officials.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
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A supermassive black hole found in the middle of a neighbor galaxy seemed to have "burped" after devouring matter that was close by, a phenomenon that can prove contributory in understanding the shaping of early universe, said latest research. Chandra-X telescope owned by NASA was used by scientists that helped them locate two x-ray emission streams near the center of NGC 5195, a tiny galaxy that is situated about 27 million light-years away. This galaxy is preparing to unify with another galaxy, a large spiral that is also called "the whirlpool." When the scientists observed again from a 0.9-meter Kitt Peak National Observatory telescope, it revealed a thin region of cool hydrogen gas, just outside the external arc of the x-rays, as reported by News YAC

According to the scientists, the hot gas that is believed to have generated the X-ray emissions, dived into colder regions. "This is the best example of snow-plowed material I've ever seen. This is clearly a way of ejecting gas from a galaxy," astronomer Eric Schlegel, with the University of Texas, San Antonio, said at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, on Tuesday. "We would expect this would happen a lot more often in the early universe. You get galaxies at a higher density, they're going to collide more often and you're going to get this kind of effect," he added, reports News YAC

As per the research, the black hole does not only ingest matter that drifts into the space region twisted by its own gravity, but is also capable of spewing materials too. Schlegel said it is possible that the arc of X-ray originates from the material that was projected due to gravitation caused by the merger of galaxies. "I'm skeptical that that would be an explanation," Schlegel told reporters. "The more interesting possibility is the supermassive black hole itself has actually reacted to all this mass coming in," said Discovery News

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
Terror Hub or Empire Of Fear

By Mara Ahmed

07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

A wonderful housewarming party the day after New Years, in a Rochester suburb covered with bright, powdery snow. A diverse group of guests  musicians, poets and academics, but also physicians and lawyers, neighbors, grandmothers, Indian, Iranian, Russian, Belgian, and of course, everyone soundly American. The hors d'oeuvres are splendid, I assume that the wine is good, the conversation flows.

In the midst of preliminary introductions and stories about work, the subject of terrorism comes up. Its to be expected. Rochester has just experienced the latest terror plot in which a socially marginalized Muslim man with a history of mental illness was bulldozed by the FBI into planning an attack, and then quickly arrested. New Years fireworks were cancelled and Rochester joined the ranks of global metropolises like Paris and New York City. The excitement didnt last long though, as the sad details of a local panhandlers entrapment became known.

Why has Belgium become a terror hub? someone asks. There is some discomfort, some evasion, but the question is repeated several times. The Belgian guest explains how things have changed over time. We talk about Molenbeek, a municipality of some 95,000 people in the Belgian capital, an area inhabited by Muslims and North Africans, the alleged suburb at the heart of the Paris attacks. I express my displeasure at stereotyping entire neighborhoods for the actions of a few. I remember some of my Moroccan and Algerian friends at the Lycee Emile Jacqmain in Brussels. They might have been from Molenbeek. It wasnt on the radar in those days, not newsworthy enough.

We discuss the social inequities that exist in many European cities, the impossibility for second and third generation, non-white immigrants to be absorbed by the mainstream, the high rates of unemployment and crime, the clustering of poverty, and the geography of racist segregation whereby central Paris becomes a foreign country to those relegated to the banlieues. Disaffection does not need to be imported from abroad, its borne of systemic, multigenerational discrimination.

Someone marvels at Europes difficulties with immigrants in light of the relative success weve had here in the United States. I mention Black Lives Matter and the ongoing war on American black men. But theyre not immigrants, Im told. Indeed, theyve been here forever and theyve built this country, yet the projects look incredibly similar to the banlieues. Could racism be a point of intersection?

In an interview with Bill Moyers, in November 1988, Derek Walcott spoke about the appalling ghettoes of America, about the colony which exists within the empire. He said it might have something to do with denying the responsibility of being an empire, not just a global empire but also a domestic one.

This denial of empire creates endless confusion in American political discourse and lends itself to dangerous manipulation. Its astonishing that the American public, protected by the mightiest military juggernaut in human history, is constantly afraid.

Al Qaeda, and now ISIS, can strike fear into the American heart in a way that is completely out of whack with reality. After all, its our military power that continues to flatten countries and kill innumerable people in the Global South, in invisible, largely privatized, open-ended wars, not the other way around.

The discussion at this lively party, organized by a dear friend, leaves me unsettled. I come home to find an article about Molenbeek in the Socialist Worker. It sounds all too familiar. In the piece, dated November 2015, Belgian activist Farida Aarrass describes heavy police presence in the area. There are frequent house raids, blatant profiling and use of racist language. These problematic dynamics with law enforcement remind me of inner city Rochester.

Aarrass explains how every terrorist incident or so-called plot is used to escalate repression. The media join in cheerfully by beating the drum of jihad and in the world outside of Molenbeek, theres steady harassment and Islamophobia. People are frightened. Their fears are legitimate, grounded in a threatening reality, in which their homes and physical sense of security are routinely violated.

Americans, on the other hand, are 353 times more likely to die from a fall, while cleaning their gutters or putting up Christmas lights, than from a terror intrigue. But even those odds are not satisfactory. The policing of thought, preemptive arrests, the profiling of minorities, even the targeting of the mentally ill, are all permissible in the quest for perfect security. The rest of the world knows that such a quest is bound to fail and that fear is a miserable way to live. Lets hope we catch on soon.

Mara Ahmed has lived and been educated in Belgium, Pakistan and the US. An artist and filmmaker, her third documentary "A Thin Wall," about the Partition of India in 1947, premiered in April 2015 and was subsequently screened in Bradford (UK), Seattle, Vancouver, Palo Alto, and Berkeley. She blogs at www.maraahmed.com.




A Message Of Hope For The New Year

By Jack Balkwill

07 January, 2016

Dissidentvoice.org

An Interview with Kevin Zeese

Kevin Zeese has long amazed me because of the number of things he does to make a better world. Mondays he does a radio program with Margaret Flowers called Clearing the FOG, which is one of the best alternative programs in the world, informing people of what is happening beyond the narrow scope of the corporate media.

Months before the Occupy Movement began, he was organizing activists in the City of Washington to occupy Freedom Plaza there.

Daily he puts out Popular Resistance, informing people of the latest news around the corporate media and organizing activists across the nation.

Kevin is in touch with activists involved in a great many activities opposing war, championing the environment, in short addressing the public interest so ignored by corporate media and government.

I thought Id interview him to start the new year.

Jack Balkwill: What is the most important issue for activists in 2016?

Kevin Zeese: First, thanks for the nice introduction. On everything you list I did not act alone. In movements, no one should take credit because it is always a group effort that leads to success.

When I was part of organizing the occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC about 50 people met on a weekly basis from April 2011 through Occupy 2011 to plan it. I deserve no more credit than anyone else developing that occupy.

And, when we began occupying, others joined in and decisions were made at a General Assembly. Popular Resistance came out of that after we met with fellow occupiers from different encampments as well as activists working on different issues.

I found the same thing in my work against the drug war. We formed the Alliance of Reform Organizations (ARO) which was made up of all the groups in the movement. ARO was leaderless. We all shared information and began to think like a movement, not just an organization. We need to act cooperatively and my work succeeds when more people are participating to make it happen, and I am just one participant.

Always the most important issue is building a mass transformative movement. We need a revolutionary change in our values. A mass movement is the root of all the progress we need to make; with it, anythings possible; without it, our power is diminished.

So, whatever issue you care about, realize it is connected to other issues and work on it in unity with others. We need to build solidarity across issues as we are all confronting the same problems of a corrupt government and economy that cannot respond to the multiple crisis situations we face.

If you look at the front page of Popular Resistance, you will see all the fronts of struggle and recognize we are all part of a movement for economic, racial and environmental justice. The movement is doing work to both stop mistaken policies and create new institutions and approaches to our problems. We call this two track approach: Stop the Machine, Create a New World, the name of our Facebook page (please like it).

There are multiple issues that are at a boiling point in 2016:

(1) The killing of people of color by the government through police violence. #BlackLivesMatter continues to do great work and social justice activists need to follow their lead and support them.

(2) The collapse of the economy, which we are covering regularly on Popular Resistance (see here, here, here, here), as this could be worse than the 2008 collapse. How should the movement respond? What should we demand? It is an opportunity to demand a remaking of the economy.

(3) The climate crisis was not resolved in Paris, which produced an empty shell that activists now need to fill with real, aggressive policy changes that remake the energy economy and stop top-down energy supply, democratizing energy while creating a carbon-free, nuclear-free energy economy.

(4) We will see more mirage elections in 2016 with two Wall Street candidates selected, despite strong populists in both parties. It is time for people to wake up and challenge the corporate duopoly that continues to protect the status quo while using rhetoric of change. People need to stop falling for the duopoly scam.

(5) The US Empire is in a shambles, acting in desperate ways that risk bigger wars and destruction around the planet. It is not only the Asian military pivot surrounding China, the NATO filling Russias borders with bases and missiles and continued violence in the Middle East, but also the economic Empire of the TPP and other trade agreements. The movement needs to come together to stop the TPP in the first few months of the year. This would be a tremendous people-powered victory over transnational corporations.

JB: What do you say to people when they tell you the system is so corrupt its not worth fighting?

KZ: They are right about system-wide corruption. The economic system is corrupt to the core and the political system takes legal bribes  campaign contributions, promises of future jobs, employment for family and friends  and is deeply corrupted as a result. Systemic corruption is the reason that we need to fight.

The elites in the system know they are corrupt. They fear us, knowing that every day more people understand their corruption. The system is losing its legitimacy and facing imminent crisis moments. If the economic collapse that is predicted occurs  bigger than 2008  then the opposition to the government will multiply. More people will be mobilized and the system will fear for its survival. This is an opportunity for radical transformation for which we must be ready.

The transformation does not only have to be electoral  in fact, that may be the least important. If people followed the models of the Zapatistas and the Kurds and created their own direct democracy institutions, like local assemblies that began to bring people together to improve their own communities, they would grow to become the legitimate forces. Illegitimate government would be recognized as the non-problem solver; and people would realize they have power.

On the electoral front, people need to understand we live in a mirage democracy with rigged elections. Dont put much faith in it unless it is radically changed. We need to move to a 21st Century model that involves much more direct democracy rather than relying on representative democracy.

We see the seeds of that in things like participatory budgeting, where people at the local level actually decide where tax dollars are spent. We can also learn from countries like Spain, Greece, Portugal, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela where movements have taken over governments. This is a constant struggle, as we can see in Venezuela, but in all these areas we see much more people power and influence in government. These are all imperfect models, but there are lessons for us in each.

JB: Tell us about a victory in recent years for activists that might not be known by those who read or watch corporate media.

KZ: There have been many victories and we need to celebrate them. One thing I learned in my early work against the drug war, which was after I got out of law school and worked for NORML during the Reagan administration. There is victory in every action we take if we take on the issue as effectively as we can because the movement grows and it is always about growing the movement to reach a tipping point where we have enough power to fully win. Now the third rail, untouchable issue of ending the war on marijuana is becoming a reality.

Among the victories was stopping the northern portion of the KXL pipeline, various new laws in 24 states to prevent police violence and an increase in prosecutions of police who commit violence, and the increase in wages across the country and winning the critically important battle for net neutrality. These were people-powered victories that showed when we act together we have the power to defeat corporate interests.

Another ongoing series of victories is seeing local people, who have not been involved in activism, working along with experienced, often young, energy activists, taking on big energy companies in an aggressive way. This is a victory. In fact, polls of energy companies point to people blockading and challenging their energy infrastructure as their greatest problem. This slowing down and complicating carbon-energy infrastructure is an ongoing victory.

Groups like Beyond Extreme Energy are bringing out of the shadows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a corrupt federal agency that works for the energy industry (in fact all its money comes from the energy industry it is supposed to regulate). FERC officials have been admitting to the media they are under attack and have a problem with people-powered protests. Now, we have to unite these local and national struggles and stop all energy carbon infrastructure and force a rapid 10-year change to a carbon-free, nuclear-free energy economy.

The small victories we see across the country on these issues will combine into a much bigger victory.

The fight against fast track trade authority for the TPP and other corporate trade agreements produced a very important victory even though fast track was passed. The Obama administration was not able to get fast track without a major compromise. The US Trade Representative had wanted to keep the TPP and other trade agreements secret until four years after it became law, instead they were forced to make the text public before Congress considered it.

Right now people can read the TPP and analyze it. We are finding that everything we had said about the TPP was true  except it was even worse. Now we have the tool of transparency to defeat the TPP and we also have the timing of an election year  again this was not when Obama wanted it to be considered. Election years are notoriously difficult. Obama will make a big push, beginning in the State of the Union, but the largest movement of movements against corporate trade ever was built during the fast track debate and have a good chance of victory if people mobilize. Sign up at FlushTheTPP.org to get involved with this historic victory.

JB: This is an election year. Is it worthwhile for activists to participate?

KZ: We should not put all our eggs in the electoral basked. Much more important is building our own alternative structures like assemblies that are not government but people-powered, that solve our own problems. Similarly, worker cooperatives that are democratically run so that people control their workplaces.

These direct democracy institutions created by the people would have tremendous positive influences on peoples lives and on building resilient communities. So, elections should not take the place of building the mass social movement that is essential to radical transformation of the economy and culture

But, election years are an opportunity to put issues on the agenda. #BlackLivesMatter has done a great job of refusing to endorse a candidate while confronting candidates from both parties at public events and forcing the issue of police violence on the agenda. This is an excellent example of how to use campaigns in a confrontational way to change the political culture.

The election year is also an opportunity to show how corrupt the corporate duopoly, the Republicans and Democrats, are. They, along with the corporate media that works with them, limit the political agenda and protect the status quo.

When people understand the depth of their corruption it continues to undermine the legitimacy of government as bi-partisan corruption becomes more evident. This is the first time in history that polls show more than half of Americans consider themselves independent of the two parties and each party has under 30% of the people saying they consider themselves a Democrat or Republican. This is a major change since Nader first ran pointing out the tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum nature of the parties [ed. note: Kevin was the spokesperson and press secretary for Ralph Nader in 2004]. The public is getting it and understanding reality is the first step to mass mobilization.

The Bernie Sanders campaign has helped to deepen the national consensus of the corruption of the economy by targeting Wall Street in his rhetoric. This is a lynchpin of the current government and economy so building that consensus has been helpful. He should also be criticizing US Empire because the empire economy does not serve the people. He has not been as helpful in building the consensus around the corruption of the Democratic Party since running inside the party has kept people in a Wall Street party that people should be fleeing in even larger numbers. This will change when the rigged reality of the Democratic primary system kicks in and he is defeated like every insurgent who has tried to change this corrupt party from within. People support his ideas so his loss will not be because he is too radical, indeed he has shown he is not all that radical, hes basically an FDR Democrat in his positions.

Sanders will lose because the Dems rig their primary system in ways that have stopped every insurgent candidate since the early 80s. How do they rig their primary? Three examples:

(1) Super delegates make up 20% of the delegates needed to win the primary but they are people who do not answer to the voters, they are party officials.

(2) Frontloading the primary system with 23 caucuses and primaries in the month of March thereby requiring about $100 million in spending to compete.

And (3) Limiting the number of debates to six, usually timed for low-viewership, when in the past there have been over 20 debates with large viewing audiences.

My hope is that when people see how Sanders was robbed by a corrupt party this makes even more people leave the Democratic Party. We need to break the stranglehold of two Wall Street parties over the government.

Third party campaigns still do not get a lot of traction in large part because of the rigged nature of elections. Corporate media play a big role in not covering them. Thankfully, media is diversifying a bit with foreign media, independent media and citizens media so third party views will get out more than they did in the past but it is still not a level media playing field.

And, of course, the duopoly puts in place laws to make it hard for there to be competition against them, especially ballot access laws which take a great deal of financial and volunteer support for compliance.

A major impediment is the monopoly of the duopoly over the presidential debates. The corporation, misleadingly labeled the National Commission on Presidential Debates, is controlled by Republicans and Democrats and funded by big business. There is litigation to end their monopoly but we need to see a movement demanding open debates. This would make elections more valuable because we would hear more than corporate ideas. We would actually hear new ideas pushed from the bottom up.

As we have seen in countries that have changed their government based on movements from below and kicked out the business-controlled parties, elections are not the full answer. Such governments have done a lot of good in sharing wealth, encouraging cooperatives, changing budget priorities and diversifying media. Among other things, it is essential that the movement not stop.

The social movement remains of critical importance even if electoral wins occur. Every government needs to be pushed from below or it will be corrupted from above. As I said at the beginning of this interview  mass movements for economic, racial and environmental justice are the most important thing for us to develop. This is ongoing no matter who is in power within the government.

JB: With war and defense eating up the lions share of government spending, where do you see us starting to chip away so that resources are freed to address public interest needs?

KZ: The biggest secret in the United States is that we live in the largest empire in world history. The US has 1,100 military bases and outposts (800 bases) covering the planet while the rest of the countries have only 30. In fact, the UK and Rome, when they were the worlds largest empires, each had less than 40 bases. The US has bases on every continent. Military bases cost $120 billion annually; i.e. as much as four times the amount spent on Social Security, Unemployment & Labor ($29 billion); nearly twice as much as Housing and Community ($63 billion); four times as much as Science ($30 billion); and 1.7 times as much as Education ($70 billion). At a time when US infrastructure is falling apart, the economy is faltering and we need to rapidly transition to a carbon-free, nuclear-free democratized energy economy, this is a misuse of tax dollars.

The secret of the US being the biggest empire in world history is important because it also hides that we are an empire economy. This means that the empire serves big business; the result: transnational corporations which profit overseas hollow out the domestic economy. That means the oligarchs overseas become vassals who profit from transnational corporations but whose people and environment are put at risk. An empire economy puts the profits of corporations ahead of the necessities of the people and planet; and it is why 55% of domestic discretionary spending is spent on the military.

If people understood the US was an empire, the Asian Pivot, moving 52% of the US Navy to the Asia Pacific and developing military alliances with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Indonesia and others would be understood.

The same with the US move through NATO to line the Russian-European border with bases and missiles as well as the US supported coup in Ukraine. People would understand that the US is the aggressor, not Russia.

They hide the empire from the people of the United States  it is never mentioned in the media or by elected officials  because if the people knew the US was an empire, they would oppose it. First steps to ending US militarism is for the American people to see the reality of the US Empire, understand what it costs them and realize we are the only nation in world history to have bases throughout the world.

JB: What do you see representing hope for activists who may need inspiration?

KZ: We are at a stage in world history where we understand better than ever how movements succeed. It has been more than 100 years since Gandhi first used the strategy of nonviolent resistance. He was the beginning of modern movement history (there were movements before Gandhi, as well, that we can also learn from). As a result, we now have a lot of history where movements have won and movements have lost. We can see some of the commonalities of winning movements. We now can develop a strategy to transform the nation.

The key is for a movement to be a mass movement, not a fringe movement. History shows that if 3.5% of the people mobilize by getting involved in a movement that represents supermajority views of the public, then that movement has always won whether in a dictatorship or a democracy. Some win with less than 3.5%, but they have always won when they reached that level.

And, we have learned from history the successful ways of building a mass movement. It requires a strategic approach. For example, there are power blocs that hold the current government in place; e.g., business interests, political parties, workers, law enforcement, the military, media, religious groups, nonprofits, students. When we seek to grow the movement, we also need to seek to weaken the power structure by using tactics designed to bring people from the power blocs into the movement.

Research has also compared violent movements with nonviolent movements. The latter succeed at a much higher level. Why? It is hard to get 3.5% of the population to participate in a guerilla war. And, if the goal is to weaken the power structure, then violence usually has the opposite effect as it unifies the power structure. We saw that during occupy. When the police were violent the occupy movement grew. It pulled people to us. When police were attacked, it rallied the government and public to unify against the movement and the movement got smaller. The issue is not violence, property damage or nonviolence as a tactic; the issue is effectiveness. What tactic will accomplish the goal of growing the movement so it cannot be ignored?

The good news is that since the occupy encampment phase, the movement has grown significantly. Our guess is that at the peak of Occupy we had 350,000 to 400,000 people involved. That is a tiny .01% of the public and look how it created fear in the power structure and put new issues on the political agenda. We follow the movement every day at Popular Resistance and our guess is that when the various strands of the movement are counted; e.g., Black Lives Matter, Fight for $15, Our Walmart, Climate justice etc. then we are probably over one million people active today.

This is still a long way from 3.5% but it is definite growth. Public awareness is even larger as the ideas of the movement have hit mainstream political culture. One key to our strength will be if we can unify across different issues; and we saw much more of that as well. People realize all issues are connected and that we are blocked by the same power structure.

The other good news is that Bill Moyer, a long-time activist, who developed the eight stages of successful social movements, shows us that we may be closer than we realize to success; and helps us to define what the movement needs to do now. We seem to be in stage six of the eight stages of successful social movements  stage seven is success.

So, the good news is we are growing, winning progress and getting stronger. If we continue our progress, 2016 will begin the era where the mass social movement cannot be ignored.

Jack Balkwill is an activist in Virginia. He can be reached at libertyuv@hotmail.com Read other articles by Jack.




Dozens Of Students Beaten Up And Arrested In FTII

By Countercurrents.org

07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Photo Credit: Abira Dhar @AbiraDhar @TheQuint

Dozens of students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were beaten up inside the campus, arrested and forcefully removed from the campus. The students were protesting against arrival of Gajendra Chauhan to take charge as the chairman of India's premier film institute. Two female students and 23 male students were arrested. Shini J.K, one of the female students arrested said the female students were attacked by male police, a gross violation of human rights.

Here is a video to prove what the police is upto. Students beaten up in their own campus @TheQuint #FTIIprotest pic.twitter.com/cQWJ3drQRH  Abira Dhar (@AbiraDhar) January 7, 2016

A large cache of police personnel were present at the campus to make way for the arrival of Gajendra Chauhan. When the students started shouting slogans the police charged on them and started beating them up indiscriminately. 25 of them arrested and lodged in the police station.

Amidst the chaos, Gajendra Chauhan assumed office. PIB Mumbai tweeted that he was welcomed by the FTII staff:

#FTII staff extended a warm welcome to Shri Gajendra Chauhan on his first visit to the Institute. pic.twitter.com/LJ4Moumn3r  PIB Mumbai (@pibmumbai) January 7, 2016

The actor and the BJP member was appointed the chairman of the top film institute on June 9, 2015. His appointment was followed by a series of protests by students and celebrated alumni of the institute. Some had even gone on an indefinite strike as they questioned his "professional credibility" to lead the institute due to lack of "stature" and "vision". They finally withdrew the strike in October, after 139 days.

Best known for essaying the role of 'Yudhishthir' in BR Chopra's "Mahabharat", Mr Chauhan has also appeared in small roles in films like "Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge" and "Baghban".

For more info on the FTII strike visit

http://www.countercurrents.org/ftii.htm




The Disingenuous Apologies For Israel's Assault On Palestinian Education

By Matt Peppe

07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

As the American Historical Association (AHA) prepares to vote this week on a symbolic resolution that affirms support for the right to education in the occupied Palestinian territories, apologists for the Israeli regime's policies against Palestinians are putting forward nonsensical rationalizations for their opposition to the measure. Writing in History News Network, University of Maryland History Professor Jeffrey Herf essentially argues that his profession has no practical value: "as historians we have neither the knowledge nor expertise to evaluate conflicting factual assertions about events in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza."

If historians should not evaluate the veracity of factual assertions about an issue then what exactly is the use of historical studies? To merely compile and organize documents? Surely a historian's job involves analytical - in addition to technical - skills. And surely their methods include empirical analysis - no different than a scientist testing a theory. If someone says the earth is round but another person says the earth is flat, that doesn't mean the scientist should throw his hands up in the air and say "as scientists we have neither the knowledge nor expertise to evaluate conflicting factual assertions."

Historians analyzing political questions use the same principles as scientists testing a theory. Take, for example, conflicting accounts of the actions of the Belgians under King Leopold in the Congo near the end of the 19th century. Leopold claimed he treated the Congolese people benevolently as part of his "Christian duty" to help the poor. Others claimed Leopold's forces were engaged in the systematic plunder of resources carried out through massive violence. They described women held hostage by Belgian forces to force Congolese men to engage in involuntary labor, with the hands of those who did not produce enough rubber for the colonists cut off and kept as trophies.

According to Herf's axiom, historians would not have the ability to distinguish between these competing claims. It would be outside the scope of the historical vocation to evaluate the available evidence and reach a conclusion about the truth.

In the Congo, the African American historian George Washington Williams worked tirelessly to document the true condition of the local population under Belgian rule. As Adam Hochschild explains in his book King Leopold's Ghost, Williams's insistence on questioning the official narrative enabled him to uncover and expose the brazen lies meant to cover up the genocidal destruction of an entire society for the material enrichment of a tyrant.

"Williams was a pioneer among American historians in the use of nontraditional sources. He sensed what most academics only began to acknowledge nearly a hundred years later: that in writing the history of powerless people, drawing on conventional, published sources is far from enough," Hochschild writes.

Much like the Belgian regime in the Congo more than a century ago, the state of Israel today covers up its crimes against Palestinians by denial, deflection and counter-accusations. They rely on the support of apologists in media, government, civil society, and academia to side with authority by accepting their justifications at face value.

Herf writes that "(i)t is fair to insist that where there is an indictment, we must pay attention to the case for the defense." Absolutely true. But we must pay attention to the evidence for the case itself, not merely conclude that the existence of a defense means there is no way to draw a conclusion about the facts.

Herf requested a response from the Israeli Embassy on accusations presented in the AHA resolution. Among their claims are that the movement of faculty, staff and visitors in the West Bank are not limited except occasionally because "Palestinian universities periodically serve as sites of violence and incitement."

The evidence is overwhelming that movement in the West Bank is severely limited and adversely impacts education. A UN report found that checkpoints, settler violence, and long commutes present risks to West Bank students. Another UN report documented 542 obstacles to movement in the West Bank. Students from Gaza are denied permission to study in the West Bank, a policy that has been criticized by Amnesty International. The policy has been endorsed by Israel's High Court. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have raided West Bank universities. Visiting academics are denied entry to the West Bank. After arbitrarily being denied entry to deliver several lectures there, world-renowned scholar Noam Chomsky compared his treatment by Israeli authorities to that of Stalinist regimes.

There is no evidence presented, however, to support the claim that Palestinian universities serve as sites of violence and incitement.

Herf also quotes the Israeli Embassy defending their bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza (IUG) in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge "not because it was a university but because it was used by the terrorist organization Hamas to manufacture and fire rockets at Israeli civilians."

First, it should be noted that Hamas is not recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. The description carries exactly as much weight as Hamas calling the Israeli regime a terrorist organization. But that is beside the point. The accusation is that Hamas used the university to make and fire rockets.

The source provided for this claim is "Israeli military intelligence officials." After the bombing, the IDF claimed to target a "weapons development center" within the university. This is a predictable accusation. The IDF made similar accusations after bombing the same university in 2008. A UN report on that conflict "did not find any information about their use as a military facility or their contribution to a military effort that might have made them a legitimate target."

Rami Almeghari, who teaches journalism at IUG, noted in the Electronic Intifada that the university is not run by Hamas or any other political party. Students and faculty, like those at any higher educational institutional, have varied political affiliations. Many others, like himself, belong to no party.

"Contrary to what Israel claims," Almeghari writes, "Gaza universities do not have departments dedicated to military research or training. This is in contrast to Israeli universities which play an integral role in the military occupation and weapons development and have actively promoted the onslaught in Gaza."

None of the Israeli government's accusations are substantiated by anything other than its own word - which should be treated with the same skepticism as any criminal defendant pleading his innocence. On the other hand, a mountain of evidence from independent sources (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,UNESCO, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Institute for Middle East Understanding, B'Tselem, etc.) supports the accusations in the AHA resolution.

The idea that evaluating contrasting factual assertions and reaching a judgment is outside the scope of a historian's profession is asinine. This notion is beneficial for the propagation of state propaganda, but devastating for the advancement of human rights, including the right to education.

Matt Peppe writes the Just the Facts blog. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter or by email at mdpeppe@gmail.com.




Rural India Needs Simple Solutions, Not Grandiose Plans

By Moin Qazi

07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

During my assignments in rural India I witnessed how seemingly simple knowledge can have a big impact on farming communities. I have been puzzled ever since why information-driven initiatives have not flourished. Many of the Self Help Groups I worked with struggled to come together to save Rs. 20 per month, never mind to become the catalysts of change in their communities. Their struggle was not due to lack of ability, but merely a lack of willingness. My boss had emphasized this point many times, but I did not truly believe him until I witnessed the construction of a community well and installation of a hand pump, the money for which came as voluntary contributions from women. Without any external assistance or prompting, the villagers convened and decided to take up the challenge.

At the site, there was a high level of organization. Records were being kept on how much each family had contributed and worked. Men and women were working diligently together hauling stones up the hill. The entire project was scheduled to be completed within a month. And yet this was the same village whose SHGs could not manage to meet together once a month to save Rs. 20. If only they could be convinced that building the foundations for development, such as constructing water-harvesting structures, or investing in good breed animals for future dairy profits, was of equal importance to that of building the a community well, then rapid changes in the livelihoods of the people could happen.

The project was a watershed. It showed us the potential for collective action that lay beneath the villagers apparently passive exterior and paved the way for the building of the village centre. Villagers worked together, stitching banners, painting posters, erecting flagstaffs on the roofs, and stringing wires across the street for the reception of government officials who came to visit. They marvelled at this voluntary initiative of the local community. It was a major lesson even for them.

I saw villages that enjoyed a dramatic increase in crop yield and incomes after agricultural scientists advised farmers on watershed techniquesa fancy term for digging ditches so good that soil is not washed away. While it will not solve Indias deep-rooted agriculture problems, better information can significantly boost food production and rural incomes. Although there is much discussion in public forums of involving stakeholders for appropriate development of the society in which the poor live, poor people rarely get the opportunity to develop their own agenda and vision or set terms for the involvement of outsiders. The entire participatory paradigm illustrates that people are participating in plans and programs that weoutsidershave designed. Not only is there little opportunity for them to articulate their ideas, there is also seldom an institutional space where their ingenuity and creativity in solving their own problems can be recognized, respected and rewarded. The situation of the proverbial cart having been placed before the horse. Any such project requires meticulous planning and careful implementation, involving complete and accurate information on all the important variables to be dealt with: socio-cultural, environmental, and economical aspects.

One of the things that can happen as you go into a community to serve it is a subtle dehumanization of the people there. Its not intentional, but it happens, especially when you roll into a village with projects already formulated. There is a difference between being invited into town to live and learn where you can help with the endogenous development process already underway, and arriving with ready-made solutions to problems you havent yet encountered, but assume (or hope) exist. Its as if youve got a hammer and are looking for nails. This approach shifts the people in your new community from the subject to the object of development. If the inhabitants have not yet given you their trust, and shown you the social topography of the community, the people may even seem like obstacles! You think If it werent for these damn people and their baffling behaviour, Id have had these womens projects finished long ago!

Tackling poverty requires an approach that must start with the people themselves and encourages the initiative, creativity and drive from below. The strategy must be at the core of any transformatory exercise if the results are to be lasting and enduring. I had the privilege of watching the village women acquire a sense of dignity once they were given tools for self-sufficiency. And I learned, maybe most importantly, to listen with my heart and not just my head. Are poor clients last in the long list of our objectives?

Villagers no longer trust the elite. In this, their instincts are right. The gram panchayat (village council) members are also handicapped. On their backs ride the brokers of power and influence, who dispense patronage to convert a mass movement into a feudal oligarchy. They are self-perpetuating cliques who thrive by invoking the slogans of caste and religion and by enmeshing the living body of the panchayat in their net of avarice. For such persons, the masses do not count. The lifestyles of such persons, their thinkingor lack of ittheir self-aggrandisement, their corrupt ways, their linkages with the vested interests in society, and their sanctimonious posturing are wholly incompatible with work among the people. They are reducing the panchayat organisation to a shell from which the spirit of service and sacrifice has been drained.

The panchayat leaders and block officials and the local elite show no sensitivity to the poor peoples problems during their visits to villages. They strut through arrogantly, treating others like prajas (subjects), which anyone of consequence of India usually does. It requires a temperament honed in the company of individuals steeped in noble values to endow oneself with charm, grace and ability to mix easily with all ranks. The villagers consistently speak to visitors scathingly of the snobberies of the elite.

That paradoxical nature of India is a cliche, which has worn its usage rather well, due to the truth embedded in it. The paradox is rooted in the attempted imposition of a modern democratic ethos on an entrenched feudal culture, which articulates itself in various ways. The dominance of a feudal mind-set in India has been overlaid by centuries of Brahmanism which privileges birth over all other attainments, thus preventing the maturing of democracy in the country. Political choices are made not on the basis of merit, but rather on family or other primordial ties. The affirmative action programmes are now aggressively realigning the caste calculus. No one wishes to harm powerful interest groups.

The determinants of poverty reduction are policy instruments that benefit the dominant coalition of political power but also benefit poverty reduction. If a set of instruments harms the interests of the dominant coalition, it will not be implemented, even if it is known to be a determinant of poverty reduction. Advocacy for poverty reduction must mean not only advocacy for instruments that we know will lead to this outcome, but also for a realignment of the dominant coalition in a way that will orient it to the interests of the poor. Specifically, this means that we should advocate for empowerment of the poor so that they can indeed challenge the dominant interests, to shift alliances in a way that will make possible policies and interventions for poverty reduction.

Moin Qazi is a well known banker, author and Islamic researcher .He holds doctorates in Economics and English. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester. He has authored several books on religion, rural finance, culture and handicrafts. He is author of the bestselling book Village Diary of a Development Banker. He is also a recipient of UNESCO World Politics Essay Gold Medal and Rotary Internationals Vocational Excellence Award. He is based in Nagpur and can be reached at moinqazi123@gmail.com






The Mufti Of Symbolism

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Jammu and Kashmirs chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayed's sudden death in the morning has left a deep vacuum of political leadership that Kashmir has witnessed since the death of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. But it is also a fact that the Mufti had himself admitted that it is his daughter who is his real strength, who move around and take care of the people. So for all the practical purposes Mehbooba Mufti was looking after the state with her father. So in all likelihood the succession would be smooth and hopefully the central government facilitate the process so that the state does not go to anarchy.

There was a time when none of us ever thought Mufti could ever be the chief minister as he was fighting against the towering personality of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who the Kashmiris still remember for his contribution. Mufti could have gone into hibernation very early but his congress connections and pragmatism of one of the most hated and despised man of Indian politics named as VP Singh who brought Mufti into the mainstream of Indian politics and changed the scenario.

Congress had always ignored its local leadership in its attempt to placate Abdullah family and that gave no hope for any Congress leader to ever think of having its own government in the state. Mufti was also sidelined hence in 1989 he joined Jan Morcha founded by V P Singh who was ready to go to any level to assuage the hurt feelings of Muslims by the continuous betrayal by the Congress party at different level. Under a well planned strategy Janata Dal fielded Mufti Sayed from Mujaffarnagar constituency in 1989 who defeated his nearest Congress rival over more than one lakh fifty thousands vote. Mufti was polled over three lakh thirty thousand votes. Mufti campaigned different parts of state to seek vote for his party and was articulate enough to convince people. Obviously, VP Singh was not just an honest politician but master craftsman too.

Once Janta Dal came to power, VP Singh did which was impossible. One does not know whether it will be possible again or not. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a Kashmiri Muslim, was given charge of Ministry of Home Affairs. A great act of symbolism and courage to Indias second largest population which has been living in suspicion and doubt for its integrity. Immediately after his assuming office, his daughter Rubbaiya Sayed was kidnapped by the Hafiz Sayeds terror group and to save her life a few arrested terrorists were exchanged.

BJP was supporting that government. Many people suggested that time why state acted to save one individual but we need to understand that individual also suffer because of her fathers status. So the person needed protection and state did what was possible. If that was wrong, we cant make another wrong giving the same example but things happens like that.

Mufti knew it well once VP Singh government was over, his days would be over too. There are very few people in Indian history who could do so many experiments as VP did. Mufti went back to Congress in later phase but could not adjust. After returning from Delhi as former union Home Minister, his status had grown enormously and hence his following also grew.

He decided to form his own political party as Peoples Democratic Party that reflect how he was far away from religious theocratic ideas. Frankly speaking most of the Kashmir leaders never came from that fanatic background which are breeding elsewhere. Kashmir has been an ideal destination for people across the world but unfortunately its others who created troubles in the valley. The governments failed, pumped money without winning heart and that failed. Mufti was trying to do that. It is always important to strengthen the local democratic institutions and leadership so that critical issues are resolved locally. Mufti was a farsighted pragmatic politician who was ready to go any length if the case was for the benefit of kashmiris. At the end, Kashmiris are needed to solve their own issues as it cant be resolved through political jargons and rhetoric of others elsewhere.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter @freetohumanity Email: vbrawat@gmail.com






The Sauds' Impunity

By Eric Zuesse 07 January, 2016

Countercurrents.org

No matter how bad the fundamentalist Sunni-Islamic Saud royal family are, America's government still supports them and condemns the countries that the Sauds hate: those are the Shia-led nations of Iran and of Syria.





All jihadist terrorism is Sunni, none of it is Shia; but the U.S. government is anti-Shia, not anti-Sunni. There were no Shia involved in the 9/11 attacks, nor in the Mumbai attacks, nor in the Charlie Hebdo or other Paris attacks, nor in the London bombing, nor in any of the others. All of the terrorism that wracks Afghanistan and Pakistan is Sunni. ISIS is Sunni; Al Qaeda is Sunni. As Sunni fundamentalists, they all hate especially Shia as infidels, because Shia claim to be Muslims, and Sunni fundamentalists take that very claim to be not only a lie but a personal insult to themselves as real' Muslims, because they know' what a real' Muslim is  they've been taught it, and it's distinctively Sunni.





us. And it's really none of America's business to get involved with, anyway  it is Israel's problem, entirely: and Israel flagrantly violates even the Camp David accords that the U.S. government itself brokered; and, so, for America to be involved on either side there is plain wrong  but the U.S. government donates, from its own taxpayers, over $3 billion every year to Israel, so that it'll buy weapons from U.S. arms-makers. This give-away to the U.S. weapons-industry is supposed to be humanitarian,' and foreign aid.' It actually aids more in killing than it does in protecting; the sheer hypocrisy of that subsidy to U.S. weapons-makers is obscene. But anyway: Hezbollah is a sideshow in a discussion of terrorism, and it's not at all jihadist. By contrast, But the U.S. government keeps harping instead against the Shia group Hezbollah, which is at war against Israel because of the barbaric way that Israel treats its Palestinians. But that's not terrorism in anything like the same sense  it's not jihadist, it's not out for global conquest; and it certainly doesn't threaten. And it's really none of America's business to get involved with, anyway  it is Israel's problem, entirely: and Israel flagrantly violates even the Camp David accords that the U.S. government itself brokered; and, so, for America to be involved on either side there is plain wrong  but the U.S. government donates, from its own taxpayers, over $3 billion every year to Israel, so that it'll buy weapons from U.S. arms-makers. This give-awayis supposed to be humanitarian,' and foreign aid.' It actually aids more in killing than it does in protecting; the sheer hypocrisy of that subsidy to U.S. weapons-makers is obscene. But anyway: Hezbollah is a sideshow in a discussion of terrorism, and it's notjihadist. By contrast, the Saud family fund jihad . And yet the U.S. government considers them allies, if not its top allies. Something's very wrong here.









The people who control America are lots more anti-Russian than they are anti-terrorist supposed to own this government (We, the People ), and from whom it has been stolen.  and any old excuse will serve America's leaders to justify' that priority, to the public whom they treat as their suckers, not as the people in a democracy, who arethis government (We, the People ), and from whom it has been stolen.





So, something's fishy here. It's the U.S. government, obviously, and it emits the stench of rotten fish. The U.S. government's ulterior motives are constantly reeking. It's the stench of our government's constant lying-to-the-public.





Here's the reality about our Saudi friends':





outside Saudi Arabia.) Ever since 1744, when the gang-leader Muhammad Ibn Saud and the fanatically anti-Shiite Sunni preacher Muhammad Ibn Wahhab swore their mutual oath to one-another, the Sauds have hated Shia and been set upon defeating them. That oath started what we today know as Saudi Arabia: a union of church-and-state (Saudi government with Wahhabist clerics validating that family's authority to rule) that seeks first to exterminate all Shia Muslims, and then to organize all Muslims together into global conquest, to bring every nation under strict Sunni rule. (And anyone who resists will be beheaded and then crucified .) Wahhab hated Shia for their trying to soften the original Islam . (Wahhabism is called Salafism when it's being practiced outside the Muslim Holy Land of Saudi Arabia, but its principles are the same under either name. ISIS is also the same as Saudi, except that it demands the global Islamic leader to be a descendant of the Prophet, which the Sauds are not. In this regard, ISIS poses a real threat to the Sauds. ISIS then is an enemy of the Sauds inside Saudi Arabia, but a useful fighting-oprganization for the Sauds' objectivesSaudi Arabia.)





The aggressor in the world isn't Shia; it's Sunni. And the custodians of the two holiest places in Islam  Mecca and Medina  are the extremist-Sunni Saud family, which America's government call friends.' The Saud family won what they have by conquest : to allege they got it by either capitalism' or democracy' would be to insult both. Worse yet: it would be to lie. And they're no friends' of America. But maybe they are our masters. Here's how they managed to grab what they've got:









Furthermore:













sufficiently extreme or pure; and, second, to please American and other suckers to believe that, in America's allying with the very same people who provide the funding to jihadists, the U.S. isn't acting against the interests of the American people. Even a beheading can be a PR stunt, in one way or another. Inside Saudi Arabia, the Saud family, who financed Al Qaeda , behead some of their own jihadists in order to achieve two objectives: first, to get rid of some of the Sunni extremists who say that the Sauds aren'textreme or pure; and, second, to please American and other suckers to believe that, in America's allying with the very same people who provide the funding to jihadists, the U.S. isn't acting against the interests of the American people. Even a beheading can be a PR stunt, in one way or another.









The hypocrisy of America's leaders is what stinks enough to make rotting fish smell like fragrance by comparison.





one U.S. Presidential candidate promising to end the selling of weapons to those jihadist tyrants ( Why isn't evenU.S. Presidential candidate promising to end the selling of weapons to those jihadist tyrants ( the Sauds and the other Arabic oil-potentates  all of the Sunni national leaders ), and to organize global economic sanctions against the Sauds and their friends the other funders of jihadism? Let those clans sell their oil and gas, but there should be an internationally coordinated arms embargo against them. Instead, the Sauds are by far the largest foreign purchasers of U.S. weapons (and, unlike Israel, they pay for all of it with their own inherited money, not with money that was donated to them by America's taxpayers).





How else can jihadism be brought to an end in our time? Why isn't the reality behind jihadism even being publicly discussed? Why?












SHARE Workers are doing site prep on the property that will host a FedEx distribution center, located just west of U.S. 41 and south of Baseline Road. The silos and other structures in the background belong to Azteca Milling, which neighbors the site to the north.

By Susan Orr of the Courier and Press

Delivery company FedEx is building a new distribution center along U.S. 41 North to replace an existing facility located several miles east of there.

The new facility will be located along Norm Wagner Drive, a frontage road west of U.S. 41 and south of Baseline Road.

The site is just south of Azteca Milling, and roughly across the highway from North High School.

Workers are already doing site prep at the location.

The facility will serve as a local distribution center for FedEx Ground, which delivers small packages (up to 150 pounds) within North America.

FedEx Ground spokesman David Westrick said the building, which should be complete in July 2017, will occupy more than 250,000 square feet.

"The site was chosen because of its ease of access to major highways, proximity to customers' distribution centers and a strong local community workforce for recruiting employees," Westrick wrote in an email to the Courier & Press.

The new facility will replace an existing FedEx station in Vanderburgh Industrial Park, which is located off Indiana 57 about a mile south of Baseline Road.

FedEx began construction on the Vanderburgh Industrial Park facility in 2004.

Westrick said the new distribution center will employ both full-time and part-time employees, though exact staffing needs at the new facility have not yet been determined.

Westrick said the new Evansville facility is part of a nationwide expansion designed to boost FedEx Ground's daily package volume capacity and improve delivery speed and service capabilities.

Since 2005, Westrick said, the company has opened 11 new hubs and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities.

During a quarterly earnings call in September, FedEx Ground President and Chief Executive Officer Henry Maier said the company is in expansion mode to keep up with the growth in e-commerce.
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'carol'

Therese (Rooney Mara), a young department-store clerk in 1950s Manhattan, meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), a beautiful older woman stuck in a depressing marriage of convenience. As their bond deepens and they become romantically involved, Carol finds the strength to leave her husband (Kyle Chandler). Unfortunately, her spouse starts to raise questions about her fitness as a mother when he realizes that Carol's relationships with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) and Therese are more than just friendships. (R) The Weinstein Co.

'the forest'

A woman (Natalie Dormer) goes looking for her twin sister in an infamous Japanese forest beneath Mount Fuji where lost souls retreat to commit suicide. With the help of a local American guide (Taylor Kinney), the two trek into the danger of the mysterious forest. (PG-13) Focus Features

'the masked saint'

Chris Samuels (Brett Granstaff) is a former professional wrestler who retires from the ring to settle down as a small town pastor. When the pastor witnesses rampant problems in the community, he decides to moonlight as a masked vigilante fighting the injustice. While facing crises at home and at the church, the pastor must evade the police and somehow reconcile his secret, violent identity with his calling as a pastor. (PG-13) Freestyle Releasing

'the revenant'

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a 19th Century fur trapper who seeks vengeance against the companions who robbed him and left him for dead following a vicious grizzly bear attack. (R) 20th Century Fox
MIKE LAWRENCE / THE GLEANER Shane Breedloves headstone in Hendersons Roselawn Memorial Gardens cemetery, December 31, 2015.

By Mark Wilson of the Courier and Press

Three months after the trio of men first accused of her son's July slaying were released, their charges dropped, Carole Cleveland is hopeful that the question of who shot Shane Breedlove is answered in 2016.

She said it's the family bond  Breedlove had four children, including three under the age of 15  that has kept them all together. Some of Breedlove's friends have started a group to raise money for his children.

There were a total of four murders in Evansville during 2015. Although not Evansville's only unsolved slaying in 2015, Breedlove's death on July 19 was remarkable for several reasons. A few weeks after the Evansville musician and disc jockey was gunned down while walking on the city's East Side, police arrested three men in the case.

Among them was Derrick Murray, who was well-known to police for previous drug-related arrests and his reputed involvement in a local gang. Murray was on supervised release as part of his sentence in federal court for making anonymous, violent threats against Evansville police and the city's police chief, Billy Bolin.

Murray was eventually arrested and sentenced to federal prison for the threats, but not before an attempt to track those threats to the source backfired when police invited a television news crew to watch as a SWAT team stormed the wrong house. The debacle received worldwide attention after police video of the raid went viral on the Internet.

Also arrested were Bobby John Handegard and his son, Bobby Michael Handegard. Although all three were charged with murder, the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence in October, just days before one of the men was scheduled to go to trial.

But not before defense attorneys for the men had loudly criticized police and prosecution handling of the investigation. And not before the Evansville Courier & Press filed a motion in court to have the search warrant affidavits in the case, which are public records, unsealed.

The affidavits detailed a case built largely around information provided by the teenage girlfriend of Bobby Michael Handegard, jail house recordings of Murray's phone calls and information from another inmate even though he claimed he wasn't present when Breedlove was killed.

The teenage informant later hired her own defense lawyer and said she would invoke her constitutional right not to testify if called as a witness.

"The question is, if you proceed to trial, is there enough evidence? Obviously, there could be an acquittal and the case would be over," said Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann.

He said the police department is still investigating it.

"It was determined that there was more work to be done," Hermann said.

He noted that a judge did find probable cause to arrest the men but also noted that: "There is a difference between a probable cause standard and proving something beyond a reasonable doubt."

Asked about the role of the his office in determining when a criminal case is ripe for prosecution, Hermann said a prosecutor's role isn't to advise police on when to send a case to the court system. He said the function of the prosecutor's office in an investigation is to prepare arrest and search warrants for police to take to a judge.

"It's not uncommon that investigations continue after an arrest. In this case the investigation after the arrest wasn't fruitful enough," Hermann said.

The other unsolved murder in Evansville in 2015 was the death of 28-year-old Jeffrey Wiley on June 11. That shooting happened while Wiley was inside his girlfriend's apartment in the Arbors complex in the 3500 block of Monroe Avenue.

Asked earlier this week, a police spokesman said he did not have a public update on either death. Very few details about Wiley's death have ever been released other than investigators don't believe it was a random incident, and authorities have urged anyone with information in either case to come forward.

When the murder charges against the Handegards and Murray were dropped, police officials said they were still investigating the trio, despite claims from the men's attorneys that they had nothing to do with the case. On Wednesday, police department spokesman Sgt. Jason Cullum said investigators still have not cleared any of the three men during the last few months of work.

Evansville attorney Scott Danks represented one of the Handegards, the father, Bobby John Handegard. Danks told the Courier & Press the family has struggled for normalcy since the charges were dropped in October and even contemplated moving to another state to start over. Danks declined a request to interview his client for this story. He said Bobby John Handegard was not interested in talking for this story and that he never knew anything about Breedlove's death.

"He still vehemently maintains that he had nothing to do with it or that he had any knowledge of it," Danks said.

Cleveland said she wants to keep her son's case from being forgotten. And she wants it solved.

"I want to keep people aware that there is still $15,000 in reward money for the tip that leads to the arrest of whoever did this," she said.

Cleveland said the family has met with detectives working the case about once a month to receive updates.

"Shane was such a talented musician and played in several bands over the years," she said. "When he hosted the karaoke his fans always wanted him to sing because he had such a wonderful voice or they wanted him to sing with them to make them sound better. He would always oblige He was also quite the technician on the huge sound boards, sound systems and lighting."

Breedlove also was a certified asset recovery specialist and worked repossessing vehicles for several Evansville dealerships, Cleveland said.

"He would do this work as needed before going to work at the various venues for the last several years," she said.

The children left behind in the wake of her son's death have been a common buoy for the family as they unite to support them. Breedlove left behind children ages 7, 12 and 14, as well as a son who is young adult.

"We struggled through the holidays but there obviously was not the joy that was usually there," she said.

The family moved its holiday get-together to a new location this year to avoid the empty presence of Breedlove's usual chair and make a fresh start for the children.

"We had to do the best that we could to bring joy to them over the holidays," Cleveland said. "I still struggle daily. I know that life for me is never going to be the same but I'm told in time it gets better."

Cleveland said she has been trying to take to heart advice from a friend who has also lost a family member.

"A therapist had told her to try allowing yourself to think about it for three minutes everyday. That's when you allow yourself to cry. Then you put it away and go on with your day," she said. "My problem is, it was a murder, not a car accident or something. I just struggle so much with that. He was not a thug. He was not a gang member. He did not have a criminal record."

The question of why her son was killed still overshadows her.

"The detectives tell me I will probably never understand because, 'You're a nice family. You're a nice person. You don't think like these people (criminals) do,'" Cleveland said.

She remains hopeful that the reward will entice somebody to come forward but she knows that hope is balanced on the other side by the fear of becoming a target too.

"Somebody, somewhere will say something, hopefully," she said.
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By Len Wells of the Courier and Press

The Saline County, Illinois sheriff says four arrests were made and 30 firearms taken during the burglary of an Eldorado gun shop last weekend have been recovered.

The Gunslinger Gun Shop at 810 Karel Park Road was burglarized Sunday.

Saline County Sheriff Keith Brown said those arrested were: William Jayden Emmons, 18; Charles Edward Payne, 54; Nathan D. Behrens, 27; and a juvenile, whose name and age were not released.

All are Eldorado residents.

All four have been charged with aggravated possession of stolen firearms. Emmons and the juvenile face an additional charge of burglary.

As a result of the arrests, officials reported the recovery of 29 handguns, one assault-style rifle, numerous ammo magazines, a large quantity of ammunition and gun cases.

The investigation was carried out by state and local police, along with agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
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The letter came with no return address. It was unsigned. It was about guns.

I've received many such letters.

Sometimes they complain that, by criticizing the gun industry and the National Rifle Association, I'm bullying a defenseless multi-billion-dollar national network of well-trained corporate executives, spokespeople, lobbyists and, yes, legislators who move with the discipline and organization of military units.

Sometimes they wax rhapsodic about of hunting and being outdoors and, making the assumption I've never fired a weapon or walked in the woods, argue there must be something deficient in both my upbringing and character if I don't see things exactly the way they do.

Sometimes, as with this most recent missive, the letter writer taunts, saying that as long as I keep writing about guns and gun laws, he (likely it was a he) will make contributions to the NRA in my honor.

Always, though, there are two refrains: the letter writer wishes we all could have a discussion about the "facts" of gun laws and asserts that I have an "anti-gun" agenda.

The first point is laughable. If there ever has been a group of folks more determined than the NRA and the rest of the gun lobby to resist the process of honest inquiry  the means of collecting real facts  I haven't met them.

That's why they rammed through laws that prevent the Centers for Disease Control and other health agencies from collecting information about the public health consequences of gun laws. That's also why they fight, tooth and claw, to prevent the collection in any centralized location of information about gun ownership so that we, as citizens, might be able to study the effectiveness of gun laws and policies.

And that's why the NRA even goes to some lengths to obscure the amount of funding it receives from the gun industry.

Gun advocates say the NRA is just a membership organization, but the organization's 990 tax forms and other financial documents reveal firearms makers and sellers have contributed more than $60 million to the gun lobby directly in recent years. Some gun sellers purchase NRA memberships every time someone buys a gun. The transactions show up as membership income on NRA books, but the cash comes from gun companies.

The reality is that, despite their protestations, gun advocates don't consider facts their friends.

The second charge is even more puzzling.

I've never given money to an organization that attempts to influence gun laws or policies one way or the other. I've never received money from an organization on one side of the question or the other. I don't have bumper stickers on my car proclaiming my allegiance to a gun-rights group or a gun-control organization. Yet, somehow, I'm the one who has an agenda?

Like most Americans, I don't care that much about guns one way or the other.

They are objects, tools  like the knife I use to cut my steak or the car I drive  that can be dangerous if used improperly or by the wrong hands.

I'd be fine with the gun lobby's approach to public safety if there were any credible evidence it worked  and if the NRA's foot soldiers in the lobbies and chambers of our legislatures weren't so determined to keep us from collecting any solid evidence about guns.

We're set to have another donnybrook about guns in this state and country.

In Indiana, we have a couple of legislators who want to see more guns on college campuses and in the hands of repeated drunk drivers. One wants to do away with requiring permits to carry guns.

The folks pushing for these looser gun laws, like my letter writers, see their efforts as part of a cause. The rest of us see the staggering number of gun deaths as a problem that needs solving.

John Krull is director of Franklin College's Pulliam School of Journalism, host of "No Limits" WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com.
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That's not as bad as a VHS tape -- it's called a Betacam, and it offers much higher quality. But it's still strange that, in this day and age, we have to send physical copies at all. Even though every submitted show eventually gets stored digitally in a Library of Congress data bank, someone still has to convert it from a DVD or videotape first. Not only is this a huge pain in the ass for studios and registrars, but it often means that the copy being preserved for our great-great-grandkids to binge-watch is a lower-quality one. For instance, House Of Cards can be watched online in 4K, but it still goes to the Copyright Office on DVD-R, which means the secretion status of Kevin Spacey's facial pores could be completely lost on future space archaeologists.

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The reliance on vintage technology isn't so surprising when you consider that, until September 2015, the Library of Congress' top dog was 87-year-old James H. Billington, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan and is proud of the fact that he doesn't use email. Over the years, Billington consistently ignored calls to hire someone who can actually tell an iPad from a dinner plate, presumably under the impression that this whole "technology" thing will blow over and we'll go back to entertaining each other with shadow puppets in no time.
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At least the dog will only shit on the floor, rather than all over your hopes and dreams.

Overdraft fees are well known, of course, but there are lots of other lesser-known fees at play, and banks are perfectly happy not telling you about all of them. Or they do tell you, but the fees are disclosed in a 43-page account agreement. For example, you probably know that you're going to get charged something if you overdraft your account. What you don't realize is that you might be charged for not maintaining a minimum balance. Or for a new card if you lose yours. Or for opting to receive a paper statement. Or if you close your account before a mandatory waiting period. Or if you fart in a bank.

Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images

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"Free Taco Bell gift card with every new account!"

The banks, of course, have their own take on the issue. The American Bankers Association thinks banks "need the flexibility to provide information in a way they believe best suits their products and customers." What, exactly, do they mean by that? Their profits depend on you not knowing how they make money off of you.

Over in the U.K., the government has gotten so fed up with this shit that they are about to force banks to either clearly explain how they make money off of "free" checking or start charging a flat monthly fee to everyone with an account. Up for grabs are "billions of pounds" in hidden fees, according to one former banking executive. And by "pounds," we mean "dollars" in American.
What do we know about this coup and its background? On 22 January, violent demonstrations broke out in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Fasos two largest cities, as citizens protested against deteriorating security. After these protests, in the morning of 23 January, shots were fired in several barracks in Ouagadougou, particularly in the Sangoule Lamizana and Baba Sy bases, as well as in two northern towns, Kaya and Ouahigouya. A group of angry soldiers based at the Sangoule Lamizana camp then issued a list of six demands, including the replacement of the chief of staff and the director of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), whom they accused of incompetence and corruption. Other demands on this list have come up repeatedly since 2018 but have never been properly met: the need for more troops and equipment to combat jihadist groups, and for better care for the wounded and support for families of soldiers killed in fighting. Later on 23 January, the situation appeared to be under control. The authorities downplayed the crisis in a national television broadcast, announcing that the army was not taking power and describing the soldiers as simple mutineers. Simultaneously, however, hundreds of demonstrators took to the capitals streets in support of the soldiers. The government began to negotiate with the rebel soldiers; some of these talks were conducted by the monarch of the Mossi (the countrys largest ethnic group), Mogho Naba, who often acts as mediator of last resort in times of serious crisis. Not only did these discussions fail, however, but some of the presidents negotiators, including a gendarmerie officer, also reportedly switched sides to join the putschists. More gendarmes who had until then been loyal to President Roch Marc Christian Kabore defected, tilting the balance of power in the rebels favour. Soldiers attacked the presidents home to the south of Ouagadougou that night. The intense fighting with the presidents security detail left at least two people seriously injured. In the evening of 24 January, the putschists forced President Kabore to sign a handwritten resignation letter. Immediately afterward, the rebel soldiers appeared on national television to announce the presidents overthrow and the creation of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), the new juntas executive body. In a televised statement, the MPSR took pains to reassure foreign partners of its intention to respect pre-existing commitments, notably relating to human rights, and to propose within a reasonable timeframe a roadmap for a return to constitutional order accepted by everyone. Such positive signals provide no guarantees, however. In Mali, the transitional regime made similar pledges after the August 2020 coup, yet it ended up taking a hard line and postponing the elections that had been scheduled for February 2022. The MPSRs president, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, is a 41-year-old lieutenant colonel who trained at one of West Africas most prestigious military academies, the Prytanee Militaire du Kadiogo. He is also a graduate of the Ecole de Guerre in Paris, and recently wrote a 158-page book on West African armies and terrorism. Since 2015, Damiba has held various positions in the army and has been stationed in regions where jihadists are active. He was formerly a member of the presidential guard of Blaise Compaore (1987-2014), Kabores predecessor, and he skilfully kept his career on track despite the regime change in October 2014. In particular, he remained on good terms with senior officers of the Compaore era without being sidelined by Kabore, who took power in 2015. On 16 December 2021, Kabore appointed him commander of one of the countrys most important military zones, the third region surrounding the capital. What caused the coup?

The coup stemmed primarily from the security concerns of millions of Burkinabe.

The coup stemmed primarily from the security concerns of millions of Burkinabe affected by the violence of jihadist groups, community militias and sometimes regular soldiers. For many civilians and soldiers, the security situation reached a tipping point with the attack in Inata, in northern Burkina Faso, on 14 November 2021. Fifty-three gendarmes were killed in this vicious attack, which sealed President Kabores fate. As one local newspaper described it, the government symbolically collapsed in the shock waves felt around the country after the incident, the single most lethal attack on soldiers in the countrys history. A few days afterward, local media revealed that the gendarmes killed, and their comrades, had been nearly starving, severely weakened by the lack of food, and that their appeals for help from their superiors, just days before the attack, had gone unheeded. Inata was the latest in a series of massacres, including one that took place in Solhan in June 2021 when 160 villagers were killed. The populations outrage at these tragedies gradually coalesced into protests, as people took to the streets demanding regime change. Some concluded that a military officer would be better equipped than an elected civilian president to address the urgent issue of insecurity. President Kabores overthrow generated little counter-protest. On the contrary, on 25 January, a thousand-strong crowd gathered in Ouagadougou to applaud the MPSRs power grab. The symbolic significance of Inata, combined with the groundswell of popular rejection of Kabores regime, probably persuaded the soldiers that the time had come to act. A first coup attempt, organised by Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana, had already taken place, but failed, on 10 January. The MPSRs coup detat opens another chapter in a long history of military involvement in Burkina Fasos politics since 1960. After independence, the army acted as the countrys ultimate arbiter or institution of last resort during severe political crises. It did so after the 2014 popular uprising, when Isaac Zida of the Presidential Security Regiment was appointed head of state and then prime minister of the transitional government. It did so again in 2015, when a section of the army consolidated the democratic transition by thwarting an attempted coup. Military regimes have held power for 48 of the 61 years since the countrys independence. Why has the army failed to provide security? On becoming president in 2015, Kabore inherited a security apparatus that had become increasingly fractured over his predecessor Compaores 27-year rule. Compaore himself had to cope with the legacy of coups in the 1970s and 1980s. Two blocs had formed within the military: the presidents security regiment, which received special treatment under Compaore (in terms of salaries, training, promotions and resources), and the rest of the army, which was largely neglected. Divisions also existed between the armys senior and lower ranks, as became apparent during the violent rebellions of the first half of 2011. Soldiers levelled particular criticism at the highest-ranking officers for enjoying the ill-gotten gains of widespread corruption. Furthermore, Kabore entered office in 2015 to find an army that had barely seen active combat, apart from the short-lived wars with Mali in 1974 and 1985, a handful of undercover operations in the Mano river basin countries, and peacekeeping missions in Darfur and Mali. When local and regional jihadist groups gained strength after 2016, Burkina Fasos inexperienced army suddenly found itself confronting a fierce, battle-hardened enemy. Lacking a military background or experience of war, and distrusting an institution that he feared could destabilise his rule, Kabore failed to correct his predecessors poisoned legacy. Instead of root-and-branch reform, in 2016 he began an endless round of promotions and dismissals of senior figures within his defence departments, changing defence ministers and chiefs of staff multiple times. The president appears to have based his appointments on criteria of loyalty rather than competence. He relied on the gendarmerie, which stoked mistrust in other parts of the army and deepened antagonisms. Many of the best-trained officers from the former regime who could have helped the army were sidelined, paying a price for their loyalty to Compaore. Corruption among senior officers remains unchanged since Compaores day, disrupting supplies to the anti-jihadist battles front lines and depriving those engaged in combat of the equipment they need. During his six years in power, President Kabore employed several strategies in attempting to contain the expansion of jihadist groups, but without success. Between 2016 and 2019, he focused on a military response. The use of force by the army and the gendarmerie led to many instances of abuse and even massacres of civilians that went unpunished. This violence against the population drove some civilians to join the jihadists ranks, thus strengthening these groups instead of pushing them back. The jihadist threat, at first confined to the Sahel, spread to the Centre-North, East, North and Boucle du Mouhoun regions. Since late 2019, in response to signs of exhaustion in the army and with more soldiers refusing to go to the front, but also in reaction to intensifying public demands for greater security, President Kabore decided to mobilise civilians to fight terrorism. The Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland (Volontaires pour la defense de la patrie), often comprising former Koglweogo  village-based militias initially tasked with fighting serious crime  became adjuncts to the army. These civilians, armed and trained by the state, scored occasional victories but failed to turn the tide. In some areas, they have even undermined social cohesion and worsened the security situation. From September 2020 to March 2021, a ceasefire with one of the two jihadist groups operating in the country, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), almost completely halted clashes between this group and the army, producing genuine calm. Local agreements were reached with JNIM in various communes in the Soum, Loroum and Yatenga provinces, with the blessing of local government authorities and representatives. When the nationwide ceasefire ended, however, JNIM resumed a campaign of brutal violence, while the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara  which had never participated in the truce  continued its attacks on the army and volunteer groups. The jihadist groups had taken advantage of the ceasefire to strengthen their foothold in many territories and even to expand into areas farther south, particularly in the Cascades region. The resumption of large-scale attacks in June 2021 prompted Kabore to embark on yet another program to restructure the armed forces, this time taking the helm of the defence ministry himself. This reshuffle failed to prevent the Inata attack, however, in the same way that Decembers restructuring to avoid another such attack failed to avert the January coup.

The juntas priority over the coming months will be unity within the armed forces.

The juntas priority over the coming months will be unity within the armed forces in order to rapidly improve security for the countrys population. Among his first steps, Lieutenant Colonel Damiba held a round of meetings, on 25 January, with senior army officers and others drawn from the police, customs, and waterways and forest rangers. In his first televised speech on 27 January, he stated: We have many priorities, but security clearly remains at the top of the list. Damiba faces several urgent tasks in improving the armed forces cohesion, including carefully distributing appointments within the junta, striking a fair balance between the gendarmerie and the army, implementing a new anti-terrorism strategy and rooting out corruption. His decisions regarding how to treat army officers from Compaores regime and how to assign them roles within a reformed security apparatus will be key. No information is yet available about which civilian and political figures the junta will choose to govern the country. In any event, without swift improvements in the security situation, Ouagadougous new rulers risk rapidly disappointing those who hope for a return to a more normal life  and thus losing popular support. What are the regional and international ramifications of this coup? The coup confirms the return of army officers to the front of West Africas political stage, pointing to the failure of its democratically elected governments. Three major states in the region  Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali  are now led by officers who came to power using force. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) seems incapable of curbing this seemingly deep-rooted trend. On 9 January, the regional organisation announced severe sanctions on Mali, placing it under embargo, in a bid to stem the epidemic of coups spreading through the region. But three weeks after these sanctions were rolled out, the officers in Burkina Faso took power, indicating that these measures have failed as deterrents and that the authority of ECOWAS has weakened. Worse, the junta that seized power in Ouagadougou could even create an axis of military regimes that might support one another in resisting pressure from the regional organisation and foreign partners. The fact that Lieutenant Colonel Mamadi Doumbouyas Guinea has decided not to close its border with Mali, despite the ECOWAS embargo, is a first sign of such an alliance. International partners, particularly France, the United States and the European Union (EU), dealing with a series of faits accomplis and having little influence over events, are torn between positions of principle and pragmatism. On one hand, they must push for respect for the constitutional order, with some actors, such as the EU, traditionally taking their lead from ECOWAS, including in imposing sanctions after that order is violated. On the other, they need to maintain a constructive relationship with the new authorities in order to avoid jeopardising their own security strategy, which is often focused on cooperation between civilian and military officials in the country, as in Mali and Burkina Faso, where they have considerable commitments. It will be difficult for international partners to take the same tough line against the 24 January coup in Burkina Faso that they took after the military takeover in Mali. The hardline approach, as adopted by major partners such as France, merely strengthened the transitional authorities relationships with alternative partners such as Russia, and turned many Malians against Paris and ECOWAS. The Malian population is hostile to international sanctions, first because it broadly supports the transitional authorities and, secondly, because ordinary people are often the first to suffer from the sanctions impact.

Burkina Fasos international partners should avoid a head-on confrontation and seek to work as best as they can with this transition.
The Internet of Things (IoT) doesn't just mean using your smartphone to lock your front door anymore. The IoT industry is becoming more interesting as more industries see the value of connecting endpoints to help their business run more efficiently.

At the same time, more vendors are jumping on the bandwagon with products and services aimed at helping users get the most from data generated from their Internet-enabled endpoints. Here are our picks for the 10 coolest IoT products of 2015.

Google Brillo

This year, Google launched Brillo, its Android-based operating system for low-power IoT devices.

According to Google, Brillo has three components: the embedded operating system, core platform services, and a developer kit for building, testing and debugging. Open source-based Brillo will receive small updates every six weeks, and Brillo is currently available to interested developers via an early access program.

In other IoT-related news, Google's Nest Cam, the Web-connected security camera introduced in June, also received an update. The company has launched a second-generation camera this fall with new features, such as heating and hot water controls.

Samsung SmartCam

Samsung took aim at Google Nest this year when it expanded its camera portfolio with the US$190 SmartCam HD Plus.

The next-generation live streaming camera for home monitoring offers 1080p HD resolution with a 130-degree field of view, motion and sound alerts, as well as local storage and night vision up to 32 feet.

Should a loud noise occur or if movement by a person or animal is detected by the camera, users can be notified via push notifications to their mobile device. Users can watch the occurrence in real-time or instruct the camera to record for 30 seconds and replay the footage later.

AT&T M2X Platform

Dallas-based telecommunications provider AT&T has been busy in the IoT space this year. In January, the carrier introduced its M2X cloud-based data storage service and management toolset. The platform lets businesses gather real-time data from connected endpoints within their environment. M2X also helps businesses translate the information into actionable data.

At its Partner Exchange Summit in Dallas this fall, AT&T said that while it can create components and products to capture big data, it's looking for solution provider partners to help turn these products into fully-baked IoT solutions.

Next: Cisco, Verizon and Intel

This article originally appeared at crn.com
Storage News

NetApp CFO Noviello Departs, Company Shuffles Executive Reporting Structure

Joseph F. Kovar

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NetApp on Wednesday unveiled an executive reorganization that also included the loss of its chief financial officer.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based storage vendor, which is in the process of acquiring all-flash storage array vendor SolidFire, said Nick Noviello, an eight-year NetApp veteran who has been the company's CFO for the past four years, has left the company to pursue another opportunity.

Jeffrey Bergmann, NetApp's vice president of corporate finance and a six-year company veteran, will take over the CFO role on an interim basis, the company said. Both internal and external candidates will be considered.

[Related: Q&A: NetApp CEO Kurian Talks About New Competitors, Tech's Transition And Industry Consolidation]

The departure of Noviello was a result of his decision to pursue a new, noncompetitive opportunity, a company spokesperson told CRN via email.

The spokesperson also emailed a statement from NetApp, which read: "We are grateful for Nick Noviellos ongoing support of NetApps leadership, technology, global team and future. He has made many contributions to NetApp over the last eight years and we fully support Nick in continuing to achieve his personal career goals. In his new role as CFO, Jeff Bergmann will oversee the financial operations of NetApp as we continue to execute our strategy and build a stronger company that solves customer challenges and delivers earnings growth."

NetApp took advantage of Noviello's departure by flattening its corporate structure. Starting Wednesday, NetApp Chief Information Officer Cynthia Stoddard and Vice President of Investor Relations Kris Newton will report directly to CEO George Kurian. Stoddard and Newton previously reported to Noviello.

The departure of Noviello comes after a year of major changes in NetApp's executive team.

Rob Salmon, NetApp's president in charge of its go-to-market operations and a 20-year-plus veteran at the storage vendor, said in November that he plans to retire around the end of April of this year.

Julie Parrish, NetApp chief marketing officer and company veteran, left in September. Parrish last month became CMO of Check Point Software Technologies, San Carlos, Calif, and Tel Aviv.

Regina Kunkle in July resigned as NetApp's vice president of North American channel sales to join SAP, Walldorf, Germany, as that company's new vice president of state and local/higher education (SLED).

The highest-profile NetApp departure was that of CEO Tom Georgens, who in June was let go by the NetApp board. Georgens was replaced by George Kurian, the company's former executive vice president of product operations.

NetApp CTO Jay Kidd, a 10-year company veteran, retired this past summer, citing plans to finish his career at NetApp and follow personal interests.

NetApp in March lost its flash storage guru as Brian Pawlowski, the senior vice president and technical staff member at NetApp known there as "beepee," left in March to join rival all-flash storage vendor Pure Storage, Mountain View, Calif..

John Woodall, vice president of engineering at a Palo Alto, Calif.-based solution provider and longtime NetApp channel partner Integrated Archive Systems (IAS), said the latest shakeup and the earlier executive changes really show that NetApp CEO George Kurian is continuing to make the changes that he thinks will move the company forward.

"I'm not surprised to see any C-level executive changes at NetApp," Woodall told CRN. "I get the sense that this will be a year of a lot of changes as NetApp looks for ways to get more relevant. It's exciting. The changes are not a reflection on Nick, but are things that needed to change."

Given NetApp's big SolidFire acquisition and the long string of executive changes, the obvious next question about the vendor is what's next, Woodall said.

"I don't think NetApp is done with M&A [mergers and acquisitions], or product changes, or executive changes," he said. "And I think that's a good thing. If NetApp is doing the right things for the right reasons, they'll be rewarded. NetApp is getting more aggressive with product road maps and M&A."

PUBLISHED JAN. 6, 2016


Faculty and administrators at Garissa University College returned to work Monday (Jan. 4), nine months after a bloody massacre of mainly Christian students by Somalias al-Shabab militants forced its closure.

Government officials and some analysts hailed the reopening of the campus in Kenyas northeastern region as a defeat for terrorists.

On April 2, gunmen wielding AK-47s stormed the college and held it for more than 10 hours. By the end of the siege, 148 people, mainly Christian students, lay dead in the bloodbath, the deadliest in Kenya. Al-Shabab, al-Qaidas affiliate in Somalia, claimed responsibility.

But only about 60 students are expected to attend when classes resume Monday. Before the attack, the university had about 800 students.

Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Alessandro of the Garissa Diocese welcomed the reopening but said only local people, mainly Muslims, were arriving at the institution, the only university in the largely Muslim north.

Christians, he added, are still scared. We hope they will soon join.

A police station has been set up within the campus. The government promised to erect a security wall around the schools perimeter, as well, said Ahmed Osman Warfa, a university don.

I wish I was armed and trained when the attackers struck, Warfa told Kenyan newspapers. I would have defended my students against them. It pains me that we lost so many.

Student survivors of the attack are unlikely to return to the college, according to George Ogalo, national director of Fellowship of Christian Unions, an umbrella organization at Kenyan universities and colleges. The union worked with the student survivors of the attack.

It is too early to imagine the same students would go back. They have scars and wounds both physically and psychologically, which are still too fresh, said Ogalo.

Ogalo added that the college should reopen with new students and the government should move to assure the students on their security.

Fredrick Nzwili is an RNS correspondent based in Nairobi

Publication date: January 6, 2015
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Fletcher Thompson, the beleaguered Bridgeport-based architectural firm facing a litany of lawsuits saying it hasnt been paying its bills, has also missed restitution payments stemming from its failure to fund its employee pension plan.

The U.S. Department of Labor filed to reopen its case against the company last year after saying Fletcher Thompson repeatedly failed to make its required $40,000 monthly payments to reimburse its pensioners.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the Labor Departments Employee Benefits Services Administration that found the company had fallen behind in moving employee deferrals to the plan beginning in 2008. The company stopped remitting any funds to the plan as of May 2012, even as it continued to withhold contributions from paychecks.

A court order issued last year had the company paying monthly installments to ensure plan participants receive the money to which they were entitled, but according to court filings only two payments had been received as of July, and both were late.

The Labor Department has asked that the firm be held in contempt in order to compel payment. Richard Pate, a professor at Sacred Heart University who teaches classes in business law, said a company held in contempt could face sanctions to encourage payment.

A much less likely event is that a defendant is taken into custody until payment is achieved, Pate said.

The two sides are in discussions to find a way the company could comply and forestall a finding of contempt, according to court documents filed in December.

Fletcher Thompsons company phone system was not functioning Thursday. In response to a reporters visit to the companys Main Street Bridgeport headquarters, Managing Partner Michael Marcinek said Youre not welcome, adding that he would have the reporter arrested unless he left immediately.

As fiduciary of the Fletcher-Thompson Inc. Savings Plan, Marcinek is named in the federal investigation, and was ordered to never again serve as a fiduciary to a federally protected benefit plan.

There are 164 participants in the Fletcher-Thompson plan, which was established in 1984. The federal government began investigating after former employees contacted the department about missing contributions. The total amount missing, including lost interest, was found to be $485,560.77.

The reopening of the federal case against the firm, which was founded in Bridgeport in 1909, comes amid numerous lawsuits charging the company with failing to pay its bills. These include, among others:

Boughton Architects, of Florida, which was awarded $354,000 from Fletcher Thompson that a court said it failed to pay for services rendered;

Cisco Systems, which a court found was owed $408,000 from Fletcher Thompson;

McLaren Engineering Group, which sued over $223,000 it says it was owed;

Prudential Annuities Information Services and Technology Corp., which sued over $627,000 it said it was owed in a disagreement over a sublease at Fletcher Thompsons former Shelton headquarters; and

East Hartbord-based SecureTek Solutions, which provides temporary workers and this week filed suit over $42,000 it said the company owes.

In addition, a former company vice president has sued the firm over what he claims are months of missed paychecks, and is seeking $89,000 in unpaid wages along with punitive damages.

Fletcher Thompson in 2014 moved into the former Mechanics & Farmers Bank building on McLevy Green in a move that Bridgeport officials lauded as a sign of the citys resurgence. The building is owned by Darien-based Forstone Capital, which has about a dozen buildings downtown.
BRIDGEPORT  A terrified grandmother was driven through the city and onto I-95 Wednesday night by a carjacker who was startled to find that he had a passenger.

The 68-year old woman told police that she was sitting in the back seat of her grandsons Mazda on Madison Avenue when a man jumped into the car and drove off at a high rate of speed. Her grandson had left the engine running while he ran into a store to buy tea, according to the police report.
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Best known for a campaign ad showing him riding in a convertible festooned with guns, conservative Joe Visconti has formed an exploratory committee to run for the U.S. Senate this year.

Visconti ran for governor in 2014 as a petition candidate after failing to get the Republican endorsement. He gained notoriety in that race for what the Washington Post dubbed as the most flag-tastic moment of that political cycle, flaunting his holstered .380-caliber Beretta in a pro-gun commercial.

A former West Hartford town councilman, actor and Emmy winner, the flamboyant Visconti has resurfaced in the political arena with aspirations of challenging U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Hes one of the few visible political figures in the state to embrace the candidacy of Donald Trump for president.

Im Trump minus $10 billion, Visconti told Hearst Connecticut Media Thursday.

His positions, he said, mirror those of the controversial real estate mogul on a myriad of issues, from seeking the deportation of undocumented immigrants to banning visitors to the U.S. from Islamic countries.

I dont think hes prejudicial, Visconti said. Hes out of the box in the way he delivers everything. Hes not a racist. Hes a New Yorker.

Visconti, 59, said he plans to spend the next two months beta testing and meeting with Republican Town Committee members across the state to gauge their support for his latest overture. In 2008, he was handily defeated by U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., in the 1st Congressional District.

The perennial candidate said he would offer a clear contrast to Blumenthals support for President Barack Obamas recently announced executive action on gun control, as well as the incumbents endorsement of the Iran nuclear deal.

Blumenthals totally vulnerable, Visconti said. When its time to campaign, Ill be ruthless with this man.

The campaign of Blumenthal, who is in his first term, declined to comment Thursday. One of the wealthiest members of the Senate whose job approval is above 60 percent, Blumenthal served as state attorney general for 20 years before he was elected in 2010.

The GOP field is still coming into focus, with 1984 Olympian and Stamford money manager August Wolf the only declared Republican in the race. CNBC commentator and former Ronald Reagan aide Larry Kudlow is kicking the tires on a run.

Were going to try to scare Kudlow away and keep his day job, Visconti said.

neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
Associated Press / via AP

The editor and publisher of two Connecticut newspapers has issued a cryptic apology about a politically motivated report that appeared last month in his publications, which have been linked to conservative Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

The scandal prompted a well-known reporter at the Bristol Press, Steve Collins, to quit his job of two decades on Christmas Eve, and accuse former boss Michael Schroeder of pimping out the paper and its sister publication, the New Britain Herald, to Adelson.
Double murder trial day 4: A star witness for the prosecution backed out in the courtroom

The prosecution case in chief has to change its line up of witnesses when one decides not to take the stand when called to do so Tuesday morning.
As countless people clamour for a recipe they think might bag them a mate, others are starting to wonder: do we need to worry if our partner leaves the house with cookware?

by Samantha Selinger-Morris
Jeremy Corbyns Shadow Cabinet re-shuffle has been mocked by David Cameron and many pundits. Its true it was an absurdly drawn-out affair. I expect most of the nation couldnt care less about the outcome.

But despite the hilarity, Mr Corbyn and his Hard-Left clique have got almost all they want. The pro-Trident Maria Eagle has been shunted out of Defence to Culture, the most minor Shadow Cabinet job, and replaced by the nuclear unilateralist Emily Thornberry. Hilary Benn stays at Foreign Affairs but with a pair of manacles around his wrists.

An obscure moderate called Michael Dugher has been sent packing, as has the equally reasonable Shadow Europe minister, Pat McFadden. Three other low-profile, moderate junior Shadow ministers have also walked out in disgust.

We would be making a serious mistake if we said that the demotion of some shadow ministers, and the dismissal or resignation of others, is unimportant because we have scarcely heard of them. The point is that the Opposition front bench is now significantly more Left-wing than it was.

Mr Corbyn may seem a bumbling, semi-lovable ass who cant make up his mind. In fact, he is a determined operator, surrounded and advised by other determined operators, engaged in nothing less than the transformation of Labour into a Hard-Left Party.

The accepted wisdom is he wont succeed. Either the moderates in the Parliamentary Labour Party will rise up against him. Or, if they dont, Labour will go down to the mother of all defeats at the 2020 General Election.

My advice to anyone who cares about democracy and the future of this country is not to take either of these assumptions for granted. For all his apparent reasonableness and decency, Mr Corbyn is ruthless and single-minded. I dont think he really believes in Parliamentary democracy. What can be said of him can be said with equal vehemence of his long-time friend John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor.

Let us examine the sacking of Pat McFadden. He has made the most extraordinary allegation against his leader  namely that he was dismissed for condemning terrorism after the Paris terrorist attacks.

Mr McFadden had criticised the Stop the War Coalition  previously chaired by the Labour leader  for claiming that the people killed in Paris had reaped the whirlwind for Western intervention in the Middle East. He said in the Commons: No one forces them to kill innocent people in Paris and Beirut. Unless we are clear about that, we will fail even to be able to understand the threat we face, let alone confront it and ultimately overcome it. Quite right.

According to Mr McFadden, Mr Corbyn felt his criticisms of Stop the War were an attack on him, and this belief was instrumental in his sacking. This is an amazing allegation. Mr McFadden is suggesting he was dismissed for being critical of terrorists.

Can it be true? I believe it is. And the reason I do is that there is plenty of evidence going back many years of Mr Corbyn demonstrating a sympathy for terrorists and their causes. Corbynistas admire terrorists for pursuing political ends through non-parliamentary means.

Much has been written about how as a young MP in 1984 he invited Gerry Adams, then president of the IRAs political wing, and widely believed at that time to have been a recent active terrorist, to a meeting in the House of Commons. A mere fortnight earlier, the IRA had tried to blow up Margaret Thatcher and the rest of the Cabinet, killing five people.

During his career as a backbench MP, when few noticed or cared what he was doing, Mr Corbyn consorted with members of Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist organisations committed to the destruction of Israel. He referred to his friends at Hamas.

As recently as 2009, he shared a platform with an Islamist firebrand called Dyab Abou Jahjah, who had previously said that he regarded every death of an American, British or Dutch soldier [in Iraq] as a victory.

Let us examine the sacking of Pat McFadden (pictured). He has made the most extraordinary allegation against his leader  namely that he was dismissed for condemning terrorism after the Paris terrorist attacks

Shadow defence minister Kevin Jones leaves Number 4 Millbank on January 6 in London. The MP resigned from his shadow cabinet post in the wake of the Labour party re-shuffle

Only a few days ago, Mr Corbyn refused to answer questions about the latest grotesque Islamic State video showing a jihadi with a British accent and the murder of five Syrian men.

The Labour leader was at Kings Cross station in London fielding questions about rail fares. Why didnt he condemn IS? Perhaps it was an oversight. Or perhaps Mr Corbyn finds it much more difficult than most of us to denounce terrorist activity.

His colleague John McDonnell also has a shameful record of indulging terrorists. In 2003, he said it was about time we started honouring IRA terrorists. Only after being appointed Shadow Chancellor a few months ago did he offer a partial apology.

The Labour leader was at Kings Cross station in London fielding questions about rail fares. Why didnt he condemn IS? Stephen Glover

In 2010, he also said he would like to go back to the 1980s and assassinate Margaret Thatcher. An attempt at a joke, perhaps, but also an image conveying extreme violence. It was not a nice thing to say.

McDonnell was co-editor of a Leftist paper called the Labour Herald in the mid-Eighties which enthusiastically supported Colonel Gaddafi, and praised his supposed achievements in Libya. After a Gaddafi-sponsored terrorist attack on a Berlin nightclub patronised by U.S. troops, America bombed Tripoli. The Labour Herald accused President Reagan of warmongering and described him as a terrorist.

The evidence is so extensive that one marvels that Corbyn and McDonnell have been able to shrug off the past. The reason they have been able to do so with considerable success is that they are adept at presenting themselves as avuncular old chaps who are essentially benign and harmless. Pat McFadden has discovered otherwise.

Many people on the Right got Tony Blair wrong in his early days as Labour leader when they referred to him as Bambi. Now they are equally mistaken in seeing Jeremy Corbyn as cuddly or a breath of fresh air. When they praise him for having principles, they forget how damaging those principles would be if he were ever to achieve power.

Fashionable opinion is certain that such an eventuality is inconceivable. Mr Corbyn is said to be enthusiastically supported by, at most, only 50 out of 231 Labour MPs. Even with a few dozen time-servers who will support any regime, there must still be a large majority in the Parliamentary party who would like to get rid of him.

My message, though, is not to underestimate the guile of the Corbynistas. They are planning to hand key powers over policy and recruitment to Labours ruling national executive committee on which Corbyn has an effective majority.

This committee will be said by the Corybnistas to represent the views of the people who voted for him by such a large majority. Labour MPs who question the power of this body will be vilified as undemocratic.

In other words, like the Hard-Left the world over, the Corbynistas are intent on removing power from democratic representatives and investing it in the people  in fact, the few hundred thousand people, many of them not even Labour Party members, who voted for Corbyn. The old Soviet politburo would be proud of him.

Can the Corbynista take-over succeed? You would think not. Even if the Parliamentary Labour Party is successfully neutered, which is far from certain, the British electorate will surely not be fooled.
Over recent days, as television news has covered the terrible floods, I am reminded yet again of one of the odder misfortunes inflicted on Britain in our lifetime.

An Environment Agency official tells us a river has burst its banks having risen 5.2 metres, only for a traumatised local to tell us it is 17 ft higher than normal.

Meanwhile, a hapless BBC reporter interviewing a flood victim solemnly informs us the water is 300 mm deep.

Metric: Environment Secretary Liz Truss - pictured at the scene of a collapsed bridge in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, last week - said that water levels on the River Aire were a metre higher than they have ever been

Not to be left out, Environment Secretary Liz Truss yesterday told the Commons that water levels on the River Aire were a metre higher than they have ever been.

Only when a beleaguered homeowner tells us its a foot deep in the living room do most know what they are talking about.

The fact is that we have two quite different systems of weights and measures  one invariably used by government officials and the BBC; the other still used by millions of people because, for most everyday purposes, it seems much more sensible and easily comprehensible.

The reason we live in these two different worlds  imperial and metric  can be traced back 50 years to one of the murkiest episodes in the history of our parliamentary democracy.

It centres on the scandal of how politicians robbed us of our old system of weights and measures  feet and inches, pounds and ounces  to replace it with what they claimed was the much more sensible metric system.

I am not concerned initially with the respective merits of the two systems  although I shall touch on those later  but with the peculiarly dishonest tactics devised to bring about an enormous change in Britains way of life without consulting voters.

Start of the story: Harold Wilsons Labour government used a Written Answer buried at the back of Hansard in 1965 to announce its intention to replace the weights and measures used since the Roman Empire

Fully aware of the highly controversial nature of the new system, they sought instead to impose it by stealth, deception and downright lies.

Kept under wraps: Prime Minister Edward Heath learned in In 1972 that Brussels planned a directive to ensure that all member countries must use metric

The story begins in 1965 when Harold Wilsons Labour government used a Written Answer buried at the back of Hansard to announce its intention to replace the weights and measures used since the Roman Empire.

The first lie was a pretence that the switch to metric was in response to the wishes of British industry. Years later, after I unearthed the relevant documents, it turned out industry had requested nothing of the kind.

It is true that, under pressure from bureaucrats, the chief trade body representing businesses had expressed interest in the possibility of such a change since it would affect its members, but it merely said that many were concerned by its implications.

In 1968 came the second lie when the then Technology Minister, Tony Benn, let slip to MPs his wish to see Britain fully metric by 1975.

This change would be entirely voluntary. Compulsion, he twice promised, is not part of the process (hence, no need for parliamentary debate).

However, within months, the Government issued a statutory diktat making it a criminal offence for shops such as chemists to sell drugs in anything but metric measurements.

In 1969, a Metrication Board was duly set up to co-ordinate the process. It ruled that it would be illegal to teach any other measuring system than metric in schools.

I first exposed this subterfuge in a magazine during the 1970 election campaign, and a reader badgered her would-be Tory MP into promising that Parliament would debate the subject. It proved to be only a short debate and Tory backbenchers were furious that such a huge change to British life was being smuggled in.

New measurements: In the fabric department of Selfridges in 1975, assistant Vanessa Holm begins her first day using metres and centimetres following the metrication of length and breadth

In 1972, when Prime Minister Edward Heath was taking Britain into the European Common Market, he learned that Brussels planned a directive to ensure that all member countries must use the metric system. Not surprisingly, he insisted that this be kept under wraps until Britain was safely in.

Minister responsible: Michael Heseltine claimed the measures had nothing to do with Europe but had been British policy since the Sixties

Next, Heath issued a Metrication White Paper based on the fictitious claim that Britain was only adopting the metric system in response to two polls of industry. In truth, no polls had taken place.

Five years later, the Tories  by then led by Margaret Thatcher  rebelled and, in 1980, she scrapped the Metrication Board. Brussels swiftly retaliated and issued a directive requiring all members of the European Community to use the metric system. (All except Britain and Ireland already did).

Five years on, the Thatcher Government parried this with a new Weights and Measures Act, confirming that the imperial system would still be legal.

In response, Brussels issued a directive in 1989 designed to bring Britain into line  though it still allowed us to continue, for a time, using miles on road signs and pints (but only for beer, cider and milk).

It was this directive that led Thatchers successor government led by John Major to allow it to become a criminal offence to sell goods of any kind, including fruit and veg, except in metric.

Disingenuously, the minister responsible, Michael Heseltine, claimed the measures had nothing to do with Europe but had been British policy since the Sixties. But the documents he signed were the result of the European Communities Act  which was passed in 1972.

And so the juggernaut of an unpopular metric system was crushing our imperial traditions.

Opposition came to a head in 2000, when a Sunderland stallholder, Steve Thoburn, was charged with the criminal offence of selling a pound of bananas.

Unpopular system: Opposition came to a head in 2000, when a Sunderland stallholder, Steve Thoburn (pictured), was charged with the criminal offence of selling a pound of bananas

With four other so-called Metric Martyrs, they went to the Court of Appeal and argued that under the ancient rule that no Act of Parliament can be overruled by one passed previously, the 1985 Weights And Measures Act could not be negated by an edict issued under the European Communities Act of 1972.

America landed a man on the moon using miles, feet and inches, and thrives using the imperial system

However, Lord Justice Laws ruled that the European Communities Act was a constitutional statute  so important that it could not be overturned by law which came after it.

Many larger businesses, such as those making tinned foods, welcomed the new laws as they could cut their old 1 lb tins (454g) to 400g and charge the same price, hoping customers would not notice. Confectionery manufacturers followed suit.

Despite the anti-democratic imposition of the metric system, shopkeepers were still allowed to print the imperial measurement next to the metric equivalent.

But in 2002, Brussels issued a new directive designed to make this illegal, and again the Government supinely complied.

It thus became a crime for retailers to make any mention of the old weights and measures.

Loophole: Peter Halstead and Irene O'Brien of the Gemini Fish Suppliers in Codicote, Hertfordshire, said in 2004 that they had avoided the metrication laws by running the shop as a club costing one pence to join

At this point, there was a welcome intervention by Americans  who still use imperial measurements  after they were told by the British Weights and Measures Association that giant U.S. corporations would be breaking the law if they sold any products in the EU without measurements in metric. Thus it would have been illegal to refer only to a 42in TV screen.

The U.S. firms were worried about the vast costs involved and Brussels at last backed down.

Imperial: When we are told the weight of a new-born royal baby, such as Princess Charlotte, its 8 lb 3oz  rather than an alien 3.71 kg

Deeply embarrassed, the EU trade commissioner stated that imperial measures, such as the mile and the pint, were the very essence of the Britishness that Europeans know and love. The British could use imperial equivalents alongside metric measures for as long as they wished.

With this last fudge, 40 years of deceit and chicanery more or less came to an end.

Never again would a greengrocer be criminalised for shouting, Lovely toms, a quid a pound! at customers who hadnt a clue what half a kilo was.

Supporters of metric still insist theirs is a much more rational system. But they overlook the fact that America landed a man on the moon using miles, feet and inches, and thrives using the imperial system.

In truth, the only way metric is more user-friendly is simply that it divides and multiplies by ten. But for everyday uses, such as cooking or carpentry or measuring a carpet, I would argue that imperial wins every time.

When we are told the weight of a new-born royal baby, such as Princess Charlotte, its 8 lb 3oz  rather than an alien 3.71 kg.
Yes, some readers will sympathise with hard-working junior doctors in their quest for a better deal from the Government over its plans for a seven-day-a-week NHS. Just how long such feelings can survive the strikes, planned to start next week, is a different matter.

But whatever the publics view of the arguments over Health Secretary Jeremy Hunts new contracts, most will find one thing profoundly disturbing.

This is the growing evidence of a Left-wing takeover of the British Medical Association by militants pursuing a political agenda that appears to have little to do with doctors welfare, and still less with patients care.

Strikes planned: Some readers will sympathise with hard-working junior doctors (pictured carrying out a protest in London in October) in their quest for a better deal from the Government

As we reported yesterday, the BMAs Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis has made an extraordinary plea for leaders of other unions to picket hospitals when the first of three walkouts begins on Tuesday.

In it, he lets slip a motive wholly unconnected with the rights and wrongs of the new contracts, writing: A victory for the junior doctors would signify the first real crack in the entire edifice of austerity in the UK.

In other words, he wants to exploit patients to torpedo the Governments economic policy.

How breathtakingly cynical. Since when was this the function of an organisation, describing itself as apolitical, which was set up to represent Britains most respected profession?

Now it emerges that Dr Gourtsoyannis is far from the only committed Left-winger behind the strike. Take BMA council member Dr Kailash Chand, who likens Tory policy to Nazi propaganda.

Or consider oncologist Clive Peedell  who stood against David Cameron in last years General Election (winning 616 votes, to the Prime Ministers 35,201).

When Jeremy Corbyn won the Labour leadership, he tweeted: Labour members have got their party back.

Exploiting patients: Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis of the British Medical Association has made an extraordinary plea for leaders of other unions to picket hospitals when the first of three walkouts begins

Then theres BMA council member Tom Dolphin, who tweeted after Corbyns victory: The Labour Party must build on the surge of support you bring with you to take on the Tories.

Isnt it increasingly clear that the Left is determined to mobilise doctors for this same purpose  not just to st rike a better deal over antisocial working hours but to take on the Tories?

Indeed, why else did BMA negotiators walk out of the latest round of talks, just 15 minutes after they were offered substantial concessions?

With patients significantly more likely to die if they are admitted to hospital at the weekend, this paper believes it is a moral imperative for doctors to get back round the table and cooperate with introducing a full seven-day service.

As for the strike, we urge them to defy the Corbynistas and put patients needs first. Their Hippocratic oath and professional pride surely demand it.

Insult to our heroes

If Mr Corbyn had set out deliberately to insult our armed forces in his chaotic reshuffle, he couldnt have made a more fitting choice of defence spokesman.

Leave aside that Emily Thornberry shares his opposition to Britains nuclear deterrent.

It is nothing less than a slap in the face to our heroes that she took over 48,000 in kind from an ambulance-chasing legal firm accused of inciting Iraqis to make spurious claims for compensation against UK soldiers.

Who can blame these brave men and women if they come to believe their most insidious enemies are at Westminster

New position: If Jeremy Corbyn had set out deliberately to insult our armed forces in his chaotic reshuffle, he couldnt have made a more fitting choice of defence spokesman than Emily Thornberry (pictured)

Whatever may be said about bankers, theyre never slow to promote their own interests.
She has more than nine million online subscribers and has become a postergirl for YouTube, so it's easy to assume that Zoella has a life that most people can only dream of.

However, Zoe Sugg, the 25-year-old fashion and beauty vlogger from Brighton has admitted going through tough patches last year, confessing that it wasn't all smooth sailing for her in 2015.

In her latest blog post, the social media star insists that even though she has millions of adoring fans, a lucrative book deal, a wonderful house and a seemingly 'perfect' life, she still has to deal with the insecurities like everyone else - and sees a therapist every week to help her with anxiety.

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Millionaire vlogger Zoella reveals the highs and lows of 2015 and admits she wanted to 'crawl into a hole' before trying to find happiness online again at one point last year

Writing in 'Saying goodbye to 2015', Zoella gives an overview on her highs and lows of the past year - and also says what she has learned and how she wants to move forward with her life in 2016.

As well as more trivial things such as cutting off her long hair - a style she had showcased for seven years - Miss Sugg, who is dating blogger boyfriend Alfie Deyes, also reveals the hardship she faced last year.

The post begins by hailing last January a 'really hard month' due to negativity surrounding her debut novel.

The backlash came after she controversially admitted using a ghostwriter for her best-selling novel, Girl Online, prompting her to announce she was quitting the internet.

Zoella, pictured with her live-in boyfriend Alfie Deyes - also a YouTuber - also opened up about being plagued by anxiety, admitting she has weekly sessions with her therapist to combat it

The vlogger posted a message on Twitter to her fans saying she was taking a few days off the internet 'because it's clouding up my brain'.

Her post came after it emerged that the editorial team at Penguin helped her with the writing of her debut book, particularly award-winning author Siobhan Curran.

After mounting speculation, Miss Sugg released a statement saying that only 'the story and the characters' were her own work.

Describing the incident in this month's blog post, she wrote candidly: 'Its very devastating to work hard on something, and for it to be twisted beyond your control and to feel as though the only thing you can do is crawl into a hole rather than try and stand up for yourself and to watch everyone else turn on you.

'Its almost like it happened in slow motion and I spent a good portion of the first quarter of the year trying to find happiness online again. I contemplated stopping everything.'

Miss Sugg pictured with blogger boyfriend Alfie Deyes, with whom she bought a house in the Brighton area

Miss Sugg, who bought a 1million, five-bedroom house in the Brighton area with Alfie last year, also opened up about being plagued by anxiety, admitting she has weekly sessions with her therapist to combat it.

As well as the negative, she also charts her more positive coups of 2015, including starring on Great British Bake Off, seeing her second book - Girl Online On Tour - become a best-selling novel and being transformed into a waxwork at Madame Tussauds.

She also revealed that 2016 is going to be the year that she 'cares less' about what other people think. The vlogger also revealed that she will be 'flushing out' people in her life who 'don't bring out the best in me'.

And in terms of fitness, Zoe admitted that she aims to do squats until she gets a bottom that resembles Kim Kardashian's.

As well as the negative, she also charts her more positive coups of 2015, including being transformed into a waxwork at Madame Tussauds, pictured

Miss Sugg grew up in Lacock, Wiltshire, the daughter of a beautician mother and a property developer father.

After finishing her A-Levels at the local Corsham School - she took art, photography and textiles - the 24-year-old started an apprenticeship at an interior design company.

Soon her YouTube channel, set up in 2009, became her full-time job, with more than six million subscribers and 12 million hits on her vlogs per month.

Miss Sugg now charges 20,000 a month to advertisers who want to place products alongside her fashion tips.

Such is the power of the posts of Wiltshire-born Zoe that skincare brands such as Simple and fashion labels including Topshop are queueing up to work with her.

She has created a range of beauty products, published a bestselling novel, been signed by Radio 1, is the charity Minds digital ambassador and was selected, along with brother Joe and boyfriend Alfie, to take part in Bob Geldofs re-release of the Band Aid single.

Penguin Random House, the publisher behind her book Girl Online, agreed to sign Zoella after its CEO Tom Weldon was told by his 13-year-old goddaughter that the book would be a huge best-seller.

Zoella became the fastest-selling debut novelist since records began with her tome, Girl Online, outselling the likes of JK Rowling and Dan Brown.
The couple, from Somerset, say their marriage is

My wife Kate's ultimatum was a profound shock. I never saw it coming. An hour earlier, I'd been at work thinking that life was good. Now my world was falling apart.

Harry, she had told me, you're a good man and I love you. But we're not the friends I need us to be. Unless that changes, our marriage will be over in a year and we will be divorced.

I remember a physical flash of panic blurring my eyes. My marriage was in deep trouble and I had no idea why.

Harry and Kate Benson , from Somerset, say their marriage is unrecognisable today after Kate's ultimatum

But the very nature of that panic should have given me a clue about what had gone wrong, had I been sufficiently aware to see it.

It wasn't the fear of losing Kate that made me desperate to preserve my marriage. If she left, I would lose the children I adored and the comfortable life I'd built for the family. My priority wasn't Kate. It was me.

Dinner with wise married friends a few nights later exposed the deep fault lines in our marriage.

'What did I like most about Kate?' one of them asked. All I could think was that Kate was an accomplished cook who had edited a food magazine before the birth of our two daughters.

'I like the fact that she understands the chemistry of cooking,' I said.

Looking back on that mortifying scene now, my answer seems unimaginable. 'You're so buttoned up and unemotional. You're almost psychotic,' said my friend, incredulously.

Harry's wife threatened that in a year the pair would be divorced if their relationship did not change

At the time, eight years into our marriage, I simply couldn't understand why my answer provoked such a furore. It didn't occur to me that my gorgeous, vivacious wife needed to be valued as the lovely person she was, far more than for her technical competence as a cook.

However, the fact that today we have an unrecognisably stronger and happier marriage - we celebrate our 30th anniversary next summer - is evidence that I did undergo a radical change.

The shift was not instantaneous, but it began with a decision to put Kate first. For the first time I started to cherish and adore my wife, and our hopelessly unhappy relationship became a flourishing, contented one.

The turnaround in our marriage, it emerged last month, echoes a national trend. New research that I conducted myself as the research director of the Marriage Foundation records a sharp fall in the number of women seeking divorces: just 4.2 per cent want to end their marriages in the tricky first five years - the lowest level since 1973, and almost half the 7.9 per cent recorded in 1986, the peak year for marital breakdown and actually our own wedding year.

I am heartened by these statistics. And there is one overriding reason why fewer women today are seeking divorces in these crucial early years. Men have, quite simply, raised their game and shown more emotional maturity.

Men's commitment relies on buying into a shared plan for the future, making a decision to put our spouse first. As social and family pressures to marry have receded, fewer men are 'sliding' into married life because it is the 'right thing to do'.

Those men who do marry mean it and are much clearer about their commitment. The result is a lot fewer disillusioned wives filing for divorce in the early years.

As our own marriage teetered perilously close to the brink, I knew I had always been wedded to the idea of marriage itself as a lifetime commitment.

Harry believes men have raised their game and shown more emotional maturity in recent years. Above, left to right: Polly, 22, Sizzle, 16, Kate, 51, Charlie, 14, Harry, 55, Johnnie, 12, Rosie, 24, at their home in Somerset

What I hadn't understood - as stupid as it may sound - is that you can only achieve that through real emotional intimacy. In fact, I'd come to see being emotionally reserved and having a stiff upper lip as a badge of honour.

On the advice of my friends, admittedly with great reluctance, I sought help from a counsellor who helped me open up and realise how I'd become the way I was.

So much of who we are is formed by our family background. My parents undoubtedly loved me. But the combination of Dad leaving home when I was three and Mum sending me to boarding school at the age of seven proved toxic for me. I coped by closing down and becoming introverted and independent.

The happy and committed couple celebrate their 30th anniversary next summer after Harry made the decision to work towards turning his marriage around. Despite years of marriage he admits he barely knew Kate

Single-mindedly, I pursued a path that would lead to a successful career. After school I joined the Navy and, aged just 21, flew into battle in the Falklands War as a commando helicopter pilot.

Soon after my return I met Kate, then 19 and a cookery school student, at a Valentine's Day party in 1984. My job as a Navy pilot was exhausting and demanding.

Kate doubtless attributed my lack of communication when I was home on leave to tiredness. But she must have seen some potential in me because we were married two years later.

The couple went on a weekend marriage course where he learnt how to hear things from Kate's perspective

When I left the Forces and we moved to Asia, where our children Rosie and Polly were born, my focus on work and children, and detachment from Kate, became entrenched.

Even six months on from our confrontation, I was hopeless. I thought I'd developed an awareness, but singularly failed to put it into action.

Once, when we were talking about it to my counsellor, Kate burst into tears. I still had not recognised that the appropriate reaction was to hug her. Instead, I just sat there, mute and frozen.

Men's commitment relies on buying into a shared plan for the future, making a decision to put our spouse first

Later that day, I found a letter on my pillow. It was from Kate, a 'job spec' setting out the terms and conditions of what it meant to be Harry's wife.

She began with the perks: the nice flat where we lived, the holidays and travel, the family car, and the comforts of life.

Then she went on to tell me about the responsibilities of being parents together, of being a mother, of caring for our children and keeping our home organised.

Kate's letter ended on a note of despair. 'But what I really need from our marriage isn't a job, but a friend,' she wrote. 'Will I ever get that? Who knows? Who cares?'

Her question was rhetorical, but the answer implicit: I didn't care; not about Kate, at least - although I did care about the impact her leaving would have on me. As I sat on my bed reading the letter, those last few words struck me to the core.

'What on earth have I done?' I thought. I went to find Kate in the next room and got down on my knees. 'Kate,' I said, with genuine contrition, 'you have no reason to believe that I will change. But I will.'

Harry, with his wife and children above, works as research director of the Marriage Foundation. His new research records a sharp fall in the number of women seeking divorces. Now just 4.2 per cent of women want to end their marriages in the tricky first five years - the lowest level since 1973

It was as if a physical switch had been turned on in my brain. For the first time, I knew that I needed to make our marriage work not 'for the sake of the kids' - which really meant me. I needed to make it work for Kate. She deserved it.

Putting Kate first meant wanting to get to know her. It sounds mad after so many years together, but I barely knew what made Kate tick. We went on a weekend marriage course where I learnt how to hear things from Kate's perspective.

Previously, for example, if she asked me to pick my trousers off the bedroom floor, I might have taken it as criticism and reacted defensively. It was all about me. Now I heard that keeping the bedroom tidy was important to her and made her feel valued.

For the first time, I knew that I needed to make our marriage work not 'for the sake of the kids'

It also meant choosing to lift responsibilities from her shoulders whenever I could.

Initiating things and being proactive made her feel like I was caring for her.

After a particularly frosty Christmas - because of my disastrous last-minute half-wrapped purchase - friends suggested I ask Kate what she wanted ahead of time.

Asking her felt odd at first, as if it might spoil the surprise. But, of course, it made Kate feel loved because I'd thought about her. Today I'm often thinking of the next big event months in advance.

My best ever present was a 40th birthday party with all her friends, followed by a weekend away for the two of us. The whole thing was a surprise. I'd cleared her diary and organised childcare without her knowledge. It blew her away.

Today, after almost 30 years together, our marriage is unrecognisable from that terrible day of confrontation. We are now in England again, where we live in Somerset on a smallholding.

Besides Rosie, now 24 and married, and Polly, 22, we have four more children - Grace, 18, Sizzle, 16, Charlie, 14 and Johnnie, 12. Our marriage is robust: full of laughter, occasional healthy bouts of contention, and above all, love.

Harry believes he is proof that even the worst of bad habits can be broken and says he has his beloved Kate to thank for his transformation. He has since taught thousands of couples to have strong and happy relationships

I do not find it hard to tell Kate I love her; neither do I fail to cherish her and celebrate our relationship. I am profoundly glad that our marriage has endured, just as I am that the divorce rate in Britain is also declining.

My work is for all the Harrys and Kates who needn't get into the mess we did. I've since taught thousands of couples how to have strong and happy relationships.

These latest statistics showing that more couples are riding out the turbulent first five years of their marriages; the years when, typically, children come along, fill me with optimism.
A kind, funny, handsome husband. A dream wedding in the little Norman church under the South Downs where she'd been raised. And then they would settle down in a ramshackle Georgian rectory in the countryside and have the beautiful babies she'd always dreamed of. She'd have at least two - hopefully more.

This was Melanie Whitehouse's dream as she grew up. To her, it was simply unimaginable that she wouldn't one day become a mother.

So why has Melanie, now a 57-year-old author, found herself among the ranks of women in what has been dubbed Generation Childless? These are the women who were brought up in the Sixties and Seventies on a wave of higher education, growing equality and sexual freedom.

Genevieve Smyth, a 45-year-old occupational therapist from South London, was brought up on the mantra of equality - but she struggled to find a man who fulfilled all her requirements and found herself childless

But the cost has been high. Indeed, the latest statistics show that women in their mid-40s are almost twice as likely to be childless as their parents' generation. One in five women born in 1969 are childless today, compared to one in nine women born in 1942.

And it's not medical infertility that's fuelling the rise of childlessness among these women.

Instead, they are childless by circumstance. Whether it's down to not meeting the right man, or finding that careers absorbed all their time in their childbearing years, or simply deciding that babies wouldn't complement their comfortable lifestyle, women are increasingly starting the menopause without having had a family.

So who are the women who make up Generation Childless? In this two-part series, the Mail will discover why so many women of this era have found themselves childless - and uncover the true cost, to them and society.

Sadly, it seems that the majority of these childless women desperately wanted a family. Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women, a support network for childless women, says that her research shows 10 per cent of such women are childless due to infertility and 10 per cent have chosen to be child-free. But that leaves some 80 per cent of women without children who have simply ended up in this situation.

Melanie Whitehouse is certainly one of these women. And she is clear about the cause of her childlessness: men.

Or rather, the lack of men who were willing to settle down and start a family with her. The heartbreaking realisation that she was never going to have a baby struck late - in her 50s, while at a reunion lunch with her first boyfriend, whom she had dumped on a whim.

'I hadn't grieved for the children who might have been until then. I realised with painful clarity what I'd lost,' she says. 'Tom had been happily married for 25 years and had three kids, while I had nobody.'

Genevieve aged 16. She didn't meet the right man until she was 36, by which time she was too old to conceive

These feelings of grief are common among women who find themselves unwillingly childless.

Clinical psychologist Dr Jessamy Hibberd says: 'Despite societal changes, women are still expected to conceive. It's a huge loss when that doesn't happen.

'It's one of the last taboos: people aren't sure whether a woman has chosen not to have children or whether she hasn't been able to, so it remains unspoken - making the grief even harder to deal with.'

Melanie Whitehouse's journey has been a painful one, characterised by a certain kind of man, she confesses.

'The men I met from my mid-20s onwards seemed to delight in wooing and dumping me. I suppose if I'd been born in another era, men would have had to commit to marriage before they had sex, which might have meant I'd have got the children I yearned for.'

If I'd been born in another era, men would have had to commit to marriage before they had sex, which might have meant I'd have got the children I yearned for

But Melanie doesn't lay all the blame at her various lovers' feet. She admits she had a part to play, too: 'I did make some bad romantic decisions, certainly. One night in March 1987, just before my 30th birthday, I shared a cab home with a colleague, Duncan, after a night out. It was 4am and I found my hand in his. He subsequently pursued me, I didn't resist - and that was it.

'I fell more and more in love as the months passed. But he was married with two children under six. I'd always sworn I'd never have an affair, but here I was.

'I always thinks of my life as BD and AD - Before Duncan and After Duncan. He changed everything.

'Of course, there was no happy ending. After a couple of years, his wife found out. He stayed with her and the kids, as I always knew he would. And my life fell apart.'

Tortured, Melanie couldn't let go. 'I was on my own, almost 32, inconsolable and hating myself for the hurt I caused.'

And still childless. The next big relationship didn't bring the family she yearned for, either. 'In 1990, at 33, I really thought I'd found someone. I could see us having a family, but it was all over in four months. And the ticking of my body clock was getting louder and louder.'

Men have the benefit of time on their side, so are reluctant to tie themselves to children

Radical measures were called for. Aged 35, Melanie moved out of London, telling herself: 'This is it, this is the change I need to find the man.'

But that dream of the Georgian rectory seemed further away than ever. As her desperation increased, and the chances of her having a child began to tumble, Melanie took drastic action.

'Aged 39, I went out with a tall, bald accountant. He was younger than me and obviously uncommitted, but I was determined to somehow make it work.

'I'd shelved my dream of the perfect marriage by now and I took risks with contraception. I was quite prepared to bring a baby up alone if I had to. I remember getting so angry at his lack of regard for me that I had a huge row with him - and he dumped me.'

More uncommitted men followed, including one who confessed he was homosexual over a romantic dinner, a business consultant who two-timed her and - as she got older - countless married men who just wanted a 'bit on the side'.

So are women like Melanie merely unlucky - or all too reflective of a generation desperately trying to convince unwilling men to have a child?

The latter, it seems. And that's because, as ever, men have the benefit of time on their side. Their reluctance to tie themselves down has become even more pronounced today, as they don't have to rush into marriage, a long-term relationship, or even the vaguest of friendships to have sex with women.

Relationship counsellor Andrew G. Marshall, author of Wake Up And Change Your Life, who has tried to help many couples cope with the reality of childlessness, agrees.

'It's not that men decide they don't want to have children - they just decide they don't want them at that exact moment. 'Why change anything?' they say to their partners. 'Aren't we having a good time?'

Lis McDermott, 63, from Swindon, a freelance photographer, was never tempted into giving up her comfortable lifestyle and burgeoning career for a baby. She was far too focused on her job to consider having children

'Women are then in a bind. Do they leave him for a mythical family man who may not appear?

'All too often they stay - and those child-bearing years are wasted.

'It's terribly unfair as the man doesn't have to decide then. After all, he'll be even more appealing to other women in five years' time, because he'll be more established in his life and career. Power and money are very seductive - and men know this.'

Or as the author and columnist Maureen Dowd sardonically puts it: 'Females are still programmed to look for older men with resources, while males are still programmed to look for younger women with adoring gazes.'

However, it's also undoubtedly true that to the women of Generation Childless who were raised on dreams of 'having it all', the reality of the men available often failed to live up to their high hopes.

Indeed, when you're promised the earth, the disparity between your dream man and Mr Distinctly Average can be very disappointing. The kind of men traditionally seen as a catch because they were better educated and earn more than women are actually decreasing rapidly, as women outstrip their male counterparts in universities and the workplace.

Lis aged 30 in Croatia. Although she sometimes feels that she's missing out on the small joys of family life, suich as Sunday lunches, she says the urge to have children was never greater than her career

When feminist writer Gloria Steinem said in the Seventies that 'we're becoming the men we wanted to marry,' even she can't have predicted this.

This is the bind Genevieve Smyth, a 45-year-old occupational therapist from South London, found herself in. Highly educated, with an honours degree and a Masters to her name, she was brought up on the mantra of equality. She was determined to find a partner who met her exacting standards. Instead, today, she finds herself childless.

'I went to an all girls' school where the message was that women of my generation could have a good and full life: ambitious jobs, children, friends, travel,' she says.

'We were reminded by our teachers that we had opportunities our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers never had.'

Genevieve took this feminist message with her into her romantic life. 'I was on the look out for a special man who would share my dream of combining all my life goals with a family,' she says.

'And, at first, men seemed to want the same as me. But when we explored the subject more deeply, it was clear they didn't envisage an equal partnership.

'They were happy for me to be the breadwinner but also expected me to raise the children and clean the house.

Small children bring chaos to even the most finely tuned household. For some women, well used to a comfortable, affluent lifestyle, making the sacrifices a baby requires can be too much to ask

'It was as if the men's thinking hadn't caught up with what women were told to expect from life. And I wasn't prepared to accept this. Previous generations put up with more because they weren't financially independent, but I had a good job and my own flat.'

But those high standards began to wobble, under pressure from her biological clock.

'By my mid-30s, I felt under huge societal pressure to meet a man and settle down,' Genevieve says.

Some desperate first dates ensued in which she told startled men of her painful yearning for a baby, with all-too predictable results.

Then Genevieve met her current partner, Chris, a 43-year-old software engineer. After all the heartache, this time, it was love.

Aged 36 and with her fertility dropping like a stone, they tried desperately to conceive. It wasn't to be. After three miscarriages and expensive private consultations with fertility specialists, Genevieve finally accepted that she would never be a mother.

She reflects: 'I was raised to believe that if you work hard at something you reap the benefits. But having a child isn't like that.'

This quest for control over unpredictable Mother Nature is highly characteristic of the high-achieving women who make up Generation Childless, as Dr Jessamy Hibberd says. 'Women today are so used to being in control of their lives, thanks to their increasingly professional roles in the workplace.

Melanie Whitehouse, a 57-year-old author, blames her childlesslessness on a string of unsuitable men

'Perhaps in generations past women would have been more accepting of things they couldn't control. Now it's not like that. We're told to be organised in every arena, nothing is out of reach.

'But having a child is the one area where this simply doesn't apply.'

And, as we all know, small children bring chaos to even the most finely tuned household. For some women, well used to a comfortable, affluent lifestyle, making the sacrifices a baby requires can be too much to ask.

Lis McDermott, 63, from Swindon, is one woman who was never tempted into giving up her comfortable lifestyle and burgeoning career for a baby. She was in charge of the music curriculum for schools in Wiltshire and today works as a freelance photographer - a full and fascinating career that, she says, wouldn't have been remotely possible with a little one in tow.

'I married in 1974, aged 22, and certainly didn't want children at that point because I wanted to focus on my career.

'I really enjoyed working with children in schools, but also liked being able to hand them back to their parents at the end of the day. I was far more focused on my job. The higher up the ladder I climbed, the more prestigious it became.'

Melanie aged 20. Although she wanted children when she was younger, it just didn't happen for her

This determination to concentrate on her career survived the break-up of her first marriage and a few flings in her late 30s.

Today, she is married to a man 13 years her junior and has travelled the world. With a book on photography under her belt and a figure unmarked by the stresses of pregnancy, she feels more confident than ever.

It's not to say she hasn't found herself excluded by women with children, though.

'I met up with an old college friend in my 30s who told me that I was foolish and selfish for not having children.

'I'd been her bridesmaid a few years earlier, so we were pretty close. She and her husband had gone on to have two children. It was so clear our lives had taken different paths that we didn't see one another again.'

Lis admits that she does feel like she's missing out on the small joys - Sunday lunches, Christmas festivities - that make up the whole complex fabric of family life

Sometimes, Lis admits that she does feel like she's missing out on the small joys - Sunday lunches, Christmas festivities - that make up the whole complex fabric of family life.

But she stands by her decision to remain childless: 'The urge to have children was never greater than my career.'

But countless women in Generation Childless do not feel as positive as Lis. Many struggle with overwhelming feelings of loss, isolation and loneliness which mar their lives, as Melanie Whitehouse reflects: 'Recently I bumped into a friend who, like me, hadn't met 'The One'. She had adopted an adorable little girl.

'It has filled the void,' she said, and I knew just what she meant.

'Except for me that void hasn't been filled - and won't be by grandchildren either. My life is undoubtedly less because of this.'
Along with the joys of going back to work, battling the Christmas bloat and yet more rain, January has brought many of us one extra special treat: a stinking cold.

There are, of course, all sorts of potions on the market to combat the common cold. Perhaps most popular is Vicks VapoRub, a menthol-based ointment that is rubbed on the back and chest to soothe the symptoms of a blocked nose and chesty cough.

But news has been spreading online of a radical new way of using Vicks, which, fans say, is far more effective than the traditional method.

News has been spreading online of a radical new way of using Vicks, putting it on your feet before sleeping

These canny cold-sufferers have been applying Vicks not to their chests - but their feet, which they then cover with socks before going to sleep.

It seems we'll try anything to get rid of a cold. Here, we present the most surprising ways to stop those sniffles...

SLEEP IN SOGGY SOCKS

It might sound like the last thing you fancy, but experts have shown that wearing cold, wet socks to bed can work wonders.

The damp material is said to mimic the effects of hydrotherapy, which stimulates different parts of the body with water jets to increase circulation.

Experts have shown that wearing cold, wet socks to bed can work wonders. The damp material is said to mimic the effects of hydrotherapy, which stimulates parts of the body with water, increasing circulation

When you sleep, the blood vessels in your cold feet constrict, pushing the good chemicals in your blood upwards towards your organs. Here, they can fight infection and help bolster your immune system. Then, as your feet gradually warm up during the night, the vessels will dilate and allow the blood back in.

The method has been praised by Professor Leslie Solomonian, a Toronto-based doctor, who recommends using woollen socks for effective results.

But Professor Ronald Eccles, director of Cardiff University's Common Cold Centre, is dubious. 'We did a study showing that putting your feet in cold water increased the incidence of the common cold, so I don't see this working,' he says. 'But putting your feet in warm water is an old cure.'

WEAR ONIONS

Some old wives' tales recommend tying a bunch around your neck, seemingly because the pungent aroma (the same sensation that pricks your eyes when you slice them) can clear the sinuses

Don that beret and string a garland of onions around your neck - for the common vegetable has been used as a cold remedy for decades.

Some old wives' tales recommend tying a bunch around your neck, seemingly because the pungent aroma (the same sensation that pricks your eyes when you slice them) can clear the sinuses.

More conventional wisdom suggests eating them to cure a cold.

Onions come from the allium group of plants, which also includes leeks and garlic. 'These have natural anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties,' says Professor Eccles.

The downside is that they have to be raw, not cooked, as the cooking process removes the active effect. Chefs suggest adding thin slices to a salad or soup.

GORGE ON CHOCS

Theobromine, a naturally-occurring chemical in chocolate, suppresses the nerve activity in the chest that is responsible for coughing. Unfortunately for sugar fiends, this only applies to dark chocolate

'There is evidence that chocolate can soothe the symptoms of a cold,' says Professor Eccles. 'It contains a chemical used in cough medicine.'

This chemical is theobromine, a naturally-occurring alkaloid also present in tea and cola. In medicine, it is used to dilate blood vessels and stimulate the heart - and it also suppresses the nerve activity in the chest that is responsible for coughing.

Some scientists have found it to be three times more effective than codeine - a strong painkiller - in reducing persistent coughing.

Unfortunately for sugar fiends, this only applies to dark chocolate, not milk or white. Darker varieties contain less sugar, which can weaken the immune system.

RELAX WITH JAZZ

Louis Armstrong fans may be in luck. Research has shown that listening to jazz music can boost our levels of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), a protein that defends our bodies against infection.

IgA resides in the mucus lining of the nose, mouth and throat and acts as a protective shield that prevents viruses and bacteria from taking root. Scientists at McGill University in Canada also found that jazz - because of its melodic, relaxing tones - has the ability to reduce stress, which keeps our immune system strong.

But the effect only lasts for half an hour after the music stops, meaning you'd have to listen to a lot of it to keep those defences up all day.

WHIP UP A CURRY

Curries contain a number of cold-fighting ingredients. Chillies contain capsaicin, a ingredient associated with pain relief, garlic has been prescribed for colds since the 1800s and allicin helps you cough up phlegm

A national survey in 2013 found that eating curries is seen as one of the most common ways of curing a cold.

'Spicy food and drink promote salivation and airway mucus secretions that soothe coughs and sore throats,' explains Professor Eccles.

Some ingredients have particularly helpful properties. Chillies contain capsaicin, a ingredient associated with pain relief, while garlic has been prescribed for colds since the 1800s. It contains the compound allicin, which is rich in sulphur - a natural detoxifier and expectorant, which helps you cough up phlegm.

'There has been great interest recently in curcumin - found in turmeric - as an antiviral,' adds Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham. 'Modified versions have been shown to have activity against a variety of viruses.'

WORK UP A SWEAT

Moderate exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body and reduces the risk of infection

It may be far from appealing when you're bunged up with a cold, but exercise can be a miracle cure - as long as you take it easy. Moderate exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body and reduces the risk of infection.

'It has to be moderate and not severe, however, as severe exercise encourages stress,' says Professor Eccles. 'This is why elite athletes suffer more coughs and colds.'

If that's not enough to tempt you out of bed, fear not. An American study in 1999 found that sex can boost our levels of Immunoglobulin A, with students who had sex once or twice a week found to have stronger immune systems.

SIP COCONUT WATER

It's important to stay hydrated when you've got a cold - and there's no better drink than coconut water, made from the milky liquid inside young green fruits. This on-trend drink contains electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, which balance out the pH levels of your blood and keep it functioning properly.

These electrolytes - lost when we sweat - can also be found in salty foods and bananas.

EAT OYSTERS

Oysters have a high content of zinc, the chemical responsible for building our white blood cells, which in turn are in charge of fighting viruses. Zinc also helps protect passages in our nose and throat from infection

They may be more commonly known as an aphrodisiac, but oysters have a high content of zinc, the chemical responsible for building our white blood cells, which in turn are in charge of fighting viruses.

Zinc also helps strengthen our mucus membranes, which protect passages in our nose and throat from infection. 'There are studies suggesting zinc may have an effect,' says Professor Ball. 'But the number of oysters you would have to eat to get an effective dose would be immense.'

STOP BLOWING YOUR NOSE

Blowing your nose may do more harm than good. Scientists at the University of Virginia discovered that nose-blowing exerts an extreme amount of pressure in the head, causing mucus to shoot back into the sinuses

Those with a cold will probably spend most of their day doing it - but researchers have found that blowing your nose may do more harm than good. Scientists at the University of Virginia in 2000 discovered that nose-blowing exerts an extreme amount of pressure in the head, causing mucus to shoot back into the sinuses and throat. Instead, they recommended blowing very gently, one nostril at a time.

Prof Eccles has come across an even more unconventional remedy: putting a nose clip over your nostrils at the first sign of a cold.

'The inside of the nose is normally cooler than the rest of the body, around 32c, and it is at this temperature that rhino [nose-based] viruses replicate best,' he explains. 'By putting a clip over it, you warm the inside to around 37C and stop the virus from replicating.'

GRANNY'S ADVICE

If all else fails, why not take tips from the past - when all sorts of curious remedies were touted as cold cures? Grannies swore by poultices made from bacon rashers, goose fat and mustard. The thinking was that salted meat treated inflammation, fat warmed the chest and spices such as mustard cleared a blocked nose.

Professor John Oxford, a leading virologist and lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, says there's no harm in trying out old wives' tales - as long as you take due care. He adds: 'The benefit of trying one of the weirder ones is that other people are likely to keep their distance, stopping the cold from spreading.'
The false eyelashes were meant to add glamour to Susan Thompson-McMahons weekend away. But the former lawyer suffered such a severe allergic reaction to the glue that she needed medical emergency treatment.

My face was so swollen that my cheeks totally engulfed my eyes, remembers Susan, 37. The doctor said it would almost certainly have been the formaldehyde, a common ingredient in lash glue - as well as industrial wood glues - that caused it.

I was told that had I left it any longer before seeking treatment, the swelling could have progressed to my airways, put me into anaphylactic shock and even been fatal.

Housewife Pip Judge, 37, had false lashes applied at a mobile beauticians. The rims and inside lower lids of Pips eyes were left red, burning and sore, leaving her requiring medication from her GP

Susan, who lives near Glasgow with husband Neil, 38, a professional musician and their children Finlay, eight, and Charlotte, three, paid 45 for the individual lashes to be glued to her own at a salon in 2013.

Like many, she saw it as a quick and easy way to look good on a girls weekend away. Instead she ended up needing a strong antihistamine, a cortisone injection and a week of steroids.

Doctors also had to cut off all her lashes at the root.

It was seven months before her lashes grew back, during which time her confidence took a major knock.

Traditional falsies are a set attached to a strip which you stick to your eyelids, just above your own lashes. They rarely stay put for more than 24 hours, and Superdrug alone sells more han 4 million pairs a year.

But soaring in popularity too are semi-permanent lashes, also called lash extensions. They are made of synthetic fibres, silk or mink and are applied one at a time using a special glue designed to keep them in place for up to six weeks.

Allergic reaction aside, opthalmologists warn that extensions can trap dirt and bacteria, heightening the risk of infected roots.

Pip had the lashes applied for a hem party - but was forced to remove them herself with olive oil soon after

Beauticians are supposed to do a patch test a few days in advance - applying a tiny dab of glue behind the ear or inside the wrist - but many dont bother.

Andrea Schubach, a spokeswoman for the British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (BABTAC), says the dangers could be resolved if the beauty industry was regulated.

Its well known that semi-permanent lashes can cause allergic reactions or natural lashes to fall out, she reveals. We are continuing to campaign for the industry to be regulated so we can reduce the number of horror stories.

Mr Ali Mearza is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Western Eye Hospital in London and says allergic reactions to false lash glue are fairly common.

If even a tiny amount of glue gets into the eye you will get a severe reaction, and your lids will swell

He explains: If even a tiny amount of glue gets into the eye you will get a severe reaction, and your lids will swell. In this scenario steroids are needed to dampen the allergic response. If you suffer from the likes of eczema, you may be more prone to a reaction.

Even if you didnt react to a patch test, you can still get a reaction once lashes are attached, although its more unusual.

Susan, who owns a beauty clinic herself, still berates herself for not insisting on a patch test.

I should have pushed harder, but the therapist was adamant I didnt need one, she says. I felt unattractive and self conscious for months, convinced that all people saw when they talked to me was my bald lids.

It was more embarrassing given that I work in aesthetics, but at least I have been able to empathise with the surprisingly large number of patients who have confided they, too, have had an awful experience with lash glue.

Katie Atkinson, 24, lives near Hartlepool. She rues the day she paid 30 to have lash extensions applied

And allergic reactions are not unique to lashes applied by beauticians: many of the semi-permanent lash kits you can buy over the counter contain similar glues. Housewife Pip Judge, 37, also has a cautionary tale to tell. She is still suffering the ill-effects of having individual false lashes applied by a mobile beautician last May.

Just hours after the lashes were applied, the rims and inside lower lids of Pips eyes were red, burning and sore, leaving her requiring medication from her GP.

I should have known better because I experienced similar stinging and burning five years ago - the first and only other time Id had false lashes fitted by a professional, says Pip, who lives near Cardiff with her husband Jonathan, 41, an NHS waiting-list officer, and their children Nial, 17, and Jack, 12.

I guessed back then that I was suffering a reaction to the glue, so after two days I removed them and vowed never to meddle with fake lashes again.

Yet, I was invited to Mallorca for my cousins hen party, and because she and her friends are much younger than me, I wanted to look glamorous. The irony of the outcome isnt lost on me.

Her reaction to the glue caused lots of her own eyelashes to fall out - and she still has bald patches

The beautician I used is fantastic and has done other treatments for me without any problem. But the lashes fell off straight away so she came back the following day and fitted them again using a different adhesive. I mentioned that they felt tight but she reassured me that was a good sign and they would stay put this time.

But when Pip flew to Mallorca later that night her eyes were burning. Come the following evening she had to abandon her night out, return to the hotel and use olive oil to painstakingly remove the fake lashes.

Back in the UK, Pips GP deemed the lash glue as the likely culprit and prescribed antihistamines and eye drops.

Susan Thompson-McMahon, 37, a former lawyer, suffered severe swelling after getting lash extensions

Seven months on and her eyes remain so sensitive that she is now unable to wear mascara, let alone false lashes.

My eyes instantly become red and sore, something which never happened before, she adds.

Susan's face was so swollen that her cheeks nearly engulfed her eyes - a very serious reaction

Women need to be aware that our eyes are delicate and we should never allow glue near them. Im really sorry I relented and had false lashes for a second time and I will never do it again.

Like Susan and Pip, cake-maker and mum Katie Atkinson rues the day she paid 30 for lash extensions in September. Three months on, she still has bald patches where the false lashes caused her own to fall out in clumps.

We were going to a charity dinner which coincided with my birthday and I seized the opportunity to make a big effort, but the lashes were a disaster, says Katie, 24, who lives near Hartlepool with partner Michael, 32, a landscaper, and their son Bobby, two.

A patch test didnt cause a reaction, but: After four days I woke up to see lashes all over my pillow. I was missing half the natural lashes on my left eye.

But women are always going to want to look better and not everyone is blessed with long eyelashes, so if they still seem worth it, Mr Mearza has this advice to help you avoid the same fate:
Standards are slipping. The old certainties are crumbling - even in the Royal Household. The reason? Windsor Castle staff have replaced sheets and blankets with - perish the thought - duvets.

It's the end of tightly tucked hospital corners, a decision met with much sniffing. A Castle source said: Many in the Royal Household believe using sheets, blankets and eiderdowns is one of those traditions that should be retained.'

So how did we come to fall for the soft charms of the foreign duvet? And which is the best type of bedding, anyway?

The word duvet originates from the Old French 'dum' meaning down, the soft feathers of young birds used in bedding. Some credit merchant Paul Rycaut with discovering the down bedding favoured in chilly Hamburg

WHY CALL IT A DUVET?

It gets its name from the Old French 'dum' meaning down, the soft feathers of young birds used in bedding. This became 'dumet' for an item of feather bedding and, in time, 'duvet'.

NO DUVETS PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH

Some credit diplomat and merchant Paul Rycaut with discovering the down bedding favoured in chilly Hamburg.

When he visited the city in 1689, he sent bags of eiderdown to friends in England.

But it didn't catch on, because we kept our sheets and blankets until relatively recently.

It appears, however, that where the retailers went wrong was in marketing duvets on their warmth. They should have sold them on sex appeal...

THE JOY OF DUVETS - AND SEX

When Habitat opened in 1964, founder Terence Conran stocked the duvet - rebranded as part of a sexy Sixties lifestyle.

He recalled: 'I had been in Sweden in the 1950s and was given a duvet to sleep under. I probably had a girl with me and I thought this was all part of the mood of the time - liberated sex and easy living.'

A Habitat advert from 1973 (a year after The Joy Of Sex was published to storming success) showed a young mixed-race couple, naked under their 'Slumberdown' duvet, dozing after . . . well . . . you can guess.

WOOLLIES THAT LAST FOR DECADES

Duvets began to outsell blankets in 1987; last year, the market researcher GFK found that 7.6 million were sold in the UK.

Duvets began to outsell blankets in 1987; last year 7.6 million were sold in the UK alone

John Lewis sells 514 duvets through its website for every ten traditional satin-edged blankets. Debenhams sells seven duvets for every blanket, while neither Argos nor Ikea sell wool bed blankets.

But the sales figures may not tell the full story. Wool is a natural fibre and, unlike duvets - which the UK Sleep Council recommends you replace every five years - wool blankets last for decades.

Hainsworth has been making woollen blankets at its mill in Stanningley, West Yorkshire, since 1828. Its Merino lambswool 'Duchess' blankets with a satin edge cost 155 for a single and 255 for a king.

So attached are some customers to their blankets, says Diane Simpson, sales director of Hainsworth, that 30 or 40 years after buying them, they ask for the satin binding, now fraying, to be repaired.

THE 12,000 SUPER DUVET

Hainsworth sells a king-size cashmere bed blanket at 2,075. French company Frette, meanwhile, is said to make the finest sheets in the world.

A king-size cotton flat sheet costs from around 500. The best duvets are pure eiderdown in a mulberry silk cover. A super-king 13.5 tog eiderdown duvet made by Schlossberg of Switzerland costs 12,000.

WHY BLANKETS ARE BEST FOR ALLERGIES

For those with asthma, eczema and allergies, wool blankets may be more beneficial than feather - and even synthetic - duvet fillings.

Wool is naturally anti-allergenic, anti-microbial (inhibits the growth of micro-organisms like bacteria) and does not collect the static charge that attracts dust, dirt and house mites.

'Natural bedding like silk or wool prevents the passage of, and creates a less hospitable environment for, house dust mites,' says Amena Warner of Allergy UK.

IF THEY'RE GOOD ENOUGH FOR WINDSOR...

Once, any guest at a country house party would have expected hospital corners. In Downton Abbey, the beds were all made with sheets, blankets and eiderdowns.

But etiquette consultant Jo Bryant says duvets are now increasingly used. 'A lot of the grand houses no longer have the staff,' she says. Bryant puts the change at Windsor down to good manners, however. 'If guests are used to duvets, you should make the beds with duvets.'

There's no excuse, though, for neglectful housekeeping. The grandest house I've ever stayed in, a French chateau, used duvets. When I fluffed up the ancient covering on the first night, a great cloud of dust and loose feathers puffed up.
They say a picture tells a thousand words, but in this instance just one is enough.

This striking image of a newborn baby with his placenta and umbilical cord spelling out the word 'love' was captured by midwife-turned-photographer, Emma Jean Nolan.

Emma, 30, from Brisbane, said that she had shared the black and white image on social media to raise awareness of a beautiful and sacred but little-known Maori cultural practice called whenua.

She added that the placenta is not something that is 'appreciated or honoured' in Western culture.

Photographer Emma Jean Nolan, 30, from Brisbane shared the photo on her Facebook page on 2 January, with the caption 'Welcome earthside sweet little Harper', going on to explain the ancient 'whenua' tradition

She captured the shot of Harper Hoani Spies just an hour and a half after he was born at 3.53am on 2 January.

Emma, a mum-of-one, said she wanted to draw attention to whenua - the Maori word for both placenta and land - which refers to the ancient tradition of burying a newborn's placenta after their birth.

She captioned the image: 'Welcome earthside sweet little Harper.

'As a Maori baby his placenta will now be returned to the land. The word 'whenua' relates to the placenta and to the land. Whenua (placenta) is returned to the whenua (land) with the pito (umbilical cord) the link between the newborn and papatuanuku(mother earth).

'With this affinity established, each individual fulfils the role of curator, for papatuanuku (mother earth), which remains life long.'

The photograph was liked almost 2,500 times in a matter of days, and Emma added: I did not expect to get such a huge response to the image.'

Emma, a former midwife, now works as a photographer and decided to share the striking image of newborn Harper to highlight an ancient but little-known practice where the placenta is buried in the family's homeland

She explained: I decided to take this image of Harper as I wanted to show what a physiological birth looks like as most people have never seen a baby still connected to their placenta.'

She added that the Western world has an altogether different attitude to childbirth, saying: I knew it was important to talk about the Maori tradition in my post, as the placenta is not something that is appreciated or honoured in the Western culture.

It is generally discarded, ignored and considered disgusting. However without the placenta none of us would be here.

In a time when we are so disconnected from ourselves, our history and each other, the response to this image clearly shows that we all still crave a connection.

Harper was born at home to mum Jolene Spies, from New Zealand and dad Johann Spies, from South Africa.

Harper's placenta will now be returned to the land and buried on his grandfather's farm in the Bombay Hills of Auckland, New Zealand, under a native Tortora tree.

Emma said: 'I knew it was important to talk about the Maori tradition in my post, as the placenta is not something that is appreciated or honoured in the Western culture'

The Maori tradition to bury the whenua and pito, umbilical cord, represents the lifelong spiritual and physical affinity between a newborn baby and Papatuanuku, Mother Earth.

Many mothers commented on the post to share where their own placentas had been buried or where they had buried their children's placentas.

As a midwife I have come across many different cultural practices surrounding birth, Emma said.

The placenta is honoured in many ways in different cultures around the world and in these cultures the people are often more connected to their families and to the land.

Newborn Harper Hoani Spies with his mum Jolene Spies, from Canterbury, New Zealand, and dad Johann Spies from South Africa. His placenta will be buried in his mother's homeland in Auckland, New Zealand

Emma began studying photography online during maternity leave before the birth of her son, now two, and has worked as a snapper for six months.

She had planned to take a similar photograph to Harper's as soon as she found a baby with a long enough cord to spell the word 'love'.

Emma captured the image of Harper while new mum Jolene was in the shower after the birth, and said the cord took a fair bit of twisting and tangling to arrange perfectly.

As a photographer I am to empower women and show the world the beauty of motherhood in all its forms, Emma said.

I am very passionate about sharing information regarding birth, breastfeeding and motherhood.

I encourage women to share their stories of motherhood to break down barriers and unite.
A young runaway couple who caused a national scandal when they eloped in 1955 have proved the cynics wrong by celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

David Sant was 20 when he fled to Scotland to wed his teenage bride Janet, then aged 17, after she fell pregnant.

David, now 81, and Janet, 77, from Marden, Herefordshire, had only been together for a year when they travelled more than 275 miles to Dumfries in 1955.

David Sant was 20 when he fled to Scotland to wed his teenage bride Janet, then aged 17, after she fell pregnant. The couple pictured on their wedding day

The couple have now been married for 60 years. They first met when Janet worked at a dress shop with David spotting her as he walked past

The loved-up couple managed to dodge Janet's father and newspaper reporters for nearly four weeks to tie the knot

In 1955, couples could get married in Scotland at 16 without parental consent while the legal age was 21 in England.

On December 27 the couple got married in secret at a Registry Office in Dumfries before catching the train back to Hereford where they told their furious parents.

David said: 'I met Janet at the dress shop where she used to work. I walked past and smiled at her and she smiled back so I went back later to chat to her. We fell in love instantly and had a passionate relationship.

'But in those days you didn't have sex before marriage and we would have been despised if we'd stayed in Hereford. You were ostracised if you had a baby out of wedlock.

'When she told me she was pregnant I was terrified. We both decided we had to leave as soon as we could.'

Janet fell pregnant at a time when sex out of wedlock was frowned upon so they decided to elope. Janet was smitten with David who she called the 'Prince Charming of Hereford'

Wife Janet said: 'David was the Prince Charming of Hereford and very handsome. I never wanted anyone else.'

Janet's father Bert followed them to Scotland, where they managed to elude him for three-and-a-half weeks by staying in an out of the way guest house.

They also managed to evade a pack of newspaper reporters who spent weeks hunting Gretna Green, which was famous for young couples tying the knot.

David said: 'Her father would have killed her and my mother disapproved of us being together.

'My mother didn't want me to marry her and thought that it wasn't a good family to marry into.

'She even told Janet that I was a wanderer and would never get anywhere in life.

'I saved up about 60 over six weeks - which was like 2,000 in those days. I sold my shoes, bicycle and every possession I had to save up for our escape.

'I even sold a pair of shoes the Duke of Gloucester once gave me because they didn't fit him. We tried to raise every penny we could.

The couple, pictured right, outside the guesthouse where they stayed in Dumfries, Scotland. They avoided Janet's angry father Bert who had gone to Gretna Green, a popular spot for eloping couples, instead

When the couple arrived back at Hereford Railway Station a journalist was waiting for them and persuaded them to be interviewed for a newspaper. They were paid 30 for the story (pictured right, with the front cover, left) the equivalent of 1,500 today

'As we were running for the train in Hereford one of Janet's heels on her shoe broke. We caught the train to Carlisle and then hopped on another train without a ticket to Dumfries.

'We avoided Gretna Green because we knew that would be the first place Janet's father would look.'

While there a group of squaddies told the couple about a guest house called Jeanville Lover's Walk, which had become a shelter for runaways who wanted to get married.

The secret to a happy marriage is being able to talk to one another and being faithful to one another

David recalled: 'Bert came looking for us but he couldn't find us because he was in Gretna Green.

'But then we saw our pictures in the newspapers and heard he was looking for us.

'We couldn't afford to live on the wages I was getting so we decided she should get married as soon as possible then head home.

'When we got back there was nothing he could do because we were married and she was my wife. We stayed away from them and started building our own life together.'

When they arrived back at Hereford Railway Station a journalist was waiting for them and persuaded them to be interviewed.

They were paid 30 for the story, the equivalent of 1,500 today, and used the money to rent a friend's room while David, a qualified electrician, searched for work.

Within a few months he was working two jobs to support his pregnant wife and pay the rent on a cottage.

The couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary at their home in Marden, Herefordshire, surrounded by friends and family. But they never made peace with their parents who disowned them after the marriage

She gave birth to their baby girl Davina in June 1956 and the couple went on to have another child - and eventually two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Despite their happiness, the couple never found acceptance from Janet's father or David's mother Rose.

David said: 'We never made our peace with Bert, which is a shame. He would mouth things at us in the street when he saw us and he never came to visit his grandchildren.

'He died of cancer in 1996 aged 80. He was wrong about us and we proved him wrong. He knew it.

'My mother disowned me after we ran away. She was mentally ill and committed suicide in 1959 at the age of 53.

'Janet's mother - Florence - knew we were going and kept it a secret from her dad. She died of a heart condition in 1991. She was 74.

'My father Abel was an engineer. He passed away at 48 in 1949 from a heart condition so my children never knew their grandparents.'

Last month, the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary at their home in Marden, Herefordshire, surrounded by friends and family.

Wife Janet, who went on to be a restaurant manager, said: 'From my point of view, the secret to a happy marriage is being able to talk to one another and being faithful to one another.
A man who tested an app to see how attractive he was found out that he was judged as being far less good looking than a tent in the background.

The Imgur user WindowCleaner uploaded a selfie of himself in Gobi, Mongolia, to test the Blinq dating app but instead of assessing his handsomeness, it focused on a tent behind him and rated it 'hot'.

When he erased the tent from the image the app only rated him as 'OK,' going on to post the photo to Imgur which has now been seen over two million times.

Imgur user WindowCleaner uploaded a selfie of himself in Gobi, Mongolia, but the Blinq dating app instead focused on a tent behind him and rated it 'hot'

He then erased the tent from the image and the app rated him as 'OK,' he posted the results to Imgur which has now been seen over two million times

The user uploaded the two pictures with the caption: 'It turns out I'm less attractive than a tent.'

Both images identified him as a 29-year-old male.

The Swiss dating app teamed up with the University of Zurich to develop a feature to rate the attractiveness of selfies.

It uses artificial intelligence to rank photos on a six-point scale: Hmm.. OK, Nice, Hot, Stunning and Godlike.

Imgur users were quick to joke about the tent's physical appearance.

User Vertical Infinity wrote: 'That is a pretty sexy tent.'

While FunFriendGuy posted: 'So is the tent single?'

Imgur users were quick to joke about the tent's physical appearance with one calling it 'sexy' while another pointed out it would be hot in the desert

Another user MadHakon pointed out: 'In complete fairness, that tent has been out there for quite some time so I imagine it's fairly hot.'

While MoreOvaltine please wrote: 'Could you post one just the tent please?'

When FEMAIL tested the app yesterday, it rated 18-year-old Kylie Jenner as 'godlike' while chef Nigella Lawson was rated as 'OK.'

Some Imgur users thought the reason may be because of the symmetrical appearance of the tent.

Kylie Jenner was rated as 'Godlike' by the Blinq app created by Swiss designers in her picture but aged the 18-year-old by two years

Many users weren't convinced by the app if it identified the tent as a person while one thought it might just be about how symmetrical the user is

PirateDrew posted: 'I bet the program bases attractiveness primarily on symmetry.'

While another user was not convinced by the technology.

MaryLanddd wrote: 'I feel like if it can't tell that the tent isn't a person, you shouldn't trust this program's ability to rate attractiveness.'

Looshk tried out various pictures and found she had different results.

She posted: 'I tried various photos of myself and got "hmm," "nice" and "stunning" - seems to be based a lot on lighting.'

Nigella Lawson was rated as 'OK' from her picture but the app guessed her age at 34, knocking years off the 56-year-old

Users thought the rating might come from the lighting, based on one user Looshk getting different ratings in different lights

While one user posted a double entendre about his strong feelings for the tent.

MetalGearSlade wrote: 'To be fair that tent is making me pitch one.'

And another user wanted to join in the action and be rated themselves. They posted: 'What's the website? I want to go and feel bad about how ugly I am.'

The pictures have been seen over 2,700,000 times since being posted two days ago.

Blinq wrote in a statement on their website: 'Please keep in mind the following points when using our tool:

'Attractiveness is highly subjective and its perception differs from culture to culture.

'Our algorithm is trained on the pictures of the BLINQ community that is mainly based in Switzerland. In other parts of the world the perception might be very different.
A man who discovered a pizza base he'd bought from Tesco was covered in mould has divided opinion on Twitter with his very direct response to a customer services representative.

Luke Mitchell tweeted a picture of the offending item to the store and an employee replied: 'Hi Luke! I'm sorry to ask, but what seems to be the problem with this product, please? Kind regards - Linda.'

A clearly unimpressed Luke wrote back, saying: 'Linda do you have f****** eyes?' and the exchange quickly caught the attention of other Twitter users who retweeted it more than 1,300 times.

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Luke Mitchell was unimpressed when he discovered the pizza base he'd bought from Tesco was mouldy. He tweeted this image to the retailer, and an employee called Linda replied asking that the problem was

ThisIsMyHustle wrote: 'Blue cheese? They should have charged you extra haha.'

Ben Chorlton remarked sarcastically: 'Glad Tesco is employing blind people. Everyone needs a job.'

Damon Hill joined in, joking: 'I said Prosciutto Linda, not Pluto.'

Some Twitter users likened the row to the controversy over The Dress, which last year divided internet users with some claiming it was blue and black, while others swore it was white and gold.

One Tweeter wrote: 'That mould is blue, not gold. It's that f*****g dress again.

'I still ain't seeing it,' Paulo added. 'It it that dress all over again?'

Shelley Draper joked: 'Did she have eyes then? I have to say I couldn't tell what the pic was either. #greenandgold #blackandgold.'

Other tweeters likened it to another recent post that went viral - when a woman called Linda provoked hilarity with her declaration that she was going to destroy ISIS.

'Linda was too busy destroying ISIS to look at it,' KizzyKat said.

Sean Spooner thought it was all hilarious, saying: 'Who needs 10,000 characters when Twitter produces this gold in 140.'

However, some people thought Luke had been too harsh in his response to Linda.

'Yes, that was way over the top and uncalled for,' Matt Crivelli said. 'She was only doing her job.'

TrevAnge suggested that Luke owed Linda an apology for swearing at her, saying' No need for it.'

Natasha also felt sorry for the embattled Tesco employee.

'He was a bit rude to poor Linda,' she tweeted. 'In my mind I want the employee to be on my side and insulting them is not the way to go.'

Adam S Leslie agreed, saying: 'It's not absolutely clear from the photo it's definitely mould and a good employee would not assume that.'

Sussex Steve warned Luke that he probably wouldn't receive a satisfactory response from the retailer.

Twitter users debated whether Luke had been too harsh in his reply to Tescos employee Linda

'I wouldn't hold my breath mate,' he said. 'I found a finger nail in my ready mash once. Didn't hear a thing.'

The retailer did in fact respond to Luke with a woman called Charlotte taking over from Linda, who asked Luke for further details so he could be reimbursed.

However, Tesco have now deleted their posts.
They are flying to Colombia on Friday where they will spend the first month of their journey

to come up with the money

lived off of one salary, rented out the spare bedroom in their apartment, and sold their stuff

An adventurous couple have sold all of their belongings and quit their jobs so they can embark on a year-long trip around the world.

Chicago-based duo Nate and Jessica Baumgart, who are 33 and 29, respectively, saved $75,000 over the course of two years by selling almost all of their belongings, taking on odd jobs, and asking for monetary gifts at their July wedding and plan on spending $50,000 of that money on their upcoming trip, relying on the rest to live on when they return.

'Before the babies and the career, before the mortgage payments and the mini-van, we're out for one last adventure,' they explained on their website Round The World Couple.

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Amazing adventure: Nate and Jessica Baumgart, who are pictured in July on their wedding day, are going to spend 2016 traveling around the world

Every penny counts: Nate and Jessica, who are 33 and 29, respectively, spent two years saving $75,000 so they could afford the trip

Nate, who works as an actor and corporate event professional, told WGNTV that the idea came about after he and Jessica started discussing moving out of Chicago.

'We were like: "Well, if we are going to quit our jobs anyway, maybe we take a little break and take a trip", and it just sort of kept growing and growing and growing.

'We know that once we have kids, we won't be able to travel like this for quite some time, so we just feel like the window for this trip is closing,' Jessica told Daily Mail Online.

And while the daunting trip may have remained only a fantasy for most couples, Nate and Jessica spent two years making it possible.

'We read a lot of blogs,' Jessica told the news outlet of planning their journey. 'There is so much good information out there on the internet of other people just like us who have done similar trips.'

Fresh start: The newlyweds sold almost everything they owned and were left with only these few items

Leaving on a jet plane: Nate can be seen in the airport on the way to Atlanta, Georgia, before he and Jessica fly to Colombia

She noted that as part of their researched, they looked for affordable destinations that they have never been before.

The couple, who have traveled throughout Europe and Asia, have chosen destinations in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, East Africa, Italy, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Nate explained that in some locations you can find spacious rentals using websites such as Airbnb - for as little as $30 per night.

And the site can also be used as a money-making opportunity; indeed, the couple actually relied on it to help them rent out the spare bedroom in their Chicago apartment to increase their savings.

In addition to taking on roommates, they started living on Jessica's salary from her communications job about a year ago while putting Nate's earnings towards their savings.

Good thinking: The couple, who said 'I do' in Chicago on July 3, asked for monetary gifts at their wedding

Making it work: Nate and Jessica, who are pictured in 2014, earned extra money by taking odd jobs such as babysitting strangers' dogs and hosting travelers in the spare bedroom of their apartment

Newsworthy: Nate posed for a picture before he and Jessica appeared on WGNTV to talk about their adventure

The power of the internet: Jessica explained that they used travel blogs to research their journey and find affordable destinations

Nate and Jessica also got really creative when it came to finding extra sources of income. Jessica refurbished and sold an abandoned dresser she found in an alley while Nate did voice overs. They babysat strangers' dogs and even made $400 posing with their own pup during a professional photoshoot.

Meanwhile, Nate opened more than 30 credit cards with frequent flier miles plans and used them to charge over $50,000 in 2015. The 864,000 points and miles that he earned helped get their entire airfare down to about $3,500 per person.

And then they sold almost all of their stuff. According to their website, they used sites such as Craigslist and eBay to sell everything from their furniture to their bike. Jessica said they believed they would only make about $2,000, but ended up walking away with nearly $4,000.

After it was all said and done, the newlyweds were left with their clothes, some of their beloved cooking utensils, and their dog Lily.

'It really feels great!' Jessica told Daily Mail Online. 'It was hard getting rid of certain things that we felt attached to, but in the end it feels incredibly freeing not to be responsible for so much stuff.

'It really makes me think about how much time I spent maintaining things I didn't really care all that much about. So far, we haven't missed a single item.'

Worldly travelers: Nate and Jessica have both been to Europe and Asia, so they focused on finding new locations that they could visit during their year-long trip

Living the dream: The newlyweds reached their financial goal in December. They plan on spending about $50,000 on their travels, saving $25,000 to help them get settled when they return to the US

Free as a bird: The couple will be sharing photos and stories from their journey are their website Round The World Couple

Nate and Jessica reached their financial goal in December, and while $50,00 will go towards their trip, they are saving $25,000 for their return to the US.

Unsurprisingly, Jessica admitted that the idea of coming back and starting all over does make her nervous.

'Nate is less concerned as his work is more entrepreneurial, but of course we both wonder what kind of toll this gap year could take on our careers,' Jessica said.

'We just hope that the trip will teach us valuable lessons that we'll inevitably be able to apply to future work and that potential employers will be intrigued by our decision to take a year off. '

On Friday, the couple will be flying out of Atlanta, Georgia, where Jessica was born, and headed to Colombia, the first country on their itinerary. They will be sharing photos and information about their travels on their website.
She and Candice Cameron Bure also shared stories of hanging out with their on-screen dad and uncles off-set at Cirque du Soleil and BBQs

Even for fans who aren't planning to watch Fuller House on Netflix, it might be hard to resist a bit of nostalgia about the original cast, who are reminiscing about the hit show leading up to the reboot's release.

This week, all of the stars - minus Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who declined the opportunity to return for Fuller House - spoke to People magazine about what it's like to get back to their old stomping grounds.

They also revealed some behind-the-scenes tidbits from filming the original series, including John Stamos' seriously stinky habit during Uncle Jesse's kissing scenes with Aunt Becky.

The scoop: The stars of the Full House reboot Fuller House talked to People about coming back

The new series sees a widowed DJ Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure, right) returning to her childhood home with her children; she's helped by Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin, center) and Kimmy Gibler (Andrea Barber, right)

Lots of love: The cast, including Bob Saget, Lori Loughlin, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier, said they're all close outside of the show

Growing family: In the new series, fans will meet DJ and Kimmy's kids

According to Lori Loughlin, 51, who played Aunt Becky, John would eat Doritos and smoke cigars before the on-screen couple had to smooch for the camera, making their make-out scenes less than enjoyable - though, according to Lori, John thought it was 'really funny'.

Though the hunky Grandfathered star might have just been feeling a bit bitter after their real-life romance didn't work out.

When the two were still daytime soap stars in their teens, they went to Disneyland together to see a band play - a night that John insists ended with kissing. But while speaking to People, Lori said she doesn't remember the evening quite the same way as her co-star.

'We fight internally about that. I'm like, "Was that a date?" He's like, "Yeah!"

Real life family: The series' creator said that when the camera turned off, the show kept going

Family-friendly TV: The original Full House premiere in 1987 and went on to run until 1995

Tune in: Nostalgia has brought the show back for a 13-episode run that hits Netflix in February

Almost a real romance: John revealed that he and Lori Loughlin went on a date as teenagers and even kissed, though Lori's not so sure she'd call the evening a date

There aren't really any hard feelings among the cast members, though - in fact, they all insisted that they really are as close as they seem.

'We've stayed really close, to where it feels like a real family, even taking vacations together. They turned the cameras off, but the show kept going,' creator Jeff Franklin said.

Back when the show, which aired from 1987 to 2005, was still on, they'd spent plenty of time together off-set as well as on.

Candace Cameron Bure (DJ Tanner), 39, recalled the time Dave Coulier (Joey Gladstone), 56, took her to Cirque du Soleil, and added that John would invite the entire cast and crew to his house for pool parties and BBQs.

Bonding off-set: Candace said while the show was still on, Dave Coulier took her to see Cirque du Soleil

Hanging out: John used to throw pool parties and BBQs at his house and invite the whole cast and crew

Taking charge: odie Sweeten became addicted to meth in the years after the show ended, but said she will be celebrating five years sober in March

Trouble: In 2009, Jodie revealed that she even did meth in the bathroom at Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's New York Minute premiere; she said she's doing great now

'I used to spend weekends at Bob's house with his kids,' said Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie Tanner). 'I actually just mentioned that to him, what that meant to me when I was a kid that he included me in his family.'

Jodie also opened up to the magazine about her sobriety. The 33-year-old famously started started drinking alcohol and doing drugs shortly after Full House ended, getting so drunk at Candice's wedding when she was 14 that she thew up.

She told US Weekly in 2009 that she went on to do ecstasy in high school, cocaine in college, and meth in her 20s - including at the premiere for Mary-Kate and Ashley's 2004 movie New York Minute.

These days, she's on the wagon and in a much better place. 'My life is amazing,' she said. 'I will have five years [of sobriety] in March. It's given me a lot of gratitude.'

Kept in touch: The cast has famously stayed close over the years and sparked excitement when they started sharing pictures from the set on Instagram

Blech! In People, Lori reveals that John used to eat Doritos and smoke cigars before they had to kiss on camera

Reunion! John was also the one who first started to get a spinoff to happen, voicing interest in the project back in 2008

As for the youngest Tanner daughter, Michelle, executive producer Bob Boyett explained that Mary-Kate and Ashley, 29, didn't want to get back in front of the camera.

Ashley told him that she didn't feel comfortable acting since she hadn't done so since she was 17, and Mary-Kate insisted the 'timing' was bad.

Some of the cast members have a different take. Dave said that unlike the rest of the cast, the twins were babies while filming the original show, so they don't have the same memories as everyone else.

John, on the other hand, pointed to their success in the fashion industry - they design The Row, as well as Elizabeth and James - as being their career of choice as adults.

'Lori was talking to me about the twins and said, "They just won a CFDA award." And I'm like, "Yeah, that's like winning an Oscar." It was them and Tom Ford. I get where they're at,' he said.

No rift: Though Ashley (pictured) and Mary-Kate didn't want to return for the series, they still keep in touch with some of their castmates

Not into it: Ashley said she wouldn't feel comfortable in front of a camera since she hasn't acted in over a decade, while Mary-Kate said it was a bad time

Stylish: The girls are busy with their successful fashion line The Row, as well as their lower-priced line Elizabeth and James

Besides, there are new kids in the house this time around, who fans will get to meet when all 13 episodes hit Netflix on February 26.

DJ, now a single mom, is moving back into her dad's San Francisco home with her own three children: Jackson, Mac, and Tommy Fuller - the latter of whom is played by twin babies, just like Michelle.

Next-door-neighbor Kimmy Gibler, played by Andrea Barber, has a kid as well: Ramona, a lookalike teen daughter.

In newly-released photos from the first season, DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy can be seen on a very familiar set, which has seen only a slight change in decor but a very noticeable improvement in picture quality since the '90s sitcom.
images depicting children caring for children when they should be enjoying childhood and going to school

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Teenage pregnancy is a trying predicament no matter where you are from, but when you live in an undeveloped nation, it can be a truly harrowing experience.

Italian photographer Paolo Patruno has been dedicating his life to documenting the struggles of young mothers across Sub-Saharan Africa and America since 2011, all culminating in his Birth Is A Dream project. His latest series, Girls: Women Too Early, is a product of a recent trip to Cameroon.

'In 2014 I was looking for the opportunity to document child marriage and early pregnancy, so I got in contact and worked in partnership with the NGO 'Human IS Right' in Cameroon, which introduced me to the local community at the Bakumba village, in a very remote area of the country,' Paolo tells Daily Mail Online.

Too young: Photographer Paolo Patruno has presented the latest series in his maternal healthcare awareness project Birth Is A Dream with photos documenting the lives of teen mothers in Cameroon

Living life: The series, called Girls: Women Too Early shows women such as 16-year-old Feobe (pictured) caring for their children

Hard times: According to World Bank data from 2011, 25 per cent of women in Cameroon were pregnant or already had children

The country was an apt choice for the series, given that data from there shows a shocking rate of teen pregnancy.

In 2011, World Bank found that 25 per cent of the country's women between 15 and 19 were either pregnant or mothers and there were 138 reported births per 1,000 women in the age group.

And while becoming a mother so early has its issues in any country, the risk of death during childbirth in Cameroon is so much higher for both mother and baby than in almost any other country in the world.

The CIA reports that Cameroon in particular has an infant mortality rate of 53.63 deaths per 1,000 births - and it isn't even considered to be one of the continent's least developed countries.

Hundreds of women die each year in childbirth from preventable problems such as infections and bleeding - but these are exponentially more likely to cause death in a place like Cameroon than in a more developed nation. On top of this, the risk of death during childbirth is highest for girls under 15.

What Paolo saw in his travels to the community of Bakumba was a full blown epidemic, and he set upon doing his bit to change things for the better in the best way he knew how: by documenting it.

'My aim was to show how these girls have to take responsibilities as adults: they become women too early, missing their childhood and adolescence,' says Paolo.

Great risk: The risk of death in childbirth for teenage mothers, such as 15-year-old Anita (pictured), is much higher in nations like Cameroon than in more developed countries

Grown ups: Paolo aimed to show teenage girls such as 15-year-old Agnes (pictured) who have given up their childhood and adolescence because they became pregnant

Growing together: The series was shot across the rural Cameroonian community of Bakumba

Taking care: The infant mortality rate in Cameroon is 53.63 deaths per 1,000 births, and mothers like Christine (right) are much more likely to die during childbirth from preventable issues

'African teenage mothers face considerable threats to their health and wellbeing, primarily maternal morbidity and mortality. Girls who become pregnant have to leave school. This has long-term implications for them as individuals, their families and communities.'

Starting in Malawi - where the word for pregnancy in a local language actually translates to the equivalent of 'sick' - he began photographing and filming young women who came into motherhood while they themselves were still children.

Among those he met were girls forced into marriages at young ages and left unable to get an education.

Many of the young mothers turn to farming cocoa in the tropical forests to keep themselves and their children fed.

The photos show the young girls living in basic huts with their children, caring for them, bathing them, feeding them and washing clothes - essentially being grown ups before they have grown up.

'Africa has the worlds highest rate of adolescent pregnancy, a factor that affects the health, education, and earning potential of millions of African girls,' Paolo adds. 'Maternal health is a very complex matter: thats why with my long-term project Im trying to document not only the medical-health sides, but also the influences coming from culture and tradition, most of all inside rural communities.'

Among the girls featured in Paolo's latest series are young mothers of 17 and 16 caring for small children as well as girls of just 15 expecting their first baby.

Taking care: Many girls who find themselves pregnant at a young age drop out of school because of the responsibilities of motherhood

Home life: Many are also forced into marriages as teens and make a living through farming cocoa. Young pregnant girl Christine is shown looking after her sister, Mayron, who is just three years old

Along the way: Paolo's images show the women with their young families housed in simple huts

Bad signs: Paolo began his project in 2011 in Malawi, where the word for pregnant translates to 'sick' or 'between life and death'
A dietitian said 1,300 calories was more than should be consumed in a day

Now that's a mouthful.

Cult burger joint Ze Pickle has a new addition to the menu: a wagyu beef, Nutella smoked bacon and double cheese burger sandwiched between a glazed doughnut.

The fat-laden monstrosity it dubbed the 'doughnutf**witdis', and while Ze Pickle said they did not know the exact calorie count, The Courier-Mail estimated it to be around 1,300.

'Doughnutf**witdis': Ze Pickle has collaborate with Doughnut Time to create a doughnut burger

The burger is a collaboration between Ze Pickle, who have stores in Brisbane and the Gold Coast with a third to open in Sydney in March, and food chain Doughnut Time.

'Soz [sic] we're about to f*** all your New Years resolutions up,' Ze Pickle wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the burger.

The calorie-laden treat is made with a 'hand pressed wagyu beef patty, Nutella smoked bacon, double jack cheeze sandwiched between a fresh grilled doughnut time Original glazed doughnut'.

Ditch the diet: The burger has wagyu beef, Nutella smoked bacon and double cheese sandwiched between a glazed doughnut

Ze Pickle co-owner Aaron Wilson said since they launched the burger on Sunday they had sold about 100 a day between their two stores.

And while how exactly they make Nutella smoked bacon remains a secret, Mr Wilson did say the burger melts in your mouth.

He said Ze Pickle's clientele were mainly the younger generation as well as fitness fanatics looking to reward themselves.

People are saying thats what they like, thats their style and what they want to eat, he said. But they dont eat it seven days of the week.

Waffle madness: Ze Pickle is known for their crazy burger creations, this one has fried chicken, double jack cheeze and smoked honey sandwiched between a bacon laced waffle bun

When Ze Pickle announced the burger's arrival online social media went in to overdrive as people questioned the flavour combination.

'Is it breakfast or lunch though I'm confused? Nutella, bacon... But beef,' one person wrote.

'It's all three meals in one! Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Three times a day,' wrote another.

Others wondered whether they would enjoy the mash-up of sweet and savoury.

Food craze: Co-owner Aaron Wilson said their main diners were the younger generation, pictured is The Cronut Burger

Accredited practicing dietitian and director of Designer Diets Geraldine Georgeou told Daily Mail Australia 1,300 calories was more than you should consume in a day.

'When we talk about calories on average a person looking after their health and weight would eat between 1,200 to 1,800 a day,' she said.

'Those looking after their weight will exceed their daily calories for weight management.'

Leaning tower of burger: Practicing dietitian Geraldine Georgeou said the burgers were high in sugar and saturated fat

Mrs Georgeou said the burger would be high in sugar and saturated fat without any fibre.

The burger has the same amount of calories at six chococlate bars or nearly three big macs.

It would take a person who weighs 65 kilograms three hours at the gym to the burn it off.

Plans to expand: Ze Pickle owners Aaron Wilson, Joey Day and Nathan Zukerman will open a third store in Sydney's Surry Hills in March

'I would be resistant to indulge at all, only because of the amount of calories it is in one sitting,' Mrs Georgeou said of the burger.

'I think these foods are obviously a novelty item and they're trying to make something to create attention to their business.
shows cocoa is best at soothing the throat

We've all heard that honey and lemon can help soothe a cough.

Now, however, a leading expert in cough and respiratory medicine believes chocolate is even better.

Here, Professor Alyn Morice, head of cardiovascular and respiratory studies at the University of Hull, and a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Cough, claims there is research to prove it...

Cough medicine containing chocolate is stickier and more viscose than standard medicines, so it forms a coating which protects nerve endings in the throat which trigger the urge to cough, an expert has claimed

Chocolate can calm coughs.

I know that might sound like something out of Mary Poppins, but as an independent clinician who has spent years researching the mechanism of cough, I can assure you the evidence is actually as solid a bar of Fruit and Nut.

We have just seen the results of the largest real-world study of an over-the-counter cough remedy ever undertaken in Europe.

This proves that a new medicine which contains cocoa is better than a standard linctus.

The head-to-head comparison found that patients taking the chocolate-based medicine had a significant improvement in symptoms within two days.

ROCOCO, as it was called, was a well designed study, a randomised controlled trial involving 163 patients, and the results will be published in a journal within the next 12 months.

However this wasn't the first study to show that chocolate can calm coughs.

Previously, researchers at Imperial College in London found that theobromine, an alkaloid in cocoa, is better at suppressing the urge to cough than codeine  an established ingredient in cough medicines.

This new trial medicine, which has since been licensed under the brand name Unicough, was shown to reduce both cough frequency and sleep disruption within two days.

And twice as many patients taking it were able to stop treatment early because their cough had cleared.

The idea that chocolate could cure a cough might sound a bit mad, but the ROCOCO researchers believe the benefits are primarily down to the demulcent properties of cocoa.

A new large trial has found that patients taking a chocolate-based medicine had a significant improvement in symptoms within two days - faster than other remedies, claims Professor Alyn Morice

This simply means it is stickier and more viscose than standard cough medicines, so it forms a coating which protects nerve endings in the throat which trigger the urge to cough.

This demulcent effect explains why honey and lemon and other sugary syrups can help, but I think there is something more going on with chocolate.

Im sure it has a pharmacological activity, some sort of inhibitory effect on the nerve endings themselves.

However drinking hot chocolate wont have the same effect as the cocoa isnt in contact with the throat long enough to form a protective coating.

Slowly sucking on a piece of chocolate may provide some relief, but I think it is the way the chocolate compounds work with other ingredients in the linctus which make it so effective.

Apart from the cocoa itself, the demulcent effect ensures the other cough-calming ingredients  diphenhydramine, levomenthol and ammonium chloride  are in contact with sensitised nerve endings for as long as possible.

Professor Morice believes chocolate has a pharmacological activity, 'some sort of inhibitory effect on the nerve endings themselves'. While hot chocolate wouldn't have the same effect as the cough medicine, because the cocoa isnt in contact with the throat long enough to form a protective coating, he says slowly sucking on a piece of chocolate may provide some relief

There is only one type of cough

But more importantly, both these studies show that its high time we abandoned the ridiculous idea that there are different types of cough, which need different types of medicines.

Its a myth.

Variety is wonderful when we open a box of chocolates, but its simply confusing when consumers are confronted an array of different cough mixtures for supposedly different coughs.

From a marketing point of view it makes a lot of sense to talk about wet coughs and dry coughs, chesty ones or tickly ones - because its a great way to encourage people to buy more products.

But from a scientific standpoint, it is incredibly out-dated.

The idea that coughs should be categorised in this way became entrenched in the 19th century when tuberculosis was rampant.

TB patients produced large quantities of phlegm and bloody liquid.

But it can be traced back even further, to the ancient Greeks, who thought that all illness was the result of an imbalance between four so-called humours  yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm.

He adds it's also time we abandoned' the ridiculous idea that there are different types of cough, which need different types of medicines'

Today we know that almost all common cough is caused by an upper respiratory tract infection which often accompanies a cold or flu, and with this type of infection there is no real difference between a dry cough and one which produces a small amount of phlegm.

Its not mucus which triggers the urge to cough, its the fact that the infection has hijacked the bodys defence mechanism and made nerves in the upper respiratory tract hypersensitive. This works in the best interests of the virus because it triggers the urge to cough and ensures we spread it around.

There is good evidence that some of the ingredients used in cough medicines have an effect. For instance, diphenhydramine and ammonium chloride have both been proven to relieve symptoms, but it has nothing to do with mucus or chestiness, its because they help calm this urge to cough.

We dont understand all the receptors involved in a mechanism like cough  but I am absolutely convinced that in years to come we will find there is a chocolate receptor involved in this urge to cough.

We used to think that menthol was simply an aromatic, but we now know it has a pharmacological effect on certain receptors. I have no doubt the same is true of chocolate.

Unicough is available in selected Superdrug, Lloyds and independent pharmacies, 8.95.

*****

Professor Alyn Morice is an international authority on cough and the mechanism of cough. He identified the link between ACE inhibitors and cough, established the UKs first specialist cough clinic and the worlds first online cough clinic.

He helped draft the British Thoracic Society guidelines on the management of cough in adults, has led the European Respiratory Society and British Thoracic Society Taskforces on Cough and is a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Cough.
A mother who bravely published pictures of her reconstructed face after it was ravaged by cancer has lost her battle to the disease.

Helen Butchart, 55, from Lochgelly, Fife, was diagnosed with sinus cancer in 2015, and a delay meant the cancer was so aggressive she lost half her face.

Surgeons were forced to remove her right eye during a staggering 22-hour operation at Glasgow's Southern General hospital.

They also made her a new cheekbone and palate using bone from her shoulder blade.

After the gruelling surgery she thought her ordeal was over, and she began tirelessly fundraising for cancer charities.

But a month before Christmas this year, Mrs Butchart, known to many by her maiden name of Wilson, was dealt the devastating blow the cancer was terminal.

The mother-of-four passed away on Tuesday, after raising almost 30,000 for charities and the hospital where she was treated.

Helen Butchart, 55, pictured with husband John, has passed away after battling cancer of the maxillary sinuses - the space behind the cheeks, below the eyes and on either side of the nose

Mrs Butchart was rushed to surgery, where doctors removed her right eye and made her a new cheekbone and palate using bone from her shoulder blade. She is pictured after the operation

Roseann Haig, founder of charity Circle of Comfort, which gives free complementary therapy treatments to cancer patients, paid tribute to Mrs Butchart.

She said: 'There are many special people but Helen's bravery was astounding. I met her and it was like I had known her for always.

'She came to us as a client and she raised a tremendous amount of money.

She continued: 'She was a very positive, honest and sincere person. She was a very beautiful woman.

'The cancer scarred her face but she took it on like she took on life - she didn't hide from it. She didn't go under the covers.

'That illustrates the measure of her. Not a lot of people could do what she did.'

'The fact she managed to see Christmas, to be with the family for Christmas and new year, I'm sure that's given them some comfort.'

Mrs Butchart, a florist, developed a swelling in her face in early 2015.

When treatment - including antibiotics and the removal of three teeth - failed to help, she was referred on.

It was then that doctors revealed the real - and devastating cause of her symptoms - cancer of the maxillary sinuses.

These are the sinuses behind the cheeks, below the eyes and on either side of the nose.

To make matters worse, the cancer was so aggressive that surgeons were forced to make her a new cheekbone and palate using bone from her shoulder blade

They also had to remove her right eye, and she underwent radiotherapy.

Before Christmas, Mrs Butchart was told the devastating news her cancer was terminal, and she passed away this week. She is pictured with husband John

Mrs Butchart bravely posted pictures of her reconstructed face to raise awareness, and tirelessly raised 30, 000 for cancer charities.

In a bid to raise awareness of her condition - and much needed funds for the hospital that treated her - Mrs Butchart bravely released pictures of the reconstruction surgery.

Mrs Butchart's funeral was held last Wednesday in her home town of Lochgelly, where local residents paid tributes.

Helen's bravery was astounding. I met her and it was like I had known her for always Roseann Haig, founder of charity Circle of Comfort

Michelle Willmer, 38, who runs a beauty salon across the road from Helen's flower shop, said: 'Myself and all the girls are all so shocked at Helen's passing.

'We were so shocked when the cancer came back. We thought she had turned a corner so to think that she got another knock is just heartbreaking.

'It's such a sad loss especially to someone so young. She fought so hard and right to the end so not to come through the other end is just so sad.'

Friends on social media also expressed their sadness at her death.

One wrote: 'Helen you'll always be missed - missing the banter already. Lots of love.'

Another posted: 'You were an incredible woman, thinking of helping others when you were so ill yourself and achieving an amazing amount of money for your charity page.'

One said: 'One courageous lady, gone too soon.'
A young woman who had 50 fillers injected at a Thai clinic after finding a cheap deal on Groupon was horrified when her lips turned blue and lumpy.

Amelia Greville, 24, who lives in Bangkok and works as a teacher, saw a deal for Juvederm lip fillers online and purchased it, delighted as this is the brand Kylie Jenner uses.

The 24-year-old, who is originally from Redditch, Worcestershire, was not concerned about the cheap price - in the UK Juvederm fillers normally cost up to 400 - as she believed Groupon was a 'trusted site'.

She had researched the brand, and having discovered the fillers are non-permanent, says she considered a cosmetic procedure such as this similar to 'getting your hair dyed'.

After having the injections in April last year she was initially happy with her new look, as her lips were much plumper.

But within months she was devastated when hard, wart-like lumps formed on her mouth.

Scroll down for video

Amelia Greville, 24, found a Groupon deal and had 50 lip fillers injected at a clinic in Bangkok

A month after having the fillers, Miss Greville's lips swelled up and hard lumps formed on them. They later turned blue

Miss Greville said her lips looked 'grotesque'. She told MailOnline: 'The word I always say is "mangled"'

Miss Greville, pictured displaying the lumps that formed in her lips, said she shyed away from kissing her boyfriend, and, now she is single, would be 'mortified' at the idea of going on a date with her mouth in this state

This week, Miss Grenville went public with her story, trying to raise 1,500 needed for surgery to correct her swollen lips.

But after sharing her story with MailOnline, the original clinic contacted her and donated most of the money towards the treatment, which she will have as soon as possible at a specialist hospital.

Recalling the moment she first noticed lumps forming in her links, she told MailOnline: 'I looked in the mirror and looked horrific. I cried to my boyfriend at the time, but I didn't tell anyone back home.

'Your lips are right there on your face, the first thing that people look at.

'Mine looked grotesque. The word I always say is my lips look mangled.

'Now I try to never smile with my mouth open because Ive got these massive three lumps.

'Whenever I meet someone new Im self-conscious, I think "they must be looking at my lips".'

Miss Greville added she felt so unconfident that her unsightly lips put a strain on her relationship, eventually contributing to the couple breaking up.

She continued: 'I really didn't want to be kissed, and I still shy away from it.

Worse, she says she can't stop herself from licking and biting the lumps.

'Im compelled to do it. It's like my body is saying "There's something foreign in your lip". If I touch them they're so sore,' she said.

To this day, she has no idea whether the clinic she went to was reputable or not.

She admitted: I couldn't read the comments on the clinic's Facebook page because they were in Thai, but they had good reviews looking at the stars.

'I thought it wasn't too expensive - around 50 - although I now that's way less than you should pay. It's definitely been a learning curve.'

She complained to the clinic, who injected her with more fluid they claimed would correct the problem. However, it only made her lips worse. She is pictured before having the fillers

Miss Greville had bought the fillers believing they were Juvederm, the brand Kylie Jenner is known to use. Eventually, hard yellow lumps formed on her already-lumpy lips and - with her confidence in tatters - she contacted another doctor

Miss Greville told MailOnline: 'I'm not the type that would have cosmetic surgery done. I'm not unhappy with my lips. But my friends had lip fillers and they looked good.

'I'd researched Juvederm loads, it's what Kylie Jenner had, it's what everyone gets. Because it's non-permanent, I saw it like having your hair dyed.'

Juvederm lip fillers are made from hyaluronic acid, a substance found naturally within the skin which increases its volume, giving the mouth a plumper look.

The fillers last for between six months and a year, and then dissolve naturally within the body.

I couldn't read the comments on the clinic's Facebook page because they were in Thai, but they had good reviews looking at the stars Amelia Greville, 24

If a person is unhappy with their fillers, injections of an enzyme hyaluronidase should dissolve the hyaluronic acid within 24 hours.

Miss Greville says her lips initially looked 'nice' - but within two months a lump formed on her top lip and another on her bottom lip.

When Miss Grenville returned to the clinic two months later, staff injected her with another fluid they claimed would rectify the problem.

Instead, to her horror, her lips started to swell and turn blue. Later, more yellow, painful lumps formed on top of the initial lumps that already protruded from her mouth.

She claims the doctor also asked if she had been massaging her mouth every day, an instruction she maintains she had not been given when the fillers done.

She said: 'I wasn't told this. The doctor said "Put a hot compress on your lips and the lumps will massage out". But I knew they wouldn't.

'I did that every day. It did nothing, just aggravated them. The more I touched them the more inflamed and uncomfortable they became.'

With her confidence ruined and her schoolchildren making fun of her, Miss Greville became concerned she had never been injected with Juvederm in the first place.

And she claims staff at the clinic became 'frosty' and refused to help her unless she paid for more injections.

Miss Greville said: 'Now I try to never smile with my mouth open because Ive got these massive three groups. Whenever I meet someone new Im self-conscious, I think "they must be looking at my lips"

Miss Greville moved to Thailand after graduating from university, and works as a teacher in a primary school

After researching online, she discovered she may have granulomas, small areas of inflamed tissue, which are a known complication of silicone lip fillers.

She complained to Groupon, she was given a refund for her original voucher and the advert was taken off the site.

But by this point, her swollen lips meant Miss Grenville felt ugly and affected her professionally.

In constant pain - and with her confidence in tatters - she contacted another clinic.

There, a doctor inspected her lips and, alarmingly, declared he believed the clinic had used silicone - a much cheaper substance which is illegal in Thailand.

Miss Grenville said: 'The doctor I spoke to contacted the Juvederm supplier in Thailand to check whether they have ever had an order from this clinic; they confirmed, they have not.'

My lips looked grotesque. The word I always use is "mangled" Amelia Greville, 24

And attracted by the cheap prices for procedures, Miss Grenville is far from the first person to fall victim to cosmetic surgery going dangerously wrong in the country.

Bangkok has become a haven for illegal clinics with so-called bag doctors operating using counterfeit Botox, cheap facial fillers an assortment of banned products known to have dangerous side effects.

Miss Greville told MailOnline: 'It has been horrific. I teach primary school children. They say "Teacher what's wrong with your lips?"

'It's so humiliating. It has ruined my confidence. The idea of going on a date mortifies me, there's no way I'm doing it until my lips get fixed. I'm so embarrassed.

'I try to cover it up with make up. I've cried about it so many times.'

She says she trusted Groupon as a website, and believed she would be safe from harm as she thought the site vetted clinics.

The ordeal has affected her professionally, as children at her school as 'Teacher, what's wrong with your lips?'

After an injection known to dissolve Juvederm lip fillers didn't work to correct the lumps, Miss Greville became suspicious the Thai clinic had injected her with another filler. The lumps are pictured soon after forming

Miss Greville said: 'I can't stop myself from licking and biting them. Im compelled to do it. It's like my body is saying "There's something foreign in your lip". If I touch them they're so sore.'

She told MailOnline: 'It didn't occur to me they wouldn't background check. In the UK, they are a trusted website.

'I couldn't read the comments on the clinic's Facebook page because they were in Thai, but they had good reviews looking at the stars.

Miss Greville was referred to an eminent surgeon at the Samitijev hospital in Bangkok, who said he could fix her lips with surgery and a fat graft, but the cost will be around 75,000 Thai Baht (roughly 1,500).

She began fundraising for the money, but after sharing her story with MailOnline, the clinic contacted her and donated most of the cash for the procedure.

Writing on her GOFundMe page, she said today: 'The clinic has given me a pretty big chunk of the money I need after I went public with the story.

'That, plus some fees from the press, is enough to cover the surgery. You're all amazing.'

A doctor at another clinic said he suspected the clinic where Miss Greville received her fillers had injected her with a cheaper product like silicone, which is illegal in Thailand, instead of Juvederm

She was referred to a prominent surgeon at the Samitijev hospital in Bangkok, who said he could fix her lips with with surgery and a fat graft, but the cost will be around 75,000 Thai Baht (roughly 1,500)

Kylie's pout has inspired many lip plumpers

Miss Greville, pictured on holiday in Bali, claims surgery will not only boost her confidence, but will allow her to prove the clinic illegally injected her with silicone

She believes the surgery will allow her to prove that the clinic used silicone rather than Juvederm.

She said: 'Not only do I need the surgery to deal with the lack of confidence this ordeal has given me, but also so that I can prove to the Thai authories and the Thai FDA that this clinic is injecting people illegally, and have them prosecuted and shut down permanently.'

Until then, she is concerned that other women could be similarly affected.

She said: 'It's a massive worry that other women could be going to that clinic. I saw one woman having filler in her cheeks and lips.

'I feel lucky it only happened in my lips - not that I would get it anywhere else because I don't need it.

'In your lips they can do repair surgery from the inside, so there are no scars. Anyone having filler under their eyes, or on their face, they will have scars forever.'

MailOnline has contacted Groupon's UK press office for a response.

Groupon Thailand shut down in September 2015, after shutting operations in Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, and Uruguay after exiting Greece and Turkey.

In a blog post on the company's website, the company's Chief Operating Officer, Rich Williams said this was because 'the investment required to bring our technology, tools and marketplace to every one of our 40+ countries isnt commensurate with the return at this point.'

HOW TO CHOOSE A PRACTITIONER FOR LIP FILLERS SAFELY Speaking on behalf of Juvederm, practitioner Dr David Eccleston, clinical director of MediZen, said in a statement: 'I have been injecting the brand fillers since the product was launched. 'Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous so-called "practitioners" who cut costs by using counterfeit or alternative products to maximise their profit margin and offer treatment at ridiculously low prices, which tempt the unwary. 'This story is unfortunately not a surprise - I have heard many similar ones.' 'Always insist on seeing the product packaging and the that the brand advertised is the one you are receiving,' says Juvederm practitioner Dr David Eccleston, clinical director of MediZen clinic 'If you plan to undergo treatment, ensure you see a doctor or nurse prescriber for a proper consultation, and insist on seeing the product packaging and the that the brand advertised is the one you are receiving. 'Ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable that the product is right for you. 'Do not fall for special offers or pressure to undergo treatment. Ensure the clinic you are attending is CQC registered, and check the qualifications of the practitioner beforehand. 'Check out "Treatments you can Trust" website to find a reputable practitioner. 'In the right hands, the effects will be natural, soft and subtle, and improve self-confidence. In the wrong hands, as this case shows, the effects can also be life-changing, but for the worse.' Advertisement




A five-year-old boy was found to have a life-threatening cancer when a toy fell into his eye as he was playing with his brother.

William Richardson, of Cramlington, Northumberland, was taken to the doctor after his eye became extremely swollen after being badly after being hit with the plastic toy.

To his family's horror, tests revealed he had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of head and neck cancer, in his right eye socket.

Doctors told his terrified family the tumour may be pushing his eye out of his socket, and he underwent chemotherapy to shrink the growth.

They then recommended proton beam therapy, a type of radiation which can more accurately pinpoint and kill tumours.

Unavailable in the UK, this meant William and his family were forced to travel 4,500 miles to a hospital in Oklahoma City.

Now back home, they face an anxious wait to see if the treatment worked and the tumour is gone.

William Richardson was found to have cancer when his brother accidentally knocked a toy into his eye

Doctors diagnosed him with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of head and neck cancer, in his right eye socket. They warned the tumour may be pushing his eye out of his socket, and he underwent chemotherapy to shrink the growth

William's mother, Marie, recalled the moment she was told her son was battling cancer.

She said: 'When you are told your child has cancer, you are just left in a state of shock.

'The first thing you think is "is he going to make it?" then your head is just full of hundreds of questions, even though you know the doctors won't be able to answer half of them.'

The family's ordeal began last year when William had been playing with his younger brother, Alex, who is now 18 months old.

William was hiding under the table and peered out to shout 'boo', which caused Alex to drop a large toy he was playing with on to William's eye.

His eye became so swollen that he was referred to the eye clinic at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

There, doctors carried out tests, and initially believed William might have a blood clot.

But scans revealed he actually had rhabdomyosarcoma, a tumour that develops from muscle or fibrous tissue.

Fewer than 60 children in the UK are diagnosed with the condition each year, with most being younger than 10.

Mrs, 37, Richardson said: 'Everything happened so quickly after that.

'An MRI, a biopsy and then chemotherapy started just a week after the diagnosis.

'They were worried because they thought William's eyeball was starting to be pushed out of the socket by the tumour.'

William underwent chemotherapy and then travelled to Oklahoma City for proton beam therapy, a type of radiotherapy that accurately pinpoints and kills tumours, that is not available in the UK

He began gruelling chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, before the family was told about the possibility of travelling to a specialist clinic in Oklahoma City for revolutionary proton beam therapy.

This is an advanced form of radiotherapy that targets tumours with great precision, so higher doses of radiation can be more safely delivered to growths, with less risk to healthy tissues.

It was successfully used to treat Ashya King, whose parents sparked international panic in 2014 when they smuggled him out of the UK for cancer treatment.

It is not available in the UK, but some hospitals pay for British patients to attend American clinics to have the treatment.

Mr Richardson, 37, said they were on a plane within a week.

Now back in the UK, William's family, including mother Marie, 37, and brother Alex, 18 months, face an anxious wait to see if the treatment has shrunk the tumour

He said: 'The flights were booked on the Monday and we flew out on the Saturday.'

Mrs Richardson added: 'The boys had never been on a plane before so it felt very strange to be suddenly flying halfway across the world.'

The family spent the next nine weeks in the ProCure Proton Therapy Clinic in Oklahoma City.

They have now returned to the UK but scans carried out in the autumn proved inconclusive over whether the treatment was successful.

The Richardsons now face and anxious wait, hoping the therapy was able to shrink William's tumour.

Mrs Richardson said: 'Now it is a case of waiting to see if the tumour has reduced. If it is still there it will mean more chemotherapy.'

And despite missing a lot of school, William is determined to keep up with other children.

'He's a really happy little boy and absolutely loves playing with his Lego and has told us he would one day like to be a black hole scientist,' his mother said.

Recently, he has been given a North East Braveheart award for showing courage during his battle with the disease.

Mrs Richardson said: 'What happened to William has been a life changing thing for the whole family. It's been a dramatic change for us all.

'However, we are so grateful for the help and support we have received from family, including William's grandparents, friends and the NHS.'
THE GOOD LIAR by Nicholas Searle

THE GOOD LIAR

by Nicholas Searle

(Viking 12.99)

Roy is an elderly conman living in the English suburbs, plotting the final stunt of his successful career. We meet him in a pub, waiting for his internet date, Betty, whom he plans to fleece of her considerable life savings. Its not that he needs the money, its more the need to scratch the itch of pulling one last trick.

A few pages later, Roy is safely installed in Bettys house and all seems set fair. True, theres a watchful grandson who doesnt seem to trust him, but Betty herself is rewardingly compliant.

We are then taken on a tour of Roys dodgy past, both in England and abroad - a tour that ends in the most surprising secret of all.

As the tension mounts, the reader is kept guessing: is Roy going to be rumbled? Is Betty as guileless as she seems? The final denouement is a real cracker, and this reader at any rate was led through the nose to the very end. Added to the fiendishly clever plot, Searles writing is both drily amusing and elegantly crafted. An absolute treat of a book.

VIRAL by Helen Fitzgerald

VIRAL

by Helen Fitzgerald

(Faber 12.99)

From the first explosively rude sentence (not a book to give Grandma), this story of a girl whose one shameful, out-of-character act goes viral on the internet fairly zips along.

Su is the good, high-achieving adopted daughter of a professional Scottish couple who is dragged along on a girls trip to Magaluf by her racy sister Leah.

Since Leahs stated aims are to be steaming drunk and get swotty Su to lose her virginity, what happens next in a grotty nightclub is predictable. What is less predictable is that Su, unable to face the public humiliation, goes into hiding and her adoptive mother, who happens to be a judge, determines to take revenge on the people who took advantage of her daughter.

A fast and well-written thriller with a topical theme, this is a more thoughtful novel than just a mother/daughter/viral sex tape romp.

THE EX by Alafair Burke

THE EX

by Alafair Burke

(Faber 12.99)

To have Burkes familiarity with U.S. police procedure and the legal system (she is a law professor) would be a terrific bonus when reading a complex murder mystery like this standalone thriller.

A criminal defence lawyer, Olivia Randall, agrees to act for a former fiance who has been accused of a triple homicide.

Olivia is driven partly by guilt, since Jack Harris was broken-hearted when she left him years before, and partly because she cannot believe him to be a killer even though Jacks story as to why he was at the scene of the crime sounds totally far-fetched.

But as the evidence against Jack mounts, Olivia finds her theory that Jack has been framed less convincing than her growing suspicion that it is she who is being manipulated.
HISTORY

1956: The Year That Changed Britain

by Francis Beckett and Tony Russell

(Biteback 20)

As a 13-year-old schoolboy on the Isle of Wight in 1956, everything in Britain seemed to happen in dreary black-and-white slow-motion.

The whole country was wrapped in a stupefying dullness seemingly without end. My parents generation, whod recently fought in World War II, had experienced enough excitement to last a lifetime. Now all they wanted was peace and quiet to enjoy the unrationed meat, sugar and butter which were their rewards.

Francis Beckett and Tony Russell make an indisputable case for 1956 as the year that changed Britain. For it saw the birth of a new species, the teenager, as a simultaneous social problem and economic force

Here, unlike in America, young people had no identity or culture of their own.

At around 16, they changed from children into facsimiles of their fathers and mothers, wearing the same clothes and hairstyles and listening to the same music: either big bands like Ted Heaths or drippy crooners like Dickie Valentine and Dennis Lotis.

Then came Blackboard Jungle, an American film about delinquent high school children. The soundtrack was a song called Rock Around The Clock, played by Bill Haley & His Comets in a new, bass-slapping beat called rock n roll. It was aural rocket fuel that launched those formerly undemonstrative boys and girls from their seats to cavort crazily in the aisles.

Francis Beckett and Tony Russell make an indisputable case for 1956 as the year that changed Britain. For it saw the birth of a new species, the teenager, as a simultaneous social problem and economic force.

0 The number of medals won by Great Britain at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Advertisement

Largely, but not wholly, through rock n roll it also ended the deference to all forms of authority that had held sway for centuries.

Despite a string of massive hit singles, Bill Haley was too chubby and avuncular to become the teenagers first icon.

That didnt materialise until the release of Elvis Presleys Heartbreak Hotel, a melodramatic ballad sung by a gorgeous, glossy young hunk instantly and unanimously dubbed The King.

As Beckett and Russell point out, rock n roll first took root largely among the working class. Its most visible disciples were not young women but Teddy Boys, a familiar party costume nowadays, but in 1956 associated with gangs wielding razors, brass knuckles and bicycle-chains.

The authors recall the virulent hatred and mockery heaped on rock n roll music by politicians, head teachers, the clergy and the media, who viewed it solely as a trigger to juvenile delinquency and promiscuity.

1956: The Year That Changed Britain by Francis Beckett and Tony Russell

They also give proper weight to the parallel craze for skiffle - souped-up American folk music that middle-class teenagers were allowed to like because it had roots in respectable jazz and blues.

Inspired by its biggest star, Lonnie Donegan, boys all over the country became infatuated with guitars and formed skiffle groups of their own.

Among them were John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Liverpool, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in Dartford, Kent, and many other pop legends of the next decade.

Although the mid-Fifties are remembered as an era of peace and security, they felt nothing like it at the time. Europe lived in constant dread of a third World War, this time with Communist Russia using the hydrogen bomb and so inevitably reducing both sides to ruins.

Britains self-esteem was at a nadir, having, it was said, lost an empire but failed to find a role.

In the arts, the so-called Angry Young Men, led by actor-turned playwright John Osborne, railed against the rottenness and stagnation of everything.

Osbornes 1956 play Look Back In Anger created a new era of kitchen-sink drama, played out in bedsits rather than drawing-rooms, which revolutionised the theatre every bit as much as rock n roll did music.

The autumns Suez Crisis saw Britain invade Egypt in cahoots with Israel and France in an operation as ill thought-out as our recent adventures in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

At the end of Ryde Pier, I watched the troopships leave Portsmouth, certain that World War III had finally come and wondering if Id survive it.
On the sixth day of the odd-even trial, the Delhi High Court ticked off the Delhi government for causing inconvenience to the public at large and questioned its decision to go for a 15-day trial project instead of limiting it to a week, during the hearing of 12 petitions on Wednesday.

The report will be placed before the court on Friday.

However, during an hour-long hearing, the HC bench refused to pass an interim relief to the petitioners and asked the government to submit a detailed report of its findings on the pollution level for the first seven days.

Around 743 challans were issued on the sixth day of the Kejriwal government's ambitious odd-even scheme

Petitions

The petitions highlighted various issues before the division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayanth Nath.

Issues raised before the court included granting exemption to two-wheelers and women, inadequate public transport, abolishing the challan of Rs 2,000, implementing the scheme without any empirical study, the fact that the exemption does not include brand new cars and the senior citizens, and the scheme being non-applicable in the NCR.

The petitioners were represented by Delhi High Court Bar Association president Rajiv Khosla.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has faced various criticisms over the scheme

The majority of the petitioners were of the view that the government had earlier said that if too many problems arise after implementing the scheme, it would stop and therefore the government should take that move.

Chief Justice G Rohini said: There is no dispute that the scheme was implemented on a trial basis. Now when you have received various feedbacks and opinion, why dont you confine it to one week? Why was a period of 15 days adopted when there is no sufficient public transport to ferry the public at large?

The bench asked the senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra appearing for the Delhi government to get instructions if it was really necessary to stretch the trial to 15 days.

According to us one week is enough? You are causing more inconvenience to the public? said the bench.

Mehra told the court that the state is equally pained with the initiative but the step has been taken for its own people.

During the trial the pollution levels have dropped, roads have decongested, however, will come back with the data once collated. Today right to life has been equated with the right to clean air. Can the inconvenience caused be equated to the health of the children? We have started taking baby steps towards giving the residents of the Capital a clean air to breathe.

Mehra highlighted how the public supported the cause and also submitted a status report highlighting the on-the-ground impact of the scheme and the reasons for certain exemptions granted to two-wheelers and female drivers.

In the report the government said that as the odd-even scheme is only a 15-day trial, it will consider the inclusion of the two-wheelers under the scheme.

The state said that exemption for women was made keeping their security in mind, and the two-wheelers were excluded as the present public transport is not sufficient to cater to such a huge demand.

According to a private agency, the pollution levels in the Capital have been moderate in the past five days

It also highlighted various steps it plans to take to augment the public transport and indulge in effective traffic-management with the help traffic police, crowd source complaints, and also highlighted other non-vehicular pollution sources.

Status report

On the status report, Justice Jayanth said: The report submitted by Delhi government is vague.

The bench said that the petitions that were heard on Wednesday were filed even before the scheme was implemented.

We had decided not to interfere but now with the feedbacks and opinions placed before the court we want Delhi government to file day wise report from January 1- January 7. Collect the data and report how much pollution level has reduced? the bench said.

Government submits odd-even report card

The Delhi government on Wednesday filed its first status report on the odd-even scheme before the Delhi HC. The state highlighted the steps taken to reduce pollution through the scheme and other initiatives, and the way forward.

It also responded to queries about granting exemption to two-wheelers and women drivers raised during the hearing post odd-even scheme implementation petitions.

In the report the government said as the odd-even scheme is only a 15-day trial it will consider the inclusion of two-wheelers under the scheme. The reduction of four-wheelers will decongest roads, which have a positive impact on vehicular pollution.

The state said that the women were given exemption keeping their security in mind.

The two-wheelers were exempted because majority of population using private vehicles use two-wheelers. In case of two-wheelers pooling would have been a limited option and 60-70% would have to resort to the public transport," it said.

It also highlighted various steps it plans to take to augment the public transport by increasing the frequency and the number of buses, requesting Delhi Metro to extend the timings of its operation.

It cited other non-vehicular pollution solutions like extensive horticulture work, issuing orders to close Thermal plants at Rajghat and Badarpur, and shutting the MCD parking on the PWD roads.

'Moderate' change in Capital's air

By Astha Saxena in New Delhi

A study by a private agency has revealed that the overall pollution levels in the last five days have been moderate

With Delhi experimenting with one of the most-talked about projects - the odd-even formula - a study by a private agency has revealed that the overall pollution levels in the last five days have been moderate.

SparkTG, a Cloud-based Unified Contact Center Solution provider, has released a report on Delhis pollution levels for the past four days.

The data shows that the mornings are more polluted than evenings.

SparkTG is working with the meteorological departments weather toll free number (1800- 180-1717), that not only gives current the weather information for most of the cities in India, but also the current Air Quality Index information runs on SparkTGs platform.

They provide IVR for air pollution data, enabling the general public to make informed decisions about their whereabouts in the city.

West Delhi turned out to be the most polluted area in the Capital while South Delhi the least polluted area during the trial run of the odd-even formula, the report says.

On average January 6 seems to be the most polluted day since January 1. On Wednesday, a total of 308 people opted for a lung-function test, of whom 122 were found to have compromised lungs.

The lung-function tests conducted by experts of Maulana Azad Medical College during the off-even run shows that those residing in east Delhi have the weakest lungs.

More and more people are getting tested every day. On Wednesday, almost 40 per cent of the people that we tested had compromised lungs, project head Dr Suneela Garg told Mail Today.

Recently, a multi-agency study revealed the impact of poor air quality on the growth of foetuses in pregnant women.

The study was conducted by the Sir Ganga Ram hospital in association of Public Health Foundation of India, Indian Meteorological Department and London School of Hygiene to explore the association of air pollution with a neonates birth weight and gestational age.

NGT shifts focus to tier-II cities

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday said it will now consider reducing pollution in prominent tier II cities. It will not touch Delhi, as the Supreme Court is seized of the matter.

Restrained by the SC from dealing with air pollution in the Capital, it sought responses on worsening air quality from other metropolises like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Barring Delhi, the green panel took note of air pollution in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Patna, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Nagpur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Pune, and directed states to file a comprehensive affidavit stating the steps taken by them for prevention and control of air pollution.

A pollution meter outside the Delhi Secretariat on January 6

In view of the matter pending before the Supreme Court of India... relating to air pollution in NCT, Delhi, we are of the considered view that the tribunal should not pass any directions in this regard at this stage. Therefore, we would restrict these petitions for the present only to the places other than Delhi, in relation to air pollution by different sources and subject to such orders as may be passed by the Supreme Court of India, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

It added: We are not going to touch Delhi.

The green panel also directed the state pollution control boards to take ambient air quality samples in these cities and submit analysis reports before February 9 in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board.

They shall also state the steps they are taking for controlling and preventing the air pollution, resulting from dust emission because of constructions and other activities, emission from burning of municipal solid waste and other waste, including burning of agriculture residue and vehicular pollution, the bench said.

On December 18, the tribunal had refused to vacate its order banning registration of new diesel-run vehicles, saying it wont interfere with the Supreme Court order which has taken a similar stand.

In contrast to the prior NGT order banning registration of all diesel vehicles, the Supreme Court, on December 16, exempted small ones and specified that the diesel-run SUVs and cars with engine capacity beyond 2,000cc would not be registered in Delhi and the National Capital Region till March 31.

Sting op exposes lapses in Gurgaon

By Shashank Shekhar in New Delhi

At a time when residents of Gurgaon and Noida are supporting the Delhi governments scheme to curb pollution, several authorised pollution check centres in Gurgaon are issuing pollution under control (PUC) certificates without checking the vehicles.

The fraud came to light after an activist from Gurgaon carried out a sting operation and made a complaint to the road transport authority.

I reached a mobile authorised pollution check centre near Rajiv chowk, which is close to most of the crucial government offices. The attendant asked me to park my vehicle facing his set-up, which is odd as a wire is attached to the exhaust of the vehicle to check emission, said Jagjit Singh Walia, adding that he sensed something fishy and started recording the incident on his phone.

I was shocked to find out that he simply took the picture of my cars number plate, entered the details in a computer and issued the certificate within minutes. They didnt have any equipment to check the emission of pollutants by the vehicle. All he had was a laptop, Walia said.

In the video, the attendant can be heard admitting: People are in hurry and do not want to get their vehicles checked, so we issue them a PUC immediately.

The complainant spoke to an auto-rickshaw driver who was waiting for a PUC certificate.

A challan of Rs 1,500 is issued if we dont have PUC certificate. Most of the centres issue it sans checking. Even authorities are only concerned about the certificate, the auto driver said.

A copy of the video along with a complaint was sent to regional transport authority (RTA) which has assured action.

Copy of sting is also in Mail Today's possession. After receiving the complaint, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board carried out inspections at the centres and found them violating the rule.

We have conducted an inspection and have found them flouting the rule. A report was sent to the regional transport authority, a senior officer of HSPCB said.

While RTA claims that they have received the complaint and have checked the authenticity of the video.
Ministry of Culture statement confirmed that his contract was ongoing

Claims that Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has been dropped as brand ambassador for the Incredible India campaign were refuted by the Ministry of Culture yesterday.

Reports that the 50-year-old actor had been removed from the adverts went viral earlier in the day after Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma was quoted as saying that his contract 'had expired' and he was 'definitely not' the mascot.

It was suggested that his earlier comments about the intolerance debate had prompted the move.

Aamir Khan will remain the face of the Incredible India adverts promoting tourism

But in a statement released later in the day, the Ministry of Culture said: 'At present, we have a contractual agreement with a creative agency to produce a social awareness campaign and it featured Aamir Khan.

'In response to certain reports in the media (about Aamir), the tourism ministry clarifies that there is no change in their stand.'

The Atithi Devo Bhava advert featuring Aamir, which was part of the Incredible India campaign, was launched during the UPA rule.

In November last year, Aamir landed himself in a controversy after reports claimed he said that his wife Kiran Rao was considering moving out of the country with their child due to the prevalence of an atmosphere of intolerance.

The actor has since clarified that neither he or his wife have any intention to leave the country as he is 'proud to be an Indian'.

But Aamir said that he stood by the interview that triggered the row - claiming the avalanche of criticism directed at him and his wife only proved what he had said of the situation in the country.

'First, let me state categorically that neither I, nor my wife Kiran have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future,' he said in a statement.

'Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said.

'India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying.

'Secondly, I stand by everything that I have said in my interview.'
Service-class Noida is far more polluted than industrial hubs Ghaziabad and Haryanas Faridabad, a new study has revealed.

Like Delhi, it needs emergency measures to tackle air pollution. The extent of the problem was uncovered in the findings of an IIT Kanpur report.

The Comprehensive Study on Air Pollution and Green House Gases (GHGs) in Delhi - only the second report of its kind - was commissioned by the government in 2012 and scientifically studied all sources of air pollutants in the capital and the three NCR townships.

Vehicles move from Delhi to adjoining townships. Traffic volume is high in Noida as car dependency is 'huge'

It was done for nine days in summer 2014 and 15 days in winter 2015 - and found that Noida has very high levels of both Particulate Matter 10 (PM10) and PM2.5.

PM10 stands at 1210 g/m3 in winter and 410 g/m3 in summer - far above acceptable level of 100 g/m3. Meanwhile, PM2.5 reads 810 g/m3 in winters and 375 g/m3 in summer - way beyond the safe limit of 60 g/m3.

Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, said: 'It is the repercussion of planning and designing satellite areas without taking connectivity into account.

'Noida has no rapid public transport system. Car dependency is huge and so is the traffic volume.'

In Ghaziabad, PM10 stands at 810 g/m3 in winter and 500 g/m3 in summer. PM2.5 reads 610 g/m3 in winter and 310 g/m3 in summer.

In Faridabad, PM2.5 in winter is 480 g/m3 and in summer 210 g/m3.

Nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, organic compounds, elemental carbon and total carbon clock is equally bad in Noida - much worse than in neighbouring Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

Noida has around 1.63 lakh private cars and 11,594 commercial taxis. The metro in Noida is always crowded, with an average footfall of 35,166 at the Noida City Center station.

Vikrant Tongad, an environmentalist working with Delhi-based Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE), commented: 'Thousands of heavy vehicles, including diesel-run trucks, criss-cross Noida every day.

'Most are destined for Punjab, Haryana and other states. Pollution checks at gas stations are very lax. Besides, adulterated petrol and diesel are sold here freely.'

There are over 100 brick kilns in Ghaziabad, besides more than 300 polluting industries including dyeing units, abattoirs, smelters, tanneries, textiles, chemical making and paper units. All of these are highly polluting.

'Additionally, Faridabad has the issue of being in the influence zone of the coal-powered Badarpur power plant,' Anumita added.

UPs Gautam Budh Nagar administration has recently taken some radical steps to curb road congestion and spiraling air pollution.

From January 1, working hours and timings of schools, shops, factories and corporate offices were altered in Noida, Greater Noida and other surrounding areas.

Weekly holidays have also been altered. All industrial units in Noida have also been asked to switch to piped natural gas by March 31 or face closure. IT firms have been urged to phase out diesel cars.

Green panel seeks Volkswagen emissions pledge

By Mail Today Reporter in New Delhi

Car giant Volkswagen has been ordered to stop selling vehicles from its brands Audi or Porche with 'emission-violating cheat devices' in India.

The National Green Tribunal asked that the company made the pledge by January 11 during a ruling made yesterday (Wednesday).

The Government of India said it has already sold 3.25 lakh such vehicles in India - the judicial bench said when such a mass violation occurs anywhere in the world, India suffers the most in the form of global warming and crop reduction.

It pointed out that India represents one-sixth of humanity with almost no public health support compared to Germany or the US.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries said it was considering penal action against Volkswagen for flouting emission norms.

The cheat or defeat device is a software in diesel engines to manipulate emission tests by changing the performance of the vehicles to improve results.

Reacting to the NGT order, Volkswagen later said in a statement that its cars are not fitted with any cheat device and do not violate Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) emission norms.

An affidavit filed by Ministry of Heavy Industries before a bench of Justice UD Salvi said the ministry had directed Volkswagen to initiate vehicle recall in India.

Volkswagen said it will be recalling the estimated 3.2 lakh affected vehicles in India.

On declaration of vehicle recall by the manufacturer, Ministry of Heavy Industries has immediately handed over the matter to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to examine penal provisions and decide further action related to continuation or otherwise of production.

The Tribunal, which stopped short of ordering a ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles in the country for allegedly flouting emission norms, also directed Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to place its investigation report by February 4, the next date of hearing.

'We do see gravity of the matter. You should not sell cars with defeat device and which are not compliant.

'Let Volkswagen give an undertaking that it would not sell any vehicle in India fitted with "cheat devices",' the bench said.

A Delhi-based school teacher and a few other residents had moved the Tribunal - seeking directions to disallow manufacturing, assembly and sale of vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen and its group companies until it was established that they were adhering to the prescribed norms in India.

Senior advocate Pinaki Misra, appearing for the car-maker, told the panel that there were no such devices in its vehicles and ARAI was already investigating the matter and its outcome was awaited.

Government to adopt stricter anti-pollution policy

By Mail Today Reporter in New Delhi

The government has decided to leapfrog current Bharat Stage IV emission norms for vehicles to the more stringent Bharat Stage (BS) VI standard from April 1 2020.

It announced the move on Tuesday, saying it would introduce the requirements by skipping the interim BS-V step as initially planned, in order to curb pollution.

The Bharat VI norms will now come into effect four years ahead of the earlier 2024 deadline and the public sector oil companies will invest `28,750 crore to tweak their refineries.

BS-IV norms are currently followed in the metros and North India and are scheduled to be extended to the entire country by April 1, 2017.

The decision to leapfrog to BSVI was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting attended by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

'The government has decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI directly by April 1, 2020.

'We have decided to skip BS-V emission norms. It is a bold decision and a commitment to environment, Gadkari said after the meeting.

'All the other ministries have assured cooperation to make the implementation successful', he added.

Gadkari said he was appealing to automobile manufacturers to cooperate in the larger interest of the country.
A few months ago, the Kerala police launched Operation Big Daddy, an online crackdown on paedophiles who allegedly posted hundreds of sexually suggestive comments in Malayalam alongside pictures of three and four-year-old children.

The comments were spotted on a Facebook page called Kochu Sundarikal (Malayalam for "little pretty girls").

The accused were arrested on a number of charges, including soliciting children for sex. The arrests led the Supreme Court to order a probe into online child sex rackets on social media.

Actress Alia Bhatt played the role of a girl who was abused by a relative in the film Highway

Last week, a section of women lawyers also filed a petition before the apex court, demanding castration as a punishment for child sex abusers.

Quoting the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics for the last six years, they cited an alarming 151 per cent increase in child rapes in the country as a reason for the extreme measure.

But how viable is the suggestion? The NCRB data does not have a separate category for registering crimes against pre-pubescent children, kids below 11 years who are the primary target of paedophiles, as the Indian law regards everyone below 18 years as a child or a minor.

(It is another matter, though, that naive minors above 16 years now have the potential to transform into adult monsters under the new juvenile law, if they commit heinous crimes.)

So it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of paedophiles in the country.

Moreover, conviction rates of people who commit crimes against all those who are classified as children under the Indian law itself are as low as 2.4 per cent.

If they are convicted, should castration also be extended to abusers of non-human minors? Mail Today recently reported a case of zoophilia where a teenager was admitted at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences for allegedly having sex with a calf. Since the animal involved is a minor, would the teenagers actions make him a zoopaedophile?

Incidentally, zoophilia, where the object of lust are animals, is an extremely rare sexual deviancy reported in one per cent of the population, and not the fall-out of watching online pornography as some doctors seem to suggest.

Zoophilia is a rare form of sexual deviancy that pre-dates online porn

Most sexual deviancies, including zoophilia, have pre-existing histories, writes psychologist Jesse Bering, citing examples from ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Indus Valley civilisations, in his book Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us.

What online porn might have done is pull together all those people who were previously marginalised on the basis of their sexuality, on a single platform.

Neither is there any scientific proof, other than our moralistic revulsion and the fact that an animal cannot give consent for sex, for the claim that adolescents who engage in bestiality will go on to commit adult interpersonal crimes.

Paedophilia, on the other hand, is regarded as an inherently harmful sexual deviancy by almost all researchers, including the American psychiatric manual DSM.

This is not the first time that castration has been recommended as a punishment for paedophiles. Citing examples of countries like the United States, Poland, Russia, South Korea and Indonesia, the Madras High Court in the past had called for castration as a silver bullet to prevent child sexual abuse.

Sadly, none of these countries are role models for sexually mature democracies. Even in the United States, where the punishment has been in vogue for decades, the drug for chemical castration has never been approved by the FDA, the American health agency, for use on sexual offenders.

Perhaps even more worryingly, a review evaluating research in English and Scandinavian languages on the effectiveness of medical interventions on people capable of sexually abusing children, published in the UK-based medical journal the BMJ in 2013, showed that under certain circumstances castration could increase the risk of sexual re-offending apart from raising ethical questions about the side-effects of the drug.

The best way, therefore, to protect your kids would be through conversation, not castration. For that the real daddies should play a more proactive role. Since most parents are too embarrassed to articulate the names of private body parts in front of their children, they should at least support the introduction of a comprehensive sexuality education programme in schools. This would encourage children to speak up and learn about the importance of boundaries, including unwanted touch, irrespective of from whom it comes, as a vast majority of rapists are known to their victims.

The role models India should follow on this are Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Germany, widely regarded as sexually tolerant and healthy societies with age-appropriate sexuality education programmes in place, and not the U.S or any of the aforementioned countries.

America may have a flourishing porn industry, but the country is as conflicted and politically hypocritical as India when it comes to imparting sex education in schools. In 1994, the then surgeon general Joycelyn Elders was forced to resign by, of all people, Bill Clinton, for her views on masturbation and the importance of teaching sex education in schools at an early age.

Of course, the surgeon generals marching orders came long before the president himself was in the dock over his sexual peccadilloes with White House intern Moica Lewinsky. So much for American openness.

How Germany tackled the dark net

The probe ordered by the Supreme Court into online paedophiles on social media is commendable, but not sufficient. The world over, paedophiles are moving on to discreet territories such as the dark net.

The dark net is a vast and lawless territory of the internet beyond the reach of conventional search engines, and provides almost absolute secrecy and a safe haven to all sorts of criminals, including paedophiles.

The dark net architecture is very different. Not even the service provider will be able to tell you who have visited, hosted or transmitted content, says Pawan Duggal, cyber expert and author Dark Net, Anonymity and Law.

The dark net, which operates beyond normal search engines, is the new den of paedophiles

In 2016, dark net will be a major problem. It is the area where all illegal activities including child pornography and online paedophiles thrive, says Duggal.

To access the dark net, all you need to do is download Tor, a free anonymising browser, which is reported to have over half a million users a day and counting.

A half a minute job for any curious, smart phone-savvy kid - yet the Indian law enforcement agencies seem to be clueless about its existence.

Both the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 and IT Act are silent on dark net, says Duggal.

In a few years, dark net will supersede superficial net, he warns.

The situation warrants creative approaches from the government in bringing about an attitudinal change in the mindset of a molester.

A novel campaign launched by the German government in 2004 to curb child sexual abuse may be worth exploring. Through a blitz of mass media campaign, the government encouraged self-identified paedophiles to reach out and get help from professionals instead of becoming an offender.
The one step forward and two steps back syndrome has returned to haunt India-Pakistan relations, as the proposed resumption of dialogue has descended into a now-predictable spin.

The six terrorists who breached the heavily-fortified Indian Air Force base at Pathankot might have failed to blow up Indias pride by destroying fighter jets on the tarmac, but they have certainly succeeded in shooting down peace doves jointly released by PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore last Christmas.

It was known that the warmth of hugs and the benevolence of smiles flowing in Sharifs homestead in Raiwind, upon receiving Modi, would be tested severely by the forces inimical to those scripting the paean of peace, but it was not expected that a wicked counter-plan would be executed so soon.

Soldiers at the IAF base in Pathankot

Just when the Indian and Pakistani officials were preparing for the resumption of dialogue for the first time in years on January 14-15, the terrorists pushed the subcontinent in another spell of gloomy uncertainty.

India so far has shown restrain in not blaming Pakistan directly for the attack, despite all the evidence collected so far establish that the terrorist strike was planned and executed by forces from across the border.

Islamabad has promised to act on the leads, and New Delhi has no other option but to wait.

Till the time results are seen, it will be difficult for the foreign secretaries to meet. New Delhi has indicated that it will put the dialogue in abeyance for now.

As the details of the Pathankot attack emerge, it is clear from the level of the terrorists' training and the ammunition they carried that they were prepared by professional military.
Shatrughan Sinha has been a vocal critic of his own party recently

Quips and counter-quips seem to have come to mark the BJPs internal equations, with party seniors too making the most of it.

At the launch of the BJPs internal critic shotgun Shatrughan Sinhas biography on Wednesday, Yashwant Sinha lost no opportunity to take potshots.

While LK Advani said Shatrugha was not given a third term as Rajya Sabha MP and was fielded for Lok Sabha as per party rule, Yashwant Sinha retorted by asking if the rule was meant only for the actor - an oblique reference to some current BJP leaders.

MP Kirti Azad was also present.

Supreme vacancy

With the National Judicial Appointments Commission set to become history and the collegium system being revived again, efforts are on to fill the five vacancies in the Supreme Court, which is presently functioning with 26 judges against a sanctioned strength of 31.

A record 10 judges have retired from the apex court in the past 14 months.

According to sources, Chief Justice of Delhi HC G Rohini and Chief Justice of Madras HC Sanjay Kishan Kaul, whose elevation has been pending since long, will be the first to make it to the SC.

Courtroom drama

There was humour in the Supreme Court when pleas by several auto majors seeking withdrawal of order banning sale of 2000 CC plus cars was being heard.

Expectedly, petitioners like Mercedes, Mahindra and Toyota had hired top lawyers like Kapil Sibal, Avishek Manu Singhvi and Harish Salve.

When Chief Justice TS Thakur asked, who is for and who is against the ban on Mercedes and SUVs ?, Sibal replied: irrespective of the stand of each one of us, there are many Mercedes owners in the courtroom drawing peals of laughter in the courtroom.

Under fire

The right-wing is up-in-arms against JNU vice-chancellor SK Sopory. A delegation of students met the SHO of Vasant Kunj (North) police station seeking an FIR against the terminated faculty member.

The SHO said he has written to JNU for the original complaint but was yet to hear from them. He further said an FIR has been lodged under Section 354 of the IPC as per the statement of the victim.

Once they receive the original complaint, the police will accordingly add extra sections to the FIR.

We demand the VC hand over the original complaint to the police without further delay, said Sharma.

Amit Jogi expelled

The Chhattisgarh Congress expelled party MLA Amit Jogi and passed a resolution seeking party high commands nod for termination of the membership of his father and states former CM Ajit Jogi over the Antagarh assembly bypoll audio tape row.
Constable Anand Khatri (not pictured) was posted at the Southwest cell of the polices anti-terrorism unit around three months ago

In a raid gone wrong, a 32-year-old constable posted with the anti-terrorist unit of Delhi Polices Special Cell was killed when he accidentally fired his AK-47 assault rifle while trying to nab a criminal in outer Delhis Rohini area, police said.

Constable Anand Khatri, a resident of Najafgarh in Southwest Delhi, was posted at the Southwest cell of the polices anti-terrorism unit around three months ago.

He was part of the raiding party that went into the building to apprehend the suspect.

During the operation, the bullet hit his chin. According to the police, the incident took place during the wee hours of Wednesday.

A Special Cell team went inside a single-storey building in Rohinis Sector 21 at around 5.30 am. After months of surveillance, the team laid a trap to arrest wanted criminal Ashok alias Sonu and his associates who were hiding there, a senior officer said.

Sonu (30), who is allegedly associated with Southwest Delhi-based gangster Manjit Mahal and history-sheeter Ravinder Bholu, was wanted in connection with nine criminal cases, including murder, extortion and robberies across Delhi-NCR and carried a reward of Rs 20,000 on his arrest.

A Special Cell team along with local police from the Begumpur police station reached and surrounded the single-storey house where Sonu was holed up.

He was hiding on the terrace but his associate fled. Khatri with his team climbed the terrace and nabbed Sonu. As the police team was in the process of bringing him down from the terrace, which had no permanent stairs, Khatri lost his balance and fell. In such operations, the guns are always locked. It was by the impact of the fall that the AK 47 went off and the bullet hit him, a senior police officer said.

Khatri fell down from the terrace and was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors. However, cops claim it was a case of accidental firing.

A crime team was sent to the spot to collect evidence in connection with the case and found blood stains on the terrace.

Khatris body was sent for post-mortem and his family was informed, police said.
Delhi could be faced with chaos after the toll concessionaire handling all 124 entry points into the city opted out of its contract with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

It will now cease operating on the night of January 31.

SMYR Consortium LLP had approached the Supreme Court in November, citing its inability to collect the newly-introduced environment cess and making a request to honourably exit the agreement with South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

The contract had come into effect only eight months ago, on May 16, 2015.

The toll concessionaire handling all 124 entry points into the Capital will only operate till January 31

On Thursday the SC allowed the company to walk out of the deal, which SMYR stated had become loss-making after the SC imposed an Environment Compensation Charge (ECC).

On October 9, the SC had ordered the levying of the extra charge - Rs 700 on light trucks and Rs 1,300 on heavy commercial vehicles - to bring down pollution levels in the city. The SC doubled the charge on December 16.

Think tanks like the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have repeatedly said that diesel-run trucks cause 30 per cent of the Particulate Matter (PM) pollution in Delhi.

SDMC spokesperson Mukesh Yadav told Mail Today on Thursday: Our legal cell is still studying the SC judgment and accordingly we will decide a future course of action. We may request the SC to ask SMYR to stay on till March or June at least.

Other SDMC officials, however, said on condition of anonymity that a state of utter turmoil could be foreseen.

An official said: With SMYR gone, we will now float a global tender which is not just a time-taking process but highly politically-motivated too. Framing the tender itself will take three to four months at least. Then, replies will come in 21 days, following which they will be studied and forwarded to the SDMC Standing Council. Last time, this whole process took full one year.

Even more importantly, he added, So many private agencies want to come into it (bid for it) without the right expertise. This is a tender worth over Rs 1,650 crore. After some time, these agencies stop payment to SDMC. SMYR was one of the first organised firms to take up the bid. They also had the necessary technical know-how to operate all the 124 entry points into Delhi.

Kritika Sachdeva, counsel for SDMC, said that SMYR had cited a financial loss of over Rs 7 crore since November when the ECC became applicable.

We gave our proposals to find a mid way out but SMYR insisted that either ECC be withdrawn or they will.

The case now stands disposed by SC.

Kishor Agrawal, a representative for SMYR, told Mail Today: Officially, we will collect toll for SDMC till February 1, 2016, 6am only.

He did not clarify if the company would re-bid in the fresh tender as and when it is floated by SDMC.

During the court hearing on Wednesday as well, the Supreme Court had said that it will not stand in the way if SMYR wants to opt out and asked MCD to make alternative arrangements.

When SMYR urged the court to withdraw the environment compensation charge, the court said that its decision was taken in the larger interest of Delhiites.
Rahul Gandhi has sent out a strong message to dissenters that he will not tolerate any anti-party activities, with the expulsion of Chhattisgarh lawmaker Amit Jogi.

Sources said Rahul is concerned over the infighting within the various state party units and wants the state leaders to stay united as he plans a revival of the Grand Old Party, which was reduced to mere 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Action against Amit Jogi, son of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, who is also a member of the all-powerful Congress Working Committee, was taken after serious deliberations over the pros and cons of the move.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is concerned over the infighting in Chhattisgarh

Ajit Jogi, who wields influence in parts of the tribal state, had been under suspicion since the Congress lost the 2013 Assembly polls to the BJP for a third consecutive term.

State party leaders and even some in the AICC used to talk in hush-hush tones how the Jogis could have dented the Congress from within.

Earlier in May 2013, fingers were pointed at the Jogis when the entire top layer of the state Congress leaders were killed in a Maoist attack at Darbha in Bastar, but there was no proof to take the matter forward.

Since then, Ajit Jogi who had been demanding a free hand to run the party in the tribal state, has been constantly at loggerheads with the PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel.

Sources said Rahuls tough line on not entertaining the dissenters is not limited to Chhattisgarh alone and pointed out that he did not buy the threats of former Assam minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma, who joined the BJP recently.
The Delhi governments decision to scrap all quotas except for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) for nursery admissions has left private schools shocked.

Questions were left unanswered as the government took a decision over a matter which is still pending with the Delhi High Court.

Various schools had moved the Delhi HC over the governments decision to scrap the management quota.

Many have questioned the state goverments move, as the case is still pending with the Delhi High Court

This is a contempt of court. How can they issue an order on the matter which is still pending with the court? If they wanted to change the criteria, the ideal way was to consult the court, S K Bhattacharya, president of Action Committee for Unaided Private Schools told Mail Today.

On Wednesday, Kejriwal had said: What is management quota? Under it, you get admission if someone is recommended by a chief minister, education minister, judge, police commissioner, SHOs or by an income tax official. It is either recommendations or seats are sold.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had described the management quota as "the biggest scandal in the country".

"Management quota is the biggest scandal in the country. 75 per cent admissions in the private schools will be under open category. Other than EWS category, there will be no other quota."

According to sources, management quota is a reflection of the larger autonomy of private schools and the government is trying to interfere in it.

Private schools under the constitution have been given certain autonomy which is being interfered by the successive government, a senior official said.

However, the move has drawn a mixed response from the education community and parents. While some are expressing happiness over the move, others feel that the ongoing tussle between the government and private schools should have been sorted out amicably.

The government has decided to scrap all quotas, including management quota, from the schools.

Seeing the DOEs latest notification, both, the schools and department need to sit and iron out issues lest others will laugh at Delhi. If the first child is discriminatory, so is sibling as both deprive others. If management quota is discriminatory, so is admission to wards of management. Yes, the management quota, if exercised, has to be very judicious, transparent and for the needy not desirous, Sushil Singh, a parent said.

The government also scrapped 62 arbitrary and discriminatory criteria listed by the schools on their websites for admissions. The decision came in the midst of the admission process for nursery classes in over 2,500 private schools in the Capital.

The matter is already sub judice and therefore it is surprising that the government has come with such order without waiting for the judgment, said Ashok Pandey, Principal, Ahlcon International School and Chairman, National Progressive Schools Conference (NPSC).

The admissions to nursery class have already started. Why they have taken any decision in the middle of the admission process? Half of the parents have even filled the admission form keeping in mind various criteria, what will they do now? a principal said, requesting anonymity.

Private schools have decided to come out with their future action plan regarding the issue.

Centre wants Sanskriti seats for lower-rung babus' kids too

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

The central government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the wards of government employees, other than Group-A central government officials, can also be provided with admission under the 60 per cent quota, which was earlier meant only for children of this section in the prestigious Sanskriti School.

The Union Of India had already filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court in which we said that the School has been advised to grant reservation in admissions to the wards of Group B and C employees as well, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, told the bench headed by Justice AR Dave which fixed the matter for passing an interim order on January 11.

The government and the school administration had sought an interim order allowing the institution to continue with the admission process under the old scheme till the matter was finally decided by the apex court.

They said the nursery admission procedure began on January 1 and the school was already behind schedule. They had challenged the Delhi High Court decision to set aside the 60 per cent quota for wards of group-A government officials, who are in the highest class of government servants, in the prestigious school.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, said he was personally not in favour of granting 60 per cent reservation to wards of group-A central government officials, but there should be some avenues for the wards of other officers also who get transferred often to various places or sent to offshore assignments.

This is a complex issue where you cannot find a solution in a day or two. May be a statutory provision is needed, Sibal said, adding that a school run by a society may not grant 60 per cent reservation and this is the heart of the problem.
Sanjay, 25, died in hospital after being mistaken for a thief and savagely beaten

A young man has paid with his life after being mistaken for an apple thief at the Capitals Azadpur Mandi.

On Wednesday night, an angry mob brutally beat up 25-year-old Sanjay and his friend Raunak after they thought the duo were stealing a carton of apples.

While Sanjay died in hospital, Raunak is undergoing treatment, a senior police officer said.

A case has been registered in this regard and the main accused was arrested by the police on Thursday.

According to police sources, the accused Sanju was in an inebriated state when the incident occurred and there was no personal rivalry between him and the victims.

Sanjay and his friend Raunak worked as labourers who used to load and unload fruit and vegetable cartons at the wholesale market.

The incident occurred around 9.30pm on Wednesday when Sanjay and Raunak were walking out of the market with a carton of apples.

After mistaking them for thieves, a group of guards allegedly thrashed them.

An inebriated Sanju, who was one of the guards, then took the injured duo to his rented room where he tied them up to chairs and thrashed them severely.

Some locals in the area called up the police and the duo was rushed to a hospital, where Sanjay died and Raunak is still recovering, a police officer connected with the investigation said.

On Thursday, angry family members and locals staged a protest over the law and order situation in the area and alleged police inaction in the case.

Locals shout slogans after the incident at Azadpur wholesale market left one man dead and his friend receiving hospital treatment

When the police reached the area to arrest Sanju, some locals pelted stones at the team and a few officers were injured, a source said.

Agitated locals also allegedly ransacked some vehicles.

The situation was brought under control after senior officers intervened in the matter and Sanjays body was sent for a post-mortem examination.
Parliamentary Minister Venkaiah Naidu had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi

Keeping its efforts on for the passage of pro-reform Bills, the Modi government on Thursday reached out to the main Opposition Congress.

Parliamentary Minister Venkaiah Naidu had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi where the former indicated that the Budget session could be held in advance for passage of these Bills.

The Centre is keen on passing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform and the Real Estate Bill, but the Congress stands as an impediment in its way, especially in the Rajya Sabha where the government does not enjoy a majority.

Opposition support is needed and Naidu therefore sought the cooperation of the Congress party in the passage of Bills.

Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi that the government was ready to call an early Budget session if required and if all parties agree to it.

Sources said the government is enthused with unequivocal support announced by a number of regional parties to the GST Bill, and is toying with the idea of convening the Budget session earlier than its normal schedule in the third week of February.

However, it would like the Congress to be on board on this decision.

After a 20-minute long meeting with Gandhi at her residence, Naidu said that he met Gandhi in his capacity as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and asked the Congress chief to take a final stand on the two pending Bills.
A Chinese state-run company on Thursday announced plans to go ahead with a mega dam in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the latest indicator of Beijing moving forward with major projects in the region despite Indias strong opposition.

One of Chinas biggest state-run hydropower companies, the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) which manages the 22,500 MW Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river - the worlds largest dam - has signed an agreement to develop the Kohala hydropower project in PoK, the firm said in a statement posted on its website.

This 1,100 MW dam will come up on the Jhelum River, downstream from Muzaffarabad in PoK. The total investment in the project is estimated at $2.4 billion.

The 1,100 MW dam will come up on the Jhelum River, downstream from Muzaffarabad in PoK

Both countries had agreed on a 30-year tariff for the dam, according to Pakistani media reports.

The deal for the dam underlines Chinas willingness to go forward with major projects in PoK, despite Indias consistent opposition.

Indian officials have pointed out Chinas objections to joint exploration projects between India and Vietnam in the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by Beijing.

Beijing, however, has said the purely commercial projects were without prejudice to the Kashmir issue and that it was not taking a position on territorial disputes between India and Pakistan.

The Kohala dam has been billed as a key project in the new China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) venture that envisages widening the Karakoram Highway, exploring a railway link and a number of energy and infrastructure projects in a corridor connecting Kashgar, in Chinas far western Xinjiang region, through PoK, to the Gwadar port in Pakistan on the Arabian Sea that is built and managed by China.

The CPEC has been pushed by President Xi Jinping as a key pillar of his pet Belt and Road initiative, referring to a Silk Road Economic Belt connecting China to Central Asia, Europe, and a Maritime Silk Road to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

The CPEC, emerging as a key part of the project, is a significant reason for India declining to officially support the Belt and Road, which has been backed by most of Indias neighbours.

India has rebuffed Beijings requests to refer to the Belt and Road in joint statements and declined official backing in the project.

Initially, Indias official stand was that as the Belt and Road was a domestic initiative of Chinas, there was no need to back it as a national initiative. That stand has since been somewhat toned down, with most of Indias neighbours, including Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asian countries backing the plan.

New Delhi has since said that it would cooperate with China where there was synergy between the Belt and Road and Indias own Act East initiative.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in motion an exhaustive plan to reboot two of his pet projects - Swachh Bharat Mission and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Despite much hype surrounding the two schemes, there has not been much progress on the ground.

The PM has told officials that enough is enough, and it is time for real action, Mail Today has learnt.

PM Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission around 15 months ago, but there has not been enough progress on the ground. Many believe the initial enthusiasm has been waning.

After Modis meeting with secretaries about a week ago, where it was emphasised that India needs something dramatic to rev up the two clean-up projects, the government has formed a group of secretaries from select ministries to work out revised action plans.

Signaling a course correction, the group is talking to ministries, states, industry, civil society and local bodies. The renewed focus is on peoples involvement, sustainability and time-bound results.

The action plan is expected with a roadmap to achieve the desired deliverables within a specified time-frame, reads a government communication.

Senior officials have been told to be thoroughly conversant with the details of the PMs flagship projects. They will also be asked to travel to states for better implementation.

Apart from the Ganga rejuvenation and Swachh Bharat, there are six more projects Modi wants to be executed effectively.

On each one, a joint secretary is doing inter-ministry coordination, it has been learnt. As part of the consultations, environment and forests secretary, Ashok Lavasa, and about a dozen officials on Wednesday met environmentalists for their inputs.

The secretary has to prepare and submit his action plans to the prime ministers office (PMO).

Saving the Ganga has also been on top of the Modi governments agenda. About 450 million people depend on the river.

Those who met Lavasa, who is the nodal officer of the group of secretaries, include Ravi Agarwal (Toxics Link), Bharati Chaturvedi (Chintan Group), Suresh Babu (WWF India), Sunita Narain (CSE), Manoj Misra (Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan), besides two experts from Varanasi.

Similar consultations are also happening with ministries, states, industry, civil society and local bodies.

Modi wielded the broom in Delhi 15 months ago to launch the Swachh Bharat Mission, fuelling hopes of cleaner public places, better waste management and eradication of open defecation in villages by 2019.

While toilet building has picked up pace, and Modi has been able to nudge people into caring for hygiene, many believe the initial enthusiasm has been waning.

Agarwal said community participation was a must at the ground level, but it has to be backed by an official mechanism.

People may start segregating garbage at source, but everything will eventually be mixed up and dumped at landfills. The load will not reduce, he said. He said there were enough rules, but the execution had been poor.

Even if 30 per cent rules are strictly implemented, Swachh Bharat would be a reality, he said.

It was also argued that that the informal sector must be included in Swachh Bharat, and polluting waste-to-energy plants were no solution, but composting of organic waste was.

Another environmentalist, invited for inputs, said at the meeting that the government must go for de-centralised systems as 50 per cent of waste management funds go in collection and transportation of garbage.

Suggestions were also made to promote mass shramdaan and peer learning.

The current narrative is still around collect, transport, dispose. Municipalities need to embrace reduce, recycle, repair, compost to ensure real zero waste situations, admitted an official.

Similarly, saving the Ganga has also been on top of Modi governments agenda.

Way back in the mid-1980s, the government launched the first leg of Ganga Action Plan (GAP), embarking on a mission to clean up Indias holiest - but one of the most polluted - river. But three decades and thousands of crores later, the rivers water quality has gone from bad to worse.

The Modi government in May last year came up with a Namami Gange project worth Rs 20,000 crore. The project looks at having floating debris collected and cleaned off the river surface in 10 cities to bring about a visible change.

During the January 5 meeting, it was said the Ganga needs a national policy, a Ganga law and a fully-empowered authority to plan, oversee and execute cleanup activities on the ground in collaboration with all interested. Also, its rejuvenation is possible only when its contributing rivers are cared for.

About 450 million people depend on the river, which in its 2,500 km journey flows from the Gangotri in the Himalayas to Diamond Harbour in the Bay of Bengal.

The Ganga is dying because its flow has been dwindling. There is loss of catchment vegetation, encroachment of floodplains, excessive extraction of sand, boulders, fish and turtles, besides pollution from industrial, agricultural and sewage sources. All this needs to be addressed, said a participating environmentalist.

It was also suggested that MPs and MLAs should mobilise, discuss with communities and produce action plans. Implementation should be people-centric and transparent.
Rani Mukerji is among the most reticent celebrities in Bollywood

A day after a Pakistani news website quoted Rani Mukerjis viewpoints on the referendum in Kashmir through a tweet attributed to her, the Bollywood actor has denied she gave the quote.

A statement issued by her office announced that Rani has never been a part of social media.

This is to reiterate that Rani Mukerji is not on any social media platform and has never been in the past. There are several imposters who are operating various handles in her name, so we request you to disregard the same, the statement said.

On Tuesday night, a Pakistani website called The News International quoted @_rani_mukerji as saying that the actress would like to see a joint referendum by India and Pakistan to deduce what Kashmiris want.

I believe both India and Pakistan should leave everything aside & work toward a referendum on what the Kashmiris want #KashmirPendinginUN (sic), went the tweet attributed to @_rani_mukerji.

An earlier tweet coming from the handle said Pakistan was the biggest victim of terrorism.

Rani and her filmmaker husband Aditya Chopra became proud parents of a baby girl in December. The couple have named their daughter Adira, after the first halves of the names Aditya and Rani.

Rani, like Aditya, is known to be among the most reticent celebrities in Bollywood. She normally shies away from interacting with the press and is rarely seen on the party scene. She belongs to a minority B-Town brigade that has avoided being active on social media.

The 37-year-old actress has been popular in Pakistan in the past, ever since she impressed with her role of a morally upright Pakistani lawyer in the 2004 blockbuster Veer-Zaara, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

The movie was produced by Aditya-helmed Yash Raj Films and was directed by Adis dad, the late Yash Chopra.

Ranis fan base in the neighbouring country has only increased with the years since Veer-Zaara.

The actor married Aditya Chopra in 2014, and has let her career move at a relaxed pace since then.
Commando Gursevak Singh died in the Pathankot gunfight

Western Air Command Chief SB Deo, who was present at the Pathankot airbase during the operation against the terrorists, visited the family of Garud commando Gursevak Singh who laid down his life in the gun battle.

Gursevak Singh was the sole casualty in the actual gunfight.

Six others who died were the unarmed personnel of the Defence Security Corps, a force of retired soldiers, and one NSG officer, whose death was attributed to accidental explosion caused during the clearing of the body of the one of the terrorists.

IGI DIG pulled up

Taking a break during high alert in Delhi proved to be an unpleasant start to the New Year for Deputy Inspector General of the Delhi airport.

DIG, Delhi Airport was given a memo issued by ADG CISF after he took a long leave without taking proper permission from superiors.

The top brass of the CISF is not happy with the DIG as he went on leave when Delhi is on high alert and the airport is facing multiple terror threats.

What has also irked top officials is that they were kept in the dark about his absence as the officer in question went on leave at a sensitive time.

Change of guard

The government is hoping that the ongoing protests at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) will die down with the nomination of BP Singh as chairman of the academic council of the institute.

Students who protested the joining of chairperson Gajendra Chauhan however said it was only an eyewash.

BP Singh, the producer of TV serial CID, was recently made member of the institutions governing council recently. He is also an alumnus of FTII Pune.

Students have been protesting for months against Chauhans appointment.

Corruption check

Retired employees and government employees with impeccable integrity will now be a part of inquiries against government officials who have been accused of corruption.

The move is aimed at checking the delays in completion of graft cases. The Department of Personal Training (DoPT) has come out with an order stating that panels of retired officers and those with spotless records of service from the ministries or departments would be maintained by their respective cadre controlling authorities for conducting departmental inquiries against delinquent officials.

AIR's tweet route

Buoyed by massive response to All India Radios (AIR) outreach programme on various social media platforms, the national news broadcaster has initiated a feedback drive on micro blogging site Twitter.

AIR started the feedback initiative through the hashtag #ExpressToAIRNews.

The feedback response on Twitter has been overwhelming, said AIR officials, claiming there is a huge demand for news from across the country.
The decision by the FCA last week to ditch its major inquiry into bank culture beggars belief.

Announced in the quiet period between Christmas and New Year, when most commentators were eating the last of the turkey, it marked the moment when the UK government and its increasingly supine regulator, the FCA, abjectly surrendered to the will of the banking community.

While it is certainly the case that since 2008 banks have more regulatory hurdles to jump through, nothing effective has been done to address the culture and incentives that have led bankers to engage in a spectrum of appalling conduct including excessive risk taking, mis-selling, rate rigging, sanctions evasion, money laundering and the facilitation of crime.

Culture: To fix a boiler a heating engineer must be qualified and certified, but to run a bank capable of wreaking economic catastrophe a bank director needs only to be connected to the right people

What links all of these harmful practices is a deeply flawed industry culture - an issue that increased box ticking does not address.

The FCAs decision to ditch its inquiry will set back years the task of addressing this critical issue. What led to the FCAs decision was an uncritical genuflection to the merest hint dropped by the city that some of its number might seek to exploit arbitrage opportunities by relocating to friendlier climes; a form of corruption in which the FCA, created to act in the public interest, has instead advanced the commercial concerns of the banks that dominate the industry it is charged to regulate.

Such regulatory capture is economically unnecessary and politically unedifying.

Good parents know well enough not to react to a toddlers temper tantrums. It appears that the FCA and George Osborne are yet to learn that lesson.

Worryingly, nobody within the UK government seems to have calculated that if the cost of further bad bank behaviour is another taxpayer funded bailout and a trebling of the national debt, the UK's economic interests might in fact be better served by encouraging sabre rattling banks to leave.

Akin to a patient with a contagious illness, banks have been released from quarantine without the FCA first having completed a thorough diagnosis despite them posing an ongoing threat to themselves and the public at large.

Which leads us to consider the causal factors that underpin the continuum of harmful bank conduct. How is excessive risk taking linked to rate rigging, sanctions evasion and the facilitation of bribery?

Calling the shots? Good parents know well enough not to react to a toddlers temper tantrums. It appears that the FCA and George Osborne are yet to learn that lesson

The answers relate to one over-riding truth, that despite (or perhaps because of) the systemic importance of banks, they and their senior officials continue to enjoy beneficial treatment in relation to authorisation, and crucially, enforcement both of which manifest in a culture of brass necked impudence.

Despite bringing the world to the edge of economic catastrophe in 2008 there is still no requirement for UK bank directors to be professionally qualified or even to have their technical competence and human factors suitability tested.

Bank directors are a privileged caste and (more or less) a law unto themselves

In the U.S. the position is even worse with a requirement that directors only have a basic understanding of the banking industry.

Thirty years ago amateurs running banks could do only limited damage but what the crisis taught us was that bank products, services and markets are now so complex and inter-connected that the inherent risks can only be fully comprehended and managed by directors who place greater importance by technical proficiency than they do by the old boys network.

Consider the contrast in standards imposed on bankers and other professionals including pilots, lawyers, accountants, doctors, nurses, teachers all of whom have to demonstrate a high degree of technical proficiency to practice.

To fix a boiler a heating engineer must be qualified and certified, but to run a bank capable of wreaking economic catastrophe a bank director needs only to be connected to the right people.

Targets: On the rare occasions when enforcement action is taken against banks who is it targeted at? Not the directors but the faceless corporations that pay the fines

The FCA does authorise directors but the process does not involve a rigorous assessment of technical know how and in consequence some incompetent directors continue to have their feet under the boardroom table.

Since 2008, the absence of stringent technical competency requirements has led not to the emergence of a much needed meritocracy at the top of the banking industry but the perpetuation of a club.

Bank directors are a privileged caste and (more or less) a law unto themselves. They are ill equipped to engender the right attitudes and behaviours and in consequence they get the organisational behaviour they deserve.

When a bank is suspected by the FCA of having misbehaved and its conduct requires to be examined. the regulator requests the bank to 'select' from an approved list a firm of external auditors to conduct the enquiry. In what other walk of life does a person suspected of wrongdoing have the opportunity to choose who interrogates them? Why is this clear conflict of interest regarded as acceptable for banks but not to everybody else?

The situation is even more objectionable and surprising when one considers that many of the firms selected by banks to undertake the examinations, themselves derive enormous fees from the banking industry for audit and consultancy services.

Jailed: Prosecutions of mid or low ranking operatives such as the Libor rigger Tom Hayes (pictured) divert attention from the conduct of the senior bank directors who were ultimately responsible for stewarding the environments in which the bent conduct took place

It is difficult to conceive of a starker example of the divide between the treatment by the state of big business and ordinary citizens.

On the rare occasions when enforcement action is taken against banks who is it targeted at? Not the directors but the faceless corporations that pay the fines. Just as drug dealers and tax evaders take shelter behind anonymous shell companies, so bank directors are able to leave the ramparts exposed to attack as they scuttle deep inside their organisations beyond the reach of the law.

Prosecutions of mid or low ranking operatives such as the Libor rigger Tom Hayes divert attention from the conduct of the senior bank directors who were ultimately responsible for stewarding the environments in which the bent conduct took place.

The anatomy of bank scandals and the enforcement responses to them have not changed over the decades. We have learnt nothing. The parallels between the behaviours and prosecutions of the original rogue trader Nick Leeson and Tom Hayes are startling and yet nobody has stopped to ask why the very public prosecution of Leeson twenty years ago was not followed by an improvement in banker behaviour?

Satiated by the prosecution and lengthy sentence meted out to Tom Hayes we are making the same mistake again by not focusing more attention on the class of senior officers who have it in their gift to alter bank culture.

Empty regulation: Imposing bigger capital ratio requirements on banks is the equivalent of putting more sprinklers in to a house full of arsonists

Prosecutions or regulatory action not against institutions or patsies but against directors, present an unparalleled opportunity to demonstrate just how serious the consequences are of harmful bank conduct and to encourage behavioural and cultural change.

The decision by the FCA to scrap its inquiry comes against the background of not one senior officer of a UK bank having been held accountable for any of the harmful behaviours listed in this article.

The ongoing impunity of bankers despite the enormous economic and societal harm they have wrought has caused many ordinary people to question, not unreasonably, whether the UK can justifiably claim to treat everyone equally before the law.

Imposing bigger capital ratio requirements on banks is the equivalent of putting more sprinklers in to a house full of arsonists.

What if the fire is even bigger next time? Isn't it essential that we begin after so many failed responses to former crises, to examine why the bankers keep starting the fires in the first place? That essentially was what the FCA inquiry into bank culture was designed to do. It was on any measure a critical post crisis exercise. Now that it has been scrapped the countdown to the next banking scandal has started.
Worries: Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe will release the group's third-quarter or Christmas trading statement on January 13

As if Sainsburys chief executive Mike Coupe did not have enough to worry about, what with growing competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl who recently achieved a combined 10pc share of the British grocery market for the first time.

Yesterday, sellers dragged shares of the UKs second biggest supermarket down 1.5p to 264.9p on hearing that the UKs competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Sainsburys 125million sale of its pharmacy chain to the owner of Lloyds Pharmacy.

The Competition and Markets Authority said that Celesio, which owns Lloyds, had failed to alleviate concerns that the deal might affect consumer choice.

The CMA recently came to the conclusion that the sale of 277 Sainsburys stores to Celesio might affect customers in 78 areas and it had not been able to reach a positive conclusion on whether the merger gives rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.

It now appears that the phase two investigation by the CMA could mean a significant delay to the deal closing, after Sainsburys initially had hoped to complete by February.

In the meantime, Coupe will release the groups third-quarter or Christmas trading statement on January 13.

Despite many dealers deciding to stay at home to finish off the turkey or return unwanted Christmas presents, the Footsie made good progress on Scrooge-like volumes. It closed 59.93 points up at 6314.57, while the FTSE 250 climbed 154.29 points to 17,569.39. Wall Street provided some late inspiration, jumping 192.71 points to 17720.98.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals was top performer at 2358p, up 107p, and almost 18pc higher on the year. Institutions have been nibbling away since it paid 1.7billion to buy Roxane Laboratories, the US generic drugs arm of Germanys Boehringer Ingelheim.

The deal made it the sixth-largest firm by revenue in the US generics market and analysts gave the thumbs up. Barclays target price is 2760p.

Xavier Rolets London Stock Exchange has enjoyed an excellent 2015. Its shares advanced 78p to 2780p and are an impressive 25 per cent up on the year.

The 1.8billion takeover of Russell Investments ticked all the boxes as far as City number crunchers are concerned and Londons premier bourse recently reported that 40billion had been raised on the exchange by the end of November.

Housebuilders erected good gains on news of record UK prices and hopes that UK interest and mortgage rates will stay at basement levels for longer.

Taylor Wimpey put on 7p to 204.2p, Persimmon 67p to 2040p, Barratt Developments 18p to 634p and Berkeley Group 98p to 3711p.

Financial services giant Hargreaves Lansdown added 41p at 1523p. Group interim results are scheduled for early February.

Sellers were back at mining giant Anglo American, 20.7p down at 307.35p. It followed reports that former Aussie coal baron Nathan Tinkler could be interested in buying its Dartbrook coal mine.

On hopes that it enjoyed a bumper Christmas trading period, All Bar One-to-Harvester bar and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers jumped 18.8p to 340.2p. With billionaire investor Joe Lewis sitting on 26.6 per cent of the equity and Irish multi-millionaires John Magnier and JP McManus holding a further 23 per cent anything could happen in 2016.

Tool and equipment rental group Speedy Hire, in which Toscafund and Schroders own a combined 25 per cent, advanced 3.12p to 42p on revived private equity takeover hopes. This month Speedy said it was not considering a merger with HSS Hire, 0.5p easier at 71p.

UK Mail is friendless at 247.25p, down 22.75p or 8 per cent. Chief executive Guy Buswell stepped down in November by mutual consent and a replacement has yet to be found.

Melrose Industries eased 1.2p to 293.1p despite completing the 3.3billion disposal of its Elster business to Honeywell International and proposing a return of 2.4billion cash to shareholders, equivalent to 240p per share.

Buyers chased Sound Energy 1.25p higher to 15.75p after the upstream oil and gas company announced a field management agreement with Schlumberger in relation to the Tendrara licence.

Avocet Mining eased 0.2pc to 2.25p. An arbitration verdict ruled in its favour with regards to a dispute with J&P Partners, the buyer of its South East Asian mines in 2011. This removed an important threat to the short-term liquidity of the company.

Scrappy selling left ZincOx Resources 0.725p, or 42 per cent, lower at a penny after dealers heard that the company will have to hand over 90 per cent of its main operational business to its creditors after failing to coax investors into raising crucial funds.

During January and possibly February, 90 per cent of the wholly- owned Korean subsidiary, ZincOx Korea will be transferred to Korea Zinc.
Ryanair ended the year with another month of rising passengers numbers as it announced it will begin to operate from a new base in Belfast from March.

The Dublin-based carrier said it carried 7.5million in December, up 25 per cent from 6million the year before. Its load factor, or how many seats it filled, also rose to 91 per cent from 88 per cent.

The airline said it will operate a 4 times daily service from Belfast to London Gatwick, with five new routes to follow in October.

Take off: Ryanair will operate a new base from Belfast from March, with four flights daily to London Gatwick

The flights will maintain the slots previously operated by Aer Lingus, another Irish carrier that had to offload them as a condition of its takeover by BA owner IAG.

A total of three Ryanair aircraft representing an investment of $300million (206million) will be based in Belfast.

Belfast International Airport managing director Graham Keddie hailed the announcement as significant and far-reaching and joined Ryanairs call for a cut in air passenger duty.

Despite the damaging Air Passenger Duty, this announcement shows Belfast International can defy the odds. Just imagine what we could achieve if the 'yoke' of APD were removed (as it has been in the Republic of Ireland)?

Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien said it would be a missed opportunity for Northern Ireland if APD was not removed.

If this tax is going to be there, we might as well minimise the amount of flying we have to do to carry passengers, flying for less than an hour rather than flying three hours over to Berlin or wherever it is.

If you fly less distances on established routes against carriers that are unable to compete against you it seems to make more economic sense rather than take a punt at flying three times as far for unknown returns.

easyJet reported rising passenger numbers, although it blamed a drop in bookings on the Paris terror attacks

The air passenger duty is a tax paid to the Government by travellers departing from airports in the UK and it varies depending on the class of travel and the final destination.

Adult passengers flying economy on short haul flights to European destinations currently pay 13 per person in APD, while those flying in higher classes pay double at 26.

Dublin has abolished its air passenger duty and has seen a massive increase in passenger numbers.

Many travellers from Northern Ireland use services there where fares can be lower because of the different tax system. However removing APD could result in a large reduction in the block grant from Westminster which runs public services in Northern Ireland.

The news comes as rival easyJet also reported rising passenger numbers, although it blamed a drop in bookings on the Paris terror attacks.

The low-cost airline carried 4.8million passengers in December, a 4.6 per cent increase on a year earlier. But the load factor fell from 88.4 per cent to 86.6 per cent, because of the attacks in the French capital, the airline said.

Yesterday Hungarian airline Wizz Air also reported a 22 per cent rise in passengers in December, boosted by people flying home from Britain to visit family in Eastern Europe for the festive period.
A pensioner from Melbourne battling cancer has been slugged $2000 for up to 20 speeding, parking and unpaid toll fines in just over six months and he doesn't even drive a car.

Dave Woolley, 63, claims he has been nominated as the driver of a white 2007 Toyota Aurion with Queensland licence plates each time it has been caught over the speed limit or been parked illegally.

Mr Woolley says four of the fines were successfully appealed because they were issued when he was in The Alfred Hospital undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.

'This car has been running around Melbourne clocking up seed camera fines, parking fines and road fines,' he said.

Catalogue of fines: Mr Woolley claims the speed camera offences have been continually sent to him after he has been nominated as the driver of a Toyota Aurion each time it's caught speeding in Victoria

The first offence dates back to 20 May last year and the speeding offences alone have topped $1200 with parking fines and toll offences sending the amount owed over $2000. Mr Woolley says he is not the driver

Dave Woolley says he has been nominated as the driver of this Toyota which has been racking up countless fines across Victoria. The 63-year-old has been sent more than 20 speeding, parking and toll penalties

Dave Woolley (right) says despite challenging all the fines the most recent penalty was issued just two weeks ago. He insists his only mode of transport in recent years has been his aging bus (left)

This Toyota Aurion has been picked up speeding and parking illegally more than 20 times and Mr Woolley, 63, has been nominated as the driver each time, he claims

Infrigement notices show the Toyota, which Mr Woolley is alleged to have been driving, was picked up by speed cameras several times in less than 24 hours last August

Mr Woolley says he receives regular infringement notices for the Toyota and spends 'time and money' fighting the charges and trying to get them closed

'Whoever it is has nominated me as the driver.'

He started receiving penalties in June last year, with the first penalty registered on May 20.

'The police only said it was a company car, they weren't interested and wouldn't say who,' he added.

'(But) I was in hospital for a lot of it.

'I'm on a pension. I have never seen this car (and) this year I have not driven anything but heavy unregistered vehicles on permits.'

The speeding offences vary from 47kph in a 40 zone in Melbourne's CBD, to 63kph in a 50 zone at Lilydale right up to 112 in a 100 speed limit on the highway at Bonnie Doon.

Mr Woolley admits he has an anti-establishment streak but claims he has an impeccable driving record.

'Over 40 years almost totally clean.'

Four of the speeding fines were racked up inside 24 hours last August by the mystery driver.

He fears someone has been trying to 'set me up'.

'I had most to deal with while I was sickest,' Mr Woolley said.

'(They) took two small remaining tumours and pathology showed all clear ... the worst side effects had me flat on my back for over a month.

'I've been incapable of driving for several of the last few months.'

Mr Woolley says he is forced to spend time fighting the fines 'but they keep coming'.

'There's enough points to have me walking for years.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria Police about his claims.
A much-loved dog has died after eating rat poisoned chicken in a busy Sydney park.

Christian Acuna was walking his twin beagle-cocker spaniels in Queens Park, in Sydney's east, when they wandered off and ate what looked like boiled chicken breast they found hidden in a bush.

But the pet owner thought nothing of it until later that afternoon when the 18-month-old dogs started vomiting.

Much-loved dog Mila (pictured) died after eating rat poisoned chicken in a busy Sydney park

Owner Christian Acuna was walking his twin beagle-cocker spaniels (pictured) in Queens Park, in Sydney's east, when they wandered off and ate what looked like boiled chicken breast they found hidden in a bush

Mr Acuna rushed them to the vet the next morning just to make sure nothing major was wrong, but Mila quickly suffered liver failure and died four days before Christmas. Sunny made a full recovery

Mr Acuna rushed them to the vet the next morning just to make sure nothing major was wrong, but Mila quickly suffered liver failure and died four days before Christmas. Sunny made a full recovery.

'The vet team treated Mila for dehydration as she showed signs of it when I first took her, Mr Acuna told Daily Mail Australia.

'Then she was treated with Vitamin K as a rat anti-venom, had plasma and blood transfusions and every night she was taken to a 24-hour emergency service.

'The vet team were distraught to lose Mila as they have been treating my dogs since day one.

'My dogs are twins and they spend every minute of Milas life together, sleeping, playing and enjoying a fantastic adventurous doggy life.'

Queens Park is monitored by Centennial Parklands and Mr Acuna has reported the incident to the organisation and local dog walking agencies to make other dog owners aware.

'The vet team treated Mila for dehydration as she showed signs of it when I first took her, Mr Acuna told Daily Mail Australia

Mr Acuna and Sunny are have been left shaken by Mila's sudden death and are hoping the incident acts as a warning to other owners

The business owner and Sunny are have been left shaken by Mila's sudden death and are hoping the incident acts as a warning to other owners.

'I did not expect this ending for Mila as I had always envisioned both my dogs to grow old and die together,' he added.

'As a Buddhist I believe I will see her somewhere, one day. Sunny is bouncing back faster than me.

'At the beginning she was hiding under the bed for a couple of days, but I took her every day several times a day to the vet to see her sister and I believe Mila said good bye to Sunny somehow.

'I am not sure how people have the guts to act this way. Perhaps they were trying to kill wildlife which is as bad.
Heavy rain has hit NSW over the past three days causing flash flooding

He is pulled along by a tow truck winch tied to his rope

At one point he pulls up onto the concrete wall of the drain

The man skims along in the drain which is flooded with storm water

The horribly wet and wintry conditions in New South Wales hasn't stopped one man from getting a fix of summer water sports.

A video posted online on Monday shows the moment he glides along an inner-city storm water drain on a wake board.

'Its p***ing down rain here in Sydney right now. Here's how we make the most of it Aussie style,' wrote the extreme wake boarder.

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Hang time: The man skims along in the drain which is flooded with storm water

In the video, the man is pulled by a rope tied to what looks like a tow truck, which is reeled in at speed, giving the man enough pace to skim across the water.

Its p***ing down here in Sydney right now. Here's how we make the most of it Aussie style.

At one point the man skates his wakeboard onto the sloping concrete edges of the canal, which he uses like a skateboard half pipe to get airborne before he jumps back into the water.

'When life gives you lemons...make lemonade,' reads one of the comments on the video.

Heavy rain has hit Sydney hard over the past three days as Newcastle, North of Sydney, faced its wettest January day in more than 150 years after torrential showers battered the east coast forcing residents to abandon their homes.

The wake boarder is being hauled over the storm water by a tow truck winch at the end of the canal

'Here's how we make the most of it Aussie style': The wake boarder skims across the storm water embankment

'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade': The video was posted on line on Wednesday

New South Wales State Emergency Service said there were no major incidents overnight and crews were ready for the clean-up after a night of rest.

'The focus today will basically be getting around to the jobs that are still outstanding,' said SES spokes woman Jenny Slater.

'The focus today will basically be getting around to the jobs that are still outstanding,

'Over the event we have had over 2,000 jobs come in for the volunteers,' Ms Slater told ABC News.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the threat of torrential rain and flash flooding had passed, with temperatures steadily rising to a high of 29 degrees.

But forecasters warned that more wet weather was still forecast for the state's north and flood waters remained a high risk.

NSW Ambulance paramedics were called to almost 100 motor vehicle-related incidents since Tuesday morning, with 14 of these happening from midnight to 10am on Wednesday.
Australian jihadi extremist and Catholic convert to Islam Musa Cerantonio has returned to preaching his radical beliefs on social media, according to the Australian.

Mr Cerantonio, who comes from an Irish-Italian family from Melbourne, reposted an old photograph of himself in front of the Vatican holding a black and white jihadi flag bearing the slogan in Arabic, 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is the messenger of Allah'.

According to the Israel Miltary Forum, the photograph was first posted up to four years ago with Cerantonio's comment clarifies that Muslims 'do not defend or respect' other religions, do not believe that Christians deserve to have churches just as the Muslims have mosques, and says that Islam will ultimately conquer Rome.

In response to Cerantonio's latest posting, two of his fellow radical Australian converts, Junaid Thorne and Wissam Haddad liked or commented on it soon after.

Thorne has also posted on Facebook since his release from prison about the indignities of jail life, including insults from other inmates about his religion and how something as 'petty' as not having enough 'toilet paper will cause you to have a meltdown'.

The return to preaching on social media by the trio represents an awakening from a reportedly self-imposed veto of Facebook and Twitter for reasons of avoiding tracking of extremists by coalition forces.

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Former Melbourne Catholic party boy turned radical Islamist Musa Cerantonino has posted this photograph on social media of himself holding a radical Islamic flag outside the Vatican, demonatrating his belief that 'Christians do not deserve to have churches and that Islam will ultimately conquer Rome'

Australian jihadi extremist and Catholic convert to Islam Musa Cerantonio has returned to preaching his radical beliefs on social media after an absence on Twitter and Facebook reportedly self-imposed to avoid targeting to Coalition air strikes

After Cerantonio reposted the Vatican photo of himself West Australian radical preacher Junaid Thorne (pictured) responded, following Facebook posts by Thorne after his release from prison about the 'excruciating pain' of prison and the 'insults from lowlife' inmates about his religion

Mr Cerantonio, 30, a former Footscray Technical College student who drank alcohol and partied with girls before his conversion, had been keeping a low profile since his arrested in the Philippines in July 2014.

Pursued by the Australian Federal Police for possible charges under the Foreign Incursions Act, which prohibits fighting with foreign paramilitary organisations, including recruiting others, he was deported.

On Christmas Day, Cerantonio posted an old video of himself talking about the establishment of an Islamic 'caliphate' or state in Syria, saying that the dream had been realised.

'Only a few years ago, we were speaking about it, yearning for the establishment of Islam, and now we see it before our eyes,' he wrote, the Australian reported.

The original post with his photo outside the Vatican accompanied Cerantonio's declaration that '

'We do not believe in religious equality; Islam is the [truth], and other religions are false. When Jesus returns, he will smash their crosses, and Islam [will] rule. Anybody got a problem with that?'

Two days before Christmas, Mohammed Junaid Thorne posted on Facebook a long message about the 'suffering' of being arrested and the insults from prison guards and inmates, possibly a reference to his own arrest and incarceration for six months after his conviction for booking a flight under a fake name to avoid being detected by authorities.

Thorne, a West Australian Noongar Aboriginal convert to Islam, has been proselytising on Facebook since his release from prison.

Firebrand Aboriginal convert to Islam, Junaid Thorne (pictured) has written on Facebook since his release from prison that 'lowlife' inmates insulted him and something like 'not finding toilet paper will cause you to have a meltdown and crack, or snap at the closest security guard'

On December 23, he wrote 'A lot of people don't know what it means to have a family member arrested all off a sudden for no apparent reason. They aren't aware of the struggles that the person goes through as he is being led into the dark cells of the Tawagheet [which means people who worship anything other than Islam].

'Let me tell you brothers and sisters, the struggle is real, the suffering is indescribable, and the pain is excruciating.

'Waking up to the sound of your door being kicked in, having masked armed men ravage through your house, assault your family members, and eventually overpower you and restrain you is mind boggling.'

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Musa Cerantonio, Melbourne boy turned radical Islamist, has been quiet until recently following his arrest (pictured) in the Philippines in July 2014 and deportation back to Australia

On Christmas Day, Cerantonio (pictured under arrest in Cebu) posted an old video of himself talking about the establishment of an Islamic 'caliphate' or state in Syria, saying that the dream had been realised

Mr Thorne wrote that imprisonment tested the strength of a person's faith at the hands of the jailers' 'smirks and smart-arse comments, their mocking of you ... their outstanding discrimination will ... add to your anxiety and panic'.

He also appeared to consider his fellow inmates beneath him, writing 'Not to mention the insults and threats from the lowlifes who have no clue of what's happening, but choose to ... fit in with the media narrative against Muslims and the default assumption that their [sic] all terrorists.

'It will reach a point where something as petty as not finding toilet paper will cause you to have a meltdown and crack, or snap at the closest security guard'.

Last Saturday, January 2, Thorne complained about Saudi Arabia's role in the Middle East, posting 'There has been no war against Islam or Muslims recently, except that the Saudi regime had an active hand behind it.

Musa Ceratonio (pictured), who has reactivated himself as Islamic extremist on Facebook, is a former Melbourne Catholic schoolboy named Robert who drank alcohol and partied with girls

'Their money funded the killing of Muslims, their planes took off to bomb Muslims, and their scholars produced Fatawa enticing the killing of Muslims.'

The other man to comment on Mr Cerantonio's latest post, Wissam Haddad, is the former owner of the controversial hardline Al Risalah book store and prayer centre at Bankstown, in western Sydney.

It was the bookstore frequented by ISIS's most infamous Australian converts, the Sydney men Khaled Sharrouf and Mohammed Elomarwho are both belived to haved died in the Middle East since fleeing Australia for Syria
Australia faces a nation-wide ban on hoverboards after one of the toys exploded setting a Melbourne house on fire and a number of product recalls.

Victoria's consumer affairs minister, Jane Garrett has written to her federal counterpart Kelly O'Dwyer, asking her to consider a permanent ban of the popular toy after the blaze on Monday night.

An unrecognisable lump of charred plastic and metal was all that was left of a hoverboard which destroyed a family home in Melbourne's north-west suburb of Stratham.

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The charred remains of the hoverboard which sparked a house fire in Stratham on Monday

Ms Garrett has spoken to colleagues in other states, and says there is widespread safety concerns regarding the toy.

'These toys are very popular but they are also dangerous and could have devastating consequences if they are dodgy or aren't used properly,' she said.

Ms Garrett will also write to hoverboard retailers and peak industry bodies to remind them of their responsibilities.

'I have instructed Consumer Affairs Victoria to conduct an immediate blitz across the state to make sure we don't have a tragedy,' she said.

The Melbourne home burnt down after the faulty hoverboard's battery exploded while it was charging.

This has sparked a state-wide investigation into businesses selling 'dodgy', unsafe, recalled models of the toy.

The fire started in a child's bedroom where the machine was charging, the family watching television were oblivious to the disaster unfolding just metres away

The fire has sparked a state-wide investigation into the sale of recalled hoverboards in Victoria

Authorities will be inspecting all hoverboard stockists, including online suppliers, from Wednesday to ensure they are not supplying recalled products.

Models which do not comply with Australian standards will be seized by authorities, individuals will be fined $4000, while businesses can expect a $20,000 fine.

Acting Commander Phil Smith of Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia that the family were watching television in the front of the house when the fire, which would gut their home, broke out were 'oblivious to what was going on'.

They were alerted to the blaze when a smoke alarm was activated.

It took firefighters 30 minutes to control the fire, the family and their pets managed to escape without injury.

It took firefighters 30 minutes to control the fire which spread from a child's bedroom

The hoverboards are known for their unstable lithium battery which has caused many of them, usually cheaper models, to explode without warning

This is the first house fire to be caused by a hoverboard in the Melbourne area however Mr Smith expects that to change.

'There is a good chance, following this, there are going to be more,' he said.

The popular Christmas gift has had safety issues globally, especially with cheaper models, and have been removed from the shelves of many stores including Amazon.

Authorities are urging consumers to check hoverboards they may have at home, with seven products already recalled in Australia.

The device and its charger should be stamped with the Australian Regulatory Compliance Mark, a tick surrounded by a triangle.

The occupants of the house managed to escape unharmed, however authorities are concerned that the devices could lead to a tragedy
As Chancellor spoke, US markets followed UK and Chinese stocks down

The Government will monitor household debts and do more for savers if and when interest rates rise, George Osborne has promised today.

A gloomy chancellor painted a bleak picture of the world economy at a speech in Cardiff. Shortly after Mr Osborne finished speaking, the FTSE100 closed down more than 2 per cent off the back of big losses in China and a similarly bloody picture on the American markets.

Mr Osborne said rates could not stay at 'ultra-low' levels indefinitely but insisted: 'Higher interest rates are a sign of a stronger economy.'

George Osborne, pictured delivering his speech in Cardiff today, gave a clear signal interest rates would soon rise but insisted this would be a sign of a strong economy

Mr Osborne said he had created a 'powerful' Bank of England committee to monitor household debts and intervene on specific problems - citing the buy to let mortgage market.

He added: 'British families have also worked hard these past few years to reduce their debts  and so debt as a proportion of income has fallen.

'But there is more to do to make sure British household finances are sound. 40 per cent of British adults don't have a week's wages put aside to cover an unexpected expense, and almost half don't have any pension savings.

'Of course, putting money aside is often difficult, every family is different  and it's up to each one to make their own decisions about when it's right to borrow and when it's right to save.

'But that is not an excuse for government inaction and complacency. Overall we must make it easier and more attractive for people to save.'

Mr Osborne issued a warning Britain's economy was far from the state where he could dramatically increase spending.

He warned 'complacency' could lead to 'bad habits' creeping back into the national debate.

The Chancellor said: 'For Britain, the only antidote to that is confronting complacency and delivering the plan we've set out.

'Anyone who thinks it's mission accomplished with the British economy is making a grave mistake.

'2016 is the year we can get down to work and make the lasting changes Britain so badly needs.'

Mr Osborne said stock market falls since the new year were 'worrying news' and said it was hard to predict 'when the cycle would turn' and produce a new recession.

Mr Osborne's warnings comes after the pound slumped yesterday to a nine-month low against the dollar.

At the same time, a report by the research group Markit said the economy grew by only 2.2 per cent in 2015  down from 2.9 per cent in 2014.

Ahead of the speech, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: 'This Chancellor has mixed his own cocktail of rising consumer debt, an over reliance on borrowing from overseas, with a lack of sustained investment, while failing to support manufacturing, and topping it all off with lighter regulations for the banks. The problem is that the rest of us taxpayers will be the ones left with the hangover.

'Labour has consistently warned that George Osborne has to wake up and stop being complacent about the warning signs that the global economy could be slowing, but instead he has chosen to play political games with fiscal targets that would simply tie his hands.

Mr Osborne, second right, joined Wales Secretary Stephen Crabb, second left, took time today to visit the building site for Cardiff University's Brain Research Imaging Centre today

Mr Osborne also took the time to inspect a microchip using a microscope during his visit to the Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy today

'We all know that the Tories have given up on an export-led recovery with manufacturing in a downturn and a trade deficit at worrying levels. Instead this Chancellor has delivered a fragile, unbalanced recovery built on sand due to his austerity policies and he is now trying to get his excuses in early.

'But just as the flooding over Christmas exposed that his cuts are hurting not helping, this speech today only tells the public what they already know - George Osborne has warnings but no solutions.'

Mr Osborne and the Government were criticised by the British Chambers of Commerce last night for failing to slash bureaucracy, with director general John Longworth warning: 'Businesses can't focus on growing amid a storm of red tape and tax-compliance burdens.'

The BCC warns that a 'two-tier' recovery in Britain has 'become further entrenched' as factories and exporters struggle against global headwinds.

The business lobby group, which represents thousands of companies employing a total of more than five million workers, warned that manufacturing was 'close to stagnation'.
As Hillary Clinton scolded North Korea for its H bomb boast, Marco Rubio blasted the Clintons, reminding people that Bill Clinton wanted to give a paid speech in the hermit country.

At a campaign stop in Marshalltown, Iowa, the Republican senator tied the Democratic frontrunner in with the current administration, while taking on her husband too.

'Bill Clinton wanted to give speeches in North Korea a few years ago, by the way,' Rubio said. 'It's reckless what has happened under this administration, and what happened under Hillary Clinton's watch at the State Department.'

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Hillary Clinton got smacked around today by Republican hopeful Marco Rubio, who reminded an Iowa audience about an invitation received by Bill Clinton to speak in North Korea, a rogue nation that bragged about testing a hydrogen bomb

Marco Rubio (right) dragged Bill Clinton (left) into his fight with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton saying that the former president had wanted to speak in North Korea

Clinton condemned North Korea upon hearing the news that the country was bragging that it had successfully tested an H bomb, something the White House now says is a lie.

Hillary Clinton's brother Tony Rodham (pictured) was reportedly behind Bill Clinton's invitation to speak at an event 'related to North Korea'

'If verified, this is a provocative and dangerous act, and North Korea must have no doubt that we will take whatever steps are necessary to defend ourselves and our treaty allies, South Korea and Japan,' Clinton said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Rubio was pointing to emails from May 2012, between Amitabh Desai, a foreign policy director at the Clinton Foundation, and Hillary Clinton's team at the State Department.

When invitations to speak  often for grand sums of money  were delivered to former President Clinton, an aide would them pass them along to his wife's State Department people for approval.

That way Bill Clinton's business dealings wouldn't muck up his wife's job of being the country's top diplomat.

In the scenario Rubio was referring to, Desai wrote an email to Hillary Clinton's chief of staff Cheryl Mills, along with two other State Department aides, Jake Sullivan and Michael Fuchs, according to ABC News.

'Is it safe to assume [the U.S. government] would have concerns about [William Jefferson Clinton] accepting the attached invitation related to North Korea?' Desai asked.

Mills had a short answer: 'Decline it.'

But Desai reached out again three weeks later, saying the invitation had come through Hillary Clinton's brother Tony Rodham.

'We would be grateful for any specific concerns that we could share,' Desai said. 'Tony is seeing WJC in a couple hours.'

Mills responded by telling Desai to tell Bill Clinton,'If he needs more let him know his wife knows and I am happy to call him secure when he is near a secure line,' she wrote, according to ABC.

Further details about what the event entailed were not included in the document drop released to the public after the group Citizens United sued the government.

The invitation didn't specify if Bill Clinton was to travel to the country to give the speech, though he had made the trek three years before to rescue two imprisoned American journalists.

President Clinton's office told ABC News that the former president didn't give the speech.

'As a matter of course, all requests were run by the State Department,' Angel Urena, the press secretary in the Office of President Clinton, told ABC News. 'Ultimately, the president did not give these speeches.'

She added that Desai was not 'pushing' for Clinton to give the paid talks, but was instead seeking facts.

A Rodham family friend speaking for Hillary Clinton's brother declined to comment to ABC News.
A defence row triggered by Jeremy Corbyn's marathon reshuffle deepened today as Ken Livingstone said Labour could review Britain's membership of Nato.

The former London mayor, who is chairing Labour's defence policy review, said membership of the alliance 'doesn't really matter' now the Cold War is over.

Mr Livingstone was swiftly slapped down by Labour but the remarks will deepen concern about the party's defence policy after Mr Corbyn appointed Emily Thornberry to the role of shadow defence secretary.

Ken Livingstone, pictured on the BBC today, said he wanted to review Britain's membership of Nato in a defence review he is co-covening for Jeremy Corbyn

Ms Thornberry, who like Mr Corbyn and Mr Livingstone supports unilateral disarmament, is facing questions over 48,000 in donations she received from Leigh Day, a human rights law firm facing a tribunal over allegations it represented Iraqis making false claims about British troops.

Discussing Nato membership, Mr Livingstone told the BBC Daily Politics: 'That's one of the things we will look at. Many people want to do that.

'I don't think it's a particularly big issue because in the cold war it was, it isn't now.'

He added: 'There will be people making those suggestions. We are looking at the entire defence review.

'My main view on this is it doesn't really matter whether you are in Nato or not terribly much because the cold war is over.

'If we are to stay in Nato, the question is what's it's role going to be? Invading more countries in the Middle East? I'm not in favour of that.'

A Labour spokeswoman then said: 'The terms of the defence review are still to be agreed but will not look at our membership of Nato.'

Backbencher Wes Streeting said: 'What next? Replacing the union flag with a white flag?'

Shadow minister Wayne David tweeted: 'It would be extremely foolish for Labour to question Britain's membership of NATO. #security'

Mr Corbyn's reshuffle was rocked earlier by criticism of the choice of Ms Thornberry to fill the defence brief.

The move has been seen as preparing the way for a crucial Commons vote on renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent, which Mr Corbyn is keen to see Labour fully oppose.

Ms Thornberry has registered a series of donations worth 48,000 from Leigh Day. The firm is facing a tribunal over false claims British troops were involved in torture.

Former head of the Army Lord Dannatt today said he was 'disturbed' by the link, while retired Colonel Tim Collins, who led British troops into battle in Iraq, said the appointment showed Mr Corbyn's 'utter disdain' for defence.

Back bench Labour MP Wes Streeting questioned 'what next?' after Mr Livingstone's remarks - suggesting the former mayor might suggest a 'white flag' for Britauin

Mr Livingstone remark was immediately protested by Labour MP Wayne David, who warned it would be 'extremely foolish' to question Britain's alliance membership

Ms Thornberry has insisted she does have the right experience to be shadow defence secretary, pointing to legal experience in courts martial and a family member in the military.

She is facing calls to return the donations from Leigh Day - including from Kevan Jones, who quit the shadow defence team shortly after her appointment.

'YOU'RE A TOTAL SELL OUT!': TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH WITHIN THE LABOUR RANKS Diane Abbott, pictured outside Parliament this week, got into a furious row on Newsnight Anger has continued to build over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour reshuffle as one of his strongest loyalists clashed with Jonathan Reynolds, who quit yesterday. Diane Abbott was told she was a 'total sell out' on Newsnight after she attacked Mr Reynolds and two others who quit Mr Corbyn's frontbench yesterday. Mr Reynolds later tore into shadow international development secretary Diane Abbott after she wrongly dismissed those who had quit as career politicians who had all been special advisers. Ms Abbott, a close ally of the party leader, told BBC2's Newsnight that Mr Jones was 'a great guy who knows an enormous amount about defence and is a big loss'. But she added: 'If you look at Jonathan Reynolds, if you look at Mr Dugher, if you look at some of these others, what do they have in common? They are all former special advisers. 'What you are seeing is people that came up under a certain system - where you did politics at uni, you became a special adviser, you became an MP, you became a minister - who are rightfully upset because Jeremy has brought a whole lot of new energy and new people into politics.' A furious Mr Reynolds hit back: 'At least Google us before slagging us off. 'For the record ... I was a trainee solicitor when elected, having gone to law school as a mature student and single parent,' he said. 'And I think you're a total sell-out for sending your own kids to private school.' Advertisement

Mr Corbyn's reshuffle extended into a fourth day today as he appointed replacements for three junior shadow ministers who quit yesterday.

Kate Hollern was appointed to defence, Andy McDonald to transport and Fabian Hamilton to the foreign office team. They replaced Mr Jones, Jonathan Reynolds and Stephen Doughty, who all walked out on Mr Corbyn yesterday.

In other appointments, Mr Corbyn moved Jenny Chapman to education, Jo Stevens to justice and Angela Rayner into the work and pensions team.

Mr Corbyn has now been meeting members of his team and discussing appointments since 2pm on Monday.

Col Tim Collins, who commanded the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment during the invasion, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Emily Thornberrry is someone without any credibility, the only reason she is there is because she is a Corbyn loyalist.

'It demonstrates the utter disdain he has for the defence of the nation. It suggests defence doesn't matter.

'She is an incompetent individual who got herself sacked because of an act of buffoonery.'

Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British army, told the paper he was 'disturbed' by Miss Thornberry's links to Leigh Day while Lord West of Spithead, a former First Sea Lord who served as a Labour security minister, suggested that he links were 'ill advised'.

A spokesman for UK Veterans One Voice, which is campaigning for an end to the prosecution of soldiers, told the Mail: 'Her views on Trident and her questionable associations make her unsuitable to have access to the nation's most important defence secrets.

'It is a slap in the face to Britain's Armed Forces.'

Prime Minister David Cameron also attacked the appointment yesterday at Prime Minister's questions: 'I do think it is instructive that we have lost a Shadow Secretary of State for Defence who believed in strong defence and instead we've got someone apparently who takes funds from Leigh Day and that leaves us with serious questions.

'We will be left with a collection of politicians who've signed up to unilateral nuclear disarmament, who have signed up to racking up taxes debt and spending.'

In the Commons yesterday, a Tory MP used parliamentary privilege to brand Leigh Day 'immoral, thieving, ambulance-chasing' lawyers and criticised Miss Thornberry for her links to the firm.

Backbencher Stewart Jackson said Leigh Day and another firm chasing military compensation claims, Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, 'specialise in hounding our brave service personnel with spurious claims'.

But in an interview with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Miss Thornberry said: 'I have no idea what has happened or what these allegations are.

'I understand that they are currently before a solicitors' disciplinary tribunal or something.'

She added: 'It is not for lawyers to decide [if their clients are telling the truth], it is for the courts to decide.'

Ms Thornberry and the Labour leader, pictured together on the campaign trail last year, are closely aligned on defence issues, particularly the renewal of Britain's nuclear deterrent Trident

Campaigners have also condemned her appointment because she is a known opponent of the Trident nuclear deterrent, in common with hard-Left Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

It comes barely a year after the Islington South MP, who lives in a 3million house in the area, was forced to resign from Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet for a 'sneering' post on Twitter showing a house in Rochester flying England flags with a white van parked outside.

The register of members' interests shows Miss Thornberry received donations from Leigh Day totalling 48,125 between 2012 and 2014.

It paid for a 'legal research assistant' to work in her office for six months in each of the years while she was shadow attorney general.

Last night Mr Jones, who resigned as a Labour defence spokesman yesterday, said she should hand back the money.

Yesterday it emerged Leigh Day's solicitors could be struck off over alleged dodgy practices relating to the Al-Sweady inquiry. A tribunal will examine evidence that they shredded a key document which appeared to show their Iraqi clients were armed insurgents, not innocent farmers.

The inquiry ultimately concluded that the allegations of murder were 'wholly without foundation'.

Mr Corbyn appointed close ally Miss Thornberry at midnight on Tuesday night as part of his shambolic reshuffle.

On her suitability for the role, Miss Thornberry said she had 'actually quite a lot more experience than people might think I do'.

She said she had a member of her family 'who is in the Armed Forces' . Miss Thornberry, who is married to high court judge Sir Christopher Nugee, pointed out her brother-in-law is Major General Richard Nugee, the defence services secretary.

The Daily Telegraph reported she was made an 'Honorary Lieutenant Colonel' when she was conducting court martials as a barrister.

Last night the BBC reported that 'friends' of Miss Thornberry described questions about the donations as 'desperate smears'.

A Leigh Day spokesman described Mr Jackson's comments as 'a blatantly ridiculous statement about us'. The firm has said the decision to refer their case to tribunal is 'premature' and denied all the allegations made against its lawyers.

Public Interest Lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.

A senior Labour spokesman said of the donation: 'I don't think it's relevant. Emily has been appointed because she is a capable person.'
The pressing question the world is now asking is if North Korea did develop a hydrogen bomb, would they ever use it? Is Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un really that dangerous?

In what now seems a chilling New Year message, he threatened 'a merciless sacred war of justice' if North Korea suffered the slightest provocation from its several enemies.

Might 'sacred war' involve using nuclear weapons, and perhaps a hydrogen bomb (if North Korea really has one)? We just don't know. What we do know is that in the space of a week the world is already a more dangerous place.

It is deeply worrying that North Korea has fission-based nuclear weapons, writes Britain's former ambassador to the reclusive nation (pictured, North Korean state TV announcing bomb test)

North Korea today claimed it had conducted a 'successful' hydrogen bomb test, triggering a 5.1 magnitude earthquake

Right now, geologists and nuclear scientists will be poring over the seismic data from North Korea, desperately trying to work out whether the device that caused an explosion with a magnitude of 5.1 yesterday morning really was  as the North Koreans claim  a hydrogen bomb.

But to an extent, whatever they discover doesn't really matter. It is quite worrying enough that North Korea has 'traditional' fission-based nuclear weapons. Although the blast from these is less than from a hydrogen bomb, would it really matter whether a city is blasted into rubble or into dust?

In any case, if the North Koreans don't have an H-bomb yet, they will certainly keep trying to develop one.

And if it could be 'militarised' so that it can be carried by a missile launched from a submarine (and that's a big 'if') then the unthinkable  such as an attack on one of the big cities on the Western coast of America  becomes a real possibility.

Test launches by North Korea of submarine-borne missiles have so far ended in failure, but they won't fail for ever. If and when they do succeed, and if they manage to build a sufficiently small nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, then they might be able to threaten anywhere from Seattle to San Diego with nuclear attack.

We are probably not at that stage yet, but the North Koreans will continue to strive towards it.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (pictured) threatened 'a merciless sacred war of justice' if North Korea suffered the slightest provocation from its several enemies

North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station as the state confirmed that their detonation of a thermonuclear weapon had been a 'perfect success'

As the former British ambassador to North Korea, I was in Pyongyang when they began their nuclear testing programme in 2006, in the face of almost total international opposition.

The North Koreans are a proud and patriotic people with a genuine sense of grievance against foreign powers that, they feel, never give them a fair chance. That first test was received with great excitement and pride in the country's technical prowess. That, of course, was just what the regime wanted.

But then I saw how quickly this excitement turned to dismay as reports began to filter through  overcoming official censorship and media control  of just how much Kim's nuclear programme was costing this still desperately poor country.

Three years ago, the programme's cost was estimated at around $3billion, and it has obviously risen still further.

In a country where the capital's scrupulously clean streets do now offer restaurants and coffee shops for a wealthy elite, but where the rural poor are often short of food, that sort of money would buy an awful lot of rice. I suspect that reactions to this fourth test will go through the same phases.

So why did Kim Jong-un carry out this test? The reasons will be complex, but in essence Kim Jong-un seems, at least for now, to have decided that confrontation is going to get him more of what he wants in terms of international leverage and status than diplomatic negotiation. As North Korean television said yesterday, 'the way to peace does not lie across a dirty conference table'.

North Korea today conducted a 'successful' hydrogen bomb test at the Punggye-ri test site

Last month, Kim Jong-Un had suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb - although the claim was greeted with scepticism by international experts

Footage from the Chinese county of Yanji (pictured), more than 100 miles away from where North Korea detonated the bomb, showed the highway shaking from an alleged earthquake

Pictures from the same area near China's border with North Korea showed cracks developing on the ground as a result of the blast

There may, however, be good reason for his bellicose confidence. Pyongyang has nuclear shelters  just as Britain did during the tensest days of the Cold War.

Famously, Pyongyang's deep metro system was built to double as just such a collection of shelters. Every now and then, the city's obedient population are herded into them in yet another rehearsal for a nuclear attack.

Are these shelters for the general population big enough? Perhaps. More importantly, are they deep enough to survive a nuclear blast? Nobody knows.

What we do know, though, is that North Korea's leadership have access to a deep tunnel complex that would make the Tora Bora tunnels of Afghanistan  where Osama bin Laden is said to have hidden after the 9/11 attacks  look like a winter sink-hole in the Home Counties.

The North Korean leadership has had years to prepare for an attack. These tunnels will almost certainly be big enough and deep enough for the country's political elite to survive one or more nuclear blasts.

The truly worrying thing, then, is that if Kim Jong-un believes he can survive a nuclear attack or counter-attack, then he may well be willing to press his own nuclear button. That was bad enough when he just had a nuclear bomb; it would be worse should he now have access to the more powerful H-bomb.

South Korean soldiers patrol the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, as tensions in the regions escalate over North Korea's reported test of a hydrogen bomb

A laboratory employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air in Gangneung

It seems that he is prepared to risk even his relationship with China, North Korea's only ally and a vital economic partner, in order to develop ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction.

Only three months ago, relations between the two countries seemed warm and friendly, with China  which has always rather soft-peddled when it comes to international sanctions against North Korea  sending one of its most senior politicians to the celebrations in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ruling Workers' Party.

The Chinese went out of their way to sound supportive  making all the right noises about economic co-operation and increased levels of aid.

What was left unsaid, however, was the very clear political subtext  that in return for this increased economic support, China, a member of the UN Security Council and therefore opposed to nuclear proliferation, expected a level of control over North Korea's behaviour, particularly when it came to its nuclear programme.

For two months, it seemed as if Kim Jong-un was happy to go along with this, even arranging for his favourite home-grown girl group, the Moranbong Band, to embark on an official tour of China.

But on the very day the girls departed, Kim Jong-un announced, albeit to a disbelieving world, that North Korea had developed an H-bomb. (Those shocked by yesterday's test reports can't say they weren't warned.)

The nuclear test, which caused an earthquake that was measured by the United States Geological Survey, was ordered by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (pictured)

John Everard, a former British Ambassador to North Korea, says the country is dangerous whether it does or does not have a H-bomb (pictured, a mass rally in Pyongyang to mark Kim New Year Address)

Now, he has escalated tensions still further by claiming to have tested the bomb, again without giving the Chinese any advance warning at all (although the North Koreans had carefully given the Chinese notice of their previous tests).

In a terse statement, the Chinese confirmed this lack of notification yesterday, going on to pledge their co-operation with the international community in its efforts to rid the entire Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons (which means the North  there have been no nuclear weapons in South Korea for decades).

The Chinese are clearly and understandably very angry. They don't want Kim Jong-un's provocative behaviour to prompt the Americans to increase their military presence in South Korea.

They know that if a shooting war ever restarted on the Korean peninsula, the North Koreans would invoke their alliance with China to ask for Chinese military support. There would be no enthusiasm in Beijing for this.

Neither do the Chinese want North Korea's policy of aggressive confrontation to disturb the already delicate political and military balance in this increasingly territorial part of the world.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo. He strongly criticised the actions of North Korea and Kim Jong-Un

It's notable that relations between South Korea and Japan, both close U.S. allies, have grown notably warmer in recent months, which will not have pleased China, which hopes for a loosening, not a tightening, of ties between the Asian democracies.

It may be that this latest alarm will blow over, but we can be sure that Kim Jong-un's scientists will continue to try to develop both a hydrogen bomb and the means to deliver it.

If they ever succeed, the world will immediately become a much more dangerous place.
Tony Blair is facing a grilling by MPs over claims he helped prevent IRA victims getting compensation from Libya.

The former Prime Minister is accused of encouraging President George W Bush to scrap all terror-related legal action against Colonel Muammar Gadaffi in the US courts in 2008 in a bid to protect trade deals.

The Libyan tyrant had given tonnes of Semtex explosives to the Provisional IRA for use in its bombing campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The controversial deal meant UK victims, who had brought civil proceedings in the US courts against Libya, had their compensation claims blocked.

Deal: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is accused of encouraging President George W Bush to scrap all terror-related legal action against Colonel Muammar Gadaffi in the US courts in 2008 in a bid to protect trade deals

In a letter last month to the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC), which is examining the Governments role in supporting victims of IRA attacks at the hands of Libyan-supplied weapons, Mr Blair strongly denied trying to block the compensation claims.

He said: The attempt to implicate me in deliberately trying to stop IRA victims receiving compensation is utterly without foundation and wrong.

But now the ex-Labour leader has been asked by the committee to give evidence in person.

In a letter to him yesterday, committee chairman Laurence Robertson said there were questions we would like to explore with you in some depth about the issue.

The United States negotiated a significant financial package for victims of the Pan Am jet brought down over Lockerbie and those killed in a Berlin disco bombing blamed on Libyan agents.

In his written evidence to the NIAC, Mr Blair said he understood why victims of IRA terrorism should have wanted their claims raised at the same time as the settlement of the Lockerbie compensation in 2008.

However, he said that for the Americans this was never going to be part of any settlement since they were focused on US citizens affected by Lockerbie and the Berlin discotheque bombing.

Mr Blair said he never tried to get the Americans to exclude the claims of IRA victims, adding that he did not raise the issue with President Bush.

He pointed out that when the compensation was under discussion in 2008 he was no longer in government.

Accused: Gaddafi gave tonnes of Semtex explosives to the Provisional IRA for use in its bombing campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland

Libya admitted the extent of its IRA links, from 1992 to 1995.

Mr Blair said: The issue of compensation for the victims of IRA terrorism made possible by the provision of material by the Gaddafi regime was not an issue raised with me, as far as I am aware.

Democratic Unionist Party MP Gavin Robinson urged Mr Blair to accept the invitation.

He said: As a result of Libyan sponsored terrorism against US citizens, Gaddafis administration agreed in 2008 to pay $1.5bn (1.03bn) to compensate families affected. For IRA victims in the United Kingdom, however, it would appear that our government made no effort whatsoever to pursue compensation.

The seriousness of the issue, and the impact on victims are such that I would hope he will take the opportunity to answer questions in more detail.

Jason McCue, senior partner of lawyers McCue & Partners, which are representing IRA victims of Libyan weapons, said: Throughout the inquiry, Mr Blairs historic actions have repeatedly emerged as a key focus that only he can answer for and explain in detail.

'On behalf of UK victims of Libyan Semtex, we welcome the opportunity for clarification that Mr Blairs assistance will provide.
She used the money to buy a horse, expensive

A woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding almost $800,000 from the school she worked for, using the money to fund a lavish lifestyle where she splurged on expensive jewellery, a show horse and a 13-hectare property.

Tessa Fiona Grant was working as the commercial manager for Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, in Hamilton, on New Zealand's North Island, on an annual income of $125,000 when she misappropriated school funds worth $795,000 over nine months.

The 40-year-old, whose name was previously withheld, pleaded guilty to seven fraud charges in Hamilton District Court on Wednesday.

Tessa Fiona Grant had an annual income of $125,000 when the former commercial manager misappropriated school funds over nine months to the tune of $795,000

The court heard that Grant, who was in charge of the school's finances, had forged invoices from a school building project and redirected the money into her own accounts, even signing a $7,500 cheque for unnecessary asbestos removal over to a friend, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Grant, a keen horse rider, used the money to buy a $68,000 show horse and a $900,000 property that spans 13 hectares in Whatawhata, which she had planned to convert into an equestrian centre.

She spent thousands of dollars on agriculture and equestrian equipment, also investing $55,850 on jewellery, which included a $40,000 platinum diamond ring, according to Stuff.co.nz.

Grant's financial activity came under scrutiny after she had resigned when a member of staff found a suspicious invoice for a $1,492 return flight to Christchurch, which she claimed had been purchased for the principal.

Grant, a keen horse rider, used the money to buy a $68,000 show horse and a $900,000 property

Grant, who was in charge of the finacnes for Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, forged invoices from a school building project and redirected the money into her own accounts

Grant wanted to convert her 13 hectare property into a state of the art equestrian centre

However, it was revealed Grant had used the flight, which was purchased on a school credit card, to take a trip with her husband, sparking an investigation into her transactions.

In one instance Grant made it appear a construction company had been paid $1.14 million to perform work on the school and principal's home, while in reality the development only cost $600,000, Stuff.co.nz reported.

It was found she had forged six of the twelve claims for Hawkins construction, with records showing she also used $6,800 of school funds to pay for her own personal insurance instead of covering school equipment.

The 40-year-old, whose name was previously withheld, pleaded guilty to seven fraud charges in Hamilton District Court on Wednesday

Vicky McLennan, principal at the Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, said she was extremely grateful that the 'vigilance' of staff at the school enabled 'early' detection of Grant's offending.

She said full reparation was made by Grant in December, which included an extra $105,523.63 for lost interest and legal costs.

"The prompt return of the monies earmarked for property projects will enable the resumption of campus development for the benefit of current and future students," she said in a statement.
A British man who could face up to five years in jail for trying to smuggle a migrant child from 'The Jungle' in Calais to her family member in Yorkshire said: 'I do regret it.

Rob Lawrie, 49, who is on trial next week in France for aiding illegal immigration, said: 'I do regret it because it has cost me everything. It has cost me my family and it's financially bankrupt me.'

The former soldier from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, said taking the child was a moment of madness, but his paternal instinct kicked in.

He said: 'At that point I can truly say for the first point in my life that all rational thought left me.

Rob Lawrie, 49, who is on trial next week in France for aiding illegal immigration, said he regrets trying to smuggle a migrant child from Calais to reach her family members in Leeds, just 10 miles away from his home

Mr Lawrie (pictured with four-year-old Afghan girl Bahar Ahmadi) was moved after seeing photographs of the Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey, and closed his business to volunteer in migrant camps.

'We cannot help everyone, but everyone can help someone and she had become my someone.'

In October, as Europe's refugee crisis worsened, Mr Lawrie saw photographs of the Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey and decided he had to act.

He said: 'I didn't know what difference I could make, I just knew I had to get down to Europe, in the camps, Dunkirk, Calais, get down to the Hungarian border, just do something.'

He closed his carpet cleaning business, bought a transit van and headed to migrant camps in Dunkirk and Calais, where he delivered tents, and helped build temporary structures.

In the left hand picture, the two played hide and seek together in the camps with her father Reza, (right). Mr Lawrie said: 'She's a special little girl. After all the months I spent with her, I never saw her without a smile'

He hid her in the sleeping compartment of his van, but was stopped and arrested. Mr Lawrie now regrets his actions. Pictured above near his home in Guiseley, West Yorkshire

Mr Lawrie struck up a friendship with the four-year-old Afghan migrant Bahar Ahmadi, whom he affectionately refers to as Bru.

She followed him around the camp every day, playing games in 'The Jungle' of Calais.

He said: 'She's a special little girl. She's become almost representative of child refugees.

'After all the months I spent with her, I never saw her without a smile,' he said with tears in his eyes.

When the toddler's father Reza asked him to take the young girl to live with a relative in Leeds, Mr Lawrie initially declined, even though he lived just a few miles away.

On the final night before returning home, Mr Lawrie was overcome with emotion when Bahar curled up on his lap and fell asleep.

The father-of-four said: 'I just did it because I could no longer see her live in this squalid environment, it was just ridiculous. I just couldn't do that anymore.

'It was done on the spur of the moment about compassion, Yes I was compassionately right, but it was illegal - end of, it was illegal.'

He hid the young girl in a sleeping compartment in his van on October 24 and set off towards Britain.

Border police stopped the van at the ferry port and discovered two Eritrean men in the back, who had hid there without his knowledge.

Mr Lawrie was arrested by French police and Bahar was returned to her father in the migrant camp. He is due to appear in court on January 14 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

Since his arrest, two petitions asking to spare him from a jail sentence have collected more than 150,000 signatures online.

Despite public support for his cause, he could face a jail term under French law he could serve up to five years in prison or face fines up to 20,000.
A man who put his feet up on a train seat was fined 50 under a 127-year-old bylaw.

Trinh Cuong, 22, was spotted by a guard with his legs stretched out on the seat next to him on a journey between Ellesmere Port and Hooton in Cheshire.

The official gave him a written caution - but he was later sent a summons to court.

Mr Cuong, a manicurist from Ringwood, Hampshire, was prosecuted under a by-law from the 1889 Regulations of Railway Act, which makes it a criminal offence to 'interfere with the comfort or convenience' of fellow passengers.

Fined: Manicurist Trinh Cuong (pictured), 22, was fined 50 for putting his feet on the seat in front of him while between Ellesmere Port and Hooton in Cheshire

Mr Cuong, a Vietnamese national who has lived in the UK for ten years, agreed to pay the fine to avoid the hassle of fighting it in court, but said: 'I was shocked, I didn't know what I had done wrong.

'I had no idea it was something you could be fined for. I thought maybe they would give you a warning first.

'I paid the fine just to get it over and done with but only because it would be such a waste of my time pleading not guilty and having to go back to court to fight it. There's no point for such a petty matter.'

Waste of time: Mr Cuong said he didn't challenge the by-law because he thought it would be a waste of time

Mr Cuong was travelling on a Merseyrail service when he was caught last June.

He said: 'I was visiting my friend on my day off and I just put my feet up on the chair beside me, leaned my back against the window and had my music on in my headphones.

'I was just trying to be comfortable. I was tired from travelling and there was hardly anyone else on the train, maybe five other people in the carriage.

'Suddenly some official tapped me on the shoulder and said I shouldn't have my feet on the seat.

'Apparently there was a sign but I hadn't seen it because it was behind where I was sitting.

'I asked if I was in trouble and he said 'not really' but he cautioned me and said there might be a fine.

'I had to give him my details to fill out a form.'

The official document states Mr Cuong's name, address, date of birth and a full description of him.

He was told he would receive a letter telling him of the outcome but he never received it.

Merseyrail clamped down on a 45 year old passenger was also fined 50 under the same by-law for putting their feet up on a seat in 2007 (file photo)

He said: 'The next I knew about it was when a letter was sent to my boss saying I had to come to court.'

On Monday Mr Cuong appeared before magistrates in Bournemouth who heard the facts of the case and any mitigating circumstances before sentencing him.

It is not the first time train operator Merseyrail have clamped down on a commuter for putting their feet up on a seat.
David Cameron today insisted his proposal for four year benefit ban would stay on the table until it was agreed or EU leaders came up with something better.

But at the same press conference, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his people were not 'parasites' and should not be considered 'migrants' in Britain.

On his latest renegotiation trip, to Germany and Hungary, the Prime Minister repeated his call for a deal at the February EU summit which would enable Britain to stay in a reformed EU.

The latest exchanges on the continent came as London Mayor Boris Johnson refused to rule out campaigning against Mr Cameron when the referendum is called.

Prime Minister David Cameron continued his renegotiation tour with a visit to Budapest, pictured today with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, as he pressed for a deal in February

David Cameron makes a statement (pictured) during the second day of the Christian Social Union party (CSU) annual Epiphany meeting in the southern Bavarian resort of Wildbad Kreuth near Munich, Germany

Mr Cameron said: 'I've set out the four baskets where I need to achieve progress for Britain in this negotiation for me to recommend Britain remains part of a reformed European Union - I've also said if I don't achieve those goals then I rule nothing out.

'I put on the table the four year proposal. That remains on the table and it won't come off the table unless something equally important is put in its place.

'I'm open to listening to ideas.

'But I am very clear about the aim we need to achieve here - unless we can achieve that the four years will remain my proposal, I couldn't be clearer about that.'

Mr Orban said he would examine proposals which could eliminate abuses of welfare in Britain or at systems which do not discriminate between Britons and Hungarians.

Mr Orban said: 'We would like to make it quite clear that we are not migrants into the United Kingdom, but we are citizens of a state that belongs to the European Union who can take jobs anywhere freely within the European Union.

He added: 'So we do not want to go to the UK and take away something from them, we do not want to be parasites. We want to work there and I see that Hungarians are working well.'

Mr Orban did suggest some kind of deal could be made. He said: 'We are also quite willing to consider the recommendation as to how with regard to the very special British social benefits how could we set up a system without any discrimination which would be acceptable for the Brits as well. In that, we are going to be partners.'

Earlier, Mr Cameron outlined his renegotiation plans to the Christian Social Union party in Bavaria, later telling journalists he was confident of a result that was 'not just for Britain but good for Europe'.

David Cameron and CSU faction leader Gerda Hasselfeldt arrive for a press statement after a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel at the annual conference of the CSU (Christiam Social Union) in Germany

Mr Cameron and Ms Hasselfeldt address the media after a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel

Mr Cameron said: 'In the end the choice will be for the British people but I want to make sure they have the very best choice of staying in a reformed European Union, giving Britain the best of both worlds.'

The Prime Minister said his objectives were 'hard' and 'tough' but added he believed with 'goodwill' the negotiation could reach an effective conclusion.

Mr Cameron was attending the CSU as an invited guest for the first time in seven years.

Mr Johnson today insisted Britain could have a 'great future' outside the EU and refused to rule out campaigning against the Prime Minister when the referendum is called.

Mr Johnson said: 'My own view is I want to be part of a reformed EU, I've always said that - but if we can't get the reform we need then Britain has a great future outside in a different relationship.'

Mr Johnson said he was awaiting the outcome of the negotiations, but asked if he could campaign against Mr Cameron, the London Mayor said: 'Let's see what happens... let's see where we get to.

'It is important in these talks to be robust.'

Mr Cameron is seeking a deal at February's EU summit and the referendum on Britain's membership is then expected by the summer.

Following pressure from eurosceptics, the PM this week conceded cabinet members would be allowed to campaign for either side once the deal was done.

Chancellor George Osborne denied that Mr Cameron's announcement on Tuesday that Cabinet ministers will be free to campaign for the UK to leave the EU in the referendum amounted to a U-turn.

David Cameron, pictured in Bavaria left, is back on the renegotiation trail. He later travelled to Hungary for a meeting with Viktor Orban. Boris Johnson, right, said it was important Britain kept the option of walking away

The Prime Minister indicated in a TV interview in January 2015 that he would not allow ministers freedom to campaign for the 'out' side, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'No, I've set out that very clearly in the past.'

Reports suggested he had been forced into the concession after ministers including Commons Leader Chris Grayling and Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers indicated that they might quit if required to back continued membership.

But Mr Osborne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'He hasn't changed his mind ... I know that for a very considerable period of time, he has thought it is right that - when the moment comes and the question is put to the British public about whether we remain in a reformed European Union or we leave - individual ministers in the Government, just like members of the public, should in a personal capacity be able to express their opinion, even though the Government will have taken a view.'

Writing in German newspaper Bild today, Mr Cameron said: 'These changes would make a big difference in persuading the British people to vote to remain in the EU.

'Securing these changes will mean we can continue our EU partnership into the future.'

The PM's comments came as Liz Truss, the Environment Secretary, dropped a heavy hint that she would support the Prime Minister by campaigning for Britain to remain inside the EU.

She said his reforms would 'make Europe more flexible, outward-looking and dynamic', boosting jobs.

The PM, pictured speaking outside the CSU conference in Bavaria, will say that all he wants to achieve is 'to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first', in an article for the newspaper Bild

Mr Cameron, left, is shown the panorama by Hungarian President Janos Ader from the terrace of the presidential Alexander Palace in Budapest

The intervention made her the first Cabinet Minister to speak out following the Prime Minister's historic announcement that Tory MPs can campaign to leave the EU if they choose.

However, unlike Mrs Truss, they would risk being disciplined if they publicly made the case against remaining in the Brussels club until the negotiations are complete in February.

Eurosceptic MPs say this gives the In campaign an unfair advantage. Mr Cameron flew to Bavaria yesterday afternoon for talks with the Christian Social Democratic Union, in a bid to build support for his welfare proposals.

He will today fly to a meeting in Budapest with the Hungarian Prime Minister.

Eastern European countries have led the resistance to the changes  which they view as discrimination.

While in Germany, the PM wrote an article for the newspaper Bild in which he urges its politicians and public to help him win the reforms he needs to keep Britain in the EU.

Published today, it reads: 'Like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years.

The article adds: 'Britain and Germany are key allies in creating a prosperous and secure EU. Whether it is our shared belief in free trade and sound finances, our major contribution to the EU budget, our aid to reduce the suffering that drives refugees into Europe, or our military and intelligence services working together against terrorism, we do vital work together.

David Cameron went on to visit BMW, pictured at the Munich factory today, before continuing his travel plans in Hungary later today

David Cameron (left) meets with President of Hungary Janos Ader (right) in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday

'Securing these changes will mean we can continue our EU partnership into the future. And they will make the EU safer and more prosperous for generations to come.'

Gordon Brown will today wade into the debate by repeating warnings from Mr Cameron's claims that EU membership bolsters national security.

The ex-PM will say: 'There are absolutely no plus points in safety from leaving. here are only potential gains in safety from enhanced co-operation, through the police, judiciary and military, to root out terrorists.

'We can only be sure that there is no safe haven and no hiding place for terrorists anywhere by maximising co-operation with every country opposed to terrorism.'

Mr Brown will claim that Scotland could achieve a clear 70% majority in favour of staying in Europe if campaigners put forward a 'positive, principled, progressive and patriotic' case

By contrast, ex-Chancellor Nigel Lawson yesterday said that, if Britain was given the choice of joining the EU today, it would reject the idea.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: 'I'm sure there would be a majority be a majority who would say no we don't. Therefore we would be better off out. Inertia is not an argument.'

He said there was no reason to be worried by the prospect of quitting. 'If we leave we will continue to trade. They need our market of something like 300billion in their exports to us. There is no problem there.
British businesses suffer because they pay more tax than companies such as Amazon, the boss of John Lewis has said.

It is not fair that firms based in Britain pay corporation tax at the UK rate, while multinationals operating here but based abroad do not, added Andy Street.

It means those companies have an unfair advantage, he said, suggesting it could force out British high street businesses already struggling to compete against internet sales.

British businesses suffer because they pay more tax than companies such as Amazon (pictured, its warehouse), the boss of John Lewis has said

Mr Street said: 'Two companies making the same profit, one of them pays corporation tax at the UK rate, one does not because it claims to be headquartered somewhere else  that is not fair.

'The Government is trying to address that but as yet we've not actually seen that (reform) really, really bite. It matters because the company paying corporation tax has, of course, less to invest in its future and in this time when retail is changing so fast, that is a critical differentiator.'

Asked whether he thought there was still an 'Amazon tax problem', he told ITV News: 'I think there still is.'

He added: 'This is not just about John Lewis, let's be absolutely clear  this is about those UK companies paying corporation tax on the profit made in the UK, against companies that make profit here but do not declare it and therefore do not pay tax.

'Over time, this is likely to mean British companies, paying British taxes, are disadvantaged.'

It is not the first time Mr Street has complained about the issue. In 2012, he said paying less tax meant internet firms could undercut high street stores that paid fair taxes.

It is not fair that firms based in Britain pay corporation tax at the UK rate, while multinationals operating here but based abroad do not, said John Lewis (pictured) boss, Andy Street

He added: 'You have got less money to invest if you're giving 27 per cent of your profits to the Exchequer than, clearly, if you're domiciled in a tax haven and you've got much more.

'So they will out-invest and ultimately out-trade us and that means there will not be the tax base in the UK.' Amazon paid 11.9million in UK tax in 2014, despite 5.3billion of sales to British shoppers through its Luxembourg-based business Amazon EU Sarl.

John Lewis revealed yesterday that its online sales soared by more than 21 per cent in the six weeks to January 2, making up 40 per cent of revenue over the Christmas trading period. However, sales in its stores fell by 1.2 per cent in the same period.

Accounts for the John Lewis Partnership show a tax bill of 50.9million for 2015, with revenue of 9.7billion and profits of 194.4million before tax.

In 2012, Mr Street said paying less tax meant internet firms could undercut high street stores that paid fair taxes (file photo of Amazon warehouse in Staffordshire)

Pre-Christmas sales also fell at Next stores, down by 0.5 per cent in the 60 days to December 24. The firm blamed the warm winter weather hitting sales of coats, woollens and gloves. Sales through its Next Directory online and catalogue business rose by 2 per cent.

Shares in the chain fell 5.5 per cent, triggering a domino effect for some other big names. Shares in Marks & Spencer fell by 2.1 per cent, while Debenhams dropped by 2.5 per cent.
The least attractive group were graded about 1.5 per cent lower than those with average looks

Women classed as most attractive scored roughly 0.5 per cent higher than the average group

Attractive female students scored higher marks then their peers, a US study found (file picture)

Hard work and diligence have long been the keys to exam success  but it seems a pretty face may come in handy too.

Attractive female students scored higher marks in exams and coursework than their peers, a US study found.

The appearance of male students had no effect on their exam results.

Researchers at the Metropolitan State University, in Denver, found both male and female academics were guilty of awarding lower marks to less attractive students, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The study rated more than 5,000 student photos on a scale of one to ten according to their physical appeal.

Researchers divided women into three groups: average, more attractive, and less attractive and looked at 103,803 of their grades.

The least attractive group were graded about 1.5 per cent lower than those with average looks. In comparison, the group classed as most attractive was roughly 0.5 per cent higher than the average group.

Brian Lightman, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: Behaviour of this kind would be completely unacceptable.

Accurate assessment of students work must be conducted to the highest professional and ethical standards and school leaders would act decisively if these were not adhered to.

Rey Hernandez-Julian, one of the economists behind the study, described the results as troubling and suggested two reasons for the correlation between good looks and higher grades.

He said: Is it that professors invest more time and energy into the better-looking students, helping them learn more and earn the higher grades?

Or do professors simply reward the appearance with higher grades given identical performance?

The likely answer, given our growing understanding of the prevalence of implicit biases, is that professors make small adjustments on both of these margins.
A doctor and his lawyer wife have been charged with child abuse after allegedly routinely tying up their 12-year-old daughter and locking her inside a playhouse.

Radiologist Eugenio Erquiaga, 53, and Victoria Erquiaga, 51, were arrested after their daughter knocked on the door of a neighbor's house with zip-ties around her wrists and ankles.

The parents are alleged to have regularly tied her up and locked her in the 5ft by 7ft playhouse - which police called 'a glorified cage' - for so long that she soiled herself.

Police said the Erquiagas, from Sarasota, Florida, locked the girl up because she was prone to violent outbursts and needed to be restrained to protect her and her seven siblings.

Radiologist Eugenio Erquiaga, 53, and his lawyer wife Victoria Erquiaga have been charged with child abuse after allegedly routinely tying up their 12-year-old daughter and locking her inside a playhouse

The couple were arrested after their daughter knocked on the door of neighbor Sean MacIndoe (right, with his father, Scott) with zip-ties around her wrists and ankles

Sean MacIndoe, 19, called 911 after the young girl knocked on the door of his parents' house - two doors down from the Erquiagas' home - on December 27.

He told Fox13 that she had restraints on her wrists and her ankles, and that she said she had run away because her parents 'abandoned' her.

In the girl's loft bedroom, detectives later found a playhouse with a door that could be barricaded shut with a large block of wood. It also had all but one of its windows screwed closed shut and smelled strongly of urine, police said.

A hook was found inside the playhouse and the parents allegedly confessed that they would tie their daughter's ankle restraints to it so she could not kick the wooden structure apart.

The 12-year-old told investigators that she was sometimes kept locked up for so long that she was forced to wet herself. Her siblings were reported to have confirmed this to police.

'The playhouse is aesthetically pleasing from the outside but can only be described as a glorified cage when examined closer,' a detective wrote in an arrest report.

Police said the Erquiagas (pictured in court) locked the girl up because she was prone to violent outbursts and needed to be restrained to protect her and her seven siblings living at their home in Sarasota, Florida

Detective Chad McDonald told Fox: '[The playhouse is] more like a cage. It's more like you would keep someone penned in.

'[The parents] say they were at wits end as far as how to best handle her and her needs. And they would do that to protect her, they said, from herself or the seven other children that were living within the home.'

Mr Erquiaga, who works at the Radiology Associates of Venice, and Mrs Erquiaga, who is unemployed but is a member of the Florida Bar, were both charged with aggravated child abuse on Wednesday.

Their attorney Derek Byrd said: 'A family with a ton of kids in the house were doing what they can to help that child with behavioral issues.'

The 12-year-old and her seven siblings have been taken into care.
Leaders of the doctors' union were last night condemned for risking patient safety for 'political ends'.

The claim came as it emerged the union's senior ranks are stuffed with Left-wing anti- austerity campaigners.

Whistleblower James Titcombe said the British Medical Association's behaviour was 'unacceptable'.

The union is due to stage the first of three successive walkouts by junior doctors next week  leading to the cancellation of thousands of operations and appointments.

Action: The BMA is due to stage the first of three successive walkouts by junior doctors next week  leading to the cancellation of thousands of operations and appointments. Pictured, junior doctors demonstrating last year

Mr Titcombe's fight for answers over his baby son Joshua's death at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust led to an independent inquiry. He is now the Care Quality Commission's national adviser on patient safety.

He said yesterday: 'Elements of the BMA using a strike that risks patient safety for political ends is totally unacceptable.'

Yesterday, the Mail revealed the BMA was urging members of hard-Left unions such as Unite and the GMB to join it on the picket lines to 'crack the edifice of austerity'.

Now it has emerged a raft of senior figures in the BMA's organising committees either support Labour, have personally backed Jeremy Corbyn at fundraising events or, in one case, even stood for election against David Cameron.

Corbyn supporter: Yannis Gourtsoyannis, of the BMA junior doctors committee national executive

They have remarked that the Nazis would be 'proud' of Tory health policies and urged unions to rise up against the free market.

Despite this, the BMA insists it is apolitical and that the motivation for the strikes  which follow a bitter struggle with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt  is patient safety.

Dr Tomasz Pierscionek, who has held national and regional posts on the BMA junior doctors committee, wrote in hard-Left newspaper The Morning Star that 'fellow health workers and members of other unions are fighting in different sections of the front against the ideology of the free market  injury to one is an injury to all'. He lists Marxist theory among his interests.

Dr Jonathan Coates, a BMA Council member, donated to the National Health Action (NHA) Party, which supported Corbyn in the Labour leadership race.

Fellow BMA Council member Dr Clive Peedell ran against David Cameron in Witney for the NHA Party in the general election. Dr Kailash Chand, who also sits on the BMA Council, said Hiltler's Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels would be 'proud' of Tory policies on education, health and the economy under the Coalition.

He separately nicknamed ex-health minister Simon Burns 'Goebbels'. Dr Chand openly declares his Labour membership and once worked for MP John Healey.

Jacky Davis, another member of the BMA Council, spoke at a fundraising event for Mr Corbyn.

Yannis Gourtsoyannis, of the BMA junior doctors committee national executive, signed a letter during the Labour leadership race stating Mr Corbyn was 'the only candidate with the desire and the ability to resist the Conservative consensus'.

He was the author of the memo, revealed in yesterday's Mail, urging unions to join doctors in striking.

Whistleblower: James Titcombe said the British Medical Association's behaviour was 'unacceptable'

The first walkout will begin at 8am next Tuesday with doctors treating only emergency cases for 24 hours. This will be followed by a 48-hour strike starting on January 26. On February 10 there will be a 'no cover' strike, during which doctors will completely desert patients for the first time in the NHS's history.

Andrea Jenkyns, a Tory MP on the Commons health select committee, said: 'The upper echelons of the BMA are more committed to 'bringing down the Tories' than getting the best deal for their members and ensuring patient safety is not compromised  Their true political mission should be exposed so doctors and patients know the agenda they are trying to push.'

The BMA said the fact 98 per cent of members voted for action showed 'the strength of feeling  against Government proposals that are unsafe and unfair'.
A first responder was later charged with stealing from them after they died

Police are hunting for the mystery tractor involved in the tragic interstate crash which killed two teenage brothers.

Zach Kvalvog, 18, and his 14-year-old brother, Connor Kvalvog, were killed when their truck rolled on the Interstate 94 east of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on June 23 last year.

Detectives are now hoping to track down a tractor-trailer which they believe was involved in the fatal crash.

Police are hunting for the mystery tractor (pictured) involved in the tragic interstate crash which killed two teenage brothers

Zach had been returning from picking up his little brother from basketball camp in the family's 2010 Dodge Ram when he hit the shoulder, over-corrected to the right and rolled into the median, according to the State Patrol.

The crash killed both brothers and injured two high school friends who were in the car with them at the time.

Zach was revealed to have been driving at 77mph before the incident when the tractor-trailer came 'extremely close' behind the pick-up police told Grand Forks Herald.

Officers have now released surveillance footage pictures of the vehicle in a bid to trace the driver and owner.

The truck is believed to be a late-'80s to mid-'90s Kenworth tractor, Model T600 to T800, with dark blue cab and white trailer, according to Twin Cities. A partial license plate, probably the final numbers, are either 024 or 025.

The boys' heartbroken family believe their own truck may also be at fault for the crash.

Zach Kvalvog, 18, and his 14-year-old brother, Connor Kvalvog, were killed when their truck rolled on the Interstate 94 east of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on June 23 last year

Parents Ray (left) and Kathie, (right) from Moorhead, Minnesota, are devastated by the loss of their sons

Fiat Chrysler agreed to buy back thousands of Dodge Rams after more than 20 safety recalls as part of a legal settlement last year.

Parents Ray and Kathie, from Moorhead, Minnesota, are convinced that their car would have been one of those recalled over concerns about a steering defect.

'The fact is, if Chrysler would have come out with this info in June instead of July 27, nobody would be driving that truck,' he said. 'I think this is a bad one on Chrysler. I don't know how long they've sat on the news, but it's too late for my boys.'

The allegations have been under investigation by Minnesota State Patrol.

In another twist to the tragedy, the family were forced to undergo more pain when they found out that a first responder had been charged with stealing money from the dead teens.

Authorities say 42-year-old Tara Lindquist took cash moments after the boys had died, to pay her power bill. Lindquist denies all allegations.

'You think, you are just getting up again, and you get another blow,' Mrs Kvallog told Fox 2 after learning the emergency service crew member had allegedly stolen from her dead sons.

'That is pretty low'.

Officers have now released surveillance footage pictures of the vehicle in a bid to trace the driver and owner

The truck is believed to be a late-'80s to mid-'90s Kenworth tractor, Model T600 to T800, with dark blue cab and white trailer

Their father Ray added that he felt it was a 'violation' his dead children.

'You just feel like we have had enough tragedy, and I think it's like anything stolen out of their home or their car, you know how angry you get because you feel violated, and then take that times a thousand degrees.

'I mean it is just horrendous because there is enough pain and disappointment because people have been so supportive, and then to have this happen'.

A memorial tribute to Zachary and Connor, who both attended Park Christian School, described the boys as much loved by their family, friends and school.

'They were blessings to everyone, especially their parents, and perfect, perfect, perfect children.
Britain is launching a drive to attract thousands more big-spending Chinese visitors by offering cut-price visas.

Ministers plan to bring in hundreds of millions of pounds by making it easier for tourists and entrepreneurs to come to the UK.

Relaxing the rules will entice them to spend their holidays and do business here, they believe.

Slashing the price of a two-year visa by almost 75 per cent  from 324 to 85  will encourage more Chinese to visit the UK, it is hoped.

Under a two-year pilot scheme launched next week, successful applicants will be allowed to make multiple trips to the UK and stay for up to six months at a time.

Chinese shoppers, pictured with their purchases in Knightsbridge, London, will be able to apply for a visa allowing them to make multiple trips to the UK and stay for up to six months at a time

Another key part of the charm offensive will be expanding the Home Offices mobile fingerprinting service, which captures biometrics needed for online applications, from nine to 50 Chinese cities  making it more convenient.

Chinese tourism is worth nearly 500million a year in the UK, and is one of Britains fastest-growing markets.

In the first six months of 2015, around 93,000 holidaymakers arrived from China  an increase of 28 per cent year-on-year.

British businesses have long campaigned for the Government to get rid of red tape and reduce costs so they can more easily attract people from the economic superpowers.

The cut-price visa  which will be reciprocated for UK citizens visiting China  signals closer co-operation between London and Beijing following President Xis controversial visit to Britain last October.

Security chiefs have warned that the Governments obsession with doing more business with the Communist country could leave firms vulnerable to attack from hackers and spies.

But Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: The launch of this new visa enhances our excellent visa service by offering better value for money and more flexible travel for Chinese visitors, while ensuring that the UK border is protected.

The number of Chinese visitors to the UK is rising year-on-year and this visa will allow them to further take advantage of the opportunities the UK has to offer for both tourism and business purposes.

The two-year pilot scheme, which will be launched next week, also includes expanding the Home Offices mobile fingerprinting service, which captures biometrics needed for online applications, from nine to 50 Chinese cities

In the year to September last year, the UK issued 484,065 visas in China, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year. Of these 404,084 were for visitors  a 22 per cent increase.

Ministers say the new visa will be a better deal than the standard 77 Schengen visitor visa, which allows Chinese people to apply for both a British pass and one for travel in the EU, which is limited to a maximum of 90 days.

The reforms are designed to help the UK compete better with France and Germany for deals with firms from what is now become the worlds second largest economy.

A Home Office spokesman said: We are doing this to provide the best possible product for the Chinese visitor and to ensure that the UKs visa offer is better than our competitors.

This will be a more convenient option for applicants and will give them greater flexibility when planning their travel to the UK.

An estimated 100million Chinese go abroad each year, spending more than 60billion.

In recent years, ministers have introduced several measures to make it easier for Chinese visitors to get visas to Britain.

They include making the Schengen visa available to independent travellers as well as those in organised tour groups.

Visa applications by Chinese businessmen and tourists have also been fast-tracked within 24 hours as part of a charm offensive designed to attract billions of pounds of investment.
Drama: The BBC's docu-drama fictionalises the Queen Mother's well-known enmity with Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor

One day someone will write the true story of the Queen Mothers life.

Casting aside the saccharine versions which have appeared since her death in 2002, the new biographer may choose to explore her snobbery, her manipulativeness, her spendthrift ways and her contempt for her doughty son-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh.

The writer might even address the well-founded notion that, far from the Queen Mother hating her brother-in-law Edward VIII for putting her husband on the throne, in fact she relished every moment of being Queen.

And why not. Theres no harm in telling the truth, especially when it relates to someone who was so crucial to the survival of Britains monarchy after the Abdication crisis which unfolded 80 years ago.

But the truth it has to be. Not a version of someones fantasy of the might-have-been  which is what we are told to expect from Royal Wives At War, a docu-drama to be broadcast tomorrow night.

The BBC has focused its attention on the well-known enmity between the Queen Mother and the woman who brought her to the throne, Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor.

The programme includes dramatised  but entirely fictional  scenes featuring actress Gina McKee as Mrs Simpson, and Emma Davies as the Queen Mother.

This is the same national broadcaster that, with blatant disregard for the nations special love of the Queen Mother, refused to televise her 100th birthday celebrations in 2000, claiming it would clash with an episode of the Australian soap Neighbours.

Instead, the event was picked up by ITV and watched by a record 11 million viewers.

Claiming to be based on authoritative sources, tomorrows programme undertakes to shed new light on the battle between Elizabeth and Wallis, promising a knife fight between two tough women.

Dismissed: Historian Christopher Wilson says Lady Colin Campbell's claims that the Queen Mother first tried to marry her future brother-in-law King Edward VIII, then known to her as David, are unfounded

Of course, for a time, back in the 1930s, Wallis Simpson did hold sway over Elizabeth. Then, after the Abdication, it was the other way round.

But although they became two of the most famous women of the 20th century, they barely met, hardly ever spoke and were always careful to keep out of each others way.

Hauled in to add credence to the shows dubious claims are John Julius Norwich, one of Britains most distinguished men of letters, and the biographer Hugo Vickers.

In character: Nick Waring as King Edward VIII (right, back) and Gina Mckee as Wallis Simpson (right, front) greet John Sackville as the Duke of York (left, back) and Emma Davies as the Duchess of York (left, front)

Ranged against them are Princess Dianas famed biographer Andrew Morton, and Lady Colin Campbell  most recently seen as Lady C in Im A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

Even before transmission, the programme has been dismissed as rubbish by one senior historian.

Central to the shows claims is that the Queen Mother, when young and single, wanted to marry Edward (then known as David), the Prince of Wales, rather than his less glamorous brother Bertie.

Lady Colin asserts: She tried to marry David. He wasnt interested in her. He liked them slender, sleek and svelte, like Wallis.

The programme then shows Gina McKee as Mrs Simpson, saying: [She] was sweet on David. Naturally he wasnt interested. What could a silly little girl like her offer him, a man of the world? I had the prize and she had second best.

On the show: There are discussions featuring eminent historians Hugo Vickers and John Julius Norwich, but the controversial claims are made by Lady Colin Campbell, who recently appeared in Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!

This contention is presented as fact, yet theres not a single shred of historical evidence to support it.

The Realpolitik of royal marriages a century ago meant the future King was expected to wed the daughter of a European royal house or, at the very least, the daughter of a British duke.

Elizabeth, a couple of rungs down the social ladder as the daughter of an earl, was on the lookout for a husband of her own rank and had been dating Viscount Grubby Gage. She and David were never in the same league.

When Elizabeth and David met in 1918, he was at the tail end of a romance with Lady Rosemary Leveson-Gower, daughter of the Duke of Sutherland.

Wrong: King Edward VIII and Elizabeth only ever danced together, and a newspaper in 1923 hinted that the pair were about to announce their engagement - but they got the wrong brother. Above, the Queen Mother, then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and King George VI, then Duke of York (Bertie) announce their engagement

His father King George V, hopeful of better things, intervened to squash that relationship, so David headed into the arms of Freda Dudley Ward, the wife of a Liberal MP, who remained his mistress for 16 years.

Both affairs were well known and talked about in society circles, and it would have been crystal clear to Elizabeth that the Prince had his hands full, romantically speaking.

All that ever happened between David and Elizabeth was that, at the end of World War I, they danced together a few times, though in 1923 a newspaper hinted that the pair were shortly to announce their engagement. But the paper had the wrong man  it was Davids brother Bertie who had proposed.

All this information is available to anyone interested in the lives of royalty.

To come up with something new, to find the truth about Elizabeths feelings for the Prince of Wales, you have to have access to the Royal Library at Windsor.

Controversial: Royal Wives At War documents the relationship between the Queen Mother and Wallis Simpson, the divorcee for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne in 1936 to marry

Here might be found  if evidence ever existed  details of Elizabeths romantic ambitions towards the man who was to become her brother-in-law. But when Lady Colin Campbell wrote a biography of the Queen Mother in 2012, she did not consult the Royal Library.

Had she done so, she would not have found the evidence upon which her claims are based, nor anything to support the astonishing claims repeated in a book that the Queen Mother was thought not to be the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, but of their French cook.

Certainly, in later life the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, bitter at being sidelined after the Abdication, used to call the Queen Mother Cookie.

But that came from Wallis one day describing the Sovereigns wife, with her rounded figure, as that fat Scotch cook.

So, taking rumours and presenting them as fact, the BBC has created a programme likely to offend those who believe the Queen Mother almost single-handedly saved the Monarchy in the months and years after the Abdication.

It has embarrassed its contributors, Viscount Norwich and Hugo Vickers, who himself wrote a distinguished biography of Elizabeth and is listed as the shows historical consultant.

Unamused: There are many facts still worth revealing about the Queen Mother  for example, how she wore the trousers in the royal marriage and told Bertie (a King and an Emperor) what to do, according to Christopher Wilson. Above, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon leaves her home on her wedding day in 1923

The leading historian Andrew Roberts, who did not take part, says: The relationship between these two women is dramatic and extraordinary, without the BBC inventing rubbish of this kind.

And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen described the shows line as more like a script from EastEnders.

Without doubt, there are many facts still worth revealing about the Queen Mother  for example, how she wore the trousers in the royal marriage and told Bertie (a King and an Emperor) what to do.

Its true, as the BBC docu-drama claims, that she fought hard to keep the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in exile for the rest of their lives.

But in fairness to her, shed learnt of a letter David had written to his mother, Queen Mary, complaining that Bertie had behaved badly to him because of the influence of that common little woman.

No wonder Elizabeth spiritedly retorted: What a curse black sheep are in a family! The mass of people do not forgive quickly the sort of thing he did to this country, and they HATE her!

Nearly 80 years ago, with the Abdication looming and courtiers and Cabinet ministers trying to work out what on earth would happen next, alternative plans were drawn up for the occupancy of Buckingham Palace which did not include Bertie and Elizabeth.

Berties reluctance to shoulder the burden of kingship  he cried on his mothers shoulder at the prospect  was matched by an unglamorous public image and a personality that was both nervy and bad-tempered.

Whats more, there were some who did not like Elizabeths grandstanding behaviour. Wouldnt it be better, the argument ran, if the throne went to the youngest brother, the Duke of Kent?

These are stories the BBC might have examined  fascinating but as yet unexplored avenues concerning what happened around and after the Abdication, which set Elizabeth and Wallis at loggerheads for the rest of their lives.

Instead, licence-payers will be treated to a basinful of fiction presented as fact. Her Majesty would not be amused.
Seven schools in the Chicago suburb of Zion were closed down in incident

They found the man dressed in tactical vest and armed with a BB gun

Police have shot dead a man dressed in a tactical vest carrying a BB gun after he was spotted taking photographs of schools, authorities say.

The 38-year-old, who has not yet been named, was killed on Wednesday morning after he attempted to flee from officers in the Chicago suburb of Zion. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.

Officers had been responding to a reports that a suspicious man was taking photographs of local schools. Seven schools in total were shut down for the day over the incident, the Chicago Tribune reports.

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Investigation: Law enforcement workers canvas the area for evidence following the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man who was wearing body armor and carrying a BB gun outside schools in the Chicago suburb of Zion

A pursuit on foot followed and struggle ensued between him and the two officers involved in the incident, authorities say.

Sheriff's Detective Christopher Covelli said police attempted to use non-lethal force to take down the man.

But the taser did not work as it couldn't properly penetrate the vest and winter clothing.

Officers then shot the suspect. Police declined to say how many times or where he was shot.

Detective Covelli said what was thought to be proper body armor turned out to be a homemade tactical-style vest with metal inserts.

After he was shot down, officers recovered an Airsoft BB gun from the scene.

Press conference: Zion Police Chief Stephen Dumyahn, (left), listens as Lake County Major Crime Task Force Detective Christopher Covelli speaks during a news conference after a police involved shooting in Zion

Both cops involved were treated for minor injuries and placed on administrative leave while an investigation is carried out.

Detectives are still investigating why the suspect, who was white, was wearing the protective vest or snapping pictures of Chicago schools.

Zion police have now obtained a warrant to search his home for more clues.

An autopsy has been scheduled for 9am tomorrow morning.
He now plans on pleading guilty to all charges next month in court according to his lawyer

, having just gotten off a private jet with his wedding to Taryn Hampton weeks away

Muzzo was returning home from his bachelor party in

Marco Muzzo, 29, the grandson of property billionaire Marco Muzzo has been charged with a dozen impaired-driving offenses

, and great grandmother Josephina Frias were also injured in the crash

The man who killed three young children and their grandfather in a horrific car crash will plead guilty to all charges.

Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, his brother Harrison, 5, and sister Milly, 2, along with their grandfather Gary Neville, 65, were killed when the car their grandmother Neriza was driving was hit by Marco Muzzo in Vaughan, Ontario this past September.

Muzzo, 29, now plans to plead guilty to more than a dozen impaired-driving offences and six charges related to the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle according to his lawyer, Brian Greenspan.

He will plead guilty next month, and is not expecting a plea deal in exchange according to Greenspan.

'Mr. Muzzo has always accepted full responsibility for his actions and for his conduct, and has, from the first day of our meeting, expressed his wish that this matter proceed as expeditiously as possible to this resolution,' said Greenspan according to the Toronto Star.

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Charges: Marco Muzzo (above) the grandson of property billionaire Marco Muzzo has been charged with a dozen impaired-driving offenses for a fatal September crash and will plead guilty

Tragic: Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, his brother Harrison, 5, and sister Milly, 2, were all killed in the crash (above)

Scene: Muzzo was returning home from his bachelor party in Las Vegas when the crash occureed (above), having just gotten off a private jet with his wedding to Taryn Hampton weeks away

Harrison and Milly passed away at the hospital while holding hands as their grandmother sang to them from her phone.

She had been pinned in the car and screaming the names of the children and her husband when officials arrived on the scene - unaware that her husband was dead.

'Its like the worst nightmare, as a daughter, as a parent, to have to go through and just know it was caused by someones stupidity It just kills me,' Jennifer Neville-Lake, the mother of the children, told news station CP24 at the time according to the National Post.

Also injured was Jennifer's grandmother, Josephina Frias, who was in the car as well at the time of the crash and remains hospitalized.

The grandparents of the three children often cared for them as their parents worked full time.

Another car was also hit in the crash, but none of the passengers suffered any major injuries.

Muzzo was returning home from his bachelor party in Las Vegas and had just flown in on a private jet according to the York Region.

They also wrote that 'media have reported police sources said Muzzo had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit and ran a stop sign.'

He was set to marry Taryn Hampton this past October.

The Toronto Sun reported in September that he worked for the billion-dollar construction empire that was founded by his grandfather, who shares the same name and was estimated to be worth $1.7billion at the time of his death in 2005 from cancer.

Marco's father died in 2004, a year before his own father.

'We are all greatly saddened by yesterday's tragedy and express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Neville, Lake and Frias families. We would ask for the co-operation of the media in respecting the privacy of our family during this very difficult time,' said Muzzo's maother Dawn in a statement.

Awful: Gary Neville (above) was also killed in the drunk driving crash

A GoFundMe site set up for the family raised over $250,000 to help them with their expenses.

Jennifer wrote on Facebook after the tragedy; 'Thank you everyone.

'Your kind words and messages mean so much to my husband and as we sit in our sons empty room surrounded by our children's things.

'As you know all of my children have gone home to God with my dad. My mother and grandmother are still in the hospital.
Family and friends of Bettie Jones - the 55-year-old grandmother 'accidentally' shot dead by police in Chicago - said an emotional goodbye at her funeral on Wednesday.

Jones and Quintonio LeGrier, 19, were both killed by police on December 26 after cops responded to a report of a domestic disturbance.

The mother-of-five was laid to rest at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, where 250 loved ones, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, gathered to pay their respects.

Jones was wearing a red dress and a tiara in her open casket as relatives stepped forward to say their final words to her, before her daughter Latonya told the congregation: 'My mama didn't deserve this.'

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Family and friends of Bettie Jones (pictured in her open casket) - the 55-year-old grandmother 'accidentally' shot dead by police in Chicago - said an emotional goodbye at her funeral on Wednesday

Jones was killed by police on December 26 after cops responded to a report of a domestic disturbance

The mother-of-five was laid to rest at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. Pictured, family members say a final goodbye

LaTisha Jones, one Bettie Jones' daughters, kisses her mother on the forehead as she was laid to rest

Latonya Jones added: 'The day after Christmas, the police took my mama from us for no reason. All she tried to do was help them and this is how she gets repaid? We're hurting right now, we're crying because of these police.'

People laid bouquets of red roses next to her velvet red open casket, next to which sat a picture of the cartoon character Betty Boop - a name friends affectionately called the church-going mother.

The Chicago Tribune reported that booming gospel choir music was played as mourners - who were also dressed in red - listened to a number of touching eulogies.

In his eulogy, Pastor Marshall Hatch said: 'Bettie is innocent.

'There is nothing that she did that she should have done differently. There is no way she should have expected aggression from sworn officers of the peace. We have a right to expect the police to serve and protect.'

Rev Jackson also spoke at the funeral, telling the service that 'when there is no safe place even in the home, life is diminished'.

More than 250 loved ones, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, gathered to pay their respects at the church

Heartbreak: It was an emotional occasion and some family members broke down during the service

Garry Mullen, Bettie Jones' husband, stands next to her casket before the funeral got under way Wednesday

Her grandchildren also spoke at the funeral early on Wednesday afternoon, with granddaughter Saniya Jones-Marzette thanking God 'for waking us up this morning'.

'We just ask you to pray over Grandma B.J.'s casket. We love her,' she added.

One of Jones' grandsons also paid tribute, saying she was his 'motivation' in life and that he would make her proud.

Many of the mourners at the funeral gathered at a visitation yesterday, where Jones' nephew said she was the 'glue ... who kept everybody together'.

Marcus Andrews told the Chicago Sun-Times: 'All she wanted was a family reunion. She wanted everybody to come together. Its just crazy that its got to happen that everybody is coming together like this. It dont make no sense.'

Jones niece Camila Andrews said her 'kind-hearted' aunt was 'always willing to help out anybody'.

Jones (left) and LeGrier (right) were both shot dead by police on December 26 after officers responded to a domestic disturbance

Rev Jesse Jackson spoke at the funeral, telling the service that 'when there is no safe place even in the home, life is diminished'

Two young grandsons of Betty Jones also spoke as they stood in front of her velvet red casket

Jones' family and friends say they will continue to fight for justice and shouted out against the Chicago police after leaving the church

At a vigil last week relatives demanded Chicago police explain why they 'shoot first and ask questions later'.

Jones, who hosted Christmas dinner for her family the day before she died, was a neighbor of LeGrier's and lived in a first-floor apartment with her boyfriend.

Police say Jones was shot accidentally and autopsy results on Jones indicate a bullet hit her chest.

LeGrier, a college student, died from multiple gunshot wounds. Both deaths were listed as homicide by Cook County medical examiner's office.

Jones' family, in a wrongful death lawsuit, said she 'faced a hail of bullets being fired by an on-duty Chicago Police Department officer at and in the direction of her home and her, with bullets going through the doorway, and through the walls of her home'.

Police issued a statement after her death saying officers 'were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer's weapon which fatally wounded two individuals'.
Travellers will now need less Qantas frequent flyer points to fly economy to some international destinations after the airline revamped its reward scheme by lowering points and additional fees.

The number of frequent-flyer points needed to travel from Australia to destinations like Asia, America, Europe and Africa will drop by 10 percent under changes to the current point system.

Other charges on economy class tickets, which will come into effect immediately, will drop by an estimated of 40 percent.

Travellers will now need less Qantas frequent flyer points to fly economy to some international destinations after the airline revamped its reward scheme by lowering points and additional fees

An economy ticket from Melbourne to Los Angeles will now require 90,000 points and $419 in additional fees. It will save customers 6,000 points and $190 in extra charges.

FREQUENT FLYER CHANGES Perth - Singapore New flight: 45,000 points, $245.93 fees Old flight: 50,000 points, $425.93 fees Brisbane - Hong Kong New flight: 56,000 points, $290.66 fees Old flight: 60,000 points, $336.66 fees Melbourne - Los Angeles New flight: 90,000 points, $419.32 fees Old flight: 96,000 points, $609.32 fees Sydney - London New flight: 120,000 points, $708.18 fees Old flight: 128,000 points, $848.18 fees *Examples of savings on Qantas Points and Carrier Charges quoted for eligible return Qantas Economy Classic Flight Rewards Advertisement

The Sydney to London return flight has dropped from 128,000 points to 120,000 and fees will now sit at $708 instead of $848.

For a Perth to Singapore flight, travellers will now need 45,000 point instead of 50,000, which will see a $180 reduction in fees.

An economy ticket from Brisbane to Hong Kong will now require 56,000 points and $290 in extra charges.

There are no changes to domestic economy flights or business class frequent flyer tickets under the rewards scheme.

The number of points required for some economy flights with Qantas partners, including American Airlines, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Air Vanuatu and Air North will also reduce because these partners are included in the classic rewards table.

'January is a popular time of year for members to book reward flights as they return to work from the Christmas break and start thinking about their next holiday, so that's why this change applies immediately,' a Qantas spokeswoman said.

The number of frequent-flyer points needed to travel from Australia to destinations like Asia, America, Europe and Africa will drop by 10 percent under changes to the current point system

'We know how important Qantas points are to our members, which is why we've been introducing a number of ways to maximise their opportunities to earn and redeem their points, including recently tripling points earned for domestic travel during the holiday period and summer months.

"We're always looking at new ways to help our members use their Qantas points and this is great news for our frequent flyer members, who will save up to 6,000 points and around $190 on a flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles.'

The new changes is the third reduction for Qantas' frequent flyer program in 12 months.
The six-hour journey transports fans to the annual Parkes Elvis Festival in rural New South Wales

flocked to Sydneys Central station on Thursday to board the Elvis Express train

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Elvis enthusiasts have pulled on their finest wigs and skintight jumpsuits ahead of an annual festival to commemorate the king.

Fans, impersonators and lookalikes of all shapes and sizes flocked to Sydneys Central station on Thursday to catch the Elvis Express to the Parkes Elvis Festival in rural New South Wales.

From diamante studded boiler suits to leather capes, the revellers pulled no punches in their outfits  despite some of them looking cheesier than their idol's trademark grilled cheddar sandwich.

Elvis enthusiast Sean Wright of Bowral poses for a photograph before boarding the Elvis Express at Sydney's Central Station

Fans, impersonators and lookalikes of all shapes and sizes boarded the train ahead of the Parkes Elvis Festival in rural New South Wales

The Elvis impersonator stocks up on snacks from a vending machine snack ahead of the six hour long journey

Elvis fans Daniel Rawsthorne and Angus Wylliewere among the throngs of fans who were headed to the festival

From diamante studded boiler suits to leather capes, the revellers pulled no punches in their outfits

A pair of feathery Elvis fans gather at the station platform ahead of the six hour journey to the festival

A 22,000 strong crowd is expected to descend on Parkes to celebrate the Elvis Presleys life, music and birthday - January 8.

The festival features tribute concerts, impersonator contests, and an Elvis gospel service  but the six hour six-hour train journey is also highly anticipated.

The Elvis Express is renowned for singing contests between the fans, and from the look of the high spirited crowd, the train would have a little less conversation and a little more action than your average commute.

Parkes population of 12,000 is set to double for the event  the largest turnout to date - sparking a significant spike in tourism revenue.

The Elvis Express is renowned for having a little less conversation and a little more action than your average commute

The festival features tribute concerts, impersonator contests, edible Elvis art and an Elvis gospel service
A Melbourne filmmaker has been unmasked as the Optus social media manager named Dan whose posts have gone viral and prompted marriage proposals.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal 'Optus Dan' is Dan de Sousa, who founded multimedia company ShootCutDrop, and lives in Carlton, in Melbourne's inner-city.

Mr de Sousa moved to Australia from New Zealand about seven years ago and primarily makes films about music and skateboarding.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal 'Optus Dan' is Dan de Sousa (pictured), who founded multimedia company ShootCutDrop, and lives in Carlton, in Melbourne's inner-city

He has worked with many hip hop and rap artists, such as Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch, and captured performances by 360, Illy and Seth Sentry.

The viral personality's business focuses on video production, photography and freelance writing.

Mr de Sousa also works with graphic designer Shane Mathewson and 'two of the most prolific hiphop and graffiti photographers', Frankie Fresco and MClovesNYC.

He also used to work in Melbourne nightclub Laundry Bar in Fitzroy.

Friends and family of Mr de Sousa revealed his real identity after he responded diplomatically and eloquently to the backlash faced by Optus when the phone company decided to advertise in Arabic

Another friend shows her support for Mr de Sousa, saying he was a 'quiet and compassionate achiever'

Mr de Sousa moved to Australia from New Zealand about seven years ago and primarily makes films about music and skateboarding

Friends and family of Mr de Sousa revealed his real identity after he responded diplomatically and eloquently to the backlash faced by Optus when the phone company decided to advertise in Arabic.

'The quiet and compassionate achiever! Dan your zest for social justice is admirable! And it's consistent! Hence my constant support for you, you're a good human,' one friend wrote on his Facebook page.

'Every day I marvel at your never wavering passion for justice to prevail. Nice to see something good making the mainstream media!'

'Pretty much killing it at your job at the moment mate. Well done,' a second friend said.

Others could not believe the impact Mr de Sousa was making from his job as a social media manager.

'Bro I read all those posts this morning and thought this guy is brilliant. Just found out its you.... Awesome bro keep up the great mahi,' one man said.

'They're talking about "Dan the online hero from Optus" on Radio Live today! Karen Haye using your stance against racist morons as a topic of conversation - so proud of ya!' another woman gushed.

Mr de Sousa revealed on his Facebook page his Optus bosses were pleased with his savvy social media skills.

Mr de Sousa revealed on his Facebook page his Optus bosses were pleased with his savvy social media skills

Others could not believe the impact Mr de Sousa was making from his job as a social media manager

He has worked with many hip hop and rap artists, such as Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch, and captured performances by 360, Illy and Seth Sentry

'Just looking on the Optus facebook [sic] page too at all the people declaring their Dan fandom! Awesome stuff! Bet your work is loving it!' a friend said.

Mr de Sousa replied: 'Yeah my team are really happy, I work with a great bunch of people, all sweethearts.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Optus for comment but Mr de Sousa was unavailable for an interview.

The filmmaker's responses on the phone company's official Facebook page went viral after it was shared by Tumblr user Fallenangelfish.

His polite and reasonable responses to angry customers, who could not believe Optus decided to re-introduce its Arabic language advertisements after facing a backlash late last year when staff were receiving threats, have been met with applause and led to declarations of love.

'Australia is a country where English is our language. All people who live here are required to read speak understand English. All advertising should be in English, one customer wrote to the public page.

'Thanks for the feedback,' Mr de Sousa wrote using the official Optus account.

Optus decided to re-introduce its Arabic language advertisements (above) after facing a backlash late last year

His polite and and reasonable responses to angry customers who were unhappy with Optus's decision

When one woman claimed English was the national language, Mr de Sousa politely pointed out it was actually Australia's 'most common language'

One customer said Optus had picked the wrong environment to release the ads but Mr de Sousa respectfully disagreed

Another man who is a migrant said it was immigrants who should assimilate but Mr de Sousa said Optus wanted people to know that its staff could help out in any language

'Australia is a nation full of languages, some 200 plus of them are native to Australia, but English is not one of those native languages.

'I live in Melbourne, a city renowned for its multicultural community, with world famous precincts to celebrate other cultures. We have Lygon St, where you can still hear Italian spoken in a lot of the restaurants. Lonsdale St and suburbs like Oakleigh, where you can practice your Greek. Richmond, known for its Vietnamese restaurants and stores.'

Mr de Sousa told other complainants that 'Casula itself is listed as having over 10% of the population speaking Arabic at home'.

When one commenter said they were 'starting to think you are a Moslem yourself, Dan'.

An Estonian-speaking man put in a request for signs that were in his native tongue

A woman pointed out that Australia is not Islam, but Mr de Souza corrected her by pointing out Islam was a religion

His polite replies have sparked proposals and his own unofficial fan club

He responded with: 'I have no religious ties actually Jason, but it would be an easy assumption to make since I openly display love and compassion, which are among of the values of the Islamic faith - Dan.'

Another person complained that 'this is Australia not Islam'.

But Mr de Souza calmly replied with: 'Hi Linda, thanks for your feedback. Australia is a country while Islam is a religion.'

His comments have struck such a chord with Optus customers that they have flooded the company's Facebook page with support for him, joking they were nominating him for Australian of the Year, the next Prime Minister and suggesting he receive a pay rise at the very least.

Other of Mr de Sousa's fans have asked for his hand in marriage.

'I've got a fever and the prescription is more DAN!' one said.
David Cameron today revealed a tax on sugary drinks could be back on because Britain's obesity 'crisis' should be treated as seriously as smoking.

The Prime Minister hinted at an extraordinary U-turn amid growing public support for a 20 per cent levy and because a 5p charge on plastic bags has changed the habits of millions almost overnight.

Speaking in Hungary today he said: 'I don't really want to put new taxes on anything but we do have to recognise that we face something of an obesity crisis'.

Mr Cameron said the costs of diabetes, heart disease and cancer treatment for the overweight costs the NHS huge sums.

He added: 'We do need to have a fully-worked-up programme to deal with this problem and address these issues in Britain and we will be making announcements later in the year'.

U-turn? David Cameron (pictured in Hungary today) refused to rule out a tax on sugary drinks months after the Government sank the idea

U-turn? A tax on sugary drinks could be back on the table months after it was ruled out by the Government because of increased public support and a successful scheme in Mexico

STARBUCKS WILL CUT SUGAR IN ITS DRINKS BY 25% BY 2020 Starbucks today committed to reducing added sugar in drinks by 25 per cent before the end of 2020. Over the next five years, the UK branch of the global drinks chain will gradually decrease the amount of sugar in its 'indulgent' beverage range. The range includes Frappucinos, hot chocolates, the Caffe Mocha, and winter specials such as the burnt caramel latte. The company has also pledged to simplify ingredients and improve nutritional information for customers, with all food and drink ingredient information to be made available online in 2016. Sara Bruce-Goodwin, Vice President of Research and Development, Quality and Regulatory services, Starbucks, said: 'We've heard from our customers that they are looking to reduce sugar when making choices. 'Over the next five years we plan to reduce average added sugar across our indulgent beverage range, while we continue to meet high expectations for consistent flavour and quality. 'By implementing these small changes over the next years, we hope to provide further guidance for customers to make the right choices.' Health charity Action On Sugar tweeted: 'Congratulations @StarbucksUK on your commitment to reducing added sugar in indulgent drinks by 25% by end of 2020! Who is next?!' Advertisement

Bringing in the sugar levy would be a sensational U-turn by the Government, just months after ruling it out.

The Mexican government brought in a ten per cent tax on fizzy drinks in 2014 as it headed towards become the fattest country in the world - and sales have dropped by 12 per cent.

A 5p charge on all plastic bags started in October has already led to an 80 per cent monthly reduction in the numbers taken home by shoppers, showing habits can change quickly.

A Whitehall source told The Times: 'We want to learn the lessons from examples such as the sugary drinks tax in Mexico. This does not mean a tax on sugar  your bag of Tate & Lyle isn't about to become more expensive. And there are still lots of arguments against. But we have not ruled anything out and no decisions have been made'.

David Cameron is said to have reservations about a tax - especially if it is seen to hit poorer families - but experts have repeatedly said it would rein in demand for unhealthy products.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has also been calling for a sugar tax as part of his wider campaign to tackle obesity.

This morning a spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'The Government position has not changed and we have no plans for a sugar tax.'

Asked if the PM was issuing a warning to the food industry, a spokesman for No 10 said: More needs to be done to address this challenge and that is not just for Government to do. It does include the industry doing more to develop alternatives to products that are high in sugar.

Last night Mr Oliver welcomed Mr Camerons apparent change of heart. He wrote on Twitter: Good to see sugary drinks tax back on the table. Over to you David Cameron.

Alison Tedstone of Public Health England, which drew up a report for the Government earlier this year, said: 'The higher the tax increase, the greater the effect'.

There is growing support for a tax among doctors and also the public to curb obesity, especially among children.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, the chairman of Commons Health Committee, told The Times: 'So many people have come out in favour and I think there's a real momentum about this'.

She added the 5p charge on bags proved that a levy is something 'that could happen overnight' and 'a quick win' that will make people think about their choices.

Battle: Cheft Jamie Oliver has been one of the most vocal campaigners for a sugar tax in Britain in order to curb obesity

Experts warned today that obesity - fuelled by large amounts of sugar - is escalating at such a rate it will cause almost 700,000 additional cases of cancer within the next 20 years, experts have warned.

Claims: There are fears people are drinking more wine because they think it is healthy - but this will be rubbished by experts later this week

They say that being overweight is already 'the new norm' and predict that four in ten adults will be obese by 2035.

Estimates also show that by this time obesity-related illnesses, including diabetes and heart disease, will cost the NHS more than 7.5billion a year.

A report by Cancer Research UK and a group of other health charities urges the Government to take far tougher action.

They recommend banning junk food adverts between 6am and 9pm so they are less likely to be seen by children.

This week there will also be a major shake-up of alcohol advice will now put a stop to the belief that red wine is good for you in moderation.

The Chief Medical Officer is set to rubbish the health benefits of red wine, including the idea that it prevents cancer and stops weight gain.

Dame Sally Davies' advice  to be published on Friday  is expected to present 'competing science' amid fears people are drinking more wine because they think it is good for them.

Last week it was reported that men will be told to drink the same amount as women, cutting the daily allowance to just one and a half pints of beer.

It will also recommend two days a week off alcohol. It could even say that any amount of drink is bad for your health. Critics of the new guidelines have suggested that there is no scientific evidence for the changes, which are the first shake-up in alcohol advice for 20 years.
He says he has a good relationship with Kyla's mother and visits everyday

He kept the news of his daughter from his mum for 3 months

A 17-year-old can add school captain to his long list of responsibilities, which include tennis, music practice, exam study and changing nappies.

Noa Woolloff is the newly appointed head boy of New Zealand high school, Aotea College, and has spoken publicly about fatherhood in the hope of inspiring other teen parents.

'I just thought, having a baby shouldn't stop me. If anything, it gives me more motivation and drive,' Noa told the New Zealand Herald.

Fatherhood: Noa Woolloff says he is proud to be a father to his nine-month-old baby girl Kyla

Noa Woolloff had to juggle changing nappies with his school and sporting responsibilities

'You know, there's not many role models out there for young teens, no one to look up to. And I think that's maybe why I didn't want to tell anyone, because I felt I wanted them to still look up to me. But I've learned I can still inspire others, by breaking stereotypes. There's a big cloud over teen parents and I'm hoping to change that,' he said.

Noa, from Paraparuma, in New Zealand's North Island, realised his ex-girlfriend was pregnant at the end of 2014, in March the following year he welcomed baby Kyla into the world.

However, Noa said the pregnancy was a stressful few months as he grappled with understanding his new role as a father and dealing with added pressure from his peers.

'At the beginning of the year I was zoning in and out of class, just listening to music all the time ... eventually the dean came up to me about what was going on. I broke into tears. It was good to have someone confront me about it. It had been a real elephant in the room for so long.'

Noa Wolloff (second from right): 'Over the moon to be selected as head boy for my college, massive honour'

Noa said it was an agonising three months before he could tell his mother of her grandmotherly status

He then had to build up the courage to tell his mother, Siggy Woolloff, who was also pregnant at the time, of news that she was a grandmother.

'I was at the hospital visiting mum, and then two days later I was sneaking out to see my daughter born on a Sunday night, and then going to school the next morning on no sleep,' he said.

Noa's first child was born only two days apart from his mother's new born, with baby Kyla 48 hours younger than her uncle Jimmy.

After an agonising three months he finally came clean to his mother, who told Stuff.co.nz that it took a while for the Noa's news to sink in.

'He said ''No. She's a girl, she's born, she's here''. And I said 'wow'.'

Ms Wooloff was only 18-years-old when she had Noa, and said child rearing only makes you a better person.

'It only makes you do better in life, strive harder to achieve the things you want to achieve. Suddenly you've got to be a role model and show you can do anything you want in life.'
He is determined to use the signature on as many official documents as possible

A man has spent more than five years of his life fighting to have his 'penis signature' registered as legitimate on his driver's licence, passport and proof of age card.

Jared Hyams, from Melbourne's Blackburn South, first doodled a penis on his registration form for the Australian Electoral Commission as a joke.

But what started out as a bit of fun turned into a long battle with government agencies to recognise his 'signature' as real, The Age reported.

Australian man Jared Hyams has spent more than five years of his life fighting to have his 'penis signature' registered as legitimate on his driving licence, passport and proof of age card

'I thought it would be a laugh; they would approve it and next year I would sign something different,' the 33-year-old told the newspaper.

'But when I did this signature all of a sudden I was receiving letters and phone calls telling me I couldn't' have it. I thought, that's interesting, why not?

'It sparked something in me, I didn't understand if these people were offended or had taken it personally.'

Mr Hyams has since been inspired to study law at University and decided to claim the 'penis-signature' as his own, applying for other important cards with it.

Mr Hyams, from Melbourne's Blackburn South, first doodled a penis on his registration form for the Australian Electoral Commission as a joke

But what started out as a bit of fun turned into a long battle with government agencies to recognise his 'signature' as real. Pictured is Mr Hyams's health care card

Mr Hyams has since been inspired to study law at University and decided to claim the 'penis-signature' as his own, applying for other important cards with it. Above is his Deakin University ID

He has had success with it, he managed to get his new driving licence using the signature, and the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation also allowed it to pass.

Similarly, he used it to sign his health card, library and student cards and even open a bank account.

However, Mr Hyams has came under fire for using the symbol this time from VicRoads who rejected it calling it 'offensive', and the Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs also denied him a passport because the image could be deemed as sexual harassment towards staff.

And the Department of Justice also cancelled his application for a Working with Children Check due to the signature.

Although he is not sure why he decided on the symbol as his signature, he will stick to using it until the federal government departments stop their opposition to it.
An extravagant nightclub set to feature the largest floor-to-ceiling infinity shark tank in Australia and gold-plated toilets from Turkey will open its doors to customers in early March.

Atlantis Lounge in the heart of Adelaide's CBD has unveiled plans to include a champagne fountain, Agate bar worth over $450,000 and 250,000 litre aquarium fitted for two hammerhead sharks.

But the wild club plans have been met with staunch opposition - with an online petition demanding that the owner ditch the infinity fish tank racking up 38,000 signatures in just two weeks.

An extravagant nightclub set to feature Australia's largest fish tank (pictured) with two hammerhead sharks inside will open its doors to customers in early March

Atlantis Lounge, in Adelaide's CBD, will include gold-plated toilets and basins from Turkey, an Agate bar worth over $450,000 and marble and onyx stabbed walls

Catering to everyone from the 'average punter' to high-class clientele - the bar will even be offering 30-litre bottles of Armand de Brignac French champagne or 'Ace of Spades', valued at over $200,000

Conservationists and shark lovers have flooded the nightclub's Facebook page with complaints over the tank

Conservationists and shark lovers alike have taken over the nightclub's official Facebook page, hijacking every progress update with hundreds of comments blasting the decision to keep sharks in an enclosed tank.

'2x 1.5m Sharks in a 3x3.6m tank? Put that in human terms, that's less room than a prisoner in solitary gets. They are not playthings for the rich and would be's,' wrote Keith Gibson.

'Keeping sharks in tanks, in a venue like this, for the mindless amusement of people with more cash than class, is nothing short of animal cruelty,' wrote Pam Fioretti.

The online petition against the shark tank, started by Nicky Chapman, says: 'Sharks do not belong in captivity for amusement, let alone in a dark night club with loud music & flashing lights.'

An Atlantis representative told Daily Mail Australia that the aquarium was designed to house 'mermaids (literal swimming performers), sharks, lobsters, stingrays, eels and much more.'

When questioned about the online backlash over the proposed shark tank, he provided the following statement.

'Atlantis Lounge Bar is aware of state and federal laws regarding the captivity of marine animals. Were in consultation with animal groups, local authorities and local government to assure we adhere with state and federal laws.'

Atlantis Lounge has come under heavy fire for its proposal to house two hammerheads in its 250,000 litre aquarium. An online petition condemning the move has received 38,000 signatures in two weeks

Almost unanimously the social media reaction has been negative over the proposal of keeping two hammerhead sharks in an indoor tank at Atlantas Lounge bar

However, Atlantis Lounge is set to be much more than just a huge indoor aquarium - offering a range of facilities and services unseen across Adelaide.

The representative said bottle service would be at the forefront of the bar's 'excitement and theatrics' - which he expects to bring in everything from 'average punters' to high-class clientele.

For those after exclusive service, the bar will be offering 30-litre 'Midas' bottles of Armand de Brignac French champagne - known commonly as Ace of Spades and valued at over $200,000.

'The concept of having your own bottle, at your own table, amongst friends, pouring your own drinks.. is that not how it should be done!?,' the representative said.

The interior of the building will be decked out with marble and onyx stabbed walls, while the imported bathrooms will feature gold-plated basins and toilets.

The nightclub (pictured now) will include a helipad in neighbouring park Light Square pending council approval

Further plans set to be implemented pending council approval include a helipad in neighbouring park Light Square - which the owner hopes will bring in high-profile guests from across Australia.

A swimming pool and VIP spa room will also be added if given the thumbs up by council.

But a spokesman for Adelaide City Council told Daily Mail Australia 'a facility like that would need to go through a development application process.'

He added that the owners of Atlantic Lounge bar had reached out to council for official approval, but it had yet to be granted - just two months shy of the official launch date.

Strangely, it's not the first case of a shark tank in a bar - the Beach club cafe in the nightclub region of Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur has sharks circling patrons in a huge glass tank.

A dancefloor in a Texas bar features a 75,000 litre tank filled with black tip reef shark and leopard sharks, while the Golden Nugget hotel in Las Vegas has a water slide that speeds through an enormous shark tank.

Beach club cafe in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur has sharks circling diners in a huge glass tank

A bar in Texas features a 75,000 litre tank filled with black tip reef shark and leopard sharks
Just two months ago, a proud new mother announced the birth of her 'little princess', as her parents excitedly flew from China to Australia to meet the baby girl.

But on Wednesday, the two month old baby was frantically stabbed to death in her bassinet and the 'traumatised' mother suffered defensive wound as she tried to protect her infant.

Baby Qianqian 'Queenie' Xu died on Wednesday at a Brisbane hospital after a frenzied stabbing attack at her home, allegedly at the hands of her own maternal grandfather.

The horrific incident left her mother, grandmother and grandfather hospitalised and all three have undergone surgery.

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Qianqian 'Queenie' Xu was only two months old when she died after a horrific stabbing attack

What appears to be a baby carrier on grass near the scene of the stabbing attack on Wednesday

Just two months ago, a proud new mother announced the birth of her 'little princess', as her parents excitedly flying from China to Australia to meet the baby girl

Excited friends congratulated the parents on the birth of their baby - yet tragedy struck just two months later

Queenie's grandfather, 53, has been arrested but is yet to be charged. He was taken to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition with self-inflicted stab wounds and underwent successful surgery that night, Queensland Police confirmed on Thursday.

Detective Inspector Tony Duncan says Queenie's mother, 28, and father are distraught and very traumatised, with the grieving father saying the attack was 'completely out of the blue.'

Queenie's father has told police he was 'shocked' this unexpected tragedy had happened to his family.

'The whole incident revolves around the entire family which makes it all the more traumatic,' Detective Inspector Duncan told media on Thursday.

The 53-year-old male is recovering well from surgery and police expect to interview him with the help of interpreters in the coming days.

The motivation behind the frenzied attack is yet to be determined and Queensland Police say there was no history of violence.

'Obviously with this type of incident you would suspect some sort of issues relating to mental health,' Detective Duncan said.

The murdered child's 'distraught' father was at work at the time, while his infant daughter was being minded by his wife and both of her parents'.

'Initially it looks like mother and father came out for birth of grandchild some time in September, returned to china then returned to Australia in early December to help with childcare, as the mother was intending to return to work (at a bank),' said Detective Inspector Duncan.

The grieving father has been at his wife's side as they mourn their daughter. The 28-year-old female has undergone two surgeries for her injuries, which included 'serious defensive wounds' on her arm.

Investigators continue to sift through the house for evidence at Parkinson on Thursday

Police will allege the child's grandfather, 53, attacked the baby girl before turning on her mother and grandmother in a Brisbane home, 9 News reported.

During the attack, the child's grandfather, who was visiting with his wife from China, also injured himself.

Just months ago, Queenie's mother had boasted proudly of her 'little princess' who was born on October 15, weighing 3.1kg, at Brisbane's Mater Hospital.

Days later, she posted a photo of her bundle of joy sleeping wrapped up in a striped pink, yellow, green and white blanket.

Congratulations to the new parents flooded in, with loved ones commenting on their baby's 'perfect little face' and calling her an 'angel'.

But on Wednesday afternoon, the young family's lives took a tragic turn after screams were heard coming from their home on Watheroo Place in Parkinson, in Brisbane's south, and the baby's mother, 28, ran from the house looking for help.

Neighbours have gathered at the scene to watch police investigations unfold as officer stand guard outside

As officers dig through the scene, three of the baby girl's family members remain in hospital under police guard

Neighbours recall seeing a man walking down the street after the attack 'dripping with blood'

Residents on Watheroo Place recalled hearing loud screaming and seeing a man walking down a street covered in blood after the attack, The Courier Mail reported.

They told the newspaper how they saw the man, thought to be the baby's grandfather, handcuffed and sitting on a driveway 'dripping blood' after police arrested him.

The 28-year-old mother, who had serious but non-life threatening injuries, was found at a property at nearby Mapleton Circuit, where she had fled to raise the alarm.

The grandmother, in her 50s, was found unconscious in the Watheroo Place home with Queenie who was taken to Lady Cilento Hospital where she later died.

Her grandmother was sent to Princess Alexandra Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

In the front yard, a 53-year-old man was found with multiple stab wounds and he was also taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Emergency services staff stand near a pool of blood after being called to the scene of the attack

Police and ambulance vehicles clustered near the Brisbane address on Wednesday afternoon

Emergency services were called to an address in Parkinson, in Brisbane's south, about 2.30pm

Blood could be seen on the drive outside a house in Parkinson, a suburb in Brisbane's south

Police officers at the scene of the stabbing on Watheroo Place, where four family members were seriously injured

A spokeswoman for the Metro South Hospital and Health Service, who runs Princess Alexandra Hospital, told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday morning the two patients in their 50s were in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit.

The 28-year-old woman was serious but stable, the spokeswoman said.

Police say the 53-year-old man and his wife had both undergone surgery.

Following the incident, a Queensland Police spokeswoman said the details about what happened were still unclear.

A group of police officers huddle near the scene of the incident at Watheroo Place

Forensics crews were pictured at the scene on Wednesday where a crime scene was established

'We don't know what's happened. [There are] three adults with injuries and we believe one of those adults is responsible, we just don't know which one,' she said.

Police had talked briefly with the mother on Wednesday evening, but she would not be able to make a formal statement until she was deemed fit to provide one as was the case with the elderly couple.

Officers were stationed at the hospital with the trio.

In a statement, police said they did not believe anyone else was involved in the incident.

Images from the scene show blood pooled on what appears to be a driveway, and clusters of emergency services vehicles and police officers.

Two crime scenes were established at the Watheroo Place property and an investigation was underway.
Tony Blair has enjoyed his most profitable year yet, seeing the profit from his numerous business ventures increase three-fold in 12 months

Tony Blair has enjoyed his most profitable year yet, seeing the profit from his numerous business ventures increase three-fold in 12 months.

Windrush Ventures Ltd, the company controlling the former Prime Minister's growing empire, saw turnover increase by a third to 19.4million.

In turn profits also grew - tripling to 2.6million.

That money allowed Blair to reward his staff with an average pay-rise of 35,000 - with his highest earning employee, believed to be Catherine Rimmer, Mr Blairs former chief of staff and Downing Street aide, bagging a100,000 increase on her annual wage.

One City accountant told The Telegraph: 'The growth in turnover suggests the business has grown by almost 40 per cent.

'Mr Blair has had a brilliant year - he has done far, far better than the FTSE index.'

Publicly available accounts for the year to March 2015 show that Mr Blair's business interests growing in value at a rapid rate.

Working as a jet-setting millionaire deal maker, he is said to have amassed a personal fortune north of 60m since leaving office, employed as an adviser to governments and private firms, including investment bank JP Morgan.

Mr Blair has used his profile to build a network of clients made up of some of the world's most influential leaders and businessmen whose clients are happy to pay millions to hear his business advice.

He has also been known to act as a broker in private meetings between countries, including the likes of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, which some consider a controversial role.

However, that has appeared to have little effect on the ex-Labour leader's earning power.

Windrush Ventures turnover increased by 5.2million in the year, from 14.2million to 19.4million. Operating costs, however, also rose, from 13million to 16million.

Away from Windrush Ventures Ltd - where staff are paid an average of 103,791-a-year - Windrush and Firerush Ventures, another group of companies in the 62-year-old's portfolio, saw stakeholders funds rise to just shy of 10million.

The firms are both part of the umbrella group, Tony Blair Associates.

A statement posted on the Office of Tony Blair website after the accounts were made public read: 'As we stress every year, the financial results released today do not present the overall profits of either of the Windrush or Firerush businesses.

Mr Blair recently spent New Year with his family at the Seychelles Four Seasons resort, a luxury hideaway on the main island of Mahe, popular with honeymooning celebrities and the mega rich

'Instead they present the operating costs of the businesses, and additional sums that may be held back in corporate reserves for investment in future years.'

'As the business continues to grow, Windrush has increased its turnover from 14.2m in 2014 to 19.4m in 2015 in order to set enough aside to cover operating costs and planned investment.'

Mr Blair recently spent New Year with his family at the Seychelles Four Seasons resort, a luxury hideaway on the main island of Mahe, popular with honeymooning celebrities and the mega rich.
Addicts in West Virginia have welcomed a court ruling that will allow them to sue doctors and pharmacists who prescribe them painkillers.

The state's Supreme Court ruled in May that patients should be able to take legal action against doctors they believe got them hooked on prescription drugs.

A report last June found that that West Virginia had the highest rate of overdose deaths in the country, with 33.5 deaths per 100,000 people - far less than the US average of 13.4 deaths per 100,000.

Addicts in West Virginia have welcomed a court ruling that will allow them to sue doctors and pharmacists who prescribe them painkillers (file picture)

A portion of this has been blamed on how easy it is for people to get - and become addicted to - prescription drugs.

Willis Duncan became addicted to painkillers after being involved in coal mining accident 17 years ago which left him with a crushed sternum and broken ribs.

'If I didn't have ten pain pills, I wouldn't go to work. Bottom line,' he told CBS News.

Duncan claimed his doctor was only interested in getting him to take pills, and the only appointments he ever had were to get his dosage raised.

He said he would queue up outside a surgery for hours to collect the drugs, and by the end of the ordeal he 'didn't know how to function without them'.

The clinic Duncan was a patient at has since been shut down after examination rooms were found to be littered with medical notes - including pre-signed prescriptions for Xanax and Vicodin. The doctor in charge was jailed for six months for negligence.

Willis Duncan became addicted to painkillers after being involved in coal mining accident 17 years ago. He claimed his doctor was only interested in getting him to take pills

A dozen similar pain clinics have been shut down in the last year as West Virginia looks to clamp down on doctors abusing their right to prescribe strong medication.

In May the state's Supreme Court ruled that patients should be able to bring legal action against doctors and pharmacists who get them hooked on prescription drugs.

Recovering drug addict Breanna Matchett said she backed the change in law.

Speaking of her troubles with addiction to prescription drugs, she told WOWKTV: 'It's like being condemned to hell. You wake up every single day and you're sick.

'I lied to everybody. I would steal. I pawned my grandma's wedding rings. I was breaking into houses, doing anything and everything to stay high'.

Doctors' groups are concerned it could lead physicians to not prescribe people painkillers in cases where they are required for fear of being sued.

After the ruling was made, the West Virginia Medical Association said: 'It may cause some physicians to curb or stop treating pain altogether for fear of retribution should treatment lead to patient addiction and/or criminal behavior.

'It may create additional barriers for patients seeking treatment for legitimate chronic pain due to reduced access to physician.
An Australian-Korean mother is boycotting Woolworths after the supermarket giant suspended her online account for ordering in-demand baby formula.

Sarah Kong claims she placed an order on New Years Eve for four tins of milk powder but never received her purchase despite being sent a confirmation email and the expected time of arrival.

When the Sydney mother contacted the company's customer service team to sought an explanation, she was told her order had been cancelled after the account was deemed 'suspicious'.

'I was gobsmacked,' Ms Kong told Daily Mail Australia.

Ms Kong suspects she may have been banned for her surname amid scandal involving customers allegedly bulk buying in an attempt to resell the in-demand organic milk formula for profit in China.

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An Australian-Korean mother is boycotting Woolworths after the supermarket giant suspended her online account for ordering baby formula

'I don't support what these customers are doing but there's certain things you shouldn't make money from and baby formula is one of them,' she said.

'I was born and raised here so to be blocked from ordering food for my six-month-old daughter purely because of my [Korean] surname is not something I want to think has happened.

'It's quite difficult to prove the reason behind the cancellation but I'm getting a sense there might be a bit of stereotype happening.

'I've lived the Australian life so it's not something you'd expect to happen. It's not nice to be discriminated and this is discrimination - I don't want to use this word but it is what it is.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Woolworths for further comment.

And this isn't the first time Woolworths has been accused of racial discrimination over its controversial baby formula sales.

Last December, several shoppers spotted signs in Mandarin and English that had different baby formula tin limits.

Several parents had noticed a discrepancy in the number of baby formula tins, with a ticket written in Mandarin, informing customers they are unable to buy more than two.

Angry parents are outraged with the prices increasing amid an apparent shortage on the popular milk powder

Sarah Kong claims she placed an order on New Years Eve for four tins of milk powder but never received her purchased despite being sent a confirmation email and the expected time of arrival

Following the cancellation, Ms Kong took to Woolworths Facebook to vent her frustration in a formal complaint, claiming she has yet to receive a response from the retailer.

'I decided to write my complaint on their page because I wanted Woolworths to see it - and I didn't want to go through the whole process of explaining myself again,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I wanted to make it clear in the timeline of what had happened but I never received any response or explanation as to why I had my order cancelled in the first place.

'The only email I received was from the online team thanking me for contacting them and that I will be refunded the purchase amount of the order I had placed. Nowhere in the email said my order was cancelled.'

Confused by the response, she immediately contacted the company's customer service team to sought an explanation, in which she never 'received the promised return call'.

This isn't the first time Woolworths has been accused of racial discrimination over its baby formula sales. Last December, several shoppers spotted signs in Mandarin with different baby formula tin limits

A Sydney shopper complained of the discrepancy on Twitter last month after spotting the tickets at Woolworths Macquarie Centre in Sydney's north-west

However, later that evening, she received a notification and tracking number via text message that her order was expected to arrive at her home the following day between 8.10am and 8.40am.

'Come this morning and the delivery time passes by, I waited an extra 30 minutes in case the deliveries were running late,' she claimed in her social media complaint.

'Nothing. I called your Online Team at 9:34am and the person taking my call offered to contact the driver and then informed me that my order had been cancelled. Saying they'd speak to their supervisor, instead of placing me on hold I was hung up on.

'Called back again, explained everything again only to be informed the following: My account has been blocked and order cancelled because my order only contained baby formula. That is why I did not receive my delivery.'

Ms Kong told Daily Mail Australia she only used the online service for the first time after a friend suggested the convenience and easy access of ordering the baby formula.

'I thought it would be a lot easier to buy the formula online and know they're in stock,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'When I put my order through, the money was taken out of my account and it all seemed like it was going to deliver the next day but it never did.

'The whole experience has really put me off. I won't be shopping at Woolworths again.'

Last month, a Sydney father spotted a woman bulk buying the in-demand organic milk formula at Woolworths despite the store's four-tin limit

In recent months, angry parents have voiced their frustration over the ongoing shortage of the popular brand of organic milk formula - blaming the shortfall on hoarding in China

Since the encounter, the mother has slammed the giant for delivering an 'appalling customer service' as she demands an explanation into why her order was unexpectedly cancelled.

'Why make an already difficult situation for parents who are just trying to feed their babies even more stressful?' she said.

'If I had known I wasn't going to be receiving my baby's formula I would have used the days following the placement of my order to find formula elsewhere.

And Ms Kong is not the only parent who has been banned from the online store.

A Sydney father and long-running Woolworth's customer has claimed he was also suspended from using his account after placing an order on four tins of baby formula, according to news.com.au.

Adrian Cheng - a former Woolworths checkout worker - said he felt 'insulted' after he was accused for having 'multiple accounts' and the company believed he 'may have committed fraud'.

Outraged by the company's response, he took to Facebook to slam the retail giant.

'Not even the courtesy of a phone call to validate the order, just an email cancellation and customer service telling me to write a email so they can "validate" my claims,' he said in a Facebook post.

'I've always had such fierce loyalty growing up working for them, and growing the shares first issued to me, this is more than a slap in the face.'

Shoppers caused outrage last month after a Melbourne mum snapped Woolworths customers clearing out almost all stocks of A2 Platinum baby formula, knowing they can be resold online for a profit

Several parents have shared pictures of a shopping trolley stacked with bags of the popular milk powder

In recent months, angry parents have voiced their frustration over the ongoing shortage of the popular brand of organic milk formula - blaming the shortfall on hoarding in China.

Last year, it emerged a mother allegedly saw a group piling two supermarket trolleys high with the hard-to-find baby formula in full view of staff at Woolworths in Epping Plaza, north of Melbourne.

She shared a picture of a shop assistant standing next to an almost-empty crate after the group of shoppers wiped out the pile of about 50 tins, which retail for up to $24.70 each.

They have reportedly been unable to find Bellamy's Organic milk formula in Australian stores, but the product has been showing up for double the price on Chinese website, Taobao.
Steve Rowe, who has worked at Marks & Spencer for 25 years, has been announces as the new chief executive of the retail company

A staunch Millwall fan who joined Marks & Spencer at the age of 15 and dreamed up the company's famous 'food porn' adverts has been named as the new boss of the company.

Steve Rowe, currently the executive director of general merchandise, will take over the reins in April, after 25 years of working his way through the ranks of the British firm.

It came after Marc Bolland, the current chief executive, announced his surprise retirement following a 'disappointing' six per cent slump in festive sales in the womenswear division.

The 56-year-old, originally from Holland, has spent six years at the helm during which he has resist pressure from shareholders over disappointing performance results.

As the changes were announced today, Mr Rowe - who has long been tipped as Mr Bolland's replacement - said it was a 'privilege' to take on the role.

He will receive an annual salary of 810,000 plus benefits and bonuses - a far cry from the hourly rate he pocketed when he began his career as a Saturday boy in his local Croydon store.

The company veteran has risen impressively through the ranks of the British company since he first joined more than two decades ago.

The football fanatic, a Millwall season ticket holder who lives in Purley, south London, began work in as a teenager in the mens knitwear department before eventually following in his father's footsteps to clinch the coveted position of head of food.

He said that, when he applied for his first job, he did not tell his father until he was offered the position.

Mr Rowe did have a brief hiatus from M&S when he became a trainee at Topshop at the age of 18.

But, after rising to store manager and feeling the pipeline for promotions was sparse, he joined M&S as a commercial management trainee.

He then worked at various branches including London's Marble Arch before moved to head office where he has worked for every part of the business, including fashion and homeware.

He became director of food in October 2012, a division which became shielded from the problems affecting the business because of the strong performance.

It is there that he helped M&S become ahead of the curve with its Simply Food concept. He was also behind the retailer's famous food adverts, which some observers have called 'food porn'.

Mr Rowe (left), currently the executive director of general merchandise, will replace Marc Bolland (right), who announced his retirement today after six years at the helm

The TV campaign showed a spinning egg and prawns curling on a barbecue, olive oil drizzling down a wedge of bread and exploding berries, making the food the star.

Other highlights included a splitting Scotch egg, icing sugar dusting across a profiterole and M&S's incredibly popular jaffa sphere chocolate mousse, shown oozing orange jam as it's sliced with a spoon.

LIFER WHO'S STEPPING UP The new chief executive is an M&S lifer whose father also worked for the company. Steve Rowe, 48, started his career with M&S aged 15, working as a Saturday boy at its store in Croydon, south London. But when he left school aged 18 he became a trainee at rival clothing chain Topshop. He worked there for four years before joining M&S as a management trainee in 1989. He rose through the ranks, following in the footsteps of his father Joe, who would become a board member and head of food. Steve Rowe joined the board in 2008 and also went on to be put in charge of food, in 2012. He has said he was not worried about following in his fathers footsteps. I didnt intend to, he said. He didnt know Id applied, I never told him until I got the job. Mr Rowe is credited with transforming food into a star performer by broadening its product range. In July he switched to clothing. Mr Rowe, who lives in south-east London, has a season ticket for Millwall FC and is a keen golfer. Advertisement

The seductive adverts were most famous for the chocolate pudding advert, which featured a husky voiceover from actress Dervla Kirwan.

She used the line 'this is not just a chocolate pudding, this is a Marks & Spencer chocolate pudding' - and helped sales of the pudding soar by 3500 per cent.

Following his success in the food department, he was announced as the executive director of general merchandise - which includes womenswear and the home section - in July.

Speaking about his work at the company, one M&S insider said last year: 'Internally, people feel very positive about Steve's appointment.

'He's done fantastic things with food and people have been saying for a while he's the man to sort out the problems with general merchandise and womenswear in particular.

'He's got the perfect combination of a brilliant business brain, imagination and flair and years of experience at M&S, while remaining entirely down to earth and really understanding what people want. If anyone can do it, Steve can.'

Despite all its decades of history, Mr Rowe and his father Joe are the only father and son to have held board positions in M&S since former owners, the Seiff family.

Mr Bolland, who began his career at beer maker Heineken and was previously chief executive of the UK supermarket chain Wm Morrison, will hand over to Mr Rowe at the end of the group's financial year on April 2.

But he will remain on hand to help with the handover until the end of June.

Speaking today about his departure, Mr Bolland said it had been 'a huge honour to lead one of Britain's most iconic companies'.

He added he remained 'passionate' about M&S but stressed: 'You're never finished in your role.'

Mr Bolland said he was ready for the 'next stage' in his life, but remained tight-lipped on future plans except to say he will continue on the board of Coca-Cola and as vice-president of children's charity Unicef.

Campaigns: Steve Rowe's food department has produced a string of ever popular new products, and adverts showing them, including this ChocolateJaffa Sphere

He said: 'From the outset I made it clear this was about a five or six-year journey, which is healthy for any chief executive in business.'

THE HITS... AND MISSES Success: Biggest winner of 2015 was the 199 A-skirt worn above by model Alexa Chung LOVED THE SUEDE SKIRT M&Ss biggest success of 2015, the 199 A-skirt sold out after it was worn by model Alexa Chung, pictured. 'ROSIE' LINGERIE Promoted by model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, it proved a big success, with 900,000 bra and knicker sets selling in six months. THE TRENCH COAT Applauded by the fashion press, the 299 olive green suede trench coat sold out before it even hit the shops. LOATHED TROUSER ZIPS Customers complained on the internet that the zip length on 30 mens chinos had been shortened by an inch, causing a logistical problem. CHEAP' PRINTS Former fashion designer Muriel Conway criticised ugly and vulgar designs. Customers have complained about the loud prints. THE CUT Some customers have complained about the changing cut of M&Ss clothes and about skirts being too long or short for their style. Advertisement

Details of the change at the top came as M&S revealed like-for-like festive sales in its general merchandise arm - which includes clothing - slumped by 5.8 per cent, a figure Mr Bolland branded 'disappointing'.

Today, chairman Robert Swannell said there had been 'no pressure' from shareholders or the board for Mr Bolland to leave.

He added that the succession plan had been 'rigorous' and planned 'for years'.

Announcing the appointment, he said: 'Over the last six years Marc Bolland has led Marks & Spencer through a period of necessary change. Over this time, the company has made significant investment in enhanced infrastructure and capabilities.

'It is now positioned for a digital age, with its own online platform and dedicated e-commerce distribution centre, improved design and sourcing capabilities in general merchandise and an industry-leading track record of growth and innovation in the food business.

'Marc has put 'Plan A' at the heart of the business and leaves a strong sustainability legacy.

'The board is very grateful to Marc for his leadership in this important period of enhancing Marks & Spencer's competitive position for its future.'

M&S has been through a series of setbacks despite spending a fortune recruiting Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Helen Mirren and Darcey Bussel to model or wear its designs.

The fall in like-for-like sales, which followed a 1.9 per cent drop in the previous three months, came as the group resisted pressure to discount early despite widespread sales launched on the high street ahead of Christmas.

His tenure has been marked by repeated claims that M&S women's fashions were improving but these have not been borne out by results.

The company blamed the mild weather for falling sales at Christmas., particularly for coats, woollens and boots.

It also admitted poor stock availability on some lines.

Other fashion chains also saw sales fall, but by less, because of the relatively warm December.

There was better news from the chain's food halls, as it hailed its 'best ever Christmas', with a 0.4 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the quarter to December 26.

Mr Bolland, who is credited with doing a lot of work to cut costs, which have boosted M&S profit margins, could be followed out of the door with a number of his lieutenants.

There is a question over the of style director Belinda Earl - recruited on a six-figure salary for a two to three day week - and Laura Wade Gery, hired from Tesco with a 4million golden hello to relaunch the M&S website. She is currently on extended maternity leave.

Last year, Mr Bolland came under pressure from high profile investor Standard Life which questioned the chief executive's performance. It came after the 14th consecutive quarterly decline overseen by Mr Bolland.

A few months later, M&S announced that its senior executives will get bonuses for the first time in two years.

Bolland was awarded a payout worth 596,000, taking his total remuneration package to 2.1m.

When he succeeded Sir Stuart Rose at M&S in 2010, he inherited a company that was struggling to halt sliding sales after losing customers throughout the recession.

There were concerns at the time that Mr Bolland's experience solely in food and drink might hold him back in tackling the general merchandise troubles.

But in May, M&S turned a corner by posting its first annual profits increase in four years.

The firm reported underlying profits for the year to March 28 rose 6.1 per cent to 661.2 million, beating City expectations.

Retail expert Clive Black at Shore Capital said: 'Mr Bolland - a distinguished commercial statesman - has done a lot of very good work to fundamentally modernise and reposition M&S to be fit for the future in sustainably challenging markets.

'His successor from April, the excellent Steve Rowe, has a much stronger platform with which to take the business forward than Mr Bolland inherited.'

But, despite the bright spots, David Stoddart at Edison Investment Research also said the festive performance would have left Mr Bolland facing pressure to leave.

'The slump in merchandise sales would have led to calls for Marc Bolland to go - had he not announced this morning that he will step down in April,' he said.

Details of the change at the top came as M&S revealed like-for-like festive sales in its general merchandise arm - which includes clothing - slumped by 5.8 per cent. In contrast, food sales were the best ever recorded

Debonair Dutchman couldn't woo Mrs Middle England

By Ruth Sunderland for The Daily Mail

Now he is stepping down as chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Marc Bolland will have more time to indulge his other obsession  searching for first editions of Charles Darwins works.

Few in the City are surprised that he has now succumbed to the Darwinian rule of survival of the fittest.

Indeed, many analysts are amazed that Bolland managed to hold on to his job for so long before retiring.

The task of turning round M&S, whose days as the jewel of the British High Street are now long gone, defeated a string of Bollands predecessors.

But, after six gruelling years, Bolland realises it is time to hand over the baton. Many have been harbouring doubts for far longer over whether the genial Dutchman, who started his career working for Heineken in the Congo, was the right man to restore M&S to its former glory. Could an overseas executive ever really aspire to reviving such a uniquely British institution?

One of the successes: Marc Bolland with Rosie Huntington-Whitely

An early hint that Bolland had not grasped M&Ss distinctive appeal came in 2011 when he hired fellow Dutchman Marcel Wanders, a zany designer, to create a range of homeware and gifts. The continental whimsy of a Michael Jackson-style red leather glove with a single gold-tipped finger, or cufflinks adorned with portraits of Henry VIII and his six wives, was well outside the comfort zone of M&S regulars.

By contrast, previous chief executive Stuart Rose was a housewives favourite who had his finger on the pulse of Britains women. He could subdue a rowdy matron complaining about bra sizes at the annual meeting with an arched eyebrow.

Bolland, despite his obvious enthusiasm, never seemed as comfortable at the helm after crossing the portals in May 2010.

His transfer involved a 15million golden hello deal, one of the biggest signing-on packages in UK corporate history. On the day his appointment was announced, M&S shares leapt 6 per cent; yesterday, they initially rose in reaction to his departure before finishing down by 0.1 per cent.

The biggest problem Bolland leaves his successors is womens fashion, which  as he acknowledges  he has failed to sort out.

I would have liked to see sales in positive territory, but we have the right building blocks in place, he says. In 2012, he hired fashion guru Belinda Earl, previously the boss of Jaeger, to overhaul the womens clothing. Her collections have won accolades from glossy magazine Vogue.

Current new season must-haves include a khaki flora pyjama style blouse (29.50) and trousers (35), in an attempt to tap into the nightwear-as-daywear trend.

However, winning over fashionistas by slavishly following catwalk looks will do nothing to endear M&S to the thousands of women seeking well-made, decently-priced basics.

Clothing sales this winter have been further hit by the floods and the unusually warm weather, which meant lower sales of coats and woollies.

Cost cutting: Bolland feels he hasnt received due credit for successes behind the scenes, such as improving efficiency by cutting the number of warehouses from 120 to six

Over the festive break, Bolland did not jet off to Barbados but instead donned his wellies and ensured his M&S York store had survived the deluge. That may have been seen by some a PR exercise, but over his years in office he can point to genuine success. Returns to shareholders, including dividends, are up by 50 per cent.

He has reduced the retailers debt burden, and improved profit margins in the fashion business. Food sales have grown consistently and the online side of business reported a 20 per cent growth in sales over Christmas.

Bolland feels he hasnt received due credit for successes behind the scenes, such as improving efficiency by cutting the number of warehouses from 120 to six. No one understands how much heavy lifting goes on in M&S, he said yesterday. I have not always explained well enough what has to go on behind the scenes. It is very difficult and very hard work, and these things go very slowly.

He has personally groomed his successor Steve Rowe, who has been in charge of fashion at M&S since last summer and was sent to Harvard Business School to beef up his capabilities.

Meanwhile Bolland seems in need of a breather, saying he does not want another chief executive job. Already a non-executive director of US drinks giant Coca-Cola and a vice president of charity Unicef, he is likely to look for more similar roles.

In fairness to him, turning round M&S may be an impossible task. The companys blend of food, fashion and homewares now seems a dated concept. The women of Britain are now filling their wardrobes with clothes from Topshop, Jigsaw and Zara.
China drew further condemnation today after landing two civilian planes on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea.

The test flights touched down yesterday on the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands chain four days after its first landing on the 3km runway sparked an international outcry.

Pictures released by China's state news agency Xinhua showed dozens of people holding a banner and waving on the tarmac in what it described as 'our country's most southern airport.'

The Philippines denounced the flights and warned that if China was not challenged it was likely to impose an 'unacceptable' air defence zone over the area.

Land grab: Dozens of people hold a banner and wave after China landed two more civilian test flights on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, drawing further condemnation from neighbouring countries

'Unacceptable': The test flights touched down yesterday on the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands chain four days after its first landing on the 3km runway sparked an international outcry

'Provocative actions': A civilian aircraft takes off from the Meilan Airport of Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, on its way to the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands chain

China has asserted its claim to almost all of the South China Sea by rapidly building artificial islands including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets.

The Spratly Islands chain is claimed by China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said: 'We are very concerned about the fact that China had already flown their flights to Fiery Cross Reef.

'If this is not challenged, we will have a situation where China will take a position that an air defence identification zone could be imposed.'

China declared such a zone over the East China Sea in 2013, where it has over-lapping claims with Japan. The United States criticised it as dangerous and provocative.

Under the zone's rules, all aircraft are meant to report flight plans to Chinese authorities, maintain radio contact and reply promptly to identification inquiries.

The U.S., Japanese and South Korean military aircraft have breached the zone without informing China.

Man-made: Fiery Cross reef in the Spratly Islands chain is claimed by China, Vietnam and the Philippines

Del Rosario said the Philippines would protest to China about its flights.

'These are provocative actions which we need to think about and we need to take positions on,' he said.

Last week, Beijing rejected a protest from Vietnam over its first test flight, saying the operation took place within Chinese territory.

More than $5trillion of world trade passes through the South China Sea every year and has been increasingly assertive in staking its claim.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines have rival claims to parts of the sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

China has asserted its claim to almost all of the South China Sea by rapidly building artificial islands including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets

The runway at the Fiery Cross Reef is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls.

The United States has criticised China's construction of the islands and worries that it plans to use them for military purposes. China says it has no hostile intent.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, in the Philippines as part of a three-country tour of Asia that included China, said freedom of navigation and overflights were non-negotiable.

'They are red line for us,' Hammond told the same news conference.

'We, as an international maritime and trading nation, enjoy freedom of navigation and overflights in the South China Sea.
Aided by a healthy swig of plum brandy, thousands of young men braved icy waters across Bulgaria to retrieve crucifixes cast by priests in celebration of Epiphany Day.

They believe the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be healthy and freed from evil spirits all year, and in some cases a fierce battle ensues in the freezing water.

They joined millions of Orthodox Christians across Europe commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ with similar water-related activities - despite temperatures way below zero.

Brandy first: Two men scuffle to grab a wooden cross in the icy winter waters of the Tundzha river in the town of Kalofer as part of the Epiphany Day celebrations on January 6

In some Bulgarian villages, men dipped into a local river and danced the horo, a traditional dance, despite the freezing temperatures.

In the mountain village of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, scores of men in traditional dress waded into the icy Tundzha River carrying national flags.

Led by a drummer and several men playing the bagpipes, they danced in the freezing waters, pushing away floating chunks of ice.

Some sipped Slivovitz - Eastern European plum brandy - and red wine as an antidote to the freezing weather.

The tradition of jumping in the water for Epiphany is not exclusive to Bulgaria, with several other countries with strong ties to the Orthodox Church getting in the sea.

Ready, set: Dozens of young Bulgarian men jump into the waters of a lake in an attempt to grab a wooden cross on Epiphany Day in the capital of Sofia

Go! The cross is thrown in and the men, many down to just their smalls and socks, jump in the lake

To your health! As a tradition, an Eastern Orthodox priest throws a cross in the river and it is believed that the one who retrieves it will be healthy through the year as well as all those who dance in the icy waters

Link up, drink up: Men in traditional dress dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha river during a celebration for Epiphany Day in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria

Winner: A boy holds up the holy cross as men sing and dance in the water in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria

In the Czech Republic capital of Prague, dozens of polar swimmers braved heavy snowing and freezing temperatures to take part in the traditional Epiphany swim in the Vltava River near the famed Charles Bridge on Wednesday.

In Greece, similar ceremonies were held across the country, with divers jumping from piers, bridges and tug boats. School children and members of the country's navy special forces also took part, with the main ceremony held at the country's largest port of Piraeus, near Athens.

In nearby Cyprus, more than 1,000 Orthodox Christian faithful attended the annual Epiphany Day blessing of the waters in Famagusta in Cyprus' breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

It was the first time the ceremony has taken place since 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup aiming at union with Greece divided the island.
A funeral home company which gave branded Christmas gifts to people receiving palliative care in a nursing home have been accused of 'ambulance chasing'.

Melbourne funeral directors Allison Monkhouse sponsored the material, including monogrammed handkerchiefs, pens and a notebook in a show bag, which nursing home residents woke up to on Christmas morning.

A man identified only as Peter contacted radio station 3AW after being told about the incident by his sister, who worked in a home, and called the gifts 'ambulance chasing at its best'.

These were the Allison Monkhouse branded gifts received by nursing home patients on Christmas day

This image was posted on the Allison Monkhouse Facebook page on Christmas day

One of the Allison Monkhouse funeral homes in Melbourne. The funeral directors company has about eight different locations in Victoria

'According to my sister... there were a couple of patients in palliative care that were not overly impressed by it'.

The gifts were also accompanied by a message from Allison Monkhouse which said 'with thoughts at Christmas time', 3AW reported.

The radio station reported that the funeral home had confirmed off-air it sent the gifts.

The Allison Monkhouse website says the company has been 'serving Melbourne families for six generations and over 150 years'.

It is not known where the nursing home which received the material is located, or what it was called.

Daily Mail Australia has approached Allison Monkhouse for comment.

Some of the people in palliative care who received the gifts were reportedly unimpressed (stock image)

Funeral directors sent the gifts to rest home residents, and they were received on Christmas morning (stock image)
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These pictures show how children are living in horrendous conditions in a French refugee camp - which has been described as 'far worse than the Calais jungle'.

The Grand-Synthe settlement in Dunkirk is home to around 2,500 migrants who are living in conditions so squalid that aid workers say it is on the brink of a sanitation crisis.

Torrential rain has turned the site into a mudbath while aidworkers have described it as the 'forgotten camp' and much worse than the settlement in Calais where more than 4,000 refugees are living.

Squalor: Pictures show children living in horrendous conditions in a refugee camp in Dunkirk - a settlement described as being 'far worse' than the Calais Jungle

Young children are forced to wade around in thick mud after torrential rain turned the squalid settlement into a mudbath in recent weeks

Mudbath: Deep puddles of water have accumulated among the discarded rubbish dumped among makeshift tents in the settlement

Thousands of migrants continue to live in makeshift camps in the port town of Calais in the hope of reaching Britain.

Images show young children wading knee-deep through thick mud while their families huddle around fires, surrounded by ever-growing piles of rubbish.

In some places, mounds of sodden clothing, mud-soaked duvets and shoes swallowed by the swamp sit next to polluted streams and marquees selling food.

Elsewhere, metal sheets form makeshift paths between groups of tents in the flooded field, which has been battered by constant rain in recent weeks.

Grande-Synthe camp has only two drinking water points and 26 toilets, which is roughly one per 100 people - five times fewer than the bare minimum in other refugee camps.

The occupants, who are mostly Iraqi Kurds with some Syrians and Persians, live in squalid marshland conditions which are rife with disease and infested by rats.

The Grand-Synthe settlement in Dunkirk is home to around 2,500 migrants who are living in conditions so squalid that aid workers say it is on the brink of a sanitation crisis

The Grand-Synthe settlement has been described as 'far worse than the Calais jungle' but has largely gone unnoticed until now

Kurdish children wade in a lake near the new migrant camp in Dunkirk, France. Conditions have been made far worse due to dismal weather

There are no healthcare facilities whatsoever, though doctors from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) visit the camp a few times a week to treat the sick

There are no healthcare facilities whatsoever, though doctors from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) visit the camp a few times a week to treat the sick.

Front-line charity Helpful Humans said police in the area stop volunteers from entering the over-populated camp, which is on a small field next to a housing estate.

There is no organisation or system of distributing aid and donations must be sneaked in through the woodland at the back of the settlement.

Helpful Humans volunteer Georgina Hickman, who visits Grande-Synthe every two weeks, said: 'The conditions in the camp are worsening by the hour.

Front-line charity Helpful Humans said police in the area stop volunteers from entering the over-populated camp, which is on a small field next to a housing estate

Parents carry their children to keep them away from the mud. Piles of rubbish are beginning to build up around tents erected in the field

A population count in December found that around 2,000 people were living in the camp, of which around 150 were children and around 10 were babies

Desperate: A woman walks through mud holding her child in her arms. Aid workers fear a looming sanitation crisis in the squalid camp

'People are ill and the camp is so, so boggy and muddy due to the constant rain and terrible weather conditions. The mud is so deep and thick.

'The whole place smells like waste - there are piles and mounds of waste. The refugees are getting no support and are more desperate than ever.

'They are hungry, cold and sick and the local police are manning the site 12 hours stopping all donations and help that arrives.

'It is completely different to Calais. There is no warehouse or system or organisation. It is chaotic.

'When I started going there in October, there were around 600 people. Now there are more than 2,000. It is so cramped, and the number grows by hundreds every week.

Thousands of migrants continue to live in makeshift camps in the port towns of Calais and Dunkirk in northern France, where they try and board vehicles heading for ferries or through the channel tunnel in an attempt to reach Britain

Grande-Synthe camp has only two drinking water points and 26 toilets, which is roughly one per 100 people - five times fewer than the bare minimum in other refugee camps

Aid workers say there is no organisation or system of distributing aid and donations must be sneaked in through the woodland at the back of the settlement

Migrants have made makeshift shelters and do what they can to keep clean and dry amid torrential rain. Numbers in the camp have exploded since September

Wooden crates have been laid out between tents to act as makeshift pathways after the ground was turned into a mudbath by rain

'Families arrive with absolutely nothing. They need tents, food and clothes.

'But the police aren't allowing anything to go in. At the beginning there were a few select volunteers who were allowed inside, but now we have to sneak supplies through.

'Dunkirk is far worse than the Calais jungle. There are more people in Calais, but the conditions on the ground in Grande-Synthe are worse.

'It is a forgotten camp. I don't know how much longer these people can carry on surviving in these conditions.'

The settlement in Grande-Synthe has existed since 2006 but for years had fewer than 100 migrants. Since September its population has exploded.

Leap of faith: A young girl jumps over a puddle outside her shelter after a heavy downpour at the settlement in Dunkirk

A woman crouches down as she washes pots and pans with her daughter in their makeshift shelter - using cold water from a plastic container

The Grande-Synthe camp is just 30 miles away from the Calais jungle, which is home to approximately 4,500 refugees

A mother manages a smile as she carries her child through the mud. Aid workers say conditions in the camp are becoming worse by the day

Aid workers have described the settlement as 'a forgotten camp' with one saying: 'I don't know how much longer these people can carry on surviving in these conditions'

A boy hides his face in his hood as he wades through thick mud outside his tent in the squalid camp on Wednesday

Although far more refugees live in the Calais jungle, conditions in the Grand-Synthe camp have been described as 'far worse'

A population count in December found that around 2,000 people were living in the camp, of which around 150 were children and around 10 were babies.

The actual population of the camp is believed to be even higher, as many of the men leave during the day. Traffickers operating from Dunkirk load refugees on to vans, lorries and cars at motorway service stations and lay-bys several miles from the port.

They transport them to the camp in Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, which is in northern France.

The Grande-Synthe camp is just 30 miles away from the Calais jungle, which is home to approximately 4,500 refugees.

Kurdish children lift their spirits by playing in an abandoned car dumped in woodland close to the squalid settlement in Dunkirk

Lakes of water have accumulated around tents and makeshift shelters in the camp. The problem has worsened with an influx of migrants since September

One aid worker described how families arrive with 'absolutely nothing' and require basics for living like tents, food and clothes
A British policewoman is locked in an extraordinary legal battle after her baby was taken into care while she was visiting New York after she left the child alone in a hotel room and was then handed to a foster carer who is known as 'Queen Hag'.

Louise Fielden, 42, from London, claims that her 15-month-old son Samuel is being held 'hostage and kidnapped in a foreign country' after she came back to the UK on Tuesday when criminal charges against her were dropped.

The single mother has now filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court to try and get her son, who has been looked after by foster carers since April, returned to Britain, so he can go into the care of her cousin in Bedfordshire.

Louise Fielden (left) claims that her 15-month-old son Samuel (right) is being held 'hostage and kidnapped in a foreign country' after he was taken into foster care while they were on holiday in New York

She also says that her son has been placed with a foster carer, named as Sue Senna, who she claims celebrated a birthday by playing 'porno bingo' at a gay men's club, which she maintains is against her conservative upbringing within the Church of England.

Fielden became pregnant after conceiving via an anonymous sperm donor from the Netherlands and revealed the birth of Samuel in an announcement in the Telegraph newspaper.

It read: 'Ms Louise Christine Fielden would like to introduce to the world the birth of her first born son on 31st October 2014 who will be as gifted as his mother. He is just beautiful.'

Court papers show that just three months later, Fielden left the UK to go to the West Indian island of Antigua on January 10 as she wanted to take her son overseas to make sure he had enough Vitamin D from the sun.

On the way back to Britain on April 10, she checked into the Chelsea Highline Hotel for a two week stay in New York City so she could do some shopping.

Foster carer Susan Sena, who Fielden says as a pro-gay rights campaigner is not suitable to look after her child due to her conservative upbringing in the Church of England

Ms Sena, centre, on a float at a parade representing her organisation called 'Straight Women in Support of Homos (SWISH)

In court documents she writes: 'On January, 10, 2015, when the weather in London is typically quite overcast and dark, with little natural sunlight, I and my son Samuel Fielden left London for Antigua of the British West Indies.

MOTHER OBJECTS TO FOSTER CARER WHO HEADS A PRO-GAY RIGHTS GROUP As well as wanting her son returned to the UK, Fielden also complained in court papers about the foster carer her child was placed with. The documents show that Samuel is being looked after by a carer named as Sue Senna, who lives in the Queens area of New York. But Fielden objects to Ms Senna taking care of her child as the foster carer is a president and founding member of a group pro-gay rights group called Straight Women in Support of Homos (SWISH). In court documents, Fielden - who does not name her child's father on his birth certificate - says: 'As a devout conservative member of the Church of England, my family values are totally on the other side of the spectrum to SWISH's and I do not wish my son to be cared for by any member of that organisation.' She also alleges that Ms Senna is often referred to as 'Queen Hag' and that spent a birthday party playing 'porno bingo' at a gay man's club, which was a fundraiser for her group. Fielden adds: 'I presented this data last week to the Family Court last week in my pending neglect case but the court did nothing but permit Ms Sena to take my son to New Jersey for the weekend! Unbelievable!' Advertisement

'We went to vacation for three months there by the Caribbean Sea, to take advantage of the natural sunlight, which is an excellent source of vitamin D for Samuel's natural development.

'On April 10, 2015, Samuel and I left Antigua for New York City, where I was going to do some shopping for clothes and other things for Samuel.'

While staying at the hotel, which has since closed, a staff member reported her to the social services for leaving Samuel alone in a hotel room.

She was accused of leaving him alone in the hotel room unattended for 30 minutes while she went to sterilise his bottles in hot water.

Fielden was also accused of leaving the boy on the floor of a kitchen while she ate breakfast.

The single mother was facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, and possession of a controlled substance because she had some Codeine pills for which she holds a prescription, that officers found in her luggage.

But according to an affidavit, she said that in her culture it was 'normal and acceptable to leave a child for a short period of time.'

She also claims that the boy was only one foot away from her while she ate breakfast in one instance and says in the other instance she didn't want to carry the boy at the same time as holding a beaker full of hot water, due to health and safety reasons.

Ms Fielden had been staying at the Chelsea Highline Hotel in Manhattan, when she was first arrested after being accused of leaving her baby alone in her room

Samuel was then placed in in the care of Administration for Children's Services while Fielden remained in Manhattan on maternity leave.

But even though criminal charges against her have been dropped, she is still fighting a Family Court ruling, which issued a finding of neglect from a separate hearing, in a bid to allow her son to return home.

Fielden shows off a bruise she claims she sustained when she was arrested by police last year

And now she has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court suing the New York City Administration for Childrens Services, the New York Foundling Charitable Corporation, the City of New York.

In court documents, she also alleges that her son's carer Ms Sena, is a member of the gay rights group 'Straight Women in Support of Homos' (SWISH) , which she says is against her own 'conservative upbringing in the Church of England.'

Fielden also alleges that the foster carer spent a birthday party playing 'porno bingo' at a gay man's club, which was a fundraiser for her group and goes by the nickname 'Queen Hag'.

She writes in court papers: 'As a devout conservative member of the Church of England, my family values are totally on the other side of the spectrum to SWISH's and I do not wish my son to be cared for by any member of that organisation.

'It is mind boggling that my son Samuel's foster mother Susan A. Sena also participated in 'porno bingo' where a gay porn star was the star guest.'

Fielden also asks that while the neglect case is resolved, the child should be placed in the care of one of her cousins in Bedfordshire.

One of the bedrooms at the now closed Chelsea Highline Hotel in Manhattan, where Ms Fielden had intended to stay for two weeks while in New Yrok

One of the bathrooms, left, and the corridor, right, at the hotel, where she was accused of neglecting her son

Neighbours at a flat in Tottenham, north London near where she used to live say they hadn't seen her for over a year.

It is believed that she is no longer close or in contact with other members of her family.

A law department spokesman said: 'The City is working with the appropriate international authorities and local agencies in the UK to resolve this matter in the best interests of the child.'

While a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police in London added: 'We can confirm that PC Louise Fielden, 42, is a serving officer attached to Tower Hamlets.'

Last night Miss Fielden was unavailable for comment. Miss Sena refused to comment.

The New York Law Department said the city was working with UK authorities to resolve this matter in the best interests of the child.
New footage on the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, shows how one of the terrorists spoke to his victims shortly before he was shot by police, as France commemorates the victims one year on.

Today marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, where islamist militant brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi entered the satirical magazine's offices and killed 11 people,

Two days later, Amedy Coulibaly, a friend of the Kouachi brothers, killed four and held more than a dozen people hostage at a kosher supermarket in Paris.

Two days after the Charlie Hebdo shootings on January 7 last year, Islamist terrorist Amedy Coulibaly killed four and held 15 people hostage at a kosher supermarket in east Paris

A new documentary on the January killing sprees in the French capital reveals how Coulibaly took time to explain himself to his hostages in the Hyper Cacher supermarket.

'I asked him if he wanted money,' the young woman, one of the 15 people held hostage in the Jewish food shop on January 9 last year, reveals.

'He said: "You really don't get it. I've come to die a martyr. To avenge the name of Allah and his prophet Muhammad.

The survivor, interviewed in BBC's Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks, adds that 32-year-old Coulibaly had warned her that 'there will be many more like me to come'.

Going down: Terrorist Amedy Coulibaly was shot dead by police after they stormed the supermarket

A new documentary on reveals how Coulibaly took time to explain himself to his hostages during the hours-long siege

Coulibaly was shot dead by French riot police who stormed the kosher supermarket Porte de Vincennes, east Paris, after several hours.

This weekend, France commemorates the victims of the attacks on January 7-9 with a number of ceremonies across the country.

Already this week, plaques honouring the victims have been unveiled at the sites of the shootings, including those where a policewoman was gunned down by Coulibaly, and a Muslim policeman was shot by the Kouachi brothers.

Heavy security is planned for the ceremonies honouring the 17 victims of the terrorist gunfire sprees, which proved to be a grim forerunner of the suicide bombings and shootings in the city ten months later in which 130 people died.

Honoured: French President Francois Hollande, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, stand to attention after unveiling a commemorative plaque outside the Hyper Cacher this week

A banner honouring the victims has been put up outside the Hyper Cacher supermarket this week

In the second wave of attacks on Nov. 13, Islamist militants mowed down people in Paris cafes and a concert hall and attacked a stadium in what was the nation's worst post-war atrocity.

On Sunday, a more public ceremony is planned at Place de la Republique, the square in eastern Paris that attracted mass rallies in favour of free speech and democratic values after the attacks and became an informal memorial.

French President Francois Hollande will preside over the ceremony, during which a ten-metre-high commemorative oak tree will be planted.
Dempsey, ex-marine, got involved even though he did not know her

An American woman who was diagnosed with incurable liver disease and received a transplant from a complete stranger is now planning to marry the man who saved her life.

Heather Krueger, from Frankfort, Illinois, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver disease in March 2014. While she was on a waiting list for a liver from a cadaver, her conditions worsened and doctors advised her to start looking for a living donor.

It was at that point that Chris Dempsey, a former Marine, decided to get involved.

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Heather Krueger (pictured right), from Frankfort, Illinois, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver disease in March 2014. Chris Dempsey (pictured left), a former Marine, decided to get involved after hearing of her situation from a co-worker

The two fell in love during the two-month recovery process that followed the transplant surgeries

The ex-marine proposed to Krueger after a romantic carriage ride in Chicago. The happy couple is planning to get married in October

After overhearing his coworker and Krueger's cousin discussing her dramatic situation, he stepped in and underwent medical tests to assess whether he was a match - even before meeting the woman.

'When I heard about it, I just thought I would want someone to help me,' Dempsey told ABC.

Eventually, Krueger received a call from Dempsey saying that the checks went well and he was her donor. 'I couldn't believe it,' she recalls.

The surgery took place in March 2015, a week before Krueger's 26th birthday, at the University of Illinois Hospital.

The brave woman said it was 'the best birthday present' - a lifesaver.

The two fell in love during the two-month recovery process that followed the surgeries, which took over eight hours. 'My whole liver came out and I received 55 percent of his,' Krueger said.

'If wasn't for this person, I wouldn't have made it to Christmas,' Krueger said. '[Dempsey] was a selfless and brave person who was perfectly healthy and didn't know me before this.'

The ex-marine said he 'would do it again in a heartbeat' despite some initial complications after the surgery. He proposed after a romantic carriage ride in Chicago.

'I thought to myself, this would be a nice way to set it up, but I'm like, don't get yourself too excited,' Krueger said.
Three US spy planes were seen taking off from air base in southern Japan

Footage said to show tremors in China, more than 100 miles from test site

South Korea is planning to retaliate for hydrogen bomb tests carried out by North Korea - by reinstating cross-border propaganda broadcasts.

The South's presidential office announced plans to resume the broadcasts tomorrow - a tactic the North's leader Kim Jong Un considers an act of war.

It comes as US spy planes were seen taking off from an air base in southern Japan amid speculation they could be involved in trying to determine what kind of nuclear device North Korea detonated.

Anger: Protesters took to the streets in Seoul and burned an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un following the hydrogen bomb tests

Demands: South Korea is planning to retaliate for hydrogen bomb tests carried out by North Korea - by reinstating cross-border propaganda broadcasts. Protesters are pictured on the streets of Seoul

The nuclear test, which caused an earthquake that was measured by the United States Geological Survey, was ordered by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (pictured)

About 150 people from a conservative civic group gathered near Gwanghwamun Square and called for the South Korean government to take stern measures against North Korea

At least three planes departed Thursday from Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

One of the aircraft seen departing, the RC-135S, collects optical and electronic data from ballistic targets. It is used for arms treaty compliance verification and US strategic and missile defense development.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that 'the United States will be collecting additional evidence' and working closely with other countries in the region to learn more about the North Korean test.

Meanwhile protesters took to the streets in Seoul to denounce North Korea's reported nuclear testing.

About 150 people from a conservative civic group gathered near Gwanghwamun Square and called for the South Korean government to take stern measures against North Korea.

They burned an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and cut apart the North Korean flag.

Seoul plans to reinstate propaganda broadcasts despite stopping them in August as part of an agreement with Pyongyang aimed at easing animosities.

Footage from the Chinese county of Yanji (pictured), more than 100 miles away from where North Korea detonated the bomb, showed the highway shaking from an alleged earthquake

Hydrogen bombs (top left, explainer graphic) can generate vast and violent amounts of energy through nuclear fission - the splitting of atoms - followed by fusion - the combining of atoms

Pictures from the same area near China's border with North Korea showed cracks developing on the ground as a result of the blast

It comes after shocking footage emerged from China which is said to show the tremors of an earthquake created by North Korea's hydrogen bomb test, which took place more than 100 miles away.

The reclusive country announced it had carried out a 'perfect' thermonuclear test yesterday, triggering a 5.1 magnitude earthquake.

A video from China's north eastern Yanji county shows a highway shaking uncontrollably as a result of the blast.

Stills from the same area revealed cracks forming in a playground where many children had gathered and locals being evacuated from a building.

Yanji, Huichun and Changbai - which are located near China's border with North Korea - are said to have felt the tremors the most.

FROM LUXURY GOODS TO VISAS: THE SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON REPEAT OFFENDER NORTH KOREA The UN has imposed a number of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. ARMS EMBARGO October 2006: The security council imposed an arms embargo and ban on a range of imports and exports to prevent North Korea from carrying out nuclear tests or launching ballistic missiles

June 2009: Ban was extended to any military material, financial transactions and technical training related to the supply and use of arms, nuclear and missile technology

2013: The provision was further strengthened to allow countries to seize and destroy material connected to North Korea's weapons programs TRAVEL, LUXURY GOODS AND ASSETS FREEZE 2006: A UN sanctions committee was created to 'blacklist' those deemed to be providing support to North Korea's banned programs. Those blacklisted had their assets frozen and were banned from travelling abroad

2013: This was strengthened to those who may have helped North Korea evade sanctions THE BLACKLIST There are 20 entities and 12 individuals on the UN sanctions blacklist, which was last updated in July 2014 when sanctions were imposed on the Ocean Maritime Management (OMM) company for arranging shipments of concealed arms from Cuba to North Korea in 2013

The North Korean nationals on the blacklist are mostly involved in trading houses and commercial banks, but there is also Atomic Minister Ri Je-Son and the former director of the Yongbyon nuclear research center, Ri Hong-Sop Advertisement

Atomic weapons experts and North Korea's opponents have cast doubt over the H-bomb explosion, saying the size of the blast and resulting earthquake was far too small to have come from such a device.

Hydrogen bombs can produce explosions up to 1,000 times more powerful than atom bombs, such as the one dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

That A-bomb delivered the equivalent of around 15 kilotons of TNT explosive, while the US hydrogen bomb tested at Bikini atoll in 1954 delivered 450 kilotons.

This extra destructive power means they are standard issue in the arsenals of the US, Russia, Britain and France.

South Korea's spy agency said the blast produced an explosive yield of only six kilotons. One of the country's senior lawmakers, Lee Cheol Woo, said even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation yields tens of kilotons.

Stills from near the China-North Korea border showed locals being evacuated from a building after the quake

North Korea conducted a 'successful' hydrogen bomb test at its Punggye-ri test site, Pyongyang claimed

American agencies added that the evidence from the blast was 'not consistent' with North Korea's claims.

Crispin Rovere, an Australia-based nuclear expert, said: 'The seismic data that's been received indicates that the explosion is probably significantly below what one would expect from an H-bomb test.

Let's begin the year of 2016... with the thrilling sound of our first hydrogen bomb explosion, so that the whole world will look up to our socialist, nuclear-armed republic Newsreader on North Korean TV

'So initially it seems to be that they've successfully conducted a nuclear test, but unsuccessfully completed the second-stage hydrogen explosion.'

The nuclear test, which caused an earthquake that was measured by the United States Geological Survey, was ordered by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

The thermonuclear weapon is believed to have detonated in the atmosphere at 10am local time (1.30am GMT) at the Punggye-ri test site in the north-east of the country, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said.

Thousands across the country gathered in public squares to watch a newsreader announce the H-bomb test on state TV.

As people raised their arms to the sky and cheered, she said: 'Let's begin the year of 2016... with the thrilling sound of our first hydrogen bomb explosion, so that the whole world will look up to our socialist, nuclear-armed republic and the great Workers' Party of Korea.'

North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station as the state confirmed that their detonation of a thermonuclear weapon had been a 'perfect success'

North Korea had previously hinted at the possession of 'stronger, more powerful' weapons. It is the first time the existence of such a bomb has been confirmed

Experts have been quick to cast doubt on the H-bomb test, saying the size of the explosion and resulting earthquake was far too small to have come from such a device

Last month, Kim Jong-Un had suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb - although the claim was greeted with scepticism by international experts. A South Korean man watches on as news of the earthquake broke

An intensity shake map released by the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location where the preliminary 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck - caused by the detonation of a thermonuclear weapon

TIMELINE OF NORTH KOREA'S ATTEMPTS TO BECOME A NUCLEAR POWER August 31, 1998: North Korea fires a rocket over Japan and into Pacific Ocean but its accuracy is reportedly poor with no meaningful strike capability. July 5, 2006: North Korea launches a three-stage rocket with a potential range of 6,700 kilometers (4,100 miles) but it fizzles after liftoff, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. North Korea has never acknowledged the launch. October 9, 2006: North Korea conducts its first underground nuclear test blast, after citing 'extreme threat of a nuclear war' from United States. April 5, 2009: A long-range rocket said to be carrying a satellite reaches the Pacific but fails in the third stage. Despite North Korea's claims of success, no satellite reaches orbit, U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command says. April 14, 2009: North Korea quits six-party nuclear disarmament talks and vows to restart nuclear facilities in protest against international condemnation over its rocket launch. May 25, 2009: North Korea conducts its second nuclear test. June 13, 2009: North Korea says it will start enriching uranium, a possible second route to manufacture nuclear weapons in addition to a plutonium-based program at its reactor. May 11, 2010: North Korea claims to have succeeded in nuclear fusion reaction, which led to speculation that the country was trying to build a more powerful bomb. Outside analysts doubt the North's claim. February 29, 2012: North Korea announces a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests in food aid deal with U.S. April 13, 2012: North Korea launches long-range rocket from west coast that fizzles shortly after liftoff. Pyongyang acknowledges failure. The United States announces it will not carry out the food aid deal. December 12, 2012: A long-range rocket launch puts a satellite in orbit in just 10 minutes. The U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command says North Korea appears to have put object in space. February 13, 2013: North Korea carries out its third nuclear test. May 9, 2015: North Korea says it has successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine. Missiles launched from submerged vessels would be harder to detect that land-based ones, but many analysts say North Korea likely remains years away from having an operational system. December 10, 2015: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claims to have achieved the capability to detonate a hydrogen bomb. January 6, 2016: North Korea says it has conducted a hydrogen bomb test. Advertisement

In a typically propaganda-heavy statement, she added the test was a 'perfect success', elevating the country's 'nuclear might to the next level' and giving it with a weapon to defend against the US and its other enemies.

It broadcast what was said to be a handwritten note by Kim Jong Un, which said: 'Let the world look up to the strong, self-reliant nuclear-armed state.'

The pariah state also claimed the bomb was miniaturised, meaning it could be carried on a missile that would pose a new threat to the United States and its regional allies.

Pyongyang has developed the Taepodong-2, a long-range missile with an estimated range of around 3,700 miles.

This puts it in striking distance of Japan, Australia and mainland US  albeit only Alaska. Other missiles - based on Soviet Scud technology - can reach neighbours, such as South Korea.

North Korea does possess atom bomb technology. Its first three nuclear tests, carried out between 2006 and 2013, were devices on roughly the same scale as the ones used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

South Korea tanks are deployed near the Demilitarized zone. South Korean President Park Geun-hye ordered her military to bolster its combined defense posture, calling the test a 'grave provocation'

South Korean soldiers patrol the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, as tensions in the regions escalate over North Korea's reported test of a hydrogen bomb

It has been under Security Council sanctions since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

Now, the UN Security Council has warned to start work on significant new measures in response to North Korea, which could mean a further expansion of sanctions.

We will take all necessary measures including additional sanctions by the UN Security Council so that the North will pay the price for the nuclear test South Korean President Park Geun-Hye

Its latest test, which comes after weeks of speculation that Kim had illegally developed an even more powerful weapon, has been condemned by countries around the world, including its allies China and Russia.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon blasted the act, saying it was 'profoundly destabilising for regional security'.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye ordered its army to bolster its combined defense measures with the U.S. and called the test a 'an act that threatens our lives and future'.

'We will take all necessary measures including additional sanctions by the UN Security Council so that the North will pay the price for the nuclear test,' she said in a statement.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: 'We absolutely cannot allow this.'

Prior to being confirmed, Chinese and South Korean officials both said there were early indications the tremor was man-made, with South Korea's Met Agency saying it was 'highly likely' the earthquake was caused by nuclear testing

A laboratory employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air in Gangneung

An official enters the South Korean defence ministry in Seoul as they investigated the source of the morning blast and resulting earthquake

BAN ON ALL NUCLEAR TESTING STILL ELUDES THE WORLD All nuclear explosions are in theory banned under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) signed in 1996. But the treaty is not yet in force because it has not been ratified the remaining eight nuclear states: China, Egypt, North Korea, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States. The Vienna-based UN Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation has a worldwide network of monitoring stations to detect nuclear testing. One of the first steps to outlaw nuclear testing came in 1963 with the Limited Test Ban Treaty, signed by three of the then four nuclear states (the UK, the U.S. and the Soviet), which pledged to stop detonations in the air, underwater or in space. France continued atmospheric tests until 1974 and China until 1980. Devices were normally detonated on towers, from balloons or dropped by airplanes over the sea or on islands. These explosions spew huge amounts of radiation in the atmosphere which can be spread for miles around and cause devastating health and environmental problems for years to come. Underground nuclear testing was still allowed under the treaty, with the Soviet Union doing so until 1990, the UK up to 1991 and the U.S. until 1992. Advertisement

The test was also denounced by China, the North's closest ally, where border residents were evacuated from homes after being hit by tremors.

Beijing said the blast was carried out in defiance of the international community and urged North Korea to refrain from acts that might worsen tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

NATO general secretary Jens Stoltenberg says the test undermined international security and called on Kim Jong Un to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes 'in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner'.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond described the test as a 'provocation' and a 'grave' breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Hammond wrote on Twitter: 'If North Korean H-bomb test reports are true, it is a grave breach of UNSC (UN Security Council) resolutions and a provocation which I condemn without reservation.'

U.S. government experts do not believe the device was a hydrogen bomb, but said it would take several days to determine exactly what kind of nuclear device Pyongyang set off. A variety of sensors, including 'sniffer planes,' have been tasked with collecting evidence.

South Korean officials and analysts also questioned whether Wednesday's explosion was a test of a full-fledged hydrogen device, pointing to the fact that it was roughly as powerful as North Korea's last atomic test in 2013.

Stocks across the world fell for a fifth consecutive day as the North Korea tension added to a growing list of geopolitical worries and China fuelled fears about its economy by allowing the yuan to weaken further.

No countries were given advance warning of a nuclear test, South Korea's intelligence service said, according to lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials.

Reading a typically propaganda-heavy statement, the anchor on North Korean state television confirmed that a 'miniaturised' hydrogen bomb had been tested - news which was met with celebration in North Korea (pictured)

Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (centre) arrives at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo following reports of the detonation

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo. He strongly criticised the actions of North Korea and Kim Jong-Un

HUNDREDS OF TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN HIROSHIMA: HOW HYDROGEN BOMBS CAN VAPORISE CITIES WITH TEMPERATURES AS HOT AS THE SUN A hydrogen bomb can be up to 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic weapon that devastated Hiroshima in 1945. The centre of an H-bomb blast can reach many millions of degrees centigrade  as hot as the Sun  vaporizing nearly all matter in its path. While an atomic bomb uses just nuclear fission (the splitting of atoms), an H-bomb uses fission as a first-stage detonation to set off a fusion reaction (combining of atoms), generating incredible amounts of energy. 'Think what's going on inside the sun,' says Takao Takahara, professor of international politics and peace research at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. 'In theory, the process is potentially infinite. The amount of energy is huge.' A mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion by the Americans of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific in 1952. H-bombs are hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima blast The biggest H-bomb blast to date was the Soviet Union's 'Tsar Bomba' which exploded in the Arctic with a force of 57 megatons. The power of Hiroshima, by contrast, was just 10-15 kilotons, but nonetheless killed 200,000 people. Both the A-bomb and H-bomb use radioactive material like uranium and plutonium for the explosive material, meaning both produce large amounts of radiation. The technology of the hydrogen bomb is more sophisticated, and once attained, is a greater threat. They can be made small enough to fit on a head of an intercontinental missile, making North Korea's pursuit of the device all the more worrying. But the H-bomb requires more technology in control and accuracy because of the greater amount of energy involved. The 'perfect' test - which took place at the Punggye-ri test site (pictured) - marks a major step in North Korea's nuclear development and is bound to cause considerable anxiety to neighbouring countries Experts believe North Korea may have just experimented with a 'boosted' hybrid device that mixed a hydrogen isotope in a normal atomic fission bomb. These devices are compared in the graphic above The hydrogen bomb is in fact already the global standard for the five nations with the greatest nuclear capabilities: the US, Russia, France, the UK and China. Other nations may also either have it or may be working on it despite a worldwide effort to contain such proliferation. The first U.S. test of an H-bomb was on November 1, 1952 in the Marshall Islands, a chain in the Pacific Ocean. The crew of a Japanese fishing boat that unknowingly went into the waters near the nuclear testing of one test got acute radiation sickness. Since the 1960s, nuclear tests have gone underground to reduce radioactive fallout. The hydrogen bomb was never dropped on any targets. Advertisement

In previous such tests, Pyongyang had notified China, Russia and the United States beforehand, they said.

North Korea has been under UN Security Council sanctions since it first tested an atomic device in 2006 and could face additional measures. The Security Council was holding an emergency meeting to weigh what steps it could take.

It said North Korea's actions were a 'clear violation' of the four previous sanctions 'and therefore a clear threat to international peace and security continues to exist'.

However, South Korea's spy agency said the blast from North Korea's device produced an explosive yield of just six kilotons, even smaller than Hiroshima's.

The chilling truth: Kim COULD press the nuclear button

By John Everard, former British Ambassador to North Korea

The pressing question the world is now asking is if North Korea did develop a hydrogen bomb, would they ever use it? Is Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un really that dangerous?

In what now seems a chilling New Year message, he threatened 'a merciless sacred war of justice' if North Korea suffered the slightest provocation from its several enemies.

Might 'sacred war' involve using nuclear weapons, and perhaps a hydrogen bomb (if North Korea really has one)? We just don't know. What we do know is that in the space of a week the world is already a more dangerous place.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (pictured) threatened 'a merciless sacred war of justice' if North Korea suffered the slightest provocation from its several enemies

'Let the world look up to the strong, self-reliant nuclear-armed state,' Kim said in a statement (pictured, Korean artillery units taking part in a firing contest)

Right now, geologists and nuclear scientists will be poring over the seismic data from North Korea, desperately trying to work out whether the device that caused an explosion with a magnitude of 5.1 yesterday morning really was  as the North Koreans claim  a hydrogen bomb.

But to an extent, whatever they discover doesn't really matter. It is quite worrying enough that North Korea has 'traditional' fission-based nuclear weapons. Although the blast from these is less than from a hydrogen bomb, would it really matter whether a city is blasted into rubble or into dust?

In any case, if the North Koreans don't have an H-bomb yet, they will certainly keep trying to develop one. And if it could be 'militarised' so that it can be carried by a missile launched from a submarine (and that's a big 'if') then the unthinkable  such as an attack on one of the big cities on the Western coast of America  becomes a real possibility.

Test launches by North Korea of submarine-borne missiles have so far ended in failure, but they won't fail for ever. If and when they do succeed, and if they manage to build a sufficiently small nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, then they might be able to threaten anywhere from Seattle to San Diego with nuclear attack.

We are probably not at that stage yet, but the North Koreans will continue to strive towards it.

As the former British ambassador to North Korea, I was in Pyongyang when they began their nuclear testing programme in 2006, in the face of almost total international opposition.

John Everard, a former British Ambassador to North Korea, says the country is dangerous whether it does or does not have a H-bomb (pictured, a mass rally in Pyongyang to mark Kim New Year Address)

The North Koreans are a proud and patriotic people with a genuine sense of grievance against foreign powers that, they feel, never give them a fair chance. That first test was received with great excitement and pride in the country's technical prowess. That, of course, was just what the regime wanted.

But then I saw how quickly this excitement turned to dismay as reports began to filter through  overcoming official censorship and media control  of just how much Kim's nuclear programme was costing this still desperately poor country. Three years ago, the programme's cost was estimated at around $3 billion, and it has obviously risen still further.

In a country where the capital's scrupulously clean streets do now offer restaurants and coffee shops for a wealthy elite, but where the rural poor are often short of food, that sort of money would buy an awful lot of rice. I suspect that reactions to this fourth test will go through the same phases.

So why did Kim Jong-un carry out this test? The reasons will be complex, but in essence Kim Jong-un seems, at least for now, to have decided that confrontation is going to get him more of what he wants in terms of international leverage and status than diplomatic negotiation. As North Korean television said yesterday, 'the way to peace does not lie across a dirty conference table'.

There may, however, be good reason for his bellicose confidence. Pyongyang has nuclear shelters  just as Britain did during the tensest days of the Cold War.

Famously, Pyongyang's deep metro system was built to double as just such a collection of shelters. Every now and then, the city's obedient population are herded into them in yet another rehearsal for a nuclear attack.

Three years ago, North Korea's nuclear programme cost around $3 billion, and it has risen still further (pictured, leader Kim Jong-un)

Are these shelters for the general population big enough? Perhaps. More importantly, are they deep enough to survive a nuclear blast? Nobody knows.

What we do know, though, is that North Korea's leadership have access to a deep tunnel complex that would make the Tora Bora tunnels of Afghanistan  where Osama bin Laden is said to have hidden after the 9/11 attacks  look like a winter sink-hole in the Home Counties.

The North Korean leadership has had years to prepare for an attack. These tunnels will almost certainly be big enough and deep enough for the country's political elite to survive one or more nuclear blasts.

The truly worrying thing, then, is that if Kim Jong-un believes he can survive a nuclear attack or counter-attack, then he may well be willing to press his own nuclear button. That was bad enough when he just had a nuclear bomb; it would be worse should he now have access to the more powerful H-bomb.

It seems that he is prepared to risk even his relationship with China, North Korea's only ally and a vital economic partner, in order to develop ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction.

Only three months ago, relations between the two countries seemed warm and friendly, with China  which has always rather soft-peddled when it comes to international sanctions against North Korea  sending one of its most senior politicians to the celebrations in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ruling Workers' Party.

'The truly worrying thing, then, is that if Kim Jong-un (pictured) believes he can survive a nuclear attack or counter-attack, then he may well be willing to press his own nuclear button,' writes Everard

The Chinese went out of their way to sound supportive  making all the right noises about economic co-operation and increased levels of aid.

What was left unsaid, however, was the very clear political subtext  that in return for this increased economic support, China, a member of the UN Security Council and therefore opposed to nuclear proliferation, expected a level of control over North Korea's behaviour, particularly when it came to its nuclear programme.

For two months, it seemed as if Kim Jong-un was happy to go along with this, even arranging for his favourite home-grown girl group, the Moranbong Band, to embark on an official tour of China.

But on the very day the girls departed, Kim Jong-un announced, albeit to a disbelieving world, that North Korea had developed an H-bomb. (Those shocked by yesterday's test reports can't say they weren't warned.)

Now, he has escalated tensions still further by claiming to have tested the bomb, again without giving the Chinese any advance warning at all (although the North Koreans had carefully given the Chinese notice of their previous tests).

In a terse statement, the Chinese confirmed this lack of notification yesterday, going on to pledge their co-operation with the international community in its efforts to rid the entire Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons (which means the North  there have been no nuclear weapons in South Korea for decades).

The Chinese are clearly and understandably very angry. They don't want Kim Jong-un's provocative behaviour to prompt the Americans to increase their military presence in South Korea.

China does not want Kim Jong-un's (pictured during tribute to North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung) provocative behaviour to prompt the Americans to increase their military presence in South Korea

They know that if a shooting war ever restarted on the Korean peninsula, the North Koreans would invoke their alliance with China to ask for Chinese military support. There would be no enthusiasm in Beijing for this.

Neither do the Chinese want North Korea's policy of aggressive confrontation to disturb the already delicate political and military balance in this increasingly territorial part of the world.

It's notable that relations between South Korea and Japan, both close U.S. allies, have grown notably warmer in recent months, which will not have pleased China, which hopes for a loosening, not a tightening, of ties between the Asian democracies.

It may be that this latest alarm will blow over, but we can be sure that Kim Jong-un's scientists will continue to try to develop both a hydrogen bomb and the means to deliver it.

If they ever succeed, the world will immediately become a much more dangerous place.
Gunmen opened fire on tourists as they boarded a bus in Cairo, security sources have said.

The attack took place at a hotel on a road leading to the Giza pyramids southwest of the capital.

A witness said the attackers set off flares before launching heavy, continuous gunfire towards the hotel and throwing Molotov cocktails at the bus.

Security sources said the tourists boarding the coach were Israeli Arabs.

One gunmen was arrested at the scene and security forces surrounded another masked attacker in another part of Cairo, said the sources.

Ambushed: Egyptian police officers secure the scene after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on tourists as they boarded a bus (pictured), shattering the glass and peppering the front of the hotel with bullets

Police officers stand next to a bus with damaged glass following the attack on a hotel near the pyramids

A police officer points to a bullet hole at the facade of a hotel that was attacked by gunmen near the pyramids

Jaber Jabarin, an Arab-Israeli citizen who was staying at the hotel and witnessed the attack, said: 'The first thing they fired was flares and then they started firing at the bus.

'Later they started firing birdshot at the hotel and tried to throw Molotov cocktails at the bus.'

After throwing the petrol bombs, Mr Jabarin said the attackers 'started firing at the hotel with live bullets.' He described heavy, continuous gunfire.

The attack is likely to raise questions over President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's repeated promises to stamp out militancy in Egypt.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry, however, said the attack was directed at security forces.

In a statement, it said 15 people who had gathered on a side street near the hotel threw home-made fireworks in the direction of security forces stationed there.

'One of the loiterers fired a home-made pellet gun in the direction of the security in front of the hotel, causing some damage to the glass facade of the hotel as well as the window of a tourist bus.

'No injuries occurred,' it added.

A hotel employee cleans smashed glass from the facade of a hotel that was attacked by the gunmen

There were no casualties, but the bus and front of the Three Pyramids Hotel was sprayed with bullets

Security forces apprehended one person who was hiding behind the hotel, the ministry said.

One gunman was arrested at the scene and security forces surrounded the other attacker in another part of Cairo, said security sources earlier.

The motive for the attack was unclear and no one immediately claimed responsibility for it.

Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas today in the predominantly Muslim country.

Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy, which has been struggling to recover from political turmoil triggered by the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Gunmen opened fire on tourists as they boarded a bus on a road leading to the pyramids (file picture)

On terror alert: Islamic State's Egypt affiliate has said it planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane (pictured) that crashed in the Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board

In June last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor, wounding three Egyptians.

A week earlier, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of the tourism police at Giza.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared an all-out war on Islamist militants, who hope to destabilize Egypt through suicide bombings and shooting attacks.

Islamic State's Egypt affiliate has said it planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board.

Days after the October disaster, Moscow halted all Russian flights to and from Egypt, while Britain has suspended air links with Sharm el-Sheikh, where the plane took off.
The massive influx into Europe of young, unaccompanied men will lead to a gender imbalance and more sex attacks like those seen in Cologne, a professor has warned.

Crimes such as sexual assaults and rape become more common in 'masculinised' societies, while women's ability to travel without fear worsens, Dr Valerie Hudson claims.

Her warning comes as police in Germany reveal the 'organised Arab or North African' sex gangs which terrorised more than 100 women in Cologne blocked officers from helping distressed victims.

The chilling police report describes women being forced to run through a 'gauntlet' of drunken men while officers themselves were mobbed by victims claiming they had been sexually assaulted.

But the problem is now believed to be far more widespread than initially thought.

Today it emerged identical sex gangs are operating in neighbouring Austria, while more than 150 woman across five German cities have reported attacks.

And in Switzerland, six women reported identical crimes in Zurich on New Year's Eve, while Finnish police intercepted information suggesting similar attacks were planned.

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Hundreds of people gather in front of Cologne's main railway station, where disorder broke out last week and groups of 'Arab or North African' men attacked dozens of women

Groups of revellers gather in the city centre during the celebrations last week which quickly turned to chaos

Police have described being swamped by upset women claiming to have been sexually assaulted when they arrived in Cologne city centre on New Year's Eve (pictured)

Writing for Politico, Professor Hudson, from Texas A&M University, said: 'There are also clearly negative effects for women in male-dominated populations.

'Crimes such as rape and sexual harassment become more common in highly masculinised societies, and women's ability to move about freely and without fear within society is curtailed.

'In addition, demand for prostitution soars.'

She cites Sweden - which has taken in large numbers of refugees - as one example of a country where the gender imbalance has become skewed.

'While the humanitarian needs of the refugees streaming into Europe must be foremost in our minds at this time, policy makers in Sweden and other countries should also think of the long-term consequences of an unprecedented alteration in the young adult sex ratios of their societies.'

Her analysis comes as a New Year's Eve police report from Cologne, where two women have reported being raped and another 104 assaulted, was leaked to media.

The details of the report reveal shocking details of police being blocked from assisting women as they are mobbed by groups of 'migrant' men.

Seen by German tabloid Bild, the officer noted women were forced to run a 'gauntlet' through groups of drunken men.

In one incident logged by officers, a man told police: 'I am from Syria, you need to treat me nicely. I was personally invited by Mrs Merkel'.

Another ripped up his own papers in front of an officer, saying: 'You can't do anything to me, go get me a new one tomorrow.'

Arriving at the scene, the officer was greeted by waves of upset women claiming they had been sexually assaulted by groups of male migrants.

According to The Local, It read: 'On the square outside were several thousand mostly male people of a migrant background who were firing all kinds of fireworks and throwing bottles into the crowd at random.'

Struggling to gain control, the officer was approached by 'numerous crying and shocked women reporting sexual assaults.'

But despite all the statements so far taken, police confirmed that they so far have made no arrests and only 16 suspects in their sights.

According to German media, some of the suspects are recent arrivals to Europe, though police have refused to comment on the claim.

One of the first victim's to speak out, an 18-year-old named Michelle (pictured), described being surrounded by a group of 30 'angry' men who groped her and her friends then stole their belongings as they fled

Michelle's (pictured on German TV) shocking testimony comes as the city's own council admitted its town centre was now a 'no-go area' for women

'Scarred for life': A victim of the Cologne New Year's Eve attacks, known only as Jenny (pictured), was left with horrific burns on her shoulder after a firework was shoved into the hoodie she was wearing

Today Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Germany must examine whether it has done enough to deport foreigners who commit crimes.

She said the New Year's Eve assaults were 'repugnant criminal acts that... Germany will not accept,' and that legal changes or extra police presence may be examined.

'The feeling women had in this case of being at people's mercy, without any protection, is intolerable for me personally as well,' she said.

'And so it is important for everything that happened there to be put on the table.

'There are some very serious questions which arise from what has happened which have relevance beyond Cologne,' she said, including establishing whether there are common patterns of behaviour by some groups of people who do not respect women.

She said she would consider changing the law, boosting police numbers and making sure the deportation system was effective. She added that 'cultural coexistence' must be continually discussed.

'We have a duty to give the right answers.'

'TOUGH BLOW': COLOGNE TOURISM DEVASTATED BY MOB SEX ATTACKS Tourism officials in Cologne say the city's reputation as a destination for holidaymakers has been devastated by the New Year's Eve sex attacks. Hotels and guest houses have already confirmed having their first cancellations after the scenes of violence were finally published in the media this week, with not just individuals but also tourism groups pulling out from visiting the city. One group supposedly travelling from the Ore Mountains, in between Czech Republic and Germany, told the local tourism body: 'Under the circumstances, I'm sure you will understand that we do not want to put our lives at risk.' And they were not the only ones, numerous emails and telephone calls have been coming in from tourists and trip organisers as well as travel agencies cancelling planned visits. The managing director of the Cologne tourism body, Josef Sommer, said: 'The image of Cologne has had a tough blow.' The Cologne tourism body is owned by the city and is supposed to try and display a positive image. The city's Hotel and Guesthouse Association, which has 1,500 members, also says they are extremely worried about the future. They said it was not only holidaymakers but also business trips which were now being called into question, according to the organisations manager, Christoph Becker. Cologne's Congress organiser Gerald Bose also said that business visits were now open to question, saying: 'Of course what happened over New Year has damaged the good reputation of Cologne as an exhibition and congress centre, which it had previously enjoyed worldwide. 'We have been flooded with enquiries from worried organisers and visitors from both Germany and abroad.' Advertisement

After it took several days for the truth about what occurred in Cologne to surface, it emerged identical sex attacks had been carried out across four other German cities on the exact same night.

Hamburg now has 39 reported cases, Frankfurt 7, Stuttgart 3 and Bielefeld 5. It's not clear who was responsible for the attacks, and the numbers of cases is likely to further rise.

Police also said they have arrested a pair who were part of a gang of five tackled by police over an alleged theft from a train passenger, and after taking them in, police said it was later discovered that they and their gang had been assaulting women prior to the theft. Both are currently in custody.

A police spokesman said: 'At the moment, there is concrete evidence that the accused shortly before carrying out the thefts had been approaching numerous women and assaulting them.'

They added that the women had not stayed to make complaints at the time, and they appealed for them to get in touch.

They said that without a complaint from the women, the men remain only under arrest for the theft. It was also unclear, they said, whether the two were part of the alleged New Year's Eve assaults.

Cologne mayor Henriette Reker (pictured) has condemned the sexual assaults but also come under fire herself for suggesting they could be avoided if women kept strange men 'at arm's length'

Meanwhile, it has now emerged that similar sex attacks have occurred in Austria, but police held the information back 'to protect the privacy of victims'.

News of the incidents in Austria, which has featured the arrests of migrants from Afghanistan and Syria, was revealed after women and girls came forward to complain to local media.

One identified as Sabrina told Austrian newspaper Osterreich that she was still suffering from shock from the ordeal, which occurred when she was in a club in the centre of the Mozart city of Salzburg.

She described walking home about 2am when a group of men began shouting and ran up to them, grabbing two of her friends.

'They tried to beat them off, but they were overcome and one of them was grabbed by the head. He was cuddling her and licking her face.'

It was only after she managed to hit and kick the attacker that her group was able to flee. She claimed to be aware of many other incidents.

'Many women and girls have also been attacked. Some told me they were attacked on the Staatsbrucke, some in the marketplace and others at the train station. One claimed a group by the town hall had even tried to kidnap her, but she was helped by a passer-by.'

Salzburg prosecutor Robert Holzleitner said there had been 'multiple complaints about sex attacks', but he refused to give a specific figure.

An Austrian police spokesperson said the public were not notified in order to protect victims' privacy.

The spokesperson said the reported attacks included a 22-year-old woman who had complained about a sex assault and theft against persons unknown after she was attacked by a group of around 8 to 10 men who surrounded her and then groped her.

She said the suspects were 'foreign-looking men' but refused to give more detail, saying that the investigations were continuing.

Another New Year attack concerned a 17-year-old girl who was shot at by a 23-year-old Syrian using a battery of fireworks, and after he was arrested it was alleged that he had also assaulted a 20-year-old German woman shortly before.

A 24-year-old man from Afghanistan was grabbed by bouncers at a nightclub after a 28-year-old young woman from Salzburg was reportedly assaulted by him.

In another case a 28-year-old, also from Afghanistan, shortly after midnight had attacked a woman from Salzburg after grabbing her from her scooter.

Meanwhile, the police chief in Cologne has said the perpetrators of the 106 reported attacks appeared to be of 'Arab or North African origin', prompting right-wing groups to condemn the government for its welcoming stance towards refugees fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere.

ATTACKS TRIGGER FIERCE DEBATE OVER IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION The attacks have triggered a heated debate among German politicians over whether to make it easier to expel convicted asylum seekers. Authorities say there is no concrete proof the perpetrators of the attacks in Cologne were migrants, but critics of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door approach have seized on the opportunity to draw a link. As outrage grew in Germany over the assaults, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said foreigners who commit serious crimes 'must assume they will be deported'. German law requires a conviction of at least three years in prison before an asylum seeker can be forcibly returned while his or her application for refuge is being examined. The individual must also not face threats in his or her country of origin. But de Maiziere said: 'We will have to discuss if we should change' the rules, which are in line with the UN Geneva Convention and European Human Rights Convention. Stephan Mayer, a senior politician in the Christian Social Union - the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's CDU - demanded that foreigners who receive a prison term, regardless of its length, be expelled. But the Social Democrats, junior partners in Merkel's left-right 'grand coalition', argued against any changes to the law. Advertisement

Although there were some disruptions caused by fireworks (pictured) and general disorder, it was only several days later the true scale of the sex attacks at the public celebrations were revealed

A group of men set off fireworks during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne last week. Police say groups of men (not pictured) were responsible for coordinated attacks on women

A couple sit on a step while two police officers check an abandoned bag left in the city centre of Cologne

Although police across Europe were on high alert for possible terror attacks on New Year's Eve, Cologne police chiefs have also come under fire for not preventing the sex attacks

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger said he expected a 'very detailed report' from the police this week but declined to give further details about the investigation.

Police said the attacks occurred when about 1,000 men split into gangs as officers cleared a square to stop fireworks being thrown from the top of steps into the crowd below.

Germany took in about a million asylum seekers over the past year and many more are expected to arrive during 2016.

German officials appear to be at odds over how to respond to the assaults in Cologne.

Federal Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere has criticised local police for not having intervened during the New Year celebrations to prevent further assaults on women.

Meanwhile Cologne's mayor, Henriette Reker, has apologised on Facebook for the way her comments were interpreted in which she told women they should avoid trouble in the future by keeping foreigners at arm's length.

She said: 'I am really very sorry.'

However, without any arrests, she has insisted that there is no evidence the men involved in the attacks were refugees.

Officials have cautioned it's important not to cast suspicion on refugees in general. Still, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview with the Funke newspaper group that 'deportations would certainly be conceivable.'

He said the law allows for people to be deported during asylum proceedings if they're sentenced to a year or more in prison.

'The courts will have to decide on the level of sentences, but that penalty is in principle absolutely possible for sexual offences,' he said.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Wednesday that 'anyone who commits serious crimes, whatever status he is in, must reckon with being deported from Germany.'
Kids Company psychologist Helen Winter (pictured today) has admitted being high on MDMA while treating vulnerable young people at the controversial charity

A Kids Company psychologist has admitted being high on MDMA while out with vulnerable young people who used the controversial charity.

Helen Winter, who worked with over 18s at the now defunct South London charity, is also accused of offering one of the clients the party drug in the toilets of a gay nightclub in Vauxhall, South London.

She had taken MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, while out with another charity worker when she bumped into two Kids Company service users, both aged in their 20s and referred to as clients C and D, at nightspot Hidden in January 2014.

Ms Winter also breached the charity's rules by letting them stay at her home, and admits using drugs 'on several occasions' during her leisure time as well as testing positive for cocaine during a routine drugs test.

Ms Winter admitted that she was guilty of misconduct and that her fitness to practice is impaired, at the hearing at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in London today.

However, she denies taking the Class A drug with one of the young people, client C, in the toilet cubicle at the club, or offering drugs to the young woman.

Kids Company, which collapsed in August amid allegations of financial mismanagement, worked with children, young people and vulnerable adults who come from troubled backgrounds and have suffered drug addiction and abuse.

Dr Winter, who tested positive for cocaine when she took a routine drugs test on 16 May 2014. was immediately suspended, removed from working with young people and reported to the psychologists' watchdog, according to the charity.

The allegations surfaced days after Kids Company chief executive Camilla Batmanghelidjh resigned amid reports Whitehall was refusing the charity a 3million grant unless she stepped down.

The charity folded on August 5 last year, just six days after receiving the grant to keep it afloat.

The hearing was told that Ms Winter was employed as a psychologist for the charity and met Nicci Shall, a colleague referred to as colleague A, at Kids Company Urban Academy - a pupil referral unit for over 16s - in May 2013.

Daniel Mansell, representing the HCPC, said that Ms Winter and Ms Shall had gone for a drink before heading out clubbing on January 24 2014.

It is alleged that in the club Ms Winter went into the toilet where she took the drug with Client C.

Mr Mansell said: 'On the 24th January 2014 Colleague A and the registrant went for a drink with other Kids Company employees.

'The registrant suggested that she and Colleague A go to a nightclub in Vauxhall.

A tearful Ms Winter is pictured outside the Health and Care Professions Council hearing in London, where she has admitted that she was guilty of misconduct and that her fitness to practice is impaired

'They decided to purchase some MDMA on the way to the club and met with someone who provided this.

'Once the pair arrived at the club they took the MDMA and saw Client C and D at the club and spoke to them.

'At one point the registrant and Ms Shall and Client C went to the toilet and went to the cubicle.

'The registrant offered Client C some MDMA, Client C accepted and they took it.'

Ms Winter told Kids Company bosses that she had bumped into the pair, but did not tell them she had been under the influence of drugs and Ms Shall later reported this to the charity.

Mr Mansell said that after concerns had been raised about Ms Winter's drug use, Kids Company arranged an internal investigation by Professor Stephen Briggs, before passing on the matters to the HCPC.

Mr Mansell said: 'On the 14 May, the Registrant tested positive for cocaine in a routine drugs test.

'When interviewed the Registrant accepted that had taken the drug.'

He said that when she was interviewed about her drug used, 'She said she had been taking drugs infrequently but more often than she would like.

'She said that her use had increased recently due to issues in her personal life."

Mr Mansell said that on January 31, last year, Ms Winter allowed the same two charity clients to stay at her flat.

He said: 'The Registrant reported this the following Monday and stated she had suggested this as Client C had been unwell.'

The panel was told that clients C and D were not being called as witnesses as 'it's not been possible to contact them since the disbandment of Kids Company'.

Ms Winter had been out with a colleague, teacher Nicci Shall (pictured) when they bumped into two Kids Company service users, both aged in their 20s and referred to as clients C and D, at the nightclub in January 2014

Ms Winter (pictured today) denies taking the Class A drug with one of the young people, client C, in the toilet cubicle at the club, or offering drugs to the young woman

Recalling the night in question, Ms Shall, a masters student in human rights at the London School of Economics, said Winter told her she needed to 'see the bigger picture' and 'no harm was done' the day after taking MDMA in a Vauxhall night club.

She said she had been drinking wine and Jagerbomb shots in the pub from 4pm when she and Ms Winter decided to carry the night on at the Hidden nightclub in south London.

The pair originally met in 2013 at the charity's Urban Academy and struck up a friendship, regularly meeting outside work for drinks and had worked with C and D to set up an LGBT group within the academy.

Ms Shall, who was employed as a 'path to life teacher', said the pair took some MDMA in the toilet and then saw clients C and D.

She said: 'On our way to the nightclub Helen said it would be funny if we bumped into some service users on a night out.

'When we got there we both went into separate cubicles and took the MDMA and then later on we saw the two service users and went outside for a cigarette with them.

'Later on in the toilets she offered Service User C and I dabs of MDMA. I refused, they then went into a cubicle together and took the drug.'

She said that after she left the club she felt 'awful' about what she had witnessed and wanted to tell her boss, but was persuaded not to.

She said Dr Winter told her the clients had 'had a good time and nothing had come of it'.

The allegations surfaced days after Kids Company chief executive Camilla Batmanghelidjh (pictured) resigned amid reports Whitehall was refusing the charity a 3million grant unless she stepped down

The closure of Kids Company last summer sparked protests from many of the charity's users

Ms Shall said she felt appalled at the incident and turned to a colleague for advice, but they advised her not to take the matter further.

She told the hearing: 'I went to colleagues and they advised me not to take it any further. I stupidly followed their advice and I regret that.'

She eventually reported the matter to Ms Batmanghelidjh, and was interviewed for an internal investigation, but raised concerns about the accuracy of the report.

She said: 'I do not feel that the investigation report compiled by witness B accurately reflects my account of events.

'I challenged the accuracy of the report but was informed by Kids Company that it was an internal document and should remain confidential.'

Ms Shall said she took 'full responsibility' for her own actions but felt let down by the more senior Ms Winter.

In text messages from the day after the incident Ms Shall told Winter: 'F***, f***, f***, I can't believe what we did.'

Another read: 'I really trusted you with so much stuff, but you put me in this position even if it was a momentary slip it suggest you don't care for me.'

Ms Winter, who worked with over 18s at the now defunct South London charity, had taken the party drug at a Vauxhall club with a fellow colleague, when she bumped into two Kids Company service users, both aged in their 20s

Ms Winter text her saying: 'I promise I will never put you in a position like that again."

Ms Shall said: 'I was really stressed. I looked to her for what to do. I felt under a lot of pressure not to tell anyone.'

And she added that another colleague she had told about the incident had advised her not to report it.

Ms Shall said: 'I went to another colleague on the Monday morning and they advised me not to take it any further and I stupidly followed that advice and I regret doing that now.'

Ms Shall said she took 'full responsibility' for her own actions but felt let down by the more senior Ms Winter (pictured leaving the hearing today)

Samantha Jones, representing Ms Winter, suggested that the toilet cubicle was too small for Ms Winter, Ms Shall, and Client C to all fit and said that her MDMA use and drinking could have affected her memory.

Ms Winter, wearing a grey jumper, looked away as Ms Shall said: 'It did happen. I really wish it hadn't, but it did.'

She added: 'I felt utmost remorse and self-disgust for what happened and I take complete responsibility for my role.'

Ms Shall said another colleague had initially told her not report the incident but later the same colleague advised she tell Ms Batmanghelidjh.

She said she had been 'building up' to report what had happened.

'I didn't want to because I really did care and respect Ms Winter and I felt like I was betraying her but I knew it was the right thing to do,' she said.

Her colleague later told her to report the issue directly to Ms Batmanghelidjh instead of the regional management.

She said: 'He didn't think they were competent to deal with this.

'He set up the meeting with Camila and after that events moved quite quickly.'

The panel heard that an incident form had been completed relating to the two clients but no form appeared to have been completed about the nightclub. Ms Shall said she did not know why.

'I bailed on the meeting that we had scheduled and after that I just dodged the subject,' she said.

'If I had been at that meeting I wonder whether that would have been the time when someone would decided to do an incident form.'

As Professor Briggs started giving his evidence, Winter broke down in tears and had to be escorted from the hearing room as the panel took a break.

The professor of Social Work at the University of East London, said Ms Winter told him she had allowed the two clients to stay at her house because one was in a distressed state late at night and that she had reported it the following Monday.

He said a Kids Company manager informed him that the safeguarding team had been informed, the incident had been logged and that he deemed the matter was closed after that.

Professor Briggs said: 'I also felt that the matter had been adequately dealt with at the time.'

After Ms Winter tested positive for cocaine as part of a Kids Company policy routine drug testing, Professor Briggs was approached by the charity's director of human resources who asked him to carry out the investigation.

Reading from his witness statement, Professor Briggs said: 'She admitted to taking the drug at the previous weekend.'

But he said staff questioned how long cocaine stays in the system.

The charity folded on August 5 last year, just six days after receiving a 3million grant to keep it afloat. Pictured is the charity's offices in south London

Alan Yentob, former chairman of trustees at the charity, (pictured with Ms Batmanghelidjh) stepped down as BBC creative director following allegations that he tried to influence its coverage of the charity's troubles

Professor Briggs that Ms Winter had been 'forthcoming" about her drug use and was in the process of receiving help for it.

He said: 'She informed me that her drug use was due to her difficult personal circumstances.'

She told him that she had contacted her GP and told her family who were being supportive.

He said that when he interviewed Winter he was impressed.

Reading from witness statement he said: 'She was an engaged professional who was determined to work hard to the benefit of the young people she worked with.'

He added today: 'She impressed me very much with her engagement, her dedication and her skills.'

Kids Company has faced a series of damaging allegations since its demise, including that at least 46 million of public money was handed to the charity despite concerns about the way it was being run.

Ms Batmanghelidjh said there was a 'malicious discrediting campaign' against the charity, while Prime Minister David Cameron said he was 'sad' it had closed.

The charity, which is now under the control of administrators, is being investigated by officers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse team of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Alan Yentob, former chairman of trustees at the charity, stepped down as BBC creative director following allegations that he tried to influence its coverage of the charity's troubles.

He always insisted there was no conflict of interest. But, stepping down from his high-profile role at the BBC, Mr Yentob said his role at the failed charity was a 'serious distraction'.
Grinning asylum seekers taunted police trying to break up the ugly rabble who turned central Cologne into a lawless 'open toilet'  by telling them to be 'nice' - because theyd been invited by Angela Merkel.

The sex mob of migrant Arab and North African men tore up their temporary residence permits and threw them at officers who battled through New Years Eve to regain control of the streets, which were covered in faeces and vomit.

Outside the city's historic cathedral, where the 1,000 drunk and stoned migrants sexually assaulted and robbed 100 women declared: 'You can't do anything to me  I will get myself a new one in the morning.'

Scroll down for video

Taunted: Police have revealed how the violent crowd, which was 'mainly' made up of migrants, openly mocked them as they tried to regain control of Cologne city centre in the run up to midnight on New Year's Eve

Entitled: As groups of men carried out sex attacks on women, others ripped up their temporary residence permits, telling police they could do nothing as they would simply get another one in the morning

Another told them: I am Syrian, I must be handled in a friendly manner. Mrs. Merkel invited me here!

Amid the chaos, the crowd mocked officers - who were attacked with fireworks and bottles as they tried to get control of the violent crowd.

One officer told German newspaper Bild that the migrants, one million of whom Germany welcomed last year with open arms, offering a safe, new home, said he hadn't seen anything like it in almost 30 years with the force.

'The very high number of migrants was striking,' he said. 'The forces met a level disrespect, I have not seen in 29 years of service.'

Yet president of the Cologne Police Wolfgang Albers and Cologne mayor Henriette Reker have said there is no reason to believe those behind the New Year's Eve sex attacks were refugees.

The women were assaulted, with at least one raped, during the chaotic scenes outside the city's central train station in the lead up to midnight.

The denial has thrown those who worked on the streets.

One officer told Cologne's Express newspaper: 'We arrested 15 people. These people have been in Germany for only a few days or weeks.

'Of these 15 people 14 are from Syria and one from Afghanistan.

'This is the truth even if it hurts.'

He added: 'I had young women standing next to me crying because they no longer had any underwear after the mob had spat them out.

Derision: Another migrant in the mob told officers to be nice to Syrians 'because Mrs Merkel invited us'

Shocking: One officer said it was the worst level of disrespect he had seen in a 30-year career

'These scenes shocked me and we have to deal with it.

'First Aid staff and doctors working that night have confirmed that asylum seekers were among the mob.'

An internal police report detailed how members of the sex mob had ripped up their temporary residency papers in front of officers 'with a smile on their faces', Bild reported.

I am Syrian, I must be handled in a friendly manner. Mrs Merkel invited me here! Syrian refugee

The report stated that officers began receiving reports of women being attacked in the city's historic centre at 10.45pm.

It said: 'People came up to us to report that they had been attacked before we could even park the car.

'When we pulled up the mob attacked us [police officers] with fireworks.

'There were more than 1,000 people from mostly immigrant backgrounds.

'They were throwing fireworks and bottles into the crowd.

'People came to us to report that they had witnessed beatings, robberies and sexual assaults against women.

Horrfiying: One victim, an 18-year-old named Michelle (pictured, in the square outside the main train station where she was attacked) described being surrounded by a group of 30 'angry' men who groped her and her friends then stole their belongings as they fled. Police officers said women had to run a 'gauntlet' to escape

Out of bounds: They were forced to disperse the crowd, but were unable to make arrests because of the sheer numbers who had gathered near the cathedral and train station

'Officer recognised immediately that they needed to take urgent action. But the mob continued to throw fireworks and bottles even though tried to intervene.

I had young women standing next to me crying because they no longer had any underwear after the mob had spat them out. Unnamed police officer

'Women had the run the gauntlet through the drunken mob.

'Officers feared that there was a risk of serious injury or death due to the use of fireworks so after consulting with superiors they decided to try to clear the area.'

The authorities began to clear the crowd at 11.30pm, but it would take another 45 minutes to finally disperse the rabble, who were 'drunk and had been smoking cannabis'.

'Beatings and theft continued around the area after officers had dispersed the crowd,' the report continued.

'Shocked and crying women and girls came to the officers to report they had been sexually assaulted by groups of men from an immigrant background.

'Identification of the perpetrators was not possible because of the size of the crowd. So we decided to disperse the crowd to prevent further assaults.'

All officers could do was clear the area, according to the report, with the huge number of suspects making it impossible to make arrests.

The mob then ran into the station, across the railway lines to reach the already overcrowded platforms.

'People were vomiting and urinating throughout the train station. People were also collapsed unconscious.'

MailOnline is awaiting a statement from the Cologne Police press office.

Anger: The beat bobbies who dealt with the mobs have rubbished police chief and council claims that the mob was not made up of asylum seekers, saying they saw mainly migrants on New Year's Eve

'KEEP A GOOD DISTANCE FROM STRANGERS': COLOGNE MAYOR'S ADVICE ON HOW TO KEEP SAFE FOLLOWING MOB SEX ATTACKS SPARK OUTRAGE Cologne's mayor Henriette Reker sparked outrage by suggesting women shoulod prevent sex attacks by keeping men at an 'arm's length' Failing to calm the fears of women in Cologne, Reker said: 'It is always possible to keep a certain distance that is longer than an arm's length,'need to be 'better prepared' for such incidents. Speaking on live TV, she said women should be 'more protected in the future so these things don't happen again', Breitbart reported. 'This means they should go out and have fun, but they need to be better prepared.' Reker said new guidelines would be published online containing 'the basics', like 'for example that women should keep a good distance from strangers and also stay away from large groups of men'. The mayor was mocked on Twitter under the hashtage #eineArmlange. Advertisement

Chancellor Merkel said yesterday that Germany must now have a 'fundamental' debate about how to integrate newcomers.

Many people have blamed her for encouraging migrants to come to Europe with her announcement in August that she would ignore EU rules and give asylum to all Syrians.

Germany's justice minister Heiko Maas said yesterday that if asylum seekers are found to have taken part in sex attacks, 'deportations would certainly be conceivable'.
A respected village GP forged long-haul boarding passes so his girlfriend and stepdaughter could illegally smuggle cigarettes to be sold on the black market, a medical tribunal heard.

Dr Alan Pollock, 50, along with former airport worker Jayne White and her daughter, Lucy, cheated the taxman out of almost 28,000 in duty and VAT.

Customs officers stopped the two women at Gatwick Airport in 2013 and seized 3,000 duty free Mayfair cigarettes along with fake boarding passes falsely claiming they were heading to Oslo in Norway.

Criminal racket: Dr Alan Pollock (pictured left) along with former airport worker Jayne White (right) and her daughter, Lucy, cheated the taxman out of almost 28,000 in duty and VAT with their illegal cigarette smuggling

Police later raided Dr Pollocks luxury home in the village of Aylesford, near Maidstone, Kent to find he had a boarding pass template on his computer as well as almost 50 counterfeit railway tickets forged to make various train journeys.

Investigations showed he had 200,000 in his bank account whilst masterminding his two-year crime racket in which the women would buy duty free goods by using forged international boarding basses to fool airport workers into thinking they were travelling outside of the EU.

The VAT and duty evaded on the cigarettes totalled 27,518, but in terms of profit Dr Pollock was estimated to have made at least 10,000 from the scam.

Although it is unclear how much tobacco the racket transported each time, Border Force rules dictate that passengers can bring back 200 cigarettes per journey without paying UK tax or duty.

But Dr Pollock and his accomplices were able to avoid detection between February 2011 and April 2013 because the two women only ever boarded domestic flights, despite having false boarding passes for non-EU countries.

Further inquiries revealed Pollock, a former paratrooper, had for three years been embellishing his reputation at his surgery by falsely claiming to have won the Queen's Gallantry Medal for saving a young childs life while serving in the army, a medical tribunal was told.

Today Pollock faced being struck off at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester having earlier been giving a suspended sentence by a judge who condemned him for 'grubbing around for dirty money.'

The GP had been a highly respected doctor at the Abbey Court Medical Centre in Tunbridge Wells where patients praised his 'understanding, polite and helpful' demeanor in medical consultations.

Customs officers stopped White and her daughter (pictured) at Gatwick Airport in 2013 and seized 3,000 duty free Mayfair cigarettes along with fake boarding passes falsely claiming they were heading to Oslo in Norway

But unknown to patients and colleagues, Pollock was using then-partner, White, 55, who worked at Gatwick, and her 20-year-old daughter to help him with his bootlegging scam.

Lawyer for the General Medical Council, Susannah Stevens, told the hearing: 'Dr Pollocks partner would email him details of flights that were genuine flights, that were international, and he would email to her a forged ticket and boarding pass so it would appear that they were going to be taking an international flight.

'Then one, or all three of them, would go to a national airport and present this fraudulent documentation.

'It is not a one off, this occurred on numerous occasions. They would get through to the duty free area and buy a large amount of Mayfair cigarettes and get the benefits of the cheap price because it would appear that they were flying internationally. But they would then go and fly domestically.'

It baffles me that as a respected GP you became involved in this squalid criminality Judge Anthony Scott-Gall

She added: 'On April 17, 2013, as they were about to board a domestic flight to Edinburgh, Jayne and Lucy White were stopped and searched. Three thousand duty free cigarettes were found and general information showing that they had a domestic flight to Edinburgh and also fraudulent tickets that showed that when they got to Edinburgh, they would be going to Oslo.

'When Dr Pollocks computer was searched they found a template in relation to boarding passes and found an email giving the tickets for this very flight to Oslo to Jayne White.

'Notebooks were found which give some idea of the profits. He could get 20 cigarettes for 2.16 per packet, they would then be able to get 4.50 per pack so for an average packet there was a profit of 2.34. Their expected profit over the period of time would be at least 10,938.'

Whites car was found to contain a stash of counterfeit boarding passes and officers discovered evidence of multiple illegal purchases of duty free cigarettes between February 2011 and their arrest.

Pollock had made fake boarding passes for destinations including Geneva and Zurich, plus Tenerife and Lanzarote, which have VAT free status.

Scam: Investigations revealed Dr Pollock masterminded a two-year criminal racket in which the women would buy duty free goods from airports such as Gatwick (pictured) by using forged international boarding basses

Miss Stevens said inquiries showed Jayne White earned less than 9,000 a year from her job.

The lawyer added: 'There was evidence of them going on numerous trips abroad, therefore the money that was received was being used to fund a lavish lifestyle.

'When Dr Pollocks house and computer were searched, it became apparent that he has a thing for forgery and counterfeit items.

'Officers found in the boot of his car a rail ticket authorising travel for a particular journey, Dr Pollock and others had made the journey and the tickets were found to be forgeries.

'Also found at his house were 49 blank rail tickets, similar to those that had been used. In addition to that, a travel stamp was found, embossed with "European Travel Service". Its not just that he had items that could be used in fraud, but also evidence of used counterfeit rail tickets.'

Pollock, who served in the Parachute Regiment from 1982 to 1991, initially denied dishonesty and claimed others may have used his computer.

But Miss Stevens said customs men discovered he had falsely put the letters QGM after his name and qualifications at the Medical Centre when he was working there between April 2010 and September 2013.

Punishment: The VAT and duty evaded on the cigarettes totalled 27,518. Lucy White (pictured left and, right, after her arrest) was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work after the trio were caught by customs

She said: 'He was asked what a QGM refers to and he knows what it is. He is asked how he got it, and says that he cant discuss that and explains it was from when he was in the forces from 1982 to 1991 where he was in the parachute regiment.

'He said he helped a child out of a building. When he was asked where was this he said he didnt want to discuss it, explaining that he found it sensitive to talk about.

'This is a case where, not only did he put this on the website, hes saying he received it from working with the parachute regiment and helping a child. HMRC made it clear that they looked into it and checked with the office and cant find any record.

'They asked whether he had any idea why they would not have it on record. Its only when its made clear that they have already asked that Dr Pollock at this stage says "its because it doesnt exist".

There was evidence of them going on numerous trips abroad, therefore the money that was received was being used to fund a lavish lifestyle GMC lawyer Susannah Stevens

'He then explains that he thinks it was a typing error. HMRC ask for clarification whether he has ever been awarded a QGM and he says no. He said that he may have been trying to exaggerate what he was and said it to make himself look better. No such award was ever given to Alan George Pollock.'

Pollock did not attend the tribunal. In an email he wrote: 'I have become of no fixed abode, I currently have no home to live in and feel at an incredible low. I have been homeless with no access to what I previously owned.'

He was sentenced in March last year at Lewes Crown Court after admitting fraud and VAT evasion and was given a two-year suspended jail term.

At the time the judge Anthony Scott-Gall told him: 'This was quite a little business and you were clearly the controlling member of the team. You are a wealthy man compared to most in this country. You had 200,000 in your bank account and owned your own home.

'It baffles me that as a respected GP you became involved in this squalid criminality. With a good salary and considerable wealth, you had to go grubbing around making dirty money buying duty free cigarettes and flogging them off. What a terrible fall from grace.'

White, from Maidstone, was also sentenced to a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, after she admitted VAT evasion at the court hearing. Her daughter was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
Saudi jets have 'deliberately' bombed the Iranian embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, Tehran has claimed today.

Warplanes struck the building as they pounded Yemen's capital Sanaa on Wednesday night, Iran claimed, as tensions with Saudi Arabia continued to mount.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman described the strike as a 'deliberate action' and a 'violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions'.

Saudi jets have 'deliberately' hit the Iranian embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, Tehran has claimed today. Pictured: bomb damage in the capital Sanaa on December 30

Hossein Jaber Ansari said: 'The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured.'

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate the accusation, according to the group'sn spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said.

Coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night to target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that the group has used civilian facilities including abandoned embassies.

Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply it with coordinates of the location of their diplomatic missions and that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis 'have no credibility'.

But witnesses in Sanaa said they could see no damage at the Iranian Embassy and that it was still standing.

The neighborhood in Yemen's capital has been struck before as it is home to several strategic sites.

Often at loggerheads over regional issues, a full-blown split between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran erupted at the weekend when Riyadh executed prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 others.

Nimr's death sparked demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.

A full-blown split between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran erupted at the weekend when Riyadh executed prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran while Kuwait and Qatar recalled their ambassadors.

A Saudi-led coalition has waged an air war on Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March and the impoverished nation's conflict is one of the main sources of dispute between the two regional adversaries.

Also on Thursday, Iran banned all products from Saudi Arabia and said a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage would remain in place 'until further notice'.

'The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia,' a government statement said.

It comes as 65 people were killed today when one of Libya's worst truck bombs in years exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack today, but the bombing was one of the deadliest since Islamist militants started expanding their presence in the chaos that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Mayor Miftah Hamadi said the bomb detonated as recruits were gathering at the police centre in Zliten, a coastal town between the capital Tripoli and the port of Misrata.

Witnesses said residents were ferrying victims to Misrata hospitals in ambulances and cars, many with shrapnel wounds.
Archaeologists working on the site of a new hotel in Alexandria, Virginia have discovered the well-preserved remains of a Revolutionary War-era cargo ship.

The new hotel is being constructed on a site which is believed to be the location of the city's first building.

Due to the historic nature of the area, the city's team of archaeologists have been heavily involved in the process and were stunned to discover the vessel.

Archaeologists in Alexandria discovered the remains of a 50-foot long 260 year old ship on the site of a hotel

The ship is believed to have been deliberately scuttled to provide the foundation for a warehouse in 1755

Experts carefully removed layers of mud and soil, uncovering the vessel which is at least 260 years old

Experts believe the ship was deliberately scuttled to provide the foundations for the construction of the original building sometime between 1755 and 1798.

According to the City of Alexandria, special laws were passed to allow archaeologists to 'explore the 18th and 19th century' of the area during a major redevelopment of the historic waterfront area.

The law, which was passed in 1989, obliges developers to allow archaeologists onto the site before construction can begin.

According to the city, the team discovered the port side of the vessel, which is approximately one third of the hull.

The exact type of boat involved has not yet been identified. But the construction method and material used date the vessel to the Revolutionary War.

The city claimed: 'The ship appears to have been very sturdily built. The sections of the frame are very close together, suggesting that it carried something heavy. It was probably a coastal vessel, and its use for military purposes cannot be ruled out.

'There is evidence of the keel, the frame, a possible part of the bow stem, a section of the stern, exterior boards, and a section of the interior floor boards, or ceiling.'

The discovery was made on Union Street which is near the Potomac River overlooking Washington DC

Experts are currently deciding the best method of preserving the historic find and whether it can go on display

The site is currently being redeveloped as a new trendy hotel as part of a revamp of the waterfront area

As a result of the discovery, experts are going to examine the ship in detail at the scene before it is removed.

However, the wooden remains will have to be 'submerged in a wet environment' to allow the option of conserving the discovery.

City records show that in 1755 a warehouse was constructed on the site of the discovery suggesting the boat had been deliberately destroyed to provide the foundations for the building.

A Scottish merchant John Carlyle was commissioned to build the warehouse.

The archaeologists working on the site thought they may find evidence of the original building, but were unaware of the existence of the ship until the layers of mud and earth were slowly removed.

According to the city: 'The frame foundation of the building consisted of massive timbers, possibly 20 to 30 feet long, with 12-inch-square cross-sections. These wood sills spanned much of the length of the building.'

'The remarkable discovery of the remnants of this 260-year-old building help us to envision what the town would have looked like at the time of its founding. The warehouse remains provide a unique opportunity to study the 18th-century building techniques and help to provide insight into the early historical activities on the waterfront as the town strove to become a center of international trade. By the end of the 18th century, this vision had become reality, with Alexandria rated among the ten busiest ports in America.'
Starving Syrians trapped in three besieged towns are being forced to eat cats and dogs and have surgery without anesthetic after vital supplies were cut off, activists have warned.

Foua and Kfarya in Idlib province have been under attack from rebel groups for more than a year.

But the situation deteriorated in September when insurgents captured an airbase used by helicopters that delivered canned food, vegetables and bread to about 30,000 people.

In the Madaya near Damascus, which has been under siege by President Bashar Al Assad's forces since July, desperate residents have resorted to eating domestic animals to fend of starvation.

Several have either been shot dead by snipers or blown up by mines while scavenging for food, while the conflict had sent the price of powdered baby milk soaring to $300 for 900g.

Starving to death: Syrians trapped in three besieged towns are being forced to eat cats and dogs after vital supplies were cut off, activists have warned. This photograph of a starving boy in Ghouta, Damascus, from last year was posted by the Local Revolutionary Council to highlight the plight of Syrians in the civil war

An emaciated man is seen in this undated picture posted on social media by activists trying to reveal the plight of starving Syrians

An image supplied by activists shows a young child in the Syrian town of Madaya. The mountain border town has been besieged since early July and conditions have worsened with colder weather and dwindling supplies

Pro-government fighters recently evacuated from two besieged villages Foua and Kfarya described harsh conditions there with scarce food and medicine, saying some residents are eating grass to survive and undergoing surgery without anesthesia.

'Our life was catastrophic in Foua and Kfarya,' said Hussein Mahdi Kazem, a 16-year-old wounded fighter.

He spoke from a bed in Hezbollah's Rasoul al-Azam Hospital south of Beirut, where he was evacuated last month from Kfarya.

But the two Shi'ite villages are not alone in their suffering. Both sides in Syria's nearly five-year-old conflict have used siege tactics on towns or villages as a way of getting an area under control.

In retaliation for the siege of the Shi'ite villages, opposition activists say Syrian troops and members of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group have taken harsh measures against a Sunni area of Syria of about 40,000 people near the Lebanese border.

The mountain border town of Madaya has been besieged since early July and conditions have worsened with colder weather and dwindling supplies.

A snowstorm hit early in the new year and there has been no electricity or diesel fuel.

People have taken to removing interior doors in their homes and burning them for heat, said a local official who identified himself as Samir Ali.

A picture purportedly shows a Syrian man scavenging for food in a pile of rubbish in the town of Madaya which has been under siege by President Bashar Al Assad's forces since July

This picture posted by an activist on Twitter purportedly shows a cat about to be slaughtered for food by a starving Syrian in Madaya. However, MailOnline has not yet been able to verify the image which may simply have been used for illustration purposes by those highlighting the plight of Syrians caught up in the conflict

Desperate measures: Syrian children eat from a pan of boiled leaves and grass in Madaya

He told the Associated Press news agency via Skype that the cost of goods has soared, with a kilogram (2.2lbs) of crushed wheat selling for about $250 and 900 grams (31oz) of powdered milk for infants going for about $300.

A group of people recently killed a dog and ate it, he said.

One activist whose family is inside Madaya also told the BBC: 'Citizens are dying. They're eating stuff off the ground. They're eating cats and dogs.'

Of 23 deaths in Madaya in recent weeks, 10 were attributed to a lack of food and the rest were either shot dead or blown up by mines planted by pro-government and Hezbollah forces, said Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group.

At least 25 checkpoints prevent people from leaving, Ali said.

A Facebook page describing conditions in Madaya posted photos of several older men who it said had starved to death. The photos could not be independently confirmed.

It's not known how many people died in Foua and Kfarya.

Syrian civil defense members gather to protest for civilians who starved to death in Madaya in Aleppo, Syria

Of 23 deaths in Madaya in recent weeks, 10 were attributed to a lack of food and the rest were either shot dead or blown up by mines planted by pro-government and Hezbollah forces

Starving Syrians trapped in the besieged towns of Madaya, Kfarya and Foua are being forced to eat cats and dogs and have surgery without anesthetic after vital supplies were cut off, activists have warned

The evacuated fighters described how people who need medication in the two villages often must take drugs that have expired and that mothers must crush grains of rice  when available  and boil the mixture to make baby food.

Pawl Krzysiek, a Syria-based spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the situation in the villages of Foua, Kfarya and Madaya 'is extremely dire and winter is making things even more difficult for them.'

He added: 'For far too long, people were left without basic necessities such as food and medicine. It is the ICRC's utmost priority to deliver in the coming days to people there.'

He said ICRC is coordinating the aid to the villages but refused to give further details.

The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, called on the UN and the international community to allow aid into Madaya, warning that any delay 'will lead to more deaths among innocent civilians.'

Coalition member Salah Hamawi said: 'Children, women and elderly are dying as a result of hunger and cold.'

But UN efforts to take in food often get disrupted by either insurgents or pro-government fighters, the Observatory said.

Pro-government student Hani Ali Hassan is comforted by his mother Khadijah Sheikh Haidar in hospital after being evacuated from the besieged Shi'ite village of Foua in Syria which has been under siege for over a year

Pro-government Syrian fighters who were recently evacuated from two besieged Shi'ite villages in northern Syria say residents there live under harsh human conditions where people can hardly find medicine or even food to eat making some rely on grass in order to survive

A UN-backed deal led to the December 28 evacuation of more than 450 people from two war zones in Syria, including 338 people from the two northern villages and 125 people from the Zabadani area near the border with Lebanon.

Madaya, which is near Zabadani, was not part of the evacuation deal, but food was supposed to go in.

In October, the UN said it had mistakenly sent hundreds of boxes of expired nutrition biscuits to besieged civilians in Zabadani and Madaya.

Yacoub El Hillo, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said in a statement that human error during the loading process caused the mistake.

Ali, the local official in Madaya, said some people got sick after eating the biscuits. He added that residents were promised more supplies, but nothing has been delivered since then.

In all three besieged areas, residents used to rely on troops or insurgents to bring them food at inflated prices, but the smuggling has recently dropped sharply.

Moamen Haj Ali, another wounded Shiite fighter being treated in Beirut, said water is running out in Foua and Kfarya because of a lack of diesel fuel for pumping stations.

'Life is miserable. People cannot find a pill of aspirin or painkillers,' said Mohsen Darwish, a Shi'ite cleric from Kfarya who lives in Lebanon but is in contact with residents of both.
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The Moroccan knifeman wearing a fake suicide belt who was shot dead trying to attack a police station in Paris today was carrying a letter in which he pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Sallah Ali had been trying to enter the police station in Barbes, northern Paris, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and threatening officers with a knife on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

The 20-year-old convicted thief was carrying a mobile phone and a sheet of paper showing the black flag of ISIS - and claims of responsibility written in Arabic, according to officials in France.

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Shot dead: Sallah Ali had been trying to enter the police station in Barbes, northern Paris, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and threatening officers with a knife on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks

Taken out: Ali, 20, was carrying a mobile phone and a sheet of paper showing the black flag of Islamic State

Weapon: This zoomed-in version of the same photo shows a knife lying on the ground near Ali

Investigation: After searching the body, French police confirmed that the man was wearing a belt made out to look like a suicide vest, but which was a fake and did not contain explosives

Guarding the streets: Police are pictured tonight patrolling the area near the shooting in northern Paris

Onlookers: A group of people stand behind a roadblock tonight as police guard the area near the shooting

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said: 'A mobile phone and a piece of paper, on which appear the Daesh (ISIS) flag and a clear written claim in Arabic, were found on the individual.

A police union source said Ali, who is originally from Casablanca, was wearing a belt made out to look like a suicide vest - but a bomb disposal unit has since confirmed that it was a fake.

Police have cleared hundreds of people from the area, which has a high percentage of residents with a multi-ethnic or immigrant background, over fears that other assailants could be at large.

A Paris police official said officers are viewing the incident outside the Goutte d'Or commissariat - close to the Gare du Nord Eurostar hub - as 'more likely terrorism' than a standard criminal act.

Earlier, Luc Poignant, a police union official, said Ali may have been wearing an explosives vest, and cried out 'Allahu Akbar' or 'God is great' in Arabic.

A witness said he had heard 'two or three shots' this morning, before the man was on the ground. Ali was said to have 'sworn allegiance' to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the reclusive leader of ISIS.

Killed: Ali can be seen wearing the apparent 'suicide vest' outside of the police station in northern Paris today

Fear on the streets: An armed police officer secures a street after Ali was shot dead outside the police station

In discussion: French riot police check pedestrians as they secure the area after the man was shot dead

Response in action: French police are seen near the Rue de la Goutte d'Or in the north of Paris today

He had been sleeping rough in Paris, but in 2013 had been arrested for theft in Sainte-Maxime, the upmarket French Riviera seaside resort. His fingerprints were recorded at the time.

His body, dressed in light blue jeans, a grey combat-style jacket and black boots, could be seen lying outside the police station until well into the afternoon.

'He was clearly obsessed with Islamic State, and its leaders,' said an investigating source. 'This was made very clear from the piece of paper found.'

The source added: 'At around 11.30am, the man appeared outside the police station and showed off his kitchen knife. He was told to get back, but refused. Shots were fired and he died instantly.

By 1pm, bomb disposal experts could be seen using a robotic device to check Ali's corpse for explosives. Sniffer dogs were also present.

They are said to have found a 'small package with electric wires hanging out of it', said another source, working for Paris police.

Terror alert: French police check a pedestrian as they secure the area after the man was shot dead in Paris

Cordoned off: Armed French police patrol near the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris after the shooting

Getting closer: A bomb robot inspects the body outside the police station in Barbes, Paris, and at least a dozen riot police vans were blocking off the area in the Goutte d'Or district

Probe: A bomb disposal unit investigates Ali's body after reports that he was seen wearing a 'suicide vest'

The Goutte d'Or neighbourhood in Barbes, the 18th arrondissement of Paris, was locked down - as were two metro lines running through the area, although they later reopened.

Ppassengers arriving on the Eurostar from London were told to steer clear of the area. Armed police could be seen stopping passers-by, and especially young men of North African appearance.

Police expanded their security cordon an hour after the attack, swiftly and roughly clearing out hundreds of people who had gathered nearby. Shops were told to close along neighbouring streets.

Minutes before the shooting, French President Francois Hollande had paid homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including three police shot to death during the January 7-9 attacks.

In a speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, Mr Hollande said the government was passing new laws and ramping up security, but the threat remained high.

Mr Hollande especially called for better surveillance of 'radicalised' citizens who have joined ISIS or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.

Close call: The shooting was just a few miles from the former offices of Charlie Hebdo which came under attack exactly one year ago

On the scene: French officials say the man was wearing what appears to have been an explosives vest or belt, and police are investigating the attack as potential terrorism

Armed: Military officers stand guard near the shooting scene after the man carrying a knife attempted to enter a Paris police station in the Goutte d'Or area, northern Paris

Patrol: French police secure the area after the shooting in northern Paris shortly after 11am UK time today

'We must be able to force these people - and only these people - to fulfil certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest... because they are dangerous,' he said.

Three police officers were among the 17 dead in the attacks, which ended after two days of bloodshed in France. Mr Hollande said officers die in the line of duty 'so that we can live free.

Yvan Assioma, of the police union Alliance, said tension was high on the anniversary of the attacks against Charlie Hebdo. 'The alert is constant,' he told the broadcast network iTele.

The incident today came exactly one year after the terrorist attack on the satirical magazine. 'Allahu Akbar' were also the words used by the two Paris-born brothers who carried out that massacre.

Islamist militant brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi entered Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices and killed 11 people on January 7.

Two days later, Amedy Coulibaly, a friend of the Kouachi brothers who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, killed four and held more than a dozen people hostage at a kosher supermarket in Paris.

Emotional time: People walk around on the Place de la Republique tonight during a gathering that marks one year since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in Paris

A year later: People walk near a banner reading 'Je suis Charlie' on the Place de la Republique in Paris tonight

Tributes: France this week commemorates the victims of last year's Islamist militant attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket with eulogies, memorial plaques and another cartoon lampooning religion

Remembered: A woman lights candles to mark the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris

This week sees a number of memorial ceremonies held across Paris and France to honour the total of 17 victims who were killed in the attacks last January.

The French capital is still reeling from the terrorist attacks on November 13, when 130 people were killed and 352 people were injured in a series of shootings and suicide bombings for which ISIS has claimed responsibility.

A spokesman for France's Interior Ministry said an enquiry was today opened for 'attempted murder associated with a terrorist organisation'.

'The security forces showed true professionalism and vigilance. It is this which allowed them to neutralise this man,' said the spokesman.

Some of the police evidence was disputed by at least two eyewitnesses, one of whom said: 'He had his hands in the air, and was retreating. He was not shouting religious slogans. The police killed him anyway.'

Officers said there would be a full enquiry, with CCTV used to try and establish exactly what happened.

Leader: French President Francois Hollande lays a wreath to pay tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks during a visit to the French anti-terror security forces at the police headquarters in Paris
The sister of a 9-year-old boy who was mauled to death by her pit bulls inside her trailer said Wednesday she will never forgive herself and that she has signed papers giving authorities permission to put the three dogs down.

Alexandria Griffin-Heady said her brother had been around the animals frequently and that she had never known them to be aggressive toward humans.

Griffin-Heady, 24, said that on Sunday she left the dogs secured in a crate and her brother sleeping when she left to go to work, something she had done before. When she returned home a few hours later she found the dogs loose and her brother's body, Griffin-Heady told reporters.

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Tragic: Tyler Griffin-Huston was left alone inside his half-sister's trailer Sunday and was mauled to death by her three pit bulls. Above he is pictured with her, Alexandria Griffin-Heady

Gruesome: Authorities say Griffin Heady went to work and when she returned home she found the nine-year-old boy critically injured. She called 911 and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Above she is pictured left with her half-brother and right with one of the three dogs involved in the attack

To be put down: Griffin-Heady has given authorities permission to euthanize the three dogs responsible for killing her brother

'My heart just died,' she said, crying. 'I will never forgive myself for losing him. I promised him I would protect him and never leave him,' she said.

The three dogs, a mother and two offspring that Griffin-Heady had raised since they were puppies, have been seized and placed in an animal shelter, the Sacramento Bee reported.

I will never forgive myself for losing him. I promised him I would protect him and never leave him.

Authorities say at least two of the dogs had the boy's blood all over them, Fox 40 Sacramento reported. The dogs, who have no history with Animal Care Services, will likely be euthanized.

Her neighbors said that she had just recently moved into the small trailer in Linda from Florida to better her life and eventually get her little brother out of the foster system.

Since his mother died of a drug overdose in 2011, the little boy had bounced around different foster homes and was also homeless at some points in time, CBS Sacramento reported.

At the time of his death, he was visiting his sister who was recently approved for overnight weekend visits with him by Child Protective Services.

'The only wish for Christmas was that he wanted to have a mom and I so badly wanted to be that person for him,' Griffin-Heady told Fox 40 Sacramento.

'I failed him, whether it's my fault, my dog's fault, whoever's fault, I wanted to protect him and give him an amazing life.'

When asked if she felt her dogs were dangerous, she said that 'never a day their life' did she feel that way.

Adoption process: Since his mother died of a drug overdose in 2011, the little boy (left) was in foster care. Griffin-Heady (right) had plans of adopting him. At the time of his death, he was only visiting her for the weekend

Failed: In reaction to what happened, Griffin-Heady said: 'I failed him, whether it's my fault, my dog's fault, whoever's fault, I wanted to protect him and give him an amazing life'

'He loved them, he laid in the bed with them, he played with them, he wanted one of their puppies.'

Undersheriff Jerry Read told CBS Sacramento that Griffin-Heady may face child endangerment charges.

'I don't know. This one seems to have affected me most,' he told the television station. 'The child being home alone and just had to have been terrified of what took place.'

Her lawyer, Roberto Marquez, told the Sacramento Bee that criminal charges would be 'inappropriate for what was essentially an unpredictable tragedy.'

He added that she had no idea that her dogs would pose a threat.

'If she had any hint at all that these dogs had any propensity for violence, she would never have left her brother with them,' he told the newspaper.

'She raised them and cannot fathom what could have happened that caused them to attack a little boy.'

Surprise: When asked if she felt her dogs were dangerous, she said that 'never a day their life' did she feel that way

Animal person: Griffin-Heady said that her half-brother loved her dogs. 'He laid in the bed with them, he played with them, he wanted one of their puppies,' she stated

'I don't even think it rises to the level of negligence. She had no knowledge that anything like this could occur.'

The boy's aunt, Laura Badeker, believed that Griffin-Heady's living circumstances and the dogs put the boy at risk.

Badeker said she told Child Protective Services that she felt her nephew was 'unsafe with his sister.'

'She was trying to rescue him from the system,' Badeker told the Sacramento Bee.

'But I told everyone on the team that was supposed to be protecting Tyler that Ali was not prepared to take care of him on any level.'

Child Protective Services also issued a statement about Griffin-Huston's tragic death.

Charges? Griffin-Heady (above) may face charges of child endangerment for the situation

'We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of this child. Sacramento County Child Protective Services was notified by Yuba County law enforcement yesterday, January 3. CPS is continuing to work with Yuba County law enforcement during this investigation,' it reads.

Badeker shared that his father is mentally disabled and was unable to care for him. He was the youngest of five siblings his mother left behind after her death, the Sacramento Bee reported.

His aunt feels that someone needs to be held accountable for his death.

'They were warned, over and over again,' she told the newspaper. 'Why didn't someone evaluate what was happening? Somebody needs to be held accountable for this.'

Before moving to California, Griffin-Heady was living in a motel room in Florida with her dogs, Badeker told the Sacramento Bee.

Her dogs, which she calls ' the wolf pack', are featured in several videos on YouTube that she recorded of her interactions with them.
A picture of a US police officer buying lunch for a homeless man has helped him find a place to live.

Alex Fischbach of Morrison, Illinois, took a snap of the heartwarming act of kindness inside a McDonald's and shared to photo on his Facebook page on January 2.

The picture depicts the

A homeless shelter recognised the unidentified man from the coat he was wearing in the picture and offered him a place to stay.

This picture is a quick snap of one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. We pulled up to the McDonalds in... Posted by Alex Fischbach on Saturday, 2 January 2016

'With everyone sharing the original post, it helped this man be noticed and placed somewhere he could stay,' Fischbach told ABC news. 'I'm just very thankful I was there to witness this and be able to snap the photo so everyone else could know as well.'

Fischbach said he was at the fast food restaurant with his fiance in his hometown when he spotted Sergeant George Depuy handing money to the unidentified homeless man.

'He stepped out of his squad car and opened the back door to let out this homeless man,' he recounted. 'He walked the man inside and told him this would be a good place to stay warm for now. He walked up to the employee at the counter and explained to her the situation.'

'She was fine with the man staying as long as he needed to,' Fischbach continued. 'He then handed the homeless man some money from his own pocket and told him to order whatever he'd like. The man tried to refuse but the officer said, 'I'm not asking you to take it I'm telling you to take it.'

'Nothing else was said after that. The two shook hands and the officer walked out the door,' Fischbach concluded.

The homeless man was taken by a pastor to the Firehouse of God's homeless shelter in Sterling, Illinois.

'The man is living there now,' Fischbach said on another Facebook post. 'They found out he was 82 years old and from Idaho. They actually recognized him from the coat he was wearing in the picture!'
Colonel Gaddafi warned Tony Blair that if he was removed from power Islamic extremists would take over Libya with the ultimate goal of conquering Europe.

Newly released transcripts of 2011 phone calls between the pair reveal the ousted Libyan leader's anxieties about the growing influence Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were having in Africa and the Middle East.

He warned jihadis were already wreaking havoc in the North African state despite his governance - and that if he was to be toppled it would pave the way for the rise of an Islamic State that would open the doors to a deluge of migrants heading for mainland Europe.

Warning: Colonel Gaddafi warned Tony Blair that if he was removed from power Islamic extremists would take over Libya with the ultimate goal of conquering Europe, it has been revealed

In this first call, which lasted half an hour, Gaddafi told Mr Blair that the civil war in Libya was run by Al Qaeda terrorists trying to control the north African coastline

Blair contacted the dictator and urged him to flee for a 'safe place' in two calls on February 25 2011, eight months before he was beaten to death after being found in a sewer.

Transcripts of the conversations were published for the first time yesterday and MPs said the dictator's fears extremists would take Libya may have been 'wrongly ignored' because he was usually 'delusional'.

However, hindsight appears to prove the former dictator foretold the rise of ISIS - and the knock-on effect it would have on displacing the Libyan people and millions more across Iraq and Syria.

Here we examine the key points covered in the telephone exchanges between Gaddafi and Mr Blair.

Gaddafi on the rise of Islamic extremists in Libya and how they embedded like the 9/11 sleeper cells

February 25 2011, 11,15am

In this first call, which lasted half an hour, Gaddafi explained to Blair how al Qaeda had planted themselves in Libya.

From there, he claimed, extremists had began to launch attacks throughout the country.

He warned that the small terror cells were similar to those that embedded themselves in the United States prior to the September 11 attacks - and that there ideologies were being shared.

The Libyan leader explained to Blair how al Qaeda had planted themselves in Libya before launching attacks throughout the country

Gaddafi said: 'They don't use Arab words, they use Islamic. Out of the blue they were given instructions to attack police stations and to cause this disturbance.

'They have managed to get arms and terrify people. People can't leave their homes. They have been threatened with arms.

'They have managed to set up local stations and in Benghazi have spread thoughts and ideas of al Qaeda.'

The former Libyan leader explains that al Qaeda jihadists are fighting to takeover North Africa

February 25 2011, 11,15am

The ousted Libyan leader told Mr Blair that the country's civil war was run by al Qaeda terrorists trying to control the north African coastline.

He said: 'It is a jihad situation. They have arms and are terrorising people in the street. They are armed gangs who have no weapons. Not decided to face them with force, asking their families to convince them to lay down arms. Can't reason with them.

'They keep saying things like Mohammad is the profit. Similar to bin Laden.

The ousted Libyan leader told Mr Blair that the country's civil war was run by al Qaeda terrorists trying to control the north African coastline

'They are paving the way for him in north Africa. They (jihadists) want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe.'

Gaddafi told Mr Blair that if he was removed from power terrorists would take control of the region and urged him to 'explain to the international community'.

He said: 'We are not fighting them, they are attacking us. The story is simply this: an organisation has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa, called the Al-Qaeda Organisation in North Africa. The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11'.

At the end of the first conversation Mr Blair, who had been out of UK politics for four years, told him he would speak to his contacts in the EU and America and call back.

Gaddafi warns that terror group's expansion across Africa and Middle East would lead to flood of 'non-believer' migrants heading for Europe - before extremists start to invade

February 25 2011, 11,15am

After expressing his grave concerns about the growing number Islamic extremists in not just Libya but the likes of Algeria, Afghanistan and across the Middle East and Africa, the dictator then assessed what impact he believes the rise would have on those who choose not to confirm to their ideals.

Chillingly, Gaddafi stated the jihadists wanted 'to control the Mediterranean', predicting that they would then 'attack Europe'

Gaddafi said: 'They [al Qaeda extremists] are controlling the Mediterranean Sea. Ships and vessels of non-believers [will flee].

'Like in the day of Barbarossa and during the Ottoman Empire.'

Chillingly, he then stated the jihadists wanted 'to control the Mediterranean', predicting that they would then 'attack Europe.'

Tony Blair and Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi take a break during the 2004 'deal in the desert'

Blair's attempt to keep Gaddafi safe

February 25 2011, 3.45pm

Four hours later, at 3.45pm, the ex-Labour leader called back but Colonel Gaddafi became increasingly irate and demanded Mr Blair visit him 'see the truth'.

Gaddafi also repeatedly asked him if he 'supported' terrorism and al Qaeda.

But Mr Blair told him: 'If you have a safe place to go you should go there, because this will not end peacefully unless that happens. You have to leave the country'.

Plea: In their later call at 3.45pm Mr Blair, labelled 'TB' told Gaddafi (G): 'If you have a safe place to go you should go there' but the dictator responded by saying this was an attempt to colonise Libya

Gaddafi told Mr Blair his plan for him to leave sounded like 'colonisation' and said he was ready to arm his people to fight any outside intervention.

He said: 'There is no bloodshed here. It is very quiet. But if you want to reap Libya, we are ready to fight. It will be like Iraq.'

Warning that the situation could pass 'the point of no return' within days, Mr Blair told Gaddafi that 'this is the last chance to resolve this peacefully'.

'The violence needs to stop and a new constitution needs to take shape', he told the Libyan leader, adding that people would be 'content' if they saw he was standing down.

Gaddafi asks Blair if he sympathises with Al Qaeda after former Prime Minister recommends against an armed response

February 25 2011, 3.45pm

Gaddafi compared the situation in Libya to campaigns of extremist violence in Afghanistan, Algeria, Nigeria and Pakistan and challenged Mr Blair: 'Do you support al Qaeda? ... Are you supporting terrorism?'

Exchange: An increasingly irate Gaddafi told Blair to 'leave us alone' and asked him to come to Tripoli - which Mr Blair said he would consider

Blair responded by saying: 'No, absolutely not, the important thing is how do we get to a point where this thing can end in a peaceful way?'

The fraught conversation continues, before ending with Gaddafi telling Blair to 'just leave us alone', as the former Prime Minister urged him to 'keep the lines open'.

What happened following the phone calls?

Three weeks later, Nato bombers including from Britain, stared air strikes that led to the demise of Gaddafi, who was hacked to death in the October.

The ex-Labour leader was questioned about his relationship with Gaddafi before he died in 2011 and their 2004 'deal in the desert' by MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee before Christmas.

The committee issued the transcripts of their phone calls this morning.

Criminal: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, left, was jailed for life for the Lockerbie bombing only to be released on compassionate grounds in 2009 (right)

Mr Blair, who left Downing Street and quit as an MP in 2007 before becoming a Middle East Envoy, said he was 'acting as a concerned citizen' and had asked David Cameron and Hillary Clinton for permission.

Chairman Crispin Blunt MP said: 'The transcripts supplied by Mr Blair provide a new insight into the private views of Colonel Gaddafi as his dictatorship began to crumble around him.

'The failure to follow Mr Blair's calls to 'keep the lines open' and for these early conversations to initiate any peaceful compromise continue to reverberate.

'The Committee will want to consider whether Gaddafi's prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups following the collapse of the regime was wrongly ignored because of Gaddafi's otherwise delusional take on international affairs.

Pc Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London 31-years-ago - bout nobody has been brought to justice

'The evidence that the Committee has taken so far in this inquiry suggests that western policy makers were rather less perceptive than Gaddafi about the risks of intervention for both the Libyan people and the western interests.'

He also denied that he was trying to save the dictator's life when he told him to go somewhere 'safe', saying it was to end bloodshed in Libya.

Mr Blair said last month he brought Gaddafi 'in from the cold' by going to his desert tent in 2004, as the north African country began its return to the international community after years of isolation for supporting terrorism, including sending shipments of semtex to the IRA.

During the 'deal in the desert' Gaddafi renounced weapons of mass destruction, bringing to a halt programmes to develop nuclear and chemical arms.

It also sealed millions in trade and oil deals between the two countries but Mr Blair denied it also paved the way for the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi and a promise not to pursue the killer of PC Yvonne Fletcher in 1984.

They met more than once a year until Mr Blair left power in 2007.

The Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi was freed from his life sentence and sent home by the Scots on compassionate grounds because he had 'just three months' to live in 2009.

But for two years and 9 months after his release until his death al-Megrahi lived in the lap of luxury.

Mr Blair denied that Libyan involvement in the Lockerbie bombing and the shooting of WPc Yvonne Fletcher had been set aside as part of efforts to bring Gaddafi on side.
Dermot O'Leary opened Fishy Fishy Brighton in 2009

Former X Factor host Dermot O'Leary has suddenly closed the doors on his seafood restaurant.

The TV presenter angered staff by shutting down Fishy Fishy in Brighton, East Sussex, after seven years.

Radio Two DJ O'Leary was forced to close a sister restaurant in Poole, Dorset in 2013 - while accounts show the company were 238,000 in the red at the end of the last financial year.

A note pinned to the door of the restaurant this week said: 'After seven years Fishy Fishy is moving on from our 36 East Street location.

'We would like to thank all of our customers, staff and the good people of Brighton for their loyalty and support.

'Future plans are currently in discussion.'

The 15 members of staff have been given fully paid notice, according to management.

A spokesman for Mr O'Leary said: 'Dermot has personally ensured all staff are well looked after and he has not taken any earnings from the venture since it opened, ploughing all profits back into the business'.

But furious workers said they were still enraged to be left out of employment.

The seafood brasserie closed its doors this week - just three years after its sister business in Poole shut. The 42-year-old presenter opened the restaurant seven years ago with friends James Ginzler and Paul Shovlin

One staff member, who asked not to be named, said: 'Dermot's got tons of money in the bank but he's just come out and told us we're all out of work.

'We were all pulled in and told we were out of a job, but he's still in a big house in London without any worries.'

Set in Brighton's bustling East Street, the restaurant was opened by the television and radio star in 2009 but closed its doors on Monday- just three years after its sister business also went under.

The 42-year-old, who opened the three-floor seafood brasserie with friends James Ginzler and Paul Shovlin, thanked customers and staff for their 'loyalty and support'.

Over the Christmas period the brasserie was selling gift vouchers, but management said anyone who purchased one would be entitled to a refund.

This follows the closure of the presenter's branch in Poole, Dorset, which shut in 2013 after two-and-a-half years with the loss of 13 jobs.

Speaking to The Sun in 2013, Dermot said his Brighton outlet employed 25 members of staff and was 'doing fine'.

Managing director James Ginzler explained that a lack of punters had sealed its fate.

He told The Sun at the time: 'The customers loved it. TripAdvisor loved it.

'Everything was great, but you just need that critical mass of people and unfortunately it just hasn't got it.

'Poole is a great place in the summer, but you've got to look at it all year round.'

Fury: Staff claim they were given no notice about the sudden closure of the restaurant

Manager of the Brighton Business Improvement District (BID), Gavin Stewart, said no-one was given any notice about the closure.

'I only just found out about it this morning,' said Mr Stewart.

He added: 'It is always a sad thing to see a business leave Brighton.

'I don't have any more information about why it closed.

'This was quite sudden so we don't know what is going to happen to the property.
Jacqui Smith is earning 50,000 a year for two days of work a week after being appointed to the Heartlands' NHS Trust following an investigation into the organisation's finances

Former home secretary Jacqui Smith is earning 50,000 a year for a two day a week job as a hospital governor - despite board members being told she would work for free.

Ms Smith, who lost her Commons seat in 2010 following a row over her expenses involving second homes and porn films watched by her husband, joined the board of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust last year.

She has a separate role chairing the neighbouring University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) for two days a week.

Ms Smith was appointed to chair the board after Monitor, the health service watchdog, launched an investigation into the trust's finances. Dame Julie Moore was also appointed as interim chief executive of Heartlands Hospital.

A row has now broken out after governors claimed they were initially told her role at the trust, which is currently gripped by a funding crisis, would be unpaid.

In October, Heartlands' former interim chief executive Andrew Foster said: 'UHB's costs in relation to this support will be covered by arrangements to be agreed between HEFT and UHB.

'Neither Dame Julie nor Jacqui Smith will receive any extra personal remuneration for their new roles.'

But Heart of England have now apologised to governors following a U-turn.

In a letter to the Birmingham Post, members of the HEFT board were accused of 'clandestine conduct' after it was revealed the former Redditch MP would receive the 50,000-a-year payment for working two days a week as chairman.

The payment was approved at a board meeting last night, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust said.

Ms Smith was appointed at a governors' meeting in October after health body regulator Monitor launched an investigation into HEFT finances.

The busy trust, which runs Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals, reported a GBP30 million loss in the first five months of the 2015/16 financial year.

The trust expects its deficit for the year to be between GBP53 million and GBP64 million.

According to the meeting minutes, HEFT governors were reminded that, under the legislation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, Monitor would have power to remove them if they did not comply with the appointments.

Two governors abstained in the vote to appoint Dame Julie, while seven abstained against the appointment of Ms Smith over a number of concerns including her character following the parliamentary expenses scandal.

Jacqui Smith made an apology to Parliament in 2009 after it was ruled she had 'clearly' breached the Commons rules on expenses

Monitor launched an investigation in to the Heartlands Foundation Trust's finances after big deficits of more than 50 million were run up

Ms Smith had claimed that her sister's bedroom in London was her main residence as she claimed more than GBP100,000 in expenses for her 'second home' in Redditch.

She was found to have 'clearly' broken the rules on expenses and ordered to apologise.

But HEFT senior independent director David Lock, a former Parliamentary colleague of Ms Smith, reassured the meeting he was confident any previous mistakes regarding expenses were 'innocent and resulted from the poorly communicated changes to the Parliamentary expenses policy'.

He went on to compliment her on her 'huge integrity'.

Following the expenses scandal, Ms Smith claimed she was targeted because she was a woman.

In 2011, she said: 'I know that it was my expenses people looked at first because I was a woman and should have been at home looking after my husband and children.'

Ms Smith was caught up in the expenses scandal after it emerged that she had claimed for the cost of the two pay-per-view films in early 2009, before the main expenses scandal broke.

Her husband Richard Timney, who was also her parliamentary aide, was forced to admit he had watched them.

The former MP said she made the expenses claim by mistake when she put in the bill for her Sky package.

But the furore, compounded by claims over her main residence, led to her resigning as the first female Home Secretary and taking a back bench position until May 2010, when she lost her seat.
A transgender woman accused of raping a teenage girl when she was a man has been previously convicted of possessing indecent images of children, a court has heard.

Davina Ayrton, who has a son, was 23 at the time of the alleged attack on the 15-year-old girl after they drank Fosters together in a garage in the autumn of 2004.

Portsmouth Crown Court has heard that 34-year-old Ayrton, who was previously called David, is alleged to have raped the teenager, who had run away from home.

Ayrton (pictured), now 34, who has learning difficulties, is accused of raping the teenager in 2004, when she was known as David

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how she was convicted of having indecent images of children in January 2014, which she openly admitted and pleaded guilty to at the time

The jury was told that the incident happened in a garage in Portsmouth, Hampshire, containing a sofa and two chairs where the schoolgirl, described as a 'frequent runaway', hid out from her family.

The court heard that the victim claims she was raped while a friend and her boyfriend were asleep inside the garage, despite screaming at Ayrton to stop.

Ayrton denied raping the alleged victim or having sexual contact with her but did admit being in the garage with her and her friends for 'drinking and smoking'.

She said she had drunk four cans of Foster's lager that evening but had not consumed any vodka 'because I was on benefits at the time and didn't have enough money'.

Ayrton admitted she was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court in January 2014 for offences of possessing indecent photographs of children.

Ann-Marie Talbot, representing Ayrton, asked her why she had entered guilty pleas to these charges, to which the defendant replied: 'Because I was guilty of them.'

But Ayrton, who has learning diabilities and lives in a care home, denied admitting to beiong a paedophile to a care worker

But when asked by Ms Talbot if she had raped the girl in 2004, the defendant said: 'No.'

The court has heard that Ayrton has learning difficulties and lives at the Heywood Sumner House care home in Fordingbridge.

Ayrton was asked if she had confessed to being a paedophile to a care worker in 2014 and had admitted to raping a girl in a garage in the past, which she also denied.

She also denied allegations she told the care worker: 'I have always known there was something wrong with me and I need help.'

The trial has heard that the rape prosecution was brought after the care worker reported the comments and the police approached the alleged victim.

Ayrton told the court that she believed the care worker had found out about the rape allegation from his case file as she had previously been interviewed about the incident by police.

Ms Talbot also asked the defendant if she had 'made any physical changes or enhancements' to her body or was taking any medication regarding her sexuality, which she denied.

Ayrton told the court that she had changed her name in August 2012 and had left home when she was aged 17.

The victim told the court she had shouted and sworn at the defendant in a bid to make him stop the alleged attack.

She said that Ayrton, aged around 25 at the time, acted as if nothing had happened.

In a police interview which was played to Portsmouth Crown Court, the alleged victim, who is now in her 20s, said: 'He just lay on top of me, it must have been seconds but it felt like it was minutes.

'He just sat up as if it was nothing.'

The alleged victim described how she could not fight off the attack because one arm was trapped against the back of the sofa while Ayrton allegedly held down the other.

She said she 'couldn't breathe' when Ayrton went to kiss her. 'I'm sure there was a point I went to slap him but I couldn't move my arm,' she said on the video.

She added: 'I said 'get off me'. I said it three or four times. It was more his weight on me at that point. That's when he was kissing my face, slobbering on my face... I couldn't breathe.'
The legal team representing a monkey is set to appeal a Californian judge's decision that the primate cannot own the copyright of a world famous 'selfie' photograph because it is an animal.

Animal rights activists sued photographer David Slater claiming a macaque monkey which took a selfie photograph with his camera should own the image and benefit from its profits.

The animal, named in court as Naruto, a six-year-old macaque monkey from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, was represented by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Naruto the monkey, left, sued photographer David Slater, right over ownership of the world famous image

David Slater travelled to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi to photograph the macaque monkeys in 2011

US District Judge William Orrick dismissed the legal bid. He told a Federal Court in San Francisco: 'While Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act.'

PETA wanted to claim the money earned from the photograph and administer the funds for the benefit of Naruto and other crested macaques living on a nature reserve in Sulawesi.

The animal rights organisation sued the British photographer and his San Francisco-based self publishing company Blurb. Slater and Blurb published a book called Wildlife Personalities, which included the famous 'monkey selfie'.

Slater countered that the court should dismiss the case and should honour the worldwide English copyright held by his company Wildlife Personalities Ltd.

The court heard the photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi with an unattended camera owned by Slater.

The photos have been widely distributed elsewhere by outlets, including Wikipedia, which contend that no one owns the copyright to the images because they were taken by an animal, not a person.

Slater described himself as a nature photographer who is deeply concerned about animal welfare in court documents and said it should up to the U.S. Congress and not a federal court to decide whether copyright law applies to non-human animals.

Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA, said the organisation will continue fighting for the monkey's rights.

'Despite this setback, legal history was made today because we argued to a federal court why Naruto should be the owner of the copyright rather than been seen as a piece of property himself.
Shares fell by 18% on Tuesday after introduction of new watch to rival Apple

But company claim wristwatch is not designed to be 'scientific'

Ad slogans say: 'Every Beat Counts' and 'Know Your Own Heart

Fitbit owners claim tracker is as much as 80 bpm below other monitors

The world's bestselling fitness tracker manufacturer is facing a US lawsuit against claims that its wristband can monitor owner's heart rates are wildly - and potentially dangerously - inaccurate.

Claims have been made by fitbit owners from several US states, with one saying that fitbits 'do not and cannot consistently and accurately record wearers' heart rates during the intense physical activity for which Fitbit expressly markets them'.

One claimant described how her personal trainer measured her heart rate at 160 beats per minute but her Fitbit Charge HR recorded a rate of 82 bpm.

And another found that his Fitbit surge device was as much as 25 bpm below what other trackers said.

The Fitbit Charge HR wristband (left) and Fit Surge fitness watch (right) have come under scrutiny after a US lawsuit has accused the products of being 'dangerously inaccurate'. One claimant says that fitbits 'do not and cannot consistently and accurately record wearers' heart rates during the intense physical activity for which Fitbit expressly markets them'.

Despite the company claiming the wristbands are not designed to be 'scientific', the claimants are seeking damages for the inaccuracies.

Unlike other heartbeat monitor wristbands, Charge HR wristband and Surge fitness watch both have a 'PurePulse' sensor on the underside of the tracker.

This means that instead of detecting heartbeats, they use LEDs that reflect onto the skin to detect changes in blood volume, with software then working out the difference.

As well as the inaccuracy of the readings, the lawsuit also makes reference to the 'misleading' headlines, which include 'Every Beat Counts' and 'Know Your Own Heart'.

It highlights the potentially dangerous consequences to the alleged inaccuracies, which could be affecting those who have been told by doctors not to exceed a certain heart rate.

New smartwatch introduced by Fitbit designed to rival Apple was introduced on Tuesday. But investors were clearly not impressed with the new product and shares for the company fell by a dramatic 18%

In response to the claims, Fitbit have released a statement saying: 'We do not believe this case has merit. Fitbit stands behind our heart rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit.

'Fitbit is committed to making the best clip and wrist-based activity trackers on the market. Our team has performed and continues to perform internal studies to validate our products' performance.

'PurePulse provides better overall heart rate tracking than cardio machines at the gym, as it tracks your heart rate continuously  even while you're not at the gym or working out.

'But it's also important to note that Fitbit trackers are designed to provide meaningful data to our users to help them reach their health and fitness goals, and are not intended to be scientific or medical devices.'

The company suffered another blow on Tuesday, with the release of their new smartwatch, designed to challenge the Apple Watch with a 'stronger battery life'.

But investors were clearly not impressed with the new product and shares for the company fell by a dramatic 18%.
Former President Bill Clinton dodged questions in Iowa on Thursday about the re-emergence of his turbulent sexual past as a campaign issue for his wife, just a day after Juanita Broaddrick, who has accused him of raping her, tweeted about an alleged Hillary-led cover-up.

At a market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he refused to engage with two reporters who quizzed him on Republican front-runner Donald Trump's use of his famous womanizing  and allegations of sexual assault against him  as a cudgel to hammer the Democratic polling leader.

'I dont have any response,' Clinton said of Trump, according to a campaign pool reporter who saw Clinton evade questions from a television interviewer.

'If he wins the Republican nomination, well have plenty of time to talk,' Clinton said.

'I have no interest in getting involved in their politics or doing anything except trying to help Hillary.'

He more pointedly blew off a question about the re-emergence of Broaddrick, refusing to give the pool reporter an answer at all and walking away.

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Juanita Broaddrick, pictured here in a network television interview in 1999, is bringing her rape claims back to light using social media

Juanita Broaddrick (left) said that Bill Clinton (right) raped her while he was the Arkansas attorney general in 1978. Clinton was campaigning for Arkansas governor at the time

Juanita Broaddrick, pictured here in a network television interview in 1999, is bringing her rape claims back to light using social media

Juanita Broaddrick (left) said that Bill Clinton (right) raped her while he was the Arkansas attorney general in 1978. Clinton was campaigning for Arkansas governor at the time

Trump released a video on Thursday that positioned the former president next to his White House intern conquest Monica Lewinsky and showed a photo of him with accused rapist Bill Cosby.

'He says a lot of things,' Clinton said Thursday. 'I have no response.'

Broaddrick has accused Clinton of raping her in an Arkansas hotel room in 1978 when he was the state's governor, saying he left her with a swollen lip and some advice: 'You better get some ice on that.'

Hillary has campaigned on a platform of women's issues.

Broaddrick says she knew about the sexual assault and tried to cover it up.

She tweeted Wednesday that 'I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73....it never goes away.'

A day before, she had said she was 'dreading seeing my abuser on TV,' as Bill Clinton was campaigning for his wife, the Democratic front-runner, in New Hampshire, 'but his physical appearance reflects ghosts of the past,' which she said were 'catching up.'

The Hill Newspaper reached out to a woman who identified herself as Broaddrick and she said the Twitter account belonged to her.

Yesterday, Juanita Broaddrick sent out this tweet and was contacted by the Hill newspaper for an interview

Juanita Broaddrick pledged to play a bigger role in the presidential campaign, especially with Bill Clinton hitting the campaign trail for Hillary

Juanita Broaddrick was reached by the Hill Newspaper and said the Twitter account was indeed hers and that she planned to 'get involved' with the presidential election

The former nursing home administrator made her allegations public in 1999.

She said Bill Clinton, when campaigning for Arkansas governor in 1978, raped her in Little Rock, Arkansas.

At the time, noted the Hill, Clinton's personal attorney David E. Kendall strongly denied the charges.

'Any allegation that the president assaulted Ms. Broaddrick more than 20 years ago is absolutely false, he said in a statement from February 1999, reported the Washington Post.

'Beyond that we're not going to comment,' Kendall added.

Now, Broaddrick says she plans to yell the allegations louder as she doesn't want to see another Clinton in the White House.

'I've been quiet for too long, and now with the possibility of [Hillary Clinton] being the Democratic nominee and possibly president, I feel the need to get involved,' she told the Hill.

Broaddrick said she was happy that Donald Trump, whom she supports, brought up Bill Clinton's sexual past.

Juanita Broaddrick said she supports Donald Trump and was happy that The Donald brought up Bill Clinton's sexual past in recent campaign comments

A picture of Bill Clinton (center left) and Juanita Broaddrick (right) together at her nursing home in Arkansas around the time the alleged rape occurred

Bill Clinton made his first solo trip for Hillary Clinton this week to the state of New Hampshire. That move motivated Juanita Broaddrick to speak out publicly again

'I'm glad someone did,' she said. 'Everyone has been hanging back and most of the mainstream media won't approach it, but it's something that should be talked about.'

Broaddrick said she was a Trump fan because, 'he says the things I like to hear.'

And beyond Trump, her name is being heard again.

On Sunday, for instance, while Hillary Clinton was campaigning in Derry, New Hampshire, a heckler, later revealed to be Republican state Rep. Katherine Prudhomme O'Brien, shouted down the Democratic frontrunner over Bill Clinton's history with women.

'I asked her how in the world she can say that Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Wiley are lying when she has no idea who Juanita Broaddrick is,' O'Brien said.

Wiley had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.

'She told me this summer she doesn't know who [Broaddrick] is and doesn't want to know who she is. How can she [assess] that they are lying, which she told someone last month?' O'Brien told reporters after her display.

Hillary Clinton wanted nothing to do with O'Brien's question and quickly got the crowd to boo.
Three top leaders of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club have been arrested on racketeering, assault and drug distribution charges after waging a deadly turf 'war' on the rival Cossacks gang, authorities said.

National president Jeffrey Pike, 60, national vice president John Portillo, 56, and national sergeant at arms Justin Forster, 31, are facing life in prison, prosecutors said.

The trio were named in a grand jury indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.

The indictment accuses the three Bandidos leaders of sanctioning a three-year fight that included violent clashes with rival gangs and distribution of methamphetamine.

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Three top leaders of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club have been arrested on charges of racketeering, assault and drug distribution, authorities said. Pictured, Jeffrey Pike, the national president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, is escorted from the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse on Wednesday

The Bandidos, one of the biggest motorcycle gangs in the country, with branches overseas, are suspected of being involved in a shootout last May in Waco, Texas, between rival gangs that left nine people dead.

While none of the charges are directly connected to the Waco shootout, prosecutors said, many of the suspected crimes stemmed from a turf war starting in Texas in 2013 between the Bandidos and the Cossacks, another prominent motorcycle gang allegedly involved in the deadly fight.

Authorities believe that the fatal confrontation began when members of the Cossacks crashed a meeting of a confederation of biker clubs that included the Bandidos at a Twin Peaks restaurant.

The dispute ended in gunfire between the bikers and police standing nearby.

The indictment charged that the three men were behind the shootings, stabbings and assaults of Cossack members.

The federal indictment accuses Portillo of raising dues to pay legal expenses of its members days after the Waco shooting.

National vice president John Portillo (left) and national sergeant at arms Justin Forster (right) are facing life in prison, prosecutors said

'This really is an all-out war we got going on,' Portillo was quoted as telling members in June 2015 after brawls across Texas fought with guns, knives and fists, according to the indictment.

The indictment, stemming from a 23-month investigation, detailed several alleged incidents where Bandidos members appeared bristling with weapons and killed or assaulted members of rival gangs. Extensive drug transactions are also alleged.

The alleged crimes occurred before and after the Waco incident, authorities said. If convicted on the most serious federal charges, the men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The indictment alleges that Bandidos bikers have harassed and attacked bikers across Texas as part of the 'war' that Portillo declared in 2013. Prosecutors allege the group also gained money and territory by extorting and intimidating other biker groups, and trafficking methamphetamines.

It outlines several clashes between the Bandidos and rival clubs, including a December 2014 shooting at a bar in Fort Worth, Texas, where a biker from a different club was killed.

Two suspected Bandidos were charged in that killing, according to prosecutors.

The Bandidos, one of the biggest motorcycle gangs in the country, are suspected of being involved in a shootout last May in Waco, Texas, between rival gangs that left nine people dead. Pictured, authorities investigate the shooting in the parking lot of Twin Peaks restaurant in May last year

Portillo took charge of the national organization for several months in 2015, when Pike was sidelined due to surgery, but both men at various times had ultimate decision-making authority over Bandidos criminal activities nationwide, according to the indictment. Forster is described as having control over Bandidos activities in Texas.

The indictment alleges that in March 2015, Portillo ordered several Bandidos members to 'get a little aggressive' with Cossacks in West Texas, where Bandidos responded by striking a member of the rival group repeatedly in the head with a claw hammer.

In April, Bandidos members from other parts of Texas and New Mexico arrived in Odessa, Texas, at Portillo's direction. They were stopped and found to be carrying firearms and ammunition, allegedly to use to confront Cossacks.

Of course, the defendants will have their day in court, but today's arrests have struck a significant blow to the Bandidos' criminal enterprise U.S. Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr.

Days after the May shootout in Waco, the Bandidos monthly dues were doubled to support legal fees for Bandidos in what Portillo later described as an 'all-out war' against the Cossacks.

All three of the accused are based in Texas, where there are 42 Bandidos chapters, according to the indictment.

The arrests are expected to send shock waves through the Bandidos, , considered an outlaw gang by U.S. authorities, who have about 1,500 to 2,000 members in the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement.

'Of course, the defendants will have their day in court, but today's arrests have struck a significant blow to the Bandidos' criminal enterprise,' U.S. Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr. said.

The indictment characterizes the Bandidos as an international group with about 175 chapters and as many as 2,000 members.

They 'do not fear authority and have a complete disdain for the rules of society,' it adds, yet adhere to an elaborate series of internal rules for record-keeping, information-gathering, meetings, and admission of new members.

The group also maintains a formal taxation scheme that supports the criminal defense of members, the indictment says.
Donald Trump's campaign has handed out nearly 20,000 tickets to an event Thursday night in a theater with just 1,411 seats.

It's not a counting error, but the latest salvo in the war liberal protesters have waged against the Republican presidential front-runner  this one lobbed in the city where progressive icon Bernie Sanders was once the mayor.

Reports have swirled all week in Burlington, Vermont that liberal saboteurs have been requesting tickets by the bucketful using phony email addresses, in the hope that ticketing would stop and a large portion of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts would be embarrassingly empty.

The Trump campaign appears to have dramatically overcompensated: Police report that at least 6,500 tickets have been issued to people who appear to have genuine email addresses and say they plan to attend.

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WHERE TO PUT 20,000 PEOPLE WITH TICKETS? The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vermont will host Donald Trump on Thursday night, but it only seats 1,411  including the media

DISSENT EXPECTED: Protesters often disrupt Trump rallies, and Burlington, Vermont is one of the northeast's more liberal enclaves

EXCITEMENT: Thousands more fans are expected in Burlington tonight than the number the theater can accommodate

YUUUGE CROWDS: Trump attracts audiences big enough to fill whatever venue he books, including basketball arenas and the occasional football stadium

Politico reported that Trump aides routinely issue extra tickets to compensate for no-shows, but the scale of their response for Thursday night's rally is far out of the ordinary.

Trump tweeted on Wednesday that 'police say first come, first serve. Arrive early!'

Sub-freezing temperatures, combined with loud, practiced protesters and a crush of pro-Trump Republicans could result in a cold mess on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Burlington's police force issued a stern warning last week to anti-Trump activists after the event was announced last Friday: 'We reserve the prerogative to enforce the law in cases where expression or free movement throughout the city is unreasonably stifled through intimidation, force, obstruction, destruction of property, etc., or any other unlawful act.'

The Trump rally itself could be disrupted repeatedly on Thursday, as some of his events have been in recent weeks.

In Lowell, Massachusetts on Monday night, at least eight separate disruptions  and loud, prolonged reactions from his angry fans  took the media spotlight away from The Donald.

One night later in a Claremont, New Hampshire high school gymnasium, only one pair of protesters braved the icy cold  including one who shouted 'Bernie Sanders!' and made his way out with a police escort.

SCALPING THE DON: Ticket-sellers hit Craigslist this week with cash offers after the Trump campaign stopped handing out free tickets to his Thursday night rally in Burlington

EXPECT A MESS: The sidewalk in front of the Flynn could be the scene of mass chaos as ticket-holders are turned away and protesters shout to be heard over the din of Secret Service activity

An hour earlier, an announcer had warned through loudspeakers that Trump 'supports the First Amendment just as much as he supports the Second Amendment,' but 'some people have taken advantage of Mr. Trump's hospitality by choosing to disrupt his rallies, by using them as an opportunity to promote their own political messages.'

'While they certainly have the right to free speech,' the announcement continued, 'this is a private event paid for by Mr. Trump. We have provided a safe protest area outside of the venue for all protesters.'

Trump himself seemed unperturbed Monday in Massachusetts when DailyMail.com asked him backstage why he was planning a rally in a Democratic stronghold where Sanders' campaign headquarters is just steps away from his speaking venue.

'They've been very nice, very supportive of us,' he said of Republicans in that part of New England. 'Also Vermont is close to here. We have a lot of people coming from New Hampshire, going up to Vermont. You know, that's the way it works.'

Ultimately, Trump said, he was going where he felt wanted.

'We've been asked to make a stop [there] and we're gonna do that,' The Donald said.

Liberal activists seemed to be caught off-guard, however.

'No one expected him to come here and he announced it in the middle of the holidays on New Years Eve,' James Haslam, executive director of Rights and Democracy Vermont, told Politico.

'FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE': Trump's cryptic tweet from Wednesday makes sense in light of the overbooking problem he faces for Thursday night

Haslam's group is organizing a protest outside the Flynn Center.

'In many ways its smart. People were not necessarily prepared. People have been kind of scrambling around this thing,' he said.

Even though the Trump campaign has over-saturated the market with tickets, there are still signs that demand hasn't dropped off: Scalpers are hawking the free tickets for as much as $500 a pair on Craigslist.

One user of the website posted a tut-tut message to would-be buyers.

'Read the press release,' the posting advised, saying that 'only 1000 will be allowed to enter, so you are selling tickets that more than likely are worthless.'

'God I hope you folks don't breed.'
These are the amazing scenes as a Californian driver narrowly avoids getting washed away while driving down the highway by raging flood waters.

The footage, captured on a dashcam, shows the car approaching a sweeping bend when suddenly a brown surge approaches the vehicle.

The quick-thinking driver quickly stopped and put the car into reverse before opening up the throttle and speeding away backwards.

The driver approached a sweeping left-hand bend completely unaware that flood waters were approaching

Seconds later, a dirty brown surge of flood water covered the road forcing the driver to take action

The incident happened on Westbound Highway 23 in California from Fillmore to Moorpark.

As the driver tried to escape, the surging waters appeared to be catching up to the vehicle, but remarkably, the car continued.

When the driver noticed a wider section of the roadway he turned the car around before burying the throttle to continue his lucky escape.

The worst storm in a series of storms has come and gone without serious consequences for California, but the El Nino-driven weather was still causing problems around the state.

That includes dropping temperatures, rising waves and pernicious winds predicted for Thursday.

The motorist quickly put his car into reverse and powered away from the scene in an effort to avoid disaster

The motorist continued for more than a minute in reverse before he was able to turn around and escape

Mountain areas were warned that blizzard conditions with wind gusts reaching 60 mph were possible above 4,000 feet, including the heavily traveled Grapevine section of Interstate 5.

Damaging surf of 10 to 15 feet was possible in Southern California and waves a whopping 15 to 25 feet could hit the Central Coast through Thursday night, the National Weather Service said.

In San Diego County, winds were serious enough to bring a brief tornado warning Wednesday.

And rains hit several areas hard late Wednesday night. Voluntary evacuation advisories in some burn areas in danger of mudslides were cancelled.

But authorities evacuated 10 mobile homes in the Newhall area northwest of Los Angeles as watery mud flowed into the streets from hillsides burned bare in a June fire, Los Angeles County officials said.
Diane Abbott has been branded a 'total sell-out' for sending her son to private school as open warfare continued at the top of Labour today.

Miss Abbott, the shadow international secretary, caused fury when she wrongly dismissed MPs who quit the shadow cabinet as career politicians.

She used a Newsnight interview to attack Jonathan Reynolds and others who resigned yesterday, but he responded by saying: 'Youre a total sell-out for sending your own kids to private school'.

Row: Diane Abbott was called a 'total sell-out' for sending her son to private school by Jonathan Reynolds, right, who quit the shadow cabinet yesterday

Response: Jonathan Reynolds, reacted with fury after Miss Abbott said he was just a career politician last night

Miss Abbott was hitting out at MPs who quit Mr Corbyn's frontbench yesterday over Trident and security issues.

She said: If you look at Jonathan Reynolds, if you look at Mr Dugher, if you look at some of these others, what do they have in common? They are all former special advisers.

Defence: Miss Abbott said she sent her son James (pictured together in the 1990s) private because she feared 'what could happen to my son if he was sent to the wrong school'

What you are seeing is people that came up under a certain system - where you did politics at uni, you became a special adviser, you became an MP, you became a minister - who are rightfully upset because Jeremy has brought a whole lot of new energy and new people into politics.

A furious Mr Reynolds hit back on Twitter: At least Google us before slagging us off. For the record I was a trainee solicitor when elected, having gone to law school as a mature student and single parent. And I think youre a total sell-out for sending your own kids to private school.

Mr Dugher - who was a former special adviser - did not resign, he was sacked by Mr Corbyn as shadow culture secretary.

Although not mentioned by name Stephen Doughty, who quit as a shadow Foreign Office minister, told Miss Abbott he had worked for charities for seven years before moving into politics.

Miss Abbott has previously denied she is a hypocrite for sending her son to private school while being a Labour MP.

She has previously insisted her decision was the 'making' of her son James, who went to a 10,000 a year school before going to Cambridge. He is now working for the Foreign Office.

In 2012 his mother risked fury among her white colleagues in the party by saying they would 'never understand' the Afro-Caribbean culture of parents wanting to do the best for their children.

She said: 'I knew what could happen to my son if he was sent to the wrong school and got in with the wrong crowd. I realised they were subjected to peer pressure and when that happens it's very hard for a mother to save her son.

'Once a black boy is lost to the world of gangs it's very hard to get them back and I was genuinely very fearful of what could happen.'

Foreign affairs spokesman Stephen Doughty, resigned on live TV, left, while Michael Dugher, right, was sacked, and did not quit as Miss Abbott suggested

Stephen Doughty, who quit as a shadow Foreign Office minister, told Miss Abbott he had worked for charities for seven years before moving into politics.

Jeremy Corbyn was hit by a wave of front bench resignations yesterday after he sacked a shadow minister who questioned his soft stance on terrorism.

The Labour leader finally completed his revenge reshuffle shortly after midnight yesterday by removing Europe spokesman Pat McFadden for disloyalty. Pro-Trident defence spokesman Maria Eagle was replaced by Emily Thornberry, who shares Mr Corbyns anti-nuclear views.

But the move prompted three shadow ministers to quit their jobs in protest, and provoked a warning from former leader Neil Kinnock against ditching Labours support for Trident.

The sacking of Blairite Mr McFadden came after he attacked the Stop the War Coalition  of which Mr Corbyn was chairman  for claiming the Paris terror attacks showed France was reaping the whirlwind for military intervention in the Middle East.

Mr McFadden said yesterday: He said he felt it was an attack on him and that he had come to the conclusion because of that and one or two other things that I shouldnt continue. Rail spokesman Jonathan Reynolds was the first to quit in protest at the reshuffle yesterday, saying Labour should never attempt to apologise for terrorism.

He was followed by defence spokesman Kevan Jones, who said the appointment of Miss Thornberry was a mistake. Shadow business minister Stephen Doughty also stood down  announcing it live on the BBCs Daily Politics show. However, the front bench trio were later dismissed as a narrow, Right-wing clique.
Wall Street's calamitous start to the year continued on Thursday after China's second market meltdown in a week.

The Dow closed out more than 390 points down - making it the worst day in three months.

S&P's 500 Index plummeted 47 points (2.4 per cent) and the Nasdaq fell 146 points (3 per cent) after trading was suspended in Shanghai, sending investors into a tailspin.

Billionaire investor George Soros has warned China's market meltdown has ominous echoes of the crash in 2008, as Wall Street opened in the red on Thursday to continue its calamitous start to the year.

'China has a major adjustment problem,' Soros told an economic forum in Sri Lanka on Thursday, according to Bloomberg Business.

'I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008.'

A tough week: It has been a rough start to 2016 for the Dow Jones Index

Thursday morning: This was the bleak opening for the Dow on Thursday after China froze markets

Billionaire investor George Soros warned China's market meltdown has ominous echoes of the crash in 2008

The Dow Jones Index dropped more than 260 points within two minutes, hours after trading in Shanghai was halted for the second time this week. The Nasdaq opened more than 100 points down.

Trading was automatically halted in Shanghai after the CSI 300 slipped a staggering 7 per cent just 30 minutes into the day on Thursday, triggering a circuit-breaker.

It came just days after a dive in the Chinese stock market sent Wall Street into a tailspin, suffering one of the worst opening days to a year since 2008.

The drop followed a puzzling move by the People's Bank of China weakened controls on the tightly-protected yuan - sparking another wave of fears for global growth.

It sent oil prices down below $33-a-barrel - levels not seen since the early 2000s.

Shock waves were felt across the world. London's stocks have suffered the worst year-opening week since 1988.

By mid-session, the FTSE 100 was down more than 170 points, and closed out the day down 119 points - its lowest point for three weeks. The mining industry suffered the most in Europe on Thursday.

The World Bank also cut its global economic growth forecast for 2016, predicting lackluster activity as emerging markets and developed economies stagger through the first week of the year.

On Monday, the Dow suffered its worst opening day of the year since 2008, at one point slipping 450 points.

The Nasdaq and S&P's 500 Index both closed out at the lowest first-day point since 2001.

And U.S. stocks closed at their lowest level since early October on Wednesday.

China's circuit-breaker, which was introduced on January 1, automatically suspends trading for 15 minutes when the CSI 300 - blue chip stocks in Shanghai - drop by at least 5 per cent.

The entire market is stopped for the day if it falls past 7 per cent.

On Thursday, the CSI 300 slipped past 5 per cent within just 12 minutes.

It reopened for just one minute before it slipped to 7 per cent and the market was frozen.

However, by 10am Eastern Time China announced it would be scrapping the circuit-breaker.

Chinese stock trading has been temporarily suspended for the second time this week after 'circuit breakers' kicked in following a steep plunge
We might look back and say the last day of 2015 was the start of it.

The moment when displaced people became so angered by their miserable migrant lives, they decided to take it out on the women of Cologne.

The head of police said there was a relaxed atmosphere, and the New Years Eve celebrations passed off peacefully.

Yet there were two rapes, 100 attacks on women, and gangs 1,000-strong harassing and thieving from others. And still we are not supposed to talk about it.

Attacks: Hundreds of people gathered in front of Cologne's main railway station on New Year's Eve (pictured) before disorder broke out and groups of 'Arab or North African' men attacked dozens of white women

One of the victims, identified only as Katja L, told the Kolner Express: 'When we came out of the station, we were very surprised by the group we met, which was made up only of foreign menWe walked through the group of men, there was a tunnel through them, we walked throughI was groped everywhere.

'It was a nightmare. Although we shouted and hit them, the men didnt stop. I was horrified and I think I was touched around 100 times over the 200 metres.'

Eight days after all this happened, I am not allowed to say these were migrant gangs with no respect for white women.

The BBC will only say these were men of North African or Arab appearance, a line fed to them by the German authorities.

In time they will say race was not the issue. Just as the police did in Rochdale before the mass grooming of white kids was finally revealed. By nine Asian men.

We are still supposed to buy into the big multicultural ideal which dictates we should welcome migrants with open arms, blow whistles and applaud them as they descend from trains with their iPhones and expectations.

Brave: One of the first victims to speak out about the Cologne New Year's Eve attacks, an 18-year-old named Michelle (pictured left), described being surrounded by a group of 30 'angry' men who groped her. Another victim, known only as Jenny (right), was left with horrific burns after a firework was shoved into her hoodie

We should offer our kitchens and bedrooms to these displaced peoples and cry at pictures of bodies washed ashore when they don't make it over winter seas they should never have crossed.

How about all those do-gooders who said they would welcome them into their homes? How is that going, Saint Geldof? Do you have a family in your second home?

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown? Do you have a family of fifteen in your spare room as you said you would when you wept live on radio?

No, I thought not.

We need to face up to some hard truths.

Cologne is a small case study for scenarios playing out all over Europe. It is a story repeated at Calais, across Germany and into France. And in African and Arabic countries where sexual violence is the norm.

White women are nothing to some Islamic and Arabic men. It's the reason our girls were abused in Rochdale and Oxford and the reason white German women were raped in Cologne

White women are nothing to some Islamic and Arabic men. It's the reason our girls were abused in Rochdale and Oxford and the reason white German women were raped in Cologne.

They see us as white trash. And we are no longer safe. These migrants are a cultural time-bomb, brought up in a different era, Islamic Bernard Mannings  incompatible with modern life.

The Mayor of Cologne blames the women. She says German women should cover up, keep men at arms length and think about wearing something over our heads. She may as well just say 'buy a burka' and be done with it.

The Guardian feminazis are caught in a monumentally difficult place, their usual outrage over victim-blaming for rape kicked quietly into touch so that they can tiptoe quietly around the issue of race and culture.

And in this difficult space, in the pressure cooker of Europe, things are on a knife edge.

As borders are sealed, people are contained into ever-tighter spaces, news is suppressed and truths are locked down.

There is no air left for even the screams of assaulted German girls to be heard in their own country where the Merkel government has ruthlessly managed coverage of its catastrophic decision to let in a million migrants at a stroke.

A group of men (not suspects in the attacks) set off fireworks during the New Year celebrations in Cologne

This could be the moment when everything simmering beneath the surface finally erupts into violence on an unprecedented scale.

This could be the day we say it all started: New Years Eve 2015.

Brussels cancelled their fireworks. Paris cancelled theirs, too. France deployed 60,000 troops nationwide and London cancelled all leave for armed personnel and deployed them on our streets.

And the police forces of Cologne lied about the violence in their city, said the night passed off peacefully and later blamed the women for their rape.

Europe turned on its own and the medieval instincts of a migrant culture won.

Perhaps we will look back in 2016 and acknowledge this was the moment when civil war in Europe became a real possibility.

Migrants will rise up from the jungle of filth and squalor, bolstered by evil extremists imported for the fight. And on other side patriots will defend whatever is left of their pride in the country they once loved.
She is unable to hold on to her top as she takes a dive in the Pacific Ocean

Performs a striptease to the camera to amusement of show's presenters

Braving the cold currents of the Pacific Ocean led to Chilean reporter Bernardita Middleton losing her bikini on live TV after stripping down when dared by the presenters in the studio.

The notoriously nippy waters in the coastal town of Renaca, Chile, in the northern Valparaiso region, knocked off her bikini after she failed to properly attach the straps before taking a dive under a wave.

The popular presenter had previously attracted attention when she asked Prince Harry to marry her during his tour of the country in 2014, attempting to convince him of the proposal because her surname is Middleton.

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Reporting from the beach for the popular Chilean morning show Good Morning Everyone, Bernardita was dared to enter the water by the presenters.

Happily she treated the viewers to a striptease, taking off her blue dress revealing a turquoise bikini.

In truth I wasnt going to go in the water, the bandeau bikini was a recent present, but I didnt attach the straps to keep it in place because I had them on my top, she explained in an interview after the broadcast.

Reporting from the beach for the popular Chilean morning show Good Morning Everyone, Bernardita is dared to enter the water by the presenters

Happily she treats the viewers to a striptease taking off her blue dress revealing a turquoise bikini

Then they asked me to jump in the water, so I went for it.

The reporter successfully kept her costume together after the first plunge, celebrating to the camera to the appreciation of the presenters.

But as Bernardita went in for a second dive, a wave pulled her bikini down to her waist. She quickly tried to readjust it and the show displays a slow motion replay of her attempt.

In truth I wasnt going to go in the water, the bandeau bikini was a recent present, but I didnt attach the straps to keep it in place because I had them on my top, she explains in an interview after the broadcast

A local to the region who knows the waters like the back of her hand, Bernadita later laughed off the incident.

In Renaca the waves are very mischievous and it always happens. You just have to turn around pull up your bikini top and get on with it.

She said that although some surfers further out to sea caught the view, the camera didnt see anythingand anyway what are they going to see if I dont have anything there to show!'

The reporter successfully keeps her costume together after the first plunge, celebrating to the camera to the appreciation of the presenters

As Bernardita goes in for a dive a wave pulls her bikini down to her waist. She quickly tries to readjust it and the show displays a slow motion replay of her attempt

She runs back to the camera to continue her report and describe how it happened

It was a fun situation, she added.

Bernardita also raised eyebrows when she proposed to Prince Harry when he arrived at the Plaza de la Ciudadani  the Peoples Square  in Santiago in 2014.

Wearing a tiara, Bernardita called to him during his three day tour, Im a Middleton my name is Middleton, like Princess Kate, I be your next wife Harry.

While the prince was amused by the suggestion he quickly moved on.

Bernardita also raised eyebrows when she proposed to Prince Harry when he arrived at the Plaza de la Ciudadani  the Peoples Square  in Santiago in 2014

Wearing a tiara, Bernardita called to him during his three day tour, Im a Middleton my name is Middleton, like Princess Kate, I be your next wife Harry
Man then crashed into railings after losing control and tried to flee on foot

He rammed an oncoming patrol car before reversing into a parked vehicle

Driver jumped two sets of red lights as police vehicles chased him at speed

Police footage showed driver travelling at more than 80mph in 30mph zone

This is the shocking moment a driver deliberately rammed a police car head-on in a high-speed car chase before crashing into a parked car and hitting a set of metal railings.

Lewis Judson 20, of Clayton Lane, Clayton, Bradford has been locked up for eight months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and having no insurance or licence on Saturday, October 24.

Footage of the pursuit shows the driver travelling in his Mitsubishi Shogun at more than 80mph in a 30mph zone.

On the run: Police footage showed the fleeing driver travelling at more than 80mph in a 30mph zone

After jumping two sets of red lights, the driver purposefully rammed an oncoming patrol vehicle

The driver jumps two sets of red lights as police cars pursue him at speed through the streets in the early hours of the morning, reported The Telegraph and Argus.

Judson then rams an oncoming patrol vehicle before reversing into a parked car.

The driver crashes into railings after losing control, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Judson fled on foot after the crash but was quickly apprehended by police officers.

The paper reported that the driver claimed to hear voices that told him not to stop.

The man, who has now been banned from driving for two years, then reversed into a parked car

The footage showed the driver crashing into railings after losing control of his vehicle during the car chase

A psychiatric report, which was ordered by his defence team, found Judson to be mentally stable however.

Judson has been sent to a young offenders institution, where he will now spend eight months.

He has also been banned from driving for two years.

Prosecutor Peter Byrne told the court that Judson had been asked to stop by police officers in a market patrol car at 1.30am.

Mr Byrne added that the driver accelerated away from the officers however before purposefully ramming a patrol vehicle at speed.

The driver, who claimed he heard voices telling him not to stop, has been sent to a young offenders institution
After the incident, overwhelming support came in for the couple, including thousands of dollars and job offers

A local ministry is close to evicting a couple whose two-year-old was found wandering barefoot in a Philadelphia park last year after raising $12,000 to help them.

Angelique Roland, 27, and her partner, Michael Jones, 54, were discovered sleeping in rough conditions under cardboard boxes in Philadelphia's Love Park early in the hours October 17 after their son Jeremiyah, two, was rescued.

The couple claimed they had been kicked out of a relative's home they were living in. His parents had reported him missing to police and they will not be charged. Jeremiyah and his four-year-old sister were put in DHS custody after the incident.

After overwhelming support came in for the couple, including thousands of dollars, job offers and more, Brian Jenkins of CHOSEN 300, an inter-denominational Christian ministry that helps the homeless, has said that the couple 'doesn't want change'.

Ministry CHOSEN 300 has decided to evict Angelique Roland, 27, and Michael Jones, 54, from their home after raising more than $12,000 for rent and offering counseling services

The couple hit headlines when their son, Jeremiyah (pictured), two, wandered off from their cardboard box shelter in downtown Philadelphia in October

Rowland and Jones said that one 11 weeks on from the incident, they haven't had enough time to rehabilitate from living on the streets

His ministry had organized for the family to live in a three-bedroom home for a year and also said they would organize counseling to the couple.

'This couple doesn't want change,' Jenkins told NBC Philadelphia. 'What they want is a free ride. And we're all out of free rides. We're interested in providing avenues to people that want to try to get up.'

Barely 11 weeks into the couple's lease, the ministry has announced it will end the commitment to the family and evict the couple.

'Initially we were very optimistic to help the couple move ahead, however they rejected services and failed to comply with the judge's orders in which the children have not been returned,' CHOSEN 300 wrote in a press release.

The statement continued: 'Due to the uncooperative nature of the couple, but primarily due to the children not returning to the home, CHOSEN 300 ended the lease with the landlord on Jan 5, 2016 in which a 30 day notice was given to both the landlord as well as the couple.

'Mike and Angelique are now refusing to leave the property putting the landlord in a difficult situation.'

Jenkins told NBC 10 that Roland and Jones racked up a $600 room service charge at a Marriott they were staying in before getting the house.

They also missed a child custody hearing, resisted counseling and failed multiple drug tests, Jenkins said.

Brian Jenkins of CHOSEN 300, an inter-denominational Christian ministry that helps the homeless, believes that the couple 'doesn't want change'

Roland and Jones were donated the house by Chosen 300 after their son was found wandering the park alone

Previously, the couple and their two children, aged two and four, had been living in cardboard boxes in Philadelphia's LOVE Park

Jones and Roland said they haven't had enough time to rehabilitate, despite attending court-ordered counseling.

'He doesn't realize there are steps people have to take,' Jones told NBC. 'Sometimes people bend a little bit. And you have to give a person time to right himself back up!'

Jenkins said that the remainder of the $12,000 will be put in an educational fund for Jeremiyah and his sister.

'We say to the public don't lose hope,' Jenkins said. 'Don't hold your head down because one family decided that they didn't want the help that we were there to offer. But there are other families out there who are desperate for our help!'

If a court decides that Jones and Roland are prepared to take back custody of their son and daughter, Chosen 300 will release the remaining funds if the family finds a place to live.

Jones and Roland said they're looking for a lawyer to represent them at no cost.

'He wants to sit here and make us feel like and look like we're the type of people where we want to be lazy or we've got a house and we're trying to lay back now,' Roland said. 'We're really not that type of people.'

It was revealed last year that Roland was a crack baby while Jones had a 30-year history of addiction to the drug.

Philadelphia protective services are now looking after Jeremiyah (left) and Malaysia (right). If a court decides that Jones and Roland are prepared to take back custody of their son and daughter, Chosen 300 will release the remaining funds if the family finds a place to live.

Jenkins said that since the incident, the couple (pictured) also missed a child custody hearing, resisted counseling and failed multiple drug tests

Relatives of Roland described her own difficult childhood and their attempts to reach out to her. At some point she converted to Islam, despite having been brought up a Christian.

Her uncle Aquil Hadin described Angelique as a 'crack baby' but said that her mother, Courtney Quitman had not used drugs only her father, Keith Roland.

Around the age of 16, Angelique had a son to an unknown father. The child was given up for adoption and taken in one of Roland's uncles on her father's side.

Roland and her mother, who is Hadin's his sister, were arguing over social security payments that Angelique believed her mother was spending on herself and not on her. 'That made Angelique angry,' her uncle said.

'She had mental challenges and it was hard for my sister to handle her. At 16, she went to a residential group home in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania,' Hadin said last year. 'She was there until 18 and I believe she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.'

Her uncle claims Roland obtained her GED at the group home but he did not know if she had ever held down a job.

Roland was living in homeless shelters where she met Michael Jones, 54, around six years ago.

The uncle also believed that Roland and her children were homeless because of her relationship with Jones.
A real estate agency is offering sellers who list their property on the market a chance to win a luxury car as auction clearance rates sink to its lowest level since 2012.

In an attempt to win more customers Sydney eastern suburbs estate agents NG Farah said it would reward one vendor, who lists their property for sale by August 30, with an Audi Q3 vehicle valued at nearly $50,000.

In a competitive housing market across the country - prizes, cash giveaways and other incentives are often used in the midst of a property boom or a slowdown in sales as part of a marketing scheme to drum up business.

A real estate agency is offering sellers, who list their property on the market with them, a chance to win a luxury car as auction clearance rates sink to its lowest level since 2012

Sydney eastern suburbs estate agents NG Farah will reward one of their lucky vendors, who lists their property by August 30, an Audi Q3 vehicle, valued at nearly $50,000

Sales manager and partner Martin Farah told The Australian Financial Review the prize was a 'creative and innovative way' to encourage sellers to list with the agency.

'It's been running for four months and we have had a good response,' Mr Farah said.

Last year, Raine & Horne offered almost $100,000 in prizes to lucky vendors who listed their home with the company, with a Mercedes Benz A-Class Sport vehicle being the top giveaway.

However, Ray White chairman Brian White said he was skeptical with the promotions.

'The key thing for a vendor is to find an agent that can maximise their price  the difference between offers could be more than the price of an Audi,' Mr White told Financial Review.

In a competitive housing market across the country, prizes, cash giveaways and other incentives are often used in the midst of a property boom as part of a marketing scheme to drum up business

Meanwhile, the property market growth across the country is cooling down, with the combined capital city auction clearance rate drop to its lowest since 2012, data has revealed.

The CoreLogic RP Data Quarterly Auction Market Report found the average clearance rate fell from 73.4 per cent over the September quarter to 62.1 per cent for the December quarter.

'In the face of a weaker result for clearance rates, auction volumes actually rose over the quarter with 33,604 auctions held; 15 per cent higher when compared to the September quarter,' CoreLogic Head of Research Tim Lawless said.

'In comparison to the same quarter in 2014, both auction volumes (34,016) and the weighted average clearance rate (66.2 per cent) were lower this year relative to the December 2014 quarter.'

New report has found the average clearance rate fell from 73.4 per cent over the September quarter to 62.1 per cent for the December quarter

Sydney was the biggest drag on the market, as rates in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne all moved higher in the December 2015 quarter

Sydney was the biggest drag on the market, as rates in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne all moved higher in the December 2015 quarter.

'The final results for the year further indicate that much of the overall weakness across the auction market can be attributed to the weakening performance across Sydney's auction market where the clearance rate averaged 59.8 per cent over the quarter compared with a more resilient result of 67.8 percent in Melbourne,' Mr Lawless said
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This is the incredible moment an angry hippopotamus attacked a dead opponent on its territory in a wildlife park in South Africa.

The dead bull is seen lying on the ground while his opponent stands over him, biting into his stomach and back in frightening display of territorial dominance.

The rare sighting was captured in camera on a sand bank of the Crocodile River in the Mjejane Private Game Reserve area of Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The hippopotamus bites into another bull it found dead on its territory in an astonishing display of territorial dominance

Photographed in a wildlife reserve in South Africa, the animal spent several minutes biting its adversary

The hippo approached the dead bull after it spotted it lying deceased on its territory

Photographer Les Penfold said a second aggressive male was standing nearby during the remarkable encounter

The hippo slowly investigated the carcass before launching a ferocious attack on its rotting corpse

Les Penfold, 52, from Johannesburg, South Africa, captured the incredible moment on film and claimed the hippo may have been exerting 'territorial dominance' and possibly sending a warning to others.

The amateur snapper also caught a second hippo on film taking a more aggressive stance towards the remains and could be seen biting the dead hippo.

The video has proven to be a hit online, racking up more than 20,000 views.

Mr Penfold said: 'At the time, there was a single white-backed vulture on the scene then we observed this second hippo coming out of the water to investigate.

'After a while, it started to act very strangely for a hippo in that it appeared to be trying to bite and possibly eat the dead hippo.'

He was taken aback when he posted the video - taken using a Nikon D810 in crop mode at an effective 900mm - online and feared that the hippo had turned cannibalistic.

The incredible moment was captured on camera by photographer Les Penfold during a trip to a South African wildlife reserve

The attack, which occurred at Kruger National Park, was believed to be a display of 'territorial dominance'

The huge hippo - which are responsible for more human deaths than crocodiles - bites into the dead bull

Hippos are renowned for their aggression and have been known on many occasions to attack humans
Police found the body of Andrea Caruth, 39, in the basement of her home Wednesday morning

The father of a pregnant woman whose body was found stuffed into a crawlspace in the basement of her Bronx home Wednesday has been arrested and charged for her gruesome murder.

The body of 39-year-old Andrea Caruth was found around 2am Wednesday in the basement crawlspace of her Corsa Avenue home after authorities detected a 'rank smell' coming from a closet, the New York Daily News reported.

The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide as her cause of death was ligature strangulation and blunt impacts to the head with skull fractures and brain injuries, WPIX reported.

A plywood board above the crawlspace covered the homemade grave where Caruth's body was dumped and partially covered with gravel, sources told the Daily News.

Authorities arrested her 61-year-old father, William Caruth, on murder and manslaughter charges for her horrific death.

The Daily News reported that investigators found spattered blood in the father's downstairs apartment.

Police sources told the New York Post that Caruth's murder appeared to be well-planned because the concrete where she was buried was hollowed out before she died.

According to NBC New York, sources say the father had been stealing money from his daughter and took out a second mortgage on the home he shared with her and her boyfriend without her knowledge.

When she discovered what he did, the day care operator confronted him, which seemingly led to the deadly confrontation.

As the suspected killer was led away from a police station in handcuffs Wednesday night, he said nothing to reporters.

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Arrested: Authorities arrested Andrea Caruth's 61-year-old father, William Caruth (above), on murder and manslaughter charges for her horrific death Wednesday night

Sources say the father had been stealing money from his daughter and took out a second mortgage on the home he shared with her and her boyfriend without her knowledge

When she discovered what he did, the day care operator confronted him, which seemingly led to the deadly confrontation

A family friend told NBC New York that the father was a 'very controlling, very stern, very firm man.' They also said that the pair had a difficult relationship and there were 'issues sometimes about money.'

'I can't believe it,' friend Marjorie Johnson Fitzwilliam told NBC New York at a vigil for Andrea Wednesday night. 'How could a father kill his own child? It doesn't make any sense.'

It's not clear if her father knew that she was five-months pregnant when he allegedly killed her.

'I don't think he was aware of that because the boyfriend mentioned that he told him that night that she was pregnant,' Nigel Fitzwilliam told NBC New York.

During a Wednesday evening vigil for the well-liked woman, friends and family released white and red balloons into the night sky.

'She was a loving person who holds no grudge against nobody,' her best friend Julia McCall told NBC New York.

A family friend told NBC New York that the father (left) was a 'very controlling, very stern, very firm man.' They also said that they had a difficult relationship and there were 'issues sometimes about money.' Andrea Caruth is pictured right

During a Wednesday evening vigil for the well-liked woman, friends and family released white and red balloons into the night sky

'She was a wonderful, wonderful person, the best friend I ever had.'

McCall became concerned about her pal after failing to hear from her during a planned brunch Sunday.

The same day her body was discovered buried beneath her home, McCall said that Caruth was going to find out the gender of her baby, which was going to be her first child with boyfriend Lincoln Grant, 44.

He called McCall Monday and said that she never came home Sunday night, despite her car still sitting int he parking lot.

Grant, who lived also lived in the Bronx home, called police and reported her missing.

'It's mind-boggling,' McCall told NBC New York Tuesday, when Caruth was still missing. 'Her car is here, wallet, keys, phone, credit cards, pocketbook. Even heavy jacket.'

Caruth, who was five months pregnant, was last seen by her boyfriend, Lincoln Grant, Sunday at her home (above) around 10.30am. The father and the couple lived together in the home where her body was found

As the investigation continued Wednesday, the deceased woman's sister, Patricia Caruth, defended her father.

'My father is a loving man,' Patricia told the Daily News. 'He just wants what's best for his children. We all get along.'

Caruth's family and friends said she was extremely happy about the pregnancy..

'She was very excited,' McCall told NBC New York. 'It's her first child, she even had a name picked out.'

Ashante Jones, a parent whose daughter attended the 'Kiddie College' day care operated by Caruth, said 'she was a wonderful person.'

'She was a beautiful person, a wonderful person,' the 29-year-old mother told the Daily News.

Prior to the discovery of her body, police searched the nearby area for clues in her disappearance. Above investigators finish removing Caruth's body from the home

Above investigators enter the home where Caruth's body was discovered in the basement

'She was so helpful. She was selfless. She was pregnant, and just beginning her life, and I was so happy for her.'

Another friend, Leticia Emestica, said that Caruth was 'very successful' and that she loved the children at her day care.

Since losing her best friend, McCall wrote on Facebook Thursday morning: 'I went to bed crying I woke up crying how do I mend this broken heart. Anyone tell me.

'Insight into our relationship: we spoke everyday, we did facials together we went out every weekend.

'We were suppose to go baby clothes shopping this Saturday as soon as she found out the sex of the baby.'

A family member of Andrea Caruth's posted the above tribute to her on Facebook

Caruth was a successful day care operator and was expecting her first child. A play area outside of her home where her body was found is pictured above
A grandfather has been charged with stabbing his two-month-old granddaughter to death and attempting to murder his wife and daughter.

A bedside hearing was held on Friday afternoon in Brisbane's Princess Alexandra hospital, after 52-year-old Cao Yonghou was remanded in custody and charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Mr Cao reportedly grabbed a knife and lashed out after the family confronted him about not taking his medication, reports Courier Mail.

It comes as the babies father, Tenglong 'George' Xu, broke his silence by revealing his family were finding it difficult to process what had happened at the family home.

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Baby Qianqian 'Queenie' Xu died in hospital after police swooped on a home in Brisbane's south on Wednesday. Her father, who was not home at the time, has broken his silence about his daughter's death

Police prosecutor, senior sergeant Mark Gorton, said Mr Cao was 'distraught' when he was told of the charges against him,.

'He had an interpreter with him throughout so he understand everything that was occurring,' he said.

'He is clearly distressed by what has happened.'

Mr Cao did not apply for bail and will not be required to attend his committal mention in February.

It comes after the baby girl's father revealed the family were struggling to come to terms with their loss.

'My wife and I would like to extend our thanks to the community for the support they have shown to us since this tragic incident that occurred within our family home on Wednesday,' he said in a statement two days after the horrific stabbing that saw his wife and mother-in-law also injured.

'We are struggling to come to terms with the loss of our daughter and with the terrible injuries that my wife and her mother have suffered.

'Whilst we appreciate the support we have received, we would like to ask members of the community and the media to please respect our privacy and the dignity of our family at this time.

'Allow us to deal with this difficult situation and to grieve for our daughter as a family in our own private manner.'

Queenie's mother, Yuanyuan Cao, (left) was stabbed during the attack and ran from the Brisbane home to find help. She is pictured with the baby's father, Tenglong 'George' Xu, (right)

Ms Cao remains in hospital where she has already undergone two surgeries for her injuries, which included 'serious defensive wounds' on her arm. Her parents were both found with stab wounds in the home

What appears to be a baby carrier on grass near the scene of the stabbing attack on Wednesday. A 52-year-old man has been charged with murder and attempted murder

Queenie died in hospital after police swooped on a home in Parkinson, south of Brisbane, on Wednesday and found the little girl, her mother, Yuanyuan Cao, and grandparents all seriously injured with knife wounds.

The girl's grandfather, a Chinese national, is under police guard at Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The man had reportedly been acting strangely, which drove his family to confront him.

Detective Inspector Tony Duncan said Queenie's parents were distraught and very traumatised.

Ms Cao has undergone two surgeries for her injuries, which included 'serious defensive wounds' on her arm.

It comes after a local pastor said he saw the grandfather smiling while holding the girl in his arms at church days before the alleged attack.

This comes as more than 200 people prayed and held a minute's silence at a candlelight vigil in a small park on the quiet street at Parkinson where Queenie was fatally injured

Dozens laid flowers, toys and candles during the short service on Thursday night

Just two months ago, a proud new mother announced the birth of her 'little princess', as her parents excitedly flying from China to Australia to meet the baby girl

Excited friends congratulated the parents on the birth of their baby - yet tragedy struck just two months later

Local Pastor Robert Chua said he met the man briefly last Sunday when he attended a service at the nearby New Hope Community Church.

'He was very normal, very loving,' Mr Chua said.

'He was carrying the little baby and smiling and walking around.

'I didn't see him when he left but I was told he said: `See you later, see you next Sunday'.

'These are like normal visitors from China. We get many of them every Sunday. It was a real shock to us to see this happen.'

More than 200 people prayed and held a minute's silence at a candlelight vigil on Thursday in a small park on the quiet street at Parkinson where Queenie was fatally injured in her bassinet on Wednesday.

Some were friends of the family, others strangers wanting to show their support. Many were seeking answers.

'I came here for two reasons, because I wanted to support this Chinese family and because it was a baby, so young, so precious,' David Xhang, 55, from Kenmore told AAP.

'How can we help the Chinese community to stop this from happening again?'

Investigators continue to sift through the house for evidence at Parkinson on Thursday

Neighbours have gathered at the scene to watch police investigations unfold as officer stand guard outside

As officers dig through the scene, three of the baby girl's family members remain in hospital under police guard

Neighbours recall seeing a man walking down the street after the attack 'dripping with blood'

Det Insp Duncan said the incident was 'all the more traumatic' as it had involved the entire family.

'Obviously with this type of incident you would suspect some sort of issues relating to mental health,' he said.

'Initially it looks like mother and father came out for birth of grandchild some time in September, returned to Dhina then returned to Australia in early December to help with childcare, as the mother was intending to return to work [at a bank],' Det Insp Duncan said.

After the alleged attack, Queenie's mother ran from the house looking for help.

Emergency services staff stand near a pool of blood after being called to the scene of the attack

Police and ambulance vehicles clustered near the Brisbane address on Wednesday afternoon

Emergency services were called to an address in Parkinson, in Brisbane's south, about 2.30pm

Blood could be seen on the drive outside a house in Parkinson, a suburb in Brisbane's south

Just months before the incident, Ms Cao had boasted proudly of her 'little princess' who was born on October 15, weighing 3.1kg, at Brisbane's Mater Hospital.

Days later, she posted a photo of her bundle of joy sleeping wrapped up in a striped pink, yellow, green and white blanket.

Residents on Watheroo Place recalled hearing loud screaming and seeing a man walking down a street covered in blood after the attack, The Courier Mail reported.

They told the newspaper how they saw the man, thought to be the baby's grandfather, handcuffed and sitting on a driveway 'dripping blood' after police arrested him.

Police officers at the scene of the stabbing on Watheroo Place, where four family members were seriously injured

A group of police officers huddle near the scene of the incident at Watheroo Place
At least 60 policemen have been killed and more than 200 wounded after a massive truck bomb exploded near a police training camp in western Libya, officials said.

A hospital spokesman, Mohamar Kaddi, said 60 bodies were extracted out of the wreckage. The attack took place in the town of Zliten, a coastal city 100 miles from the capital Tripoli where a local Islamic State affiliate has been trying to gain a foothold for some time.

Libyan officials said they believed the death toll could be much higher as 300 men were inside the al-Jahfal training compound at the time of the powerful blast.

Hospital spokesman Mohamar Kaddi said 60 bodies were extracted out of the wreckage in the town of Zliten, a coastal city 100 miles from the capital Tripoli

An injured man receives treatment inside a hospital in Misurata, Libya after one of the country's worst truck bombs in years

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast although the attack is already being attributed to the Islamic State

The police school had been a military base during the rule of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Officials said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-ridden truck used for carrying water at the police school, causing scores of victims.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast although the attack is already being attributed to the Islamic State.

The Islamist group, which is trying to spread westward from its stronghold of Sirte along the North African country's coast, has not claimed responsibility yet for the attack on social media.

It comes against the backdrop of three days of fighting carried out by Isis militants near the oil terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf

The Tripoli government confirmed the explosion was caused by a suicide attack but did not elaborate further.

An injured man receives treatment inside a hospital in Misurata after the deadly blast

A state of emergency was declared in local hospitals who are already overwhelmed with the number of casualties.

Doctors also issued an urgent call for blood donations following the bomb attack. A hospital in central Misrata received four dead and 50 wounded from Zliten.

Witnesses said the residents have been transferring the dead and injured to hospitals in Tripoli in their cars.

UN special representative to Libya Martin Kobler has condemned the attacks, urging all Libyans to unite against terrorism.
There was a time that when Bill Clinton visited Los Angeles he would always stay at 'Ronnie's' house.

But now, as Hillary Clinton seeks the White House once more, Beverly Hills-based billionaire Ron Burkle is set to host a fundraiser for Republican John Kasich next week.

After raising probably $10 million for the Clintons over the years, the billionaire estimated to the Los Angeles Times, Burkle has lumped the former secretary of state in with other losing Democratic candidates like Al Gore and John Kerry.

'They don't win on likability,' Burkle told the newspaper.

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Billionaire Ron Burkle used to be tight with former President Bill Clinton, but the two had a public falling out around 2010. Now, he's hosting a fundraiser for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican

In better times: Bill Clinton would always stay at 'Ronnie's' house when he visited Los Angeles and the two were known to take trip aboard Burkle's private plane

These days, Ron Burkle is interested in giving Ohio Gov. John Kasich (pictured) a boost. Burkle said he liked how Kasich was able to work across the aisle while in Congress when Bill Clinton was president

'As much as I like Gore, Kerry and [Hillary] Clinton, nobody can ever remember what they stand for,' Burkle explained. 'They overcomplicate it ... They don't win on vision  they make it too complicated.'

Burkle, who was a longtime friend of Bill Clinton's before the two had a very public falling out, just doesn't see the same magic in Hillary Clinton.

'People would expect Bill Clinton-style love and attention,' he noted. 'That is not going to happen with her.'

Giving a very rare interview to the Los Angeles Times, he remembered how Bill Clinton would come to Los Angeles and want to meet a who's who of influential West coasters.

Clinton would often climb aboard Burkle's private 757 and the two would travel around the world.

Their relationship became great gossip fodder, with reports suggesting that the plane would be packed with women for the former president, a claim that, to this day, Burkle dismisses.

'No woman could get within 100 miles of [Clinton] while I was on watch,' Burkle said.

During his presidency, Bill Clinton would travel to Los Angeles and have Ron Burkle introduce him to the most interesting people in town

'I'm very shy with girls,' he added, countering any sort of reputation he might have got. 'It takes me about a year to tell a girl I like her.'

In 2008, as Hillary Clinton launched her first bid for the White House, the business relationship between the former president and Burkle, a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, began to break down.

In 2010, Politico reported, the rift was very public.

'Before, every trip with him seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Now I have so many things to do,' Burkle said of his relationship with Bill.

That's why today, Clinton allies suggest that Burkle is supporting Kasich because there are still sour grapes between the billionaire and his old buddy.

However, Burkle continued to support Democrats, including the Clinton-aligned Terry McAuliffe for Virginia governor in 2013.

Burkle simply counters that Hillary Clinton is not her husband  she's too disconnected from the electorate.

Billionaire Ron Burkle didn't like how Hillary Clinton (right) would just stay in her hotel with Huma Abedin (left) when visiting Los Angeles when she was running for president during the 2008 cycle

While Bill Clinton would be out in Los Angeles gripping and grinning, Burkle recalled how Hillary Clinton, when running for president in 2007, would be holed up at the ritzy Hotel Bel-Air with her top aide Huma Abedin, wife of disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner.

With another fundraising trip to Los Angeles on Hillary Clinton's schedule next week, Burkle said her campaign wouldn't be picking his pocket.

'They never asked me for a penny,' he said.

As for his flirtation with Kasich, Burkle liked the fact that when the now Ohio governor was serving in Congress, he was able to work with Bill Clinton, under impeachment at the time, on a budget deal.

'If you are hiring a CEO, he'd be the guy you could hire,' the billionaire told the Times. 'I think people who take his position should be heard.'

But Burkle will never fully replace the Clintons with Kasich.

'It doesn't mean I am going to write a $10-million check to him,' Burkle said.




Britain today summoned North Korea's ambassador and gave him a dressing down over the pariah state's claim to have exploded a hydrogen bomb.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said he had told Hyon Hak Bong that the UK 'strongly condemns' the nuclear test.

Mr Bong, an outspoken diplomat who believes North Korean defectors are 'animals' and 'sub-human scum', was summoned to Whitehall from the country's embassy - a 1920s semi in Ealing.

Experts are still seeking to verify whether Wednesday's nuclear test was its first of a more destructive H-bomb amid widespread scepticism of the claim by Pyongyang.

Stand-off: Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire, left, said he had told off North Korean ambassador Hyon Hak Bong, right, over the alleged H-bomb test

Worry: The international community is deeply worried the reclusive nation bay have tested a nuclear weapon (pictured, North Korean state TV announcing bomb test)

But Mr Bong, Kim Jong Un's representative in London, has previously said North Korea has the ability to fire a nuclear missile at 'anytime'.

South Korea is planning to retaliate for hydrogen bomb tests by reinstating propaganda broadcasts beamed into their neighbour and America launched a spy plane over the Kim Jong Un's country.

Mr Swire said: 'I summoned North Korea's Ambassador today to stress in the strongest terms the UK's condemnation of their nuclear test.

'This is a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, and the United Kingdom supports the resolve of the UN to implement further significant measures against the regime'.

An emergency session of the UN Security Council agreed last night to look at further sanctions against the highly-secretive and repressive regime.

Mr Swire added: 'Yesterday the UK and other members of the UN Security Council issued a statement strongly condemning the latest act as a clear threat to peace and security on the Korean peninsula and to international security. It is essential, as ever, that the international community is united in its approach and will work on such measures in a new Security Council resolution'.

In a rare interview this year Hyun Hak-bong claimed the secretive state could launch a deadly warhead 'anytime'.

Speaking to Sky News at the North Korean embassy in London, a bay-windowed Twenties semi in Ealing, he said: 'We are prepared.

'If a sparkle of a fire is made on the Korean peninsula, it will lead to a nuclear war.

'We don't say empty words. We mean what we mean. It is not the United States that has a monopoly on nuclear weapons strikes.'

The nuclear test, which caused an earthquake that was measured by the United States Geological Survey, was ordered by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (pictured) on Wednesday

London base: The seven-bedroom ordinary home that is the North Korean embassy where ambassador Hyon Hak Bong was summoned from today

North Korea's claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb sparked outrage and scepticism yesterday.

The pariah state announced what it said had been a 'world startling event' and 'perfect success'.

But the small scale of the underground blast  5.1 on the earthquake magnitude scale  put the claim in serious doubt.

'The seismic data indicates the explosion is probably significantly below what one would expect from an H-bomb test,' said Crispin Rovere, an Australian-based nuclear policy specialist.

'It seems to be that they've successfully conducted a nuclear test, but unsuccessfully completed the second-stage hydrogen explosion.'

Bruce Bennett, an analyst with the Rand Corporation think-tank, said: 'The bang they should have got would have been ten times greater.'

North Korea has already tested atomic weapons  in 2006, 2009 and 2013  in breach of UN resolutions barring it from developing the technology. The possibility of it building hydrogen bombs is especially serious because they are many times more destructive.

Philip Hammond joined world leaders in condemning North Korea, calling the test a provocation.

The Foreign Secretary, who is on a visit to neighbouring China, said the test 'underlines the very real threat that North Korea represents to regional and international security'.

There were cheers in the capital Pyongyang as crowds in thick winter coats gathered outside a large video screen near a main railway station to hear the news of the test.

A state television announcer said: 'With the perfect success of our historic H-bomb, we have joined the ranks of advanced nuclear states.'




A young giraffe at Zoo Miami had to be put down after suffering an apparent spinal injury in what officials are calling a tragic accident.

The seven-month-old giraffe, named Wesley, poked his head in a ten-inch gap between two posts on Tuesday to look into an area where another giraffe was being examined by keepers, zoo spokesman Ron Magill said.

Officials say the young giraffe, who stands at eight feet tall and was freshly independent from his mother, panicked when he couldn't get his head back out and began to thrash around.

Wesley, a seven-month-old giraffe at Zoo Miami, had to be euthanized on Tuesday after he suffered a spine injury

Wesley had poked his head in a ten-inch gap between two posts (pictured) on Tuesday to look into an area where another giraffe was being examined by keepers. When he realized he was stuck, he thrashed around, causing the injuries

Staff members were able to free Wesley after a few minutes, but he had already done significant damage to his spine, Magill told The Miami Herald.

The zoo's veterinary team worked on the giraffe for several hours before deciding to euthanize him.

It became painfully obvious that hed done a traumatic injury, probably to his spinal cord, Magill told the Herald. We humanely euthanized him. It was a tragic accident.

Magill said this is the first accident of its kind at the zoo. Workers were closing gaps in the area to prevent similar injuries.

Wesley was born last May and was the 48th giraffe born at Zoo Miami.

A bar was later welded between the posts so no other giraffe could stick its head through the posts. Pictured above is giraffes at Zoo Miami's feeding station

Weve had 48 giraffe born here at the zoo, Magill told the Herald. Ive been here for 36 years; weve never had an incident like this.

Magill told NBC South Florida that this accident of its kind in Zoo Miami and that the zoo is investigating all animal areas to ensure something like this doesnt occur in the future.

In hindsight its a preventable loss, Magill told the Herald. But hopefully weve learned from it and it wont happen again.

Workers immediately welded a bar between the two posts in the giraffe area to ensure no other giraffe could experience the same accident Wesley did.
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It is one of the most famous and expensive streets in the world.

Fifth Avenue in New York is dotted with hundreds of department stores, high-end fashion labels, swanky hotels and some of the Big Apple's most famous attractions - including the Empire State Building.

Stretching from Washington Square Park all the way up to 143rd Street in Harlem, it splits Manhattan and its 1.7million residents into East and West.

But before the thoroughfare became the commercial superpower it is today, it was the home of small, family-owned businesses.

Pictures taken in 1911 show what Fifth Avenue would have looked like if Google Street View existed more than 100 years ago.

 Slide me  This picture taken in 1911 shows the intersection between Fifth Avenue and West 8th Street. In the far left hand corner is the archway at the entrance to Washington Square Park

 Slide me  The other side of the street shows two cars parked up outside the Hotel Brevoort, which was demolished in the 1950s. Parts of this area are still covered in hotels and luxury apartments

 Slide me  A church sits on the corner of West 10th Street and Fifth Avenue more than 100 years ago. A man waits to cross the road

 Slide me  A car and two horse and carriages line the street outside the Grosvenor Hotel on Easth 10th Street, which has since closed down and is now owned by New York University

The startling images released by the New York Public Library as part of a collection were captured as wealthy mansion-owners started to move further north to make way for larger stores and retail spaces.

Cars were only just being used as a mode of transport, meaning horse and carriages went up and down the streets day and night.

They adopted places along 'Millionaire's Row' - the stretch between 59th and 96th streets looking out onto Central Park.

By 1906 the Fifth Avenue blocks between Washington Square and Madison Square had, for the most part, been taken over by commerce.

Five years on, the number of stores kept growing.

Nowadays Armani, Gucci, Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Omega, Harry Winston, Chanel and Abercombie and Fitch call Fifth Avenue home.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, The Jewish Museum and four other museums are located on Museum Mile - running from 82nd to 105th streets.

They are all still hugely popular with visitors from around the world.

 Slide me  The First Presbyterian Church (left) standing between 11th and 12th Streets in Greenwich Village on Fifth Avenue. It still stands today

 Slide me  An old office of the United States Aeronautical Reserve is pictured on 12th Street more than 100 years ago

 Slide me  A S.W. Steel & Co stands on the corner of Union Square at West 14th Street and Fifth Avenue

 Slide me  A Voss and Stern - a laces and embroideries store - and a safe deposit vault make up the street between East 14th Street and 15th Street

 Slide me  A Wissner Pianos store sits on the corner of West 15th Street. Construction takes place on a building a short way down the road

 Slide me  The corner of West 16th Street on Fifth Avenue before big-name retailers and restaurants started to take over

 Slide me  Half a mile from Times Square, between West 20th and West 21st, customers head into a Crouch and Fitzgerald trunk store which has now been replaced by a Nike. Next door is a shirt and collar store

 Slide me  A lady's clothing store lines the street on West 21st Street. A woman is seen about to cross the road with a walking stick

 Slide me  Madison Square Garden, a park in the city that pre-dates the famous arena, is surrounded by cars and horse and carriages

 Slide me  The Hotel Waldorf, the Waldorf Astoria's predecessor, is surrounded by cars and carriages waiting to pick up guests

 Slide me  A man walking a horse stands on a busy intersection of Fifth Avenue on 46th Street

 Slide me  The Windsor Arcade, opened in 1873, was one of the first commercial installments above 34th Street on Fifth Avenue

 Slide me  The New York Public Library, one of the most famous landmarks in Manhattan, lies on East 49th Street. It is one of the most-visited tourist attractions in the city

 Slide me  St Patrick's Cathedral, which has held some of the most historic services in the city, sits on the corner of 51st Street. The church is now surrounded by stores, restaurants and bars

 Slide me  The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is surrounded by upmarket apartments on West 54th street. Now the intersection is crawling with high-end fashion labels and coffee shops

 Slide me  A house owned by the Vanderbilt family and the Plaza Hotel stand side-by-side at the foot of Central Park on 59th Street

 Slide me  A house owned by the Vanderbilt family and the Plaza Hotel stand side-by-side at the foot of Central Park on 59th Street

 Slide me  The Metropolitan Museum of Art stands in the center of Museum Mile on 81st Street. Behind it lies the vast green fields of Central Park

 Slide me  An enormous residence owned by Henry Phillips sits on the left of the intersection of East 87th Street. An apartment block stands opposite
Netflixs Making A Murderer has captivated the world - and now, Steven Averys defense lawyer has revealed that he is getting new leads from across the globe to help free the convicted killer.

Jerry Buting, who defended Avery in his murder trial, has said that the hit 10-part series has sparked an enormous outpouring of support.

As a result, scientists from all over have contacted him to suggest different ways that evidence can be presented to demonstrate the innocence of the shows subject.

However, all of Averys appeals are over and despite petitions demanding his release, Buting says the only way to free him would be with newly discovered evidence.

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Steven Averys (left) defense lawyer has revealed that he is getting new leads from across the globe to help free the convicted killer, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Teresa Halbach (right)

Jerry Buting (pictured right), who defended Avery in his murder trial along with Dean Strang (left), has said scientists from all over the world have contacted them to help demonstrate Avery's innocence

He is still in prison. Hes in prison for life. His appeals are over, Buting told BBCs Today. Which means that if he is to have any justice at this point its going to have to be because of newly discovered evidence, things of that sort.

But he added: There is something that can be done about it. We are getting an enormous outpouring of support. Were getting new leads  factual leads that can be followed up.

Scientists from all over the world have been contacting us with different approaches to present scientific evidence that can be newly discovered evidence that would demonstrate his innocence.

Buting and his fellow defense attorney Dean Strang are presented as the unrelenting protagonists on the series, working to prove that Avery was framed for the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, in 2005.

However, authorities involved in the case insist the series is biased and omits crucial facts that led to Avery and Dassey being found guilty of Halbachs murder in 2007.

Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos have stood by their work, which spans ten years and largely focuses on the defense and the perspective of Avery and Dasseys family.

Buting says that as all of Averys (pictured in court, in 2007) appeals are over, the only way to free him would be with newly discovered evidence

Buting too insists that the filmmakers were fair in their portrayal of the case.

Commenting on claims the series leaves out key evidence, he told the BBCs Today program: Well thats not true at all. They offered the same opportunity to the State to participate and they chose not to.

They included the majority of the States case the important pieces are in the movie.

He added: Theres really only one tiny bit of DNA evidence that ever linked her to his residence or his garage and that was a contaminated test that frankly should have been thrown out. Thats clearly set forth in the series.

Ken Kratz, the former Calumet County district attorney who prosecuted Avery, is one of the series critics, saying Netflix should not have billed the series as a documentary.

Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey (pictured in August 2007) confessed to sexually assaulting Halbach and cutting her throat on his uncle's orders. He later said the confession was coerced

This wasnt a documentary at all, he told ABC News. It wasnt until Netflix decided to repackage this as a documentary that both sides were invited to participate.

He said evidence that was excluded from the series included that Avery had called Halbachs workplace to specifically ask for her the day she disappeared, that he had called her three times that day and that he once greeted her wearing only a trial.

Kratz also claimed that when Avery first served time in prison, he told an inmate that he was planning on building a 'torture chamber' on his release so he could rape, torture and kill young women.

The former prosecutors also said the fellow inmate revealed that Avery told him the best way to get rid of a body was to 'burn it' because the heat destroys DNA evidence.

But Ricciardi and Demos insist the series is a fair representation of what they witnessed, with the former adding: We wanted to present as many sides as we could but at the same time we also wanted to tell a compelling story.

The filmmakers also recently revealed that they have spoken to an unnamed juror on the case who said that he or she believes that Avery was framed for Halbachs murder and that they only voted to convict him out of fear.

Avery had initially served 18 years in prison until DNA evidence exonerated him of an unrelated sexual assault conviction in 1985. He was released in 2003

Avery's defense argued that Manitowoc officers, who were in the middle of being deposed in his lawsuit, were also involved in the gathering of evidence for the Halbach murder and may have framed him

Speaking on NBC's TODAY on Tuesday, Ricciardi said: [The juror] told us they believe Steven Avery was not proven guilty.

They believe Steven was framed by law enforcement and that he deserves a new trial, and if he receives a new trial, in their opinion, it should take place far away from Wisconsin.

'They told us really that they were afraid that if they held out for a mistrial that it would be easy to identify which juror had done that and that they were fearful for their own safety,' Demos said.

Meanwhile, Kratz has revealed that he too has received messages from Avery supporters  including disturbing threats from some who say they want to rape his daughter.

He told Nancy Grace on Wednesday that, since the show began streaming on Netflix on December 18, he has been bombarded with thousands of messages from armchair sleuths who believe Avery was the victim of a conspiracy.

I have no problem with people talking about me personally, he told Grace, but when I read up to 3,000 emails about how they want to rape my daughter and they want me to watch, those kinds of things happening.

They not only want to kill me, but they want to harm my family. Those kinds of things are way beyond whats reasonable.

And the show's popularity has also led to the Manitowoc County Clerk of Courts office being flooded with requests for records from the Avery case.

Avery had filed a $36 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the county, along with its former sheriff and district attorney, for the wrongful conviction. Less than a month later, he was charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the murder of Halbach

Ken Kratz, the former Calumet County district attorney who prosecuted Avery for Halbach's murder, said he has received death threats since Making A Murderer launched

County Clerk for Manitowoc County Lynn Zigmunt told WBAY that the volume of records requests has been so great that the court one employee's job has become to deal only with documents involving Avery every day.

'Its a lot of information, a lot of documents, so we have to just be careful, but thats our job as custodians of the records,' she added.

Zigmunt also revealed that an Australian woman ha requested copies of the entire trial transcript - which, at $1.25 per page will cost around $6,000.

Avery, 53, and his nephew Dassey were convicted in March 2007 for Halbachs murder and have remained imprisoned ever since.

Both protest their innocence and court documents show Avery believes his own brothers may have killed the woman and framed him for her murder due to a family dispute.

But despite the Netlfix series casting doubt on their convictions and online petitions demanding their release, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has ruled out any chance of a pardon.

Walker, a former Republic presidential candidate, is not swayed by more than 300,000 signatures on Change.org calling for Averys exoneration, his spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said on Wednesday.

Those who feel they have been wrongly convicted can seek to have their convictions overturned by a higher court, she said.

The documentary on Avery questioned the handling of his case and the motivation of Manitowoc County law enforcement officials and suggests authorities planted evidence against the men, a claim that has been rejected by Robert Hermann, the current sheriff of Manitowoc County.

Avery had initially served 18 years in prison until DNA evidence exonerated him of an unrelated sexual assault conviction in 1985. He was released in 2003.

He then filed a $36 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the county, along with its former sheriff and district attorney, for the wrongful conviction.

But less than a month after the federal lawsuit was filed, Avery was charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the murder of Halbach. That case was settled in 2006 for about $400,000, according to online court documents.

Avery's defense argued that Manitowoc officers, who were in the middle of being deposed in his lawsuit, were also involved in the gathering of evidence for the Halbach murder

It has since emerged that Avery (right) claimed his brothers Earl and Charles (left) may have carried out the murder, for which he is serving a life sentence without parole.

Avery's defense argued that Manitowoc officers, who were in the middle of being deposed in his lawsuit, were also involved in the gathering of evidence for the Halbach murder and may have framed him.

His nephew Dassey, who was 16 at the time, then confessed to sexually assaulting Halbach and cutting her throat on his uncle's orders. He later said the confession was coerced.

Avery was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Dassey, now 26, is also serving a life sentence but has a chance for early release in 2048.

But it has since emerged that Avery claimed his brothers Earl and Charles may have carried out the murder, for which he is serving a life sentence without parole.

In legal documents filed by Avery in 2009, and obtained by TMZ, he claims that both of his brothers have a history of sexual violence against women - with Earl once pleading no contest to sexually assaulting his daughters.
What started out as a run-of-the-mill neighbors quarrel over garbage disposal in a remote Chinese village two decades ago resulted in the shooting death of a 68-year-old Brooklyn man last month.

On the evening of December 7, Yingguan Chen was discovered lying on the floor of a Popeye's eatery in Sunset Park suffering from gunshot wounds to the head, right arm and torso.

The victim was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

On Monday, a month after Yingguan Chens death, police arrested 45-year-old Wu Long Chen after he made a failed attempt to flee to Mexico but was apprehended in Laredo, Texas, and extradited to New York to faces charges of second-degree murder and criminal weapons possession.

Bloody vendetta: On December 7, 2015, 68-year-old Yingguan Chen was shot dead outside this Popeye's eatery in Brooklyn. His accused killer has been identified as his former neighbor who allegedly held a grudge against him

Suspect Wu Long Chen, 45, spotted Yingguan leaving a wedding reception at the Golden Imperial Palace restaurant (pictured), followed him and allegedly shot him in the head as payback for a 20-year dispute over garbage disposal

It has since emerged that Chen's slaying was not a random act of violence, but rather part of a long-simmering revenge plot that had its roots in an old family feud, according to the victim's children.

Speaking to the New York Post, Vicki Chen, the victims daughter, revealed that Wu Long and her father were neighbors in China some two decades ago and would get into arguments over refuse.

According to Ms Chen, Wu Long Chen, then a young man in his 20s serving in the Chinese military, got into the habit of tossing trash into her familys yard.

Things between the two warring clans came to a head one day when Yingguan's son assaulted Wu Long and his brother after they allegedly barged into their yard and roughed up his mother.

Yingguan Chen himself played no part in the incident because by that time, he had already immigrated to the US, his son Gary told the Post.

Police were called to the scene to break up the fight, and as a result of the fracas both neighbors were fined the equivalent of $1,000 each to in a bid to settle the dispute.

But Wu Long Chen apparently never let go of his animosity towards his neighbors.

He finally got a chance to exact his revenge on his old nemesis on December 7 when he spotted Yingguan Chen leaving a wedding reception in Sunset Park, the victims' children told the paper.

Chen, who was married with children, was found by paramedics bleeding to death inside this eatery on Seventh Avenue

According to a report published in the New York Daily News last month, the suspect followed Yingguan from the Golden Imperial Palace restaurant and shot him with a .22 caliber pistol outside the Popeye's at Seventh Avenue and 61st Street at 9.37pm.

The mortally wounded man was able to make his way inside the fast-food joint and call for help.

A manager at the Popeyes franchise said a customer came to Chen's aid and handed him a stack of napkins to help stop the bleeding.

The 68-year-old shooting victim was quoted as saying in Mandarin that he was 'going to die.'

Paramedics who responded to the scene transported Chen to Lutheran Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just after 10pm.
A judge set a $1.2 million bond Wednesday for a Wisconsin man once convicted in his wife's death after prosecutors said he poisoned her with antifreeze in an effort to make her death look like a suicide so he could move his mistress into their home.

Mark Jensen was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in 2008, but he recently won appeals that set up a retrial in Kenosha County.

Jensen's conviction was overturned by a federal judge, and an appeals court panel upheld the ruling late last year. The decision said a note from his wife, Julie, implicating him in her death was improperly allowed into evidence.

Mark Jensen is led out of the courtroom after bail was set at $1.2m ahead of his retrial

He is accused of murdering his wife, Julie, in 1998, by poisoning her with anti-freeze then making it looked like suicide

Julie Jensen's body was found in 1998 in the Pleasant Prairie home she shared with her husband and their two sons. Her death, initially considered a suicide, started a case that took more than nine years to go to trial.

The defense said Julie Jensen was depressed and killed herself after framing her husband.

Prosecutors said Jensen killed his wife to make room for his mistress and that he searched the Internet for ways to make her death look like a suicide.

The judge's decision Wednesday favored the state, as special prosecutor Bob Jambois had argued for a high bond, noting that it had been set at $1.2 million before. Jambois said a previous judge had characterized Jensen's actions as a 'crime so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel' that he should be treated accordingly. He also said that Jensen had been violent and accused him of first poisoning, then asphyxiating his wife.

Julie Jensen, whose body was found in 1998 in the Pleasant Prairie, Wis., home she shared with her husband Mark and their two sons

The defense say she was depressed. She left a handwritten note reading: 'If anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect.'

He hadn't posted bail by late afternoon, and a public defender who appeared with him in court said Jensen 'had no resources' in arguing for a substantially lower amount.

In his ruling, Judge Chad Kerkman said that since the accusation against Jensen hadn't changed, it made sense to maintain a high bond. He used the previous amount as a guideline and said 'the bond already set is appropriate.'

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said late last year that Julie Jensen's handwritten note, which said 'if anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect,' violated Mark Jensen's constitutional right to face his accusers.

Judge Chad Kerkman set bail at $1.2m. The prosecution said that a previous judge had characterized Jensen's actions as a 'crime so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel' that bail should be high

Federal public defender Craig Albee, who has represented Jensen during his appeal process, argued for bond to be set at $50,000. He said Jensen had no criminal record, since his homicide conviction had been overturned. Albee also worked to undermine the strength of the prosecution's case, saying they lost a 'powerful piece of evidence.' Albee said that the state had characterized previously the note as a 'make or break issue' in the case.

Jensen was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles, and he was returned to the custody of the Kenosha County Jail, jail administrator Lt. Robert Croeker said.

Wisconsin public defender Deja Vishny has been assigned to represent Jensen going forward.
A Syrian girl has been tortured to death by a female member of the Islamic State group in the northern city of Manbij, where US-backed rebels have launched an anti-ISIS offensive.

The victim, only 21-year-old, was arrested last week for violating the strict Islamic dress code imposed by the group.

She died under torture at the hands of a female jihadi, known as Oum Farouq, according to ARA News.

Syrian girl was tortured to death for violating ISIS draconian rules (stock photo)

Under ISIS draconian version of Sharia, women are instructed to wear a Saudi-style black veil of two layers to conceal their eyes, loose abayas and gloves.

They are also made to go everywhere with a male guardian.

A family member told ARA News that they received the girl's dead body and that it had clear signs of torture.

'She was harshly tortured. We have received her dead body full of physical effects of torture,' the family member said. 'We cannot even protest against this horrible crime. The only judicial department in Manbij is the Sharia Court, which supports such crimes.'

Women who break dress code are punished by ISIS morality police with the lash, even for the slightest transgressions.

The execution comes after the jihadist group killed what is believed to be the first female citizen journalist who independently reported inside ISIS territory.

Ruqia Hassan, who also went by the pseudonym Nisam Ibrahim on social media, is the fifth journalist who reported on the group to be executed since October, according to Syria Direct organisation.

Ruqia Hassan is the fifth journalist who exposed ISIS human rights abuses to be executed since October

Her death was confirmed by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a citizen journalism group exposing human rights abuses in the Islamic State's de fact capital of Raqqa.

The founder of the media group, Abu Mohammed, tweeted that Hassan's last words were: 'I'm in Raqqa and I received death threats, and when Isis [arrests] me and kills me it's ok because they will cut my head and I have dignity its better than I live in humiliation with Isis '.

Last December, the US-backed coalition of rebels, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), captured the key Tishrin dam on the Euphrates River from ISIS, threatening the group's stronghold of Manbij.
A six-year-old boy suffered horrific internal injuries after he drank drain cleaner which he mistakenly thought was a bottle of water.

Sonny Arthur, of Hatfield Peverel, Essex, was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London after digesting caustic soda crystals from the heavy duty cleaning product.

His devastated parents, Vikki, 45, and Ian, 51, have been constantly at his side since the freak incident before Christmas.

Sonny's parents released his hospital photos to warn others of the dangers of some household products.

Sonny Arthur suffered horrific internal injuries after he drank drain cleaner, which he thought was a bottle of water. His injuries were so severe that doctors will have to stretch his oesophagus because of its significant narrowing in two places

His parents are expecting a long road to recovery for him as he has 'significant narrowing of the oesophagus in two places as a result of the accident'.

Vikki said their loving family had been left 'wrecked' and wrote on Facebook that Sonny will undergo a 'course of aggressive stretching which will start in a couple of weeks'.

The consultants will continue until they are happy his oesophagus will remain open.

Vikki added: 'We are trying to process things as a family.

'The gastrostomy [feeding tube] will probably be there for at least a year..This will be his life line to ensure he gets the nutrition he needs while he is unable to swallow properly.

Sonny with his mum Vikki at their home before Christmas. Vikki said they are expecting a long road to recovery for him as he will more than likely remain on a feeding tube for at least a year

'Sonny is taking it all in his stride in true Arthur fashion and putting the rest of us to shame...

'We are all completely wrecked but we are lucky to have so many wonderful friends, neighbours and people in the community that have reached out and helped get us through this horrible time.'

Family friend Jenna Wingrave, of Witham, Essex, explained how Sonny came to drink the cleaning fluid.

Jenna described it as a 'freak accident' that could have happened to anyone.

She said: 'The bottle was standing on the side. Vikki thought he'd hit his head at first, but then she noticed his lips looked sore. She wasn't getting much sense out of him so she called an ambulance.

'The contents had already been tipped down the drain but there were still a few extra droplets which Sonny thought was water.

'The paramedics checked him over and said that something wasn't right.'

When Sonny was rushed to the hospital, he was immediately put in an induced coma because he was having trouble breathing

Sonny was rushed to the hospital where he has remained with his parents and family at his bedside.

He was immediately placed into an induced coma so that his body could rest because he was having trouble breathing.

Jenna added: 'Although now stable, Sonny's road to full recovery will be a long and painful one.

'But he is part of a fantastic, loving and strong family.'

The incident took place on December 17 - just two days after his elder sister Abbie had been discharged from the same hospital after a serious operation.

The 16-year-old has been in and out of Great Ormond Street since she was 15 months old for procedures on her skull.

Ian with Sonny at the hospital after he was treated for severe internal burns from drinking drain cleaner out of a bottle, which had been left on a kitchen worktop at his home. Family and friends have raised more than 2,000 to help with travelling costs

Friends and family have rallied round to support the Arthurs and more than 2,000 has been raised to help them with their travelling costs.

Mum-of-two, Jenna, set up a fundraising page to help ease the financial burden of travelling back and forth to the capital.

She said: 'I am aware of the major financial implications this sort of thing can have on families.

'The Arthurs are such a wonderful family and this whole ordeal has totally shocked everyone, so I just wanted to give them all a boost.

'There's never a good time for this sort of thing to happen, but as a family they were all looking forward to Christmas with Abbie being out of hospital, but they feel helpless.'
Jumagaliev escaped from custody previously for two years in 1989

Locals claim they spotted Metal Fang before a girl disappeared last month

Residents in Almaty, Kazakhstan fear the 63-year-old killer has escaped

Nikolay Jumagaliev was jailed in 1981 for killing and eating ten women

Residents in a Kazakhstani city are in fear for their lives after its most notorious cannibal killer - dubbed Metal Fang escaped from a secure psychiatric facility shortly before Christmas.

Officials have denied claims Nickolay Jumagaliev has escaped, despite local residents in Almaty linking the 63-year-old serial killer to the disappearance of a young woman, 22, on New Year's Eve.

Locals believe that Fang, who has metal teeth, abducted Saida Akzhanova in the city. They claim Jumagaliev escaped from the facility on December 23.

Cannibal killer Nickolav Jumagaliev, pictured, murdered at least ten women before he was captured in 1981

Residents in Almaty, file picture, believe they have seen Metal Fang since his supposed escape from custody

Jumagaliev was jailed in 1981 after he admitted killing and eating his victims.

Police believe he was responsible for at least ten murders before he was captured and imprisoned.

Some residents in Almaty claim to have seen him shortly after the reported break out.

And the killer is being blamed for the disappearance of 22-year-old Saida Akzhanova in the city, who has not been seen since New Year's Eve.

Local police, however, have refused to confirm the cannibal's escape.

A spokesman would only say: 'We do not have information about the escape of the man and have no orders to catch him. This information is confusing.'

Jumagaliev is one of the world's most notorious cannibal killers.

In a chilling confession to his first murder he said: 'I always loved to hunt, often went hunting, but this was my first time hunting a woman.

He added: 'She resisted, and then I cut her throat with a knife. Then I drank her blood.'

The killer continued: 'I cut the corpse's breast into strips, removed the ovaries, and separated the pelvis and hips. I then folded these pieces into a backpack and carried them home.

'I melted the fat to fry with, and some parts I pickled.

'Once I put the parts through a meat grinder and made dumplings.

'I saved the meat for myself; I never served it to anyone else.

'Twice I grilled the heart and the kidneys. Grilled meat, too. But it was tough, and I cooked it for a long time in its own fat.

'The meat of this woman took me a month to eat.'

Jumagaliev has escaped before in 1989 while he was being transported from one secure hospital to another.
Undercover police officer infiltrated an alleged group of extremists who were planning to join ISIS in Syria by escaping from the country in the back of a lorry, the Old Bailey heard today.

The undercover officer, named only as 'Muhamed', said he spent ten months investigating extremists from Birmingham who wanted to carry out a Charlie Hebdo-inspired attack on the city.

Mohamed would hang around mosques, cafes and bars in Muslim areas of Birmingham looking for signs of extremism and passing information to the authorities.

Gabriel Rasmus, 29, told Muhamed 'brothers' who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre 'did a good job' and said he wanted to 'do something similar' at Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre, the court heard.

It is the first time an undercover officer has spoken in open court about his work targeting alleged ISIS supporters in the UK.

On trial: An undercover officer told a court today that he helped catch three men who were planning to join ISIS by escaping from the country in the back of this lorry through Dover on April 3 last year

A surveillance operation was launched and officers followed three men as they made two attempts to drive from Birmingham to London before getting into a lorry heading for Dover.

They were eventually stopped as the vehicle they had chosen was waiting to clear customs at the Channel port on April 3 last year, and were found in the back with rucksacks, cash and outdoor clothing.

The men were found lying on the floor hiding behind blue drums stacked against the rear doors of the lorry.

On their arrest, two of the three men found in the France-bound lorry claimed they were they were being harassed by MI5 and had been forced to try and leave the country.

Gabriel Rasmus, 29, has already pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism by attempting to travel to Syria.

Anas Abdow Abdalla, 26, who was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and is a British citizen, and Mahamuud Diini, 26, a Dutch national, also born in Mogadishu, from Birmingham, deny the same charges.

Muhamed said he was given the mission to find extremists in Birmingham started by developing his 'legend' by getting to know people in the area, the officer told the Old Bailey, from behind a screen.

The officer spoke quietly with a heavy accent and had a Serbo-Croat translator by his side in case he struggled to understand any questions put to him.

Muhamed described walking through the Bull Ring shopping centre in January last year when Gabriel Rasmus spoke of his frustration at having been sent back from Turkey as he tried to reach ISIS on an earlier trip.

'He was sad and he explain [to] me jihad is not only in Syria, Islamic State, jihad is everywhere and he said also if he stays here he will do something  he means some terrorist attack.

'He said, when [we] meet again in Bullring shopping centre, do something similar to what happened in France and in Belgium.'

The conversation, on January 16, was just nine days after the attacks on the satirical magazine and a Jewish supermarket in France which killed 14 people and the day after a shoot-out in Belgium that allegedly thwarted another attack.

On January 14, Rasmus, a South African citizen, had met the undercover officer and told him that his attempt to travel to the Netherlands had been turn down because they said he was a 'threat to the whole world.'

'Also we speak about situation in Paris where that extremist kill people at Charlie Hebdo magazine and Abu Junaid said, 'Yeh alhamdulillah [praise be to god] the brothers did a good job.'

Rasmus showed the officer a video on his phone which Muhamed described: '12 extremists, hostages they had lined up, they had a box with knives, they took the knives and killed people, cut the heads off those people.'

Describing Rasmus, the officer said: 'He is extreme, he was desperate to go to Islamic State and fight for them.'

Preparations: Suspect Gabriel Rasmus buying a watch in Argos in Birmingham ahead of his attempt to join ISIS

Rasmus had earlier told the court how they had several conversations about Britain.

In one conversation on November 12 2014, Muhamed said: 'We spoke about poppy flowers which British people are wearing, that is about soldiers dying in the war, and he said if a Muslim wore flowers on his chest, they are not Muslim.'

In another conversation on December 10, Muhamed added: 'He said, this country - he meant Great Britain - is not good for us. The best place for us is there  he meant Islamic State.'

But when Rasmus asked his wife, she said 'no' and then left him to go to the Netherlands.

Mohamed described how he was first deployed on June 18 2014 following a briefing on his 'operational objectives' by a detective sergeant from West Midlands police.

'Normally I just go there and spend my break time in that area and meet people,' he said. 'I build my legend, become familiar with places, restaurants, cafes and bars. Meet people in that area.

'I meet people, interesting people and when I meet people with an extremist point of view, I report that to my senior investigating officer and get advice for my task.'

Muhamed said he identified individuals as extremist 'if somebody says a British citizen or another citizen is kuffar and don't belong. They hate the people and don't want to mix, that is one of the extremist things.'

'Kuffar' referred to 'disbelievers' and his subjects 'don't want to mix with the people and don't want to work for that people,' Muhamed added.

Allegations: One suspect told the undercover officer he wanted to target Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre (pictured) with a terror attack, the Old Bailey heard

He also said others referred to the 'mujahideen' explaining: 'That means a signal they support htos people  that means warriors who fight only for Islam.'

Others might show him 'killing of hostages of Islamic State' or wanted to 'go there to fight' or were 'thinking of doing something here, a terrorist attack' Muhamed said.

Sally Howes QC, prosecuting, asked if it was fair to say Muhamed was 'reviewed and directed constantly' and he told the court: 'That is correct. I always report back to my senior investigating officer.'

At the end of each 'working session' Muhamed said: 'I finish my report and make my note, my record, as soon as possible after my deployment, in a safe location, in my own language. I write then down.'

Muhamed said he was not allowed to act as an 'agent provocateur' adding: 'We can't encourage people to do an offence they would not normally do.'

Even if he wanted to show 'enthusiasm and interest' in criminal activity, he had to 'check your authorisation and your role' with his senior officer, he said.

Earlier Ms Howes said: 'It is the Crown's case that these three men were attempting to smuggle themselves out of the UK to mainland Europe. This was one of the early stages of what would have been a long, hard journey to Turkey and from Turkey, across the border to their destination, Syria.

'Why Syria? The evidence you will hear during this trial will show that their intention was to join forces with Islamic State to offer their services, together with their lives if needs be, to engage in acts of terrorism.'
The EU is backtracking over a proposal that allows citizen appeals to be heard in parliament after one million people signed a petition calling for gay marriage to be scrapped.

European leaders now want to review the scheme amid fears it is being hijacked by minority campaign groups pushing their agenda on controversial and 'emotionally charged' issues.

The legislation, called the European Citizens' Initiative, allows petitions that have gathered more than one million signatures to be heard before parliament.

EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker has given his approval to have the citizens' law scheme scrapped

But President Jean-Claude Juncker has signalled his desire to review the scheme after an anti-gay marriage group collected one million signatures.

The minutes of a meeting on December 9 revealed EU lawyers warned the group's petition met all the requirements of the legislation, and the organisation was legally-bound to allow it to be heard.

Members were concerned the proposed citizens' laws did not move the EU project forward, rather they involved 'highly controversial and emotionally charged issues of greater interest to minorities'.

They argued that this would ultimately generate 'euroscepticism' and in the 'current European context', they should consider the long-term political consequences of the legislation.

It noted Juncker approved discussing the issue again early in the new year.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country assumed the EU presidency this month, said today he was 'relatively optimistic' that Britain can secure a reform deal next month.

David Cameron is seeking backing for his demands, including a controversial limit on welfare for EU migrants, at next month's meeting before holding a referendum on membership.

'It is very important to come to a successful conclusion, I think we could get there in February, I am relatively optimistic,' Rutte said.

David Cameron is seeking EU backing for his demands before calling a referendum later this year

He added: 'But still a lot of work needs to be done to come to a decision and a conclusion in February.'

Rutte said there had been a 'very good debate' at the last EU summit in December, at which Cameron appealed to his fellow leaders to back his reform demands and keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc.

Cameron wants the EU to give Britain safeguards against more political integration, to protect countries that do not use the euro currency, and to boost economic competitiveness.
A family who hurled themselves from their fourth floor apartment to escape a fire survived when they fell into thick snow, say rescuers in Canada.

Astonishing Smartphone footage of the family-of-three leaping one after another from their 50ft high balcony has gone viral.

The family - from Quebec - can be seen gathering by the balcony as the blaze sweeps through their apartment in the early hours of the morning.

But their agonising screams for help go unanswered as the 40 firefighters on the scene had not yet set up their ladders or hoses.

A family of three jumped out of the fourth floor of a burning building in Quebec and miraculously survived because they landed in the snow

The family had no 'choice but to save themselves' as firefighters on the scene had not yet set up their ladders or hoses

First, the couple's 10-year-old son is lowered partially to the ground by his father hanging onto what appears to be a blanket.

But he apparently loses his grip as the fabric rips and his father can be heard shouting: 'My son' as the youngster plunges to the ground.

Then the boy's mother leaps out from the balcony wearing just a dressing gown and underwear.

Her husband jumps last, dangling from the balcony by his fingertips before he lets go

The couple's 10-year-old son was lowered partially to the ground by his father hanging onto what appears to be a blanket

The mother had to jump wearing just a dressing gown and underwear and suffered a broken wrist and was put into an induced coma

Witness Richard Busque - who filmed the life or death drama from across the street - said: 'They were screaming out the window, the wife and husband were screaming: "Help us, help us."

'It was horrible to see and hear. I saw them jumping.'

He told local media he heard the woman begging to be given a ladder before her son jumped.

Local firefighters are now facing an investigation after reports that their rescue ladder failed to work on the night.

Witness Richard Busque - who filmed the life or death drama from across the street - said: 'They were screaming out the window, the wife and husband were screaming: "Help us, help us"

The boy and his father suffered non critical injuries, said officials, and the youngster was treated for a small burn before being discharged from hospital

A fire department spokesman said there was a police officer and a neighbour below in the snow, trying to help break their fall.

Quebec City Fire Department spokesman Jean-Francois Daigle said: 'With the heat and smoke, the tenants had no choice but to try and save themselves.'

Medics say the family suffered multiple fractures but survived the fall thanks to the deep snow surrounding the apartment block.

The boy and his father suffered non critical injuries, said officials, and the youngster was treated for a small burn before he was released.

The mother's brother, Alexis Collin, told CBC News that his sister had suffered a broken wrist and was in an induced coma.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Their other son and daughter, aged 12 and 14, were taken into custody

Police were called to find him because he was four months behind on rent

Mr Hopkins is an engineer at his own Barcelona-based firm

This is the American engineer who has been arrested in Spain after police found his seven-year-old son's decomposing body in the expat family's apartment.

Bruce Hopkins, 39, his wife Schrell, 38, and their two teenage children lived with the boy's corpse for one month after he fell ill with a mystery illness, police believe.

The Christian couple, who moved to Girona from Missouri in 2014, allegedly tried and failed to cure the illness with alternative medicine.

When police eventually found the child's body on Tuesday, Mr and Mrs Hopkins were arrested and held on suspicion of manslaughter. Their children were taken into custody for a mental health assessment.

Bruce Hopkins, 39, (pictured) his wife Schrell, 38, and their two teenage children lived with the seven-year-old boy's corpse for one month in their Girona apartment after he fell ill with a mystery illness, police believe

Officers were called to the building in Girona, north-east Spain bordering France, by the landlord who was chasing unpaid rent from the 'black, middle class' family dating back to September.

But when they finally forced entry into the 1,100-a-month apartment, they were met with an overwhelming smell and started searching the rooms, according to EFE.

The boy was found dead on a bed, wrapped in blankets, and did not appear to have any obvious injuries. Judging by appearance, officers estimated the child had been dead for four weeks.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Hopkins is the global vice president of sales and business development at his own Barcelona-based firm BT Software.

He has held a number of engineering and software-related jobs in America since graduating Wayne State University in Detroit in 1998.

It is not clear whether he has any strong beliefs about alternative medicine, though he does appear to be a devout Christian.

In a 2003 publication Bluetooth For Java, Mr Hopkins wrote that he 'wouldn't be the person that I am today without the spiritual guidance of my pastors at Bethlehem Temple Church'.

He also dedicated the publication to Jesus Christ.

Bethlehem Temple Church in Lansing, Missouri, has previously held events on how to beat obesity, cancer, heart disease and diabetes through God's love and eating well.

Mr Hopkins does not speak Spanish or Catalan, El Pais reported.

Mrs Hopkins and their other two children - 14-year-old Lydia and 12-year-old Bruce Jr - do not speak Spanish either.

Mr and Mrs Hopkins and their other two children - Lydia, 14, and 12-year-old Bruce Jr - do not speak Spanish

Officers were called to the building (pictured) by the landlord who was chasing four months' unpaid rent from the family. When they got into the 1,100-a-month flat, they were met with a smell and started searching

Police (pictured with a body bag to retrieve the corpse) insist the investigation is ongoing as they work to determine why the child's death went unreported, and why the family lived with the corpse for around a month

The couple, who have lived in the city with their children for around 18 months, were detained

They rarely leave the apartment in the city's Eixample district and study using online programs in English rather than attending a local school, neighbors told the newspaper.

According to local media, Mr and Mrs Hopkins seemed visibly agitated but did not resist arrest.

Police insist the investigation is ongoing as they work to determine why the child's death went unreported, and why the family lived with the corpse for around a month.

A cause of death will be announced after an autopsy this week.
A police officer has been hailed as a hero after he saved a father and his baby daughter from a wrecked car that had burst into flames.

Officer Patrick Ribec with the Lower Swatara Township Police Department in Pennsylvania pulled the pair from the vehicle at 12:30am on New Year's Day after it had hit a telephone poll.

Franklin Fisher III somehow flipped his vehicle with his two young children inside. The 38-year-old dad was allegedly drunk while behind the wheel and was arrested at the scene.

Officer Patrick Ribec has been hailed as a hero after he saved a baby girl from a car wreck after her father Franklin Fisher (right) crashed into a tree. The 38-year-old dad was allegedly drunk while behind the wheel and was arrested at the scene

The little boy managed to escape from the wreck on his own, but Fisher and the infant girl were trapped inside. By the time police arrived on the scene the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Ribec ran to the vehicle and smashed the rear window to rescue Fisher and the infant.

Officer Ribec crawled through a smashed rear window and freed the infant from her car seat. Once she was safe, he went back for Fisher.

'I looked in and saw a little baby girl in a car seat just hanging there,' Ribec told WGLA.

'She wasn't crying. She wasn't yelling. She wasn't talking. She had a blank face which worried me even worse. Officer Yoder handed me a knife and I was able to cut the baby loose.

'It's just part of the job,' he added. 'I was the officer on shift and I answered the call the same way anyone would answer the call. Any police officer I know would've done the same thing

Lower Swatara Sgt. Scott Young told Fox 43: 'We were all just really proud of him and the work he did with that call.'

The little boy managed to escape from the wreck on his own, but Fisher and the infant girl were trapped inside. By the time police arrived on the scene the vehicle was engulfed in flames
Ben Carson Retired physician

Age on Election Day: 65

Religion: Seventh-day Adventist

Base: Evangelicals

Resume: Famous pediatric neurosurgeon, youngest person to head a major Johns Hopkins Hospital division. Founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which awards scholarships to children of good character.

Education: B.A. Yale University. M.D. University of Michigan Medical School.

Family: Married to Candy Carson (1975), with three adult sons. The Carsons live in Maryland with Ben's elderly mother Sonya, who was a seminal influence on his life and development.

Claim to fame: Carson spoke at a National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, railing against political correctness and condemned Obamacare  with President Obama sitting just a few feet away.

Achilles heel: Carson is inflexibly conservative, opposing gay marriage and once saying gay attachments formed in prison provided evidence that sexual orientation is a choice.





Ted Cruz Texas senator

Age on Election Day: 45

Religion: Southern Baptist

Base: Tea partiers

Resume:U.S. senator. Former Texas solicitor general. Former U.S. Supreme Court clerk. Former associate deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush.

Education: B.A. Princeton University. J.D. Harvard Law School.

Family: Married to Heidi Nelson Cruz (2001), with two young daughters. His father is a preacher and he has two half-sisters.

Claim to fame: Cruz spoke on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours in September 2013 to protest the inclusion of funding for Obamacare in a federal budget bill. (The bill moved forward as written.) He has called for the complete repeal of the medical insurance overhaul law, and also for a dismantling of the Internal Revenue Service. Cruz is also outspoken about border security.

Achilles heel: Cruz's father Rafael, a Texas preacher, is a tea party firebrand who has said gay marriage is a government conspiracy and called President Barack Obama a Marxist who should 'go back to Kenya.' Cruz himself also has a reputation as a take-no-prisoners Christian evangelical, which might play well in South Carolina but won't win him points in the other early primary states and could cost him momentum if he should be the GOP's presidential nominee.





Jim Gilmore Former Virginia governor

Age on Election Day: 67

Religion: United Methodist

Base: Conservatives

Resume: Former governor and attorney general of Virginia. Former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Former U.S. Army intelligence agent. President and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation. Board member of the National Rifle Association

Education: B.A. University of Virginia.

Family: Married to Roxane Gatling Gilmore (1977), with two adult children. Mrs. GIlmore is a survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma

Claim to fame: Gilmore presided over Virginia when the 9/11 terrorists struck in 1991, guiding the state through a difficult economic downturn after one of the hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon. He is nest known in Virginia for eliminating most of a much-maligned personal property tax on automobiles, working with a Democratic-controlled state legislature to get it passed and enacted.

Achilles heel: Gilmore is the only GOP or Democratic candidate for president who has been the chairman of his political party, giving him a rap as an 'establishment' candidate. A social-conservative crusader, he is loathed by the left for championing the state law that established 24-hour waiting periods for abortions. Gilmore also has a reputation as an indecisive campaigner, having dropped out of the 2008 presidential race in July 2007.





John Kasich Ohio governor

Age on Election Day: 64

Religion: Anglican

Base: Centrists

Resume: Governor of Ohio. Former chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee. Former Ohio congressman. Former Ohio state senator.

Education: B.A. The Ohio State University.

Family: Married to Karen Waldbillig (1997). Divorced from Mary Lee Griffith (1975-1980).

Claim to fame: Kasich was Ohio youngest-ever member of the state legislature at age 25. He's known for a compassionate and working-class sensibility that appeals to both ends of the political spectrum. In the 1990s when Newt Gingrich led a Republican revolution that took over Congress, Kasich became the chairman of the House Budget Committee  a position for a wonk's wonk who understands the nuanced intricacies of how government runs.

Achilles heel: Some of Kasich's political positions rankle conservatives, including his choice to expand Ohio's Medicare system under the Obamacare law, and his support for the much-derided 'Common Core' education standards program.





Marco Rubio Florida senator

Age on Election Day: 45

Religion: Catholic

Base: Conservatives

Resume: US senator, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, former city commissioner of West Miami

Education: B.A. University of Florida. J.D. University of Miami School of Law.

Family: Married to Jeanette Dousdebes (1998), with two sons and two daughters. Jeanette is a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who posed for the squads first swimsuit calendar.

Claim to fame: Rubio's personal story as the son of Cuban emigres is a powerful narrative, and helped him win his Senate seat in 2010 against a well-funded governor whom he initially trailed by 20 points.

Achilles heel: Rubio was part of a bipartisan 'gang of eight' senators who crafted an Obama-approved immigration reform bill in 2013 which never became law  a move that angered conservative Republicans. And he was criticized in 2011 for publicly telling a version of his parents' flight from Cuba that turned out to appear embellished.





Donald Trump Real estate developer

Age on Election Day: 70

Religion: Presbyterian

Base: Conservatives

Resume: Chairman of The Trump Organization. Fixture on the Forbes 400 list of the world's richest people. Star of 'Celebrity Apprentice.'

Education: B.Sci. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Family: Married to Melania Trump (2005). Divorced from Ivana Zelnickova (1977-92) and Marla Maples(199399). Five grown children. Trump's father Fred Trump amassed a $400 million fortune developing real estate.

Claim to fame: Trump's niche in the 2016 campaign stems from his celebrity as a reality-show host and his enormous wealth  more than $10 billion, according to Trump. Because he can self-fund an entire presidential campaign, he is seen as less beholden to donors than other candidates. He has grabbed the attention of reporters and commentators by unapologetically staking out controversial positions and refusing to budge in the face of criticism.
Jewish shoppers were targeted by neo-Nazi thugs who bombarded with small gas canisters by 'Nazi' thugs who shouted 'Hitler is on the way'.

Witnesses say a woman and two men had nitrous oxide canisters hurled at them by three men in a van during the anti-Semitic attack on Wednesday.

Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim said the men also shouted 'Heil Hitler' at the shoppers outside Poundland in the Tottenham Hale Retail Park, north London.

Jewish shoppers were targeted by neo-Nazi thugs who bombarded with small gas canisters (pictured) by thugs who shouted 'Hitler is on the way'

Witnesses say a woman and two men had nitrous oxide canisters hurled at them by three men in a van during the anti-Semitic attack on Wednesday at Tottenham Hale Retail Park (pictured), north London

The attackers fled in their van following the attack at around 7.45pm on Wednesday when one victim started to note its number plate.

A Met Police spokesman said: 'Police were called by a male victim who alleged he was the victim of an anti-Semitic remark.

'We have arranged an appointment for the victim to make a statement.'

Shomrim volunteer Michael Blayer said the shoppers were targeted purely because of their religion, and they were recognisable because of the distinctive clothing worn by Orthodox Jews.

This disturbing incident is a reminder of the abuse that many Jewish people experience all too often Jonathan Sacerdoti, Campaign Against Antisemitism

He said: 'This behaviour is appalling. The victims were innocent shoppers at the Tottenham Hale Retail Park, and they were targeted because they were visibly Jewish.

'The verbal abuse was disgusting, and small objects were thrown towards the victims, making them fear for their immediate safety.

'Shomrim are supporting the victims. The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police, I have absolute confidence in our local police that this will be thoroughly investigated.'

Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Communications at the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'This disturbing incident is a reminder of the abuse that many Jewish people experience all too often.

'It is vital that victims report all antisemitic attacks or incidents whenever they happen, and that the police take every report seriously, investigating and charging those responsible wherever possible.'




An accused con-man who was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio's character in 'Catch Me If You Can' was ordered held on $1million bail Wednesday, after prosecutors said he posed as a wounded veteran to commit fraud and was in possession of forged documents.

Jeremy Wilson, 42, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for his arraignment sporting a grey Harvard Law hoodie and was charged with seven criminal counts, including grand larceny, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a personal identification.

The bald, bearded career criminal had used bogus military documents to pose as a military war hero, 'basically a wounded warrior', to lease a luxury BMW SUV in Boston and rent out a swanky apartment in Downtown Manhattan, said NYPD Sgt. Mark MacDonnell.

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Life imitating art: Career con-man Jeremy Wilson (left), 42, was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio's character in 'Catch Me If You Can' (pictured right) and posed as a wounded US war veteran

Wilson used the identity so he could lease a luxury BMW SUV and rent out a swanky apartment in 10 Hanover Square in Downtown Manhattan (pictured above)

Treasure trove: A search of Wilson's home yielded lots of fraudulent identification, counterfeit Purple Hearts and other medals, military uniforms as well as Harvard and MIT souvenirs

The fraudster had changed the license plates affixed by the dealer and replaced them with 'Purple Heart' tags, according to MacDonnell.

Double life: The 42-year-old crook reportedly confessed to pulling off various schemes under the alias Jeremiah Beckingham

The conman was in possession of $24,000 and was wearing a 'Wounded Warrior' hat, military-style dog tags and a Harvard Law School sweatshirt when he was caught, MacDonnell said.

Wilson also used the large amount of cash he fraudulently obtained to rent out a $5,000-a-month, two-bedroom apartment at 10 Hanover Square, an expensive residential high-rise in Manhattan that has East River views, a roof deck and fitness center with a rock-climbing wall.

Neighbors claim he had a sticker on his front door which read: 'I don't want to live forever. I just want to live for now.'

When officers raided his apartment, they seized multiple fake IDs, military medals, including Purple Hearts and Silver Stars, and uniforms, according to court documents cited by the New York Post.

Material evidence removed from the suspect's apartment also included more than 200 forged checks in the amount of $40,000, a pair of bogus passports from Canada and the UK under the name 'Jeremiah Asimov-Beckingham, a forged California drivers license with the same name, and an Actor's Union debit card for a Jeremiah I. Beckingham.

According to a criminal complaint, Wilson admitted in a video-recorded confession to using the Beckingham name in various 'larceny and identity theft schemes,' reported DNAInfo.com.

Police also recovered a cache of knickknacks emblazoned with the logos of Harvard and MIT, Massachusetts vanity plates honoring veterans, and a corporate credit card that had been stolen from an MIT employee and used to pay for an apartment in Boston and other items.

The fraudster was then 'conned' by New York police, who seized the BMW SUV (similar to the one pictured above) and then tricked him into showing up at the police office, telling him that the car was being used in evidence for a shooting

Investigators revealed that the 42-year-old career crook lifted the credit card, as well as several laptop computers, while posing as a student at MIT.

The conman has 'an extensive history of fraud and deception' across the country and has been arrested in California, Montana, Pennsylvania and Indiana, said MacDonnell, and had finished a six-year federal prison sentence in November after he impersonated a military officer to get access to a firearms range on a base.

He had modeled himself on Leonardo DiCapro's con-artist character Frank Abagnale Jr in Steven Spielberg's caper Catch Me If You Can, said MacDonnell, and had great admiration for the film.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors revealed that at one time Wilson even pretended to be an airline executive. In the movie, Abagnale passed himself off as a commercial pilot.
The District Attorney said there was not enough evidence to charge Cosby for this alleged assault - but she tells Daily Mail Online she will fight on

He gave her a drink and she awoke to find him biting her toes with his pants around his ankles

One of his accusers is Chloe Goins, who says she

Bill Cosby will not face criminal charges in two separate alleged sexual assault incidents that

The woman who accuses Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion has vowed to continue his fight against him - despite city criminal charges being ruled out.

The comedian was told yesterday that he will not be prosecuted in Los Angeles for the alleged assault on Chloe Goins in 2008.

Today she told Daily Mail Online she was 'devastated' - but determined to fight him in court, saying: 'I've not given up yet.'

The decision by the district attorney for Los Angeles County was a rare piece of good news for Cosby, who was last week charged with felony sexual assault, and has been accused by more than 50 women of drugging and attacking them.

He was also told he would not be charged with another alleged attack in Los Angeles, an allegation that he assaulted a 17-year-old in 1965.

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Alleged incident: Chloe Goins (above) alleged she met Cosby at the Playboy Mansion, he gave her a drink and she awoke to find him biting her toes with his pants around his ankles

Off the hook: Bill Cosby (above last Wednesday) will not face criminal charges in two separate alleged sexual assault incidents that occurred in Los Angeles

Hug: Bill Cosby was last seen embracing his lawyer Monique Pressley as he boarded his private plane to leave Pennsylvania after being arragined

Goins, who was 18 and a Las Vegas dancer at the time, had alleged that she met Cosby at the Playboy Mansion in the summer of 2008, he gave her a drink and that she awoke to find him biting her toes with his pants around his ankles.

The District Attorney pointed out a number of problems with this claim, starting with the fact that Goins was not certain of the night the assault had happened at the Mansion.

On the date that she had originally said she believed the attack to have taken place, investigators were able to determine that Cosby had been across the country in New York.

Furthermore, there was no footage of either Goins or Cosby outside the party from video studied by the investigators in the case.

A search of the guest lists from other parties that year at the Mansion also showed that Cosby had only been there on one occasion, in February.

But Chloe told Daily Mail Online: 'Bill Cosby sexually assaulted me at the Playboy mansion in 2008. I'm grateful to the LAPD for conducting an investigation, but I am devastated by this decision.

Alleged incident: The first incident alleged occurred in 1965 when the victim was 17-years-old and sounds similar to the story shared by Sunni Wells (above in March with Gloria Allred)

'It has been very difficult for me coming forward and taking this to the police, I have taken a lot of flak by putting myself out there.

'But while I'm disappointed that there won't be any criminal charges, I believe we still have a chance in the civil court. I've not given up yet.'

In a statement Goins' lawyer Spencer Kuvin said the news 'is a disappointment' adding that her legal team is standing by her.

'However, we recognize that the bar for criminal prosecution, which is proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, is extremely high. We nonetheless commend the efforts of the LAPD and the District Attorney's office with respect to their criminal investigation,' he said.

'This criminal investigation did reveal some very important evidence. Most importantly, it uncovered documentary proof that Mr. Cosby was at the Playboy Mansion in early 2008, a time when Ms. Goins was under eighteen years old.'

He added: 'The decision by the District Attorney's office to decline criminal prosecution of Bill Cosby for the sexual assault of Chloe Goins in no way affects Ms. Goins' civil lawsuit against Cosby, which is proceeding.'

lso on Wednesday, it was ruled that former supermodel Janice Dickinson could not depose Cosby in a defamation suit she has filed against the actor following claims he made about her after she accused him of sexual assault earlier this year for an incident that occurred in 1982 in Lake Tahoe.

TMZ reports that Dickinson is being allowed to go forward with her case, but at this time cannot question Cosby.

As for the cases that could have led to charges for Cosby, the first incident alleged occurred in 1965 when the victim was 17-years-old.

That woman, whose story is similar to the one shared by Sunni Wells, claimed that Cosby took her to a jazz club and that after buying her alcoholic beverages took her to a residence and Hollywood and forced her to have sex.

The LA District Attorney wrote; 'Filing the crime of forcible rape is barred by the statute of limitations, and as such, any consideration of criminal filing is prohibited by law.'

Then, investigators were unable to find the friend who accompanied Goins the night of the alleged assault.

They received a number for the woman from Goins, but upon contacting her said; 'The potential witness acknowledged having previously worked at the location described by [Goins] and having previously possessed a cell phone with the same number provided by [Goins].

'The potential witness, however, denied knowing [Goins] or having ever visited the Playboy Mansion.'

That witness then directed investigators to another possible witness, who also denied knowing Goins.

The potential criminal offenses of misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor indecent exposure occurred in 2008, and are 'barred by the statute of limitations' as well according to the report.

Troubles: Cosby, 78, is currently out on $1million bail and had to surrender his passport after being arraigned last week for the alleged sexual assault of Andrea Constand (above last Wednesday)

Charged: Cosby's mugshot (above) taken last week in Pennsylvania

'There is insufficient evidence to prove these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt,' writes the District Attorney.

'We are satisfied that the Los Angeles DA's office fully and fairly evaluated all the facts and evidence, and came to the right conclusion,' said Cosby's lawyer, Chris Tayback, after learning of the District Attorney's decision.

Gloria Allred, who represents the woman who accused Cosby of the 1965 incident, said; 'It is very difficult for a person who alleges that she is a victim to understand that there are arbitrary time periods set by law and that if allegations are not reported within that time period that it will be too late for a prosecutor to pursue them.'

The development came after Cosby's wife Camille successfully managed to delay her deposition in a defamation case being brought against the actor by seven women who have accused him of sexual assault.

A judge last week rejected Camille's motion to avoid being deposed, but that same judge agreed to delay the deposition while her appeal is considered by the court.

The seven women who have filed the suit against Cosby- Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie - have accused him of defaming them in the press by calling them all liars.

But the deposition is now off pending appeal hearings on Cosby's legal team's claim that she should to be subject to it.

Cosby, 78, is currently out on $1million bail and had to surrender his passport after being arraigned in an Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, courtroom last week.

The first preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for January 14, next Thursday.

The criminal complaint alleges that on the night in question Cosby told Constand to take three blue pills that left her feeling weak and then led her to a sofa where the assault took place.

When she woke up the next morning he gave her a muffin and sent her home.

The charge against him is punishable by five to 10 years behind bars and a $25,000 fine.

Steele said at the press conference on Wednesday that Cosby made two failed sexual advances towards Constand before the incident now in question.

The affidavit of probable cause describes both incidents, as well as the night of the alleged assault.
She said her tumour slowed her down and eventually left her bedridden

Authorities have reportedly told her she is too heavy to be moved in an ambulance

A morbidly obese Argentinian woman with an eight-stone tumour in her leg has made a public plea for her life after being told she is too heavy to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Isabella Amaral, who weighs 54 stone, says her weight gain spiralled becuase of the gigantic lymphoma in her left leg, which needs urgent treatment.

The 30-year-old depends entirely on her friends and family for support and urgently has accused medics of waiting for her to die as she is being refused transport to hospital.

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Desperate: Isabella Amaral, 30, is desperate to be taken to hospital so that the eight-stone tumour in her left leg can be analysed and treated. She says the tumour has immobilised her and caused her weight gain

Amaral told local media: 'They say it is impossible to move somebody of my weight in an ambulance, but I know it's a lie because they have done it with other people in my condition, they are leaving me to die!'

Isabella is unable to move from the bed and constantly needs care from her mother, two brothers and family friends, who help to bathe, feed her and keep her company day and night.

However it is understood that the government of Rosario in the Argentine province of Santa Fe, are involved in a dispute and are impeding her from being taken to hospital in an ambulance.

According to Argentinian news site Cronica, Isabella went to hospital repeatedly when she was mobile, but they did not operate on the tumour in time.

She says she now needs specialist care that she can't afford to pay for in a private clinic and her hometown of Rosario doesn't have the resources to pay for the treatment she needs.

'I have no life. I breathe because the air is free, I need to be transferred immediately', she added in an interview.

Isabella said that nobody wants to take the responsibility for operating on her because she 'frightens the doctors and they don't want to see me.'

She said that her tumour slowed her down and eventually immobilised her and that her weight had spiralled at the same time.

Bedridden: Amaral is completely dependent on her family and friends. She wants to be move

'I don't want to be evaluated over the phone or from a photo,' the distraught woman added.

'I don't believe in the virtual stuff. The doctors who come to my house get scared, they don't even want to look at me, but I want to live, I need my health.'

The distraught young woman has told her story to the media in a bid to get the local government to change their minds and send an ambulance so she can be seen to.
Anthony Constantinou, 34, has been accused of six counts of sexual assault at his financial group Capital World Markets in Heron Tower

A playboy City boss, accused of 'Wolf of Wall Street' style sex attacks, drunkenly molested a female colleague in the stockroom after making 1million profit on the trading floor, a court heard.

Anthony Constantinou, 34, plied the woman with vodka and orange at a boozy celebration in his office while nightclub-style music blared in the background, it is said.

The businessman kissed her twice despite having recently wed, then dragged the woman into the stockroom to grope her, the court heard.

Fighting back tears, the woman described the alleged attack on the 21st floor of Heron Tower at Constantinou's financial group Capital World Markets (CWM).

'He put me against the shelving unit, stood in front of me and started kissing me again', she said.

'His hands were everywhere.

'I just felt completely numb, I couldn't feel my body. I was just scared.'

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he then touched her inappropriately and exposed himself before she fled.

'When I looked down I noticed my tights were on my knees and he had pulled my dress up to my waist and my underwear was laying in my tights,' she said.

'He was still kissing me, I looked down and his hand was on me.

'Then it was all really quick, in seconds really, I looked down and noticed his hand was there.

'I just freaked out, I just kind of said "get off" and I walked out.'

She said Constantinou had been drinking since the early afternoon, walking around the 21st-floor office sipping from a tumbler of alcohol.

The woman said Constantinou called the after-work drink party after 'the dealers made a 1million profit'.

She said when she pushed Constantinou away, she told him: 'If my dad was here he would kill you'.

'I felt so upset and a bit disgusting, I just couldn't believe I was in this situation.'

Constantinou is accused of sexually assaulting the woman three times during the course of the evening, on October 29, 2014.

The Capital World Markets boss is said to have made the alleged attacks recently after he wed his partner (left)

She said Constantinou first cornered her in the ladies' toilets when she emerged from a cubicle.

'When I came out Anthony was standing there, almost leaning on the sinks in front of my cubicle', she said.

'I didn't expect to see him there. He just grabbed my face and started kissing me.

'I just didn't expect it, I was like 'what are you doing? get off' and I pushed him off, so he stopped.'

Asked why she returned to the party after the first attack, she replied tearfully: 'The million dollar question, I don't know.'

She told the court Constantinou then dragged her out of the office and pinned her against a wall in the foyer of the office, kissing her again and groping her.

'He pulled me by the arm and pulled me behind the wall and started kissing me again', she said.

'I just was like "what are you doing?" and he said: "I didn't think I did but I fancy you".

'I said you are married, I'm not fine with this.'

Constantinou is alleged to have sexually assaulted one employee after the company made a 1million profit

She said she went back to the party and told one of her bosses about the attacks, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

The woman, who had only been with the firm for a few months, said she did not drink alcohol regularly, but was plied with vodka and orange and felt obliged to drink it.

'It was all drink, drink. I'm not a big drinker and never have been', she said.

'If he gives you a drink and you don't drink it, it's offensive.'

She told the court Constantinou had brought her a bottle of Peroni before the party began but she had poured it into a McDonald's cup instead of drinking it.

'If you didn't drink it, you knew there would have been an issue', she said.

'The whole time I was there it was a really tough environment, constant brainwashing.

'If you didn't drink when he gave you a drink, he would take it offensively.'

She said Constantinou threw parties in his office once a week, but they could happen every day if the company was doing well.

'Nobody really wanted to be there', she told the court.

'Whenever there was a social event, it wasn't something I was that interested in.

'But if you didn't socialise with him, there would be an issue.'

'I just felt like he hated me': Consranrinou's accuser alleges she was always 'walking on eggshells' at work

The business man is also accused of kissing a woman and force feeding her spicy wasabi at a meeting

She told the court working for CWM was her first job in the city, but described it as 'a really volatile environment'.

'You were always walking on eggshells and when I first started I hated it there', she said.

Asked about Constantinou, she said: 'I had to say 'good morning' to him. If you didn't he would belittle you in front of everybody.

'I just felt like he hated me. He just completely ignored that I was there, he was really rude.'

The alleged victim said there was always an 'atmosphere' in the office, adding: 'He used to drink a lot during the day and I didn't like that.'

She described one incident, about a week into her employment, when she was asked to deliver some papers to the board room not knowing that Constantinou was in a meeting with clients.

'He slammed the door in my face so much so that the suited and booted businessmen were sniggering and I fell on the floor outside,' she told jurors.

'He came into the office I was in and went crazy: "Don't ever come into a room I'm having a meeting in. Who the f*** do you think you are?"'

She told the court that all the staff at CWM chatted over a WhatsApp messaging group, but if anyone made a joke that Constantinou did not like they could be fired.

'It was really mentally exhausting and tiring', she added.

She said Constantinou once came into her office and handed out 2,000 in cash to her and two colleagues.

'He basically said you've done a good job and gave us 2,000 each in cash,' she said.

Constantinou is accused of kissing and groping the bottom of a colleague on October 6, 2014.

He is also accused of kissing a woman after an explosive business meeting that culminated in him force feeding her spicy wasabi.

'She described the atmosphere that day as very Wolf of Wall Street,' said prosecutor Eloise Marshall.

Constantinou, of Hampstead, north London, denies six counts of sexual assault.
A married man was so desperate to avoid paying child maintenance to his ex-mistress that he sent his brother to take a DNA test in his place.

Vernon Poppleton, 33, from Glasgow, had an affair in 2009 and his daughter, now six, was born in September that year.

When Poppleton disputed he was the father, his mistress contacted the Child Support Agency (CSA) and started the procedures to track him down.

Poppleton, a former soldier, was asked to take a DNA test but, determined to keep the child a secret from his then wife, sent his brother to provide a sample instead.

Deception: Vernon Poppleton, left outside court today, asked his brother, Victor, right, to take the DNA test

Poppleton narrowly avoided jail and was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to fraud at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Lindsay Wood told him: 'What you did here and what you got your brother to do was so wrong on so many levels.

'Not only have you distressed your then wife, you have also distressed the mother of your daughter and done a complete disservice to your daughter.

'You were doing this so that your wife didn't find out. This is a conniving act on your part, to present someone else's DNA - but you were found out and rightly so.'

Procurator fiscal depute Alan McArthur told the court that the Poppleton was later contacted by the mother through the CSA but that he 'disputed responsibility'.

He was then invited to have a DNA test at Glasgow's Pollok Health Centre.

Poppleton was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court

But it was his brother, Victor, who attended the clinic in his place.

Their deception was uncovered when passport photos Victor had provided when giving his sample were shown to the mother, who confirmed it was the wrong man.

The police then became involved in the case and Poppleton was charged with committing fraud by attempting to get immunity from paying child maintenance.

Lawyer Neil Kilcoyne, representing Poppleton, told the court his client is repaying money owed to the CSA and giving money to his daughter's mother.

He said his client served in the armed forces and suffered post traumatic stress when he returned from Afghanistan in 2010.
She is breathing on her own after being removed from a

Doctors at a Florida hospital used a new $20 Google device to help save a baby's life after she was born with a heart and lung defect in August.

Teegan Lexcen was born in August with only one lung and almost all of the left half of her heart was missing.

Doctors in Minnesota where the baby was born told her parents, Cassidy and Chad Lexcen, that there was nothing they could do to help her and that she would likely die, CNN reported.

They sent her home with medications to make her as comfortable as possible along with a hospice nurse.

Teegan Lexcen was born in August with only one lung and almost all of the left half of her heart was missing

Doctors in Minnesota where the baby was born told her parents, Cassidy and Chad Lexcen, that there was nothing they could do to help her and that she would likely die

They sent her home with medications to make her as comfortable as possible along with a hospice nurse

But two months later, the baby girl was still alive and her parents began to wonder if the doctors were right. So they searched for a second opinion.

Chad's sister sent him an article that listed the 20 most innovative pediatric surgeons alive today, and named inside was Dr Redmond Burke, the chief of cardiovascular surgery at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.

His sister reached out to the doctor who was listed at number three on the list and heard back immediately regarding Teegan's dire situation.

The family sent images and her medical records to them after his nurse requested.

The Lexcens knew time was of the essence, since the baby's twin sister, Riley, was growing steady while Teegan stayed tiny.

'I felt like we were racing against the clock,' Cassidy told CNN.

But two months later, the baby girl was still alive and her parents began to wonder if the doctors were right. So they searched for a second opinion

Chad's sister sent him an article that listed the 20 most innovative pediatric surgeons alive today, and named inside was Dr Redmond Burke, the chief of cardiovascular surgery at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami. Above Burke is pictured center, Dr Juan Carlos Muniz is pictured left, and Dr John Rhodes is pictured right

Burke along with a team of 30 cardiac doctors and nurses at the hospital meet three times a week to discuss the treatment options for their patients and for children who could potentially become their patients.

'The arc of people's lives get determined in these conferences,' Burke told CNN.

The group looked at pictures of Teegan's heart in November, and had never seen or came in contact with a child who was missing a lung and nearly half a heart.

While discussing possible surgeries to help her, there was no definitive plan establised.

Burke explained to CNN that he asked Dr Juan Carlos Muniz, a pediatric cardiologist who specializes in imaging, to make a 3-D model of Teegan's heart, because it has helped in previous complicated cases in the past.

However, Muniz told Burke a few hours later that their 3-D printer was broken.

Muniz was forced to come up with an option that worked better. He chatted with Dr David Ezon, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, about using virtual reality for children's hearts.

Muniz purchased a Google Cardboard (above) and by using an app called Sketchfab, he downloaded images of Teegan's heart onto his iPhone. They used the virtual reality imaging device to effectively plan Teegan's complex pediatric procedure

While looking through the Google Cardboard, Burke (above) could visualize what he could do to fix Teegan's heart

That discussion prompted Muniz to purchase a Google Cardboard. By using an app called Sketchfab, Muniz downloaded images of Teegan's heart onto his iPhone and showed them to Burke.

With the goggles, it was possible for the doctors to move around and see the heart from every angle, nearly allowing them an opportunity to be inside the heart checking out its structure.

While looking through the Google Cardboard, Burke could visualize what he could do to fix Teegan's heart.

The four-month-old baby whose heart wasn't normal, prompted the doctors to modify how they would get to her heart during a seven-hour long December 10 surgery in Miami at the hospital.

Her heart was far to the left side of her chest and Burke feared that he would have to make a midline incision plus another cut going from the center of her chest all the way to the left side.

'It's massive trauma to a baby -- it's just horrendous,' Burke told CNN.

He feared that she wouldn't survive the surgery.

Thanks to the Google Cardboard, the virtual images it produced of Teegan's heart (above) allowed Burke to figure out a way how to successfully cut open her chest to get to her heart

Burke invented a new surgery using the device so that he could successfully operate on her heart (above)

'She was dwindling away. She'd been slowly dying for three months,' he added to CNN.

Thanks to the Google Cardboard, the virtual images it produced allowed Burke to figure out a way to do the typical normal midline incision and spare her the additional cut.

Burke explained to CNN that his use with the device didn't just stop there.

Teegan has only a right ventricle and a normal heart has two - the right one supplies blood to the lungs and the left one supplies blood to the rest of the body.

For her, the right had been doing the work of both and it couldn't last for much longer.

'The right ventricle is the wimpier, weaker ventricle, and if ventricles could talk, it would say 'I can't do this. I'm not designed for this job,'' Burke told CNN.

The typical surgeries on children with only one ventricle wouldn't work on Teegan because of her defects and anatomy, Burke added.

But using Google Cardboard, Burke invented a new surgery for her. He rerouted her one ventricle so that it could do the work of both thanks to the images that the device produced.

Burke spent the night before Teegan's surgery laying in bed where he mapped out the precise steps that he would take in the operating room.

It was more than critical because every minute wasted during surgery trying to establish a plan would put her at higher risk for heart and brain damage.

The next day during surgery, Burke was happy that Teegan's heart was the exact same as the image that the Google Cardboard had produced.

'It was mind-blowing,' Cassidy told CNN. 'To see this little cardboard box and a phone, and to think this is what saved our daughter's life.'

Four weeks after the successful surgery, Teegan was taken off a ventilator and is breathing on her own.

She is expected to go home within the next two weeks and make a full recovery.
The biggest repository of documents and objects relating to the Nazi concentration camps is now hoping to return many of the artefacts to families of the dead by posting images from its archive online.

The International Tracing Service (or ITS) of the Red Cross in Bad Arolsen uploaded the first 50,000 documents this week, revealing objects from mankind's darkest period.

The suicide note of a Dutch resistance fighter was finally passed on to his sons this November, 72 years after he ended his life.

The biggest repository of documents and objects relating to the Nazi concentration camps has released the first 50,000 documents online. Pictured, a gold ring, with the initials L.B. engraved inside

Preserved in time: The International Tracing Service is hoping to return many of its objects to family members, who can access the archive using the name and birth date of a Holocaust victim. Pictured left, a wristwatch with a rusty clasp and 'Montauk' written on the face, and right, a pocket watch that stopped at 1.14

Other objects include cards, ration books and passports, which tell an incomplete story of the millions who were murdered by the Nazis. Pictured, a necklace with a blue elephant pendan, tied on with a piece of brown yarn, along with another bauble

Other objects include weddings rings, cards, ration books, passports, and a bank savings book showing a balance of 126 Reichsmarks.

These artefacts tell the story of those uprooted in Europe during the Second World War- and the millions among them who were murdered by the Nazis.

The archive, which is organised by the name and birth date of each Nazi victim, also includes a touching letter from a husband to his wife as he boarded a train to Auschwitz.

A spokesperson from the ITS said: We must keep alive the memory, because the archive is the witness of what can happen if we do not intervene.

The ITS, which will continue to expand the online archive in the coming years, handles more than 1,000 requests every month from relatives and survivors seeking answers.

It guards more than 30 million documents, photos and possessions in its facilities in Bad Arolsen, in northeastern Germany.

What appears to be gold around a set of false teeth was listed under Georg Edmaier in the archives

This bulky ring with an inset purple gemstone is among the 30 million documents, photos and posessions in the archives at Bad Arolsen in northeast Germany

A spokesperson from the ITS said: We must keep alive the memory, because the archive is the witness of what can happen if we do not intervene

The objects, like this watch (left), and a fountain pen (right), tell an incomplete story of the victims of the Holocaust
State told a liberal group it had no information about Hillary's emails in 2013 even though many senior officials were emailing her on her private server

177 of the 240 FOIA requests lodged for information about Hillary while she was secretary of state are still pending three years after she left office

Critical report from State Department's own internal watchdog details abuse of Freedom of Information Act while Clinton ran the agency

The U.S. State Department told a watchdog group in 2013 that it didn't have any information about former secretary Hillary Clinton's emails, even though 'dozens of senior officials' knew she was using a private server for all her electronic communications.

A report released Thursday by the agency's inspector general  a powerful and impartial internal investigator  described a cavalier culture about transparency inside Clinton's agency, saying that 177 requests for documents about Clinton are still 'pending' nearly three years after she left office.

The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to respond to requests for information within 20 business days.

The botched FOIA request, filed in December 2012 just before Clinton left office, specifically asked whether or not Clinton used an email account other than one hosted at state.gov.

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YOU CAN'T HAVE IT: Hillary Clinton's emails were off-limits to FOIA officials at State even though dozens of senior officials knew she had a private email account, according to a scathing report from the agency's own internal investigator

WE CAN'T GET TO IT: Clinton-related FOIA requests dwarf those tied to other secretaries of state, and the agency hasn't gotten around to answering the vast majority of them

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal group, was reacting to news that former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson had used an alias  'Richard Windsor'  to send and receive emails in a way that couldn't be tied to her when FOIA requests came in.

In May 2013 the State Department responded to CREW's request, saying it had 'no records' related to what the group asked for.

By then, Clinton had spent four years emailing department employees from her private home-brew account, but had never turned the messages over to the State Department.

That CREW request was filed in December 2012, just before Mrs. Clinton left office, and specifically asked whether Mrs. Clinton used anon-State.gov email account for government business.

'At the time the request was received, dozens of senior officials throughout the Department, including members of Secretary Clinton's immediate staff, exchanged emails with the Secretary using the personal accounts she used to conduct official business,' the Office of Inspector General concluded.

'OIG found evidence that the Secretary's then-Chief of Staff was informed of the request at the time it was received and subsequently tasked staff to follow up. However, OIG found no evidence to indicate that any of these senior officials reviewed the search results or approved the response to CREW.'

The employees responsible for searching the State Department's records, the report says, never 'searched any email records, even though the request clearly encompassed emails.'

State has received an unprecedented crush of requests for Clinton-related documents  240 in all, a number bigger than those related to secretaries Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and John Kerry combined.

But the inspector general found that the agency cut the number of people processing those FOIA requests as they poured in.

Clinton's emails sat on her private server for years until the State Department asked her in 2014 to turn them over. She deleted more than half of the messages, calling them 'personal' in nature, before complying.

In the meantime, however, her emails were out of reach when federal employees searched for records that might satisfy FOIA requests.

Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said Thursday in a statement that 'the FOIA process at the State Department is broken, and has been for several years.'

The agency's breakdowns in performance, he said, 'are particularly troubling in light of the reports revelation that former Secretary Clintons exclusive use of a non-government email server was known to senior staff at the department, but unknown to the FOIA office, thus causing the FOIA office to provide false information about the Secretarys use of email.'

The FOIA law, first enacted in 1966 before the advent of personal computers, 'neither authorizes nor requires agencies to search for Federal records in personal email accounts maintained on private servers or through commercial providers,' the inspector general report explained.

State Department employees have 'no way to independently locate Federal records from such accounts unless employees take steps to preserve official emails in Department recordkeeping systems.'

Current law requires State Department employees to forward work-related personal emails to their official accounts within 20 days of sending or receiving them, so the agency has a record of them.

But Clinton never had a 'state.gov' account where her emails could be sent.

A federal judge ultimately ordered the State Department to collect her emails, vet them for classified material, and release them on a monthly schedule.

So far intelligence officials have had to block the release of portions of more than 1,200 emails because they contained classified information.
Midwife Kirsteen Stewart has been found guilty of deliberately drugging 15 expectant mothers, leaving 13 of them needed life-saving caesarean sections

A midwife has been found guilty of deliberately drugging 15 pregnant women in an apparent mid to make her work easier, leaving most needing caesarean sections to save the lives of their babies.

Kirsteen Stewart, from Newmachar, Aberdeen, administered expectant mothers with a labour-inducing drug which resulted in some babies' heartbeats dropping as low as 50bpm.

A nursing watchdog said the only plausible explanation was a desire to speed up labour in order to 'serve the midwife's own interests'.

Some 13 of the mothers had to undergo an emergency caesarean section after Ms Stewart gave them Syntocinon, which causes the muscles in the uterus to contract.

Although no babies were killed by her actions, two had to be resuscitated at birth and one had to spend time in a neonatal unit.

'The only logical explanation that has been put forward as to why the registrant might have behaved in this way...is a desire to speed up the women's time in labour in order to serve the registrant's own interests,' said case presenter Michael Collis, for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), at today's hearing.

'It is submitted by the NMC that acting in such a manner, for one's own purpose...undoubtedly represents a serious departure from the acceptable standards of a registered midwife.

'By behaving in such a way, and apparently prioritising her own interests over the interests of her patients and their unborn children, the registrant has breached one of the fundamental tenets of the profession [which] has undoubtedly been brought into disrepute by the registrant's conduct.'

The NMC is considering removing Ms Stewart from the register - meaning she will never be able to enter the profession again.

Police investigated Ms Stewart in 2010 but no criminal proceedings were brought. The Crown Office said today that they reserved the right to reopen the investigation if further evidence became available.

The panel found Ms Stewart guilty of administering a 'bolus' - intravenous - dose of the drug to 15 of the 20 mothers in question.

In one instance, two different mothers were given the drug on the same day - 23 November 2009 - resulting in both of their foetuses experiencing a reduced heart rate.

One woman, referred to in documents as Mother O, had to have a Category 1 caesarean section, where there is an immediate threat to life of the mother or foetus.

All cases took place between 3 November 2007 and 13 March 2010 at the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital where Ms Stewart worked.

The 48-year-old was not present nor represented throughout the hearing, which has lasted several weeks, but she claimed during an early investigation the cases were simply 'bad luck'.

Dr Jean Turner, a patron at the Scotland Patients Association, said NHS Grampian needed to examine whether they should have spotted Ms Stewart's actions sooner.

She said: 'It does seem to have taken an inordinate length of time to get something done. As a patient you would expect that this wouldn't happen as there should be communications between clinicians. Whatever system they had in place - it needs to be looked at.'

She added: 'As a mother it would worry you sick that a member of the health profession would deliberately go out of their way to harm you.

As a mother it would worry you sick that a member of the health profession would deliberately go out of their way to harm you. Dr Jean Turner, a patron at the Scotland Patients Association

'It's a miracle that none of the babies were killed. I believe the other clinicians should be congratulated for being so vigilant and helping these mothers give birth.'

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: 'We can confirm that the Procurator Fiscal at Aberdeen received a report concerning a then 45-year old female in connection with alleged incidents occurring between April 2001 and March 2010 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

'Following an extensive investigation by Grampian Police, and after full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available evidence, independent Crown Counsel instructed that there should be no proceedings at this time.

'The Crown reserve the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.'

Giving evidence at the hearing last month, a consultant told the panel that she had never seen such drastic and unexplained drops in babies' heartbeats.

The incidents happened when Ms Stewart was at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital between 2007 and 2010

Dr Tara Fairley told how one baby's heart rate fell in under four minutes from a healthy 110bmp to a critical 66bmp.

This drop is known as bradycardia - a foetal heart rate of fewer than 100 beats per minute which can result in distress, jaundice and even death.

Dr Fairley said an intravenous dose of a labour-inducing drug was the only logical explanation. The drug, Syntocinon, could only be prescribed by a doctor, she added.

She added: 'If too much is administered then it would make the uterus contract very firmly, which deprives the baby of oxygen. This means that they may require emergency delivery, and they could suffer from a brain injury, cerebral palsy or even death.'

The NMC admitted it had no direct evidence of Ms Stewart giving Syntocinon to the mothers. It said its case depended on the 'remarkable trend of women who experienced problems' following her involvement.

The NMC panel must now decide what sanction to place on Ms Stewart, which can range from a warning to being removed from the register.

The panel will decide what sanction to impose on Friday.

Panel chairwoman Anne Booth said: 'The mothers were in a vulnerable position and had placed their trust in Mrs Stewart as their midwife. The panel was satisfied that she performed a deliberate act which increased the risk of serious harm to mothers and their unborn babies, the consequences of which could have been life-threatening.'
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He wont be greeting his adoring fans until later this month  but Bei Bei is already practising his wave.

The four-month-old giant panda cub will step out to meet thousands of fans for the first time on January 16.

Many admirers watched live via Panda Cam as the tiny cub was born  pink, hairless and blind  at the Smithsonians National Zoo on August 22.

And as he underwent a physical examination on Thursday, Bei Bei, now at a robust 17.5 pounds, proved he has learned a few tricks ahead of his public debut.

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Hello! Animal keeper Nicole MacCorkle holds Bei Bei as he waves for the camera at the Smithsonian's National Zoo on Thursday

The new star of the Washington zoo is now capable of crawling and sometimes even walking on his own.

And hes also been fussed over by two first ladies  Michelle Obama and her Chinese counterpart Pen Liyuan  during a state visit to the capital in September.

Bei Bei  who was a twin, but his brother did not survive  clearly loves being the center of attention and entertained reporters and photographers during his media debut last month.

Compared to his older sister Bao Bao, Bei Bei is very vocal and a little demanding, said Juan Rodriguez, one of his handlers. He definitely has a different personality.

And soon, visitors will be able to press their noses to the windows of zoos soundproof giant panda enclosure, which has been closed to the public since Bei Beis birth.

Having fun: Bei Bei, the new star of the Washington zoo, is now capable of crawling and sometimes even walking on his own

Getting ready to meet you: Bei Bei underwent a physical examination on Thursday ahead of his public debut at the zoo on January 16

Brandie Smith, an associate director at the zoo, said: Were ready. We know that thousands of people will want to come and see Bei Bei.

Born weighing just four ounces, Bei Bei gained about a pound a week to reach his current weight.

He's bigger than either of his siblings were at the same age - and he is also hitting every developmental milestone.

And keepers at the sprawling zoo, which offers free admission, have been preparing him gradually for his introduction to the public stage.

We are getting sort of smaller groups coming to the building to get him used to hearing the noise, added Rodriguez.

This included zoo employees and journalists who were invited to see Bei Bei on December 16.

And if the youngest giant panda at the National Zoo was stressed out about appearing in front of crowds for the first time, he didnt showing it.

Under, under bright television lights with cameras clicking away, he quickly fell asleep on an examination table, leaving a small puddle of drool on the tablecloth.

Ready for his close-up! Bei Bei clealry loves being the center of attention and compared to his older sister Bao Bao, he is very vocal and a little demanding,' say his handlers

Panda biologist Laurie Thompson explained that before he went in front of the cameras, Bei Bei was playing with a piece of bamboo and trying to walk. And just like a newborn human, he tires easily.

I'm very proud of him, Thompson said. Obviously, he wasn't too bothered by all the people here. This is just the beginning for him as far as people go.

Throughout his nearly 30-minute appearance, keepers and veterinarians stroked Bei Bei's thick, bristly fur, and he protested only when they tried to open his mouth to count his teeth.

The hands-on approach the zoo takes with Bei Bei is different from the way most animals are treated there.

It's not just because he's cute. Because his ability to reproduce is critically important to the survival of his species, Bei Bei will have to interact with humans frequently.

He's in for a life that's very hands-on, especially when he goes back to China, said Smith. Our goal is to make him very comfortable in this kind of situation.

Smile for the camera! Bei Bei, the newest panda cub at the National Zoo, is gaining a pound a week and weighs 17.5 pounds

Newborn: Bei Bei (pictured in September last year) weighed just four ounces when he was born in August last year

Tiny: Pandas are famously helpless at birth  pink, hairless, blind and about the size of a stick of butter

For the zoo staff, the tension and sleepless nights that accompanied Bei Bei's first weeks of life have been replaced by the joy of watching him grow.

We have such an incredible opportunity to observe these beautiful endangered species as they grow and develop, Thompson added. Every day is a treasure.

Bei Bei will make a few appearances before selected audiences ahead of his public debut on January 16.

That's also around the time Bei Bei will be sure enough on his feet that he'll get to venture into the outdoor panda habitat for the first time.

He's one of four pandas at the National Zoo, along with his mother, Mei Xiang, his father, Tian Tian, and his two-year-old sister, Bao Bao.

The pandas belong to China, and after they turn four, Bao Bao and then Bei Bei will return to China and join the breeding program there.

Family time: Giant panda Mei Xiang (left) and her cub Bei Bei, play together inside their enclosure in December last year

Shy: Bei Bei (pictured inside his enclosure today) will make a few appearances before selected audiences ahead of his public debut

Growing fast: Bei Bei, the National Zoo's newest panda, will be making his public debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo on January 16

Winning: Bei Bei is bigger than either of his siblings were at the same age - and he is also hitting every developmental milestone

Their parents will remain in Washington at least until 2020 under a recently renewed agreement. Under that accord, the zoo pays $500,000 a year to support conservation efforts in China.

Giant pandas are endangered, with roughly 1,800 living in the wild and 350 in captivity, which means Bei Bei and his sister are being counted on to help perpetuate the species.

Zoo staff hope that by the time Bei Bei leaves, they'll have another young panda to care for. Mei Xiang, who has given birth to three surviving cubs, is scheduled to be artificially inseminated again in 2017.

Pandas have been the star attraction at the National Zoo since China gave the United States a pair of the bears after President Richard Nixon's historic visit in 1972.

Efforts to breed them in captivity were long met with frustration, but the survival rate has improved dramatically in the past 20 years.

Tired: Keepers were expecting Bei Bei to squawk and squirm during his media debut in December, but he quickly fell asleep

Growing up: By January, Bei Bei will be sure enough on his feet that he'll get to venture into the outdoor panda habitat for the first time

Playful: Animal keeper Stacey Tabellario holds Bei Bei as he is presented to members of the media at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

Loving his audience: Throughout his nearly 30-minute appearance before reporters and photographers last month, keepers and veterinarians stroked Bei Bei's thick, bristly fur
A Leeds bar which accidentally served a film director a glass of neat caustic soda instead of beer has been fined 25,000.

Spaniard David Caminal, from Barcelona, wanted to sample a Yorkshire pale ale while visiting England on assignment for a film.

But his trip ended in disaster when he was inadvertently poured a glass of cleaning fluid from the pipes at the New Conservatory Bar, in Leeds city centre.

The soda - sodium hydroxide - burned through his oesophagus, a court heard today, leaving him fighting for his life.

Disaster: Spanish film director David Caminal, from Barcelona, only wanted to try a pint of Yorkshire pale ale, but was instead served a glass of caustic soda at the New Conservatory Bar, in Leeds city centre

Heartbroken: Company director and bar manager Nicholas Bird, 31, is said to be 'devastated' by the accident, and was fined 25,000 at Leeds Magistrates Court

'What started out as a day off, sightseeing in Leeds ended in tragedy for Mr Caminal,' said Councillor Mark Dobson, executive member for environmental protection and community safety, after the case.

'When taken on their own, the events that led to this incident seem minor but the knock-on effects had a catastrophic outcome leaving us in no doubt that we had to prosecute.'

The 48-year-old collapsed writhing in agony on the floor of the bar, and was taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious burns to his mouth, throat, oesophagus and stomach.

I pushed back the stool, holding myself on the bar and trying to spit and vomit, said Sr Caminel, reported Spanish news site El Periodico.

He had to be placed in a medically induced coma and was flown back to Spain by air ambulance, where he later had his oesophagus removed and replaced.

What started out as a day off, sightseeing in Leeds ended in tragedy for Mr Caminal. Councillor Mark Dobson

He almost died and is still unable to eat or drink properly, and has had to give up his career as a result of his injuries.

Company director and bar manager Nicholas Bird, 31, pleaded guilty himself and on behalf of his company TNC Cafe Bars and Music Ltd to two counts of failing to discharge a duty of care under health and safety legislation, at the hearing today.

A remorseful Mr Bird was personally fined 20,000 and TNC was fined 5,000 at Leeds Magistrates Court. He must also pay costs of 17,859 and a victim surcharge of 120.

The court heard how a catalogue of errors had led to Sr Caminal being given the cleaning fluid on July 19 last year.

Staff at the bar were cleaning the line of the Sunbeam beer, of which Sr Caminal had requested a taster.

The 48-year-old collapsed writhing in agony on the floor of the bar (pictured), and was taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious burns to his mouth, throat, oesophagus and stomach

During cleaning the pump badge is usually turned inwards so staff know not to serve the beer, but this time a new member of staff - who was unaware of the practice - turned it back outwards thinking it was a mistake.

The clear cleaning fluid picks up yeast residues from the pipes, turning it the straw-colour of a pale ale.

Mr Green said: 'As the liquid came out of the pump, it appeared to be the right colour for that particular ale, and as lively as would be expected.

'Sr Caminal began drinking, and immediately started gasping and saying his mouth was burning.'

Bird, of Leeds, West Yorks, was supported in court by his parents and expressed sorrow and remorse for the lapse in health and safety.

Mitigating Peter Smith said it was not a deliberate breach of the rules nor was it done for profit.

'He remains devastated by what took place,' said Mr Smith.

Bird, who has 11 years' experience and employees around 20 staff at the New Conservatory has now changed the beer line cleaning system.

District Judge David Kitson, sentencing, said the separate errors in the line cleaning routine were a set of consequences 'waiting to happen' which had left Sr Caminal suffering mental and physical scars for life.
Relieved: Miss Malaysia 1969 Pauline Chai has finally been granted a divorce in England after a three-year legal battle with husband of 43 years Khoo Kay Peng, non-executive chairman of Laura Ashley Holdings. The will now split his estimated 440million fortune

A former Miss Malaysia has won her three-year battle to divorce her Laura Ashley boss in the UK meaning his 440million fortune will be split in this country.

Judge Stephen Alderson today granted a decree nisi following an application by former beauty queen Pauline Chai - estranged wife of businessman Khoo Kay Peng - at a hearing in the Central Family Court in London.

The hearing was just the latest stage in lengthy family court litigation between Ms Chai and Dr Khoo, who is worth an estimated 440million.

They have been fighting over money for more than two years following the breakdown of their 43-year marriage, amassing a combined total of 5million in legal fees.

The pair, who both come from Malaysia and have five children together, cannot agree whether decisions about who should get what ought to be made in English or Malaysian courts.

Ms Chai, who was Miss Malaysia 1969, wants a judge in England to make decisions.

Dr Khoo, 77, is the non-executive chairman of Laura Ashley Holdings and wants decisions made in Malaysia - and litigation has been launched in both countries.

Neither Ms Chai nor Dr Khoo were at the hearing - although Ms Chai was represented by lawyers.

In December Ms Chai, claimed victory in the fight over jurisdiction following a ruling by three Court of Appeal judges in London.

He is based in Malaysia, says the marital home was in Malaysia and says a judge in Malaysia should make decisions about the division of money.

And he says Ms Chai wants to fight in England because an English court will give her a more generous award.

She says they moved their home to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, before separating and therefore decisions should be made in an English court.

And she says Dr Khoo is making a 'desperate attempt' to avoid fighting over money in an English court.

Judges also heard that Ms Chai has run up bills totalling about 3.5 million and Dr Khoo's legal bills total around 1.5 million.

Several High Court judges have analysed the pair's dispute over jurisdiction in London.

Lawyer Ayesha Vardag, who represents Ms Chai, commented last month that an appeal court decision made in her favour in December confirmed that England was the 'proper place' for the fight to be staged.

Embattled: Dr Khoo Kay Peng and Pauline Chai cannot agree whether decisions about who should get what ought to be made in English or Malaysian courts

Ayesha Vardag, president of law firm Vardags, who represent Ms Chai, said: 'Today's decree nisi is the end of a long battle for our client. It confirms she can have her divorce in England. It could have happened long ago had Dr Khoo not fought the jurisdiction of the English courts for nearly three years over two hemispheres.

'The Court of Appeal's finding that Mr Justice Bodey's original judgment was 'unimpeachable' has finally put a stop to that.

'We can now get on with the financial proceedings and push hard to bring this dispute to an end, as Ms Chai so dearly wishes.'
The girlfriend of a drug dealer narrowly avoided following her partner to prison after taking a photograph of him sitting in the dock.

Mum-of-three Rebecca Towner was spotted taking a 'cellfie' with her partner, Jamie King, from the public gallery of a crown court.

Minutes after King was given a three and a half year sentence for admitting to four drug charges, she appeared before the same judge.

Mum-of-three Rebecca Towner (left) took a photograph of her drug dealer boyfriend, Jamie King (right) from the public gallery of Canterbury Crown Court

Despite seeing notices posted throughout Canterbury Crown Court warning against photographs, Ms Towner said she had good intentions.

After receiving a dressing down from Judge James O'Mahony, Ms Towner said she took the picture of King to show their children.

She said: 'If I am really honest, I saw Jamie and he looked so well.

'The children think he's at work and I thought I would show the children.

'I would say, 'See Daddy's fine at work', that's honest.'

Ms Towner (pictured) faced the same judge that had sentenced Mr King to 42 months for four drug charges, but was not punished after she explained she was taking the photograph to show her children

Taking photographs in court is a breach of the 1925 Criminal Justice Act, but Judge O'Mahony said he would take no further action and warned her 'not to let this happen again'.

He added that it would have been much better to have taken a photograph 'when he comes out and at a time which would be much happier circumstances'.

The mobile phone was then returned to her before security staff instructed her to delete the image before she left the building yesterday.

Earlier, King, 35, of Margate, Kent, who was already in prison for shoplifting offences, received a 42-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to four drugs charges.

This incident came just two months after a shopkeeper was jailed for 11 days after taking a selfie of himself on jury duty at the same court.
An Australian man has been arrested in Disney World Florida's hotel resort after a violent spat over a broken Hello Kitty toothbrush.

Setia Kurniawan, 49, and his wife Vonni Gustimego, 44, were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas when staff mistakenly delivered 14 bags of someone else's luggage to their room.

When a maid went back to retrieve the luggage, Mr Kurniawan refused to open the door for hours.

From inside, he shouted that he would not give the bags back until he was compensated for a broken Hello Kitty toothbrush.

Setia Kurniawan, 49, was arrested on a warrant for battery and theft after a fight over a Hello Kitty toothbrush

Eventually, hotel employees were forced to call police to force entry into the room.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the dispute escalated to violence after Mrs Gustimego pointed her finger close to the officer's face while yelling, prompting the officer to push her hand down.

Enraged, Mr Kurniawan launched himself at the officers, the police report stated.

Once they tackled him to the ground, Mrs Gustimego hit a security officer in the ear and tugged ferociously on the hotel manager's blazer.

Mr Kurniawan was arrested on a warrant for battery and theft. He later posted bail.

Mrs Gustimego was not arrested and allowed to stay at the hotel with their children.
A giant puddle that became an online sensation after it was filmed and streamed live on the internet has been drained by council workers unaware of its celebrity status.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons tuned in to watch people trying to navigate the puddle after a feed of the site was posted to the live video streaming app Periscope.

Internet users spent two hours watching the action with hundreds taking to Twitter to share how 'surprisingly addictive' it was.

But the puddle was today drained by two engineers from Newcastle City Council who cleared the path while inspecting for flood damage.

Clean-up: Two engineers from Newcastle City Council today drained the puddle, not realising its status

Cleared: The council workers cleared the path while investigating any damaged caused by flooding

The feed showed dozens of people, including this young boy, trying to hop around the puddle yesterday

Odd: As darkness fell people were even stripping down to their underwear to do press ups in the puddle

A council spokesman said: 'Two operatives from our structural engineering contractor were assigned to check the nearby subway following the heavy weather.

'As the path with the puddle is a busy route for cyclists and pedestrians, they thought they were being helpful by digging away a little bit of soil to clear the water - and were completely unaware of its celebrity status.

'Under normal circumstances we would all be very grateful to them for their initiative and helpfulness.

'Through the power of social media the puddle has provided a bit of fun for thousands of people - but with more rain forecast it was probably high time to pull the plug on its internet popularity.'

Photographs taken yesterday evening show two men in underwear attempting to do push-ups in the centre of the puddle, where a 'caution' warning sign had been put in place.

Another image shows a man spreading his arms and legs in a starfish shape.

And it appears the puddle might even have some scientific value, with students from Northumbria University arriving on the scene to take samples to examine in the micro-biology department.

Yesterday, the live feed of the puddle sparked a frenzy on social media - and apparently brought productivity across the country to a standstill.

Splashing around: Two pranksters were ready to join in on the fun as darkness fell on the puddle

Showing off: They were seen on their hands and knees before attempting to do push-ups in the puddle

Soaked: After a dip in the water, the men headed off into the freezing Newcastle night

Another man was seen spread out like a starfish as he began splashing around in the Newcastle puddle

One joker was soaking wet after apparently lying head-first in the puddle, which became an online sensation

Laura Kay and Katherine Gray from Northumbria University take samples of the puddle to be tested

But while some were enjoying the puddle, it was still causing problems for others - including this man

One tweeted: '#DrummondPuddleWatch has ruined productivity today', while another wrote: 'This is bizarrely compelling'.

Another user, Nicola Heath, added: 'High drama. Addictive and the Most English thing EVER. #DrummondPuddleWatch'.

Joe Saunders wrote: 'Shortly someone is going to wave at the camera and it will literally end me. #DrummondPuddleWatch', while Ben Rabinovich tweeted: 'It's got drama, it's got action, it's got people crossing puddles against all odds. It's amazing.'

Such was the popularity of the live video that the hashtag of DrummondPuddleWatch was one of the highest trending across the country yesterday afternoon.

Fixated: Around 20,000 internet users watched people trying to cross a puddle in Newcastle yesterday

Bizarre: One man was later seen trying to make it across the puddle on a lilo as word of the live feed spread

Addictive: Twitter users posted about how 'bizarrely compelling' the live stream was and it began trending

It even found its way onto eBay as someone listed a 600ml bottle of Drummond PuddleWatch water for sale. Dozens of bidders pushed the price beyond 20.

Many viewers were fascinated by the different methods people employed to avoid the puddle, ranging from using a lamppost to haul themselves over to clambering up an adjacent verge.

Others leapt over it, while some rain-hardened pedestrians were seen walking straight through the puddle, which appeared on Jesmond Road West and was videoed out of the window of marketing company Drummond Central Ltd.

For hours passers by were seen attempting to navigate around the mass of water without getting their feet wet.

This involved running and jumping, climbing round the side and a slow tip-toe walk.

Soon the puddle's fame began to spread and people began arriving holding surfboards and a lilo.

Anthony Kane, 23, who works in Newcastle, had been watching the puddle online and decided to take a lilo to the scene.

Map: Newcastle University and the Royal Grammar School are both close to the path where the puddle is

Compelling: Many were fascinated by the different methods people employed to avoid the puddle, ranging from using a lamppost to haul themselves up and over (left) to clambering up an adjacent verge

Others leapt over it (pictured), while some rain-hardened pedestrians were seen walking straight through

A pedestrian climbed up an adjacent verge (left), before schoolchildren arrived and saw the camera (right)

Some rain-hardened pedestrians were seen walking straight through the puddle at Drummond Central

He said: 'I thought I would come down and have a bit of a play. I saw it on Twitter when there were only about 2,000 watching it, then it went mad.

'We thought let's go and play. We had a lilo in the cupboard and so we came down and now I'm soaking!

'We literally have nothing else to do so just nipped down in the car, why not!? It's mad all the people that are watching it.

'People are popping up on the comments like 'hello from Brazil', it's worldwide and it's crazy, but really it's just a puddle in Newcastle.'

Charlotte Thornton arrived with her boss' surfboard while her colleagues looked on from the office.

Out of hand: It even found its way onto eBay as someone listed a 600ml bottle of Drummond PuddleWatch water for sale. Dozens of bidders pushed the price beyond 20 (pictured)

Captivating: The puddle was videoed out of the window of marketing company Drummond Central Ltd

Richard Rippon (left) works in the office at Drummond Central where the puddle was filmed from (right)

Joe Saunders tweeted: 'Shortly someone is going to wave at the camera and it will literally end me'

The 27-year-old, who works at a digital company in Newcastle city centre, said: 'We have all been watching the video at work today, and we felt we had to join in somehow.

'I thought turning up with the surfboard would be something different to do. It's crazy so many people are watching.

'I think people watching is in our human nature. I think that is why there are so many people viewing it. I know all my colleagues will be watching in the office, having a laugh.

'We are hoping to cause a stir.'

Craig Bryant, 21, a Geography student at Northumbria University, said: 'I heard about this online and this is exactly why I've come here.

'I was in the library and I thought that I've got nothing else better to do. I've been working solidly for about 20 minutes and I thought 'I'm going to jump over a puddle and get famous on the internet'.'

Beth Hazon, managing director of Drummond, said she and her employees had been watching people try to cross the puddle for weeks.

Anthony Kane heard about the 'Drummond Puddle Watch' and decided to pay a visit with a lilo (pictured)

Mr Kane gave the thumbs up on his lilo at the scene, where someone also put up a warning sign (pictured)

Spike in popularity: Another person arrived carrying a surfboard as the joke made waves on the internet

'It's crazy, we watch it every single day,' she said. 'There's been so much rain in the past month that we've seen people try and navigate their way across the puddle as it's quite a busy stretch.

'So we decided to stream it purely for our own amusement, I'd love to say there's some clever deep strategy but it is just genuinely hilarious.'

Richard Lovejoy, a 20-year-old student, was making his way home when he came across the obstacle.

'I didn't know anything about the furore online,' he said. 'But I can see why it would be funny to watch.'

Even Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey tweeted to say he was watching it.

The feed was eventually taken down shortly after 5pm.

The path is close to both Newcastle University and the Royal Grammar School in the city.

Pedestrians were initially unaware they were being watched by thousands but such was the popularity of the stream that some residents made their way down there to join in the fun.

After word spread about the video feed many more people went down to the puddle to appear on camera

Climbing up: This picture captured the moment one pedestrian took evasive action to avoid the big puddle
She was taken to jail in Tarrant County and her bond is $1 million

Tonya Couch was returned to Texas Thursday to face a charge for helping her son to evade

Tonya Couch was taken to jail in Tarrant County where her bond is set for $1 million

The mother of a fugitive teen who used an 'affluenza' defense after killing four people in a drunken crash was returned to Texas on Thursday to face a charge of helping her son evade capture.

Airport police officers escorted Tonya Couch, who was sporting a navy blue colored jacket and black pants, off of a flight after it landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The mother was then escorted by officers and shackled at the ankles to jail in Tarrant County.

Last week she was deported from Mexico, shortly after she and her 18-year-old son, Ethan Couch, were taken into custody in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

A judge ordered her returned to Texas during a hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The Tarrant County sheriff's department said in a news release that Tonya Couch was taken straight to jail.

She faces a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon, and her bond has been set at $1 million.

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Arrival: Tonya Couch, center right, is escorted off a flight after her arrival to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas Thursday

Couch, mother of ethan Couch, a fugitive teenager known for using an 'affluenza' defense in a deadly drunken-driving case, waived extradition and was sent to Texas from California to face a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon

The teen and his mother fled to Mexico last month after a video surfaced on Twitter showing him allegedly playing beer pong, which is a violation of his probation

If the mother is released on bond, she will be tracked by a GPS monitor and more conditions can be added by the judge too, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Ethan Couch is being held at an immigration detention center in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weeks- or even months-long legal process in Mexico.

Authorities believe the pair fled Texas in November as prosecutors investigated whether Ethan Couch had violated his probation in the deadly 2013 drunken-driving wreck.

They disappeared shortly after a video surfaced on Twitter showing what appears to be Ethan Couch at a party where people were drinking and playing beer pong.

While in Mexico, the spoiled rotten 'affluenza' teen spent more than $2,000 on hookers and booze at a Mexican club, but when his money ran out, he offered up a Rolex watch as collateral.

Prior to being caught by authorities, Couch and his mother Tonya went to a strip club in Puerto Vallarta called Harem on the evening of December 23, where employees said he partied the night away.

The 18-year-old had several drinks with his mother before she left the club leaving him behind.

Tonya Couch (right) is escorted by a sheriff's deputy as she arrives at the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth Thursday

Her bond has been set at $1 million dollars as she is facing a charge for helping her son evade capture

Ethan Couch is currently sitting in a jail fighting efforts to extradite him to Texas. Above he is pictured after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

While in the club alone, Couch maxed out his debit card as he partied with two women in a private back room area of the club that boasts of 'boobies and booties galore' over its main entrance.

Employees at the club said Couch, who was extremely drunk, racked up a huge tab that included lap dances from the women among other things.

According to ABC News, Couch was 6,000 pesos short on his bill, which is roughly $345.

A waiter at the club had to escort Couch back to his hotel when he could not pay the bill in the early morning of December 24.

He nor his mother had any cash to pay the remainder of the bill so he gave the waiter his Rolex watch as a guarantee that he would repay his $345 debt the next day, ABC News reported.

However, the club was closed December 24 and December 25. Employees at the club told ABC News that the pair was never seen again.

The mother-son duo moved into a condo in Puerto Vallarta without notifying staff at the hotel they were leaving.

A cleaning woman at the resort attempted to get into the room earlier in the day on December 24, but no one would answer as the 'Do Not Enter' sign was on, ABC News reported.

A vehicle exits the compound of the Agujas immigration detention center, where Couch is being detained in Mexico City

While on the run in Mexico, Couch spent hours and thousands of dollars inside Harem which offers 'boobies and booties galore' for customers at the strip club. When it was time to pay his bill, Couch was 6, 000 pesos short, which is roughly $345

Couch partied the night away with two girls in a private back room at Harem, a Puerto Vallarta strip club

She later entered the room and realized they had left.

Mexican law enforcement finally nabbed them December 28 after they fled into the country from their hometown of Fort Worth, Texas December 19 with their dog.

Tonya Couch's attorneys previously released a statement saying she had done nothing illegal.

'While the public may not like what she did, may not agree with what she did, or may have strong feelings against what she did, make no mistake  Tonya did not violate any law of the State of Texas and she is eager to have her day in court,' lawyers Stephanie K. Patten and Steve Gordon said in a statement last week.

If convicted, the mother faces up to 10 years in prison.

After the deadly crash, Ethan Couch pleaded guilty in juvenile court to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

He received only probation after a defense expert argued that Couch had been coddled too much by his wealthy parents, a condition the expert called 'affluenza.'
A man known for his high-risk tightrope walking has died in a stunt that went wrong.

Tancrede Melet, a slackliner, jumper and wingsuiter from France, accidentally fell more than 100ft to his death while getting ready to perform with a hot air balloon.

He was taking part in an artistic project, believed to be tightrope walking between hot air balloons, at the time and fell while being suspended at the basket at arm's length, according to his colleagues.

The tragic incident happened in Drome, France, on Tuesday.

Tancrede Melet, a slackliner, jumper and wingsuiter from France, accidentally fell more than 100ft to his death while getting ready to perform with a hot air balloon

Mr Melet was born in Meurthe-et-Moselle and grew up in Herault, but had discovered the joys of the mountains in the Verdon

Frenchman Tancrede Melet, an expert slackliner, BASE jumper and wingsuiter, was part of a group of stuntmen known as the Flying Frenchies

He was renowned for his death-defying tightrope walks performed all over the world from mountain peaks to skyscrapers

Trancrede Melet, 32, from France, became renowned for his stunts all over the world

The 32-year-old father-of-one was part of the stuntmen group called the Flying Frenchies, who were also know as the 'Skyliners'.

They are known for their death-defying tightrope walks performed all over the world from mountain peaks to skyscrapers

On their Facebook page, a spokesman for the team said:'Tancrede Melet, a surprising lover of life, surprised us by leaving us too soon.

'He leaves behind wonderful memories, a taste of freedom and a head full of dreams,'

Mr Melet was born in Meurthe-et-Moselle and grew up in Herault, but had discovered the joys of the mountains in the Verdon.

It was over mountains and hills that he performed most of his stunts.

According to his profile on the Flying Frenchies website Mr Melet resigned from his engineering job to follow his 'quest of freedom' four years ago.

Daredevil Trancrede Melet pictured walking a tightrope between two cliff edges

Trancrede Melet using a Go-Pro camera while performing one of his stunts between two cliff edges

Trancrede Melet performed most of his daredevil stunts in mountainous and hilly areas

As well as tightrope walking, Trancrede Melet performed wing-suiting with a Go-Pro camera attached to his body

The daredevil's passion became his full time job and he featured in adverts and videos and took part in live shows and lectures

Trancrede Melet walking through the snowy mountains as he prepares for another one of his amazing stunts

It read: 'His motto is to try everything, at least once. He likes to think outside the box, and mixes his various skills to create aesthetic results.'

The daredevil's passion became his full time job and he featured in adverts and videos and took part in live shows and lectures.

Tributes flooded in for the adrenaline junkie on the Flying Frenchies Facebook page.

Pascal Cornuez wrote: 'All my condolences and thoughts to his family and to his family.

'He did what he loved. He lived his passion. He lived.

'Farewell my friend and thank you for giving us dreams! Peace to your soul and your heart continues to fly, high above, as always.'

Mr Melet leaves behind his partner, Tiphaine Breillot, and a young daughter.
The couple is free from jail after posting bail

He gave her an engagement ring that cost $29.92 that he purchased from the store before she allegedly stole jewelry

after Corneilus proposed to Moore inside of a Walmart on New Year's Eve

Prior to the alleged theft at the mall, the two had just become

A couple is free from jail after the man proposed to his girlfriend at a Michigan Walmart before they were arrested for stealing jewelry, sex toys and edible underwear on New Year's Eve.

Police arrested 25-year-old William J. Cornelius Jr and 20-year-old Sheri Moore December 30 for shoplifting after employees at the Spencer's Gifts store inside the Bay City Mall in Bangor Township called the authorities.

Cornelius purchased a $29.62 engagement ring from the Walmart in Bay City prior to the proposal, The Smoking Gun reported.

Once he secured the permission of a store employee, he popped the question to his then-girlfriend, over the store's public address system.

Engaged: Police arrested 25-year-old William J. Cornelius Jr December 30 for shoplifting after employees at the Spencer's Gifts store inside the Bay City mall spotted him stealing

Sheri Moore, his new fiancee, was also with him when he stole several items including an edible thong from the store. Prior to the theft, Cornelius had just proposed to her inside of a local Walmart

Moore said yes and fellow shoppers in the store applauded and cheered for the couple.

According to the police report, surveillance video shows Cornelius dropping to one knee during the proposal and Moore can be seen hugging and kissing him following her acceptance.

Police say that after leaving the Walmart, the couple went to the Bay City Mall, where at the Spencer's store they stole several items with a combined value of $80.93.

According to investigators, the items swiped, included a 'Bride-To-Be' thong, a $14.99 vibrator, 'BJ Blast' oral sex candy, and a $5.99 edible thong.

Once officers responded to the theft call made by the store employees, they found Cornelius asleep at a food court table, Michigan Live reported.

He apparently fell asleep while attempting to tie his shoes.

The couple was arrested inside the Bay City mall (above) on New Year's Eve

Cornelius proposed to Moore inside of the Bay City Walmart (above) prior to going to the Bay City mall

Officers who searched him found the stolen merchandise and he admitted to taking the items, Michigan Live reported.

Cornelius said that he stole the sex toys for his fiancee and shared that he had just proposed to her at the Walmart store nearby.

The brunette was found by officers in the mall with stolen earrings and a necklace that was taken from Walmart.

She denied shoplifting, however, Walmart surveillance cameras caught her taking the items and putting them in her purse, Michigan Live reported.

Cornelius was arrested for retail fraud, while she was apprehended for larceny, The Smoking Gun reported.

They are both free on bond on the misdemeanor charges.

However, since Cornelius is serving a three-year probation term, he could face additional charges.

In 2014, he was convicted for felony ethnic intimidation after he and his cousin, Joshua M Christe, 22, attacked three black men who walked past their Bay City residence.

Cornelius' new fiancee was also arrested for stealing a cell phone from a man last September, The Smoking Gun reported.

Moore was released on $2,500 bond in the case, which is still open.
Surging Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie attacked top-tier rival Marco Rubio on Wednesday over his fitness to challenge likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham, the New Jersey governor said Clinton would 'cut his heart out,' referring to Rubio.

Christie's comment came after a spate of attack ads against him by a political committee aligned with Rubio, focusing on the governor's embrace of President Obama after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The attack also serves as a possible sneak preview of a looming fight at the first GOP primary debate of 2016, scheduled next week in South Carolina.

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, shown here campaigning in Manchester, N.H. on Tuesday, took aim at campaign rival Marco Rubio in a radio interview on Wednesday

GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, shown here campaigning in Nashua, N.H. on Thursday, was accused of being a weak and inexperienced candidate, said rival Christie

WOULD THIS WOMAN CUT YOUR HEART OUT? Chris Christie thinks so, and wants GOP primary voters to know

'Ive been in very tough races before,' Christie told Ingraham, noting his 2009 campaign against incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine. 'This isnt my first rodeo.'

'If Marco Rubio thinks by putting out a couple of negative ads on me that somehow hes going to intimidate me it just shows how inexperienced and unprepared the senator is to take on Hillary Clinton,' he said.

Christie said the Republican nominee who faces Clinton this fall will have to be a candidate 'who has been through the wars.'

'Not somebody whos a first-term United States senator who has never had a tough race in his life. This guys been spoon-fed every victory hes ever had in his life.'

'Thats the kind of person that we want to put on stage against Hillary Clinton? I dont think so. Shell pat him on the head and then cut his heart out.'

Rubio, like other Republican candidates, have taken aim at Christie recently because the governor has had modest polling success in New Hampshire - the first-in-the-nation primary state. He has been campaigning in the Granite State this week.

According to the most recent average of polls in the state as compiled by Real Clear Politics, the New Jersey governor is in fourth place at 11.3 percent, behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and front-runner Donald Trump, who has 27 percent.

Christie and Rubio have had dust-ups before, most recently over absenteeism. The governor has highlighted Rubio's poor attendance record in the Senate, while Rubio has jabbed at Christie's own absences from his governor's office.

Rubio in Nashua, N.H. on Thursday

Christie has had modest polling success in New Hampshire, where he is in fourth place

In response to Christie's most recent attack, Rubio 'let out a loud chuckle' when invited to respond by reporters in Nashua, N.H. on Thursday, according to a report in The New York Times.

Rubio then accused Christie of liberalism.

'Chris has a very liberal record for a Republican. I mean he supported Common Core. He ran for office as a supporter of gun control. He personally gave a contribution to Planned Parenthood,' Rubio said.

'So Im sure he doesnt really want to have a conversation about the issues because the truth is our next president has to be someone whos going to overturn all the damage Barack Obama has done to America, not continue it. And well continue to talk about the policy differences that I have with Chris or anyone else in this race.'
Also shared stage with Jeremy Corbyn during Labour leader campaign

Shelly Asquith has spoken about her opposition to the Prevent strategy

Student agitator: Shelly Asquith, the NUSs vice-president for welfare, told students at one talk that there are 'some laws that should be broken'

Its the start of term at Kings College, London and 150 students take their seats at a lecture theatre as a guest speaker begins his talk.

They listen carefully as he delivers the first of a series of addresses as part of a tour of Britains most esteemed campuses.

But the orator on this occasion is not a renowned scientist or historian. He is Moazzam Begg, director of CAGE  the group that described Islamic State executioner Jihadi John as a beautiful young man.

And the aim of this tour is to encourage students to sabotage Prevent  the key government policy intended to help root out extremism and stop young Muslims being radicalised.

He is using his free rein to preach in universities across the country to tell students to ignore or undermine the policy  and no alternative voice is being offered to contest his case.

Its ironic  and apparently lost to those in attendance  that a huge sign projected above Mr Beggs head as he speaks reads: This is a Safe Space.

Kings College, London is now one of a number of top universities that has a fashionable safe space policy in place to protect students from mental harm at debates or events.

Leaflets proudly giving details are scattered liberally over the chairs in the lecture theatre, and four safe space officers patrol the room.

Anyone who feels harassed, intimidated or uncomfortable or threatened is invited to text them on a number supplied before the talk.

The policy has been widely criticised, with opponents claiming it stifles free speech by permitting only Left-wing, politically-correct opinions.

It has recently resulted in a series of controversial demands to ban speakers  such as the feminist Germaine Greer  whose views are deemed offensive in some way.

Link: Miss Asquith shared a stage with Jeremy Corbyn last August as he campaigned to be Labour leader at an event in London. And in a picture posted on Twitter, Miss Asquith holds a sign stating Im on team Corbyn

However, they have not stopped figures such as Mr Begg from being able to voice their views.

We are told that extremists are bad, he tells his audience gathered at the universitys South Bank lecture theatre. But Mahatma Gandhi was an extremist. Churchill said so!

Warming to his theme, Mr Begg questions the very existence of the threat of radicalisation. Radicalisation means an adherence to your religion, he shrugs.

As the students eagerly take notes, they are warned that opposing the Governments anti-extremism policy  as he is telling them to do  would probably be illegal.

But you must oppose it, he tells them. At least in word if not in deed. Despite the safe space leaflets, it is clear the universitys eagerness to prevent offence is not matched by the desire to ensure a balanced debate.

For during the entire two-hour event, not a single alternative view is offered to counter those of Mr Begg  neither by anyone on the panel, nor indeed anyone in the audience.

This was repeated at every one of the CAGE talks attended by the Mail. And this total absence of counterpoint opinion is perhaps all the more extraordinary given the astonishing nature of some of the views on offer.

Orator: Moazzam Begg, the director of CAGE, has been encourage students to sabotage Prevent  the key government policy intended to help root out extremism and stop young Muslims being radicalised

Students have been told they should show support for notorious, convicted terrorists  many of whom are the alleged victims of fabricated accounts.

Young Muslims have been warned they are living under the yoke of a racist and white supremacist state. Those in power are suspicious of them, want to spy on them, want to isolate them from the rest of society, they are told.

Radicalisation means an adherence to your religion Moazzam Begg, CAGE director

Anti-extremism, it was said, is in fact just a cover for the States true, racist agenda to attack Muslims.

And in a highly inflammatory claim, undergraduates have even been told their life in Britain is akin to what Jews experienced under the Nazis before the holocaust.

We [Muslims in the UK] as a community have felt  though there are many differences  like what happened to the Jewish community before the rise of the Nazis, Mr Begg said.

It is unclear how convincing this tale of repression is to these bright Muslim students, who carry iPads and smartphones, converse with non-Muslim friends and appear to be thoroughly enjoying all the pleasures and privileges of undergraduate life at top academic institutions.

Prime Minister's opinion: Earlier this year David Cameron (above) used a major speech to publicly shame the National Union of Students for its links to CAGE. The NUS later publicly claimed it would not work with CAGE

At times, the words of Mr Begg took an even more sinister turn  and he appeared to encourage sympathy for Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria.

THE SPEAKERS WHO WERE MUZZED While a string of universities hosted CAGE events last term, academics and writers with views deemed offensive to Left-wing opinion have faced extraordinary bans. Historian David Starkey, right, was excluded from a video promoting Cambridge University after student officials and lecturers claimed he had a history of racism and sexism  despite his vehement denials. Cardiff University attempted to ban feminist Germaine Greer, right, from giving a talk last year over objections to comments she made about transgender people. Students claimed her view that men did not become real women if they had sex-change surgery had no place in society and argued her presence at the event would be harmful to attendees. Feminist Julie Bindel, right, was banned from a debate on free speech at the University of Manchester in October because of comments she made about transgender people almost a decade ago. She was branded abhorrent by an officer of the student union because she once questioned the right of sex-change men to be treated as women. Maryam Namazie, right, an Iranian-born human rights activist who has spoken out against the brutal treatment of women in some Islamic countries, was initially refused the chance to speak at Warwick University over fears it could upset Muslim students. An undergraduate at the same university, George Lawlor, right, was branded a rapist after he dared to question the effectiveness of consent workshops. A Nietzsche reading group was banned at University College London following fears it would promote a far-Right, fascist ideology  even though the philosophers works are widely studied at universities. And a student event at Goldsmiths, University of London, claimed to promote equality in May  but excluded everyone except black and ethnic minority women and non binary [gender neutral] people. At Oxford, columnist Brendan ONeill was denied the chance to debate on abortion in November when student feminists claimed it was unfair for a person without a uterus to discuss the issue. In one of the most recent examples of campus censorship, a campaign is under way at Oxford to remove a plaque and statue at Oriel College dedicated to Cecil Rhodes, right. Campaigners say the colonialist was racist  even though he has helped fund generations of scholars  including those of ethnic minorities  to study at Oxford. Advertisement

At another university event he spoke in favour of two extremists who were jailed in Britain for travelling to Syria to do jihad and die as a martyr  saying it was only the silly rebellion of two teenagers.

He said: Yes they may have done or said some silly things  as teenagers often do. He also condemned their 13-year sentence.

Other speakers at CAGE events were no less inflammatory. One is Lena Mohamed of the Islamic Human Rights Commission  which has campaigned for the rights of terrorists including Abu Hamza.

She told students: Prevent is a strategy that fits within the narrative of a racist, white supremacist agenda. It is part of a structure of systemic racism that includes anti-Muslim hatred.

This particular vilification of Muslims is integral to the operation of this state.

The majority of talks featuring Mr Begg have been held in conjunction with officers of the National Union of Students.

Earlier this year David Cameron used a major speech to publicly shame the union for its links to CAGE.

When you choose to ally yourselves with an organisation like CAGE, which called Jihadi John a beautiful young man and told people to support the jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan, it really does, in my opinion, shame your organisation and your noble history of campaigning for justice, he said.

The NUS later publicly claimed it would not work with CAGE. But our investigation reveals that key hard-Left figures in the NUS have been working closely with the group to organise a string of events.

One is Shelly Asquith, the NUSs vice-president for welfare, who told students at one talk: The government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values which is breaking the rule of law.

Well, I think there are some laws that should be broken.

Miss Asquith shared a stage with Jeremy Corbyn in August last year as he campaigned to be Labour leader at an event in London.

In other pictures posted on Twitter, Miss Asquith holds a sign stating Im on team Corbyn and raises two fingers in a peace sign, dressed in an animal liberation T-shirt.

Another NUS figure is black students officer Malia Bouattia, who instructed students to take notes during Prevent training to help the battle against it.

She added: Even when we look at acts of violence...  whether you want to call it political violence or not  if you want to go to the root of the problem it just comes back to the State and essentially...white supremacy thats at work.

Last night CAGE said it was just one of hundreds of organisations that opposed Prevent due to the chilling effect it is having on Muslim communities.

A spokesman added: CAGE has been invited to speak at a numerous public events including universities for several years.

This has always been with the full awareness of the relevant institutions and in line with external speaker policy.

The group said it took no payment for appearances, though a number of universities told the Mail that Mr Beggs travel expenses had been covered.

Regarding his comments in support of convicted Islamic terrorists, Mr Begg said: Each case is unique and based on what I believe to be its merits I offer my view in support of the campaigns  or not.

He said he stood by his comments comparing the plight of Muslims in modern Britain to the Jews under the Nazis.

One glance at the history of Jews in Europe will show us how they were targeted because of differences, he said. We arent anywhere near this point again and I pray we never get there. But anxiety amongst British (and European) Jews is at a record high.

With thousands marching in the streets of Germany led by people who impersonate and idolise Hitler, I can see why. But this time its the Muslims theyre marching against.

NUS president Megan Dunn denied the organisation was working with CAGE and said the lecture tour was a grassroots movement and that individual union officers had made a personal decision whether to speak alongside Moazzam Begg.

She added: NUS has always condemned violent terrorism.

Kings College London said it has robust procedures to vet speakers.
Islamic State killer: CAGE representatives described Jihadi John as a beautiful, kind man

CAGE found itself at the centre of a bitter public row last year when its representatives described the man behind the Islamic State beheadings, Jihadi John, as a beautiful, kind man.

At an extraordinary press conference hours after the identity of Jihadi John was revealed, CAGE spokesman Asim Qureshi said the man involved, Mohammed Emwazi, wouldnt hurt a fly and that the British security services were at least partly responsible for radicalising him.

His comments put CAGE  a group which claims to campaign for communities affected by the war on terror  at the centre of a furore.

Boris Johnson called CAGE apologists for terror and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond suggested the organisation and others like it bore a huge burden of responsibility for the actions of terrorists such as Emwazi.

CAGE was left facing difficult questions  not just over its support for Emwazi, but also over support for a whole range of individuals linked to terror.

Among the damaging revelations was the emergence of a video of Qureshi which showed him calling on Muslims to support jihad at an extremist rally.

Qureshi later said he was talking about the right to self-defence. He added: Everyone who was at that demonstration would know that Asim Qureshi and CAGE are people who do not advocate terrorism in any way.

Claims: At an extraordinary press conference hours after the identity of Jihadi John was revealed in February 2015, CAGE spokesman Asim Qureshi (pictured) said Mohammed Emwazi wouldnt hurt a fly

He admitted the protest was organised by Islamist group Hizb Ut Tahrir but he said the organisation  which campaigns for the creation of an Islamic state  was not extremist.

However, the growing questions put pressure on the organisations charity backers  the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Roddick Foundation, set up in memory of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick.

CAGE had received 270,000 between 2007 and 2014 from the Rowntree Trust. The Roddick Foundation gave CAGE 120,000 between 2009 and 2012.

Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation, said: Cage is an organisation with a warped view. No sensible person should be funding it.

Minister Theresa Villiers, also wrote to the head of the Charity Commission to demand action.

The Commission acted to choke off funds and days after the press conference the two charities publicly declared they would no longer fund cage.

Mayor and Foreign Secretary: Boris Johnson (left) called CAGE apologists for terror and Philip Hammond (right) suggested the group and others like it bore a huge burden of responsibility for the actions of terrorists

CAGE took the commission to court, which has been forced to reverse its public position. However, it is unclear whether any charities are still supporting the cage, which is understood to be struggling financially.

Cage is an organisation with a warped view. No sensible person should be funding it Lord Carlile, former independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation

Some of CAGEs leading figures have been accused of sympathising with terrorists and it has helped convicted extremists such as Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, who were sentenced to more than 12 years each last December for travelling to Syria to join the Al Qaeda-linked group Al Nusra, and who pleaded guilty.

Last night CAGE  which is not a proscribed organisation and denies links to terrorism or support for violent extremism  said: CAGE officers did not say Jihadi John is a beautiful man  they said he was a beautiful man, just as his university lecturer described him as once a lovely, lovely boy.

CAGE rejected his actions and called for him to be brought to justice. Nonetheless, CAGE has accepted mistakes were made during that episode.
Six bodies from the morgue and expensive

Staff and patients from central China were inches away from being buried alive when the hospital they were in was demolished with them still inside.

Six bodies from the morgue were also submerged when a bulldozer hit the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou in Henan Province early this morning, reports The Peoples Daily Online.

Doctors working at the hospital were injured when they tried to stop the demolition on Jiangshan Road, which is reportedly under land eviction for a government project expanding the road.

Buried alive: Staff and patients almost buried alive when men in camouflage came and destroyed the hospital

Demolished: One of the doctors from the hospital in Zhengzhou points at the demolished building today

Ruined: Thousands of pounds worth of equipment was damaged when bulldozers destroyed the hospital

Staff and patients were in the radiology department when the destruction began, they had to run for their lives.

The force of the demolition damaged a digital gastrointestinal machine in the hospital which is said to be worth four million Yuan (418,603).

According to Shanghai Daily, around 30 people wearing camouflaged suits rushed to the building at 9.20am local time (1.20am GMT) and began destroying the hospital.

Unlivable: The hospital in central China is now closed after the extent of the damage caused by bulldozers

Bulldozed: The force of the demolition damaged an expensive digital gastrointestinal machine in the hospital

Destruction: A demolition team went to the hospital today and began knocking it down with people still inside

A press officer at the hospital told a local reporter that many of the patients were receiving radiology inspections when the bulldozer first hit.

While some of the doctors were trying to stop the destruction of the hospital, others tried desperately tried to save the equipment.

It is claimed in the report that the Hospital refused to be relocated to give way to the road expansion project.

Police reportedly rushed to the scene at the time of the incident which is now under investigation.

The hospital is now closed until further notice due to severe damage.

The local government is yet to release any statements in response to the incident.

Burying the dead: Six bodies from the morgue were also submerged when a bulldozer hit the hospital
A state of emergency has been declared in California in response to a massive gas leak that has been spewing noxious methane fumes for more than two months.

Governor Jerry Brown placed Los Angeles County in a state of emergency on Wednesday to release more funds to tackle what could be one of the biggest environmental disasters in US history.

Residents have fallen ill and around 2,500 people have evacuated their homes since the leak - at a Southern California Gas energy facility in the Aliso Canyon - was discovered on October 23.

A shocking video shot in December by an environmental group showed a geyser of methane gas pouring out of the earth at the rate of 110,000 pounds an hour.

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A state of emergency has been declared in California in response to a massive gas leak (pictured) that has been spewing noxious methane fumes for more than two months

Governor Jerry Brown placed Los Angeles County in a state of emergency on Wednesday to release more funds to tackle what could be one of the biggest environmental disasters in US history

Gov Brown declared a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon and released a statement outlining plans to stop the leak.

'It's the BP spill on land,' environmental law activist Erin Brockovich told CNN.

Brockovich lives about 20 miles away and is concerned by the leak.

HOW CAN SOCAL PLUG THE LEAK? Michael Mizrahi, a spokesman for SoCalGas, said the company is drilling a relief well. This well is designed to intercept and plug the damaged well, and could be completed by late February or late March 'The relief well drilling process is expected to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week,' he said. 'A second relief well is being prepared as a backup operation, and drilling is expected to begin in January.' He added the possibility of pumping fluids directly down the affected well to stop the flow of gas was also under consideration. Motherboard notes that plugging the leak is tricky because the base of the well sits 8,000 feet underground. Workers have been 'unable to establish a stable enough column of fluid to keep the force of gas coming up from the reservoir'. Advertisement

Brockovich battled another natural gas company over water pollution in the 1990s - her story was made famous by a film about her struggle, with Brockovich played by Julia Roberts. Her struggle was made into a feature film.

However, it could take another two months for Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) to drill a relief well designed to plug the faulty well which is causing the leak - and even that might not work.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), who released the footage showing the plume of gas in December, described it 'one of the biggest leaks we've ever seen reported' and 'absolutely uncontained'.

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, can be flammable under high pressures and inflict immediate climate damage.

'Events of this size are rare, but major leakage across the oil and gas supply chain is not. There are plenty of mini -Aliso Canyons that add up to a big climate problem  not just in California, but across the country,' said Tim O'Connor, director of Environmental Defense Fund's California oil and gas program.

The near-term climate damage of the leak is estimated to be the same as driving seven million cars a year, or equal to all of the annual pollution from California's oil refineries combined.

Nationally, the problem of industrial methane pollution is estimated to be over 7 million tons per year.

Locals are starting to file lawsuits against SoCal Gas, and more than 2,000 families have been relocated.

'It's the BP spill on land,' said environmental law activist Erin Brockovich told CNN. Brockovich lives about 20 miles away and is concerned by the leak

SoCal Gas said that plugging the leak, could take another two months.

The leak currently accounts for a quarter of the state's entire methane emissions.

'Our efforts to stop the flow of gas by pumping fluids directly down the well have not yet been successful, so we have shifted our focus to stopping the leak through a relief well,' Anne Silva, spokeswoman for SoCalGas, told Motherboard in December.

'The relief well process is on schedule to be completed by late February or late March,' she added.

Pumping fluids into the well currently isn't working, SoCal Gas has said.

Workers have been' unable to establish a stable enough column of fluid to keep the force of gas coming up from the reservoir.'

The company is now building a relief well that will connect to the leaking well - around 8,000ft underground - to reduce the pressure and block the leak.

SoCalGas was ordered to find temporary housing for any residents of Porter Ranch who ask to be relocated.

The company said it had relocated 2,147 families, while hundreds more have left the area of their own accord.

Residents have fallen ill and around 2,500 people have evacuated their homes since the leak. Pictured is the site of the leak in Aliso Canyon, LA

This image shows the flow of electricity (figures 1 and 2) to SoCal Gas' natural gas storage facility in LA where the gas is stored deep underground. When needed, natural gas is withdrawn from the storage facility and delivered through their network of pipelines

The gated community, located some 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, sits near one of the largest natural gas storage fields in the US, where a leak was detected on October 23.

SoCalGas insists that it poses no danger to human health as methane dissipates quickly into the air.

But many families report falling ill from the fumes - with symptoms including nose bleeds and nausea - and have filed a class action suit against the company and pulled their children from area schools.

Locals are now starting to file lawsuits against the company that owns the facility, Southern California Gas, and more than 2,000 families have been relocated

Trucks enter the gates of Southern California Gas Company property where Aliso Canyon Storage Field is located in the of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California

Residents also fear that property values in the area - described by the local council as an idyllic 'dream' community - will plummet because of the leak.

The Los Angeles city attorney filed suit against SoCalGas in December saying no community 'should have to endure what the residents of Porter Ranch have suffered from the gas company's continued failure to stop the leak'.

'It's not only the odor, it's the potential health consequences from the long-term exposure to chemicals like benzene,' attorney Mike Feuer added.

According to the California Air Resources Board, the leak is releasing between 44,000 and 58,000 kilograms (97,000 and 127,000 pounds) of methane into the air per hour.

The last estimate on December 22 showed 30,300 kilograms of methane released per hour.

The board estimates that the leak is so large that it has increased the West Coast state's greenhouse gas output by 25 per cent.

The Federal Aviation Administration has meanwhile banned aircraft flights over the area as a precaution.

A spokesman for SoCalGas said the company's priority was to stop the leak while addressing the needs of the community and the environmental impact.

Spokesman Michael Mizrahi said the relief well being drilled to intercept and plug the damaged well - at more than 8,000ft underground - could be completed by late February or late March

'The relief well drilling process is expected to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week,' he said.

SoCal Gas said that plugging the leak, could take until March. The leak is spewing from their facility in Aliso Canyon. The source of the leak is a pipe in a 7-inch casing of well that is 8,750 feet deep

'A second relief well is being prepared as a backup operation, and drilling is expected to begin in January.'

He added the possibility of pumping fluids directly down the affected well to stop the flow of gas was also under consideration.

Attorney Matthew McNicholas, who has filed suit on behalf of several Porter Ranch families, said the gas company had acted recklessly by not informing the community immediately as to the nature and extent of the leak and by not implementing appropriate safety measures.

'SoCalGas did not maintain their facility properly, leading to issues involving the health and safety of residents and the community at large,' he said in a statement.
It could be the first glimpse of the iPhone 7.

Taiwanese site Apple Club claims to have obtained these images, which it says show the new handset's screen.

It comes amid claims the handset will be the first to dump the headphone socket, instead relying on the lightning port or wireless headphones.

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Taiwanese site Apple Club claims to have obtained the images, which show the new handset's screen and some of its controller chips.

Apple Club says the screens are from the handset, which is expected to be announced in September, and were posted to Wechat.

Apple is also said to be testing models with USB-C, multi-touch 3D Touch, dual cameras and more, according to 9to5Mac.

It comes as more claims have emerged that Apple is set to kill off the headphone socket.

In order to shrink the thickness of a future handset, Apple is rumoured to be looking at ways to get rid of the standard 3.5mm headphone port.

Now, more reports suggest the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 7 will feature a single, multipurpose lightning port that will double up as a headphone port as well as charger.

According to a report in Chinese site Anzhuo, supply chain sources have confirmed the removal of the 3.5mm port on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

It claims Apple will instead focus on wireless headphones to output sound, and will sell the handset with a new, wireless equivalent of Apples EarPod headphones.

Users will also be able to use the lightning connector on the phone to connect a headset

The images reveal the 3d Touch controller chips for the new handset.

Apple angered many people when it introduced its proprietary Lightning port because it required specialist Apple hardware to use.

This headphone change could have a similar knock-on effect.

The reports come from Japanese site Macotakara that said the new iPhone will support headphones with either the existing Lightning connector or via Bluetooth, and these new headphones will be sold with the new handset.

In order to shrink the thickness of a future handset, Apple is rumoured to be looking at ways to get rid of the standard 3.5mm headphone port. Instead, reports suggest the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 7 will feature a single, multipurpose Lightning slot that will double up as a headphone port as well as charger

WHY WOULD APPLE DITCH THE HEADPHONE JACK? Getting rid of the headphone jack would help Apple shrink the iPhone 7's thickness considerably. Its latest smartphone, the Phone 6s, is 7.1 mm (0.27) thick but removing the 3.5mm jack could drop this by a further by one mm (0.04 in). Such a shift would also mean larger, stereo headphones using an internal battery would be able to draw power directly from the iPhone - or other devices, if the change is enforced across the Apple board. Elsewhere, Lightning-based headphones would experience less 'crosstalk', or signal interference. Advertisement

It is expected that Apple may also sell a converter that would allow users to plug in their 'old' standard 3.5 mm headphones to newer phones.

Getting rid of the headphone jack would help Apple to shrink the iPhone 7 by one mm (0.04 in).

By comparison, its latest smartphone, the iPhone 6s, is 7.1 mm (0.27) thick.

Such a shift would also mean larger, stereo headphones using an internal battery would be able to draw power directly from the iPhone, or other devices, if the change is enforced across the Apple board.

Elsewhere, Lightning-based headphones would experience less 'crosstalk', or signal interference, according to The Next Web.

Lightning-connected earphones are already available from third-party manufacturers such as Philips' Fidelio but Apple could be looking to monopolise the market.

In the past, the company has famously ditched support for hardware and software once it believes it has become obsolete.

It was the first to remove the floppy disk's slot from its computers in 1998, and it more recently did away with all but one USB-C ports on its laptops, as well as Flash on iOS.

Its Lightning charging technology was then brought into replace Apple's previous 30-pin charger in 2012.




Angela Ahrendts, Apple's 55 year old senior vice president for retail and online stores, was the highest paid executive at the technology giant last year, with a total pay package of $25.8 million, it has been revealed.

The former Burberry CEO's pay package includes a $1 million base salary, a $20 million stock grant, a $4 million bonus and relocation expenses of $474,981.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's compensation rose 11.5 percent to $10.3 million in 2015, the company said on Wednesday, a year when its sales grew 28 percent and profits by 35 percent but its shares fell for the first time since 2008.

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Angela Ahrendts, the senior vice president for retail and online stores, was the highest paid, with a total pay package of $25.8 million.

In fact, Cook was the lowest-paid of the company's top executives.

Cook's base pay increased about 14.4 percent to $2 million last year, while non-equity incentive compensation rose about 19 percent to $8 million, according to a regulatory filing.

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri's annual compensation rose about 81 percent to $25.3 million in 2015.

Apple had a good year for the most part under Cook.

Sales in China in the most recent quarter nearly doubled from the same quarter in the prior year, for instance, and the iPhone continued to see record sales.

The company hit a rough patch towards the end of 2015, with shares falling about 4.6 percent for the year, the stock's first negative year since the global credit crisis.

FROM INDIANA TO APPLE: ANGELA AHRENDTS RISE TO THE TOP Ahrendts was born and raised in New Palestine, Indiana, the third of six children. After earning an undergraduate degree in Merchandising and Marketing from Ball State University, she moved to New York, and workds for brands ranging from Donna Karan to Liz Claiborne. In 2006, she moved to Burberry, and during her time there, the company value rose from 2 billion to over 7 billion. Angela Ahrendts, 54, was poached by the tech firm in May 2006 after eight years as Burberry's CEO, where she was the UK's highest-paid CEO with $26.3 million. Apple's head of retail was paid more than $70 million in her first year with the company. In an SEC filing, Apple explained Ahrendts' paycheck by stressing her 'experience' and 'ability'. 'The recruitment of Ms Ahrendts provided an extraordinary addition to the Company's executive team with the experience and ability to lead both the retail and online businesses,' Apple wrote. 'In determining her transition package, the Compensation Committee considered Ms Ahrendts' compensation arrangement at Burberry and the amounts that she was expected to receive in future years. 'At the time, Ms Ahrendts was among the highest paid executives in the U.K. and held unvested Burberry equity awards with a value of approximately $37 million.' Advertisement

As of Sept. 26, Cook held about 3.1 million Apple shares that have not vested, potentially enabling him to earn over $310 million based on the stock's Wednesday closing price.

The shares are expected to vest between August 2016 and August 2021.

Fortune magazine cited the head of the world's largest technology corporation as saying he planned to donate his estimated $785 million fortune to charity - after paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.

WHAT APPLE'S EXECS MADE IN 2015 Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri's annual compensation rose about 81 percent to $25.3 million in 2015. Internet software head Eddy Cue was awarded $25 million, which includes a $20 million stock award and a $4 million bonus. He was also given a vacation cash-out of $34,615. Dan Riccio, SVP of hardware engineering, was also given a $1 million base salary and $20 million worth of stock last year, bringing his total compensation to $25 million. Bruce Sewell, SVP general counsel and secretary made about $25 million. Advertisement

'You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change,' Cook told the magazine.

Shares of the world's most valuable company dropped below $100 for the first time in nearly five months on Wednesday before regaining some ground to close at $100.70.

Shares in the world's most valuable company have fallen more than 15 percent over the last month, amid a drumbeat of news reports that some Asian parts suppliers are expecting Apple to trim orders for its signature smartphone this winter.

Chief Executive Tim Cook's compensation rose 11.5 percent to $10.3 million in 2015

Those fears were compounded Wednesday when the Wall Street Journal said one of Apple's most important contractors is sending some workers home on 'early holiday' before the Chinese New Year in February.
Keeping children entertained while on the move isn't easy.

Now Sketchers it has a solution in its second version of Game Kicks - a trainer that has a light-chasing, memory game built-in.

The $65 shoe, which will be available in June, is designed for children between the ages of four and 10.

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Keeping children entertained while on the move isn't easy. Now Sketchers it has a solution in its second version of Game Kicks - a trainer that has a light-chasing, memory game built-in. The $65 shoe, which will be available in June, is designed for children between the ages of four and 10

The built-in game involves kids recreating a blinking beeping pattern by pushing coloured buttons.

The pattern gets longer as the level of difficulty increases. If a child gets eight in a row correct, they win the game.

There are eight different rounds of the shoe over 65,000 combinations, so you never have the same game twice, Jon Long, visual merchandising coordinator for Sketchers told DailyMail.com.

Kids really love wearable technology, they love games, they love shoes, so were merging those two worlds together.

A remote-control can be used to play the game, and it comes with a crucial mute button.

There are eight different rounds of the shoe over 65,000 combinations, so you never have the same game twice, Jon Long, visual merchandising coordinator for Sketchers told DailyMail.com. Kids really love wearable technology, they love games, they love shoes, so were merging those two worlds together

It builds on last years release of the Game Kicks interactive shoes which also featured lights and sounds. However, this version now comes with a replaceable battery.

Long isnt worried about the shoe being too low-tech given that many now use smartphones to play games.

Theres never been a game on a shoe that also uses a remote control, he said. This is such a new product and kids are really going to gravitate to the technology.

A number of people have already posted on the Sketchers website to urge the company to make the shoe in adult sizes.
A series of massive 'super star' systems that have erupted into enormous balls of gas and dust have been discovered in neighbouring galaxies for the first time.

Astronomers had only seen one example of this rare eruption before, around a binary star system called Eta Carinae 7,500 light years away in our own galaxy.

This huge eruption in the mid-19th century is thought to have hurled at least 10 times the mass of our own sun into space, to create a huge cloud of gas and dust.

Astronomers have, for the first time, identified enormous 'super stars' similar to one known as Eta Carinae outside our own galaxy for the first time. Eta Carinae (pictured) is thought to be undergoing a rare type of star evolution after the binary system erupted in the mid 19th century throwing out a huge cloud of dust and gas

Eta Carinae shines five million times brighter than our own sun, making it one of the most luminous objects in the sky within 10,000 light years of Earth.

But now scientists said they have discovered five similar objects, known as Eta Twins, in galaxies beyond our own.

It could provide a rare opportunity to study these rare astronomical phenomon and learn more about how stars evolve.

Dr Rubab Khan, a researcher at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, said these 'super stars' could help to distribute the chemical elements vital to life and may be a precursor to exploding as supernovae.

Experts believe Eta Carinae may be on the verge of exploding in an enormous supernovae.

WHAT IS ETA CARINAE? Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae was first spotted in the 1840s. It is one of the brightest objects within 10,000 light years of Earth, outshining our sun by five million times. The binary system consists of two massive stars in a tight 5.5-year orbit, which are surrounded by a huge cloud of dust and gas that is 10 times the mass of our sun. Astronomers estimate the stars themselves in the midst of the cloud are 90 and 30 times the size of our sun. In 2014, scientists warned that Eta Carinae may be on the verge of exploding in a massive supernovae. This could release an enormous gamma-ray burst, one of the brightest explosions in the universe. Advertisement

Dr Khan said: 'The most massive stars are always rare, but they have tremendous impact on the chemical and physical evolution of their host galaxy.'

Since it was discovered in the 1840s, astromoners have been searching the sky for similar examples to Eta Carinae in the hope of understanding why the eruption occurred.

A survey of seven galaxies between 2012 and 2014 failed to find any Eta Twins, underscoring their rarity.

But in a new survey in 2015, Dr Khan and his colleagues found two candidate Eta twins in the galaxy M83, which is 15 million light years away.

They also found three further Eta Twin candidates in the galaxies NGC6946, M101 and M51, which are located between 18 and 26 million light years away.

Each match the optical and infrared properties of Eta Carinae, which suggest they have extremely high mass stars buried beneath clouds of gas and dust five to ten times more massive than our sun.

Professor Krzysztof Stanek, an astronomer at Ohio State University in Columbus who was also involved in the study, which is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, said: 'We knew others were out there.

'It was really a matter of figuring out what to look for and of being persistent.'

Dr Khan, Professor Stanek and their colleagues found the Eta twins by working out the kind of optical and infrared 'fingerprint' similar objects to Eta Carinae may have in they sky.

The nearby spiral galaxy M83 (pictured) was found to host two potential Eta twins (inset left and right). Researchers hope studying these may help to reveal new details about this rare type of star

In total, the researchers have found five Eta twins (pictured) in four different galaxies between 15 and 26 million light years away. These rare stellar eruptions throw out huge amounts of dust and gas that form clouds in the region around the star. Some scientists believe they could be a precursor to a supernovae

They calculated that dust forming in the gas ejected by a massive star would dim the ultraviolet and visible light by absorbing it as energy.

However, this would then radiate this energy as heat in the infrared wavelengths, producing a distinctive appearance through telescopes such as Nasa's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

Dr Khan said: 'By comparing this emission to the dimming we see in Hubble's optical images, we could determine how much dust was present and compare it to the amount we see around Eta Carinae.'

The researchers said instruments on board Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope, which is due to launch in 2018, could now help to provide new details on these distant Eta Twins.
Find in Colorado is the

It appears this demonstrated they were capable of building a good nest

You may think of dinosaurs as cruel, terrifying creatures with slashing claws and ferocious jaws.

But new research reveals these beasts had a much softer side.

Palaeontologists have found evidence that dinosaurs used tender courtship displays and 'prehistoric foreplay' similar to some modern ground-nesting birds.

This included males preparing nests to persuade potential suitors they would make a helpful father.

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Fearsome theropods (illustrated) may have used tender courtship displays and 'prehistoric foreplay' similar to some modern ground-nesting birds, including making nests to persuade potential suitors they would make a helpful father

The experts from the University of Colorado at Denver came to this surprising conclusion after studying 'scrapes' made by theropod dinosaurs - exemplified by T-rex - 100 million years ago in what is now western Colorado.

The markings look similar to those made by modern birds, such as Atlantic puffins and ostriches, showing a behaviour known as 'nest scrape display'.

In these 'scrape ceremonies,' males show off their ability to provide by excavating fake nests for potential mates.

Martin Lockley, a geology professor who lead a team from the University of Colorado at Denver, said: 'These are the first sites with evidence of dinosaur mating display rituals ever discovered, and the first physical evidence of courtship behaviour.

'These huge scrape displays fill in a missing gap in our understanding of dinosaur behaviour.'

The experts from the University of Colorado at Denver came to this surprising conclusion after studying 'scrapes' made by theropod dinosaurs 100 million years ago in what is now western Colorado. Team leader Dr. Martin Lockley (right) next to co-author Ken Cart kneel beside two of the large Cretaceous-age scrapes

The markings look similar to those made by modern birds, such as Atlantic puffins and ostriches (stock image), showing a behaviour known as 'nest scrape display'

The location of the dig sites in Colorada is shown left while individual dig sites are pictured right

Professor Lockley is a world-renowned expert on dinosaur footprints.

He found evidence of more than 60 dinosaur scrapes - some as large as bathtubs - in an area where tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs have also been confirmed.

The largest of the sandstone sites, dating back to the Cretaceous period between 66 and 145 million years ago, covers an area of approximately 8073 sqft (750 square metres).

There, the team found scrapes typically consisting of parallel double troughs and scratch marks separated by a raised central ridge.

They believe the different sizes and depths of the scrapes could indicate that different species of theropods used the mating behaviour, and the area could have been an 'arena' for courtship.

The new fossil evidence also supports theories about the nature of dinosaur mating displays and the evolutionary driver known as sexual selection.

These coloured photogrammetric images show the theropod display traces from the Dakota Sandstone at Duncan Road in western Colorado (a) and at Dinosaur Ridge in eastern Colorado (b)

Professor Lockley, a world-renowned expert on dinosaur footprints, found evidence of more than 60 dinosaur scrapes (examples pictured) - some as large as bathtubs - in an area where tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs have also been confirmed

Since prehistoric times, males looking for mates have driven off weaker rivals, while females have chosen the most impressive male performers as partners.

Similar sexual selection behaviours are common in mammals and birds.

Professor Lockley said: 'The scrape evidence has significant implications. This is physical evidence of prehistoric foreplay that is very similar to birds today.

'Modern birds using scrape ceremony courtship usually do so near their final nesting sites.

'So the fossil scrape evidence offers a tantalising clue that dinosaurs in 'heat' may have gathered here millions of years ago to breed and then nest nearby.'

So far, no nesting colonies have been found in the areas, according to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
People who prefer to spend time on their hobbies and earn less are happier than people who like to work longer hours for big pay packets, a study has found.

Spending time in more 'meaningful ways' on pastimes, with family or exercising leads to greater feelings of well-being, researchers found.

They suggest that if people want to focus more on their time and less on money they should work fewer hours, pay someone to do chores like cleaning the house, or volunteer with a charity.

People who value their time and would rather dig their garden, play with their children (stock image) or improve their golf handicap have the biggest smiles on their faces, academics have said. The finding held true even for people of varying income levels and across the sexes

Society is split down the middle between those who value their personal time and collect a modest salary and those would rather work longer hours for greater rewards.

But it is the people who would rather dig their garden, play with their children or improve their golf handicap who have the biggest smiles on their faces, the academics said.

The finding held true even for people of varying income levels and across the sexes.

The lesson that you can't buy happiness seems to be learnt as we mature as older people were more likely to say they prioritised their spare time more rather than earning.

MONEY CAN'T BUY LOVE, BUT IT CAN BUY HAPPINESS You may not be able to buy love, but science says you can buy happiness. A recent study, which contradicts the current research from the University of British Columbia, suggests purchasing material goods gives us more frequent joy over the course of weeks and months, compared to the happiness we get from an experience. Researchers said experiences provide intense feelings that will eventually fade, but material things remind a person about the happiness they felt when they first received it. Advertisement

Lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia carried out six studies involving 4,600 participants including a nationally representative survey of Americans, students and visitors to a science museum in Vancouver.

Subjects were asked real-world questions such as whether they would prefer a more expensive home but a shorter commute.

In one typical scenario, participants were asked which character they identified with out of two people.

For example: 'Tina values her time more than her money. She is willing to sacrifice her money to have more time.

'For example, Tina would rather work fewer hours and make less money, than work more hours and make more money.'

'Tina' was contrasted with 'Maggie' who 'values her money more than her time' and would rather work more hours and make more money.

Other questions were whether students would be happier studying a degree with longer hours that would lead to a higher salary, or one with fewer hours but would lead to a lower paid job.

The findings showed that people who prefer to spend time on hobbies and earn less are happier than people who like to work longer hours for big pay packets. The study suggests that if people want to focus more on their time and less on money they should work fewer hours or pay someone to do chores like cleaning (shown)

The authors, of the paper in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that people who prioritised time over money reported experiencing greater happiness.

The authors add: 'This association was small but robust, and held controlling for materialism, material striving, current feelings of time and material affluence, and relevant demographic characteristics such as income, employment, marital status, gender, and age.'

Miss Whillans, a doctoral student said: 'It appears people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritising time is associated with greater happiness.

'As people age, they often want to spend time in more meaningful ways than just making money'

She acknowledged that some of the incomes might be available for people with disposable income.
Scientists have found variants of three genes from Neanderthals that have made our immune systems more sensitive and so produce allergies

One to 6 per cent of DNA in modern Eurasians is from these early humans

Neanderthals are thought to have interbred with humans 50,000 years ago

Two studies reveal our immune systems were shaped by Neanderthal DNA

They died out around 45,000 years ago as our ancestors moved into their territory and perhaps even killed them off, but Neanderthals may have had the last laugh - by causing us to suffer from allergies.

A new genetic study has revealed the genes inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals after our species interbred 50,000 years ago play a key role in our immune system today.

While these genetic variations have increased the ability of those who have them to ward off infection, they have also left large numbers of people more prone to allergies.

Researchers found large numbers of people carry genes for Toll-like receptors, which play an key role in the immune system, that were inherited from Neanderthals. In the map (pictured), orange and green segments are proportional to number of people in each population with these Neanderthal and Denisovan genes

Between one and six per cent of the DNA carried by people from Europe, and much of Asia, has been inherited from Neanderthals or their ancient early human cousins the Denisovans.

Indeed, people in East Asia carry up to 15 to 30 per cent more of this prehistoric early human DNA than Europeans.

This has helped to confirm theories by anthropologists that our own species - Homo sapiens - interbred with these rival species as they spread out of Africa from around 60,000 years ago.

While researchers first identified these archaic human genes hidden within our DNA in 2010, the function they serve is only now being unravelled.

HOW NEANDERTHAL GENES GAVE US ALLERGIES Between one and six per cent of the DNA carried by people from Europe, and much of Asia, has been inherited from Neanderthals or their ancient early human cousins the Denisovans. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now identified three distinct genetic variations from Neanderthals that play a role in allergies. These genes produce proteins known as Toll-like receptors, which are an important part of the innate immune system that provides the first line of defence against infections. However, faults in this immune response also lead to allergies as immune cells react to non-harmful substances such as pollen, food, dust or animal hair. The researchers said three Neanderthals genes which produce proteins called TLR 6, TLR1 and TLR10 all seem to be associated with, and increase, allergic disease in large numbers of people. Advertisement

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now identified three distinct genetic variations from Neanderthals that play a role in allergies.

These genes produce proteins known as Toll-like receptors, which are an important part of the innate immune system that provides the first line of defence against infections.

However, faults in this immune response also lead to allergies as immune cells react to non-harmful substances such as pollen, food, dust or animal hair.

The researchers said three Neanderthals genes which produce proteins called TLR 6, TLR1 and TLR10 all seem to be associated with, and increase, allergic disease in large numbers of people.

Dr Janet Kelso, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology who led the work said it appears the genes made the immune system more sensitive.

She said while this delivered advantages in the past, it could also cause modern-day problems like allergies.

She said: 'Neanderthals, for example, had lived in Europe and Western Asia for around 200,000 years before the arrival of modern humans.

They were likely well adapted to the local climate, foods, and pathogens. By interbreeding with these archaic humans, we modern humans gained these advantageous adaptations.

'What has emerged from our study as well as from other work is that interbreeding with archaic humans does indeed have functional implications for modern humans.

Neanderthals (reconstruction pictured) are thought to have died out around 45,000 years ago as modern humans moved in to the areas where they lived. However, they are thought to have interbred with our species Homo sapiens before they became extinct, leaving a genetic legacy in modern genomes today

HOW MUCH OF US IS NEANDERTHAL? An ancient partial skull recently provided the earliest evidence modern humans lived alongside and bred with Neanderthals. Recently discovered in Manot Cave in West Galilee, Israel, the bone sheds new light on our ancient relatives living in the area. The find challenged previous theories the two species potentially met 45,000 years ago somewhere in Europe. Modern Europeans have inherited between one and six percent of their genes from Neanderthals, meaning the two groups mated at some point in the past. Analysis of these archaic genes from Neanderthals have also revealed many of them are responsible for creating the protein keratin found in our skin, hair and nails. Almost 80 per cent of Eurasians have the Neanderthal version of keratin genes, which may have helped to toughen our skin as we adapted to colder northern European climes. Other genes inherited from this now extinct branch of the human evolutionary tree have been found to predispose us to a collection of diseases. These 'legacy' genes have been linked to an increased risk from cancer and diabetes. Others have been associated with lupus and Crohn's disease. Advertisement

'The most obvious consequences have been in shaping our adaptation to our environment - improving how we resist pathogens and metabolize novel foods.'

Their research, which is published in the journal American Journal of Human Genetics, screened the genomes of present-day humans for regions with similarity to Neanderthals and Denisovans.

These ancient humans lived across much of Europe and Asia for almost 200,000 years before modern humans arrived between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago.

A second study, also published in American Journal of Human Genetics, also found patterns of evolutionary change in the innate immune system of modern humans that can be traced back to Neanderthals.

Dr Lluis Quintana-Murci, from the Institut Pasteur and the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, who led this separate work, found many of our immunity genes have changed little for long periods, while some underwent rapid change in the past 6,000 to 13,00 years as humans switched from hunting to farming.

However, they also found a cluster of Toll-like receptor genes  TLR1-6-10  that seem to have the highest Neanderthal ancestory in both Europeans and Asians.

Dr Quintana-Murci said: 'These, and other, innate immunity genes present higher levels of Neanderthal ancestry than the remainder of the coding genome.

'This highlights how important introgression events [the movement of genes across species] may have been in the evolution of the innate immunity system in humans.'

The findings build on earlier work by anthropologist Dr Simon Underdown from Oxford Brooks University.

Together with colleagues, he compiled genetic, fossil and archaeological evidence to suggest that Neanderthals suffered from a wide range of diseases that still plague us today.

Genes inherited from Neanderthals in our innate immune systems may have made us better able to fight off disease but may also have led to an oversensitivity that leads to allergies in some people (stock image)

Neanderthals (skull pictured) are emerging as being key in the evolution of modern humans, contributing up to six per cent of the DNA of people living in Europe and parts of Asia. These prehistoric human relatives were thought to have been a evolutionary dead end, but some of their genetic legacy persists in people living today

They found evidence that our prehistoric cousins would have been infected by diseases such as tuberculosis, typhoid, whooping cough, encephalitis and the common cold.

In reaction to the latest findings, Dr Underdown told MailOnline it seems Neanderthals played a key role in the survival of modern humans.

DID OUR DISEASES CAUSE NEANDERTHALS TO DIE OUT? Modern humans have been blamed for killing off the Neanderthals by out competing them, breeding with them and even outright murdering them. But recent research suggests it may actually have been infectious diseases carried by our modern ancestors as they migrated out of Africa that finished them off. Anthropologists from Cambridge University and Oxford Brookes University say that new diseases carried by modern humans may have led to the downfall of Neanderthals. They speculate that pathogens like Heliocbacter pylori, the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, were brought to Europe by modern humans from Africa and may have infected Neanderthals, who would have been unable to fight off these new diseases. Advertisement

While these prehistoric human relatives were thought to have been a evolutionary dead end, some of their genetic legacy persists in people living today.

'Genetics is unlocking a level of data that we never thought possible even five years ago,' Dr Underdown continued.

'The group of genes that have been studied are all involved in detecting bacteria, fungi and parasites at the cellular level and starting the bodies fight back.

'What both papers show is that the genes that were better at detecting and responding to infections are the ones that have been actively selected for in humans.

'That they were inherited from other hominin species shows that interbreeding allowed us to adapt more rapidly to new environments.

'This is a rather fun finding as it flies against the old archaeological idea of Homo sapiens sweeping into Europe with much more sophisticated technology and wiping out the Neanderthals.

'While it might seem odd that these useful genes result in more allergies today it's a case of our lives today being so clean that our bodies have a much greater reaction to allergens today than in the past.

'It would have been much more useful to be able to fight of a severe infection, even it met sneezing when you got to close to a Woolly Rhino, so natural selection grabbed them from the Neanderthals and put them into the human genome.'
Despite being mummified in the icy Austrian landscape 5,300 years ago, tzi the iceman is continuing to reveal secrets of our ancestral past.

In addition to suffering from the world's first-known case of Lyme disease, a new study has found he was also infected with a common bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, which is present in about half the population today.

Experts say the find could reveal how disease spread at the time of his death, the discovery could even reveal more about the complex movements of the first Europeans.

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A new study has found that Otzi the 5,300 year old ice-mummy was also infected with a common bacterium, Helicobacter pylori. The bacterium is present in about half the population today. The discovery could reveal more about the complex movements of ancient Europeans

Researchers at the European Academy (Eurac) uncovered the genome of H.pylori through analysis of the entire DNA of the contents of tzi's stomach.

Normally, the bacteria would be found in the lining of the stomach, but as he has been dead for so long, this wasn't possible for tzi.

As bacteria are transmitted through close contact, they are usually shared by families and communities.

BACTERIAL BREADCRUMBS Scientists believe that there were originally two distinct strains of the H.pylori - an African and an Asian strain. The two are though to have merged to form the modern strain which infects people in Europe today. Rather than being infected with the same strain as Europeans today, tzi's was found to H.pylori strain more closely related to that found in modern Central and South Asia. It had been assumed that Stone Age people were already infected with the European strain of the bacteria before they settled down, giving up the nomadic life for farming, before tzi's time in the Copper Age. The findings mean that the 'merge' event happened after Otzi, and shows that the history of settlements in Europe is much more complex than previously thought. Dr Frank Maixner said: We actually dont know what kind of people brought this African H.pylori into Europe. 'What we do know is that the signal for this second population which has come into Europe is strongest in North East Africa. What more than likely happenedis that the North East signal, found in modern day Europeans, had not evolved by the time we left Africa 65,000 years ago.' This study, plus others...indicate at least one other migration out of North East Africa, bringing these signals to the Middle East or the fertile crescent. Advertisement

This means that the appearance of their DNA can act as 'bacterial breadcrumbs' for scientist to trace the movements of people thousands of years ago.

The findings also suggest that the bug has been with humans for millennia, and that our evolutionary paths are so intertwined it may have been with us since the beginning of human history.

Scientists believe that there were originally two distinct strains of H.pylori - an African and an Asian strain - which merged to form the modern strain which infects people in Europe today.

But when they analysed the DNA of tzi's H.pylori, the team made an intriguing discovery.

Rather than being infected with the same strain as Europeans today, the iceman had a strain more closely related to bacteria found in modern Central and South Asia.

It had been assumed that Stone Age people were already infected with the European strain of the bacteria before they settled down, giving up the nomadic life for farming, before tzi's time in the Copper Age.

But the findings from tzi turn this theory on its head, indicating that the movements of early Europeans may have been much more complicated than previously believed.

'The recombination of the two types of Helicobacter may have only occurred at some point after Otzi's era and this shows that the history of settlements in Europe is much more complex than previously assumed,' explained Dr Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at EURAC.

He added: We actually dont know what kind of people brought this African H.pylori into Europe.

'What we do know is that the signal for this second population, which has come into Europe is strongest in North East Africa.

What more than likely happenedis that the North East signal, found in modern day Europeans, had not evolved by the time we left Africa 65,000 years ago.'

The 'Out of Africa' theory holds that the main migration from Africa occurred around 65,000 years ago.

Scientists believe that there were originally two distinct strains of the H.pylori (stock images above) - an African and an Asian strain - which merged to form the modern strain which infects people in Europe today

Last year, a DNA study of modern people from Ethiopia and Egypt suggested that our ancestors first spread east, via the Arabian Peninsula, and entered South Asia long before the 60,000 year mark. They would later have moved westwards, to what is now Europe.

He continued: 'This study, plus others...indicate at least one other migration out of North East Africa, bringing these signals to the Middle East or the fertile crescent.

The findings also hint that tzi may even have been sick at the time of his death.

Analysis of the ancient bacterial DNA indicates it was producing toxins which could have been making the iceman ill.

While H.pylori remains relatively quiet in most people, around 10 per cent of those infected will develop complications such as stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal problems, which mostly affect people in old age.

The findings hint that tzi (pictured) may even have been sick at the time of his death. Analysis of the ancient bacterial DNA indicates it was producing toxins which could have been making the iceman ill. H.pylori can create stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal problems in some people

Dr Albert Zink, a paleobiologist at EURAC and director of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, explained: 'Whether Otzi suffered from stomach problems cannot be said with any degree of certainty, because his stomach tissue has not survived and it is in this tissue that such diseases can be discerned first

OUT OF AFRICA - BUT WHEN? Modern man is thought to have appeared in Africa around 200,000 years ago. But the details of how our species dispersed from there are still murky. For many years the main 'Out of Africa' migration is believed have been around 65,000 years ago. Last year, a DNA study of modern people from Ethiopia and Egypt suggested that our ancestors first spread east, via the Arabian Peninsula, and entered South Asia long before the 60,000 year mark. This contradicts the theory that claims Homo sapiens didn't move eastwards until 60,000 years ago instead settling around Eurasia. One theory is that the presence of the Neanderthals kept our species out of west Eurasia. Scientists also suggest that that modern humans, who started out in Africa, weren't prepared from the harsh winter conditions in Europe. Our species, Homo sapiens, is thought to have appeared in Africa around 200,000 years ago. The details of its dispersal from there are still murky. The latest study suggests that our ancestors first spread east, via the Arabian Peninsula, and entered South Asia long before the 60,000 year mark (shown by the yellow arrow) Advertisement

When people are infected, their DNA can show lasting signs as they produce immune proteins to battle infection. This immunological 'smoking gun' was found in tzi.

'We showed the presence of marker proteins which we see today in patients infected with Helicobacter,' said Dr Maixner.

This would mean tzi's bacteria was expressing virulence factors, pumping out poisons which would likely have placed him within the 10 per cent of people with complications.

Dr Albert Zink, a paleobiologist at EURAC and director of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, explained: 'Whether Otzi suffered from stomach problems cannot be said with any degree of certainty, because his stomach tissue has not survived and it is in this tissue that such diseases can be discerned first.

'Nonetheless, the preconditions for such a disease did in fact exist in Otzi.'
Last month, study found that monkeys posses empathy for each other

Chimpanzees did the same if the food was stolen

table holding food so their partner couldn't have it

Study to see if monkeys punish the beneficiaries of social inequalities

They may be cute and cuddly, but capuchin monkeys have a dark side.

During a recent study, it was discovered that monkeys will punish others who get more than their fair share.

Researchers believe the spiteful trait humans posses may go back much farther into our evolutionary history than previously thought.

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During a recent study, monkeys punished others they felt had more than their fair share. Researchers now believe the spiteful trait humans posses extends much deeper into our evolutionary history than previously thought

'One hallmark of the human species is the fact that we're willing to make a special effort to punish those who violate social norms' said Laurie Santos, Yale psychologist and senior author of the study.

'We punish those who take resources unfairly and those who intend to do mean things to others.'

'Many researchers have wondered whether this motivation is unique to our species.'

Researchers found Capuchin monkeys will yank on a rope to collapse a table that is holding another's food.

CHIMPANZEES CAN TELL RIGHT FROM WRONG A study of the apes reacting to an infant chimp being killed by another group has shown the animals have a strong sense of right and wrong. The researchers found chimpanzees reacted to videos showing the violent scenes in a similar way to humans. The researchers, whose study is published in the journal Human Nature, filmed 17 adult chimpanzees from two different zoos in Switzerland as they watched video clips. The findings suggest that chimpanzees can distinguish between aggression against infants compared to other violent forms of behaviour. However, the researchers also found while the chimps watched the infanticide scenes for longer, there was only limited evidence they became agitated or reacted to them. Advertisement

While chimpanzees will only do so if they feel a crime has been committed by another monkey, such as stealing the food.

The study showed that Capuchins punish their fellow kind much more, even in the occasion the other monkey just had more food.

Santos and her colleagues Kristin Leimgruber and Alexandra Rosati, now both at Harvard University, wanted to know if a distantly related primate species would punish the beneficiaries of social inequalities.

Like chimpanzees, Capuchins did collapse tables to punish monkeys that stole food.

But they also punished beneficiaries of windfalls as well, according to the release.

'Our study provides the first evidence of a non-human primate choosing to punish others simply because they have more,' said Leimgruber, first author of the paper.

'This sort of 'if I can't have it, no one can' response is consistent with psychological spite, a behavior previously believed unique to humans.'

Researchers found Capuchin monkeys will yank on a rope to collapse a table that is holding another's food. Like chimpanzees, Capuchins did collapse tables to punish monkeys that stole food. But they also punished beneficiaries of windfalls as well

'Our findings suggest that the psychological roots of human-like punishment motivations may extend deeper into our evolutionary history than previously thought.' Santos said.

Last month, study suggested macaque monkeys take the welfare of their friends into account when making behavior choices that could reward or punish their peers.

Using an experiment involving pairs of monkeys, juice and airpuffs, scientists have shown macaque monkeys seemingly show empathy - a characteristic thought to be almost uniquely human. Results showing their tendency to reward friends and show prosocial behaviour is shown above

Previous studies have shown that macaques can perceive and seek to alleviate their peers' distress, and scientists have long be trying to work out how altruistic behaviour and empathy has evolved.

Researchers from the Centre of Cognitive Neuroscience in Bron and the University of Lyon, both in France, paired up captive long-tailed and rhesus macaques.

The 14 pairs were made to sit opposite each other and to choose between two visual cues shown on a touchscreen, symbolising a reward or punishment.

Previous studies have shown that macaques (stock image) can perceive and seek to alleviate their peers' distress and scientists have long be trying to work out how altruistic behaviour and empathy has evolved

STUDYING EMPATHY IN MONKEYS Researchers paired up captive long-tailed and rhesus macaques. The 14 pairs were made to sit opposite each other and to choose between two visual cues shown on a touchscreen, symbolising a reward or punishment. The monkeys took turns in making decisions that could impact their own welfare or their partner's, by either granting rewards in the form of a sip of juice, or delivering punishments in the form of a blast of air to the eyes, dubbed an 'airpuff' in the study. Eye-tracking devices were used to record the monkeys' gaze and eye blinks to look for signs of social engagement and negative effects. Overall, they observed eight instances of positive or 'prosocial' behaviour when it came to rewarding partners with juice, four indifferent ones and two antisocial ones. Advertisement

The monkeys took turns in making decisions that could impact their own welfare or their partner's, by either granting rewards in the form of a sip of juice, or delivering punishments in the form of a blast of air to the eyes, dubbed an 'airpuff' in the study.

Eye-tracking devices were used to record the monkeys' gaze and eye blinks to look for signs of social engagement and negative effects.

Researchers Sebastien Ballestaa and Jean-Rene Duhamel found that the creatures seemed to show empathy to their partner.

'Most monkeys were inclined to refrain from delivering a mildly aversive airpuff and to grant juice rewards to their partner,' they wrote in the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Overall, they observed eight instances of positive or 'prosocial' behaviour when it came to rewarding partners with juice, four indifferent ones and two antisocial ones.

'One monkey (M1) displayed consistent prosocial choices with all of its partners, whereas all other animals showed a pattern of prosocial, antisocial, or indifferent choices that depended on partner identity and outcome valence [event].'

The researchers observed eight instances of positive or 'prosocial' behaviour when it came to rewarding partners with juice, four indifferent ones and two antisocial ones. Monkey 'M1' only showed prosocial behaviour, while others showed a mixture (results illustrated above)

Interestingly, a monkey dubbed 'M5' refrained from delivering an airpuff to his female grooming partner, more than to himself, 'suggesting that observing another's discomfort can be more aversive than experiencing it,' the researchers wrote.

They also found that the probability of making a benevolent choice was associated with the amount of mutual gaze between the partners. In particular, they increased the time staring at each other if a treat was awarded.




Using the worlds largest telescopes, researchers have discovered ancient cold gas clouds larger than galaxies in the early Universe and solved a 40 year old mystery.

For decades, they have been on a mission to measure gas clouds, but failed due to unstable star formations and dim lighting.

Researchers were able to line up the gas clouds with other galaxies to measure them - and found they are larger than galaxies in the early universe.

Researchers have been on a mission to measure gas clouds, but failed due to unstable star formations and dim lighting they produced. But, with the help of the world's largest telescopes, researchers were able to line up the gas clouds with other galaxies and found they are actually larger than galaxies in the early universe

WHAT ARE THE CLOUDS? DLA clouds contain most of the cool gas in the Universe and are predicted to contain enough gas to form most of the stars we see in galaxies around us today, like the Milky Way. However, this prediction has yet to be confirmed. DLAs currently have little ongoing star formation, making them too dim to observe directly from their emitted light alone. Instead, they are detected when they happen to fall in the line of sight to a more distant bright object and leave an unmistakeable absorption signature in the background objects light. Advertisement

The findings were unveiled at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Orlando, Florida by Swinburn University of Technology and St. Michael's College.

Researchers realized that finding damped Lyman alpha systems, or DLAs in the line of sight to background galaxies would enable measurements of their size by determining how much of the galaxy they cover.

'Our new method first identifies galaxies that are more likely to have intervening DLA gas clouds and then searches for them using long, deep exposures on the powerful Keck Observatory 10m telescopes in Hawaii and deep data from the VLT 8m telescopes in Chile,' said Associate Professor Jeff Cooke of Swinburn University.

'The technique is timely as the next generation of giant 30m telescopes will be online in several years and are ideal to exploit this method to routinely gather large numbers of DLAs for study.'

These type of gas clouds hold most of the universe's cold gas and it's said they can contain enough to form most of the stars, like the Milky Way.

Since DLAs star formation isn't constant, the light isn't bright enough to observe.

Researchers could only detect them once they have fallen in line of sight with a more distant bright object and leave an unmistakable absorption signature in the background object's light.

VLT 8m telescopes in Chile (pictured). Researchers realized that finding damped Lyman alpha systems, or DLAs in the line of sight to background galaxies would enable measurements of their size by determining how much of the galaxy they cover

Before this recent discovery was made, quasars were used as the background objects to search for these gas clouds.

But although quasars are extremely bright, they are also very rare and tiny, only a fraction of a light year across.

Whereas galaxies are quite common and provide a 100 million-fold increase in area to probe DLAs.

Before this recent discovery was made, quasars were used as the background objects to search for these gas clouds. But although quasars are extremely bright, they are also very rare and tiny, only a fraction of a light year across

'Using the galaxy technique, DLAs can be studied in large numbers to provide a 3-D tomographic picture of distribution of gas clouds in the early Universe and help complete our understanding of how galaxies formed and evolved over cosmic time,' says Associate Professor John O'Meara from St. Michael's College.

A series of massive 'super star' systems erupted into enormous balls of gas and dust have been discovered in neighbouring galaxies for the first time this week.

Astronomers had only seen one example of this rare eruption before, around a binary star system called Eta Carinae 7,500 light years away in our own galaxy.

Astronomers have, for the first time, identified enormous 'super stars' similar to one known as Eta Carinae outside our own galaxy for the first time. Eta Carinae (pictured) is thought to be undergoing a rare type of star evolution after the binary system erupted in the mid 19th century throwing out a huge cloud of dust and gas

WHAT IS ETA CARINAE? Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae was first spotted in the 1840s. It is one of the brightest objects within 10,000 light years of Earth, outshining our sun by five million times. The binary system consists of two massive stars in a tight 5.5-year orbit, which are surrounded by a huge cloud of dust and gas that is 10 times the mass of our sun. Astronomers estimate the stars themselves in the midst of the cloud are 90 and 30 times the size of our sun. In 2014, scientists warned that Eta Carinae may be on the verge of exploding in a massive supernovae. This could release an enormous gamma-ray burst, one of the brightest explosions in the universe. Advertisement

This huge eruption in the mid-19th century is thought to have hurled at least 10 times the mass of our own sun into space, to create a huge cloud of gas and dust.

Eta Carinae shines five million times brighter than our own sun, making it one of the most luminous objects in the sky within 10,000 light years of Earth.

But now scientists said they have discovered five similar objects, known as Eta Twins, in galaxies beyond our own.

It could provide a rare opportunity to study these rare astronomical phenomon and learn more about how stars evolve.

Dr Rubab Khan, a researcher at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, said these 'super stars' could help to distribute the chemical elements vital to life and may be a precursor to exploding as supernovae.

Experts believe Eta Carinae may be on the verge of exploding in an enormous supernovae.

Dr Khan said: 'The most massive stars are always rare, but they have tremendous impact on the chemical and physical evolution of their host galaxy.'

The nearby spiral galaxy M83 (pictured) was found to host two potential Eta twins (inset left and right). Researchers hope studying these may help to reveal new details about this rare type of star
Arachnophobes look away now.

This shocking picture shows a huge huntsman spider that was discovered hiding inside a traveller's tent after catching a free flight into New Zealand.

Border staff at Auckland Airport noticed the creepy crawly, which can grow up to 12 inches in size, upon inspection of the luggage which had been on a flight from Australia.

Posting the image online yesterday, the Ministry for Primary Industries in New Zealand thanked the airport security team for preventing the spider from entering the country.

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Taking to twitter, MPI said: '#Huntsman spider found in tent from #Australia by #biosecurity staff at @AKL_airport! Thanks team!'

Speaking to Stuff New Zealand, an MPI spokesman said that although the spiders don't pose a serious risk to human life, they are thought to eat other bugs and insects and there was a biosecurity risk they carried disease with them, he said.

The spider, which is often referred to as the wood spider or a crab spider because of its appearance, is more than a third of a foot larger than the New Zealand variety - which only grows up to eight inches.

Taking to twitter, MPI said: '#Huntsman spider found in tent from #Australia by #biosecurity staff at @AKL_airport! Thanks team!'

The spider is often referred to as the wood spider or a crab spider because of its large appearance (stock image)

HUNTSMAN SPIDER FACTS 1. Theyre very fast. The average huntsman spider can travel at one metre per second. 2. Huntsman spiders can attain a leg span of between 10 and 12 inches. 3. Often referred to as the wood spider or a crab spider because of its appearance and leg shape. 4. They come in different colours and have distinctive patterns on their underside. 5. The large spiders feed on insect pests such as cockroaches. 6. They can jump high and far. 7. Although they don't pose a risk to humans, there is a risk they may carry diseases with them. 8. Their bite is non-toxic but very painful. Advertisement

MailOnline yesterday revealed a video which saw the gruesome reproduction cycle of a wasp which captures its hunstman spider prey and uses it to host its young.

The footage shows an Australian spider wasp in the act of its brutal reproduction cycle, which uses the body of a huntsman to incubate its larvae.
A female passenger threatened to 'blow up the plane', after she was told she was not allowed to take her over-sized luggage on board.

The shocking incident took place at Jazan Airport in Saudi Arabia, and led to the woman being escorted off the aircraft.

It is unknown where the woman was flying out to, but the plane as well as her luggage had to be searched by the police and security officials.

After a member of cabin crew told a woman that her luggage was too big for the cabin, the passenger made a threat that she would 'blow up the plane' (file photo, woman not pictured)

Saudi news site Sabq reported that the person in question is a professor at a Saudi Arabian university.

After boarding the plane, the woman was told by a member of crew that her bag was too big to stow in the cabin, and it would have to be handed over.

But she refused to be separated from her luggage.

After being told that it did not satisfy the size restrictions she then threatened to blow up the plane if her bag was taken from her, reports Gulf News.

After the pilot contacted the police, the aircraft was taken to an isolated area of the airport where searches took place.

The woman was then taken off the plane, which eventually flew to its destination after the delay. It is not known if any charges were brought against the passenger.

The plane was moved to an isolated area (file photo) and searched by security officials

Yesterday MailOnline reported how a 'madman' passenger attacked, spat and swore at aircrew before threatening to blow up a plane during a two-hour mid-air ordeal.

Radio DJ Steve Penk's daughter Natalie, 27, said she feared for her life after the man began running up and down the aisles and hurling abuse at staff during a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Dubai on Tuesday night.

After 45 minutes of running riot on the plane, the man was finally handcuffed after being dramatically restrained by four members of staff and another passenger.

But the terror continued as he spat at passengers and howled for help before shouting: 'I have a bomb and you're all going to die.'

Describing the ordeal in an email written to her father - a former Virgin DJ who now runs his own stations - Natalie said: 'It was absolutely dreadful. I've never felt so scared in my life.

'All hell broke loose. He was restrained on the seats but was literally howling at this point. He was screaming "you're trying to kill me, i'm going to die".

'He then started shouting "I have a bomb", with an hour of the flight still to go. I've never been so relieved to get off a flight in my life.'

A British Airways spokesman said the matter had now been handed over to Dubai police.

They added: 'Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse.
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A collection of striking vintage ski posters that hark back to a golden age of winter holidays are expected to fetch a whopping 1million at auction.

The pictures of Europe's top skiing destinations were created in the early 20th century when the first resorts began competing against one another to be recognised as the most beautiful and glamorous.

The bold and colourful paper images are incredibly valuable and can fetch up to 25,000 for one single poster.

Carol Moos backed and framed poster for Engadin St Moritz, featuring a ski jumper flying through the air, is expected to fetch 25,000 (left)

In the battle to lure holiday-makers, some of the finest designers and artists were commissioned to create stylish adverts, which were displayed in places like travel agents and on station platforms.

But the bold colours, typography and strong designs saw the posters quickly become collectibles and they now sell for thousands of pounds.

The majority of buyers are wealthy people who use them to decorate their own ski chalets.

Auctioneers Christie's are now selling 197 such posters, ranging in price from 700 to 25,000. The popularity of the artist, the condition and rarity of the poster all affect the values.

Artists featured in this sale include Emil Cardinaux, Alex Walter Diggelmann and Walter Koch and some of the well-known places include St Moritz, Chamonix Mont Blanc, Davos, Gstaad and Vosges.

The two top lots in the auction are by Carl Moos, a Swiss artist and illustrator, who won a silver medal in the 1928 Olympic Games art competition for his posters.

His 50-inch by 35-inch backed and framed poster for Engadin St Moritz, featuring a ski jumper flying through the air, is expected to fetch 25,000.

Some of the well-known places featured in this sale include St Moritz (left), Stoos (centre), Davos (right), Gstaad and Vosges

The picture is very rare and a very different style from a lot of the posters which showed mountain scenes but little or no action.

Another advert by Moos, showing two cross country skiers which was designed for a Winter Olympics qualifying event, should sell for 20,000.

The overall estimate for the 197 posters is 780,000 but with auctioneer fees to be added on it is likely to be a 1million sale.

Nicolette Tomkinson, head of posters at Christie's said: 'The most popular ski posters tend to be those that depict the world's most important, glamorous and well-loved ski resorts, including St. Moritz, Klosters and Davos.

'Whether the posters depict mountain ranges, skiers in action or one of the glamorous resort hotels, collectors remain attracted to the works for the colourful and decorative designs.

'The best designs from sought after artists command the highest prices. Artists including Roger Broders, Emil Cardinaux and Francisco Tamagno led the field with their bold, elegant interpretations of ski style.

The overall estimate for the 197 posters is 780,000 but with auctioneer fees to be added on it is likely to be a 1million sale

'The artists were often well known in the fine art world but they found commercial work interesting because it allowed them to experiment.

'They would be supplied with text but have a lot of artistic licence with the image, which means we get this huge array of different artistic styles in the posters because they had a bit of free rein.

'The two main factors are the poster's availability and its condition - due to limited print runs and the age of many posters, it is often the case that examples are difficult to track down or are found in poor condition.

'Posters would have been printed in runs of 1,000 or 2,000, but a lot of them were destroyed once they served their purpose so the ones that have survived usually come from the artist or their family or from the railway company or tourist board that commissioned them, who would have kept copies.

'They were collectible even when they were produced and I think they're still popular now because they capture a moment in time.'

The pictures of Europe's top skiing destinations were created in the early 20th century when the first resorts began competing against one another to be recognised as the most beautiful and glamorous

She added: 'They not only present a wonderfully nostalgic, pictorial history of the sport, but also a fascinating record of the changes in techniques, equipment and the resorts themselves.

'It's very interesting to see the different type of skis people used, the clothes they wore and what resorts were fashionable.

'The majority of people who buy these posters are private individuals who use them to decorate their own ski chalets.

'We have been known to have telephone bidders taking part in the sale from the slopes to secure their favourite lots.'
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The year 2015 was the safest ever for flying, research from a leading aviation company has revealed.

Despite the Germanwings disaster where pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed a passenger plane into the French Alps killing all 150 on board, and the suspected bombing on board the Metrojet aircraft that crashed in Northern Sinai leaving 224 dead, last year recorded the lowest ever number of accidents causing fatalities.

In addition to these two incidents, there were 14 other accidents that resulted in loss of life, with a total of 560 people killed.

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This graphic shows where the incidents resulting in loss of life happened around the world, and the numbers of people killed

The scene of the Metrojet flight 9268 that crashed in Egypt en-route to Russia. Despite this disaster - thought to have been caused by a bomb - the year 2015 was the safest of all time for fliers

This is the lowest number of incidents since the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) began actively logging them, the first being back in 1946.

In terms of loss of life from accidents alone, 2015 record the lowest numbers ever with 186 people killed. It is the fifth safest year ever in terms of fatalities.

The ASN reports that 'given the expected worldwide air traffic of 34million flights, the accident rate is one fatal passenger flight accident per 4,857,000 flights.'

The worst loss of life of 2015 came on October 31 when a Metrojet Airbus A321 crashed in the Sinai Desert, killing 224. While an investigation is still ongoing, it is claimed that the accident occurred as a result of the detonation of an explosion device.

This accident represents the dark side of 2015, together with the accident involving Germanwings flight 9525. The Airbus A320 crashed in France on March 25 and is likely to have been pilot suicide.

The Germanwings and Metrojet disasters resulted in 374 fatalities. Only three years, 1988, 1983, 1985 show a higher death toll from accidents - due to sabotage, military attacks and pilot suicide.

In 2014 there were 21 accidents, including sabotage and hijacking, worldwide, with a total of 989 people killed.

The year 2013 saw a lower number of lives lost - 265 - but these came in 29 separate incidents.

A rescue worker stands at the scene of the Germanwings tragedy of March 2015 where 150 were killed when pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately steered the plane into the French Alps

THE DEADLIEST YEARS ON RECORD 1972 - 2,513 fatalities from 76 incidents 1985 - 2,454 fatalities from 46 incidents 1973 - 2,322 fatalities from 76 incidents 1974 - 2,169 fatalities from 73 incidents 1996 - 1,969 fatalities from 58 incidents 1979 - 1,835 fatalities from 78 incidents Advertisement

ASN President Harro Ranter said: 'Since 1997 the average number of airliner accidents has shown a steady and persistent decline, for a great deal thanks to the continuing safety-driven efforts by international aviation organisations such as ICAO, IATA, Flight Safety Foundation and the aviation industry.'

The stats show that 1972 was the deadliest year in aviation history, with 2,373 fatalities from accidents, and a total of 2,513 from those that included premeditated actions.

Eleven crashes saw at least 100 people die. They included four Aeroflot crashes and others involving Iberia, British European Airways, Alitalia, Sterling Airways, Interflug, and Eastern Air Lines and Spantax.

The worst loss of life that year came when an Ilyushin 62 passenger plane run by Aeroflot was destroyed when it crashed in a forest near Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, Russia. All 164 passengers and ten crew members were killed.

The plane was en-route to Moscow from Paris, with a stop at St Petersburg. The cause of the accident was never established.

The 1970s was a particularly dangerous decade to fly. Along with the shocking statistics of 1972, the following year saw a total of 2,322 lives lost in 76 aviation incidents.

The ASN reports that 'given the expected worldwide air traffic of 34million flights, the accident rate is one fatal passenger flight accident per 4,857,000 flights' in 2015

A Nigeria Airways flight, from Jeddah to Lagos, burst into flames after crash landing when diverted to Kano Airport that year, recording the highest loss of life as 176 people died.

However the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history was in 1985 when a Japan Airlines flight suffered explosive decompression 12 minutes into the journey and, 32 minutes later, crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture.
Elsa Hosk showed off her model credentials while sunning herself in Brazil this week.

The 27-year-old Swedish beauty donned a skimpy white bikini as she let off steam at the hip resort of Trancoso with pals.

The natural beauty, who was crowned a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2015, enjoyed a cooling dip in the ocean and hung out with friends during her vacation.

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Model credentials: Elsa Hosk turned heads on the beach in Brazil on Sunday wearing a pretty white bikini

Wearing a scalloped white bandeau bikini, Elsa revealed her shapely yet slender frame to the delight of onlookers.

The blonde catwalk star even got to grips with one of the beach umbrellas, displaying some impressive pole moves, as a male pal looked on.

Trancoso is a former fishing village in the country's Bahia state which is now hot-spot for celebrities and fashionistas.

Spreading her wings! The Victoria's Secret Angel showed off her stunning figure in the scalloped bandeau two-piece

Getting some cardio in! The Swedish beauty gave onlookers quite a display with some nifty pole work

Others who have been enjoying the resort this winter include Elsa's fellow VS models Izabel Goulart and Lais Ribeiro.

And Elsa clearly had a wonderful time as she shared a topless photo on social media on Tuesday, writing alongside it: 'Thank you Trancoso for everything'

Another revealing image she shared on Tuesday showed her showering in a plunging black one-piece which she captioned 'after workout'

Scantily clad: Elsa's bikini showcased her toned figure to perfection

Show off: The blonde stunner donned a plunging black one-piece in this post-workout image on Tuesday

Prior to her modelling days, Elsa hoped to pursue a career in professional basketball, in her native Sweden.

For two years, she was part of the Swedish women's basketball league before her current career took off.

She has modeled for a number of brands including Guess, Lily Pulitzer, Dolce and Gabbana and Dior.
Fifteen months on from his engagement in October 2014 and Matthew Kerr is itching to tie the knot.

The younger brother of international supermodel Miranda is championing for change so he and his partner Jim Wright can wed on the Hunter Valley estate they call home.

They have a date set for December 30 this year and have Miranda's support in hoping that by then, same sex couples will legally be able to marry in Australia.

Change is coming: Matthew Kerr says he has his model sister Miranda's support in championing same sex marriage

'I want to get married and I think, "Why should two people that love each other not be able to have that, right?"' Matt, 30, told this week's issue of WHO magazine.

He added that his sister is very much on the same page when it comes to this issue, saying: 'She has always been supportive of gay marriage.'

'She just wants to see us happy'.

While their hopes lie in legislative change, the couple also have a plan B with roots in Jim's British heritage.

Betrothed: The 30-year-old got engaged to Jim Wright, 37, in October 2014

Fingers crossed: The couple have set a date for December this year and hope that laws will have changed by then

Should no laws legalising same sex marriage come into effect before their planned December wedding day, they intend on tying the knot at the British consulate in Sydney before heading back to the Hunter Valley for a reception with family and friends.

Same sex marriage is legal in England but despite much talk, legislation has yet to be passed in Australia.

Matt and Jim, 37, have recently set up shop in the NSW Hunter Region after opening up home-style restaurant Nanna Kerr's Kitchen, dedicated to Matt and Miranda's 79-year-old grandmother Ann.

He previously worked for Miranda's skincare company Kora Organics, but told Daily Mail Australia last year that there was no bad blood when he resigned to pursue his culinary dreams.

Another option: Their plan B is to wed at the British consulate in Sydney as Jim is of British heritage

Congrats: Matt and Jim celebrated their engagement in a beautiful garden ceremony in January last year

Doting: His parents Therese and John (centre) expressed their love for the couple at the event

'She had a bit of a cry on the phone and said "I'm so proud of you" and "what you're doing is amazing",' he said.

This time last year, Matt and Jim celebrated their engagement with a lavish party at Sydney's Blackburn Park, however Miranda was absent from the event.

Three months prior, the former Victoria's Secret beauty's only sibling announced he would tie the knot in a surprise statement uploaded to his Facebook page.

He and Jim had been dating for seven months at the time.

Country kids: Matt and Miranda grew up in Gunnedah, in north-eastern NSW

Business partners: He previously worked for Miranda's skincare company Kora Organics
Shanina Shaik has certainly been keeping her fans updated on social media since announcing her engagement to DJ Ruckus on Tuesday.

Meanwhile her ex-boyfriend Tyson Beckford has also been sharing plenty to get followers talking.

The 45-year-old model, who had an on and off romance with 24-year-old Shanina from 2008 until last year, has continued posting topless photos of himself while on holidays, with the hashtag 'teamtyson'.

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Soaking up the sun: While Shanina Shaik has been celebrating her engagement with DJ Ruckus, the model's ex-boyfriend Tyson Beckford has been sharing some revealing snaps of his holiday in Jamaica

Team Tyson! The 45-year-old model, who had an on and off romance with 24-year-old Shanina since 2008, has continued posting topless photos of himself while on holidays, with the hashtag 'teamtyson'

He's the one! Shanina announced on Tuesday that she is engaged to her beau DJ Ruckus after he proposed to her in the The Bahamas

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the model shared a photo of himself soaking up the sun at Fort Clarence Beach in Jamaica.

'All up in the Ocean in my underwear #2016 #ocean #teamtyson #mohawk,' Tyson captioned the image, in which he was indeed shirtless while sporting a pair of blue Calvin Klein briefs.

Holding the camera with his right hand, the runway sensation flashed his pearly whites for the camera.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the same day Shanina announced her engagement, Tyson shared a revealing snap with an equally cheeky caption.

What a sight: Continuing his trend of baring almost all for his fans, he also revealed his defined abs in a photo

Whose team are you on? The model, who has been using the #teamtyson hashtag for some time, is certainly maintaining its usage since his former flame moved on

Leaving little to the imagination: 'Naked and Smiling,' he penned alongside a selfie taken at Jamaica's Pelican Bar

'Naked and Smiling,' he penned alongside a selfie taken at Jamaica's Pelican Bar.

Continuing his trend of baring almost all for his fans, he also revealed his defined abs in a photo, which again was accompanied with the hashtag 'teamtyson'.

With just a soft white towel wrapped around his waist, the hunk raised his tattooed arms to draw all attention to his sizzling six pack.

'Sunsets are everything #jamaica #teamtyson #2016,' he wrote next to the image, though there was no sight whatsoever of a sunset in the photo.

Bad boy: Tyson also shared this snap on his Twitter on Wednesday

Former flames: Tyson and Shanina met in 2008 on the set of Make Me A Supermodel and had been dating on and off until last year

Tyson and Shanina met in 2008 on the set of Make Me A Supermodel, the show in which Tyson was a judge, guiding Shanina as she finished runner-up on the program.

Since then they had been dating on and off, before finally calling time on their relationship last year.

Catwalk sensation Shanina has been dating DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews, for the past seven months, before announcing the pair's engagement on Tuesday.

The Australian Victoria's Secret model posted a snap cuddling up to her man, after the musician proposed during their romantic getaway in the The Bahamas.

Romantic: Shanina has been dating DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews, for seven months

She also showed off her huge diamond engagement ring, along with a knowing smile, in the cute image.

She wrote in a caption alongside it: 'This  is a sure thing! I said "YES!!" @djruckusofficial #loveofmylife #mrsandrews #heputaringonit #togetherforever'

Ruckus also shared the same image to his own Instagram account, captioning the shot: 'Got the baddest chick in the game wearing my ranggggg'.
He's as well known for his headline-grabbing personal life as his acting career.

And Darren Day didn't hold back when it came to filling his Celebrity Big Brother housemates in on his famous exes and battle with booze during his first night on the Channel 5 reality show.

On Wednesday's episode viewers saw the ex soap star reveal his awkward run-in with his ex girlfriend Isla Fisher and her husband Sacha Baron Cohen.

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Tales from his past: Darren Day entertained his Celebrity Big Brother housemates, including John Partridge, on the first night in the house as he revealed all about his headline-hitting past

Darren had a difficult first night in the house after volunteering to live in the box room with EastEnders star John Partridge as part of Big Brother's first twist.

During Wednesday's episode, fans saw Danniella Westbrook join the two, sacrificing her place in the main house so the remaining housemates could have their beds unlocked.

Despite their less than comfy surroundings, the trio soon bonded as they shared stories from their past.

See the latest news and updates from the 2016 CBB house with more on Darren Day

Famous ex: The ex soap star told his CBB housemates that he ran into his ex Isla Fisher, who he dated for two years from 1998, at a wedding

Darren told his housemates that he ran into 'four or five' exes at a wedding, who were all their with their partners.

The star went onto say that it was his encounter with Isla, who he dated for two years from 1998, that proved to be the most awkward as he's a huge fan of her now-husband Sacha, as he thinks the Borat star is 'a genius.'

'So when I bumped into her, there was the awkwardness of bumping into an ex you've not seen for a few years and meeting the new partner, but I also wanted to say 'Listen mate, I think you're bloody amazing.' It was great to meet him,' Darren said.

Awkward: Darren told his housemates that he ran into 'four or five' exes at a wedding, who were all their with their partners

Good to meet you! The actor revealed that he's a huge fan of Isla's now-husband Sacha Baron Cohen, as he thinks the Borat star is 'a genius.'

Darren revealed before going in the house that he's still on good terms with the family of his ex fiancee Anna Friel, explaining: 'Anna's mum and dad I've kept in touch with and we've just wished each other a happy new year, so things aren't as bad as people may think.

'With all of my relationships, we had a very public get-together, relationship and break up.'

Talk also turned to both Darren and Danniella's past addictions as they whiled away the hours in the box.

While Darren revealed that his six month stint on Hollyoaks saw him briefly living a sober life, before returning to the booze, it was Danniella's revelation about her first try of cocaine that really shocked.

Good to have you: Darren and John were joined by Danniella Westbrook in the box room during the first night in the house

'I started when I was 14, the first thing I ever done was coke,' she told John and Darren.

Darren revealed that he first started taking cocaine when he was 28, and admitted he was hooked on the drug the first night.

Danniella is keen to create a fresh start with her time in the CBB house, telling her housemates, 'This is it for me, I need to clear the sh*t that I'm carrying,' adding that she thinks the most addictive thing in life is fame, and that she sees it a lot in people who are reality based and who are desperate for time in the spotlight.
Empire Of the Tsars

Rating:

What an opportunity! War And Peace, the Beebs drama spectacular, is a feast of arcane history and splendid costumes  so this show ought to be just the chance for Dr Lucy Worsley to plunge into her dressing-up box as she explores Russias past.

The blonde-bobbed historian usually cant resist a bustle or a ballgown. In the past year or so, weve seen her strapped into suits of armour, sparkling in sequins, laced into regal corsets and plumed like a cavalier.

Her speciality is royal palaces, but shes happy talking about everything from music hall to murders, as long as shes in period attire.

For most of Empire Of The Tsars, Lucy Worsley wore sensible modern dress. Instead of enjoying herself like a six-year-old let loose with a trunkload of silks and feather boas, she was being terribly grown-up

Empire Of The Tsars (BBC4) traces the history of Russias ruling family, the Romanovs, from the teenage tsar Michael in the 17th century to Nicholas II, slaughtered with his wife and children by the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution 300 years later.

It should have given Dr Lucy scope for endless magnificent costume changes.

But something disconcerting happened: instead of enjoying herself like a six-year-old let loose with a trunkload of silks and feather boas, she was being terribly grown-up.

For most of this documentary, the first of three and largely focused on the reign of Peter the Great, she wore sensible modern dress.

Almost everything was bright scarlet, perhaps because many of her monologues were filmed outside the Kremlin in Moscows Red Square.

She even had a red umbrella, with a transparent window in the shape of pursed lips.

But its difficult to concentrate on what Dr Lucy is saying when shes not in full historical fig. I kept wondering when she was going to don Cossack boots or Napoleonic uniform.

Empire Of The Tsars was far too staid and featured numerous contributions from wafflebox specialists who said err and hmm a lot. That isnt what we want from Dr Lucy

Things looked more hopeful when she tried a snort of Tsar Peters favourite tipple, brandy spiced with peppers. It made her eyes water, but it didnt loosen her inhibitions.

Finally, she visited the celebrated Mosfilm Studios, said to be the oldest movie headquarters not only in Russia but in the whole of Europe.

Mosfilms costume warehouse is legendary. Surely here she would get into character.

But when a presenter emerged from behind the dressing-room curtain, in a fur-trimmed coat, leather boots and straggly beard, it was not our heroine but her Russian translator, Misha.

While Misha struggled into a succession of costumes, Dr Lucy discussed Peter the Greats reforms  watched, for some reason, by a portrait photo of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.

Before she left, she did try on a couple of outfits, just for a few moments: an orange Russian-style dress with crown and muslin veil, and a bodice and Regency gown.

But her heart didnt seem to be in it, and within half a minute she was back in present-day clothes. How boring.

INTERLOPER OF THE NIGHT: Amid all the assorted characters from Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and the rest in Dickensian (BBC1), the most puzzling is sour-faced moaner Fanny Biggetywitch (Ellie Haddington). She doesnt seem to appear in any of Dickens novels. What is she doing there? Advertisement

Its easy to chuckle at this exuberant, child-like presenter when she gets over-excited with the fancy dress, but in the end thats why her shows are generally such fun: they make us smile.

Empire Of The Tsars was far too staid and featured numerous contributions from wafflebox specialists who said err and hmm a lot.

That isnt what we want from Dr Lucy. This could have thrown fascinating light on War And Peace, but instead it was more like a dull DVD extra.

Secret Shopper

Rating:

Former sheet-metal worker Graham, whose wife Janet runs a bridal shop in Surrey, might have enjoyed a tour of the Mosfilm costume factory.

Mary Portas visited their business, in Secret Shopper (C4), and found it stocked with hideous gowns bought as a job lot in Las Vegas. The only people, Mary gasped, who would ever wear tat like that were transvestites.

This, it turned out, was a supremely tactless remark: long-haired Graham was a dedicated tranny, who had even married Janet in drag  bride and groom both wore white.

Mary looked mortified and from then on she wasnt really sure what to do. Janet was a skilled seamstress but she lacked charm with the clientele: when one woman got tearful, Janet called her mental.
Since appearing on The Bachelor and becoming Australia's first Bachelorette, Sam Frost has enjoyed instant celebrity status.

Though despite the 26-year-old now well accustomed to having her photo taken on the media wall, she was merely be on the other side of the red carpet with 2Day FM breakfast co-host Rove McManus at the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday.

No doubt interviewing Hollywood's elite at a glamorous soiree in Los Angeles is a major gig, though Sam appeared to be somewhat dressed down for the occasion.

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Big event: Sam Frost appeared to be somewhat dressed down in a simple red dress as she reported from the People's Choice Awards in LA on Wednesday alongside 2Day FM breakfast radio co-host Rove McManus

Sam sported a scarlet frock matching the carpet for the big A-list event.

Opting for a relatively conservative look, the stunner's sleeveless dress featured a high neckline, while accessories were kept to a minimum.

With her locks pulled up in a messy bun, the television personality decided not to wear any statement earrings, but instead simply sported a delicate silver necklace.

Makeup was kept minimal with the star no doubt relying on her signature smile to lure Hollywood's hottest over to her spot amongst the media pack at the awards.

On the other side: It seems Sam would have been prompted to ask Hollywood's famous elite the pressing questions she is used to being asked herself

Reporting alongside 2Day FM breakfast radio co-host Rove McManus in Los Angeles, it seems Sam would have been prompted to ask Hollywood's famous elite the pressing questions she is used to being asked herself.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, 41-year-old Rove shared a photo of the pair's designated position on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater in LA.

'This is good as being on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right?' Logie award-winning comedian Rove captioned the image of a printed placard reading 'Rove and Sam' placed behind a media barricade.

The Sydney-based radio duo were placed next to OCTV network, no doubt giving Sam an opportunity to compare notes with experienced, international media outlets.

Climbing the ladder quickly: The brunette beauty managed to score a highly sought after radio position with no journalistic experience, taking on the reigns of a massive morning show alongside Rove McManus

In position: Taking to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, 41-year-old Rove shared a photo of the pair's designated position on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater in LA

'I feel like your name in laminate is the same as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right? @RoveAndSam,' Rove went on to caption another closeup photo of the pair's position on the red carpet.

Sam was no doubt jumping for joy in November when it was announced she would be joining the 2DayFM breakfast team.

The brunette beauty managed to score a highly sought after radio position with no journalistic experience, taking on the reigns of a massive morning show alongside Rove McManus.

Red carpet regular: In her home country of Australia, Sam has been fortunate to walk the red carpet at the AACTA Awards and Logie Awards

Centre of attention: The Bachelorette star is pictured here with boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek at Who magazine's soiree in November last year

Since then the reality star has attracted mixed reviews from listeners, some applauding her for her personable on-air approach, while others critiquing her for lack of experience.

Her first on-air interview, with the notoriously private Chris Martin, was riddled with cringe-worthy questions and awkward pauses.

Sam is currently enjoying seeing the sights of LA with her radio team and boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek as they broadcast live from tinsel town.
Australian beauty Renee Bargh left heads turning on Wednesday as she attended the 2016 Peoples Choice awards in Los Angeles.

The 29-year-old stunned as she rocked a teal lace gown on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater, ahead of reporting duties.

She showed off her super toned torso in the Self-Portrait frock, which featured a navy crop top and fitted mini-skirt underneath.

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Lady in lace: Renee Bargh stunned at the 2016 Peoples Choice awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday in a teal lace dress

Her bare skin was covered by the coloured cut-out lace that hugged tightly around her slender figure before dropping loosely below her knee.

The revealing dress featured short sleeves which highlighted her muscular biceps, along with a high black ribbon collar.

Renee accessorised her award evening look with a pair of simple black high heels and multiple gold bracelets and matching rings.

On show: The 29-year-old showed off her super toned torso in the Self-Portrait frock, which featured a navy crop top and fitted mini-skirt underneath

The EXTRA correspondent tied her luscious dyed golden locks back into a high ponytail while parting her fringe to the right and tucking it behind her ears.

She showed off her inner beauty as she opted for a natural make-up look which included a nude based lipstick.

The stunner highlighted her flawless large eyes with thick black eyeliner and matching false eyelashes.

Making a statement: Her bare skin was covered by the cut-out lace that hugged tightly around her slender figure while featuring short sleeves and a high black ribbon collar

Later in the day, Renee shared some selfies with some notable Hollywood personalities, including Ellen DeGeneres, John Stamos and Shawn Mendes.

Renee is holding Ellen's award for Favourite Daytime TV Host, with a somewhat strained expression on her face while Ellen held her microphone.

In the caption, Renee wrote: 'When Ellen takes the mic @theellenshow these awards are crazy heavy, hence my crazy face!'

'These awards are crazy heavy!' Renee took a snap with Favourite Daytime Host winner Ellen DeGeneres

It's Uncle Jesse! She also snapped a shot with Full House actor John Stamos

While posing next to John, Renee leaned in while the ER actor placed his arm around her waist.

In the caption, she wrote: 'No biggie guys. It's just Uncle Jesse,' making reference to his character on Full House, Jesse Katsopolis.

Making a big open-mouthed smile to the camera with Shawn, who won an award for Favorite Breakout Artist, Renee wrote in the caption: 'I love this kid! Selfies with #peopleschoiceawards winner @shawnmendes ps. 'I know what you did last summer' is my workout jam!'

Renee become a household name after she relocated to Los Angeles in 2010 to become Australia's correspondent for EXTRA.

She first kicked off her career in the music industry in 2006 as a member of pop girl group, Girlband.

After leaving the band she pursed a career in the television business, joining music station Channel [V] Australia in 2008.

'I love this kid!' Renee took a selfie with Favourite Breakout Artist Shawn Mendes
Little is known about the exotic beauty who for almost two years has been seen glued to the side of the youngest of the Burgess brothers, George, and is now engaged to be married to him.

But a close look at Joanna King's Instagram reveals a meticulously polished brunette from Adelaide whose impressive bikini body caught the eye and captured the heart of 23-year-old NRL star.

The smouldering stunner said 'yes' to the Rabbitohs star's proposal on Wednesday cementing a place among rugby WAGs.

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Stunning: Striking model Joanna King from Adelaide began dating 23-year-old NRL star George Burgess almost two years ago, landing a marriage proposal on Wednesday

Impressive! The D-cup model boasts a 34-25-35 frame and she has netted contracts for brands such as Speedo and Australia's leading lingerie retailer Bras N Things

Bearing a striking resemblance to older brother Luke's long-term girlfriend, former Next Top Model contestant Yolanda Hodgson, Joanna is also a natural brunette, a model and staggeringly attractive.

Boasting a D-cup cleavage, she is listed as a successful model by Sydney-based modelling agency Scoop Management, who also represents the likes of international beauties, including Mick Jagger's daughter, Georgia May.

Her statuesque 5ft 9ins frame and perfect 34-25-35 credentials has netted her modelling contracts for brands Speedo, Australia's leading lingerie retailer Bras N Things and Isola swimwear, by actress Megan Gale.

In love: Joanna's Instagram feed is peppered with impromptu snaps of her and George cuddling up on road trips to Auckland, on the beach in Malibu and around Australia

Swimwear: Bronzed and tanned, she has the perfect physique for lingerie and beachwear

Sultry: The exotic beauty is often employed for lingerie shoots

Room with a phew: The bikini-clad blonde gazes out at the scenery while relaxing on her balcony in another social media snap

Good times: Joanna is pictured relaxing with a pal in an Instagram snap

Don't mind me: The blonde has peppered her Instagram account with shots taken during her frequent trips to the beach

Whilst successful in her own right, it wasn't long before in April 2014 she began appearing on notoriously private George's Instagram feed.

In the last couple of years bronzed Joanna was seen working out with trainer to the stars Dan Adair, who is believed to have helped fine-tune her already impressive physique.

She also swapped her hair colour from brunette to blonde last February, dramatically transforming her image.

As George began openly flaunting pictures of his new love on social media, playing out their blossoming romance, the pair became practically inseparable.

Movie date night: Last February she ditched her brunette locks and went blonde, dramatically transforming her image

Bombshell: She is now a blonde bombshell and has a much shorter hairstyle

They share a love of travel: George and Joanna are often on the road, jetting off to explore new locations around the globe

Here she comes: The blonde previously shared a shot of herself wading out of the water during a kayaking expedition in Noosa, Queensland

She's got her sea legs: Joanna showed off her lithe body while swimming on the Great Barrier Reef

Thumb's up: The model (far right) later posed for a fun snap with fiance George

Within weeks of dating, she was invited to a family dinner in April 2014 to celebrate George and his twin brother Thomass 22nd birthday and now her Instagram feed is peppered with sugary snaps of the pair cuddling up.

Captioning almost every social media image of them with a heart emoji, Joanna does not hold back from espousing her love for the musclebound athlete.

Posing cheek-to-cheek, they document their love for each other in images that capture them on road trips around Auckland, on the beach in Malibu, in various corners of Australia and, of course, at George's brother Sam's wedding to Phoebe Hooke last month, among other family occasions.

Giddy up! Both are keen equestrians and enjoy sporting activities together. Pictured in January 2014

Looking beachy: Joanna was pictured with hunky George during a day on the coast

The pair share a keen interest in family life; she is as close to her father as George is to the Burgess clan, and both are keen equestrians.

At the turn of the new year in 2014, they were pictured riding in an Instagram snap she openly captioned: 'Top weekend away in Coffs with my Boy.'

Perhaps being older than George, Joanna counts herself fortunate to have found love with the youngest of the Burgess brothers.

In a snap dated February last year, she surmised her feelings succinctly captioning an intimate image of them: 'I'm a lucky girl'.

Peace: In another snap the beauty flashes peace signs while aboard a yacht

Taking it easy: She tops up her tan after hitting the beach
It has been a drama-filled week for Kylie Jenner and her rapper beau, Tyga.

Yet no drama could pull the superstar couple away from their beloved social media as both the reality star, 18, and her 26-year-old boyfriend shared images on Instagram on Wednesday.

Kylie's shot was super sexy as she flaunted her incredible curves in a skin-tight ensemble while Tyga's was a cryptic post - seemingly alluding to his much-publicised message exchange with a 14-year-old-girl on the photosharing site.

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Hermes honey: Kylie shared a super sexy shot on Instagram on Wednesday as she flaunted her incredible curves in a skin-tight ensemble

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked incredible in her simplistic yet figure-hugging ensemble, the perfect utensil to show off every inch of her frame to her 47.4M followers.

Her ample bosom was evident through her tight white T-shirt while she tucked the top into black trousers with boots, while clutching a monochrome varsity jacket.

Kylie smouldered in the shot in which she was kitted out in designer threads from head-to-toe, including an envy-inducing Hermes Birkin handbag with an easily identifiable orange box from the luxury make on the table behind her.

Adding an adorable edge to the shot was a glimpse of her Italian greyhound named Norman while the backdrop of her stunning 1.73M Calabasas mansion was in view.

See the latest Kylie Jenner photo updates amid tensions with boyfriend Tyga

'They don't want you to win': Tyga shared a cryptic post - seemingly alluding to his much-publicised message exchange with a 14-year-old-girl on the photosharing site

While Kylie was posing up a storm to delight her fans, Tyga was taking things more seriously as he posted a brooding image with his 8M followers on the photosharing site.

The hitmaker, who has been embroiled in a scandal over the messages he sent to a 14-year-old girl, stood scowling in front of a fleet of supercars while showcasing his newly-dyed bright orange locks.

He added the illusive caption: 'They don't want you to win' - potentially alluding to his woes over the past week.

Drama-filled week: No drama could pull the superstar couple away from their beloved social media as both the reality star, 18, and her 26-year-old boyfriend shared images on Instagram on Wednesday

On Tuesday, he hit back at claims he made the teen feel 'uncomfortable' with phone contact, insisting he reached out to her for work purposes only.

According to TMZ, a representative for Tyga says he was scouting aspiring model and musician Molly O'Malia - who claimed in text messages that she aged 17 - for his record label Last Kings Records project.

It's the first response the rapper's people have made to one magazine's claims that he was 'in love with' the underage teen and her accusation that comments he made on her looks and insistence on connecting via FaceTime made her '

Text messages obtained by the website show that the aspiring musician and model mentioned that she was 17 years old, and not 14, while his manager insisted that their contact purely concerned the exchange of music.

The starlet, thought to be followed by thousands on Instagram, has yet to meet the rapper but says he would ask if she was ever in the Los Angeles area.

Molly was accompanied by a legal attorney, Gloria Allred, on Monday when she revealed her identity at a press conference.

Tearful: According to TMZ, a representative for Tyga says he was scouting aspiring model and musician Molly O'Malia [pictured] - who claimed in text messages that she aged 17 - for his record label Last Kings Records project.

It followed a magazine article, which featured her pixelated face, that linked the pair and blamed the young teenager for briefly ending his on/off relationship with Kylie, 18, in November.

She was seen to choke back tears when she read out a statement on her version of events, following the article published in OK! magazine on December 28, 2015.
He hasn't tried to disguise the fact that he would like to join his girlfriend Sam Frost on her radio breakfast show with co-host Rove McManus, regularly calling in as well as tagging along to their work-related functions.

And if Sasha Mielczarek has ambitions of of becoming a radio host himself, the dream could well be close to being realised.

The keen reality star, who is currently with Sam as she broadcasts her breakfast radio show live from the United States, willingly offered his services up as he interviewed subjects for the program.

'I have no idea what my boyfriend is doing right now': Sam caught her man trying to be a budding reporter for her breakfast radio show as he tested American's on their Australian slang

Sam's new apprentice? The keen reality star who is currently tagging along with Sam as she broadcasts her breakfast radio show live from the United States, willingly interviewed subjects for the program

Despite not being employed by 2Day FM, the 31-year-old construction manager appears to be busy at work during his holiday, as he went about testing some American's on their Australian slang.

Meanwhile, Sam caught her man in the act and began filming his interviewing skills without his knowledge.

'I left my 'sanga' in the boot and its gone all 'festy' - Does anyone know what that means?' Sasha asked passersby as he stood outside the iconic Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The group had trouble pronouncing the unusual words and laughed as Sasha tried to correctly get the meaning of the Aussie phrase across to them.

Sasha tried to draw out each word, much to his girlfriend's amusement.

'What else do you do at @Lakers games but test Yanks on Australian slang? Good work!' Sam wrote as she shared the video to Twitter.

'I left my 'sanga' in the boot and its gone all 'festy' - Does anyone know what that means?' Sasha asked the American group as he stood outside the iconic Staples Center in Los Angeles

Caught in the act! Sasha tried to draw out the pronunciation of each word, much to his girlfriend's amusement

Earlier today Sam's co-host Rove hinted that her supportive beau may join their radio show on an official basis.

Speaking to WHO magazine on Thursday, Rove said that Sasha has so much involvement with the program already that he believes he should start getting paid for it.

'He should be drawing a paycheck!' Rove joked when asked if the former reality star would be officially joining the show.

However, Sam was quick to shut down Rove's comments, firmly stating that her boyfriend would 'never' be joining the show in an official capacity.

Three's a crowd? Rove hinted that his 2Day FM co-host Sam supportive beau may join their breakfast radio show on an official basis

She also claimed she was not given a warning as to when her beau would be calling into the show.

'I never know about it - he doesn't give me a heads up!' she said, before going on to detail his keenness on contributing ideas for the show.

'But he really thinks about his segment ideas; he's got his notepad. He's like, "Oh, I just want to support my girl",' Sam said.

'He should be drawing a paycheck!' Rove revealed to WHO magazine that Sasha has so much involvement with the program already that he believes the 31-year-old construction manager should start getting paid for it

Supporting his girl: Sasha is currently tagging along with his girlfriend Sam Frost as she broadcasts her breakfast radio show live from the United States with Rove

Not if she has anything to do with it! Sam was quick to shut down Rove's comments, firmly stating that her boyfriend would 'never' be joining the show in an official capacity

Rove also admitted that he too had no idea when the Sasha would be dropping in, saying: 'I'm not in on it either - He even has little intros, and he says, "Hit it", and suddenly music is playing.'

Rove and Sam are currently in Los Angeles broadcasting their 2Day FM show live in Hollywood during Award's Season in a bid to boost ratings.

Sasha tagged along for the ride and the loved-up couple have been making sure to fit in as many tourist activities as possible during the work related trip.

Capture the moment: Sam and Sasha have been sure to fit in as many tourist activities as possible during her work trip to Los Angeles

All smiles: The happy couple ensured they found some time to watch an LA Lakers basketball game during the visit and went all out for the occasional as they donned matching hats and other items of official merchandise
She's playing a tough Miami homicide detective.

But Olivia Munn showed her softer side in a revealing flamenco inspired gown at the world premiere of Ride Along 2 in Miami on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old actress displayed an impressive cleavage in the plunging frilly scarlet dress at the Regal South Beach Cinema.

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Spanish inspired: Olivia Munn wore a revealing flamenco inspired gown at the world premiere of Ride Along 2 in Miami on Wednesday

It featured sheer panels which flashed her shapely legs, and cinched her waist in hourglass fashion.

The elegant beauty let the flamboyant outfit speak for itself by keeping her hair and make-up stylishly minimal.

She pulled her chestnut tresses into a sleek up-do which showcased her pretty facial features.

Glam: It featured sheer panels which flashed her shapely legs, and cinched her waist in hourglass fashion

Revealing: The 35-year-old actress displayed an impressive cleavage in the plunging frilly scarlet dress at the Regal South Beach Cinema

Svelte: Olivia cinched the standout look at the waist with a red satin belt complete with oversized buckle

Elegant: Sculpted cheekbones and a classic red lip completed her look, as she joined her diminutive cast-mates Ken Jeong and Kevin Hart

Group shot: Olivia posed alongside Ice Cube, Ken Jeong, Tim Story, Kevin Hart and Tika Sumpter (L-R)

Ahoy there! The brunette stunner struck a dramatic pose to match her gorgeous gown

Sculpted cheekbones and a classic red lip completed her look, as she joined her cast-mates Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.

Her character - Maya Cruz - is also a love interest for Cube - who arrived in sunglasses despite it being night time.

The story revolves around Ben (Hart) who heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law (Ice Cube) to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta.

Olivia also recently completed filming X-Men: Apocalypse and last week gave a sneak peek at Psylocke, the character she plays in the sci-fi flick and has been training hard for.

All smiles: The Hangover star Ken took pride of place in the line-up as they posed for pictures

Selfie face: Will Packer (R) pulled an array of amusing faces as they got snappy happy

Centre of attention: All eyes were on Kevin as he arrived as he made his way down the red carpet

Rocking it: Olivia also recently completed filming X-Men: Apocalypse and last week gave a sneak peek at Psylocke, the character she plays in the sci-fi flick and has been training hard for

She was pictured on set of the fantasy adventure wearing a skimpy bodysuit and thigh-high boots.

'To say hello to 2016, I'm gonna say GOODBYE TO 2015 with my Top 5 Favorite Memories of 2015 (that I can think of)... #4 Getting to play #Psylocke in #xmenapocalypse,' Olivia revealed.

She then described her character: 'She's a telekinetic telepath who chooses to kill with a sword because she wants to do it up close and intimate because killing from afar just seems too easy and no fun.'

Ice cool: Her character - Maya Cruz - is also a love interest for Cube - who arrived in sunglasses despite it being night time - with wife Kimberly Woodruff

Looking good: Will Packer and his wife Heather Hayslett stole the show in their dapper ensembles

Arm-in-arm: Benjamin Bratt and his wife Talisa Soto looked loved-up on the red carpet

Strike a pose: Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson, was in great spirits at the film event
They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

And Colin Hanks, 38, certainly proved that to be the case as he arrived at the 2016 People's Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, looking the spitting image of his Oscar-winning actor father, Tom.

The star, who has appeared in Band Of Brothers and Dexter, presented the award for Favourite Network TV Comedy to the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

Like father like son: Colin Hanks looked the spitting image of his father Tom on Wednesday when he appeared at the 2016 People's Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles

The elder Hanks did not present any awards or even appear at the awards ceremony, but viewers could have been forgiven for thinking the star of Castaway and Forrest Gump did, in fact, appear on stage.

Colin channelled old school Hollywood glamour with his slicked back hair, a look his father is known to sport on the red carpet.

The Orange County star also upped the tie stakes by adding a metal tie clip - a classic piece that added even more polish to his sophisticated look.

Colin presented the award alongside his Life In Pieces co-star Betsy Brandt.

Debonaire: Colin's slicked back hair, tailored suit and classic tie clip oozed old school Hollywood glamour. His Life In Pieces co-star Betsy Brandt sparkled in sequins and metallic embellishments

Shades of Tom: Colin seemed completely at ease as he posed on the red carpet. The resemblance to his father was undeniable, even as he furrowed his brow

Prior to entering the Microsoft Theater, Colin took a confident turn on the red carpet.

He eschewed the solid black blazers and tuxedos that are a staple of Hollywood's male glitterati.

Instead, he wowed in a dark blue overcoat with black lattice detailing - a fashion-forward move his father can be proud of.

Growing up with a Hollywood legend appears to have rubbed off on him. Colin's red carpet poses frequently mirror the moves his father has worked for years.

Father knows best: In October Tom attended the premiere of All Things Must Pass, a documentary his son directed about the rise and fall of Tower Records

The two don't just share genes: In October they also shared a movie release date.

Tom portrayed an American lawyer tasked with defending a Soviet spy in the film Bridge Of Spies, which was released in the U.S. on October 16.

All Things Must Pass, a documentary that Colin directed about the rise and fall of Tower Records, dropped the same day.

'I'm in competition with my son,' the elder Hanks told People magazine.

Tom attended the premiere of his son's movie with his second wife Rita Wilson.

Colin, Tom's son from his first marriage to Samantha Lewes, is known to have a good relationship with stepmother Rita.

Warm embrace: Colin and stepmum Rita Wilson presented a united front during his big movie premiere
It's been alleged their 19-month marriage is on the rocks.

And Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini shared a cryptic quote on Instagram about 'mean people' as speculation continues to mount about his relationship with pop princess Cheryl, who he hasn't been seen with since October.

The French businessman uploaded a message reading: 'Mean people don't bother me a bit. Mean people who disguise themselves as nice people bother me a whole lot.'

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Shirtless selfie: Cheryl's husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini showed off his abs on Instagram post tattoo session as he shared a cryptic quote about 'mean people'

'Don't come for me unless I send for you', he added in the accompanying caption.

His followers were concerned by the resentful-sounding post, querying whether it was aimed at Cheryl and telling him to think positive.

Jean-Bernard also shared a shirtless snap of himself after getting his very first tattoo, with his left bicep wrapped in clingfilm.

Taking a stand: The French restaurateur appeared to take a thinly-veiled dig at someone, prompting his followers to query whether it was Cheryl

On the rocks? The couple, who wed following a whirlwind three-month romance in 2014, haven't been seen together since October

Revealing his rippling six pack, the restaurateur was seen wrapping an art around his tattoo artist's shoulders, sharing a post about how inspiring he is.

'This guy... Went from hell to have a family, beautiful KIDS, success and happiness and do what he loves to do', he posted.

'Thank you for the great experience and inspiration man - and for the tattoos.'

Beaming: This comes after Cheryl shared an upbeat photo of herself on Tuesday

Jean-Bernard's social media spree comes after Cheryl posted a more upbeat photo of herself on Tuesday, flashing a beaming smile for the camera.

The 32-year-old star also revealed she was heading back to the studio to work on new music, much to the delight of her fans.

The X Factor judge is said to have asked brother Garry Tweedy to stay at her plush London home. The pair are very close and Gary also moved in with the star when her first marriage to Ashley Cole collapsed.

A source told The Sun: 'He and Cheryl are extremely close. Hes part of her entourage and is by her side for practically all her work commitments.

'He needs to be in London for a base, and Cheryl has a big house that needs to be filled. It goes without saying that at a time like this shell need his support.'
They are two of the most successful supermodels of all time.

But even Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer aren't exempt from bad hair days, as an hilarious throwback snap posted on the American model's Instagram on Wednesday shows.

Taken backstage at the 1994 Chanel Spring/Summer fashion show in Paris, the picture shows the two beauties sporting huge hair synonymous with the early 90s.

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Turn back time: Even Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer aren't exempt from bad hair days, as an hilarious throwback snap posted on the American model's Instagram on Wednesday shows

Present day: The two models still look great, nearly 22 years on from the Chanel show

Cindy captioned the post: 'Who needs a hairbrush when you've got Chanel? Backstage @chanelofficial S/S '94 with @claudiaschiffer  #WCW'

The 49-year-old's glossy caramel locks were full of volume as they cascaded down her front, apart from a section on top of her head which was tied up in a spiky manner.

And she looked pleased with her styling at the time, as she flashed a pearly white smile while stood with an arm around pal Claudia, 45.

To the beach: Claudia modelled a stunning black bikini with Chanel's famous logo emblazoned on the bottoms at the 1994 show

Stunning! Cindy walked the catwalk in 1993 in a pair of sexy black suspenders

The German model's tresses were tied back and then messily pushed forwards as she stood smiling in a white shirt with an burnt orange v-neck pullover.

In an interview with GQ magazine from October 2015, Crawford explained how she was jealous of the current crop of supermodels' being able to harness the power of social media.

'I'm envious of the young models today that they have social media as another tool in their arsenals. My generationhow the world saw us is how the different photographers saw us. We weren't responsible for our output.

Together again: The pals appeared at Revlon's 4th Annual Unforgettable Woman Contest in September 1992

'But now, Cara Delevingne can look one way in pictures, but she can present another way, the way she wants to portray herself, through social media. That's a great advantage. And a great responsibility. And not everyone handles it with equal skill.'

And when it came to her success, she modestly claimed she 'got lucky'.

Adding: 'I made some good decisions and did some of my own projects that helped me. If I had to describe my brand, I would say all-American, sexy girl next door. But maybe now I'm the MILF next door. And I was accessible. Not elitist. I did Pepsi. Revlon. They were accessible.'
She's a dab hand at holiday fun, going on several tropical getaways a year.

But Mariah Carey showed she has no limits to her ability to enjoy herself, as the singer happily played in the sea with her twins Moroccan and Monroe while vacationing in the Caribbean on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old singer - who is thought to be in Antigua with boyfriend James Packer - may be known for her feminine style and for flaunting her figure, but she kept her curves covered up as she donned a full-body wetsuit.

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Covered-up beach babe: Mariah Carey flaunted her shapely curves in a plunging wetsuit as she hit the beach during her Caribbean holiday on Wednesday

However, the stunning star still managed to add her typical brand of sex appeal to the look, the one-piece designed with a super low-plunging neckline to reveal her generous assets.

Clinging tightly to her hourglass form, the navy blue and red-striped swimwear showed off every inch of her shape, drawing attention to her ample derriere and slim waistline.

The blonde star wore her locks in their natural curls, giving her a cool beachy vibe for the day as her half tied-up mane tumbled over her shoulders, and she finished her casual look with a pair of oversized shades on her face.

Fun-time with the kids: The 40-year-old star joined her four-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, her manager's daughter and one of boyfriend James Packer's children on a banana boat

Getting involved! The usually bikini-clad star opted for a complete cover-up for her day of fun on the beach during her enviable getaway

They're loving it: Mariah's son Moroccan (front) dipped his foot into the sea as his mother approached

Earning her stripes! She managed to retain her dignity as she climbed into the small raft, while continuing to show off her figure in the flattering striped all-in-one

Before heading into the sea for a dip, she stood in the shallow surf while chatting to a handsome shirtless male companion who was a part of her extended group of holidaymakers.

While her beau James wasn't present, Mariah didn't seem too bothered as she played on a banana boat in the shallow waters with her adorable twins, her manager Stella Bulochnikov's daughter and one of her boyfriend's children.

Showing off her fun side, the Hero hitmaker flashed a huge smile as she eagerly clambered on the bright yellow fruit-shaped raft along with the children

Hot mama! The buxom beauty looked sensational as she shunned typical beach attire for something more suitable for playing in the water

One of her five a day? She showed off her good spirits by mucking in with the kids on the silly fruit-shaped inflatable

It seemed as though there were too many 'on board', though, as the entertainer dunked back down into the water, and was closely followed by the youngsters.

Her adorable four-year-old twins - from Mariah's marriage with Nick Cannon - were having the time of their lives as they indulged in the playtime, jumping on and off the inflatable.

All that sea-based action clearly took its toll on Mariah and the group, as they later headed up the sand to take shelter under a gazebo for a snack.

The previous day, the social media-savvy star showed off her lovely figure in a series of snaps on Instagram, this time wearing a super-snug red wetsuit while running around on the beach.

All aboard! She safely got herself onto the banana boat in the shallow water

Helping hand? Mariah's handsome shirtless pall appeared to be pulling them all along with a piece of rope

Come here, darling: Mariah was back in the water and giving her son a helping hand into the water

That's better! She flashed a huge smile as she dunked herself completely in the water, while Moroccan chilled out on the banana boat

Water bunny: Mariah had kept her long blonde locks loose for the day, her tresses soaked with seawater

Mariah wore her luscious golden locks out and flipped them over her shoulders, allowing them to flow in the wind behind her as she posed with her knees planted on the sandy ground.

She opted for minimal make-up for the outdoors adventure while hiding her eyes underneath a pair of dark shaded sunglasses.

In another shot uploaded to Instagram, the mother-of-two rose to her feet and arched her back towards the ground while flicking her long hair back behind her.

The early January trip to the gorgeous destination came after Mariah spent Christmas in Sydney, Australia with James and his children.

Is that wise? Mariah took her towel into the sea, although it probably rendered it useless

Buxom babe: Shunning a typical bikini, the Hero hitmaker still managed to show off her fabulous figure perfectly

Time to eat! The group retired to the sand for a snack as they sheltered from the hot sun under a gazebo

As she jetted from the States to his homeland, she shared an adorable snap with her twins as they spent time on board James' jet, the three of them snuggled in to a bed for their luxurious flight.

Mariah and her children are rumoured to have joined James at his family's Ellerston estate in Scone in the upper Hunter Valley.

The trip was first time the pop star had visited Australia as the billionaire's partner since they made their relationship public last June.

Channelling her inner Baywatch babe? The previous day, Mariah posted a series of beach snaps as she joined daughter Monroe for a sandy run

Whipping her hair back! She donned a bright red wetsuit this time, and posed up a storm for her social media snaps

They were first known to be an item when they were spotted hand-in-hand while walking the streets of Portofino, Italy on a romantic getaway, that extended into weeks as they toured various destinations on his yacht.

In November she revealed on the Steve Harvey Show that she first met James in Aspen 'a couple of years ago'.

'A couple of years ago we were at the Hercules premiere. We were talking and laughing and people were getting mad at us and stuff like that,' she told the talk show host.

She continued to gush about their romance, which shocked fans across the globe: 'I am lucky...he is great'.

On their way! As she jetted from the States to boyfriend James Packer's homeland - Australia - she shared an adorable snap with her twins as they spent time on board James' jet
He's currently in the middle of launching a motivational website to inspire his loyal fans.

But Michael Turnbull doesn't seem to be putting his most positive foot forward after posting a shady quote on Instagram on Thursday night that could be construed as a thinly-veiled stab at fellow Bachelor star Zilda Williams.

'I'm working hard now so that my future daughter does not have to sell protein powder on Instagram,' the 34-year-old wrote just hours after Zilda posted a photo of herself endorsing a protein brand on the social media platform.

The claws are out: The Bachelorette's Michael Turnbull appeared to take shots at Bachelor beauties Zilda Williams and Sam Frost this week

'I'm working hard so that my future daughter does not have to sell protein powder on Instagram:' Michael posted this just hours after Zilda posted a photo of herself promoting protein powder on the social media site

The former real estate agent's scathing post comes just one day after he took a dig at Sam Frost, telling Fairfax: 'I think Sam has got a lot of people influencing her.'

The Daily Mail Australia reached out to Zilda for a comment on Michael's post, with the busty beauty revealing that she was 'shocked' after seeing it - and that The Bachelorette runner-up had mysteriously just unfriended her from Facebook.

'Well, I saw the post after a friend sent me a screenshot and I was rather shocked,' said the 32-year-old.

'Well, I saw the post after a friend sent me a screen shot and I was rather shocked,' Zilda told The Daily Mail Australia when contacted for a comment on Michael's shady social media post

The model continued: 'I really hope it wasn't directed at me because I met Michael before at a Maxim event and we got along really well. He seemed nice.

'I went to see the post on his Facebook page and noticed we were not friends anymore? Very strange. Perhaps the post was a coincidence? If so, bad timing Michael.'

The blonde starlet then expressed some hurt over the surprising situation, but remained optimistic and hoped that it was all just a misunderstanding.

'I really don't want to jump to conclusions at all that it has anything to do with me... I really hope he wouldn't judge me that way,' she said.

'I really hope it wasn't directed at me because I met Michael before at a Maxim event and we got along really well. He seemed nice,' she added

'I really hope he wouldn't judge me that way:' The blonde bombshell seemed upset that Michael could diss her for doing something so harmless

If Michael's post was indeed aimed at the famous FHM centerfold, then it wouldn't be the first time that he's ruffled a Bachelorette's feathers.

In November the fake Rolex enthusiast upset former fling Sam Frost by implying that they had been secretly text messaging behind her beau Sasha Mielczarek's back.

An angry Sam quickly responded online by writing: 'Excuse me? Whether it's said in jest or not, suggesting I'm sneaking around my partner's back is offensive and disrespectful to both Sasha and myself.'

She added: 'Get a grip Turnbull.'

Ruffling feathers: The fake Rolex enthusiast made a questionable comment about former fling Sam Frost this week, just two months after clashing with the reality star turned radio host

Taking aim: In November Fox Sports Football posted a promo video and brief rundown of Michael's exchange with presenter Scott Jamieson on Facebook ahead of a show, which triggered a fiery response from Sam

Not impressed: Sam responded angrily to the jest in the comments section

Despite his controversial comments, Michael insists that he's actually the one who has been judged and bullied by others.

Speaking to Fairfax this week, he said: 'I had a lot of people quick to judge and put me down and these are people that I have never even met before.'

He's now launching his own motivational website to assist others affected by bullying.

'Suggesting I'm sneaking around my partner's back is offensive and disrespectful to both Sasha and myself,' said Sam
She is known for her fabulous figure and gravity defying curves.

But Salma Hayek has revealed although she may not be as slender as she once was, she feels she is much happier.

The 49-year-old actress posted a flashback photo of herself on Instagram on Thursday, wearing a white bikini.

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Standing against a beach backdrop, she showed off her body in the two piece flashing a super toned torso which was as flat as a pancake.

Her hair was slicked back off her face and she wore sultry make-up.

However, despite showcasing a body most women would kill for, Salma confessed in the caption although she may not now be so slender, she is much happier.

Still svelte: Salma Hayek still has plenty to be proud of when it comes to her physique - she is seen here in November at Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London

She said of the shot: 'This was my waist before pregnancy. Now it's not the same but my life is so much better.'

Salma gave birth to her daughter Valentina, in 2007.

The actress isn't afraid to discuss her approach to looking good.

She says she doesn't exercise, and told People magazine instead she just has good posture 'I just hold my body in a way that activates muscles all day.'

Slender is not always better: The star says despite not having such a small waist after pregnancy she is a lot happier - she is seen on the left in 1999 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA and in November 2015 at LACMA

The Frida actress also said she does not have time to go to the gym because of her work and family commitments. 'I don't have time to exercise. I am working. I've had some 20-hour days,' she added.

Instead, the After The Sunset star says that she simply uses her muscles all day when she's going about her daily chores.

Salma, who is married to Francois-Henri Pinault told the publication: 'Some people have the discipline to exercise in the morning, and I didn't develop that.'

In the caption of the shot she said: 'This was my waist before pregnancy. Now it's not the same but my life is so much better'- on the left she is seen in 1998 at the premiere for Lethal Weapon 4 and on the right she is at the British Fashion Awards in November last year

The Tales of Tales actress - who has daughter Valentina, aged seven, with billionaire husband Pinault - admits she practices restorative yoga when she can.

The Mexican beauty told the publication: 'I work with a woman in London who taught me how to hold my body in a way where the muscles are activated all day long. So even when you brush your teeth, you're working the muscles.

'She taught me to tone them without clenching them. You relax them and focus on the parts that need to be used, but never with tension.'

Family: The actress gave birth to her daughter Valentina in 2007 - they are seen here at the premie of The Prophet in LA in July

Not afraid to snack: The actress posted shots of the some cake she was eating to celebrate Kings Day

Au naturel: Salma also shows off her beauty on Instagram - she posted this shot of herself with no make-up on

The star continued: 'If you're aware of your body, you'd be surprised by the effect it can have.'

She says she has never had botox or plastic surgery and hasn't even had a peel or microdermabrasion.

The actress credits her grandmother for the good advice she gave her on how to look good.

Speaking to NewBeauty she said: 'She is my inspiration and she taught me many things.

'She was both an alchemist and a magician and someone with a great imagination--and that's where I get a lot of my beauty secrets from.'
It's one of the biggest week's in the fashion calendar, and actor Luke Evans pulled out all the stops to look his best in a three-piece tailored suit at London's Spencer House St. James's.

The Fast and Furious 6 star looked dapper in his custom-made Turnbull and Asser suit which showed off his super-toned physique to the max as he partied alongside model Robert Konjic.

The handsome chap, 36, looked sharp as he arrived at the London Collections Men London Fashion Week reception on Thursday where he joined model David Gandy, Henry Conway and Tracey Emin.

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Too cool for school: Actor Luke Evans pulled out all the stops to look his best in a three-piece tailored suit at the London Mens Collection fashion party held at Spencer House on Thursday evening

Suave: The handsome actor, 36, looked sharp in his cool blue suit as he arrived at the Men's Collection London on Thursday where he partied alongside model Robert Konjic (right)

Luke got suited and booted for the plush event to kick of the fashion calendar for 2016 on Thursday evening.

He looked suave in his classy attire and which he wore with a crisp white shirt, navy tie and pocket handkerchief.

His brunette hair was neatly cropped for the big event where he was joined by fashion elite model David Gandy and superstar Pam Hogg.

Top man: The Fast and Furious 6 actor looked dapper in his custom made ensemble which showed off his super-toned physique to the max

Luke put his best foot forward in a pair of polished black shoes as he posed beside a companion who was dressed in black.

His male companion draped a black and white printed scarf around his neck to add a splash of colour to his fashion forward outfit.

He was joined at the event by model David Gandy, 35, who looked on-trend in a grey tailored suit.

He teamed it with a black polo neck jumper to keep the winter chill at bay as he beamed on the day.

Model behaviour: David Gandy, 35,looked on-trend in a grey tailored suit. He teamed it with a black polo neck jumper to keep the winter chill at bay as he beamed on the day

Charming: The handsome star wrapped up against the winter chill in his grey ensemble at the central London do

Friends in high places: The model caught up with GQ Editor Dylan Jones at the fancy bash

Original: Black Eyed Peas star rapper Will.i.am rocked a thick woolen winter coat with bold black furry trimming

It was also a grey day for rapper Will.i.am - who rocked a thick woolen winter coat with bold black furry trimming.

The Voice coach topped off his look with a furry hat to fend the cold off as he arrived at the London Collections Men London Fashion Week do.

The party was wall to wall with fashion's biggest names.

Arty: Tracey Emin pulled her hair up into a smart up-do as she arrived at the event in head to toe black

Lads: David Furnish (L) and shoe designer Patrick Cox also attended the bash held at London's Spencer House

Something to talk about: (L to R) Will.i.am, Patrick Cox and David Furnish were all pictured talking to one another

She's got the look: Model and blogger Doina Ciobanu went braless in a plunging top worn with a checked suit and killer heels

Artist Tracey Emin also looked glam as she pulled her hair up into a smart up-do as she arrived at the event in head to toe black.

Her elegant dress had a bow around the waist to show off her slim figure.

Pam Hogg and Jefferson Hack were also in attendance at the glitzy event.Kate Moss' ex Jefferson rocked a speckled grey and white jumper, and wore his hair in a quiff.

Meanwhile yellow-haired Pam looked retro in a long grey suit jacket with brown detailing, and matching beige and brown boots.

Pals: Pam Hogg and Jefferson Hack were also in attendance at the glitzy event on Thursday
It's been a busy couple of weeks for Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage as she explores California, relishing her time away from morning TV.

And the 38-year-old blonde's latest stop is San Francisco, where she visited Alcatraz Island on Thursday.

Sam posted several pictures of herself behind bars so she could get the full experience of the historical jail.

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Not so happy snap: Samantha Armytage looked worried as she posed inside a bare jail cell on Alcatraz Island, California on Thursday

For the outing she went casual, comfortable and warm in a heavy navy blue coat, complimented by a black and white patterned scarf around her neck and a pair of trousers.

She finished her outfit with a vibrant red Gucci bag slung across her body.

Her blonde hair was swept back from her face as she lent across the aged bars of the cell for one snap, which she captioned: 'Escap(ing) from Alcatraz'.

She posed for another photo as she stood further into the dark jail cell, her hands on her hips as she peeked through the open door.

It's not that bad: Samantha wrote that she was 'actually enjoying the peace of solitary confinement'

'Believe it not, I'm actually enjoying the peace of solitary confinement (eat your heart out, Al Capone)' she wrote alongside it.

Earlier this week, Sam shared her excitement at being in the picturesque Napa Valley.

Jumping for joy in the middle of a vineyard, she was clearly having a ball despite the chilly winter weather.

My spiritual home: Earlier this week, Sam shared her excitement at being in the picturesque Napa Valley

The presenter was pictured wearing the same heavy black military-inspired coat paired with fitted black jeans, the hint of a pale blue turtleneck sweater visible underneath.

Her blonde hair this time swept into a bun amd she finished off her look with a pair of black Nike trainers.

The gloomy winter weather didn't dampen the TV's stars as she leaped through the bare vines.

Happiness: Samantha jumped for joy in the middle of a vineyard, despite the chilly winter weather

Namesake: Next stop on her tour of the famous Napa Valley was the upscale Sam's Social Club of her namesake

'And again... (I can't stop jumping, I'm SO excited..) Wake up grapes!!! I know it's winter, but Mumma needs a glass of wine!!' she wrote next to her one of many Instagram happy snaps.

Next stop on her tour of the famous Napa Valley was the upscale Sam's Social Club of her namesake.

Sam has been exploring the state and has so far visited to The Grove, Santa Monica Beach, the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and Big Sur.

She was particularly excited to drive on the wrong side of the road while exploring the coast, boasting on social media that she was 'more than happy' to do so.

The TV personality has been updating fans throughout her trip, including the overpriced photo she took in LA with characters from the children's movie, Frozen.
Jericho

Rating:

Poor old Dean Andrews. The actor has just got one of those unlucky faces. Whenever he appears on screen, you can be sure hes going to be cheated, betrayed, stitched up, run down or dumped.

Earlier this week he was a grieving father jailed for attempted murder, in Silent Witness. For years, hes been Nicola Walkers on-off boyfriend in Last Tango In Halifax, begging for scraps of her affection.

So when he swaggered into Jericho (ITV) as a gang boss supervising navvies on the building of Yorkshires Ribblehead Viaduct in the 1870s, it was a safe bet that bad things were about to happen.

To make it worse, he was a happily married man. His wife sent him off to work with a kiss and a packet of sandwiches. When she waved him goodbye, we could only hope she had taken out a decent life insurance policy on him.

Whenever Dean Andrews appears on screen, you can be sure hes going to be cheated, betrayed, stitched up, run down or dumped. So when he swaggered into Jericho (ITV) as a gang boss supervising navvies on the building of Yorkshires Ribblehead Viaduct in the 1870s, it was a safe bet that bad things were about to happen

Jessica Raine (left) starred as a homeless widow with two adolescent children, Martha (Amy James-Kelly, right) and George, setting up a boarding house in the shanty town to house the workmen

Sure enough, Dean didnt have a good shift at work. As he climbed down into a hole in the ground, his sixth sense for disaster started jangling. The earth was black  someone had filled the pit with gunpowder. Worse, little sparks began to buzz and fly . . . this was fizzy gunpowder!

Dean tried to climb out of the hole, but the rope ladder gave way. It really wasnt his day.

The blast that ensued looked like a pop and a puff of smoke, but we had to pretend it was a seismic explosion, because it blew all the characters off their feet. Theres a cheap joke to be made there about how flimsy and flat they all were, and I am not usually above cheap jokes, but the truth is there was nothing really wrong with the characters or the acting. What ruined Jericho was the jerry-built plot.

SUREFIRE JOKE OF THE NIGHT Mae Wests famous one-liner  Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?  became a running gag in Birds Of A Feather (ITV). It was a gun, and brilliant writers Marks and Gran bagged laugh after laugh with it. Advertisement

Jessica Raine starred as a homeless widow with two adolescent children, Martha and George, setting up a boarding house in the shanty town to house the workmen.

She had to contend with boozy toughs who eyed her like meat, and sneak thieves who stole her few possessions in the night.

For the first half-hour or so, this was shaping up well  but then night fell, and most of the rest was filmed by faint shafts of moonlight.

From what could be seen in almost total darkness, one of the navvies got into a fight with young George, and came off worst: the ten-year-old boy cut his attackers throat.

Naturally, Georges mum had to do something about this, so she and her lodger dug a grave and dumped the body.

Then they did a lot of standing around silently, brooding on their thoughts by the wan moonlight. Not George, though  he was tucked up and asleep with a smile on his angelic face, like any lad who has just killed his first navvy. There hasnt been such a cold-blooded pre-teen on telly since little Bobby Beale bashed his sister to death on EastEnders.

Death In Paradise

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The murder on Death In Paradise (BBC1) seemed quite commonplace by comparison.

Four scuba divers left the captain of their scientific expedition aboard the boat, with not another soul for miles in the Caribbean Sea.

They were never out of each others sight  but when they returned together to the ship, one of them had shot the captain.

Impossible killings are the stock-in-trade of clumsy DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), a man who cant even sit on an office chair without two attempts, but who can solve any crime as easily as falling off a boat  which he does effortlessly and often.

There are no great claims to be made for Death In Paradise. The plots are repetitive and the police are caricatures.

Tell me you think its rubbish and you cant bear to watch, and Id understand.

But I enjoy it. Those old-fashioned, fiendish whodunnits are absorbing. Humph and his sidekicks, especially the boastful, rum-swigging idler Dwayne (Danny John-Jules), are lovable  and their self-important boss, played by the excellent Don Warrington, is a joy.

Death In Paradise is the TV equivalent of a rubbishy book on the beach. And at this time of year, thats welcome.

Impossible killings are the stock-in-trade of clumsy DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), a man who cant even sit on an office chair without two attempts, but who can solve any crime as easily as falling off a boat  which he does effortlessly and often
Texas cop charged with lying in jailhouse death case

A Texas state trooper involved in a controversial arrest of a black woman who was found dead in her jail cell was indicted on perjury charges, US prosecutors said Wednesday.

A dashcam video captured trooper Brian Encinia, who is white, holding a stun gun and shouting "I will light you up!" after getting into an argument with Sandra Bland during a traffic stop in July.

The video went viral after Bland's family disputed the coroner's conclusion that she committed suicide, insisting Bland was happy about starting a new job and had no reason to kill herself just three days after her arrest.

A woman holds a poster bearing the portrait of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who killed herself in a Texas jail cell, on August 9, 2015 in New York Kena Betancur (AFP/File)

It comes with America embroiled in a debate over race and police tactics after a series of high-profile incidents in which African Americans were killed by police in disputed circumstances.

A grand jury declined to issue indictments last month against Bland's jailers in connection with her death.

However, Encinia could face up to a year in prison if convicted of lying on the affidavit he submitted justifying the arrest.

"The indictment was issued in reference to the reason that he removed her from her vehicle," a special prosecutor appointed to handle the case told reporters on the Waller County courthouse steps.

Prosecutors declined to provide further details.

Bland's family has filed a civil suit in an attempt to force the county and individuals involved to take responsibility for their role in her death.

They insist that she never should have been arrested in the first place.

- 'Can't you stop?!' -

Bland was an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of protests sparked by the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and cases such as that of Freddie Gray, who sustained a fatal spinal injury in a Baltimore police van.

She can be heard arguing with Encinia after he pulled her over for failing to signal a lane change in rural Waller County.

Things escalated after he told her to "put out your cigarette please" and she refused.

Encinia told her to step out of the car and she initially refused, saying, "You do not have the right" and "I'm going to call my lawyer."

She eventually left the vehicle after Encinia shouted, "I'm going to drag you out!" and they can be heard to continue to argue as they moved out of view of the camera.

"You're about to break my wrists! Can't you stop?!" Bland shouted.

"When you pull away from me you're resisting arrest!" Encinia shouted back at one point.

She was found hanged in her cell by a plastic bag on July 13 while waiting to be bailed out of jail on charges of assaulting an officer.

Bland's shock was apparent in a voice mail message she left for a friend shortly before she died.

"I'm still just at a loss for words honestly at this whole process," she said on the message obtained by KTRK news.

"How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this, I don't even know."
Armed group in Oregon hints at possible end to standoff

The leader of a small group of armed activists who have occupied a remote wildlife refuge in Oregon hinted on Wednesday that the standoff may be nearing its end.

Speaking to reporters outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Ammon Bundy said he was aware the occupation that was in its fifth day must end but he added it was too soon to call it quits, Fox news reported.

"There is a time to go home and we recognize that," Bundy was quoted as saying. "We don't feel like it's that time yet."

Ammon Bundy makes his way from a news conference at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon on January 6, 2016 Rob Kerr (AFP)

The group occupied the refuge on Saturday in protest at the jailing of two local ranchers convicted of arson, and is calling for the government to turn over federal land in the area to the people.

Bundy said on Tuesday that once the group's mission was accomplished, they would leave.

However it was unclear how he planned to go about stripping the federal government of ownership and much of the local population -- including the two ranchers whose case prompted the takeover -- has distanced itself from the group.

"It is frustrating when I hear the demand that we return the land to the people, because it is in the people's hand -- the people own it," Randy Eardley, a Bureau of Land Management spokesman, told CBS.

"Everybody in the United States owns that land," he added. "We manage it the best we can for its owners, the people, and whether it's for recreating, for grazing, for energy and mineral development."

The Audubon Society of Portland, a wildlife conservation group, has also denounced the occupation saying it puts one of the country's "most important wildlife refuges at risk."

"The occupiers have used the flimsiest of pretexts to justify their actions," said Audubon's conservation director Bob Sallinger in a statement.

On Wednesday, members of an Oregon Indian tribe also took issue with Bundy and his group saying they were occupying ancestral property and "desecrating one of our sacred sites."

"The protesters have no right to this land," said Charlotte Rodrique, a leader for the Burns Paiute tribe.

Meanwhile the local sheriff has organized a town meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the standoff with the local community.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward, who has urged Bundy and his followers to pack up and leave, said the standoff was having an economic impact on the region, where schools have been shut for safety concerns.

"If this goes any longer it will have an even greater impact to our tourism and economy," he said in a statement.

"They have promised to leave if our community wants them to," he added. "We want to see them go home to their families and consider how their actions affect this community."
China's woes rattle global markets

Stock markets across the globe slumped and oil plumbed new depths Thursday as signs of a dramatic slowdown in powerhouse China put fright into investors about the outlook for the global economy.

Another cut in the value of the Chinese yuan triggered a plunge in shares on Chinese exchanges, leading to the second suspension of trading on the Shanghai exchange this week.

That was followed by a tidal wave of losses in global bourses, equity markets from Tokyo to Frankfurt to New York to Mexico City generally shedding between two and three percent.

Chinese markets were suspended on January 7, 2016 for the second day this week after they fell more than seven percent Fred Dufour (AFP/File)

On Wall Street, the broad-based US S&P 500 index sank 2.4 percent to leave it down nearly 5 percent for the year, marking the worst four-day open to a year in index history, said S&P Capital IQ.

"Right now the mentality is reduced-risk exposure across the board," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

"The fear is that things could worsen and I'd rather be selling now in advance of any potential weakening of indices."

Chinese stock markets were in full disarray Thursday, halting trading within just 30 minutes of opening as prices slumped seven percent and triggered the "circuit breaker".

Officials suspended the mechanism late Thursday, after judging it was doing more harm than good.

Chinese authorities lowered the yuan's central rate against the US dollar by 0.51 percent to 6.5646, the lowest since March 2011.

"It's probably inevitable that China's exchange rate needed to fall to reflect its slowing economy. But it's the speed of the current devaluation that has investors unnerved," said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"A slower pace of yuan devaluation would at least give investors and European exporters a chance to adjust to the new normal."

Share prices in the energy-rich Gulf states fell sharply, with the Saudi exchange's main index slumping 4.5 percent as oil prices hit a 12-year low.

- 'Dangerous cocktail' -

British finance minister George Osborne warned the economy faces a "dangerous cocktail of new threats" in 2016.

"We are only seven days into the New Year, and already we've had worrying news about stock market falls around the world, the slowdown in China, deep problems in Brazil and in Russia," Osborne said in a speech to business leaders in Wales, according to prepared remarks.

"Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats."

American financier George Soros warned that world markets were showing signs of a financial crisis reminiscent of the 2008 crash.

A weaker yuan is "inflicting deflationary pressures" on the rest of the world, he told the Sri Lanka Economic Forum.

"When I look at the financial markets, there I see a serious challenge, which reminds me of actually the crisis we had in 2008."

But Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said the situation is still a far cry from 2008.

Global markets always experience volatility after the Federal Reserve begins lifting interest rates as it did in December. That move put additional pressure on the Chinese yuan, among other currencies, he said.

"It's not unusual," Low said. "It seems like this is pretty typical behavior in any rate cycle."

- Key figures around 2200 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 2.3 percent at 16,514.10 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 2.4 percent at 1,943.09 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 3.0 percent at 4,689.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.0 percent at 5,954.08 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.7 percent at 4,403.58 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 2.3 percent at 9,979.85 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.7 percent at 3,084.68 (close)

Shanghai - composite: DOWN 7.0 percent at 3,125.00 (close, suspended)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.3 percent at 17,767.34 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0928 from $1.0782 late Wednesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 117.65 yen from 118.49 yen
Hong Kong bookseller disappearances cut deep into freedom fears

The disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers has sent shivers through the semi-autonomous city as anxiety grows that Chinese control is tightening.

Bookshops are removing political works from their shelves, while publishers and store owners selling titles banned in mainland China say they now feel under threat.

The five missing men all worked for publishing house Mighty Current, known for books critical of the Chinese government, and are feared to have been detained by mainland authorities.

A protestor holds up a missing person notice for publisher Lee Bo, 65, the latest of five Hong Kong booksellers from the same Mighty Current publishing house to go missing, as they walk towards China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong on January 3, 2016 Anthony Wallace (AFP/File)

But it is the latest disappearance that has triggered the most outrage.

Publisher Lee Bo, 65, was last seen in Hong Kong -- the only one of the five men to have disappeared while in his home city.

"The biggest problem is if they really came to Hong Kong to snatch people. It has never happened before," Jin Zhong, a mainland-born, Hong Kong-based publisher of banned books, told AFP.

"If it becomes a norm and people can be snapped up anytime from here... it is a big blow."

The other four men are believed to have gone missing when they were visiting southern China and Thailand.

"As a free society, we are supposed to be able to provide an open platform for different voices in Hong Kong," said Paul Tang, owner of the city's People's Recreation Community bookstore, which sells titles banned on the mainland.

Tang described the disappearances as "white terror".

"None of us know how far it will go," he said.

There were new reports Thursday that mainland agents had threatened two more Hong Kong-based publishers involved in putting out books about political intrigue on the mainland, and had paid for some books to be destroyed.

- City at a crossroads -

Furious pro-democracy lawmakers, activists and residents, who believe Lee was kidnapped by mainland authorities, say Beijing is trampling the "one country, two systems" deal under which Hong Kong has been governed since it was handed back by Britain to China in 1997.

The two sides agreed Hong Kong was to preserve its freedoms and way of life for 50 years -- Chinese law enforcers have no right to operate in the city.

The disappearances come against a simmering backdrop of disaffection over increased interference from Beijing in politics and education.

In 2014 tens of thousands brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill for more than two months after Beijing imposed restrictions on candidates for the city's next leader.

There have also been recent protests over perceived political appointments at universities.

"If it was really a deliberate act, I think it serves to give a strong signal to the people of Hong Kong that the Central government is no longer willing to tolerate anything which is causing embarrassment to them," pro-democracy lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki told AFP.

"We are at a crossroads -- if we tolerate this, more will come, so we have no choice but to say no."

- Books removed -

The tiny bookstore in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay run by the missing booksellers was one of dozens in Hong Kong to sell books banned on the mainland.

Shelves were stacked with titles covering behind-the-scenes political wrangles, private stories of Chinese leaders and unreported corruption scandals.

The shop has been closed for days.

Industry sources say the majority of customers visiting the stores come from the mainland, ranging from ordinary citizens to party officials keen for information on what may be a state secret back home.

At Paul Tang's shop, customers flick through a stack of books entitled "The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai", a former leader of the Communist Party.

"I think in Hong Kong people should be able to enjoy such freedom," says one customer, a Hong Kong photographer in his 40s.

"What has happened shows that the 50-year promise is just a slogan."

The disappearances have already spooked some shops into pulling books.

AFP has learned that stores in the mainstream Page One chain have removed controversial political titles.

"We used to sell them but we don't do it anymore. We have received instructions that we don't," said one source from the chain.

Another said: "Some have been returned (to distributors) and some have been taken off (shelves)."

For Tang, the turn of events has come as a terrifying shock.

"We need to have these books to inspire those who haven't had a chance to receive information," he said.

"(But) if one day someone comes to me and says my personal safety will be affected if I continue to do this, I will have no option and quit."

The disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers has sent shivers through Hong Kong as anxiety grows that Chinese control over the city is tightening Philippe Lopez (AFP)

Magazines about Chinese politics are displayed in a bookstore in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong Philippe Lopez (AFP)
Hollywood composer Zimmer to play live despite stage fright

Realising a long-held dream, German Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is to perform live on stage his scores from blockbusting films including "The Lion King", "Rain Man" and "Gladiator".

Zimmer, 58, has composed music for over 100 films in an illustrious career which spans over 30 years, winning two Golden Globes and four Grammys alongside his 1994 Oscar for "The Lion King".

He continues to bewitch cinema goers with recent credits including "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Interstellar" and "12 Years a Slave", but has kept a low profile behind the silver screen.

German composer Hans Zimmer has composed music for over 100 films in an illustrious career which spans over 30 years, winning two Golden Globes and four Grammys alongside his 1994 Oscar for "The Lion King" Gabriel Bouys (AFP)

"I have always had stage fright," he told AFP in London ahead of a European tour which begins in the city on April 6 and will pass through 30 cities including Paris, Berlin and Brussels.

"I think one of the reasons I like being a film composer is because you have a lot of control."

Despite being the most Hollywood of the European composers, Zimmer scoffed at suggestions that he had gone completely native.

"When I speak German I have an English accent, when I speak English I have a German accent but when I speak music, I definitely have a German accent," he said, adding that had helped with his breakthrough score.

"The first movie I did in America was 'Rain Man', which is the great essential American road movie," recalled Zimmer of the film that earned him the first of nine Oscar nominations for Best Score.

"For (director) Barry (Levinson), it was important that the eyes of Rain Man, the way you look at America, was through foreign eyes, and when you hear of America, it was through a foreigner's ears," he added.

- 'Story first' -

Zimmer took the job after Levinson turned up unannounced at his London home, despite not having a script.

"Sometimes I don't read the script because if the director tells you the story, you know what's in his head... and you're already on the right path," he explained.

"Do I need to see the movie? No, but I need to know what the cameraman thinks. I like to sit with the director of photography and talk about his ideas, his choice of colours."

It is an approach that has seen him team up many times with some of Hollywood's biggest directors, including Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard and Ridley Scott.

"With Christopher Nolan, it's always the story first," he revealed. "I know from the feel of the colour how I need to feel."

Zimmer was set to turn down "The Lion King" but was swayed by his young daughter, and the work soon became a cathartic and deeply personal process.

"I didn't want to do animation, I didn't really want to do a kids' movie but my daughter was five years old and like all dads, I wanted to show off," he said.

"So I said: 'OK, I'll do it for my kid, it will be easy.'

"The story is about a father who dies and my father died when I was really young. Suddenly I had to really think about that. So it did become important."

Despite admitting to stage fright, the self-taught musician, who claims to have had only two weeks of piano lessons, is looking forward to the "different adrenaline" of a live show.

During his concerts, he plays the piano, guitar and banjo, joking he has "very bad taste in instruments".

"You can't play 'Sherlock Holmes' or 'Pirates' without a banjo," he added.

(L-R) Director Edward Zwick, composer Hans Zimmer and Zoe Zimmer attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California Kevin Winter (Getty Images/AFP/File)

Singer Usher (L) and musician Hans Zimmer perform onstage during The 57th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California Kevork Djansezian (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File)
Indian Kashmir chief minister dies

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, chief minister of India's restive Kashmir region and one of the country's best-known Muslim politicians, died on Thursday, an official said.

Sayeed died in hospital in New Delhi after being admitted on December 24 suffering from a respiratory illness, a hospital official told AFP.

His party gained popularity in the disputed Kashmir region on a promise to bring a "healing touch" to the war-ravaged area, and Sayeed had won praise for his efforts to bring about reconciliation.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed served two terms as the chief minister in Indian Kashmir Tauseef Mustafa (AFP/File)

The 79-year-old, whose party is in a controversial coalition with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party in the Himalayan region, is likely to be succeeded as chief minister by his daughter.

His daughter Mehbooba Mufti, current head of the moderate People's Democratic Party (PDP) that he founded in 1999, is widely expected to take over as the state's first female chief minister.

Thousands of locals including several top politicians flocked a sports ground in Srinagar on Thursday to offer prayers for Sayeed after his body was flown to the city.

His body was then moved towards his home town of Anantnag, around 56 kilometres (35 miles) from Srinagar, where an even bigger crowd waited to bid a final farewell to the veteran leader.

"Mufti Sahab's demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K (Jammu and Kashmir state) where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives," the prime minister tweeted, using an honorific for Sayeed.

Sayeed's PDP controversially went into coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state with Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after state elections at the end of 2014.

- 'Limited options' -

The PDP's main support base is among Muslims in the Kashmir Valley, the epicentre of the separatist insurgency that broke out in 1989, although the party stops short of calling for independence for the restive Himalayan region.

Analysts said the death of the veteran leader, who also served as chief minister in Kashmir after his party's election in 2002 until 2005, was unlikely to trigger major change.

"The BJP and PDP have limited options and will try to continue in power," said Happymon Jacob, assistant professor of international studies at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

"But Mehbooba is a bit immature when it comes to the administrative part. She has never held any position in the government and has to start from scratch in an alliance with an ideologically disparate partner."

Sayeed, a former lawyer, was appointed India's first Muslim home minister in 1989.

Later the same year another of his daughters was kidnapped by Kashmiri militants. She was eventually released in exchange for five jailed rebels.

Despite gaining praise for his reconciliation efforts, he also faced criticism at home for his perceived closeness to New Delhi.

A profile of the chief minister in the latest issue of Indian magazine The Caravan was headlined "The Collaborator -- How Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Delhi's man in Kashmir".

Several rebel groups have for decades been fighting Indian forces deployed on the Indian side of divided Kashmir, seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians.

The region is divided between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.

Sayeed's funeral is expected to take place later in the day Thursday.

Kashmiri mourners carry the coffin of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during his funeral in Srinagar, on January 7, 2016 Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)

Kashmiri mourners carry the coffin of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed -- the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir -- during his funeral in Srinagar, on January 7, 2016 Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)
15 dead in Hutu militia attack in east DR Congo

Fifteen people died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight when Hutu rebels from Rwanda attacked civilians in the latest ethnic killings in the region, authorities and the military said Thursday.

The assault took place in Miriki, 110 kilometres (65 miles) north of Goma, capital of conflict-torn North Kivu province.

The attack left "15 dead and eight injured", said Charles Bambara, public information director for the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO.

Hutu rebels with the FDLR (Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda) are often blamed for attacks in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo Lionel Healing (AFP/File)

Bokele Joy, administrator of the Lubero area under which Miriki falls, told AFP that "the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) is responsible."

The army as well as leaders of the local Nande people, rivals of the local Hutu, also accused the FDLR Hutu group based in eastern Congo and said to include perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Congolese military spokesman Mak Hazukay said the rebels slipped past the army's positions to carry out the attack using knives or other bladed weapons.

A local human rights defender, Souleymane Mokili, said he had seen the bodies of the victims, which bore "machete and bullet" wounds.

The Congolese army last year launched an offensive to try to push the FDLR out of the east, where the rebels have been wreaking havoc since the genocide of mostly ethnic Tutsis across the border in Rwanda.

In October, FDLR members were accused of stabbing and injuring three people in Lubero, one of the traditional homelands of central Africa's Nande tribe.
More than 56 dead in two Libya bombings

Suicide bombers in Libya attacked a police training school and a checkpoint Thursday, killing more than 56 people and prompting renewed calls for unity in a country torn by rivalries and jihadist threats.

The deadliest incident was in the coastal city of Zliten, where a truck bomb exploded outside the school, killing more than 50 people, a security source said.

The attack was the deadliest since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

People gather at the site of a suicide truck bombing on a police school in the coastal Libyan city of Zliten on January 7, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

A witness in Zliten, about 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Tripoli, told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the compound at the time.

Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people were killed and at least 100 wounded. Victims were rushed to several hospitals and urgent calls were issued for blood donations.

The blast blew out windows and charred concrete buildings inside the compound and turned cars into black and twisted wrecks, reported an AFP correspondent from the scene.

Hours later another bomber drove an explosives-packed car into a checkpoint in a key oil region under recent assault by the Islamic State (IS) group, killing six people, including a baby.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent. Eight people were also wounded.

Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, told AFP: "A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf."

Hodeiri, who was at the scene, aid three guards and a 16-month-baby were among the dead.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has claimed previous suicide bombings and other atrocities.

IS has been growing in power in Libya, feeding on the chaos that has gripped the country since the revolution.

On Monday it launched an offensive against the oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra, after trying for weeks to push east from its stronghold of Sirte.

The terminals are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along the northern coast, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

- Calls for unity -

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The internationally recognised government condemned the attack as a "cowardly terrorist act" and called for the lifting of an arms embargo it says has prevented authorities from tackling IS.

A deputy defence minister for the Tripoli-based government, Mohammad Bashir al-Naas, vowed to revenge.

"The perpetrator is not known but he is a coward. He kills our sons from the shadows. We must avenge them and do everything possible to protect them," he told a press conference.

Hundreds of people braved the cold and high winds Thursday afternoon to attend a prayer service for the victims of the truck bombing at Zliten's stadium.

The United Nations is pressing Libya's rival sides to implement a power-sharing deal agreed last month on forming a unity government.

UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler said implementing the political agreement was crucial.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote on Twitter.

EU policy chief Federica Mogherini also urged Libyans to back the unity deal.

"The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... they have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country," she said.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, offered its support in helping to bring stability.

"In the face of this terrorist threat, the first answer must be unity among Libyans," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. "It is urgent that the recently signed political agreement be implemented."

- 'Struggle for power' -

World powers fear Libya could descend further into chaos and become an IS stronghold on Europe's doorstep.

In a report to the UN Security Council in November, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that IS had been responsible for at least 27 car and suicide bombings in Libya in 2015.

The group claimed responsibility for suicide car bombings in the eastern town of Al-Qoba in February that killed at least 40 people.

Calls have been growing for a possible foreign military intervention to bring stability to Libya and contain IS, which is reported to have at least 3,000 fighters in the country.

Mohamed Eljarh, a Libya analyst with the Atlantic Council, said the Zliten attack was aimed as a show of strength and to highlight the vulnerability of security forces.

"Despite IS's evident presence in Libya, various political groups are still consumed with their struggle for power and control."

A Libyan man inspects the site of a suicide truck bombing in Libya's coastal city of Zliten on January 7, 2015 Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

Map of Libya locating Zliten where a suicide truck bombing has killed more than 50 people Jean-Michel Cornu (AFP)
Chinese pressure sees Pakistan mull status of region disputed by India

Pakistan is considering upgrading the constitutional status of its northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is also claimed by India, in a bid to provide legal cover to a multi-billion-dollar Chinese investment plan, officials said Thursday.

The move could signal a historic shift in Pakistan's position on the future of the wider Kashmir region, observers have said, weeks after fragile peace talk efforts that received a boost after India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore in December.

The proposal would grant the mountainous region greater legislative powers and control of its revenue, as well as send two lawmakers to the federal parliament for the first time -- albeit as observers.

Chairman of Pakistan's Gwadar Port Authority, Dostain Khan Jamaldini (C) and chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company, Zhan Baozhang (L) sign an agreement during a ceremony in the Gwadar port city of Baluchistan province on November 11, 2015 Bahram Baloch (AFP/File)

Islamabad has historically insisted the parts of Kashmir it controls are semi-autonomous and has not formally integrated them into the country, in line with its position that a referendum should be carried out across the whole of the region.

A top government official from Gilgit-Baltistan said the move was in response to concerns raised by Beijing about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, an ambitious $46 billion infrastructure plan to link China's western city of Kashgar to the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

"China cannot afford to invest billions of dollars on a road that passes through a disputed territory claimed both by India and Pakistan," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The corridor plans have been strongly criticised by New Delhi, with India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in June calling the project "unacceptable" for crossing through Indian-claimed territory.

India and Pakistan have fought two full-scale wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947 and any changes to the status quo could potentially prove a further setback to hopes for dialogue that were revived after Modi made the historic Lahore visit.

Those efforts were already seen as fragile following a deadly attack on an Indian air base near the Pakistan border Saturday that was followed by a 25-hour siege on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan on Monday.

- Integration and autonomy -

But according to Pakistani strategic analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, the move could also demonstrate Islamabad's desire to end the Kashmir conflict by formally absorbing the territory it controls -- and, by extension, recognising New Delhi's claims to parts of the region it controls, such as the Kashmir Valley.

"If we begin to absorb it so can India. It legitimises their absorption of the valley," she said.

Mohan Guruswamy, head of the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives said despite its avowed claim over G-B, the Indian government may not react strongly.

"There will be some noise in India but the country has never shown a political consensus to take back those areas from Pakistan," he said.

"This step is basically to formalise the incorporation of areas under Pakistani rule. Probably a good step as it may lead to the permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue with both countries content with what they currently have under their rule."

The G-B region's ambiguous legal status has long meant that it has relatively little say in its own affairs and was directly ruled from Islamabad, despite the pretence of autonomy.

Ibrahim Sanai, the region's information minister, told AFP: "Gilgit-Baltistan will be made an independent provisional province till the final decision on Kashmir issue.

But Amanullah Khan, chairman of the nationalist Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance, said Islamabad was attempting to pass legislation that would allow it to plunder the region's resources.

"The real motive behind the move is to provide a legal cover to the Pakistani plans of leasing out the region to China and selling its natural resources like gold and uranium," he told AFP.

China-Pakistan corridor Adrian Leung (AFP)
S.Africa says trade pact deadlock with US resolved

South Africa and the United States have agreed on health and safety standards of US meat exports, Pretoria announced Thursday, ending a deadlock that put at risk a key preferential trade arrangement.

In November, US President Barack Obama threatened to eject South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), citing continued barriers to US imports and setting a December 31 deadline.

That deadline passed without resolution, but intense negotiations resolved the impasse over the last week, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said at a press conference Thursday.

South Africa agreed to lift a ban on US beef imports in place following outbreaks of mad cow disease Robyn Beck (AFP/File)

"All negotiations have been concluded and all outstanding documents have been signed by both parties," he said.

"We expect South Africa can now participate in AGOA without any interruptions to trade flows."

During months of negotiations, South Africa last year agreed to a 65,000-tonne quota of US chicken imports and also lifted a ban on US beef imports in place following outbreaks of mad cow disease.

But concerns over salmonella levels in US chickens had remained a sticking point in discussions.

AGOA was created in 2000 to help boost exports from African countries deemed to be democratic and applying good economic governance.

If South Africa had been thrown out of AGOA, farmers faced substantial losses in export revenue, compounding problems for the slowing economy.

In 2013, the country shipped $253 million worth of agricultural products to the United States.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman hailed the deal as a "positive outcome for both our countries".

"For South Africa, our agreement will reserve a portion of the new trade in poultry for historically disadvantaged importers, thus providing new business opportunities," he said in a statement.
Blair urged Kadhafi to find 'safe place' in 2011: transcripts

Former British prime minister Tony Blair urged Moamer Kadhafi to stand aside and find a bolthole in the early days of the 2011 Libyan uprising, telephone transcripts released Thursday showed.

Blair urged the Libyan dictator to stop the violence, start a process of change, stand aside, resolve the situation peacefully and keep communications open between them.

Kadhafi insisted Libya was under attack from sleeper cells from the Al-Qaeda terror network who wanted to take north Africa and attack Europe -- and if Western forces intervened, Libya would end up "like Iraq".

Tony Blair (left) shakes hands with Moamer Kadhafi during their 2007 meetng in the Libyan town of Sirte Leon Neal (AFP/File)

"If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully," Blair warned.

The transcripts cast light on Kadhafi's thinking as the uprising began to escalate.

They were published by the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, which is examining the Western intervention in Libya's civil war and Britain's options now concerning the troubled country.

Committee chair Crispin Blunt said they would consider "whether Kadhafi's prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups... was wrongly ignored" due to his "otherwise delusional" world view.

Evidence suggests "Western policymakers were rather less perceptive than Kadhafi about the risks of intervention," he said.

The committee quizzed Blair in December on his relationship with Kadhafi, after which the ex-premier, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, provided the phone transcripts released Thursday.

The uprising that overthrew Kadhafi's regime began in mid-February 2011.

The two calls from Blair were made on February 25, 2011, the second after Blair reported back to US and European Union figures.

Kadhafi fled Tripoli that August and was killed on October 25.

- 'This has to stop' -

Libya has since plunged into lawlessness, with the country splitting into two warring factions.

Though out of office, Blair had influence with Kadhafi as his 2004 so-called "deal in the desert" brought Libya in from the cold as Tripoli scrapped its chemical weapons.

Kadhafi claimed Al-Qaeda cells had been attacking police stations, saying: "They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe."

Blair said: "The way to deal with this is the leader says and makes clear he wants a peaceful outcome.

"The use of airplanes to attack cities and the use of force against civilians -- this has to stop."

In the second call, Kadhafi said he was preparing to "arm the people" for a battle against "colonisation".

"If you want to reap Libya we are ready to fight, it will be like Iraq," he said.

Blair urged Kadhafi to take the initiative and lead a peaceful transition process.

"I repeat the statement that people have said to me, if there is a way that he (Kadhafi) can leave he should do so now," Blair said.

"If we don't find a way out in the next few hours I don't know what will happen.

"This is the last chance to resolve this peacefully."
Confusion, anger over fate of Nigerian Shiite cleric Zakzaky

Supporters of a Shiite Muslim cleric in Nigeria are calling for his release, more than three weeks after he was arrested by the military during a bloody crackdown on his group.

The military and police have assured followers of Ibrahim Zakzaky, who heads the pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), that he is alive and well.

But nothing has been heard from him since he was arrested with his wife on December 13, fuelling fears about his health and the potential for a new security threat Nigeria could do without.

A series of demonstrations were staged win various parts of northern Nigeria, calling for the release of Ibrahim Zakzaky, depicted here on a banner in Kano, who was detained following a military crackdown on his followers Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)

Human Rights Watch have claimed soldiers killed "at least 300" IMN members in the raid in the ancient city of Zaria, in the northern state of Kaduna that began the previous day.

Three of Zakzaky's sons, his deputy, the group's spokesman and head of security were reportedly among those who died when troops tried to reach the cleric's house.

Nigeria's military, who alleged IMN members tried to "assassinate" chief of army staff General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, dismissed the claimed death toll, calling it "unsubstantiated".

Diplomatically, Iran is watching events closely and has voiced its concern about the situation while there were protests outside the West African country's embassy in Tehran.

- 'Deceit, conspiracy'? -

Contradictory statements from Nigeria's security services on Zakzaky's whereabouts have added to the uncertainty and sparked anger among his followers.

Buratai himself said on December 17 that Zakzaky had been transferred to "the relevant authorities for prosecution", according to local media reports.

Federal police chief Solomon Arase then confirmed he was in police custody but was waiting for "orders from above" about the next move.

With Zakzaky reportedly shot four times and gravely injured, rumours swirled the police were buying time to allow him to recuperate, fearing a backlash if he was seen in poor health.

On December 29, federal police spokeswoman Olabisi Kolawole was quoted as telling one newspaper Zakzaky had been charged with "criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances".

"He has been remanded in prison custody and the case adjourned," Kolawole was quoted as telling The Punch daily.

But Kaduna prison chief Abubakar Argungu said the next day: "We only have 191 followers of the Shiite sect in our custody. But we do not have their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, with us."

Kolawole on Tuesday this week was more circumspect: "All I can tell you is that El-Zakzaky is safe, secure and very fine; he is doing well.

"But I can't tell you where he is being kept or whether he is with us or not."

On Monday the IMN, whom Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has accused of trying to create "a state within a state", voiced frustration at Zakzaky's continued detention and the confusion.

"So, whom should we believe? This smacks of deceit, conspiracy and outright manipulation," the group said in a statement.

"We are highly agitated by this seeming needless incommunicado the sheikh has been placed in."

- Defuse tensions -

Members of Nigeria's lower chamber of parliament the House of Representatives met IMN representatives last month and were told Zakzaky's release would end the stand-off with the military.

Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed, a political science professor at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, said such an intervention was important to allay fears in the minority Shiite community.

"It is not in the interest of Nigeria for the Shiites to be alienated. Engagement is very important because it will give them a sense of belonging and help mellow their tempers," he told AFP.

Abdullahi Bawa Wase, a security expert, recalled the death in custody of Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 after the military moved against his Sunni group, Boko Haram, in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

The crackdown, in which some 800 Boko Haram members were killed, is seen as the start of the insurgency that has since claimed at least 17,000 lives and left more than 2.6 million homeless.

"The risk is that if Zakzaky dies it will be seen as murder...which will lead to spontaneous protests by his followers and more bloodshed in quelling it," he said.
Four arrested in India over kidney-selling racket

A 22-year-old student from southern India was arrested for allegedly playing a significant role in an international kidney-selling racket, police said Thursday.

After selling one of his own kidneys for 500,000 rupees ($7,500) in December 2014, Kasparaju Suresh, who was studying hotel management in Hyderabad, allegedly became an agent, persuading 15 people to sell their own kidneys.

"He (Suresh) wanted to lead a lavish life by making money by selling his kidney," said S. Sudhakar, a senior police officer from Nalgonda district in Telangana state.

Recipients of the kidneys smuggled from Gujarat or Maharashtra in India were charged 2.7 million rupees for the transplants, police said Sam Panthaky (AFP/File)

"After learning the tricks of the trade, Suresh became an agent himself."

Potential donors were tested in Gujarat or Maharashtra states before being trafficked to Sri Lanka where the operations took place, Sudhakar said.

Three hospitals in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo are suspected to be involved in the illegal trade, police said, with potential donors lured through social networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

Three others were also arrested in relation to the case, named as Md. Abdul Hafeez, Palem Mahesh and Kothapalli Naresh, all aged in their twenties and thirties.
US blacklists alleged Hezbollah financier Charara

The United States named an alleged financier of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah to its sanctions blacklist Thursday in a mounting effort to crack down on the group's financial resources.

The US Treasury said Ali Youssef Charara and his Beirut-based telecommunications company Spectrum Investment Group Holding have received millions of dollars from Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects.

The sanctions freeze any assets of Charara and Spectrum under US jurisdiction and forbid Americans from doing business with them.

The United States has officially labelled Hezbollah a terrorist group and has already taken actions against its business network Anwar Amro (AFP/File)

It was the first such move since President Barack Obama signed a new law in December making it easier to target Hezbollah's finances.
Two ex-PMs to vie for C.Africa presidency in 2nd round

Two former Central African Republic premiers, Anicet Georges Dologuele and Faustin Archange Touadera, will vie for the presidency of the strife-torn nation in the final January 31 round of elections, provisional results showed Thursday.

Dologuele won 23.78 percent of the vote in the first round on December 30, trailed by Touadera, who picked up 19.42 percent, according to the results that still need to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court.

Dologuele, a 58-year-old former central banker, came to be known as "Mr Clean" after his attempts to clean up murky public finances during his spell as premier from 1998 to 2001.

Central African Republic presidential candidate Anicet Georges Dologuele waves from a car during a presidential campaign tour in the capital Bangui on December 28, 2015 Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

Touadera, also 58, is a former maths professor who served as prime minister under disgraced ousted leader Francois Bozize. He was considered an outsider among the 30 candidates running for the top job.

The National Election Authority (ANE) said turnout at the presidential and parliamentary elections reached a high 79 percent.

Nearly two million people in the country of around five million were eligible to vote in the elections, seen as turning the page on nearly three years of sectarian violence, the deadliest since the country won its independence from France half a century ago.

Despite security concerns, the elections went off without major incident after initial delays caused by logistical glitches.

The head of the UN's MINUSCA peacekeeping mission in the country, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, called on the two remaining candidates in the race for the top job to continue campaigning in "a calm and civil manner" to "preserve the spirit of peace and restraint that has prevailed until now".

One of the world's poorest countries, Central African Republic descended into chaos in 2013 after Bozize was ousted by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance.

Thousands of people were killed and around one in 10 fled their homes in attacks by rogue rebels on remote villages and brutal reprisals by Christian vigilante groups against Muslim communities.

The government on Tuesday dismissed a call for the two-round election to be stopped after several presidential candidates alleged massive fraud and branded the elections a "masquerade."

"There has certainly been fraud in some areas and there have been huge logistical glitches which have disrupted the process but massive fraud is unlikely," said a diplomat on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Egypt probe slams travel agency over tourist killings: Mexico

An Egyptian probe into a erroneous military attack which killed eight Mexican tourists has criticised the travel agency for taking the group to a dangerous area, Mexico's top diplomat has said.

The tourists and four Egyptians were killed when they came under fire from the air by the Egyptian security forces during a lunch break on their way to the Bahariya Oasis in the vast Western Desert. Another 10 people were wounded.

Survivors say the attack was staged by a plane and a helicopter, prompting Cairo to open an investigation.

Gretel Overjague Chavez, one of the Mexican tourists wounded in an Egyptian army air strike the Western Desert, is lifted into an ambulance as she leaves a Cairo hospital for the airport on September 17, 2015 Mohamed el-Shahed (AFP/File)

Speaking late on Wednesday, Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu said the Egyptian tourism ministry "found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit, and in that sense would eventually be responsible".

She said Egypt had informed the Mexican government that the investigation was "nearing completion".

So far, the Egyptian government has remained tight-lipped about the deadly event that outraged Mexico, saying only that the tourists had entered a restricted area in the Western Desert and were "mistakenly" killed as security forces chased Islamist extremists.

Six other tourists who suffered shrapnel wounds, burns, fractures and respiratory ailments in the attack, were repatriated to Mexico days later.
Shots fired at Egypt tourist hotel, no one hurt: ministry

A gang of youths hurled fireworks and fired birdshot at police guarding a hotel near Cairo's pyramids Thursday where Arab Israelis were staying without hurting anyone, officials and witnesses said.

The motive for the attack on the Three Pyramids Hotel was unclear.

The interior ministry said unknown assailants had gathered outside the hotel and carried out the attack, which it said targeted police guarding the hotel, who fired back.

An Egyptian forensic expert inspects a bullet riddle window at the entrance of the Three Pyramids hotel in Cairo's al-Harm district on January 7, 2016 Khaled Desouki (AFP)

One of the attackers was arrested, it added.

Hotel employee Yasser Fakhreddin said "15 to 20 young persons wearing masks threw fireworks and fired birdshot at the glass facade of the hotel as well as the windows of an empty bus waiting to pick up the Arab Israeli tourists".

A security official who declined to be named said 40 Arab Israelis had been due to board the bus but were still inside the hotel when the attack took place.

An AFP photographer said bits of the facade and the bus's windows had been broken.

Egypt, which has fought several wars with Israel, is one of only two Arab nations, along with Jordan, to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state.

The country has been roiled by mainly jihadist violence since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. However, the attacks, many of them deadly, have focused on security forces in reprisal for a fierce crackdown on Morsi supporters.
Suicide bomber kills 6 at Libya checkpoint: Red Crescent

A suicide bomber killed six people, including a child, Thursday at a checkpoint in a Libyan oil region that has been shaken by a recent jihadist assault, the Red Crescent said.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf, said Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, who was at the scene.

"A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf," said Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities Jonathan Jacobsen, Laurence Saubadu (AFP)

"A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf," said Hodeiri.

He said three guards and a 16-month-old baby were killed, and that two other guards had been wounded.

Ati said two other people died in the assault but their identities were not clear. Reports suggested they were relatives of the baby.

The suicide bombing comes after the Islamic State group launched an offensive on Monday against Libya's key oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra.

It also coincided with a suicide truck bombing early Thursday on a police training school in the coastal city of Zliten, east of Tripoli, that killed more than 50 people.

At least four oil storage tanks have been set on fire during the fighting, which also killed at least 10 security guards, according to the National Oil Company and Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for guards at Al-Sidra.

Ras Lanouf and Al-Sidra are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along Libya's northern coast.

IS has been trying for several weeks to push east from its coastal stronghold of Sirte, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has in the past said it was behind suicide bombings and other atrocities.
Reforms to protect New York Muslims from surveillance

New York will appoint an independent monitor to review counter-terror police investigations as part of reforms designed to protect Muslims from discriminatory and blanket surveillance, officials said Thursday.

Civil liberty campaigners welcomed the changes, which settle two lawsuits, saying the move by the country's largest police force sent a powerful message at a time of rising anti-Islamic sentiment.

The lawsuits alleged that New York police stigmatized communities based solely on religion, and that lawful political and religious activities were subject to unwarranted police surveillance following the 9/11 attacks.

A group of Muslims attend a rally on December 20, 2015 in New York Kena Betancur (AFP/File)

The terms of the settlement, which were reached after more than a year of negotiations, must be approved by a federal judge.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which helped bring one of the suits, welcomed what it called a "watershed."

Discriminatory surveillance sowed fear and mistrust, drove down mosque attendance and forced religious leaders to censor conversations out of concern that they might be misunderstood, the group said.

Hina Shamsi, ACLU National Security Project director, said it introduced "much-needed constraints on law enforcement's discriminatory and unjustified surveillance of Muslims."

"At a time of rampant anti-Muslim hysteria and prejudice nationwide, this agreement with the country's largest police force sends a forceful message that bias-based policing is unlawful, harmful and unnecessary," she added.

Muslim community leaders have complained of an unprecedented backlash across the United States after extremist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, fueled by rhetoric on the presidential campaign trail.

The new representative, an independent lawyer, would have the power to ensure all safeguards are followed and serve as a check on investigations directed at political and religious activities, ACLU said.

They must report any violations to the police commissioner, who must investigate and report back, it added.

The reforms will also limit police use of undercover and confidential informants, and end open-ended investigations by imposing time limits and require status reviews every six months, ACLU said.

- Rebuild relations -

Police will now need facts alleging possible criminal activity before opening an investigation, the ACLU said.

The police denied the proposed settlement would weaken their ability to investigate and prevent terror activity. Mayor Bill de Blasio and police commissioner Bill Bratton welcomed the terms.

"This settlement represents another important step toward building our relationship with the Muslim community," said de Blasio.

"The modifications also bring the guidelines closer in line with FBI practices, which is helpful in working collaboratively with our federal partners," said Bratton.

Deputy police commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, John Miller, will retain "sole authority" over all intelligence investigations and decisions, the police department said.

The mayor will appoint the independent monitor in consultation with the police commissioner.

"This additional voice will increase transparency while maintaining the confidentiality of investigations," the police department said.

In April 2014, police announced the disbanding of the Demographics Unit, a deeply controversial and heavily criticized group that sent undercover officers to spy on local Muslims.

New York Muslims had challenged the spy program, arguing it stigmatized hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

The ACLU said that after 9/11, police officers monitored entire communities and sent paid infiltrators into mosques, student associations and community events, including a wedding, to take photos and keep tabs on Muslims.

The Pew Research Center estimates that about 3.3 million Muslims were living in the United States in 2015. New York and the neighboring state of New Jersey are among the biggest communities.

Demonstrators listen to civil rights and legal advocates on June 18, 2013 in New York discuss planned legal action challenging the city police department's surveillance techniques Timothy Clary (AFP/File)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on January 6, 2016 Andrew Burton (Getty/AFP/File)

New York Police Department officers keep vigil along a road near Jamaica Avenue and 162nd street in Queens on October 24, 2014 Jewel Samad (AFP/File)
Gunmen ambush peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur: UNAMID

Unidentified gunmen ambushed a patrol of UN-African Union peacekeepers in Sudan's western Darfur region on Thursday, seizing weapons and ammunition from them, the mission said.

The incident took place in North Darfur state, in western Sudan, where the UN-AU mission (UNAMID) has been deployed since 2007.

"The perpetrators, who greatly outnumbered UNAMID's peacekeepers, seized one machine gun, four rifles and rounds of ammunition. One peacekeeper was injured in the incident," the mission said in a statement, without giving further details.

Members of the UN-African Union mission in Darfur drive past children inside the Zam Zam camp for Internally Displaced People, North Darfur, on April 9, 2015 Ashraf Shazly (AFP)

"UNAMID condemns such attacks on its personnel" and is investigating with the Sudanese authorities, the statement said.

Darfur has been mired in conflict since 2003 when ethnic rebels mounted an insurgency against the Arab-dominated government of President Omar al-Bashir, complaining they were being politically and economically marginalised.

Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide charges related to the conflict.

UNAMID deployed to the region to protect civilians and secure humanitarian aid.

But gunmen sporadically attack the peacekeepers and in 2014 Khartoum told UNAMID to prepare to leave after the mission's attempts to investigate the reported rape of 200 women and girls in a North Darfur village sparked government anger.
EU: Hong Kong bookseller disappearances 'extremely worrying'

The EU on Thursday called the disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers "extremely worrying" and urged an investigation, amid concerns Chinese is tightening its grip over the former British colony.

The missing men all worked for Mighty Current, known for books critical of Beijing which closely monitors and controls dissenting voices.

"The continuing lack of information about the well-being and whereabouts of five Hong Kong residents... associated with the publishing house Mighty Current is extremely worrying," the EU's external affairs arm said in a statement.

Protestors hold up missing person notices of (L-R) Mighty Current, publisher of books critical of China, general manager Lui Bo and colleagues Cheung Jiping, Gui Minhai, Lee Bo and Lam Wing-kei in Hong Kong on January 3, 2016 Anthony Wallace (AFP/File)

It noted that two of the missing were EU citizens, naming Gui Minhai as a Swedish national who went missing in Thailand in October, and Lee Po as a British national.

"As Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung has stated, it would be a violation of the Basic Law (the city's mini-constitution) if, as media allege, mainland law enforcement agencies had been operating in Hong Kong," the statement said.

"This would be inconsistent with the 'one country two systems' principle," it said, referring to the accord Britain agreed with Beijing before Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 to ensure the territory enjoyed greater freedoms than the mainland for 50 years.

"The relevant authorities in Thailand, China and Hong Kong should investigate and clarify the circumstances of the disappearances in conformity with the rule of law," the statement added.

The disappearances come against a backdrop of disaffection over what critics see as Beijing's increasing interference in Hong Kong daily life.
Israel arrests 6 Hamas 'terror cell' members

Israeli security forces have arrested six members of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas for allegedly planning to "kidnap and murder an Israeli" citizen, officials said on Thursday.

The Shin Bet internal security agency, which announced the arrests, said the cell's activities were proof that Hamas was intent on escalating the three month wave of near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

The six -- three from east Jerusalem and three others from the West Bank city of Hebron -- were arrested in December, the army said in a statement.

Palestinians hold their national flag as they watch a rally by Hamas militants in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 7, 2016 Said Khatib (AFP)

"The members of the terror cell plotted to kidnap and murder an Israeli citizen... (and) planned to use this kidnapping to negotiate the release of Palestinian prisoners," the army said.

It named the group's leader as Hebron resident Maher Kawasme, 36, from Hebron and identified two other suspects as Ziad Abu Haduan, 20, and Amar Rajbi, 22, both from Jerusalem.

"Kawasme was previously convicted for plotting a terror attack on behalf of the Hamas," the statement said.

According to the statement the three suspects from Jerusalem were arrested separately.

After their detention, the other three suspects bought "chemical materials in an attempt to manufacture explosives and carry out a terror attack", it added.

Shin Bet said the arrests indicated that Hamas was planning to "execute major attacks... in order to turn the latest wave of terror into a violent intifada," or uprising.

A justice ministry spokesman told AFP that Abu Haduan and Rajbi -- who are cousins -- were charged in the Jerusalem District Court on Thursday for "aiding an enemy during war" and for seeking to buy arms and having contact with a "foreign agent".

Twenty-two Israelis, an American and an Eritrean have been killed in Palestinian attacks including stabbings, car rammings and gunfire targeting security forces and civilians since October 1.

At the same time, 142 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks.
Woman jailed for 'Chinese wedding' trips in France

A corruption trial over fake Chinese wedding trips in France ended Thursday with a 30-month jail sentence for a former French official.

Lise Han, originally from Taiwan, was sentenced after being found guilty of fraud and mishandling public funds by a court in the central city of Tours.

The court heard earlier that while she was working at City Hall on tourism issues, she was also running a private company organising the so-called wedding trips between 2007 and 2011.

Lise Han, a former member of the cabinet of Socialist Party (PS) Senator and former Tours' Mayor, is seen during the trial of the so-called "Mariages Chinois" (Chinese Wedding) case at the court of Tours on October 13, 2015 Guillaume Souvant (AFP/File)

The trips did not include a real ceremony but Chinese couples travelled long distances and paid large sums for what were billed as "romantic wedding" packages and were photographed in wedding attire in stunning locations, including the Tours City Hall.

Although Han had officially resigned from her job as head of the organising group, Time/Lotus Bleu, she was accused of continuing to run the firm while at City Hall, which was in turn subcontracting the work to her firm, netting hundreds of thousands of euros.

The sentencing came after another accused in the case, a former mayor of Tours, committed suicide.

Jean Germain, a close ally of President Francois Hollande, was found dead in the garage next to his house just moments before the trial was due to begin in April 2015, having shot himself with a hunting rifle.

The 67-year-old ex-mayor had been due to stand trial for alleged complicity. Han was a member of his staff.

Han's husband were also convicted in the case, as were two other former city officials.
Saudi-led coalition used cluster bombs in Yemen: HRW

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in the conflict in Yemen dropped decades-old US-made cluster bombs in a civilian area, independent monitor Human Rights Watch said Thursday, branding it a war crime.

The group's report included a photograph of a section of casing from a CBU-58 cluster bomb, which it said showed it was manufactured in 1978 at a US ammunition plant in Tennessee.

The United States is a close ally of Saudi Arabia and supplies much of the ordnance its forces use, but it has not exported cluster bombs of the type found in Sanaa for many years.

Yemenis gather around a crater reportedly caused by a Saudi-led airstrike on the outskirts of the capital Sanaa on December 29, 2015 Mohammed Huwais (AFP/File)

The watchdog's report said the cluster bombs hit a residential neighborhood in Yemen's capital Sanaa and left the tell-tale pockmarks of multiple exploding bomblets on civilian buildings.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt, but such bombs are indiscriminate weapons.

This is especially true of older models such as the one found in Sanaa because they often contain dud rounds that linger in the area and explode long after the strike.

"The coalition's repeated use of cluster bombs in the middle of a crowded city suggests an intent to harm civilians, which is a war crime," said Steve Goose, arms director at HRW.

The United States said it was aware of the report and would continue to work closely with its allies to urge them to adopt tactics that would prevent the loss of innocent life.

"We continue to urge all sides in the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, to take pro-active measures to minimize harm to civilians and to investigate all credible allegations of civilian harm," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"We've previously discussed reports of alleged use of cluster munitions with the coalition, underscoring that such weapons should not be used in locations where civilians are known to be present."

Yemeni groups, the United Nations and other observers have been increasingly concerned by the mounting civilian toll in Yemen and the dire humanitarian crisis.

Yemen descended into chaos in March when the coalition began air strikes to push back Huthi rebels who had seized Sanaa.
Sniffer dog sets off security alert at German chancellery

BERLIN (AP)  Police closed off the main entrance to Chancellor Angela Merkel's office in Berlin on Wednesday after a suspicious object was reported, but they found nothing dangerous.

A sniffer dog alerted officials during a routine check of mail arriving at the chancellery on Wednesday morning. Federal police said that explosives experts examined the mail but found nothing untoward, news agency dpa reported.

The chancellery wasn't evacuated and Merkel led a Cabinet meeting in the building as scheduled.

A police officer carries away a post transportation box in front of the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. The suspicious object was found during a routine security check at the entrance. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
The Latest: Civil rights groups blast Alabama judge's order

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)  The Latest on Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's administrative order saying the Alabama Supreme Court never lifted a March directive to probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples (All times local):

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6:20 p.m.

FILE - In this June 28, 2015, file photo, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore speaks to the congregation of Kimberly Church of God in Kimberly, Ala. Moore continues to fight against gay marriage in the state, suggesting on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, that Alabama probate judges should refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2015 that effectively legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)

Civil rights advocacy groups are speaking out against Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore after he issued an order saying probate judges have a "ministerial duty" not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Moore issued an administrative order Wednesday saying the Alabama Supreme Court never lifted a March directive to probate judges to refuse licenses to gay couples.

The Southern Poverty Law Center filed new information in an ethics complaint against Moore to the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission saying Moore has failed to respect and comply with the law as required by the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics.

Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow also called Moore an obstructionist in an emailed statement.

Moore said he wasn't immediately able to comment.

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5:15 p.m.

Several Alabama probate judges have stopped issuing marriage licenses after an order was issued by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Moore issued an administrative order Wednesday saying the Alabama Supreme Court never lifted a March directive to probate judges to refuse licenses to gay couples.

He stopped short of directly ordering the probate judges to not issue the licenses. Nonetheless, at least three Alabama counties suspended all marriage license operations in response.

Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis says he closed the marriage license office to "ensure full compliance with all court rulings."

Lawrence County Probate Judge Michael Praytor says he has sought the opinion of the county attorney, and will likely make a decision Thursday on how to proceed.

Chief Clerk of the Madison County Probate Patty Hanson says she's also awaiting guidance from the county's attorney.

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2 p.m.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is once again suggesting that Alabama probate judges refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples  despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling more than six months ago that effectively legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country.

The outspoken chief justice issued an administrative order Wednesday saying the Alabama Supreme Court never lifted a March directive to probate judges to refuse licenses to gay couples. He said the order to refuse the licenses remains in "full force."

However, Moore stopped short of directly telling judges to refuse the licenses.

Susan Watson is director of the ACLU of Alabama. Watson called Moore's order "silly" and said it wouldn't change the fact that most Alabama judges are issuing licenses to gay couples.
Montana to use corruption ruling to defend contribution caps

HELENA, Mont. (AP)  A second Montana judge has ruled there was corruption in the state's 2010 Republican primary elections, with candidates pledging loyalty to a national anti-union group's cause in exchange for thousands of dollars in illegal and unreported corporate campaign contributions.

State officials plan to use the two judicial rulings as evidence in their defense of Montana's limits on how much political donors may contribute to a candidate's campaign. A federal lawsuit seeking to strike down those limits is pending after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that states must prove "quid pro quo corruption"  or the appearance of it  to justify capping contributions.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision raised the bar for states to prove they have a legitimate interest in limiting campaign donations. Before the Supreme Court ruling, states only had to show the caps meant to curb the influence of big money on politicians. Now, they must show that the limits prevent an actual exchange of money for political favors, the 9th Circuit ruled.

Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl said Wednesday that he believes two judges' findings of corruption meets the new standard, but it will be up to a judge to decide.

"It is unprecedented and dramatic to have this degree of interference in elections that we saw in those 2010 primary elections," Motl said. "If that isn't quid pro quo corruption, I can't imagine what is."

District Judge James Reynolds ruled Tuesday that former Senate candidate Wesley Prouse accepted $9,421 in illegal contributions from secretive conservative groups funded by the National Right to Work Committee. Prouse, who lost a three-way 2010 primary election in Senate District 23, officially reported receiving only $260 in contributions and spending no money at all in his campaign.

The contributions came in the form of thousands of letters to voters signed with Prouse's digitally scanned signature, plus letters and flyers prepared by the Right to Work-affiliated company Direct Mail and Communications Inc. The correspondence promoted Prouse and attacked John Esp, the candidate who won the 2010 primary.

Reynolds ruled the 7,017 letters sent to aid Prouse's campaign amounted to at least $9,101 worth of illegal in-kind corporate contributions, and that Prouse also received $320 in cash contributions that he did not report. Prouse pledged to support the causes of Right to Work and its affiliates, which Reynolds said amounted to quid pro quo corruption.

"As the quid, Prouse received the appearance of a grass roots campaign created by Direct Mail for which he did not pay, report or disclose," Reynolds wrote in the ruling. "As the quo, Prouse promised in return unswerving fealty to the corporations carrying out the direct-mail campaign on his behalf."

The judge ordered Prouse to pay $59,066 in fines and barred him from running for office until the fines are paid and his campaign finance reports are changed to reflect the illegal contributions.

Prouse did not return a call for comment Wednesday, nor did he file a response to the civil complaint filed by Motl against him.

Reynolds' ruling is similar to one made in August by District Judge Gregory Pinski that state House candidate Joel Boniek accepted more than $9,000 in contributions from the same Right to Work-affiliated groups. Boniek promised "complete opposition to the union bosses" in exchange for the campaign aid, Pinski wrote.

Prouse and Boniek are among nine Republican candidates from the 2010 election whom Motl alleges received illegal corporate contributions from the National Right to Work Committee and affiliates Direct Mail, Western Tradition Partnership and Taxpayers for Liberty.

Two candidates, including current state Rep. Mike Miller, R-Helmville, have settled out of court. A March 28 trial is scheduled for a fifth candidate, state Rep. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman.

Motl said he plans to use the Prouse and Boniek rulings, in addition to his findings against the other Republican candidates, in the lawsuit challenging the state's contribution limits. U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell ruled in 2012 that the caps were too low to allow candidates to effectively campaign, but the 9th Circuit overturned his decision and ordered Lovell to re-examine the issue.

Tara Malloy, the deputy executive director of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, said the state judges' rulings may help in the defense of the state's contribution limits. However, they don't shed light on what would be an acceptable limit that would allow candidates to effectively campaign while preventing corruption, she said.
Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

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Jan. 5

The Wall Street Journal on the citizen takeover of Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge:

As the FBI seeks to end the citizen takeover of Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, it's worth reflecting on what is behind the rising civil disobedience in the American West. The armed occupation of federal buildings is inexcusable, but so are federal land-management abuses and prosecutorial overreach.

Activists on Saturday broke into an unoccupied building on the 187,000-acre federal refuge in eastern Oregon to protest the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers. The group's spokesman is Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevadan who in 2014 came to national attention over his standoff with the Bureau of Land Management. The younger Bundy is a political grandstander, and many in Oregon oppose his illegal siege.

The drama is bringing attention to legitimate grievances, especially the appalling federal treatment of the Hammond family. The Hammonds' problems trace to 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt set aside 89,000 acres around Malheur Lake as a bird refuge. The government has since been on a voracious land-and-water grab, coercing the area's once-thriving ranchers to sell.

The feds have revoked dozens of grazing permits and raised the price of the few it issues. It has mismanaged the area's water, allowing ranchlands to flood. It has harassed landowners with regulatory actions that raise the cost of ranching, then has bought out private landowners to more than double the refuge's size.

The Hammonds are one of the last private owners in the Harney Basin, and they have endured federal harassment over their water rights, the revocation of their grazing permits, restricted access to their property, and prosecutorial abuse.

In 2001 the family told authorities it planned to set a managed fire on its land to fight invasive species. The fire accidently spread over 139 acres of public land before the Hammonds extinguished it. In 2006 the family tried to save its winter feed from a lightning fire by setting "back fires" on its property (a common practice), which burnt an acre of public land.

Years later, in 2011, the feds charged Dwight Hammond and his son Steven with nine counts under the elastic Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. A federal jury found them guilty only of setting the two fires they had admitted to starting, and federal Judge Michael Hogan sentenced the father to three months and the son to a year in prison. He said the federal minimum of five years would not meet "any idea I have of justice, proportionality" and would "shock the conscience." The feds appealed the sentence and another judge ordered both Hammonds to serve the full five years. They also owe $400,000 in supposed fire-related costs.

Many in rural Oregon view this as a government vendetta. Rusty Inglis, who worked for the Forest Service for 34 years and now runs a local Oregon farm bureau, recently told a trade magazine that it's "obvious" that "the BLM and the wildlife refuge want that ranch." The Oregon Farm Bureau called the sentences "gross government overreach." The ideology of "national" land has become the club to punish private landowners who are the best source of economic stability and conservation.

The Bundy occupation of federal land can't be tolerated, but the growing Western opposition to government harassment of private landowners ought to be a source of political concern. Ted Cruz and others are right to caution the occupiers against their sit-in, but the federal bureaucracy also needs to be reined in.

Online: www.wsj.com

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Jan. 5

The Dallas Morning News on President Obama's new gun control measures:

President Barack Obama has once again used his pen to make changes in an area where Congress has refused to act. The executive orders on gun control unveiled by an emotional Obama on Tuesday in an address from the East Room of the White House are, however, modest tweaks to existing laws and do not merit the doomsday rhetoric of presidential candidates like Donald Trump or Marco Rubio, who immediately labeled them an attack on the Constitution.

The use of executive orders to advance policy changes in areas where Congress has refused to act is inherently suspect, and we have joined Republicans and others in the past in questioning the wisdom of using that approach rather than taking the patient, and often painstaking, path to legislation. That path ensures a robust debate, requires compromise and, when successful, leads to more permanent and often far more fundamental changes.

But the orders announced Monday are modest tweaks to existing law, and appear to be well within Obama's authority. It should surprise no one that in the face of congressional opposition, the president is seeking to make what changes he can under authority of the laws already on the books. Nor should these tweaks be especially alarming to those who favor a robust interpretation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The most substantial changes involve a new federal rule defining who must register as a gun dealer, one that is aimed at sweeping in many who sell guns on the Internet. That will mean many gun sales that now proceed without a background check will require one, as storefront sales already do.

Inevitably, some sellers will resist the label of gun dealer, and will challenge this rule in court. That is their right. But others will be glad to know that they will no longer risk unknowingly selling weapons to potentially dangerous individuals already barred from patronizing the local gun shop.

All executive orders should be scrutinized given the inherent unilateralism they represent. For example, Obama's announcement that the attorney general has urged governors to see that more information about mental health histories of would-be gun buyers be shared with the government raises privacy considerations that warrant careful handling.

On balance, though, the president's actions show restraint. Research on how technology can make guns safer? More staff to more quickly and thoroughly process background checks? A promise to seek Congress' approval for the parts of his plan that will require significant new funding?

Some Democrats and gun control advocates have hailed the president's announcement as historic. It isn't. The changes are modest, and they won't end the debate over, nor relieve Congress of its responsibility to address, the proper balance in this country between gun rights and gun safety.

What else is changing

.Federal agents will now process background checks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The FBI will hire 240 more agents to handle the checks more quickly.

.Obama will ask Congress for $500 million to enhance access to mental health care and to pay for 200 more ATF agents to work on weapons investigations.

.Governors will be urged to find ways to share more information with the federal background database.

.The Pentagon and other agencies will be directed to step up research into how technology can make guns safer.

Online: www.dallasnews.com

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Jan. 6

The Boston Herald on Obama's deportation plan:

Last year about 100,000 families from Central America illegally crossed this nation's southern border. In addition thousands of unaccompanied minors made their way here with the expectation that like the thousands who came before them they would be allowed to stay.

On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson proudly announced that over New Year's weekend 121 adults and children had been taken into custody by federal immigration authorities and were being held in federal detention centers from which they would be deported back to Central America.

So let's see, at that weekly pace it will take about 20 years to deport just those who illegally entered the country in the past year.

"As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration," Johnson said. "If you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values."

He might have added "we will send you back, maybe, sort of, eventually, but only in presidential election years when both parties are paying attention to this scandal."

The detained "family units" (consisting of at least one adult and a child) had been living in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina when they were picked up and all had already been ordered removed by an immigration judge.

These illegal border crossers  from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico  were fleeing not war but the persistent poverty and crime that plague those countries. And they continue to come, well, because they can  because they know that the chances of being able to stay once they get here will be far better than even. They know that because this is an administration which not only hasn't expressed an interest in real border security, but this president has even attempted to grant his own brand of executive amnesty to those who made it here earlier.

So DHS and ICE have adopted a last-in-first-out policy to belatedly send a message that illegal immigrants might get caught and might get sent back  in another 20 years or so.

Online: www.bostonherald.com

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Jan. 6

The Orange County Register on the NSA:

The U.S. has been caught spying on foreign heads of state  again. And just as with the tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, revealed in 2013 by the Edward Snowden documents, the target was the leader of a supposed ally: in this case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Despite President Barack Obama's promise two years ago to limit spying on heads of state of friendly nations, a Wall Street Journal report last week described National Security Agency spying on Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials while the U.S. was negotiating a nuclear arms agreement with Iran and trying to sell the resultant agreement to a fairly skeptical Congress.

In the process of this surveillance, the NSA scooped up private conversations between Israeli officials and members of Congress and American-Jewish groups. The prospect of having their private communications spied on rankled some in Congress, and congressional leaders quickly called for an inquiry into the matter. It is unfortunate that they were not so motivated to protect privacy from prying government eyes when they slipped provisions of a controversial "cybersecurity" bill - that even the Department of Homeland Security said "raises privacy and civil liberties concerns" and "could sweep away important privacy protections"  into the recent omnibus spending bill at the last moment and passed it without any real debate.

Similarly, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was outraged in 2014 when the Central Intelligence Agency spied on Senate computers during an investigation of Bush-era prisoner interrogation and detention practices. She loudly proclaimed that the CIA's surveillance was an unconstitutional violation of the Fourth Amendment and federal law, yet she enthusiastically supported the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records.

"It's clear the CIA was trying to play 'keep away' with documents relevant to an investigation by their overseers in Congress, and that's a serious constitutional concern," Mr. Snowden told NBC News at the time. "But it's equally, if not more, concerning that we're seeing another 'Merkel Effect,' where an elected official does not care at all that the rights of millions of ordinary citizens are violated by our spies, but suddenly it's a scandal when a politician finds out the same thing happens to them."

It is this sort of hypocrisy that rightly drives citizens crazy. When government officials get away with things that would land an ordinary citizen in prison, when Congress exempts itself from laws like the Affordable Care Act, when politicians bristle at intrusive and unconstitutional government spying when they are the targets but vote to expand the government's powers to do the same to the citizens they are supposed to represent, it puts the lie to the notion that the government is "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Online:

http://www.ocregister.com/

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Jan. 5

The Los Angeles Times on Oregon protesters:

The takeover of the federal Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon by armed anti-federal-government zealots might seem like a fresh crisis, but in fact we've been here before. The best option for the government is to practice patient resolve  and have lots of handcuffs ready once the occupation comes to a peaceful end.

The gun toters holed up at Malheur haven't issued a political manifesto, but their rhetoric echoes that of movements such as the 1970s Sagebrush Rebellion, in which disaffected westerners argued that states or counties are the rightful owners of millions of acres of federal land, despite decades of court battles that say otherwise. Three of the occupiers also are sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who, with a contingent of armed supporters, faced down an effort by the Bureau of Land Management nearly two years ago to seize his cattle for nonpayment of grazing fees  a bill that remains unpaid.

The Bundy brigade decamped to Oregon recently to join protests over the re-sentencing of two local ranchers, Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven. Their crimes: burning more than 140 acres of federal land adjacent to their ranch in two separate incidents. The government appealed the Hammonds' initial sentence of a few months in prison, winning the argument that federal law mandates a five-year term. Although the Hammonds have acquiesced, the Bundys and their followers seized the opportunity, and federal property, to make a grand and unacceptable show of force and disregard for the law.

The good news is that the Malheur refuge, near Burns in the high desert of eastern Oregon, is remote, and the occupiers pose no imminent public safety threat. Some critics have sought to contrast the government's measured response with the quick-trigger killing of Tamir Rice, an unarmed, black 12-year-old, by a Cleveland police officer, but it is difficult to compare a police encounter in a populated area with what's happening in Oregon. Nor is the 2011 Occupy Movement a good analogy because those protesters were unarmed. Malheur also differs from federal showdowns in 1992 with anti-government activists at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and in 1993 with the Branch Davidian cult at Waco, Texas, both of which involved disastrous violence.

A closer parallel would be the American Indian Movement's unarmed takeover of the federal landmark of Alcatraz Island, which began in November 1969 and ended, peacefully, 19 months later. Similar restraint leading to a bloodless surrender would be the best outcome here, with the Obama administration pledging to prosecute the occupiers under all applicable laws. Political protest is a welcome part of American life. Armed occupation of public lands by private citizens is another matter entirely.

Online:

http://www.latimes.com

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Jan. 4

The New York Times on Saudi Arabia's executions:

The execution of the popular Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 other prisoners on Saturday was about the worst way Saudi Arabia could have started what promises to be a grim and tumultuous year in the kingdom and across the Middle East. It is hard to imagine that the Sunni rulers of the kingdom were not aware of the sectarian passions the killings would unleash around the region. They may even have counted on the fierce reaction in Iran and elsewhere as a distraction from economic problems at home and to silence dissenters. America's longstanding alliance with the House of Saud is no reason for the Obama administration to do anything less than clearly condemn this foolhardy and dangerous course with a more robust response than its call Monday for both sides to exercise restraint.

The immediate consequence of the executions was a burst of hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The two rivals are already backing opposite sides in civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Iranians infuriated by the killing of a revered cleric promptly ransacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Though Iranian leaders condemned the action and arrested protesters, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-led allies in Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates were quick to cut or curtail ties with Iran.

That in turn promised to set back international efforts to resolve the wars in Syria and Yemen and to combat the Islamic State and other Islamist terrorist organizations. Just weeks ago, a series of talks led by the United States and Russia and including the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers brought rival powers to the table to discuss a road map for peace in Syria. Then, on Saturday after announcing the executions, the Saudis ended a shaky cease-fire in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's income has sharply declined as a result of the prolonged drop in oil prices  caused, in part, by the regime's insistence on maintaining production levels  and the government has announced cutbacks in the lavish welfare spending that Saudis have long taken for granted. The executions provided both a sectarian crisis to deflect anger over the cutbacks and a graphic warning of what can befall critics.

But the executions were not out of character for Saudi Arabia. The country has a dismal human rights record with its application of stern Islamic law and its repression of women and practitioners of religious traditions other than Sunni Islam. The regime has become only more repressive in the years since the Arab Spring. According to Human Rights Watch, the mass execution this weekend followed a year in which 158 people were executed, the most in recent history, largely based on vague laws and dubious trials. Sheikh Nimr was a vocal critic of the regime and champion of the rights of the Shiite minority in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, but not an advocate of violent action.

The tangled and volatile realities of the Middle East do not give the United States or the European Union the luxury of choosing or rejecting allies on moral criteria. Washington has no choice but to deal with regimes like those in Tehran, which also has an abysmal human rights record, including nearly 700 executions in the first half of last year, or in Riyadh to combat the clear and present danger posed by Islamist terrorists or to search for solutions to massively destabilizing conflicts like the Syrian civil war. But that cannot mean condoning actions that blatantly fan sectarian hatreds, undermine efforts at stabilizing the region and crudely violate human rights.

Online:
West Point cadet gets 8 years on federal child porn charge

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  A West Point cadet convicted of collecting and distributing child pornography has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

The U.S. attorney's office says Granger, Indiana, resident Ricky Patrick Hester was sentenced Wednesday to 97 months in a federal court north of New York City. A jury found the 25-year-old guilty in June.

Prosecutors say Hester used email, a file-sharing account and his cellphone to collect and share images of boys being forced into sexual activity. His phone was seized in 2013 after a search of his U.S. Military Academy dorm room. Prosecutors say the phone contained 1,200 images and videos of children engaging in sexual activity.

Hester's lawyer said the government's search of his room was improper.

West Point officials are taking steps to discharge Hester.

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The Latest: Boy and father die after hostage standoff

ATLANTA (AP)  The latest on a man with gun who held a 2-year-old boy hostage in a standoff with police in the Atlanta suburbs on Wednesday (all times local):

10 p.m.

Police say a 2-year-old boy and his father have died after the man took the child hostage during an 18-hour standoff with police in suburban Atlanta.

A police officer wearing tactical gear jogs toward the scene of a hostage situation near Beyers Landing Drive, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Buford, Ga. The Gwinnett County SWAT team is in a standoff with an armed man who is holding a 2-year-old hostage in a Buford neighborhood. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; WXIA OUT; WGCL OUT; FOX 5 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Police say Phillip Nguyen died Wednesday night after being shot by his father, Thy Ho, and the 43-year-old Ho died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

The standoff began about 10 p.m. Tuesday when someone called police to report that a man threatened to shoot everyone at the home and then take his own life.

Gwinnett County police say the father and child were found with gunshot wounds when authorities entered the Buford home after hearing gunfire about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday. Both were taken to hospitals.

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4:40 p.m.

Police say they found a 2-year-old boy with a serious gunshot wound at a home where his father held him hostage during a standoff that lasted 18 hours in a neighborhood in Atlanta's northeast suburbs.

Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera says the father and child were each found with a gunshot wound when authorities entered the home after hearing gunfire around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday. Pihera says the father shot himself.

Pihera says both were taken the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The standoff began around 10 p.m. Tuesday when someone called police to report that a man threatened to shoot everyone at the home then take his own life.

Authorities barricaded the gunman inside the home in Buford, about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. A SWAT team sealed off the neighborhood.

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11:45 a.m.

Authorities said a man with a gun held a 2-year-old boy hostage Wednesday in a standoff that's lasted more than 13 hours, and a SWAT team sealed off the neighborhood in Atlanta's northeast suburbs to deal with what police call a "barricaded gunman."

Gwinnett County police Cpl. Deon Washington told The Associated Press in an email that the SWAT team was responding to the subdivision in Buford, about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. No injuries were reported Wednesday morning.

The suspect was holding the boy inside the home, Washington said. No one was being allowed into or out of the neighborhood, he added.

The standoff began around 10 p.m. Tuesday when someone called police to report that a man was threatening to shoot everyone at the home and then take his own life, Washington told reporters at the scene.

Gwinnett County Police officers block a road near the scene of a hostage situation near Beyers Landing Drive, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Buford, Ga. The Gwinnett County SWAT team is in a standoff with an armed man who is holding a 2-year-old hostage in a Buford neighborhood. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; WXIA OUT; WGCL OUT; FOX 5 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

A police officer wearing tactical gear walks toward the scene of a hostage situation near Beyers Landing Drive, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Buford, Ga. The Gwinnett County SWAT team is in a standoff with an armed man who is holding a 2-year-old hostage in a Buford neighborhood. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; WXIA OUT; WGCL OUT; FOX 5 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

A police officer wearing tactical gear walks toward the scene of a hostage situation near Beyers Landing Drive, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Buford, Ga. The Gwinnett County SWAT team is in a standoff with an armed man who is holding a 2-year-old hostage in a Buford neighborhood. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; WXIA OUT; WGCL OUT; FOX 5 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

A police officer wearing tactical gear walks toward the scene of a hostage situation near Beyers Landing Drive, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Buford, Ga. The Gwinnett County SWAT team is in a standoff with an armed man who is holding a 2-year-old hostage in a Buford neighborhood. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; WXIA OUT; WGCL OUT; FOX 5 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
United Airlines CEO undergoes heart transplant

The CEO of United Airlines, who has been on medical leave since suffering a heart attack in October, underwent a heart transplant on Wednesday. The airline said that he is recovering.

United said that it expects Oscar Munoz to return to work this spring. The airline said that a transplant was "considered the preferred treatment and was not the result of a setback in his recovery."

It did not provide more details, including where the transplant was performed. It promised to provide more information within 24 hours.

In this undated image provided by United Airlines, CEO of United Airlines Oscar Munoz poses for a photo. Munoz, who has been on medical leave since October, underwent a heart-transplant operation on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, and the airline said that he was recovering. (United Airlines via AP)

Munoz, 57, became CEO in early September after Jeff Smisek abruptly stepped down during a federal investigation into the airline's dealings with officials who run airports in the New York City area, including Newark, New Jersey, where United has a major hub.

Munoz suffered a heart attack in mid-October, although the company declined to confirm it for several days. At the time, United would only say that Munoz was in the hospital. On Oct. 19, United announced that Munoz would take medical leave, and general counsel Brett Hart was named acting CEO.

In November, Munoz visited United's operations center and said that after talking with doctors he planned to return to work in the first three months of 2016. On Wednesday, United said it expects him back by the end of the first quarter, March 31, or early in the second quarter.

There were 2,331 heart transplants last year in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the waiting list and tracks transplants.

About 88 percent of patients survive for one year, and 75 percent for five years, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Medical authorities say patients may return to work in two to three months, although that varies by age and the presence of other medical problems.

"We have seen patients who are very motivated go back to high-stress jobs earlier, but it is very individualized," said Dr. Mario Deng, medical director of the heart-transplant program at the medical center at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Medically speaking, it's possible if there is no rejection and the (new) heart performs well."

United's sparse information about Munoz's health has renewed a debate about how much companies should disclose in such cases. Publicly traded companies must disclose a change in leadership but have leeway in deciding how much to disclose about an executive's health.

Companies have leaned toward more disclosure since Apple Inc. was criticized for failing to fully inform shareholders about CEO Steve Jobs' health before he died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer.

During his brief CEO tenure, Munoz acknowledged that United had failed its customers by subjecting them to chronic delays and computer outages, and he sought to improve relations with employees.

Munoz was the chief operating officer of freight railroad CSX Corp. before replacing Smisek on Sept. 8. Munoz had previously worked at AT&T, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and served on the boards of Continental Airlines and, after their 2010 merger, United Continental Holdings Inc.

Chicago-based United is the world's second-largest airline behind American Airlines.

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War crimes suspect sentenced in Ohio for lying on documents

CLEVELAND (AP)  A Serbian refugee who admitted to lying on immigration documents about whether he ever engaged in genocide or ethnic cleansing has been sentenced in a U.S. court in Ohio to two years in prison.

Slobodan Mutic will be sent back to Croatia to face trial for alleged war crimes after serving his sentence in the United States, said Mike Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland. Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Mutic in 2002, Tobin said.

Mutic, 53, has been living in the Akron suburb of Barberton since 1999. Married with two children, he was employed at a foundry when federal agents interviewed him in 2012 about his past life in the war-torn region once known as Yugoslavia.

Authorities say Mutic admitted in an affidavit in 1992 that he and another man killed a Croatian couple while members of a Serbian militia group. Mutic also is a suspect in a third slaying in that region that isn't related to ethnic cleansing, Tobin said.

Mutic pleaded guilty in December to the federal charge of lying on immigration documents.

"Our nation welcomes refugees, but not human rights criminals," U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said in a statement Wednesday. "This defendant lied his way into this nation and does not deserve the privileges and freedoms this great nation offers."
5 supersize stars found in other galaxies

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP)  Scientists have discovered five supersize stars in other galaxies on a par with the monstrous stellar system in our own Milky Way.

Eta Carinae is the brightest and most massive star system within 10,000 light-years of us. The binary system is located in the southern constellation of Carina, a ship's keel, and outshines our own sun by 5 million times.

At the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting Wednesday, Rubab Khan, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Center in Maryland, reported on the discovery of five "Eta twins." The Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope helped identify them.

Khan says the discovery will shed light on the evolution of these stellar heavyweights.

Eta Carinae erupted in the 1800s, hurling stellar material into space.

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Online:
Thursday, January 14

Today is Thursday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2016. There are 352 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1784 - United States ratifies peace treaty with England, formally ending American War of Independence.

1809 - England and Spain form alliance against Napoleon Bonaparte.

1814 - Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in Treaty of Kiel.

1858 - Felice Orsini's plot to assassinate Napoleon III is uncovered.

1867 - Peru declares war on Spain.

1907 - Earthquake in Jamaica destroys Kingston and takes 1,000 lives.

1942 - Forces under U.S. General Douglas MacArthur resist Japanese attacks on Bataan in Philippines in World War II.

1950 - United States recalls all consular personnel from China.

1962 - At least 36 Algerians and Europeans are killed in disorder and terrorist attacks in Algeria's major cities.

1966 - Indonesia closes its mission at United Nations as it prepares to withdraw from the world organization.

1986 - Vinicio Cerezo is sworn in as Guatemala's first civilian president in 16 years.

1990 - Azerbaijani attacks on Armenians leave at least two dozen dead in Baku, Soviet Union.

1991 - On eve of United Nations deadline for use of force in Iraq, European Community decides it is useless to send diplomatic mission to Baghdad.

1992 - Israel opens peace talks with Jordan and resumes bargaining with Palestinians.

1993 - As many as 54 people die when a Polish ferry capsizes during a fierce storm in the Baltic Sea.

1994 - Japanese police raid two companies suspected of selling electronics to the North Korean missile program.

1995 - In Colombia, leftist rebels attack police stations in several towns, killing six policemen and three other people.

1996 - Alvaro Arzu is sworn in as Guatemala's new president.

1997 - In Cairo, Egypt, a crowded public bus smashes through a metal fence and plunges 35 meters (115 feet) into the Nile. At least 39 people die.

1998 - The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to rebuke Iraq for not giving arms inspectors full access. Iraq accuses an American arms inspector of being a spy.

2001 - Cambodia's Senate approves a law to create a tribunal to try Khmer Rouge leaders. A cabinet minister says the court will spare no leader of the murderous regime.

2002 - The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee releases a letter sent in August 2001 by an executive of Enron Corp. to Kenneth Lay, the energy company's chairman and chief executive officer, pointing out improprieties in the now-bankrupt Enron's accounting practices.

2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspends 27 U.S. gene therapy trials after a second child in four months develops leukemia-like symptoms in a French trial that used a similar technique.

2006 - The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's trial submits his resignation. Saddam and his co-defendants are charged in the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims in the town of Dujail in 1982 in retaliation for an assassination attempt.

2009 - A French court acquits six doctors and pharmacists in the deaths of at least 114 people who contracted a brain-destroying disease after being treated with tainted human growth hormones.

2010 - Protesters enraged over soaring unemployment and corruption drive Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power after 23 years of iron-fisted rule.

2012 - The luxury cruise ship Concordia runs aground off the coast of Tuscany, gashing open the hull and forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to a nearby island. The crash killed 32 people.

2013 - Toyota again dethrones General Motors as the world's top-selling automaker in 2012.

2014 - President Barack Obama asks Congress to hold off on new Iran sanctions, saying it's time to let diplomats and technical experts do their work.

2015 Ukraine holds a day of mourning for 13 people killed two days ago when their bus was hit by what the government says was a shell fired by Russian-backed separatists.

Today's Birthdays:

Valdemar I, the Great, Danish king (1131-1182); Zacharias Topelius, Finnish writer (1818-1898); Albert Schweitzer, French missionary-doctor-musician, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1875-1965); Giulio Andreotti, former Italian prime minister (1919-2013); Faye Dunaway, U.S. actress (1941--).

Thought for Today:
Clinton, Sanders aim for victory in Nevada caucuses

LAS VEGAS (AP)  Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled for support among Nevada Democrats on Wednesday night, looking beyond the leadoff contests of Iowa and New Hampshire to a state that could play a pivotal role in the nomination fight.

Clinton presented herself as the party's best choice to defeat Republicans in the fall and preserve the legacy of President Barack Obama, promising Nevadans would "always have a friend in the White House if I am your president."

"In January of 2017, a new president is going to walk into the Oval office and America can't afford it to be a Republican who will rip away all the progress we have made," Clinton said, as many of Sanders' supporters stood silently, holding up signs for the Vermont senator.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., holds up the hand of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on stage at the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. Democratic presidential candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is at right. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Sanders was greeted by a loud cacophony of horns and vuvuzelas in his cheering section, telling supporters that Republicans suffered from "an illness called amnesia. They seem to have forgotten the conditions they left this country in" when Obama took office in January 2009.

While the former secretary of state has led Nevada polls, Sanders has poured money and staff into the state in recent weeks in hopes of pulling off an upset. Nevada follows Iowa and New Hampshire on the Democratic calendar and a split decision by the first two states could place a greater emphasis on the Western state, which features a much more diverse electorate.

The third major Democratic candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, has trailed Clinton and Sanders by a wide margin but won cheers from the crowd with a series of slams against the Republican presidential field.

Addressing Donald Trump, O'Malley said, "I'd like to say that Donald Trump is the most outrageous and unqualified person to ever run for president. But really, that's not fair to Ted Cruz."

The state party's caucus dinner at the MGM Grand brought together about 2,200 activists, one of the largest gatherings before the state's presidential caucuses on Feb. 20.

Clinton, backed by women and Latinos in large numbers, won the popular vote in Nevada's 2008 caucuses against Obama. But the future president narrowly prevailed in the delegate count with the help of a strong showing in rural areas.

In her speech Wednesday evening, Clinton reminded voters she was raising millions of dollars for state parties in an attempt to strengthen Democrats up-and-down the ballot. Sanders said the only way Democrats would win elections was through generating enthusiasm and a massive voter turnout.

Nevada's increasingly greater profile in the presidential sweepstakes has been promoted by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who has remained neutral in the 2016 race but has encouraged an active caucus campaign.

Reid has sought to give his home state even greater prominence, noting its growing Hispanic population and role as a competitive state in recent presidential elections. Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012 but it was fiercely contested in both campaigns.

"No state reflects the growing diversity of our nation better than Nevada," Reid said, before joining hands with the three Democratic candidates on stage.

Republicans sought to tie Clinton to Reid, calling him the "face of Washington dysfunction." Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said that "while Nevadans and the rest of the country want to turn the page on the Reid-Obama era, Hillary Clinton is promising an encore."

Reid is not the only powerful figure expected to stay on the sidelines in the Democratic campaign. The Nevada culinary union, which backed Obama in 2008, is not expected to endorse a candidate before the caucuses, putting the support of about 60,000 workers up for grabs.

In a competition of enthusiasm, the room offered a deafening roar at times as Sanders' cheering section screamed, "Feel the Bern," and blew into yellow vuvuzelas and air horns while Clinton's backers chanted, "HRC," and waved neon blue glow sticks.

The noise clearly got Sanders' attention, and he interrupted his speech at one point to tell his backers, "That music is really beautiful!"

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Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kthomasDC

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, left, Martin O'Malley, second from left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, stand on stage with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., during the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, left, Martin O'Malley, second from left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, stand on stage with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., during the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stands on stage at the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, left, and Martin O'Malley walk on stage at the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Border quiet as China weighs N. Korea nuke test response

DANDONG, China (AP)  Trucks rumbled across the Chinese-North Korean border Thursday in a sign that trade was continuing despite Beijing's anger over the North's avowed hydrogen bomb test, which could spark economic retaliation and further estrangement between the once-close communist allies.

There were no obvious signs of disruption in the northeastern city of Dandong that sits on the Yalu River directly across from North Korea's Sinuiju. The twin cities are the conduit through which much of North Korea's international trade passes.

China condemned Wednesday's purported test, which sent tremors across parts of northeastern China near the North Korean border and alarmed residents.

North Korean soldiers stand in a field in Sinuiju, North Korea, as seen from across the border in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning province Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang's quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (Chinatopix via AP) CHINA OUT

"I think it is a threat and sabotage to China and to the world peace for such a country to own nuclear weapons," Dandong resident Tian Zhibin said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

Analysts say Beijing will likely join other members of the U.N. Security Council in imposing tougher economic sanctions on its communist ally.

Beijing could also introduce unilateral measures such as tighter inspections of the trucks that cross the Yalu carrying mostly consumer goods bound for the North. China-North Korean economic projects could be suspended and Chinese companies and banks discouraged from doing business with North Korea.

Yet as North Korea's neighbor and chief backer, Beijing is unlikely to takes steps that might seriously undermine Kim Jong Un's hard-line communist regime. Apart from a traditional friendship dating back decades, China is fearful of a collapse that could bring chaos, sending refugees across the border and possibly leading to a U.S. military presence in the North.

Although willing to notch up sanctions, Beijing likely won't reduce energy and food assistance or impose overly harsh economic sanctions, said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

"Economic relations and nuclear issues are likely to remain on two separate tracks," Glaser said.

Despite the ups and downs in relations, China continues to have a vested interest in maintaining friendly ties with Pyongyang. Apart from providing material assistance, that includes defending North Korea from condemnation at the United Nations over its human rights abuses and designating refugees from the North as economic migrants rather than asylum seekers.

For Beijing, the North Korea issue is not simply one of nuclear proliferation, but also of peninsular stability, the balance of power in Northeast Asia and its growing rivalry with the United States, said Jingdong Yuan, an Asia-Pacific security expert at Australia's University of Sydney.

"Rather to live with a bad situation than to leave it completely to chance and lose all control," Yuan said.

But even with that sense of resignation, China still needs to consider increasingly negative public opinion toward Pyongyang, analysts say.

The state-run China Daily said in an English-language commentary that, if proven, Pyongyang's actions were "irresponsible and reckless."

The nationalist tabloid Global Times emphasized the danger to social stability in northeastern China, which lies as close as 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the test site. Schools and office buildings were evacuated after residents were shaken by the magnitude 4.8 earthquake caused by the detonation. Technicians were also monitoring the air for signs of contamination.

"Pyongyang must consider the long-term negative impact on Beijing-Pyongyang ties and its own development," the Global Times said.

While China's total control over the media and public discourse allows it to squash such opinions at any time, in this case "a bit of strategic stirring by the Chinese Communist Party of limited public resentment at North Korea seems to make sense," said Adam Cathcart, a specialist in China-North Korea relations at Britain's University of Leeds.

That's especially true when the issue involves environmental damage or the threat of radiation along the border, Cathcart said.

"Call it the Fukushima effect," he said, a reference to fear and outrage in China over Japan's 2011 nuclear crisis.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing and video journalist Wong Wai-bor in Dandong, China, contributed to this report.

North Korean soldiers work in a field in Sinuiju, North Korea, as seen from across the border in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning province Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang's quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (Chinatopix via AP) CHINA OUT

North Korean soldiers walk through a field in Sinuiju, North Korea, as seen from across the border in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning province Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang's quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (Chinatopix via AP) CHINA OUT
Big-dollar baby formula thefts dog stores, police across US

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  The recent arrests in Utah of three people accused of stealing thousands of dollars' worth of baby formula is the latest example of a problem that officials say is vexing stores and police nationwide as thieves systematically swipe the mixture from shelves and resell it to unsuspecting parents.

Baby formula is a major expense for many new parents, with small canisters starting around $20 and special or prescription blends costing two or three times that.

It's also widely used. More than a third of infants receive formula in addition to breastmilk in their first six months, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Often, babies who are weaned off breastmilk will continue to drink formula into their toddler years.

This Dec. 5, 2015 store surveillance video released by the Logan, Utah, Police Department shows women police say were shoplifting baby formula from a store in Logan. Police say they've arrested two women and a man they believe stole more than $5,200 worth of baby formula and a few other items from northern Utah stores. Logan Police Capt. Curtis Hooley says the three were arrested Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 and are being held in the Cache County jail on suspicion of theft and other charges.(Logan Police Department via AP)

The high price and broad demand make it an enticing target for thieves, who typically sell the stolen formula at flea markets or list it on websites like Craigslist and eBay.

In late December, police in Logan, about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, confiscated 422 cans of stolen formula worth $8,000 to $10,000. It came from stores in Logan and three other northern Utah cities, and officers are looking for ties to similar recent thefts in Idaho cities about 150 miles away, Police Capt. Curtis Hooley said.

In Pleasanton, California, thefts of large amounts of formula are reported at least once a month, with thieves frequently hitting multiple stores around the San Francisco Bay Area, according to police Lt. Kurt Schlehuber.

He doesn't think the culprits are parents trying to feed their kids.

"There are people that are making money off of selling the stuff," Schlehuber said.

In April, Pleasanton police arrested two people suspected of stealing dozens of containers of the product.

Officers happened to see the pair running from the store with shopping baskets full of formula. But arrests can be rare when police often have only an anonymous face captured by a surveillance camera, Schlehuber said.

Around the country, law enforcement agencies in recent years have reported heists ranging from thousands to several million dollars' worth of baby formula.

In 2009, Florida authorities arrested 21 people accused in an elaborate theft ring that officials say pilfered more than $2 million in formula annually.

Investigators working on that sting  called "Operation Hot Milk"  said thieves were paid between $100 and $300 a day and used multiple lookouts while filling bags with formula. They hit 15 or more stores a day and later repackaged the formula and sold it in other states, authorities said.

The Infant Nutrition Council of America, an association of baby formula manufacturers, does not keep statistics on the thefts but said it's a continuing problem nationwide.

"We're not talking about petty shoplifting," said Jennifer Hatcher, a senior vice president for government and public affairs at the Food Marketing Institute, which represents supermarket chains, small grocery stores, pharmacies and other food retailers.

Large thefts can be a particularly costly problem for many such stores, which are required to keep a minimum amount of formula on their shelves to accept customers spending money dispersed through the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, known as WIC.

Hatcher said the industry has been working to combat the thefts for about 15 years.

For parents, stolen formula can be a safety concern.

They can't be sure that what they're buying has been stored at proper temperatures or isn't past its expiration date. Some sophisticated theft rings even print counterfeit formula labels to make a cow's-milk-based product appear to be a more expensive soy or rice formula designed for children with milk allergies, Hatcher said.

Mardi Mountford, the nutrition council's executive director, recommends that formula be bought only from a trustworthy retailer, either in-store or online.

New mother Erica Otten of Tabernacle, New Jersey, said she understands a parent's temptation to try and save on the expensive product by shopping for a discounted version online.

Her 5-month-old daughter has a protein allergy requiring a specific formula that costs $32 for a 1-pound can that lasts four days at most. Still, Otten sticks to the major retailers.

"It sounds scary because you're feeding it to your infant," she said. "I inspect everything like crazy  the expiration date, the fact that it's sealed."

To help with the cost, Otten signed up to receive regular coupons from formula manufacturers while pregnant. She now swaps the coupons she doesn't need with other mothers around the country.

Some retailers take extra steps to combat thefts, keeping their baby formula under lock and key. Others stamp their store names and locations on containers to alert consumers or police if the stolen product turns up for sale somewhere else, Hatcher said.

When large amounts of formula are stolen, lot numbers are provided to websites like eBay that can monitor sale listings for the products.

To chip away at the black market demand, federal officials have started requiring grocery stores and retailers that participate in the WIC program to buy formula only from approved wholesalers.

"Each one of these tactics, it seems to have helped alleviate some of the ability for them to resell this product quickly," Hatcher said. "That doesn't mean it's still not an incredibly attractive product to try to steal."
Sandra Bland's mother: Trooper perjury charge 'not justice'

CHICAGO (AP)  A video showing a white Texas state trooper shouting "I will light you up" while pulling a black woman from her car brought national outrage, troubling the woman's family, the trooper's boss and, perhaps, even a grand jury.

But as Sandra Bland's mother fumed Thursday over Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia being only indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury, the outcome was less surprising to some legal experts and civil rights groups who for months have cautioned that while the dashcam footage might show bad policing, it's not necessarily felony misconduct.

Bland, a 28-year-old former resident of Naperville, Illinois, was found dead in her jail cell three days after the confrontational July traffic stop on the outskirts of Houston. Authorities say Bland hanged herself with a garbage bag, and the same grand jury in December declined to charge anyone in her death.

Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland, listens as attorney for the family Cannon Lambert speaks at a news conference Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Chicago. The family of Bland, who was found dead in a Texas jail cell after a traffic stop in July, says a perjury charge against the white state trooper who pulled her over is "not justice." An emotional Geneva Reed-Veal told reporters that the trooper should have been charged with battery and false arrest, adding that she has no confidence in the investigation and justice process. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Bland's family and activists in the Black Lives Matter movement argue justice slipped away again with the relatively light charges brought against Encinia. If convicted of the perjury charge, he faces a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

"To charge this guy with a misdemeanor, are you kidding me?" Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said during a news conference in Chicago. "I'm angry, absolutely. ... That's not justice for me."

DPS announced shortly after Wednesday's indictment that Encinia would be fired.

Encinia surrendered Thursday afternoon at the Waller County Jail and was freed a short time later after posting a $2,500 bond. He was processed in the same room where Bland was booked last summer, a 45-minute process that included taking a mug shot, getting fingerprinted and getting medical and mental screenings.

Encinia pulled over Bland for not signaling a lane change near the campus of Prairie View A&M University. Video shows the trooper being calm and courteous toward Bland until she questions his order to put out a cigarette. From there the traffic stop quickly escalates into a physical and verbal confrontation, with Encinia at one point drawing his stun gun while trying to make her get out of the car.

Bland can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Bland's mother said she had little confidence in the prospect of a conviction and that Encinia should have been charged with assault, battery and false arrest. Prosecutors have declined to say what other charges the grand jury may have considered, citing the secrecy of the proceedings.

But to some outside legal observers, the video is not so clear-cut.

"I don't like what I heard on there. I would be very surprised if DPS didn't wince when they saw that video," said Phillip Lyons, director of the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. "But when it comes to outlining a specific felonious offense, I don't see it."

Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director of the ACLU of Texas, said that while other evidence of misconduct may have happened off-camera, "It's difficult to say that the video documents clear evidence of a crime. It documents evidence of some civil rights concerns, but I don't know that we see all of the physical interaction action between the two."

DPS has fired more than two dozen troopers since 2013. That includes several who were let go after also being arrested or charged, including for allegations of drunken driving and drug possession. At least four were also discharged on grounds of "truthfulness."

DPS Director Steve McCraw has publicly stated for months that Encinia violated traffic stop procedures. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that DPS has upheld at least six formal complaints filed against troopers since 2012 for their conduct during traffic stops. Two troopers received written reprimands and the others received suspensions ranging from one to 30 days without pay.

Encinia was indicted on allegations that he lied when he claimed in an affidavit that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over during the traffic stop and ordered her out of her car. Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin.

Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground" and she continued to fight back. He arrested her, alleging assault on a public servant.

Bland's arrest and death drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters questioned officials' assertion that Bland killed herself and linked her to other blacks killed in confrontations with police or who died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

The family has filed a civil rights lawsuit that it hopes will shed more light on what happened to Bland and compel authorities to release documents, including a Texas Rangers investigation into the case. Authorities had withheld the Rangers report, citing the grand jury process that has now finished.

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Weber reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Michael Graczyk in Hempstead, Texas, contributed to this report.

This Jan. 7, 2016 booking photo released by the Waller County Sheriffs Office in Hempstead, Texas, shows Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia, after his arrest on a perjury charge. Encinia was indicted by a grand jury a day earlier for allegedly lying about his arrest of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was found dead in her jail cell three days later. (Waller County Sheriffs Office via AP)

Sharon Cooper, center, sister of Sandra Bland, speaks at a news conference accompanied by here sister Shavon Bland, right, Bland's mother Geneva Reed-Veal, seated, and attorneys, Larry Rogers, standing, and Cannon Lambert, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Chicago. The family of Bland, who was found dead in a Texas jail cell after a traffic stop in July, says a perjury charge against the white state trooper who pulled her over is "not justice." An emotional Geneva Reed-Veal told reporters that the trooper should have been charged with battery and false arrest, adding that she has no confidence in the investigation and justice process. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

FILE - In this undated photo provided by the Bland family, Sandra Bland poses for a photo. A grand jury indicted Trooper Brian Encinia on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, with the misdemeanor charge. Encinia has been on desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell in July. Her death was ruled a suicide. (Courtesy of Bland family via AP, File)
Civilian jets land on Chinese-built island, drawing protests

BEIJING (AP)  Two civilian jets landed on the airstrip of a new island China built in the South China Sea, drawing more protests over China's activities in disputed waters.

The China Daily newspaper reported Thursday the planes made the two-hour flight to Fiery Cross Reef from Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan.

It said the test flights on Wednesday proved the runway's ability to safely handle large civilian aircraft. Photos showed one of the planes to be a China Southern Airlines Airbus A319-115.

In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a China Southern Airlines jetliner lands at the airfield on Fiery Cross Reef, know as Yongshu Reef of the South China Sea. A pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed at the newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea in a test to see whether its airstrip was up to standard, state media reported Thursday, Jan. 7. The China Daily newspaper said the two planes on Wednesday made the two-hour flight to Fiery Cross Reef from Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan. (Cha Chunming/Xinhua via AP) NO SALES

An earlier test flight Saturday drew angry protests from Vietnam, Philippines and Japan.

China's building of seven islands by piling sand on reefs and atolls has been condemned by its neighbors and the United States, which accused China of raising tensions in an area where six governments maintain overlapping maritime territorial claims.

In Manila, visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea was non-negotiable and urged rival governments to avoid provocative steps.

"They are red lines for us," Hammond said, adding that as a major trading nation, Britain expects to continue exercising those rights.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said in a statement that China's action seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty and demanded China immediately stop and that it respect international law.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario warned that China may next impose an air defense identification zone above the contested region, as it did over the East China Sea, and said such a move would be "unacceptable."

China has rejected calls for a halt in island construction, saying its claim of sovereignty over the entire area gives it the right to proceed as it wishes. It says the new islands are principally for civilian use but also help defend Chinese sovereignty.

China's robust assertions of its claims have sparked tense exchanges, mainly among China, Vietnam and the Philippines, over long-disputed and potentially oil- or gas-rich offshore territories also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

That's also creating new tensions with the U.S., which has refused to recognize the new islands as geographic features deserving of territorial waters and other aspects of sovereignty.

While Washington takes no formal position on the various sovereignty claims, it insists that disputes be settled peacefully and that freedom of navigation be maintained in waters through which more than 30 percent of global trade passes.

Fiery Cross Reef is the largest of the seven new islands that in total compose more than 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of reclaimed land. Its 3-kilometer (10,000-foot) airstrip is long enough to handle any plane operated by the Chinese military.

Another runway is being built on Subi Reef, with signs of similar work underway on nearby Mischief Reef. If all are completed, China would possess four airstrips in all on its South China Sea island holdings.

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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people pose for a group photo together after landing at the airfield on the Spratly Islands, also known as Nansha Islands in Chinese, of the South China Sea. A pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed at the newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea in a test to see whether its airstrip was up to standard, state media reported Thursday, Jan. 7. The China Daily newspaper said the two planes on Wednesday made the two-hour flight to Fiery Cross Reef from Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan. (Xing Guangli/Xinhua via AP) NO SALES

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, right, is welcomed by his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario prior to their bilateral meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Hammond and del Rosario discussed issues affecting their two countries such as the celebration of the 70 years of diplomatic relations, economic cooperation and maritime security, foremost of which is the current row with China in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond answers a question from the media during a news conference with his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario following their bilateral meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Hammond and del Rosario discussed issues affecting their two countries such as the celebration of the 70 years of diplomatic relations, economic cooperation and maritime security, foremost of which is the current row with China in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond answers a question from the media during a news conference with his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario following their bilateral meeting at the Department of Foreign Affairs in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Hammond and del Rosario discussed issues affecting their two countries such as the celebration of the 70 years of diplomatic relations, economic cooperation and maritime security, foremost of which is the current row with China in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Sheriff meets with armed group, asks them to leave

BURNS, Ore. (AP)  Three Oregon sheriffs met with leaders of an armed group to try to persuade them to end their occupation of a federal wildlife refuge after many local residents made it plain that's what they want.

But it was unclear whether the Thursday meeting at a snowy intersection in southeastern Oregon would lead to an end of the occupation by Ammon Bundy's group any time soon.

"There are some positives that could come out of this," Harney County Sheriff David Ward, accompanied by colleagues from two other counties, told Bundy and his group.

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, holds a U.S. flag as he talks with a journalist next to a manned watch tower Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. A small, armed group occupying the wildlife preserve has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

"Before this thing turns into something negative, which would ruin all of that, I think we need to find a peaceful resolution to help you guys get out of here," Ward said.

Bundy said his group poses a threat to no one. He also said his demands that federal land in Harney County be turned over to local residents to manage are being ignored.

"I didn't come to argue," Ward said. Bundy said neither had he.

Ward offered to escort Bundy and his followers out of the refuge, which Bundy scoffed at.

"I'm not afraid to go out of the state," Bundy told reporters after the meeting. "I don't need an escort."

Ward said he plans to talk with Bundy again on Friday.

The encounter came as pressure mounts on Bundy to end the occupation of headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, south of Burns.

Bundy's demands are a continuation of long-running arguments that federal policies for management of public lands in the West are harming ranchers and other locals. Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who in 2014 was at the center of a tense standoff with federal officials over grazing rights.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday called the occupation of the wildlife refuge "unlawful" and said it had to end.

"It was instigated by outsiders whose tactics we Oregonians don't agree with. Those individuals illegally occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge need to decamp immediately and be held accountable," she said.

Bundy's group  calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom  comes from as far away as Arizona and Michigan.

Sheriff Ward has repeatedly said the occupation has to end and violence be avoided. He got a lot of support during a packed community meeting Wednesday night.

At that meeting, local residents said they sympathized with the armed group's complaints about federal land management but disagreed with their tactics and called on Ammon Bundy and his followers to leave.

Bundy came to Burns to rally support for two local ranchers who were sentenced to prison on arson charges. The ranchers  Dwight Hammond and his son Steven Hammond  distanced themselves from Bundy's group and reported to prison Monday.

The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago and served no more than a year. A judge later ruled that the terms fell short of minmum sentences requiring them to serve about four more years.

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, holds a U.S. flag as he rides his horse in the refuge Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. A small, armed group occupying the wildlife preserve has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Ryan Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, walks to a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The small, armed group occupying the wildlife preserve has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Ryan Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, walks to a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. A small, armed group occupying the wildlife preserve has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon, Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, walks his horse Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The group has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters looks on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Cheers erupted Wednesday evening at a packed community meeting in rural Oregon when a sheriff said it was time for a small, armed group occupying the national wildlife refuge to "pick up and go home." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A member of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters stands next to a fire Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Cheers erupted Wednesday evening at a packed community meeting in rural Oregon when a sheriff said it was time for a small, armed group occupying the national wildlife refuge to "pick up and go home." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

An American flag hangs on the sign at the front entrance of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Cheers erupted Wednesday evening at a packed community meeting in rural Oregon when a sheriff said it was time for a small, armed group occupying the national wildlife refuge to "pick up and go home." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, rides his horse Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards the Oregon nature preserve as sacred issued a rebuke Wednesday to the armed men who are occupying the property, saying they are not welcome at the snowy bird sanctuary and must leave. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Cowboy Dwane Ehmer, of Irrigon Ore., a supporter of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, rides his horse Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards the Oregon nature preserve as sacred issued a rebuke Wednesday to the armed men who are occupying the property, saying they are not welcome at the snowy bird sanctuary and must leave. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Jesse Svejcar expresses his opinion during a community meeting with Harney County Sheriff David Ward, right, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the armed group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Georgia Marshall, a rancher, expresses her opinion during a community meeting with Harney County Sheriff David Ward Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the group of roughly 20 people from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Merlin Rupp, 80, voices his opinion to Harney County Sheriff David Ward during a community meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the group of roughly 20 people from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Harney County Sheriff David Ward arrives to a community meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the group of roughly 20 people from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
AP FACT CHECK: Obama's gun proposals may fall short of goals

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Barack Obama's proposals to tighten gun control rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be.

Obama will be talking again about guns Thursday evening when he plans to take questions from gun control supporters and opponents alike in a televised town hall meeting on CNN.

Some of Obama's comments and how they compare with the facts:

In this Jan. 5, 2016, photo, and as tears flow from his eyes, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. Obamas proposals to tighten gun control rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who arent legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, thats because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

OBAMA: "A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked."

THE FACTS: It's not that straightforward. In fact, federally licensed gun dealers are required by law to conduct background checks for gun purchases no matter where the sale takes place  in a store, at a gun show or online. While private gun sales can be conducted over the Internet, if the sale involves people in different states, a licensed gun dealer in the state where the gun is going still has to be involved in the transfer.

Regardless of the seller, it is illegal for a convicted felon to buy or possess a gun unless they have had their rights restored. But prohibited buyers have evaded the law to buy guns.

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OBAMA: "We're going to require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely basis."

THE FACTS: The effect of this is unclear because the government already requires gun dealers to report all lost or stolen guns within 48 hours of discovering that they are missing. This is true for guns in their shops or those being sent to them. Obama did not say how much faster he wants the reporting to be or how he would achieve that.

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OBAMA: "Anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions. It doesn't matter whether you're doing it over the Internet or at a gun show. It's not where you do it, but what you do."

THE FACTS: "In the business" is the key condition for coming under this requirement, and the definition may have a lot of wiggle room. Federal law defines people who "repetitively buy and sell firearms with the principal motive of making a profit" as being "engaged in the business" of selling guns and requires them to be licensed. The license process includes a $200 application fee and a criminal background check. People who only occasionally sell guns from their personal collections don't have to apply for a license.

The law does not specify how many guns a person has to sell to be considered "engaged in the business" of selling guns and neither did Obama. His new guidance defines a dealer as one whose "principal motive" is profit.

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OBAMA: "Even after San Bernardino, they've (Congress) refused to make it harder for terror suspects who can't get on a plane to buy semi-automatic weapons."

THE FACTS: That's at least in part because gun ownership is a constitutional right and getting on an airplane isn't. Being placed on the government's no-fly list is a process that generally is not subjected to an independent legal review or a judicial process such as a courtroom trial. A person can be barred from boarding a U.S. airline based merely on suspicion that he or she might pose a threat. Having one's name removed from the no-fly list is arduous and can take years. The bar is higher, such as a criminal conviction, for the government to take away a person's constitutional right to own a firearm.

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Ted Bridis contributed to this report.

Mike Weinstein, director of training and security at the National Armory gun store and gun range, shows how to safely fire a Glock 9mm hand gun during a Concealed Weapons Permit class on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Pompano Beach, Fla. President Barack Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday to tighten control and enforcement of firearms in the U.S. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jillian Soto, left, holds a photograph of her sister, slain Sandy Hook Elementary teacher Victoria Soto, as she listens to President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Owner John Handley speaks Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, at his Zion, Ill., gun shop. President Barack Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday to tighten control and enforcement of firearms in the U.S. (Steve Lundy/Daily Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT, TV OUT
South Korea resumes anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea retaliated for North Korea's nuclear test with broadcasts of anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the rival's tense border Friday, believed to be the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The broadcasts will draw a furious response from North Korea, which considers them an act of psychological warfare. Pyongyang is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of the authoritarian leadership of Kim, the third member of his family to rule. When South Korea briefly resumed propaganda broadcasts in August after an 11-year break, Seoul says the two Koreas exchanged artillery fire, followed by threats of war.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that frontline troops, near 11 sites where propaganda loudspeakers started blaring messages at noon (0300 GMT), were on highest alert. Yonhap said Seoul had deployed missiles, artillery and other weapons systems near the border to swiftly deal with any possible North Korean provocation. South Korea's Defense Ministry couldn't confirm the reports. South Korean military banned foreign media from the border ahead of the broadcasts.

South Korean army soldiers check drivers identities at a check point at Unification Bridge in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016. South Korea is set to start broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the border on Friday, believed to be the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as part of its retaliation for the North's recent nuclear test. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

There was no immediate reaction by the North, but its response could be especially harsh because of the high emotions surrounding the likely birthday of Kim, who is believed to be in his early 30s. North Korean military forces often compete to show their loyalty to the leader. The North's state media has yet to mention Kim's birthday or South Korea's loudspeaker campaign.

The broadcasts include popular Korean pop songs, world news and weather forecasts as well as criticism of the North's nuclear test, its troubled economy and dire human rights conditions, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry. Included are songs by a young female singer, IU, whose sweet, girlish voice might be aimed at North Korean soldiers deployed near the border.

August's broadcasts, which began after Seoul blamed Pyongyang for land mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers, stopped only after the rivals agreed on a set of measures aimed at easing anger.

It may take weeks or longer to confirm or refute the North's claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. Even a test of an atomic bomb, a less sophisticated and less powerful weapon, would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Later Friday, South Korea was to announce the results of its first round of investigations of samples collected from sea operations to see if radioactive elements leaked from the North's test, according to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

President Barack Obama has spoken to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and reaffirmed the "unshakeable U.S. commitment" to the security of the two Asian allies. Separate statements from the White House said Obama and the two Asian leaders also agreed to countries "agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior."

South Korean and U.S. military leaders also discussed the deployment of U.S. "strategic assets" in the wake of the North's test, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what U.S. military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.

When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Korea's third nuclear test, the U.S. took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes  B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers  to drills with South Korea in a show of force. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session and pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a 'clear violation' of previous U.N. resolutions.

The North's claim of a successful test drew extreme skepticism abroad.

An early analysis by the U.S. government was "not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

South Korea's spy service said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Some believe North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.

But even if the North exploded a boosted fission bomb, its explosive yield, estimated at six kilotons, showed the test was likely a failure, a South Korean defense official said Thursday. An explosion two to five times more powerful would have been reported if it were successful, the official said, requesting anonymity because of department rules.

The North's 2013 test produced an estimated yield of 6-7 kilotons of explosives, according to South Korean officials.

Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission. In a hydrogen bomb, a nuclear fission explosion sets off a fusion reaction responsible for a powerful blast and radioactivity.

The hydrogen bomb already is the global standard for the five nations with the greatest nuclear capabilities: the U.S., Russia, France, Britain and China. Other nations may either have it or are working on it, despite a worldwide effort to contain such proliferation.

To build its nuclear program, the North must explode new and more advanced devices so scientists can improve their designs and technology. Nuclear-tipped missiles could then be used as deterrents and diplomatic bargaining chips  especially against the U.S., which Pyongyang has long pushed to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

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Follow Foster Klug, AP's Seoul bureau chief, on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@APKlug

A South Korean soldier looks through a pair of binoculars near the border village of Panmunjom, that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. In response to North Korea's latest nuclear test, South Korea on Thursday announced it would resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts that Pyongyang considers an act of war. Seoul also began talks with Washington that could see the arrival of nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft and submarines to the Korean Peninsula. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean vehicles returning from North Korea's joint Kaesong Industrial Complex pass the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the border village of Panmunjom, that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. South Korea also said Thursday it will limit entry to a jointly run factory park in North Korea, the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. The park's operation won't likely be affected much as the restriction will apply to clients, potential buyers and service providers from South Korea, rather than managers who commute to work with North Korean laborers. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korea's town Kaepoong is seen behind a North Korean military guard post, bottom, from the unification observatory in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. In response to North Korea's latest nuclear test, South Korea on Thursday announced it would resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts that Pyongyang considers an act of war. Seoul also began talks with Washington that could see the arrival of nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft and submarines to the Korean Peninsula. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean army soldiers patrol by the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang's quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A South Korean protester with a wooden stick beats an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a rally against North Korea's announcement that it had tested a hydrogen bomb, in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed to launch a united and strong international response to North Koreas apparent fourth nuclear test, as experts scrambled Thursday to find more details about the detonation that drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (STARS) returns to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)

A U.S. Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball returns to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)

A U.S. Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball returns to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)

South Korean protesters burn an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a rally against North Korea's announcement that it had tested a hydrogen bomb, in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed to launch a united and strong international response to North Koreas apparent fourth nuclear test, as experts scrambled Thursday to find more details about the detonation that drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation. The letters on the ground read: "Denounce North Korean's fourth nuclear test." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Norway's foreign minister visits Sri Lanka to revive ties

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  Norway's foreign minister visited Sri Lanka on Thursday in a sign of reviving relations since a peace deal brokered by the Nordic country failed to end a civil war.

Borge Brende's visit is the first by a Norwegian foreign minister to Sri Lanka since 2005, when Norway was trying to hold together a fragile cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the now-defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Relations soured after the cease-fire collapsed in 2006 and Sri Lanka's then-government accused Norway of favoring the rebels. Sri Lankan troops crushed the rebels three years later.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, right, and his Norwegian counterpart, Borge Brende, stop at the visitors' book during their meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

With the election defeat last year of Sri Lanka's hard-line President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the new government has sought to mend relations with Western nations that had criticized Sri Lanka's human-rights situation during and after the civil war.

Sri Lanka has told the U.N. human rights council that it would investigate war crimes allegations against government troops and Tamil rebels.

"You are coming to Sri Lanka at a time when Sri Lanka is trying to come to terms with its past and to forge ahead," Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Brende after a meeting Thursday.

"The domestic mechanisms through which we are trying to address this past are in the process of being developed and the consultation process to design these mechanisms will begin next week," he said.

Brede is also scheduled to meet President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and participate in a business forum.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, right, shakes hands with his Norwegian counterpart, Borge Brende, during their meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende speaks to journalists after his meeting with Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Californians finally see sun after series of El Nino storms

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Most of California saw sunny skies again Thursday after days of powerful El Nino-driven storms drenched the region, stopping cable cars in San Francisco, stranding motorists and dumping heavy snow in northern Arizona.

Earlier in the day, the last major storm expected this week lashed coastal areas of California, stirring waves as high as 16 feet and flooding some low-lying streets, before turning east toward Nevada and Arizona.

The sun eventually came out in parts of Los Angeles but rain lingered in spots around the state including San Diego County, where 45-year-old Eddie Vera marveled at the monster surf that crashed against the closed Ocean Beach Pier.

In a photo provided by Mike Eliason, Bo Sailor of Goleta, Caif. watches as high surf crashes into the wall and spills onto Channel Drive in Montecito, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. The ocean-water-quality advisory issued Thursday came as the latest storms moved east after pummeling the region with heavy rainfall. Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms as contaminants in the runoff enter the ocean via storm drains, creeks and rivers. (Mike Eliason via AP)

"This city in general is not ready for this type of rain," he said, as gawkers took selfies using the giant waves as a backdrop.

Vera, a maintenance supervisor, had spent time filling sandbags for use at apartment buildings where drainage systems flooded during the storms that began Sunday and answered the question: When will it rain?

For months, Californians watched El Nino  a natural warming in the Pacific Ocean that interacts with the atmosphere  grow stronger and waited for the skies to open up and take the edge off four years of drought.

Officials said the week's wet weather would provide some relief but much more would be needed to end the drought. They warned residents against abandoning their conservation efforts and reverting to wasteful water-use habits.

The storms stalled traffic, closed schools and toppled trees, including a 19th century pepper tree outside historic Mission Santa Barbara. Many residents of foothill areas where wildfires had destroyed vegetation and created the danger of mudslides voluntarily evacuated until the rain had passed.

California and other areas were expected to begin drying out Friday before another round of light rain moved in over the weekend. More El Nino storms have been forecast over the coming months.

The strongest storm of the week struck Wednesday, dumping up to 5 inches of rain along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to Eureka. Angeles National Forest in Southern California saw 3.5 inches.

Higher elevations received heavy snowfall. A foot of snow fell Wednesday at resorts in San Bernardino County and around Lake Tahoe.

Michelle Mead, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said two to three feet of snow accumulated in the Sierra Nevada from Monday night to Wednesday night  a major boost to the snowpack that supplies a large amount of water when it melts in spring.

To the south, Flagstaff, Arizona, had 19 inches of snow on the ground and the Arizona desert saw its fourth straight day of rain.

In Ventura, California, Marlyss Auster took a break Thursday from her job as director of the city tourism bureau and joined dozens of residents snapping photos of huge waves pounding the city pier, which was damaged last month by other high surf.

"The pier was holding strong," she said. "The swells were huge. Everybody was just really in awe watching them."

CORRECTS TO SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, NOT VENTURA COUNTY - In this photo provided by Mike Eliason, a surfer takes advantage of the high surf Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at the entrance of Santa Barbara harbor as a wave slams into the protective harbor breakwater in Santa Barbara, Calif. The ocean-water-quality advisory issued Thursday came as the latest storms moved east after pummeling the region with heavy rainfall. Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms as contaminants in the runoff enter the ocean via storm drains, creeks and rivers. (Mike Eliason via AP)

Snow caps the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, after the latest in this weeks series of El Nino-fueled storms pushed through the region. The National Weather Service said Mount Wilson, topped with broadcast antennas serving the metropolitan area, received 8 inches of snow between Sunday afternoon and Thursday morning. Other points in the mountain range received up to 28 inches of snow. (AP Photo/John Antczak)

Flagstaff resident Anthony Martinez pushes a motorist out of the snow in Flagstaff, Ariz., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. A series of El Nino-related storms dumped heavy snow on the region. (AP Photo/Josh Biggs)

Karen Hubbard, left, and friend Marilyn Glattly battle with the heavy wind and rain, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Ocean Beach, Calif. The tail-end of a series of several El Nino-driven storms brought scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to Southern California Thursday along with pounding surf and serious winds. (K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP) NO SALES; TV OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
Officer asks court to block forced testimony in Gray case

BALTIMORE (AP)  A Baltimore police officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray asked an appeals court Thursday to block a ruling that would force him to testify against a colleague, arguing that it's a violation of his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams ruled in the state's favor that William Porter, whose trial ended in a mistrial last month, can be compelled to take the stand in the trial of van driver Caesar Goodson or face the possibility of jail time.

Porter's attorney Gary Proctor filed court papers asking the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis to block that ruling so that Porter can't be forced to testify.

Officer William Porter, right, arrives at Courthouse East with his attorneys Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Baltimore. Circuit Judge Barry Williams is holding a motions hearing Wednesday ahead of the trial for Caesar Goodson, who drove the police transport van where Freddie Gray was critically injured. Prosecutors want Porter, whose trial ended in a mistrial last month, to testify against Goodson and Sgt. Alicia White. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) WASHINGTON EXAMINER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Goodson is facing the most serious charge of the six officers charged in the case  second-degree murder  in addition to manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. Porter's retrial is scheduled for June 13.

Proctor argued in the filing that prosecutors won't be able to discern what they heard in Porter's first trial, when he was a defendant, and what they hear when he testifies as a witness.

"The bell cannot be unrung," he wrote.

Although Porter's witness testimony can't be used against him at trial, Proctor writes, immunity doesn't protect him from a perjury charge if his statements contain inconsistencies. What's more, he argued, prosecutors during Porter's trial told jurors that his statements were lies. Prosecutors could make the same argument even if Porter's witness statements are identical to his previous testimony.

If Porter does not testify, "he will go to jail. If he does, and he reiterates what he repeated before, the state has already called that perjury, for which Porter has been offered no protection. If he deviates in any way from his earlier testimony then it is perjury, for which Porter remains defenseless."

It is unclear whether a hearing on the matter will be held, or if an order will be issued in writing.

In a September letter to the court, prosecutors indicated they intended to call Porter as a witness against both Goodson and another officer, Sgt. Alicia White, arguing that his testimony is "material and necessary."

Porter's attorneys had said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right, but the ruling means he risks being held in contempt if he does so. The ruling is unprecedented in the state and could have tremendous implications for future cases.

"I'm in uncharted territory," Williams said while issuing the ruling.

Longtime Baltimore defense attorney Warren Brown, who is not involved in the Gray case, said Williams' decision is extraordinary. The judge is essentially saying there is no difference between a witness and a defendant, so long as immunity is granted, he said. And he said that could make it difficult for people to get a fair trial in future cases involving several defendants.

"This has never happened in the state of Maryland. It's only in regard to an investigation that a person is given immunity," Brown said, adding that "it's almost sacrilegious to make a defendant testify by giving him or her immunity, and that's why it's never occurred."

But Douglas Colbert, a University of Maryland Law professor, said the judge's decision wasn't surprising. He said it protects Porter because he's granted immunity but also protects the prosecution's case. He also noted the case was highly unusual, given how rare it is to prosecute police officers.

"Otherwise, any time you had co-defendants, they'd all gang up together and say, 'Everybody keep quiet. Let's not cooperate.' And who gets defeated? The public does, because the public doesn't learn the truth that would allow for some of those people to take responsibility and be found guilty," he said.

Caesar Goodson, right, arrives at Courthouse East on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Baltimore. Circuit Judge Barry Williams is holding a motions hearing Wednesday ahead of the trial for Goodson, who drove the police transport van where Freddie Gray was critically injured. Prosecutors want William Porter, whose trial ended in a mistrial last month, to testify against Goodson and Sgt. Alicia White. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP) WASHINGTON EXAMINER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Convicted killer of 3 women executed in Florida

STARKE, Fla. (AP)  Oscar Ray Bolin, a former carnival worker who was convicted of killing three Tampa Bay-area women and then married a member of his defense team while on death row, was executed Thursday in Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott's office said Bolin was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 10:16 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke. The scheduled 6 p.m. execution time was delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court rejected without comment Bolin's final appeal.

The death warrant Scott signed in October is for the 1986 slaying of Teri Lynn Matthews. The 26-year-old Matthews was abducted from a post office in Pasco County, just north of Tampa.

This undated arrest photo made available by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows Oscar Ray Bolin. After decades of appeals on his three murder convictions, Bolin is scheduled for execution at a Florida state prison on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via AP)

Bolin was also sentenced to death for the killing of 17-year-old Stephanie Collins. A jury also gave him the death penalty for killing 25-year-old Natalie Holley, but that verdict was thrown out because of legal errors. All three women were stabbed.

Another jury eventually found him guilty of second-degree murder in the Holley case.

Matthews' mother, Kathleen Reeves, and Collins' family were present for the execution. Reeves told The Associated Press it doesn't matter that Bolin was not executed for all three cases "because he only dies once."

"He dies for all of our girls," she said.

Bolin said, "No, sir," when asked if he wanted to make a final statement Thursday night. The execution procedure took about 12 minutes, during which Bolin's chest heaved for several minutes as he took a number of deep breaths.

Afterward, tears rolled down the cheeks of Bolin's lawyer, Bjorn Brunvand, as he talked to members of the media.

"I cannot imagine the pain they have suffered," he said of the victims' families. "But this is not the solution. Executing people is barbaric, and I don't think it's healthy for us to find joy in a healthy human being, being executed."

Several dozen friends and family members of the victims gathered outside the prison after the execution and talked to the media.

"It was not a celebratory event," Reeves said. "I feel relief that it finally occurred."

"I will go to my grave knowing I experienced closure in my daughter's murder," she said.

On Wednesday, Bolin told the Fox 13 television station that he's innocent. "I didn't know 'em, never seen 'em, never met 'em," he said of the three victims.

Bolin told the TV station that evidence used to convict him was both tampered with and planted.

"My conscience is clear," he told the TV station. "I'm at peace with myself. It's my release. My punishment's over. After 28 years of this, being in this box for 28 years, it's a release. My punishment's over. They can't hurt me no more."

While on trial, Bolin and a woman on his defense team fell in love. Rosalie Martinez was a paralegal at the Hillsborough Public Defender's office who was married to a prominent Tampa attorney. Martinez divorced him and married Bolin, on live TV, in 1996  10 years after the slayings.

Rosalie Bolin maintained that her husband was innocent in Matthews' killing, and she has become one of the state's most outspoken death penalty opponents since their marriage.

The three Tampa-area killings went unsolved until someone called an anonymous tip line in 1990, when Bolin was already serving a 22- to 75-year prison sentence in Ohio for kidnapping and raping a 20-year-old waitress outside Toledo in 1987.

Authorities later discovered it was the new husband of Bolin's ex-wife who called in the tip; the ex-wife said Bolin had told her about the killings in 1986. During the trial, Bolin's younger half brother said he watched Bolin beat Matthews and try to drown her with a garden hose. The half brother later recanted his story, then reversed his position again.

Bolin was also officially linked to just one other murder: the strangulation of Deborah Diane Stowe, 30, in 1987 in Greenville, Texas. His cousin told authorities that he and Bolin abducted Stowe outside a convenience store and raped her in a truck before Bolin killed her.

Texas prosecutors declined to seek an indictment.

All of Bolin's convictions were reversed at least twice due to legal errors, but new juries found him guilty again in all three cases. He once again received the death penalty in the Matthews and Collins killings, but a new jury in the Holley slaying found Bolin guilty of second-degree murder, converting his previous death sentence to a sentence of life in prison.

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AP Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this story.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 19, 2012, file photo, Oscar Ray Bolin Jr., looks around the courtroom in Tampa, Fla., after being found guilty in the killing of Natalie Blanche Holley. Bolin Jr., who has been convicted 10 times for three separate slayings, is scheduled to be executed for one of them on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (Chris Urso/The Tampa Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
Man in fake explosives vest killed amid high Paris tension

PARIS (AP)  A man wearing a fake explosives vest and wielding a butcher knife was shot to death by police outside a Paris police station Thursday, jolting an already anxious French capital with a new dose of fear as the nation grimly marked a year of terror that started with the newsroom massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper.

The assailant  who shouted "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great!" as he waved the knife at officers, was carrying a document with an emblem of the Islamic State group and "an unequivocal claim of responsibility in Arabic," the prosecutor's office said.

The extremist group claimed responsibility for the Jan. 7, 2015, attack at Charlie Hebdo and on a kosher grocery store three days later that killed 17 people. The Islamic State group also claimed the Nov. 13 attacks on Paris cafes, restaurants, a sports stadium and a music hall that killed 130 people.

A police officer takes position after a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man with wires protruding from his clothes at a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials said, a year to the day after an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Thursday's attempted attack shortly before noon in Paris' multi-ethnic Goutte d'Or neighborhood came almost one year to the minute after two Islamic extremists burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people. Just moments earlier, President Francois Hollande had paid respects to fallen security forces  three of whom were killed last year in terrorist violence  saluting their valor in protecting "this way of life, the one that terrorists want to attack."

The fallen were killed "so that we can live free," Hollande said, describing the November attacks as "acts of war."

But there was no reprieve for France.

Scores of police descended Thursday on the northern neighborhood that was the site of the attempted attack, blocking it off to pedestrians and ordering shops to close. Metro stations in the area, which is not far from the Montmartre district that is home to the Sacre Coeur Cathedral, were closed and buses halted, leaving scores of residents, including many elderly, to walk long distances only to find they could not get into their homes.

"It's like the Charlie Hebdo affair isn't over," said Nora Borrias, a 27-year-old waiting for her barricaded street to reopen. She said she no longer feels a sense of safety.

Video shot from a window above the station and provided to The Associated Press showed the suspect's body lying on the ground in a pool of blood as a sniffer dog was called in to check the body, along with a bomb-detecting robot. More video aired later on iTele TV showed a police explosives specialist cutting open the dead man's jacket to check for live explosives.

Alexis Mukenge, who witnessed the shooting, told iTele that police shouted, "Stop! Move back!" before firing twice at the man, who immediately fell to the ground.

Authorities did not publicly identify the suspect. However, a French security official said police were "working on the hypothesis" that the assailant is a 20-year-old Moroccan who was involved in a minor 2013 robbery in the southern Var region.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said that while the fingerprints of the dead attacker matched those of the robbery suspect, who identified himself at the time as Ali Sallah of Casablanca, the assailant in Thursday's attack appeared older than 20.

He said Sallah, who had been in France illegally, was ordered to leave the country after the 2013 incident. Investigators were trying to determine if and when the man had returned to Paris.

Earlier, the Paris prosecutor's anti-terrorism unit said it had opened an investigation into Thursday's attempted attack. Besides the IS emblem and claim of responsibility in Arabic, a cellphone was also found on the suspect's body, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. It did not elaborate on the claim of responsibility.

France declared a state of emergency after the November attacks, and thousands of security forces have spread out around the country, concentrating especially on places of worship and other sensitive sites.

Hollande is trying to push through a controversial new measure that calls for anyone with dual nationality convicted of terrorism to lose French citizenship.

Speaking earlier Thursday, Hollande said that what he called a "terrorist threat" would continue to weigh on France. He called for better surveillance of "radicalized" citizens who have joined the Islamic State group or other fighting groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.

"We must be able to force these people and only these people to fulfill certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest ... because they are dangerous," he said.

France has faced down terror from numerous quarters over the decades, but its first head-on encounter with the Islamic State group a year ago was a turning point for a fearful Europe. The attacks on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper, which mocks Islam and all organized religion and uses raw language in its cartoons and articles, had resonance throughout Europe and the world. Leaders flocked to Paris in a solidarity march and "Je Suis Charlie"  I am Charlie  became a global slogan of defiance and unity with France.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry noted that solidarity on Thursday. "No country knows better than France that freedom has a price," Kerry said in a statement. "But what was intended to sow fear and division has, in fact, brought us together."

A year  and numerous attacks  later Charlie Hebdo, like France itself, lives with a new reality.

"Security is a new expense for the newspaper budget," Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo and cartoonist best known as Riss, told France Inter radio. He said the paper had to invest nearly 2 million euros to secure its offices.

Borrias, the Parisian who lives near the police station that came under attack, says she no longer feels safe.

"If we were safe, things like this wouldn't happen," she said.

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Associated Press writers Philippe Sotto, Sylvie Corbet and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

In this image taken from a validated UGC video the body of man lies on the ground near a police robotic device after the he was shot dead by officers at a police station in northern Paris. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Tensions in France, under a state of emergency since a wave of attacks on Nov. 13, have been even higher this week as the anniversary of the January attacks approached. (AP Photo)

Police officers secure the perimeter near the scene of a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2016. French officials say a man armed with a knife was shot to death by officers at a police station in northern Paris. Two officials say the man had wires extending from his clothing, and an explosives squad is on site. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Police officers take position after a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man with wires protruding from his clothes at a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials said, a year to the day after an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Police officers secure the area after a fatal shooting took place at a police station in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man wearing a fake explosive vest at a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials said, a year to the day after an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French President Francois Hollande shakes hands to police officers at the Paris' police headquarters, Thursday Jan. 7, 2016, one year after the attack targeting the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Hollande said what he calls a "terrorist threat" will continue to weigh on the country, which was struck a year ago by Islamic extremists. (Martin Bureau, Pool Photo via AP)

A special edition of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that marks one year after, "1 an apres" the attacks on it, on a newsstand Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 at a train station in Paris. Seventeen people died in the attacks on Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7, 2015, and a kosher supermarket two days later. All three attackers died. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

President Francois Hollande delivers his New Year's speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, at the Paris's police headquarters, Thursday Jan. 7, 2016, one year after the attack targeting the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Hollande said what he calls a "terrorist threat" will continue to weigh on the country, which was struck a year ago by Islamic extremists. (Martin Bureau, Pool Photo via AP)
Budvar beer exports reach record high in 2015

PRAGUE (AP)  Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar, which has been fighting a long legal battle with U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch over the use of the "Budweiser" brand, says its output and exports reached a record in 2015.

Budejovicky Budvar NP said Thursday its exports rose 10.5 percent to 898,000 hectoliters (23.72 million gallons) of beer, the best result in the brewer's 120-year history.

Budvar exported to 73 countries last year, three more than the previous year. Overall output reached 1.6 million hectoliters (42.27 million gallons), up 10 percent from 2014.

Profit figures from the brewery are due in late April.
The Latest: Service held for executed Saudi Shiite sheikh

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The latest developments after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Tehran amid a dispute over Riyadh's execution of an opposition Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran. (All times local).

10:15 p.m.

A memorial service is underway for a Shiite sheikh executed by Saudi Arabia last weekend.

FILE -- In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, an Iranian woman holds up a poster showing Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition Saudi Shiite cleric who was executed by Saudi Arabia, in Tehran, Iran. Diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which began with the kingdoms execution of al-Nimr and later saw attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic, have seen countries around the world respond. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, President Hassan Rouhani said that Saudi Arabias move to sever ties with his country couldnt cover its crime of executing al-Nimr. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

The service is being held in a village the kingdom's predominantly Shiite eastern region. And though armored personnel carriers rumbled through the streets and smoke rose from burning tires in al-Awamiya on Thursday night, the memorial for Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr proceeded peacefully.

However, those living in the area remain on edge as recent nights have been broken up by gunfire.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed al-Nimr, prominent opposition Shiite cleric, on Saturday.

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7:35 p.m.

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, has given an interview to a magazine in which he says he doesn't believe the kingdom and Iran will go to war.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also defended the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric in the interview with The Economist magazine, published online Thursday night.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed said: "It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region. ... For sure we will not allow any such thing."

In defending the sheikh's execution, Prince Mohammed says: "The court did not, at all, make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shiite or Sunni. They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence and carrying out the sentence."

The magazine said it conducted the interview on Monday. The kingdom severed relations with Iran late Sunday.

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5:50 p.m.

Somalia says it has cut diplomatic ties with Iran amid ongoing tensions between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia.

A Somali Foreign Ministry statement issued on Thursday accused Iran of trying to destabilize the Horn of Africa nation.

The ministry says it has recalled its acting ambassador to Iran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

Somalia joins Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Bahrain in cutting ties to Iran amid the crisis. Other countries have downgraded their ties to Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.

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4 p.m.

An Associated Press reporter in Yemen's capital says he sees no damage at the Iranian Embassy after the Islamic Republic said it was hit in an overnight Saudi-led strike.

The neighborhood in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, has been struck before as it is home to several strategic sites. On Thursday, the AP reporter said the embassy was still standing without any visible damage.

Iran's state-run news agency earlier said a Saudi-led airstrike last night hit the embassy, citing the country's Foreign Ministry. Saudi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Yemen's capital, Sanaa, is held by Shiite rebels known as Houthis. They are targeted by an ongoing Saudi-led military campaign on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Iran has offered support to the Houthis, but denies actively supporting their war effort.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.

Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen

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3:35 p.m.

Iran's state-run news agency says a Saudi-led airstrike last night hit the Iranian Embassy in Yemen.

Associated Press journalists in Yemen could not immediately reach the embassy in the war-torn capital on Thursday after the IRNA report. Saudi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Yemen's capital, Sanaa, is held by Shiite rebels known as Houthis. They are targeted by an ongoing Saudi-led military campaign on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Iran has offered support to the Houthis, but denies actively supporting their war effort.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.

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3 p.m.

Iran has banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom cut diplomatic ties over attacks on the Saudi embassy following the execution of a Shiite cleric.

Iranian state television made the announcement Thursday. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

Annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.

FILE -- In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 file photo, Iranian demonstrators burn representations of the U.S. and Israeli flags during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which began with the kingdoms execution of Shiite Sheik Nimr al-Nimr and later saw attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic, have seen countries around the world respond. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, President Hassan Rouhani said Saudi Arabias move to sever ties with his country couldnt cover its crime of executing al-Nimr. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Analysis: H-bomb or A-bomb, N. Korean nuke test is about Kim

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  It's a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind North Korea's surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb.

The Dec. 15 note from Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the "stunning sound of the explosion of our country's first hydrogen bomb." The document closes with his signature  almost like a rock star signing an autograph.

The photo, released after the North's nuclear test Wednesday, points to this conclusion: While the world focuses on how the explosion will resonate beyond the nation's borders, the whole thing is really all about Kim, North Korea's third-generation leader.

This image released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 shows a handwritten document with the words, "Lets make the entire world look up to the great Korean Workers Party, the socialist DPRK and the self-reliant nuclear power by opening the grand beginning of 2016, the year of victory and glory when the historic 7th Congress of the Korean Workers Party is held, with the stunning sound of the explosion of our countrys first hydrogen bomb. Kim Jong Un, December 15, 2015" written over the words "Reporting on a Preparation for (illegible) of a Hydrogen Bomb. December 2015. The Munitions Industry Department". Its a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind what has become the biggest story in Asia: North Koreas surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb. The Dec. 15, 2015, note from leader Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the stunning sound of the explosion of our countrys first hydrogen bomb. The document closes with his signature _ almost like a rock star signing an autograph. (Korean Central News Agency via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Four years after his abrupt ascent following his father's sudden death, analysts are split on whether Kim is coming into his own as a leader, confidently balancing competing interests among powerful military and political camps, or whether he's struggling to put his mark on a Shakespearean churn of political jockeying and bloodshed that roils beneath the smooth propaganda surface.

Whether Kim is confident or desperate, the note provides a look at the careful calibration behind the nuclear test's propaganda. The date on the note, from three weeks ago, and the missive's almost poetic tone are meant to show both deliberation and pride from a leader who approved and orchestrated the test.

The note speaks of making "the entire world look up to" North Korea and the ruling party, while giving no regard to the international outrage the nuclear test was certain to generate, including from China, the North's most important ally. The test was aimed not at external forces, but at showing Kim's citizens that he is in full command at an important moment.

John Delury, an expert on Korea and China at Seoul's Yonsei University, describes the note's message like this: "Let no one be confused; there's no factional struggle; the military isn't telling him what to do."

Whether that's a true representation of what's happening in one of the world's most secretive governments is another matter, especially regarding the powerful military.

With little diplomatic progress and nearly three years since the last nuclear test, Kim might have calculated that it was time to agree to his military's push for another. Or, as some analysts speculate, maybe the order was given as soon as scientists were ready to detonate.

Kim may be associating himself closely with what his state media call the "H-bomb of justice" in part because a hydrogen bomb would be a clear advance on the nuclear tests conducted under his father's rule. And to the people of his isolated country, international doubts about whether the device was truly an H-bomb probably won't matter.

"Our hydrogen bomb test is like the big thunder of a great country, and it really makes me feel great and happy," said Ri Chon Hyang, a Pyongyang resident. "Not just me, my friends are also so happy, we don't know how to put it into words."

North Korean state media routinely cast nuclear weapons as the only way to stand up to the country's archenemy Washington. The military needs nuclear tests to advance its quest for a warhead small enough to fit on a long-range missile.

Propaganda has always been crucial for the Kim family's control of the North, but it's especially important for Kim Jong Un. Thought to be in his early 30s  and celebrating a birthday Friday  he has been dealt much different cards than his father, Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011, while still in his 20s. Although he had a few years as the anointed heir, his experience was paltry when compared with his father. Kim Jong Il was given increasingly important responsibilities by his own father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, over a long apprenticeship and was middle-aged when he took power in 1994.

From the beginning, Kim Jong Un moved quickly when he perceived challenges from his lieutenants.

He had his uncle, and the country's No. 2 power, Jang Song Thaek, publicly shamed and then executed for treason in December 2013. The year before, he purged another supposed mentor, North Korean army chief Ri Yong Ho, whose fate is still unknown.

A think tank affiliated with South Korea's spy agency said last year that Kim has executed more than 100 senior officials. Last year, he ordered a defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler, talking back to him and sleeping during a meeting, the spy agency told lawmakers in a briefing.

The recent car crash death of Kim Yang Gon, the top official in charge of ties with Seoul, was viewed with suspicion in the South because crashes have previously been seen as ways to get rid of unwanted officials.

Kim's note represents a different way of cementing his position over North Koreans. He's making himself a part of history, however it's seen outside his country's borders. In a land awash with portraits and statues of his father and grandfather, the note is part of Kim's effort to claim a place beside them.

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Foster Klug is the AP's Seoul bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@APKlug

In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind what has become the biggest story in Asia: North Koreas surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb. The Dec. 15, 2015, note from leader Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the stunning sound of the explosion of our countrys first hydrogen bomb. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

In this Saturday, July 27, 2013, photo, North Korean soldiers turn and look towards leader Kim Jong Un as they carry packs marked with the nuclear symbol during a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind what has become the biggest story in Asia: North Koreas surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb. The Dec. 15, 2015, note from leader Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the stunning sound of the explosion of our countrys first hydrogen bomb. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind what has become the biggest story in Asia: North Koreas surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb. The Dec. 15, 2015, note from leader Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the stunning sound of the explosion of our countrys first hydrogen bomb. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
Blue Air plane overruns snowed-over runway in Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  An airplane belonging to low-cost company Blue Air overran a snow-covered runway while landing in the northwest Romanian city of Cluj. Nobody was injured.

David Ciceo, director of Cluj airport, says the Boeing 737, carrying 116 passengers and crew members, landed early Thursday. He says the aircraft had not run out of fuel or had made an emergency landing.

He says the runway was covered with wet snow with "average" conditions for braking.

Civil aviation security investigators are probing the incident.
Iran says Saudi strike hits embassy in Yemen; no damage seen

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iran on Thursday accused a Saudi-led coalition of hitting its embassy in Yemen in an airstrike and even though no damage was visible on the building from the outside, the allegation highlighted how the two countries' standoff could endanger the greater Middle East.

Hours later, in Saudi Arabia's eastern Shiite heartland, a memorial service was held honoring Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution Saturday by the kingdom sparked regional protests culminating in attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran.

While armored personnel carriers rumbled through the area and smoke from burning tires rose into the air, the service for the cleric who advocated for Shiite rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom passed without violence. But anger could be felt in the hall, as videos showed mourners shouting: "Death to the Al Saud," a reference to the royal family.

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold posters of late Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed in Saudi Arabia, during an anti-Saudi protest outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

The airstrike claim by Iran came on Thursday afternoon, when its state-run news agency said a Saudi-led airstrike the previous night had hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran's Foreign Ministry. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no damage to the building, which sits in a neighborhood near a presidential palace that's seen many previous strikes.

Iran vowed to file a report about their claim to the United Nations, while the Saudi military issued a statement through the kingdom's state news agency, dismissing the allegation as false.

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, was later Thursday quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that a Saudi "rocket hit near our embassy and one of the embassy guards was seriously injured." He said further details would come in a note to the United Nations.

Earlier, IRNA had said that shrapnel hit a wall of the embassy and injured several staff there.

Meanwhile, the Saudi deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, said he didn't believe war would break out with Iran.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind," Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister and 30-year-old son of King Salman, told The Economist magazine. "Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region. ... For sure we will not allow any such thing."

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges  the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980. Al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdom's Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies have cut or reduced their ties as well.

On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours over "Iran's continuous interference in Somalia's internal affairs."

In eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of al-Nimr and much of the kingdom's roughly 10 to 15 percent Shiite population, three days of mourning over his death ended Wednesday night. The Shiites there held a memorial service Thursday night  not a funeral, as the sheikh's brother has said Saudi authorities had already buried his body in an undisclosed cemetery.

There are concerns new unrest could erupt. Al-Nimr's brother, as well as another local resident of al-Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, said they've heard gunfire on recent nights.

The local resident, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety, shared a mobile phone video showing Saudi armored personnel carriers moving through local streets. Meanwhile, more protests were expected after Friday prayers, while mourners in Bahrain planned a candlelight vigil for the sheikh on Friday night.

More than 1,040 people were detained in Shiite protests in eastern Saudi Arabia between February 2011 and August 2014, demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring, according to Human Rights Watch. The watchdog and other groups have alleged that Saudi officials discriminate against the Shiites by rarely allowing them to build mosques and limiting their access to public education, government employment and the justice system.

Speaking to The Economist, Prince Mohammed defended al-Nimr's execution.

"The court did not, at all, make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shiite or Sunni," the prince said in the interview conducted Monday and which the magazine published online Thursday night. "They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence and carrying out the sentence."

However, many ultraconservatives of the Saudi Wahhabi school of Islam view Shiites as heretics. And human rights activists said al-Nimr's trial was tightly controlled and unfair.

Also Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the diplomatic tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran's annual exports to Saudi Arabia are worth about $130 million a year and are mainly steel, cement and agricultural products. Iran's annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalize their relations.

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Al-Haj reported from Sanaa, Yemen. Associated Press writers Reem Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, Maram Mazen in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold posters of late Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed in Saudi Arabia, during an anti-Saudi protest outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
State faulted for 'incomplete' record searches under Clinton

WASHINGTON (AP)  The State Department produced "inaccurate and incomplete" responses to public records requests while Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton led the department, including its inability to find documents showing she used a private email account for official business, the agency's watchdog reported Thursday.

The inspector general's findings come the same day the State Department was expected to release thousands more pages of Clinton's correspondence. But the release was delayed until late Thursday night at the earliest.

The report found personnel responsible for Freedom of Information Act requests in the secretary's office often missed deadlines and didn't meet legal requirements for conducting complete searches.

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The State Departments search for documents during Secretary of State Hillary Clintons tenure contributed to "inaccurate and incomplete responses under federal open records laws, including the existence of her private email account, the agencys watchdog will report. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Overall, the report from Inspector General Steve Linick found a "lack of oversight" by agency leadership, as well as a "failure to routinely search emails" as part of FOIA requests. The report faulted ongoing staff shortages amid requests that have taken more than 16 months to process, stretching back to requests during former President George W. Bush's administration.

Clinton, the front-runner for her party's presidential nomination, has faced criticism for relying on a private, homemade email server to conduct State Department business. The AP first reported in March 2014 the existence of a server in her Chappaqua, New York, home. She used that server instead of an official account on government email systems.

Linick found that records involving Clinton's private email account, requested in 2012 by the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, had turned up no records. It was one of four examples the report highlighted while Clinton was in charge, including how a request for her schedules by the AP "sat dormant for several years" until the news cooperative sued the State Department last March. Four months later, the agency disclosed in court filings it finally conducted a search and located at least 4,440 records.

Clinton has since handed over 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department she said pertained to her work as secretary using her personal address.

But Linick's report underscored inherent problems for public responses to records requests when government employees use such a private account.

The federal public records law "neither authorizes nor requires agencies to search for federal records in personal email accounts maintained on private servers or through commercial providers" such as Gmail or Yahoo, the report stated. "Furthermore, the FOIA analyst has no way to independently locate federal records from such accounts unless employees take steps to preserve official emails in department record-keeping systems."

State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement the agency is "committed to transparency, and the issues addressed in this report have the full attention" of Secretary of State John Kerry. Kirby said the volume of FOIA requests had tripled since 2008, and resources "have not kept pace."

"We know we must continue to improve our FOIA responsiveness, and are taking additional steps to do so," Kirby said, saying the agency has accepted the inspector general's four recommendations.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Thursday the State Department "had a preexisting process in place to handle the tens of thousands of requests it received annually, and that established process was followed by the secretary and her staff throughout her tenure."

The former secretary of state has faced questions during her campaign about whether her unusual email setup was sufficient to ensure the security of government information and retention of records. Officials have since blacked out scores of details in those emails that were later deemed classified before releasing them to the public.

Under the FOIA, citizens and foreigners can compel federal agencies to turn over copies of federal records and requires an agency to respond within 20 days, a deadline often missed in practice across the U.S. government.

Clinton has yet to answer in detail how her homemade server was monitored for intrusions, saying only it contained "numerous safeguards." In October, the AP found Clinton's server was connected to the Internet in ways that made it more vulnerable to hackers.

The inspector general said the agency should address vulnerabilities in its FOIA process. But the report indicated the watchdog will report separately on issues associated with using non-State Department systems to conduct official business, as well as on requirements to preserve government records.

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Read the inspector general's report: http://1.usa.gov/1SCAmgG

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In the groove: Scrape marks in ground linked to dinosaurs

NEW YORK (AP)  Scientists say they've discovered evidence of a frenzied mating ritual by dinosaurs: long grooves in the ground etched by the pawing of clawed feet.

Such behavior is seen nowadays in some birds, and the discovery suggests that two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods did it about 100 million years ago, the researchers said.

Martin Lockley of the University of Colorado Denver said the dinosaurs, probably males, apparently gathered in groups and "went crazy scraping" with their clawed, three-toed feet to attract mates. The beasts were built roughly like smaller versions of a T. rex. Footprints near the grooves suggest a variety of body lengths, up to about 16 feet from snout to tip of the tail.

This undated photo provided in January 2016 by Dr. Martin Lockley shows him, right, and co-author Ken Cart beside two large Cretaceous-age scrapes from western Colorado that are the first physical-reported evidence that large theropod dinosaurs engaged in courtship behavior. The scientists who discovered the long grooves say they were dug by the feet of dinosaurs during a frenzied ritual to attract mates. Such behavior is seen nowadays in some birds, and the discovery suggests that two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods did it about 100 million years ago, the researchers said in a report released Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (Courtesy of Martin Lockley via AP)

The grooves they carved are up to 6 feet long.

The ritual would have been entertaining to watch, Lockley said in an interview. "These animals would have been really frenzied."

Lockley, an emeritus professor of geology, is an author of a paper on the discovery released Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports. The grooves were found at three sites in western Colorado and another just west of Denver.

Dinosaur expert Thomas Holtz Jr. of the University of Maryland, who didn't participate in the work, said it's reasonable to think that theropods created the grooves. But was it for mating?

Holtz said he wasn't convinced that the new paper had sufficiently ruled out other explanations. But he added that there's no particular evidence for rejecting the mating idea.

"Whatever behavior is being recorded here, it is an expression of the fact that dinosaurs_like all animals_did more than hunt and attack and devour and fight and all that limited set of behaviors that popular culture often portrays," Holtz wrote in an email.

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Online:

Scientific Reports: http://www.nature.com/srep

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Follow Malcolm Ritter at http://twitter.com/malcolmritter His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/malcolm-ritter
Somalia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  Somalia on Thursday cut diplomatic ties with Iran and ordered all Iranian diplomats and embassy staff out of the country within 72 hours.

"This step has been taken after careful consideration and in response to the Republic of Iran's continuous interference in Somalia's internal affairs," Somalia's foreign ministry said in a statement. It did not mention the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, nor give specifics about the alleged interference.

The ministry accused Iran of trying to destabilize the Horn of Africa nation and said it has recalled its acting ambassador to Iran.

Somalia joins Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Bahrain in cutting ties to Iran. Other countries have downgraded their ties to Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran. Those attacks came after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent opposition Shiite cleric over the weekend.
US Republican-led panel passes bill on Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday approved legislation that would give the U.S. Congress greater oversight of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Passage of the bill comes as the United States is poised to begin lifting sanctions against Iran, possibly as early as this month, as Tehran fulfills its obligations under the July 14 agreement.

The Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act would subject an important part of the deal to expanded scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

But several Democrats who opposed the measure called it an 11th-hour attempt to scuttle the agreement after President Barack Obama last year won enough support to prevent Congress from derailing it or forcing him to veto it.

The bill would bar the removal of certain individuals and foreign financial institutions on a restricted list kept by the Treasury Department until the president certifies to Congress that they weren't involved in Iran's ballistic missiles program or terrorist activities.

Republicans opposed to the nuclear agreement have said sanctions relief will leave Iran flush with cash to fund terrorism.

The nuclear deal, co-engineered by the United States and Iran and signed by five other nations at the table, commits Tehran to cutting back over more than a decade on nuclear technologies that could be used for weapons-making. In exchange, Iran will have access to about $100 billion in previously frozen assets and fully return to the oil market.

The committee's bill targets more than 50 individuals and entities included in an attachment to the nuclear deal that also are on Treasury's "Specially Designated Nationals" list, which freezes any assets they may have in the U.S. and generally prohibits anyone in the U.S. from doing business with them. They were added to the SDN list for financing terrorism, committing human rights abuses, or weapons proliferation.

The White House would be prohibited from taking them off the SDN list unless it assures Congress they have not "facilitated a significant transaction" for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a foreign terrorist organization, or anyone sanctioned in connection with Iran's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, according to the legislation.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Ed Royce, said that since the agreement was reached, Iran has demonstrated it can't be a trusted partner. Tehran has accelerated its ballistic missile program and "stepped up the slaughter that's going on in Syria," he said.

"So the question here is one of pushback," Royce said.

Rep. Eliot Engel , the top Democrat on the panel opposed the bill, which he said Democrats had no role in drafting.
Peacekeeping patrol in Sudan's Darfur region ambushed

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The international peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur region says an armed group has ambushed a patrol, seizing weapons and injuring one peacekeeper.

The joint U.N.-African Union mission known as UNAMID says the ambush took place Thursday near Anka in North Darfur, approximately 55 kilometers north of Kutum.

The statement says the attackers greatly outnumbered the peacekeepers and seized one machine gun, four rifles and ammunition.

UNAMID condemns the attack and says it is working with Sudanese authorities to investigate.

Darfur has been in turmoil since 2003, when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination, which it denies. The United Nations says 300,000 people have died in the conflict.
Radical Israeli rabbis come under fire amid settler violence

JERUSALEM (AP)  A small group of extremist Israeli rabbis who for years have made incendiary remarks against Arabs are drawing criticism from lawmakers and moderate religious leaders after authorities broke up a ring of Jewish extremists accused in a series of attacks on Palestinian and Christian targets.

These fringe rabbis, mainly affiliated with the settler movement in the West Bank, are blamed for nurturing a venomous atmosphere that led to the killing of three Palestinians in a July firebombing. Critics say their rhetoric must be restrained to prevent more youths from further radicalization.

Israel this week issued indictments against two Jewish extremists in the case of the West Bank arson in July that killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh and his parents, Riham and Saad, and seriously wounded his brother, Ahmad, who was 4 at the time.

File - In this Monday, July 4, 2011 file photo, Israeli right-wing activists dance as they demonstrate against the recent arrest of rabbis who endorsed a book sanctioning the killing of non-Jews under some conditions, in Jerusalem. A small group of extremist Israeli rabbis who for years have made incendiary remarks against Arabs are drawing criticism from legislators and moderate religious leaders after authorities broke up a ring of Jewish extremists accused in a spate of attacks on Palestinian and Christian targets. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

The firebombing prompted soul-searching among Israelis and was condemned across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged "zero tolerance" in the fight to bring the assailants to justice.

In the days leading up to the indictments, Israeli media exposed another jarring scene: a video from a wedding party that appeared to show a frenzied crowd of the arsonists' sympathizers brandishing military-issued rifles, holding a mock firebomb and stabbing a photo of Ali Dawabsheh.

The video caused a public uproar and put a spotlight on radical rabbis accused of firing up young extremists.

"When we see a handful of rabbis succeeding to turn a handful of youth ... into terrorists ... it means something here is not right and needs to be fixed," opposition lawmaker Karin Elharrar said at a recent hearing about the rabbis.

Last month, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon called for certain rabbis to be investigated, and some moderates have distanced themselves from the radicals. In an interview Wednesday on the Times of Israel website, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel was now "looking at" the role of one or two rabbis in radicalizing youth. Bennett, whose Jewish Home party is closely linked to the settler movement, did not elaborate.

Controversial rabbis have long mixed religion and politics. Today's West Bank settler movement was inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Avraham Kook and his son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, who viewed Israel's capture of lands in the 1967 Mideast war as a step toward the messiah's arrival.

Hard-line rabbis are accused of spouting incitement against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin before his assassination in 1995. Critics have pointed in particular to a letter that three rabbis wrote the previous year to a group of religious scholars suggesting that Rabin and his government  because of its peace deals with the Palestinians  were guilty of traitorous acts that under Jewish law could theoretically be punishable by death. His killer, Yigal Amir, said he was inspired by Jewish law.

Israel has taken steps against radical rabbis, including banning the anti-Arab political party of U.S.-born Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was later killed in New York by an Arab assailant in 1990. But the current crop of radical rabbis, who say they do not condone violence, has so far eluded punishment.

Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Palestinian religious leaders of inciting a four-month wave of violence. Video on Palestinian social media has shown Muslim clerics giving incendiary sermons, praising the killings of Jews. In November, Israel banned the northern branch of the country's Islamic Movement, accusing it of incitement

But Netanyahu has said little about the radical rabbis. His spokesman declined to comment.

"The King's Torah," a 2009 book by firebrand rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur, is perhaps one of the most provocative texts.

It quotes religious sages as permitting, under certain conditions, the killing of non-Jews, including babies, "if there is a good chance they will grow up to be like their evil parents." The book says "thou shalt not murder" does not necessarily apply to non-Jewish victims.

Its authors have said it is meant to be seen as religious theory and not a guidebook. The book has been endorsed by other rabbis, among them Rabbi Dov Lior, a longtime symbol of religious and nationalist extremism, and U.S.-born Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, who heads a yeshiva in the hard-line West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.

Critics blame Ginsburgh's writings  including a pamphlet that praises Baruch Goldstein, a settler who killed 29 Muslim worshippers at a West Bank shrine in 1994  for fueling the attacks by extremist Jews against Palestinian property, mosques and churches.

Lior has unleashed vitriol against Arabs, repeatedly calling for Israel to be cleansed of what he calls the "camel riders." Ginsburgh has referred to Arabs as a "cancer," a remark that led to him being charged with incitement, but never convicted.

Lior's office declined comment, while Ginsburgh did not respond to interview requests by The Associated Press.

In recent years, Israeli authorities have detained at least four rabbis on suspicion of incitement but released them within hours. The attorney general determined in 2012 there was insufficient evidence to charge the authors of "The King's Torah," a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.

Hard-line settlers say the rabbis have become scapegoats. They blame Israel's policies and say the failure to take a tougher line against the Palestinians and allow even more unrestricted settlement growth is pushing some young Jews to extremism.

The suspects in the West Bank arson are part of the so-called "hilltop youth," a loosely organized group of young people who set up unauthorized outposts on West Bank hilltops  land the Palestinians claim for their hoped-for state.

The Shin Bet says the hilltop youth are extremists who view God, not Israeli law, as sovereign and share a messianic ideology with some rabbis bent on installing a Jewish monarchy in Israel. This ideology also espouses the expulsion of non-Jews from the Holy Land.

As the young settlers ratcheted up their assaults, some rabbis have tempered their statements. Shortly after the West Bank arson, Ginsburgh called for peaceful action from his followers.

"There is no room for violent activities of individuals. As a rule, a strong and forceful response against Israel's enemies is the job of the security forces," he wrote in his August newsletter.

Critics say that doesn't absolve them of past remarks.

"You don't get to backtrack out of these kinds of statements and just get away with it," said Noa Sattath, head of the Israel Religious Action Center, a progressive Jewish group advocating against rabbinical incitement.

Experts say it may not matter because the rogue Israeli youth have adopted an ideology that now goes far beyond that of the religious leaders.

"Even the extremist rabbis have lost control of the most extreme youth," said Dvir Kariv, a former Shin Bet official.
US House may vote next week on North Korea sanctions bill

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. House of Representatives will vote as early as next week on legislation imposing new sanctions on North Korea.

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi promised Thursday there will be strong bipartisan support for the measure. It comes after the authoritarian regime drew international condemnation by boasting of setting off a hydrogen bomb, though the U.S. government has cast doubt on that claim.

The legislation by Republican Ed Royce and Democrat Eliot Engel strengthens U.S. sanctions against the regime, including targeting access to hard currency and other goods and stepping up inspections of North Korean cargo.
Mom of fugitive 'affluenza' teen leaves Los Angeles jail

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The mother of a fugitive teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a deadly drunken-driving case is no longer in the custody of Los Angeles authorities.

Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Nicole Nishida says Tonya Couch left jail Thursday morning. She declines to confirm whether Couch was on her way to Texas. Authorities there have said they would bring her back by Friday.

Couch is charged in Texas with hindering the apprehension of a felon and will be held on $1 million bond.

ADDS IDENTITY OF WOMAN IN FOREGROUND - Tonya Couch, left, attends an extradition hearing, as one of her attorneys, Sonia Perez-Chaisson, is seen in the foreground, at Los Angeles Superior Court, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. Couch, mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a deadly drunken-driving case, waived extradition and will be sent to Texas to face a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

She was flown to Los Angeles last week after being deported from Mexico, where she and her 18-year-old son, Ethan, were arrested.
EU says Turkey not doing enough to contain migrant crisis

AMSTERDAM (AP)  The European Union on Thursday complained that Turkey wasn't doing enough to significantly decrease the number of people making the dangerous crossing into Greece and beyond to the continent's heartland where many EU nations are struggling to cope with the influx of migrants and refugees.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU is "a long way from being satisfied" with the effort from Ankara so far, especially after offering 3 billion euros ($3.26 billion) in aid and political concessions  like an easing of visa restrictions and the fast-tracking of its EU membership process  only two months ago.

Germany alone has said that about 3,200 people are arriving each day, many through Turkey, and that numbers haven't declined despite commitments to do something about it. In all, nearly 1.1 million people were registered as asylum-seekers in Germany last year, more than 400,000 of them from Syria.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, front row from left, and other members of the EU commission pose for a group photo in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. The Netherlands holds the EU presidency for the next six months. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

"There is still a lot of work to do there," said Timmermans, who plans to have talks in Ankara on Monday to discuss progress and see how the EU aid can be used there to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. Turkey is supposed to tighten border security and take back some migrants who don't qualify for asylum in Europe.

"We will continue in our efforts to make sure that we deliver the results that we agreed with Turkey," Timmermans said.

Beyond seeking to contain the refugee crisis by helping Turkey to better keep people from crossing into the EU, the continent is also desperately trying to bolster its porous external borders, especially in the Mediterranean to try to decrease the number of tragedies in 2016 compared to last year.

The EU's reaction has been anything but united, with several nations imposing internal border checks again and few member states coming forward to help ease the burden of countries like Germany and Sweden, which have been among the primary destinations for refugees and asylum-seekers.

"There is no solution in going national like this," Timmermans told a small group of journalists. "Nobody should have the illusion that this is a long-term solution."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, was calling on her European allies to better share responsibility to deal with the migrant crisis.

Merkel said after meeting her Romanian counterpart Thursday: "I don't want to make any concrete threats here ... but I would like to say that a Schengen (border-free travel) system can only work if joint responsibility is taken for refugees and joint responsibility is taken for protecting external borders."

But finding that common resolve will be a key challenge in 2016, with many central and eastern European nations refusing to enter such sharing deals by taking more people in for shelter.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's government has already filed a legal challenge last month to a mandatory EU plan to distribute migrants among members of the bloc.

On Thursday, Fico said his government sees what he calls a "clear link" between the waves of refugees and the Paris attacks, and the sexual assaults and robberies during the New Year's Eve festivities in Germany.

"We don't want what happened in Germany to happen here," adding that "the idea of multicultural Europe has failed" and that "the migrants can't be integrated. It's simply impossible."
US man pleads not guilty to threatening FBI, judge

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  A man who's charged with tweeting threats against FBI agents and a judge after his friend was arrested on a terrorism charge pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges outlined in a new indictment, and he was ordered held pending further proceedings.

Khaalid Adam Abdulkadir, 19, of Minneapolis, was indicted this week on one count of threatening to murder a federal judge, one count of threatening to murder a federal law enforcement officer, and one count of interstate transmission of a threat to injure another person. He previously faced just one count and has been in custody since last month.

Authorities say Abdulkadir posted two tweets within hours of his friend's Dec. 9 arrest for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Court documents show that one included the words "kill them FBI" and the other said, "I'm kill them FEDS for take my brothers."

Abdulkadir's attorney, Chris Madel, said the indictment doesn't specify whom Abdulkadir allegedly threatened and he argued the charges should be dismissed. He also said his client, a pre-nursing student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, has family in Minnesota and should be released on home monitoring.

"He's a 19-year-old kid who, at best, screwed up one night then deleted the tweets," Madel said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Docherty said deleting the tweets doesn't diminish the threats.

He also said evidence shows Abdulkadir expressed an interest in going to Syria to join the Islamic State group himself and used social media to seek advice from others who have joined terror groups, including one man who left Minnesota to join al-Shabab in Somalia in 2008. Abdulkadir also tried to communicate with a man who left Minnesota last year to join the Islamic State group in Syria, Docherty said.

A federal judge from South Dakota is overseeing the case because of the nature of the charges. Judge Karen Schreier said Thursday that Abdulkadir is a danger and a flight risk and will remain in custody.

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In 2016, Clinton and Sanders turn to GOP to win Democrats

LAS VEGAS (AP)  Hillary Clinton wants you to know that she won't need a "tour of the White House" if she wins the presidency, warning again and again that a Republican in the Oval Office would derail everything the Democrats have achieved.

Her main Democratic rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, argues that staving off a GOP victory depends on stoking voter enthusiasm by breaking with Clinton's brand of "establishment politics"  a quality he feels he is uniquely positioned to offer.

"The only way that Democrats win elections is when we have a large voter turnout," Sanders said at a Las Vegas dinner Wednesday, as his raucous supporters blasted air horns and blew into yellow vuvuzelas.

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The State Departments search for documents during Secretary of State Hillary Clintons tenure contributed to "inaccurate and incomplete responses under federal open records laws, including the existence of her private email account, the agencys watchdog will report. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

In the final weeks leading up to the first round of primary voting, the two leading Democratic candidates are urging their voters to look down the road to the general election this November, offering competing strategies for how Democrats can defy history by capturing a third consecutive White House term.

The dueling arguments are coursing through the electorate as Democrats face an uphill battle in Congress, where Republicans hold a large majority in the House and a 10-seat advantage in the Senate. The GOP will be forced to defend two dozen Senate seats in 2016, including several in contentious election year swing states.

But Democrats will ultimately struggle to push their policies if Republicans win the presidency.

Clinton is trying to drive home one of her best selling points  the sense among voters that she can win  by consistently reminding audiences of her White House pedigree, from her husband's two terms as president to her role as President Barack Obama's secretary of state.

In December, 9 out of 10 Iowa voters said they believed Clinton could win the general election, while a little less than 6 in 10 said the same for Sanders, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

During a stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Tuesday, Clinton offered her most blunt remarks to date about her ability to win the general election, saying voters should "think hard about the people who are presenting themselves to you, their experience, their qualifications, their positions, but particularly for those of us who are Democrats, their electability."

The message was an implicit criticism of Sanders, who has drawn big crowds in Iowa and across the country but as an independent in the Senate has often been an outsider.

But should she win the primary, Clinton will need to harness the energy of enthusiastic Sanders backers to power her White House bid, leaving her reluctant to go after her opponent with real force.

When a voter in Sioux City asked Clinton to compare herself to Sanders, she touted her plans to rein in Wall Street and said she had a strong track record on issues like education and health care.

"I have a long record and I have been on the forefront of change for decades," Clinton said. "I am a progressive who likes to get things done and I will get into the White House. I don't need a tour. I know right where the Oval Office is."

The argument also allows Clinton to circumvent what polls show is one of her biggest weaknesses: Likeability. While voters say they see Clinton as competent and experienced, they generally give her lower ratings on trustworthiness and compassion.

Sanders' team has pointed to more recent Quinnipiac polling in December showing him beating Republican front-runner Donald Trump by thirteen points, compared to Clinton's seven point edge in a hypothetical matchup.

"People are going to begin to internalize that the choice of Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee puts the party in a much stronger position to defeat Republicans, in terms of the race for the White House, but also in terms of the Congress and at the state level," said Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver.

For Democratic voters, the GOP candidates loom large over their primary choices  particularly the prospect of a Trump administration.

Sanders drew hundreds of supporters to a rally at the Tropicana Casino Hotel, including Kevin Oakeson, a 42-year-old casino worker who has been attracted by the senator's push for improved workers' rights and a higher minimum wage. But he remains concerned about Sanders' electability.

"That's my one worry," Oakeson said. "(If) you can't do that, there's no sense in trying."

He doesn't support Clinton but he said her electability is proven. "If you look at just the appearance, she has all the right things."

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Lerer reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Sally Ho in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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On Twitter, follow Ken Thomas and Lisa Lerer: https://twitter.com/KThomasDC and https://twitter.com/llerer

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., holds up the hand of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on stage at the Battle Born Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas. Democratic presidential candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is at right. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (Mikayla Whitmore/Las Vegas Sun via AP) LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (Mikayla Whitmore/Las Vegas Sun via AP) LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Israel army: 3 Palestinians killed after attacking soldiers

JERUSALEM (AP)  Palestinians brandishing knives attacked Israeli soldiers in two separate incidents in the West Bank on Thursday night before forces opened fire killing three assailants, the military said, in the latest violence in almost four months of near daily Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.

The Israeli military said three Palestinians wielding knives rushed at troops Thursday evening at the Gush Etzion junction near Jerusalem, prompting the soldiers to open fire, killing two of them. The third attacker was wounded and taken to hospital.

The area has been a frequent target for Palestinian attackers lately.

About two hours later a Palestinian tried to stab soldiers near the West Bank city of Hebron before he was shot and killed by forces, the military said.

Many of the Palestinian attackers in recent violence have come from Hebron. The city is a frequent flashpoint for violence. Some 850 Israeli settlers live in heavily-guarded enclaves surrounded by tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Much of the animosity is over a key holy site, sacred to both Jews and Muslims

Since mid-September, Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers have killed 21 Israelis, mostly in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming assaults. At least 134 Palestinians died by Israeli fire, including 93 said by Israel to be attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with troops.
'Making a Murderer' juror stands by verdict

MILWAUKEE (AP)  A juror involved in the homicide case that spawned the popular Netflix series "Making a Murderer" says she stands by the verdict.

The 10-part series raises questions about whether Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were wrongly convicted, spurring new scrutiny of the case and prompting armchair sleuths to flood online message boards and flood local officials with requests for case records. The show includes comments from an excused juror in Avery's case suggesting his conviction was based on flawed evidence.

But Diane Free, a juror who was present to the end, told The Associated Press by phone that she was "comfortable with the verdict we reached. The thing on Netflix was a movie, not a documentary."

FILE - In this March 13, 2007 file photo, Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton, Wis. The Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer tells the story of a Wisconsin man wrongly convicted of sexual assault only to be accused, along with his nephew, of killing a photographer two years after being released. An online petition has collected hundreds of thousands of digital signatures seeking a pardon for the pair of convicted killers-turned-social media sensations based on a Netflix documentary series that cast doubt on the legal process. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

The series draws on dramatic details. Avery had been wrongly convicted of a 1985 rape and served 18 years in prison. After being freed, he had a $36 million lawsuit pending against public officials when photographer Teresa Halbach disappeared on Halloween 2005 following a visit to the Avery family salvage yard to take pictures of a minivan.

Halbach's bones and belongings were found burned near Avery's trailer. Avery and Dassey were eventually convicted and sentenced to life terms, but only Dassey is eligible for parole  in 2048.

Authorities involved in the case have called the series biased and say it omits crucial facts that led to the convictions. Filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi have stood by their work, which spans nearly a decade and concentrates on the defense and perspective of Avery and Dassey's relatives.

The jurors have been mostly silent. Many had made an agreement not to talk about the case after the conviction. Free declined to elaborate beyond her brief remark when reached Wednesday. "I have to ask, please don't call me again," she said before hanging up.

Richard Mahler, the excused juror, said Thursday that he still has questions about the investigation into Avery's involvement. Mahler sat through weeks of testimony and deliberated with the panel for four hours before he asked to leave because he was feeling emotionally exhausted, he said. He also said he felt threatened by another juror.

Mahler said seven jurors, including him, voted not guilty in the first vote. Three voted guilty and two were undecided, he said. Mahler said he doesn't know what happened after that because he left.

"I don't know what the tensions were in the jury room, we were all pretty mentally tired of everything," he said.

With the series becoming a phenomenon, the custodian of the court records from the case has been inundated with inquiries from local residents and people around the world who want to see the transcripts, exhibits and other documents.

The chief clerk at the Manitowoc County Clerk of Courts office, Lynn Zigmunt, says there are more than six bankers boxes of material. The requests began picking up about a week ago, she said, and she's assigned an employee to handle the requests each day.

"It's a lot of information, a lot of documents, so we have to just be careful  but that's our job as custodians of the records," Zigmunt told WBAY-TV.

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Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.

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Follow Carrie Antlfinger at https://twitter.com/antltoe. Follow Karnowski at https://twitter/skarnowski.
Ranchers cited by armed group have reputation for kindness

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  A prominent ranching family whose legal case sparked an armed occupation of a wildlife preserve has lived for three generations in Oregon's high desert, building a large cattle operation and stellar reputations for kindness and generosity.

The Hammonds are known for supporting charitable and civic causes in a remote region where residents rely on each other for survival and fellowship. They've also clashed repeatedly with the federal government over land management, water rights and other issues.

Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven Hammond, 46, have been embroiled for more than five years in a legal dispute over several fires they lit that damaged federal property. The two men were convicted of arson and this week returned to prison to serve out longer sentences, which stoked long-simmering hostility between ranchers and government officials over management of federal land for cattle grazing.

In a Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 photo, rancher Dwight Hammond Jr. greets protesters outside his Burns, Ore., home. Hammond and his son, Steven, reported back to prison Monday, Jan. 4. The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago for fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006, according to prosecutors. The men served no more than a year until an appeals court judge ruled the terms fell short of minimum sentences that require them to serve about four more years. Their sentences were a rallying cry for the group calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday night, Jan. 2. (Les Zaitz/The Oregonian via AP)

The armed anti-government group that has occupied a building at a national wildlife refuge near the Hammond ranch cited the Hammonds' experience as one of several cases of government overreach. The men's re-imprisonment also drew anger from other ranchers who admire the Hammonds and believe the sentences are too harsh.

The Hammonds "are the nicest people that ever walked the foot of this earth," said Merlin Rupp, 80, a longtime local resident. "They'd do anything for me at the drop of a hat, and they got a raw deal."

Rupp was among those who spoke out Wednesday in support of the family at an emotional community meeting called to discuss the occupation of the nature preserve. The Hammonds have not sought publicity and have distanced themselves from the armed protest.

Letters written in 2012 to the judge presiding over the case show that the Hammonds have served on school and farm-related boards and donated money, cattle and labor to countless fundraisers and events. They also supported local businesses and helped the local 4-H club.

Father and son have also helped others in crisis. When a neighbor's daughter was injured in a car wreck, the Hammonds hayed their fields. When a fire burned a nearby homestead, the Hammonds let the rancher's cattle graze on their feed. And when another neighbor's bulls were trapped on a rim by heavy snow, Dwight Hammond flew his airplane to drop bales of hay for them, according to the letters.

In Harney County, home to about 7,700 people and more than 104,000 cows, ranching has long been a way of life. But in recent decades, concerns over the environment brought changes in range-management rules, leading to conflicts.

Dwight Hammond and his own father bought the ranch at the foot of Steens Mountain just south of the town of Burns in 1964. The family owns nearly 13,000 acres of fields full of scrubby bushes, grasses and sagebrush. The purchase price included several federal grazing allotments  the rights to lease public land for grazing  common in the West, where the federal government owns nearly half the land.

As the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge grew to surround the Hammond ranch, the family had to stave off pressure from the federal government to sell the ranch, Dwight Hammond told The Associated Press last week. The rancher said officials mismanaged the rangeland, including failing to do controlled burns for invasive plants that snuff out grass growth.

Federal officials repeatedly accused the ranchers of breaking environmental laws and declining to follow rules. Over the years, officials refused to renew some of the family's grazing allotments and increased fees on others. They also restricted access to water sources used by the Hammonds.

In 1994, after officials sought to fence off a water source on the refuge to keep out the Hammond cows, the ranchers destroyed the fence and obstructed federal workers from continuing construction, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

Father and son were arrested on felony charges of interfering with federal employees, court records show. But after area ranchers protested, their charges were reduced to misdemeanors and later dropped.

Earl Kisler, the special agent who arrested the two in 1994, told the newspaper the Hammonds and other ranchers made repeated threats  including death threats  against refuge managers.

In the arson case filed against the Hammonds in 2010, prosecutors said the ranchers stepped out of line on land that didn't belong to them because they believed the government was too slow in controlling invasive species. Father and son were charged with starting at least eight fires during a period of more than 20 years, though a jury three years ago found them guilty of setting only two.

The Hammonds acknowledged lighting fires on their own property in 2001 to reduce the growth of invasive junipers and again in 2006 to protect their winter feed and property from wildfires. The fires spread onto federal land leased by the family and charred just under 140 acres.

Prosecutors said grazing leases did not give the Hammonds exclusive use of the land or permission to burn public property. They said the 2001 fire was used to cover up poaching of deer.

In 2012, a judge sided with the Hammonds. Though the arson convictions require a five-year minimum sentence, he said those sentences did not fit the crime. As a result, the elder Hammond spent three months in prison, the son a little over a year.

But the government appealed and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later ordered the Hammonds to be resentenced. The court ruled that the judge did not have the authority to be lenient. Earlier this year, another judge ordered father and son back to prison for five years each, minus the time already served.

To the Hammonds and their supporters, the case appeared to be a vendetta. The Oregon Farm Bureau has called the Hammonds' plight "a gross injustice" that "has severely damaged the long-term trust and cooperation that ranchers, foresters, and recreationists have had" with the government.

In a Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 photo, rancher Dwight Hammond Jr. greets protesters outside his Burns, Ore., home. Hammond and his son, Steven, reported back to prison Monday, Jan. 4. The Hammonds were convicted of arson three years ago for fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006, according to prosecutors. The men served no more than a year until an appeals court judge ruled the terms fell short of minimum sentences that require them to serve about four more years. Their sentences were a rallying cry for the group calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday night, Jan. 2. (Les Zaitz/The Oregonian via AP)
Clinton woos Asian-Americans, slams 'hateful' GOP rhetoric

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (AP)  Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton Thursday courted Asian-American voters, telling members of the nation's fastest growing racial minority that she disagrees with the "hateful rhetoric" of her Republican challengers.

"They forget a fundamental lesson about our great country," she told several hundred people gathered in a hotel ballroom in suburban Los Angeles. "Being an open and tolerant society does not make us vulnerable. It's at the core of our strength."

Clinton's campaign stop in the San Gabriel Valley, an enclave home to more than a half million Asian-Americans, marked the launch of her grassroots outreach to the growing pool of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Those voters have trended Democratic in recent presidential elections, though they are still considered up for political grabs. Their influence is considered critical in some swing states.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses Asian American and Pacific Islander supporters in San Gabriel, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California is not one of those, having voted for a Democrat for president every election since 1992.

Republicans suggested Clinton's visit is more about raising campaign cash. "The reality is Democrats have long taken the AAPI community for granted, and Hillary Clinton will be no different," said Ninio Fetalvo, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

Clinton made her appeal to Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters in a Southern California region where a number of cities are now majority Asian-American and store signs in Mandarin and Cantonese line the streets.

"Their party identity is not cast in stone," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside. "There's still potential for persuasion there."

In a half-hour speech, Clinton told constituents she would be the one to fix the nation's broken immigration system, improve access to higher education, and increase wages  all issues considered top priorities for the Asian American electorate. She vowed to reduce the visa backlog and help unauthorized immigrants with deep community ties that "deserve the chance to stay."

"Ultimately this is more than an economic or political issue," she said. "It's a family issue."

Nearly 4 million Asians voted in the 2012 presidential election, a 547,000 increase over 2008. According to exit polls, nearly three-quarters of Asian-American voters favored President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. They comprised about 3 percent of the total electorate.

The Asian-American community has been the subject of relatively little discussion in the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Clinton's message on immigration resonated with Alma Harrison, a 52-year-old human resources director at the Hilton hotel where Clinton delivered her remarks  though she said she still hadn't decided who she would vote for.

"Right now I'm still listening to what everybody has to say," she said.

Several others at the rally said that while they planned to back Clinton, their communities were somewhat divided.

"Some of them are strong Republicans because of religious issues," said Suzette Lopez, 60, a financial planner born in the Philippines who now lives in the San Gabriel Valley. "They think Democrats are too liberal."

James Sobredo, 55, an ethnic studies professor at Sacramento State University, traveled to the San Gabriel Valley with a busload of Filipino voters from the San Francisco area, about six hours away. He said Asian-American voters have long been perceived as outsiders, but that he believes their political relevance and critical mass in elections is finally starting to take hold.

"We're not as powerful as the Latino vote," he said, "but we have resources."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, is welcomed by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., before addressing Asian American and Pacific Islander supporters in San Gabriel, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Haiti candidate needs major changes to participate in runoff

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  A spokesman for Haitian presidential contender Jude Celestin said Thursday that the second-place candidate will only participate in an upcoming runoff if sweeping changes recommended by a special commission are adopted to improve voting.

Campaign spokesman Gerald Germain said Celestin has been urging Haiti's outgoing president to ensure that the commission's recommendations are put in place before the two-candidate presidential runoff. They include major changes to the electoral machinery, with investigations and possible resignations of those accused of corruption, and political dialogue to achieve consensus about the next round.

"Only when the recommendations are implemented would Mr. Celestin take part," Germain said in a phone interview.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2015 file photo, presidential candidate Jude Celestin, from the LAPEH party, gives a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A spokesman for Celestin said on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 that the second-place candidate will only participate in an upcoming runoff if sweeping changes recently recommended by a special commission are adopted to improve the vote. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)

While Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council has pledged to improve transparency for the final round, review commission spokesman Rosny Desroches said he has seen very little progress to solve electoral tensions since the special panel's recommendations were released Sunday.

For instance, he noted that President Michel Martelly this week issued a decree making Jan. 24 the new date for the postponed runoff without first holding a political dialogue with those involved in the electoral impasse, a key recommendation.

"There is apparently no will to hold even a minimal dialogue," Desroches said.

The United Nations, the U.S. government and representatives of other nations making up the "Core Group" that monitors Haiti have urged state institutions and political actors to "take all steps necessary to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected president" by the Feb. 7 constitutional deadline.

On Wednesday, U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon and the U.S. special coordinator for Haiti visited the country and met with a number of people, including the two presidential candidates slotted for the Jan. 24 runoff. It was unclear what, if anything, was accomplished. The pair departed Thursday.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. welcomed the presidential decree setting Jan. 24 as the runoff date and encouraged "all Haitians to participate peacefully and calmly in the vote." The U.S. has contributed over $30 million to this election cycle in Haiti.

On Thursday night, the Organization of American States put out a similar statement, saying its electoral observation mission welcomed the Jan. 24 runoff as a "step in the right direction."

If legitimate elections don't take place as scheduled Jan. 24, a transitional government might have to be formed in the impoverished country where elections are never easy and suspicions of manipulation and complicity by the Provisional Electoral Council and the government in power are chronic.

The Group of Eight opposition alliance, which is made up of Celestin and seven other presidential candidates, wants the members of the electoral council to resign over what it says is corruption and vote-rigging. It says a transitional government is needed to complete Haiti's electoral process in a fair and transparent way.

Celestin has called the official results putting him in second place behind government-backed candidate Jovenel Moise a "ridiculous farce" and refused to campaign for a Dec. 27 runoff that was postponed days before it was scheduled amid swirling allegations of "massive fraud." He has since demanded 30 days for campaigning before any runoff.

Echoing comments he made to Haiti's biggest newspaper recently, U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean told The Associated Press that there has been no evidence to back up the allegations of rampant electoral fraud.

"I have heard many accusations of massive fraud but I have not seen those making the accusations come forward with proof," he said.

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Ruling throws Illinois hospitals' tax exemptions in question

CHICAGO (AP)  An Illinois appeals court decision has reopened a statewide dispute over whether hospitals should be exempt from paying millions of dollars in income taxes and property taxes to local governments.

The Illinois 4th District Appellate Court ruled Tuesday that part of a 2012 law that allows hospitals to avoid taxes is unconstitutional.

The issue, which brewed for years before a legislative compromise defined how hospitals could qualify for tax breaks, is likely headed to the Illinois Supreme Court, as well as lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner, according to Laurence Msall of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government research group.

"The Legislature could wait (until the Supreme Court rules), but issues will continue to mount," Msall said. "The Illinois Department of Revenue needs some direction from both the Legislature and the (Rauner) administration on how to handle pending applications."

Five hospitals have applications for tax exemptions before the revenue department: Peoria-based Methodist Services Inc. (two applications), NorthShore University Health System in Lake Forest, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago and Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago.

This week's ruling involves a case against the city of Urbana and other local taxing districts brought by Carle Foundation Hospital, which was seeking relief from taxes in 2004-2011.

A lower court sided with the hospital, but the appeals court reversed that decision, saying the Illinois Constitution allows lawmakers to exempt only property "used exclusively" for "charitable purposes."

"An unconstitutional statute is unenforceable from the moment of its enactment," the ruling states.

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing anticipates the hospital, which had been the largest taxpayer in the city of 41,000, will try to get the case in front of the Illinois Supreme Court.

"Part of the inequity in the tax system is we have these very wealthy entities that can afford all kinds of lobbying to wiggle their way out of responsibilities," Prussing said.

Since 2012, Prussing said, the city has lost 11 percent of its assessed tax value since Carle was relieved of paying $6.5 million a year in property taxes  the vast majority of which went to Urbana and its school district.

Carle spokeswoman Jennifer Hendricks-Kaufmann said the hospital is considering options, including an appeal.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association also expressed dismay, with spokesman Danny Chun saying the law "had ended a decade of uncertainty regarding the test for hospital property tax exemption.

"The law is clear, fair and reasonable," he added.

The Illinois Supreme Court weighed in on the issue in 2010, when it suggested nonprofit hospitals that behave like businesses shouldn't qualify for tax exemptions. Citing that court decision, the state Department of Revenue denied tax exemptions to three hospitals in 2011 and signaled more denials for other hospitals could follow.

That led to lawmakers' actions in 2012, in which hospitals won a broad definition of charity care and were required to provide free care to some patients. Investor-owned hospitals, too, were included in the tax break in a little-noticed provision that cost the state $10 million a year in lost revenue, according to an AP analysis at the time.

"This could require, in the end, an amendment to the Constitution in order to affect the needed change," said Msall of the Civic Federation, which supported the 2012 legislation as "a reasonable compromise" that balanced the interests of hospitals and government.

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Novak Djokovic joins Rafael Nadal in Qatar Open semifinals

DOHA, Qatar (AP)  Top-seeded Novak Djokovic survived a second set challenge to dismiss eighth-seeded Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-3, 7-5 to reach the Qatar Open semifinal Thursday.

Mayer made four unforced errors when serving for the second set at 5-4 which opened the door for Djokovic to take a straight-set victory.

He will play Tomas Berdych in the semifinals against whom he has a 21-2 winning record. Berdych, of the Czech Republic, beat Kyle Edmund of Britain 6-3, 6-2.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns the ball during a match against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina at Qatar Open Tennis tournament Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alexandra Panagiotidou)

"I think I've played better first and second sets, but credit to him for being solid and going for his shots," Djokovic said. "The second set was very close and it could've gone his way. It was a good test to see where I am."

Despite being broken four times, second-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia.

"He played so crazy with amazing shots," said Nadal. "It's true that I missed the serve more times than what I wanted. I think I played a great third set, because if not, I will not be in that semifinal."

Nadal will next play Illya Marchenko. The Ukrainian, who beat fourth-seeded David Ferrer in the first round, defeated seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 7-6 (3).

"I saw him play during the whole week," said Nadal. "He's playing fantastic. The match against David was great, and today against Jeremy he played amazing, too. He's playing with big confidence."

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns the ball during a match against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina at Qatar Open Tennis tournament Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alexandra Panagiotidou)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns the ball during a match against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina at Qatar Open Tennis tournament Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alexandra Panagiotidou)
Texas trooper charged in Sandra Bland case surrenders

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP)  The Texas state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland has turned himself in to authorities.

Brian Encinia surrendered Thursday afternoon at the Waller County Jail and his bond was set at $2,500.

A grand jury indicted Encinia a day earlier on a misdemeanor perjury charge for allegedly lying about the circumstances of his arrest of Bland last summer. If convicted he would face up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine.

Messages left with the Encinia's attorney Thursday have not been returned.
Review: Forgettable horror 'The Forest' wastes star Dormer

The January movie has long had a reputation for being among the worst that Hollywood has to offer, as though everyone collectively acknowledges that they need a month to catch up on the glut of prestige offerings and awards hopefuls that hit at the end of December. There are always exceptions of course, but unfortunately "The Forest," a rotten horror film about twin sisters and the spooky Japanese woods where people go to kill themselves, is not one of them.

It's rife with unbearable dialogue, cheap jump scares, and far too familiar imagery which makes the whole experience instantly forgettable.

The story starts when Sara (Natalie Dormer), a young, wealthy professional living with a blandly handsome husband (Eoin Macken), discovers that her expat twin sister has disappeared in a forest in Japan. This isn't any forest, though. It's Aokigahara, also known as the suicide forest. Everyone she talks to assures her that her sister is definitely dead by now.

This photo provided by Gramercy Pictures shows Taylor Kinney as Aiden in Jason Zadas "The Forest," a Gramercy Pictures release. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Jan. 8, 2016. (James Dittiger/Gramercy Pictures via AP)

But Sara knows better. In "The Forest" being a twin means that you have a spidey sense that your other half is around and living. There's a buzz, or something, and one time when Jess (also played by Dormer) took too many pills, the hum stopped. That's Sara knew something was wrong and knew to call the police to check on her. Fine, whatever.

So Sara hops on a plane to Japan to search for Jess in the spooky suicide forest. Her dreams and eventually visions get creepier the closer she gets. There some elderly Japanese women around to warn her not to go into the forest, too  it's haunted by the spirits of the dead, she's too sad, and it's too dangerous.

Thankfully that night at the bar, she meets a handsome American travel writer from Australia, Aiden (Taylor Kinney) who offers to let her accompany him and a park ranger, Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) into the forest. Michi does "off the books" treks through the woods to try to save people from killing themselves. And, of course, there things go crazy, especially after Sara decides to stay overnight.

This forest apparently really is popular among suicidal people  so much so that there's a sign at the entrance urging visitors to think of their families. That fact on its own is truly horrifying and possibly worthy of a cinematic interpretation of why that is. Here, it's exploited for an unimaginative mishmash of silly horror objectives. For example, not only will the forest bring out any latent sadness, but the spirits there are also angry, vindictive and restless. And beware the bruised and battered Japanese girls wandering around in school uniforms.

Even Sara, a happy, well-adjusted adult with a horrific trauma in her past, is not immune to the powers of the suicide forest. A character's descent into madness can be the stuff of cinematic gold, but this is both ridiculous and, at times, needlessly confusing.

Director Jason Zada in his feature debut shows some stylistic flair, but resorts to far too many scary movie cliches to make this a fun watch, including the requisite score laced with creepy little girls singing off in the distance.

Dormer, who is such a standout as the feisty Margaery Tyrell on "Game of Thrones," manages to infuse a few moments with humor and zest, but Sara never really comes to life as a full character. It's hard to tell whether that's a problem with the writing or the performance. Kinney's Aiden is similarly unremarkable.

Save yourself, and your money from "The Forest," it's pretty bad, even for a January release.

"The Forest," a Gramercy Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "disturbing thematic content and images." Running time: 95 minutes. A half star out of four.

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

This photo provided by Gramercy Pictures shows Taylor Kinney, left, as Aiden in Jason Zadas "The Forest," a Gramercy Pictures release. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Jan. 8, 2016. (James Dittiger/Gramercy Pictures via AP)

This photo provided by Gramercy Pictures shows, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, from left, as Michi, Taylor Kinney as Aiden and Natalie Dormer as Sara Price, in Jason Zadas "The Forest," a Gramercy Pictures release. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Jan. 8, 2016. (James Dittiger/Gramercy Pictures via AP)

This photo provided by Gramercy Pictures shows Natalie Dormer as Sara Price in Jason Zadas "The Forest," a Gramercy Pictures release. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Jan. 8, 2016. (James Dittiger/Gramercy Pictures via AP)
In Iowa, establishment GOP candidates play expectations game

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Jeb Bush and Chris Christie won't win Iowa. Marco Rubio probably won't either.

But these Republican presidential candidates are devoting significant time and resources to the state in a battle to beat expectations  and each other  in the Feb. 1 GOP caucuses. Each hopes a surprisingly strong showing in Iowa will give him a boost heading into the New Hampshire primary, where the political landscape is more favorable to more traditional candidates.

The expectations game for "establishment" candidates has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowa's lead-off caucuses. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between conservative favorites Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, some of the biggest unknowns surround the candidates for whom a loss in Iowa could still be viewed as a win.

In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, campaign staffer Kyle Radon, left, and volunteer Jack Davidson look over information on a computer as they call Iowa residents from the state headquarters for Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in West Des Moines, Iowa. Bush wont win Iowa. Neither will Chris Christie. But the Republican governors are battling to beat expectations, and each other, in the GOP caucus, hoping that a surprisingly strong showing will give them a boost heading into the New Hampshire primary. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

"January in the Iowa caucus is all about the establishment race," said Doug Gross, an Iowa Republican strategist who has not backed a candidate in the 2016 contest.

While Iowa's social and religious conservatives hold significant sway, 43 percent of GOP caucus-goers said they did not identify as evangelicals and 34 percent said they were either neutral or did not support the tea party, according to polls of participants in 2012.

Matt Strawn, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, said that a candidate who can consolidate the sizeable swath of center-right voters "may not end up in the winner's circle on caucus night, but they would certainly enter New Hampshire's more favorable electorate with quite a head of steam."

That's enough of an incentive for Bush, Christie and Rubio to keep spending money in a state they're all-but-certain to lose.

While Bush has struggled to connect in Iowa, as well as nationally, his campaign is banking on organizational prowess and frequent voter contacts to pull out a top five finish. The former Florida governor has 20 paid staffers in the state, including 10 deployed from campaign headquarters in Miami as part of a shake-up.

On a recent afternoon, about a dozen Bush staff and volunteers gathered in a brightly lit campaign office in a strip mall near Des Moines where they spent hours calling potential supporters, logging commitment levels to Bush in an online database and writing follow-up notes.

The campaign's recent shake-up included a decision to withdraw TV spending in Iowa. However, Bush's super PAC has spent more on the air here than any other political organization. Ads totaling about $10 million already have run, and another $2.6 million is planned by caucus day, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG.

Bush's Right to Rise super PAC has two ads on the air in Iowa criticizing Rubio for skipping Senate duties in favor of campaigning, including a new spot out Thursday.

Of all the candidates competing for the center-right vote in Iowa, expectations for Rubio are the highest. He's consistently ranked third or fourth in preference polls, though far behind Trump and Cruz, and he's cast himself as a candidate who can straddle his party's establishment and conservative wings.

The Florida senator has spent more time in Iowa than his more mainstream rivals but far less time than Cruz. His team has increased its staffing in recent weeks and now has four offices in the state. And Rubio's campaign, a super PAC and a nonprofit group have together invested $7.4 million in television advertising, with another $5 million worth of commercials coming by Feb. 1.

But questions loom about Rubio's organization. For months, operatives here whispered that the campaign low-balled salary offers for top jobs, hurting Rubio's bid to hire experienced Iowa hands. After months without a state director, he settled for an operative from Arkansas, and also has a state senator working in a volunteer capacity.

The biggest question facing Rubio, however, is whether his attempts to compete with Cruz for the social conservative vote have turned off more centrist voters, potentially leaving the senator without a plurality of support from either wing of the party.

Gross said that among more mainstream Iowa Republican voters, doubts have grown about Rubio.

"They're not confident they know who he is or that he knows who he is," he said. "By attrition, they're now looking at Christie."

Indeed, in interviews with about 20 uncommitted voters attending Rubio events in Iowa this week, Christie was the candidate they most frequently said was also on their short list.

Peggy O'Neill, a 74-year-old retiree from Clarion, is among those now giving the New Jersey governor a closer look.

"He has executive branch experience and I do like that," said O'Neill, adding that she would weigh Christie's experience against Rubio's tenure in the Senate and previously as speaker of the Florida House.

Christie's campaign footprint in Iowa is far smaller than that of Bush and Rubio, and for months there was little expectation that he would be a factor in the caucus. But he's now benefiting from a surge in national media coverage that's accompanied his rise in New Hampshire, raising the prospect that he might be able to finish ahead of Bush in Iowa.

Christie's lean Iowa team  he has just five paid staffers  also includes veterans of longtime Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's political operation. That's led many GOP operatives to speculate privately that the governor is backing Christie, despite being publicly neutral.

Christie's campaign has so far opted out of advertising in Iowa, and his super PAC has spent only about $75,000 on paid media there through this week. But in a sign that his campaign may see a chance to play the spoiler for some of his rivals, aides say they plan to run an ad now on the air in New Hampshire in Iowa later this month.

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AP writers Catherine Lucey in Des Moines and Julie Bykowicz in Washington contributed to this report.

In this Jan. 6, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at a town hall at Fisher Community Center in Marshalltown, Iowa. The expectations game for "establishment" candidates has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowa's lead-off caucuses. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between conservative favorites Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, some of the biggest unknowns surround the candidates for whom a loss in Iowa could still be viewed as a win. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Bobbie Clark walks on the tarmac to attend a campaign event for Republican Presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Webster City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In this Jan. 6, 2016, photo, campaign staffers Eric Baker, left, and Kyle Radon, center, and volunteer Jack Davidson call Iowa residents from the state headquarters for Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in West Des Moines, Iowa. The establishment expectations game has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowas Feb. 1 caucus. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Donald Trump, some of the biggest questions in the state surround candidates for whom a loss in Iowa can still be seen as a win. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In this Jan. 6, 2016, photo, supporters of Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio listen to him speak at a rally in Dallas. The expectations game for "establishment" candidates has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowa's lead-off caucuses. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between conservative favorites Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, some of the biggest unknowns surround the candidates for whom a loss in Iowa could still be viewed as a win. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, field staffer Eric Baker hangs a campaign sign in the Iowa state headquarters for Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in West Des Moines, Iowa. The establishment expectations game has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowas Feb. 1 caucus. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Donald Trump, some of the biggest questions in the state surround candidates for whom a loss in Iowa can still be seen as a win. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, computer cables are strewn across the floor at the Iowa state headquarters for Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in West Des Moines, Iowa. The establishment expectations game has added intrigue to the final sprint to Iowas Feb. 1 caucus. While the fight for first place has settled into a two-way race between Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Donald Trump, some of the biggest questions in the state surround candidates for whom a loss in Iowa can still be seen as a win. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
22K expected at outdoor retail expo in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  For the first time in years, the world's largest outdoor retail show will open in Salt Lake City without questions swirling about whether the expo will bolt for another city with more lodging and convention space.

Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact.

About 22,000 people are expected at this week's winter show. It starts Thursday and runs through Sunday.

A display of gloves and mittens are shown at the Hand Out Gloves booth during the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

To ensure the lucrative expo stays long-term, Salt Lake County officials are trying to find a company to build a new large hotel near the convention center and take advantage of at least $75 million in possible tax credits.

Three firms turned in proposals by a mid-December deadline: Austin, Texas-based RLB Swerdling and two Utah firms: JLJL in Midvale and DDRM Cos. in Sandy. A county bid committee will meet Jan. 14 to review the proposals.

This is the county's second attempt to entice a company to build an 800- to 1,000-room hotel to remedy a shortfall of hotel and convention space that has forced some attendees to stay in suburbs and nearby cities, and some companies to put up their exhibits in temporary tents across the street from the convention center.

The county had been negotiating with Omni Hotels & Resorts, but that deal fell through in August when the company sought a heftier incentive package from the government.

Outdoor Retail Show officials knew the deal fell through when they announced they would stay in Salt Lake City. They called it a blip on the radar.

The Legislature passed a bill in 2014 approving up to $75 million in tax incentives for the builder of a new convention center hotel. Salt Lake County has offered as much as $25 million more in tax incentives.

To sweeten the deal, the county this time is offering two parcels of government-owned land on the south and north ends of the convention center that could be used to build a connected hotel.

The retail expo has come to Salt Lake City for every show since 1996, except for 2002 during the Winter Olympics.

The expo lets store owners meet with manufacturers and preview products in the pipeline. About 5,000 people attended the first show in Salt Lake City in 1996. The recent summer expo drew about 27,000 people.

A show attendee looks at DPS Skis in the DPS booth display at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. The popularity of backcountry sports has been growing as well as the products available to consumers. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

Attendees walk past displays for retail companies at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

Yann Schoenhagen demonstrates Vibram's Arctic Grip shoe soles on blocks of ice at the Vibram booth at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

Attendees walk past displays for retail companies at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

Bruno Damico inspects a Dynafit touring ski boot at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Dynafit is a well known manufacturer of backcountry boots and bindings. The popularity of backcountry sports has been growing as well as the products available to consumers. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

An attendee walks past a display of Chaos brand hats at the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Show organizers announced in August that the expo will stay in Utah through 2018, expressing confidence Utah can remain the long-term home. The expo is staged twice a year and brings the state an estimated $45 million annual economic impact. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)

The women's MTN Explore touring ski boot on display at the Salomon booth during the Outdoor Retailer Show on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Salt Lake City. The popularity of backcountry sports has been growing as well as the products available to consumers. (AP Photo/Kim Raff)
Seeking support for gun actions, Obama tears into gun lobby

FAIRFAX, Virginia (AP)  President Barack Obama tore into the nation's largest gun lobby on Thursday as he sought support for his actions on gun control, accusing the powerful lobby group of peddling an "imaginary fiction" that he said has distorted the national debate about gun violence.

In a prime-time, televised forum, Obama dismissed what he called a "conspiracy" alleging that the federal government  and Obama in particular  wants to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law. He blamed that notion on the National Rifle Association and like-minded groups that convince its members that "somebody's going to come grab your guns."

"Yes, that is a conspiracy," Obama said. "I'm only going to be here for another year. When would I have started on this enterprise?"

President Barack Obama, left, speaks during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama defended his support for the constitutional right to gun ownership while arguing it was consistent with his efforts to curb violence and mass shootings. He said the NRA was refusing to acknowledge the government's responsibility to make legal products safer, citing seatbelts and child-proof medicine bottles as examples.

Obama, taking the stage at George Mason University, said he's always been willing to meet with the NRA  if they're willing to address the facts. He said the NRA was invited to the forum but declined to participate. Several NRA members were in the audience for the forum, which was organized and hosted by CNN.

"There's a reason why the NRA's not here. They're just down the street," Obama said, referring to the group's nearby headquarters. "Since this is a main reason they exist, you'd think that they'd be prepared to have a debate with the president."

The White House has sought to portray the NRA, the nation's largest gun group, as possessing a disproportionate influence over lawmakers that has prevented new gun laws despite polls that show broad U.S. support for measures like universal background checks. Last year, following a series of mass shootings, Obama pledged to "politicize" the issue in an attempt to level the playing field for gun control supporters.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said ahead of the event that the group saw "no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House." Still, the group pushed back on Obama in real time on Twitter, noting in one tweet that "none of the president's orders would have stopped any of the recent mass shootings."

The American Firearms Retailers Association, another lobby group that represents gun dealers, did participate. Asked how business had been since Obama took office, Kris Jacob replied: "It's been busy."

"There's a very serious concern in this country about personal security," he added.

Obama's actions on guns have drawn major attention in the presidential campaign, with the Democratic candidates backing Obama and the Republicans unanimously voicing opposition. Donald Trump, addressing a rally in Vermont just as Obama was holding the town hall, said he would eliminate gun-free zones in schools on his first day if elected to the White House.

"You know what a gun-free zone is for a sicko? That's bait," Trump told the crowd.

Obama's broadside against the NRA came two days after unveiling a package of executive actions aimed at keeping guns from people who shouldn't have them. The centerpiece is new federal guidance that seeks to clarify who is "in the business" of selling firearms, triggering a requirement to get a license and conduct background checks on all prospective buyers.

The plan has drawn intense criticism from gun rights groups that have accused the president of trampling on the Second Amendment and railroading Congress by taking action on his own without new laws. Just after his 2012 re-election, Obama pushed hard for a bipartisan gun control bill that collapsed in the Senate, ending any realistic prospects for a legislative solution in the near term.

Part of a concerted White House push to promote the effort, the forum attracted a number of high-profile figured in the gun debate, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011. Obama took questions from Taya Kyle, whose late husband was depicted in the film "American Sniper," and Cleo Pendleton, whose daughter was shot and killed near Obama's Chicago home.

Ahead of the forum, Obama put political candidates on notice that he would refuse to support or campaign for anyone who "does not support common-sense gun reform"  including Democrats.

All the candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination support stricter gun laws, so Obama's declaration in a New York Times op-ed isn't likely to have an impact on the race to replace him. Instead, it appeared aimed at Democratic congressional candidates from competitive districts who might want Obama's support on the campaign trail this year.

___

Lederman reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.

President Barack Obama, center, during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, right, listens to a question from Taya Kyle, left, widow of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, left, walks over to greet former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., right, during a commercial break at a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, thats because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, mother of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton, is seen on a television monitor asking a question to President Barack Obama during a CNN televised town hall meeting at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, center, listens to a question from Taya Kyle, left, widow of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Father Michael Pfleger, left, Pastor at Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago, speaks with former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., right, and her husband Mike Kelly, center, right, before taking their seats for President Barack Obama's televised town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, left, speaks during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, left, during a CNN televised town hall meeting hosted by Anderson Cooper, right, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Father Michael Pfleger, left, Pastor at Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago greets former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., right, as they arrive to participate in President Barack Obama's televised town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., right, and her husband Mark Kelly, left, arrive to participate in President Barack Obama's televised town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Obama's proposals to tighten gun controls rules may not accomplish his goal of keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals and those who aren't legally allowed to buy a weapon. In short, that's because the conditions he is changing by executive action are murkier than he made them out to be. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Manhunt in Argentina for 3 convicts who escaped prison

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  Local television stations in Argentina are broadcasting a police operation apparently attempting to capture three of the South American nation's most notorious criminals who recently broke out of prison.

Following in helicopters Thursday, local stations are showing images of dozens of police on foot in a rural area of Santa Fe province, about 310 miles (500 kilometers) northwest of Buenos Aires.

Victor Schialli and brothers Martin and Cristian Lanatta broke out of the General Alvear prison in Buenos Aires province the day after Christmas and have been on the run ever since. They were convicted in 2008 of killing three men allegedly connected to an ephedrine trafficking ring.
Prepare for interest rate rises, says George Osborne

Britain must prepare for rises in interest rates, George Osborne has said, as he warned that 2016 will be a "mission critical" year for the UK economy.

In a high-profile economic speech in Cardiff, the Chancellor warned against complacency about the strength of the recovery at a time when Britain faces a "dangerous cocktail" of instability and threats ranging from slowdown in China and unrest in the Middle East to volatility in oil prices.

And he said some economists were warning of the danger of "secular stagnation", which sees extended periods of moribund growth caused by a combination of permanently low interest rates, high savings and weak business investment.

Chancellor George Osborne said it will be a 'mission critical' year for the UK economy

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme ahead of the speech, Mr Osborne stressed that the decision on when to raise the base interest rate from the historic low of 0.5% where it has remained since 2009 was a matter for the Bank of England and it would be "wholly inappropriate" for him to seek to influence the timing of such a move.

But he made clear that borrowers should be prepared for more expensive lending, describing the US Federal Reserve's rate hike last month as "the beginning of the exit from the very, very low interest rates and ultra-loose monetary policy that was put in place during the crash".

And he added: "Of course there will come a point where that happens in Britain - a decision made by our independent central bank ... We have got to be ready."

Speaking in Cardiff, Mr Osborne said: "One of the biggest monthly bills that many people pay is their mortgage and an important source of income for people is their savings, so it's no wonder that people are starting to talk about what a rise in interest rates might mean for us all.

"Inevitably, with the US Federal Reserve having made their decision to raise rates last month, there is a discussion of how and when we begin to move out of a world of ultra-low rates.

"Let's be clear - high interest rates are a sign of a stronger economy. The job of government is to make sure we've got in place the policies to measure overall levels of indebtedness among families while backing savings too."

In a swipe at Labour, Mr Osborne said that the greatest threat to the UK economic recovery was people believing that the job of securing the economy was done and the Government can start loosening its purse-strings and scrap planned cuts in spending.

"The biggest risk is that people think that it's 'job done'," said the Chancellor. " I want to issue this warning: unless we finish the job of fixing the public finances, to get Britain back into the black by finally spending less than we borrow, all of the progress we have made together could still easily be reversed."

Mr Osborne said: "The question for the whole United Kingdom is this: are we going to see through the economic plan that is delivering growth at home and security from risks abroad?

"For I worry about a creeping complacency in the national debate about our economy. A sense that the hard work at home is complete and that we're immune from the risks abroad. A sense we can let up, and the good economic news will just keep rolling in.

"To the politicians peddling those views, I have a very clear warning today. Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats from around the world. For Britain, the only antidote to that is confronting complacency and delivering the plan that we've set out.

"Anyone who thinks it's mission accomplished with the British economy is making a grave mistake.

"2016 is the year when we can get down to work and make the lasting changes that Britain so badly needs, or it will be the year we look back at as the beginning of the decline. This year quite simply the economy is mission critical and we have to finish the job."

Mr Osborne's words stood in stark contrast to the optimistic message on the economy in November's Autumn Statement, when he announced that the nation's books were healthier than expected to the tune of 27 billion.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "This Chancellor has mixed his own cocktail of rising consumer debt, an over-reliance on borrowing from overseas, with a lack of sustained investment, while failing to support manufacturing, and topping it all off with lighter regulations for the banks. The problem is that the rest of us taxpayers will be the ones left with the hangover.

"Labour has consistently warned that George Osborne has to wake up and stop being complacent about the warning signs that the global economy could be slowing, but instead he has chosen to play political games with fiscal targets that would simply tie his hands."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "Osborne's excessive and aggressive cuts are a danger in themselves, he risks throwing out all the hard work by the Liberal Democrats in the coalition to stabilise the economy and rebuild the nation's finances.

"Osborne talks of the importance of economic stability yet his Government is the one risking everything through their lack of clarity on our future in the EU."

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said Mr Osborne was right to warn there was no room for complacency.

"Increasing global uncertainty is contributing to the UK's lacklustre trade performance and while low commodity prices have provided a net gain for businesses here, those with a stake in the North Sea have been hit hard," she said.

"That's why it is more vital than ever that UK businesses are supported to grow, compete and prosper. Firms want relief from the building cumulative burden of Government policy, including the apprenticeship levy, national living wage, an out-of-date business rates system and the administrative challenge of pensions enrolment."

Lee Hopley, chief economist at manufacturers' organisation EEF, said: " The Chancellor's recognition that it's far from job done on rebuilding the economy is spot on, however industry wants to see how Government strategy for driving balanced growth is going to be delivered."
Cameron hopeful of swift end to EU renegotiation after talks with Hungarian PM

David Cameron has insisted he still hopes to complete his EU membership renegotiation next month after his Hungarian counterpart said he was "sure" British concerns about benefits abuses could be accommodated.

At a joint press conference after talks in Budapest, Viktor Orban sharply denied that Hungarians were "parasites" on the UK taxpayer.

But he said he recognised anxiety over "abuse" of Britain's welfare system, and expressed confidence that the V4 - Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia - would agree to a solution.

Prime Minister David Cameron held informal talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

The comments will have encouraged the Prime Minister at the end of another gruelling diplomatic offensive which saw him meet Angela Merkel in Bavaria on Wednesday evening before heading for Budapest.

Mr Cameron admitted there was now "limited time" before next month's summit of EU leaders, which he had previously earmarked for securing a deal, and stressed that the in-out referendum did not have to take place until the end of 2017.

However, he said he remained hopeful a package could be finalised in time for the Brussels gathering on February 18 - which would mean the national ballot could take place in June.

"I think we have made good progress right across the EU on all these issues," Mr Cameron said.

"I am confident we can reach agreement because there is a bigger picture here as well, which is the importance of Britain remaining in a reformed EU, but also for Europe ...

"We bring a lot to the EU as well as benefiting from the EU."

Mr Cameron said his proposal of a four-year ban on migrants claiming in-work benefits - viewed as the most difficult part of the reform package - was still "on the table" although he reiterated that he was ready to listen to alternatives.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Orban avoided addressing the specific proposal and said he would not accept any "discriminatory" measures.

But he added: "I think we will be able to agree ... "I am sure we are going to be able to find a solution that is going to be suitable for the Hungarian employees."

He said: "The abuses that are seen in social benefits systems have to be eliminated. I made clear that the Hungarian government does not support any abuses at all."

Mr Orban condemned the description of Hungarians in the UK as "migrants", saying the estimated 55,000 working in the country were contributing more in taxes than they took in benefits.

"We would like to make it quite clear that we are not migrants to the UK," he said.

"We are members of a state in the EU that can take jobs anywhere in the EU."

He added: "We do not want to be parasites, we want to work there."

In an interview with German broadcaster ARD, Mr Cameron argued that his proposed four-year benefits ban would not be discriminatory or against EU law.

"The European law has developed through the way that courts have interpreted it. If you go back in history, originally free movement of workers meant that it was the freedom to go and take a job and hold that job in another country," Mr Cameron said.

"60% of the people coming to Britain from the European Union now are job seekers. They're coming because we're creating lots of jobs. We're a very successful economy. But 60% don't have a job when they arrive; they're job seekers.

"So, the law has changed and we should be flexible in Europe. We should try and deal with the problems as they emerge."

Stressing that he did not want to undermine the principle of freedom of movement, Mr Cameron went on: "We're a country that has welcomed migrants, not just from Europe, but from all over the world.

"We don't want to change that, but we do need to address this excessive pressure that we've got at the moment, partly because our in-work welfare system's so generous and you get instant access to it ...
David Cameron: Obesity crisis must be tackled as seriously as smoking

Britain's obesity "crisis" must be tackled as seriously as smoking, David Cameron said in a strong hint that a tax could be imposed on sugary drinks.

The Prime Minister said he remained reluctant to take the radical step but recognised the need to act to prevent increases in diabetes and cancer and cut the costs to the NHS.

A new anti-obesity strategy is due to be published by the Government within weeks.

Cancer Research UK has called for a tax on sugary drinks in a bid to curb rising rates of cancer caused by people being overweight

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been spearheading a campaign in favour of increasing prices and a report from Public Health England concluded a tax of 10% to 20% could work.

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) also shows that a sugary drinks tax in Mexico has led to a 12% reduction in sales and a 4% increase in the purchase of untaxed drinks one year after it came in.

Cancer Research UK has called for a tax on sugary drinks for the first time in a bid to curb rising rates of cancer caused by people being overweight.

Asked if he was ready to reverse his previous opposition to the policy, Mr Cameron said: "Of course it would be far better if we could make progress on all these issues without having to resort to taxes. That would be my intention.

"But what matters is that we do make progress.

"We need to look at this in the same way in the past we have looked at the dangers of smoking to health and other health-related issues.

"So that is my commitment: we need a fully-worked up strategy, we shouldn't be in the business of ruling things out but obviously putting extra taxes on things is not something I would aim to do, it is something I would rather avoid."

Speaking during a press conference in Hungary where he held talks with counterpart Viktor Orban, he told reporters: "I don't really want to put new taxes on anything but we do have to recognise that we face potentially in Britain something of an obesity crisis when we look at the effect of obesity not just on diabetes but the effect on heart disease, potentially on cancer, when we look at the costs on the NHS, the life-shortening potential of these problems.

"We do need to have a fully-worked-up programme to deal with this problem and address these issues in Britain and we will be making announcements later in the year."

Downing Street said the industry must do more to tackle the obesity crisis.

The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "As we have said before, more needs to be done to address this challenge and that's not just for government to do.
Police bail for terror suspects 'should be signed off by CPS'

Terror suspects should not be granted police bail unless the decision is signed off by a prosecutor, senior legal figures have said.

It follows revelations about lapses that allowed Abu Rumaysah to flee the UK to join Islamic State despite being on authorities' radar.

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald and Nazir Afzal, who was chief crown prosecutor in north-west England from 2011 until last year, told the Press Association the CPS should be required to approve pre-charge bail in terrorism cases.

Lord Macdonald said the CPS should be required to approve pre-charge bail in terrorism cases

Rumaysah - born a Hindu called Siddhartha Dhar - was able to leave the country in 2014 despite being arrested six times.

He was held in September 2014 - when he was 31 - as part of an investigation into alleged support of the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun.

He left Britain with his family the day after being released on bail, travelling to Paris and then Syria.

The episode has come under the spotlight following unconfirmed claims that Rumaysah was a masked militant at the centre of a gruesome film released last week showing the murder of five men accused by IS of spying for the UK.

Lord Macdonald said: "Given the sensitivity of these cases, and their obvious national security implications, any consideration of bail requires special care.

"The Siddharta Dhar case shows that It is not sufficient or safe for the police to decide this question for themselves.

"We urgently need a new rule that no police bail may be granted in terrorism cases without the explicit agreement of a specialist prosecutor from the CPS Counter Terrorism Division."

Mr Afzal said there is a "strong case" for prosecutors to have the final say.

"Fundamentally bail pre-charge has been a matter for the police with prosecutors often expressing a view which does not bind the police," he said.

"In serious cases such as terrorist allegations there is a strong case for requiring the police to not only consult with prosecutors but for the final decision to be made by prosecutors acting in the public interest."

He said that "the two most serious crimes are terrorism and murder" and "suspects in both should of course be given bail if there isn't enough evidence to charge but the prosecutor should always be consulted and they should have the final say".

A CPS spokesman said: "We work very closely with our police colleagues on all terrorism cases including pre-arrest.

"However any decision on bail conditions before a charging decision has been made is a matter for the police."

Following his release on September 26 2014, Rumaysah was given a week to voluntarily surrender his travel documents, which was a condition of his bail.

Earlier this week it emerged that a letter from police reminding him of the need to hand over the passport by October 3 was not sent until more than a month later on November 7.
Economy minister urges France to deregulate faster

PARIS, Jan 6 (Reuters) - France's economy minister urged his own left-wing government on Wednesday to do far more to liberalise the economy, arguing that President Francois Hollande's Socialists had failed to reform fast enough and bring down stubbornly high unemployment.

Speaking out at a moment when his government is focusing on security in the wake of the deadly Islamist attacks of early and late 2015, Macron said France was one of just a few EU countries where the jobless rate had not fallen last year.

"We should have moved with greater speed, force and daring," Macron, a former investment banker whose free-market stance irks many fellow Socialists, told Le Monde newspaper.

With Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls concentrating on security fears that have boosted the popularity of the far-right National Front party, Macron's comments were clearly intended as a warning to his own camp not to neglect a need for more aggressive liberalisation ahead of elections in 2017.

"We have to rise to the challenge ... now is the moment for major reform."

Macron, whose liberalisation of the bus transport sector has prompted a mushrooming of low-price travel alternatives to the country's railway network, said much more should be down to open up other sectors closed to people without specific diplomas or qualifications that were not always justified, he said.

Cutting red tape and regulation to allow people set up their own business more easily was vital, said Macron.

Citing the car sharing and taxi business Uber, which has come up against legal obstacles in France, Macron said in the interview it was "easier nowadays to find a client that an employer."

"As I said after the terrorist attacks, our economy is marked by blocked society and stalled mobility," he said.

The Socialist government is under intense pressure to prove that left-wingers are as prepared as their adversaries on the right and far right to implement tough security policies in the wake of the Islamist attacks of Jan 7-9 and Nov 13, 2015 - with a flipside risk that economic reform could take a back seat in the last full year of Hollande's mandate.
Sayings of executed Saudi cleric Nimr al-Nimr

DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr was the most vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's ruling Al Saud family in the kingdom's Shi'ite Muslim minority, but he also poured scorn on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and distanced himself from Shi'ite power Iran.

Here are excerpts from video and audio recordings of his speeches and sermons published online.

"We have no ties with Iran or any other country. We are connected to our values, and we will defend them."

A Youtube video uploaded in Oct., 2011

"(Bahrain's ruling family) Al Khalifa are oppressors, and the Sunnis are innocent of them. They're not Sunnis, they're tyrants. The Assads in Syria are oppressors ... We do not defend oppressors and those oppressed shouldn't defend the oppressor."

Youtube video uploaded in July, 2012

In one version of a sermon posted on July 9, 2012 he spoke about the death that year of Saudi Crown Prince Nayef, a former interior minister who was widely seen as the stern face of the kingdom's conservative establishment. Last year, Nayef's son Mohammed became Saudi Arabia's new crown prince and interior minister.

"Where are Nayef's soldiers now? Will they stop him from death? Where are his intelligence (agencies)? Where are his officers? Can they stop the Angel of Death from reaching him? Let the worms eat him and (let him suffer) the torments of hell in his grave."

"Why doesn't he retire? Does the angel of Death have to take his soul? Nayef doesn't retire, the Angel of Death has to take his soul to rid us of him."

"Why shouldn't we be happy? The one who killed our children, we shouldn't be happy in his death? The one who imprisoned our children, we shouldn't be happy in his death? The one who makes us live in terror and fear, we shouldn't be happy.

"Thanks be to God and may he take their lives, one after the other."

"The Al Saud who have killed our children ... (it) is a shame that cannot be purified."

A video uploaded in Feb. 2012

"Our strength is not with weapons, our strength is with the spirit of martyrdom."

Undated video - in which he says that using weapons in demonstrations is not permitted

"From the day I was born and to this day, I've never felt safe or secure in this country.... We are not loyal to other countries or authorities, nor are we loyal to this country. What is this country? The regime that oppresses me? The regime that steals my money, sheds my blood, and violates my honour?"

Speech posted on Internet in Oct 2011, transcript published by Middle East Research Institute website

"A century of oppression ... enough, we will not be silent and we will not fear. We will call for separation even from this country and let be what will be. Our dignity is dearer than the unity of this land."

Undated audio recording on YouTube

"Our loyalty is for God only ... it's not to Al Saud... it's not to any other country."
Oregon occupiers: Not ready to go home quite yet

By Jonathan Allen and Jim Urquhart

BURNS, Ore., Jan 6 (Reuters) - The leader of a group of armed men who took over a U.S. wildlife refuge in remote southeastern Oregon said on Wednesday they know they will have to go home, but they want results from their protest and feel it is not "quite time yet."

The takeover that began on Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles (48 km) south of the small town of Burns, is the latest skirmish in the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion, a decades-old conflict over federal control of land and resources in the U.S. West.

Launched following a bigger demonstration in support of two local imprisoned ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, the occupation has been marked by daily media briefings from the protesters, and by federal law enforcement agents keeping watch from a distance.

"There is a time to go home, we recognize that. We don't feel it's quite time yet," protest leader Ammon Bundy told a news conference at the refuge on Wednesday.

"We feel like we need to make sure the Hammonds are out of prison, or well on their way. We need to make sure there is some teeth in these land transfers. And also that those who have committed crimes, those are exposed as well."

Bundy said the group was compiling evidence to clear the Hammonds, who this week began longer prison terms for setting fires that spread to federal land. Bundy said witnesses told them the blazes were started by federal agents.

"We believe we have enough of this to exonerate the Hammonds," he said. "If that is the only thing that is accomplished, then it will be well worth our effort."

Many residents of Burns see the occupation as the work of outsiders, and the Hammonds' lawyers have sought to dissociate themselves from the protesters.

Bundy is the son of a Nevada rancher who along with a large group of armed men stared down federal agents in 2014 when they tried to seize his cattle over unpaid grazing fees.

Asked by reporters what would need to happen for his group to quit the refuge, Bundy said: "Enough is enough when there's actual action that is happening, and when things are actually transpiring, and we'll know when that happens."

'MADE THEIR CASE'

Neither protesters nor authorities have said how many people are involved in the occupation. About a dozen protesters have been visible at the site. They have not been showing weapons in recent days.

U.S. Representative Greg Walden, whose congressional district includes Burns and Malheur, said on Wednesday he had been on the phone to the county judge and local ranchers until late on Tuesday night.

"Americans have the right to protest. It should not take this form. And it is time for those who are there to depart. They've made their case," the Republican congressman told reporters in Washington. He added that he viewed the five-year sentence imposed on the Hammonds as excessive.

The reactions in Burns, a town of 3,000 people about 280 miles (450 km) southeast of Portland, have included sympathy for the well-known Hammonds, suspicion of the federal government's motives, and criticism of the occupiers.

At a news conference on Wednesday, leaders of the Burns Paiute Tribe, whose reservation is not far from the wildlife refuge, said it was time for the protesters to leave.

"We as Harney County residents don't need some clown to come in here and stand up for us," said the Native American tribal council's sergeant at arms, Jarvis Kennedy.

The Paiute have their own disputes over land and water with U.S. government agencies. In 2014, the federal government owned 47 percent of all land in 11 states comprising the U.S. West, according to Congressional Research Service data, or more than 353 million acres (143 million hectares). That compared with just 4 percent in the rest of the country, not including Alaska.

But Kennedy mocked the protesters' assertions they want to help the community, while local children stayed home because schools were closed over concerns about possible violence.
Two Guantanamo detainees sent to Ghana - Pentagon

By Yeganeh Torbati and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

WASHINGTON/ACCRA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Two Yemeni detainees held for more than a decade at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were transferred to Ghana, the U.S. Defense Department said on Wednesday, years after both men were recommended for release.

Dozens of countries have received former Guantanamo Bay detainees but the transfers were the first to Ghana, which sought on Wednesday to allay possible public concern that they could pose a security threat.

The detainees were identified by the Pentagon as Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby.

Government documents posted online by the New York Times identified al-Dhuby as a Yemeni citizen born in Saudi Arabia in 1981 who traveled to Afghanistan to fight, and was assessed to be "a probable member" of al Qaeda. He surrendered to Afghan forces, was turned over to the United States, and was sent to Guantanamo Bay in May 2002.

In 2006, the Pentagon's Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay recommended he be transferred out of its custody.

Bin Atef was identified by the documents as a Yemeni citizen born in 1979 in Saudi Arabia. He was handed over to the United States after his capture by Northern Alliance Forces in Afghanistan in November 2001.

The Pentagon described Bin Atef in 2007 as "an admitted member of the Taliban." But his U.S. lawyer, George Clark, said he was cleared for release in 2009.

"He's a smart, bright young man and I'm sure he'll be successful," said Clarke. He added that Bin Atef's priorities upon release would likely be getting married and starting a family, learning the local language, and finding employment.

Ghana has granted permission for the two men to remain in the country two years subject to security clearances, said Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh, adding that their activities would be monitored.

The West African nation is a stable democracy that prides itself on upholding humanitarian values and contributing to U.N. peacekeeping missions. Its population is largely Christian, but Islam is strong, particularly in the north of the country.

Several other African countries have received Guantanamo detainees, including Uganda and Cape Verde.

"Many countries have already taken people in such situations so it's not out of the ordinary," Ghana's Communications Minister Edward Boamah told Reuters.

The United States requested the transfers a year ago and Ghana sent its U.S. ambassador to Guantanamo Bay to interview the detainees and assess any risk, Boamah said.

Clarke voiced frustration over the years-long delay in Bin Atef's release from Guantanamo, after he was first cleared for transfer.

"Nobody understands that," he said. "That's been one of the perpetual frustrations of representing people down there."

President Barack Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to close the prison, views it as a damaging symbol of detainee abuse and detention without charge that he inherited from Republican President George W. Bush.

A Reuters report last month found that Pentagon officials have been throwing up bureaucratic obstacles to thwart the president's plan to close Guantanamo.
End 'business as usual' with North Korea, U.S. tells China

By Lesley Wroughton and Ju-min Park

WASHINGTON/SEOUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The United States called on China on Thursday to end "business as usual" with its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he made clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China's approach to North Korea has not succeeded.

"China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that," Kerry told reporters. "Today in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual."

China is the North's main economic and diplomatic backer although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.

The vast majority of North Korea's business dealings are with China, which bought 90 percent of the isolated country's exports in 2013, according to data compiled by South Korea's International Trade Association.

North Korea carried out a nuclear test on Wednesday, although the U.S. government and weapons experts doubt Pyongyang's assertion that the device it exploded was a powerful hydrogen bomb.

The test angered both the United States and China, which was not given prior notice.

The top U.S. diplomat, Kerry said he and Wang agreed to work closely to determine what measures could be taken given increasing concerns about the nuclear test. Kerry said America has a "firm and continued commitment to regional security and global nonproliferation."

As of Thursday morning, "sniffer" planes and other sensors had yet to detect any evidence, such as particles in the air, that would substantiate the North Korean assertion that it had set off an H-Bomb, a U.S. government source said.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturising the hydrogen bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the U.S. West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

U.S. CONGRESS TO ACT

U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to further tighten sanctions on North Korea.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was expected as soon as Monday.

The legislation was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last February but it was stalled until Pyongyang jolted the world by setting off an underground nuclear bomb test.

The House measure would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear program and authorize freezing of U.S. assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalize those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.

"We understand Republican leadership plans to move a bill strengthening U.S. sanctions on North Korea. That will have strong bipartisan support," Pelosi said, adding that "we will support it."

It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006 while paying little heed to international pressure.

The United States and its ally South Korea are limited in their military response. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

The test also alarmed Japan. Its prime minister, Shinzo Abe, agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that a firm global response was needed, the White House said.

Obama also discussed options with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.

A White House spokesman said there had been no talk with South Korea about any introduction of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a move opposed by China.

"There have been no discussions or consultations with the South Koreans" about the deployment of anti-ballistic missile capability," the spokesman, Josh Earnest, said.

The system has radars that can track multiple ballistic missiles up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away, a range which would reach deep into China.

In response to the latest test, South Korea said it would resume propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker into North Korea from Friday, which is likely to infuriate its isolated rival.

The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South's Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," a South Korean national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement.
Poland - Factors to Watch Jan 7

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Thursday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 1 hour):

DATA

Polish central bank will publish its forex reserves data for December at 1300 GMT.

DEBT AUCTION

Poland will offer 2.5-4.5 billion zlotys in treasury bonds due April 2021 at a tender on Thursday. The results are expected to be published at 1030 GMT.

BANK FEES

Banks will have to contribute a total of 600 million zlotys ($149 million) into a fund for troubled borrowers by Feb. 18, which most likely means that the payment will weigh on lenders' first quarter results, daily Rzeczpospolita reported.

POWER SHORTAGES

Poland could face problems with power supplies in the coming days if the freezing weather conditions continue while river water levels are low, Polish power grid operator PSE said on Tuesday.

TAX COLLECTION

The finance ministry will in January present a strategy for increasing tax collection, Deputy Finance Minister Leszek Skiba was quoted by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily.

VAT TAX CUT

The finance ministry will take a decision in the third quarter of 2016 whether to implement an earlier planned reduction in the value added tax starting from 2017, Rzeczpospolita daily reported.

WARSAW BOURSE

Web portal 300polityka.pl reported without naming its sources that former head of the Polish financial supervision authority Stanislaw Kluza is to become the next chief executive of the Warsaw bourse.

A extraordinary meeting of the bourse shareholders is planned for Tuesday.

NETIA

Telecommunications firm Netia is holding talks with France's Orange Polish unit on potential co-operation, Netia's new chief executive Tomasz Szopa told Rzeczpospolita daily.

LABOUR LAW

The labour ministry wants to grant labour inspectors a right to change temporary employment contracts into full-time employment contracts, when warranted by conditions of the job, Rzeczpospolita daily reported.

****Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.****
PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Jan 7

SOFIA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- The halt in natural gas deliveries to private gas company Overgas by Russia's Gazprom Export is motivated by Russia's plans to restart the building of South Stream gas pipeline project, chief executive of Overgas Sasho Donchev told Euroactiv news website. (Capital Daily, Monitor, Duma, Trud, Sega)

-- Bulgarian farmers have received over 7 billion euros in European Union aid from 2007 until 2015, officials said. (Capital Daily, Monitor, Standart)

-- Companies close to key shareholder of bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank have managed to made deals to recover over 600 million levs from the lender, data from the bank's receivers showed. (Monitor, Telegraph)
In Turkey's borderlands, Syrians show refugees' economic potential

By Dasha Afanasieva

GAZIANTEP, Turkey, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Sitting in the bare office above his factory where thousands of baby rattles and plastic bottles are cranked out every hour, Saad Chouihna believes that if you can make it in Turkey, you can make it anywhere.

"The Turkish market is the hardest," said the 28-year-old Syrian from the city of Aleppo, bemoaning the tangled bureaucracy, cut-throat competition and a business culture that depends on long-term relationships.

But armed with a knowledge of Turkish and the local culture, Chouihna is finding his way.

He has opened a branch of his family's plastics business in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, where the many Syrian restaurants and Arabic signs in some districts bear witness to the proximity of the border and the growing Syrian population.

His firm is one of nearly 2,000 set up by Syrians in Turkey in the almost five years since their homeland descended into civil war. A quarter of a million people have been killed since then and millions more displaced, with Turkey now home to 2.2 million Syrians, the world's largest refugee population.

"Our business is plastic - that's what we know," Chouihna said. "But the established companies here have the contacts and experience locally so as a new company here it is really hard to get contacts or get contracts from big medical companies, for example. A lot of them don't even come to the phone."

But Chouihna, who has a wife and baby daughter, said he saw "no difference between me and a Turkish company" because he employs Turks as well as Syrians and pays his taxes.

SOME TURKS CONCERNED

In November Ankara promised to help stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe in return for $3.2 billion in aid and renewed talks on joining the European Union.

Ankara has spent more than $8.5 billion on feeding and housing Syrian refugees since the start of the war, but has yet to introduce a policy to allow them to work legally.

Echoing concerns voiced in other countries about the flow of refugees, lower-income Turks fear that Syrians, including the estimated 250,000 now working illegally in Turkey, will undercut them and take their jobs. But data suggests Syrians such as Chouihna are a boost for the Turkish economy.

According to TOBB, an umbrella body for local chambers of commerce, more than 1,000 companies were established in Turkey with at least one Syrian partner in the first seven months of 2015, compared with 30 in 2010, before the start of the war.

Although there is no estimate yet of the increase in output from these firms, economists say they have boosted trade with Syria in parts of Turkey where instability and violence in border areas have dented trade with neighbours.

"There has been a big jump in the numbers of businesses founded by Syrians probably because they are finally realising they are likely to remain in Turkey for many more years," said Esra Ozpinar, a researcher from economic think tank TEPAV.

BOOST TO EXPORTS

In Gaziantep, new buildings have sprung up beside the city's medieval fortress and old market thanks to modern investments and economic incentives offered by the government which have helped it become an economic hub and the most industrialised city in Turkey's south.

Chouihna exports to Egypt, Lebanon, Romania, Tunisia and Yemen and does some trade in Turkey. He also sells his products in Syria, helping Turkey's exports to its neighbour get back close to their pre-war levels.

Turkish exports to Syria dipped in 2011 and 2012, but have recovered significantly. In the first 10 months of 2015, Turkey exported $1.3 billion in goods and services there, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to less than half a billion in 2012.

TEPAV research suggests the rising number of Syrian firms in border provinces such as Kilis, Mardin and Hatay has helped the recovery in exports. But their composition has changed, reflecting the needs of a war economy, with food, generators and pick-up trucks eclipsing building materials and cars.

Economist Harun Ozturkler of the Centre For Middle Eastern Strategic Studies in Ankara says these businesses could in the long term be crucial to the Turkish economy.

"The most important contribution will be their network in the Arab world because the owners of these firms were merchants in Syria," he said. "Finding new markets for Turkey is going to be the most important."

But there is animosity in Gaziantep among some businessmen who see firms like Chouihna's as a threat.

"We know there are many unregistered firms and they cause unfair competition," said the Chamber's communications chief, Senay Copur.

"The advantage is they (Syrian firms) are serving generally their own citizens and create employment opportunities," she said, adding that efforts were under way to bring such companies into the tax system.

Chouihna said the authorities turn a blind eye to his Syrian staff since he also employs some Turks, but he would rather they were officially documented.

Another Syrian living in Gaziantep, Abu Tareq, said he had found investors for his plan to start a company producing $1 million worth a year of refrigerators for restaurants, food stores and factories.

He plans to base his firm in the same industrial district as Chouihna's and intends to hire 14 people, the majority of whom will be Syrian, he said.

After working in the same business in Syria, he saw an opportunity in the Turkish market.

"There are business options here for Syrians and I realised I will be here for a long time," he said.
South Korea to resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts against Pyongyang

SEOUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - South Korea will resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts towards North Korea at the inter-Korean border from Friday in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test, South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday.

The North's nuclear test was a "grave violation" of an August agreement reached between the two Koreas to ease tension and improve ties, a senior presidential national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in a statement.

"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," Cho said.
Hungary sees EU benefits deal with UK, poll shows Brexit support rising

By Kylie MacLellan and Krisztina Than

BUDAPEST, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Hungary's prime minister said on Thursday he believed central European countries could reach a deal on Britain's demand to curb benefits for migrant workers from EU countries in a bid to persuade Britons to stay in the European Union.

Viktor Orban told a joint news conference after talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron they had agreed on most of Britain's reform agenda for the 28-member bloc and he was convinced there would be a deal on social benefits too.

"I think we, the Visegrad four, together we will represent the same stance and we will reach an agreement " Orban said, referring to an alliance comprising Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The issue has emerged as the toughest of a series of demands Cameron has put to EU partners in a renegotiation of London's relationship with the bloc before it holds a referendum possibly as early as June on whether to stay in the union.

An opinion poll published on Thursday showed that a majority of Britons who have made up their mind would vote to leave the EU, making Britain by far the most reluctant member.

Orban did not say how a deal on benefits could be achieved. He echoed other central European leaders in saying there must be no discrimination on grounds of nationality among EU citizens, but he was open to helping tackle abuses.

"For us it is very important, first of all, that we should not be regarded migrants," the nationalist Hungarian leader said. "We do not go to Britain to be parasites, we do not want to take away from people living there... we want to go there and we want to work."

Cameron insisted his demand to deny in-work benefits to newcomers from EU countries for four years remains in play but made clear he was open to alternatives.

"As I've said I am open to listening to alternative solutions ... I'm sure that a lot of hard work is going to be done between now and the February Council to reach agreement. But I am confident we can reach agreement," he said.

OPPOSITION TO EU GROWING

As Cameron pushed for a deal to improve London's membership terms, including protecting its large financial services sector from being overruled by the euro zone, an ORB poll indicated that opposition to the European Union was growing in Britain.

While 21 percent of voters are still undecided, 43 percent want to leave the EU and 36 percent want to stay, it showed.

When the undecided are stripped out, 54 percent of voters want a British exit, or 'Brexit', up from 51 percent a year ago, and 46 percent want to stay, down from 49 percent.

The public scepticism contrasted with Cameron's latest declaration of optimism that a deal can be struck on his demands for changes in Britain's relationship with Brussels.

"We believe that all these issues can be dealt with. The discussions are going well," Cameron said in Wildbad Kreuth, Bavaria, after what he said was an "excellent meeting" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over dinner on Wednesday.

The ORB poll indicates that the referendum could be far closer than some politicians had assumed and that the result will depend on a fifth of voters who are still undecided.

"Despite the impending vote on Brexit, significantly more people report to have felt further removed from Europe over the last twelve months than closer to it," Johnny Heald, managing director of ORB International, told Reuters.

"If the Prime Minister is to avoid disaster on his watch someone needs to start convincing the public very soon on why we should remain a part of the EU."

A British exit would shake the Union to its core, ripping away its second largest economy and one of its top two military powers.

Pro-Europeans warn an exit from the EU would hurt Britain's economy and could trigger the break-up of the United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote. Opponents of EU membership say Britain would prosper outside the bloc.

"REASONABLE DEAL"

Cameron is urging fellow leaders to clinch an agreement at an EU summit on Feb. 18-19.

Before Wednesday's dinner with him, Merkel said it was important in the coming weeks to "make decisions in our own interest in order to achieve a reasonable package that will allow Great Britain to remain a part of the European Union."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, an ally of Cameron's whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency for the next six months, said he was "relatively optimistic" that a deal could be reached at the mid-February meeting.

Cameron addressed a session of the Christian Social Union, the sister party of Merkel's CDU, before travelling to Budapest to meet Orban, a prickly Eurosceptic ally whose civil rights record has been widely criticised in the EU.

"I'm confident with goodwill - and there is goodwill I think on all sides - we can bring these negotiations to a conclusion and then hold the referendum," Cameron said at the CSU meeting.
After split from ally, Hungary's Orban strives to muster media muscle

By Marton Dunai

BUDAPEST, Jan 7 (Reuters) - As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks to retain power in 2018, he faces a struggle to muster the broad media support that has underpinned his rule in recent years.

When Orban won a second consecutive term in 2014, with a two-thirds parliamentary majority intact, he owed much of that success to leading TV and radio stations either swinging behind his right-wing Fidesz party or largely refraining from criticism.

As well as state media, he enjoyed the support of several private news outlets - bolstered by his long-time friend and supporter Lajos Simicska, a media tycoon whose empire includes news channel Hir TV, national and local radio stations and advertising companies.

But Orban can no longer bank on this backing.

Relations have soured with Simicska, who publicly turned against the prime minister after the election over changes to Hungary's advertising tax that hit his sprawling holdings.

"We have lost our media, the right-wing media that helped the supporters of Fidesz," Orban said last year. "There is a conflict between the government and the owners of the dominant right-wing media. That is the truth."

And as he looks to extend his premiership once again in 2018, he faces a formidable task to regain the level of influence over the media offered by Simicska.

Three of the premier's close allies are leading efforts to do so, according to several media sources. They are former Hollywood producer Andrew G. Vajna, now the government's film commissioner, Orban's head of communications Antal Rogan, and Arpad Habony, the premier's long-time adviser, the sources said.

Vajna, Habony and Rogan did not respond to requests for comment.

Orban's spokesman said the prime minister had nothing to add to his comments last year, when he called for "right-wing civilians" to create supportive media outlets.

BATTLE FOR TV2

A crucial battleground is TV2 Group. It includes TV2 - the country's second-largest privately-owned television station after German-owned RTL - as well as three other smaller cable channels, representing a big slice of the Hungarian media market.

Simicska has never owned the company, but a close business partner of his had a contract that gave him the option to buy it at any time he chose - in practice giving the tycoon significant influence over decisions at the group.

Vajna bought TV2 in October from two executives of the group, only for the agreement to be contested immediately by Simicska's partner, who said he had exercised his option to buy the company two days before the deal was announced.

The resulting legal battle has yet to yield a clear outcome. But industry players say loss-making and debt-laden TV2 badly needs extra revenue from state advertising and also the long-anticipated introduction of a cable distribution fee - both of which they say are more likely if Vajna owns the firm and not a competitor.

"Acquiring TV2 now is hardly good business without the proper government connections," an executive at a leading TV station said on condition of anonymity.

TV2 and its senior executives declined to comment.

Hungary's government denies exerting pressure on the media and says it meets EU standards on media freedom.

Vajna, who made his name producing movie franchises like Terminator and Rambo and now owns four of five Hungarian casino concessions, told the daily Nepszabadsag this week that TV2 was one of several media projects he was involved with, and denied he was doing Orban's bidding.

"Of course I mentioned this undertaking to him but it would be a stretch to say we discussed it," the 71-year-old said.

Vajna has also said he would put up the investment needed to make TV2 successful and profitable, without giving details.

NEW MEDIA GROUP

Meanwhile 48-year-old Habony - who has helped orchestrate several Fidesz election victories as an unofficial spin doctor for Orban - has launched a new media company, Modern Media Group (MMG).

The group has denied it will be a mouthpiece for Orban, but its launch last year came shortly before the premier publicly appealed to his supporters to create new outlets through which the government can get its message across.

MMG so far consists of two news websites, 888.hu and Lokal.hu, which often carry state advertising, and a free weekly magazine that prints 500,000 copies in Budapest.

The group's CEO is Peter Keresztesi, also communications chief at the government-affiliated think-tank Szazadveg. He said the owners had seen a gap in the media market - he did not elaborate on that, and declined to discuss the group's plans.

Asked whether MMG would support the government, he said: "The company is organised on a market basis. Any subject that goes down well with media consumers could be interesting."

Rogan's role in the trio's media drive is on the advertising side, according to the industry sources.

As part of his job as the government's communications chief, he oversees a 25 billion forint ($85.5 million) advertising budget - making him the biggest player in Hungary's 189 billion forint advertising market.

The executive at a leading TV station said the large state advertising budget served as a big attraction for investors in the media industry.

"But it takes knowing when to shut up, and 25 billion will influence that too. If you shut up you can proceed to the cash desk," said the executive, adding: "There is no independent media in Hungary."

While Habony, Vajna and Rogan are pursuing separate paths, industry sources say they have worked have closely together for years and are now co-ordinating their efforts. The three are friends and are often seen and photographed together.

"That these three people move in concert is beyond doubt," said Gabor Polyak, a media analyst at think-tank Mertek. "Rogan doles out the money, while Habony and Vajna build a media network, using their connections and capital."

Rogan and government spokesmen did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the allocation of the state advertising budget.
Nauru police investigate alleged sexual assault on child refugee

By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK, Jan 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Police on the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru are investigating an alleged assault on a child refugee by another refugee, the government said on Thursday.

Nauru is home to Australia's controversial refugee detention centre, which hosts about 500 asylum seekers and has been widely criticised for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that an Iranian refugee had caught another refugee in the act of sexually assaulting his 6-year-old daughter on Dec. 29.

The man had pulled his and the girl's trousers down, and abused her near the cafe where her father worked, the Guardian reported, adding that the attacker had not been arrested or charged.

The Nauru police force (NPF) is investigating the alleged assault, the government said on its Twitter account.

"NPF will not discuss details of alleged child assault investigation but confirm alleged victim and alleged accused both from refugee community," the government said on Twitter.

"Child assault allegation involves accusation against a refugee by another refugee," it added.

Several rights groups have criticised the harsh conditions at the Nauru detention centre.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in 2013 that the centre was "inappropriate for the care and support of child asylum seekers", according to a Human Rights Watch report to an Australian parliamentary committee.

Asylum seekers intercepted while trying to reach Australia on rickety boats have been sent to camps on Nauru, located about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) northeast of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea.

According to Australian government statistics, at the end of November Nauru hosted 543 asylum seekers, including 70 children.
Fires spread to seven tanks at Libyan oil terminals

BENGHAZI, Libya, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Fires have spread to seven oil tanks at Libya's ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider following attacks this week by Islamic State militants, a Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) spokesman said on Thursday.

Ali al-Hassi said five storage tanks were burning at Es Sider and two at Ras Lanuf.

Two tanks were hit by shelling this week and the fires have since spread.

Hassi said the PFG remained in control of the area and that there were no clashes on Thursday.

Separately, however, at least 65 people were killed on Thursday when a truck bomb exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten east of Tripoli, local officials and hospital sources said.

Both Es Sider and Ras Lanuf have been closed since December 2014. They lie between the city of Sirte, which is controlled by Islamic State, and the eastern city of Benghazi.

An oil official based in eastern Libya estimated that the tanks hold up to 460,000 barrels each.

Libya is split between political factions and armed groups competing for power and for the country's oil wealth, five years after the revolt that toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The OPEC member state's oil output has plunged to less than one quarter of a 2011 high of 1.6 million barrels per day.
U.S., South Africa resolve farm trade dispute

PRETORIA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - South Africa has resolved a dispute with the United States over farm exports, allowing agricultural goods to be exported to the world's top economy without penalties, the trade minister said on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Nov. 5 that he would revoke the duty-free status of South African agricultural produce unless Pretoria took action by the end of last year to loosen restrictions on U.S. farm exports.

South Africa's Trade Minister Rob Davies said "we think we have cracked the deal" and felt South Africa would remain in AGOA but they were waiting for confirmation from the United States. At stake is South Africa's membership in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a U.S. trade agreement designed to help African exporters.

"We look forward to a strengthening of relations, not just to going back to where they were," Davies told reporters. "We have succeeded in achieving a balance in maintaining the trade opening with the U.S. and the animal health in South Africa."

On Monday, Davies said Pretoria was keen to meet outstanding requirements on beef exports to South Africa, and that discussions with Washington were ongoing.

In a statement, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the United States still needed to ensure South Africans were able to purchase U.S. poultry products before confirming that South Africa could enjoy full AGOA benefits.

"While we celebrate the progress we have made in resolving the outstanding technical issues, the true test of our success will be based on the ability of South African consumers to buy American product in local stores," he said.

Eliminating barriers to U.S. trade and investment is one of the criteria for membership of AGOA, which was renewed earlier last year and provides duty-free access to goods from sub-Saharan African countries, ranging from crude oil to clothing.

South Africa exported $176 million in agricultural products to the United States under AGOA in 2014 and potential lost benefits are estimated to total $4 million to $7 million.
Two fires extinguished at Libyan oil terminals, five still burning

BENGHAZI, Libya, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Firefighters have extinguished two fires at oil storage tanks at Libya's Ras Lanuf terminal, but blazes continue at five tanks in the nearby port of Es Sider after attacks this week by Islamic State militants, a Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) spokesman said on Thursday.

Two tanks were hit by shelling this week and the fires spread later.

Spokesman Ali al-Hassi said the PFG remained in control of the area and that there were no clashes on Thursday. The fighting, which began on Monday with a car bombing against a guards' outpost, has left 11 guards dead and more than 40 wounded, he said.

Separately, nearly 50 people were killed on Thursday when a truck bomb exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten, east of Tripoli, local officials and hospital sources said.

Both Es Sider and Ras Lanuf have been closed since December 2014. They lie between the city of Sirte, which is controlled by Islamic State, and the eastern city of Benghazi.

An oil official based in eastern Libya estimated that the tanks hold up to 460,000 barrels each.

Libya is split between political factions and armed groups competing for power and for the country's oil wealth, nearly five years after the revolt that toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The OPEC member state's oil output has plunged to less than one quarter of a 2011 high of 1.6 million barrels per day.
US coalition targets Islamic State with 36 strikes in Iraq, Syria -statement

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 36 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in its latest round of daily attacks on the militant group, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
Spain's Socialist leader rules out pact with right

MADRID, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The leader of Spain's opposition Socialist party, Pedro Sanchez, ruled out a pact with the ruling People's Party during a visit to Portugal on Thursday to study its leftist coalition government's success in booting out a right-wing leader.

The centre-right People's Party (PP) failed to win a majority of seats in last month's indecisive general election and its return to government is dependent on forming a German-style grand coalition with the second-placed Socialists to break the political deadlock.

"We say no to a grand coalition between the PP and the Socialists, and we say yes to a government that brings together all the progressive forces that want to change Spain and repair the damage the right wing has done over the last four years," Sanchez told a news conference in Lisbon.

Socialists and hard-left parties in neighbouring Portugal joined forces in November to oust a centre-right government which had won the most votes in an October election but had also lost its parliamentary majority.

"What is clear is that when the forces for change join together the people reap the benefits, and Portugal's government is the best evidence of this," Sanchez said after meeting Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Sanchez's PSOE lost much of its support to the anti-austerity party Podemos in the election, but the two might be able to form a coalition along with small regional parties to oust acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's PP.

However, matters are complicated by Podemos' support for a referendum on independence in Catalonia, which the Socialists have said is unacceptable.

Earlier on Thursday, Alberto Rivera, leader of the newcomer centrist party Ciudadanos, dismissed comparisons of the Spanish political situation with Portugal because of the Catalan issue.

"As far as I know, there is no party in Portugal that wants to break up Portugal. In Spain, there are parties that want to to break up Spain," he told reporters at the parliament in Madrid.
Iran stops doing business with Saudi Arabia as Nimr execution rankles

By Katie Paul

DUBAI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on Thursday as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh and accused Saudi jets of attacking its embassy in Yemen's capital.

A row has been raging for days between Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and the conservative Sunni kingdom since Saudi Arabia executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr, an opponent of the ruling dynasty who demanded greater rights for the Shi'ite minority.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia have all broken off diplomatic ties with Iran this week, the United Arab Emirates downgraded its relations and Kuwait, Qatar and Comoros recalled their envoys after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormed by protesters following the execution of Nimr and 46 other men.

In a cabinet meeting chaired by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, Tehran banned all imports from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had announced on Monday that Riyadh was halting trade links and air traffic with the Islamic Republic.

Iran also said on Thursday that Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, an accusation that Riyadh said it would investigate.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by the state news agency, IRNA.

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa said there was no damage to the embassy building in Hadda district.

They said an air strike had hit a public square about 700 metres (yards) away from the embassy and that some stones and shrapnel had landed in the embassy's yard.

Iran will deliver its official report on the attack to the United Nations on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Shi'ite, Iran-allied Houthi movement in Yemen since March 2015.

Saudi coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said their jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night, targetting missile launchers used by the Houthi militia against Saudi Arabia.

He said the coalition would investigate Iran's accusation and that the Houthis have been using civilian facilities including abandoned embassies.

While Riyadh sees regional rival Iran as using the Houthis as a proxy to expand its influence, the Houthis deny this and say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and Gulf Arab powers beholden to the West.

The deputy head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards told Saudi Arabia on Thursday it would "collapse" in coming years if it kept pursuing what he called its sectarian policies in the region.

"The policies of the Saudi regime will have a domino effect and they will be buried under the avalanche they have created," Brigadier General Hossein Salami, was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency on the sidelines of a ceremony held in Tehran to commemorate Nimr.

Salami compared Saudi policies with those of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi president overthrown by U.S. forces in 2003.

"The path the Saudi regime is taking is like the one Saddam took in the 1980s and 90s. He started a war with Iran, executed prominent clerics and top officials, suppressed dissidents and ended up having that miserable fate."

Saddam, a Sunni, was hanged in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shi'ite villagers after a failed assassination bid in 1982.

Besides import ban, the Iranian cabinet also reaffirmed a ban on pilgrims travelling to Mecca for Umrah haj.
Germany agrees to open trade office in Cuba

By Gernot Heller

HAVANA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Germany and Cuba on Thursday agreed to open a trade office in Havana that would help German businesses seeking to invest in the Communist-led island and possibly increase the current 225 million euros ($244.22 million) in annual bilateral trade.

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca at the opening of a business forum, the first event on Gabriel's two-day schedule.

German business leaders have said German-Cuban trade could quadruple to 1 billion euros in the coming years as Cuba seeks foreign investment and because Havana's improved relations with the United States could generate trade with third countries.

Gabriel said German companies want long-term investment in Cuba under transparent rules.

"We want to put the political and economical relations to Cuba on a new basis," he said. "We want a new partnership on eye-to-eye level."

German industrial gases supplier Stefan Messer GmbH has been in joint ventures with the Cuban government since 2001, largely through the gas-bottling Oxicuba S.A., but German companies generally have little presence in Cuba.

Under a foreign investment law approved in 2014, Cuba is offering tax breaks and other incentives, such as allowing foreign businesses to operate wholly owned companies in a special development zone surrounding the port of Mariel.

Gabriel was due to visit Oxicuba and Mariel during his trip and meet with Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other Cabinet ministers.

Since Cuba and the United States reached detente a little over a year ago, companies from around the world have taken a closer look at Cuba. Some are interested in gaining a foothold ahead of an anticipated lifting of U.S. economic sanctions. The comprehensive U.S. trade embargo also complicates foreign business transactions in Cuba.

Trade possibilities were further advanced last month when Cuba reached a debt-restructuring agreement with 14 wealthy nations of the Paris Club that forgave $8.5 billion of Cuba's defaulted $11.1 billion debt.

Though Germany was not among the creditors because it had already restructured Cuban debt, the deal was an important step in Cuba's efforts to rejoin the international financial community and could lead to more Western credits and investment.
Uganda's Museveni accused of ordering violence against opponents

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Uganda's former prime minister, one of the frontrunners in a presidential election next month, has accused incumbent President Yoweri Museveni of using killings and torture to curb support for the opposition.

Museveni, 71, has ruled Uganda, a prospective crude oil producer and Africa's largest coffee exporter, for nearly 30 years and is seeking another five-year term.

Rights groups have long accused his government of using illegal arrests, beatings and other forms of torture by security personnel to intimidate opposition supporters.

Amama Mbabazi, who is running as an independent, cited nine cases of his supporters who have been either "assaulted, arrested, 'disappeared' and even killed."

"As the pressure of the campaigns is mounting, so are the continual attempts to intimidate and subdue my support base," he said in a statement.

Mbabazi and long-time opposition figure Kizza Besigye have emerged as the only significant opponents to Museveni among the eight candidates.

Analysts say Museveni, who has also been accused in the past of using state funds to boost his electoral chances, is likely to win although the election is seen as his toughest yet.

In the statement, Mbabazi named nine supporters, including Agnes Tumwebaze who was killed and her body dumped in a swamp, as victims of violence.

The house of another supporter, Isaac Okwii, was burned down while his 4-year old son slept. The child died in the fire.

Police denied claims of involvement in attacks.

"We're ready to investigate every alleged case of violence but the people who allege don't cooperate with us," said police spokesman Fred Enanga.

On Thursday, reports emerged in social media that Christopher Aine, a security aide to Mbabazi, had been killed.

Aine disappeared in mid December shortly after police said he was wanted for questioning in regard to allegations of leading a mob that assaulted supporters of Museveni earlier in the month.

The Mbabazi campaign told Reuters that Aine's family had identified a body shown in the social media reports as his.

"These cruel acts tantamount to gross human rights abuse. We have documented them and will pursue redress," Mbabazi's statement said.
Two Indian men extradited to U.S. from Spain for smuggling missiles

MADRID, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Two Indian men arrested in Spain for smuggling Russian anti-aircraft missiles were extradited to the United States, Spanish military police said in a statement on Thursday.

Spanish police detained the pair in Barcelona in 2014 along with two Pakistani men, who have already been extradited, as part of a joint operation - dubbed Operation Yoga - with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bust a smuggling ring based in the Catalonia region.

The group had offered the Russian-built Igla missiles to foreign paramilitary groups. The police could not immediately confirm when the pair were extradited.
Tanzania's new PM threatens to sack doctors for illegal abortions

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - T anzania's newly appointed prime minister has warned doctors who perform illegal abortions that they will face the sack and possible imprisonment in a crackdown on such operations which are believed to be happening widely across the country.

The government warning follows reports that doctors in public and private hospitals in the east African nation are routinely accepting payments to perform abortions, and studies that show high rates of complications from illegal abortions.

Abortion is illegal in Tanzania except when performed to save a woman's life and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Tanzania has one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates, at 454 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) figures.

Government officials say most of these deaths are due to abortion-related complications. Women unable to access safe abortion services may try to terminate a pregnancy themselves or turn to illegal clinics which can endanger their lives.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told doctors at Ruvuma Regional Hospital in the southern highlands to stop performing abortions on girls and women or they will be sacked and charged according to the law.

"These unlawful acts are totally unacceptable, doctors who entertain this behaviour will not be spared," he told doctors and medical workers during a surprise visit to the hospital this week. "I don't want to hear labour rooms are being used for terminating pregnancies."

HUNDREDS OF SECRET ABORTIONS

Majaliwa, who took office in November, told local health authorities to investigate and identify any doctors disobeying this order and take disciplinary action against them.

Hospital-based data suggests that hundreds of abortions are performed in secret in public and private hospitals in Tanzania with medical workers often playing a role in organising them.

Although the government has taken various steps to crack down on those who perform illegal abortions, critics say the authorities do not have the capacity to probe, control and prosecute those accused of the offence.

Studies have indicated that up to 60 percent of women admitted to public hospitals with suspected miscarriages have in fact undergone an abortion.

A 2012 survey conducted by Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam indicated 33 percent of women aged between 15-24 who had had an abortion said it was done by an untrained practitioner.

In Tanzania and other parts of eastern Africa, there were an estimated 2.4 million unsafe abortions in 2008, 36 unsafe abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age, the highest rate of any region in Africa, according to the Guttmacher Institute which conducts research on sexual and reproductive health in Tanzania.
Morocco government adopts draft bill on pension reform

RABAT, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Morocco's government adopted a bill on Thursday outlining planned reforms to the pension system that unions say would damage workers rights and have vowed to block.

The proposed changes to state pension funds include an increase in the retirement age to 63 by 2019, and higher workers' contributions along with an expansion of the calculation base, according to a government statement.

The government said earlier the reform will cost 41 billion dirhams ($4.14 billion) over the next five years.
Standard Chartered says deputy CEO Rees to step down

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc said Deputy Chief Executive Mike Rees would step down from his role on April 30.

Rees, who has worked at the bank for 26 years, will leave on Dec. 31, Standard Chartered said in a statement.
Three Palestinians who tried to stab Israeli soldiers shot dead -army

JERUSALEM, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers on Thursday shot dead three Palestinians who tried to stab them in the occupied West Bank, the military said, as a surge in street violence entered its fourth month.

The attack occurred at Gush Etzion Junction, where many recent incidents have taken place. The army said in a statement that the "forces thwarted (the) attack and shot (the) assailants".

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed three Palestinians had been killed. None of the soldiers were injured.

Almost daily stabbings, car-rammings and shooting attacks by Palestinians have killed 21 Israelis and a U.S. citizen since the start of October, raising fears of a wider escalation a decade after the last Palestinian uprising subsided.

Israeli forces or armed civilians have killed at least 136 Palestinians in the same period, 86 of whom authorities described as assailants. Most of the others have been killed in clashes with security forces.

The surge in attacks has been partly fuelled by Palestinian frustration over the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014, the growth of Jewish settlements on land they seek for a future state and Islamist calls for the destruction of Israel.
Spain's Socialist leader rules out pact with ruling PP

By Angus Berwick

MADRID, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The leader of Spain's opposition Socialist party, Pedro Sanchez, ruled out a pact with the ruling People's Party during a visit to Portugal on Thursday to study its leftist coalition government's success in booting out a right-wing leader.

The centre-right People's Party (PP) failed to win a majority of seats in last month's indecisive general election and its return to government is dependent on forming a German-style grand coalition with the second-placed Socialists to break the political deadlock.

"We say 'no' to a grand coalition between the PP and the Socialists, and we say 'yes' to a government that brings together all the progressive forces that want to change Spain and repair the damage the right wing has done over the last four years," Sanchez told a news conference in Lisbon.

Socialists and hard-left parties in neighbouring Portugal joined forces in November to oust a centre-right government which had won the most votes in an October election but had also lost its parliamentary majority.

"What is clear is that when the forces for change join together the people reap the benefits, and Portugal's government is the best evidence of this," Sanchez said after meeting Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Sanchez's PSOE lost much of its support to the anti-austerity party Podemos in the election, but the two might be able to form a coalition along with small regional parties to oust acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's PP.

However, matters are complicated by Podemos' support for a referendum on independence in Catalonia, which the Socialists have said is unacceptable.

The PP criticized Sanchez's overtures to Podemos and said a leftist coalition would be "electoral fraud" as it would be against the Spanish vote.

"It would be smart for Sanchez to correct himself, instead of continuing to say 'no,' and be open to agreements and talks (with the PP)," Rafael Hernando, the party's spokesman in congress, told Cadena Ser radio.

Earlier on Thursday, Alberto Rivera, leader of the newcomer centrist party Ciudadanos, dismissed comparisons of the Spanish political situation with Portugal because of the Catalan issue.

"As far as I know, there is no party in Portugal that wants to break up Portugal. In Spain, there are parties that want to break up Spain," he told reporters at the parliament in Madrid.
Morocco government adopts draft bill on pension reform

RABAT, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Morocco's government adopted a bill on Thursday outlining planned pension reforms that unions have vowed to block, saying it would damage workers' rights.

It is the last major reform that the Islamist-led government has passed since it came to power after protests following subsidy cuts, tax reforms and freezing hiring in public sectors.

Morocco has been struggling to repair its public finances for the last four years after it spent heavily in 2011 and 2012 to calm the pro-democracy protests.

The proposed changes to state pension funds include an increase in the retirement age to 63 by 2019, and higher workers' contributions along with an expansion of the calculation base, according to a government statement.

Workers will have to pay 14 percent of their salaries by 2019 and government contributions will rise in tandem, from 10 percent before the reform, adding 1 percentage point each year to meet the new plan.

However, Morocco's four largest labour unions said they plan sit-ins and strikes in protest.

"We reject the so-called reform that will make the workers pay for the managers' mismanagement", said Mohamed al-Wafi, a leader of the biggest Moroccan labour union (UMT).

"The increase in the retirement age should be optional, and the state should pay two thirds of the contribution," he added.

Unions are planning a sit-in on Tuesday outside the Moroccan parliament to protest against the reform, and a general strike has been discussed, al-Wafi said.

The government said earlier the reform will cost 41 billion dirhams ($4.1 billion) over the next five years.

The North African kingdom is under pressure from international lenders to cut public spending to mend state finances.
Car bomb in Libyan oil port kills 7, wounds 11 - guards spokesman

BENGHAZI, Libya, Jan 7 (Reuters) - A car bombing at a checkpoint in the Libyan oil port of Ras Lanuf left seven people dead and 11 wounded on Thursday, a Petroleum Facilities Guard spokesman said.

Ali al-Hassi said the car had been in a queue at the checkpoint and exploded when it reached the front. The casualties included guards and civilians, he said.
Morocco suspends mobile internet voice calls -regulator

RABAT, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Morocco has stopped calls made through mobile internet connections, the national regulator announced, a move that could boost voice revenues for local telecom operators.

The ban will apply to the three mobile operators in Morocco who offer internet access for computers via USB and other mobile modems, as well as via mobile phones.

Morocco is following other countries in the region such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Protests started few days ago on social media against the move with local media speculating whether security controls were behind the ban.

The Telecommunications Regulatory National Agency, known as ANRT, said telecom services such as phone calls need licences whether they are Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or others.

"In addition of the losses for the telecoms national market, the free internet voice calls do not respond to the required legal gateway," ANRT said on Thursday.

ANRT had tolerated internet voice calls for years but the drop in call volumes, mainly international calls, might explain the decision.

Morocco's telecoms market is dominated by Maroc Telecom , majority owned by the UAE's Etisalat, French group Orange's local affiliate Medi Telecom (Meditel) and Wana Corporate, a subsidiary of the royal holding SNI.

The ban would affect the two most used applications in Morocco Skype and WhatsApp, along with Viber and other providers of VoIP services.

"Their suspension (VoIP) came in conformity with the operators' obligations that were underlined in their licences," it added.
In the wake of the dastardly attack on our airbase in Pathankot, which saw seven of our brave men being martyred, allegedly by terrorists and not mere "enemies of humanity", who evidently came from Pakistan - plotted and planned the operation on Pakistani soil, and were controlled by handlers sitting in Pakistan - it is time we act.

Not because our emotions run high or because we were promised a "56-inch" response to every terrorist attack, not because it makes for a strong political posture, but simply because it is in the deeper national and strategic interest to take out those who have the audacity to attack us, threaten our homeland and who continually jeopardise any possibility of future peace in the region.

We cannot afford a repeat. We cannot allow it to go unpunished.

Most importantly, we have now over the decades extinguished any and all alternatives to deal with this problem. During the Vajpayee years, we were blackmailed into releasing dreaded terrorists in exchange for the IC-814 hostages, who have since continuously bled India and derailed larger engagements with civilian governments in Pakistan. We have tried dialogue in order to broker peace with Pakistan during those years and it blew up in our face with Kargil and Parliament attack- in every instance, the fingerprints of certain anti-India constituencies from Pakistan were evident and visible.

These constituencies includes the Pakistan Army, the notorious ISI and certain "non-state actors" - all of which are out of the control of the Pakistani civilian government. We then tried talks in the hope of ending terror and we got 26/11 in return. Till date not a single perpetrator in Pakistan has been brought to book for their involvement in the Mumbai attacks. This is despite the fact that even the Americans, through testimonies from David Headley, know exactly who is responsible for so many deaths in India.

America is not going to fight our battles. They have much bigger stakes and interests in Afghanistan. They need the ISI, the Pakistan Army and in the past it has been the US which has created, equipped and funded the Afghan version of these "non state actors" to stave off a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. They frankly don't care about our interests. We need to fight our own battles.

PM Modi prior to elections had promised "no talks amidst terror". Frankly, he promised the moon and it was a myopic policy statement that only excited some right-wing BJP supporters.

Today, except for a change in style, his policy remains the same as the one India has been pursuing for the last 16 years. It will amount to nothing. It can only lead to a Kargil like situation between the two nuclear powers followed eventually by a military coup in Pakistan, which will be counter productive to any lasting solution for peace. Modi should have never even made promises like "no talks amidst terror." It is time to re-orient that strategy to "talks while we end terror".

Let me explain how it will work

In 1972, Mossad carried out a covert counterterrorist campaign in retaliation for the massacre of Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympic games. Israeli Premier Golda Meir led a secret panel called Committee X that authorised the assassination of Black September terrorists involved in the Munich incident. This included any individual identified as either directly or indirectly involved in the planning or the execution of the terror attack in Munich.

While I am no fan of Israeli policies in general and I find their brutal actions towards ordinary Palestinians repulsive and counter productive, I am only borrowing from the pages of history, a novel approach to fighting terror. One that involves systematic elimination of the leaders of terror groups who target India. By executing the leaders of terror groups that have struck India over the past few years, particularly in Mumbai and Pathankot, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jamat-ud-Dawa, the Haqqani network and others we can throw these organisations in disarray and take them out of the India-Pak equation.

There is no gain either for India or for Pakistan to keep people like Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim and Lakhvi alive, only to be used by the deep state in Pakistan to kill innocent civilians. By now our agencies ought to know who are the handlers of the Pathankot attack. We know who planned, plotted, financed, trained and executed it. We know where the linkages are within the ISI and the Pakistan Army. It is time we take them out ourselves. Giving dossiers to the civilian government is only an empty ritual. I don't think the US government itself believes in this dossier business. For years, they have taken every step they felt necessary to protect their homeland and security interests- from engineering coups to pre-emptive strikes and alleged assassination attempts. They should be the last one's to sermon anybody.

So here is how we need to take things forward.

PM Modi must first send the NSA Ajit Doval to some far off state as Governor and keep him as far away as possible from Delhi. To mess up Pathankot the way we did with the intelligence bounty we had requires astonishing levels of incompetence. The new doctrine for counter terror I propose can neither afford incompetence nor a constant hunger to claim credit.

Modi must then appoint a special advisor on counter terrorism. Somebody possessing expertise and credibility within the intelligence community, preferably from RAW, a "go-between" with diverse experience and understanding, who can tabulate and collate all the intel we have from various agencies about our potential "targets", draw up a "hit list" and identify the men and women from our covert agencies or even armed forces to carry out the mission, which would be run covertly by RAW. The special advisor can communicate the political objectives that need to be achieved but must not interfere with the tactics or strategy to achieve them. The operations part must be left to the highest levels of RAW and the field operatives tasked with the job, who should be insulated from bureaucratic wrangling.

Even though these teams must be 100 per cent sure about their targets before executing them and should adopt a "no collateral damage policy" strictly, it goes without saying that neither the Indian government nor any of the Intel agencies themselves can ever acknowledge the presence of these teams, take any credit or responsibility for their actions or even recognise them in the event that they are caught in another country for any of their actions. There has to be a complete deniability of any such activity or of any such people. They must take learnings from the past experiences and failures of CIA and Mossad in this respect.

Given the high levels of stress for the operatives they must be given short duration tasks and their information must be kept confidential. Their existence must not be common knowledge even amongst the intelligence fraternity. One assassination team must not know about the other or it's targets or its members. Once multiple assassination teams have been organised with members having different skills in arms, weapons, bomb making, poisoning, snooping, creative techniques of conducting precise executions of the enemy, they must be briefed, equipped, provided with necessary documents, funded with requisite sums of money through covert accounts and be allowed to trail their respective targets who were directly or indirectly involved in Pathankot or Mumbai attacks, to identify how easy or difficult it would be to finish them off and what should be the best method employed to take them out without drawing much attention.

In the past some analysts have suggested surgical strikes in PoK on terror camps. This cannot be done without risking a full fledged war. Also, it would be impossible to have air strikes and then avoid civilian casualty which would be counter productive as it would weaken and undermine the civilian government and play into the hands of the the Pakistan Army. This option seems impossible. How would we cover our tracks if Indian airforce planes bomb PoK? The idea seems sound only to those who want to see innocent Kashmiris pay a price for the actions of those in the ISI and the Pakistan Army.

Carrying out targeted, covert assassinations of terror group leaders and their handlers would take some time but it ought to be done. It will require political courage of the kind Golda Meir demonstrated from Modi. It will require placing national interest and national security above every political or electoral consideration. It will require diplomatic skills to keep the Pakistan civilian government engaged in a dialogue while we do this. But once we do this we will have sent out an unequivocal message to terrorists across the world that they would be hunted down. It would take out the biggest obstacles in the path of a long lasting India-Pak peace.

Peace can only be brokered with a civilian government that represents the will of the Pakistani people - one that is insulated from pressure by the Pakistan Army, ISI and "terror groups". We must have talks and engage with the civilian government. We must have dialogue and confidence building measures. We must have bilateral trade and exchanges to create greater interests and stakes on either side of the border to reduce deep seated animosity and fear amongst our peoples, that is often exploited by hate-mongers in both countries, terror sponsors and the Army-intel-terror syndicate in Pakistan.

Don't expect the Pakistani civilian government to end this syndicate. It cannot. The syndicate is self sustaining. It has its own existence independent of the Pakistani political class and civil society. If the Pakistani civilian government could indeed control them, it would have done so simply because it poses a big threat to them as well. Ask the Bhuttos.
After so much breast-beating on the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pathankot, it is time to analyse the designs of a new dimension of terrorism that India is likely to face in the future. Prior to Pathankot, all terrorist attacks - be it 26/11 or on Parliament- were executed on the motto of "kill and die" by jihadi groups at the behest of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), or the Pakistan army.

Prior to 26/11, David Headley was sent to Mumbai to pinpoint densely populated areas where terrorists were later sent to kill innocents indiscriminately. Headley did his job efficiently and heavy killing was the resultant end in 26/11.

So "kill and die" was perfectly executed in that ISI-sponsored operation purportedly done by Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The Pathankot attack was planned with a different modus operandi by its handlers in Pakistan. Now the motive was "Destroy and Die". If credence is given to intelligence outputs, these terrorists were not trained in forest camps but in two airports - either Lyallpur or Chaklala in Pakistan.

It would be pertinent to admit here that the layout of airports in India and Pakistan are almost similar. These terrorists were almost within shooting range of the hangars, ammunition depots, fuel dumps and aircraft units.

They probably had the exact locations of these strategic places due to the handiwork of an Indian mole at this airport who was honey-trapped in 2014 and passed on information to his handlers in Pakistan in exchange of money.

This is the biggest security breach in this tragedy, which the intelligence authorities had not visualised earlier. Had the vulnerable entry points been properly sanitised after this catch, there would have been little chance of such free access for the terrorists.

There is no denying that these terrorists had sophisticated weapons but recovery of aluminum powder is ample proof that they were sent on a "destroy and die" mission. Aluminum powder is the worst catalyst to increase the fire engulfing capacity that heavy extinguishing apparatus find hard to douse.

This new shift after 26/11 to "destroy and die" is evident from the recovery of this lethal powder which is the Pakistan Army and the ISI's new strategy. This is the new challenge for the security and intelligence agencies of India.

Now after defence installations, what other options could be for the terrorism-mongers of this rogue country? This is a big question mark for us and we should treat it as most important.

On January 1 every year, India and Pakistan exchange a list of nuclear installations and facilities for the last 18 years, as per agreement signed in 1988 by both countries. In this exchange, not only the locations of these installations is disclosed but the longitude and latitude is also disclosed.

This arrangement was made to prevent an attack on any nuclear site or facility in the event of a "war".

The latest exchange was on January 1, the day when Pakistan-trained terrorists infiltrated the Pathankot air base.

So, Pakistan is privy to the locations and facilities of all Indian nuclear sites. If we look at the change of leadership in Pakistan since the Simla agreement of 1972 till General Parvez Mushraff's ousting, it is evident that India-Pakistan agreements, of whatever nature, were never adhered to in case of change of regimes, particularly by martial rulers.

Even the Pathankot attack is proof that Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has no control either on the army, or the ISI. In view of the political instability in Pakistan, the sanctity of this exchange of information on nuclear installations could be a self-inflicted blow to India.

Pakistan never admits to the presence of any government-sponsored jihadi groups on their soil, leave aside the terrorist attacks on our various cities for the last two decades.

In view of this established background of the Pakistan government, is it a viable exercise by India to hand over this sensitive information of nuclear installations to Pakistan? This has to be reviewed by India, if not now, after waiting and watching for some time.

However, to be on the safe side, our security on these nuclear installations, along with that of Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) has to be reviewed on a priority basis and put on high alert despite the arrangement with Pakistan.

Although these installations are quite far from the border areas but there is every possibility of infiltration, not by land or sea, but by passports to damage these Indian installations. We cannot deny any sort of such probability from the rogue nature of miscreants presence in Pakistan establishments who are least bothered about the political control on them.
TRIPOLI - Libya - ISIS are less than 100 km from the capital city in a major push to seal another major victory for their cause.

ISIS are now less than 100 km from Tripoli, as they have detonated a huge bomb at a police training facility.

In December, the terror group took over the ancient Roman city of Sabratha which was a protected Unesco site.

The march towards Tripoli has thus yielded much land and oil to the conquering military Jihadist group.

With little or no resistance to ISIS, Tripoli could fall within the next few weeks.

What would this mean for Europe?

Not only is Tripoli oil rich but it is a stones throw from Italy. Once ISIS gains a foothold in the capital city it will be nigh on impossible to extricate them, even by air force.

The stranded civilians will not only flee towards Europe but this will enable many ISIS cells to infiltrate the EU once more. Already, because of Germanys Angela Merkel, multiple Jihadi cells have most certainly infiltrated the Schengen zone. Once within the borders of the EU, there is no stopping these cells from causing even more terror attacks on civilian soft targets.

The Paris attacks in November were conducted by Jihadists who came over from Syria thanks to Merkels open door policy and zero vetting of insurgency into the continent.

If nothing is done soon, the EU could very well see more and more conflict as its Schengen zone is infiltrated thus leading to a rapid spread in internal warfare, needless bombings and terror.

Meanwhile in Syria, the ISIS Jihadists have been quietly hiding away from the occasional bombs and missiles in vast tunnel networks, and in Iraq, where the terror group has been inundated by Shia Iraqi troops supported by the U.S. air force , they have retreated with minimal losses.

The onus is on European leaders and military chiefs. Do they want open warfare in Europe and thousands of civilian casualties or do they want to cut off the Hydras head once and for all?

The choice is theirs. Instate a full EU military draft or take the hit.
Nearly seven months after he was appointed the Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Gajendra Chauhan will formally take charge and preside over a meeting on Thursday even as the students of the institute plan to mount their protest.



The 59-year-old actor will be visiting the FTII campus for the first time since his appointment as Chairman of FTII.



Following his appointment, the students boycotted classes for 139 days and agitated on the streets against his appointment, before calling off the strike on October 28, 2015.



I have been ordered by the government, and I will do my job. Let me go there and see. I cant comment on what they will do, but I am ready to do my job, Chauhan told reporters ahead of his visit to Pune. The FTII Students Association (FSA), however, said that they are still opposed to his appointment.


A Delhi Police constable, posted with the Special Cell accidentally shot himself dead with his AK-47 rifle during an operation in Rohini Sector 21 on Wednesday morning.



Khatri was part of a team raiding a building in a residential colony in outer Rohini in the early hours of Wednesday to nab Ashok, a wanted criminal.



Working on information about the presence of Ashok at a house in Rohini Sector-21, a raid was conducted in the wee hours in Rohini where he had been hiding.



He was asked to surrender but he grappled with members of the police team and tried to escape.



However, he was overpowered. One pistol with 10 live cartridges was recovered from his possession.



During the course of the raid, Khatris AK-47 rifle went off and he received gunshot injury.



While the constable was coming down (from the building) using a wall, he lost his balance and the AK-47 gun that was already cocked accidentally went off. A bullet pierced his chin and exited from the head. He was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, said a senior Delhi Police office.



A resident of Nazafgarh, Khatri had joined the police force in 2007, and had undergone a commando course before being posted with the Special Cell two months back.



The autopsy is to be conducted in the afternoon of January 6, following which the body will be handed over to his family.



Ashok is wanted in more than eight cases of murder, extortion, robbery, dacoity, carjacking in Delhi and Haryana, and is a member of the Ravinder Bholu gang.

He was also carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 on his arrest.
Taking exception to the comments of Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi where he had expressed his willingness to shoot a rapist if the Constitution allows him, Commonwealth Human Rights Intiative (CHRI), an international non-governmental organisation, working to ensure the realisation of human rights, on Wednesday expressed their strong disagreement with the Delhi Police chiefs statement.



The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is deeply perturbed by the comments of the Delhi Police Commissioner in which he said, at the polices annual press conference on 4 December 2016, that Delhi Police personnel would shoot or hang perpetrators of crimes against women on the spot, if the Constitution of India allowed this, said Aditi Datta, Senior Programme Officer, Police Reforms Programme CHRI.



Terming the views of the Police chief as disturbing, Datta said that the leadership of one of the largest police forces in the world appears to endorse tactics akin to extrajudicial killings that by-pass due process.



Innocence until proven guilty continues to be a cardinal legal principle of our law that clearly demarcates the functions of the police and judiciary. Nowhere is it the function of the police to judge and punish, but only to bring suspects fairly before the courts. The Delhi Polices own motto Shanti, Nyay and Seva meaning Peace, Justice and Service reminds the force of this duty, Datta added.



In a press release issued by the organisation in the wake of the Delhi Police chiefs statement, three points were put forth to remind the police of their duties.



It said police must provide safety and security to people only by upholding the law, and by no other means, whatever their personal views.



Police must remain impartial even if there is a growing tide of public opinion clamoring for mob justice, it added.



Police leadership must at every turn reinforce Constitutional principles in day to day policing, it said.



Addressing the Delhi Polices annual press conference in the national capital on Monday, Bassi had said, If the Indian Constitution allows the hanging and shooting of the accused (perpetrators of crime against women), Delhi Police with full authority will do it on the spot.
South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley, occasionally mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate, will deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address next Tuesday.



With Republican leaders in Congress choosing Haley for the final rebuttal, two Indian-American politicians would be bookending their responses to Obama's speeches as Louisiana's outgoing governor Bobby Jindal did so to his first address in 2009.



In recent years, Republicans have used the rebuttal to showcase the diversity of the party's elected officials.



Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa to Sikh immigrant parents from India, Haley is the first minority governor in South Carolina's history and currently the youngest governor in the country.



The 116th Governor of South Carolina, Haley is the first female governor of the state. She was re-elected to a second term in November 2014.



Haley converted to Christianity when she married Michael Haley, a Captain in the US Army National Guard and combat veteran with two deployments to Afghanistan.

"Nikki Haley has led an economic turnaround and set a bold agenda for her state, getting things done and becoming one of the most popular governors in America," Speaker Paul Ryan said announcing the Congressional leaders' decision.



"In a year when the country is crying out for a positive vision and alternative to the status quo, Governor Haley is the exact right choice to deliver the Republican Address to the Nation," he said.



"Nikki Haley is a proven leader and committed reformer who believes deeply in the promise of the country we all share," Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said.



"Not only has Governor Haley fought to bring opportunity and prosperity to the people of her state, but she's also demonstrated how bringing people together can bring real results," he said.



"Governor Haley knows the American Dream and wants to see every American share in it, and we're pleased that she will be delivering this year's Republican Address?."



Haley said she was honoured to be asked to deliver the Republican address to the nation. "This is a time of great challenges for our country, but also of great opportunities. I intend to speak about both," she said.


Deported gangster Chhota Rajan was today produced before a special MCOCA court here via video conference from Tihar Jail in connection with journalist J Dey murder case of 2011.





Special Judge A L Pansare, on December 22, had issued a production warrant against the 54-year-old asking him to appear before it on January 7. When asked to spell out his name, Rajan told the judge, "My name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje."



Judge Pansare then explained the J Dey case to him and later took him into custody. The entire conversation between Rajan and the judge went on in Marathi.



"The court told him that the next date of the case is January 19, when charges will be framed against him," Special Public Prosecutor Dileep Shah told PTI.



Rajan also told the court that he doesn't have any lawyer in Mumbai and is looking for one.



Earlier in the day, CBI produced an order from a Delhi court which had directed the Tihar authorities to produce Rajan via video link here.



"Rajan had moved an application in Delhi court saying that he may not be sent to Mumbai as there is threat to his life," said a CBI official.



CBI also sought the permission of the court to carry out further investigation in the case, which was allowed.



However, Judge Pansare was quick to add and ask the CBI counsel that since Bombay High Court has expedited the case, "is it not advisable to approach the HC and get an appropriate modified order."



The judge also reprimanded the Mumbai Police for not serving the copy of the chargesheet to Rajan.



"Why not yet ? What are you waiting for....why are you waiting for an order for everything ? the judge said. Later, he passed an order directing the police to serve the copy of chargesheet.



Rajan, a former key aide and lieutenant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 after he arrived from Australia, and was later deported to India.



He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which includes the J Dey murder case. Maharashtra government has handed over all the cases against him to CBI.
A suicide truck bombing on a police training centre in Libya's western city of Zliten killed at least 50 people today, in one of the deadliest attacks yet to hit the strife-torn country.





A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck used for carrying water at a police school in central Zliten, a coastal city about 170 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, a local security source told AFP.



A witness in Zliten told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the training compound at the time of the blast.



Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people had been killed and at least 100 wounded and that victims were being treated in several hospitals. Urgent calls were issued for blood donations.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State jihadist group, which has been growing in power in Libya, has previously carried out many suicide bombings in the country.



A spokesman for the Zliten hospital, Moamer Kadi, told AFP it had received at least 40 bodies and was treating 70 wounded.



"We don't have a clear idea of the total toll, other victims were taken to hospitals in Misrata and Tripoli," he said.



The hospital in Misrata, about 55 kilometres east of Zliten, said it had received at least four bodies and was treating some 50 wounded.



The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, denounced the attack and called for national unity.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote on Twitter.



Libya has been beset by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi and IS has been gaining influence.



The country has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The United Nations is pressing the rival sides to accept a power-sharing deal.



On December 17, under UN guidance, lawmakers from both sides and a number of independent political figures signed a deal for a unity government, but the agreement has yet to be implemented. It has so far failed to win unanimous backing from Libya's two rival parliaments, one based in the eastern city of Tobruk and the other in Tripoli.

In a statement after today's attack, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged Libyans to back the agreement.



"Once again the Libyans are mourning victims of an attack," she said. "The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... they have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country."


Putting the ball squarely in Pakistan's court, India today linked the Foreign Secretary- level talks to Islamabad's "prompt and decisive" action in the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided "actionable intelligence".





Uncertainty prevails on talks scheduled for January 15 in Islamabad between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry following the terror strike on the Pathakot air base which has originated from Pakistan. There is a widespread speculation that the talks may be put off to enable National Security Advisors to meet before that.



At a media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup faced a barrage of questions on FS-level talks but he remained non-committal on whether the talks will proceed as scheduled or will be put off. "Today is January 7 and there are 8 days to go before January 15," he remarked.



Without setting any deadline for Pakistan to take any action, Swarup said, "The terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase has once again put renewed focus on the challenges posed by the cross border terrorism.



"As far as we are concerned the ball is now in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue in front of us is Pakistan's response to the terrorist attack and the actionable intelligence provided to it."



Swarup was replying to a query about the status of Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks. Referring to the recent telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, he said, "During that conversation our Prime Minister very strongly urged the Prime Minister of Pakistan to take action.



"Actionable intelligence in regard to the terrorist attack and the links with the perpetrators in Pakistan were provided to the Pakistani side. The Pakistan Prime Minister promised us prompt and decisive action. We now wait that prompt and decisive action."



Asked if there was any time-frame within which Pakistan should take action, he said, "We are not imposing any deadline. At the same time prompt means prompt and we will go by the common sense interpretation of that word," and rejected a contention that India's demand would derail the talks.



Asked if NSAs of two countries will meet ahead of the FS- level talks, Swarup said there has been no discussion with Pakistan on this.



He also dismissed suggestions that government's Pakistan policy was not consistent, saying India's Pakistan policy is "clear and consistent" and it would like to have friendly relations with all neighbouring countries including Pakistan but will not tolerate cross-border terrorist attacks.



"We had extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan but we will not countenance cross-border terrorist attacks. The decision to commence a bilateral comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan followed a constructive meeting of the National Security Advisors in Bangkok in which the central concerns of terrorism, peace and security and tranquility in the Line of Control were discussed," he said, the attack has put renewed focus on the cross-border terror.



Swarup also noted that a "positive atmosphere" was created between the two countries after Modi's visit to Lahore last month but now they are facing the aftermath of the terror attack.



India would like Pakistan to take action against all those responsible for the attacks at the Pathakot air base, he added.
The Bombay High Court today expressed surprise at the failure of CBI and the state CID in obtaining a ballistics report from Karnataka CID which reportedly shows a link between the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Kannada scholar-writer M M Kalburgi.





A division bench of Justices R V More and V L Achiliya was informed that Maharashtra CID, which is probing Pansare case and CBI, which is investigating the Dabholkar case, had last year handed over bullets and empty bullet shells to the Karnataka CID which is probing the Kalburgi murder case. The objective was to ascertain possible links between three cases.



Advocate Abhay Nevgi, appearing for the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare, today said as per the media reports the FSL in Bengaluru had claimed that the bullets recovered from the crime spots in these three cases were fired from the same weapon.



CBI lawyer Anil Singh and public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde (for CID) told the court that senior officers from both the agencies had written to the Director General of Karnataka CID for ballistics report, but it was yet to come.



"Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report? We are surprised that CBI is making such a grievance. We are surprised that Karnataka CID is not cooperating with a prime agency like CBI," the High Court said.



"We direct the Maharashtra DGP and the CBI's Director to take up the issue with the Karnataka DGP and the DG-CID and see to it that the reports are made available at the earliest," the HC said.



Non-cooperation from Karnataka CID was hampering the probe, the judges noted.

Maharashtra CID told the court it had filed charge sheet against Sameer Gaikwad, the only arrested accused in the Pansare murder case, and further probe was underway as other accused were yet to be arrested.



The court later adjourned the hearing for three weeks. While Dabholkar was killed in Pune in August 2013, Pansare was killed in Kolhapur last year. HC is hearing petitions regarding the probe in both the cases.
The Bombay High Court today directed four young men accused of molestation and attempted murder to sweep public roads once a week for six months while quashing the case against them.





The four youths - Ankit Jadhav, Suhas Thakur, Milind More and Amit Adkhale - approached the high court seeking quashing of the attempt to murder and molestation case lodged against them by the Thane police in October last year.



The petitioners sought quashing of the case on the ground that they have reached at an amicable settlement with the complainants.



According to police, during a Dussehra procession in Thane in October the four, who were allegedly drunk, misbehaved with some women and assaulted a man who objected to it.



An FIR was subsequently lodged against the four for attempt to murder and molestation.



A division bench of Justices R V More and V L Achiliya while hearing the case today agreed to quash the case, but suggested the youths to do some community service in return.



The court then directed the four to sweep public roads in Thane for eight hours every Sunday for next six months. A police officer from Naupada police station will monitor if they are following the court order.
The Delhi government's latest advertisement on 'odd-even' scheme featuring Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in 'mufflerman' avatar, was today pilloried by the BJP and Congress for having "blatantly circumvented" the Supreme Court guidelines and violated the "spirit of law".





With his back towards the camera, Kejriwal appears in the ad with a muffler wrapped around his neck and head and praises the efforts of traffic police and volunteers in making the car rationing scheme a success.



Kejriwal, who appears inseparable from the accessory during the winter months, says "we need to win the minds" of people and advises volunteers not to fight with violators.

In the 1 minute 32 seconds advertisement, Kejriwal also narrates the tale of a certain volunteer, who apparently managed to change the heart of an errant motorist by politely nudging him to follow the scheme.



"If you spot a violator, fold your hands and politely remind him. No need to fight or argue. Just tell him that you have probably taken out the wrong numbered car by mistake," Kejriwal says.



Vijender Gupta, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, said through the advertisement the ruling AAP was indulging in "petty politics", while Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee felt it betrayed Kejriwal's "scant respect" for law and institutions.



The CM's act is "unethical" and amounts to encouraging people to violate the law, Gupta said. "Technical arguments that the face is not visible won't cut ice. As a citizen he has not set a good example," he said.







Mukherjee said the government could have easily opted for a different advertisement format to make people aware of the scheme, which was launched on the new year and is proposed to conclude on January 15."He (Kejriwal) does not abide by the Transaction of Business Rules. Violates the spirit of the law. Does he have no respect for institutions?" she said.Describing "personality cult" as anti-thesis of democracy, the Supreme Court had in May last year barred publication of photos of leaders in government advertisements except those of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
Indias merchandise exports are set to fall 13 per cent to around $270 billion in the fiscal ending March, a senior commerce ministry official said on Thursday.





Indias merchandise exports had aggregated $310.5 billion last fiscal.

The major cause for drop in exports has been global slowdown and the crash in commodity prices. The demand for Indian goods has been slow in the traditional market of US, Europe and Japan, which are growing very slowly. The devaluation of Chinese currency too has hurt Indias export prospects.



Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia in her presentation during an interaction with the industry chambers has stated that it will be difficult for Indias exports to exceed $270 billion. Her confession comes on the back of the government recently issuing a statement that there was no need for alarm on the export front and that the export sector was not facing any crisis.



It had said that if the exports of petroleum products were excluded then the fall in Indias outbound shipment was very marginal. This years exports number will have a bearing on Indias long term target too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government aims at increasing Indias exports to $900 billion from the current $300 billion by 2020. It has also given major incentives to the export sector in the recent months.



Indias premier export body FIEO has urged the government for the immediate announcement of revision in Duty Drawback rate for engineering sector looking into the duty revision on certain major inputs, including the safeguard duty.



FIEO President S C Ralhan has also urged that immediate refund of taxes and duties such as excise, CENVAT, Drawback, Service tax and VAT are required to further give a boost to exports.


Early in his first term, US President Barack Obama conducted some quick triage on how his administration would face a gamut of nuclear challenges: Focus on stopping Irans nuclear programme before it succeeded in building a weapon, but do not waste a lot of energy trying to roll back a North Korean programme that had already built a small arsenal that the desperately poor country had little incentive to give up.



It was a pragmatic roll of the dice. While it will be years before the strategys long-term wisdom can be assessed, Iran, eager to have economic sanctions lifted, shipped 98 per cent of its known stockpile of nuclear fuel to Russia last week, most likely crippling its ability to build a weapon over the next decade.



But the North Koreans have a way of acting out when they feel ignored. The detonation that rocked Northeast Asia on Wednesday morning and Pyongyangs claim to have set off its first hydrogen bomb  a boast there is good reason to treat with skepticism  are a reminder that the North Koreans have been on something of an atomic spending spree while US negotiators were cloistered in Vienna striking deals with the Iranians.



The consequences of that spending are significant, even if it did not result in a hydrogen bomb. As both outside nuclear experts and US intelligence officials have been warning in classified and unclassified briefings for more than a year, North Koreas small nuclear arsenal seems on the verge of turning into a good-size one. Estimates vary, but many believe the arsenal could contain more than 20 weapons by the end of this year.



Siegfried S Hecker, the former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the man the North Koreans have periodically allowed into their most secret facilities to convince Washington of their prowess, last year termed that a hell of a lot of bombs.



Meanwhile, North Korea has improved both the range and mobility of its missiles, making them harder to deter  or to take out if the North Korean regime collapses or decides to go out in a suicidal blaze of glory.



Senior US military officials have periodically offered public assessments that the North probably has the ability to shrink a nuclear weapon small enough to fit atop one of those weapons, meaning the worlds most unpredictable regime could credibly threaten South Korea, Japan, US forces in the Pacific and, eventually, the West Coast of the United States.



The only saving grace is that in many missile tests over the past few years, the North Koreans have repeatedly demonstrated pretty lousy aim.



If the North Koreans really have mastered the engineering of a thermonuclear weapon, it would marginally increase the severity of that threat. But politically, it renews a question: What do you do with a problem like North Korea?



United Nations Security Council resolutions  the council met on Wednesday in response to the latest test  clearly have little effect. And hopes that the North Korean government will collapse have proved fantasy so far: If Kim Jong Un is still in office on January 20, 2017, the Kim family dynasty  grandfather, father and son  will have outlasted a dozen US presidents.



But what the Obama administration has advertised as strategic patience  not overreacting to every North Korean test and demand for a payoff while continuing pressure through sanctions until the North agrees to negotiate  may well be judged by administration critics as having paved the way for an arsenal the size of Pakistans.



Strategic patience has led to acquiescence, Robert Litwak of the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, the author of Outlier States: American Strategies to Change, Contain, or Engage Regimes, said. What a contrast to the effort and creativity the administration put into the Iranian case.



It is not as if the administration has been doing nothing. Sydney A Seiler, the State Departments coordinator for eliminating the North Korean nuclear programme, put together a package of proposals to see if the North would consider resuming negotiations. It was intended to be a lot like the secret diplomacy that led to the two-year-long formal negotiations with Iran.



But it went nowhere, and South Korean officials have warned for a long time that the Norths programme has hit what one called a point of no return, a phrase the Israelis once used, wrongly, about Iran.



Still, even some former Obama administration officials say the administrations insistence that it would not talk to North Korea unless the North agreed the ultimate outcome was complete nuclear disarmament was a prescription for diplomatic failure.



Little to lose



Stephen W Bosworth, Obamas first special envoy for North Korea, who died over the weekend, argued in recent years that an administration willing to talk to Iran, Cuba and Myanmar had little to lose by dealing with the starving, isolated North Koreans.



Whatever risks might be associated with new talks, they are less than those that come with doing nothing, Bosworth wrote in The New York Times in 2013 with Robert L Gallucci, the North Korea negotiator in the Clinton administration.



Pyongyangs nuclear stockpile will continue to expand, the North will continue to perfect its missile delivery systems, the danger of weapons-of-mass-destruction exports will grow, and the threat to US allies will increase.



From Pyongyangs viewpoint, there is little incentive to give up the nuclear arsenal. The world is not exactly banging on North Koreas door to do business the way it is with Iran: The North has no oil, no striving middle class, and little strategic value in the modern world. Its greatest power is the threat it poses to one of the most prosperous corners of the globe.



But many consider it too dangerous to allow North Korea to fail. The Chinese know that if it ceases to exist, the South Koreans, and their US allies, will be on the Chinese border. The South Koreans know that if a conflict breaks out, the North will lose  but only after Seoul, just 35 miles or so from the North Korean border, is a smoking ruin.



So the North Korean strategy is to up the ante, and hope the world will acknowledge

it as a nuclear weapons power that has to be dealt with. H-bomb or no H-bomb, nuclear weapons are the countrys insurance policy, and the test was a sign that it has no intention of cashing it in.




Panambur police have arrested three persons who were trying to sell a two-headed snake near the light house.





Speaking about the matter to media persons on Thursday, City Police Commissioner Chandra Sekhar M said the accused are Anwar (30), a resident of Nelyadi in Puttur taluk; Venkatesh (27), a resident of Kanakapura in Bengaluru; and Gajaradharan (64), a resident of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.



Acting on a tip-off that the trio were waiting in an Innova car to sell the snake to a potential customer, the police nabbed the trio.



The two-headed snake  claimed to be worth lakhs of rupees  as well as the Innova car has been confiscated. A case has been registered in Panambur police station under Wildlife Protection Act.



Duping the rich

It is said that the accused were contacting rich persons and making them believe that keeping two-headed snake in the house would bring them wealth and prosperity. They were said to be planning to sell the snake for lakhs of rupees by deceiving rich persons.



Regretting that the people in Mangaluru were falling prey to such superstitious beliefs, the City Police Commissioner said that efforts are being made to create awareness so that people are not duped by such persons selling charms.


The Bombay High Court on Thursday expressed surprise and concern over the failure of the CBI and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Maharashtra police to get a ballistics report from the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that could show possible links between the sensational murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Kannada researcher M M Kalburgi.





Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like the CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report (from the Karnataka police)? We are surprised that the CBI is making such a grievance (on non-receipt of report). We are surprised that the Karnataka CID is not co-operating with a prime agency like the CBI, a division bench of Justices R V More and Justice V L Achliya remarked.



The Director General of Police of Maharashtra, the Director of CBI should take up this issue with the Director General of Police, Karnataka... non-cooperation is hampering the probe, the court observed, pointing out that both agencies had been given enough time to investigate the cases.



While the Maharashtra government has handed over the Dabholkar murder to the CBI to investigate, Pansares killing is being probed by the SIT.



The Karnataka CID is investigating the murder of Kalburgi.

The CBI and the SIT told the court they were still awaiting the report from the Karnataka CID despite sending repeated reminders to it.



They also suggested that the delay was hampering the progress in the investigation of the two murders. When they called upon us, we handed over bullets. We expected them to co-operate, which is not happening and an order from the court will only help us, said Anil Singh appearing for the CBI.



The chief public prosecutor, Sandeep Shinde, appearing for the SIT, said, The report is awaited.



Advocate Abhay Nevgi, appearing for the families of Dabholkar and Pansare, quoted media reports as saying that the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Bengaluru had suggested the bullets recovered from the crime spots in these three cases were fired from the same weapon.



Dabholkar, 67, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead by two gunmen in Pune on June 20, 2013.



The government later passed the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, which Dabholkar has been rooting for.



Pansare, 82, a leader of the Communist Party of India, and his wife Uma were attacked by two motor-cycle borne men on February 16, 2015, near his home in Kolhapur. He died four days later.



Kalburgi, 76, had run-ins with Hindutva groups over the years.

He was shot dead at his home in Dharwad on August 30, 2015.




The government recently removed the subsidy on LPG for those with an annual income of Rs 10 lakh and above. Before that it removed the subsidy enjoyed by MPs on canteen food.





Hailing such measures by the government, Bengaluru-based pilot Raghubir Singh Shekhawat has started a petition on Change.org, #GiveUpReservation for the government to continue such a positive trend and remove more reservations for people earning more than Rs 10 lakh per annum, irrespective of what caste they belong to.



His petition asks for the Supreme Court and the prime minister to consider his proposal.

It (reservation) was provisioned for 10 years post-Independence, with an option to extend for another 5 years. Political parties have ensured that 50 percent Reservation is still provided well into the 69th year of Indian independence, said Raghubir in his petition.

While necessary to support the underprivileged and economically disadvantaged,

reservation should not be abused and indiscriminately provided based on caste irrespective of economic background or competence, lest it bury merit and breed mediocrity, he said.

Raghubirs petition has already garnered 84,690 supporters. 



I am signing this as it is high time the society becomes aware that we need a merit-based reservation and not caste-based bully we have practised and abused all these years, wrote one supporter Raj G.


As Gajendra Chauhan took charge as the Chairman of FTII amid protests, the government made an attempt to defuse the seven-month-long crisis by appointing B P Singh, the director-producer of hugely-popular teleserial CID as his deputy.





Nearly seven months after his appointment, 59-year-old Chauhan, who is mostly known for his role of Yudhisthir in B R Chopras Mahabharat, entered the FTII campus and chaired two important meetingsthat of the FTII Governing Council and FTII Society.



B P Singh, the man behind CID, the longest running TV serial of India, was elected as the vice chairman of the FTII Governing Council and Vice President of the FTII Society. It was also decided to nominate Singh as the chairman of the Academic Council.



Besides Singh, the FTII Society also decided to nominate Rajkumar Hirani, Satish Shah, Pranjal Saikia, Narendra Pathak and Bhawana Somaiyya to the governing council.



Those who attended the meeting on Thursday include Chauhan, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor Dr Subhash Sharma, Joint Secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy. Among the ex-officio members DG Films Division Mukesh Sharma, FTII Director Prashant Pathrabe, OSD Ministry of I&B Chaitanya Prasad, CEO, Childrens Films Society Shravan Kumar, and director of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute Sanjay Pattnayak.



Earlier in the day, the police resorted to mild caning and rounded up around 40 students as they attempted to block the way of Chauhan. Students shouted slogans Go back Chauhan, chale jao, chale jao" and Chauhan murdabad. Some posters also said: Tyranny of the Elected and Silent Emergency.



The FTII Students Association (FSA), however, made it clear that their protests against Chauhan will continue. Our core demand was to put the newly appointed society in abeyance and to set proper criteria and procedure to appoint the FTII society and it still remains the same. We have been targeted by the state and the administration for questioning these unjust appointments which is actually a threat to the institutional autonomy and academics of FTII, the FSA said.


Actor Aamir Khan on Thursday accepted his exit as the Incredible India campaign brand ambassador, saying India will remain incredible with or without him.





The prominent names doing the rounds for Khans replacement included Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.



While the Tourism Ministry refrained from officially disclosing the names being considered for the new brand ambassador of Incredible India campaign, official sources suggested that Bachchan would be the first choice.



Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism.



Ministry sources said the possibility of making Bachchan the next brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign was bright as Gujarat tourism got a boost ever since the megastar was roped in.



A news agency quoted the 73-year-old Bachchan as saying that he would not mind being a part of the campaign.



Nobody has asked me, but if they do, yes, I would be more than willing to, he said.



Amitabhs reaction

On the controversy over removal of Aamir Khan from the campaign, Bachchan was quoted as saying: I think you need to clarify first whether he is being removed because of something that he may have said or its the end of his contract. I am sure there must be some kind of difference there. I dont think people are removed just because they did not agree or said something that is controversial.



In a statement, Aamir Khan maintained that it was the prerogative of the government to decide who should be the brand ambassador of Incredible India campaign.



I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country. Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and thats the way it should be, he said.



He said it was an honour and a pleasure to be the brand ambassador for the campaign for the past 10 years.



I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it. I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me, he added.


The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to re-equip 109 helicopter unit (HU) The Knights, one of the oldest and most commended helicopter unit at the air force station in Kangayampalayam at Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu.





Accordingly, the new aircraft were inducted on Thursday at a ceremony chaired by Air Marshal Jasbir Walia with the commanding Officer of 109 HU, Wg Cdr Ashok Kumar VM accepting the flight on behalf of the unit.



The unit has been strategically placed as sentinel of south.



It acts as one of the first line of defence against any external aggression for the southern front as well as the angel of mercy while dealing with HADR missions.



The unit was raised in 1961 at Chandigarh with MI-4 helicopters. The unit has achieved the highest standard in all tasks entrusted to it and has played a pivotal role in

operations such as Liberation Of Goa, Chinese aggression of 1962, Mizo Hill Operations, Indo-Pak war of 1971 and OP Cactus.



The unit orchestrated one of the glorified missions in the history of helicopter operations Op Pawan. As part of the glorified history the unit was appropriately renamed The Knights.



The unit was crowned the "Best Helicopter Unit" in 1989. As a recognition of its exalting and glorified history, the unit was awarded the Presidential Standard in 1991.mIn 2015, the unit flew innumerable sorties to provide instant relief to the flood-affected people in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai.


Calling for zero tolerance policy over drunken driving, the Bombay High Court on Thursday went on to suggest that a person irrespective of the amount of liquor consumed should not be allowed to drive.





There is no reason why any person who has had any amount (of liquor) to drink should be permitted to drive at all, observed a division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel, while hearing a petition seeking more compensation from actor Salman Khan for the victims in the 2002 hit-and-run case. The PIL was filed by journalist-activist Nikhil Wagle.



PIL on Dutts release

Amid reports that Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt may be released by February 2016, a petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to restrain the Maharashtra government from releasing the jailed celebrity ahead of the completion of full term.



Social activist Pradeep Bhalekar, said that Dutt had been favoured by the authorities and that there were at least 27,740 prisoners languishing in as many as 57 jails who also deserve to be released like the actor on the same grounds.



Similar facilities should be extended to other prisoners who continue to languish in jails despite good behaviour shown by them, the petition said.


GAVI, an international vaccine promotion alliance, will provide $500 million to India between 2016 and 2022 for bringing in new vaccines in Indias immunisation programme.





This will be the last tranche of funding support from the vaccine alliance that is supporting Indias vaccine programme over the last 15 years.



GAVI will provide up to $500 million between 2016 and 2021 to support Indias immunisation programme, after which India will move out of the alliances support.



GAVI chief Seth Berkley met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister J P Nadda here on Wednesday.



The support from the vaccine alliance will help introduce new vaccines for protecting children against some of the leading causes of disease including pneumonia and severe diarrhoea, which together claimed lives of more than 200,000 Indian children under five years every year.



The new GAVI fund will be used to introduce new vaccines against rota virus, rubella and pneumococcal. Out of the $500 million, close to $ 400 million will go to vaccine procurement as per the approval from the GAVI board, a Health Ministry official told Deccan Herald.



On previous GAVI-supported schemes, the Health Ministry began the process of supporting the programme from its own budget. The pentavalent vaccine that protects infants from five infections  diptheria tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis-B virus and Haemophilus-influenzae B  will now be completely funded from the domestic budget as the programme has been extended to the entire country.



Similarly, in its first year, the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) that will be given as injections will be supported by GAVI. IPV too will come under the domestic budget from 2017 when the transition from GAVI starts, said another ministry official. The GAVI funds are also likely to be used to launch a vaccine against human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer among women  one of the common cause of cancer. The Health Ministry, however, is yet to decide on the HPV introduction schedule.



As currently 60 per cent of all GAVI-procured vaccines are manufactured in India, the alliance will also work with the government and vaccine makers to expand the supply base to ensure sufficient stock not only for the 27 million Indian kids born every year but also for children living in 72 other GAVI-supported countries.




Investigators are looking into whether terrorists who targeted the Pathankot Air Force base got any help from within the country even as India has identified Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar as masterminds behind the attack.





Official sources said the terrorists, who were in two groups, knew where to meet inside in the airbase and it could mean that there is a possibility of somebody inside giving out information about the topography of the facility.



The security agencies took more than 70 hours to kill the six terrorists who entered the premises despite prior intelligence. The investigators are also probing whether there was some sort of recce done before the attack. According to sources, the conspiracy was hatched in Lahore and India identified Azhar and his brother Asghar, the brain behind the IC-814 hijack, among the masterminds. India has already handed over several evidences to Pakistan regarding the involvement of people in that country, including Azhar, through proper channel. Sources said voice data has also been shared with Pakistan.



Indian agencies also have inputs about the JeM chiefs plans to raise a group of women suicide attackers. His idea is to have a group of around 300 such women, whom he believes can get easy access compared to male recruits. Several women have been indoctrinated.



They will be trained and used on suicide missions, a senior official said.



National Investigation Agency Director General Sharad Kumar has extensively briefed top Home Ministry officials about his teams investigations. BSF Director General D K Pathak also briefed top brass of the ministry about the situation on the border.



The BSF has already decided to deploy around 2,000 additional personnel along the Punjab and Jammu borders in order to plug unfenced riverine and forest gaps.


India on Thursday made it clear to Pakistan that the proposed foreign secretary-level talks could be held only if Islamabad acts promptly against plotters of the Pathankot airbase attack.





New Delhi put the onus on Islamabad to salvage the peace process which was recently reinitiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart M Nawaz Sharif.

The dialogue process between the two countries came under a shadow after the recent attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot (Punjab) and the Consulate General of India at Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan.



The ball is in Pakistans court, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup told journalists on Thursday.



He, however, declined to comment on the proposed meeting between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistan counterpart A A Chaudhry, which is scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 15.



The immediate issue (for India) is Pakistans response to the terrorist attack (on IAF base in Pathankot) and the actionable intelligence provided to it, he said.



Prime Minister Narendra Modis National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday shared with his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua details of the calls and transcripts of the conversations between the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, who attacked the IAF base in Pathankot, and the commanders of the terror organisation based in the neighbouring country.



It was reported that New Delhi had asked Islamabad to immediately arrest JeM founder Moulana Masood Azhar and three other operatives of the terror organisations  Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Abdul Shakur and Kasim Jaan.



They were in constant touch with the terrorists and coordinating their assault on the airbase from a control room set up at the outfits headquarters in Bahawalpur in Pakistan.



New Delhi suspects that Azhars brother Abdul Rauf Ashgar masterminded the attack. Modi on Tuesday asked Sharif to immediately act against the individuals and organizations responsible for the terrorist attack.



Sharif assured Modi over phone that his government would take prompt and decisive action against the terrorists.



Actionable intelligence with regard to the terrorist attack and the links with the perpetrators in Pakistan have been provided to the Pakistani side. The Pakistani Prime Minister promised prompt and decisive action. We now await that prompt and decisive action, the MEA spokesperson said on Thursday.



We had extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan but we will not countenance cross-border terrorist attacks, said Swarup. The meeting between the two foreign secretaries on January 15 is expected to mark restart of the bilateral dialogue, which remained stalled since January 2013.



Seven security-men were killed in the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot. The six JeM terrorists, who carried out the attack, were all eliminated by the security personnel in a three-day-long operation.



The terrorist attack came just a little more than a week after Modis surprise visit to Lahore to greet Sharif on his birthday and to join celebration for the wedding ceremony of the Pakistan Prime Ministers granddaughter. The visit added to the newly generated goodwill between the two neighbours, which saw a thaw in their ties with the December 9 announcement on resumption of the parleys as Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.


Continuing its operations against al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a team from the Delhi Police Special Cell on Wednesday arrested a cleric from Bengaluru.





According to sources, Maulana Anzarshah Qasmi (50) a resident of Iliyasnagar in Banashankari 2nd Stage in Bengaluru South was arrested on charges of making hate speeches and having links with a terrorist organisation in Pakistan. He is believed to have been involved in financial transaction of the terrorist outfit.



According to sources, Qasmi was picked up from his friends house at 9.30 pm on Wednesday by a team of four officials who claimed to be from Anti Terrorist Squad. He did not return till morning and we lodged a missing complaint with Kumaraswamy Layout police, Qasims friend Asif told Deccan Herald.



Meanwhile, Qasmi was taken to Delhi on a transit remand and was produced before a magistrate there on Thursday. The court remanded him in police custody till January 20.

Qasmi was a cleric at a mosque in Banshankari and had moved to Iliyasnagar a month ago.



The central agencies had kept Qasmi under survelliance for his provocative speeches. The police suspect Qasmi was a close associate of Mohammad Abdul Rahman Katki, the cleric who was arrested for his suspected links with al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. Katki was said to have links even with Bengaluru resident Kafeel Ahmed who was accused of driving a burning car into the Glasgow International Airport in 2007 and had died of burns later. Kafeel too was a resident of Karisandra in Banashankari 2nd Stage.



There are reports that another Bengaluru resident Jabbar, an autorickshaw driver, too was picked by the Delhi Police on Wednesday night.


Earthmovers have landed once again on the Chikka Kallasandra lake land in Padmanabhanagar in southern Bengaluru, in what is suspected to be a fresh attempt by property sharks to encroach upon the precious land.





The lake exists only in government records as it has lost all its features, thanks to the callous attitude of the Bengaluru Urban district administration and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Deccan Herald had carried a detailed report in this regard in August 2013.



The report did wake up the district authorities from their slumber, who then carried an extensive encroachment removal drive to reclaim the lake land. Barely a month after the eviction drive, however, land sharks once again put up a fence, prompting the BBMP, the lakes custodian, to lodge a complaint at the Subramanyapura police station.



While police sat on the complaint without investigating the matter or tracing the culprits, the emboldened land-grabbers have now resorted to certain suspicious activity, indicating that construction would begin there anytime soon. A signboard put up by the BBMP has been torn and roadside eateries have come up on the lake land.



Residents were hesitant to speak to Deccan Herald on record. On the condition of anonymity, a trader said some people had built shanties there.



The Assistant Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, L C Nagaraj, put the blame on blunders committed by revenue officers following the demolition drive, saying it made the restoration of lake extremely difficult. He said he would visit the place on Friday to take stock of the situation.



A senior official in the BBMP Lake Division claimed that the police had done nothing to identify the land-grabbers even a year after the Palike lodged a complaint. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (Banashankari subdivision), however, said he had no knowledge about the BBMPs complaint and asked a Deccan Herald reporter to convey to the Palike officers to approach him and find a way to deal with the land-grabbers.




The Revenue department authorities will soon start issuing show-cause notices to about 11,000 individuals and organisations which have encroached upon lakes and water bodies in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts.





The Legislative Assembly Committee looking into the encroachment of lakes in the two districts is scheduled to release names of all the encroachers on Friday. The Committee has already directed the Revenue officials to issue the notices to the encroachers, seeking their response as to why they should not be evicted. Two panels, one taluk-level, headed by the tahsildar and another, district-level, headed by the assistant commissioner, will be set up for this purpose, the Assembly Committee chairman and senior Congress MLA K B Koliwad said.



The Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records (DSSLR) has recently conducted a survey of all 4,205 lakes and water bodies in the two districts as per the direction of the Committee. The DSSLR has already uploaded all the survey sketches on its website. The sketches have not only identified the encroachments but have also mentioned the names of individuals and organisations who have encroached upon the lakes and water bodies over the years.



He said the tahsildar-headed panel will issue the notice to the encroachers. The panel will only receive the reply from the encroachers and forward them to the assistant commissioner-headed panel, which will scrutinise the response of every encroacher, prepare a report and submit it to the Committee. The final report will be prepared based on these reports and will be submitted to the Assembly, Koliwad added. He said the Committee has directed the Revenue authorities to issue the notice because natural justice has been followed. If action is taken without giving them an opportunity to present their case, they may go to court and get a stay. Moreover, the aim of the whole exercise is not to displace somebody, it is meant to protect lakes and water bodies, he added.



Legislative Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa set up the Committee in October 2014 following JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy raising the issue of rampant encroachment of lakes in Bengaluru. The Committee was initially asked to submit its report within three months. But the Assembly subsequently extended the deadline as the work involved the survey of lakes, issuing notice to the enroachers and receiving their response. The JD(S) is also a part of the 11-member Committee.


Karnataka has the potential to generate a lot more wind energy than it is doing at present, according to Madhusudan Khemka, the chairman of Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association.





Speaking at a workshop on Thursday to discuss the prospects, opportunities and challenges of the wind power sector in Karnataka, he said, This sector undoubtedly has a lot of opportunities in Karnataka. At 56 Giga Watts potential at 100 m hub height, Karnataka is attracting investment from both equipment manufacturers and developers. It is imperative that the Karnataka government outlines a clear vision for development of wind energy projects in the coming years. We are concerned about the tariff and tax structures currently present and are quite confident that the new renewable energy policy will address these areas successfully. Indias INDC (for the Paris climate change conference) has clearly spelled the development of renewable energy as a critical action point. Thus, the State government should expedite the policy on renewables.



The INDC stands for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, a term used under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for reductions in greenhouse gases that all its signatory countries were asked to publish before the Paris conference held last December.



Chintan Shah, president, Strategic Business Development, Suzlon Energy Ltd, said the workshop was an attempt to agree to solutions in areas of single-window tariff structure, grid augmentation and forest development. At the Paris conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his vision to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. It has become increasingly difficult to identify non-forest lands for compensatory afforestation.



We request the Karnataka government to allocate lands identified by the forest department as deemed forest category towards wind energy projects.



Also present on the occasion was Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, Renewable Energy Council, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Godrej GBC.




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Thank you for finding our loved ones

To the Search & Rescue Volunteers of Alakanuk, Emmonak, Kotlik, and Mountain Village

Thank you so much for volunteering your time and resources to help search for our daughters, Patience and Haley, last month. Your willingness to help on short notice is much appreciated and helped contribute to their safe return and a positive outcome. We could not have found them without you. Special thanks goes to Jason Fancyboy and Jeff Unok of Kotlik who found them, fed them, made sure they were warm, and delivered them home safely. God bless all of you that helped with their safe return! Thank you so much, the Alstrom and Moses families.

Audrey Alstrom

Anchorage, AK

A GREAT BIG Bethel THANK YOU!

The 2017 Bras n Bros fundraiser event sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary Post 10041 at the end of January was a success due to the involvement of several state, city and local agencies and businesses PLUS the selfless contributions of time from many individuals.

THANK YOU to the Robert V. Lindsey VFW Post 10041, YKHC and YKHC Injury Prevention, Lynden Air Frieght, Bethel Police Department, Bethel Fire Department, Immaculate Conception Church, the Magic Man, Mike Calvetti, Gold Rush Liquor and Swansons Store.

With everyones support, the VFW Auxiliary raised over $8,000.00 for scholarships, funeral and medical assistance, Americanism, Veterans recognition and Veterans family support.

LaTesia M. Guinn

VFW Auxiliary Bras n Bros Chairperson

Post 10041, Bethel AK

Lets stand as one, not as divided tribes

It has been a while since I last wrote. To my displeasure of some leaders of this region, I dont need to name names as you know who you are. There are a select few of us without getting compensated are trying our best to help this region.

I personally have spent countless hours of phone conversations with some respected and tireless elders and real leaders that affect our economically depressed region. I applaud those that had the courage to attend last weeks first YK Delta Intertribal Conference. Alcohol was the main topic first day and many of the attendees were affected by this very hard topic.

From my perspective it was a good turnout.

Many spoke out mostly because there already have been many preventable and premature deaths. Young and old have died from alcohol since the liquor store opened. I would like for the City of Bethel to reconsider their position with the two that are open now. The AC and BNCs licenses to operate. Needless to say the BNCs store has not been operating after the leaders of that corporation advocated publically that it is time. Time for the younger generation to learn how to drink moderation and what not.

One old man from Bethel testified when the Wild Goose was open back in the late 70s which was heartbreaking. As for the AC liquor store, what has it brought to our delta? Are they going to send food, attention, comfort, and especially LOVE to those children that are being neglected? The money that AC liquor store earns is only benefitting a Canadian company. I can only imagine if they earned 2.7 million last quarter to date this delta contributed over 5 million dollars by now.

It is time that we stand as one not as divided tribes. These organizations that you tribes erected have their own agendas. We tried and cried wolf but never got heard but turned the other way. With that being said I hope you tribes can come together. We can all agree to disagree as united tribes and great people of this Yupik, Cupik, Cupig, and Athabaskans of this great region.

Steven M Alexie

Napaskiak, AK

You, Womens History, and the Power of Social Security

March is Womens History Month  a time to focus not just on the past, but also on the challenges women continue to face. Nearly 60 percent of the people receiving Social Security benefits are women, and in the 21st century, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nations history. Knowing this, you can be the author of your own rich and independent history, with a little preparation.

Social Security has served a vital role in the lives of women for over 80 years. With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live more years in retirement and have a greater chance of exhausting other sources of income. With the national average life expectancy for women in the United States rising, many women will have decades to enjoy retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a female born today can expect to live more than 80 years. As a result, experts generally agree that if women want to ensure that their retirement years are comfortable, they need to plan early and wisely.

You can start with a visit to Social Securitys Retirement Estimator. It gives you a personalized estimate of your retirement benefits. Plug in different retirement ages and projected earnings to get an idea of how such things might change your future benefit amounts. You can use this valuable tool at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.

You should also visit Social Securitys financial planning website at www.socialsecurity.gov/planners. It provides detailed information about how marriage, widowhood, divorce, self-employment, government service, and other life or career events can affect your Social Security.

Your benefit is determined based on your earnings. You can create your personal my Social Security account to verify that your earnings are correct. Your account also can provide estimates of future retirement, disability, and survivors benefits.

If you want more information about how Social Security supports women through lifes journey, Social Security has a booklet that you may find useful. It is Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know. You can find it online at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10127.html.

Robin Schmidt

Social Security Administration

Alaska Public Affairs Specialist

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by Mary Peltola

Welcome

The 2019 Kuskokwim chinook run was the best it has been in the last ten years. Many people attribute this years return to the efforts of the last five summers to ensure better escapement numbers and quality. Many fishermen reported catching a higher number of chinooks, and that most of their catches were small males.

Although people noticed that most kings were smaller, and the amount we put away for this winter is about half the amount of our historic use, we are thankful and happy to see a healthier return. There is no greater joy than boating along a vibrant river, seeing drying racks with red hanging salmon and the smokehouses producing delicious smelling smoke. A river where three (or four) generations are helping their families preserve fish for the year ahead.

For folks who held off fishing until the reds and chums arrived, the Kuskokwim had another year of abundant red salmon. The chum run was on the late side, and the red salmon made up for the lack of chums.

This season there were two new in-season managers; Megan Leary, from Napaimute, and Jacki Cleveland, from Quinhagak. James Charles, from Tuntutuliak, who has been with the Commission since 2015, was a part of the KRITFCs steering committee, and in wildlife management for decades, was unanimously appointed to serve as the Commissions first Elder Advisor.

The Elder Advisor will participate in all KRITFC meetings including the in-season management consultations. James Nicori, from Kwethluk, and Robert Lekander, from Bethel, continued to serve as in-season managers. Each of these positions is elected by all the commissioners present at the Annual Meeting. The election of each in-season manager by all the commissioners along the river is a reflection of the commissions commitment to making decisions in the best interest of the whole river and chinook stocks long term health.

I continue to take pride in the respect and civility shown at fish meetings, which are naturally emotional and stressful meetings. The link people along the Kuskokwim have to our ancestors understanding of our connection to this environment and one another is strong thanks entirely to the traditional knowledge shared by our elders.

In April 2019, the Federal Subsistence Board directed the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge to assume management of the chinook run from June 1st through July 1st. This differed from previous years during which the Federal Subsistence Board directed the refuge manager to choose the date when Federal management of the Chinook run would begin. For example, between 2015 through 2018, Federal management began on June 12th as decided by the acting refuge manager.

The Front End Closure, which the State of Alaska Board of Fish created to allow headwaters chinook passage in the lower river, began on May 28th (the latest beginning date yet), and lasted through June 11th (a hard date set in state regulations by the Board of Fish).

There was confusion about fishing times and permissible gear types at the beginning of the season as many fishermen were not aware of the management changes, and different and changing restrictions in gear size and length. The KRITFC addressed and resolved this confusion by helping to clarify state and federal announcements about fishing times and gear types though a weekly public teleconference.

This was the second year the KRITFC and FWS hosted a Monday morning river-wide teleconference. As in past years, anyone can call into this teleconference, toll-free, to listen and participate in fishing updates and management decisions. This continues to be a good opportunity for people to ask questions about regulations and share their observations, predictions and concerns with managers and others. Most people agreed that the use of 6 gill nets rather than 4 gill nets for salmon fishing was a positive change.

Earlier this year, the Governor appointed a new Commissioner of Fish and Game, Doug Vincent-Lang, and this summer, the Commission continued working with ADF&G under the new Commissioner. The Commission remains hopeful that ADF&G will continue to engage in collaborative management with all Kuskokwim fishermen in years to come.

This summer, ADF&G, with the agreement of the FWS, opened fishing for reds and chums with 6 gear on June 26th, earlier than it had during the past five years. While the Commission had concerns that this early unrestricted opening would compromise the ability of large female Chinook to reach their spawning grounds, endangering the quality of escapement, many fishing families were happy and relieved to have unrestricted fishing in Federal waters.

This year KRITFC will continue to build and implement a stock assessment program on the Kuskokwim River. Local fish technicians were hired to run the Takotna River weir, an important headwater assessment project; the only project in the upper Kuskokwim River with a long-term data set.

Installation of the weir took place in mid-June and started counting passing fish by July 1. August 10th was the last day of operation. KRITFC assessment biologist staff, Kevin Whitworth, has also been working on building a partnership at the Kwethluk River and helped form a proposal to get funding for the project through 2020-2023.

The weather across Alaska, and on the Kuskokwim, is now full of surprises. In June and July, sunny and hot conditions, day after day, melted snow and ice at the headwaters providing high water levels with a lot of driftwood. The uncommonly hot days in July caused the lower river to have water temperatures at 70 degrees and above, which caused an unknown number of salmon go into cardiac arrest. With the tundra fires and smoke-filled days, this was a summer like no other.

All in all, it was another beautiful summer on the Kuskokwim, and we are all so thankful for the bounty God provides.

Quyana.

Mary Peltola is the Executive Director for the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

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The Bethel Warrior Cheerleaders were awarded the 2022 Academic Award at the Alaska School Activities Association Cheer State Championship Competition on March 22nd, 2022 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. The teams GPA of 3.51 won them the award for Division II schools. The Division I award went to the Sitka Wolves with their GPA of 3.43.

The Warriors also placed 4th in the Division II Cheer Competition. Coming in 1st was Kenai Central, 2nd was Hutchinson, and 3rd was Barrow.

For the 3A sideline cheer competition, Bethel cheerleaders Elenor Whitney and Kiley Twito were chosen for the All-Tournament Team. Whitney and Twito also were awarded the Cheerleader of the Game awards. Congratulations Warriors!

2022 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska

DIVISION II Results

1st Kenai Central

2nd Hutchison

3rd Barrow

4th Bethel Regional

5th Nome-Beltz

6th Susitna Valley

7th Mt Edgecumbe

3A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Amber Bratlie, Houston

Calani Holmes, Kenai

Dakota Kelly, Mt. Edgecumbe

Delaney Duck, Kenai

Elenor Whitney, Bethel

Eliana Hatch, Mt. Edgecumbe

Joshua Delmolin, Barrow

Karis Evans, Nome-Beltz

Kiley Twito, Bethel

Min Chan, Barrow

Paris Hebel, Nome-Beltz

Scarlet Gibsoz, Houston

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The Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers were notified that two adults recreating in the Pillar Mountain area had located a deceased juvenile on May 15, 2022, at approximately 12:30 pm. Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers immediately responded to the area. Troopers identified the deceased juvenile as 7-year-old Kodiak resident Sawyer Cipolla who was reported missing on May 7, 2022. There were no obvious signs of foul play identified at the scene by Troopers. Sawyers remains will be sent to the State Medical Examiners Office for autopsy. Next of kin has been notified. The investigation into the death of Sawyer Cipolla is ongoing.

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Wazir is all about emotional drama: Farhan Akhtar
Israeli operator Partner Communications has ended its brand licensing agreement with Orange.

As per the terms of an agreement reached by the firms in June 2015, Orange stated that Partner will be able to use its brand for its continuing investments in technological innovation in Israel in the immediate future, although it will begin the process of finding a new brand.

Partner took the decision to terminate the longstanding licensing agreement between the companies following comments made by Orange CEO Stephane Richard, who stated that he would scrap the agreement tomorrow morning if the terms allowed it.

These remarks caused political outrage in Israel, forcing Richard to apologise for them and precipitating a revision to the agreement between Partner and Orange. The new terms allowed the Israeli operator to terminate the partnership within a year, while granting Orange the right to the same if Partner declined to do so within this period.

Since Partner has elected to terminate the contract within 2 years of the revision, the terms of the agreement may oblige Orange to pay Partner 50 million in addition to the 40 million that it is already paying as part of the deal. This has not been confirmed by Orange.
New figures show that the number of people living with diabetes in the UK has topped four million for the first time, and is set to hit five million within 10 years.

The findings are taken from NHS figures analysed by Diabetes UK. The leading charity reports that, based on 2014-15 GP patient data, 4.05 million people have diabetes in the UK.

These figures include 3.5 million adults who have been officially diagnosed  up 119,965 on the previous year  and an estimated 549,000 with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Overall, the rates of diabetes have risen by 65 per cent in a decade.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for roughly 10 of diabetes in adults and is the most common form of diabetes in children.

Between 15 and 20 per cent of people in their 60s and 70s now have diabetes, while the figures suggest that eight per cent of adults live with the condition.

Rates of obesity

Obesity is a primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes  last month, Englands chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies called for obesity to be classed as a national risk  and obesity rates in the UK are among the worst in Europe.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, believes there is now an urgent need for a concerted effort led by the Government to take active steps to address the fact that almost two in every three people in the UK are overweight or obese and are therefore at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

With four million people in the UK now living with diabetes, the need to tackle this serious health condition has never been so stark or so urgent. Basic measures such as making healthy food cheaper and more accessible, introducing clearer food labelling and making it easier for people to build physical activity into their daily lives would have a profound influence.

Melanie Davies, professor of diabetes medicine at the University of Leicester and University, added that the four million figure is not surprising but quite alarming. There are also lots of people at very high risk of developing diabetes over the next five to 10 years. The large driver is the increase in the number of people with type 2 diabetes, associated with obesity in the population.

Premature deaths

Diabetes UK also warned that over 24,000 people with diabetes die prematurely each year due to failures in the standard of diabetes care.

In October 2015, the National Audit Office criticised the care that diabetes patients receive: only 60 per cent of patients receive the eight annual checks, such as eyesight and foot care, that can prevent long-term complications, such as amputation and blindness.

Askew added: Tragically, we are continuing to see too many people with diabetes suffering serious complications, and even dying before their time, and we know that key reasons for this are that they are being denied both the care and access to education that would help them to manage their condition well.

It is vital that we start to see people with diabetes receive good quality care wherever they live rather than them being at the mercy of a postcode lottery.

The NHS prevention program is to be launched nationally in the spring, and government officials hope that this will help people make lifestyle changes, such as eating more healthily and getting more exercise, to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.
Last night, as the clock struck midnight, Netflix, the worlds leading on-demand video and online streaming service started rolling out its offerings in India. Now, for those of you who are new to Netflix and its prowess in digital content, here are some things you must know.

Netflix is a subscription based online streaming service which you can use on multiple devices such as your smartphone (Android, iOS & Windows), smart TV, Apple TV, PC, tablet, PlayStation and Xbox

Netflix has more than 70 million members in over 190 countries, which now includes India

Netflix is also known for its expansive list of original television and film productions such as House of Cards, Orange is the new black, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Square and more.

As a Netflix subscriber, users get exclusive and early access to content curated by Netflix.

In India, Netflix is giving users a free 1 month trial, post which, following are the pricing plans that Netflix is offering.



Netflix India pricing plan

At Digit, we decided to get our hands on the Netflix app and here is a complete walkthrough of the much talked about service on the day of its launch in India.



Setting up a Netflix account

For all those who have been using VPNs to access Netflixs services, you can now sit up, rejoice and watch your favourite Netflix content legally. Setting up your Netflix account is easy and the same can be done from any platform- smartphones, PC, Chromecast, tablets, TVs and consoles. Although we must mention, the Netflix service has not yet started on Xbox consoles in India, but in their defence, its still early days for the service in the country. I downloaded the app on my Huawei Nexus 6p and got to work. Firstly, the app prompts you to choose your subscription plan, which is based on the quality of streaming you would prefer. In Rs. 500 you can get yourself a basic plan which will NOT give you HD or Ultra HD streaming options and will limit your consumption to a single screen at any given point in time. The Standard service will cost you Rs. 650 along with HD streaming and an allowance for streaming on 2 screens simultaneously. For Rs. 800, you can watch your content in 4K, with 4 devices running the service simultaneously. Now, I chose the HD option for Rs. 650 because of a few reasons. Firstly, it does not make sense to subscribe for Ultra HD or 4K streaming unless you have a great 4K television and secondly, a killer internet connection. People in the US watch Netflix 4K over a 100 mbps fibre connection to a 15.6Mbps 4K Netflix stream. Such internet speeds are ways away in India right now. Netflix itself recommends speed higher than 15Mb to stream 4K seamlessly and even in that, the company says there might be a service slowdown in period of high contention.



Hence, with the HD service selected, I continued with the setup process, which then guided me to create my user profile. Heres where things get interesting, profiles on Netflix allows you to list different members of your household to have their own personalised Netflix experience, built around the content they enjoy. You can have up to five individual profiles within a single Netflix account and switch between profile at any time. The app prompts you to select the kind of shows and films you prefer watching, post which the home screen will greet you with a list of your selected shows along with recommendations on similar content. Personally, I feel Netflix was spot-on with its recommendations as I watch a lot of American television and Hollywood films. Now, searching for particular popular titles, is another thing altogether and I will talk about it in more detail below. Netflix also has a dedicated viewing section for kids which showcases popular childrens titles such as Megamind, Shrek 2, Speed Racer, The Prince of Egypt, etc. Users can setup a separate profile for their kids by simply clicking on the For Kids option in the profile section.

Customised recommendations, Kids section, Kids profile creation



Lights, Camera, Action: using Netflix in India

As I mentioned before, I was using a Nexus 6p for this exercise, so, this is my experience of watching Netflix on a 5.7 inch AMOLED display. Firstly, I love the Nexus 6p display. Its vibrant, the colours pop out really well and the overall experience is generally very satisfying. Since, I (like most Netflix series watchers in India) have already seen some of the biggest Netflix productions, I opted for watching Narcos- a gritty drama surrounding the activities of notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and a DEA agent on the brink of unearthing the biggest Cocaine smuggling nexus in the United states (I have only seen 4 episodes, so please refrain from spoilers in the comments section). Streaming on my Airtel 3G connection, I was getting seamless HD quality for most part of my viewing experience. Netflix has an option of auto scaling the quality while streaming, and towards the end of Episode 1, the streaming quality lowered on its own. Playback settings on Netflix can be altered manually as well.



For altering playback settings, you need to access the settings menu on your app>>>click on Account setting>>>this will redirect you to the account settings page in a browser window>>>You can then select Playback settings>>>and then choose your preferred streaming quality.



Accessing the playback settings



On my 8mbps Airtel broadband connection, the streaming story was quite different. Id be lying if I said I wasnt impressed by the seamlessness of streaming on the Netflix app. Yes, it is pretty good and for anyone who wants to compare it to Stars HotStar, just in terms of seamlessness of streaming, I would anyday give Netflix more marks on maintaining a smooth, continuous and AD FREE HD stream. I am a happy customer and yes, many can argue that they would rather download torrents instead, but the recent government crackdown on torrent providers may pose a bigger problem in the future of pirated downloads. Also, why wait? If I am anyways spending bandwidth downloading a movie or a whole TV series, I may aswell stream what I can seamlessly and in HD. Did I forget to mention that Netflix releases all episodes of an original Netflix produced TV series in one go? Then again, most of you already knew that. So, no more waiting for Mr RARBG to upload your favourite Netflix series.



The Netflix app has a series of features to customise a user's viewing experience. Some of them include -

My lists: An option of adding your favourite shows and films to a custom playlist.

Saved last viewed content on Home screen of every users profile enabling users to pick up from where they left off.

Top picks and custom recommendations based on what users are currently viewing.

Ability to cancel subscriptions in Account setting at any given time.

Ability to change appearance of subtitles (colour,size,background)

Ability to view recent viewing activities and recent account access from the Account settings page.

Ability to set up Parental Control PIN. A great way to protect kids from watching content above certain select levels (again, from the account settings page).

An option of signing out from all devices with a single click



Content and Pricing

Now that you know mostly everything about using the Netflix app, you should also know whats on offer. Rs. 500-Rs. 800/month is not exactly cheap, but its also not super expensive for the kind of content Netflix is offering. Although it is still early days (literally, the first day of Netflix in India), Indian content on the platform is extremely limited as of now. Barring a few popular movies titles like Piku, Lootera, Andaz Apna Apna, etc, there is not much to see here. Although I love the inclusion of some evergreen movie titles such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and the likes, the choice of Hindi (let alone other languages) content is not at par with some of the existing free streaming services in the country. But, knowing the kind of financial strength that backs Netflix, we might see local content diversification in the future. As far as Hollywood, non-Hollywood and Television content is concerned, you will find most of the popular titles here. Most, but not all. a search for The Dark Knight or Spider-man revealed nothing but content that is based on similar lines. The most shocking revelation though was that the famous Netflix political drama- House of Cards, does not feature on the Indian service! Why Netflix Why? Is it because (as some people say) you have sold the rights to Zee and Zee Cafe is currently airing House of Cards? For you dear reader- we are working on getting you more answers from Netflix on their content omission and selection.



Yes, content is a very real problem for Netflix in India and if it keeps up with the policy of not listing its own productions on its own platforms, the service is sure to see a lot of unhappy customers. Another thing about India is the glaring piracy issue. India is the poster child for piracy and If Netflix is not fast with its content updation, they will definitely lose ground in a country which likes its shows and films as soon as they release. Netflix is sure to see a surge in demand right now because membership is free for the first month, but will it see returning customers after that 1 month, is a question on everyones mind.



In conclusion, Netflix is a good service if you are looking for American television content, If you are looking for an Ad free experience, and if you have a solid broadband or mobile internet connection. If you are looking for native Indian content, you are better off with the likes of Hot Star, Eros Now, Hooq or even YouTube. Meanwhile, we will wait and watch if Netflixs content strategy expands in the future and if Indians ever decide to choose paid content over pirated content.


Now you can make subsidised international calls using the WeChat app. Calling rates are as low as Rs. 60 for 107 minutes of talk-time to the U.S.

Popular online chatting and video calling platform WeChat has integrated a new a Skype-like calling out feature in its app. The feature which is called 'WeChat Out' will allow users to call any landline or mobile phone in India, US and HongKong. Although WeChat has plans to expand this calling service to other countries, currently only the above listed countries have access to this feature.



Just like in Skype, users will have an option of loading money to their WeChat Out account to start making calls. As an initial offering, WeChat is giving its users in the US $0.99 credit to start with. TenCent, the parent company of WeChat says that this should give users upto 100 minutes of talk time to most countries. In India, the app offers no initial credit. The top up amounts start from Rs. 60 going uptill Rs. 920. Rs. 60 will get users 107 minutes of calling to the US, Rs. 120 will get users 214 minutes of calling to the US, and so on. Users can click on the Rates option in the top-up section to find out the pricing structure for calls. To access the WeChat Out calling facility, users need to click on the Plus icon on the top left corner and select the WeChat Out option.






Honor has sent out an invite for an event on January 28 where the company may launch the Honor 5X

Honor has sent out invites for an event scheduled to be held on January 28. The invite contains the text, Faster Better Stronger next to an image of the upcoming phone. Judging by the image, it is possible that the company is planning to launch the Honor 5X in India on that date.

The Honor 5X was unveiled in China in October last year. The device comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 SoC clocked at 1.5GHz with an Adreno 405 GPU. The phone is equipped with 16GB of onboard storage which can be expanded to 128GB via a microSD card. At the back of the device is a 13MP camera with a fingerprint sensor located below it and at the front is a 5MP camera. The phone comes with a 3000mAh battery with dual SIM support. The Honor 5X runs Android Lollipop v5.1 with EMUI 3.1 layered over it. The device is available in two variants, the 3GB RAM variant was launched at a price of 1,399 Yuan (approx. Rs. 14,200) while the 2GB RAM variant is priced at 999 Yuan (approx. Rs. 10,100).

The Honor 5Xs predecessor, the Honor 4X was launched in India in March last year alongside the Honor 6 Plus. The Honor 4X comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD screen a resolution of 720p and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC with 2GB of RAM. There is 8GB of storage onboard which can be expanded to 32GB. At the back is a 13MP primary camera with a 5MP front facing camera. It also comes with a 3000mAh battery and dual SIM support.

Last month, Honors parent company, Huawei had held an event in China where they showcased the Honor 7i and Huawei Mate 8. The Honor 7is party-piece is its 13MP rear camera which flips up to face the front. Other features of the phone include a 5.2-inch Full HD display with a Snapdragon 616 SoC. The device is available in two variants, one with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM and the other with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM.
Xiaomi has posted a teaser image on its official Weibo account which shows the textured rear panel of the upcoming device

Xiaomi may launch the Redmi 3 on January 12. The company has posted a teaser on its official Weibo account which showed the rear of the upcoming device. The image in the teaser matched those of the Redmi 3 that were spotted on Chinese certification center, TENAAs website last month.

According to the teaser image posted on Weibo, the device will come with a 5-inch screen and it will be announced on January 12. The image also shows that the upcoming device will have a textured back panel. As per the listing on TENAA, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 will come with a 5-inch HD TFT display. The listing also shows that the phone will be powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM. In addition, the device may come with 16GB of internal storage with expandable storage. The device has been tipped to run Android Lollipop v5.1.1 and may be available Gray, Gold, and Silver colour variants.

Last month, Xiaomi had launched the Redmi Note Prime in India for Rs. 8,499. The Note Prime comes with a 5.5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB of RAM. It also comes with a 3100mAh battery and 16GB of onboard storage that can be expanded by up to 32GB. There is a 13MP camera located at the rear of the phone with a 5MP front facing camera. The Xiaomi Redmi Note Prime prime is the company's second device to be made in the India after the Redmi 2 Prime.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 isnt the only phone that will be launched by the company soon. The long rumoured Xiaomi Mi 5 has finally been confirmed to launch in February by the companys co-founder and VP, Liwan Jiang. He not only confirmed the launch date of the phone, but also confirmed that the device will be powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 820 SoC. In his post on Weibo, he said that the companys new flagship device will be released after the Spring Festival in China. The festival will be held on February 8. The device has been tipped to come with a 5.2-inch Quad HD display with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. It may comes with a 16MP camera at the back with a 13MP front camera. Leaked renders also suggest that the device will have a thin home button which will house the fingerprint scanner.

Redmi Note 3( 6999 at amazon)

Xiaomi may launch the Redmi 3 on January 12. The company has posted a teaser on its official Weibo account which showed the rear of the upcoming device. The image in the teaser matched those of the Redmi 3 that were spotted on Chinese certification center, TENAAs website last month.

According to the teaser image posted on Weibo, the device will come with a 5-inch screen and it will be announced on January 12. The image also shows that the upcoming device will have a textured back panel. As per the listing on TENAA, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 will come with a 5-inch HD TFT display. The listing also shows that the phone will be powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM. In addition, the device may come with 16GB of internal storage with expandable storage. The device has been tipped to run Android Lollipop v5.1.1 and may be available Gray, Gold, and Silver colour variants.

Last month, Xiaomi had launched the Redmi Note Prime in India for Rs. 8,499. The Note Prime comes with a 5.5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB of RAM. It also comes with a 3100mAh battery and 16GB of onboard storage that can be expanded by up to 32GB. There is a 13MP camera located at the rear of the phone with a 5MP front facing camera. The Xiaomi Redmi Note Prime prime is the company's second device to be made in the India after the Redmi 2 Prime.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 isnt the only phone that will be launched by the company soon. The long rumoured Xiaomi Mi 5 has finally been confirmed to launch in February by the companys co-founder and VP, Liwan Jiang. He not only confirmed the launch date of the phone, but also confirmed that the device will be powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 820 SoC. In his post on Weibo, he said that the companys new flagship device will be released after the Spring Festival in China. The festival will be held on February 8. The device has been tipped to come with a 5.2-inch Quad HD display with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM. It may comes with a 16MP camera at the back with a 13MP front camera. Leaked renders also suggest that the device will have a thin home button which will house the fingerprint scanner.

Redmi note 3
If it lists, the oil producing giant would be one of, if not the most valuable in the world.

The deputy crown prince told The Economist that a decision on a flotation would be taken in the next few months: Personally Im enthusiastic about this step, he said. I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco.

Saudi officials say Saudi Aramco, whose 260bn barrel reserves compare to BP and Shell's combined 30bn barrels, for example, is worth trillions of dollars though plans for an IPO could see a listing of just some downstream assets or the sale of an initial 5% portion of shares in the parent company in Riyadh.

The Economist was told that Aramco's advisers have already been meeting with potential institutional investors.

Saudi Arabia, as the prime force behind the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has been behind the oversupply that has led to the massive depreciation in the oil price as the cartel looks to force out higher-cost producers.

In December Opec said it expected oil prices to reach $70 per barrel by 2020 and said it expected to reduce its own production to 30.6m barrels per day in 2019, compared to its three-year high of 31.7m bpd in November as the cartels market share falls due to rival production.

Prices have sunk close to $30 this week despite the heightened tension in the Middle East as Riyadh and Tehran relations blow up.

However, the deputy crown prince said a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region so, For sure, we will not allow any such thing.
Iran has banned imports from Saudi Arabia as the rift between the two nations escalated on Thursday.

Iran's government said it will no longer allow imports from Saudi Arabia following a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday morning, state news agency IRNA reported.

The government also reaffirmed a ban on Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca which was imposed in April. Umrah pilgrimages are important to Muslims and lucrative to Saudi Arabia.

The move came as Iran reportedly accused Saudi Arabia of intentionally launching an airstrike on its embassy in Yemeni capital Sanaa.

"Saudi Arabia is responsible for this action, as well as for compensating Iran for injuries to the embassy personnel and the damages to the embassy building," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari on Thursday, according to state-run IRIB News.

The spokesman said the Iranian Embassy was damaged and several guards were injured.

The Saudi-led coalition denied the claims. Spokesman Col. Ahmed Asseri said an investigation is needed.

"This is not credible because we have not seen any evidence," Asseri said. "But we will investigate."

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after Iranian protesters stormed the embassy in Tehran.
The World Bank has cut its global economic growth forecast for this year to 2.9% from a 3.3% estimate in June, pointing to weak growth in major emerging markets.

The bank cut its outlook for Chinese growth in 2016 to 6.7% from 7% in June and said it now expects Brazil and Chinas economies to contract 2.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

As far as the US is concerned, the World Bank downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 2.7%, which is up from 2015s 2.5% growth but lower than its June estimate of 2.8%, highlighting the impact of the strong US dollar on exports.

Developing economies as a whole are seen expanding by 4.8% this year, less than expected earlier but up from a post-crisis low of 4.3% in the year just ended.

The World Bank said simultaneous weakness in most major emerging markets is a concern for achieving the goals of poverty reduction and shared prosperity because those countries have been powerful contributors to global growth for the past decade.

Spillovers from major emerging markets will constrain growth in developing countries and pose a threat to hard-won gains in raising people out of poverty, the bank warned in its January 2016 Global Economics Prospects report.

More than 40% of the worlds poor live in the developing countries where growth slowed in 2015, said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

"Developing countries should focus on building resilience to a weaker economic environment and shielding the most vulnerable. The benefits from reforms to governance and business conditions are potentially large and could help offset the effects of slow growth in larger economies."
London stocks are set to open lower on Thursday following another dismal session in Asia, where trading in China was halted again after the Shanghai Composite fell over 7%.

The FTSE 100 is expected to start 78 points lower than Wednesdays close at 5,995.

In China circuit breakers were triggered and trading halted for the day after just 15 minutes of frantic trading. That short space of time was enough for $640bn to be wiped off stocks leaving the Shanghai composite index down 7.3%, said Farbod Mimeh, a dealer at London Capital Group.

On the data front, there are no major UK releases due so eyes will turn to the US, where initial jobless claims are slated for release at 1330 GMT.

Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland to step down

While unveiling a mixed third-quarter trading update, Marks and Spencer chief executive Mark Bolland announced he will retire this year and hand the baton to merchandise chief Steve Rowe.

While M&S enjoyed its best ever Christmas for food sales, with total sales up 3.7% and like-for-like (LFL) sales up 0.4%, general merchandise LFL sales slumped 5.8%.

Aircraft were emptier at easyJet in December, as the Luton-based airline felt the effects of a French leisure market muted by terrorism.

The FTSE 100 firm flew 4,848,258 passengers in December 2015, up from 4,634,977 a year earlier - an increase of 4.6%.

EasyJet's load factor was down, however, by 1.8 percentage points, from 88.4% in December 2014 to 86.6% last month.

The airline blamed this poorer load performance on the terror attacks in Paris in mid-November.

Persimmon said on Thursday that full year revenues were up 13% for 2015, driven by strong growth in the number of completed new homes for the year.

The FTSE 100 housebuilder posted a trading update ahead of its full results out next month.

Full year revenue came in at 2.9bn, up from2.6bn in 2014, with the groups average selling price up by 4.5% to around 199,100.

That was driven by an 8% increase in new builds for the year, completing 14,572 homes in 2015 compared with 13,509 in 2014.

The company also saw a stronger second half, with 7,717 homes being finished between July and December.
Britain is at risk of throwing away the economic progress made in recent years if it does not push ahead with the measures which are still needed.

"Last year was the worst for global growth since the [financial] crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats.

"I worry about a creeping complacency in the national debate about our economy, George Osborne said in a speech to business leaders in Cardiff.

Investors linked his remarks to the drop in sterling to a five-and-a-half year low towards 1.4570 as of 16:34 GMT.

Osborne referenced deep problems in emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia, the slowdown in China and the political developments in the Middle East, including between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Some political commentators said his speech was aimed at Labour leader Jeremy Corbins calls for less austerity.

In a somewhat cynical fashion, another pundit said Osbornes pessimism might be motivated by the calculation that there was political capital to be earned from sounding a cautious note on the economy.

Polls indicate voters trust the Tory party more when it comes to the economy.

Some media outlets emphasised the possibility that Osborne might warn that Bank Rate could rise this year, as the Monetary Policy Committee has repeatedly done for some time now, and what that might mean for mortgage holders.

Anyone who thinks its mission accomplished with the British economy is making a grave mistake. 2016 is the year we can get down to work and make the lasting changes Britain so badly needs, or itll be the year we look back at as the beginning of the decline. This year, quite simply, the economy is mission critical, Osborne told business leaders in Cardiff.


The Treasury select committee has asked the City watchdog to explain itself after the regulator backed out of its review into bank culture.

Having earlier last year said the study of behaviour within the banks was one of its most important aims for 2016, the Financial Conduct Authority on New Year's Eve said it would now work with banks individually instead of conducting a comprehensive inquiry.

The influential committee's chairman, Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, said on Thursday morning that he has summoned FCA chairman John Griffith-Jones and acting chief executive Tracey McDermott to answer questions next Wednesday, 20 January, about the dropped investigation.

Tyrie said the decision to drop the review seemed "curious", but the act of the dropping was not the crucial element.

"What matters is the full implementation of the reforms recommended by the Vickers and Banking Commissions and set out to improve conduct in banks."

"So this session will be a part of the Committees assessment of the FCAs efforts to fulfil the enhanced statutory responsibilities given to it by Parliament over the last few years."

The report was meant to look at whether culture change programmes in retail and wholesale banks were driving the right behaviour, focusing on pay.

Its shelving was seen as a further sign that the government and regulators have decided to back away from heavier scrutiny of the banks, whose excesses caused the financial crisis of 2008 and led to billions of taxpayers' cash being poured in to bailout the industry.

Former FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley, who was seen as a hardliner after imposing heavy fines on the banks , was ousted in July by Chancellor George Osborne.

Tyrie acknowledged that the FCA, like the banks, was still completing its restructuring post the financial crash.

He added that the shortcomings in regulatory standards exposed during that time were "almost as bad as in banks".



Getting it right  securing better protection for consumers and markets while at the same time ensuring they dont make life unduly burdensome for business, from which everyone would ultimately be the loser  is a big undertaking. The Committee will want assurance from the FCA that it is up to the job."
Aircraft were emptier at easyJet in December, as the Luton-based airline felt the effects of a French leisure market muted by terrorism.

The FTSE 100 firm flew 4,848,258 passengers in December 2015, up from 4,634,977 a year earlier - an increase of 4.6%.

EasyJet's load factor was down, however, by 1.8 percentage points, from 88.4% in December 2014 to 86.6% last month.

The airline blamed this poorer load performance on the terror attacks in Paris in mid-November.

"easyJet is France's second largest airline, and around 23% of the airline's capacity during December was on French-touching routes", the company's board said in a statement.

"As a consequence, the load factor fell."

On a rolling 12-month basis, easyJet's annual passenger numbers have climbed by 6.9% to 69,828,383 to December 2015.

Its 12-month load factor edged up as well, by 0.8 percentage points to 91.6%.

The airline was optimistic about its prospects going into 2016, saying the downturn in France appeared to be only temporary.

"Load factors are now recovering to normal levels, and management do not anticipate any change to full year market expectations", the board added.
Sainsburys has come out to deflect rumours that major shareholder may block the supermarket's attempt to acquire Home Retail Group.

The Qatari Investment Authority, which holds a huge 25.1% stake in Sainsburys, was reported to have expressed unease about its 1bn bid for the Argos and Homebase owner, according to sources cited by the Guardian.

But Sainsbury's issued a statement late on Thursday saying: "We understand that the QIA is not the source of the Guardian story and has not taken any position on the proposed Home Retail Group transaction. Like any other shareholder the QIA would consider any such proposal in detail before making a decision on its position."

The FTSE 100 grocer had revealed on Tuesday that it was considering returning to the negotiating table after a November cash-and-shares approach for Home Retail was rejected.

If the grocer does follow through with a takeover it will need to issue a large chunk of new equity that would force the Qatari state investment firm to contribute significantly if it wants to keep its stake at 25%.

Sainsburys has until 2 February to consider whether it will make a new offer or walk away, with some analysts supporting the latter idea.

Shares in Sainsbury's continued their fall from Tuesday, down 1.85% at 236.7p by 0818 GMT on Thursday, while Home Retail's price was 1.6% lower at 130.3p.




Resource stocks saw a familiar slump on Thursday, following a decline in oil prices and concerns over Chinas economic prospects.

The FTSE 100 ended 1.96% or 119.30 points lower at 5954.08, while the FTSE 250 finished 1.56% or 266.76 points lower at 16,792.22. Oil markets endured another bearish session with the WTI front-month futures contract falling to a 12-year low.

At 1657 GMT, WTI was down 0.85% or 29 cents at $33.68 per barrel, having earlier registered a record intra-session decline of 5.5% to $32.10 per barrel; the lowest on file since 29 December 2003. Brent was down 0.41% or 14 cents to $34.09 per barrel, having dropped to $32.16; the lowest on record since April 2004.

Base metal futures also fell across the London Metal Exchange board following further declines in Asia on persistent concerns over China. The countrys purchasing managers indices for December, published earlier in the week, failed to impress the market, while heavy declines on the Shanghai Stock Exchange triggered a circuit-breaking halt to proceedings a mere 30 minutes into the trading session.

Unsurprisingly, three-month delivery contracts of copper (down 1.4%), nickel (down 1.0%), lead (down 2.2%), zinc (down 2.5%) and tin (down 0.2%) extended the previous session's losses in late afternoon trading, while primary aluminium futures came in broadly flat.

However, gold futures rallied above $1,100 an ounce level marking a fourth successive session in positive territory this week as investors sought safe havens to park their cash, with the North Korean Hydrogen bomb test adding to existing concerns over stability in the Middle East following a spat between regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran.

COMEX gold contract for February delivery was up 1.27% or $13.90 to $1,105.80 an ounce, while spot gold was 1.20% or $13.09 higher at $1,106.76 an ounce. Blue chip Randgold Resources (up 1.73%), benefiting from safe haven calls on gold, was only one of three stocks on the FTSE 100 to end the session in positive territory with retailers M&S (up 0.11%) and Next (up 1.09%) being the others.

The story of a largely negative session belonged was once again about the resource stocks slump. Anglo American (down 11.00%) led the fallers, with Glencore (down 8.32%) and Antofagasta (down 5.33%) in close attendance.

FTSE 250 gainers and losers had familiar theme with Acacia Mining (up 3.81%) benefitting from an uptick in gold prices, while the metals and oil price slump dragged Vedanta Resources (down 7.92%) and Amec Foster Wheeler (down 7.19%) lower.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen Asset Management dropped after it went ex-dividend, compounded by the fall in global markets. Chinas woes also had an impact on the stock, which revealed in November its full year underlying pre-tax profits were flat due to the slump in Asian and emerging market equities last year.

Home Retail gained on reports that former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy and US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice are reportedly mulling a possible bid to rival Sainsburys. Poundland fell after it said that disastrous trading conditions in November continued through the third quarter.

OneSavings Bank rallied after Investec upgraded it from hold to buy, and highlighted the "clear value" in the stock after the shares' 18% fall since mid-December.
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Former OSU WR DeVier Posey's tough times are only half the story

From medical challenges to setbacks his senior year at Ohio State, DeVier Posey has long been learning to harness his pain.
DeVier Posey: Ex-Ohio State player's tough times only half the story

From medical challenges to setbacks his senior year at Ohio State, DeVier Posey has long been learning to harness his pain.
Russian scientists have now discovered seven giant craters in remote Siberia, and the mysterious phenomenon is believed to be linked to climate change. Image: earthsky.org The discovery of an enormous chasm in a far northern region known to locals as ''the end of the world'' in July last year prompted speculation it had been caused by a meteorite or even aliens. A YouTube video of the hole went viral and a group of scientists was dispatched to investigate. ''We have just learnt that in Yakutia, new information has emerged about a giant crater 1km in diameter,'' the deputy director of the Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vasily Bogoyavlensky, told AFP. He said this brought to seven the number of reported pits. ''Footage allows us to identify minimum seven craters, but in fact there are plenty more,'' he said. All of the craters have been discovered in the remote, energy-rich Yamalo-Nenetsky region in north-western Siberia. Earlier theories about the mystery craters have variously attributed them to meteorite impacts, missile strikes, explosions from nearby gas fields, and the melting of soil-covered ice mounds, known as pingos. The most likely explanation for the phenomenon, however, seems to be climate change. Scientists say that rather than aliens or meteorites, the holes are caused by the melting of underground ice in the permafrost, which has possibly been sped up by rising temperatures due to global warming. ''The phenomenon is similar to the eruption of a volcano,'' said Bogoyavlensky. As the ice melts, methane gas is released, which builds up pressure until an explosion takes place, leading to the formation of a crater. Whether or not they end in explosions, these methane releases are a serious concern. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and on a molecule-by-molecule basis it is a far more potent warming agent than carbon dioxide (although it doesn't last as long in the atmosphere). If the permafrost is leaking methane because of rising temperatures, a positive-feedback loop could be taking effect: more methane leads to further warming, which leads to further thawing, and so on. The scientists are still trying to estimate what danger, if any, is posed by the holes. Methane is extremely flammable and at least one of the craters is situated near an exploited gas deposit. Man-made earthquakes The holes in Siberia also point to another, stranger phenomenon. Global warming and geology turn out to be connected in unexpected ways. Consider, for example, earthquakes. Generally, earthquakes occur because of the movements of Earth's tectonic plates; they tend to take place along plate boundaries. But recently Greenland has been experiencing an unusually large number of quakes. One widely discussed theory attributes this to the shrinking of the Greenland ice sheet. As the ice sheet melts, its weight declines, allowing the land underneath it to rise. The process, which is known as isostatic rebound, may well be responsible for the increase in seismic activity. Iceland, too, is rising, and for similar reasons. As the country's glaciers melt, the land is rebounding. A recent study showed that some parts of the country are gaining elevation at the astonishing rate of 1.4 inches a year. ''What we're observing is a climatically induced change in the earth's surface,'' Richard Bennett, one of the authors of the study and a geoscientist at the University of Arizona, told the website Live Science last month. In the case of Iceland, that change may lead to an increase in volcanic activity. As the land rises, the pressure on the rock beneath it changes. Lower pressure translates into a lower melting temperature, which could, in turn, translate into more (or at least more destructive) volcanic eruptions. The past five years have been packed with ''interesting volcanic activity,'' Sigrun Hreinsdottir, Bennett's fellow-researcher and a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, told the Washington Post. ''You can't make any statistics from those few data points, of course, but you do notice there might be a connection with the uplift.'' And there's a precedent: during the deglaciation that occurred at the end of the last ice age, some twelve thousand years ago, volcanic activity in Iceland is estimated to have increased by as much as a factor of thirty. An expedition is planned to the latest crater discovered to determine if it was formed in the same manner. It may be hard to identify other craters which may have formed into lakes over time, said Bogoyavlensky. ''When they appear the craters are empty, and little by little they fill up with water. In the space of two or three years they become lakes and it is difficult to study them.'' He said some may have formed dozens or hundreds of years ago, but went unnoticed in such remote regions.








Bury terrorists face down in pig excreta: Tripura governor

Tripura governor Tathagata Roy today made yet another controversial statement when he suggested that bodies of dead terrorists be deprived of 'honourable' burial and should instead be wrapped in pigskin and their faces should be buries in pig excreta before they are buried.

Such treatment should be a deterrent to dastardly attacks by Pakistani terrorists, Roy said and he tweeted on Monday, ''I seriously suggest Russian treatment to terrorists' carcasses. Wrap them in pigskin, bury them face down in pig excreta. No chance of Houris.''

He cited his earlier tweets, in which he had written, ''General Pershing put 50 Islamist Moro rebels in Philippines before a firing squad and shot 49 of them with bullets dipped in pig blood.''

''The Russians, following Gen Pershing's logic, are reportedly burying Chechen rebels in pigskin with face down,'' he tweeted.

However, his remarks as usual drew flak from many on the social networking site.

Later, Roy tweeted, ''Abuses pour in against my tweet about Russian treatment to suicide jihadis. Message is clear: PLEASE don't do this, it'll be end of suicide attacks."


Burns Night at top North Somerset hotel

A traditional evening of Haggis, whisky and bagpipes in celebration of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns is taking place at the regions premier hotel.

The event is taking place on Saturday 23 January at DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House in Congresbury where guests will not only be able to tuck into some delicious Haggis, neeps and tatties but enjoy the sounds of a 10-piece pipe band which will give the evening a true Scottish flavour.

A delicious four-course dinner will be served in the venues Great Room with a highlight being the cutting of the haggis, which will be accompanied by Burns' famous poem, Address to a Haggis.

The evening will end with dancing until 1am with the Resident DJ.

Colin Badcock, general manager at DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House said: Burns suppers are great occasions. There are lots of traditions and we hope to hold true to many of these during our own Burns night.

To have a 10-piece piper band on hand will make the evening a spectacular affair and we of course want as many guests as possible to wear kilts! With plenty of wee drams to help the proceedings go smoothly, were sure to have a good night!

The Scottish theme continues in the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill where diners will see the Haggis being piped into the room whilst Address to a Haggis is recited by Restaurant manager Neil McShee.

Diners will have the opportunity to sample the Haggis and a wee dram of Whiskey to celebrate the life of the Scottish poet. The A La carte menu will also have some Scottish additions for those wishing to celebrate the tradition.

Burns is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and his birthday, which is on the 25th, is traditionally celebrated worldwide in late January.

Tickets for the Great Room event cost 35 per person and those who wish to make a weekend of it can book a residential package for 165 for a room for two.

For further information, visit cadburyhotelbristol.co.uk.


East Niagara Post is the official media partner of the Lockport Express





Two members of the Lockport Express were granted honorable mentions by the NA3EHL announced its players of the month of December earlier this week. Two more received accolades from the leagues stars of the week.Ryan Logar was one of four honorable mentions granted in the league's "Forward of the Month" category for December, while Gibson Stuart was one of three of the league's "Defenseman of the Month" honorable mentions.For the week, Mark Friol was awarded the "Second Star," acknowledging him as the second best player in the league's Western Conference for the first week after returning from holiday break. Frank Vecchio was names as one of two honorable mentions for the week.The Lockport Express, 12-13-4, next plays against the New York Aviators on Saturday in New York. They return to Lockport on Jan. 28 as part of the NA3EHL's spring showcase.




W. Robin Pfiel, Col. USAF (ret.), John J. Higgins, Col. USAF (ret.) and Thomas Keough, Col. USA (ret.), say the turbines, which could stand as tall as 620 feet, will inject a major encroachment into the Military Operating Area (MOA) around the air base, resulting in a major threat to NFARS when the next Base Realignment and Closure recommendations are made, possibly as soon as 2017.





The reasons for this conclusion revolve around these aspects of flight operations at the base:



The current C-130 operations maintain a number of low level training routes (generally 500 feet above ground level (AGL), but as low as 300 feet AGL, on some routes. These routes depart NFARS on a common departure path, in a northeasterly direction. In the area of the lake shore, east of Wilson NY, the individual routes commence with a turn in various directions, as per the routes design. Additionally, there is an established high speed route, established primarily for fighter aircraft, that is in the same general area; and it is also cleared down to 300 feet AGL.



As the Air National Guard in its MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) mission, it is intended to station MQ-9 aircraft at NFARS. Their mission would have the RPA depart NFARS, proceed to Lake Ontario, and fly up to the Fort Drum ranges, utilizing the existing MOA and restricted area over Lake Ontario. After the mission it would return to back to NFARS and would transit the area of concern in its recovery to NFARS.



The intended development area is in the flyway of migratory birds. We are concerned that a westerly shift in the flyway, as a result of the wind turbines, could heavily impact flight safety at NFARS.



The future of the NFARS, its current and potential military usefulness, could very well rest on the decision made by your administration on this proposed project. If the base were to lose its competitive advantage in the area of encroachment, its position with the next BRAC would be seriously compromised. A decision to permit the APEX project will create estimated 5-10 full time jobs. If the next BRAC were to recommend and succeed in closing the NFARS the cost will be nearly 3200 jobs!



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WHEATFIELD -- The proposed installation of 70 industrial wind turbines by Apex in the towns of Somerset and Yates could jeopardize the future of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, according to a letter signed by the former commander and vice commander of the 107th Airlift Wing, and the former vice commander of the 914th Airlift Wing.A Wednesday afternoon press conference at the air base brought the concerns to light when Somerset Supervisor Daniel Engert and Somerset's special counsel Dennis Vacco of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP shared the letter outside the air base main entrance.The letter, written at the request of Save Ontario Shores, a group opposed to the planned turbines, was sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York States Article 10 Siting Board, which will make the final decision on the Apex application to install the industrial wind turbines.In the letter, the former Air Force Pilots wrote:The letter has also been distributed to local, state and federal elected officials, the Niagara Military Affairs Council and to the New York State Public Service Commission.For more on Save Ontario Shores, visit lakeontarioturbines.com
Yesterday afternoon while most of us were driving home from work or home getting ready for dinner, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 571 into law. Its now Public Act 269 of 2015.

This legislation started out innocuously enough as a 12-page campaign finance reform bill that involved how funds are collected and distributed by organizations that manage separate segregated funds, funds that are limited to making contributions to, and expenditures on behalf of, candidate committees, ballot question committees, political party committees, political committees, independent committees, etc.

The bill was introduced in late October. However, in the waning hours of the 2015 legislative session and right before they adjourned for the year, Republicans added over 40 pages of new stuff to the bill, didnt hold a single hearing, didnt solicit any input from the public at all, and told their caucus members that there was nothing to worry about and that they should feel totally comfortable voting for it without reading the extra 41 pages of stuff. This was good because they only had 15 minutes to do so before the vote was held.

So what happened to the innocuous campaign finance reform bill? A whole lot of mischief was added to it at the last minute during the late night session. Here are some of the things it does:

Prohibits public bodies like government agencies (think librarians and Secretary of State staff) from distributing information about ballot proposals 60 days before the election.

Elimination of a February filing deadline for independent and political committees and reestablishment of the requirement to file an annual report covering the period from October 21st through December 31st.

Effective doubling of the amount of money PACs can donate to candidates for the second time in two years, effective quadrupling the limit since 2013.

Prohibits corporations from collecting contributions from its employees to a unions PAC.

Lets take a look at these one at a time.

The first one, of course, is the one that raised the loudest hue and cry from a wide assortment of groups. Librarians  who have been quick to inform me that they are actually quite politically active, thank you very much, something that I am eminently happy about  launched a petition drive. County clerks across the state spoke out vociferously about it. Heres a particularly relevant statement on this part of the new law:

if the bill doesnt get fixed, it will be a complete gag order on local officials. Chris Hackbarth, director of state affairs for the Michigan Municipal League, said The way its signed, communication is shut down. I dont know any community that would feel comfortable having a meeting broadcast on their public access channel, he said. Its a disaster.

Even many Republicans began to speak out about it, most of whom actually voted FOR the legislation without actually reading and comprehending the additional 41 pages of material, despite being alerted to the problems by Democrats in the legislature. I wrote about one of them, Dave Pagel, who had this to say:

SB 571 came back to the House and we were asked by our leadership to quickly accept the changes which, we were assured, were only minor. One of the House Democratic members raised concerns that there were around 40 pages added to this bill and no one had time to read them. As it turns out, his concerns were merited. I am embarrassed to say that I, along with my Republican colleagues, voted yes on SB571 without knowing about the significant changes that were made to it. I trusted the House leaders because this came up late in the evening after many hours of session. This is the first time anything like this has happened during my tenure. I am demanding an explanation  which has yet to come  about why this happened and who was responsible. I have written the Governor, asking him to veto this bill so that we can take this language out. I have contacted several other Representatives who feel the same way I do. [] The language in SB571 will be a detriment to both the voters and to those entities making ballot proposals. I will do whatever I can to stop SB571 as it stands. Even if it is signed by Governor Snyder, I will work to get this changed by further legislation.

Rep. Pagel wasnt alone.

The most nefarious effect of this particular element of this bill is to amplify the impact of money in politics because it silences objective sources of information for the entire two-month period before an election, ceding the floor to those who spend astonishing amounts of money on a media blitz of radio and television commercials, mailings, billboards, web ads, and anything else they can think of to sway your vote.

The second item, changes in campaign finance reporting deadlines, etc., fails to address another money-in-politics multiplier. Heres Michigan Campaign Finance Networks Rich Robinsons take on it:

Senate Bill 571 eliminates February quarterly reports for PACs and superPACs, but it reestablishes the requirement to file an annual report covering the period from October 21st through December 31st. The scheduling changes in SB 571 restore campaign finance reporting for PACs and superPACs to previously existing schedules. However, SB 571 fails to address one of the major anomalies of Michigan campaign finance reporting: the reporting of independent expenditures. In the case of special elections, any independent expenditure that is made subsequent to the last scheduled pre-election report must be reported to the Michigan Bureau of Elections within 48 hours. In the case of regularly scheduled elections, independent expenditures that occur subsequent to the last scheduled pre-election report do not have to be disclosed until the first regularly scheduled post-election report. In the case of Michigans 2014 November elections, millions of dollars-worth of independent expenditures were first disclosed months after Election Day.

Basically what this means is that independent expenditures will now be able to remain secret until AFTER the election so that you wont know who is pumping money into a particular issue or candidate, information that may well impact your vote, until after you have actually voted.

The third item  the doubling of the amount of money people and PACs can give to candidates  is best laid out by the Detroit Free Presss Brian Dickerson (and I highly recommend reading his entire piece):

Three weeks after Michigan state legislators adopted a heavily amended campaign finance bill in the final, frenzied hours of their 2015 session, even some of those who voted for the legislation are unpleasantly surprised to learn whats in it. High on the list of surprises is a provision that raises the amount a political action committee can donate to pay for expenses incurred in any statewide campaign, effectively doubling the maximum donation  for the second time in as many years  from $68,000 to $136,000. The biggest mystery in SB 571 lies in the provision doubling the amount donors may contribute to defray a statewide candidates expenses in a single election campaign. Most lawmakers insist they were unaware that the bill authorized such a change  perhaps because it appears to leave the existing ceiling on such contributions unchanged. Until 2013, individual donors could contribute only $3,400 per cycle, with PACs permitted to give 10 times as much. Snyder and Republican lawmakers sustained intense but short-lived blowback two years ago when they muscled through legislation raising those ceilings to $6,800 and $68,000, respectively SB 571 doesnt explicitly raise those limits. But it authorizes candidates to accept up to $68,000 from a PAC in one campaign cycle and apply it retroactively to expenses incurred in a previous cycle  even if the same PAC wrote a previous $68,000 check in the heat of that campaign. So a candidate who didnt want voters to know how much money he was getting from, say, the Committee to Legalize Pot could cash a $68,000 check from that organization a few weeks before the 2016 election, accept a second donation for the same amount a week after that election, and use both checks to pay off the $136,000 credit card bill he ran up during Campaign 16.

Dickerson spoke to a couple of Republicans to ask them if they knew this was in the bill they voted for. Neither did and the truth is that its highly likely that almost none of Republican legislators who voted for it did.

Finally, we have the prohibition on corporations collecting money from employees paychecks for union political action committees. If you want to talk about intrusive government overreach and government interference in private companies and individuals, this element of PA 269 is the poster child for that conversation. This prohibition isnt aimed at taxpayer-funded entities like schools or government agencies. It literally prohibits ANY company, privately-held or otherwise, from making payroll deductions that will end up in the hands of unions even if the employee agrees to it and/or the union and the company have a contract to do so.

The rationale for this being given by Republicans and anti-union groups is, of course, asinine and bogus. Heres an example and its a true eyeroll statement:

The Michigan Freedom Fund, a conservative political organization with ties to the wealthy DeVos family in west Michigan, celebrated the governors signing of the bill. Its one of those reforms that I think is positive for the state and allows employers to stay focused on their core business, said Greg McNeilly, chairman of the Michigan Freedom Fund and a GOP political consultant. The law ends a longstanding practice of labor unions getting companies to pay for the administration of collecting union PAC contributions, McNeilly said. Why should unions force employers to collect their political dues? he asked.

Theres so much wrong with these three sentence that it boggles the mine. First of all, nobody is forcing employers into doing this. Its usually part of the contract negotiations that both employers and workers agree to.

Second, the idea that this is somehow a distraction for employers that prevents them from staying focused on their core business is laughable to the point that I cant believe McNeilly made it with a straight face.

Finally, the reference to paying for the administration of these payroll deductions is LOLingly ROFLable. A payroll deduction is done by a computer. Its automatic, electronic, and consumes almost no resources whatsoever. When the Republicans did this same thing with teachers back in 2012, heres how the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency described the financial impact:

FISCAL IMPACT

State : The bill would have no fiscal impact on the State. Local : The bill likely would not result in either net costs or savings to districts. Payroll deductions for union dues are automated in the vast majority of districts. The removal of existing deductions from payroll systems would take some administrative staff time, but on the other hand, districts would be able to eliminate the processing of future dues from the automated payroll systems.

An earlier analysis of that same bill said the same thing in different words:

The bill would have no significant fiscal impact on school districts. Individual school districts would likely only see a minimal savings from this change. The process for payroll deductions for union dues and service fees is largely automated, so there is very little work school districts must go through on a regular basis. Moreover, some collective bargaining agreements provide that the union is to reimburse (at least in part) the school district for administering a payroll deduction. There could be some initial work, if the bill were enacted, to process that change, but any ongoing savings would be minimal.

In other words, this part of PA 269 is yet another Republican solution to a problem that doesnt exist and serves only to screw over unions, make it harder for them to do business, and do damage to a major source of funding for their political adversaries. Its not pro-business, its blatant union-busting.

The most disgusting part about Gov. Snyders signing this bill into law is that he did it with a public acknowledgement that it is flawed and an affront to free speech and democracy. He sent a letter to state legislators that is the state level equivalent to a presidential signing statement, asking legislators to send him a new bill that fixes he one he just signed into law. I am calling on the Legislature to enact new legislation to address those concerns, he said.

Given the makeup of the current legislature, I, for one, am not holding my breath that this will happen.

I should probably mention that the bill does at least one good thing: it requires robocalls to identify who is paying for the call with contact information. Given all the egregious things that the bill does, that small tidbit is the very definition of crumbs from the feast being doled out to the citizens of Michigan.
Apple on Wednesday announced that customers spent a record US$1.1 billion on apps and in-app purchases during the holidays.

Jan. 1 was the App Stores best day ever, with consumers spending about $144 million, the company said.

Since 2008, the store has generated close to $40 billion in revenue for developers. Consumers spent more than $20 billion on App Store purchases last year, Apple reported.

On the back of the App Stores success, Apple has created more than 1.9 million jobs in the U.S., it said The company previously reported creating 1.4 million jobs in China and 1.2 million in Europe related to the App Store and the iOS economy.

Behind the Numbers

The numbers reflect the social change that Apple brought about with the introduction of the iPhone and its relationship and support of app developers worldwide, saidRitch Blasi, president of MediaRitch.

Apple changed the mobile industry when it introduced the iPhone by putting full computing power in the palms of users, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Apple continues to excel in creating a complete user experience, notes Jim McGregor, principal analyst for Tirias Research.

And its not just the devices, he told the E-Commerce Times. Apple has recognized that its the content, the applications. The content is the most valuable part of our industry. Its what drives our industry.

With the right amount of money, it isnt hard to stamp a brand on a cheap piece of electronics. The differentiation between technology companies comes from software and applications, according to McGregor.

Thats where the value is, he said. Thats where the differentiation is. And thats where Apple has always exceeded everyone else in the industry.

Bigger Picture

The sheer volume of revenue generated over the holidays continued the monumental growth the iOS ecosystem has seen, stated Josh Crandall, CEO and co-founder ofNetpop Research.

And with the record-breaking sales for iPhone devices, you expect to see an uptick in app sales, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Whats also fascinating is the growing number of people who have become addicted to their mobile devices, Crandall noted.

The trend the were seeing emerge is the dislocation of media consumption from the living room into ones pocket, he said. I anticipate that sales will continue to increase in 2016. And in addition to record-breaking sales from Apples App Store, I anticipate that well see Google Play sales increasing as well.

Developers are working on artificial intelligence and deep learning, according to Tirias McGregor.

Everything that were doing is all centered around creating intelligence from and for the devices were using, he said. So as we move forward, a lot of that is going to be about creating intelligence on these devices and in the cloud.

Apple has leveraged such intelligence and held developers to high standards.

Apple changed the way people work and play and now has everyone living in an app world, said MediaRitchs Blasi. What apps have done for our personal lives will soon become the norm for business as well.
Apple on Thursday announced some personnel moves that suggest CEO Tim Cooks future vision for the company.

He named Jeff Williams (pictured above) chief operating officer, elevated Johny Srouji to Apples executive team by making him a senior vice president, broadened the powers of Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller to include supervision of Apples App Store across all its platforms, and added Tor Myhren as the new vice president of marketing communications.

As we come to the end of the year, were recognizing the contributions already being made by two key executives, Cook said in a statement.

Jeff [Williams] is hands-down the best operations executive Ive ever worked with, and Johny [Srouji]s team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year, he added.

Loosening Reins

Williams joined Apple in 1998 as head of worldwide procurement. In 2004 he was named vice president of operations. Since 2010, he has overseen Apples supply chain, service and support.

Making Williams COO is a sign that Cook feels confident in loosening the reins to Apple a bit, noted Patrick Moorhead, founder and principal analyst atMoor Insights and Strategy.

When you add a chief operating officer, it says that Tim Cook needs to spend more time on strategy and the future of the company and less time on day-to-day operations, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Its a classic growth move you make when you feel comfortable about how operations are going, he said.

IP in Apples Future

Srouji has been vice president for hardware technologies at Apple for eight years. He oversees custom silicon and technologies, such as batteries, application processors, storage controllers, sensors silicon, display silicon and other chipsets.

With Sroujis elevation to senior vice president, Apple may be recognizing the significance his role will be to the future of Apple.

Hardware is a very important part of Apples business, said Tim Bajarin, president ofCreative Strategies.

But its not just hardware, he told the E-Commerce Times. His role includes overseeing the silicon business, which to us is equally important to Apples future.

Sroujis promotion was also a promotion of enabling technologies at Apple, Moorhead noted.

Enabling technologies are going to be more important to Apple in developing more of its own intellectual property in the future, he said.

This says we will see more homegrown enabling technologies from Apple, Moorhead added.

Outside Hire

Schiller now leads nearly all developer-related functions at Apple. His duties also include worldwide product marketing and international, education and business marketing.

He will be charged with advancing Apples ecosystem, Cook said.

In many ways, the whole app ecosystem is just an extension of Apples marketing, Bajarin said. It makes a lot of sense for Phil to oversee that.

The only outside move Apple made was the hiring of Myhren, chief creative officer of Grey New York, who is replacing retiring 18-year Apple veteran Hiroki Asai.

Under Myhrens leadership, Grey won Adweeks Global Agency of the Year award in 2013 and 2015.

Bringing in someone from the outside to run advertising is an interesting move, Moorhead observed.

Its interesting that there wasnt anyone inside Apple who could have taken that role, he said.

More Changes Needed

Apple usually brings in outsiders when it doesnt have the in-house talent for an initiative. It brought in people from the outside when it planned to enter the retail market, and it did so again when designing the fashion aspects of the Apple Watch.

I wouldnt expect them to bring in an outside guy to run advertising and merchandising because Apple has good people internally to do that, Moorhead noted.

Apple has problems that wont be addressed by appointing a new COO or advertising director, according to Trip Chowdhry, managing director for equity research atGlobal Equities Research.

Apples stock has underperformed by every metric. Investors have zero confidence in Apples executive team, he told the E-Commerce Times.

This reshuffling at the secondary level isnt going to make any difference, Chowdhry added, unless the CEO, CFO and the head of the retail channel is replaced.
Insider threats are becoming increasingly worrisome to corporate security executives.

That is one of the findings in a survey of C-level businesspeopleNuix released last week.

The insider threat seems to be a bigger concern this year than it was in previous years, said Keith Lowry, Nuixs senior vice president of business threat intelligence and analysis.

People are recognizing that it is a significant weakness that has yet to be fully addressed by most organizations, he told TechNewsWorld.

Insider threat programs are widespread across the broad set of industries represented by 28 high-level executives participating in the study, which was conducted by Ari Kaplan Advisors.

More than two-thirds (71 percent) of the executives said they had either an insider threat program or an insider threat policy.

Throwing Money at Problem

Organizations are spending more money fighting insider threats, the survey found.

Nearly a quarter (21 percent) of the surveyed execs said some of their increases in security spending went to bolstering protections against insider threats.

Whats more, 14 percent of the participants noted that 40 percent or more of their security budgets went to combating insider threats.

Despite those efforts, the organizations in the survey still had problems tracking access to their critical data.

Most of them (93 percent) could identify their critical data, but only 69 percent said they knew what people did with critical data after they accessed it.

Not Just ITs Problem

The insider is a dynamic threat, and most organizations are taking a static approach to stopping it, Lowry said.

This is not just an IT problem. Its a risk management issue. The C-suite needs to realize that this is a bigger issue, he noted.

It has to be looked at from the perspective of the whole organization, not just a piece of any part of the organization, Lowry added.

As in the 2014 survey, participants cited human behavior as the greatest threat to their security. Last year, 88 percent of those surveyed identified human behavior as their biggest threat. This year, it was even higher: 93 percent.

CISA Sneaks Into Law

Congress, perhaps unwilling to take the heat during the re-election season for enacting a law that civil liberties groups and some high-profile technology companies say broadens the governments surveillance powers, buried the text of the Cybersecurity Information Security Act in the federal budget bill President Obama signed into law earlier this month.

Tucking controversial measures into budget bills is a time-honored tactic to avoid putting legislators on the record on thorny issues that could be used against them when they run for re-election.

From its inception, the bill failed to require that information shared by companies with the government be anonymized.

The initial proposal of CISA had a bare minimum of provisions to offer some type of privacy protection, but not enough, said Joseph Pizzo, field engineer atNorse.

What were seeing now is that these few provisions have been stripped away, he added. With the changes, organizations can now directly share raw data with several agencies with no protection or anonymity.

Encourages Sharing

Sharing information about cyberthreats can help protect the nations data assets, but private industry has been reluctant to do so because of liability and antitrust considerations.

The bill covers the majority of areas needed to encourage sharing, said Sean Tierney, vice president of threat intelligence atIID.

It hits on the important and cogent points, he told TechNewsWorld.

It provides protections against liability for sharing or consuming data, so long as its done for the sake of cybersecurity, Tierney said.

There are no requirements in the legislation for companies to share information with the government, he added. However, there are requirements as to what the government needs to provide the private sector.

Many of us see the bill as progress in both protecting privacy and providing data to the country, Tierney said.

Getting Out of Patching Business

Among the best practices recommended by many security pros is keeping software current by installing updates as soon as a manufacturer releases them.

In the enterprise, that can be difficult because IT departments like to test new software patches before they roll them out to all their charges. Their thinking is that its better to break a few test machines than let an ornery patch raise havoc throughout the enterprise.

That kind of testing, though, may be a luxury IT departments no longer can afford. In the week before Christmas, for example, just four companies  Apple, Adobe, Microsoft and Google  released 273 patches.

If youre in the business of patching, youve got to get out of it, said Simon Crosby, CTO and co-founder ofBromium.

We need to get humans out of the loop, he told TechNewsWorld.

Dont Worry About Breakage

If an organization is uncomfortable with automatic patching, it should install patches immediately and not worry about breaking things, Crosby maintained.

Patching for the benefit of the majority at the expense of breaking a few things is vastly preferable to testing everything and then patching, he said.

With the Internet of Things entering the corporate landscape, the patching problem will get even worse.

Youre going to have all these devices running with software in them, Crosby observed. It must be the case that those things patch themselves. Otherwise, we will die trying to patch stuff.

Breach Diary

Dec. 21. Yahoo announces it will notify users if it strongly suspects their accounts have been targeted by a state-sponsored actor.

Dec. 21. Fox River Counseling Center notifies 509 patients their health information is at risk after someone stole a laptop from one of its offices.

Dec. 22. Sanrio Digital confirms reports that data of 3.3 million Hello Kitty fans is at risk after a vulnerability was discovered in its hosting service. Although the data was exposed for a month, the company said it found no evidence that any data was stolen during that period.

Dec. 22. Former Morgan Stanley Broker Galen Marsh is sentenced to three years probation for illegally taking home client data from the companys computer systems.

Dec. 22. HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital notifies 1,359 patients their health information is at risk after someone stole a laptop from the trunk of an employees car in October.

Dec. 23. The Intercept reports that in February 2011, GCHQ, a UK spy agency, acquired the capability to covertly exploit security vulnerabilities in 13 firewall models by Juniper Networks with the knowledge and cooperation of the NSA.

Dec. 23. Hyatt Hotels advises its patrons to monitor their credit card statements after announcing it has discovered malware on the payment processing systems of its Hyatt-managed properties.

Dec. 23. Livestream asks all its users to reset their passwords after it discovers the possibility that an unauthorized person accessed its customer information database.

Dec. 23. Allina Health notifies more than 6,000 patients that their healthcare information is at risk after it was disposed of in the trash instead being shredded at its Isles Clinic in Minneapolis.

Dec. 25. Valve, which operates the popular gaming site Steam, confirms a system error that allowed some users to see other users account data. The error was caused by a configuration change and has been fixed, the company said.

Upcoming Security Events
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(Photo:  UNHCR / I. Prickett)Refugees and migrants arrive in Greece on flimsy boats after crossing treacherous seas to Greece mostly fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in September 2015.

The number of displaced people in the world is at its highest and a U.S. bishop is urging Catholics to remember that "extremely vulnerable" refugees often flee circumstances where their very lives are at risk.

"People often forget that the Holy Family themselves were refugees fleeing into Egypt," Bishop Eusebio Elizondo Almaguer, auxiliary bishop of Seattle, said in a statement for National Migration Week, observed from Jan. 3 to 9.

"Likewise, refugees around the world, all of whom are extremely vulnerable, are fleeing for their lives," noted the chair of the U.S. bishops' committee on migration. "As Catholics, we are called to welcome and support these families who also need our help."

The United States' Catholic Bishops Conference says in a statement, "In the Gospel of Matthew (25:35) Jesus tells his disciples, 'I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'

"The call to welcome the stranger plays an important role in the lives of faithful Christians and has a particularly central place for those of us who work in the migration field."

From Baltimore, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service expressed grave concern about the recent announcement by the administration of President Barack Obama that it will begin deporting unaccompanied children and families who came to the U.S. last summer seeking protection and asylum.

In recent days, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken more than 100 people into custody, primarily in the states of Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina.

FAMILIES TARGETED FOR DEPORTATION

"LIRS's primary concern is that some of the families targeted for deportation have valid claims to asylum, or are otherwise deserving of humanitarian protection, but exhausted the legal process in a system that is unfairly stacked against them.

"Many families face severe challenges in successfully navigating the United States' complicated immigration court system without access to adequate legal representation or adequate notice of the court date," said the Lutheran service.

U.S. Catholic bishops National Migration Week 2016 poster.

"At the heart of our concern are the extremely dangerous conditions in the Central American countries from which these families escaped. Over 80 U.S. individuals who made it to the Unites States from this region have reportedly been deported to their deaths in Central America since 2014."

The theme of National Migration Week 2016 is "A Stranger and You Welcomed Me," Catholic News Agency reports.

It focuses on the Syrian refugee crisis, in which more than 4.1 million people have fled the country since 2011 due to the civil war in which rebel groups are pitted against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad's.

To observe the week and raise awareness about the plights of migrants, the migration committee has provided prayer resources, including Mass intentions for migrants and civil leaders.

It includes prayers to St. Juan Diego and St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese-born nun who was sold into slavery as a young girl.

Some of the committee's policy recommendations for the Syrian crisis include the U.S. sending development aid to surrounding countries overwhelmed by the number of refugees. It also wants an increase in the yearly intake of Syrian refugees by preparing to accept 100,000 every year into the United States.

The number of persons displaced is at the highest ever recorded - 59.5 million at the end of 2014, says the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR.

It has seen its largest jump in a single year, up from 51.2 million displaced in 2013 and 37.5 million a decade prior. Conflict in Syria is the biggest cause of the increase in migration, the UNHCR claimed in its 2014 Global Trends Report: World at War.

Half of the refugees were children, and only 126,800 returned to their home countries in 2014, the report noted.
As Education Weeks Quality Counts turns 20, the nation has posted a solid Cthe same as last yearon the reports 2016 summative-grading indicator .

The report card has evolved through the years, taking on its current, streamlined form in 2015. That form incorporates state and national grades on three indices developed by the Education Week Research Center.

The Chance-for-Success Index provides a cradle-to-career perspective on the role that education plays in promoting positive outcomes throughout a persons life.

The K-12 Achievement Index rates states on current academic performance, change over time, and poverty-based gaps.

The school finance analysis assesses spending patterns and equity.

The 2016 summative grade of C corresponds to a 74.4 out of 100, up slightly from 74.3 in 2015, when the nation also earned a C.

State Grading Data Download Grading Summary PDF Chance for Success PDF School Finance PDF K-12 Achievement PDF

To score the states, the research center employs a best-in-class approach. For each indicator in a given category, the top state receives 100 points. All other states are awarded points based on their performance relative to that state. Category scores are calculated as the average of scores across indicators. A states overall summative score is the average of the three graded categories. For the summative grades and the three categories, A-plus is the highest possible grade, and 100 is the highest possible score.

For the second year in a row, Massachusetts finished first. Long a fixture of the top five, the Bay State beat its own 2015 result, raising its grade from a B (86.2) to a B-plus (86.8). Although New Jersey (85.1), Vermont (83.8), and Maryland (82.7) all received grades of B, Massachusetts was the only state to score a B-plus.

Nevada ranked last in the 2016 report, with a grade of D and a score of 65.2. The two other states earning Ds were Mississippi (65.6), which ranked last in 2015, and New Mexico (65.8). The majority of states (33) earned midrange grades between C-minus and C-plus.

Between the 2015 and 2016 reports, the District of Columbia experienced the greatest change. The jurisdiction leapfrogged 10 spots, from 38th to 28th in the nation, as its grade increased from a C-minus (70.0) to a C (72.9).

Chance for Success

The Chance-for-Success Index consists of 13 indicators that capture early opportunities, progress through the K-12 system, and educational and workforce outcomes in adulthood.

The nation earned a C-plus on the Chance-for-Success Index in 2016, the same grade it has received each year since 2008. However, its numeric score inched upward from 77.5 to 77.8 out of 100 between 2015 and 2016. Results improved slightly for early educational foundations in childhood and adult outcomes, but declined modestly for the K-12 school years.

For the ninth straight year, Massachusetts (92.3) topped the rankings in this category. The state earned the only A-minus on the index. Connecticut (87.4), New Hampshire (89.1), New Jersey (88.1), Minnesota (87.4), and Vermont (86.8) posted grades of B-plus. At the other end of the grading scale, New Mexico (66.9) and Nevada (66.5) received a D-plus and a D, respectively. Nineteen states recorded grades of C or lower.

Scores in 33 states improved compared with last year, with seven increasing by more than a full point. The District of Columbia made the largest strides, gaining more than 2 full points. It experienced substantial improvements in family income and parental employment. Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Utah, and Vermont also gained more than a point. By contrast, four statesHawaii, Kansas, Maryland, and North Dakota saw declines exceeding a full point.

K-12 Achievement

The K-12 Achievement Index is made up of 18 distinct indicators capturing current academic performance, gains over time, and equity as measured by poverty-based disparities. Results on the index are based largely on National Assessment of Educational Progress scores. Because these scores are released every two years, the index is updated on the same schedule. Also included in the indicator are Advanced Placement exam results and high school graduation rates, as calculated by the National Center for Education Statistics.

This year, the nation earned a C-minus for K-12 Achievement. Although the letter grade has not changed, the underlying numeric scores have demonstrated progress, climbing from 69.7 in 2012 and 70.2 in 2014 to 71.0 out of 100 this year.

The nation saw a decline in the percentage of 8th graders scoring at the advanced level on NAEP math between 2013 and 2015. By contrast, the percentage of students earning high scores on AP exams increased markedly since the index was last reported in 2014.

Massachusetts (85.2) continued its streak as the top-performing state for K-12 Achievement, earning the only B. It has been the leader in the rankings every year the index has been reported. New Jersey (81.0), the only other state with a grade higher than a C-plus, earned a B-minus this year. Mississippi (60.0) and New Mexico (61.8) received grades of D-minus, the lowest in the nation.

School Finance

The school finance analysis examines school spending patterns and the distribution of funding across districts within each state. The finance indicators in Quality Counts 2016 are based on the most recent available data, which is from 2013.

The nations grade of C for school finance has remained the same for the past six years, although its numeric score decreased from 75.3 out of 100 a year ago to 74.4 this year.

New York (88.1) earned the nations highest score of B-plus. After seven consecutive years as the top-ranked state, Wyoming (87.7) slipped to second place. Nineteen states recorded scores ranging from C-minus to C-plus. Idaho (59.0) was the only state to receive an F.

The U.S. average for per-pupil spending stands at $11,841, after adjusting for regional cost differences. Vermont had the highest per-pupil spending at $19,134. On the other end of the spectrum, Utah, the lowest-ranking state, spends $7,084.

States received better marks for equity than for spending. The average grade for spending was D compared with a B for equity. However, inequities persist within states. The Wealth Neutrality Indicator revealed that only one state, Alaska, provided more funding for poorer districts than for their more affluent counterparts. But Alaska was also last in the nation with respect to the Restricted Range indicator, which measures the gap between per-pupil funding in districts at the 95th and 5th percentiles for expenditures.
For the past three decades, public school accountability had generally been heading in one direction: toward common standards, standardized tests, and a bigger role for the federal government in shaping how states gauge student performance and improve schools.

But now, all that seems to have taken a U-turn.

Reflecting a seismic shift in attitudes toward the federal footprint in education, states and districts are getting broad flexibility when it comes to how they measure school and student progress. And theyll have much more say when it comes to intervening in the lowest-performing schools, and ensuring that students who are traditionally overlookedincluding poor and minority studentsdont fall through the cracks.

Theyve also been tasked with looking at a broad range of factors to gauge school performancenot just test scores.

But the new leeway, embodied in a new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, has reignited an old debate: If states are given the controls when it comes to accountability, will they continue to turn around low-performing schools? Will they keep expectations highand keep their foot on the accelerator when it comes to closing the achievement gap?

Margaret Spellings, who served as U.S. secretary of education under President George W. Bush, is worried.

The states basically have said, We cant get all kids reading on grade level, are you crazy? Lets figure out some loopholes so we dont have to,  said Spellings, who was an architect of the No Child Left Behind Act, the 2002 reauthorization of the law that was arguably the high-water mark for federal involvement in accountability. Theres nobody pounding the table and saying, Youve got to be kidding me. Nobody is putting the shame card out there. This is ridiculous.

But Carey Wright, Mississippis superintendent of education, said theres no way the Magnolia State will back down from a strong system focused on high expectations for all students.

I think states are excited about having a little flexibility, more autonomy, she said. But for me, in a state like Mississippi which has been underperforming for the number of years that it has, I cannot back up. I just cannot. ... I think its incumbent upon us to really be looking at this through the lens of equity because there are subgroups of our population that are just not performing as high as other subgroups, and thats just not fair, and its just not just.

Riding a Wave

The federally centered, largely test-driven approach to accountability that has dominated the landscape over the past decade and a half didnt emerge from nowhere. Instead, the NCLB law grew out of the decades-old, standards-based education redesign movement.

That movement was arguably underwayin fits and startsfor some 30 years before it got hit with a double whammy of accelerants. First came the 1983 report A Nation At Risk, which warned that the country was falling dangerously behind the rest of the world in K-12 education, threatening long-term prosperity.

That report brought new momentum to a flurry of activity already taking place in the nations capital and around the country. States, particularly in the South, beganor continuedto ratchet up the rigor of their coursework and hold their students to higher expectations. Meanwhile, a 1988 reauthorization of the ESEA introduced the idea of looking at student outcomes to gauge whether federal money aimed at the poorest children was making an impact.

The second big boost came the year after that new iteration of ESEA became law: President George H.W. Bush convened a summit on education in Charlottesville, Va., featuring nearly every governor, including future President Bill Clinton, who was Arkansas chief executive at the time.

The 1989 summit resulted in a promise to set education goals, and for the country to hold itself accountable, somehow, for meeting them.

That pledge helped create a fragile federal-state partnership to further standards-based education redesign. Even in the face of concerns about federal overreach, it spurred a cascade of legislation: Goals 2000, a Clinton-era initiative that sought to provide states with resources to develop content standards, and the 1994 reauthorization of ESEA, the Improving Americas Schools Act, which introduced a federal requirement for statewide tests and standards for the first time.

Policy Hammers The issue of public school accountability has been bound up with the question of consequences if schools, students, and educators fall short of the expectations set for them. Among them: For Students Retention: In some states, students that do not score above a certain threshold on an exam can be retained in that grade. For example, more than half of states have a policy to retain students in 3rd grade if test scores show they arent reading on grade level. Diploma Withholding: At the high school level, some states require students to pass either a general exit exam or a series of end-of-course exams aligned to specific courses in order to receive a standard diploma. (States differ in whether they offer alternative pathways to graduation or other completion credentials in lieu of a standard diploma.) For Schools NCLB Era: The No Child Left Behind Actnow superseded by the federal education laws latest reauthorization, the Every Student Succeeds Actincluded prescriptive strategies for districts to use to jump-start changes in their schools needing improvement, increasing with severity depending on the number of years the school missed testing benchmarks. They included: the right of students to transfer to a better-performing school; free tutoring for students in schools needing improvement; revamping the curriculum, staff replacement, and even conversion of the school to a charter or turning it over to private or state management. School Ratings: Many states use systems for identifying schools needing assistance, such as A-F grading systems. Audits: Some states, like Rhode Island and Washington, require school improvement for low-achieving schools to go through an external audit or diagnostic process before improvement strategies are selected. Washingtons audit process includes parent notification and requires collective bargaining contracts to be reopened to align to the improvement plan. Specialists: Some states send in support staff to help low-achieving schools. Georgias school effectiveness specialist, for instance, works to improve adherence to state curriculum frameworks, professional development, and assessment practices. Menu of Options: Many states now offer far-more tailored options. Rhode Islands lowest-performing schools must select at least nine strategies to improve from a list of several dozen. SIG Strategies: Prompted by the federal School Improvement Grant programon the way out as a separate program under ESSAsome states now use those options for intervening in schools. They include closing the school; converting to a charter school or other outside governance; replacing the principal and up to half the staff; or transforming via performance evaluations, extended learning time, and other strategies. Receivership: A receiver is authorized to make major governance changes in a low-performing school. Under New York states law, a district superintendent is given receivership powers to, among other things, change curriculum, extend the school day, convert the school to a charter, and request contract changes. Eventually, the state can also appoint an independent receiver. Parent Trigger: Some states allow parents to force major governance changes if more than half of a schools parents sign a petition. Californias parent-trigger law applies to low-performing schools; parents can demand staff change-ups, conversion to a charter, or the use of a private company to operate the school. For Teachers Remediation: Most states and districts require teachers with low performance to be given professional-growth plans to boost their performance. Parent Notification: Under the NCLB law, parents received letters if their childs teachers were not deemed highly qualified, a designation given to those that have a bachelors degree, are fully certified by the state, and have demonstrated competency in the subject they teach. Loss of Tenure: In some states, a tenured teacher may be returned to probationary status if he or she receives several poor performance evaluations. Dismissal: Some states now specify that teacher-performance evaluations can contribute to a teachers dismissal for inefficiency, incompetency, or another similar reason in state law. Library Intern Rachel Edelstein provided research assistance.

Meanwhile, states including Kentucky and Maryland were moving toward crafting their own accountability systems, including consequences and extra supports for schools that failed to make progress.

The NCLB law, which passed by big, bipartisan margins, was intended to build on that work and put some federal parameters in place to ensure that states tested students every year. And it expected states to take specific action in places where poor and minority studentsor the whole schoolwere struggling to meet achievement targets.

That law also required states to work toward a common goal for student achievement: bringing all students to the proficient level on state assessments in reading and math by the 2013-14 school year.

Wiggle Room

But the law stayed in place for years without a facelift. As the deadline for bringing all students to proficiency neared, and it became clear that few states would come close to getting all children over that bar, the Obama administration stepped in. It offered states waivers from many of the mandates of the NCLB law.

The waivers, which were in place in 42 states and the District of Columbia in fall 2015, gave states more say over some pieces of accountability: setting student-achievement goals, pinpointing which schools needed the most help, and intervening in schools that had problems but werent seriously underperforming.

But the waivers tightened the strings on two other key accountability pieces by calling for new teacher evaluations that took student outcomes on state tests into consideration, and standards that would get students ready for college and the workplace.

States could either opt to use the Common Core State Standardswhich are currently in place in more than 40 states and the District of Columbiaor draw up their own, as long as their institutions of higher education certified that the expectations were rigorous enough to get students ready for college and the workplace.

Setting the Stage

The Obama administration billed that as new state flexibility. But not everyone saw it that way. In fact, all the perceived prescriptions in the NCLB law and, later, the waivers, helped trigger a big backlashagainst standardized testing, against the common core, and ultimately, against the federal role in accountability, said Jeff Henig, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, who focuses on education and politics.

It united some progressives with the anti-federal-establishment crowd, he explained, and ultimately put pressure on state leaders and Congress to head in a new direction.

That political dynamic, coupled with frustration on the part of some states with the NCLB waivers, helped shape the latest reauthorization of the federal education law signed by President Barack Obama last month.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states will be required to hold schools accountable for much more than just test scores. They will have to consider at least one factor that gets at school quality, such as teacher engagement, student engagement, or access to and success in advanced coursework.

Whats more, the law will allow a handful of states to try out new forms of assessments, beginning in individual districts, with the goal of going statewide. It also calls for states to focus their turnaround efforts on their lowest-performing schools and schools with high dropout rates, while giving state and district officials more control when it comes to interventions.

States and districts could use the new law to build on experimentation and approaches already underway. Massachusetts, for instance, uses a triage approach to school improvementoffering the most help to schools and districts that dont have the capacity to transform themselves.

New Hampshire is already moving to replace traditional standardized tests with a new breed of performance assessments. A cadre of California districts is gauging schools on more than just reading and math scoresthey are looking at grit and other social-emotional skills.

Ramping Up

Theres a lot of potential in the approaches getting a test run in New Hampshire and California, Deborah S. Delisle, the executive director of ASCD, a 150,000-member international education organization that provides professional development, advocates policy shifts, and more, wrote in an email. But, she added, other places need to know that neither states approach could be replicated overnight.

These systems took a significant amount of thinking, analysis, and work at the local level, wrote Delisle, who served as the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education under Obama. It is easy to be tempted to adopt another states or districts pilot; however, processes are not necessarily transferable, and they need to be analyzed in terms of the local schools needs and goals for their students.

Whats more, there are almost certainly going to be concerns about state capacity to take the lead on setting goals and turning around low-performing schools, said Paul Manna, a professor of government at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Va. He noted that some states have trouble just testing all students each year.

It may take a while for the dust to settle and a new vision for accountability to emerge, Henig said. But one blueprint for the future may be the past, specifically, the years just before the passage of the NCLB law, which saw a real range of approaches to accountability.

Looking back to pre-NCLB, we see what we could anticipate as a likely outcome in the future, which is considerable variation in terms of how [states] use greater authority and discretion. Some states were leaders and innovators, some were laggards, he said. They vary in terms of political dynamics, vary in terms of bureaucratic capacity, ... and in terms of what they value.
Lawrence County's homes rose in price

How did Lawrence County's housing market do in July? The median price for a house in 2022 was higher than 2021.
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Re: Another swiss hating rant...



Ten years ago supported employment programs barely existed in Switzerland (although some doctors offices and organizations offered intervention and help with employment / re-socialization).



Now almost every rehabilitation clinic and therapists offer some form of supported employment and there are even formal programs from what I read. There are supported employment programs for refugees, people with disabilities and people who need to change careers, eg after accidents.



I was not able to do a big research since Im at work, but if you want to look into Arbeitsrehabilitation, Ergotherapie and supported employment constellations, I made a short list below:





One of the main organizations that aim to support people of all walks of life in finding work:



The



 Milieu- und Soziotherapie: Erhalten, Wiedererlangen und Fordern der Selbststandigkeit in den verschiedenen Lebensbereichen wie Wohnen, Arbeit, Freizeit, Kontakt mit anderen

 Hilfe und Unterstutzung bei sozialen Problemen (Wohnung, Arbeit, Finanzen) und im Kontakt mit Sozialeinrichtungen





On current advances in Arbeitsrehabilitation in CH



http://medicalforum.ch/docs/smf/arch...011-39-193.pdf



(the link specifically deals with Arbeitsrehabilitation based on mental illness. It is not to say this applies to you, but it shows the efficiency of supported employment and it also shows how many people are in similarly difficult situations that require support)



Rehaklinik Bellikon and its (in-patient) program in supported employment

http://www.google.ch/url?q=http://ww...6PaJTLLf1OKAqg



An example of a praxis that focuses on Arbeitsrehabilitation (if you prefer a smaller setting than the PUK)

http://www.rehawin.ch/de/arbeitsrehabilitation.html





Information on who pays for Umschulungen

http://www.proinfirmis.ch/de/subseit...mschulung.html





If you need recommendations for English speaking therapists, dont hesitate to ask the forum I think an in-patient program has the advantage that you can get help with pain management, coping strategies and work situation. You can ask your GP for recommendations and talk to your insurance about costs.Ten years ago supported employment programs barely existed in Switzerland (although some doctors offices and organizations offered intervention and help with employment / re-socialization).Now almost every rehabilitation clinic and therapists offer some form of supported employment and there are even formal programs from what I read. There are supported employment programs for refugees, people with disabilities and people who need to change careers, eg after accidents.I was not able to do a big research since Im at work, but if you want to look into Arbeitsrehabilitation, Ergotherapie and supported employment constellations, I made a short list below:One of the main organizations that aim to support people of all walks of life in finding work: http://www.supportedemployment-schweiz.ch/ The Psychiatrische Uniklinik Zurich has many offers, such as Milieu- und Soziotherapie: Erhalten, Wiedererlangen und Fordern der Selbststandigkeit in den verschiedenen Lebensbereichen wie Wohnen, Arbeit, Freizeit, Kontakt mit anderen Hilfe und Unterstutzung bei sozialen Problemen (Wohnung, Arbeit, Finanzen) und im Kontakt mit SozialeinrichtungenOn current advances in Arbeitsrehabilitation in CH(the link specifically deals with Arbeitsrehabilitation based on mental illness. It is not to say this applies to you, but it shows the efficiency of supported employment and it also shows how many people are in similarly difficult situations that require support)Rehaklinik Bellikon and its (in-patient) program in supported employmentAn example of a praxis that focuses on Arbeitsrehabilitation (if you prefer a smaller setting than the PUK)Information on who pays for UmschulungenIf you need recommendations for English speaking therapists, dont hesitate to ask the forum
Re: Another terror incident in Paris Quote: mirfield I think if you're determined to die, then wearing a fake suicide vest and shouting "Allu Akbar" is almost guaranteed to get you quickly killed, and is much less likely to get you a load of social workers trying to change your mind.



My apologies to Trump, but in my view this episode highlights the need for better quality psychiatric care more than the need for the general population to carry guns. More or less supporting the nutter hypothesis. Hopefully less traumatic for the cops that shot him than it would have been for the train driver if he had jumped in front of a train (and the staff who would have to scrape him off the tracks).My apologies to Trump, but in my view this episode highlights the need for better quality psychiatric care more than the need for the general population to carry guns.
Hello at last!

I'm married to a lovely Swiss lady (since 15 years) who I met in Paddy Reilly's in Basel and we have a daughter. I learnt the lingo in the first couple of years and still really like it here. I go back to Warrington once or twice a year to remind myself why I left although I really enjoy visiting the UK. My wife loves the prices of clothes for herself and my daughter.

I work in aviation so have many British colleagues as well as from many other countries.

Hope I haven't bored you too much and look forward to getting active on the many great threads. Hi everyone, I've been living in Switzerland since 1999 after moving from Warrington to start a job in Basel. I look at the forum regularly and finally decided to join, there's nothing like a late starter!I'm married to a lovely Swiss lady (since 15 years) who I met in Paddy Reilly's in Basel and we have a daughter. I learnt the lingo in the first couple of years and still really like it here. I go back to Warrington once or twice a year to remind myself why I left although I really enjoy visiting the UK. My wife loves the prices of clothes for herself and my daughter.I work in aviation so have many British colleagues as well as from many other countries.Hope I haven't bored you too much and look forward to getting active on the many great threads.
Re: Contact Lenses I get mine from mrspex or similar online retailers but collect them from Germany. I get the cleaning solutions from Germany too. I have ordered from Swiss websites before but the delivery time was very long as I think they ship them in from Czech republic or something.



Not all contact lenses are the same. I've tried several in recent years because they don't make the ones I used to like any more. Some I can't keep in after 30 mins or so. For some I found is was the storage solution in the sachet that was the problem. I use the "new" silicone hydrogel ones as they have good oxygen transmission and my eyes don't get at all red. One problem though is I find some have poor clarity in low light like at dusk. Right now I've found Purevision HD to be the best but they still suffer from it a bit.



If anyone has good experiences with toric lenses, I'd like to hear. I tried some before and they were fantastic when in the right place but as soon as they moved a bit the vision was terrible. Right now I'm putting up with slightly blurry but predictable vision.
Fans have loved watching them party it up and get into all kinds of trouble on various vacations throughout the South, but the Party Down South gang officially packed their bags for the final time on their upcoming trip to Savannah.

Lyle & Santana's Relationship Brings Drama With Tiffany & Lauren

The fifth season, featuring their trip to the Georgia city, will be the last, according to CMT. The network revealed the news in a statement advertising the new episodes, which premiere at the end of January.

"After leaving their mark on Murrells Inlet, Athens, Biloxi and St. Petersburg, the beloved gang heads to Savannah for an unforgettable, last vacation," the press release reads.

'PDS 2''s Bradley & Raven Are Parents!

However, the gang will certainly make sure that their last trip together will be one they won't ever forget--complete with plenty of drama to sustain the time they spend.

"Season five ensures no shortage of drama as Lyle and fiance, Santana, near their breaking point when rumors of her infidelity are sparked by his roommates," the statement continues. "Tears are shed and punches are thrown as everyone tries to get to the bottom of the situation. Meanwhile, Mattie may have finally found a guy who can keep up with her, and Daddy is determined to leave this vacation on a high note--with as many marlins in pretzels as possible."

But anyone hoping that the announcement is a mistake and the gang will eventually be back is sure to continue being upset, as Mattie Breaux has appeared to confirm the news in a tweet.

It has been amazing and I couldn't be more grateful to be apart of this journey #PartyDownSouth https://t.co/6ES7m450nD  Mattie Lynn (@MattieLBreaux) January 7, 2016

"It has been amazing and I couldn't be more grateful to be apart of this journey #PartyDownSouth," she wrote.

The final season premieres Thursday, Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. on CMT.
When representatives of 195 nations reach an accord aiming to save the planet earthan accord they have been at for the past 18 yearsit calls for celebration. It is a significant victory for environmental diplomacy and green campaigning. However, let us not be carried away. Let us also admit severe limitations of this global deal.

It is being claimed that one major achievement of the Paris accord is that nations have agreed to not let global temperature rise above 2C in comparison with pre-industrial timesand even goes further in declaring a shared aspiration to aim for less than 1.5C increase. The latter is certainly an achievement insofar as it brings to global attention what the small island nations have been arguing for. These nations, over 40 in number, including countries such as Mauritius, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica, have been arguing that if the global temperature rises above 1.5c, their fate is doomed due to rise in sea levels. To stop their revolt coming into the open, the French government got its diplomatic skills into play and managed to insert the aspirational figure of 1.5C. However, if one looks at the emission reductions that 185 governments of the world have voluntarily agreed to abide by, the global temperature is likely to rise by 2.7C. Therefore, the insertion of not just the 1.5C threshold but even the 2C threshold seems like an act of bad faith. To rebut this criticism, a clause has been added that the agreed emission reduction will be reviewed every five years.
One in ten patients is at risk of having new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to their ICU experience up to a year post-discharge. This was the finding from a multicenter, prospective cohort research study of veterans and civilians. The research was published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

In the study "Incidence and Risk Factors for ICU-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and Civilians," researchers led by Mayur Patel, MD, MPH, FACS, Assistant Professor of Surgery & Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Staff Surgeon and Surgical Intensivist at the Nashville VA Medical Center, analyze data from a cohort of medical and surgical ICU survivors enrolled in studies from three Veterans Affairs hospitals (MIND-ICU Study, NCT00400062) and one civilian hospital (BRAIN-ICU Study, NCT00392795). Using the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-IV to determine PTSD for this study, among PTSD measurements listed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' National Center for PTSD, a total of 181 patients were assessed at three months and 160 were further assessed at 12 months.

The cumulative incidence of PTSD was 6 percent to 12 percent within one year following hospitalization. "Although lower than prior research and public perception suggests, the rate of ICU-related PTSD is very comparable to the 8 percent PTSD rates seen in current and former service members deployed to the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts," Patel said. "It is important to understand more about PTSD following the traumatizing events of a critical illness so we can better support the growing number of ICU survivors."

PTSD can occur in patients after the traumatizing events of critical illness, and this study provides estimates on new cases of PTSD stemming specifically from the ICU experience. Pre-existing PTSD has rarely been systematically assessed in prior cohorts, and this study took extra effort to distinguish pre-existing PTSD from new PTSD cases. Civilian populations have dominated the literature of PTSD after critical illness, and this study is the first to also include the expanding and aging Veteran population.

Assessing risk factors for ICU-related PTSD, the researchers found that pre-existing PTSD as well as prior depression were strong risk factors associated with ICU-related PTSD at three and 12 months post-discharge. Being a veteran did not increase risk of ICU-related PTSD, nor did duration of delirium, amount of pain medication, or amount of sedative.

"Currently, the international psychological aftercare for ICU survivors is not organized proactively; rather, it is largely reactive in response to disabling reports from survivors, caregivers, and primary care providers. The Institute of Medicine in the United States has recommended a systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of data assessing the quality of post-conflict PTSD care in the military and veteran populations. We suggest that the same should apply to the large civilian and veteran populations of critically ill survivors," the authors advised.

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BOSTON (01/07/16) -- The rapidly growing field of synthetic biology has made long strides in recent years as researchers have modified the genetic makeup of living organisms to get them to behave in different ways - flagging the presence of toxins in the environment, for example. Researchers have done this by breaking down biology into basic building blocks. However, using these building blocks has been increasingly difficult without a clear design methodology and supporting quantitative metrics researchers could use to make decisions.

Boston University's Douglas Densmore, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, would like to take the guess work out of biological design and speed the development of synthetic biology in the process. Working under a new $10 million National Science Foundation "Expeditions in Computing" grant, Densmore will lead the Living Computing Project, a comprehensive effort to quantify synthetic biology, using a computing engineering approach to create a toolbox of carefully measured and catalogued biological parts that can be used to engineer organisms with predictable results. These parts will allow the entire field to understand better what computing principles can be applied repeatedly and reliably to synthetic biology.

Densmore and Boston University researchers Ahmad Khalil and Wilson Wong - both biomedical engineers - and computer engineer Swapnil Bhatia will take the lead on the project, partnering with colleagues at MIT and Lincoln Laboratories over the course of the five-year grant. The grant marks the first time explicitly exploring computing principles in multiple living organisms and openly archiving the results has been funded.

"This puts a stake in the ground to make synthetic biology more rigorous," Densmore said. "We want to build a foundation that's well understood, built to use software tools, and that can serve as an open-source starting place for many advanced applications."

Synthetic biologists take snippets of DNA and combine them in novel ways to produce defined behavioral characteristics in organisms. For instance, Densmore envisions a day when one might engineer a cell to change state when it detects cancer. The cell could be introduced into a patient, retrieved after a time and read like the memory of a computer, enabling detection of disease much earlier and less invasively than is now possible. Engineering that cell could be far easier and faster if researchers had a detailed inventory of parts and corresponding software tools they could use to create it.

Densmore is a core member of - and the only computer engineer in - BU's new Biological Design Center. He has long been applying the kinds of tools used in computer engineering to synthetic biology. His software aims to identify and characterize biological parts - segments of DNA - and assemble them into complex biological systems. The NSF Expeditions in Computing grant will allow for expansion of that effort, but there are significant challenges in applying computer engineering principles to natural systems.

"What is power consumption in biology?" Densmore cites as an example. "What are the metrics in biology that make sense, can be repeated, and are reliable? You can't make decisions in engineering without metrics and quantifiable information."

"Programming a flower to change color, a cell to repair damaged tissue, or a mosquito to defeat malaria, is likely to require a different computational model than programming an app for your laptop," said Bhatia. "Discovering this new type of computational thinking in partnership with synthetic biologists is what I am most excited about."

Densmore hopes this project will take synthetic biology from an artisanal endeavor to a true engineering discipline with a solid, quantified foundation.

"Computation is important for moving any field forward and that's what we're trying to do with synthetic biology," Densmore said. "We're trying to build a library based on computing principles for the whole community, an open-source repository of biological pieces that use those principles reliably, repeatedly, and with broad applicability."

"The Expeditions in Computing program enables the computing research community to pursue complex problems by supporting large project teams over a longer period of time," said Jim Kurose, NSF's head for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "This allows these researchers to pursue bold, ambitious research that moves the needle for not only computer science disciplines, but often many other disciplines as well."

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From the Christian Crusades to the Paris attacks, countless conflicts and acts of violence have been claimed to be the result of differing religious beliefs. These faith-based opinions are thought to motivate aggressive behavior because of how they encourage group loyalty or spin ideologies that devalue the lives of non-believers.

However, new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reveals the opposite: religious beliefs might instead promote interfaith cooperation. Researchers from the New School for Social Research and Carnegie Mellon University examined how Palestinian youth made moral choices, from their own perspectives and from the perspective of Allah. The results showed that Muslim-Palestinians believed that Allah preferred them to value the lives of Palestinians and Jewish-Israelis more equally, raising the possibility that beliefs about God can mitigate bias against other groups and reduce barriers to peace.

"Our findings are important because one precursor to violence is when people believe that the lives of members of their group are more important than the lives of members of another group. Here, we show that religious belief -- even amidst a conflict centered on religious differences -- can lead people to apply universal moral principles similarly to believers and non-believers alike," said Jeremy Ginges, associate professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research.

For the study, 555 Palestinian adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 were presented with a classic "trolley dilemma" that involved a Palestinian man being killed to save the lives of five children who were either Jewish-Israeli or Muslim-Palestinian. The participants responded from their own perspective and from Allah's perspective.

The results showed that although Muslim-Palestinian participants valued their own group's lives over Jewish-Israeli lives, they believed that Allah preferred them to value the lives of members of both groups more equally. In fact, thinking from Allah's perspective decreased the bias toward their own group by almost 30 percent.

"Beliefs about God seem to encourage an application of universal moral rules to believers and non-believers alike, even in a conflict zone. Thus, it does not seem to be beliefs about God that lead to outgroup aggression," said Nichole Argo, a research scientist in engineering and public policy and social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon.

"There may be other aspects of religion that lead to outgroup aggression. For instance, other work done in conflict zones has identified participation in collective religious rituals and frequent attendance at a place of worship to be associated with support for violence. This study, however, adds to a growing literature on how religious belief can increase cooperation with people from other faiths," Argo said.

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In addition to Ginges and Argo, the New School's Hammad Sheikh and ARTIS International's Scott Atran participated in the study.

The National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research and the Social Sciences Research Council funded this research.

Read "Thinking from God's perspective decreases biased valuation of the life of a nonbeliever" at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/12/23/1512120113.abstract.
Voting was opened in early November and the video abstract that accompanied the paper 'New modalities of cancer treatment for NSCLC: focus on immunotherapy' was the winner https://www.dovepress.com/new-modalities-of-cancer-treatment-for-nsclc-focus-on-immunotherapy-peer-reviewed-article-CMAR.

The paper is published in the journal Cancer Management and Research, which is an international, peer reviewed, open access journal focusing on cancer research and the optimal use of preventative and integrated treatment interventions to achieve improved outcomes, enhanced survival and quality of life for the cancer patient.

Congratulations to the author Marianne Davies, Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, who will receive the following prizes:

A GoPro camera;

Free institutional membership for their organisation which provides three free manuscript submissions plus 30% discount off all further submissions during that year;

One free personal submission of a manuscript to any Dove Medical Press journal.

Voting will be open again in November 2016, information regarding submission guidelines for video abstracts can be view here https://www.dovepress.com/author_guidelines.php?content_id=3195

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Dove Medical Press Ltd is a privately held company specializing in the publication of Open Access peer-reviewed journals across the broad spectrum of science, technology and especially medicine.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Doctors at the Duke University School of Medicine have tested a new injectable agent that causes cancer cells in a tumor to fluoresce, potentially increasing a surgeon's ability to locate and remove all of a cancerous tumor on the first attempt. The imaging technology was developed through collaboration with scientists at Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Lumicell Inc.

According to findings published January 6 in Science Translational Medicine, a trial at Duke University Medical Center in 15 patients undergoing surgery for soft-tissue sarcoma or breast cancer found that the injectable agent, a blue liquid called LUM015 (loom - fifteen), identified cancerous tissue in human patients without adverse effects.

Cancer surgeons currently rely on cross-sectional imaging such as MRIs and CT scans to guide them as they remove a tumor and its surrounding tissue. But in many cases some cancerous tissue around the tumor is undetected and remains in the patient, sometimes requiring a second surgery and radiation therapy.

"At the time of surgery, a pathologist can examine the tissue for cancer cells at the edge of the tumor using a microscope, but because of the size of cancer it's impossible to review the entire surface during surgery," said senior author David Kirsch, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of radiation oncology and pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University School of Medicine. "The goal is to give surgeons a practical and quick technology that allows them to scan the tumor bed during surgery to look for any residual fluorescence."

Researchers around the globe are pursuing techniques to help surgeons better visualize cancer, some using a similar mechanism as LUM015, which is activated by enzymes. But the Duke trial described in the journal is the first protease-activated imaging agent for cancer that has been tested for safety in humans, Kirsch said.

LUM015 was developed by Lumicell, a company started by researchers at MIT and involving Kirsch. In companion experiments in mice described in the journal, LUM015 accumulated in tumors where it creates fluorescence in tumor tissue that is on average five times brighter than regular muscle. The resulting signals aren't visible to the naked eye and must be detected by a handheld imaging device with a sensitive camera, which Lumicell is also developing, Kirsch said.

In the operating room after a tumor is removed, surgeons would place the handheld imaging device on the cut surface. The device would alert them to areas with fluorescent cancer cells.

Going into surgery, the goal is always to remove 100 percent of the tumor, plus a margin of normal tissue around the edges, explained senior author Brian Brigman, M.D., Ph.D., chief of orthopedic oncology at Duke. Pathologists then analyze the margins over several days and determine whether they are clear.

"This pathologic technique to determine whether tumor remains in the patient is the best system we have currently, and has been in use for decades, but it's not as accurate as we would like," said Brigman, who is also the director of the sarcoma program at the Duke Cancer Institute. "If this technology is successful in subsequent trials, it would significantly change our treatment of sarcoma. If we can increase the cases where 100 percent of the tumor is removed, we could prevent subsequent operations and potentially cancer recurrence. Knowing where there is residual disease can also guide radiation therapy, or even reduce how much radiation a patient will receive."

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital are currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of LUM015 and the Lumicell imaging device in a prospective study of 50 women with breast cancer. Afterward, Kirsch said, multiple institutions would likely evaluate whether the technology can decrease the number of patients needing subsequent operations following initial breast cancer removal.

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In addition to Kirsch and Brigman, study authors include Melodi Javid Whitley, Diana M. Cardona, Alexander L. Lazarides, Ivan Spasojevic, Jorge M. Ferrer, Joan Cahill, Chang-Lung Lee, Matija Snuderl, Dan G. Blazer III, E. Shelley Hwang, Rachel A. Greenup, Paul J. Mosca, Jeffrey K. Mito, Kyle C. Cuneo, Nicole A. Larrier, Erin K. O'Reilly, Richard F. Riedel, William C. Eward, David B. Strasfeld, Dai Fukumura, Rakesh K. Jain, W. David Lee, Linda G. Griffith and Moungi G. Bawendi.

Duke author Kirsch and MIT authors Griffith, Bawendi, Ferrer and W. David Lee hold interest in or are involved with Lumicell Inc., a company commercializing LUM015 and the imaging system. Duke and MIT hold a patent on the imaging device technology. More detailed conflict-of-interest information is included in the manuscript published by Science Translational Medicine.

The study was funded in part by an American Society of Clinical Oncology Advanced Clinical Research Award to Kirsch, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (T32GM007171), a National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research award to Lumicell Inc. (1U43CA165024), the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science (UL1TR001117), and Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center Support (5P30-CA-014236-38). Lumicell Inc. provided the imaging agents.

Video: https://duke.app.box.com/s/4fd04fj79avba204xit6vh9rnoymwqre
This news release is available in French.

The use of lasers to guide an electrical discharge around obstacles: this breakthrough by Professor Roberto Morandotti and his team made Quebec Science magazine's list of the ten biggest discoveries in 2015. In fact, the physicist who has tamed short-lived lightening bolts is featured on the front page of the January/February issue.

This scientific first, accomplished at the INRS Centre Energie Materiaux Telecommunications's Advanced Laser Light Source, paves the way for innovative applications in micromachining, pollution control, and electronic jamming.

The electrifying breakthrough has sparked considerable interest on the part of the international scientific community, which has always dreamed of controlling the trajectory of lightning bolts. It also caught the attention of prestigious media such as Science, Le Monde, and the Daily Mail, to name a few.

Professor Morandotti's research findings were published in the June 2015 issue of Science Advances in the article "Laser-assisted guiding of electric discharges around objects." Researchers Matteo Clerici, Yi Hu, Philippe Lassonde, Carles Milian, Arnaud Couairon, Demetrios N. Chrisodoulides, Zhigang Chen, Luca Razzari, Francois Vidal, Francois Legare, Daniele Faccio, and Roberto Morandotti are the authors of the article.

2015 Discovery of the Year: People's Choice Award

Quebec Science is again inviting the public to vote on which of the 10 jury panel selections is the biggest discovery of the year. The People's Choice Award will go to the discovery that receives the most votes by February 18, 2016. Vote at http://www.quebecscience.qc.ca/10-decouvertes-2015.

Supplement: video Can Humans Control Lightning?

Watch for it: January 12 at 8 p.m., the Savoir channel will broadcast a show on Quebec Science magazine's list of the top ten discoveries of the year: http://canalsavoir.tv/emission/decouvertes_quebec_science_2015. You can also watch the show online on starting on its broadcast date.

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About INRS

Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS) is a graduate-level research and training university and ranks first in Canada for research intensity (average funding per professor). INRS brings together some 150 professors and close to 700 students and postdoctoral fellows at its four centres in Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, and Varennes. Its basic research is essential to the advancement of science in Quebec and internationally, and its research teams play a key role in the development of concrete solutions to the problems faced by our society.
Major improvements to methods used to process observations from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have yielded an expanded, higher-quality set of data that allows astronomers to produce the most detailed census of the sky yet made at extreme energies. A new sky map reveals hundreds of these sources, including 12 that produce gamma rays with energies exceeding a trillion times the energy of visible light. The survey also discovered four dozen new sources that remain undetected at any other wavelength.

"What made this advance possible was a complete reanalysis, which we call Pass 8, of all data acquired by Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT)," said Marco Ajello, a Fermi team member at Clemson University in South Carolina. "The end result is effectively a complete instrument upgrade without our ever having to leave the ground."

By carefully reexamining every gamma-ray and particle detection by the LAT since Fermi's 2008 launch, scientists improved their knowledge of the detector's response to each event and to the background environment in which it was measured. This enabled the Fermi team to find many gamma rays that previously had been missed while simultaneously improving the LAT's ability to determine the directions of incoming gamma rays. These improvements effectively sharpen the LAT's view while also significantly widening its useful energy range.

Using 61,000 Pass 8 gamma rays collected over 80 months, Ajello and his colleagues constructed a map of the entire sky at energies ranging from 50 billion (GeV) to 2 trillion electron volts (TeV). For comparison, the energy of visible light ranges from about 2 to 3 electron volts.

"Of the 360 sources we cataloged, about 75 percent are blazars, which are distant galaxies sporting jets powered by supermassive black holes," said co-investigator Alberto Dominguez at the Complutense University in Madrid. "The highest-energy sources, all located in our galaxy, are mostly remnants of supernova explosions and pulsar wind nebulae, places where rapidly rotating neutron stars accelerate particles to near the speed of light." One famous example, the Crab Nebula, tops the list of the highest-energy Fermi sources, producing a steady drizzle of gamma rays exceeding 1 TeV.

Astronomers think these very high-energy gamma rays are produced when lower-energy light collides with accelerated particles. This results in a small energy loss for the particle and a big gain for the light, transforming it into a gamma ray.

For the first time, Fermi data now extend to energies previously seen only by ground-based detectors. Because ground-based telescopes have much smaller fields of view than the LAT, which scans the whole sky every three hours, they have detected only about a quarter of the objects in the catalog. This study provides ground facilities with more than 280 new targets for follow-up observations.

"An exciting aspect of this catalog is that we find many new sources that emit gamma rays over a comparatively large patch of the sky," explained Jamie Cohen, a University of Maryland graduate student working with the Fermi team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. "Finding more of these objects enables us to probe their structures as well as better understand mechanisms that accelerate the subatomic particles that ultimately produce gamma-ray emission." The new catalog identifies 25 of these extended objects, including three new pulsar wind nebulae and two new supernova remnants.

Ajello presented the findings Thursday at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Kissimmee, Florida. A paper describing the catalog has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement.

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States.

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For 3 downloadable, related videos: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasas-fermi-space-telescope-sharpens-its-high-energy-vision

For more information about NASA's Fermi, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/fermi
A group of seven publishers today announced that, during 2016, they will begin requiring authors to use an ORCID identifier (iD) during the publication process. The American Geophysical Union (AGU), eLife, EMBO, Hindawi, the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Public Library of Science (PLOS) will join the Royal Society - which already (as of January 1, 2016) requires its authors to include iDs at submission - in making this commitment.

ORCID iDs are persistent identifiers for people. Using an ORCID iD ensures that researchers can be easily and correctly connected with their research activities, outputs, and affiliations. Over 200 research platforms and workflow systems collect and connect iDs from researchers: grant application and publishing systems, association management systems, and university CRIS and other research information systems.

Over 1.8 million researchers globally have registered for an iD, understanding the value a digital name provides in enhancing discoverability and reducing their reporting paperwork. Some funders have started to require ORCID iDs as part of the grant proposal process (see http://orcid.org/blog/2015/12/04/research-funders-and-orcid-new-members-mandates-and-platforms), and in a recent survey researchers indicated strong support for similar requirements by publishers (see http://orcid.org/blog/2015/12/11/survey-says-community-perceptions-orcid-part-2).

According to Mark Patterson, Executive Director of eLife, one of the three original organizations behind this initiative: "There is a pressing need to improve the way researchers are evaluated. ORCID helps by providing a unique ID for an individual which makes it easier for researchers to gain recognition for all of their research contributions. eLife is very happy to be part of this initiative aimed at encouraging broader adoption of ORCID."

Veronique Kiermer, Executive Editor of PLOS, another of the original organizations, adds: "PLOS is committed to providing due credit to all researchers who contribute to the work we publish and we see ORCID as an essential means to achieve this."

While Stuart Taylor, Publishing Director at the Royal Society - the third organization - says:

"We recognize the great potential value of ORCID to the research system. We believe that publishers have a key role in promoting systems that provide support to researchers and to science."

Laure Haak, Executive Director of ORCID, also welcomes this initiative: "This action by publishers will help improve discoverability - and ultimately recognition - for researchers, and also means that publishers will use best practice for implementing ORCID: a win for everyone."

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ABOUT ORCID:

ORCID is a community-driven non-profit organization that aims to solve the name ambiguity problem in research and scholarly communications. ORCID maintains a central registry of unique identifiers for individual researchers and provides open and transparent processes for connecting ORCID iDs with persistent identifiers for people, organizations, and research activities and outputs. Connecting these identifiers can improve the research and scholarly discovery process, reduce reporting burdens, increase the efficiency of research funding, and support sharing and collaboration within the research community. For more information contact Laurel Haak, ORCID Executive Director, at l.haak@orcid.org.
The Access to Research initiative, which gives users in public libraries free access to over 10 million academic articles, has been given the green light by publishers and librarians to continue.

The service was originally launched as a pilot by the Universities and Science Minister in 2014, in order to support expanded access to publicly funded research in the UK. Two years on and over 80% of UK local authorities, representing more than 2,600 libraries, have signed up to the initiative from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Since the launch, over 84,000 users have accessed the service and an independent report, commissioned by the Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) and the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), and co-funded by PLS and Arts Council England, has confirmed the value of the Access to Research service to users.

The report found that satisfaction with Access to Research is high, with 90% of those surveyed indicating the information they found through the service was useful. User feedback included: "I was surprised how much material was made available" and "it makes the public library look like a more happening place."

Almost every academic discipline is covered by the journals made available through Access to Research, via the Summon discovery service. Findings have shown that users are taking full advantage of this to explore a wide variety of topics. Over 230,000 searches (since Jan 2014) have investigated topics from dementia to biomedical engineering; modern religious philosophy to contemporary art; social work to polar records; and Roman Wales to Ebola; amongst many more.

Access to Research has been made possible by a consortium of academic publishers, who collectively publish some of the world's most respected scientific journals. News of the publishing community's decision to extend the service has been warmly welcomed by librarians and users. Librarians participating in the initiative are encouraged to continue promoting the service, to further increase awareness of the wealth of information available from their library terminal.

Sarah Faulder, Chief Executive at the Publishers Licensing Society, said: "I am delighted that the Access to Research initiative has been received so positively by librarians and the general public, and we are pleased to have the support of publishers to continue providing this service. We hope to see usage continuing to increase over the coming months."

Ciara Eastell, SCL President, said: "This news is welcomed by libraries and library customers and we appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into ensuring Access to Research can be prolonged. It is an incredibly valuable information resource for our customers and enhances the Learning and Information Offers in public libraries."

Lesley Sim, West Sussex Libraries Information Services Manager, said: "We are delighted to see how well A2R is being used in West Sussex libraries and it is fantastic that residents can access this resource via all our libraries - including the smallest community libraries. It has been particularly useful for scientific and medical enquiries but just this week we were able to give a researcher access to two key journal articles instantly. It has enhanced the information service we are able to provide."

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Notes to Editors

Background

Access to Research was launched in response to a key recommendation of the Finch Group, a committee convened by the Government to explore how access to publicly funded research could be expanded. The Finch Group recommended that the major journal publishers should grant public libraries a licence to provide free access to their academic articles. Access to Research is the result of a unique collaboration between librarians and publishers, who have made their journal content available for free to UK libraries. The content is searchable through the Summon discovery service, provided free of charge by ProQuest.

The implementation group, led by the Publishers Licensing Society, gathered quantitative and qualitative data during the two year pilot which was used to assess effectiveness of the service and inform future delivery. Read the executive summary here: http://bit.ly/1RhwDG8

Browse available journals: http://bit.ly/1jf1fa6

Find a participating public library: http://www.accesstoresearch.org.uk/libraries

Are you a local authority and want to sign up your libraries? Email accesstoresearch@pls.org.uk A

re you a publisher and want to join? Email register@pls.org.uk

Follow @A2R_4libraries Tweet #AccessToResearch

Publishers

Current participating publishers are: ALPSP, Cambridge University Press, De Gruyter Open, Dove Press, Edinburgh University Press, Elsevier, Emerald, IOP Publishing, Oxford University Press, Portland Press, Royal Society Journals, SAGE Publications, Science Reviews 2000 Ltd., Society for General Microbiology, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, Whiting & Birch Ltd., Wiley, Wolters Kluwer Health.

About the implementation group:

The Publishers Licensing Society

The Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) offers rights management services to the publishing industry. We are not-for-profit, set up by the industry, for the industry; with our primary remit being to oversee collective licensing in the UK for book, journal, magazine and website copying. http://www.pls.org.uk

Society of Chief Librarians

The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) leads and manages public libraries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. SCL is made up of the head of service of every library authority, and advocates for continuous improvement of the public library service on behalf of local people. http://www.goscl.com

ProQuest

ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company's products are a gateway to the world's knowledge including dissertations, governmental and cultural archives, news, historical collections and ebooks. ProQuest technologies serve users across the critical points in research, helping them discover, access, share, create and manage information. http://www.proquest.co.uk

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP)

ALPSP is the international membership body for not-for-profit organizations that publish scholarly and professional content and those who work with them. ALPSP connects, informs, develops and represents its members and has a membership of 330 companies in 40 countries. Over 10,000 journals are published by ALPSP members as well as numerous books, databases and other products and services. http://www.alpsp.org

The Publishers Association

The Publishers Association is the leading trade organisation serving book, journal, audio and electronic publishers in the UK. Membership comprises 108 companies from across the trade, academic and education sectors. Its core service is representation and lobbying, around copyright, rights and other matters relevant to members, who represent roughly 80% of the industry by turnover. http://www.publishers.org.uk

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Despite their diversity, the structure of most tropical rainforests is highly predictable. Scientists have described the various sizes of the trees by a simple mathematical relationship called a power law.

In a new study using data from a rainforest in Panama, researchers determined that competition for sunlight is the underlying cause of this common structure, which is observed in rainforests around the globe despite differences in plant species and geography. The new finding can be used in climate simulations to predict how rainforests absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The study, conducted by researchers at Princeton University, the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and collaborating institutions, was published Jan. 8 in the journal Science. The investigation was supported in large part by the National Science Foundation.

The researchers found that the rainforest structure stems from what happens after a tall tree falls and creates a gap in the canopy. The gap enables sunlight to reach the forest floor and fuel the rapid growth of small trees. Over time, the trees' crowns grow to fill the gap until the point where not all of the trees can fit in the sunlit patch. Some will be left behind in the shade of their competitors.

"This process of moving from fast growth in the sun to slow growth in the shade sets up this characteristic size structure that is common across tropical rainforests, despite the differences in their environments," said Caroline Farrior, first author of the study and who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis and is soon to be an assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas-Austin.

Farrior, who earned her Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University in 2012, completed most of the work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Princeton Environmental Institute with co-author Stephen Pacala, Princeton's Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

"Rainforests store about twice as much carbon as other forests," Pacala said. "About half of that is due to huge trees, but the other half is all that stuff in the middle. It is not possible to build an accurate climate model without getting that right."

To gain an understanding of how rainforests grow, Farrior and colleagues analyzed decades of tree census data from a 50-hectare plot on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal. From these data, they identified the mechanism most important in driving the observed size structure in tropical rainforests.

"With this new understanding of tropical forests, we can go on to build better models, we can make more accurate estimates of the carbon storage that's currently in tropical forests, and we can go on to more accurately predict the pace of climate change in the future," Farrior said.

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The research included work by Stephanie Bohlman, an assistant professor at the University of Florida and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and Stephen Hubbell, a staff scientist at STRI.

The study was supported by Princeton's Carbon Mitigation Initiative and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NSF grant no. DBI-1300426). The Barro Colorado Island forest dynamics research project was founded by Stephen Hubbell, Robin Foster and Richard Condit of STRI.

The study, "Dominance of the suppressed: Power-law size structure in tropical forests," by Caroline Farrior, Stephanie Bohlman, Stephen Hubbell and Stephen Pacala, appeared in the journal Science on Jan. 8, 2016.
For a small African fish species, a colorful dominant male does better in life, winning access to food and females. New research by Stanford biologists suggests that this lucky outcome is regulated at a genetic level, by turning genes on and off.

People generally think that our genetic code, and thus the expression patterns of our genes, is fixed throughout life. Indeed, this is true in some cases such as eye color, a characteristic that is determined by gene expression early in development. However, scientists have recently found that gene regulation can also happen in an ongoing fashion through epigenetic processes, with the potential to change behavior throughout a lifetime.

Through epigenetics, gene expression can be turned on and off like a light switch via several mechanisms. Through one of these mechanisms called DNA methylation, methyl molecules are added to genes, preventing them from being expressed.

In a study published in PLoS ONE, researchers from Stanford report that social status in cichlid fish may be regulated by DNA methylation.

"Status differences exist in all social organisms," said Russell Fernald, a biology professor at Stanford University and senior author of the study. "Our work reveals how social dominance status is possibly regulated through methylation, which is important because individuals higher in rank generally enjoy better health and quality of life."

A show of social dominance

In 2004, a study by researchers at McGill University showed that the nurturing behavior of mother rats affected their offspring. Pups that were nurtured more grew up to be less stressed as adults, while pups that received less nurturing grew up with more anxious tendencies. This difference was caused by methylation of a gene for a stress receptor, explained Fernald, the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology. Subsequent research has revealed other examples through which epigenetics can alter our gene expression patterns by experiences during our lifetimes.

Fernald studies Astatotilapia burtoni, one of the hundreds of cichlid fish species inhabiting Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa, because of the unique ways they have evolved over time. For male A. burtoni, dominance is everything. They battle frequently for territory, with the victor winning access to the two most important resources - food and females.

Sporting bright rainbow-colored scales, high-ranking males aggressively defend their foraging grounds and lure females into their territory to dine on decaying matter on the lakebed. In contrast, the low-ranking males, which are dull grey in color, comprise 80 percent of the population but cannot reproduce and must swim with the females to get access to food.

But even the dominant males must fool the females into mating. This is tricky, as A. burtoni are mouth-brooders. After laying eggs in the sand, the female scoops them up in her mouth to brood them until hatching, which poses a logistical challenge for fertilization. The ingenious evolutionary solution to this dilemma is a version of oral sex.

The dominant male flashes his anal fin, which is adorned with spots that look like enormous eggs, and which are laced with sperm. When the female sees those spots, she goes after the male's anal fin as if trying to collect some eggs she dropped, collecting sperm in the process and fertilizing the eggs in her mouth.

"In this species, only the macho males get to mate and non-dominant males cannot reproduce, so the stakes are enormously high," Fernald said.

Changing social status

But some social mobility is possible. Because the flashy dominant males are more vulnerable to predation, whenever a boss fish disappears, a major battle ensues as non-dominant males fight to take over the vacant territory. The winner then ascends to dominant status resulting in an astonishing series of physiological changes, including rewiring of parts of the brain as previously reported by Fernald's group.

Given the importance of status, Fernald wondered whether these dramatic changes were driven by gene expression.

"If we altered gene expression through changes in methylation, could we influence change in social dominance?" he asked.

With a graduate student, Kapa Lenkov, Fernald tested this directly in cichlids raised in his Stanford lab. Several pairs of non-dominant males matched in size were each placed in an aquarium that could support only one territory. In each pair, one male was injected with a methylating agent while the other received a methylation suppressor, and the two fish fought for dominance.

"We could see the behavioral change in a matter of minutes, as one animal began to dominate the other," Fernald said. "Videos of these confrontations showed that the fish injected with the methylating agent were much more likely to be the winners, while those receiving the methylation suppressor typically lost the fight for dominance.

"It was remarkable that we could determine which fish became dominant by changing the range of genes expressed in this context," he said.

Fernald's work suggests that epigenetic processes may cause, rather than simply reflect, changes in dominance status in hierarchically organized species, said Tom Boyce, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

"This has implications for humans and nonhuman primates, since hierarchical behavior and social dominance relations appear early in life and remain important throughout the lifespan," Boyce said.

"DNA methylation is potentially a way through which social dominance is regulated in many social organisms, including people," Fernald said. "The next step will be to identify which genes are responding to methylation in causing this change in dominance."

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Chromoendoscopy is superior to random biopsy or white-light colonoscopy in detecting dysplasia in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), according to a long-term surveillance study led by James F. Marion, MD, Professor of Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of Education and Outreach at The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital, published online in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Chromoendoscopy is an inexpensive technique that uses stains during endoscopy to highlight differences in mucosa, as well as dysplastic and malignant changes that could indicate colorectal cancer risk. Current standard surveillance has relied on white light colonoscopy, non-targeted biopsies, targeted sampling, and removal of lesions. However, there is growing consensus that adjunct methods to improve the detection of subtle mucosal abnormalities -- chromoendoscopy being the most promising--enhance detection. These techniques are part of current treatment guidelines based on previous work by Dr. Marion's research team.

"While there has been a growing consensus on the superiority of chromoendoscopy compared to other dysplasia surveillance methods over the last decade, these results are the first to demonstrate this superiority through long-term surveillance," said Dr. Marion. "Since patients with IBD are at an estimated five to ten times greater risk of developing colorectal cancer, it is important to be able to accurately detect dysplasia, so we can prevent cancer morbidity and mortality, while also reducing unnecessary surgeries to remove the colon."

This long-term, prospective study, the first of its kind, analyzed data from 68 Mount Sinai patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. It showed that chromoendoscopy was more likely to find the precancerous lesions known as dysplasia when they were present. A negative chromoendoscopy result also proved an excellent predictor that advanced dysplasia would not develop and colon resection would not be needed. Understanding of the natural history of dysplasia and cancer in colitis has also been deepened with this work.

The patients in the study were part of the original cohort of a prospective study evaluating the superiority of chromoendoscopy that was published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2008. The patients were followed from June 2006 through October 2011; each patient was analyzed by random biopsy, targeted white-light examination, and chromoendoscopy. Specimens were reviewed by a single blinded pathologist.

In the 208 examinations conducted, 44 dysplastic lesions in 24 patients were identified; 6 were detected by random biopsy, 11 by white-light examination and 27 by chromoendoscopy. Ten patients were referred for colectomy and no carcinomas were found.

"Despite the abundant evidence supporting improved dysplasia detection in patients with IBD through chromoendoscopy screening and its incorporation into our guidelines, many gastroenterologists continue to rely on expensive random biopsies for detection of dysplasia and colorectal cancer," Dr. Marion said. "We hope these long-term findings resonate throughout the GI community and prompt screening changes, thus improving patient outcomes. Chromoendoscopy is an inexpensive, easy-to-learn technique that allows us to manage our patients without surgery. Our current guidelines will need to be revisited."

The researchers note that these findings carry important implications for long-term follow-up. Additional surveillance studies with large numbers of patients from multiple centers having long-term follow-up are planned.

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This study was funded by The Foundation for Clinical Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Lois Rubin.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services--from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 6,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked as one of the nation's top 10 hospitals in Geriatrics, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, and Gastroenterology, and is in the top 25 in five other specialties in the 2015-2016 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel is ranked regionally.

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
CINCINNATI--An international research team formed by a University of Cincinnati (UC) cancer researcher has shown for the first time that a specific enzyme is responsible for sensing the available supply of GTP, an energy source that fuels the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. The research underscores the enzyme's potential to become a therapeutic target for future cancer drugs.

The findings of Atsuo Sasaki, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the UC College of Medicine and a researcher at the Brain Tumor Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute and UC Cancer Institute, together with Toshiya Senda, PhD, professor at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Tsukuba, Japan, were published online Jan. 7 in the journal Molecular Cell.

Sasaki and fellow researchers showed that the enzyme PI5P4K (phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinase-) acts like the arrow on a fuel gauge. The enzyme senses and communicates (signals), via a second messenger, the amount of GTP fuel that is available to a cell at any given time. Until now, the molecular identity of a GTP sensor has remained unknown.

"Energy sensing is vital to the successful proliferation of cancer cells," he says. "A large amount of GTP is required in rapidly dividing cells, and cells need to know that the fuel is available to them. If we can interfere with the ability of PI5P4K to sense fuel availability and communicate that information, we may be able to slow or halt the growth of cancers, including the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme and cancers that have metastasized to the brain."

The publication in Molecular Cell is Sasaki's first to address PI5P4K as a molecular sensor of GTP concentration. Initially, he and his team faced skepticism regarding the existence of GTP energy-sensing; however, with a pilot grant funded by Cincinnati's Walk Ahead for a Brain Tumor Cure and other local sources, the researchers were able to pursue their high-risk research and acquire enough promising data to earn a five-year, $1.67 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2014.

"The publication in Molecular Cell is another milestone for Atsuo Sasaki and the UC Brain Tumor Center," says Ronald Warnick, MD, medical director of the Brain Tumor Center and the John M. Tew, Jr., Chair in Neurosurgical Oncology. "The seeds of this discovery, which were planted locally by friends of the UC Brain Tumor Center and nourished by federal tax dollars, are now bearing their first fruit as we gain a better understanding of cancer's energy mechanisms."

GTP--guanosine triphosphate--is one of two energy molecules used by cells. The other is ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP handles the bulk of a cell's energy requirements, while GTP is required for protein synthesis and is a signaling molecule that helps direct processes within the cell. When GTP levels are increased and utilized as fuel by rampaging cancer cells, its ability to perform its primary goals is compromised.

Sasaki and his team identified PI5P4K as a GTP sensor by demonstrating, in a laboratory setting, its ability to bind to GTP and by demonstrating, at the atomic level by X-ray structural analysis, the molecular mechanism by which it recognizes GTP. They then designed PI5P4K mutant cells that were unable to sense GTP concentration and, as a result, impaired the ability of PI5P4K to promote tumor growth.

His next step is to use both pharmacological and molecular approaches that target PI5P4K in a cell culture and in animal tumor models.

"By unveiling PI5P4K's role as a GTP sensor, we now have a potential new therapeutic target for patients," Sasaki says. "If we can find drugs that stop PI5P4K from acting as the fuel indicator, we could get these aggressive and tragic cancers into energy-depleted status."

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Additional co-authors include Nazanin Majd, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at UC, and Kazutaka Sumita, MD, PhD, Satoshi Kofuji, PhD, Yoshiki Ikeda, PhD, and Hirofumi Yoshino, MD, PhD, post-doctoral fellows in the Division of Hematology Oncology and researchers at the UC Brain Tumor Center.
DENVER (January 7, 2016) Dinosaurs engaged in mating behavior similar to modern birds, leaving the fossil evidence behind in 100 million year old rocks, according to new research by Martin Lockley, professor of geology at the University of Colorado Denver.

Lockley, a paleontologist, led an international research team that discovered large 'scrapes' in the prehistoric Dakota sandstone of western Colorado. These ancient scrapes are similar to a behavior known as 'nest scrape display' or 'scrape ceremonies' among modern birds, where males show off their ability to provide by excavating pseudo nests for potential mates.

"These are the first sites with evidence of dinosaur mating display rituals ever discovered, and the first physical evidence of courtship behavior," Lockley said. "These huge scrape displays fill in a missing gap in our understanding of dinosaur behavior."

The study will be published in the journal Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group) on January 7.

Lockley, a world-renowned expert on dinosaur footprints, found evidence of more than 50 dinosaur scrapes, some as large as bathtubs, in an area where tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs have also been confirmed. The display arenas, also called 'leks' were found in two National Conservation Areas (Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge) on property permitted by the Bureau of Land Management near Delta, Colorado.

Lockley also discovered evidence of mating areas at Dinosaur Ridge, a National Natural Landmark, just west of Denver.

This new fossil evidence supports theories about the nature of dinosaur mating displays and the evolutionary driver known as `sexual selection.' Since prehistoric times, males looking for mates, have driven off weaker rivals. Females, meanwhile, have chosen the most impressive male performers as consorts.

Similar sexual selection behaviors are common in mammals and birds. But until now scientists could only speculate about dinosaur mating behavior, assuming it might be similar to that of their modern relatives, the birds.

"The scrape evidence has significant implications," said Lockley. "This is physical evidence of pre-historic foreplay that is very similar to birds today. Modern birds using scrape ceremony courtship usually do so near their final nesting sites. So the fossil scrape evidence offers a tantalizing clue that dinosaurs in 'heat' may have gathered here millions of years ago to breed and then nest nearby."

Lockley and his team were unable to remove the scrape marks from the gigantic slabs of rock without damaging them. Instead, they created 3-D images of the scrapes using a technique of layering photographs called photogrammetry. They also made rubber molds and fiberglass copies of the scrapes that are being stored at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

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Scientists have been studying the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico for years, but research by University of Central Florida professors - and a $1.5 million grant that funds their work - could shed new light on undetected pollution lurking beneath the seafloor.

The catastrophic blowout of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in 2010 caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 206 million gallons of crude oil into the gulf before it was capped 87 days later.

While visible evidence of the spill is largely gone, evidence of toxic compounds carried in the oil lingers. Some of those chemicals, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are classified as hazardous because they can cause genetic mutations and cancer in organisms that come into contact with them.

There are hundreds of PAHs present in the environment, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tracks only 16 of them, the ones the agency lists as "priority pollutants." UCF chemistry professor Andres Campiglia says that many of the PAHs not included in the EPA list are actually more toxic than the ones being tracked.

"It is possible that many of those pollutants still remain in the gulf, and the true picture of the spill's environmental impact and effect on the ecosystem - and human health - is unknown," Campiglia said.

So why are those potentially more dangerous PAHs not routinely monitored in the environment? According to Campiglia, one of the main reasons is the lack of reliable analytical methods.

Campiglia, thanks to research he began a decade ago, now has the ability to do what other researchers couldn't: detect these "forgotten PAHs." The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative recently awarded Campiglia a $1.5 million grant to track down the environmental fate of those PAHs.

Over the next three years, Campiglia, the principal investigator, along with fellow UCF Department of Chemistry faculty members James Harper and Fernando Uribe-Romo, will focus on PAHs with a higher molecular weight than those currently monitored. Because of heavier weight, these PAHs can sink into the ocean bottom and remain longer in the environment than the ones monitored by the EPA. Some of these heavier PAHs are known to cause genetic mutations.

To positively identify those compounds, they'll use methodology and instrumentation Campiglia developed at UCF.

They'll use a pulsed laser to cause the samples to emit radiation in the form of fluorescence and/or phosphorescence. That will allow the researchers to measure the samples' spectral features - for example, the intensity of radiation as a function of wavelength - as well as the time it takes for the emitted radiation to fade. Both results are unique for each type of PAH, so the combined information provides double confirmation.

"For each one of these compounds, there is a spectral fingerprint and a unique lifetime decay," Campiglia said. "It gives us unambiguous identification even if the compound is at much lower concentrations than their chemically and closely related siblings."

The scientists will also collaborate with other gulf spill researchers to track down specific PAHs and better understand their environmental fate in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Evidence for a new geological epoch which marks the impact of human activity on the Earth is now overwhelming according to a recent paper by an international group of geoscientists

The evidence for a new geological epoch which marks the impact of human activity on the Earth is now overwhelming according to a recent paper by an international group of geoscientists. The Anthropocene, which is argued to start in the mid-20th Century, is marked by the spread of materials such as aluminium, concrete, plastic, fly ash and fallout from nuclear testing across the planet, coincident with elevated greenhouse gas emissions and unprecedented trans-global species invasions.

An international group of scientists is studying whether human activity has driven the Earth into a new geological epoch - the Anthropocene. They ask: to what extent are human actions recorded as measurable signals in geological strata, and is the Anthropocene world markedly different from the stable Holocene Epoch of the last 11,700 years that allowed human civilization to develop?

The Holocene Epoch has been a time during which human societies advanced by gradually domesticating the land to increase food production, built urban settlements and became proficient at developing the water, mineral and energy resources of the planet. The proposed Anthropocene Epoch, however, is marked as a time of rapid environmental change brought on by the impact of a surge in human population and increased consumption during the 'Great Acceleration' of the mid-20th century.

Dr Colin Waters of the British Geological Survey said: "Humans have long affected the environment, but recently there has been a rapid global spread of novel materials including aluminium, concrete and plastics, which are leaving their mark in sediments. Fossil-fuel combustion has dispersed fly ash particles worldwide, pretty well coincident with the peak distribution of the 'bomb spike' of radionuclides generated by atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons." "All of this shows that there is an underlying reality to the Anthropocene concept", commented Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester, a co-author and working group Chair.

The study, co-authored by 24 members of the Anthropocene Working Group, shows that humans have changed the Earth system sufficiently to produce a range of signals in sediments and ice, and these are sufficiently distinctive to justify recognition of an Anthropocene Epoch in the Geological Time Scale. In 2016 the Anthropocene Working Group will gather more evidence on the Anthropocene, which will help inform recommendations on whether this new time unit should be formalized and, if so, how it might be defined and characterized.

A number of UK members of the group have contributed to this study, Colin Waters (lead author and Secretary of the group) and Michael Ellis, both from the British Geological Survey, Jan Zalasiewicz, Mark Williams and Matt Edgeworth from Leicester University and Colin Summerhayes from Cambridge University have provided significant input to this study and maintain the UK's strong involvement in research into the Anthropocene concept.

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For further details or to arrange media interviews please contact:

Clive Mitchell, BGS Press Office, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG

Office +44 (0)115 936 3257

Email: cjmi@bgs.ac.uk

Twitter @CliveBGS

Notes for Editors

The paper referred to in the press release is:

Colin Waters et al (2016) The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science.

More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at http://www.eurekalert.org/jrnls/sci. You will need your user ID and password to access this information.

The following is available for interview:

* Dr Colin Waters, Geologist, British Geological Survey (and Secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group)

* Prof Jan Zalasiewicz, University of Leicester (and Chair of the group)

For additional information go to: http://www.bgs.ac.uk

The British Geological Survey

The British Geological Survey (BGS), a component body of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), is the nation's principal supplier of objective, impartial and up-to-date geological expertise and information for decision making for governmental, commercial and individual users. The BGS maintains and develops the nation's understanding of its geology to improve policy making, enhance national wealth and reduce risk. It also collaborates with the national and international scientific community in carrying out research in strategic areas, including energy and natural resources, our vulnerability to environmental change and hazards, and our general knowledge of the Earth system. More about the BGS can be found at http://www.bgs.ac.uk.

The Natural Environment Research Council

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is the UK's main agency for funding and managing world-class research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. It coordinates some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, food security, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on earth, and much more. NERC receives around 300 million a year from the government's science budget, which it uses to fund research and training in universities and its own research centres. http://www.nerc.ac.uk
Miniature self-assembling "flasks" created at the Weizmann Institute may prove a useful tool in research and industry. The nanoflasks, which have a span of several nanometers, or millionths of a millimeter, can accelerate chemical reactions for research. In the future, they might facilitate the manufacture of various industrial materials and perhaps even serve as vehicles for drug delivery.

Dr. Rafal Klajn of the Weizmann Institute's Organic Chemistry Department and his team were originally studying the light-induced self-assembly of nanoparticles. They were employing a method earlier developed by Klajn in which inorganic nanoparticles are coated in a single layer of organic molecules that change their configuration when exposed to light; these alter the properties of the nanoparticles such that they self-assemble into crystalline clusters. When spherical nanoparticles of gold or other materials self-assembled into a cluster, empty spaces formed between them, like those between oranges packed in a case. Klajn and his team members realized that the empty spaces sometimes trapped water molecules, which led them to suggest that they could also trap "guest" molecules of other materials and function as tiny flasks for chemical reactions. A cluster of a million nanoparticles would contain a million such nanoflasks.

As reported in Nature Nanotechnology, when the scientists trapped molecules that tend to react with one another inside the nanoflasks, they found that the chemical reaction ran a hundred times faster than the same reaction taking place in solution. Being confined inside the nanoflasks greatly increased the concentration of the molecules and organized them in a way that caused them to react more readily. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions in a similar manner - by confining the reacting molecules within a pocket.

Although clusters of nanoparticles containing empty spaces have been created before, the advantage of the Weizmann Institute method is that the clusters are dynamic and reversible, so molecules can be inserted and released on demand. The clusters self-assemble when nanoparticles are exposed to ultraviolet light, but exposure to regular light causes them to disassemble, so that the same nanoparticles can be reused in numerous cycles. Moreover, the scientists found that by decorating their nanoparticles with a mixture of different chemicals, they could trap molecules inside the nanoflasks in a highly selective manner. For example, from a mixture of spiral-shaped molecules, they could cause left- or right-handed spirals to be trapped, a skill that can be particularly important for drug synthesis.

For future industrial use, the nanoflasks may prove useful in speeding up numerous chemical reactions, such as polymerization reactions needed for the manufacture of plastics. The method might also be applied one day in drug delivery. The drug would be delivered inside nanoflasks to the target organ and released at the required time when the nanoflasks would disassemble upon exposure to light.

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Dr. Klajn's team included Dr. Hui Zhao, Dr. T. Udaya Bhaskara Rao, Michal Sawczyk, Kristina Kucanda, Dr. Debasish Manna, Dr. Pintu K. Kundu and Dr. Ji-Woong Lee. They worked in collaboration with Dr. Petr Kral and his group at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Rafal Klajn's research is supported by the Abramson Family Center for Young Scientists; the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation; the Mel and Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Fund for New Scientists; the estate of Olga Klein Astrachan; and the European Research Council.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.
When you have a fever, your nose is stuffed and your headache is spreading to your toes, your body is telling you to stay home in bed. Feeling sick is an evolutionary adaptation according to a hypothesis put forward by Prof. Guy Shakhar of the Weizmann Institute's Immunology Department and Dr. Keren Shakhar of the Psychology Department of the College of Management Academic Studies, in a recent paper published in PLoS Biology.

We tend to take it for granted that infection is what causes the symptoms of illness, assuming that the microbial invasion directly impinges on our well-being. In truth, many of our body's systems are involved in being sick: the immune system and endocrine systems, as well as our nervous system. Moreover, the behavior we associate with sickness is not limited to humans. Anyone who has a pet knows that animals act differently when they are ill. Some of the most extreme "sickness behavior" is found in such social insects as bees, which typically abandon the hive to die elsewhere when they are sick. In other words, such behavior seems to have been preserved over millennia of evolution.

The symptoms that accompany illness appear to negatively affect one's chance of survival and reproduction. So why would this phenomenon persist? Symptoms, say the scientists, are not an adaptation that works on the level of the individual. Rather, they suggest, evolution is functioning on the level of the "selfish gene." Even though the individual organism may not survive the illness, isolating itself from its social environment will reduce the overall rate of infection in the group. "From the point of view of the individual, this behavior may seem overly altruistic," says Dr. Keren Shakhar, "but from the perspective of the gene, its odds of being passed down are improved."

In the paper, the scientists go through a list of common symptoms, and each seems to support the hypothesis. Appetite loss, for example, hinders the disease from spreading by communal food or water resources. Fatigue and weakness can lessen the mobility of the infected individual, reducing the radius of possible infection. Along with the symptoms, the sick individual can become depressed and lose interest in social and sexual contact, again limiting opportunities to transmit pathogens. Lapses in personal grooming and changes in body language say: I'm sick! Don't come near!

"We know that isolation is the most efficient way to stop a transmissible disease from spreading," says Prof. Guy Shakhar. "The problem is that today, for example, with flu, many do not realize how deadly it can be. So they go against their natural instincts, take a pill to reduce pain and fever and go to work, where the chance of infecting others is much higher."

The scientists have proposed several ways of testing this hypothesis, but they also hope its message sinks in: When you feel sick, it's a sign you need to stay home. Millions of years of evolution are not wrong.

###

Prof. Guy Shakhar's research is supported by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust; the Dr. Dvora and Haim Teitelbaum Endowment Fund; the Murray Goodgold Memorial Cancer Research Fund; Simone Pastor, Monaco; Lord David Alliance, CBE; Paul and Tina Gardner, Austin, TX; the Steven B. Rubenstein Research Fund for Leukemia and Other Blood Disorders; the Paul Sparr Foundation; the Comisaroff Family Trust; and the estate of Georges Lustgarten.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.
The fourth and most likely the final Nuclear Security Summit will be held March 31-April 1 in Washington, DC. The three previous summits in Washington (2010), Seoul (2012), and The Hague (2014) have been the most visible features of an accelerated international effort to help prevent nuclear terrorism. President Obama, who launched the effort in a speech in Prague in April 2009 and set the aim to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years, has expressed his intention to finish strong in 2016. Assessing the achievements of the summits so far, one can argue that, whilst the risk of nuclear terrorism has not gone away, the potential for the acquisition of nuclear materials by terrorist groups has been greatly reduced. Despite this progress, the job of securing all nuclear materials is far from finished. More work will be needed to strengthen the global nuclear security system. What then are the challenges to addressing the remaining gaps in the field of nuclear security?

First, the summit fatigue among heads of state could be an obstacle to further developments. Therefore, at the 2016 Summit, leaders must agree on a way to ensure that collective efforts to strengthen the global nuclear security system do not fade, or worse, backslide, after the Summit process ends. States must consider various options for the future that would involve heads of state meeting at longer intervals, together with lower level meetings at shorter intervals.

Further ratifications of legally binding instruments such as the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) are necessary to sustain attention on the issue. With regards to the 2005 Amendment, the United States ratification in July 2015 brings entry into force one step closer but more states need to ratify it before the amendment can take effect. As a recent piece in the Arms Control magazine explained, the amended Article 16 could provide a vehicle to ensure continued progress: the amendments entry into force would set in motion a process requiring a conference of the parties to take place after five years to assess implementation and the adequacy of the convention. Similar to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) process, more frequent meetings of officials, taking place prior to leader-level meetings, could then ensure the continuity of efforts.

The group of 35 countries that signed the Joint Statement on Strengthening Nuclear Security Implementation at the 2014 Summit can take its contents as a template to implement a more ambitious agenda. The Joint Statement, also known as the Trilateral Initiative, is an initiative through which states agreed to implement the major recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for nuclear and radiological source security. In October 2014, these 35 countries requested that the Joint Statement be circulated by the IAEA Secretariat as an IAEA Information Circular. Two key benefits to this change are that the Joint Statement now has a life beyond the Summit process and any country willing to subscribe to the commitments can join. A goal for the 2016 Summit should be to increase the number of endorsements as much as possible, ideally convincing nuclear-armed states China, India, Pakistan, and Russia to join the initiative. Ultimately, all these initiatives and treaties should lead to the establishment of a legally binding framework convention on nuclear security that will complement the current regime.

The second challenge is how to include in the nuclear security system all nuclear materials, military as well as civilian. The mechanisms that already exist apply to only 17 percent of weapons-usable nuclear materials, those that are used in civilian applications. A recent NTI international study group led by Sam Nunn, Richard Lugar and Des Browne has developed a number of recommendations on how to strengthen the security of the remaining 83 percent, commonly categorised as military materials. The report underlines the urgency of subjecting the military materials to the current international security standards, mechanisms, and confidence-building arrangements.

The third potential challenge for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit is Russias decision not to attend. Of course, the decision was not a complete surprise given recent icy relations between Russia and the west, in particular the United States. The deep mistrust that has developed between the west and Russia is having a massive effect on cooperation on security matters. However, it is clearly in Moscow and Washingtons common interest to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and global nuclear terrorism. Russia and the United States continue to work together on some nuclear security issues. US cooperation with the Russian nuclear regulator continues; the US and Russia will continue to work to repatriate HEU from Kazakhstan and Poland. Also, Russia and the United States will continue to co-chair the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). Although Russia is not participating in preparations for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, US officials are keeping Russian officials informed of developments.

Both the United States and Russia have a tendency to regard nuclear cooperation as a bargaining chip. Both countries, however, need to acknowledge the imperative to provide global leadership in this field. Fortunately, the United States ratified in 2015 both the 2005 Amendment and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, and thus is in a stronger position to encourage other countries to do likewise.

These developments have been very closely associated with President Obamas Prague agenda. The important question to ask, in the context of the US elections in 2016, is what impact will these elections have on the Summit and its future? Nuclear security initiatives are just too important to be hindered by political divides. Further cooperation on nuclear security is thus likely even under a Republican president.

Laura Holgate, the senior director for WMD Terrorism and Threat Reduction at the US National Security Council, who is involved in the preparations for the summit, said that the process reflected the incremental nature of success, adding Thats just the way it is in this field. You dont have giant thunderclaps and then the world is different. Hopefully, this statement does not indicate that Obama has scaled back his goals in this area. We need sustained commitment of all engaged states, led by the US, to build on existing efforts to ensure continued high-level attention on nuclear security beyond 2016.

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time.
On October 26th, 2015, I received an email from a colleague of my former dissertation supervisor, Leo Kadanoff, informing me that Leo had died that morning. Its now some time since his passing, but I still would like to pay my respects to him.

I came to know Leo when I was a math graduate student in 1987. It was an uncertain time in my mathematical education. I had finished my qualifying work and spent a semester doing research in probability at Cornell in the fall of 1986. Back at the University of Chicago at the start of 1987, I was looking for a dissertation problem with which to get my PhD and move on.

Patrick Billingsley, who was the main probabilist in the UofC math department at the time, was no longer at the top of his game, having, as he put it to me, run out of steam, and then turned to acting as what appeared to be his primary interest (he was quite accomplished locally in the Chicago theater, and one can see him with small roles in various Hollywood films from the 1980s, notably The Bodyguard and Somewhere in Time).

Given my interest in probability theory, I was therefore looking for someone at the University of Chicago to supplement my work with Billingsley, someone who was at the top of his game and used probability as an essential component in a cutting-edge research program. That, as it turned out, proved to be Leo Kadanoff. When I defended my dissertation in the spring of 1988, Patrick Billingsley and Leo Kadanoff were joint dissertation supervisors.

I came to know of Leo on a lark, or by providence, depending on ones view. My good friend at the time Chris Bishop (for many years now a math professor at SUNY Stonybrook) had departed the University of Chicago in the middle of his graduate studies to follow his advisor, Peter Jones, to Yale. Chris would come back periodically because he intended to get his degree from the University of Chicago rather than Yale.

At one of the afternoon math teas (late afternoons at the University of Chicago math department always included a spread of hot beverages and cookies in Eckhart Hall), I was talking to Chris, and he told me about this supergenius physicist who had an amazing quickness of mind, anticipating key results and insights of entire doctoral dissertations merely by attending their defenses.

So a few days later I walked past the Fermi Memorial on the UofC campus and entered the James Franck Institute, where Leo had his office. As it is, he was working on chaos and nonlinear dynamics, and I had previously spent six months intensive study in ergodic theory, so when I approached him and described some of my interests, he handed me a bunch of papers that he and his group were working on and asked me to get back with him.

Soon I got to know some of his graduate students and postdocs and to hang out with his research group. It was a warm and high-powered group. I enjoyed the people very much, and Leo treated everyone well, from the secretaries right up to his main collaborator at the time, Albert Libchaber.

With dissertations in math, two happy things can happen: (1) an advisor proposes a problem and the student solves it, writes it up, and gets his degree; (2) the student comes up with a problem, solves it, and the advisor deems it worthy of a dissertation. Other things can happen, but they are less happy, such as the inability to solve a problem (whether given by advisor or self-inspired), or solving the problem and then finding out its been solved already.

From my vantage, it is a credit to Leo and the intellectual ferment in his research group that I was able to devise my own problem, solve it, and have both Leo Kadanoff and Patrick Billingsley deem it worthy of a dissertation (titled Chaos, Uniform Probability, and Weak Convergence). In this connection Id like also to mention another physics grad student, who worked not with Leos group but with Bob Geroch, for inspiring in me the the confidence that students can figure out interesting research problems worthy of dissertations if they keep their eyes open to currents that are driving their field.

As it is, I started working with Leos group in March 1987 and by August I had solved the two key problems that I had set myself in the dissertation. An intensive six weeks followed on various Mac computers to pull together the details and write up the dissertation. I was thoroughly exhausted at the end of this, but it was also one of the most satisfying experiences in my life. Both Leo and Patrick signed off on it immediately, though to stay on as a student through the academic year 1987-88, I didnt defend until March 1988.

I think Leo was surprised how quickly the dissertation came together. As I was applying for postdocs in early 1988, he cautioned me that proper recognition for my work may lag behind its intrinsic merit. At that time, I had done nothing on intelligent design. I therefore pondered his words and wondered at the time if they might in some way be prophetic.

I stayed in touch with Leo sporadically over the coming years. Occasionally, he would comment on intelligent design. He was never a convert, to be sure. But he was always respectful to me, even when we disagreed. Early in 2014 I sent him the manuscript for Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information. He wrote back the following:

I read the first bunch of pages of your book and found nothing with which I could disagree, except perhaps the conjunction of science and material [matter] or rather the disjunction between science and information. As you well know, information is the primary topic in 21st century science. Even my own work on phase transitions is often phrased as how one part of a material communicates with another. Like matter, information flow can in some situations be guided by intelligence and in others can flow without the aid of a guiding thought.

Shortly thereafter I received an invitation through Leo to speak at the University of Chicagos Computations in Science Seminars. The talk I gave was titled Conservation of Information in Evolutionary Search and it was given August 13, 2014 (click here and scroll down). A friend used his Mac to record the talk and the talk itself is available on YouTube (click here).

Leo also shared with me a correspondence between him and Jerry Coyne, where Coyne was taking him to task for giving me a platform at the University of Chicago. Leo stressed to Coyne that he thought I had some ideas and mathematical techniques to share with grad students that would be of value to them regardless of Coynes ideological concerns. As always, Leo was friendly and unflappable.

After my talk, Leo, a postdoc, and I had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant on 55th Street. We had a good time and a photo of us at the restaurant is above. My last memory seeing Leo is him riding away from the restaurant on his bicycle.

Cross-posted at BillDembski.com.
George Orwell once said something about how childhood necessarily creates a false map of the world but its the only map weve got, and no matter how old we are, at the first sign of trouble, we take off running for those fabulous countries. Its like that for me.

 Kelly Corrigan, The Middle Place

Nickels and pennies burned a hole in the pocket, and we set off for the little corner market where penny candy and salty stick pretzels in a glass jar were so enticing we could not turn away. While one of us four sisters took her turn at piano lessons, the other three were free to take that nickel and any pennies we could scare up to the town square of Hayesville.

The mercantile

Its funny how the map of the mind holds such detail; I can still call to mind the aroma within, as well as the wooden floor, its strange bumps and smoothed craters. An old man ran the counter, enveloped by the smell of pipe smoke and peppermint. He was not exactly friendly, but not unfriendly, either. We treated him with respect, not only because we were respectful kids, but from the knowledge that he was the gatekeeper of this magical place called the Mercantile.

For farm kids, being able to walk to such a place was in itself a treat. It was almost worth the agony of piano lessons at our great-aunts home. It was a fearless world then, where every crossroads town had a Mom and Pop store filled with ice-cold Coca Cola in miniature bottles, enormous chocolate bars and colorful bits of spun sugar.

Pennies to spend

When we reached the end of our sidewalk boundary, our excitement carried us, happy and hopeful. As we pushed open that extraordinarily heavy door during cold weather or breezed through the feather-light screen door in summer, we knew whatever we wanted could be ours, as long as it cost no more than pennies in our pocket.

Sugar Daddy, Black Cows, Milk Duds, Atomic Fireballs and Lemon Heads were part of what made up the colorful display of tempting candies. Would choosing bubble gum be the wise thing to place up on that high sales counter? It would last longer than candy, but it would leave only four pennies, cutting the possibilities within our buying power.

If we were lucky enough to have an empty pop bottle to return, we had extra coins to spend. What a bonus! If we put our coins together, we could share a pack of Black Jack or Clove or Fruit Stripe chewing gum and still have a few cents left over. And we were expected to share with one another, from corner candy store goodies to trick or treat candy, too. There was no thats mine! ever to be uttered in our home.

My crafty sister Debi asked for our empty gum wrappers, and she magically folded a bunch of them together to make a colorful chain-type bracelet. It was a thing of great beauty. I thought she could do anything. We didnt dare dawdle too long, because one of us had to be back on the porch swing when the second lesson was to begin, and we were to all walk together. I recall the simple thrill of discovering the back way to return to Aunt Virginias house, which was not a sidewalk but something called an alley, a new word to roll off my lips. It seemed a long walk to me, though it was not.

Decisions, decisions

I chose quickly, standing on tiptoes to place my choices on the candy counter, my money spent. I tried to get that somber man to smile but never succeeded. My sisters were older by several years, and wiser. Sometimes it took a third walk to the store for my sisters to decide on their purchase.

One day, shockingly, I recall my sister Debi not buying anything at all. Im saving mine today, then next week I will have double the money to spend. (I left feeling bad for the shopkeeper; fearing he might think we didnt like his inventory offerings.)

I let her have one Fireball (but not until after it proved way too hot for me, and she took it without a second thought that it had been in my mouth awhile) and we split a salty pretzel stick so she wouldnt starve to death. This is the same sister who convinced me, when counting the change in our piggy banks, saved to buy Christmas gifts, to let her have my dimes, trading me for nickels, because nickels were clearly bigger.

She was  and is  one amazing big sister who managed to do it all, and make a kid sister feel she was being well cared for, no matter what. She owns and manages her own successful business, and I feel pretty sure it started with those saved coins.

As we celebrated at a big surprise birthday party for her recently, I made a point of telling her she was pretty lucky to have me for a kid sister.
MEDINA, Ohio  The Medina County Junior Fair market beef identification and weigh-in will be held Jan. 16, from 9 a.m.-noon at the Medina County Fairgrounds beef barn. All Medina County junior fair market beef entries, including born and bred and carcass class entries, must be nose printed at this clinic.

A $15 fee for each market beef nose printed will be collected. Animals should be leadable by this date. Those entering the market beef rate of gain contest must submit a completed weight card at the Jan. 16 weigh-in. Owners of animals that will be entered in the Medina County born and bred class must have an eligibility form filed with Extension, by Feb. 1.

Dairy beef steers entering the rate of gain contest must also be weighed Jan. 16, from 10 a.m.-noon, at the beef barn.

All dairy beef finished steer IDs, photos for Holsteins or noseprints for Brown Swiss, must be received in the Extension office by 5 p.m., Jan. 19. For more information, call Christie Becker at 330-725-4911, ext. 123.
Shropshire

A Full-Time position is available for an assistant herdsperson on a family dairy farm in mid Shropshire. We have a 250 dairy herd rearing own replacements together with a b...
Eight training workshops will be held

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Livestock farmers in Illinois are encouraged to attend Certified Livestock Manager Training workshops that will take place in seven cities beginning Tuesday, February 9.

Using the manual for the national Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship Curriculum, Illinois livestock farmers will receive the manure management training required to satisfy the states Livestock Management Facilities Act.

Livestock farming is vital to the states agriculture industry, and thus the states economy, said John Teefey, bureau chief of IDOA Environmental Programs. Livestock farmers have a responsibility to be good stewards of the land. The Livestock Management Facilities Act is designed to ensure that farmers have the opportunity to succeed in a rapidly changing livestock industry while still protecting our environment and the surrounding communities.

Under the Livestock Management Facilities Act, facilities with 300 or more animals must have one employee certified in proper manure handling procedures; facilities with between 300 and 999 animals must have an employee attend a workshop or pass the Illinois Department of Agricultures Certified Livestock Manager exam.

Facilities with more than 1,000 animals must attend a workshop and complete the Department of Agricultures exam.

The workshops are scheduled to take place:

February 9 - McLean County Extension Office, Bloomington, IL

February 10 - Effingham County Extension Office, Effingham, IL

February 11 - Clinton County Extension Office, Bresse, IL

February 16 - Illinois Pork Expo, Springfield IL

February 23 - Knox County Extension Office, Galesburg, IL

February 24 - Stephenson County Farm Bureau Bldg, Freeport, IL

February 25 - Dekalb County Farm Bureau Bldg, Sycamore IL

March 6 - Illinois Department of Agriculture, Springfield IL

For those unable to attend the workshop, five online quizzes are available to be taken. Successfully completing the quizzes can substitute for attending a workshop but doesnt substitute for completing the Certified Livestock Manager exam.

Workshop registration can be done online or by contacting the University of Illinois Extension at (217) 244-9687. On the day of the workshops, registration opens at 8:30am and the training will start at 9:00am.
South Dakotans can expect weather changes this January based on data from the new National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center 30-day outlook. "The outlook shows January 2016 weather to be different from December in several ways including temperature and precipitation," said Dennis Todey, South Dakota State Climatologist & SDSU Extension Climate Specialist.

Todey explained that the January 2016 outlook shifts the temperature probability slightly, with above average chances for warmer temperatures only in the northern third of the state. "The rest of the state is listed as equal chances for below or above average temperatures," he said, noting that this is a slight shift from previous outlooks which had been very bullish on warmer than average temperatures overall for the whole state and region. "The shift is likely caused by a couple changes in conditions," Todey said. With low winter sun angles and shorter days, Todey added that the current snow cover across the state will keep surfaces from warming as readily.

"Northern areas of the state and parts of North Dakota actually have lesser amounts of snow cover allowing them a better opportunity to melt out and warm up in time," he said. "The deeper areas of snow cover will not likely melt off during the month." Todey said that areas throughout the state and region with lighter snow cover should have a chance of melting out if little additional snow falls. Cold outbreak Computer models, although mixed on the strength and length, are projecting a cold outbreak in the middle January, explained Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension Climate Field Specialist. "Even in an El Nino winter, some cold outbreaks are not unexpected," said Edwards. "This expected cold outbreak also contributes to the lower likelihood of warmer conditions for the month as a whole." Winter wheat benefits from snow cover

"The updated precipitation outlook is very El Nino-like," Todey said. "The northern edge of the state is included in below average chances for precipitation. El Nino is still influencing our winter weather." He explained that wetter than average areas are confined largely from California across the southern U.S. "Overall this month does look quieter than December, with the pattern shifting away from the storm track experienced in December." He added that historically, January is the lowest precipitation time of the year for South Dakota. "Snow cover is more than expected over much of the state at the start January due to record snows in December," Edwards said.

She referenced the fact that areas west of the Missouri and in the southeast have more than a foot of snow on the ground, with at least a few inches of snow covering the rest of the state.

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Wheat: Net sales of 76,500 metric tons--a marketing-year low--for delivery in marketing year 2015/2016 were reported for Japan (65,200 MT, including 63,300 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 200 MT), China (55,000 MT), the Philippines (31,000 MT, including 26,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), the Dominican Republic (11,800 MT), Peru (10,000 MT), and Brazil (10,000 MT). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (122,300 MT), Indonesia (10,500 MT), and Trinidad (1,000 MT). Exports of 274,500 MT were up 8 percent from the previous week, but down 9 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (101,400 MT), the Philippines (55,000 MT), Nigeria (44,000 MT), South Korea (27,700 MT), and Ecuador (20,000 MT).

Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account totaling 200 MT were reported to Italy. Decreases totaling 2,400 MT were reported to Italy. The current outstanding balance is 60,300 MT, all Italy.

Corn: Net sales of 252,900 MT for 2015/2016 were down 64 percent from the previous week and 68 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (117,800 MT), Colombia (91,600 MT, including 40,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Peru (32,100 MT, including 29,100 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 6,500 MT), unknown destinations (10,600 MT), and Canada (6,000 MT). Reductions were reported for Panama (13,100 MT) and Japan (1,700 MT). Exports of 357,800 MT were down 36 percent from the previous week and 39 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico (117,400 MT), Colombia (94,200 MT), Peru (87,600 MT), Jamaica (25,300 MT), and Japan (21,600 MT).

Optional Origin Sales: For 2015/2016, the current outstanding balance totals 456,000 MT, all unknown destinations.

Barley: There were no sales reported during the week. Exports of 500 MT were reported to Japan.

Sorghum: Net sales of 174,100 MT for 2015/2016 were up 29 percent from the previous week, but down 5 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China (117,600 MT), unknown destinations (54,000 MT), and Mexico (2,600 MT). Exports of 108,500 MT were down 22 percent from the previous week and 42 percent from prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (62,600 MT) and Mexico (45,900 MT).

Rice: Net sales of 51,300 MT for 2015/2016 were down 30 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases reported for South Korea (24,700 MT), Haiti (10,000 MT), unknown destinations (5,000 MT), Panama (4,300 MT), and Saudi Arabia (3,200 MT), were partially offset by reductions for Mexico (100 MT). Exports of 33,700 MT, down 9 percent from the previous week and 41 percent from the prior 4-week average, were reported to South Korea (12,900 MT), the United Kingdom (9,000 MT), Mexico (5,700 MT), Canada (2,700 MT) and Yemen (900 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance is 500 MT, all Canada.

Soybeans: Net sales of 638,700 MT for 2015/2016 were up 33 percent from the previous week, but down 46 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China (929,400 MT, including 311,800 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 61,600 MT), the Netherlands (236,300 MT, including 217,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Spain (66,700 MT, including 65,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Indonesia (57,100 MT, including 25,200 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 500 MT), and Egypt (55,100 MT, including 52,500 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (762,700 MT), Russia (35,900 MT), and Turkey (10,000 MT). Net sales of 100 MT for 2016/2017 were reported for Japan. Exports of 1,817,100 MT were up 33 percent from the previous week and 21 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were China (1,181,600 MT), the Netherlands (236,300 MT), Spain (66,700 MT), Indonesia (66,700 MT), and Mexico (61,600 MT).

Optional Origin Sales: For 2015/2016, the current outstanding balance totaling 235,000 MT is for China (175,000 MT) and unknown destinations (60,000 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance is 500 MT, all Canada.

Soybean Cake and Meal: Net sales of 46,500 MT for 2015/2016--a marketing-year low--were down 41 percent from the previous week and 72 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Colombia (11,000 MT), the Philippines (9,300 MT), the Dominican Republic (6,000 MT), Mexico (4,900 MT), and Canada (3,100 MT). Reductions were reported for Jamaica (700 MT). Exports of 182,700 MT were down 4 percent from the previous week and 12 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were the Philippines (99,600 MT), Mexico (40,600 MT), Canada (11,000 MT), Jamaica (9,900 MT), and Panama (9,200 MT).

Optional Origin Sales: For 2015/2016, outstanding optional origin sales total 99,000 MT, all unknown destinations.

Soybean Oil: Net sales of 3,600 MT for 2015/2016 resulted as increases for Tunisia (12,500 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Mexico (8,900 MT), Algeria (6,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Egypt (3,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), and the Dominican Republic (1,100 MT), were partially offset by reductions for unknown destinations (28,500 MT). Exports of 32,900 MT were down 36 percent from the previous week and 3 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Tunisia (12,500 MT), Algeria (6,000 MT), Mexico (3,800 MT), Saudi Arabia (3,400 MT), and Egypt (3,000 MT).

Cotton: Net upland sales totaling 82,800 RB for 2015/2016 were down 22 percent from the previous week and 18 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China (26,400 RB), Pakistan (17,600 RB), Turkey (16,000 RB), Indonesia (4,900 RB), and Taiwan (4,200 RB). Reductions were reported for Guatemala (100 RB), Peru (100 RB), and Costa Rica (100 RB). Net sales reductions of 100 RB for 2016/2017 were reported for Indonesia. Exports of 161,700 RB were up 2 percent from the previous week and 32 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Vietnam (67,200 RB), Turkey (19,100 RB), Indonesia (18,800 RB), Thailand (9,100 RB), and Peru (6,900 RB). Net sales of Pima totaling 9,400 RB for 2015/2016 were up 23 percent from the previous week and 6 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China (8,000 RB, including 1,400 RB switched from Hong Kong), India (900 RB), Egypt (700 RB), and Bangladesh (500 RB). Reductions were reported for Hong Kong (1,400 RB). Exports of 10,500 RB were up 33 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were China (2,800 RB), Turkey (2,700 RB), India (1,300 RB), Pakistan (1,200 RB), and Indonesia (900 RB).

Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account totaling 200 RB were reported to China. Exports totaling 100 RB to China were applied to new or outstanding sales. The current outstanding balance totaling 40,800 RB is for China (35,200 RB) and Vietnam (5,600 RB).

Hides and Skins: Net sales reductions of hides totaled 78,400 pieces, down noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. Net sales reductions of whole cattle hides totaled 77,000 pieces and were primarily for China (44,600 pieces), Mexico (9,900 pieces), South Korea (4,700 pieces), Taiwan (4,500 pieces), and Vietnam (4,100 pieces). Outstanding sales of whole cattle hides totaled 2,693,300 pieces on December 31st and were carried over to 2016. Net sales of 266,800 pieces for 2016 were reported for China (199,100 pieces), Mexico (27,300 pieces), Taiwan (13,600 pieces), and South Korea (9,000 pieces). Hide exports of 286,700 pieces were down 30 percent from the previous week and 28 percent from the prior 4-week average. Whole cattle hides exports totaled 282,700 pieces and were primary to China (169,000 pieces), South Korea (67,900 pieces), Taiwan (16,000 pieces), and Thailand (12,300 pieces). Accumulated exports of hides in 2015 totaled 20,217,100 pieces, down 3 percent from the prior years total of 20,943,800 pieces.

Net sales of 8,700 wet blues were down noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for South Korea (5,300 unsplit), India (2,000 grain splits), Italy (1,900 unsplit), and Mexico (1,600 grain splits). Reductions were reported for China (1,300 unsplit and 700 grain splits), and Taiwan (100 unsplit). Outstanding sales of 429,700 wet blues were remaining on December 31st and carried over to 2016. Net sales of 122,500 wet blues reported for 2016 were primarily for China (35,100 unsplit and 15,900 grain splits), the Dominican Republic (23,400 unsplit), and Mexico (13,300 grain splits). Reductions were reported for South Korea (6,000 unsplit), India (6,000 unsplit and 2,100 grain splits). Exports of 141,900 wet blues were down 4 percent from the previous week, but up 5 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were China (61,900 unsplit and 17,800 grain splits), Italy (18,000 unsplit and 3,600 grain splits), Vietnam (9,600 unsplit), and Mexico (3,500 grain splits and 800 unsplit). Accumulated exports in 2015 totaled 7,084,800 wet blues, down 1 percent from the prior years total of 7,149,000 wet blues. Net sales of splits totaled 597,000 pounds, down noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. Exports of 737,000 pounds were primarily to Vietnam (600,200 pounds), China (128,800 pounds), and South Korea (8,000 pounds).

Beef: Net sales reductions of 400 MT resulted as increases for primarily Italy (100 MT) were more than offset by reductions for South Korea (200 MT) and Japan (100 MT). Outstanding sales on December 31st totaled 23,900 MT and were carried over to 2016. Net sales of 6,100 MT for 2016 were reported for South Korea (1,400 MT), Japan (1,300 MT), Mexico (1,200 MT), and Hong Kong (1,200 MT). Exports of 9,200 MT were primarily to Japan (2,400 MT), South Korea (2,000 MT), Hong Kong (1,600 MT), and Mexico (1,500 MT). Accumulated exports in 2015 totaled 607,600 MT, down 11 percent from the 680,200 MT exported in 2014.

Pork: Net sales of 600 MT resulted as increases for China (700 MT), Japan (300 MT), and Hong Kong (100 MT), were partially offset by reductions for Colombia (200 MT) and South Korea (100 MT). Outstanding sales on December 31st totaled 33,500 MT and were carried over to 2016. Net sales of 9,000 MT for 2016 were primarily for Mexico (2,000 MT), Japan (1,900 MT), Canada (1,500 MT), and China (1,100 MT). Exports of 14,400 MT were primarily to Mexico (4,500 MT), Japan (3,500 MT), South Korea (1,700 MT), and China (1,300 MT). Accumulated exports in 2015 totaled 986,500 MT, up 7 percent from the 918,700 MT exported in 2014.

Source: USDA
"Learning more about the dairy industry will give me the chance to travel the world, learn and increase my knowledge on how people farm dairy cattle across the globe and to learn of the history of the dairy breeds we milk today.
Battling alcohol and opioid addictions: Can Vivitrol help?

Vivitrol, an injectable version of the drug naltrexone, completely blocks euphoria from drug consumption, according to Vivitrol's website.
Ive talked in prior posts about the Kazakhstan presidents plans to privatize state-owned companies, and the reticence of American companies to invest in a country thats a high-risk destination from the FCPA standpoint.

And Ive said it could be risky for some Kazakh companies to list on U.S. exchanges, because they would instantly become subject to the FCPA and its anti-bribery and accounting provisions.

So where might Kazakhstan find the necessary investment to help it weather a severe economic crisis caused by the collapse of its traditional oil and metals exports?



One likely source is Europe. The Netherlands is now the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, with the U.S. a distant second. Other European countries have made substantial contributions as well.

In a recent trade trip to the UK, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed about 40 trade and investment deals worth 5 billion ($7.45 billion). He secured additional investment commitments during his visit to France. President Nazarbayev said the value of investment contracts signed in London and Paris exceeded $11 billion.

Of course, many European companies are listed in the U.S. and share the same compliance concerns as American companies. Moreover, British companies are subject to the UK Bribery Act, which some believe is more stringent than the FCPA, punishing private bribery and providing no exemptions for facilitation payments.

On the other hand, the UK Bribery Act doesnt subject foreign companies to its jurisdiction by the mere virtue of listing on a UK stock exchange, so Kazakh companies might consider listing their shares in the UK rather than in the U.S.



Another likely source of foreign investment is China. It is slowly drawing Kazakhstan into its orbit to the chagrin of Moscow, Kazakhstans former overlord. Chinese investment in Kazakhstan has more than quadrupled over the past decade. This year, at least 33 bilateral deals worth over $23 billion were signed, and more deals are in the pipeline.

Seeking to revive the ancient Silk Road between China and the West, Beijing is building a One Belt, One Road transport grid of roads, ports, and overseas factories, and Kazakhstans plans for modernization fit right in.



All this means the competition for Kazakhstan investment opportunities is on. Will American companies be left behind because of concerns about the FCPA?



Obviously American companies must comply with the law. They need an effective compliance program that includes a thorough vetting of their foreign investments, business partners and contractors. The costs of zealous FCPA compliance are far lower than the costs of noncompliance, and the risk of an FCPA enforcement action should spur even the most laissez-faire company into strengthening its compliance mechanisms.



At the same time, however, Kazakhstan may present sufficiently tempting investment opportunities that would be worth exploring despite significant FCPA-related compliance costs. American companies should not write off the country merely because operating there in an FCPA-compliant manner could be a challenge.

In subsequent posts, Ill look at the challenging legal and business environment that Kazakhstan presents (and not only from an FCPA standpoint), and tips on how to reduce corruption risks in an emerging market.

______

Alex Nisengolts is a Chicago attorney focusing on cross-border M&A, electronic discovery, and investments and operations in Kazakhstan. He first traveled to Kazakhstan in 1994 as a legal advisor on a USAID-sponsored legal reform project and has been involved in Kazakh matters for the past two decades, for U.S. and Kazakh law firms and as a manager and senior manager for a Big Four international accounting firm. He can be reached here.
Charlie Sheen has enlisted Dr. Oz to help him make some "lifestyle changes".

Charlie Sheen

The 50-year-old actor - who recently revealed he is HIV positive - has reportedly sought help from the cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz with his addictions.

A source said: "Oz still met Sheen at his hotel that night ... [They] spoke about alternative ways to better his health in addition to taking his medication. And they also had a serious heart-to-heart about other lifestyle changes.

"Oz is a real doctor first before a TV host, and [Sheen] feels comfortable opening up to him. Oz was like, 'I get it. You're an addict, but you have to cut all those behaviours because drinking weakens your immune system.' He agreed he would stop drinking and start exercising again."

And Charlie is said to have chosen Dr. Oz as they have a "history together" and when the pair united for the doctor's show, the 'Two and A Half Men' star was keen to show off his new lifestyle.

The insider added to the New York Post's Page Six column: "They have a history together. Oz was trying to convince him to stop smoking by showing him a smoker's lung and a regular lung. He wanted to show ... his new daily routine, [which consists of] jogging and yoga. He quit drinking right after he did the Lauer interview."
'Bloodline' actor Ben Mendelsohn has signed up to star in Steven Spielberg's forthcoming movie 'Ready Player One'.

Ben Mendelsohn

Fresh from starring in the 2015 Netflix thriller, the 46-year-old Australian actor will play the lead villain in the sci-fi movie set in 2044 and will be joining 22-year-old actress Olivia Cooke in the cast.

The highly-anticipated movie is based on the 2011 dystopian novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, and the plot follows a teenager called Wade Watts who spends his time in a virtual world known as the Oasis.

When the founder of Oasis dies, Wade joins a treasure hunt to win a huge prize left by the inventor, but his life is threatened when he begins to uncover the secrets of the artificial utopia.

Olivia - whose other credits include a role in the indie film 'Me and Earl and the Dying' - is playing a Canadian blogger named Sam whose name in the virtual world is Art3mis, and who becomes Wade's love interest.

Mendelsohn is expected to portray an executive for an Internet corporation that wants to take over Oasis.

The actor will also be seen later this year in 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' - a spin-off movie set in the 'Star Wars' universe - alongside Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Diego Luna.

'Ready Player One' is set for release in 2017.
Prince George's first day at nursery "went well", according to royal sources.

Prince George photographed by the Duchess of Cambridge

The adorable tot, who turns two-and-a-half later this month, started the Westacre Montessori school in King's Lynn, Norfolk on Wednesday (06.01.16).

His mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, turned photographer to capture the little boy's journey into the school.

Wearing a padded blue coat and blue backpack, George looked excited as he headed inside, stopping to point at a colourful mural outside the property.

A source told Hello! magazine of George's start at the school: "He's going to be attending part time for a handful of hours per day. Both the Duke and Duchess dropped him off today and it seems all went well."

The Duke and Duchess drove George to the school from their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall.

The nursery costs just 33 a day, 5.50 an hour, and is housed in a former chapel.

After it was announced last month that George would be attending Westacre, a spokesperson for the school said: "We are looking forward to welcoming George to our nursery where he will get the same special experience as all of our children."

The Duke and Duchess are parents to George and daughter Charlotte.

In a recent interview, Prince William spoke about how his life has been changed by becoming a father.

On 'When Ant and Dec Met The Prince: 40 Years of the Prince's Trust' earlier this week, William said: "I'm a lot more emotional than I used to be. I never used to get too wound up or worried about things.

But now the smallest little things, you well up a little more, you get affected by the sort of things that happen around the world or whatever, a lot more, I think, as a father. Just because you realise how precious life is and it puts it all in perspective."
Derren Brown is returning to Channel 4 next week with his brand new show Pushed to the Edge, and the illusionist has spoken about what viewers can expect in a brand new interview with the network.

Credit: Channel 4

He explains: "It [the show] looks at social compliance and social influence, which is something that can operate at all sorts of levels. It's particularly relevant with our political situation, with people being radicalised into doing bad things, but it can also operate on a private, quiet level socially. When we find ourselves in groups or with charismatic individuals, we might do things we wouldn't ordinarily do. This show takes the idea of social compliance and shows it at a very dramatic level. I'm very interested in how we take ownership of our own stories and our own lives. So this show is a dramatic play on that idea."

The show will explore whether the mechanics of social compliance can be manipulated as far as somebody being told to push someone to their death off a building, and go through with it. All secretly filmed, the person being experimented with will meet a series of actors who help build and build to the ultimate conclusion.

Brown adds that the experience is a good one for the person: "The nature of the whole journey is done in a way to make sure that ultimately it's ultimately a positive thing for them. Within five minutes of the end happening, they were fine. Subjects, over the years and going back across quite a few shows, are always in a very positive place at the end of things.

"We aren't in the business of doing horrible things to people and then laughing at them. This certainly isn't about who's a bad person or a good person. We all have a strong moral sense. The point of this situation that we move them into is what happens when a clear discrepancy is created between what you know is right and what you feel you have to do. That's really what this is about."

Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge is on 12th January at 9pm on Channel 4.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for placing the new Instrument adopted by International Labour Organization  Recommendations concerning 'The Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy (No.204)' in the Parliament, the Labour Ministry said in a press release.The International Labour Conference of ILO at its 104th Session held in Geneva in June 2015 adopted the above recommendation. Its adoption was supported by India, represented at the Session by the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for placing the new Instrument adopted by International Labour Organization  Recommendations concerning#

Under Article 19 of the ILO Constitution, each Member State of the ILO is required to submit the instruments adopted by the Conference before the competent authority (the Parliament in case of India) within a period of one year from the closing session of the Conference.The Recommendation provides guidance to Members to facilitate the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy while respecting workers' fundamental rights and promote creation, preservation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs in the formal economy and prevent informalization of formal economy jobs.There is no financial implication on India in adopting the ILO Recommendation, which is applicable to all workers in the country which ratifies the instrument, the release said. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India
Avanprint, the trade fair for digital printing solutions, running in parallel with Texworld Paris and Apparel Sourcing begins from February 15-18, 2016 in Paris, with WTIN as the knowledge partner.Avanprint will showcase innovative solutions and the latest developments in digital textile printing, where high-tech and creativity are entering an equal partnership, a press release from Messe Frankfurt said.

Avanprint, the trade fair for digital printing solutions, running in parallel with Texworld Paris and Apparel Sourcing begins from February 15-18,#

The principal aim is to satisfy the need for meetings and exchanges between designers and product managers encouraged by the overall innovation which digital printing techniques provide, it added.According to Messe Frankfurt, digital printing can slash the time from development to delivery, enhance stock management, improve resupply reaction time, offers more innovative design potential and offer sustainable production.Michael Scherpe, CEO of Messe Frankfurt France said, The digital printing market has a bright future and will produce innovative industrial solutions to the textile, fashion and accessory sectors.Digital printing has two advantages which respond to major current ecological and economic concerns as it allows water consumption to be cut drastically, Christophe Bulliard, marketing director at Sensient Technologies said.Textile printing used to require 20 litres of water per kg, while digital printing allows use to be reduced ten times over, to two litres of water per kg, using technology developed by Sensient, he added.There is no need, then, to go far into the country for a water supply, allowing a resumption of local urban production on an industrial scale, Bulliard stated.Clothing now accounts for 42 per cent of the digital printing market and 650 million sq. metres were produced in 2015 and the forecast for 2019 is 1.6 billion sq. metres.The ink price per square metre can account for between 0.4 and 1.2 per cent of the total price, which means that digital printing costs in clothing production are very economical.The exhibitors at Avanprint are manufacturers and distributors of digital textile printing machines, peripherals and inks, designers of sampling machines, software and colour management solution suppliers, etc. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
FESPA Eurasia 2015, which took place December 10-13, 2015, saw unique visitor numbers grow 11.5 per cent over the previous edition to reach 9,200, while floor space too was higher by 7 per cent over 2014.Participating companies represented all industry segments, including international exhibitors from Belgium, South Korea, China, Sweden, UK, France and Germany, a FESPA press release said.

FESPA Eurasia 2015, which took place December 10-13, 2015, saw unique visitor numbers grow 11.5 per cent over the previous edition to reach 9,200#

In addition to large format digital printing solutions, innovations in textile printing, commercial applications and finishing equipment were high on visitors' agendas.According to the organisers, the exhibition saw the strongest textile presence of any FESPA Eurasia show to date, covering both digital and screen printing throughout the halls.FESPA exhibition manager, Michael Ryan said, FESPA Eurasia attracted 65 per cent of senior company representatives and high level decision makers, which is extremely encouraging for us.It demonstrates that we have pitched the event and the educational sessions to the right level and we are also delighted that we have delivered yet another successful event, Ryan added.With 8 per cent more revisits to the show over the four days than in previous years, highlights how comprehensive the display of products was for visitors to explore, FESPA observed.In addition, there was an extended program of educational features which covered the Wrap Masters professional wrap event, where individuals competed to win the prestigious title of Eurasia Wrap Master.There was also the signage demo where a number of different signage applications were covered such as signboard painting, neon sign making and LED's, while dedicated textile seminars offered insights.According to Ryan, every single day of the show was busy, as visitors attended new textile sessions and discussed the numerous possibilities in signage, looking for the opportunities to enhance their business.Halil Eligur, president of ARED too said, We are extremely happy to be collaborating with FESPA on this tremendous event, which we believe will change the industry's standards of exhibitions in Turkey. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama has extended Fijis well wishes to the newly elected President of Republic of the Marshall Islands, His Excellency Casted Nemra.



The head of government was quick to point out the solidarity between the Pacific island neighbours displayed at the world stage where they joined hands to make the case for the Pacific Island Developing States at the recently concluded UN Climate Conference held in Paris.



Fiji will work in partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands in addressing the challenges posed by the imminent impacts of climate change as we stand in solidarity for the sake of our current and future generations.



I look forward to working closely with you in the strengthening of our bilateral relationship through the pursuit of areas of mutual interest, Prime Minister Bainimarama said.



The Fijian leader hailed Mr Nemras feat of being the youngest to be elected to the Presidency and pledged Fijis support to Marshall Islands as we move into the New Year.


Chinas securities regulator has suspended its newly implemented circuit-breaker mechanism designed to tame market volatility after it exacerbated stock sell-offs and shut down equity trading early twice in one week.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced late on Thursday night that the circuit-breaker system would be halted from Friday, only four days after introduction, without saying how long the suspension will last.

It didnt work out as expected Currently the negative effect is bigger than the positive one. Therefore, we have decided to suspend it in order to maintain market stability, the CSRC said in a statement posted on its Weibo account.

The regulator implemented the mechanism on Monday, hoping to offer a cooling period when there are sharp fluctuations in the market and therefore stamp out the wild swings.

A move of 5% in either direction on the CSI 300 Index, Chinas blue-chip tracker, triggered a 15-minute trading halt for stocks, convertible bonds, stock options and futures contracts. A swing of 7% froze trading for the rest of the day.

Previously, individual Chinese stocks were only allowed to rise or sink by a maximum 10% per day.

Circuit-breaker controversy

However, the new mechanism appears to have amplified the panic among investors and prompted new waves of selling in response to sluggish economic data and renminbi weakening, according to some market players and equity analysts.

Hong Hao, chief strategist at Bocom International in Hong Kong, said circuit-breakers could easily pose threats to market liquidity and investor sentiment.

Clearly the tight stops of 5% and 7% of Chinas circuit breaker have a magnet effect as prices gravitate towards the breaker [striking points] and prompt a stampede that drains market liquidity, he said.

The circuit-breaker system halted trading early on Thursday for the second time in a week, following its first use on Monday. The close of a 14-minute trading session in Shanghai and Shenzhen on Thursday morning also marked the shortest in the countrys history.

There are huge risks to introduce it in China now as irrational, retail investors are not really for it. When they see the market fall by 3%, they will only want to sell rather than buy. Then it could soon trigger the trading halt. Then theres no liquidity, one Hong Kong-based senior investment banker at a Wall Street bank told FinanceAsia.

Fresh stock-sale restrictions

Earlier on Thursday, the CSRC also introduced fresh restrictions on stock sales. It announced new rules to prohibit large shareholders and company directors or managers with stakes of more than 5% from selling more than 1% of their outstanding shares every three months.

In a separate statement, the CSRC said the new rules would help to defuse panic sentiment among investors and would not lead to a new peak of stock selling. Theres no basis to say they will lead to sharp falls in the market.

The new rules, which will come into effect on January 9, require stock sales to be conducted through a centralised auction system and major shareholders to disclose equity-disposal plans 15 days in advance.

The 15-day heads-up could more or less dilute the impact on the market  as retail investors know which companys major holders plan to sell shares. Retail investors can exit their positions first, said one Beijing-based fund manager at Citic Securities.

The new measures, which will apply to significant stakes held when a company listed, replace an existing ban set to expire on Friday.

Beijing in early July imposed a six-month curb on stock selling by major shareholders as part of a raft of controversial measures introduced in the summer to prop up sagging markets.

Chinas stock market, dominated by retail investors, has been one of the most volatile in the world over the last 18 months, with the Shanghai Composite index advancing by as much as 150% in a year-long rally running through mid-June, before plunging 43% by late August. It recovered somewhat in the subsequent months, and plunged again into 2016.

Hong at Bocom International told FinanceAsia earlier on Thursday that the new restrictions alone would be useless to stem the market plunge as the top priority now is either to abolish the circuit breaker mechanism or improve it.

Some of China's retail investors have tried to use humour on social media platforms like Wechat and Weibo to deal with the new circumstances.

One wag said the new circuit breakers were like having a girlfriend with a bad temper: "If shes angry with you and you fail to cheer her up in 15 minutes, she wont be talking to you for the rest of the day.
Bloomberg News

J.P. Morgan Securities recruited four Credit Suisse advisors who manage more than $1.3 billion in combined assets, a spokeswoman said.

They are among the latest advisors to leave Credit Suisse following the firm's announcement that it was leaving the U.S. wealth management market. The Swiss-based firm inked a deal with Wells Fargo, giving the wirehouse the inside track on recruiting its advisors. Yet many advisors are passing on the offer, opting to join rivals such as J.P. Morgan and UBS.

So many advisors have gone to UBS  more than 70 according to one source  that Credit Suisse hit its Swiss rival with a raiding claim suit in arbitration.

In the largest of the recent moves, advisors David DeLaney and Alan Davis manage $700 million in client assets, J.P. Morgan said.

DeLaney and Davis had been at Credit Suisse and its predecessor firm for about two decades, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. DeLaney is an industry veteran, having started his career in 1977 at Merrill Lynch.

"After extensive due diligence, we decided that J.P. Morgan Securities had the best platform and culture for us to create custom wealth management solutions for our clients," DeLaney said in a statement.

J.P. Morgan also recruited advisor Elliott Hutchinson, who manages $500 million according to the firm. Hutchinson started his career in 1984 with Kidder, Peabody, according to BrokerCheck records. He joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, in 1995, and stayed through that firm's acquisition by Credit Suisse.

Advisor Tripps Moog also joined J.P. Morgan from Credit Suisse, where he worked as a director for the past seven years, according to J.P. Morgan. Previously, he worked at Lehman Brothers.

All four advisors joined J.P. Morgan in Atlanta, where they report to Regional Director Pete Secret. In the same city, J.P. Morgan recently picked up four other Credit Suisse advisors who managed more than $1.4 billion in assets. Secret said that the "new hires join an already strong and growing Atlanta office and we are excited to have some of the top industry performers become members of our team."

A Credit Suisse spokeswoman declined to comment.

Read more:
Advisors with a combined $173 million in client assets have moved their business to Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, the firm says.

Former Edward Jones advisors Jay and Brooke Moore, a husband-and-wife team based out of Cleburne, Texas, left the firm to open an independent practice with FiNet, the firm says. They oversee $92 million in AUM, according to Wells Fargo.

Jay Moore joined the industry with Edward Jones in 1997, according to FINRA. His wife, Brooke Moore, began her securities career with Edward Jones in 2010, BrokerCheck records show.

Wells Fargo also announced that Parkland Securities advisor Susan Zwiebel has also moved to the independent side of the firm with Trailhead Wealth Management in Louisville, Colo., according to Wells Fargo. Zwiebel manages $18 million in client assets, FiNet says.

After getting her industry start with Consolidated Investment Services in 1992, Zwiebel worked for Royal Alliance, National Planning, Princor Financial Services, Elite Investments, Multi-Financial Securities and Money Concepts, FINRA says.

The firm also announced that former NEXT Financial Advisor Jeff Kercorian has opened an independent practice with FiNet in Troy, Mich. Kercorian manages more than $63 million in AUM, according to FiNet. Prior to NEXT Financial, he worked with Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and Fidelity, BrokerCheck says.

FiNet recently added an ex-Morgan Stanley advisor that oversaw more than $156 million in AUM.

Read more:
A second bank in as many days has opted to grow its wealth management business by buying an RIA firm.

Johnson Financial Group, the parent of family-owned Johnson Bank, announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring Cleary Gull Advisors, a Milwaukee-based RIA with $2.1 billion in assets under management.

With the acquisition, Johnson is angling to become a leading provider of investment advisory and retirement planning services in Milwaukee, the $4 billion financial service company said.

"We are making this move to strengthen our market presence with well-known, highly capable people dedicated to serving their clients with the kind of professional expertise and personal, caring approach that makes us distinctive in all that we do," Thomas Bolger, president and CEO of Johnson, said in the announcement.

After the deal closes, the combined company will have more than $8.5 billion in assets under management. The RIA firm will retain its name and will be led by Michael Cleary, chairman and CEO of Cleary Gull Advisors. Cleary will work closely with Johnson's leader of the wealth business.

One appeal for Cleary was the fact that Johnson is a local, family-owned bank. "What this means to investors and the marketplace is two legacy companies with deep roots in Milwaukee and Wisconsin will join forces, become bigger and better together and be able to grow in the best way," Cleary said.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016, pending client consents and regulatory approvals. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition follows BOK Financial's announcement on Tuesday that it will purchase Weaver Wealth Management, an RIA owned by a Texas-based accounting firm.

Many banks looking to build their wealth management business often consider buying RIAs to hasten their growth objectives, says Jeffrey Brand, a managing director at mergers and acquisition firm Silver Lane Advisors. He also noted that buying RIAs, as opposed to partnering with third-party broker-dealers, represents the ultimate commitment to wealth and asset management as such acquisitions require board approval.

In 2015, banks acquired 45 RIAs and trust companies, up from only 18 in 2010, according to Silver Lane.

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LONDON, January 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Chief Strategy Officer Summit and Big Data & Analytics Innovation Summit head to Melbourne on the 10th & 11th of February for two days of interactive discussion and dedicated networking opportunities. High-level strategy, big data & analytics executives announced to present include Warner Bros, Commonwealth Bank, ABC, Betfair, MasterCard, Ladbrokes, Qantas, ANZ Bank, Australia Post & many more.

The Chief Strategy Officer Summit will discuss some of the key issues to the Chief Strategy Officer, as well as topics that have arisen in recent years. Strategic planning and execution remain key areas, with more recent responsibilities extending to innovation, digital disruption & much more.

The consumer should always be at the forefront of a company's strategy and Telstra have addressed the need to shake up their approach. Tanya Felton will share their project which focussed on supporting their patients, doctors and nurses, and ultimately the way surgical flow is managed. Ideas are good, but execution can be more challenging. Tanya will use her presentation to discuss some of the finer points as to how companies can utilise innovation more effectively.

The ability to manage Big Data and improve business analytics tools & understanding is increasingly essential to companies around the world. The Big Data & Analytics Innovation Summit will dive into key areas of predictive analytics, data science, machine learning & more, whilst applying these tools and techniques to how these companies are finding success.

From a focus on customer through strategy to using a customer-centric application of analytics, Nissan are building on the idea of 'right person; right message; right channel; right time' by bringing into play valuable insight from internal and external data sources that give a wider view of the customer.

"Topics across the two summits will often intertwine but both provide an excellent opportunity for attendees to specialise in their chosen topic and learn from field experts", explains Conference Organizer, Harriet Connolly. "These summits provide the perfect platform for high-level executives to come together and learn from one another's experiences."

About Innovation Enterprise:

Innovation Enterprise is a business media company specializing in enterprise innovation. We bring our exceptional cross-industry knowledge to the business community through a combination of digital media and live summits, providing organizations with cutting-edge insights to drive growth in the constantly changing business environment.

Through our key channels - Big Data, Analytics, Strategy, Innovation, Digital, Finance, & Operations - we connect industry leaders across the business spectrum, from leading Fortune 500 companies to disruptive and exciting new startups, facilitating the sharing of ideas through webinars, articles, white papers, and on-demand video content.

We also offer a range of additional media products, including lead generation services, custom events and custom research to fortune 500 clients.

Our specialties include Big Data, Analytics, Innovation, Strategy, Digital, Finance, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Data Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Data Science, FP&A, S&OP.
JACOBS WINS CONTRACT WITH BIOGEN

Providing EPCM Services for Manufacturing Plant in Switzerland

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today it was awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for Biogen's (NYSE: BIIB) new manufacturing facility in Luterbach, Switzerland.

Under the terms of the agreement, Jacobs is providing EPCM services for Biogen's fourth manufacturing plant. Biogen discovers, develops and delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological, autoimmune and rare diseases. The company currently manufactures therapies in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; and Hillerd, Denmark.

Plans for the new facility include state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing technology, which is expected to triple the company's global capacity to produce large protein-based drugs known as biologics.

In making the announcement, Jacobs Global Life Sciences Senior Vice President Robert Norfleet stated, "We are pleased Biogen chose to work with us to meet its demands for increased manufacturing capacity. As the largest professional services provider to the biopharmaceutical industry, we look forward to providing innovative solutions that can help strengthen its medication supply system around the globe."

Work on the facility started in late 2015. The plant is expected to be in operation by 2019.

Founded in 1978, Biogen is one of the world's oldest independent biotechnology companies providing therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, hematologic conditions and autoimmune disorders.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical professional and construction services.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2014 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 Business, 1A Risk Factors, 3 Legal Proceedings, and 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160105005401/en/

Contacts:

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Robin Shermer, 817-735-6284
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that J.P. Morgan's (JPM) brokerage business agreed to pay $4 million to settle charges that it falsely stated on its private banking website and in marketing materials that advisors are compensated 'based on our clients' performance; no one is paid on commission.' An SEC investigation found that although J.P. Morgan Securities LLC or JPMS did not pay commissions to registered representatives in its U.S. Private Bank, compensation was not based on client performance. Advisors were instead paid a salary and a discretionary bonus based on a number of other factors. According to the SEC's order instituting a settled administrative proceeding: JPMS made the false and misleading statement about broker compensation from 2009 to 2012. The misstatement was made to current and prospective customers on JPMS' private banking website as well as a private banking website for its Tampa regional office. Among the marketing materials that included the misstatement were a prospecting card, a pitch book, and a marketing letter. JPMS employees identified the broker compensation statement as inaccurate on four occasions from March 2009 to February 2011. But JPMS failed to correct the misstatement on each of those occasions. It wasn't until May 2012 - more than three years after it was first made - that the misstatement was corrected by JPMS in some marketing materials. 'Broker-dealers like JPMS have self-interest in representing that their monetary interests are aligned with their customers. JPMS misled customers by falsely claiming that the compensation of its registered representatives was tied to the success of the client's portfolio,' said Eric Bustillo, Director of the SEC's Miami Regional Office. In addition to the $4 million penalty, JPMS agreed to be censured and must cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any such future violations. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
DARMSTADT, Germany, January 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Merck becomes first pharmaceutical company to collaborate with multiple diagnostic providers to support RAS biomarker testing

Collaboration allows Merck to provide complementary molecular testing solutions to various laboratory segments

Biocartis ' fully automated Idylla ' system will enable more clinic s to assess RAS mutation status in metastatic colorectal cancer ( mCRC ) patients

New diagnostic test will be fast, minimally invasive, easy-to-perform and support timely decision making

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Biocartis for the development and commercialization of a new liquid biopsy RAS biomarker test for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The test will be developed on Biocartis' innovative, fully automated molecular diagnostics system, Idylla', which is designed to offer accurate and reliable molecular information from virtually any biological sample in virtually any setting. The new test aims to support clinical practice in performing integrated liquid biopsy RAS biomarker tests, independently of the laboratories' volume of testing or level of expertise.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

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Understanding metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients' individual biomarker status is key to support timely treatment decision-making.

"Through this collaboration, our desire is to have more metastatic colorectal cancer patients gain access to liquid biopsy RAS testing, regardless of their geographical location," said Rehan Verjee, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer of Merck's biopharma business. "As the first pharmaceutical company to collaborate with multiple diagnostic providers of liquid biopsy RAS testing, we are living our commitment to supporting patients and physicians by going beyond treatment. The Biocartis technology will be complementary to other technology previously developed, and will allow for liquid biopsy RAS offerings to a wide range of lab segments, regardless of size and expertise levels."

The Idylla' system is a fully automated sample-to-result PCR-based (polymerase chain reaction) molecular diagnostics system. It is designed to offer real-time, reliable and sensitivemolecular diagnostic tests. Whereas most of today's solutions only look for the most prevalent RAS mutations, the Idylla' RAS test, comprising two Idylla' cartridges, will be designed to detect an extended panel of RAS mutations. In addition, the new test will also provide a BRAF V600 mutation analysis directly integrated with the Idylla' RAS test, to allow clinicians to evaluate BRAF and RAS mutation status simultaneously. Based on a direct sample of only 2 ml of blood plasma, the test aims to provide high sensitivity and ease-of-use. The test will be designed to require less than 2 minutes of hands-on time and a turnaround time of approximately 2 hours, enabling clinical decision-making in a timely manner.

"Today, complex diagnostic laboratory infrastructure and specialized expertise requirements are important barriers when it comes to the implementation of personalized medicine on a global scale," said Rudi Pauwels, CEO Biocartis. "We are pleased to partner with Merck, who supports us in putting personalized medicine into daily practice with this collaboration, through the development of rapid and accurate tests on the Idylla' system. After having already launched solid biopsy RAS tests, the Idylla' liquid biopsy RAS test is a logical next step in our rapidly expanding menu of oncology tests."

Merck and Biocartis plan to implement the Idylla' liquid biopsy RAS test in numerous medical centers across the world, excluding the U.S., China and Japan. The test will be available for Research Use Only (RUO) in H2 2016 and is shortly thereafter planned to be submitted for a CE Mark. A concordance study is currently also being undertaken to substantiate the value of the test.

All Merck Press Releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Website. Please go to http://www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

About mCRC

Approximately half of patients with mCRC have RAS wild-type tumors and half have RAS mutant tumors.[1] Results from studies assessing RAS mutation status in patients with mCRC have shown that anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody therapies, such as Erbitux (cetuximab), can improve outcomes in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC.[2-6] Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, with an estimated incidence of more than 1.36 million new cases annually.[7] An estimated 694,000 deaths from CRC occur worldwide every year, accounting for 8.5% of all cancer deaths and making it the fourth most common cause of death from cancer.[7] Almost 55% of CRC cases are diagnosed in developed regions of the world, and incidence and mortality rates are substantially higher in men than in women.[7]

References

Vaughn CP, et al. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2011;50(5):307-12. Douillard J-Y, et al. N Engl J Med 2013;369(11):1023-34. Schwartzberg LS, et al. J Clin Oncol 2014; March 31 [Epub ahead of print]. Available online: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24687833. Last accessed January 2016 . Bokemeyer C, et al. Oral presentation at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, May 30-June 3, 2014 . Stintzing S, et al. European Cancer Congress 2013:Abstract No:LBA17. Ciardiello F, et al. Oral presentation at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, May 30-June 3, 2014 . Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin DM, Forman D, Bray , F. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11 [Internet]. Lyon, France : International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013. Available at: http://globocan.iarc.fr. Last accessed January 2016 .

About Biocartis

Biocartis (Euronext Brussels: BCART) is an innovative molecular diagnostics (MDx) company providing next generation diagnostic solutions aimed at improving clinical practice for the benefit of patients, clinicians, payers and industry. Biocartis' proprietary MDx Idylla' platform is a fully automated sample-to-result, real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) system that offers accurate, highly reliable molecular information from virtually any biological sample in virtually any setting. Idylla' addresses the growing demand for personalized medicine by aiming to allow fast and effective treatment selection and treatment progress monitoring. Biocartis launched the Idylla' platform commercially in September 2014 together with its first assay to identify BRAF Mutations in metastatic melanoma. Its second assay, a KRAS Mutation panel for colorectal cancer, was launched in June 2015. Biocartis is developing and marketing a rapidly expanding test menu addressing key unmet clinical needs in oncology and infectious diseases. These areas represent respectively the fastest growing and largest segments of the MDx market worldwide. Further information can be found at: http://www.biocartis.com.

About Idylla'

Idylla', Biocartis' fully automated, real-time PCR based molecular diagnostics system, is designed to offer fast and easy access to clinical molecular diagnostic information, anywhere and anytime. The Idylla' platform covers the entire process from sample to result in a time frame of 35 to 150 minutes with less than two minutes hands-on time. Idylla' is applicable for a wide range of clinical sample types and can analyze both RNA and DNA. The fully integrated system enables clinical laboratories to perform a broad range of applications in oncology, infectious diseases and beyond. The Idylla' system's first diagnostic tests, the Idylla' BRAF Mutation Test for metastatic melanoma, the Idylla' KRAS Mutation Test for colorectal cancer and the first infectious disease test, the Idylla' Respiratory (IFV-RSV) Panel developed in collaboration with Janssen Diagnostics, have obtained CE-IVD marking. Further information can be found at: http://www.idylla.com.

About Erbitux

Erbitux is a highly active IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). As a monoclonal antibody, the mode of action of Erbitux is distinct from standard non-selective chemotherapy treatments in that it specifically targets and binds to the EGFR. This binding inhibits the activation of the receptor and the subsequent signal-transduction pathway, which results in reducing both the invasion of normal tissues by tumor cells and the spread of tumors to new sites. It is also believed to inhibit the ability of tumor cells to repair the damage caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy and to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels inside tumors, which appears to lead to an overall suppression of tumor growth.

The most commonly reported side effect with Erbitux is an acne-like skin rash that seems to be correlated with a good response to therapy. In approximately 5% of patients, hypersensitivity reactions may occur during treatment with Erbitux; about half of these reactions are severe.

Erbitux has already obtained market authorization in over 90 countries world-wide for the treatment of colorectal cancer and for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

Merck licensed the right to market Erbitux outside the US and Canada from ImClone LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, in 1998. Merck has an ongoing commitment to the advancement of oncology treatment and is currently investigating novel therapies in highly targeted areas.

About Merck

Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2014, Merck generated sales of  11.3 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

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Copenhagen, 2016-01-07 08:30 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- No. 1/2016ISS A/S (ISS.CO, ISS DC), a leading global provider of facility services, today announced that Group CFO Heine Dalsgaard has accepted the position as CFO of Carlsberg A/S, the international beer producer. He will continue in his current role at ISS until a successor is in place or no later than until 1 August 2016. A successor will be announced in due course.Jeff Gravenhorst, Group CEO, ISS A/S, said: "It has been a real pleasure working with Heine during some very exciting times at ISS. Heine played an important part in preparing and executing our successful IPO in 2014. At ISS, we have a long tradition of developing and maintaining a very strong finance function, and while we regret to see Heine leave, we wish him much success as he takes up this new opportunity."Heine Dalsgaard, Group CFO, ISS A/S, said: "I have had a great time at ISS. It's been a privilege to be part of the significant transformation which brought ISS back to the stock exchange, and of delivering solid financial performance. It was a hard decision, and I will certainly miss ISS and my wonderful colleagues, but joining Carlsberg at this point in time was simply a challenge I could not refuse. In the coming months, I will continue to diligently manage my responsibilities to ensure a smooth transition."Heine Dalsgaard joined ISS in the spring of 2013 from a previous position as CFO of Grundfos, a leading pump manufacturer.Lord Allen of Kensington Kt CBE Jeff GravenhorstChairman of the Board Group CEOFor media enquiries Manuel Vigilius, Global Media Relations Manager, +45 3817 6404For investor enquiries Nicholas Ward, Head of Group Investor Relations, +45 3817 6251 Martin Kjr Hansen, Investor Relations Manager, +45 3817 6431About ISS The ISS Group was founded in Copenhagen in 1901 and has grown to become one of the world's leading Facility Services companies. ISS offers a wide range of services such as: Cleaning, Catering, Security, Property and Support Services as well as Facility Management. Global revenue amounted to DKK 74.1 billion in 2014 and ISS has approximately 510,000 employees and activities in more than 75 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Pacific, serving thousands of both public and private sector customers. For more information on the ISS Group, visit www.issworld.com.ISS A/S, ISIN DK 0060542181, ISS Global A/S, ISIN XS1145526585, ISIN XS1145526825, ISIN XS1330300341Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=542538


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer Group plc (MAKSY, MAKSF, MKS.L) said that Marc Bolland has informed the Board that, after six years in the role, he intends to retire as Chief Executive Officer in 2016.



Marc will be succeeded as CEO by Steve Rowe, Executive Director of General Merchandise. Marc Bolland will remain CEO and on the Board until the end of the current financial year on 2 April 2016 when he will hand over to Steve Rowe. Marc will then remain available to Steve and the Board to assist in the transition until 30 June 2016.



In reaching its conclusion to appoint Steve Rowe as the next CEO of Marks and Spencer Group plc, the Nominations Committee set a rigorous assessment, development and selection process, including external benchmarking. The Board is grateful to Marc for his planning, enabling the Nominations Committee to work carefully and systematically on his succession.



Steve Rowe has been with Marks and Spencer Group plc for over 25 years and been a Board Member since 2012.



Prior to joining the Board, Steve served in a range of senior positions across the business including Director of Retail and E-commerce and various positions in General Merchandise. In 2012 he was appointed by Marc Bolland to the Executive team as Executive Director, Food and was appointed to the Board of Marks and Spencer Group plc.



In July 2015, Steve Rowe was appointed Executive Director, General Merchandise with a mandate to improve the overall performance of that business, building on the improved design and sourcing capabilities.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Former President of GSK Oncology Adds Depth of Cancer R&D Leadership

PsiOxus Therapeutics Ltd. ("PsiOxus"), the immuno-oncology company, has appointed Dr Paolo Paoletti, MD as Chairman of the Board.

Dr Paoletti was most recently the President of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Oncology, a global role in which he championed the fight against the causes and impacts of cancer. In this role, he was responsible for R&D, commercial strategy, and lifecycle management, and shared the accountability of GSK Oncology's P&L with its regional commercial leaders. Prior to joining GSK, Dr Paoletti was Vice President, Clinical Development for Lilly Oncology.

Under Dr Paoletti's leadership, the oncology business for GSK grew from $200 million to almost $2 billion in less than a decade. In recognition of the value generated by Dr Paoletti and his team, GSK sold its oncology business to Novartis for $16 billion in 2014. Oncology products that received major approvals under Dr Paoletti's leadership whilst at GSK included: Arranon/Atriance (2006), Tykerb/Tyverb (2007), Promacta/Revolade (2008), Arzerra (2009), Votrient (2009), Tafinlar (2013) and Mekinist (2013).

Commenting on the appointment, Dr John Beadle, CEO of PsiOxus, said: "We are honoured to have Dr Paoletti stepping into the Chairman's role at this critical time for PsiOxus. I am certain that his proven experience in oncology drug development together with his ability to inspire and lead a growing oncology focused business will be invaluable as we move enadenotucirev, our lead oncolytic viral program, into mid-stage clinical studies and as we accelerate our next generation oncology platform and programs towards the clinic."

Dr Paoletti added: "I have been impressed by the potential of the PsiOxus platform to generate a range of highly novel and exciting immuno-oncology products. I look forward to working with the Board and the Executive Team to build a dynamic and valuable company whilst delivering an important range of new cancer treatments for patients."

Dr Beadle also thanked Dr Michael Moore, the founding Chairman for PsiOxus, for his important contribution and on-going commitment to PsiOxus: "Dr Moore has been of invaluable support to both me and the Board of PsiOxus. I am delighted that he will remain on the Board as Deputy Chairman to provide continuity as well as his unique insight into our business."

In addition to his role at PsiOxus, Dr Paoletti is also a member of the boards of Genmab A/S, FORMA Therapeutics and Nucana BioMed as well as being the CEO of Kesios Therapeutics.

About PsiOxus Therapeutics, Ltd.

PsiOxus Therapeutics is an Oxford, UK-based development stage biotechnology company with a particular focus on immune therapeutics in oncology. PsiOxus has developed a patented platform for tumour-targeted delivery based on its oncolytic vaccine, enadenotucirev. Enadenotucirev's unique design allows it to be delivered systemically via intravenous administration. The anti-cancer scope of enadenotucirev can be expanded through "arming" a process that involves addition of new genes into enadenotucirev. The "Armed EnAd" platform makes possible creation of a broad range of unique oncolytic immune therapeutics, including oncolytic vaccines that express one or more antibodies (AbEnAd), cytokines or other immunomodulatory proteins, or nucleotide based payloads such as RNAi. The Armed EnAd platform is in preclinical stage, while phase I/II clinical trials are ongoing with the parent unarmed EnAd in different tumour types.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005003/en/

Contacts:

US Media Enquiries:

Chempetitive Group

Rachel Wallace

+1-781-775-3640

PsiOxus@chempetitive.com

or

UK Media Enquiries:

BioStrata

Dr Paul Avery

+44(0)1223 828200

pavery@biostratamarketing.com
LONDON, January 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Investment to be used to initiate global commercialization and accelerate R&D.

HandInScan Ltd., an innovative health technology company focusing on hand hygiene control announced today the closing of an investment of $1.45M by Perion Investment Fund. The proceeds will be used to expedite commercialization of HandInScan's flagship product, the Hand-in-Scan Medical Trainer, and to further develop its disruptive technology and service portfolio.

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The benefits of HandInScan's innovative products and services are the increased compliance with hand sanitization, and significant reduction of healthcare-associated infections.

Dr. Tamas Haidegger, CEO of HandInScan said, "We are proud to join forces with Perion Investment, whose team has great experience in supporting companies towards commercialization and shareholder's value creation. We are also very grateful to our early stage partner, DBH Investment, who supported the company from the concept and start-up phase through product development, up to this point where we are ready to commercialize our products and services portfolio. As a result, we were able to close a successful series A investment round."

Gabor Vitan, CEO of Perion Investment said, "Having developed a disruptive technology ready for commercialization, HandInScan was a great match for our investment philosophy and strategy. Our team was very impressed with the product, the management and the advisory team as well. We believe that the next few years will be a turning point for the company, since the sector is foreseeing rapid transition and growth."

Dr. Laszlo Urge Board member at DBH Investment and HandInScan added, "Teaming up with the professional team of Perion will be a good basis for continuing the corporate strategy. It also underlines that the early stage and high risk part of the corporate life cycle for HandInScan was managed successfully and professionally. From concepts to prototype and finally first product, the project was completed in 24 month. The product was validated in several healthcare set ups at different parts of the globe with over 16000 healthcare workers, and generated lots of interest. Perion can further support the next phase of HandInScan's life cycle when it will be turned from an R&D focused operation into a fully integrated health technology company."

About HandInScan

HandInScan Ltd. is a health-tech company focusing on the unmet and critical need of reducing healthcare-associated infections.

Supervisory Board: Andras Szugyiczki, Dr. Laszlo Urge, Laszlo Bacsa
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has agreed to acquire Formicary, a leading provider of consulting and systems integration services for trading platforms in the UK and North America. The acquisition will further strengthen Accenture's capabilities in helping banks, asset managers, hedge funds and clearing organisations transform their trading technology platforms, enabling them to quickly and cost-efficiently adapt to market and regulatory change. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Formicary specialises in financial trading systems consulting, systems integration and migration, and IT services and software for over-the-counter (OTC) clearing, which includes implementations of industry-leading trading platforms such as Murex, Calypso and Misys Summit. The company helps capital markets firms revamp their trading platforms to reduce reliance on heavily customized, high-cost systems.

"Investment banks need to consider alternatives to costly, overly complex, bespoke trading systems, which are hindering their ability to be cost-efficient, compliant with the latest regulations and competitive in highly regulated and active markets," said Owen Jelf, global managing director of Accenture's Capital Markets practice. "With highly skilled professionals and deep market experience in everything from digital transformation to global regulatory compliance, Formicary will help us strengthen our trading services capabilities to help financial services firms become more competitive and adaptive to change in continuously evolving markets."

Formicary was founded in 2000 and has offices in London, Toronto and New York. Its clients include tier-one investment banks, hedge funds, clearing houses and fund administrators. Through its full range of services which include trading and risk platforms integration and migration, OTC clearing, custom development, managed services and bespoke software Formicary helps clients maximize the potential and cost-effectiveness of proprietary and packaged software platforms to enhance their competitive advantage and streamline business operations.

"By combining our deep knowledge in trading technology with Accenture's global strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations capabilities in capital markets, we offer our clients a strong scalable portfolio of services," said Joseph Do, managing director at Formicary. "As significant cost pressures continue to force capital markets firms to re-evaluate their trading capabilities, our combined efforts will enable us to deliver large-scale digital transformations that can help them reduce costs while increasing the scale and profitability of their trading operations."

This acquisition complements Accenture's recent acquisition of Beacon Consulting. Together, they reinforce Accenture's capital markets capabilities, bringing added industry depth and expertise.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing requirements.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions underpinned by the world's largest delivery network Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About Formicary

Formicary is a niche IT consultancy specializing in systems integration for the financial services sector. Since inception 16 years ago, it has specialized in delivering integrated technology solutions that streamline business processes in the front, middle and back office for clients across the industry from tier one investment banks to hedge funds and fund administrators. Formicary's systems engineers and business analysts have industry experience covering trading and risk systems from proprietary applications to major third party system deployments. Formicary is a Murex SI Business Partner, Calypso Business and Service Partner. Formicary Ltd has offices in London, Toronto and New York servicing clients in Europe and North America.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: the company and Formicary will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties' ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for the company; the company's results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; the company's business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company's services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect the company's results of operations; if the company is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets in which the company competes are highly competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively; the company could have liability or the company's reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company's information systems are breached; the company's results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; the company's results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if the company does not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of performing its work or if the third parties upon whom it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company's contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be less profitable than expected or unprofitable; the company's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company's profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the company may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; the company's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; the company's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; the company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; the company's Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; changes in the company's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in the company's treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on the company's results of operations and financial condition; as a result of the company's geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; adverse changes to the company's relationships with key alliance partners or in the business of its key alliance partners could adversely affect the company's results of operations; the company's services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; if the company is unable to protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected; the company's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; any changes to the estimates and assumptions that the company makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of the company's contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company's revenues and impact its margins; if the company is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company's results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected; the company's results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; the company may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005134/en/

Contacts:

Accenture

Damon Leavell, 1-917-452-4083

damon.leavell@accenture.com

or

Accenture

Petra Shuttlewood, 44 7788 305373

petra.shuttlewood@accenture.com
LONDON, January 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Digital Behavior Analytics identifies relevant consumer data in search and social for 24/7 brand management

Millward Brown, a global leader in brand, media and communications research, today announced the launch of Digital Behavior Analytics (DBA), an advanced analytics solution that gives businesses near real-time access to actionable insights on brand health and marketing campaign performance, using data from search patterns and social media conversations.

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"While most companies monitor social and search data today, many do not have the confidence to use it in decision making," said Sarah Walker, Global Lead for Digital Behavior Analytics at Millward Brown. "Millward Brown is tackling this major issue by applying cutting-edge modelling and econometric approaches to identify the meaningful signals in carefully chosen social and search sources."

DBA uses changes in online behaviors to give advertisers real-time feedback on the in-market performance of specific campaigns, allowing them to identify and act on emerging issues and opportunities. DBA also monitors long-term health of brands through changing trends in interest and opinion over time, and can identify when brands are over- or underperforming versus expectations or the category. These 'always on' analyses provide marketers and business managers with consistent metrics that enable them to optimize campaigns and feed long-term strategic decisions.

"Social media and search are double-edged swords. While they offer the potential to understand consumer behavior and perceptions on an unprecedented scale, the sheer volume of data generated can be overwhelming, with the result that marketers often struggle to derive value from it," continued Walker.

"Our mission is to turn 'big data' into 'better data' through sophisticated analysis that can inform decisions. DBA will help businesses to manage their brands 24/7 by being more insightful, more affordable and more actionable."

Millward Brown has pioneered and innovated brand tracking for more than 40 years and DBA represents the ongoing evolution of its model. Currently available in more than 30 countries, DBA can be a stand-alone solution or integrated into a company's core brand tracking solution.

Notes to Editors:

About Millward Brown

Millward Brown is a leading global research agency specializing in advertising effectiveness, strategic communication, media and brand equity research. Millward Brown helps clients grow great brands through comprehensive research-based qualitative and quantitative solutions.

Specialist global practices include a leading Digital practice (focused on digital effectiveness and intelligence), Firefly Millward Brown (a global qualitative network), a Neuroscience Practice (using neuroscience to optimize the value of traditional research techniques), and Millward Brown Vermeer (a strategy consultancy helping companies maximize financial returns on brand and marketing investments). Millward Brown operates in more than 55 countries and is part of Kantar, WPP's data investment management division. Learn more at http://www.millwardbrown.com.

For further information please contact:

Dominic Harders

+44-(0)1926-826307

dominic.harders@millwardbrown.com


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - January 07, 2016) -The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "Diagnosed persons with mesothelioma concerned about getting the best possible compensation are urged to call us at 800-714-0303 so we can help you compare our references to any other law firm in the nation. We simply want to show an individual with mesothelioma that the skill of the attorney matters when it comes to compensation for this rare cancer."

The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "We are the nation's premier mesothelioma attorneys, and as such, we are urging all diagnosed shipyard workers, manufacturing workers, or their family members to call us at 800-714-0303 to compare the compensation results we have achieved for our clients to any other law firm in the country. We are full-time mesothelioma lawyers, and we offer an unsurpassed service for persons diagnosed with this cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

"What we want to do for a diagnosed person with mesothelioma and their family is see-to it that they get extremely honest advice from passionate lawyers with decades of experience and proven compensation settlement results."

For more information, a diagnosed person with mesothelioma or their family are welcome to call the Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center anytime at 800-714-0303 or contact them via their website at http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.com

The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center specializes in helping the following types of people diagnosed with mesothelioma on a nationwide basis:

US Navy Veterans

Shipyard Workers

Manufacturing Workers

Construction Workers

Power Plant Workers

Welders

Automotive Industry Workers

Electricians

Plumbers

According to the Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center, "One-third of all mesothelioma victims diagnosed annually served in the US Navy. We have an extremely impressive track record in producing the best possible compensation results for Navy Veterans nationwide. We also want to emphasize if you or your loved one, who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, are looking for help with a mesothelioma compensation claim we urge you to call us anytime at 800-714-0303 for our unsurpassed services focused on the best possible the best possible financial settlement results, as well as very honest advice." http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

Information about Mesothelioma for Diagnosed Victims and Their Families from the Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center:

The average age for a diagnosed victim of mesothelioma is 72 years old. This year, between 2500 and 3000 US citizens will be diagnosed with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is attributable to exposure to asbestos.

High risk work groups for exposure to asbestos include Veterans of the US Navy, power plant workers, shipyard workers, steel mill workers, oil refinery workers, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, miners, auto mechanics, machinists, and construction workers. Typically the exposure to asbestos occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

According to the CDC the states indicated with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon.

However, based on the calls the Mesothelioma Victims Center receives a diagnosed victim of mesothelioma could live in any state including New York, Florida, California, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska.

The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "If you call us at 800-714-0303, we will see to it that you have extremely honest advice about all that is involved in obtaining the best possible mesothelioma compensation. We consistently get the best possible financial compensation results for our clients-nationwide.

"Before you retain the services of a law firm to advance a mesothelioma compensation claim please call us first to ensure you really are dealing with one of the nation's most experienced mesothelioma law firms." http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/12/30/11G076919/Images/mesothelioma_us_navy_sailors-0f7dd34b7d4a971bbb27b5a88e523310.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/12/30/11G076919/Images/mesothelioma_drydock-69cbf1f5711e84f6ac1f60109fdf1908.jpg

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Contact

Michael Thomas

Mesothelioma Victims Center

1-800-714-0303

http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com
BEIJING, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --On January 6, 2016,The Global Conference for Collaboration and Cooperation on Regenerative Life Science cosponsoredby Chinese Red Cross Foundation and Beijing MEBO Institute for Burns, Wounds and Ulcers wassuccessfullyopened in the Great Hall of the People, in whichauthoritieswithexpertisein the field of regenerative life science from the domestic and the overseas gathered together to commemorate Dr. Rongxiang Xu and discuss the major research outcomes and applicative results in this field, jointly promoting the sustainable development of regenerative life science.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319986

The projects launched in this conference included: the establishment of Chinese Red Cross Foundation"Rongxiang Xu Regenerative Life Non-profit Fund", announced by Li Li, the Chairman of National Rongxiang Xu Foundation;the launch of Clinton Global Initiative Commitment"From Urban to Rural: Training Doctorson Moist Exposed Burn Therapy (MEBT)", announced by Kevin Xu, the President of MEBO International and son of Dr. Xu; theestablishmentof"Rongxiang Xu MD Center of Regenerative Therapeutics"at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School; the development plan of"Rongxiang Xu Center for Regenerative Life Science"atUSC Davis School of Gerontology; and etc., and also issues such as the clinical application and development of regenerative medical technology in Chinese hospitals, the global development of regenerative medical technology and etc. were discussed in depth.

Philip Chen, theHealth Deputy of Los Angeles County also participated in this conference in which he read out theMemorandum of Understanding signed between The Los Angeles County Department of Health and USC Rongxiang Xu Center for Regenerative Life Science (RXCRLS) for MEBT trainingin the medical training network of Los Angeles County.

This conference was to better carry forward the humanitarian spirit of Dr. Rongxiang Xu, inventor of Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science (HBRRS), andtopromote regenerative life science to bless the world.Just as the Surgery Professor of Harvard Medical SchoolDr.ElliotChaikofsaid,"Dr. Xu's pioneering contributions in the field of regenerative medicinearerecognizedinternationally. I believe the mostenduringandimportantcontribution of Dr. Xu is hiscommitmenttotranslatinghisnovel discoveries into effectiveand innovativetherapies,that have touched countless lives around the world - and in so doing- added years to life and life to years."

CONTACT:Tom Tao, taogx@mebo.com
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EBY) (the "Company" or "Emerald Bay") is pleased to provide an update on their recent business initiative in South Texas.

Emerald Bay is proud to announce its partnership with Alliance Petroleum Interests ("Alliance") on a new well development program in South Texas. Alliance is a privately owned and operated oil and gas company based out of Dallas, Texas. Alliance explores, develops and acquires prolific oil and gas reserves primarily in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Colorado.

"We couldn't be more thrilled about the relationship we've developed with Emerald Bay Energy, and we are excited to partner with them as they expand their land position here in Texas," said Tara Simpson, CEO of Alliance Petroleum.

The first joint project for Emerald Bay and Alliance will be a four-well infield drilling program in South Texas. Alliance Petroleum Interests previously evaluated the selected location for stringent geological criteria to ensure the financial success of the wells for the Company and its new partner. Emerald Bay has experience drilling, operating and reworking approximately 400 wells in the near vicinity and will be the operator on this project.

Commencement on this first project is expected to begin immediately with the first two wells to be drilled and completed over the next few weeks.

About Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay Energy Inc., based in Calgary, is a junior oil and gas producer with production properties in Western Canada and South Texas. The common shares of Emerald Bay trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EBY". Please visit www.emeraldbayenergy.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipates", "projects", "potential" or similar expressions.. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts.

Information inferred from the interpretation of drilling results may also be deemed to be forward looking statements, as it constitutes a prediction of what might be found to be present when and if a well is actually developed. BOE's may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 Bbl is based on energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information, which are considered reasonable by Emerald Bay at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. Actual results achieved will vary from the information provided and the variations may be material. There is no representation by Emerald Bay that actual results achieved will be the same in whole or part as those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding the Company's exploration, drilling and development plans, the Company's expectations regarding the timing and success of such programs. In particular, forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: pipeline acquisitions and leasing; pipeline permits, pipeline construction, production estimates, drilling operations, completion operations, funding and development goals. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in the prices of oil and gas, uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of oil and gas reserves and projecting future rates of production and timing of development activities, competition, operating risks, acquisition risks, liquidity and capital requirements, the effects of governmental regulation, adverse changes in the market for the Company's oil and gas production, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the applicable securities regulators.

Contacts:

Emerald Bay Energy Inc.

Shelby D. Beattie

President

(403) 262-6000

info@ebyinc.com

www.emeraldbayenergy.com



CHF Investor Relations

D'Arcy Funfer

(403) 410-6221

darcy@chfir.com




ALBANY, New York, January 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, theglobal visible light communication marketis estimated to take a leap at a CAGR of 109.2% during the period between 2015 and 2022. The report, titled "Visible Light Communication Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2022", forecasts the global visible light communication market to be worth US$113.2 bn by 2022. The overall market was valued at US$267.6 mn in 2014.

Full Research Report on Global Visible Light Communication Market with detailed figures and segmentation at: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/visible-light-communication-market.html

Visible light communication technology, better known as VLC, utilizes visible light in the range of 400-800 THz as a communication medium. VLC technology implements light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from a number of sources such as monitors, indoor and outdoor lighting, television, and other consumer electronic devices for the purpose of communication. The report points out that targeted advertisement and location-based services are driving the global visible light communication market. VLC technology is biologically safe and offers higher energy efficiency and lower interference than the usual RF communication channels. These advantages have driven the adoption of VLC network across sectors such as healthcare.

Get Sample Report Copy OR For further inquiries, click here: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=5909

However, the report notes that technical anomalies in VLC such as non-uniformity in standardization, difficulties in transmitting and receiving at the same time with the same module, and difficulty of upgrading existing LED lighting for VLC compatibility will restrain the growth of the global visible light communication market. The overall market has a huge opportunity to grow with technological advancements. Increased use of energy-efficient LED across various applications and integration of VLC systems in connected devices will boost the market's growth prospects during the forecast horizon.

On the basis of end-use application, the report segments the global visible light communication market into underwater communication, retail indoor positioning (location-based services), hospitality, connected devices, automobile and transport, in-flight communication/ infotainment, light-based internet, and other applications. Retail indoor positioning was the largest segment in 2014 and accounted for a 57.5% share in market revenue in 2014. In terms of data rate, the report categorizes the market into data rates up to 1 Mb/s and above 1 Mb/s. Demand for VLC units functioning at data rates up to 1 Mb/s and at distances up to 10 m dominated the market in 2014.

Browse the Press Release of this report, here: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/global-visible-light-communication-market.htm

The report studies the visible light communication market across five key regions: Latin America, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. In 2014, North America was the largest market for visible light communication and held a 43.4% share in the overall market revenue. However, during the forecast horizon, Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for visible light communication owing to the increased investment in research and development activities in countries such as Korea, Japan, and China.

The report profiles some of the key players in the global visible light communication market such as ByteLight Inc. (Acuity Brands, Inc.), pureLiFi Ltd., Nakagawa Laboratories Inc., Axrtek, Inc., General Electric Lighting (General Electric Company), Koninklijke Philips N.V., Outstanding Technology Co. Ltd., Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, LVX System, and Lightbee Corp.

Other Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

Lighting Fixtures Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/lighting-fixture-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/lighting-fixture-market.html Smart Lighting Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-lighting-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-lighting-market.html Human Machine Interface Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/human-machine-interface.html

Global Visible Light Communication Market has been segmented as:

Global Visible Light Communication Market, by End-User Application

Retail indoor positioning

Underwater communication

Hospitality

Automotive and transport

Connected devices

In-flight communication/ infotainment

Light based internet

Others

Global Visible Light Communication Market, by Data Rate

Up to 1 Mb/s

Above 1 Mb/s

Global Visible Light Communication Market, by Geography:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa

and Latin America

About Us

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

Contact

Sudip.S

90 State Street, Suite 700

Albany, NY12207

Tel: +1-518-618-1030

USA- Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.com

Website:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Blog:http://www.europlat.org


BSD Crown Ltd. (LSE: BSD)

(the "Company")

Company Update

Re: Motion for Discovery

Ramat Gan, 7 January 2016

The Company hereby announces that on 6th January 2016 it and BGI Investments (1961) Ltd. ("BGI"), being the Company's controlling shareholder (the Company and BGI shall be jointly referred to as the "Respondents"), were served with a motion for discovery (the "Motion"), before derivative action, by Mr. Dan Iram (the "Applicant"), who claims to hold 3,100 shares in BGI.

The Motion is requesting the disclosure of certain documents and board minutes relating to certain bank accounts held by the Respondents and their subsidiaries in Austria and Azerbaijan, as well disclosure of certain other documents from the relevant banks.

The Respondents are required to provide a response to the Motion within 30 days and a hearing of the Motion is scheduled to be held on 7th April 2016.

The Company is reviewing the Motion and the claims set out in it in conjunction with its legal counsel. A further announcement will be made in due course.

Enquiries:

Yossi Schneorson, CEO: yossi@bsd-c.com
MIAMI, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Kaloti Metals & Logistics (KML), a family-owned business based in Miami and operating throughout The Americas, has reaffirmed its commitment to conducting business in accordance with the highest ethical standards. KML continues to strengthen its robust and ample Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) program.

Internal and external company compliance personnel are dedicated to ensuring complete compliance with all applicable domestic and international laws and regulations. In addition, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA) and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 require financial institutions, including dealers in precious metals, to establish an anti-money laundering program.

KML has an established organizational AML/CFT program that is sensitive to differences in laws, regulations, procedures and practices across multiple borders while taking a proactive approach to supply chain due diligence. In doing so, KML has implemented measures based on published recommendations by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"KML is acutely aware of the inherent challenges of conducting business in this industry and takes great pride in its commitment to establishing a culture of compliance throughout all of its business dealings. KML fully supports all governmental authorities, both domestic and abroad, in its fight against illegal mining activities," said Awni Kaloti, Managing Director.

KML has successfully undergone independent third-party compliance auditing by ACAMS certified specialists who has deemed KML to be not only fully compliant with OECD's guidelines for Responsible Sourcing of Precious Metals, but also meets all the applicable requirements of laws and regulations.

It should also be noted that, when necessary, KML has taken preemptive action to discontinue business activity with some companies based on its own Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and activity-monitoring measures. As an industry leader, KML also regularly engages in dialogue with exporters and producers with the goal of promoting responsible sourcing practices.

Kaloti Metals & Logistics, headquartered in Miami, provides both domestic and international clients with complete precious metals solutions, specializing in North and South America. For more information visit http://www.kalotimetals.com.

Melisa Chantres

EvClay Public Relations

(305) 261-6222

Toll Free (877) 261-6222

Email Contact




CALGARY, AB -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions, Powered by ViaWest, today announced the opening of its flagship Calgary data centre to offer business customers a full suite of private cloud, colocation, security, DevOps and managed services. In conjunction with the centre's grand opening, Shaw also announced a new partnership with Microsoft to offer customers access to managed public services on the Azure platform, providing powerful and unparalleled custom cloud and colocation options to meet their Hybrid IT needs.

"The Shaw Hybrid IT model is designed to give customers total flexibility as they deploy their IT platforms, providing future-proofed solutions spanning public cloud, private cloud, colocation, managed services or customized hybrid solutions," said Nancy Phillips, president of Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions, the business infrastructure services division of Shaw Communications that operates under the ViaWest brand in the U.S. "Additionally, our new partnership with Microsoft offering the Azure suite of services now gives our customers throughout North America the added ability to quickly deploy workloads across multiple locations and markets globally."

The Shaw and Microsoft partnership will combine 30 state-of-the-art Shaw and ViaWest data centres and their 16-year history of offering innovative managed services with Microsoft Azure cloud services -- including analytics, computing, database, mobile, networking, storage, and web -- that help businesses move faster, achieve more and save money. Consultative experts from Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions will help simplify the migration to a cloud environment and give customers a single hybrid provider that supports their business growth. Shaw also offers customers industry leading security and DevOps capabilities and is set to expand its portfolio of managed cloud services with the recently announced acquisition of INetU.

"Companies like Shaw are helping to bring innovation to North American businesses by expanding hybrid cloud capabilities in Calgary," said Janet Kennedy, president of Microsoft Canada. "The integration of Microsoft Azure with Shaw will enable our mutual customers to collaborate, compete and ultimately achieve more in an increasingly mobile world."

Shaw Celebrates Grand Opening of Newest Data Centre

The Microsoft Azure services will be part of the full suite of Hybrid IT Solutions offered at Shaw's Calgary data centre. This new, purpose-built facility features 40,000 square feet of raised floor space and state-of-the-art security, power and cooling solutions. It is a carrier-neutral facility, allowing businesses to utilize the extensive fibre network from Shaw and ViaWest, the network of a carrier of their choice, or a combination of both. With more than 15 years of IT experience, David Lod will oversee operations and expansion of the Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions business unit as Vice President and General Manager.

Shaw Communications acquired ViaWest in 2014, and since then Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions, which operates under the ViaWest brand in the U.S., has continued to expand both its portfolio of Hybrid IT Solutions and its geographic footprint. In June 2015, ViaWest acquired Applied Trust, a provider of security, compliance, DevOps, and infrastructure consulting services, and the company recently opened a new U.S. data centre in Portland, Ore. The company recently acquired INetU, which expands its footprint on the U.S. East Coast and in Europe, and further strengthens its cloud offerings.

"The Shaw Data Centre and Cloud Solutions mission is to help our customers leverage and integrate multiple environments -- from data centres to cloud to customer premises -- to most effectively meet their IT security, compliance, business and budget requirements," said Phillips. "Our newest data centre in Calgary, in conjunction with these new Microsoft Azure offerings, provides customers with more options and capabilities to deploy and manage their IT workloads."

About Shaw Communications

Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications and media company, serving 3.2 million customers through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw serves consumers with broadband Internet, WiFi, Digital Phone and Video products and services. Shaw Business Network Services provides business customers Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, Video and fleet tracking services. Shaw Business Infrastructure Services offers North American enterprises colocation, cloud and managed services through ViaWest. Shaw Media provides Canadians with engaging programming content through one of Canada's largest conventional television networks, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (TSX: SJR.B) (NYSE: SJR). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Chethan Lakshman

VP, External Affairs

Shaw Communications

403-930-8448

Email Contact



Jeremy Story

GroundFloor Media for ViaWest

720-984-2730

Email Contact




Synaffix BV, a biotechnology company exclusively focused on the development of industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, today announced the appointment of a panel of industry experts to its inaugural scientific advisory board (SAB). Concurrent with the launch of the SAB, Synaffix has appointed Dr. Konstantinos Efthymiopoulos as the independent chairman of its Board of Directors.

SAB Members

Stan van Boeckel, Ph.D. - Professor of Industrial Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leiden

- Professor of Industrial Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leiden Hans-Joachim Boehm, Ph.D. - Former Global Head of Small Molecule Research, Roche

- Former Global Head of Small Molecule Research, Roche Jason Chin, Ph.D. - Professor of Chemistry Chemical Biology, University of Cambridge

- Professor of Chemistry Chemical Biology, University of Cambridge Luca Gianni, M.D. - Director of Medical Oncology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan

Dr. Efthymiopoulos commented, "I am very excited by the opportunity to contribute to the growth and the success of Synaffix. Its talented scientists, backed by a cohesive group of investors provide all the necessary ingredients to make Synaffix' unique technology the uncontested essential component for the generation of superior ADCs".

"The ability to attract distinguished world-leading experts as well as our new Chairman is a testament to the significant promise our technology holds for the generation and development of safer and more effective targeted cancer therapeutics. We look forward to working closely with the newest members of our team as we transition our technology into the clinic and forge additional partnerships with biotech and pharma companies," said Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix.

Independent Chairman of the Board

Dr. Efthymiopoulos is currently the Executive Chairman of Eporgen Life Sciences SpA and the Managing Director of PLUS Life Sciences Consulting Sarl. From his international career of over 25 years in big pharma and biotech, he acquired hands-on experience that spans research to clinical development and product launch. Recent appointments include CEO of Funxional Therapeutics (anti-inflammatory assets sold to Boehringer Ingelheim), an Advisor to Index Ventures, the CSO and Head of R&D at Eurand and the Corporate VP-Head of the Dermatology business unit of Serono. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacokinetics and M.Sc. degrees in Pharmacology and Industrial Pharmacy from the University of Strasbourg as well as an MBA from London Business School.

About the Scientific Advisory Board

Stan van Boeckel, Ph.D. - Professor of Industrial Medicinal Chemistry, University of Leiden

Dr. van Boeckel has acquired more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry encompassing small molecule and biologics discovery, including bioconjugates. His work at Organon BioSciences (acquired by Shering-Plough) which included roles as the Head of Medicinal Chemistry as well as Head of the Lead Discovery Unit, ultimately led to the approval of the antithrombotic drug Arixtra. Dr. van Boeckel was also appointed Chief Scientific Officer of the Pivot Pivot Park and Pivot Park Screening Centre in Oss in June 2012. He obtained his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Leiden University where he has held his professorship since 1993.

Hans-Joachim Boehm, Ph.D. - Former Global Head of Small Molecule Research, Roche

Prior to his position at Roche, Dr. Boehm served in various positions across the organization including the President and Research Site Head of Roche Palo Alto as well as the Head of Non-Clinical Development at Roche Basel. Before joining Roche in 1996, Dr. Boehm held positions with BASF and Siemens. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Basel since 2003 and has been a member of the Swiss Science and Innovation Council since 2013. Dr. Boehm obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Karlsruhe.

Jason Chin, Ph.D. - Professor of Chemistry Chemical Biology, University of Cambridge

Dr. Chin is a pioneer in the field of protein engineering using non-natural amino acids, an approach that facilitates site-specific modification and enhancement of biologics. He was awarded the Francis Crick Prize by the Royal Society in 2009 and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Corday Morgan Prize in 2010. Dr. Chin graduated from Oxford University and obtained his Ph.D. from Yale University with Professor Alanna Schepartz as a Fulbright scholar, followed by a post-doc at Professor Peter Schultz's lab at The Scripps Research Institute; he has published over 90 peer-reviewed publications.

Luca Gianni, M.D. - Director of Medical Oncology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan

Over the course of his career, Dr. Gianni has worked extensively on new drug development in the field of oncology including the design and execution of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials using antibody-based therapeutics as well as small molecules. He was a Fogarty Fellow at the NCI from 1980 to 1983 and then the director of medical oncology and coordinator of the New Treatments' Development Program at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, in Milan, until 2010. In 2011, ASCO awarded him the Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award for his achievements in advancing the field of breast cancer research. He obtained his M.D. from the State University of Milan and has over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

About Synaffix BV

Formed in 2010, Synaffix BV is a Netherlands-based biotechnology company exclusively focused on continued advancement of our best-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology platform. As a leading innovator in the field of ADCs offering absolute versatility and state-of-the-art solutions, our vision is to become the preferred partner in the development of these complex biological therapeutics and realize our ambition connect to cure.

Synaffix is backed by a top tier, life science-focused investor syndicate including Aravis, BioGeneration Ventures, BOM Capital and MS Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital fund of the healthcare business of Merck.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005445/en/

Contacts:

Synaffix BV

Anthony DeBoer

Director, Business Development

+31 620 773 194

a.deboer@synaffix.com
DMH Co., the North of England's largest property developer founded by the 9 th generation scion of printing giant Harrison Sons Limited, cherry-picks Manchester property assets

generation scion of printing giant Harrison Sons Limited, cherry-picks Manchester property assets Runcorn-based White House development will jump 15% in price after February 8 th as a result of massive demand for units after toll-way commenced construction last month

as a result of massive demand for units after toll-way commenced construction last month DMH working "side-by-side" with local politicians to ensure swift delivery of 450-unit White House development

The following is a statement by Daniel Mark Harrison Co. (DMH Co.):

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005509/en/

Runcorn's Silver Jubilee Bridge is being replaced by a 6-lane toll-way that is sending local property development prices soaring (Photo: Business Wire)

Daniel Mark Harrison Co. (DMH Co.), the largest property developer in the North of England, agreed Monday to extend a January 4 deadline to purchase rival Absolute Living Developments (ALD) after announcing it would raise prices by as much as 15% on its Runcorn-based White House property.

DMH Co. said that it is still in talks with the shareholders of ALD as well as a number of the stakeholders in ALD's development properties in Manchester and Bradford in the United Kingdom.

"While the financing is still in place to do the whole deal, since becoming a Board Member, I've found it frustrating to get straight answers on a whole range of issues from various internal parties. It also appears that there may be a number of accounting irregularities with ALD and that concerns us a lot," said Daniel Mark Harrison, Founder & CEO of DMH Co.

"However, it is also still clear that cherry-picking the very best of the ALD portfolio is an option for us and the plan to buy into its best developments is still going ahead," added Mr. Harrison.

In the event that the company cherry-picks specific assets belonging to ALD, it is likely to acquire the unsold portions of the Orchid Point developments, specifically The Printhouse units and the Empress Mill units. The Orchid Point properties are located in central Manchester in Trafford.

DMH Co. will treat all existing ALD customers who purchase a property sold by DMH Co. as clients of its own development firm and not as ALD clients, the company said. This will offer investors who previously dealt with ALD and who are now DMH Co. customers additional benefits including secure property buybacks.

White House "Runaway Success"

DMH Co. acquired White House in Runcorn, Liverpool from 2380 Reversions Limited in November last year. 2380 Reversions formerly engaged ALD as the marketing agent for the White House property, which is now being sold under DMH Co.'s Harrison Homes Developments brand.

DMH Co. stunned property market analysts in December when it disclosed that it had sold a fifth of the development to a major Chinese financial institution in a block pre-sale deal.

Since then, DMH Co. has sold a further 49 units of the building in pre-sale agreements with block purchasers. The company will increase the price of all units by between 10% 15% after Chinese New Year as a result of the unprecedented demand by investors as a result of the construction of the Mersey Bridge tollway project getting underway.

"The White House has been a runaway success story, for which members of local government have written to us to congratulate us on our efforts and to offer their support. I am pleased to confirm that we are now working side-by-side with local political leaders," said Mr. Harrison. "At the end of the day the massive sales drive on this site and the broad political support we are receiving for this property is a direct result of our strong reputation as a reliable business that delivers results for all stakeholders."

About Daniel Mark Harrison Co. Pte. Ltd.

Daniel Mark Harrison Co. (DMH Co.) is the North of England's largest property development company based in Singapore and Manchester with over SGD $150 million of real estate assets and sales of SGD $40 million per year. The company's Manchester-based Orchid Point developments are the fastest-selling properties in the North of England and are yielding 8% annual returns. DMH Co.'s founder, Daniel Mark Harrison, is the oldest of 9 generations of the founding family of Europe's oldest security printers, Harrison Sons Ltd., founded in 1750 and sold to De La Rue PLC in 1997.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005509/en/

Contacts:

Daniel Mark Harrison Co.

Sam Chua, +65-6559-5363

Operations Director

sc@dmh.co
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China has successfully carried out test flights at the artificial Nansha islands in South China sea, despite the disputes. Beijing has been maintaining sovereignty over the islands and has not yielded to calls by its neighboring countries and the U.S. to stop land reclamation activities. Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei have been raising claims over the Sprately archipelago in the South China Sea for the last several decades. Since 2012, China has been dredging the area and building the airstrip over coral reefs. It is believed that the area has vast deposits of oil and gas. U.S. Navy ship USS Lassen has sailed very close to the Chinese territorial waters in the South China sea in October, challenging Chinese claims. China has described the naval patrol through a 12-nautical mile zone as 'provocative actions.' Xinhua, the official news agency of China published images of two civilians flights landed on the airstrip. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NCR Corp. (NCR) announced it has signed a definitive agreement under which Atlas Holdings LLC will acquire NCR Corporation's Interactive Printer Solutions division. NCR's IPS division is a global provider of consumable products and solutions for transactions, logistics and business processes in the retail, financial, hospitality, e-commerce, warehousing, distribution and manufacturing industries. NCR CEO Bill Nuti, said: 'While the consumables business has been an important part of NCR's history, the decision to sell the IPS division is aligned with our long-term vision for how we can best position NCR for success now and in the future.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- KHOT INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS, LTD. ("KHOT" or the "Company") (CSE: KOT) is pleased to announce that the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Ashid Munkhiin Zam LLC ("AMZ") has been awarded a rail bed construction permit by the Ministry of Road and Transportation of Mongolia.

This rail bed construction permit issued effective December 22, 2015 is for an initial period of three (3) years and enables AMZ to bid on a number of major rail projects planned by the Government of Mongolia as an integral component of its countrywide transportation infrastructure commitment, including the USD$1.3 billion, 547 kilometres in railway concessions already announced by the Mongolian Government in partnership with Northern Railway.

James Passin, Khot Chairman, emphasized the importance of this permit in terms of the expanded opportunities it provides the Company in the implementation of its overall road and rail concession strategy, "The combination of road and rail provides a natural synergy to AMZ operations. Our experienced in-country management team and potential strategic partners are unanimous in their enthusiasm for this long term railway construction program."

Proceeds from the private placement announced on December 15, 2015 will be used to accelerate the bid process in both the road and rail bed sectors. The Company will provide more ongoing information to shareholders as the bid process continues.

James Passin, Chair of Khot commented, "Having been awarded a permit allows Khot to actively bid on these fast-moving opportunities."

Khot, through AMZ, recently announced a partnership with Power China's world leading Engineering, Procurement, and Construction ("EPC") company and Chinese state owned enterprise, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III ("SEPCOIII"), who will contribute on a 75/25 percent basis, all the required logistical and financial support elements required for large road projects.

Mongolia, through the coordinated efforts with China's larger New Silk Road Economic Belt project, will participate in the international Economic Corridor linking resources and markets between Russia, China and Mongolia, as well as other Central Asian countries.

"Regional connectivity is the main objective of the New Silk Road strategy. We are proud to be a part of this vision and through our Chinese partners jointly push forward the construction of an international infrastructure network and advocate a framework for cross-border trade and financial opportunities," said company president, Don Padgett.

About Khot:

Our goal is to become the leading Mongolian transportation contractor and the preferred choice for employees, shareholders and partners. Our focus is on high margin contracts, such as highways and regional roads. Our mission is to provide the infrastructure needed for one of the world's fastest growing economies.

To find out more about KHOT, please visit our website at khot-infrastructure.com, email: IR@khot-infrastructure.com.

About AMZ:

AMZ is a qualified Mongolian company, provides investors a first mover advantage; in effect a proxy on Mongolia and by extension a future opportunity in the entire Silk Road Region. The AMZ team includes experienced road engineers and business developers. In addition, the Company has the ability to leverage the Firebird office in the Mongolian capital city and has ready access to other key operational advantages this long-term relationship offers.

The CSE has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company.

Forward-looking statements and information are based on assumptions that financing and personnel will be available when required and on reasonable terms, and all necessary regulatory approvals and shareholder approval will be obtained, none of which are assured and are subject to a number of other risks and uncertainties.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Contacts:

Khot Infrastructure Holdings, Ltd.

Erin Chutter

Director

+1 604 808 6420



Khot Infrastructure Holdings, Ltd.

Sabino Di Paola

Chief Financial Officer

+1 613 293 9219



Khot Infrastructure Holdings, Ltd.

Malcolm Burke

+ 1 604 220 2000

IR@khot-infrastructure.com

www.khot-infrastructure.com




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 7, 2016) - Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSXV: PE) (FSE: A111EG) (OTCQB: HMGLF) (the "Company" or "Pure") is pleased to announce that an analyst's research report has been released by New York based RB Milestone Group, LLC ("RBMG"). A copy of RBMG's research report can be accessed by visiting our website http://www.pureenergyminerals.com/shareholder-information/reports-presentations/

The research report focuses on the Clayton Valley South ("CVS") project being developed by Pure, and the innovative processes the Company is testing for the extraction of lithium from brine into high value battery materials. The report was prepared and funded by RB Milestone, however other RB Milestone services have been commissioned by Pure.

Gerhard Jacob, P.Geo, EFG (European Geologist), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in the report. Mr. Jacob, P.Geo is not independent of the Company as he is a director.

About RB Milestone Group, LLC

RB Milestone Group, LLC is a New York based equity research and market intelligence firm offering financial research and communications expertise. It is dedicated to providing its investment and media communities with a detailed look into the global mining, oil & gas, energy, healthcare, professional services, consumer goods and technology industries. In addition, RB Milestone Group offers multi-faceted communication strategies that provide the connectivity needed to play in today's capital markets. Visit: www.rbmilestone.com.

About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

Pure Energy is a lithium-brine resource developer that is driven to become the lowest-cost lithium supplier for the burgeoning North American lithium battery industry. Pure Energy is currently focused on the development of our prospective CVS Lithium Brine Project, which has the following key attributes:

A large land position with excellent existing infrastructure in a first-class mining jurisdiction: Approximately 9,324 acres in three main claim groups in the southern half of Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. Adjacent to the only producing lithium operation in the United States (Albemarle's Silver Peak lithium brine mine). An inferred mineral resource of 816,000 metric tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE), reported in accordance with NI 43-101.

Metallurgical and process studies underway to better understand the feasibility and economics of using modern environmentally-responsible processing technology to convert the CVS brines into high purity lithium products for new energy storage uses.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Robert Mintak"

Chief Executive Officer



CONTACT:

Pure Energy Minerals Limited

www.pureenergyminerals.com

info@pureenergyminerals.com

Phone - 604 608 6611 ext 5



RB Milestone Group, LLC

Trevor Brucato, Director

tbrucato@rbmilestone.com

www.rbmilestone.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Sunergy, Inc. ("Sunergy" or "the Company") (OTC PINK: SNEY) is pleased to present this update on our operations for the year ending on December 31, 2015 from CEO & President, Garrett Hale. This update also includes guidance for scheduled 2016 operations.

2015 was a pivotal year for our Company and one in which we saw our first reported revenues from the sale of uncut diamonds. The completion of a number of small diamond shipments in 2015 has helped us establish a reliable working relationship with our foreign buyer and now a formal partnership with them to pursue a Dealer's License in Sierra Leone for 2016. Based on our success in 2015, we will be able to increase the size and frequency of diamond shipments and generate consistent ongoing revenues from the sale of diamonds.

In late 2015 we added a new Geologist to our team, who confirmed that we should pursue a mining license for a new concession that has already shown significant gold and diamond mineralization and became available in 2015. We have the necessary financing in place to pay for the new Exploration License and to provide the initial operating capital for the new bulk sampling operation. Our mining equipment has been consolidated and we are ready to start the 2016 dry season operations. This new concession will simplify our mining operations in country and will contribute to our Companies' profitably in 2016 and beyond.

We have modified our diamond mining operations in Liberia to include gold as well for 2016. Some of our finishing equipment is slated to be used initially in Sierra Leone this year, and then moved to Liberia once our bulk sampling operations have fulfilled operational and exploration requirements in Sierra Leone. It is approximately 200 miles by road between operations.

In 2015, Liberia was awarded $256 Million (US) by the Millennium Fund from the US Government. The main purpose of this funding is to rehabilitate Power Distribution Facilities in Liberia. Sunergy Liberia Ltd. and its US based Partner submitted an expression of interest to the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy in Liberia, to own and operate a Utility Scale Solar Power Project of 50+ Mega Watts, to add much needed solar power to help keep up with the increasing power demands in Liberia. The project costs are estimated to be $100 million USD. Our proposal offers 100% financing whereby our consortium would design, finance, build, own and operate the proposed solar farm. This proposal should qualify for support from the Obama Power Africa Fund. On August 25, 2015, The Ministry responded and encouraged our consortium to undertake the development of our initial solar power project in Monrovia. If our proposal is accepted, we will build a utility scale Solar Farm at the JFK Hospital once the needed power distribution facilities are reestablished. On November 16, we submitted our proposal to USAID for support of the Solar Farm at the JFK Hospital which is now covered by Obama Power Africa.

Our planned transition from an Exploration Company to an Operating Company is built around the expectation that Sunergy will begin to generate positive cash flow in 2016. Through the preparation of the acquisition of the new Mining License and having assembled the equipment necessary with operating budget in place, our objective in 2016 is to demonstrate the economics of our new operation.

Sunergy's Global Builders Group (GBG) Investment

In 2015 we acquired 2,000,000 shares in Global Builders Group Inc. (GBG), pursuant to cash investment and debt settlement. Our investment in Global Builders Group Inc. (GBG), will become a source of additional profits for Sunergy in 2016 when GBG's stock becomes Publicly Traded. Private shares are now selling for $1.00/share.

GBG's Management Team has used their many years of combined experience in Global Business to create a substantial pipeline of opportunities for the Company. GBG has signed a Letter of Intent and Agreement in Principal with a large U.S. Veterans Organization ('The Vets Group') who will fund a $25,000,000 Joint Venture, where GBG will undertake the redevelopment of thousands of homes. This project is designed to put qualified home buyers into now vacant homes and home sites in downtown Baltimore, MD. The stated mission of this initiative is to end homelessness in Baltimore for both veterans and others, and rejuvenate this downtown area to make it attractive to all.

GBG has also signed a global reseller agreement with Refinery Equipment of Texas on its modular oil refinery equipment,www.reftexas.com, and has also finalized a partnership with a multi-billion dollar international crude oil and gas equipment fuel trading company, allowing for exclusive sales and distribution representation globally, except for US and China, for Reftexas equipment. GBG is allowed to sell, just not exclusively, in these two areas. Their initial formal proposal is for 120,000 barrel per day plants, at approximately $400,000,000 USD.

In addition, GBG has been advised by USAID that its Concept Paper for the Post Ebola Rice Proposal for Liberia, filed on November 6, 2015, has been accepted for review and will receive a response in January 2016. This proposal is for an initial 10,000 hectare rice plantation in Liberia. This proposal includes University of Liberia Agriculture School housing over 5,000 students. The proposal provides training for both students and local farmers, and is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, which will involve support from USAID and the USDA, once final approval is received. Sunergy is invited to participate as a partner in this project which is in response to Ebola relief initiatives supported by US AID.

Please go to www.sunergygold.com and www.globalbuildersgroupinc.com for more information.

About Sunergy: Reported Revenue in 2015

Sunergy Inc. (OTC PINK: SNEY), a Nevada corporation, is a junior mining company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Company has made a transition from an Exploration only Company to a Company currently focused on production and cash flow. We have reported revenue throughout 2015. In addition to our core mining activities, the Company has developed important relationships over the past four years which has enabled the procurement of non-mining partnerships and agency agreements with major international businesses representing affordable Housing Projects and Solar Energy Projects in the eight West African Countries of Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Togo, Cote D' Ivoire, The Gambia and Senegal.

Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, any mineralization or cash flow from Sierra Leone and Liberian mining operations.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Sunergy Inc.

Garrett Hale

President, CEO

(707) 255-5836

garrett@sunergygold.com

garrettsvp@gmail.com




Rigshospitalet to evaluate CERAMENT' platform for use in bone tumors

LUND, Sweden, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --BONESUPPORT', an emerging leader in injectable bone substitutes for orthopedic trauma, bone infections and instrument augmentation related to orthopedic surgery, today announced that the Company has signed a research collaboration with Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, the largest hospital in Denmark, whereby the institution will evaluate BONESUPPORT's platform technology, CERAMENT', in the management of bone tumors.

The study will retrospectively evaluate clinical results using bone allografts, and prospectively evaluate clinical results using CERAMENT'lBONE VOID FILLER and gentamicin eluting CERAMENT'lG, for prophylactic use in bone tumor patients. CERAMENT' will also be evaluated in combination with different substances in order to achieve enhancedbone healing.

Surgical management of bone tumors can create a residual bone defect in highly compromised patients, which requires void filling to prevent infection or fracture. Synthetic bone substitutes offer significant advantages over traditional autograft and allograft, which are associated with high morbidity and risk of disease transmission.

"We are excited to evaluate the CERAMENT' technology platform in this research collaboration," said Michael Moerk Petersen, Professor,MD, DMSc, Rigshospitalet, who will oversee the study. "Both autologous bone and allograft have some disadvantages and risks associated with their use. We believe CERAMENT' can provide a safe and effective alternative long-term solution to these technologies."

"BONESUPPORT' is pleased to enter into this collaboration with such a prestigious medical institution," said Dr. Eva Liden, VP of Research and Development of BONESUPPORT'. "Our CERAMENT' technology platform continues to gain momentum with the physician community in Europe, and we will continue to invest in important research to validate our technology and improve upon the standard of care."

CERAMENT'|G is CE-mark approved and is commercially available in parts of Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. CERAMENT'|BONE VOID FILLER is FDA cleared and CE-mark approved and is commercially available in the U.S., Canada, parts of Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. Zimmer Biomet is the exclusive distributor of CERAMENT'|BONE VOID FILLER in the U.S.

About BONESUPPORT'

BONESUPPORT' is an emerging leader of injectable bone graft substitutes for orthopedics, and trauma focusing on bone infection, instrument augmentation and spinal applications.CERAMENT'is an injectable, synthetic bone substitute that mimics the properties of cancellous bone, allows for controlled resorption to support future bone ingrowth and is injectable under local anesthesia for minimally invasive surgery. CERAMENT'|G and CERAMENT' V are the first CE-marked injectable antibiotic eluting ceramic bone graft substitutes indicated to promote and protect bone healing in the management of osteomyelitis, (bone infections). CERAMENT's unique biologic properties deliver a consistent, pre-packed and ready-to-use formulation to facilitate optimal delivery. CERAMENT'|Gand CERAMENT' V are not available in the United States.

CERAMENT' is a fully developed product platform that is commercially available in the U.S., Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. CERAMENT' is revolutionizing the treatment of fragility and other fractures caused by disease and trauma. Scientific research of CERAMENT' spans more than eleven years. Over fifty pre-clinical, and clinical studies have been conducted and more than 20,000 patients have been treated with CERAMENT'. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Lund, Sweden with subsidiary locations in the US and Germany. To learn more about BONESUPPORT' please visitwww.bonesupport.com.

Investor and Press Inquiries:

Offer Nonhoff

Chief Financial Officer

Offer.Nonhoff@bonesupport.com

Phone+46 46 286 53 60

PR0485-01 en
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Lack of deep sleep can leave the brain vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease, researchers say. Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, led by Jeffrey Iliff, are about to launch a study of people to see a clear link between sleep disorders and Alzheimer's disease in humans. Brain researchers, who have long noticed a connection between sleep disorders and memory problems, have concluded that it's your brain that may suffer the most from a lack of deep sleep. Sleep disorders are very common among people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, whose number is currently estimated at more than 5 million, and is expected to double within few decades. It is believed that sleep acts like a dustbin for the brain - cleaning out toxins, including harmful proteins tied to Alzheimer's, and in those who don't get enough solid shut-eye, the toxins can build up and damage the brain. 'Changes in sleep habits may actually be setting the stage' for dementia, according to Jeffrey Iliff. Bill Rooney, who directs the university's Advanced Imaging Research Center, and Iliff have received funding from the Paul G. Allen Foundation to test their approach. They hope to begin scanning the brains of participants within a year. The research team at OHSU will use a super-sensitive MRI machine to monitor sleeping subjects. The biggest challenge that they are going to face will be finding a minimally invasive way to study the human brain at work while the patient sleeps. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.






The rise of a value-based healthcare system in the US has opened more opportunities for the cardiac biomarker diagnostic industry, finds Frost & Sullivan

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Even though brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)/pro-BNP and troponin biomarkers are the gold standard for the diagnosis of cardiac diseases, end users will soon see additional alternative biomarkers entering the market. By 2024, emerging biomarkers, such as ST2 Galectin-3, are becoming more sensitive in diagnosing cardiovascular disease will penetrate the lab-based and point-of-care (POC) end user segments.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319746LOGO

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of the Cardiac Biomarker Diagnostics Market (http://bit.ly/1PsCAzd), finds the market earned revenues of $551.0 million in 2014 and estimates this to reach $813.8 million in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7 percent.

For complimentary access to more information on this research, please visit: http://bit.ly/1OuEcH7.

The biggest opportunity for cardiac biomarker diagnostic manufacturers lies in providing a wholesome platform allowing for quick yet well-rounded diagnoses of patients. Companies such as Siemens are at an advantage in terms of product development, as they are leaders in both clinical diagnosis and diagnostic imaging.

"Obtaining an accurate and early diagnosis is no longer as challenging with the increased use of advanced POC tests (POCTs)," saidFrost & Sullivan Transformational Health Industry Analyst Aish Vivekanandan. "The higher adoption of POCTs in clinical and ambulatory settings has given a significant boost to the cardiac biomarker diagnostics market."

An additional impetus has been the implementation of the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA), designed to improve healthcare accessibility. The ACA initiated a shift towards value-based care, which has increased the pressure on hospitals to invest in more efficient and accurate products.

"POCT is growing at a faster rate than lab-based tests and will spur the growth in this market, however lab-based tests remain the "gold" standard," observed Vivekanandan. "The growing budget constraints and the push for value based healthcare opens opportunities for the POCT market as it offers a quick turn-around-time, providing early diagnosis which is crucial for surviving heart diseases."

There is tremendous opportunity for cardiac biomarker diagnostics to be used as a companion diagnostic tool to monitor patients undergoing drug treatment. Additionally, they could integrate digital apps enabling access to consumer behavior analytics as well as offer consultations and services for biomarker testing for long-term success.

Analysis of the Cardiac Biomarker Diagnostics Market is part of the Life Sciences(http://ww2.frost.com/research/industry/healthcare/life-sciences) Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivan's related studies include: Analysis of the US Clinical Laboratories Market, US Nucleic Acid Purification and Isolation Markets, Analysis of the Global Flow Cytometry Market, and Analysis of the US and European Diabetes Diagnostics Market. All studies included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.

provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation. The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Analysis of the Cardiac Biomarker Diagnostics Market

NF62-52

Contact:

Kayla Belcher

Corporate Communications - North America

P: 210.247.2450

F: 210.348.1003

E: kayla.belcher@frost.com

http://www.frost.com








PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French police have shot dead a knife-wielding man with wires protruding from his clothes at a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, on the first anniversary of the attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The attacker reportedly cried out 'Allahu Akbar', which means 'God is great'. Police cordoned off the area outside a police station in Goutte d'Or, near Montmartre, in the 18th district in northern Paris. The police were investigating the latest attack in the French capital as a terrorism-related incident. It occurred within minutes of French President Francois Hollande paying homage to victims of Charlie Hebdo attacks in the city last January, which killed 17. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BOCA RATON, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Vodka Brands Corp, a Pennsylvania corporation, announced today that the Company's registration statement on Form S-1 has been declared effective by the Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

About Vodka Brands Corp.

Blue Diamond is 40% proof and a grain based vodka produced in Estonia. The state of Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board acts as a distributor and supplier of the product to individual liquor retailers, such as liquor stores, restaurants, bars, supermarkets and other outlets that are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Vodka Brands launched its Blue Diamond vodka in 2014.

Blue Diamond Vodka is distilled multiple times using multiple carbon filtrations to create a smooth luxurious taste. Blue Diamond Vodka is manufactured in Estonia and imported by Vodka Brands for distribution. Blue Diamond Vodka is made from the finest rye grain and water from 500 foot deep aquifers. Blue Diamond was awarded a double gold medal in international competition among imported premium vodkas.

"We are very pleased that our Form S-1 registration statement has been declared effective. We can now focus on distributing our Blue Diamond Vodka products," said the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Mark Lucero.

Brenda Hamilton, a securities attorney with Hamilton & Associates Law Group, P.A. of Boca Raton, Florida, assisted Vodka Brands as its going public attorney for its Form S-1 registration statement and direct public offering.

Company Contact:

Vodka Brands Corp

554 33rd Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15201

Tel: (412) 681-7777



Legal Contact:

Hamilton & Associates Law Group, P.A.

Brenda Hamilton, Esq.

http://www.securitieslawyer101.com/brenda-hamilton

101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 N

Boca Raton, FL 33432

Tel: (561) 416-8956

Fax: (561) 416-2855

www.securitieslawyer101.com




NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- It's a long way from Bristol, England, where Nick Walker was among the first street artists in the burgeoning Bristol arts scene to achieve notoriety in the 1980s, to midtown Manhattan, where Walker's solo exhibition curated by DK Johnston launches on January 21 at the Quin hotel. The journey mirrors a decades-long ascendance for street artists, whose work has achieved increased recognition in the arts community and has been adapted for gallery shows, dedicated auctions and even commercial applications. In 2016, Quin Arts, an expanding program garnering accolades of its own at the Quin hotel, located at 57th and Sixth Avenue, is set to shine a spotlight on global street artists, with exhibitions and artist salons from artists in addition to Nick Walker including: Cope2; Above; Pure Evil; and Blek le Rat, among others. Walker was the very first artist-in-residence at the Quin following the hotel's 2013 opening, creating 15 original pieces on-site for display -- and returns to kick-off the 2016 Quin Arts season.

British street art legend Nick Walker (born 1969) has created 25 original works for his 2016 solo show at the Quin. Walker's unique style combines spray paint with intricate stenciling, creating an effect that is both eye-catching and sophisticated. Mingling photographic imagery with the flippant attitude of graffiti, Walker's work comes off as both culturally studious and satirical.

As a major figure in Bristol's infamous graffiti culture of the 1980s, Walker's early work inspired a long line of British artists, including Bristol's other famous street artist Banksy. Beyond Bristol, Walker's work is known globally and continues to evolve with the times. Film director Stanley Kubrick enlisted Walker's talents to recreate the graffiti-spattered streets of New York City in the 1999 film, Eyes Wide Shut.

Some of Walker's most-lauded works include Vandal, a signature bowler hat-clad figure who appears in the artist's street art and gallery works in cities around the world. Signaling the continued infusion of street art in popular culture, Vandal was featured in a music video for the Black Eyed Peas. The prices that Walker's work often commands also highlight the evolution of street artists within the arts community. By 2006, his Moona Lisa, a cheeky take on Leonardo da Vinci's portraiture, sold for  54,000 at auction. Two years later, at a solo exhibition at London's Black Rat Gallery,  750,000 worth of Walker's art was sold, with eager fans camping outside the gallery overnight.

In 2011, Nick Walker was a major participant in the "See No Evil" event in Bristol which brought more the 70 of the world's leading street artists to the city. London's The Independent wrote that Walker created "perhaps the most striking piece at the event," one of his bowler-hatted gentleman covering nearly seven stories of a tower building.

Walker has also created a popular and iconic piece in the streets of New York City entitled I Love NY, which has been preserved on the Lower East Side.

Holly Breuche, General Manager of the Quin, commented, "We're honored to have Nick Walker back in New York at the Quin, this time for a solo exhibition. As I've watched guests and local residents alike inspired by Nick's work and by the opportunity to meet him in his role as artist-in-residence, I'm reminded of the power of these quintessential New York moments."

Quin Arts Curator DK Johnston added, "Nick Walker and his Vandal gave birth to the Bristol UK graffiti style the world has learned to love at the feet of Banksy and the vocabulary this legend has lent to the movement is indisputable."

Pre-sales for Nick Walker's solo show at the Quin open on January 11 and sales information is available by emailing DKJ@artsfund.com. Walker's exhibition opens with an artist salon at the Quin from 6pm-9pm on January 21st, and will be on view through February 2016. Reservations information and further information on Quin Arts is available at www.thequinhotel.com

About The Quin

The Quin, New York City's quintessential luxury lifestyle hotel, is located on the corner of 57th Street and 6th Avenue. At the intersection of art, music, and fashion, its privileged Midtown location provides effortless access to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Museum of Modern Art and Fifth Avenue couture. The Quin melds modern opulence with its rich artistic heritage in each of its 208 thoughtfully appointed guestrooms including 28 suites. Guests enjoy urbane and intelligent services from the QA concierges who curate a guest's New York experience, to distinguished amenities including a state-of-the-art Technogym fitness center, Apple equipped drawing room, Dux beds by Duxiana, Fresh Spa Products and a two-story, 130-seat artisanal American seafood grill, The Wayfarer, showcasing a menu of fresh regional seafood. Renowned architecture and interior design firm, Perkins Eastman, has transposed a contemporary masterpiece on the classical foundation that was once home to cultural icons like pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski and artist Georgia O'Keeffe. http://www.theQuinhotel.com

About Quin Arts

Quin Arts brings a global community of artists, patrons, and guests together through an ongoing series of culturally significant events, exhibitions, and performances. This multi-media initiative extends to a substantial permanent collection, along with an artist-in-residence program, digital displays on the lobby's 15-foot abstract video art wall, and intimate salons with participating artists. Curated and co-founded by DK Johnston, previous exhibits include Creative Chaos, a vibrant collection of new large-scale paintings by Corno, an exclusive preview of Eric Zener's land series, which was exhibited at Gallery Henoch, and Heritage -- a collection of iconic photography from Burt Glinn, Erich Hartmann, Dennis Stock, and Elliott Erwitt, presented in partnership with Magnum Photos. Blek le Rat, the "Father of stencil graffiti," created a series of unique lithographs, collectively entitled Escaping Paris, at the New York Academy of Art for the Quin during his tenure as artist in residence. The artist commemorated his residency on the Quin's facade with an image of Andy Warhol. The Quin's permanent collection also includes Blek le Rat's "Love America" on the 14th floor and loaned works the "Great Wedding," "What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen," and "Tango," as well as original work from YZ, Wulf Von Treu, "the German Basquiat," and Patrick Graham, plus 15 new pieces from Bristol-based street artist, Nick Walker. Quin Arts has garnered critical acclaim in publications ranging from Forbes to Conde Nast Traveler and Harper's Bazaar Art and was nominated for the "Most Creative Collaboration" Award at LE Miami.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Burns Patterson

Hudson PR

(917) 575-9155

Email Contact




JenaValve Technology, Inc., a next-generation heart-valve technology company, committed to providing state-of-the-art transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) technologies to cardiology professionals and to the broadest spectrum of patients with aortic valve disease, today announced the appointment of veteran medical device executive Janet M. Fauls as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

"JenaValve is at a critical juncture as we enter 2016 and kick off several important clinical studies involving new embodiments of our TAVR technology and delivery systems. Ms. Fauls joins us at just the right time and with a wealth of relevant experience," said Chief Executive Officer Victoria E. Carr-Brendel, Ph.D. "Her worldwide regulatory expertise will be critical to JenaValve as we execute our clinical studies and the subsequent global regulatory submissions. Ultimately, our goal is to make our heart valve technologies available to the full spectrum of patients with aortic valve disease."

Ms. Fauls, who has nearly 30 years of regulatory and clinical affairs experience, will be based at JenaValve's corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. Most recently, Ms. Fauls served as Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs for Endologix, Inc. in Irvine, California. Prior to Endologix, Ms. Fauls held management positions of increasing responsibility in regulatory and clinical affairs positions at major global medical technology companies including Edwards Life Sciences, Cardiogenesis Corporation and Allergan, Inc. Ms. Fauls earned B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

"Joining JenaValve at this pivotal point in clinical development is a unique opportunity," said Ms. Fauls. "I believe the technology can make a real impact on the lives of patients with aortic valve disease and is capable of changing the landscape in one of the most exciting and active markets in medical technology today."

About JenaValve

JenaValve Technology, with operating locations in Irvine, California, Leeds, England and Munich, Germany, develops, manufactures and markets transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems to treat a broad spectrum of patients suffering from aortic valve disease. The Company's Transapical TAVR system, consisting of the JenaValve valve system plus Cathlete PLUS delivery system, has CE Mark approval for aortic valve stenosis and for the unique indication to treat patients suffering from aortic valve insufficiency. JenaValve currently markets this product in Europe and other selected markets worldwide. JenaValve is backed by world-class U.S., European and Asian investors, including Atlas Venture, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Gimv (a Euronext-listed investment company ticker: GIMB), Legend Capital, NeoMed Management, Omega Funds, RMM, Sunstone Capital, Valiance and VI Partners. Additional information is available at www.jenavalve.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005329/en/

Contacts:

Pure Communications, Inc.

Media Contact:

Julia Baron, 858-692-2001

julia@purecommunicationsinc.com

or

Investor Contact:

Matt Clawson, 949-370-8500

Pure Communications, Inc.

matt@purecommunicationsinc.com
Copenhagen, 2016-01-07 15:53 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GN ReSound A/S and William Demant Holding A/S have today reached an agreement to settle all patent disputes between the two companies, thereby terminating all patent litigations - both in Europe, including Denmark, and in North America - with immediate effect. The settlement includes broad-based cross-licensing of 15 different patents related to historic, pending as well as some potential future disputes. The considerations leading to the settlement have created a better understanding of how to solve possible future disputes. The details of the financial arrangement are undisclosed. However, the settlement of the 15 patents includes an annual net license payment to William Demant, which will have no material financial impact on the results of either party. "Respect for - and recognition of - intellectual property and patents is critically important in any research-based industry. We are pleased that we have been able to make a larger, broad-based patent agreement in a mutually beneficial way, and that we can now focus all our energy on serving our customers and growing our business," say Anders Hedegaard, CEO of GN ReSound, and Sren Nielsen, COO of William Demant, in a joint statement. For further information please contact: Peter Justesen VP - Investor Relations & Treasury GN Store Nord A/S Tel: +45 45 75 87 16 Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=542609

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
MAPLE GROVE, MN--(Marketwired - January 07, 2016) - After winning two statewide awards from the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN), TopLine Federal Credit Union came out on top nationally with an award from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), for superior financial education programs benefiting the credit union's members and communities.

TopLine won a first-place Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award for its initiative, "Get Smart with Your Money'", an ongoing education effort for school-aged children in the Twin Cities metro. Through educational seminars targeted at various age groups, the credit union encourages students and parents to start conversations regarding spending, saving and sharing money wisely. TopLine also works with teachers and nonprofits to further educate students of all ages on the importance of saving and good financial management.

This award is named after Alphonse Desjardins, who founded the first credit unions in the U.S. and Canada. Award-winning entries will be on display at CUNA's 2016 Governmental Affairs Conference, February 21 through 25, in Washington, D.C., and award winners will also be honored at the 2016 Minnesota Credit Union Network Annual Meeting in March.

"We are humbled to be recognized for our dedication in helping members and our communities better prepare their financial futures," said Tom Smith, TopLine Federal Credit Union President and CEO. "In the spirit of being a cooperative, like all credit unions, TopLine is passionate about doing what's best for our members and the communities and we value the opportunity to provide financial education programming for all ages as a way to enhance lives."

"This year's award-winners demonstrated creativity and commitment to the values credit unions hold dear -- financial education, service to community, and extraordinary member service," said MnCUN President & CEO Mark Cummins. "I am pleased to see Minnesota credit unions acknowledged for the work they are doing to support their communities."

TopLine offers financial literacy seminars for youth and adults throughout the year at their Maple Grove Learning Center, and will visit interested schools or other groups to present age-appropriate lessons about personal money management. Please visit www.toplinecu.com/financial-education or call 763-391-0872 to check for upcoming sessions or to arrange a special session at your location.

Credit Union National Association (CUNA), based in Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin, is the premier national trade association serving America's credit unions. The not-for-profit trade group is governed by volunteer directors who are elected by their credit union peers. With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, CUNA serves America's 6,950 state and federally chartered credit unions, which are owned by more than 98 million consumer members.

TopLine Federal Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesota's 13 th largest, with assets of more than $360 million. Established in 1935, the not-for-profit cooperative offers a complete line of financial services, as well as auto and home insurance, from its five branch locations -- in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth and in St. Paul's Como Park -- as well as by phone, mobile app and online at www.TopLinecu.com. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington Counties and their immediate family members.

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CONTACT:

Vicki Roscoe Erickson

Vice President, Marketing

verickson@toplinecu.com

763.391.0872
VANCOUVER, January 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the "Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI) announces its quarterly production and sales update for the three months ended November 30, 2015:

Currency values are presented in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Salient features

Strategy - Rockwell reaffirmed its medium term target to process 500,000m 3 per month in the Middle Orange River ("MOR"). With the closure of Company directed mining at Saxendrift, which has reached the end of its economic mine life, it is envisaged that operations at Wouterspan will be recommissioned in early 2016. The installation of additional in field screening capacity at the Remhoogte - Holsloot Complex ("RHC"), will enable increased processing of up to 180,000m 3 of gravel per month.

per month in the Middle Orange River ("MOR"). With the closure of Company directed mining at Saxendrift, which has reached the end of its economic mine life, it is envisaged that operations at Wouterspan will be recommissioned in early 2016. The installation of additional in field screening capacity at the Remhoogte - Holsloot Complex ("RHC"), will enable increased processing of up to 180,000m of gravel per month. Volumes - MOR gravel processed was 5% down quarter-on-quarter as production volumes at RHC and Saxendrift were on plan but lower volumes at Saxendrift led to a reduction in carat production compared with 2015. In addition, the fatality at RHC resulted in a two-week plant shutdown during Ministry investigation, further reducing processing volumes.

Grade - Saxendrift posted consistent grade, year-on-year, but RHC recorded grade of 0.64 cphm 3 on much lower volumes, compared to 0.9 cphm 3 in the previous quarter. Recent production has produced grades which are significantly higher.

on much lower volumes, compared to 0.9 cphm in the previous quarter. Recent production has produced grades which are significantly higher. MOR carat sales were down 28% quarter-on-quarter to 3,823 carats, and the value of these goods declined 48% to US$5.0 million (excluding beneficiation).

(excluding beneficiation). Average carat price realized from the Company's MOR projects declined by 28% quarter-on-quarter, to US$1,295 per carat reflecting general market weakness, and sub threshold processing volumes for the recovery of larger stones at RHC.

per carat reflecting general market weakness, and sub threshold processing volumes for the recovery of larger stones at RHC. Rough diamond inventory - 700 carats (including the remaining royalty contract miners' inventory) carried over into fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.

Safety - Rockwell continues to strive for zero harm on all of its operations and had achieved 715,015 lost time injury free hours ("LTIFH") at its MOR operations by the end of the third quarter (subsequent to the fatality at the Remhoogte plant on September 3, 2015 ). The Company responded to the fatality with the immediate cession of operations on both the Remhoogte and Holsloot properties for a two-week period, and a full investigation into the circumstances of the accident has been completed by the Department of Mineral Resources and the Company.

STRATEGIC REVIEW

In the last three months of calendar 2015, the Company conducted an in-depth strategic and operational review of the business to assess its strategic direction, including its commitment to processing 500,000m3 per month from its MOR operations as well as a significant restructuring to place the business on a sustainable footing. The review included an analysis of management, operational and reporting structures and at the same time identifying overhead and operational cost reductions with the aim of achieving sustainable cash flow going forward.

In summary, the outcomes of the strategic review were:

Saxendrift operations - Lower grades associated with processing old dumps during the third quarter, which are expected to be depleted at fiscal year-end, led to a decision to close Company directed operations by February 2106 , being the end of the fiscal year.

, being the end of the fiscal year. Saxendrift royalty mining contracts - the Company has entered into two royalty mining contracts with a term of three years. The first commenced operations at Saxendrift in December 2015 with the second starting to mine during February 2016 . The Company is assessing further royalty proposals to continue to generate further value from the Saxendrift property. All diamonds recovered by royalty miners at Saxendrift will be sold by the Company, through its sales system and 10% of gross sales will be retained by the Company as a royalty. Current estimates of tailings dumps, and other areas of possible processing interest, show in excess of three years of low grade gravels, which can be processed with little or no mining or stripping cost. This means that smaller low cost royalty miners can be commercial at grades as low as 0.3 cphm 3 .

with the second starting to mine during . The Company is assessing further royalty proposals to continue to generate further value from the Saxendrift property. All diamonds recovered by royalty miners at Saxendrift will be sold by the Company, through its sales system and 10% of gross sales will be retained by the Company as a royalty. Current estimates of tailings dumps, and other areas of possible processing interest, show in excess of three years of low grade gravels, which can be processed with little or no mining or stripping cost. This means that smaller low cost royalty miners can be commercial at grades as low as 0.3 cphm . Start up of Wouterspan - The Company is finalizing the recommissioning of Wouterspan early in 2016 at an envisaged capital cost of C$4.4 million ( ZAR 43 million ). The redeployment of existing processing and mining equipment from Saxendrift, Niewejaarskraal and Remhoogte will enable the construction of a 200,000m 3 per month operation, with little need for new equipment; accordingly the budget is composed mostly of relocation and set up costs. The plant design includes an in field screen with three gravel streams to process coarse, mid and fine materials, providing optionality to adapt the processing profile to evolving market pricing trends. Plans also include X-ray Tomography technology to process the large size fractions.

( ). The redeployment of existing processing and mining equipment from Saxendrift, Niewejaarskraal and Remhoogte will enable the construction of a 200,000m per month operation, with little need for new equipment; accordingly the budget is composed mostly of relocation and set up costs. The plant design includes an in field screen with three gravel streams to process coarse, mid and fine materials, providing optionality to adapt the processing profile to evolving market pricing trends. Plans also include X-ray Tomography technology to process the large size fractions. Exploration on the extensive land package held by the Company will be doubled with the view to identifying further Royalty mining opportunities and to prioritize the development of near term projects

Closure of Head Office - Closure of Rockwell's Johannesburg corporate office will be undertaken, including the transfer of Rockwell's key senior executives to MOR on a full time basis. Cost savings at an annual run rate of C$800,000 million ( ZAR 7.9 million ) are expected at corporate and operational levels including closure of the Johannesburg office.

corporate office will be undertaken, including the transfer of Rockwell's key senior executives to MOR on a full time basis. Cost savings at an annual run rate of ( ) are expected at corporate and operational levels including closure of the office. Corporate structure - a simplification of operational reporting structures with mine management directly accountable for mine operations, reporting to the CEO who will be based full time in the MOR.

The current level of diamond recovery, grade and volumes processed are an ongoing area of concern across Rockwell's operations. As a result, it has been challenging to achieve financial viability, growth and profitability, which have directly impacted the Company's human capital requirements, and sustainability. Accordingly a decision has been taken to restructure the workforce Company-wide. In line with legislative requirements, as well as the Company's consultative culture, the relevant Government bodies and Employee representative bodies have been informed. All of the Company's employees were issued with Section 189 notices on January 5, 2016.

Consultation processes have commenced internally and the outcome will affect a number of employees, with the real impact to be assessed during the consultation process. Rockwell will make every effort to minimize the number of retrenchments and re-deploy as many employees as possible.

Commenting on third quarter production and sales James Campbell, CEO and President said:

"Our third quarter performance was driven by continued weakness in global diamond pricing which negatively impacted the balance sheet, and limited our ability to invest in increased processing capacity. While we chiefly met our third quarter production targets, reduced volumes at RHC following the fatality in early September, meant that we did not achieve the 1.0 million m3 processing volumes generally necessary for the recovery of large stones. At Saxendrift we continued to process middlings material, which had been dumped by a previous operator in order to defer closure of this operation, which is now reaching the end of its economic mine life. This resulted in a lower average stone size and commensurate reduction in realized average carat values. Overall, MOR volumes processed were 5% lower than those in the second quarter. Production at RHC fell short due to the plant closure resulting for the investigation into the fatality. The prior year included 800 carats of goods sold from inventory and, as a result, MOR carat sales were 28% lower than in the second quarter at 3,823 carats with the value of MOR sales halving to US$5.0 million.

"Operating performance has been adversely impacted by the declines in grade and overall sales values, and their impact on sales. Management and the board have however taken decisive action to place the Company on a positive footing in order to meet its sustainable operations target of 500,000m3 processing. At RHC, we installed infield screening facilities towards the end of the quarter, increasing throughput capability going forward to an eventual 180,000m3. At Saxendrift, we decided to close the mine by the end of February 2016, with the planned transfer of key skills and infrastructure to Wouterspan to enable recommissioning of a 200,000m3 operation. Construction has commenced and we anticipate commissioning to take place in mid 2016. In order to ensure the economic sustainability of the business, we have also implemented a corporate restructuring and cost saving measures, which will see a flatter reporting structure and will eliminate annual costs of at least C$800,000 (ZAR 7.9 million). With the continued support of key shareholders, we are optimistic that this restructuring will benefit all stakeholders."

PRODUCTION REVIEW

Volume and carat production for total Company owned properties to November 30, 2015 were as follows:

Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Volumes processed (000m3) 797 1,522 (48) 838 (5) 5,382 Carats produced (carats) 3,990 10,228 (61) 5,613 (29) 35,717 Grade (carats/100m3) 0.50 0.67 (25) 0.68 (26) 0.66

Additional information: Refer to Appendix 1: Detailed production data

RHC: This acquired operation (which achieves higher grades than the Company's other MOR operations) contributed to a 12% grade improvement in the MOR. Third quarter volumes processed were down 27% from the second quarter, also impacting grade which declined 28% to 0.64 cphm 3 . A total of 1,744 carats were recovered in the quarter, including nine plus 20-carat stones.

This acquired operation (which achieves higher grades than the Company's other MOR operations) contributed to a 12% grade improvement in the MOR. Third quarter volumes processed were down 27% from the second quarter, also impacting grade which declined 28% to 0.64 cphm . A total of 1,744 carats were recovered in the quarter, including nine plus 20-carat stones. Saxendrift: The volume of gravel processed was up 15% from the second quarter whilst the reported grade of 0.40 (carats per 100 m 3 ) ("cphm 3 ") was down 18% from 0.49 cphm 3 in the second quarter. Quarterly carat production dropped by 7% to 2,027 carats. Notable stones included 10 plus 20 carat stones.

The volume of gravel processed was up 15% from the second quarter whilst the reported grade of 0.40 (carats per 100 m ) ("cphm ") was down 18% from 0.49 cphm in the second quarter. Quarterly carat production dropped by 7% to 2,027 carats. Notable stones included 10 plus 20 carat stones. Royalty contractor mining: A royalty mining contractor has been processing Wouterspan recovery tailings, and 219 carats were recovered by this operation in Q3. A royalty mining contractor has also completed site establishment at Saxendrift and commenced operations during the third quarter. A second contractor is completing construction and is anticipated to commence production during February 2016 .

SALES REVIEW

Diamond sales for total Company owned-properties to November 30, 2015 were as follows:

Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Sales value (US$000's) 5,339 15,763 (66) 9,558 (44) 50,795 Carats sold 4,021 13,759 (71) 5,359 (25) 37,769 Average price 1,328 1,146 16 1,783 (26) 1,345

Saxendrift: Diamond sales declined 61% to US$2.1 million , as a result of lower production as well as the average stone size. A total of 1,996 carats were sold, down 12% quarter-on-quarter, and corresponding to an average value per carat of US$1,048 ; down 55% from the second quarter, in line with the lower average stone size as well as softer diamond prices across most categories.

Diamond sales declined 61% to , as a result of lower production as well as the average stone size. A total of 1,996 carats were sold, down 12% quarter-on-quarter, and corresponding to an average value per carat of ; down 55% from the second quarter, in line with the lower average stone size as well as softer diamond prices across most categories. RHC: Diamond sales amounted to US$2.9 million for the quarter from the sale of 1,827 carats. The recorded average value per carat of US$1,565 per carat, up 14% from the second quarter. However, this remained below historical values due to a combination of the processing of sub-threshold volumes for the recovery of larger diamonds, as well as lower global diamond prices.

Appendix 1: Volumes and carat production for the Company's owned mines and its royalty mining contractors for the three months ended November 30, 2015 were as follows:

Volume mined (000m3) Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 536 987 (46) 474 13 3,228 NJK - 427 (100) - - 1,499 RHC 281 - - 355 (21) - Total 817 1,414 (42) 829 (1) 4,727 Contractors - - - - - - Grand total 817 1,414 (42) 829 (1) 4,727

Volume processed (000m3) Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 512 717 (29) 446 15 2,558 NJK - 266 (100) - - 984 RHC 273 - - 377 (28) - Total 785 983 (20) 823 (5) 3,542 Contractors 12 539 - 15 (20) 1,840 Grand total 797 1,522 (48) 838 (5) 5,382

Carats produced Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 2,027 2,819 (28) 2,168 (7) 10,442 NJK - 1,444 (100) - - 4,978 RHC 1,744 - - 3,405 (49) - Total 3,771 4,263 (12) 5,573 (32) 15,420 Contractors 219 5,965 - 40 - 20,297 Grand total 3,990 10,228 (61) 5,613 (29) 35,717

Grade Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 0.40 0.39 3 0.49 (18) 0.41 NJK - 0.54 - - - 0.51 RHC 0.64 - - 0.90 (29) - Total 0.48 0.43 12 0.68 (29) 0.44 Contractors 1.76 1.11 - 0.28 - 1.08 Grand total 0.50 0.67 (25) 0.68 (26) 0.66

Appendix 2: Sales for each of the Company's own mines and its royalty mining contractors for the three months ended November 30, 2015 were as follows:

Carats sold Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 1,996 3,608 (45) 2,279 (12) 11,526 NJK - 1,805 (100) - - 4,958 RHC 1,827 - 0 3,052 (40) - Total 3,823 5,413 (29) 5,331 (28) 16,484 Contractors 198 8,346 (98) 28 - 21,285 Grand total 4,021 13,759 (71)% 5,359 (25) 37,769

Value of sales Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 2,093 6,975 (70) 5,366 (61) 27,233 NJK - 2,873 (100) - - 8,457 RHC 2,859 - - 4,183 (32) - Total 4,952 9,848 (50) 9,549 (48) 35,690 Contractors 387 5,915 (93) 9 - 15,105 Grand total 5,339 15,763 (66) 9,558 (44) 50,795

Average value Q3 F2016 Q3 F2015 % Change Q2 F2016 % Change F2015 Saxendrift Complex 1,048 1,934 (46) 2,354 (55) 2,363 NJK - 1,592 (100) - - 1,706 RHC 1,565 - - 1,371 14 - Total 1,295 1,820 (29) 1,791 (28) 2,165 Contractors 1,956 709 176 301 - 710 Grand total 1,328 1,146 16 1,783 (26) 1,345

* "Contractors' mining" refers to independent royalty contractors processing gravel for their own risk and reward on Rockwell owned mineral properties. Carats recovered are then sold through the Company's tender process. The Company retains the responsibility for diamond security and sales and recognize 100% of the revenue on sale. The contractual 89.5% of the sales value, payable to the contractor, is recognized as production costs in the statement of profit and loss.

** "Contractors' carats" refers to independent royalty contractors processing gravel for their own risk and reward on Rockwell owned mineral properties. Carats recovered are then sold through the Company's tender process. The Company retains the responsibility for diamond security and sales and recognize 100% of the revenue on sale. The contractual 89.5% of the sales value, payable to the contractor, is recognized as production costs in the statement of profit and loss.

About Rockwell Diamonds:

Rockwell is engaged in the business of operating and developing alluvial diamond deposits, with a goal to become a mid-tier diamond production company. Rockwell has a development project and a pipeline of earlier stage properties with future development potential. The operations are based on high throughput processing capability and the lowest unit costs in the industry as a result of implementing state-of-the-art technologies.

The Company is has a reputationfor producing large, high quality gemstone comprising a major portion of its diamond recoveries that are enhanced through a beneficiation joint venture which enables it to participate in the profits in the downstream sale of the polished diamonds.

Rockwell also evaluates consolidation opportunities which have the potential to expand its mineral resources and production profile and to provide accretive value to the Company.

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include uncertainties and costs related to exploration and development activities, such as those related to determining whether mineral resources exist on a property; uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing of production and cash and total costs of production and milling; uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses, permits, electricity, surface rights and title for development projects; operating and technical difficulties in connection with mining development activities; uncertainties related to the accuracy of our mineral resource estimates and our estimates of future production and future cash and total costs of production and diminishing quantities or grades if mineral resources; uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory procedures or changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government policies affecting our mining operations; changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets and the demand and market price for mineral commodities such as diesel fuel, steel, concrete, electricity, and other forms of energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value of the US dollar, Canadian dollar and South African Rand; changes in accounting policies and methods that we use to report our financial condition, including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates; environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining and processing; geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in countries in which we operate; and labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of labour in markets in which we operate our mines, or environmental hazards, industrial accidents or other events or occurrences, including third party interference that interrupt operation of our mines or development projects.

For further information on Rockwell, Investors should review Rockwell's home jurisdiction filings that are available at http://www.sedar.com.

For further information on Rockwell and its operations in South Africa, please contact James Campbell, CEO, +27(0)83-457-3724; Stephanie Leclercq, Investor Relations, +27(0)83-307-7587; David Tosi, PSG Capital - JSE Sponsor, +27(0)21-887-9602


BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - A Chinese university will start a school specializing in anti-terrorism courses to cash in on the growing demand for security personnel following the counter-terrorism law that came into effect from January 1.



The Northwest University of Political Science and Law in Xi'an, in the northwest Shaanxi province, is starting the school specialising in courses like counter-terrorism. It would take in law graduates and teach them the latest anti-terrorism theories and practices, Zhang Jinping who is managing the establishment of the school, told state-run Global Times. The institute would award masters degrees and doctorates in anti-terrorism studies, the university said. Enrollment of the first class of undergraduate students is now underway, and the program will formally commence at the start of the spring term, Zhang said. Students will be required to take courses in conventional disciplines such as law, religion, politics and sociology in addition to anti-terrorism courses, with the purpose of cultivating interdisciplinary competency. The school of anti-terrorism is being founded to respond to the country's demand for anti-terrorism specialists, said the professor, who noted that China is still facing severe threats of terrorism.



The university is, in fact, not the first in China to set up an anti-terrorism school. In 2014, the People's Public Security University of China in Beijing expanded its department of public security intelligence into an anti-terrorism school, Chen Gang, dean of the School of Anti-terrorism told the daily.



Chinese security forces are battling militants from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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MILL VALLEY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Glassdoor, the leading jobs and recruiting marketplace, today announced Heather Gordon Friedland has joined the company as chief product officer (CPO). She is responsible for the company's product vision and strategy of its global marketplace, leading its growing product, mobile, design, user experience and content teams.

Friedland brings nearly two decades of experience in product management at some of the largest global technology companies in the industry. She joins Glassdoor after nearly six years at eBay, where she most recently served as vice president of local and seller experience, managing products and services that enabled individuals and businesses to sell and connect with buyers. Prior to that role, she was responsible for the overall product vision and strategy for eBay's buyer experience. Before eBay, she spent 11 years at Microsoft, holding a wide variety of product and leadership roles and working on global MSN communication tools such as MSN Hotmail and Calendar, Windows Desktop Search, Windows Live Q&A and Bing search functionality. She joined Microsoft in 1999 through the acquisition of startup Jump! Networks.

As a leader in business and technology, Friedland was recently named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal's Women of Influence for 2015. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Cornell University.

"Heather brings incredible product expertise, deep customer empathy and leadership to Glassdoor, and I'm thrilled to welcome her to the executive team. Glassdoor's products are the backbone of our business, and Heather's leadership and deep knowledge of marketplace dynamics combined with our world-class product teams will help take us to the next level," said Robert Hohman, co-founder and CEO of Glassdoor, Inc. "I am proud to work alongside such a strong leader in the technology space who will contribute immensely to our mission to help people everywhere find a job and company they love, while also helping companies recruit top talent."

"I'm proud to join such a mission-driven company at a time of rapid growth. Glassdoor has changed the way people research companies and discover new job opportunities by offering a transparent lens into a company's culture. This same transparency has fueled a terrific internal culture at Glassdoor," said Friedland. "And this is only the beginning -- in my new role, I look forward to building innovative offerings that help job seekers and employers connect worldwide."

Glassdoor has more than 550 employees across the U.S. and parts of Europe and continues to expand. The company recently announced plans to open new offices in Chicago and Dublin, Ireland in early 2016 and is actively hiring.

Learn more about the Glassdoor Executive Team.

About Glassdoor

Glassdoor is the most transparent jobs and recruiting marketplace that is changing how people search for jobs and how companies recruit top talent. Glassdoor combines free and anonymous reviews, ratings and salary content with job listings to help job seekers find the best jobs and address critical questions that come up during the job search, application, interview and negotiation phases of employment. For employers, Glassdoor offers recruiting and employer branding solutions to help attract high-quality candidates at a fraction of the cost of other channels. In addition, Glassdoor operates one of the most popular job apps on iOS and Android platforms. The company launched in 2008 and has raised approximately $160 million from Google Capital, Tiger Global, Benchmark, Battery Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, DAG Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, and others.

Glassdoor.com is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.
Thomson Reuters Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2015 Earnings Announcement and Webcast Scheduled for Thursday, February 11, 2016

Conference call and webcast scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EST

NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2016 --Thomson Reuters (NYSE, TSX: TRI), the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced today that its full-year and fourth-quarter 2015 earnings will be issued via news release on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130208/MM57185LOGO

James C. Smith, chief executive officer, and Stephane Bello, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast that morning at 8:30 a.m. EST. Discussions may include forward-looking information.

You can access the webcast by visiting the "Investor Relations" section of the Thomson Reuters website. Registration for the webcast is now open. Additionally, an archive of the webcast will be available following the presentation.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges (symbol: TRI). For more information, visit http://www.thomsonreuters.com/.
Regulatory News:

CARBIOS (Paris:ALCRB) (Alternext Paris: ALCRB), an innovative green chemistry company specializing in breakthrough technologies dedicated to the recovery of plastic waste and the production of bio-polymers, reports today about the liquidity contract entrusted to the brokerage firm Invest Securities.

As of 31 December 2015, the following assets appeared on the liquidity account:

- Number of shares: 10 123

- Cash balance of the liquidity account: 32,761.35

For the record, as of the half-year report on 30 June 2015, the following assets appeared on the liquidity account:

- Number of shares: 8,432

- Cash balance of the liquidity account: 50,000.65

About CARBIOS:

CARBIOS is a young, innovative green chemistry company, whose mission is to find biological solutions to the environmental and sustainable development issues faced by industrial businesses today. CARBIOS acquired the rights to research that was conducted over a number of years by various public and private sector laboratories. By leveraging the unique properties of biological catalysts (enzymes), it has used this research as the foundation for developing innovative industrial bioprocesses that optimize the technical, economic and environmental performance of polymers (thermoplastic materials and synthetic or food-based fibers). The company has focused its efforts on a strategic application sector: plastics. CARBIOS' growth strategy is based on a clear business model of industrial value creation that targets attractive markets, develops innovative and competitive bioprocesses and licenses them to major industrial stakeholders for commercialization. CARBIOS benefits from the financial support of the leading European venture capital firm Truffle Capital. CARBIOS was founded in 2011 and has been funded, since its inception, by funds managed by the Holding Incubatrice Chimie Verte fund. CARBIOS was granted the label "Young Innovative Company" by Bpifrance (former OSEO) and is eligible for investments by private equity mutual funds (FCPIs).

For more information, please visit www.carbios.fr

CARBIOS is eligible for the PEA-PME, a government program allowing French residents investing in SMEs to benefit from income tax rebates.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107005606/en/

Contacts:

CARBIOS

Investor Relations

Benjamin Audebert, +33 (0)4 73 86 51 76

contact@carbios.fr

or

ALIZE RP

Press Relations

Caroline Carmagnol Wendy Rigal, +33 (0)1 44 54 36 66 +33 (0)6 48 82 18 94

carbios@alizerp.com
LIVERPOOL, England, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 330 graduates from the University of Liverpool's online programmes celebrated their graduation during ceremonies and events in Liverpool on 7 and 8 December 2015. They are among over 830 fellow students, representing 124 countries, who have recently completed University of Liverpool masters, doctorates and postgraduate certificate programmes online. Graduates from online programmes have the option to receive their degree certificate in person, alongside campus graduates, at graduation ceremonies held twice a year at the University of Liverpool.

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"Graduation is a very special occasion for us all at the University of Liverpool. We are very proud to welcome these new graduates from our online programmes to the University's global community of more than 195,000 alumni," said the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janet Beer. "We share their excitement about their outstanding achievements and applaud their hard work, commitment and dedication."

In addition to attending their graduation ceremony, the graduates, their family and friends, as well as faculty members, were welcomed at the Online Graduates' Recognition Ceremony & Reception at the Lutyens Crypt on 7 December. The event honoured successful students from several online programmes receiving the Student of the Year and Dissertation of the Year awards, and provided an opportunity for all online graduates to meet and network with their peers from around the world.

The Student of the Year Awards - for outstanding performance throughout an online degree programme - were awarded to:

Hussein Abbas , an MSc in Information Systems Management graduate from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

, an MSc in Information Systems Management graduate from the (UAE) Clare Armstrong , a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate from the UK

, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate from the UK Luis Correal , an MSc in Project Management graduand from Canada *

, an MSc in Project Management graduand from * Stuart Fox , a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate from the UK

, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate from the UK Timea Keller , an MSc in Applied Psychology graduate from Switzerland

, an MSc in Applied Psychology graduate from Sheena Murphy , an MSc in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Investigation graduand from Canada *

, an MSc in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Investigation graduand from * Elad Nakar , an MSc in Project Management graduate from Israel

, an MSc in Project Management graduate from Aliaksei Patonia, an MSc International Management graduate from Belarus

Kester Whitaker , an MSc in International Accounting and Finance graduate from the USA

, an MSc in International Accounting and Finance graduate from the Christian Wiethuechter , an LLM in International Business Law graduate from the USA

The Dissertation of the Year Awards - for an outstanding dissertation - were awarded to:

Asim Bashir , an MSc in Software Engineering graduate from the UAE

, an MSc in Software Engineering graduate from the UAE Ilda Becirovic , an LLM in Technology Law & Intellectual Property Law graduate from Norway

, an LLM in Technology Law & Intellectual Property Law graduate from Sheena Murphy , who also received a Student of the Year award

, who also received a Student of the Year award Lorna Renner , a Master of Public Health graduate from Ghana

, a Master of Public Health graduate from Sofia Vale Cruz , an MSc in Applied Psychology graduand from the USA *

*Graduating in 2016.

Designed for working professionals, the University of Liverpool's fully online learning model enables students to earn an advanced academic degree without interrupting their career - from wherever they are based in the world. Students enjoy an engaging, global and highly collaborative learning experience that provides them with the knowledge and skills to achieve immediate professional impact.

For more information about the University of Liverpool's online programmes, visit www.university-liverpool-online.com.

About the University of Liverpool Online Programmes

The University of Liverpool ranks in the top 1% of universities worldwide and is a member of the UK's Russell Group of research-led universities. More than 10,000 students from more than 160 countries are studying for postgraduate certificates, masters and doctoral degrees online with the University of Liverpool. These programmes are provided in partnership with online learning expert, Laureate Online Education (for more information about Laureate, visit www.laureate.net).
HARRISBURG, PA--(Marketwired - January 07, 2016) - D&H Distributing, the leading North American computer products and consumer electronics distributor, announces it is collaborating with Cisco, one of the distributor's leading networking vendors, to provide an exclusive training program for resellers in the small business space. This series of in-depth "Roadshow" workshops will extend to six cities in 2016 from January to April, including dates in Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The next Cisco SMB on Tour session takes place January 14 in Atlanta. There is no cost to D&H's Cisco resellers for these sessions.

The program delivers deep-dive information and sales strategies on Cisco's most recent SMB technologies, educating resellers on a portfolio of networking products including Cisco's Meraki and wireless mobility solutions, plus routing and switching technologies all specifically engineered and priced for small business environments. Sessions will be conducted at major Cisco sales offices across the country, giving solution providers face-to-face access to Cisco experts in addition to D&H specialists. Each event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. local time, and incorporates live technical demonstrations, sales and marketing insights, lunch, and a post-session "Partner Appreciation" networking party.

"As the premier SMB distributor, it's our role to work with visionary partners such as Cisco to establish new and effective venues to help develop our customers' businesses," said Jeff Davis, senior vice president of sales D&H Distributing. "The objective is to invest in our customer base, helping VARs not only sustain their competitive edge and enhance their knowledge, but also to position them for growth. To that end, we have expanded the training experience from our trade events and are bringing it into the field, delivering wider access and more intensive content to VARs."

The remaining Cisco SMB on Tour schedule is as follows:

January 14: Atlanta, Georgia

February 9: Richardson, Texas

February 23: Herndon, Virginia

March 15: Rosemont, Illinois

April 5: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

April 12: Malvern, Pennsylvania

D&H customers can visit dandh.com to register or call their D&H account representative at (800) 340-1001. Customers can also find out more about D&H's Cisco offering at www.dandh.com/cisco.

About D&H Distributing

As the nation's leading technology distributor, D&H provides a wealth of resources to empower solution providers and consultants, delivering a broad selection of SMB categories, products and applications. The company's offerings span server and infrastructure, SOHO and mobile applications, consumer electronics and gaming. D&H's multimarket expertise, account-dedicated sales teams, sterling service and flexible financing options are unmatched in the industry.

With an impressive 98-year history serving as a trusted advisor to the reseller channel, D&H has been able to consistently reinvent itself based upon changing market conditions. The company prides itself on creating business partnerships with an astute focus on ease-of-doing-business, relationships, value, performance and service.

D&H ships out of five separate locations in North America, including its US headquarters in Harrisburg and its Canadian headquarters in Brampton, Ontario. Additional US warehouses are located in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; and Fresno, CA. Call D&H toll-free at (800) 340-1001 or visit www.dandh.com.

Contact:

Suzanne Mattaboni

For D&H Distributing

(610) 261-4560

suzgm@aol.com
MELBOURNE, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) is pleased to announce its new corporate image, branding and media communications tools in conjunction with its ramp up to full production of its best in class lithium-ion "Proudly Made in USA" batteries and energy storage products.

As a key part of its new corporate image and branding, Oakridge now has a sharp new-look website (www.OakRidgeGlobalEnergy.com) that highlights the company's global market and presence, and which is in keeping with its corporate mission to become the leading "Made in USA" producer of lithium-ion batteries and energy storage products. The new website now also contains easy-to-access product details for the reference of wholesale consumers and direct customers alike. The revamped site can also be accessed by using Oakridge's old domain name, www.OakG.net.

Oakridge has also partnered with DreamTeamNetwork ("DTN") to create an innovative Investor relations (IR) package that provides excellent detail for potential customers and investors regarding the company and its products.

This new IR package can be viewed at http://OGES.QualityStocks.net/ir/

"Having successfully completed a total revamp of the company's business and products during 2014 and 2015, Oakridge continues to improve every aspect of its business, and media and communications tools like these are no exception," says OGES executive chairman and CEO Steve Barber. "These new tools are fantastically well-designed and provide improved information regarding all aspects of our business. The new website and IR package provide Oakridge with a major point of differentiation over our competitors in the Far East, and these media and communications tools that we have just launched are absolutely best in class. Being in the battery business, we have reviewed websites from over 100 companies that are in the industry worldwide. Investors and customers demand easy access and good communication and we again lead the industry by delivering these tools."

The new branding also addresses increasing interest and demand for information on Oakridge's revolutionary energy storage technology.

"This new corporate image and branding, embodied in the dramatic, crisp new website and the matching investor relations package were inspired by requests and questions from our various customers, investors and suppliers about the company and its game-changing 'Made in USA' lithium-ion battery and energy storage products," said vice president of Oakridge Corporate Communications Suzanna Barber. "Our goal is to be a global leader in all aspects of the world battery market, and our new media and communications tools are a key part in that process of getting the exciting Oakridge message out and allowing Oakridge to take its rightful place in the global marketplace."

DTN Managing Director Mike McCarthy adds, "We've worked closely with Oakridge for several months now and are increasingly impressed with the company's technology, vision, and capability to execute its expansion strategies. Management is a pleasure to work with and we're proud to put our name and resources behind the Oakridge brand. The sleek new website and factual IR kit demonstrate Oakridge's commitment to clear communication and presentation."

Oakridge continues to grow and expand as planned. During 2015 and into 2016 Oakridge has continued to exceed targets for hiring of employees, acquisition of capital equipment for factory automation, and providing innovative and informative tools to keep stakeholders fully engaged in company activities. This is another example of how this "Proudly Made In The USA" manufacturing company is aggressively serving its target markets. Oakridge is fully engaging with the world lithium battery market in every aspect. The new 69,000-square-foot facility at 3520 Dixie Highway in Melbourne, Florida, is now fully operational with production ramping up rapidly since reopening after the Christmas period on January 4. Oakridge will also be attending several major industry trade shows in the first quarter of 2016 to roll out exiting new products.

About Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc.

Oakridge Global Energy Solutions Inc. is a publicly traded company, trading symbol: OGES on the OTCQB with a market capitalization of approximately USD $ 250,000,000, whose primary business is the development, manufacturing and marketing of energy storage products. Additional information can be accessed on the company's website www.oakridgeglobalenergy.com

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are contained in the Edgar Archives of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2946656


Irvine Scientific, a world leader in the innovation and manufacture of cell culture media, reagents, and medical devices for industrial, clinical and research applications, today announced it has acquired BioCare Europe S.r.l. (BioCare). Based in Rome, Italy, BioCare is a leading distributor of in vitro fertilization (IVF) media, medical devices, and equipment.

Irvine Scientific provides the IVF market with cGMP cell culture media which is unrivalled in performance and quality. Supporting IVF hospitals and clinics worldwide, Irvine Scientific has been building a sales presence in Europe over the last several years, focused mainly in the UK, France, and Germany. BioCare is a leading distributor of a wide variety of IVF products to the European market and has built a strong sales network in Europe, focused mainly in Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

The IVF market in Europe is the largest worldwide and is expected to grow stably. By leveraging the capabilities of BioCare and maximizing the synergy between the two companies Irvine Scientific will expand its presence in the European IVF market to take advantage of that growth.

"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of BioCare." said Yuichi Nagano, President and CEO, Irvine Scientific. "With its well established network across the continent BioCare provides the connections and operations to enable us to better serve the European IVF market."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About Irvine Scientific

Irvine Scientific, a member of JX Group, is a worldwide leader in the innovation and manufacture of cell culture media, reagents, and medical devices for researchers and clinicians. The company provides unrivalled service and quality to scientists working in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, assisted reproductive technology and cytogenetics, and industrial cell culture for the large-scale production of biotherapeutics and vaccines. Irvine Scientific adheres to both ISO and FDA regulations and operates dual cGMP manufacturing facilities in California, USA and Tokyo, Japan. The company's consultative philosophy combined with expertise in cell culture and compliance provides customers with unique capabilities and support. For over 40 years, Irvine Scientific has remained uniquely flexible and focused on media while becoming a strategic global leader in media products and services.

About BioCare Europe S.r.l.

BioCare Europe S.r.l. (BioCare) is a market leader in the field of assisted reproduction in Europe and distributes a wide range of media, high-end equipment and consumables for IVF centers. Collaborating directly with over two-third of the IVF centers in Europe mainly in Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Switzerland BioCare has developed an excellent relationship with reference centers and key opinion leaders. Ideal global partner of innovative IVF centers with utmost quality standards, BioCare also provides turnkey laboratories and ensures continuous assistance to IVF professionals.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160107006220/en/

Contacts:

Media:

Irvine Scientific

Lori Serles, 949-261-7800 x145

lserles@irvinesci.com

or

Zyme Communications

Katie Odgaard, +44 (0)7787 502 947

katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
HARTLAND, NEW BRUNSWICK -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- Canada's leading voice for workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada), has launched a national campaign to support the hard-working men and women at Covered Bridge Potato Chips in Hartland, New Brunswick, who were forced out on strike on January 5.

The workers, who are members of UFCW Canada Local 1288P, are braving the strike to secure a fair first contract.

Voting to join the union in December 2013, the Covered Bridge Potato Chips workers have patiently made numerous attempts over the past two years to negotiate a balanced first contract. Despite the union's willingness to negotiate, the company has repeatedly refused to provide a living wage, and to respect basic seniority rights when it comes to scheduling, layoffs and call-backs.

"Covered Bridge is a very successful company that can afford to pay a fair wage and to respect the living needs and contributions of the workers who make it successful," says Mark Dobson, President of the UFCW Canada Eastern Provinces Council. "We are asking the company to return to the bargaining table and end this strike by negotiating a fair and just agreement."

Many of the workers at the potato chip factory make minimum wage, and others have seen only a 10-cent-an-hour wage increase over the past five years.

To support the call for a fair contract, UFCW Canada activists are asking consumers not to buy Covered Bridge Potato Chips until the strike is over. They are sending that message by passing out information leaflets near major Atlantic-region retailers of Covered Bridge Potato Chips, including Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Costco, Dollarama and the Great Canadian Dollar Store.

The workers and their families are also calling on consumers, supporters and friends to join the campaign for Fairness at Covered Bridge Potato Chips by sending a letter to the company's CEO.

With the full support of the UFCW Canada National Office - and the union's multi-million dollar strike resource, the National Defence Fund (NDF) - the striking workers are also being supported by a full social media effort and print awareness campaign focused on various public spaces throughout the Maritimes.

Support the campaign for Fairness at Covered Bridge Potato Chips by visiting ufcw.ca/coveredbridge.

Contacts:

Carl Flanagan, National Representative

UFCW Canada

506-874-2485

carl.flanagan@ufcw.ca




AUSTIN, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/16 -- UAS Magazine has announced the Texas UAS Summit & Expo. The event will take place March 29-31, 2016 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, Austin, Texas.

As the UAS industry continues to reach new commercial and operational heights, the state of Texas has emerged as a hotbed for current UAS activity. Equipped with the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence test site, an unprecedented number of UAV end-user opportunities, and the support of commercial, private and state-based entities, Texas has established itself as a pillar to all things UAS.

Join UAS Magazine at the Texas UAS Summit & Expo for the first-ever comprehensive look at UAS in Texas and how the Lone Star state is shaping the industry. Produced in collaboration with the expert team from the Lone Star UAS test site, the two-day event will explain and reveal the cutting-edge research, commercial operation successes and end-user opportunities present in Texas or the region. The event will unite commercial manufacturers and operators, researchers, payload providers, platform designers, 333 exempt entities and multiple leaders spearheading UAS expansion in Texas and beyond.

Top Reasons to Attend the Texas UAS Summit & Expo in 2016:

This event is the first-ever Texas-focused UAS offering to showcase the commercial opportunities and UAS growth possibilities related to Texas and the greater Gulf Coast region.

Focused, technical presentations and special events designed to describe the latest technology offerings, software packages, business models and regulatory updates on the UAS industry

Exclusive conference social media site, where you can connect with your colleagues before, during and after the event.

Industry specific tours

Magazine coverage before, during and after the event

40+ exhibiting companies showcasing the latest technologies, new product launches and valuable industry services

Access to the Lone Star UAS test site's team of experts and research partners.





"UAS end-use applications and advanced research projects have shifted from hypothetical ideas to real-world scenarios. In no state is this more evident than in Texas," says UAS Magazine editor Luke Geiver. "Content at the Texas UAS Summit & Expo will reveal the work happening in a myriad of use cases ranging from agriculture to infrastructure inspection." He continues, "Texas offers multiple UAS use-case scenarios for operators and researchers, from oil and gas surveying to coastal monitoring. Our team will showcase the latest and most successful efforts by state entities and private firms operating UAS in Texas and what future UAS operations should or could look like."

"We're excited about the opportunity to partner with the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation to sponsor what will be a national event showcasing UAS training, research, and innovations taking place in Texas and the Texas A&M University System," says Gary Sera, Director of Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).

The event will include an exhibit hall and several sponsorship opportunities. "This is an excellent opportunity for companies to network with key decision-makers in the UAS industry," says John Nelson, sales and marketing director at BBI International. "Anyone involved in the commercial UAV sector will find great value in the quality of leads generated at the show." He says, "We are providing complimentary registrations to military members, as well as deeply discounted rates for Section 333 exempt operators."

For more information visit: Texas UAS Summit & Expo

About UAS Magazine

UAS Magazine is a bi-monthly print and online magazine that provides the most comprehensive look at the state of UAS to commercial operators, manufacturers and prospective users. The magazine includes in-depth content pertaining to policies and regulations, new technologies, innovative applications, public and private implementation efforts and the continued testing efforts ongoing in the U.S. Every other month, UAS Magazine will run content ranging from feature length articles exploring the business of UAS operations, to trend pieces detailing critical technologic advancements. UAS Magazine also organizes the UAS Summit & Expo, taking place in Grand Forks, North Dakota, August 22-24, 2016.

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CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australia will on Friday release seasonally adjusted retail sales data for November, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Retail sales are expected to add 0.4 percent on month after gaining 0.5 percent in October. Australia also will see December results for the Performance of Construction Index from AiG; in November, the index score was 50.7. Japan will provide November data for labor cash earnings, which are expected to hold steady at 0.7 percent on year. Japan also will see preliminary November numbers for its leading and coincident indexes. The leading index is expected to show a score of 103.9, down from 104.2 in October. The coincident is called at 111.6, down from 113.3. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Gem, a Venice, California-based blockchain platform provider, closed $7.1m in Series A funding.

The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners with participation from KEC Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, RRE Ventures, etc.

In conjunction with the funding, Ben Dahl, a partner at Pelion Venture Partners, joined Gems Board of Directors along with Scott Kriz, CEO of Bitium.

The company, which has raised $10.4m in total funding, is hiring.

Led by Micah Winkelspecht, CEO and founder, Gem provides a platform that integrates blockchain technology into finance, healthcare, and other data-reliant industries.

FinSMEs

06/01/2016
Pi-Cardia Ltd., a Rehovot, Israel-based medical device startup developing a novel low profile catheter for the treatment of aortic stenosis, completed a $10m financing round.

Backers included Italian funds Innogest and Fondo Atlante Ventures, Chinese fund VI-Ventures and existing investors Clal Biotechnology Industries and Anatomy Medical Technologies Fund.

The company intends to use the funds to complete the development of a second generation device, and to continue the clinical studies for showing its safety and performance, towards CE-Mark.

Founded in 2009 by Erez Golan, CEO, Pi-Cardia developed the Leaflex Catheter System  a novel non-implant based technology for treating patients with aortic valve stenosis. The Leaflex is a low-profile trans-femoral catheter incorporating unique Nitinol elements, which are optimized for delivering mechanical energy to create substantial fractures in valve calcification.

In 2015, the company completed enrolling the first set of patients in its FIM study in Europe, demonstrating safety and feasibility of the procedure.

FinSMEs

07/01/2016
Mountain View, California-based mobile messaging service provider TangoMe appointed co-founder Eric Setton as chief executive officer.

Setton, who has been the companys chief technology officer, succeeds Tango co-founder Uri Raz, who becomes executive chairman. Raz will continue to provide counsel to the Tango management team, while playing a key role on strategic accounts and corporate development.

The appointments are effective immediately.

Founded in 2009, TangoMe is the developer of Tango, a free mobile messaging app with more than 350 million registered members featuring free video and voice calls, texting, social discovery, browsing and sharing content tools.

Tango is cross-platform, operating over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, and is available in 15 languages in more than 224 countries.

The company, which has raised $367 million in venture capital to date, also works with third-party game developers, brands, content publishers, and advertisers to provide distribution, integration opportunities and advertising.

TangoMe has offices in Austin, Texas; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Beijing.

FinSMEs

07/01/2016
ViralGains, a Boston, MA-based online video software company for delivering consumer engagement and insight, completed a first closing on a $12.3m Series A financing.

The round was led by Stage 1 Ventures, with participation from 500 Startups, Hub Angels, Launch Capital, Pallasite Ventures, and individual investors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations.

With online video consumption growing by double digits, and eMarketer projecting US digital video advertising spending to grow from $7.8 billion in 2015 to $14.4 billion by 2019,

Led by Tod Loofbourrow, CEO, ViralGains provides marketers with a platform to maximize online video views, shares, and conversation in real time while measuring and optimizing viewer sentiment.

In 2015, the company launched two new products:

 ViralGains Customer Sentiment Analysis Tool, which enables marketers to measure real-time sentiment from hundreds of thousands of engaged consumers during the course of a video campaign; and

 Profiling Suite, which combines in-depth viewing, sharing, and engagement data with custom audiences on popular social networks.

Founded in 2012, ViralGains has regional offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The company serves brands and agencies in the media business, including Global Agency of the Year, Weber Shandwick.

FinSMEs

07/01/2016
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2ND EDITION!!! I hope to have some news soon about the 2nd edition of hole in my heart. Sorry for the delay!

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From the New York Times



"Lorraine Dusky, a writer who relinquished a daughter as a young single mother in New York State in 1966, supports opening the records. She reported in her 2015 memoir that in the handful of states that offered women the opportunity to remove their names from original birth certificates, only a small fraction of women  fewer than 1 percent  chose to do so." -- Dont Keep Adopted People in the Dark by Gabrielle Glaser, June 19, 2018

From the New York Times "On FirstMotherForum.com, a blog that discusses issues among women who had given children up for adoption, Lorraine Dusky, one of the sites authors, praised the series (ABC's 10-episode Find My Family): 'Maybe this will be heard by people who think it is unloyal somehow for a person to search out his or her roots, parents, family, when it is a most natural desire of consciousness.' --Two Reality Shows Stir Publicity and Anger"--Dec. 6, 2009.

This blog takes cookies.

"It shouldn't take a miracle to find people you are related to by blood."--Jenn Gentlesk

EMAIL US AT forumfirstmother@gmail.com

Oregon court records available Instructions and forms for accessing adoption records are on the Oregon Judicial Department's website.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE Material from First Mother Forum may be quoted as long as FMF is credited and with a link to original source here. Over 350 words, contact for permission: forumfirstmother@gmail.com.
New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, whose comments on perceived intolerance in the country had created a controversy, has ceased to be the mascot for government's 'Incredible India' campaign as the contract for it has expired.

"Our contract was with the McCann Worldwide agency for 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign. The agency had hired Aamir for the job. Now the contract with the agency is over. Ministry has not hired Aamir.

"It was the agency which has hired him. Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists," Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said on Wednesday.

Asked specifically whether Aamir is still Tourism Ministry's brand ambassador, the minister said, "Definitely not".

'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign, part of the Incredible India campaign was launched during the UPA regime.

Earlier, the ministry issued a vague statement in response to certain news reports following government's answer to a RTI query on the issue.

"In response to certain news reports appearing in the media, about Aamir Khan, the Ministry of Tourism clarifies that there is no change in the stand of the ministry in this matter.

"The Ministry further clarifies that at present it has a contractual agreement with creative agency McCann Worldwide to produce social awareness campaign and the said campaign featured Aamir Khan," the ministry statement said.

Two months ago, Aamir had made controversial comments on perceived intolerance in the country for which he was criticised by many senior Union ministers.

At an event in New Delhi, Aamir had said that his wife Kiran Rao had asked if they should move out of the country, as she feared for the safety of their children in a climate of insecurity.

When contacted, Prasoon Joshi, the head of McCann Worldwide agency, only said, "We at McCann had a contractual agreement with the Ministry of Tourism for a social awareness campaign Atithi devo bhava'. Aamir Khan had graciously lent his support for the same. We have delivered the campaign to the Ministry."

Sharma said the contract for Rs 2.96 crore with McCann Worldwide agency was now over.

According to ministry officials, fresh tenders will be floated to device any new campaign, if required.

Officials said a report by the ministry's market and research division will also help in picking up a new face for the campaign in future.

However, indications were that Aamir is unlikely to figure in the future campaign, sources said.

PTI
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday expressed surprise at the failure of CBI and the state CID in obtaining a ballistics report from Karnataka CID which reportedly shows a link between the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Kannada scholar-writer MM Kalburgi.

A division bench of Justices RV More and VL Achiliya was informed that Maharashtra CID, which is probing the Pansare case and CBI, which is investigating the Dabholkar case, had in 2015 handed over bullets and empty bullet shells to the Karnataka CID which is probing the Kalburgi murder case. The objective was to ascertain possible links among the three cases.

Advocate Abhay Nevgi, appearing for the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare, said on Thursday that as per the media reports the FSL in Bengaluru had claimed that the bullets recovered from the crime spots in these three cases were fired from the same weapon.

CBI lawyer Anil Singh and public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde (for CID) told the court that senior officers from both the agencies had written to the Director General of Karnataka CID for ballistics report, but it was yet to come.

"Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report? We are surprised that CBI is making such a grievance. We are surprised that Karnataka CID is not cooperating with a prime agency like CBI," the High Court said.

"We direct the Maharashtra DGP and the CBI's director to take up the issue with the Karnataka DGP and the DG-CID and see to it that the reports are made available at the earliest," the HC said.

Non-cooperation from Karnataka CID was hampering the probe, the judges noted.

Maharashtra CID told the court it had filed chargesheet against Sameer Gaikwad, the only arrested accused in the Pansare murder case, and further probe was underway as other accused were yet to be arrested.

The court later adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

While Dabholkar was killed in Pune in August 2013, Pansare was killed in Kolhapur in 2015. HC is hearing petitions regarding the probe in both the cases.

PTI
Chandi Mandir, Haryana: The Army on Wednesday dismissed criticism over deployment of NSG over Army in a predominant manner in the counter-terror operation in the Pathankot air base, saying it was a "joint decision" and that the Arrmy was fully involved in it.

"There was NSG, Air force, Garud commandos. Application of NSG was a joint decision taken at an appropriate level which included service chiefs," said Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh, GoC-in-C, Army's Western Command, told a media briefing in Chandi Mandir.

There has been criticism of the decision to deploy the NSG personnel flown from Delhi on Saturday morning in the air force base in Pathankot when a larger number of Army commandos were available in nearby garrison in the border city itself Army's special forces commandos were said to be better equipped to deal with the siege of the base.

Lt Gen Singh said said terrorists holed up in buildings in the air force station took "advantage" of it which took time in eliminating them.

He said they also wanted to avoid a hostage situation as a large number of families and foreign trainees were residing inside the base.

"The buildings in the air force base station are such that which are located close to family quarters. The final group of two terrorists were in a two-storeyed structure where in the first our own troops were there. They (the families) had to be evacuated first and we had to avoid hostage situation because of that it took time.

"I also want to tell you that within these barracks, which are MES constructions. They are covered with steel doors. It is like sitting inside a bunker inside a building and so terrorists took advantage of it. The final body was recovered from inside of this structure," said Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh at the Western Command Headquarters. Throwing light on the use of fore to eliminate the terrorists, Lt Gen Singh said "excessive" firepower was not used because of the presence of families in the quarters and civilians pockets in the area.

"The basic concept is to safeguard the strategic assets. We also follow a principle of calibrated use of force. We have too much fore power which cannot be used in this operation because there were family quarters and civilian pockets outside the air force base. This is why we used that much fire power which was required in that condition.

"For that we had to take even risks. It took time....We had to localise them (terrorists) to a very small area and finally eliminated them. We were under instructions and it was our concept to avoid unnecessary casualties. We took calculated risk so as not to have unnecessary casualties," he said.

"There are strategic assets here and there can be hostage situations as there are 11,000 people live here and 3,000 families, and above all, foreign trainees and had there been any hostage situation, it is NSG body which is specially trained to rescue them," he said.

Lt General further said that it was the success of this operation that Air force was station operational. Had there been any damage to the airport, in that situation how could we have brought NSG here," he asked.

On why NSG was brought in for this operation, Lt Gen Singh said, "NSG was brought in because firstly strategic assets were over here. Secondly there can be hostage situation. People were living inside the campus which could have taken hostage...NSG are special troops (to handle such situation)."

Asked how militants entered the air force base station and what time they entered, Lt General said, "an inquiry has been ordered by airforce and NIA is investigating the case."

Asked when it received the first alert about terrorists, he said, "we got information on January one during afternoon."

"In this case it was a serious alert as we were told that 6-8 (terrorists were there)," he said.

To a question about the source of the alerts, Lt Gen Singh said, "we got alert from Punjab police also and from central agencies."

However, he said the alert issued by Punjab police on 30 December, was very general which said that 15 militants had entered into the Indian territory.

On reports about Punjab police's lapse in Pathankot terror attack, he said, " I will not comment on it. It is a subject matter of inquiry."

"We had initially report of 4-6 militants and then we made contact with six of them and all of them were eliminated," he said.

Asked whether there could be any local support to terrorists, Lt Gen said, "some localised support cannot be absolutely ruled out. It will all be looked into. NIA will look into it. All aspects of this case will be looked into it."

Asked why terrorists struck at the air force base, Lt Gen said, "it is strategically important. Imagine the kind of publicity you can gain that you have targeted strategic air base. Secondly it is in the vicinity. It is easy to reach here. It is only 25 km from the area."

On asked about potential hostage situation when terrorists attacked Pathankot air force base station, he said, "it could have developed into a hostage situation. In any case, all along the operation, there was a great possibility of taking a hostage situation because there are air men living in those barracks / residential area.

"They were brought out by Army columns, NSG officials. They were brought down from the windows," he said to a question how two of militants were eliminated.

When asked whether Army started any combing operation between the period of getting first alert and attack by terrorists, he said, "combing of those areas was the primary the responsibility of police. We had to ensure security to our strategic assets. Area was checked out and QRT was in place. Air force also carried out searching for terrorists," he said.

To a question on militant bodies, he said, "There are four bodies of militants. Two have been cooked up. Some parts of bodies were scattered around there which are being forensically examined. The other four bodies which are recovered a call will be taken whether to destroy them or not because they were carrying explosives."

Asked about the cordoning off of Tibri in Gurdaspur, he said, "there is some information. Police and Army were looking into it. Every day there are two or three cases of such informationit is being checked out." Lt Gen claimed that the operation launched against the terrorists was a "complete success" which saw "synergy" between the NSG, Army and Air Force.

"There was no collateral damage during the operation. We all must take into account that there are a large number of civilian pockets in that area. No collateral damage was caused to civilians pocket and villages which is in its vicinity (of air force base station).

"More importantly there were 23 foreign trainees from four friendly countries at air force base station. No one was harmed," he said, adding that this operation was a "complete success".

The foreign trainees are from Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

"After getting alert about terrorists, a large number of pre-empt action were taken. We sounded red alert. QRT were sent to important places. That is because our reactions were timely (to the attack) and after immediate contact with terrorists, they were localized," GOC-IN-C Western Command said.

"We even side stepped some resources. Some specialized resources like specialized forces, mine-protected vehicles. They were centrally located and they were side stepped," he said.

"Now combing operations and sanitization are currently on and after sanitization is over, the assets will be handed over to the air force," he informed. He said out of nine columns of the Army, seven were used inside the air force station while two were kept outside.

"A bomb disposal team, a dog squad and there were nine mine-protected vehicle were there," he said.

"Such operations require turnover. You are under a live situation, so a turnover was carried out and due rest was given.

"Currently, we have two columns, two mine-protected vehicles and bomb disposal teams is inside the station which is helping the combing and sanitization operation," he said, adding.

Talking about the total contact time between security force and terrorists, he said it was 10-11 hours.

"In my perception, the total contact time was 10-11 hours. Balance period is that the terrorists remained dormant," he said.

He also rejected media reports that in the anti-terror operation, there was a limited role of the Army.

"It (media reports) is not correct. Because, the first contact was made by DSC, Garuds (with terrorists). Second contact was made by Army column and after that they were localized.

"Third and final contact was made by Army. A joint operation was launched in which Army column was there, Garud, NSG was also there. Then NSG neutralized them," he said.

He added that Army's bomb disposal team is still working at the air force station in Pathankot and they are playing a "large role" at the base.

PTI
Seven months after his controversial appointment as the chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), BJP member Gajendra Chauhan was welcomed by protesting FTII students in Pune on Thursday as he took charge as chairman. Pune police detained more than 40 students for protesting against Chauhans appointment, reports said.

Police used force to disperse and round up the group of students protesting against Chauhan on Thursday. Notwithstanding a warning issued by police on Wednesday to maintain peace on the eve of the first meeting of the new FTII Society headed by Chauhan, members of FTII Students Federation (FSA) staged a protest demonstration at the institute's gate, shouting, "Gajendra Chauhan go back" which led to a scuffle between the students and police.

The meeting was expected to be attended by, among others, Anagha Ghaisas, Rahul Solapurkar, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak  the members whose appointments have been objected to by the FTII Students Association (FSA) for being political and allegedly lacking in merit and stature for the post.

"We have been brutally targeted by police who lathi-charged us with the knowledge of FTII administration," alleged one of the students as he was put in a police van and whisked away.

A woman student of the FTII, Shimi told PTI, "We were protesting peacefully to register our dissent because political appointees are taking charge as members of the FTII Society. We got beaten up without provocation and taken to police station. Our protest and resistance will continue."

However, Pune's Deputy Commissioner of Police Tushar Joshi, who was on the spot, said, "We had asked the students to demonstrate peacefully, but we had to use force because they wanted to block the way to the institute and therefore we had to detain them. We used minimum force."

The students continued to raise anti-Chauhan slogans even as his car entered the FTII premises.

On his part, Chauhan remained unfazed on Wednesday, saying, It's about fulfilling the responsibility... I have been ordered by the government, and I will do my job. Let me go there and see. I can't comment on what they will do, but I am ready to do my job."

Quoting the official statement by the students association, CNN-IBN reported saying, We still have problem with these appointments and will continue to resist it unless the concerned authorities put the society in abeyance and set a process for the further appointments, since it is the question of our academics."

The students had been on an unprecedented 139-day strike demanding Chauhans removal. They have been on a strike opposing Chauhan's appointment since 12 June, 2015 and called it off on 28 October, 2015 after repeated negotiations with the government and returned to the classes.

However, the students on Wednesday said that this did not mean they had given up. "We still have problem with these appointments and will continue to resist it unless concerned authorities put the FTII Society (which governs the institute) in abeyance. Higher education in the country should be free from all political interference. Pahlaj Nihalani's presence in the Society for holding an unjust post in CBFC is also unacceptable," the FSA said.

A tough posture by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which steadfastly refused to accept the FSA demand for removal of Chauhan, a crackdown on some students and their arrest following a gherao of the institute director Prashant Pathrabe ultimately saw the long drawn out agitation by the students fizzle out, as they returned to academics.

A clean-up drive continued at the campus to remove graffiti on the walls and protest paraphernalia and slogans painted all around the various buildings by the students during their stir.

With inputs from PTI and IANS
By Sameer Patil

The Pathankot attack reflects a new template of terrorism and is a reminder that India needs a well-coordinated approach to security emergencies. This is particularly necessary as the country has embarked on a bold foreign policy path under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The approach of the Pakistan-based terrorist groups in Pathankot is evidence that this template of terrorism is aimed to expose Indian weaknesses and harm strategic military assets.

The new template has moved beyond the frequent infiltration by low-level terrorist cadres and movement into civilian areas (Jammu and Kashmir-style), into a more sophisticated, meticulously-planned, long-term, detailed operation, hitting at military targets, with local support networks and exploitation of social vulnerabilities such as drugs. This new format has made the cross-border challenge the gravest ever, especially because our response is entrapped within old doctrines and conventional thinking.

By all measures, Pathankot was a meticulously-planned terrorist attack, with the clear stamp of military precision. Our security agencies treated it initially like a traditional terrorist assault. It took two days to recognise that it needed a far more sophisticated response, and act on it. India should expect more such emboldened attacks, and this is the time to frame and roll out a well-coordinated approach to security emergencies like Pathankot, hijackings and hostage-taking.

Some improvements have already been put in place since December 1989, when the daughter of then union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was kidnapped and released in exchange for five terrorists. In the 1999 Kandahar hijacking, the national response was also weak. The home ministry learned from the two incidents and framed guidelines on hostage-taking and a strong anti-hijacking policy, which emphasised that India will not negotiate with terrorists. India has not faced another hijacking since then, so it is unclear how the policy will work when tested.

The 2008 Mumbai attacks were again a long-planned, successful military-precision terrorist operation. Our excruciatingly slow response resulted in heavy losses and exposed the lack of a meaningful policy framework. Post-Mumbai, a substantial region-wise National Security Guard (NSG) presence was established  untested till Pathankot.

At Pathankot, the vacuum was not in the NSGs actions, but in the political decision-making which was ad hoc and un-institutionalised. A well-conceived and organised policy framework would have put into action a series of steps from political decisions to operational procedures. These include:

A well-defined chain of command, both political and operational; Inter-agency co-ordination,spanning civilian agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority, law and order enforcement machinery like the city and state police, the paramilitary and central and military intelligence agencies; Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs  the crucial determinant of a well-institutionalised policy; Channels of communications both internal and external. Internally, the use of encrypted communication networks during on-going operations, as well as data collection and real-time monitoring; externally, a code of conduct for the news media; and Regular review and updating of the SOPs and test drills to determine their functionality.

Institution-wise, India has some agencies which act as decision-making bodies during crises. One is the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by the PM, and the China Study Group (CSG) comprising the National Security Advisor and secretaries of home, defence and external affairs ministries. (The latter was formed in 2011 specifically to expedite decision-making on the frequent border incursions by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army, but its fate in the current dispensation remains unknown.)



What is required is a crisis management mechanism which will bring in the political vision of the CCS, the administrative experience of the bureaucrats in the CSG, and the operational experience of the armed forces. The National Security Council which was established in 1999, was to be that mechanism, but its authority has been negated because of the lack of an institutionalised policy framework as outlined above.

India does have a well-organised intelligence system that sniffs out terrorist conspiracies. After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, India set up the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), which brought together over 25 security agencies for analysis and dissemination of terror threat inputs, to ensure co-ordination on actionable intelligence. The MAC is still an experiment; it has not moved to the next level of operationalisation because of opposition from the states to establish the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)- a central agency mandated to perform the functions of intelligence, investigation, and operations. Several chief ministers including PM Modi as the Gujarat Chief Minister, wouldnt sign up, fearing that the NCTCs operational powers will encroach upon the powers of the state and thereby affect the federal distribution of power.

Nor does India have sufficient intellectual capacity on Pakistan, our perennial security challenge and national media obsession. There are no dedicated research centres which study and analyse the social, economic, political and security developments in that country. Research emanating from these studies would have been a valuable input for the policy makers. The only entity with some research capability is the Centre for Pakistan Studies in New Delhis Jamia Milia Islamia- but its role in policy-making remains opaque.

The Pathankot attack is an opportune time to put in place a well-coordinated approach for future emergency security situations. The task becomes urgent as PM Modi continues on his bold foreign policy path, raising Indias profile and broadening our sphere of influence even as he hopes to functionalise a dysfunctional bilateral like Pakistan.

The author is Fellow, National Security, Ethnic Conflict and Terrorism studies at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, Mumbai. He previously served in the National Security Council Secretariat in the Prime Ministers Office.
If you thought the Indian Science Congress cannot sink any further than it did last year  when presenters tried to prove that aeroplanes were invented by Indians during the Vedic Age  well, think again. This year, the ISC has outdone itself by allowing the presentation of two papers  one on how Lord Shiva is the greatest environmentalist and another on the physical and spiritual benefits of playing the shankh (conch).

The 103rd Indian Science Congress, which met at Mysuru from 3 to 7 January, received widespread condemnation when it came to be known that Akhilesh K Pandey, chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Private University Regulatory Commission and one of the invited lecturers, will present a paper titled Lord Shiva: The Greatest Environmentalist in the World. The paper tried to explain that Lord Shivas family co-existed peacefully with animals, thus spreading the message of environmental conservation, reports LiveMint.com.

As it turned out, Pandey was unable to go through with his presentation as he was unwell, reports The Hindu. Pandeys paper was a part of the Environmental Science section and its president, Gangadhar Misra, reportedly claimed that there was nothing objectionable about the paper.

Meanwhile, another paper did get presented: Blowing of shankh  an indigenous tradition for fitness and wellness by Rajeev Sharma, Indian Administrative Service, additional commissioner, Kanpur. Mumbai Mirror quoted Sharma as saying that it is science as he has observed the health benefits not only in himself but also in around 40 other people to whom he recommended it.

However, 2009 Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan slammed the ISC, telling The Times of India that he did not attend this session because after attending one of the earlier sessions, he realised that very little science is discussed.
The Indian government has asked Pakistan to take prompt and decisive action against handlers of the attack on Pathankot before talks between foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan. Though the government has not categorically stated that the meeting has been put on hold, the tough pre-condition effectively means the two countries are unlikely to go ahead with the talks scheduled for 15 January in Islamabad.

Making Indias stand clear on the bilateral talks, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said, "The ball is in Pakistans court. We are waiting for Pakistan's action on actionable intelligence... we are not giving any time frame... prompt means prompt."

While replying to a question on the fate of the talks, the foreign ministry official began by saying, "Let me preface this." He then went on detailing how India wants friendly relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan and the decision to hold comprehensive dialogue between the two countries was taken after a constructive meeting between the NSAs of India and Pakistan, who discussed all aspects concerning the two countries, including terror and the situation along the Line of Control.

"The Pathankot attack has put renewed focus on cross border terrorism", he said. The official kept referring to the telephonic conversation between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on 5 January. During the conversation Modi had strongly emphasised the need for Pakistan to take firm and immediate action against the organisations and individuals responsible for the Pathankot attack.

The "actionable intelligence" against Pakistani handlers and against Jaish-e-Mohammad mentor Maulana Masood Azhar was shared by Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with his Pakistani counterpart. During the past five days, the two NSAs have spoken more than once. Earlier reports suggested that India wanted the NSAs of the two countries to meet before the foreign secretaries. But now that's a thing of past.

Prior to the conversation between the two PMs, many in India and Pakistan believed that talks would go ahead as scheduled. But the fine prints of the 5 January statement issued by the MEA, after the conversation between the two PMs, had given enough indications of the conditions attached.

Since the time Pathankot terror attack took place within a week of his surprise visit to Lahore, Modi has faced flack from various quarters about the twists and turns in his governments Pakistan policy. He was also under tremendous domestic pressure from his social constituents and support base. It was becoming difficult for him to negotiate peace when sections of Pakistan's establishment continued to pursue cross border terrorism in complete disregard to his and Sharif's overtures for peace.

By imposing tough preconditions on talks, Modi is trying to address his domestic constituency. But, it will however, make his critics argue that he has made yet another volte face on Pakistan policy.

It remains to be seen how Pakistan responds to India's demands and conditions. Modi and Sharif have struck a personal rapport but a crackdown against perpetrators of terror attacks in India originating from Pakistan is a different ball game. His domestic constituency and army many not be on his side, even if assuming that he wants to comply with Indias conditions.

But, Modi can't afford to be seen soft vis-a-vis Pakistan. His success would depend on making Pakistan yield to his demands for prompt and decisive action against terror groups and their handlers.
Its amazing how the trivial and the inconsequential find mention on social media and are amplified into seemingly national debates.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, whose comments on perceived intolerance in the country had created a controversy, has ceased to be the mascot for the government's 'Incredible India' campaign as the contract for it has expired. Our contract was with the McCann Worldwide agency for 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign. The agency had hired Aamir for the job. Now the contract with the agency is over. Ministry has not hired Aamir... Mahesh Sharma said, says a report by Firstpost.

What are the facts of the case? Aamir Khan had been a brand ambassador for Incredible India; the agency that was awarded the contract was McCann; the contract with Aamir Khan was signed by the agency and NOT the ministry; the contract between the agency and the ministry ended.

That's the end of the list of facts.

These facts are embellished with dollops of speculation and linked to a statement that Aamir Khan made and is transformed into a demonstration of small-mindedness of the ministry, as if Khans contract was terminated because of this statement.

So why did MRF end Sachin Tendulkars contract? Why did Coke end Amitabh Bachchans contract? And so on?

Why are there no ulterior motives being assigned in these cases?

Because, in all these cases, as in the case of Aamir Khan, there is no ulterior motive.

Brands sign on brand ambassadors in the belief that their presence will help them address a current communication imperative. When the goals are achieved, there is no further need of the ambassador  and contracts in such cases are not renewed.

The ministry of tourism has taken a business decision not to continue with their contract with McCann, and, with the end of that contract, the contract with Aamir Khan comes to an end.

This is not an unusual arrangement; in some cases, brands sign on ambassadors directly ( for example, as in the case of Shah Rukh Khan and Hyundai), in others, most common with government contracts, it is the agency that has a contract with the star.

There are no instances that one can recall where any star is contracted to a brand for life. All contracts are time-bound  and all come to an end.

Does this mean that Aamir will never appear in an Incredible India campaign? He might  if the marketers at the Ministry of Tourism and the agency working on the account believe that his association will help achieve business objectives.

For the moment, the ministry does not believe so  and Aamir will not be a part of the next Incredible India campaign.

But he will be a part of many campaigns from many brands  because the brands that sign him on will bet on him boosting their sales and bottom lines.
More quotes tumble out from Shatrughan Sinha's newly launched book Anything But Khamosh after the launch function itself served as a platform for BJP dissidents to hit out at Amit Shah and Narendra Modi, especially on the Bihar hammering.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has come in for high praise in Sinha's book. "I would credit Arvind Kejriwal with showing rare courage in fighting only one seat and that too against a heavyweight like Sheila Dikshit, he says.

Sinha says people from the AAP had approached him in 2014, a time when there was a long suspense on whether he would get the BJP ticket from Patna Sahib.

Sinha claims he is good friends with Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and Lalu Prasad of the RJD. He says that Johnnies-come-lately have become Ministers in the Modi government.

Sinha also says that he is the one who coined the Namo abbreviation for Narendra Modi.

Sinha alleges a conspiracy within the party in 2014 to deny him a Lok Sabha ticket from Patna Sahib, which he eventually contested and won by a huge margin. The dirty tricks department tried to keep me away from the electoral fray.

Sinha also trains his guns on Sushil Modi. Sushil Modi contributed much to the growth of the party in Bihar But later I learnt about the other side of Sushil Modi. I am told that till the end, he strongly opposed me and fought against my getting the ticket from Patna, he says. My popularity and clean image made him very insecure, although I have always maintained that I am not interested in being Chief Minister of Bihar, says Sinha.

On BJP party president, Sinha has this to say: Amit Shah, our party president, had predicted with great confidence that we would win with 2/3rd majority, he says. Perhaps it has become a habit with him because he had said the same thing in Delhi also. But ultimately we got only two or three seats there instead of 2/3rd Right from state president Mangal Pandey to Sushil Kumar Modi to Rajiv Pratap Rudy to Shahnawaz Hussain, anybody and everybody, repeated his words like parrots with full zeal, enthusiasm and overconfidence.

The Indian Express has published the following excerpts from the book:

I also cautioned my party that mehengai, rising prices will be an issue. Wed already shed tears and lost an election over onion prices in the past. So I cautioned them to control the prices of essentials like dal and vegetables or pay the price. And we did end up paying the price for it

The party was hijacked by some people in Bihar who conveniently played deaf-mute. They were not ready to listen to (me) or to speak (to me). Thats how they created an impression which the Opposition seized as an opportunity and the Bihari versus Bahari (outsider) slogan was coined. People from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand were brought in hordes and packed into Bihar, bhar diya gaya, as if the party hadnt learnt a lesson from the Delhi debacle at the hands of Kejriwal.

Certain local forces also joined hands with the baharis to settle scores with me once and for all. But thanks to my strategy, my tweets and the media, it boomeranged on them. Like our friend Lalu Prasad bounced back from the opposition, which was an eye opener to the country, I also bounced back because I was on the side of the truth. I was doing things honestly and with transparency.

The crowds came to see as well as to hear me. So it was not just star power, but oratory skills too. Yes, I campaigned for the same Uma Bharti who was expelled from the BJP, against whom action was taken by the party and who has now asked that action be taken against Shatrughan Sinha.

"Contesting against Rajesh Khanna rankles"

Sinha has said that contesting elections against Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna was his biggest regret and he had apologised to him too.

"If there is one regret that I have in politics, it is that I was made to fight Rajesh Khanna from Delhi in 1991," Sinha says.

Sinha revealed that losing the electoral battle was one of his rare moments of dejection and he had apologised to Khanna.

"For this, in his lifetime, I had apologised to Rajesh Khanna both directly and indirectly. Under no circumstances should I have started my active political career with a bye-election. But I couldn't say no to (LK) Advani ji, who was my guide, guru and ultimate leader," Sinha said in the book.

Advani, who had contested and won the 1991 elections from Gandhinagar and New Delhi, had opted for his seat in Gujarat.

In the bye-election that followed for the Delhi seat, then political novice Sinha was brought in by the BJP to counter the Congress candidate Rajesh Khanna.

Sinha insisted that he joined the party and fought the bye-election "Only because of the persuasion of Kalyan Singh, Shanta Kumar, Madan Lal Khurana and other party leaders.

"I had initially resisted all their overtures but I was finally taken before Advani ji, and he had said, 'It's a question of our prestige and I don't want to hear a 'No' from you this time."

"When I lost that election, it was one of my rare moments of dejection," he said.

"It was the one time I really cried. I also felt very let down because Advani ji had not come even for one day to campaign for me."

Terming his debut electoral loss a "misstep", Sinha revealed that it was a terrible time for him.

"Politics showed its ugly profile in many ways. After I lost that election, I was so sharply sidelined that I would be made to feel distinctly unwelcome at our party office on Ashoka Road. People would stop talking when I entered, or change the topic and make me uncomfortable.

"One day, a party official who is still with the BJP, came up and told me, 'Shatruji, please sit outside. We'll call you when we're ready to talk to you'," he remembered.

"That went straight to my heart and hurt me so badly, that for years, I never visited the office," he added.
Chennai: Corruption is back on the agenda as Tamil Nadu heads into what is likely to be a hotly contested Assembly election this year and ironically, the Congress party has kicked off the debate in the state. Tamil Nadus state Congress president EVKS Elangovan today released a booklet titled Oozhal Pattiyal (Corruption list or Scam list in Tamil).

"This is the same list that I had submitted to the Tamil Nadu governor in May 2015," said Elangovan at the Congress party office in Chennai. "It has been six months and no action has been taken. I have decided to give this to the people and let them decide," he said.

The booklet contains a list of 25 scams allegedly perpetrated by ministers and functionaries of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. While the listed issues themselves have been reported widely in the state, what is conspicuous by its absence is any response from the ruling party to these allegations.

Here are the top 10 scams listed in the booklet.

1 Engineer S Muthukumarasamys suicide: In February 2015, an engineer belonging to the agriculture department of the state government, S Muthukumarasamy committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at Thatchanallur in Tirunelveli district. Investigations revealed that that the engineer was driven to suicide by the harassment of Agriculture Minister Agri Krishnamurthy. Following a public furor, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa sacked minister Krishnamurthy and subsequently he was arrested. The state Crime Branch - Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) is currently investigating the case.

2 Corruption in power deals: The Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) as well as power regulator Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission had come down hard on the state power utility, TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation), for a number of issues. Among these are purchase of costly power from private companies at a premium, non-maintenance of existing power generation plants, stalling and delay in implementing power projects like Udangudi and Ennore and non-evacuation of cheap wind power. A deal for setting up a solar power project by the Adani Group too has come under the scanner with allegations of corruption being flung at the government. 2,950 million units of power is being purchased from private power producers at the rate of Rs 12.50 per unit annually. The electricity board is spending Rs 5,212 crores a year on this. Every year the electricity board is running up losses of Rs 4,293 crores as a result of purchasing power from private producers. As a result TANGEDCOs debts have mounted to Rs 80,000 crores, states the booklet. In September last year, the state Electricity Minister Natham Viswanathan denied all charges in the Assembly. No enquiry, probe or reaction of any kind has been forthcoming.

3 Aavin Milk Adulteration Scam: In September 2014 the Aavin milk scam hit the headlines in the state. Adulterated milk was found to be sold under the state government-owned popular Aavin brand. Public outcry led to police investigations which then resulted in the arrest of influential AIADMK leaders who were found to have taken over the contracts to transport Aavin Milk from the plant to various areas. En route, this milk was being adulterated in order to gain profit. In December 2014, the Madras High Court observed that Without the active connivance of people in high places, this could never have happened, while ordering the CB-CID to expand the scope of investigations to find out the real culprits. The case is pending. No word has been spoken on the issue by the AIADMK.

4 Laptops scam: Allegations of a Rs 3,900 crore scam in procurement of 30 lakh laptops again did not receive any response from the state government or the chief minister. Questions were raised about the number of laptops actually bought and details of who these laptops were distributed to. The state government had no answers, especially since this was part of Jayalalithaas pet schemes announced in the run-up to 2011.

5 State Highways scam: The Congress booklet alleges that a Rs 1,000 crore loss has been sustained by the state highways department due to corruption in contracts for maintenance of these roads. The key allegation against the Jaya government is that the maintenance of over 57,000 km of state roads were given to a private company instead of allowing the existing maintenance personnel to look after them. Once again, there has been no response from the state government on this issue.

6 TASMAC scam: Allegations of irregularities abound in TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation), the state-owned liquor retailing monopoly. From procurement of liquor to pushing sales of specific brands, TASMAC is probably one of the murkiest departments of the state government which begs for a thorough clean-up. Allegations are rife that TASMAC favours brands sold by Midas Distilleries, a company owned by the family of Chief Minister Jayalalithaas close friend and confidante Sasikala. No answers are forthcoming on this issue from either TASMAC or from the chief minister.

7 Transport Department scam: Charges of bribes being demanded for appointments of 7,500 bus drivers as well as for transfers and postings within the state Transport Department should have shaken up the government and resulted in at least a probe. Transport Minister Senthil Balaji was, however, relieved of his post only when he went overboard with self promotions on television channels and not for charges of actively encouraging corruption in his department.

8 Real estate scam: Corruption in the real estate and construction sector is rife in the AIADMK regime, alleges the booklet released by the Congress party. Bribes are demanded for all permissions to construct a new building or for any sale of land. For an ordinary building, the bribe rates are as follows, states the booklet. Minister gets Rs 25,000 per kitchen; municipal corporation official gets Rs 10,000; Ward Councillor gets Rs 25,000; rate for getting power connection is Rs 10,000 and rate for getting Metrowater connection is Rs 5,000, it states. Despite the Moulivakkam building collapse episode in June 2014, the state government is yet to pull up officials responsible for flouting norms for building permissions or to initiate any enquiry into rampant corruption in departments like the CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) and the DTCP (Directorate of Town and City Planning).

9 Granite scam: In 2012, the granite scam in Madurai came to light when then Collector U Sagayam wrote to the state government asking for a probe into the illegal mining of granite by private companies in Madurai and Melur. While Sagayam was transferred out, his successor Anshul Mishra cracked open the scam, shutting down operations of a number of powerful mining mafia in the area. Subsequently the state government has been accused of going slow on the probe and of covering up many details. The Madras High Court recently appointed Sagayam as Legal Commissioner to look into the status of the probe. Sagayams report has been submitted and pegs losses to exchequer at Rs 1.1 lakh crores due to illegal mining. This case is pending in court.

10 Medical college admission scam: Pay a fat bribe and get a medical seat  this may not be confined to Tamil Nadus colleges or the AIADMK regime alone. But setting up a medical college in Tamil Nadu is alleged to be very expensive indeed  the allegation against the AIADMK government is that a huge bribe of Rs 50 lakh is demanded for setting up of a medical college in the state. Transfers of doctors in government hospitals is done for a price of Rs 5 lakh, alleges the booklet released by the Congress. The silence continues on these charges within the corridors of Fort St George.

As the state heads into polls, opposition parties are raking up the issue of corruption in a big way. Corruption is something that affects people directly, explained KS Radhakrishnan, DMK spokesperson. Everyone knows there is corruption. It is a great social evil and many governments have fallen due to corruption. Naturally people will take it as an issue, it cannot be ignored, he said.

The DMK itself is battling a number of corruption cases against its party leaders, including the mother of all scams  the 2G scam. DMK chief Karunanidhis daughter Kanimozhi and his wife Dayalu Ammal themselves are embroiled in the Kalaignar TV case. The Congress is mired in a number of corruption allegations nationally including 2G and the Commonwealth Games scam among others. The Pattali Makkal Katchis (PMK) scion and chief ministerial hopeful Anbumani Ramadoss too faces corruption charges in a CBI case.

To a query on what the locus standi of either the Congress or the DMK is to speak out on corruption, the DMK said that the accused party members were facing charges legally. We in the DMK believe corruption should not be there, said Radhakrishnan of the DMK. We are facing all charges following due process of law. Jayalalithaa was convicted and later acquitted in a judgement which was widely criticised for arithmetic and other errors. You cannot compare the two parties, he said.

Congress state president Elangovan insisted that the national party too stood against corruption. Whenever there is a charge of corruption against any member of the Congress party, the party immediately takes action, said Elangovan. Even in the case of Ajit Jogis son, when there is a charge, we remove the person from the party so that a probe may be conducted, he said.

Critics of Jayalalithaa though say that no matter what charges of corruption are flung and no matter the available proof of illegality, transparency and accountability had taken a severe beating in Jayalalithaas regime.

Accountability is vested with the sovereignty of the people in a democracy, said Radhakrishnan of the DMK. People are watching. Government is for the people, by the people, of the people. This government is only for the party, by the party and of the party.

A senior leader of the AIADMK who spoke to Firstpost on condition of anonymity declined to respond to the specific charges of corruption in the booklet released by the Congress party on Thursday. These are all ploys to discredit the good work done by our Amma, he said. Wherever there has been an issue, Amma has promptly taken action and ensured that the law takes its course. This is the most clean government in Tamil Nadu, he said.
Very few Indian actors have had the privilege of playing such a wide variety of characters. Irrfan Khan is known for his versatility and his ability to assume new personae with every film. Just last year he was in sterling form in three films Qissa, Piku and Tevar. Heres looking at some of the most memorable roles of Irrfan since his debut cameo in Mira Nairs Salaam Bombay in 1988.

Warrior (2000)

Many Irrfan-o-philes, including yours truly, still consider this to be Irrfans finest . Playing Lafcadia in Asif Kapadias film about a warrior in Rajasthan who tries to give up a life of violence, Irrfan was enigmatic and potent. He had no reference points for the character. Irrfan created his own inner world for Lafcadia. Fascinating to see the actor at work in his early film.

Haasil (2003)

Playing a student leader Ranvijay Singh, in a rowdy violent college in Uttar Pradesh, Irrfan just wouldnt allow us to take our eyes off the character whenever he was on screen. The association with director Tigmanshu Dhulia began here, and it was quite simply, an eye-opener.

Maqbool (2003)

Playing Vishal Bhardwajs version of Shakespeares Macbeth, Irrfan brought to the screen a kind of unnerving emotional violence. Pitched against the mighty Pankaj Kapoor and the incandescent Tabu, Irrfan not only held his own in the erotic triangle, he made us realize the greatness of his craft without throwing his histrionics in our face.

The Namesake (2007)

2004-2006 was a sterile season for Irrfan. No dearth of varied characters but terrible films, until he bounced back with brilliant performance in Mira Nairs look at at NRI couple in The Namesake. Irrfan quite simply and fluently brought Jhumpa Lahiris Ashoke Ganguly alive. His pairing with Tabu gave us one of the most enduringly memorable screen pairs of modern times.

Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)

As a hoax-bomb caller Thomas, Irrfan was a disturbing blend of the comic and pathetic in this Nishikant Kamat-directed look at the aftermath of the 11/7 train bombing in Mumbai. The film showed how Irrfan could hijack a sense of satire into the most tragic of events.

7 Khoon Maaf (2011)

Irrfans most romantic role to date is in 7 Khoon Maaf. Playing the Kashmiri poet Wasi-ullah Khan, Irrfan had a ball reciting Gulzars poetry. But here was a twist. Wasiullah was a wife-beater by night. But whether making love or slapping Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan was in his element.

Paan Singh Tomar (2011)

Playing the outlawed athlete Paan Singh Tomar, Irrfan gave what most fans feel to be his best performance to date. The nuances that he brought to the performance, the graph that he created for the character from national pride to personal shame was exemplary in every sense. One of the most vividly etched biographical characters in the history of Indian cinema.

The Lunchbox (2013)

Playing the lonely widower Saajan Fernandes, Irrfan brough to the lunch table a kind of tenderness and sadness that made its way from his eyes to our soul. As far as lonely loveless characters go, this one takes the ache.

Qissa (2013)

A Sikh, Sardarji Umber Singh, whose obsession for a male heir makes him believe his last-born daughter to be a son is the perfect character for an actor like Irrfan to play. Irrfan made his characters psychological disorder symptomatic of the troubled times during the Partition, when nations were divided and humanity lost its power to tell right from wrong.

Piku (2015)

Irrfans Rana Choudhary was a character trapped between an over-demanding father and a harassed daughter. How ably Irrfan stood his ground! He still managed to balancing out the excessive bile of the Bachchan and Padukone characters with doses of gentle humour and wry irony. Only the greatest of actors can do what Irrfan did. Take a bow, Irrfan.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away at AIIMS, New Delhi on Thursday morning. He was 79 years old.

The Chief Minister breathed his last around 7.30 am, Education Minister and spokesman for Government Nayeem Akhter said.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters including PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, and a son.

The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to have the last glimpse of their leader. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village in South Kashmir.

Sayeed was admitted with complaints of fever and neck pain on 24 December after which the doctors at AIIMS diagnosed him to have sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia.

He was in the Intensive Care Unit of AIIMS and during hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously low. For the past few days, the Chief Minister was on a ventilator.

Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on 1 March last year.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh met the family of Sayeed in hospital.

"Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahib's passing away. I'm shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace," Omar Abdullah, former CM of J&K said on Twitter as the news broke out.

With Sayeed's demise, the state government is most likely to announce his daughter Mehbooba Mufti as the chief minister of J&K. If so, Mehbooba will be the first woman Chief Minister for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

With inputs from PTI
It is almost impossible to underestimate the challenge that Mehbooba Mufti faces as she gets set to take charge of Jammu and Kashmir. She has to consolidate her position within her party, allay the misgivings that linger in the minds of her coalition partners such as the BJP and Sajad Lone, and reach out to people across the disparate state.

Jammu and Kashmir has been badly polarized by such issues as the beef ban and the recent flag controversy. The coalition has been through a rocky ride during the first seven months it was in power. On top of that, the state faces a terrible threat of what could even be a quantum leap in militancy.

A tragic aspect of the Jammu and Kashmir scenario is that there will be any number of players, on both sides of the Line of Control, who will want to stir trouble as a promising woman leader takes charge. For, if her first few months in power go well, Mehbooba will be established as a major node of political power in the state for the next few decades. It will not only be her personal success, it will also be seen as the successful emergence of a Muslim woman in an increasingly bigoted world.

The transition would no doubt have been much easier if Mufti Sayeed had been well enough to oversee the power shift, and bring naysayers on board. The chief minister had announced before he took severely ill over the new year that she would soon take over the reins.

Only time will tell whether Mehbooba will prove up to the task, but my bet is that she will be an outstanding chief minister. One of her greatest advantages is that she has not hankered for the top administrative job. She seemed happy enough to run the party and strengthen it at the grassroots. That she has matured tremendously in the past couple of years is evident in even a casual interaction.

She used to wear an uneasy smile and seem extra-careful about what she said. Now, she carries herself with confidence and expresses herself with poise. She handled tough questions with equanimity in an interview to Rajat Sharma in his popular `Aap ki Adalat programme last summer. The audience did not initially seem positively disposed towards her, but many of them were applauding her towards the end of the programme.

She has learnt a great deal from her father, who would sometimes chide and correct her within their home to teach her the nuances of political complexities. She has benefited tremendously by deferring for so many years to the experience and keen understanding of her father. A great part of her learning has been to balance the expectations of people in the Valley with those of Indias hard-line nationalists.

Nor is that her only advantage. She has talents that are very different to her fathers, particularly with regard to ground-level political engagement. She had the gumption to go to Shopian when the place was in an explosive state over allegations that two local women had been raped and murdered by security forces. She was pushed around by a seething mob as soon as she emerged from her car, but did not flinch or flee. Her courage that day in 2009 did much good for long term stability at a time when the then governments repeatedly shifting stances did great damage.

Mehbooba is able to relate to common people, particularly women, far more easily than her relatively taciturn father. Since the late 1990s, she has established the party with grit and hard work in the villages and hamlets of south Kashmir, visiting common people who had suffered in the course of militancy and counter-insurgency operations. No other major politician of her generation has traveled and worked as extensively as she has.

Mehbooba stayed for several weeks in one of the most backward parts of the Valley when she contested the 2008 elections from the Wachi constituency  unlike many other politicians who tend to go to their backward constituencies for day trips before returning to the comfort of their homes.

Throughout, she has remained dedicated to her father. Over the past week, she has been tending him night and day at the hospital. From the first day, she told members of the chief ministers staff to leave it to her; this is my job, she said. She looked wan and appeared to have lost weight after a few days there, but was confident and in control.

All the hard work of the past couple of decades will surely stand Mehbooba in good stead as she takes charge of the state government. She needs all the goodwill she can get in this extremely daunting time. If she gets that, she can make a grand success of the huge challenge before her.
A leader committed deeply to democracy and liberalism, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was also a patriot of steely resolve. He should be remembered as one of Indias foremost nationalist leaders of the past half-century.

He stood like a rock, holding aloft the tricolour in Kashmir even when that was a life-threatening thing to do in the Valley. Not only that, unlike the sycophants in the Congress establishment, Mufti Sayeed had the courage to stand firm against some of the political blunders that proved costly in the long run.

As chief minister from 2002 to 2005, he proved to be extraordinarily gifted at both administration and political management. He built new schools, colleges and universities across the state, new parks, wide roads and other public facilities. He brought corruption under check, and kept track of development at the grassroots, tapping his own people for real-time feedback on actual progress.

He was by no means a populist leader. Far from it. In fact, one of the first things he did when he became chief minister was to send out bulldozers to pull down illegal constructions. And those bulldozers began their demolitions from his native town, Bijbehara.

The demolitions were initially resented, but soon turned out to be a political master-stroke. For, people who had distanced themselves from the government were forced to go to officials and to politicians in power to get help against the bulldozers. Interactions increased, and the political process gathered steam at the grassroots.

Mufti Sayeed had an enviably warm relationship with both Prime Ministers with whom he worked as chief minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh  and also with other national leaders across the political spectrum, from the Left to the BJP. He had earned respect across the board when he joined VP Singh to launch the Jan Morcha in 1987, and then became Singhs Home Minister in 1990.

It was Mufti Sayeed as Home Minister of India who took the stern steps that were required to control things when Kashmiri militancy peaked during 1990. And during his short stint as chief minister between 2002 and 2005, separatists (including such a hard-line anti-India activist as Syed Ali Shah Geelani) were marginalized to such an extent that their support base in the Valley seemed to be negligible.

People in the Valley are aware of all these facets of Mufti Sayeeds career, but they remember him most warmly for having reined in security forces excesses. He wound up the autonomous operations of the counter-insurgency Special Operations Group. By bringing them under the control of normal police stations, he made them accountable. He managed to get the often cruel and sometimes culturally abrasive BSF to wind up their control over Srinagar citys security.

Politically, the highlight of Mufti Sayeeds career is that he stood firm against the Abdullah familys exclusive dominance over Kashmirs politics. He opposed the Rajiv-Farooq accord through which the Congress forced an NC-Congress alliance in 1986  with disastrous consequences, including the ham-handed rigging of the 1987 elections. He could no doubt have obtained a senior ministerial position for himself in the state if he had fallen in line. But he took the much tougher decision to leave the party with which he had been associated since his youth.

In the second half of the 1990s, when he had returned to the Congress but been given short shrift, he chose to leave again rather than put up with marginalization. This time, he launched the Peoples Democratic Party. The formation of the PDP turned out to be an elixir for democracy in Kashmir. The people finally had a real workable alternative to the NC, a role which the Congress had steadfastly refused to take. As in other states, power has regularly swung from the NC to the PDP and back since then.

In the past, the Centre had gone out of its way to ensure that only one dominant party should function in Kashmir. When the National Conference split in 1958, Nehru personally intervened to get the split faction to rejoin the parent party. Although he was only in his 20s, Mufti Sayeed had become the district head of the new Democratic National Conference for south Kashmir.

By the time Mufti Sayeed was active in politics again after his stint at Aligarh Muslim University, the entire party changed its name from National Conference to Congress. He was among those young leaders of the time who adopted the name change most eagerly. He was a minister in the early 1970s.

Mufti Sayeeds career was an arduous one, but his legacy will live long after him. It falls to his daughter Mehbooba to carry it forward.
Tripoli, Libya: A truck bomb attack on a police training centre in Libya's western city of Zliten has killed and wounded dozens of people, local media reports said Thursday.

A report from the LANA national news agency under the control of Libya's internationally recognised government said at least 15 people had been killed and 30 wounded.

A rival news agency loyal to authorities in Tripoli, who are in control of Zliten, said at least 50 people had been killed and 127 wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Libya has been beset by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi and the Islamic State group has been gaining increasing influence.

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said on Twitter that the blast was a suicide attack.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote.

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The United Nations is pressing both sides to accept a power-sharing deal agreed in December.

AFP
According to Google, Mordor, the evil realm from Lord of the Rings series, not just exists in real life, but contrary to popular belief, it's a pretty cold place.

A recent 'glitch' in Google Translate has resulted it in translating Russian Federation to Mordor and Russias top diplomat into a sad little horse.

It is unclear whether the goof-up was a result of a hack or malfunction in the Google algorithm. Pro-Ukrainian groups often refer to Russia as Mordor, reports The Daily Mail.

The word Russian was also translated to occupant.

Many Ukrainians consider Russian troops to be illegal occupiers of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

There is no confirmation on whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lodged an official complaint over his last name being translated as sad little horse, or grustnaya loshadka, reports The Washington Post.

When Google Translate generates automatic translation, it uses a sample of the hundreds of millions of documents to determine which option may be the most appropriate translation. Therefore, mistakes and mistranslations may happen, a Google representative said in a statement published by Russian news media, reports Vocativ.
CAIRO Gunmen opened fire on Israeli tourists as they boarded a bus in Cairo on Thursday but there were no casualties, security sources said, while the Interior Ministry said the attack was directed at security forces.

Egypt declared it would step up security at major tourist attractions last year after Islamist militants carried out several attacks, causing its struggling tourism industry to slump further.

Thursday's shooting took place at the Three Pyramids Hotel, on a road leading to the Giza pyramids southwest of the capital. It is likely to raise questions over President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's repeated promises to stamp out militancy in Egypt.

Security sources said the tourists boarding the bus were Israeli Arabs.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement 15 people who had gathered on a side street near the hotel threw home-made fireworks in the direction of security forces stationed there.

PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY

"One of the loiterers fired a home-made pellet gun in the direction of the security in front of the hotel, causing some damage to the glass facade of the hotel as well as the window of a tourist bus. No injuries occurred," it said.

Security forces apprehended one person who was hiding behind the hotel, the ministry said.

One gunman was arrested at the scene and security forces surrounded the other attacker in another part of Cairo, said security sources earlier. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Bilal Mahajne, deputy mayor of Umm el-Fahm, an Arab town in northern Israel, said on Israel Radio that one of his associates had spoken to some of the tourists who were on the bus. Mahajne said: "They are all safe and well, and back in the hotel in Cairo." He said the group was on an organised tour.

In June last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor, wounding three Egyptians. A week earlier, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of the tourism police at Giza.

Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy, which has been struggling to recover from political turmoil that began with the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

In one of the worst attacks, Islamic State's Egypt affiliate has said it planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai on Oct. 31, killing all 224 people on board.

Egyptian jihadists, who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
London: Britain's Prince George had his first day at nursery on Wednesday, prompting his proud mother Kate to take his photograph as she and Prince William dropped him off.

The two pictures, released by royal officials, show the two-year-old prince in a navy blue quilted coat and with a sky blue rucksack on his back arriving at Westacre Montessori School Nursery in Norfolk, eastern England.

The nursery is near the family's country home at Anmer Hall, on Queen Elizabeth II's private Sandringham estate.

George, who is third in line to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles and father William, will attend the nursery while his parents are staying at Anmer Hall but not when they are at their London home, Kensington Palace.

The nursery, located in a former chapel, reportedly costs 5.50 (7.50 euros, $8) an hour to attend.

While the older generation of British royals did not typically attend nursery, George is following in the footsteps of his father.

William was sent to an exclusive nursery school near Kensington Palace by his mother, the late princess Diana, who had herself worked at a nursery before her marriage to Charles.

Montessori schools are known for their liberal approach to education, which can include mixed age classrooms and encouraging children to act independently.

Prince George arrives for his first day at nursery in Norfolk earlier today pic.twitter.com/w4BPGNE1H0  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 6, 2016

The Duke and Duchess have released 2 photos to mark Prince George's first day at Westacre Montessori School nursery pic.twitter.com/a5ScewaRJ4  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 6, 2016

AFP
In an incident which shows just how dangerous and cruel the Islamic State can be to people who oppose it, a citizen journalist called Ruqia Hassan Mohammed was murdered by the jihadists after she raised her voice against them.

In fact, the jihadists even hijacked Hassan's Facebook account and posed as the journalist for three months to lure other people against them into a trap, reported Independent.

Hassan is thought to have been captured by the terrorists in Raqqa in July last year and killed in September.

The report added that another citizen journalist from the group 'Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered' (RBSS) said that Islamic State had accessed her Facebook account to flush out other opponents.

Another report in The Guardian said that Hassan used her social media posts to describe life for the residents of Raqqa under the Islamic State and also wrote about the airstrikes against the terrorist group.

Writing under the pen name Nissan Ibrahim, Hassan studied philosophy at Aleppo University and later joined the opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime. She also refused to leave Raqqa after the Islamic State took over the city.

Abu Mohammed, founder of RBSS, tweeted out Hassan's last words.

1-the last words from Nissan Ibrahim Syrian activist who got executed by #ISIS was " im in Raqqa and I received pic.twitter.com/LNUHad0aYm  Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) January 2, 2016
By Rajiv Nayan

On the morning of 6 January, North Korea stunned the world by announcing that it had conducted a miniaturised hydrogen bomb test or thermo-nuclear device test. This test was conducted at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Several monitoring stations recorded this man-made seismic event at the 5.1 magnitude. According to the North Koreans, the test was a response to an aggressive United States. North Korean Television also announced: We will not surrender our nuclear arms, even if the sky is falling.

Reactions ranged from disbelief to acknowledgement that this was a long time coming. Several experts expressed scepticism about the authenticity of the news. The basic argument of this group was that North Korea does not have the capability to manage fission or what is generally considered a nuclear weapon, leave alone develop a hydrogen bomb. Some leading analysts are of the opinion that it could turn out to be a lower-yield boosted explosion, not the real hydrogen test. In this kind of test hydrogen isotope tritium undergoes partial fusion, allowing them to describe the device as a hydrogen bomb. This expression may be just a case of optimism in an odd situation.

To an extent, we may tend to agree with the view point that North Korea on its own may not conduct this kind of test. However, it needs to be remembered that the same scepticism was expressed when the country threatened to develop nuclear weapons. Finally, in 2006, it conducted a verified nuclear test and subsequently, it performed two more tests, in 2009 and 2013.

The whole world knows that North Korea has benefited from the proliferation network. At that time, too, it did not have the capability to develop nuclear weapons on its own but the network provided it the required enrichment technology. Of the network countries, only China has demonstrated the capability to develop a thermonuclear device. Pakistan publicly admitted that it had not tested hydrogen bomb because it did not possess the capability to develop one.

If the announced test is of a hydrogen bomb, there is a great possibility that the proliferation network is still alive, and China is still the kingpin of this network. The proliferation network has become too sophisticated to be detected. The US has the greatest capability to really gather information on such sophisticated technology. But it seems to have lost the will to confront China directly. Even the western media is downplaying the role of China.

Chinas condemnation of the test is being projected. The British media has reported that the British foreign minister and the Chinese leaders are seriously debating the mechanics of dealing with the situation in the wake of the test. The western leaders must run a reality check. The North Korean test could be a proxy exercise. As Pakistan does not want to come under pressure and China does not want to overtly appear a defiant country, they are using North Korea as a country to undertake tests for them. Such tests may continue in the future as well.

The global nuclear order will be tested. The international community may have to think about this extended deterrence which is going to affect the regional and at least extra-regional security arrangements. Some argue that as North Korea does not possess an Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) it may not affect security or the deterrence structure of the US. Such an analysis is dismissive of extended deterrence, and China is a partner which possesses ICBMs.

India should not be a mute spectator to such a development. It must review its security and strategic options. The proliferation network that is feeding the weapons development programme of North Korea passes through Indias neighbourhood. A question mark on the success of its hydrogen bomb test has been raised. Even if India does not conduct nuclear tests immediately, it should weigh the options for doing so in the future.

Moreover, India must undertake serious strategic and diplomatic exercises with all important stakeholders affected by the test. It needs to ask the western world to pay more serious attention to the development. As of now, the western world seems to have outsourced the task of managing North Korea to China. It is a clear deception. China is using North Korea as its pawn and proxy in the great game. India may even propose South Korea and Japan to play a far more active role in the mediation and negotiations to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

The author is senior research associate, The Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses.
UNITED NATIONS The U.N. Security Council is planning to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss North Korea's reported test of a hydrogen bomb, the U.S. mission to the United Nations said.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, several diplomats said the meeting was scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT). The diplomats said the meeting would likely be held behind closed doors.

"The United States and Japan have requested emergency Security Council consultations for (Wednesday) morning regarding North Korea's alleged nuclear test," Hagar Chemali, spokeswoman for the U.S. mission, said in a statement.

"While we cannot confirm at this time that a test was carried out, we condemn any violation of UNSC (U.N. Security Council) Resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments," she added.

North Korea said it had successfully conducted a test of a miniaturized hydrogen nuclear device on Wednesday morning, marking a significant advance in the isolated state's strike capabilities and ringing alarm bells in Japan and South Korea.

"We plan to work with other countries so that a resolution with strong content can be adopted at the U.N. Security Council as swiftly as possible," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

It was not immediately clear what action, if any, the 15-nation council was planning to take in response to the North Korean statement that it had conducted a fourth nuclear test.

Pyongyang has been under U.N. Security Council sanctions due to its nuclear weapons program since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

One Western diplomat said that if the latest North Korean nuclear test was confirmed, council members would seek to expand existing U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Richard Pullin, Robert Birsel and Chizu Nomiyama)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
United Nations: The UN Security Council today agreed to prepare further unspecified measures against North Korea after it carried out a fourth nuclear test. The 15-member council including China, Pyongyang's ally, "strongly condemned" the test and described it as a "clear threat to international peace and security."

Uruguay's Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, this month's council president, recalled that the council had threatened to take "further significant measures" if Pyongyang violated UN resolutions by testing an atomic device.

"In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution," said Rosselli.

The envoy did not specify whether the new measure would extend sanctions against North Korea, but other diplomats confirmed that adding new names to the sanctions list was being considered.

North Korea said it had carried out a "successful" miniaturised hydrogen bomb test -- a shock announcement that, if confirmed, would massively raise the stakes in the hermit state's bid to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the underground nuclear test "deeply troubling" and "profoundly destabilizing for regional security."

He stressed that it was in violation of numerous Security Council resolutions barring Pyongyang from engaging in nuclear activities. Three previous tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 triggered waves of UN sanctions.

Currently there are a total of 20 entities and 12 individuals on the UN sanctions blacklist. British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said his delegation was "working with others on a resolution on further sanctions."

AFP
What: Shares of Avon Products (AVP) were down 18% as of 11:45 a.m. EST Monday amid market turmoil in China.

So what: China's stock market has suffered precipitous declines over the past few days. As of this writing on Thursday, the Shenzhen Composite Index sits down 8.2%, while the Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 7%.

So how does that affect Avon? For one, keep in mind just last month the company struck a deal to sell its struggling North American business to hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management, thereby increasing the respective contributions to overall results of its remaining geographic markets. And though the Latin America and EMEA regions still generate the bulk of Avon's total revenue, sales in the Asia Pacific region fell 16% year over year last quarter to a still-significant $146.2 million, as growth from the Philippines was more than offset by a steep 42% decline in China.

At the time, Avon CFO James Scully noted, "It is clear that we do not have the right go-forward plan for China at this point."

Now what: But regardless of whether Avon finds the "right go-forward plan" there, continued economic strife in China simply doesn't bode well for Avon's APAC region as it works to return its business to sustained, profitable growth. In the end, I can't blame Avon investors for taking another big step back today.
When you think about the future, what do you envision? Perhaps it is a world much like today, save changes in technology and fashion....
You spend about half of your waking hours at your job. While certain jobs like construction or manual labor have clear hazards, you can't assume that if you are clocking time in an office environment that it's a healthy place to be. Many occupations deliver stress, sedentary behavior, and unhealthy habits along with the paycheck, which can take their toll both physically and mentally.

But whether you work from a home office or sit in a corporate cubicle, there are things you can do to make your workplace better for your health and wellbeing. Here's how to give your office space a health makeover, according to the experts.

RELATED: 17 Ways Your Job Is Making You Fat

Remind yourself to sit less

People who work at desks should stand or walk around for at least two hours a day to avoid health risks related to too much sitting, according to a 2015 British study.

"Moving around throughout your workday is really important," said Dr. Robert Graham, director of integrative health and wellness for Northwell Health System, in Great Neck, NY. "Not only is it good for you physically, but studies show that it can increase productivity and more likely to focus on the task at hand."

Computer programs like Move for iOS or Big Stretch Reminder for Windows can remind you to take breaks at regular intervals; some even provide suggestions for stretches and exercises you can do at your workspace. Can't install software on your work machine? Download an app to your smartphone, or use the free website RegularBreaks.com.

RELATED: 6 Ways to Sit Less Every Day

Clear the air

It's not unusual for office environments to trigger what's known as occupational allergiessensitivities to chemicals in carpet, office furniture, or paint, for example, that can trigger problems like headaches and rashes. And even if you don't have physical symptoms, it's possible that stuffy air in your workplace could be hampering your brainpower: In a 2015 Harvard University study, offices with increased ventilation and lower levels of air pollutants were linked to better employee performance.

You may not be able to change furnishings or ventilation system at your job, but perhaps you can let in some fresh air by keeping windows open while you work. If that's not an option, consider getting an air purifier with a HEPA filter for your desk.

Try a standing desk

If your workplace allows it, switching to a standing desk can help you sit less and move more during the day. But being on your feet all day can also lead to aches and pains, so look for a setup that allows you to adjust the height or your work station and use a chair when needed.

You can even make a DIY standing desk if you don't have the space or resources for a real one; just be sure to keep your computer monitor at eye level, and your arms bent at 90 degrees to reach the keyboard, to avoid neck and arm pain.

Paint your walls green

Shades of green have been linked to enhanced creative thinking, said Sally Augustin, PhD, an environmental psychologist and principal at Design With Science.

"And most of us have to be creative at work, whether we're coming up with a new advertising slogan or figuring out how to analyze data on a spreadsheet in a different way," she said.

To get the most out of your walls, choose a hue that's quiet and calminglike a sage or sea-foam green.

"Colors that aren't very saturated but relatively bright put us in the right sort of relaxed mental state to be doing knowledge work."

Can't paint your space? Wallpapering your cube with a green backdrop or adding green elements to your desk may also be helpful, Augustin said. And whatever you do, she adds, avoid red; it's been shown to negatively affect analytical performance.

Add a plant

Bringing nature into your office can be a great way to inspire creativity and a feeling of wellness, Augustin said.

"Plants are great from a psychological perspective," she said. "You don't want to pack too many into a small space, but it can be great to have a small plant on your desktop, or something a little larger in the corner of your office."

Opt for green, leafy plants, rather than cactiwhose spikes can create the opposite of a relaxed feelingor flowers with a strong scent, which can be distracting or irritating. Some plants, like the sansevieria, may even improve air quality in your office.

Display (a few) personal items

Decorating your desk can help you feel comfortable, which can reduce workplace stress and dissatisfaction, Augustin said. But to avoid a cluttered feeling, which can actually cause more stress, stick with just a few items.

"Pick out three or four things that are significant to youlike a family photo or an award you're particularly proud ofand make sure those are in your view," she said. "But remember that the more stuff you add to your desk, the more your brain has to constantly scan and keep track of. Working in a crowded space can be mentally exhausting, even if you don't realize it."

Use aromatherapy

The smell of citrus can lift your spirits and improve thinking and memory, says Augustin. "I like to keep an aromatherapy dispenser on my desk that makes my work area smell like lemon," she said.

Skip candles and air fresheners that use artificial scents (and release potentially irritating chemicals), and opt for an essential oil diffuser that delivers a subtle, natural aroma. Keep in mind, though, that any scent may cause irritation or allergic reactions. If breathing in a scent all day bothers you, try sucking on lemon candies while you work, instead.

Stop eating at your desk

"One of the most important things you can do during the work day is to not eat at your desk," Graham said. "Have a dedicated area where you can go to get out of your own environment and have lunch, preferably with other people, so you can truly get that break during the day."

Sitting down to lunch away from your desk won't just keep crumbs out of your keyboard; it can also help reset your brain for an afternoon of productivity. Plus, it can stop you from eating mindlessly while you work or surf the Internet.

"We are not great at multi-tasking," Graham said. "If you're eating while distracted, you are much more likely to overeat."

RELATED: 6 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Eating Less

Pay attention to posture

Sitting all day isn't the healthiest thing for you, but slouching all day is even worse. "Posture is very important, both to health and to workplace performance," Graham said. "Sitting up tall gives you a sense of accomplishment, while slouching and slumping make you feel tired and lazy." On top of that, hunching over a computer is a leading cause of back pain.

Invest in (or ask your boss to provide you with) an ergonomic desk chair that supports correct posture. You can also try a gadget like the Lumo Lift, a tiny sensor that pins to your shirt and vibrates when it senses you slouching forward.

Squeeze in mini workouts

Even if you can't fit in a full workout over your lunch break, you can still do some simple stretches and strength moves right in your office. Keeping small workout props, like hand weights or resistance bands, within eyesight can encourage you to take exercise breaks throughout the day.

"And even if you don't have equipment, you can do things like chair yoga or standing push-ups, using nothing but your office furniture," Graham said.

Sitting on an exercise ball can also help engage your core muscles while

you work, but make sure you don't slouch forward while you're using it.

To keep this trick from backfiring, swap out your desk chair for just 10 to

20 minutes at a time and pay close attention to your form.

RELATED: 5 Yoga Poses You Can Do at Your Desk

Take your pet to work

Allowing people to bring their dogs to work reduced job stress and boosted employee satisfaction in a 2012 study from Virginia Commonwealth University. And it wasn't just dog owners who benefited from the pet-friendly policy; other employees who came into contact with the animals reported less stress, as well.

"Of course, it is important to have policies in place to ensure only friendly, clean and well-behaved pets are present in the workplace," the study authors said in a university news release; it's also important to take into consideration coworkers who may be allergic to pets.

RELATED: 4 Ways Your Pet Makes Your Life Better

Adjust your lighting

Getting natural light during the day is ideal, so your best bet is to sit near a window if possible. In fact, people with windows in their offices get better sleep and are more physically active than those without, according to a 2013 study from Northwestern University.

"Being exposed to daylight helps keep your stress levels and your circadian rhythm in check," Augustin said.

If windows aren't an option, consider the temperature of your office lighting.

"Cooler, bluish light is generally good for analytical thinking, while warmer bulbs are better for socializing and interaction with other people," Augustin said. Having a desk lamp you can turn on and off, rather than just one overhead light, can also help reduce eyestrain.

This article originally appeared on Health.com.
Photos of a 3-year-old with six-pack abs and toned biceps may seem startling to some people, but the boys mother insists its the result of her sons love for all things physical rather than some parent-mandated fitness regimen.

I feed him as healthily as possible, but he always has his head in the fridge and loves ice cream, Dashs mother, Ursula, told Daily Mail Australia. The most I can hope for at this stage is to feed him well and encourage him. Who knows what the future will hold?

Ursula, who did not disclose neither her nor her sons last name, told the news website she first noticed the beginning of a six-pack in her son when she was changing his diaper about six months ago. While she considers herself and Dashs father, who was not identified, as reasonably fit, that neither of them would say theyre fitness fanatics. She said her sons love for exercise comes from his enjoyment of the outdoors.

Hes outside every day, come rain or shine. I used to run with him in the pram when he was a baby, and as soon as he hit 2 [years old], I took him out on what it thought would be a gentle jog, she told Daily Mail Australia. Dash ended up running 4 kilometers. Four kilometers is equal to about 2 and a half miles.

Ursula, who lives in Canberra Australias capital, inland from the countrys southeast coast said she considers herself blessed to have such a healthy child. She said doctors predicted Dash would be born two weeks premature, but he ended up being born two weeks late and weighing 10 pounds, Daily Mail Australia reported.

He started walking at 10 and a half months, has been climbing from the beginning, and does constant laps of the kitchen, climbing the coffee tables and kitchen sides he has this constant energy, Ursula told the news website.

Ursula documents her sons tumbles and flips on an Instagram account that has more than 600 followers. She further told the news website that she would love for her son to continue being active, but she said she understands the most important thing is that hes healthy.


The Web in China is abuzz with praise for a doctor who recently collapsed after rushing to the hospital to operate on a patient who had severed his fingers.

Central European News (CEN) reported that Dr. Chen Weiwei, who works at the Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University School of Medicine in Ningbo, part of eastern China immediately began operating on the factory worker after she was called in on her day off.

Over 16 hours, Chen worked to reattach the mans thumb and index fingers to his hand. Thanks to Chen and her teams quick attention, the patient, who wasnt named, is expected to make a full recovery and be able to use his injured hand again in a few months.

After the surgery, Chen collapsed on the operating room floor and fell asleep. CEN reported that she hadnt rested well for two days.

A colleague posted a photo of an exhausted Chen online, prompting outreach from people across China who have hailed her as a hero in a country where patients outnumber doctors.


With a half million new cases each year, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is spreading around the globe. The world must act decisively. There can be no delay.

That is why on Dec 22, 2015, President Obama announced the National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. It is a strong, unambiguous call for doctors, nurses, scientists, and health and political leaders worldwide to take rapid, focused action.

The danger MDR-TB carries is personal for me. Ive personally overseen the treatment of more than 1,000 patients with MDR-TB, many of them with the even more dangerous extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). In the course of treating others, I became infected myself  likely with a drug-susceptible strain still easily treatable with antibiotics  and have taken treatment for latent infection so likely will never develop the disease.

But Ive seen first-hand the emotional and physical toll drug-resistant TB inflicts on each patient, on families and entire communities, and on front-line health care workers. I remember my patients with XDR-TB vividly. We cured one patient who, as a result of the intensive drug regimen needed to save his life, lost enough eyesight and hearing that he couldnt go back to his job repairing watches and was dejected by the loss of his livelihood. TB respects no borders. Thats why Im insisting that governments and public health officials worldwide take urgent action.

Nearly a third of the worlds population is infected with TB bacteria. In 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB to be a global health emergency. Since then, intensified efforts to detect and treat TB have cut global TB deaths in half. Yet every day, 4,000 people still die of this curable disease  one every 20 seconds. Now MDR-TB threatens more lives and could reverse the hard-fought progress weve made over the past two decades.

The Threat of MDR-TB

MDR-TB bacteria arent affected by the first-choice TB treatments that have saved tens of millions of lives over the past 15 years. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is impervious to nearly all antibiotics. WHO estimates that there were nearly 500,000 MDR-TB cases and approximately 50,000 cases of XDR-TB globally last year. More than 190,000 people die each year from drug-resistant TB. We must take action now to stop this completely preventable disease.

Imagine for a moment you have MDR-TB. You face two years of treatment and will need to see a health provider nearly every day. Youll receive 250 injections and 15,000 pills. The drugs most likely to cure you can have long-term side effects such as hearing loss and liver damage, and theres a very real chance that even this exhausting treatment regimen wont cure you. And treating MDR-TB patients in the United States is expensive, costing about $150,000. Treating XDR-TB is even more expensive  nearly half a million dollars, about 30 times more than the $17,000 it costs to treat regular, drug-susceptible TB.

The National Action Plan

Worldwide, only 1 in 5 people with MDR-TB get appropriate treatment. And only half of those treated are cured.

In our increasingly interconnected world a health threat anywhere is a health threat everywhere. This is particularly true for MDR-TB. The National Action Plan addresses the MDR-TB threat both in the U.S. and overseas. It has three major goals:

? Fight MDR-TB at home. We must make sure that every person in our country with TB gets appropriate treatment and that those who have been in close contact with infectious TB patients are monitored and, when necessary, also treated.

? Fight MDR-TB abroad. The U.S. is investing in broader access to diagnosis and treatment, engaging with providers in the most highly affected communities and countries, and developing innovative health technologies. We must accelerate accountable programs to diagnose and effectively treat every patient, for their sake and the worlds.

? Speed up research and development of new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat TB and MDR-TB.

The National Action Plan dovetails with major efforts already underway. For example, the Global Health Security Agenda, launched in 2014, aims to improve all nations ability to find, stop, and prevent disease outbreaks. More than 70 countries have joined the United States in this internationally-led effort.

And in March 2015, the White House announced the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, strengthening efforts to slow the emergence and spread of treatment-resistant diseases such as MDR-TB.

Fighting TB  especially MDR-TB  is a high priority at CDC. Our Division of Tuberculosis Elimination and Division of Global HIV and TB work to find and cure all TB patients in the U.S. while improving international TB control efforts by strengthening laboratory and surveillance networks, building a public health workforce through training and mentorship, and developing new tools and approaches to address TB and MDR TB in more than 25 countries.

But we cant do it alone. MDR-TB and XDR-TB strains emerge and spread every day, and this global threat requires a full-scale global response. The clock is ticking.
With tears in his eyes, President Obama pulled out all the stops in pushing his new executive orders on gun control this week. A Washington Post headline exclaimed, "President Obamas amazingly emotional speech on gun control. But the president also tried to appeal to peoples minds with a barrage of factual claims.

Unfortunately, the presidents remarks had a large number of errors. Here are 11 of the false or misleading claims that the president made.

1. But we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. It doesnt happen in other advanced countries. Its not even close.

Last year, both France and the US had four mass public shootings. France suffered more casualties (murders and injuries) from mass public shootings in 2015 than the US has suffered during Obamas entire presidency (532 to 396). And this occurred despite the US being five times more populous than France.

But it isnt just the horrific year that France had last year. Far from being well below the frequency found in US, other European countries actually have a worse problem. From 2009 through December 2015, eleven European countries experienced mass public shootings at a greater frequency than did the US, after adjusting for population. These countries include Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, and the Czech Republic.

President Obamas statement is clearly false.

2. Five years ago this week, a sitting member of Congress and 18 others were shot at, at a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. It wasnt the first time I had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. Fort Hood. Binghamton. Aurora. Oak Creek. Newtown. The Navy Yard. Santa Barbara. Charleston. San Bernardino. . . . with common-sense gun safety measures we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more. . . . Number one, anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions.

Obama claims that expanding background checks to include any private transfers of guns will reduce mass public shootings. But he offers no evidence. Not one mass public shooting during Obamas administration would have prevented by these checks.

Often overlooked is that the three most recent massacres occurred in states  California, Colorado, and Oregon  which already have such laws in place.

The same is true of mass public shootings that have occurred in France, Belgium, Norway, Germany and other European countries.

Examining all the mass public shootings in the US from 2000 through 2015, shows that states that adopted additional background checks on private transfers saw a statistically significant increase in rates of killings (80% higher) and injuries (101%) from mass public shootings.

3.I believe in the Second Amendment. Its there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to bear arms.

Heres another quote: I dont believe people should be able to own guns. Thats what Obama said to me when we were colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1996. Obama has also publicly supported a nationwide ban [on] the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns as well as a ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons. Even as late as the 2008 Presidential primaries, Obama supported Washington, D.C.s handgun ban.

4. Contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents have suggested, this has not been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation.

It would be nice to take President Obamas word for this, but Americans have seen this scenario play out before and at least realize this fear isnt completely misplaced. California, New York, and Chicago have all used registration lists to identify who owns guns that are no longer legal.

Since 2004, the FBI has been required to destroy NICS records of gun sales and transfers within 24 hours of receipt. However, federally licensed dealers are required to maintain records of background checks that have been done on customers. Congress currently forbids federal collection of this information into a central database, but theres no guarantee that this wont change. With records on all private transfers and sales, the government could potentially figure out who legally owns a gun. Five years down the line, a future President Hillary Clinton could push to require that federally licensed dealers make copies of their records and turn them into the federal government. This would be the start of a national registration list.

5. The problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked. A recent study found that about one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records  one out of 30 had a criminal record. Were talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes  aggravated assault, domestic violence, robbery, illegal gun possession. People with lengthy criminal histories buying deadly weapons all too easily.

This internet loophole is fictitious. If you try to buy a firearm over the Internet from a licensed firearms dealer, you have to go through a background check, period. Theyll ship the gun to your nearest licensed dealer. Theres no loophole there.

If you buy on the Internet from a private seller in another state, they cant just mail the gun to your doorstep. The Gun Control Act of 1968 strictly regulates direct mailing of firearms across state lines, the only exception being for antiques. Within state rules never provide different regulations for private gun sales on the Internet. There is no Internet loophole.

Obamas 1-in-30 claim misstates what occurred. Michael Bloombergs Everytown organization set up an internet site pretending to sell guns, but no guns were sold. Criminal background checks were done on the peoples names for those who visited the site and people who might have criminal backgrounds were identified, but there were all kinds of false positives. I might not have a criminal record, but there are other people with similar names who do have criminal records.

6.Congress actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research into gun violence; made it harder to collect data and facts and develop strategies to reduce gun violence.

This claim stems from another study funded by Michael Bloomberg. In 1996, Congress passed a budget amendment that banned the CDC from using Federal funds to lobby for gun control. Bloomberg claimed that firearms research in medical journals fell by 60 percent between 1996 and 2010. But what Bloomberg measured was firearms research relative to all other research. In fact, total research on firearms increased over that time. Firearm studies soared from 69 in 1996 to 121 in 2013. Other medical journal research simply increased even much faster.

7. "After Connecticut passed a law requiring background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40 percent. Forty percent.

There are 18 states with background checks on the private transfers of guns. The Bloomberg funded study picked the state that most serves their agenda here. But a great deal of manipulation was still required. To get the 40% figure, 1995 to 2005 is conveniently selected as the time period.Adding one more year to the data completely undermines Obamas claims. Connecticuts firearm homicide rate only fell by 16% between 1995 and 2006. It fell by 12.5% between 1995 and 2010. Meanwhile, the US and the rest of the Northeast experienced much greater drops. From 1995 to 2006, the firearm homicide rates for the US and the rest of the Northeast fell by 27% and 22%, respectively. From 1995 to 2010, these drops were even more pronounced  39% and 31%. Therefore, when one looks at these longer time periods, one actually observes a relative increase in Connecticuts firearm homicide rate.

8. "since Missouri repealed a law requiring comprehensive background checks and purchase permits, gun deaths have increased to almost 50 percent higher than the national average.

This is yet another Bloomberg funded study. Again, another it picked out one state out of many that have these laws. After the law was changed, Missouris murder rates did in fact rise by 17 percent relative to the rest of the US. However, murder rates were already on a sharp, upward trend, having increased by 32 percent in the five years prior to the change. The murder rate increase thus actually slowed down after the background checks on private transfers were ended.

Also, there was no relative fall in Missouris murder rate after the state adopted comprehensive background checks in 1981.

9. "there are actions within my legal authority that we can take to help reduce gun violence and save more lives.

Despite Obamas claims, the law is actually quite clear on those who have to get a federal firearms license and it poses real problems for his plans: a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms. Yet, Obamas rules will cover people who sell as few as one gun. How one reconciles that with the language of the statute is a mystery. For many individuals, even a couple of dozen gun sales are unlikely to be an individuals primary occupation.

10. -- We know we cant stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence. Some of you may recall at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in China took a knife and tried to kill  with a knife  a bunch of children in China, but most of them survived because he didnt have access to a powerful weapon.

Guns are more effective weapons, but that also means that they are more effective tools for self-defense. In any case, it is fortunately as President Obama says that most of [the victims] survived in the attack that he chose to mention, but, over the years, there have been lots of very deadly knife attacks in China.

11.Just as with more research, weve reduced traffic fatalities enormously over the last 30 years. . . . Today, many gun injuries and deaths are the result of legal guns that were stolen or misused or discharged accidentally. . . . We need to develop new technologies that make guns safer. . . . were going to work with the private sector to update firearms technology. . . . a product that now kills almost as many Americans as car accidents. . . .

The claim that government safety regulations has made cars safer  either in reducing accidents or suicides -- and could similarly be used to make guns safer is wrong. Between 2000 and 2013, without any of the regulations that Obama claims are necessary, the drop in accidental firearm deaths fell almost twice as much as the drop in accidental motor vehicle deaths. While firearm suicides rose by 28 percent over that period, suicides using motor vehicles rose by 47 percent.

The real problem with Mr. Obamas policies is that they will actually cost lives. Possibly President Obama has seen too many James Bond movies, but requiring the technology that limit who can use a gun is extremely expensive and is hardly fool proof.

The one gun on the market right now works with a watch like wrist ban that sends out a short-range radio signal that needs to be near the gun for it to fire costs $1,800. Police wont use the guns because radio-jamming devices can effectively disarm the police. The high cost will prevent poor people from having the option to defend themselves.
A public high school in Maine was caught red-handed trying to recruit students to work on Hillary Clintons presidential campaign as a community service opportunity  without the knowledge or consent of parents.

Could you imagine the national media firestorm had the school been recruiting for Donald Trumps campaign?

Students at Marshwood High School in South Berwick received an email from the Clinton campaign  urging them to sign up for positions as unpaid fellows.

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Hillary for New Hampshire is looking for smart, energetic winter fellows who are committed to winning the New Hampshire primary for Hillary Clinton, read the email from a campaign staffer. Everyone working on the campaign now started off as a fellow at some point so it is a great way of getting a different skill set whilst helping an important cause.

Tim and Elita Galvin were furious that their teenage son had received the solicitation  calling it disingenuous and sneaky.

My son didnt appreciate being targeted by anybody via his school email for a political campaign, Mrs. Galvin told me. Ill be honest  hes not a fan of Hillary Clinton to begin with. Hes done his homework and he doesnt like her.

The Galvins reached out to Paul Mehlhorn, the principal of the high school. They provided me with a copy of his emailed response.

We often receive information from outside sources regarding opportunities for students to get involved in their communities, he wrote. We pass on this information to provide students with ways they may meet the requirement to perform 50 hours of community service to graduate.

Mehlhorn went on to explain that students are not obligated to volunteer for Clintons campaign, nor does it suggest the school supports a particular political candidate, religious doctrine or branch of military.

If other campaigns were to seek volunteers, we would pass that on also, he noted.

The principal went to say that the email solicitation sounded like a great way to have a conversation with their children about understanding their choices in getting involved or not.

As you might imagine, Mr. and Mrs. Galvin were not all that thrilled with the principals explanation.

Politics doesnt belong there  Republican, Democrat, green, purple, white, whatever, Mrs. Galvin told me. It doesnt belong in the schools. The kids get, we get so much of this -- we get bombarded during the political campaigning season, which now is almost never ending. Those kids should be able to go to school and learn without having that noise around them or targeted at them.

I reached out to Mary Nash, the superintendent of schools. She told me it was a mistake to send out the email.

She said a school staffer had forwarded the email to students without providing additional information regarding this community service opportunity.

However, the intentions were pretty well explained in the email. They wanted minors to pound the pavement for Hillary Clinton.

She directed the principal to send a letter to moms and dads.

In general, all staff must refrain from sending out any solicitations supporting any non-school organization, the principal wrote.

Mrs. Galvin said there is absolutely nothing wrong with students getting involved in political campaigns. However, the school overstepped its boundaries.

If you want to campaign for someone  thats fine  but thats between the child and the parents, she said. Thats not for the campaign to target you at school and its not for the school to suggest to you. Thats between you and your parents.

Well said, Mrs. Galvin.
President Obama announced Friday that he has rejected Canadian energy giant TransCanada's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that the pipeline was not in the U.S. national interest.

"The State Department has decided the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the interests of the United States. I agree with that decision," Obama said at a White House press conference.

The announcement caps a 7-year saga that has become one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Obamas presidency. It comes just days after the State Department refused to agree to TransCanadas request to suspend the review process on the controversial project, which has seen enormous opposition from environmental groups.

Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment. That could strengthen his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize a major global climate pact next month in Paris that Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his legacy.

Alberta-based TransCanada first applied for Keystone permits in September 2008 -- shortly before Obama was elected. As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada's tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as emblematic of the type of dirty fossil fuels that must be phased out. Environmentalists chained themselves to construction equipment and the White House fence in protest.

But Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry touted what they said were profound economic benefits -- thousands of U.S. construction jobs and billions injected into the economy. They argued transporting crude by pipeline would be safer than alternatives like rail, and charged Obama with hypocrisy for complaining about the lack of investment in U.S. infrastructure while obstructing an $8 billion project.

Obama dismissed the claims that Keystone would be a major job creator.

If Congress is serious about wanting to create jobs, this is not the way to do it, he said, before calling for a bipartisan infrastructure plan that he says would make a more significant impact on job creation.

Republicans called the decision disappointing.

"President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline is a huge mistake, and is the latest reminder that this administration continues to prioritize the demands of radical environmentalists over America's energy security," said. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum condemned the decision in a tweet.

It [is] ironic that after delaying construction for more than seven years  postponing the jobs, revenues and other benefits that would result from the project  the president now finds it pressing to make a decision just as the company is asking for a pause to resolve any concerns," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. said in a statement.

Some Democrats, such as Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., praised the decision as a positive step in protecting the environment.

"I want to thank the Obama Administration for protecting the health of the American people and the health of the planet by rejecting the ill-advised Keystone tar sands pipeline, which would have brought the filthiest oil known to humankind into our country in large amounts, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said.

Meanwhile 2016 hopeful Bernie Sanders called support for the pipeline "insane."

"It is insane for anyone to be supporting the excavation and transportation of some of the dirtiest fuel on earth. As someone who has led the opposition to the Keystone pipeline from Day 1, I strongly applaud the presidents decision to kill this project once and for all, Sanders said.

Fox News Kevin Corke and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clintons unorthodox use of a private email account and personal server for government business exploited a loophole in the State Department's FOIA, or Freedom of Information Act, process, according to the findings of the first Inspector General report to stem from her email scandal.

Congress asked the Office of Inspector General, the State Department's independent watchdog, to investigate the issue following the revelation that Mrs. Clinton did not use a government email account while secretary of state.

Fox News reviewed the 25-page report and its findings before they were made publicly available.

The report reads in part:

"FOIA neither authorizes nor requires agencies to search for Federal records in personal email accounts maintained on private servers or through commercial providers (for example Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail.) Furthermore, the FOIA Analyst has no way to independently locate Federal records from such accounts unless employees take steps to preserve official emails in Department record keeping systems.

The report strongly suggests that it relies on employees at all levels to follow the regulations, and when personal email is used, to forward copies to a State Department account so that it can be captured.

"Under current law and Department policy, employees who use personal email to conduct official business are required to forward or copy email from a personal account to their respective Department accounts within 20 Days.

Clinton did not have a State Department email address to which she could forward message traffic from her personal account, and it remains unclear whether she provided all her State Department business emails to the State Department or federal courts, where FOIA lawsuits have been filed.

The report also found that the State Department wait time for Freedom of Information Act Requests far exceeds that of other departments. For example, FOIA requires agencies to respond to requests within 20 working days, and "some requests involving the Office of the Secretary have taken more than 500 days to process."

The State Department is also criticized for practices that "do not consistently meet statutory and regulatory requirements for completeness and rarely meet requirements for timeliness."

Given Clinton's use of a private account, where more than 1,000 classified emails have been identified, including at least two at the Top Secret level, it appeared ironic that the report states employees had not been reminded of their FOIA responsibilities "...since March 2009, when former Secretary Clinton sent a message commemorating Freedom of Information Day."

The OIG report makes four recommendations, including that the Office of the Secretary should fully comply with FOIA requirements. The department said it agreed with the recommendations and changes had been made.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in response late Wednesday, The Department is committed to transparency, and the issues addressed in this report have the full attention of Secretary Kerry and the Departments senior staff. While the volume of State Freedom of Information Act requests has tripled since 2008, our resources to respond have not kept pace.

That said, we know we must continue to improve our FOIA responsiveness and are taking additional steps to do so. Thats why Secretary Kerry asked the State Inspector General to undertake this review in March, and its why he appointed a Transparency Coordinator this Fall.
Some of President Obamas closest Democratic allies are joining Republicans in calling on the administration to reverse course and sanction Iran for illicit missile tests.

The White House had notified Congress of looming sanctions last week and then abruptly pulled back, without offering a specific explanation for the delay.

Republicans swiftly slammed the decision as a weak-kneed response to an increasingly belligerent regime, but top Democrats including party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz are now joining in -- urging the administration to act immediately to penalize Tehran.

The United States and our allies must take immediate, punitive action and send a clear message to Iran that violating international laws, treaties, and agreements will have serious consequences, Schultz, D-Fla., and six other House Democrats wrote in a letter Wednesday to Obama.

They urged the administration to act on the sanctions without further delay and issued a stark warning about the risk of holding back in light of the nuclear deal.

Inaction from the United States would send the misguided message that, in the wake of the [nuclear deal], the international community has lost the willingness to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its support for terrorism and other offensive actions throughout the region, they wrote.

The lawmakers pointed to several Iranian missile launches  including a test in October deemed a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, and another in November that the U.N. has not yet ruled on. They also cited reports last week that an Iranian rocket came within 1,500 feet of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz.

Such aggressive and destabilizing behavior is deeply troubling, particularly preceding implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and demands a U.S. response, they wrote.

In the wake of those aggressions, the administration last week had notified Congress of plans to impose financial penalties on companies and individuals tied to Irans missile program. But then the administration held back, reportedly citing evolving diplomatic work.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said additional work needs to be done before any announcement and stressed that the Iranians do not get a say in the decision. Rhodes also said the additional work is not based on push-back from Iran.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest insisted sanctions would be imposed.

Ultimately, we will impose those financial penalties -- well impose those sanctions at a time and place of our choosing when our experts believe they would have the maximum impact, he said. And those decisions are not subject to negotiation by the Iranians -- or anybody else for that matter.

Earnest also was asked about reports that Saudi Arabia  which cut ties with Iran earlier this week amid an escalating diplomatic crisis  may have been irritated over Washingtons lack of punitive action against Iran.

Youd have to ask them about that, Earnest said.

Hawkish Republican lawmakers have also pressed the administration to act.

The Obama administration should impose a strong set of sanctions on Iran for its tests of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement this week.

They said the administration should not provide sanctions relief under the nuclear deal until the country verifiably ends all military dimensions of its nuclear program, including the development of ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
With their 21-day window closing, hundreds of minor migrants from Central America have been shuttled to new government holding facilities in Texas.

Up to 700 of the 900 unaccompanied youngsters sent to Ellis and Rockwall counties last month are still under federal control. Because Texas law set a three-week limit at those locations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving the migrants to camps in Somervell and McLennan counties.

The ongoing influx of minor migrants is requiring more facilities in additional counties  though HHS has not disclosed where. Nor could HHS spokeswoman Andrea Helling provide current head counts.

I dont have numbers, she told Watchdog.org on Wednesday.

Instead of sending juvenile border-crossers home, the Office of Refugee Resettlement places them with sponsors in the United States. That process typically takes longer than 21 days, so the minors remain in government custody.

Incredibly, federal screening guidelines do not require prospective sponsors to be legal U.S. residents.

Click for more from Watchdog.org.
Marco Rubio's Republican rivals literally are hot on his heels, this time taking shots at the Florida senator for wearing shiny, black boots -- with a pumped-up heel -- that apparently only a fashionista can appreciate.

Rival campaigns  including those of Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz  have teased him on Twitter over the boots, while fashion and political writers have spared no groan-worthy pun in describing them. Some have dubbed the craze over his fashion-forward choice Bootgazi or shoegate.

Vanity Fair called it statement footwear, while Cruzs communications director Rick Tyler tweeted: A Vote for Marco Rubio Is a Vote for Mens High-Heeled Booties.

Fiorina got in on the action by posting a picture of her own black boots with 3.5 inch heels. She tweeted, But can you rock these?

Not to be outdone, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul posted a video to Twitter before his Wednesday appearance on The View.

I was in Whoopi Goldberg's dressing room picking out new show shoes. Eat your heart out @marcorubio! pic.twitter.com/vF06UzZgAL  Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 6, 2016

Weve seen Rubio has those cute new boots, and I dont want to be outdone, Paul said in a video post, which shows him in host Whoopi Goldbergs dressing room holding a pair of sparkly black and gold shoes. He added, Eat your heart out @marcorubio!

MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough called the Rubio boots shagalicious while New York Magazines The Cut compared the Republican candidates footwear of choice to those of teen favorite Harry Styles of One Direction:

The boots -- which we think are either these Giogio Brutini boots or these Margiela ones  looks a lot like a pair favored by Styles, albeit with slightly less pilgrim flair.

The Daily Mail kept it classy by comparing him with fashionista former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Rubio responded to the shoe frenzy.

"Our economy is flatlined, the stock market is falling apart, but boy are we getting a lot of coverage about a pair of boots," he said. "This is craziness. People have we lost our minds."

No word on whether Imelda Marcos, widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and known internationally for her expensive shoe collection, approves of Rubios boot of choice.
Donald Trumps planned rally Thursday night in Burlington, Vt., has local officials concerned about the massive crowds that could descend on the city.

The rally is being held downtown at the Flynn Center for the Arts, which seats approximately 1,400 people.

But local law enforcement say the Trump campaign informed them nearly 20,000 free tickets to the event were distributed -- and at least 6,500 of those people have confirmed a desire to attend.

Police have said once the venue reaches capacity, they will have to turn away those trying to enter. They also expect demonstrations to accompany Trumps visit.

Burlingtons Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement that while he welcomes Trump to the city, I am concerned, however, that the dramatic over-ticketing of the rally could mar Mr. Trump's visit.

I urge the Trump Campaign to take responsible steps to ensure the event proceeds smoothly and without incident, the statement said.

Trump earlier tried to advise supporters of the situation. In a tweet, he said, Massive crowd in VT tonight. Venue not big enough. Officials say NO to outside event and sound system. Arrive early!

At past events, if the venue reached capacity, supporters were directed to an overflow space or outside.

The Republican front-runner is no stranger to large crowds. At a recent weekend rally in Biloxi, Miss., the candidate had over 10,000 people see him speak.
After spending thousands of years buried in ancient hills, remnants of buildings dating back to the Byzantine era and earlier emerged from hiding, excavated outside Rosh Ha'ayin in central Israel, about 10 miles inland from Tel Aviv.

A recent announcement by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) described a many-chambered farmhouse, estimated to be 2,700 years old, measuring about 100 by 180 feet and containing a cluster of 24 rooms connected to a central courtyard. The walls were preserved to a height of about 6.6 feet.

The courtyard once held a storage compartment for protecting grain, Amit Shadman, IAA excavation director, said in the statement. Other artifacts found nearby include a number of millstones used for grinding flour, suggesting that growing and processing grain were "fairly widespread" in the region, Shadman said. "It seems that carbohydrates were as popular then as now," he added. [See Photos of the Farmstead and Church Mosaics in Rosh Ha'ayin]

Excavators also revealed oil presses carved from rock and a pair of silver coins stamped with images of the goddess Athena and an owl  her sacred bird  dating to the fourth century BCE.

Another multiroom structure protruding from a nearby hill was a monastery approximately 1,500 years old. The building once held stables, living quarters, an oil press and a church with colorful mosaic floors. Tiles were laid in intricate geometric patterns, with one pattern spelling out a Greek inscription welcoming visitors in the name of "Theodosius the priest."

The new finds take their place among many others that have emerged in recent years, representing Israel's ancient past. Another farmhouse dating to the eighth century BCE was discovered near Rosh Ha'ayin in early December 2014. Its 23 rooms also radiated outward from a central courtyard that once held a grain silo, and multiple winepresses were found close by. Eventually abandoned as a monastery, the structure was partially destroyed hundreds of years later, when inhabitants during the Ottoman period built a limekiln on the site.

Shadman explained in the statement that the farmstead and monastery represent two waves of inhabitants that settled in the region over time. The older farmstead, and others like it, flourished for hundreds of years, but were largely abandoned when people fled the area during the Hellenistic period.

After many more centuries passed, a wave of Christian settlers arrived during the fifth century CE. At the time, Christianity was spreading rapidly across Israel, evident in the number of surviving ancient monasteries and churches that archaeologists continue to uncover.

The newfound archeological artifacts will be preserved where they stand "for the benefit of the public," even as the city of Rosh Ha'ayin expands to surround them, the IAA statement read. The inscription in the church's ancient mosaic will once more greet visitors with the message, "Peace be with you when you come, peace be with you when you go."

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The remains of a ship dating back to the Revolutionary War have been found at a site of a new hotel under construction in Virginia.

Local archaeologists in Alexandria are now scrambling to identify the story behind the 250-year-old sailing ship. The area once was in the Potomac River before it was backfilled two centuries ago to expand Alexandria's waterfront.

Related: Wreck of Civil War ship commandeered by slave believed found off SC coast



"A remarkable archaeological dream basically, Francine Bromberg, who has been the archaeologist in Alexandria for a quarter century, told Fox 5. "We know that this ship was put in place sometime between 1775 and 1798.

But who owned it? What did it carry? Who sailed on it? For now, that remains a mystery.

Related: Ancient shipwreck discovered near Aeolian Islands

John Mullen, the principal archeologist for Thunderbird Archeology, the firm responsible for monitor the construction for any historic finds, told The Washington Post that the ship probably was built to carry heavy cargo or was used by the military. It may also have provided the foundation to fill in the cove at Port Lumley, one of the locations where deep-water channels of the Potomac advance to the shoreline.

The ships partial hull  currently under a blue tarmac at the hotel construction site  has become a popular draw among local residents. The find comes just months after construction workers discovered a 1755 foundation from a warehouse which is believed to be the citys first public building, according to The Washington Post.

Related: Incredible 'ghost fleet' site could become national marine sanctuary

As soon as the fences were opened up to let people get a peek at the old ship, big crowds showed up.

"I think it's great, said one person. It's like a great window into the past.

"It makes you wonder what else is hidden and underneath our ground here, said another resident.

What is next for this 18th century ship? A 21st century water tank will be used to stabilize the wood. That will also give experts like Bromberg more time to solve the mystery of Alexandria's newest piece of history.

There is a little historical irony going on here. There is a big debate in Alexandria over the waterfront and it even cost the last mayor his reelection. Some development opponents are not happy about this hotel, but this discovery might not have been found without the hotels construction. In fact, the ship might not have been buried here at all if Alexandrias founders had not decided to develop this waterfront 200 years ago.
The Defense Department is set to expand its fleet of Super Hercules aircraft, a hi-tech workhorse that mixes versatility with toughness.

The DOD is awarding Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $1 billion to build 32 of the C-130 Super Hercules. It is part of a $5.3 billion contract to eventually provide the U.S. Air Force with 78 of these aircraft - 30 MC-130Js, 13 HC-130Js and 29 C-130J-30s and the U.S. Marine Corps six KC-130Js.

Related: 11 stunning F-22 fighter jet images

We are proud to partner with the U.S. government to continue to deliver to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard the worlds most proven, versatile and advanced airlifter, said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin. This multiyear contract provides true value to our U.S. operators as they recapitalize and expand their much-relied-upon Hercules aircraft, which has the distinction of being the worlds largest and most tasked C-130 fleet.

Considered the standard tactical aircraft, the C-130J can deploy in tough battle situations as well as extreme environments including Antarctica. The aircraft can carry payloads upwards of 42,000 pounds. According to Lockheeds calculations, it can transport 92 combat troops, 64 paratroopers - or it can handle a combination of the two up to the maximum weight.

Related: 11 amazing A-10 Warthog images

Though one of the biggest aircraft in operation, it can be landed in tiny spaces from a dirt strip in the jungle to a landing strip on snow  where it often will be equipped with skis. It is also fast, managing to reach speeds of 417 miles per hour with a range over 2,000 miles. It can also climb to 28,000 feet.

But this aircraft is not only transporting troops and supplies. More recently, its being equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that allows it to be used in special operations, armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Its also increasingly taking on missions far beyond the battlefield  delivering tens of thousands pounds of relief supplies, conducting search and rescue operations and taking part in firefighting. When deploying to fight fires, the aircraft leverages the Modular Airborne Firefighting System that can drop 3,000 gallons of water, or a fire retardant - within five seconds.

Related: Cold War-era weaponry in pictures

Hercules first took flight in 1954 and more than 2,400 Hercules have rolled out since then and the aircraft has supported the US military for 60 years. There are 11 variants of the C-130J.

The popular aircraft flies for 16 nations and 19 different operators. The Super Hercules global fleet has flown more than 1.3 million flight hours.
Oculus VR will begin to ship the long-awaited Rift, the Facebook-owned outfit announced on Wednesday.

The Rift, on show at the Consumers Electronics Show this week, will begin to ship on March 28 at a price of $599, Oculus VR said. People have been dreaming about immersive high-end VR for decades, and were thrilled to share Rift with you this March, the company said in a statement.

Related: CES 2016 showcases innovative new drones

Indeed, VR enthusiasts have been waiting for ship-date clarity since May of last year when the company said that the consumer version of the Rift would ship in the first quarter of 2016.

For the uninitiated, virtual reality simulates a physical presence. In the case of Rift, this is achieved through a VR headset that immerses the user in a virtual world. More modest forms of VR include Googles Cardboard that can, for example, simulate a presence at popular tourist spots in Paris.

Related: Sony debuts high-tech turntable, super-thin TVs, 4K video camera

Because Oculus VR is sophisticated, it requires a lot of horsepower. On Wednesday, Oculus revealed the minimum requirements beyond the Rift itself. That includes a PC with an Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 graphics processor, an Intel i5-4590 processor equivalent or greater, 8GB of RAM, HDMI 1.3 video output, multiple USB 3.0 ports, and a USB 2.0 port. The operating system must be Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer.

Bundles that include an Oculus-ready PC and a Rift will be available for pre-order in February starting at $1,499, the company said.

Related: The 200GB wireless flash drive your 16GB iPhone desperately needs

At those prices, the total package is an expensive proposition, one of the hurdles to wide adoption of more sophisticated consumer VR.

So, whats in the Rift box? The headset integrates two high-resolution OLED displays for each eye, providing a total resolution of 2160 x 1200 (1080 x 1200 per eye) and 3D audio headphones. Also included are a mic, sensor, and an Xbox One controller.

Related: Technics shows off glorious new Grand Class SL-1200G turntables

The controller is for games like Luckys Tale, included with every Rift. The EVE: Valkyrie Founders Pack will also come with preorders, Oculus said. Other games are on the way too, with more than 100 titles available by the end of 2016, including Minecraft. And Oculus Studios will introduce more than 20 games, including Rockband VR by Harmonix, Edge of Nowhere by Insomniac, and The Climb by Crytek.

Rift, however, will not by any means be limited to gaming. Battlefield, tourism, and space exploration will likely emerge as popular applications. Medicine is also ripe for VR. A surgeon, for example, could perform a simulated operation.

Related: Would you pay $5,000 for a Samsung smart fridge?

Among other VR announcements at CES, HTC demonstrated the Vive Pre virtual reality system for developers. The company will give away 7,000 of the systems to developers.
Army officials are trying to figure out how a civilian managed to live for several months at Fort Bragg, eating and bunking with special forces operators despite not being a member of the military.



The unidentified man, who a source told FoxNews.com is mentally ill, was found out last month, and has been questioned. The source said the man told the real soldiers he lived among that he was a demolition specialist and exempt from the daily activities they took part in.

"This is a very unique and interesting situation," Thomas McCollum, the garrison public affairs officer for the North Carolina base told Military.com.

The man was taken into custody Dec. 16, according to a statement from the 3rd Special Forces Group.

Im not sure what made this man think he could stay, but you just cant go on base without some set of orders."  Chris Grollnek, former Marine and domestic terrorism expert

"The Fort Bragg Provost Marshal was immediately contacted and the individual was detained by the military police. The situation is under investigation," read the statement.

Capt. Douglas Ray, a representative for the 3rd Special

Forces Group, said that the investigation was ongoing and declined to elaborate on how long the man had been in the barracks and why no questions were raised by his presence.

The Fayetteville Observer reported at the time that a 3rd SFG spokesman confirmed that the civilian had a fake Common Access Card and had been found living in temporary barracks. The unidentified man allegedly got away with the ruse for months by claiming he was attending a top-secret school on the base.

The source told FoxNews.com he was finally snagged after he attempted to purchase items at one of the stores on the base and was unable to provide proper military ID.

Its stolen valor at its worst and help for mental illness at best, the source said.

I dont think they [Fort Bragg officials] want to bring any more attention to this incident, the person added, referring to how the man was released without any charges. They dont want a copycat.

According to Chris Grollnek, a former Marine and CEO of Safe2Safest, a domestic terrorism and active shooter prevention company, its relatively easy to enter Fort Bragg, especially from its main access point on a stretch of highway. But its harder to linger on the base without the proper identification.

Im not sure what made this man think he could stay, he told FoxNews.com. But you just cant go on base without some set of orders.

So that begs the question, did he have some sort of forged orders? If so, thats a federal offense.
A North Carolina single mom who won a $188 million Powerball jackpot last year pledged to spend it on her kids and church, but so far the biggest beneficiary seems to be "Hot Sauce," her alleged drug dealer boyfriend.

Marie Holmes is a single mom of four, including a child with cerebral palsy; however, she has risked nearly a quarter of the $88 million she took home bailing her boyfriend Lamarr Hot Sauce McDow out of jail on drug, weapon and street racing charges.

Holmes, 27, hit the jackpot in February and, since then, has bailed McDow, 31, out of jail three times. McDow was already in jail on heroin and weapons charges when Holmes won the lottery, and shortly after the money came through, she posted his $3 million bail. In July, it was a $6 million bail for a weapons charge.

That amount skyrocketed to $12 million for the alleged street racing infraction this month. McDow was bailed out for that charge on Friday. Bail is doubled each time a defendant violates his conditions, Star News Online reported.

Nearly a year after she won the lottery, most of Holmes traveling has been to the bail bondsmans office.

The total figure at risk for Holmes is $21 million, but shes already lost a significant amount of money. Bail bondsmen in the Brunswick County area told WECT the going non-refundable rate is anywhere from 7 percent to 10 percent. Given that figure, Holmes has already spent anywhere from $1.47 million to $2.1 million.

McDow is set to make his first appearance on the street racing charge on Jan. 19, according to the News Online. If he doesnt show up, Holmes stands to lose a sizeable amount of cash.

When she won the money in February 2015, Holmes was living with her family in a trailer in Shallotte, N.C. She was working jobs at Walmart, KFC, McDonald's and Subway, WWAY reported. Holmes said she gave her mom $3 to buy the winning ticket on her way to church.

Shortly after winning, everything changed.

She donated $680,000 to Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Shallotte, according to WNCN. She also moved into a new five-bedroom home.

And McDow, the father of Holmes youngest child, moved in, too.

McDow had twice been arrested in 2014 when authorities said they confiscated about 2,500 bags of heroin during separate incidents, WNCN reported. But even after the fortune came his girlfriends way, McDow couldnt stay out of jail, constantly requiring Holmes to put her millions at stake to keep him free.

He was arrested at her sprawling new home in July for violating the terms of his March release, and was allegedly found at the time with marijuana and a gun. Holmes was also ensnared in that incident when officers said they found a half ounce or less of pot and drug paraphernalia at her house, according to WWAY.

During his most recent alleged episode, McDow supposedly helped organize a race of two Corvettes that were traveling 100 mph in a 45-mph zone, the News Online reported.

McDow has multiple prior convictions, including for assault inflicting serious injury, assault on a female and several felony drug possession convictions, according to North Carolina Department of Public Safety records reviewed by the News Online. He spent eight months behind bars in 2008 and 2009 for possession of a schedule II controlled substance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Four people were injured Thursday in an explosion at a Massachusetts chemical plant, officials said

The explosion happened around 2:30 p.m. at the Dow Chemical plant in North Andover, Mass., according to the state fire marshal's office.

Four people have been transported to the hospital, including one with serious injuries, fire officials said.

Members of the fire investigation unit, the bomb squad and a state Hazmat team are investigating the incident.

North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor told WFXT-TV the incident happened quickly and there appears to be no danger to the surrounding area.

A worker was killed in a chemical explosion at the same plant in 2013.

Click for more from MyFoxBoston.com
The mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a deadly drunken-driving case arrived in Texas Thursday after leaving a Los Angeles jail.

Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Nicole Nishida said Tonya Couch left jail at 5 a.m. Thursday and arrived by plane at Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport a few hours later. Authorities in Texas had said they would bring her back by Friday.

Couch is charged in Texas with hindering the apprehension of a felon and will be held on $1 million bond. She was flown to Los Angeles last week after being deported from Mexico, where she and her 18-year-old son, Ethan, were arrested.

Authorities believe the pair fled there in November as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.

Ethan Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013 when he crashed into a disabled SUV, killing four people and injuring several others, including passengers in his pickup truck.

During the sentencing phase of his trial, a defense expert argued that his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility -- a condition the expert termed "affluenza." The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its invocation during the legal proceedings drew ridicule.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Emergency crews in upstate New York on Thursday morning freed all 17 workers who had been trapped in an elevator at a salt mine about 800 feet below ground.

"Extremely relieved and happy to say that they're out," Cargill mine manager Shawn Wilczynski said during a news conference.

All 17 #Cargill Miners are now out! All are safe!  Tompkins DoER (@TompkinsDoER) January 7, 2016

Wilczynski said the men were cold but weren't injured and were in good spirits when a crane freed them. The names of the men were not immediately released.



"I'm inspired by them, to be quite honest with you," Wilczynski added. "The first four that came out of the mine waited for the last two that came out of the mine, and they all wanted to thank the crane company."



The Cargill mine in Lansing is the deepest salt mine in the Western hemisphere, extending 2,300 feet below ground.

The Lansing Fire Department, along with the Cargill Mine staff, had been working since about 10:20 p.m. local time Wednesday to free the trapped workers. The miners were stuck in an elevator in an access shaft, according to the Ithaca Fire Department, which was also assisting officials in the rescue operation.

Wilczynski said the cause of the elevator malfunction was mechanical, but otherwise officials weren't sure why the failure occurred. The plan is to lift the elevator out of the shaft for inspection, however, there is no timetable set for that process.



"This is not an incident that we want to look at lightly," he said. "There could be further repercussions down the road."



The first four miners rescued were raised to the surface in a basket around 7 a.m. Thursday, Cargill Inc. spokesman Mark Klein said. Wilczynski said the miners themselves prioritized who should come up first based on age, health and other factors.



First responders had been lowering food, blankets and other supplies down to the workers as the rescue operation progressed.

The men, who ranged from about 20 to 60 years old, had experience that ranged from a few months to more than 40 years, Wilczynski said. The third shift underground production crew was about to begin its night when the elevator came to a stop hundreds of feet beneath the earth's surface. The men were equipped with personal head lamps and whatever food they had brought to eat during a typical shift.

As the 10-hour ordeal dragged on, the men kept each others' spirits high by telling jokes and sharing stories, Wilczynski said.

Due to New York's light winter, Wilczynski said the mine's stockpiles are high and the company isn't "concerned with our ability to service our customers." He said the mine would not go back to work until safety checks had been completed, equipment had been inspected and the elevator was possibly replaced.



Lansing is roughly 40 miles southwest of Syracuse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in a Los Angeles suburb on Wednesday over a massive natural-gas leak that has been spewing methane and several other gases into the air for months, sickening residents and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Brown said in a statement he acted based on the requests of people in the community of Porter Ranch and the prolonged and continuing nature of the gas blowout at the underground storage facility.

The Southern California Gas Co. line has been gushing up to 1,200 tons of climate-changing methane daily, along with other gases, since October. It is going to take months before workers can fix the leak.

Brown has urged the gas company to come up with backup plans in case efforts to close the blowout fail and ordered emergency regulations for other gas-storage facilities throughout the state. Brown didnt suspend state laws, cut any red tape or commit resources or public funds to address the massive leak, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The utility is paying thousands to relocate families who complained of nosebleeds, nausea and other ailments from the fumes.

The Los Angeles school board already has declared the crisis an emergency and has moved students out of schools near the leak. Los Angeles Councilman Mitchel Englander said the blowout is one of the most devastating environmental disasters in the history of California.

Englander is one of a growing number of local officials and community members who urged the governor to act. Resident Matt Pakucko is another. He leads a community group that has been pushing for the state declaration and said he cried when he heard about the order.

Pakucko, speaking from a hotel where the gas company had moved him and his girlfriend, said he faced doubts from his community about pressing the governor to declare an emergency.

"I'm not worried about being validated or vindicated, but that people get what they need," he said. "And that's what we've been pushing for."

The massive leak amounts to about a quarter of the states total methane output, a big blow to Browns plans to cut carbon emissions. The site is one of the countrys largest underground natural-gas storage facilities and can hold enough natural gas to fuel Southern California for a month.

Timothy OConnor, a director for the California Climate Initiative for the Environmental Defense Fund, told the Los Angeles Times Wednesday that Browns actions not only recognized the immediate need to stop the massive leak, but sets in motion a longer-term effort to protect people and the environment from methane leakage.

Brown also ordered the state Air Resources board to develop a plan to diminish the leaks emissions.

Brown toured the site of the leak for the first time earlier this week and met privately with residents in the area. The governor previously resisted local calls for a state declaration, saying he wanted to make sure the utility, rather than the state, bore the financial cost.

In his order, the governor said that California expected the utility to pay expenses related to the leak and that the state would ensure the utility's customers were protected from paying higher rates as a result.

Southern California Gas President Dennis Arriola said in a statement Wednesday that the company was focusing on stopping the leak and minimizing the harm to residents. The utility would work with the state to offset the long-term environmental impact of the methane, Arriola said.

Brown's order also forbids any additional injection of natural gas into the storage site for the time being. It directs state air officials to update the public regularly on the health risks and to plan a way to offset the huge emissions of methane.

The governor also directed a long-term look at the future of gas-storage sites in the state, including whether the fossil-fuel facilities fit Brown's ambitious plans to ramp up the use of solar, wind and other, cleaner energy sources.

One of Brown's strongest critics in the leak, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, said the crisis is a "massive failure" of state oversight. On Wednesday, he called for an independent review of gas-storage sites and wells across California.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from the Los Angeles Times.
Weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill barring concealed weapons on K-12 school grounds, one district in Northern California is reaffirming its policy to allow the practice, and the local police chief agrees.

The Anderson Union High School District will continue to allow licensed employees to carry concealed weapons on school campuses, with officials saying it will keep students and faculty safe.

It is definitely a pro to have people armed, responsible people armed who have been vetted and can actually provide another layer of protection for the kids, Anderson Police Chief Mike Johnson told KRCR-TV.

Anderson is located in the northern California county of Shasta, about 200 miles north of San Francisco.

The old law allowed school employees to carry if they had written permission from the district or a concealed carry permit, but the new law, Senate Bill 707, only allows exceptions for peace officers, both retired and active. The bill essentially creates a state-mandated local program, the description of the new law said.

School Superintendant Tim Azevedo could not be reached to clarify whether the district believes it is defying the new state law by keeping the status quo.

However, Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the district is within its rights.

The intent of the new law is obviously to discourage teachers from having firearms to protect themselves and their students," Gottlieb said. "But the law allows the school districts locally to make these decisions on their own. And maybe this new law will help convince school districts that they actually should make this decision on their own.

Gottlieb said he thinks this school district policy is fantastic and hope that other districts in California and school districts throughout the nation follow suit, to help put an end to victim disarmament zones.

But to make it really work, the policy needs to be publicized, so that bad actors know they are more at risk by trying to hurt our children at these facilities, Gottlieb said.

Evidence shows concealed carry policies protect campuses from would-be attackers, said John Lott, founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center.

Even just a few people or even a couple who might be armed at a school can make a big difference in terms of whether or not terrorist types attack there, Lott said. It is amazing how these killers talk explicitly about picking targets where they know victims cannot go and defend themselves.  where people are not armed and not able to stop them.

Groups like the Brady Campaign have opposed firearms on campuses across the nation, saying they create additional safety issues.
A 74-year-old patient at a Washington, D.C. hospital who died in September following a mysterious scuffle with security guards had his death ruled a homicide on Monday.

James E. McBride sustained a broken vertebra near the base of his neck during the fracas with MedStar Washington Hospital Center guards on Sept. 29. He died two days later.

According to autopsy results released by the D.C. medical examiner this week, McBrides cause of death was blunt force injuries of neck, with cervical spinal cord transection and vertebral artery compression, FOX5 reported.

No charges have been announced yet in the case; however, D.C. police officials and the U.S. attorneys office in the District continue to investigate, according to The Washington Post.

The September 2015 incident was devastating to all of us at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, and our hearts continue to go out to the patients family, the facility said in a statement obtained by FOX5.

The episode that ultimately resulted in McBrides death started around 5 p.m. on Sept. 29 when McBride left the hospital while wearing nothing but his gown. MedStar officials have yet to say why McBride was at the hospital and McBrides family has been relatively quiet since the incident.

A nurse and security guard located him just across the street, walked him back to the hospital entrance and turned him over to two security guards  ages 42 and 29  who were also special police officers. That designation gave the security guards the ability to carry firearms and arrest people on the hospital campus, according to The Post. The security guards, whose names have not been released, no longer work at the hospital.

While the next few minutes are somewhat ambiguous, a police report viewed by The Post said McBride became non-compliant and resisted and a struggle ensued. He was taken to the ground by two people while a third utilized hand controls to restrain him.

The security guards were armed, but did not use weapons during the incident, Dr. Arthur St. Andre said during an October news conference.

[McBride] was resuscitated there at the scene by his nurse and by a rapid response team, St. Andre said. He was brought to our emergency room where resuscitation continued and that followed up in our intensive care unit, where he received excellent care.
The owner of a restaurant in Denver says he's so intent on finding a man who burglarized the place on Sunday that he's offering a free year's worth of pizza for the right tips.

REWARD! Help catch the Kaos Pizzeria thief! Please SHARE THIS POST and help us catch a thief! Tall white male, shaved head, approx 62. Wanted for burglary of Kaos Pizzeria at 4:30am on January 3rd.Also suspected of additional neighborhood burglaries. Contact Detective Mark Matthews at DPD with any info: 720-913-1170.If yours is the tip that lands him in jail, well give you FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR!Please share this video, to help protect our community from jerks who skulk about in sunglasses at night and steal from small businesses.We have 3 videos of the thief, posted here on our Facebook page, and also on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFOYbqVL6zBCNXsIxKGwdLA Posted by Kaos Pizzeria on Monday, January 4, 2016

The suspect broke into Kaos Pizzeria early Sunday morning, snatching about $1,000 total from two cash registers, KUSA reports. Owner Patrick White said the man was approximately 6-feet-2 with a shaved head.

White promised that the person whose tip led police to the suspect would win free pizza for one year.

"Please share this video, to help protect our community from jerks who skulk about in sunglasses at night and steal from small businesses," he wrote on Facebook.
An ex-convict fatally shot his 2-year-old son before turning his gun on himself Wednesday at the end of an 18-hour standoff in Atlanta's northeastern suburbs, police said.

Thy Ho, 43, and son Philip Nguyen were each found with a gunshot wound when authorities entered the master bedroom of the Buford home after hearing gunfire about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera said. Pihera said Ho shot himself when officers entered the room.

Both were taken the hospital in critical condition, Pihera said, and later died.

Police said investigators are still processing the crime scene and the Gwinnett County medical examiner will determine the official causes of death.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the standoff began Tuesday night after Ho got into an argument with his girlfriend. The paper reported that the girlfriend's teenage son called police at around 10 p.m. local time to reported that Ho was threatening to shoot everyone at the home and then take his own life.

Ho's girlfriend, her son, and "several other people" were allowed to leave the home, but the toddler remained inside with the suspect, police said.

WAGA reported that Philip Nguyen is the son of Ho and his girlfriend. The couple are not married.

A SWAT team sealed off the neighborhood where the "barricaded gunman" was inside the home in a subdivision about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Police announced that residents were being allowed back into the neighborhood Wednesday night.

Wednesday was the first day of a new semester in the county's schools after the holidays but school buses were not allowed into the neighborhood, which was on lockdown, school system spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Ho had served four months in a Georgia prison in 2012 after being convicted of theft by receiving stolen property. Two years earlier, he had been added to the state's sex offender registry after being found guilty in Indiana on a charge of criminal confinement.

The standoff came one day after police in nearby DeKalb County said a man with a knife held 11 children and his girlfriend inside a motel room for five hours before stabbing himself in the neck Tuesday morning. The man was critically injured No one else was hurt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Fox 5 Atlanta.

Click for more from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


An Atlanta-area prosecutor said Thursday he planned to ask for an indictment of a police officer who shot and killed an unarmed U.S. Air Force veteran last year.

DeKalb District Attorney Robert James said he would ask a grand jury to indict Officer Robert Olsen of the DeKalb County Police Department, accused of shooting Anthony Hill on March 9 while responding to a call of a naked man behaving erratically outside a suburban Atlanta apartment complex.

The family of the 27-year-old vet said he'd struggled with mental health problems.

The DeKalb County Police Department said it was not able to comment on an ongoing investigation. A phone number for Olsen could not immediately be found, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.

Tensions between police and minorities have risen across the country in the aftermath of a series of officer-involved shootings mostly involving white law enforcement officers and unarmed African-American males. Incidents in Missouri, New York and elsewhere have set off a national debate and repeated protests about police conduct.

James' office presents every case involving shootings by officers to a grand jury for civil review, and the grand jurors recommend whether a case should be considered for criminal prosecution. Ultimately, the district attorney decides whether to seek indictment.

Grand jurors in October heard evidence in the case but said inconsistencies and contradictions prevented them from being able to recommend whether or not the district attorney should pursue indictment. The grand jurors recommended further investigation.

James said at the time that he had "serious concerns" about the case.

Hill's family in November filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the DeKalb County Police Department, Olsen, the county and its board of commissioners.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man who authorities say was wearing a homemade tactical-style vest, carrying a BB gun and taking photographs of schools was shot and killed by police in a far suburb of Chicago Wednesday.

Lake County Sheriff's Detective Christopher Covelli said the man was shot after he led officers on a foot chase and a struggle ensued. Investigators did not release any identifying information about the man, except to say that he was a white 38-year-old.

Police in the town of Zion responded to a 911 call that reported the man was taking pictures of an elementary school and a high school at approximately 8 a.m. local time.

"The suspicious person was located by officers, and a foot pursuit ensued. It appeared the offender was wearing body armor. After the foot pursuit, a struggle with the offender and officers ensued, which resulted in the offender being shot," read a statment from the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

Covelli later said the body armor was found to be a homemade tactical-style vest with metal inserts. It was not immediately clear how many times the man was shot.

Covelli also said officers had tried to use a Taser to subdue the suspect, but it didn't work because the man was wearing winter clothing.

Police said they had obtained a warrant to search the man's home. At least seven schools were locked down during the incident, but the lock down had ended by early afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Fox 32 Chicago.

Click for more from the Chicago Tribune.
Alabama cops on Thursday arrested a 51-year-old Colorado man accused of sexually assaulting and kidnapping a 16-year-old girl, FOX4 reported.

Thomas Fechtler, who sometimes goes by Thomas Kitchen, was arrested in Coffeeville, Ala. The girl was found safe, according to KSNT.

Fechtler was wanted on a felony arrest warrant for sexual assault on a child in a position of trust, kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, FOX31 reported.

Fechtler and the girl disappeared on Monday and police originally believed they may have been headed to Missouri.



We dont believe shes being held against her will, but shes been the victim of sexual abuse and we are concerned for her welfare, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur told the Denver Post on Wednesday.

The girls mother reported the abuse, which she told police had been going on since October, according to the Post. Fechtler had been living out of his car in the parking lot of a Longmont, Colo. hotel at the time.

The girl is not being named because she is a potential victim of a sexual assault.

Click for more from Fox 31.
A Republican state senator in Utah on Monday proposed a program that would give gun safety training to eighth-grade students.

Todd Weiler, who represents Woods Cross, said children would not handle guns themselves, but would learn how to respond to active shooters and what to do if they encounter a gun on the ground.

The program would be optional, and parents would have to sign off, he added.

I hope we never have an active shooter in a school in Utah, knock on wood. But if we do, I dont think it would hurt to give kids some ideas of what they should do if theres an armed person trying to take over the school, Weiler said, according to Fox 13.

The president of Utah's Parent Teacher Association, Dawn Davies, told the news station the group would not take a position on the bill until it was presented to the state senate, likely later in January.

Click for more from Fox 13.
Utah authorities on Wednesday confirmed that the remains found in a narrow cave near Moab by a college student are those of a man police believe is the man who shot a state park ranger in 2010.

The Utah Medical Examiner told police that they used dental records to positively identify Lance Leeroy Arellano, Grand County Sheriff Steven White said. The medical examiner couldnt yet determine Arellanos cause of death. There were no gunshot wounds or obvious clues to how he died. He evaded more than 100 officers in a desert manhunt after the Nov. 19, 2010 shooting of Ranger Brody Young.

Caleb Shumway, a sophomore college student at Utah Valley University, found his body on Dec. 24. Shumway will receive the $30,000 reward that was part of his motivation to comb the red rock caves near the Colorado River along with his younger brother, White said.

For a poor college student, thats pretty appealing, Shumway told the Salt Lake Tribune.

The area Shumway was looking in features several ledges, caves and crevasses. The Moab resident also found a bag containing a handgun and a magazine, according to Fox 13 Salt Lake. Shumway, an Eagle Scout, told the Tribune he was confident he could find Arellanos body and said he knew how important the case was for Moab.

Theres lots of closure that would come with finding this guy because no one really knew if he was dead or alive," he added.

Closing the case after five years is a huge relief, White said. He thinks an animal may have dragged the remains out to a more visible area, allowing the 23-year-old Shumway to find the body.

"You can search an area 15 times, and if you don't walk around a rock the right way, you won't find it," White said. "Kudos to him: I'm glad he did."

Shumway said he was elated to hear the news. He said he'll give $5,000 to his younger brother to help pay a religious mission and put the rest into savings to as an emergency education fund.

"Today was good: Fresh powder up on the mountain for snowboarding, but this makes my day better," Shumway said. "This is a huge day for everybody. The police can close the case. Brody's family can be certain that Arellano is deceased."

Young said in a statement released by the sheriffs office he's grateful to Shumway and all the police officers and emergency responders who helped him the day of the shooting and had been searching for Arellano's body. He also said his thoughts are with Arellanos family, especially his mother and daughter.

"Five years of uncertainty is a long time," Young said. "We hope this brings closure and allows them to move forward."

Young was shot in 2010 when he approached Arellano in his car near the Poison Spider Mesa Trailhead, according to authorities.

He shot me nine times, Young told Fox 13 Salt Lake City in 2014. Im lucky to be here, vertical and mobile, to be honest.

Young told Arellano he was in a no-camping area and was subsequently shot multiple times in the back when he tried to authenticate the mans name and birthdate.

Prosecutors had filed first-degree felony attempted murder and other charges against Arellano.

More than 160 law enforcement officers combed a 15-sqaure-mile area near Dead Horse State Park. They recovered a rifle, backpack and tattered bloody T-shirt.

Shumway's father was one of those officers, spurring his son's curiosity about the case. Shumway said he and his brother were two days into their search when they discovered a bone and a bag with a gun near the mouth of a cave.

Shumway took pictures and then took officers back out to the site. They found more skeletal remains, clothing and another backpack with another gun deeper in the cave.

Shumway said the experience will make consider searching for other missing people in the future.

"I definitely think there is something awesome about finding people and bringing closure to the families involved," Shumway said. "Anytime someone goes missing, there's always a mom that worried. In this case, there was a family that didn't know if the shooter was coming after them."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Paris prosecutor's office announced Thursday that it was opening a terrorism investigation after police shot and killed a knife-wielding man outside a police station in northern Paris on the anniversary of the terror attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Paris prosecutors said the man's body was found with a cell phone and a piece of paper with an emblem of the Islamic State group and a claim of responsibility written in Arabic. The statement did not provide more details about the claim.

Police shot the man, who a police union official said was shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he tried to enter the police station.

Fingerprints recovered from the scene identified the man as Sallah Ali, who was convicted of theft in 2013, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

The source said investigators matched the fingerprints with those on file for the convicted thief, a homeless man who identified himself at the time as Ali, who was born in Morocco.

Alexis Mukenge, who saw the shooting from inside another building, told the network iTele that police told the man, "Stop. Move back." Mukenge said officers fired twice and the man immediately dropped to the ground.

The Goutte d'Or neighborhood in Paris' 18th arrondissement, a

multi-ethnic district not far from the Gare du Nord train station, was locked down, as were two metro lines running through the area, though they later reopened.

Police cleared out hundreds of people who had gathered at a subway station and along nearby streets. Shops were ordered shuttered along neighboring streets, and shop owners hastily rolled down metal shutters.

Nora Borrias, who lives in the area, could not get home because of the barricades. Shaken, she said "it's like the Charlie Hebdo affair isn't over."

Pictures posted on social media showed a man in jeans and a grey jacket lying with his arms out at his sides on the pavement, yards from the entrance to the police station.

Data curated by FindTheData

Two French officials told The Associated Press that the man had wires extending from his clothing and an explosives squad was on site. But police later said an explosive vest the man was wearing was fake.

A Paris police official said police were investigating the incident as "more likely terrorism" than a standard criminal act. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be publicly named according to police policy.

Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told The Associated Press that at this stage of the investigation, police believe only one person was involved and are not looking for other suspects.

The attack came minutes after French President Francois Hollande warned that the threat of terrorism will continue to weigh on the country amid an ongoing state of emergency.

On Jan. 7, 2015, two French-born brothers killed 11 people inside the building where Charlie Hebdo operated, as well as a Muslim policeman outside. Over the next two days, an accomplice shot a policewoman to death and then stormed a kosher supermarket, killing four hostages. All three gunmen died.

In a speech to police forces charged with protecting the country against new attacks, Hollande said the government was passing new laws and ramping up security, but the threat remained high.



Hollande especially called for better surveillance of "radicalized" citizens who have joined ISIS or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.



"We must be able to force these people --and only these people-- to fulfill certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest ... because they are dangerous," he said.

Following the January attacks, the government announced it planned to give police better equipment and to hire more intelligence agents.



France has been on high alert ever since, and was struck again Nov. 13 in a series of coordinated attacks by ISIS extremists that killed 130 people.

Survivors of the January attacks, meanwhile, are continuing to speak out.

Cartoonist Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, who is known as Riss, told France Inter radio "security is a new expense for the newspaper budget."

"This past year we've had to invest nearly 2 million euros to secure our office, which is an enormous sum," he said. "We have to spend hundreds of thousands on surveillance of our offices, which wasn't previously in Charlie's budget, but we had an obligation so that employees feel safe and can work safely."



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Sky News.
Doomed Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi delivered a prophetic warning in 2011, saying Islamic terror would spread across North Africa and hit Europe if he was removed from power, newly released phone transcripts revealed Thursday.

Speaking to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Qaddafi said "[jihadists] want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe," British media reported.

A British foreign affairs committee investigating the Qaddafi ouster released the transcripts of two phone calls to Blair, both of which reportedly took place on February 25, 2011. Qaddafi fled the Libyan capital city of Tripoli that summer, and rebels killed him in October.

During the first call in the morning, Qaddafi told Blair, "The story is simply this: an organization has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa. Called the Al Qaeda Organization in North Africa... The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11," The Telegraph reports.

In the second call, a few hours later, he added: "I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight. Libyan people will die, damage will be on the Med[iterranean], Europe and the whole world. These armed groups are using the [crumbling Libyan regime] as a justification  and we shall fight them," according to The Guardian.

Analysts say Al Qaeda splinter groups did seize territory in Libya after rebels ousted and killed Qaddafi. Islamic jihadis in Iraq and Syria merged to form what would be known as the Islamic State terror group by 2013, and eventually moved to capture land in North Africa as well.

During one phone call, Blair told Qaddafi, "I would like to offer a way out that is peaceful... keep the lines open." Later that year, photos and video clearly showed rebels had shot the dictator in the head.

"The failure to follow Mr. Blairs calls to 'keep the lines open' and for these early conversations to initiate any peaceful compromise continue to reverberate," Foreign Select Committee chair Crispin Blunt said, according to The Guardian.
South Korea said Thursday that it would restart propaganda broadcasts seen as an act of war by North Korea in response to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test. Seoul also began talks with Washington that could see the arrival of nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft and submarines to the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea's presidential office announced that the cross-border broadcasts would start Friday, two days after North Korea claimed to have tested a "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb, a claim that has been disputed by outside governments and experts.

The broadcasts are meant to raise questions in North Korean minds about the infallibility of the country's ruling Kim family. South Korea stopped earlier broadcasts in late August after it agreed with Pyongyang in late August on a package of measures aimed at easing animosities. South Korea had previously said that the broadcasts were just one of many punitive measures Seoul was considering.

The announcement came after the White House said the United States, South Korea and Japan had "agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior."

President Barack Obama reaffirmed the "unshakeable U.S. commitment" to the security of South Korea and Japan, according to White House statements describing separate calls between Obama, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.

South Korean and U.S. military leaders also discussed the deployment of U.S. "strategic assets" in the wake of the North's test, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Thursday.



Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what U.S. military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.



When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Korea's third nuclear test, the U.S. took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes -- B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers -- to drills with South Korea in a show of force. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.



South Korea also said Thursday it will limit entry to a jointly run factory park in North Korea, the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. The park's operation won't likely be affected much as the restriction will apply to clients, potential buyers and service providers from South Korea, rather than managers who commute to work with North Korean laborers.

It may take weeks or longer to confirm or contradict the North's claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. Even a test of a less sophisticated atomic bomb would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

But an early analysis by the U.S. government was "not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

He added that nothing had happened in the last 24 hours to change Washington's assessment of Pyongyang's technical or military capabilities.

South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers that it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Some believe North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.



But even if the North exploded a boosted fission bomb, its explosive yield, estimated at 6.0 kilotons, showed the test was likely a failure, Seoul's Defense Ministry official said Thursday. An explosion two to five times more powerful would have been reported if it were successful, a ministry official said, requesting anonymity citing department rules.



After the North's 2013 test, a yield of 6-7 kilotons was estimated, according to South Korean officials.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session and pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a 'clear violation' of previous U.N. resolutions.

Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have aimed at reining in the North's nuclear and missile development programs, but Pyongyang has ignored them and moved ahead to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What changes to your marketing strategies and tactics do you plan for 2016? Give examples.

Matt Smith

Chief Marketing Officer

sweetFrog Frozen Yogurt

From a strategic perspective, we will be looking to connect with our customers in a more personal way to help strengthen repeat business.

A major tactical change will be the standardization of a national loyalty and rewards program with a move to a new vendor. In the past, sweetFrog has offered a fragmented effort with some franchise owners using a different platform than others. The new platform will change everything from the messages we deliver to their frequency and time of day--all built to give customers the kind of offers they want, when they want them.

Another change aimed at supporting this strategy will be the thorough review of our in-store guest experience and the creation of a new store planogram. We will be reviewing everything from signage to product placement to merchandise selection and its display. Our stores have remained relatively unchanged for the past five years and we recognize the need to enhance the customer experience.

From a digital standpoint, we will launch a new website with improved content and navigation. This content shift will extend to our social media channels as we look to move from "cute" to giving our customers more valuable and pertinent content.

We have a number of other new tactics slated for sweetFrog in 2016. These range from the creation of a system-wide direct mail program that provides timely offers and introduces new products, to the introduction of reusable bowls to reduce waste and appeal to customers who are environmentally conscious.

From a franchise growth perspective, in 2016 we will be pushing forward with aggressive plans to expand sweetFrog's footprint. Currently we operate 358 stores in 29 states, England, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt. We are negotiating deals in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The opportunity for international expansion is huge. As a result, we'll be selecting the expos and trade shows we attend more strategically.

While our U.S. stores are concentrated on the East Coast, we have franchises doing well in California and we will look to continue growing in that part of the country. We also are looking to enter into more non-traditional locations like ballparks, arenas, airports, and college campuses.

Angela Zerda

Director of Marketing

Mosquito Joe

The marketing landscape, particularly in the digital space, is constantly evolving. To be a leader in our industry we must always be looking out for new opportunities. As we plan for 2016 I expect a continued increase in digital marketing spend, as well as a focus on tying those campaigns to our off-line campaigns for greatest impact. For example, if we're using direct mail in an area, we're serving up banner ads to that same area. Frequency remains vital in marketing, and with new technologies we have additional opportunities for touchpoints throughout the day.

Pay-per-click advertising used to be synonymous with Google AdWords, but new options exist for highly targeted campaigns across social platforms where potential customers are spending hours daily. We plan to expand our presence in some of these areas where we can better target both geographically and demographically. Facebook has some great options for building custom audiences that we will incorporate in our planning, and LinkedIn has released new display network options as well.

Like many brands, we have a good foothold with a mobile-friendly website and we will continue to explore the mobile space in 2016. We must keep mobile top of mind when designing emails and determining customer communication preferences, as well as consumer preferences for receiving marketing messages.

Content marketing is imperative for lead generation but will require more time and resources moving forward. Developing content that catches the interest of our audience means more blogging, infographics, videos, and visual graphics. In 2016 we will drive customer-centric marketing, leveraging our existing base of happy customers to help tell our story and develop marketing messages. No one can sell our service better than our customers, as consumers look to one another for advice on purchase decisions. Social listening, online reviews, and regular surveying keep us tied in to what our customers think so we can ensure relevant marketing messages based on that feedback.

Finally, an essential priority for any brand should be tracking. That is a key initiative for all Mosquito Joe campaigns in 2016. Tracking phone numbers, landing pages, and Google Analytics are great tools to help us recognize our return on investment and what's working most effectively. In a constantly changing marketing environment we must always be testing new things, but without the right tracking and measurement in place, we lose our ability to learn from these opportunities.
It is the dream of many franchisors to take their concept into other countries. As in the U.S. and Canada, the lifeblood for expansion is generating leads from various sources, processing them, and signing a franchise agreement. And that is where the similarities between processing leads in the U.S. and abroad end.

As seen in the accompanying chart, getting an international lead from a broker, an Internet lead site, or your franchise website is only the start of a long and potentially expensive process and journey to signing a licensee agreement in another country, involving many, many steps. The authors of this article, with a combined 80-plus years of taking U.S. franchise brands global, aim to help you fully understand the difference between getting, processing, and signing U.S. and international franchise leads.

The first major difference is the terms you will offer the international franchisee. These are not set as they are in the U.S. with the FDD. Internationally, you can change the fees and royalties depending on the country, even the potential franchisee. You can and will have to negotiate. Of course, it's best if you are consistent in your terms, as international franchisees talk, just as U.S. franchisees do!

Second, the level and difficulty of due diligence on an international franchisee candidate is significantly higher than at home. Numerous U.S. laws and regulations control the information you must acquire about an international candidate before you sign them. Here are two to be aware of: 1) the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act--you must know who you are dealing with, who owns their company, and where their money comes from; and 2) The Specially Designated Nationals List--a list of the "bad guys" and companies the U.S. Treasury Department has identified and that you do not want to do any business with.

Third, the resources required to properly evaluate and sign an international licensee, along with the resulting legal, staff, and travel costs before you receive a fee are significantly higher than in granting a franchise at home.

Although CRM systems are becoming common and companies like FranConnect operate in several countries, the culture in most countries does not lend itself to candidates going online for most of the interaction you will have during the qualification process. Someone will have to send emails and take long-distance phone calls to get the information you need, and to establish the relationship required to do business abroad. Calls take time, cost money, and sometimes require you to get up in the middle of the night because of time zone differences. In almost all other countries business is done based on developed relationships (not transactional). And emails often go to spam, so a call is essential.

Does the candidate speak English? Not only is this critical in the qualification and signing stage, it is essential once the new international franchisee comes to training and starts operations. Otherwise, how will they fully communicate with your staff--and how will you fully transfer your franchise business systems to them?

You will need to apply for new trademarks in other countries. Your U.S. trademark does not cover you. Before you market in any other country, you will want to apply for a trademark to cover your top 15 to 20 countries at the start. Your brand is everything. Protect it. Invest the money to secure your brand in key countries and regions, such as the European Union. There are cost-effective ways to do this. And you will find out if there are problems with your brand in a country. For example, who initially owned the Burger King trademarks in Australia, a "first world" country? Not the U.S. franchisor. So they trade there under the Hungry Jack's mark

International leads often copy U.S. concepts. So you will want to get a confidentiality agreement in place before you provide the details of your brand. Please do not skip this step!!

And finally, the time needed to properly identify, evaluate, and sign an international franchisee can be up to three years from the time you first find the candidate.

What you can do

Create a profile. As a first step, spend some time determining the ideal international licensee profile for your franchise. This profile may differ from what you look for in the U.S., but some of the questions will be the same. What kind of experience will you require in the industry or in franchising? What about character? Education? Reputation? Financial assets? Knowledge of the culture and the local community? Some of the characteristics in your profile may be requirements, while others may be viewed simply as advantages or pluses.

As a first step, spend some time determining the ideal international licensee profile for your franchise. This profile may differ from what you look for in the U.S., but some of the questions will be the same. What kind of experience will you require in the industry or in franchising? What about character? Education? Reputation? Financial assets? Knowledge of the culture and the local community? Some of the characteristics in your profile may be requirements, while others may be viewed simply as advantages or pluses. License type. Decide on what type of international franchise you will offer. Will you allow sub-franchising (a master franchise)? Or will you require that the international franchisee build-own-operate all your units in their country (often called an area licensee)? This very major--and early--decision determines what size company you seek. To build-own-operate multiple units in country requires lots of investment money. This decision also determines how much money you will receive from the franchisee: if they are a master franchisee you will spilt the unit fees and royalties; if they are an area licensee, you will charge the same unit royalties you charge at home.

Decide on what type of international franchise you will offer. Will you allow sub-franchising (a master franchise)? Or will you require that the international franchisee build-own-operate all your units in their country (often called an area licensee)? This very major--and early--decision determines what size company you seek. To build-own-operate multiple units in country requires lots of investment money. This decision also determines how much money you will receive from the franchisee: if they are a master franchisee you will spilt the unit fees and royalties; if they are an area licensee, you will charge the same unit royalties you charge at home. Be selective. Focus on the countries you feel most comfortable with and where (as a result of market research) you see a good chance of sufficient development that will yield lots of units and royalties over time. Do an ROI analysis. How many units can the country hold? Over what period of time? What revenues will these units have for your franchise? What will be the resulting royalties over time?

Focus on the countries you feel most comfortable with and where (as a result of market research) you see a good chance of sufficient development that will yield lots of units and royalties over time. Do an ROI analysis. How many units can the country hold? Over what period of time? What revenues will these units have for your franchise? What will be the resulting royalties over time? Competition. Be sure you know the potential competitors in a country ahead of negotiations with a potential candidate. Be sure your concept is different from what is already being offered in the country. Otherwise you will have a hard time finding a potential franchisee willing to pay an up-front fee! A good way to do this analysis is to visit the major business city in a country in advance.

Be sure you know the potential competitors in a country negotiations with a potential candidate. Be sure your concept is different from what is already being offered in the country. Otherwise you will have a hard time finding a potential franchisee willing to pay an up-front fee! A good way to do this analysis is to visit the major business city in a country in advance. Tax factor. Look at the tax implications of signing an international franchise agreement. Withholding taxes before you can bring fees and royalties home can be as high as 30 percent of what you are due from the franchisee. This is in addition to your home-country taxes.

Look at the tax implications of signing an international franchise agreement. Withholding taxes before you can bring fees and royalties home can be as high as 30 percent of what you are due from the franchisee. This is in addition to your home-country taxes. Franchise agreement. You will need a separate international franchise agreement. This is an investment that can be used in multiple countries. Have this prepared in advance of starting negotiation with a candidate. You should be able to use the same agreement with only local changes to ensure the agreement is enforceable in the country.

You will need a separate international franchise agreement. This is an investment that can be used in multiple countries. Have this prepared in advance of starting negotiation with a candidate. You should be able to use the same agreement with only local changes to ensure the agreement is enforceable in the country. Development cost. Estimate the up-front cost of finding, evaluating, negotiating with, and signing a candidate in a given country. There will be communication, staff time, trademark registration costs, legal agreement costs, travel, training, and other costs in the first couple of years your new licensee operates in a country. And there will probably be few units producing royalties at first. What is the cost for this process from the time you get the lead until they are opening and operating enough units to produce a good royalty stream? It can be US$250,000, so keep this in mind when you set your initial fees.

Conclusion

Good news on international lead sources: there are many established sources. One of the very best (and least expensive) is to add an international landing page to your company website with a link for international candidates to contact you. There also are numerous international franchise expos. Be forewarned that these are often focused on single-unit franchisee candidates, not area licensees or master franchisees. The IFA and U.S. Commercial Services have two to three franchise trade missions to countries each year, which generate large numbers of leads. The U.S. Commercial Service offers "Gold Key" services to individual franchises in some countries to help you find candidates. And numerous international websites market U.S. franchise brands seeking leads.

The purpose of this article is not to scare the U.S. franchisor from going global, but rather that it's good to do so with your eyes wide open--and to understand why an international lead requires more work than a domestic one.

William Edwards is CEO, Michelle McClurg is COO, William Gabbard is senior vice president, and Shanna Aldridge is director at Edwards Global Services, Inc. Contact Edwards at 949-375-1896, bedwards@egs-intl.com, or read his blog at edwardsglobal.com/blog.
When it comes to hiring, BrightStar Care franchisees Maureen and Peter Moore count on more than just credentials to get the job done. The Moores, BrightStar's 2014 franchisees of the year, estimate that for every 10 applicants, only half make the cut to interview for a position with their in-home care business that serves Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Southbury, Conn.

"Of those five, three get hired, and of those three at least one is gone within two weeks because they don't show the type of attitude in the field that we expect," says Peter Moore. Their company, with nearly 200 employees, practices a rigorous supervision schedule to oversee staffers in the field that exceeds franchise requirements.

Recruiting and retaining high-quality employees has always been a winning business formula, but these days the right hires--so crucial to the bottom line--are harder to find, despite the growth of job-finding websites. A shrinking labor pool is expected to make it increasingly difficult for franchisees in many industries to lure high-value, long-term employees for management positions and fill open jobs with quality workers.

"We have gotten lazy as employers, accustomed to a large candidate pool," says Adam Robinson, co-founder and chief hireologist at Hireology, a Chicago-based hiring platform company. "That has changed. We are back to the war on talent again."

These dramatic labor landscape shifts, along with the uncertainty of potential regulatory threats that could redefine the traditional franchise employer-employee model, come just as the consumer base itself is undergoing a facelift. By 2017, the Millennial generation (those born after 1980) will have more purchasing power than the Baby Boomers, says Robinson, whose company was named to the "2015 Best Places to Work" list by Crain's Chicago Business. "Millennials are going to be the biggest customers in two years," says Robinson. "Why worry about this? You have to have the staff that relates to those consumers."

The good news: franchisees who view recruiting as a mindset and a "permanent, always-on business process" can successfully build a team for growth, says Robinson. He recommends managers devote 30 percent of their time to employment recruitment. "You don't need to be building a Fortune 500 recruiting operation to get this right," he says. "You can do this if you have a process and approach you are committed to. But I'll tell you this, it is really expensive to not do it right."

The laws of attraction

For Maureen and Peter Moore, finding quality employees for their caregiver agency is a personal mission. When Maureen couldn't find suitable care for her father when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, she took on the job herself.

After her father's death in 2009, she set out to help others facing the same frustrating dilemma. Her husband, who had retired from a 42-year career in international banking, joined the quest to find a provider of high-quality in-home care. The pair discovered BrightStar Care and a new career and life for themselves. (Coincidentally, BrightStar was founded by a couple confronting a similar problem: finding quality care for an aging grandparent.)

To the Moores, nothing is more important than finding the right people for the job. "We are dealing with human beings, not with cars or hamburgers," says Maureen, whose background is in banking and consumer relations. "When we put a person out in the field with one of our clients, the care has to be the best I believe the industry has to offer, because of the human factor."

The Moores are always looking to hire and largely turn to their existing staff for recommendations. They estimate 85 percent of their caregiver hires come from word-of-mouth employee referrals. "They want their co-workers to be as good as can be, as good as they are," says Maureen. "The better the job we do, the better the word-of-mouth and the more cases they will be invited to participate in."

Finding the right fit

While technology can make finding potential employees easier than ever, what a franchisee does next can make or break their recruiting efforts. "You have to take the time to research and understand what is out there and make decisions about what is applicable to you," says Robinson. "Your recruiting systems are as important as your marketing systems. Until you get to the point of realizing that, you are always going to be behind the curve."

Franchisees looking to bolster their recruitment efforts should start by evaluating every part of the hiring process, including all job application and career sites they may use. Job descriptions should be clear and candidate questions and predictive testing job-specific. Pre-hire assessments and scripted interview guides can also help a company predict whether or not a potential hire will be successful, says Robinson.

This begins with defining the ideal employee for the specific job and the culture of your business. "You have to go into the hiring process with a clear picture of what you're looking for," says Tropical Smoothie Cafe area developer and franchisee Michelle Shriver, who, with husband Kriss, operates six locations in Colorado and Nevada.

Shriver, with 18 years of hospitality experience in the casino/hotel industry, always includes her best employees in the interview process as a way to create a strong team culture and buy-in on the potential hire.

"I think the most important aspect of building a great team is accountability," she says. "You need to care enough about the entire team to ensure only the best employees make the cut--both in joining the team and staying part of it. You can't retain employees who bring others down or don't carry their weight on the team. If you do, you'll lose your best employees and end up not having a team at all."

Hireology's Robinson likewise urges franchisees to rethink how they view hiring based on what they need for their business. For instance, the best employees may not always be the most talented--nor should they be, necessarily. "You might want that superstar manager, but the superstar associate looking for a career path that never gets it is going to quit," he says. "Maybe the job doesn't need exceptionally high-quality talent. Maybe you just need folks who are steady, show up on time, and do good work. They aren't superstars, but they will stay."

Building the right team for growth also means keeping your top talent. Massage Envy franchisee Rick Davis says doing a better job up front of selecting the right person for the right position has had the greatest impact on employee retention at his five Seattle-area spas.

Davis, a former technology executive with Apple, Claris, and Kinko's, says the Predictive Index behavioral assessment and pre-employment screening tools also provide valuable insights into who will be the best fit and happiest in the job.

With nearly 200 employees, Davis--CEO of Redmond, Wash.-based Corazon Partners, is a past franchisee of the year recipient and founding chair of Massage Envy's national franchise advisory board--focuses on hiring strong unit managers. The general manager, he says, is the most important job in the company and a key ingredient of his business success. "My advice to multi-unit owners is to make sure you have the best unit managers in every one of your locations. It makes all the difference," he says.

Robinson agrees that retention starts at the top. He estimates that 50 percent of the factors that predict someone's job success is connected to the manager and their working environment. Millennial employees, for instance, are generally career-minded, engaged, and technologically savvy. They don't want a job, he says, they're seeking an experience.

"Good people leave for better opportunities," he says. "If you can't retain them, nothing else matters. You can have the best recruiting funnel in the world, but if your manager can't provide a workplace environment that is somewhere they want to stay, they will leave."

Accentuate the positive

Franchisees who attract and retain great employees also implement strategies and programs that communicate and promote good performance and company loyalty. And while money still talks, it is not the be-all and end-all. Employees are motivated by human factors such as appreciation, recognition, a sense of purpose, and respect. "Money is a dissatisfier, not a satisfier," says Davis. "We try to take money off the table as a reason someone would want to leave."

Keeping employees is tougher in high-turnover industries such as food service and retail. Nevertheless, there are ways to manage and boost retention rates, such as increasing employee satisfaction through proper onboarding, fair shift schedules, team-building, and recognition.

It is important to catch your employees doing things right, says Shriver. Her employee base at Tropical Smoothie is split about evenly between part- and full-time employees, and she documents everything noteworthy for each, especially their accomplishments. Shriver says many employees stick with the franchise for years, including high school hires who stay on through college. "I can't point to one thing that causes that loyalty," she says. "But to start, we truly care about our employees. There is no faking that, and they can tell if you do or don't care."

When working with younger generations--the mainstay of the restaurant industry--it helps to be "young at heart," says Shriver. The couple hosts pool parties, holiday potlucks, employee contests for prizes and gift cards, and invite their employees to join them in their many charitable works, efforts those employees "seem to get really behind," she says. "What I think employees appreciate the most is thanking them when they do a good job," she says. "We have a lot of high fives, fist bumps, and hugs in our cafes!"

Today's employees also expect and benefit from regular, ongoing feedback. At Massage Envy, for instance, Davis offers each employee a monthly "cadence of conversation," a practice that uncovers problems sooner rather than later, and which helps to recognize and encourage strong employee performance and loyalty.

In the end, Davis has found it pays to put people ahead of profits to create a winning team. "When we have to make a decision between what is going to help people and what is going to help our margin, we tend to come down on the side of our people."

Hiring Process Checklist

Technology is making it easier to find employees, but your process may actually slow down recruitment efforts. Consider the following checklist of questions from Hireology co-founder Adam Robinson to determine if your hiring process is up to snuff:
Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning Jumps 259 Spots on Entrepreneurs 36th Annual Franchise 500 List

January 06, 2016 // Franchising.com // LAKEWOOD, Colo.  Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, one of the nation's fastest-growing carpet cleaning companies, has been recognized for the sixth consecutive year in Entrepreneur magazines annual Franchise 500 ranking.

The Denver-based company was listed at No. 216, improving a remarkable 259 spots from its previous ranking of No. 475 in 2015. The ranking was published in the January 2016 issue and can be found online at www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500.

"We're honored to have once again been recognized by Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list, as it speaks to the quality and sustainability of our unique franchise system," said Jonathan Barnett, founder and CEO of Oxi Fresh. "More importantly, it is a testament to the hard work and passion of our franchisees who are continuing to provide our customers with the highest-quality carpet cleaning experience.

Recognized by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 acknowledged Oxi Fresh for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate, and system size.

Since being launched in 2006, Oxi Fresh has grown extraordinarily fast to 295 locations in 45 states and Canada, 106 of which have opened in the last two years alone. In addition, using its innovative and environmentally-friendly carpet cleaning method that only requires two gallons of water per home  as opposed to the 40-50 gallons that other carpet cleaners use  Oxi Fresh has completed more than 700,000 jobs and has saved more than 28 million gallons of water.

We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have achieved thus far, said Barnett, whose company will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2016. Our progress serves as a solid foundation on which we can continue to build the brand.

Barnett expects Oxi Fresh to open at least 50 new locations in 2016.

To augment the companys growth, Oxi Fresh continues to seek single- and multi-unit franchisees interested in joining a low-cost, tech-based franchise system, particularly those with a passion and commitment to providing environmentally friendly and green services. With a franchise fee of $33,900, the total investment to own and operate an Oxi Fresh franchise is $38,700-$66,600.

For more information about Oxi Freshs franchise opportunity, please visit www.oxifreshfranchise.com.

About Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning

Through innovative products and modern technology, Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning offers green cleanings and incredible results through a unique, low-moisture process. Oxi Fresh has been ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500, featured in Inc. magazine's Inc. 500|5000, and has been recognized as one of Americas Best Franchises to Buy, by Forbes magazine. Oxi Fresh has more than 295 locations throughout the US and Canada with more locations currently in development. For more information, visit: www.oxifresh.com.

SOURCE Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning

Contact:

Michael Misetic

Managing Partner

(O) 847.239.8171

(M) 773.680.9023

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Anago Cleaning Systems Ranks Among Top Franchises In Entrepreneurs 2016 Franchise 500

Industry-Leading Commercial Cleaning Franchisor Earns No. 39 Spot on Prestigious List

January 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  Anago Cleaning Systems (Anago), a leading commercial cleaning franchise with more than 2,400 Unit Franchisees throughout the U.S. and internationally, today announced it rose over 40 spots to earn the 39th spot in the annual Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500 rankings. Anago rose from 83rd in the 2015 report to the top 50 spot.

We are thrilled to have earned a strong position on this prestigious list," said Adam Povlitz, president of Anago Cleaning Systems. "When such a well-respected publication recognizes the success youre achieving, it affirms the systems and ongoing support we have provided our Franchisees for over 25 years.

The list positions Anago in the top ranks of the 500 franchises included, and further exemplifies the rapid growth of the $100 billion commercial cleaning industry. As the brand continues to grow and expand across the U.S., Anago is seeking Master Franchise Owners with sales and marketing experience to join its recession-resistant concept. Master Franchise Owners have the potential to create many small businesses within their community through the Unit Franchise concept. The Unit focuses their business on cleaning office buildings, retail stores, manufacturing facilities, and just about any other commercial property. The Master Franchisees handle the administrative tasks, including everything from finding clients and coordinating cleaning contracts to billing and collections.

Our hope is that this recognition increases awareness of both our brand and our franchisee recruitment opportunities, Povlitz added. We hope to reach people who are passionate about sales and marketing, business management, or the cleaning industry. Those are the key players we want to welcome to the Anago family.

Anago plans to expand its master franchise territories into additional markets around the United States, including Chicago, Houston, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut as well as internationally. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Anago, contact Judy Walker, Vice President of Marketing for Anago, at 800-213-5857 or judy@anagocleaning.com or visit www.AnagoMasters.com.

About Anago Cleaning Systems

Anago Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning franchise system supporting over 35 Master Franchises and 2,400 Unit Franchisees in the U.S. and internationally. After years of refining procedures and creating duplicable systems created in his large commercial cleaning service, David Povlitz founded Anago in 1989 to help other entrepreneurs open their cleaning businesses. Today, its program sets the standard worldwide in commercial cleaning. Anago was ranked the 10th fastest-growing franchise and #39 on the Franchise 500 by Entrepreneur magazine in 2015 and 2013, and ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the best franchises in franchisee satisfaction. Inc. Magazine has also listed Anago as one of the top privately-held companies in the U.S. For further information, visit its website or www.AnagoMasters.com.

SOURCE Anago Cleaning Systems

Media Contact:

Erin Baker

Director of Public Relations

Nymbus Public Relations

(954) 732-6053

erin@nymbuspr.com

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Domino's Names Eric Anderson EVP, International Operations

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Jan. 7, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, has named Eric Anderson executive vice president of international operations, based in The Netherlands, reporting to Domino's International President Richard Allison. Anderson's promotion is effective immediately.

Anderson joined Domino's in 2010 from global management consulting firm Bain & Company as regional vice president for the Americas and business strategy. In 2012, he took over as regional vice president of Domino's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region.

In his new role, Anderson will oversee two Domino's business regions: Europe (based in The Netherlands) and the newly-opened Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Eastern European (MACE) region, based in Dubai. Anderson will also oversee our International Supply Chain and Quality Assurance teams.

"We've become one of the fastest-growing and top-performing quick service restaurant brands in the world," said Allison. "As a result, our organization is evolving to ensure we are well-positioned for growth. Eric's years of experience, his proven leadership and the results he has achieved for the Domino's brand since 2010 make me extremely confident that we have the right person in place to lead our operations."

Reporting to Anderson are two newly-promoted Regional Vice Presidents in the organization: Arnaud Gadaix, who leads the Europe Region and Josh Kilimnik, who leads the MACE region.

About Domino's Pizza

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 12,100 stores in over 80 international markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $8.9 billion in 2014, comprised of more than $4.1 billion in the U.S. and nearly $4.8 billion internationally. In the third quarter of 2015, Domino's had global retail sales of over $2.1 billion, comprised of over $1.0 billion in the U.S. and over $1.1 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for nearly 97% of Domino's stores as of the third quarter of 2015. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino's generate approximately 50% of U.S. sales from digital channels at the end of 2014, and reach an estimated run rate of $4.0 billion annually in global digital sales. Domino's features an ordering app lineup that covers nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market and has recently introduced several innovative ordering platforms, including Ford SYNC, Samsung Smart TV and Pebble Watch, as well as Twitter and text message using a pizza emoji. In June 2014, Domino's debuted voice ordering for its iPhone and Android apps, a true technology first within traditional and e-commerce retail.

Order - www.dominos.com

Mobile - http://mobile.dominos.com

Digital Info - anyware.dominos.com

Company Info - biz.dominos.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/dominos

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/dominos

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/dominos

SOURCE Domino's Pizza

Contact:

Tim McIntyre

734-930-3563

tim.mcintyre@dominos.com

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Wok Box Inks Five-Unit Deal in West Michigan

January 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // SURREY, British Columbia  Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen, a fast casual chain that offers Asian-inspired cuisine, has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement for five restaurants throughout Western Michigan.

The stores will be developed over the next two to three years, with the first one scheduled to open within Kentwood within the next six months. Additional locations are planned for Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, among others.

After doing our due diligence, we all realized that Wok Box was the perfect fit, said Aravind Gorthi, one of five entrepreneurs who signed the development agreement. Not only were we impressed by the freshness and quality of the products, we were also in awe of the unique, bold flavors and variety that other quick-serve Asian chains simply do not offer.

The agreement represents the latest step in Wok Boxs U.S. franchise store growth and supplements a handful of other agreements previously signed in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas.

"Aravind and his team are residents of West Michigan, and their knowledge of the region will certainly aid Wok Boxs entrance into the market," said Wok Box CEO Lawrence Eade. "This deal is the latest example of our continued expansion efforts in new markets across the U.S."

Wok Box specializes in fresh, wok-cooked Asian cuisine, offering simple but extensive menu options influenced by the flavors of 10 Asian regions, including Thailand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Korea, China, Japan, India, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The main meals consist of fresh stirfy noodle boxes, rice boxes and Asian street tacos. After choosing their base, customers pick from one of five proteins  grilled chicken, grilled beef, grilled pork, wokd shrimp or wokd tofu  before further customizing their meal with a selection of eight signature sauces and 14 toppings. There are also four several classic boxes to choose from.

In addition to the three main entree categories, Wok Box offers Asian salads and small bites like spring rolls, chicken gyozas, edamame and cheesy kimchi fire balls.

Wok Box promotes healthy eating, and many menu items can be made vegetarian, vegan or wheat-free, and in most cases are served in five minutes or less, Eade said. Dishes can be customized to meet the health needs of our guests, or they can be a treat for people who just want to go out and have something to treat themselves, he added.

About Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen

Founded in 2004 as a single store in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Wok Box sets itself apart from other quick service chains by offering innovative, fresh and healthy Asian dishes made from natural ingredients and influenced by the flavors of Thailand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Korea, China, Japan, India, Cambodia and Vietnam. Franchising since 2006, Wok Box has grown to more than 80 franchises throughout Canada, the United States and Qatar. For more information, visit www.wokbox.us.

SOURCE Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen

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WebCam Market Is Expected To Grow To $15.2 Billion By 2021 : Radiant Insights,Inc

RadiantInsights.com includes new market research report on "Global WebCam Market Size, Share And Trends Report Up To 2021 : Radiant Insights" to its huge collection of research reports.

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WebCam markets promise to grow significantly because of the more economical visualization and navigation provided by systems. Visualization includes mapping from the air, inspection from the air, surveillance from the air, and package delivery from the air. The unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras are able to do things that cannot be done in any other way. This bodes well for market development.

The webcam industry is characterized by short product life cycles, continual performance enhancements, and rapid adoption of technological advances. It is intensely competitive. There are retail and OEM market segments. There are security, travel, and online education segments among others.

Complete Report Available @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/webcams-market-shares-strategies-and-forecasts-worldwide-2015-to-2021

Price sensitivity characterizes the OEM market. Virtually every tablet and smartphone will have a webcam going forward. WebCams are used in combination with instant messaging programs. YouTube is a premier video site. Microsoft Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, SameTime, and Skype support video chat. Broadband connections support streaming video. Installation, image quality and performance are ways to measure the substance of the WebCam experience.

Imaging depends on quality and usefulness. Picture quality is an ongoing issue for webcams. Sample photos from each Web camera need to be tested in a variety of lighting conditions provide a good measure of quality. The standard high-resolution setting is measured in pixels and is constantly shifting for video.

Resolution used for video, e-mailing and posting on the Web varies. A Web camera includes software to help present and adjust the picture. WebCams can take high quality still pictures, with a lower quality for video. The resolution that works well for video is lower than that for still pictures that require higher resolution. Anything higher quality, anything matching the quality of the still pictures in the video would be a huge drain on the processor, and reduce resolution for this reason.

The frames-per-second (fps) rate determines how quickly a webcam can capture and move video. The fewer frames per second, the choppier the picture. Full-motion video is generally 60 frames-per-second. Instant messaging software and servers are improving in this regard.

Browse All Reports of This Category at: http://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/technology-and-media

WebCam video broadcasts are limited by the speed of Internet connections and instant messaging servers. Streaming video works best with a high-bandwidth connections. Transfer rates can be limited by instant messaging servers. Skype and MSN Messenger is offering smooth video. Skype's video chat service is increasing its user base on a daily basis.

WebCam controls include focus dials, lens covers, and pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. Computer sound cards and microphones mean the Webcam includes a built-in microphone or comes with a headset. WebCams come bundled with video-conferencing software. Packages include software for video editing, surveillance, stop motion, video conferencing or email.

Inherent value of video communication is enabled. Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Skype are some of many social media applications that provide high quality free video communication. There is plenty of motivation to purchase webcams as people seem to enjoy social media as much as anything. Video conferencing is poised to become ubiquitous.

According to Susan Eustis, leader of the team that prepared the study, "Security applications are promising to continue to grow rapidly. The ability to remotely monitor one room away or across the world using the Internet provides stunning new functionality that is enormously significant because of the automated process that implements intelligent systems. This intelligence capability promises to be used by everyone for security, security for people in their homes, businesses, police departments, universities, hospitals, and all organizations with a campus."

The WebCam Market at $3.4 billion in 2014 is expected to grow to $15.2 billion by 2021. Strong growth is triggered by the increasing availability of broadband and Internet connectivity. The Internet protocols of Ethernet dominate all networking.

Companies Profiled

Market Leaders

o Logitech

o D-Link

o Microsoft

o Flir

o Creative Technology

o Philips

o Sony

o Cisco

o Samsung

o 10Moon

o Platinet / Omega Technology

o A4Tech

o Vivitar

o Canon

About Radiant Insights

Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions.

Contact Details:

Michelle Thoras

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Radiant Insights, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0054

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@radiantinsights.com

Web: http://www.radiantinsights.com/

For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/webcams-market-shares-strategies-and-forecasts-worldwide-2015-to-2021

Contact Info:

Name: Michelle Thoras

Email: sales@radiantinsights.com

Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc.

Address: 28 2nd Street

Phone: 14153490054

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/webcam-market-is-expected-to-grow-to-15-2-billion-by-2021-radiant-insightsinc/100625

Release ID: 100625

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John Palmer Art names Houston Habitat for Humanity as 2016 Charity of the Year

For the sixth consecutive year, acclaimed artist and philanthropist John Ross Palmer has selected a Charity of the Year for his business. For the calendar year 2016, John Palmer Art will support Houston Habitat for Humanity.

January 6, 2016 (FPRC) -- John Palmer Art has named Houston Habitat for Humanity as its 2016 Charity of the Year. After a tremendous amount of research and meetings with non-profit staff and volunteers, John Palmer Art is incredibly excited to support this 501(c)(3) organization for the entire calendar year through the raising of funds, increasing awareness and hosting special events. To date, more than 995 Houston Habitat homes have been built housing over 3980 people, from infants to the elderly. Houston Habitat builds affordable energy-efficient homes and through its neighborhood revitalization initiatives, repairs existing older homes for low income families. Just as Palmer empowers artists through his Escapist Mentorship Program, HHFH empowers families through construction and provision of safe and sustainable homes. You can learn about Houston Habitat for Humanity by visiting HoustonHabitat.org.



Artist John Ross Palmer says, In the Summer of 2015, my husband Ryan and I joined 13 American volunteers to build a Habitat home in Trinidad & Tobago. The transformative experience was humbling, inspiring and taught me great respect for community improvement. In late December, I had the pleasure of taking a Habitour of Habitats on-the-ground work here in Houston. I was soldand I wanted to help out. I absolutely cannot wait to help this non-profit in 2016 and I look forward to creating an art series that will be inspired by their mission. Allison Hay, Executive Director of Houston Habitat for Humanity, shares Palmers excitement, We are honored for the partnership. The news comes so early in the year that it becomes a great opportunity to make 2016 an amazing 12 months to help Houstonians become homeowners and improve the lives of each of their family members.



If you have any questions about John Ross Palmer, his naming of the Houston Habitat for Humanity as his 2016 Charity of the Year or Gallery Events that honor HHFH, please contact Gallery Owner Ryan Lindsay at 713-861-6726 or Ryan@JohnPalmerArt.com. Past Charity of the Year selections for John Palmer Art include Outreach United (2011), Heifer International (2012), Writers in the Schools (2013), the League of Women Voters Education Fund (2014) and the Lone Star Veterans Association (2015).



As John Palmer Art's 2016 Charity of the Year, HHFH will be specifically honored at the following events at the John Palmer Art Gallery & Studio: Official Charity of the Year Launch Party on March 5th and The Afternoon & Evening of Escapism on October 15-16.







Send an email to Ryan Lindsay of r

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O'Malley Instruments Announces Nationwide Availability Of All Available Instrument Product Lines

O'Malley Instruments will save customers hundreds of dollars per instrument compared with other name brands, as they roll out their services to include nationwide delivery.

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The New Year is a time when many people determine to undertake a new mission, to improve their lives through enriching activities. Whether it's getting in the gym, taking a course or learning an instrument, the time is ripe for people to make new commitments. When it comes to instruments, there's nothing more important to learning one than having one, and O'Malley Musical Instruments is seizing the opportunity created by so many new learners by rolling out nationwide delivery on all their instruments, to become America's family run musical instrument store.

The store, which has been run in bricks and mortar for a lifetime, first went online several years ago, offering state-wide delivery in Georgia. Now, they are offering a nationwide service through their website, and will deliver instruments anywhere within the continental United States.

The move has come at an ideal time, as their inventory is bigger than ever, and covers marching band and orchestral musical instruments, covering brass, wood wind, guitar, cello and violin, and more. The instruments include every standard, from beginner to professional, and the website helps save people hundreds of dollars compared to major music shop brands.

A spokesperson for O'Malley Instruments explained, "We stock the very best brands in musical instruments, including the Jupiter XO range, Altus, and our own brand of instruments. We tune, condition and service every instrument before it leaves the store so every delivery is ready to open and play, allowing people to get right into their practice as soon as they receive the item. Nationwide delivery now ensures we can offer the best deals anywhere in the US, ordered from the comfort of your own home. We look forward to being able to become the number one name online for musical instruments in 2016."

About O'Malley Instruments: O'Malley Instruments is an American family owned business with a lifetime around music education and music performance. Every horn is tested for correct adjustment and playability. We strive to offer the highest quality instrument at the lowest possible price to make quality musical instruments available to everyone. Every O'Malley instrument comes with a 2-year warranty, with parts available from O'Malley for every instrument in their catalog.

For more information about us, please visit https://omalleymusicalinstruments.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Danny Maley

Organization: O'Malley Musical Instruments

Phone: 912-381-6047

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/omalley-instruments-announces-nationwide-availability-of-all-available-instrument-product-lines/100561

Release ID: 100561

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Kayse Morris Announces The Expansion Of Her Interactive Notebooks Business Through KayseMorris.com

Teachers Pay Teachers is an open marketplace for teachers to market their resources to others, and Kayse Morris has just expanded her own range of interactive notebooks on the platform.

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Education is changing rapidly because the world is changing at a faster pace than ever before, and many jobs that people do today did not exist when those doing them were at school. Because of this rapidly evolving world, it is more important than ever that students are engaged with education in order to provide a broad base of flexible, transferrable skills. Rather than competing with the many stimuli children are exposed to, Kayse Morris has worked with those stimuli to deliver exciting lessons through her new range of interactive notebooks, available now on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Sold to teachers to give to students, the interactive notebooks incorporate modern technology and the latest apps, together with modern music and other inspirations that will help engage students in new and exciting ways.

They also include as many as 24 lesson plans, and are optimized for a wide range of topic areas and disciplines, including a New Year's Flipbook, Black History Month, key profiles on influential figures like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman, and core subjects like map skills, literacy and social studies.

A spokesperson for Kayse Morris explained, "Teachers Pay Teachers was designed as a free marketplace for teachers to market their inspiration and ideas to other teachers who are looking for new and successful ways of teaching kids. Kayse has undertaken a personal lifestyle revolution, and you can see that reflected in the revolutionary nature of her new work, which offers some of the most exciting lesson plans available, all plans have proven to be effective and are featured by the Georgia Department of Education. Kayse Morris interactive notebooks provides a great way to make learning fun in a way that kids today really respond to, while taking the pressure off individual teachers to generate wholly new content."

About Kayse Morris: Kayse Morris is transforming teaching and teachers' lives, using technology driven learning with an emphasis on Interactive Notebooks, and student achievement. She has taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, 6th grade, and worked with struggling readers, earning a wide range of honors and awards since graduating with a Bachelor's Degree Early Childhood Education, later achieving a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and currently pursuing specialism in Educational Leadership.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.kaysemorris.com

Contact Info:

Name: Kayse Morris

Organization: Kayse Morris

Phone: 9123813006

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/kayse-morris-announces-the-expansion-of-her-interactive-notebooks-business-through-kaysemorris-com/100598

Release ID: 100598

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Back Posture Braces Publishes Information on the Best Braces for Posture

Individuals need to understand the risks of bad posture and how to go about choosing a brace to correct these issues, announces BackPostureBraces.com

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Poor posture leads to many problems, and individuals who work on a computer all day often complain of pain in various parts of the body. FastCompany.com announces that 63 percent of individuals with poor posture report low back pain, 53 percent complain of neck pain, 38 percent state they suffer from shoulder pain and 33 percent say they have wrist pain. Other parts of the body may also be affected when posture isn't maintained. For this reason, many individuals now choose to make use of a back posture brace.

"Proper posture is important as the spine provides the organs with energy so they can function as intended. When a person has poor posture over a period of time, they typically find they are in pain and they may even find they are afflicted with one or more diseases. A posture brace helps an individual remain poised, while setting the muscle tone to ensure correct alignment. Choosing the right brace is essential, however, to achieve this goal," Kevin, spokesperson for Back Posture Braces (http://backposturebraces.com), reports.

When choosing a back brace, consumers need to take several variables into consideration. Comfort is one, as using the brace too much can lead to discomfort. The recommended wearing time of each brace must be factored in, along with the material of the brace. Some braces feature stretchable material, yet others are made of non-elastic components, such as cotton. Rating and price also need to be evaluated during the buying process.

"Back Posture Braces examines each model, taking these factors into account when determining a rating. The back posture brace reviews found on the site provide information consumers need when making a decision as to which model is right for their unique needs. The reviews contain information about the dealer's official website, the material and any distinguishing characteristics of the brace. Learn about the design, features, quality and more when browsing these reviews," Kevin continues.

The BaX-u Back Brace and Posture Support device receives a four and a half star rating from the site. This device is made from a thin, comfortable silk and receives a comfort rating of 80 percent. The IntelliSkin Men's Foundation Posturecue Tank or T-shirt also receives a four and a half star rating and is made of CoolCue fabric with a bottom elastic silicone bank that is designed to prevent migration. The comfort level of this model is 70 percent.

"These are only two of the many braces reviewed on the site. There are numerous others consumers may wish to consider. Never base the selection strictly on price, as doing so could lead to the purchase of a brace that the user doesn't often wear. Don't hesitate to speak to a medical professional either, as they can provide information that may be of help during the buying process. They are familiar with the needs of the body and your particular health difficulties and can make recommendations as to the device that is right for you," Kevin states.

About Back Posture Braces:

Back posture braces come in many sizes and types, making it difficult for consumers to know which model is right for their needs. Back Posture Braces strives to help individuals compare the various models, providing reviews to achieve this goal. In addition, the site offers advice on how to approach selecting a model and what variables to take into consideration.

For more information about us, please visit http://backposturebraces.com

Contact Info:

Name: Kevin

Organization: Back Posture Braces

Phone: 800-759-5568

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/back-posture-braces-publishes-information-on-the-best-braces-for-posture/100594

Release ID: 100594

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Stairlift Company Reviews Announces the Launch of Local New York Market Reviews

StairliftCompanyReviews.com is pleased to announce that it now offers reviews of stairlift dealers local to the New York market filling a need in a vibrant, influential demographic

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StairliftCompanyReviews.com, the largest single source of independent stair lift information on the internet, has launched local New York reviews to its suite of services provided. New York consumers will now be able to find, review, and connect with the best local stairlift dealers and their services including installation and service changes.

When asked why the New York market was important for the launch of StairliftCompanyReviews.com local services, Yale Lipshick, Co-Founder of StairliftCompanyReviews.com says, "Due to New York being the location of our headquarters and having an influential city like New York City as well as its mature economic power right here, it made sense to expand our local reviews to the state. After a great deal of research, we learned that New York residents don't currently have a personalized and extensive resource for stairlift options. New Yorkers are often on their feet but are also looking for better options to move inside their homes. Through StairliftCompanyReviews.com it is our goal to help New York consumers avoid unqualified dealers, so they get the most value while solving the mobility issues they are dealing with."

StairliftCompanyReviews.com offers its consumers free services, including the ability to compare quotes from multiple dealers, each of whom have been independently pre-screened by the company, and access to an active and willing network of stairlift dealers and professionals for 24/7 support.

The website is beloved by consumers because it gives them the opportunity to read authentic company reviews of various stairlift suppliers in their local market and national markets. Through StairliftCompanyReviews.com consumers have the ability to research stairlifts by specific features and compare product prices side by side. Consumers also have the ability to save money by having multiple companies bid on their inquiries.

The website is also beloved by dealers due to the fact that it provides them a hub for qualified, interested stairlift purchasers which dealers can tap into. In addition, the website's rating and review system allows dealers and manufacturers to quickly and easily read customer comments and review of their experiences, so they can immediately see their quality of service. StairliftCompanyReviews.com also offers dealers mini websites for dealer company profiles, ratings and reviews and the ability to create a gallery of product offerings and instructions for purchasing and installation.

For more information about Stairlift Company Reviews, please visit http://www.stairliftcompanyreviews.com.

About StairliftCompanyReviews.com

StairliftCompanyReviews.com is the internet's largest single source of stairlift information. We connect stairlift shoppers with the best local stairlift dealers, installers, and servicers who represent the most popular brands in the industry. Chair lift customers can quickly and easily get price quotes from all major brands on stairlift rentals and on all new and pre-owned models from manufacturers like Acorn, Stannah, Hawle and Bruno. Consumers who use StairliftCompanyReviews.com receive competitive quotes from only prescreened, trusted dealers and service representatives for new, pre-owned, and rental stairlifts.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.stairliftcompanyreviews.com

Contact Info:

Name: Yale Lipschik

Organization: Stairlift Company Reviews

Address: 500 Mamaroneck Ave Harrison, NY 10528

Phone: 1-888-507-2015

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/stairlift-company-reviews-announces-the-launch-of-local-new-york-market-reviews/100639

Release ID: 100639

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Lawsuit Legal Launches Nationwide Pregnancy Discrimination Assistance Program

New program will help protect the rights of those who have suffered employment discrimination related to pregnancy, with free case reviews now available, Lawsuit Legal reports

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Lawsuit Legal, one of the nation's top case review and attorney referral networks, is now working with those who have experienced employment discrimination relating to pregnancy. Through the new program detailed at https://www.lawsuitlegal.com/pregnancy-discrimination.php, victims of job discrimination related to being pregnant or subsequent childbirth can sign up for a free, no-obligation case consultation with an experienced, award-winning employment lawyer. For those with cases who experienced illegal discrimination in the eyes of the law, they will have the option of pursuing their legal options.

"There is still a lot of progress to be made in the fight against pregnancy discrimination in the workplace," LawsuitLegal representative Chris M. Levin said, "Women who choose to bring a new life into the world are protected under the law, and should not have to suffer career damage or worse for it, and the laws provide some very important protections against discriminatory firing, retaliation, and other unfair employer treatment. Female workers nationwide can have their cases reviewd and rest easy knowing they have recourse when their employers violate the law."

The 1978 federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964, adding pregnancy to the list of factors that employers are legally forbidden from discriminating against. The amended form of the Civil Rights Act protects pregnant women from being fired, penalized, or passed over in hiring because of their condition, also requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for the particular difficulties that childbirth can entail.

Unfortunately, employers around the country continue to violate these protections, often striving to conceal their illegal, discriminatory act in ways that purport to legitimatize disciplinary action taken against pregnant women or those who have recently given birth. This can leave women feeling like there is little to be done, especially given the many other concerns new mothers inevitably have to deal with.

The new Lawsuit Legal pregnancy discrimination program will therefore be an important, valuable tool for mothers and pregnant women around the country. Women who suspect they have suffered from pregnancy-related employment discrimination can now easily sign up for free consultations, entirely without obligation, at https://www.lawsuitlegal.com. A partnering attorney will review each claim, answer any questions, and clearly explain their legal options. Those interested in the latest Lawsuit Legal developments can also follow the company's Facebook page at https://business.facebook.com/Lawsuit-Legal-354470771395524/.

About Lawsuit Legal:

Connecting those with legitimate claims to attorneys nationwide who can help them, Lawsuit Legal makes it simple and easy to acquire award-winning legal assistance.

For more information about us, please visit https://www.lawsuitlegal.com/pregnancy-discrimination.php

Contact Info:

Name: Chris M. Levin

Organization: Lawsuit Legal

Phone: (888) 713-6653

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/lawsuit-legal-launches-nationwide-pregnancy-discrimination-assistance-program/100587

Release ID: 100587

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British Columbia's Underwriters Insurance Joins Westland Insurance Group

Merger will result in improved service for loyal Underwriters Insurance clients thanks to greater resources and scale of 62-office Westland, Underwriters Insurance reports

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Underwriters Insurance, one of the province's leading full-service insurance agencies, has become part of the Westland Insurance Group. The acquisition by Westland, an insurance company with 62 offices in British Columbia, will give Underwriters Insurance clients the benefits of greater scale while preserving the personal, attentive service that the company has become known for. Founded in 1980, Westland Insurance Group is one of Canada's most successful business, auto, and home insurance companies.

"We're proud to announce that Underwriters Insurance is now a member of the Westland Insurance Group," representative Cory Ladner said, "Our offices in Vancouver and Kamloops are still staffed by the same experienced, caring professionals as before, so our clients can count on receiving the same quality of service they have come to appreciate so much. The merger will give us the ability to offer even better claims support and agent availability, along with more generous underwriting capacity, so our loyal customers are going to benefit greatly."

With a strong focus on building client relationships that allowed brokers to better understand the real needs and goals of clients, Underwriters Insurance quickly became one of British Columbia's most highly regarded insurance agencies. Offices in Vancouver and Kamloops served clients in those cities and surrounding areas, with agents working closely with individual and commercial clients to find the most satisfying possible solutions to their insurance needs.

By joining the Westland Insurance Group, Underwriters Insurance Brokers will become able to provide even more capable service to clients. With a just-increased total of 62 offices spread throughout British Columbia, Westland Insurance Group is one of the province's largest and best-backed companies of its kind. The greater scale of the Westland organization means that Underwriters Insurance clients can now expect even more effective and responsive claims support, along with new insurance opportunities and improved access to agents and other sources of advice and assistance.

At the same time, the personal, involved service that Underwriters Insurance has always offered will remain a key feature of the company as it joins Westland. The same Underwriters Insurance staff members who have built up productive relationships with so many clients will remain in place at the same office locations in Vancouver and Kamloops. By giving these much-appreciated insurance experts access to the far greater resources of the Westland Insurance Group, the merger will result in even better service for Underwriters Insurance clients.

About Underwriters Insurance:

Underwriters Insurance is one of British Columbia's top insurance brokerages, providing personal, informed advice about home, property, auto, and business insurance to clients in Vancouver, Kamloops, and nearby areas.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.underwriters.ca

Contact Info:

Name: Cory Ladner

Organization: Underwriters Insurance

Phone: (604) 734-2124

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/british-columbias-underwriters-insurance-joins-westland-insurance-group/100606

Release ID: 100606

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Resolve Recruit Responds to Canada's Transition to Globally Harmonized System of Classification of Chemicals

Resolve Recruit, a leading provider of recruiting services across the Greater Toronto Area, is responding to Canada's transition to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

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Toronto, Canada, January 7, 2016 - Resolve Recruit (www.resolverecruit.com), a leading provider of recruiting services across the Greater Toronto Area, is commenting on Canada's transition to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

The new standard, when fully implemented, will be an internationally consistent set of labels for hazardous materials that will improve workplace safety across borders. GHS was designed during a Rio 1992 conference, but it has taken until recently for the full standards of implementation to be devised. In Canada, the implementation is being undertaken as part of the amended Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and is dubbed WHMIS 2015.

"Overall, most employers and employees will not be seeing too many differences," explains Kim Muir, the Managing Director of Resolve Recruit. "Most of the content in the original 1988 WHMIS is present in some form in WHMIS 2015."

According to Muir, there are three primary differences between the new 2015 implementation and the prior 1988 model. New or altered hazard pictograms will better communicate dangerous materials, hazards not present in WHMIS 1988 will be identified and included, and the safety data sheets will be more detailed.

"What employers and employees have learned under WHMIS until now will remain useful and valid. It is best to think of the 2015 update as an add-on rather than a change," notes Muir.

Implementation of WHMIS 2015 is being carried out in three phases, slated to finish on December 1, 2018.

"Right now, employers are able to choose whether to abide by the 1988 or the 2015 WHMIS requirements and training practices," Muir adds. "Whichever is decided upon, however, must be followed in full. An 'a-la carte' approach is not allowed by the legislation."

Employers have until the final 2018 deadline to make the transition to the 2015 WHMIS practices. The manufacturers, importers, and distributors of hazardous materials face earlier deadlines under the implementation criteria, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

Resolve Recruit, Inc. is one of the leading employment agencies in Mississauga. They match skilled workers with a variety of businesses for both temporary and direct hire positions. More information about their business and workplace information can be found on their website at www.resolverecruit.com or by contacting them at sales@resolverecruit.com or (905) 568-8828.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.resolverecruit.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Kim Muir

Organization: Resolve Recruit Inc.

Address: 30 Eglinton Ave. West Suite 812 Mississauga, ON L5R 3E7

Phone: 905-568-8828

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/resolve-recruit-responds-to-canadas-transition-to-globally-harmonized-system-of-classification-of-chemicals/100682

Release ID: 100682

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Global Intelligent Emergency Response System and Infrastructure market is projected to reach $110.38 billion by 2022

Global Intelligent Emergency Response System and Infrastructure market is projected treach $110.38 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 7.34% during the forecast period.

Deerfield Beach, FL, United States of America January 6, 2016 /GlobalMarketNews.us/ 

Some of the key drivers for the Intelligent Emergency Response System and Infrastructure market growth include rising consciousness about the significance of security, replacement of existing architecture with new emergency systems, rise in mining, exploration and hazardous industry. However, the paucity of interoperability between products and scarcity of technical personnel are some of the major factors inhibiting the growth of Intelligent Emergency Response System and Infrastructure market.

Request For Sample Report Here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/intelligent-emergency-response-system-and-infrastructure-market-outlook-38287#RequestSample

In 2014, North America accounted for the largest market share of more than 30% with United States dominating the region, followed by Europe. Videsurveillance was the leading market segment, while broadcast systems represented the fastest growing segment of global intelligent emergency response system and infrastructure market. Perimeter Intrusion Detection market is alsanticipated tshow high growth during the forecast period. In applications perspective, defense segment lead the market in 2014, and this segment is projected texhibit the highest volume growth through forecast period. The major components for the market are dominated by the sensors accounting for around 40% share succeeded by detectors and programmable logic controller (PLC).

The key players in the global intelligent emergency response system and infrastructure market are Siemens Ag, Alcatel-Lucent, Bosch, United Technologies Corporation, Phoenix IT Group, Everbridge Inc., ATI Systems, Enera International AB, Honeywell and Micron Technologies

Do inquiry Before Purchasing Report: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/intelligent-emergency-response-system-and-infrastructure-market-outlook-38287#InquiryForBuying

Applications Covered:

Industrial

Energy and power

Mining

Government

Defense

Oil and Gas

Healthcare

Education

Residential

Others

Security types Covered:

Life Security

Physical Security

Facility Management Security

Others

Components Covered:

Sensors

Wireless Chipsets

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

Display & Lighting

Detectors

Optoelectronics

Access Control

Systems covered:

Communications System

Signage

Broadcasting System

VideSurveillance System

Perimeter Intrusion System

Back-Up Power Generators

Others

Regions Covered:

North America

US

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

Italy

UK

Spain

Asia Pacific

Japan

China

India

Australia

New Zealand

Rest of Asia

Rest of the World

Latin America

Middle East

Africa

Others

About Market Research Store

Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.

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BizProfits Announces Transition to CPA Network with a Brand New Optimized Website

Publishers and advertisers will be pleased to hear about this up & coming CPA affiliate network.

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BizProfits.com announced its transition to a CPA network and launched a completely new optimized website to better cater to the needs of both publishers and advertisers.

BizProfits, formerly specialized in the health and beauty affiliate niche, is changing its company profile to become a more complex CPA network with a variety of verticals & CPA offers. Affiliate marketers are now able to go beyond the health and beauty category and try their hand at binary options, biz opps, lottery and other high-paying verticals. To see the entire range of verticals available at Bizprofits, please visit http://bizprofits.com/offers/.

Publishers are not the only ones to benefit from the company's upgrade. Since the primary goal of the network is to become an effective intermediary between affiliates and advertisers, BizProfits has ensured lucrative conditions for both parties. More specifically, the network is ready to provide its partners with the benefits listed below.

For publishers:

o A wide range of CPA offers in a variety of verticals

o Exclusive and international offers

o Personal account management & support

o High commissions & guaranteed bi-weekly payouts

o Convenient campaign monitoring and analytical tools

For advertisers:

o Rigorous selection process of publishers to promote offers

o Traffic quality monitoring & fraud detection

o Continual campaign support & account management

o Full reporting & analytical tools

To reflect the changes and increase user convenience, the company has launched a brand new website accessible at BizProfits.com. Besides the eye-catching and stylish design, it is now better equipped to cater to the needs of interested parties with a quick sign up and thorough display of current CPA offers.

According to company representatives, BizProfits is open for cooperation with new publishers and advertisers. To get more information on promoting or publishing offers with BizProfits CPA Network, please contact the business development department at promo@bizprofits.com.

About BizProfits CPA Network

BizProfits is a rising leader in performance marketing, connecting publishers and advertisers worldwide. With over a decade of experience, BizProfits CPA Network offers only the most converting offers, the highest payouts in the industry, as well as top quality traffic for our advertisers. The network strives to match the right traffic with the most suitable CPA offers in order for both parties to reap maximum profits.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.bizprofits.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Sean Carter

Organization: BizProfits CPA Network



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/bizprofits-announces-transition-to-cpa-network-with-a-brand-new-optimized-website/100677

Release ID: 100677

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Cleveland has been criticized  often by residents themselves  for not making the best use of perhaps the city's greatest natural asset: Lake Erie. While other cities like Chicago embrace their prominent waterfronts, Cleveland lingers in a postindustrial past.That is beginning to change with the opening of the W. 73Street underpass last month, which connects the Detroit Shoreway with gems like Battery Park Edgewater Park and the Lake Erie coast.As part of the second phase in the Lakefront West Project , the new W. 73Street extension opened to the public on Saturday, Dec. 12 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that drew dozens of people, eager to be some of the first to access the lakefront from the underpass.The $34.8 million project extends West 73street under one of the regions biggest railways, the Norfolk Southern Railroad, along the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, to connect residents with better access to Edgewater Park.Cleveland has put in major time and money to reshape its historic districts like Tremont, Ohio City and the Flats  all of which have taken years to plan and execute. More recently, in the Detroit Shoreway and the Gordon Square neighborhoods, residents can now see physical evidence after years of planning and envisioning.For decades, the Detroit Shoreway created a barrier between West side neighborhoods and the shoreline of Lake Erie. But now residents, city leaders and visitors are embracing a new-found access to the Lake.As a long-time resident of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood and a member of the citys Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee , Cleveland city councilman Matt Zone has advocated for better access to Lake Erie for more than a decade.Since the citys adoption of the Waterfront District Plan in 2004 and the construction of the W. 73underpass in 2013, the vision to shape the lakefront as a destination and the efforts needed to reintegrate it into the daily lives of Cleveland's residents became a mission for city officials like Zone and community organizations.The W. 73Street extension takes the vision full circle."This project will create new connections between the Gordon Square neighborhood and our greatest natural resource  Lake Erie  bringing public spaces and pedestrian walkways that will benefit current and future generations, says Zone. The Lakefront West Project was the citys first lakefront development project. The whole plan was to provide better connectivity from neighborhoods south of the West Shoreway. Chris Ronayne , former chief architect of the Waterfront District Plan, leader of the public planning process to reconnect people to Lake Erie and current president of University Circle Inc. , explains that proposed new development projects have always wanted to use the lake as a main feature in urban planning.In 2004, there was a lot of high hopes for development that had mixed use of nature, connectivity to the lake, a respected park land and fun, says Ronayne. What comes to mind is when the Marous team , who developed Battery Park, had it in their sites that the development would only be complete if there was access from the park to the lake. The other one at the time was Scott Wolstein's vision for the East Bank Flats  whose vision would only really pop if it had a waterfront feature. So 10 to 12 years ago, as these were shaping up to be visions, they always had sites with a water feature.The construction of the tunnels hasn't only changed transportation routes, but the backdrop of the Detroit Shoreway and Gordon Arts Square District neighborhoods.Jenny Spencer, managing director of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, has seen the landscape change when old, abandoned factories were replaced by high-end housing spaces, while local artists and entrepreneurs filled in empty commercial spaces.The 73underpass is the first time you see multi-mobile characteristics, says Spencer. It is as if the city grid is getting put back together. The fabric of our neighborhoods that was once cut off is now coming together with the tunnel access to the lake.Residents can now take advantage of the easily accessible route to Lake Erie, either by car, bike or foot. With public art displayed inside the tunnels on W. 65, W. 76and now W. 73Streets, the atmosphere is friendly, and inviting for passersby.Spencer says there has been a lot of positive feedback from community members. The tunnel is very inviting so I am anticipating a lot of curiosity and new connections between the neighborhoods and the lake, she predicts.Michael Graham, a resident of Gordon Square for 15 years, say it has been a long process to get access to the lake. When he bought his house back in 2001, there was no Battery Park, just the factories that were still intact. Now he has seen his neighborhood go through a transformation.It is a great asset  more connectivity to the lake and Edgewater Park is a huge benefit for people like myself who live in the neighborhood, says Graham. The 73tunnel in particular is a more pleasant experience in accessing the park itself."Graham has already grown fond of the underpass itself. It is open, it is light, the air comes through it more easily, he says. I've run through it, rode my bike, and walked through it with my wife and two children.Aside from the recreational benefits, Graham says businesses can also benefit from the additional routes in and out of the neighborhood.There was a lot of smart planning that went into the project. Once the underpass has proper signage, it will help businesses in the neighborhood attract visitors coming from the east and west, Graham says. I know one of the concerns was the amount of traffic getting on and off the [Shoreway] ramp, but I think traffic calming solutions are continuing conversations with the community and city officials.The third phase , transforming the freeway into a scenic, tree-lined boulevard, is still in the planning process. Reduction in the speed limit from 50 mph to 35 mph, while maintaining the original three lanes will add over a minute of total travel time for commuters.Looking to the future, Zone says that as a result of the project the city will start to see major private investment along the North Coast. He cites Breakwater Bluffs, the second-largest residential housing project in the city, being developed by NRP Group , as a prime example.The private sector wants to invest where they know the public sector is committed to investing, says Zone. We are starting to see that all over our neighborhoods including Battery Park, Detroit Shoreway and all the success that is happening along the Gordon Square Arts District. Zone says he is pleased to see the ideas becoming realities. We stayed true to our vision tying in the lakefront with our community, he says. There are many communities that have not utilized assets that are currently in their community, and we have clearly taken advantage of that with the lake.
Happy new year. As with each January, we have a blank page on which to consider the excitement, opportunities, challenges and plans of the coming twelve months. When it comes to planning, the old adage is definitely true; nobody plans to fail, but many fail to plan.

As ever, for the coming year, thoughtful and achievable planning will be the key to your success in 2016. I have always found Warren Greshess three Ss of success a great formula, and this applies as much to planning as to any other activity. See it  visualise what you want to have achieved by December 2016; start it  you have to make a start to begin to make it happen; sustain it  keep going forward throughout the year towards your goal.

It is always easier to be able to see a plan clearly if your timeline, objectives and ultimate goals are broken down into manageable sections. Step one is to start with a visual representation of the twelve months of the year for a broad plan, setting out your goals for the year. Step two, block out your holidays and business events  such as attending MDRT Vancouver. Additionally, if you are undertaking any qualifications or training, set aside the time you will need to study, prepare and take any necessary examinations or coursework. Step three, this leaves you with your business year, so start visualising your perfect week. Ideally, how much time will you spend with existing clients? Make a list of who you want to meet in each week of January. How much time will you spend with new or prospective clients and, crucially, when and who will make your appointments?

Then, as the saying goes, just do it.

Of course, any plan needs to have flexibility as external factors may influence your progress for good or ill. However, beginning with a robust and realistic plan will make all your goals much more achievable. Any plan needs to have flexibility as external factors may influence your progress for good or ill

In 2016, the biggest sources of both opportunities and challenges will be the outcomes of the Financial Advice Market Review and the Pension Tax Relief review; both are expected in the 2016 Budget. Everyone expects higher rate tax relief to end, and it could be from Budget day. It is also anticipated that the FAMR in particular will have a huge impact on the financial services market as the government strives to make financial advice much more accessible to the less well-off consumers. Having a robust and comprehensive plan in place will ensure that in the coming year you turn potential challenges into opportunities for your business.

Ken Davy is chairman of SimplyBiz Group
Matthew Kemp will join Ashburton Investments as head of UK, wholesale leaving his position as partner at Smith & Williamson (S&W).

Mr Kemps arrival is part of Ashburtons effort to expand the London-based distribution team. The fund house is primarily known for its African and Asian alternative investment solutions.

He will oversee the distribution of Ashburtons Luxembourg-domiciled funds into the UK. Distributed funds will include a range of multi-asset funds, and traditional equity and fixed income funds, especially those focusing on India and Africa.

Mr Kemp has over 15 years experience in the asset management industry, most recently at S&W, and as an investment director at Standard Life Investments.

Swati Jain, Ashburtons head of international distribution - traditional investments, said: [Mr Kemp] has extensive experience and knowledge of the UK wholesale market.

He will complement the teams strengths and is well placed to make a significant impact on the distribution of our range of multi asset products, India and Africa strategies.
Dudley Building Society has removed the upper age restrictions across its product range in a move to help older clients with their mortgage needs.

Jonathan Moore, Dudleys head of credit, said: For too long, older borrowers have struggled to find mortgage availability, with options generally treating these borrowers as second class citizens by forcing them to borrow from a limited range.

We consider all borrowers to be equally worthy of consideration, and by making our entire range available, we will demonstrate that we do not discriminate by age.

With a view of helping those who may have not qualified to buy, downsize or re-mortgage, Mr Moore said that older borrowers offer no more risk than younger ones, providing that underwriting was carried out by professional human underwriters.

However sophisticated credit scoring becomes, when dealing with more complex cases, there really is no substitute for human consideration, he said.

The UK already has 11.6m people over the age of 65, according to the Building Society Association.

By 2034 it is estimated that around a quarter of the population will be 65 plus.

Other changes to DBSs products include:  Property over four storeys now accepted  Second home LTV increases from 70 per cent to 80 per cent  Clarity on family members who can be guarantors  Interest-only repayment vehicles to include: sale of business, cash savings and sale of other assets

Dudleys removeal of upper age restrictions comes after last year Ipswich Building Society made changes to its mortgage products to make them available to those in retirement, as well as to borrowers up to 85 at the time of their mortgage term ending.

In November, the Building Society Association published a report that looked at the societal shift of the aging population, with the needs to fund mortgage borrowing into retirement.

Daniel Bailey, mortgage adviser at Derbyshire-based Middleton Finance, said: Age restrictions was a big discussion last year so any move to increase the age limit is a positive step especially for those who have retired and got a pension income, which in many ways is a solid source of income so there is less risk than someone in the workforce who could be subject to redundancy.

We will see more lenders do this over the year.
Over the next nine months, Sipps are set to undergo a change of their own  in the form of provider capital adequacy requirements and what can and cannot be classified as a standard asset. There has been much debate throughout the industry regarding what should be acceptable or not, but the FCA is pressing forward and the changes are set to come into force this September.

This Intelligence report, in association with Suffolk Life, asked advisers about the regulatory focus on Sipps and the factors you believe influence your choice of Sipps. Additionally, Greg Kingston explains how regulation stands in time for the changes and how advisers can prosper in the market.
THANK YOU Please accept my sincere thanks for the ones who sent cards for my 90th birthday and also the ones who planned the party at the Tower. Also, thank...
Story Highlights Approval rating drops from 72% to 47% in a year

Ratings down in all parts of Iraq

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The high hopes that Iraqis had for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi when he first took office in 2014 have faded over the past year, according to a recent Gallup survey. Abadi's approval ratings dropped from 72% in late 2014 to 47% in late 2015. In fact, the prime minister's current approval rating is about the same as the 50% rating that his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki received before he was forced to resign in August 2014.

Abadi took office in late 2014 amid high expectations that his leadership would help bridge the ethnic and sectarian divides in Iraq -- which was particularly important as the Islamic State group was starting to gain control over more territory. Enthusiasm for Abadi at the time was evident across Iraq, specifically among Iraqis in predominantly Sunni governorates and in the Kurdish governorates -- all of whom had historically expressed low support for Maliki and the central government.

The wholesale drop in job approval ratings for Abadi across most, if not all, governorates in Iraq illustrates how Abadi has not lived up to Iraqis' lofty expectations. Approval ratings in Iraqi Kurdistan have dropped to low levels, followed by the Sunni-dominated governorates in mid-north Iraq.

Although Iraq's government can now boast regaining 40% of the territory lost to the Islamic State group a year ago -- the latest being the recapture of Ramadi -- the public continues to be discontent with what it sees as worsening corruption and poor government services. The perception that corruption is widespread in Iraq's government has swollen to 75% from 67% a year ago, with increases evident in nearly all regions.

Bottom Line

Although Gallup did not measure approval ratings of Iraq's prime minister in the context of the recent government reforms that Iraq's cabinet and parliament approved in principle in August, it is evident that the Iraqis are yet to be impressed. As Abadi attempts to navigate the country through the roughest terrains of liberating governorates one at a time, many of Iraqis' hopes remain unfulfilled.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,009 Iraqi adults, aged 15 and older, conducted in October 2015. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Regional findings are derived by grouping Iraq's provinces into the following regions:

Baghdad: Baghdad

Sunni Heartland: Anbar, Kirkuk, Diyala, Ninawa, Salah ad-Din

Mid-Euphrates: Najaf, Babil, Wasit, Qadisiyyah, Karbala

South: Basra, Dhi Qar, Maysan, Muthanna

Kurdistan: Sulaymaniyah, Arbil, Duhok, Halabja

For more complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set Details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
CSULB alum wins gold at the 38th Long Beach Marathon  which was his first
Philomath Fire & Rescue's board of directors released the names of seven candidates vying to become Tom Phelps' successor as fire chief.

Ruth Jacobs, board president, had said 15 people applied for the job. Eleven of them were invited to take part in phone interviews. And this past Friday, they had a deadline to let the board know about their continued interest in the position.

Interestingly, four of the seven candidates are from out of state, including one from Florida who is only 3,095 miles down the road (a 44-hour drive without traffic, according to Google Maps).

Another candidate is from northern Arizona and I wouldn't be surprised if we crossed paths. He worked for the Flagstaff Fire Department; I attended a fire safety course in Flagstaff once for media who covered forest fires. (I was the editor of the Grand Canyon newspaper at the time).

Two candidates have Pendleton connections, so that must be an interesting dynamic for both of them. Nobody from Benton County is a candidate. The closest would be a candidate from the Goshen and Pleasant Hill area on the other side of Eugene.

Make sure you catch the meet-and-greet event on Jan. 14. It's on a Thursday and runs from 6:30-8 p.m. at the College United Methodist Church.
PHILOMATH  The Philomath Fire & Rescue board of directors Tuesday released the name of seven finalists in contention to become the districts next fire chief.

Tom Phelps announced his retirement last year, but has stayed aboard to help through the transition.

The field of finalists features three from Oregon along with candidates from Colorado, Florida, Texas and Arizona.

 Matthew Benedict currently serves as an assistant chief with the Pendleton Fire Department and chief of the Helix Volunteer Fire Department. He holds an associates degree in fire science and has a paramedic certification.

 Robert Harvey, currently a fire service consultant, was a previous chief with the Black Forest Fire Protection District and Leadville/Lake County Fire and Rescue, both in Colorado. He is also a retired captain from the Colorado Springs Fire Department and holds an associates degree in fire protection technology.

 Jonas Macskassy, from Titusville, Florida, has extensive military and Department of Defense fire service experience. He holds an associates degree in emergency services, a bachelors degree in business administration and a masters degree in fire science administration.

 Thomas Miller, most recently chief at North Hays County Emergency Services District No. 6 in Texas, holds an associates degree in fire science and a bachelors degree in vocational education.

 Mark Sachara retired from the Flagstaff (Arizona) Fire Department and is currently chief with the Ponderosa Fire District, also in Arizona. He holds an associates degree in fire science and a bachelors degree in forestry.

 Gary Woodson has chief experiences in Missouri and Oregon, most recently with the Pendleton Fire Department. He holds a bachelors degree in business administration and is a certified paramedic.

 David Wolting, previous fire chief at Goshen and Pleasant Hill fire departments, holds an associates degree in business administration.

Philomath Fire & Rescue will host a community Meet and Greet as part of the recruitment process at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the College United Methodist Church. The fire chief candidates will give short presentations. Light refreshments will be provided.
One of the richer ironies thus far in the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge came into sharper focus on Wednesday: The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards the land around the refuge as sacred said the protesters arent welcome at the site and should leave.

Charlotte Rodrique, a tribal leader for the Burns Paiute tribe, noted that the militants have demanded that the federal government hand the refuge over to local residents.

That struck Rodrique as funny, and heres why: She knew the militants werent referring to tribal members, who likely have a longer-standing claim to the regions land than anybody else, including the federal government. Lets just say that members of the tribe can trace their history on the land back thousands of years.

By contrast, the militia members who occupied the refuge have been there since Saturday.

But it all raises the broader question at play here: Who owns the land? Or, more precisely, whos in the best position to decide how the land is managed?

As we noted in Wednesdays editorial, its an important question in Western states such as Oregon, where 53 percent of the state is owned by the federal government. In Harney County, the share is even higher: About 70 percent of the county is managed by either the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management.

It is as if the region were run by an absentee landlord, state Rep. Cliff Bentz told The Oregonian this week. (Bentz district includes Burns, the seat of Harney County. ) And, Bentz noted, the federal land is managed in a way that has become increasingly complex over the past 50 years.

Thats true, and it leads to a point on which everyone involved can readily agree: The federal government needs to do a better job managing its lands.

Which leads to another irony: There are signs that the feds are increasingly interested in doing just that, and one of them came earlier this year in Harney County. Hoping to avoid a possible listing of sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act, ranchers in the county signed 30-year agreements with the federal government to protect the birds. It was an innovative, ambitious deal.

But its been overshadowed by the actions of an unwelcome band of self-styled patriots. Which leads to this final thought: Militia members have said theyll leave the refuge just as soon as residents of Harney County tell them theyre not welcome. A few hours after tribal leaders made their comments, a steady stream of county residents jammed into a building in Burns and, pretty much to a person, told the militia members that they should leave.

So what are the militia members waiting for?
Its strange that the Malheur Liberation Army chose to take over a national wildlife refuge to make a point about land ownership by the federal government. Isnt that like Michael Pollan and a bunch of heavily armed vegans commandeering a McDonalds franchise to make a point about beef consumption threatening the health of Americans?

Heres some advice: skip the franchise managers (the Bureau of Land Management), go right to the people who are making the laws if you have a gripe and make your case there. If the yahoos want to hold something hostage, why not take Greg Walden at gunpoint and threaten him with bodily harm until Congress passes a bill to cede ownership of all federal lands to Harney County?

The Bundy boys and their followers are nothing more than a right-wing version of the Rajneeshees, and I wish them a speedy return back to Arizona or Nevada or whatever rock they crawled out from under.

John Tietjen

Corvallis (Jan. 5)
Police Log

Editors note: This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or risk to the public. Information comes from the Philomath Police Department and the Benton County Sheriffs Office. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise.

THURSDAY, DEC. 17

WATER RESCUE: A Benton County sheriff deputy responded to Fern Road and Chapel Drive at 11:19 p.m. for a report of a woman whose vehicle had become stuck in high water. The woman drove past road closed signs, and her vehicle stopped running in three to four feet of water. She was afraid to step out of her vehicle, so a deputy walked her to dry land. The vehicle was locked and left in the roadway until water levels could recede.

FRIDAY, DEC. 18

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: A Philomath Police officer took a report of a vehicle that had been keyed on the 1100 block of North Pioneer Street.

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

TRAFFIC ACCIDENT: Philomath Police responded at 5:56 p.m. to the intersection of North 13th Street and Pioneer Street for a vehicle crash in which no one was injured.

BICYCLE CRASH: Philomath Police officers and Philomath Fire & Rescue paramedics responded at 6:32 p.m. to North Ninth Street near Quail Glenn Drive for an injured bicyclist. Police confirmed that no vehicle was involved in the accident and no crime had been committed. The extent of the bicyclists injuries were not included in the press log.

SUNDAY, DEC. 20

WARRANT, METH, ELUDING: Benton County sheriff deputies arrested Daniel Newbill, 29, and Kalvin Eugene Ellis, 33, following a traffic stop at 12:17 a.m. near the Highway 34 bypass, east of Corvallis. Newbill, who had a warrant for absconding probation, racked up additional charges of methamphetamine possession, a felony, as well as misdemeanor charges of interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest and second-degree disorderly conduct. Ellis faces felony charges of hindering prosecution and attempting to elude peace officers in a vehicle.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22

DOWNED POWER LINES: Philomath Police responded to the 400 block of North 12th Street at 4:34 p.m. for a report of downed power lines. Officers discovered that a large portion of a tree had fallen over and taken down the lines. Philomath Fire & Rescue arrived and took control of the scene.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23

DUII: Philomath Police arrested 35-year-old Gabriel Magee of Cotati, California, on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants following a traffic stop at 12:58 a.m. near the intersection of Main and 13th streets. Magees blood alcohol content reportedly measured 0.11 percent.

POSSIBLE THEFT: Philomath Police took a report at 7 p.m. of a white SUV pulling up to a home on the 1400 block of Cedar Street and a female jumping out of the vehicle, running up to the front door, removing a package off of the porch, and taking off in the vehicle.

THURSDAY, DEC. 24

DISTURBANCE: Philomath Police responded at 8:59 a.m. to a residence on the 1100 block of Pioneer Street after a resident and his uninvited visitor got into an argument.

FRIDAY, DEC. 25

ASSAULT: Philomath Police and the Benton County Sheriffs Office responded at 4:03 a.m. to a report of a domestic disturbance at a residence in the 5400 block of Worth Way. Sheriff deputies arrested Tyler William Gaughan, 33, no listed address, on a charge of physical harassment.

SUNDAY, DEC. 27

DISTURBANCE: Philomath Police investigated reports of a loud boom coming from the area of Grange Hall Road at 2:04 p.m. Police determined that some locals were target shooting and no crimes had been committed.

MONDAY, DEC. 28

PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION: Philomath Police issued a criminal citation to a motorist on Dec. 29 for providing false information about liability insurance coverage to the officer during a traffic stop on Dec. 28.

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY: Neighbors of a man who has an ignition interlock device on his vehicle reported to Philomath Police that hes been allowing other people to blow into it before he drives.

TUESDAY, DEC. 29

POOR DRIVING: Philomath Police received reports at 2:11 p.m. of a recklessly driven vehicle in the area of Main Street and 16th Street. Police later located a parked vehicle that matched the description given by witnesses. Police issued the driver a citation for failure to drive within one lane.

NOISE COMPLAINT: Philomath Police took a report of loud booms over the past weeks that sounded like fireworks going off late at night and into the morning from the area of North Seventh Street.

Fire Calls

Editors note: This log is based on information submitted to the newspaper by Philomath Fire and Rescue. Locations are approximate.

FRIDAY, DEC. 18

MEDICAL: 3:04 a.m., 24000 block of Old Peak Road.

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

MEDICAL: 6:31 p.m., North Ninth Street and Quail Glenn Drive.

RESIDENTIAL FIRE ALARM: 8:46 p.m., 1700 block Pheasant Court.

SUNDAY, DEC. 20

MEDICAL: 5:38 a.m., 400 block of South 29th Place.

HOUSE FIRE: 12:57 p.m., 24000 block of Pleasant View Drive.

MEDICAL: 1:15 p.m., 600 block of South 15th Street.

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE: 2:18 p.m., 400 block of College Street.

MONDAY, DEC. 21

ARCING/DOWNED POWER LINES: 9:30 a.m., 25000 block of Grange Hall Road.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22

MEDICAL: 12:42 p.m., 24000 block of Old Peak Road.

DOWNED POWER LINES: 4:34 p.m., 400 block of North 12th Street.

MEDICAL: 9:25 p.m., 200 block of South 15th Street.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23

MEDICAL: 7:51 a.m., 24000 block of Old Peak Road.

MEDICAL: 8:38 a.m., 1200 block of North 19th Street.

MEDICAL: 9:58 a.m., 31000 block of Fern Road.

MEDICAL: 4:44 p.m., 35000 block of Lillian Drive.

THURSDAY, DEC. 24

MEDICAL: 4:15 p.m., 600 block of South 15th Street.

FRIDAY, DEC. 25

MEDICAL: 4:13 a.m., 4400 block of Worth Way.

SUNDAY, DEC. 27

MEDICAL: 11:50 p.m., 24600 block of Old Peak Road.

MONDAY, DEC. 28

MEDICAL: 7:47 a.m., 100 block of South 20th Street.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30

MEDICAL: 7:21 am., 24600 block of Old Peak Road.

MEDICAL: 10:13 a.m., 600 block of Pioneer Street.

VEHICLE ACCIDENT: 12:42 p.m., Chapel Road near Bellfountain Road.

MEDICAL: 4:54 p.m., 24600 block of Old Peak Road.

THURSDAY, DEC. 31

VEHICLE ACCIDENT: 7:37 p.m., 23900 block of Woods Creek Road.
The Benton County Board of Commissioners and Oregon State University Extension Service agreed last week to not move forward with putting a proposed service district on the May 17 ballot.

We have heard from some community members that it would be best not to do this right now, county commissioner Annabelle Jaramillo said. The community and Benton County, as a government agency, all support the important work that extension does for our residents. We are committed to identifying a sustainable funding source for those services and we will remain in conversations with our partners at extension on that topic.

Commissioners and the extension service agreed on the delay during a Jan. 5 work session and then discussed and voted upon it at the regular meeting.

Backed by a volunteer group called Citizens for Benton County Extension, OSU Extension Service regional administrator Derek Godwin has spent the last several months lining up support for a countywide taxing district to generate additional revenue for the statewide organizations Benton County branch.

Godwin and company recently completed the process of securing resolutions from the countys five incorporated communities stating their willingness to be included in the district.

Philomath adopted its version of a resolution during the December city council meeting. Several people offered testimony in support of the extension service during the November and December meetings.

Throughout this experience we  volunteers and staff  have talked to many residents and city officials, said Maggie Livesay, OSU Extension Benton County leader. All were very supportive of the positive impacts of the extension service on Benton County.

Godwin told the board that every group hes spoken to has endorsed the idea of a local taxing district to support the extension service, but some have expressed reservations about the timing of the request, which could bump up against efforts to renew local option levies for the Corvallis School District and other local entities.

The decision today is bittersweet, Godwin said. Our volunteers worked really hard over this past year to share this proposal and gain resolutions from the cities. If we were to proceed, the earliest the measure would have been able to have been approved for the ballot is Feb. 26. We just didnt feel it would be fair to our volunteers to try to be successful in that short of a time.

Furthermore, we received significant feedback from key leaders that this is not the right time to pursue this measure, he added. We want to honor our partners and work together on the best time to do this.

Both parties will reconvene later this year to revisit the topic.

We will continue to discuss this topic, Jaramillo said. At the appropriate time  we can bring this back as a proposal.

As proposed, the service district would have placed an additional 8 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation on Benton County real estate. If voters passed the measure, the owner of a $300,000 home would have paid an extra $24 a year in property taxes. The measure would have raised more than $600,000 a year.

The money raised by the measure would have been a partial replacement for funding provided by Benton County, which is currently contributing about $396,000 a year to the extension service and has committed to maintaining some level of funding even if a service district is approved.

County funding represents roughly 20 percent of the extension services overall budget, with the rest coming from the state and federal governments, supplemented by grant funding and volunteer service.

But state and federal support for the extension service has been dropping steadily for years, and similar service districts have already been passed by voters in 24 of Oregons 36 counties.

After the meeting, Godwin said he wasnt yet sure when he would try again to have the measure placed on the ballot. He wants to make sure the campaign doesnt conflict with other money measures, and he wants to give the service district the best possible chance to pass.

We want this to succeed, he said.

At the same time, Godwin noted, a local service district would provide some much-needed financial stability for the Benton County Extension Service, which provides a host of services from leading 4-H youth programs to providing technical assistance for farmers.

This whole effort is about the future, he said. How do we become sustainable?

In other action from last week's meeting, the Board of Commissioners elected new officers for 2016.

Jaramillo took over as chair from Jay Dixon, and Anne Schuster is now the vice chair. They will hold the same positions throughout the year for each of the countys seven service districts.

(Bennett Hall of the Corvallis Gazette-Times contributed to this story).
Marcia Gilson knows how painful it can be for a loved one to be lost.

Now an administrative reserve officer with the Philomath Police Department, shes one of the driving forces behind the implementation of a new program called Take Me Home thats designed to provide the safe return of those who may not be able to communicate important information.

Gilsons mother, who lived just off Ridgewood Place near a forested area in Corvallis, had started to experience challenges as she aged.

She had started wandering when she couldnt find my dad and hed be downstairs and she couldnt think to go downstairs to find him, Gilson said. Neighbors would find her and bring her back.

Her mother also liked to take the dog for a walk.

Luckily, everybody kind of knew who they were and would bring her home, Gilson said. She wandered off not for any super lengthy time but about three times.

The situation eventually led to her residence in a locked facility where she remained until her death nearly three years ago.

That was the main reason I wanted to volunteer here because my mom had Alzheimers  can I make this happen and yeah, you can make that and a lot of things happen, she said.

Its not the only incident thats impacted her enthusiasm for the project.

I have a friend right now whose uncle has been missing out of Irrigon, Oregon, and hes 78 years old and is diabetic, Gilson added. Hes been missing since before Thanksgiving. They thought they had spotted him a couple times and hes just a guy who wandered out of his home.

Gilson was referring to John Getman, who suffers from Alzheimers disease. News stories and television broadcasts tried to spread the news with hopes that someone could spot him.

The Take Me Home program just might help save someones life when such unfortunate circumstances arise. Gilson said people with say, an autistic child or a parent with dementia, can register in the program. So when they are found, information is on file on their identities.

They will come in here and well take their picture and get all the information on where they live and we can bring it up, Gilson said.

The voluntary service keeps all information confidential.

A second program called A Child Is Missing is also being put in place at the local police department. Through that service, an alert goes out often before an Amber Alert, which specifically involves abductions of children.

A Child Is Missing, however, assists in all cases, such as children who are lost, wandered off or ran away from home, along with those who could have been abducted. Its a tool to use quickly to help find kids right away. The elderly, mentally challenged individuals, college students on campus and the disabled are others that could be registered.

What makes these programs work is the community coming in and registering people and then A Child Is Missing works because people sign up to receive the alerts, Gilson said. So you wouldnt automatically get a phone call (like Amber Alert) but if a child went missing and you live up on North Eighth and youre in that area, theyre going to send out an alert for a couple miles around there to everybody who signed up.

The alert includes a telephone number that can be called to report information directly to local police.

State and federal grants cover the costs of both programs to make them available free to law enforcement agencies. Philomath police officers will be trained to know how to access them.

The Philomath Police Department last month began efforts to establish its Business Watch program. In the near future, there are hopes to establish a social media presence through Facebook and possibly Twitter.

The goal is you would like more of public presence and more interaction, Gilson said.




Presidential term - Better a good man for four years than a dunce for five



E. Ablorh-Odjidja

January 06, 2016



Is a five-year presidential term, instead of four, good or bad?

This is one idea that keeps coming up; one idea that means much for those who have vested interest in the power of the office. For, holding office for a long stretch of time is a lucrative enterprise, particularly for those who happen to be presidents in Africa.

For the rest of us, after all is done, especially when nothing profitable has been gained, the experience then becomes our loss, a complete waste of time, and, certainly for a long time to come, a lingering residue of painful reflections on the wasted years.



But the idea of presidential tenure length is worth a critical look again.
United States Plans to Donate 24 Mine Resistant Vehicles to the Nigerian Army

bayonel3 at 7-01-2016 12:12 PM (6 years ago) (m)

The United States will today donate 24 mine resistant armor military vehicles to the Nigerian army as part of its promises to aid Nigeria in it's fight against the dreaded terrorist group- Boko Haram. The vehicles worth $11m will be given to military officials at the Nigerian Army 9th Brigade Parade ground,Ikeja. A statement yesterday, by the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General Lagos, said:

The US is pleased to donate 24 Mine-Resistant, Armor-Protected (MRAP) vehicles valued at $11m to Nigerias military authorities. The equipment donation represents part of the continuing US commitment to Nigeria and its neighbours to counter Boko Harams senseless acts of terror and promote regional security. The United States will today donate 24 mine resistant armor military vehicles to the Nigerian army as part of its promises to aid Nigeria in it's fight against the dreaded terrorist group- Boko Haram. The vehicles worth $11m will be given to military officials at the Nigerian Army 9th Brigade Parade ground,Ikeja. A statement yesterday, by the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General Lagos, said:

Post Reply I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. +2348055557203 Posted: at 7-01-2016 12:12 PM (6 years ago) | Hero

moralemike07 at 7-01-2016 12:22 PM (6 years ago)

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dickman2 at 7-01-2016 12:26 PM (6 years ago)

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okatee at 7-01-2016 12:39 PM (6 years ago)

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winace at 7-01-2016 12:58 PM (6 years ago)

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Wazubia at 7-01-2016 01:01 PM (6 years ago)

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ficull at 7-01-2016 02:10 PM (6 years ago)

(m) Quote from: MICROPHONE MESSIAH link=topic=280968.msg4660723#msg4660723 date=1452165745 That's nice. But when Oyinbo give you something free, look well.



yes ooo.... America no dey go where them no go gain. PMB should shine eyes wella. Posted: at 7-01-2016 02:10 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac yes ooo.... America no dey go where them no go gain. PMB should shine eyes wella. Reply

osarobo62 at 7-01-2016 02:14 PM (6 years ago)

(m) 24 mine resistance vehicles for $11m.......if na nigeria officials buy those vehicles, they will tell us is $11m for 1 vehicle. Posted: at 7-01-2016 02:14 PM (6 years ago) | Hero 24 mine resistance vehicles for $11m.......if na nigeria officials buy those vehicles, they will tell us is $11m for 1 vehicle. Reply

BLACKY77 at 7-01-2016 02:34 PM (6 years ago)

(m) GOOD GESTURE Posted: at 7-01-2016 02:34 PM (6 years ago) | Upcoming GOOD GESTURE Reply

DAMILARE100 at 7-01-2016 03:18 PM (6 years ago)

(m) I believe the vehicles wouldn't operate themselves. It's not about having armored vehicles but to be ready to fight d insurgents. Posted: at 7-01-2016 03:18 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac I believe the vehicles wouldn't operate themselves. It's not about having armored vehicles but to be ready to fight d insurgents. Reply

stephen77 at 7-01-2016 06:51 PM (6 years ago)

(m) If 24 costs $11,000,000 now imagine what $2,000,000,000 can do. Posted: at 7-01-2016 06:51 PM (6 years ago) | Newbie If 24 costs $11,000,000 now imagine what $2,000,000,000 can do. Reply

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Novic at 7-01-2016 11:12 PM (6 years ago)

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(m) GREAT MOVE FRM PRESIDENT OBAMA, I BELIV THIS WE HELP THIS COUNTRY LITTLE Posted: at 7-01-2016 11:13 PM (6 years ago) | Hero GREAT MOVE FRM PRESIDENT OBAMA, I BELIV THIS WE HELP THIS COUNTRY LITTLE Reply

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(m) Them try,my people say,nah who say thank u for today favor,go see another one 2mrw.Thank you America,Thank you Obama" Posted: at 8-01-2016 04:11 AM (6 years ago) | Hero Them try,my people say,nah who say thank u for today favor,go see another one 2mrw.Thank you America,Thank you Obama" Reply
Intel Acquire Drone Maker to compete with rival Qualcomm in drone market News oi -Harshita

Intel cleared its ambitions related to drone segment by announcing the acquisition of Ascending Technologies, which is a drone maker company best known for its safety technology for unmanned aerial vehicles. Intel said that it is buying the German drone maker, however has not disclosed price details involved in this deal.

The chipset maker Intel has been actively working towards its new drone technology, to take on its rival chipmaker Qualcomm, which also has moved into the space. Last year, Qualcomm said that it was getting into the drone business considering that drones were becoming important, and will be more like smartphones with wings.

SEE ALSO: Huawei Teases to launch Honor 5X in India on January 28

Intel has not yet disclosed the price of the acquisition but mentioned that it is working on absorbing the acquired company's 75 employees by making job offers to them.

SEE ALSO: Oppo Launching Camera-Centric Phone On January 28: Here Is What To Expect?

Ascending Technologies was already using Intel's 3-D depth camera for its collision avoidance systems. With this acquisition in place, Intel will be able to take its 3D Real Sense technology to the broader drone market. The algorithms developed by the drone maker, in combination with Intel's depth-sensing technology, will help in improving drone safety drones and avoid obstacles and collisions.

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OIR Spokesman: ISIL Now in Defensive Crouch in Iraq, Syria

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, January 6, 2016  Since May, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has steadily lost ground to Iraqi security forces and Syrian Democratic Forces, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said today.

Briefing the Pentagon press corps via video conference from Baghdad, Army Col. Steve Warren offered battlefield updates and a status report on coalition efforts.

In Iraq, ISIL has lost 20,000 to 22,000 square kilometers, or 40 percent of its taken territory, he said, and in Syria it has lost more than 310 square kilometers, or about 10 percent of its territory.

Coalition members so far have trained and equipped 17,541 Iraqi security forces, Warren said, and the coalition continues to increase the pace and intensity of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Airstrikes and Ground Ops

"When our airstrikes are coupled with local ground operations, we see ISIL having to react and move around the battlefield. This just makes it easier for us to strike them," he said.

An estimated 2,500 enemy fighters were killed in coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria in December, Warren added.

"We believe that ISIL is now in a defensive crouch.  May is when they reached their culminating point of offensive operations. Since then, all they've really managed to do is lose ground," he said.

In an update on Operation Tidal Wave II, which targets ISIL's illicit oil infrastructure in Iraq and Syria, Warren said that coalition aircraft struck six gas and oil separation points and two ISIL crude oil collection points on Jan. 2 near Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.

Pressuring the Enemy

"Since we began Operation Tidal Wave II the coalition has conducted 65 strikes against oil targets. We assess that this operation has reduced [ISIL] revenue by about 30 percent," the colonel said, noting that ISIL's production dropped from 45,000 barrels of oil a day to 34,000 barrels a day.

"In addition to chipping away at their so-called caliphate and killing their leaders," he said, "we're also hitting them in the pocketbook."

The operational objective is to put pressure across the entire breadth and depth of the battlefield, to pressure the enemy wherever he is, Warren said.

Syrian Democratic Forces

Over the past 10 days in the Tishreen area northeast of Aleppo, Warren said Syrian Democratic Forces have killed about 140 extremists while liberating dozens of villages and reclaiming more than 310 square kilometers of terrain.

"Soldiers of the Shams al-Shamal battalion, a prominent Arab fighting group in the SDF, are holding the west side of that dam, demonstrating the continued integration between Arabs and Kurds within the Syrian Democratic Forces," the colonel said.

The SDF consists of groups of Syrian Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, and other ethnic groups in northern Syria, all of whom are collectively determined to defeat ISIL, Warren added.

"As the Shams al-Shamal battalion holds the [Tishreen] dam, other forces are advancing to the south in the vicinity of Ein Isa. These troops have experienced some counterattacks west of Tishreen," he noted.

To the north, the SDF are receiving harassing mortar fire, but in each case they have repelled all of ISIL's attempts to regain territory or strongholds, Warren said.

"We're seeing reports of ISIL fighters shaving their beards and trying to hide among the civilian population," he added, "as they continue to lose ground in Syria and run back to Raqqa, Manbej or Jarablus."

Controlling Ramadi

After a fight for control of Ramadi, which ISIL captured in May, the Iraqi army took back the city's government complex on Dec. 27, incurring around 1,000 casualties and 100 deaths, Warren said.

Last week, Warren told the Pentagon press corps that skirmishes continued in the city with small groups of enemy forces -- from five fighters to perhaps a dozen -- centered around a machine gun or several rocket-propelled grenades.

"We see these squad-sized elements still able to operate in some of the neighborhoods that have not yet been cleared," he said today, "and we still see that."

More than 60 ISIL fighters were killed inside Ramadi in the past 24 hours, Warren noted.

"Counterterrorism Service forces continue clearing eastward into the core of the inner city," the colonel said. "They've encountered enemy contact consisting of [bombs], machine gun fire, [rocket-propelled grenades] and sniper fire. Coalition airstrikes continued to enable their advance."

Decisive Battle

Warren said ISIL's defensive techniques include using tunnels and holes in the walls between buildings as cover and for attacks.

"This is why the Iraqi security forces have to be very deliberate, very methodical and very carefully move through these neighborhoods to clear them," he added.

ISIL can still strike in spots and conduct raids, ambushes and [bomb] attacks and they still hold large swaths of territory, Warren said.

"But the Iraqi security forces are now on the offensive," he said. "The Iraqi security forces will pick where the next significant battle is [and] ISIL is now reacting to the Iraqi security forces."

In response to a question about the rules of engagement against the terrorist army in Iraq and Syria, Warren said, "If you're part of ISIL we will kill you. That's our rule."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-002-16 January 06, 2016

Readout of Secretary of Defense Carter's Call with Republic of Korea Defense Minister Han

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following statement:

Today, Jan. 6, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo spoke by phone to discuss potential alliance responses to the recent apparent North Korean nuclear test. Secretary Carter and Minister Han agreed that any such test would be an unacceptable and irresponsible provocation and is both a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Secretary Carter reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to the defense of the ROK, and that this commitment includes all aspects of the United States' extended deterrence. Minister Han emphasized the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance and its vital role in assuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the Asia-Pacific. Carter and Han agreed that North Korea's provocations should have consequences.

The secretary and minister reaffirmed that the international community does not and will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state, and pledged that both sides would coordinate appropriate alliance responses to these provocations. They also agreed to the importance of close coordination with the international community and regional partners in condemning this action.

Prior to Secretary Carter's call with the minister, he received a situational update from Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander, U.S. Forces Korea.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/641725/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Colonel Steve Warren, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman January 06, 2016

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Col. Warren via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq

CAPTAIN JEFF DAVIS: Good morning, everybody.

Welcome. We're pleased to have joining us today live from Baghdad, Colonel Steve Warren. Steve is looking good as always. You can hear us.

Sir, we'll turn it over to you.

COLONEL STEVE WARREN: Great. Thanks. I can hear you loud and clear, and I'll jump right in. It's great to see the Pentagon press corps today as always. And before I get started, I wanted to let you know something, that today is Iraqi Army Day -- (inaudible) -- which is the anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army in 1921. On this day, we commend the Iraqi army for accomplishments thus far and in the past, and look ahead at their future victories.

Quite a few battlefield updates for you before we move on to questions, so let me get through it.

In Ramadi, counterterrorist service forces continuing clearing eastward into the core of the inner city. They've encountered enemy contact consisting of IEDs, machine gun fire, RPGs, and sniper fire. Coalition airstrikes continue to enable their advance.

It's no secret that ISIL does not care one bit for the safety and the lives of the Iraqi people. This past week as Iraqi security forces have been clearing the city, they discovered civilians who were killed execution-style; civilians who were injured by IEDs; civilians being used as human shields; and civilians who were being shot as they attempted to run to safety.

In sharp contrast over the same timeframe, Iraqi security forces have helped hundreds of civilians, including a lot of children who were fleeing the city. The ISF gave them food, water, and medical attention before they were moved out of the area into a safe location.

Moving on, in western Anbar, ISIL conducted a synchronized attack near Haditha that started on January the 3rd. The attackers used indirect fire and VBIEDs. These attacks were limited in nature, what we call harassing attacks. And what is important to note is that the ISF were able to either push the attackers back immediately or regroup and counterattack with the support of coalition airstrikes.

Moving over to Syria, over the past 10 days in the Tishreen area, the Syrian Democratic Forces have killed about 140 extremists, while liberating dozens of villages, reclaiming more than 310 square kilometers of terrain. Soldiers of the Shams al Shamal battalion, which is a prominent Arab fighting group in the SDF, are currently holding the west side of that dam, demonstrating continued integration between Arabs and Kurds within the Syrian Democratic Force.

As a reminder, this force consists of groups of Syrian Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, and other ethnic groups in northern Syria that are all collectively determined to defeat ISIL.

As the Shams al Shamal battalion holds the dam, other forces are advancing to the south in the vicinity of (inaudible). These troops have experienced some counterattacks west of (inaudible). To the north, the Syrian Democratic Forces are also receiving some harassing mortar fires, but in each case the SDF has repelled all attempts by ISIL to regain any territory or strongholds. We're seeing reports of ISIL fighters shaving their beards and trying to hide among the civilian population as they continue to lose ground in Syria and run back to Raqqa, Manbij or (inaudible).

I want to mention our airstrikes for a minute too. We -- we -- we've continued to increase both the pace and the intensity of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. When our airstrikes are coupled with local ground operations, we see ISIL having to react and move around the battlefield, which, in turn, just makes it easier for us to strike them.

In December, we estimate approximately 2,500 enemy fighters were killed in coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria.

And finally, since I haven't mentioned it recently, I want to give you an update on Operation Tidal Wave II. This operation, as you know, targets ISIL's elicit oil infrastructure in Iraq and Syria. On January 2, coalition aircraft struck six gas and oil separation points and two ISIL crude oil collection points near -- (inaudible).

Since we began operation Tidal Wave II, the coalition has conducted 65 strikes against oil targets. We assess this operation has reduced their revenue by about 30 percent. We estimate that ISIL produced 45,000 barrels of oil per day before Tidal Wave II and it has been reduced to about 34,000 barrel per day now.

So to close out, in addition to chipping away at their so-called caliphate, killing their leaders and we're also hitting them in the pocketbook. That concludes my opening remarks and I guess Bob Burns is on duty for AP today. So, Bob, what's your question?

Q: Colonel Warren, thanks. You mentioned Ramadi and the Iraqi government has essentially declared victory in Ramadi. I'm wondering if you could give us an idea of sort of the way ahead in Anbar province and as to the focus going forward?

And also, in northern Iraq, there seems to have been an increase in the number of U.S. airstrikes in the Mosul area. I'm wondering what the -- what -- what (inaudible) there in Mosul? And you didn't mention Fallujah either. What's happening in Fallujah?

COL. WARREN: Sure. So in other words, everything that's happening in Iraq right now?

(Laughter).

You have the Ramadi map, Tom. So here's the Ramadi map just to give you a quick look. You can see shaded in green there is the areas that -- that the ISF, the Iraqi security forces, have control of. So there's still more work to be done. As I mentioned, they're clearing, you know, from the west to the east and getting into these smaller neighborhoods that's very tightly constructed there. The roads there are restrictive, there's lots of little shops, most of them deserted now, of course.

And so the Iraqi security forces are now very methodically, very deliberately moving through these neighborhoods, trying to rescue any of those that remain in hiding, and of course, having to almost house to house dismantle all of the -- the IEDs.

So that's Ramadi. This -- this operation will continue for some time. Difficult to put a time frame on it, but it will continue.

Alright. Tom, let's go to the other map, the -- the -- Haditha map. So what this map is, as soon as it comes up -- there it is. So I just wanted to have a point of reference for you. I'll orient you rapidly to the map. Up is north, down is south. You see, obviously Lake Tharthar is the major geographical feature there.

In the lower right-hand corner you see Fallujah, and moving upstream we pass through a couple of -- Habbaniyah, some other towns, then we hit Ramadi about a third of the way across the map at the very bottom.

So keep moving up-river, you eventually get to Hit, which is about two-thirds of the way across the screen there and then continuing upstream you get Haditha in the upper left-hand corner of your map. So that's kind of the central Euphrates River Valley, central and lower, frankly. Fallujah is very low -- (inaudible).

So what's next? Well, Fallujah, we'll start with Fallujah. It is currently in the process of being isolated by the Iraqi security forces as we saw in Ramadi, they will isolate the city and then constrict it and then eventually clear it. No timeline yet for how long that will take. You know, it's an urban area where the enemy is fairly well dug in and Fallujah's the -- another town with a -- where we don't want to give up.

Moving up through the Euphrates River Valley there in Hit, we've seen -- you know, Hit is still under enemy control, and that's something that has to be cleared. Really from north of Ramadi all the way up to Haditha, all that area and kind of the area, you know, between the river and Lake Tharthar, this is still enemy-controlled area. So this is kind of what's next for Anbar. All of this area eventually needs to be cleared out.

The attacks that we saw over the weekend and really up until yesterday in the Haditha area, really they kind of originated from forces that are -- that are moving around in that -- in that kind of ungoverned and largely open space between the river and Lake Tharthar. That's, you know, where ISIL is able to generate its force, infiltrate into attack positions in the vicinity of Haditha and then attack kind of from the northeast headed southwest into Haditha. So that's that.

The Iraqis own the campaign plan, obviously. It's their decision on what their next main effort is going to be. I won't tell you what it's going to be until they announce it, but we're here to support them. So, you know, whatever they decide is their next focus, this coalition will be there prepared to support them from the air, as was with train-and-equip.

Does that generally answer your question, Bob?

Q: It does. I asked you about Mosul as well. Has there been an actual increase in airstrikes in the Mosul area? Is that true? And if so, what's the -- what's the reason there?

COL. WARREN: Yeah. You know, Mosul right now, we've been conducting shaping operations around Mosul, really, for almost a year now, everything from individual strikes in and around Mosul to high-value individual, high-value target strikes. These are examples of shaping operations, as is the operation to seize the city of Sinjar was a shaping operation.

There have been quite a number of strikes recently. In the last six months, we've done about 700, approximately 750 strikes, in the last 30 days, it's been 305 and in the last seven days alone, 191. So there has been a fair number.

There's nothing significant, really, to report. This is mostly opportunity, dynamic strikes that have found the enemy forces in the process of repositioning. Some of this is because of the pressure that being put on them. Remember, our operational objective here is to place pressure across the entire breadth and depth of this battlefield, so to pressure this enemy wherever he is. And as we do that, as we place the pressure on them, it forces them to want to move, to try and get away from that pressure that he's feeling. And movement creates targets. And so as we see those targets, we strike them.

Mosul, obviously being their capital, is going to be an area where naturally they're either going to try and gravitate to, they're going to try to reposition around in an effort to stave off the inevitable, which would be an assault on Mosul.

Q: Colonel Warren, is the Haditha Dam under Islamic state control? And if so, is that increasing any difficulty in retaking part of that area? And then on Ramadi, do you still hold to the estimate you provided like two weeks ago or so that there's about a dozen or so Islamic state fighters still in Ramadi? Or is it actually bigger resistance than you first thought?

COL. WARREN: I'll have to check on Haditha Dam. I think we have -- I'll have to check on that. I think we have control of that. Yeah, we do -- 'we' being the Iraqi government. So this enemy does not control Haditha Dam. So, that answers that.

On -- on Ramadi, so, numbers are tough. You know, what I said last week was, you know, what we see are small groups of the enemy forces, right? You know, in that group is maybe five, seven, maybe as many as a dozen fighters in these groups. And this group may be centered around a machine gun or maybe centered around several rocket propelled grenades -- essentially, what in the Army we call squad-sized elements.

So we see these squad-sized elements still able to operate in some of the neighborhoods that have not yet been cleared. And we still see that. We killed about -- almost I think over 60 fighters inside of Ramadi just in the last 24 hours. So they're there. And as we see them, we strike them. As the Iraqi security forces see them, they attack them.

Difficult to get a total number of enemy inside Ramadi, given the amount of churn, you know, over the last two weeks. The way we get those numbers, of course, is through watching for long periods of time, right? You know, when -- when the enemy was in Ramadi, it was relatively static. There was no fighting going on in Ramadi. We were able to observe through various observation techniques, and using the information we gained from the long-term observation, we were able to get a good estimate of what the enemy strength is.

But now, given the fighting, given the fact that many are moving out, some are probably trying to, you know, come in. You know, there's all this motion. It's a little bit more difficult to get a -- to get a good number on, you know, what's there.

Q: There were stories earlier this week that tunnels under Ramadi might be making it more difficult to round up the remaining Islamic state fighters. Is that what you're seeing?

COL. WARREN: Sure, there's -- yeah. Sure, there's tunnels. You know, this enemy has extensively used tunnels. We saw that in Sinjar. We're seeing that in Ramadi. We saw that in Baiji. It's one of their techniques. We also see things like -- (inaudible) -- holes in walls, so maybe there are two houses, two separate houses share either a common wall or just a little bit of space in between the two walls. They knock holes there so they can move from house to house undetected.

Yeah, these are the types of defenses that this enemy has emplaced inside of Ramadi. And this is why Iraqi security forces have to be very deliberate, very methodical and very carefully move through these neighborhoods to clear them.

Q: Colonel Warren, it's Andrew Tilghman.

I'd like to ask you to give me the best estimate you have on the size of the ISIS fighting force across Iraq and Syria. And I'd also like to ask you if there's a distinction to be drawn between the sort of, you know, hardened ISIS fighters and, you know, local forces that they are likely allied with that are either paid or share their sympathies, and to what extent you might in big operations like Ramadi and moving forward, hope to peel off those groups from the core of the ISIS force.

COL. WARREN: So, we estimate that those -- yeah, good question. We estimate there's between 20,000 and 30,000 members of ISIL operating inside both Iraq and Syria. As far as types, yeah, there are two flavors, if you will. There's the foreign fighters, which are sort of more hard core, more fanatical members of this outfit. And then there's local recruits, and in some cases conscripts.

The way -- the way that ISIL organizes themselves is they use their local forces as their grunts, their foot soldiers, right? They're not treated very well. They're paid less. They're given less interesting assignments  they'll stand checkpoints -- whatever.

The foreign fighters are more elite. They're generally better trained. They're generally better equipped. They're generally better paid. In some cases, they use entire units of foreign fighters as a quick reaction force. They'll position those foreign fighter battalions, if you will, in areas where, you know, they can move between Iraq and Syria. We also look for those, and try to strike them.

In other cases, the foreign fighters will kind of be the strength of a unit, and then the conscripts or the local volunteers would fill in, you know, with the rest of that unit.

So peeling them off, you know, this is, you know, I'm not 100 percent sure what you mean by that. You know, there are -- the Iraqis have some ongoing operations to do things like -- (inaudible) -- cooperation in warfare. They've -- (inaudible) -- and try to discourage or encourage -- discourage people from joining or encourage fighters who are locals to throw down their arms and -- and desert.

Difficult to get, you know, an idea of the effectiveness of those. Certainly, a 2,000-pound bomb will encourage you to desert as well, or will end your fighting career abruptly. So, that's kind of what this enemy looks like.

Q: Colonel Warren, this is Joe Tabet

I have two questions. First, could you give us an update about the night raids that the coalition is conducting, like the one we have seen in Hawija and if this type of raid is being coordinated with the Iraqi government.

And my second question is: What is being done to secure the Syrian-Iraqi border? Do you think this -- is it something essential in the fight against ISIL?

COL. WARREN: We have -- we have said that raids are part of the strategy. We have also said that we will not get into the details of these raids. What I can tell you is there's been a lot of reporting in Iraqi press here and it -- 100 percent of it is wrong. So I'm going to leave that.

On -- on -- on the borders, certainly, securing the border between Iraq and Syria is of great interest both for the Iraqis and to this coalition. And I know when the secretary of defense announced that there would be an expeditionary targeting force, we would partner with the Iraqi special operations forces, one of the goals of that organization is to help strengthen that border or to help kind of plug up -- some of the coarseness of that Iraq-Syria border.

So (inaudible) first, (inaudible), we observe it through, you know, ISIL and take strikes whenever we can.

CAPT. DAVIS: (inaudible)?

Q: (inaudible), but getting back to Ramadi, have any of the Sunni tribal fighters moved into the city yet or is it too dangerous for them to do so? And also, the residents of Ramadi, presumably most have left. Where are they? Are they are refugee camps? Have they scooted into Baghdad?

COL. WARREN: Right. The -- the tribal fighters have been part of the mix as we begin to transition from combat operations to stabilization operations. So what happens is, as the Iraqi security forces, or as the army, in this case, generally the -- the counter-terrorist service, the CTS, clears a neighborhood. They will then turn over that control of that neighborhood to either police or tribal fighters, so -- to serve as the -- the new stabilizing force in that neighborhood.

And so that's ongoing. So yes, the -- the tribal fighters have been moving into downtown Ramadi and taking over stabilization duties as the CTS clears.

On -- what was the rest of your question, again? I forgot.

Q: And then the civilians, the citizens of Ramadi, have they all fled? And where have they gone?

COL. WARREN: Right. So a majority have fled. There are some reception stations set up inside of Ramadi so that as the Iraqi security forces find families or individual citizens that are getting to these reception stations where they'll get their immediate needs -- you know, they'll see their immediate needs, you know, food, water, health care, if needed.

And then, they'll be transported -- there are several IDP camps set up in and around Habbaniyah, which is kind of the primary spot where the Ramadi citizens have gone. Of course, many also will -- will move in with family members or relatives if they have them in Baghdad or in other places, but Habbaniyah is kind of where the main location is for -- for these IDPs who have nowhere else to go.

CAPT. DAVIS: (off mic)

Q: Steve, Jennifer Griffin here. Do you have any final death toll for how many Iraqi forces were lost in the fight for Ramadi? And can you give us an update on what the figures are in terms of the area in Iraq that's been lost to ISIS? And how are you determining that? Is it populated areas? Is it physical territory?

And then finally, is there a final figure as to how many ISIS fighters were actually in Ramadi? Or is it -- I understand it's fluid. And do you feel like there are still fighters really flowing into Ramadi?

COL. WARREN: So Iraqi security force casualties, we think total -- total casualties to be in the ballpark of 1,000. Of those killed, we -- I think substantially lower, probably, you know, in the vicinity of 100. Now, this is really something for the Iraqis to speak to, but that -- those are kind of what we think it looks like, but we're not always 100 percent certain on that.

On territory lost, so what we think is that they've lost between 20,000 and 22,000 square kilometers in Iraq, roughly 40 percent of their -- the territory that they once controlled. In Syria, maybe about 2,000 square kilometers, maybe a little bit more than that, in the ballpark of 10 percent of what they controlled.

So they've probably got a presence and some freedom of movement in a lot of the unpopulated areas, depicted, in a lot of the unpopulated areas. Hard to determine whether they're a dominant actor in some of those unpopulated areas.

Obviously, in Ninawa, Kirkuk, Salah-al-Din and Diyala is where they've lost the majority of their -- of the territory that they once held. Raqqa and al-Hasakah provinces in Syria. And this is in really unpopulated areas. We're looking at most areas that are populated to get those numbers. So hopefully that helps.

ISIL in Ramadi. Now there's no significant numbers of enemy forces moving into Ramadi, but certainly there is going to be some flows still. As the ISF continue to clear these remaining pockets, you know, and kind of brush out these little nests of fighters, we certainly expect or plan for the possibility that there are some trying to infiltrate back in, if only to help their fellow terrorists. But it's not a significant factor. We don't -- we aren't seeing, you know, numbers of troops there are going to make any real difference.

Q: Just to follow up, if you say that you killed 60 ISIS fighters in the last 24 hours, does that cause you to reassess how many ISIS fighters were there to begin with holding the city?

COL. WARREN: Yeah, we haven't gotten to that yet. You know, at this point, that will be one for the history books, I think. I mean, you know, the Iraqis have it now. They've got some neighborhoods left to clear. We'll let the historians sort out what the -- what the original, you know, enemy strength was.

CAPT. DAVIS: John?

Q: Happy New Year, Colonel Warren. John Hines with One America News. I saw reports of an ISIS (inaudible) that proceeded unmolested to an (inaudible) last week. And so I was wondering what are the rules of engagement regarding ISIS columns, and particularly and more generally, whether ISIS forces are always an actionable target, or do they have to have hostile intent?

And then do U.S. forces have the initiative or are all attacks on ISIS at the command and control of the Iraqis? Thank you.

COL. WARREN: If you're a part of ISIL, we would kill you. That's our rule. I believe now that ISIL -- we believe that ISIL is now in a defensive crouch, and that, you know, they kind of -- (inaudible) -- long ago, probably in May, is really when they reached their culminating point of offensive operations.

COL. WARREN: And then since then, all they've really managed to do is lose ground. And they've lost it in all the places that we've already listed -- the -- (inaudible) -- and -- (inaudible) -- Ramadi, Baiji, et cetera. So, the Iraqi security forces -- (inaudible) -- at this point do I think have the initiative.

Now, that doesn't mean that this enemy isn't able to strike in spots. They are. That doesn't mean that this enemy isn't able to conduct raids and ambushes and IED attacks. They can. And it doesn't mean that they still don't control large swathes of territory. They do.

But what this means is that the Iraqi security forces are now on the offensive. The Iraqi security forces will pick where the next significant battle. The Iraqi security forces are now pressing ISIL, and ISIL is now reacting to the Iraqi security forces, right? So, if that makes sense. What else did you ask? There were several of them in there.

Q: I think that was pretty much it. The idea is that who makes the decision. Is it the Iraqis or the American forces when they're going to attack, basically -- rules of engagement?

COL. WARREN: (inaudible) -- yeah, the Iraqi forces, they make those decisions. This is their -- this is their fight. We're here to enable them. So we help them. We advise them. We assist them. We provide air power for them. But this is their country. This is their plan. And this is their -- these are their decisions to make.

Q: (inaudible) -- from the Kurdish -- (inaudible) -- News Agency.

So, according to some reporters today, the Kurdish and the Syrian Democratic Forces crosses the -- (inaudible) -- which has been (inaudible) by Turkey. And do you have any details? And does that indicate a major, you know, military campaign to take control of the -- (inaudible) -- area?

COL. WARREN: I would -- I couldn't hear a word you said -- (inaudible). Can you ask that again, a little bit slower and clearer?

Q: According to some reporters, the Kurdish and the Syrian Democratic Forces crossed the -- Euphrates River -- which has been objected by Turkey. Does that indicate a military campaign to take control of -- (inaudible) -- border area?

COL. WARREN: The SDF crossed the Euphrates River -- (inaudible). So, yeah, the Syrian Democratic Forces have, you know, seized the -- (inaudible) -- dam. And they have established a perimeter on the west side of that dam deep enough, far enough west to prevent enemy mortar fire, and that's it. This is something that has been worked out.

So, that -- that's the status on that. So the SDF does have the Tishreen dam, which as you know is a, you know, a dam -- that dams the Euphrates. And they seized the entire dam from east to west, and enough of territory on the west side to prevent enemy mortar fire from coming in. And that's it.

Q: (inaudible) -- happy new year.

My question is about the Russian airstrikes inside Syria. Are they still striking opposition forces or have you noticed any change in their airstrikes in terms of their targets?

COL. WARREN: (inaudible). The Russians are -- have -- we have observed the Russians continuing their operation in support of Bashar al-Assad in -- in primarily western Syria. A majority of their strikes are in support of the Assad regime, who in western Syria, are primarily fighting against opposition forces, not against ISIL.

In some cases, they have struck ISIL, yes. They conducted a few strikes in Raqqa several weeks ago, they construct -- they conducted one or two strikes in the (inaudible) area several weeks ago. But a majority of their strikes are -- are focused on Syrian opposition.

CAPT. DAVIS: (Inaudible).

Q: Hi, colonel. We've thrown out some -- some metrics today, one of those was body counts of 2,500 in December and 60 in the last 24 hours. I was just curious, where are these numbers coming from? And since we don't really have boots on the ground, how are they being verified and confirmed by the -- the coalition?

COL. WARREN: Great question. Very fair. And when reporters come here to Baghdad, they're able to see exactly how we do it because we bring them into the ops center and show them. Before any strike, we have ISR, we call it, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Usually, a drone, a predator some other type of drone observing that target before the weapon impacts, and so we can just count, you know?

When -- (inaudible) -- when you're looking at these video screens, you can see exactly how many fighters are there and you can count them. One, two, three, four, five, six. Drop the bomb. You watch for a couple more minutes. Nobody's moving. Scratch six.

CAPT. DAVIS: (Inaudible).

Q: Thank you, colonel. Just wanted to check on something. The Iraqi security forces yesterday said they killed what they termed the ISIS war men that started airstrike near Haditha. I'm just curious if you had anything on that, and on that subject, if you had any updates of any additional high-value targets that have been killed since we last spoke?

And then just a follow-up on Russia and Syria. I'm just curious if you've seen any expansion of Russian movement beyond the western Mediterranean coast into other parts of Syria, namely along the Turkish border in the last week or so?

COL. WARREN: So, we have seen some press reporting that this -- this -- (inaudible) -- has been killed, but we are not able to confirm it. No significant HVTs to announce today. We do strike, on average, one every two days of mid to upper-level leaders, but I didn't bring an update with me today.

Russian expansion is not something that we -- we've -- so we have seen some movement, but really no -- no expansion of note that causes us any type of concern.

CAPT. DAVIS: (off mic).

Q: Steve, Jim Miklaszewski. We haven't heard much lately about any Shia militia. Are they still active? If so, where exactly? What are they doing? And does the U.S. coordinate or communicate in any way with any of the Shia militias?

COL. WARREN: Sure. Tom, let's pull up the -- pull up the opener map for me, if you don't mind.

So Jim, good question. So, there's two river valleys in Iraq, and you can see on your map here. One of them is the Euphrates River valley, which runs from Syria through, you know, blue circle, purple circle number three, purple circle number two, through Haditha, -- Hit -- al Asad, Ramadi. That's the Euphrates River valley.

The other one is off to the right of that. It starts -- on this map, it starts in the vicinity of Baghdad. You can see it runs through Balad, Tikrit, up through star -- gold star number two, and to Mosul, number one. That's the Tigris River valley.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shia portion of that, are operating primarily in the Tigris River valley. That's where we see them. They have been operating recently -- most recently in Baiji, where we've seen them conducting hold operations and in some cases some clearing operations as well. And of course, we saw them operating in Tikrit prior to that.

So that's kind of where the -- the Shia PMF are located. We -- we do engage with -- with some of the Iraqi government officials who have associations with the Shia militia -- (inaudible), but there are others. So yeah, we do have communications with them. That's part of the Iraqi security apparatus, and so, you know, we do have to engage with them.

Q: Are Iranian Shia militia forces still operating in that region?

COL. WARREN: Well, -- (inaudible) -- these definitions get very tough, Jim, and it's kind of hard to find where sometimes where one thing starts and the other thing ends. As far as pure Iranian, you know, militias made up of Iranians, I'm not really aware of much activity there. Primarily, you know, who we are interested in, of course, the larger, more well known -- Badr organizations like that.

Q: Hi, Colonel Warren. Thanks for doing this. Just a real quick clarification.

You mentioned that there were more than 300 square kilometers reclaimed in Syria. And I was just curious if you had anything like that in Iraq. I know you mentioned clearing operations in Baiji and Ramadi, but I don't know if recently in the last seven to 10 days you had some reclaimed territory in Iraq.

COL. WARREN: Well, in Iraq, we believe that, you know, we've reclaimed a total of between 20,000 and 22,000 square kilometers over the course of this fight. I don't have any numbers, you know, for the last week or month. I just haven't crunched them. That's certainly something we can get for you if you need it, but 20,000 or 22,000 overall, you know, during the course of this fight.

You know, we haven't done the math yet on Ramadi because it's easier to see, I think, and these are areas that people are familiar with. But obviously, all of the suburbs around Ramadi, you know, the -- Tamin district and around the glass factory and around -- Zengora the checkpoint area, these are all areas that have been -- that have been liberated and freed of ISIL influence or presence.

Q: I've completely forgotten my follow-up question. (Laughter.) But since I get an opportunity anyway, could you give us an update on how many Iraqi army and Iraqi security forces we've trained to the BPC sites and the Sunni tribal fighters? We haven't had those stats in a while.

COL. WARREN: Yeah. You know, I had them and I forgot to print them out. I know we've trained about 16,000 total Iraqi security forces. I don't have the breakout with me of ISF and police and -- Sunni -- but that's a number we have -- one that's available and can get it for you. I just didn't --- I didn't bring it with me.

Oh, hold on. Yeah, it's -- in fact, it's on Twitter. We'll tweet it out. Check @oirspox for the updated numbers.

CAPT. DAVIS: Last call. Anyone else? We've got one more here.

Q: Do you have -- do we know what happened to the special forces, the 50 special forces that were supposed to be sent to Syria to help the Kurds and the Syrian democratic forces?

COL. WARREN: Yeah. We announced over a month ago that, you know, we would be sending some special forces, some special operations forces into Syria, and that's all we're going to say about it.

CAPT. DAVIS: Cool. Last call. All right, Steve, wrapping up a little bit early today. Thank you as always for your time. We will see you next week.

COL. WARREN: Thanks guys.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/641754/

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US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Visits Kearsarge

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160106-07

Release Date: 1/6/2016 2:04:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Dana D. Legg, USS Kearsarge Public Affairs

ARABIAN GULF (NNS) -- The U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia joined Commander, Task Force 51, Jan. 3-4 for a tour of amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal and Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Carl E. Mundy III were among the many distinguished visitors who took advantage of the opportunity to visit Kearsarge while the ship is forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

"It was an honor to host the ambassador," said Capt. Larry G. Getz, commanding officer of Kearsarge. "Our international partnerships and coalitions are critical for mission accomplishment. We could not do what we do without the support of our allies."

While aboard, Westphal and Mundy interacted with top leadership, visited with Sailors and Marines, and viewed the many aspects of Kearsarge's operations and capabilities during a tour of the ship's spaces.

"Thank you to Maj. Gen. Mundy and the Task Force 51 staff, and the men and women of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit," said Westphal. "It was a truly amazing experience to see the tremendous capabilities of this group, its leadership, Sailors, and Marines. I'm grateful to Capt. Getz, Capt. Bennett, Col. Fulford, and all aboard for their service and hospitality."

During the two-day visit, the staffs and guests had the chance to get to know the crew members during shared meals in the chief petty officer's mess, mess decks and during various briefs.

"It was great to meet and speak with the ambassador during his tour of the medical department," said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Kerrye Barrett. "Being a casualty-receiving ship, we have six operating rooms, 15 intensive-care unit beds, and can extend out to 541 ward beds, making our medical capabilities second to the hospital ships, USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). Being able to showcase one of the ship's largest mission assets makes me proud to be part of the Kearsarge crew."

Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (KSGARG) and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

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Saudi warplanes hit Yemen's Hajjah, four people killed

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 5:2PM

Saudi warplanes have bombarded areas in Yemen's Hajjah Province, where at least four people were killed.

Yemen's al-Masirah TV said Wednesday that the Saudi bombers hit residential areas in the border region of al-Morzaq.

Hajjah is located in Yemen's northwestern region which has been a flash point since the regime in Riyadh started its bombardment campaign on March 26, 2015.

The report said two other people were injured in the strikes.

Saudi warplanes also conducted combat sorties in the capital, Sana'a. Reports said the presidential palace and the city's main airport were targeted.

The Saudi campaign was meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to the fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured since the strikes began. The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country's facilities and infrastructure.

Sources close to Hadi claimed on Wednesday that at least 20 Ansarullah members have been killed in the strikes carried out on Sana'a in a time span of one day. Ansarullah has yet to comment on the figure.

Attacks were also reported in the southwestern province of Dhale on Wednesday. Fatalities were also reported. Various parts of Yemen's northern province of Sa'ada also came under attack. Earlier in the day, Saudi jets launched several strikes on the northern provinces of Ma'rib and Jawf, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

Saudi Arabia officially announced the end of a UN-sponsored truce, claiming that members of Ansarullah and allies had repeatedly violated the ceasefire by launching rocket attacks into southern Saudi territories. Ansarullah says the retaliatory attacks are meant to avenge the Saudi aggression and only targets Saudi military positions. Independent sources in Yemen have reported a significant increase in the number of Ansarullah's reprisal attacks since the truce ended.

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China conducts more test flights in disputed waters

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 3:18PM

China has landed two more planes on a contested reef in the South China Sea amid controversy about its previous flight, which according to Beijing was conducted to test the readiness of a newly-built runway for civil aviation.

On Wednesday, two civilian aircraft landed on the Yongshu Jiao Reef in Nansha Islands during 'test flights', China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

The jets departed from and returned to the Chinese southern city of Haikou in a two-hour journey each way.

'This successful test flight proves that this airport is equipped with the capacity to ensure the safe operation of large civilian aircraft,' said Xinhua, adding the airstrip would help transport supplies, personnel and medical aid.

China constructed the 3,000-meter runway on the Yongshu Jiao Reef by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in Nansha Islands.

On January 2, Beijing also landed a civilian plane on the same airstrip in its first test flight.

The move sparked a formal diplomatic complaint from Vietnam, which described it as a violation of sovereignty. The Philippines also said it would file a protest at the incident.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, defended the landing, saying, "Relevant activity falls completely within China's sovereignty," adding that her country "has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters."

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The contested waters are believed to be rich in oil and gas.

The dispute has at times drawn in extra-territorial countries, particularly the United States, which have more often sided with China's rivals.

Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. The US, however, accuses Beijing of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.



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Pentagon to arm smaller warships with drones

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 2:11PM

The Pentagon has awarded Northrop Grumman with a multi-million-dollar contract aimed at enabling unmanned drones to operate from smaller warships.

The $93.1 million contract was awarded to Northrop on December 24 as part of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program, the CNN reported Wednesday.

Under TERN, DARPA seeks to provide airborne surveillance and drone strikes from the decks of 'forward-deployed small ships' without having to deploy aircraft carriers or construct large, fixed land bases.

According to DARPA, fixed-wing unmanned aircraft require bases and large aircraft carriers, which in turn require 'substantial financial, diplomatic and security commitments.'

In theory, this new technology would allow surveillance flights and drone strikes to be launched globally from the hundreds of existing 'small-deck naval maritime vessels,' Northrop Grumman noted.

The US Defense Department said that it expects the first prototype to fly on November 2017.

Washington's push to advance its drone technology comes amid heightened concerns over the lack of trained military pilots, which according to the Los Angeles Times, has forced the Air Force to hire civilian pilots to navigate the aircraft.

The Pentagon is also accused of running a mass assassination program using its drones. The program attracted a lot more attention in October 2015, when a whistle-blower within the US intelligence ranks leaked a series of sensitive documents that shed light on Washington's drone operations in countries like Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The documents revealed that in order to hide the true numbers of civilian casualties, the US military categorizes unidentified people killed in drone strikes as enemies, even if they were not the intended targets.

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UN probes sex abuse cases against CAR peacekeepers

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 1:23PM

The UN has launched an investigation into fresh allegations of child sex abuse by its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.

The UN said on Tuesday that it had asked three countries of the claims to investigate their soldiers who serve in the MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.

The mission 'is investigating new allegations concerning both sexual exploitation and abuse and other misconduct by UN peacekeepers [in the African country's capital] Bangui,' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

He did not name the three countries, but sources say the peacekeepers were from Morocco, Egypt and Gabon. The soldiers are accused of rape, sexual exploitation and transactional sex with girls.

The victims were four girls, who are minor, and lived in a camp for displaced civilians in Bangui.

Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the MINUSCA mission chief, said that there would be 'zero tolerance' for such assaults and 'no complacency for perpetrators.'

The UN Children's FUND (UNICEF) staff in Bangui have met with the victims and worked with a local organization to provide them with psychological support.

The latest assault brought to 26 the number of sexual abuse cases of UN peacekeepers recorded in the Central African Republic.

Last year, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon fired the head of MINUSCA mission because of the increasing number of sexual abuse cases. He warned that the UN would throw out the entire peacekeeping unit if the soldiers accused of assaults were not prosecuted.

The UN has faced severe criticism over allegations that French and African soldiers forced children to perform sexual acts in order to receive food between December 2013 and June 2014.

France has thousands of troops in the Central African Republic and 14 of its soldiers are under investigation over the allegations.

The Central African Republic plunged into crisis in December 2013, when anti-balaka militia began coordinated attacks against the Seleka group, which toppled the government in March that year.

As the guiding force, France effectively invaded its former colony after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the country.

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Daesh-Taliban clashes kill 30 militants in Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 10:24AM

At least 30 militants have been killed and scores of others injured during fierce clashes between members of Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and Taliban extremists in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar.

Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said on Wednesday that the two sides had engaged in heavy exchanges of gunfire in the Bati Kot district of the beleaguered province, east of the capital, Kabul, the previous day.

He added that the clashes have claimed the lives of at least 18 Daesh terrorists, including two militant commanders identified as Ajmal and Abdul Ahad, while leaving four others injured.

A dozen Taliban militants were also killed and an unspecified number of others injured.

Last month, at least 15 people were killed in clashes between Daesh terrorists and Taliban militants in the Chaparhar district of Nangarhar Province.

Khogyani said at the time that the clashes had left four Daesh terrorists and 11 Taliban members dead. Eleven Daesh militants and 25 Taliban militants were also injured.

Two civilians were caught in the crossfire and sustained gunshot wounds.

Six Daesh terrorists were killed on December 5 as Afghan fighter jets launched an operation in the Achin district of Nangarhar Province.

Earlier that day, 33 Daesh terrorists were killed and four others injured during an Afghan army ground offensive in the same Nangarhar district.

Haji Ghalib Mujahid, the governor of Achin, said early last month that 32 Daesh terrorists were killed in the area during a counter-terror operation. Ghalib said a radio base used by Daesh elements in Afghanistan to be in touch with fellow militants in Iraq and neighboring Syria was also destroyed in the operation.

Nangarhar has been witnessing a rise in the number of Daesh terrorists in some of its districts in recent months.

On June 16, the Afghan Taliban militant group warned Daesh ringleader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai, also known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, against "waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity 14 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. Although the 2001 attack overthrew the Taliban, many areas across Afghanistan still face violence and insecurity.

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Saudi fighter jets continue to bombard Yemen

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 10:19AM

Saudi warplanes have carried out new airstrikes across Yemen, hitting, among other places, an airport in the capital, Sana'a, along with an airbase.

According to Yemen's al-Masirah news channel, Saudi warplanes bombarded the al-Dailami airbase as well as the international airport and the al-Nahdain district of Sana'a on Wednesday.

Local media reports said a truck carrying gas cylinders was also targeted and exploded during the raids.

Meanwhile, two civilians lost their lives in a Saudi airstrike on the Yemeni province of Dhale.

In another development, various parts of Yemen's northern Sa'ada Province came under Saudi air raids and mortar attacks. Also on Wednesday, Saudi fighter jets launched several strikes on the Yemeni provinces of Ma'rib and Jawf, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

As the Saudi attacks against Yemen continue, Yemeni army soldiers backed by Popular Committees loyal to the Houthi Ansarullah movement are engaged in fierce clashes with Saudi mercenaries in the southwestern Yemeni province of Ta'izz.

Saudi Arabia began the campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes are supposedly meant to undermine the Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured since the strikes began. The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country's facilities and infrastructure.

Yemenis have, meanwhile, been carrying out retaliatory attacks against the Saudi forces deployed in the country as well as targets inside Saudi Arabia.

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Top Bangladesh court upholds death sentence for opposition leader

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 6:34AM

Bangladesh's top court has upheld the death penalty for the leader of the South Asian country's Jamaat-e-Islami Party, dismissing his appeal.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court endorsed the verdict for Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was found guilty in 2014 over charges of murder, rape and orchestrating the killing of top intellectuals during Bangladesh's war of independence with Pakistan in 1971.

"The court upheld the death sentence in three charges. We're very happy," prosecutor Tureen Afroz told reporters.

Seventy two-year-old Nizami, who has been Jamaat's leader since 2000, now faces execution within months unless he is granted clemency by the president or his case is reviewed by the same court.

Since December 2013, three senior Jamaat officials and a key leader of the main opposition have been executed for alleged war crimes, despite global outcry over alleged shortcomings in their trials by a war crime court.

The court rejected previous reviews of those four opposition figures on death row, resulting in their execution.

In August 2013, the Supreme Court issued a verdict banning the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami and preventing it from contesting in national polls.

Bangladesh's constitution calls for a secular government and prohibits religion-based politics. The country broke away from Pakistan to form an independent country in 1971 following a war between Bangladeshi nationalists, backed by India, and Pakistani troops. The war claimed the lives of some three million people.

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Afghan Forces Claim Advances in Taliban-held District

by Ayaz Gul January 06, 2016

Afghan security forces backed by U.S. military airstrikes have made advances in a volatile southern district, killing dozens of Taliban insurgents and wounding many others, said officials on Wednesday.

The fighting in Marjah, a Taliban-held district in the restive Helmand province, erupted a day earlier when Afghan forces launched a counter-offensive to try to recapture lost territory.

"We have evicted the opposition from three places (in Marjah)," Provincial police chief General Abdul Rehman Sarjang, told VOA. He said the counter-insurgency operation has also opened a main road for traffic in the area that was heavily mined by the Taliban.



A U.S. military spokesman, Col. Michael Lawhorn, says its aircraft carried out a dozen strikes in Marjah on Wednesday and neighboring Sangin district in support of the ground offensive.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid refuted claims that it suffered losses in Marjah.

"The American and forces of the Kabul administration have suffered heavy losses and in order to divert public attention they are making false claims," he told VOA.

It was not immediately possible to independently verify claims by either party because most of the Helmand province has been in the grip of hostilities for months. US casualties

On Tuesday, the United States confirmed that one of its service members was killed and two others were wounded during the fighting.

"They came under fire while conducting a train, advise and assist mission with their Afghan special operations counterparts on the ground in Marjah We understand a number of Afghan forces were injured as well,' Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters.

Two helicopters were sent to provide assistance but one was waved off after taking fire and returned safely to its base while the second landed safely but sustained damage to its rotor blades after it apparently struck a wall, Cook said, adding the helicopter was still on the ground trying to retrieve the wounded U.S. personnel.

"We can confirm the wounded have been evacuated," U.S. military spokesman Col. Michael Lawhorn told VOA on Wednesday.

Marjah is one of several parts of Helmand under control of the Taliban. Taliban insurgents have put pressure on the province in southern Afghanistan's poppy-growing region for months.

Ground situation

Ten of Helmand's 14 districts either have fallen to the Taliban or have an uncertain status in the midst of fighting between the Afghan government's security forces and Taliban fighters.

The insurgents' advances prompted commanders of NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan to deploy American and British military advisers last month to help Afghan forces better coordinate their efforts to re-take lost territory in Helmand, Afghanistan's largest province bordering Pakistan.

According to U.N. data from October, the Taliban insurgency has spread across Afghanistan more than at any other point since 2001 and Afghan security forces have struggled to contain the insurgents.

In his Tuesday briefing, Pentagon spokesman Cook would not concede that Afghan security forces are losing ground.

"They're getting better at defending their own country. But they're not at a point yet where they are able to operate entirely on their own, which is why U.S. forces, other NATO forces are there, assisting and providing this kind of training and assistance to the Afghans," said Cook.

The hostilities come as Afghan, Pakistani, U.S. and Chinese officials prepare to meet in Islamabad on Monday to discuss how, where and when stalled peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban can be resumed.

'The U.S. and Afghan governments agree that the best way to ensure lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process," Cook reiterated.

UN condemns bombings

Meanwhile, the United Nations has condemned a spate of bombings this week in civilian areas of Kabul by the Taliban.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement Wednesday that at least five civilians were killed and 56 others wounded in the three suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices attacks in the Afghan capital since the beginning of the year. The victims included ten children and nine women.

"International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits attacks against civilians and requires all parties to uphold their legal obligations to at all times avoid harm to civilians," it said, adding the attacks occurred while many Afghans held hope for the restart of a peace dialogue for Afghanistan.

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Liberia President Supports Reducing Presidential Term

by James Butty January 06, 2016

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said she supports the call by Liberians to reduce the presidential term of office from two six-year terms to two four-year terms.

A constitution review commission set up by Sirleaf recommended last year to reduce the number of years the president can serve. The commission also recommended the term of office for senators be reduced from the current nine years to six, and representatives from six to four years. Information Minister Lewis Brown said Sirleaf's support to change the presidential term to two four-year terms is part of her effort to build a democratic governance model that is transparent and that every Liberian can feel a part of.

"She has, in fact, written the legislature and she has asked to actually consider amending the presidential term to two four-year terms rather than what it is today which is two six-year terms. In effect, limiting the president to a maximum of eight years in office,' he said.

Under the current 1986 constitution, the president and vice president serve six-year terms, senators serve for nine years and members of the House of Representatives six years.

Members of the Senate and House of Representatives can run for re-election for as many times as they wish as long they are elected by their constituents.

Brown would not say if Sirleaf is trying to set an example for other African leaders who are trying to change their countries' constitutions to extend their stay in power.

"Well, if her example is anything to go by, then certainly it speaks to the fact that she will favor presidential term limit. Now, whether she is sending a message to the rest of Africa, I'm not in the position to say. But I know that her entire leadership has been around making sure that Liberia is best positioned, whether it be through economic transformation, whether it be political transformation, so that every citizen feels a duty to their country in the first instance and that we can deepen the institutional capacity of our society to build the kind of democratic governance model that is a bit more transparent, and a bit more accountable to the people," Brown said.

Many long-serving African leaders have been using what has been dubbed by some as a "softer, gentler coup d'etat" to stay in power by reforming their countries' constitutions.

The tactic has been used by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang, Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is in a tight re-election fight in polling scheduled for next month.

Most recently, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza won a controversial third term in an election that his critics said violated the constitution. In Rwanda, the parliament removed the two seven-year presidential term limit and paved the way for President Paul Kagame to continue in office.

Liberia's Constitutional Review Conference approved several recommendations, including a provision making Liberia a 'Christian' nation, the election of superintendents of the country's 15 political subdivisions by the citizens rather than by presidential appointment, equal representation for women, and rejection of dual citizenship.

Brown said Sirleaf supports dual citizenship because she feels the country would benefit economically.

"It is not in the best interest of our country to alienate people who were born to Liberian parentage, people who are truly Liberians. And she used other economic indicators that dual citizenship has had a positive impact on the economy, especially at a time when we need to invest in our country," Brown said.

The Liberian legislature, which returns to work next week from its summer break, will have to approve the term limits recommendations before they are put to a national referendum.

Liberia holds presidential election in 2017.

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C.A.R. Presidential Election Likely to Go to 2nd Round

by Katarina Hoije January 06, 2016

The National Election Authority in Bangui raced to beat a deadline to announce the results from the December 30 presidential poll.

With more than 70 percent of the votes counted, the Central African Republic's presidential election looks set to go to a second round. Both of the two leading candidates are former prime ministers who served under ousted president Francois Bozize.

The Authority's logistics officer, Rene Sankanga, said some votes have yet to arrive in the capital.

The votes from the refugees and the Diaspora in Chad arrived Wednesday in Bangui, but votes from France and some regions have not arrived, he said. The Election Authority hopes they will arrive by Thursday so results can be announced.

As things stood Wednesday, former prime minister Anicet Georges Dologuele held the lead with 248,000 votes. He is followed by another former prime minister, Faustin Archange Touadera, with 217,000 votes.

It is clear that Touadera has won Bangui, while Dologuele's stronghold is in the populated western parts of the country.

The results leave the other 28 candidates with little chance of catching up before the final results are due Thursday evening.

Vote credibility questioned

Earlier this week, 19 candidates questioned the credibility of the poll and demanded the counting be stopped. The C.A.R. transitional government, the National Transition Council, said the vote count would go ahead as planned, despite logistical difficulties.



Sankanga said the Election Authority is working '24/7 to be able to assemble the results in time.'

Anyone who wants to contest the final results has 10 days to do so with the country's constitutional court. If they do, a second round currently scheduled for January 31 will likely be postponed.

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Afghanistan Forms Special Anti-IS Force

by VOA News January 06, 2016

The Afghan government has formed a special force to counter Islamic State and Taliban militants in eastern parts of the country, Acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai announced Wednesday from eastern Laghman province.

"The IS issue is the most important [issue], which should be hard hit," Stanekzai told VOA's Afghan service. "People are fed up with this group."

The 750-person battalion will be formed largely from former Afghan soldiers. The battalion, which is based in the 201st Silab Army Corps in Laghman, will carry out operations against militant groups in eastern provinces.

Ongoing airstrikes against IS in Nangarhar province would continue, but security forces are pursuing a new strategy, Stanekzai said.

"The use of too much force is not that helpful; people should cooperate to help us reach our goal," he said. "We have changed our war strategy and want to work with local people."

The announcement comes after hundreds of local Afghans took to the streets of the eastern city of Jalalabad last week, demanding that Kabul step up military operations against Islamic State and Taliban militants in Nangarhar. Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar.

Provincial officials say airstrikes against IS in Nangarhar's Shinwari district have been successful.

Nangarhar's governor, Salim Kunduzi, said local people are happy with the airstrikes against IS militants.

IS has been active in several districts of Nangarhar, where it launched multiple attacks on government facilities.

IS militants have also been engaged in fierce fighting with the rival Taliban in the province. Dozens of insurgents reportedly have been killed in the fighting between the two militant groups.

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Strikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, January 7, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Fighter, attack, and bomber aircraft conducted 14 strikes near Manbij, which suppressed an ISIL vehicle's movement, denied ISIL access to terrain, and destroyed 24 ISIL fighting positions and four ISIL buildings.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition forces, using rocket artillery, fighter, fighter-attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft, conducted 22 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Baghdadi, two strikes struck an ISIL staging facility and an ISIL weapons cache.

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

-- Near Albu Hayat, a strike destroyed 30 ISIL rockets, an ISIL rocket rail, and an ISIL building.

-- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL staging areas, two ISIL buildings, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL tactical vehicle.

-- Near Haditha, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit, wounded an ISIL fighter, and destroyed three ISIL vehicle bombs, an ISIL fighting position and two ISIL vehicles.

-- Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 11 ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL bed down locations, an ISIL tunnel and four ISIL assembly areas.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two large ISIL tactical units, denied ISIL access to terrain, and destroyed 13 ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL heavy machine guns, four ISIL vehicle bomb staging facilities, an ISIL staging area, three ISIL buildings and three ISIL tactical vehicles.

-- Near Sinjar, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is a strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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U.S., Turkey Have 'Common Sight Picture' of ISIL, Dunford Says

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

INCIRLIK, Turkey, January 6, 2016  Discussions with Turkish officials in Turkey's capital of Ankara today included challenges posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Russia, Iran, refugees and border protection, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. met with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Army Gen. Hulusi Akar, chief of the Turkish armed forces, and the Turkish General Staff in a series of meetings.

Though the meetings came at a crucial time in the conflict against what officials call "core ISIL" in Syria and Iraq, the U.S.-Turkish relationship is not all about ISIL, the chairman said.

Broad Relationship, Common Security Interests

"We have a broader political-economic relationship with Turkey, and we have security interests in common," Dunford said during an interview with reporters traveling with him. The United States has an important bilateral relationship with Turkey, and the country is also the southern anchor of the NATO alliance, he noted.

Dunford has been chairman for only for three months, but he has spoken three times with Akar, who took office in August. "I've spoke with him via  video teleconference, but I thought it was important to meet face-to-face," Dunford said.

It was important, the general said, to get the Turkish perspective. "They live here in the neighborhood, and they have a unique perspective," he explained.

On ISIL, Dunford said, Turkey and the United States "have a common sight picture of the threat right now, and also the opportunities to work together to deal with the threat."

"It's fair for me to say I don't think there were any surprises in what I heard," he continued. "But it was helpful to get this up-front and face-to-face."

Turkish officials told the chairman what they are doing at the border with Syria. The Turks have deployed an additional 25,000 soldiers along the most critical parts of the border with Syria. These forces join the border police and Interior Ministry troops already there. Officials said they are building berms and fences to block other parts of the border.

The number of people interdicted and at least interviewed has increased significantly, the Turks told the chairman, adding that they believe they have cut into smuggling of weapons and contraband and cut the number of foreign fighters entering and leaving Syria.

Request for More Training, Equipping of Sunnis in Syria

Turkish officials also spoke with the chairman about training and equipping additional Syrian Sunni Arab groups. "They have some groups identified that they would like to have us help train and equip," the chairman told reporters. "We are going to look into that. I can't give you more details,  but they did offer that they felt there were some groups that would be helpful in conducting operations in Syria along the border."

This fits in with U.S. strategy to train and equip Syrian Sunni Arab fighters. It would entail training, equipping and supporting small numbers of people "to come into Turkey to do training so they can then be connective tissue, if you will, to larger elements in Syria," Dunford said.

Sunni Arabs are joining the fight against ISIL in greater numbers, Dunford said. "Without overstating the case  clearly, success breeds success, not only here but everywhere," the general said.

"There have been some good things happening," Dunford said. "The Tishrin Dam [in Northern Syria] has been secured, [and] a pretty significant swatch of ground has been uncovered by the Sunni Arab coalition working with the [Peoples' Defense Units]. Folks are seeing that and say they want to be a part of it, because they want to get back to their homes as well."

Moving Quickly

Dunford said he wants "to move at the speed of heat here."

"As soon as I have the information necessary to frame this for decision we're going to move ahead," the chairman said, noting that President Barack Obama has made it clear to him that he wants ideas and that he wants to move quickly.

Service members Dunford spoke to at Incirlik Air Base told the chairman they believe the missions they are doing are important and that they feel safe at the base, roughly 60 miles away from the Syrian border. They praised the quality of life for themselves and their families.

"They wanted me to walk away saying they are safe, they are focused and our families are happy here," Dunford said.

Summary:

Discussions with Turkish officials in Turkey's capital of Ankara included challenges posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Russia, Iran, refugees and border protection, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

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Iran censures 'deliberate' Saudi raid on mission in Sana'a

Iran Press TV

Thu Jan 7, 2016 11:9AM

Iran has roundly condemned a "deliberate" air raid by Saudi warplanes on its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which injured a number of security forces guarding the diplomatic mission.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Thursday the Saudi attack on Tehran's embassy is a "violation of all conventions and international regulations" in protecting diplomatic missions under all circumstances.

Late on Wednesday, Saudi fighter jets, which have been engaged in a bombing campaign against Yemen since March 2015, targeted Iran's embassy in Sana'a, damaging the mission's building and wounding the security forces guarding the place.

The Saudi military has said it will launch an investigation into the issue.

Jaberi Ansari further said the Islamic Republic holds the Saudi regime responsible for the damage caused by the airstrike, emphasizing, "It is clear that Tehran reserves the right to follow up on this issue."

This is not the first time that Saudi warplanes target the Iranian mission in the Yemeni capital.

Last June, Iran sent a letter to the UN Security Council to inform the 15-nation body that Riyadh's air forces had pounded areas near Tehran's embassy in the Yemeni capital twice during a period of two months.

The Iranian diplomatic mission's compound suffered severe damage during the bombings on May 25, 2015, which was followed a similar attack on April 20 the same year.

The latest developments come as tensions have been running high between Tehran and Riyadh after Saudi Arabia decided to break off diplomatic relations with Iran, which strongly criticized the kingdom's execution on January 2 of prominent opposition cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Sheikh Nimr's killing came despite international calls on Riyadh to revoke the death sentence handed down in 2014 to the prominent religious figure, sparking angry anti-Saudi protest rallies in several countries around the world, including Iran.

When the news of Sheikh Nimr's death broke out, angry Iranian protesters held demonstrations in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad on January 2, censuring the Al Saud regime for the crime.

During the demonstrations, some people mounted the walls of the consulate in Mashhad, while incendiary devices were hurled at the embassy in Tehran.

Some 50 people were detained over the transgression, with senior Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, criticizing the violence and vowing a firm response to any violations of law.

However, Riyadh severed diplomatic relations with Tehran after the incident.

President Rouhani has said Riyadh's move to cut diplomatic relations with Tehran was aimed at covering up the failure of its regional policies and undermining peace in the region.

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Iran Accuses Saudis Of Striking Near Embassy In Yemen

January 07, 2016

by RFE/RL

Iran has accused Saudi warplanes of damaging its embassy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and injuring staff in an air strike.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on January 7 that a rocket struck 'near the Iranian Embassy' in Sanaa during an air raid by Saudi Arabia, seriously wounding one guard.

Abdollahian said Tehran will provide the United Nations with a detailed report of the incident.

The New York Times quoted witnesses as saying that a home across the street from the embassy was hit and that embassy guards were wounded by shrapnel.

Earlier, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman described the incident as a 'deliberate attack from Saudi Arabia.'

A Saudi-led coalition, which has been targeting Iran-backed Shi'ite rebels in Yemen since March, said it was investigating Iran's claim.

Spokesman Ahmed Asseri said coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa in the night on January 6 to target missile launchers used by Houthi rebels to fire at Saudi Arabia.

He also said the rebels have used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.

The claim comes as tensions mount between the two regional rivals -- Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-led Iran -- over Riyadh's execution of prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which was followed by attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Amid the escalating tensions, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told The Economist that his country would not allow a direct war between the two countries.

When asked about the possibility of war, he said: 'It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region.'

Meanwhile, a senior commander with Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned Saudi Arabia that "it would face collapse and downfall in the next few years" if it did not change course.

Saudi Arabia's current policies are like a 'political avalanche that will bury the Saudi regime,' Brigadier General Hossein Salami was quoted as saying at a January 7 ceremony against al-Nimr's execution.

Also on January 7, Tehran announced it has banned all products from Saudi Arabia.

'The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia,' the Iranian government said in a statement, noting that a ban on Iranians traveling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage was also in place 'until further notice.'

Iran's annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consist mostly of packing materials and textiles.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked by protesters.

On January 7, Somalia joined a number of Saudi Arabia's allies, including Bahrain and Sudan, that have either severed or downgraded their ties with Iran.

The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, IRNA, Fars, The New York Times, and The Economist

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-accuses-saudi- arabia-bombing-yemen-embassy/27473727.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Scared by 'Unpredictable Neighbor': Belgium Starts Defending Estonian Skies

Sputnik News

19:06 07.01.2016(updated 19:08 07.01.2016)

The Belgian Air Force commenced policing mission to 'defend Baltic skies' in the framework of 'defense organization' NATO's rotating schedule.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Belgium has taken over the Baltic Air Policing mission during a ceremony at the Estonian Amari Air Base, Estonia's General Staff said on Thursday.

'NATO is a defense organization that can protect us in any climate. A good example of this is the mission to defend Baltic skies, which sends a message from our NATO allies to both our population and to our unpredictable neighbor,' Estonia's Defense Minister Hannes Hanso said during the ceremony.

Belgium, as well as Spain, is to patrol the Baltic states' skies in 2016 as part of the rotating NATO mission. Four Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon jets are deployed to Latvia, while Belgian F-16 jets are deployed to Estonia, Latvia's Defense Ministry said late December.

The new mission takes over from German and Norwegian Eurofighter Typhoon jets that had been deployed to the Baltic states from September 2015.

The three Baltic states comprising Latvia, Estonia and neighboring Lithuania do not possess air patrol capabilities. Since joining NATO in 2004, the three Baltic countries' airspace has been controlled by a rotating NATO mission.

NATO's main base in the Baltic region is located at the Zokniai Air Force Base in Latvia, while the Estonian Amari Air Base has been used by the alliance since 2014.

 Sputnik

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Washington, Seoul Discuss Deployment of Nuke Sub, F-22 and B-52 to S Korea

Sputnik News

12:22 07.01.2016(updated 12:26 07.01.2016)

Military officials from the United States and South Korea discussed the deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine, a F-22 stealth fighter and a B-52 bomber to the Asian country amid Pyongyang's alleged hydrogen bomb test.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Military officials from the United States and South Korea discussed the deployment of the US strategic assets to the Asian country, local media reported Thursday.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and the commander of US forces in Korea, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, discussed on Wednesday the deployment of US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a South Korean Defense Ministry official.

According to the news outlet, the assets include a nuclear-powered submarine, a F-22 stealth fighter and a B-52 bomber.

The discussions come amid the alleged test of a hydrogen bomb by North Korea also on Wednesday. Despite the North Korean claims, there are suspicions that the bomb which was tested might not have been a hydrogen one.

Washington and Seoul have a long history of economic and security cooperation. The United States has also more than 25,000 soldiers stationed in South Korea, and has been militarily present in the country for nearly 60 years.

 Sputnik

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US Gives Nigeria 24 Armored Vehicles for Boko Haram Fight

by VOA News January 07, 2016

The U.S. government is giving Nigeria 24 mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles to assist the country in its fight against Boko Haram militants.

A statement from the U.S. consulate in Lagos says the vehicles, valued at $11 million, are being handed over to Nigerian military officials Thursday.

The consulate says the donation 'represents part of the continuing U.S. commitment to Nigeria and its neighbors to counter Boko Haram's senseless acts of terror, and promote regional security.'

In October, the U.S. sent 300 troops to northern Cameroon to help coordinate the fight against the militants, and last month, it provided Cameroon with combat vehicles, power generators and other 'tactical war equipment.'

According to a group that tracks global terrorism, Boko Haram has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world, killing nearly 6,500 people in 2014.

It killed several thousand more in 2015 with attacks in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Those countries, along with Benin, have formed a joint task force to battle Boko Haram.

The shadowy group says it is fighting to establish a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

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Philippines Denounces China's Test Flights in Spratlys

by VOA News January 07, 2016

The Philippines on Thursday denounced China after a pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed on a newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, China landed two test flights on Fiery Cross Reef, claiming it was a test to see whether the airstrip on the man-made island could handle large civilian aircraft. The test flights occurred four days after China angered Vietnam with a landing on the same runway.

Manila said it is concerned China could impose military controls in the South China Sea, an area where six governments maintain overlapping maritime territorial claims.

'If this is not challenged, we will have a situation where China will take a position that ADIZ [air defense identification zone] could be imposed. Whether this is done in terms of a de facto basis or whether it is official, of course this will be deemed as unacceptable to us,' Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in Manila.

Provocative actions

'We are very concerned and we are of course following these developments because these are provocative actions which we need to think about and we need to take positions on,' del Rosario added.

The Fiery Cross Reef runway is 3,000 meters long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday 'freedom of navigation and overflight are non-negotiable,' and any attempt to restrict air and sea travel in the disputed South China Sea would be viewed as a 'red flag.'

Hammond, speaking at a joint news conference with del Rosario, is on a tour of three Asian countries, including China and Japan. He said Britain does not take sides in the regional dispute, but called on all parties to exercise restraint and respect international law.

Responding to Saturday's test flight, the U.S. State Department reiterated calls for a halt to land reclamation and militarization of outposts in those waters.

Freedom of navigation

Washington takes no formal position on the various sovereignty claims, but it insists disputes be settled peacefully and that freedom of navigation be maintained in the region.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Saturday's first test flight was 'civilian' in nature.

The Philippines has asked a United Nations-backed tribunal to void China's claim over almost the entire South China Sea. It expects a decision later this year.

Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims in the South China Sea, which hosts vital shipping lanes over vast oil and gas reserves. More than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped through the South China Sea every year.

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Witnesses Discount Iran's Claims of Saudi Airstrike on Embassy in Yemen

by VOA News January 07, 2016

Witnesses in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, discounted Iranian claims Thursday that Saudi Arabia hit Tehran's embassy there in an overnight airstrike.

Iran accused Saudi Arabia of 'deliberately' hitting the diplomatic outpost.

But witnesses in Sana'a said there was no visible damage to the building, just some stones and shrapnel that apparently landed in the embassy's yard after a Saudi airstrike hit a public square about 700 meters from the embassy.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said the alleged air attacks in Sana'a were 'a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions,' according to state television.

'Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff,' he said. His statement did not specify who was wounded or to what extent.

Saudi Arabia is carrying out a campaign of airstrikes in Yemen in support of forces fighting against Iranian-backed Houthi Shi'ite rebels. Riyadh has not commented on the Iranian accusations.

Import ban

Also Thursday, Iran's cabinet banned the import of all products from Saudi Arabia, according to a government statement. Iran imports about $60 million worth of products from Saudi Arabia annually, mostly packing materials and textiles. Tehran said nothing about its $130 million annual export business with the Saudis, mostly steel, cement and agricultural products.

Tehran also adopted a ban on Iranians traveling to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The developments come after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran last week following violent protests at the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The protesters were upset over the Saudi execution of prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was critical of the Riyadh kingdom.

Several Arab countries have since severed diplomatic relations with Iran, in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. Other nations have downgraded ties with Tehran.

Somalia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran on Thursday, accusing Tehran of trying to destabilize it by sending its operatives into Somalia to create armed groups and 'secret missionaries' to convert Somalis to the Shi'ite doctrine.

Somalia gave Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave the Horn of Africa nation and recalled its acting ambassador from Tehran.

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Taiwan condemns North Korean hydrogen bomb test

ROC Central News Agency

2016/01/06 20:16:02

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan on Wednesday condemned North Korea's alleged detonation of a hydrogen bomb as a provocative action and called against any move that could undermine stability in the region.

The condemnation came in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Pyongyang's announcement earlier in the day that it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a significant advance in its pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

The Republic of China government has strongly condemned North Korea's action and has expressed serious concern about it, according to the statement.

The ROC has urged North Korea to respond to the international community's calls and abide by United Nations resolutions, by stopping any moves that could undermine the region's security and working jointly to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in East Asia.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said the test was conducted 'for self-defense.' The test also means a higher stage in the country's development of a nuclear force, it added.

'The Korean peninsula and its vicinity are turning into the world's biggest hot spot, where a nuclear war might break out' amid the constant presence of nuclear-armed U.S. forces, it said.

Following the news of the test, Tokyo and Seoul also condemned Pyongyang's action.

(By Elaine Hou)

ENDITEM/J

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Regional powers expected to team up after Pyongyang's H-bomb test

ROC Central News Agency

2016/01/06 18:11:01

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) A Taiwanese lawmaker and military expert predicted Wednesday that South Korea will seek closer cooperative ties with its neighboring countries, including China, Japan and the United States after a reported successful hydrogen bomb test in North Korea.

Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (), who is a member of the Legislature's Foreign and National Defense Committee, said the incident means South Korea, Japan and the U.S. have not acquired adequate intelligence on Pyongyang's military technologies.

U.S. officials scoffed at North Korea when it claimed to own hydrogen bombs, Lin said. The U.S. government has always trusted in its military technologies and is convinced that it knows everything about North Korea through its tracking of the communist regime through artificial satellites and telecommunications monitoring systems.

Apparently, over the past decade as the U.S. was underestimating North Korea, the latter used all of its national strength to develop military technologies, Lin said. Now 'the U.S. has mud on its face.'

The successful nuclear test means South Korea would be the first one to be hit if any such weapon is deployed, Lin said, noting that Japan, China and the U.S. could all be within the range of an H-bomb attack.

'To a certain extent, North Korea has impelled countries, which all have conflicting interests against each other, to be more cooperative with each other so that they can jointly deal with the new challenge,' Lin said.

According to Japan's NHK, the state-run North Korean Central Television reported at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday that a successful hydrogen bomb test had been conducted, the first in the country.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou () convened a security meeting with high-level officials later in the day, according to Presidential Office spokesman Chen Yi-hsin ().

Ma was greatly concerned by the incident and immediately held a meeting with Premier Mao Chi-Kuo () and National Security Council Secretary-General Kao Hua-chu () to discuss the situation, Chen said.

The president asked national security units to closely monitor the incident and government agencies to respond with caution, he said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Huang Wei-cher () said Taiwan can do nothing about North Korea's threat to the security of the region. Nevertheless, he urged President Ma to take economic and diplomatic actions if necessary to defend regional security.

Tsai Zheng-jia (), a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University, told CNA that the nuclear test by North Korea could lead Japan and South Korea to boost their military cooperation in the face of a common enemy.

He raised concern that Japan could take advantage of the nuclear issue to try to free itself from a non-nuclear weapons policy.

The test reflects the failure of the U.S.'s policy of isolation, which Tsai said caused Pyongyang to become more and more aggressive.

The nuclear test snuffed out hopes of reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula, and suggested North Korea may want to gradually break free of China's control, the scholar said.

(By Chen Chun-hua and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/ke



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DPRK announces success of first H-bomb test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 12:55, January 06, 2016

PYONGYANG, Jan. 6 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced Wednesday that it has successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

The 'total success' of the test, which took place at 10:00 a.m. Pyongyang time (0130 GMT), meant that the DPRK has 'proudly joined the advanced ranks of nuclear weapons states possessed of even H-bomb,' Pyongyang said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA.

According to the statement, DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un ordered the H-bomb test on Dec. 15, 2015, and signed the final written order on Sunday.

The test has 'proved the technological specifications of the newly developed H-bomb were accurate and scientifically verified the power of smaller H-bomb,' said the statement.

The DPRK claimed that the test was conducted 'in a safe and perfect manner' and that no adverse impact was caused on the environment.

It added that its development of nuclear weapons is aimed at smashing the U.S. hostile policy against it, and stressed that the DPRK would not resort to nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed on.

Earlier in the day, the China Earthquake Network Center said a 4.9-magnitude earthquake jolted the DPRK at 0130 GMT at a depth of 0 km.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which also reported the temblor but initially put the magnitude at 5.1 and the depth at 10 km, later revised the depth to 0 km.

The DPRK's H-bomb test apparently runs counter to relevant UN resolutions and the internationally backed Korean Peninsula denuclearization efforts, and is set to cause repercussions.

China has always pushed for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining that all relevant parties should refrain from unilateral moves detrimental to regional peace and stability.

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Spotlight: DPRK announces success of first H-bomb test, draws criticism, skepticism

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 16:30, January 06, 2016

PYONGYANG, Jan. 6 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced Wednesday that it has successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

The move has immediately given rise to a chorus of condemnations from several countries, with some also expressing suspicion about the announcement.

TOTAL SUCCESS

In a statement carried by the state-run KCNA, Pyongyang said the 'total success' of the test, which took place at 10:00 a.m. Pyongyang time (0130 GMT), meant that the DPRK has 'proudly joined the advanced ranks of nuclear weapons states possessed of even H-bomb.'

According to the statement, DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un ordered the H-bomb test on Dec. 15, 2015, and signed the final written order on Sunday.

The test has 'proved the technological specifications of the newly developed H-bomb were accurate and scientifically verified the power of smaller H-bomb,' said the statement.

The DPRK claimed that the test was conducted 'in a safe and perfect manner' and that no adverse impact was caused on the environment.

It added that its development of nuclear weapons is aimed at smashing the U.S. hostile policy against it, and stressed that the DPRK would not resort to nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty was infringed on.

The DPRK's H-bomb test apparently runs counter to relevant UN resolutions and the internationally backed Korean Peninsula denuclearization efforts, and is set to cause repercussions.

Earlier in the day, the China Earthquake Network Center said a 4.9-magnitude earthquake jolted the DPRK at 0130 GMT at a depth of 0 km.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which also reported the temblor but initially put the magnitude at 5.1 and the depth at 10 km, later revised the depth to 0 km.

Pyongyang has previously conducted three nuclear tests, respectively in 2006, 2009 and 2013. During an inspection tour of a remodeled revolutionary site in December, Kim announced that his country had developed a hydrogen bomb.

CRITICISM AND SKEPTICISM

In the wake of Pyongyang's announcement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that China 'firmly' opposes the DPRK's nuclear test and will work with the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

In South Korea, the National Security Council called an emergency meeting, during which President Park Geun-hye called the test a 'grave provocation.'

'Now, the government should closely cooperate with the international community to make sure that North Korea (the DPRK) pays the corresponding price,' Park's office quoted her as saying.

Meanwhile, South Korea's intelligence agency expressed skepticism over whether the device tested Wednesday by the DPRK was a hydrogen nuclear bomb.

The country's meteorological agency said separately that it had not detected any radiation after the DPRK made the announcement.

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the DPRK's move 'clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions and is a grave challenge against international efforts for non-proliferation.'

Japan, he added, will work along with other countries to take firm action against the DPRK if Pyongyang's claim of a H-bomb test turns out to be true.

Across the Pacific, the United States said that while it could not yet confirm if the DPRK had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, it would respond appropriately to any provocations.

'While we cannot confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violation of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolutions and again call on North Korea (the DPRK) to abide by its international obligations and commitments,' White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

The UN Security Council is expected to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the development.

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S. Korea says to maintain close cooperation with U.S. after DPRK's nuke test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 19:01, January 06, 2016

SEOUL, Jan. 6 -- South Korea and the United States plan to maintain a close cooperation after the fourth nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met at the ministry's headquarters in Seoul with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert and Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

During the meeting, they discussed how to counter what the DPRK claimed was its first hydrogen bomb test.

Yun said during the meeting that the two allies will maintain a solid, strong joint defense readiness, while closely cooperating between foreign and defense authorities of the two countries.

The foreign minister also noted that Seoul and Washington will closely cooperate to take bilateral and multilateral measures, including those from the UN Security Council, necessary for responding to the DPRK's nuclear test.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed to make the DPRK pay a corresponding price over the nuclear test, which Seoul and the international society had repeatedly warned against.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a press briefing that the South Korean military was elevating its surveillance of DPRK forces' moves with increased operations of U.S.-South Korea surveillance assets.

Kim said that South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-Koo plans to make a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter to discuss close military cooperation.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin discussed military cooperation measures with Scaparrotti earlier in the day.

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S.Korea strongly denounces DPRK's fourth nuclear test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:36, January 06, 2016

South Korea's presidential office on Wednesday strongly denounced the fourth nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), pledging to take all necessary measures like sanctions by UN Security Council.

Cho Tae-Yong, the first deputy chief of the presidential security office, read a statement at the presidential office, saying that the country will closely cooperate with its allies and participants of the six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and make the DPRK pay a price corresponding to its nuclear test.

The government statement said that Seoul strongly denounces the DPRK's fourth nuclear test in clear violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and in defiance of the international society's repeated warnings.

The DPRK should clearly recognize that the international society and South Korea will never tolerate Pyongyang's possession of nuclear weapons, the statement said, calling on the DPRK to dismantle all of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

Cho said that the government will maintain water-tight defense readiness against any possible DPRK provocations that pose threat to its people's lives and the country's security.

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S.Korean president to convene emergency security meeting after DPRK nuke test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:43, January 06, 2016

SEOUL, Jan. 6 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye will convene an emergency security meeting on Wednesday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s surprising announcement of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

The National Security Council (NSC) meeting will be presided over by President Park at 1:30 p.m. local time (0430 GMT), Park's spokesman said in a briefing.

Park is expected to discuss how to deal with the DPRK's fourth nuclear test, a surprise test of a hydrogen nuclear device.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said after an emergency meeting with diplomats that the fourth nuclear test was in violation of the resolutions of UN Security Council that bans the DPRK from conducting any nuclear test.

The vice minister said that the hydrogen bomb test is a serious challenge to world peace.

The South Korean military reportedly strengthened its defense readiness after the nuclear test, saying that it was closely cooperating with the U.S. forces over the raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

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Australia condemns DPRK nuclear bomb test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:58, January 06, 2016

CANBERRA, Jan. 6 -- The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Wednesday condemns the latest nuclear bomb test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling the test 'provocative and dangerous behaviour.'

'Australia condemns in the strongest possible terms the provocative and dangerous behaviour of the North Korean regime, which claims to have detonated a nuclear bomb today,' said DFAT press release.

This will be the fourth time that DPRK has conducted a nuclear bomb test, in direct violation of unanimous United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013) and 2094 (2013), which ban further nuclear tests by the country, it said.

DFAT said DPRK's actions 'fly in the face of international non-proliferation norms, and challenge the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.'

It said that the northeastern Asian country's ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and its proliferation of sensitive technologies, 'threaten the peace and security of Australia's friends and partners in our region and beyond.'

Today's nuclear test confirms DPRK's status as a 'rogue state' and a continuing threat to international peace and security, the DFAT announcement said.

It said that Australia will intensify its counter-proliferation cooperation with partners to strengthen sanctions, aiming to reduce the funding of DPRK's Weapon of Mass Destruction programs.

Australia also calls on international bodies, including the UN Security Council, to provide a strong response to DPRK's actions.

'Australia will continue to work with our friends and partners to support the security of the Republic of Korea and the stability of our region,' DFAT said.

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North Korea's 'hydrogen bomb test' draws Moscow's reaction

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 1:59PM

North Korea's announcement of performing a hydrogen bomb test has drawn a serious reaction from Russia, with Moscow describing the move, if confirmed, a "flagrant" violation of international law.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday that if the test is confirmed, it would be "a new step by Pyongyang on the path of developing nuclear weapons, which is a flagrant violation of international law and existing UN Security Council resolutions."

The Kremlin said such measures have the potential to worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula, a region which already "has a very high potential for military and political confrontation."

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was concerned about claims of the hydrogen bomb test by North Korea.

President Putin has ordered all data "from monitoring stations, including seismological stations, to be studied thoroughly and to analyze the situation if a test is confirmed," Dmitry Peskov stated.

North Korea's state-owned broadcaster, the KCTV, reported on Wednesday that Pyongyang had successfully conducted its first hydrogen bomb test at 10:00 a.m. local time (0130 GMT).

North Korea's state news agency later said in a statement that Pyongyang would continue to develop its nuclear program as a means of deterrence against potential acts of aggression from the United States.

North Korea will act as a responsible nuclear state, the statement said, and will use its nuclear armament only to defend its sovereignty. Pyongyang says it will not share its nuclear capabilities with other parties.

Moscow also called on all sides to exercise "maximum restraint" and avoid any action that could increase tensions. It also urged a "start soon to a dialogue" so as to guarantee peace and stability in the region.

The US Geological Survey had reported an artificial earthquake earlier on Wednesday, saying that the epicenter of the quake was about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the city of Kilju, which serves as the seat of North Hamgyong Province, and next to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

NATO, Germany react too

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that Pyongyang must abandon its nuclear program.

"The nuclear weapons test announced by North Korea undermines regional and international security, and is in clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions," Stoltenberg said in a statement.

In addition to NATO, Germany said it would summon the North Korean ambassador to Berlin over the test.

German Foreign Ministry's spokesman Martin Schaefer made the announcement during a government news conference, describing the move as "a strong signal, even a protest."

Japan, South Korea, the United States, Britain and France have already condemned the test while China, which is considered as North Korea's main ally, says it "firmly opposes" Pyongyang's nuclear test, adding it was carried out "irrespective of the international community's opposition."

North Korea is under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic and aimed at delivering nuclear warheads. Pyongyang argues that its numerous missile tests seek to boost its defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.

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North Korea claims 'successful' hydrogen bomb test

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 4:8AM

Pyongyang says it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, hours after seismologists detected an artificial earthquake close to the country's main atomic test site northeast of North Korea.

'The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 a.m. (0130 GMT) on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers' Party,' North Korea's state-owned broadcaster, KCTV, reported on Wednesday.

'With the perfect success of our historic H-bomb, we have joined the rank of advanced nuclear states,' it added, noting that the test was of a 'miniaturized' device.

North Korea's state news agency later stressed in a statement that Pyongyang will continue to build up its nuclear program as deterrence against potential aggression from the United States.

The statement further underscored that North Korea will act as a responsible nuclear state, and will use its nuclear armament only to defend its sovereignty. North Korea also vowed that it will not transfer its nuclear capabilities to other parties.

The hydrogen bomb test was apparently ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un himself, and came just two days before his birthday.

The US Geological Survey had reported an artificial earthquake earlier on Wednesday, saying that the epicenter of the quake was some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Kilju city, which serves as the seat of North Hamgyong Province, and next to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

Japan strongly condemns North Korea nuclear test

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed on Wednesday that Tokyo does not tolerate Pyongyang's nuclear tests.

Stressing that Japan will give an adequate response to North Korea's latest experiment, Abe described the move as a threat to his country's security.

South Korea to penalize North over nuclear test

In a separate development, the South Korean government denounced the North's nuclear test, while pledging to take "all necessary measures" to punish its neighbor.

"We strongly condemn that North Korea carried out a fourth nuclear test in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, despite repeated warnings from us and the international community," a government statement read.

The statement added, "We will take all necessary measures including additional sanctions by the UN Security Council... so that the North will pay the price for the nuclear test."

US threatens Pyongyang with appropriate response

Additionally, the White House said it will continue to protect and defend its interests and those of its allies in East Asia, and will act in response to North Korea's provocations.

"we condemn any violation of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments,' White House National Security Council spokesman, Ned Price, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the US State Department also condemned the test as violation of UN resolutions, calling on North Korea to abide by its obligations and commitments.

UN Security Council to discuss North Korea's nuclear test

The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on North Korea's nuclear test at 1600 GMT on Wednesday.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity late on Tuesday, three Security Council diplomats said the meeting would likely be held behind closed doors.

Another council diplomat said the United States and Japan jointly requested the urgent council meeting.

They did not explain what action, if any, the 15-nation council was planning to take in response to the North Korea's statement that it has conducted a fourth nuclear test.

France, UK: Pyongyang test violates UN resolutions

In another development, France on Wednesday slammed North Korea for testing a nuclear bomb, describing the move as an 'unacceptable violation' of UN Security Council resolutions and calling for a 'strong reaction from the international community.'

'While awaiting confirmation of the characteristics of the nuclear test announced and observed last night in North Korea, France condemns this unacceptable violation of (UN) Security Council resolutions and calls for a strong reaction from the international community,' the French presidency said in a statement.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond made similar remarks on Wednesday, describing North Korea's nuclear test as a 'provocation' and a 'grave' breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

Hammond wrote on Twitter: 'If North Korean H-bomb test reports are true, it is a grave breach of UNSC (UN Security Council) resolutions and a provocation, which I condemn without reservation.'

Beijing 'firmly opposes' Pyongyang's nuclear test

China, which is considered as North Korea's main ally, announced on Wednesday that it 'firmly opposes' Pyongyang's nuclear test, adding it was carried out 'irrespective of the international community's opposition.'

'We strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) side to remain committed to its denuclearization commitment, and stop taking any actions that would make the situation worse,' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told a regular briefing according to AFP.

The spokeswoman added that China is planning to summon the North's ambassador and launch 'solemn representations' over the nuclear test.

China evacuates border residents after Pyongyang's nuclear test

Chinese border residents have been reportedly evacuated from buildings after feeling tremors from North Korea's nuclear test on Wednesday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

People near the frontier with North Korea 'clearly felt tremors' on Wednesday morning after Pyongyang announced that it had detonated a hydrogen bomb, CCTV added.

The areas included Yanji, Hunchun and Changbai in Jilin Province, which are among Chinese counties closest to the North's nuclear test site.

Residents in Yanji saw desks and chairs shake for several seconds and some companies evacuated employees from their offices, the report said.

North Korea is under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic and aimed at delivering nuclear warheads, but Pyongyang says its numerous missile tests seek to boost its defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.

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EU, Japan, S Korea Agree to Coordinate Response to N Korea's Nuclear Test

Sputnik News

20:03 06.01.2016

The European Union, Japan and South Korea have agreed to coordinate a joint response to North Korea, within the framework of the United Nations after Pyongyang made allegations of carrying out a hydrogen bomb test, the European Union External Action service said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, North Korea claimed it had carried out its first test of a hydrogen bomb. Following the incident, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini held a telephone conversation with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Yun Byung-se and Fumio Kishida, respectively.

The sides 'discussed the way ahead, beginning this afternoon with an urgent session of the UN Security Council. They agreed on the need for a strong, coordinated and united reaction by the international community, including in the UN and in the G7, which Japan is currently chairing,' the statement read.

Brussels, Tokyo and Seoul have also expressed the need to verify the claims.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, having earlier withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that it ratified in 1985.

The United States, Japan and South Korea, as well as Russia and China, took part in talks on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula with North Korea from 2003 until 2009, when Pyongyang withdrew from the talks.

 Sputnik

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Russian, S Korean Diplomats Express Concern Over Pyongyang's H-Bomb Test

Sputnik News

19:18 06.01.2016(updated 19:19 06.01.2016)

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Hwang Joon-kook in a phone conversation expressed concern over an alleged hydrogen bomb test announced by Pyongyang, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Pyongyang claimed it had carried out the first test of a hydrogen bomb. The international community, including key nuclear powers, condemned Pyongyang's actions, having expressed concern over possible aggravation of the situation in the region.

'Both sides expressed deep concern over the hydrogen bomb test announced by North Korean authorities. It is noted, that the North Korean action, aimed at development of its nuclear potential, severely violates corresponding UNSC resolutions. The sides emphasized the necessity of all the interested countries' joint efforts to prevent the growth of tension in Northeast Asia,' the ministry said in a statement.

In 2005, North Korea declared itself a nuclear power, and conducted several nuclear weapon tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, sparking concerns in the international community.

The UN resolutions 1718 and 1814 urge Pyongyang to refrain from nuclear tests and reengage in talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

 Sputnik

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Eye in the Sky: US Spy Plane Reportedly Monitored N Korea's H-Bomb Test

Sputnik News

17:27 06.01.2016(updated 17:35 06.01.2016)

A US reconnaissance plane flew out of Japan's Okinawa Island ten minutes before North Korea tested its "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb on Sunday, Japanese media reported.

According to a Kyodo news agency report, the RC 135V reconnaissance plane took off from the Kadena airbase at 10:30 a.m. local time. Ten minutes later seismic stations registered underground tremors in North Korea apparently caused by a nuclear explosion.

The North Korean authorities later announced a successful test of what they described as a 'miniaturized hydrogen bomb."

The RC 135V returned to base six hours later, Kyodo reported, adding that the spy plane had apparently been keeping an eye on North Korean territory.

Earlier reports said that Pyongyang had not informed other countries about its scheduled nuclear test.

A US reconnaissance plane was on a similar reconnaissance mission along the North Korean border when Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test in 2013.

On Wednesday North Korean television reported a "successful test" of a "miniaturized hydrogen bomb."

Later in the day South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing a source in the country's intelligence community, that the explosion of under 6 kilotons of TNT was too slight to have been caused by a hydrogen device.

 Sputnik

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North Korea's Nuclear Bomb Testing 'Clear Violation' of UNSC Resolutions

Sputnik News

12:50 06.01.2016(updated 13:10 06.01.2016)

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, North Korea violated UN Security Council resolutions by carrying out a hydrogen bomb test.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said Wednesday that North Korea's announcement of its nuclear bomb testing is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and is "deeply regrettable."

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced today it had carried out a hydrogen bomb test. The DPRK's nuclear test, if confirmed, is in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable," Amano said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

Amano called for North Korea to fully adhere to the resolutions passed by the UN Security Council and the IAEA.

"The IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities in the DPRK once a political agreement is reached among countries concerned," Amano said.

Earlier on Wednesday, an earthquake occurred in South Korea, prompting Seoul's suspicions that Pyongyang had performed a nuclear test. North Korea subsequently confirmed that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

 Sputnik

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Japan Denounces North Korean Nuclear Test as 'Serious Threat' to Security

Sputnik News

09:20 06.01.2016(updated 09:33 06.01.2016)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that the North Korean nuclear test poses 'serious threat' to Tokyo's security, local media reported.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, South Korean media reported an earthquake near the North Korean nuclear facility, prompting Seoul's suspicions that Pyongyang had performed another nuclear test. Later, North Korea confirmed that it had indeed tested a hydrogen bomb, which it said was a success.

'This [test] is a serious threat to our country's security and cannot be justified in any way. I strongly condemn it,' Abe said, as quoted by Kyodo news agency.

He added that the North Korean move was a violation of the UN Security Council's resolutions and a challenge to nuclear non-proliferation.

Abe ordered the country's government to cooperate with China, Russia, South Korea and the United States on the issue of Pyongyang's test.

On December 10, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that North Korea had a hydrogen bomb and was ready to use it to protect its sovereignty.

In 2003, Pyongyang withdrew from the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a deal that was intended to prevent the making and use of nuclear weapons.

 Sputnik

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China Condemns N. Korea's Purported Hydrogen Bomb Test

by William Ide January 06, 2016

North Korea's key diplomatic ally China has voiced firm opposition to what Pyongyang said was its first hydrogen bomb test Wednesday. Beijing said it will lodge a formal protest and has called on its northern neighbor to give up on its ambitions for nuclear weapons.

Analysts said that while China is likely to take some measures to cut off North Korea to highlight its displeasure, there are limits to what Beijing can do, even when North Korea is acting out right on its door step.

The blast registered 4.9 on the Richter scale, according to China's Earthquake Administration, and shook towns just across the border in the northeastern province of Jilin. State media reported that at least one high school was evacuated after cracks appeared on its playground.

Online criticism targets Kim

The test, which occurred just over 100 kilometers from the Chinese border, also sparked sharp rebukes online, with some calling for action and others voicing concern. On Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, many criticized Kim Jung Un's decision to carry out the country's fourth nuclear test, referring to him by his Chinese nickname "Fatty Kim the Third.'

One user said it was 'time for China and South Korea to work together and wipe out the regime of Fatty Kim. A scourge of humanity.' Another lamented: 'can't you just reform and open up [to the world]?'

The backlash was piling up on Chinese news websites as well.

One user in Sichuan wrote: 'the one who should be upset the most about this are Chinese authorities.' Another in Hangzhou ominously remarked: 'if this tumor is not removed, it could threaten all mankind.'

Lu Chao, a political scientist at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said the strong response online was understandable, adding that Chinese authorities would not tolerate Pyongyang causing trouble right on its doorstep.

"The test will have a severely negative impact on relations in the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia and between China and North Korea. This was a very irrational and dangerous move,' Lu said, adding that it is likely Beijing would again institute some sanctions such as cutting back on food, fuel and trade ties to put the squeeze on Pyongyang, as it has done in the past following nuclear tests.

Likely repercussions

But most of the measures are likely to be largely cosmetic, said Xie Yanmei, a senior analyst of Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group.

"China could likely cut back on economic exchanges and maybe food assistance to send signals of its displeasure and disapproval to North Korea, but not too much, for fear that those measures could destabilize the regime," Xie said.

Xie added that Beijing is unlikely to completely abandon North Korea because it fears both the chaos and expansion of U.S. influence in the region that such a move could bring.

Beijing worries that if it completely removes its support of Pyongyang that could lead to the collapse of the regime, which could bring chaos to the region and could lead to a unified Korea - which is widely assumed would lead to an expansion of U.S. influence on the peninsula.

"A nuclear armed North Korea is uncomfortable to China, but having Washington's presence right next door is outright frightening [to Beijing]," Xie said.

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International community criticizes DPRK nuclear test, doubts remain on H-bomb claim

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:00, January 07, 2016

BEIJING, Jan. 7 -- The international community continued to criticize a nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday while doubts still remain on the country's claim of a hydrogen bomb.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday 'strongly' condemned the nuclear test of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after the Council convened an emergency closed-door meeting on the DPRK.

The members of the Security Council recalled their previous determination to take 'further significant measures' in the event of another DPRK nuclear test, according to a press statement.

The statement said 'in line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution.'

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the nuclear test undermines regional and international security and is in clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions.

'I condemn the continued development by North Korea (DPRK) of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and its inflammatory and threatening rhetoric,' said NATO chief.

Stoltenberg called on the DPRK to fully respect its international obligations and commitments. 'North Korea (DPRK) should abandon nuclear weapons and existing nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and engage in credible and authentic talks on denuclearization,' he added.

The German government on Wednesday condemned the nuclear test'in the strongest terms.'

'North Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear program and repeated nuclear tests are serious threats to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as an attack on the global regime of non-proliferation,' said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a statement.

The German government urged the DPRK to behave according to the resolutions of the UN Security Council and return to the negotiating table.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende called the DPRK's nuclear test 'a serious threat to global security and should be condemned strongly.'

The nuclear test violates non-proliferation agreements and UN Security Council resolutions, Brende told NTB news agency.

The Czech Republic also criticized the nuclear test, saying it was a highly irresponsible and regrettable act that seriously threatens stability and peace not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the whole region.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva condemned the nuclear test, saying he hoped the UN Security Council decides'measures that could deter this type of behavior.'

Meanwhile, Belarus urged the DPRK to 'guarantee the meticulous fulfillment of UN Security Council resolutions and to abstain from actions that can lead to escalation,' according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Wednesday's test, if confirmed, is the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. The previous three were carried out in 2006,2009 and 2013 respectively.

The nuclear test has pushed further away any viable solution of the Korean Peninsula predicament and thrusted more uncertainty into regional stability.

Analysts believe that turning Northeast Asia into a keg of powder benefits none in the neighborhood, even the DPRK itself, which has pledged to promote economic development. On the other hand, the DPRK's defiance was deeply rooted in its strong sense of insecurity after years of hostility with the United States, whose pivot to Asia appears much like a show of muscles.

A H-BOMB TEST?

Pyongyang announced Wednesday that the test 'proved the technological specifications of the newly developed H-bomb were accurate and scientifically verified the power of smaller H-bomb,' according to the statement by the official KCNA news agency.

However, the White House said initial analysis indicates that the DPRK's nuclear test is 'not consistent' with a hydrogen bomb.

Nothing occurred in the last 24 hours has changed the U.S. assessment of the DPRK's technical and military capabilities, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a regular briefing Wednesday.

Earnest said intelligence agencies are continuing to gather evidence to determine the nature of the test.

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New Zealand government condemns DPRK hydrogen bomb test

People's Daily Online

() 13:07, January 07, 2016

WELLINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The New Zealand government on Thursday strongly condemned the underground nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

'New Zealand views North Korea's actions as highly provocative and irresponsible,' Duty Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga said in a statement.

The DPRK claimed the fourth nuclear test it had conducted since 2006 was a hydrogen device.

'The test would run contrary to the recent efforts at dialogue on the Korean Peninsula and flies in the face of the international community's calls for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapon programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,' said Lotu-Iiga.

The action also flouted United NationsSecurity Council resolutions that demanded the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear tests.

'The New Zealand government strongly urges North Korea to cease its provocative behavior and commit to not developing, testing or possessing nuclear weapons,' said Lotu-Iiga.

An emergency UN Security Council meeting was expected to take place imminently and New Zealand would work with other Security Council members to make sure there was a strong response.

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Park, Obama agree to push strong UN resolutions over DPRK's nuke test

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 12:51, January 07, 2016

SEOUL, Jan. 7 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed to push for strong United Nations resolutions over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s fourth nuclear test, Park's office said Thursday.

Park and Obama spoke by phone for about 20 minutes, sharing views that the DPRK should pay a corresponding price for its nuclear test while agreeing to maintain close cooperation in adopting strong resolutions in the United Nations rapidly.

Obama stressed the need for the strongest and the most comprehensive sanctions against Pyongyang, according to the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

The DPRK said Wednesday that it had successfully conducted its first test of a hydrogen bomb, the fourth nuclear test in total, which Pyongyang claimed was a perfect success.

Obama vowed to take all necessary measures to defend the safety of South Korea, saying that its commitment to the defense of its ally is unflappable.

In response, Park appreciated Obama reaffirming Washington's defense commitment and expressing its strong will to tackle Pyongyang's nuclear test, saying that she anticipates close cooperation with the United States at the UN Security Council.

Park and Obama agreed to address the DPRK's nuclear issue with the most urgency and robust will, sharing views that the DPRK's nuclear test should be tackled in cooperation with Japan and China.

Seoul's foreign ministry said earlier Thursday that South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se and his U.S. counterpart John Kerry had a phone conversation overnight to discuss countermeasures following the DPRK's nuclear test.

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White House disputes North Korea's hydrogen bomb test

Iran Press TV

Thu Jan 7, 2016 12:32AM

The White House has expressed doubt over claims by Pyongyang in regard to successful testing of a hydrogen bomb, citing inconsistency between the data obtained and North Korea's allegations.

'The initial analysis that has been conducted ... is not consistent with North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test,' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday.

He noted that the test, which Pyongyang announced on state TV earlier in the day, has not changed Washington's evaluation of North Korea's capabilities.

'There is nothing that has occurred in the last 24 hours that has caused the United States government to change our assessment of North Korea's technical and military capabilities,' Earnest said.

US President Barack Obama is set to talk with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, who have expressed concerns over the matter, he added.

United Nations Security Council has condemned the move, which would mean North Korea has obtained a far more powerful weapon than it previously had.

China has joined other world powers, including Britain and France, to censure the move.

South's doubts

Before Pyongyang's announcement, a fake earthquake was detected in the country, whose seismic wave was viewed as smaller than detonation of a true thermonuclear weapon.

The North Koreans were said to have increased the yield of normal device using tritium.

South Korea experts said the seismological data from the test are likely to have arised from a simple atomic device based on uranium or plutonium.

'Judging from the measurements, it probably falls short of being a hydrogen bomb although it (North Korea) claims it's a hydrogen bomb,' Lee Cheol-woo, a member of the intelligence committee of the South Korean National Assembly, told reporters in Seoul.

The explosive yield was equivalent to six kilotons of TNT, nine times less than the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

More sanctions

US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power issued a statement following the Security Council's two-hour closed-door meeting, calling for a tough response to Pyongyang 'by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions.'

She called on other world countries to exert 'steadily increasing pressure' on the country, which has 'isolated itself and impoverished its people through its reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.'

The Council also vowed in a statement that it will come up with a resolution against the alleged test.

Long-suspended negotiations with North Korea have so far failed to change the country's nuclear program.

Last October, US and South Korean presidents urged the country to rejoin the six-nation talks in which China, Japan, and Russia would also partake.

Pyongyang's move is considered by some as a means to gain the upper hand in future negotiations and gain credibility for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Since he gained power in late 2011 from his father, Kim Jong-il, the young leader has tried to prove ambitious in regards to long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.

North Korea agency responded to the condemnations by vowing to continue to build up its nuclear program as deterrence against potential aggression from Washington.

North Korea's state news agency stressed in a statement that it will act as a responsible nuclear state, and will use its nuclear armament only to defend its sovereignty.

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Japan, S Korea to Seek UNSC Measures Against Pyongyang After H-Bomb Test

Sputnik News

15:02 07.01.2016

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye agreed on the need for tough measures against North Korea, Japanese media reported Thursday.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Pyongyang announced it had carried out a successful test of its first hydrogen bomb. Several states have subsequently called for new sanctions against the country. Later in the day, the UN Security Council condemned the alleged test, adding it would begin work on further anti-Pyongyang measures in a new resolution.

In a telephone call with the South Korean leader, Abe stressed the urgent need to implement certain measures that include a UN Security Council resolution, while Park expressed hope for Japan to play its part in the process as a non-permanent UNSC member, Kyodo news agency reported.

The two leaders agreed on close cooperation on the matter, with Japan ready to seek new UN sanctions against North Korea. The phone conversation became possible after the late 2015 settlement between the two countries of the World War II 'comfort women' dispute, the agency said.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, having earlier withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that it ratified in 1985. Doubts have been expressed by the South Korean intelligence that Wednesday's blast was genuinely hydrogen-based.

 Sputnik

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US, S. Korean Forces on Alert After North's Nuclear Test

by Brian Padden January 07, 2016

U.S. and South Korean military forces on the Korean peninsula have been put on high alert following North Korea's fourth nuclear test conducted Wednesday.

The U.S Air Force reportedly sent an atmospheric collection aircraft from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa to gather residue radioactive particles produced by the North Korean blast to determine if it was, as Pyongyang claims, the result of a hydrogen bomb.

Washington and Seoul are skeptical that Pyongyang has advanced its nuclear development program to produce a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, which is significantly more powerful than the three atomic bombs it tested in the past.

South Korea Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Thursday discussed response measures the Korea-U.S. military alliance is considering, in addition to continued joint exercises.

"Both ministers agreed that North Korea needs to pay price for its provocation," Han Min-koo said.

Growing nuclear arsenal

North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear weapons, which many security analysts say is more than enough to deter any perceived threat of invasion from the United States or South Korea.

Even if this fourth nuclear test turns out to be less powerful than a Hydrogen bomb, it seems to indicate that North Korea's nuclear development program in the last few years have shifted from a defensive stance to a more offensive military strategy.

Pyongyang reportedly restarted a uranium enrichment plant last year to produce more nuclear weapons fuel.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimates that North Korea could increase its nuclear arsenal to between 20 and 100 weapons by 2020.

This week's nuclear test followed reports of a failed North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test earlier this month. If developed, this capability would give Pyongyang the ability to strike anywhere in the world, including the United States.

Last year U.S. military authorities said they believe North Korea has the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on a KN-08 long range missile, although North Korea has not yet demonstrated this capability.

And North Korea continues to develop its long-range missile technology. It is believed to have 1,000 Soviet model missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan.

"These aren't really so much for retaliation or defense anymore. These are kind of like society breaking weapons. If you drop a hydrogen bomb in Seoul or a couple on South Korea's big cities, you're not going to just kill a lot of people, you are also threatening the ability of South Korea to continue to function as a state," said North Korea analyst Robert Kelly with Pusan National University.

Military options

On the military side the United States and South Korea must try to strike a balance between acting to contain and deter and provoking a wider conflict.

After North Korea last tested a nuclear device in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.

South Korean defense officials have emphasized its plan to build up its short-range missile defenses including the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and Kill Chain systems.

Some lawmakers in Seoul are calling for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons to counter the growing nuclear threat from the North.

'Against North Korea's nuclear power, I judge that we reached the time to possess peaceful nuclear power for self-defense. Nobody can protect our security," said Won Yoo-chul, a member of South Korea's parliament and of the ruling Saenuri party.

Seoul's defense minister however quickly rejected any possibly of stationing nuclear weapons in South Korea.

There have also been renewed calls in Seoul to set up a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense [THAAD] system. Beijing reportedly opposes the THAAD deployment in the region that could potentially be used to intercept Chinese missiles.

"I would like to see South Korea start taking THAAD more seriously. I would like to see the Americans and South Koreans and Japanese start really working seriously on regional missile defense. But you know if we don't go down that route and diplomacy doesn't seem to be working. My sense is you will see people starting to call for airstrikes," said North Korea analyst Robert Kelly.

Officials in Seoul Thursday said Pyongyang had two motives for conducting the nuclear test. Externally it wanted to coerce the international community into accepting North Korea as a nuclear power.

It is also a demonstration of strength by the young North Korean leader to solidify his power domestically in advance of a major party conference later this year.

"Internally, we view that North Korea is trying to use it as Kim Jong Un's accomplishment by showing off outcomes of the dual policy ahead of the 7th party conference," said South Korea foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck at a briefing Thursday.

Politically, North Korea's nuclear test brought worldwide condemnation, even from key ally and economic supporter China, and momentum in the United Nations to increase economic and diplomatic sanctions on the isolated and authoritarian Kim Jong Un regime.

Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.

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Iran opens 2nd underground missile site to cameras

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Wed 6 Jan 2016 - 13:11

TEHRAN (ISNA)- Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, has officially visited the second underground missile facility of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) packed with precision-guided long-range Emad missiles.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired on Tuesday exclusive footage of the deep underground tunnel filled with numerous Emad ballistic missiles.

IRGC's first underground missile facility was unveiled on October 14, 2015.

Iran successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface missile, which has been completely designed and manufactured by experts of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Defense, on October 11.

Speaking after his visit to the underground site, Larijani hailed the missile capabilities of the IRGC.

Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani shakes hands with IRGC officers on Tuesday, January 5, 2015.

Larijani said the IRGC has succeeded in making significant scientific and technological breakthroughs.

He added that the IRGC military power is intimidating the enemy.

The top Iranian parliamentarian emphasized that the IRGC's power is a major deterrent conducive to peace and security in the country and across the region.

On July 20, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2231, which bars Iran from developing missiles "designed to carry nuclear warheads."

Iranian officials say none of the country's missiles, including ballistic ones, have been "designed to carry nuclear warheads," and thus their production and test are not in contravention of Resolution 2231.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly said that its military might poses no threat to other countries, reiterating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

End Item

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Iran's Rouhani censures Saudi 'unwise, hasty and provocative' actions

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 6:14PM

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Saudi Arabia's "unwise" and "provocative" policies will further heighten tensions in the Middle East region.

In a meeting with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Wednesday, President Rouhani once again denounced Riyadh's recent move to execute top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, saying the move was aimed at sowing discord in the region.

"Today, in circumstances under which we need, more than ever, unity and unification among countries to fight terrorism in the region, [such] unwise, hasty and provocative decisions will definitely lead to the escalation of tensions and will be to the detriment of countries in the region," Rouhani said.

Saudi Arabia announced the execution of Sheikh Nimr and 46 others on Saturday despite international calls for the release of the opposition cleric and other jailed political activists in the kingdom.

Sheikh Nimr was shot by Saudi police and arrested in 2012 in Qatif in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, which was the scene of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations at the time.

He had been charged with instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom's security. He had rejected all the charges as baseless.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday following demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the killing of Nimr. Some people mounted the walls of the consulate in Mashhad while incendiary devices were hurled at the embassy in Tehran. Some 50 people were detained over the transgression.

Stating that the Islamic Republic seeks to reduce differences and strengthen unity in the Muslim world, President Rouhani said that Iran has never acted against the interests of countries in the region.

"The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on establishing good ties with neighbors and strengthening stability and regional cooperation," said the Iranian president.

Rouhani further said Iran attaches great significance to national unity, territorial integrity and development of Iraq.

The Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, said any tension between countries in the region will hurt unity among Muslim nations.

He called for the establishment of peace and security in the region, saying enemies should not be allowed to fuel tensions in the region.

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Official: Iran not interested in oil price war

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 11:22AM

Iran has no intention to wage a price war with fellow OPEC producers when sanctions on the country are lifted, a senior official says.

Oil producers which ramped up output to replace Iranian barrels when sanctions were imposed in 2012 are refusing to scale back exports now that Tehran seeks to return to the market at pre-sanction levels.

Officials have said Iran would not wait for other producers to make room for it and step up output from day one when the sanctions are removed.

With a supply glut having driven crude prices to their lowest in 11 years, Iran's ramp-up is said to further weigh on the market, but head of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) played down those fears.

'I have to say that there is no room to push prices down any further, given the level where they are,' Mohsen Qamsari told Reuters.

The official said, 'We will be more subtle in our approach and may gradually increase output.'

Saudi Arabia is one of the few producers selling oil above its OPEC quota and the major driving force behind the existing supply glut.

Mainly because of the Saudi oversupply, OPEC is producing close to record levels above 31.5 million barrels per day, well over the organization's nominal target of 30 million bpd.

The kingdom reportedly ended 2015 with more than 10 million barrels per day for nine straight months. Saudi Arabia has further thwarted OPEC efforts to put any caps on production and restore a quota system.

While Riyadh continues with its aggressive market game, Qamsari said, 'We don't want to start a sort of a price war.'

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh, who has said Iran would go full throttle to increase output, put a caveat on the plan last week.

'We are not seeking to disrupt the market but will regain our market share,' Zangeneh told reporters on the sidelines of an oil forum in Tehran.

Qamsari said then Iran will produce as much as the market can absorb.

Buying refineries abroad

Iran's strategy for raising production without harming the market is to buy refineries overseas, Qamsari said.

Officials have said NIOC was in negotiations to buy equity stake in India's Essar Refinery, with similar talks also held with European, South American and Asian companies.

India is the second biggest client of Iranian crude after China and Indian refiners reportedly owe about $6 billion to Tehran. Essar depends heavily on Iran to feed its Vadinar refinery of 400,000 barrels per day.

Qamsari said Indian refiners including Reliance Industries, which has halted imports of Iranian oil because of the sanctions, were interested in taking higher volumes from NIOC, Reuters reported.

Indian refiners were interested in buying West Karun grade, a blend of oil from 4-5 reservoirs, he said.

Japan's new contracts

Other major customers of Iranian crude are South Korea, Japan and Turkey.

On Tuesday, Japan's JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp said it has renewed annual term oil purchase volumes from Tehran for 2016.

JX had a contract to buy 53,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in 2015 and the company kept its volume 'unchanged' in the new term contract starting this month, Reuters said.

Asked if JX would increase buys from Iran, its chairman Yashushi Kimura said, 'That would depend on the economics.'

Japan's other major buyers of Iranian oil are Showa Shell Sekiyu and trading houses Toyota Tsusho and Mitsubishi Corp. Showa Shell is Japan's biggest buyer of Iranian crude, importing about 70,000 barrels per day in 2014.

They sent their executives to Tehran with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss raising oil imports from Iran.

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Iraqi air force hits Daesh in Ramadi

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 11:1AM

The Iraqi air force has dealt a heavy blow to the remaining pockets of Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the central city of Ramadi.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi aircraft repelled a Daesh attack on the army's ground troops, killing 16 of the terrorists, including all their bombers, Iraqi satellite channel Alsumaria News reported.

According to Army General Ismail al-Mahlawi, four bomb-laden Daesh vehicles were also destroyed during the counteroffensive.

Ramadi, which is the capital of the country's sprawling Anbar Province, fell to Daesh back in May 2015. Iraqi military and volunteer forces liberated the city late last year. It, however, remains to be cleansed of the remnants of terror group, which has been ravaging Iraq since June 2014.

Iraqi security and volunteer forces also conducted an anti-terrorist operation northeast of provincial capital Baqubah in the nearby Diyala Province.

According to Diyala police commander, Brigadier General Jassim al-Saadi, the operation led to the discovery of a Daesh hideout as well as a massive cache of explosives belonging to the group and booby traps laid by it.

On December 22, 2015, IHS Jane's Defense Weekly published the results of a study that said Daesh terrorists had in a year lost nearly 15 percent of the land that they had under control in Iraq and Syria as the group suffers more setbacks in the two countries.

The study showed that Daesh had lost control over more than 13,000 square kilometers of the territory it controlled in the two Arab countries since January.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed to rid the entire Iraq of Daesh in 2016.

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Daesh war minister slain in Iraqi army airstrike

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 8:33AM

A high-ranking figure in Daesh Takfiri militant group has been killed in Iraq's troubled western province of Anbar during the army operations against terrorists.

On Tuesday, Iraqi fighter jets pounded a terrorist base in the town of Barwanah, located some 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing the purported Daesh war minister, identified as Samer Mohammad Matloub Hussein al- Mahlawi, along with three of his close aides, Lebanon's Arabic-language al-Ahed news website reported.

A source in Anbar Province, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said that security forces and tribal fighters, backed by Iraqi military aircraft, carried out two separate offensives in Barwanah and the city of Hadithah, situated about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Baghdad, leaving more than 250 Daesh militants killed.

Over 100 vehicles belonging to the terrorists were also destroyed in the operation, including a number of cars rigged with explosive materials.

Elsewhere in Badush district east of the militant-held city of Mosul, nineteen Daesh militants were killed as they were trying to place bombs inside a number of cars. A bomb-making expert, known by the nom de guerre, Habibullah Afghani, was among the slain Takfiris.

Additionally, scores of Daesh terrorists were killed on Tuesday as fighters from Popular Mobilization Units stormed a gathering of the militants in the vicinity of the main hospital in Ramadi, situated about 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Baghdad.

Violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists launched an offensive in June 2014, and took control of parts of the Iraqi territory.

Army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are currently battling to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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The Government of Iraq - Hellfire Missiles and Captive Air Training Missiles

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 15-64

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2016 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq of Hellfire missiles and Captive Air Training Missiles, related equipment and support. The estimated cost is $800 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on January 6, 2016.

The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of five thousand (5,000) AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles; Ten (10) 114K M36E9 Captive Air Training Missiles; associated equipment; and defense services. The estimated major defense equipment (MDE) value is $750 million. The total estimated value is $800 million.

The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States by helping to improve a critical capability of the Iraq Security Forces in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Iraq will use the Hellfire missiles to improve the Iraq Security Forces' capability to support ongoing combat operations. Iraq will also use this capability in future contingency operations. Iraq, which already has Hellfire missiles, will face no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Corporation in Bethesda, Maryland. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives in Iraq.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Iraq Caught In Crossfire As Saudi-Iran Rift Raises Sectarian Strife

January 07, 2016

by RFE/RL

The White House is seeking to help Iraq's leadership prevent a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran from aggravating sectarian conflict in Iraq and undermining recent victories against the Islamic State (IS) group.

In a phone call on January 6, U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said they were both concerned about Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric, as well as attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for the execution this week.

The incidents inflamed sectarian anger throughout the Muslim world, and Iraq is particularly vulnerable to the upsurge in conflict between the two Muslim sects.

On January 6, for the third straight day thousands of Shi'ite demonstrators poured into the streets of Baghdad and cities in the south of Iraq where Shi'a predominate, demanding that Iraq shut down the Saudi Embassy in Baghdad, which reopened only last month after being closed for 25 years.

The demonstrators carried the flags of the three most powerful Iranian-backed militias -- the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hizballah.

'If our demands are not met, we will take escalating measures,' said Hajj Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a spokesman for Asaib.

'We say to Abadi...he who leads needs to have a strong heart and be brave,' he told Reuters. 'If he can't, he should leave.'

But Abadi so far has resisted the demands of his Shi'ite power base. The White House said he and Obama agreed 'on the importance that all parties maintain diplomatic engagement and dialogue.'

The Saudis had reopened their Baghdad embassy only last week after closing it in 1990 to protest former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

Abadi has called for a 'wise, responsible, and rational' response to the Saudi-Iranian rift. As a Shi'a, he is under pressure from Iraq's Shi'ite majority, but he also has sought to enlist the support and confidence of Iraq's sizable Sunni minority, which resides mostly in areas of the north and west seized by IS militants in 2014.

IS forces swept through the Sunni regions, capitalizing on resentment to the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad headed by Abadi's predecessor.

Winning back the confidence of the Sunni population has been critical for Abadi, who has framed the war against IS as a campaign against terrorism rather than a continuation of Iraq's decade-long Sunni-Shi'ite conflict.

His approach scored its first major success in the final days of 2015, when the Iraqi Army, backed by Sunni tribal forces and an international air strike coalition, dislodged the militants from the center of Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar.

Until then, it was the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias that had led the fight against IS. They were kept from the battlefield in Ramadi to reassure the Sunni population.

Obama spoke with Abadi about the Ramadi victory and offered to intensify support for Iraqi forces as they seek to consolidate their gains in Ramadi.

The Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces face further fights this year to try to recapture control from IS of Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which also is Sunni-dominated.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari noted the 'wide-ranging repercussions' for Iraq and the entire region from the Saudi-Iranian row on a visit to Tehran on January 6 in which Iraq offered to try to mediate the standoff with Riyadh.

'We have solid relations with the Islamic Republic [of Iran]...and also we have relations with our Arab brothers, and therefore we cannot stay silent in this crisis,' he said.

While Iraq is caught to some extent in the crossfire between the two regional powers, Jaafari said Baghdad's place in the heart of the Middle East also affords it a role in trying to 'alleviate tensions.'

'This responsibility has been given to us and we have been active from the early moments to lessen tensions to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region,' he said.

'I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners,' he said.

The White House said Obama backs the Iraqis in calling on all parties to show restraint and avoid further inflammatory actions.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/iraq-caught-crossfire-saudi- iran-rift-raises-sectarian-strife/27473101.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Seoul Increases Combat Readiness After North Korea Test of Hydrogen Bomb

Sputnik News

07:23 06.01.2016(updated 07:39 06.01.2016)

South Korea has strengthened the combat readiness of the national armed forces as North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb earlier on Wednesday, local media reported.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  South Korean Foreign Ministry condemned on Wednesday the North Korean nuclear test, calling it a challenge to the international peace and a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

Earlier in the day, the South Korean media reported that an earthquake occurred in North Korea near a site previously used for nuclear tests. Seoul said there were indications the strong tremor was man-made, meaning Pyongyang might have carried out a new nuclear test. Later North Korea confirmed it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

'North Korea's provocation is in clear violation of Security Council resolutions and a serious challenge to international peace and security,' Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's first Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying.

The South Korean Defense Ministry 'increased vigilance and combat readiness of the armed forces,' the Yonhap news agency reported.

President Park Geun-hye is scheduled to preside over a National Security Council meeting later on Wednesday.

 Sputnik

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S.Korea to restrict entry into joint factory park with DPRK

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 16:45, January 07, 2016

SEOUL, Jan. 7 -- South Korea's unification ministry plans to restrict the entry of workers into the Kaesong industrial complex, an inter-Korean factory park in the namesake city of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), local media reported Thursday.

An unidentified unification ministry official told reporters that workers, allowed to enter the Kaesong complex, will be limited to those who have a direct relevance to production activities.

Such action came a day after the DPRK announced its first successful test of a 'hydrogen bomb,' the fourth in total.

About 1,200 South Koreans on Thursday stayed at the Kaesong industrial complex, where some 120 South Korean companies are employing tens of thousands of DPRK workers to operate factories.

The official was quoted as saying that the number of South Koreans who will be allowed to stay there could slide by as much as 100, calling the limited entry as necessary steps to protect people's safety after the DPRK's nuclear test.

The ministry also plans to re-examine the scheduled inter-Korean exchanges in private sector and the cooperation projects to support the DPRK, indicating a delay in those projects.

South Korea is pushing to encourage the UN Security Council to take stronger sanctions against the DPRK, saying that the fourth nuclear test was in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

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Seoul to Resume Propaganda Broadcasts to Retaliate Against North

by VOA News January 07, 2016

South Korea announced it will resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into North Korea on Friday in response to Pyongyang's nuclear test earlier this week.

'The broadcasts will begin tomorrow at noon (0300 GMT),' an official at the presidential Blue House said.

The two countries, which remain technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean conflict, traded artillery fire in August over the broadcasts. South Korea stopped the transmissions after it agreed with Pyongyang on a package of measures aimed at easing animosities.

The North's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb Wednesday is a 'grave violation' of that August agreement, Cho Tae-yong, a senior presidential national security official, said in a statement.

'Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment,' Cho said.

'Commitment to security'

The announcement came after U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, reiterated 'the unshakeable U.S. commitment to the security' of both countries after the North Korean test.

The White House said Obama spoke with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in separate conversations late Wednesday. The three leaders 'agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior,' the White House said.

In North Korea Wednesday, the news of the nuclear test was met with pride as a TV anchor in Pyongyang said the test of a 'miniaturized' hydrogen bomb had been a 'perfect success' that elevated the country's 'nuclear might to the next level.'

Meanwhile, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Thursday it is limiting entry to the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea that is jointly run by the two Koreas. Visitors who are not directly related to business operations in Kaesong will be denied entry.

Test questioned

It was the first concrete action taken by Seoul since Pyongyang said it had carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test.

Experts scrambled Thursday to find more details about the detonation, which drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation. Officials said it may take several weeks, or longer, to confirm or prove false the North's claim.

If true, a successful hydrogen bomb test would mark a major and unanticipated advance for Pyongyang's still-limited nuclear arsenal.

Lassina Zerbo, the head of the U.N. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, said that over 30 international monitoring stations detected Wednesday's unusual 5.1-magnitude seismic event near Punggye-ri, where North Korea conducted three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Zerbo said Wednesday's event was similar to the 2013 nuclear test. He said it took more than 50 days to detect radioisotopes venting from that test.

Scientists will need some time to detect radioisotopes released from Wednesday's underground test, he said, adding there is no way to determine whether a hydrogen bomb was detonated without that information.

Skeptical of hydrogen claim

However, South Korea's spy agency said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Other analysts agreed.

'I'm pretty skeptical,' said Melissa Hanham, a senior researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies in Monterey, California. 'The seismic data indicates it would be very small for a hydrogen test.'

After an emergency session Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council said it was working to craft new sanctions against North Korea after the latest nuclear test.

The council said North Korea's actions posed 'a clear threat to international peace and security' and was 'a clear violation' of previous council resolutions aimed at blocking North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

Sanctions

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power called on the Security Council to hold North Korea accountable 'by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions.'

However, allies China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, were hesitant.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said it would be going 'too far' to say that Moscow supports more sanctions against Pyongyang in response to the nuclear test announcement.

China called the nuclear test irresponsible, yet urged a resumption of the six-party talks, which North Korea walked away from in 2009.

North Korea has seen four rounds of U.N. sanctions aimed at reining in its nuclear and missile development programs. U.N. sanctions have included tightening financial restrictions and cracking down on Pyongyang's attempts to ship and receive banned cargo.

Pyongyang has ignored those sanctions and has continued efforts to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, dozens of South Korean protesters rallied in Seoul against North Korea. Many held signs that 'Down with N. Korea' and 'Kim Jong Un Out.' They also burned an effigy of Kim.

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Russia's Strategic Missile Forces to Go All-Digital by 2020

Sputnik News

13:22 06.01.2016

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces will completely switch to digital data transmission technologies by 2020, spokesperson of the Defense Ministry Maj. Dmitry Andreev told journalists.

The initiative is expected to significantly increase the effectiveness of the forces, including reducing the management cycle and improving the command decision making process. The plan will also include a set of measures to improve security of communications.

'With the current pace of modernization in the armed forces, communication systems will be all-digital by 2020,' Andreev said.

In the last three years, the Strategic Missile Forces has received new digital information transfer systems for the firing locations of missile units. Satellite and radio-radar equipment have also been upgraded.

'The Strategic Missile Forces have received modern telecommunication equipment, including digital radio relay devices, automatic phone stations for confidential and non-confidential communications as well as local computing segments of the defense ministry's confidential network,' Andreev added.

Between 2009 and 2012, digital communications systems were delivered to command points of the Strategic Missile Forces. In 2013, their communication center, training facilities and the Peter the Great Military Academy were modernized.

 Sputnik

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Saudi Arabia needs to stop fueling tension in Mideast, Iran says

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 9:5AM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the government of Saudi Arabia must stop measures that only serve to pour fuel on regional tensions in the Middle East.

Speaking during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, in Tehran on Wednesday, Zarif said the Saudi regime has, over the past two and a half years, moved against measures taken by Iran to contribute to the restoration of peace and unity in the region.

The Iranian foreign minister warned Saudi Arabian officials that any measure that would lead to escalation of tensions and create crises in the region will not benefit its perpetrator.

"We invite all parties to become united in the face of extremism, terrorism, sectarianism, and tribalism," Zarif noted, adding that measures taken to intensify such factors will backfire on those who take such steps.

Zarif stated that Riyadh worked in line with the Israeli regime's policy to undermine negotiation between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program, adding that the Saudi rulers even cut down oil prices to harm Tehran.

Iran has shown tolerance toward Saudi acts as it believes conflicts in the region will not serve the interests of any side, the Iranian foreign minister said.

Zarif also emphasized that measures aimed at fomenting tension in the terror-hit Middle East region do not stem from the power of those who take them, but are out of pure "weakness."

Zarif: No justification for Sheikh Nimr's execution

Elsewhere in his remarks during the press conference, Zarif explained the special regional conditions following the recent execution of senior Saudi Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, adding that he had discussed the issue with his Iraqi counterpart.

He noted that Saudi Arabia's measure to execute the cleric was by no means justifiable because he was "a person who dedicated his entire life to inviting people to Islam through peaceful means, dialogue, and interaction" and took advantage of all civil capacities to oppose recourse to military forces, terrorism and extremism.

"The measure taken against this reformist and scholarly figure is by no means justified and it has been met with hatred and condemnation across the world," Zarif said.

Attacking foreign missions unacceptable

Elsewhere in his presser, Iran's top diplomat talked about the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

"What happened on Saturday night in Tehran and Mashhad is not acceptable at all. All officials of the Islamic Republic have condemned these measures in the strongest terms," he emphasized.

Zarif added that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself under religious and legal obligation to protect "those guests who are present in Iran as diplomats of foreign countries."

The Iranian foreign minister said following "regrettable incidents" that happened on Saturday night, the Islamic Republic of Iran will seriously prosecute all people who have broken the law in this regard.

"All necessary measures have been taken to protect diplomatic missions, including the staff of Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad," Zarif noted.

Jaafari: Iraq condemns Sheikh Nimr's execution

The Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr, describing him as a person who sought reforms and did not believe in use of arms.

"When I heard the news, I was shocked. I have talked to five or six Arab foreign ministers as well as the secretary general of the Arab League in this regard since yesterday," Jaafari noted, adding that the goal of his consultation was to calm the situation and find a solution to this problem.

He also praised Tehran-Baghdad ties as very cordial, adding that Iran is no way after creating tension in the region.

The Iraqi foreign minister is expected to meet and confer with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later on Wednesday.

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Islamic State Militants Target Saudi Arabia

by Jamie Dettmer January 06, 2016

Iran isn't alone in issuing dire threats against Saudi Arabia  the Islamic State has ratcheted up a propaganda campaign against the Gulf kingdom's ruling family, denouncing them for siding with the U.S.-led coalition against the jihadists and urging followers to oust them.

"The Islamic State has exerted much effort in the last couple of weeks to attacking Saudi Arabia in an extensive and well-coordinated media campaign," says Marwan Khayat, an analyst at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based group that monitors jihadist propaganda.

In an outpouring of videos and social media postings that increased noticeably in tempo more than two weeks ago, the terrorist army's propagandists have been exhorting the kingdom's Sunni Muslims to target the ruling House of Saud as well as the Wahhabi religious establishment and the Saudi military underpinning the royal family.

Ironically, in light of Iran's fury over the execution at the weekend of an influential Shi'ite cleric, one of the Islamic State's chief charges against the Saudi royals is that they have allowed the kingdom's Shi'ite Muslims - considered apostates by IS - a free hand to live and practice their religion in the country.

'Divine vengeance'

Following Saudi Arabia's executions of four Shi'ite Muslims Saturday, Iran threatened "divine vengeance.' Most international attention since has focused on the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. But 43 Sunni jihadists were among the executed prisoners and since their slayings IS has pledged to target the al-Ha'ir and Tarifya prisons, two facilities where al-Qaida and IS suspects are being held.

But even before the executions, IS had upped its propaganda threats against the Saudi royal family.

In one video from Iraq's al-Anbar province, an IS member called Abu Khalid al-Jazrawi denounces the presence of Shi'ites in Saudi Arabia and laments what he called the failure of the Saudi government to fully implement Sharia law.

In the same 15-minute video, another IS member, Abu 'Azzam al-Jazrawi, accuses the kingdom's religious scholars of hypocrisy. He calls on IS supporters in Saudi Arabia, including those seeking martyrdom, to target 'the enemies of Allah," saying, 'they are among you and on your streets. There is no easier way to kill them and there is nothing more delicious than spilling their blood."

This isn't the first time Islamic State propagandists have targeted the Saudi royal family. Like al-Qaida, the jihadist group IS spun off from, IS views Saudi princes and other Gulf ruling families as much the enemy as the West  this despite the fact that they have aided ultraconservative Salafist militias and groups in the region, including the Army of Conquest, a rebel alliance in Syria which boasts al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra as a dominant member.

In May 2015, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi condemned the House of Saud for collaborating with the West. He claimed the Islamic State group is the only genuine protector of Sunnis.

And in December, al-Baghdadi denounced a new Saudi-led Islamic military alliance of 34 countries created to "coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism." Since then, the output of anti-Saudi propaganda has increased.

Anti-Saudi videos

According to MEMRI's Khayat, IS's various arms have posted 15 official anti-Saudi videos, ranging in length from five minutes to over half-an-hour. There has been similar "prolific content released from the IS-affiliated al-Battar media company over social networks and jihadi forums," he adds.

Al-Battar has issued two anti-Saudi videos, eight articles, and 50 posters.

"The campaign's organization and presentation carried several of the hallmarks which by now have become a staple of ISIS's online operations, including volume, coordination, and persistence. IS relies on volume, in which the same message, or variants of, are presented repeatedly to a given audience, to make an impact," Khayat says.

And the uptick in rhetoric may presage more violence on the ground.

"IS propaganda has been consistent in that it has inspired members and lone-wolf types to attack targets specified by the group," says Jonathan Schanzer, an analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a think tank. With the population already indoctrinated with hardline Wahhabi ideology, Saudi Arabia remains "fertile ground for recruitment," he says.

"The Saudis have branded IS as a terror group and it has been part of the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the group in Syria and Iraq. Indeed, the Saudis are the leaders among the Arab countries in this campaign," says Schanzer.

An IS supporter blew himself up outside Ha'ir prison near the Saudi capital in July. And IS itself claimed responsibility for a string of bombing and shooting attacks since November 2014 in which more than 50 people lost their lives, most of them Shi'ites.

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Russia Seeks Mediation Role in Iran-Saudi Dispute

by Daniel Schearf January 06, 2016

Russia has offered to act as an intermediary between Iran and Saudi Arabia following Riyadh's execution of the prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Russian diplomatic sources were quoted saying Moscow is ready to invite Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to Russia for talks.

"If our partners in Iran and Saudi Arabia are ready and willing (to come)," the source told Russia's state TASS news agency, "our initiative remains in force."

Other state-funded media reported Russia could play an important role to resolve the dispute because it is the only international player in the region seen as impartial by Tehran.

But Nikolay Kozhanov, an associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House and non-resident fellow at the Moscow Carnegie Center, says Russia's close relations with Iran remain a problem for Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region.

"In order to be an intermediary, you need to be the third side in the conflict," he said. "But, in Saudi Arabia, Russia is considered to be an Iranian ally or a partner. So, I do not believe people in Riyadh will trust the Russians completely or, better to say, they won't trust them."

Russia's arms sales to Iran, including advanced missile systems, have raised international concern. But Moscow has also played a constructive role in negotiating the deal to limit Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

Russia's support for Iran is limited by the need to not take sides in the Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation, as the vast majority of Russia's 16 million Muslims are Sunni, Carnegie Center's Kozhanov said.

"The full-fledged alliance between Russia and Iran is not in the Russian interest. Because it will definitely have a negative effect on Russia's relations, not only with Saudi Arabia but also with Israel and with quite a number of countries in the middle eastern region, he said, adding 'And so, the Russians are not ready to sacrifice these relations for the sake of Tehran."

Iran-Saudi Arabia rift

Tensions between Iran and its Saudi Arabia ratcheted up over the weekend after Riyadh executed Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr-al-Nimr along with 46 others in a single day on terrorism charges.

Al-Nimr was a longtime critic of the Saudi government who was accused by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir of agitating, organizing terrorist cells and providing them with weapons and money.

In response to the execution, Iranian protesters stormed Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and a consulate.

Saudi Arabia quickly suspended diplomatic relations with Iran. Other Sunni governments limited diplomatic ties with Tehran in solidarity with Riyadh, including Bahrain, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, while Shi'ite-led countries, like Iraq, sided with Iran.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani condemned the attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy and consulate, but also accused Riyadh of using it as an excuse to divert attention from the executions, which received widespread international condemnation.

Call for dialogue, restraint

Russia's Foreign Ministry called for dialogue and urged Tehran, Riyadh and Gulf countries to show restraint.

Kozhanov says Russia usually tries to play mediator in order to acquire additional importance in the international arena and is not as interested in reaching a final result so much as in the process itself. But he says Moscow could still play a role in shuttle diplomacy between the long-time rivals.

The dispute has prompted fears for regional security and for the Syrian peace talks, in which both countries are involved.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said its relations with Iran would not affect talks on Syria, with another round reportedly scheduled in Geneva this month. In those peace talks too, Russia has played mediator role, using its closeness to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a way to influence the peace process. Russia and the United States led a meeting on Syria in December with foreign ministers from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

But Kozhanov believes the feud could hamper those efforts.

"Definitely, the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia will have a negative impact on (their relations) and affect (the) Saudi's willingness to discuss Syria with Iran,' he said.

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Turkey Aims to Sidestep Saudi-Iranian Tensions

by Dorian Jones January 06, 2016

Turkey is seeking to avoid being embroiled in the deepening crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Following Saudi Arabia's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and violent protests against the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, Ankara has been careful not to take sides.

The growing diplomatic crisis between Tehran and Riyadh is seeing Ankara perform a delicate balancing act.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus issued a carefully worded statement condemning both the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday the execution was an internal matter.

Uneasy balance

Political columnist Semih Idiz, of Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper and Al Monitor website, says Ankara is in a tight spot.

'In a very difficult situation of course, there is not much love lost between Turkey and Iran at the moment, no doubt about that. But both countries have a sense of having to maintain their relations, and Turkey has a heavy dependence on Iranian energy. So there is a limit to which it can afford tensions with Iran to go. On the other hand, it has a new strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia,' said Idiz.

Iran is only second to Russia in supplying natural gas to Turkey. Ankara is already in the middle of a diplomatic crisis with Moscow and is desperately seeking to diversify its energy dependency.

International relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul's Kadir Has University says the regional rivalry with Tehran is already a major headache for Ankara.

'We have an undeclared contest, it is in Iraq, its in Syria certainly, and it may even be in Iraqi Kurdistan. And Iran and Russia are very closely working together,' said Ozel.

Closer Saudi ties

But that competition with Tehran, in particular in Syria, with both sides backing opposite sides in the civil war, is widely seen as a factor why Ankara has recently embarked on a developing a strategic relationship with Riyadh.

Last month, Turkish President Erdogan committed Turkey to Saudi Arabia's regional anti-terror alliance of Sunni countries.

But Carnegie Institute visiting scholar Sinan Ulgen says the deepening crisis between Riyadh and Tehran is a warning sign for Ankara.

'Given that Turkey is finding it difficult to get additional support in the region for its objectives in Syria, the relationship with Saudi Arabia has become critical. But this is certainly of an area of foreign policy in which Turkey must tread carefully, given that it should not be seen as yet another player in the Middle East that is willing to play the sectarian game,' said Ulgen.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in line with Turkey's Western allies, called Tuesday on Riyadh and Tehran to act with common sense.

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Eight civilians killed, 33 injured in Damascus and Aleppo with rockets fired by terrorists

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 6, IRNA -- Eight people were killed on Wednesday in terrorist mortar attacks by the "Jaish al-Islam" terror organization which targeted a number of residential neighborhoods in Damascus.

SANA news agency said that terrorists based in eastern Ghouta fired mortar shells at residential neighborhoods in the city, which resulted in killing eight people, injuring 25, and causing damages to properties.

Later, four civilians were injured by a mortar round fired by terrorists positioned in Daraya town in Damascus countryside which fell in the northern part of al-Moadamiya town.

Saudi-linked terrorists of "Jaish al-Islam" target residential and safe districts of Damascus with mortar and rocket shells every now and then in a desperate attempt to undermine Syrians' steadfastness and support for the Syrian Arab Army in its war against Takfiri terrorism.

In Aleppo, 4 citizens were injured due to a terrorist rocket attack on al-Neel Street.

An Aleppo Police told SANA that terrorists positioned in Bani Zaid neighborhood fired a number of rocket shells on the residential neighborhood, injuring 4 civilians and causing damages to private and public properties.

2222**1416

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Daesh Attacks al-Nusra Militants in Syria

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Jan 6, IRNA -- Daesh launched an attack on positions of al-Nusra Front terrorists in Syria. The attack resulted in the death of a dozen of militants.

Some 12 al-Nusra terrorists were killed in clashes that erupted after Daesh militants attacked al-Nusra Front positions in the village of Hosh Hamad in the province of Daraa.

The recent advance by the Syrian Army across the country has increased strife among militant groups, according to Fars News Agency.

Earlier it was reported that Ahrar al-Sham Emir and Shura Council member was killed by unidentified gunmen in the Syrian Province of Homs.

Abu Rated al-Homsi, a member of Ahrar al-Sham Shura Council and Homs Emir, was killed in Syria on Tuesday.

According to reports, unidentified gunmen opened fire at a car carrying al-Homsi, the 'Emir' of the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham, and his wife in the village of al-Farhaniyah, near the town of Talbiseh in Homs. Al-Homsi and his wife were killed.

Ahrar al-Sham leaders have lost three senior commanders as a result of infighting in the recent weeks, according to intelligence sources.

'Mohammad Abu Yihiya, one of the leaders of Ahrar al-Sham, and Abu Tamim another commander of the terrorist group in Jarjanaz town in Idlib province have been killed as a result of infightings.'

Meanwhile, Takfiri terrorists acknowledged that military commander of Ahrar al-Sham Abdul-Qader al-Dabaan had been killed.

Last week, it was reported that heavy battles broke out between Takfiri militants from Jeish al-Islam and Jeish Tahrir al-Sham groups in Damascus province as militants continued to lose positions in Syria.

Terrorists from Jeish al-Islam engaged in clashes with Jeish Tahrir al-Sham terrorists in Damascus countryside.

8072**1416

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Militant mortar attacks kill 8 civilians in Syria capital

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 6, 2016 1:50PM

At least eight civilians have lost their lives in mortar attacks by foreign-backed terrorists on the Syrian capital city of Damascus.

The Syrian Interior Ministry said 20 more sustained injuries in the assaults on areas near Damascus' Al-Abed and Baghdad streets on Wednesday, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.

An unidentified source at Damascus Police Command also said the casualties came after terrorists based in the Eastern Ghouta region fired mortar shells at residential neighborhoods in the Syrian capital, causing material damage to properties.

Meanwhile, a unit of the Syrian army destroyed positions held by militants in the northwestern city of Aleppo as well as roads used for providing al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorists with aid from Turkey.

An informed military source, whose name was not mentioned in reports, further noted that a number of terrorists as well as their armored vehicles were demolished in the Syrian army operation in Aleppo.

Elsewhere in the town of Talbiseh, located in the central province of Homs, several militants were killed in clashes with the Syrian army.

The Syrian military continued its advances in Harasta al Qantarah, seizing control over five buildings in the Eastern Ghouta after inflicting losses on terrorists there, the Lebanese al-Ahed news website reported.

Heavy clashes were also reported between Daesh elements and al-Nusra Front militants in the western outskirts of Dara'a Province.

Syrian forces have recently been making rapid advances against terrorists, who are committing heinous crimes against all ethnic and religious groups, in several parts of the Arab country.

The advances of the Syrian government forces against Daesh and other terrorist groups have been expedited by the air cover provided by Russia, which began on September 30 at the request of the Damascus government.

The crisis in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country's population within or out of its borders.

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UN to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to 3 Besieged Syrian Cities

Sputnik News

21:25 07.01.2016

The Syrian government on Thursday agreed to allow the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to three besieged Syrian cities, the UN said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  'The UN welcomes today's approval from the Government of Syria to access Madaya, Foah and Kefraya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days,' the statement said.

The organizations added it was concerned over the plight of about 400,000 people in the cities of Deir Ez-Zor, Daraya, Foah and Kafraya, besieged by the conflicting parties, as well as in the besieged areas of East Ghouta region of the rural Damascus.

"Almost 42,000 people remaining in Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation. The UN has received credible reports of people dying from starvation and being killed while trying to leave,' the statement said.

In December 2015, the United Nations, in partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) evacuated more than 450 civilians from areas besieged by militants in Syria under a ceasefire deal reached with the government.

According to the UN, some 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach locations, and about 400,000 of them live in the besieged areas.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting several opposition factions, including the notorious Daesh (Islamic State), outlawed in Russia and many other countries. Around four million people have fled the conflict-torn country since then, according to UN estimates.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Army Launches Attack Against Daesh Near Palmyra

Sputnik News

08:49 07.01.2016(updated 12:30 07.01.2016)

The Syrian Army alongside the National Defense Forces (NDF) launched a counter-offensive near the ancient city of Palmyra in the central province of Homs. They successfully repelled an attempted attack by Daesh militants.

Government forces commenced their counter-assault near the small village of al-Dawa in the western countryside of Palmyra where they cleared the area of Daesh militants that were entrenched along the road leading to Palmyra.

'Following their success at al-Dawa, Syrian army troops and their allies shifted their attention to the Ancient Palmyra Quarries from the northwestern side, backed up by the Russian Air Force's fighter jets,' a military source told FARS News.

The army and its allies regained control over the territory that was lost to Daesh along the main stretch of quarries in Palmyra's northern countryside. Clashes are still underway between government forces and Daesh fighters at the foothills of Palmyra.

In the recent weeks, the Syrian Army and its allies backed by Russian airstrikes have been attacking militants' defense lines and concentration centers near Palmyra to pave the way for recapturing the city.

The army is resolved to push the militants back from Homs, especially from Palmyra, a treasury of historic monuments.

On Monday, Syrian forces continued their offensive against militants' positions in Homs, inflicting heavy losses on Daesh and the al-Nusra Front.

The Syrian Army destroyed Daesh positions and vehicles, some of which were equipped with machine guns, in Tuloul al-Soud and Tar al-Kharouba in the vicinity of Quaryatayn in Homs. It also targeted Daesh command posts in the eastern part of Homs.

 Sputnik

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UN calls for humanitarian access to besieged areas in Syria, welcomes new approvals from Government

7 January 2016  The United Nations is calling today for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach people in need in hard-to-reach and besieged areas of Syria, while welcoming the recent approval by the Government to access the towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 4.5 million people in the war-torn country live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 in 15 besieged locations that do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need. In the last year, only 10 per cent of all requests for UN inter-agency convoys to these areas were approved and delivered.

A statement issued by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Kevin Kennedy, underlined the particular concern about the plight of these hundreds of thousands of people besieged by parties to the conflict in locations such as Deir Ez-Zor city, Daraya, Foah and Kafraya, as well as besieged areas of East Ghouta.

Meanwhile, almost 42,000 people remaining in the town of Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation; the UN has received credible reports of people starving to death and being killed while trying to leave. According to OCHA, a 53 year-old man reportedly died of starvation last Tuesday while his family of five continues to suffer from severe malnutrition.

The statement further highlights the ongoing conflict continues to hamper the humanitarian response, and that freedom of movement is restricted by the presence of armed actors and landmines. Madaya last received a joint UN, Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convoy on 18 October, and some medical evacuations took place in December, but the town has been inaccessible since then despite numerous requests for access.

While the UN prepares to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days, it is recalling that international humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians and their starvation as a tactic of war, and reiterates its call for immediate humanitarian access and for the facilitation of safe evacuation of civilians.

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Taiwan requests formal talks with Japan on comfort women issue

ROC Central News Agency

2016/01/06 20:18:02

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Lin () on Wednesday summoned the Japanese representative to Taipei and laid out four requests that Taiwan wants to make in formal talks with Japan on the issue of 'comfort women.'

The term 'comfort women' euphemistically describes women from around East Asia, including several thousand Taiwanese, who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

In Wednesday's meeting, Lin told Mikio Mumata that Taiwan wishes to hold formal talks with Japan as soon as possible on the comfort women issue, the foreign ministry said.

During those talks, Taiwan will seek a formal apology from Japan to all Taiwanese comfort women and compensation to the survivors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.

Taiwan also wants Japan to act to restore the victims' reputation and dignity and provide for the general welfare of the survivors, the ministry said.

The appeals were decided the previous day at a meeting of a working group comprising officials from several government agencies and a women's rights group, which discussed Taiwan's approach to the comfort women issue.

The meeting, hosted by MOFA, was held after Tokyo indicated that it did not intend to resolve the comfort women issue with other countries the same way it did with South Korea.

In recent talks in Seoul with South Korea, Japan agreed to apologize to that country's comfort women and donate around 1 billion Japanese yen to a foundation set up by the South Korean government for the victims.

Around 2,000 Taiwanese women were forced into sexual slavery during WWII, according to the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, which has been assisting Taiwanese comfort women in the fight of their rights and reputation.

The foundation said 58 of them later came forward to seek compensation and a formal apology from Japan, and now there are only four survivors.

(By Tang Pei-chun and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/pc

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Bravida has signed an agreement to acquire Elinstalltorer i Dalarna AB, based in Langshyttan in Dalarna, Sweden. The company has 40 employees and a turnover of approximately SEK 40 million. The company operates within electrical installations, electrical service, camera surveillance, intrusion alarms, fire alarms, accessing systems, data network, automations, engine operations, KNX-systems and electrical planning. The company has its business in Borlange, Falun, Sater, and Langshyttan in Dalarna. The acquisition will strengthen both Bravidas electrical business and security operations in Dalarna.  We are now creating a strong foundation in Dalarna for both service and installations within the electrical fields. Security is a strategical business area for Bravida and this acquisition strengthens our already existing operations, says Mikael Lidstrom, Division Manager, Bravida division North. Elinstallatorer i Dalarna AB was founded 1986.  I look forward to becoming a part of Bravida and I feel confident knowing that we will continue to develop and grow together with the rest of Bravida. I believe that we will need to hire at least five new electricians within the near future, says Conny Gossas, CEO of Elinstallatorerna i Dalarna AB. Bravida will assume ownership as per 31 december 2015. For further information, please contact: Mattias Johansson, CEO and Group Manager, Bravida. Phone: +46 8 695 20 00 Mikael Lidstrom, Division Manager, Bravida Division North. Phone: +46 21 15 48 40 Mats Axelsson, Regional Manager, Bravida Dalarna/Vastmanland/Sodermanland. Phone: +46 21 15 48 45 Bravida is a leading multi-technical service provider i the Nordics, with about 9,000 employees. Bravida delivers specialist services as well as complete electrical, heating and plumbing, and HVAC solutions, offering everything from design and project planning to installation, operation and maintenance. Bravida is represented in around 140 locations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. www.bravidagroup.com/en
Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) - West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. (West Red Lake Gold or the Company) (CSE: RLG) (FWB: HYK) (OTC: HYLKF) announces an update to the Fall 2015 exploration plan on the Companys 3100 hectare West Red Lake Project located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District, 20 km west of Balmertown, Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The purpose of the Fall 2015 program is to explore the east-west trending regional geological structure further to the east of the established Rowan Mine gold system where exploration drilling took place in 2014 on a 1km long portion of the structure. The 2015 program traced the geological structure further to the east to identify potential exploration targets.

The Company drilled six holes with a total 1657 metres drilled. The six holes were located along the east-west trending geological strike length and all holes were drilled from south to north. Drill samples have been sent out for assay at SGS Canada Inc.

The Company property is situated on the Red Lake Archean Greenstone Belt which hosts the high grade gold mines of the Red Lake Gold District. The Pipestone Bay-St Paul Deformation Zone strikes east-west across the 12 km length of the property, and then continues east towards the town of Red Lake. A second gold bearing regional structure, the Golden Arm structure, trends on to the property from the southwest and trends toward and then intersects with the Pipestone Bay-St Paul Deformation Zone (the Structural Intersection) approximately 1 km east of the Rowan Mine shaft. Twenty kilometers to the east a similar geologically important intersection of two regional gold bearing structures occurs proximal to the world class Red Lake Mine and Campbell Mine, providing a highly favourable geological model and illustrating the exploration potential for high grade gold zones on the Companys West Red Lake Project.

The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ken Guy, P.Geo., a consultant to West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified Person responsible for the exploration program at the Rowan Mine property, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101).

West Red Lake Gold is focused on gold exploration and development in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada. The Red Lake Gold District is host to some of the richest gold deposits in the world and has produced 30 million ounces of gold from high grade zones. The Company has assembled a significant property position totalling 3100 hectares in west Red Lake (the "West Red Lake Project") which contains three former producing gold mines. The Mount Jamie Mine and Red Summit Mine properties are 100% owned by the Company and the Rowan Mine property is held in a 60%-owned joint venture with Red Lake Gold Mines, a partnership of Goldcorp Inc. and Goldcorp Canada Ltd. The properties cover a 12km strike length along the West Red Lake Trend and the Company plans to continue to explore these properties both along strike and to depth.

MCTO Update: The Company also announces that, further to its news release on December 24, 2015, the Ontario Securities Commission issued a permanent management cease trade order (the MCTO) as of today for failure to file an independent technical report on its West Red Lake Project substantiating its disclosure of a resource calculation inserted into the investor presentation on the Company website by previous management as early as February 4, 2014. The MCTO prohibits all trading by certain insiders of the Company in securities of the Company until the order is revoked. The Company is required to provide bi-weekly status updates in accordance with National Policy 12-203  Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults until the MCTO has been revoked or a full cease trade order issued.

To find out more about West Red Lake Gold, please visit our website at http://www.westredlakegold.com or contact: John Kontak, President and acting CFO.

Phone: 416-203-9181 Email: jkontak@rlgold.ca

The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward looking statements". When used in this document, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management, however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. West Red Lake Gold does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/westredlake01062016.pdfSource: West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. (CSE:RLG) http://www.westredlakegold.com/

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Copyright  2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2016) - Satori Resources Inc. (TSXV: BUD) ("Satori" or the "Company") announces the resignation of Mr. Jeffrey Kilborn as Corporate Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective immediately, and the board of directors would like to thank Mr. Kilborn for his dedicated service and wish him the best in his future endeavours.

The Company further announces that Shanda Kilborn has been appointed interim Corporate Secretary and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Kilborn has over 10 years of experience consulting with public companies relating to business administration, corporate secretarial and investor relations services.

ABOUT SATORI RESOURCES INC.

Satori is a Toronto-based mineral exploration and development company. The Company's primary property is the Tartan Lake Gold Mine Project (100% interest), located in the prolific Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, Manitoba.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Bruce Reid

Chief Executive Officer, Satori Resources Inc.

C: (647) 500-4495

The TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release of Satori contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Satori's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Sudbury, Ontario (FSCwire) - Houston Lake Mining Inc. (TSX.V: HLM) ("HLM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Tamlin to the board of directors of the Company.

Mr. Tamlin has more than 25 years of commercial and technical experience in mining, milling and hydrometallurgy with significant expertise in lithium and tantalum concentrates and chemicals. His lithium experience covers the development of the Chinese chemical and global technical spodumene markets for the Greenbushes Mine in Western Australia which currently controls an estimated 95% of lithium mineral supply, the Zhangjiagang Lithium Carbonate Project and the Rincon Brine Project. Mr. Tamlin is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Neometals Ltd., an ASX-listed company which is preparing for the start of production of its Mt. Marion Lithium Mine in Western Australia and is conducting feasibility for a lithium hydroxide plant.

Mr. Tamlin has an impressive record of maximizing commercial performance, developing and implementing strategy and brings extensive experience in the development of both hard rock and brine lithium projects, lithium supply negotiations, lithium markets and management at executive level with significant lithium producers.

Commenting on Mr. Tamlins appointment, Rick Walker, HLMs Chairman, said: "We are pleased to welcome Mike to HLMs board. His technical acumen and business development experience in lithium will be a key asset for the Company as we continue to develop the PAK Lithium Project."

The Company also announces that it has granted an additional 200,000 stock options. The options are set for a period of five years, expiring on January 7, 2021. The options are priced at $.16 and are subject to regulatory approval. In addition, $24,000 of debt is owed to a company owned by the non-arms length individual and the Company is proposing a financing of 154,839 common shares at a price of $.155 per share.

About Houston Lake Mining Inc.

HLMs goal is to become a fully integrated lithium and tantalum producer through the development of the PAK Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada . The Company's strategy is to take advantage of the global shift towards electric/hybrid vehicles and high quality consumer electronics by becoming a raw material supplier of the elements required for the pursuit of sustainable energy and other applications in high-tech electronics and metal alloys.

HLM has a total of 114,172,069 common shares issued and outstanding. For additional information, please visit www.houstonlakemining.com.

Company Contact Information
China Shuts Markets After CSI 300 Plunges 7%; Asian Markets Nosedive Business oi-Sunil

China shut its stock exchanges for the second time this week, as the CSI 300 plunged more than 7 per cent. Circuit filters were reached at near 10.00 am local time.

If the CSI breaches 5 per cent, then trading is halted for 15 minutes and after a 7 per cent fall, trading is stopped for the day.

China has been slowing down and investors are worried that a crash landing in the country, could spark a fresh round of selling across global markets.

On Thursday, authorities lowered the central rate of China's yuan currency by 0.51 percent to 6.5646 against the US dollar, AFP reported

On Wednesday's Caixin non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a measure of activity for the services sector, showed a slowdown in the pace of growth.

To compound worries crude oil slumped to a new 11 year low on inventories build-up. Analysts now fear that crude oil could hit $30 per barrel rather easily.

Asian markets retreated following the Shanghai news with the Hang Sang down 2.33 per cent and the Japanese Nikkei and the Singapore Strait Times were down 2 per cent each.

GoodReturns.in
Cattle losses from the winter storm Goliath could total 80,000 head across New Mexico and Texas' Panhandle and South Plains, according to early estimates.

The blizzard that arrived after Christmas still lingers with snow drifts as high as 14 feet in parts of eastern New Mexico and northwest Texas.

Hearing stories from friends and colleagues on the South Plains reminds me of Patrick Dearen's novel "The Big Drift." His story set in 1884-1885 and tells of the struggles of two men searching for cattle that strayed or halted against drift fences and froze on their feet. The two cowboys almost froze to death, too.

The winter blizzard of 2015 turns Patrick's story to reality, proving once again that history does repeat itself. Goliath is being called the worst and deadliest U.S. storm system of 2015.

Cattle that drifted from ranch pastures either bunched up at a windbreak and suffocated or walked over fences covered by frozen ice and snow and marched southward during the recent blizzard.

Although producers around Clovis, New Mexico, spent a lot of time preparing for the storm by cleaning pens and adding new straw and building windbreaks to protect animals, they were overwhelmed when the blizzard hit, my longtime friend and farm broadcaster Erica Irlbeck, of Lubbock, said.

"They kept fresh feed in front of the cows as long as the weather would allow, constantly putting out feed as it would get covered in snow," she said.

Farmers were out in 16-below weather battling the elements to fight for the safety of their animals, said Robert Hagevoort, extension agent with the New Mexico State University.

More than 2,500 head might have frozen to death in Panhandle feedyards. An estimated 30,000 head of dairy cattle could be lost.

An estimated 15,000 mature dairy cows died in the storm's primary impact area from Lubbock west to Muleshoe and north to Friona, which is home to half of the state's Top 10 milk-producing counties and produces 40 percent of the state's milk, according to Darren Turley, Texas Association of Dairymen executive director.

Turley said the storm made it impossible for tanker trucks to reach dairy farms. Hundreds of loads of milk ready for processing were wasted. Some cows normally milked twice a day went almost two days without being milked, which dries up the cows' milk supply.

"Cow-calf producers should continue to watch their animals for lingering aftereffects," said Ted McCollum, Texas A&M AgriLife beef cattle specialist at Amarillo. "There is some potential for latent effects of the sustained low wind chill temperatures."

He said the bitter cold could have frozen the ears and tails of cattle and other animals, so partial loss might occur over the next few weeks.

"Another area of concern is the wind and low temperatures could have resulted in frozen teats and sensitive udders," McCollum said. "The udders of cows nursing calves may be sensitive, which could affect milk consumption by the calf for a few days.

"If the teats were impaired by frostbite, then there may be some mastitis and/or partial loss of udder function thereby advising those tending to the cattle to watch the calves and check the udders," he said.

Turley said the losses will affect production for about a year.

Meanwhile, this is another gap in the goal of the cattle industry to rebuild herds after the big inventory drop from the 2011 drought.

What is being called a whirlwind of dramatic extremes for the cattle industry over the last two years  tight supplies in 2014 and record market prices and cattle numbers still small but showing a slight turnaround in 2015  the new year starts out with cattle inventory back to the lowest since 1993.

The USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates predicts expansion equates to more beef production in 2016, 2017 and 2018 which will also mean lower prices.

That adage about "If it wasn't for bad luck, we would have no luck at all" is certainly coming back in play.

Email Jerry Lackey: jlackey@wcc.net
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By Jerry Lackey

Since the mid-1990s when Boer goats were increasing the goat inventory across the Lone Star State, Robert Kensing said nothing but Spanish would have a home on his Menard County ranch.

"It was during the 1970s that I visited a ranch at Hext (about 15 miles southeast of Menard) where the owner had 250 head of Spanish goats," Robert told me. "I bought 15 nannies and a billy."

Through the years, Robert and Doris Kensing expanded from the original 15 nannies into a sizable herd and started leasing Spanish billies to other ranchers who wanted to improve their herds.

Before the Kensings retired a few years ago, they had one of the few purebred Spanish goat herds in the country. The herd continues under the watchful eye of their nephew, David Whitworth, in Kimble County.

Recently while attending a field day on Bob and Diane Malone's Lost Lake Ranch in Sutton County, I saw more than 200 head of Spanish goats coming to water at a windmill. Bob said they run the Spanish with Dorp-Croix hair sheep and they are very compatible in a holistic management program ? working in concert with natural processes toward the triple bottom line of ecological, financial and social sustainability.

It is reassuring to see that Spanish goats are on the rise. One of my most cherished childhood memories was bottle-feeding a pen full of colorful Spanish dogies.

On Jan. 1, all goat inventory in the United States totaled 3.04 million head, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Meat and all other goats totaled 2.54 million head; market goats and kids totaled 518,000; milk goats increased to 355,000; Angora goats were down to 150,000.

"Spanish goats have been reclaiming some of the ground previously lost to their larger imported brethren," said Micheal Salisbury, associate professor of animal science at Angelo State University.

Salisbury is director of ASU's annual Meat Goat Performance Test, the largest and longest-running test of its kind in the U.S. About five years ago, he noticed one producer who had always brought Spanish goats to the test had begun to increase his production, and others have joined in.

"We've increased the number of producers testing Spanish goats by three- or fourfold," Salisbury told Tom Nurre Jr., an ASU information specialist. "We'll have sometimes as many as five producers who bring several Spanish billies to put them on the performance test."

Salisbury said in the 2010 test just concluded, only 14 of the 73 goats entered were purebred Boers, 14 were Boer-Spanish crosses and the rest were Spanish goats. That marks about a 30 percent increase in the number of Spanish goat entries over past years.

Boer goats were popular because they wean faster and heavier than Spanish, he said.

"When you look at the production between Spanish and Boer goats, the Boer goats are going to grow faster, get heavier, have a higher average rate of gain and be more efficient in feed conversion," Salisbury said.

"Spanish goats are a little slower in growth rate, but their maintenance costs are less," he said. "When you put them on harsher country, they tend to travel easier and hustle for food a little harder. They are able to function in areas where Boer goats probably can't quite get enough forage to be real productive."

Also, Salisbury said the increased market opportunities for goat meat among growing Middle Eastern and Cuban immigrant populations throughout the U.S. has jumped the selling prices for goats to near historic highs. It also has Texas producers scrambling to meet demand, which outpaces U.S. production by almost 50 percent. Another boon to the Spanish goat industry is the need for the hardier animals for brush control in the western U.S.

"On state and federal lands and along power line right-of-ways, they don't want to use mechanical or chemical methods for brush control, so they use biological," Salisbury said. "That means sheep and goats, and they have to be raised in areas where there are not facilities, just open range herding. Again, Spanish goats tend to be easier to care for and don't require the maintenance that some other breeds might."

Within a 100-mile radius of San Angelo, there are five big Spanish goat breeders who are selling 100 or more billies every year. Producers who are raising Spanish bucks have an endless market, Salisbury said.

Jerry Lackey writes about agriculture. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net or 325-949-2291.
First Baptist Church in 1952.

SHARE First Baptist Church in 1908. First Baptist Church on North Chadbourne.

By Special To The Standard-Times



This weekend, First Baptist Church San Angelo is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

The celebration could have been held last year or perhaps next year, because the date the church was established is not exact; it could have been 1882, 1883 or 1884.

Thirteen years after Fort Concho came into existence, the settlement of Santa Angela had become a thriving town, filled with immigrants from other states and nations.

Leaders from several Protestant denominations began to organize churches in the area.

As early as December 1881, Dr. Owen C. Pope, director of Missions for Baptists in Texas, and the Rev. L.R. Millican came to explore the Concho Valley for possible mission sites.

No records indicate that a Baptist church was organized during that visit.

However, Mrs. Charles Fox, in her book "History of First Baptist Church, San Angelo, Texas, 1882-1946," states that on Dec. 3, 1882, Pope preached the first Baptist sermon in San Angelo in the Methodist chapel.

The Rev. W.D. Powell, a pioneer Baptist preacher, introduced Edwin J. Mays of Round Rock to San Angelo during the winter of 1881-82.

Powell later brought the 20-year-old Mays back as a missionary. Mays lived in a hotel room and walked the three miles to hold services in the community of Ben Ficklin.

The preacher also approached the owners of saloons and gambling halls, gaining permission to preach in their establishments. His salary was not enough, however, to provide a fire in his room during the winter months. He developed tuberculosis and returned to Round Rock, where he died in 1883.

Even though his death was tragic and untimely, this youthful preacher left a legacy.

Twenty-five years after Mays died, a former San Angelo saloonkeeper told Mays' father that his son had converted him. After his conversion, the saloonkeeper and Mays destroyed every bottle of whiskey in the saloon.

Fifty-one years after Powell introduced Mays to San Angelo, Powell told Dr. Rupert N. Richardson that in the winter of 1881-82 Mays established a church in San Angelo; thus, the First Baptist Church of San Angelo dates its founding to 1882.

Soon after Mays returned home, the Baptist Mission Board sent the Rev. Z.M. Wells to San Angelo to establish monthly appointments in San Angelo and Paint Rock. On July 28, 1883, in a small adobe schoolhouse at Twohig and Chadbourne streets, Wells and a small group of Baptists formed the Baptist Church of Christ of San Angelo.

The Concho Valley Baptist Association, however, recorded 1883 as the date the First Baptist Church was formed, a date substantiated by George E. Webb, who became a member in 1886.

Webb received a letter from Mrs. J.B. Moore, a charter member of the church, stating that eight people met with Wells on July 28, 1883, to form the First Baptist Church.

Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Pyle and two others.

Similar stories, numbers, locations, and dates suggest that the Baptist Church of Christ of San Angelo and the First Baptist Church were the same, and present a strong case for the 1883 date.

One other option remains.

Fox, in her book, states that Millican returned to San Angelo in 1884 to form the First Baptist Church.

The meeting was held under a large mesquite tree on the northwest corner of a lot on Chadbourne Street between Beauregard and Harris on July 22.

Nine people were present: Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Moore, Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Pyle, Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Whatley, and Wells, the pastor, the same people listed as having met to form the church in 1883, with the exception of Millican.

Whatever the date, the First Baptist Church was in need of a home.

Fox says the first building was a temporary structure, with wooden sides and a canvas top, built in 1884.

The church's first revival, conducted by B.H. Carroll in 1885, increased its membership by 20, giving it about 60 members.

The temporary building would no longer accommodate the congregation.

That year, the church purchased a lot at North Chadbourne Street and College Avenue from Mrs. W.S. Moore and built a brick building about 30 feet by 60 feet.

To the dismay of the members, the church learned through a lawsuit that the front door of the church faced an inside lot rather than the street.

The original entry was walled up, and a new entry was created on the opposite end of the building.

The change required reversing the interior, including the pulpit and baptistry.

Not until 1891, when the church bought another lot from Mrs. Moore, did the church have an adequate entrance facing North Chadbourne Street.

As the church grew, the leaders began to look for another location. In 1900, they bought a lot at Harris Avenue and Oakes Street from the Catholic Church. Six years later, Pastor W.P. Pledger and the congregation of the First Baptist Church broke ground for the building of a new sanctuary. The congregation worshipped in its new home for the first time Feb. 23, 1908.

The imposing red-brick edifice served First Baptist Church well until 1947, when members began to prepare for a more modern sanctuary. The old building was torn down, and the education building that had been added in 1922 got a face-lift to conform to the Romanesque architecture proposed for the new sanctuary.

The new facility, which had seating for 1,550, was completed in 1952. Eleven years later, a chapel/education building was built next to the existing education building. The old education building was replaced, and an atrium was added to connect it to the sanctuary in 2001.

The Christian Life Center was added across Harris Avenue in 1976. The building includes a full-size gymnasium, a lobby area with table games, a conference room with a fireplace, crafts room, a TV room, and an exercise room with showers and lockers.

In the 125 years First Baptist Church has been in existence, 23 ministers have served its congregation. Members recently welcomed Dr. Mark Bumpus as their new pastor.

In 125 years, First Baptist Church has touched thousands of lives not only in San Angelo but around the world. First Baptist has helped to educate its youth through Bible study and scholarships, been involved in community affairs, provided leadership in San Angelo businesses, boards, schools, community service, and city and county government.

First Baptist Church looks forward to celebrating as it continues its ministry from the corner of Harris Avenue and Oakes Street.

Anniversary events

Saturday, Oct. 11

3 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Community and churchwide reception and open house in the Atrium and Parlor. Former pastors, music ministers, and youth ministers will be on hand to visit with church members and citizens of San Angelo. A wedding-style anniversary cake and punch will be served.

Sunday, Oct. 12

9 a.m. - Combined adult Sunday School in the sanctuary, led by former pastor Dr. Kyle Reese and assisted by former youth minister Elias Garcia. Visitors are welcome.

10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. - Fellowship time in the Atrium.

10:30 a.m. - Worship service led by Pastor Emeritus Dr. Jerold McBride; music led by Ron Etheredge, former minister of music.

11:30 a.m. - Anniversary luncheon, catered by McGowen's. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12. The special feature of the luncheon will be Barbara Rowland's drama, "At the Confluence of the Conchos."
SHARE Mueller stands accused of killing his first wife in April 2008 in Lake City, Colo.

San Angelo man on trial in 1st wife's death

By Jennifer Rios

Opening arguments are expected to begin Tuesday morning in the Broomfield Combined Courts in the murder case of San Angelo businessman Frederick Mueller.

It will be the second time Mueller will stand trial in Colorado, although in a courtroom more than 200 miles away from Gunnison, where he was previously prosecuted.

A full day of jury selection took place Monday for the trial, which will be presided by 17th Judicial District Judge Francis Wasserman.

Mueller stands accused of killing his first wife in May 2008 when the two were vacationing at their mountain home in Lake City, Colo.

His initial trial ended in February when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict. A final vote was 11 to 1 in favor of an acquittal.

Frederick Mueller told authorities Leslie Mueller, San Angelos first female obstetrician gynecologist, who had since retired, fell off a cliff side and was carried downstream. Her body was later found in a shallow pool.

Her death was investigated by the Hinsdale County Sheriffs Department and Colorado Federal Bureau of Investigation, departments that did not believe the account of events given by Frederick Mueller.

Frederick Mueller was arrested four years later in Texas and was transported to Gunnison County, where he was tried on a first-degree murder charge.

In April the first-degree murder charge was taken off the table. Prosecutors Matthew Durkin and Ryan Brackley will try Mueller on a second-degree murder charge.

Wasserman has indicated the trial will last two weeks. Unlike the first trial, Mueller is not being held in custody. He bonded out of the Gunnison County Jail the same day Judge Steven Patrick declared a mistrial.

Defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Roger Sagal, who was on the defense team earlier this year, will represent Mueller.

Muellers wife, Wendee Walker-Mueller, was at the courthouse Monday but not in the courtroom where jury selection was taking place.

Media representatives, print and television, were not allowed in the courtroom Monday during jury selection because of space.

Wasserman has allowed some filming of court proceedings as requested by Dateline NBC and CBS 48 Hours.

Laptops have been allowed in the courtroom for note-taking purposes.

As of Monday evening it was unclear whether live blogging would be permitted during testimony.
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By Rashda Khan

After North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a "miniaturized hydrogen bomb," some experts said the explosion wasn't large enough to be H-bomb and was probably a plutonium or uranium weapon. None of the choices is good, according to North Korea specialist and Angelo State University professor Dr. Bruce Bechtol Jr.

"If they do have a hydrogen bomb, that's a big deal. If they don't, we're still talking about a weapon that could kill over 100,000 people," he said. "Then there's the tens of thousands dying from the fallout as was seen in Nagasaki and Hiroshima."

Even more worrying, Bechtol said, was that the Pentagon recently concluded that North Korea has the capability to hit the United States using missiles and a transporter erector launcher. There also have been reports of North Koreans testing submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

"Combine nuclear weapons with the missiles and you have a legitimate military threat," Bechtol said. "So now the entire West Coast of the United States is vulnerable, or they could aim at Tokyo."

Bechtol first visited Korea in 1978 as young Marine lance corporal and has returned there more than 50 times for research and collaborations. He has written four books on North Korea and has many friends in South Korea.

"I'm much more worried about Japan and the United States now than South Korea," he said. "They don't want to destroy South Korea, just capture it."

Nevertheless, some South Koreans are worried. Taeseong Gwon, a South Korean graduate student at ASU, was in the South Korean military from 2009-11, stationed on his country's border with North Korea.

"There were two accidents during that time," he said. "One of our navy ships was hit by their missile and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island" happened.

Gwon remembered it being very tense and the soldiers being hyper alert.

"I remember going to sleep armed."

He said most South Koreans would probably see this test as only a warning.

"I think Korean people need to take it more seriously. Most people think they won't really attack us with these weapons, but at the back of my mind is that it could happen."

Bechtol also pointed out a pattern.

"This was a larger test than 2013, which was bigger than the one in 2009, which was bigger again from 2006." In other words, he said, "North Korea is prioritizing its nuclear weapons program over relations with its neighbors."

The reason behind the move is probably profits, he said.

"I think they are hoping to make billions of dollars of profit from their weapons program, which is a lot for a government in dire economic straits."

But the move will bring repercussions, he said.

"They have essentially shot themselves in the foot," Bechtol said. "They were in talks with South Korea about families that have been separated and living in the North and South, and reopening tourism that would rake in the money for North Korea, but this is going to end the talks."

He also predicted cutting off of aid from South Korea and Japan and more sanctions from the U.S.

"I sincerely hope the U.S. will act to contain North Korea, and by action, I mean economic action," he said. "Forty percent of North Korea's real GDP economy is illicit weapon sales, drugs sales and similar activities.

"We need to go after the banks and individuals who launder that money. That will hurt North Korea and bring them back to the bargaining table."

Gwon wants unification.

"Someday I hope North and South will be one again. I'm not sure how possible that is, but that's what I hope."
SHARE Alta Loma's Staha was placed on administrative leave, but the district won't say why.

Petition is circulating in Staha's favor

By Matthew Waller

School administration has placed Alta Loma Elementary School Principal Susan Staha on administrative leave, and parents with children at the school have protested.

Soraida Gonzalez said she had a petition with 25 signatures asking to reinstate Staha. Gonzalez has three children attending Alta Loma.

"It has come to our attention that Mrs. Staha is not in our Alta Loma School.

"In an effort to provide the best education and learning experience for our students and children, we the undersigned parents and concerned citizen respectfully request that Mrs. Susan Staha be returned to Alta Loma Elementary as our beloved and respected principal," the petition states.

Gonzalez went Monday to the San Angelo Independent School District school board meeting to discover why the principal she supports isn't administrating.

"They couldn't tell us anything," Gonzalez said. Parents "don't know what's going on either. ... I don't know what to do no more."

SAISD board members and staff cannot comment on personnel matters, Superintendent Carol Ann Bonds said. SAISD's human resources department staff said they couldn't reveal when Staha was placed on administrative leave, although Gonzalez said she learned about the change a couple of weeks before approaching the school board.

Staha has declined to comment as well.

"I think she is a good principal," said Pat Goedde, whose granddaughter goes to the school.

"My granddaughter knows her and says she likes her."

Alice Holbert, grandparent to an Alta Loma student, enjoyed how Staha would entertain children by dressing up.

"I think she is cool. I've never seen a principal like her. She gets down on the kids' level," Holbert said.

Gonzalez said Staha had worked to engage children, sometimes dressing up as penguin or Santa Claus.

"You can hardly miss her," Gonzalez said. "She's everywhere, she is in the parking lot, with the kids. ... That's what the parents like, to see their kids encouraged. That's why I made my decision to make this petition."

Neither Goedde, Holbert nor Gonzalez said they knew why SAISD placed Staha on administrative leave.

Principals have been placed on administrative leave at least twice during six years of Bonds' time with the school district, Bonds said.

Staha had worked for SAISD about 14 years as an elementary school teacher, a middle school teacher and an assistant principal before she became the Alta Loma principal in the summer of 2011.

She was named SAISD's Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2009 during her time as a Glenn Middle School social studies teacher.

This isn't the first time parents have come to protest on behalf of Staha. In December 2000, the school board considered moving her from her teaching position at Glenmore Elementary School to another school as part of rearranging staff to handle a void left by retiring teachers during a hiring freeze.

Parents and students alike protested the move, according to Standard-Times archives. The school board later decided against moving her.

A substitute principal is in charge of Alta Loma at the moment, Bonds said. It is unclear from the SAISD human resources staff whether the administrative leave includes pay.

Gonzalez said the parents she has been talking to aren't sure whether they will keep their children at Alta Loma and have contemplated moving the children to the Texas Leadership Charter Academy.

"I think parents would already know that it's a great school," Bonds said of Alta Loma. "And we're going to make sure it stays a great school."
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By Ross Ramsey

If you want to make big changes without raising too much attention, make them boring.

For an example, look at how some serious power over the state budget shifted from the Legislature to the governor. Taking his veto powers where previous governors have feared to go, Gov. Greg Abbott knocked out several spending items that state lawmakers had composed not as "appropriations," but as "informational items."

The lawmakers' idea, a common tactic in Texas state budgets, was that the spending part of a budget  the part where the governor's veto pen is a threat  is where the money is set aside. Everything else, as practice has it, is for informational purposes only.

Abbott challenged that after the 2015 legislative session, vetoing some of the Legislature's spending plans by dipping into the fine print and saying the finance people couldn't block him with its use of "magic words." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unexpectedly sided with the governor instead of with his own senators. Comptroller Glenn Hegar was confounded enough to ask the attorney general for a legal opinion. And Ken Paxton, the AG, opined that the governor is right.

Paxton's opinion isn't a legal ruling; push can still come to shove. But for now, the governor is enjoying power over the budget that his predecessors never asserted.

Boring, isn't it?

It turns out that we are collectively dumb in ways that can be useful to people in positions of power. Go see or read "The Big Short," the Michael Lewis book and movie about the collapse of the financial markets and the housing industry. People who commit simple crimes get punished. People who commit complicated crimes get bonuses.

Why? Because holding up a convenience store is dramatic. Guns are involved. The whole thing can be played back on grainy security footage.

Stealing with a fountain pen is unremarkable to watch, even if the numbers involved have lots of commas in them.

But enough about crime. Let's get back to the Texas Legislature.

You're supposed to think that legislators write the budgets and then control them. That's true, to a point. Some legislators write budgets, and everybody else goes along with the judgments of those budgeteers.

Most of them find budgets as boring as you probably do.

And most of them find enough to like in the state budget to ignore the parts that they don't like. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum vote in favor of things they oppose every time they vote on legislation as complex as a state budget.

Each, for his or her own reasons, has to be at least 51 percent satisfied. Truth be told, most of them are more approving than that, but it's also true that almost all lawmakers can find millions of dollars in the budget that they'd rather not spend.

The trick is that it's a different item of spending for each group of lawmakers.

A governor has a much freer hand  especially if Abbott's interpretation, bolstered by Paxton, survives any challenges.

Abbott has a line-item veto, meaning he can strike any single item from a budget that he doesn't like. This legislative trick of using line items is designed to thwart governors. If you put all of the funding for a university in one line and then list the services the school should provide without numbers, the governor can either keep the whole school or lose the whole school.

So far, no governor has been so bold.

But lawmakers also want to hold the agencies of government accountable. They like to make sure money is spent the way they want it spent. It forces them to be specific, even in their so-called informational items, and the more specific they get, the more they expose themselves to vetoes.

Several targets of Abbott's vetoes had dollar amounts attached to them, and have helped him make the case that those were, as the lawyers put it, "Items of Appropriation."

Eyes glazing over a bit? That could be a sign that something momentous is going on. Instead of talking about how many people get what kind of nursing home care, or whether police officers have solid pensions or whether the schools are great or good or fair or poor, they can talk about numbers, items of appropriation, informational items, and whether the governor can or cannot have a meaningful say in how the state operates.

Budgets are not just piles of boring numbers. If you pay attention, they are the government's operating instructions. This is an argument about who gets to write them.

Ross Ramsey is executive editor of the Texas Tribune online newspaper.
Infographic explaining how a thermonuclear weapon/hydrogen bomb works. Tribune News Service 2016

SHARE Map of North Korea's missile range. Tribune News Service 2016 South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, center, U.S. ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert, left, and U.S. Forces Korea commander Curtis Scaparrotti head to their seats at Yun's office in Seoul on Jan. 6, 2016, to discuss concerted steps following North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test. Pyongyang confirmed the test earlier in the day after an artificially created earthquake was detected in the North's eastern region near its nuclear test site. South Korea has strengthened military alert while the White House said it condemns any violation of U.N. resolutions banning nuclear tests by the North. (Yonhap News/ImageCollect/Newscom/Zuma Press/TNS) Pyongyang citizens gather in front of a big screen at Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to watch a news report on the hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea announced Wednesday that it has successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. (Lu Rui/Xinhau/Zuma Press/TNS)

By Julie Makinen, Alexandra Zavis and Christi Parsons Los Angeles Times (TNS)

BEIJINGNorth Koreas claim that it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday elicited an angry if familiar chorus of condemnation from countries including the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and various arms-control organizations. But Washington and the international community may yet again find it hard to muster the will to strengthen sanctions or take bold steps to lure North Korea back to the bargaining table any time soon, experts said.

The U.N. Security Council condemned Pyongyangs assertion that it had exploded a miniature hydrogen bomb, calling it a clear violation of council resolutions.

In a statement issued after emergency consultations Wednesday, the council said it had previously expressed its determination to take further significant measures in the event of another North Korean nuclear test and would begin work immediately on a new resolution.

Successive rounds of U.N. sanctions have not persuaded Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs, however, and the council did not specify what new measures would be considered.

Aides to President Barack Obama said military options remained on the table if North Korea continues to pursue nuclear weapons but added that the president is currently focused on diplomatic responses.

North Korea continues to be one of the most isolated nations in the world, and their isolation has only deepened as they have sought to engage in increasingly provocative acts, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

If confirmed, it would be North Koreas fourth nuclear test since 2006 but the first using fusion technology. North Koreas nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 are all believed to have used plutonium-based, or perhaps uranium-based, atomic weapons.

The U.S. governments initial analysis of underground activity in North Korea was not consistent with the countrys claim of having used a hydrogen bomb Wednesday, Earnest said.

Hydrogen bombs, also called thermonuclear bombs, can potentially be much larger than atomic weapons, which rely on fission for their explosive power. However, the initial data indicated the blast was not substantially larger than the countrys 2013 test, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.

If indeed it was a nuclear test, whether H-bomb or A-bomb, we can expect another round of largely symbolic sanctions against North Korea, plus public condemnation from China, said Denny Roy, an expert on Northeast Asia political and security issues at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

I dont expect that this will fundamentally change South Korean, Chinese or U.S. policy toward North Korea, he added. This will worsen Pyongyangs relations with China, but the North Koreans have weathered that situation before and know the Chinese fear losing all influence over the (North). Beijing concluded long ago that the only thing worse than putting up with North Koreas bad behavior is the danger of a collapse of the Kim regime.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry said the U.S. was committed to defending the American people and honoring its security commitments to allies in the region.

We do not and will not accept North Korea as a nuclear armed state, and actions such as this latest test only strengthen our resolve, he said in a statement.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter spoke by phone Wednesday with Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, and South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo to discuss the Norths apparent nuclear test.

Secretary Carter and Minister Han agreed that any such test would be an unacceptable and irresponsible provocation and is both a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the entire Asia-Pacific region, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

Carter and Han agreed that the provocations should have consequences, Cook said, but he did not disclose what those consequences might entail.

U.N. diplomats told the Associated Press that a new resolution could add more people to the sanctions list and impose limits on the travel of senior North Korean officials. How robust the measures will be will depend largely on China, North Koreas traditional ally on the Security Council.

Beijing said it had no advance warning of the test. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China remained resolutely opposed to such tests and urged Pyongyang to take steps to prevent further deterioration of the situation. She also called for a resumption of the so-called six-party talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

Those talks  involving the U.S., North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia  broke down in 2009 after six years, not long after President Obama took office.

Whether Obama has the desire  or the bandwidth  to make a bold move to get Pyongyang back to the negotiating table before his term runs out in about a year remains unclear.

Washington and Seoul have insisted that Pyongyang show sincerity by taking concrete steps toward denuclearization before resuming dialogue. But China, Russia and North Korea have called for an unconditional return to talks.

Obama put in a tremendous effort to secure the Iran nuclear deal which has been a successful and historic breakthrough. It shows that when the United States conducts deft, effective diplomacy to deal with a proliferation threat, it can work, said Kimball of the Arms Control Assn.

He has not taken the same political and diplomatic risk with North Korea during the course of his presidency. But I think its vital that in the final few months he lays the groundwork for a more effective strategy that is focused on making sure there is no further harm done by additional nuclear test explosions or long-range ballistic missile tests.

At a joint news conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Washington in October, Obama said he saw no sign that Pyongyang was serious about negotiating.

At the point where Pyongyang says we are interested in seeing relief from sanctions and improved relations, and we are prepared to have a serious conversation about denuclearization, I think its fair to say that well be right there at the table, he said.

We havent even gotten to that point yet, because there has been no indication on the part of the North Koreans as there was with the Iranians that they could foresee a future in which they did not possess or were not pursuing nuclear weapons.

In addition to testing Obama, Pyongyangs actions are a fresh challenge for the Chinese leadership, which is increasingly trying to assert itself as an effective major player in global affairs.

The apparent nuclear test is the first conducted by the North since Xi Jinping officially took office as Chinas president in March 2013. Although China is considered North Koreas only remaining major ally, and Xi is the most-traveled Chinese president in history, Xi has not visited North Korea, nor has he hosted a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

China does have the ability to curtail trade and enforce the U.N. Security Council sanctions much better, said Kimball. Their leverage is sometimes I think overstated, but still they do need to do more, and that can make an important difference on the margins.

Shi Yuanhua, deputy director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said it was up to Washington to shift its stance to get Pyongyang back to the bargaining table.

Compared to the U.S., China is still an outsider in this matter, he said. Technically, the U.S. and North Korea are still at war. They need a peace treaty and then to normalize diplomatic relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last fall urged all parties to get back to the bargaining table, Shi noted, but Washington responded coolly. This weeks test, Shi said, was a sign that North Korea wants to talk.

Bonnie S. Glaser, an expert on Chinas foreign policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there was little chance of either the Obama administration or Beijing shifting gears.

China, she said, would be willing to step up diplomatic pressure on the North. But in the absence of a larger package on the table, it would be loathe to embrace tougher sanctions and abandon its bottom-up strategy of promoting economic engagement with North Korea, because that could create instability on its border.

A lot of people think China is the missing link, and if only it would get on board with sanctions, that North Korea could be compelled to give up its nuclear weapons. The Chinese just dont look at it like that, she said. The Chinese think the situation wont get much worse and  their current policy is the best they can do.

On the U.S. side, she sees a similar intractability.

There has been no voice in this administration that has been advocating a rethink of our approach to North Korea, Glaser said. She recalled one official saying that U.S. bargaining in the past had taught Pyongyang that it was OK to pee on the rug and what was now necessary was to not get hysterical every time they engage in bad behavior.

For now, it appears North Korea will at least come in for a new round of knuckle-rapping.

Park, chairing an emergency meeting of South Koreas national security council on Wednesday, called the purported test a grave provocation to our national security. South Korea also said it would take all necessary measures  so that the North will pay the price for the nuclear test.

In Japan, Nihon Television reported that officials close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were discussing strengthening sanctions. Abe told reporters that Japan would join forces with the U.S. and China to take firm countermeasures, according to Japans public broadcaster NHK.

Russia also condemned Pyongyangs announced test as a violation of international law. But Leonid Petrov, an expert on North Korea at the Australian National University, said any push for a resumption of six-party talks could be undercut by continuing tensions between Washington and Moscow.

Im sure China is going to be very angry about this, but Russias response will probably be more balanced and less adverse, he said.

Russian experts have expressed doubt that North Korea has the technology to produce a true hydrogen bomb, Petrov added.

If it is confirmed they do have a thermonuclear weapon, Obama should spend the rest of his term negotiating with North Korea rather than abstaining, he said.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. cannot afford to focus only on Islamic State, Iran or Russia.

We must be prepared to protect our national security against many threats, he said. Unfortunately, the view around the world is that U.S. leadership is in decline while the administrations inaction only fuels those concerns.



The Times Makinen reported from Beijing, Zavis of the Times from Los Angeles and Parsons of the Tribune Washington Bureau from Washington. Yingzhi Yang in The Times Beijing bureau, special correspondent Jake Adelstein in Tokyo and Tribune Washington Bureau staff writer W.J. Hennigan in Washington contributed to this report.
West Texas high school athletics Top Performers, Oct. 10-16

Here are some of the top high school athletic performances in the Standard-Times coverage area for varsity competition from Oct. 10-16, 2022:
Congress might choose to extend unprecedented federal authority over state and local pensions. An effort to impose new reporting requirements, if approved, would ultimately cast the financial status of state and local pensions in a much more dire light.The proposed requirements were included as part of a financial assistance bill introduced last month to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis, but they would also apply to states and localities throughout the United States.The legislation, sponsored by Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, would make state and local pension plans file annual reports with the U.S. Treasury Department. The new filings would have to include an alternative valuation detailing how well-funded the plan is. In nearly every case, that would mean a lower valuation.State and local government groups, including the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), quickly voiced their opposition to the idea. They sent a letter to Congress , along with 15 other groups, complaining that the proposed provision targets all pensions, rather than limiting the issue to Puerto Rico, and that extra filing at the federal level would be too time-consuming and costly.I just dont understand the nexus between adding state and local pension provisions into a bill that has to do [with] Congress oversight and assistance to Puerto Rico, said Jeannine Markoe Raymond, NASRA's director of federal relations.The legislation was prompted by Puerto Rico's dire financial problems. Its government is saddled with $72 billion in debt that it cant pay and wants to cut its bond payments in order to meet other obligations, including pensions. The island territory has already defaulted on a debt payment, and going forward, its political leaders said they'll only make full payments on the debt it's legally obligated to pay.But for some in Congress, the legislation is an opportunity to fix more than just Puerto Ricos finances.This pattern will inevitably repeat itself in several of the states if nothing changes, said a Senate aide who asked not to be identified. If Congress is going to help the territory, then now is the time to begin addressing the broader problem, and a more accurate disclosure of public pension liabilities is a good place to start."The biggest potential change centers on each pension plans discount rate -- that is, the rate of return on investments that's used to determine its overall fiscal health. The higher the expected rate of return, the lower the amount of funding a government needs to pay into its pension plan. The opposite, of course, is true when the rate of return is lower. The Senate bill would require plans to use an assumed rate of return pegged to a Treasury rate (these days, around 3 to 4 percent), instead of the 7 to 8 percent rate most plans now use. That change would have a drastic effect on how financially healthy a plan looks.New Jersey has already experienced this.The state's plans recently had to change the way they value their pension assets and liabilities due to new state and local pension accounting rules from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board last year. As a result, New Jersey's state employees fund went from being 46 percent funded in 2013 to only 28 percent funded in 2014. Its state teachers plan dropped even further -- from 57 percent funded to 34 percent. All told, the accounting change more than doubled the states unfunded liability for those two plans to $75 billion.This isnt the first time Congress has sought to interfere with state and local pension regulations.In 2011 and again in 2013, California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes proposed a so-called pension transparency bill nicknamed PEPTA . It failed both times to gain any traction, but his legislation similarly called for state and local pensions to file additional reports with the Treasury that showed the plans funding status using a market rate of return.Nunes didn't seek to make use of a market rate mandatory, but his approach included a big stick, threatening to remove a vital infrastructure financing perk: Governments that didn't participate could not issue tax-free municipal bonds.Given disagreement in Congress over a Puerto Rico bailout, Hatch's bill faces a tough road ahead. Democrats favor a proposal by President Obama that, among other things, would let Puerto Rico restructure its debt in bankruptcy. The addition of the reporting requirements for all state and local pensions could very well be an additional point of contention.Raymond said her group plans to use the debate over the latest proposed legislation as an opportunity to educate members of Congress about the overall fiscal health of state and local governments. Included along with last months opposition letter was an overview of state and local governments' financial data."Every state, since the Great Recession, has made changes to one or more of its pension plans, said Raymond. Im not sure everyone understands that. This isnt an area that has been ignored by state and local governments."
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Wednesday morning said probate judges have a "ministerial duty" to comply with state bans on same-sex marriage, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June striking down such restrictions.Moore said in an interview Wednesday afternoon that he did not intend to defy the nation's highest court, but said that there were "conflicting orders" between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Alabama Supreme Court, which upheld the state's 1998 and 2006 bans on same-sex marriage last March, three months before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled similar bans unconstitutional in a case titled Obergefell v. Hodges. The Alabama court case came after U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade struck down the state's bans on same-sex marriage in January 2015, saying they violated same-sex couples equal protection and due process rights.The case before the Alabama Supreme Court is still pending. Moore said the orders in that case forbidding same-sex marriage licenses remained in effect until the state's high court made a ruling."I did give an order that they were to follow the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court," he said in his chambers Wednesday afternoon. "That's simple, black letter law. The effect of Obergefell on those existing orders has to be determined by the Alabama Supreme Court."The Chief Justice's order brought condemnation from groups supporting LGBT rights. In a statement, SPLC Senior Staff Attorney Scott McCoy said Moore's directive was "a dead letter.""In no way does his administrative order supersede Judge Granade's federal injunction prohibiting probate judges from enforcing discriminatory Alabama marriage laws," the statement said. "If probate judges violate the injunction, they can be held in contempt. This is Moore yet again confusing his role as chief justice with his personal anti-LGBT agenda." SPLC said Wednesday evening it had added Moore's Wednesday order to its ongoing ethics complaint against the chief justice.Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, the director of the Alabama chapter of the Human Rights Campaign and the only openly gay member of the state Legislature, said probate judges who attempted to follow Moore's order could be in legal jeopardy."If they defy a Supreme Court decision, they will be found in contempt of a federal court order," she said. "If he wants to waste the taxpayers' money, go ahead, but we're not going backwards."Local probate judges divided on the order. Elmore County Probate Judge John Enslen said Wednesday afternoon he stopped issuing all marriage licenses, adding that he "still had to get advice from my attorney" on how to proceed.Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed, however, criticized Moore's order, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's decision was final and that he would continue to issue same-sex marriage licenses to couples."We have a constitutional and a statutory duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America," Reed said. "We can't pick and choose when we want to be part of the United States and when we want to be a republic unto ourselves."A message left for Autauga County Probate Judge Alfred Booth was not returned Wednesday.Moore attempted to stop the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses before Granade's ruling went into effect in February. Shortly after, the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), both conservative groups, sued to block Granade's ruling in state court.Eric Johnston, the groups' attorney, said Wednesday that he believed Moore's order was appropriate and that he believed it would address any confusion probate judges might have over the issue."Right now, probate judges don't need to be in limbo," he said. "They need to have some security."Most, but not all Alabama probate judges are issuing same-sex marriage licenses, which Moore noted in his order."Many probate judges are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in accordance with Obergefell; others are issuing marriage licenses only to couples of the opposite gender or have ceased issuing all marriage licenses," the order states. "This disparity affects the administration of justice in this state."In its March ruling in that case, the Alabama Supreme Court held that it had the same right to interpret the U.S. Constitution as a federal district court. The Alabama Supreme Court then ruled that the state's bans on same-sex marriage did not violate gay and lesbian couples' equal protection and due process rights."Traditional-marriage laws do not discriminate based on gender: All men and all women are equally entitled to enter the institution of marriage," the justices wrote. "Only by redefining the term "marriage" to mean something it is not (and in the process assuming an answer as part of the question), can this statement be challenged. Put in the negative, traditional-marriage laws do not discriminate on the basis of gender because all men and all women are equally restricted to marriage between the opposite sexes."Moore did not sit on the March case, though the opinion echoed many arguments he had made on the issue. On Wednesday said he would not comment on the merits of the Obergefell decision or the API case, saying he was only pointing out the process."(The Alabama Supreme Court) ruled prior to Obergefell, and Obergefell was not a precedent to that ruling," Moore said. "In that opinion, they issued a final injunction, a permanent order not to issue marriage licenses contradictory to the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, and the Marriage Protection Act. That order is still in effect. It's still in effect according to the Alabama Supreme Court that asked the parties to address the effect of Obergefell of existing orders of the Supreme Court."Moore said the validity of existing same-sex marriage licenses would have to be determined by the Alabama Supreme Court. Reed dismissed that, saying the order "carried no legal weight.""This order means absolutely nothing," Reed said. "My six-year-old could draw on the back of this order. It means that much."The March ruling halted the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses, which only resumed in Alabama after the Obergefell ruling. The office of Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said in July that the Obergefell ruling was "binding" on the state.Moore's order goes on to cite cases in Nebraska and Kansas where judges appeared to rule that the Obergefell ruling only applied to the state where the plaintiffs resided."The above cases reflect an elementary principle of federal jurisdiction: a judgment only binds the parties to the case before the court," Moore wrote.Susan Watson, executive director of the Alabama American Civil Liberties Union, said that interpretation was "just not true." The ACLU in a press release noted that Granade issued an order last July saying Obergefell was in effect and binding, regardless of Alabama law."All the Alabama probate judges are under a federal court injunction to follow (and) to issue the marriage licenses," Watson said.
When Somerville, Mass., started waging war on an escalating rat population a few years ago, the city turned to data from its 311 nonemergency call center to devise a plan. Reports of rat sightings logged by callers to 311 showed where in the city the problem was most severe. Crews baited traps in those places, while every city property owner received new heavy-duty trash barrels.Calls reporting rats in Somerville have since dropped by more than 60 percent. And the data has been useful in confronting a number of other issues. Every day, Mayor Joseph Curtatone checks a 311 dashboard highlighting trends and any anomalies across a range of city services. Its kind of like our pulse on the city, says Daniel Hadley, the mayors chief of staff.Like Somerville, many localities are finding novel ways to utilize 311 call data. At the same time, though, a growing body of research has highlighted drawbacks to the practice, most notably that not all residents use the system equally.Hadley says problems can arise if the city relies too heavily on the data without taking into account the way various demographic groups use 311. Neighborhoods with more immigrants tend to call into the system at lower rates, for instance, so thats taken into account when rat complaints are received from those areas.Within any given city, some residents are comfortable knocking on their neighbors doors to resolve issues. In other neighborhoods, people are more likely to rely on public agencies to step in. In one recent study, New York Universitys Joscha Legewie and Merlin Schaeffer of the University of Cologne sought to assess neighborhood tensions across New York by analyzing 311 complaints for loud noise, drinking or blocked driveways. The system was used most often, they found, where fuzzy boundaries separated ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods.The volume of 311 calls doesnt always reflect actual levels of need for a service, either. This point is illustrated in recent research by Columbia Universitys Jonathan Auerbach and economist Christopher Eshleman. They reviewed calls to 311 for tree damage following six major storms in New York City and compared them to completed work orders and tree counts. Neighborhoods with more renter-occupied homes, buildings with 10 or more units and unmarried heads of household were less likely to report damaged trees.Whats more, a city may receive multiple calls reporting the same issue. In smaller cities, frequent callers may skew the data in the same way that a few outspoken community members dominate local council meetings. Media coverage around an issue also prompts more calls.All these factors must be considered when localities incorporate 311 calls into wide-scale policy decisions. We want to make the distinction between data-based policy and evidence-based policy, Auerbach says. Andrew Nicklin, open data director at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Government Excellence, expressed concerns that relying solely on 311 data could exacerbate inequalities if affluent households are overrepresented. Its important to understand what the gaps are, he says, and where you can use other data to shore up biases.As an illustration, the New York City buildings department receives tens of thousands of complaints each year citing illegal conversion of rental units to unauthorized uses. By incorporating data from other city agencies, such as which landlords are delinquent in paying property taxes, the city better prioritizes the calls that need investigation. Chicagos health department forecasts which restaurants are likely to have health violations by comparing 311 complaints with variables that include prior critical violations, how long the establishment has operated and nearby sanitation complaints.One way for cities to reach a broad cross section of residents is to offer multiple lines of communication. Audrey Mathis, Chicagos 311 director, says neighborhoods with more seniors may prefer calling an operator. Others can contact Chicago 311 via email, Web forms or text messaging. We want to make sure that, across the board, people have a variety of ways to reach out to us that arent limited to a particular neighborhood or demographic, Mathis says.Many cities have just begun to explore the ways 311 data can enhance public services. Pittsburgh launched its 311 system nearly a decade ago, but it wasnt until lately that the city began collecting and analyzing call data. The effort has already proven useful in identifying bottlenecks and ways to improve efficiencies, such as how to best deploy crews for its pre-winter pothole-filling blitz. Some departments cite 311 call data when they put together budget proposals for capital improvements, and it may soon be used to help measure performance.Just like any data, 311 calls arent a perfect indicator of whats happening on the ground. When the limitations are accounted for, though, the data can serve as an invaluable tool in policymaking. Its almost like theres not really an end game, says Laura Meixell, a manager in Pittsburghs Department of Innovation & Performance. The possibilities are endless as we expand and refine the process.
(TNS) -- Virginia Beach could soon be up in the air.The city is considering buying drones to help find missing children, respond to disasters and locate distressed boaters.The Police Department as well as others in the city would be able to use the devices, Deputy Chief Tony Zucaro said Tuesday during a presentation to council members .Drones might be new technology for the area, Zucaro said, but many cities already use them.By the end of 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration had approved 550 applications to fly drones, according to the agencys website.Suffolk already owns one, which is used only for emergency situations such as search-and-rescue efforts, spokeswoman Diana Klink said. Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth do not own such technology.Virginia Beach police and fire departments would like to use drones also to collect evidence and intelligence, control crowds and traffic, and help in accident reconstruction, search-and-rescue efforts, water operations and Amber Alerts.Between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2015, police and fire officials responded to 47 boaters in distress, 16 drownings and more than 450 lost children, said Zucaro, who added that the Police Department has been exploring the issue since summer 2014. A drone could have helped in those situations, he added.Virginia law allows officers to use unmanned aircraft with video for major disasters, Amber Alerts and search-and-rescue operations that are necessary to protect life, health or property. State law also allows police to use drones during the execution of search warrants and to assess traffic damage, flooding and wildlife. The city has no guidelines on the use of drones.Police now use a helicopter when they need an aerial view. Drones would not replace helicopters but would be used as an additional resource, Zucaro said.The high-end drone for public safety use would initially cost $158,000, and the city estimates it could spend an additional $148,000 over the next three to five years on insurance and repairs.A drone for other city departments would cost $2,370 and could require an additional $3,500 over the following three to five years. Zucaro said other departments that would be interested in the aircraft are: Public Utilities, Public Works, Resort Management, Economic Development and Parks and Recreation.There was no timeline discussed at the meeting for acquiring the devices, and there would have to be a public hearing and vote beforehand.The FAA requires government entities to apply to operate drones. Cities with approval must notify the FAA before flying them to ensure they do not interfere with aircraft. The FAA requires operators to be licensed pilots and requires them to keep the drones in line of sight.Zucaro said Virginia Beach police would require the drone to stay within 3 to 6 miles of the operator.We look forward to embracing the technology, Zucaro said.Mayor Will Sessoms said he supported the endeavor and encouraged the Police Department to continue with the process to get the drones.This is a low-cost investment that could do a whole heck of a lot, Sessoms said.City Councilman John Moss asked Zucaro to share more information about how he plans to ensure peoples rights to privacy arent violated. He asked Zucaro what would happen to police officers who misused the drone. Moss said the public needs to be reassured that the Police Department would hold officers accountable .Zucaro said his department plans to enforce robust internal policies.This will be closely guarded and regulated, Zucaro said. I understand your concerns.
(TNS) -- The Portland Police Bureau for the first time has drafted a policy that attempts to regulate its members' use of social media, both on duty and off.The proposed directive comes more than a year after former Chief Mike Reese ordered several officers to take down posts on their personal Facebook pages showing a Portland police badge covered with the words "I AM DARREN WILSON.'' Reese called the posts "inflammatory,'' and not representative of the city police force.The postings came in advance of an anticipated grand jury ruling in the Aug. 9, 2014, police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. The deadly confrontation between Officer Wilson, who is white, and Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, set off days of protests and unrest in the St. Louis suburb.The draft also comes after a police officer complained on Twitter that he'd be stuck late at work "to babysit these fools,'' referring to a planned Black Lives Matter-Not Black Friday march at Lloyd Center in Northeast Portland. The officer was removed from the street and an internal investigation got underway in late November.The proposal specifically identifies what officers cannot post on their personal social media pages."While members have a right to personal expression, members' communications and sharing of information on social media cannot be detrimental to the effective and efficient operations of the Bureau, discredit the Bureau or bring the Bureau into disrepute,'' it says.Officers, for example, cannot post any images or likeness of the Police Bureau badge, patches, marked vehicles or equipment without the departmental approval. They can, however, post photos of officers in uniforms at formal ceremonies. The proposal also prohibits them from posting images from crime or accident scenes. They also can't post, share or support any posting on social media that is harassing, discriminatory; includes threats of violence; violates the law; or disparages or expresses bias toward any race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or other protected class.Staffers also would be restricted from using a Police Bureau or city email address to register for a personal social media account.Portland police are seeking public input on proposed Directive 311.40. Comments can be left on the bureau's website Another proposed policy will make it clear that citizens are allowed to record or videotape officers on duty."All persons, not only official representatives of press/media organizations, have clear rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to observe and record police members performing official duties in public places, so long as that person's actions do not interfere with the member's duties or the safety of members or others,'' proposed Directive 635.20 reads "Members shall not prohibit or intentionally interfere with such lawful observations or recordings. Any recordings that are deemed to be evidence of a crime or relevant to an investigation shall only be collected or seized in accordance with this directive and state and federal law.''
(TNS) -- A Los Angeles entrepreneur developing technology for social media background checks sees value in trawling the Web to guess how people behave offline, a controversial topic after the San Bernardino terrorist attack led lawmakers to demand online scrubs of visa applicants.Ben Mones Fama Technologies Inc. offers employers an online service that automatically finds profiles of job applicants and flags suspicious public posts. Employers can use the tool to pull phrases that show a bias against women, a bent toward violence or a penchant for bigotry. Each could suggest the person would clash with colleagues and customers, and the data often supplant what traditional background checks turn up, Mones said.Advertisers, lenders, landlords and many employers agree. Theyre among groups digging through online diatribes and adulations to more accurately judge people. Mones hadnt considered visa authorities as a potential customer when creating his company a year ago, but that they could benefit is no surprise.Background checks look for absence of information to draw conclusions about people: They arent a drug addict. They arent a criminal, he said. Examining the absence of information to flesh out who someone is fundamentally divergent from looking at patterns of historical behavior.The Los Angeles Times reported last month that immigration officials recently began testing ways to include social media vetting in their routine. For years, senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security debated whether checking peoples profiles would be too intrusive.Reviewing apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram may not have stopped the rampage by Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook at the Inland Regional Center  chats Malik had about Islamic jihad were hidden in private messages. But it might have highlighted more subtle risk factors.Fama works via machine learning, or feeding a computer tons of data and letting the virtual brains organize it. The computer associates word groupings with six issues for now  like violence, alcoholism or racism  that could affect a persons job abilities. The computer also can analyze images, spotlight keywords such as company names and classify the severity of flagged posts. For example, maybe a company can tolerate moderate bigotry but wants to note every mention of violence. Fama checks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.Automatically filtering out benign posts is more efficient than hiring managers scouring by hand, as many do now, Mones said. A State Department official declined to say how social media vetting for visas is conducted.At Fama, about 95 percent of searches generated flagged results, Mones said, citing data from the few customers hes signed up in recent months.Mones has just three rules. Famas technology will scan only public posts. People must be warned about the scan and be allowed to contest results. The requirements are in line with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, he said.Mones doesnt fear people racing to mark posts private.Its people who dont realize theres something wrong with what they do and what they say  thats who our clients are looking for, he said.And he insists results should be conversation starters.People should have a chance to say, This was a slip of judgment.  Just look at my other 40 contrasting comments, Mones said. You cant make decisions from an ivory tower about people involving social media.Technology challenges loom. Machine learning can be finicky, and applying it to all of the worlds languages is tough. Mones claims progress, saying that to start Famas program tracks down the right accounts more often than rival services.Teenagers also pose a problem. Theyre ratcheting up privacy settings and spending increasing time on more impenetrable networks such as Snapchat. Mones points to Facebooks continued growth as a sign that social media data mining remains lucrative. Investors are letting him prove it. Fama has raised $1.5 million from Los Angeles investment funds including Amplify.LA, Double M Partners and Wavemaker Partners.
First Their Livelihood, Now Their Lives

When the lands were acquired from farmers for the new capital, it was done so on the assurance that their villages would not be disturbed in any way.

But true to style, the TDP government has made a complete U-turn on its promise and the farmers are an aggrieved lot.

There is a proposed expressway between Amaravathi and Hyderabad and if the plan bears fruition, at stake will be the existence of Krishnayapalem and surrounding villages.

The expressway route runs right through the middle of these villages.

We gave our lands on the promise that our villages will not be disturbed. Now, they say that the village has to go and we will be given some compensation. If that be the case, I want my lands back, said one farmer.

Keep dreaming farmer! Neither will they give you your lands back nor will they allow you to keep your home.
High Court Extends GHMC Polls By A Month!

In a shocker to Telangana government, the High Court on Thursday stayed the GO (government order) issued by Telangana government recently restricting the GHMC election process to just 15 days between issuing of election notification and conducting polling.

It extended conduct of polling by 31 days, which means 31 days time would be given for polling from the date of notification.

The Telangana government submitted to the court that it will finalise reservations for wards by January 9 and issue the notification. That would mean the polling would be held by February 9.

Opposition parties cried foul when Telangana government issued a GO all of a sudden restricting GHMC election process to 15 days.

Opposition parties alleged that it was a conspiracy by ruling TRS party not to give enough time for them even to take up campaigning.

Congress former MLA Marri Shashidhar Reddy filed a petition in the High Court challenging the GO.

The court ruled in favour of the petitioner. The court also came down heavily on TRS government for issuing such arbitrary orders without discussing in the cabinet or without issuing any Ordinance.
The purpose of the annual ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship, established in 2014, is to encourage young professors and scholars to pursue research in green energy technology that may promote the development of next-generation vehicles capable of utilizing alternative fuels.

The Electrochemical Society (ECS), in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute of North American (TRINA), a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), is requesting proposals from young professors and scholars pursuing innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology.

Global development of industry and technology in the 20th century, increased production of vehicles and the growing population have resulted in massive consumption of fossil fuels. Today, the automotive industry faces three challenges regarding environmental and energy issues:

finding a viable alternative energy source as a replacement for oil; reducing CO 2 emissions; and preventing air pollution.

Although the demand for oil alternativessuch as natural gas, electricity and hydrogenmay grow, each alternative energy source has its disadvantages. Currently, oil remains the main source of automotive fuel; however, further research and development of alternative energies may bring change.

Electrochemical research has already informed the development and improvement of innovative batteries, electrocatalysts, photovoltaics and fuel cells. Through this fellowship, ECS and TRINA hope to see more innovative and unconventional technologies borne from electrochemical research.

The fellowship will be awarded to a minimum of one candidate annually. Winners will receive a restricted grant of no less than $50,000 to conduct the research outlined in their proposal within one year. Winners will also receive a one-year complimentary ECS membership as well as the opportunity to present and/or publish their research with ECS.

To qualify, a candidate must be under 40 years of age and working in North America. The candidate must submit an original research proposal for review by the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship Committee. The proposed research theme must not overlap with other research grants or other funded research projects.

Depending on the research progress and the results obtained at the completion of the award period, Toyota may elect to enter into a research agreement with the recipient to continue the work. The recipient must publish their findings in a relevant ECS journal and/or present at an ECS meeting within 24 months of the end of the research period.

The 2015 ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellows were:
The powertrain combines a new high thermal efficiency (40%) 1.6-liter Kappa GDi engine developed exclusively for Hyundai Motors hybrid engines with a permanent magnetic electric motor to deliver maximum outputs of 105ps (77 kw) and 47ps (35 kW), respectively.

Hyundais new IONIQ range will feature a choice of electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid powertrains, a world first for a single model. ( Earlier post .) At an unveiling in Korea, Hyundai released some initial details on the new IONIQ dedicated hybridthe first version of the platform to come to market.

The engine head and block are split for optimized cooling. A 200 bar high pressure 6-hole direct fuel injector further improves fuel consumption and CO emissions.

The Lithium Ion Polymer Battery delivers strong charge and discharge performance, optimizing output from the high voltage motor and allowing for rapid regeneration. Controlling power distribution is a hybrid-exclusive Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). Power transmission efficiency of 95.7% delivers a prompt response, acceleration performance and smooth gear changes.

The IONIQ is built with 53% Advanced High Strength Steel combined with lightweight aluminum. The new model saves 12.6kg (45%) of weight by casting non-structural bodywork from aluminum, such as the hood, tailgate and suspension components. Where crash structure or energy absorption is necessary, the structure features Advanced High Strength Steel that can withstand significant collision forces.

The new model was created with dynamic ride and handling at its core. Positioning the cars batteries low and forward achieves a low center of gravity that enables highly responsive, stable cornering. The IONIQ furthers its handling prowess with dual lower arm multi-link suspension fitted at the rear.
According to the report 2016 State of Self-Driving Automotive Innovationthere were more than 22,000 new inventions related to self-driving automobiles between January 2010 and October 2015, with some clear leaders already emerging in the space.

Established automotive industry companiesnot Silicon Valleyare leading the development of autonomous driving technology, according to a new report from the Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters. The report, which analyzes global patent activity in the field of self-driving automobiles over the last five years, identifies the global leaders in the development of the technologies and also makes predictions about the future of driverless cars.

The analysts looked at three main categories of technology: autonomous driving, driver assistance and telematics. Autonomous driving was the clear leader in terms of innovation activity, while projections through year end show driver assistance potentially plateauing and telematics on the rise.



Source: Thomson Reuters. Click to enlarge.

 headlines over the past year have touted tech companies innovating in the automotive space. This isnt a huge surprise, as current-day cars are more like giant computers on wheels than the transportation chariots they once replaced. As such, tech businesses dabbling in the automotive sector continue to attract attention  With all this publicity, its easy to surmise that tech companies are taking the lead in terms of automotive innovation.

However, the truth is that the techies are far from leading the self-driving pack. To the contrary, automotive bellwethers are the ones in the drivers seat. Toyota (Japan) is the overall global leader in autonomous automotive innovation, followed by Bosch (Germany), Denso (Japan), Hyundai (South Korea) and GM (US). The pool of potential candidates was evaluated against the three areas comprising self-driving car innovation: autonomous driving, driver assistance and telematics. 2016 State of Self-Driving Automotive Innovation



Source: Thomson Reuters.. Click to enlarge.

Japan holds the world's leadership position in autonomous driving innovation (in conjunction with the field of collision avoidance) with four of the top five innovator spots: Toyota (Japan) leads the pack, followed by Denso (Japan), Bosch (Germany), Nissan (Japan) and Honda (Japan). Google ranks 19th in the world in this area, followed by Ford at number 20. Overall, Asia has 11 of the worlds top 20 autonomous-driving innovators according to the report.

The Thomson Reuters analysts found that there are a number of other organizations innovating in this area, including some potential surprises such as Amazon (with 14 unique inventions); Boeing (35); IBM (34); Microsoft (10); Qualcomm (24); Samsung (107); and Southeast University in China (24). Carnegie Mellon University and MIT have four and seven unique inventions, respectively.

In driver assistance technologies, Germany takes three of the top five innovator spots: Bosch leads the group while Daimler and Continental come in fourth and fifth, respectively. Toyota and Hyundai take the second and third places.

GM is the top innovator in Telematics, followed by Hyundai, Marvell (US), LG and Denso.

Although auto industry companies dominate the category, a number of more specialized technology and research institutions have amassed a noteworthy collection of self-driving vehicle-related patents. Among them, LG, Samsung, Google, Boeing, IBM, Amazon, Carnegie Mellon and MIT have all contributed significant new intellectual property in the category over the last five years. Given that, the field is ripe for partnership, according tomthe analysts.

Thomson Reuters IP & Science analysts predict that Apple will make a collaboration announcement with Tesla in mid-January after CES; although Apple is not a leading innovator in this fieldwith only one invention overall in the area of self-driving vehiclesa partnership with Tesla would be a predictable move for both companies, based on a thorough review of both companies patent portfolios.
zFAS is the domain controller for Audi piloted driving systems. The information supplied by all sensorsincluding the signals from the 3D cameras, the laser scanner and the radar and ultrasonic sensorsis permanently fed into and processed by this module. With its tremendous computing power, the zFAS will be capable of continuously comparing the data from the vehicle sensor systems with the model of the road space and its surroundings.

The production version of Audis e-tron quattro battery-electric SUV ( earlier post ) will be equipped with the second-generation of Audis central driver assistance controller the zFAS ( earlier post ), according to Ricky Hudi, Executive Vice President Electronic Development, Audi AG. The vehicle will be capable of driving fully autonomously, he said at CES 2016.

zFAS is based on a complex multicore network, hosting sophisticated sensor fusion and a variety of innovative functions with multiple safety criticality levels for its target applications such as piloted parking or driving.

Audi developed zFAS in collaboration with TTTech, Mobileye, nVidia and Delphi; Delphi has been awarded the series production contract. The second-generation zFAS is much smaller than its predecessor, as well as more powerful.





Top: Two views of the second-generation zFAS boardsmaller than a tablet computershown at CES 2016. Bottom: First-generation zFAS shown at CES 2014. Click to enlarge.

Every single year we are extending our expertise in piloted driving and push the limits towards serial production. In 2013, the technology was still filling the entire trunk. In 2014, we were already using the central driver assistance controller zFAS, and took piloted driving closer to serial production. Now the zFAS controller is ready for mass production. The brain for piloted driving has become smaller than a tablet computer. This is possible because we are currently experiencing a breakthrough based on two pillars: a dramatic increase in computing power and advancements in machine learning and AI.

The zFAS will be capable of continuously comparing the data from our sensro systems to the model of the road space. Imagine that every single mile driven by our cars will add value to our cloud and make using our vehicles more attractive. The self-driving vehicles of the future will benefit from the accuracy delivered by our map data. Every vehicle will have access to real time data from the cloud, and can plan and react to changing conditions in a smart way. Ricky Hudi

(Hudi was referencing Audis recent acquisition, along with partners BMW and Daimler, of Nokias mapping and location services business HERE. The acquisition is intended to secure the long term availability of HEREs products and services as an open, independent and value-creating platform for cloud-based maps and other mobility services accessible to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors. Extremely precise digital maps will be used in combination with real-time vehicle data in order to increase road safety and to facilitate innovative new products and services. Earlier post.)

Hudi also noted that work was underway on the third-generation zFAS, which would be even more powerful.

Moving to domain-controlled architecture. At an Audi Tech Talk at CES 2016, Thomas Muller, Head of Development Brake/Steering/Driver Assistance Systems at Audi AG, observed that the company has become very creative in bringing out new chassis actuators and sensors that help decouple the street from the body. We need these for comfort, but also for piloted driving.

The increasing movement toward piloted systems has an effect on how automakers design the vehicles electronic architecture, he noted. For one, the architecture needs to be redundant. Second, there is the issue of what central brains will control all the actuators and sensors. zFAS is one; there will be more, he added.

Hudi expanded upon that, and was more definitive.

The car industry is moving to system architectures in the car which we call a domain architecture. We are going to have domain controllers that are more or less supercomputers. These domain controllers will be networked by gigabit Ethernet [earlier post].
Officers responded to a request for a civil standby at an undisclosed address.

At the address, officers contacted an individual who requested medical service and Castle Rock Ambulance Service responded to the address.

Officers received a call of a parked vehicle blocking access to the property at 400 Uinta Drive and blocking a trash can.

Officers contacted the owner of the vehicle, who moved the vehicle.

VIN checks were completed at the Green River Police Department.

Officers contacted a resident who reported Christmas decorations were stolen from their property on Sunset Street. Officers completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers responded to a request for a welfare check at an undisclosed address.

Officers contacted the individual who reported they had an altercation with another individual the previous day but was OK and did not want to pursue the matter.

Officers completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers located a vehicle described in a traffic complaint on South Wagonwheel Drive.

Officers contacted the involved parties who had a verbal dispute. Officers completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm on Hoback Street. Officers checked the property which appeared OK and were able to contact a family member of the resident.

Officers and Green River Fire Department personnel were dispatched to a report of a suspicious odor at 475 S. 2nd E. Street.

The property was checked and everything appeared OK.

Officers responded to a welfare check at an undisclosed address. Officers contacted the individual, who was checked by Castle Rock Ambulance personnel and advised they were OK.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm on Comanche Circle.

Officers contacted the resident who was OK and the alarm was determined to be accidental.

A traffic warning for an equipment violation was issued on East 4th South Street.

A city utility employee was called out in reference to a water pump at the Municipal Horse Corrals not working.

Officers contacted an individual by phone who had questions about retrieving property.

Officers followed up with an individual regarding a previously reported hit-and-run vehicle collision on Monroe Avenue.

Officers and Green River Fire Department personnel responded to a report of a suspicious odor and something smelling hot in the area around Bridger Drive.

Officers served a court summons at 445 E. Flaming Gorge Way.

Officers received an anonymous report of individuals yelling at each other on Schultz Street.

Officers responded to a report of accidental damage to a vehicle on Crossbow Drive.

Officers contacted the involved parties and completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers were dispatched to a 911 hang-up call.

Officers contacted the reporting party who was OK and the call was determined to be accidental.

Officers responded to a report of a disturbance at 580 East Flaming Gorge Way.

Officers contacted the reporting party who stated an altercation occurred and one of the involved parties left prior to the officers arrival.

The other individual was later located, and officers completed a report regarding the incident which was forwarded to the Sweetwater County Attorneys Office.

Officers responded to a report of a disturbance at an undisclosed address.

Officers contacted the involved parties who had a verbal dispute.

Officers responded to a report of a disturbance at another undisclosed address. Officers contacted the involved parties who had a verbal dispute.

Officers contacted an individual who reported their parked vehicle was damaged during the previous night on Andrews Street.

Officers investigated the incident and contacted Dane Johnson, 26, of Green River, who was issued a citation for an alleged hit and run, unattended property.

Animal control officers received a call on a deer caught in a fence on Jensen Street, which was able to get free from the fence.

Animal control officers received a call of a dog at large chasing an injured deer on Pelser Street.

Officers checked the area and were unable to locate the dog, but located the deer, that appeared OK.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm at 341 Uinta Drive. Officers checked the property which appeared OK and a responsible party for the property was contacted.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm on Lombard Street.

Officers contacted the resident and determined the alarm was accidental.

Officers responded to a request for a civil standby on Wilderness Trail.

A traffic warning for speeding and an equipment violation was issued on East Teton Boulevard.

Officers attempted to locate a vehicle described in a REDDI (Report Every Drunk Driver immediately) report on Hitching Post Drive.

Officers responded to a request for a civil standby on West Teton Boulevard.

Officers responded to a report of a possible missing person at an undisclosed address.

Officers contacted the individual who advised they were OK and would contact the concerned party.

Officers contacted an individual by phone who had questions regarding a civil matter.

Officers met with a resident who had a found and contained cat on Iowa Circle.

Officers picked up a white cat with a collar which was taken to the animal shelter.

Officers responded to a welfare check on an individual who was walking and appeared cold.

Officers contacted the individual who was fine.

Officers checked on a motorist on West 2nd South Street, who requested a tow service.

Officers contacted an individual who reported prescription medication was stolen from their residence on Monroe Avenue sometime in the last few weeks.

Officers completed a report regarding the incident which is under investigation.

Officers responded to a two-vehicle collision. It was reported a vehicle was traveling west on East Flaming Gorge Way and collided with a vehicle that was traveling east on East Flaming Gorge Way and turned north onto Uinta Drive.

No injuries were reported, Roger Reynolds, 57, of Coeur d Alene, Idaho, was issued a citation for an alleged improper turn at intersection.

A 16-year-old juvenile male was issued a citation for an alleged minor in possession of tobacco and was released to a guardian.

Animal control officers met with an individual who wanted to turn a cat over to the animal shelter.

Officers served a court summons on Fall View Drive.

Officers received a call of a dog at large on Colorado Drive.

The dog was described as a possible dark colored pitbull with a collar

Officers received a call of a dog at large on Alexandria Circle.

The dog was described as a possible dark colored pitbull with a collar.

A 16-year-old male was issued a citation for restrictions on a drivers license and given a warning for speeding at 351 Astle Drive.

Officers met with a resident who found a cat on Madison Avenue.

The cat was taken to the animal shelter.

Officers responded to a report of an open door on a business at an undisclosed address.

Officers checked the property which appeared OK and a responsible party for the property was contacted and also checked on the property.

Officers attempted to catch a Border Collie at large on Mississippi Street.

Officers responded to a report of a malicious mischief on East 2nd North Street, in reference to a report of a lock on a gate that had been damaged.

Officers completed a report regarding the incident which is under investigation.

Officers contacted an individual who reported they had a verbal dispute with another individual that lead to an altercation earlier in the day on Bridger Drive.

Officers contacted the involved parties and completed a report regarding the incident which was forwarded to the Sweetwater County Attorneys Office.

Officers responded to a medical call at an undisclosed address.

Officers responded to a report of a disturbance on Wilkes Drive.

Officers contacted the involved parties, one of which had left the property.

Officers responded to a report of a disturbance on South Dakota Street.

Officers contacted the residents who had a verbal dispute.

Officers, Green River Fire Department and Castle Rock Ambulance Service were dispatched to a residential fire in a garage on West Teton Boulevard.

Officers contacted the resident who was outside and officers assisted with traffic control.

The Green River Fire Department extinguished the fire and investigated the incident.

Officers contacted an individual who reported receiving suspicious text messages on Sweetwater Drive in Rock Springs.

Officers checked the property, which was OK and completed a report regarding the incident, which is under investigation.

Officers contacted an individual on phone who had questions regarding a civil matter.

Officers were dispatched to an alarm 775 Uinta Drive.

Officers checked the property, contacted a responsible party for the property and determined the alarm was accidental.

Officers responded to a report of a juvenile problem at an undisclosed address.

Officers contacted the involved parties and completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers checked on a motorist who advised they were OK and pulled over on East Teton Boulevard to add coolant to their vehicle.

Officers contacted an individual by phone who had questions, in reference to child custody.

Officers contacted an individual who reported receiving harassing text messages.

Officers completed a report regarding the incident.

Officers responded to a report of a hit-and-run vehicle collision on Ironwood Street.

It was reported a parked and unoccupied city vehicle was struck by an unknown vehicle that left the scene.

Officers completed a report regarding the incident, which is under investigation.

Officers assisted an individual changing a tire at 1050 West Flaming Gorge Way.
As the Wyoming Legislature prepares to debate and pass a budget for the state, local governments are reminding legislators they need funding.

For Sweetwater County, a proactive message through the Wyoming County Commissioners Association aims to dispel the idea local governments only want state funds to increase their employee numbers.

Thats not true with Sweetwater County, Johnson said.

In a letter to the commissioners association, county human resources director Garry McLean state the county has made significant strides in controlling headcount. The county has utilized two early retirement offerings and staff re-organization to reduce staff in response to declining oil and gas revenues for the county.

It has been our belief that the time to take action is when you have the money, not when you dont, McLean wrote.

While the county has taken over some services, such as juvenile probation and veterans services, McLean does express frustration with the county being required to spend some of its savings in making additional room for district court rooms, which was a state mandate. McLean also said three counties make up a lions share of the states mineral-based revenues. With those revenues they turn over to the state, come other impacts to infrastructure and local economies.

With nearly 2,000 miles of roads in Sweetwater County, most supplying uranium, coal, trona or oil and gas production, reduced road funding alone, could have deleterious consequences for both Sweetwater County and the entire state, McLean wrote.

Selecting a chairman

While Johnson was again voted as chairman of the board of county commissioners, the vote was not a unanimous one. Commissioner John Kolb voted against Johnsons nomination after Kolbs nominee, Randy Wendling, declined the nomination.

Johnson has served as the boards chairman since his election in 2010, having been nominated and voted in each time. Kolb thinks the position should rotate amongst the commissioners to prevent one commissioner from consolidating power by being a long-standing chairman.

While Kolb nominated Wendling, other commissioners supported Johnson in continuing in the role. Don Van Matre said Johnson has done an excellent job in the role, while Reid West said he understands Kolbs position but isnt personally interested in becoming the chairman of the board.

Wendling believes hes still too inexperienced with the duties involved with being a county commissioner to be effective as its chairman.

He also doesnt believe in making a change without significant reason to do it.

Change for changes sake is not always for the best, he said to the other commissioners.

Johnson simply said he would follow whatever the rest of the group decided.

He views the groups successes not as a result of his work, but because of the work the board does as a group.
Louis Carrillo, 84, of Reliance, passed away Jan. 3, 2016 at Deer Trail Assisted Living. A life-long resident of Rock Springs and Reliance, Carrillo died following a lengthy illness.

He was born on Oct. 6, 1931 in Rock Springs, the son of the late Manuel and Teresia Hartt.

Carrillo attended schools in Rock Springs and was a 1951 graduate of the Rock Springs High School.

He married Billie Garcia in Rock Springs on Jan. 11, 1962. In January 2016, they would have celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.

Carrillo was a United States Army Veteran of the Korean War.

He was employed at FMC for 29 years and retired as a mechanic in 1994. He was a member of United Steel Workers of America Local 13214.

Carrillo was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Community. He served his church community,

His interests included spending time with his family especially his grandchildren. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed camping and fishing.

He also enjoyed traveling and gambling.

Carrillo listened to country music and liked to dance. He was a Wyoming Cowboys fan and Los Angeles Lakers fan.

Survivors include his wife Billie Carrillo of Reliance; son Mark Carrillo and wife Lisa of Rock Springs; two daughters, Jamie Carrillo Kerbs of Greeley, Colo. and Kristi Carrillo of Rock Springs; two grandchildren Shaun Kerbs and Shainia Carrillo, both of Rock Springs, Wyoming; several nieces and nephews and his two dogs Sparkey and Snoopy.

He was preceded in death by his parents; step-father Richard Barrela; two brothers, Manuel and Tommy Carrillo and one sister, Laura Maestas.

Following cremation, a mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2: p.m. Thursday, at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, 633 Bridger Avenue, in Rock Springs.

A vigil service with rosary will be recited at 6 p.m. tonight at the church. Military honors and interment will be in the Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery.

Friends may call at the church, one hour prior to the rosary and one hour prior to the funeral services.

The family of Louis Carrillo will be receiving family and friends at 1237 South Street, Reliance.

Condolences may be left at http://www.vasefuneralhomes.com.
Suggestions made about an agricultural program to members of the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 administration helped create a new local organization.

According to McKena Wallentine, Green River High Schools agricultural education advisor, community members had been suggesting that starting an agricultural education program would be beneficial to GRHS students.

In 2013, Lacy Bangert, a former agricultural and Future Farmers of America advisor was hired as a new counselor. Bangert worked closely with administrators on how she felt such a program would be established.

Wallentine said in the fall of 2014, Bangert conducted a parent and student survey about supporting a program. This data convinced the administration to hire an agricultural teacher in the spring of 2015.

Together, the community support and expertise of Miss Bangert, convinced the administration to seriously consider creating an agriculture education program, Wallentine said.

With an agricultural program established, the district decided to take it a step further and be officially charted with the National Future Farmers of America Organization.

In October, officer selection took place. This consisted of an application process, personal interview and chapter vote. A board was formed; and GRHS students on the board are president, Kate Dickinson, vice president, Sheridan Kent, second vice president, Dakota Neumann, secretary, Ira Dickinson, treasurer, Bradly Moss, reporter, Alex Davis and sentinel, Chance Anderson.

Next, the group had to provide a complete FFA membership list, a copy of their annual program of activities and a copy of the chapters constitution, to the National FFA Organization.

The chapter officers and I worked to put together our chapter constitution that will act of the governing rules of our chapter, Wallentine said.

According to the official FFA manual, there are certain essentials in order for a chapter to be successful, including FFA knowledge, diversity of membership, sharing responsibilities, capable officers, challenging program activities, workable constitution, proper equipment and records, regular chapter meetings, adequate financing and school and community support.

Although the program is in its infancy, it already has 104 student members on the FFA membership roster.

We have chosen to be an affiliated, dues-paying FFA chapter, which means we pay a lump sum membership fee once a year that allows every student enrolled in an agricultural education course to be an FFA member, Wallentine said. Being an FFA member is not a requirement, but is highly encouraged. This is awesome because if a student is unsure of FFA in their first year or two of enrollment and then they want to be able to apply for awards and scholarship in their junior and senior years, they have the ability to do so because they were on the chapter roster for all years of enrollment.

One requirement for becoming a FFA member is students must be enrolled in an agricultural education class.

In order to meet that requirement they have to take one of my classes and they are only offered at the high school, she said.

Some of the classes Wallentine teaches and students can take include, introduction to agriculture and environmental science, veterinary science, natural resources management, wildlife management and animal science.

According to the website http://www.ffa.org, FFAs mission is FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

This website also states The FFA experience is valuable to all students, regardless if they do or do not ultimately pursue agricultural careers.

While the area doesnt specialize in agriculture, meaning crop or animal production, that doesnt mean there isnt agriculture all around residents. Wallentine said agriculture encompasses everything that falls under fool, fiber and natural resources.

Natural resources is something that is unique to our area with the trona mines, oil fields, and fish and wildlife, she said. We are all involved in agriculture in some way, shape or form everyday.

Through FFA, GRHS students will have the opportunity to participate at the local, state and national levels. At the local level, the chapter officer team along with assigned committees plan and implement monthly meetings and activities. These activities must reach three categories: student development, chapter development and community development, she said.

The students have already attended a conference and is planning on attending more. They will also compete in Career Development Events, which are competitions the FFA hosts.

Twenty-four CDEs and one activity cover job skills in everything from communications to mechanics. Some events allow students to compete as individuals, while others allow them to compete in teams, she said.

CDEs offered in Wyoming include, agricultural issues and sales, agronomy, environment and natural resources, extemporaneous public speaking, farm mechanics and management, horse and livestock evaluation, parliamentary procedure, poultry evaluation, prepared public speaking and vet science.

Wallentine said the members have only attended one practice for this event, but will prepare more this spring. For team events, the chapter will take its best team to compete at the state convention, which takes place in April. For speaking events, students must win at the chapter level, at districts and at regionals to advance to state. If they win state, the will go to the National FFA convention in October.

The practical skills and leadership that students gain from agricultural education and FFA are skills that will help them no matter the career pathway they decide to follow, she said. They are learning how to effectively communicate, problem solve, use computers and technology and work with others. We will also incorporate resume building and interviewing skills to help the students feel prepared for college or future careers or jobs. Agriculture and FFA encompass so much more than just farming and ranching.
Some Guilford County Schools students and employees returned from winter break this week to a familiar January problem: freezing temperatures outside and chilly classrooms inside.

At least four schools  Western High, Allen Middle, Hairston Middle and Sumner Elementary  have had issues where the heat has gone out in some areas of the building. Those issues are not necessarily caused by the weather, but the freezing temperatures do make it more urgent to address the problems when they occur, district spokeswoman Nora Murray said.

The schools typically have warmer areas where classes can relocate if a classroom is too cold, she said.

Temperatures so far this week have been near freezing. Classes resumed for students this week, after winter break.

Cool temperatures are expected to linger all weekend, according to a Weather Channel forecast.
HEMPSTEAD, Texas  A Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a contentious traffic stop last summer was fired Wednesday after being charged with perjury for allegedly lying about his confrontation with the black woman who died three days later in jail.

Trooper Brian Encinia claimed in an affidavit that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over and ordered her out of her car. The grand jury identified that affidavit in charging Encinia with perjury, special prosecutor Shawn McDonald said Wednesday night.

Hours after his indictment, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would "begin termination proceedings" against Encinia.

Bland's arrest and death  which authorities ruled a suicide  provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters linked Bland to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!" She can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complains that he knocked her head into the ground.

Encinia's affidavit stated he "removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation," but grand jurors "found that statement to be false," said McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

She was taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Three days later, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck. Authorities have ruled she committed suicide, and the grand jury has already declined to charge any sheriff's officials or jailers in her death.

The perjury charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced.

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday's news conference where the indictment was announced. One protester's sign read, "Legalize black skin."
Bishop Frank Caggiano is set to visit Temple Sholom in Greenwich on Friday for an interfaith dialogue and to mark the 50th anniversary of a church declaration that re-shaped Catholic attitudes toward Judaism.

The temple is hosting a special sabbath dinner for the bishop, who has made ecumenical outreach one of his goals. Matzo ball soup, chicken and other traditional Eastern European dishes will be on the menu for the dinner, as clergy from around the region come to break bread at the temple to proclaim a message of unity and tolerance.

Too many people think religion divides people, said Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz of Temple Sholom. People of faith share a common foundation.

Bishop Caggiano has made a habit of meeting Jewish leaders around Fairfield County, including a recent stop-over at a sabbath service in Bridgeport.

Our bishop has been a bridge builder from the start, and his commitment to inter-religious dialogue begins with extending the simple act of friendship and respect, said a diocesan spokesman, Brian Wallace. From the first day, hes been committed to dialogue with people of all faiths, or people of no faith.

Hurvitz has also made efforts to forge relations with other houses of worship. Were very excited to have the bishop come, he said.

The rabbi met Pope Benedict XVI on a visit to the Vatican, and the temple has put together a number of interfaith initiatives with area clergy through the Sholom Center for Interfaith Learning and Fellowship, which was founded by Hurvitz and the Rev. Jim Lemler of Christ Church Greenwich.

The 1965 church declaration is being commemorated by scholars and clergy through a series of events around the country. It formally denounced and repudiated anti-Semitism, and also promulgated a respectful attitude toward followers of other faith traditions, including Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims.

The document, called Nostra Aetate, which means In Our Time, said the church deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews.

Church leaders emphasized their opposition to any theological interpretation of a generalized Jewish responsibility for the death of Jesus, which was a force behind anti-Semitic persecution. The declaration was authorized by Pope Paul VI as part of the Second Vatican Council that reformed and modernized Church doctrine.

The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims, the document states, and it called on Catholic believers to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religious.

Catholic followers have demonstrated a strong impulse toward interfaith dialogues like the one taking place in Greenwich this week, said the diocesan spokesman. When Caggiano met with Catholic faithful around the region in preparation for a recent formal assembly, People kept asking, Why arent we collaborating more with other faiths? said Wallace. Peace and tolerance ... its more important than ever.

Robert.Marchant@scni.com
Tough times on the range. Photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Dairy farmers in Texas and the Southwest are starting off 2016 with a fierce punch to the gut. That ranging blizzard out West that pummeled the region for two days straight literally buried thousands of cows in snow. So far, 35,000 are dead that ranchers know of, and they dont sound terribly hopeful about the prospects of those that emerged with frostbite. A number of others, todays New York Times story points out, still might not be found until the snow melts.

The affected region produces 10 percent of the countrys milk, and the Times says that about 10 percent of adult dairy cows in one section (west Texas, the states dairy hub) were lost, while the trade group representing 75 percent of New Mexicos dairy farms says it could take an entire year to return to pre-storm milk levels. Farmers will take a hell of a hit, in other words, but they say its hard right now to know how bad itll be. Losses go beyond dead cows (which one rancher noted cost $2,200 to replace), because cows that survived have been through an ordeal, too, that will seriously hamper productivity. Cows kind of dry up if they arent milked twice a day  many of these poor creatures spent two days shivering alone in hutches  and even worse, milk farmers stored in tankers beforehand likely spoiled because delivery trucks couldnt arrive in time, also thanks to the storm.

The one bit of good news is for consumers: The price of dairy products isnt expected to rise noticeably.

[NYT]
Ammon Bundy, realizing PETA has arrived with vegan jerky. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The militant ranchers who are protesting federal policies by occupying an Oregon bird sanctuary, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, have appealed for snacks, and PETA has answered the call by trolling them with a delivery of vegan jerky. PETA being PETA, its taking the opportunity to spin this from a story about armed citizens threatening violence and illegally taking over buildings into one about the evils of animal agriculture.

The animals-rights organization says in a blog post that the package will fashionably be hand-delivered to the ranchers, now calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, by staffers with signs reading, The End (of Animal Agriculture) Is Nigh: Get Out Now! Twitter, predictably, reacted to PETAs preachy tweets with scorn  asking, You for real?  but others have gotten in on the fun, too, with Redditors planning baby food and glitter packages and The Oregonian running a joke poll on the top snacks to send ranchers with the munchies. As that publication pointed out, Ammon Bundy, one of the ringleaders of the group, said that he and his pals are so committed that theyre willing to stay for years, but apparently they all forgot to ask their moms to pack their lunch boxes for the field trip.

2 PETA reps show up @ OR wildlife refuge, giving vegan jerky to protesters, asking them to stay out of animal ag. pic.twitter.com/mlrsa4IJI3  Joe Fryer (@joefryer) January 6, 2016

[PETA]
Cut down in its prime. Photo: Pappy Van Winkle

The Kentucky officials who heroically recovered a whole heap of stolen Pappy Van Winkle have a problem: Now theres all this grade-A whiskey lying around that people really, really want. Ever since announcing in April that theyd made several arrests and seized back 20 cases of the beloved Pappy, Franklin County sheriff Pat Melton has insisted that the prized booze be enjoyed so that some good could come of this mess, and in a interview last week with Bourbon Blog, he said the plan, backed by the judge overseeing the case, was to auction off 28 unopened bottles in a charity event (once the thieves get prosecuted, of course).

Psych, it turns out: On Wednesday, Melton backtracked on the auction idea, saying hed had a chat with Julian Van Winkle III and learned the distillery has qualms because people couldve tampered with the bottles. Van Winkle told him to destroy all of the whiskey instead, and Melton now says, I understand that and totally respect Julian Van Winkles decision.

The fear is that something like a syringe couldve been used to contaminate the insides, and Melton had envisioned authenticating the bottles before auctioning them off, but the Van Winkle familys main worry is legal  they dont want the liability  especially given the buzz an auction would generate and the regal sums these people would pay. But the distillery doesnt get the final word. The bottles fate now rests in the hands of the judge, Thomas Wingate.

[ABC, Bourbon Blog]
Total buzzkill. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

Unlike certain beers, or any and all neutral spirits, wines arent bought purely for their alcohol content. Good thing, it looks like: A mega study of more than 127,000 bottles discovered a troubling little secret about that ABV label on the side  chances of it being wrong are crazy high. The reasons vary, the studys authors tell the Washington Post, but whats pretty constant is that this industry-wide snow job seems to have been going on for at least two decades.

The study, conducted by a team at the University of California, Davis, looked at about 80,000 reds and 47,000 whites imported to Canada between 1992 and 2009. Almost 60 percent of the producers underreported their ABVs to look less alcoholic, and about 20 percent overreported it, each hoping the concocted number would appeal to certain sets of wine shoppers. For those fuzzy on the math here, that means about one in five bottles got it right.

The miscalculated amount fluctuated  so-called Old World wines were about 0.1 percent too low, but winemakers in Chile (under by an average of 0.27 percent), Argentina (under by 0.24), and the U.S. (under by 0.23) were particularly generous with their labels. These tricks, by the way, are totally legal because laws give winemakers a very gracious range  much more than what breweries get  that the ABVs on labels can be off by. If the declared ABVs are charted, they fall pretty neatly into about six different percentages between 12 and 15, even though their real ABVs run from 10 to more than 16, just all over the map.

What makes the findings all the weirder is that, according to the studys same numbers, wines have also been getting boozier across the board  from 12.7 percent ABV in 1992 to 13.8 percent in 2009. Some of this could be ecological (climate change can up the sugar content in grapes, making wines more alcoholic), but its also the case that more people say they want sweeter, fuller-bodied wines, which tend to have more alcohol. The problem is people want it both ways: They also say they dont want more alcohol in their wines, which gives winemakers an incentive to fudge the numbers.

[WP]
OnePlus has announced that the limited edition OnePlus X Ceramic will be available for purchase in India starting January 8. The good news is that the device will be available invite-free tomorrow, although only at select locations and for a limited time.

The invite-free sale will be held at French Connection retail stores (from 7 to 9 PM) in the Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. What's more, there will be a flat 10% discount on the device. Plus, the first 50 buyers will also get a special gift bag including an INR 500 voucher from the retailer.

For more details on tomorrow's sale, head to the Source link below. It's worth mentioning that starting January 9, the handset will be exclusively available through invites via Amazon India. It will carry a price tag of INR 22,999 (around $345).

Source




Haiti - Diplomacy : The United States maintains pressure





Yesterday Wednesday, Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Counselor of the Department of State, went to Haiti together with the Haiti Special Coordinator and Deputy Assistant Secretary, Kenneth Merten for a 48-hours visit.



The visit is part of ongoing efforts in Haiti, to try to complete the electoral process that will allow the installation of a new government and a new parliament to deal with other challenges Haiti faces.



In consultation with representatives of various sectors, Ambassador Shannon discussed the importance of Haiti as a longstanding partner of the United States and reiterated the broad nature of the bilateral relationship and support of the United States for Haiti's social, economic, and political development.



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Electoral Zapping...





Resignation of an electoral adviser

Following the meeting at the National Palace, on 5 January, with President Martelly, the Election Adviser Ricardo Augustine, Representative of the Catholic Church, wrote his resignation letter that he sent to the Head of State, Adviser says in his letter "I have the advantage to present my resignation as a member of the Provisional Electoral Council. This decision takes effect upon receipt of this. I am pleased to have been able to serve my country at a particularly difficult moment in its history"...



Jude Celestin sorry of the decision of the CEP

Jude Celestin presidential candidate under the banner of "Alternative League for Progress and Emancipation Haiti (LAPEH), said he was sorry to hear that the Provisional Electoral Council has adopted a new date January 24, 2016 to hold elections, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16248-haiti-flash-the-cep-wants-a-2nd-round-on-january-24.html , this without waiting for the implementation of the recommendations of the electoral assessment by the Executive Committee, "I do not understand that the CEP whose the ommission's report confirmed that it no longer enjoy any credibility, is still in function and make decisions," declared Jude Celestin. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16257-haiti-flash-elections-of-january-24-the-people-is-convened.html



Fanmi Lavalas still in the streets

Yesterday Wednesday, hundreds of Fanmi Lavalas party activists again took the streets in the metropolitan area alongside Maryse Narcisse presidential candidate of the Lavalas Party (7.05% of votes), to say no to the electoral coup... Recall that Fanmi Lavalas rejected the report of the Independent Electoral Commission of Evaluation considering that the latter had given no explanation about the beneficiaries of fraud. The party announced a second demonstration, Friday, January 8, to continue to seek the annulment of the elections of 9 August and 25 October 2015.



The opposition parties want a transitional government

Rosemond Pradel, the Secretary General of the Fusion of Social Democrats (FUSION, 0.38% of votes) said that his party intended to submit a proposal for the formation of a transitional government. According to him, it is no longer worth the trouble of trying efforts to meet the date of 7 February for the inauguration of a new President of Haiti.



For its part the Organization of People in Struggle (OPL, 1.04% of votes), also wants the formation of a transitional government that will have the mission to carry out the elections in a short time. While the "Patriotic Movement for Democratic Opposition" (MOPOD, 0.83% of votes) speaks of a two-year transition to tackle the structural problems of the Nation.



HL/ HaiiLibre


















Korean Movie | 2008

 Drama  Romance

Directed by Kim Ki-duk ()

Written by Kim Ki-duk ()

95min | Release date in South Korea: 2008/10/09

Synopsis



Jin wakes up from a nightmare of a traffic accident. It drives him to the very spot where a real accident took place. He follows the police to the suspects home and watches as Ran denies the hit-and-run accusation since she was asleep the entire night. Jin explains his dream to them and asks to be charged instead. The police dismiss him and arrest Ran. Jin is convinced that theres an unexplainable connection between the two. They discover that when he dreams, she acts out his dream in her sleep.





International Film Festivals



2008 Donostia San Sebastian International Film Festival, Competition

Source
Korean Movie | 2015

 Melodrama  Romance

Directed by Kim Min-wook ()

101min | Release date in South Korea: 2015/12/30

Synopsis

A magistrate, who has fallen for gisaeng Chunhyang, pushes back his priorities and always visits the gisaeng house to get her attention. Chun-hyang is working at Maewol until she finds Mong-ryong who has been out of contact ever since he came to Hanyang for a test in Go-hyang Nam-won. She refuses to accept the magistrate. Then one day, Mong-ryong comes to Maewol to find Chunhyang. The three people share a complicated fate as this story has a different result compared to the original Chunhyang Story. Nok-soo takes in Deok-goo, the third male servant, into her house. Spies Namiko and Ninja start planning to kill Minister Park to reach their goals. Meanwhile, young man Oh (Orange) goes in and out of the Maewol every day. He is the son of a rich family and doesn't care for education. He only cares for alcohol and women. Gisaeng Sim-chung approaches him with a new approach. The cheesy romance between Oh (Orange) and Sim-chung begins. Ninja 'Goizumi''s plan to murder Minister Park fails and this is where the magistrate comes in. Namiko and Goizumi's identities are revealed but Minister Park shows them mercy and instead drives Namiko out of the Maewol. Ninja wasn't able to follow her as she was taking a nap and hides in the gutter until she meets Non-gae. A third murder occurs in Maewol the next day. Deok-goo is found strangled to death by Wol-hyang's lost drawers. Nok-soo, who thinks this is her last chance, fakes Wol-hyang's alibi and starts cornering her as the murderer. All the gisaengs and servants of the Maewol are put under investigation by the magistrate, and despite Wol-hyang's denial, he chooses her as the ultimate criminal...

Source
The following information is provided by local law enforcement agencies.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Compiled by Jessica Isaacs

Watauga Crime Reports

The following were provided by the Watauga County Sheriffs Office.

Dec. 14

ARREST: A male suspect, 24, of 1417 N.C. Highway 105 Bypass Unit 4 in Boone, was charged with child support. He was held under a $4,248 bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 22.

Dec. 25

ARREST: A male suspect, 56, of 370 Arnett Hollow Road in Vilas, was charged with contempt of court/perjury/court violations. He was held under a $3,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.

Dec. 26

ARREST: A male suspect, 44, of 338 Brook Hollow Road in Boone, was charged with parole and probation violations. He was held under a $2,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

Dec. 27

ARREST: A male suspect, 31, of 344 Sims Hill Road in Elizabethton, was charged with breaking or entering. He was held under a $2,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

ARREST: A male suspect, 25, of 118 #51 Spring City Drive, JC, TN, was charged with breaking or entering. He was held under a $2,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

ARREST: A male suspect, 37, of 120 B R Ward Lane in Butler, was charged with breaking and entering building and OFA-FTA. He was held under a $2,500 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

Dec. 28

ARREST: A male suspect, 55, of 585 Leisure Acres Lane in Boone, was charged with felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury. He was held under a $25,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 11.

ARREST: A male suspect, 23, of 892 Fallview Lane Unit 1 in Boone was charged with FTA.

Dec. 29

ARREST: A male suspect, 33, of 887 Hidden Valley Drive in Boone, was charged with injury to real property. He was held under a $1,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.

ARREST: A female suspect, 21, of 118 Middle Hill Drive Unit A in Boone, was charged with simple assault and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15.

ARREST: A male suspect, 40, of 469-C Grandfather Road in Banner Elk, was charged with FTA/DWLR and fictitious tag. He was held under a $1,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 19.

ARREST: A male suspect, 42, of 10298 N.C. Highway 105 S in Banner Elk, was charged with OFA/failure to appear non-support. He was held under a $9,659 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 14.

Dec. 30

INCIDENT: Vandalism was reported at 226 Oakley Green Road in Boone.

INCIDENT: Fraud  impersonation was reported at 8121 U.S. Highway 321 N in Sugar Grove.

INCIDENT: Fraud was reported at 549 Charlie Thompson Road in Vilas.

INCIDENT: Civil dispute was reported at 200 Slabtown Road in Zionville.

INCIDENT: Vandalism was reported at 233 South Slope Road Unit 1 in Banner Elk.

INCIDENT: Larceny and vandalism were reported at 1448 Rominger Road in Banner Elk.

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported at Old U.S. Highway 421 S and U.S. Highway 421 S in Boone.

ARREST: A male suspect, 40, of 4096 Beckys Drive in Lenoir, was charged with harassing phone calls and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 19.

ARREST: A male suspect, 50, of 180 Hampton Trail Court in Boone, was charged with felony failure to report new address of a sex offender and failure to register as a sex offender. He was held under a $30,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

ARREST: A male suspect, 50, of 180 Hampton Trail Court in Boone, was charged with probation violation. He was held under a $10,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 22.

ARREST: A male suspect, 28, of 253 Flowers Branch Road in Deep Gap, was charged with non-support/non-payment of alimony. He was held under a $348 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 22.

Dec. 31

INCIDENT: Unattended death was reported at 263 Woodring Circle in Boone.

INCIDENT: Vandalism was reported at 2379 Longhope Road in Todd.

Jan. 1

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported on U.S. Highway 421 near Food Lion in Boone.

INCIDENT: Breaking and entering, larceny and vandalism were reported at 251 Williams Ridge Road in Boone.

Jan. 3

INCIDENT: Injury to real property was reported at Fallview Lane and Makers Lane in Boone.

INCIDENT: Drug violations were reported at 249 Camp Rock Road in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 742 Deep Gap Drive.

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported at 1304 North Fork Road in Zionville.

ARREST: A male suspect, 27, of 1430 Sampson Road in Boone, was charged with communicating threats and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 19.

Jan. 4

INCIDENT: Fraud  wire/computers was reported at 115 Westwood Lane Unit A in Boone.

INCIDENT: Fraud  unauthorized use of conveyance was reported at 526 Deck Hill Road in Boone.
By Jessica Isaacs | [email protected]

Local residents and conservation advocates John and Faye Cooper recently donated to the Blue Ridge Conservancy more than 20 acres of pristine Valle Crucis farmland, ensuring the propertys future as a valuable part of the community and an educational resource.

The Coopers, owners of The Mast General Store, purchased the property in two parcels  the first in the early 1990s and the second almost 10 years later  and knew from the beginning that they needed to protect the land.

A conservation easement held by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina ensures that the land can only be used for agricultural and recreational purposes.

We were very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and were able to buy it when we did. We knew we wanted to protect it, John said. At the time, we werent aware of conservation easements. But, as we became aware of it, we knew it was the right thing to do with that property.

PRIME VALLE CRUCIS FARMLAND

Since the purchase, the Coopers have leased the 21.7 acres to several tenant farmers over the years. By early last year, they were ready to take the appropriate measures to ensure the land would be protected for generations to come.

We talked about doing this at the beginning of 2015, so its really been a year in the making, said John. We just feel very fortunate that we were in a position to be able to do this and protect the rural nature of Valle Crucis.

The propertys open bottomland soils make it some of the most valuable in the High Country, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed it as Prime Farmland. Divided by Dutch Creek, the property is connected to the adjoined Valle Crucis Community Park.

Its northern boundary, which fronts along the Watauga River for approximately 500 feet, is a designated aquatic habitat for species like hellbenders, green floaters and Smoky Willowfly nymphs. Its also designated as high quality waters and delayed harvest trout waters.

The front of the property is up on Broadstone Road, John said. Then it goes back to the Watauga River with Dutch Creek coming right through the middle of the property.

POTENTIAL USES

Although the conservation easement prevented the Coopers from donating the two parcels separately, theyre hoping the Blue Ridge Conservancy will find a way to make some of the property work for the adjacent community park.

Ultimately, we would like the Blue Ridge Conservancy to be able to use the property as they see fit with their mission, said John. Also, were hoping that the adjoining Valle Crucis park, since they just acquired the land adjacent to this land, might be able to extend the park and its trails.

I think the Blue Ridge Conservancy and the Valle Crucis park have worked together in the past, and I would imagine theyll be able to work together in the future in that regard.

The private, nonprofit conservancy hopes to use the property as a showpiece of sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship, according to a statement from the organization, therefore generating new opportunities to connect people to the land.

The Coopers agree wholeheartedly with the conservancys mission to permanently protect land and water resources with agricultural, ecological, cultural, recreational and scenic value.

They have done so much to preserve land in the High Country, both to protect the natural surroundings, including waterways, and to give recreational opportunities, John said. It provides the protection of beautiful natural resources, and thats really why our beliefs align with the Blue Ridge Conservancy.

They hope the two existing barns on the property will be used to help the conservancy expand its presence in the Valle Crucis community.

They could do something with the inside of the two barns to create an outpost or an office or something, which would help further the education of conservation, said John. My hope is that theyre able to utilize them to make people more aware. Theres a lot of visitors that come through Valle Crucis and its a very scenic spot, so it would give them an opportunity to be right in the midst of visitors, both local and out-of-town.

The Coopers said the protection of this Valle Crucis farmland will perpetuate the charm and beauty of the area and its nostalgic landmarks, like the Mast General Store.

People from all over the state, the region and the country come in to the Mast Store, so the setting in Valle Crucis is very important. This protects the setting, John said. Its a different world when you drive out to Valle Crucis and see that store. For years and years, it has been sitting in the middle of this agricultural area and it has been selling things since the beginning to farmers in the area.

The setting is an important part of the areas history.

About Blue Ridge Conservancy

BRC is a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization incorporated in North Carolina. BRC has protected over 18,500 acres in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey Counties. In addition to protecting working farmland, BRCs efforts have resulted in the creation of state natural areas like Beech Creek Bog, Bear Paw State Natural Area and Bullhead Mountain. We continue to help Elk Knob State park expand its borders and established Pond Mountain Game Land in Ashe County. More information about Blue Ridge Conservancy is available at www.blueridgeconservancy.org.

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Zumba, Crafts, Tai Chi at the Senior Center

Zumba Gold at the Harrill Senior Center

Join us for Zumba Gold taught by Cynthia Carlson! Zumba Gold follows the same Zumba format only with low impact Latin and international dances. The class meets from 4-5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays in the dining room of the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center in Boone. Donations are requested for all ages. Call 265-8090 for more information.

Craft Class at the Senior Center

Come join us for craft class at the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center in Boone, held every Thursday morning from 10am-1:30pm. Crafts for January will focus on heart themes, including how to make a heart box. Cost for supplies is $5.00. Please call 265-8090 for more information.

Tai Chi for Arthritis

The Lois E. Harrill Senior Center is offering a Tai Chi for Arthritis and Falls Prevention Class on Thursdays starting in January. This class is an evidence based health promotion class. The class is provided at no cost and will be offered on Thursdays starting January 14th and running through March 31st . The class will be held at 11am. The benefits of this class can include increased range of motion, strength, flexibility, improved balance, better breathing and more energy. We hope you will join us! Call 265-8090 to register today!

Students Begin Filling Out FAFSA for College Applications

With the start of the new year, high school seniors planning to attend college in the fall should begin the process of filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form.

The earlier the FAFSA is completed, the sooner the student and family will have information about the possibility of financial aid. To be considered for a share of the billions of dollars available in federal and state aid to students with financial need, you must apply.

When students complete the FAFSA, theyre automatically being considered for federal and state grants, Federal Work Study and Federal Student Loans. Federal and state grants are gift aid  free money the student does not have to pay back. If eligible for Federal Work Study, a student has the chance to get a job on-campus to help pay expenses. And the FAFSA helps determine whether a student may be eligible for subsidized as well as unsubsidized Federal Student Loans.

Families who would like help completing the FAFSA are invited to attend a FAFSA Day near them on Saturday, February 20. This free event is open to assist high school seniors, their families and college students complete and submit their forms online.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Go to CFNC.org/FAFSAday or call 866-866-CFNC toll-free for a list of event sites and register for the one nearest you. More than 65 sites will be available the morning of February 20.

During the week following FAFSA Day (February 22-26), State Employees Credit Union branches will be ready by appointment to help students and families with FAFSA completion.Families also can get help with the FAFSA on Tuesday, February 23 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro.

To be fully prepared to complete the FAFSA at one of these February FAFSA events, participants should either file their 2015 federal taxes in advance or bring the following: (1) both the students and parents federal 1040 tax forms for 2015 (or W-2 forms and other income and asset documents if completed tax forms are not available); (2) the students and one parents Federal Student Aid identification obtained in advance from the U.S. Department of Education website, fsaid.ed.gov ; and (3) a FAFSA on the web worksheet with as much information entered as possible. The online worksheet is available at www.fafsa.gov.

Early completion of the FAFSA helps students take advantage of all of the financial aid opportunities available for North Carolinians, said Marcia Weston with the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority and CFNC coordinator of the FAFSA Day program. Students and parents dont need to worry if they arent sure how to answer all of the questions on the form. Thats why we have arranged to have experienced college aid professionals and financial specialists to help at each site.

Filing 2015 federal taxes early makes FAFSA completion easier. Most of those who file well in advance of FAFSA Day can then take advantage of the automatic transfer option to enter their tax information directly onto their FAFSA, she said. If a student or parent hasnt yet filed taxes, they can enter estimated income information on the FAFSA, and updated tax information can be transferred to the FAFSA at a later date. 

FAFSA Day is sponsored by a collaboration of College Foundation of North Carolina, the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and State Employees Credit Union.

A February FAFSA Phone-In, also sponsored by CFNC, is another option for students and parents who have only a few questions on completing the FAFSA. Every Tuesday night in February between 5 and 8 p.m., financial aid specialists will be available to help at the toll-free number, 866-866-CFNC (2362).

More information is available on college and career planning on the College Foundation of North Carolina website, CFNC.org. Families will find college cost estimators, lists of scholarship, grant and loan opportunities, information about North Carolinas 529 college savings plan, career descriptions and requirements, virtual tours of more than 100 of the states college campuses, and online college admission and financial aid applications.

About CFNC

College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) is a free service of the State of North Carolina that helps students plan, apply, and pay for college. CFNC is a joint effort of Pathways, the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, and College Foundation, Inc.

Pathways , created by the N.C. General Assembly in 1999, is a statewide initiative to increase the college-going rate of North Carolinians by providing: comprehensive college and career planning resources; electronic applications and transcripts accepted by all 110 North Carolina colleges and universities; and, information on student financial aid and college affordability. Pathways is administered by The University of North Carolina General Administration in collaboration with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the N.C. Community College System, and the N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities.

The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA ), established in 1965, is the State agency that promotes access to higher education by administering financial aid and savings programs, informing students and families about paying for college, teaching educators about financial aid administration, and advocating for resources to support students.

College Foundation, Inc. (CFI) , a nonprofit corporation serving North Carolina students and families since 1955, administers a large portfolio of education loans, several major grant and scholarship programs for students attending N.C. colleges and universities, and the tax-advantaged 529 college savings program on behalf of the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority. CFI also delivers information to North Carolina students and families about paying for college, assists colleges and universities with financial aid services, and provides technology support for CFNC.org.

State Employees Credit Union (SECU) is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. SECU has been providing employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 77 years. With more than 1.9 million members, SECU provides services through more than 250 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org .

CFNC offers resources toll-free at 1-866-866-CFNC and at CFNC.org.

Organist J. William Greene to Host Guest Recital at ASU on Jan. 19

J. William Greene, organist and choirmaster at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, will present a guest recital Jan 19 at Appalachian State University.

The Hayes School of Music event will begin at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Centers Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.

Greene graduated from Appalachian, where he was a student of the late H. Max Smith. He also holds degrees from Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music, where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Performers Certificate. Greene has taught organ at Appalachian, the Nazareth College of Rochester and Ithaca College.

The recital program includes Offertoire from Messe pour les Paroisses by Francois Couperin, Praeludium in G Minor by Nicolaus Bruhns, Aria, BWV 587 by J. S. Bach, Fantaisie in C Major by- Cesar Franck, Fuge fur die Orgel by Johannes Brahms and Consolation by Franz Liszt.

Watch Hyde Park on Hudson at Watauga Library on Jan. 11

High Country Lifelong Learners in association with the Watauga County Public Library invite you to join us for a movie viewing of Hyde Park On Hudson on January 11th from 2:00 pm  4:30 pm.

The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Daisy Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.

Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams

This film has an MPAA rating of R and an approximate run-time of 94 minutes.

For more information please email [email protected], Attention: Deb Gooch.

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Dear Editor:

New River Advocates, Inc. filed a claim with the USDA regarding the CLOMR and No-Rise Certifications that were submitted to Watauga County in securing a floodplain permit to construct the proposed intake in the South Fork of the New River. We recently obtained a copy of John Wards answer through a public records request with the USDA. Mr. Ward answers our claim, stating:

The Town of Boone originally made a submittal to FEMA in pursuit of a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) for this project. While the project met the requirements of a No-Rise, the CLOMR was pursued to ensure that the HEC-2 modeling and mapping would be reviewed by FEMA upfront and any technical concerns resolved prior to construction. During the course of the submittal, FEMA completed their technical review of the models, maps, annotated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and engineering report. A letter dated March 7, 2013 from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety-Emergency Management documented that all questions with the review had been resolved. The CLOMR was not approved by FEMA simply because Ashe Countys opposition to execute FEMAs Overview and Concurrence form. With no other options, the Town of Boone elected to submit a No-Rise to Watauga County. A No-Rise was not submitted to Ashe County because the construction in Ashe County will be outside of the 100-yeara floodway. Work outside of the 100-year floodway does not require a No-Rise. In essence, the Town of Boone was attempting to be as transparent as possible with its neighboring communities through the original CLOMR submittal, whereas both Watauga and Ashe County could participate in the approval process.

While there are many things wrong with Mr. Wards answer, the most intriguing is his attempt to erase Boones past. Following is a quote from the 7-page letter from Boones prior attorney, Sam Furgiuele, to David Pond of W.K. Dickson about the CLOMR process:

As for the possibility of pursuing a no-rise certification and the difficulties we have encountered with the CLOMR application, the Town pursued a CLOMR on W.K. Dicksons advice. Until it was too late, no one from W.K. Dickson ever told Greg (Young) that Ashe County would have to sign off on an MT-2 form for the CLOMR to be issued. In fact, he was actually told that Ashe Countys consent was unnecessary. If Greg had been informed that Ashe County could stop the application, he never would have agreed to seek a CLOMR in the first place, and it is hard for any of us to understand how anyone from W.K. Dickson could have thought that Ashe County would cooperate.

So much for transparency and inviting neighbors to participate in the approval process!

Submittal of a CLOMR or No-Rise Certification is not an option, either one or the other is required for development in the floodway; or, neither is required in the case of development outside of the floodway. If there is a rise in the floodway, then the neighboring communities and affected property owners are notified through the CLOMR process so they may comment and with the affected neighboring counties agreeing or disagreeing to the changes in the floodway and map revisions after the construction is completed.

FEMA requires a review of CLOMRs and will review No-Rise Certifications if asked to. So, if, as Mr. Ward claims, the construction meets the requirements of a No-Rise Certification, then why not submit the No-Rise to FEMA for technical review?

We believe the answer lies in the subsequent letter dated 9/13/2013 from David Pond of W.K. Dickson to Greg Young, Boones manager at that time (the culmination of discussions over billing that were kicked off with Sam Furgiueles letter of 2/19/2013). W.K. Dickson writes:

It is mutually agreed that the whole project cannot, likely move forward without receipt of the No-Rise permit from Watauga County or NCEM if Watauga County defers the review.Should the No-Rise not be received from the County or NCEM at the Towns election the project will be cancelled. 

According to Joe Furman, Watauga County Planning and Inspections Director, he never has submitted a no-rise certification to FEMA for review; he says, I am not an engineer. If it has an engineers seal, I accept it.

As to Mr. Wards statement that the CLOMR was not approved simply because Ashes Countys opposition to execute FEMAs MT-2 concurrence form, the actual decision was made by Ashe County Commissioners after several conversations with Greg Young and Ashe Countys attorney, manager and emergency management staff. Patty Gamble reviewed the CLOMR and stated (email dated 2/12/2012 from Patty Gamble, Ashe Emergency Management, to Pat Mitchell, Ashe manager at the time):

Five Ashe County property owners will be adversely affected by increased widths in the floodway area of the 100-year floodplain. The floodway area is the area where no development is allowed. There are two different locations in Ashe where floodway area would be increased. The first area would affect two property owners, increases the floodway would anywhere from one to 10 feet in width along a 200-foot strip of land. The second area, that affect three property owners, increases the floodway anywhere from one to 45 feet in width along 300-foot strip of land. The loss of use of these areas could present a takings issue  John Kilby (attorney for Ashe County) is familiar with similar takings issues having recently represented a property owner along Conley Cheek Road who experienced a similar issue where the actual as-built project by NCDOT was not constructed to the degree presented in the Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR)

The CLOMR submittal was started in January 2012; terminated in September 2012. The No-Rise Certification was submitted in October 2013, accepted and a floodplain permit issued by Watauga County in October 2013. Because the CLOMR was terminated, the affected property owners were never notified.

New River Advocates, Inc. recently asked Patty Gamble who the affected property owners were that she referred to in her 2012 email and this is the result regarding the 200 and 300-foot strip areas mentioned above.

The information in that 2012 email was based on the original technical information provided and may/may not be valid currently as I have not reviewed the latest data submitted by the engineering firm.

The properties referenced in paragraph 1 are:

The 200 foot section of affected properties:

Parcel 04163-001  owned by New River Development Company, LLC

Parcel 04163-036  owned by Gary and Lynda Brown

The 300 foot section of affected properties:

Parcel 15163-002  owned by Larry Cooper, Randy Cooper and Amy Greer

Parcel 15198-004  owned by Issac and Shirley Cooper (LE)

Parcel 15198-002  in 2012 it was owned by Judy Austin; it switched hands on October 23, 2013 and is currently owned by James and Jennifer Warren

[Note above: Larry Cooper, Randy Cooper and Amy Greer are the property owners who sought the floodplain permit in Ashe County while Issac and Shirley Cooper (LE-Life Estate) are Ronald Cooper and Donald Cooper who are suing the town of Boone.]

The latest data submitted by the engineering firm referenced above are the plans recently submitted and the No-Rise report submitted to Watauga County in October 2013, of which a curtesy copy was given to Ashe County recently in acquiring the floodplain permit for Larry Cooper, Randy Cooper and Amy Cooper Greer, owners of the land upon which the private subdivision road is to be built in Ashe County. This road will be paid for by town of Boone and connect to the subdivision/access road to be constructed in Watauga County. Boone does not have an easement in Ashe County due to NC General Statute 153A-15 which requires Ashe Countys approval for Boone to own an easement in Ashe County. Boone, however, provided copies of the License Agreement with Larry Cooper, Randy Cooper and Amy Cooper Greer whereby Boone is granted a license to use the private subdivision road to access the intake and such agreement is terminable at will by either party. John Ward claims this is as good as an easement. Not much has changed regarding Boones image! And, the Boone-Doggle continues.

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By Jessica Isaacs | [email protected]

Folks passing by the now empty building behind Sagebrush in Boone have been curious to know what happened to Village Laundry, the business that occupied the space for several years.

The laundromats first owner, Tom Ives, erected the building at 217 Wilson Drive back in 1996. The business changed hands a little less than 10 years later to David Bixby, and again in 2012 when local resident Robert Sharpe purchased it.

A native of the Winston-Salem area and an alumnus of Appalachian State University, Sharpe saw purchasing the business as an opportunity to relocate to and reconnect with the Boone community.

The previous owner had it for seven years before me, and Tom was running it before that, Sharp said. I piddled around with some investing, but I finally saw it for sale online and I ran it for the last couple of years.

Village Laundry

During its nearly two decades in business, Village Laundry offered drop-off and Laundromat services for local residents, college students, area restaurants and more.

We served a fair amount of students. We actually had a lot of loyal customers who would come up every year from out of town. People from the horse show in Blowing Rock would always come through during that week to do their horse blankets, said Sharpe. We bailed out a few hotels when their machines were broken down, and we had a lot of loyal local homeowners who rented their houses out. We did a lot with other business and local restaurants.

Under Sharpes management, the 3,500-square-foot building housed 38 washing machines and 40 dryers, most of which were installed under previous ownership.

On average, 50 persons in one day was generally a good day. Sharpe said. Some days, it would get so busy there wouldnt be a machine available.

Several months ago, Sharpe accepted an out-of-state job offer and was faced with a decision to make about the future of Village Laundry. After searching for someone to take over the business with no interested buyers, Sharpe closed the business and sold the building.

Out of Business

Village Laundry saw its last day of business in mid-November, and passersby soon saw washers and dryers being hauled off of the property.

It kind of snuck up on me, and it came as a shock to a lot of people, said Sharpe. Even as I was closing and loading up the machines, there were people pulling up trying to do their laundry.

Sharpe said he enjoyed being part of the Boone business community and will greatly miss living in the High Country, although hes looking forward to the next stage in his life.

Watauga County records indicate the deed to the building was transferred to SkyLine Telephone Membership Corporation on Nov. 23.

SkyLine, a West Jefferson-based member-owned cooperative, has not yet released any information related to the buildings potential use.

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headforbeer.com covers the craft beer industry, samples new releases and offers personal recommendations based on tasting experience.
Street patrolling is associated with features that do not promote public safety. Authorities alone are responsible for maintaining public order, he reminded on Tuesday.

Petteri Orpo (NCP), the Minister of the Interior, has weighed in on the rumbling debate about vigilante patrols by voicing his concerns over their repercussions for public safety via the official twitter account of the Ministry of the Interior.

Orpo revealed in an interview with YLE that he has sat down with Seppo Kolehmainen, the National Police Commissioner, and ascertained that they are on the same page regarding the phenomenon. He said he felt obliged to comment on the matter because a statement released by Kolehmainen earlier on Tuesday left room for interpretation and sparked a debate on social media.

Kolehmainen appeared to express his support for street patrols in his statement but clarified later that he disapproves of any patrolling activities carried out with the intent to disturb others or violate the law.

Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto (Greens) voiced her puzzlement with the statement of Kolehmainen in an interview with Uusi Suomi.

Ordinary citizens are more afraid of these patrols than going out. I, as a mother from East Helsinki, definitely don't think that I or my children can't go out. I'm more afraid of my teenage children going out and running into these patrols. I'm much more afraid of that than the current situation, she said.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Lisa Baldwin announces NC Senate campaign

Fiscal and social conservative, Lisa Carpenter Baldwin, has announced that she will run for the Senate District 48 seat previously held by Tom Apodaca.

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Baldwin served four years as a Buncombe County school board member in the 11th largest school district in NC. Her school board successes earned recognition from conservative research institute, The John Locke Foundation, from whom she received the 2012 James K. Polk Leadership in Public Service Award. That year, she also received the UNCG Alumni Pacesetter Award. Her government reform efforts have been publicized by Fox News, The Carolina Journal, Daily Haymaker, Carolina Public Press and Carolina Plotthound.

Lisa Baldwin is a North Carolina native, graduating as Bessemer City High School Valedictorian in 1983, summa cum laude graduate of UNCG in 1987 and three years later earning a master's degree in Economics from the University of Maryland where she was a graduate teaching assistant and Henry Weil Fellow. During her college tenure, Baldwin interned with the N.C. School of Government, the N.C. Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau, Burlington Industries and the Consumer Energy Council of America..

After graduation, Baldwin worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Currently, she blogs at NC Students First and writes a conservative government watchdog column for The Tribune Papers. She and her husband of 27 years, Richard, reside in Fletcher, NC with their son, a high school junior. Their oldest son, Taylor, is pursuing a nuclear engineering master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he also works as a researcher. Son, Andrew, and daughter, Madison, are respectively studying materials engineering and chemical engineering at N.C. State University. All were A.C. Reynolds High valedictorians.

More than 50% of the state budget is spent on education which makes my school board experience invaluable, Baldwin said. I support free market education reform efforts and expansion of school choice. State Education Savings Accounts will allow the money to follow the child, increasing competition among public and private schools which will result in improved education outcomes for students.

As a state Senator, Baldwin wants to see Common Core replaced with academically rigorous standards, putting NC on the map for a world class education system.

Baldwin will call for more transparency and accountability from government agencies. Baldwin said, Each agency should build their budget from the ground up, known as zero-based budgeting. Only core government services should be funded with valuable taxpayer dollars.

As a strict Constitutionalist, Baldwin believes all decisions must be viewed through the lens of the state constitution, North Carolina's governing document, and the U.S. Constitution.

Along with fiscal responsibility, Baldwin supports traditional Biblical values, marriage between one man and one woman, and is pro-life.

Baldwin has always been an active volunteer, serving as a member of the NC GOP Executive Committee and Vice-President of the Buncombe County Republican Women's Club. She belongs to MENSA and is on the Emmanuel Lutheran School Board and N.C. School of Science and Math Strategic Planning Action Team.
Baldwin touts conservative credentials in Senate race

Lisa Carpenter Baldwin is seeking the Republican nomination for the 48th state Senate District.

Lisa Carpenter Baldwin traces her political inspiration to her fifth great-grandfather from the 18th century.

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Christian Carpenter was a signer of the Tryon Resolves, an expression by North Carolina colonists against the British crown a year before the founders drafted the Declaration of Independence.

In fiery language, this document expressed dissatisfaction with acts committed by the British government at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill in Massachusetts, referring to the unprecedented, barbarous and bloody actions committed by the British Troops, she says.

She has fought her own battles against long odds. As a conservative Republican, she won a seat on the Buncombe County School Board. And though she lost re-election, she says that experience gave her a solid foundation from which to seek the Republican nomination for the 48th Senate District, a seat held by Sen. Tom Apodaca, who is retiring. The district covers southern Buncombe County and all of Transylvania and Henderson counties.

More than 50 percent of the state budget is spent on education which makes my school board experience invaluable, Baldwin says. I support free market education reform efforts and expansion of school choice. State Education Savings Accounts will allow the money to follow the child, increasing competition among public and private schools which will result in improved education outcomes for students.

In an interview, she blamed her re-election loss in 2014 on a liberal uprising. But she says she was rewarded for her outspoken opposition to Common Core.

I was one of 20 School Board members that Civitas invited to Raleigh for a Common Core information meeting, she said. They brought in all the experts from the entire nation.

The John Locke Foundation awarded her the 2012 James K. Polk Leadership in Public Service Award.

A North Carolina native, Baldwin, 51, was valedictorian of her class at Bessemer City High School in 1983 and a summa cum laude graduate of UNCG in 1987. After earning a masters degree in economics from the University of Maryland she worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now she raises her four children, volunteers and writes a column for the Asheville Tribune, a conservative weekly.

I do live in the Fletcher area, she says. I can understand that someone would be concerned that shes not from Henderson County. She can tick off many connections she has to Hendersonville through her children. If you look at my track record on the School Board it didnt matter if you were in Reynolds district or Erwin or North Buncombe. I always tried to be helpful to everybody represent all the students in Buncombe not just the ones in Reynolds.

She says the Asheville Tea Party supported her as a School Board member and that she expects to have Tea Party support in the Senate race.

Baldwin emailed answers to questions the Hendersonville Lightning posed on current topics.

What is your opinion of the $2 billion bond referendum that will be on the March 15 primary ballot?

I believe that the $2 billion bond referendum is essentially a pork barrel of pet political projects that will saddle the next generation with debt. It is, essentially, a tax increase, contrary to its portrayal by the website, http://connect.nc.gov/. If university facilities, parks, the zoo and agricultural research are a priority, then these projects should be in the budget. I have two children at NC State University and I see empty classrooms and underutilized buildings on campus. With todays technology, on-line classes and distance learning, brick and mortar is less important than ensuring we have qualified master teachers.

Baldwin is among a small group of Republicans who have formed a group opposing the $2 billion bond issue, which has the back of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and most leaders of the Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans.

How do you feel about the Ecusta Trail?

The proposed Ecusta Trail would make use of a former railroad bed; however, the possible $3.7 million price tag just to purchase from Norfolk Southern puts it out of reach. I believe valuable taxpayer dollars should fund core services, not greenways. If the Friends of the Ecusta Trail want to pursue donations and grants, then they should. A volunteer-led effort would be appropriate. My three sons are all Eagle Scouts and have organized multiple volunteer-led efforts that benefit the community. Western North Carolina is blessed with multiple hiking trails; I would question the amount of the economic benefit of adding the rail-trail.



As a Buncombe resident, how would you effectively serve Henderson and Transylvania counties?

I have a proven track record of responding to constituent concerns within 24 hours while on the Buncombe school board. In Buncombe, school board members are elected countywide; I always responded to parent needs regardless of what school district they lived in. Likewise, I will work to actively poll citizens on their concerns in all three counties, as well as attending civic and county commission meetings. I also spend time and money in Henderson and Transylvania Counties retail stores. In high school, my daughter was a Pardee Hospital volunteer. My youngest son will be working with the Mountain Horticultural Research Center this summer on his senior project. My two oldest sons spent time at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Center in Rosman, building their own telescopes and then participating in one year research projects with PARI. My husbands hobby and talent is bagpiping and he has played at events in all three counties.

Click here for the full news release from Baldwin on her campaign.
Murder suspects caught

A couple wanted in the Dec. 3 murder of a 28-year-old Fletcher man were apprehended ion Old Fort and jailed in Hendersonville on Wednesday. Detectives with the Hendersonville Police Department and law officers with the U.S. Marshal's Service, the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, the McDowell County Sheriffs Office and the Marion Police Department found the suspects Old Fort around 5:30 p.m. Charged with Deque DeAngelo Taylor's murder are Shawn C. Hollifield, 23, and Savannah Rose Walker, 21.

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In addition to the arrest of Hollifield and Walker, authorities arrested Shawn Lyda Hall, 24, and Crystal Hernandez, age 31, and charged them with accessory after the fact.

All four individuals were transported to the Henderson County Detention facility and were processed and held. Hollifield and Walker have been held without bond and had a first appearance in court today. Hall and Hernandez were held under a $10,500 and a $10,000 secured bond respectively. Both Hall and Hernandez also had a first court appearance today.

Detectives with the Hendersonville Police department continue to follow up on investigative leads. The public is asked to contact the Hendersonville Police Department at (828)-697-3025 or Henderson County Crime Stoppers at (828)-697-STOP.

The Hendersonville Lightning reported that detectives recovered a seat belt buckle with a part number that matched a red 2015 Jeep Compass rented earlier that day by Hollifield and that detectives soon learned from Taylor's cousin that Hollifield and Walker were with Taylor in the Jeep. The detectives obtained video surveillance from an Exxon station at 5411 Asheville Highway next to Taylors residence, showing he got in the Jeep with the couple at 2:30 p.m.

Kristina Harper, told police that she and Taylor hatched a plan to steal from Walker. He was to take $50 from her and tell her he would buy pills. Taylor gave the money to Harper, who drove away. Taylor was to pretend that he got ripped off and the money was gone, while later he would meet Harper and split the $50 with her, Det. Bruce Darrah wrote in an application for a search warrant.
An inspector for Irish Rail was told to "f**k off" after he asked to see a young man's ticket, a court heard.

Mark Blake (21) also pushed into the ticket inspector after he was asked to step off a train at Malahide Train Station.

When he was told that gardai had been called, he replied "f**k the gardai, I won't be waiting for gardai".

Judge Dermot Dempsey imposed a two-month sentence but suspended it for two years.

The defendant, of Briarfield Grove in Kilbarrack, admitted to verbally abusing an Irish Rail inspector on March 10 last year.

The incident took place at Malahide Station on a train destined for Drogheda.

Garda Margaret Kelly told Swords District Court an Irish Rail revenue inspector came into Malahide Garda Station to report a man who was verbally abusive to him when he asked for his train ticket.

Gda Kelly said Blake told the inspector to "f**k off" and pushed into him.

The court heard Blake has 19 previous convictions, including four for breach of the peace.

Sob

Defence lawyer Annette Kealy said Blake suffers ADHD, panic attacks and depression.

Ms Kealy said Blake knows his behaviour was unacceptable, but he was "lost" for a while.

Suspending a two-month sentence for two years, Judge Dempsey said Blake's "sob story" won't work with him again.
The family of missing ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake have said they "want answers" about why it took police nearly three weeks to find what are feared to be the bodies of her and her two sons.

Three unidentified bodies were found on Tuesday in the garden of the family home in Kent, that Ms Blake shared with her partner.

One of the 43-year-old's aunts, who gave her name as Terry, told the London Evening Standard that relatives want "a full investigation".

"The police did take a long time to find the bodies and the family want answers. Officers are probably trying their best and we know it is difficult but we want a full investigation," she said.

Scotland Yard has referred its handling of the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), amid questions over why it took so long to escalate the missing persons inquiry into the performer's disappearance.

A police spokesperson said: "The Metropolitan Police has today made a voluntary referral to the IPCC in relation to the Sian Blake missing person investigation.

"An initial review has highlighted some potential issues regarding the handling and grading of the missing persons investigation."

Murder squad detectives are urgently trying to find Ms Blake's boyfriend Arthur Simpson-Kent, who may have fled the UK after his family vanished.

Scotland Yard would not confirm reports that the 48-year-old has fled to Africa, but a spokesman said: "Whether or not he is in the country is one line of inquiry."

The case had only been taken over by homicide detectives the previous day, and it remains unclear how many times officers had visited and searched the family home.

Scotland Yard's internal professional standards team is already looking at the way the investigation was handled.

Ms Blake vanished with her sons, Zachary (8) and Amon (4) in east London on December 13.

Three days later, Mr Simpson-Kent was interviewed by police at the family home, before he also disappeared.

A family member reported the actress and her children missing that day, and two days later a missing persons inquiry was launched, but not classed as high risk.

The same day, December 18, officers went back to the home in Kent, and forced their way in when there was no answer at the property. The investigation was classed as high risk at some point after Christmas.

Fatal

Ms Blake had motor neurone disease - a fatal, rapidly progressing disease which affects the brain and spinal cord - and was reportedly looking "very frail" before she vanished.

She and her children were last seen in Waltham Forest, east London, and her silver-beige Renault Scenic was found in Calvert Avenue in Bethnal Green, east London, on January 3, but it is not known who parked it there.

Ms Blake played Frankie in EastEnders in June 1996 for 56 episodes.
Pictures of William Maughan and Anna Varslavane, the couple who are missing presumed dead

A dangerous criminal has been hit with a 170k bill from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) as a garda probe into him intensifies.

CAB officers have been investigating the gangster for months after it emerged that his gang is believed to be behind three gruesome murders.

Sources have revealed that the criminal, who was arrested this week for threatening to kill gardai, was served with the CAB bill in the last few days.

"The bill is a result of a lengthy investigation into this individual's assets from his drug dealing activities and involvement in the stolen car trade," a source said last night.

The gang boss is so paranoid he has built a 12-foot high wall around his home.

He is said to be "sick and tired" of the constant attention that he and his associates have been getting from gardai - particularly the heavily-armed Emergency Response Unit (ERU).

"He decided to build a wall because he wants to keep the cops out, that seems to be his main motivation. He thinks that the wall will make it harder for the gardai to keep tabs on his gang," a source explained.

"This individual has been getting more and more paranoid and building the wall is just the latest thing that he is done to try to keep attention off his mob."

The dangerous criminal, who is in his 30s, cannot be named for legal reasons as he is facing charges before the courts.

His associates are suspected of the double murders of Willie Maughan (34) and his partner Anna Varslavane who were last seen in the Gormanston area of Co Meath on the afternoon of April 14 last year.

The mob are also suspected of the gun murder of a man who was shot dead in Balbriggan in September 2014, as part of a deadly feud in north Dublin that is still ongoing.

Ruthless

The brutal shooting also led to the victim's partner being shot in the legs after they had dropped their child at school in Balbriggan.

The gang are the chief suspects for an early morning bomb attack that led to a van exploding outside a Balbriggan house in late November.

The same gang are being investigated for a pipe bomb attack at the home of suspected mob murder victim Willie Maughan's sister, Martina, in Rathfarnham last October.

However, sources said that recent developments show that gardai have finally got to grips with the dangerous mob.
Saoirse appears with Ellen DeGeneres with a sign showing the phonetic spelling of her name

A small Dublin nail salon witnessed when Saoirse Ronan received her Golden Globe nod.

The young star was having a pampering day in Tropical Popical on South William Street when the call came through that she was being given a nomination for her acclaimed performance in Brooklyn.

And there was more good news for the salon after they were contacted by the Ellen DeGeneres Show to ask if they could use the Twitter images of her celebrating her nomination on last night's show.

"Saoirse pops in a good bit, she loves nail art, and Chloe Gilbert usually does her nails," explained owner Andrea Horan.

"It was about three weeks ago when she came in with her mum and her pals. Her phone kept ringing and she couldn't answer because she was getting her nails done.

"Then one of her friends was like, 'Shouldn't you answer that?', and when they heard of her nomination it was like 'Oh, my God!' They couldn't cope. The champagne came out and then she did all her media interviews about the nomination while sitting in the pedi station, to people from places like the Wall Street Journal.

"She's so normal, she totally takes it all in her stride. She's so friendly and thoughtful. Even when she was doing her interviews she was giving a mention to the salon - she didn't have to do that."

Now all eyes will be on the Golden Globes this Sunday, with Irish hopes pinned on a win for Saoirse in the Lead Actress in a Drama Film category. She also won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in New York on Sunday.

Meanwhile, chat show queen Ellen gave millions of viewers a lesson in how to pronounce the Irish star's name on last night's show. Saoirse presented her with an over-the-shoulder sign reading: "Hello, my name is Sur-Sha."

It came after actor Denis Quaid was universally mocked for pronouncing her name as 'Shee-sha' while reading out the Golden Globe nominees.

Photo

Saoirse recently thanked actor Ryan Gosling for helping people to pronounce her name, saying it was "like inertia".

"Someone sent me a photo two weeks later of a cinema in Minnesota, and on the sign in the front it said 'Brooklyn' and then underneath it said 'Ser-sha, Like Inertia," she laughed.

"I couldn't believe it - the power of Ryan Gosling is stronger than anything else."
If you want to pick a number for 2016, how about 20 percent? Look around the politics of the Western world, and youll see that a lot of once-unthinkable ideas and fringe candidates suddenly have a genuine chance of succeeding. The odds are usually somewhere around one in five  not probable, but possible. This 20 percent world is going to set the tone in democracies on both sides of the Atlantic  not least because, as anybody who bets on horse racing will tell you, eventually one of these longshots is going to canter home.

Start with President Donald Trump. Gamblers, who have been much better at predicting political results than pollsters, currently put the odds of the hard-to-pin-down-but-generally- right-wing billionaire reaching the White House at around 6-1, or 17 percent. Interestingly, those are roughly the same odds as the ones offered on Jeremy Corbyn, the most left-wing leader of the Labour Party for a generation, becoming the next British prime minister. In France, gamblers put the likelihood of Marine Le Pen winning Frances presidency in 2017 at closer to 25 percent, partly because the right-wing populist stands an extremely good chance of reaching the runoff. Geert Wilders, another right-wing populist previously described as fringe, perhaps stands a similar chance of becoming the next Dutch prime minister.

Other once-unthinkable possibilities could rapidly become realities. Americas version of Corbyn, Bernie Sanders, whom Trump recently described as a wacko, is currently trading around 5 percent, no worse than Jeb Bush. Plus, Sanders has assembled the sort of Corbynite coalition of students, pensioners and public-sector workers that tends to outperform in primaries. If Hillary Clinton stumbles into another scandal, the Democrats could yet find themselves with a socialist contending for the national ticket.

And its not just wacko candidates; some unthinkable events are also distinctly possible. This year, perhaps as early as June, Britain may vote to leave the European Union. Bookmakers still expect the country to go for the status quo, though most pundits are less certain about this than they were about the Scottish referendum in 2014, which turned out to be an uncomfortably close race for the British establishment.

Investors are used to the political world serving up surprises. These surprises, however, have usually involved one mainstream party doing much better or worse than expected  and things continuing as normal. Not this time. With Trump in charge, America would have a wall along the Rio Grande and could well be stuck in a trade war with China. Le Pen wants to take France out of the euro and renegotiate Frances membership in the EU. Its hard to tell what would do more damage to the City of London: a Brexit that could lead to thousands of banking jobs moving to the continent; or a Corbyn premiership, which could include a maximum wage and the renationalization of Britains banks, railways and energy companies.

Moreover, in the 20 percent world, some nasty possibilities make others more likely. If Britain leaves the European Union, Scotland (which, unlike England, would probably have voted to stay in) might in turn try to leave Britain. If Le Pen manages to pull France out of the euro, the unions chances of dissolution increase. And you can only guess what a President Trump would do to U.S. relations with Latin America and the Muslim world.

The conventional wisdom from political elites is that voters will consider these possibilities, wise up and pull back from the unthinkable. The mandarins are not wrong: The gambling markets show that Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio are more likely to become president than Donald Trump, just as they show that Britain is more likely to stay in the European Union than not.

But theres also plenty of evidence that across the Western world, voters are furious with the established parties and choices  and much more willing to consider extreme solutions, especially when put forward by politicians who tell it like it is and seem genuine, either because they say the unthinkable (Trump and Wilders) or have stuck to their principles, no matter how outdated they seem (Corbyn and Sanders).

Indeed, fringe candidates have already started to take power in some smaller countries. Five years ago, Alexis Tsipras, a Marxist demagogue, was treated with as much disdain by Greeces established politicians as Sanders was by the Bush family. But Tsiprass hard-left Syriza party won Greeces election in January 2015 and drove it into a collision with Germany that nearly led to Greece leaving the European Union. Hungary is now ruled by Viktor Orban, who has promised to build an illiberal state. Nationalist-populists also rule in Poland and have a share of government in Switzerland and Finland.

Put another way, its hard to dismiss a Brexit or a Trump presidency as a complete surprise. Trump has been atop the Republican polls for several months. Most big banks are already working on a Plan B in case the City of London finds itself no longer in the EU.

The unease that has brought us to this point is not going to abate. On both sides of the Atlantic, even when economies are growing, voters across the political spectrum are unnerved by broadly the same things, including inequality and globalization (especially immigration and trade). If youre worried about your job and your childrens future, you can be pulled leftward to Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, or to the right by Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen.

Corruption and inefficiency  whether in the form of Americas money politics or the EUs lack of accountability  partly explain why the ills of the Western world have not been solved. But another reason is that problems like inequality dont lend themselves to easy or swift resolution. A generation doesnt become educated overnight; an economic realignment brought about by technology doesnt resolve itself in short order. In other words, the 20 percent world is here to stay. Get used to it.

John Micklethwait is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News.
Ceremony held for new baseball stadium, games months off

A ceremony was held for a multi-use sports facility in Hagerstown on Tuesday, but the first pitch is still months away.
Commissioner candidates Jones, Robinson on housing, annexation

Incumbent Lee Jones, D, and Perry Robinson, R, share what they plan to do if elected to Monroe County's District 1.
The two were vocal in their displeasure over the alliance with the BJP, though Baig recently clarified that Mehbooba is the PDPs unanimous choice to succeed Mufti.

A senior PDP leader said Mehbooba would need to emulate her late father, who as the state Congress chief at the height of Sheikh Abdullahs popularity, kept a check on dissent and also ensured that the party retained its foothold in the states political landscape.

Though coalition partner BJP too assured support, PDP workers said that Mehbooba will be required to exercise caution to prevent rifts that appeared in the early days of the government from growing.

Read | J-K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed dead, body brought to Palam Airport

Mehboobas involvement in securing the release of Hurriyat leaders from house arrest ahead of the NSA talks that were later cancelled, and her statement that the Hurriyat had been consulted ahead of the BJP-PDP alliance had set the stage for confrontation.

Our alliance is with the PDP and our vision for the states development is more important than the person, said a BJP leader, underlining that the party had no objection to her elevation.

The coalition governments early days, however, were marked by discordant notes as the BJP objected to Mufti thanking the Hurriyat, militant outfits and people from across the border for creating an atmosphere conducive for assembly polls and the decision to release separatist leader Masarat Alam from prison.

Other controversies followed, including the recent government order to hoist the state flag alongside the Tricolour and a ban on beef.

Read | Muftis demise leaves huge void in politics: PM , Prez condole Sayeeds death

Political watchers also point out that Mehbooba will have to bridge the gap between the Centre and the State. Mufti sahab had friends in Delhi, he did not need intermediaries, said a source.

The oddities of coalition politics would also test her mettle.

All eyes will be on her when issues promised by the BJP in its manifesto, such as abrogation of Article 370 or a Union territory status for Ladakh, are raised. Alternatively, she will have to deliver on promises made by the PDP like the removal of AFSPA from the state, without facing opposition from the BJP, said a source.

Flashback | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on intolerance, Kashmir and a secular India

<span itemprop="name" content="Flashback | J-K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on intolerance"></span><span itemprop="description" content="In an Oct 2015 interview with HT, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed spoke on intolerance, Kashmir and a secular India. The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister passed away on Thursday morning at the Delhi AIIMS after prolonged illness. Jammu and Kashmir government has announced a holiday today and a seven-day mourning period as a mark of respect to Sayeed.The 79-year-old leader who founded the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been admitted to the premier hospital in Delhi with complaints of severe fever and neck pain. He had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung disease."></span><span itemprop="duration" content="87"></span><span itemprop="thumbnail" content="http://cfvod.kaltura.com/p/1679921/sp/167992100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_nttlc8qb/version/100002/acv/232"></span><span itemprop="width" content="640"></span><span itemprop="height" content="362"></span>

Read | No threat to J-K coalition if Mehbooba becomes CM: BJP

Read | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Much more than Delhis man in Kashmir
Looking at the way the government and armed forces reacted to the Pathankot air base attack, our military, which has the third largest ready-to-fight force in the world, has left a lot to be desired.

But Ill stop at that because going by the news it is a thin and obscure line that separates criticism and sedition. Recent developments suggest that it is seditious to criticise the armed forces or our democracy.

In the Pathankot attack, six terrorists entered the air base and seven security personnel lost their lives while about 21 others were wounded. Among the dead was Lt Col EK Niranjan, who lost his life while defusing a bomb on one of the terrorists. On Tuesday, as Niranjan was being cremated with full state honours, 24-year-old Anwar Sadhik from Malappuram in north Kerala was arrested on charges of sedition for his comment made on social media about the late NSG commando.

The comment was posted in Malayalam, and when translated, reads: Finally, one nuisance is over. Now his widow will get a job and financial aid. Theres nothing for the ordinary man. Indian democracy stinks. Police have charged Sadhik under Section 124(A) of the IPC for his anti-national comments. He was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a media house, whose name he used to legitimise his comment.

Putting aside the fact that the state views this incident as a seditious act, the comment needs to be reread. It is an insensitive comment; disrespectful towards the armed forces, thinks poorly of our men in uniform; and definitely does not appreciate the way our democracy functions. It is at best a stupid comment and, at worst, an obnoxious one.

The fact that Sadhik posted this comment under a fake identity shows that he is also like one of the thousand Internet trolls who seek comfort in the relative anonymity of the web. He is someone who does not have the courage to speak his mind.

But what is seditious in his comment? Is it his resentment towards the armed forces? Is it his displeasure about the fact that the state takes care of a martyrs loved ones? Or is it his disgust for the way our democracy functions?

None of these should be seen as anti-national in a free democracy (the same democracy Sadhik fails to appreciate). In our zest to show our love for the nation, are we becoming jingoistic? Is hyper-nationalism blinding us of a basic right to disagree and express dissent? Speaking about the army, it does not enjoy the popular goodwill of the people in the Northeast or in J&K. Does that mean that the people over there are anti-national?

It will be worth recollecting what Vice-President Hamid Ansari said on democracy and the right to dissent, in the first Ram Manohar Lohia Memorial National Lecture, on September 23: The idea that anyone who disagrees with my views must be the carrier of someone elses subversive agenda is, in some ways, deeply anti-democratic. It does away with the possibility of genuinely good faith disagreement.

A circle inspector, while speaking to an online media portal, said Sadhik will be questioned to know if there is a hidden agenda behind the post. Really?

Sadhiks comment is an Internet rant and it is in tune with some of the online responses to views that do not conform to the popular narrative. But what is disturbing is the way the state and the administration is closing the space for dissent and disagreement.

The writer tweets as @vijucherian.

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When it happens once, it may be an accident, but when same incident is repeated, that becomes symptomatic of a pattern. When the Gurdaspur incident happened, both the Centre and state governments took that as an isolated case of terror, but after Pathankot, I fear the emergence of Punjab as a second front of terror, after Kashmir. I am yet to recover from the trauma of the loss of so many lives but at the same time I am concerned about the challenges the terrorists have thrown to us and wondering whether we could have prevented such attacks in the past and most importantly, what should be our action plan for the future.

Can India afford to continue talks with Pakistan after the Pathakot incident? What should be our response? Will India send its foreign secretary to Pakistan and if so, what message will this send to the people of our country, to our armed forces and to the global community at large?

If India continues its talks normally with Pakistan, it will only establish India as a soft State against terrorism. There is no doubt that peace between India and Pakistan is in the interest of both the countries and the whole of South Asia and there is also no doubt that channels of communication are essential for restoring peace, but at the same time, we cannot afford to talk to Pakistan when our sovereignty is being challenged on our own soil. Our Prime Minister is crying from the roof tops about the need for defining terrorism by the United Nations and to deal with it in a coordinated manner. Now, the time has come for India to clear the haze and prepare its own comprehensive plan against terrorism. The government should rethink its policy towards Pakistan; pragmatism and not jingoism should be the basis of our foreign policy. On the level of implementation, barricading the roads after each terror attack is not sufficient. Terrorists are now equipped with modern communication and surveillance technology, therefore, our police forces should also be equipped and trained accordingly. Police modernisation, particularly in sensitive states like Punjab cannot wait any longer. The change has to happen with utmost urgency and seriousness. Another important area is strengthening both the external and internal intelligence, operational convergence between the two and establishing channels for flow of intelligence from source to the executing agency.

Coming back to the incident, it is a matter of concern that Punjab is once again emerging as a hotbed of terror. Terrorists entering India through Punjab is alarming, India shares 460 kilometres of border with Pakistan and this is not the porous kind of border, but is virtually unassailable because of the barbed wires and flood lights. Despite that two high-intensity terrorist attacks  first Gurdaspur, and now Pathankot  have taken place within a span of six months and this should be a matter of serious concern for both the Government of India and the state of Punjab. Ironically, there are similarities between the Gurdaspur, Mumbai 26/11 and the Pathankot attacks. And, like Mumbai attacks, the terrorists were constantly in touch with the handlers across the border while executing their plans. All this is pointing towards a systemic failure at a certain level which needs immediate rectification. The central as well as state government should think about the ways and means to save Punjab from another phase of destruction.

Jaiveer Shergill is a Supreme Court lawyer and national media panellist, INC. The views expressed are personal.
Hailing from Sawai Jaisinghpura, a village near Jaipur, Hazarilal belongs to a family of ironsmiths. What sets him apart, though, is his willingness to experiment. A few months back, he created an iron casing for light bulbs to keep the flies (hovering around them) at bay. Now, he lectures at design schools on techniques to develop the craft. And, in his free time, he plans to personalise designs for his clients. I dream of making new and innovative products. I want to know what they [my clients] desire, he says.

Hazarilals dreams are now in the public domain thanks to Siddhartha Joshi, a photographer who documents peoples aspirations. Joshi launched #TellMeYourDream2015  a 365-day photo project  on January 1 last year to archive the dreams of complete strangers. The past year has seen Joshi travel across the country, from West Bengal to Gujarat, and click over 2,000 photos. His photos and heart-warming stories gained him over 24,000 followers on Instagram.

I dream of making new and innovative products. I want to know what they [my clients] desire, - Hazarilal, Pune (Photo: Siddhartha Joshi )

It was a personal project to discover the world around me. I started interviewing people about their fears and dreams. I focussed on dreams as they were an inspiration for me, says Joshi.

An industrial designer by profession, photography and travel are an abiding passion for Joshi. He was barely 10 years old when he started clicking photos on his fathers Canon SLR. Over a period of time, Joshi realised that he loved the stories behind the photos. Every story is new, and I enjoy that. Thats also why I like to travel... It opens our minds to the world, says the 34-year-old.

So, how does Joshi get strangers to open up to him? He insists that its easier than it sounds. I approach people with a smile and tell them about myself before I pose questions. Its important that they trust me, he explains. This strategy has worked in Joshis favour, as his documentation includes women from rural areas, who shy away from male strangers. As long as I am respectful, they open up, he says.

My dream is to get maximum number of children from Budhwar Peth (Punes red light area) into the mainstream society and to help the women there overcome the trauma and come out of it.  Jyoti Pathania, Pune (Photo: Siddhartha Joshi )

As we enter into the new year, Joshi wants to continue telling the stories he comes across, and is yet to plan a #TellMeYourDream2016. He wants his followers to connect with his subjects, irrespective of their social backgrounds. These stories, similar to those by Humans of New York, bring a smile on peoples faces and renew their faith in humanity. Its inspiring, he says.

Follow the #TellMeYourDream2015 archive on sid-thewanderer.com

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The mayor-in-council of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation has halted the tendering process for assigning the project of door-to-door collection of household waste. The project is a major component of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

The mayor-in-council has asked municipal authorities to revert within three weeks with details of rates being paid to contractors by municipal bodies in areas with the system already in place.

Authorities had earlier furnished details of the rates in Surat in Gujarat and Cuttack in Odisha, where municipal bodies paid private contractors around Rs 1,500 per ton for the door-to-door collection of garbage, but the mayor-in-council found the data insufficient in deciding the bids.

In Jabalpur, about 450 metric tonnes of garbage is generated from both household and commercial sources.

Presently, out of 79 municipal wards, door-to-door collection of household waste is done in seven municipal wards. In 28 municipal wards, the lifting of garbage is done by the private contractors from the roadside waste bins, while in 44 wards, employees of the municipal corporation carry out the work.

The municipal corporation is scheduled to spend `24 crore on garbage collection in 79 wards in the current financial year. In January 2014, 55 villages were merged in the municipal corporation and nine new wards were created.

Mayor Swati Godbole told HT, We will adopt a pragmatic approach in finalizing the bid for door-to-door collection of household wastes. Unlike Surat or Cuttack, the Jabalpur municipal limits has hilly areas in some parts, which can cause a variation in the cost of collection of garbage, therefore more study is required before we can finalise anything.

A garbage disposal unit being built by a private firm on land provided by the municipal corporation is nearing completion and is expected to start operating from next month. We will finalize the bid by then, the mayor added.

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As protesting students refusing to let Gajendra Chauhan take charge as the chairperson of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune were lathi-charged by the police, the film fraternity call it a sad state of affairs. Expressing his views on the incident, filmmaker Shyam Benegal says, Everything that shouldnt have happened has taken place. I was very keen that Gajendra Chauhan should go on his own and not accompanied by law forces. There was no need to do that. It was simpler that way. I am very saddened by what has happened.

Read: On Chauhans Day 1 at FTII, cops lathi-charge protesting students

National award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Barua, who is also an FTII alumnus, believes that it should not have ended in this manner. Its very unfortunate. In fact the entire thing could have been handled in a better manner, says Barua.

Read: 20 FTII students lathicharged, detained for protesting against Chauhan

Director Shirish Kunder, who has helmed films such as Joker (2012) and Tees Maar Khan (2010), took to Twitter and posted, Gajendra Chauhan to take charge at FTII today and teach them a lesson. Bilateral talks with terrorists. War with FTII students. 56-inch bravery!

Bilateral talks with terrorists. War with FTII students.56-inch bravery!  Shirish Kunder (@ShirishKunder) January 7, 2016

Director Hansel Mehta posted two contrasting pictures of Chauhan at FTII and students at the police station and captioned it The picture says it #FTII

Meanwhile member of the Central Board of Film Certifications Board, Ashoke Pandit, tweeted in support of the lathi-charge but later deleted the tweet. The govt. shld come heavy on the students misbehaving at #FTII as they r more of political activists & seize to be students of #Cinema, he posted.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Bollywood actor Aamir Khan said on Thursday he respected the governments decision to not renew his contract as the brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign following widespread speculation that the star was axed due to his recent comments on intolerance.

In a statement, Khan said it was an honour and pleasure to serve as brand ambassador for the past 10 years and clarified all public service films done by him till date were free of cost.

Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and thats the way it should be, the actors statement said.

Khan said it was the prerogative of the government to decide if it needed a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be.

I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country.

Read: Aamir Khan no longer the face of Incredible India, says govt

Tourism minister Mahesh Sharma has already pointed out the decision to discontinue with the actors services was a result of a contract with McCann Worldwide agency for the Atithi Devo Bhava campaign running out.

The ministry has not hired Aamir. Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists, he told reporters on Wednesday.

The actor came under searing criticism last year after revealing that he and his wife had considered moving out of India because a sense of insecurity and fear had seeped deep within society.

Khans comments had drawn sharp reactions from the BJP as well as some members of Bollywood and had snowballed into a huge row on social media.

The actor later clarified that neither he nor his wife Kiran had any intention of leaving the country and were proud Indians, but added that he stood by his remarks.

Read: Aamir Khan and intolerance: How Bollywood turned against its own
John Abraham feels that his journey in Bollywood hasnt been a cakewalk. However, now, the actor, who apparently struggled to prove his mettle as a performer when he transitioned from modelling to acting, has become a name to reckon with as a producer and as an actor. He gave Ayushmann Khurrana a great launch with Vicky Donor (2012).

When John entered the industry, he had no godfather, and had to struggle all alone. So, does he see a change now, in terms of how he is perceived?

What kind of a change are we talking about? I saw an article in some paper one day, which was about some 30 actors with their fathers, mothers and godfathers, and I just smiled. My face wasnt there. And these were new actors. In my life, the struggle will go on, says John, who feels that he is strong enough to keep going.

John Abraham and Shruti Haasan in a still from Welcome Back. (Facebook)

Read: Disability rights group unhappy with Wazir, Bejoy Nambiar apologises

The biggest strength that I have is my conviction. Its really strong. The only thing that picks me up when Im down and out is the fact that Ive convinced myself that I am the best, he adds.

John in a still from Wazir that also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar. (YouTube)

John feels that theres been a fresh wave of content in the film industry. Theres been a change in terms of the kinds of movies that are being made. There are more films that have made a difference in the recent past. Some of them are beautiful. So, I do see a change, and I wish theres more of it, says the actor-producer.

Read: John Abraham injured on Force 2 sets

John, who has also done an MBA, was a media planner before he entered the movie business. And his knack for marketing is evident from the way he promotes his productions. But its different when he acts in a film that has been produced by someone else. Do their ideas ever clash?

Watch Wazir trailer

No, they dont. The makers have certain traditional ideas. But since Ive been a media planner, I often suggest ways and means of media innovations. We also talk about TRPs, GRPs, etc. Sometimes, producers are taken aback. They say, We thought you only went to the gym. Then I have to tell them that this is what I have studied. Im an educated person and a strategic planner. After Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe (2013), people take me a lot more seriously, says John.
Baba Ramdevs Patanjali might face tough competition soon as rival brands are following in its trail to establish separate retail outlets for traditional medicines, complete with doctors for consultations.

Hamdard, a Unani and Ayurvedic pharmaceutical and FMCG company, is all set to launch its own retail outlets offering free consultancy to visitors along with traditional medicines. Looking beyond Hamdards flagship products  Rooh Afza, and Roghan Badam Shirin  the company will now focus on its portfolio of 476 products, which includes 16 FMCG brands, and 450 traditional Unani medicines.

We plan to open a chain of retail outlets  Hamdards Wellness Centres  based on Unani medicines to reach out to the masses, said Mansoor Ali, chief marketing officer, Hamdard Laboratories. We plan to open four outlets in the next six months around Delhi, Hyderabad and other locations. Each pharmacy outlet will employ two doctors to provide free consultancy to the visitors.

Patanjali pharmacy, which has about 15,000 exclusive outlets across the country and 100,000 general stores that stock its products, is known for deploying Ayurveda consultants at its stores.

While Hamdard plans to launch about 10 new products across categories this year, another popular herbal brand, and maker of Chyawanprash, Dabur is reviving its old Ayurveda brand Ayush, and also plans to modernise its Ayurveda portfolio with the addition of new products.

Multinational FMCG firm Hindustan Unilever has also brought back its Ayurveda brand, Lever Ayush.

Customers are ready to experiment herbal categories. The move to open exclusive outlets with an added facility of doctors is an innovative marketing strategy, said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy, Technopak Advisors.

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Heads of our soldiers are being cut but we are feeding their prime minister chicken biryani. This country is ruled by weak leaders, Narendra Modi speech in May 2013.

Mr Prime Minister  No dialogue over dead bodies. Please cancel your meeting with Nawaz Sharif, Sushma Swaraj tweet in September 2013.

Two and a half years can be an eternity in politics, and yet remembering the not so distant past is often useful in understanding the present and the future. In mid 2013, Narendra Modi had just been anointed the BJPs prime ministerial candidate. He was offering a vision of muscular leadership to the Indian voter to contrast with the seemingly effete Dr Manmohan Singh: The chhappan inch ki chhati (56-inch chest) rhetoric demanded that Pakistan be taught a lesson, that even the common courtesy of a luncheon for a visiting Pakistani head of state be mocked as an anti-national act. Sushma Swaraj too was part of the chorus: After all, the BJP has for years claimed that Nehruvian leaders have been pusillanimous in their foreign policy, be it towards Pakistan or China. How could a party whose ideological fountainhead speaks of an Akhand Bharat not be seen to talk tough to Islamabad?

That was then when the BJP was a party in opposition eyeing power in Delhi. As events of the last fortnight have confirmed, the view from Raisina Hill is very different from Gandhinagar or Jhandewalan. Then, the BJP could afford to call for retributive action, including crossing the LoC to target Pakistan-based terror camps, because there were no costs to be incurred for potential adventurism. Now, after Pathankot, when the Prime Minister and senior ministers speak with restraint and refer to a terror attack being carried out by enemies of humanity without any explicit reference to the Pakistani State, there is a recognition that being in government imposes duties and responsibilities that cannot be wished away easily. As the Congress MP Shashi Tharoor rather neatly put it, Where you stand depends on where you sit!

Interestingly, Mr Tharoors own party is no different now that it sits in the opposition. A Mani Shankar Aiyar type backbencher is a rare exception. To his credit, through good times and bad, Aiyar has maintained that the guftagu with Pakistan must continue. But what of those Congress leaders and spokespersons who now fulminate at Prime Minister Narendra Modis reach out to Nawaz Sharif or insist that talks must be called off in the aftermath of Pathankot? How do they square their rhetoric with the stand that Dr Singhs government took in seeking a dialogue with Pakistan even after the horror of 26/11 (recall the joint statement in Sharm-el-Sheikh in 2009)?

What is true of diplomacy is equally true of the economy too. When the Goods and Services Tax legislation was introduced by the UPA government, it was the BJP chief ministers, and more specifically, Modi as Gujarat chief minister, who were its most vocal critics. Now, the roles are reversed with the Congress finding one new excuse after another to scuttle the GST bill. Indeed, economic legislations have been particularly prone to competitive opportunism in politics: The bill providing 49% FDI in insurance, for example, took almost two decades to pass parliamentary gridlock (the joke is, it literally took a generation in North Block from Yashwant Sinha to his son Jayant Sinha!).

Even more amusing is the manner in which Aadhar  the digital identification scheme of the previous government  has now been appropriated by the Modi regime to ensure the successful implementation of direct cash transfer subsidies to the truly deserving. In 2014, during the South Bangalore general election campaign, Congress candidate and Aadhar mentor Nandan Nilekani came under fierce attack from his BJP rival, Ananth Kumar, and was accused of creating a white elephant. At a public meeting, Mr Modi vowed to review the scheme even as Kumar and his supporters cheered wildly.

Sadly, the nature of competitive politics has meant that the space for consensus on any kind of policy or legislative reform is shrinking. Foreign policy, particularly towards Pakistan, has been the oldest victim, in a sense, of this highly-surcharged, polarised political atmosphere. Rising studio decibels, prodded by retired generals and diplomats calling for stern action  the kind which they would never probably countenance while in service  are matched by a political class which sees benefit in playing to the gallery with strident rhetoric. It is natural in such an environment for even the most rational politician to back off rather than stay the course.

Which is the why the Prime Minister deserves to be lauded at this juncture for not being swayed by the war-mongers within and outside his party. His Pakistan initiative was a bold risk, one that could still easily flounder in the face of a hostile army-jihadi nexus across the border. When an Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook his Lahore bus yatra, he carried the trust and goodwill of a lifetime spent being seen as a statesman-politician. When Modi took the helicopter ride with Sharif, he was actually defying the image of being the hardline Hindutva hero who would never concede an inch to Islamabad. It is so much easier to live up to an image than break away from it and re-invent yourself.

Yes, Pathankot makes any attempt at peace with Pakistan that much more difficult. But that should not be a reason not to institutionalise a dialogue that goes beyond the photo ops and jhappiyans (hugs). For once, the BJP and the Congress should be on the same side: A side that fights terror, but doesnt stop talking.

Post-script: Prime Minister Narendra Modis army on twitter has an uncanny knack of producing old tweets to expose the double standards of their rivals. Just a cursory glance of tweets by their leader between 2011 and 2014 on Pakistan would only show how far their leader has travelled in the last few years. Some may call it duplicity, others could well see it as a sign of welcome maturity!!

Rajdeep Sardesai is an author and a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.

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The Delhi Traffic Police have collected over Rs 38 lakh as fines for violations under the odd-even restrictions in the first five days of the 15-day campaign in the city.

The odd-even car rationing experiment was started on January 1 as one of the first measures to curb the high level of air pollution in Delhi.

Over the last five day, a total of 1,938 drivers were prosecuted and fined Rs 2,000 each for violating the rule by traffic police. Police believed that at the end of the trial period on January 15, the fines collected could cross the Rs 1 crore mark.

Senior officers said that the police would write to the government to ensure that the huge fine collected be put to use for ensuring road safety measures.

A proposal to use some portion of the money collected from traffic fines for road safety is already pending. It was an old proposal which has not been cleared till date, said a senior officer.

On Tuesday, the police fined 114 drivers, collecting a fine of Rs 2.6 lakh. The Delhi governments transport department fined an additional 71 drivers, while the revenue department fined 557 people. Special commissioner of police (traffic) Muktesh Chander said that after Monday there was a very high level of compliance of the new rules.

Also, there were very few traffic jams reported from across the city. Apart from peak hour normal traffic, the control room received traffic complaints from Kalkaji, after a cluster bus broke down near the Modi Mill flyover. Another DTC bus broke down near Moolchand in the evening which caused a traffic jam on Ring Road.

Our men are on duty but there are very few drivers violating the rule. It is good that people are following the rules. Also the fine of Rs 2,000 is not a small amount, he said.

The highest fine collected was on Monday, when around 2,000 traffic police personnel were posted all across the city. It was the third day of the trial run and the first when all offices were open after the weekend. A total of 1,040 drivers were fined on January 4.

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The road-rationing plan was working and would not be cut short as pollution levels in the city had dropped considerably, the Delhi government said on Thursday, a claim not entirely backed by data.

A week into the 15-day trial run, the city government, battling criticism that the odd-even formula for private cars had failed to clean citys dirty air, said concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) had fallen significantly.

Data shows that while average PM 2.5 concentration levels for December 2015 are around 465 micrograms per cubic metre, it is below 300 today, transport minister Gopal Rai said, a day after the high court asked if the campaign could be restricted to a week. The government is to file its response on Friday.

Sixty micrograms per cubic metre is considered the maximum safe level while the World Health Organization recommends 25 micrograms. These tiny particles released by factories and motor vehicles can cause respiratory distress and have also been linked to cancer and heart disease.

HT found there was a marginal drop in pollution but the comparison was questionable. The December figures are from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee stations, while the data put forward by the government is from hand-held devices, often referred to as mobile stations.

Smooth Traffic Movement at Rao Tula Ram Marg in front of RR Hospital at Outer Ring Road in New Delhi on Thursday. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

HT analysed data from Mandir Marg and RK Puram stations for January 1-7 period and compared it with the averages provided by the government for December. The January figures are for the 12-hour duration  8am and 8pm  when the restrictions are in place.

On January 6, PM 2.5 level at RK Puram was 412 micrograms per cubic metre. The average for December, according to the government, is 465.

On Thursday, PM 2.5 concentration was 467 at RK Puram in south Delhi and 474 at Mandir Marg in central Delhi. The latter is usually less polluted among the two.

According to scientists, the two figures are not comparable, as fixed stations record data the whole day while those with hand-held devices dont spend more than 20 minutes at one location.

Concentration of pollutants also depends greatly on weather conditions such as temperature, humidity and wind speed. On Thursday, pollution levels spiked because humidity was higher than previous days.

Making a case for the campaign to run till January 15 as planned, Rai said, We need to collect more data for better analysis. The government has made preparations; the people of Delhi are ready. The odd-even restriction will continue as planned.

The government was forced to restrict the use of odd-numbered cars to odd dates and even-numbered to even dates after the high court compared Delhi to a gas chamber, voicing concern over alarming levels of air pollution.
His story seems to have more holes than a sieve, casting doubts on the veracity of his narration of the events that now seem linked to the fateful Pathankot attack. Punjab SP Salwinder Singh is certainly enjoying his much more than 15 minutes of fame with the media hanging on to every word of his, howsoever improbable many of his statements seem. The SP, who informed his superiors of the abduction and subsequent release by terrorists, now appears a crucial link in the Pathankot episode. So, it is odd that he is allowed to wander about at will narrating his story to all and sundry. Surely, such a witness should have been in custody and interrogated. The fact that he is able to talk to the media and create more confusion is indicative of the lack of professionalism in the manner in which such incidents are handled.

While there is every reason to keep the public informed, there is no call for a witness, who could well be in danger, to be allowed to meet everyone he chooses. His penchant to change his stories, often at the prompting of the media, now makes it more difficult to arrive at the truth of what actually happened during the hours the terrorists were with Mr Singh and his cook and friend. If anything, Mr Singhs accounts have cast more suspicion on the involvement of the Punjab police or even security forces in drug smuggling or other illegal activity. The management of public perception and suitable reassurances form a part of the strategy in dealing with terror. Unfortunately, here the impression being conveyed is that of being caught flat-footed and then compounding the confusion by putting out premature statements in the press.

During the Mumbai attacks, some of the authorities concerned were quick to hold press conferences and issue contradictory statements. While 24/7 television is a part of life now, when dealing with highly sensitive operations, discretion is often the better part of valour. The National Investigation Agencys decision to bring Mr Singh to Delhi in a day or two comes far too late. While the issue is being investigated, it doesnt help for the security forces to be seen as incompetent and for the political leaders to appear confused. Silence is not always a good policy, but calibrated and considered responses are far better than the sort of free-for-all that we have seen so far.
The Gurgaon police has only 17 bulletproof jackets for its 4,000 personnel and have not made a single purchase of the safety gear in the past 10 years, an RTI reply has revealed.

The RTI also revealed that the Gurgaon police has a sanctioned strength of 4,823 personnel to ensure the safety of residents but, currently, only 3,949 personnel are working round the clock .

Aseem Takyar, the activist who filed the RTI in November last year, has sought information about the status of the safety measures taken by the Gurgaon police.

He said, After the terrorist attack at the Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur, Punjab, I got to know that the Punjab police, at the time of the incident, did not have any bullet-proof jackets. I received information that the Gurgaon police too was short on safety equipment. Thus, I filed an RTI. The reply revealed that the city police has only 17 bullet-proof jackets and that none has been bought in the past 10 years. The police force is also facing a severe staff crunch.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team of the Gurgaon police carried out a safety drill but the lack of adequate equipment put a question mark on the real-time preparedness of the city police in case of a terrorist attack.

The mock drill was organised to check the police preparedness in the city following a terrorist attack at the Pathankot Air Force station on Saturday that left seven security personnel dead. The siege continued till Monday and the armed forces were able to neutralise six attackers.

When asked about the lack of safety equipment with the police force, Navdeep Singh Virk, Gurgaon commissioner of police, said, Bulletproof jackets are an urgent requirement for our SWAT teams. We do have some jackets but they are not enough and we have a requirement for more. I have sent the proposal for procuring more bulletproof jackets for our personnel along with modern strike weapons.

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Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan put the spotlight on homeopathy when he dismissed it as bogus science, but its business as usual for the 2.65 lakh registered practitioners of homeopathy in India.

No one in chemistry believes in homoeopathy. It works because of placebo effect, said Ramakrishnan, the India-born President of the Royal Society, who won the Nobel for Chemistry in 2009, speaking at the Panjab University at Chandigarh.

Over the past decade, modern science has dismissed homeopathy as nothing more what it appears to be: sugar pills that do nothing more than give you empty calories.

Read: Homeopathy is bogus, harmful, says Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

A major nail in the coffin was an analysis of 110 homoeopathy trials and 110 matched conventional-medicine trials published in The Lancet in 2005 that concluded the clinical effects of homoeopathy are placebo effects. It found homoeopathic treatments were not more effective than dummy pills, but allopathic medicine were.

In India, however, the modern medicine versus homeopathy battle is far from over. Advocates of homeopathy are quick to dismiss it and similar findings as pharmaceutical industrys attempt to rubbish the growing popularity of alternative medicine, which is finding new converts every day and becoming a threat to allopathy.

Advocates of homeopathy are quick to dismiss it and similar findings as pharmaceutical industrys attempt to rubbish the growing popularity of alternative medicine. (Shutterstock)

Instead of complaining about homeopathys lack of benefit, doctors should contemplate about the failings of modern medicine to address patients needs for personalized care. People use homeopathy because it orks for them, says Dr Ramjee Singh, president, Central Council of Homeopathy, which is hosting a three-day national seminar on homeopathy supported by the Ministry of Ayush in New Delhi from Jan 8-10.

India is among the worlds biggest market for homeopathy in the world, pegged at Rs 1,500 crore and projected to grow by 20% each year. India has 195 homeopathic medical colleges, 51 homeopathic universities and 27 state councils, which train and register thousands of practitioners each year.

Read | Poll: Nobel laureate calls homeopathy bogus, do you agree?

According to Indias Ministry of Ayush, it is the second most popular system of medicine after allopathy in the country with roughly 10% of the population relying soley on homeopathy for treatment.

Following a philosophy of like treats like, German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann developed homeopathy in 1796. He restored health by administering highly diluted amounts of substances such as arsenic, belladonna, sepia, nutmeg or chamomile, which, in larger quantities, cause symptoms like those suffered by the patient.

India is among the worlds biggest market for homeopathy in the world, pegged at Rs 1,500 crore and projected to grow by 20% each year. (Shutterstock)

He believed that the water retained a memory of the vital essence of the substance used. Scientists have long questioned the very basis of homeopathy because it seems implausible for such diluted forms of a chemical to have any medical or pharmacological action. In most cases, the final homeopathic preparation does not contain a single molecule of the original herb or mineral.

Read: Swear by homeopathy? You could be risking your health

Will the questioning of its effectiveness be the beginning of the end of the multi billion-dollar industry? Even critics of homeopathy doubt it.

For one, there are many other studies, both clinical and non-clinical, that demonstrate homeopathys efficacy and safety in treating some diseases. It has survived for over 250 years because people consider it far safer than other forms of medicine. I dont mind using alternative medicines because it is not toxic and has no side effects. And it works for me, says the Delhi-based teacher Meenakshi Kriplani, who has been using homeopathy to treat her asthma.

After all, they say, what harm can a few sugar pills do?

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.

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The police have detained more than 20 Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students who were protesting against the instituteS chairman Gajendra Chauhan outside the campus in Pune on Thursday.

The police also lathi-charged students after they refused to clear the way for Chauhan, who is taking charge on Thursday during his first visit to the institute after his was nominated for the post seven months ago.

Earlier, the city police served notices to 17 students of FTII warning them of strict action in case they create a law and order issue when Chauhan visits the campus on Thursday. Despite warning, students held protests and raised slogans like Gajendra Chauhan vapis jao (Gajendra Chauhan go back).

FTII students association representative Vikas Urs told Hindustan Times that despite police action we will continue to protests peacefully.

More than 20 students protesting against Gajendra Chauhan detained outside #FTII Campus in Punehttps://t.co/4SeTCMcmGi  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

To avoid any trouble, the Deccan area police issued notices to 17 FTII students against whom FIRs have been filed for holding FTII director Prashant Pathrabe into captivity during their strike.

The students were on a strike for 139 days to oppose the appointment of Chauhan, saying he lacks stature and vision.

In their notice, police said action will be taken against students if they create trouble on the campus, creating law and order problem.

During his visit, Chauhan will chair the FTII societys meeting in which members of Governing Council will be selected, said institute director Prashant Pathrabe.

Chauhan will first take charge as the institutes chairman and will chair the meeting of all the FTII societys members. During the meeting, new Governing Council will be formed, Pathrabe said.

When asked about his plans for improving the institute, Chauhan said, I will first attend the meeting and then talk to the press. Anything I say now will be considered fake.

Earlier, the meeting of FTII society was to be held on December 18 but had to be postponed owing to the unavailability of some members. While the 14 member Governing Council is responsible for governance, the FTII society comprising of 24 members is considered the apex body of India s premier institute.
From an obscure lawyer to becoming the only Muslim Home Minister the country has seen so far, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed carved a niche for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics with the craftiness and unwavering focus of an avid bridge player he was.

In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Sayeed emerged as a rival power centre to the mighty Abdullahs, always playing his cards close to the chest, while making friends with parties following conflicting ideologies to suit his political agenda.

Read more: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, J-K healing touch CM, passes away

The high-points in the political journey of Sayeed, who would have turned 80 on January 12, was his being catapulted to the chair of free Indias first Muslim Home Minister in 1989 and, years later, becoming the Chief Minister of the restive state for a second time in 2015, heading a coalition with BJP, which had its first brush with power in the only Muslim-majority state.

Sayeeds stint in the Home Ministry, at a time when militancy had begun to rear its ugly head in his home state, would, however, be most remembered for the kidnapping of his third daughter Rubaiya by JKLF. The militants demanded freeing five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiyas freedom and let her off only after their demand had been met.

Read more: Mehbooba Mufti set to take over as next CM of Jammu and Kashmir

The kidnapping and subsequent release of the militants, according to Sayeeds rivals, projected India as a soft state for the first time.

Born in Baba Mohalla of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on January 12, 1936, Sayeed had his early education at a local school and graduated from S P College, Srinagar. He went on to obtain a law degree and Masters degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University.

Sayeed cut his political teeth early, having joined the Democratic National Conference of G M Sadiq in the late 1950s.

Sadiq, recognising the potential of the young lawyer, appointed him as the District Convenor of the party. In 1962, Sayeed was elected to the state assembly from Bijbehara, the seat which he retained five years later. He was appointed a Deputy Minister by Sadiq, who by then had become Chief Minister.

However, he fell out with the party a few years later andHowever, he fell out with the party a few years later and joined the Indian National Congress, a courageous but risky decision at that time given the unstinted support of most Kashmiris to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who was in jail.

Considered an astute organiser and administrator, Sayeed ensured that Congress not only got a foothold in the Valley but created pockets of staunch support for the party. In 1972, he became a Cabinet Minster and also Congress partys leader in the Legislative Council. He was made the state Congress president a couple of years later. As he rapidly grew in stature, Sayeed saw himself as the next Chief Minister of the state. However, all hopes he might have harboured of occupying the hot seat were dashed when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi entered into an accord with Abdullah and facilitated his return as chief minister after a hiatus of 11 years, much against the wishes of Congress workers in general and Sayeed in particular.

Read More | Key political milestones in Mufti Mohammad Sayeeds life

Not the one to give up easily, Sayeed engineered a coup of sorts ahead of the 1977 elections as Congress withdrew support to Abdullahs government. The aim was to have a Congress Chief Minister  which would have been Sayeed  in place for elections to control the official machinery but Governor L K Jha brought the state under Governors rule.

It was the first time that Jammu and Kashmir was brought under Governors rule. Sayeed would later play a role in imposition of Governors rule on all five occasions during his epic political career.

Flashback | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on intolerance, Kashmir and a secular India

The results of 1977 Assembly elections all but killed Sayeeds dream of becoming the Chief Minister as Abdullahs National Conference came to power with a thumping majority. Sayeed was a key player when Governors Rule was imposed for the second time in the state in 1986.

The National Conference and Abdullahs have privately held the wily man from south Kashmir responsible for the intra-party rebellion against and subsequent dismissal of Farooq Abdullah by Governor Jagmohan in 1984. The power tussle between Farooq and his brother-in-law G M Shah led to a permanent estrangement and also saw the latter becoming Chief Minister with Congress support.

However, Shahs tenure also did not last long as Congress headed by Sayeed withdrew support to his government leading to imposition of Governors rule for the second time in 1986.

Read More | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Much more than Delhis man in Kashmir

When militancy broke out in Kashmir and Sayeed became theWhen militancy broke out in Kashmir and Sayeed became the Union Home Minister, he appointed Jagmohan as Governor despite protests by Farooq Abdullah, who resigned and the state came under Governors rule again in 1990.

While the state was brought under Governors Rule in 2002 and 2014 due to Sayeed taking time to thrash out coalition dispensations with Congress and BJP respectively, it was his manoeuvrings that saw a democratically elected government give way to administration by the Raj Bhawan in 2008. Sayeeds PDP withdrew support to coalition government headed by Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad in July 2008 following widespread protests over the Amarnath land allotment row that pitted the people of Hindu-dominated Jammu region against the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. Sayeeds stay in national politics was relatively short.

As Farooq Abdullah warmed up to Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 to ensure his return as Chief Minister ahead of the 1987 assembly elections, Sayeed was shifted to Delhi and appointed as the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation. He quit as tourism minister in 1987 and later co-founded Jan Morcha with V P Singh, who had quit Congress over the Bofors scandal. In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh as a Janata Dal candidate and became Union Home Minister in V P Singhs cabinet. Towards the end of P V Narsimha Raos tenure as Prime Minister, Sayeed returned to Congress fold with daughter Mehbooba Mufti. Sayeed won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in 1998 general elections, while Mehbooba became Congress MLA in 1996.

File photo of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in a public rally at Sher-i-Kashmir Park in Srinagar (HT Photo/Waseem Andrabi)

With his dream of becoming Chief Minister of the state still unfulfilled, Sayeed parted ways with Congress and floated a regional outfit  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in 1999. Some of the things associated with the PDP are considered exemplary of Sayeeds political genius.

The green flag and pen-inkpot election symbol of the PDP were lifted straight from the Muslim United Front (MUF)  the Jamaat-e-Islami-led conglomerate of anti-National Conference, anti-Congress parties in 1987 assembly elections. Though MUF received wide public support in the Valley, it had only four seats to show. Its symbols found ready acceptance in the Valley as PDP made significant gains and won 16 seats in the 2002 assembly elections. Although way short of majority in the 87-member house, Sayeed managed to bargain with Congress and secure a three-year stint as the Chief Minister on rotational basis.

Sayeed was sworn in as the ninth chief minister of state on November 2, 2002  fulfilling a long-standing dream. The wily politician, who enjoyed good relations across the political spectrum at national level, saw his PDP grow to 21 seats in 2008 Assembly elections but surprisingly decided to sit in the opposition.

The youngest party in the state continued to gain in strength as it not only won all the three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley in 2014 general elections but also emerged as the single largest party in the state elections later in the year. Sayeed became the unanimous choice for Chief Minister when PDP and BJP reached an agreement to form a coalition government and took oath on March 1, 2015.

Read More | Mehbooba Mufti set to take over as next CM of Jammu and Kashmir
Talks between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan slated for January 15 seemed to be on thin ice as New Delhi on Thursday linked the event with decisive and prompt action by Islamabad on the deadly terror attack at the Pathankot airbase.

The foreign ministry stated the position without setting a deadline for Pakistan, even as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the terrorist strike at a high-level meeting in Islamabad. He was reportedly briefed about the status of a ban on the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which is suspected to be behind the attack.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his cabinet colleagues that bilateral talks would not resume until Islamabad took action against the terror group and he had made this clear during a phone call with Sharif.

Action is a must. We are going to be very strict about it, Modi was learnt to have said at the meeting.

Read | Pathankot: Modis Af-Pak diplomacy has rattled Pakistan

Indian security agencies have identified five key figures from JeM who were involved in the conspiracy and New Delhi wants Islamabad to act against them. The terrorists under the scanner are the groups chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf Asghar, Maulana Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Abdul Shakur and Kasim Jan.

Unlike in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case where it remained in constant denial, Pakistan has not rejected Indias assertions about the role of the terror outfit in the Pathankot attack.

An Indian security personnel stands guard on a building at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab. (REUTERS)

India wants peaceful ties with all neighbours, including Pakistan but will not countenance cross-border terrorism. Actionable intelligence was given to Pakistan. Ball is in Pakistans court now, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters on Thursday.

He, however, parried questions about the possibility of the talks being cancelled, maintaining that India was not fixing any deadline for Pakistan to respond, nor was it foreshadowing the talks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who assured us a prompt response... India now awaits a prompt and decisive action, said Swarup.

Eight days remain for the foreign secretary-level talks between the countries; lets see what happens in the days before January 15.

The meeting Sharif chaired in Islamabad was attended by his national security adviser, Naseer Khan Janjua, foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz.

Janjua, according to sources, briefed them about his discussions with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval.

A brief statement issued after the meeting by Sharifs office only said issues pertaining to national and regional security were discussed but did not give details.

Pakistan has condemned the Pathankot attack and said it wants to build on the goodwill created by a December 25 meeting between Modi and Sharif when the Indian PM called up his Pakistani counterpart from Kabul and took an impromptu decision to fly down to Lahore on the latters invitation.

Read | Why was Gurdaspur SP let off? The many mysteries of Pathankot attack
The Pune police on Wednesday served notices to 17 FTII students warning them of action if they create law and order situation when Gajendra Chauhan takes charge as the chairman of the institute on Thursday.

The Deccan police issued notices to 17 students who held FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive during their strike. In their notice, police said action will be taken against students if they create trouble on the campus, creating law and order problem.

On Thursday, Chauhan will chair his first FTII Society meeting.

We will be finalising the governing council and then other agenda will be discussed, Chauhan told IANS.

Chauhan, best known for essaying the role of Yudhishthir in BR Chopras Mahabharat and has also featured in small roles in various films like Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Baghban, was appointed as FTII chairman on June 9, 2015.

His appointment was followed by a series of protests by students and celebrated alumni of the Pune-based premier film institute. Students had even gone on an indefinite strike on June 12 as they questioned his professional credibility to lead the institute due to lack of stature and vision.

The students withdrew the strike in October after 139 days.

Now Chauhan is joining office after seven months of his appointment.

For his first day in office, the students are once again planning protests.

FTII Students Association president Harishankar Nachimuthu said: He (Chauhan) is coming... that is confirmed, but we have not got any official intimation. There will be protests obviously, but we have not decided other things. There will be some protest at the campus tomorrow (Thursday).

On his part, Chauhan is not hassled by the protests as he notes its about fulfilling the responsibility.

I have been ordered by the government, and I will do my job. Let me go there and see. I cant comment on what they will do, but I am ready to do my job.
The decks are being cleared for a change of guard in J&K as chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed continues to be critically ill.

Mehbooba Mufti is the PDPs unanimous choice to replace her father as CM, though the party has refused to engage in speculation over timing .Right now, the party is focusing on Mufti sahabs recovery. It is a difficult time, said one leader.

If the transition takes place, Mehbooba, 56 will be the states first woman chief minister.

Read more: J-K CM Mufti put on ventilator support as condition worsens

Senior party leaders told HT that no date has been finalised for announcing Mehboobas elevation. Right now, the party is focusing on Mufti sahabs recovery. This is a very difficult time for the party and Mehbooba, a senior PDP leader said. Sources in the PDP had earlier indicated that Mehbooba is unlikely to take charge while her father is in hospital.

Sources in the BJP, the PDPs coalition partner in the state, said that there have been preliminary discussions on the matter to ensure a smooth transition at the top. The BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS have indicated that they will not oppose the elevation of Mehbooba as the chief minister and the decision will not affect the alliance in the State.

On Wednesday senior PDP leaders, several cabinet ministers including the CMs close aide Nayeem Akhtar, senior bureaucrats and police officials called on Mufti. A senior PDP leader however, told HT that reports of Mufti being critical are untrue.

Senior PDP leaders have been concerned about the CMs health and have been calling on him; senior bureaucrats like the chief secretary and the director general of police were in Delhi for meetings with the Centre and came to enquire about the CMs health. He is now stable and the party has been organising special prayers for his recovery, a PDP leader said.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammeds chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar -- mastermind of the IC-814 hijack case -- are among four people identified by Indian intelligence agencies as handlers in the Pathankot airbase attack.

The Indian agencies have found evidence that the attack conspiracy was hatched near Lahore, according to government sources.

The details of the four people have been shared with Pakistan through proper channel and India has pressed for stern action against them as a condition for any future talks with Pakistan, the sources said.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is understood to have spoken to his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua and shared all relevant evidence including voice data, they said.

Read: India links talks with Pakistan to action over Pathankot attack

The evidence alleging JeMs involvement in the recent attack may put a question mark on the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on January 15.

Those identified by the Indian agencies are Azhar, Rauf, Ashfaq and Kashim, the sources said. Rauf was the mastermind of the hijack of an Air India plane in Kathmandu in 1999. The aircraft was later taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The eight-day hijack crisis had ended after the release of three hardcore militants including Azhar in exchange for the freedom of passengers and crew members who were held hostage.

Asked as to what action India wants Pakistan to take against these four, the sources said they have to be arrested and handed to New Delhi so they can be questioned in the ongoing investigation.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar recently said there are indications that some of the materials used by the terrorists were made in Pakistan.

The Pathankot air force station saw a four-day long counter-terror operation in which six jihadis and seven security personnel were killed. The operation by the Indian forces lasted three days.
Charges against underworld don Chhota Rajan will be framed on January 19 in connection with the murder of journalist J Dey, with the gangster produced before court via video conferencing.

Special MCOCA judge Anil Pansare on December 22, 2015, issued a production warrant against Rajan, with the court asking the Tihar jail authorities to produce the gangster before the court on Thursday. However, the court was informed that due to a threat to his life, Rajan cannot be produced before the court physically, with the jail authorities also informing the court of the same.

The CBI informed the court that Rajan had also filed an application about threat perception and had asked the court that he should not be taken to Mumbai.

Under these circumstances, Rajan was produced before the court via video conference.

Maharashtra state public prosecutor Dilip Shah said that the court explained to Rajan the status of the case and said that there is an order of the high court to conduct the trial of the case on a day-to-day basis. The gangster was informed that the central agency has not sought his custody but allowed to continue further investigation. However, the state is asked to serve a charge sheet to him, on the basis of which the court will frame charges against him in the case on January 19, Shah said.

The gangster has now sought time from the court to appoint a lawyer to conduct the cases in Mumbai. The court has granted him time till January 19.

The CBI had earlier informed a Delhi court that there was a serious life threat to Rajan from various underworld mafia groups and intelligence inputs have been received in this regard.

The agency said this in its reply filed on an application moved by the superintendent of Tihar Jail, where Rajan is currently lodged under judicial custody in an alleged fake passport case.
Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy said on Thursday the state government would again write to the Centre seeking a CBI probe into the conspiracy behind the murder of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan.

We will support the demand (by the slain leaders wife KK Rema), we will not hesitate to ask for an investigation by the CBI into the conspiracy angle of the murder and write to the Centre again, he told reporters.

He was responding to a question on the RMP leaders wife writing a letter to the Centre pressing for a CBI probe into the killing of her husband in 2012.

Chandrasekharan, a CPI-M rebel, who floated a parallel Left outfit called Revolutionary Marxist Party in his home turf Onchiyam in north Kerala, was hacked to death in May 2012.

A court had in 2014 sentenced 11 people, three of them local CPI-M functionaries, to life imprisonment.

However, Rema had alleged that bigwigs of CPI-M were involved in the conspiracy to murder Chandrasekheran. Rema had recently approached the Union Personnel ministry requesting to re-look into the CBIs stance that it cannot investigate the case.

In May 2014, the CBI had sent a report to the Ministry of Personnel saying that it saw no role in the case as the matter had already been investigated by the local police.
Senior politician Mufti Mohammad Sayeed came a long way from being the man with little popular connect and someone who couldnt win elections outside his south Kashmir stronghold to twice become the chief minister of a state scarred by decades of violence.

In a political career spanning over half a century, Sayeed is credited with turning the state around during his first stint in 2002, becoming the first mainstream politician from Jammu and Kashmir to talk about cordial relations with Pakistan and embarking on a radical, if risky, alliance with the BJP.

The 79-year-old soft-spoken leader of Kashmir died of cardiac arrest at a New Delhi hospital on Thursday.

Born on January 12, 1936, in Anantnag districts Bijbehara to a family of clerics, he completed his preliminary studies in Srinagar and earned a law and post-graduate degree in Arabic from Aligarh Muslim University.

His entry into politics happened when he was practicing law in Kashmir and joined a party led by Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq, which was considered a Congress proxy till it merged with the national party years later. He held several important roles in subsequent governments after the National Conference (NC) government was toppled and its charismatic leader Sheikh Abdullah jailed.

Flashback | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on intolerance, Kashmir and a secular India

In the Congress government led by Mir Qasim in 1972, Sayeed was made a cabinet minister. He was made the state Congress chief after the Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah accord and his return to power in 1974. After the second NC and Congress alliance during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah, Sayeed was sent to the Rajya Sabha and subsequently made the Union tourism minister.

He fell out with the Congress over the Rajiv-Farooq accord in November 1986 and quit the party in 1987 and joined the VP Singh-led formation, becoming the countrys first Muslim home minister in 1989. But within a few days of taking office, the country was thrown into unprecedented turmoil when his daughter Rubaiya Sayeed was kidnapped by militants. The medical student was released after a tense negotiation with the government in exchange of some extremists.

Read More | Mehbooba Mufti set to take over as next CM of Jammu and Kashmir

Sayeeds tenure as home minister was less than stellar, with the state witnessing a sharp rise in militancy and cases of human rights violation. Many harsh laws that are still widely unpopular in Kashmir were enforced during his tenure.

Sayeed returned to the Congress during the PV Narasimha Rao era but parted ways again in 1999 along with his daughter Mehbooba Mufti to form his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The next few years saw a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Sayeed, who had found it difficult to gather candidates for the 1996 elections as Mehbooba rejuvenated the cadre, visiting the families of militants and civilians killed by security forces.

But in the next elections in 2002, his party roundly defeated the NC and formed a government in alliance with the Congress. His first stint as chief minister was nothing short of remarkable for someone once known as Delhis man in the Valley.

Read More | Muftis demise leaves huge void in politics: PM , Prez condole Sayeeds death

The state saw the first stirrings of economic development after decades of bruising bloodshed, the removal of encroachments and a much-needed facelift for the capital, Srinagar. Sayeed insisted on zero-tolerance on human rights violations and civilian killings. He played a much bigger role in bringing estranged neighbours India and Pakistan together.

In March 2005, on his watch the first passenger bus crossed the Line of Control through the peace bridge, Aman Sethu, bringing a new thaw in bilateral relations. For the first time, Kashmiris could cross the border without a visa and passport. All they needed was a permit proclaiming that they are residents of Jammu and Kashmir. This paved the way for emotional reunions for hundreds of families to visit their former homes and relatives on the other side  Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

File photo of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with his daughter Mehbooba Mufti during a public rally at Sher-i-Kashmir Park in Srinagar. (HT Photo/Waseem Andrabi)

Although the tenure ended prematurely following differences with the Congress over allocation of land to the Amarnath shrine, Sayeeds pro-people image loomed large.

He was defeated in the next elections but led the PDP in 2014 to uproot the NC after a disappointing tenure of Omar Abdullah which was marred by street protests and killings. Both the NC and Congress offered him support but Sayeed chose a stable government and did not take the risk of alienating the Union government and the people of Jammu, who overwhelmingly voted for the BJP, to align with the saffron party.

Read More | Key political milestones in Mufti Mohammad Sayeeds life

But many in his own party feel the BJPs agenda may wash away his gains in the Valley. As the Narendra Modi governments initial gestures of generosity waned, Sayeeds opponents once again started calling him New Delhis man in Kashmir. The uneasy silence on the growing religious and regional intolerance left many PDP leaders crying foul.

The work done by this coalition can make or break the 79-year-olds legacy, with many already saying the BJP alliance has taken Sayeed back to where he began from.

Will Sayeed be remembered as the chief minister who undid his own legacy by ushering in right-wing forces in the Valley or as a leader who dared to break the shackles of convention and allowed himself to align with a party to realise former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees vision of Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat? Only time will tell.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condoled the death of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, saying his demise leaves a huge void in the nation and that the leader who provided a healing touch would be missed.

Mufti Sahabs demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on peoples lives. RIP, tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 7, 2016

Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to J&K through his leadership. He will be missed by all of us. Condolences to his family & supporters.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 7, 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee expressed his heartfelt condolence.

Heartfelt condolences on the passing away of J & K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed , he wrote in a tweet.

Contribution of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to J & K and India through long years of public service will be always remembered , the president added.

Sayeed, 79, is survived by his wife, three daughters including PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, and a son. Sayeeds body would be flown to Srinagar where it will be kept for people to have the last glimpse of their leader.

He is likely be buried in his ancestral village in South Kashmir.

Read More | Mehbooba Mufti set to take over as next CM of Jammu and Kashmir

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was deeply pained to learn of J&K CM Shri Mufti Mohd. Sayeeds demise.

The demise of Shri Mufti Sayeed is an irreparable loss to Jammu and Kashmir. His departure has also left a big void in national politics, tweeted Rajnath Singh.

Mufti Sayeed ji had a wonderful understanding of complex issues pertaining to J&K. He wanted to bring permanent peace to the valley.  Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) January 7, 2016

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his shock and sympathy at the demise of Peoples Democratic f Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahibs passing away. Im shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace,tweeted Abdullah.

My heart felt sympathies to Mrs Syed, Mehbooba & the entire family in this most difficult of times. My & my familys prayers are with them, he added.

A veteran politician, he had a long & distinguished political career. His loss will be deeply mourned in J&K and across the country, tweeted Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

Extremely saddened to learn of the passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Saab. My condolences to his family and supporters  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) January 7, 2016

Congress President Sonia Gandhi too expressed shock and grief . Extending her condolences to Mufti Sayeeds wife and other family members, Gandhi said that in his death, the state of J&K as indeed the entire nation had lost a great leader.

Various state chief ministers also took to Twitter to pay their respect.

V sad to hear abt Shri Mufti Mohd. Sayeed's demise. May his soul rest in peace. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 7, 2016

Saddened to hear about passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ji. My condolences to his family, people of J&K and party colleagues  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 7, 2016

My deepest condolences on the sad demise of J&K CM #MuftiMohammadSayeed ji. May his soul rest in peace.  Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) January 7, 2016

Read More | No threat to J-K coalition if Mehbooba becomes CM: BJP

Read More | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Much more than Delhis man in Kashmir

Read More | Key political milestones in Mufti Mohammad Sayeeds life
My first visit to the turbulent Valley was in 1989. Rubaiya Sayeed, the young 23-year-old daughter of then union home minister Mufti Sayeed, had just been released in exchange for five militants and Srinagar was throbbing with excitement.

The Farooq Abdullah government in the state which had been forced to release five militants belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was near absent. The administration was gripped by fear as it watched its people take to the streets--in the thousands, sometimes even in the lakhs--shouting slogans of hum ky chahte, azadi (we want freedom) and Jo kare khuda ka khauf, utha le Kalashnikov. (Those who fear God, should pick up the Kalashnikov.)

The militants had succeeded in getting five of their comrades released in exchange for the home ministers daughter and the entire Valley was celebrating. The release also proved to be a tipping point that tilted the scales fairly and squarely in the direction of the armed struggle that had just reared its head in Jammu and Kashmir.

Read: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed: Much more than Delhis man in Kashmir

Ironically, Mufti Sayeed, a Kashmiri, had helped that process. Hed barely been sworn in on December 2 and found himself in the thick of a crisis barely six days later when he got news on December 8 that his daughter had been dragged out of a Matador car and whisked away.

Mufti was in fact chairing his first security meeting as home minister when he learnt of the kidnapping. He knew what a grave mistake he was making by reacting as a father rather than as the all-important home minister but he buckled under the weight of parental emotion.

His first and only response was to get his daughter out at any cost and for this he used every connection and they ranged from Intelligence Bureau officials to high court judges to ministerial colleagues like IK Gujral and the then prime minister VP Singh too.

Read: Key political milestones in Mufti Mohammad Sayeeds life

The exact sequence of events was revealed to me by then chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who in a bold interview said: ... in the middle of the night then Prime Minister VP Singh called me saying, Doctor Saab we are sending a team. Please help release her. At five o clock in the morning, I find at my door Mr Gujral, Arif Mohammed Khan and MK Narayanan. These three fellows sat down in the hamam which was the warmest room.

It was December and these guys were shivering. I gave them kahwa to warm them up and told my chief secretary and Mr (AS) Dulat (then IB chief in Srinagar) to brief them. I must say, to the credit of Arif, he told Mr Gujral, Im very sorry, this is not what we have been told in the Cabinet. What we had been told was very different. He suggested that they fly back to Delhi to brief the PM and tell him to use diplomatic pressure to get the girl released. Mr Gujral said no, no, we have got the authority and if he (Farooq Abdullah) does not release the militants then we are going to dismiss him.

Read: Muftis demise leaves huge void: PM, Prez condole his death

I remember asking Farooq Abdullah if they said they would dismiss him as bluntly as that and he replied, Yes, straight to my face and I said, wonderful, if the Government of India wants to sink India, then go ahead and give it to me in writing. I told my chief secretary to please take a note that such and such team has come, that they have the PMs and Cabinets orders that the five militants have to be released at all costs. Whatever the cost to the country and therefore whatever the onus, whatever happens here, to the country will be because of the Government of India. Get them to sign this.

Senior ministers of the VP Singh government actually signed and Abdullah says he sent the note, along with a report to the President of India.

Of course, Mufti Sayeed, a sagacious politician, will be judged by history more kindly and not just for the way he reacted to his daughters kidnapping. He wanted to leave a legacy that would credit him for trying to bridge the gap between Jammu and Kashmir by allying with the BJP.

The jury is still out on that but as he travels on his final journey, I am reminded of what he told me a few months back after being sworn in as the chief minister. Speaking of reacting like a father rather than a home minister, he said, That is a guilt I will carry to my grave.

He, indeed, did.

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The National Flag will fly at half mast oas a mark of respect to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who died at AIIMS in New Delhi on Thursday morning after being hospitalised for a fortnight.

A Home Ministry spokesman said that the government has also decided to accord state funeral to 79-year-old Sayeed in Jammu and Kashmir. Expressing grief and sorrow over Sayeeds death, the spokesman said, As a mark of respect to the departed leader, the National Flag will fly at half mast today in capitals of states and Union Territories, including Delhi, and throughout the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The government has also decided to accord state funeral to the departed leader in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said.

Sayeed passed away at AIIMS where he was hospitalised on December 24.

The body of Sayeed was flown in a special Indian Air Force plane to Srinagar and he is likely to be buried in his home town Bijbehara in south Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi drove to Palam technical area where he paid his last respect to Sayeed and offered condolences to the family members.
Convinced that Punjab police officer Salwinder Singh is hiding many things from investigators, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Pathankot attack, will ask him go for a lie detector test, sources told HT.

Salwinder Singh has three mobile phones. One mobile phone has two SIM cards. So basically he was carrying four numbers. His cook or helper Madan Gopal has two mobile phones. His jeweller friend Rajesh Verma had only one phone. Why a superintendent of police rank official would need four mobile numbers, said a senior home ministry official requesting anonymity.

The official added that the NIA would ask him to submit to a lie detector or polygraph test. A polygraph test cannot be conducted without his concurrence.

We will ask him to agree for it. Very soon he will be formally summoned to Delhi go for polygraph test, said the official.

Read: NIA to bring Gurdaspur SP to Delhi for questioning

Counter terror officials say the terrorists that abducted Salwinder when he was travelling along with Verma and Gopal, used only Vermas phone to make phone calls to Pakistan. In all, terrorists made or received 24 phone calls.

There have been 11 calls from Pakistani numbers  incoming as well as outgoing, on Vermas number. Terrorists didnt use any of Salwinder or Gopals numbers, said a counter terror official requesting anonymity.

Investigators have found 13 Pakistani calls  incoming and outgoing  on Ekagra Singhs number, the taxi driver whose Innova car was captured by the terrorists on night of December 30. He was killed by the terrorists.

We have found no evidence of his involvement with terrorists. All Pakistani calls on his number seem to be of the time when terrorists had captured his vehicle, said the counter terror official.

The Epcot shoe marks recovered from Bamial, a border village nearly 40 kilometres away from Pathakot, have been sent for Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Chandigarh for examination.

Read: Why was Gurdaspur SP let off? The many mysteries of Pathankot attack

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Actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan on Thursday assumed charge as chairperson of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and immediately sought to make peace with students amidst fresh protests against his appointment as the head the prestigious institute.

Chauhans first visit to the institute after he was named last year as the chairman was marked by high drama as police cracked down on students opposed to his appointment saying he lacks credentials to head the prestigious institute.

Chauhan, however, said he can examine the possibility of taking back the police cases against the students if they approach him.

The law will take its course. But I can examine scope for withdrawing cases filed against the FTII student-protesters (during 139-day strike period) if they approach me. I cannot do so until I see the files concerned, Chauhan said.

Gajendra Chauhan attends first meeting of FTII society after taking charge as chairman. The FTII society has nominated R Hirani, B.P.Singh, Satish Shah, Pranjal Saikia, Narendra Pathak and Bhawna Somaiyya to the Governing Council (HT Photo)

FTII students association representative Vikas Urs told Hindustan Times that despite police action they will continue to protest peacefully. Since the government has decided to be adamant on its stand, we will continue our protest in peaceful manner, said Urs.

Critics allege that Chauhan, best known for his role as Yudhisthir in the high popular television serial Mahabharat, lacks the stature and vision to head the institute. Students had gone on strike for 139 days last year before calling off the agitation.

Even before Chauhan arrived, police lathi-charged protesting studentswho had raised slogans like Gajendra Chauhan go back -- after they refused to clear the way for him. Police also detained at least 40 students outside the campus.

Sources said the institute saw official work after a long gap marked by the students agitation.

The meeting chaired by Chauhan nominated Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani, producer-director BP Singh, actors Satish Shah and Pranjal Saikia besides Narendra Pathak and Bhawana Somaiyya to the governing council, a 14-member body responsible for major policy decisions.

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One of Kashmirs most revered 17th century saints was Resh Peer and referred popularly as Peer (Sufi), Pandit (guru), Padshah (king of both worlds). Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was a contemporary secular exponent of the same tradition.

In September last year, at his beloved Pahalgam, Mufti Sahib hosted awazwaan lunch for his extended family. As is the Kashmiri Muslim tradition, four guests shared a trami of culinary delicacies.

Mufti Sahib was sitting on a chair in the centre; I was sitting on the floor with other guests, most of whom were Muslims. When the food was served Mufti Sahib left his chair and said: I will eat with Amitabh.

Begum Mufti remarked: He is basically a Pandit, and is comfortable breaking bread with other Pandits. She had incisively pointed to two different but compatible traditions that were part of the Muftis genetic makeup.

His ancestry was of a Sayeed, descendants of the Prophet (known locally as Peers and respected for their spiritual Sufi tradition), but he combined a practical wisdom and a secular knowledge traditionally associated with Kashmiri Pandits.

In addition, he was a Padshah who was gifted in the art of governance. He refused to change most bureaucrats that had earlier been part of the National Conference regime: only a bad workman quarrels with his tools, he said. He refused to be drawn into petty issues (is evacuating people from their houses my primary concern?); and was a workaholic.

Mufti Sahib may have been working with an ageing body, but his spirit, energy and enthusiasm was of a 20-year-old. And he expected everyone to work with the same passion: before he fell ill, he had embarked on a six-hour review of development works in downtown Srinagar in chil-e-kalan, the coldest period of the harsh Kashmiri winter.

Read: J-K CM Mufti Sayeed dead, body flown to Srinagar

In our troubled times, where appointments of vice-chancellors can become political and controversial, he asked me (as the chair of several search-cum-selection committees) to get the best from anywhere in the world.

On paper, I was his advisor. In reality, he was a mentor, guide and a revered friend. Jammu and Kashmir and the nation has lost a leader whose generosity knew no limits and someone who was secular to the core.

Thinker, statesman and one of the most astute political leaders of the sub-continent are just adjectives which do not do justice to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his formidable legacy. There are at least three abiding legacies that were part of the Mufti era and will continue to define politics of the state in the foreseeable future.

First, the vision of reconciliation within the state and across borders. On both counts he was misunderstood, met with huge odds, but was firm in his commitment. When almost everyone within his party and outside was against the coalition with the BJP, he had only one answer: Even if the PDP had a majority on its own, we could not ignore Jammu where BJP has a huge majority.

In fact, as he pointed out, one of Kashmirs tallest leaders, Sheikh Abdullahs biggest mistake was to ignore Jammu and even his slogan against the Maharajas rule was limited to the slogan, Quit Kashmir.

He recognised that the PDPs alliance with the BJP was like trying to bring the North Pole and South Pole together but if the state had to hold together in body and spirit, there was no other way out.

Similarly, he believed that that dialogue was the only option for long-term reconciliation between India and Pakistan. While the central government seemed not sure of its Pakistan policy, the Mufti was completely clear and he robustly argued his point of view with the highest leadership in New Delhi. He rightly believed that the people of the state are the worst sufferers in any India-Pakistan conflict, and had the greatest incentive in peace in the region and could potentially become a gateway to new vision of peace and prosperity in South Asia.

Second, Mufti Sahib often said that he was an Indian not by compulsion, but purely out of conviction. And for him the idea of India was encapsulated in the celebration of Indian diversity. He predicted correctly the results of the Bihar elections even while political pundits were struggling with their analysis.

People of India may sometime think communally, but they will never tolerate the naked expression of communalism. After all, the BJP had lost power, as he reminded us, in MP, Rajasthan and UP including in Faizabad after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. In Jammu and Kashmir too, he believed that the return of Kashmiri Pandits was essential not only for the internally displaced community but because majorities and the politics of majoritarianism is tempered with diversity.

Read: Mufti Sayeeds dark hour: militants released for abducted daughter

Finally, of course, he believed with complete determination that democracy is a battle of ideas and non-violent dissent must always be given expression and space, however subversive it may seem on the surface. When TV anchors dubbed him a pro-Pakistani separatist after Masraat Alam was released, he did not react at all. In fact, he met them later in Mumbai and other cities with the affection reserved for old friends. Forgiveness and an unwillingness to be petty were part of his DNA.

Mufti Sahib was a much-misunderstood man, because he neither sought publicity nor gave candid interviews. Towards his last, he was planning his memoir and he had even fleshed out a framework. But that was not to be. The nation will realise it far too late that they missed the opportunity of using Mufti Sahib as the tallest leader of Muslims in the country and abroad; the state will never ever recover his passing away. I have lost a teacher, the best guru I have ever had.

(The writer, who was the advisor to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is a scholar on Jammu and Kashmir and honorary professor of International Relations, University of Melbourne. The views expressed are personal)

Read: Key political milestones in Mufti Mohammad Sayeeds life
Security personnel including an Israel-trained SWAT team spilled into the fields and byways of Punjabs Pandher village on Thursday to flush out two suspected terrorists, with the authorities fearing an attack on a key military facility days after a terror siege at the nearby Pathankot airbase.

Police sources confirmed that government forces were prepared for an offensive a day after locals reported seeing two men in military fatigues acting suspiciously near the army cantonment in Gurdaspur district. When confronted, the men took cover in a sugarcane field, witnesses said.

When contacted, Punjab Police deputy inspector general (border range) Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said: We are not taking any chances. We are not ruling out anything. Aerial surveillance and troop movement is on.

A drone helped locate their location and by Thursday afternoon, the army and police teams took position, a police source said.

Read: Gurdaspur on high alert after reports of 2 men in army fatigues

Soldiers concealed themselves on rooftops, behind trees and at a brick kiln as armoured vehicles and mortar guns rolled into the village in the afternoon. A helicopter had conducted surveillance sorties earlier in the day.

By Thursday night, the sugarcane field spread over 30 acres was lit up by searchlights by the army and police personnel. Villagers said the drone had been hovering over the fields for thermal images

Pandher village is nearly 20km off the India-Pakistan border and about a stones throw from the Tibri military cantonment.

The facility is not far from the Pathankot air force station that saw a four-day long counter-terror operation in which six jihadists and seven security personnel were killed.

All roads leading to Tibri have been cordoned off and a high alert sounded in the area.

We couldnt get any sleep last night. Many villagers left to stay the night with their relatives though some returned this morning, said a local resident who did not wish to be named.

Gurdaspur was also targeted by Pakistani terrorists in July last year when they stormed a police station.

By night, several houses at Bhule Chakk village located opposite Pandher across the road were also evacuated.

Read: Why the Pathankot-Gurdaspur belt is vulnerable to terror attacks
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah on Wednesday visited Jaipur and held a meeting about the progress in promises made in the Suraj Sankalp Patra (party manifesto) with chief minister Vasundhara Raje and her ministers.

During the meeting Raje gave a presentation about the performance of her government in the last two years which was followed by some of her ministers.

According to sources, Shah was particularly interested in the progress made on the schemes close to Prime Minister Narendra Modis heart like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Beti Bachao Beti Padao Abhiyan.

Though the meeting was scheduled for December 15 and 16 but had to be postponed due to Shahs busy schedule.

Shah, as per party sources, listened and watched presentations but did not comment on works carried by the Raje government as the meeting was underway till the filing of this report.

Partys state president Ashok Parnami said the meeting with Shah would provide guidance to the ministers in good governance and help in achieving promises made in the manifesto.
Ayaz Sultan, the 23-year-old former BPO employee, could be the latest Indian to join the Islamic State, police sources said, after central agencies tracked his location to Iraq by monitoring his messages to family.

Ayaz left his house in Malwani on October 25 last year and took a flight from Delhi to Kabul, Afghanistan, in the first week of November. Central agencies closely monitoring Ayaz and his communication with his family in Mumbai tracked his location to Iraq and told the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), sources said.

Ayaz talks to his family members using WiFi connections and through mobile messaging apps. By tracking the Internet Protocol (IP) address and analysing other technical aspects of the communications, central agencies recently learnt about his location, said a senior ATS officer.

Read: Maha ATS files case against missing Malwani man for abetting IS

Ayaz has been using messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with his family and friends in India, the officer said.

The ATS has booked Ayaz under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for supporting and being a member of the banned terror outfit. Sources said Ayaz has been following the ISIS rulebook, which teaches members to mislead the police and security agencies by giving wrong information about their whereabouts, or of their intentions, while talking to family.

Ayaz has been doing exactly that, said the officer. In fact, his mother had suspected his activities through his conversations and learnt about his wish to join the Islamic State. This was one of the reasons she had taken away his passport, said police sources.

Ayaz then devised a plan to hoodwink his mother. He spoke to his sister in Kuwait and told her he got a job in Kuwait. He sought her help to convince his mother.

Once he got his passport, he fled the country.

Sources said Ayazs family members knew about his plan to go to Iraq, which is why they registered a missing persons complaint at the Malwani police station. The complaint, however, went unnoticed by the anti-terrorist cell of the police station.
In a major embarrassment to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) two days before the mayoral polls, the partys local unit general secretary Chander Shekhar, at a media conference on Wednesday, said, Fielding Heera Negi for the mayors seat in 2015 was a mistake.

With an aim to run down Congress mayor candidate Mukesh Bassi for his educational qualification  which is Class 12  Shekhar ended up condemning his own party councillor. Last time, he said, BJP had lost because Negi, who was less educated, was fielded against Poonam Sharma. The general secretary put foot in his mouth he was asked that the BJP had also fielded Heera Negi, who has studied till higher secondary, against Sharma.

This time, the BJP did not repeat its mistake and fielded Arun Sood who is a lawyer, he said.

Soon after his remarks, the party members criticised Shekhar for denting party image.

Meanwhile, Heera Negi has reportedly taken up the matter with Kirron Kher, who, at a meeting with councillors, discussed the matter.

If it was not enough, Shekhar further ended up creating a flutter when he said the party was focusing only on the victory of the BJP candidates  meaning mayor and senior deputy mayor. When asked why the party was not working towards the victory of the deputy mayor, he answered, Only the mayor is important for us, and moreover, the deputy mayor is an Akali candidate.

Shekhars statements have left many party works red-faced, and in fact, the controversy has again led to infighting within the local unit.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that with efforts made by the state government and effective implementation of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme, the child sex ratio in the state has improved to 889 girls per 1,000 boys.

Efforts are being made to further take it (child sex ratio) to above 900, he said, while flagging off the Sashakt Beti Sashakt Bharat awareness march organised by the India Media Centre, Haryana.

About 150 girl students from 18 districts of Haryana are participating in the awareness march being organised to generate knowledge among the people regarding womens empowerment.

The awareness march would pass through 23 places in twelve districts before culminating at Raj Ghat in New Delhi, on January 14. According to the 2014 census, the child sex ratio of Haryana was 846 girls per 1,000 boys.

The chief minister said that since 2005, the sex ratio in Haryana had been on the decline, creating a lot of imbalance in the society.

Though everybody, including politicians and educationists were aware about the ill-effects of this problem but it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took upon himself the task of eradicating the menace of female foeticide and setting right the skewed sex ratio in the country, Khattar said.

Modi had launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Programme from Panipat on January 22 last year.

Giving a push to this programme, the state government took it as a mission and reviewed the sex ratio every month.

This, together with the other steps taken by the Haryana government, has helped in increasing the sex ratio to 889 girls per 1,000 boys in November last year, which is a matter of pride, he said.

Besides the government, participation by all sections of the society, including educationists, social and non-government organisations, is necessary to achieve the goal, he added.

He said that the state government was committed to eradicating crime from the society. An atmosphere has been created in the state against the heinous act of female foeticide, he said.

The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act is being strictly implemented and those found involved in female foeticide have been put behind bars after registering cases against them, he said.

With a view to empowering women, separate womens police stations have been set up in all districts to enable women victims to lodge complaints without any fear, he said. However, much more needs to be done in this direction, he added.
Slamming the SAD-BJP government in the state for its failure to prevent the terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab incharge Sanjay Singh alleged that there was a nexus between Akali leaders and drug peddlers that was responsible for the attack.

Contradictory statements of superintendent of police Salwinder Singh and his presence in the area and the very odd hour that day raises many questions, Sanjay claimed in a press conference, adding that the SP had also met a political leader the night before the attack.

It is very suspicious that the terrorists did not kill the SP, he claimed.

Slamming the Centre, the AAP leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modis handling of Pakistan after the attacks had brought shame and defeat to the country.

Even during his visit to Pakistan in December, Modi failed to take up the issue of the Dinanagar terror attack, he claimed. Paying homage to Pathankot martyrs, Sanjay Singh said the countrys foreign policy under Modi had been directionless.

We are not against talks with Pakistan, but these should be specific and issue-based, he claimed.

Singh was accompanied by AAP state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and legal cell incharge Himmat Singh Shergill and Kisan Cell spokesperson Karan Tiwana.
The operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot airbase, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is close to completion, announced Air Officer Commanding, Pathankot Air Force Station JS Dhamoon on Thursday.

For the last two days, the army, NSG and Garud commandos have been sanitising the whole station and the process is close to completion, Dhamoon told mediapersons here.

India identifies Jaish chief, 3 others as Pathankot attack handlers

As the area of the base is very large, it takes time to sanitise every suspected part. The combing operation is aimed at ensuring that no terrorists are still hiding and there are no booby traps, he added.

Dhamoon said there was synergy between air force, army, NSG, Punjab police and intelligence agencies.

The timely and precise intelligence inputs and positioning of NSG troops in real quick time in domestic area, where our families reside, ensured that the station was able to organise its defence before the terrorists could strike, he said.

Army takes guard after on Thursday evening.The operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot airbase, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is close to completion. (Kamaljit Singh/HT Photo)

Also, the effective use of air assets was made possible by the deployment of 800 army troops in technical area. These air assets were used to keep the area under surveillance to ensure early detection isolation and subsequent engagement of our own troops, Dhamoon said.

He said the quick response ensured that the terrorists were confined to an area where they could successfully be eliminated without causing further loss to troops. All this ensured that our vital assets and families were never threatened.

Dhamoon, however, refuse to reply to a query on breaches in the airbase and how militants gained access to the highly secured area.

Read more: India links talks with Pakistan to action over Pathankot attack
A team led by MC commissioner GK Singh Dhaliwal shifted more than 50 beggars to the night shelters near Manju Cinema, Dholewal Chowk, on Thursday evening. Dhaliwal also inspected all the three night shelters in the city.

Municipal town planner (MTP) Kamaljeet Kaur said, Around 50 beggars were shifted from Durga Mata Mandir to the night shelter near Manju Cinema. The MC commissioner has also checked the night shelters and asked to take necessary measures in this direction.

It has been learnt that a non-government organisation (NGO) has also distributed blankets to the beggars. GK Singh Dhaliwal said the corporation has made arrangements for around 500 persons at the home shelters. Any homeless person can stay night at these shelters, he said.

Not only beggars, a large number of labourers and rickshaw pullers are also taking shelter at these shelter homes. Dhaliwal said that new beddings will be provided at the night shelters.

He further said that they are going to open two more rooms which would be used as shelters at the shelter home near Clock Tower.

According to Dhaliwal, the corporation will also ask the MC doctors to conduct medical examination of the ill persons at the shelter homes. He claimed that the Punjab government has made all the required arrangements at night shelters.

If more people come to the night shelters, we can make temporary arrangements. We also want support from the NGOs, he added.
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday attacked the government over what he alleged mishandling of the Pathankot operation, and questioned the deployment of National Security Guard (NSG) instead of the army, which he said is better trained in counter-insurgency operations.

Even after the passage of seven days nobody is sure whether all militants have been flushed out or not, he remarked while pointing out, we are as unsure and uncertain about the situation today as we were on the day one of the attack, said Amarinder in a statement.

By bringing in the NSG, instead of the army which has better training and expertise in counter-insurgency exercises, those at the helm may have certainly glamourised the operation, but they have ended up with more loss of lives of our soldiers, the former Punjab chief minister, who has served in the army for 10 years and took part in 1965 war against Pakistan, said.

Thanks to the total mishandling of the situation, we have, by default, served the purpose of the perpetrators by allowing the operation to last unusually for a longer duration, he said, adding, besides it got them prolonged media attention which was the main purpose of those who conceived and executed it.

Amarinder also disagreed with the Western Command chief Lt Gen KJ Singh that it was right to deploy the NSG to flush out militants instead of army troops. The Lt Gen appeared to be defending the government decision for the obvious reasons of being a disciplined soldier, said Amarinder.

Even former army chief General VP Malik and other retired generals have been on record saying that the army could have handled the situation better, he pointed out.

The former chief minister pointed out, the NSG commandos are effective where the targets are identified such as hostages or hijacking. The NSG has no experience in the counter-insurgency operations, he said, adding that army is best trained and experienced in counter-insurgency operations as compared to the NSG.

He added that for last 25 years the army has been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir with great success with minimum loss of life.

They have got training, experience and expertise and they would certainly have done a better job, in shorter duration and more likely with less loss of life, he said.
With the detailed judgment of dismissal of Canada-based radio journalist Baljit Pannu bail plea in a rape case being made available on Thursday, it has come to fore that the police went to the extent of recording the statement of the complainants ex-colleague before a judicial magistrate to corroborate the allegations.

Pannu, 48, was arrested on November 27 for allegedly raping a 32-year-old woman, working as a clerk in Punjabi University, on the pretext of marriage.

While denying bail to Pannu, additional sessions judge HK Sidhu particularly emphasised in her order that there was on record a statement, recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, of another woman, which reflected that Pannu had been alluring other women as well.

Pannus Canadian citizenship, too, played a role in dismissal of his bail plea. The judge stated, Since the bail applicant is a Canadian citizen, thus there is every apprehension that if granted the concession of bail, he may flee the process of justice and may not join the investigation.

The order further added that having gone through the record it transpired that there were serious allegations against Pannu having physically exploited the complainant, while alluring her for marriage and taking her abroad and settling down in Canada.

Keeping these facts in view, the court denied bail to Pannu on January 4.

When contacted, investigating officer Bharpur Singh said the police were not going overboard by recording the statement of the other woman, as it was important to support the allegations levelled by the victim.

Police challan would soon be tabled before the court, he added.

Meanwhile, Pannus counsel Mohit Kapoor said they would move the Punjab and Haryana high court against the judgment as they were sure that he was falsely implicated by the state government, for Pannu had been critical of the state government for alleged corruption in the system and the proliferating drug trade.

Pannu was picked up from his residence in Green Field Enclave, Officer Colony, on November 27, and was soon booked under Sections 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

In her complaint, the woman had alleged that Pannu repeatedly raped her over a period of a year and a half before refusing to marry her. Recently, she got married and narrated the events to her husband who, she claimed, asked her to lodge the police complaint.

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A Sikh-American attorney has been appointed as the top prosecutor in the most populous county in New Jersey, becoming the first South Asian to occupy the post in the state.

Gurbir Grewal, 42, was sworn in as acting Bergen County prosecutor on January 4, succeeding John Molinelli whose 14-year long tenure has ended.

A report in news website NorthJersey.com said Grewal, a former federal prosecutor, has fought major white-collar crimes for the US Attorneys Office and most recently served as chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The report quoted Grewal as saying that he hopes to work to build on the reputation of his office and enhance it.

He told the gathering at his swearing-in that he cares deeply about the county and is deeply committed to public service.

I want to spend my time here just seeing how I can make this an even better place, he said.

Grewal described his appointment as an honour and privilege and said the office of the Bergen County prosecutor is in many real ways sets the standard for other prosecutors offices throughout the state.

Grewal was also sworn in as an assistant attorney general in Trenton by acting state Attorney General John Hoffman.

He said he intends to meet other law enforcement personnel over the next several weeks to know their challenges and resource issues.

I hope to prove to you over the next several years, and maybe more that Im a quick learner, Im a hard worker, and I will always be straightforward, the report quoted him as saying.

Grewal was nominated for the post by New Jersey governor Chris Christie in 2013, but the Senate never scheduled a hearing on the appointment.

After Molinelli was notified he would be replaced, Christie said a change was long overdue.
Hardeep Singh of Tarn Taran district, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997 for a murder that took place in 1991, was released from the central jail here at 5pm on Thursday on the Punjab governments directions.

Hardeeps name was on the list of Sikh prisoners that the Surat Singh Sangharsh Committee had submitted to the state government, seeking their immediate release.

Talking to HT, jail superintendent RK Sharma said, It was because of his (Hardeeps) work and good conduct in jail that I initiated his premature release.

In December 2015, he had got 28-day parole, Sharma added.

Hardeep came out on bail in 2001 after he filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court against his life imprisonment. The court restored his sentence in 2006, following which he resumed his sentence.

Jail sources stated that before leaving the jail, Hardeep thanked the state government and lauded the efforts made by fasting activists Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa and Surat Singh Khalsa for his release.

Hardeep also wished that the state government should free every prisoner who had completed his sentence, the sources added.

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Situation turned tense in Palasaur village on outskirts of Tarn Taran on Wednesday evening after some Sikh activists allegedly demolished the mazar (shrine) of Peer Baba Abdul Shah.

Hundreds of villagers staged dharna at the main chowk of the village demanding strict action against the guilty. They said the act had deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the people.

The dharna, which went on for the entire day, was only lifted after police assurance.

On complaint of Jaspal Singh, chief organiser of the mazar, as many as 69 persons were booked. Of them, 19 have been booked by name. Five people have also been arrested.

Jaspal claimed that he was working as the priest of the 500-year-old mazar and looking after its affairs along with one Kulwant Singh.

Jaspal claimed that Sukhwinder Singh, who stays opposite to the mazar, accompanied by scores of other Sikh activists, barged into the premises carrying swords and other sharp edged-weapons.

They had brought a JCB machine along and started pulling down the structure. However, when villagers started gathering outside the mazar, they fled, claimed Jaspal.

He claimed that Sikh activists also stole utensils, two gas cylinders and a money box containing `50,000.

A case has been registered against Sikh activists at city police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

Many among those booked are associated with Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee which is active in Majha region, and other radical Sikh organisations.

Two more mazars were being constructed

One of the accused Jasbir Singh, a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee worker, said said Jaspals claims that it was 500-year-old mazar are false.

The structure had come up adjacent to the wall of a gurdwara some years ago. Some people forcibly turned it to a religious place. Now, they are building two more such mazars near the gate of gurdwara, he alleged.

Sikh devotees lodged a complaint in this regard to the SGPC. I was asked by SGPC officials to demolish the structure. Most Sikh youth booked in the case are innocent, he added.

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A panchayat in Chaibasa decided on Wednesday to slap a fine of Rs 5,000 against villagers for accusing a woman of practising witchcraft, the first such step against superstition rampant in the tribal-dominated state, a village headman has said.

Anyone calling another person a witch will be penalised and if the offence is repeated, the accused would face social boycott, said Janum Singh Deogam, Nimdih panchayat chief in West Singhbhums Old Chaibasa, about 75 km from here.

A dispute between two families of the village was going on since December 28 and on Tuesday night we called the village council meeting to settle differences and henceforth we have decided to impose a fine on villagers who accuse a woman of practicing witchcraft, Singh told HT.

We wanted to resolve this for once and all as two-three such cases come to us every month, he said, adding that similar ruling should be passed by other tribal self-governance bodies in the state. There should not be any more killing in the name of witch-hunting.

Sumitra Deogam, the newly elected mukhiya of the village, said she intervened and convinced the village council to convene a meeting to settle the dispute.

The victims mother told me that a family in the village used to call her mother a witch, she said.

Naresh Deogam, general secretary of Adivasi Ho Samaj Mahasabha, said the victims family had approached the police but they wanted them to settle matter under the traditional tribal self-governance and panchayat system.

In most cases, the village priest or deven brands someone a witch but this decision will deter them now, he said.

Chhutni Mahato, 57, who survived a murderous assault in 1995 after being branded a witch, told HT it was a landmark tribal ruling and a small step towards ending the witch-hunting menace in the state. Just a fine is not enougha social boycott will be more effective, she said.

There is a need for social awareness about laws against witchhunting, said Mahato, who has rescued more than 40 people accused of practicing witchcraft and on whom the acclaimed film Kaala Sach was made in 2014.

Branding women as witches is particularly prevalent among tribal communities in the state.

While the belief in black magic is superstitious, accusations of witchcraft often stem from village rivalry or jealousy.

Often, a conspiracy is hatched by a single person and slowly the entire village is lured in. The person branded a witch is often held responsible for illness, crop failures, property loss, or a natural calamity.

Experts say superstitious beliefs are behind some of these attacks, but there are occasions when people are targeted for their land and property.

Prem Chand, president of Free Legal Aid Committee, said all 4,500 panchayats in the state, particularly the 1,700 tribal dominated panchayats in 112 blocks, should immediately adopt the ruling.

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Actor Rana Daggubati who played Baahubalis Bhallaladeva began shooting for his next film Ghazi, Indias first submarine-based war film on Thursday in Hyderabad. The film is a Hindi-Telugu bilingual. The actor tweeted to confirm the news.

Pushing my experimental envelope towards mainstream cinema yet again!! #GHAZI (Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual) begins filming today (sic), Rana posted on his Twitter page on Thursday.

Read: Baahubalis Rana Daggubati chips in with relief for Chennai rains victims

Pushing my experimental envelope towards mainstream cinema yet again!! #GHAZI (Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual) begins filming today!!  Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) January 7, 2016

The film is based on the true incidents on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistan submarine during the Indo-Pak 1971 war. Actor Taapsee Pannu is paired with Rana, and shes rumoured to be playing a refugee.

Read: Rana Daggubati wants to go multi-lingual to bridge language barrier

The film will be directed by debutant Sankalp, and it will be partially based on his own book Blue Fish. Ghazi will be produced by PVP Cinema. The story is about an executive naval officer of the Indian submarine S21 and his team who remain underwater for 18 days.

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Located in Spains Basque Country and known to locals as Donostia, San Sebastian will officially become European Capital of Culture 2016 as of January 18, a date the city is set to celebrate in a big way. Theres never been a better time to discover or rediscover this seaside city with one of the most stunning bays in the Iberian Peninsula.

>> Getting to San Sebastian

San Sebastian has a train station in the city center with direct connections to Paris, Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona. (Shutterstock)

There are three airports in the region of San Sebastian. The closest is located 20km from the city center with fights to Madrid and Barcelona. Other options include Biarritz airport over the border in France, which is 40km away, or Bilbao at around 100km away. San Sebastian has a train station in the city center with direct connections to Paris, Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona.

Read: There is something for everyone in Spanish paradise Valencia

Travel by car is an option too, as there are plenty of parking spaces in and around the city. San Sebastian is connected to the rest of Spain and France via the N-1 national road, the A8 and A63 highways, and the A15 two-lane highway.

>> What to see & do

1 Santa Clara Island

In autumn, the island is accessible by foot at low tide. (Shutterstock)

A unique feature of this bay is its small island (around 30m long), located close to the beach. The island is easy to reach for an afternoon escapade in peace and quiet. Visitors can stretch out a towel on the islands small beach, walk up to the lighthouse or find a quiet spot to picnic. Swimmers can even take a dip in its natural saltwater pool. In autumn, the island is accessible by foot at low tide. A boat service runs to and from the island from June 1 to September 30.

2 The old town

Sights include the gothic-style San Vicente church. (Shutterstock)

The historical center of San Sebastian is ideal for scenic strolls. Sights include the gothic-style San Vicente church and the Santa Maria basilica, both of which can be discovered inside and out. Dont miss the city center either, where the main square -- Plaza de la Constitucion -- is usually the focal point of any festivities.

3 The Monte Igeldo funicular railway

Running since 1912, this is the oldest funicular railway in the Spanish Basque Country. (Pinterest)

Running since 1912, this is the oldest funicular railway in the Spanish Basque Country, taking passengers to the top of Mount Igeldo for spectacular views of the bay. Theres also an amusement park up there, which still has many old-fashioned rides and attractions, including a roller coaster and trampolines.

4 San Telmo Museum

You shouldnt miss the San Telmo museum. (Shutterstock)

As well as the special events held to celebrate the citys 2016 status, culture-hungry visitors shouldnt miss the San Telmo museum. Housed in an old Dominican convent dating back to the 16th century, its home to paintings and historical artefacts.

5 The Bay of La Concha

Shaped like a shell, the bay is home to a fine sandy beach. (Shutterstock)

The Bay of La Concha has been a popular site for visitors since the 19th century. Shaped like a shell, the bay is home to a fine sandy beach that stretches 1.5 km and to stunning Belle Epoque buildings.

>> What to eat

View of a bar with traditional pinchos in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain. Pinchos (Pintxos) are traditional appetizer in Basque country. (Shutterstock)

Eating in San Sebastian is all about pintxos -- or tapas in Spanish -- a culinary art that youll need to get stuck into to get a real taste of this city. Make sure you take a trip around the tapas bars in the old town. Travelers with bigger budgets can head to the Arzak familys Michelin-starred restaurant, considered one of the best in the world. With his three Michelin stars, Chef Juan Mari Arzak combines traditional Basque cuisine with modern techniques, working alongside his daughter Elena, considered one of the most talented new female chefs of the moment.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
Driving to a foreign locale may be quite an adventure, but planning it right is crucial. India shares its borders with several countries, each with its own set of regulations. And with a section of the new Asian highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand becoming operational in September, theres no better time to set out on a road trip. Sanjay Madan, co-founder of Adventures Overland, a luxury adventure travel company, helps you out:

Nepal

You can enter Nepal in your vehicle at any time of the year without prior permissions. The most famous land border crossing is the Sunauli border in Uttar Pradesh, which is around 185km from Gorakhpur. In less than 30 minutes, all the formalities can be completed at the border and you are ready to drive in Nepal. From Nepal, you can enter China and go on to the Middle East, Russia and Europe.

Bhutan

Like Nepal, Indian citizens dont require a passport and visa to enter Bhutan. If you plan to take your own Indian vehicle, all you need to do is pre-register yourself. This can be done at the immigration post at Phuntsholing border, and at the transport department for vehicle registration. Both are opposite each other at the border.

The process takes around three hours as there are two separate buildings for vehicle registration and individual registration. The most popular land border is the Jaigaon-Phuntsholing border in West Bengal. If you have to go beyond Thimphu (capital of Bhutan), then you need to take permissions again. Another land border is Samdrup Jongkhar in Assam. Its not as popular because the main cities of Bhutan, like Paro and Thimphu, are close to the West Bengal border. Though Bhutan shares a land border with China, there is no land connectivity, so one cannot go anywhere beyond Bhutan.

Bangladesh

A carnet (a document that can be acquired from the Western India Automobile Association) of your vehicle is a must to exit India and enter Bangladesh, so you dont need to apply for special permissions or permits. Visitors can enter Bangladesh from the PetrapoleBenapole border. You can engage with any travel company to take care of the hotel bookings and tour planning. Though a guide is not mandatory, its advisable.

Myanmar

One has to cross Myanmar on the Delhi to Bangkok Highway, which was talked about a fair bit last year. To exit and re-enter India via the Indo-Myanmar land border (Moreh), one needs to apply for a carnet. You need to pay 200 per cent of your vehicles value to obtain it. Thailand customs also accept carnet as a valid document should you wish to enter the country driving a foreign registered vehicle.

It is not possible to enter Myanmar without a pre-planned itinerary and hotel booking in place. It is mandatory to hire a local Burmese guide, approved by the Ministry of Myanmar Tourism, who will travel with you. Hiring the services of a travel company that specialises in organising road trips is ideal. The company needs to be registered with the Myanmar tourism department in order to apply for permits and permissions on your behalf. Vehicle and driver details are to be submitted a month in advance, along with 50 per cent advance payments. Hotels bookings, guides and other formalities are carried out by the agent.

Another mandatory rule is to have a lead car for the convoy  a must, even if its a single car. This is because of poor signboards along the roads and difficulty in communicating with the locals in a foreign language. This is part of the agent services you would hire for permits.

China

The most time-consuming and uncertain process of taking permissions are to drive in China. You can enter China (Tibet) through Nepal via the Kodari  Zhangmu border. Like Myanmar, China does not accept or recognise carnet and an international driving license. You need to take all permissions in advance, and that takes a minimum of two months, as permissions like special overland permits for Indian registered vehicles and temporary driving license come from Lhasa.

Your permits can be cancelled without any refund, so its a big risk. We hear about the Nathu La pass entry point in the Himalayas these days, but as of now, civilian vehicles have not crossed this border.

Pakistan

There is no way to enter Pakistan in an Indian registered civilian vehicle. Many foreign citizens who undertake overland expeditions use Wagah Border to enter or exit India during their journey but this option is not open to Indians.

Head out

Adventures Overland is organising a self-driven road trip from Imphal to Bangkok, starting from January 23.

Price: Rs 3,40,000 onward per person

Call: 097170 80066

Register: adventuresoverland@gmail.com
On Wednesday Netflix opened its services to 130 new countries, accumulating, in one swift move, potentially millions of new subscribers. The online streaming service has been playing hard to get for years, but like every popular kid (its only 18 years old after all), what it really wants, deep in its heart, is to be liked.

So today is the day your inevitable descend into a deep, dark addiction to limitless prestige content (movies, shows, documentaries, stand up specials) begins. Today is the day consumerism gets the better of you and you, in your own tiny way contribute towards the death of movie theatres. Legally this time.

Read: Netflix finally comes to India, plans start at Rs 500

Gone are the days of feeling left out as your Twitter feed ods itself to death with 140 biting characters of observation/spoilers about the new it show. Youre finally going to be a part of the discussion.

So here are 5 gateway programmes to nudge you towards an unhealthy life of the real hard stuff. Binge away. House of Cards and Orange is the New Black are old dogs now. Lets talk about the new blood.

Master of None

Aziz Ansari is a master of none.

Indian-American comedian Aziz Ansari mines his Indian-Americanness in the most inventive sitcom since Louie. Ansari puts his own spin on the friends-chilling-in-a-bar comedy, immigrants and finding your true calling in life. Soon, all of you will switch your message alert tone on your phones to horn without an ounce of shame.

Bloodline

Were not bad people. We just did a bad thing.

There is no family in the world that wont descend into manic, ruthless, maybe even violent confrontations if its holed up together for longer-than-advisable periods. Thats exactly what happens to the Rayburns, each played by a fantastic actor, as theyre brought together to the seemingly idyllic Florida Keys. Then secrets are blurted, murder is plotted and revenge is mulled over.

Narcos

Wagner Moura is Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria.

It was a bold move, one worthy of its subject, when Netflix mounted a 10 episode crime drama starring a criminally underappreciated actor (Wagner Moura) about the most infamous of all criminals: The Colombian drug lord Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (waitll you hear Moura announce his arrival). And this is after they pulled out 10 episodes of sprawling TV on Marco Polo and 12 on whatever the hell The Wachowskis were preoccupied with.

Read: Excited about Quantico? Here are 10 other dont-miss shows

Daredevil

Sure, this sounded like the most cred-destroying decision Netflix could make. Too mainstream, some said. But that was before anyone had even seen a single frame of the show. Daredevil is more like Nolans Batman than any of the Marvel movies it shares a rapidly expanding universe with. This is a superhero show that inhabits the seedy underside to the glossy Avengers-populated New York and in Vincent DOnofrios Kingpin has the perfect comic book villain one could love/hate.

Making a Murderer

Making a Murderer is as infuriating as the Paradise Lost trilogy.

The most addictive true crime show to air on TV since HBO melted our brains with The Jinx. Making a Murderer is the kind of show that has the potential to literally save lives. Its a documentary series about a neer do well Wisconsin man and how hes framed for a crime he did not commit by corrupt state officials looking to save their own butts. Twice. Its absolutely essential, drop-everything-at-once viewing.

And heres a bonus:

Beasts of no Nation

Yes Commandant!

This was the first original movie produced by Netflix. Its also True Detective director Cary Joji Fukunagas Apocalypse Now, featuring one of the greatest child performances ever. It is a war movie so gorgeously brutal that it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Oh the irony.

Beasts of No Nation review: A harrowing, unmissable war film

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @NaaharRohan
The Afghan government has formed a special force to counter the Islamic State (IS) in eastern parts of the country against the backdrop of growing concerns about the expansion of the groups activities.

The 750-strong battalion, which will mostly comprise former Afghan soldiers, will carry out operations against both the IS and Taliban in eastern provinces.

The IS issue is the most important (issue), which should be hard hit, acting defence minister Masoom Stanekzai told VOAs Afghan service on Wednesday. People are fed up with this group.

The new unit will be based in the 201st Silab Army Corps in eastern Laghman province. Ongoing air strikes against the IS in Nangarhar province will continue but security forces are pursuing a new strategy, Stanekzai said.

The use of too much force is not that helpful; people should cooperate to help us reach our goal, he said. We have changed our war strategy and want to work with local people.

Stanekzais remarks came after hundreds of Afghans took to the streets of the eastern city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, last week and demanded that Kabul step up military operations against the IS and Taliban in the eastern province.

Nangarhar governor Salim Kunduzi said local people were happy with the air strikes against IS militants.

The IS is active in several districts of Nangarhar, where it has carried out multiple attacks on government facilities. IS militants have also been engaged in fierce fighting with the rival Taliban in the province.

Dozens of insurgents have reportedly died in the fighting between the two groups.

Loyalists of the IS too have increased their activities and anti-government propaganda, and are terrorising residents of eastern parts of the country, Khaama Press reported.

The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen John Campbell, said last year that loyalists of the IS are attempting to establish a regional base in Jalalabad.

Campbell further said foreign militants from Syria and Iraq have joined loyalists of the IS in Nangarhar province and are trying to consolidate links with the leadership of the group based in Syria and Iraq.
A former CIA operative who served President Barack Obama as a top aide on Afghanistan and Pakistan says he is convinced Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence agency is behind the Pathankot attack.

Bruce Riedel, who works for a DC think tank, made the assertion in an article for The Daily Beast news publication, citing press reports and knowledgeable sources.

Im very confident in my data, he told HT when asked if he was able to independently corroborate the ISI-link put out by Indian experts soon after first reports of the attack.

The attack was carried out, Riedel wrote, to prevent any detente between India and Pakistan after Prime Minister Narendra Modis surprise Christmas Day visit to Pakistan.

Pakistan Army remains hostile to detente with India, which, Riedel argued, will mitigate its hold over the countrys national security policy, and used Jaish-e-Mohammed, through the ISI, to derail talks.

The attack on the Indian mission in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan around the same time was carried out by the same ISI-JeM network with the same intention to impede peace talks.

JeM was founded in 2000 by top Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar after he was freed from an Indian prison in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian airliner.

Azhar returned to Pakistan a hero. Riedel wrote the ISI took him on a public victory tour through Pakistan to raise money for the jihad against India. JeM carried out the audacious attack on Indias parliament in 2001. Azhar kept a low profile for a long time after that and resurfaced in 2014 to call for attacks on India and the US.
Bangladesh on Thursday expressed its dissatisfaction over Pakistan asking for the withdrawal of one of its diplomats from Islamabad, adding to the already strained relations between the two countries.

Bangladeshs state minister for foreign affairs, Shahriar Alam, told Hindustan Times that Pakistan failed to show any valid reasons for asking Bangladeshi diplomat Maushumi Rahman to leave the country.

Alam said Pakistans request to withdraw Rahman, who was the counsellor (political) at the high commission in Islamabad, would not be good for relations between the two countries.

Theres been no explanation. They couldnt give us any valid reason, he said.

Rahman left Islamabad for Dhaka on a flight on Thursday morning. Pakistani media reports quoted sources as saying that she was asked to leave within 48 hours because she had indulged in anti-state activities.

The move was an apparent retaliation for the expulsion last month of Pakistani diplomat Fareena Arshad, who was accused of having links with radical Islamists, including members of the banned Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh group.

Alam said Bangladesh could foresee that there might be an act of retaliation by Pakistan. We knew that something was being cooked up, he said.

We were prepared, he said, adding that preparations helped Bangladesh make a quick decision about giving Rahman a fresh diplomatic assignment in another nation while upholding the countrys image.

Alam said he did not see any possibility of relations with Pakistan being officially downgraded though there could be a discussion in parliament on the current state of ties.

Bangladesh will show patience to maintain relations with Pakistan as the two sides have many common interests, he said.

At the same time, Bangladesh will not spare anybody if there is an attempt to tarnish the countrys image and create trouble using diplomatic immunity, he said. We didnt spare anybody in the past too, he added.

The diplomatic spat comes amid strained relations between the two countries over Pakistans strong reaction to the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and influential Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury for crimes against humanity during Bangladeshs independence war of 1971.

The two leaders had aided the Pakistani military, which is blamed for killing tens of thousands and raping some 200,000 women during the nine-month war.

Pakistan had recalled another diplomat, Mazhar Khan, from Dhaka last year after he was accused of having links to a terror financing and currency forgery network.
Warnings of widespread starvation are growing as pro-government forces besiege an opposition-held town in Syria and winter bites, darkening the already bleak outlook for peace talks the United Nations hopes to convene this month.

The blockade of Madaya, near the border with Lebanon, has become a focal issue for Syrian opposition leaders who told a UN envoy this week they will not take part in talks with the government until it and other sieges are lifted.

At least 10 people have died of starvation in Madaya in the past six weeks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. Opposition activists say the number of dead is in the dozens although Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.

We were living on tree leaves, on plants, but now we are struggling in a snow storm and there are no more plants or leaves, said Majed Ali, 28, an opposition activist who spoke to Reuters by phone from Madaya.

I was 114 kilos before the siege. Now I am 80.

Madaya residents make do with flavoured water, where available, with spices, lemon, salt and vinegar, said Abu Hassan Mousa, the head of an opposition council in Madaya.

Where rice or powdered milk are available, the prices can reach some $300 a kilo, residents said.

With half a metre of snowfall this week, furniture, doors, wooden fixtures and fittings are being burnt to heat homes, said Ali, the opposition activist.

Negotiations have no meaning all the time we are besieged, all the time we are hoping for a cup of milk for a child. What are we going to negotiate over? Our dead? he said.

Months without aid

Blockades have been a common feature of the nearly five-year-old war that has killed an estimated 250,000 people. Government forces have besieged rebel-held areas near Damascus for several years and more recently, rebel groups have blockaded loyalist areas -- including two villages in Idlib province.

The fate of Madaya, where the World Food Programme (WFP) says the lives of 40,000 people are at risk, may be linked to those villages. The areas were all part of a local ceasefire agreement agreed in September but implementation has been halting.

Read | IS executes woman citizen journalist: Syrian media

The last aid delivery to Madaya, which happened in October, was synchronised with a similar delivery to the Shia villages -- al Foua and Kefraya. Ali described the people of Madaya as hostages held as a bargaining chip for al Foua and Kefraya.

Aid agencies were hoping for easier access to the area following the ceasefire deal concluded under UN supervision.

WFP is deeply concerned about the reported humanitarian situation in Madaya, which has been besieged for many months, now threatening the lives of nearly 40,000 people, WFP spokesperson Bettina Luescher said in response to a question from Reuters.

Madaya was last reached on 17 October with 3,900 food rations -- enough to feed over 19,000 people for one month, she said. Since then, no more food assistance or humanitarian supplies made it to these areas as was planned.

A UN commission of inquiry has said that siege warfare has been used in a ruthlessly coordinated and planned manner in Syrias civil war, with the aim of forcing a population, collectively, to surrender or suffer starvation.

The blockade of Madaya began about six months ago when the Syrian army and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, started a campaign to re-establish President Bashar al Assads control over areas at the Syrian-Lebanese border, including the town of Zabadani.

A source who is close to Damascus and familiar with the situation in Madaya denied civilians had been prevented from leaving, and said the number of people in the town had been exaggerated.

But the Britain-based Observatory says 15 people, including children, had been killed while trying to flee, either shot dead or killed by landmines planted to enforce the blockade imposed by government forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Syrian officials could not be reached for comment. Aid agencies say access to Madaya was requested six times in 2015, but provided only once.

Awaiting answers

A UN Security Council adopted on December 18 setting out a road map for peace talks calls on the parties to allow aid agencies unhindered access throughout Syria, particularly in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.

Read | World powers divided over a resolution on Syria crisis

A newly formed opposition council set up to oversee negotiations has told UN envoy Staffan de Mistura that this must happen before the talks he plans to hold on January 25.

They also told him that before negotiations, Assads government, which has military support from Russia and Iran, must halt the bombardment of civilian areas and barrel bombing, and release detainees in line with the resolution.

We find that it will not be possible to start negotiations while bombardments continue on civilian areas and residents, Riad Nassan Agha, a member of the opposition body, told Reuters. We must also show our people certain accomplishments.

We are awaiting answers from Mr Di Mistura.

Pro-government forces surrounding the town, believed by locals to be Hezbollah fighters, have offered food in exchange for weapons handed in by rebel fighters, residents say.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said it hoped to deliver aid to both Zabadani and Madaya, and al Foua and Kefraya in the coming days.

We have been receiving quite concerning reports from Madaya, but also from al Foua and Kefraya about the situation of the people there, as in all besieged areas in Syria, Pawel Krzysiek, the spokesperson, said.

Read | Islamic State territory shrinks in Iraq and Syria: US-led coalition
The Islamic State used an independent woman journalists Facebook account, who was kidnapped and executed by the group last year, to lure other journalists and activists, reports said.

Citizen journalist Ruqia Hassan, better known as Nisan Ibrahim on social media, was killed by the IS for writing about life under the terror outfits rule.

The extremist group executed Hassan sometime in September last year for reporting from inside their territory, Syrian media said on Monday. It kept her execution a secret and operated her Facebook account to lure other journalists and activists who were in touch with her through social media, according to various news reports.

A citizen journalist working for Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered (RBSS), a news website run by Syrian activists against IS, told The Independent that, the group hijacked her Facebook account and used it to identify its opponents.

Hassan used her personal Facebook page to report airstrikes and also to write about life under IS rule in general, Furat al-Wafaa, a citizen journalist from Raqqa in Syria, said. In a post on July 20, 2015, Hassan had written against the IS decision to ban wi-fi hotspots in Raqqa city, reported Syrian Direct, a news organisation.

According to Syrian Direct, she allegedly disappeared from Raqqa sometime between July and August last year. Hassans Facebook page was last updated on July 21, 2015. News website alaan.tv said the group informed Hassans family of her execution on January 2, 2016 - almost six months after her alleged disappearance.

Only last week, IS released a fresh propaganda video, which showed five people being executed on the charge of being British spies. But it is unclear whether this is linked to Hassans execution.
A man shot dead by police as he tried to attack a police station Thursday on the first anniversary of the jihadist assault on Charlie Hebdo had a knife and what appeared to be an explosives vest, the government said.

The man was also heard to shout Allahu Akbar as he approached the police station in the multi-ethnic neighbourhood in the north of the capital, the interior ministry said.

On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police, said interior ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet.

Bomb disposal experts are at the scene working to secure the site, he said, adding that interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve had left for the scene.

News of the attempted attack came after France President Francois Hollande addressed New Years greetings to Frances police and gendarmes, and called for greater cooperation between the security services.

The population of the Goutte dOr district where the incident occurred is predominantly of north African and sub-Saharan African origin.

Read | Proud that son killed no one but himself: Paris bombers mother
The Pathankot attack figured in a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his top aides on Thursday but the issue was overshadowed by the Saudi Arabian foreign ministers visit to seek Pakistans support in the ongoing diplomatic row with Iran.

National security adviser Nasser Janjua briefed the meeting about evidence and leads provided by India regarding the attack on Pathankot airbase and his conversations with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, sources in Islamabad said.

Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the gathering about the status of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, blamed by Indian security agencies for the Pathankot attack, and its leaders, sources said. The JeM was banned by Pakistan in 2002 but it continues to be active in Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Pathankot incident was not the main item on the agenda of the meeting also attended by foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz, foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and Intelligence Bureau chief Aftab Sultan. Sources said the visit by Saudi foreign minister Adel Bin Ahmed al-Jubeir and the row between Saudi Arabia and Iran dominated discussions.

A statement issued after the meeting merely said the leaders had discussed national and regional security issues without giving details.

Indias demand for action against the JeM had also figured at a meeting of corps commanders chaired by Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif on Wednesday, sources said.

India has linked planned talks between the foreign secretaries on January 15 to prompt and decisive action against the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack.

Despite the pressure from New Delhi, Islamabad has been focussed on the Saudi leaderships demand for a public commitment regarding Pakistans support in the ongoing row with Iran. Pakistan is so wary about making such a commitment that a news conference between Sartaj Aziz and al-Jubeir was cancelled.

Pakistan, which has a sizeable Shia population and close ties with Iran, is chary of throwing in its lot with Saudi Arabia.

Al-Jubeir, who met army chief Sharif, also discussed Pakistans involvement in the coalition force of Islamic countries to counter the threat from the Islamic State.

He was originally supposed to visit last Sunday but delayed his trip because of the sudden escalation in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric by the kingdom.

Analysts said Pakistan is in a difficult position as the Saudi government has been a strong financial supporter. In 2014, the Saudis helped Pakistan avoid a balance of payments crisis.
Britain has condemned the attack on the Indian airbase in Pathankot that killed seven security personnel and injured others.

The acting high commissioner in New Delhi, Alexander Evans, said: The UK strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Pathankot and offers condolences to the victims and their families. We are committed to working with India and other countries around the world to combat terrorism and bring the perpetrators of terrible crimes like these to justice.

The attack put a question mark on recent initiatives by India to forge peace with Pakistan.

Read | India links talks with Pakistan to action over Pathankot attack
Enrique Marquez Jr., the man accused of arming the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. Marquez, 24, is charged with purchasing weapons for Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik. Authorities believe Farook and Malik used the weapons Marquez acquired to carry out an attack that left 14 dead and 22 wounded.

Though Marquez played no part in the actual San Bernardino attack, authorities believe he knew the suspects planned the assault but chose not to reveal their plot, according to Buzzfeed.

Marquez appeared for arraignment before Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym. Marquez gave short yes or no responses before entering his "not guilty" plea.

Marquez met Farook 10 years ago and the two became friends. In 2011 Marquez allegedly spent around $1,500 purchasing rifles for Farook. Marquez also allegedly aided Farook by purchasing smokeless powder used to make bombs. The bombs Farook made did not explode.

Marquez stated that he distanced himself from Farook after learning of his plot, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Marquez also faces charges for marriage fraud. He married an extended member of Farook's family, and reports indicate that Farook lied on marriage paperwork, claiming that he lived with the woman in question so she could remain in the US.

If found guilty Marquez could face up to 50 years in prison, according to CBS News.

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Sarah Palin mocked President Barack Obama in an six-sentence op-ed following the president's teary-eyed speech Tuesday during which he announced his plans to fight gun violence by issuing a set of executive orders.

"Obama wept," began the piece Palin wrote for the conservative website, Breitbart. "The whole world weeps waiting for American leadership in these troubled times as Islamic savages commit genocide against the Christians of the Middle East and terrorize innocent people in cities across the globe."

The former Republican vice presidential candidate blasted Obama for the gun control measures, directly, saying, "Meanwhile, Obama wept as he blamed law-abiding patriots for the nation's insecurity and sought to strip them of the Constitutional rights that generations of Americans shed blood to protect."

She concluded: "Obama wept, while we all continue to weep for our country and the civilized world."

On Tuesday, President Obama announced his plans to curb gun violence by using a set of executive actions to close the gun show loophole for purchasing guns, as well as increasing funding for mental health treatment and increasing personnel resources for the FBI.

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said, wiping away tears, The New York Times reported. "And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day," referring to where he began his political career.

Donald Trump, who takes nearly every opportunity to slam the president, said Wednesday that he thought Obama was showing true emotions, The Hill reported. I actually think he was sincere," the Republican presidential front-runner said, appearing on Fox News. "I'll probably go down about 5 points in the polls by saying that."

Trump noted that he disagrees with the president's plans, but did not question his genuineness. It's a thing that he feels - I think he's incorrect about it, they're just taking chunks and chunks out of the Second Amendment, but I think he probably means well, Trump said.

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Bill Cosby won't be facing criminal charges in two sexual assault cases, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

The District Attorney said that the comedian cannot be prosecuted in the first case due to the statute of limitations and that a great deal of time had passed to charge Cosby after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old woman, identified as Jane Doe #1 in the document, after buying her drinks at a Hollywood jazz club in 1965, according to NBC News.

In the second case, Cosby faced allegations from model Chloe Goins, referred to as Jane Doe #2, who claimed that the comedian drugged her at a party at the Playboy mansion in 2008 when she was 18 years old.

Goins said that Cosby spiked her drink and when she woke up, she found that she had been undressed and her breasts felt moist and sticky "as if someone had been licking them," and Cosby was at the foot of her bed biting on one of her toes, as HNGN previously reported.

Goins initially said that the rape incident took place at the Midsummer Night's Dream Party at the mansion in August 2008 but later changed her statement to mention that she wasn't sure if she was sexually assaulted at that party or another event at the venue in the summer, according to TheWrap.

Investigators went through video footage of the Playboy mansion event, as well as the party guest list, but did not find any evidence to support Goins' claims.

Goins' allegations against Cosby included two offenses - misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor indecent exposure. "Both of these offenses occurred in 2008 and are barred by the statute of limitations and as such, any consideration of a criminal filing is prohibited by law. Therefore, prosecution is declined," the District Attorney said, according to Deadline.

"Additional potential felony sex offenses not barred by the statute of limitations were also evaluated," the D.A. added. "Sexual battery by restraint, a felony, was contemplated but there is insufficient evidence to prove the elements of this crime. Sexual assaults by intoxication or of an unconscious victim and the attempts to commit such crimes, as well as assault with intent to commit a sex offense were also considered. However, there is no evidence to support the filing of these crimes."

Read the Charge Evaluation worksheet here.

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Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano received flak from LGBT activists and same-sex marriage advocates after he compared surrogacy to a sex crime.

"Stepchild (adoption) really risks bringing the country closer to wombs-for-rent, towards the most vile, illegal trade that man has invented," he said in an interview with the Avvenire newspaper, according to BBC News.

"We want wombs-for-rent to become a universal crime, which is punished with a jail term. Just as happens for sex crimes," Alfano added.

Alfano' remark comes amid Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's push to grant family rights to same-sex couples. Italy is a major European country which denies parenthood rights to same-sex couples, The Guardian reported.

The draft legislation for providing parenthood rights to same-sex couples will be again placed in Italian Parliament at the end of January.

"Maybe I haven't been clear. As long as gay unions have the same rights as families and they try to implement stepchild adoption or any other stratagem to get to that end our answer is 'No, no and no'," he said while reaffirming his New Center Right Party' opposition to contested legislation, according to The Telegraph. His party is an alliance partner in Renzi's coalition government.

"Our battle to punish with prison sentences those who use womb-for-rent is parallel, not up for trade," he added.

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More than 1 million refugees, including 39 percent Syrians, reached Germany last year, the Interior Ministry said in a report.

The report, released on Wednesday, said that 1,091,894 migrants were registered by the authorities in 2015, DW reported. They included 428,000 Syrians, 154,000 Afghans and 121,000 Iraqis.

The arrivals were five times more than in 2014. Out of 1.1 million arrivals, nearly 475,000 people formally applied for asylum last year.

"With more than 476,649 applications last year, we have had the highest number of asylum applications in Germany so far. The number of people who arrived in Germany with the goal of applying for asylum is much higher," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere in a statement, according to Anadolu Agency.

The minister, however, said that the German government will take steps to reduce the scale of migrant reflux.

"We think the level of refugees and asylum-seekers who have come to Germany is too high, and are working so that it isn't repeated on this scale in 2016," de Maiziere said, according to the Associated Press.

"We will work in all policy areas towards sharply reducing the number of new asylum-seekers to Germany," he added, according to Politico.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been under pressure for her open door policy for asylum seekers, said earlier that nearly 800,000 refugees were expected in 2015.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani again condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, saying that the kingdom cannot hide its "great crime" of beheading the cleric by cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran.

"Of course, the Saudi government, in order to cover up its crime of beheading a religious leader has resorted to a strange measure and has severed its ties with the Islamic Republic, whereas, undoubtedly, such moves will never hide that great crime," Rouhani said Tuesday, according to state-run Press TV.

"Criticism should not be responded to with beheading. We hope that European countries, which always react to issues of human rights, would act on their human rights-related obligations in this case, too," the Iranian president added.

He also accused Saudi Arabia of creating a rift between Shia and Sunni Muslims. He urged the Saudi government to abandon the "wrong path" and compensate for its past mistake, according to Tehran Times.

#Saudi Arabia doesn't want peace & stability in the region because chaos helps it cover up its domestic problems & failed regional policies.  Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 6, 2016

Which country is exacerbating Sunni-Shia divide, bombing #Yemen & undermining governments in Iraq & Syria by providing funds &arms to #ISIS?  Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 6, 2016

Relations between two nations soured following the execution of al-Nimr. Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday after a group of protesters stormed its embassy in Tehran following the execution of al-Nimr, as HNGN previously reported.

Saudi Arabia executed al-Nimr and 46 others last week. They were convicted of plotting and carrying out serial bomb blasts in the kingdom. Forty-five of the convicts were Saudi nationals, while two were foreign nationals, a Chadian and an Egyptian. Al Nimr was also accused of fuelling anti-government protests between 2011 and 2013.

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Thirty years ago, Oscar Ray Bolin Jr., was convicted after being found guilty for murdering three women and is scheduled for execution at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday night at Florida State Prison. Fifty-three-year-old Bolin's death warrant was signed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott in October for the murder of Teri Lynn Matthews, 26, who was kidnapped in Pasco County in 1986, according to the Seattle PI. He was also sentenced with death penalty for the murders of Stephanie Collins, 17, and Natalie Holley, 25, in the same year, but they were junked because of legal issues.

Rosalie Martinez, a former member of Bolin's defense team, married Bolin in 1996, a decade after the crimes, after divorcing her lawyer husband. "Knowing that someone she loves and is married to, and who she truly believes sincerely is innocent, is about to potentially get executed - it's a very, very difficult time for her," lawyer Bjorn Brunvard said, according to Reuters.

Kathleen Reeves, the mother of victim Teri Lynn Matthews, thought that Bolin's execution has been long overdue. "It will be in a sense, a closure," Reeves said, according to the Huffington Post. "It's been so long. The pain doesn't change. It's just time for it. It's due. It's past due."

Bolin continues claims innocence to all the charges. "I didn't know 'em, never seen 'em, never met 'em," Bolin said, according to FOX News. "My conscience is clear. I'm at peace with myself. It's my release. My punishment's over."

"I didn't do it, you're not going to believe me, fine. After 28 years of this, being in this box for 28 years, it's a release. My punishment's over. They can't hurt me no more," he added.

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Macy's Inc. announced Wednesday that it plans to cut up to 4,800 jobs across the country and consolidate operations as part of an effort to trim costs and reverse sluggish sales.

With these changes in effect, Macy's expects to see annual selling, general and administrative expenses drop by roughly $400 million annually, though in the short-term, the retailer also expects to see a $200 million loss in profits for the fourth quarter, according to CNBC.

The restructuring comes after Macy's reported poor sales throughout 2015 and particularly weak sales during the holiday season. Comparable retail earnings per share dropped by about 5 percent in November and December, going from $2.54-$2.64 to $2.18-$2.23 and the company expects profits to miss previous projections, marking the second time Macy's has cut its earnings outlook in two months.

Macy's, like other retailers, blamed the unusually warm holiday season for its decline in sales, noting that roughly 80 percent of its losses are attributable to shortfalls in traditional winter attire such as coats, sweaters, hats, gloves and scarves.

"The holiday selling season was challenging, as experienced throughout 2015 by much of the retailing industry," said Macy's Chief Executive Terry Lundgren, according to Reuters.

Though 4,800 jobs will be cut, it's not as if those employees will be fired. About half of the 3,000 sales associates impacted by the cuts are expected to be placed in other locations, while a portion of the remaining employees, representing back-office and service center positions, are expected to be reassigned to other jobs.

These job cuts and associated employee relocations are prompted by the closure of 40 stores that will be completed by early spring. Thus far, four stores have closed, leaving 36 to be closed before the end of the next quarter, according to the Associated Press.

News of the restructuring and store closures were received favorably on Wall Street, causing Macy's shares to go up 6 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday. This is at least some good news for Macy's, whose stock tumbled by more than 40 percent last year, making it one of the 10 worst performers in the S&P 500 in 2015.

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Seventeen miners were trapped in an underground elevator at a New York Salt Mine Thursday morning, prompting a multi-hour rescue operation to free them from the rocky depths.

The incident began at around 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday as the miners were starting their shifts at the Cayuga Salt Mine in Lansing. However, as the elevator was going down the shaft, it suddenly became stuck, trapping them inside, ABC 7 News reported.

Emergency workers were able to contact the miners via radio so they could keep in touch with one another and provide updates on their current status. The miners had food, blankets and other supplies lowered to them throughout the duration of the operation.

"Everyone's fine, and things are going well," said Marcia Winch, spokeswoman for the Tompkins County emergency response department, according to CNN.

Using a crane, the first four miners were raised in a basket around 7 a.m. Four more were rescued half an hour later. This process continued until all 17 of the miners were safely rescued and returned to the surface.

A spokesman for the company who owns the mine, Minnesota-based Cargill, said that the company conducts evacuation drills annually, which is integral in the rescue process.

"While we hope to never make use of that practice, it's helping us today," the spokesman, Mark Klein, said, according to ABC's Minneapolis affiliate KSTP-TV.

Now that the rescue operation is completed, mining operations will be suspended for a week and both company officials and federal government mine safety inspectors will come on-site to determine what caused the elevator to malfunction.

"We want to take a step back, check things out," Klein said.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential candidate, announced on Wednesday that he's throwing his hat into the 2016 ring. In an official announcement on Fox Business Channel, the former New Mexico governor cast himself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal who is outraged at the size of government.

"My voice has not been heard, and speaking with a broad brush stroke, that is someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal," Johnson said, according to Politico. "At the end of the day, on my deathbed I know that I'm going to reflect on life and believe that I was the voice of reason in all this. Will that result in any better showing than last [election cycle]? Will that result in even being the nominee? Who is to say?"

Johnson, who had sought the Republican nomination before pursing a third-party bid in 2012, has painted himself as a true libertarian alternative to Rand Paul in an October blog post titled, "Why I would run for President."

"There were great hopes in some libertarian corners for Senator Rand Paul. I endorsed his father in 2008, and in fact, urged my Republican supporters in Iowa to support him in 2012. Unfortunately, Rand, in his quest to have one foot in the libertarian camp and the other in the establishment Republican museum, has emerged with a vague mix of positions that is clearly not compelling. There is a price to be paid for selling out - and he is paying it," Johnson wrote.

In addition to wanting to offer an alternative to Rand Paul, Johnson also said he wants to make things right from the last time he ran for president.

"I was really disappointed with the showing I made in 2012," Johnson told Reason magazine. "I don't view what happened in 2012 as a success, but others do."

Johnson signaled his 2016 bid to some when Reason magazine reported that he recently quit his job as CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a Nevada-based marijuana products and licensing company. Johnson must still gain the support of the Libertarian Party at their convention later this year, according to USA Today.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
At least 60 policemen were killed and around 200 others were injured Thursday after a suicide bomber used a truck to attack an army academy in Libya's western city of Zliten, officials said.

The timeline of the incident is unclear, but witnesses report that the explosives-laden truck crashed into the gate of the academy, which is used by Libya's border police to train recruits, as personnel were gathering to perform morning exercises, according to Ghana Web.

Rescue crews were able to extract 60 bodies from the wreckage hours after the blast, but officials fear that dozens more might be dead. In the meantime, multiple hospitals have received the bodies of both the wounded and dead and are calling for blood donations due to the sheer amount of people injured in the attack.

"We don't have a clear idea of the total toll, other victims were taken to hospitals in Misrata and Tripoli," said Zliten hospital spokesman Moamer Kadi, according to AFP.

There is no word on who could be responsible for the blast, and no one has come forward claiming responsibility. However, considering the nature of the attack, two prime suspects have been identified.

The first is a local ISIS affiliate that has been growing in power as of late and is trying to gain a foothold in Zliten, spreading westward from its central stronghold of Sirte, according to the Associated Press.

The second are smugglers operating in the region, who are notorious to responding violently to any attempt to disrupt their operations. While this would make the base a prime target for smugglers, since many of their operations were foiled by border patrol last year, car bombs aren't their usual M.O., suggesting that Islamic militants were behind Thursday's attack.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil ever since Moamar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011. The country has two rival administrations: an Islamist-backed militia alliance based in Tripoli and a U.N.-supported government in Tunisia.

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Brian Encinia, the state trooper responsible for stopping and arresting Sandra Bland, has been indicted on perjury charges, according to CNN. Shortly after the decision was reached, the Department of Public Safety announced that the state police agency "will begin termination proceedings to discharge him," according to The New York Times.

Bland was found dead in police custody three days after her arrest, at Waller County jail, where she was held after allegedly failing to use her turn signal, according to CNN. She was claimed to have committed suicide whilst being held in the cell but family members and other critics have pointed to improper use of police force as a factor in her death, according to The Atlantic.

Encinia stopped Bland after an improper lane change on July 10 but the situation escalated into a verbal altercation and physical confrontation that led to Encinia threatening to use a stun gun against Bland and shouting "I will light you up," according to The Atlantic.

Encinia had claimed in an affidavit that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" when he pulled her over, which a grand jury did not believe to be truthful, according to the Associated Press. Special prosecutor Shawn McDonald told reporters outside the courthouse that "the indictment was issued in reference to the reasoning that (Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia) removed her from her vehicle," according to CNN.

No officers were indicted as a result of Bland's death and her family has expressed discontent with Encinia's perjury misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum prison term of one year and a $4,000 fine, according to the Associated Press.

"To charge this guy of a misdemeanor, are you kidding me? I'm angry, absolutely," Bland's mother said, according to the Associated Press, claiming that Encinia should have been charged with false arrest, assault and battery.

The Bland family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Encinia and the guards at the jail in August and the trial is expected to go forward at the beginning of next year, according to The Atlantic.

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South Korea declared Thursday that it would resume cross-border anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts, a tactic that led the two neighbors to the brink of war when it was used last year. The decision to resume the broadcasts comes after the North claimed it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb, which Seoul called a "grave violation" of an agreement reached in October, according to USA Today.

"The North's fourth nuclear test is a wanton violation of its international obligations...and a grave violation of the inter-Korea agreement on August 25," an official at the presidential Blue House said.

"So the South Korean government decided to resume the border broadcast into the North as of noon (0300 GMT) on Friday," he added.

The Aug. 25 agreement in question was the conclusion of a dispute between the two Koreas over the source of mine blasts that wounded two South Korean soldiers, reported AFP. Seoul blamed the North for the mine blasts, and blasted music and anti-North propaganda messages across the border for two weeks. In response, Pyongyang threatened to launch an attack on the South, equating the music and propaganda to "psychological warfare."

A resolution was finally reached after North Korea "expressed regret" for the blasts and the South agreed to turn off the loudspeakers in return. However, part of that deal included a clause which stated the loudspeakers would remain unplugged "unless an abnormal case occurs."

It stands to reason that Pyongyang's "successful test" qualifies as an "abnormal case," since not only is Seoul prepped to resume its propaganda campaign, but also has it's military in a state of "full readiness."

"Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment," said Senior Presidential National Security official Cho Tae-yong, according to the Associated Press.

Though South Korea is addressing this potential threat with the utmost urgency, it has been met with skepticism elsewhere. In a press conference, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said an initial analysis by U.S. intelligence agencies is "not consistent with North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test."

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The Syrian government said on Thursday it will allow international humanitarian assistance into besieged towns in western and northwest Syria amid reports that people are starving to death, according to Global News

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 10 people have died in Madaya from a lack of food and medicine. Madaya is a town of some 42,000 near the Lebanon border in the Damascas province, which has been held under siege by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad since July.

Madaya resident Abu Abdul Rahman told Al Jazeera by phone he had not eaten for four days. "There are no more cats or dogs alive in the town. Even tree leaves that we have been eating have become scarce," he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Damascus, told the DPA news agency, "We have seen credible reports that people are starving ... People are hungry and it is very cold out there with no electricity or fuel," according to Al Jazeera.

"The UN welcomes today's approval from the Government of Syria to access Madaya, Fuaa and Kafraya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days," the UN said in a statement. The statement also said there were "credible reports of people dying from starvation" in Madaya, according to France 24.

While pro-regime forces have restricted access to Madaya, in northwestern Syria, Fuaa and Kafraya are surrounded by anti-government fighters. In September, the three towns were a part of a landmark six-month deal that called for increased humanitarian assistance in exchange for an end to hostilities.

The UN said that only 10 percent of its requested aid deliveries to besieged areas of Syria were approved and carried out over the past year, according to France 24.

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There are countless website solutions out there these days, you could go the SaaS route and pay a monthly subscription for your website, or you can hire an agency to make a website for your hotel, both have their pros and cons.

There are some hoteliers, however, who want to make, host, and publish their own websites by hand. And for them, there is no argument--the best tool to use is Wordpress.

Wordpress is a content management system for experts and novices alike. Publishing your own website with Wordpress gives you absolute control over its technology and content. It also makes you responsible for its security and performance. You'll have greater freedom, and you'll be able to get the exact look and function that you want.

But you'll also have to spend time updating plugins, improving website load speed, and updating your website over time as new technology appears. Before you begin, you must understand that you're getting yourself into a fun and rewarding project that will take up some of your time.

With this 7-step guide, I will show you how to make a basic but fully functional hotel website with Wordpress. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, then I suggest purchasing a website subscription. But, if you like to fiddle with things and learn as you go, keep reading.

Step One: Choose a Host

A website hosting provider is a company that lends you a computer (or a "cloud" of connected computers) where your website is installed. You need to choose a hosting provider before you begin. This is the home of your website. The host is responsible for keeping your website online 24/7, so it is important to choose a reliable host.

There are many options out there. For Wordpress, there are two that I recommend:

Bluehost

Bluehost is an affordable web host with great customer service. They give you a server (which is the computer where your website will live), and you can do nearly anything you want with it. Their 24/7 customer service is excellent, and has helped me out of many jams in the past. Bluehost is what I use for my websites.

WP Engine

WP Engine has marketed itself as the host of choice for Wordpress users for years. However, in my personal experience, they have mediocre customer service. They also have many rules in place that prevent you from using the plugins and themes you want. These rules are in place to protect your server, so they say, but I find them burdensome.

Both are good options, but I prefer Bluehost for the lower price point and the greater freedom.

Step Two: Purchase a Domain Name

A domain name is the web address where your website will be found. For example, www.cloudbeds.com is the domain name of Cloudbeds. If you already have a website, then you already have a domain name. You can use it, or purchase a new one.

You can purchase a new domain name through your hosting provider, which is likely also a registrar. Use these SEO guidelines when choosing a new domain name for your hotel's website:

Choose a .com top-level domain name. These domains are more trusted by Google and guests. Avoid novelty top-level domain names like .hotel or .travel. These are new, and are less trusted by Google and guests.

Make your domain name short. Google trusts shorter domain names more than longer ones.

Do not use hyphens or numbers. Google prefers no punctuation in domain names. Domains with hyphens or numbers look sketchy.

Use keywords related to your business. If possible, snag a domain name related to your hotel's location and target audience. You can include a landmark or region.

Use your hotel brand. If you can't use keywords, then simply use your hotel's name. Both Google and guests think branded domains are more trustworthy.

Step Three: Install Wordpress

Regardless of the host you choose, installing Wordpress is easy. Wordpress is basically the engine used to run your website. Once Wordpress is installed, you can build your website on top of it.

You can do this yourself. I recorded a short 10-minute guide which you can watch here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWxlFXSHSDM

Or, if you don't want to do it yourself, call your hosting provider. They will gladly do it for you.

Step Four: Log In to Your Dashboard

After you install Wordpress, your host will give you a username and password for your new website. They will also give you a URL where you can log in. If you don't have these things, call your web host. They will help you find them or reset them.

Once you log in, you will appear at your website's dashboard. There is much you can do here, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. Let's start by installing your theme. In the left-hand sidebar, hover over "Appearance" and click "Themes".

Step Five: Install Your Theme

A theme gives your website its look and feel. There are many great themes you can choose for your hotel website--and most are free! When choosing a theme, bear in mind the following:

It should be responsive. Responsive design makes your website optimized for any mobile device. These include tablets, and including devices that have yet to be invented. Be sure to check how your theme looks and works on a mobile device after installing it.

Choose a modern design. Less professional themes will look overly ornate, have complex fonts, or have clunky user interfaces. Choose a theme created in a variant of "flat" design. Flat design is a term used to describe design that uses only a few colors and simple user interface elements. It does not complicate things with rounded edges, drop shadows, highlights, and other complex design features. Flat design focuses on clean, crisp, and clear user interfaces and typography that improve website usability and conversions.

It should have a blog. The point of a hotel website is to improve your direct reservations, and one of the best ways to do that is with blog content marketing. Make sure you have a theme that has different layouts for your conversion pages (such as your homepage, photos page, and rooms page) and your blog.

It should make good use of photos. Guests decide whether or not they like your property the moment your first image loads. Make sure you stun them with beautiful photography across your website. You should not only use a theme that has a photo gallery, but it should also use your beautiful hotel photos on every page of the website--especially the homepage.

To find a theme, go to Appearance > Themes. Then, click the "Add Theme" button at the top of the page. This brings you to Wordpress' theme gallery. Use the search field to search for hotel or bed and breakfast inspired themes.

You can also purchase themes from 3rd-party developers online. Be careful when shopping for themes online. Many "free" themes you can find on Google come with malware or built-in "backdoors". Only download your Wordpress themes from trusted marketplaces. These include themeforest.net, the Mojo Marketplace, Templatic, and Wordpress.org itself.

Step Six: Install a Booking Engine

This is the most important step in building your website. The point of your website is to increase direct bookings, and you can't do that without a booking engine. Install a hotel booking engine plugin like WP Mybookings by Cloudbeds. Plugins give your website extra functionality that does not come native with Wordpress. WP Mybookings lets you take bookings right from your Wordpress website. It also connects to your channel manager and property management system.

Whichever booking engine Wordpress plugin you choose, make sure that the booking engine is mobile responsive and commission-free.

Step Seven: Install Other Plugins

Plugins give your website added functionality. The following are some free plugins I recommend for every hotel website. From your dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and use the search box to search for and install these plugins:

Yoast Wordpress SEO - This plugin gives you the ability to fine-tune many SEO fields. It also produces media sitemaps and helps keep your permalinks clean.

iThemes Security - This is my favorite free security plugin. It can backup your database, update web scripts, and lock down some of the back-end sections of your website from preying eyes.Jetpack - This plugin, made by the makers of Wordpress, includes some nice new features. These include a comment section for your blog, a network for making your photos load more quickly, free web statistics, and a mobile theme for non-responsive websites.

EWWW Image Optimizer - This free plugin makes your images load more quickly.Unveil Lazy Load - This plugin reduces the load time of your website by only loading images when your guests scroll down to them.

W3 Total Cache - This plugin has many options that make your website load faster. If you use this plugin, search for guides on how to set it up. It is banned by some website hosting providers, like WP Engine, because it consumes many computer resources. However, in my opinion, it is the best free caching plugin for Wordpress. It is a complex, but useful, plugin.

Digg Digg - This free plugin gives your website some nice social sharing features.

Flare - This free plugin looks better than Digg Digg in my opinion and has many nice features, but it is no longer supported. Choose this or Digg Digg (not both).

Wordpress is an excellent, mostly free solution for hosting and crafting your own website. The process is time-consuming and can be complicated, especially for hoteliers who have never built websites before.

However, if you can do it, creating your own Wordpress website gives you complete control over your hotel brand and how the public sees it. It is an excellent option for hoteliers who want to put in the extra effort to polish their hotel brand's web presence.

Do you have any questions about Wordpress? Post them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them.

About Cloudbeds

Cloudbeds provides the platform that powers hospitality, driving streamlined operations, increasing reservations and revenue, and enabling memorable guest experiences for lodging businesses of all sizes and types across the globe. The award-winning Cloudbeds Hospitality Platform seamlessly combines solutions for front desk, revenue, distribution, guest acquisition and guest engagement in a single unified system, enhanced by a marketplace of third-party integrations. Cloudbeds was named No. 1 PMS and No. 1 Hotel Management System by Hotel Tech Report in 2022 and recognized by Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 in 2021. For more information, visit www.cloudbeds.com.

Alex Gaggioli

Marketing Manager

Cloudbeds
London -- Strong demand for hotel acquisitions prompting private equity investors to sell their assets ahead of the usual investment time-frame, continued consolidation amongst the branded hotel chains, and the impact of recent terrorist activities are the key issues facing the European hotel sector into 2016, according to global hotel consultancyHVS. Looking ahead, HVS London chairman Russell Kett expects demand for hotel acquisitions in Europe to continue as investors, particularly those in the US and Asia, continue to diversify their investments globally. "Some have already shown their desire to sell the hotels they have only recently acquired  well before the usual five- to seven-year time normally sought. The trend towards early checkout will continue as long as there is a queue of investors still seeking to acquire hotels and portfolios. The recent sale of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin by KSL Capital Partners to Singapore-based Frasers Hospitality after only two years is a good example," he said. "This activity fuels further interest in the sector, providing opportunities for other buyers to enter the market. It is also an indication that owners are starting to feel we are approaching the peak of the property cycle, although this could remain the case for some time, conceivably through 2016 and even 2017." Property in London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam is expected to be most in demand, but increasingly hotel investors will start to look at secondary and tertiary cities in order to diversify their investments. HVS expects to see consolidation in the hotel sector continue, while acquisitions and the restructuring, which will inevitably follow, will act as a catalyst to other groups as they seek to benefit from the economies of scale such transactions generate. "When major companies coalesce there are implications on some of their brands  the weaker performers being subsumed into their stronger counterparts being the most obvious consequence as well as savings on duplicated overheads," added Russell Kett. Another key impact on Europe's hotel sector will be the terrorist atrocities seen in Tunisia, Egypt, Paris and elsewhere, which will affect potential travellers, especially leisure visitors, for some time to come. "The propensity to travel should recover quickly, but not before resort locations in Spain, Italy, Greece, the Adriatic, Cyprus and Malta continue to benefit from displaced demand from North Africa and Egypt. "Migrants and refugees fleeing from Syria and other areas of conflict will continue to put pressure on Turkey, Greece and neighbouring countries, a situation that is unlikely to be alleviated in 2016," Kett added.

About HVS

HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com.

Russell Kett

Chairman

+44 20 7878 7701

HVS
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View Joe Sebestyen's LinkedIn Profile

Joe Sebestyen is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois - United States

To manage its growing portfolio of assets, Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE) added two Regional Director of Operations positions to its infrastructure and tapped industry veterans Joe Sebestyen and Tim Goodman to its roster of leaders. Mr. Sebestyen and Mr. Goodman report to Rob Cote, the firms Vice President of Operations. Each has responsibility for the oversight of multiple brands in his assigned region of the country. An award-winning and successful hotel management professional with more than 30 years of operational and sales experience, Joe Sebestyen oversees a portfolio of the firms hotels in Oklahoma and Texas. His focus is to deliver financial results through service and operational excellence. A former Regional Director of Operations for both Marriott International and Compass Group, Joe began his career as a teenager at his familys restaurant. With a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Southern Illinois University, he holds extensive experience in managing conference centers.
The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel is already under construction. It is located on Bole Road, one of the citys busiest axes, and at 2km from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Rezidor announces the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Addis Ababa. The upper upscale property featuring 165 keys is scheduled to welcome the first guests in 2017. It is the second Radisson Blu hotel in Addis Ababa  further strengthening the groups presence in Ethiopia and in Africa as a whole: Rezidor has the largest pipeline of hotels and rooms under development of any international hotel operator on the continent (source: W Hospitality 2015). We are delighted to grow into depth in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia and further contribute to its community. The city and country offer considerable business potential  IMF ranks Ethiopia among the five fastest growing economies in the world, said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO of Rezidor. We thank our partners for their trust in us. This project is in line with our long-term strategy to establish Radisson Blu as the premier upper upscale brand in Africa with a strong network across selected economic hubs and capital cities across the continent, added Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer of Rezidor. The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel is already under construction. It is located on Bole Road, one of the citys busiest axes, and at 2km from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The international airport is 3km away  it serves as base for Ethiopian Airlines, one of Africas most successful carriers. The property is also the closest hotel to the Millennium Convention Center which is Addis Ababas largest conference venue. Many Embassies and EU delegation offices are also nearby. Besides 165 stylish and sophisticated rooms with Radisson Blu signature services such as free high speed internet access, the property will offer an all-day-dining restaurant, a speciality restaurant, a bar, a lobby cafe and a business class lounge. Business travellers will also benefit from almost 1,000sqm of meetings & events space. A gym and spa will complement the offer.
The Digital Marketing Strategy Hotels Need in 2016

Innovations to the hospitality industry over 2015 are making a substantial impact on the outlook for hotel marketing in 2016. One of the largest and most obvious shifts in the industry stems from the creation and success of the sharing economy. Forbes estimates the revenue flowing through the share economy directly into peoples wallets will surpass $3.5 billion this year, with growth exceeding 25% (Forbes.com). Independent companies, such as Airbnb, are making it easier for travelers to find and rent out rooms online at a lower cost. At 2.1 million registered users, Airbnb is leading the way and sparking competition with brand name hotel companies (fastcompany.com).

Aside from this phenomenon, online bookings now accounts for more than 40% of total travel sales. This has undoubtedly paved the way for online travel agencies to take off, making it more difficult for brand hotels to generate on-site bookings. Expedia and Priceline are at the forefront of bookings with revenues now reaching $35 billion. With the majority of the global population being online users, OTAs will look to untouched international markets like Italy, Spain, Germany and Mexico (MarketRealist.com).

As a result of the success of the global economy, business travel is on the rise. In 2014, The Global Business Travel Association recorded $72 billion in spending, showing a 7.1 percent increase from 2013 and it is steadily increasing (inc.com). With the start of the new year, domestic business trips are projected to reach 480.5 million. This is great news for Hotels catering to business professionals; specifically Marriott who is currently the most expensed hotel by north american business travelers (statista.com). Marriott is additionally experiencing growth from its merge with Starwood and other companies are following in its footsteps. Just recently, AccorHotels bought out Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel for 2.9 billion, creating an empire for the prestigious hotel brand (skift.com).

Over the last twelve months, the industry has seen some exciting changes in the market. These changes have been heavily influenced by the shift in customer behavior in the market. Customers are now researching and booking much differently than they were five years ago. They are expecting hotel sites to be easy to use, responsive and to interpret and predict their needs. The rise in millennial and business travelers plays a large role in the digital shift hoteliers will begin to see, so keeping their expectations at the forefront is critical.There are three common themes that have continued to be a large focus in the hotel marketing community over the past year. We believe that these will become critical aspects to digital marketing over the next year.

1. TARGETED CONTENT

Sometimes third party booking sites and search engines are given a bad reputation, but at the end of the day theyre bringing guests directly to hotels, saving time, energy, and personnel costs. Hotel marketers should maximize this value by using a more customized website design and targeted content to accommodate visitor preferences from their very first visit. Studies have shown that travelers visit up to 38 different sites before booking their stay (Skift). This means that the short amount of time a visitor hits a site will make or break their decision to book, and that marketers need to ensure content, campaigns, and messaging are focused and personalized for each visitors needs.

2. BUILDING BETTER CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH EMAIL

All marketers are aware of the importance in building strong, lasting relationships with their customers, but what about building relationships with visitors who have yet to book? Some of the strongest brand awareness campaigns are built by engaging visitors who are still in the search process. Properties have the opportunity to begin to get to know their potential guests by placing a simple email capture banner or form on the site that will entice visitors to sign up before leaving. Email marketing has proven to be extremely effective in returning potential guests to the site to complete their booking. In addition, a positive email experience can persuade guests to return to a property, even if they booked with the competition in the past.

Social media should also be utilized to engage customers by providing relevant and useful information to potential guests. But, since most social media applications are public, it limits the personal relationship that can be built through email. With the consolidation of the industry, email marketing will begin to play a crucial role in the hotel marketing environment as small brands and independent properties fight back for direct bookings.

3. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CUSTOMER BOOKING EXPERIENCE.

If theres one thing we learned in 2015, its that the industry is rapidly changing. The millennial travelers are quickly shifting the market and hotel marketers must constantly be ahead of the curve to stay relevant with this large segment of consumers. While there is an excess of data regarding customers post booking, there is little reporting done on the process customers take when deciding where to book.

Properties can already begin to answer a few questions, simply by using their site data. 1) How are people searching for hotels? 2) How are people completing the booking process? Third party or direct? 3) Importance of certain types of information to search (pictures, reviews, amenities).

When hotels begin to understand the what role specific information plays in the booking process , they can build out a more responsive and personalized site that will keep the new era of traveler fully engaged.



About Spring Engage

Spring Engage is a real time engagement technology provider. Our solutions give hotel marketing professionals the tools to give each customer on their site the best and most personalized experience. From targeted campaigns and content to social media and email lead capturing, hotels have the ability to incorporate intent and customization in their messaging on site.



Contact:

Beth Harvey beth@springengage.com (919) 794-5003
Hotel Phillips in Kansas City Joins Curio Collection

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) today announced that Hotel Phillips will join Curio  A Collection by Hilton. Hotel Phillips is expected to join Curio in 2017 after extensive renovations. Arbor Lodging Partners, which acquired the hotel in October 2015, is overseeing the significant revitalization of the property, which is currently underway; Arbors affiliate, NVN Hotels, will manage the hotel.

Located in downtown Kansas City, Hotel Phillips is an art-deco icon built in 1931, and has been listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1979. The inner walls of the hotel have seen the likes of Tina Turner, John Barrymore and many other visiting entertainers in its lifetime. New Jersey Architect & Design firm, KKAD will lend their signature style of comfortable luxury to transform the iconic space while preserving the hotels history and honoring the famous art-deco details of its celebrated past. With close proximity to the Power & Light District, the Sprint Center and Kansas City Convention Center, the hotels neighborhood is active and vibrant.

We aim to deliver a guest experience that takes advantage of all the amenities the hotels downtown location has to offer, while also contributing to the revival of the heart of Kansas City, said Vamsi Bonthala, chief executive officer of Arbor Lodging Partners.

The 217-room hotel is a classic luxury property featuring a marble staircase in its entrance, stylish and modern accommodations and 11,000 square feet of flexible meeting and events space. The hotel offers full-service dining and room service, and is considered one of the premier hotels in Kansas City.

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Hotel Phillips commitment to the local arts and culture scene is longstanding. In addition to three free weekly performances from local jazz musicians, the hotel also hosts an artist-in-residence program. The chosen artist has the chance to display his or her works in the hotel studio, restaurant and throughout the hotel. The concierge and staff are also happy to give recommendations on local art galleries within walking distance from the hotel.

The renovations will enhance this dynamic propertys rich history with modern amenities, providing our guests with an authentic and satisfying experience that appeals to all generations, adds Arbor Lodging Partners principal Sheenal Patel, also chief executive officer of NVN Hotels.

Renovations of the hotel will include a repositioning of the historic property as the go-to lifestyle and locally-driven hotel in the market. New food and beverage options as well as creative programming will be revealed in the coming months.

Arbor Lodging Partners is really doing something special with the Hotel Phillips, and we at Hilton Worldwide are thrilled to be part of it, said Matt Wehling, senior vice president, development  North America, Hilton Worldwide. The extensive renovation plans only enhance the properties already excellent attributes  location, history, and amenities and will parallel Arbors expert guest service. We are looking forward to giving our loyal Hilton guests premier access to this world-class property.

Hotel Phillips Kansas City perfectly embodies the meaning of our Curio collection in terms of its independent feel and capturing the spirit of its local surroundings, said Dianna Vaughan, global head, Curio  A Collection by Hilton. To pair our Hilton HHonors guests, as well as new travelers, with such an iconic yet modern hotel engrained deeply in its community is exactly what were striving for with Curio.

Once open, Hotel Phillips Kansas City, Curio Collection by Hilton will participate in the Hilton HHonors loyalty program, which is open to all guests and free to join. HHonors members always get our lowest price with our Best Price Guarantee, along with HHonors Points, free standard Wi-Fi, access to digital check-in and Digital Key, and no hidden fees, only when they book directly through Hilton.
Rick Ross and Lira Galore got engaged early in their relationship, but it didnt take long for things to get rocky. The two were rumored to have broken up in November, but bounced back, posing for a photoshoot in Paper magazine a month later. Unfortunately it seems that the couple have truly called it quits, as Galore has reported in a new interview with Global Grind.



According to the model, Instagram trolling may have actually played in a role in the relationships demise. I think the initial breakup was a combination of everything from people digging up tweets when I was 17-years-old tweeting about different people, to the picture of Meek, she said, referring to an old photo of herself and Rozays labelmate in the club. I went to his (Ross) tagged photos one day and it was only that picture of Meek, and it was just that photo. Everybody just kept posting it and I felt like as a man, he just couldnt handle it when it was just nothing. I feel like during that time apart he realized he was tripping, so we got back together.



She went on to explain the reasoning behind their final decision to call off the engagement. We just decided to go our separate ways, she said. Im 22 and this was my first time in love and I put it out there. Im still in love with him, but some things dont go as you would like them to go.
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-07 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/> CONTENTS [01] Meimarakis interview to ANA-MPA ahead of Sunday's 2nd round ND leadership election [02] PM's office welcomes employer support for hike in social insurance contributions [03] Stage and screen actress Anna Synodinou passes away [01] Meimarakis interview to ANA-MPA ahead of Sunday's 2nd round ND leadership election "The policy followed by (ruling) SYRIZA results in disharmony and is alienating its political base in society," main opposition New Democracy party contender Vangelis Meimarakis said on Thursday, in an interview with the ANA-MPA. Meimarakis, who stepped down as party president ahead of the internal leadership election but who led the conservative party in the September 2015 general election, also forecast that while the SYRIZA government's policies will create tension vis-a-vis its own supporters, it will not affect its Parliamentary majority. The former minister in several ND governments and one-time Parliament president also forecast that controversial draft bills  i.e. pending pension reform  will be ratified by Parliament, "given that I see that there are several willing parties (outside SYRIZA) that do not want to create a major political issue". Asked about the main opposition's unity amid the often contentious leadership race, he said such unity is not a "political concept, nor an end in itself. And it doesn't help that we're discussing and rehashing this in a way that assumes that there isn't unity." Finally, Meimarakis underlined that New Democracy is the Greek party of moderation and national consensus, and this is exactly the way it will continue under his leadership. Regarding a question over "extremist voices" within the party, he said that "whoever doesn't toe the line in terms of collective decisions by party organs will, by their own volition, find themselves outside the party." Meimarakis faces off with former minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the second round of the ND leadership election on Sunday. [02] PM's office welcomes employer support for hike in social insurance contributions The government on Thursday welcomed the stance adopted by employer associations regarding the possibility of a hike in social insurance contributions in order to better support the ailing pension system, in an announcement issued by the prime minister's press office. The announcement noted that a meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the heads of the four largest employers' groups had been held in a positive and constructive climate, with the employers will to discuss a modest increase in contributions to avoid pension cuts. [03] Stage and screen actress Anna Synodinou passes away Veteran Greek actress and politician Anna Synodinou, a veteran thespian in the country who also posted a brief but notable career in film and television, died on Thursday at the age of 89. She was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1974 with the New Democracy party and served a term as deputy minister for social services until 1981. Her funeral will be held on Monday at the Vironas cemetery in east Athens. Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos expressed his condolences to Synodinou's family, while messages of condolence were sent by the prime minister and all the political party leaders. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
that effort you put into getting your employees to improve their performance was a total waste of time  at least thats what one controversial new study is claiming.Scientists who measured brain activity as people performed tasks say that while it is possible to get people to work harder, its futile to try and get them to work better.Their findings suggest that the human brain has a limit to how well it can perform certain tasks and that perimeter cant be pushed  no matter how hard bosses might try.Brain scans revealed that financial incentives and social pressure do encourage people to work harder but have no impact on their overall performance.According to researchers, this trend was most apparent when participants were carrying out tasks that required vigilance or attention.Professor Frank Hartmann of Erasmus Universitys Rotterdam School of Management said the results should push HR professionals to reconsider rewards and recognition systems.If basic biology limits our ability to improve at certain types of work, we need to think more imaginatively about the way we measure and reward work performance, he suggested. It may be much more task specific than we are currently inclined to think.Hartmann also said that employers risk exasperating their employees if they dont acknowledge biological barriers.Businesses need to recognise where performance limits may lie and avoid frustrating employees when results do not reflect best efforts, he stressed.Organisations should take care that performance assessments accurately capture the efforts of workers, both to measure whether targets and incentives are effective and to ensure that individuals are rewarded fairly.
Some women dont give a second thought to their placenta after giving birth, but in New Zealands Maori culture, there is an ancient practice of burying the placenta after birth.

Now, an Australian photographers Facebook post is shining a light on this custom and inspiring Maori mothers to share their stories.

Last week, photographer and former midwife Emma Jean posted a photo she took of a Maori baby still connected to the placenta by its umbilical cord, which was curled to spell out "love." In her post, she explained that the Maori word "whenua" means both "placenta" and "land."

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Welcome earthside sweet little HarperAs a Maori baby his placenta will now be returned to the land. The word 'whenua'... Posted by Emma Jean Photography on Saturday, January 2, 2016







The act of burying the placenta "reflects the Maori philosophical view that the placenta, like the land, provides physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual nourishment and furnishes all the needs of humanity," Ngahuia Murphy, a PhD candidate on Maori Philosophy and Cosmology at Waikato University, told Mashable Australia.

Additionally, this act reflects the deep reverence and connection that Maori have with the earth, personified as Papatuanuku, a divine Mother Earth-like creatress, Murphy said.

Since being posted, the image has inspired Maori mothers to share beautiful, personal stories about the tradition.

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My daughter is half Australian half Maori because she was born here I explained to my in-laws on this very tradition we have they were blown away, one mom wrote. So we buried her whenua here in Aussie and took her pito [umbilical cord] home so she is grounded in both of her countries.

Another said: We just buried our two girls Placentas yesterday (2/1/16) at a reserve in a forest named after my papa. We marked them with two pohutukawa maori princess trees.

According to Mirror UK, Jean did not expect to get such a huge response to her picture.

I decided to take this image of Harper as I wanted to show what a physiological birth looks like as most people have never seen a baby still connected to their placenta, she explained. I knew it was important to talk about the Maori tradition in my post, as the placenta is not something that is appreciated or honoured in the Western culture. It is generally discarded, ignored and considered disgusting. However without the placenta none of us would be here.

Jean later added: In a time when we are so disconnected from ourselves, our history and each other, the response to this image clearly shows that we all still crave a connection.

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Is it time for Deborah Drever to return to the NDP caucus?

It's a question many supporters of the young, Independent MLA have been asking this week, after revelations were made about the circumstances related to a social media scandal that led to her suspension.

Drever told CBC News on Wednesday when she posed for a controversial album cover that appeared to depict a violent sexual assault, she was misled. She said she had agreed to pose for the photo on the premise that in the image the band would be trying to save her from an attack.

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Some interpreted the cover as glorifying violence against women.

Drever said she was "extremely uncomfortable" and asked the band to do a reshoot, but they told her no.

The Calgary-Bow MLA was removed from the NDP caucus by Premier Rachel Notley a few weeks after the May election. At the time, Notley told Drever she could potentially accept her back into the fold if she worked on educating people on the issue of violence against women.

In a recent Calgary Herald interview, Drever opened up about the expulsion and the media outcry that followed her suspension. She said it was an extremely difficult time in her life made harder by the fact she is a victim of abuse herself.

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At the time, the 27-year-old was also living with her grandmother to help raise her five-year-old niece. She said media scrutiny and online backlash brought unwanted attention to herself and her family.

I'm continuously appalled by the attacks on women politicians in this province. Embarrasses Alberta. #ableg  Dani Paradis (@DaniParadis) January 5, 2016

Proving her commitment

Since she received Notley's missive, Drever has made it her goal to help victims of domestic violence. Her private member's bill that allows victims of domestic violence to break their lease, without penalty, if they demonstrate they or their children are in danger, passed unanimously in the legislature in December.

There's a massive wall of support around Drever now. Y'all bullies better be prepared for it. She's not your whipping post anymore. #ableg  Kathleen Smith (@KikkiPlanet) January 5, 2016

Shannon Phillips, the minister responsible for the Status of Women, said the bill will help ensure survivors of domestic violence are safe and have the support they need to maintain their independence.

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Independent in name only?

In light of the Drever's explanation of the album cover and her legislative work, many are calling for Drever to be welcomed back into the NDP  including the Edmonton Journal.

The Journal's editorial board argued Tuesday that Drever has "paid the price" for her mistakes and has proven herself to be a "diligent member of the legislature."

Some PC and Wildrose MLAs agree that it's time for Drever's return, but for different reasons.

After a publishing gaffe in a community newsletter swapped Drever's holiday message with an NDP member's, some politicians said the mistake showed she is an independent in name only.

Let's drop the charade. Ms. Drever hasn't been an independent any more than I've been an NDPer. Been a loyal NDP backbencher. #abpoli#ableg  Derek Fildebrandt (@Dfildebrandt) January 1, 2016

Nobody around the Legislature has believed for one minute that Deborah Drever was ever an independent, Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt told the Calgary Sun.

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Interim PC Leader Ric McIvor echoed Fildebrandt's thoughts, and said Drever's return would make sense to taxpayers as Independent MLAs receive more resources.

With files from The Canadian Press

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A mental health assessment has been ordered for an Ontario man charged with making threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's family as well as female MPs.

James Martin Platts, 57, of Chatham-Kent was charged with uttering threats to kill after VIA Rail passengers allegedly overheard him on his cellphone, CTV News reported.

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The man reportedly threatened to kidnap Trudeau's children and kill 10 female MPs, according to the Northumberland News.

A fellow passenger on the Toronto-bound train Tuesday alerted train staff. At a bail hearing in Cobourg, Ont. Wednesday, the court heard that a VIA Rail employee notified police after the man allegedly said, "What about the bomb and anthrax?"

At the hearing, Platts reportedly claimed he was in charge of Canada's secret service agency, and that he was an agent for U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The court heard that Platts, who has a violent history, also visited the prime minister's residence at 24 Sussex Dr. on Christmas Eve before taking a train to Ottawa some days later.

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The Prime Minister's Office told CTV News that it has "complete faith in the police authorities and the RCMP Protective Policing Service when it comes to the security of the Prime Minister and his family."

Platts has been ordered to undergo a physical and mental health assessment, and told not to make contact with the prime minister or his family, nor with former prime minister Stephen Harper, or any female MPs.

He is expected in court on Jan. 13.

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Justine Smith and Francisco Peres hoped to enjoy a quiet night at their Montreal apartment after tying the knot on New Year's Eve (NYE).

But then they played unwitting hosts to a "coke-fueled orgy" after they rented out one of their rooms on Airbnb.

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It has left them laughing off the experience, and it won't stop them from renting out in the future.

Smith and Peres had already rented one room in their three-bedroom apartment when an Ottawa couple booked another one for NYE, BuzzFeed Canada reports. They didn't plan on renting that room, but they'd forgotten to turn off an Airbnb function that allows quick bookings.

"We called to cancel, but they [the guests] said, 'Please, don't. It's going to be impossible to find a new place,'" Smith told The Daily Beast

So they let them stay there on their wedding night.

My fav wedding photos pic.twitter.com/AXE54ZclRv  Justine A. Smith (@redroomrantings) January 1, 2016

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Smith, writing for Vice News, said they came back from their wedding at around 2:30 a.m. to find the apartment "overflowing with garbage" and no guests to be found.

They went to bed, only to hear their guests return late in the night. They heard the sound of people doing cocaine in the living room, but decided not to say anything.

Then, at approximately 5 a.m., they heard people in the living room having sex, CBC News reported.

Again, Smith decided to leave them alone: "They weren't very loud. They weren't screaming. Am I really going to get up at 5 a.m. and tell them to stop?"

But then she woke up later that morning ... only to find two people she didn't know, naked on their couch. And another stranger in the room they had rented to the Ottawa couple.

It turned out that things got a little out of hand when they came back to the apartment overnight.

Airbnb update: we had a guest in another room when they trashed the place, he said he walked out and there was a full on orgy going on  Justine A. Smith (@redroomrantings) January 2, 2016

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He got out of his room, and there were five people fucking in our living room. Worst part? I'm kinda insulted they didn't even invite us.  Justine A. Smith (@redroomrantings) January 2, 2016

The couple, and their three unwanted guests, cleaned the apartment and moved all the furniture back into place.

They left the unit in good shape, save for a "cum-caked carpet" that had to be thrown out.

The guests left them a five-star review on Airbnb ... and this note.

Letter we got from our airbnb guests who had a coke-fuelled orgy in our living room on our wedding night pic.twitter.com/KvgvnrEzPj  Justine A. Smith (@redroomrantings) January 2, 2016

Airbnb is compensating Smith and Peres for all the damages.

Though she was angry when it happened, Smith finds the whole episode hilarious now.

"Honestly, I think I'm lucky to have such a great story to tell about my wedding," Smith wrote.

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Pizza Hut

Newsflash: Pizza Hut is eager to sink its cheesy hooks into pop culture one pepperoni hat sale at at time.

Thats right, the purveyor of stuffed-crust za has launched a clothing line with an assortment of wearable goods ranging from a Pizza Is Bae sweater ($34.99 USD) to tribal pizza tights ($49.99 USD).

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But the high prices stringed to its apparel isnt without reason.

According to the company, 100 per cent of all net U.S. profits of its merchandise will go be donated to the World Food Program USA.

Check out the full order of Hut Swag here:

'Hut Swag' By Pizza Hut See Gallery

So if youre hopelessly devoted to all things pizza, heres a chance to wear your heart on your sleeve  or legs  or head.
A California surrogate mother carrying triplets has launched a lawsuit after the biological father asked her to abort one of the babies, saying he only wanted twins.

Melissa Cook was hired for $33,000 by an unnamed Georgia man to have a child via in-vitro fertilization, using his sperm and eggs from a donor. Nine weeks into her pregnancy, she discovered that all three implanted embryos had taken. Cook was then asked by the biological father to abort one of the babies or face monetary damages.

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The 47-year-old surrogate mom has now filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court challenging the states surrogacy laws.

I have a deep empathy for men who want children, Cook said in a statement to People. However, I now think that the basic concept of surrogacy arrangements must be re-examined, scrutinized and reconsidered.

Watch the video above for the full story.

In the U.S., it is only legal in some states to pay a woman to carry a child, otherwise known as commercial surrogacy. More specifically, California is known to have the most lenient laws regarding surrogacy, making it one of the most booming places for the industry.

In Canada, on the other hand, commercial surrogacy is illegal across the country. It is also illegal for people to advertise payment for the service. Altruistic surrogacy, however, is allowed. This means it is legal to reimburse a surrogate for expenses incurred during the pregnancy, including medical costs, travel and so on.

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In regards to abortion during surrogacy, laws vary since surrogates and parents-to-be decide on the matter in their contractual agreements. This applies to both Canada and the U.S. Some parties agree they will abort the baby if there are growing medical concerns, while others determine they will carry the baby to term regardless.

In Cooks case, the contract with the biological father reportedly permitted him to request the termination of the babies she is carrying. Because of this, Cook wants the state's surrogacy law to be declared unconstitutional, according to the Washington Times.

Cook is now 23 weeks pregnant and is seeking custody of at least one of the triplets.

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Surging Republican presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is taking more grief over the fact that he was born in Canada.

GOP front-runner Donald Trump suggested this week that Cruz's birthplace could become a liability if he wins the nomination, and could spark legal challenges if he wins the presidency.

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Cruz was born in Calgary in 1970 when his parents worked in the oil sector.

Though his dad was Cuban and became a American citizen in 2005, Cruz's mom was born in Delaware. Under U.S. law, anyone born to an American mother is granted U.S. citizenship even if the birth takes place outside the country.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to supporters in Alabama. (Photo: Mike Kittrell/Associated Press)

Foreign-born Americans are seen to be constitutionally eligible to be president. Former GOP nominee John McCain, for example, was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

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Prime Minister Cruz?

Though Cruz laughed off Trump's remarks, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who is also chasing the GOP nomination, appears to be having some fun fanning the flames.

On Wednesday, Paul was asked on Fox News radio show "Kilmeade and Friends" if he questioned if Cruz was a real American.

"I think without question he is qualified and would make the cut to be prime minister of Canada," Paul said. "Absolutely without question, he is qualified and meets the qualifications."

Paul said he wasn't an expert in the clause in the U.S. Constitution that says only a "natural born" citizen can be president.

"Some people believe it means you need to be born here; some people think it means you can be born in another country as long as your parents are citizens," he said.

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Sen. Rand Paul speaks during a campaign stop in Derry, New Hampshire. (Photo: Jim Cole/Associated Press)

But Paul pointed out that there appears to be a "double standard" among the so-called "birthers" who  like Trump  questioned whether Barack Obama could serve based only on the "conjecture" he wasn't born in the U.S.

Obama, who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, quashed conspiracy theories that he was actually born in Kenya by releasing his birth certificate in 2011.

"And yet, there hasn't been really the same outrage at all for someone who actually is born in another country," Paul said.

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Cruz's dual citizenship was uncovered by The Dallas Morning News in 2013, prompting the senator to say he would renounce his Canadian citizenship. He also released his birth certificate.

"Nothing against Canada, but I'm an American by birth and a U.S. senator," he said at the time. "I believe I should be only an American."

Cruz, who has lived in the U.S. since the age of four, officially stopped being a Canadian in June 2014.

Polls suggest the ultra-conservative now leads in Iowa, where the first presidential caucus will be held on Feb. 1. Cruz, who opposes abortion rights and gay marriage, is aggressively courting social conservatives in the state.

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Remember the boy from the early seasons of "Two and a Half Men"?

The show started in 2003, so Angus T. Jones, its original child star, obviously looks quite a bit different today.

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Jones joined the show at age 10, and by 2010, had earned the title of highest-paid child actor in TV history. He reportedly raked in over C$400,000 per episode, according to ET.

The now-devout-Christian left the show in 2013, according to ABC News, after a well-publicized 2012 YouTube video showed him calling it "filth."

As of 2014, he was a student at University of Colorado-Boulder.

While the 22-year-old made a cameo in the show's February 2015 finale, we were still surprised to see what once-tiny Jake Harper looks like today.

Watch the video above to see a recent photo of the star.

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Mewtheart via Getty Images This is the way inside UBC (University of British Columbia) was coated by fog and the two sides has a lot of red maple trees as well.

Staff at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have written an open letter to students apologizing for "not demanding better" when it comes to the institution's sexual assault policies.

The letter, dated Jan. 6, acknowledges "serious problems" with the university's procedures, including how "some students and alumni who brought forward reports of sexual assault have suffered additional harm" because of those failures.

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Over two dozen faculty members signed the document, which can be read here.

Philosophy associate professor Jonathan Ichikawa tweeted the document on Wednesday and invited more staff to add their names to the list.

Open Letter to the UBC Community, from UBC Faculty members concerned about the universitys sexual assault policies. https://t.co/yQZMv0hYr8  Jonathan Ichikawa (@jichikawa) January 6, 2016

UBC complainants call out shortfalls

In November, a CBC News investigation revealed the university took a year and half to react to sex assault complaints against Dmitry Mordivinov, a history student.

At least six women claimed that Mordivinov, 28, had assaulted or harassed them. According to the report, four of those women made complaints in 2014, but Mordivinov wasn't expelled until a year later.

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Interim UBC President Matha Piper issued a statement after the "Fifth Estate" investigation aired, acknowledging the university needed to be better.

"I want to apologize to the women in these cases who feel they have been let down by our university," she said. "While the university had to wait until it had the necessary facts to take action, I acknowledge that the process took too long."

Former student plans human rights complaint

A day after Piper's statement was released, UBC alumna Caitlin Cunningham came forward, revealing she had "an extraordinarily difficult" experience when she tried to file a complaint about being assaulted.

"I think I've been more traumatized by the process of reporting than I was traumatized by the incident of assault," said Cunningham, who graduated in 2014.

"The system is broken. It's in all ways broken. I don't think there's any other way to put it."

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Former UBC students Caitlin Cunningham, left, and Glynnis Kirchmeier speak to reporters in Vancouver on Nov. 22, 2015. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Glynnis Kirchmeier, also a former student, said she approached school administrators after observing instances of alleged sexual misconduct by a fellow student beginning in 2011 and continuing through 2014.

She accused the university of failing to act. Kirchmeier said she planned to file a human rights complaint by the end of 2015.

"UBC's chance to do the right thing is over," she said at a press conference on Nov. 22.

At the time, associate vice-president of equity and inclusion Sara-Jane Finlay said the university would be reviewing its policies, but didn't specify when such a study would be launched nor who would lead it.

Faculty who signed January's open letter pledged to "take an active part" in creating better procedures that would be in place no later than September of 2016.

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With files from The Canadian Press

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David Niddrie via Getty Images Riding the seawall, Vancouver.

A Vancouver cyclist has died after being hit in the head by a heavy object thrown from a garbage can on the seawall.

In a news release Thursday, Vancouver police revealed the "strange set of circumstances" that led to the 46-year-old cyclist's death.

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Witnesses told investigators that a man was going through a garbage can near Science World and throwing items from the bin on Wednesday night. As the cyclist was riding by on the seawall, a heavy object tossed from the trash struck him, causing him to fall face first onto the pavement, said police.

He was rushed to hospital with severe head injuries and died early Thursday morning.

The man who was going through the trash bin left the scene before paramedics and police arrived.

Investigators want to speak to that man, who is described as aboriginal, 30 to 40 years old, six feet tall with a medium build and shoulder-length hair. He was wearing a black puffy jacket and dark jeans.

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A hulking home stretched over two adjoining lots in West Vancouver is irritating neighbours and politicians  but there's not much anyone to do about it.

The 26,000 sq.-ft. home under construction on Mathers Avenue dwarfs the properties around it, and neighbours say the megahome is ruining the area's character.

"We bought this house because of the yard [that now overlooks the mansion,]" Torie Yang told Global News. "Who's going to need all that room? It's ridiculous."

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The lot on which the 26,000 sq-ft. house is being built in West Vancouver. (Google Maps)

West Vancouver's planning director, Jim Bailey, told The Province there's not much councillors can do as the home follows the district municipality's bylaws.

Bailey acknowledged that property consolidations in the area have happened before, but agreed Chen's home is a particularly bothersome case.

This one (on Mathers Avenue) really hit home  its in an older, established area and it has really changed the character.

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Businessman Ge Chen, who owns the house, said it will be home to nearly a dozen family members, according to the CBC.

"It's quite huge," Chen, who bought the adjoining properties under a single listing, told the outlet. "[But] we're just following the bylaw  that's the square-footage that we could build."

"Who's going to need all that room? It's ridiculous."  Torie Yang, neighbour

In Vancouver, multiple houses that sit next to one another are being sold together to attract developers, who could turn a 10,000 sq-ft. house, for example, into a fleet of townhomes.

Realtor Michelle Yu sold nine lots in a row in an $33.4-million assembly deal last year  meaning those homes, appraised at about $1.7 million each, ended up selling for nearly $4 million, according to Global.

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Henrik Jonsson via Getty Images High quality 3d render of North Korea with Nuclear Warhead. Clipping path included.MORE LIKE THIS:

North Korea's recent nuclear-weapons test constitutes provocative, destabilizing activity for the region and the globe and demands strong condemnation from the international community. Every effort must be made to keep North Korea's nuclear ambitions in check -- not only to produce a workable nuclear warhead but, just as critically, to develop delivery systems that could reach perceived adversaries, including the United States and other Western countries.

Certainly North Korea's irresponsible actions create legitimate international security concerns. But too often outside policymakers and observers seem to overlook the simple fact that the current standoff is in part a result of an unsustainable nuclear-weapons regime that perpetuates a double standard between states that have nuclear weapons and those that do not.

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A blatant disregard for a decades-old commitment to disarm under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) creates strong proliferation pressures that can only be counteracted by the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. What is needed is a global legal ban on the possession, deployment, and use of these instruments of mass destruction. No exceptions, no exemptions.

The DPRK's recklessness does not obscure the fact that the fundamental rationale for its nuclear weapons program is essentially the one used by other nuclear-armed states and by NATO, itself a nuclear alliance: a stubborn belief in nuclear deterrence to protect vital national security interests.

Nuclear weapons continue to be framed as the supreme security guarantee for the majority of the world's population -- either through direct possession or by virtue of collective security arrangements. The governments of India and China -- states that together have more than 2.5 billion citizens--retain nuclear arsenals and thus the distinct possibility of engaging in nuclear warfare.

While North Korea's test is unequivocally unacceptable, the moral high ground of some of the countries now chastising North Korea is undermined by the fact that they have long engaged in the same activity they now condemn. This was North Korea's fourth nuclear weapons test. Had the test been conducted by the United States -- one of the few countries in the world not to have ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty -- it would have been its 1,055th.

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While even one nuclear weapon remains, there is a real possibility of nuclear catastrophe -- by accident, miscalculation, or design.

The North Korean nuclear test must be understood in the broader context of the failure of the NPT to deliver on the promise of complete nuclear disarmament. Seven decades after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 45 years after the entry into force of the NPT, and more than a quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, nearly 16,000 nuclear weapons threaten the very survival of humanity and Earth.

The renewed attention in recent years on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons has served as both catalyst and rallying point for a growing number of states and international civil society organizations. An increasingly loud denunciation of the intransigence of states with nuclear weapons can be heard around the globe. Calls to immediately begin a serious process to unequivocally prohibit and verifiably eliminate nuclear weapons are more persistent.

Yet the imperative for nuclear abolition is built not only on humanitarian grounds. The difficulties in achieving a world without nuclear weapons are symptoms of a broader multilateral system riddled with double standards. The global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime constitutes a case study in inequitable, discriminatory global governance.

The NPT was designed to prevent non-nuclear-weapon states from acquiring nuclear weapons and to compel nuclear-weapon states to eliminate them. Those that hold nuclear weapons have resisted, avoided, or ignored not only their treaty obligations, but the groundswell of support for nuclear abolition from all corners of the planet. Instead, states with nuclear weapons are spending billions of dollars to modernize their weapons.

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While even one nuclear weapon remains, there is a real possibility of nuclear catastrophe -- by accident, miscalculation, or design.

As important and necessary as it is to tackle the North Korean nuclear threat, proliferation concerns will never be fully allayed as long as nuclear weapons exist. Further, there is now a clear and widespread recognition that the discriminatory nature of the global nuclear disarmament regime -- whereby nonproliferation is an obligation and disarmament a mere aspiration -- is decidedly not conducive to nuclear abolition.

Some states consider the pursuit and possession of nuclear weapons by certain nations or groups intolerable, but seem content to accept the nuclear-weapons programs of military or economic allies, even outside the NPT framework. The United States and Canada, like some other states, not only turn a blind eye to the rogue Israeli nuclear weapons program, but engage in nuclear cooperation agreements with India, contravening a longstanding agreement that nuclear cooperation should be reserved for NPT states parties.

The endgame for nuclear abolition is remarkably straightforward: there must be a universal, non-discriminatory process, with provisions for the irreversible elimination of existing nuclear arsenals and a timeline for verified implementation. But setting lofty goals has never been the problem. Nuclear abolition has been an international objective for decades, supported in theory even by states with nuclear weapons. Implementation has proved difficult.

Opportunities to engage on this issue exist. An open-ended working group (OEWG) established by the UN General Assembly will meet for 15 days in 2016, with a mandate to develop "legal measures, legal provisions and norms" to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. The OEWG offers a key forum at which nuclear-weapon states can show the international community that their talk of a world free of nuclear weapons is more than empty rhetoric.

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North Korea's reckless actions have important implications for international peace and security and merit universal condemnation. But the most urgent concern about nuclear weapons is broader than this particular test. The root of nuclear insecurity is in the continued possession of nuclear arsenals by a few states and the continued resistance of those states to disarm.

There are no right hands for wrong weapons.

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Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images BLOOR STREET, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2015/03/07: Thousands gathered in Toronto to mark International Womens Day with a large protest march, minimum wage demand. The main themes of this years march were fighting for the rights of aboriginal women and raising awareness about sexual violence and racial discrimination. International Womens Day has been celebrated for more than 100 years. Torontos march is the largest in North America. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Most Canadians have entered 2016 with a sense of optimism -- rid of the Harper nastiness, they're ready for the "sunny days" of a Liberal government still in its honeymoon and should be rightly proud of the role played by our representatives at the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris.

At the same time, the economic picture is less certain. Canada's labour movement will continue fighting the corporate austerity agenda, as well as defending jobs and public assets. But in 2016, labour is also positioned to lead on key issues that matter to all Canadians: workplace justice, climate action and equity.

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More people now see that the economy will fail the next generation unless current trends are turned around. In Ontario, the ongoing Changing Workplace Review offers an opportunity to make reforms to the laws that govern the world of work.

Labour is gearing up to take on this challenge because people's incomes and working conditions have always been determined by how strong unions are in each sector, and in society as a whole. When more people have access to unionization there is less poverty and more respect at work.

Employment standards have to be significantly updated and enforced to address the exploitation that is so prevalent in today's job market. If the Wynne government is serious about tackling inequality, the Changing Workplace Review will usher in significant improvements to workers' rights. That will be a massive victory for all Canadians, but particularly for the next generation.

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Then there is the hard truth of the slogan, "There are no jobs on a dead planet." The COP21 negotiations in Paris saw the world's leaders come together and reach a remarkable consensus on the urgency of climate change. Our politicians pledged to come home and pursue aggressive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

There will be a huge opening for new ideas, as well as an intense struggle for sustainability that includes good jobs for all. Because our members are on the front lines, we can lay out a plan for every sector of the economy. We can partner with politicians and civil society to frame a vision that includes both equity and just transition. We can replicate the model of Community Benefits Agreements, incorporating jobs for racialized youth on public mega-projects.

Ontario Minister of Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray has set very ambitious goals for carbon reduction. Labour can be a key ally in the both the public discourse and the delivery of programs needed to support these goals.

The difficult issues of race and prejudice that have dominated headlines in the last year create both a crisis and an opportunity. I am proud of the principled response to Islamophobia by Canada's labour movement as we stood side-by-side with our Muslim neighbours.

But as the Black Lives Matter and Aboriginal movements show, so much more needs to be done to challenge the systemic racism that underpins our world. Politicians, employers and community leaders must all step up to the plate.

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In the fall of 2014, Labour Council published a Leaders Guide to Equity to help our affiliates undertake this work. Racial justice goes farther than diversity and inclusion to demand a true practice of equity in workplaces and society.

Half of Toronto's population was born outside of Canada. Many whose first language is not English often do not feel welcome in the existing structures they find. One new initiative has been the creation of Diverse Workers Networks led by union activists from different communities -- Chinese, Filipino, Tamil, Somali and Ethiopian/Eritrean.

They have reached out to provide education on workers' rights, help people join unions and mobilize on pressing social issues. They give members the confidence to be more engaged and provide leadership within their own unions and communities.

Tackling these issues brings up the question of how relevant unions are in a changing world. The successful fight labour undertook to stop Tim Hudak from bringing so-called "right to work" laws to Ontario was actually crucial for the economic health of the province. It also renewed the dialogue with union members about the role of their unions in the both the workplace and society.

As corporate globalization undermines the standard of living of working families, workers will re-discover the value of grassroots organizing and collective representation. In the process, a whole new generation of diverse, talented leaders will come to the fore.

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History shows that working people need to be in motion in order to discover their power. More often than not, those mass movements break rules and make the elites uncomfortable.

Seven generations ago -- in 1871 -- workers came together to create a collective voice in Toronto to bargain a better deal with those who ruled society. They challenged laws, changed politics and built a movement that has benefited everyone who came after them. In 2016, I am confident that we will continue that legacy of working for social and economic justice for all.

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Indigenous people and communities today are challenged with adapting and keeping pace with a world of information exchange, technological advancement, and the inter-connectivity of the world's economies and financial systems. They are also faced with the realities of having the youngest and fastest growing population in this country while living in the worst comparable socio-economic conditions, in a time when the gap between the rich and poor is increasing at a rapid rate.

Indigenous leaders today are faced with the daunting task of balancing the socio-economic needs and priorities of their people with the finite resources passed on from government and their own source revenues. So, what is the answer to closing these socio-economic gaps and creating a more promising future?

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Indigenous leaders are increasingly turning their attention and focusing their efforts on alternative strategies to offset the imbalance of these challenges and gaps. If we look at the last decade, we see there has been an explosion of growth in the number of Indigenous owned and operated businesses, partnerships, joint ventures, and a rapidly growing number of Indigenous entrepreneurs. These are all significant and positive trends in helping close the socio-economic gaps that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. These Indigenous owned businesses are creating employment, economic prosperity, and improving individual and community social well being.

The development of sustainable businesses is vital to the future prosperity of Indigenous people and essential to improving the overall prospects for employment, skill, and capacity development. More and more, our leaders are realizing that education is not the only "buffalo" of today, but so is Indigenous business.

Taking lessons learned from efforts of tried, tested, and proven strategies in Indigenous economic development, many leaders are focusing on taking inventory of the resources they have. Upon closer examination and assessment of these inventories, Indigenous leaders are developing innovative ways of leveraging their resources and maximizing their socio-economic opportunities. Integrating human resources, financial resources, and natural resources with a partnership approach that involves a process of evaluation and assessment of their best use, Indigenous people are setting a new course for transforming their local economies.

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Reducing dependence on government funding to support people and community endeavors is perhaps one goal of achieving economic self-sufficiency and therefore a truer form of self-government. This path will result in a more promising future for Indigenous communities.
phototechno via Getty Images Idea Conceptual Drawing on Blackboard

This week the Honourable Chrystia Freeland announced a $50-million handout called CanExport. In his coverage, Terry Dawes mischaracterized my positions that we need to stop subsidizing private sector risk and make investments in 21st Century infrastructure if we want to spur innovation and improve productivity in Canada.

CanExport is an example of the kind of spending that government uses in a generic poster called "innovation". That is like putting the word "smooth" on a pack of cigarettes. It is appealing on the surface, addictive and ultimately not good for anyone.

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Each grant requires matching funds, which immediately disqualifies cash-strapped startups. The grant gatekeepers will be the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS). That means time to fill out forms and the further disorientation of Canadian businesses from focusing on selling to their customers.

Maybe the TCS needs $10-million a year globally to fund business development for established small businesses. But that is not innovation.

I am hopeful that the new Trudeau government will make good on their promise to listen to diverse voices and make evidence based policy decisions.

We can do better, with a combination of a true tax credit that enables angel investors to write off losses and make more small investments faster.

Dawes assesses that the Libs are eager to publicly declare a transition from over-reliance on the resource sector to Canada's innovation economy even though CanExport will do nothing to support the emergence of the kind of global juggernaut companies that thrive, as Om Malik pointed out in the most recent issue of the New Yorker, on a potent mix of network effects, algorithms, infrastructure, data and mastery of the smartphone interface and I agree.

Together let us urge Ms. Freeland and the Honourable Navdeep Bains to deliver a national angel investor tax credit program. British Columbia's grant program that is run through their provincial tax system returned $2 in government revenue for every dollar invested.

We can do better, with a combination of a true tax credit that enables angel investors to write off losses and make more small investments faster. This will keep investment decisions decentralized, in the hands of investors, instead of government gatekeepers. At the same time, the Canadian government should get standard terms for piggyback equity for these investments and an upside on any exits just like any seed investor would expect.

Above all, let us direct this appeal to the very influential Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth. Hopes for full, higher value, meaningful employment today rest on fostering a culture of ownership and innovation across Canada. If you want to forge mentorship relationships between our most experienced and successful business people and our young, use your budget to leverage this activity. Keep the process network driven, decentralized and market oriented. Don't let someone "smooth" convince you that it is wise for government to continue unproductive investments in institutionalized innovation.

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Harald Sund via Getty Images Ethnically diverse young boys and girls silhouetted against the sky while playing and climbing together on a playground Jungle Jim.

Most public discussion today relating illegal/illicit drugs focuses on legalization of marijuana, the impact and what it will look like. Interesting discussion but I won't get into that dialogue as I would rather discuss what we are doing or not doing to combat drug addiction in this country now.

To begin, I would like to offer the following information. There exists in Canada, the concept of a three-legged stool to combating our drug problem, similar to other industrialized nations. The primary areas include supply reduction strategies, demand reduction strategies and harm minimization/reduction strategies. This foundation has been in place in most countries for decades in one form or another so I will break it down into consumable parts.

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Supply reduction is referred to as prevention through law enforcement engagement and has traditionally been seen as a front-line program that targets drug dealers and importation to reduce the availability of drugs. In short it is believed that if we can reduce the number of dealers and the availability of drugs we may prevent the use as well, so this has a firm footing within law enforcement.

Demand reduction has at its core a focus of reducing the desire or need for illegal/illicit drugs. This has many shapes and includes early intervention, education and measures designed to remove the users need from the equation of drug trafficking. This has its roots in most police services and combined with enforcement led programs that target dealers in hope that this will enhance the capacity to target a strategy of supply reduction. Supply and demand reduction are directly linked in an attempt to bring forward a greater potential for success.

The third area is termed the harm minimization/reduction strategy and has at its core an attempt to reduce the drug-related harm felt by individuals and I would argue, communities. Typically seen as the safety net to the other two policies understanding that the other two policies will never completely attain success and that this will be the policy that can minimize risk to individuals who fall through the cracks, including programs designed and focused on the health and safety of those who are engaged in unhealthy and unsafe practices of drug use.

Many want to focus on mandatory sentences or decriminalization/legalization but I think a strategic approach to harm minimization needs to be the primary focus of a drug strategy in Canada. Not the typical harm minimization strategy, but rather one that focuses on building an innovative and integrated response that recognizes that the solution to addiction is as much or more about early intervention and combating the addiction directly.

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With the support of all levels of government and agencies involved in developing and implementing solutions to drug addiction fully-engaged, the country will be better going forward at managing drug addiction and having a long-term impact on addiction, with such a strategy. It is hoped that such a strategy would focus energy and funding on the early intervention of addictive behaviour and tackle the problem of youth involvement in the use of illicit drugs.

In Ottawa over the past seven years there has been a strategy called Support Treatment Education and Prevention (STEP) and it has successfully engaged all partners, from police to health agencies, treatment centres and educators in tackling addiction pre and post addiction. The success of STEP has been recognized locally and nationally and could be a template for a strategy elsewhere.

It is necessary to engage partners and service providers within the youth community if we hope to develop an innovative, enhanced education and prevention program targeted at youth in schools. The one place we can find young people engaged in drug use are the very schools they attend, it is also the place where we can engage those youth to reduce the risk through early intervention, getting to them before the dealers do. After 32 years of policing in 16 different cities/towns, I have witnessed that schools are OUR opportunity to reduce the risk of drug abuse by young people.

Research has shown that a strategy that focuses on addiction prevention and early healthy activities will also see the cost of long term rehabilitation programs for addicts dramatically reduced. In fact the various research pieces completed show that every dollar spent on such programs will show a benefit of four to seven dollars. The reduced health care costs, costs of crime and law enforcement and as well a long term healthier society are all proven results of early intervention. There is also clear and convincing evidence that early or earlier intervention in particular for youth has the greatest potential for success and lessens the potential for recidivist drug use, important in developing a national strategy.

In conclusion a roadmap for success in the development of a strategy targeting and engaging addicts and would-be addicts should consist of two important components: innovative, enhanced education and prevention program targeted to youth in schools and fully funded and supported treatment programs across the country.

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David Cameron has stepped up his attempts to negotiate an improved EU deal by asking Angela Merkel to help him to keep Britain in the European Union.

The British prime minister appealed to the German chancellor after dinner at a conference of the Christian Social Union party in Bavaria on Wednesday.

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The Tory leader also moved to woo German public opinion, writing an article published in Bild magazine on Thursday that called London and Berlin key allies in creating a prosperous and secure EU.

The PM confirmed earlier this week that government ministers would be allowed to campaign for either side of the vote ahead of the EU referendum, likely to be held this summer.

European leaders are to meet in February, with Cameron hoping to secure a renegotiated deal at the summit.

However, EU chiefs have so far showed little appetite for budging on Camerons main sticking point, his demand for a four-year ban on migrants to Britain getting in-work benefits.

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David Cameron and Angela Merkel in October last year

In his Bild article, Cameron noted the decline in EU support in Britain, explaining the renegotiation was to address the concerns of the British people.

But these changes will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them," he wrote. "The problems in the EU that we are trying to fix are problems for Germany and other European partners too.

The PM said that he wanted to sweep away the excessive bureaucracy and the barriers to trade that undermine growth, move power from Brussels to the Bundestag, the House of Commons and other national parliaments and to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first.

Because like Germany, Britain believes in the principle of free movement of workers, he wrote. But that should not mean the current freedom to claim all benefits from day one and that's why I've proposed restricting this for the first four years.

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Securing these changes will mean we can continue our EU partnership into the future, he concluded.

Cameron is due to travel to Budapest on Thursday for discussions with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
BBC

The bad feeling within the Labour Party in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's reshuffle deepened on Wednesday evening, after Diane Abbott criticised the past of MPs who have ended up on the backbenches.

Abbott, the shadow international development secretary, told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday evening that many of the losers from the reshuffle were career politicians whose time had past.

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"If you look at Jonathan Reynolds, if you look at Mr [Michael] Dugher, if you look at some of these others, what do they have in common? They are all former special advisers," she said.

"And what you are seeing is people who came up under a certain system. You did politics at university, you became a special adviser, you became an MP, you became a minister, who are rightfully upset, because Jeremy has brought a whole lot of new energy and new people into politics."

Reynolds, was was a shadow rail minister until Wednesday morning, quit the Labour frontbench in protest at Corbyn's reshuffle. Dugher, who had been Corbyn's shadow culture secretary, was fired by the Labour leader.

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Following her comments on Newsnight, Reynolds hit back. "At least Google us before slagging us off," he tweeted.

For the record @HackneyAbbott, I was a trainee solicitor when elected, having gone to law school as a mature student and single parent (1/2)  Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016

@HackneyAbbott And I think you're a total sell-out for sending your own kids to private school (2/2)  Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016

In 2003, Abbott was criticised for sending her son to a private school rather than a local London comprehensive.

Stephen Doughty, who quit as a shadow Foreign Office minister on live TV on Wednesday, also hit back at Abbott - although Abbott did not mention him by name.

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Nonsense @HackneyAbbott I worked 7 yrs for @Oxfam@worldvision SPAD 18 mths at @DFID_UK u'd think Shad Int Dev Sec might know #bbcnewsnight  Stephen Doughty (@SDoughtyMP) January 6, 2016

Corbyn's reshuffle saw Maria Eagle moved from the shadow defence job to replace Dugher at culture. Eagle was replaced at defence by Emily Thornberry.

Thornberry's appointment prompted shadow defence minster Kevan Jones to also quit the Labour frontbench team. He said Thornberry knew "nothing about defence".

Jones told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "Jeremy was elected with the strapline 'straight talking, honest politics'. There has been nothing straightforward or honest about what's gone on over the last 48 hours.

"Maria, it's now being briefed that this [culture] was her dream job and she wanted to do it. That is not the case. She did not want to move. She made that point very clear.

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Jon Snow told Zac Goldsmith he "played the race card" by referring to his Muslim opponent in the London Mayoral election race as "radical" in a Tory leaflet.

During an interview on Channel 4 News on Wednesday, the journalist challenged the mayoral hopeful for his choice of words used to describe Labour's Sadiq Khan.

Goldsmith defended the decision to refer to Khan as "radical" and "divisive" in a pamphlet, saying it was the Labour party's trajectory over recent months - and not Khan's religion - that he was referring to.

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But the veteran presenter told Goldsmith: "You're not an unintelligent man. You know that the word 'radical' and 'Muslim' can go together and speak 'ISIS'."

The discussion took place during a segment on knife crime in London - an area that will need to be tackled by the new London Mayor when incumbent Boris Johnson steps down in May.

Snow told Goldsmith: "This is also about race, it is also about communications and things haven't started terribly well with that pamphlet that went out, calling your opponent radical and divisive."

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Zac Goldsmith said: "What's happened to the Labour party in the last few months is one of the most radical things that has happened in politics in my lifetime - probably even in your lifetime."

London Mayoral hopefuls, Zac Goldsmith (left) and Sadiq Khan

Addressing the use of Goldsmith's "radical" and "divisive" terminology, Snow said: "It's the race card."

Goldsmith replied: "I do believe that Sadiq Khan has played the race card and I think it's wrong."

But Snow retorted: "But it is you who has played the race card."

The Tory MP denied this, saying: "Not at all. I have used the term radical to describe what has happened to the Labour party political machine.

"Everyone listening to this programme would have to agree that it is radical, whether they like it, welcome it or not and to misinterpret that and apply it to his religion I think is deeply divisive, totally depressing and completely wrong."

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Goldsmith said: "I don't for one second believe that it was wrong to use the term radical," adding: "I completely reject the idea that using the term 'radical' to describe Sadiq Khan is wrong, his campaign is run by the unions for Christ's sake."

Many were quick to criticise Goldsmith for his comments:

.@Channel4News@ZacGoldsmith slimy, evasive on his 'radical' dog-whistle leaflet #MayorforLondon . It's not going to be pretty  Tristram Wyatt (@TristramWyatt) January 6, 2016

Zac goldsmith called out there for scaremongering saying Corbyn and Khan are radical and divisive. What a pathetic way to run a campaign  Annie (@anniecxxx) January 6, 2016

@ZacGoldsmith just got told by @jonsnowC4 'it's you playing the race card'. Not @SadiqKhan! Jon Snow is on fire!!  Clare Joseph (@MissClareJoseph) January 6, 2016

While others supported his use of the word "radical":

@jonsnowC4 being anything but impartial, 'You played the race card' unfounded and ridiculous. @ZacGoldsmith good response.  Cam Roberts (@CamRoberts1) January 6, 2016

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Why is the media after @ZacGoldsmith for using the word radical? It's sad to see that automatically link the word radical with a religion.  Sam Malik (@SamMalik2016) January 6, 2016

@jonsnowC4@ZacGoldsmith Critique of 'radical' with Goldsmith was bizarrely PC. What next? Ban any word with a tenuous double-entendre? Tosh  Barry Hughes (@B_Hughe5) January 6, 2016

Some thought the discussion had wandered off topic:

@ZacGoldsmith Shame your C4 news appearance about how to tackle knife crime was hijacked for a pointless political attack on semantics.  Reece Poole (@ReecePoolinho) January 6, 2016

@Channel4News how did the discussion on knife crime change so rapidly and insensitively ? @ZacGoldsmith pushed into a corner / off subject  Charles Fox (@charlesfox79) January 6, 2016

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And others did not appreciate Goldsmith's quip about unions:

How is union support radical, @ZacGoldsmith ? They've been with us for 200 years, you might want to remember that #c4news@SadiqKhan  Athena (@athenarees) January 6, 2016

@ZacGoldsmith your #c4news interview with @jonsnowC4. 1st you call @SadiqKhan radical, now trade unionists.Anyone else you want to alienate?  Matt Smith (@MattSmith71) January 6, 2016
A local council is debating plans to overhaul school term dates to allow parents to book cheaper family holidays.

Brighton and Hove City Council is considering reducing the six-week summer holiday by a week and instead scheduling an extra holiday in the autumn term.

Another proposal that will be discussed by councillors is to group all the school inset days into one block, to create a holiday break during what is currently term time.

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Tom Bewick, the chair of Brighton and Hoves children, young people and skills committee, told The Guardian: If the initial reaction to a change in the holiday pattern is positive, we will develop a detailed proposal which we will then formally consult on. I will be very interested to hear schools, parents and childrens views on this issue.

Siobhan Freegard, founder of Channel Mum, welcomed the council's plan for a discussion, but cautions that the proposals won't necessarily lead to cheaper family holidays.

Brighton and Hove have set a precedent in thinking creatively to help parents," she told HuffPost UK Parents.

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"Although their plans - such as the school lottery - arent always popular, its positive to see bureaucrats attempt to help local families rather than waiting for direction from Westminster.

However the problem with this plan is that travel firms will simply get wise to the extra week and hike up the prices. It has the potential to cause more disruption for parents and employers without actually allowing more families to afford a holiday.

Anne-Marie O'Leary, Netmums editor in chief adds:

"Netmums expects Brightons suggestion to be welcomed by lots of families. Some parents have been forced to take their children out of school during term times to avoid the high costs of taking a family holiday during school holidays, but some have been penalised for doing so.

"The vast majority of parents care greatly about their children's schooling and the current system of fines and 'unauthorised absence' discourages positive relationships between schools and parents.

"Some flexibility on term-time holiday dates would be encouraged by parents and councils working more closely with schools to find a more manageable solution would be a positive move.

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"This is a topic that has been widely discussed in Netmums' Coffeehouse forum and there is a general consensus that a return to the pre-2013 position where headteachers could exercise discretion on up to 10 school days missed per year would be welcomed."

Term dates and holidays are also hot topics on Mumsnet according to CEO Justine Roberts:

'Everyone agrees that the cost of travel during school holidays is a nightmare - and given the mass exodus, it's also pretty difficult to get a relaxed, quiet break even after you've re-mortgaged to pay for it," said Roberts.

"So lots of Mumsnet users are cautiously optimistic about this idea, citing areas like Lancashire that seem to have done it successfully in the past.'

Following a government crackdown on term time absences in 2013, parents who take children out of school without permission can be issued with a 60 fine per child, rising to 120 if it is not paid within 21 days. If the fine is not paid after 28 days it will be claimed through reductions in child benefit.

Those who fail to pay can face prosecution.

However, according to a survey published last June by the Nationwide Building Society, these sanctions have not reduced the number of parents booking term time holidays.

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The study of 2,000 parents of children aged between five and 16, found that the number of mums and dads taking kids on these holidays has risen from three in ten the previous year, to four in ten.

Brighton and Hove City Council will discuss the proposed changes to term dates on Monday 11 January and according to Anastasia de Waal, chair of Family Lives they will have a lot to debate.

"There are some potential pitfalls," she told HuffPost UK Parents.

"The obvious one is that if you are a parent with children at two different schools in the area and one of the schools alters its term dates but the other doesn't, then you may end up with more problems booking holidays than you have now.

"The second thing to consider is the impact on teachers. They may be in a similar position, if they have children in a different school to the one they teach in, their holidays could end up being at different times.

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"The main point is it's important to have a discussion about term dates, because they are really quite inflexible at the moment.

"The way the school year is organised is currently based on what's always been done, rather than what's suitable for now. So I think it's really good to discuss it.
Schoolboys, Eton, Berkshire, England. VisitBritain/Britain on View via Getty Images

The Labour Party's plans to push through proposals requiring private schools to open their facilities to state school students have been slammed by independent schools as "ignorant" and "prejudiced".

If the plans go ahead, the schools will also be made to give state school pupils career advice, as well as offering up their sports, art and music facilities for use.

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Shadow Charities Minister Anna Turley proposed the amendment to the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill, which will be debated in a House of Commons committee on Thursday.

Under the proposed legislation, independent schools across the country would be forced to offer careers advice, part of which would be helping students apply for university and work experience placements.

There are 1,267 private schools in the UK, and 998 with charitable status. There is current legislation to ensure that independent schools benefit local communities and students, but they are allowed to decide themselves how they should meet their responsibilities. This legislation would be the first to definitively outline what exactly independent schools have to provide.

Robin Fletcher, National Director of the Boarding Schools' Association, told HuffPost UK: These are half-baked proposals, built on prejudice against private schools and based on ignorance about the huge amount of brilliant partnership work that happens now.

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Clearly someone has no idea that hundreds of independent schools already have extensive partnerships with local communities and state schools, often much broader than what is being put forward.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan accused Labour of patronising state schools. The truth is this betrays the Labour Partys prejudiced and outdated assumption that state schools lag behind private schools.

The truth is English schools have been transformed in the past five years and many far outclass their counterparts in private sector, she told The Telegraph.

However, Morgan might not be able to stop the legislation: the Conservatives only have a majority of two MPs on the committee - any absences or rogue votes could mean that Labour succeed in passing the legislation, which Turley says has the backing of leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Even if the committee votes down the proposals, The Telegraph reported the changes are now official Labour party policy, and that the party would continue to seek to have the policy implemented.

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Corbyns disdain for selective and private education is well known: he ended his marriage of 12 years when his wife insisted their eldest child attend a grammar school.

Lucy Powell MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, responded to critics of the legislation.

She told HuffPost UK: "There are many many excellent state schools who do a fantastic job but with social mobility stalling we want to see more collaboration in the system and the whole independent sector doing more to engage and work with other local schools whether thats sharing facilities, or experience.

"Some of the best private schools do that but many dont. As a result more should be done to ensure the independent sector earn their charitable status", she said.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, agreed.

It is important that fee-paying schools do more to open their facilities to state school students, and the Sutton Trust worked with the last Labour government to make this happen", he told HuffPost UK.

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Our research consistently shows that those educated at independent schools are over represented in all spheres of public life, from law and politics, to journalism and medicine. However, almost all pupils who attend independent schools come from well-off families who are able to afford the fees", he added.

Shadow Minister Turley, who herself attended a private school, explained her feelings on proposing the legislation when she said: I felt very heavily, and it still weighs on my mind now, the privilege that I had.

A Department of Education spokesperson told HuffPost UK: There are many independent schools in vibrant partnerships with local state funded schools. These partnerships can include a huge range of activities, from curriculum and teaching support through to the sharing of facilities and joint events, for example in sports, music and drama.
Daily Telegraph political journalist Dan Hodges streaks past Downing Street, London, after losing a bet for underestimating the Ukip's influence during last year's general election. Yui Mok/PA Wire

One of the last election's most outspoken pundits has been praised for doing justice to a bet he made on how Ukip would perform in the polls.

Dan Hodges, a Daily Telegraph columnist, vowed to run naked the length of Whitehall if the anti-EU party garnered more than 6% of the vote in May's general election last year.

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If UKIP break 6% at the next election I'll streak naked down Whitehall in a Nigel Farage mask whilst singing Land of Hope and Glory...  Dan Hodges (@DPJHodges) December 15, 2012

"If Ukip break 6% I'll streak down Whitehall," he tweeted in 2012 and today he honoured that vow after Nigel Farage's party mustered over 12%.

True to his word, clad only in trainers and a pair of black underpants, Hodges completed the run in just 3:37 minutes - defying odds that he might get arrested along the way.

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Hodges passes the Cenotaph en-route to Westminster

Arriving outside the Houses of Parliament, he said: "I actually feel invigorated, more people should consider naked running."

"Perhaps next time we can turn it into a mass charity flash streak."

The event raised more than 1,000 for the Terence Higgins Trust and Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope, through donations both from Ladbrokes and an online fundraising page.

The bookies take bets on Hodges' completion time

The Terrence Higgins Trust lends support to people with, or who are at risk of contracting, HIV.

Sonya Trivedy, its executive director of fundraising, said after Hodges completed Thursday morning's feat: "It is all in good fun but, for Terrence Higgins Trust, Dan's choice to donate underpins a serious issue.

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A victorious Hodges celebrates completing the streak

"Ukip leader Nigel Farage's comments before the election, that migrants living with HIV should be blocked from entering the UK, showed an outrageous lack of understanding of the issue, and were based on absolute fiction.
A German interior minister has said right wing campaigners discussing the mass sexual assault in Cologne on New Years are as "awful" as the offences committed on the 100 victims.

The attacks are said to have happened when around 1,000 men - described as coming from "the Arab or North African region" - split into gangs after being dispersed by officers for throwing fireworks into the crowd of revellers.

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The incidents have reignited calls from right-wing groups to shut down migration to Germany, which has taken in more than a million people in the last year amid the migration crisis, mostly from the Middle East.

Interior minister Ralf Jaeger has compared the offences committed in Cologne to comments made by right wing campaigners

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which wants Germany to leave the EU, has called on Merkel to close the border.

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AfD leader Frauke Petry tweeted: "Mrs Merkel, is Germany 'colourful and cosmopolitan' enough for you after the wave of crimes and sexual attacks?"

Ralf Jaeger, interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, within which Cologne is situated, warned that anti-immigrant groups were using the attacks to stir up hatred.

According to the BBC he said: "What happens on the right-wing platforms and in chatrooms is at least as awful as the acts of those assaulting the women.

"This is poisoning the climate of our society."

He said three suspects had been identified, but police were yet to make any arrests.

Jaeger said police must "adjust" to the fact that groups of men had attacked women en masse and needed to prepare to prevent future attacks of this nature.

He said: "Something like this must not happen again - not only in Cologne, but also in other big cities.

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"The police have to conceptually adjust to the fact that there are apparently groups of perpetrators, who assault women en masse. This must not happen in our society and the police as well as the city authorities have to react to it.

Elmar Brok, a German Member of the European Parliament from Merkel's CDU party, told Sky News he feared the incidents would change the refugee debate.

Alternative for Germany leader Frauke Petry wants Angela Merkel to close the border following the New Year attacks

He told the broadcaster: "I fear they'll bring a new factor to the refugee debate. It looks like it was a prepared thing.

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"It's terrible and it will increase the feeling in many Germans that it's not a good place to be if too many people come."

Pegida UK's coordinator Tommy Robinson has also published a lengthy speech on the attacks on YouTube in which he implored authorities to "wake up" to the problems mass-immigration was having on EU countries.

City police chief Wolfgang Albers has described the attacks as a completely new dimension of crime, although police have been criticised for initially downplaying the offending - which included one reported rape - having first reported that New Year's celebrations had passed with a "jolly atmosphere".

The attacks took place outside the Cathedral and train station in Cologne, pictured above on December 31, 2015

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He has since admitted mistakes were made in the reporting of the crimes, near Cologne's cathedral, but has insisted that officers had done an "exemplary job".

The northern port city of Hamburg said it had received 27 reports of similar attacks at New Year's street parties.

Police in Dusseldorf, which is 25 miles away from Cologne, are reportedly concerned the attacks are linked to a criminal gang of 2,000 North African men who sexually assault women as a distraction before stealing their possessions.

Cologne's mayor Henriette Reker has insisted that there is no evidence the men involved in the attacks were refugees which has further enraged the far-right. On Wednesday she was criticised for saying women should adopt a "code of conduct" to prevent future sexual assaults in the city.

After been accused of attempting to cover-up the sexual assaults, there has been calls for police chief Albers to quit, something being championed by Cologne's Express newspaper.

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A German carpenter has created a tiny device he claims can turn the flow of sperm on and off.

Clemens Bimek says his invention, a "gummy-bear" sized switch, involves a simple 30-minute medical procedure placing a valve on each spermatic duct.

So far, the inventor is the only brave soul to have tried the device, which once inserted, is controlled by a switch underneath the scrotum.

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However, doctors have warned the process may not be entirely reversible if the ducts are scarred by the valve.

Speaking to the German publication, Speigel, Bimek said:

"Many of the doctors I consulted didnt take me seriously. But there were some who encouraged me to go on tinkering and helped me with their expertise.

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Although the valve is set to be trialled in 25 men, experts highlighted potential problems with the procedure.
Mhairi Black slammed the Government on Thursday after 'only five' Conservative MP's turned up to a debate on state pension equality for women.

The state pension age for women was due to rise from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020 but the coalition Government decided to speed up the process in 2011.

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Reacting to this, the 21-year-old SNP MP addressed the Commons, raising points about the length of time it took the Government to provide correspondence to women in 1995.

Black said: "I think it is noticeable and it is a pity that so few Conservatives have turned out and I think it's important to highlight that not a single letter was sent out by the Government to women.

"There was no official correspondence from the Government to the individuals affected, alerting them of the changes that were going to happen to them."

After the discussion the SNP politician claimed that there were only five Tories in the chamber:

Over two hours into the #WASPI debate and there is only 5 Tories currently in the chamber. How can the Govt. listen if they don't turn up?  Mhairi Black MP (@MhairiBlack) January 7, 2016

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"The Conservative ethos is to encourage independence and responsible choice, but how can that happen if you don't give people the time to make the responsible choices?" she asked.

The discussion was part of a wider ongoing debate on women's pensions by the campaign group WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign).

WASPI states on its Facebook page that it's an action group campaigning against the unfair changes to the State Pension Age imposed on women born in the 1950s.

Black argued that women had not been given sufficient notice to prepare for their pensions when the act came into law.

"I think it's important to explain why these women have found themselves in the position they have. To do so we have to go back to 1995, when the pension act increased the female state pension age from 60 to 66," she said.

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"Now the purpose of this was to equalise the pension age so that women were retiring at the same age as men, that's fair enough, that makes sense, I don't think there's anybody that would disagree with that principal.

"The Turner commission recommended that 15 years notice should be given to individuals if their pension arrangements were going to change in order to give them adequate time to respond appropriately.

"[And] the 1995 act technically did do that. Equalisation -the changes- were not to be brought in until 2010 that did give women 15 years notice. But the problem is nobody knew about it."

She then went on to question the effect this would have on women.

"By continuing this policy at such a high speed the Government is knowingly and willingly placing a burden on women who are already trying to deal with the consequences of an act passed 21 years ago," she said.
A mother who thought her 10-year-old was suffering from growing pains has told of her shock when an X-ray revealed the schoolgirl's spine was so badly twisted it formed the letter 'S'.

In early 2015, Mackenzie Shoob began complaining to her mother Karen, 42, that her back was aching.

At first, Karen and her husband Andrew, also 42, of Borehamwood in Hertfordshire thought it must be growing pains.

But when the pain became so agonising that Mackenzie could barely walk, her worried parents sought help from a doctor, who diagnosed her with scoliosis  an abnormal curvature of the spine.

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Mackenzie and her mum Karen

"I thought it would be a straight-forward appointment, and that we'd be told Mackenzie just needed some physiotherapy," said Karen. "I had no idea our lives were about to change.

"The doctors examined Mackenzie and told me to come and take a look. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Her whole body curved to the left.

"He asked her to bend down and touch her toes, and when she did her shoulder blade popped out on one side.

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"He then asked to speak to me in private and said, 'We're referring you to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, where they have some of the best surgeons in the world. Do you understand what I'm saying?' And I said, 'yes, you mean my child needs an operation'.

"When I got home, I burst into tears. I felt like the worst mum in the world for not spotting it sooner."

Though Karen said Mackenzie had been complaining about back ache for a few months, outwardly the curving to her spine was not visible.

"We'd been on a summer holiday to America just a few weeks earlier. Mackenzie had been on the beach in swimwear and looked absolutely fine," she recalled.

"She must have been in so much pain, but she kept a brave face.

"We've since learned that it's very subtle initially. Children with it just slightly curve to the side, so you wouldn't necessarily spot it.

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"It seemed to get severe really suddenly when Mackenzie went back to school. I remember being in Tesco once doing the shopping and she was literally hanging off the trolley because she didn't want to walk.

"She started complaining that PE was hurting her, so we booked the doctors and stopped her doing exercise until we knew what was wrong."

Mackenzie suffers from scoliosis

Following the diagnosis, the family were referred to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex.

However, after being told they could face a four month wait for an initial appointment, Karen and Andrew took Mackenzie for a private X-Ray.

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There, it was discovered that her spine had twisted 61 degrees and was virtually s-shaped.

"We were told 61 degrees is very severe for a child of Mackenzie's age," Karen recalled. "If she had another growth spurt, the curvature could get even worse, so we needed to operate as soon as possible."

Faced with a frantic race against time, Karen took to the internet to explore her options.

According to the NHS, the main treatment options currently available for children of Mackenzie's age are either a back brace or surgery, which involves inserting growing rods with the aim of controlling the growth of the spine, while partially correcting the scoliosis.

If Mackenzie was to go down this route, she would need to return to a specialist every four to six months to have the rods lengthened in accordance with her growth.

Then, when she stopped growing, she would need to undergo spinal fusion surgery, which sees the spine straightened via metal rods attached with screws, hooks and/or wires.

Bone grafts are also used to fuse the spine in place, and the metalwork is usually left in place permanently.

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Mackenzie's spine is twisted into an 'S' shape

"It seemed like so much surgery to put her through, and the recovery times would see her miss a lot of school," said Karen.

"Plus, I've spoken to kids who've had it and they've said they can feel the rods in their backs.

"I started searching through scoliosis support groups a lots of people mentioned a surgery they have in the US called vertebral body tethering.

"I spoke to a mum from the UK whose child had had it, and she said it was amazing."

Vertebral body tethering (VBT) works by placing screws into the convex side of the vertebrae - where growth is faster - and connecting them with a tether cord which, when tightened, will hopefully straighten the spine.

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As there are no rods involved, budding gymnast Mackenzie would have almost full flexibility following the operation.

"Only four children in the UK have had VBT so far that we know of  we'd be number five," said Karen.

"The surgery is virtually keyhole. They go in through a tiny incision and deflate one lung so they can reach the spine.

"At the moment, I'm working on getting her lungs as strong as possible to prepare for this. We do Pilates every morning."

After flying to the States and meeting with three world-renowned surgeons who offer the operation, the family were told that Mackenzie could undergo the procedure at Shriners Children's Hospital in Philadelphia on February 24.

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To thank the "amazing" hospital for transforming their daughter's life, Karen and Andrew have set up a GoFundMe page. They are hoping to raise 10,000 to donate as a token of their gratitude.

"It's a chance to make Mackenzie better and take away her pain. To be able to give that to my child is amazing," said Karen.

"It's my chance to give back as a mum."

To help the family fundraise, visit www.gofundme.com/macksjourney.
There were fears it would never start, and then that it would never end, but this week Jeremy Corbyn carried out his first reshuffle as Labour leader.

Out went Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Michael Dugher and Shadow Europe Minister Pat McFadden, while Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle was shunted out to fill the Culture vacancy.

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Three junior shadow ministers resigned  one on live television  but the big story was who wasnt shuffled out: Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn.

Amid all the reshuffle kerfuffle, Mr Corbyn delivered a decent performance in Prime Ministers Questions. He pinned down the Prime Minister on flood defence spending and quizzed him over relief projects that hadnt been given the green light.

The Prime Minister hit back with some Shakespeare puns.

David Cameron had some news for his own Cabinet this week  namely that they wont be constrained by collective responsibility in the EU Referendum campaign.
File photo dated 29/05/07 of Tony Blair (left) and Colonel Gaddafi shaking hands at Gaddafi's desert base near Sirte, Libya, as newly released correspondence shows that Mr Blair privately urged the Libyan dictator to stand aside as rebellion erupted against his regime. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Transcripts of phone conversations between Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi from February 2011, as the then Libyan leader clung onto power amid widespread protests against his regime, have today been made public.

The documents show Blair attempting to persuade Gaddafi to "stand aside" as leader and find a "safe place to go" in order to try and avoid further violence as the country descended into civil war.

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In March 2011 Britain, France and the United States launched airstrikes against Gaddafi's regime. He was eventually ousted from power by opposition forces and went into hiding. Gaddafi was killed in October 2011.

In December, Blair appeared before the Commons foreign affairs committee to explain his role in Gaddafi's downfall. The former prime minister told MPs the West's decision to throw the former Libyan leader "under a bus" signalled to dictators such as Bashir Assad not to give up their chemical weapons.

Blair admitted he called Gaddafi a number of times over a 24 hour period in February 2011 to try and persuade him to step aside during the Arab Spring uprising. However, he was not trying to "save Gaddafi", but instead hoping for "evolution, not revolution" in Libya.

The committee has now published transcripts of two of those phone conversations on 25 February, in which Blair refers to Gaddafi as "the Leader", as handed over by the former prime minister.

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Crispin Blunt MP, chair of the foreign affairs committee, said today: "The transcripts supplied by Mr Blair provide a new insight into the private views of Colonel Gaddafi as his dictatorship began to crumble around him. The failure to follow Mr Blairs calls to 'keep the lines open' and for these early conversations to initiate any peaceful compromise continue to reverberate.

"The committee will want to consider whether Gaddafis prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups following the collapse of the regime was wrongly ignored because of Gaddafis otherwise delusional take on international affairs.

"The evidence that the Committee has taken so far in this inquiry suggests that western policy makers were rather less perceptive than Gaddafi about the risks of intervention for both the Libyan people and the western interests."
The only person who could allow Steven Avery a reprieve from prison has delivered some disappointing news for the convict.

Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker, 48, vowed the 'Making A Murderer' subject would not be released from prison, despite some 127,000 signatures that have signed a White House petition calling for his release.

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This article may contain spoilers for the Netflix series 'Making A Murderer'

"Just because a documentary on TV says something doesn't mean that's actually what the evidence shows, Walker told WQOW television on Tuesday.

"The bottom line is that there was a crime that was committed a decade ago.

"There is a system... by which individuals can petition the courts to get relief like others have done in the past that shows that someone might actually be innocent. But I am not going to override a system that is already put in place."

Steven Avery's chances of release have been slashed by Scott Walker

Walker has not granted a single pardon since he took office five years ago.

Jerry Buting, one of Avery's defence lawyers, told Radio 4's Today programme that all of his appeals had been exhausted and only newly-discovered evidence could force the case to be re-examined.

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"We're getting new leads that can be followed up," he said. "Scientists from all over the world have been contacting us with different approaches to present scientific evidence that... could demonstrate his innocence."

The petition to pardon Avery and his cousin, Brendan Dassey, suggests President Obama should intervene.

However under US law, presidents can only pardon federal crimes - which are a violation of a statute by the United States Congress.

As Avery has been convicted of breaking a state law - passed by the state legislature of local authority, the only person who could pardon Avery is the Governor of Wisconsin.

The petition states: "Based on the evidence in the Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer", the justice system embarrassingly failed both men, completely ruining their entire lives.

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"There is clear evidence that the Manitowoc County sheriff's department used improper methods to convict both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.

This is a black mark on the justice system as a whole, and should be recognized as such, while also giving these men the ability to live as normal a life as possible."

Avery was sent to prison in 1985 for sexual assault and attempted murder. DNA evidence later proved he was innocent of the crimes, and in 2003 his conviction was overturned.
A smiling college student with books in library ML Harris via Getty Images

Attractive female students achieve higher exam grades than their less attractive colleagues, a US study has found.

Researchers at Metropolitan State University of Denver put more than 5,000 students into three groups: more attractive, average, and less attractive, based on photographs rated by outside volunteers. They then looked at 103,803 of the students grades.

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The economists who conducted the study, Rey Hernandez-Julian and Christina Peters, found that less attractive women were punished three times more than more attractive women were rewarded.

The studys results found that less attractive women had grades 1.5% lower than the average group, and the most attractive women had grades 0.5% higher than the average group.

However the same rule doesnt apply to male students, whose grades showed no correlation to perceived attractiveness.

This difference in grades completely disappeared when the students were graded online, and had never met the marker. Instead, it was the students who had met and seen their tutors who either benefited or lost out.

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The study also found that it did not matter whether the marker was male or female: both genders rewarded attractiveness with higher grades.

Hernandez-Julian told Inside Higher Ed: Is it that professors invest more time and energy into the better-looking students, helping them learn more and earn the higher grades? Or do professors simply reward the appearance with higher grades given identical performance?
The Hungarian prime minister told David Cameron on Thursday that his countrymen are not parasites on the British taxpayer, noting that the 55,000 Hungarians working in Britain pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the British prime minister in Budapest, Viktor Orban refuted the notion that UK-based Hungarians travel to the UK to take advantage of the welfare system. We would like to make it quite clear that we are not migrants to the UK," he said. We are members of a state in the EU that can take jobs anywhere in the EU. We do not want to be parasites, we want to work there."

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However, Orban said he understood the British anxieties over the "abuse," saying he was "sure" British concerns could be accommodated. He added that the Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia would be able to reach a compromise with Westminster.

Orbans comments follow a period of intense diplomacy by the British PM, who on Wednesday held talks with Angela Merkel in Bavaria.

British Prime Minister David Cameron shakes hand with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after a press conference in Budapest, Hungary on January 07, 2016

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Speaking on Thursday, Cameron admitted that time was short before next months summit of European leaders  his goal for reaching a deal. Should Cameron secure an agreement, he will likely move ahead with a national ballot this June.

"I think we have made good progress right across the EU on all these issues," Cameron said. "I am confident we can reach agreement because there is a bigger picture here as well, which is the importance of Britain remaining in a reformed EU, but also for Europe ... We bring a lot to the EU as well as benefiting from the EU."

The sticking point for Camerons renegotiation remains the four-year ban on migrants claiming in-work benefits, though the PM said he would be open to alternatives.

Orban failed to address that concern directly, but said he would not accept any "discriminatory" measures. "I think we will be able to agree ... I am sure we are going to be able to find a solution that is going to be suitable for the Hungarian employees," the Hungarian PM said.

"The abuses that are seen in social benefits systems have to be eliminated, Orban added. I made clear that the Hungarian government does not support any abuses at all."

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Did anyone else watch the Shadow Cabinet reshuffle with incredulity over the past 2 days? I surely did, as it seemed to contradict the core values of Corbyn's leadership and the promises he made for a 'straight talking, more honest politics' and the principles of open debate.

The speculation running up to the reshuffle indicated that Benn would be out on his ears, with voices such as Owen Jones declaring that 'a leader and a shadow foreign secretary divided over war and peace [is not] sustainable'. The ironic fact that Benn has retained his position and denied that he has been 'muzzled' in any manner really does show that Corbyn is not in control of his cabinet, or the direction of the Labour Party.

He shuffled Maria Eagle, the pro-Trident former Shadow Defence Secretary to telly, sacked Michael Dugher for his comments, and sacked Pat McFadden for his comments on terrorism. Fair enough, one might argue: he's removed those who voice opinions that differ from his, and personalities that clash with his cause so much. However, by keeping Benn he has contradicted this completely, as he has retained the voice that defies and opposes his views so much, on the key faction of Foreign Affairs. As opposed to showing strong leadership, decisiveness, in an almost dictatorial fashion, Corbyn has shown that he lacks cause, and lacks the straightforwardness so he so professes to admire within politics.

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He clearly knows that if Benn was removed, the majority of the Shadow Cabinet would have gone with him, and I don't believe even Corbyn and McDonnell would profess to be able to run the country on their own (even though they appear to have a monopoly over fairness, morality and general common sense, if you go by what the Guardian prints in their Comment section).

One can only assume that Corbyn has appointed, after 2 days of faffing about, grabbing lunch and shouting at lobby journalists outside of his room, based on the grounds of loyalty instead of suitability. Are loyalty and suitability now mutually exclusive within Westminster? Can one not carry out their position perfectly, but if they criticise the leader's actions or take a faction that isn't Ultra Left? (one considers John McDonnell's comments on Channel 4, branding the resigned 'members of a hard-right faction' - which begs what he thinks of the rest of us)

The whole thing just reeked of a shambles. Two days to make a decision over who was going where, shuffling members into seemingly unsuitable positions and removing those members that have been dedicated members of the Party for years, and highly respected Shadow Cabinet Members. Not even Corbyn, who has failed to answer a question properly about what he actually intends to do or b since ascending to the Leader of the Opposition, can avoid the speculation over this absurd series of events.
With studies suggesting that women managers are often believed to be less achievement-orientated, competent and capable than their male counterparts, it's not surprising that both scholars and women entrepreneurs alike often frame entrepreneurship as one avenue where women can avoid discrimination.

Working in the entrepreneurial community, however, I still hear regular complaints of gender bias: women who are dismissed as "lipstick entrepreneurs"; research revealing that male entrepreneurs were 86 per cent more likely to be VC funded than females; and statistics on just how few girls, particularly those who excelled at STEM subjects in their junior school years, become entrepreneurs in adulthood. As Mishcon de Reya director Laura Chandler recently told me, speaking in reference to her firm's Women's Forum events: "women at the top have said they had to put in more hours and do more preparation in order to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts".

So it was refreshing to hear the inspirational entrepreneur Sarah Wood say last month that for the first six or seven years in her startup, gender wasn't even something she considered. "I wasn't really aware of the broader context because I was just getting on and building a business," she says.

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Wood is co-founder of the video ad tech company Unruly, which hit headlines earlier this year when it was sold to News Corp (in a deal worth up to 114m). Her comments were made during a Leap 100 Power Breakfast last month, in which she candidly spoke of her experiences balancing home life with running one of the UK's fastest growing tech companies, her role as a London Tech Ambassador and sharing her story at events like these.

And her story is a fascinating one: she's been an egg packer in a battery hen farm (aged 12), a lecturer in American Studies at the University of Sussex - and virtually everything in between. But in 2006, she and her co-founders (Scott Button and Matt Cooke) spotted an opportunity for a site that collected, and ranked, the most shared views on the internet. They found a way to monetise the concept, built a front page, built a network of publishers and clients, and grew out their team. Today, Unruly can take credit for making some of the world's most memorable ads go viral - like the Dove beauty sketches advert, or T-Mobile's dancing flash mobs.

But rarely was gender been something Wood considered over the years. It was only in 2011, when Unruly was securing a Series A investment round to help the business expand and diversify, that it dawned on Wood that something was different. She had been buried in work and when she resurfaced, she saw that other companies weren't like hers. Her team, with a female founder, looked very different from others in tech.

"It was during our funding round, when we met many VCs, that I realised that, as a female, you are looked at differently and unconscious biases come into play. But it highlights one of the great things about running your own business: people underestimate you at their peril," she says.

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Last year was a ground-breaking year for technological innovation with several advancements in medicine, the automotive industry and mobile/handheld technology. So, how will 2016 follow up with advancements in technology?

1. Cyber Security - As the world of technology evolves at a ground breaking pace the demand for IT professionals' increases in parallel. However Cyber Security has lacked massively behind and now there is a huge skills gap. The demand for Cyber security knowledge and products will grow significantly in 2016 to protect citizens and the national interest. Public sector will invest much more over the next five years in online security law enforcement and intelligence and especially at a national level where governments and terrorists see digital hostile opportunities.

2. Health and technology converge - Apple has been hiring senior medical professionals and those with expertise in medical sensor technology. Health, fitness, and medical care have caught the eye of major technology companies including Apple, Samsung and Google. Products such as smart-phones or watches will increasingly be able to analyse everything from blood-sugar levels to heart rate. Additionally Google is pumping millions into early stage health detection.

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3. Home appliances - Increasingly in 2016 these will be controlled by your phone or other similar devices such as mobile keypads. This could include switching the oven on so your dinner is ready when you get home, controlling your heating so you don't waste money on your energy bills, light switches etc. This isn't new technology at all - it is the implementation that has been slow to date. This will be supplemented by voice controls across the house to create actions. Back to the future is becoming reality! Nest Labs is a home automation company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors. This was bought by Google for over $3 billion dollars.

4. Education - After the horse has bolted, but never too late the education system is beginning to realise the opportunity of IT - for future careers and to help the UK be at the forefront of economic growth. Coding is going to be more beneficial to Latin and it is not only teaching the skills and providing strong career advice to older students about the technology opportunities. Graduate vacancies in IT are up over 50% in the last five years however applications for Computer Science are static - therefore teaching IT in schools will see a dramatic emphasis shift.

5. 3D printing - This is evolving from a new and much-hyped, but largely unproven, manufacturing process to a technology with the ability to produce real, innovative, complex and robust products. 3D printing essentially creates three-dimensional solid objects from digital models. Expect the cost to come down for 3D printers dramatically in 2016.

6. Drone technology - Will governments embrace Drone technology? The technology is being tested by many companies including Google and Amazon. Commercially there is no permission from Governments to use this technology especially in built up areas. But clearly for deliveries - whether it is products from Amazon to fertilising crops will the commercial use of drones take a step forward in 2016?

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7. Battery technology - Battery tech is a limiting factor in the design of many of today's technologies. Whilst consumer electronics and mobile telephone technology evolve annually the power that feeds them doesn't seem to. Therefore the race is on for batteries that need small charging time and lasts for much longer. Specifically will we see a replacement for lithium-ion batteries? Many companies are racing to mass produce new and more effective batteries.

8. Commute times not mileage - Many search engines, whether on websites or on apps, provide results based on mileage. This will evolve to commute time. If you are looking at a store finder for your favourite brand, looking for a take-away or indeed searching for a job online, mileage is often misleading relative to time taken. With the knowledge of commute times by car and on public transport or walking, as we see on Google Maps and provided by other suppliers this technology will be incorporated into everyday online searches.

9. Google Glass - Much hyped and much talked about some analysts a forecasting a huge consumer market for these products worth billions in the years ahead. Despite a short term withdrawal from the market they will return initially targeting the business market.

10. Cloud and Mobile Computing - The convergence of cloud and mobile computing for consumers will continue to promote the growth of centrally coordinated applications that can be delivered to any device. Synchronising content and applications across multiple devices will evolve. Applications will evolve to support simultaneous use of multiple devices. The mobile cloud will allow you to access documents and upload/attach documents on the move.

One thing many of the above have in common is that there are massive investments by big tech companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon in so many different tech areas. They want to develop and own new growth technology sectors. Where they don't have the technology or are not first movers, they purchase start-ups that offer a short circuit into these new potential sectors. The other common thread with the above predictions is that developing new technology is massively in demand as well as delivering existing consumer and B2B digital demand. It is important in the UK that this can be delivered by those with the appropriate skills and that a skills gap does not drive investment overseas.

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Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' is an audaciously clever and stylish dialogue driven bag of surprises that sprinkles tongue-in-cheek humour and blood over a snow covered Wyoming landscape - 'Bolshoi Babylon' offers a behind the scenes glance at the Bolshoi, beautiful on the outside, bitter inside - The enigmatic and sombre 'Partisan' has children at the heart of a violent world but suggests more than it says.

Director: Quentin Tarantino. Channing Tatum, Zoe Bell, Samuel L Jackson. Western. USA 2016 182 mins. (18) *****

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Agatha Christie dances with Quentin Tarantino in a dialogue driven bag of surprises that sprinkles tongue-in-cheek humour and blood over Wyoming's snow covered landscape. The director's 8th feature filmed in 70mm Ultra Panavision with a superb score from Ennio Morricone, is audaciously clever and stylish with nods to Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah and a lingering glance to 'Reservoir Dogs.'

The stage to Red Rock, hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape with bountry hunter 'The Hangman' John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and outlaw Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), nursing a black eye and a mouth full of venom and spit. Along the way they pick up ex-Union Major and infamous bounty hunter, Marcus Warren played with gusto by Samuel L. Jackson whose war record raises questions and confederate rebel, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), who claims to be Red Rock's new sheriff and would rid the world of Marcus Warren if he could. As the weather closes in, it's a stopover at Minnie's Haberdashery to rest and take coffee and chat with the other guests. But where's Minnie?

Kindly Mexican Bob's (Demian Bichir) looking after things while Minnie visits her mother. Hangman Oswaldo Mowbray (Tim Roth) holds court, cow-hand Joe Gage (Michael Madsen) offers a smirk but little else and ex-Confederate General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern) warms himself by the fire. Let the tale unfold.

'The Hateful Eight' is a wow, tongue-in-cheek, clever and stylish tale, a play divided into chapters whose titles throw the memory back to the early westerns. Superb. A visually spectacular OTT masterful cinematic feast of dialogue, surprises and guns.

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Released 8th January

Director: Nick Read, Mark Franchetti. Maria Alexandrova, Maria Allash, Seregei Filin, Vladimir Urin. Documentary. English & Russian with English subtitles. UK 2015 86 mins. (PG) ****

'A symbol of our country, our secret weapon' - Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev. The secret weapon's the Bolshoi Ballet.

'Bolshoi Babylon,' a behind the scenes documentary examines the world famous dance company in the light of the 2013 acid attack on the Bolshoi's director Sergei Filin by a revengeful former principle dancer, Pavel Dmitrichenko who felt that his girlfriend wasn't given the roles she deserved. As the camera follows the company during its 2013-14 season, interviews with principle ballerinas Maria Alexandrova and Maria Allash and former artistic director Boris Akimov offer hints rather than spill the beans on corruption including pay-to-play bribes where a patron buys stage time and career advancement for a selected performer. What is offered is a fascinating glance at the Bolshoi, beautiful on the outside, bitter on the inside, a symbol of Russia, a state where corruption exists.

It's a closed world where ego rules, careers are short, the regime is physically punishing, jealousy and resentment's the order of the day and expectations don't always match artistic ability. A long standing distrust between managers and performers adds pressure and politics is never far from the door with the new director, Soviet style, doesn't smile a lot, Vladimir Urin needing President Vladimir Putin's blessing. A beautiful, fragile and toxic mix but the stage is filled with mesmerising beauty.

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On Sunday 24th January the Bolshoi Ballet's production of 'The Taming of the Shrew' will be broadcast live from Moscow at selected cinemas in the UK.

Released 8th January

Director: Ariel Kleiman. Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Nigel Barbe. Drama, Thriller. Australia 2015 98 mins. (15) ***

Ariel Kleiman's enigmatic and sombre debut feature brings to mind Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Dogtooth' here pitching children in their formative years yielding to a dogma that places them at the centre of a violent world.

11-year-old Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel) and his mother Susanne (Florence Mezzara) live in a small closed community on the outskirts of an unnamed city. It's a world of obedience and conformity to the dogma imposed by the charismatic Grigori (Vincent Cassel). His is a measured, kindly approach that emotionally and physically binds his followers to an ideology but menace hangs in the air. And from this world seen through Grigori's eyes, a child will emerge as a trained assassin. An unquestioning world, with no room for individual thought but the arrival of Leo (Alex Balaganskiy) and his mother (Katalin Hegedus) and her baby has a far reaching effect on Alexander.

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Children at the heart of a violent world, their formative years scarred by a dogma devoid of a moral conscience is a disturbing and intriguing concept. 'Partisan' suggests more than it says and Vincent Cassel is hardly stretched in a role that yells for more.

Released 8th January
Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Paris, Friday 13 November. It's around 6pm and we're finishing the last interview of the day at Good Light Studio, a converted print factory on Rue Godefroy Cavaignac in the 11eme arrondissement. At the far end of the street, where it meets the buzzy thoroughfare of the Rue de Charonne, young people gather at La Belle Equipe, a lively neighbourhood bar with a pleasant terrace on the street.

In three and a half hours two young Frenchmen will empty their assault rifles into the throng at the Belle Equipe, killing 19. Minutes after that, the massacre at the Bataclan will begin. As midnight approaches a couple of hundred young people will lie bleeding in the darkness of the theatre while heavily-armed policemen wait outside the theatre. Dozens of injured youngsters have already bled out and lie sprawled in the mosh pit under a pall of gunsmoke.

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When the shooting is over in the small hours of Saturday morning the man now sitting in front of me - Professor Jean Pierre Tourtier - will move among the wounded, triaging with quick efficiency, trying to save as many ebbing lives as he can.

Right now, sitting in our little bohemian studio we know none of this. Right now Tourtier - Chief Medic of the Paris Fire Brigade - is wrapped in the yellow glow of the huge soft-light umbrella, facing my two video cameras. I'm surprised to see tears glistening behind his spectacles. His face quivers slightly as he struggles to maintain his composure. He is after all a soldier, a member of France's armed forces like all Paris firefighters. And now I'm surprised to feel a prickle of tears in my eyes too, as his parting words hit home...

I'm interviewing Tourtier for a documentary on the Charlie Hebdo attacks, which happened 10 months earlier in January. Tourtier was at an emergency medics' conference not far from the Charlie Hebdo office when a colleague, Patrick Pelloux, got a text saying there was gunfire in the offices of the satirical magazine. Tourtier and Pelloux hopped on a scooter and were the first rescuers to arrive at the scene of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, in a quiet side-street in the 11eme arrondissement. Figuring that in case the terrorists were still in the building it would be best to maximize their chances by taking different routes, Tourtier ascended in the elevator to Charlie Hebdo's second-floor office while Pelloux took the stairs.

At the time Tourtier had never spoken in public about the aftermath of the massacre at Charlie Hebdo. His precise descriptions of what he saw had a barely-suppressed intensity that took me by surprise: "The first thing I remember, even before I entered the Charlie Hebdo office - was the smell. A smell that was a mix of gunpowder and blood - that metallic smell of blood. Then I saw a pile of bodies. And someone at the back of the meeting room said - in a voice that was almost gentle - 'Monsieur, s'il vous plait, aidez-moi'."

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Tourtier went over everything he saw and felt with unsparing honesty. The small meeting-room at Charlie Hebdo was a mass of bodies, many with terrible wounds. The floor was awash with blood. Tourtier ran out of tourniquet material to staunch the bleeding and asked the surviving members of Charlie's editorial staff to give him their belts. When he called back to his base for backup the Fire Brigade dispatcher could not believe what he was hearing. We later recovered the audio recording of Professor Tourtier's call:

- This is Tourtier, I'm on site at Charlie Hebdo. We've got five critically wounded and 10 deceased.

- Two deceased?

- Ten

- Ten deceased?

- Ten deceased, yes

- Wow. Ten?? One-zero? Two times five??

- One-zero. Send trauma teams right now!

The dispatcher's incredulity was understandable. In January 2015 Paris had never experienced a terrorist attack of this magnitude. The crisis lasted three days and left 17 dead. It would be another 10 months before that total was eclipsed by the November 13 massacres, with 89 dead at the Bataclan theatre alone, just 500 yards down the boulevard from Charlie Hebdo.

Tourtier's parting words in his interview earlier that November evening electrified the studio and gave me renewed hope for France's struggle with its contingent of home-grown terrorists: "Yes, the terrorists will risk their lives for their ideas... But there are many French people," and now Tourtier's voice shook with a mixture of sentiment and steely resolve: "Medics, firefighters, gendarmes, policemen, ordinary citizens... who are also ready to risk their lives for their ideas." When Tourtier had finished his eyes were bright with tears. I cut the cameras and thanked him. As we were chatting after the interview I remarked casually that it wouldn't be long before the next attack, as I thought that in terms of security nothing had changed since January and the Charlie Hebdo attacks. There was nothing to prevent another, even deadlier attack from happening.

We said goodbye. Twenty minutes later I walked out of the studio onto Rue Godefroy Cavaignac and turned left towards the Voltaire metro station. Two hundred yards behind me at La Belle Equipe a small, friendly crowd was gathering at the bar, mostly waiters and waitresses from nearby restaurants, ordering what for many them would be their last few drinks. It was nearly seven o'clock.

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Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks, first broadcast on BBC Two, is now available on iPlayer here.
Welcome to 2016 amidst much tension and consternation! As someone who has worked in the MENA region as a lawyer, an ecumenist and also a second-track political negotiator for well over two decades, let me project a few pithy thoughts onto the fresh year.

My first point focuses on the Arab Christian communities in the MENA region and the plethora of statements issued by clerics and politicians alike - often with multi-coloured graphs - underlining the existential challenges facing local Christians since 2011. Everyone is suddenly claiming that indigenous Christians are vanishing from the MENA region as a result of the ISIL phenomenon. But much as I too oppose ISIL fiercely, I tend to dispute the raison d'etre behind those passionate rhetorical perorations because they are not entirely accurate. To start with, let us draw back from apocalyptic scenarios since those numerically "minority" Christian communities are still very much present and witnessing in the region after two millennia. More importantly, the challenges facing them did not begin in 2011: the emigration of Christians from the MENA region started in the early 1950's and became more noticeable after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Much as we empathise with those communities, we also need to be honest with ourselves.

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The counter-revolution against the freedom-seeking uprisings in the MENA region - dubbed the Arab Spring - is well under way. Not only in Syria (and hence by proxy also in Lebanon) where the Russian Orthodox Church even blesses the military efforts of the Russian army fighting against anybody who is not siding with President Bashar Assad and his decimation of human beings and state institutions. Look at Egypt where censorship and state control are being enforced with rampant voraciousness in every corner of society - from the press and social media to academic institutions, researchers and grassroots NGO's. Or even in the Arabian / Persian Gulf where some of the revanchist countries are muzzling all fundamental freedoms that dare challenge their perennial hold on power, wealth or both.

We in Europe are in a state of retrenchment too: faced with the dangers within our own societies, some EU countries have decided to trade the ideals of freedom that we fought for in two world wars for the sake of an elusive sense of security. This is made manifest by our pallid response to the oppressive measures undertaken by our MENA 'allies' against their peoples. But equally against our own societies where we succumb to the blackmail of terror organisations that have frightened us so much we suspend constitutions, impose emergency measures, monitor our every click of the keyboard and ride roughshod over personal liberties. A looming post-Orwellian danger that could alas come back to haunt us.

To win the war against terrorist organisations like ISIL, we need to win the war against the autocracies that have furnished the incubators for such movements too. Just assume we wipe out ISIL in 2016: does any policy-maker with strategic nous think that this would be the end of terrorism and the resumption of the status quo ante worldwide? If the political conditions and social inequities or disenfranchisement that catalysed such religious ideologies are not tackled at source, the problem will - Hydra-like - manifest itself again in a few short years.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict still remains a galvanising element for the majority of the Arab and Muslim Worlds. Starting with the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917 and culminating with the current dearth of irenic initiatives, there is indescribable despair among Palestinian grassroots as their virtual state is being mothballed again in front of their eyes. Pursuing the self-deluding politics of the ostrich by ignoring this long-festering conflict is perilous. A thought: if we had shown enough backbone to resolve this conflict decades ago based on the concepts of natural justice, international legitimacy and mutual security, might we not have spared ourselves some of the mess that is the MENA since the early 2000's?

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By nature and legal training, I am cautious of politicians or clerics who tend at times to speak from both sides of their mouths or else are far too quixotic with their thoughts! So if I really want to find out what is happening in different countries of the MENA, I often hold my most helpful conversations with cab drivers or at popular cafes as I drink Arabic coffee and play backgammon. They often know (and analyse) better the ills of their own societies than countless politicians, clerics, pundits or journalists sitting in rarefied and often self-absorbed environments. Those are the men who define my compass, and the message being told by them is that 2016 will not be too different. I hear from them that the deep anger within society is coupled with an undimmed resolve for reform region-wide despite the deep fatigue and enormous casualties.

In May 1916, a centennial ago, a French and a British diplomat looked at a map and drew a somewhat arbitrary line between the towns of Acre and Kirkuk. The Sykes-Picot agreement that created those awkward boundaries and sovereignties also traumatised the peoples of the region. Indeed, the memory of this line still haunts MENA politics. So what can we do today to avoid further distresses? Here is my two-pence worth of wisdom: unless we acknowledge the causal nexus between social ills and the terror from the Taliban in Afghanistan to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and ISIL in Syria and then act on them long-term, the MENA will remain in a state of ebullition and we in the West will not douse those fires simply by transposing our problems on them as we sometimes did in the last century.

Today, I am sad that we have plunged ourselves into a deep mess because we were full of tactics but lacked strategies. Alas, we lacked imagination, and we lacked gumption, so will we wake up in 2016?
If there's one thing more fashionable in Westminster than a pair of wellies and a train ticket to the north of England then it's to bash a "special adviser" turned politician. In the era of the New Authenticity, Jeremy Corbyn is the antidote to the shiny suit generation of David Cameron, Ed Miliband and others - Oxbridge graduates who've made it to the top table by way of an anonymous think tank and making sure a minister puts his trousers on the right way in the morning. Or something.

Diane Abbott was at it last night. The Labour MP and Corbyn ally labelled shadow ministers quitting on their leader as ex-"special advisers" as if they were the devil incarnate. One named, Jonathan Reynolds, hit back - suggesting his colleague should check her facts as that wasn't him.

Is this what she said? At least Google us before slagging us off https://t.co/6v8a9Sso8m  Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016

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For the record @HackneyAbbott, I was a trainee solicitor when elected, having gone to law school as a mature student and single parent (1/2)  Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) January 6, 2016

The "special adviser" pariah status is an odd one. As voters complain about feeling increasingly remote from the political process, just brandish a picture of a young David Cameron in an ill-fitting suit carrying Norman Lamont's water and offer: "Look at this buffoon. He's not like you and me." But I'm not quite sure what's to be ashamed of.

When Charles Kennedy passed away last year, he was universally and rightly praised for devoting his life to politics. The phrase "career politician" never came up. Is it so reprehensible to make sure a minister hits all his marks compared to being an MP in your 20s? Or a councillor, or any political job?

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Plenty of "special advisers" or SPADs I've encountered have life stories far more fleshed-out than the chinless wonders portrayed on The Thick of It. And while politicians bang on about apprenticeships, they often undersell their own. Some are naturals, as you get with every industry. But there is a craft to be learned. On the Westminster shopfloor you can get to grips with procedure, policy development, media and constituency duties. If you don't think that's important then witness the shambles surrounding Labour's reshuffle and know the party has seen an exodus of well-honed talent since the election.

Sure, there's a case for Parliament looking and sounding more like modern Britain. But it doesn't take much digging around to discover there's plenty of that. The Huffington Post series on the 2015 intake shows many are just as obsessed with Star Wars as the rest of us. Labour's Jess Phillips who worked with women's refuges. Conservative Alan Mak who lived above a shop. The SNP's Stephen Gethins who helped recover missing weapons in the Balkans. Evidence of a "Spadocracy" has been thin on the ground.
John Stuart Mill, one of the founding fathers of liberal democracy, devoted much of his writing to defending freedom.

He gave a particularly special place to free expression, placing it above other actions because, he argued, it would almost always result in the advancement of truth and progress.

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He would therefore no doubt be turning in his grave at the sight of the clamping down on free speech at numerous universities around the country.

The university campus should be the place where students grow intellectually by coming into contact with alternative points of view and challenging ideas. Where dissenting ideas are expressed openly in the hope that some people might be persuaded to a new way of thinking.

Instead, students' unions and universities are running scared in the face of anything that might be unpalatable or unpopular.

In 2015 alone, there have been several incidences of a clamp down on free speech and free expression in the name of the prevention of offence.

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At Oxford University, the recent campaign to have a statue of the imperialist Cecil Rhodes removed because of his dubious involvement in colonial-era Zimbabwe conceals an elephantine irony, that the student leading the campaign - Ntokozo Qwabe - is himself a Rhodes scholar.

Indeed, the scholarship allows for 83 students each year, from the United States, Germany, Zimbabwe and a number of Commonwealth and southern African nations, to study at Oxford.

Yes, Rhodes was a creature of his age, and therefore having a conversation with him today would probably be quite unsettling; but as is clear from the very existence of the scholarship, he must have been at least slightly forward thinking.

Therefore, perhaps the plaque accompanying the statue could be altered so that, rather than blindly venerating him - if it does so currently - it could place him in a more accurate historical context.

At Cardiff University in November last year, prominent feminist writer Germaine Greer provoked a storm when she made controversial comments about transsexual people in the run-up to a lecture she was set to give on 'Women and Power: The Lessons of the 20th Century'.

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A group of students - rather than challenging her in open debate about her views - immediately petitioned for Greer to be banned from speaking, arguing that she had 'demonstrated misogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether'.

The ultimate answer to that is; so what? Yes, Greer may have been wrong and insensitive in the views she had expressed, but if you feel that strongly about it then get up and challenge her, don't ban her because you think you hold a monopoly on truth.

Students in general seem to have forgotten - or perhaps didn't know in the first place - what liberalism is really about. It is about tolerance of differing viewpoints and alternative ways of life, even ones that you regard to be offensive or anathema to your view of the world.

That means inviting speakers to campuses with whom you disagree, in order to promote debate and discussion. Some people might get offended, but others might leave a lecture hall or a debate feeling that their viewpoint has changed.

In November 2014 at my university, Sussex, a petition was raised by a group of students to 'not invite representatives of the political party UKIP to attend or speak at events on campus'.

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Thankfully, it never got to the point of going to a referendum, based on the legally dubious nature of its potential enforcement, but it says a lot about a certain type of modern university student that it was concocted in the first place.

They couldn't see the inherently dangerous nature of their suggestion; that this kind of thinking could be extended to anyone or any group with whom they disagreed.

The most important question that must be asked on this subject is, where will it stop? If Rhodes's statue is taken down, then surely others must go? Perhaps the numerous statues of Winston Churchill that exist around the country should be taken down?

After all, despite having a crucial role in saving millions of lives and the continent of Europe from the scourge of Nazism, Churchill had extremely anachronistic views on Indian independence and remained an ardent defender of the British Empire till the day he died.

Of course, given that the Second World War and Churchill's time as Prime Minister is still within living memory, the statues are probably safe, for now.

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[Co-authored with David Saddington]

In the closing moments of 2015 an 'historic' deal was brokered in Paris which not only set about limiting greenhouse gas emissions but also set about changing the fundamental ways in which we do business. Free market solutions are to play a pivotal role within the low carbon future sketched out in the Paris Agreement.

Twenty years after Michael Porter wrote about how being green can make businesses more competitive, we are now seeing the early adoption of these ideas. But despite this new "Green Capitalism", the question still remains: can business adequately address climate change?

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Displacing the now tarnished concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Green Capitalism goes further by welding together greenness and profit through efficiency and innovation. Harnessing this opportunity, pioneering firms are progressing beyond the static mindset of green compliance towards on-going sustainability dynamism, continuously re-assessing business conditions and the opportunities they offer. That includes seeing tighter regulations not as a threat but as an opportunity. As Porter explains:

"Static thinking causes companies to fight environmental standards that actually could enhance their competitiveness. Most distillers of coal tar in the United States, for example, opposed 1991 regulations requiring substantial reductions in benzene emissions. At the time, the only solution was to cover the tar storage tanks with costly gas blankets. But the regulation spurred Aristech Chemical Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to develop a way to remove benzene from tar in the first processing step, thereby eliminating the need for gas blankets. Instead of suffering a cost increase, Aristech saved itself $3.3 million"

In this new configuration sustainability - including tighter regulations - becomes profitable, and most of it is common sense. Pollution = inefficiency, so going green means less waste, less cost, and more profit and competitiveness. Businesses are adapting to this new economic landscape, re-framing climate action though a lens of risk and opportunity. Innovation like this is the beating heart of capitalism, but is even this enough to stave off the worst effects of climate change?

The best regulation, according to Porter, starts off with looser standards but with a clear message that tighter regulation will follow. Although not legally binding, the Paris Agreement follows this approach, specifying reasonable emission reduction targets supported by a mechanism to ramp up ambition every 5 years. This creates an immediate imperative for action to drive down emissions and get ahead of the field.

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"Fair enough," one might say. But how long is all this going to take? The problem is that Porter's approach is necessarily gradualist. Governments, he says, should; "Develop regulations in sync with other countries or slightly ahead of them. It is important to minimize possible competitive disadvantages relative to foreign companies that are not yet subject to the same standard."

The hope, of course, is that the Paris Agreement will cause all nations to move together, so avoiding any competitive disadvantages. But the non-binding nature of the Agreement almost certainly means that governments will remain extremely cautious. Fearing for the competitiveness of their industries, they'll effectively be restricted to only incremental regulatory moves. The problem, then, is that the potentially disastrous effects of climate change, moving at a much faster pace, will still likely outstrip them. And it's here that Green Capitalism runs aground. The dilemma between going green and staying competitive has not gone away because of the factor of time - time we do not have.

How, then, could governments introduce tough regulations that meet the fast pace of climate change, without harming business competitiveness?

Achieving this inevitably means governments must go well beyond incremental regulation - and that will mean that business can only innovate itself out of some of the costs. But the key to making the remaining costs acceptable is for governments to ensure a level playing field for all businesses globally: an unprecedented level of international cooperation is required.

Helping governments impose higher costs on business may, for business, sound like a pathological form of self-harming! But if those costs are borne by all businesses globally and so do no harm to any business's competitiveness, do they really matter? Especially if it means a sustainable planet for business to thrive in the long-term?

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Creating this global level playing field need not be far-fetched if governments take a different approach to international climate negotiations. Rather than cooperation being arrived at under duress, a way needs to be found to make cooperation in every nation's self-interest. Do that, and nations will also have an interest in making any agreement legally binding too. But how?

Instead of the present single-issue approach which deals with carbon emissions alone, governments could take a multi-issue approach which would permit trade-offs to be made. If, for example, a global Currency Transactions ('Tobin') Tax were included alongside a carbon emissions agreement, the vast proceeds from the tax could be used to compensate nations that might lose out on the climate part of the agreement. All nations would win and businesses in those nations could in turn be compensated. In that way, immediate and drastic action to reduce emissions could be achieved, the agreement would be binding, and no nation or business would suffer a competitive disadvantage. Yes, business costs would be marginally higher, but no one would suffer a competitive disadvantage since all businesses globally would be on the same level playing field.

Enhanced global cooperation of this kind would be far from easy. What seems clear, however, is that the present single-issue approach fails to deliver sufficiently rapid action on climate change - the Paris Agreement, although a diplomatic break-through, still puts the planet on track for over 3 degrees C of warming.
All expectations are now that the EU referendum vote will be in summer this year, most probably in June - meaning that both campaigns to remain and leave only have six months to make their case to the British public. No public decision has demanded a more informed debate.

Ensuring an informed debate cannot be taken for granted. Europe is not a priority for many people. It would be unfair to assume that everyone will have the time or inclination to fully evaluate the merits of either position. I therefore strongly welcome British Futures' proposal this week for a 'third' non-partisan campaign to promote interest in the referendum and boost turn-out specifically targeting groups considered less likely to take part. A low turnout will undermine the legitimacy of the result either way.

With poor understanding of how the EU works or how it impacts on our daily life endemic, there is fertile ground for misinformation, distortion and mistruth. Decisions made by elected MEPs or national ministers are turned into 'diktats from Brussels' in the UK mainstream media or the annual reports of the Court of Auditors on the EU accounts are ignored in favour of the ongoing lie that the EU's accounts have not been signed off.

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Worse awaits on social media. Every post on the benefits of the EU is greeted by accusations of 'scaremongering'. Misinformation circulates and rumours fly. Some are led to believe that EU exit is a means of escaping the pressures of globalisation, of turning the clock backwards, when no one has set out exactly what Out looks like. Others invoke austerity policies across the EU as a reason to jump ship, without addressing the UK government's own sovereign agenda of cutting services, pay and benefits. Every grievance is given its European scapegoat, most recently shown with attempts to blame the floods on the EU, rather than budget cuts and climate change... "Too complicated: blame the EU". False claims need to be challenged and exposed.

Nowhere is the need for a properly informed debate more pressing than in the North East of England where so much is at stake.

In April last year, research from the Centre for European Reform showed why British exit from the EU risks hitting my home region harder than most, making already shocking levels of regional inequality worse. Poorer regions of the UK are more dependent on exports to the EU than richer ones. Exports to the EU account for 15% of private sector output in the North East of England supporting around 170,000 jobs in the region, compared to 9% in the South West of England and Scotland, two of the UK's richer regions. Moreover, the North East is the largest net beneficiary of EU membership of the English regions - vital investment into our infrastructure, business development and skills. EU rules have cleaned our air, beaches and waterways, delivered equal pay for men and women and rights to paid holiday for all workers, and ensured redress for consumers. We have a progressive vision, set out by Jeremy Corbyn, for how the EU should reform to continue to deliver for regions like my own in the future.

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Jeff J Mitchell via Getty Images

Tentatively, slowly and cautiously - how Jeremy Corbyn carries out his reshuffle is how the rest of us play Jenga.

The Labour leader spent three days gently poking at the blocks in the tower that is his Shadow Cabinet, trying to work out which ones could be removed without the whole structure falling down around him.

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Michael Dugher, Pat McFadden and Maria Eagle were all eased out. Sure, the tower wobbled slightly, but it remains standing.

However, in the next few months an issue will come to fore that will see the whole edifice come down upon his head: Trident.

If Labour Party changes its policy and backs unilateral disarmament, there will be mass resignations from the Shadow Cabinet.

One Shadow Cabinet minister told me they would would definitely walk if the policy was changed. "Look at the people who have spoken out against it: Tom Watson, Vernon Coaker, Maria Eagle, they would all go too."

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A junior Shadow government member told me before Christmas that Trident would be the big issue for Labour of the first few months of 2016. They too said they would quit if the party's policy changed.

At Labour's conference in Brighton last year, the divisions at the top of the party over whether to renew Trident were exposed to the South coast sunshine.

Corbyn, in one of his thinking-out-loud moments, revealed if he was Prime Minister he wouldn't sanction the use of nuclear weapons in any circumstances.

Then-Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle called the remarks "unhelpful", particularly as the party was about to embark on a review of its defence policy.

The same review which former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, himself a unilateralist, was appointed to oversee in November - a decision which was questioned by now ex-Shadow Defence Minister Kevan Jones.

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For the Tories, this is a political gift.

Even if Labour's defence review backs renewing Trident, Corbyn is a known and confirmed unilateralist. David Cameron would have endless fun taunting the opposition for having a leader who would actually rebel against his own party's policy.

Of course the Tories need not wait for Labour to complete its review. Cameron could force a vote on whether to renew the nuclear submarines which carry the weapons before Labour has its ducks in a row.

As it is, the official policy of Labour is to support the renewal. So again, Corbyn could be forced to rebel against his own party. Not that he is unused to that, but rebelling as leader? That would be something special.

If he tries to force his Shadow Cabinet to vote against renewal, or even backs a free vote, people will walk. The blocks will fall.
I've always asserted that the best thing about food and drink is its ability to offer such an honest window into the many different cultures you experience on your travels. Whenever I visit somewhere new (or familiar!), I insist on trying the local foods, beers and spirits - sometimes you end up with something questionable, but it's always fascinating and inspiring.

That said, sometimes you need to be able to depend on a good drink to lift spirits, bring people together and to settle you into a new spot. Again, I always try and taste something new and indigenous to a country, area, restaurant or bar, but as discussed in my post on cocktail red flags, I don't want to waste my hard earned on something that is style over substance. There's a magic to a cocktail that I love, and if it's not going to be provided by a local product, I like to defer to the ones I know I can get anywhere, and give all the deliciousness required. So, here is a clutch of drinks I rely upon across the globe. Of course there's loads (loads!) of amazing, smaller, local products to try but these you can get in shops, in dive-bars, in the world's leading cocktail bars and everything in between, so when you're stuck for that quality beverage in each corner of the globe, have a go at reaching for these. Yes, they're all premium products, but they all offer value in what they provide.

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Vodka - Belvedere

It's important to mention both luxury products like Grey Goose, and power houses like Ketel One here as they're amazing products that you can get in most spots. But what I've loved seeing with the change in outlook towards vodka is people embracing it as a spirit with character rather than something to fortify a set of flavours, and Belvedere displays this wonderfully. A nutty, spicy rye vodka from Poland that is most certainly a luxury product (look out for it in your nearest shiny nightclub) but the spirit does everything you need in a well made vodka. Just drink it chilled down (very cold, in a very cold, small glass) with a twist of lemon peel.

Whiskey - Jack Daniel's No7

My other favourite thing to do in new cities is to go to a gig, and my nostalgic drink of choice has always been a Jack and Coke. Not only is it delicious, it's a drink you can get anywhere. But Jack Daniels itself is a brilliantly dependable whiskey (I opt for the regular No7). I've tried examples dating back to the 60s that would've adorned every backstage (and on-stage) show and they still taste undeniably like Jack. Branch beyond a Jack and Coke though - try an espresso martini with it and never look back.

Rum - Bacardi 8

A notable call could've been made for Havana 3 or the 'Carta Blanca' Bacardi seen throughout the globe, but the aged Bacardi covers every eventuality that a rum calls for. Given the difficulty of finding 100% agave tequilas everywhere, rum is my second go-to fun spirit, and Bacardi 8 works every which way. You can drink it neat, it mixes great in highballs, works brilliantly in rum classics that immediately transport you - such as a daiquiri or mojito - and it similarly makes rich, stirred down boozy numbers effortlessly too. Worth picking up a bottle and testing my theory.

Gin - Beefeater

A close call between this and Tanqueray, but the versatility of Beefeater, its adherence to its London home (right near to Dandelyan!) and its sheer bang-for-your-buck brilliance tips the crown. It's classically London Dry style with plenty of bold juniper, but it has a wonderful citrussy edge that means it traverses G&T, Martini, Collins... you name it - like a proper gin should. And you can get it everywhere. Gin win.

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The Best Bottle You Can Get Anywhere In Any Pub Or Shop - Lagavulin 16
We all know that Prince Harry is quite the charmer -- the boy has reportedly wooed more ladies than most men talk to in a lifetime. Fortunately, the royal often uses his charms for good when it comes to his charity work.

The prince kicked off his royal tour of Africa today and made his first stop in Lesotho, checking in with his charity Sentebale and the Kananelo Centre for the deaf. Harry co-founded the philanthropic organization with Lesotho's Prince Seeiso in 2006 to help support children who are suffering from extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, blindness and other disabilities.

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The 28-year-old's itinerary for the day? Learning sign language; baking mokoenya, a Sotho sweet bread; engaging in some traditional dancing; and, of course, amusing the children with his typical Harry charisma. According to The Telegraph, the students taught their royal visitors how to say We love Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in sign language. Awww.

For the baking portion of the visit, Harry opted for a purple apron emblazoned with teddy bears, which might just have resulted in one of our favorite pictures of the prince ever. The shot of him awkwardly attempting the "shoulder-waggling dance" is definitely a close second, though. (We're sure Cressida Bonas will agree with us.)

Check out photos of Prince Harry's visit to Lesotho (and an adorable video of the aforementioned dancing!) below and tell us what you think of the prince's philanthropic work.

PHOTOS:

See more photos of Prince Harry!

Prince Harry's Tour Of Africa, Day 1 See Gallery

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Ben Carson may not believe in the teaching of evolution, but he gave some schoolchildren a harsh lesson in social Darwinism when he asked them to point out their dumbest classmate. The NOAA said last year was the second hottest on record; James Inhofe's snowball couldn't be reached for comment. And a new bill in the Missouri legislature would require lobbyists to disclose any sex they have with legislators. Questions about what constitutes "sex" can be directed to the state house's ethics office or the VHS copy of Government Relations 6 thats in a box hidden in our basement. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Thursday, January 7th, 2016:

LOOK AT THIS DATAJOURNALISM - Igor Bobic made a chart of 2016 burns:





BUT IS IT GOOD FOR THE CRUZ? Iowa pandering edition - Samantha Jo-Roth: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has been forced to clarify his stance on ethanol, an important industry in Iowa, as he crisscrosses the state less than one month before its first-in-nation presidential caucuses. Cruz, who has been asked about the issue at every single stop on his six-day barnstorming tour across the state, has insisted he is not against ethanol and denied switching his position on the Renewable Fuel Standard. The state's influential and bipartisan corn lobby, America's Renewable Future, commended the Republican presidential hopeful Wednesday for a 'big change' in his position on the RFS, while Cruz claimed he has been consistent on the topic." Oops. [HuffPost]

OREGON WACKOS HAVE HORSE NOW - Let the federal government have our land? Neigh! Dana Liebelson: "The armed militants who seized a remote federal property in Oregon have not had the easiest week. They've lost sleep worrying about a potential police raid. An army of reporters accosted them every morning. And the majority of attendees at a community meeting voted for them to leave. But they do have a horse. On Thursday morning, an occupier on horseback rode around the base of a watch tower at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, about 30 miles from Burns. I ran over to learn more about this man and his noble horse, even though I am allergic to horses. A pack of reporters soon followed, but were instructed to stay back, because the horse was 'pretty nervous.' For a glorious three minutes before other reporters were allowed to approach, this interview was entirely exclusive. The horse's name is Hellboy, like the comic book character, because he was a 'handful when he was a little baby,' his rider explained." [HuffPost]

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NEW HAMPSHIRE: THE MOVIE - Scott Conroy: "Ever wonder what it's like to actually live on the presidential campaign trail -- not just watch it from afar? Starting this Monday, Jan. 11, we'll show you. As the most compelling race for the White House in memory shifts into high gear, 'New Hampshire' -- a HuffPost Originals limited series -- will provide a firsthand perspective on what's happening on the ground in the nations first and most important primary state." [HuffPost]

NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS BILL TO GET BIPARTISAN SUPPORT - But how can we target the Kim Jong Un kicks collection? Lindsey McPherson: "A bill to strengthen U.S. sanctions on North Korea is expected to get a House vote as soon as next week, and it will receive broad bipartisan support, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday. 'It has been in the works for a while,' the California Democrat said, explaining that the bill is timely but not a direct response to North Korea bragging this week about a successful hydrogen bomb test Pelosi said the initial analysis shows North Korea overstated the nature of the test, but that its still a matter of great concern and a violation of longstanding United Nations Security Council resolutions. The House bill is ready to go and could receive a vote the week of Jan. 11, Pelosi said. Because the bill has strong bipartisan support, she said it may be voted under an expedited procedure known as suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage." [Roll Call]

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DELANEY DOWNER - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) didn't want to get into details of what he knew and when about the Flint water crisis on Thursday. In a July email, a top Snyder aide worried Flint residents were "basically getting blown off by us" over their concerns about high lead levels in the city's water. It wasn't until October that the state water agency admitted it had made a mistake that led to the poisoning of an untold number of children. A reporter asked Snyder what he knew and when he knew it. "Well, again, we're going through that whole process," Snyder said, speaking at a press conference with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, a Democrat. Snyder and Weaver said they would be cooperating on the crisis response; Snyder said the independent task force he created in October would address the question of who knew what and when. [HuffPost]

Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill

WHITE HOUSE TRIES TO QUELL CONGRESSIONAL ANGER OVER IMMIGRATION RAIDS - "Two top Obama administration officials met with several House Democrats Thursday, amid rising anger on Capitol Hill over a series of controversial raids targeting immigrants who have been ordered deported from the United States. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi convened the meeting with Cecilia Munoz, the White House domestic policy director, and Alejandro Mayorkas, the deputy secretary of Homeland Security, on Thursday afternoon, according to three Democratic sources. Lawmakers attending the meeting included many members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus -- who are especially upset about the raids -- leadership, and influential ranking members." [Politico]

OBAMACARE ENROLLMENTS CONTINUE TO RISE - Jeff Young: "Obamacare growth continues to outpace last year's sign-ups, with almost 11.3 million people enrolling into private health insurance plans via the exchange marketplaces through the last week of December, the Department of Health and Human Services disclosed Thursday. The open enrollment period on the exchanges lasts until Jan. 31, and the tally already has exceeded the department's projection of 10 million for the full year. Although this total likely will come down in the coming months as some consumers drop their coverage or fail to pay their premiums, these findings suggest these marketplaces are performing above expectations so far. Expanding the exchanges is key not only to covering more of the uninsured, but to stabilizing the new marketplaces for the future. More than sheer numbers, the makeup of the exchange customer base is crucial, especially after health insurance companies reported losses during the marketplaces' first two years, resulting in higher premium increases for this year compared to 2015." [HuffPost]

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RAPE IS BAD: CONGRESS - Bernie Sanders would totally revoke Alan Greenspan's medal. Jen Bendery: "A Republican congressman plans to introduce legislation on Friday to strip Bill Cosby of his Presidential Medal of Freedom. The bill from Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar would establish a formal process for revoking the nation's highest civilian honor. Cosby, who has been accused of sexual assault or rape by more than 50 women, was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Gosar said while the once-beloved entertainer should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, Cosby already admitted in a 2005 sworn deposition that he obtained Quaaludes, a prescription sedative drug, to give to women he wanted to have sex with. Cosby was also charged last week with sexual assault in Pennsylvania. 'As a standing person with the Presidential Medal of [Freedom], you can't have that. You just can't have that,' Gosar said Wednesday. 'That award should be so encompassing for the whole aspect of your life, and there's no room to have a bad apple.'" [HuffPost]

VERY IMPORTANT BEN CARSON UPDATE - Bradford Richardson: "At least a half dozen schoolchildren pointed to one of their classmates after Ben Carson asked them to pick out the worst student in class, according to a Des Moines Register reporter. Speaking to a large crowd at an Iowa elementary school on Thursday, the Republican presidential hopeful said to the fifth-grade class at Isaac Newton Christian School, 'Whos the worst student?' Before he could utter a 'just kidding,' several of the students pointed to one boy standing in the audience. Carson later said he often felt like the dumbest kid in class growing up before turning his life around and becoming a world-renowned neurosurgeon." [The Hill]

AL GORE JOKES ARE STILL HOTTER - Timothy Gardner: "Last year was the second hottest on record in the contiguous United States, and included 10 major weather and climate events, such as droughts and storms, that each led to over $1 billion in damages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday." [Reuters]

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BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here is one chill cat.

SEX UPDATE - Jason Hancock: "Lobbyists who have sex with a Missouri lawmaker or a member of a lawmakers staff would have to disclose it to the Missouri Ethics Commission under a bill introduced Wednesday in the Missouri House. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bart Korman, a Montgomery County Republican, defines sex between lobbyists and legislators as a gift. As such, sexual relations would have to be included on monthly lobbyist gift disclosure forms. Rep. Bart Korman, a Montgomery County Republican, has sponsored legislation defining sex between lobbyists and Missouri lawmakers or their staff as a gift." [Kansas City Star]

COMFORT FOOD

- Beautiful drone footage from Mexico City.

- Grandma ding dong ditches.

- Pit bulls acting as surrogate parents to cats.

TWITTERAMA

@MPEfuller: Y'all are still talking about Rubio's boots? Wow. Alright. Well, I'm still talking about Hillary's Chipotle order.

Get on my level.

@pourmecoffee:

On every day of Congress, the Speaker sent to me:

Three Obamacare repeal bills,

Two PPact defund bills,

and a resolution against amnesty

@brfreed: Just saw a cop with a man-bun. We need police reform now.
Donald Trump doubles down on his xenophobic message about Muslims and the people crossing the US's southern border in droves. His recent TV commercial is not ambiguous about where he stands on some very divisive issues. As the contest for the Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls heats up, others join the fray in exploiting these sensitive topics. Terrorism, Islamic or otherwise, is a serious problem and many people have real concerns about preventing it. It is also a very complicated issue spanning the globe. Consequently, response to terrorism should have a high priority in our political discourse. But how we address it is just as important if we have any hope of diminishing it.

We need to respond to terrorism with cool heads and not by playing to the emotions of the common person. We as human beings have the tendency to simplify hard issues and come up with commensurately simple solutions which only exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately, demagogic politicians find it convenient to play on raw emotions for short term political game at the expense of the long term well-being of the country.

I just came back from a trip to Germany and France, which saw horrific attacks by ISIS terrorists and/or sympathizers. Visiting the sites of this carnage in Paris sends shivers down one's spine and the first reaction might be to go and kill every Muslim in sight. While there is little doubt that life has changed in France for all (including the nearly five million French Muslims), the political response was encouraging. During these trying times France held regional elections. The French far right party Front National's demagogic leader, Marine Le Pen, successfully exploited the situation albeit temporarily. Front National won 30% of the vote in the first round of elections, a wake-up call for the French.

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The French voters, realizing a watershed moment, decided that they would not succumb to the simple xenophobic temptations offered by Front National and reward them at the expense of what France stands for. On the second decisive round Front National was dealt a severe blow. The majority of French voters denied them even a single region. This is not the end of Front National by any means, but it was a very important message during a very difficult and emotional time in French history.

Two ISIS sympathizers calling themselves devout Muslims carried out one the most terrible acts of terrorism in San Bernardino, California. In cold blood they killed 14 innocent people enjoying a party. This is a horrific act perpetrated by a Muslim husband and wife whose religion was Islam. I do not know their motivation, but anyone who is prepared to take another human being's life must have something seriously wrong with their thought process. This type of sickness is not unique to one group as we have witnessed recent massacres in places like Charleston, South Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In response to the San Bernardino massacres, hate crimes against American Muslims have gone up considerably according to a civil rights organization tracking these crimes, the Anti-Defamation League. Surely the recent xenophobic exhortations by the likes of Donald Trump have helped embolden these hate groups.

Muslims do commit murder and other crimes just like killers and criminals of other religious persuasions. But we should not indict a whole group because some from their ranks are capable of carrying out unspeakable acts of violence. American Muslims are law abiding good citizens, educated and successfully living the Americans dream. We should try to prevent Islamic terrorism and other acts of violence and go after these people with the full force of law. But the time has long past to collectively label and demonize groups of people. We have been through this chapter in the past, accusing Japanese Americans, German Americans and others of being un-American. We later realized our mistake, but many lives were ruined. Some in this country call the French appeasers. France is using new state of emergency rules to combat Islamic terrorism, but at the same time they rebuffed xenophobic politicians. Perhaps the US demagogues can learn a thing or two from "French appeasers."

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These are some of my other priorities:

I oppose the privatization of education, vouchers, and tax deductions for contributions to private and parochial schools.

I am skeptical about the value of charter schools, but if they continue in operation they must be closely monitored by state regulators and required to meet all the educational mandates required of regular public schools.

If the wealthy want to make donations to public education, we should accept their money, but that does not give them the right to influence school policy and curriculum.

Local property taxes as a major source of school funding promotes inequality between districts and political infighting within districts. It is an outdated way to fund education. All education in New York State should be paid for out of the general state budget and paid for with higher taxes on businesses that benefit from the state's education system and the more affluent.

There are areas in New York State such as in Nassau County where micro-school districts contribute to racial, ethnic, and class segregation. Where possible, school districts should be realigned and consolidated to promote equity and integration and to better prepare our young people for life in a diverse world.

Common Core and continual test prep have pushed respect for diversity and multicultural curriculum to the backburner and I want them restored as priorities. I helped develop the award winning New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance curriculum and an Irish famine curriculum that focused on the right of all people to food.

I work with the New York State Council for the Social Studies and many of its local and regional affiliates promoting social studies education, especially preparing students to become active citizens defending and expanding human rights and democracy in the United States and the world.

The Board of Regents must stand up to the Governor when he attacks schools and teachers for his own political reasons. It should celebrate students, schools, and teachers and not participate in a culture that blames them for all the problems of American society.
Reproductive freedom. What do these words mean? They mean having the children you want, when you want. They mean not becoming pregnant when you don't want and not having children you don't want. They mean sexual freedom; becoming and expressing who you are.

International Planned Parenthood (IPPF) was founded because women were becoming pregnant when they didn't want to be and either having children they didn't want or resorting to unsafe abortion to terminate their pregnancies. We at Planned Parenthood in the USA and abroad have focused on providing safe and effective contraceptives to women who want to delay, limit, time and space their children, as well as safe abortion services. Along the way, my grandmother started a program to help women conceive, become pregnant and have the children they wanted. Fertility services are now offered at many IPPF clinics around the world.



Me and playwright Staceyann Chin

I was reminded of this last night at the opening of a marvelous new play, MotherStruck!, written and performed by Staceyann Chin, a half-Jamaican, half-Chinese, lesbian immigrant to Brooklyn, who decides to have a child. The play chronicles her poignant search for the right partner -- both the romantic and the sperm-donor varieties -- her marriage to a gay man (who dies before his 30th birthday), and her subsequent assisted insemination by his younger brother. After a fraught pregnancy and difficult delivery, Staceyann experiences the trials of motherhood as a single mom and the difficulty of trying to eke out a living as a poet in Brooklyn.

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The play reminded me that reproduction is not relegated only to heterosexual couples, and that childbirth and raising children are often not easy or without pain and trauma. This is why reproductive freedom is vital.
SANAA, YEMEN - JANUARY 7: An armed Houthi holds a rifle during a protest against the execution of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by Saudi authorities, in Sanaa, Yemen on January 7, 2016. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Saudi decision to execute Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr at this particular juncture was a strategic act of defiance meant to challenge Iran and the United States in particular. The Saudis wanted to send a blatant and carefully calculated message that the Kingdom is capable of standing on its own, and it will not be deterred by either the already destabilized region or by the repercussions of its act.

To understand, however, why the Saudis chose to go on the offensive now, a brief review of the development of events between Tehran and Riyadh, and Riyadh and Washington, is warranted. This will also explain why the deliberate execution of the Shiite cleric provided the spark that led to the dangerously heightened tensions between the two countries.

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To begin with, there was no love lost between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, as their bilateral relations have always seesawed between fragile normalcy and open animosity. The loathing between the two countries is rooted in the historical Sunni-Shiite conflict, which goes back to the conflict over the Prophet Muhammad's succession in the 8th century. In recent times, it was the 1979 Iranian revolution that intensified the rivalry between them.

Saudi Arabia supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war (from 1980-1988) that claimed over one million causalities between the two sides and only deepened the hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The 2003 Iraq War brought a revolutionary shift that ended the decades-long U.S. policy of mutual containment of the two countries and allowed Iran to become the dominant player in Iraq.

The subsequent bloodshed between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, with Iran's direct support of its Shiite brethren, destroyed any remnant of diplomatic normalcy between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Following the eruption of the Arab Spring, the civil war in Syria brought both sides into open confrontation as Syria became the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Similarly, the conflict in Yemen became yet another battleground between the two countries, with Iran supporting the Shiite-affiliated Houthis both financially and militarily, and the Saudis supporting the Sunni regime led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in order to prevent Iran from establishing a strategic foothold in the Arabian Peninsula.

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Finally, Iran's ambition to acquire nuclear weapons fueled the Saudis' legitimate concerns that a nuclear-armed Iran will make it the de facto regional hegemon; in that case, Iran would have the ability to intimidate its neighbors and impose its own political agenda throughout the Gulf.

As a country that has primarily relied on the U.S. for protection, with which it has developed close and binding relations, Saudi Arabia felt all along that it could count on the U.S. to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Although the U.S. has made every effort, including the imposition of crippling sanctions, to prevent Iran from realizing its nuclear ambition, the Saudis felt betrayed by the secret nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. In addition, Riyadh viewed the Iran deal as a bad deal for having multiple loopholes, which the Saudis believe Iran will exploit since it is determined to acquire nuclear weapons at any cost.

The Saudis became gradually convinced that the Obama administration is tilting increasingly in support of Iran for a number of reasons: a) President Obama does not want to jeopardize the Iran deal, on which much of his legacy hangs; b) the administration concluded that without Iran's participation in the peace talks there will be no diplomatic solution to end Syria's civil war; c) the U.S. views the Iran deal as stabilizing and thus it gives relations with Iran priority in the current diplomatic tussle between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and d) the U.S.' failure to impose sanctions on Iran for testing ballistic missiles has deeply irked the Saudis, who decided to take matters into their hands.

Knowing full well what the repercussions of executing Sheikh al-Nimr would be, Saudi Arabia went ahead with its plans because the potential gains, from the Saudi perspective, far outweighed the prospective fallout.

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To demonstrate its resolve, Saudi Arabia carried out the execution of the cleric deliberately at a time when regional rivalry between Sunnis and Shiites is at its peak. The execution was also carried out to appease the Sunni Saudi clerics who are concerned about Iran's growing regional influence, and at the same time deter sympathizers of ISIS, which regards Saudi Arabia as an enemy.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia intended to exclude Iran from playing an active role in the search for a solution to Syria's civil war while impeding the growing alliance between Moscow and Tehran to control the predominantly Sunni Syria. Similarly, as Saudi Arabia is fighting a proxy war against Iran in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, it is determined not to allow Iran free regional reign.

By creating the crisis, Saudi Arabia also hopes to disrupt the warming relations between Iran and the U.S., which it views as contrary to its interests. In addition, Saudi Arabia hopes to undermine the EU's drive for rapprochement with Iran, as it otherwise has the potential of becoming the largest trading partner with the EU.

The ransacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran was seen by the Saudis as a "blessing in disguise," playing into the Saudis' hands and putting Iran's President Rouhani on the defensive, prompting Iran to condemn the act. This has boosted the Saudi position and potentially changed the conflict dynamic between the two countries.

The U.S. is rightly concerned about the potential escalation of the conflict between the two countries, which can benefit ISIS and potentially lead to another unforeseen conflagration that may engulf several states in the area. To that end, the Obama administration must immediately take several measures:

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First, the U.S. should seek to postpone the convening of the January 25 international conference in Geneva that seeks a diplomatic solution to Syria's civil war, in order to give Saudi Arabia and Iran a calming period as the participation of both countries is central to finding any lasting political solution in Syria.

Second, the U.S. should impose new sanctions against Iran for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles in violation of UNSC Resolution 1929. This measure is particularly important not only to appease Saudi Arabia, but also to send a clear message to Tehran that it cannot violate international agreements with impunity.

Third, it would be wise for Secretary of State John Kerry to travel to Riyadh, even for only symbolic reasons, and reiterate the U.S.' commitment to Saudi national security. In addition, his visit would allay the Gulf states' concerns that the U.S. is being more critical of Saudi Arabia than Iran, a perception that could further reduce U.S. influence, especially in Riyadh when it is needed the most.

Fourth, although the U.S. is focusing on deescalating rather than mediating the Saudi-Iran crisis, it has no choice at this juncture but to play a more active role with the objective of resuming the Geneva talks at a later date to end the tragic civil war in Syria.

The manner in which the U.S. has conducted itself in connection with the Iran deal, its unwillingness to project itself more aggressively in Syria, its lack of support (as perceived by the Saudis) of the Saudi role in the conflict in Yemen, and its reaction to the current crisis, gave rise to the Saudis' deep concerns about Washington's ultimate goal in the region, especially now that the US no longer depends on the Gulf's oil.

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WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo and Ambassador Amina Mohamed hold up the draft agreement of the Nairobi Declaration to wide approbation on 19 December 2015. Nairobi, Kenya

At the start of 2015, the prospects for an ambitious and successful outcome in Nairobi were dim and ominous. The pundits had forecast failure. The membership proved them wrong. We succeeded. We reversed the fortunes of the WTO and placed it on a clear trajectory of success. There is more work to be done but in Nairobi there was a sea change for the future of the Organization.

The Nairobi Ministerial was a negotiating Conference. It was neither ceremonial nor was it convened to endorse a predetermined outcome. Deadlock and unresolved issues were forwarded to Nairobi from Geneva. As we started the negotiations after the beautiful opening ceremonies the prospects were daunting. Some observers publicly declared that the omens for resolving the main issues around the Doha Declaration did not look good. Some even urged WTO Members to 'confront the prospect of definitive failure'? But members were undeterred.

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Kenya's President, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta provided leadership and direction in his message to the membership by calling for a strengthened, relevant WTO, solving global problems and contributing to recovery and growth in the global economy with a successful outcome in Nairobi.

As the first African Chairperson of a WTO Ministerial Conference and the first to be held in Africa, it felt like the metaphoric Atlas carrying the weight of the World and more importantly how it would impact Africa, other parts of the developing world and the global economy.

The countdown towards that meeting would always comprise, in equal measure, foreboding and many sleepless nights combined with hope and a determination to ensure success however limited it may be. I was advised on the probability of no outcome.

As a salvage measure, several Minister colleagues, friends of Kenya, suggested a chairman's statement. The objective was to ensure that Kenya alone would not carry the cross of another failed WTO Ministerial. Although the odds were stacked against a successful outcome, Kenya was clear ab initio and in several key contacts around the world that Nairobi would be successful and that as chairperson I would not issue a Chairperson's statement.

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It had to be all or nothing. I was dead set against writing an epitaph. It had also become increasingly clear that Nairobi provided the unique opportunity needed for the renewal and reinvigoration of the WTO. An organization that we all so passionately believe in. Above all failure was neither an option for the entirety of the African Union nor for Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta was clear on this.

The stalemate and inertia that had become commonplace had to be broken. The Jinx of no or minimum outcomes had to be banished. And "we would not declare victory in order to extract success from defeat" We needed to break the pattern of failure and It had to be executed in Africa, the so called weakest link in the rules based based Multilateral Trading System.

Nairobi was a classical negotiating situation. Chief negotiators came without revealing their bottom lines, largely restrained by domestic factors and pressures. Bridging those differences was considered by all trade experts to be impossible in the three day time available. The stakes could not have been higher. From clinching an elusive ITA to getting anything agreed on agriculture and the associated questions of public stockholding for food security and Cotton for the C4, to an equally challenging LDC package, or an acceptable future work programme for the WTO. And then there was the larger historic question of whether to reaffirm or not to reaffirm the Doha Round. It all seemed impossible.

But we rose to the occasion, designed a strategy and stuck to it with the assistance of a core group of Ministers, friends of the Chairperson and the Director General. I thank them for their contributions. We did not spare any effort nor waste any time. We had minimal sleep if at all and minimal nourishment.

For four days and three nights we negotiated and kept the entire membership informed and involved. There were no gaps. We could not afford them. The systemic support from the full spectrum of members in different formats and configurations was indispensable in the absence of which failure would have been certain. Their contributions were the litmus test of the premium they attach to the centrality of the WTO in global rule making. Doubts and questions about the superiority of the WTO in setting the bar for trade rules, vis a vis other arrangements were dissipated in Nairobi.

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So what was achieved in Nairobi?

In all, the Nairobi meeting produced six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed Countries.

First, a major breakthrough was reached in agriculture, with the immediate outlawing of export subsidies in developed economies and in developing countries by 2018 and LDCs by 2023. Export Credit and Food aid were also disciplined. This is a positive result for countries that rely heavily on agriculture for income and jobs. It represents a valuable leveling of the playing field and has the potential of lifting countless small holder farmers out of poverty. That is why the deal on agriculture was so widely popular and supported.

Second, another breakthrough, associated with agriculture but stand alone in its significance for Africa was achieved on Cotton, for long a question that had divided the membership. On the domestic support aspect, the Nairobi package acknowledges reforms by members in their domestic policy and regulations on cotton and underscores the scope for further reforms. The actual breakthrough was on export competition on cotton where Ministers decided on the prohibition of export subsidies immediately by developed members and developing countries to do so at a later date.

Third also associated with agriculture, the Nairobi Package reaffirmed the Bali decision on Public Stockholding for food security purposes.

Fourth, in another significant outcome, members representing major exporters of IT products agreed, in the Information Technology Agreement, on a timetable for eliminating tariffs on various products, with all WTO members set to enjoy duty- free market access to the markets of the members eliminating tariffs on these products. Consequently, two-thirds of tariff lines will be fully eliminated by 1 July, 2016, with total elimination expected over three years. Affecting approximately 10% of global trade. For many countries in Africa active in the ICT space this agreement is a huge plus.

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The fifth outcome of significance is for LDCs, the Nairobi package contains decisions of specific benefit to LDCs such as, enhanced preferential rules of origin and preferential treatment for LDC services providers. MC10 decided on the facilitation of opportunities for LDCs export of goods to developed and developing countries pursuant to unilateral preferences.

No less important Nairobi advanced the strategic objective of the organization of universality of membership by approving the terms and conditions of membership of Afghanistan and Liberia, two least developed countries.

We loosened the knot on the systemic question of the relevance of the WTO regarding the consideration of new issues. It is hugely significant that we accepted that some WTO members may wish to raise other negotiating issues in the WTO. However, coupled to this recognition was the decision that a consensus would be required before the launch of these negotiations. This formulation protects all interests and is an important step forward for the institution.

Finally, substantively, Ministers confronted head on the major negotiating question of the continuity of the fourteen year Doha Round mandate. The question was whether to reaffirm that mandate or not. There was an honest division among the members. As in all negotiating situations, where positions are unbridgeable the polar positions were acknowledged in the Nairobi Declaration. As the Chairperson of the 10th Ministerial this outcome was not fatal for the WTO. As in the expression "reasonable individuals can disagree".

It is clear to me that the successful results from Nairobi were not the end. The WTO has been reset and is now pointed in the right direction. We must now set ourselves to the huge task ahead of us. This requires leadership.

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Coming on the heels of a successful COP 21, the WTO meeting in Nairobi has clearly demonstrated, the value and centrality of multilateralism.
Close-up of US Dollar paper currencies.

Mitt Romney famously said that the corporations are people. Well, according to the New York State Board of Elections (BOE), Limited Liability Companies are people too, my friend. In a bizarre opinion issued by the BOE in 1996, Limited Liability Companies, commonly called LLCs, are considered individuals and not corporations for the purpose of campaign contribution limits. When Governor Andrew Cuomo gives his annual State of the State message on January 13, 2016, he should challenge legislators to add 39 words to the Election Law and end the LLC campaign contribution madness.

In a look-kids-there's-Big Ben-there's-Parliament-like moment, there are rumblings anew that ethics reform is on the horizon on Albany. The contemporary reform talk follows "groundbreaking reforms" less than one year ago and the ironic Clean Up Albany Act of 2011, announced by Governor Cuomo, Speaker Silver and Senate Majority Leader Skelos, that boasted "unprecedented transparency." (Full disclosure, I was a Senior Adviser for Government Reform for the state Senate majority conference from 2009-11 and worked on issues like ethics and campaign finance reform.)

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The distinction between individuals and corporate entitles for the purposes of campaign contributions in New York State is enormous. The current limit for corporate contributions to statewide candidates is $5,000, whereas the limit for individual contributions is $60,800 per candidate ($19,700 for the primary and $41,100 for the general election). In light of the 1996 Board of Elections opinion, that means an LLC may contribute $60,800 per candidate, not the limit of $5,000 that applies to corporations. This artificially high LLC contribution limit enables a river of secret campaign cash to flow to elected officials. In Albany's pay-to-play culture that is like opening the floodgates when the river is already over the banks.

(This is often called the "LLC loophole" in error. A loophole is defined as "an ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute . . . may be evaded," the 1996 Board of Elections opinion is more accurately called the LLC hatchet job.)

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Allowing LLCs to funnel huge amount of cash to political candidates undermines the state's system of campaign finance disclosure, which means that the voters often cannot find out who candidates are accepting money from, like say major real estate interests. And, obviously, with respect to the geniuses who authored and approved of the 1996 BOE opinion, LLCs are not people. With two of his three so-called men in a room awaiting sentencing following federal corruption convictions, Governor Cuomo should challenge to legislators in his annual State of the State: override the Board of Elections opinion that allows LLCs to act as individuals for capping cash--immediately.

The fix is quite simple: adding only 39 words to one subdivision of a section in the Election Law. So simple that legislators who attend the governor's annual address on January 16 could go directly to their respective chambers, pass the legislation and Governor Cuomo could sign the law that very day. The quick passage would send a message that state government is serious, yet again, about ethics.
Perhaps the story can begin with the way an "aide to [President] George W. Bush [apparently Karl Rove] spoke dismissively of "the reality-based community." Rove, in an interview with reporter Ron Suskind, contrasted that "reality-based" approach (which starts with a careful study of the real circumstances in which one is acting) with the way of the Bush gang: "[W]hen we act, we create our own reality."

This was in 2004, before it was yet fully manifest how profoundly reality was going to punish the Bushites - and the nation they were leading - for their hubris in "creating their own reality" with their invasion of Iraq.

The story of the right's growing refusal to respect reality surely must include how the right has been dealing with climate change.

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On certain kinds of questions, science is clearly the most powerful tool that humankind has come up with for learning about reality. The question, "What's happening in the earth's climate system?" falls squarely within science's proper realm. And the climate scientists, after letting reality speak to them, are raising an alarm the likes of which humankind has never before heard from that precinct.

Nonetheless, in the ranks of the "reality is for losers" right wing, the voice of science - speaking for reality - is almost universally ignored if not denigrated.

But the immediate matter that prompts me to look at the right's disconnection from reality is the publication of a piece with the title, "The Dark Truth of John Boehner's resignation," by a Daily Kos writer who goes by the name of RETIII.

While RETIII does not break new ground (the basic point is one that I wrote about months ago), he does an excellent job of assembling relevant facts and ideas around this theme: that the Republican base is angry at its leaders for failure to accomplish what - in view of the political realities - was clearly impossible for them to achieve.

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So the Republican base cheered when Speaker Boehner resigned--cheered because, in their eyes, his failure to abolish Obamacare made him that most despised thing, a "compromiser." But, as RETIII cites Philip Bump as saying, the only "compromises" Boehner made "have been between reality and fantasy."

In this unreality-based community that's developed on the right, "we are witnessing a sort of collective Republican denial where they cannot accept that they are not the ruling party..." (Jonathan Chait, via RETIII).

This angry Republican base is not just protesting reality, but denying it altogether. In RETIII's own words: "What is important here is not that Republicans object to the limits of their power, but that Republicans apparently cannot accept that such limits even exist." (Emphasis in the original)

But then, as I see it, RETIII stops short of the heart of the matter when he sums up the issue (i.e. this non-acceptance of the limits to the right's power) as "another significant step in the Republican party's shocking withdrawal from our system of democratic governance."

Yes, it is that. In our system, we are all called upon to accept that sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose; sometimes we have power, and sometimes we are subject to the power of others, whom the people have chosen. And sometimes we and the other side must share power, and are therefore - for the good of the nation -- called upon (to employ what has become a dirty word in the right-wing's lexicon) to compromise.

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But beneath that rejection of democratic governance lies something more fundamental. It's a manifestation of that profound form of human brokenness: the lust for power.

Out of some deeply wounding experience, some people emerge insistent upon having unchallenged control of their world. Unchecked power-- if not for one's "I" than for the "We" with which they identify.

The insistence on control, in turn, is a reaction to what I call -- in my book, WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST -- "the terror of the subordinate role." The power of another is too frightening to accept.

When, in 1860, an election took power out of the hands of the slaveholders of the South, they chose secession and war. When the election of 2008 took power out of the hands of today's Republican party, they chose unending obstructionism rather than the normal role of an opposition party.

This obstructionism has represented an all-out war against their political opponents--specifically, President Obama and the Democratic Party. But with their ritual repealing of Obamacare -- more than fifty times -- the Republicans have also enacted what might be called a war against reality.

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So now -- like the Bush regime in its hubris in thinking it could compel reality to conform to its will; and like the Republicans in Congress who rejected not only the apportionment of power determined by the people through our democratic system, but also the limits to their power that reality imposed - the Republican base is now enacting its own form of a power-lust so intense that it refuses even to bow before inescapable reality.

Rather than accept the reality that their power is limited, they reject political leaders like John Boehner who - for all their gestures and playacting to appease their maddened base - understand that they lack the means to impose their will upon the nation.

(And, in that same lust for power, these Republicans in the base are turning to the snake-oil salesman Donald Trump selling fantasies of enjoying so many "victories" we'll get bored with winning.)



Reality is not always wonderful. But whether reality is good or bad at any given time, reality is the only thing we've got.

Those who feel compelled to reject reality -- in order to maintain falsehoods they desperately need -- are a menace to themselves and to everything they touch.
It's been a rough couple of years. Funds aren't what they used to be. Perhaps you were even unemployed for a while. You've worked hard and you are long overdue for a vacation. Fortunately, you've grabbed an all-inclusive package and you're off to your favourite sun destination.

Everything is paid before you land. You're covered. You've even paid a 15% service charge so you don't have to worry about tipping... or do you? In parts of the world where wage rates are low, here is some food for thought.

If you think developed nations have had it rough since the global economic meltdown of 2008, developing nations have been hit even harder. Corporate and leisure tourism are cornerstones of the economy in many sun destinations. Tourism is a key driver of economic development, representing a significant percentage of the GNP. For example, Jamaica earns about 28.5% of its GDP through tourism. A significant portion of the population (about 24%) earns its living directly or indirectly through this industry. When you travel to sun destinations, to ensure that the workers in these industries get full benefit from the time you spend there, here are some things to keep in mind.

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When you pre-book tours and excursions through a company in your own country or the tour desk on a cruise ship, remember, you are working through middlemen. When you work through middlemen in any industry, everybody has to get their cut. A significant portion of what you pay will get siphoned off and never reach the destination to which you are travelling. This will reduce what goes into the local economy. As a result, the attractions and workers will receive a fraction of what you pay. You'll contribute much more to the local economy if you book attractions, tours, transportation, and excursions locally and directly.

Here are some cold, hard facts. In Mexico, the minimum wage is 70 pesos per day. That's under US$5. In Jamaica, the national minimum wage, which came into effect on January 6, 2014, is J$5,600 per week. That's $64.90 Canadian and US$46.64. In Brazil, it's 788 reais per month (US$195). In Thailand, the minimum wage is 300 baht per day (about $10). Ouch!

The next time you travel to a sun destination, go into a supermarket and check out prices. You will be surprised at how close the prices are to what you pay at home. Compare this to what people earn. This means that in many sun destinations, workers count on tips to fill the gap, earn a livable wage, and make ends meet.

Let's get back to that 15% service charge. At some venues, the service charge is really an "admin" charge and it is not a "tip". Companies who book caterers for weddings, banquets and corporate events need to bear in mind the fact that the service charge is usually an "admin" fee not a tip for the waiters and waitresses. When in doubt, ask questions and clarify how the service charge is distributed.

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Where do tips fit in? According to an urban legend, T.I.P.S. stands for To Insure Prompt Service. The story is that tips were originally introduced during World War II and paid in advance to waiters at busy establishments. Another story maintains that tipping originated during the 18th century as a way of rewarding loyal servants. Today, the thinking behind tipping is that a tip is paid for exceptional service. In many North American jurisdictions, the minimum wage for waiters and waitresses is lower than what other workers receive. The assumption is that they will make up the difference through tips. In the developing world, since wage rates are so low, tips represent a significant source of income for many workers in the travel and tourism industries.

In many hotels, venues, and dining establishments, tips that you add to the bill are pooled. The owners and managers get a cut. What is left is divided up among all of the workers. The bottom line is that the people who give you exceptional service end up getting a fraction of what you pay in tips. For this reason, be discrete and always hand the tip in cash directly to the person who serves you. Of course, if service is poor or staff is rude, you are under no obligation to leave a tip.

Important: Some resorts have a strict no tipping policy except for butlers, spa staff, and drivers. Always check.

What about taxi and bus drivers? Remember, many of them don't own the vehicles that transfer you to your hotel and shuttle you to tours, excursions, and attractions. The owners get a significant portion of what you pay for transportation. The drivers rely on tips for their livelihood.

Scrimp on tips and it will be a struggle for many workers in the tourism, travel and hospitality industries to provide the basics for their families.

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The advice I have been giving to my clients is to consider bringing US$1 and US$5 bills with them whenever they travel to sun destinations. Use them to tip bartenders, porters, doormen, and bus boys as they go. Place tips for housekeepers and butlers in an envelope and hand the envelope to them directly. Here are some general guidelines:

Bartenders: $1 - $2 per drink.

Bellhops/Porters: $2 - $5 per bag

Housekeepers: $2 - $5 per day or $20 - $35 per week

Butlers: $20 - $30 per day.

Pay waiters and taxi drivers, a 10% tip if the service is good and least 15% - 20% if it is exceptional.

For more detailed guidelines consult The Ultimate Guide to Tipping Everyone.

Remember, for hotel staff, drivers, waiters, and tour guides who work long hours to ensure that your time in sun destinations is relaxing and enjoyable, tips can make the difference between making ends meet and struggling to provide for their families.

So, travel to sun destinations as often as you can afford it. Book tours, excurstions, and transportation locally. If service is good or exceptional, be generous with tips.

Anne Thornley-Brown, President of Executive Oasis International, is a Jamaican-born, Toronto-based team building specialist, corporate event planner, and blogger. She has planned and facilitated team building retreats and workshops and organized corporate events for clients in 14 countries including Canada, USA, Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, The Sultanate of Oman, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

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Take a moment and imagine a future where, instead of a national bank, you use PayPal, Square or even Apple, Google, and Amazon for all your financial services needs. If you're in your late 30s or older, the thought of turning to any one of those companies rather than a trusted banking brand seems laughable and, most of all, risky. But if you're a Millennial - that is, someone born between the years 1981 and 2000 - this imagined future probably doesn't seem far-fetched at all, as 73 percent of this generation would be more excited by a financial services offering from one of those five companies than from their own nationwide bank.

That surprising statistic is among the findings of the groundbreaking study, The Millennial Disruption Index, which was conducted by the creative consultancy Scratch, a division of Viacom. For the three-year study, Scratch surveyed 10,000 Millennials about 73 companies across 15 industries. This week, I have the pleasure of talking with Andrew Glasgow, senior vice president of Scratch, at CES - Digital Money Forum 2016. I'm excited to learn more about how financial services firms can "do it right" with Millennials, a generation that totals 84 million in the U.S. alone. As I - and you, because of course I'll be sharing what I learn - gear up for this exciting talk, here's an overview of the index's findings.

First off, why should big-name national banks care about Millennials' thoughts on financial services? The fact is, banks can't afford not to care. Scratch calculated which industries will be most affected by the Millennial generation and ... drum roll please ... banking is the most at risk for a seismic disruption. This means fundamental changes to the way that the financial services industry operates.

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In fact, Millennials see these changes coming and, moreover, they want them to happen. Sixty-eight percent of the Millennials surveyed by Scratch believe that, in five years, the way that we access our money will be totally different from now, and 70 percent believe that the way we pay for things will be totally different then. Plus, if that's not surprising enough - brace yourself for this - one-third of the Millennials surveyed don't think they'll need a bank at all in five years. And they won't be shedding any tears if the banks they use now disappear because all four of the leading banks are among the 10 brands least liked by Millennials.

So, why all this hate? It's largely a lasting side-effect of the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, Millennials have seen their parents financially struggle and now are struggling themselves. Meanwhile, they've absorbed news coverage of the U.S. government giving bailouts to large banks which they themselves may blame for the financial crisis. Compounded together, this has led Millennials as a whole to mistrust large banks. That's why 73 percent of the Millennials surveyed would be more excited by a financial services offering from PayPal, Square, Apple, Google, or Amazon than from their own national bank. It's simple: Millennials trust these companies and don't trust their own banks. In fact, more than 70 percent of them actually would rather go to the dentist than listen to what their banks are saying. Yes, you read that right: For Millennials, listening to their banks is more unpleasant than a dental cleaning or a root canal.

But this doesn't mean that the future has to be bleak for the financial services industry. If you're working at a financial services firm right now, look for ways that your firm can evolve its services to appeal to Millennials. For example, financial advisors, when you have face-to-face meetings with your Millennial clients, connect with them about their concerns, such as student loan debt, and not Baby-Boomer concerns.

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And if the banks don't see the threat coming from the Millennial disruption, that doesn't mean we all have to sit on our hands waiting for it to happen. Instead - whether you are in tech or consultancy or marketing, you name it - take your awareness of what Millennials want and turn it into an opportunity. If you're in marketing, position yourself as the go-to person that firms can turn to for making their marketing and communication methods Millennial-friendly. That means: more communication through technological interfaces such as apps and less reliance on e-mails and phone calls, as well as greater thought-leadership focus on socially responsible investing. If you work for a tech firm - even a small start-up - work on developing financial services-orientated apps that meet Millennials' needs. The industry giants will notice your product's appeal and the rewards can be great. Just think of Morningstar's recently announced purchase of the Total Rebalance Expert (tRx) platform from FNA. FNA CEO Sheryl Rowling, developed tRx when she couldn't find a rebalancing platform that meet the needs of her own practice. In other words, she saw a gap in the industry and filled it.
SPECIAL REPORT

The Cosbys, the Clintons, and The Donald. .

Camille Cosby was scheduled to appear yesterday in a deposition relating to a lawsuit against her husband, Bill Cosby. But a federal judge agreed late Tuesday to an emergency request filed on Monday by lawyers representing the Cosbys to delay the deposition, pending an appeal on whether she should testify at all. Whether she ultimately is deposed or not, the Crosby saga is far from over and has profound implications for Election 2016 and the Clintons.

Seven women who allege Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them brought this particular lawsuit. A few hours before New Year's Eve, Federal Judge David H. Hennessey had denied Camille Cosby's motion to quash the deposition based on spousal privilege and that her testimony would be an "undue burden." He noted she might have relevant knowledge, especially as Cosby's business manager. Cosby's leading-from-behind lawyers should have had her abrogate that post long ago.

Cosby himself has said, "People would rather deal with me than with Camille. She's rough to deal with when it comes to my business." Sounds like something Bill Clinton might say about Hillary.

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Just a day before Hennessey's ruling, Bill Cosby had appeared for arraignment in Cheltenhem, Pennsylvania, where the Montgomery County district attorney charged him with three counts of sexual assault that allegedly occurred twelve years earlier. Perhaps because he is losing his sight (in one eye), or possibly to appear frail and thereby gain sympathy for any future sentencing hearing, the 78-year-old Cosby appeared able to walk only with the assistance of a lawyer on each side. Or maybe he just needs the purple pill.

More than a year ago, Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, and Linda Traitz had filed a civil suit against Cosby, contending that he sexually abused and assaulted them, then defamed them by calling each a liar. Six weeks ago, four more women -- Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, and Angela Leslie -- joined this lawsuit. In other words, women outside the statute of limitations for a criminal case are seeking civil recourse -- the rationale here is that Cosby defamed the women by calling them liars.

Previously Cosby's lawyers claimed the women's lawsuit was unconstitutional because it violated his First Amendment rights. This argument alone proves that despite his reported $400 million net worth, Cosby seems unable to find competent lawyers. Indeed, a decade ago Cosby's attorneys let their client incriminate himself (boasting of his use of Quaaludes so a woman would not resist) in a deposition related to Andrea Constand's civil suit, rather than settle that case; then Cosby's lawyers settled it anyway. Cosby's defense seems to be he only gave Benadryl to Constand (perhaps for an allergic reaction to his unwanted sexual advances?).

Looking at how Bill Clinton settled the Paula Jones case, perhaps Cosby's lawyers assumed only a single civil suit. Cosby's admissions in that decade-old deposition, made public nearly six months ago, emboldened Cosby's past accusers and also inspired more women to come forward. Once released, the deposition transcript provided "new information" for a just-elected prosecutor to file the criminal charges against the man once celebrated as "America's favorite dad."

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Cosby's legal dream team, presuming that the best defense is a good offense, countersued against the seven women, charging the women's allegations were "malicious, opportunistic, false, and defamatory." But a defamation lawsuit makes Cosby open to a wide ranging discovery proceeding, thus complicating Cosby's defense against future civil suits for sexual assault, lawsuits that require a lower standard of proof against him than a criminal case. Meanwhile, as in any defamation case, Cosby and his life, his character and credibility now are wide open, thus compromising his defense in any criminal case. Cosby's lawyers are effectively prolonging Cosby's agony, with unintended political implications I'll discuss shortly.

In a different civil suit, the relentless Gloria Allred, the Inspector Javert of lawyers pursuing sexual assaults, interrogated Cosby just three months ago. That sealed deposition of Bill Cosby will eventually become public. As for the scheduled deposition for Wednesday, January 6, the stakes would be high for Camille. Typically, lawyers have greater latitude in a deposition than in court, because information may lead to "other information," whether or not the testimony is ultimately admissible in court.

"The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work," gushed Camille Cosby last month. "He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew." I can't help but think of that helpless romantic, Hillary "Stand By Her Man" Clinton. We also know (bring out the violins) that Hillary has sacrificed for many years for Bill, even taking a vow of poverty (if not celibacy, then abstinence) and also leaving the White House "broke." We now know that the "charitable" Clinton Foundation not only raised money from despotic Arab regimes that punish rape victims rather than rapists, but it used that money to supplement a high lifestyle for women's advocates Hillary and Bill.

Hillary and Camille each concede an unfaithful husband, but -- the line goes -- don't all marriages have problems? And their marriage has endured! To avoid discussion of their husband's predatory sex, both strong women pretend they are weak in their marriage, that the husband was merely a cheater, and they were dupes or victims, remain "committed" and loyal.

Camille Hanks Cosby, 71, is related to Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln. At 19, she went on a blind date with Bill (presumably she was not drugged); she dropped out of college amidst a quick engagement and marriage (on January 25, it will be 52 years).

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Just as Hillary was the woman behind Bill Clinton, Camille supposedly was the inspiration for the Clair Huxtable character on The Bill Cosby Show. She had five children, then went back to graduate from college and earn a master's and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, not all that far from where she was scheduled to give a deposition today. Camille is a producer and an author. During these several decades, the Cosbys have given away tens of millions, to good causes, as well as to the usual suspects like Jesse Jackson. Although some institutional beneficiaries have repudiated Bill Cosby, the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center at Spelman College remains a testament to their philanthropy.

As a boy, I watched and admired Bill Cosby in Sheldon Leonard's precedent-shattering (first black in a starring role) I Spy television series. Like many conservatives, I was drawn to Cosby in recent years because of his talk of family values, and his criticism of absentee fathers in the African-American community. In contrast, Black Leaders Matter activists have said Bill Cosby would now have more African-American support if he had supported the group last year. Still, as Cosby goes down, look for charges of selective prosecution and a demand from the most unlikely quarters that Bill Clinton is held to the same revisionist standard.

All this brings us to yet another Camille.

Camille Paglia is the "anti-feminist feminist" author of Sexual Personae. She has faulted the "feminist establishment" for its double standard in condoning Bill Clinton's predatory sexual behavior. She has criticized Gloria Steinem, the octogenarian feminist major doma, for referring to Monica Lewinsky as "this wailing ghoul." Paglia is hardly a conservative. She has voted for Ralph Nader, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and even Bill Clinton, who she now says is "a serial abuser of working-class women." Barely five months ago in an exclusive interview in the liberal Salon website, the politically incorrect Paglia elaborated on the Clinton-Cosby nexus:

...There is a big parallel between Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton -- aside from their initials! Clinton and Cosby are emotionally infantile -- they're engaged in a war with female power. It has something to do with their early sense of being smothered by female power -- and this pathetic, abusive and criminal behavior is the result of the sense of inadequacy.

The psychobabble aside, or maybe because of it, this Camille gets it, when she says women "have no idea why any men would find it arousing to have sex with a young woman who's passed out at a fraternity house." More to the point, the Cosby modus operandi and the Clinton m.o. have been featured in numerous episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. In other words, the culture is sensitized. It's all part of the "no means no" mantra or "the woman was impaired and in no condition to say 'yes," or "sexual assault of an employee in a hostile work environment." Often, SVU even features a wife who enables her husband's sexual assaults and tries to destroy the accuser. Bythe end of the show, the wife is arrested for being an accessory (or worse, if the wife acts violently). Like Camille Cosby or Hillary Clinton, the wife in SVU belatedly acknowledges "cheating" but never sexual assault or rape. The wife always puts her own self-interest (power and perks of the status marriage) above the victims. Paglia calls Hillary "a fraud... a liar... who took an antagonistic and demeaning position toward her husband's accusers."

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There is a generation gap, to be sure. A man Bill Cosby's age told me, "We all did this in college. Cosby just never grew out of it." Many women age 50-plus liberal Democrats will stay with Hillary, though ironically they came of age in the sexually abusive Mad Men era. Joy Behar on her show talked about how women (and Behar) might back a rapist over someone who "opposes the Violence Against Women Act" (as if violence against women i-- or men -- is not already a crime in every state). For at least a third of the electorate, the accusations against Clinton are not a rehash. Ironically, younger women this year could rebel against Hillary, because the truth will finally emerge that Hillary was both enabler and accessory. Hillary not only put out "bimbo eruptions"; she was part of the cover-up, digging up dirt to threaten and intimidate Bill's accusers. Dick Morris now says he quit working for the Clintons because Hillary hired detectives to gather material to blackmail victims into silence.

SVU episodes play up the "signature" of serial rapists. More than fifty women have confirmed how Cosby drugged them into submission. And Clinton allegedly repeatedly used his political position, as governor and even as president, to exploit vulnerable women. Clinton's signature also may include biting their lip.

Donald Trump is shrewd. He attacks Hillary to focus attention on the general election, as if he is the nominee. Moreover, he has seduced the media into covering the story initially as marital infidelity. For good measure, he said his own infidelity is "fair game." Liberal pundits on the Sunday talk shows boast about Bill Clinton's popularity and say Bill's extramarital affairs still have no political traction. CNN's legal analyst-turned unlikely political pundit Jeffrey Toobin says voters don't care about "personal indiscretions." But Trump already is escalating the rhetoric, and ultimately he will attack Hillary as a power-hungry hypocrite intent on destroying victims of her predatory husband. In other words, the issue will be Hillary, not Bill. Democrat Kirsten Powers, who worked in the Clinton administration, concedes times have changed, and Hillary will face renewed scrutiny for her machinations.

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The Cosby melodrama could keep the Clinton issue alive for Trump. Cosby's criminal preliminary hearing is January 14, and the case, with publicized delays, will go to trial or be plea-bargained unfavorably for Cosby. There may be at least one additional criminal case, in California. And there will be more civil suits from victims years ago, from decades ago. Cosby has deep pockets, and these women want justice. Clinton has deep pockets, and his women want closure. If the past is fair game for Cosby, why not for Clinton? A chivalrous Donald Trump will even the odds for these marginalized women previously threatened and intimidated by Hillary. Donald Trump can raise the ante in this campaign. Can you see Trump paying for lawyers for Clinton's victims to sue him?

Liberal Michael Tomasky, who authored a book on Hillary's Senate race, notes that Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick are not about consensual sex. This certifiably "progressive" journalist reminds us that Hillary opened the door in Iowa in September when she said "every survivor of sexual assault... [has]... the right to be heard... believed." Last month Hillary made things worse when she accused The Donald of "sexism"; this week she put Bill on the campaign trail. Thus she gave Trump a dual opening he craved ("they attacked me, I hit back, and he's campaigning for her"). The author of The Art of the Deal will depict the Clinton marriage as a cynical arrangement, involving a quid pro quo: she literally covered his back with women, that's why he's there for her now.

Just two days ago in Nashua, New Hampshire, Bill Clinton in his opening campaign appearance for Hillary choked up about "How I fell in love with Hillary."

Will the law school romance story work again? What author (and former Trump confidante) Roger Stone has called The Clintons War on Women was once consigned to right-wing websites. Even CNN's liberal political commentator Errol Lewis, who a week ago downplayed the Cosby-Clinton nexus, said on Monday that Donald Trump's "very large megaphone behind or in front of some of those women [to] let them say what they have to say, including Hillary Clinton's role," could affect the campaign. In other words, Donald Trump, whether he becomes the Republican nominee or not, uniquely can insure that mainstream media cover the sordid conduct of this power couple.

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Trump will go where other Republican candidate fear. He understands Hillary's marginal women supporters need a rationale to switch. Today's younger women voters -- even up to age 40 -- were anywhere from infants to teenagers during Bill Clinton's era (1992-2000). They will judge Hillary and Bill by SVU standards. The women who are middle aged or older will hoist Hillary's political strategists by their own proverbial petard. In other words, they will say they thought the matter was marital infidelity (just as they accepted that impeachment was about Monica Lewinsky, and not lying under oath). Now, they will say, they understand Clinton is like Cosby, forcing unwanted sexual advances on vulnerable young women. And they will see Hillary Clinton not simply as the betrayed wife, not merely as the enabling wife, but as the plotting, unethical wife -- a hypocritical womens rights advocate who tried to intimidate and silence and threaten women who were victims of her husband.
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- On Jan. 6, the North Korean government announced to the world that it had conducted a successful test of a hydrogen bomb. There are significant doubts as to whether the device detonated was actually a thermonuclear bomb. For that, the energy yield should have been by orders of magnitude greater. According to preliminary assessments, this most likely was an "ordinary" atomic explosion, possibly enhanced with tritium or deuterium. However, this gives little comfort. Hydrogen or not, North Korea's latest test is another step in its steady advance towards a full-fledged nuclear capability. Coupled with the North's ballistic missile program, which is also making incremental progress, this means that at some point in the future Pyongyang's regime will be capable of delivering long-range nuclear strikes against the countries it counts among its adversaries. Of course, the United States is at the top of North Korea's potential hit list.

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Immediate international response to the test was predictable. The major powers issued public denouncements, while the United Nations Security Council convened for an emergency meeting. But, beyond rhetorical condemnations and probably some symbolic sanctions, we are unlikely to see any substantial actions that could help resolve the North Korean nuclear problem. The range of available tools to deal with the DPRK is extremely limited. When faced with serious offenses committed by "pariah states" like North Korea, Washington tends to reflexively fall back on two options: military force and economic sanctions. However, neither of them is going to work in this case.

North Korea has for a long time been the most heavily sanctioned state in the world.

Using military force to take out the DPRK's nuclear facilities is off the table as this may provoke a furious retaliation by Pyongyang and precipitate a large-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, one of the most militarized places on Earth. Even apart from a dozen or so nuclear devices that Pyongyang allegedly possesses, the DPRK boasts one-million strong conventional forces. South Korea's capital Seoul can be incinerated by the North Korean artillery heavily concentrated just across the so-called "Demilitarized Zone" separating the two rivaling Korean states. Add to that North Korea's ballistic missiles that can reach as far as Japan and possibly even the U.S. territory of Guam.

The United States and its northeast Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, have placed all kinds of penalties on the recalcitrant regime, but they failed to noticeably change Pyongyang's pugnacious behavior. Albeit virtually completely cut off from the international financial system, North Korea has more or less adapted to the sanctions regime and has even managed to eke out some economic growth over the recent years.

The China Syndrome

The resilience of the DPRK stems, to a large extent, from its economic links with China. Commerce with the Middle Kingdom accounts for as much as 90 percent of North Korea's total foreign trade. China has so far largely refrained from introducing economic sanctions against its neighbor, even though Beijing is visibly unhappy with the North's nuclear and missile shenanigans. China's caution in using its economic leverage to punish North Korea is mainly due to the concern that harsh sanctions could trigger the collapse of the DPRK, in which case the North will most likely be absorbed by the Republic of Korea, a U.S. ally. Choosing between the two evils -- a nuclear-armed and belligerent North Korea versus the entire Korean Peninsula coming under the strategic umbrella of the United States -- Beijing prefers the former. In other words, China will continue to tolerate the North Korean regime as long as Beijing sees Washington as the chief strategic opponent and source of threat. One should also keep in mind that, since 1961, China has maintained an alliance treaty with North Korea and shows no intention of renouncing it.

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This undated file picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows a firing drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea. AFP/Getty Images.

Russia is another major player whose collaboration is important in reining in North Korea. I am writing these lines from Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, which is just 180 miles from North Korea's nuclear weapons test site. Those who live here have little sympathy for the North Korean ruling dynasty. They can often see firsthand what life is like for many ordinary North Koreans. Just days before the nuclear blast, on Jan. 1, a North Korean construction worker in Vladivostok reportedly killed himself by self-immolation. According to the suicide note the man reportedly left, his family back in North Korea was starving while he could not provide enough money for them even toiling hard as a guest worker in Russia. It is well-known that the North Korean government takes at least 50 percent of what guest workers like this man earn in foreign countries, with the appropriated money being spent on supporting the comfortable lifestyles of the North Korean elite and, yes, developing nukes and missiles. Even by the not-so-demanding Russian human rights standards North Korea is quite repugnant. Yet Russia will hardly take any strong measures against the DPRK. Just like Beijing, Moscow is exasperated about Pyongyang's nuclear tests, but at the same time it does not want to see the North being annexed by the pro-American South. Moreover, Russia and North Korea currently share intense anti-Americanism, which makes them allies of sorts. And the DPRK was one of the few governments that openly supported Moscow on the Ukraine issue.

NKorea Is to China and Russia as Saudi Is to the U.S.

As an aside, Russia's and China's stances on North Korea are not so much different from how the United States treats Saudi Arabia -- a brutal regime sponsoring the ideology of violent jihadism, but one with which Washington needs to maintain friendship for realpolitik reasons.

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With China and Russia unwilling to crank up pressure on North Korea, the United States and its allies have only one option left: engaging Pyongyang diplomatically in search of a mutually acceptable settlement. This means abandoning the policy of "strategic patience" toward the DPRK that the Obama administration has pursued since 2009. The policy centers on the insistence that Pyongyang commit to denuclearization as a precondition for direct talks. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that North Korea will never agree to completely give up its nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang sees the nukes as the ultimate guarantee of its security and will not exchange them for any amount of agreements and assurances from Washington. And the North Korean leaders have learned the sad lesson of Libya's Gaddafi, who abandoned a nuclear program in an agreement with the West only to meet his horrible end at the hands of Western-supported rebels soon afterwards.

North Korean leaders have learned the sad lesson of Libya's Gaddafi, who abandoned a nuclear program only to meet his horrible end at the hands of Western-supported rebels soon afterwards.

Rather than expecting Pyongyang to fully denuclearize, the realistic compromise should revolve around freezing further development of nukes and ballistic missiles, as well as North Korea's commitment not to proliferate them, in exchange for lifting sanctions and normalizing relations. Yes, this means recognizing the DPRK as a de facto nuclear power, but at least we will not have new tests that sooner or later will provide North Korean generals with a real H-bomb atop an intercontinental missile.

To reach a deal with North Korea, political will and diplomatic creativity are needed. And, of course, sustained personal involvement by the U.S. president will be essential -- the way Barack Obama acted when the Iran agreement was being negotiated. However, with the White House having its hands full dealing with the ongoing Middle East crisis, there are slim chances that North Korea will be accorded the top priority.

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The younger brother of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Yahdih Ould Slahi poses with a copy of Mohamedou's prison memoir 'Guantanamo Diary' open to show pages that were redacted by the US government in London on January 20, 2015. The family and supporters of 'one of the most abused prisoners in Guantanamo' on January 20 launched a new celebrity-backed campaign demanding his release, coinciding with the publication of his prison diary. Mohamedou Ould Slahi was detained in his home country of Mauritania following the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, on suspicion of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to bomb Los Angeles in 1999, and was taken to Guantanamo in 2002. US district court judge James Robertson ordered that Slahi be released in 2010 due to lack of evidence that he was directly involved in al-Qaeda terror plots, but he remains in detention after the Department of Justice appealed the decision. Human rights activist Larry Siems, the book's editor, Slahi's lawyer Nancy Hollander and brother Yahdih described the battle to release the memoirs and his current legal limbo during a press conference in London. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Co-authored by Leila Sayed-Taha

Imagine you receive a knock on the door one day as you return home from work. It's the police requesting you visit the local police station to answer some routine questions. You take your own car and leave your house for the station to find the course of your life forever altered. Suddenly you're being held in a secret security prison without any contact with the outside world, not even those you hold dear, let alone legal counsel. Soon enough you are flown off from one country to another on a world tour of torture, indefinite detention, and interrogation. Eventually you land at your final destination: a military prison. It's a torture complex that violates all forms of international law and basic human rights. For years you are held in detention and solitary confinement. You're tortured and sexually abused. You're told that you have been designated a dangerous terrorist, Enemy #1, and if you do not cooperate your entire existence will be erased, your family raped, tortured, and killed.

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You learn your predicament is due to the commands of the most powerful world governments and intelligence agencies, yet you never learn of the charges against you. Eventually you are able to record your story in a diary for the entire world to read. After years of a government crusade to silence your story, the world is finally granted the opportunity to be exposed to the darkest reaches of power and state tyranny.

All the architects and perpetrators of your abuse and torture return triumphantly to their lives: one becomes a renowned law professor; another a federal judge; the other awarded a distinguished medal of honor; another granted a job with the Department of Aviation. Yet you remain detained for over a decade waiting for a breakthrough, for the truth to matter. Such a setting is not a dystopian Hollywood film plot, nor a contemporary attempt to emulate Kafka, but rather the account of the life and experiences of Guantanamo prisoner #760 Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

The book describes the ordeal of the Mauritanian national, first imprisoned in his home country in fall 2001, renditioned to an intelligence detention facility in Jordan for six months, then to Bagram in Afghanistan, finally reaching the Guantanamo military base in the summer of 2002, where he remains today.

The supposed basis of his imprisonment and interrogation has been described by the ACLU as "guilty by long ago association." In 1990 Slahi went to Afghanistan with the intention of fighting the Soviet-supported government.

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This was at a time when the United States' military was actively supporting the Mujahideen of Afghanistan. By 1992 Slahi severed his ties with Al-Qaeda, and has never returned to Afghanistan. According to Slahi, this is where his relationship with Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda ended. The United States, however, despite never having filed anything resembling charges against Slahi, initially maintained he was an architect of the foiled Millennium terror plot, as well as a top recruiter for Al-Qaeda with links to Osama Bin Laden. Five years into his ordeal in Guantanamo, Slahi began to record his experiences producing a 466 page handwritten transcript in English, a language he acquired while imprisoned there. After an extended government-led legal assault attempting to prohibit the publication of the manuscript, Guantanamo Diary was finally published in January 2015.

The persistent crusade the United States government launched against the publication of Guantanamo Diary itself merits discussion. The basis of the attempted prohibition is the policy that any communication expressed by a Guantanamo detainee, whether orally or written, is presumptively classified, regardless of the sensitivity of the nature of the communication.

The litigation battle to get the diary published was initiated by the legal team pursuing Slahi's habeas case and lasted over six years. The details of that part of the habeas litigation remain under seal. Initially the transcript was only accessible to Slahi's legal team, stored in an office near Washington D.C. and classified as Secret.

Those beyond the legal team who were allowed access possessed security clearances. In order for them to be published, Slahi's legal team was required to send the manuscript to a government team who assessed the sensitivity of the manuscript, with every page requiring analysis as to whether it should be declassified. Seven years later, the end result is 2,500 bars of redaction within the 466-page manuscript.

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These black bars of redaction at one point censor seven consecutive pages, serving "as fingerprints of [the] longstanding censorship regime" as Larry Siems, the editor of the book, states

Some of the redactions transcend any form of logic, such as the absurd censoring of the name of the 1950's ex-Egyptian president Gamal Abdul-Nasser, in addition to the systematic redaction of any female pronoun referring to Slahi's interrogators. Perhaps the latter alludes to the government's wish to keep secret the active participation of female military officers in the sexual assault of detained men at the military camp.

In a particularly emotional entry, Slahi relates an experience in which a Puerto Rican prisoner escort attempts to provide solace, telling him that he would indeed return to his family:

"No worry, you gonna back to your family" he said.

When he said that I couldn't help breaking in [redacted].

Lately I'd become so vulnerable. What was wrong with me? Just one soothing

word in this ocean of agony was enough to make me cry.

Disturbingly, we witness the censoring of the word "tears" by the clearance team, perhaps in a cynical--and vain--attempt to dehumanize an especially humanizing moment in the story. Despite the rampant appearance of black boxes across the book, Siems, who has never been allowed communication privileges with Slahi, took on the daunting task of rendering educated guesses on the words and phrases that the redactions were meant to conceal. Siems successfully utilized publicly accessible records such as Slahi's 2005 administrative review board hearing testimony transcript, Slahi's 2008 habeas corpus brief, as well as government and media reports in order to contextualize much of the redacted material for the reader.

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Even though such censorship is a clear attempt to cover up the deplorable injustices committed by the U.S. government and their proxies against Slahi and prisoners of the "War on Terror," it fails to disguise some of the darkest points of the book that clearly depict the subversive nature of the empire. Such descriptions include the interrogation, brutal torture, and rendition of Slahi. He depicts his interrogators as well as the interrogation techniques used on him in the different secret facilities he had been to with emotional and sensory precision. Such varied settings in the diary serve as an international comparative analysis on torture and interrogation tactics, with Slahi tactfully assessing each.

Slahi's torture and particularly that which he experienced at Guantanamo has been a frequently cited subject, and brought to much attention by previous reports and books on Guantanamo such as Jess Bravin's The Terror Courts or the Senate Armed Service Committee's report on the status of detainees in U.S. custody. As cited in Guantanamo Diary and thoroughly documented in the Senate Committee Report, Donald Rumsfeld personally authorized a "special interrogation plan" to extract information from Slahi. The tactics included sensory and sleep deprivation, sexual abuse, denial of adequate and edible food, threats of harm to his family members, as well as beatings, and were based upon the John Yoo "Counter Resistance Techniques" memos of 2003.

The documentation of such abusive practices is conveyed in a nuanced manner in Guantanamo Diary. Slahi is not the detached voice or passive victim cited in a government report or a media expose on enhanced interrogation techniques, but rather the active storyteller, embodying a voice of the voiceless still languishing in Guantanamo and black sites around the world.

One of the most disturbing descriptions in the book is that of a late night boat ride in which Slahi is blindfolded, beaten, and threatened with murder while a bag is put on his head and his jacket is filled with ice. The leader of what the interrogators describe as Slahi's "Birthday Party" is labeled by the author, throughout his narrative, as "Mr. X." Recalling one of his final interrogation sessions with Mr. X, Slahi states:

[The] special team realized that I was not going to cooperate with them as

they wished, and so the next level of torture was approved.

[Redacted] and another guy with a German shepherd pried open the door

of the interrogation room where [redacted] and I were sitting. It was in [redacted]

Building.

[Redacted] and his colleague kept hitting me, mostly on my ribs and face,

and made me drink salt water for about three hours before giving me over to

an Arabic team with an Egyptian and a Jordanian interrogator. Those interrogators

continued to beat me while covering me in ice cubes, one, to torture

me, and two, to make the new, fresh bruises disappear.

Then after about three hours Mr. X and his friends took me back and threw

me in my present cell.

"I told you not to fuck with me, Motherfucker!" was the last thing I heard

from [redacted].

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In light of the degrading and inhumane experiences Slahi endured, one of the most remarkable elements of the story is his resilience, as well as his capability to rationalize and empathize, even with those who categorized him as the enemy. As Siems states in the introduction,

[He] recognizes the larger context of fear and confusion in which all these characters interact, and the much more local institutional and social forces that shape those interaction . . . he tries to understand people , regardless of stations or uniforms or conditions . . . . In doing so he transforms even the most dehumanizing situations into a series of individual, and at times harrowingly intimate human exchanges.

Slahi's grappling with the darkest forms and complexities of the human condition is an approach that manifests elements of a literary classic. That Slahi fails to lose sense of his humanity in the face of subhuman conditions forcing him to the edges of his sanity is truly one of the most significant components of the narrative. On speculating why an individual would choose to become involved in the commission of war crimes, doing a job which "surely is going to haunt him for the rest of his life," Slahi states:

Maybe he had few choices, because many people in the Army come from poor families, and that's why the army sometimes gives them the dirtiest job. I mean theoretically [redacted] could have refused to commit crimes of war, and he might even get away with it. Later on I discussed with some of the guards why they executed the order to stop me from praying, since it's an unlawful order.

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"I could have refused, but my boss would have given me a shitty job or transferred me to a bad place. I know I can go to hell for what I have done to you" one of them told me. History repeats itself: during World War II, German soldiers were not executed when they argued that they received orders."

Despite Slahi's persistence in evoking truth throughout his ordeal, and his resilience and dedication to being set free and reunited with his family in his homeland, three months after the publication of Guantanamo Diary, Slahi was once again internally relocated within the camp and had all his possessions of the past thirteen years, except his Quran, taken from him. Currently 105* detainees remain at Guantanamo. The Obama administration claims that it is attempting to transfer some of them out, while others cleared for release by several federal agencies are allegedly to be set free in the coming months. However, such efforts are likely to be thwarted by Congressional action seeking to ban future transfers of imprisoned men outside Guantanamo. Mohamedou Ould Slahi continues to wait for his freedom.

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post stated that there were 122 detainees remaining in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. After the release of two prisoners this week, there are 105 detainees remaining.

The post also misidentified Mr. X as Richard Zuley. They are two different people.

Leila Sayed-Taha is a graduate from DePaul University with a LLM in International Human Rights Law. For the past eight years, she has been involved in issues pertaining to immigration, civil liberties, women empowerment and education. She has with worked with communities in the Middle East, the United Kingdom, and Chicago, where she is currently based. Azadeh Shahshahani is Legal & Advocacy Director with Project South and a past president of the National Lawyers Guild. She has worked for a number of years in North Carolina and Georgia to protect the human rights of immigrants and Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities. She received her JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She also has a Master's in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan.

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By Marcelle Hutchins

Shellee Mendes is living proof that hard work does pay.

The Boston based hairstylist went from living in a public housing development in the Roslindale section of Boston, to being the only female African-American owner of a hair salon on Newbury Street, an upscale part of the city similar to 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Mendes, also a mother, has to balance taking care of herself, her family, and her business--Salon Monet. Inspired by her earlier life struggles, she spends every Monday approaching people presenting this request with the flash of her radiant smile: "Hi, I'm Shellee from Salon Monet and today is Makeover Monday. I am choosing you for a fab makeover, would you be willing to let me highlight your beauty today?"

Mendes hasn't forgotten where she came from. Almost 21 years ago, she was living in an apartment that was provided to her by a shelter that houses homeless or financially struggling women. She worked two jobs while taking care of her children and going to school to get her stylist's license. As the owner of a full service hair salon, Mendes uses her passion to make someone's day a bit better.

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I volunteered for a makeover to experience the service for myself. I also spoke to Mendes about how she got started and what inspired her begin the kind gesture.

Beyond Classically Beautiful: Who is Shellee Mendes?

Shellee Mendes: I own a full service hair salon, and we also do eyelashes and makeovers. I've gotten several awards including best hair extensions, best salon for ethnic hair and a few more other awards throughout the year. I've been doing this for about 18 years and I actually love what I do to this day.

BCB: What motivated you to open Salon Monet?

SM: I used to work in the corporate world and I loved my job at John Hancock. It paid the bills, I had great benefits. It was great when my kids were small. But at the same time I always had a passion to do hair and that's what I would do on the side.

I decided to get serious with it and I went to school, [and got] certified. I started working in the salons on Newbury. I jumped right in, came straight to Newbury Street. It wasn't even like work.

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Me getting ready to be transformed

BCB: Talk about Makeover Mondays. How did that begin?

SM: A lot of times Sundays and Mondays most salons are closed. However, my salon is open on that day and I found myself doing a lot of color corrections and extensions on Sundays and Mondays. So I decided to do Makeover Mondays because that's what we were doing a lot of.

Sometimes we're a little too busy, but for the most part we transform people in the biggest way and I love doing that. We'll change their hair, get them hair. We'll change their entire appearance, bring them into our eye boutique, throw a little makeup on and transform them.

BCB: And the entire service is free? What are people's reactions?



SM: Yes, it's free. Most of the time they'll look me up and down and say "hmm...do I want to trust this girl with my hair and appearance." Most of them will look at me and say no or they don't have time and ask if they can book it at a different time. I say no because it has to happen right then and there. What I do is bring them upstairs and have them sign a consent form and I'll do a consultation with them first.



BCB: Can you go over my makeover and how much it would cost?

SM: What we're doing with your hair is a wash, style, and deep condition. I'm actually cleaning up your ends as well. I'm giving you a treatment on top for your own hair and that's usually $200 for everything. The eyelashes that we're going to do on you is usually around $200 to $300 depending on the type of lashes you do. So we're giving you almost a $500 package today.



Before and after my Makeover Monday experience

BCB: You've been a business woman for the last 14 years. Where do you see yourself in the next 14 years?

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SM: The next 14 years I plan on expanding, and I'm looking at different locations in Boston. I will always be on Newbury Street, but I am looking to open another one somewhere in Boston.

Visit BeyondClassicallyBeautiful.com to read more content that celebrates the diverse beauty of black women.
"I think it's dangerous,'' Hillary Clinton said in October. "[Donald Trump's] demagoguery is no longer amusing.''

Demagogues like Trump are nothing new in American politics. We've had plenty of them -- Huey Long, Joe McCarthy, George Wallace. But they've never gotten very far. Certainly not far enough to win a major party's presidential nomination. Trump may break that rule this year for a simple reason: the safeguards against demagoguery are not as strong as they used to be.

Other Republican contenders seem fearful of taking Trump on. They know if they attack him, he will hit them back twice as hard. But it's not just fear. It's also envy.

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His rivals hope to steal Trump's supporters. They are convinced the Trump surge will not last once actual voting begins next month. Other Republicans are unlikely to attract Trump's followers if they attack him and denounce his wacky ideas, like building a 2,000-mile-long wall on the Mexican border and having the Mexican government pay for it.

The Republican Party establishment is horrified by Trump's rise. They know his nomination would be a disaster for the GOP. Big money Republicans like the Club for Growth are funding anti-Trump ad campaigns.

A veteran Republican operative, now an adviser to Jeb Bush, warned, "If we're not careful and we nominate Trump, we're looking at a race like Barry Goldwater in 1964 or George McGovern in 1972, [our party] getting beat up across the board because of our nominee.'' A former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "We'd be hard pressed to elect a Republican dogcatcher north of the Mason-Dixon line or west of the Mississippi.''

Trump is more dangerous than previous demagogues because the power-brokers in the party can't stop him. They have no power to broker. As Trump put it, "The establishment doesn't want me because I don't need the establishment.''

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He's right.

Party leaders used to control nominations. They were crass and cynical, but they were also professionals. Their business was to nominate winners. Their livelihood depended on it. They liked heroic figures who were above politics like Dwight Eisenhower. Sure winners.

Party professionals haven't changed. The Republican Party chairman of Ohio told Politico, "It's time for people who have never won squat to listen to the people who have been doing it for decades,'' adding, "I'm just looking out for how we win in November.''

What's changed is that the parties have turned over control of nominations to ordinary voters. Voters want to win, too, but their livelihoods don't depend on it. They are driven by enthusiasms -- for a cause or a candidate. Their politics is passion-driven, not interest-driven.

Don't Trump's supporters realize that nominating Trump would be a disaster for the party? No, they don't. Candidates like Trump believe in the "hidden majority'' theory -- that if you offer voters something radically different, you can turn out huge numbers of new voters.

Barry Goldwater tested that theory in 1964. He offered voters "A Choice, Not an Echo.'' Goldwater did bring out a hidden majority -- to vote against him.

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You can't say it's impossible for Trump to get elected. But voters would have to be truly desperate. It would take an extraordinary crisis, like another 9/11 or another financial crash, to put Trump over.

If Trump wins more primary voters and delegates than any other Republican candidate, it will be impossible for party insiders to nominate a candidate who did worse than Trump. Trump will scream that the establishment is hijacking the convention and defying the will of the people.

The latest fantasy of GOP leaders is a brokered convention where no candidate goes in with a majority of the delegates and party leaders recruit House Speaker Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's 2012 running mate, to be the party's standard-bearer. That's pretty desperate. Look how hard it was for GOP leaders to convince Ryan to run for Speaker.

You want to know what happens when a party insiders nominate a candidate in defiance of primary voters? That's what Democrats did in 1968, when party bosses nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey did not compete in a single primary. The 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago was not a pretty sight.

Right now, there are two theories about how Trump will fare. One holds that if he doesn't have a strong ground organization, his supporters won't show up at the polls. A lot of them rarely participate in Republican primaries and caucuses. The voting will be dominated, as usual, by regular Republicans. Donald Trump is not a regular Republican.

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The other theory holds that Trump excites so much passion and intensity -- and anger -- that his people will flood the primaries and caucuses. That, too, is a plausible scenario. The latest NBC News poll finds that 51 percent of Trump supporters say they will "absolutely'' vote for him, compared with 36 percent of Ted Cruz supporters and 26 percent of Marco Rubio supporters.
Clarifying which gun sellers are "engaged in the business" of dealing firearms, and therefore must obtain federal licenses and conduct background checks on would-be gun purchasers. Just as services like eBay and Craigslist allow Americans to offer a broad range of goods for sale online, numerous Internet services facilitate the sale of large numbers of firearms by unlicensed dealers, frequently without conducting any background checks. The failure of these high-volume sellers to obtain licenses and conduct background checks creates a ready source of firearms for dangerous criminals and other prohibited persons, and fuels the illegal gun trafficking that arms criminals and undermines efforts to reduce gun violence. The Administration should act to close this dangerous loophole.

Directing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to identify which prohibited persons are most likely to commit crimes after failing a background check when attempting to buy a gun; to prosecute these individuals for illegally attempting to obtain firearms; and to inform state law enforcement whenever a prohibited person in their state fails a background check. It is common sense that law enforcement has a strong interest in knowing when anyone the law deems too dangerous to buy a gun attempts to do so. The Administration should act to ensure prompt and appropriate follow-up by law enforcement when prohibited persons attempt to buy guns.

Issuing guidance to ensure that the federal statute prohibiting gun possession by persons convicted of "misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence" is interpreted broadly to prohibit gun possession by convicted abusers, regardless of their marital status. In 2009, and again just last year, the Supreme Court made clear that Congress intended the federal domestic violence misdemeanor statute to be applied broadly to protect victims of abuse from gun violence. To effectuate this Congressional directive, the Administration should clarify that the term "similarly situated to a spouse" in the domestic violence misdemeanor law should be interpreted consistent with the Violence Against Women Act.


Photo courtesy of SunEdison

Late last year my colleagues and I visited a remote village in rural Rajasthan, India. We were greeted by village leaders offering fresh flower garland necklaces while a joyous collection of enthusiastic, young boys beat drums and tins of all sizes in the background. Following a few moments of warm "Namastes," we were escorted up the path to a terrace adjacent to the village's central building where we participated in a town hall meeting. To discuss what? Bringing electricity for the first time to this community of 400 families.

Solar is the solution. Solar panels are the fastest-to-deploy, most cost-effective and cleanest electricity option available to bring electricity to villages like this one and provide essential, basic services, including clean water, pumps, light, refrigeration, and connectivity. To many of us in developed countries, the simple concept of light is taken for granted. Flip a switch, right? In many parts of the developing world there are no "switches" - to get light, you must burn diesel or kerosene, both of which produce harmful emissions. In fact, kerosene lamps lead to 1.5 million deaths per year - more than five times the annual malaria deaths. Simply replacing those kerosene lamps with solar-powered lamps would save more lives than eliminating malaria.

Photo courtesy of SunEdison

My company, SunEdison Frontier Power, is in the business of building solar-powered mini-grids in villages like this one. We design, construct and operate rural utilities that offer communities light, water pumping, phone charging, refrigeration, connectivity and other modern amenities. Children can study at night. Water can be purified. Medicines and food can be kept cold. Businesses can expand their operating hours. While this has terrific community benefits, both in terms of human health and the economy, it isn't charity. The villagers and local businesses - in this case a flour mill and several shops - pay us for the power they consume. And at the town hall meeting in Rajasthan that day, there was overwhelming support for doing just that: the town agreed that the solar-powered mini-grid should be built. We will be starting construction early next year.

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Access to non-polluting electricity in the developing world is mission-critical for enabling health and preventing disease, as well as in facilitating commerce. Over 1.3 billion people are completely without power; another billion have electricity for just a few hours a day. The economic upshot is clear: a recent International Monetary Fund report names "severe" electricity shortages as a significant contributor to Sub-Saharan Africa's reduced economic growth. The sooner the developing world gains greater access to cost-effective clean energy, the quicker these issues will be alleviated. And it all starts with solar power.



Photo courtesy of SunEdison

In many remote areas, solar power is now more cost effective than diesel or kerosene. With solar now cheaper than kerosene, we can eradicate kerosene lamp deaths and remove the health impacts of burning fuel inside and around homes. By offering cost-effective electricity we can deliver other essential services and catalyze the growth of local economies - without waiting for power plants and transmission lines to be built. It takes only a few months to power a village with a solar mini-grid, whereas extending the electrical grid frequently takes several years.

Just as remote areas leapfrogged wire phone lines for mobile phones, solar can leapfrog the old way of providing electricity by skipping the capital-intensive, centralized power plants and long-distance transmission infrastructure. Solar has been used for decades, often paired with batteries, for a range of remote applications, from telephone stations on mountain tops to villagers requiring water pumping. Today a local solar mini-grid can help provide reliable internet services as well, supporting businesses, clinics, schools and families.

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Photo courtesy of SunEdison
Employment is dead, long live Entrepreneurialism.

The days of regularised employment are numbered. We are standing on the brink of a revolution brought force by technological advancement. We no longer have to work long hours for bureaucratically obtuse multi-nationals instead we have a choice; we are in the age of agility and entrepreneurialism and we control our own destiny in relation to our careers.

The new normal in this world is entrepreneurialism and exploitation of a globally connected world. Every day sees the proliferation of new freelancers and contractors looking to embrace the opportunities offered to the entrepreneurial generation. Whether you're employed by an established company or within a newly minted enterprise it would be prudent to pay attention to the recent developments and impending opportunities affording you alternative additional streams of revenue.

The Entrepreneurial Generation Is Alive

In the United States alone there are 23.3m millennials embracing the Entrepreneurial mindset and actively pursuing alternative routes of employment and earnings. This propensity towards modern careers is revolutionising a whole generations mindset regarding what constitutes work.

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The tremendous advances in mobile technology has enforced this revolution. Mobile platforms have established the most innovative workplace in history ensured by the fact it is one that never closes. The internet and eCommerce has altered the course of employment history and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of how it will contribute to future earnings.

The internet has awoken the world to the fact they can survive financially without reliance on traditional modes of employment or linear careers within one company. They are embracing entrepreneurialism, trusting themselves and benefitting from perks they could only have dreamed of working at the archaic dinosaurs their parents are employed by.

The emergence of robots and artificial intelligence as a viable replacement of human labour will only increase this shift and quicken its adoption. I can foresee a future where you have no alternative but to entrepreneurially employ the skills you have acquired in a freelance role. To stay ahead we must attain and procure skills that cannot be replicated by machines otherwise the financial elite will have even more power than they already posses.

The Post Industrial Economy

The post industrial economy is the antithesis of the industrial revolution. It is undefinable due to its eclecticness, diversity and variance. It is unrestrained by repetition and revels in its ability to juxtapose historical precedent. It has destroyed production lines, massacred mimicry and enabled uniqueness on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution enabled the manufacture of standardised components. We are in a post-standardised world which needn't conform to expectations or limits.

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The New World Order

Why should the only wage your online contributions pay be a boost of self esteem? The world is changing and tech companies need to recognise this or face death like their predecessors. What do myspace, bebo and yahoo all have in common? They all succumbed to their competitors who offered a superior level of customer service and satisfaction.

The next stage in Social media development will be remuneration which will see the redistribution of profit in real pounds and dollars to its network of users. It will no longer be enough to simply trade in good feeling with likes or virtual love hearts. Social networks depend on active regular users affording the mining of data resulting in advertising opportunities and the sale of the information you create.

Why shouldn't users receive reward for their participation, curation and contributions? It would be ludicrous for users to continue down such a one sided path for no reward. To do so, at the detriment of your own privacy and online safety, for the profit of CEO's who's companies ultimately negatively impact the lives of the public would be outrageously shortsighted and careless.

Sceptical? The revolution has already begun.

Whilst a majority of the worlds population has liked, contributed content, commented or shared information via their social media profiles for free, a small number of companies at the forefront of this revolution are already changing the face of this technology forever. They have altered the equation and shifted the balance in favour of the user.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a global online marketplace where tasks and services are offered to it's community for completion beginning at a cost of $5 per job performed. The site is primarily used by freelancers who offer their services to customers worldwide.

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Doesn't sound like much? The initial $5 can quickly spiral and grow to become big business once you have a customer through the door. For example, you are paid $5 for the first 125 words you write for a blog. If the blog post is 1,000 words long... you get the idea.

Streetbees

Streetbees is an online platform enabling consumer brands to tap into a global army of smartphone users, known as 'Bees'. Essentially it allows any smartphone owner anywhere in the world to earn money for completing tasks offered on the app. It is currently paying each user 5 for taking a picture of the drinks aisle in their local supermarket.

Furthermore if you refer a friend to the service it will pay you 5 each time they complete a campaign. You can see how your earnings can quickly add up.

TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is the smart way to get things done by connecting you with others in your neighbourhood. TaskRabbit prides itself on the ability to find the best person in the world to help you with your task.

Basically it is a list of errands people don't want to do and TaskRabbit finds someone and pays you to undertake the work.

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Uber

The most famous of all entrepreneurial companies. It offers anyone, anywhere in the world the opportunity to earn money by working as a personal driver. Got a smart phone and a car? Than you to can easily earn money as an Uber driver.

Ready to Become Part of This New Exciting World?

Why haven't you already begun? You could be the best person in the world for any of the available jobs or tasks for any of the above companies and be earning real cash right now. Download the apps and see how easily, and how much, you could earn.
Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks to reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, near Burns, Ore. With the takeover entering its fourth day Wednesday, authorities had not removed the group of roughly 20 people from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon's high desert country. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Federal land is currently being occupied by protestors. Or, according to some, by domestic terrorists. But pigeonholing these guys with either label isn't quite as easy as it might first seem. There's some history here that needs pondering before anyone decides exactly what to call the group and, more importantly, what to do about them. Because it is a little more complicated than it first might seem, at least for those who care about the concepts of fairness and consistency.

First, there is indeed "terrorism" at the heart of this issue, but from an unexpected angle. The legal case (or cause celebre) that spurred the protestors' actions hinged on the definition of terrorism, long before any external group even got involved. An informative article from Salon points out the particulars of how the legal concept of terrorism is involved in the case of Lincoln Hammond Jr. and his son Steven Hammond:

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The charges against the Hammonds originally accused them of committing arson four different times, including three different fires in 2006, as well as tampering with a witness; an earlier indictment described arson dating back to 1982, though that charge was dropped. When a jury found them guilty on these two arson charges but continued to deliberate on the others, the Hammonds made a deal to plead guilty to those two, but serve the sentences at the same time. The local judge originally sentenced the father to three months, and the son to a year and a day, even though the charge carried a five year mandatory minimum sentence. The government appealed to get the mandatory minimum, and won at the Ninth Circuit. The Hammonds then appealed to the Supreme Court, but the conservative court -- which has been generally unsympathetic to the kind of Eighth Amendment claims the Hammonds made -- did not take their case.

Why such a steep prison term? Because it was arson committed upon federal property. The article explains:

As noted, the mandatory minimums were instituted as part of a bill, the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, passed in response to a 1993 al Qaeda-related terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the 1995 McVeigh anti-government militia attack. Arson on federal property got named a terrorist crime along with a bunch of other crimes that now affect alleged Islamic terrorists more than anyone else.

This is where things start to get muddled for those prone to knee-jerk assessments or condemnations. Because the arson part of this law has been most notably used not against "alleged Islamic terrorists," but against "eco-terrorists" in the late 1990s. This was the era, if you'll recall, of the "Earth Liberation Front," the "Animal Liberation Front," and the concept of "monkeywrenching." The E.L.F. and A.L.F. were radical individual groups in a decentralized organization (or a classic underground "cell" structure). Some of these individual cells drew the line between permissible actions to achieve their political goals and impermissible actions that involved destruction of property and other provocative acts. But for other cells, this line didn't exist, or was drawn in a far different place. A string of arson attacks (and other destruction of property) were attributed to A.L.F. or E.L.F. cells. These included burning both federal property (a ranger station) and private property (a ski resort, a lumberyard, a car dealership), in the name of a political cause.

The F.B.I. treated these as terrorist acts (at one point even identifying them as America's "top domestic terrorist threat") and in 2004 launched Operation Backfire in response. Over a dozen people were indicted. Those that were convicted received long prison sentences (five years or more), sometimes due to being essentially tried as terrorists rather than arsonists. At the time, some on the left decried the long prison sentences as being harsh and unjustified.

Now, burning down a ranger station is obviously more provocative than burning acres of federal wildlife refuge land, or even occupying a ranger station. But the Hammonds faced mandatory minimum sentences because their arson was also treated as terrorism, by the letter of the same law. Should it have been? Should the E.L.F./A.L.F. defendants have been similarly charged? Both debatable subjects, to be sure. But that debate should definitely include how the terrorism laws changed in the 1990s, and how they have been used since.

This brings us to another point of reflection, one that gets glossed over by those either urging immediate action against the occupiers in Oregon or those claiming unfairness in the leniency of how law enforcement is currently treating them. Here's one example, again from Salon:

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When peaceful, unarmed protesters tried to make a statement in 2011 with the Occupy movement, their encampments were brutally dismantled by law enforcement. Police didn't hesitate to use tear gas, rubber bullets and batons to clear them out. Nor was there any hesitation to call in the National Guard on Black Lives Matter protesters in Baltimore. So far, the Malheur occupiers are meeting no such resistance.

But this is a bit of rhetorical excess, no matter how much you agree with the sentiments expressed. Occupy Wall Street was indeed "brutally dismantled," but stating that police "didn't hesitate" is just flat-out inaccurate. Occupy Wall Street began on September 17th, 2011. The police cleared it out on November 15th -- almost two full months later. There was obviously quite a bit of hesitation on the part of the authorities, and the occupation was allowed to exist for a fairly long time before the harsh measures were used.

Those who now advocate what seem like commonsense courses of action for the government to take in Oregon might want to consider how they felt about Occupy Wall Street and all its emulators across America. Should the police have formed an impenetrable cordon around the occupied park, and cut off all food and other supplies to the protestors? That is what some are advocating now in Oregon. Should they adopt a "let people freely leave, but nobody else goes in" policy? Again, consider what that would have meant in Zuccotti Park and how you would have felt about it.

The New York City park in question was actually private property, and not federal (or even governmental) land. Occupying it was supposed to be a peaceful protest, but the group never coalesced around any sort of list of concrete demands -- even the word "demands" was rejected by them. "We're here and we won't leave until real changes are made" is kind of a vague thing to protest, when you can't even define what real changes you want made. This is something else to consider when reacting to the Oregon occupiers, who also seem quite vague on what exactly it would take for them to be satisfied enough to end their occupation. They want the return of federal land, it seems, but pinning down exactly what that would mean is a bit hazier, at least as of now. If they're really dedicated to stay until the federal government hands over all its lands in the West, they're going to be there for a very long time, to put it bluntly.

The two cases, obviously, have major differences. Occupy Wall Street happened in a dense urban environment. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge might be called "the back of beyond," or "the middle of nowhere." The Wall Street occupiers were not armed and did not brandish weapons or make (or even imply) threats to shoot law enforcement officers. The Oregon folks are armed, and have made insinuations as to how hard they'll fight to continue their occupation, against any official who tries to evict them. But, so far, there has been no actual violence. In fact, so far there has been no real response whatsoever from the government. It's hard to aim a weapon at the jack-booted government thugs (so to speak) when they don't even bother to show up.

One other case might be more applicable to the discussion, although it happened less recently. In November of 1969, after several temporary forays, a group calling themselves Indians Of All Tribes occupied Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. This is one of the most interesting occupations of federal land for political purposes, because the occupiers had a legal rationale to back up their claim. According to them, the 1968 Treaty of Fort Laramie stated that all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Native Americans from which it had been originally obtained. Since the Alcatraz prison had closed in 1963 and the land had been declared surplus property in 1964, the Indians claimed the land was fair game. The original occupation only lasted four hours (in March of 1964) and the occupiers generously offered the federal government the same amount for the land that had initially been offered when the government bought it -- 47 cents per acre, a total of $9.40 for the whole island.

The later 1969 occupation, however, lasted for an incredible 18 months. At its height, 400 people were living on the island, supplied by donations brought in by boat. The federal government had announced its intention to make Alcatraz a national park, but the occupiers had a far different idea -- a cultural center to educate the public on the history of Native Americans.

This was occupation in its purest form of political protest. The group wanted the land returned to them as the federal government had promised, so long ago. They felt they had a real and justifiable legal claim to the land. They engaged in peaceful protest to bring about change. Eventually they were forcibly removed from the island, but only after a year and a half of successfully occupying it. However, a few years later, other Native American activists occupied a town (Wounded Knee, South Dakota) for over two months, where gunfire was exchanged with law enforcement.

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There are no absolute parallels between what is going on in Oregon and any other confrontations between law enforcement and protestors. Each case is unique. Of course it's a valid point that the racial and ethnic makeup of the protestors is a big factor in the government (so far) basically ignoring the guys in Oregon. Do you think the cops would react differently if the group were made up of African-Americans brandishing weapons on federal property? Or Native Americans? The hardest question to ask in this vein might be: What do you think the public would loudly be demanding right now if it were a group of armed Muslims?

Obviously, the issue would be a lot different as well if the protest were happening inside a populated area -- say, taking over a federal courthouse in a random city, or even (worst case) taking over the United States Capitol. My guess is that even white ranchers would face a lot more blowback if they had attempted occupying such high-profile targets, rather than a mere wildlife refuge.

But those who are quick to label the group domestic terrorists should remain consistent. Were the Occupy Wall Street folks also terrorists? How about the E.L.F. or the occupiers of Alcatraz or Wounded Knee? Does occupation of property define the term, or is it threats of (or acts of) violence? Should this include the original Oregon farmers, for their arson? Where should the line be drawn?

Right now, due to the legislative reaction from the first attack on the World Trade Center, the definition of domestic terrorism is quite broad and stiff mandatory minimum sentences are required for offenders. Should this, however, be reasonably be applied in the sentencing of the ranchers for burning 100-plus acres of federal land? In other words, is that the same thing as firebombing a federal courthouse? Where should the legal line be drawn? When does political protest devolve into terrorism? How should the crime of vandalizing a nuclear missile silo by symbolically pouring blood on it be handled (see: Plowshares Movement)? Terrorism, or legitimate First Amendment protest?

It's a lot easier to fall back on ideological knee-jerk responses to such incidents as it is to have a real debate about the definition of what is acceptable political protest and what should be called terrorism (or even "a prosecutable offense," for that matter). Consistency demands that the tactics used be examined and judged separately from the political motivations of those using them, but it's a lot harder to do so in real life. This is especially true for those advocating how the government should now react to the situation in Oregon. Because advocating for any one plan of action -- whether to ignore them and hope the protest will collapse of its own weight; to cut them off and not allow anyone (or any supplies) in; or to go in guns blazing and reclaim the land -- should mean that that's what you advocate in any similar protest whose objectives you might actually agree with. To put it another way, if it's fair game for a righty protest, then by equal treatment under the law it should also be a valid law enforcement tactic to use against a similar lefty protest.

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Chris Weigant blogs at:
Justin Goromaru's phone is stolen. But no worries -- he has insurance. Oh wait, no he doesn't. Is he out of luck?

Question: I recently upgraded my phone with AT&T. When I did, they they offered me insurance through a company called Asurion.

I told the representative that I had two insurance claims on my number, but he assured me that since I am signing a new contract, I'm definitely eligible and will be covered.

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My phone was stolen and I filed a claim. Asurion asked me to fax over my affidavit. Then they denied the claim, saying I don't have insurance and I'm not eligible due to having two claims on my number.

I was lied to and misguided into signing this contract. Every manager told me different stories and offered me different things, none of which consisted of them taking any responsibility for their employees' lack of knowledge of policies. But since the AT&T employee failed to put a notation on my account quoting our interaction in store, I am the party at fault, according to AT&T.

I have spent the last three days researching and calling different options I can take. I feel like AT&T has made me their jester. I want a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge +, and free service for no less than two months, as compensation. Can you help? -- Justin Goromaru, Harrisburg, Pa.

Answer: If an AT&T representative promised you that you were "definitely eligible," then you should have definitely been eligible. Full stop.

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I wasn't there when you upgraded your phone, but I'm not sure an employee would, or could, offer you such assurances. And even if he did, you would need to check the contract you sign to make sure you are covered, despite having two other claims.

I have no doubt that you were led to believe you'd be covered, and that's a problem. In fact, the sample contract on the AT&T site is clear that you can't make more than two claims within a 12-month period. That's something you would have seen -- and had to sign -- before upgrading.

I sympathize with you because you were led to believe you were covered -- which could be construed as an oral contract. Besides, shouldn't you be able to trust the word of an employee?

On the other hand, as the Russian proverb goes, you have to trust but verify. In journalism, we also have a saying: "If your mother says she loves you, check it out."

You should have done your due diligence.

There's always the court of appeals. I list AT&T's executive contacts on my website, and a brief, polite email to them might persuade them to honor the word of their employee.

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I contacted both AT&T and Asurion on your behalf. Asurion did not respond, but an AT&T representative did.

"A store representative advised Justin that if he upgraded his device, he would be able to add insurance to his line, but that was because Justin didn't tell the rep nor did the rep know that Justin had already processed two claims," the representative said. "Asurion's policy is for the wireless number associated with the account."

I'm sorry, but your phone isn't covered after all.
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump may say a lot inaccurate things on the campaign trail, but calling North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a "maniac" is not one of them. This was confirmed yet again late on Tuesday night, January 6, when North Korea claims to have conducted its fourth nuclear test in nine years. The underground explosion was registered as a magnitude 5.1 seismic event by the U.S. Geological Survey in an area roughly near the site of previous tests that were carried out over the years.

North Korea's propaganda-induced state television was jubilant and cheerful, reporting in its own colorful way that the mighty Kim Jong-un pulled another rabbit out of his hat: "Make the world ... look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb!"

A North Korean nuclear test is one of those issues that tends to get the attention of presidential candidates on the campaign trail. And the answer was uniformly and rightly negative. Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders don't agree on a lot of things, but condemning North Korea's reckless behavior has brought all of these candidates together for a short period of time.

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"I strongly condemn North Korea's apparent nuclear test," Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said in a written statement. "If verified, this is a provocative and dangerous act, and North Korea must have no doubt that we will take whatever steps are necessary to defend ourselves and our treaty allies, South Korea and Japan." With the exception of practically blaming President Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton for North Korea's latest nuclear test, Marco Rubio had a similar tone in his own statement: "I have been warning throughout this campaign that North Korea is run by a lunatic who has been expanding his nuclear arsenal..."

The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting on the North Korea less than 24 hours after the test occurred in what can only be described as the same, never-ending story of attack, counterattack: North Korea does something bad, like violate a series of Security Council resolutions, and the U.N. responds by holding another meeting and considering yet more economic sanctions on the North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear program. The international community in the meantime finds itself in the same place with North Korea as October 2006, when the reclusive country unleashed its first nuclear explosion -- a member of the Kim dynasty with a growing and increasingly capable nuclear capability, and a world desperately trying to push Pyongyang to re-engage in nuclear disarmament talks.

If the Iranian nuclear program was an international crisis that had a resolution through hard-nosed and consistent diplomacy, the North Korean nuclear program is one of those problems that seems to be immune to pressure and engagement alike. But the United States and its partners on the Security Council (particularly the Chinese) cannot simply ignore Kim Jong-un's latest "provocation" for fear that doing nothing will convince Pyongyang that it can get away with deliberately flouting international law.

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The $64,000 question is what more can be done that hasn't been done already? I see only three general options, each one with its own costs and benefits.

More Sanctions at the U.N.: The default position of the Security Council whenever North Korea starts acting like a baby is additional sanctions, either through further restrictions on banking and financial services or the inclusion of more North Korean political and military officials on the U.N.'s travel ban and asset freeze list. None of those sanctions, however, have done much to alter North Korea's behavior in the nuclear realm; North Korea is still working to improve its ballistic missile technology, continues to test weapons underground, and has expanded its nuclear options by enriching uranium.

If the purpose of the Security Council sanctions has been to compel North Korea to "abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," they clearly haven't worked. The Security Council has passed a total of 11 resolutions on North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear program since 2006, with penalties as wide-ranging as a full embargo on the export and import of weapons to North Korea and the inspection of flag vessels on the high seas that are suspected of carrying illicit cargo to and from the North. Is there any action that the Security Council can take that would substantially enhance the punitive impact on North Korea, persuading its leadership to change its behavior and return to the Six Party Talks format that has been dormant for years? Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation recommends a Chapter 7 resolution, which would allow the international community to enforce the sanctions on North Korea through military force if need be. Whether China or Russia would go that route, however, is a big "if."

Engage in Dialogue: Asking North Korean diplomats to sit down and talk about their problems, wants, and desires is never a popular scenario in Washington D.C., but it is nonetheless an option on the table for President Barack Obama, whose administration has expressed support for talking with North Korea on the nuclear file in the past. Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute writes that renewed engagement may be just what the doctor ordered.

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One could make the very legitimate argument that engagement with the United States is precisely what Kim wants. By testing a nuclear explosive device and once again putting the world on notice, North Korea is in effect using military means in order to seek parity in the event that diplomacy with Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, and Moscow transforms from an option into a reality.

The bright, blinking-yellow light of caution, however, is that North Korea is not at all interested in denuclearization -- a process whereby Pyongyang admits IAEA inspectors into the country, agrees to forgo any further nuclear weapons tests, and gradually dismantles its nuclear infrastructure in much the same manner as the Iranians. In addition to remarks from Kim himself that North Korea would never willingly disarm itself, it would be the point of insanity from the North's point of view to voluntarily give away the one weapon that guarantees that Washington or South Korea would refrain from pursue aggressive regime change. If the United States continues to resist dropping its demand of full and complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea refuses to even broach the subject of ceasing its nuclear work, diplomats running the Six Party Talks wouldn't have much to talk about.

Military Force: Believe it or not, there are some people in Washington who continue to advocate for the use of preemptive U.S. military force on North Korea's nuclear facilities in order to degrade its capability and ensure that its work is set back by several years. Before Ashton Carter was Secretary of Defense, he partnered with former Secretary of Defense William Perry in a Washington Post op-ed. In that piece, the two recommend a preemptive U.S. strike on North Korea's missile silos send a clear and unequivocal warning shot the North Korean leadership that the world will not allow North Korea to become a nuclear weapon state with the capacity to utilize intercontinental ballistic missiles. "If North Korea persists in its launch preparations, the United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong missile before it can be launched," Carter and Perry wrote at the time. "[T]he risk of continuing inaction in the face of North Korea's race to threaten this country would be greater."

The situation has changed markedly since Secretary Carter wrote those words. North Korea, for instance, had yet to test a nuclear weapon at the time that op-ed was written. The fact that the Kim dynasty has claimed to have done so on four separate occasions since then is a testament to how dangerous and risky such a preventive attack would be. Pyongyang could respond in any number of ways, from simply speeding up the reconstruction of its destroyed or degraded nuclear program to massing hundreds of thousands of troops along the DMZ line or lobbing conventional armaments towards Seoul. No one in Washington is seriously considering a military option to the latest nuclear test, and for good reason: unless the United States is willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of South Korean and American casualties, a campaign of surgical airstrikes would do more to destabilize a region that is already full of historical animosities.
The celebration of Karel Appel continues. Having conquered Amsterdam, he is now honored in Paris, with a retrospective of his works on paper at the French national museum of modern art, at the Pompidou Center.

Image courtesy Centre Pompidou, Paris.

It is appropriate to see Appel's art in Paris. With Amsterdam and New York, it was one of the three cities where Appel spent the greater part of his adult life. Even more, Paris was where Appel first got his real education, found his freedom, and became a great artist.

Image courtesy of the Ambassade Hotel, Amsterdam.

Appel was born in Holland, but like his great predecessors van Gogh and Mondrian, he rejected the conservatism and conformism of the Dutch, and found his home in the bohemian art world of Paris. Just as van Gogh and Mondrian had earlier absorbed the most advanced art of their times and used it as the point of departure for their radical innovations, so in the late 1940s Appel quickly understood the discoveries of Picasso, Klee, Dubuffet, and Miro, and created from them a novel art that allowed him to express his own view of the world.

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Image courtesy of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Appel's conception of the world differed profoundly from that of van Gogh. Vincent's art was founded on a deep-seated anxiety. In contrast, Appel's art is based on an optimism that consistently makes his work a celebration of the joy of life. Appel created an imaginary world populated by miniature people, ghostly spirits, and new hybrid species of animals. But his spirits are never threatening, and his irregular animals, which often have odd numbers of limbs, are never menacing: Appel's world is a brightly-colored place inhabited by friendly apparitions.

Image courtesy Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Like Dizzy Gillespie's jazz, which Appel loved, Appel's art is charged with energy and excitement. Just as Gillespie's jazz expressed the enormous joy he took from living, so Appel could not make his paintings other than a celebration of the joy he took from living and working.

Image courtesy Centre Pompidou, Paris.

Karel Appel was an expressionist, but his art did not share the darkness of such contemporaries as Jackson Pollock and Nicolas de Stael. Yet the power of his vision made him a leader of the Cobra movement that was founded in 1948. The current celebration of Appel's art in Paris serves as yet more recognition of his distinctive achievement, and at the same time as another reminder of the remarkable outpouring of artistic creativity that occurred after World War II in Europe as well as the United States.

Image courtesy of the Stadsarchief (City Archives), Amsterdam.
Let's cut right to the money question here: Did the A&E networks commission a lavish eight-hour production of Tolstoy's War and Peace as a public service, so the rest of us would never have to actually read it?

It could work out that way, says director Tom Harper.

Trouble is, his boss isn't so sure.

"It's all there," Harper told TV writers in Pasadena this week. "It doesn't feel like any of the major story points are missing."

Well, okay, since the original novel has more heft than a cement mixer, or at least that's how it always looked back in English class, Harper concedes a few matters here and there have been condensed.

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"There's a lot of philosophy and military strategy" in the book, he says. "Once you take them out, it comes down to the key character stories and the love triangle among these actors. That's what drives it, really, it's a love story."

With some of the other stuff, too. War and Peace will run two hours a night for four consecutive Mondays, beginning Jan. 18. It will air simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime and History.

The filming was as ambitious as the concept. It was shot in Lithuania, Latvia and Russia, giving it a rich cinematic look often associated on television with PBS and BBC period pieces.

Equally critical, says executive producer Harvey Weinstein, it was adapted by Andrew Davies, who is known for long-form television like the iconic 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice.

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Getting Harper and Davies, Weinstein said, was two-thirds of what he needed to wrestle a near-mythic story onto a television screen. The other third was lead actors Lily James as Natasha, Paul Dano as Pierre and James Norton as Andrei.

All three expressed delight in their roles, and they all swore it wasn't a burden that a condition of getting the gig was reading the book.

"I hadn't read it before," says James. "But it was really a joy. I absolutely fell in love with Natasha."

Who also became, she adds, "the most challenging role I've ever had to play."

Dano says he enjoyed the book so much he read it "several times," which qualifies him for some special chair in the literary afterlife.

Norton (above), like the others, talks about how the human dramas in War and Peace feel contemporary, despite the fact they unfold in early 19th century Russia.

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Weinstein confesses that one of the reasons he pushed the project was having spent most of his life as a closet War and Peace geek. The first time he read it he wasn't even a teenager, and while the impetus was something out of a Jean Shepherd story, the love was real.

"It was my favorite novel," he says. "I was 12 years old, and my right eye got blasted in an accident, playing cowboys and Indians.

"I couldn't go to school. My next-door neighbor, who was a librarian, started me reading, and this was a great triumph to me, getting through War and Peace and loving it at an early age. So I pursued this."

Also, he says, this was the right time.

"The great thing about television today," says Weinstein, "is that you can do great work and you have time to tell the story properly."

He even thinks the miniseries will send audiences spilling out of their media rooms to their local bookstore, or at least Amazon.





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"It will make people read the book, just the way I read it," he says. "It's not like you're not going to need the book.

"A big movie does great for the book. And I think you're going to see kids and schools and everything putting this on the curriculum. I think this will inspire a whole new generation."

And if some recalcitrant student still resists? If he or she is taking a Russian literature course and decides that A&E is the new Cliff Notes, all that's necessary?
Dear President Obama,

I respectfully ask that you take no action to further limit Americans' right to own firearms. I make this request not so much to protect my right to own guns, but because, like millions of my fellow Americans, I am afraid. I am afraid of the seemingly endless ways the government tells me what I can and can't do. I am afraid of the increasingly frequent ways that, in the name of "government" and "democracy," it feels like the religious beliefs and moral values I share with millions of Americans are being trampled on. I am afraid of living in a nation, a great nation, that is moving in directions with which I disagree, but over which I have no control.

On top of all these factors, I am afraid for my future and my kids' future. Not from climate change or terrorism, but because my wife and I are losing the financial ability to provide for the comfort and safety of our family. We work hard, but costs are rising and wages aren't keeping pace. My wife just had to take a second job, but we still can't save much anymore; for our kids' college education, or to buy a home of our own, or even for a nice vacation. Like tens of millions of our fellow Americans, it feels like, economically, the bright American Dream future we were raised to look forward to and work toward is getting further and further out of reach, and it feels like we can't do anything about that either.

I guess what all this boils down to is how scary it feels not to be in control of how our lives are going, or of our future. Not economically. Not in terms of how we'd like to live according to our values and beliefs, but society is telling us we can't. Not in terms of something as simple as owning a gun to protect ourselves, something that could give us at least a little feeling of control against these scary times. I am sure you can understand, Mr. President, as a person and as a father, how profoundly threatening it is to feel like we can't control how our own lives are going.

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I understand that this fear is hard to accept for people who are concerned about gun violence, as all responsible gun owners are. I respect that some people might even be somewhat worried that they will be a victim of such violence. But our fears run far deeper. They are a constant corrosive presence in our daily lives. Not being able to live your life the way you want to, or shape your future, is far more threatening than how worried people might be about being shot, which most people know is highly unlikely, despite occasional high profile shootings that get lots of attention in the news.

Our deep fear is why we are fighting so passionately on this issue, to assert control somehow, some way, over our lives. Restrictions on a constitutional right feed our fears, and that will make a fight that is already dividing America even worse, which no president should want.



Respectfully,

A. K. Fortisevn

Taunton, Massachusetts

Dear President Obama,



I write to encourage you to expand government controls on guns. While there are many intellectual arguments in favor of such controls, my plea is more emotional. I'm afraid. I'm afraid when I think about my kids in school. I'm afraid when I go to a store and see someone with a handgun on their waist that it seems like anybody could grab. I'm afraid when I read about the latest shooting. I'm afraid I might be shot and killed.

I am also afraid of the way the Supreme Court seems like it's taking over the law to advance a conservative agenda. (I am not a member of either political party.) It's frightening how Justice [Antonin] Scalia twisted the language of the Second Amendment, which clearly says that allowing people to own guns was so that a young nation that didn't have an army yet could put together a militia to protect itself, to give everybody the right to own guns. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..." is the reason people should be allowed to "bear arms." I tried to read his ruling in the Heller case, but confess I got lost in the tortured grammatical argument he made to get the ruling he wanted to get to. It's scary to think that the ultimate arbiters of disputes over what the law says aren't being impartial, the way judges are supposed to be, and that they're interpreting the Constitution so that America works they way they want it to. That feels like they are hijacking democracy itself.

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And I'm afraid of the leaders of the NRA, a small group of extremist libertarians who lie and tell people that the government is coming to take their guns away and scare millions of voters into threatening to kick their government representatives out of office if they support any kind of reasonable gun control, even though the vast majority of Americans -- including many gun owners and even many NRA members -- want such controls.

But mostly I'm afraid that there are so many guns around, and that they are so easy to get, that the chance of being shot is becoming increasingly real. The basic job of government is to pool society's resources and protect us from threats that we can't protect ourselves from as individuals. I don't feel protected. I feel unsafe. I feel scared, for my kids and myself and my friends and neighbors, and for America, if the values of a few can put the lives of the majority at risk.

Please do your job, Mr. President, and expand reasonable controls on guns.

Respectfully,

Nan Violenza
Today is the day, according to the old Julian calendar [introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC], when millions of Christians belonging to the old churches of the East celebrate Christmas. Millions do in the Middle East, particularly the Copts in Egypt [9 millions!], and many other millions do it in the Western world, their current countries of residence and refuge, to where they were forced in the last century or so, due mainly to persecution in the Middle East. Many are still in the Middle East, but their basic right of free worship is denied, because they are under the control of fanatic jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

While there is so much talk in the Western press about the plight of Middle East Muslim refugees, there is SO little talk about the plight of Christians. This is surprising and cannot be easily explained. If we take the US as an example, is it because the vast majority of Christians are either Protestant or Catholic, and only a fraction belong to the Eastern churches? Is it because of the fear to seem anti-Muslim, participating in the existing wave of Islamophobia, a phenomenon which is the inevitable, though unacceptable, result of jihadist terrorism? Or is it because the current Obama administration seems to be overly preoccupied with the issues created by Muslim refugees on the expense of other suffering Middle Easterners?

Whatever the explanation, it may be secondary in importance to the fact that the Middle East, the birth place of Christianity, is becoming an hostile environment to the Christian believers. Christian emigration from the Middle East is not a new reality. It started in the 1870's from then as now civil war-plagued Syria and Lebanon. This was a wave of emigration, which coincided with similar moves of millions of Europeans who chose the new world, but the fact is that almost the entire move out of the Levant was of Christians, whereas Muslims stayed on.

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The situation today is that there are 12 million Christians of Lebanese-Syrian descent out of the Middle East, mainly in South America [Brazil, Argentina, Colombia] and the US, while only four million are still in Lebanon and Syria, a country where there are two million Christians, members of more than ten different denominations [mostly Greek Orthodox], and the majority of them seem to be on the side of the Bashar Assad regime, or what is left of it. They do not necessarily admire the "great leader," but for them the choice between Sunni fanatics and Alawite-dominated tyranny is one between death and forced conversion as opposed to an unpleasant dictatorship.

In Iraq, the situation of Christians is even more dire, and there again the problems are old. It was in 1933, right after the formal granting of Iraq's independence, when the Iraqi army celebrated the event in style, by committing the horrific massacre of Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in Simele, Northern Iraq.

This was a grim reminder to old, Aramaic-speaking Christian communities of the shape of things to come to the new independent state. It was then, when Christian emigration from Iraq started, with large communities of Iraqi Christians in the US, in places like Chicago and Detroit and others.

Another massive wave of Christian emigration followed the gradual retreat of the invading American army after operation "Iraqi Freedom" in 2003. Yes, there is no way to exempt the then administration from bearing some responsibility for the systematic burning of churches and harassment of Christians. The current mayhem in Mosul, a home of ancient Christian communities, is therefore just another, though terrible, chapter in a long history of persecution.

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Then there is Israel and the Palestinian territories, particularly the sad fact that the Christian population has alarmingly dwindled for a long time, far before the wars of 1948 and 1967. This story does get its share of press coverage, particularly around Christmas, and with it the inevitable sense of "Jewish ethnic cleansing of Christians." Well, the professional anti-Israel propaganda machine will miss no chance to blame the Jews for every problem, but Arab Christians know better. An interesting development in Israel is the growing solidarity of Arab Christians with the State of Israel.

Last but not least is the case of Egypt, where 10 percent are Christians, the original population of the land prior to the Islamic conquest and mass conversion which followed. The British High Commissioner of Egypt in the late 19th Century, Lord Cromer, once famously said that there is no difference between Muslims and Christians in Egypt, just the day in which they pray. Go and tell that to the Muslim Brotherhood [MB]. In the one year of the Morsi MB administration, unspeakable horrors were committed against Christians. Current president Al-Sisi, on the other hand, met the Head of the Coptic church and extended his blessings to the Christian community. The current American administration does not like the Al-Sisi government, still toying with the notion that the MB administration was illegally removed from office. That is not a good signal to those Muslims, and there are many who want to show a different face of Islam to their Christian compatriots.
Although the first trial linked to the death of Freddie Gray resulted in a deadlocked jury and a frustrated city of Baltimore, the second officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray will face trial next week, as jury selection begins despite anticipation of a retrial of the first court procedure. Pretrial motions in the case of Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., were heard on Wednesday.

Goodson was the driver of police van that transported Gray after his arrest last April. He is charged with the most serious crime in this case, which includes second degree depraved heart murder (the equivalent of second degree murder), manslaughter, and assault.

The 45-year-old officer, whose grandfather was a member of the force, joined the Baltimore City Police Department in 1999.

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Like the case of Officer William Porter, the selection of jurors will be crucial. Judge Barry Williams has resisted motions to move the case out of Baltimore. The defense team has once again tried to prevent witnesses and potential testimony that may be damning to the defendant. Most of these motions have been rejected, but several are still pending.

The defense wants to include Gray's previous arrest records as part of the case. Goodson's attorneys have asked the judge to unseal testimony from a sergeant who interviewed Gray after an arrest in March 2015. During this interrogation Gray complains of a previous back injury.

In a surprise ruling on Wednesday, Judge Barry Williams ordered that Porter be compelled to testify against Goodson. His own case was declared a mistrial by Williams. He was offered limited immunity via "use and derivative use" and his attorneys have argued he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if he is asked to testify in Goodson's case. The attorneys have also argued the immunity would not protect him in a federal case. Porter's retrial is scheduled for June. His attorneys will immediately seek an injunction to block the judge's order.

Unlike all of the other officers charged in connection with Gray's death, Goodson invoked his right not to testify under the Police Officer's Bill of Rights. In the state of Maryland, officers have up to ten days before they have to appear before an internal police investigation panel. The other five officers in this case waived their rights during interrogation. The only materials available to the prosecution are written reports prepared in the case.

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The prosecution will spend a lot of time talking about the six van stops where police interacted with Gray. They will focus on cellphone video of two of the stops. The state wants the jury to consider why Goodson called for assistance, and why didn't he take the prisoner to see a medic. Establishing the chain of custody of the prisoner is paramount. The state needs to establish who is responsible for his wellbeing.

The defense, meanwhile, will argue Officer Goodson was nothing more than a driver. As to whether Gray should have been belted in the van they will argue it was the responsibility of the arresting officers. The defense will also try to show Gray had a proclivity for feigning injuries.

Each side learns a lot from Officer William Porter's case, which ended in a mistrial. For the prosecution, establishment of the timeline and the injuries sustained by Gray must be definitive. Establishing contradictory statements made by police will lend credence to indifference by officers who knew something was wrong, but the police did nothing to assist the prisoner.

The prosecution now knows the defense will put on experts to refute their evidence. It remains to be seen whether or not the state can either discredit their theories or show they lack actual knowledge of what happened in the back of the police van?

The state is hoping testimony from Officer Porter implicating Officer Goodson can be used in this trial. Even though there is a video deposition done by the police internal review board, it can't be used unless Porter takes the stand to be cross-examined. Can the State make a case without this evidence?

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Hiroshi Sugimo's portrait. Courtesy of the artist.

The Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948), is a photographer that resides halfway between Tokyo and New York. He received various awards: The Hasselblad Foundation International Award (2001), The Imperial Award (2009), The Purple Ribbon Medal of Honor (2010), The Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2013) and the Isamu Noguchi Award (2014).

If anything distinguishes Sugimoto's black and white photographs is its use of natural light, the shadows and the purity of forms, some close to pictoric. Standing in front of many of them, the spectator is encouraged not only to look but also to think; as in his noted marine landscapes, its immutability causes loosing the notion of time. They invite to a constant reflection about the origin and history of the world and of our culture, where concepts like space and time are explored expanding our ways of perception.

Without further ado we begin our conversation in his austere New York studio. Large windows fill with light his office presided by two photographs: Duchamp's bicycle wheel and one of his theaters.

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Elena Cue: The seascape picture I just saw in the entrance reminded me of the exhibition you presented in London (in 2012) along with Rothko's paintings from 1969, a year before his suicide, was very interesting. This photographs induce us to meditation...



Hiroshi Sugimoto: Yes, the people spent quite some time in front of my seascapes and I found some kind of similar sensitivity with the Rothko paintings. That is why I put them together. Especially the final years of Rothko - they're very monochrome and very abstract - and they echoed my special night seascapes.

Adriatic Sea, Gargano 1990. Courtesy of the artist

I remembered how your photographs gained in beauty once their protective glass was removed. They looked just like paintings.



Yes, but it has the price of photography!

Is Eastern spirituality implicit in your work?

I don't care whether it's Eastern spirituality or Western spirituality... There is a spirituality.

You don't require labels?

Well for marketing, it reaches a wider audience if I don't use 'Eastern' or 'Western' spirituality!

Your In Praise of Shadows serie is directly reminiscent of Tanizaki. What is the enigma of shadow for you?

I live in the shadow... I like shadow, that's why I became a black and white photographer. The quality of the shadow says something. And the quality of the shadow is something that I can control... the tonality of darkness to light. Black and white photography is the best medium to show this.

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Which kind of light do you prefer to use?

Natural light, of course.

What do you think of the current aesthetic of light, someone like yourself who belongs to a millenary civilization that is antithetical to Western civilization?



Well, Tanizaki complains about modern society with its artificial light. Since humans invented artificial light, our lifestyle has changed. Especially with electric power. With candlelight, there was a more human-friendly atmosphere. Then all of a sudden we have nuclear power and electricity... so then we changed to nightlife. It used to be nice and intimate, and somehow it was the poetic quality of nightlife that we all lost. There is a beneficial side to it, but not that side. We lost so much, instead of gaining some kind of benefit.

Now that we have discussed light, let's turn to emptiness and loneliness. Why, in your Theaters series, is the lighted stage empty?



They look empty but they are full of information. They have accumulated the information of many millions of small photographs that a movie consists of. Before the invention of movies was the invention of photography. To make a movie, you have to sew single-shot photographic images together to make it look like a movie. It is all an illusion to the human eye. So there are many pictures within the white. It's not empty, it's too crowded!

Hiroshi Sugimoto. El Capitan, Hollywood, 1993, gelatin silver print, courtesy l'artista

Your work constantly evokes primitive scenes. How important for you is that infancy of the world?

I feel like I'm a stone-age man. I try to go back to the original roots of our mind, of our consciousness, that maybe we lost many thousands years ago - or maybe only fifty or one hundred years ago. The human mentality was somehow different. That's what Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows is telling us. Again, this is modern society's negative side and positive side. That's what I'm trying to save, before it is completely lost.

Hiroshi Sugimoto. Wapiti 1980. Courtesy of the artist

With such beautifully dramatized light as yours (your use of chiaroscuro), to what extent would you say you are a pictorialist?

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Pictorialism was a very interesting phenomenon in the late nineteenth century, after photography was invented. Many painters changed their profession to photography. But twenty or thirty years later, there was a fight back from the painter's side. Also, it was asked whether photography could be art or not. The camera is a machine and the machine has no spirit. So photography makes machine-made paintings. Photographers developed some sort of complex against painters. So the photographer tried to imitate the painter, which is where pictorialism entered photography history. I don't have any complex, but I'm still trying to be a painter.

Was there a period when you painted?

Well yes, I painted when I was in High School.

But you decided not to continue...

It wasn't that I couldn't paint and instead decided to become a photographer; I can still paint, but photography was a new medium for me. So when I was young, I thought that photography held more possibilities for the future, to be used as a new kind of tool to create new art. Painting is one of the oldest mediums in art for the human being. People have tried many different things and there's too much competition. I wonder whether I could be better than Picasso - that's the question!

We have already touched upon the exhibition that you recently presented with Mark Rothko in London. You have said that he helped you on your path to abstraction via photography. Could you tell me about that experience?



Well, to compare myself with Rothko is a brave act! I had a sense that we might share some kind of similar mentality or spirituality. Don't think about the market price; I cannot compete with him! So that was something to almost surprise people with photography and painting's relationship. What is trying to be represented? That kind of abstract spirit can be shared with the photographic method. And in a sense, I think it was a success. One of my next projects in the near future will show Impressionist paintings together with my seascapes. Because I knew that Monet painted seascapes in Etretat, in Northern France, so I went there and I found the spot where Monet must have painted them. I took the seascape photographs from the same point. Not the landscapes, only the seascapes.

How beautiful!, so this will be your next project. Where will it exhibited?

It is not decided yet, but I am working on it now.

Any future projects in Spain?

In February I will be at Fundacion Mapfre in Barcelona. Then in June I'll be at Mapfre in Madrid, which will be a retrospective.

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So that will be a very important exhibition for you.

Yes, it will be my first retrospective in a museum in Spain. Afterwards, it will travel to Brazil in South America.

But you did visit Spain before, I recall your traditional Japanese puppet theatre: The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. What does Bunraku mean to you?

I'm moving more into the performing arts, especially the traditional Japanese performing arts. So bunraku is the one that I'm doing now. I'm trying to remake traditional theatre. Sometimes, the way they perform is not the way that it used to be. The production is from the 18th Century, so I'm always trying to get back to the original spirit. For my production, the lighting especially is not so bright. I have to use artificial light of course, but I'm trying to create an atmosphere of pre-modern traditional theatres. This sense also derives from the kind of quality found in In Praise of Shadows.

Wasn't your father also involved in theatre?

Yes, a different kind of art form - traditional storytelling at the Comedie-Francaise. Old stories with lots of jokes.

He must have had some influence on you...

My cynical mentality comes from my father!

And what did you receive from your mother?

My mother was a very good businesswoman, a very well balanced person. She was spiritual I think... religious, even. For a long time, she was a Christian. She was sent to a missionary school in her childhood.

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And did this change you at all?

I got a sense of what Western civilization is like. I was in a boys' school at Junior High and I was fascinated; I became almost hypnotized by people singing to the Christ. It made me think, 'Wow, God really exists!'

But later you changed again?

Later I moved to California and then people spoke about Buddha. So I didn't switch, but I studied Christianity and then Buddhism. They are two totally different branches of spirituality.

Then your work lost part of its Japanese spirituality?

No, even in American people I sometimes find spirituality! I decided to be spiritual, and to keep an equal stance on all religions. The more important issue is about what the origin of religion and spirituality is. Our stage of human consciousness all started with the development of the sense of time and the sense of awareness, which all comes with a religious impact. So it's all related, and it's related to my seascapes. To think about the religious mind... why is it when looking at nature or the seascapes, you feel something recall your old memories? Either a personal memory or a memory of humanity.

In your Portraits series of wax figures at Madame Tussauds, there is something reminiscent of those traditional Japanese theatre puppets. Did you choose them: because of their caricature essence, because of the type of character or because of the technique?

When I started, it was really nothing to do with the puppet theatre. I can see the relationship, though. It's more related to the history of photography. Madame Tussaud was a wax figure maker in the 18th Century, at the time of the French Revolution. So, somehow it's a kind of diagram as well, a fake mockup of nature. That is how the first stage of photography came about. That is what they were seeking: to make a copy of reality. So even before the invention of photography, the wax figure was a representative medium. People used to believe that everything being photographed was representing reality, but now we have lost this reality because of the invention of digital cameras. I just want to fool people... There is a photograph of Catherine of Aragon the Spanish Princess, and people tend to believe it! But how can I shoot her, from the 16th Century?

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To me, your pictures in the Architecture series were almost like the works by Richter. I'm curious to know what do you think about that...



Richter used photographic images to make his paintings. So he borrowed photographic images, then I borrowed the Richter images, bringing them back to photography. But they're still paintings. So it's going back and forth, in and out.

And what about Duchamp?

Well I think I inherited my cynicism from Duchamp - as well as from my father! They are the bad boys...
My how perspective changes! On May, 29th 2002, President George W. Bush and his brother, then Florida Governor Jeb Bush, proposed the federal purchase of $235 million dollars worth of oil leases in Florida: nine oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico for $115 million and $120 million dollars to buyout mineral rights in Big Cypress National Preserve. Eight years before the 2010 Deepwater horizon spill in the Gulf, Jeb Bush described the purchase of mineral rights as needed to stop "oil drilling in two of the most environmentally-sensitive areas of the state."

Today, environmentalists bemoan the failure to purchase mineral rights in Big Cypress as a terrible mistake.

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Big Cypress National Preserve was created in 1974 to "ensure the preservation, conservation, and protection of the natural scenic, floral and faunal, and recreational values of the Big Cypress Watershed." As a swamp, Big Cypress is critical to the watershed of the Everglades. Wetlands purify freshwater and absorb storm surge to prevent floods.

The ecology of Big Cypress is not, however, pristine. Oil production began in Big Cypress in the 1940s. The preserve is home to numerous threatened or endangered species (including about 30 to 35 Florida panthers) considered "indicator species" -- indicating the ecosystem, here Big Cypress, is sick.

Burnett Oil Company filed an application with the National Park Service to conduct a seismic survey of 110 square miles (70,454 acres) in the preserve. The study will evaluate the feasibility of drilling more oil wells. The National Park Service just completed an Environmental Impact Study evaluating the Burnett plan.

Burnett Oil Company owns the mineral rights on more than half the 730,000 acres that make up Big Cypress. When Big Cypress was created, the swampland was transferred to the federal government but the the mineral rights lying below the park were retained by the Collier family, who leased their right to drill for oil and gas to Burnett. Since efforts by the Bush administration to buyout the mineral rights on about 500,000 acres in Big Cypress for $120 million dollars were firmly rebuked in 2005, mineral rights in Big Cypress continue to be privately held.

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Public debate over further drilling in Big Cypress is contentious. Homeowners worry drilling may occur close to their homes. Environmental groups are concerned that the seismic study may lead to drilling that could contaminate the aquifer that most of Florida relies on for its drinking water.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association and Conservancy of Southwest Florida expressed concern that even studies exploring the possibility of increased oil drilling in Big Cypress will exacerbate ecological distress since the oil exploration will require use of large trucks and heavy machinery over a 110 square mile swath of pristine wetlands.

The controversy over increased oil drilling in Big Cypress is intensified by the fear that Burnett might use "acid fracking" (a process of pumping acid to stimulate well production).

Although state and federal government may limit the scope of oil drilling activities by permit to protect public health and the environment, the US Constitution protects mineral owners from taking without compensation. Hence, the only way to completely prevent further oil and gas development (with or without acid fracking) in Big Cypress is for the government to purchase the mineral rights.

Which takes me back to my opening statement.

In hindsight, the Collier sale of oil rights hardly looks like a "taxpayer ripoff." In hindsight, the Bush plan to purchase Florida mineral rights looks like genius.


Southbeach Florida. The site of Miami Basel 2015. Photo by EMS.



Basel 2015 kicks off its latest edition. Photo by EMS.

The 14th edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach was a perfect mix of rain, cool weather, and local flavor. This was my sophomore year in covering the annual arts mega fair in South Beach. Although the rain affected many Angelenos' hair-dos, red carpet dresses and Christian Louboutin stilettos, it was more of a typical week in Hawaii than a category 5 hurricane as social media led you to believe.



Collector Francois Odermatt. Photo by EMS.

A few nights it rained hard, drenching the evacuating party at the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), but those same nights tempered the partying on Ocean Drive where I stayed at the Congress a few nights, an answered prayer for someone who needed to sleep. Note to self: Do not stay on Ocean Drive next year if you're looking for a quiet night to sleep.



Artist Larry Bell. Photo by EMS.

Luckily for me, I was introduced to some art world locals who invited me in their studios and drove me around the city. Eager to go to all the events, local clothing designer Glen Miller introduced me to local artists Carlos Betancourt and Macuria Montolanez. Miller had the perfect mix of energy and excitement that matched mine as an eager photojournalist. Miller gave me the history of Miami's art scene, the one not portrayed in Hollywood films. He also praised the annual zeitgeist of Basel and what it brings to the community and its role of something to look forward to at the end of the year, maybe even bigger than Christmas.

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Artist Lita Albuquerque. Photo by EMS.



Collectors Mera and Don Rubbell. Photo by EMS.

This years 2015 Art Basel presented 267 leading international galleries from 32 countries. The fair attracted an attendance of 77,000 over five days, including major private collectors as well as directors, curators,, patrons of nearly 200 museum and institution groups. Collectors from over 110 countries attended the show, with first-time collectors coming from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Romania, Togo and Zimbabwe. The show was spearheaded by Noah Horowitz, Art Basel's newly appointed Director Americas.



MOCA Director Phillipe Vergne and Dallas Price-Van Breda. Photo by EMS.



Sarah Gavlak. Photo by EMS.

Los Angeles dealers on the floor were Gavlak, who celebrated 10-years in the business with their brick and mortar in Palm Beach and new space in Hollywood. Others included Susanne Vielmetter, Regen Projects, Gemini GEL, Kohn Gallery, Blum & Poe, Maccarone, David Kordansky, and Francois Ghebaly. Other dealers I saw scouting the fair were Peter Goulds of LA Louver and Jennifer Kellen of Ace Gallery. Susanne Vielmetter said, "We usually do well at this fair, but this year, we had an exceptional experience and sold out the entire booth on the first day. Collectors are informed, thoughtful and very actively interested, so this has been a truly exhilarating experience for us."



Susanne Vielmetter. Photo by EMS.



Shaun Regen. Regen Projects. Photo by EMS.

Owner Jack Shainman of Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, also said, "Not only is Art Basel in Miami Beach a wonderful fair, but it is an opportunity to connect with both new and old friends. We have had great success here. We are so pleased to show our artists this year across the fair, from our stand in the main halls, to Hank Willis Thomas in Public, to Carrie Mae Weems in Film."



Francois Ghebaly. Photo by EMS.



David Kordansky. Photo by EMS.

At one point I had a quaint conversation with David Kordansky who posed for a picture and flashed the shaka hand gesture, a hand sign notorious with surfers commonly known as "hang loose." Kordansky, far from laid back at this fair, more like a land shark, told me about his passion for surfing California beaches. Who would've thought? Art Basel lends itself to moments like this. If you play it cool, you, too, can learn things about these dealers who come to Miami to hustle hard and make the fair worth their while. Basel, unlike most of the sister fairs on the beach, never has a lull. The first two days of Basel are teaming with VIPs, collectors, and art world player's in shapes of curators, museum directors, advisers and facilitators. Then after those two days, when many have gone home, the masses come with children strollers and all.

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Gemini GEL. Photo by EMS.



LACMA Director Michael Govan. Photo by EMS.



Maggie Kayne of Kayne Griffin Corcoran. Photo by EMS.

Thaddaeus Ropac, Founder & Director, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris & Salzburg said, "It was surprising to see how Art Basel in Miami Beach, which already had in the previous years a top standard, could still increase its level by showing high quality art and attracting many new collectors from around the world. We are very happy that we could place all of the important works we brought, and were positively surprised by the connoisseurship of many visitors."



Peter Goulds of LA Louver. Photo by EMS.



Jennifer Kellen of Ace Gallery. Photo by EMS.

"We wish we had brought more work because we've sold 80 percent of the booth. We're really happy that sales have been across the board from historical to younger artists," said Andrea Rosen, President, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York. Annette Kicken, Owner, Kicken Berlin, Berlin added, "We had an excellent fair, if not one of the best Art Basel in Miami Beach shows ever. We sold a number of high quality pieces. There was sales activity every day, not only at the opening, with a good mix of new contacts and returning collectors."



Blum & Poe. Photo by EMS.



Maccarone. Photo by EMS.

Overall, Basel 2015 served its patrons well, despite the intermix of nightly thunderstorms that dampened the hearts of the those who traveled to enjoy the warm waters and sun of South Beach. But then again, I wonder aloud, does anyone really travel to Miami Basel to enjoy its beaches, warm sun, and cocktails or is there so much art to see all over town that one is consumed by Uber drives and now, Uber Yacht. Its not the sand or the sunsets, wait...there's no sunset...but there are the posh events , the smell of spray paint in Wynwood, the city lights on Collins, the partying on Ocean Drive and the hospitality of the locals that makes the one week trip worth it.



PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans. Photo by EMS.

Check out my photo set of Miami Basel 2015 and a short film I did.

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In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, joins hands and waves with visiting Chinese official Liu Yunshan, the Communist Party's fifth-ranking leader, during a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. China sees North Korea's claim to have conducted its first hydrogen bomb test on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, as yet another act of defiance, boding ill for a relationship already under strain. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

Media attention since North Korea's nuclear test yesterday has been focused on the veracity of its claims to have exploded a thermonuclear device or "hydrogen bomb." This is understandable given that a thermonuclear weapon has a destructive power many orders of magnitude greater than a purely fission-based device. However, even if Pyongyang's claims prove to be unfounded, its fourth nuclear test (the first in nearly three years) will still yield valuable data, moving it closer to a nuclear-tipped missile capability.

South Korean military sources were quick to downplay Pyongyang's "H-bomb" claims, based on seismic data that suggested a similar explosive yield to that of North Korea's previous nuclear test, in February 2013. The White House followed suit, asserting that "initial analysis was not consistent with North Korea's claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test."

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Though it seems increasingly doubtful that yesterday's underground explosion was thermonuclear in nature, it could nonetheless mark a major stage along the developmental path to Pyongyang's presumed goal of fielding a missile-delivered nuclear capability. Even if, as some have speculated, the North tested a "boosted" fission-based device, this was probably subordinate to the main objective (and technical challenge) of the nuclear test program: to miniaturize a functioning warhead to the point where it can be mounted on an existing ballistic missile design.

Yesterday's test appears to have achieved a notable degree of surprise, notwithstanding intermittent reports of activity at the test site over recent months. Western intelligence agencies will be on alert in the wake of the test for indications that North Korea is moving closer towards an operational nuclear missile capability. Signs of progress could prompt calls for the U.S. to accelerate ballistic missile defense, or even to reintroduce nuclear weapons to the peninsula.

Concerning the diplomatic implications, the key countries involved in the North Korean nuclear issue -- the U.S., South Korea, China and Japan -- were all swift to condemn the latest test, while Russia's call for a "proportionate response" appeared more equivocal.

In the aftermath of this latest "provocation," there is little reason to expect that Washington will expend political capital on re-engaging the North for the remainder of Obama's second term, especially given the sour precedent of the Feb. 29 agreement concluded towards the end of Obama's first term. The death this week of Stephen Bosworth, Obama's first-term envoy on North Korea, compounds the ill omens for U.S.-North Korean relations.

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Any rapprochement between Pyongyang and Seoul during the remainder of President Park's term in office is likely to be another diplomatic casualty of the test, which has made a mockery of Kim Jong Un's call for reconciliation across the divided peninsula, voiced in his New Year's speech barely a week ago. Some will interpret the nuclear test as a deliberate derailing of inter-Korean relations by hardline opponents in the regime. But the more basic worry has to be the poor quality of decision-making around Kim Jong Un himself and his appetite for risk-taking now that there are no obvious restraining figures outside of the military.

The test must also have put paid to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's rumored plans to visit Pyongyang. The U.N. Security Council moved quickly to label the test as "a clear threat to international peace and security," paving the way for an expansion of sanctions. But given the comprehensive measures already in place from a catalogue of past U.N. Security Council resolutions, it is not clear what else can be meaningfully enacted via the U.N. route.

Therefore, the onus will predictably fall upon China to exert pressure over its estranged ally. Significantly, China has said it was not informed in advance of the test. On one level, Beijing's swift expression of firm opposition underlines how the bilateral relationship has sunk to an all-time low since the death of Kim Jong Il.

On a realpolitik level, however, the distraction value of North Korea's nuclear test will make it harder for Washington to maintain policy focus on the South China Sea, at a time when the administration's cautious conduct of freedom of navigation operations is already under fire from critics such as John McCain. North Korea is the one regional security issue where Washington consistently courts greater Chinese assertiveness. If Beijing sees this as a timely source of leverage in Sino-U.S. relations, Pyongyang's latest nuclear escapade may not be entirely unwelcome.

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The Christianization of ancient Greece in the fourth century and after was not pretty or peaceful. It was the equivalent of centuries-lasting explosion of a nuclear bomb over the country. Practically nothing was left standing: libraries went up in flames; the Olympics abolished; schools shut down; temples smashed to the ground.

The Eastern Roman Empire funded and enforced this massive destruction and genocide. Emperor Constantine and his successors, save Emperor Julian, forced an alien one-god religion not merely on the Greeks but on millions of polytheists throughout a vast empire.

Christianity in Greece suppressed the Greeks' ancient heritage. But despite the censorship of Greek thought and theater, and preference for the new literature of Christian saints and monks, school children and students read samples of Greek texts that included Homer and other great representatives of the literary and scientific tradition of ancient Greece.

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In fact, despite the rantings and occasional anathemas of the church against the so-called idol-worshipping Greeks, the Christian Eastern Roman Empire adopted Greek as its language and slowly became Greek. The church also used Greek in its liturgy and texts. It also adopted Greek architecture.

Ironically, Christianity dressed itself with some of the greatest assets of ancient Greece.

Modern scholars call Byzantium the Eastern Roman Empire in Greece.

This causes confusion because most people don't associate Byzantium with medieval Greece. Second, bias in the West against Greece has made the words Byzantium and Byzantine to mean bad things: intrigue, corruption, illegal, and secret.

Medieval Greece lasted for more than a millennium. It was an empire that passed its culture to Russia and Eastern Europe. It protected civilization and Europe from the rising Turkish menace.

The twelfth century was the last century medieval Greece was a unified state. But even then it was in crisis. The landowning class demanded the dismantling of the border military garrisons and the adoption of mercenary armies. The emperors agreed and the border soldier-peasants lost their independence to large plantation owners. State bureaucracy served the emperor and his relatives and the aristocracy around him.

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In the capital, Constantinople (City of Constantine), there were enough educated people with money or royal connections that supported independent scholars or grammarians writing speeches and books or copying manuscripts or teaching.

One of those scholars was John Tzetzes. He was born at about 1110 in Constantinople and died around 1180 or 1185. His mother was from Georgia and his father was Greek. His family had roots with the aristocracy, but had fallen victim to hard times. His life was tumultuous, a man of letters and talent who tried to make a living as a scholar. He says he wrote 60 books. A handful of those books have reached our times.

Tzetzes loved to write. His most personal and expressive writing is in his surviving 107 letters. They are gems of eloquence. He writes like a man obsessed with knowledge, mythology and history. He wants to educate his contemporaries to the richness of Greek culture. His knowledge of ancient Greek civilization is astounding. His letters also inform us about Greek society in the twelfth century. He wrote these letters to bishops and a variety of other people.

But the influence of Tzetzes came from his popularizing of important ancient Greek texts like the poems of Homer. He did his summarizing of Greek literature without offending Christianity. He admitted he was a proud Greek.

Tzetzes used allegory to tone down the gods, in fact make them forces in the natural world or human virtues. A marvelous example of Tzetzes at work is his book, "Allegories of the Iliad" (published for the first time in Greek and English translation in 2015 by Harvard University Press).

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Tzetzes wrote his allegorized Homer in the 1140s or 1150s. He dedicated it to "the most powerful and most Homeric queen, Lady Eirene of the Germans." Queen Eirene was none other than Bertha von Sulzbach of Bavaria who came to Constantinople in 1142 to marry Manuel I Komnenos. Manuel I reigned from 1143 to 1180.

Some one from the imperial household commissioned Tzetzes to write "Allegories of the Iliad" as an introduction of Greek culture to the German princes. But queen Eirene died in 1159. Book 16 shows Tzetzes has a new patron, a former military officer by the name of Konstantinos Kotertzes.

The importance of Tzetzes' work is in the summaries of the Homeric text and the remaking of the "Iliad" as an epic that spoke to its new Christian readers. Homeric Greek was so pervasive that it was all over the Greek of the twelfth century. Tzetzes' allegories facilitated the perpetuation of Homer at the center of Greek education. He wrote "Allegories of the Iliad" in fifteen-syllable verse.

Tzetzes made mythology a literary decoration. Centaurs, for example, become men on horseback. He rehashed Homer's cosmological ideas to object to the eternity of the cosmos.

Tzetzes' most difficult challenge was the Greek gods. The "Iliad" is full of them. He puts these gods into the natural world and human virtues. Apollo becomes a natural cause: the carrier of plagues. Thetis, mother of the Greeks' greatest hero, Achilleus, is the "wet element." Athena is wisdom and "the gloomy and low-lying air." Zeus is air and destiny. Hera, wife of Zeus, is "the finer state of the ether." Aphrodite is lust and "the harmonious mixture of all bonded elements." Artemis is the Moon and Hephaistos is fire and the master craftsman.

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You can't have progressive government without leaving skin on the sidewalk. That's the essence of Professor Jedediah Purdy's jeremiad against Professor Ilya Somin's recent book, The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain. In his book, Somin analyzes and vigorously criticizes the Supreme Court's widely-reviled decision in Kelo, in which the Court held 5-4 that the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause did not prevent the New London Development Corporation, exercising the government's power of eminent domain, from bulldozing an entire working class neighborhood--including Susette Kelo's now-iconic little pink house--to make way for luxury housing, office space, and other facilities that would support a headquarters that Pfizer, Inc. had agreed to build nearby. (The plan ultimately fell through--while the neighborhood of Fort Trumbull was bulldozed, the land today lies barren.) While Purdy professes concern about eminent domain abuse and with "opaque, corporate-friendly, not entirely scrupulous government," he urges readers to reject Somin's analysis on the grounds that it is inconsistent with the true meaning of the Fifth Amendment, inconsistent with how Purdy believes judicial review should be performed, and depends upon an understanding of the Constitution that he claims would, if broadly accepted, "complete the destruction and burial of the New Deal."

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Purdy is wrong about the Fifth Amendment, wrong about judicial review, and wrong about the supposedly dire consequences of the approach advocated by Somin and other libertarians who argue that judicial engagement--fact-sensitive, conscientious judicial truth-seeking into the constitutionality of the government's means and ends--is required whenever plausible abuses of government power are alleged. Despite his best efforts to paint Somin as a radical whose ideas would bring about a dystopic state of affairs in the future, Purdy manages only to demonstrate his own willingness to create such a state of affairs for real people today.

Purdy begins by arguing that although the Framers of the Constitution were very attached to property rights, they largely left those rights to be protected "mainly through the political process"--with the notable exceptions of the Takings and Due Process of Law Clauses of the Fifth Amendment. This is a strange argument--the Fifth Amendment is dispositive evidence that the Framers did not leave property rights to be protected entirely through the political process, and the relevant question is what those protections consist in. But Purdy does not offer an interpretation of the meaning of any of the Fifth Amendment's terms, nor does he address the wealth of evidence Somin provides concerning state courts' understandings of the term "public use" at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment (which, among other things, expressly made the Bill of Rights' guarantees enforceable against the states). Instead, he relies upon two Supreme Court cases decided in latter half of the 20th century, in which the Court interpreted the Fifth Amendment's requirement of a "public use" to require only an ill-defined public purpose. In discussing these cases, Purdy makes no effort to demonstrate that the Court accurately interpreted the Takings Clause, or to engage with scholarship (including Somin's own) arguing that the Court wrongly deprived the Takings Clause's requirement of a "public use" of any meaning. In summary, Purdy's discussion of the meaning of the constitutional provision at issue in Kelo is an extended exercise in question-begging.

What, then, was the Takings Clause in fact designed to accomplish? The Framers, following John Locke and Sir William Blackstone, were indeed deeply attached to property rights. As Professor Richard Epstein has written, the Framers believed that the protection of property--understood in the broad sense of "lives, liberties, and estates" --was the primary purpose of government and sought to ensure that the government "would not pass laws that encroached upon the property rights that government was designed to protect." For Founding-era jurists, taking property from A and giving it to B for B's own benefit was a paradigmatic example of illegitimate government conduct that did not merit the name of "law." Reading the Takings Clause against this backdrop illuminates its true purpose: To ensure that the power of eminent domain is exercised only to better enable the government to protect the lives, liberties, and estates of all--not simply to distribute benefits to a favored few.

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Perhaps sensing the weakness of his Fifth Amendment argument, Purdy follows it with an argument concerning the proper role of the judiciary. Purdy advocates an approach to judicial review that tracks a famous, extraordinarily influential footnote in United States v. Carolene Products (1938). In Footnote Four, a Court that had come to accept longstanding criticism of its defense of the right to earn a living--a right that the Court has consistently affirmed, although it is not expressly listed in the text of the Constitution--stated that it would offer "regulatory legislation affecting ordinary commercial transactions" a heavy presumption of constitutionality. But the Court left open the possibility that "more searching judicial inquiry" might be called for when rights specifically enumerated in the Constitution are infringed or legislation targets "discrete and insular minorities." This approach--heightened judicial scrutiny for "fundamental" rights and legislation targeting certain minorities, heedlessly deferential "rational-basis review" for everything else--became judicial orthodoxy. Footnote Four rests upon the premise that, as Purdy puts it, "the point of judicial review... [is] to backstop the political process in cases where unpopular or powerless minorities would predictably and repeatedly lose in the hurly-burly of politics." The idea is that the legislative process is generally representative of all citizens' preferences and that it generally produces legislation that is consistent with the rights of all. There are exceptions, however--Purdy offers laws disadvantaging blacks as a paradigm case--and judges should take a "hard look" in those cases.

Footnote Four's theory of judicial review--and Purdy's--is irredeemably flawed. There is no constitutional basis for distinguishing between "fundamental" rights and other genuine constitutional rights and applying a less rigorous (often toothless) standard of review to the latter. Indeed, as Professor Randy Barnett has observed, Footnote Four defies the express command of the Ninth Amendment, which states that "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Further, as the august liberal constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman has pointed out, Footnote Four is "bad political science"--it rests upon false premises about the political process. In reality, "discrete and insular" groups can mobilize quite effectively and it is "anonymous and diffuse" groups that "find it most difficult to protect their fundamental interests." Thus, it will not do for Purdy to simply state that property owners "are not a weak, small, or disfavored group" and that they can "can look out for themselves"--clearly, the residents of Fort Trumbull could not do so, given the powerful corporate, state, and municipal forces arrayed against them.

Purdy's final argument is that, however "sympathetic" Susette Kelo may be, you cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs--or bulldozing homes. Purdy claims that Somin's criticism of Kelo "is a brief against democracy generally as the rule of special interests and the ignorant" and that Somin's "solution is that libertarian judges should do more to protect property rights"--and that, Purdy concludes, "is the last thing we need." Purdy does not, however, engage with Somin's arguments concerning the reality of the democratic process--arguments that are supported by a growing body of public-choice scholarship, including Somin's own--nor does he explain precisely what calamities would befall us if courts did prohibit the government from bulldozing homes for the benefit of powerful economic actors like Pfizer. "Sometimes economic development really does benefit from public coordination," Purdy contends. But judges must decide concrete cases, and the Kelo Court did not require the government to provide any evidence that the proposed takings were likely to actually achieve the claimed economic benefits that provided their justification--and of course those benefits never materialized (indeed, they often do not). We are left with the proposition that, in order to avert purely speculative harms inflicted by "libertarian judges" upon the "economically vulnerable," judges should rubber-stamp government conduct that imposes certain, devastating harms upon the "economically vulnerable" right now.

Purdy's essay is entitled "This Land Is Our Land." The irony is painful. As Purdy notes, the Kelo decision prompted an unprecedented backlash, with 45 states passing laws "restricting or forbidding public condemnation of land for private economic development." Ordinary Americans had been under the impression that our land-- that is, America-- was different from other countries in the respect that it accorded property rights, and that tax-hungry bureaucrats could not take their homes from them at the behest of predatory corporations. Simply put, they had understood themselves to be living under a Constitution that guaranteed that their land belonged to them. They were right--and the Court should give Kelo the bulldozer treatment, post-haste.
'Biblical scene of Adam and Eve in the Paradise (Cathedral of St. Michel.Carcassonne,France)'



Detail of The Sleeping Scholar by F. Scott Hess, with Gerald Ackerman as the scholar, 1997, oil on canvas.

The art historian Gerald M. Ackerman died in the morning hours of New Year's Day. I met Jerry back in the 1980s at a downtown LA group exhibition he attended with the late Wes Christensen. Jerry was an ardent fan and supporter of representational art but he would remind us when he felt we were getting a bit too bitter or narrow-minded that the art world was a big place, with various currents and fashions that come and go, and that there was room for many differing viewpoints.

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As an expert on 19th century French art, Gerald Ackerman is best known for his work and publications on the great academic painter Jean-Leon Gerome, whose reputation he helped to reestablish after a century of neglect. The atelier movement in the United States can also thank Jerry, along with his collaborator Graydon Parrish, for the reintroduction of the Charles Bargue lithographs into the study of classical drawing and painting. Jerry received his MFA and Ph.D (1964) from Princeton University where he wrote his thesis under Erwin Panofsky and Rensselaer Lee. He taught at Stanford University in the late 60s and moved to Pomona College in 1971 where he taught until retirement. Of course he received a slew of awards as befits an art historian of his stature.



The Drawing Group, circa 1996. L to R, Jerry Ackerman, Cecillia Miguez, Steve Moore, Lauren Richardson, John Frame, Jim Doolin, Sara Streeter, Jon Swihart, Peter Zokosky, F. Scott Hess, Stephen Douglas, Wes Christensen, Luis Serrano, Brian Apthorp.

As members of the Drawing Group that met at John Frame's Los Angeles studio, a few representational artists had the pleasure of getting to know Jerry very well. The discussions about our craft were extensive, in depth, and sometimes contentious. Jerry's breadth of knowledge and experience were invaluable as we struggled to define the theoretical framework that fit contemporary representational work. When we'd get too caught up in some crazy reaction to the fashionable art of the day, Jerry was there to put it all in perspective. He knew how everything fit into art history, because he had, quite literally, helped to write it. We realized through Jerry that art history was an invention that purposefully promoted certain artists in order to build a specific narrative, and that we were therefore free to construct our own art historical narrative, which each of us did in a personal way.

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The Great Bouguereau Debate at the J. Paul Getty Museum, with Gerald Ackerman, Scott Schaefer, Peter Zokosky, Patrice Marandel. June 6, 2006.

One of the members of the Drawing Group, Peter Zokosky, recalls Gerald Ackerman as a passionately independent art historian. "His curiosity was unbounded and he never stopped learning, He took drawing lessons in his 70s and was always interested in the work and opinions of living artists." Another longtime member of the group was Jon Swihart, who met Jerry when he was a young art student in 1980. "I had become enthralled by the work of Jean-Leon Gerome and timidly called Professor Ackerman one day out of the blue. Jerry was the first 'adult' I had ever encountered with an enthusiastic love for art and beauty. In addition, his vast knowledge of literature, history, music and philosophy left a huge impression on me. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship and over the next 35 years Jerry and I shared a great passion for all things Gerome. He was a friend and mentor and even gently stepped in as a father figure after my dad died."

Going into a museum with Jerry was like having an art encyclopedia whispering in your ear. He seemed to know intimate details on every work and artist, and delivered his knowledge with entertaining wit. His decades-long friend Tom Knechtel loved the way Jerry would wax enthusiastic about a painting, "His eyes would roll back, his mouth hang open in astonishment, his hands spread wide, and he would say: 'It's so wonderful, you can't believe it!' " Tom also recalls Jerry addressing Tom's love of Stuart Davis' paintings with skepticism. Jerry complained, "They're flat." Tom objected, "They're flat but they MOVE." Jerry wearily replied, "They're flat and they wiggle."



Jerry Ackerman with Brian Apthorp (as Pierrot) at Jerry's 80th Birthday Party, Santa Monica, 2008.

All who knew Gerald Ackerman caught glimpses of the ocean of erudition that he could never suppress. It bubbled out of him. Brian Apthorp, who also knew Jerry through the Drawing Group, felt Jerry was an inspiration in many aspects. "He exampled how enriched one's consciousness and experience of life can truly be through literature and art--voicing this far more effectively than any instructor I encountered in my entire formal education. I only wish I had plumbed more of his reflections and recommendations. He exampled a rich life, in education of himself as well as being a professional educator of others, and this is what I mean; the improvement of experience which reading great works of literature, like "reading" great works of visual art provided him, the self-expanding harvest of a life of investigation of the contemplations of those who came before us, forming a life actually more vivid and multi-faceted than the majority of our society, who might think themselves better off by not being a "mere bookworm"."

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Jerry and Leonard at their 50th Anniversary Party, 2012, Santa Monica, California.

Jerry's husband, Leonard Simon, died in 2014. They were partners for over 50 years, and experienced civil rights marches and the Stonewall riots together. The loss of Leonard, some eight years his junior, took a lot out of Jerry. Their bond was legendary, and I remember someone once asking them what the secret of such a long relationship was. Jerry replied with a twinkle in his eye, "Lots of strategically timed affairs!" To which Leonard exploded with one of his rich baritone laughs.

Tom Knechtel recalls his first meeting with Jerry when he was a student at CalArts. "Jim Woods, a good friend of Arlene Raven's, picked me up and drove me into town where we met up with Jerry and Leonard and another gay couple. CalArts, believe it or not, was not that openly gay then, not the art school at least, and it was thrilling to be around five other older gay men, all funny and self-confident and sexy. I mostly just listened to them, but later Jerry and I were walking along and started talking about Rogier van der Weyden, and I don't know what I was more starved for: the chance to be around gay men or the chance to talk art history."



Jerry and Leonard at the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006.

Tom visited Jerry and Leonard in Sacramento in 1979. Leonard Simon was directing and producing "Family and Friends," a play Jerry had written about their life together. "Jerry was on the quest to make the perfect apricot pie, and I was there to help proofread the Gerome manuscript. Every day Jerry baked two apricot pies, and we ate one for dessert and one for breakfast the next day. It was heaven."

Jerry was a very careful art historian, and spent years writing and rewriting his texts. Towards the end of his time working on his epic Jean-Leon Gerome book he encountered a bust of Gerome in a provincial museum, covered in dust. Knechtel recalls him taking out his handkerchief and dusting it while talking to Gerome about the monograph. He told Tom that it was then he decided he'd better finish the book.

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Jerry Ackerman, Tom Knechtel, and Leonard Simon attending Tom's opening at Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, California, 2007.

Jerry was always attentive and concerned with young artists of talent, and he had the eye to spot it. Tom Knechtel's experience of Jerry's kindness was by no means unique: "He wrote the first review about my work and one of the first articles; he would give me books, records, take me to performances. (He took me to my first opera.) When I was living in the Bay Area, I would come down to stay with them, and they would put me up, feed me, and of course the conversation and just being with them was glorious. I often think about how such kindness places an obligation on you to return it by being kind to young artists you meet in turn. And of course now I wonder if I ever told Jerry and Leonard enough how much I valued and appreciated their generosity to me."



Gerald Ackerman speaking at The Great Bouguereau Debate, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006.

When he finally retired from Pomona College Jerry met with his friend Graydon Parrish in Claremont: "We used to go on walks around his neighborhood. I brought up Matisse one day on such a walk, and he quickly noted, "Graydon, the one thing I love about retirement is that I no longer have to teach Matisse. His drawings could be awful!" For some reason, this liberated me. I could talk about my loves and dislikes, justified or not, without having to worry about any received art world propriety. The more I learned about Jerry, the more I understood this was a sign of the most liberated of men, open to ideas and not restrained by ideologies. He could be himself, love whom he wished, race or sex, take from the past or reinvent it, such as bringing Gerome back from historic oblivion. Calling out Matisse might have been a casual defiance, but it was also repetition of what he always had done: live his own, exuberant, generous and occasionally stubborn life while inspiring others, such as young, eager artists, to follow their hearts, minds and spirits."

Jerry decided to spend a couple of summers in Italy at the Florence Academy of Art, learning to draw from artists who had a direct teacher-to-student connection to Gerome's 19th century Beaux-Arts classes. There he lectured students on Gerome and the French Academy, and discussed how Charles Bargue's lithographic teaching aides might be once again be utilized in art instruction. This culminated in the re-issuing of those lithos, a project that took years and the help of Graydon Parrish to bring to fruition. Jerry continued drawing from life in various groups in Southern California, and he always seemed to be engaged in polishing a manuscript on one subject or another, whether Bouguereau, or Orientalism, or a monograph on a contemporary artist. I'm sure a number of these works were left unfinished at his death.

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Jerry Ackerman, Brian Apthorp, and Leonard Simon, 2008, Santa Monica, California.

Several years ago Jerry's friends honored him by throwing an epic 80th birthday party at Jon Swihart's house in Santa Monica. There was a reenactment of Gerome's painting, The Duel After the Masquerade, with Brian Apthorp as Pierrot. There were also belly dancers in an homage to Gerome's less politically correct 'Orientalist' works, and a fabulous Gerald Ackerman Action Figure was presented to Jerry. Fashioned by Peter Zokosky, it not only captured his likeness perfectly, but had all the accoutrements a 19th century French painting expert could possibly require.



Ackerman Action Figure by Peter Zokosky and Ackerman figure with Gerome.

Jon Swihart and Kim Merrill visited Jerry the Sunday after Christmas. They went through another of Jerry's many photo albums with him, a habit they'd formed on their visits. Jerry talked in his usual animated fashion for three hours, then felt tired and they helped him to his bed, tucked him in, and said goodbye to their dear friend. It was just five days later that he awoke at his usual hour of 6am, showered, and was dressing when he had a massive stroke. He collapsed on his bed and was found by his caretaker shortly thereafter. For all of us his passing leaves a void, a disbelief that we'll not hear his voice whispered over our shoulders in museums, or receive his advice on the vagaries of the artworld, or see another perspective on art history borne of his 87 years of acquired knowledge.

To lose a dear friend leaves a hole in the life of each who loved him. Losing the well of wisdom that is a great mind leaves gaps in the fabric of civilization, one of the great tragedies of human mortality. The death of Jerry Ackerman leaves a grieving little arts community and his loss seems all the more poignant in the age of cell phones, quick takes, and mindless selfies.
Not long before the holidays, my husband gave me the perfect gift -- one that I use frequently, provides an immediate emotional lift, contains long-term health benefits and didn't cost him a cent. The gift? Freedom from the "tyranny of the purse."



The idea was first born as we headed out for a walk. "What if you weren't encumbered by that thing?" he inquired, pointing to a slightly large (but rather beautiful) purse slung over my shoulder. "Why don't you try to free yourself from the tyranny of the purse?"



I was stunned at the obviously simple notion of venturing out without a purse. Slightly offended, though admittedly intrigued, I agreed to try it. I looked inside the bag's roomy and attractively-lined interior for what any sensible girl scout might deem absolutely necessary. I stuffed my cash and cards in my rear left pocket, my phone in my rear right pocket and took my chances that I wouldn't need that stray Band-Aid, half-eaten protein bar or well-worn favorite lipstick.



And just like that, we were off... and I was... U-N-E-N-C-U-M-B-E-R-E-D.



As much as I hated to admit it, I felt lighter, walked faster and even felt better.

"Some of my colleagues and I call it 'pretty purse syndrome,'" Dr. Houman Danesh, director of integrative pain management at Mount Sinai Hospital, told BuzzFeed Life. He says most women position the bag on top of their trapezius and elevator scapulae muscles [a.k.a. their shoulders], which, combined with poor posture and muscles that are already tired from leaning forward at a computer all day, leads to pain in the shoulders and neck.

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A recent survey of British women found that the average bag weighs in at 5.4lbs filled with all its' contents -- the weight equivalency of a small dog. Business Insider recently added fuel to the fire -- or rather bulk to the bag -- in a piece detailing "14 Things Every Modern Woman Should Carry in her Purse." For research purposes, I added up the 14 items and came out with approximately 1.35 pounds of additional 'just in case' stuff - items far beyond the necessity of a wallet, keys, phone or anything used on a daily basis.

What is it about women that makes us feel we must be the carriers of all that is 'just in case?' Did the image of Mary Poppins pulling out a tall lamp or large plant from her bag indelibly stain our thinking? Perhaps we paid too close attention to the Girl Scout motto: Be Prepared! Though, interestingly, the Boy Scout motto is precisely the same.
The new year is nary a few days old and already I have ended numerous affairs.

I said goodbye to Vera. I told Victoria I was no longer interested. I even parted ways with Dick, and he had been my companion for nearly a year. My wife, I should point out, was aware of my dalliances. In fact, she encouraged most of them.

For me, the breakups came with an enormous sense of relief. Not so for my partners. Their final (for now) communications with me ranged from disappointment, to anger, to near refusal. After all, it was me who initiated the relationships. Now they were crumbling faster than Ben Carson's presidential aspirations.

And, yet, it had to be done. I simply had to unsubscribe from their email lists.

I begin every year this way. One morning I brew coffee, open my Yahoo account and methodically begin removing myself from mailing lists containing my name simply because I purchased online holiday gifts. Having my email address also allowed some retailers to casually inform me, on December 24, that my purchase was "on its way" and should arrive in "3 to 5 business days." Translation? Two weeks, since nobody conducts business around holidays save doctors, police officers and those who write weekly humor columns. But I digress.

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My first breakup? Vera Bradley. Yes, my wife loved the travel bag I purchased for her on November 28, yet I have no desire to remain on the chain's mailing list so I can get first crack at the "healthy, hydrated and organized" new spring arrivals, a message I received on December 26. In between there were 30 other emails with subject lines ranging from "A merry surprise: 25 percent off" to "For the woman who has it all."

My wife doesn't have it all, but she does have a really nice bag.

Vera did not go quietly when I clicked "unsubscribe." Instead, she asked, "Is this really goodbye?" forcing me to confirm the breakup with another click. And like an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend who just can't take a hint, Ms. Bradley said, "We'll be here if you change your mind."

Victoria was next. Specifically Victoria's Secret, vendor of the silk pajamas I purchased for my wife on October 10 and author of 115 subsequent emails. On December 27, I located the teensy "unsubscribe" link, buried in fine print beneath an enormous announcement stating today was the last day I could purchase one bra and get an additional bra at 50 percent off.

Unlike Vera Bradley, Victoria did not plead with me to stay. I received a terse response stating my request was "being processed." I interpreted that to mean: "Don't call us if you're in sudden need of lace panties at rock bottom prices."

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The breakup with Dick's Sporting Goods was more traumatic, as I am an exercise enthusiast and frequent its website. Still, I finally informed Dick that I was in fact, BOWL READY when it came to college apparel and therefore didn't need to receive any more correspondence, despite his generous, recurring offer to discount select merchandise at 60 percent. Dick asked me to choose from 10 reasons why I was ending the relationship. In the "other" box I typed, "Right now, I just need some space." It sounded better than, "I'd like to start seeing other sporting goods stores."

Finally, I tackled the granddaddy of all email subscriptions ... Groupon. The e-commerce marketplace somehow assumed I lived in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., simultaneously, as I have been bombarded with emails touting deals in all three cities. In one whirlwind day, I could partake in a Brazilian wax in Lincoln Park in Chicago, feast on Indian cuisine near DuPont Circle in D.C. and share a ride to the San Francisco International Airport, all at steep discounts.

Instead, I unsubscribed. Then I watched a humorous video starring "Derrick," the Groupon employee the company suggested was responsible for the email blitzkrieg. Another employee approaches Derrick at his desk, dumps a beverage on him and then hurls the cup at Derrick's now horizontal body. Groupon said I could make Derrick feel better by re-subscribing.



Don't worry, Derrick, Vicky, Vera and Dick, I'm sure we'll meet again.
Today is my 21st birthday, a day I have been looking forward to for quite some time now. Due to an event that happened about six months ago, I will not be taking birthday shots and getting wasted tonight. Instead, I plan on having dinner and maybe a glass of wine with my closest friends and family.

I am writing this because I didn't realize the importance of drinking responsibly until I was waking up from a coma, and I don't want anyone to go through what my family and I went through. I ask that you share this with your friends, family or anyone who may benefit from reading this. If I can help just one person by sharing my experience, then I will be absolutely ecstatic.



Reno, Nevada -- July 26, 2015: A photo from the emergency room an hour after I arrived at Renown hospital. At this point I was not responding to verbal or painful stimuli and the ventilator was breathing for me. I was completely unresponsive.

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***

July 27, 2015: The first thing I remember is my mom holding my hand, telling me I was going to be okay. I felt like I was dreaming. Everything seemed foggy. I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next few hours. I was coming out of a 24-hour coma.

On the morning of July 25, 2015, I thought I was going to have a fun day with friends at the Night in the Country music festival in Yerington, Nevada. I woke up, had breakfast and started what would end up being the worst 48 hours of my life.

The first part of the day was a lot of fun. We met new people, played human foosball and had a really good time. After dinner, we went to the Joe Nichols and Jake Owen concert. At the concert, I had two beers. Many of the people I was with had been drinking throughout the day and were already feeling good. I hadn't started drinking until a little after dinner and I felt a little behind.

My problems started after the concert. I was beginning to feel a little bit of a buzz and drifted off from the people I went to the concert with. I ended up at a campsite where I found some of my other friends. I am a competitive person by nature and this group was mostly guys who (for some reason) I promised I could outdrink. Around 11:30 p.m., one of my guy friends and I were seeing who could take the longest chug from a bottle of "Black Velvet Whiskey."

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***

July 26, 2015: Everything that happened from midnight on is information I gathered from friends because I have zero memory of anything after that. Apparently after I chugged from the bottle, I chugged a solo cup full of "Black Velvet Whiskey."

Immediately after this, I told my friends I felt fine, and about five minutes later I collapsed. I wasn't breathing. My friends picked me up and started carrying me to the medical tent. From there I was intubated and taken to Renown hospital in Reno, Nevada via care flight. Meanwhile, the police showed up at my house to tell my parents to meet me at the hospital.

I was in critical condition, suffering from acute respiratory failure and acute alcohol intoxication. My blood alcohol concentration was .41 when I arrived at the hospital, five times over the legal limit. The doctors thought I was brain dead because I was completely unresponsive. My pupils were sluggishly reactive, I had no corneal reflex and I wasn't responding to verbal or painful stimuli.

I finally woke up about 24 hours after I arrived at the hospital. I had a tube down my throat and my hands were restrained so I couldn't pull it out. I was unable to talk with the tube down my throat, making it hard to tell my parents and the nurses that it was extremely uncomfortable. I had to pass a respiratory test to prove I could breathe on my own before they removed it. I failed the first respiratory test I took, and I had to wait several hours to take another test.

When I passed the second test and the tube was taken out, the doctors and nurses told me how lucky I was to be alive. They told me that they didn't think I would make it through the night. They asked me if I was trying to kill myself by drinking so much. This question hit me the hardest.

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From my hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit, my eyes were opened to the seriousness of being irresponsible with alcohol. The next day when I was discharged from the hospital, I realized that the way I looked at alcohol would be changed forever.



Reno, Nevada -- August 5, 2015: Bruises from blood tests during my hospital stay. This picture was taken several days after I was discharged from the hospital.

***

I've heard a lot of rumors about what happened to me. I heard a rumor that I overdosed on drugs (blood tests found ZERO drugs in my system). Someone even told a friend of mine that I died. I received texts from people asking me what happened without asking if I was okay.

This event taught me a lot about who is there because they actually care, and who is there because they are curious about what happened. Despite the handful of people who didn't really care, there were so many people who genuinely cared about my health and safety. I appreciate every one of these people and can't thank them enough.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks on one occasion for men, and four or more drinks on one occasion for women. Heavy drinking is defined as 15 or more drinks per week for men, and eight or more drinks per week for women.

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The CDC also says, "Very high levels of alcohol in the body can shutdown critical areas of the brain that control breathing, heart rate, and body temperature, resulting in death." About six people die from alcohol poisoning each day in the U.S. I'm not asking that everyone avoid alcohol altogether because that is unreasonable, but please try to avoid binge drinking and heavy drinking because the consequences are not worth it.

This situation could have been so much worse. Fortunately for me, I had good people around when all of this took place. I could have easily been taken advantage of when I passed out. I could've been left alone to "sleep it off." I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase, "Let them sleep it off, they'll be fine in the morning," but I'm alive today because my friends got me help.

Don't take a chance if you see a friend passed out from drinking too much. Get them help as soon as possible. I'm very lucky to have made a full recovery, but I know there are others who won't be as lucky.

So please drink responsibly and make sure your friends do too. Watch out for friends, family, even strangers, and take care of them when you suspect they might be suffering from alcohol poisoning. Know the symptoms and be safe.

This post originally appeared on HLottritz.wordpress.com.

_______________________

Need help with substance abuse or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.

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Muslims and atheists have nothing in common theologically, but they do share some unenviable commonalities. Since 1937, Gallup has been asking people if they would vote for a generally well-qualified presidential candidate nominated by their party if the nominee belonged to various minorities. The good news is that there is now less discrimination against minorities, and in the most recent poll in 2012 all nine categories received more than 50 percent. Muslims were next to last at 58 percent while atheists bottomed out at 54 percent.

All religious freedom is not created equal, as shown in a poll last month. Americans place the highest priority on religious freedom for Christians, with the lowest priority for Muslims and atheists. Only about 60 percent thought protecting religious freedom for Muslims and atheists was important. Part of this problem is that some define religious freedom as the right to break the law and discriminate against those of other faiths and none, as happened with Kentucky clerk Kim Davis who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

No law prevents a person from being a religious bigot, but we are all required to respect the rule of law. Religious freedom means nothing if it doesn't allow for people to worship differently or not at all. As an atheist I think all worship is wrong, and I have the right to refrain from worshipping any deities.

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At the moment, Muslims are more concerned about such bigotry than are atheists because in some parts of the country Muslims have been receiving threats to themselves and to their mosques. It's more difficult to spot an atheist, and atheists don't have any houses of worship to damage.

Muslims are sometimes afforded more religious freedom than atheists when religion is assumed to be necessary for a moral society. Politicians in both parties have proclaimed that we are entitled to freedom of religion, but not freedom from religion. It's not much of a freedom if you have the right to pick the god of your choice, but you must pick a god. It reminds me of a Freedom Foundation address in 1952 when President Eisenhower regrettably said, "Our government has no sense unless it is founded on a deeply felt religious faith--and I don't care what it is."

I've gotten used to ignorant and pandering politicians, and have taken comfort from our godless constitution that guarantees us the right to worship one, many, or no gods. This founding document prohibits giving preference to one religion over another, or religion over non-religion. That's why I was shocked when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia recently said we could legally favor religion over non-religion, and that the First Amendment offers no protection to atheists. Scalia is free to believe that God watches over America and favors those who worship God in an approved way, but he has no right to treat as second-class citizens those of us who favor evidence over superstition.

Given the high-profile atrocities committed by some Muslims in the name of their religion, it is understandable why a number of people are concerned about giving complete religious freedom to Muslims. Defenders say that those who commit such terrorist acts are not true Muslims or do not represent Islam. However, there are passages in the Quran that can be interpreted to justify such acts. There are also passages in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles that can be interpreted to justify terrorist acts against infidels. However, we need to distinguish between peaceful believers and those who are inspired by their holy books to commit atrocities. It becomes Islamophobia when we lump all Muslims into the same category.

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What about Atheistophobia (my made up word)? How can people justify denigrating or discriminating against atheists? We might advocate for separation of church and state in ways religious people disagree, but we do so peacefully. You might believe we are theologically incorrect, but everybody believes those of other religions are theologically incorrect. We have the free-speech right to make fun of religion, just as religious people have the free-speech right to make fun of atheists. Christians and Muslims in the past or present have sentenced people to death for blasphemy. Even a relatively enlightened country like Ireland has blasphemy laws, with fines up to $35,000 for insulting religions in a way that causes outrage among its adherents.
Although Donald Trump is currently making the G.O.P. establishment's presidential candidates look ineffectual, the rest of the establishment is continuing its long term project of overthrowing the present U.S. government. It hopes to replace that government with one that is essentially an appendage to private enterprise.

The new government will be very small, its main task being to free the business community from regulation and taxes that interfere with its money-making -- and to subsidize it with public funds whenever possible. The new government also seeks to enrich the owners and managers of that community and to establish a public infrastructure that, among other things, keeps the community safe and provides it with compliant workers.

Many of the government programs serving these workers and the rest of the citizenry will either be privatized or eliminated, including their entitlements. With the exception of the military, many of the remainder will be cut to the bone and largely financed by a flat-and-sales tax system requiring the citizenry to pay for much of the cost of government.

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While the G.O.P. overthrow project could be described as revolutionary, it resembles neither violent foreign revolutions nor the American revolution. The participants in the project do not think of themselves as revolutionaries and are not treated as such, including by the news media.

In fact, the activities of the overthrow project are perfectly legal. In addition, the project's leaders are particularly skilled at finding opportunities and loopholes in the political process, resorting to hardball politics when necessary.

At times, the G.O.P. establishment seems to be following a master plan. While it constantly obtains strategic and tactical guidance from conservative think tanks, legislative councils, intellectuals and radio pundits, some with master plans in mind, the GOP itself does not seem to have such a plan. It may, however still be pursuing Karl Rove's program for a political realignment that would keep the party in power for many years, perhaps even for decades.

Actually, the project to replace the present government with a smaller more privatized one is not new. Nearly a century ago Calvin Coolidge proposed that "the business of America is business."

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In the past, when the G.O.P. was led by a combination of moderates and conservatives, its aims were more modest, and it was willing to achieve them by negotiation and compromise. However, about a half century ago, the party began to lose or extrude its moderates. In the last quarter century or so it has become an ultra conservative and ideology driven party, which eschews compromise, and politicizes all issues so that it can achieve its aims.

The first stirrings of the overthrow project began at the same time, but it turned serious only during the Reagan administration. Some new tactics were added during the short reign of Speaker Gingrich in the mid 1990s. and the project became systematic after George W Bush jettisoned his compassionate conservatism persona and led the party's march into its ultraconservative present.

Since then, the G.O.P. establishment has emphasized a handful of activities, concentrating particularly on cutting back the domestic programs of the government whenever it could.

During every primary or election, its presidential and other candidates regularly talked about eliminating whole cabinet departments such as Education, Housing and Energy that serve a sizable Democratic constituency or regulate important G.O.P. corporate supporters. The Internal Revenue Service was also on several hit lists.

The party continued to press its government cutback schemes after Obama won the White House and did its best to prevent him and the Congressional Democrats from maintaining and much less growing the government. It filibustered most legislation, refused to approve or endlessly stalled Obama appointments, and sabotaged his Administration in other ways, including threats of government shutdowns and vetoes of debt ceiling increases.



The G.O.P. was able to perpetuate most of the Bush tax cuts that further enriched the very rich and that, like high Pentagon budgets also further reduced monies for government social programs.

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In addition, the G.O.P. continued its push for privatizing government agencies, including Social Security and Medicare while the increase in private contractors further privatized the military. It has also regularly tried deregulation schemes to reduce consumer safety and other forms of consumer protection. Periodically, its attempt to turn government into an appendage of the business community even trumps continuing entitlements favored by its own voter base.

At the same time, the G.O.P. acted to gut agency programs unpopular with its campaign funders and other high income supporters. For example, the I.R.S. had to reduce its tax audits of the richest taxpayers, and the S.E.C., its programs to inquire into the campaign donations from the oligarch community.

The party also sought to restrain or eliminate information producing agencies that could hurt its high income base or publicize public suffering, especially among poor citizens. The party targeted not only the U.S. Census but tried to put an end to the American Community Survey and even academic social research programs that collected data about the poor.

Meanwhile, the G.O.P. establishment has sought to hurt its Democratic opposition in unusually fierce ways. Its attacks on Obama and his administration have been more intense than any in recent memory, and it has continuously pursued ways of shrinking the Democratic constituency.

Most of the state governments in Republican hands have energetically gerrymandered their states to reduce the number of Democratic representatives, launched voter suppression programs to reduce the number of Democratic voters. Budget reductions for the 2020 Census will limit the agency from collecting information on minority and other Democratic voters. It is a data suppression scheme that will complement its voter suppression initiatives.

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Recently, some G.O.P. members proposed to end the popular election of U.S.Senators and Texas politicians frequently suggests seceding from the union.

A significant proportion of the voter suppression projects took place in the South and were intended in part to cut down the black and Latino votes. White racial hostility also accounts for attacks on affirmative action and other programs for greater racial equality, all of them impelled by the party's racially fueled hatred for Obama.

Both voter suppression and gerrymandering are intended to create election districts safe, and possibly even permanently safe, for their GOP representatives. Consequently, these representatives can ignore most of their constituency when necessary, and sometimes even their base. They thereby free themselves to vote the party line and to please campaign donors and the corporate lobbies that constantly demand legislation and other favors.

Since the G.O.P. establishment must also attend to the everyday chores of political parties, its project to replace the current government could not proceed without assistance from like minded others.

So far, perhaps its most important help has come from the federal courts and the judges appointed by Republican presidents over the last quarter century. Whatever their intent, many of these judges seem to be driven by the same ideology as the G.O.P. establishment. Consequently, they interpret the Constitution, its amendments and precedents with an ideological eye that sometimes turns them into de facto participants in the G.O.P.'s overthrow project.

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That project could not proceed as smoothly without recent Supreme Court decisions, the first of which named George W Bush to the presidency in 2000. The Citizens Union decision further opened the pockets of party campaign donors and turned individual oligarchs into campaign funders as well. The elimination of Section V of the 1965 Voting Rights act enabled several Southern states to immediately implement old and new voter suppression schemes.

The Supreme Court has also favored business interests, most recently, for example, through its decision in the Hobby Lobby case that enable businesses to reduce certain employee benefits on grounds of religious liberty. Changes in bankruptcy and related laws now prevent citizens from bringing class action suits against businesses that have victimized them.

The overthrow project has many other supporters. Despite the Tea party's opposition to crony capitalism and corporate welfare, it supports the establishment's program for a shrunken government, lower taxes on the rich and less regulation of the business community. So do the evangelicals, anti abortion groups and their various fellow travelers. In exchange, the GOP establishment supports many of their religious, social, racial, nativist and libertarian goals.

Further help is being supplied by Republican politicians in state governments, especially in red states. Governments under total G.O.P. control can undertake schemes not available to the national party, such as gerrymandering and voter suppression. They can also pass envelope pushing legislation that could someday be tried at the national level.

At times, the overthrow project even receives assistance from the Democratic party. When business interests demand loopholes and other legislative favors, they can always call on a few Democratic legislators who are beholden to the businesses in their districts that provide many jobs and big tax payments.



The G.O.P. also exploits the inability or unwillingness of the less ideologically driven and politically more conventional Democratic opposition to counter the G.O.P.'s legislative maneuvers and hardball politics.

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To be sure, the Democratic party is no angel. It would also like to achieve a long term realignment that gives it federal and state governmental control. It does not shrink from gerrymandering when the opportunity presents itself, and its business and other lobbies, as well as the handful of Democratic oligarchs and lesser rich demand the same special privileges as their GOP peers. Thus, they too benefit from some of the GOP engineered governmental budget cuts and data suppression programs.

Although Democrats have their own think tanks, the party lacks the single minded ideology of the G.O.P. and seems forever split between liberal and centrist wings.



While the liberal wing of the Democratic party stands for a significantly different government, it does not seek to overthrow the present one. Instead, liberals want to change or grow government, especially its welfare state institutions, so that it benefits its constituents and not just the business community.

Needless to say, the G.O.P. establishment's overthrow project can be halted by a Democratically controlled federal government. It could perhaps be terminated permanently by a liberal Democratic government that retained federal and state control for a generation.

In addition, the project is burdened by some major contradictions. Despite the attempt by several Republican administrations to shrink the government, it continues to grow. Eventually the G.O.P. establishment will discover that gutting the government could impoverish much of the citizenry and wreck the consumer economy on which the business community depends.

In the long run, that establishment might therefore have to restore much of the present government and even move toward a Republican welfare state.



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A Syrian man carries his two girls as he walks across the rubble following a barrel bomb attack on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on September 17, 2015. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting since the rebels seized the east of the city in 2012, confining government forces to the west. AFP PHOTO / KARAM AL-MASRI / AFP / KARAM AL-MASRI (Photo credit should read KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Saudi decision to execute a prominent Shiite cleric and the retaliatory ransacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran have pushed Saudi Arabia and Iran closer to the brink of direct confrontation than they've been in decades. Fortunately for all concerned, neither side wants a war. But both have escalatory options short of direct military conflict that will make the Middle East an even more violent place. The fallout will be felt in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and by Europeans who hope the wave of refugees headed for their countries will soon recede.

In the Middle East, a region where the appearance of weakness never goes unpunished, both Saudi and Iranian leaders have ample reason to take a hardline approach to this fight. The Saudi government still has ample cash on hand, but much less than it had a year ago, and lower oil prices raise troubling questions for the future of the kingdom's oil export-dependent economy. Recently announced spending and subsidy cuts will not make Saudi leaders more popular. For a government that draws much of its legitimacy from its ability to provide directly for its people, that's bad news.

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Saudi leaders also fear that Iran's pending escape from sanctions, a result of the international deal over its nuclear program, will allow Tehran to spend more to stoke trouble elsewhere in the Middle East. That includes in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, home to most of the country's Shiites and most of its oil production. Iran's new economic strength will also encourage Saudi allies to engage Tehran, leaving the kingdom isolated. Saudi leaders hope a fight with Shiite Iran can rally the Sunni majority to their government and encourage tighter cooperation with Sunni allies like the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.



The fallout will be felt in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and by Europeans who hope the wave of refugees headed for their countries will soon recede.



Iran's leaders need to flex their muscles, as well. Iran's supreme leader must maintain the confidence of hardliners who hate the nuclear deal, fear that an economic opening will allow Western cultural influences to infect the Islamic Republic and want to dominate next month's parliamentary election. He must also persuade Shiite allies in the region that Tehran means to lead, not to shrink from Saudi provocations.

That said, both sides have strong reasons to avoid war. The Saudis know the cost of direct conflict with Iran would be devastating at exactly the wrong moment for the Saudi economy, and the near-term benefits of higher oil prices would do little to strengthen its untested Sunni military, particularly because war could make it impossible for the Saudis to export their product. Losing a war with Iran would put the regime's survival at stake.

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For their part, Iran's leaders know they're just weeks from the lifting of sanctions that would unfreeze tens of billions of dollars in assets and allow Iran to pump hundreds of thousands more barrels of oil per day by the middle of this year. Given American and European commitment to the nuclear deal, only an all-out war could halt the lifting of sanctions. This explains why Iranian President Hassan Rouhani denounced the attack on the Saudi embassy and why Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has uttered only abstract, if threatening, rhetoric.



In a region where the appearance of weakness never goes unpunished, both Saudi and Iranian leaders have ample reason to take a hardline approach to this fight.



For all these reasons, the current fight will play out not in Saudi Arabia or Iran, but in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. Any hope for a diplomatic breakthrough to end Syria's civil war depends on the willingness of Saudi Arabia and Iran to pressure their proxies to make peace. The current enmity will make that impossible for the foreseeable future. The Saudis will not drop their demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad give up power, and the Iranians (and Russians) won't withdraw their support for him. The Geneva peace process had some momentum; that's over.

In Iraq, progress against the so-called Islamic State will demand that Iraqi Sunnis work with the Shiite-dominated government to roust ISIS fighters from their strongholds. Only an agreement between these groups' Saudi and Iranian sponsors can make that happen. Hopes for sectarian cooperation toward creation of a unity government in Lebanon depend on a similar sort of (now unlikely) compromise. In Yemen, Iran will not renounce support for Houthi rebels, and the Saudis will not stop attacking them.

This is also bad news for Europe. In 2015, more than a million migrants and refugees, most of them from the Middle East and North Africa, managed to cross Europe's borders. In 2016, it's possible that even more will decide their countries have no future and hit the road in hopes of finding peace and prosperity. That will add to pressures now building across Europe for an end to this influx of mostly Muslim migrants, testing Europe's political unity like no other challenge since the Cold War's end. This is clearly a dire development for the migrants themselves and worse for those trapped inside a region that seems unable to escape the whirlpool of violence dragging millions of people under.

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Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group and author of 'Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World.' Cliff Kupchan is chairman of Eurasia Group.

Earlier on WorldPost:
When people think of Santa Monica they probably think of the beach, the sun, the promenade... it is doubtful that many people think of its hidden gem, the Santa Monica Symphony, the crown jewel of Southern California's community orchestras.

Founded in 1945 by a group of Los Angeles area studio musicians with a love of classical music, the Santa Monica Symphony has evolved over the last seventy years into an eclectic mix of professional and volunteer musicians of exceptional quality.

The mission of the Santa Monica Symphony is to provide first-rate classical music concerts free of charge and thus accessible to all. The fact that the Santa Monica Symphony offers its programs to the public for free sets it apart from almost every other orchestra of its kind in Southern California.

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Now in his fourth season as music director and conductor, Guido Lamell infuses the symphony with passion, excitement and verve. The concerts are always convivial: Maestro Lamell makes it a point to introduce each piece from the podium speaking to the audience as if he were casually chatting with friends in his living room; he shares background information as well as anecdotes from his more than 30 years as a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

He told me, "I have been greatly privileged to be a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and it has given me the opportunity to play under the baton of many of the world's great conductors. I hungrily watch and mentally record every word, gesture and musical phrase of these marvelous artists and am filled to the bursting point with the desire to share those experiences with others - to pass those gifts onto those who have not had the same opportunities."

In addition, Lamell has showcased some of the LA Philharmonic's finest musicians as soloists with the Santa Monica Symphony. First Associate Concertmaster Nathan Cole, Principal Cellist Robert deMaine, and First Violinist Vijay Gupta have stepped into the spotlight and dazzled Santa Monica Symphony audiences with their world-class performances.

This year the Santa Monica Symphony is the proud recipient of a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 2016 Art Works Grant. The grant supports their annual Martin Luther King Holiday Weekend concert which, this year, will recreate the historic 1939 performance of Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial - an event that Time Magazine called, "The concert that sparked the Civil Rights Movement." Soprano Caroline McKenzie and the Santa Monica Symphony will replicate Ms. Anderson's program of arias, spirituals and patriotic songs.

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Maestro Lamell remarked, "We are proud of providing the opportunity to experience live music where there wasn't opportunity before and we perform classical music for crowds of screaming and cheering fans from all walks of life. What could possibly be more gratifying than that?!"

So don't miss the concert Saturday afternoon, January 16th, at 2:30 at the SGI Auditorium, 525 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica.
Louis Sullivan, father of the American skyscraper, posed the definitive question about that new architectural form back in 1896: "What is the chief characteristic of the tall office building?" he asked in an essay titled "The Tall Building Artfully Considered."

His answer - that it is "lofty" - is a classic. The implication is that a tall office building must be, as Merriam-Webster defines the word, "very high and good, and meant to be admired."

In Raleigh, most of the tall buildings in our skyline struggle mightily to achieve a lofty status. The distinct exception is Wake County's Akins Building between Salisbury and Fayetteville streets, a stepped-back, limestone-clad Art Moderne gem. It was designed by Luther Lashmit in the early 1940s to house an insurance firm; today it's home to county offices.

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Now comes a 17-story, mixed-use building for Raleigh's warehouse district, designed by the Durham firm of Duda Paine for developer John Kane of Kane Realty. It will symbolize Raleigh's return to downtown, as millennials flock here to mingle their work and play in an urban environment. Significantly taller than surrounding structures, including the four-story Citrix office building a block to its northwest, the new tower will usher in a new era of building up, rather than out, for Raleigh.



The Dillon, Duda Paine Architects

"For better or worse, land costs in downtown Raleigh have increased significantly," says Steve Schuster, chair of Raleigh's planning commission. "To redevelop downtown, the private sector has no choice but to go higher."

This new building raises the bar for the loftiness of the architecture that comes after it. Duda Paine is well-known for tall buildings in cities across the nation and especially the South - including Charlotte, Atlanta, and Austin and Fort Worth, Texas. The firm's work is respectful, solidly grounded in the modern aesthetic and known for a layered - rather than monolithic - approach to design.

Here, the architects looked back to architectural historian Colin Rowe's 1978 book, "Collage City," for inspiration. In it, the author suggested that buildings in the urban environment can create more vibrant experiences if they layer smaller designs into a whole. "That's our strategy," says Turan Duda, project architect and partner at the firm. "You take a block and split it - carve it and shape it to break the scale down to make it look like a collection of buildings."

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West Elevation, The Dillon, Duda Paine Architects

Duda turned too to the late Charles Sheeler, a 20th-century American modern artist and photographer - also a fan of layering, but for a richer artistic experience. "The question is how to see this building not just for the first time, but the second, third, fourth, and fifth time," Duda says. "This building has an idiosyncrasy that requires a deeper look - to see something new each time you see it."

The new tower, on the site of the Dillon Supply building on West Martin between South Harrington and South West streets, takes its ground-level cues from its surroundings. Its physical relationship to the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) across Martin Street is acknowledged with an opening in its facade, opposite CAM's distinctive entry canopy. There's also a five-story-tall multimedia wall to announce CAM exhibitions and others in a district known for the arts.

A pocket park and vestibule, carved 40 feet by 60 feet into its southwest corner, addresses a new civic plaza across West Street, adjacent to the four-level Union Station designed by Raleigh's Clearscapes. Along its pedestrian level, 25,000 square feet are reserved for restaurants and retail space - with expanded sidewalks.



Portico, The Dillon, Duda Paine Architects

Its podium - a seven-story parking deck, its 980 spaces to be shared with the city and Union Station - will be a base for 10 more levels of offices. On its ninth floor, a sky lobby and an indoor-outdoor restaurant with terrace will open to views of the city. Four stories above the terrace, a monumental, iconic and four-level "sky window" will be inserted into a gently sloping, southern facade.



Sky Window, The Dillon, Duda Paine Architects

But like the Akins building before it, the most memorable aspect will be the deliberate setback of its tower. Earlier concepts indicated a volume that was massed straight up from the street, to which some critics objected as out of place in the low-lying warehouse district, but that's been scaled back. "We brought the narrow end of the building to the street and the tall part back," Duda says. "It's a very conscious decision on our part - it gives an elegance to the building and pushes the massive parts back, so you're not experiencing them at the street level."

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At ground level, it's to be clad in brick like its neighbors, with some of the building's original steel beams re-purposed to cover the pocket park and vestibule. Above, layers of glass, black steel, and gray and terra cotta-toned metal panels will emphasize the building's vertical and horizontal planes. These materials will be grouped together to create some visual forms, or broken apart to dilute others. As the sunlight hits the facade, textured patterns in the building's skin will be exposed.

All these disparate pieces, the architects say, are intended to add up to a greater whole. From a distance, the building will assume an iconic presence in the warehouse district. Up close, it's about place-making - on the ground and out on the ninth floor terrace, too.

View from Union Station, The Dillon, Duda Paine Architects

It's also a 21st-century precedent for the buildings that follow in downtown Raleigh. That begins with an adjacent eight-story residential component that will front Hargett Street. But there are others on the radar too - some that will extend east toward the tall buildings of Fayetteville Street.

"When you look at the selling price of the property at Dawson and Hillsborough streets across from Campbell Law School - the city put it on the market at $3 million and it sold at $6.3 million - clearly there will be a tall building on that site," says Schuster, the planning commission chair. "And The N&O building - the developers paid a handsome sum for that site - there's a need for a taller building there too."

The challenge now is for future tall buildings to live up to the promise of Duda Paine's lofty design of the new Dillon building, scheduled for completion in 2017.

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That's a worthwhile goal for every developer in Raleigh.
Ai Weiwei's retrospective at London's Royal Academy of Art came to a close in December. In it, the Chinese artist showed a range of works that addressed creative freedom, censorship and human rights. Bicycles, Qing dynasty tables, porcelain crabs, bronze-casted bones and fragments of the artist's own demolished studio were configured into a powerful statement of his activism.

While Ai Weiwei's works speak to a global community, they often represent a direct challenge to China's ruling Communist Party. The premise of this challenge is one of openness, a refusal to support what Ai Weiwei sees as the Chinese authority's lack of transparency, democracy and freedoms. But how has it come about that an artist stands at the forefront of this confrontation?

Taiwan, China's neighbour in the South China Sea, was recently awarded first place in the The Global Open Data Index 2015. Open data is data that anyone can access, use and share. The index measures and benchmarks the openness of data around the world, providing a significant indication of each nation's commitment towards transparency. Forbes has described how Taiwan rose through the rankings to be named the world's most open government, pointing to Taiwan's democratic societal roots and underpinning by free mass media and civil society organisations. Ross Feingold, senior adviser with DC International Advisory, said to Forbes that

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"Taiwan's large number of non-government and civil society organisations, print, online and television media and political parties ensure ongoing domestic pressure on the central and local governments to improve transparency."

In China, the Chinese Communist Party has ruled the country since 1949 and its media environment remains restrictive. Without the domestic pressures exerted by other populations - such as Taiwan's - Ai Weiwei's work takes on huge significance in the demand for transparency. His marble surveillance camera (Surveillance Camera, 2011), jade handcuffs (Handcuffs, 2011) and wall of coloured backpacks (Remembering, 2009) provide their own evaluation of China's opaqueness; Ai Weiwei's art has put enormous international pressure on its leadership since the early 2000s. Unlike many of China's other activists whose profiles remain diminished through censorship, his voice continues to reverberate around the world through his artwork.

The role of Ai Weiwei's art in shaping international opinion and pushing China's government towards transparency is best demonstrated by the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the southwestern Sichuan province in 2008.

The Chinese government was criticised for the collapse of over 7,000 schoolrooms during the earthquake and for refusing to publish information related to the students that had died in the tragedy. Through the joint effort of researchers, volunteers and other activists, the artist built a dataset containing thousands of the students' names, and other details including gender and age. After publishing the dataset on his blog, it was later removed by the Chinese authorities.

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In what was thought to be a direct response to their efforts, the Chinese government then announced that 5,335 students had died. Researcher Katherine Grube reported that "the release of the number, without any names attached, was a major concession to activists whose escalating calls for official statistics fueled an international media frenzy."

Beyond the act of gathering the data itself, Ai Weiwei put further pressure on the government with a number of evocative artworks. He printed and displayed the dataset across large walls and, with the help of thousands of supporters, produced Remembrance (2010), a sound installation composed of the students' names being recited more than 12,000 times. His studio straightened the mangled metal tendrils from the schools collapsed by the earthquake to build Straight (2008-2012), a 150-tonne carpet of steel that has been shown around the world.

In 2014, he went even further to make the audio version of the dataset available to other artists for an art hackathon held at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. He encouraged them to create something meaningful with the data, further extending the impact of his work across the globe.

There are signs that China's approach to openness is changing: Chinese citizens and senior leadership alike are beginning to call for greater access to public information. The Open Contracting Partnership uses the example of the Sichuan earthquake, and Ai Weiwei's artwork, in its attempts to shift the global default in government contracting from closed to open. And, although open data alone does not constitute an open government, the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology's launch of the Shanghai Open Data Apps contest in August 2015 may be seen a positive development. For the first time ever the government made real-time data about the city's public transport available to others to use, access and share.

By producing the list of children who had lost their lives in the 2008 disaster and subsequently sharing it with the world, Ai Weiwei had himself fulfilled the role usually taken by governments in making important information available. While the data itself was extremely personal, macabre and shocking, he had brought transparency to a national disaster that until then had taken place in the dark.

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UNSPECIFIED - MARCH 13: 'Leaders of the protest, holding flags, from left Bishop James Shannon, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath.' Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington Cemetery, February 6, 1968. Published February 7, 1968. (Photo by Charles Del Vecchio/Washington Post/Getty Images)

I feel blessed, grateful, and pretty much totally overwhelmed that my two-character play about Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel will be performed during Dr. King's birthday week -- at Riverside Church. Because, on January 15, 1967, they were both there -- Dr. King to give his historic speech against the war in Vietnam, Rabbi Heschel to introduce him, as together they dared to support what was still an unpopular cause.

But it was a cause in which they believed. And they continued to stand up and speak out together for the causes in which they believed for the amazing six years that they knew each other.

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Could the performance be an iconic celebration of the relationship between these two men: not only political allies; not only, I believe, friends; but also, if not soul mates, at the least ethical mirrors of each other? I hope so.

I call it a potentially "iconic" event, because I somehow believe that the energy, intelligence and power of the words and thoughts that filled the church 49 years ago still resonate in its stones, ceilings, and stained glass windows. Perhaps they even reverberate particularly strongly because of how the two men's spirits, integrity, strength, conviction and courage were so perfectly aligned with each others'.

The play is not only about the speech at the church, and King's difficult and ultimately dangerous decision to come out against the war, although it does include the two men's weighing the pros and cons of his decision. They both knew it would alienate President Johnson, who until then had been such a strong supporter of Civil Rights. They knew he would probably never talk to King again; and he didn't.

All their advisers had urged them to not come out against the war. Dr. King was harshly criticized for not staying exclusively with his fight for Civil Rights. Heschel was repeatedly blamed for not focusing only on Jewish issues. They were warned they would be seen as unpatriotic. "No," said Heschel. "I am not only a Jew. I am also an American."



It was in a church that Dr. King gave his speech, an inter-denominational church, honoring both King's and Heschel's powerful beliefs in God, to whom they both turned in despair, and to whom they both turned for courage. Because courage they needed. And courage they had.

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I love that these two men, who on the surface seem so different, one black, one white, one a Christian, one a Jew -- had so much in common. Even on the day that they met, on January 14, 1963, in Chicago, where both men gave speeches at a Conference on Race and Religion, both men (obviously not conferring, it was their first meeting!), chose to quote the same, exact passage from the prophet Amos. It was to describe their common vision for the world, where "Justice would roll down like waters, and Righteousness like a mighty stream."

These icons somehow always found the courage to speak up for what they believed, however unpopular, even though neither could really afford to alienate many more people. Orthodox Jews were constantly putting Heschel down for being too liberal and radical. King was even rudely mocked by many of his black brothers, who found his insistence on Non-violence weak and ineffective.

And still, they stood up for what they believed. In 1964, Heschel led a march on FBI headquarters in New York to protest the violence in Selma and to deliver a petition demanding protection for people working for voting rights -- risking his life. Just as King did every time he marched or ended up in jail.

In 1963, King helped set up a conference on Soviet Jews that Heschel attended, and in 1967 King co-authored a formal protest for the New York Times decrying Egypt's blockade in Tehran, which would cut Israel off from all of Africa and Asia.

Ah, had either of them listened to their critics! But no, they were men of integrity who had the strength to listen to their own truth -- always for the benefit of others, even when it meant risking their lives. Because every time they marched (and they marched!) their lives were on the line. And they knew it.

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I love the photos of them marching, next to each other in the front row at Selma, the two of them strong and straight as a mountain, both even the same height, and sturdy in the same way. And the photos of them marching, again in the front row, at Arlington National Cemetery, to protest the war in Vietnam.

And there is the famous phone call: when King asked Heschel to march with him at Selma, even though the first march there had caused so much bloodshed. And Heschel's inevitable answer. "Of course."

Is it an iconic miracle when two people stand together as one for right, a sign that there is hope that all people will come together as one, peacefully, without hatred for their differences? It is certainly the future for which Heschel and King fought all their lives.

I like to believe that they were such good friends, so important to each other, and so bonded, that when King died, it was inevitable that Heschel was there to speak at his funeral; and that when Heschel died, it was King's widow, Coretta, who spoke at his memorial.

So when two actors stand at Riverside Church as King and Heschel, debating the wisdom of King's finally coming out against the war, could it be an iconic moment? It will be enough if it is only a celebration of a friendship between two giants who helped to make our a world better place. Perhaps the reality of such a friendship and such devotion is powerful, inspiring and iconic enough.

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After looking at some rather dramatic reports on the news, a visit to Turkey may have moved down a few notches on your travel planning short-list. But maybe you should reconsider, or adjust that thought. Cappadocia Turkey is an island of calm sitting in the very center of Turkey. The lunar-like landscape dotted with jutting rock formations is like nothing you have seen before. There are a huge array of outdoor activities and cultural sites to satisfy the needs of every traveler. Here are six reasons that will convince you that Cappadocia should be on your radar.

The Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia, particularly in the Goreme region, is known for its fairy chimneys. These pillar-shaped rock formations are the result of millions of years of volcanic activity followed by massive erosion. The resulting landscape, which is mostly barren scrubland clustered with the tall chimneys is a jaw-dropping sight. Many of the fairy chimneys have been hollowed out over the years, and now serve as homes and in some cases restaurants, bars and hotels. Where else can you sleep in a cave suite hotel in an exotic locale (and without breaking the bank)? And after you have slept inside one, the next best way to enjoy a fairy chimney is from above, on a hot air balloon ride.

Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Rides

Every morning, if the conditions are right, the skies around Cappadocia are decorated with dozens of colorful hot air balloons. This is a favorite activity in the area particularly because the pilots are able to give you a close up view of the fairy chimneys, often nearly brushing the rock formation with the balloon baskets. Imagine a morning watching the sun rise and then passing through a forest of stone fairy chimneys? Pure magic!

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Hiking in Cappadocia's Canyons

If the idea of flying in a hot air balloon doesn't float your boat, because you are all the happier with your boots on the ground, Cappadocia still has a lot to offer. There are several hikes through the area where you can get a good up close view of the fairy chimneys and a glimpse into life as it has evolved here over thousands of years. A visit to the Gerome Outdoor Museum offers the opportunity to wander through a historic community built inside the rock formations. Remnants of colorful frescos are still visible some of the cave walls. And if you want to delve even deeper, maybe your best plan is to explore Cappadocia -- underground.

Turkish Underground Cities

If you were able to do a cross-section below the surface, Cappadocia would resemble an ant farm. There are over 200 underground cities built hundreds of years ago. The largest underground city housed an estimated 20,000 inhabitants at a time. These cities were most heavily used by Christians hiding from their Roman persecutors in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Some are now open for public exploration. You can travel down narrow passageways (some reaching 8 stories below the surface) and wonder what it may have been like to be sealed there in hiding for up to six months at a time with 20,000 frightened friends and family members. The thought is as chilling as the air inside the caves.

Enjoy The Wine

Cappadocia is home to six wine making regions, all with their own character and style. Since the Turks have been making wine since 4000 B.C., you'd think that they probably have gotten it right by now. There are several operators who offer wine tasting tours. Alternatively, you can spend an evening in a chilled back lounge sampling the local wine. And while you're at it, you might also enjoy another popular activity in Cappadocia's bar scene -- smoking a shisha. The shisha (or hookah) water pipe is brought to the table with embers of a substance made of tobacco and fermented fruit. And don't be in a hurry, smoking the pipe should take between one and two hours. But when you're on vacation, who is in a hurry anyway?

Clay Pot Kebab

After a long day of taking in the sights, you are sitting at dinner, watching the fire glowing in a wood fired oven. Finally, your dinner is ready and the waiter pulls a clay pot from the fire and brings it over to your table. He ceremoniously cracks the side revealing a steaming fragrant stew with meat and vegetables. He brings out an assortment of sides, including fresh-baked bread, green salad, slow cooked beans, and yogurt sauce. And you realize, when you decided to take a trip to Cappadocia, it was pure genius.

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Conceptual illustration, the rich and the poor. AI and EPS editable files included.

The 17 Global Goals For Sustainable Development are a powerful - and necessary - collection of objectives for our planet and its population over the next 15 years. But if we really hope to achieve them, we need a more systemic change. Specifically, if we want to reduce inequality - as Goal 10 exhorts - we need to fundamentally change how we account for value.

Across the globe, inequality is increasing and social mobility within countries is decreasing. These trends - long noted by economists like Thomas Picketty and Joseph Stiglitz - are now being investigated by institutions like the OECD and the IMF. And, as this process continues, the social and economic costs of inequality are becoming more obvious. Progressive businesses are starting to recognize that inequality impacts employee morale, productivity and economic stability, and are taking steps to reduce it.

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A big part of the problem lies in value and how we account for it. Traditional economics suggests that self-interest is the basis of social value. As Adam Smith wrote in Wealth of Nations, "By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it."

This idea, that self-interest is the best way to help society and create value, is a founding principle of our current world economic system. Whether this argument was originally deployed because we believed that it really was best to run the world on the basis of self- interest, or just because it was a convenient argument to justify inequality, we are only now becoming aware of its unintended consequences.

One problem lies in the way the world's accounting system has modified Smith's idea: rather than allocating resources based on individual self-interest, it allocates them based on financial self-interest. It ignores externalities, such as the impacts that businesses have or the benefits that they get from other stakeholders. In short, it omits significant sources of value will - and, as such, contributes to inequality.

In the past it has been difficult to argue that business should account for these impacts, not least because accounting's primary purpose has always been providing relevant information to a company's investors, not to everyone else. But even if we stick to what is of interest to investors, traditional accounting still misses out significant value because it has a very limited view of investor motivation. The focus on financial interest - and the assumption that making money is the sole interest for investors - is reductive. Many investors, for example, would not be willing to buy shares in a company that took part in child labour practices, for example or had unethical environmental policies. Indeed, the growing number of impact investors demonstrates a thriving interest in investments that have a positive social return. According to a 2010 report by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Rockefeller Foundation the impact-investing industry may reach $1 trillion by 2020.

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Even Adam Smith hinted at this notion that value is more than dollars and sense. In the Theory of Moral Sentiments, he expanded upon his explanation of self-interest to recognize:

"How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it."

This expanded notion of the motivation of investors as "financial self-interest whilst ensuring that there are no adverse effects on the wellbeing of others" points the way toward values-based accounting. If accounting addressed the wider impacts that organizations have on others, in line with Smith's argument, then it would address the changes in people's wellbeing caused by business activities.

It's easy to envision a situation in which businesses would make provisions on their balance sheet for negative impacts and set up deferred assets for positive impacts. The net effect could reduce the money that can be paid to shareholders as dividends, but not the cash available to the business.

This practice would also enable easier impact investing by providing price signals to the market that would help shift capital from organizations with a higher negative social and environmental impact to those with lower negative or positive impacts. And investors could be confident now that those impacts have been accounted for in their returns.

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Whatever economists suggest are the causes and solutions to inequality, politicians and businesses try to do to address its consequences, will come to nought if financial accounting continues to drive resource allocation on the basis of individual financial interest. Businesses like Kering, Holcim and others are demonstrating that it is possible to account for and value these effects. We need businesses like these leading by example to drive the development of new accounting standards AND we need investors to call for and consider this information in making investments.
In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Itas a single image released by an enormous propaganda apparatus, showing a note handwritten by a dictator. And it contains a telling clue to the mindset behind what has become the biggest story in Asia: North Koreaas surprise and disputed claim to have tested its first hydrogen bomb. The Dec. 15, 2015, note from leader Kim Jong Un calls for a New Year marked by the astunning sound of the explosion of our countryas first hydrogen bomb.a (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

North Korea claims to have successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb. While analysts and scientists test the validity of its claim, what we know for sure is this is North Korea's fourth nuclear test -- the third during President Obama's administration. After North Korea hacked Sony upon releasing the movie "The Interview" in Dec. 2014, Obama pledged to "respond proportionately."

What warrants an equally powerful, if not stronger, response to cyberattacks is North Korea's flagrant expansion of its nuclear program. In addition to increased sanctions, the best reprisal to this recent test is the kind of 21st century offensive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime fears most: information fracking. When hit with sanctions after every test, the Kim regime does not flinch.

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But when South Korea turned on its propaganda loud speakers at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the countries in response to North Korea's mines maiming two South Korean soldiers, North Korea rushed to the negotiating table. Ideological warfare is North Korea's Achilles' heel, and the United States should target it.

Traditional Western information campaigns have so far failed to generate much impact in the famously secretive state. But the fracking revolution in the energy field could point the way to a new and successful strategy. Fracking combines advanced technology and clever tactics to liberate large reserves of oil and gas within rocks previously beyond the reach of man. To help convert or collapse the oppressive regime, the U.S. must mobilize an analogous mix of knowledge, innovation and radical techniques to frack North Korea with pressurized bursts of foreign information and democratic ideas.

The U.S. must mobilize knowledge, innovation and radical techniques to frack North Korea with pressurized bursts of foreign information and democratic ideas.

By employing the magic in the U.S. National Security Agency's box, debriefing North Korean defectors (including growing numbers of higher-level officials) and what has become an essentially porous border with China that sees tens of thousands of North Koreans and Chinese doing business, the U.S. can sponsor information campaigns that pressure for North Korea's liberalization.

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I've seen firsthand how foreign concepts can both excite and repel the North Korean people. When I was in North Korea two year ago, a young lady asked me for the names of the hottest luxury brands in the U.S. When I started rattling off names like Chanel, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, she laughed and said in Korean, "Jieun Comrade, everyone knows about those! Tell me brands I don't know about!" When I asked her how she knew about these brands, she answered, "Who doesn't?" and pointed to the (probably fake) Burberry label on her collar.

Later, she asked why I was studying the Middle East. "I want to learn more about how ordinary Arabs have been trying to become happier" was my polite way of referring to the Arab Spring. This North Korean -- the same lady who had been giggling with me about cosmetics, boyfriends and fashion tips -- yelled that she had no interest in such nonsense. She glared at me and demanded to know my intentions. She knew I was circling the topic of a revolution in North Korea at arm's length, and she snapped.

Despite draconian measures, a quiet information revolution is taking place inside North Korea.

Every time I let my guard down there, even just a tad, I was immediately reminded that North Koreans cannot do the same. The hundreds of North Korean defectors I have met verified this observation. About 24 million people live in the world's most sealed-off country, where the regime holds a monopoly over information access and dissemination. Radios are manufactured to be tuned only to the state's stations.

All media electronics (televisions, radios, DVD players, computers) must be registered with local authorities and are subject to random content checks. All cellphone activity is monitored by the state. International calls are illegal. One of the most heinous "crimes" that a North Korean can commit is to consume foreign media that is not sanctioned by the state -- an act punishable by hard labor and execution.

Despite these draconian measures, a quiet information revolution is taking place inside North Korea. Between second-hand Chinese radios and do-it-yourself construction, many ordinary North Koreans use black-market radios to secretly listen to foreign programs such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Free North Korea Radio and Radio Free Chosun. Similarly, North Koreans clamor for the DVD and CD players, cell phones, e-books, movies, news articles and simple computers that are illegally snuck in by defectors and non-governmental organizations.

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The insatiable yearning to learn new things is a universal hunger that cannot be squelched, even by the Kim regime.

Why do North Koreans risk their lives to seek forbidden information and media? The insatiable yearning to learn new things -- to discover our world, to see how other people live, what they eat, how they spend their days -- is a universal hunger that cannot be squelched, even by the Kim regime.

Our current policy of "strategic patience" is not going to make this resilient dictatorship go away. Small-scale information access activities implemented by networks of disparate defector groups and commissioned middlemen have cultivated interest in foreign media among swaths of North Koreans, but these spotty campaigns are not sufficient against such a ruthless regime. These information activities must be reinforced by a much more powerful engine with coordinated strategies, expertise, innovative technology and more funding by foreign entities, such as the U.S. government.

The North Korean government must change. By marshaling human capital, information networks and North Korean defectors, fracking North Korea can create irreversible cracks in the regime and ultimately create conditions that favor freedom, human rights and dignity.

Jieun Baek is a Belfer Center fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her forthcoming book tentatively titled "NORTH KOREA'S HIDDEN REVOLUTION: How the Information Underground is Transforming a Closed Society" will be published by Yale University Press in the fall.

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Blackfish revisited a human tragedy resulting from an intimate encounter with an apex marine predator in captivity. The film immediately cast a dark shadow over the world's most famous marine park conglomerate and its fallout has been quite damaging for the company and for the marine mammal training industry. The film has been touted as an impactful cinematic treatment of captive cetaceans by marine biologists working in situ and has elicited much conjecture on the part of non-experts regarding the confinement of the world's largest dolphin. What many argue is that Blackfish wasn't particularly concerned with the science, conservation and rehabilitation programs of SeaWorld parks, which have been instrumental in saving species from endangerment, not to mention the awareness raised through exposing millions of people to animals they won't likely ever see in the wild.



SeaWorld shaped our perception of the killer whale, making a villain of the seas what we know of today as our friend Shamu. Through its history of showcasing riveting in-water performances of these majestic marine predators with their trainers, SeaWorld rebranded orca, demonstrating the intimate human-animal bond while dispelling myths and alleviating fears of these cetaceans, which naturally prey on fish and pinnipeds and were hunted by humans for recreation and retribution over perceived threats to people. The utilitarian view of how these sentient beings are treated in captivity, which is consistent with many zoo and marine park professionals, takes under consideration that SeaWorld's nearly 30 killer whales, most of which were captive born, are ambassadors for their species and compared to their wild counterparts face different human stressors, many of which are less life-threatening than what they face in the wild.



In terms of of helping wild animals SeaWorld, in collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies has rescued and in many cases rehabilitated 26,000 marine animals. That figure far exceeds what any other zoological facility on the planet can claim. And despite persistent criticism from organizations like HSUS and PETA, which don't conduct or fund any marine mammal rescue work themselves, SeaWorld's staff continues to be among first responders at the site of any whale strandings on both of our coasts.



With regard to the science, SeaWorld and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute have been contributing to research in marine animal ecology and other marine science disciplines for over 5 decades, including work on both captive and free-ranging killer whales.
We humans are used to the climate of the places where we live, regardless of how extreme they may be. I witnessed this first-hand during my time in Churchill with Polar Bears International, just a few weeks before COP21. While we were there to track the bears, I found that locals were waiting just as impatiently for the water to freeze and snow to fall, so they could head out to their cabins and trap lines. For all who live in the Arctic, life begins in the winter. But this winter -- as in so many winters, lately -- the sea ice was late to come, and both bears and people remained trapped on land well into December.

People in the Arctic aren't the only ones: farmers rely on predictable climate to feed their livestock and ensure their harvests are profitable. City infrastructure is carefully built to withstand historical weather extremes. But as climate is changing, it's making it harder for farmers to earn a consistent living off their land; harder for cities to cope with increased risks of flooding or water shortages, or both; and more difficult for the elderly, young, and poor to survive extreme heat waves and cold snaps.

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These problems are worrisome in developed nations, where the frequency of extreme precipitation has increased by 37 percent across the U.S. Midwest in the last 55 years and Farmer's Insurance temporarily sued the city of Chicago for failing to adequately prepare for the impacts of climate change; when two devastating years of crop losses throughout the U.S. Great Plains (the result of natural drought patterns exacerbated by unnaturally record-breaking heat) were followed by a recommendation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office's to reduce crop insurance; and where the impact of a heatwave in 2003, the risks of which had already doubled due to human-induced climate change, resulted in over 70,000 premature deaths across France and northern Europe. In developing nations, however, which lack the safety net of infrastructure, public services, and insurance, such issues can be orders of magnitude more devastating.

Although much of the focus at COP21, and in the weeks afterwards, has been on the emission reductions needed to achieve the given targets, for developing nations the real issue on the table was climate finance: funds to support climate mitigation and adaptation, which up until now have been vastly inadequate to alleviate the local effects of climate change while enabling such nations to continue to develop.

Equitable financing has always been at the forefront of international climate negotiations. Emissions-heavy countries care more about mitigation and bear a greater historical responsibility. Developing countries produce little emissions but are experiencing the brunt of the impacts. According to a recent report by Oxfam America, the richest 10 percent in the world produce half of the world's carbon emissions, while half of the poorest are responsible for just 10 percent of emissions. The two sides to the equation are unequal.

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The purpose of the financing discussed at COP21 is to assuage these differences. But currently much more money goes toward mitigation than to adaptation. This imbalance becomes particularly troubling when we know that the local effects of climate change are increasing, the gap between rich and poor is widening, and that we are locked into a certain amount of warming even if we stopped producing emissions this very second (if it were only that easy!). According to Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, the division between rich and poor is arbitrary, and getting more ambition from countries in equitable ways is difficult. This is one of the reasons why equity became one of the "down-to-the-wire" issues in the Paris climate talks--how to set fair emission reduction targets between developed and developing countries and delegating responsibility for financing. Developed nations have been unwilling to establish more aggressive mitigation goals, while developing countries that have not been as responsible historically (remember, just 10 percent) are concerned that equal emissions targets will inhibit opportunities for economic development.

New financing mechanisms to help countries mitigate and adapt to climate change were proposed in 2009 to try and resolve some of these differences. The 2009 Copenhagen Accord resulted in a pledge of $100 billion by the year 2020 by developed countries to help developing countries deal with climate change. The following year during the COP16 meeting in Cancun, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was established to help countries reach this $100 billion goal. The GCF receives funds from governments and the private sector, with $10.2 billion in pledges as of October 2015, signifying that the international community is committed to building resilience to climate change.

The GCF is very important, but it will not take us to our goal. As Meyer put it, "the GCF is one part of the finance architecture but it is not the lion's share of funds." The initial capitalization of GCF funds is $10 billion spread out over a number of years. One important guideline contained in the GCF is that 50 percent of its financing will be for adaptation. Right now, only about 15-20 percent of the finance is going to adaptation--far from 50 percent (although it is important to note that many mitigation and adaptation strategies share co-benefits, meaning funding adaptation can often contribute to mitigation, and vice versa). Part of the reason is that private sector funds go much more often to mitigation and green energy technology; it is much harder to get private sector funding for adaptation. Will developed countries meet the commitment they made in Copenhagen in 2009 to mobilize $100 billion from public and private sources in climate finance by 2020?

Many countries do not have time to wait and see. That's why organizations like Oxfam, whose goals are to end poverty, hunger, and injustice, are moving forward and developing innovative programs and initiatives that are helping to build local capacity and increase resilience to such extremes. In 2010, Oxfam launched the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative to help farmers around the world manage their risks to disasters and secure their livelihoods. In 2014 alone, R4 provided drought insurance to over 26,000 farmers in Ethiopia and Senegal, helping people learn how to become more resilient.

Selas Samson Biru, a 50-year-old farmer in a remote Ethiopian village called Adi Ha, is one of the many farmers who have benefited. Increased climate variability has led to more uncertainty from year-to-year, putting her crops and livelihood in jeopardy. Now equipped with a new tool to manage drought risks, Biru receives payouts for crops she has insured. And when her weather insurance became available, Biru joined other farmers to buy an irrigation pump. This investment has provided more abundant, profitable harvests.

Farmers in drought-stricken parts of Texas similarly find their livelihoods threatened by the growing unpredictability in climate and weather. West Texas is well accustomed to droughts. Farmers here have traditionally relied on playa lakes--surface depressions that fill with water during certain times of year--but playas can no longer sustain farmers through severe droughts. Instead, farmers are implementing new technologies to manage changing risks and stay afloat. Andy Timmons, a grape producer in West Texas, moved away from farming row crops and started growing grapes to diversify his operations - a decision he made as he began losing confidence in the Farm Bill and federal commitments to agriculture, which he says are "going away." Even though grapes adapt to extreme weather better than row crops, he has to cultivate his vineyard differently every year, testing new irrigation strategies to continue to increase production. To deal with early spring freezes during dry years, he installed wind machines to circulate air and keep it from stagnating so grapes wouldn't freeze. Timmons had the resources to adapt - but Biru and many other farmers in developing nations don't.

A successful climate agreement at COP21 and beyond isn't just about reducing our emissions: it's about helping people -- real people -- adapt to the changes we cannot avoid. The $100 billion pledge, including the GCF, is an encouraging start. However, much of the money has only been "announced" and not yet disbursed. Actions at the ground level also seem to be outpacing top-down funding mechanisms. While countries continue working out ways to reach the $100 billion financing goal, stories like Biru's and Timmons's remind us of the importance of ground-up grassroots actions that are already helping to build local knowledge and resilience. Are there examples you can share from your community?

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Some claims are so outlandish, so absurdly counterfactual, that they ought to stagger belief.

But never underestimate human gullibility.

We're willing to swallow any story that tickles our fancy, especially when it comes to rumors of cloak-and-dagger conspiracies. Pope John Paul I murdered by Vatican malcontents, the Trilateral Commission's covert control of financial markets, the HIV virus as a CIA-funded biochemical weapon: these are just a handful of the scores of utterly bizarre falsehoods conspiracy buffs embrace as truths.

And now we can add a new one to the list: liberation theology as a covert scheme hatched by the Soviet Union during the Cold War to deflate U.S. influence in Central and South America.

So alleges 87-year-old Ion Mihai Pacepa, once a high-ranking officer in the Romanian Securitate, one of the Soviet bloc's most brutal secret police forces. Pacepa defected in 1978 and has been feeding conspiracy stories to the U.S. ever since, including the claim that the KGB, the Soviet intelligence apparatus, masterminded the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy.

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Earlier this month, Pacepa announced that Soviet espionage chief Aleksandr Sakharovsky told him in 1959 that the KGB had launched a campaign to infiltrate communists disguised as Christians into Latin America. The plan was to seed the Roman Catholic Church there with leftist priests and bishops who would openly advocate liberation theology and communism. Once these clerical undercover agents succeeded in radicalizing their flocks, national elections in Latin America could be easily manipulated by Moscow.

Pacepa's bizarre and utterly undocumented allegation is being gobbled up by ultra-conservative Protestants and Roman Catholics who not only dislike Pope Francis's sympathy with liberation theology, but are still inexplicably tilting at communist windmills twenty-five years after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Liberation theology arose in the mid-1950s--before the supposed KGB program began--when priests in rightwing Latin American countries began preaching that the Church had a holy obligation to work for social and economic justice. They pointed out that the Jesus of the gospels privileged the poor and the downtrodden, and argued that the Church should do likewise.

By 1968, Central and South American bishops meeting in Medellin, Colombia, proclaimed that "the Christian quest for justice is a demand arising from biblical teaching," and adopted as their pastoral imperative a "preferential option for the poor," which in practical terms meant resisting state-sponsored violence and repression.

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Pacepa claims that the Medellin Conference was orchestrated and infiltrated by the KGB.

In a groundbreaking book published three years later, Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutierrez, recognized as one of the founders of liberation theology, reiterated that both Testaments teach the importance of offering aid to the marginalized, oppressed, and poor. Practice of the works of charity was necessary in the short run, he argued, but systemic long-term reform required works of justice.

Pacepa says that he has "the feeling [Gutierrez's book] was written at the Lubyanka," the Moscow headquarters of the KGB.

But Pacepa's claims are rubbish. It's true that many liberation theologians recognized the value of interpreting poverty and oppression through the lens of Marxist economics, but it's going too far to call them communists, especially of the brutal Soviet kind. With only one exception--Colombian priest Camilo Torres--liberation theologians repudiated violent revolution as an agent of social change. They were faithful followers of the Prince of Peace trying to do something about widespread and unbearable injustice, and often paid with their lives for their nonviolent solidarity with the poor.

The most famous martyr is El Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, gunned down in 1980 while celebrating Mass. But many other priests, nuns, and laypersons were tortured and murdered by government-sanctioned death squads.

Did the KGB hope to manipulate priests, prelates, and laypersons who already embraced liberation theology? Probably. But this is a far cry from Pacepa's claim that defenders of it were either willing pawns or unwitting dupes of a scheme cooked up in Moscow. Their embrace of the biblical values of love, compassion, nonviolence, and prayer were incompatible with Marx's call for class warfare, much less Soviet totalitarianism.

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Obama's ratings are abysmal, yet the GOP has done very little to garner enthusiasm from voters. In fact, many rank and file Republicans believe the GOP is complicit with the Democrats in creating our current national woes.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has been one of the few GOP presidential candidates to get significant support outside of entertainer Donald Trump, began to get that traction after a scathing attack of the Republican leadership that he waged from the House floor. He captured the attention of his colleagues and the media when he took the Majority Leader of the Senate (Mitch McConnell) to task for allegedly lying to his colleagues over Barack Obama's trade deal. That kind of red meat will always be well received by grassroots conservatives.

Barack Obama has stated himself that middle America clings to "guns or religion" (typically both). He even stated that guns came first. Yet this week, roughly a year before a new president will be inaugurated to replace him, he has expanded, through executive order, regulations on guns. In that order, the Obama Administration is redefining "engaged in the business," as defined in current Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulations. The goal is to redefine the term to include more non-licensees in the definition of "dealer," in order to expand the number of background checks.

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The Obama approach has certainly backfired. Americans are responding to mass shootings and threats of more arms regulations by purchasing more guns. For many, the obvious fact that several of these events are happening in "gun-free zones," makes it very logical that they want to assure their own protection wherever possible. The biggest "gun-free zone" for practical purposes, is Chicago, which has a population roughly the same as Houston, Texas but many times more the violent crime. No wonder Obama's efforts are frowned on by average Americans and have generally led to a revolt of sorts. I'm sure many chuckled when he alluded, in his recent speech, to Chicago violence in his press conference on the new regulation, without mentioning that city's restrictive gun laws.

GOP candidates for the White House immediately began to denounce the measure. Senior House Republican Kevin Brady (R-TX) noted,

Gun violence is real, but nothing will change as long as President Obama keeps ignoring mental health care while targeting law-abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their second amendment rights. Let's be honest, Mr. President, you're playing politics and trying to circumvent Congress because your dictates are outdated, unconstitutional and won't make this country one ounce safer. Until you get serious about real mental health care in America, I'll fight hard to stop these political games.

Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX), a former CIA officer, in a statement to my radio show, said

President Obama's announcement of his executive order to restrict the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens is yet another attempt to circumvent the legislative branch and impose his agenda on the American public. The President is ignoring that the law already requires people who sell firearms for a living to be licensed. He should instead target the criminals who aren't following the law in the first place. The level of executive overreach is outrageous and is another assault on the liberties our nation was built upon. I am a firm believer in the plain language of the Second Amendment, guaranteeing the right to keep and bear arms. Congress will conduct vigilant oversight and this executive order will no doubt be challenged in the courts.
Saudi Arabia's mass execution of 47 people on January 2 was a bloody emblem in the country's self-marketing as a leader in the global campaign against ISIS and other armed extremist groups. But it was also a stark example of what Saudi Arabia, and many other countries, are getting wrong in that effort. The kingdom has a lengthy history of justifying its own violence and human rights violations in the name of countering terror. We have documented the trials and convictions of many peaceful activists and a host of due process violations at the Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases but often used to prosecute peaceful dissidents. In 2014, Saudi Arabia passed an extremely broad counterterrorism law and regulations, including sweeping provisions that authorities can use to criminalize virtually any expression critical of the government. Now mass executions can be added to the list of egregious abuses. To be sure, Saudi judges convicted all of the 47 men on terrorism-related charges, according to the Saudi state news agency, and most were members of Al-Qaeda, tied to a series of violent Al-Qaeda attacks between 2003 and 2004. What the announcement did not say was which of the 47 men it convicted of planning or committing violent attacks, and which it convicted on other "terrorism" charges, like "insulting the reputation of the state" or "disturbing public order." What we do know is that at least four of those on the list, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the prominent cleric from Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province whose execution led to a break in relations with Iran, were Shia, making it questionable that they would have links to Sunni Al-Qaeda and its 2003 and 2004 attacks. The execution of Al-Nimr, whose conviction was largely based on his fiery but peaceful denunciations of Saudi Arabia's systematic discrimination against its Shia minority, smack of a stark and threatening message to the Shia population who protested for their rights during the Arab uprisings that began in 2011: Protest too much and you'll end up dead. In the case of Sheikh Nimr, the most closely watched of these cases, the Specialized Criminal Court detained him for eight months before bringing charges. It held trial sessions without informing his legal representative, then sentenced him to death for what passes for terror in the Saudi official mindset-"breaking allegiance with the ruler," "calling for demonstrations," and "inciting sectarian strife." Some of the Shia demonstrations did end in violence, with reports that at least 16 people, including 2 police officers, were killed before 2013. The officers who arrested Nimr in 2012 claimed he violently resisted arrest and engaged in a gunfight with police, though it is hard to imagine why a prominent activist leader who had long rejected violent resistance would suddenly turn to violence. A 2011 BBC report quoted al-Nimr as supporting "the roar of the word against authorities rather than weapons ... the weapon of the word is stronger than bullets." There was nothing new or extraordinary in the flawed trial that led to Sheikh Nimr's execution on Saturday, and if some of the trials for the 46 others adequately protected defendants' rights, they would be the anomaly. We have documented longstanding due process violations in Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system, which has no penal code, and allows judges to convict people on broadly framed charges, some of which do not resemble recognizable crimes, to quickly dismiss allegations of torture of the accused without investigation and to admit confessions that defendants claim are coerced without investigating those claims.
Want to feel this desirable thirst of inspiration? See, feel and touch rich colors?

Great news, golden photographer Michael O'Neill's exhibition On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace has been extended. Infinite gratitude to Susan White who is the photo director at Vanity Fair. Also a friend of Michael O'Neill's encouraging him to go on his quest. Brilliant visionaries!

"To study this legacy and to be able to travel through India through Michael's eyes is a feast for the mind, body, and soul--a truly transformative experience that I will never forget." --Donna Karan

It's taken yoga several thousand years to make the journey from a handful of monasteries dotting the Himalayas to the yoga studios popping up everywhere. Whether bathing with holy men in the Ganges or joining the chorus of a thousand voices chanting "om," photographer Michael O'Neill decided to devote himself for ten years to experience and record the world of yoga at this critical juncture in its history.

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 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN Heaven Meets Earth. Ladakh, March 1, 2010



TASCHEN Gallery proudly announces Michael O'Neill. On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace, the first major photographic exhibition on the subjects of yoga and meditation, and O'Neill's first show in Los Angeles. On display are eighty photographs from his new monograph as well as a selection of artifacts documenting the history of this project and of yoga through the ages.



 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Ganges Prayer, H. H. Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji. Rishikesh, March 4, 2006





 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Jivamukti Yoga by the Manhattan Bridge, David Life and Sharon Gannon.

Brooklyn, New York, May 19, 2006



 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Bhagirathasana (pose of the sage Bhagiratha), Eddie Stern.

Crosby Street, New York City, January 21, 2014

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From some of the most influential yogis our time such as B. K. S. Iyengar, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, and Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa to meditation masters His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and S. N. Goenka to boys practicing the little known discipline of Mallakhamba at the wrestling grounds of Kochi, O'Neill's images celebrate both the rich lineage and the modern global community of yoga. Says O'Neill: "All I wanted to do was to pay homage to yoga's classical lineage and understand this unique moment before it slips away." The result is a powerful photographic tribute to the age-old discipline turned global phenomenon, with over 250 million practitioners united in physical, spiritual, and mindful practice worldwide.



 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa at her most holy of places,

The Golden Temple. Amritsar, India, February 23, 2006

Michael O'Neill (b. 1946) has photographed the cultural icons of his time, from Andy Warhol to the Dalai Lama over nearly 50 years for publications including the New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. For the last decade he has immersed himself in the culture of yoga, turning his lens on the origins and essence of this ancient and timeless spiritual practice.

All of the prints in this exhibition are archival pigment prints made by Adamson Editions, one of the world's foremost digital ateliers, founded in 1979. David Adamson and his team have collaborated with some of the most interesting and influential artists working today, including Chuck Close, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, and Kiki Smith.



 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Michael O'Neill. Sag Harbor, New York, August 11, 2012 (Photo Bia Setti)

"they were spirits. alive glowing lights each one of them.... each one of us...

infinite"

Listen to O'Neill here speaking about his journey and the making of the show's corresponding book.

http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/company/blog/678.in_search_of_the_masters.htm



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 2015 Michael O'Neill/TASCHEN

Buddha's Hands. Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, November 17, 2007
Some years ago I was teaching in the University of Wisconsin, where it is really cold and people don't speak the way I was brought up to speak: with an Alabama accent. I had a young student who was a rather attractive young man, but didn't have much between the ears.

It became quite apparent early in the semester that Robert didn't have much chance of passing the course without some special help. So we scheduled -- I offered at any rate -- to have him come by my office with every paper he wrote in Freshman English. Bless Robert's heart. He did beautifully. He was there. The next paper wouldn't be that much better, but we worked, and we worked, and we worked. And near the end of the semester, Robert got just enough better to pass that course with a C-minus, which was the best we were going to get from Robert. But he earned it, so that he could get out and do the work of the other courses.

I was so happy. And he was happy too.

I didn't see Robert for maybe a year or year and a half. Back in those days I was still jogging. It is very difficult to jog in the wintertime. But spring was on its way and the world was, as e.e. cummings says, "puddle wonderful." I was out jogging around the lakes on our campus, trying to miss a puddle here and not slip there. And I looked ahead of me I saw Robert jogging through this wet, cold, but wonderfully bright lake area. And I was so happy to see him: that meant that he was still at the University! I brightened up and I said "Robert!" And at that point Robert spat in my face and said, "Faggot!"

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We must be here for the Roberts of the world.

Can you... can you imagine what it would be like to be Robert? Can you imagine what it would be like to be Robert's wife? Forget the spit on my face. Can you imagine what it would be like to be Robert's daughter? Coming to your father with a need, any kind of need. Anything that stretched him to reach out to her? What we know as Christians on our journey, Robert so much needs. I knew in the moment that Robert's spit got in my eyes, just as Jesus talks about spittle taking scales off your eyes, that the Roberts of the world are vastly in need of love! We must learn how to speak that love.

This has nothing to do with how "good" we are. We're not here to proclaim our righteousness, but God's infinite mercy, and God's love. I don't understand this either! Why would God take an old queen like me, and love me? But, I've been asking myself over the last year, with so many celebrations and arthritis hitting in so many more places, what does it mean? Why did you choose me and others like me, God? What does this lesbian/gay movement mean to the world? And it's not to get straight people to love us. It really isn't. It's to tell them that we've been loved by God.

You see, so many people talk about faith as if it's our gift to God, and if you don't pay you don't get in. It's not that way at all! It's God's gift to us! We don't have anything to do with it! God already loves us.

There are people who are dying who may never know that God loves them unless they can see that God loves a tired old queen like me. And She does!

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The man I married and I were both enormously loved by both of our parents, which made it a lot easier to understand God's love. But I just didn't understand how, with all of the horrible things that happened, it never seemed to get to him at all. Maybe it was because he is African American and just finally got his own coping mechanism that if you take it all seriously you'll never get through the day. I don't know.

Oh, once in a while we would notice that in going to the grocery store in Fort Valley, Georgia, that whenever we would go in together, all the people who worked in the grocery store, no matter what they were doing or how crowded it was, would go back behind the butcher's two-way counter and watch the faggots shop. And it would really get to me but it never got to him, and one day he noticed it was getting to me and rather impatiently he said, "Oh honey! They may gloat, but we're the stars!"

Ernest's reticence did bother me because you want in an intimate relationship for people to share with you pain and suffering of their own. Though if I subjected him to every one of my painful stories he'd tell me to get up and go on about my life and not worry about them. But one evening very early, maybe a year, into our relationship -- a long time ago! -- I said to him, "Baby, didn't they ever get to you? At least once?"

He moved the conversation into another register and said, "Well, I remember once when I was a child, I was visiting my aunt in Florida, and I must have been nine or ten years old. Maybe twelve or thirteen, I don't remember. But, I had been down to the playground, and the boys had started teasing me about the way I walked. And I said, 'What do you mean? What's wrong with the way I walk?'

"And they said, 'Well, you walk like a girl.'

"'Like a girl? What's like a girl about the way I'm walking?'"

They didn't want to play with him. He felt embarrassed, and he started on the way home. And he said that as he approached the house his aunt was out on the back screen porch. He couldn't see her but she could see him. And as he came closer he was trying to walk this way, and then this way, but none of it was working right and it was all very awkward and he was really hurting.

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She came off the porch, and he didn't see her come off the porch, and she was there in the backyard. And as they came up together she said, "Boy, what you doing?"

He lowered his eyes and he looked to the ground and said, "Ma'am?"

"What you doing?"

"Nothin'."

"But what you doing?"

"Walking."

"Walking?"

"Yas'm, just walking."

"But son, you been here how long? Eight weeks? I been watching you go over to that playground every day. You never walked like this! What you doing now is not walking!"

"Yas'm."

In a wonderful change in her mood, a gentleness, she came up and put her arms around him and said, "Son, did they tease you down at the playground?"

"Yas'm."

"About the way you walk?"

"Yas'm."

"Son, God gave you the legs that you have. And you've been walking on 'em pretty well until today. You can't be walking on nobody else's legs. God loves you just the way you are! You hear me?"

This article is an excerpt from: Clay, L. (2015). Welcome to Samaria. In M. Niedzwiecki (Ed.), Letters from Samaria: The Prose and Poetry of Louie Crew Clay 1974-2014 (pp. 72-75). New York, NY: Morehouse Publishing.
If you want it, you need to do one simple thing, go after it.

Want to change your life? Want to change someone else's life? Then follow your heart. Reach deep inside, bring out all the courage you've got, fight every obstacle, ignore the naysayers, embrace the pain, accept the helping hand that's offered to you and show others what you are made of.

Then share your story to inspire others, because everyone has a story.

I am Mark Brodinsky and this is The Sunday Series.

The Sunday Series (90): Listen To Your Heart (YogaNanda)

"I'm so lucky since I moved to this country, everything I've accomplished here is because of the support. I have people who believe in me, I have the fire, but I have them supporting me. And I have the biggest strength, my sister, because I'm doing this for her."

-- Nanda Oliveira

What Nanda Oliveira is doing is called yoga. The perfect blend of physical, mental and spiritual being. The poses, when done perfectly, are breathtaking to observe. The slow, deep breathing is cleansing, the feeling of a greater sense of self and intense discipline can take you to another place. For Nanda yoga takes her to a place deep in her heart, mind and soul.

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Nanda's heart, which wants to carry on the legacy of her sister Renata. It's been ten years since Renata, at the still tender age of 25, passed away after a long battle with multiple sclerosis.

"My sister was so special," says Nanda. "For ten years she fought against MS, always with a smile on her face. What I remember most is that big, bright smile. And she was a fighter. Despite being told she would never be able to have children, she was able to give birth to my nephew, who is now also part of her legacy."

It was shortly after Renata's passing that Nanda made the decision to travel from Brazil and come live in America. And it is with her sister's memory and Nanda's desire to "do more with her life," which led to her decision to take on the challenge of becoming a certified yoga teacher -- and eventually work with those who must battle the same disease that claimed Renata's life.

Nanda's yoga journey is a tremendous lesson for anyone who knows what they want, but is still trying to find the drive and discipline to make it happen, to make their dream come true. For starters it's about setting the goal: "My whole year has been based around yoga," says Nanda. "In the new year I always make a resolution and I set my mind, and this year I decided I was going to be a certified yoga teacher, that was my goal. I started taking yoga six months before I started training, (last April), and saw the changes in my body and mind. I loved it."

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With each exhale in her yoga routine Nanda says her mind is "perfectly distracted" from all the problems and challenges of life. She says she feels the experience in her soul, taking her back to a time when life was less complex: "Yoga has brought me back to how I was raised in Brazil," says Nanda. "I was raised simple and not needing much to survive, leading a simple life. Somehow I got lost a little in America and yoga has shown me again you can live life in a different way, the way I was raised. I'm not sure how I allowed myself to get lost, but it feels so good to be thankful and grateful again for just being alive."

But the reward of "feeling alive" comes with a price to pay, challenges to overcome. It always does when you pursue a dream. In this case Nanda faced a few hundred hours of challenges.

For this 34-year-old woman, wife and mother of a 2-year-old son, the challenges of a 200-hour yoga course at first seemed overwhelming. Nanda already works six long mornings a week as an instructor at barre, a fitness studio in Baltimore which offers a mix of ballet, yoga and pilates. She also works three afternoons a week as the Relationship Manager at USHEALTH Advisors and because of her husband's own busy work schedule, as the primary caretaker for her son Aiden. There are only 168 hours in a week and most of those were already taken up with her two jobs, her son and trying to squeeze in the necessities of life, like food shopping, household chores and sleep. Now Nanda was staring at 200 hours of yoga training to earn her certification and the still-to-come big surprise about "outside" training...

Nanda remembers, "On the first night of yoga training we learned about the extra work I would need to do, three separate yoga classes a week, on top of the 200 hours of class and studying. I thought there is no way I can do this. But I went home that first weekend and thought I have to find a way to do this -- because from that first night of class I was hooked. There were 30 people in my class and they all have busy lives, they have kids and jobs and they figure it out. I just thought this is my passion and I will do this."

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Plus there was the expense of classes and instruction, studying yoga books and the fourth language Nanda would need to learn, (she already speaks three), called Sanskrit, the Indian language used for yoga poses. Nanda says, "I'm thinking all of this the first night. I have to take three yoga classes a week, do homework, learn another language and with little time to handle all of it. I just decided I'm going to do it, I'm not giving up. I'm not a quitter. I'm going to do this."

As Nanda has learned at every turn since coming to the United States 10 years ago, you don't accomplish anything by yourself, and Nanda has plenty to be proud of since her arrival from Brazil (http://markbrodinsky.com/the-sunday-series-22-with-mark-brodinsky/). If help is offered Nanda has learned to accept it, be grateful and go all in. "I have great bosses" says Nanda, "who gave me time off, or found substitutes while I took yoga classes. And I have my husband's grandparents, Barbara Grelli and Gene Grelli. I will be forever grateful to them because for the nine months of the long weekend training they kept Aiden at their house safe, while I was pursuing my dream without any concern, because I knew they were taking good care of my son."

It's the support, the passion, the motivation, and the discipline that get you where you want to go. To observe Nanda go after what she wants -- the planning, the preparation, the never-ending enthusiasm and positive attitude she carries -= is as inspiring as the yoga poses she can perform with seemingly perfect ease. They look easy only because Nanda understands that the positive results you want must come from hard work and practice. Nanda says: "People say to me you succeed in everything you do in your life, so what's the secret? The secret is there is no secret, I do it with my heart. I feel like anything you are going to do with your heart you are going to succeed."

And there's the extra inspiration and motivation -- the memory of her big sister Renata -- lighting up Nanda's heart every step of the way." Once I have more experience and training I can use yoga and start to help people with multiple sclerosis and carry my sister's legacy." Nanda also wants to help people in hospitals and work with seniors. But no matter what the age, Nanda believes through teaching yoga she can help other people not only learn more about their bodies, but just as importantly, help impact their minds, how they think, how they feel, how they view life and to help them listen, as yoga has helped Nanda to do.

Nanda says yoga not only distracts her from the daily challenges of life, but it has taught her many things about herself, including creating a new habit. "Yoga taught me how to listen more. Sometimes people just want you to listen to them. I do that with clients now at barre and yoga, I just listen. They just want someone to take the time, they don't want, or need advice. I think yoga has taught me to really listen to people's hearts."

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The synergy here is deep. Nanda listened to her heart and found yoga. She now has a deeper sense of self, which has taught her and all those who have watched her journey what dedication, devotion, passion and persistence are all about. And now as a yoga teacher she can one day help others who struggle with MS, bringing with her the memory of the one person who for Nanda's entire life has helped her listen to the music in her heart... Renata.

Mark

Mark Brodinsky, Author, Blogger, Speaker, Speech Writer, Emmy Winner, USHEALTH Advisors
vector illustration of no gun allowed sign

I traveled to Washington D.C. and stood with President Obama as he took measures to make our communities safer. Gun violence is not just a local problem or an inner-city problem --it's an American problem. 1.5 million Americans have been killed by gunfire on U.S soil since 1968.

That's more than the number of troops killed in all of our nation's wars since the nation's founding. Mass shootings rightfully command our attention, but we must recognize that in America we average 33 gun deaths daily. That amounts to a collective mass shooting every single day. America has a problem with gun violence.

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Requiring all gun purchases to include a background check is a common sense, simple step, which will make it harder for criminals and those who intend to commit crimes to access firearms. The Obama Administration is also investing $500 million to increase access to mental health care offerings, which is a major factor. With expanded background checks and more resources for effective enforcement of existing gun laws, the President's actions are just some of the ways that we, as a country can reduce the gun violence that happens each and every day.

Boston is one of America's safest, large cities, and our 33 gun homicides this year are a historically low number. But yet, taken together, they would make up one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. And because these deaths are concentrated in a small number of communities, their traumatic impact is not so different from that of a mass shooting. Mayors and police chiefs see the fallout up close. We visit crime scenes and sit with families. We see the trauma, the impact on public health, on education, on job growth, on community pride and neighborhood well being. The inability of Congress to pass even the most common-sense measures, like background checks, is discouraging. But we can't allow ourselves to become apathetic. We have to ask why and how this is happening, and what we can do to stop it.

In Boston, we have gone all-in on police-community relations. We've created a Social Justice Task Force made up of clergy and community leaders, held Peace Walks in affected neighborhoods, and made our gun buyback a tool of community engagement. We've brought services to the highest-risk young people from the earliest age we can identify them. These actions have made a difference and we have had a steady stream of interest in our policies from other cities and from the U.S. Attorney General's office.

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Ultimately, we have an issue of access to guns that originates far beyond the local community. Our police officers have taken 1,061 guns off the streets in 2014, and 785 guns in 2015. We're looking to make even more progress in 2016, but the guns keep coming. With nearly 70 percent of Boston's crime guns coming from outside Massachusetts, we know that this is not just a local issue, or an inner-city issue. Guns move across city and state lines and all too easily from legal ownership to criminal possession. We have to reach beyond city limits to find a solution. If we had a contaminated food supply, we would treat the sick and we would urge safety measures, but we would go much further. We would find the source of the contamination and clean it up without delay, even if that took us out of state. That's how we should treat gun violence as well. We do all we can to make our communities safe, but we have to move up the chain to find the source of the problem.

We have partnered with the Bloomberg Foundation's Everytown for Gun Safety, and with the Rappaport Institute at Harvard, to research the origins of crime guns in Boston. It showed that two-thirds of our crime guns come from states with weak gun laws. We have convened regional gun trafficking summits to forge data-sharing agreements with neighboring states, but we also found that nearly one-third of the crime guns recovered in Boston were first sold by federally licensed gun dealers right here in Massachusetts. The vast majority of those guns were not held by the original buyer, nor had they been reported as sold, lost, or stolen.

These findings are troubling--but they open a window for action. The law that the Legislature passed last year requires prior approval and registration of private gun sales. As the state ramps up enforcement, we will be able to stop legally purchased guns from becoming crime guns. Locally, we are starting the conversation. We sent a letter to every licensed gun owner in the City of Boston explaining the new law, promoting the buyback program, and offering a free gun lock as well as safety advice. One gun owner from Dorchester wrote back and said, "until your letter, we have been virtually excluded from the discussion of how to reduce violence." We expect legal gun owners to be valuable partners moving forward.

Another challenge is holding retailers, distributors, and manufacturers accountable for safe practices. To do so, we have joined with the nonprofit Arms with Ethics to create the Boston Responsible Gun Vendor Initiative. Local governments and law enforcement agencies are one of the industry's biggest markets, spending more than a billion dollars each year on guns and ammunition. Moving forward, bidders for gun contracts with the Boston Police Department will be scored on the measures they take to prevent straw purchases and theft, and we will offer all vendors support and advice on adopting and documenting best safety practices.

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This year in the City of Boston, gun homicides are down considerably (a 13.5 per cent decrease from 2014), but shootings are slightly up (a 18 per cent increase from 2014 for non-fatal shootings). We should resist any temptation to see a non-fatal shooting as a minor event: children are growing up in our city believing that getting shot is a common occurrence. We must begin answering the tough questions, as well as asking them. We have the tools. We have the will. Let's not wait any longer. Let's make a difference together. Let's show the nation a way forward, out of this crisis.
I've been to eastern Oregon; it's a harsh, forsaken place -- a wide scrubland filled with pronghorn, mule deer, broad fault-block mountains, and leftover lava floes from the Miocene epoch. Black-tailed jackrabbits dart in the sagebrush while prairie falcon survey from their nests, eyeing rodents beneath the gnarled western juniper. I was surprised to find sunflower here, the crags reveal blossoms from May to August. In the early Nineteenth Century, Lewis and Clark gathered bouquets of the wooly variety for their studies.

In 1992, I infiltrated the neo-fascist Oregon Citizens Alliance and listened to Lon Mabon preach hatred during the long days and nights of Ballot Measure 9. To this day, I don't know why I put myself in harm's way. I shaved my head, wore skinhead clothes, and wrote about it in my black-bound journals. I hoped to publish these pages, but I never did. I also never forgot the hatred I saw written on that cold, arid steppe.

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Militia groups have been active in the Northwest for decades. What they want is an overthrow of federal authority and a return to old-school traditional family values. Like ISIS, they want a reformed way of life few members ever personally experienced. It's a strange ideal of the land belonging to the people, which it never did -- in eastern Oregon the land belongs to no one but the coyote and rattlesnake.

White European pioneers plundered Northern Paiute bands to create a dystopian range without spiritual tissue. Equally, today's militiamen need an enemy like a drunk needs liquor. These foes -- government officials, native tribes, groups like the ROP, or the Bureau of Land Management -- far right groups pursue with religious fervor. The white men of the high desert still pine for a wilderness they can burn with impunity. So it's high time we drive these invasive species out.

But I remember Ruby Ridge, and I remember the subsequent Oklahoma City bombing that resulted in the death of 168 innocent Americans. I remember Waco too. Watching the slaughter on television, wondering why a group of children should pay the price for the Branch Davidian arsenal and a zealot like David Koresh. There were no answers, only flames and the smell of burning flesh--tanks and concrete walls choked with thick black smoke. We cannot repeat this mistake.

When Black Lives Matter and the white militia in Oregon both fight for the same thing -- an end to mandatory minimums -- it should be a unifying moment. But it isn't. Both sides are polarized -- the Bundy clan with their snack-free militia, the left with their bitter rhetoric about race, and neither side's tactics pierce the shell of the real problem, nor reduce mandatory minimums -- a truly damnable practice.

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Liberals and conservatives should view this as a bridge moment. Instead, we zoom right past it. We talk about race and disparity -- all true, if they were black or Muslim, the white Bundy militiamen now occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge would be treated differently -- but at what point do we go for the gold and pass on the obvious lead?

Republicans and Democrats should be challenging elected officials to reform the prison industrial complex, yet bias on both sides feeds political dysfunction. This is a perfect example of why we are where we are today -- immobile, deadlocked in America, incapable of forward motion.

The American right and left divide serves no one. It's a construct that pays for political campaigns and the ubiquitous media machine. While the political class gains power, the people serve real time -- listening to our extreme propaganda, parsing everything into simplistic terms, trying to swallow indigestible tidbits and half-truths.

Now, the horrible Bundy clan takes center stage. Their lack of preparedness mirrors their inexperience and their sham pursuit. Blink and it will go dark as the eastern Oregon night, also without power. Like the gnarled and crippled juniper, the Bundy's are an invasive species and should be run out.

None of this is worth shedding blood -- like screaming "background check!" at a red state gun show then watching as sales quadruple. I pray it doesn't end with American bodies carted off in black neoprene bags. The Obama administration should deescalate the crisis and grant clemency to everyone serving absurdly long prison time. No matter if this moment comes in black or white, the time for reform is long past due.

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As for the left, we should recognize a bridge moment when we see one. Our reactionary and willful ignorance about rural American life is crippling progress. As we move further and further away from the working class, and fail to find common ground with the right, we clip our own wings. Prison reform will take greater effort than a mouse-click and a public share.
Dear Governor Snyder:

Thanks to you, sir, and the premeditated actions of your administrators, you have effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children in my hometown of Flint, Michigan.

And for that, you have to go to jail.

To poison all the children in an historic American city is no small feat. Even international terrorist organizations haven't figured out yet how to do something on a magnitude like this.

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But you did. Your staff and others knew that the water in the Flint River was poison -- but you decided that taking over the city and "cutting costs" to "balance the budget" was more important than the people's health (not to mention their democratic rights to elect their own leaders.) So you cut off the clean, fresh glacial lake water of Lake Huron that the citizens of Flint (including myself) had been drinking for decades and, instead, made them drink water from the industrial cesspool we call the Flint River -- a body of "water" where toxins from a dozen General Motors and DuPont factories have been dumped for over a hundred years. And then you decided to put a chemical in this water to "clean" it -- which only ended up stripping the lead off of Flint's aging water pipes, placing that lead in the water and sending it straight into people's taps. Your callous -- and reckless (btw, "reckless" doesn't get you a pass; a reckless driver who kills a child, still goes to jail) -- decision to do this has now, as revealed by the city's top medical facility, caused "irreversible brain damage" in Flint's children, not to mention other bodily damage to all of Flint's adults. Here's how bad it is: Even GM won't let the auto parts they use in building cars touch the Flint water because that water "corrodes" them. This is a company that won't even fix an ignition switch after they've discovered it's already killed dozens of people. THAT's how bad the situation is. Even GM thinks you're the devil.

Maybe you don't understand the science behind this. Lead, in water -- now, bear with me, this involves a science lesson and you belong to the anti-science party, the one that believes there's not a climate problem and that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago. Lead is toxic to the human body. There's no way to fully eliminate it once it's in your system, and children are the most damaged by it.

By taking away the city's clean drinking water in order to "cut costs," and then switching the city's water supply to Flint River water, you have allowed massively unsafe levels of pollutants and lead into the water that travels in to everyone's home. Every Flint resident is trapped by this environmental nightmare which you, Governor, have created.

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Like any real criminal, when you were confronted with the truth (by the EPA and other leading water experts across America), you denied what you did. Even worse, you decided to mock your accusers and their findings. As I said, I know you don't like to believe in a lot of science (after all, you used to run Gateway Computers, and that, really, is all anyone needs to know about you), but this time the science has caught up with you -- and this time, I hope, it's going to convict you.

The facts are all there, Mr. Snyder. Every agency involved in this scheme reported directly to you. The children of Flint didn't have a choice as to whether or not they were going to get to drink clean water. But soon it will be your turn to not have that choice about which water you'll be drinking. Because by this time next year, if there is an ounce of justice left in this land, the water you'll be drinking will be served to you from a tap inside Jackson Prison.

I am calling upon my fellow Michiganders -- and seekers of justice everywhere -- to petition U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asking her to arrest you for corruption and assault (i.e., the physical assault you committed against the children of Flint when you knowingly poisoned them).

Yesterday, the federal prosecutor in Flint, after many of us had called for months for this action, finally opened up an investigation into the matter. Now we need your arrest, prosecution and conviction.

And who will be cheering on that day when you are fitted with a bright orange jumpsuit? The poor and minority communities of Michigan who've endured your dictatorial firing of their mayors and school boards so you could place your business friends in charge of their mostly-black cities. They know you never would have done this to a wealthy white suburb.

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I welcome all to look at the appalling facts of this case, which have been reported brilliantly here, here, and especially here by the great Rachel Maddow. Thank you, Rachel, for caring so deeply when the rest of the national television media didn't.

I'm asking everyone who agrees with me to sign on to this petition and call for your arrest, Governor Snyder. You are not allowed to run amok in my hometown like you have done. The children whom you have poisoned have to endure a life of pain and lower IQs from your actions. You have destroyed a generation of children -- and for that, you must pay.

It is time for you to go to prison. Out of mercy, I'll ask that you have in your cell your own personal Gateway computer.

Sincerely,

Michael Moore

Flint native

Michigan resident and voter
Voice search is actively shaping the future of SEO and changing how SEO techniques are adopted in the mobile age. While Google's most recent mobile update put quite a bit of attention on the importance of mobile optimized pages, it's essential for digital marketers to consider Siri in their 2016 search engine strategies.

The Emerging Trend of Mobile and Voice Search

While Mobilegeddon put new emphasis on the importance of mobile search, many SEO professionals may have missed its effect on voice search. According to a study from Northstar Research, 55 percent of teenagers are using voice search every day, and 56 percent of adults use it because it helps them feel more "tech-savvy."

Said simply, speaking is a lot easier and more efficient than typing. Rather than writing out what you have to say, millennials and Generation Z can use Google Now, Cortana and Siri to ask away. Why type when you can talk?

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All About Voice Search

According to an official Google blog post from May 2015, "more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan." With 87 percent of the world's population owning a smart phone, 2015 was the year of mobile as more people used their smart phones and tablets instead of the traditional desktop or laptop computer.

As we type away on the commute to and from work, we also speak to Siri and talk to Google Now. If questions can be asked and answers posed directly from search, have we eliminated the need for web pages? We need look no further than Google Answers to answer our question.

According to research, Google is providing a direct answer result on about 19.5 percent of total search engine queries. This figure is up from four percent in the last year alone. And just two years ago, the idea of Google Answers was yet to be seen in search engine results pages. Clearly, Google is intent on delivering quick answers for users on the go.

As an online business owner, SEO company or digital marketer, you should be asking yourself a few questions:

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If users no longer need to click on an actual web page to access information, am I likely to see a decrease in organic search traffic?

How can I deliver the same text based information from my web pages via voice search?

Speaking of voice, what is my brand's tone and how do I convey it in as natural language as possible?

The age of relying writing for robots and keyword stuffing is over, and in its place comes conversational search queries.

The Importance of Natural Language

When someone searches for something the traditional way we often think about the shortest queries we can enter in order to get better Google results. Not so with voice search. We're much more likely to say to Siri, "Where is the closest coffee shop?" as opposed to typing "Coffee Shop NYC." Voice search answers the "who, what, where, why and how" questions we often ask in natural discourse.

Google has long sought to diminish the relevance of keyword-focused queries. Why? Instead of delivering valuable content, many search marketers try to over-optimize their web pages by stuffing keywords anywhere and everywhere. Now, thanks to our mobile browsing, Google has another reason to refocus on a resolution.

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The conversational search queries created by voice search do not (typically) use keywords, so sites that focus on providing real "who, what, where, why and how" answers will outrank their competition.

Act Now and get Voice Search Ready

The good news is, there are a number of actionable steps you can take right now to get your website voice-search ready. These include:

Implement Long-Tail Keywords: With longer queries originating from voice searchers, you should begin targeting longer tail keywords as well.

Use a FAQ Strategy: What "who, what, where, why and how" questions are your customers asking? Address those answers in your web pages, blog and social media posts.

Write Content in a Natural Voice: Not only will your brand sound more conversational, but you'll be speaking the language used by your customers in voice search.
WASHINGTON - JUNE 8: Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of The Alabama Supreme Court, testifies at a Senate Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights Subcommittee hearing, entitled 'Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance: Hostility to Religious Expression in the Public Square.' on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC June 8, 2004. Moore was removed from office for refusing to take down a public display of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, is once again trying to ban marriages for gays and lesbians in his state, handing down an order directing probate judges to stop issuing licenses. But Moore is offering convoluted legal reasoning to mask his true belief: That only his God can decide who gets married.

Moore blocked gay marriages before, claiming his state had sovereignty, but eventually backed off after legal challenges. Now he's come up with a new legal argument: That the Obergefell decision only applies to the marriage bans challenged in the states in that case, which reached the high court: Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio. Thus, he claims, it's yet to be seen whether it applies in Alabama.

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This would of course be equivalent to saying that Loving v. Virginia, the case that struck down bans on interracial marriages in 1967, only applied to Virginia, or Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy bans, only did so for Texas. We could in fact pick case after case in which the Supreme Court did not specify that the ruling only applied to the locality in question and say the same thing. In other words, Moore's argument is ludicrous.

And it's actually cowardly for Moore, who has proudly offered his true reasoning in the past: He doesn't believe the Supreme Court has the authority to hand down such decisions because the high court is subject to God's law, which he believes bans marriage for gays and lesbians.

As I wrote last February when Moore halted marriages then, he told me all of this in a couple of interviews in years past.

"Are laws themselves superseded by God?" I asked him in an interview on my radio program in 2011. "I think you're correct in saying that," he answered. "This is a Christian nation by the fact that 90% of the churches in America are Christian churches and it's certainly founded upon Christian principles. The supreme law of the land is the Constitution of the United States which recognizes many of those principles. Our freedom to believe what we want comes from God. When it comes from God, no man or no court, can take it away. That's a God-given right under the Declaration of Independence, which is law itself."

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At the time, Moore had been mulling a presidential run and was giving a lot of interviews. He'd been chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court previously, from 2001 to 2003, and had been famously removed from the court by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary after he refused to follow a federal ruling -- which went up to the Supreme Court -- that he had to remove a Ten Commandments monument he'd placed in the courthouse rotunda. He spent the next few years staging a comeback, running for governor twice (and losing) and talking up the possible run for the presidency. He was eventually elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court once again in 2012.

In 2002, Moore wrote a 9-0 decision in which the Alabama Supreme Court gave custody of three teenagers to their heterosexual father rather than their lesbian mother after the parents divorced.

"Homosexuality," he wrote in the decision, is "an inherent evil, and if a person openly engages in such a practice, that fact alone would render him or her an unfit parent." Moore went on to say that homosexuality is "abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature."

When I asked Moore where in the law or in the Constitution it stated such things, he said, "I quoted the law. The [British] common law designated homosexuality as an inherent evil. The Constitution is predicated on the [British] common law. I'm quoting the history of the [British] common law upon which our Constitution is based."

Moore said that even after the ruling by the Supreme Court in 2003 that struck down sodomy bans across the country, it wouldn't change his view or his decision on that lesbian custody case.

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"What the court said is that you couldn't punish [sodomy] criminally," he said. "The court did not say that sodomy or homosexuality had any kind of public right."

It's interesting that he didn't say that the sodomy decision only applied to Texas, the state that was challenged in the case -- as he is saying now about Obergefell -- but instead claimed some other twisted reasoning. His legal arguments are a mish mash and inconsistent because they are cobbled together to fit his agenda at a given moment. They mask what is Moore's only truly consistent belief: That his God and his bible determine American law.
Libertarian technology enthusiasts get very excited about the idea of apps and other new tech ideas disrupting existing markets and creating new ones. The problem, though, is that the ultimate goal tends to be less about "disrupting" markets than creating new ones with almost no rules. Which brings us to the case of Airbnb. Everything Airbnb projects in its warm and fuzzy public communications strategy is that the company is all about allowing individuals to cut deals with each other to rent all or part of their homes to traveling strangers from around the world. That is a fun idea which, as the company reminds us all of in every advertisement and public statement, brings in a little revenue for the people renting their places out and gives some good deals to travelers. The problem is that in the rule-free marketplace Airbnb is trying to create, there is a whole lot more going on than the friendly homeowner connecting to the friendly tourist. In New York City, for example, Airbnb, is happy to give out the statistic that less than 2% of their hosts rent out three or more listings, but they are less likely to mention that those 2% took home 24% of the home/apartment rental income, or that there are 300 different hosts in the city with six or more listings. And in studies in other cities throughout the country, the renting units listed as "commercial lessors" were growing steadily and becoming a major share of the Airbnb revenue. Added to these worries is some very big news that hit just before the beginning of the year. Three of the nation's largest landlords -- Equity residential, AvalonBay Communities Inc. and Camden Property Trust, which between them own almost 250,000 apartment units -- are holding talks with Airbnb about allowing apartment dwellers to market rooms through the companies' network in exchange for a slice of the revenue. This is a big deal because it would mean a fundamental change in the Airbnb business model, one that could very quickly morph into massive apartment buildings basically becoming regulation-free hotels. I have had a variety of concerns with the Airbnb and Uber business models for a long time. As I wrote last May:

But these new talks between Airbnb and these massive apartment building conglomerates represent two massive new public policy issues. The first is that just as Uber's ultimate goal is to supplant the taxi industry, this new business strategy is about Airbnb ultimately wanting to undercut the hotel industry in a more serious way. The libertarian tech folks would argue that this is perfectly okay, that if we do away with many of the almost 2,000,000 jobs in the hotel industry, that is just fine because, well, that's what free markets do.



For those of us who care about building a society with more stable long term jobs, though, just blowing up industries and millions of jobs without thinking about it isn't the way to go. And when you add in the still unanswered questions about the civil rights, disability rights, health and safety rules, and other regulations hotel owners need to live under -- and what happens to all that in the new Airbnb/Uber world -- it seems a lot better to slow this process down a little. Let's ask some reasonable questions, and have cities, states, the FTC, and other governmental bodies think through all the consequences of the brave new world being created.



The second issue is about what this new landlord/Airbnb arrangement does to the affordability and availability of housing for lower and middle income people in big cities. With the current trendlines showing major new movement of younger and more affluent people into urban centers, housing affordability and availability is already a pressing issue. If Airbnb cuts big new deals with landlords owning hundreds of thousands of apartments, these issues get magnified in a very big way. Take a look at this really important study from one of the best community/labor coalitions in the country, LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy), where they documented early in 2015 the impact Airbnb was already having on housing: Airbnn, Rising Rent, and The Housing Crisit in Los Angeles. Now if you add in a new set of deals with the biggest apartment building conglomerates in the country, and you have a world of hurt on your hands in most of America's big cities.



New technology innovations are a great thing, and if they help us build a better economy and society, that is wonderful. But let's make sure we are thinking through these new business models, and making sure they are both competing with existing businesses on an even playing field, and not having a big negative impact on important things like jobs and housing in the meantime. Health and safety rules for hotels, civil rights laws, the ADA, fair housing laws, zoning ordinances, and other regulations exist for a good reason: let's not let the high tech libertarians sweep them out of exist without thinking through the implications.
With so much senseless animal cruelty in the world it can often seem like compassionate minded individuals have little hope of changing the status quo. However, history has shown that public opinion and consumer power have long been driving forces in influencing corporate behavior and legislative initiatives. It just takes time. The cruelty free cosmetics movement is no exception.

Over the last 25 years, the public demand for cruelty free cosmetics has grown in tandem with forward thinking cosmetic companies that have sworn off animal testing. In tandem with consumer and industry demand, innovative non-animal testing strategies that yield efficient and accurate safety data have proliferated. Changes in the law haven't been far behind.

In 2000, California became the first state in the US to require that available non-animal safety tests be used before resorting to animal tests. New Jersey and New York passed the same mandate in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

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Meanwhile in Europe, public policy on the issue was advancing on a larger scale. In 2004, animal testing for finished cosmetic products was prohibited and a phase out of animal testing for cosmetic ingredients began with an end date of 2009. Then on March 11, 2013, the European Union prohibited the sale of new cosmetics that have been tested on animals. This historic change simply would not have happened without consistent and persistent public support and consumer action.

Following the success in Europe, Cruelty Free International has been working to put the issue of animal testing for cosmetics on the political agenda in nations around the world. With the world's largest cosmetics market now closed to animal testing, and public support greater than ever, governments around the world have become increasingly proactive with new laws and proposals aimed and phasing out animal testing for cosmetics. It can be a dizzying feat to keep up with all the action! With this in mind, I've provided a summary of the most significant strides in the past three years.

India: Citing ethical, consumer safety, and economic benefits, India prohibited animal testing for cosmetics in 2013 followed by a prohibition on the sale of animal tested cosmetics in 2014. This change came about thanks in large part to our partners People For Animals and their founder Maneka Gandhi.

Brazil: After a whirlwind nine-month campaign by the Cruelty Free International Brazil representative Dr. Frank Alarcon, a bill was passed by the Lower House in 2014 that would immediately end testing on finished products and would phase in a requirement for the use of alternative tests for ingredients as alternatives are accepted by Brazilian authorities or within five years whichever comes first. The bill is now is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

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United States: In March 2014, Cruelty Free International welcomed the introduction of the Humane Cosmetics Act hosting the first congressional briefing on the bill. Then in June, 2015 the Humane Cosmetics Act returned with new bi-partisan leadership. The bill would phase out animal testing for cosmetics in the United States within one year of enactment and would prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals within three years of enactment. U.S. citzens can take action to support this bill.

Vietnam: In May 2014, the Vietnamese Government ended the use of the cruel Draize rabbit eye test for cosmetics. This crucial breakthrough was negotiated by Cruelty Free International Director of Policy, Dr Nick Palmer, at the conclusion of the successful alternatives training program funded by Cruelty Free International at the Institute of Drug Quality Control in Vietnam.

China: China is the only country that still requires animal tests for imports, but progress is being made. Cruelty Free International established the China Task Force bringing together leading cosmetics companies, the cosmetics industry, and regulators to press for cruelty-free cosmetics in the country. As first step, in June 2014, China ended the animal-testing requirement for most cosmetics if they are manufactured in the country. Eventual lifting of the animal testing requirement for direct imports is expected.

New Zealand: While animal testing for cosmetics had already been effectively ruled out via an existing regulatory requirement, in 2015 the prohibition on the use of animals to test finished cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients was solidified in law.

Argentina: In June 2015, Cruelty Free International provided guidance on a new bill introduced in Argentina that would end the animal testing of cosmetics ingredients and prohibit the sale of new animal tested cosmetics in Argentina after a two year phase in. Violation of the law would result in hefty fines which would be ear-marked for animal protection and welfare programs in Argentina.

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Russia: In August 2015, Cruelty Free International applauded the publication of a new cross-party Bill in the Russian parliament that would phase out all animal testing for cosmetics and their ingredients by 2020.

South Korea: Two years ago Cruelty Free International began working with Representative Jeong-Lim Moon, Assembly Members and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on a bill to phase out animal testing for cosmetics. Earlier this week, Cruelty Free International welcomed the passing of a Bill by the Korea National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee to end the use of animals to test cosmetics in Korea and will be made law in the coming weeks.

And that's just the highlights!

I can't wait to see what further changes 2016 will bring. A few things are clear; modern non-animal safety tests are the future of cosmetics safety testing and cosmetics companies must increasingly consider consumers and governments in their product testing decisions.
In the year since the Charlie Hebdo terror attack, free speech and political correctness, particularly in the West, have been presented as antithetical. Both conservative and liberal intellectuals have noted that political correctness has dissuaded free speech and silenced meaningful dialogue.



On Wednesday, I attended a panel discussion at the Newseum on the chilling ramifications on free speech since Charlie Hebdo, and how many media organizations have resorted to self-censorship. As a few of the panelists noted, the Constitution enshrined the right to offend as a bedrock of free speech, but in recent years, the right not to be offended has taken precedent.



While much of the discourse has centered on political correctness and Islam (particularly charges of Islamophobia at anything or anyone critical of radical ideology), it's probably worth noting that there is a much deeper -- and troubling -- trend in the United States (and other parts of the world): ideological, intellectual, and discursive segregation, which has paralyzed efforts at dialogue among communities.



For years, this segregation was taking place among conservatives, whose rightward lurch was fueled by a 24-7 infotainment complex driven by conspiracies, xenophobia and paranoia. Moreover, it tapped into the frustrations of working and middle class white Americans who perceived their ability to participate in the public sphere to be under threat.



But if this were just a phenomenon on one side of the ideological spectrum, it would be easier to label this as simply a far-flung reaction to changing social realities across the country. However, the segregation and self-censorship among liberals, shaped partly by the desire not to offend, has been just as devastating, in part because it has undermined what many progressives have hailed as a pillar of liberalism: the ability to debate ideas and confront difficult issues. Instead, there has been a growing intellectual segregation among those on the left of the ideological spectrum, exacerbated by the idea of cultivating safe spaces -- which I consider to be a euphemism for an echo chamber.



Writers such as Jonathan Chait have highlighted how American campuses have played a role in this segregation, while President Obama has chided those who insist on making political correctness dogmatic. As former professor, I tend to agree to an extent with Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt's assessment that the intellectual coddling of students has discouraged critical thinking and being able to see other perspectives (which should actually be the goal of any humanities-based education). It's fostered knee-jerk reactions to contemporary social issues, and prevented students from exercising their rights to disagree.



To be sure, social media has likely aided in this polarization, as Twitter and other networks have become refuges for ideological kinship more than forums for dialogue. This isn't a generational issue, either. It seems as if ideologically, religiously, and culturally, many Americans are beginning to retreat into comfort zones, either out of fear of the Other or fear of offending the Other.



Another chilling consequence of this segregation is that marginalized communities have neither the chance to advance dialogue (and action), nor the opportunity to introspect. Simply put, some of the prominent racial, social and economic justice movements over the past five years have floundered because they don't have cohesive goals, fail to incorporate pragmatism as part of long-term growth, and stifle the possibility for internal discussion. Some of the current protest movements across the country are also not conducive to sustaining social activism. Efforts to condemn police brutality have come under fire for lacking the vision, discipline and willingness to dialogue to effect meaningful change.
It has been 31 years since the PUMA 560 robot, one of the original robotic surgical systems, was first used to place a needle for a brain biopsy in 1985. Since then robotic surgical systems have exploded in number. Shortly after PUMA 560 came the first FDA-approved system ROBODOC, designed to machine femurs in hip replacements. Since ROBODOC, this market has continued to expand. Intuitive Surgical Inc., the global leader in the robotic medical market, has placed its main product--the da Vinci Surgical System--in over 800 hospitals across America and Europe.

The term robotic is a bit of a misnomer, however. Technically speaking, these systems are not robots because the machine is not performing the operation on its own. It's actually computer-assisted surgery. Though human surgeons are not directly moving instruments with their hands, they are still seated at a console several feet from the system, operating the surgery with joysticks. Yet as these systems become better and better, will there become a point where doctors will be obsolete? Where these robotic surgical systems actually live up to their name of robot?

The benefits to these systems abound. A 2013 survey from the FDA found patients operated on by the da Vinci surgical system experienced less bleeding, fewer complications, and spent, on average, 24 less hours on recovery time. The miniaturized surgical instruments on the robotic arms allow for miniscule incisions, leaving less chance for infection and scarring. Magnified, high-definition cameras allow surgeons to zoom in until spidery veins look as thick as pens. And, possibly the greatest advantage, these machines don't tire, and they don't tremor. At the end of an all-day surgery, the metallic forceps will still be steady. With these obvious benefits, and the spike in research for this field, it would make sense to be working towards full autonomy. If humans can be completely eliminated from the equation, there is no room for error.

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In fact, in 2003 a performance study comparing manual laparoscopic surgery to assisted surgery with the da Vinci system was done. Six last-year medical students were selected to perform a surgery twice--once manually and once with assistance from the da Vinci system. Time for completion and median number of errors were noted. It was found that the students not only finished significantly quicker when assisted by da Vinci, but also performed far fewer errors.

Though the benefits are obvious, the question still remains: should these robotic surgical systems become fully autonomous? As more research institutions funnel funds into this very solution, the question becomes not one of if, but one of when. One of the current only drawbacks for these systems is the loss of haptic feedback. Because the surgeons are no longer in direct contact with the surgery, they lose that sense of touch that allows them to apply the right amount of pressure to slicing. Again, though, this problem will be remedied by time. Haptic feedback systems are already in development. Controllers that output pressure to the user alerts them to exactly how deep a tissue or muscle is.

Despite the drawbacks to these systems that will be solved by time and research, the blocks to becoming fully autonomous go beyond the technical. If these machines do take over the operating room, what will that mean for surgeons and nurses? Will the medical field suddenly become occupations parents keep their kids away from, rather than one they endorse? Or will they remain the educated, highly-paid part of society they've always been, except sitting behind machines, monitoring surgery progress, rather than plunging instruments into hearts.

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by Claire Tsosie

Finding an airline rewards program with no "blackout dates" used to be a big accomplishment for savvy travelers. These days, though, it isn't much to brag about. Airlines still have ways to limit your ability to redeem rewards for tickets besides declaring certain peak travel days off-limits. Perhaps the simplest is to restrict the number of seats available to be claimed.

"I don't think blackout dates are as big a deal anymore," says travel writer Chris Guillebeau, who has been to every country in the world and visits more than 20 countries each year. "The major issue is limited availability. I encounter it regularly."

Guillebeau says that for a recent Delta flight to Washington, D.C., he paid more than he wanted to in SkyMiles because award seats weren't available in the price range he was looking for. On another trip, traveling home from Singapore, he wasn't able to book an award ticket on Singapore Airlines because of limited availability. He ended up using United miles to fly on Thai Airways instead.

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The difficulty he encountered isn't unusual. Among 25 airlines, only two -- Southwest and AirBerlin -- made less-expensive "saver award seats" available on 100% of flights, according to a 2015 study of 7,640 booking queries from the loyalty platform Switchfly, conducted by research firm IdeaWorksCompany. The study defined saver award seats on domestic airlines as those that required 12,500 points or less for a one-way flight, or 25,000 points or less for a round trip, says Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorksCompany. On international airlines, saver award seats were defined as award seats in the lowest tier available. On all other airlines in the survey, saver award seats weren't available on at least some flights.

For would-be award travelers, limited availability can mean paying a premium in points, or shelling out cash instead.

How limited availability can make award travel more expensive

Generally, airlines make only a certain number of award seats available on each flight. Once those spaces run out, you either have to pay cash for a ticket or, in some cases, pony up more points for the airline to make an exception. While these policies offer more booking flexibility than blackout dates might, they can be difficult to understand.

Take Delta, for example. When its SkyMiles program changed in January 2015, the airline dropped blackout dates on Delta-operated flights. But in Switchfly's study, the airline's saver award seat availability rate was only 57.9% -- lower than most of the airlines queried.

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In part, this was because award tickets weren't available at all on some flights. Other times, the award ticket price exceeded the 12,500- or 25,000-point cost of a typical saver award seat on a domestic flight, Sorensen says.

The availability of affordable award seats

Switchfly's study calculated the availability of saver award seats on the flights of 25 airlines. Here's how some larger carriers stack up:

Alaska Airlines: 80%

80% American Airlines: 67.1%

67.1% British Airways: 80%

80% Delta Airlines: 57.9%

57.9% JetBlue Airways: 87.1%

87.1% Southwest Airlines: 100%

100% United Airlines: 75%

The availability of saver award seats was determined by running thousands of airfare queries. Seats were considered "available" only if there were at least two to choose from for each given query, and cost less than the threshold amounts of 12,500 points or miles for a one-way trip, or 25,000 for a roundtrip.

In some cases, seats were technically available, but were too expensive for the survey. JetBlue, for instance, says it has unlimited award seat availability. But because some of its award seat prices exceeded the saver-level award price, the airline's availability rating was listed at 87.1%, not 100%.

To be sure, some airlines, such as United and American, let you purchase standard award seats -- which aren't subject to capacity controls -- for a higher price. But these usually aren't worth it, Guillebeau says.

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"I tell people, 'You definitely want to look for saver awards, because you are not standard,' " he says.

Getting around 'limited availability'

Limited availability can make it difficult to book award travel, especially if you don't have a flexible traveling schedule. But before paying with cash, consider these other options:

Be patient. "The standard advice you get is to book 330 days in advance," Guillebeau says. "That's bad advice." Often, airlines release more award seats right before the trip. If you're having trouble finding seats, try checking back later.

"The standard advice you get is to book 330 days in advance," Guillebeau says. "That's bad advice." Often, airlines release more award seats right before the trip. If you're having trouble finding seats, try checking back later. Consider transferring rewards. Just as Guillebeau used his United miles on Thai Airways, you may gain access to more seats by using your rewards to book travel with a partner airline. Check your airline's website to find out which partners you can book award travel with.

Just as Guillebeau used his United miles on Thai Airways, you may gain access to more seats by using your rewards to book travel with a partner airline. Check your airline's website to find out which partners you can book award travel with. Look for a more flexible program. Many general travel credit cards give you travel statement credit for your trips. This means that you can book any type of travel you want with your card without having to contend with limited availability, and redeem your rewards to cover the charges once you get the bill.

MORE:

Limited availability can be frustrating, especially if you vacation when everyone else does. The good news is, airlines seem to be slowly increasing award seat availability. The overall award seat availability rating was 74% in 2015, up from 66.1% in 2010, according to the Switchfly study.

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Sorensen believes that soon, more airlines might make the switch to unlimited availability.

"Longer term, I have a prediction that the airline world will embrace the system that Southwest and JetBlue use, that you'll be able to get that last seat on the airplane with points," he says.

Claire Tsosie is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: claire@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ideclaire7.
Religion boosts health in the US. Yet, the most religious countries are the sickest. This paradox can be explained in terms of stress management.

Evidently, the health benefits of religion emerge here because religious people are better at managing stress. Why do residents of the most religious countries -- that are also the poorest -- not enjoy a health boost? It seems that any benefit of religion in a poor country is drowned out by a heavy disease load.

The Puzzle

Why do comparisons within a developed country yield such wildly different conclusions from comparisons between countries?

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Religion evolved as an emotional coping mechanism as I argue in my book Why Atheism will Replace Religion and a widely-read blog post of the same title.

In poor countries that have major health problems, sickness motivates people to go to church as do the many other disadvantages of living in a less developed country, including random acts of violence and perpetual political instability. Residents go to church to deal with the stress of such existential insecurity.

Although, religion may be effective as a form of emotional coping or security blanket, it cannot relieve the practical problems of raging epidemics, inadequate healthcare, dirty drinking water, and failure to inoculate for tuberculosis, measles, polio and other epidemic diseases. Most people experience chronic health problems whether they are religious or not because the diseases are endemic.



The health drawbacks of under development swamp the impact of religious beliefs and practices. If a person suffers from malaria, or contracts HIV/AIDS, for example, the mere fact that religion relieves stress is unlikely to prolong their lives substantially.

In a developed country, where health and life expectancy are much better, the health benefits of religion become more visible because more illnesses are stress-related. A person living in a developed country escapes many of the health scourges of less developed places, including infectious and parasitic diseases such as water-borne diarrhea, cholera, malaria, liver flukes, and sleeping sickness.

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Basic improvements, such as clean drinking water, and improved sanitation reduce the impact of many of these plagues. Inoculation programs also take a huge bite out of diseases with some, such as smallpox and tuberculosis, brought to the verge of extinction in developed countries. Even those infectious diseases that stay around are treatable thanks to antibiotics and other potent medicines that are routine in developed countries but hard to get in poor countries.

These improvements in medicine and public health brought dramatic increases in life expectancy in developed countries. Now, health outcomes are much more determined by the person himself, or herself, rather than by the environment.

We Make Ourselves Sick

The major causes of illness in the developed world, are behavioral, many stress-related.

The biggest single cause of chronic health problems is obesity that causes secondary diabetes and is a major risk factor for heart disease, liver disease, and kidney failure.



Experts in health behavior have begun to appreciate that stress plays a major role in obesity and its associated diseases ("the metabolic syndrome"). So overeating is partly a response to stress. Stress-induced snacking often involves high-energy foods, such as potato chips, cheese, and chocolates that cause obesity according to animal experiments.

Stress plays a big role in other major health problems also. Clinical depression may be caused by severe and prolonged psychological stress and depression is a risk factor for heart disease.



Indeed, if the problem of anxiety could by solved by putting something analogous to fluoride in the water supply, most psychologists and psychiatrists would be out of work and we would lead longer, healthier lives.

The Puzzle Solved

Stress plays a key role in most of the leading causes of sickness, and early mortality in developed countries. Stress-related illnesses may have similar consequences in less developed countries but these are less noticeable because other causes of disease - particularly epidemics and parasites - are so much more important.



These ideas can help explain why religion boosts health in developed countries but is associated with illness in developing countries.



Religiously active people in developed countries probably enjoy at least a modest health advantage over those in their community who stay away from church. This is mostly irrelevant in very unhealthy nations where most people suffer from chronic illnesses for much of their brief lives - and also resort to religious beliefs and practices to look for peace of mind. Health is so much worse in developing countries that religion cannot move the needle in country comparisons.



Conversely, in wealthier countries where scientific medicine controls somatic diseases, the level of psychological stress has a bigger impact on variation in health outcomes so that better stress management improves health to a measurable extent.

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Since he began his long-shot bid for the presidency, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has spoken of the need for a veritable "political revolution." In earlier articles, I have suggested that Sanders could sharpen or deepen the meaning of his revolution, and in some ways Bernie has run a pretty conventional tactical campaign thus far. Nevertheless, on the domestic front at least the independent senator has staked out a much more combative position on Wall Street and wealth inequality than many others within the Democratic Party.

In light of such feistiness, why has Bernie the democratic socialist failed to articulate a more electrifying or ground-breaking message on foreign policy? Sanders' reticence to formulate a "political revolution" in this area is even more perplexing in light of the Senator's earlier career in Vermont. As the Guardian has noted, "the irony is that, back in the 80s when Sanders was starting his political career as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, foreign policy played an outsized role in his small town mayoralty."

From Grenada to El Salvador to Nicaragua

During the 1980s, many on the U.S. left circuit were up in arms over Ronald Reagan's policies in Central America and the president's Contra war in Nicaragua. Jumping on the bandwagon, Bernie personally traveled to Nicaragua and became the highest ranking U.S. official to meet with Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. Frenetically charging around Managua, Sanders declared "I am trying to stop a war. I am trying to stop a war." Speaking with the media, Sanders thundered "time and time again these interventions in Latin and Central America have been for the benefit of large corporations... And you say, 'Gee, whiz --should foreign policy be made for the benefit of large corporations that want to exploit the people of Latin and Central America?"

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Bernie's mission hardly came as a surprise, however: just the previous summer, he had presided over a local meeting in Burlington to protest Reagan's invasion of Grenada. In addition, Sanders opposed Washington's policies in Guatemala and El Salvador. Indeed, during his years as mayor, Burlington issued a host of resolutions calling for an end to U.S. aid to El Salvador. Though some locals applauded Bernie's foreign policy, others were less than impressed. At one point, after Sanders gave a speech about El Salvador, an alderman declared "El Salvador, El Salvador -- what about El Burlington?"

In Nicaragua, Sanders established a sister-city program between Burlington and Puerto Cabezas. Addressing residents in the Nicaraguan town, Bernie spoke ironically about Reagan's foreign policy. In a video, he remarked "We're strong, you're weak -- and you're going to do it our way, or we're going to kill you! A very profound, civilized remark." Bernie even raised money in support of the Sandinista government, which earned him the nickname "Sanders-nista."

"Sanders-nista is Nowhere to Be Found"

Given Bernie's zealousness and drive to advance a strong anti-imperialist agenda in the 1980s, it's a little perverse that the presidential candidate has moved such ideas into the shadows as a presidential candidate. If anything, Bernie has a lot more power to bring these issues into the limelight now than he did before as mayor of a tiny town in rural Vermont. What accounts for the ironic switch?

The Guardian notes that as recently as September, Sanders still didn't have a foreign policy page on his campaign web site. At long last, days before the first democratic debate, Bernie rushed out a press release titled "Sanders foreign policy experience." The contents, however, centered exclusively on Bernie's congressional vote not to go to war in Iraq, without offering any other policy-making proscriptions. In the debates themselves, Bernie seems eager to shift the focus away from foreign affairs and return to his common refrain of the "billionaire class" and income inequality. On foreign policy, the Guardian concludes, "Sanders-nista is nowhere to be found."

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Foreign Policy is "Castor Oil"?

The New York Observer has a slightly more cynical take on Sanders' political evolution. Bernie doesn't focus on foreign affairs, notes one columnist, "because he has little to gain by doing so." The piece quotes Joe Trippi, an old campaign hand from Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, who declares "everything I'm looking at says domestic policy is what's driving his surge. He fares better the more he talks about domestic economics and, in fact, the groups he has to try to win over are more focused with economics than domestics."

Trippi claims that white progressives are most concerned with foreign policy, and "they are already in Sanders' corner." Therefore, if Bernie wants to expand his voter base and attract blacks and Latinos he must eschew foreign policy because such groups are more interested in immigration and civil rights. The Observer goes on to quote Gil Troy, a presidential historian, who remarks "foreign policy is the castor oil of a campaign. You drink it and show you're a good boy and show you've got balanced nutrition. It's not what's going to win votes."

Sliding Backward

Aside from being just plain condescending if not downright insulting, is there any real veracity in the notion that blacks and Latinos don't care about foreign policy? Even if there were some truth in such suggestions, it doesn't mean that Bernie shouldn't develop a true "political revolution" when it comes to foreign affairs. What would such a "revolutionary" foreign policy look like?

As a socialist, Sanders is certainly aware of his own movement's long-time commitment to leftist movements abroad and the need to build up international alliances. Bizarrely, however, Bernie seems to have run away from his earlier dalliances with a vengeance, choosing instead to ally himself with a certain nationalist segment of the U.S. labor movement which is more concerned with "American jobs" than anything else.

To be sure, we're no longer in the heady days of Reagan's Contra wars in Nicaragua and the populist left in power has recently burnt itself out in countries ranging from Argentina to Venezuela and Ecuador. Nevertheless, Latin America still has arguably the most organized political left of any region on the globe, including a diverse array of social movements. If he were ever elected to the White House, Bernie would have to deal with heads of state, yet there's no rule in U.S. presidential politics stating that candidates can't talk about vibrant social forces on the ground.

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What's more, Bernie has been pretty silent about the Kurds, who have launched a revolution along secular, anarchist and feminist lines in the northern cantons of Syria known as Rojava. Presumably, Sanders would agree with many facets of the Kurdish struggle, yet the Vermont Senator seems reluctant to touch upon this topic. Bernie's failure to mention the Kurdish revolution in the debates represents a tactical mistake and a missed opportunity to distinguish himself from Hillary Clinton, the ultimate foreign policy insider.
Henry Moseley in the Balliol-Trinity Laboratory, Oxford, circa 1910, Wikipedia Commons

This poem was first published on YouTube, and it was written circa 2004.

An Ode to Henry Moseley It was in the Great War to end all wars he fell,

Amongst the rocky, godforsaken Dardanelles; He but young lad when his death time came,

Yet one already of scientific fame. So before Queen and Country took his soul,

Him had taught us what to know; And if you think this all a fancy fable,

Simply peer into the periodic table.

Henry Moseley (November 23, 1887 - August 10, 1915) was an English physicist who had a major impact on our understanding of what an atom of an element is made of and how we should arrange these elements in the periodic table, and doing all of this before he was killed in action in the First World War at only 27.

After graduating from Trinity College, Oxford in 1910, he came to Ernest Rutherford's lab in Manchester to teach and research, soon focusing only on research. Dmitri Mendeleev had created the periodic table many years ago and he had arranged the elements by their atomic mass (weight) and their chemical properties. Yet like many scientists Moseley was quite aware of the periodic table of elements and how there were some obvious inconsistencies about how the elements were arranged. He wanted to see if their arrangement could be better understood.

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In 1913, Moseley began working with X-ray Spectrometry because he was aware of how some scientists had used this method to learn about the atom of an element. He thought more might be learned. And so he began working with and improving the technique of using a spectrometer to understand the atoms of an element. He eventually discovered that the X-ray spectra from each element could lead to a mathematical number showing how many positive charges it had in its nucleus. In fact, he had discovered that an element's atom was not defined by its atomic mass but by the number of positive charges (protons) it had. In other words, he figured out how an element is defined by its atomic number and not by its atomic weight.

With this knowledge the arrangement of the elements on the periodic table could be correctly ordered and easily explained. He was also able to make some astonishing predictions about certain elements and how many elements there were. And while some scientists had hypothesized that a nucleus had a positive charge to it and that the number of this positive charge might even be the thing that defines it as an element, he experimentally proved it. And so to a large degree where we put an element exactly on the periodic table and to some degree how we see what the defining characteristic of an atom of an element is, he is given credit for. (Almost everything in science is a community effort of many people, both past and present.)

And when England suddenly found itself involved in World War One, he voluntarily enlisted in the British Army, even though family and friends tried to persuade him not to do this. But he thought it his duty. He served as a technical officer in communications in the Royal Engineers. He was part of the Gallipoli campaign. He was killed in action in Gallipoli, Turkey, when a Turkish sniper's bullet struck him in the head on August 10, 1915.

Isaac Asimov wrote of his death: "In view of what he might have accomplished...his death might well have been the most costly single death of the War to mankind generally." Many scientists believe if he had lived he would have won a Nobel Prize in 1916. And because of his death (and also Rutherford's lobbying efforts), the British government enacted a ban on any promising or prominent scientist from ever being allowed into any combative situation.

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I came across his story when I was working as a substitute teacher in a chemistry class. I thought what happened to him both uplifting and tragic, and very deserving of a poem. So I wrote this poem; it was the first poem I ever penned. Its beauty is in its simple truth.
by Negeen Darani, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Today marks Day 2 of the Post-Conflict Colombia and Public Health course -- a project of the Open Hands Initiative and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), in collaboration with the University of Antioquia School of Medicine. Sixteen students from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of Antioquia School of Medicine continue their exploration of the health concerns of urban displaced populations in the context of the city of Medellin's progressive and innovative social development plan that has become a model for post-conflict population inclusion.

Yesterday, Drs. Gregg Greenough and Christian Arbelaez, faculty leads for the course, led the group in beginning to break down barriers, encouraging the students to tell their personal stories of what attracted them to the course, how they found themselves focused on public health and what they were hoping to achieve. The stories were inspiring, infused with clarity of vision, promise and intention. Later in the afternoon, Senator Ed Markey joined the group for lunch and discussed his perspectives on public health and health diplomacy.

Over the coming three weeks, these selected student ambassadors will engage with stakeholders from multiple sectors and disciplines within the United States and Colombia to better understand the complex and salient connections between social development initiatives (education, transportation, urban design, economic development) and health. The Colombian context is particularly intriguing for two reasons: 1) Medellin's focused and progressive urban policies, which have contributed to catapulting the city from the most violent in the late 1980s to being hailed as the "world's most innovative city" by the Urban Land Institute in 2013; and, 2) the latest round of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the largest of the guerilla groups (FARC) that have been deemed by some to be "a breakthrough" in this half-century of conflict.

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For HHI, as a multi-disciplinary academic research initiative at Harvard University focused on the science and practice of effective humanitarian response, and its educational arm, the Humanitarian Academy at Harvard, the Project's approach to collaborative research and highly immersive, experiential learning, brings an excellent opportunity for faculty and student leaders to develop a nuanced understanding of the impact of such policies for public health more broadly. It is the type of analysis, assessment and learning that addresses our strongest sense that information cannot flow in one direction and that we have much to learn from each other.

This particular model of collaborative learning, essentially twinning Harvard graduate students with students from the local community being studied, has proven to be a powerful approach to immersive and experiential learning that lends, to future researchers and leaders, critical skills that are not easily honed in the classroom--skills such as respect, cultural sensitivity and awareness, empathy, and a sense of equity. In 2014 and 2015, HHI faculty offered a similar course at a long-standing refugee camp (Umpiem Mai) on the Thai-Burma border, bringing together Harvard Chan School graduate students, with little-to-no experience visiting a refugee camp, and 21 refugee students at the camp's Public Health Institute. It was a tremendous experience for students from each group, working in paired teams on projects of direct health relevance to the camp such as water and sanitation, women and children's health, and program assessments of in-camp initiatives.

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The current Post-Conflict Colombia and Public Health Project also offers an opportunity for HHI and our collaborators to connect our latest research to the classroom. For HHI, the course will draw from two projects focused on issues of transitional justice and the politics of transition in the Colombian context. The first, a collaboration of HHI and the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School, evaluates Colombia's reparation program, the most ambitious such program to date, with over 6 million registered victims. The findings of this work will ultimately inform the latest rounds of peace negotiations. A second project through HHI's Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action (ATHA) explores the challenges for humanitarian practitioners of operating in transition from protracted conflict to peace and what protracted transition itself (as a result of decades of ongoing peace negotiations) can mean for addressing the needs of vulnerable and displaced populations.

Our key collaborators, Open Hands Initiative and the University of Antioquia School of Medicine, are also bringing to bear tremendous resources through their missions, networks, research, and direct involvement with the Comunas and the social development initiatives being studied. As a result, the Post-Conflict Colombia and Public Health Project curriculum is enriched through multiple lenses and approaches to fill in the bigger picture.
The U.S. is home to 4% of the world's population, but contains 22% of the world's incarcerated population. While the "War on Drugs" did add to the growing rates of incarceration of young men of color, David Brooks emphasized in his Sept. 29th New York Times Op-Ed, it doesn't fully explain the growing numbers of Americans behind bars. According to Brooks, even if we released all of the people convicted of non-violent drug offenses, that is still only 15% of the prison population.

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A rarely talked about point is that the U.S. is home to one-third of the world's female incarcerated population. The fastest growing population behind bars is black women. Prostitution is one of the few crimes where women are arrested more frequently than men, but prostitution alone does not explain the growing numbers of Black, Latino, and trans-women behind bars. If we are going to make reforms to crimes based on morality, we need to consider laws that disproportionately affect women, such as the prohibition of sex work.

Sex workers are often subject to the same "revolving door" punitive approach that people convicted of drug offenses receive; women do time, but never receive the resources, social, economic and, psychological support that would enable them to leave the industry if they choose. We don't often consider that sex work can be an intentional choice. Whether or not it is a symptom of poor economic conditions or volition it is always considered inherently immoral. This echoes the argument of feminists such as Katharine Mackinnon and Gloria Steinem--that sex work is never a choice. Mackinnon argues that men are always the buyers and women are always the sellers because the sex market is dominated by patriarchy and capitalism. Recently Steinem spoke out about sex work as "commercial rape" and "unlike any other work." This argument isn't useful because regardless of women's choice in the matter, under this system those who need resources, like housing and healthcare, are unable to access them.

A 2003 report from the Sex Workers Project found 87% of street-based New York City sex workers had unstable housing and 83% were affected by substance dependency. While city policy attempts to address this through mandating services like drug treatment with arrest, only half of those arrested had been offered services through their interactions with the police. Clearly, this is not effectively addressing the issue. In a parallel to the New Jim Crow of drug enforcement, the majority of New York City sex workers are women of color and many sex workers are subject to violent policing practices and racial discrimination. Black sex workers received higher fines and longer sentences than their white counterparts. When released from incarceration, their criminal records impede any attempt to secure alternative employment or housing.

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The New York City Human Trafficking Court established in 2013 does its best to address the new perspectives on the world's oldest profession. The court is progressive in that it aims to connect women with resources as alternatives to punitive measures, but the majority of cases that are brought in front of the court are for low-level offenses like loitering with intent to engage in prostitution. Only a handful of human trafficking cases have been heard out of the hundreds of arrests since the courts conception. Many of the arrests for sex work hinge on the possession of condoms as evidence and fearing arrest workers choose not to use protection. What is clear is that this is not only a human rights issue, but also a public health issue and punitive measures are in fact making matters worse by treating all sex work, including low-level offenses, as human trafficking. This prevents women who are subjected to the criminal justice system from accessing services, engaging in harm reduction programs, and reporting sexual assaults.

In order to address this we need to widen the discussion to include issues that Black, Latino, and trans women are disproportionately affected by. The illegal purchasing of sex is ultimately what sustains the market and forces sex work underground. The stigma has to be removed around the discussion of sex work in order to protect the human rights and, as recently suggested by Amnesty International, the dignity of the women in it who often need access to housing and, health care. By decriminalizing both the buying and selling of sex we can focus our efforts on those who truly need assistance and making other avenues of employment available, especially for trans women.
"Go to Noksapyeong Station, exit two. Keep walking until you see the wall of kimchi pots."

These are the most commonly-given directions to Haebangchon, Seoul's funky and warm expat neighborhood where you can listen to English-language rock and mingle with internationals. Those "kimchi pots" are more accurately termed onggi, and they're examples of the beautiful, curved pottery that Koreans have used to ferment food since the Joseon Dynasty. This particular collection of earthenware jars is no accident. It's a work of art created by one the most famous dealers in traditional Korean ceramics, Ms. Youngun Shin. For decades, Ms. Shin has been at the vanguard of introducing the peninsula's pottery to the international community. Her story is emblematic of the efforts of northern-born Koreans who settled down near Yongsan Garrison, using their storefronts to transform Haebangchon into the artistic neighborhood it is today.

Haebangchon, literally translated, means "Freedom Village." It earned this moniker after the Korean War, when refugees from northern provinces set up homes there. Ms. Shin's first business lessons were at the "38th Parallel Market." Her mother - a devout Buddhist from a rich family - sold shoes, stationary, and dried fish, back when the border between the Soviet-controlled North and the U.S.-controlled South was porous. Despite the early death of her father, Ms. Shin's family enjoyed a comfortable life when the "two Koreas" were merely administrative districts.

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And then the war came.

When the communists invaded, the Shins fled their home, using enterprise as a means of survival. "I remember hiding during the day and walking around at night," she recalled. "My mother had a little market stall where we sold tteok (soft rice cakes), silk, and used clothes to civilians. Even as bombs rained down on us, we kept selling. I still remember seeing dead bodies in the street."

Despite the war's heavy death toll across the peninsula, all of Ms. Shin's immediate family members survived. She attributes this good fortune to the fact that her mother's family often donated to the poor. "God was watching out for us," she remarked thoughtfully, while cutting up pears in her studio apartment. It lies adjacent to the landmark "Kimchi Pot Wall" and her ceramics shop, Hanshin Onggi.

After the war ended, a local matchmaker arranged for Ms. Shin to meet Seok-taek Han, a Korean soldier who was stationed at Yongsan Garrison. The two formed a close bond. Together, they settled down along the main street of Haebangchon, which was one of Seoul's busiest roads at the time. They quickly established a household that doubled as a shop. Back then, such arrangements were technically against code, and Seoul City Hall tore down their house an incredible twenty-one times. After years of struggle, a wealthy and politically-connected neighbor stepped in to help. He made it possible for Ms. Shin to buy the land from the city in 1970. She built the current store in 1988, and it took her five years to pay off the mortgage on the tiny plot of land she had purchased.

"During that time, my six children walked to school rather than taking the bus," she explained. "They shared one school textbook between them. We did everything we could to save money." Twenty-three years later, Ms. Shin's wall of onggi has evolved into a landmark closely associated with Haebangchon. Residents think of it with great affection, and, in the minds of many expats, it has become symbolic of the neighborhood.

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Originally, it was her husband's idea to stack up the earthenware pots against the wall of Yongsan Garrison. "He thought it would be a good way to advertise our wares," she explained. "Today, workers call the garrison entrance near my house the Kimchi Box Entrance!" Both American soldiers and Korean nationals seek out her unique gallery to purchase traditional pottery. You could say the appeal of the store is that it saves collectors the ninety-minute bus ride to Gyeonggi Province, where most traditional ceramics are produced. Yeoju and Icheon have been at the heart of the industry since the Joseon Dynasty, with approximately eighty factories and three hundred kilns housed in Icheon Ceramics Village alone. But in recent decades, the business has become dominated by Catholic Korean families.

Ms. Shin explained: "When Christians first came to this country, they were brutally persecuted. Many of them fled into the mountains. The clay is perfect for pottery-making there, so it became a family trade that was passed down through the generations. Many of my suppliers are the descendants of those original Catholic families. I am so impressed by their kindness."

Today, Ms. Shin carries on her own family religion based in Buddhism. A large painting featuring Guanyin looks down protectively over her studio. The connected shop serves as a bridge that connects the rural, art-producing provinces with the bustling metropolis of Seoul. On average, the establishment makes about 1.5 million won in sales per month, with large onggi being the most popular item. While Ms. Shin's primary customers are Americans and Koreans, international collectors also seek her out, often looking to send souvenirs home.

"Those onggi are a very traditional Korean thing," said Yoojeong Lee, a Korean language instructor teaching expats in Haebangchon. "One of the major populations here is elderly folk. So they need those pots for making ganjang (soy sauce), doenjang (fermented beans), and gochujang (red pepper sauce)...but today, most of those ceramic shops are gone. So for the young people, it's a source of nostalgia."

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Austin Buckley, a long-term resident of the neighborhood, expressed similar sentiments about Ms. Shin's establishment. "That row of pots is the first thing that greets you. If someone has never been to HBC, most times, people will say: 'Meet me at the kimchi pots!' And when you venture up the street, you slowly discover all that this place has to offer. Much has changed here in the past few years, but the shop has remained. Its presence is a constant. Somehow, that's really comforting."
Candidates Compete to Promise the Most Torture and Slaughter

Theyre back!

From the look of the presidential campaign, war crimes are back on the American agenda. We really shouldnt be surprised, because American officials got away with it last time -- and in the case of the drone wars continue to get away with it today. Still, theres nothing like the heady combination of a populist Republican race for the presidency and a national hysteria over terrorism to make Americans want to reach for those enhanced interrogation techniques. That, as critics have long argued, is what usually happens if war crimes arent prosecuted.

In August 2014, when President Obama finally admitted that we tortured some folks, he added a warning. The recent history of U.S. torture, he said, needs to be understood and accepted. We have to as a country take responsibility for that so hopefully we dont do it again in the future. By pinning the responsibility for torture on all of us as a country, Obama avoided holding any of the actual perpetrators to account.

Unfortunately, hope alone will not stymie a serial war criminal -- and the president did not even heed his own warning. For seven years his administration has done everything except help the country take responsibility for torture and other war crimes. It looked the other way when it comes to holding accountable those who set up and ran the CIAs large-scale torture operations at its black sites around the world. It never brought charges against those who ordered torture at Guantanamo. It prosecuted no one, above all not the top officials of the Bush administration.

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Now, in the endless run-up to the 2016 presidential elections, weve been treated to some pretty strange gladiatorial extravaganzas, with more to come in 2016. In these peculiarly American spectacles, Republican candidates hurl themselves at one another in a frenzied effort to be seen as the candidate most likely to ignore the presidents wan hope and instead do it again in the future. As a result, they are promising to commit a whole range of crimes, from torture to the slaughter of civilians, for which the leaders of some nations would find themselves hauled into international court as war criminals. But war criminal is a label reserved purely for people we loathe, not for us. To paraphrase former President Richard Nixon, if the United States does it, its not a crime.

In the wake of the brutal attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, the promises being openly made to commit future crimes have only grown more forthright. A few examples from the presidential campaign trail should suffice to make the point:

* Ted Cruz guarantees that we will utterly destroy ISIS. How will we do it? We will carpet bomb them into oblivion -- that is, we will saturate an area with munitions in such a way that everything and everyone on the ground is obliterated. Of such a bombing campaign against the Islamic State, he told a cheering crowd at the Rising Tide Summit, I dont know if sand can glow in the dark, but were going to find out. (Its hard not to take this as a reference to the use of nuclear weapons, though in the bravado atmosphere of the present Republican campaign a lot of detailed thought is undoubtedly not going into any such proposals.)

* Kindly retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson evidently has similar thoughts. When pressed by CNN co-moderator Hugh Hewitt in the most recent Republican debate on whether he was tough enough to be okay with the deaths of thousands of innocent children and civilian[s], Carson replied, You got it. You got it. He even presented a future campaign against the Islamic State in which thousands of children might die as an example of the same kind of tough love a surgeon sometimes exhibits when facing a difficult case. Its like telling a child, he assured Hewitt, that were going to have to open your head up and take out this tumor. Theyre not happy about it, believe me. And they dont like me very much at that point. But later on, they love me. So, presumably, will those dead innocent children in Syria -- once they get over the shock of being dead.

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* Jeb Bushs approach brought what, in Republican circles, passes for nuance to the discussion of future war crimes policy. What Washington needs, he argued, is a strategy and what stands in the way of the Obama administration developing one is an excessive concern with the niceties of international law. As he put it, We need to get the lawyers off the back of the warfighters. Right now under President Obama, weve created... this standard that is so high that its impossible to be successful in fighting ISIS. Meanwhile, Jeb has surrounded himself with a familiar clique of neocon advisers -- people like George W. Bushs former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and his former Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who planned for and advocated the illegal U.S. war against Iraq, which touched off a regional war with devastating human consequences.

* And then there is Donald Trump. Where to start? As a simple baseline for his future commander-in-chiefdom, he stated without a blink that he would bring back torture. Would I approve waterboarding? he told a cheering crowd at a November rally in Columbus, Ohio. You bet your ass I would -- in a heartbeat. And for Trump, that would only be the beginning. He assured his listeners vaguely but emphatically that he would approve more than that, leaving to their imaginations whether he was thinking of excruciating stress positions, relentless exposure to loud noise, sleep deprivation, the straightforward killing of prisoners, or what the CIA used to delicately refer to as rectal rehydration. Meanwhile, he just hammers on when it comes to torture. Don't kid yourself, folks. It works, okay? It works. Only a stupid person would say it doesn't work.

Only a stupid person -- like, perhaps, one of the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee who carefully studied the CIAs grim torture documents for years, despite the Agencys foot-dragging, opposition, and outright interference (including computer hacking) -- would say that. But why even bother to argue about whether torture works? The point, Trump claimed, was that the very existence of the Islamic State means that someone needs to be tortured. If it doesnt work, he told that Ohio crowd, they deserve it anyway.

Only a few days later, he triumphantly sallied even further into war criminal territory. He declared himself ready to truly hit the Islamic State where it hurts. The other thing with the terrorists, he told Fox News, is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don't kid yourself. When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families. Because its a well-known fact -- in Trumpland at least -- that nothing makes people less likely to behave violently than murdering their parents and children. And it certainly doesnt matter, when Trump advocates it, that murder is a crime.

The Problem with Impunity

Not that youd know it in this country, but the common thread in all of these proposed responses to the Islamic State isnt just the usual Republican hawkishness. Each one represents a serious violation of U.S. laws, international laws of war, and/or treaties and conventions that the United States has signed and ratified under Republican as well as Democratic presidents. Most campaign trail discussions of plans -- both Republican and Democratic -- to defeat ISIS have focused only on instrumental questions: Would carpet bombing, torture, or making sand glow in the dark work?

Candidates and reporters alike have ignored the obvious larger point -- if, that is, we werent living in a country that had given itself a blanket pass on the issue of war crimes. Carpet-bombing cities, torturing prisoners, and rendering lands uninhabitable are all against the law. They are, in fact, grave crimes. That even critics of these comments will not identify such potential acts as war crimes can undoubtedly be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that no one -- other than a few low-level military personnel and a CIA whistleblower who spoke publicly about the Agencys torture agenda -- has been prosecuted in the U.S. for the startling array of crimes already committed in the so-called War on Terror.

President Obama set the stage for this failure as early as January 2009, just before his first inauguration. He told ABCs George Stephanopoulos that, when it came to the possible prosecution of CIA officials for U.S. torture policies, We need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards. He didnt, he assured Stephanopoulos, want the extraordinarily talented people at the Agency who are working very hard to keep Americans safe to suddenly feel like they've got to spend all their time looking over their shoulders and lawyering up. As it turned out, lawyering up was never a problem. In the end, Attorney General Eric Holder declined to charge any CIA personnel, closing the only two cases the Justice Department had even opened. Nor did any of the top officials responsible for the enhanced interrogation program, including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, or CIA Director George Tenet, need to waste a cent on a lawyer. Instead, theyre now happily publishing their memoirs. Or, in the cases of Jay Bybee and John Yoo, the Justice Department authors of some of the more infamous torture memos, serving as a federal judge or occupying an endowed chair at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, respectively.

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On December 1, 2015, perhaps driven to frustration by the Obama administrations ultimate failure to act, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a 153-page report titled No More Excuses. In it, the organization detailed the specific crimes relating to that CIA torture program for which a dozen high-level officials of the Bush administration could have been brought to trial and called for their prosecution. HRW pointed out that such prosecutions are not, in fact, a matter of choice. They are required by international law (even if the alleged criminals have run the planets last superpower). For example, the United Nations Convention against Torture, a key treaty that the United States signed in 1988 (under President Ronald Reagan) and finally ratified in 1994 (under President Bill Clinton), specifically requires our nation to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial, or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.

It doesnt matter if theres a war on, or if theres internal unrest. The Convention says, No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

Whenever torture is used, its a violation of that treaty, and that makes it a crime. When its used against prisoners of war, its also a violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and therefore a war crime. No exceptions.

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But when Obama acknowledged that we tortured some folks, he claimed an exception for American torture. He cautioned us against overreacting. Its important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had, he said, referring to the CIAs corps of torturers. He pointed to American fear -- of the very sort were seeing again over San Bernardino -- as an exculpatory factor, reminding us of just how frightened all of us, including CIA operatives, were in the days after 9/11.

As it happens, whatever the former constitutional law professor in the White House or hotel-builder Donald Trump may believe, torture remains illegal. It makes no difference how frightened people may be of potential terrorists. After all, its partly because people do wicked things when they are afraid that we make laws in the first place -- so that, when fear clouds our minds, we can be reminded of what we decided was right in less frightening times. Thats why the Convention against Torture says no exceptional circumstances whatsoever excuse such acts.

But the U.N. Convention is just a treaty, right? Its not really a law. In fact, when the United States ratifies a treaty, it becomes part of American law under Article VI of our Constitution, which states that the Constitution itself and

 all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

So even if torture did work, it would still be illegal.

War Crimes for the New Year

What about the other proposals weve heard from Republican candidates? Some of them are certainly war crimes. Carpet bombing, a metaphor that describes an all-too-real air-power nightmare (as many Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians learned during our wars in Indochina), means the saturation of an entire area with enough bombs to destroy everything standing without regard for the lives of anyone who might be on the ground. It is illegal under the laws of war, because it makes no distinction between civilians and combatants.

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Because aerial bombardment hadnt even been invented in 1907 when the Hague Conventions were signed, they dont name carpet bombing specifically in a list of prohibited means of injuring the enemy, sieges, and bombardments. Nevertheless, at the center of the Hague Conventions, as with all the laws and customs of war, lies the crucial distinction between combatants and civilians. To destroy an entire populated area in order to eliminate a handful of fighters violates the long-held and internationally recognized principle of proportionality.

The Hague Conventions also put into the written international legal code long-held beliefs about the importance of distinguishing between civilians and combatants in war. Ben Carsons willingness to allow the deaths of thousands of civilians and children in the pursuit of ISIS fundamentally violates exactly that principle.

In another shameful exception, the United States has never ratified a 1977 addition to the Geneva Conventions that specifically outlaws carpet bombing. Additional Protocol 1 specifically addresses the protection of civilians during warfare. Apart from such U.S. allies as Israel and Turkey, 174 countries have signed Protocol 1, explicitly making carpet bombing a war crime.

If the United States has not ratified Protocol 1, does that mean it is free to violate its provisions? Not necessarily. When the vast majority of nations agree to such an accord, it can take on the power of  international customary law -- a set of principles that have the force of law, whether or not they are written down and ratified. The International Committee of the Red Cross maintains a list of these rules of law. One section of these explicitly states that indiscriminate attacks, including area bombardment, are indeed illegal under customary law.

Senator Cruzs promise to discover whether or not sand glows in the dark, presumably through the use of nuclear weapons, would violate the 1907 Hague Conventions prohibitions on employing poison or poisoned weapons and on the use of arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering. It no more matters that the United States ratified this convention over a century ago than that the Constitution is more than 200 years old. Jeb Bushs suggestion that we get the lawyers off the back of the warfighters notwithstanding, both remain the law of the land.

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That they dont appear to have the force of law in the United States, that the description of possible future war crimes can rouse crowds to a cheering frenzy in this political season, represents a remarkable failure of political will; in particular, the willingness of the Obama administration to call a crime a crime and act accordingly. Globally, it is a failure of power rather than of the law. Prosecuting a former African autocrat or Serbian leader for war crimes is obviously a very different and far less daunting matter than bringing to justice top officials of the planets only superpower. That is made all the more difficult because, under George W. Bush, the United States informed the world that it would never ratify the accords that set up the International Criminal Court.

In the Glare of San Bernardino

Human Rights Watch released its report on December 1st. The next day, a married couple, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, attacked a holiday party at San Bernardinos Department of Public Health, where Farook worked. They killed 14 people before dying in a police shootout. It was a horrific crime and it appears that the two were, at least in part, inspired by the social media presence of the Islamic State (even if they were not in any way directed by that group). Not surprisingly, the HRW report sank like a stone from public view. With it went their key recommendations: that a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate and bring to trial those responsible for CIA torture practices and that U.S. torture victims be guaranteed redress in American courts, something both the Bush and Obama administrations have fought fiercely, even though it is a key requirement of the U.N. Convention against Torture.

As last year ended, the fear machine had cranked up once again, and Americans were being reminded by those who aspire to lead us that no price is too high to pay for our security -- as long as its paid by somebody else. Expect more of the same in 2016.

And yet it is precisely now, when we are most afraid, that our leaders -- present and future -- should not be stoking our fears. They should instead be reminding us that there is something more valuable -- and more achievable -- than perfect security. They should be encouraging us not to seek a cowardly exception from the laws of war, but to be brave and abide by them. So heres the challenge: Will we find the courage to resist the fear machine this time? Will we find the will to prosecute the war crimes of the past and prevent the ones our candidates are screaming for? Or will we allow our nation to remain what it has become: a terrible and terrifying exception to the international rule of law?
Back in the 1970s as a tour guide, I drove small groups in little minibuses around Europe with a passion for getting my travelers beyond their comfort zones. It's fun to look back on the crudeness of my techniques. Today we have the same goals, but pursue them more maturely, gracefully, and effectively -- for which the 20,000 travelers who join us annually on our bus tours are very grateful. Here's the "redemption story" (in the spirit of Ben Carson) of how I overcame my basest guiding instincts:

As a 25-year-old hippie-backpacker-turned-tour-organizer, I harbored a misguided notion that soft and spoiled American travelers would benefit from a little hardship. (In retrospect, I was pretty cruel.)

I'd run our early tours with no hotel reservations and observe the irony of my tour members (who I cynically thought were unconcerned about homelessness issues in their own communities) being nervous at the prospect of spending a night without shelter. I had noticed that if, by mid-afternoon, I hadn't arranged for a hotel, they couldn't focus on my guided town walks. Believing they'd be more empathetic with people who never have a real bed, I thought it might be constructive to let my travelers feel the anxiety of the real possibility of no roof over their heads.

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I remember booking a group into a horrible hotel above a sleazy bar, thinking that would put what I considered petty complaints about hotels in perspective. Seeing a woman from my tour group shivering with fear on top of her threadbare sheets at the threat of bugs, I felt triumphant.

Back when I was almost always younger than anyone on my tour, I made my groups sleep in Munich's huge hippie circus tent. With simple mattresses on a vast wooden floor and 400 roommates, it was like a cross between Woodstock and a slumber party. One night I was stirred out of my sleep by a woman sitting up and sobbing. With the sound of backpackers rutting in the distance, she whispered, apologetically, "Rick, I'm not taking this so very well." I gave her some valium -- which was about all I had in my "first aid kit" -- and she got through the night.

Of course, I eventually learned that this was the wrong approach: You can't just force people into a rough situation and expect it to be constructive. Today, after learning from 30 years of feedback from ur tour members and the experience of our team of guides, I am still driven to get people out of their comfort zones and into the real world with the help of our tours. But we do it in a way that keeps our travelers returning. (In fact, last year about half of the 20,000 those who signed up on our tours were alums, coming back for more.)

For me, taking a group of Americans through Europe is a rich opportunity to experience a little reality: Seeing towering stacks of wood in Belfast destined to be anti-Catholic bonfires and talking with locals about sectarian hatred helps make a trip to Ireland meaningful. Taking groups to Turkey during the Syria's civil war has helped me share a Muslim perspective on that conflict. And visiting a concentration camp memorial is a required element of any trip we lead through Germany.

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I want to wish all of my readers a very happy New Year. The events of 2015, particularly the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), gives us reason to hope that evidence may finally become a basis for educational decisions. The appointment of John King, clearly the most evidence-oriented and evidence informed Secretary of Education ever to serve in that office, is another harbinger of positive change. Yet these and other extraordinary events only create possibilities for major change, not certainties. What happens next depends on our political leaders, on those of you reading this blog, and on others who believe that children deserve proven programs. In recognition of this, I would suggest a set of New Years resolutions for us all to collectively achieve in the coming year.

1. Get beyond D.C. The evidence movement in education has some sway within a half-mile radius of K Street and in parts of academia, but very little in the rest of the country. ESSA puts a lot of emphasis on moving power from Washington to the states, and even if this were not true, it is now time to advocate in state capitols for use of proven programs and evidence-informed decisions. In the states and even in Washington, evidence-based reform needs a lot more allies.

2. Make SIG work. School Improvement Grants (SIG) written this spring for implementation in fall, 2016, continue to serve the lowest performing 5% of schools in each state. Schools can choose among six models, the four original ones (i.e., school closure, charter-ization, transformation, and turnaround) plus two new ones: proven, whole-school reforms, and state-developed models, which may include proven programs. SIG is an obvious focus for evidence, since these are schools in need of sure-fire solutions, and the outcomes of SIG with the original four models have been less than impressive. Also, since SIG is already well underway, it could provide an early model of how proven programs could transform struggling schools. But this will only happen if there is encouragement to states and schools to choose the proven program option. Perceived success in SIG would go a long way toward building support for use of proven programs more broadly. (School Improvement will undergo significant changes the following year pursuant to ESSA and this merits its own blog, but it's important to note here that states will be required to include evidence-based interventions as part of their plan, so moving towards evidence now may help ease their transition later.)

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3. Celebrate successes of Investing in Innovation (i3). The 2010 cohort, the first and largest cohort of i3 grantees, is beginning to report achievement outcomes from third-party evaluations. As in any set of rigorous evaluations, studies that did not find significant differences are sure to outnumber those that do. We need to learn everything we can from these evaluations, whatever their findings, but there is a particular need to celebrate the findings of those studies that did find positive impacts. These provide support for the entire concept of evidence-based reform, and give practicing educators programs with convincing evidence that are ready to go.

4. In as many federal discretionary funding programs as possible, provide preference points for applications proposing to implement proven programs. ESSA names several (mostly small) funding programs that will provide preference points to proposals proposing to use proven programs. This list should be expanded to include any funding program in which proven programs exist. Is there any reason not to encourage use of proven programs? It costs nothing, does not require use of any particular program, and makes positive outcomes for children a lot more likely.

5. Encourage use of proven programs in formula funding, such as Title I. Formula funding is where the big money goes, and activities funded by these resources need to have as strong an evidence base as possible. Incentives to match formula funding, as in President Obama's Leveraging What Works proposal, would help, of course, but are politically unlikely at the moment. However, plain old encouragement from Washington and state departments of education could be just as effective. Who can argue against using Title I funds, for example, to implement proven approaches? Will anyone stand up to advocate for ineffective or unproven approaches for disadvantaged children, once the issue is out in the open?

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ARABIAN SEA, PAKISTAN - DECEMBER 11: Pakistan test-fires a Shaheen-III intermediate-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile in Pakistan on December 11, 2015. The missile had been first officially revealed earlier this year. The missile was fired at the Arabian Sea and traveled 2,750km, its reported maximum range, said the Pakistani Armys press service ISPR. (Photo by Pakistani Army Press Service ISPR/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

"Just as we stood for freedom in the 20th century, we must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free from fear in the 21st century. And . . . as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this endeavor alone, but we can lead it, we can start it.

"So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

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Uh . . .

These words, the core of President Obama's first major foreign policy speech, delivered in Prague in April 2009, now resonate with nothing so much as toxic irony -- these pretty words, these words of false hope, which disappeared into Washington's military-industrial consensus and failed to materialize into action or policy.

James Carroll, writing at Mother Jones in 2013, describes what happened in the wake of this extraordinary policy declaration:

"In order to get the votes of Senate Republicans to ratify the START treaty, Obama made what turned out to be a devil's bargain. He agreed to lay the groundwork for a vast 'modernization' of the US nuclear arsenal, which, in the name of updating an aged system, is already morphing into a full-blown reinvention of the arms cache at an estimated future cost of more than a trillion dollars. In the process, the Navy wants, and may get, 12 new strategic submarines; the Air Force wants, and may get, a new long-range strike bomber force. Bombers and submarines would, of course, both be outfitted with next-generation missiles, and we'd be off to the races. The arms races."

And the cause of global nuclear disarmament, once a dream with geopolitical cred, may wind up entombed in eternal apathy. As Carroll put it: "Nuclear abolition itself is being abolished."

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But I refuse to believe that. What I do believe is that change of such magnitude simply cannot emerge from the actions of top-down leadership, even sentimentally sympathetic leadership like Obama's, until a counterforce for disarmament is able to stand eyeball to eyeball with world decision makers and the military-industrial matrix in which they operate.

Say hello to the Marshall Islands, the tiny, heroic island nation in Micronesia, with a population just over 70,000. This former U.S. territory, which still bears the terrible scars of 67 above-ground nuclear blasts between 1946 and 1958, when this country used it as an expendable nuclear test site, has engaged the United States -- and, indeed, all nine nations that possess nuclear weapons -- in lawsuits demanding that they comply with the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and begin the process of negotiating global nuclear disarmament.

Specifically, the lawsuits -- filed both in the International Court of Justice in the Hague and U.S. federal court -- are demanding compliance with Article VI of the treaty, signed by the U.S. signed in 1970, which reads: "Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

General and complete disarmament . . .

Do these words actually have meaning? Right now the Marshall Islands stand alone among the nations of Planet Earth in believing that they do.

The U.S. suit was filed in the April 2014 and dismissed as "speculative." This ruling was appealed, the appeal was contested, and last month the attorneys for the Marshall Islands filed their reply brief, challenging, among other things, the U.S. government's contention that an international treaty is the province of the Executive Branch to comply with (or ignore) as it chooses.

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The brief is demanding that the Judicial Branch assert itself in this matter and rule on the island nation's claims that A) as a signatory to the treaty, it is owed U.S. compliance to negotiate disarmament in good faith and dismantle its own nuclear weapons cache rather than upgrade it; and B) U.S. failure to do so creates a "measurable increased risk of nuclear danger" for the Marshall Island (and, of course, everyone else on the planet).

There's no clear time frame for what will happen next, but at some point a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will either uphold the case's dismissal or call for oral arguments to proceed.

"Under the treaty they are obligated to do what they said they were going to do," David Krieger, president of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, which is working with the Marshall Islands on its case, said to me. The case alerts the public to how its interests are "being jeopardized by the failure of nuclear-armed countries to fulfill their obligations."

Today, as I write this, North Korea is claiming that it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb; if true, this is seriously disheartening news for the rest of the planet, and the claim is reaping universal condemnation. But the nuclear-armed nations aren't condemning themselves for doing the same thing. Clearly, such enormous power is difficult -- if not impossible -- to give up on one's own.

Is there a force for peace that can break this impasse? A tiny, wounded nation, which is still reaping the consequences of being forced to serve as a nuclear testing ground, says yes there is. The challenge is real, not symbolic. It's also unprecedented. Multiply their effort by the hopes of almost everyone on the planet and maybe we could produce a leader who means what he says:

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"So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

- - -

Robert Koehler is an award--winning, Chicago--based journalist and nationally syndicated writer. His book, Courage Grows Strong at the Wound (Xenos Press), is still available. Contact him at koehlercw@gmail.com or visit his website at commonwonders.com.
"Mayor Rahm's 'trust' problem, huh? You wanna help him with that?" The cop narrowed his eyes, looking me over hard as he handed back my ID. "Back of the line is 'bout half a block south down Clark Street."

"Half a block?"

"Yep," said the cop. Whole lot of people want to give the mayor advice. Eight, nine hundred a day."

"Nine hundred people a day got advice for the mayor?"

The cop chuckled. "You can call it advice."

Taking my place at the back of the line. January in Chicago. Like always, it was you and the cold, bitter wind. But the line moved fast. Talking with folks in the line, I asked the lady in front of me why she was here. She took a deep breath and spit out, "To tell him to resign! Tell him he is finished! Tell him he's kaput!" I asked her what would happen then. Instead of answering she said, "Well, why are YOU here mister smartypants?"

"I'm here to help him with his trust problem. I tried to help him with finding jobs for people so they wouldn't keep shooting grandmothers and babies. Tried a few different ways of getting my book Finding Work When There Are No Jobs to him so we could put it to use. Even included him in the book. But I never heard back. So I thought, maybe he has a bigger problem than unemployed Chicagoans. TRUST! I'd help him with his trust problem. And that's why I'm here.

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The lady said, "He's doomed. But you're crazy." Then she turned around and didn't speak to me again for the next three hours as we wound our way up five floors of City Hall to the mayor's office.

Around 4:00, after an all day wait, I got to the front of the line. An army of shining bright twenty-somethings with clipboards was greeting people with the news that the Mayor was in an important meeting but that they could help us. I drew Laci. Wide-eyed, blonde and eager to serve.

"Laci, it's nice to meet you, but I thought this was where we got to talk to the mayor?'

Cocking her head, face welling up with concern. "I totally understand. I get that. You're frustrated. You love Chicago. You don't feel safe on the . . ."

"Laci, no. I'm fine. I'm just here to help the mayor and I thought he'd be available. Does this mean he isn't seeing ANY of the thousands who have waited in line these past few days?"

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"Oh, no! He's seeing lots of people!" Then lowering her voice, in fact I think he's in a meeting with my Dad right now."

"Who's your . . .oh never mind. We'll try and do it this way. Can I give you the message about how to help with the trust problem and you can tell him?"

"Sure! Just a few questions. Who sent you?"

"Um.. nobody sent me. I just wanted to help."

"Well that might be a teensy problem. Ahh wait. I know. Even if they didn't send you, do you know anybody who might umm. . . recommend you to the mayor."

"Sure, lots of people would . . ."

"Ok. Like, I mean people like in government or business or something?"

"Well, I went to high school with a lady who was a law professor at Harvard and taught President Obama."

"Gosh, that might be too long ago,"

"O.K. I was housemates in college with the daughter of a former federal judge and congressman. Pretty respected guy."

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She shook her head

"Oh I know! My uncle ran for mayor! It was in the 80's but . . ."

She brightened and started writing on the clipboard till I said, "Course he was a republican . . ." And she dropped her pen. "OK, tell you what. Can you sum up really fast how you will help the mayor with his trust problem? You seem like a nice guy and you remind me of my grandfather. So you tell me, I'll tell my boss and she might tell the mayor. 'K? Now how can you help the mayor with his trust problem?"

The Trust Equation

"The problem with trust is that it means something different to everyone. What's needed is a common way to think about and even measure trust. Can't manage what you can't measure, right?

"I guess so. . . but how do you measure trust?"

"Start thinking of trust as an equation. Start with:

Trust=Reliability + Credibility. Or T=R+C.

Reliability means I can consistently count on the person. Credibility means I believe the person knows their stuff.

Then add 'I.' "

"What's the 'I' stand for? "

"Intimacy."

"Oooo. I don't think. . ."

"Laci, trust is personal. Can't be mass-produced. So now you have T=C+R+I. Got that?"

"I went to Wharton. I get it!"

"Great Laci. Now we have the top line."

"Numerator! So, what's the denominator?"

The bottom line is SI. Self interest. You can have all the credibility, reliability and intimacy in the world. But when it's all about ME, no one will trust you. So the beauty of the trust equation is that you can use it to figure out all sorts of things. You can figure out in a common language what it takes to build trust. You can even figure out what is MISSING in building trust."

"So, you invent this?"

"Oh goodness no. Google the names Maister, Green and Galford. You can get the details."

"If the Mayor ever saw this, what would he do with it? Maybe call in one of his consulting companies?"

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"He could. Or he can call me. I could put a few folks together and we can begin building trust again. Real trust. The kind you can measure. Of course I'd charge nothing like the connected consulting companies would charge. I'd be much, much cheaper. Do you think that would be OK?"
To say that I'm a National Public Radio fan would be an understatement. I'm addicted. An NPR junkie. If my car radio had come with just one station, I wouldn't have noticed, as along as it was WHYY-FM, as that's the only station I ever listen to.

So when an WHYY intern recently emailed to say that Jennifer Lynn, the local host of "Morning Edition," wanted to interview me about my new book, I was thrilled. I was familiar with Lynn's work, of course; she'd recently conducted a terrific interview with former President Jimmy Carter.

Because OUR BODIES. OUR SHELVES is a collection of humorous essays for book lovers, the intern suggested that we hold the interview at the suburban library where I work.

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What did I do to prepare? I went online to listen to a few of Lynn's interviews that I'd missed. And I started following her on Twitter.

On the morning our interview was scheduled to take place, Jennifer Lynn ran over a street lamp on the Vine Street Expressway. I read about it on her Twitter feed. She sounded shaken up, but unhurt. "What a terrific way to prepare for talking with me!" I joked on my Facebook page.

Then the phone rang. It was Jennifer. "We need to reschedule," she said. "I ran over a street lamp."

"I know," I said, feeling like a stalker. "Are you okay?"

She was, but she needed to take her car to the shop. Plus, she'd encountered a technical glitch trying to download OUR BODIES, OUR SHELVES and she actually wanted to read it before we spoke.

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She gets points for that. I am often interviewed by people who haven't bothered to read my book. It's an interesting experience. You can say anything! I'm tempted to tell them outlandish stories, just because I can. Especially if it's a live interview, and thus can't be edited.

"I used to date Benedict Cumberbatch! Absolutely. And we once enjoyed a three-way with David Tennant. It's all in my book."

Did it bother me that my interview had been postponed at the very last minute? Not at all.

When it comes to media interviews, being rescheduled is just part of the process. Two years ago, I appeared on the "Today Show." But only after my segment was rescheduled -- five times! Because it focused on a New York Times essay I'd written upon turning 60, it wasn't in the least bit time sensitive, so I kept getting bumped when real news took place. I got bumped, for instance, by the birth of the Royal Baby.

A Royal Baby. A collision with a street lamp. That's show business!

The important thing is that I finally did make it onto the "Today Show," where I met my goal, which was not to die of fright on live TV in front of five million people.

I trust that I'll make it onto "Morning Edition" as well. Am I nervous? Not at all. Jennifer Lynn is good. So if I say anything too stupid (or falsely claim to have an intimate relationship with an adorable TV star) she'll edit it out.

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And it's radio, so I don't even have to get my hair done.

The best thing? Everybody I know listens to NPR. When it airs, I imagine people all over the Delaware Valley driving along in their cars, exclaiming "Wait a minute. That's Roz! What on earth is Roz doing on the radio?"
Thinker by Rodin

A 2014 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in which Americans were asked to rate how they felt about various religious groups found that atheists tend to be rated coldly. In fact, atheists averaged merely one degree warmer than Muslims, with 40% of participants rating atheists in the "feeling thermometer's" coldest part and members of religious groups rating atheists more negatively in general.

While hardly surprising, such results are rather puzzling. After all, one would be hard pressed to point to instances of discrimination, oppression, or terrorism perpetrated by atheists in the name of atheism. It's much easier to locate instances--and indeed patterns--of such behavior perpetrated by religious people in the name of their religion (both in today's world and throughout history). There are also no sanctified atheist texts or atheist traditions to inspire or outright command such objectionable behavior, and one is very unlikely to find an atheist in jail or on a most-wanted list that was driven there by atheism. Moreover, like the members of other groups, atheists are generally good people. They are certainly not the demons that some religious people have made them out to be. So why, then, do atheists tend to receive the cold shoulder from their religious fellow Americans?

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The survey did find that participants tended to rate atheists more coldly when they didn't actually know any atheists, showing that inexperience with what atheists are really like plays a role here. However, even those who knew atheists still rated them as neutral on average, so inexperience with atheists cannot completely explain the lack of warmth felt towards them.

Instead of speculating on what else might be involved here, I will give 3 reasons why religious Americans should warm up to atheists.

1. Atheists are generally good people.

I already mentioned this above, but it is worth reiterating: like the members of other groups, atheists are generally good people. Like others, they care about being good and try to be good. They care about truth, justice, freedom, and the welfare of others. They are good friends, devoted spouses, loving parents, honest and dependable co-workers, and more.

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2. Atheists make for good Americans.

Though people will disagree on exactly what it means to be a "good American," I hope we can all agree that a good American must care about the rights and liberties of American citizens. Not just one's own rights and liberties, but those of everyone. Not just those that one has a personal interest in securing and protecting, but each and every one that ought to be secured and protected. And atheists are likely to care very much about the rights and liberties of their fellow Americans. They will certainly not deny other Americans their rights and liberties in the name of any religion, and since they believe that this life is the only one that we get, they are likely to care a lot about the freedom that their fellow citizens have to make the best of it. They are even likely to care about the ability of religious Americans to freely practice their religion.

3. Atheists are valuable for religious conviction.
Does finding "the one" and living happily ever after sound ideal? Has your happiness ever depended on a lover? Has your lover ever tried to stop you from pursuing your hopes and dreams (or vice versa)?

The French existential philosopher Simone de Beauvoir would say that if you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you're not loving authentically. But then, what is authentic love?

Simone de Beauvoir catapulted to fame in 1949 with The Second Sex, which caused such a stir that the Vatican banned it. Beauvoir pointed out that our ideal of romantic love is loaded with opportunities for mauvaise foi, or bad faith. We're in bad faith if we act like we don't have a choice. While anyone can be guilty of it, Beauvoir says that women have been more susceptible to bad faith than men because they've been oppressed. Her call to end women's oppression is one of the reasons why The Second Sex was one of the pillars of the feminist movement.

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Ideas that tempt us towards bad faith loving include:

Believing that love will complete us: Looking to our lover to provide meaning and justification of our lives is a problem when it's an excuse to avoid being an agent in our own lives because it's existing on our lover's terms. It is an escape from the responsibility of choosing for ourselves.

Believing that love is everything: Love can be so dazzling that we risk losing ourselves in the euphoria of it. Yet, if we let ourselves become slaves to our passions, we'll eventually stagnate in boredom and hollowness. Beauvoir says: "Love isn't everything" and pretending we have no choice over the way we behave when in love is bad faith.

Believing that love is destiny: Love can feel like we've found our soulmate. As seductive as this idea sounds, there is actually no one perfect match. Sometimes we want a harmonious unity so much that we resort to possessiveness or submissiveness in an attempt to force it. Yet, trying to control or manipulate others is like hijacking their freedom. That's disrespectful at best and oppressive at worst.

Loving authentically is the antidote to bad faith relationship traps.

In The Second Sex, Beauvoir writes,

Authentic love must be founded on reciprocal recognition of two freedoms; each lover would then experience himself as himself and as the other: neither would abdicate his transcendence, they would not mutilate themselves; together they would both reveal values and ends in the world.



Existential ideas for loving authentically include:

Being free and equal: We do this by having our own projects and respecting our lover's quests too. When lovers are autonomous, relationships will be about freely choosing one another, not a matter of economic or emotional necessity. Beauvoir felt herself falling into the trap of being dependent on Sartre early in their relationship, so took responsibility for her own life by writing. Her first novel was called She Came To Stay.

Being great friends: The best relationships are where lovers are friends too. Great friends are generous, they cooperate, and they support each other's flourishing. Love can exist without friendship, but as the character Francoise in She Came To Stay says, it's vile because, "It makes you feel that you are simply an object of love, and not being loved for yourself alone."

Striving to create meaning in the world together: Working towards a common goal seals lovers' bonds and strengthens relationships. While it is up to the couple to decide what that goal should be, making the world a better place is a pretty good option. In her novel The Blood of Others, Helene loves Jean, but he's just not that into her - until she joins the Resistance and becomes an ally and equal. As Helene leaves for a dangerous mission, Jean says: "Now, nothing will separate us, ever."
Spot relies on great imagery to deliver a compelling place-discovery experience. Here, our content and community lead, Kelly Lack, shares the one simple tip that has helped top Instagrammers build beautiful portfolios (and huge followings).

Off the bat you should know that this is not an article about how to game followers. I possess no secret intel there. The main reason I have the numbers I do is because my personal account has twice been featured on Instagram's suggested-user list. That, plus a couple articles about it and regrams by brands including Design*Sponge, Steven Alan, and Coastal Living mag, have accelerated my follower count. BUT...none of this would've happened had I not been posting halfway decent photos. And that's what this article is about.

5 quick facts you should know:

1. I wasn't an early Instagram adopter. I put up my first shot (more on it below) 136 weeks ago, which translates to mid-2013ish.

2. I have no inside contact at Instagram, nor do I have insight into their selection process. I wish I did, then maybe

would have more followers.

3. I am no "photographer," and have received no proper training outside the one film-photography class I took years ago in college.

4. I've shot 99% of the photos on both my account and Spot's account with my iPhone, NOT a camera.

5. I work pretty much nonstop during the week, so I take most of my shots on weekends, making what I can out of limited shooting time.

So what's the big secret?

While there are overarching tips I could share--shoot during the day, pay attention to your background, avoid overly cluttered compositions--my #1 secret (or crutch as true photographers might call it) is mastering photo-editing tools. And I don't mean heavy-handed photo filters (I'm looking at you, Valencia).

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You want your shots to look like this:



A well-lit, visually balanced snap of Oz Farm, on the Mendocino Coast.

Not like this:



Say hello to my first-ever Instagram photo, posted exactly 132 weeks ago. Note the border and hardcore filter. I've learned a trick or two since then.

Nor this:



Instagram's very own first photo. At least the first photo currently available on their account.

What I do mean is downloading and learning some of the more sophisticated photo-editing apps. Personally, I use Snapseed and VSCO. But there are others: For example, my good pal Rosie D'Argenzio, who heads up social for One Kings Lane, uses Afterlight. I'm going to talk general photo-editing tips here, not review apps, because the photo-manipulation levers they offer are relatively similar.

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Now for the good stuff. My BEFORES and AFTERS:

Oh, you know, just hanging with some cattails on Muir Beach, as we do.

Before:

Dull, dreary, and lifeless.

After:

Colors are more saturated and textures are visible.

More from Spot: ISLANDS Magazine's Senior Staff Photographer On How to Take a Killer Landscape Photo

While Tennessee Beach is very cool in real life, its color variation doesn't translate to the small screen.

Before:

Though the shot obviously has good bones--those copper cliffs are pretty stunning--it winds up being dark and difficult to visually "read."

After:

The multi-tones of the cliff-face come to life and make the picture.

You can score a pretty rad hallway perspective in San Francisco's Fort Point.

Before:

The yellow-y tones of interior lighting are like the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me. I cringe. They make rooms appear blah at best, dirty at worst.

After:

If you up the contrast and cool down the light spectrum, the photo ends up being much crisper and cleaner.

More from Spot: 5 San Francisco Secrets You Won't Find in Guidebooks

While I tend to avoid posting photos of myself, here's a pic of yours truly (snapped by my hubs) out in the field taking a shot of a field.

Before:

The blues in the sky are fine and the field is pretty enough, but we can do better.

After:

Now, the sky pops and the hayfield appears to glow.

The famous chicory coffee and biscuits at New Orleans' Soniat House hotel are practically worth the trip alone.

Before:

The tablescape looks washed out, shadow-y, and less than inviting.

After:

Exaggerating the contrasts and brightening the photo makes the silverware glisten and the food take on a wish-I-was-at-that-table glow. (Pro tip: Overhead food shots are tried-and-true Instagram gold, but you'll notice that I personally don't post very many because I'm rarely in restaurants during daylight and night shots are nearly impossible to nail.)

Ah, the infamous sunset shot, snapped here at the Point Montara Lighthouse.

Before:

Dusk is a tricky little minx. Despite there being some nice light in this shot, the majority of it falls in shadow.

After:

Raising the brightness and saturation while exaggerating the contrast brings out the turquoise of the water and the green of the grass.

More from Spot: This Road Trip is One for the Bucket List

Sometimes a nearly black-and-white shot can be visually stunning, but if not done right, it puts off the hue of an old newsprint, like the sad cow on the left.

Before:

With too little differentiation between the black and white, the cow on a foggy hillside practically appears greyscale.

After:

The contrast is revved up (although it is still a color shot), making the photo take on a vividness that was absent before.

But what am I actually doing??

Above you have a look at Snapseed's main editing tool. As mentioned, I primarily use Snapseed and VSCO, and while I have no go-to, one-size-fits-all editing sequence, there are a few steps I do almost always (found within "Tune Image" and "Details" in Snapseed):

Up the brightness.

Up the contrast.

Up the ambiance.

Lower the shadows.

Up the highlights.

Lower the warmth (a tad).

Up the structure.

Up the sharpening.

Lastly, I occasionally overlay a VSCO filter (above) scaled way down for a final bit of intensity. Depending on the image, C1 Vibrant, F2 Mellow, and G3 Portraits are my favorite VSCO filters.

And there you have it, folks.

A caveat:

What works for me might not for you. I've absolutely developed a style that tends towards brighter images living within a color palette of blues, pinks, greens, and browns. That said, these tools will improve, say, moodier shots streaked with shadow just as well.

And, finally, a conclusion:

Even if your end goal is not to amass hordes of Instagram followers (it was an unsolicited surprise when it started happening to me), it's nice to be able to create content that is, simply, more elegant. Doesn't matter if you're posting pictures on your blog (truth, I edit a lot of the photos for Spot's blog on my phone), to Pinterest (um, same goes for our Pinterest images), or to Spot (soon you'll be able to upload shots of your favorite places). Learning some simple tricks that successful Instagram users prefer to keep close to the vest can help accelerate your ability to make your work more beautiful.
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The religions of the world have their fair share of holy sites. It might be the ruins of an ancient temple or it might be the birthplace of a religious prophet or the alleged son of a deity. For some, graveyards are considered sacred ground. As an atheist, none of these things apply. My sacred ground is all around us. My only holy site is the one we are all standing on and, if we are not careful, it will be in ruins. It will be the graveyard of all humanity.

Warring about who are the chosen people of the gods or which ancient text was divinely inspired just seems to be incredibly shortsighted to me. Prayers, rituals, ancient superstitions, and the false certainty of faith divide us. As a godless humanist, I would rather focus on what we can reasonably know and how we can use that to make the world better for us all. I don't see vague ancient prophecies of rapture and damnation as helpful in this regard and I would much rather see people living their lives working toward a better future for humanity rather than clinging to their faith in a heavenly reward for themselves.

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It is only when we are able to see the Earth from somewhere else that we begin to realize just how silly our ancient superstitions really are. We live on a small planet in a massive universe and yet people are fighting about a worthless patch of desert because they believe that the creator of the universe gave them the deed to this holy land. Instead of fighting over these things, we should be working together to settle other worlds.

We could be building moon bases and Martian colonies. We could be building generation ships to reach the newly discovered habitable planet Wolf 1061c. But instead, we have to fight religious terrorists who faithfully believe that their God demands satisfaction. And don't think for a moment that because I used the word, "terrorist" that I am only referring to Muslim extremists. No, there are Christian and Jewish terrorists who are also extreme in their beliefs that God needs them to violate the civil liberties, torture, and sometimes even kill the unclean and the unrighteous.



While obviously not all religious believers act this way, all of these ancient religious texts do preach this way. After all, they are ancient. They were written by people who have never seen a photo of the Earth from the moon or from Mars. They were written by people who lack the knowledge of our true place in the cosmos. These ancient scribes didn't know that there was anything outside of the Earth. They didn't know that there was a universe of wonder waiting for us to explore. They believed that it was possible to build a tower to Heaven, that such an attempt was the height of hubris, and should rightly be punished by God.

Interestingly enough, I don't think we were properly able to learn where the real hubris lied until we observed the Earth as a "pale blue dot," as Carl Sagan referred to it, from a vantage point much greater than any tower could provide us. This is our sacred ground. We are all on this small planet together and only together can we put the lessons of the ancient world in their proper context so that we can move forward into the future.
Mission - Quickly Getting Aspen Out of South Carolina

Aspen was an adorable puppy who needed transport out of South Carolina quickly to avoid going back into a shelter.

Mission Details

Flight Hours: 7

Our Out of Pocket Fuel Bill: $500

We responded to a request to transport Aspen from her Foster home in Charleston, South Carolina because Jennifer Beckett, the foster mom was going out of town. Karyn Pirl from Safe and Sound Rescue could not find another foster for Aspen in South Carolina and was afraid Aspen would have to go to a shelter. The problem was the shelters were so overrun in South Carolina because the massive floods they recently had increased their kill rate to higher than normal. So we decided to fly to Charleston, South Carolina and then up the east coast to Delaware to get Aspen headed to a new home.

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Little Aspen, was thrown from a moving car at five weeks of age, weighing just four pounds. Karyn from Safe and Sound Rescue found Jennifer in Charleston to foster Aspen who had been taking care of her since she was rescued off the streets.

Aspen had a number of health issues, stemming from being abandoned on the streets and drinking contaminated water from the South Carolina flooding. Some of the issues included a fungal infection on all of her paws and intestinal parasites. The good news is when we picked her up she was healthy again and was heading to New Jersey to Karyn and had many people interested in adopting her.

We were originally scheduled to just go to Charleston, South Carolina to pick her up and bring her back to Raleigh and meet another pilot to take her to Georgetown, Delaware but we couldn't find another pilot so we flew her from Charleston, South Carolina to Georgetown, Delaware.

Kathy Phelan, our inflight volunteer couldn't wait to meet Aspen and cuddle her for the journey.

We left Raleigh, North Carolina early on a bright and chilly late December to fly the nearly two hour leg to Charleston, South Carolina

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Once we arrived in Charleston, we met up with Jennifer and her daughter who had Aspen. Aspen was very shy and scared. She was now 12 weeks old and weighed a healthier 17 pounds. The best guess is Aspen is a white Lab/Shepard mix.

We loaded up the humans and Aspen and set off to Georgetown on the nearly three hour leg of out mission.

Aspen was a great passenger. She burrowed in her blanket and slept the entire way next to Kathy who kept her reassured she was safe. It was cold but she stayed nice and warm in her little pink blanket.

We arrived in Delaware tired and hungry but happy that Aspen was going to get the opportunity to go to a loving home. Maybe even before Christmas which was in just a few days. Karyn has had many inquiries about Aspen.

Ron, the next pilot who would take Aspen to Karyn meet us at the plane. He and a friend he met at the airport bundled up Aspen in her pink blanket and took off for her final destination.

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When we met Ron and Jennifer we were able to give them donated treats fromPlato Pet Treats and Smiling Dog Coffee as a thank you for the role they played in saving Aspen.
How narrowly should a Christian college set the parameters for theological fidelity for its faculty? While this question is one that often concerns many conservative evangelical schools, a current situation is again raising the question publicly.

Wheaton College has begun a process to fire a tenured associate professor of political science, Larycia Hawkins, for asserting that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. The college points to fundamental differences in how the two religions understand God. This is also not the first time Hawkins has had to defend her theological positions. The provost criticized an earlier paper on black liberation theology as an endorsement of Marxism.

Most conservative Christian colleges have some form of a statement of faith that the schools expect faculty to affirm. Certainly, these independent colleges are well within their right to define the boundaries of their identities and missions.

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But having taught at two conservative Christian colleges, I wonder at what cost these rigid boundaries of belief are maintained. What is lost when theological dissent is not accepted or even welcomed?

I empathize with Hawkins. When I taught religion at the two colleges, I often faced questions from administrators, pastors and parents about my own theological beliefs. I was much less bothered by students' questions and resistance -- after all, that's what students are supposed to do.

I got in the most trouble for suggesting that Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible (known as the Pentateuch), a fairly common stance in biblical scholarship but one that meets fervent opposition from fundamentalist Christians. I was told my Christology was not "high enough" for challenging the equation that Jesus = God. My faith was suspect because I supported the ordination of women, gay rights and reproductive justice -- as a Christian.

But I never imposed my beliefs on my students. I asked them to think for themselves. I asked them to develop a critical lens, to hear all sides of an argument, and to be open to changing their minds. I told them about the core Baptist belief in soul competency, the ability of each individual to deal directly with God without need for a mediator, and Baptist faith in the individual conscience before God.

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I left both schools before I reached the point where Larycia Hawkins finds herself, but, before I did, I spent a lot of time in the offices of presidents, provosts, deans and department chairs defending myself, not for teaching students they had to believe any one thing in particular, but for teaching them to ask hard questions of the belief system that had been handed to them.

I am not the only one who left or was asked to leave these institutions because of theological differences. Each institution developed ever more narrow definitions of theological faithfulness and asked faculty members to affirm those definitions. In an ironic twist, I find much more welcome for my theological questions at Oregon State University, where I've been on the faculty now for 20 years, than I ever did at the Christian colleges where I taught.

As people who push at the boundaries of rigidly defined belief systems are driven out of Christian colleges, I find myself wondering what kind of theological education is left. Is it one that only repeats settled belief so that students end up simply as receptacles for predetermined ideas? What happens when students are only exposed to a narrow range of possibility and are not taught to think critically about belief systems?

I am now a member of the United Church of Christ whose slogan is "God is still speaking." I wonder if when the boundaries are narrowly drawn these institutions leave any room for God to speak still. Without voices of dissent, without the faculty who ask hard questions and push at the edges, where can God do a new thing, speak in a new way, reveal new ideas? Perhaps in their quest to protect a narrow version of truth, these institutions lose out on many truths that come through many voices.
A new study in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests that climate-change-related water disruptions could significantly decrease electricity production by the hydropower stations and thermoelectric (nuclear, fossil-fueled, biomass-fueled) plants that account for 98 percent of production around the world. Because the plants need water to cool generators and pump power at dams, they are vulnerable to lower river levels and warmer water temperatures, according to researchers at Wageningen University and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). These conditions could reduce generating capacity by as much as 74 percent in hydro plants and 86 percent in thermoelectric plants between 2040 and 2069.

"This is the first study of its kind to examine the linkages between climate change, water resources and electricity production on a global scale," said co-author and IIASA Energy Program Director Keywan Riahi (subscription). "We clearly show that power plants are not only causing climate change, but they might also be affected in major ways by climate."

The study, which used computer modeling and data from more than 24,000 hydropower plants and nearly 1,500 thermoelectric plants, indicates that the areas most at risk of decreases in usable capacity for electricity production are the United States, southern and central Europe, Southeast Asia, southern parts of South America, Africa and Australia--regions where the study authors say big increases in water temperature will combine with projected decreases in mean annual streamflow.

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The potential water supply shortfall coincides with a predicted doubling in demand for water for power generation over the next 40 years.

The study also explored adaptation measures, concluding that increases in power plant efficiency and switches in cooling sources would reduce most regions' vulnerability to water constraints as would improved cross-sectoral water management during drought periods.

Data Points to Hotter Years

Late last year, the World Meteorological Organisation pegged 2011-15 as the hottest five-year period on record. But data from the Met Office suggests 2016 will be warm, too--warmer than the office's forecast for 2015.

"This forecast suggests that by the end of 2016 we will have seen three record, or near-record years in a row for global temperatures," said Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at the Met Office.

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El Nino and climate change were among the reasons cited for the increase--an estimated 1.29 and 1.73 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the average global temperature in the second half of the 20th century. The Met Office, Express reports, does not expect the record-breaking run to continue indefinitely, but it shows how factors like an El Nino are working together to push temperatures to unprecedented levels of warmth.

Climate Central categorized the changes as a "global warming spurt," that may be amplified by a slower-moving cycle of the Pacific Ocean--the Pacific Decadal Oscillation--that is also being amplified by climate change and that is the subject of some recent studies.

"Last time we went from a negative to a positive was the mid-70s," said Gerald Meehl, a National Atmospheric Research scientist, speaking about a warming slowdown linked to Pacific Decadal Oscillation. "Then we had larger rates of global warming from the 70s to the 90s, compared to the previous 30 years. It's not just an upward sloping line. Sometimes it's steeper, sometimes it's slower."

Clean Power Plan Sees Challengers, Supporters

The deadline for filing legal challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, which aims to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, triggered a host of new lawsuits targeting the rule. To date, 27 states, along with trade groups and companies, are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to delay implementation of the rule (subscription). Among the arguments--the EPA illegally issued duplicative rules for coal-fired plants and infringed on states' rights (subscription).

Still, some states are beginning to wade through the rule. And many of the nation's largest cities are seeking to back it. The National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and others are filing a motion to participate in litigation as amici curiae (friends of the court).

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"The acute relevance of climate change to local governments' responsibilities and activities has led members of the Local Government Coalition to grasp both the need to adapt to climate change and the costs of failing to act to mitigate it," the filing said. "Prompted by lived experience and by the prospect of future impacts, they [the groups] have made efforts both to adapt to their changing climatic circumstances and to slow or eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions."
African American males are being attacked from every direction in America. If the police aren't killing them, then they are killing each other. In a 35 year timeframe, over 324,000 African American people were killed by their own race. This is one of the most serious challenges for this community. The numbers are unacceptable and more work needs to be done to address this crisis.

When it comes to the prison population across the United States, the numbers are very high for African American males. This represents a different kind of Holocaust for the African American people.

With all of the protest against police involved killings, one would think that the people would organize to stop the killings in the community. It appears as though we are sending the wrong message when it comes to police killings and killings within one's own race. If a police officer killed an African American male, it's a big problem. However, when African American males kill each other, it's just another statistic. Do not take this message the wrong way. The protest against police involved killings have been so effective that policy changes are being implemented nationwide.

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If the protesters would put the same energy in demonstrating in the neighborhoods affected by violence, then this would be a monumental moment for the people. There appears to be some reluctance in addressing this issue on a higher level because of fear. It's easier to protest downtown or uptown, but protesting in the neighborhood against the violence would require a certain level of courage. Some people are not ready to confront would be killers. There is no media or national spotlight that comes along with stopping the Black on Black killings.

Hopefully, this article could serve as a wake up call for the entire nation. If people band together, anything is possible. A new year can bring forth positive change. The people who are interested in taking on this issue should be encouraged to work together to stop the carnage in the community. African American leaders have failed in this particular area and there is no real solution in sight. We need new minds to help reverse this epidemic of violence that continues to take lives at any given time. If you compare the killings to other epidemics like Ebola, you will see that the numbers of people killed by violence in the African American community are staggering.
On Saturday, January 2, a group of anti-government rebels occupied the visitors center of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The group was led by Ammon Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy, who became famous, first for mooching off federal land for over 20 years, and second for informing African-Americans that they were better off as slaves. Apparently free grazing land wasn't sufficient for the elder Bundy -- he would like free labor as well.

Calling themselves the "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom," Ammon Bundy said the group seized the facility to defend "the people" against oppressive and unconstitutional federal land management.

Bundy reported on a video that his marching orders to take over the visitors center of a national wildlife refuge came directly from God -- unmistakable proof that the Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways (either that, or God has a truly wicked sense of humor).

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Mr. Bundy has declared "It is the people's facility, owned by the people."

He's absolutely right about that.

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was established on August 18, 1908 by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds.

In effect, Bundy and his CCF band of rebels wish to wrest the refuge away from the people and restore it to the people.

Speaking as one of the people, I wish to say "thank you" for returning our land. I think we can all agree that the people's land would be much better managed by armed vigilantes than by appointees of democratically elected government officials.

Now that the land has been liberated, there remains the matter of determining which portion of the land I'm entitled to. I've done the math -- 187,757 acres of wildlife refuge divided by 318.9 million people works out to about 26 square feet for every American.

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After careful consideration, I have decided to claim the bathroom of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge visitors center as my 26 feet. I have also made the decision to impose a modest charge for the use of my bathroom facility. I think $10 per visit is a fair price. I'm sure the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom will wholeheartedly agree that you can't have freedom without a free market. This is particularly true in light of the fact that some wish to graze cattle for profit on their allotted land. This is fine, provided, of course, that they do not exceed their 26 square foot allotment. Perhaps cattle stacking would be an efficient way to make the most efficient use of the people's land.
What a scam! Noam Scheiber and Patricia Cohen described it this way in a front-page New York Times report on how a small group of incredibly wealthy Americans funded their way into another tax universe: "Operating largely out of public view -- in tax court, through arcane legislative provisions and in private negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service -- the wealthy have used their influence to steadily whittle away at the government's ability to tax them. The effect has been to create a kind of private tax system, catering to only several thousand Americans."

Yes, you read that correctly: tiny numbers of Americans live on a different tax planet from the rest of us. They've paid for the privilege, of course, and increasingly for the political class that oversees how our country runs. They've insulated themselves in a largely tax-free zone that ensures their "equality" before the law (such as it is) and your deepening inequality before the same -- and before them. Their actions have garnered them the ultimate in impunity. In this election season in a country of more than 300 million people, for instance, a mere 158 families (and the companies they control) are putting their (largely tax-free) dollars where our mouths once were. By October, they had provided almost half the money thus far raised by presidential candidates in a move meant to ensure that American democracy becomes their system, their creature. ("Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision five years ago.")

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My dictionary defines "impunity" simply enough as "exemption from punishment, penalty, or harm." That's a striking trait for those who lord it over us. In the most incarcerated nation on Earth, with close to 25% of the globe's prison population, there are seemingly no bars strong enough to hold our economic elites or, for that matter, their national security brethren.

The U.S. national security state, like the billionaire class, has grown ever richer and become ever more entrenched in these years, while similarly extracting itself from what was once the American political and legal system. Its officials now exist in a world of secrecy in which, in the name of our "safety," ever fewer of their acts are open to our scrutiny. They inhabit what can only be thought of as a crime-free zone. No act they commit, no matter how extralegal or illegal, will evidently ever land them in a court of law. They have, in essence, total impunity. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about the CIA's massive, extralegal operation to kidnap "terror suspects" (often enough, as it turned out, innocent civilians) and deliver them to the torture chambers of brutal allies or to a system of "black sites" off the coast of normal justice. Lying to Congress, hacking congressional computers, and assassinating American citizens have all been green-lighted. No one was ever punished. When necessary, in the secret corridors of power, officials of the national security state simply mobilize lawyers to reinterpret the law of the land to their taste.

When it comes to impunity, their record has been the equal of anything the billionaire class has done. And none of it was more impressive, in its own way, than the use of obviously illegal methods of torture, euphemistically termed "enhanced interrogation techniques," against helpless prisoners in a secret global prison system, as TomDispatch regular Rebecca Gordon reminds us today. You want war crimes? Post-9/11, Washington could have sported the logo: War Crimes "R" Us. If you want to understand what this sort of impunity means in terms of the politics of 2016, then read Gordon's latest piece, "America Revisits the Dark Side."
Iran joined with many other nations around the world, including the United States, in officially protesting Saudi Arabia's decision to execute cleric Nimr al-Nimr for working to ensure equal civil and human rights for Saudi Arabia's Shiite Muslim minority. Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, Iran's "Supreme Leader," warned Saudi Arabia that it would suffer "divine retribution" for killing Al-Nimr. Along with al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia executed 46 others, including three other dissident Shiite clerics.

The executions have heightened centuries-old tensions between Iran, a majority Shiite Muslim nation, and its arch rival, the Sunni Muslim majority nation of Saudi Arabia.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei argued on his website that al-Nimr "neither invited people to take up arms nor hatched covert plots. The only thing he did was public criticism." Iran's influential Revolutionary Guard condemned Saudi Arabia's "medieval act of savagery," and prophesied that this would result in the "downfall" of that country's monarchy.

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While the Iranians rightly condemned Saudi Arabia, I find it quite ironic when they represent the murders as a "medieval act of savagery." It's as if the Saudi's, in executing Shiite clerics, held up a mirror to the Iranians in which they saw reflected back their own long-standing and brutal civil and human rights atrocities.

Let us not forget that since the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, which replaced the Shah with an orthodox Shiite theocracy, many segments of the population have experienced repression under Iranian Sharia law -- of the many segments, in particular, include Iran's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans* (LGBT) inhabitants.

Since 1979, some human rights activists estimated between 4000 - 6000 LGBT people have been executed in Iran. Same-sex sexuality between consenting partners in private is defined as a crime. Iranian law condemns men involved in sexual penetrative acts (sodomy or lavat) with the possibility of death, and so-called non-penetrative acts with flogging. After the fourth non-penetrative "offense," the penalty is death.

Women convicted of engaging in same-sex sexuality (mosahegheh) may be made to undergo flogging with 50 lashes. And also, following the fourth conviction, they too are eligible for the death penalty (Articles 127, 129, 130).

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Examples are many. Two gay Iranian teenagers, 18 and 17-years-old, were hung in the streets of Iran on July 19, 2005, in Edalat (ironically called "Justice Square") in Mashbad, Iran. Reports of the widespread repression of gays in Iran have been verified by Human Rights Watch and the Iranian Student News Agency.

Following the Islamic Revolution, trans* identity and expression were also classified as crimes. However, the government reclassified these in 1986 as "heterosexual" if the person undergoes gender confirmation (formerly known as "sex reassignment") surgery. Today, Iran stands as the country performing the most gender confirmation surgeries in the world, second only to Thailand. Iranian trans* people, however, still suffer frequent harassment and persecution.
ISIS's fall back plan if things fall apart in Syria and Iraq looks as if it is Libya. The recent attacks in Sidra and Zliten, which may also be the work of ISIS, are cases in point. ISIS is trying to strengthen its presence throughout Libya, and has taken control of the coastal city of Sirte. As ISIS continues to struggle in Syria and Iraq, establishing a viable presence in Libya becomes a more important option. Helping Libya must, therefore, again become a priority for the United States and its allies as part of the war against ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

In his 2015 end of the year press conference, President Obama was asked about US policy toward Libya. He stated clearly that the United States had "underestimated the need to rebuild the government there quickly." He also discussed Libya last September in his speech before the UN General Assembly where he indicated that the United States was willing to help a legitimate Libyan government with its efforts to rebuild.

There are several good reasons for the United States and the global community to focus more on helping Libya. Since fighting ISIS and other terrorist organizations will be a priority for the administration, supporting Libya must be an integral part of that effort. Libya is becoming a breeding ground for terrorists and criminals, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates. A safe haven in Libya for these elements will have a disastrous effect on North Africa--particularly Egypt and Tunisia--as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

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While there can be no quick fixes with Libya, there is some reason for guarded optimism. Libyan factions have most recently tried to come together in December to form a unified government. The good news is that even with the fall in oil prices, Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa, should be able to take care of itself economically. If Libya is able to get some outside help, and is able to coalesce around a unified government then it could begin to turn around from a state of chaos and disorder to a more promising future. Of course, these are big "ifs".

From the US perspective, the President has indicated helping Libya is a priority for his final year in office. In addition, Secretary of State Kerry helped lead a UN-sponsored conference in December to bring together feuding Libyan government factions as part of an effort to form one, viable government.

Finally, Libya is right next to Europe. It has been a point of departure for refugees seeking asylum in Europe, but it is also potentially an alternative source of energy for Europe, making the Europeans less dependent on Russia. Alternatively, a failed Libya that is controlled by terrorist organizations and organized crime is a potential disaster for European interests in particular.

There are those who believe the US should not have helped with the overthrow of the Qaddafi government. That is a short-sighted assessment of why the US became involved in Qaddafi's overthrow. He was threatening to destroy those who were legitimately protesting against his government. For decades he ruled Libya as if it were his personal fiefdom, ignoring the need to build institutions that would serve the Libyan people, let alone providing a measure of democracy for Libyans. The revolt against Qadaffi was home grown, and getting rid of him was good for Libya and the world.

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There was follow up in trying to help Libya rebuild. There were elections. There were efforts to help with a chaotic security situation. There were efforts to help with the building of government institutions and solidify democracy. Despite all of these these efforts, over time, the situation worsened, and while there was still a desire to help Libya, for a variety of reasons it was not sustained at a level where it could make a difference.

Nonetheless, the U.S. and others have remain engaged. The UN has continued to work with the various Libyan government factions, and regional actors have also continued to stay involved with shaping Libya's future. The problem is not all actors and not all solutions are welcomed by the Libyan people.

The UN has in particular had problems with its efforts in Libya. Libyans believe the former UN Special Envoy, Bernardino Leon, contributed to an erosion of trust between Libya and the UN. Instead of acting as an honest broker, he appeared to be taking sides. This made the role of the UN more complicated, and makes the effort of his successor, Martin Kobler, all the more difficult.

The UN sponsored December agreement among the various Libyan ruling factions could pave the way for a Government of National Accord (GNA). But the key to the success of any agreement is that it be transparent and inclusive, including the active support for it by all key Libyan actors. As the International Crisis Group (ICG) indicated in its statement on the UN December agreement, "... there are risks associated with precipitous rush to anoint a government without consolidating domestic support or addressing urgent security concerns."

Getting a legitimate GNA is key to working out the pressing problems confronting Libya. These include addressing Libya's security situation. It includes building institutions that are the foundation for a functioning government that enjoys popular support. It also includes rebuilding the Libyan economy, and, finally, there needs to be a government that is a willing partner in fighting the growing terrorist threat in Libya.

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Dan Theirl is the Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Rubikloud Technologies based in Toronto, ON. With over 12 years of industry experience, he has helped hundreds of e-commerce stores succeed through online marketing services and products geared toward improving conversion and revenue.

As someone who has been a part of the tech and e-commerce industry for over 10 years, I have witnessed successful companies and not-so-successful companies ride the wave of growth. The information age is still in its early stages, disrupting, changing and impacting almost every industry and human being on this planet. The one thing I've found that sets apart companies riding the next wave of growth is who they hire and the culture they nurture.

As the Co-Founder and CPO at Rubikloud, I have been present for every single hire we have had. I have watched the company grow from three to over 30 people. Although every company culture is different, there are always a few key factors that we considered when hiring for the most successful candidate. It's a competitive industry to break into, but equally competitive to hire for. But building a solid foundation of engaged, ambitious and intelligent employees is key to long-term success in the information age. The next time you need to make a hire, look for these three key attributes in your candidates. Similarly, you should also always be building these attributes in your current team.

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Intellectual Curiosity

It is no secret that technology is always changing, so being intellectually curious is the most important thing you can do to be successful in tech. Your employees need to constantly learn more about what they're doing, the newest technology and the latest method. Encourage them to take courses and engage in meet-ups/groups in order to avoid complacency. Early on in my career, I saw the value in teaching myself to code. I felt enhancing my technical skills would make me better equipped for every aspect of my job. Many times since then, I have proven myself invaluable within an organization because I could talk to both sides and truly understand what was going on from a business and tech perspective. You can simply never stop learning. Adaptability could be the reason you are considered for promotion over a coworker. As a business owner, you must seek out these individuals who are engaged and ready to learn new skills quickly.

Adaptability

Adapting readily and easily is one of the hardest but most important attributes to embody in this ever-changing industry. The ability to go with the flow and change gears while in the middle of executing plans is a skill that's hard to come by in most employees. A startup really doesn't settle down into specific and predictable roles until much later, when profitability becomes the focus or even after a company's IPO. For us, a front-end engineer working on building designs could be asked to process and analyze data the next week. Client and product priorities constantly shift throughout the process of building a company, so employees need to adapt as your company grows. In fact, adaptability gives startups their natural competitive advantage.

Planning Ahead

Intellectual curiosity and adaptability go hand-in-hand with effectively planning ahead. Foresight is an especially valuable tool in business in an environment that is changing so quickly. From a technical perspective, engineers need to learn and foresee changes in new programming languages and open source tools. Digital marketers need to foresee where the industry is headed in order to reach their target market. Product managers need to see much further ahead to guide the product in the right direction, listening to the internal team, clients, prospects and external stakeholders. Great employees continue to develop new skills that they believe the company will need in the future. One great example of planning ahead from my experience is when our CTO decided to proactively learn Mandarin after work even though it was not a direct requirement for his position. A year later, it's proving to be a useful skill communicating with our clients on technical implementations.

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Whoa, Priyanka Chopra, way to begin the year. The actress, last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani, has won the People's Choice Award for 'Favourite Actress In A New TV Series' for her ongoing American TV drama Quantico, reported Miss Malini.

I am so fortunate!Thank U to everyone who voted for me at the #PCAs! My #PCManiacs-I am nothing without you!Big love pic.twitter.com/Omg31wG7oa  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) January 7, 2016

Chopra has become the first ever South Asian actor to win at the People's Choice Awards, which has been held annually since 1975, celebrating film, TV, music, and Internet personalities working in the United States.

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While Quantico failed to convert a nomination in the 'Favourite New TV Drama' category into a win (it lost to Supergirl), Chopra managed to win the award over veteran film and TV actresses such as Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marcia Gay Hayden, and Emma Roberts.

As news broke of her win on Thursday morning in India, her fans  many of whom voted for her to win  tweeted ecstatically.

A video of her acceptance speech, next to Full House actor John Stamos (who won 'Favourite Actor In A New TV Series' for his new show Grandfathered) can be watched above.

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For the full list of winners, head here.

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STRDEL via Getty Images Indian actor Gajendra Chauhan attends the cremation ceremony of late veteran Bollywood actor A.K. Hangal in Mumbai on August 26, 2012. Bollywood veteran and favourite character actor A.K. Hangal, dubbed the 'grand old man' of Hindi cinema for his elderly roles, died on August 26 aged 95. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/GettyImages)

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

Only days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Lahore promised to put India-Pakistan relations back on track, a terrorist attack on an Indian Air Force base in Punjab this week has threatened to derail talks all over again. Here's how to keep the Indo-Pak talks from failing again.

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The rebranding of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban as ISIS indicates that while this jihadist franchise is of Middle Eastern origin, it is recruiting locally and allows considerable operational autonomy to such affiliates.

The most important skill that every teacher should teach is the difference between a fact and an opinion, writes Apoorv Shah. The Teach For India alumnus explains how to teach kids to think for themselves.

Main News

US security expert Bruce Riedel said that the Pathankot terrorist attack was initiated by the Pakistani military (PakMil) establishment, alleging ISI was behind the attack. He warned that the "Pakistani intelligence service has the capability to launch more attacks with little notice, at some point prompting a vigorous Indian response."

With the sudden illness and hospitalisation of Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, it seems that the elevation of his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, as the state's next CM is imminent.

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Gajendra Chauhan joins as chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) today, despite the 139-days strike by students against his appointment. Students have planned a "peaceful protest" in the campus in Pune even as the college prepares an official "welcome" program for the actor.

Off The Front Page

Sonu Nigam on Wednesday helped launch India's first transgender band, called '6-Pack Band'. He has lent his voice to one of the six songs the band has released.

Netflix Inc launched operations in India on Wednesday, with plans starting at 500 rupees ($7.50) per month, as the U.S.-based video streaming company pushes ahead with its global expansion plans.

Remember the song 'Dj Waley Babu' by Badshah featuring Aastha Gill? Now, a group of women has come up with a kirtan version of the song, and we're at a loss of words.

Opinion

Pakistan hasnt questioned even once that the attack came from them, writes Indrani Bagchi in The Times of India: "India needs to understand that the Pakistan army is a jihadi institution with the trappings of a state, and deal with them accordingly."

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Left is stuck with old issues, and it must strike new conversations with middle classes and youth, writes Prakash Karat in The Indian Express: "The CPM and the Left in general have fallen behind somewhat due to changes that have occurred in socio-economic conditions after more than two decades of liberalisation and globalisation."

Who is Facebook to approve services when it has no role in user-website-network transactions, ask Siddhartha Chaudhuri and Bhaskaran Raman in The Economic Times: "Facebooks Free Basics proposal, offered as a welfare scheme aimed at this goal, has several serious flaws, beneath the veil of altruism wrapped around it in advertisements."

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HuffPost Staff

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan will no longer be seen welcoming travellers to India with the slogan 'Atithi devo bhava', as the Lagaan star has ceased to be the mascot for the 'Incredible India!' campaign after 10 years.

According to TV news reports, actor Amitabh Bachchan has been chosen as the new face for the campaign.

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The decision has come only a couple of months after Khan and his wife Kiran Rao voiced their opinions about growing intolerance in India.

In November, Khan had stated that his wife Rao had asked him if they should move out of India, as she was worried about the safety of their children in an intolerant and insecure society.

Khan, speaking at a journalism awards function, was commenting on the rising intolerance in the country -- from the Dadri lynching incident, to the murders of rationalists such as MM Kalburgi.

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The tourism ministry, however, on Wednesday said they had not hired the actor, but an agency had.

"Our contract was with the McCann Worldwide agency for Atithi Devo Bhava campaign. The agency had hired Aamir for the job. Now the contract with the agency is over. The ministry has not hired Aamir. It was the agency which has hired him. Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists," Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma told PTI on Thursday.

Unperturbed, Khan dismissed the slew of theories that were making rounds on social media by simply saying:

I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services: Aamir Khan on Incredible India contract  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

It is prerogative of govt to decide whether they need brand ambassador for any campaign,and if so, who that ambassador should be: Aamir Khan  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that's the way it should be: Aamir Khan  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

In fact, according to a report in PTI, Khan also said that whatever commercials he had shot and the work he had done for the Incredible India campaign, was done free of charge.

"I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it. I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me. It is always an honour for me to be of service to my country, and this is how it will always be," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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NARINDER NANU via Getty Images Indian activists of Hindu Bajrang Dal, along with Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) organizations, raise religious slogans during a procession marking the 23rd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid Mosque in Ayodhya, in Amritsar on December 6, 2015. Hindu hardliners demolished the Babri Mosque on December 6, 1992, claiming it was built on the site of the birth place of the Hindu God Ram, sparking off country wide Hindu-Muslim riots. AFP PHOTO / NARINDER NANU / AFP / NARINDER NANU (Photo credit should read NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)

In June last year, a group of Bajrang Dal activists accosted a man suspected to be stealing a calf, paraded him and then beat him up black and blue. Forty-two-year-old Riaz was arrested on charges of theft and cruelty towards animals and remanded in Muzaffarnagar jail. Six Bajrang Dal activists were also arrested for attacking the man, including district chief of BJP in Shamli, who by the way is called Vivek Premi.

According to the FIR filed at Adarsh Mandi police station in Shamli last year, a Bajrang Dal activist spotted Riaz stealing a calf from his cow shed. He then alerted his peers who then ganged up to beat Riaz. He alleged that Riaz was accompanied by two other people who managed to flee.

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This month, the union home ministry sent a communication to the Shamli district administration asking them to revoke the charges under the National Security Act levelled against Premi.

Indian Express reports: "On June 30, Premi was arrested on charges of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion. The other accused were also arrested. On July 10, the Shamli district administration invoked NSA against Premi, which was approved by the state government on July 16. The UP Advisory Board, which takes the final call on confirmation or removal of NSA, gave its approval on August 21."

It may have taken some time but the Centre seems to have taken note and granted Premi's wish.

Reports suggest that the VHP and Bajrang Dal have taken Centre nod as a 'victory'. Times Of India reports, "VHP leaders are likely to seek time to meet home minister Rajnath Singh to demand that the NSA be revoked against Hindu ascetic Maharaj Yashvir too, who was booked under the stringent law on Saturday for an alleged hate speech."

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ASSOCIATED PRESS An Indian army soldier is silhouetted against the setting sun as he stands guard next to his colleague, sitting on the roof top of a house outside the Indian air force base in Pathankot, India, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. Indian troops were still battling at least two gunmen Sunday evening at the air force base near the country's border with Pakistan, more than 36 hours after the compound came under attack, a top government official said. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

NEW DELHI -- In the aftermath of the deadly attack on the Pathankot Air Force Base, carried out by terrorists who came from Pakistan, the Modi government is adopting a cautious strategy to its interaction with Islamabad, and a wait-and-watch approach

to the upcoming Foreign Secretary-level talks.

Speaking to reporters today, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup did not rule out India's participation in the talks scheduled for Jan 15, but he said that New Delhi would keenly observe whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holds good on his promise of "prompt and decisive" action.

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Swarup said that Islamabad had eight days to act on actionable intelligence provided by New Delhi before the Indo-Pak talks.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court," said Swraup. "The immediate issue is Pakistan's response."

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who assured us a prompt response. India now awaits a prompt and decisive action," he said.

All six terrorists, who attacked the Indian Air Force base in Punjab on Saturday, were killed in counter-operations which lasted for three days.

The deadly attack, which claimed the lives of seven security personnel, came a week after Modi made a surprise visit to Pakistan on his way back from Kabul to New Delhi.

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The Foreign Secretary-level talks were scheduled following the informal meeting between Modi and Sharif in Lahore on Dec. 25, which also happened to be the Pakistani leader's birthday.

The two leaders walked hand-in-hand before boarding a helicopters to Sharif's ancestral house, where preparations were afoot for his granddaughter Mehrun Nisa's wedding. Two days later at the wedding, Sharif wore the pink Rajasthani turban which Modi gifted him.

In Islamabad today, Sharif met with top officials in his government including National Security Advisor Naseer Khan Janjua, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz.

Citing a source privy to the discussion, PTI reported, The meeting decided to speed up work on the leads given by India.

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf, and two others identified by India as 'handlers' behind Pathankot terror atta  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 7, 2016

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A book called 'Anything But Khamosh', based on the life of a very disgruntled Shatrughan Sinha. A launch attended by LK Advani, Yashwant Sinha and BJP's newest bete noire Kirti Azad. BJP's loose cannon VK Singh in the audience. And the still-fresh memory of a humiliating loss in the Bihar polls. A recipe for fireworks, right? Right. The party's 'senior' brigade didn't disappoint at the launch of Shatrughan Sinha's biography in New Delhi and took the opportunity to turn the event into an unofficial Modi government bashing exercise.

The Indian Express reports: "Shatrughan and Yashwant, who addressed each other as bhai, were candid in their criticism of the BJPs strategy in Bihar  the former in the book, the latter on stage. Advani took a swipe at leaders who seek successive Rajya Sabha nominations, a subject that came up because Shatrughan was upset with him when he was once denied a nomination. Advani apologised for this."

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Sinha himself refrained from launching a direct attack on the party. However, he was probably hoping that his book will do all the talking. According to reports, Sinha has talked about BJP's refusal to grant him a third term at the Rajya Sabha and the party's hesitation to elevate his position in the book, quite candidly.

The actor pointed out to biographer Bharati S Pradhan that while he was denied a third term at the Rajya Sabha, several exceptions were made. "Many party leaders like Arun Jaitley, and my friends Ravi Shankar Prasad and Venkaiah Naidu were given a third term in the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Sinha, also lands a punch on party president Amit Shah in the book. He has said, "Amit Shah, our party president, had predicted with great confidence that we would win with 2/3rd majority. Perhaps it has become a habit with him because he had said the same thing in Delhi also. But ultimately we got only two or three seats there instead of 2/3rd Right from state president Mangal Pandey to Sushil Kumar Modi to Rajiv Pratap Rudy to Shahnawaz Hussain, anybody and everybody, repeated his words like parrots with full zeal, enthusiasm and overconfidence.

Yashwant Sinha, not one to mince his words, mocked the 'margdarshak mandal' that the seniors in the party have been herded to. "I am strenuously trying to prove that I am not brain dead," Sinha quipped, referring to the BJP's not make anyone above 75 years of age a minister in the Union cabinet.

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Batting for Shatrughan Sinha, the 83-year-old BJP leader said, "The stark truth is that he was not invited. Those who were managing did not find our utility. He may have got 10 people and I would have got two. But that was an addition," Sinha said.

He also added that the 'margdarshak mandal' was a committee that 'never met', hinting that the current leadership of the BJP have deliberately sidelined them with a bogus position.

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Boo at the Zoo is back

Boo at the Zoo will take place from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, throughout the grounds of the zoo, and is free to the public.
A leading property/casualty insurance provider has named a new appointment to senior leadership for its North American unit, instituting a reshuffle among the companys top executives. Zurich Insurance announced Wednesday that it has appointed Don Pickens to the role of chief underwriting officer for its Global Corporate in North America (GCiNA).Pickens will succeed Patrick Daley, who will assume a new role for Zurich as head of property for the East Region within GCiNA.Meanwhile, Richard Montminy will take over as new head of property for GCiNA, while Joe Tinetti  who was in that role since 2011  will become head of marine and energy property. He will report to Jeanne Jankowski, head of energy for GCiNA.I am very excited to welcome Don and Richard to my senior leadership team, Paul Horgan, chief executive officer of Zurich Global Corporate in North America, said in a statement. I am certain that the changes weve announced today will help to position GCiNA to grow and achieve our goals in 2016 and beyond.Pickens comes to Zurich after several years in the property/casualty insurance industry, where he served in a number of roles, including as senior vices president and chief risk officer of American International Groups global commercial business. Previously, Pickens spent 15 years with Liberty Mutual in senior management positions and in positions with Hartford Insurance Group.He received a bachelors degree in Political Science and Government from the State University of New York in Albany.Montminy joined Zurich in March 2015 as East regional manager of property. He has a brokerage background, having previously worked as managing director and Southeast property practice leader for Marsh . In that capacity, he specialized in all aspects of global property program development, design, structure, placement and coverage.Prior to that, Montminy spent 12 years working for the former FM Global companies before joining Marsh in 1997.He earned a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA in Finance from California State University in Long Beach.Zurich employs more than 55,000 people and provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services.
The drive to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance has slowed according to a new study. The Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index reveals that the share of adults without health insurance was 11.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2015, the same as at the start of the year, and shows that the initial reduction of 2014 has levelled. The report concludes that: "This validates concerns that similarly large reductions may not be possible in the future because the remaining uninsured are harder to reach or less inclined to become insured. The analysis does however expect there to be some reduction in the uninsured rate during the first three months of 2016.The rise in the fear of cyber-attacks and in actual incidents is prompting businesses to bolster expertise among the workforce. A report from niche global head-hunter BeecherMadden predicts that risk jobs will see growth in 2016 as cyber, digitalization and innovation top the list of CEOs concerns. For those in the risk industry it is leading to a rise in salaries with the report revealing that those with as little as 5 years experience in the space could command high salaries which are unrivalled by other professions. However, the report warns against job-hopping as the poll found that companies are looking for longevity before hiking wages.Primerica Inc. has had a record-shattering 2015 in Canada according to CEO Glenn Williams. Life insurance face amount in force exceeded $100 billion, and client asset values surpassed $10.5 billion, both as of December 31, 2015. Most importantly, we paid more than $102 million in claims to our Canadian policy beneficiaries during 2015. Williams said. He will speak live to an audience in Toronto Saturday with simultaneous meetings across Canada relaying the speech via video link.At years end, Primerica Canadas life-licensed sales force exceeded 10,000 representatives, solidifying its position as Canadas largest life insurance sales force. The company also has the countrys largest independent mutual fund sales force. Because of the outstanding service these representatives provided to Canadian families, our sales force compensation during 2015 was a record $124 million, up 15 per cent year-over-year.
Despite trends like physician integration and the decrease of general practitioners in the US, healthcare remains a growing industry. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the industry will yield 2.3 million new jobs between 2008 and 2018.As such, insurance agents and brokers shouldnt restrict their medical malpractice marketing to traditional care centers. A growing array of new business classes operating under the healthcare umbrella provides ample opportunity for enterprising independents, says Brad Rosgen, Healthcare Practice Leader for Burns & Wilcox.A lot of agents that specialized in small practice doctors will need to find different ways of keeping their doors open, Rosgen says. That means expanding to things they may not have worked on in the past, including home healthcare or outpatient services.Home healthcare is indeed a rising enterpriseone that is expected to grow 40% over the next decade as baby boomers age and prefer services within the comfort of their own home. However, agents should be sensitive to some of the challenges within this industry.Rosgen notes that due to loose underwriting guidelines, some carriers have withdrawn from the market, feeling rates were too low to support potential loss. Advising clients on this type of account means shopping around and providing the kind of value-added services that other accounts may not require.Hospice is another potential growth market. Particularly inviting to agents looking to get their feet wet in the medical malpractice market, hospice offers low risks and less underwriting complication.Its not something a lot of people think to go after, Rosgen says. Its a fantastic business to write from a risk standpoint and carriers typically provide rates that are aggressive, but fair.Other growing enterprises of note include telemedicine, anesthesiology, nursing homes and assisted living. Investing in any one of these will pay off for medical malpractice brokers as the healthcare industry continues to grow and specialize.[Medical professional liability] is definitely an area of growth. Competitive as it is, it is still a high growth industry and will continue to be as the population grows, Rosgen says. If youre not already, its definitely an area to get into if you want to keep pace with the general rate of the economy and have something new or fun to talk about every time you visit a client.
Jeffrey Lefebvre speaks to the Selectmen on Wednesday. The board voted to contract with the Berkshire County Sheriff's Communications Center but accept funding to retain to dispatchers.

Adams Compromise Outsources Dispatch But Retains 2 Workers

ADAMS, Mass.  The Selectmen have agreed 4-1 to a compromise that would transfer dispatching services to the Berkshire County Sheriff's Communications Center, but retain two local dispatchers in the police station.

Officials have been trying to eliminate the dispatch positions for some time as a cost saving measure but have fierce opposition from residents, who believed it would compromise public safety.

Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said he had reached the agreement after speaking with Adams Ambulance Chairman Richard Kleiner and Prudential Committee Vice Chairman Allen J. Mendel that would still save the town $95,000 annually.

"This would be my recommendation, and I think this is the best compromise where we are still see savings for the town while retaining as many jobs as we can," Mazzucco told the Selectmen on Wednesday. "Would I like to save $155,000? Sure, but $95,000 is still a big chunk out of our expense budget next year."

Mazzucco advocated last year for the total elimination of the dispatch services, which he said would save the town over $150,000 annually. Although emergency services would not be negatively affected, some residents and emergency service workers strongly opposed the elimination of the service and three town employees.

One full-time dispatcher will field administrative calls to the police station. With many residents opting to call the station instead of 911, Mazzucco felt the dispatcher would give the town the added benefit of additional staff during business hours when administrative calls are their heaviest.

While this position will be funded from cash from the general fund, a second dispatcher will be maintained through contributions from Adams Ambulance and the Fire District of $50,000.

Mazzucco added that if the Ambulance and Fire District can no longer fund the position it will be eliminated. This concerned Selectman Jeffrey Snoonian, who wanted to know how the two entities would pay for the position.

"If this $50,000 gets passed on to the taxpayer then when does it end?" Snoonian said. "I just hate to be so tough about it, but eventually someone has to stand up for the taxpayer and ask when is enough enough when we have a viable option [Berkshire County Sheriff's office] up the street here to handle everything."

Selectman Joseph Nowak said although he wrestled with the elimination of the service, he ultimately felt that it would be the best direction for the town.

"It's time that we regionalize as a community, and I think that we really need to," he said. "I think being the largest town in Berkshire County ... the sheriff's office will do their best to accommodate us to show that they can take in bigger communities."

Mazzucco added that when the two retained dispatchers retire, the town will not replace the positions so the full savings can be achieved.

All of the selectmen agreed to the compromise, except Snoonian who voted against it.

The transfer is contingent on a state grant that Mazzucco said the town should get word on soon.

In other business, the selectmen approved the transfer of $20,000 from reserve funds to maintain balances entering the third quarter of the fiscal year.

The biggest transfer the board agreed to was $15,000, which will be used to replenish the depleted town administrator legal services line item. More money is needed to complete the year.

The Selectmen also approved $3,000 needed to make repairs to the leaking Police Station roof.

"We will soon see facility damage if not addressed, and we have identified several areas that need to be patched as well as seals on the skylights that need to be replaced as a likely cause of the increased leaks," Mazzucco said. "The roof is approaching the end of its useful lifetime and we are hopeful we can extend that lifetime with some repairs."

Police Chief Richard Tarsa said the roof should technically have lasted longer, but was installed incorrectly nearly 20 years ago.

The last transfer was $2,000 that will be needed for the town administrator overtime line item that pays for the executive assistant to cover meetings.

Mazzucco said the town has drawn down approximately 27 percent of the reserve fund midway through the year, which he said is a good position to be in. The reserve fund has $133,000 left.

With the town possibly looking to increase the building commissioner's salary to attract better applicants, he saidmany smaller towns have shown interest in working with Adams in the future.

"It will help pay for a more qualified employee as well as bring in some revenue for the town," he said.

Mazzucco announce the town census has been mailed out and urged residents to compete and send in the form even if they have no changes to report. He added that the form can also be dropped off at Town Hall or residents can fill out the farm via phone call by calling the town clerk.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association awarded Adams third place in the town report contest for towns of their size. The presentation will be made at the annual convention in Boston on Jan. 23.
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We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
William Shakespeares most popular play Macbeth is adapted anew with powerful performances by ace actors  Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender in the title role and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard as Macbeths wife.

One of the greatest tragedies ever created, the latest Macbeth movie is directed by highly-acclaimed director Justin Kurzel. From the producers of The Kings Speech comes the story of a fearless Scottish General, Macbeth (Fassbender), whose ambitious wife (Cotillard) urges him to use wicked means to gain power of the throne.

As relevant as todays world issues on politics and abuse of power, Macbeth is a thrilling interpretation of one of Shakespeares most famous and compelling characters, a reimagining of the realities of war-torn times and a tale of all-consuming passion and ambition.

Teeming with blockbuster battle scenes and superbly powerful performances by the lead and supporting cast, Macbeth is produced by Academy Award winners Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films (Shame, Tracks, Mr. Holmes) with Laura Hastings-Smith (Hunger).

Of all of Shakespeares classic works, Macbeth must surely be amongst his most famous. Certainly, in the more than 400 years since its first publication, it has been one of the most frequently adapted; revived regularly on stage and re-envisioned time and again in the age of cinema and television. The tragic tale of a Scottish general haunted by his own ambition, and a prophecy that he will one day become King of Scotland, has long fascinated actors, directors and audiences, and on the big screen has led to adaptations by directors from Orson Welles to Roman Polanski.

But with a new generation of British actors commanding the stage, as well as screens big and small, producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films felt the time was right for a new approach to Macbeth. Youve got actors such as Tom Hiddleston and Jude Law playing the leads in Shakespeare plays, notes Canning.

And I think its interesting to see this new wave come in and reinterpret the plays  discovering again what they mean.

The timing was right from a topical point of view too, with greed, and its effects, on the agenda more than ever before. Notes Jack Reynor, who plays Malcolm: Greed is a really terrible thing that can corrupt on a monumental scale, and it can destroy peoples lives. So the story of Macbeth is particularly poignant when you take into account the economic climate of the past few years.

The filmmakers felt that the globalised nature of the world today offered an opportunity to increase the scope of the story on the big screen and give Macbeth a modern feel. What I think has been very strong in this adaptation is the sense of community and the wider world that exists around these characters, Canning notes. Weve expanded the idea that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth exist within a world, that they were a product of it and that their actions affected it. Were exploring the story from a much more modern, cinematic place.

For his part, Fassbender, who has fast emerged as one of the worlds most accomplished and popular actors, immediately saw the potential in a new adaptation of the play. It was comprehensively engaging, he says of his attraction to the project. Its an amazing piece of writing and youll only get one chance to do it. So I tried to be as well-prepared as I could be and making sure I uncovered every stone so that youre not leaving anything wanting at the end of the day.

Macbeth opens in local cinemas this January 13 from Pioneer Films.

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Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the Conclusion of a Visit to Nigeria

Press Release No. 16/02

January 7, 2016

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement in Abuja today at the conclusion of her visit to Nigeria:

My visit to Nigeria has been extremely fruitful and informative. I wish to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for meeting with me to discuss Nigerias achievements and its outlook. I also want to thank Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria for their insights. In addition, I had the honor to address members of the National Assembly, chaired by Honorable Bukola Saraki.

Nigeria is the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest population, and its important role at the regional level has become increasingly recognized. The economy is well diversified, no longer dominated by agriculture and oil, with services accounting for almost half of GDP, including a significant home-grown film industry and innovative startups from fashion to software development. Nigeria has also experienced a decade of strong growth, averaging 6.8 percent a year. 1n 2015, however, growth is expected to slow to about 3 1/4 percent, with a slight recovery in 2016.

In my meetings with the authorities, we discussed how to maintain economic progress while making the transition towards more inclusive and sustainable growth. Poverty, inequality, and unemployment levels remain too high, in addition to the challenge of the Boko Haram insurgency. Nigeria also has to deal with the difficulties presented by falling oil prices, reduced emerging market demand, and tightening global financial conditions. This has led to sharply lower export earnings and government revenues. The non-oil sector has also been affected and financing for investment is hard to come by.

Against this background, we discussed a range of policy recommendations related to improving the competitiveness of the Nigerian economy. This includes focusing on the critical area of infrastructure, where power, transportation, and housing are especially key. It also includes identifying ways to broaden the revenue base, particularly to create additional fiscal space to offset the impact of lower oil prices; and the need for careful decisions on borrowing, public spending, and managing the cost of fuel subsidies  with a view to safeguarding priority social sectors and the most vulnerable groups. This will require a package of measures involving business-friendly monetary policy, flexible exchange rate policy, and disciplined fiscal policy, and the implementation of structural reforms.

I complimented the authorities on their efforts to address corruption, particularly the decision to publish monthly data on the finances and operations of the National Petroleum Corporation. Transparency and the rule of law will be crucial in reducing constraints to the countrys growth.

As well as exchanging views with government officials, I had very interesting meetings with a group of women leaders and representatives of business and banks. I also visited the Mother Theresa Childrens Home charity organization, which provides care, housing, and education to vulnerable children. As always, I found it inspirational to engage with Nigerias young people.

I would like to thank the Government and people of Nigeria for their welcome and warm hospitality. The IMF remains Nigerias committed partner as it moves forward to face the challenges of the future.
Imperial Valley News Center

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Issues Statement on President Obamas Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence

Los Angeles, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on President Barack Obamas new executive actions to reduce gun violence:

Gun violence has a devastating impact on our communities and there is a severe need for common sense gun safety laws. The President has rightfully used executive action to reduce gun violence through enhanced background checks, increased mental health treatment and reporting, and improved gun safety technology. It is a false choice to think we have to accept mass shootings as the norm in the United States, it's now time for Congress to act.
Governor Brown Proposes 2016-17 State Budget

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today proposed a $122.6 billion General Fund budget plan for 2016-17 that makes significant increases in funding for education, health care and state infrastructure, while bolstering the states Rainy Day Fund and paying down state debts and liabilities.

When Governor Brown took office, the state faced a massive $26.6 billion budget deficit and estimated annual shortfalls of roughly $20 billion. These deficits, built up over a decade, have now been eliminated by a combination of budget cuts, temporary taxes and the recovering economy.

The Governors budget letter to the Legislature urges continued budget restraint.

Significant details of the Governors 2016-17 State Budget include:

Builds Up the Rainy Day Fund

The Governors budget makes a supplemental deposit of $2 billion into the states Rainy Day Fund  boosting the balance from 37 percent today to 65 percent of its constitutional target. Building up the fund is the best insurance policy against deep budget cuts in the next economic downturn.

Secures Health Care Funding

The managed care tax is set to expire at the end of the current year. It is a critical component of the states financing for health care. The budget proposes a tax reform package that includes a replacement managed care organization tax for three years. The package provides a net reduction in taxes paid by the private health care industry, secures funding for General Fund Medi-Cal expenses and provides an opportunity for targeted rate increases for developmental disability services. Under the federal health care reform optional expansion, 3.4 million additional residents now receive health coverage and the budget allocates $740 million General Fund for the states share of costs. These costs will grow to reach $1.8 billion General Fund by 2020-21.

Invests Significantly in K-12 Education

The budget boosts school spending per student to $10,591 in 2016-17  an increase of nearly $3,600 compared to 2011-12 levels. The budget provides a fourth-year investment of more than $2.8 billion in the Local Control Funding Formula, which focuses on students with the greatest challenges to success, bringing the formula to 95 percent implementation. The budget also proposes a $1.6 billion early education block grant that combines three existing programs to promote local flexibility, focusing on disadvantaged students and improved accountability.

Keeps College Tuition Flat

The budget keeps tuition at 2011-12 levels for another year for the University of California and California State University, maintaining affordability while continuing to help students reduce the time it takes to successfully complete a degree.

Strengthens State Infrastructure

The budget reflects the Governors transportation package, first outlined last summer, that would provide $36 billion over the next decade to improve the maintenance of highways and roads, expand public transit, and improve critical trade routes. The budget also includes $807 million ($500 million General Fund) for critical deferred maintenance at levees, state parks, universities, community colleges, prisons, state hospitals and other state facilities. The budget supports a major investment in renovating Sacramentos aged and inadequate state office infrastructure with a $1.5 billion General Fund down payment to begin that work for three buildings, including the State Capitol Annex.

Addresses Climate Change

The budget continues the Administrations actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a $3.1 billion Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan that will reduce emissions through programs that support clean transportation, reduce short-lived climate pollutants, protect natural ecosystems and benefit disadvantaged communities.

Counters the Effects of Poverty

The budget reflects the implementation of the increase in the states minimum wage to $10 per hour effective January 1st and provides funding ($380 million) for the second year of the Earned Income Tax Credit to help the states poorest working families. The budget also provides a cost-of-living increase for aged, blind and disabled Californians in the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) program the first state increase in grant levels since 2006.

The full summary of the Governors budget proposal can be found at www.ebudget.ca.gov or www.dof.ca.gov
Ambassador Jenkins Travels to Kenya To Conduct Threat Reduction in Africa Study

Washington, DC - Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, will lead a U.S. interagency delegation to Nairobi, Kenya, January 57, to advance the ongoing Threat Reduction in Africa (TRIA) study.

TRIA is an innovative effort organized by Ambassador Jenkins office and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), part of the U.S. Department of Defense, to promote coordination, increase collaboration, and encourage efficient, effective and sustainable implementation of U.S. government threat reduction resources and activities in Africa. While in Nairobi, the team will consult with U.S. Embassy personnel and Kenyan colleagues about programs in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security, to include export controls and global health security.
CNO, MCPON in Cradle of Naval Aviation to Tour Training Commands, USS Independence

Pensacola, Florida - Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens visited commands onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola January 6-7.

The visit served to provide the senior leaders an overview of aviation training, as well as an opportunity to tour the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2). The ship is operating out of the station while the crew conducts operational evaluation and testing of the mine countermeasures mission package.



The CNO and MCPON were greeted by Commander Naval Education and Training Command Rear Adm. Mike White, Chief of Naval Air Training, Rear Adm. Dell Bull and NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Keith Hoskins. As part of the visit, they saw flight simulators used by student aviators at squadrons under Training Air Wing Six (CTW 6).



During the tour of Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) they saw how instructors use a blend of standard and electronic classrooms with hands on lab work to train aviation support and maintenance specialists. Included in the visit were the structural mechanic metal fabrication, power plants engine and ordnance laboratories. NATTC is the Navy's largest training command with an annual student throughput of approximately 15,000 Sailors and Marines.



Richardson and Stevens also toured USS Independence berthed at NAS Pensacola while engaged in ongoing training exercises in the Gulf of Mexico.



NAS Pensacola hosts and supports the operational and training mission of several tenant commands that total more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel.
President Obamas Call with President Park Geun-Hye of the Republic of Korea

Washington, DC - President Obama spoke by phone today with President Park Geun-Hye of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to discuss the international response to North Koreas nuclear test.

The two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Koreas actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council Resolutions. President Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable U.S. commitment to the security of the ROK, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behavior. Separately, the President congratulated President Park on the recent agreement between the ROK and Japan to resolve the longstanding comfort women issue, and commended two of our most important allies for having the courage and vision to forge a lasting settlement to this difficult issue.
FTC Announces Agenda and Panelists for Workshop Examining the U.S. Auto Distribution System

Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission has announced the full agenda for its upcoming workshop, Automobile Distribution: Current Issues and Future Trends. The all-day event, which will take place on January 19 in Washington, D.C., will explore critical issues in the regulation of auto distribution, with the aim of better understanding how state regulations impact the current market for these important products.

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez will deliver remarks at the workshop. Panelists will include academics along with representatives from a cross-section of the industry, including experienced practitioners that regularly represent dealers and manufacturers, and representatives from firms such as Tesla, Elio and Uber.

Aside from their home, an automobile is frequently the most expensive single item consumers purchase, so the healthy functioning of these markets is critically important to the U.S. economy. Many of the regulations affecting auto distribution were drafted decades ago, and the workshop will address a number of related questions, including: Who benefits and who is harmed by these regulations? How do the laws affect todays consumers?

Individual panels, described further in the public notice, will explore state level regulation of dealer location, warranty reimbursement, and direct-to-consumer sales. The closing panel will examine how emerging trends, such as ride-sharing, connected cars, and autonomous vehicles, might affect how cars are sold and the current regulatory system that governs the auto industry.

Joining industry experts and market participants on the panels will be a number of academics from leading universities with research interests in these issues. University of Chicago Professor Dennis Carlton will present a keynote address to open the afternoon sessions.

If you wish to attend the workshop, pre-registration is not required, but it is strongly encouraged. Further details, including registration, information regarding the public comment process for this workshop, and directions to the workshop location at the FTCs Constitution Center offices are available on the workshop website. The workshop will be webcast live on the FTCs website.
Counselor Thomas Shannon Travel to Haiti

Washington, DC - Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, Counselor of the Department of State, will travel to Haiti January 6. He will be accompanied by Haiti Special Coordinator and Deputy Assistant Secretary Kenneth Merten. Their visit takes place in the context of ongoing efforts in Haiti to complete the electoral process. The elections will allow a new government and parliament to address the other challenges Haiti faces in achieving economic growth and sustainable development.

Ambassador Shannon will discuss the importance of Haiti as a long-standing partner of the United States. In consultation with representatives from various sectors, Ambassador Shannon will reaffirm the broad-based nature of the bilateral relationship and U.S. support for Haiti's social, economic, and political development.
Secretary of State John Kerry's Phone Call With Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida

Washington, DC - Secretary Kerry spoke today via phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida regarding the Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreas nuclear test.

The Secretary reiterated the steadfast commitment of the United States to the security of Japan and emphasized the importance of a unified international response to the D.P.R.K.s provocative actions. He also emphasized the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea.
Watch: This Man Made a Lift For His Dog, The Reason Will Melt Your Heart
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London's Saatchi Gallery will host its first all-female exhibition.



Champagne Life will showcase the work of 14 emerging artists from around the world. The gallery's chief executive Nigel Hurst told the Guardian, "Weve always supported the work of women artists over the years, many of those have gone on to have key roles in the contemporary art world, but I think theres still a huge amount of work to be done."



Though women artists are far better represented in contemporary art now, in terms of the number of women artists that are having their work exhibited and shown, there remains a glass ceiling that needs to be addressed.



Indeed, the Gallery is set to mark its 30th anniversay, so Champagne Life's launch seems an apt way for the institution to brace its future in the most positive way possible.



Iranian-born artist Sohelia Sokhanvari's taxidermied horse brings literature's magic realism to the art world; a genre she believes has helped artists to, "create an open-ended narrative to promote or resist a totalitarian political system." The work's title Moje Sabz refers to Iran's 'Green Movement' uprising of 2009, in which violent demonstrations led to the annulment of a fraudulent election result.



Julia Wachtel, Champagne Life (2014) (Julia Wachtel/Saatchi Gallery)

The exhibition takes its name from a featured work by Julia Wachtel. Contrasting an inverted image of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian against a poorly copied plastic figurine of Minnie Mouse, the work pairs interiority and exteriority; the shoddiness of the sculpture versus Kardashian's manipulation of the public eye to the point of "breaking the internet". Champagne Life itself is taken from Ne-Yo's song in which, "dreams and reality are one in the same", nodding to celebrity's superficial ciphers and our own poor imitations within our consumption of that culture.



Watchel points out the art world's discrimination seems rarely direct, but I do think in much more insidious ways things would have happened differently in my career if I was a man. Male artists are taken more seriously. While one might say its problematic to have a show of just women artists, because we dont have a show advertised as exclusively male, the statistics speak for themselves.



Indeed, while the weak cries of "double standards!" are inevitable; such criticism largely comes from an ignorance that the art world has an extensive history of hosting "all-male" exhibitions. And continue to do so; though they're simply not pointed out because society continues to accept the male artist as some kind of cultural norm.



Currently, women make up just 30% of artists represented by galleries in New York and Los Angeles; with women running just a quarter of major US art institutions and earning a mere 71 cents for every $1 earned by men. The East London Fawcett group found that out of 134 commercial London galleries in 2013, only 31% of the artists displayed were women.

Culture news in pictures Show all 33 1 /33 Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures 30 September 2016 An employee hangs works of art with "Grand Teatro" by Marino Marini (R) and bronze sculpture "Sfera N.3" by Arnaldo Pomodoro seen ahead of a Contemporary Art auction on 7 October, at Sotheby's in London REUTERS Culture news in pictures 29 September 2016 Street art by Portuguese artist Odeith is seen in Dresden, during an exhibition "Magic City - art of the streets" AFP/Getty Images Culture news in pictures 28 September 2016 Dancers attend a photocall for the new "THE ONE Grand Show" at Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, Germany REUTERS Culture news in pictures 28 September 2016 With an array of thrift store china, humorous souvenirs and handmade tile adorning its walls and floors, the Mosaic Tile House in Venice stands as a monument to two decades of artistic collaboration between Cheri Pann and husband Gonzalo Duran REUTERS Culture news in pictures 27 September 2016 A gallery assistant poses amongst work by Anthea Hamilton from her nominated show "Lichen! Libido!(London!) Chastity!" at a preview of the Turner Prize in London REUTERS Culture news in pictures 27 September 2016 A technician wearing virtual reality glasses checks his installation in three British public telephone booths, set up outside the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The installation allows visitors a 3-D look into the museum which has twenty-two paintings belonging to the British Royal Collection, on loan for an exhibit from 29 September 2016 till 8 January 2017 AP Culture news in pictures 26 September 2016 An Indian artist dressed as Hindu god Shiva performs on a chariot as he participates in a religious procession 'Ravan ki Barat' held to mark the forthcoming Dussehra festival in Allahabad AFP/Getty Images Culture news in pictures 26 September 2016 Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Air Power', 1984, is displayed at the Bowie/Collector media preview at Sotheby's in New York AFP/Getty Culture news in pictures 25 September 2016 A woman looks at an untitled painting by Albert Oehlen during the opening of an exhibition of works by German artists Georg Baselitz and Albert Oehlen in Reutlingen, Germany. The exhibition runs at the Kunstverein (art society) Reutlingen until 15 January 2017 EPA Culture news in pictures 24 September 2016 Fan BingBing (C) attends the closing ceremony of the 64th San Sebastian Film Festival at Kursaal in San Sebastian, Spain Getty Images Culture news in pictures 23 September 2016 A view of the artwork 'You Are Metamorphosing' (1964) as part of the exhibition 'Retrospektive' of Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo at Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany. The exhibition runs from 25 September 2016 to 1 January 2017 EPA Culture news in pictures 22 September 2016 Jo Applin from the Courtauld Institute of Art looks at Green Tilework in Live Flesh by Adriana Vareja, which features in a new exhibition, Flesh, at York Art Gallery. The new exhibition features works by Degas, Chardin, Francis Bacon and Sarah Lucas, showing how flesh has been portrayed by artists over the last 600 years PA Culture news in pictures 21 September 2016 Performers Sean Atkins and Sally Miller standing in for the characters played by Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell during a photocall for Tim Burton's "Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children" at Potters Field Park in London Getty Images Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A detail from the blanket 'Alpine Cattle Drive' from 1926 by artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is displayed at the 'Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum for Contemporary Arts' in Berlin. The exhibition named 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Hieroglyphen' showing the complete collection of Berlin's Nationalgallerie works of the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and will run from 23 September 2016 until 26 February 2017 AP Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A man looks at portrait photos by US photographer Bruce Gilden in the exhibition 'Masters of Photography' at the photokina in Cologne, Germany. The trade fair on photography, photokina, schowcases some 1,000 exhibitors from 40 countries and runs from 20 to 25 September. The event also features various photo exhibitions EPA Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A woman looks at 'Blue Poles', 1952 by Jackson Pollock during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts, London PA Culture news in pictures 19 September 2016 Art installation The Refusal of Time, a collaboration with Philip Miller, Catherine Meyburgh and Peter Galison, which features as part of the William Kentridge exhibition Thick Time, showing from 21 September to 15 January at the Whitechapel Gallery in London PA Culture news in pictures 18 September 2016 Artists creating one off designs at the Mm6 Maison Margiela presentation during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer collections 2017 in London Getty Images Culture news in pictures 18 September 2016 Bethenny Frankel attends the special screening of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" to celebrate the 25th Anniversary Edition release on Blu-Ray and DVD in New York City Getty Images for Walt Disney Stu Culture news in pictures 17 September 2016 Visitors attend the 2016 Oktoberfest beer festival at Theresienwiese in Munich, Germany Getty Images Culture news in pictures 16 September 2016 Visitors looks at British artist Damien Hirst work of art 'The Incomplete Truth', during the 13th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled 'The World, Europe and Ukraine: storms of changes', organised by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation at the Mystetsky Arsenal Art Center in Kiev AP Culture news in pictures 16 September 2016 Tracey Emin's "My Bed" is exhibited at the Tate Liverpool as part of the exhibition Tracey Emin And William Blake In Focus, which highlights surprising links between the two artists Getty Images Culture news in pictures 15 September 2016 Musician Dave Grohl (L) joins musician Tom Morello of Prophets of Rage onstage at the Forum in Inglewood, California Getty Images Culture news in pictures 14 September 2016 Model feebee poses as part of art installation "Narcissism : Dazzle room" made by artist Shigeki Matsuyama at rooms33 fashion and design exhibition in Tokyo. Matsuyama's installation features a strong contrast of black and white, which he learned from dazzle camouflage used mainly in World War I AP Culture news in pictures 13 September 2016 Visitors look at artworks by Chinese painter Cui Ruzhuo during the exhibition 'Glossiness of Uncarved Jade' held at the exhibition hall 'Manezh' in St. Petersburg, Russia. More than 200 paintings by the Chinese artist are presented until 25 September EPA Culture news in pictures 12 September 2016 A visitor looks at Raphael's painting 'Extase de Sainte Cecile', 1515, from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence during the opening of a Raphael exhibition at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, Russia. The first Russian exhibition of the works of the Italian Renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino includes eight paintings and three drawings which come from Italy. Th exhibit opens to the public from 13 September to 11 December EPA Culture news in pictures 11 September 2016 Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd perform during Otis Redding 75th Birthday Celebration - Rehearsals at the Macon City Auditorium in Macon, Georgia Getty Images for Otis Redding 75 Culture news in pictures 10 September 2016 Sakari Oramo conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers at the Last Night of the Proms 2016 at the Royal Albert Hall in London PA Culture news in pictures 9 September 2016 A visitor walks past a piece entitled "Fruitcake" by Joana Vasconcelo, during the Beyond Limits selling exhibition at Chatsworth House near Bakewell REUTERS Culture news in pictures 8 September 2016 A sculpture of a crescent standing on the 2,140 meters high mountain 'Freiheit' (German for 'freedom'), in the Alpstein region of the Appenzell alps, eastern Switzerland. The sculpture is lighted during the nights by means of solar panels. The 38-year-old Swiss artist and atheist Christian Meier set the crescent on the peak to start a debate on the meaning of religious symbols - as summit crosses - on mountains. 'Because so many peaks have crosses on them, it struck me as a great idea to put up an equally absurd contrast'. 'Naturally I wanted to provoke in a fun way. But it goes beyond that. The actions of an artist should be food for thought, both visually and in content' EPA Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures

The exhibition coincides with Miami's The Rubell Family Collection hosting No Man's Land, which celebrates the work of over 100 female artists.

Champagne Life will open 13 January.
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Alis/Filliol is an artistic duo of Davide Gennarino and Andrea Respino. They found their current studio in Rivoli, a small town outside of Turin in 2011. The two first met while studying sculpture at the Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti in Turin.

This impressive space, a former flour mill, now produces electricity and also houses an eclectic mixture of musicians, designers and a drum-maker, among others. It is one of the most beautiful spaces I have ever visited, with its views towards the Alps and the river that powers through nearby. "The studio helps because it's a place where we could both find a lot of materials, and use those materials."

Culture news in pictures Show all 33 1 /33 Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures 30 September 2016 An employee hangs works of art with "Grand Teatro" by Marino Marini (R) and bronze sculpture "Sfera N.3" by Arnaldo Pomodoro seen ahead of a Contemporary Art auction on 7 October, at Sotheby's in London REUTERS Culture news in pictures 29 September 2016 Street art by Portuguese artist Odeith is seen in Dresden, during an exhibition "Magic City - art of the streets" AFP/Getty Images Culture news in pictures 28 September 2016 Dancers attend a photocall for the new "THE ONE Grand Show" at Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, Germany REUTERS Culture news in pictures 28 September 2016 With an array of thrift store china, humorous souvenirs and handmade tile adorning its walls and floors, the Mosaic Tile House in Venice stands as a monument to two decades of artistic collaboration between Cheri Pann and husband Gonzalo Duran REUTERS Culture news in pictures 27 September 2016 A gallery assistant poses amongst work by Anthea Hamilton from her nominated show "Lichen! Libido!(London!) Chastity!" at a preview of the Turner Prize in London REUTERS Culture news in pictures 27 September 2016 A technician wearing virtual reality glasses checks his installation in three British public telephone booths, set up outside the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The installation allows visitors a 3-D look into the museum which has twenty-two paintings belonging to the British Royal Collection, on loan for an exhibit from 29 September 2016 till 8 January 2017 AP Culture news in pictures 26 September 2016 An Indian artist dressed as Hindu god Shiva performs on a chariot as he participates in a religious procession 'Ravan ki Barat' held to mark the forthcoming Dussehra festival in Allahabad AFP/Getty Images Culture news in pictures 26 September 2016 Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Air Power', 1984, is displayed at the Bowie/Collector media preview at Sotheby's in New York AFP/Getty Culture news in pictures 25 September 2016 A woman looks at an untitled painting by Albert Oehlen during the opening of an exhibition of works by German artists Georg Baselitz and Albert Oehlen in Reutlingen, Germany. The exhibition runs at the Kunstverein (art society) Reutlingen until 15 January 2017 EPA Culture news in pictures 24 September 2016 Fan BingBing (C) attends the closing ceremony of the 64th San Sebastian Film Festival at Kursaal in San Sebastian, Spain Getty Images Culture news in pictures 23 September 2016 A view of the artwork 'You Are Metamorphosing' (1964) as part of the exhibition 'Retrospektive' of Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo at Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany. The exhibition runs from 25 September 2016 to 1 January 2017 EPA Culture news in pictures 22 September 2016 Jo Applin from the Courtauld Institute of Art looks at Green Tilework in Live Flesh by Adriana Vareja, which features in a new exhibition, Flesh, at York Art Gallery. The new exhibition features works by Degas, Chardin, Francis Bacon and Sarah Lucas, showing how flesh has been portrayed by artists over the last 600 years PA Culture news in pictures 21 September 2016 Performers Sean Atkins and Sally Miller standing in for the characters played by Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell during a photocall for Tim Burton's "Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children" at Potters Field Park in London Getty Images Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A detail from the blanket 'Alpine Cattle Drive' from 1926 by artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is displayed at the 'Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum for Contemporary Arts' in Berlin. The exhibition named 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Hieroglyphen' showing the complete collection of Berlin's Nationalgallerie works of the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and will run from 23 September 2016 until 26 February 2017 AP Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A man looks at portrait photos by US photographer Bruce Gilden in the exhibition 'Masters of Photography' at the photokina in Cologne, Germany. The trade fair on photography, photokina, schowcases some 1,000 exhibitors from 40 countries and runs from 20 to 25 September. The event also features various photo exhibitions EPA Culture news in pictures 20 September 2016 A woman looks at 'Blue Poles', 1952 by Jackson Pollock during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts, London PA Culture news in pictures 19 September 2016 Art installation The Refusal of Time, a collaboration with Philip Miller, Catherine Meyburgh and Peter Galison, which features as part of the William Kentridge exhibition Thick Time, showing from 21 September to 15 January at the Whitechapel Gallery in London PA Culture news in pictures 18 September 2016 Artists creating one off designs at the Mm6 Maison Margiela presentation during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer collections 2017 in London Getty Images Culture news in pictures 18 September 2016 Bethenny Frankel attends the special screening of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" to celebrate the 25th Anniversary Edition release on Blu-Ray and DVD in New York City Getty Images for Walt Disney Stu Culture news in pictures 17 September 2016 Visitors attend the 2016 Oktoberfest beer festival at Theresienwiese in Munich, Germany Getty Images Culture news in pictures 16 September 2016 Visitors looks at British artist Damien Hirst work of art 'The Incomplete Truth', during the 13th Yalta Annual Meeting entitled 'The World, Europe and Ukraine: storms of changes', organised by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation at the Mystetsky Arsenal Art Center in Kiev AP Culture news in pictures 16 September 2016 Tracey Emin's "My Bed" is exhibited at the Tate Liverpool as part of the exhibition Tracey Emin And William Blake In Focus, which highlights surprising links between the two artists Getty Images Culture news in pictures 15 September 2016 Musician Dave Grohl (L) joins musician Tom Morello of Prophets of Rage onstage at the Forum in Inglewood, California Getty Images Culture news in pictures 14 September 2016 Model feebee poses as part of art installation "Narcissism : Dazzle room" made by artist Shigeki Matsuyama at rooms33 fashion and design exhibition in Tokyo. Matsuyama's installation features a strong contrast of black and white, which he learned from dazzle camouflage used mainly in World War I AP Culture news in pictures 13 September 2016 Visitors look at artworks by Chinese painter Cui Ruzhuo during the exhibition 'Glossiness of Uncarved Jade' held at the exhibition hall 'Manezh' in St. Petersburg, Russia. More than 200 paintings by the Chinese artist are presented until 25 September EPA Culture news in pictures 12 September 2016 A visitor looks at Raphael's painting 'Extase de Sainte Cecile', 1515, from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence during the opening of a Raphael exhibition at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, Russia. The first Russian exhibition of the works of the Italian Renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino includes eight paintings and three drawings which come from Italy. Th exhibit opens to the public from 13 September to 11 December EPA Culture news in pictures 11 September 2016 Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd perform during Otis Redding 75th Birthday Celebration - Rehearsals at the Macon City Auditorium in Macon, Georgia Getty Images for Otis Redding 75 Culture news in pictures 10 September 2016 Sakari Oramo conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers at the Last Night of the Proms 2016 at the Royal Albert Hall in London PA Culture news in pictures 9 September 2016 A visitor walks past a piece entitled "Fruitcake" by Joana Vasconcelo, during the Beyond Limits selling exhibition at Chatsworth House near Bakewell REUTERS Culture news in pictures 8 September 2016 A sculpture of a crescent standing on the 2,140 meters high mountain 'Freiheit' (German for 'freedom'), in the Alpstein region of the Appenzell alps, eastern Switzerland. The sculpture is lighted during the nights by means of solar panels. The 38-year-old Swiss artist and atheist Christian Meier set the crescent on the peak to start a debate on the meaning of religious symbols - as summit crosses - on mountains. 'Because so many peaks have crosses on them, it struck me as a great idea to put up an equally absurd contrast'. 'Naturally I wanted to provoke in a fun way. But it goes beyond that. The actions of an artist should be food for thought, both visually and in content' EPA Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures Culture news in pictures

Gennarino and Respino are both bearded but Gennarino is taller, fairer and slightly younger (born in Pinerolo, Italy, in 1979). He is also the more outgoing, acting as spokesperson of the two  all the quotes used here are his. Respiro was born in Mondovi, Italy in 1976. They took the surnames of their mothers to form their artistic alias. "Because it's another way to look at society  the opposite of the patriarchal lineage."

The pair became friends at the academy as neither was interested in the classical way sculpture was taught. At the time they were making films and installations. They started to make their impressive sculpture together when they left the academy "because we have the same taste". They discuss the ideas before they make the work together; "for us, the sculpture is the solidification of our communication". Their sculptures have won them rapid recognition, including as finalists of the Furla Art Award in 2011, and shows at the Fondazione Sandretto re Rebaudengo, GAM and the Venice Biennale of 2015.

We enter first into an external space dominated by a huge wooden box containing black burnt soil, a byproduct from the foundry that is coincidentally near their homes. They climb into it for the photographer, saying they are often standing in it creating the moulds and pouring in polyurethane. "We work blind. For us, it's a way to surprise ourselves, keep ourselves interested." They appreciate the blackness, using it to coat their impressive sculptures and also to breathe new life into a useless material.

The duo also has a space within the old mill itself, with a breathtaking view of the mountains and the river. They are quick to point out "we are not partners in life, but this is important because it's not love".

Gennarino points out that the other inhabitants of the mill also become part of their community, providing muscle and technical assistance when needed. "It's a bit of a paradox since we are two and it's not just one person working a little community. We are not a family, we are community  it's different."
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Fast & Furious 8 could soon become the first major Hollywood film to shoot in Cuba.

Universal are hoping to film parts of the eighth movie in the action franchise on the communist-run Caribbean island after the US began normalising relations with the country last year. Cuba and the US severed diplomatic ties in 1961 and an economic trade embargo had been in place since.

US citizens are still prohibited from visiting Cuba for tourism, but President Barack Obama has made it legal and easier to travel there for other purposes such as educational activities and professional research.

Universal wants to make the most of these new laws and take stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson to a fresh exotic location. The franchise has previously shot scenes in Japan, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Cuba: it's now or never Show all 6 1 /6 Cuba: it's now or never Cuba: it's now or never 302384.bin Cuba: it's now or never 302381.bin EPA Cuba: it's now or never 302382.bin Reuters Cuba: it's now or never 302383.bin Cuba: it's now or never 302385.bin Cuba: it's now or never 302386.bin

Director F Gary Gray has already been on a trip to Cuba and is currently in negotiations to sort out the necessary paperwork.

Universal Pictures is currently in the process of seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to explore shooting a portion of the next instalment of the Fast & Furious series in Cuba, a spokesperson for Universal said.

The Cuban setting would likely prove popular with cinema-goers as the Fast & Furious franchise has a solid Hispanic fanbase.

The late Paul Walker with co-star Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious 5

Universal is not the only Hollywood company eager to capitalise on increased public interest in Cuba. Netflix hopes to launch its streaming service in the country despite a lack of wireless internet, Showtime plans to film part of House of Lies season five there and Conan OBrien has filmed episodes of his late night show in the capital, Havana.

Hollywood has shot a film in Cuba since the embargo lifted, but only for small independent film Papa, set during the Cuban Revolution and starring Giovanni Ribisi.

Experts believe Universal will easily secure government support as its proposition will be considered an opportunity to strengthen relations, Variety reports.

Production on Fast & Furious 8 is scheduled to begin this spring in New York and Atlanta before reaching cinemas on 17 April 2017.
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The biggest and perhaps most ambitious film from British director Ben Wheatley yet, High-Rise finally hits UK cinemas on 18 March.

It features big names, a modest budget and has a slightly more accessible tone, but still feels uniquely Wheatley, an adaptation of one of J.G. Ballards best-loved novels.

Tom Hiddleston stars, supported by Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss, a doctor who becomes increasingly unhinged as the realities of living in a high-rise tower block where the richer you are the higher you live set in.

Heres the official synopsis:

1975. Two miles west of London, Dr. Robert Laing moves into his new apartment seeking soulless anonymity, only to find that the buildings residents have no intention of leaving him alone. Resigned to the complex social dynamics unfolding around him, Laing bites the bullet and becomes neighbourly. As he struggles to establish his position, Laings good manners and sanity disintegrate along with the building. The lights go out and the lifts fail but the party goes on. People are the problem. Booze is the currency. Sex is the panacea. Only much later, as he sits on his balcony eating the architects dog, does Dr. Robert Laing finally feel at home...
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens may have been a massive hit with critics and the public alike, but that doesnt mean it didnt have some glaring plot holes.

Luckily, the novelisation of the film answers a fair few questions, including: what happened to Poe on Jakku? How did Rey become so powerful so quickly? And why was Captain Phasma such a push over?

First, a little about the author. Alan Dean Foster actually ghost-wrote the novel for the original Star Wars, that book being released the year before the actual film hit cinemas in an attempt to build excitement.

He was also responsible for writing the first Star Wars Expanded Universe novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, set in-between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Show all 24 1 /24 Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere John Boyega, left, and Oscar Isaac poses for photographers upon arrival at the European premiere of the film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AP Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere British actress Daisy Ridley attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere British musician Noel Gallagher and family attend the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere British actor John Boyega attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Romeo and Brooklyn Beckham attend the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at Leicester Square AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere US filmaker George Lucas and partner Mellody Hobson attend the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Mark Hamill gives a red carpet interview during the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Actress Carrie Fisher poses with stormtroopers - as her dog watches on AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere British actress Daisy Ridley attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere US actor Adam Driver attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Harrison Ford signs autographs for fans on the red carpet PA Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Writer-director J.J. Abrams attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere British actor Peter Mayhew - who has played Chewbacca in all the Star Wars films - attends the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Warwick Davies poses for a selfie with Star Wars droid BB-8 AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Star Wars droid BB-8 attends the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Actor Warwick Davies and family attend the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Star Wars drones C-3PO and R2-DT attend the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Stormtroopers, Darth Vader and Chewbacca attend the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at Leicester Square AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Star Wars characters attend the opening of the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Fans dressed up as Star Wars character pose ahead of the European Premiere of "Star Wars The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Fans dressed up as Star Wars character pose ahead of the European Premiere of "Star Wars The Force Awakens" in central London AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Stormtroopers march through London's Leicesrer Square AFP/Getty Images Star Wars: The Force Awakens London premiere Star Wars London premiere Stormtroopers make their way down the red carpet ahead of the premiere AFP/Getty Images

Fosters novelisation of Episode VII didn't just take inspiration from the final film. He was given access to a version of the script that included extra scenes and dialogue, as well as being able to talk with LucasFilm about background details.

So, heres everything extra weve learnt about The Force Awakens from the novel (H/T Mashable and HitFlix).

1. What happened to the Resistance after Return of the Jedi?

 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Trailer

According to Leias thoughts, the Resistance won the overall battle against the Empire and formed a new Republic. However, there was a rebellion within, and many members of the public wanted to follow orders rather than be under a democracy.

The First Order came out of this, offering to return stability to the universe. In one part, Kylo Ren explains to an underling just what this new legion aims to do: It is the task of the First Order to remove the disorder from our own existence, so that civilisation may be returned to the stability that promotes progress.

A stability that existed under the Empire, was reduced to anarchy by the Rebellion, was inherited in turn by the so-called Republic, and will be restored by us. Future historians will look upon this as the time when a strong hand brought the rule of law back to civilisation.

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2. Does everyone in the galaxy think Luke Skywalker is a myth?

When Rey meets Finn and says she thought Skywalker was a myth, Finn is actually surprised. Apparently he knew Jakku was a small planet but didnt realise it was quite that out-of-the-loop.

3. Why were Han and Chewbacca shipping Rathtars?

Han gives a brief explanation to Finn as to why hes got a bunch of deadly aliens aboard a huge ship: I got three going to King Prana. Kings not only like to collect, they like to boast about their collections. Seems Pranas in competition with the regent of the Molleaj system. The regent doesnt have a rathtar in his private zoo. Neither does anybody else.

4. Did that fat alien - Unkar Plutt - really do nothing about the Falcom being stolen?

Nope, he actually followed the gang to Maz Kanatas cantina, only to have his arms ripped off by Chewbacca!

5. Was the Starkiller Base a sun or a planet?

In the movie, it is not clear whether the new Death Star was built on a planet, or if it was built around a sun. In the novel it is very clear: The planet had been altered: its mountains tunnelled into, its glaciers hacked, and its valleys modified until it no longer resembled its original naturally eroded form. Those who had remade it had renamed it.

6. Why didn't the Resistance know very much about the Starkiller Base?

Touched upon many times in the book, it is revealed that the resistance had no idea about the Starkiler Base until it finally shot at the Republic. Supreme Leader Snoke only used the weapon to flush out the Resistance fighters.

7. How long has Supreme Leader Snoke been about?

Emperor Snoke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Lucasfilm / Disney)

Theres a lot of speculation as to who Snoke really is, but the book offers yet more hints. In a conversation with Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader reveals he goes back before the prequels: I watched the Galactic Empire rise, and then fall. The gullible prattle on about the triumph of truth and justice, of individualism and free will.

As if such things were solid and real instead of simple subjective judgments. The historians have it all wrong. It was neither poor strategy nor arrogance that brought down the Empire.

In that same conversation, Snoke blames the fall of the Empire on Darth Vaders emotions towards his son, something that should never have happened.

8. How long has Snoke been working on turning Kylo Ren to the Dark side?

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) with Stormtroopers in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ever since he was a child, Snoke was working his evil ways on Ren. In one segment, Leia says to Han: He knew our child would be strong with the Force. That he was born with equal potential for good or evil From the shadows, in the beginning, even before I realised what was happening, he was manipulating everything, pulling our son toward the dark side.

But nothings impossible, Han. Not even now, at this late time. I have this feeling that if anyone can save him its you.

9. When was the last time Han and Kylo Ren met?

Han Solo talking to Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney)

Han hadnt actually seen his son since he became a man, presumably between 15 and 20 years ago then: Reaching up, he slowly removed the mask. For the first time Han saw the face of his son as a grown man  and it jolted him.

10. What happened to Poe on Jakku?

So Theres a pretty big stretch between Poe seemingly being dead and Poe racing to Finns rescue in an X-Wing. So how did he survive that crash and get off Jakku? Apparently, he was helped by some locals in a very uneventful side-story.

Flat in front and bulging at the stern, the speeder was an unlovely construct, but to Poe at that moment it had lines as sweet as those of the fastest fighter in the Resistance fleet. Standing in the middle of the salt flat, he began jumping up and down and waving his arms.

He eventually meets a Blarina alien called Naka, who helps him get off the planet and back to the Resistance.

11. Are Han and Leia married?

Yes. While not clear in the film, on their initial meeting, Foster describes how "husband and wife stood regarding each other for the first time in years.

Theres also this very touching moment between the two, just as Han leaves for the last time: He put his hands on her shoulders, and thirty years fell away in an instant.

Leia, theres something Ive been wanting to say to you for a long time.

Fighting to hold back tears, she put a finger to his lips. Tell me when you get back.

12. Why did Captain Phasma give up the Base's shield so easily?

Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (IMDB)

She was meant to be the Boba Fett of the sequels, but it seems like it was not meant to be (especially when shes got competition from the likes of TR-8R). One of the main reasons for this is because Phasma seems to give up the Starkiller Base within seconds.

It turns out that she actually needed a little more persuasion than just Finn pointing a gun at her, with Chewie pretty much torturing her by squeezing her head: She managed a slight shake of her head. Even a Wookiee cant crush First Order armor. In response, Chewbacca tightened his grip further. Her mask emitted a slight but perceptible wheeze.

Well, Han said nonchalantly, theres one way to find out.

13. Does Kylo Ren know who Rey is?

In the film it is implied Ren knows a lot more about Rey than the audience, almost strangling an underling for mentioning 'a girl' being with BB-8. In the book, he gives away more: Rey appeared equally shocked that her reach for the device had exceeded his. She gazed down at the weapon now resting in her grip.

It is you, Ren murmured.

His words unsettled her: Not for the first time, he seemed to know more about her than she did about herself.

Theres also the revelation that Rey was tempted by the Dark side in their final battle: "Kill him," a voice inside her head said. It was amorphous, unidentifiable, raw. Pure vengeful emotion. So easy, she told herself. So quick.

She recoiled from it. From the dark side.

14. Why did Rey become so powerful so quickly?

(Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Rey)

One of the fantastic things about the novel is that we get the internal details that could never have made it to film. When Ren uses the Force to unlock her mind, he seems to accidentally also unlock her Force potential, breaking some sort of barrier within her mind.

This sounds particularly like Reys mind may have been altered by another Jedi to forget her pre-Jakku life

15. Did Finn survive?

(Disney/Lucasfilm)

Yes! "When Dr. Kalonia finally emerged from the intensive care section, Rey nearly fainted at seeing the smile on her face. The physicians words confirmed Reys hope. Your friends going to be just fine.

Thank you. It was all Rey could think of to say.

Kalonia looked down at her. I dont get to treat many lightsaber wounds. Its such an old weapon. People today prefer to fight with rifles and blasters, from long range. She shrugged. I suppose it doesnt matter. Death is death, no matter the mechanism that is employed to beget it.

Her smile returned. But not for your friend. Not this time.

16. Anything else about the ending we can learn?

In the already leaked film script, it was revealed how Luke knew exactly who Rey was. In the novel, not much else is given away...

"Whether motivated by her stare or by something unknown, the figure finally turned toward her and pulled back his hood.

Luke Skywalker.

His hair and beard were white, and his countenance was haunted. He did not speak, nor did she.

Remembering, Rey reached into her pack and removed his lightsaber. Taking several steps forward, she held it out to him. An offer. A plea. The galaxys only hope.

She wondered what would happen next."
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Last week, a long-list of the 50 best coming-of-age novels was released, to be whittled down to 21 and an overall winner, by a panel at The Independent Bath Literature Festival next month. It was no surprise that The Catcher in the Rye topped that long-list. JD Salingers is one of those books that tops many best of lists, as are several of the (slightly too predicable) other titles (Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, Littel Women), but I am pleased TCITR is there nonetheless.

Holden Caulfield is the quintessential delinquent-in-the-making who bunks off school and see the world to be full of phoneys. In him, we see the prototype for darker, more alienated, contemporary anti-heroes of coming-of-age fictions whose rebellions turn fatal, from Malcolm McDowells boarding school rebel in the 1968 film If... to murderous young Kevin in Lionel Shrivers We Need to Talk About Kevin.

It is no surprise either that Salingers book was censored on and off for decades after its publication in 1951, and apparently linked to assassins. There is an argument for saying that the best coming-of-age novel is dangerous, counter-cultural, or at least edgy. And involves pain too.

Many on this list have a happy ending but no character comes through their journey without immense suffering first, such as in the case of Pips shame over his poverty and parentage in Great Expectations, and Janes orphanage experience in Jane Eyre. In this narrative arc lies the embedded message that growing up is a messy  even ugly  business, even if outright tragedy is averted by the end.

This kind of story shows us the almost-brutal moment when childhood seems suddenly to be gone, replaced by an often alarming, cruel, or disappointing adult world. My own such favourite is LP Hartleys The Go-Between  sadly not on the list  in which a boy is caught in the crossfire of adult desires, but Jeanette Wintersons Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit  which is on the list  is another fine example. That same danger lurks for Scout when her childhood world of make-belief and play is shattered by racism in the Deep South in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird. The most memorable bildungsroman though is the one that captures not only the inner journey of its child character but something of our own transitions into adulthood too. That is maybe why Harry Potter is on this list, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, alongside the timeless favourites. These books have an infectious quality which makes them talked about by a generation, at roughly the same time  water cooler coming-of-age books! Looking back, they remind us of the moment when reality shifted for us, maybe over a summer which held some awakening, or fracture, after which we no longer felt like children.

Some are more generation-specific than others, such as the Judy Blume novels, one of which is on this long-list (Are You There God, Its Me, Margaret) which were defining for my generation of girls in the 1980s.

Either way, what this list ultimately proves is that the best coming-of-age fictions are not only Young Adult stories or crossover novels. They are novels which we might first encounter at school, and reread, and continue to feel moved by, throughout our lives. They mature with us, and we with them.

Secrets of a family feud

The news that Ted Hughes sister, Olwyn Hughes, died this week will open speculation about whether she has left secrets to be divulged. Carol Hughes, the poets widow, paid homage to her as forthright and a force to be reckoned with. She was close to her brother, acting as his agent, and feuded with Sylvia Plath, so if there are papers to be released, they are likely to be outspoken.
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Presumably by simply ripping a hole in the space-time continuum with his bare hands, The Rock has found time between feature films, reality shows and WrestleMania prep to make a documentary about a youth prison boot camp.

Partnering with HBO, Johnson will head inside Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Boot Camp Program, in what he branded a passion project.

The name?

Rock and a Hard Place

By the time I was 16, I had been arrested eight or nine times for a variety of things, and can relate to what these kids are going through, the amiable walking hunk of muscle told Variety.

He added on Instagram that the doc would be a look at one of the most hardcore and successful boot camp prisons in the world (an astonishing 9% recidivism rate, while the national prison rate is 70+%).

From armed robbery to attempted murderthey break these young offenders down only to build them back up to make them better men and women once they're released.

I was once one of these kids. One poor f*cked up decision after another. I turned my life around, and hopefully along the way we'll help a few turn theirs around too. Production starts now.

Other HBO projects starring The Great One I would like to see:

Rock Bottom (deep sea marine life documentary)

A Rolling Rock Gathers No Moss (motivational speech)

Rock Rock Rocking on Heavens Door (an interview between The Rock and God)
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Cartoon Networks cartoon series Steven Universe was released to critical praise, with many commentators complimenting the show for bringing gender to the forefront of a children's show, with clear, positive LGBT+ themes throughout.

However, according to reports the networks European division has decided to censor one of the episodes in the UK, removing a scene in which two female characters kiss.

The scene in question, which takes place in the episode We Need To Talk, has caused outrage online, with a petition having been started entitled End Homophobic Censorship of Steven Universe. It has been signed by over 4,000 people as of the 7 January.

You can see the cut for yourself in the clip below, the characters Pearl and Rose Quartz embracing at around the 1.59 mark.

As you can see, their non-offensive kiss is replaced by a shot of a young man staring on, strumming his guitar.

Since the petition gained attraction, Cartoon Network has responded to the outcry, writing on Facebook: Cartoon Network (in Europe) often shows amended versions of programs from US originals.

The US broadcast system requires that shows are marked with a rating in this case PG (parental guidance necessary). In the UK we have to ensure everything on air is suitable for kids of any age at any time.

We do feel that the slightly edited version is more comfortable for local kids and their parents.

This response has, in itself, caused yet more outrage, with viewers asking why a sexual/romantic interaction between a male and female character in the same episode was no censored.

So heterosexual relationships are somehow more suitable for young people than same-sex relationships? wrote one disgruntled viewer on Facebook, while another wrote: Censoring at this point is still very unnecessary, there is nothing offensive about the scene you censored.

Pink News, who were one of the first to notice the change, noted that the BBFCs Universal rating allows for characters to be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behaviour. However, there will be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo, a condition the censored scene does not break.

Steven Universes former producer Ian Jones-Quarterly has previously confirmed that two of the female characters, Ruby and Sapphire, are in a romantic relationship and I dont believe any different. How and if Cartoon Network are going to censor that relationship as well is currently unknown.
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2016 is set to be the most progressive year for fashion yet, with the ad campaigns are landing amongst the usual supermodel faces, a new crop of stars are emerging who are challenging society's perceptions of gender.

Jaden Smith made headlines when he was unveiled as one of the stars of Louis Vuitton's new campaign. Nothing strange about one of the Smith offspring appearing in ad campaigns - sister Willow appeared for Marc Jacobs last season - however Jaden appears in the Vuitton ad decked out head-to-toe in the brand's womenswear collection.

Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Show all 15 1 /15 Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Louis Vuitton campaign shot by Bruce Weber starring Jaden Smith Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Versace campaign shot by Steven Klein starring Gigi Hadid, Raquel Zimmerman and Natasha Poly Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Versace campaign shot by Steven Klein starring Gigi Hadid, Raquel Zimmerman and Natasha Poly Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Topshop campaign shot by Tyrone Lebon starring Karlie Kloss Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Saint Laurent campaign shot by Signe Lund and Steffi Soede Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Saint Laurent campaign shot by Signe Lund and Steffi Soede Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Givenchy campaign shot by Mert and Marcus Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Givenchy campaign shot by Mert and Marcus Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Burberry campaign shot by Mario Testino starring Dylan Brosnan Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Burberry campaign shot by Mario Testino starring May and Ruth Bell Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Louis Vuitton shot by Tetsuya Nomura and VW of Square Enix starring Lightning Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Boss campaign shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin starring Anna Ewers Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Celine campaign shot by Juergen Teller Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Balmain campaign shot by Steven Klein starring Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington Spring/summer 2016 fashion ad campaigns: Chloe campaign shot by Theo Wenner

Marc Jacobs is continuing the trend of embracing diversity, unveiling last night the first of his offerings for the new season on his Instagram account, revealing director Lana Wachowski who came out as transgender in 2012, as the first star of his spring/summer 2016.

Explaining his choice, Jacobs said:

"The people featured in our campaign personify this collection of fashion through their individuality. Collectively, they embody and celebrate the spirit and beauty of equality."

A photo posted by Marc Jacobs (@themarcjacobs) on Jan 6, 2016 at 1:05pm PST

She [Wachowski] expressed thoughts and ideas that have filled my head and heart always but had never been so eloquently captured in language that was so tangible, intelligent, poignant and full of possibility. I found myself referencing Lanas words in my daily life and sharing her speech with close friends.

This attitude is by far a new one, fashion has been challenging traditional perceptions of gender for many years. The blurring of gender lines is by far from uncommon in many collections with androgyny a well-rehearsed trend. Menswear is pushing boundaries too most notably in Alessandro Michele's latest collection for Gucci.

Simarlarly models such as Lea T and Andreja Pejic, both who are transgender have been winning campaigns and spots on the catwalk for the last half decade but it's the inclusion of high profile figures such as Jaden Smith and director Lana Wachowski which are setting this season apart.

There is of course still the presence of the usual supermodel faces - Gigi Hadid appears in Versace's campaign alongside Raquel Zimmermann and Natasha Poly. Karlie Kloss is the newest face of high street store Topshop. Givenchy cast the likes of Lara Stone, Miranda Kerr, Natalia Vodianova and Joan Smalls in supermodel gangs shot around New York.

Finally Balmain pulled out all the stops for a major supermodel revival with Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford.
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Sorry to ask, but do you think your emails might be just a bit, um, disempowered? That's a sentence that wouldn't get past Just Not Sorry, a new plug-in for Gmail which highlights every single apology, hesitating "maybe" or circumlocutory "actually" sent from your outbox. Acting like a spellcheck for sorries, the app was designed to help women who are prone to using "soft" language at work and thereby sending emails which are about as effective as putting on a baby voice when asking for a pay rise.

Tami Reiss, the CEO of technology company Cyrus Innovations was inspired to create Just Not Sorry after watching an Amy Schumer sketch about a panel of female scientists who can't stop saying sorry until one of them apologises herself to death. "This idea of successful, entrepreneurial women who don't even realise how often they're saying sorry and undermining their own ideas really struck a chord with me," she tells me by phone from her office in New York. "I just wanted to create a simple tool to help me and my friends. I've been completely overwhelmed by all the attention."

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. 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March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

The app  which has so far been downloaded 44,000 times in 171 countries  is the latest effort in a movement to encourage women to make their voices heard in the boardroom. Last year, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg co-authored a piece for The New York Times on why "women stay quiet at work". She also backed the Ban Bossy campaign to stop the derogatory term being used for decisive women. In October, Jennifer Lawrence wrote an essay entitled "Why Do These Dudes Make More Than Me?" where she highlighted her own inability to negotiate more money for herself for fear of seeming "difficult" or "spoiled". Next, a Washington Post article, which reimagined famous quotes as if a woman had said them in a meeting, went viral  such as "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" became "I have to say  I'm sorry  I have to say this. I don't think we should be as scared of non-fear things as maybe we are? If that makes sense? Sorry, I feel like I'm rambling." Forget fat, apologising is a feminist issue.

I'm British, a woman and hate confrontation, so for me saying sorry isn't so much subordination as punctuation. I'll apologise if someone bumps into me, a waiter brings me the wrong food or just to start a sentence when I want to make sure people are listening. Just one day after downloading Just Not Sorry to my emails I counted 17 "sorry"s, 10 "actually"s and countless "I think"s. When you hover over the highlighted trigger words, boxes pop up to explain why that type of language might be weakening your point. For example, every time I typed a simple "just" I got a message informing me that "'Just' demeans what you have to say. 'Just' shrinks your power. It's time to say goodbye to the 'Just's". But most of the time I didn't delete a single one. I appreciate the seeming nonchalance of a "just", the lack of definition in a "maybe" and hopefully not just because I'm a slave to the patriarchy.

The backlash against Just Not Sorry has already begun, with many women pointing out that an app such as this just (there we go again) blames women for the way they talk and perpetuates the stereotype that we're all airheads who speak like Cher from Clueless.

"I feel bad right now," says Reiss when I ask her about the criticism she's received (although she's noticeably not sorry). "Of course women's language shouldn't be policed or changed, and if you want to use these words then you should. But we've been surprised by how many men are loving the app. And it doesn't auto-correct these terms it just highlights them, which means it makes you aware of phrases which may not sound as confident and decisive as you want them to be."

Personally, I'm enjoying using Just Not Sorry. Anything that makes us more aware of the language we use and the effect it has can only be a good thing "in my opinion" (whoops). Now I just need an app that flags up the kisses I inadvertently put at the end of an email to my accountant. Especially now I can't write to him and say sorry.
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Wearable technology company Fitbit is facing a class action lawsuit in the USA over allegations that their products' heart-rate tracking features are "wildly innaccurate."

Many products in Fitbit's wide range of activity tracking devices claim to be able to record the heart rates of their users, by using LED lights pressed against the user's skin to detect changes in blood volume, and complicated algorithms to turn that data into an accurate heart rate measurement.

However, in the lawsuit, which was brought on 5 January by several Fitbit owners, the devices' pulse trackers "do not and cannot consistently and accurately record wearers' heart rates during the intense physical activity for which Fitbit expressly markets them."

The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs and other users have experienced their Fitbit devices consistently mis-recording their heart rates "by a very significant margin", and alleges that by promoting and profiting from their devices' claimed pulse tracking features, Fitbit "defrauded the public and cheated its customers."

One of the plaintiffs also alleged that the misreporting of heart rates could potentially be dangerous - David Urban, from Wisconsin, said that his Fitbit Surge device consistently under-reported his heart rate by 15 to 25 beats per minute.

The plaintiff said he bought the device to track his pulse after his doctor recommended, due to his family history of heart disease, that Urban's heart rate should not exceed 160bpm. By under-reporting his heart rate, Urban claimed, his Fitbit could have put him in danger.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

The news of the lawsuit came just a couple of days after Fitbit's share price plunged almost 20 per cent in the wake of the announcement of their new smartwatch, the Fitbit Blaze, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Analysts said investors were worried that the company entering the competitive smartwatch market, which is dominated by tech giants like Apple and Samsung, was too risky a move - especially considering that Blaze users will not have access to third-party apps, a major selling point for devices like the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices.

Fitbit strongly denied the claims made in the lawsuit, saying in a statement: "We do not believe this case has merit. Fitbit stands behind our heart rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit."

"Fitbit is committed to making the best clip and wrist-based activity trackers on the market. Our team has performed and continues to perform internal studies to validate our products performance," they added.

"PurePulse [the heart rate tracking technology] provides better overall heart rate tracking than cardio machines at the gym, as it tracks your heart rate continuously - even while youre not at the gym or working out.

"But its also important to note that Fitbit trackers are designed to provide meaningful data to our users to help them reach their health and fitness goals, and are not intended to be scientific or medical devices."

The lawsuit ends by demanding a jury trial over the issues raised.
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Googles translation software called the Russian foreign minister a sad little horse and referred to the country as Mordor, the evil area in the Lord of the Rings.

The errors occurred when translating key phrases from Ukrainian into Russian, and appear to have been inserted because of people protesting against Russias operations in Ukraine.

The tool translated Russians into occupiers, apparently in reference to the conflict. And putting in the name of Sergey Lavrov, the country's foreign minister, showed up the Russian for "sad little horse".

Google said that the insults had come up automatically and occurred because of the way that the translation tool works.

"Google Translate is an automatic translator -- it works without the intervention of human translators, using technology instead, a Google spokesperson told The Independent. When GoogleTranslate generates a translation, it looks for patterns in hundreds of millions of documents to help decide on the best translation for you.

But automatic translation is very difficult, as the meaning of words depends on the context in which they're used. This means that not all translations are perfect, and there will sometimes be mistakes or mistranslations.

We always work to correct these as quickly as possible when they are brought to our attention."

The best Google Doodles Show all 50 1 /50 The best Google Doodles The best Google Doodles Mister Rogers Google Doodle celebrating children's TV presenter Mister Rogers Google The best Google Doodles Lucy Wills Google Doodle celebrating haematologist Lucy Wills Google The best Google Doodles Falafel Google Doodle celebrating falafel Google The best Google Doodles St George's Day Google Doodle celebrating St George's Day Google The best Google Doodles James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating Hollywood golden age cinematographer James Wong Howe Google The best Google Doodles Seiichi Miyake Google Doodle celebrating Seiichi Miyake, developer of tactile paving Google The best Google Doodles Walter Cronkite Google celebrates US broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday The best Google Doodles Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating art critic Sergei Diaghilev Google The best Google Doodles George Boole Google marks mathematician George Boole's 200th birthday The best Google Doodles Sergei Eisenstein Google Doodle celebrating soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein Google The best Google Doodles 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago The best Google Doodles Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Google celebrates physician and suffragist Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday The best Google Doodles Sir William Henry Perkin Google Doodle celebrating chemist Sir William Henry Perkin Google The best Google Doodles Nelly Sachs Google Doodle celebrating poet and playwright Nelly Sachs Google The best Google Doodles Thanksgiving 2018 Google Doodle celebrating Thanksgiving 2018 Google The best Google Doodles Nigerian Independence Day Google Doodle celebrating Nigerian Independence Day Google The best Google Doodles Mary Prince Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Mary Prince Google The best Google Doodles Father's Day 2016 Google celebrates Father's Day The best Google Doodles Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google Doodle celebrating "father of football" Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google The best Google Doodles Octavia E Butler Google Doodle celebrating science fiction author Octavia E Butler Google The best Google Doodles Tamara de Lempicka Google Doodle celebrating painter Tamara de Lempicka Google The best Google Doodles Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google Doodle celebrating mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google The best Google Doodles Fanny Blankers-Koen Google Doodle celebrating Dutch Olympic gold medalist Fanny Blankers-Koen Google The best Google Doodles John Harrison Google Doodle celebrating clockmaker John Harrison Google The best Google Doodles Guillermo Haro Google Doodle celebrating astronomer Guillermo Haro Google The best Google Doodles St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Carter G Woodson Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson, a pioneering African-American historian Google The best Google Doodles St Andrew's Day Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day Google The best Google Doodles Gertrude Jekyll Google Doodle celebrating horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll Google The best Google Doodles Children's Day 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017 Google The best Google Doodles Studio for Electronic Music Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music Google The best Google Doodles Olaudah Equiano Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Olaudah Equiano Google The best Google Doodles Fridtjof Nansen Google Doodle celebrating Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen Google The best Google Doodles Ladislao Jose Biro Google celebrates Ladislao Jose Biro's 117th birthday The best Google Doodles Amalia Hernandez Google Doodle celebrating ballet choreographer Amalia Hernandez Google The best Google Doodles Dr Samuel Johnson Google Doodle celebrating lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson Google The best Google Doodles British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google The best Google Doodles Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating baritone singer Eduard Khil Google The best Google Doodles Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google The best Google Doodles Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating author Victor Hugo Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Steve Biko Today's Google Doodle features anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko Google The best Google Doodles The history of tea in Britain Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK The best Google Doodles Nettie Stevens Google celebrates geneticist Nettie Stevens 155th birthday The best Google Doodles William Morris Google celebrates English polymath William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs Google The best Google Doodles Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scovilles 151st birthday The best Google Doodles Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday

It isnt clear where Google pulls in the information for its Translate tool. But previously people have been able to intentionally game other Google tools  by Googlebombing and intentionally flooding the web with pages that link two words together, it is possible to trick the search engine.

Google Maps was tricked into showing racist words for the White House, for instance, and the same method has been used to slur football teams. That was apparently done by associating the names with certain link.
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After years of declining use, Microsoft is finally ending support for versions 8, 9 and 10 of their Internet Explorer web browser on January 12th.

These versions of the browser will still be usable, but they won't receive any more security or technical updates after the cut-off - meaning those using them will become much more vulnerable to hackers and security breaches.

As Microsoft has announced, one final patch for the browser versions will deliver an 'End of Life' notification, which will tell users they should switch to Internet Explorer 11, the latest version of the browser, as soon as possible.

Users will alternately be encouraged to switch to Microsoft Edge - the company's new browser, designed to be more suited to the features of the modern web.

Microsoft announced that support would end for old versions of IE back in August 2014, so users have had a long time to upgrade.

However, Internet Explorer is still one of the most-used browsers, and it's thought that there are hundreds of millions of users still using outdated versions.

The browser has been on its way out for a long time, but there's still difficulties for those users who have yet to make the change, especially Microsoft's business customers.

As recently as 2008, Internet Explorer was the world's most-use browser, but it's suffered a huge drop in popularity in recent years - currently, only around 6.8 per cent of internet users worldwide use Internet Explorer, compared to 67.4 per cent for Google's Chrome browser.

Cutting off support for old versions should allow Microsoft to start focusing solely on Edge and IE 11, promoting their use in order to begin competing with rival browsers once again.

To check which version of Internet Explorer you're using to see if you'll be affected by the changes, open the browser and click the Gear or Question Mark icon in the top right, and select 'About Internet Explorer' - the version of the browser your computer is running will be displayed in the pop-up box.
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Cancer screening has never been shown to save lives, experts claim as false results causing deaths from needless treatments, along with suicides or heart attacks, are not being taken into account.

Researchers say that, whereas the harms of screening are certain, the benefits in overall mortality are unclear. The belief screening prevents early deaths is based on reductions in disease-specific mortality rather than overall mortality, which should be the benchmark against which screening is judged, they argue. Support for programmes that borders on fear-mongering has led to the public having an inflated sense of the benefits and discounted sense of the harms of screening, scientists from the Oregon Health and Science University write in a BMJ article.

The authors cite screenings of prostate and breast cancer as particular examples where further testing, overdiagnosis and overtreatment can cause more harm than good. Realisation of this in other areas has led to reversal or abandonment of a number of screening campaigns, including chest radiography screening for lung cancer and urine testing for neuroblastoma, they write.

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The scientists say prostate-cancer testing yields numerous false positive results, which contribute to over one million prostate biopsies a year. These, in turn, are linked to serious harms, including admission to hospital and death as men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to have a heart attack or take their own lives in the year after diagnosis.

Although studies regularly show women think that breast screening lowers their risk of getting breast cancer, a recent mammography review in the United State did not show reduced breast cancer deaths when adequately randomised trials were analysed, the scientists write.

Cancer screening There are three NHS Population Screening Programmes that relate to cancer. They are: NHS bowel cancer screening (BCSP) programme - offers screening every two years to all men and women aged 60 to 74. People eligible for screening receive an invitation letter explaining the programme, along with an information leaflet explaining the benefits and risks of screening.

offers screening every two years to all men and women aged 60 to 74. People eligible for screening receive an invitation letter explaining the programme, along with an information leaflet explaining the benefits and risks of screening. NHS breast screening (BSP) programme  offered to all women aged 50-70. Women do not always receive an invitation when they turn 50. They can expect their invitation within three years of their 50th birthday. Women cannot walk in and request breast screening unless they are over 70, when they can request screening every three years. In some areas, women aged 47 to 49 and 71 to 73 receive invitations for screening. This is part of a study looking at whether to extend the breast screening age range.

offered to all women aged 50-70. Women do not always receive an invitation when they turn 50. They can expect their invitation within three years of their 50th birthday. Women cannot walk in and request breast screening unless they are over 70, when they can request screening every three years. In some areas, women aged 47 to 49 and 71 to 73 receive invitations for screening. This is part of a study looking at whether to extend the breast screening age range. NHS cervical screening (CSP) programme - available to women aged 25 to 64 in England. All eligible women who are registered with a GP automatically receive an invitation by mail. Women aged 25 to 49 receive invitations every three years. Women aged 50 to 64 receive invitations every five years.

Consideration of harms also becomes more important in the absence of clear overall mortality benefit, they add. To find out whether screening saves lives, they say investing in large trials that can determine overall mortality is worth the expense compared with the continued cost of supporting widespread screening campaigns without knowing whether they truly benefit society.

The team calls for higher standards of evidence.

However, the scientists said political will, financial resources, and public perception are common hurdles in building support for measures likely to be costly and take time and effort. They conclude: We encourage healthcare providers to be frank about the limitations of screening  the harms of screening are certain, but the benefits in overall mortality are not. Declining screening may be a reasonable and prudent choice for many people.

An accompanying BMJ editorial calls for more transparent information on cancer screening.

Samia al-Qadhi, chief executive at Breast Cancer Care, said the study added to the mountain of conflicting evidence on screening.

She added: This ongoing confusion about the benefits and risks of screening means that women are unsure about whether to attend. Its one of the reasons why the number of women going is declining.

Dr Anne Mackie, director of screening at Public Health England, said: NHS cancer screening and follow-up treatment does prevent or can at least delay some people dying from cancer.
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A controversial letter by the NHSs top independent medic, questioning whether striking junior doctors would be available to help in the event of a Paris-style terror attack, was strengthened and signed off by Whitehall officials, it can be revealed.

Emails between senior Department of Health (DoH) staff and Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the Medical Director of the independent body NHS England, reveal that Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, was given approval on the text of the letter. It went through a number of revisions, seen by The Independent, to ensure concerns about the possible impact of a major incident during the strike were made as hard-edged as possible.

Sent, and made public, in the week after the Paris terror attacks in November last year, the letter caused a storm of protest from junior doctors.

Three thousand medics wrote to Sir Bruce accusing him of using fears of a terror attack for political purposes. They said any insinuation that striking doctors would not come back to work in the event of an attack was not in keeping with the inherent duty that junior doctors have to serve the public.

The disclosure of how the final text was negotiated will anger them still more.

In one email, sent the day before the strike was declared, Sir Bruce was told by a DoH official that the risk of a major incident would be pressed quite hard in the media once the strike is formally announced and he was advised that the more hard-edged you can be on this, the better.

The emails also reveal that Mr Hunt agreed Sir Bruce would not be asked to speak to the media on the day the strike was declared so long as his letter reiterated his opposition to strike action, and was clear about the assurances the Department of Health wanted to hear from the BMA.

Asked to confirm he was happy with changes to the letter the day before the BMA declared a strike, Sir Bruce was told by an unnamed official: I am sure then that JH [Jeremy Hunt] will be interested to see the proposed final product; my hope is that if you are happy to make these changes we will be able to get him over the line.

The heavily redacted emails show that Department of Health officials had close involvement with the letter  even down to the timing of its publication online, on 19 November, the day the BMA revealed junior doctors had voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action.

 Junior doctors strike

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Responding to the release of the emails, Sir Bruce said that it was entirely appropriate that the NHS, the Department of Health and hospitals had co-ordinated the operational response to the strike threat.

A DoH spokesman insisted it was completely right that the Department expressed a view on communication with the BMA.

Department of Health officials are understood to have been concerned that, in the event of an attack, and a consequent shutdown of public transport, doctors may not have been able to return to work. An email from a DoH official to Sir Bruce, sent on the evening of 18 November, states that ministerial views here are, if anything, hardening on the major incident point in the event of public transport being disrupted on one of the full walkout days.

In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 20,000 Junior Doctors marched through central London in protest at the new contract changes the government is trying to impose which they say will be unfair and unsafe In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors protest in London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 4 year old Cassius takes part in a demonstration in Westminster, in support of junior doctors over changes to NHS contracts, London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Protest over proposed changes to junior doctors' contracts, Leeds In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Over 5000 junior doctors rallied in Waterloo place, before marching through Whitehall and onto Parliament Square, in opposition to Jeremy Hunt's new working conditions for doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Demonstrators listen to speeches in Waterloo Place during the 'Let's Save the NHS' rally and protest march by junior doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK A protester at a demonstration in support of junior doctors in London

Sir Bruces letter referred to the BMAs first threatened wave of strike action, which was averted less than 24 hours before it was due to start on 1 December. Since then, talks between the Government and the BMA  facilitated by Acas  have broken down, and three new days of strike action have been declared, with the first due on Tuesday next week.

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Although last-ditch talks are to take place tomorrow, senior government sources are convinced that the strike will go ahead. The dispute centres on the Governments new contract offer to junior doctors, which will cut pay for out-of-hours work, to make it easier for hospitals to roster junior doctors at the weekend, as part of the Governments seven-day NHS pledge. In return, doctors will get an 11 per cent basic pay rise.

The new contract would also remove financial penalties for NHS trusts that work doctors beyond their contracted hours.

The Government made a new offer earlier this week, with a new system of safeguards, but this was rejected by junior doctors, who say that the contract will lead to them working longer hours, for less money. The Government has not backed up the new contract with any extra funding for junior doctors pay.

The BMA has condemned what it said was evidence of political interference with Sir Bruces letter.

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A spokesperson for the union said: This level of political interference is extremely concerning and will only serve to worsen junior doctors lack of trust in the Governments handling of negotiations.

In response, Sir Bruce said: Given the seriousness of potential industrial action and NHS Englands statutory responsibilities to ensure everything possible is being done to reduce all potential risk, it was entirely appropriate that all parts of the NHS  including the Department of Health, hospitals and NHS England  co-ordinated the operational response across the country.

20,000 junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight

A DoH spokesman said: Industrial action of the kind planned by the BMA creates a major safety risk for patients so it was absolutely right that ministers insisted on Sir Bruce Keogh giving his independent view of the NHSs capacity to respond in the event of a major terrorist incident.

Given it is the Governments ultimate responsibility to do everything it can to ensure public safety, it is completely right that the Department expressed a view on communication with the BMA.

Emails between Health Department and NHS England

 18:18, 17 November :I have had a chat with [redacted] is clear that SoS [Jeremy Hunts] expectation is that this letter [to BMJ about junior doctors strike] should be included in tomorrows COBR [Governments emergency committee] papers and not sent till Thursday. Could you please put it in the papers? Bruce

 09:24, 18 November [DoH to Keogh with a re-worded version of the letter]. Bruce, Good to speak earlier this morning. As promised, I have woven the points from my earlier email this morning into your letter

 10:10 [Sir Bruce writes back] Thanks for your help. Please may I leave it to you and [redacted] team to refine the letter. I am pretty tied up today in Manchester.

 12:00 [DoH official to Sir Bruce] Bruce, [redacted] and I have just had a conversation with SoS about JD [junior doctor] issues. The good news is that we have agreed with SoS that we should not ask you to take media bids tomorrow, so long as:

1) Your letter is clear about the assurances we are seeking, and asks these in a way that ensures that we get a clear answer on the BMA position and 2) The letter sets out your view (as you said publicly last week) on the contract and industrial action. To achieve that I have made some further suggested changes to the letter, attached, [and] have inserted a new paragraph setting out the view you expressed last week. I have also tweaked a couple of bullets on assurances to provoke a clearer response from the BMA. Could you let me know if you are happy with the changes. I am sure then that JH will be interested to see the proposed final product; my hope is that if you are happy to make these changes we will be able to get him over the line.

 12:21 [Apparently from NHS England offical to DoH] Thanks for this. Im happy with the proposed changes you suggest and I dont think it goes further than Bruce would be comfortable. I know Bruce is tied up for most of today but Im happy for this version to be shared with SoS.

 18:08 [From DoH to NHS England] As discussed, I think you are aiming to agree the BMA point and offer some words on the specific assurances with regard to a major incident. Grateful if you could run those past me as you agree them with Bruce as we obviously need to get all that agreed between us tonight (I should add that Ministerial views here are, if anything, hardening on the major incident point in the event of public transport also being disrupted on one of the full walkout days; and they also expect that to be something that will be pressed quite hard in the media once the strike is formally announced. So the more hard-edged on this you can be, the better).
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You may have heard that marijuana is a gateway drug. Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie makes this argument seemingly every chance he gets. Anti-drug groups often make similar claims.

The evidence seems convincing enough at first blush: studies show that 99 percent of illicit drug users tried marijuana before they did any other drugs. But on its own, this line of thinking actually is pretty tenuous: we could also safely assume that 99 percent of illicit drug users also tried coffee, or soda, or chocolate milk before moving on to stronger substances.

New research out this month in the Journal of School Health could shed some light on this question. A team of researchers from Texas A&M and the University of Florida examined data from from 2,800 U.S. 12th graders interviewed for the Monitoring the Future study, an annual federal survey of teen drug use. They wanted to establish which substances teens typically used first.

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They give away their findings in the title of their paper: "Prioritizing Alcohol Prevention: Establishing Alcohol as the Gateway Drug and Linking Age of First Drink With Illicit Drug Use." They found that "the vast majority of respondents reported using alcohol prior to either tobacco or marijuana initiation."

Not only that, but of those three main substances -- alcohol, tobacco and marijuana -- kids were the least likely to start using pot before the others.

"Alcohol was the most widely used substance among respondents, initiated earliest, and also the first substance most commonly used in the progression of substance use," the researchers concluded.

It's not clear to what degree, if any, this reflects greater availability of alcohol. Researchers typically see marijuana as in the same general universe of availability as alcohol and tobacco, simply because use of those three are so widespread compared to other substances. In fact 12th graders now are more likely to use marijuana than tobacco, despite one being legal and the other not. Jonathan Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University told me last month that perceived availability of marijuana, as measured in the Monitoring the Future studies, has been at a high level for 20 years.

But we're still playing a game of "which drug came first" here. The researchers go on to argue that the question of which drugs kids start with is a lot less important than the question of how early they start using. "Overall, early onset substance initiation, whether that is alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, exerts a powerful influence over future health risk behaviors," they write.

For starters, they found that the earlier kids started using alcohol, the more likely they were to go on to try other drugs. Kids who had their first drink in 6th or 7th grade went on to try an average nearly two illicit substances later. By contrast, kids who waited until 12th grade to drink had only tried an average of 0.4 substances.

They also found that adolescents who drank at a young age went on to use illicit drugs more frequently than than those who waited. They didn't examine marijuana or tobacco similarly, because the numbers of kids starting with those drugs were so relatively low.

To the extent that there is a gateway drug, then, it's alcohol. But the notion of a "gateway" is less important, in this study, than the question of when kids take that first step on the path of substance use.

Keep in mind, though, that these questions were asked of 12th graders. People who started drinking in 12th grade didn't have as much time before the survey was administered to try other substances. If you asked similar questions of people in their late 20s, for instance, you'd probably find that some of those late starters still went on to try other drugs in college.

The other big caveat here is that, as the researchers stress, this is just an observational study that's unable to tease out coincidence from causality. It's entirely possible that kids who drink early are naturally predisposed to try other drugs, due to factors invisible to this particular study -- genetics, home environment, etc. The most likely scenario is that the causality works both ways: drinking early makes kids more likely to try other drugs, and kids inclined to try other drugs are also predisposed to experiment with alcohol early.

In the past, Christie has argued that legalizing marijuana would lead to more teen drug use, and that taxes generated from marijuana sales amounted to "blood money."

"I'm not going to put the lives of children and citizens at risk to put a little more money into the state coffers, at least not on my watch," he said in March.

But if taxes on marijuana amount to "blood money," Christie so far has had no qualms with accepting taxes on the sales of alcohol. In 2013, he signed a bill expanding the state's production of hard liquor. The bill allows distillers to produce 640 gallons of hard spirits per year, provided they pay a $938 licensing fee.

 Washington Post
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When Phil Clarke ran Tesco he would constantly be asked the same question: Who is your biggest competitor? And without fail, the former boss would swiftly answer: Amazon.

And while Mr Clarkes legacy looks about as trashed as a North Korean nuclear testing site, his vision of supermarket battles with Amazon may not be wide of the mark.

Sainsburys has typically never paid much attention to Amazon. The online retailer and the UKs second biggest supermarket have had little in the way of direct competition, with Sainsburys focusing its attentions on slimming down its non-food operation and increasing food quality to pick off Waitrose shoppers and make it a viable alternative to Aldi and Lidl.

But with Amazon lining itself up for a tilt at grocery home delivery, Sainsburys may think it cheaper to buy the next best thing to the online giant, in terms of a decent distribution network, than splash out the hundreds of millions it will cost to upgrade its creaky infrastructure.

And this could be why Sainsburys is so desperate (in the words of several analysts) to get its hands on Argos, in one of the biggest retail deals since Dixons merged with Carphone Warehouse.

Sainsburys has fallen behind its rivals when it comes to online operations  still using individual store workers to traipse through the aisles of its stores during the early morning, picking up the items on customers shopping lists.

By comparison, Ocado and Tesco use massive automated warehouses  or dark stores  to pick stock in a fraction of the time.

Bosses also only recently introduced Tu clothes sales online for the first time at the end of last year, and in stores customers still cannot pay using contactless credit and debit cards.

Over at Argos, the company has invested millions in its new hub-and-spoke distribution network, which now allows for same-day collection and delivery on 20,000 products.

Bosses have also developed the ability to deliver Argos stores in tiny formats and still make a success of things  something Sainsburys has done equally well with its Local branches.

Amazon, the lumbering giant of online retail, has been very coy about its grocery ambitions. However, it has quietly been snapping up warehouses and depots, with each new site tipped to be the birthing unit for Amazon Fresh UK.

In the US, Amazon has offered fresh food delivery for eight years, slowly rolling it out from a few suburbs in Seattle to major cities on the east and west coasts, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

But today users are charged a $299 (205) annual fee to use the service before a single banana is purchased, and such a high charge would be pretty unpalatable in the UK.

Even Ocado, seen as the premium end of home-food shopping, charges a maximum of 100 a year for a delivery pass, and most analysts agree that Amazon will be looking to win more cost-conscious shoppers, who already get a good deal from all the big supermarkets with the option of one-hour delivery slots.

But if and when Amazon does decide to launch fresh food in the UK, which is getting closer with a heavy push into pantry items, only the bravest or foolish supermarket boss would fail to take notice.

Sainsburys is also pushing hard into non-food again, after years of former boss Justin King insisting stores should be primarily about food.

Today Sainsburys sells 2bn worth of non-food items and many bigger stores are being filled with clothes, homeware and even electrical gadgets. There are also the 10 stores that have incorporated Argos concessions, which Sainsburys would no doubt capitalise on from the deal even further.

However, while the bosses of Sainsburys have every faith that they can take on the might of Amazon  and chief executive Mike Coupe will be able to wax lyrical about it during next weeks Christmas trading update  few in the City are convinced that Sainsburys can be a worthy opponent of Amazon.

Clive Black, a retail analyst at Shore Capital, explained: In gaining access to Argos e-commerce capabilities and logistics, Sainsburys also has to acquire a struggling business where problem-solving has to be at the core.

Acquiring problems is not always the ideal route to strategic solutions. Additionally, whilst Argos has undoubted heritage in remote shopping, we do harbour concerns about its on-going exposure to competitive challenge from pure-play online, most obviously from Amazon.

Deutsche Bank was equally unsure about the move, and said: We would expect some Sainsburys shareholder concern at acquiring a retailer which, for all its omnichannel expertise and property development potential, faces competitive threats from Amazon, Dixons Carphone and the discounters.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Tony Shiret, a retail analyst at Haitong Group, said: Why else would anyone countenance adding Amazon to their list of major competitors and take on 850 low-margin Argos retail outlets and 250 or so Homebase units that they thought would be a good idea to get rid of in 2000?

The City is certainly unconvinced. But the question is, will Mr Coupes legacy look like Mr Clarkes, or does he know something the rest of us dont?
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There is one thing you might soon get rid of when applying for a new job: your CV.

Compose, a growing California based cloud storage firm acquired by IBM in 2015, has stopped asking candidates for their CVs as part of an effort to streamline hiring. Applicants are now judged on work samples to quickly identify those worthy of an interview.

Tim Yocum operations and cloud computing specialist at Compose explained that the companys earliest hires were done through referral or trusted acquaintances which slowed the process down and decreased the choice.

We set out to make our hiring process more transparent, less subjective, and reduce as many biases as possible while decreasing the time spent finding the ideal new hire, Yocum explained in a blog post.

In the UK a similar discussion is on the way as we are often victims of unconscious bias without knowing it.

According to a study by Marquette University, people with common first names are viewed as more likable and more likely to be hired.

Another study by Stanford University suggest that gender is also playing a role in how applicants are perceived during the hiring process.

More and more company managers are turning to blind hiring, where a company sets a task or meets a candidate rather than looking at their CV, reveals talent and cuts down discrimination.

In October, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the British government and some top UK firms agreed to start a name-blind recruitment strategy in order to remove the names of candidates from their applications forms. While UCAS, which acts as the central body for university applications, will also work to name-blind applications from 2017.

Several major organisation including the BBC, HSBC and KPMG have already pledged to recruit on a name-blind basis.

Deloitte, one of the big four professional services firms, will recruit graduates using contextualised data, which allows managers to look at the context in which candidates achieved their goals, focusing on their personal and economic background.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

For David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, it is a business imperative to get this right in order to hire people who think and innovate differently. While not a definite remedy, the company believes it is a solid first step for equal hiring.

We want to show that everyone can thrive, develop and succeed in our firm based on their talent, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another, Mr Sproul said.
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A long and twisting death row saga has come to an end after Florida executed Oscar Ray Bolin, a man convicted of murdering three women 30 years ago who saw each conviction overturned before he was then found guilty again.

Bolin was killed by lethal injection on Thursday evening, minutes after the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal. He had been scheduled to be put to death at 6pm but because of the appeal to the countrys highest court, it was past 10pm when it was carried out.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Bolin was injected with a lethal combination of chemicals beginning at 10.05pm and was pronounced dead at 10.16pm.

Teri Lynn Matthews was abducted on 5 December 1986. Her body was found the same day, wrapped in a sheet (Twitter)

The newspaper said there were 36 witnesses, including family members of Bolin's three victims: Teri Lynn Matthews, 26, Natalie Blanche Holley, 25, and 17-year-old Stephanie Collins.

Moments before his execution, a warden asked Bolin if he had any last words. No, sir, he replied.

Bolin was technically executed for the killing of Ms Matthews.

It will be in a sense, a closure, Ms Matthews mother, Kathleen Reeves, told the Associated Press before the execution. Its been so long. The pain doesn't change. It's just time for it. Its due. Its past due.

Police said Bolin's first Florida victim was 25-year-old Ms Holley, who was abducted after she left work at a Tampa fast food restaurant in January of 1986.

Oscar Ray Bolin's killings took place in the 1980s (AP)

In October of that same year, 17-year-old Ms Collins disappeared from a shopping center parking lot in Tampa. Two months later, Ms Matthews was abducted from a post office in Pasco County, just north of Tampa. All three were fatally stabbed.

The cases went unsolved until someone called an anonymous tip line in 1990, when Bolin was already serving a 22- to 75-year prison sentence in Ohio for kidnapping and raping a 20-year-old waitress outside Toledo in 1987.

All of Bolin's convictions were reversed at least twice due to legal errors, but new juries found him guilty again in all three cases.

He once again received the death penalty in the Matthews and Collins killings, but a new jury in the Holley slaying found Bolin guilty of second-degree murder, converting his previous death sentence to a sentence of life in prison.

Ms Reeves said it did not matter that Bolin was being executed for all three cases because he only dies once.

She added: He dies for all of our girls.

Bolins lawyer, Bjorn Brunvand, said he filed another motion to stay with the district court and with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court denied the motion on Monday.

I think that he should get a new trial because another individual has confessed to that murder, Mr Brunvand told the AP.
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The Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the Chicago woman who was found dead in police custody three-days later, has been charged with perjury.

Trooper Brian Encinia was indicted by a grand jury after investigators claimed he lied about his actions during the arrest.

Just hours after the charges were announced, the Texas Department of Safety said that Trooper Encinia's "termination proceedings" would begin to "discharge him from the department."

Mr Encinia was previously placed on desk duty after the woman's death on July 13, 2015.

An image taken from dash-cam footage of Sandra Bland's arrest Texas Department of Public Safety (EPA)

Ms Bland, 28, was returning to Texas to begin working a job at her alma mater Prairie View A&M. She was pulled her over by Trooper Encinia in a routine traffic stop in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, for failing to use her traffic signal.

Video footage from the dashboard camera of the police vehicle shows the officer yelling "I will light you up" before a confrontation between the officer and the young woman ensues.

Ms Bland was found hanged in a Waller County jail cell three days later. Police said she had taken her own life, a claim that was rejected by the young womans family.



The young women's death sparked outcry nationwide and arguably brought the most attention to the death of a black woman in police custody during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Last month, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the state trooper and jail officials in the case.

Geneva Reed-Veal, Ms Blands mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety, Waller County and the involved jail employees. A hearing is scheduled to begin in January 2017.
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It began as the classic showbusiness fairytale. The young hopeful is making ends meet as a telephone receptionist when she auditions for a bit part in EastEnders  a blink and youll miss her role as a nurse.

The casting directors spot something. They ask her to sing a number, which she does, nervously  Harlem on My Mind, her favourite song.

They make her a star. Handed the leading role of folk singer Frankie Pierre, actress Sian Blake becomes famous.

 House where 3 bodies were found in Sian Blake hunt

The girl who once lived in an East End tower block tells interviewers of being able to afford to dine in fancy restaurants, of having been so desperate to make it, I would have done this job for nothing.

But this week her story ended in tragedy. Post-mortems were being conducted today on what are believed to be the bodies of Ms Blake, 43, and her children Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, after they were found buried in the garden of the family home in Erith, south-east London.

Murder squad detectives were appealing for help tracing Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, Ms Blakes partner and the boys father  amid reports that the hairdresser had fled to Ghana.

The sense of tragedy around her life is compounded by the fact that Ms Blake, long faded from popular memory after her nine-month EastEnders stint ended in 1997, had been suffering from the terminal degenerative illness motor neurone disease in the years before her death.

And, of course, there was the fact that Ms Blakes overnight success had, like so many other overnight successes, been earned by 20 years of hard work and hard knocks. Beginning at Beaumont Primary School, Leyton.

I used to round up the kids in the playground, the actress once recalled, and get them to put on adaptations of musicals.

Police search the home in Erith, south-east London, where the bodies of actress Sian Blake and her two boys were discovered (Getty Images)

Her parents, factory workers Lloyd and Lindell, had divorced when Sian was six, resulting in her moving into the tower block in Leyton with her mother and older brother and sister.

She remained close to her father, however. When he died in February 1991, after suffering a massive heart attack while at the factory, the 18-year-old Sian was devastated. Throughout her career she would be reduced to tears when telling interviewers about his death.

Months later, she started at Guildford School of Acting  and immediately impressed senior tutor Ian Ricketts.

What has remained with me most vividly, said Mr Ricketts, was her suitability for life with a capital L. She stood out as a person. She had a great dignity, a fine intelligence, and a lovely sense of humour. I never heard an ill word about her  which is quite something among actors.

And yet roles were initially hard to come by. To survive, she started working as a part-time telephone receptionist.

Then came EastEnders.

In June 1996 Ms Blake entered the strange world of the soap opera star  and for her, it was very strange.

 Murder investigation launched

Some viewers failed to distinguish between reality and the fiction of Ms Blakes man-eating, marriage-wrecking character. She received hate mail, and at least one death threat.

When she decided to leave the soap after 56 episodes, it was reported that misdirected public hostility had been a contributing factor.

Plenty of post-soap parts followed  Radio 4 narrations, Rosaline in Shakespeares Loves Labours Lost for the English Touring Theatre, a key role in the well-received West End play Joe Guy in 2007, as well as appearances in The Bill and Casualty  but very little public attention.

If there were any traces of the bitterness that sometimes clings to the once briefly famous, she didnt let it show. Her neighbours recalled a happy woman who didnt feel the need to mention her EastEnders past.

Her current agent, Joanna Jones, of Bananafish Management, spoke of a wonderful actress and a fantastic mum  polite, articulate and just lovely.

We had our second children around the same time, said Ms Jones. We spoke often of the children. She idolised the boys. They always came first, over any acting work.

Zachary,eight, and four-year-old Amon, whose bodies were also found in the family's garden (PA)

Told she had also been working as a sign language tutor, Mr Ricketts, her old teacher, was unsurprised. She would have had immediate empathy with those who were disadvantaged but less able than her to meet the world, he said.

Lately, however, it was Ms Blake herself who needed help. Neighbours spoke of a woman who had enjoyed climbing, sailing and scuba-diving being rendered increasingly frail by motor neurone disease.

There were hints, too, of something darker. In November, said one neighbour, she started wearing dark glasses. We wondered if she had been beaten up.

As the murder inquiry continued, the Independent Police Complaints Commission was called in amid questions about the handling of the initial missing persons investigation and why it apparently took three weeks before the bodies were found.

Mr Ricketts first heard about what was happening via a midnight radio news bulletin. He ostriched, hoping it was not about the actress he knew as a strikingly poised 19-year-old.

But it was. I was surprised, he said, then distressed.
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Thandie Newton has criticised Starbucks for featuring a statue of a black child wearing a loincloth and safari hat, holding a basket of Colombian coffee beans, at its till-point.

The actress took to Twitter to share a picture of the figure which she may have been suggesting was reminiscent of slavery, given the product of coffee beans it was cradling and the clothing it was wearing.

Newton captioned the image: Seriously Starbucks? At the counter  Loin cloth and Safari hat on a black child. Happy New Year circa 19th century.

According to the Daily Mail, the statue was placed in a London Soho branch of the coffee house.

Starbucks responded to the tweet apologising and said they are now investigating the incident having removed the figure.

Newton, 43, is best known for her roles in Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness and Mission: Impossible II.

People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015.

She has previously spoken about the racist abuse she faced growing up as one of the only black children in her town in Cornwall where her family would be subject to racist taunts on the street.

She told The Times: The story of living in Penzance as the only black family would make a fabulous sitcom if there had been a little more humour.

A representative for Starbucks told The Independent: Serving as a welcoming place for everyone is core to who we are as a company. As we became aware of the offence, we immediately removed the figure from our store.

We aim to provide an inclusive environment for all customers and communities in which we serve, and we are working with our partners (employees) to avoid similar incidents from happening in the future. We apologise for any offence caused.
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A meteorite older than the Earth that researchers discovered embedded in the crust of a dried lake in southern Australia could help us understand more about the origins of the solar system.

The 1.7-kilogram meteorite was found by a team of geologists and researchers from Perth's Curtin University, after a painstaking search that was conducted just hours before heavy rainfall which would have destroyed all visible traces of the meteorite's landing.

Five remote cameras located around the dried bed of Lake Eyre, which are designed to detect falling meteorites, spotted the object as it came down to Earth, ABC reported.

Using the images, the team managed to triangulate the meteorite's path, and narrowed their search area down to a 500-metre line in the middle of the lake.

In the three-day search that followed, an aerial spotter, a drone, researchers Robert Howie and Phil Bland and local Aboriginal guides Dean Stuart and Dave Strangways combed the soft clay of the lake bed in search of the telltale crater created by the meteorite when it hit the Earth.

It was finally found on New Year's Eve, and Bland had the honour of digging out of the ground.

Phil Bland celebrates after making the remarkable discovery

At around 4.5 billion years old, the meteorite is a prime sample of the kind of material that was created during the early days of the solar system.

Gathering samples of meteors and conducting tests to determine their chemical make-up and formation can give us an unparalleled insight into the history of Earth and the solar system.

When we study rocks from Earth, we're looking at items that have been processed and altered by geological forces over millions of years.

NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble Show all 6 1 /6 NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240585.bin Getty Images NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240586.bin Getty Images NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240587.bin Getty Images NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240582.bin Getty Images NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240584.bin Getty Images NASA unveils deep space photos taken by a repaired Hubble 240583.bin Getty Images

Meteorites have not been subject to these forces, and studying them allows us to look at the chemical composition of the solar system in its infancy - which is crucial to our understanding of the Earth's distant history.

That's why space agencies around the world have planned and launched missions to land probes on asteroids and meteors, in order to drill for samples and gain the incredibly valuable scientific material within.

As Bland told a press conference after the meteorite's discovery: "It is a big deal because space agencies like Nasa or Jaxa [the Japanese space agency] will spend a billion dollars trying to get to an asteroid and bring a sample back."

Commenting on his discovery, he added: "Potentially, we can do it for an awful lot less than that."

Meteorites, or pieces of meteor that have survived a fall to Earth, are typically named after the area in which they are found, or after the people who discover them.

However, the researchers asked the local indigenous folk, the Arabana people, to name the meteorite in their own language, which only has around 20 surviving speakers.

In the meantime, another 10 potential falls were spotted by the meteorite-spotting cameras, which the team are planning to investigate in the near future.
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A sex worker who allowed her clients to rape and indecently assault her daughters in almost Victorian conditions has been jailed for five years.

The mother - who cannot be named for legal reasons - beat her children with bamboo sticks and belts and kept them locked in a bedroom for days at a time.

Plymouth Crown Court heard the three girls were living in conditions described as almost Victorian in their bleakness and were sometimes forced to eat cat food and drink their own urine.

The woman had previously been convicted on eight counts of animal cruelty between 1976 and 1988 but the sexual abuse only came to light in 2014 when one of her daughters came forward.

She told of how her mother would work from the family home and allow a succession of clients and boyfriends to abuse her daughters when they were of primary school age.

One of the victims said she had attempted suicide when she was seven years old.

The mother - now 70 years old - appeared in the dock with 60-year-old Raymond Williams who was jailed for three years for abusing two of the girls.

Another man, aged 57, had been due to stand trial for raping one girl on the bathroom floor but died before the case could be brought to court, the Guardian reports.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. 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Three other men who were interviewed by police in connection with the case are also believed to have died before they could be prosecuted.

Sean Brunton prosecuting said: This is a very sorry tale of child cruelty and sexual abuse which in some ways is almost Victorian in its bleakness.

The recorder Stephen Parish said the mother enjoyed sexual relations with a number of men, some of whom paid for [her] services. Even if [she] did not encourage what was happening to [her] daughters, at the very least [she] turned a blind eye to it.

The woman has continued to deny the offences and her defence barrister Kerry Dowse said she had an upbringing and early childhood none of us could imagine.
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An online user who is claiming to have been behind the Blackpool high school massacre threat which left 1,000 pupils too terrified to go to school has reportedly come forward to a local paper to confess and apologise.

Using the name The Real John Smith, the user posted the lengthy 'confession' on The Blackpool Gazette website on the day students decided to stay away from Montgomery High School in the village of Bispham following a series of disturbing Facebook posts which threatened to kill as many people as possible.

In the post, the apparently 15-year-old user urged locals to PLEASE just forget about the threats and described himself as a bullied student at Montgomery, adding: I did start the threats but they are NOT genuine; I simply wanted to shock the school into handling the bullies.

Recommended Read more Police guard school in Blackpool over threat of mass shooting

Acknowledging how the threat had wasted time, money, and panicked people for no reason, the user claimed to always regret his actions and said he only used the threat as a scare tactic because the school had been ignoring his reports of being bullied.

The post concluded: Im SO sorry, and I really wish people will forgive me for my actions. I just wanted to do something about the bullies because all other channels of communication were ignored.

In the original threats posted online, the user reportedly described how the bullies will be sorry when I go into school with a gun.

Praising the Sandy Hook Elementary School gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza - who killed 20 children and six members of staff in 2012 in the US - the user posted: I love guys that have the balls to pull something like this off, and on Monday Ill be added to that list of people.

In a statement from Lancashire Police, officer DCI Gary Brooks, who is leading the investigation, described it as being extremely complex which has been further complicated by the vast, global nature of the Internet.

He said: Whilst the public cant visibly see what we are doing, I must stress we have a dedicated team of officers and specialist resources working behind the scenes to identify who posted the threats, and the subsequent apology on The Gazettes website. Complex enquiries of this nature could take some time to complete.

He also added the police is still of the view the threat was not credible, and continued: We do not believe any staff or pupils are at immediate risk of harm as a result of the posts.
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Muammar Gaddafi accused Tony Blair of supporting al-Qaeda as he refused calls to stand down during the height of the Libyan uprising, newly-released transcripts have revealed.

Records of two phone conversations between the pair on 25 February 2011 have been published by the Foreign Affairs Committee as its inquiry into Britains intervention continues.

Mr Blair made his first call to the Libyan dictator at 11.15am, saying he had tried to reach him for days as the difficult and dangerous situation escalated with global calls for intervention.

Less than a month after Mr Blair called Gaddafi, Nato had launched air strikes in Libya (AFP/Getty Images)

As Arab Spring protests grew and were brutally crushed by Libyan forces, sparking the formation of militarised anti-government rebel groups that started to seize territory, Gaddafi blamed al-Qaeda for the violence.

The fight is against al-Qaedawe are not fighting them, they are attacking us, he told Mr Blair as the former British Prime Minister emphasised the need for peaceful dialogue with rebel leaders.

In a second phone call at 3.30pm the exchange grew more heated, as Gaddafi accused his former ally of being part of a plot to colonise Libya.

"We have no problem, just leave us alone," the Libyan leader said. "If you are really serious and you are looking for the truth, get on a plane and come and see us."

 Blair on Gaddafi relationship

When urged to step down and open negotiations with rebels before the situation worsened, Gaddafi lashed out.

Those people (the rebels) are from Guantanamo, we know them by name, they support al-Qaeda  do you support al-Qaeda? he asked Mr Blair. Are you supporting terrorism?

The politician replied that he was "absolutely not" but warned that if the violence continued it would pass a point of no return with growing pressure for military intervention.

He urged Gaddafi to "keep the lines open" before the call was cut off but received no reply.

Emails released by the US State Department originally revealed excerpts of the former Prime Ministers call to the Libyan dictator in October.

The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring Show all 10 1 /10 The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring Gaddafi_1.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring Gaddafi_2.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring Gaddafi_3.jpg  2011, Courtesy of the estate of Tim Hetherington/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics200309.JPG  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics00951.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics00909.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics00871.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics00388.JPG  2011, Courtesy of Peter Bouckaert/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring GaddafiPics00310.JPG  2011, Courtesy of Michael Christopher Brown/Human Rights Watch The Gaddafi archives - Libya before the Arab Spring LibyaNegs00260.jpg  2011, Courtesy of Peter Bouckaert/Human Rights Watch

The world had condemned Colonel Gaddafis regime after security forces fired on crowds of pro-democracy protesters and the UN was drawing up a resolution against the gross and systematic violation of human rights.

The day after Mr Blairs phone call, the UN Security Council passed a resolution freezing Gaddafis assets, restricting his travel and referring his government to the International Criminal Court.

Read the full exchange between Gaddafi and Tony Blair below:

By March, Britain had joined an international coalition enforcing a no-fly zone and naval blockade against the Libyan government as rebels continued fighting on the ground.

Gaddafi eventually went into hiding in August but was captured and killed two months later during the Battle of Sirte.
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A gang who accused a vulnerable man of being a beast before chasing him around Glasgow until he threw himself out of a second floor flat window acted like a pack of animals, a judge said yesterday.

The group of eight people were captured on security cameras as they pursued Ivor Miller through the city centre in August 2014. The 27-year-old, who has learning difficulties, tried to hide in a succession of pubs before running into a derelict flat, where he jumped out of a window and suffered a severe injury.

The incident began in central Glasgow when Jade Park, 19, accused Mr Miller of being a beast before walking over to him and punching him in the head. He sought refuge in the gents toilets of a nearby pub, but was eventually chased by the gang into Howard Street, where he forced open the door of a derelict second floor flat and leapt out of the window.

The group, like a pack of animals, turned on an entirely innocent young man for no good reason <p>Judge Norman Ritchie QC</p>

This whole incident, some of which was captured on CCTV, is extremely disturbing. The group, like a pack of animals, turned on an entirely innocent young man for no good reason other than he behaved differently because he has learning difficulties, said judge Norman Ritchie QC as he passed sentence at the High Court in Glasgow.

Three of those who pursued Mr Miller were originally charged with attempted murder. Michael Clare, 21, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, and two 17-year-old youths, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had their guilty pleas to charges of assault accepted.

Another 17-year-old youth, a 16-year-old girl, a 16-year-old youth and 23-year-old David Newlands, from Maryhill, Glasgow, admitted committing a breach of the peace and placing Mr Miller in a state of fear and alarm.

One of the 17-year-olds was sentenced to six months detention for assault. The judge ordered all the others to complete 150 hours of community work, deferring Parks sentence until June for good behaviour.
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It is the special relationship laid bare for all to see. An archive of private conversations between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton has been published, allowing the public a rare insight into the two former world leaders intimate relationship.

The records of telephone calls and meetings, which cover the period between 1997 and 2000 when the two men were in power, were obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request to the Clinton Presidential Library.

Many of Mr Blairs contributions to the conversations have been redacted, but the rest of the transcripts  which show the pair sharing jokes as well as voicing their political frustrations at home and abroad  provide a unique view of the lives of Americas 42nd President and the Labour Prime Minister.

Recommended Read more Tony Blair reveals full transcript of his conversation with Gaddafi

Dianas death like a star falling

The day after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, President Clinton phoned Mr Blair from his holiday home in Marthas Vineyard to offer his sympathies. The day after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, President Clinton phoned Mr Blair from his holiday home in Marthas Vineyard to offer his sympathies. Mr Blair tells the President: She was not the royal family but she was liked by ordinary people, it gave her problems with the royal establishment.

Mr Clinton offers his condolences for the awful event and says: I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you. The Prime Minister describes the death of the Princess as like a star falling.

Mr Blair continues: The problem was the way she lived, in a press frenzy. Its impossible to contemplate how intrusive it was, into every single aspect of her life. The last time I spoke with her she said that were it not for the boys [Princes William and Harry], shed be off the board.

John Prescotts bananas

In February 1999, the President phoned Mr Blair from the Oval Office in the wake of a visit to the UK by Al Gore. Mr Clinton is clearly in a mischievous mood and tells Mr Blair of the Vice Presidents astonishment at the spartan nature of the office of John Prescott, the then Deputy Prime Minister.

He also liked it when he went into Prescotts office and the only decoration was a bowl of bananas. I heard all about it. He was very happy, the President jokes. My staff wont let me talk to you unless I have a banana at hand. Im sitting here with a banana; its a big, ugly, brownish one, he says.

Weve taken licks for Gerry

The two leaders spend much of their time discussing the peace process in Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, is mentioned many times, with President Clinton in particular finding him a tricky character. Weve all taken our licks for Gerry, he says during one exchange in May 1998. Notably, the two leaders often refer to Gerry and Bertie for the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, but Northern Irelands Unionist leaders David Trimble and Ian Paisley are generally referred to by their surnames.

Clinton  presidential babysitter

The news in early 2000 that Cherie Blair was expecting her fourth child, Leo, is greeted enthusiastically by Mr Clinton. The President, due to step down in 2001, tells Mr Blair: You know, after January Im available for babysitting duties. The Prime Minister confided that he was daunted by the prospect of once more becoming a father. He replies: I could do with a bit of help.

Recommended Read more Bill Clinton says only Hillary can make America fairer

Putin is generally honourable

The election of Vladimir Putin as Russian President in 2000 was greeted with guarded optimism in the White House and Downing Street. Mr Clinton tells Mr Blair that he considers the Russian leader to have enormous potential as well as being smart and thoughtful. When asked how a meeting with Mr Putin had gone, the Prime Minister cannot quite muster Mr Clintons enthusiasm. Mr Blair says: It was fine He feels that he is not understood about the problems he faces there. He was very anxious to impress me.

Mr Clinton says: His intentions are generally honourable and straightforward, but he just hasnt made his mind up yet. He could get squishy on democracy.

As long as you dont parade around naked

Talking about a Blair visit to the White House, Mr Clinton says: Do you want to spend the night at the White House? I wont get in until 1am and you may want to be in bed by then, but its your option. You can sleep in the same bed Churchill did. Mr Blair replies: I hope its appropriate to which Mr Clinton says As long as you dont parade around naked before the bath. Youre too young and too trim.

In another exchange Mr Blair talks to Mr Clinton while doing a constituency surgery in a local working mens club. Are you in Durham? asks the President. Mr Clinton then waxes lyrical about Durham Cathedral, leading Blair to reveal he was once a choirboy. You still have that choirboy look, the President tells him.

Congratulations on a landslide

The polls had been closed for just 85 minutes when Bill Clinton rang Tony Blair to congratulate him over his landslide victory in the 1997 general election. Mr Blair says Mr Clinton had showed the way.
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When the history of political streaking is written, the opening chapter will feature the LBC interviewer Iain Dale, who set a trend by vowing that he would run naked down Whitehall if the Liberal Democrats won as few seats as predicted in the exit poll on the night of the 2010 general election.

Actually, they scored fewer than forecast, but Dale decided to hang on to his dignity and soak up the opprobrium cast at him for breaking a promise.

You would think others would have learnt from his mistake, but no. In December 2012, Dan Hodges, a Daily Telegraph commentator, vowed: If Ukip breaks 6 per cent at the next election Ill streak naked down Whitehall in a Nigel Farage mask whilst singing Land of Hope and Glory. Ukip actually scored 12.5 per cent.

Recommended Read more Naked man found running down east London street

In 2013, the Lib Dem blogger Stephen Tall promised to run naked down Whitehall if his party was returned with only 24 MPs. In fact, there are eight.

To run down Whitehall naked would be a criminal offence but, all credit to Stephen Tall, last October he jogged that street in broad daylight wearing only a thong, and so raised more than 10,000 for Medecins sans Frontieres.

Early today, in semi darkness, Hodges (left) braved the rain and cold to perform a charity run along Whitehall. There was no Nigel Farage mask in evidence, nor did he sing a note, nor was he as naked as his mother, Glenda Jackson, in a couple of film scenes from the 1970s, but he was showing his all above the hem line of his boxers. Over to you, Iain Dale.

Where the sun dont shine

Todd Starnes, the American conservative columnist, does not think much of the 571,265 Britons who have signed a petition to ban Donald Trump from the UK, which will be debated in Parliament on 18 January.

The British seem to be taking a page from the Obama administration  blame everybody but the folks blowing stuff up, he writes. Theyve got Muslim radicals over there causing all sorts of mayhem  but Donald Trump is the problem? This is a nation that gave us boy bands, bad food and Piers Morgan.

Mr Trump ought to give the British a Pip pip cheerio and tell em where they can stick their tea and crumpets. Thats us told.

The art of the impossible

Asked why the state pension calculator on the Government website understates a persons entitlement by as much as 40 a week, the pensions minister Baroness Altmann told The Daily Telegraph: The old system has so many moving parts that developing a generic calculator for the state pension is pretty much impossible.

This has stirred a memory in the former Labour Work and Pension Secretary, Alan Johnson, who told MPs: As Ros Altmann, she was a very effective advocate. When we were arguing that the pension protection fund we had introduced should not be applied retrospectively, as she wished, I said it was impossible. Ros said to me, That word doesnt exist.

It does now that she is the minister in charge.

Scorn of a scorned Tory

Ex-councillor Brian Coleman was an important figure in the London Conservative Party before his expulsion in 2013 following his conviction for assaulting a cafe owner who had photographed his illegally parked car. He is still open to sharing his views with readers of the Camden New Journal.

He says he will vote for the Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith to succeed Boris Johnson as London Mayor, but does not much care for him because he exhibits the arrogance that comes with huge wealth. And he does not believe that Boris Johnson will ever be prime minister because he has the attention span of a gnat.
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Diane Abbott has been labelled a sell-out for sending her son to a private school after she hit out at shadow ministers for resigning from the Shadow Cabinet in protest at Jeremy Corbyns reshuffle.

She suggested that the sacked Shadow Culture Secretary Michael Dugher and Jonathan Reynolds, who quit the frontbench on Wednesday, were removed by Mr Corbyn because they were career politicians who had no experience outside of Westminster.

Mr Reynolds responded immediately, accusing Ms Abbott of hypocrisy over her decision to send her son to a fee-paying school and telling her that he was a trainee solicitor before he became an MP in 2010.

Speaking on Newsnight, Ms Abbott said: "If you look at Jonathan Reynolds, if you look at Mr [Michael] Dugher, if you look at some of these others, what do they have in common? They are all former special advisers,

And what you are seeing is people who came up under a certain system.

"You did politics at university, you became a special adviser, you became an MP, you became a minister, who are rightfully upset, because Jeremy has brought a whole lot of new energy and new people into politics."

Stephen Doughty, who also resigned from the frontbench in protest at the sacking of Pat McFadden, the shadow Europe minister, tweeted:

It comes after the Labour leadership was heavily criticised for its handling of the reshuffle, which became the longest reshuffles in living memory and was described as "divisive" and "petty".

Mr Corbyn was accused of widening the north-south divide in the party by side-lining northern MPs such as Mr Dugher and Mr McFadden and promoting the likes of Emily Thornberry, whose constituency neighbours his north Islington seat.

He also faced controversy after it emerged Ms Thornberry - an anti-Trident MP who was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary - accepted donations from a law firm facing disciplinary action over its role in an inquiry into allegations of murder and torture by British soldiers.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell dismissed the criticisms and labelled the three shadow ministers who resigned as being drawn from a "narrow right-wing clique".
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A Conservative MP and a Labour MP have written a joint article with Nigel Farage to call for Britain to leave the European Union.

Tom Pursglove, Tory MP for Corby, Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, and the Ukip leader wrote in The Daily Telegraph that party politics were irrelevant compared with this greater cause of persuading people to vote to quit the 28-nation bloc in the forthcoming referendum.

And they announced they would be attending the first of dozens of large-scale public meetings about the issue.

The article said the referendum, due to be held by the end of next year, will determine whether we want to be in a United States of Europe with an EU army, flag and anthem or whether we wish to be a self-governing, independent, United Kingdom.

Whatever differences there may have been between the parties during the European Elections and the general election, these are irrelevant compared with this greater cause, they wrote.

We must join forces to make the case across the country  face to face, at the grassroots level, with the people  for Britain being better outside the European Union.

David Cameron is currently attempting to renegotiate Britains relationship with the European Union, for example by preventing EU migrants from claiming in-work benefits in the UK for four years. He has said he will decide which side to support based on the outcome of the talks, but is expected to support remaining in the EU.

However the three politicians wrote: It is perfectly clear, no matter which party you represent, that the Prime Ministers renegotiation is of very little consequence. Nothing major nor fundamental is even on the table, nor up for debate.

At 27, Mr Pursglove is the youngest Conservative MP. Mr Farage told the Telegraph that his support for Brexit shows a generational change that is taking place in British politics.

The EU now represents an idea from the past that, while well-intentioned, is a failure and Toms decision represents the future, he said.
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David Cameron has been told not to treat Hungarians living in the UK as migrants or parasites as he faced further opposition to his key demand to make EU workers wait four years before they can claim benefits.

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister, said his compatriots living in the UK were hardworking and contributed more to the UK economy than they received in hand-outs.

They should therefore treated with respect and not suffer discrimination, Mr Orban said as he became the latest EU leader to oppose the most contentious of Mr Camerons list of four demands in his effort to renegotiate Britains membership of the EU.

Mr Orban described Mr Camerons plan to block EU migrants from claiming in-work benefits  such as child and working tax credits  as difficult, but said Hungary fully supported Mr Camerons other three demands for reform, which aim to make the EU single market more competitive, secure protection for non-euro countries and to end the commitment to ever-closer union.

On some of these he even supported demanding further reform and said he was grateful that David is raising the issues.

It is Mr Camerons demand for action to reduce EU migrants coming to the UK that is proving the sticking point with EU leaders, in particular with eastern European countries who have seen large swathes of their population seek work in the UK.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Mr Orban said the 55,000 Hungarians living in the UK pay more contribution in taxes than the benefits that they get and pleaded with Mr Cameron to protect their rights because they work well and diligently.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Mr Cameron during his visit to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, Mr Orban said: "We would like to make it very clear that we are not migrants into the United Kingdom.

"We are citizens of a state that belongs to the European Union, who can take jobs anywhere, freely, within the European Union.

"We do not want to go to the UK and take away something from them. We don't want to be parasites. We want to work there. And I see that Hungarians are working very well.

"Those Hungarians that are working well and contributing to the UK economy, they should get respect and they should not suffer discrimination."
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It was almost one in the morning when the longest political reshuffle in living memory was completed  35 hours after Jeremy Corbyn began contemplating how best to increase his authority over his Shadow Cabinet. Before Christmas his allies had made clear that the Labour leader, emboldened by the partys surprisingly decisive victory in the Oldham West by-election, was preparing to be ruthless in wielding his axe against colleagues suspected of disloyalty and not sharing his direction of travel.

His shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn would be out, they suggested, along with Maria Eagle from Defence and other Blairites who hadnt accepted that Labour had changed.

In the end though, Corbyns much-anticipated shake-up resulted in just one shadow cabinet member being fired, another moving to a less sensitive role and the dismissal of a second prominent frontbencher.

It was, by the standard of most reshuffles, a modest recalibration of personnel rather than a night of the long knives.

In fact more shadow ministers resigned after the shake-up had been completed than were got rid of by the leader himself. The question is: what took him so long?

The Independent understands that the whole process became bogged down in agonised deliberations over the fate of Benn, who humiliated Corbyn last month with an impassioned Commons speech in favour of bombing Isis targets in Syria, and his Blairite deputy, Pat McFadden.

 McFadden on sacking

In a series of meetings, some of the Labour leaders advisers  led by Seumas Milne, his communications chief  led concerted attempts to persuade Corbyn to rid himself of his troublesome shadow Foreign Secretary.

But the team was split, with other influential advisers including Simon Fletcher, his chief of staff, and John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, urging restraint. They warned that sacking Benn would prompt a wave of resignations by shadow cabinet sympathisers.

One shadow minister claimed that Benn had only succeeded in securing his future late on Tuesday night. It was a stand-off. The people gunning for him ran out of time, he said. There was a bloody big battle.

Early today, the leadership team briefed that Benn had agreed to toe his party leaders line when speaking from the front bench.

The interpretation of any deal  and even its existence  remains in dispute, with McDonnell saying that Benn would work more closely with Jeremy in the future, but the shadow Foreign Secretary insisted he had not been muzzled and had agreed no conditions. It was a gruelling experience for Benn, who was called in to the leaders office on Monday afternoon and late on Tuesday night, with long sessions in the Commons chamber in between.

He evaded the tired pack of broadcasters camped in a stairwell by the Labour leaders office by slipping in through a back door.

 Cameron mocks Corbyn

By this time, a crucial sticking-point arose over the replacement for McFadden as shadow Europe minister, with Benn arguing strongly that the post should be filled by an enthusiastic Europhile. In the end they settled on the Durham North West MP, Pat Glass, who is the co-chair of pro-EU group Labour Yes.

Corbyns team dismissed accusations that the reshuffle was a damp squib, arguing that the replacement of the pro-Trident Maria Eagle as shadow Defence Secretary with the committed unilateralist Emily Thornberry was highly significant. They also claimed that the sacking of McFadden and shadow Culture Secretary Michael Dugher removed two of the Labour leaders most voluble public critics from the front bench. One aide said they were dismissed for active disloyalty.

One shadow minister who survived the reshuffle insisted: Its really tough but were manning the barricades. I dont know how its going to end, but were not going anywhere willingly. Another Corbyn critic argued that the leader had succeeded in tilting the political balance of the Shadow Cabinet in his direction, but had bungled the handling of the operation.

Plans for the reshuffle were aggressively briefed and they failed to kill off all the speculation over Christmas. He could have just quietly got on with it when MPs came back. Instead it is being regarded as a shambles and a farce.

Others joked that slow pace of the Labour leaders deliberations could mean that Sir John Chilcot  who began his inquiry into the Iraq war more than six years ago  might report before Corbyn.

 Stephen Doughty resignation on Daily Politics

The chaotic handling of the reshuffle was highlighted when Dugher announced his dismissal on Tuesday morning. With the backing of statements of support from shadow cabinet sympathisers, he embarked on a round of interviews to air his grievances.

There was silence from the Corbyn team throughout the day, leaving the field clear for his internal critics to set the news agenda for 24 hours and generating headlines about the chaos of the reshuffle.

His supporters insist he will not be driven by media deadlines and accuse the media of an obsession with personality politics at the expense of weightier issues. But is hard to see how Corbyns new year reshuffle has won over many of the uncommitted voters he needs to return to Labour.
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David Cameron is considering a U-turn on the sugar tax, it has been reported after a government-ordered report found that a levy on sugary drinks would combat Britains soaring obesity rates.

It comes just weeks after the Prime Ministers spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister thinks there are more effective ways of tackling this issue than putting a tax on sugar."

Senior government sources told The Times that Whitehall officials had been struck by evidence pointing to the effectiveness and popularity of increasing the price of fizzy drinks.

The Governments strategy into childhood obesity, which was scheduled to be published in December, will be published next month.

One of its authors, Dr Alison Tedstone, revealed in October that the contents of the report advised Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, that a sugar tax will help cut childhood obesity and also suggested that crackdowns on price promotions and advertising of junk food to children should also form part of a radical plan to tackle the UKs mounting obesity problem.

The mood within Government to the idea of introducing a levy on sugary drinks is changing, a Whitehall source told The Times.

We want to learn the lessons from examples such as the sugary drinks tax in Mexico," the source said. "This does not mean a tax on sugar  your back of Tate & Lyle isnt about to become more expensive. And there are still lots of arguments against. But we have not ruled anything out and no decisions have been made.

It comes as new figures revealed that more than four million people in the UK are diabetic, while two thirds of British adults weigh too much.

Obesity costs Britain 6bn a year and a diabetes a further 10bn.

The campaign to introduce a sugar tax gained momentum towards the end of last year, with London Mayor Boris Johnson saying he was "seroiusly considering" introducing the measure for the capital, while former health minister and GP Dan Poulter told The Independent that the case was "increasingly compelling".

MPs on the Health Select Committee called for bold and urgent action on childhood obesity and suggested a 20 per cent tax on sugary drinks could raise 1bn to spend on tackling the problem.

The amounts of sugar in food and drink Show all 6 1 /6 The amounts of sugar in food and drink The amounts of sugar in food and drink Minstrels A 42g bag contains 28.9g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Dairy Milk A 49g bar contains 26.8g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Skittles 45g of Skittles (about a quarter of a large 174g pouch) contains 40.4g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Ribena A 500ml bottle of Blackcurrant Ribena contains 23g of sugar, down from 50g/500ml after it was reformulated to avoid the government's tax on sugary drinks The amounts of sugar in food and drink Coca Cola A 330ml can of Coca Cola contains 35g of sugar The amounts of sugar in food and drink Innocent Smoothies A 250ml bottle of strawberries & bananas Innocent Smoothie (the middle size) contains 26g of sugar

The committees chair, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, said: A full package of bold measures is required and should be implemented as soon as possible.

And celebrity chef Jamie Oliver called on Mr Cameron to be brave and introduce a levy.

However, there remain reservations about the impact a sugar tax would have in increasing the cost for the poorest households and this is thought to be the Prime Ministers main objection to introducing the measure.


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More than a quarter of Ukip voters would vote to remain in the European Union, a new poll has found.

While the eurosceptic partys voters are more hostile to the EU than any other groups  with 72 per cent in favour of leaving  a substantial minority would vote to remain.

A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper found that 28 per cent of ukip voters would vote to remain in the EU  despite the partys stated raison detre being leaving the bloc.

Recommended Read more Tory and Labour MPs join Nigel Farage in calling for Brexit

The finding appears to illustrate the way in which support for the eurosceptic is not necessarily driven by outright hostility to membership of the European Union.

In recent years the party has emphasised a wider array of policies than only Britain's relationship with Europe.

Ukip voters were still significantly more hostile than Conservative voters, the next most eurosceptic group. 55 per cent of Tories support leaving the EU while 45 per cent want to stay.

Large majorities of Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP, and Green voters all want to stay in the European Union, with over 60 per cent from each party supporting and around a third supportive of leaving in all cases.

In geographic terms most regions of the UK are fairly evenly balanced in terms of leaving and staying in the EU, with East Anglia narrowly the most eurosceptic and London the least in England.

The exception is Scotland, however, which is clearly in favour of remaining in the European Union, with 60 per cent support for remaining and 40 per cent support for leaving.

The Conservative manifesto pledged to hold a referendum on European Union membership by the end of 2017.

The vote was set to follow a renegotiation of the terms of EU membership by David Cameron.

Recent hints from Prime Minister appear to suggest it could be held by the end of this year, however.

The PM has also found little support for changes to freedom of movement and benefit rules amongst his European Union allies, who would have to agree to any major changes.
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One year after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, people across Europe have been marking the terror attack.

In Nigeria, people are also commemorating the first anniversary of a jihadist attack, one which made international headlines at the time but has since been largely forgotten by much of the world's media.

Between 3 and 7 January 2015, 2,000 men, women and children were reportedly massacred in the small town of Baga in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram militants - though the Nigerian military say the death toll is closer to 150.

Many thousands more were forced from their homes and - 12 months on - it is now described as a ghost town.

Formerly home to 200,000 people, Baga is now a collection of shuttered businesses, desert streets and burnt homes, according to reports by AFP.

One resident who escaped with his family told Reuters at the time: I escaped with my family in the car after seeing how Boko Haram was killing people I saw bodies in the street. Children and women, some were crying for help.

He said bodies were littered on the streets and in bushes.

One woman was even reported to have been murdered while she was giving birth.

At the time, Baga was one of the last places in Borno believed to be under the Nigerian governments control as - with the help of soldiers from neighbouring Chad - it attempted to stop Boko Haram from forming their own caliphate in the region.

According to Nigerian news website Naji.com, although the army recaptured the town in March, soldiers are still patrolling dusty streets as its former residents are too frightened to return.

Today only approximately 700 people remain - with the majority living in camps in the state capital Maiduguri.

In the initial calm after the massacre approximately 5,000 people returned to Baga - but another terror assault by the group in July forced people to flee once more.

The rise of Boko Haram Show all 20 1 /20 The rise of Boko Haram The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram The leader of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau delivers a message. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the mass killings in the north-east Nigerian town of Baga in a video where he warned the massacre was just the tip of the iceberg. As many as 2,000 civilians were killed and 3,700 homes and business were destroyed in the 3 January 2015 attack on the town near Nigeria's border with Cameroon AFP The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram People displaced as a result of Boko Haram attacks in the northeast region of Nigeria, are seen near their tents at a faith-based camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Yola, Adamawa State. Boko Haram says it is building an Islamic state that will revive the glory days of northern Nigeria's medieval Muslim empires, but for those in its territory life is a litany of killings, kidnappings, hunger and economic collapse The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Nitsch Eberhard Robert, a German citizen abducted and held hostage by suspected Boko Haram militants, is seen as he arrives at the Yaounde Nsimalen International airport after his release in Yaounde, Cameroon on 21 January 2015 The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Officials of the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) visit victims of a bomb blast in Gombe at the Specialist Hospital in Gombe. According to local reports at least six people were killed and 11 wounded after a bomb blast in a marketplace in Nigeria's northeastern state of Gombe on 16 January 2015. Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been blamed for a string of recent attacks in the North East of Nigeria The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram People gather at the site of a bomb explosion in a area know to be targeted by the militant group Boko Haram in Kano on 28 November 2014 The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram People gather to look at a burnt vehicle following a bomb explosion that rocked the busiest roundabout near the crowded Market in Maiduguri, Borno State on 1 July 2014. A truck exploded in a huge fireball killing at least 15 people in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the city repeatedly hit by Boko Haram Islamists The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram President Goodluck Jonathan visits Nigerian Army soldiers fighting Boko Haram Getty Images The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Displaced people from Baga listen to Goodluck Jonathan after the Boko Haram killings AFP/Getty The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan speaking to troops during a visit to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State; most of the region has been overrun by Boko Haram AFP/Getty The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Members of the Nigerian military patrolling in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria, close to the scene of attacks by Boko Haram EPA The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Boko Harams leader, Abubakar Shekau, appears in a video in which he warns Cameroon it faces the same fate as Nigeria AFP The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Nana Shettima, the wife of Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima (C) weeps as she speaks with school girls from the government secondary school Chibok that were kidnapped by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, and later escaped in Chibok The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram South Africans protest in solidarity against the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria by the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram and what protesters said was the failure of the Nigerian government and international community to rescue them, during a march to the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Boko Haram militants have seized the town in north-eastern Nigeria that nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped from in April 2014 AFP The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram A soldier stands guard in front of burnt buses after an attack in Abuja. Twin blasts at a bus station packed with morning commuters on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital killed dozens of people, in what appeared to be the latest attack by Boko Haram Islamists, April 2014 The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram The aftermath of the attack, when Boko Haram fighters in trucks painted in military colours killed 51 people in Konduga in February 2014 AFP/Getty Images The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau (with papers) in a video grab taken in July 2014 AFP/Getty The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Ruins of burnt out houses in the north-eastern settlement of Baga, pictured after Boko Haram attacks in 2013 AP The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram A Boko Haram attack in Nigeria, 2013 AFP/Getty Images The rise of Boko Haram Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau, Boko Harams leader AP

Boko Haram fighters ambushed a lorry bringing the refugees home - killing eight - and massacred a group of farmers who had returned to harvest their crops a few days later.

The Nigerian army - under the leader of the new president Muhammadu Buhari - has pushed the terror group back and they have retreated to heavily guarded islands in the areas around Lake Chad which means it is still too dangerous for its residents to go home.

One displaced resident, Muhammad Alhaji, told AFP: "Baga is still deserted, we are all living in camps and homes of friends and relatives in Maiduguri because we are scared of returning home".
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Police are hunting a mob that attacked a hotel near the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt with home-made fireworks and a gun.

There were conflicting reports over the incident in Cairo on Thursday morning, with Israeli officials claiming a group of tourists were targeted but the Egyptian government insisting the assailants were aiming at security staff.

No one was injured in the incident at the Three Pyramids Hotel, which lies on a road leading from the centre of Cairo to the world-famous tourist attraction.

Egyptian security forces stand at the entrance of the Three Pyramids hotel in Cairo's al-Harm district on January 7, 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

Security sources told Reuters news agency the Israeli Arab tourists were about to board a bus outside the building when gunmen opened fire, shattering windows and sending people running for cover.

Jaber Jabarin, an Arab Israeli citizen who was staying at the hotel, witnessed the attack.

The first thing they fired was flares, and then they started firing at the bus, he told the Associated Press. Later they started firing birdshot at the hotel and tried to throw Molotov cocktails at the bus.

"After throwing explosives, Mr Jabarin said the attackers started firing at the hotel with live bullets" and described heavy, continuous gunfire.

Egyptian security forces stand at the entrance of the Three Pyramids hotel in Cairo's al-Harm district on January 7, 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

The group of Israeli Arab tourists were believed to be in the hotel lobby at the time and were not hurt.

Ahmad Tibi, a member of the Israeli parliament, told Israel Radio they were from the cities of Umm al-Fahm and Jaffa, claiming they may have been targeted for their nationality.

But the Egyptian interior ministry said security guards stationed at the Three Pyramids Hotel were the targets.

A statement from the government's Security Information Center said a group of around 15 unidentified men gathered near the hotel on Pyramid Street and threw home-made fireworks in the direction of the security officers as they passed.

One of the loiterers fired a homemade pellet gun in the direction of the security in front of the hotel, causing some damage to the glass facade of the hotel as well as the window of a tourist bus that happened to be parked front of the hotel, the spokesperson said.

Egyptian forensic experts inspect a window at the entrance of the Three Pyramids hotel in Cairo's al-Harm district on January 7, 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

No injuries occurred. The security forces followed these individuals and caught an individual who was hiding behind the hotel and is now in custody.

Security forces have intensified their efforts to identify and seize the other individuals involved in this incident.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack and the motive was unclear.

The attack came as Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians were celebrating Christmas, which they mark on 7 January, causing thousands of police to be deployed to protect churches and Christian ceremonies across Egypt.

Tourists wave from a bus as they leave the Three Pyramids hotel in Cairo's al-Harm district on January 7, 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

The countrys vital tourist economy is struggling to recover from unrest triggered by the Arab Spring and military coup in 2013.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared an all-out war on Islamist militants who have launched suicide bombings and shootings across the country.

Egypts most active terrorist group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, pledged allegiance to Isis in 2014 and started calling itself Wilayat Sinai.

Its jihadists are mainly active in the Sinai Peninsula, where they claimed to have bombed a Russian passenger plane with 224 people on board in October, and have also claimed responsibility for attacks in Cairo, the western desert and Nile delta.

Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Show all 20 1 /20 Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian soldiers collect personal belongings of plane crash victims at the crash site of a passenger plane bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian soldiers collect personal belongings of plane crash victims at the crash site of a passenger plane bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt In this Russian Emergency Situations Ministry photo, made available on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, showing Metrojet Airbus A321-200 flight 7K9268 flight recorder on display at an undisclosed location in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Mourners lay flowers at Pulkovo International Airport outside St. Petersburg. Russia on 1 November mourned its biggest ever air disaster after a passenger jet full of Russian tourists crashed in Egypt's Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. Flags were at half mast on the parliament building, in the Kremlin, and on other official buildings in honour of the victims, most of whom were from Russia's second-largest city of Saint Petersburg Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt People pay their respects at the entrance of Pulkovo airport outside St. Petersburg, during a day of national mourning for the plane crash victims Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Debris from the plane crash in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt A piece of an engine of Russian MetroJet Airbus A321 at the site of the crash in Sinai, Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The crash site debris Flight 7K9268 crashed in the Sinai peninsula, in all probability killing every one of the 224 people on board AFP/Getty Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The crash site debris Debris lies strewn across the sand at the crash site EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives in St Petersburg Relatives react after a Russian airliner with 217 passengers and seven crew aboard crashed, as people gather at the Kogalymaviais information desk at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg on 31 October AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives in St Petersburg A relative of a passenger of MetroJet Airbus A321 at Pulkovo II international airport in St Petersburg, Russia, 31 October 2015. EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane's journey The plane's last recorded radar position above the northern Sinai peninsula Flightradar24 Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Where it crashed A satellite view from Google Maps of the rough area where the plane crashed, in the mountainous Hassana region of the Sinai peninsula. Google Maps Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane The Metrojet's Airbus A-321 with registration number EI-ETJ that crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula REUTERS/Kim Philipp Piskol Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane The crashed Airbus A321 at Domodedovo international airport, outside Moscow,, on 20 October Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives at in St Petersburg A relative of a passenger on MetroJet Airbus A321 at Pulkovo II international airport in St Petersburg EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives at in St Petersburg Relatives of passengers of MetroJet Airbus A321 at the Crown Plaza hotel in St Petersburg EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated An Egyptian soldier prays as emergency workers prepare to unload bodies of victims from a police helicopter to ambulances at Kabrit military airport on 31 October. AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated Ambulances line up as emergency workers unload bodies at Kabrit military airport, 20 miles north of Suez, on Saturday AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated Egyptian paramedics load the corpses of victims into a military plane at Kabrit military air base by the Suez Canal on October 31, 2015 AFP/Getty Images

Previous attacks have mainly targeted Egyptian government officials and security forces but it also murdered three South Korean tourists, kidnapped and killed a Croatian man, murdered a US oil worker and Isis targeted the Italian Consulate.

Other recent attacks that have not been claimed by Isis in Egpyt include the murder of two tourist police officers near the Giza pyramids in June, a bombing at Heliopolis, attacks on shops and restaurants in February and a failed attack at the Karnak Temple tourist attraction in Luxor.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Offices travel advice warns of a high threat from terrorism in Egypt.

We believe that terrorists continue to plan attacks, it says.

Attacks could be indiscriminate and occur without prior warning. Attacks targeting foreigners cant be ruled out.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Morning was several hours off when passengers boarded the ill-fated bus bound for Nairobi. Among them, teachers heading home for the long holidays started to doze off, others murmured quietly.

An hour into the journey from Mandera in northern Kenya, Osinga Atibu was awoken from his reverie by the sound of gunfire. Masked men, armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, forced the driver to a shuddering halt. A short while later, the terrified passengers were ordered off the bus, non-Muslims singled out, and forced to lie face down on the ground.

Recommended Read more Muslims shield Christian passengers in Kenya bus attack

Marked out for execution, Mr Atibu, 29, knew he had no choice but to make a run for it. I knew I was next. Whether I ran or not, I knew I was going to die, he recalled in a telephone interview from his home in western Kenya.

Twenty-eight Kenyans, 17 of them teachers, died in the massacre on 22 November 2014, almost all of them shot multiple times in the back of the head by gunmen from al-Shabaab, the Somali terror group. The attack, the culmination of escalating insecurity in north-eastern Kenya, triggered a mass exodus of teachers from the region, leaving behind empty classrooms and young people in crisis.

At the beginning of last year, nearly 700 non-local teachers failed to report for duty in Mandera County, a scene played out across the north-east. Although it had been partly anticipated, the scale of it was shocking. Seventeen of our teachers didnt turn up, said Mohammed Ibrahim, deputy head of Moi Girls Secondary School. It was devastating, he added. Seven teachers were left to teach 12 classes.

A medical worker and security forces walking near a bus which was attacked. 28 non-Muslim passengers were singled out from 60 and executed about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the town of Mandera near Kenya's border with Somalia (AFP/Getty)

If the schools looked to the government for help, they were disappointed. With teachers camped out for weeks at the headquarters of the Kenyan National Union of Teachers in Nairobi demanding a transfer to a safer part of the country, the state eventually granted their request.

If people think they are going to be killed, you cant force them to come back, said one representative of the national government in Mandera, who declined to talk on the record, citing the sensitivity of the issue. But others accused the government of letting the communities down. The government was supposed to take action, said Mr Ibrahim, but instead they gave them [the teachers] a soft landing. With Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the east, the frontier town of Mandera feels like an extension of rural Somalia, the people here sharing both ethnicity and language with their war-torn neighbour. Its future hitched to Kenyas by the British at independence in 1963, the region fought a four-year secessionist war, setting the tone for north-easts neglect under successive Kenyan governments. Emergency rule, lasting nearly 30 years, was lifted in 1991.

Until a few months ago, there was only a skeleton police force here, its officers underpaid and poorly motivated. When the newly elected county government took office in 2013  thanks to a new constitution that devolved power to the regions  the town, officials said, was largely in al-Shabaab hands.

By 5pm [the police] retreated back to their camps, said Ahmed Sheikh, a health official previously in charge of security. That is when the terror group took control. Few relished the prospect of a posting to Mandera, whether it was in education, health or government service. Any government employee transferred to this part of the country feels they are being punished, said Mr Ibrahim, the deputy head. The bus attack came in handy, he said, for those seeking a reason for transfer.

But Mr Atibu  who escaped the fate of the other non-local passengers by dashing for the bushes, the gunmen firing at him from behind  bridles at the suggestion that he and his fellow teachers took the decision to leave lightly. The risks were everywhere, he said. We heard of people being shot here and there. With al-Shabaab, you never knew when they would come.

Come again they did. Weeks after the bus massacre, gunmen swept down on a quarry near Mandera, shooting dead 36 miners as they slept. Al-Shabaab, retaliating for Kenyas military presence in Somalia, aims to make the north-east ungovernable, the International Crisis Group said recently,

Yet not all of the teachers left. Samuel Wahome, 36, was one of the few non-locals to remain, a difficult decision given that his wife, also a teacher, left for her hometown with their young children to await a transfer. It deeply affected me, he said of the attack, which claimed the lives of three close friends. But I picked myself up. Anything can happen anywhere. Its just unfortunate that it happened here.

But if the teachers have suffered, so too have the children. Even before the attacks, the north-east had some of the worst poverty indicators in the country, just over 40 per cent of primary-age children attending school, compared with a national average of 77 per cent. Nine per cent of children go on to secondary education, and of those who do, as little as 10 per cent achieve the grades to get into a Kenyan university. In just a few weeks, the county lost roughly half of its trained teachers. Counselling children who lost five of their teachers in the attack, Yusuf Bulle recalled the desolation of the children trying to make sense of the massacre.

What bad thing did they do? they asked of the teachers who died. What will happen to us? Will the schools open? I had to tell them the reality: the schools might open, but they might not have teachers. Across the north-east, 95 schools shut their doors. Manderas county government for the most part avoided the same fate by drafting in retirees, officials, anyone with half an education to fill in  anything to keep schools open.

It also drafted in the brightest school-leavers, permitted by universities to pursue their studies during the holidays while they stood in for teachers during the term. If it were not for that, the situation would be much more dire, says Mr Wahome, who teaches physics, a skill in high demand. The government does not give a damn, he said. It has lost touch with this place.

Experts argue, however, that even the most enthusiastic and dedicated school-leaver is no substitute for the real thing. If you have never had training, you wont be that effective, said Mr Bulle, a long-time educator in Mandera. Its better than nothing, but it wont be as good as a real, trained teacher.

While 150 students are set to start soon at a primary-teacher training institute opening in Mandera, the return of non-local teachers, particularly for secondary education, remains for many the best hope of securing their future. It is also critical, analysts warn, to prevent the spread of extremism.

Strides have been made on the security front  thanks in part to appointing those with Somali heritage to senior security positions  but the situation remains fragile.

Even though Mr Atibu has failed to find a job since leaving Mandera, he said that he could never return.

On Thursday, a Kenyan primary school teacher who recruited pupils into al Shabaab in Somalia was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a court in Mombasa. He used Islamic lessons to radicalise the children.
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Up to 65 people are reported to have been killed in an apparent suicide bomb attack on a military training centre in western Libya.

The UN has condemned the attack in the town of Zliten, where the towns mayor said a truck exploded as hundreds of recruits gathered near the gates.

Four local hospitals reportedly declared emergencies due to the large number of casualties from the attack, which came amid intense clashes between Isis fighters and Libyan security forces some 450km away at central oil ports.

According to Reuters, the casualties from the training centre included a number of civilians, some of whom were being treated in the nearby city of Misrata.

An injured man receives treatment inside a hospital in Misurata, after one of Libya's worst truck bombs in years exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten (Reuters)

Martin Kobler, the UNs special representative to Libya, tweeted: I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism.

This story will be updated shortly
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Drug violence in Mexico has been so fierce that the life expectancy of men has dropped by several months, according to a new study.

Experts found the violence recorded between 2005-2010 reversed steady gains made in Mexican public health and security.

In the Mexican state of Chihuahua, male mortality rates in this period was "3.1 times higher than the mortality rate of US troops in Iraq between March 2003 and November 2006."

The authors of the study wrote in the Health Affairs journal that "the increase in homicides is at the heart of this decrease in life expectancy, though deaths due to diabetes may have also played a role.

They added: The unprecedented rise in homicides after 2005 led to a reversal in life expectancy increases among males and a slowdown among females in most states."

The Mexican murder rate between 2005 and 2010 increased from 9.5 murders per 100,000 to more than 22 murders per 100,000. This has since declined to 16 per 100,000 in 2014.

Between 2000 and 2010, the public health study found the Mexican male life expectancy drop by six tenths of a year to 71. This has now edged up to 72 in 2014.

The effect of drug violence on male life expectancy is most apparent in Mexico's five most drug-riddled states - Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Guerrero, and Nayarit.

Men lost an average of one year of life expectancy between 2005 and 2010, while in the border state of Chihuahua alone, the loss added up to a startling three years.

This is the first time Mexican life expectancy has dropped since the 1917/18 civil war, according to Juan Eugenio Hernandez from Mexico's Center for Information on Public Health Decisions.

In comparison to other Central American countries such as El Salvador and Honduras, Mexico's murder rate remains relatively low.

The study's author wrote: "It is likely that other Latin American countries have been experiencing even greater reductions in life expectancy from homicide."
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The only person with the power to pardon Steven Avery has vowed that he will not be granting the convicted murderer a reprieve, whatever evidence Making a Murderer claims to uncover.

Scott Walker has not watched the Netflix documentary examining the case for Averys innocence, which sparked a petition carrying more than 330,000 signatures demanding he be freed.

Steven Avery should be exonerated at once by pardon, and the Manitowoc County officials complicit in his two false imprisonments should be held accountable to the highest extent of the US criminal and civil justice systems, the Change.org petition states, addressing Barack Obama and Mr Walker.

 Making A Murderer- Where are they now?

As the Governor of Wisconsin, he has the power to pardon state crimes but said he would not intervene.

"Just because a documentary on TV says something doesn't mean that's actually what the evidence shows, he told WQOW television.

"The bottom line is that there was a crime that was committed a decade ago.

"There is a system...by which individuals can petition the courts to get relief like others have done in the past that shows that someone might actually be innocent. But I am not going to override a system that is already put in place."

Steven Avery is in prison for life (AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS)

Mr Walker has not granted a single pardon since he took office five years ago.

His spokesperson, Laurel Patrick, said he made the decision never to do so "early in his administration, adding: Those who feel they have been wrongly convicted can seek to have their convictions overturned by a higher court.

Jerry Buting, one of Averys defence lawyers, told Radio 4s Today programme that all his appeals had been exhausted and only newly-discovered evidence could force the case to be re-examined.

Were getting new leads that can be followed up, he said. Scientists from all over the world have been contacting us with different approaches to present scientific evidence thatcould demonstrate his innocence.

Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions Show all 5 1 /5 Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 1985: Steven Avery is falsely convicted of raping a Penny Beernsten She was jogging along the shore of Lake Michigan when she was threatened with a knife and attacked. Ms Beernsten identified Avery as her rapist from a line-up that did not include the actual attacker. AFP/Getty Images Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 2003: Conviction overturned Avery's 32-year prison sentence was overturned after DNA testing by the Wisconsin Innocence Project proved his innocence and found a hair from Gregory Allen. He was convicted of the rape and Avery was released. Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 2004: Avery files federal lawsuit against Manitowoc County police A Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation found police had committed no criminal offences or ethics violations, sparking a lawsuit from Avery seeking $36 million compensation. Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 2005: Avery is arrested for Teresa Halbach's murder His Avery Auto Salvage business was the freelance photographer's last appointment of 31 October. She was reported missing four days later and police later found her car, bones, teeth and belongings at the site. Avery pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 201: Netflix releases Making a Murderer The 10-episode documentary came after Avery's conviction was upheld in a 2011 appeal.

Asked about criticism by authorities that Making a Murderer had left out key evidence linking Avery to the crime, Mr Buting said important pieces were included and that police and prosecutors turned down the opportunity to be featured.

He said he and other lawyers had no involvement in the production of the documentary, and were approached by two New York filmmakers who later sold it to Netflix.

Miss Halbach was due to visit the Avery family salvage yard to take photos of a minivan on the day she disappeared and her bones and belongings were found burned near Avery's trailer.

The documentary examines speculation that Manitowoc County police could have framed Avery because he was suing them over a previously overturned rape conviction, but prosecutor Ken Kratz said several pieces of DNA evidence that proved Averys guilt could not have been planted.

Additional reporting by AP
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The Nevada rancher who has led the group of anti-government militia sitting out freezing temperatures in a remote wildlife refuge in Oregon to protest against federal land management has said that God told him to act.

According to the New York Post, 40-year-old Ammon Bundy comes from a Mormon family in Nevada that has been involved with challenging authority for several decades.

The most recent stand-off was in 2014 when federal authorities attempted to seize his father Clivens cattle as the family had not paid grazing fees, but backed down when confronted with a group of armed, angry ranchers.

The Bureau of Land Management says the Bundy family has an outstanding payment of $1.1 million for the fees and a penalty bill.

In a YouTube video, the younger Mr Bundy said God was not happy with what happened to Oregon rancher family Steven and Dwight Hammond, who turned themselves in on Monday to carry out longer prison sentences after setting fire to federal land in 2001 and 2006.

Mr Bundy said God helped him to write a letter to rally support for his protest.

During that letter I began to understand how the Lord felt about the Hammonds, he said. I clearly understood that the Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds, and that what was happening to them, if not corrected, would be a [] and a shadow of what would happen to the rest of the people across this country.

Mr Bundy said he felt a desire and an urge to go to Burns, Oregon, where he had never been before, and explained this to his wife before setting off. He met and talked with Steven Hammond about the accusations of arson and the prison sentencing.

I could tell he loved the Lord and he loved people, said Mr Bundy.

Mr Bundy said Mr Hammond declined help and thought the only thing to do was turn himself in.

I am asking you right now to come [to Oregon], to decide whether this is a righteous cause or not, whether I am some crazy person or whether the Lord truly works through individuals to get his missions accomplished.

The Bundy family is associated with a strain of the Mormon church called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The church has distanced itself from ties with the Bundy family when it issued a statement to say it strongly condemned the armed seizure of the refuge and was deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles.
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The Governor of California has declared a state of emergency over a gas leak from an underground methane facility in greater Los Angeles, which environmentalists say is generating daily emissions equivalent to six coal-fired power stations.

Jerry Brown called for all necessary and viable actions to be taken to plug the leak, which was first detected on 23 October at a vast underground gas storage system close to the community of Porter Ranch, around 30 miles from the centre of LA.

Climate change protests around the world Show all 25 1 /25 Climate change protests around the world Climate change protests around the world People rally to promote climate protection in Rome, Italy Climate change protests around the world Hundreds of demonstrators gather in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world People hold hands to form a human chain during a gathering called by ecologist organisations in Marseille, southern France, to protest against global warming a day ahead of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris Climate change protests around the world Demonstrators clash with French riot police during protests on Place de la Republique, ahead of the COP21 World Climate Change Conference 2015 in Paris, France Climate change protests around the world Demonstrators clash with French riot police during a protest on Place de la Republique ahead of the COP21 World Climate Change Conference 2015 in Paris, France Climate change protests around the world A group of people perform during a rally to promote climate protection in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Climate change protests around the world A protester sits next to his sign that reads 'Monsanto the Devil Incorporated ' as he joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world Environmentalists dance during a protest near the Place de la Republique after the cancellation of a planned climate march following shootings in the French capital, ahead of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21), in Paris, France Reuters Climate change protests around the world People protest next to characters dressed as wild animals during a march against climate change near the Monument to the Revolution, in Mexico City AP Climate change protests around the world Protesters carries a banner while they take part in a protest about climate change at New York City Hall steps in lower Manhattan, New York Reuters Climate change protests around the world People take part in a protest about climate change around New York City Hall at lower Manhattan, New York Reuters Climate change protests around the world People rally to promote climate protection in Piazza Castello, Turin, Italy Climate change protests around the world A woman holds a globe during a protest for the global climate day in Lugano, Switzerland Climate change protests around the world Yemenis hold banners as they participate in the Global March for Climate in the old city of Sanaia, Yemen Climate change protests around the world Protesters dressed as Santa Claus take part in a protest about climate change at New York City Hall steps in lower Manhattan, New York Reuters Climate change protests around the world People gather at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, during the Global Climate March to demand action on climate change telling world leaders on the eve of a crunch UN summit that there is "no planet B". From Sydney to London, humid Rio to chilly New York, at least 683,000 hit the streets in 2,300 events across 175 countries at the weekend, co-organiser and campaign group Avaaz said, calling it the largest number of people to protest over climate change all at once Getty Images Climate change protests around the world Climate change protests around the world Demonstrators participate in the Global March for Climate in Athens, Greece Climate change protests around the world A man wearing a Bernie Sanders mask leads hundreds of demonstrators who marched near City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world Patricia Hauser joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California Climate change protests around the world A woman holds a poster of a sick Earth as she joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world Hundreds of demonstrators march around City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world A demonstrator holds cut-out of US Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as she joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world George Patten holds a sign that reads 'No Fracking Ever!' as he joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA Climate change protests around the world Gabrielle Sosa wears 'Rising Sea Levels' sign as she joined hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California EPA

The Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) says more than 2,000 nearby households have taken up its offer to fund their temporary relocation, after residents experienced headaches, nausea, dizziness and shortness of breath.

The leak is both a local public health hazard and an environmental crisis of massive proportions, expelling an estimated 110,000lb of gas into the atmosphere per hour: about a quarter of the states daily methane emissions. Methane is a significantly more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

Tim OConnor, California director for the Environmental Defence Funds oil and gas programme, told The Independent: In terms of aggregate greenhouse gas emissions, it is greater by far than the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Methane is non-toxic and odourless, but is injected with trace amounts of other chemicals, known as mercaptans, to make it detectable by smell. In spite of residents health complaints, experts insist that in their current quantities, mercaptans pose few long-term medical risks.

The leak stems from a broken pipe approximately 500ft underground, but after several failed attempts to plug it from the surface, SoCalGas is drilling a relief well to the natural gas reservoir some 8,500ft below the surface, from which the leaking well can be sealed at source with heavy fluids, mud and concrete. The company says that may take until late March.

Governor Brown has ordered new safety and inspection regulations for all of Californias natural gas storage facilities.
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North Korea is facing anger and scorn from the outside world, and apparent jubilation from its own population, after the secretive regime proclaimed it had successfully tested its first miniaturised hydrogen bomb.

All 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, including China, its powerful neighbour and only potential UN ally, strongly condemned the nuclear test. They declared it a clear threat to international peace and security, and vowed to pursue new sanctions against the regime of President Kim Jong-un.

Meanwhile, the White House backed a growing consensus among nuclear experts that the underground test  detected early yesterday morning and at first thought to have been a small earthquake  fell short of the breakthrough from lesser nuclear weapons being claimed by the regime.

It said the US governments early analysis of underground activity in North Korea is not consistent with that countrys claim of having conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test. South Koreas spy agency said the estimated explosive yield from the explosion was much less than even a failed H-bomb detonation would produce.

The countrys fourth nuclear test appeared no more powerful than its last test nearly two years ago. Initial reports recorded an earthquake near the test site of magnitude 4.9 to 5.1  about the same as that in February 2013. North Korea has exploded plutonium devices in all three previous tests since its first in October 2006.

The supposed breakthrough would be a major step towards placing miniaturised but more powerful hydrogen weapons on long-range missiles that North Korea is also developing, putting scores of countries within range of a nuclear attack  including parts of the US.

In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test A lab employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air, in Gangneung, soon after North Korea announced it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The office in Gangneung is the closest one to the site of the North's claimed test. Officials said it will take three to four days to analyze air samples in detail for any traces of radioactivity, the Yonhap news agency reported EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signing a document of a hydrogen bomb test in Pyongyang In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test People watch a TV news program showing North Korea's special announcement at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test South Korean people watch TV news at Seoul station EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Japan's meteorological agency officer Yohei Hasegawa displays a chart showing seismic activity, after a North Korean nuclear test, at the agency in Tokyo Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Ko Yun-Hwa, administrator of Korea Meteorological Administration, briefs reporters showing seismic waves from the site of North Korea's hydrogen bomb test, at his office in Seoul Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korea's border county of Kaepoong is seen from a South Korean observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas as North Korea announced it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test Getty Images

Let the world look up to the strong, self-reliant nuclear-armed state, Mr Kim declared in a hand-written note of celebration displayed by state television. A large crowd of North Koreans celebrated in front of the main railway station in the capital, Pyongyang, as the announcement was read on a video screen.

It came as Mr Kim prepared to observe what is believed to be his 32nd birthday on Friday. North Korea does not generally make a show of his birthday for fear of drawing attention to his inexperience since he succeeded his late father Kim Jong-il in 2011. But it conducted its previous test three days before the 72nd anniversary of Kim Jong-ils birth in 1941.

Recommended Read more How North Korea justified detonating the most powerful weapon on earth

Mr Kim, who had boasted of North Koreas hydrogen bomb during an inspection tour last month, evidently wanted to claim success to impress enemies near and far with the mounting threat posed by his regime.

Pyongyangs Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the North was forced to develop its nuclear arsenal for defence against the ever-growing nuclear threat and blackmail by the US-led hostile forces but that North Korea would not strike first. Nor, said KCNA, would the North transfer the technology  an obvious reference to charges that North Korea has exchanged nuclear information and material with Iran. Although there was widespread scepticism about the North Korean claim that it was a hydrogen bomb, some surmised that North Korean scientists and engineers had made significant improvements in the newest device. They are trying to upgrade their capability, said Choi Jin-wook, president of the Korea Institute of National Unification in Seoul.

The device, while highly unlikely to have been a hydrogen bomb, may have been a boosted fission weapon, indicative of North Koreas developing weapons capabilities, said Alison Evans of intelligence consultants IHS Country Risk.

 North Korea allegedly test hydrogen bomb

The test poses a challenge to major powers which have struggled to find effective ways to punish a regime that has seemed unmoved by previous UN sanctions. Mr Choi said the most painful thing for North Korea would be for China to freeze its access to banking. China also has control over most of the countrys access to oil supplies.

On the US presidential campaign trail, several Republican candidates blamed the White House and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for failing to halt the development of North Koreas nuclear programme. Ohio Governor John Kasich said the Obama administration had been asleep at the wheel on North Korea, while Florida Senator Marco Rubio described Mr Kim as a lunatic who has been expanding his nuclear arsenal while President Obama has stood idly by.
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North Korea has claimed to have carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test, prompting condemnation from leaders around the world.

South Korea announced on Thursdayit will retaliate against the claimed thermonuclear test by restarting propaganda broadcasts on loudspeakers across the border, something Kim Jong-uns government has previously described as an act of war.

Seoul has joined with the US and Japan in pledging a united response against North Koreas actions, while the UN Security Council is expected to take action.

International observers say seismic tests show a large explosion of some kind likely took place, but that it fell well short of the sort of yield to be expected from a genuine hydrogen bomb, the most powerful kind of weapon ever created by mankind.

In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test A lab employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air, in Gangneung, soon after North Korea announced it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The office in Gangneung is the closest one to the site of the North's claimed test. Officials said it will take three to four days to analyze air samples in detail for any traces of radioactivity, the Yonhap news agency reported EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signing a document of a hydrogen bomb test in Pyongyang In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test People watch a TV news program showing North Korea's special announcement at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test South Korean people watch TV news at Seoul station EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Japan's meteorological agency officer Yohei Hasegawa displays a chart showing seismic activity, after a North Korean nuclear test, at the agency in Tokyo Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Ko Yun-Hwa, administrator of Korea Meteorological Administration, briefs reporters showing seismic waves from the site of North Korea's hydrogen bomb test, at his office in Seoul Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korea's border county of Kaepoong is seen from a South Korean observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas as North Korea announced it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test Getty Images

On Thursday, the state-run Rodong Simnun news agency carried a statement from the North Korean government justifying the test. It read as follows:

There took place a world startling event to be specially recorded in the national history spanning 5 000 years in the exciting period when all service personnel and people of the DPRK are making a giant stride, performing eye-catching miracles and exploits day by day after turning out as one in the all-out charge to bring earlier the final victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche, true to the militant appeal of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

The first H-bomb test was successfully conducted in Juche Korea at 10:00 on Wednesday, Juche 105 (2016), pursuant to the strategic determination of the WPK.

Through the test conducted with indigenous wisdom, technology and efforts the DPRK fully proved that the technological specifications of the newly developed H-bomb for the purpose of test were accurate and scientifically verified the power of smaller H-bomb.

It was confirmed that the H-bomb test conducted in a safe and perfect manner had no adverse impact on the ecological environment.

The test means a higher stage of the DPRK's development of nuclear force.

By succeeding in the H-bomb test in the most perfect manner to be specially recorded in history the DPRK proudly joined the advanced ranks of nuclear weapons states possessed of even H-bomb and the Korean people came to demonstrate the spirit of the dignified nation equipped with the most powerful nuclear deterrent.

This test is a measure for self-defence the DPRK has taken to firmly protect the sovereignty of the country and the vital right of the nation from the ever-growing nuclear threat and blackmail by the US-led hostile forces and to reliably safeguard the peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional security.

The statement goes on for another 14 paragraphs, describing the US as a gang of cruel robbers and a pack of ferocious wolves. The regime vowed to escalate its nuclear deterrence.

Jubilant North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang railway station, in North Korea, announcing the claimed successful hydrogen bomb detonation test (AP)

What is a hydrogen bomb?

Because of the way that they are made, hydrogen bombs are usually much more powerful than less advanced atomic bombs.

Both are kinds of nuclear armaments, but the way they release energy is different. While atomic bombs use nuclear fission, which splits a bigger atom into two smaller ones, to create their energy, hydrogen bombs use fusion, which is done by fusing two or more atoms into a bigger one.

Hasnt North Korea tested nuclear bombs before?

Because of the way that they are made, hydrogen bombs are usually much more powerful than their atomic counterparts.

That is why people are so worried about North Koreas announcement  it has already launched atomic bombs, but this is the first time that it has tested a hydrogen one.

North Korea did its first known nuclear test in 2006, and has done two more since. Initial measurements suggest Wednesdays detonation was on a similar scale to the last in 2013  but Pyongyang has said it tested a miniaturised device.
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The families of the 154 Chinese passengers who were on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 when it vanished in March 2014 say they believe their loved ones are still alive and being held prisoner.

In a joint statement released yesterday, the families said they offered their forgiveness to whoever is holding the passengers, adding We believe our loved ones may still be alive and are being held at an undisclosed location for unknown reasons.

In the absence of proof to the contrary, we believe it is possible the missing may still be alive. If this is so, we would willingly grant to the perpetrators amnesty in return for the release of the missing, the relatives added.

French officials claim that part of a wing that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July last year was from the missing aircraft. (Reuters)

The statement was released in the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, according to Malaysia Insider.

Kuala Lumpur is where MH370 took off on its final flight approaching two years ago. The Beijing-bound plane vanished from flight radars shortly after take-off and never arrived at its destination.

Although the fuselage of the plane has never been found, French officials claim that part of a wing that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July last year was from the missing aircraft.

But the families say they do not trust the official account of the incident and urged that an investigation into exactly what happened be broadened and extended beyond June, which is when the official search for the missing plane is scheduled to end.

We do not believe any of the series of official statements starting from March 24, 2014, up to and including that of September 3, 2015, they said. There is no real proof justifying any of these statements, they added.
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The Vietnamese military is investigating the discovery of three large metal spheres that mysteriously fell from the sky in the north of the country.

The strange orbs vary in size, with the largest weighing close to 100lb, and were found at three separate locations in Vietnams Yen Bai and Tuyen Quang provinces last weekend.

An initial investigation by the countrys Ministry of Defence suggests the objects are metal, non-radioactive, possibly Russian in origin, and probably fell from space, Thanh Nien reported.

Local residents reported hearing what sounded like thunder several minutes before the objects crashed to earth. One sphere was found in a stream while another had its fall broken by the roof of a house before falling to the floor.

The discovery has sparked numerous bizarre theories as to what the balls could be, although experts think they are almost certainly space objects  either from a rocket or satellite that would normally have burnt up when they re-entered the atmosphere, or otherwise from a failed satellite launch.

It is not known what has led the Vietnamese to believe the objects are of Russian-origin, but the BBC said it is possible the objects  which appear largely undamaged other than a light charring - were sold to a third nation before being launched into space.

Vietnams Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan said he would now contact all nations with space research programs and warn them to be more careful in destroying used devices in order to maintain security of civil aviation as well as the safety of residential areas, according to Vietnam Net.
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The Russians want them on their side; so do the Chinese and the Iranians. The Taliban, whom the Americans and British have spent 15 years trying to defeat, are now increasingly in demand as valued allies by international powers.

The reason Moscow wants to work with the Taliban  many of them sons of the Mujaheddin, against whom Russian forces had fought a bloody, decade-long war  is that the Afghan militants are engaged in a bitter struggle against Isis for jihadist supremacy in Afghanistan.

Vladimir Putin had stated that one of the reasons for starting air strikes against Isis in Syria was the threat Russia faces from fighters returning from former Soviet central Asia and carrying out terrorist attacks. China is alarmed by what it claims are links between Isis and the East Turkestan independence movement, popular among Chinas Uighur Muslims. Iran, battling Isis in Syria and Iraq, sees a serious threat in the groups growing presence across its eastern border.

There have been increasing reports of the Russians liaising with the Taliban. Then last week came the largely unnoticed words of Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlins special envoy to Afghanistan, who declared: Taliban interests objectively coincide with ours.

He said: Both the Afghan and the Pakistani Taliban have said they dont recognise Isis and they dont recognise the Isis leader [Abu Bakr] alBaghdadi as the caliph; that is very important. We have communication channels with the Taliban to exchange information.

He added: There is no doubt that Isis is training militants from Russia in Afghanistan as part of its efforts to expand into central Asia.

Mr Kabulov is no ordinary diplomat. He is a former KGB colleague of Vladimir Putin and was the services top ranking officer in Kabul during the war against the Mujaheddin, when he worked closely with Khad, the security service of Afghanistans then Marxist government.

As the American-led Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) withdrew from Afghanistan, Khads successor, NDS ( National Directorate of Security), has been building relations with the KGBs successor, the FSB. One Afghan security official told The Independent: Kabulov is the ideal man for this role: he knows the Taliban inside out; he knows their families.

Mr Kabulov, who was born in Soviet Uzbekistan, is no stranger to dealing with the Taliban. In 1995 he met Mullah Mohammed Omar, then the Taliban leader, while negotiating for the release of the crew of a Russian Il-76 flight that had been forced to land in Kandahar. He maintained contact with the movement while serving as ambassador to Pakistan.

Zamir Kabulov, Russias envoy to Afghanistan, wants to have talks with the Taliban (AP)

The Russians insist that their liaison with the Taliban is limited to intelligence sharing. Some Taliban commanders in the north of the country have claimed, however, that they had received weapons through Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic with a pro-Moscow government. Dushanbe, the capital, is said to have been a venue for talks between the Russians and the Taliban.

Afghan security officials told The Independent that some weaponry may have changed hands last year when members of the Talibans ransom and peace committee went to Dushanbe to hold talks on four Tajik border guards who had been captured by the Taliban. The delegation to Tajikistan, which supposedly obtained the ransom of arms in return for the hostages, was led by Dr Tahir Shamalzai, the brother of a former Taliban commander. Tajik officials denied that such a deal had taken place.

Dr Shamalzai, it is claimed, had also travelled to China to meet officials. The Chinese government, worried about Islamist infiltration, has offered security aid to the Afghan government.

Beijing has also, according to diplomatic sources, been asking the Pakistanis to resolve the split in the Taliban which occurred after the death of Mullah Omar was revealed last year; it hopes to begin negotiations with the Afghan government and also to combat Isis.

Mullah Omar, who met Chinese officials over the years, had tried to ensure that the Taliban did not aid Uighur militants. The Isis leader Abu Bakr, on the other hand, has repeatedly railed against Beijings treatment of its Muslims and called on believers to help them. One of his messages to the Uighurs said: Your brothers all over the world are awaiting your rescue and we are anticipating your brigades.

Zhang Chunxian, the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang, has said that Uighurs returning from serving with Isis in Syria have been arrested while plotting attacks. Murders by Isis of a Chinese hostage in Syria and Chinese hotel guests in Mali  have led to calls for Beijing to take action abroad against the group. Countries in proximity to Isis need to look at all methods of combating its terrorism, Mr Chunxian had warned.

Iran is doing so, according to Afghan and Western security officials, by using the Taliban. Relations between the Tehran and the Sunni Talibs had been traditionally fraught. Ten Iranian diplomats were executed by the Taliban regime in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998. Iran armed the Hazaras in Afghanistan, fellow Shias, after massacres of the community by the Talibs. Now Afghan officials claim that Iran is not only arming the Taliban but training them in Tehran, Mashhad and Zahedan. Tehran is convinced that its arch enemy Saudi Arabia is still funding Isis, and that Iran is a target.

Iran supplied the Americans with valuable information about Taliban strategic positions in the run-up to the 2001 invasion; their reward was to be called part of the axis of evil, along with North Korea and Saddam Husseins Iraq, by George W Bush.

Now the Americans are working alongside Iran in Iraq against a common enemy. The war against Isis, Iranian officials point out, now necessitates a most unlikely alliance of convenience.
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A German anti-Muslim group has announced plans to stage a rally in Cologne following the New Years Eve sex attacks on women in the citys centre.

Pegida said it would hold a demonstration on Saturday night outside Cologne railway station, where many of the reported attacks  which include rape, assault and robbery - took place.

Public anger has grown ever since police described the 1,000 male suspects as being of north African or Arab appearance, despite repeated attempts by German authorities to quell anti-immigration sentiment.

Cologne mayor Henriette Reker previously said it was completely improper to link the attacks to refugees, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the perpetrators should be brought to justice without regard to their origin or background.

More than one million refugees fleeing war, poverty and famine arrived in Germany last year.

Germany justice minister Heiko Maas also warned against using the attacks to fan the flames of anti-Islamic sentiment, saying: "It doesn't matter where someone comes from, it matters what they did and that we can prove it."

Interiors minister Thomas de Maiziere said that although suspicion should not be cast on refugees without proof, neither should there be a taboo if north Africans and Arabs were found to be the perpetrators.

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson has launched a branch of Pegida from a pub in Bedfordshire (Getty)

Pegida was founded in Dresden in late 2014 by Lutz Bachmann, initially as a small group protesting against what it perceives to be the growing influence of Islam in Europe.

Just days ago, Mr Bachmann taunted those who welcomed refugees into the country after two of Munichs railway stations were evacuated following intelligence provided by a foreign country of a serious and imminent threat to the city.

It comes as former EDL leader Tommy Robinson launched a UK branch of Pegida from a pub in Bedfordshire.

In an interview with the International Business Times, Pegida UK leader Paul Weston said the attacks in Cologne were helping raise awareness" of the groups cause.
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Twelve months almost to the minute after the jihadist massacre at Charlie Hebdo magazine, a young man wearing a fake explosives belt was shot dead outside a police station in Paris today.

The dead man was provisionally identified as Salah Alli, 20, a Moroccan of no fixed abode, who was arrested for questioning about a robbery in the south of France in 2013.

French authorities have announced that they were treating the incident as a terrorist attack - not the action of an unbalanced individual. The Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said that a copy of the Isis flag and a clear threat in Arabic had been found in a document on the mans body.

The document pledged allegiance to the Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and called for vengeance for deaths in Syria.

 Paris police station shooting

After the shooting, the body of a bald man wearing blue jeans and a grey parka jacket, lay spread-eagled and uncovered in the Rue de la Goutte dOr in the 18th arrondssment for more than an hour. A small robot on wheels, equipped with a camera, was sent out from the police station to investigate the corpse.

French authorities said that the man was carrying no identity papers and had not yet been identified. A mobile telephone found on his body was being examined.

There were conflicting reports of what happened at the entrance to a local police post in the Barbes district of northern Paris.

Recommended Read more Isis flag and claim of responsibility found on body of Paris attacker

A police spokesmen said that the man in his 20s behaved in a threatening way and made a movement towards wires protruding from his jacket. He was immediately shot five times by one of the police officers standing guard outside the building.

Bomb disposal experts later discovered that the wires were attached to a package taped inside his jacket which contained no explosives. A kitchen chopping knife was found in the gutter nearby.

Eye-witnesses gave a different account. Zak, a 29-year-old man who was sitting on a cafe terrace, told the newspaper Le Parisien that the man appeared agitated but not threatening. He did not seem to be armed and was backing away when police opened fire.

In pictures: Paris police shooting Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Paris police shooting In pictures: Paris police shooting French police secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris Reuters In pictures: Paris police shooting French police and rescue workers are seen in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or in the north of Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police use a bomb disposal robot to inspect the body of a man shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting Police officers secure the perimeter near the scene of a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting Police officers stand guard near a shooting scene after a man carrying a knife attempted to enter a Paris police station in the Goutte d'Or area, northern Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police check a pedestrian as they secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police officer patrol at the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris, after police shot a man dead as he was trying to enter a police station in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or In pictures: Paris police shooting An armed French police officer patrols at the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris, after police shot a man dead as he was trying to enter a police station in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or In pictures: Paris police shooting In pictures: Paris police shooting Police secure the area after the man was shot dead

In my opinion, the police panicked, he said. Then they started screaming at everyone to clear the area.

Alexis Mukenge, who saw the shooting from a nearby building, told the 24 hour TV channel iTele that police shouted at the man: Stop. Move back. Mr Mukenge said that officers fired and the man fell to the ground.

Police sources said that the man had shouted Allahou Akbar (God is greatest) before reaching for the wires protruding from his jacket. Zak and other eye-witnesses interviewed by French media said that they had heard nothing.

Originally the French interior ministry said that the attacker had slightly wounded one of the policemen outside the station with the kitchen knife. This statement was later withdrawn.

Paris was on high alert for a possible terrorist attack today  the first anniversary of the jihadiust attack at Charlie Hebdo magazine in which 12 people died. The incident took place at 11.52am - one year and seven minutes after the Kouachi brothers assault on the satitrical magazine.

Children in two local schools were ordered to stay indoors. Three Metro lines were temporarily halted.

A ministry of the interior spokesman, Pierre-Henry Brandet, said initially: It is too early to seak of a terrorsist act At this stage, we are treating it as an act of aggression.

Mr Brandet said that that police do not believe that anyone else was involved.

However, the Paris prosecutor. Mr Molins, said that investigations had been handed over to the police anti-terrorist unit.
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On Wednesday 7 January 2015 two masked gunmen opened fire in the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 and bringing terror deep into the heart of Europe.

Their massacre of the magazines editor Stephane Charbonnier, along with four cartoonists, three editorial staff, a bodyguard and a guest was widely seen as an attack on the freedom of speech.

It is thought that controversial caricatures of the prophet Mohamed published in the magazine were the motivation for gunmens deadly actions.

Recommended Read more Charlie Hebdo reveals cover of special anniversary edition

The tragic events were the start of what would become a year of terrorist threats and attacks beyond anything Europe had witnessed in recent times.

In the aftermath of the shooting the actions of the terrorists was condemned across the world, and people took to streets and held to show their solidarity with the victims.

Joachim Roncin, a French art director, coined the slogan "Je Suis Charlie", which was quickly adopted by supporters of the freedom of speech and the freedom of press, and was widely used as a hashtag on Twitter.

In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pencils, representing the freedom of expression, placed in tribute in Nantes Reuters In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack France's Jason Lamy Chappuis soars through the air over a message that reads "Je suis Charlie" Getty In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Solidarity in Nice AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Turkish citizens organised a vigil in front of the French consulate in Istanbul AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Graffiti decorates a London wall in solidarity with the victims of the attack in Paris AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A tribute of flowers and candles outside the French Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Messages of sympathy near the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Workers install a poster reading 'Je suis Charlie' (I am Charlie) on the Palais des Festivals facade in Cannes In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman looks at floral tributes left outside the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman places flowers near the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalists of international press agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) hold signs reading "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) at their headquarters in Paris as they observe a minute of silence for the victims of an attack by armed gunmen on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris which left at least 12 dead and many others injured In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pens and pencils are placed in the form of a peace sign over the names of late French cartoonists Cabu, Tignous, Wolinski and late Charlie Hebdo editor Charb on the Place de la Republique (Republic Square) in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Australia mourns victims of the Paris massacre at Federation Square in Melbourne In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik is pictured with his sand sculpture, in tribute of those who lost their lives in the attack by gunmen on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people, at Golden Sea Beach in Puri, some 65 kilometers from Bhubaneswar In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard that reads "I am Charlie" as members of the European Parliament and citizens gather during a minute of silence for victims of the shooting at the Paris offices of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in front of the EU Parliament in Brussels In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A painting of the 'Marianne', the national symbol of the French Republic is placed between candles to commemorate the victims killed in an attack at the Paris offices of the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in front of the French Embassy in Berlin In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pencils and flowers of condolance are placed at the French embassy at Pariser Platz in Berlin In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Mourners hold signs depicting victim's eyes during a rally in support of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly newspaper that fell victim to an terrorist attack, at Union Square in New York In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold up placards reading 'I am Charlie' during a gathering in Nice Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man lights candles set near the portrait of three of the four cartoonists killed, in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds the French national flag tied a black ribbon as he and others gather in Lyon to pay their respects Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Parisians gather to pay respect for the victims of a terror attack against 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather in front of the 'Club de la presse' in Montpellier, to show their solidarity for the victims of the attack by unknown gunmen on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A drawing depicting cartoonist Jean Cabut, left, Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, center, and cartoonist Georges Wolinski, is placed outside the French Embassy in Berlin, Germany. The message reads 'Victims of their success, R.I.P.' AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman lays a candle during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People take part in a vigil in Trafalgar Square, London, following the deadly terror attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris PA In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People light candles forming the name Charlie during a gathering in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People stand stand in Marseille, southern France, next to a portrait of French cartoonist Georges Wolinksi, killed during an attack by unknown gunmen on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold placards reading in French 'I am Charlie' during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard reading 'With all our heart with Charlie Hebdo, Freedom of the press: Our freedom' during a gathering in Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack The French and European union flags fly at half-mast at the French Embassy in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather at the Place Royale in Nantes to show their solidarity for the victims of the attack in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Flowers, candles and a sign reading 'I am Charlie' are placed against a wall during a demonstration in Paris AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalism students hold a banner reading in French: 'Journalism students : Solidarity' as they raise pens during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather for a rally in solidarity with the killed Charlie Hebdo employees, in Geneva, Switzerland EPA In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard reading: 'Freedom of the press is priceless, fundamentalism, of any kind, will not pass' as others hold up placards reading in French, 'I am Charlie' during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalists raise their press cards as others hold up pens during a gathering at the Place de la Republique, following the terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold candles at a rally in support of the victims of Wednesday's terrorist attack, at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather in front of the city hall of Rennes, western France, following the attack in Paris Getty Images

Publications from around the globe published tributes to those lost, and in support of free speech, many in the medium that Charlie Hebdo and its team know so well - cartoons.

Below are some of the cartoons shared by Twitter users around the world in the days which followed the attacks:

A year after the attacks, the magazine is still causing controversy with its cartoon, with the Vatican criticising its anniversary front page depicting God as a terrorist.
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A British teenager has described her horror at seeing screaming women being attacked during the chaos on New Years Eve in Cologne.

More than 100 women were sexually assaulted on the night as huge gangs of men roamed a square outside the German citys iconic cathedral and main railway station.

A 17-year-old British girl on holiday with her boyfriend was among the thousands of tourists in the city to celebrate the start of 2016.

 NYE celebrations in Cologne

She described the scenes they witnessed as they entered the square outside the Koln Hauptbahnhof at 10pm in an article for the BBC.

Drunk teenagers and young men were milling around everywhere, with some vomiting or passing out as smashed alcohol bottles littered the floor, the teenager said.

She described police frantically trying to contain fights as a huge crowd blocked the train stations exits.

We heard a woman screaming and crying somewhere in the midst of this crowd, appearing to be escaping from a foreign man, who was shouting back and pointing his finger at her and chasing her with his accomplices, the girl wrote.

Later on, we saw two men corner women at the cathedral and touch them while they were screaming for help and trying to fight back.

The fireworks being ignited on the streets were simply another terrible aspect added on to the chaos that already surrounded us.

The crowd of men outside the cathedral and main train station in Cologne, with firecrackers being let off (YouTube, Report24)

The young woman wrote that she felt one of the rockets explode directly behind her at midnight but escaped serious injury as they left the area.

But returning at 2am, she found the atmosphere had only worsened with more fights and glass bottles being thrown.

I saw a group of older foreign men go up to a group of younger girls (they looked under 18) in the underground train and started pushing them around and touching them, and the girls stumbled near to the train tracks, she added.

But thankfully a German man stood up and defended them, so the girls were able to run away.

Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Show all 19 1 /19 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Afghanistan Recommendation: I urge the Government of Afghanistan to adopt legislative reforms to ensure that sexual violence offences are not conflated with adultery or morality crimes and to establish infrastructure for the delivery of protection, health and le gal services to survivors. I call on the Ministry of the Interior to accelerate efforts to integrate women into the Afghan National Police, thereby enhancing its outreach and its capacity to address sexual and gender-based violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Central African Republic Recommendation: I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communique of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Colombia Recommendation: I commend the Government of Colombia for the progress made to date and its collaboration with the United Nations, including through the visit of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in March 2015. I encourage the authorities to implement Law 1719 and continue to prosecute cases of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure that survivors receive justice and receive reparations. Conflict-related sexual violence should continue to be addressed in the Havana peace talks, as well as in the resulting accords and transitional justice mechanisms. Particular attention should be paid to groups that face additional barriers to justice such as ethnic minorities, women in rural areas, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and women abused within the ranks of armed groups. I encourage the Government to scale up its protection measures and share its good practices with other conflict-affected countries Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Congo Recommendation: I urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure full implementation of the armed forces action plan against sexual violence, to systematically bring perpetrators to justice and to deliver reparations to victims, including payment of outstanding compensation awards. I call on donors and the United Nations system to support the Government in its efforts and to pay increased attention to neglected areas, including unregulated mining regions Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Iraq Recommendation: I commend the Government of Iraq for its national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and urge its swift implementation, including by training its security forces to ensur e respect for womens rights. Programmes to support the social reintegration of women and girls released from captivity by ISIL are urgently needed, as is community-based medical and psychological care. The capacity of the United Nations system should be enhanced through the deployment of Womens Protection Advisers or equivalent specialists Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Libya Recommendation: I urge the national authorities in Libya to implement Decree No. 119 and Resolution 904 of 2014 to ensure redress for all victims, including those affected by the current conflict, through the establishment of multisectoral services and the adoption of legislation to categorically prohibit sexual violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Mali Recommendation: I urge the Government of Mali, with support from United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers so that services can reach remote areas. I further call on all parties to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in the inter-Malian dialogue and that perpetrators of sexual violence do not benefit from amnesty or early release Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Myanmar Recommendation: I urge the Government of Myanmar to continue with its reform agenda and, in the process, take practical and timely actions to protect and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and to ensure that security personnel accused of such crimes are prosecuted. Sexual violence should be an element in all ceasefire and peace negotiations, excluded from the scope of amnesty provisions and addressed in transitional justice processes. It is critical that women be able to participate consistently in and influence these processes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Somalia Recommendation: I reiterate my call to the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the commitments made under the joint communique of 7 May 2013 and its national action plan to combat sexual violence in conflict, including specific plans for the army and the police. I encourage the adoption of a sexual offences bill as a matter of priority Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life South Sudan Recommendation: I urge the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to adopt action plans to implement the commitments made under their respective communiques. I call upon the Government of South Sudan to address the negative impact of customary law on womens rights and to reflect international human rights standards in national law. I also encourage the African Union to make public and act upon the report of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sudan (Darfur) Recommendation: I call upon the Government of the Sudan to grant the United Nations and its humanitarian partners unfettered access for monitoring and the provision of assistance to people in need in Darfur. Given that there has been grave concern over sexual violence in Darfur for more than a decade, I encourage the Government to engage with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to develop a framework of cooperation to address the issue comprehensively Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Syria Recommendation: I acknowledge the Governments invitation to my Special Representative to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and call upon the authorities, in the context of such a visit, to agree on specific measures to prevent sexual violence, including by members of the security forces. I condemn the use of sexual violence by ISIL and all other parties listed in the annex to the present report and call on them to cease such violations immediately and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Yemen Recommendation: I urge the authorities in Yemen to undertake legislative reform as a basis for addressing impunity for sexual violence, ensuring the provision of services for survivors and aligning the minimum legal age of marriage with international standards. I further call on the authorities to engage with local community and faithbased leaders to address sexual and gender-based violence and discriminatory social norms Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Bosnia and Herzegovina Recommendation: I urge the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize legislation and policies so that the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to reparations are consistently recognized and to allocate a specific budget for this purpose. I further call upon the authorities to protect and support survivors participating in judicial proceedings through, inter alia, referrals to free legal aid, psychosocial and health services, as well as economic empowerment programmes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Ivory Coast Recommendation: I urge the Government of Cote dIvoire to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy to combat gender-based violence and the action plan for FRCI, and call on the international community to support these efforts. It is critical to accelerate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and strengthen law enforcement to ensure that ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the transport sector do not pose a risk to women and girls who are reliant on those services. The Government and the international community must provide monitoring and awareness-raising to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of sexual violence in the context of the presidential elections to be held in October 2015 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Liberia Recommendation: I call on the Government of Liberia to continue its critical efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence including through the United Nations-Government of Liberia Joint Programme, and in the context of recovery from the Ebola virus epidemic Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nepal Recommendation: I encourage the Government to ensure that survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are recognized under the law as conflict victims, which will enable them to access services, judicial remedies and reparations. I further call on all parties involved in the transitional justice process to ensure that the rights and needs o f survivors of sexual violence are addressed in institutional reforms and that these crimes are excluded from amnesties and statutes of limitations Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sri Lanka Recommendation: I call upon the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of sexual violence, including against national armed and security forces, and to provide multisectoral services for survivors, including reparations and economic empowerment programmes for women at risk, including war widows and female heads of household Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nigeria Recommendation: I encourage the Government to implement its national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to ensure that womens protection concerns are mainstreamed throughout its security operations. I also call upon the authorities to guarantee security in and around internally displaced persons camps and to extend medical and psychosocial services to high-risk areas

At least 121 victims have come forward to file criminal complaints of sexual assault and robbery during the New Year's Eve festivities, three quarters of which are sexual offences, including two accounts of rape.

Descriptions of attackers being of Arab or North African origin and speaking foreign languages has fuelled speculation that they were among more than a million asylum seekers who arrived in Germany this year.

Women march through Cologne holding placards reading Against Sexism, Against Racism (Reuters)

Police in Cologne said it was too early to confirm who was behind the mass robberies and assaults and politicians have asked the public not to cast the blame on refugees in general.

Thomas de Maiziere, the German interior minister, said: Anyone who commits serious crimes, whatever their status, must face being deported from Germany.

Cologne police said they have identified 16 young men largely from North Africa as suspects and continue to examine video footage and witness statements.

Officers are encouraging any victims of attacks on New Years Eve and witnesses to come forward.

Additional reporting by agencies
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David Cameron may not have dressed up in bibbed Lederhosen, but the venue chosen for him to renew an old friendship with his right-wing German political allies could hardly have been more Bavarian.

Surrounded by pine-clad, snow-sprinkled sunlit mountains, in a spa resort that still belongs to the family of the late Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, the Prime Minister today made his latest effort to win support in Germany for a new deal for Britain in Europe.

Before flying on to Hungary, Mr Cameron was in Germany, the star guest at a meeting of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU)  the key right-of-centre sister of the ruling Christian Democrats.

The CSU is part of Angela Merkels coalition, but it has been at loggerheads with Germanys Chancellor and her open-door refugee policies for months.

Our relationship with Germany is so strong and so important, Mr Cameron told journalists as he stood before an idyllic Alpine backdrop. It is deep and strong. The same might be said of Mr Camerons relationship with the Bavarian CSU.

The Prime Minister was first invited to be a guest at the partys political meetings seven years ago, when he was leader of the opposition.

This time, Mr Cameron was there to reap maximum political capital from the relationship. His aim was to enlist CSU support for his vision of a new EU deal for the UK, the emphasis being on immigration control and plans to clamp down on so-called EU welfare scroungers.

Mr Cameron sees eye to eye with Horst Seehofer, the outspoken CSU leader and Bavarian Prime Minister, who is at odds with Angela Merkel over her refugee policy. More than a million refugees entered Germany in 2015 and there is little sign that the numbers are decreasing.

Unlike Ms Merkel, Mr Seehofer wants the quota limited to 200,000 refugees per year and strict border controls to contain the influx. Like Mr Cameron, he also wants a clamp down on EU citizens who misuse freedom of movement to obtain benefits.

Recommended Read more Cameron steps up European tour as EU negotiation deadline looms

He argues that immigration control is of existential importance to his own party, whose support is being undermined by Germanys new vehemently anti-immigration party, the Alternative for Germany. Mr Cameron, who faces similar existential threats from the combined forces of Ukip and his own eurosceptic Tory colleagues, is clearly hoping that support from the CSU for his aims would help sway Ms Merkel into agreeing to them as well.

I am confident that we will reach a conclusion that is both good for Britain and good for Europe, he insisted. A result will not emerge until next months EU summit at the earliest.

Earlier, in an article for Bild, Mr Cameron warned German readers that support for the EU among the UK public had declined over many years.

The problems in the EU that we are trying to fix are problems for Germany and other European partners too, he wrote.

We want to sweep away the excessive bureaucracy and the barriers to trade that undermine growth for us all. We want to establish the clear rules that will allow the Eurozone to make changes without damaging non-Euro countries.

We want to deal with the loss of democratic consent for the EU by shifting power from Brussels to the Bundestag, the House of Commons and other national parliaments, so decisions are made closer to the people. And we want to stop people taking out from a welfare system without contributing to it first.

As always, the sticking point is Mr Camerons plan to make sure that EU citizens who come to work in Britain will in future have to wait for four years before they can gain tax, social and welfare benefits.

Manfred Weber, a leading CSU member and the partys main representative in the European Parliament, admitted Mr Camerons four-year benefit bar was a problem.

We do not want to discriminate against the principle of freedom of movement within the EU, he told The Independent. But we are open for legislative changes.

Unconfirmed reports from Brussels have suggested that Ms Merkel and her French counterpart Francois Hollande are mulling over a proposal which would reduce the benefit bar to three years.

If Cameron were offered that, he would jump at it, a source close to the British side was quoted as saying.

But despite all the professed common ground, Mr Camerons Bavarian friends dismissed the idea of a three-year bar as speculation.
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A German pensioner strangled then dismembered his wife before encasing her head in concrete and using it to drown himself, police have said.

The unnamed 72-year-old was discovered in Lake Traunsee in Austria on Monday - the day after two suitcases filled with the remains of his 71-year-old wife were found on the shore.

Local authorities said the man - believed to be from Frankfurt in Germany - strangled the woman before killing himself. The concrete block was found attached to his hand.

A witness found the suitcases on the shore near the town of Gmunden, 50 miles east of Salzburg, on Sunday, but police were not able to identify the woman until her head was found on Monday.

State prosecutor Birgit Ahamer, from the nearby town of Wels, told reporters that authorities believed the incident was an extended suicide but did not release the identities of the bodies.

Postmortem examinations have indicated the woman was strangled between 25 December and 1 January. The man drowned some time later.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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There is no sign of involvement by any third party.

Additional reporting by AP

Anyone needing confidential support can call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90.
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A man reportedly shouting Allah Akbar  and wearing a fake explosives belt has been shot dead outside a police station in Paris - a year after the jihadist massacre at Charlie Hebdo magazine.

The man attacked and slighty injured a policeman outside the station in the Goutte dOr district in northern Paris.

A police source said his colleagues had opened fire when the attacker appeared to put his hand to his jacket.

A wire protruded from the jacket and was connected to a package taped to the inner lining.

Upon examination, it was found that the package contained no explosives, the source said.

Police rubbished a report, circulated by the Twitter feed of a bogus journalist, that the attacker was Salah Abdeslam, the missing survivor of the jihadist death squad which attacked Paris on 13 November.

Police officers secure the perimeter near the scene of a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris

The body of a bald man, wearing blue jeans and a grey flak jacket, lay on the pavment outside the police station for more than an hour after the shooting.

A small robot camera on wheels was sent out from the station to examine the body and the apparent explosives belt. Experts finally arrived and decided that it was fake.

In pictures: Paris police shooting Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Paris police shooting In pictures: Paris police shooting French police secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris Reuters In pictures: Paris police shooting French police and rescue workers are seen in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or in the north of Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police use a bomb disposal robot to inspect the body of a man shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting Police officers secure the perimeter near the scene of a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting Police officers stand guard near a shooting scene after a man carrying a knife attempted to enter a Paris police station in the Goutte d'Or area, northern Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police check a pedestrian as they secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris In pictures: Paris police shooting French police officer patrol at the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris, after police shot a man dead as he was trying to enter a police station in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or In pictures: Paris police shooting An armed French police officer patrols at the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris, after police shot a man dead as he was trying to enter a police station in the Rue de la Goutte d'Or In pictures: Paris police shooting In pictures: Paris police shooting Police secure the area after the man was shot dead

The street, in the 18th arrondissement not far from the Gare du Nord, was cordoned off while the belt was inspected.

Paris was on high alert for a possible terrorist attack today - a year after the Kouachi brothers attacked Charlie Hebdo magazine murdering 12 people.

Minutes before the attack at around noon, French President Francois Hollande had paid homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including three police shot to death last January.

Police said the neighborhood in northern Paris, which has a large immigrant population, was locked down after the shooting.
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Turkish police have discovered a factory allegedly making fake life jackets for refugees - which could put those preparing to make the dangerous and arduous journey to Greece by sea further at risk.

Officers reportedly seized 1,263 jackets from a warehouse in Izmir, filled with non-buoyant materials. The illegal workshop had four workers, two of whom were Syrian children, according to local news agencies.

It follows a week in which the bodies of more 34 people washed up in Greece, many of whom were wearing life jackets. Several children were among them.

The Guardian also reported being offered counterfeit life jackets on two trips to Izmir last year, on a popular shopping strip close to two police stations. Some of the jackets were emblazoned with 'Yamaxa' rather than the real brand, 'Yamaha'.

Real jackets cost as much as 100 - but cheap versions can be picked up for as little as 10, the BBC reports.

With more than 2,000 refugees attempting to make the crossing from Turkey to Greece every day so far this month, trade is reportedly so intense that some shops now sell the jackets as their primary products.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

A shop assistant told the Guardian in November: We only sell two or three pairs of shoes a day.

But were still selling between 100 and 300 lifejackets. In the summer sometimes it was a thousand  the factories couldnt keep up.

More than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean in 2015.
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Sweden and Denmark are the countries with the highest rates of sexual harassment in the EU.

A chart compiled by Statista for The Independent shows the percentage of people who said they experienced sexual harassment as adults in the EUs member states.

The results are based on data from 2012, published by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, in its 2014 report, Violence against women: an EU-wide survey.

The data shows that in Sweden and Denmark, 80 to 100 per cent of people said they were sexually harassed as adults  the highest anywhere in the continent.

In the UK, France, Germany, and Finland, 60 to 79 per cent of people said they were sexually harassed.

A report on the data states: The observed variations between EU member states in the prevalence rates of sexual harassment can be explained by a number of factors looked at in combination.

For example, the different level of acknowledgement of sexual harassment in national legislation and its prioritisation in specific policies and political debates might be reflected in womens overall level of awareness of sexual harassment as a fundamental rights abuse, and their disclosure of such experiences.

Last year, the Gatestone Institute named Sweden the rape capital of the west, based on data collected in 2010, which put it only behind Lesotho in southern Africa in terms of occurrence of rape.

According to the Institute, the fact that in 1975 the Swedish parliament unanimously decided to change the former homogenous Sweden into a multicultural county was of relevance when discussing why the number of rapes had increased.

It said: Over the past 10 to 15 years, immigrants have mainly come [into Sweden] from Muslim countries such as Iraq, Syria and Somalia. Might this influx explain Swedens rape explosion?

It is difficult to give a precise answer, because Swedish law forbids registration based on peoples ancestry or religion.

One possible explanation is that, on average, people from the Middle East have a vastly different view of women and sex than Scandinavians have.

And despite the attempts by the Swedish establishment to convince that everyone setting foot on Swedish soil becomes exactly like those who have lived here for dozens of generations, facts point in an altogether different direction.
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A victim of the New Years attacks in Cologne, known as Jenny, had a firework placed in the hood of her coat and was left with burns, while another victim who did not want to be named was "groped between the legs". The news comes as more victims speak out about how they were attacked on New Year's Eve in Cologne.

The attacks, allegedly carried out by a 1,000-strong drunk, male crowd, resulted in two reports of rape, according to an article in Der Spiegel.

Police have started to identify three suspects and have confirmed that some of the alleged attackers were already known to them. However, no arrests have been made. Germany's Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere strongly criticised the way police dealt with the attacks. "The police shouldn't work like this," he said, as reports that the police barely intervened during the attacks came to light. Mr de Maiziere condemned the police, saying they shouldn't have allowed the attackers to return to the square once it was evacuated.

The victim known as Jenny, told German television how she heard a sizzling sound in her hood. "I tried to get the firecracker out of the hood. Then it fell into my jacket and burned everything. The scars will be permanent. I was lucky it didn't explode."

Another victim, Michelle, described how those who allegedly attacked the women were full of hate and anger and she and her fellow female friends had to hold hands for safety. Many of the women were also robbed,while one victim who wished to remain unnamed told German television that she and her friends were 'fondled and groped.'

A 17-year-old unnamed British girl also came forward to share her story from New Years Eve. She told the BBC that she was in Cologne with her boyfriend.

She said, We heard a woman screaming and crying somewhere in the midst of this crowd, appearing to be escaping from a foreign man, who was shouting back and pointing his finger at her and chasing her with his accomplices.

Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Show all 19 1 /19 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Afghanistan Recommendation: I urge the Government of Afghanistan to adopt legislative reforms to ensure that sexual violence offences are not conflated with adultery or morality crimes and to establish infrastructure for the delivery of protection, health and le gal services to survivors. I call on the Ministry of the Interior to accelerate efforts to integrate women into the Afghan National Police, thereby enhancing its outreach and its capacity to address sexual and gender-based violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Central African Republic Recommendation: I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communique of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Colombia Recommendation: I commend the Government of Colombia for the progress made to date and its collaboration with the United Nations, including through the visit of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in March 2015. I encourage the authorities to implement Law 1719 and continue to prosecute cases of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure that survivors receive justice and receive reparations. Conflict-related sexual violence should continue to be addressed in the Havana peace talks, as well as in the resulting accords and transitional justice mechanisms. Particular attention should be paid to groups that face additional barriers to justice such as ethnic minorities, women in rural areas, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and women abused within the ranks of armed groups. I encourage the Government to scale up its protection measures and share its good practices with other conflict-affected countries Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Congo Recommendation: I urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure full implementation of the armed forces action plan against sexual violence, to systematically bring perpetrators to justice and to deliver reparations to victims, including payment of outstanding compensation awards. I call on donors and the United Nations system to support the Government in its efforts and to pay increased attention to neglected areas, including unregulated mining regions Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Iraq Recommendation: I commend the Government of Iraq for its national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and urge its swift implementation, including by training its security forces to ensur e respect for womens rights. Programmes to support the social reintegration of women and girls released from captivity by ISIL are urgently needed, as is community-based medical and psychological care. The capacity of the United Nations system should be enhanced through the deployment of Womens Protection Advisers or equivalent specialists Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Libya Recommendation: I urge the national authorities in Libya to implement Decree No. 119 and Resolution 904 of 2014 to ensure redress for all victims, including those affected by the current conflict, through the establishment of multisectoral services and the adoption of legislation to categorically prohibit sexual violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Mali Recommendation: I urge the Government of Mali, with support from United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers so that services can reach remote areas. I further call on all parties to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in the inter-Malian dialogue and that perpetrators of sexual violence do not benefit from amnesty or early release Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Myanmar Recommendation: I urge the Government of Myanmar to continue with its reform agenda and, in the process, take practical and timely actions to protect and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and to ensure that security personnel accused of such crimes are prosecuted. Sexual violence should be an element in all ceasefire and peace negotiations, excluded from the scope of amnesty provisions and addressed in transitional justice processes. It is critical that women be able to participate consistently in and influence these processes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Somalia Recommendation: I reiterate my call to the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the commitments made under the joint communique of 7 May 2013 and its national action plan to combat sexual violence in conflict, including specific plans for the army and the police. I encourage the adoption of a sexual offences bill as a matter of priority Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life South Sudan Recommendation: I urge the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to adopt action plans to implement the commitments made under their respective communiques. I call upon the Government of South Sudan to address the negative impact of customary law on womens rights and to reflect international human rights standards in national law. I also encourage the African Union to make public and act upon the report of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sudan (Darfur) Recommendation: I call upon the Government of the Sudan to grant the United Nations and its humanitarian partners unfettered access for monitoring and the provision of assistance to people in need in Darfur. Given that there has been grave concern over sexual violence in Darfur for more than a decade, I encourage the Government to engage with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to develop a framework of cooperation to address the issue comprehensively Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Syria Recommendation: I acknowledge the Governments invitation to my Special Representative to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and call upon the authorities, in the context of such a visit, to agree on specific measures to prevent sexual violence, including by members of the security forces. I condemn the use of sexual violence by ISIL and all other parties listed in the annex to the present report and call on them to cease such violations immediately and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Yemen Recommendation: I urge the authorities in Yemen to undertake legislative reform as a basis for addressing impunity for sexual violence, ensuring the provision of services for survivors and aligning the minimum legal age of marriage with international standards. I further call on the authorities to engage with local community and faithbased leaders to address sexual and gender-based violence and discriminatory social norms Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Bosnia and Herzegovina Recommendation: I urge the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize legislation and policies so that the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to reparations are consistently recognized and to allocate a specific budget for this purpose. I further call upon the authorities to protect and support survivors participating in judicial proceedings through, inter alia, referrals to free legal aid, psychosocial and health services, as well as economic empowerment programmes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Ivory Coast Recommendation: I urge the Government of Cote dIvoire to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy to combat gender-based violence and the action plan for FRCI, and call on the international community to support these efforts. It is critical to accelerate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and strengthen law enforcement to ensure that ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the transport sector do not pose a risk to women and girls who are reliant on those services. The Government and the international community must provide monitoring and awareness-raising to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of sexual violence in the context of the presidential elections to be held in October 2015 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Liberia Recommendation: I call on the Government of Liberia to continue its critical efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence including through the United Nations-Government of Liberia Joint Programme, and in the context of recovery from the Ebola virus epidemic Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nepal Recommendation: I encourage the Government to ensure that survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are recognized under the law as conflict victims, which will enable them to access services, judicial remedies and reparations. I further call on all parties involved in the transitional justice process to ensure that the rights and needs o f survivors of sexual violence are addressed in institutional reforms and that these crimes are excluded from amnesties and statutes of limitations Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sri Lanka Recommendation: I call upon the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of sexual violence, including against national armed and security forces, and to provide multisectoral services for survivors, including reparations and economic empowerment programmes for women at risk, including war widows and female heads of household Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nigeria Recommendation: I encourage the Government to implement its national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to ensure that womens protection concerns are mainstreamed throughout its security operations. I also call upon the authorities to guarantee security in and around internally displaced persons camps and to extend medical and psychosocial services to high-risk areas

"Later on, we saw two men corner women at the cathedral and touch them while they were screaming for help and trying to fight back.

Around 2am, the girl says she and her boyfriend returned to the station where the situation appeared to have worsened.

"The fights had increased, people who were drunk were throwing their bottles aimlessly and I was afraid that one would be thrown at me so I had to cover my face near the crowds," she said.

"I saw a group of older foreign men go up to a group of younger girls (they looked under 18) in the underground train and started pushing them around and touching them, and the girls stumbled near to the train tracks. But thankfully a German man stood up and defended them, so the girls were able to run away."

Reports of the attacks caused widespread condemnation of Mayor Henriette Recker, who said that women should hold men at arms length to protect themselves. However, as more reports surfaced that the alleged attackers were mostly of north African or Middle Eastern origin, a greater number of people are turning the crisis away from an issue of violence and intimidation, and on to a question of immigration.

Tweets included those from MP Stephen Bilger from Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Party who said: It cant go on like this, he tweeted. Urgently needed: reduction of influx, secure borders, intensifying of deportations and meaningful justice.
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Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of launching an air strike on its embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a.

According to Iranian state-run TV channels a number of embassy guards were injured in the alleged missile attack.

The IRIB news channel quoted an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaber Ansari, as saying: "Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff."

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it was investigating Iran's claim.

He confirmed heavy air strikes were carried out in Sana'a on Wednesday night, but said they were targeting Houthi missile launchers.

Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said the coalition had requested the coordinates of all current diplomatic missions in Yemen and implied Iran's accusation came via Houthi sources, who he said "have no credibility".

Earlier, Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using cluster bombs in a series of air strikes on Thursday which, it said, killed five people.

The claims come amid escalating tensions between the two Middle East powers, after the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia and the subsequent ransacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia is militarily backing the ousted Sunni-led government in Yemen, while Iran backs the Shia Houthi rebels.

More follows
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An Israeli reporter has been stabbed by the president of a body armour company who was trying to prove the strength of their protective vests.

Eitam Lachover donned the garment for a segment on Channel 1 news amid a continuing wave of attacks in Israel and the West Bank.

Yaniv Montakyo, vice president of the manufacturing company, pulled out a large steel commando knife that he said was used by armies around the world.

Youre going to stab me with this? Mr Lachover asked, looking at the weapon dubiously.

Yes, Mr Montakyo replied. You have nothing to worry about, we are very confident in our product.

This product can protect from knives that are stronger than this one. Dont be afraid  if something happens, Im here.

He proceeded to turn the reporter around and stab him multiple times in the back, but on the third strike the blade penetrated the vest.

The executive shouted that he missed before helping the injured reporter out of the garment as footage quickly cut back to the television studio.

Mr Lachover said that he had not been seriously injured in the accident on Wednesday.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

Superficial stab wounds, had some stitches and was released back home, he wrote on Twitter. Many thanks to everyone for your concern!

When interviewed afterwards on Israels Channel 2, Mr Montakyo, said he had stabbed the journalist in an area with less protective material but added that in an earlier take the vest had been successful.

It came as many Israelis seek to protect themselves from the risk of stabbing and shooting attacks, which have killed 21 Israelis and an American citizen since the latest wave of violence erupted in September.

At least 132 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the same period, including 91 who were carrying out an attack or believed to be attempting one.

Additional reporting by AP
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Up to 40,000 people in the besieged Syrian settlement of Madaya have been forced to turn to leaves and flower petals to stay alive after eating all of the town's stray dogs and cats.

Photographs and videos taken inside the former holiday resort show the corpses of men, women and children who have died of starvation as the siege enters its sixth month.

As the Syrian winter grips the city, electricity is in short supply and food sources almost non-existent.

Soldiers loyal to Syrias embattled president Bashar al-Assad and members of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah continue to surround the city, cutting off fresh supplies of food and drink and preventing citizens from escaping by filling the surrounding countryside with landmines.

This image of a young child has been released by activists in the Syrian town of Madaya

One image shared on Facebook appears to show a desperate citizen preparing to slit the throat of a cat while other photos show malnourished children eating a broth made of olive tree leaves and water.

There are no more cats or dogs alive in the town. Even tree leaves that we have been eating have become scarce, local resident Abu Abdul Rahman told Al Jazeera.

In pictures: Syria conflict Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Syria conflict In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrians carry children amid debris following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian man carries a girl on a street covered with dust following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrians react as they stand amid debris following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian man carries a girl amid debris following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis An injured Syrian man walks out from the rubble of a destroyed building following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian woman makes her way through debris following a air strike by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis People stand on the rubble of collapsed buildings at a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in the Al-Fardous neighbourhood of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrian residents stand amid the rubble of destroyed buildings In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian resident grasps a mattress amid rubble in the al-Firdous neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A view taken from Tel al-Sawadi shows a large explosion allegedly at the Wadi Deif Syrian army base in northwestern Idlib on May 14, 2014, which opposition fighters have been trying to capture for more than a year. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamist rebels detonated explosives planted in a tunnel under the army base killing or injuring dozens. AFP In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A bullet-riddled parking sign stands amid debris in a deserted street leading into the old city of Homs In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A general view shows abandoned buildings on a deserted square in the old city of Homs after Syrian government forces regained control of rebel-controlled areas In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A military vehicle that belongs to the Free Syrian Army is seen in Al-Amariya district in Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A mosque is pictured through shattered glass in the old city of Homs, as rebel fighters withdrew from the city centre in line with a negotiated withdrawal deal with the government after having held out under tight siege for nearly two years In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Buses carrying Free Syrian Army fighters leaving Homs. Exhausted and worn out from a year-long siege, hundreds of Syrian rebels left their last remaining bastions in the heart of the central city of Homs under a cease-fire deal with government forces. The exit of some 1,200 fighters and civilians will mark a de facto end of the rebellion in the battered city, which was one of the first places to rise up against President Bashar Assad's rule, earning it the nickname of "capital of the revolution" In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrian government forces hold up a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad (L) while others raise the national flag on top of a pole in the old city of Homs In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad run through Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr crossing after their release by rebels. They were freed as part of a larger deal which saw the last remaining Syrian rebels in central Homs city evacuate their positions and free captives in several locations in northern Syria In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian woman and two children walk past heavily damaged buildings in the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A man carries a wounded girl following a reported bombardment with explosive-packed "barrel bombs" by Syrian government forces in the al-Mowasalat neighborhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A wounded man sits as he is treated at a makeshift hospital following a reported bombardment with explosive-packed "barrel bombs" by Syrian government forces in the al-Sakhour district of the northern city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Debris rises in what Free Syrian Army fighters and Islamic rebels said was an operation to strike Al-Sahaba checkpoint, which is considered a gateway to Al-Dayf valley, and remove forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Maarat Al-Nouman, Idlib province In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Men try to put out fire at a site hit by what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the town of Azaz, north of Aleppo, near the border with Turkey In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Civil Defence members try to put out fire In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Survivors react at a site hit by what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the town of Azaz, north of Aleppo, near the border with Turkey In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Residents queue as they wait to receive food aid distributed by the UNRWA at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, south of Damascus In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Belongings of Syrian rebels inside a chapel at Crac des Chevaliers, the world's best preserved medieval Crusader castle in Syria. The village was destroyed in fighting between the government and rebel forces while the castle, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, also has been damaged over the past two years In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Hosen Sabah, a 16-year-old student is comforted by his mother at a hospital in Damascus. Nosen was wounded by a mortar outside his school, while 14 other students were killed and over 80 wounded In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Free Syrian Army fighter works on a locally made launcher before firing it towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Mork town In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrian policemen and citizens inspecting the site of a car bomb at the entrance of Moadhamiyet al-Sham neighborhood in rural Damascus. According to Syria's Arab News Agency (SANA), a car bomb explosion has gone off in the countryside of Damascus and initial information say there are casualties, where a car rigged with explosions was remotely detonated at the entrance of Moadhamiyet al-Sham neighborhood in rural Damascus during engineering units it was trying to dismantled it In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Opposition fighters carrying a rocket launcher during clashes against government forces in the Sheikh Lutfi area, west of the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian man helps a woman to make her way through debris following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian man reacts as he carries the body of injured boy following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 civilians were killed in the attack In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrian rescue workers carry the body of a woman following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A Syrian woman walks past the burning wreckage of a car following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A man and two children run to a safer place following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A man holds an injured child after, according to activists, two barrel bombs were thrown by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in Hullok neighbourhood of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis An injured man talks on a walkie-talkie after, according to activists, two barrel bombs were thrown by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in Hellok neighbourhood of Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis A man walks inside a mosque damaged by, according to activists, a barrel bomb thrown by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in Old Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Syrians gather at the site of reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo In pictures: Syria conflict Syria crisis Rebel fighters carry their weapons as they run to avoid snipers loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the town of Morek in Hama province

Describing the situation as tragic is merely airbrushing reality on the ground, he added.

The situation is so desperate that starving residents spend their days trying not to move in an attempt to conserve energy. With temperatures falling, the Red Cross says locals have been forced to burn plastic to keep warm, exposing themselves to fumes.

As the citys 40,000 inhabitants consume the final few animals living in the city, many have turned to grass and flower petals to provide basic nutrients.

While this may be just about enough to keep some otherwise healthy adults alive, children, the elderly and the sick are dying on a daily basis.

We cannot provide milk for infants, Dr Khaled Mohammed told Germanys Deutsche Presse news agency. Today, a 10-year-old child died of malnutrition, he added.

The price of a kilogram of rice, once the staple food of the town, is understood to have risen to a staggering 170 - far beyond the budget of all but the wealthiest residents.

Dr Mohamad Youssef, who acts as the manager of the medical council in Madaya, told SKy News that two or three residents are dying of starvation every day.

The death toll is striking mostly the elderly, the women and children, he said. The medical staff are on high alert 24 hours [a day]. They are receiving people who are severely ill and fainting all hours - day and night, he added.

Soldiers loyal to Syrias embattled president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) and members of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah have besieged Madaya for six months (AP)

Madaya lies just 15 miles from the Syrian capital Damascus, where Assads regime is based.

The Red Cross says it hopes to be in a position to bring aid to Madaya in the coming days but food packages are likely to have a limited effect.

In mid-October more than 20 lorries were allowed to deliver medical and humanitarian supplies to Madaya but those items have already run out. The situation has deteriorated significantly since then, meaning larger and more frequent deliveries are desperately required.
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You've got to hand it to little Moulay Hassan. He's only 12 and never asked to be first in line to the Moroccan throne, or to wear tiny tailored suits at military processions. And he certainly never asked for his hand to be kissed by a sorry line-up of soldiers and suits. So the crown prince has taken a bit of control over his own life by developing a sort of anti-protocol for manual engagement.

In a clip that went viral yesterday, Moulay quickly yet tentatively presents his right hand to each dignitary in turn. The briefest shake occurs, and Moulay is down with that, but any time the other party then moves to raise the prince's hand to his lips, he pulls back as if he's been electrocuted. The result is a quick-fire parade of awkward low-fives and a row of men left kissing their own hands.

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The clip emerged on the day an even littler prince displayed a more conformist royal-hand approach. A photograph of Prince George arriving for his first day of nursery in Norfolk showed him pointing pointlessly at something, in the manner of a chubby-faced Charles Wales. The two-year-old hasn't yet adopted the hands-behind-the-back walk pioneered by the Duke of Edinburgh, nor his grandfather's finger-pulling thing, but he has already nailed the royal wave.

It's always been awkward being royal and having hands. Long gone are the days when a monarch's fingers had any practical use. When they enjoyed a divine right to rule, it was believed that a royal touch had the power to cure a range of illnesses. For centuries, monarchs stroked sick people, particularly those with scrofula. The nasty neck infection often subsided by itself but the apparent miracle of healing proved the legitimacy of the monarchy.

Charles II laid his hands on a record 92,000 scrofulous subjects during his reign in the 17th century. Less keen queens and kings started offering the sick gold coins known as "touch pieces" instead of royal skin. In the old Austrian House of Hapsburg, meanwhile, it was believed that a regal kiss on the mouth could cure a stutter, presumably by rendering the sufferer entirely speechless.

But then we witness, using the present tense favoured by telly historians, a gradual redundancy and withdrawal of the monarchical mitt from the public grasp. Today a Moroccan prince can recoil from his subjects and anyone touching the wrong bit of the Queen is pilloried by royalists and preening etiquette experts. Some will still feel blessed by Her Maj's touch, but it's not going to clear up your gonorrhoea.

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"Royal touching takes a downturn, I would imagine, when Victorians start to understand how infections are disseminated," says Philippa Gregory, the historical novelist who majors on the Tudors. "That's when the gloves come in."

It's rare to see Queen Elizabeth's naked hands when there is a risk of her meeting even healthy subjects. But, unlike Moulay, she goes in for ceremonial hand-kissing. After days of will-they-won't-they sexual tension, lifelong republican Jeremy Corbyn went in for the kiss, if not the kneel, when the Queen welcomed the Labour leader to the Privy Council last November.

We may never know if he followed the lead of fellow republican Tony Benn, who revealed that he used his own thumb as a barrier on the occasions when tradition required him to show the Queen some love.

The history of the peculiar royal wave is harder to chart, and can be viewed in some ways as a form of manual propaganda, a legacy of the royal touch. Gregory traces it to Elizabeth I, who ruled through perilous times and needed to work hard to stay popular. "She does it by appealing to the crowd, smiling and waving rather than passing through it like an icon," Gregory says. Little Moulay has much to learn.
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Spains main centre-left party has said it wants to form an anti-austerity progressive coalition government with the countrys other leftist parties.

The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) has been locked in negotiations along with Spains parties after the countrys general election last month did not give any one party a clear majority.

Leader Pedro Sanchez said on Thuresday that he wanted a government like the one in Portugal at a press conference after a meeting with that countrys prime minister.

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In Portugal the centre-left Socialist Party has taken power with the parliamentary support of the Left Bloc, Portuguese Communist Party, and greens.

There, the government has started undoing the privatisation programme of its predecessors and has said it will plot a new course on fiscal policy.

In Spain, PSOE came second after the centre-right Popular Party (PP). In order to gain a narrow majority in parliament POSE would require the support of insurgent leftists Podemos and at least some assorted Catalonian and Basque regionalist parties  not all of whom are left-wing.

Both Podemos and the nationalist parties want a referendum on independence for Catalonia  which PSOE is dead-set against.

The EU needs a new direction, Mr Sanchez said, according to a translation by The Spain Report website.

With progressive government like the one in Portugal we will fight against precarity and poverty.

"We share the road map and social agenda of the Portuguese socialist government.

Prime Minister and Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy

The PP, led by prime minister Mariano Rajoy, has been attempting to form a government but appears to lack the numbers to form a majority.

Their most likely coalition partner, the populist liberal right-wing Ciudadanos, underperformed expectations. PSOE has ruled out a so-called grand coalition with the PP.

The Spanish general election was dominated by discussions of constitutional reform, including the level of autonomy Spains regions should have.

It was also the worst result since the restoration of democracy for the two main parties, the PP and PSOE.
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The most popular book withdrawn from the official library at the United Nations gives advice on how diplomats and other officials can avoid criminal charges abroad, the organisation has revealed.

The Dag Hammarskjold Library provides books and information to secretariat staff, diplomats, and delegates at the UNs headquarters in New York City.

The most popular book taken out in 2015 was Immunity of Heads of State and State Officials for International Crimes by author Ramona Pedretti, the library said.

The organisation used its Twitter account to publicise the finding, leading some social media users to suggest that international officials might have a nefarious and direct need for the tomes legal advice.

Guys. Why would you brag about this this is not good, one user posted.

Diplomats, heads of state, and other foreign officials on official business can avoid some laws under long-standing international agreements.

In London the Greater London Authority is in a state of open diplomatic war with a number of embassies who refuse to pay the citys congestion charge toll.

The diplomats claim the charge is a tax from which they should be exempt.

The total owed to British taxpayers by the diplomats was 82m as of figures released in summer 2014.

Diplomatic immunity is only waived when serious crimes unconnected to a persons diplomatic role are committed.

The ordinary way of dealing with diplomatic staff who cause serious problems for a host country is to expel them
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Every time guns enter the national conversation in the US - every time there is a massacre, or a contested police shooting or a push for additional gun control measures - we are treated to a repeat of the same conversation. Gun control advocates call for new legal restrictions on gun ownership, the NRA and its Republican allies push back, tempers flare, and nothing happens.

Wash, rinse, repeat. The lack of progress has become so absurd that satirical newspaper The Onion has begun to run the same story every time a mass shooting gets national attention: No Way To Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.

One of the few things that seems widely agreed upon in this debate is that a national conversation about the stubborn resilience of gun violence is needed. The problem is that whats happening isnt a conversation; its two groups of Americans speaking completely different languages at each other.

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To the NRA and its allies, gun rights are civil rights; the right to possess firearms with minimal government oversight is inherent to the preservation of liberty. Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, said that the presidents words and actions amount to a form of intimidation that threatens liberty. To this line of thought - steeped in the historical narrative of the United States as an insurgent nation - the ultimate guarantor of freedom is an armed populace willing to take arms against government overreach.

To gun control advocates, guns are a menace to public health and public safety - a critical factor that explains why the US has a vastly higher murder rate than other industrialised countries. In this view, security and liberty are products of functioning institutions and political engagement, not of citizens threatening the states monopoly on force.

These are fundamentally different concepts representing deeply divergent ways of looking at the world. Unsurprisingly, they play into and are exacerbated by the broader demographic drivers of partisanship in the US, which have seen the liberal and conservative coalitions increasingly divided on age, racial, geographic, religious and income lines.

The US is often described as a libertarian nation. That notion has some validity, despite the fact that libertarianism as an explicit political ideology has met with very limited success - Rand Pauls failure to make an impact in presidential polls being the latest example. Rather, libertarianism is spread between the right and left, with the left focused on civil liberties and the right on economic liberties.

By casting gun rights in the language of civil rights, the NRAs messaging cuts across the different strains of American libertarianism. Thus far that has proven an effective strategy, especially given that their objective is largely to protect the status quo.

But in order to protect the status quo against an increasingly well-funded and tactically adept gun control movement, the NRA and its allies have largely relied on escalatory rhetoric - hence the apocalyptic language that greeted Obamas extremely limited executive action this week. As that language has escalated, they have abandoned the centre ground along with the pretence that they represent a libertarian ideal which most Americans basically agree with.

Ultimately, this isnt a sustainable approach. Sooner or later, the gun control movement will learn to effectively de-link the idea of gun ownership and liberty in the minds of a significant majority of Americans. As with gay marriage, what will follow will be a growing cascade of new local and state laws that build momentum for change at the federal level.

So dont look for a single incident to change the national conversation - instead, pay attention to how battles at the local and state level are playing out to see what the future holds for Americas gun culture.

Jacob Parakilas is the Assistant Head of the US Programme at Chatham House - the views of the author do not reflect the views of Chatham House.
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The Libyan uprising always contained more extreme Islamists than portrayed by its supporters inside and outside Libya. There is a measure of truth in Muammar Gaddafi's claim to Tony Blair that the jihadis had "managed to set up local stations and in Benghazi have spread the thoughts and ideas of al Qaeda."

His claims sound particularly prophetic since the transcript of the Blair-Gaddafi phone conversations are published on the same day that a suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives killed an estimated 65 people at a Libyan police academy. The attack is likely to be the work of the Libyan branch of Isis which today controls Sirte, Gaddafi's home region and last stronghold, and has been battling over the last week to take over Libya's main oil ports.

But it is also true that protests which began in Libya on 15 February and turned into a general uprising had wide popular support among Libyans. By the time of the phone call, protesters had seized Benghazi, Misurata and many other cities and towns while part of the regular armed forces had defected to the opposition.

Gaddafi's repeated claim to Mr Blair that there was nothing happening in much of the country shows that he was either eager to downplay the swift spread of the rebellion or he did not know what was going on. The latter seems the most likely explanation, given Gaddafi's repeated invitations to Mr Blair, who was in Kuwait, to come to Tripoli and his belief that once foreign journalists arrived they would see for themselves that accounts of violence had been exaggerated. "Send reporters and politicians," the Libyan leader says. "Talk to them [protesters] directly; see what kind of people they are and their connections to AQ [Al-Qaeda]."

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It would be interesting to know whom Mr Blair spoke to between the first and second conversations on the same day. But after he did so he says that "if you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully." Later on Mr Blair says: "I repeat the statement that people have said to me, if there is a way that he [Gaddafi] should leave he should do so now."

This may have been an attempt to panic Gaddafi into bolting the country or it may be a sign that foreign military intervention in Libya, which began on 19 March, was already considered inevitable by some. Gaddafi appears to have interpreted the message relayed by Mr Blair as a threat of foreign military action. "It seems that this will be colonisation," he replies. "I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight."

It was NATO air support for the opposition that was decisive in determining the outcome of the war. At the time of phone calls, Gaddafi does not seem to have thought that his own rule was really under threat.

Foreign governments and media exaggerated the military capacity of the rebels and underestimated their extreme Islamic and regressive ideology. Secular supporters of rebellion were taken back when one of the first proposals of the transitional government that replaced Gaddafi was for an end to the ban on polygamy.

The Gadaffi-Blair conversations leave the impression that because it was so obviously in Gadaffi's interests to suggest that his opponents were led by Islamic extremists, that the West was too swift to dismiss the idea. It also looks as if outside powers were determined to get rid of the Libyan leader whatever happened. Since the rebels were not strong enough to do this by themselves, this meant he would be overthrown primarily by a NATO air campaign and the result would be a political vacuum and the disintegration of Libya. Gadaffi may have been wrong about the way things were happening, but he was right about the final calamitous outcome.
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The names of the victims of the attack on Charlie Hebdos office which occurred a year ago today, are at the beginning of a long and bloody list of people who faced violence in 2015 for supposedly blasphemous speech.

Similarly-motivated attacks were not uncommon. Four secular bloggers were slaughtered with machetes in Bangladesh because of their writing; a woman wrongly accused of blasphemy was beaten to death, run over with a car, and set on fire by a crowd in Afghanistan; gunmen targeted events critical of Islam in Denmark and Texas.

Even more alarming is the prevalence of violence against blasphemers perpetrated not by vigilantes, but by governments. A 2012 study found that almost a quarter of the worlds countries maintain blasphemy laws. These lawsoften deployed to silence critics of government as well as religionare dangerous even when theyre not enforced. Their very existence inspires self-censorship from people who rightly fear violent consequences for expressing themselves freely. Unfortunately, such laws have been used to do much more than simply chill speech.

Only days after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, Saudi Arabiaa leading country on a United Nations human rights panelbegan the flogging punishments of blogger Raif Badawi for insulting Islam. The lashings have been halted, but could begin again at any time, and Badawi remains in prison. Saudi Arabia also sentenced another man to death for ripping up a Koran and hitting it with a shoe, and arrested an Indian man for liking a post with blasphemous content on social media.

In Pakistan, two men were given the death sentence for blasphemy, and more were arrested for the same crime.

Nigeria sentenced Muslim cleric Aminu Abdul Nyass and eight of his devotees to death foryou guessed itblasphemy.

Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait considered or passed laws strengthening their ability to punish speech that insults the sensitivities of gods and their adherents.

Poland, upheld its blasphemy law in October, reaffirming that it would punish whoever offends religious feelings of other people by publicly insulting an object of religious cult.

Last January, the world witnessed numerous declarations of unwavering support for the principles of freedom of speech. But as we look back at how religious dissent was suppressed in the past year, those words ring empty. Dissidents around the world are still being violently silenced simply because their mere words about the divine depart from the views of the majority. That's not a state of affairs we should find tolerable. The right to voice opposition to other peoples gods is as important as their right to express belief in them.

The best way to honor the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack is to renew our condemnations of threats to freedom of expression, whether those threats strike close to home or far away, and to call on leaders to stand firm against violent censorship, whatever its form.
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New Year brings the hope of change, a new dawn for the wet-eyed optimists among us. Unfortunately, that gets pretty tricky when youre a woman, forced to ring in 2016 dodging the gropes and blows of a violent mob as happened in Cologne.

Around 1,000 men gathered at Cologne train station and in their booze-fuelled rampage, fireworks were thrown into crowds, police officers were harassed, and most appallingly, women were assaulted on a massive scale.

German authorities report that around 100 complaints of sexual assault, threatening behaviour and robbery have been received, including allegations of rape. The men were predominantly of North African and Arab descent.

In response, a range of German politicians have clamoured for stricter border controls, as 1.1 million migrants have entered Germany in 2015. Far Right groups such as Pegida have monopolised on the opportunity to whip up racial tensions, organising marches and issuing divisive statements on the danger of the foreign integration.

Condemnation is an act of distancing, or signalling ones own moral values in relation to an event, or in this case, a people. The North African and Arab perpetrators are not like us: they are symbols of misogynistic cultures in which the routine sexual assault and rape of women is normalised. Ultimately, they are different.

In focussing on difference, in this case, racial or ethnic difference, we miss vital similarity. There is a common thread throughout these assaults and the vast majority of violence against women throughout the world. The perpetrators are men.

The anti-migrant lobby wont compel their rightful disgust at Colognes events into combating the swinging cuts to domestic and sexual violence charities throughout the UK. They wont support the actions of Sisters Uncut and other womens groups fighting to put violence against women back on the agenda. They arent even likely to push for the most reliable solution to events like Cologne: a robust program of sexual and emotional education that comprehensively deals with rape, sexual assault and gender imbalance.

Instead, the energies of the Right will be poured into closing the borders and refusing refuge. Those who have never fought for womens rights will opportunistically use womens sexual trauma as the vehicle for their xenophobia, another brick for their much-loved border.

Cologne should act as a wake up call to attack the gender violence that pervades all societies. It must not become a battle cry for those who oppose that idea that maybe, just maybe, we have a moral duty to those fleeing from genocide, famine and civil war.
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The issue of single sex education has landed on the news agenda again, thanks to Richard Cairns, the head at Brighton College. Girls schools, he wrote in Independent School Parent, place young women at a huge disadvantage compared to their co-ed peers. What good are a clutch of A*s and a first class degree, Cairns asks, when you cannot meaningfully converse and communicate with male colleagues?

At face value, Cairns comments seem a little backward, even patronising. Yet his focus on women, and on their relations with men, make more sense in the context of the girl-focussed body of research around single sex schools. Various studies claim that girls are more confident and assertive when not surrounded by boys, and are more likely to choose subjects traditionally seen as male, like physics or maths. Yet as Cairns writes, girls at his mixed school are a little nonplussed at their supposed inability to thrive because they are sitting next to boys in class.

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School is preparation for life, and the idea that it should involve segregation from those of a different gender, race or class is ridiculous at best, regressive at worst. The presence of a student who is a little less mature than you, or someone who you (gasp) fancy, may be distracting, but its also something youll face throughout life. If girls are overpowered by pushy boys in the classroom, this should be tackled by teachers  not by sending each group to different schools.

Then there are the obvious logical limits to the argument that boys and girls learn differently, and somehow act as barriers to one anothers education. First, the obvious: treating the opposite gender as an inherent "distraction" loses all meaning when we accept that students might identify as a whole range of genders and, later, sexualities. Single sex schools also come with their own problems - the vicious bullying and gender normativity reported by my female friends; the macho one-upmanship experienced by boys.

Meanwhile, supposed gendered differences in maturity or attainment would be straightened out by the streaming systems in place at most schools, and even the occasional sex-segregated lesson, which have been brought in to positive results in some mixed institutions. The existence of this more nuanced educational approach leaves single sex schools looking outdated and even a little odd. Its unlikely that segregated schools would be invented in British society today if they didn't exist already. As of 2009, only around 11 per cent of British schoolchildren attended them.

To those who would still argue that boys and girls are better off separated during their school years, I would ask this: if it's really such a superior way of doing things, why stop at 18? Why don't we have segregated workplaces? Universities? Shops?

While gender segregation may have some subtle benefits, especially when it comes to getting girls to speak up in class, the practice doesnt actually solve anything  it just shields young people from these issues for a few years longer.

So yes - there are problems in the way that males and females interact in every sphere from the classroom to the boardroom. But perhaps we should work on overcoming them, rather than sending the men off to Mars and the women to Venus.
Ryanair has tapped Uber's pointman for dealing with Europe's governments, Cristian Samoilovich (32), as the airline's first ever head of public affairs.

He'll pursue Ryanair's agenda with European institutions and governments as it intensifies its footprint across the continent.

In what could be taken as another sign of the airline's increasing maturity in dealing with both authorities and its own customers, Mr Samoilovich said he looks forward to working with EU and other European governments.

Juliusz Komorek, Ryanair's chief legal and regulatory officer, also welcomed the appointment.

"His extensive experience and knowledge will be a key asset to Ryanair, as we continue to work with the EU to increase the competitiveness of the European air transport industry, to the benefit of consumers," he said.

Mr Samoilovich trained as a lawyer in Paris, and was senior manager of public policy for Europe with taxi service Uber from 2014 to 2015 before taking up his Ryanair role.

Prior to that, he was director of EU environmental policy and compliance at aircraft maker Boeing. For two years, he was project manager for corporate social responsibility in Europe for Airbus.

Ryanair has had a fractious relationship with European institutions, battling them on a range of issues from subsidies and its plot to buy Aer Lingus, to employee taxation.
Volkswagen is proposing that some US cars can be fixed with a simple software upgrade, while others will require hardware. Photo: PA

Volkswagen AG vowed to emerge from the diesel scandal even as authorities in the US toughen their stance.

"We are confident we will find good solutions for the affected US vehicles," Herbert Diess, chief of Volkswagen's namesake brand, said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "In recent weeks we've made significant progress."

Diess's optimism contrasted with the most recent comments from the Environmental Protection Agency. The regulator said this week that talks on a recall for vehicles fitted with software to cheat on emissions tests haven't produced "an acceptable way forward."

The US Department of Justice sued the same day, a case that could cost Volkswagen billions of dollars in fines.

The German carmaker is facing a thornier path out of the nearly four-month-old crisis in the US than in Europe.

Volkswagen won clearance for relatively simple repairs from German regulators last month, using software upgrades for some engines and, in others, installing a pipe capped by a piece of mesh to regulate air flow. The company estimated that repair would take less than an hour to complete.

Volkswagen is also proposing that some US cars can be fixed with a simple software upgrade, while others will require hardware. Software upgrades are less expensive.

"It's difficult to compare, because we have different technologies" and different models involved, Diess said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "It will be a bit more complex in the United States."

VW's long-term recovery in the US will require new models, and that's in the works for once the diesel engine recall is done, the executive said. The company showed an emissions-free concept van reminiscent of its hippie-era Microbus at the CES in Las Vegas and has said it'll invest more heavily in electric cars to woo back buyers.

As part of its effort to look ahead, the carmaker signed a deal for a European partnership with Mobileye NV for camera-based technology to process images, which could be used with detailed digital maps to help cars drive themselves. It didn't disclose financial details.

"We think we have a very attractive portfolio coming,"

Diess said. "There will be a huge new-product offensive after we get through the crisis." (Bloomberg)
The IDA announced yesterday that its client companies created just under 19,000 jobs during 2015, the most ever recorded in the State agency's 67 year history.

CEO Martin Shanahan said that the organisation is aiming to match that performance in 2016, but added that the rate of personal taxes must be kept under review to ensure the country remains competitive in attracting foreign investment.

The organisation, which is responsible for attracting foreign direct investment, said that every region of Ireland posted net gains in jobs. When the number of positions lost were taken into account net jobs were up by 11,833 compared to 7,131 during the same period last year. Total employment at overseas companies now stands at 187,056 people, the highest level ever recorded by the IDA.

The number of investments by IDA clients also rose strongly during the year, increasing from 197 in 2014 to 213 in 2015.

The investments announced during the year included plans by Facebook to construct a new data centre in Meath and Apple pledging 850m for a new facility in Galway that will create 300 new jobs.

So-called 'new name' investments, which refers to investments from companies who did not already have operations here, rose from 88 to 94.

More than half of all jobs created by the agency during the year were based outside of Dublin, compared to 49pc in 2014.

The IDA said that while there is a "global trend towards FDI favouring large urban centres," IDA statistics "continue to show the strength and resilience of FDI in regional locations".

Speaking yesterday chief executive Martin Shanahan said the agency has a strong pipeline of investments in the works for the first quarter of the year and is expecting a similar level of investment to that seen in 2015.

Regarding personal levels of taxation he added: "At the moment the higher marginal rate kicks in too soon and is high. If we want to continue to attract foreign direct investment and we want to be competitive we need to ensure that we keep that under review as the fiscal situation improves."

The IDA also said its client companies were responsible for about 65pc of all corporation tax payments in Ireland. Ireland took in a record 6.87bn from corporation tax in 2015, which Mr Shanahan said is consistent "with the increased level of investment activity that IDA is observing on the ground".
An Irishman, Colm Kelleher, has been named president of US investment bank Morgan Stanley.

The move means the Bandon, Co Cork native, who joined the firm in 1989, is now linked with the chief executive role at the bank, currently filled by Jack Gorman.

On Wednesday Gorman appointed Kelleher, originally from Bandon, as sole president and his heir apparent, leaving co-president Greg Fleming in the cold. Kelleher is the ultimate Wall Street survivor. But Fleming may find his skills in high demand.

Last year the Irish Independent listed him as the country's 184th richest man, with a value of 71m.

Between them, the bankers have helped get Morgan Stanley back on its feet. Fleming oversaw the integration of Citigroups former brokerage arm, Smith Barney, into the wealth-management division and drove its pre-tax profit margin up to a respectable 23pc in the first nine months of last year.

Kelleher has arguably had more of a slog: the fixed-income trading franchise was more of a mess. And he butted heads with his former co-head of the institutional securities division, Paul Taubman. The latters more strait-laced approach did not gel well with the Irishmans more colorful, salesman-like charm. As with todays shuffle, he came out on top.

But Kellehers chances of assuming Gormans corner office are low. The Australian former McKinsey consultant intends staying in charge until he reaches 65, the companys retirement age, in seven years time. Kelleher is a year older than his boss, so would be more of an interim emergency replacement. That leaves a next generation of potential leaders to groom.

Fleming, 52, may have missed some of the more obvious recent CEO jobs in the financial industry  assuming he wanted them  such as running Barclays. The board of BlackRock, though, may fancy him as a successor to 63-year-old chief Larry Fink, with whom Fleming is close.

American Expresss Kenneth Chenault has been having problems of late. The stock has dropped nearly a third in the past 12 months and attracted the attention of activist hedge fund ValueAct after the credit-card and payments company lost a big-ticket contract with retailer Costco. Now on the market, Fleming may hold appeal to Amexs directors as a potential replacement.

Some of Americas regional banks may fancy hiring Fleming, too. Advising them on M&A was his specialty earlier in his career at Merrill Lynch. With the Federal Reserve now showing more willingness to allow lenders to merge, Fleming might even be in a position to put his old tricks to use. This may be an occasion on Wall Street when both ferrets emerge from the sack intact.
Michael O'Leary's budget airline, Ryanair, has announced that it will begin flying to Belfast again as it became the first airline to carry over 100 million passengers in one year.

In a statement released to the Irish Stock Exchange, the airline revealed that passengers had grown by 25pc in December of 2015 when compared with the same month in the year previous.

In December Ryanair had 7.5 million passengers, representing an increase of 1.5 million passengers from December of 2014.

Speaking about the growth, Ryanair's Kenny Jacobs, said that recent terrorist attacks had seen fare prices fall.

"On the back of lower fares in December (following the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels), Ryanair's monthly traffic grew by 25pc to 7.5 million customers, while our load factor jumped 3pc points to 91pc.

"Our traffic growth over the past two years has been remarkable, rising by 50pc over our December 2013 traffic figure of 5.0 million," Mr Jacobs said.

"We are pleased that over 101 million international customers chose to fly with Ryanair in 2015, as we became the first airline to reach this international traffic landmark," he said.

Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr Jacobs described passing 100m customers as a great milestone and also announced the airline's intention to establish Belfast as its 77th base.

While Mr Jacobs was short on the details of the announcement he described it as a 'logical' step.

"We used to fly to Belfast previously it's a logical thing for us to do because with Dublin Airport being about 75 minutes away from Belfast, of course you'd expect that there are a huge number of Northern Irish residents who are already flying with us from Dublin and also Derry.

"We're going to be announcing that we're going to be flying from Aldergrove again. We won't be giving out specifics on the routes yet but it's a logical thing - it's only up the road," Mr Jacobs said.
Lukas Decker was so annoyed by the feel of loose change in his pockets that by the age of 24 he had set up a company which helps people get rid of unwanted coins.

"I've always been commuting between different countries and the nuisance of currencies was very much on my mind," said Mr Decker. "My background is very international. I'm originally from Hamburg in Germany. I went to boarding school in London and my parents live in Italy."

Mr Decker, who has been living in Dublin for a few years, set up his company - Coindrum - in 2012 when he was studying for a masters in business at UCD Smurfit Business School. He came up with the idea for the company when paying his motorway toll on the way to visiting his parents in Italy.

"I had just come from the airport and when paying the toll, I managed to get rid of all of my loose change," said Mr Decker. "I got out of the car and took a picture of the machine I used to pay my toll - and it went from there."

The satisfaction of getting rid of his loose change - but still using it to pay for something - sparked the idea for Coindrum. Mr Decker knew that no matter how much of a nuisance people considered loose change to be when travelling, they would be more inclined to get rid of it if they got something back in return.

So he set up Coindrum - a company which installs machines in airports that allow passengers to convert their unwanted coins into duty-free shopping vouchers. People are not charged to convert their coins into vouchers - instead, they get a bonus for doing so as they get an extra 10pc free shopping credit when they use Coindrum machines. So a passenger would get a voucher worth 5.50 if he put 5 worth of coins into a Coindrum machine, for example.

Mr Decker knew that such machines wouldn't just be appealing to airport passengers - but to duty-free shops and airports too.

"I knew that in airport shops, the key success metric is the footfall penetration - that is, the percentage of passengers who shop in the airport," said Mr Decker. "We turn non-spenders into spenders. People take a 5 voucher they get from a Coindrum machine and they end up spending over 30 at the till. That's what's so exciting about Coindrum and it's why the retailers are so interested. The airports can make a lot more money as a result. Another advantage of having Coindrum machines in an airport is that they help speed up security checks - because people are carrying less change in their pockets."

Coindrum machines were first trialled in Dublin Airport. Mr Decker raised some initial funds from Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan before launching the trial. As that trial is now finished, Coindrum machines are no longer in Dublin Airport. However, the company is expecting to sign deals with other international airports and travel retail chains soon - as well as returning to Dublin Airport.

"We are in the final stages of signing deals with other international airports and travel retail chains," said Mr Decker. "We'll probably return to Dublin Airport early next year. We're also going on a road show soon to visit major airports in the Middle East and Australia."

The company is in the advanced stages of closing a third "and significant" funding round, said Mr Decker. "Coindrum has already closed two funding rounds - both with backing from Declan Ryan," he added.

It was "largely opportunity" which brought Mr Decker to Dublin a few years ago and which has kept him here since, he says. He enjoys living here.

"The business is very international by nature and we could potentially base ourselves anywhere," he said. "Dublin has been a good place to get started and there are no plans to relocate the company. Besides, I simply like the city as a place to live."

He described the trial in Dublin Airport as a "small but significant project".

"We started very small and we don't have huge revenues - but we have a rich insight into consumer behaviour," said Mr Decker. "Airport passenger numbers are rising across the board. Our success is very much linked to that. There's also more money about."

Coindrum was initially set up with the intention of winning the business of customers visiting Ireland from outside the eurozone - who then wanted to get rid of their lose euro coins before flying home.

"However, we found that quite a few people used the machines even if they flew within the euro," said Mr Decker. "That shows just how much people are annoyed by coins in their pockets - particularly men, as women often have their coins in wallets. Business people are especially annoyed by coins as they travel so often. These people are the ones who really realise the convenience of the Coindrum service - and so they're more likely to use it again."

However, it isn't just business people who like the service. "One unexpected phenomenon was that Irish people started bringing all their coins from home to Dublin Airport and converted over 300 worth of coins at a time," said Mr Decker. "It was an easy way for them to make use of coin collections and they got 10pc extra free shopping credit when they converted their coins at the machines."

Amongst the passengers from outside the euro who were travelling through Dublin Airport, it was the British, Canadians and Americans who were most likely to use the machines before flying back home.

The company makes it money by charging airport retailers commission every time one of its vouchers is used by a passenger to buy something.

"We provide the technology for free and all the retailer has to do is accept the voucher," said Mr Decker. "We only ever charge the retailer commission when the vouchers are spent in their shop."

Coindrum has four directors - Mr Decker, Declan Fearon (ceo of Tipperary Crystal), Declan Ryan, and Frank Roche (deputy principal of the UCD College of Business and Law).

"I had the right partners for the business from the start - and I was in the right airport," said Mr Decker. "Ireland is a brand in aviation - it has a lot of aviation success stories."

At 27, Mr Decker is a young entrepreneur. So is it in the genes?

"I don't think my family can take any credit for my entrepreneurial streak," said Mr Decker. "My parents were lawyers."

He has fond memories of growing up in Hamburg. "It's a beautiful place and quite similar to Dublin in many ways - a harbour city with lots of green and a little too much rain. The summers are nice with sand beaches at the river Elbe - our local Liffey equivalent."

One of the things he misses most about Hamburg is its food. "You only realise the things you miss when you go through a withdrawal period," he said.

"For me, it's curry sausage, a pastry called Franzbrotchen and a drink called Vitamalz - whether that's the actual taste or just nostalgia, I couldn't tell you."

Mr Decker was a young boy when the euro was first introduced so, not surprisingly, he doesn't miss the old German currency, the Deutsche Mark, that much. "I have distant memories of the Deutsche Mark and there is no certainty in the future of the euro currency, of course," said Mr Decker. "Indeed, a more fragmented currency landscape in Europe would be a great opportunity for Coindrum."

Mr Decker is not married but has "a beautiful Mexican girlfriend". "I travel more than ever - it's part of the job and I enjoy travelling," he said.

So are there any coins he doesn't mind having in his pockets when globetrotting?

"There is a five Franken coin in Switzerland which is currently worth about 4.61 - those coins would be an attractive opportunity for Coindrum, especially given the isolation of the Swiss currency area," he said. "I have a lucky set of one cent coins which I had turned into cuff links - they were collected from the first ever coins deposited into a Coindrum machine in Dublin Airport," he said.

So not all loose change is annoying after all - particularly if it was the inspiration for a successful young company.
Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research Institute, talks about developing autonomous cars during the 2016 CES trade show

Self-driving cars are being tipped to cut drink-driving and help rebuild rural Irish businesses, experts and campaigners say.

Ford and Toyota have announced new plans for self-driving cars this week at CES, the world's biggest technology show.

"Ireland would be a really suitable country," said AA director of consumer affairs, Conor Faughnan. "It's the future and it could really impact drink-driving problems here."

And the technology is being backed by some campaigners who believe existing drink driving laws are damaging rural communities.

"This technology will be welcome if it helps people living in rural Ireland living," said Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae, who believes strict drink-driving laws are "decimating" businesses in rural Ireland. "But it would want to come quickly."

Plans for a new generation of autonomous vehicles vary from assisted driving to complete self-navigating cars that need no human input while moving.

The technology would allow someone with diminished or no driving ability to safely and legally use a car to move along Irish roads.

"We want to make a car that is incapable of causing a crash," said Gill Pratt, head of Toyota Research.

The Japanese car maker wants to save 30,000 lives annually with self-driving cars, he said.

Ford chief executive Mark Fields told the Irish Independent that autonomous vehicles would be "affordable" and "not just for wealthy people".

Testing

Irish road authorities have not yet begun to plan for self-driving cars and the vehicles are not expected to be passed legally fit here for several years.

However, several US states have granted licenses to companies such as Google and Ford to run increased testing using existing roads.

"In ten or fifteen years, rural publicans may well see their customers drinking and afterwards tell their car to safely bring them home." said Mr Faughnan. "The technology is literally already there to do this. It's just a matter of time until the legal and social norms catch up."

Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae has been critical of existing drink-driving laws, claiming that they have stopped rural pubs and businesses from being able to make a living.

"If these new cars aren't priced out of the reach of ordinary people, then yes I can see them making a positive change to the situation," he told the Irish Independent.

Toyota Research boss Gill Pratt said that self-driving cars will be particularly useful for the elderly and people with special needs.

Meanwhile, Ford says that it plans to triple to 30 the size of its fleet of self-driving test cars as part of an effort to accelerate autonomous vehicle development.

Self-driving cars have emerged to dominate this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the world's biggest consumer technology conference. Held in Las Vegas, the event sets many of the tech trends for the year. It is attended by over 150,000 delegates and 3,600 exhibitors who are presenting the latest tech products over display areas that measure more than 20 times the size of Croke Park.
Panasonic unveiled the world's first Ultra HD Premium TV, the DX900, at CES 2016. It meets the UHD Alliance's strict standards for Ultra HD Premium TVs.

TVs are a prominent feature of CES 2016, so it often takes something special to stand out. Panasonic has taken that challenge on and announced the Panasonic DX900, the first LED LCD TV in the world to meet the requirements of the Ultra HD Premium specification.

The UHD Alliance (UHDA) groups criteria takes in a range of factors from resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) performance to image precision, wide colour gamuts, and more.

Panasonic says that the DX900 manages to combine the extreme brightness that LCD screens are known for with the contrast and black level response that Panasonics plasma TVs produce. It added that the DX900 is capable of delivering the brightness highs and black level depths of a great HDR experience.

The DX900 also features a customisable TV home screen, which is powered by Firefox OS. This helps viewers find exactly what theyre looking for quickly, as they can access their favourite channels, apps, videos, websites, and other content.

The Panasonic DX900 will launch in spring 2016 in 65-inch and 58-inch variants.
The two leading stars of Universal comedy Ride Along 2 will jet in to Dublin on the film's release for a special Q&A with fans.

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube will land in Dublin on Friday January 22,. the day of release of the movie, to take part in the event which will be held at a secret location in Dublin.

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy star Baz Ashmawy will host the event and fans can apply for tickets to attend the Q&A via the Universal website.

Those who do not secure tickets can watch a live stream of the event via the Universal Pictures Ireland YouTube channel.

Ride Along 2 sees Hart and Ice Cube reunite under the direction of Tim Story.

Check out the trailer:
Saoirse Ronan appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday and repeatedly plugged Dublin nail salon Tropical Popical.

Saoirse (21) was having her nails done at the South William Street salon in November when she received the call informing her of her Golden Globe nomination for Brooklyn.

The actress spoke about the moment on the show, and repeatedly mentioned the South William Street salon's name.

Today The Ellen Show posted a vine to the show's official account which shows the actress mention the salon three times.

In case you were wondering, Saoirse Ronan gets her nails done at Tropical Popical. https://t.co/JxYsKVpN1T  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 6, 2016

The caption reads, "In case you were wondering, Saoirse Ronan gets her nails done at Tropical Popical".

It's massive exposure for the salon and undoubtedly ensures free nails for life for the Hollywood star so everyone's a winner.

Also during the show, Ellen attempted to teach people how to correctly pronounce the actress's name by giving her a giant name board with her name written phonetically, as 'SUR-SHA'.

Ellen suggested she wear the sign, which came equipped with champagne and snacks, on the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.

Dennis Quaid accidentally pronounced her name as "Sheesha" during the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations in November.
A county councillor who featured in an RTE investigation into allegations of political corruption has failed to make any payments for the past eight years to a woman who won a personal injury claim against him, a court has heard.

A judge warned Donegal County Councillor John O'Donnell that he will order his arrest if he fails to appear in court next month in relation to a compensation claim against him.

Judge Paul Kelly issued his warning at Letterkenny District Civil Court yesterday.

Cllr O'Donnell had failed to pay anything of a personal injury claim to Petra Kucklick, of Rooskey, Creeslough, Co Donegal, which was ruled upon in 2008.

It relates to an incident in 2000 in which Cllr O'Donnell had run over Ms Kucklick's foot with his car.

Barrister for the complainant, Laura O'Reilly, told Judge Kelly that Cllr O'Donnell was now 33,000 behind in payments to her client and that he had failed to comply with the instalment order.

She said Cllr O'Donnell had failed to provide details of his Northern Ireland bank accounts and asked for a warrant to be issued for his arrest.

Ms O'Reilly also alleged that assets including properties could be seen in Cllr O'Donnell's Republic of Ireland bank accounts as "garnering considerable rents".

Kevin McElhinney, solicitor for Cllr O'Donnell, said his client was out of the country today and was unable to appear in court. He said any assets listed in a statement of means provided to the court had considerable debts against them, giving an example of a property worth 130,000 with debts of 180,000.

However Ms O'Reilly said none of the bank account details provided to the court showed any outgoing mortgage payments.

Judge Paul Kelly ordered that Cllr O'Donnell provide an updated statement on his assets and means within four weeks to Ms Kucklick.

"Those answers should be in court," said Judge Kelly.

The judge told Mr McElhinney: "Explain to Mr O'Donnell that if he is not here in court on February 3 I will issue a warrant for his arrest."
Pictured clockwise: Christina Delaney (35) Seefinn, Lissatava, Hollymount, Co Mayo; Kathleen King (56) Knockshanvally Straide, Foxford in Co Mayo; Pat McLoughlin (56) Lalibela, Mayfield, Claremorris, Co Mayo; Anna Ywunong Botsimbo (34) Low Park Avenue, Charlestown Co Mayo and Joan Walsh (42) Carrowilkeen, Curry Co Sligo

A Clinical Nurse Manager caught on camera sitting on a severely autistic resident claimed it was "playful interaction" and "a bit of fun".

Patrick McLoughlin, a Clinical Nurse Manager in Bungalow 3 and Bungalow 4 told the court the severely disabled resident had struck him twice on the back just prior to the incident. However, this was not caught on camera.

Mr McLoughlin, who has pleaded not guilty to one Section Two assault charge, said he then rushed towards the resident's seat in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

He said that on the spur of the moment he ended up sitting on the resident.

"I thought I'd get to the chair before she did, but she actually did. I sat down partially on her and partially on the chair.

"I was just having a bit of playful interaction," he added.

When released the resident followed Mr McLoughlin and attempted to strike him. At this stage another voice can be heard on the video footage requesting the resident to "say sorry" and "give Pat a hug".

Mr McLoughlin said the situation was then diffused and he left so as not to antagonise her.

The father-of-three said he had known the resident for 10 years or more adding that she had challenging behaviour and could be aggressive. He said this was all down to her medical condition.

"I like these ladies and we support them as much as we can," he said.

Earlier Martin Maguire, a clinical nurse specialist attached to Aras Attracta told the court Mr McLauglin's actions were "unacceptable".

He said he had worked on a functional assessment report for the resident which he believed was working well. However, he said he and Mr McLoughlin had had disagreements on how to implement his plans.

Mr McLoughlin, who is English, moved to Ireland in 1971. He accepted Mr Maguire's assertion that his actions were unacceptable.

"I find what I did wasn't acceptable. It was a spur of the moment thing. A bit of fun. We were having a bit of playfulness," he added.

The court was told the patient was severely autistic, with a severe intellectual disability, was non-verbal and exhibited challenging behaviour through no fault of her own.

Mr Maguire told the court that prior to the clip he had considered Mr McLaughlin a "competent" nurse.

Meanwhile, another member of staff at Aras Attracta who is charged with assault of a resident, worked for over two years as a care worker in the unit without the proper qualifications.

Christina Delaney, who is charged with one count of assault against Ms A, originally worked in the canteen from 2003 to 2006.

The court heard that Ms Delaney was appointed a health case assistant in 2006, however, she did not obtain the relevant qualifications until around 2009.

Footage was shown of Ms Delaney forcing a non-verbal resident back into her chair before sitting on her. Ms Delaney then put her legs up against the wall, effectively holding Ms A in the chair.

The incident occurred at November 15, 2014.

Ms Delaney told the court she asked Ms A's consent before sitting in the chair. She said she was attempting to keep the resident safe at the time.

She insisted she did not intend to assault Ms A and denied she was reckless on the day in question.

"I was trying to keep her in a safe zone and to keep her safe," she said.

When asked if she still felt it was the right thing to do she replied: "No".

The court heard that Ms A had caused injury to herself on a number of occasions and an Invasive Supervision plan had been put in place to stop her harming herself.

Martin Maguire, a clinical nurse specialist attached to Aras Attracta said this plan did not explain the actions of Ms Delaney which were not acceptable.

Judge Devins said she would consider the evidence and would give a date for decision tomorrow.

Another care worker caught on camera pulling a resident by the back of her hoodie told gardai she had done what she was shown to do by other staff members.

Anna Ywunong Botsimbo was shown footage of her alleged assault on Ms A.

She acknowledged to gardai that she pulled the resident by the hoodie: "I done as I was shown to do."

When asked if she found that acceptable she replied: "Of course it's not but that is how I was shown to do it."

She added that it was "staff in Bungalow 3" who had shown her this practice.

Evidence was also heard that Ms Botsimbo did not have proper training to care for the needs of residents in Bungalow 3.

Ms Botsimbo was employed through the TTM agency but did not have CPI and Mapa training.

While the training was not mandatory concerns that staff in Bungalow 3 did not have this training were previously raised by Mr Maguire in an email.

Harry Kenny, acting programme director at Aras Attracta said it was up to the agency and not the HSE to ensure staff training.

In a third clip Ms Botsimbo can be seen pulling Ms A by the hoodie back towards her chair.

Mr Maguire said he could see no reason why Ms A had been grabbed in such a manner.

When it was put to him that Ms Botsimbo was keeping Ms A out of harms way he replied: "In the clips I've viewed so far I didn't see any imminent danger to Ms A," he added.

The court heard that Ms A has since been moved to a residence where she lives alone and has two staff with her on a 24/7 basis.

Mr Maguire told the court that he believed Miss A had improved adding: "I have no record that Ms A has engaged in any self injurous behaviour in her new residence".
A FORMER Ryanair pilot claims he lost his job after refusing to carry bags that may have posed a security threat on a flight to Dublin.

Mark Christensen says he is owed over six months pay after being constructively dismissed following the incident.

He was demoted from the position of captain to first officer after objecting to the "undocumented" cargo.

The pilot, who earned 10,157 a month, is seeking compensation at the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

But Ryanair denied he was dismissed and said he resigned from his position at the tribunal yesterday.

It claimed he was obstructive and uncooperative by refusing to carry the bags, which carried cash takings from passengers, and was a routine occurrence.

Describing the incident, Mr Christensen, who worked for the budget carrier for almost 17 years, said a member of cabin crew dropped the bags on the floor in the cockpit ahead of a flight from Manchester to Dublin in September 2014.

He said she told him they were cash bags, but he refused to carry them when he asked if there was any accompanying paperwork and she said no.

"The critical factor is that there is no safety risk to the aircraft," he said.

"I would assume every captain in every airline would have the same approach."

He said that approach was fundamental to airline safety and his top priority. He said it had become extremely important with recent terrorist attacks, including the discovery of a shoe bomber and the bombing of a Russian aircraft in Egypt.

He denied he was rude or unhelpful.

Mr Christensen said he felt Ryanair managers were "out to get me" during a subsequent investigation. He said there were "raised voices" at a meeting when he denied he did anything wrong.

He said he had no employment for over six months after leaving in October 2014.

Counsel for Ryanair, Ross Aylward, said Mr Christensen was previously a captain, but following a disciplinary procedure became a first officer.

He said he was never dismissed from his role but resigned on October 30 2014.

However, the case was one of constructive dismissal, he said.

He revealed that a captain's monthly pay is 10,157 gross and Mr Christensen was earning 6,778 a month as a first officer when moved down a grade.

He said he refused to carry the bags before checking for documentation, which had been available.

He also told the tribunal that carrying cash from its bases to Dublin or Stansted was standard practice, and that Mr Christensen has previously carried such bags and knew what was in them.

Assistant General Secretary of IMPACT, Michael Landers, said Mr Christensen was seeking six months and 10 days pay.

He said he wanted compensation for pay lost following his dismissal until he got a new job, based in China, on May 10 last year.

The case adjourned until March 8.
A DOCTOR was very angry and aggressive with two nurses, a medical inquiry heard yesterday.

Other colleagues claimed that Dr. Omar Hassan Khalafalla Mohamed, during an incident in October 2012, acted unprofessionally with several of his colleagues.

Dr. Hassan, with an address in Dublin 15, is the subject of the ongoing disciplinary inquiry taking place at the Medical Council headquarters in Dublin 2.

Dr. Hassan faces a number of allegations relating to events that occurred and medical care he provided while working as an SHO at the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise, Mayo General Hospital and University Hospital Galway. Dr. Hassan denies the allegations.

One of the allegations claims that on 5 October 2012, Dr. Hassan spoke with two nurses in an aggressive manner.

Mary Brennan Conway, who has worked as a health care assistant at Portlaoise hospital in 19 years, yesterday (Wednesday) told the inquiry that on the day in question, Dr. Hassan shouted at student nurse Ethel Cathill and nurse Elaine McEvoy

Ms. Conway said Dr. Hassan came into the day ward, where she and the two nurses were, so angry and wanted to know the name of the nurse who bleeped him.

Nurse McEvoy had been trying to contact  or bleep  Dr. Hassan because she required his assistance in consenting patients and admitting them to theatre.

That day he was very angry and I was afraid for the nurse, she said, referring to Ms. Cathill.

His tone and his body language was not right  it was aggressive.

Ms. Conway said she could hear shouting from the nurses station. His tone was very bad and you could tell he was angry, she said.

Ms. Conway asked Ms. McEvoy to assist Ms. Cathill, and then another colleague, Mary Delaney, to assist Ms. McEvoy, as Ms. Cathill had resumed nursing duties.

Under cross-examination by Dr. Hassan, Ms. Conway told him, Your body language and tone was wrong. I did not like it.

When Dr. Hassan asked her to be specific about body language, Ms. Conway said You kept pushing [Ethel] into the corner. When a girl is reversing into a corner  something is wrong there.

Speaking to Dr. Hassan, she said, Your tone of voice was loud and angry.

Nurse Mary Delaney, who was also involved in the incident, yesterday (Wednesday) told the inquiry that Dr. Hassan shouted in her face and invaded her personal space by standing within inches of her.

His tone and body language was so invasive of our personal space, she said.

Ms. Delaney told the inquiry of the importance of preparing patients in the day ward for theatre in a timely manner, and of the adverse effect that delays had on patients. She said the day ward closes at a certain time, and if patients are not seen to that day, their surgeries can be delayed until a further date.

Ethel Cathill, who was a student nurse at the time of the incident on 5 October 2012, said Dr. Hassan approached the ward in an aggressive manner, at a fast pace  not in a professional manner on that day.

Ms. Cathill said she didnt feel at risk from Dr. Hassan but that he was in close proximity to her and she felt that he was acting in an unprofessional manner.

I felt uncomfortable in the situation but not threatened, she said.

On Tuesday, a distressed Elaine McEvoy told the inquiry that on 5 October 2012, Dr. Hassan came into the day ward where she was and became very aggressive with her. This was after she had tried to contact him for over two hours, she said.

Dr. Hassan has vehemently denied Nurse McEvoys version of events, and said that she spoke towards him in an abusive manner.

There were a number of starts and stops to the inquiry yesterday (Wednesday).

In the morning, speaking via telephone, Dr. Hassan submitted an application to have the inquiry  which began on Monday  adjourned until today (Thursday), so that he might have more time to secure legal representation.

After considering the matter, the inquiry committee chairman, Dr. Michael Ryan, said it was clear that Dr. Hassan has already been aware of his right to representation and had adequate notice of the inquiry. However, in order to assist the doctor in his search for representation, the proceedings were adjourned until the afternoon.

When proceedings resumed, Dr. Hassan requested that the inquiry be adjourned for another 40 minutes so that a colleague of his might be able to attend the inquiry and provide support. This request was also granted.

Dr. Hassan worked at Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise from July 2012 until 1 January 2013, and at Mayo General Hospital in December 2013. He then worked as an orthopaedic SHO at University Hospital Galway in January and February 2014.

Dr. Hassan is facing allegations of Professional Misconduct and Poor Professional Performance, with a number of factual allegations relating to those.

The inquiry continues today
Addressing his field court martial in Dublin Castle on 9 May 1916, James Connolly characterised the Easter rebellion as "a hurried uprising against long established authority".

Captured within this pithy assessment, it could be argued, was Connolly's revolutionary self-epithet. For, despite commemorative expectations to the contrary, James Connolly's place in the 1916 Rising was not predestined. Profiling Connolly's 'full life', however, offers us an insight into the revolution against established authority which long occupied his mind and which, ultimately, hurried him into the General Post Office. Revolutionaries are not born, they are made.

Of James Connolly's 47 years, 28 were spent outside Ireland. Born to Irish parents in Edinburgh, he was raised in the Scottish capital. In later life he would tour British cities recurrently and reside for lengthy periods in the United States. International socialism was the sustaining influence. Connolly found socialism during his poverty-stricken upbringing, identifying the grim realities of Edinburgh with the writings of left-wing commentators elsewhere in Europe. Despite leaving school at the age of 11, he taught himself enough French and German to read Marx and Engels.

His formative statement on socialist revolution, written from Dublin as leader of the Irish Socialist Republican Party (1896-1903), was to define his activism against 'established authority' in both Irish and international terms: "If you remove the English army tomorrowunless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic She would [still] rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers".

Connolly was a relentless advocate of workers' rights through political and industrial organisation. During his initial American tour on behalf of the Socialist Labour Party (1902-03) he addressed crowds in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Standing at a mere 5'4" and of short-sight and stocky build, Connolly did not have the towering stature of James Larkin. However, his speeches, delivered in an indomitable Scottish accent, were clear and resonant. One contemporary observed: "Larkin knew how to draw a crowd but Connolly knew how to hold one".

His later term in the United States (1903-10) included a period as organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World but he was only intermittently paid. Connolly's dedication to the socialist movement frequently conflicted with his ability to hold down regular employment. On at least one Christmas, the Connolly family went without dinner or gifts.

"The history of all hitherto existing societies", Marx and Engels had famously opened in The Communist Manifesto, "is the history of class struggles". Connolly applied this thesis to Ireland in two seminal volumes, Labour, Nationality and Religion and Labour in Irish History, both published on his return to Ireland in 1910. In the Irish Worker he emphasised labour's imminent 're-conquest' of Ireland. Despite the suffering endured during the Lockout and the formation of an Irish Citizen Army, however, Connolly continued to write social revolution in terms of political mobilisation, not military insurrection.

On 28 July 1914, the First World War erupted. All changed, changed utterly. Across Europe millions of working class men, abandoned the Red Flag, and 'rushed' to their respective colours. In Ireland alone, 44,000 enlisted in the British Army in 1914. It is impossible to underestimate the psychological impact of these events on Connolly. Decades of exhaustive campaigning, speaking and writing on the socialist revolution had been shattered: "We are helpless!!! What then becomes of all our resolutions, all our protests of fraternisation all our carefully-built machinery of internationalism, all our hopes for the future? Were they all as sound and fury, signifying nothing?" This was his Macbethian moment.

Connolly's biographer, Ruth Dudley Edwards, has chaptered his final 20 months 'desperation'. It is a laconic title. Throughout this period Connolly betrayed a restlessness with the world around him, a restlessness which hurried him to violent insurrection. At a public meeting in September 1914 he declared: "Revolutions do not start with rifles; start first and get your rifles after. Make up your mind to strike before your opportunity goes."

He made a similar call to rebellion at a meeting of separatists which included many subsequent military council members. One month later Connolly took on the role of Commandant of the Irish Citizens Army (ICA), leading recruitment; intensifying training and carrying out reconnaissance of capital buildings. By December 1915 the ICA, numbering just over 300, was primed for insurrection, independent of IRB initiative.

Was this blood sacrifice? Pearse's ode to the First World War, 'the old heart of the earth needed to be warmed with the red wine of the battlefields', had met a terse response from Connolly: "Blithering idiot". Nonetheless, the latter's determination to rise up against British authority, even with such a small military force, had a Pearsean quality. First blood sacrifice may be a more fitting description.

Connolly advanced the idea that an ICA rebellion would provoke the people of Ireland into supportive action. He had also hoped that taking to the streets in Dublin would lead socialists across Europe to follow suit: "Ireland may yet set the torch to a European conflagration that will not burn out until the last throne and the last capitalist bone and debenture will be shrivelled on the funeral pyre of the last warlord". Europe's difficulty was Ireland's opportunity.

The military plans for the 1916 Rising have not survived. However, during 1915 James Connolly provided a tactical blueprint for what was attempted during Easter Week. In a series of articles, entitled 'Insurrection and Warfare', Connolly presented historical case studies on street fighting. Using the Belgian Revolution (1830), the June Days uprising in Paris (1848) and the Moscow Insurrection (1905), as examples, he emphasised the tactical superiority of defensive warfare if reinforced by cleverly positioned barricades, thereby exposing state forces to lateral lines of fire from 'civilian soldiers'. Subsequently 'kidnapped' by the military council on 19 January 1916, he remained locked in political and strategic discussion with Mac Diarmada, Pearse and Plunkett for three days, agreeing to join their Easter Rising. In Joseph Plunkett, who had predominantly mapped-out a Dublin-based Rising, Connolly had found a kindred spirit.

"Bill, we are going out to be slaughtered." These were the words uttered by Connolly to William O'Brien on Easter Monday morning. Connolly's performance that week as Commandant-General Dublin Brigade belied such fatalism. On leading a combined Irish Volunteer and Irish Citizen Army force into the GPO, Connolly ordered the men to smash the windows and barricade them, in keeping with street fighting exercise.

He later stood beside Pearse as the latter read the Proclamation, to which Connolly had almost certainly contributed several articles. Most rebels' recollection of Connolly is of an authoritative military leader despatching orders. One such order saw the raising of the Starry Plough flag over William Martin Murphy's Imperial Hotel.

Connolly was a highly visible presence on Sackville Street preparing and repairing barricades, in keeping with anticipations of a British infantry attack. Instead, from Wednesday, artillery shells from Trinity College rained down on the rebel positions. Connolly was militarily unprepared for this tactical upturn. Sniper fire increasingly raked the streets surrounding the GPO. On one Thursday sortie into Prince's Street, Connolly took a stray bullet to the arm. He quietly had his wound dressed in the GPO before returning to Middle Abbey Street. Within minutes, however, he was injured again, this time seriously, a bullet having shattered his left ankle. Incapacitated and in acute pain, Connolly survived his final days in the GPO on a makeshift mattress, dictating orders. In one latter moment of light relief he was to remark of his unfavourable circumstance: "A morning in bed, a good book to read, and an insurrection, all at the same time. It's revolution de luxe."

James Connolly was executed on 12 May 1916. His had been a hurried uprising against long-established authority.

Dr Darragh Gannon, UCD, is currently Curatorial Researcher to the National Museum of Ireland's 'Proclaiming a Republic: The 1916 Rising' exhibition
Some of the women who have worked on the 77 Women Commemoration quilt

A stitch in time may save nine but a quilt hopes to preserve the stories of 77 women interned at Richmond Barracks in 1916.

The 77 Women Commemoration Quilt is being developed for a new exhibition centre at Inchicore, with Marja Almqvist, who runs The Yarn School at Goldenbridge, coordinating and designing the quilt. The Swedish-born artist came up with the idea, having become "fascinated by what motivated the women and what they inspired".

"I realised how few of them were actually remembered," she says.

Some 130 invites went out to women, many of whom are also activists, to get involved. However, when it came to an open day in September, a serendipitous 77 women showed up. They were then matched at random to the women of 1916. Following a lecture by historians Mary McAuliffe and Liz Gillis, each woman embarked on their own research.

Richmond Barracks project coordinator Eadoain Ni Chleirigh was matched with Bridget Hegarty. "Within two phone calls, I discovered there were still some of her family around Rialto," she says. Within a day, Ms Ni Chleirigh discovered Bridget's grandniece and a Communion photograph.

Ms Almqvist says that each quilt panel "reflects one woman, their contemporary woman and their reflection on the journey of women in Ireland in the past 100 years". She hopes the quilt will be something that people can "really explore", not least to unlock hidden meanings.

"A lot of the women were involved with delivering messages so a lot of the panels have little secret messages," Ms Almqvist says. "For example, there were three sisters called Cooney so there is going to be a little shamrock in each of their three panels made by one of their relatives."

The Commemoration Quilt will be launched on March 8 at the Richmond Barracks Exhibition Centre. See richmondbarracks.ie. AM
Writing to his teenage son in 1893, Richard Rahilly, a prosperous Kerry businessman urged him to remember that 'it is only those who do, and are determined to do, all they can, in whatever position in life they are placed, that will succeed in that position or rise out of the bulk'. Few could have imagined how those words would resonate with the actions of his son Michael Joseph during Easter week 1916.

As the third child and only son born to Richard and his wife Ellen (nee Mangan), Michael had enjoyed a privileged childhood and education. After completing his studies at Clongowes Wood, he enrolled to study medicine at UCD in 1894. However a bout of tuberculosis and the sudden death of his father in 1896 meant that he abandoned his studies and returned home to Ballylongford, to take over running the family business.

Enraptured by a young Irish-American heiress named Nancy Brown, whom he had first met during the summer of 1893, Michael, a keen writer, would maintain regular correspondence with her until news arrived in 1898 that she was engaged to be married. Determined to prevent the nuptials, Michael sold the family business and travelled to America, where he presented Nancy with a 100 diamond ring and convinced her to marry him. The union was a happy one, albeit marred by the death of their eldest child, Robert, aged 3.

A financial settlement provided the family with an enviable yearly income of 450, enabling him to live like a 'licensed loafer'. He and Nancy, along with their remaining children, travelled extensively, before settling in Ballsbridge in 1909. Having lived in Philadelphia for five years, where motor transport was plentiful, Michael was eager to purchase a new car on his return to Ireland. By 1910 he had persuaded his sister Anna Humphries and her family to jointly purchase a green four-seater De Dion Bouton motorcar. Though initially a rather poor driver, who infamously crashed into the Chapelizod gate in Phoenix Park, over the next six years both Michael and the car would contribute greatly to the cause by transporting various nationalists (as well as smuggled arms and ammunition), throughout Ireland.

Michael's interest in nationalism had been sparked as a child thanks to a love of Irish and local history. In adulthood, his nationalist beliefs gained momentum. By 1904 he was regularly contributing articles to Arthur Griffith's nationalist newspaper, United Irishman. While abroad, he retained his interest in nationalism and often saved clippings from the Philadelphia press describing developments within Irish nationalist circles, such as the foundation of Arthur Griffith's political party, Sinn Fein, in 1905. Unsurprisingly, when he returned to Ireland, Michael quickly became an active member, subscribing 100 and working as a journalist for its short-lived daily newspaper, Sinn Fein. In October 1910, having joined the party executive, he orchestrated opposition campaigns ahead of the 1911 royal visit by when 'The O'Rahilly' (as he was now styled) was arguably Ireland's most famous Sinn Fein activist, second only to Griffith.

His involvement with the Gaelic League, initiated due to his passion for the language, was solidified when he was elected to its executive committee in 1912. O'Rahilly relished devising schemes aimed at raising the Gaelic League's profile amongst the wider Irish public. As Patrick Maume noted in his Dictionary of Irish Biography entry on O'Rahilly, this included organising the translation of Dublin street names into Irish and campaigns to coerce the post office to accept post addressed in Irish. Utilising his flair for journalism as well as his address book, O'Rahilly revamped the Gaelic League's official paper An Claideamh Soluis in 1913 and began publishing regular contributions from Eoin MacNeill and Patrick Pearse.

Convinced that Britain would not relinquish control of Ireland until compelled to do so by physical force, O'Rahilly encouraged and supported the formation of the Irish Volunteers in November 1913. As its treasurer, O'Rahilly played a key role in recruiting men and gathering arms for the militia. Owing to his personal opposition to secret societies, O'Rahilly never belonged to the Irish Republican Brotherhood and was ignorant of the planned uprising until Good Friday.

Keen to avoid bloodshed, O'Rahilly took orders from MacNeill to deliver his countermand to Irish Volunteer factions preparing for the Rising in Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary on the Saturday night. Due to illness, O'Rahilly chose to travel by taxi rather than in his own car. When he returned to Dublin on the Sunday and learned that the Rising was now due to begin on Easter Monday, O'Rahilly chose to participate declaring, "Well I've helped to wind up the clock - I might as well hear it strike!"

Having fought in the GPO, O'Rahilly was fatally shot by a British machine gun on Thursday 27 April when leading a charge against a military barricade on Moore Street. Retreating to a doorway on Moore Lane, he scribbled one final letter to his wife, pronouncing the Rising 'a good fight', before dying of dehydration and blood loss on Friday 28 April.

Leanne Blaney is a social and transport historian who recently completed her PhD in the School of History (UCD)
Lucinda Creighton's new political party, Renua Ireland, has lost its fifth General Election candidate inside of six months.

Party officials have confirmed that their Limerick City candidate, accountant and tax consultant Desmond J Hayes (pictured inset), had withdrawn from the contest "for personal reasons".

Mr Hayes, who could not be contacted for comment, was cited on the Revenue Commissioners' tax defaulters list published last month as having been fined 1,250.

The fine related to his failure to file tax returns and he told reporters he would be appealing.

It is understood Mr Hayes's decision to withdraw followed talks involving the party's ethics officer Karl Deeter. In the May 2014 local elections, he polled 334 first preferences as an Independent.

Mr Hayes is the fifth candidate Renua has lost since its launch last March.

Last month its Cavan-Monaghan contender Mary Smith withdrew after controversial comments she made about the Pope and the Vatican.

In October, Wexford candidate Shane Dunphy, who is an expert on child welfare, withdrew from the election.

In August, the founder of the children's charity, the Jack and Jill Foundation, Jonathan Irwin, announced he was withdrawing from Kildare South for health reasons. And in July, the Galway West candidate, councillor James Charity, quit the party to run for the Dail as an Independent.
Tributes have poured in for a popular farmer who passed away suddenly at his home on Monday morning.

'Gentle giant' Derek Walker, from Co Tyrone, is well known for leading protests against dairy prices paid to farmers in Northern Ireland.

Mr Walker, who was 34, died at his home close to the family farm at Gillygooley near Omagh. He was married to Michelle and the couple have two young children, four-year-old Jack and two-year-old Gracie.

Derek loved his family dearly and was a very passionate farmer known to everyone. He was also a talented drummer and a member of the Blair Memorial Flute Band in Omagh.

His sudden passing shocked not only farming circles but also the community in Omagh and further afield.

He had been instrumental in helping to organise the farm protests that took place in many supermarkets here.

He also helped set up the farming lobby group Fair Price Farming NI, of which he was a vocal member.

Charlie Weir, the chairman of Fair Price Farming NI, said: "Derek wore his heart on his sleeve. He always stood up for what he believed.

"He loved his farming and his family. It's hard to take in what has happened. Everyone is completely numb about his sudden death.

"I first met Derek six years ago on a farm trip to the USA. I remember he had been cutting silage for two days before that in order to afford the time away.

"He slept for the first two days of the trip to catch up. Since that time I struck up a good friendship with Derek. He had plenty to offer.

"I fondly remember how he addressed people as 'well, sir', as he is the only person I have ever heard come off with that. He was one of the farmers that helped set up Fair Price Farming and we will miss his contributions. I send all our condolences to the family. He will be hugely missed."

Fellow farmer and friend Gareth Sproule from Castlederg also paid tribute.

He said: "I have known Derek since we were 18 and running about together. It was a huge shock to hear of his death. I can hardly believe it because I was talking to him only a few days ago. He was in good form when we spoke.

"After hearing the news I got nothing done on the farm on Monday - and Tuesday was just as bad. It just seemed like I was walking around in the dark.

"Over the years we drifted apart somewhat, but we became closer friends during the past year. He was fond of his band and the competitions. But he also played a big part in the farm protests. I remember the antics of Derek during the milk protests in the supermarkets. He was some craic.

"Derek would have done anything for anyone, he was that type of person. It's really sad and I sympathise with the entire family."

Derek was preparing for the new band season with Blair Memorial Flute Band.

Bandmaster David Swann said he was a "really gifted drummer".

"He joined last year to help the band celebrate its 40th anniversary and he was all set to return this season," he added.

"Derek was indeed a very gifted drummer and was dedicated to the band. I can only describe him as a gentle giant who helped others. I enjoyed my time with him, but it was way too short.

"The band sends its deepest sympathy to his wife Michelle, the children and wider family circle."

Family friend Isobel O'Brien, who was Derek and Michelle's wedding photographer, said the news was devastating.

"It's so sad," said Isobel. "It really is heartbreaking that Derek has gone.

"I have known the couple since taking the photos at their wedding. They were a really genuine couple and Derek was such a lovely fella."

Hundreds more tributes were paid to Derek on social media from all over Northern Ireland.

Every one of them highlighted the high regard in which he was held as a father, husband, son and farmer.
Actor Tom Hickey, star of The Riordans consoles Wesley Burrowes widow Helena and son Kim at the funeral in Bray

Gifted screenwriter Wesley Burrowes led RTE directors on a merry dance throughout the Montrose studios as deadlines loomed and passed.

But he always delivered the script - even if the ink would sometimes be "still wet on the page", actor Tom Hickey told mourners at his funeral.

The 'Glenroe' writer, who passed away on New Year's Eve at the age of 85, helped to define the agenda and capture the social mores and challenges of the time through his skills, said celebrant the Reverend Baden Stanley at the service, held at Christ Church in Bray, Co Wicklow.

He was the writer of a large body of work - 'Tolka Row', 'Bracken', 'The Riordans', and 'Glenroe', a musical, film scripts - as well as Ireland's 1967 Eurovision entry 'If I Could Choose', which was played as his remains left the church.

The President Michael D Higgins was represented by his ADC, Commandant Louise Conlon, while many familiar faces from the groundbreaking dramas written by Mr Burrowes down the years gathered together to pay a final farewell.

'Glenroe' actors Mary McEvoy, who played Biddy, Emmet Bergin and Geraldine Plunkett who played Dick and Mary Moran, and Donall Farmer, who played Fr Devereux, were all there.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Actor Geraldine Plunkett who played Mary McDermott-Moran from Glenroe attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 The remains of Wesley Burrowes are brought to Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow by his family including wife Helena and son Kim and daughter Ciara Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 Actor Donall Farmer who played Fr Tim Devereux from Glenroe attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 RTE DG Noel Curran attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 Moya Doherty and John Mc Colgan attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 Actor Mary McEvoy who portrayed Biddy Byrne in Glenroe attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 The remains of Wesley Burrowes are brought to Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow by his family including wife Helena and son Kim and daughter Ciara (green jacket with blue broach). Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 Miriam O' Callaghan attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actor Geraldine Plunkett who played Mary McDermott-Moran from Glenroe attending the funeral of Wesley Burrowes at Christ Church, Bray Co Wicklow. Pic Steve Humphreys 6th January 2015

A wide circle of friends from the world of arts and former colleagues from RTE were in attendance.

Mourners included director general of RTE Noel Curran, Moya Doherty and John McColgan, along with former RTE managing director Joe Mulholland.

Also at the service were broadcasters Ryan Tubridy and Miriam O'Callaghan, along with former film censor Sheamus Smith.

Brian Mac Lochlainn, co-creator and executive producer of 'Glenroe' and 'Tolka Row'; playwright Bernard Farrell; and former 'Glenroe' producers Paul Cusack and John Lynch were also there, along with Noel O'Briain, director of 'Bracken'.

Fair City actors Bryan Murray, Aisling O'Neill and Tony Tormey were also among the mourners.

Mr Burrowes is survived by his wife Helena, son Kim and daughter Ciara. Speaking at the funeral, Ciara emotionally recalled her father's hospitality. Even after a debilitating stroke in 2011, he would hunt for a suitable drink in his hospital bedside cabinet for a guest - before quipping: "This is a pretty crap apartment."

Tom Hickey - who played Benjy in 'The Riordans' - gave a powerful eulogy in which he spoke of Mr Burrowes's talent, fondly recalling how he would seek refuge in various RTE departments to write as deadlines passed him by.

He also read a portion of a sermon written for Fr Sheehy in 'The Riordans', in which the parishioners were taken to task for their lack of Christian fellowship for the Traveller community, with Fr Sheehy chastising them: "For your strangeness you fear them. . . the falsehood is a better story."
Det Sgt Tom Carey holds a prototype rocket as it and other weapons including a beer keg bomb and assault rifles were put on display at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park yesterday. Photo: Kyran OBrien

Dissident republicans are developing deadly rockets, similar to those fired by the military arm of Hamas into southern Israel, gardai have revealed.

A raid by Garda anti-terrorist units resulted in the seizure of a prototype model of the Kassam rocket, capable of being fired over a distance of six kilometres.

The seizure is regarded by senior garda officers as evidence of the increasing sophistication of dissident "engineers" as they develop the technology of their terrorist organisations. After the weapons trawl was revealed, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he was willing to enter talks with dissident groups in an attempt to bring an end to their activities.

Mr Adams said his previous efforts to reach out to these groups failed and insisted there was no popular support for their actions. "I'm more than happy for Sinn Fein or anyone else to facilitate and support and to help those people who want to be involved in genuine republican politics," he added.

Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahony, who is in charge of the force's crime and security branch, warned yesterday of the growing capabilities of the dissidents to launch explosive and gun attacks in Northern Ireland, with logistical support from their cells operating in the Republic.

He said this view was backed up by the finds made by gardai over the past couple of years when they uncovered a huge arsenal of weaponry and explosives from the Real IRA, the Oglaigh na hEireann and the Continuity IRA.

A sample of the finds during 2014 and 2015 was put on display at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

Appealing to the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity, Mr O'Mahony said that gardai were increasingly concerned that the dissidents might attempt to step up their campaign of violence to coincide with the 1916 commemoration events.

Garda technical experts said this was the first time they had come across the self-propelled Kassam rocket prototype in a dissident "factory". Four rockets were seized in total.

Other previously unknown finds included a new type of detonator and detonating cord and a trigger circuit mechanism involving mobile phones, which could be used to set off bombs remotely rather than relying on wires attached to the devices.

Also on display were an adapted beer keg, which had been filled with 50kg of homemade explosives, along with high-powered military assault rifles.
CCTV stills show the alleged theft of a Meals on Wheels charity box at the Holy Cross Bar outside Waterford city

This shocking CCTV footage appears to show a man stealing a charity collection box from a bar counter.

The incident occurred on Monday in the Holy Cross Bar and Restaurant in Butlerstown, just outside Waterford city.

A man has been arrested in connection with the incident and is due to appear in Waterford District Court on January 26.

During the video, a well-dressed man, in a suit and tie, is seen drinking a free pint of cordial and moving his jacket over the box, which collects money for a local Meals on Wheels charity.

The man can be seen checking out his surroundings numerous times during the video, which runs for more than six minutes, and looks around the bar several times.

When given his drink, he is forced to pull a stool over to the counter as there are no seats in that particular area of the bar.

On finishing his drink the man picks up his jacket and the box and leaves the bar seemingly with both tucked under his arm.

Bar manager Isabelle Bohill spoke to the Herald and said that locals were "disgusted" by the events.

Disgusted

It is not known how much money was in the box but it is regularly collected and replaced by the charity.

"Everybody is just disgusted by it, it's such a horrible thing to do and for such a good charity," Ms Bohill said. "It's just awful."

The family-run pub now plans to host a fundraiser to compensate the local organisation for the money they have lost.

Ms Bohill said that the bar owners were pleased that the incident had been captured so fully on CCTV.

The Meals on Wheels charity is run from Lady Lane House in Waterford city, a non-profit organisation which provides a range of services to elderly people in the Co Waterford and south Kilkenny area.

As well as meals on wheels for elderly or vulnerable local people, the group also run bingo nights and other social events.
Naoise Tobin and Heather Murphy (15) test out their sound-absorbing paint on a tile. Photo: Frank McGrath

A total of 550 of Ireland's best and brightest secondary school projects are in the running for this week's BT Young Scientist and Technology competition.

More than 2,000 applications were sent in from across the country, but just a quarter made it through to the prestigious event.

Now in its 52nd year, the prize includes a cheque for 5,000 and a chance to win a European Young Scientist competition later in the year.

Last year's winners, Ian O'Sullivan and Eimear Murphy from Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk, Co Cork, were on hand to begin proceedings.

Ian and Eimear went on to win the European Young Scientist prize in Milan with their project, which examined the association between teenage alcohol consumption and the drinking patterns of their parents.

"This competition here is much bigger [than the European competition], believe it or not," said Ian.

The two fifth-year students are set to present their idea in Arizona this May.

Ian advised nervous aspiring scientists to "be confident".

"You know your project better than anyone. The judges just want to find out about the project, they're not going to grill you or anything."

Some 27 winners of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition have competed at the European awards, and 14 of them have gone on to win the European prize.

Ian and Eimear were joined by President Michael D Higgins, who said the annual exhibition was "full of curiosity".

"We are at a most exciting and challenging time in human history," he said. "Scientific research is providing us with new possibilities to address the great challenges facing humanity on our fragile planet."

"The scientists often had to courageously defend and advocate for scientific evidence for climate change in the face of scepticism, very well-funded vested interests and, indeed, political opposition," he added.

"While treaties are signed by politicians and diplomats, in the end it was the scientists who made the solution that enables us to address climate change."

President Higgins also praised teachers and parents, saying the students gathered at the RDS had joined a "heroic discipline, a discipline that is at the very centre of the great concerns of humanity of our time, and one that is making a great contribution to improving our world."

He also said the participants were joining a "proud tradition" of Irish scientists, but expressed hope that aspiring female scientists would play a bigger role in future.

"While you may notice that these historical names are predominantly male, a quick glance at the recent winners of this competition will tell you that the list of future Nobel winners will not be quite the same," he said.

This year's competition was marked by a significant increase in the participation of female students: 62pc of competitors are female.

Meanwhile, Shane Walsh, managing director of BT Ireland, called the competition's participants "superstars".

He added that 60,000 people were expected to attend this week's event - compared to around 30,000 and 40,000 people who turned up for U2's 3Arena gigs and the Web Summit respectively.

The winning project will be revealed tomorrow, after the 86 competition judges examine each idea. The exhibition is open to the public from today.
A family owned camera shop in Dublin city centre won praise online when it accepted a 15-year-old voucher as legal tender.

Conns Cameras on Clarendon Street were presented with the voucher, dating from December 2000, last week.

A couple told staff they had retrieved the voucher worth IR500 (635) from the back of a drawer in their home.

"The people in question had misplaced the gift voucher, they had put it somewhere safe and then forgotten all about it.

"Our policy is and always has been that vouchers don't expire.

"We have confidence in our products and pride in our business," Conns Cameras' employee Colin Lydon told Independent.ie.

Colin explained that the couple hadn't anticipated that the business would honour the voucher and are still deciding what to purchase with their substantial amount of credit.

When the shop tweeted about the voucher bought in 2000 one follower commented:

"Any idiot can get a customer but that's how you keep a customer."

However this isn't the oldest voucher to find its way back to the shop in recent years.

Incredibly, in 2014, a customer presented staff with a voucher purchased in 1968, coincidentally the same year the shop began trading, and management were happy to accept it as payment.

Meanwhile Last May it was announced that the Government are planning to ban expiry dates on gift vouchers as part of a major overhaul of consumer law.

The measures are part of a new Consumer Rights Bill.

Every year thousands of gift vouchers and cards go to waste because they are out of date, so the ban on expiry dates will benefit consumers greatly.

A survey in March 2015 by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) found that 48pc of consumers have let a voucher lapse in the past, showing this is an extremely widespread problem.

When it comes to gifts, the new law will also give consumers who get a present the same rights as the person who purchased it.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned that border controls could be put in place between the Republic and Northern Ireland if Britain were to leave the European Union.

During a trade mission to the Netherlands, Mr Kenny warned of the dangers of a Brexit, but added Britain should continue to be a very strong central member.

"I think they shouldn't leave," he said. "If that were to be contemplated, if Britain were to leave, we would be looking at border controls in Ireland despite the fact that we have a common travel area.

"It would also mean border controls between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

"It would also mean probably that the Scottish people would look for another independence vote," said Mr Kenny, who described David Cameron's decision to allow his Cabinet campaign in favour of a British exit as "pragmatic".

The Fine Gael leader suggested that if the British prime minister didn't allow his top ministers leeway on the issue, it could result in some having to be fired.

It is believed that at least two other senior ministers had made clear to colleagues that they would consider resigning if Mr Cameron attempted to force them to campaign for Britain to remain in the EU.

However, he announced on Tuesday that he would suspend collective responsibility, raising the prospect of up to a dozen members of the British cabinet campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.

The move has been described by some British politicians as "crazy", but Enda Kenny said it was a sensible move.

"This is an issue that people are going to feel really strongly about and there is flexibility," said Mr Kenny.

During the trade mission yesterday, Mr Kenny took part in a series of engagements involving Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, where he discussed the merits of Irish beef and Ireland's agri-food industry with some of Holland's top Michelin star chefs at a lunch attended by members of the Dutch media.

Frontiers

Enterprise Ireland also signed an agreement to develop a Space Business Incubation Centre, which will support 25 start-up companies in space-related technologies over the next five years. There are more than 45 Irish companies working with the European Space Agency (ESA) near the Hague, in the development of highly innovative technologies for the global market in space systems and space-related services and applications.

"For the ESA to be associated with Irish companies is truly fascinating. What I saw were elements of how people are changing the frontiers up ahead. Some of these [projects] are quiet extraordinary," Mr Kenny said.
AN election may be just weeks away  but Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams today posted a bizarre blog about getting his hair cut.

He said he didnt want his first blog of the year to be about politics.

Mr Adams said he hates barbers who talk incessantlyespecially (about) politics.

However he revealed he was forced into a trip to the barbers by the Sinn Fein Style police.

I had managed to avoid getting my hair cut for a long time  well longer than usual  when I was pulled in by the Sinn Fein style police.

Your hair and beard are too long they told me. Get them cut I was instructed.

He then proceeds to describe his search for a Turkish barbers in Dublin.

I felt a bit conspicuous standing outside the shuttered shop with its posters proclaiming hot towels, shaves and other mysterious procedures.

He also describes a talk with a female shop assistant about the barbers, when he learned it had shut down.

"The young woman behind the counter looked as if she was Polish. She was tall and angular and she had a nice smile."

He said he thought he noticed her eyes misting over as she spoke about the owner:

"I imagined Abdullah being drawn from his empty barber shop to the young Polish woman with the nice smile. I imagined him confiding in her about difficult things were. They were both exiles. I presumed Abdullah was young. She obviously missed him now."

He later refers the beautiful Polish shop assistant and her Turkish lover", as he recounts the story to an aid.
The first rains of Storm Desmond fell on Galway City on December 4 at 4.50pm.

When the deluge finally stopped almost 30 hours later, some 130mm of rain had saturated the city.

It was the beginning of a national crisis which more than a month later has seen almost 600 homes across the country affected by flood waters, caused millions of euro worth of damage and resulted in severe disruption to transport services.

An entire winter's rain fell in December alone, and now every shower threatens devastation.

But throughout the crisis, dozens of officials from government departments, the HSE, An Garda Siochana, Defence Forces, Civil Defence, local authorities and other agencies have coordinated the response to help prevent loss of life and damage to properties where possible.

They include Sean Hogan, Director of Fire and Emergency Services at the Department of the Environment. Responsible for implementing the national framework for emergency management, he said the plan has evolved over time as flooding and severe weather events have struck. More than 80 days' training has been provided to officials in recent years to help communities cope with nature's fury.

"As each event has happened we reviewed, fairly critically," he told the Irish Independent. "There has been a decade of solid work and it's an ongoing process. The national plan uses best practice from other countries. It's about coordination and the additional structures being put in place, and identifying issues and trying to pre-empt them.

"We would be quite happy that the national response is working well and the local piece is working really well. It's also important to remember that in a lot of places like Clonmel, Carlow, Mallow and Fermoy the flood defences worked very well."

Meetings of the National Coordination Group begin at 9am, and it has met almost every day since early December. At a national level, the emerging issues are identified. The measures needed to keep communities safe are coordinated locally, with councils assisting each other.

In Donegal, the fire service in Northern Ireland helped. Staff from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown in Dublin went to Kilkenny, while Meath sent staff to Offaly and Westmeath, and Sligo helped Mayo. At the height of the crisis, between 1,500 and 2,000 local authority staff were working on the ground, some with little sleep. That equates to almost one in 10 people working in the sector. Between 750 and 1,000 remain at the frontline today.

It's testament to their dedication that most remain in the field despite not being paid overtime. Under the Haddington Road agreement, only outdoor staff are entitled to additional payments. The rest will hope to secure time off in lieu.

The work takes its toll, chief executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, said.

"In the initial 24 to 48 hours after the storm, people worked on two and three hours' sleep. Now we have rosters in place. You have issues with resilience, having the facilities to give them (workers) equipment and dry clothing. We must have hot food and toilets, which have been provided in some areas by Civil Defence, which is also assisting with water rescue, and they would have a couple of hundred volunteers in some counties.

"With pumps running for 24 hours a day, they can break down and you need to have back-ups."

Cork and Kerry each had 250 staff on the ground during the peak of the crisis. Clare dealt with 300 calls on a two-day period in mid-December, and installed 25,000 sandbags, which don't always provide the protection needed.

"Often with sandbags, they work but the water can come up through the drainage system," Mr McGrath said. "We've also had reports of water coming up through the floor. We're dealing with real people whose lives are ruined."

More than a month after the crisis first struck, the local authorities remain on high alert and busy. Since Christmas Day, some 1,683 calls seeking help have been made, with no end in sight for many communities.

'We need to limit building in risky areas'

Too many people live in low-lying areas at risk of flooding because private developers are not forced to bear the full cost of building in risky areas.

A study of more than 50 major flood events, which displaced at least 100,000 people each, has found that low-lying urban areas are more often hit by large floods, yet these vulnerable areas are the economic powerhouses of many economies.

New research co-authored by Dr Tom McDermott of the School of Economics and the Environmental Research Institute at UCC finds that in the past 30 years, more than 500,000 people have been killed by floods and more than 650 million displaced globally.

But when the waters recede, economic activity resumes and vulnerable businesses do not move location.

"Part of the problem is that many historical cities were built in flood-prone locations, the risks of which were once offset by access to rivers or oceans," the research says.

"These cities persisted in their flood-prone locations even when modern land transport reduced the importance of access to waterways.

"But this is not the only reason why flood-prone locations are overpopulated. Governments bear much of the costs of building and maintaining flood defences and compensating flood victims. As a result, private developers can build on cheap flood-prone land without bearing the full cost of their actions. Consequently, too many people end up living in these risky areas."

Dr McDermott said that climate change would result in greater flood risk, and that "at a minimum" a ban on new building on flood plains was needed. "Rising sea levels and more extreme rainfall episodes as a result of climate change will lead to greater flood risk. At a minimum, tighter planning restrictions are required," he added.
Government backbenchers have insisted that the planned task force for the River Shannon must be given "real teeth" as they continue to assist constituents whose homes and businesses have been flooded.

TDs in both Fine Gael and Labour warned that communities were still in a state of despair - more than 30 days after the flooding emergency began.

Other government deputies in Cork said there was deep concern among homeowners who cannot access flood insurance.

The issue of the floods has become a significant election issue in parts of the country.

But TDs whose constituencies are based in the Shannon catchment have expressed scepticism about the announcement of a new task force.

"People are sick of task forces and meeting groups," Labour TD for Clare Michael McNamara told the Irish Independent.

"The reality is we need a single authority or lead agency responsible for what's happening on the Shannon."

Fine Gael TD for Galway East Paul Connaughton said the new agency must be given "real teeth".

He added: "There is a lot of houses in south Galway still flooded and families who are not in a good place at the moment. There is a lot of frustration out there."

Labour TD for Longford/Westmeath Willie Penrose said it was important that the new agency was not one of red tape and bureaucracy.

"This is about the safety of people and their properties. They must be the apex of the solution. All other considerations have to be secondary," Mr Penrose said.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael TDs in Cork South West Jim Daly and Noel Harrington both said families and businesses in Bandon continued to feel anxious.

Mr Daly said without proper flood defences, residents may not be able to avail of insurance for up to two years.

He said he was sceptical of any tangible measures arising from a meeting on Tuesday in Government Buildings.

Mr Harrington said Bandon was effectively "blacklisted" in terms of flood insurance and that was of deep concern. "You would like to think pressure will be put on the insurance industry to move," he added.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has defended only visiting areas devastated by floods in his native Cork over the Christmas break.

Fianna Fail has been critical of the Taoiseach's response to the floods, which saw Enda Kenny only visit parts of his own constituency of Mayo during the first days of the worst flooding to hit the country since records began. Mr Martin admitted he only visited areas of Cork badly hit by Storm Frank - but insisted it was not his responsibility to visit any other areas of the country as he was not the Taoiseach.

"The Taoiseach is Taoiseach of the country. I'm not Taoiseach of the country - he's the executive in charge, come on now, let's get straight about this," he said.

"I have visited areas that were well outside my constituency, but that's not the point. The point is I got a first-hand view of what was going on, on the ground," the Cork South Central TD said.

After public pressure, Mr Kenny visited areas of Athlone in Westmeath that were devastated by floods.

However, local Fianna Fail TD Robert Troy claimed the Taoiseach arrived in the constituency "under a veil of secrecy" and only visited party supporters affected by the torrential rain: "He had a press conference in the confines of the army barracks because he didn't want any of the public to meet him and when he did finally get out of the confines of the army barracks he went and met some of his own party supporters who were affected by this issue, who he knew wouldn't challenge him," Mr Troy said.

The Taoiseach's spokesman hit back, insisting the Government's response to the floods has been comprehensive to date and is not yet complete.

"Micheal Martin continues to play politics with people's trauma and, while it is no surprise, it diminishes him and the local heroes around the country who, unlike him, actually made a difference," he said.

Earlier, Mr Martin said Fine Gael would "decimate" and "privatise" public services if re-elected. He also attacked Mr Kenny's plan to introduce a US-style tax system in Ireland.
Kenny rejects claims that new Shannon taskforce is 'nothing more than a charade'.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will appoint a minister with specific responsibility for floods if he is re-elected for a second term.

Mr Kenny last night said a ministerial portfolio will be responsible for coordinating "the action plans that are going to be put in place".

But the Fine Gael leader insisted that the flood crisis, which has now lasted 31 days, will not delay his election plans.

"We'll have the election early in spring and I'm sticking by that," he said during a trade mission to Amsterdam.

Last night, Coalition sources said that Mr Kenny has spoken of the idea of giving a minister the extra responsibility of dealing with floods in the future.

One source suggested that certain responsibilities from the departments of the Environment and Communications, as well as the Office of Public Works (OPW) could be transferred into a single ministry.

Pressed on the issue, Mr Kenny clearly indicated plans for a minister to be given dedicated responsibility for flooding.

"While I wouldn't presume to determine the outcome of any election, whoever the people do elect, that given the nature of this particular problem, that it deserves to have a more focused ministerial attention in the future.

"If it falls my way, I intend to address that in a co-ordinated fashion from a ministerial point of view," the Taoiseach told reporters.

Meanwhile, Mr Kenny defended the Government's response to the flood crisis and stood over the Cabinet's decision to set up a taskforce for the River Shannon.

It's emerged that the taskforce is only likely to meet every three months as a single body and on potentially another two further occasions with outside bodies such as the Irish Farmer's Association (IFA).

However, there is no detail yet in terms of what powers and functions will be given to the taskforce, which will be made up of a plethora of agencies such as the ESB, Bord na Mona, Inland Fisheries and local authorities.

The terms of reference for the taskforce will be published within a fortnight,.

Several Government backbenchers have warned that they will not tolerate a body that is lacking teeth.

But Mr Kenny insisted that the criticism from the Opposition over the approach to establish the new body is unjustified.

"I reject the assertion that the Shannon management group is nothing more than a charade and a photographic session.

"It is taking the estuary of the Shannon, the entire Shannon base, and managing it through a range of opportunities and responsibilities that many of the agencies have, and what you need is an effective working strategy that will allow for major or minor works to be carried out over the period of this year, next year and the year after and for many years to come," Mr Kenny said. "It [the response so far] is not enough and we will continue to do more and when we have an assessment from the local authorities in respect of roads and bridges we will respond appropriately," he added.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, OPW Minister Simon Harris insisted the new taskforce could have its powers and remit extended in the future.

"What we don't want to do is create another quango, if we were to do that the Opposition would be jumping up and down trying to criticise us," he said.

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Joan Burton has said flood-hit families will be able to review their property valuations in a bid to lift the burden of the local property tax.

Ms Burton says while permissions have been put in place to defer the tax, she would prefer to see flood victims first have their homes revalued.

"There are permissions of course to defer, but I would like firstly to see the valuations being examined," she said.

And business owners who are in receipt of support through the Red Cross will also be shown leeway in terms of filing returns.
Rooney opted to continue with the interview and said that memories of his mother made him emotional

Joe Rooney has opened up about his struggle with crippling panic attacks which almost cost him his career in Irish comedy.

The comedic actor, who has starred in Killinaskully and Father Ted revealed that he has struggled with agoraphobia (a fear of the outdoors) in the past, which has hampered some career opportunities.

Speaking to Jarlath Regan's 'The Irishman Abroad', Rooney revealed that his struggle with mental health became in his mid-twenties when the band he had pinned his hopes on disintegrated.

I had my first mental breakdown at around 25 when the band broke up, he said.

I started having panic attacks and everything because I realised that I was 25 and Id pinned my hopes on this band thing.

Although I was working in a sandwich shop at the time, some part of me thought, Its going to happen.

Wed released a few singles. I was working in a sandwich bar but I was in a band. Then the band is gone and Im this guy working in a sandwich bar and Im 25.

The actor revealed that his battle with panic attacks has been a struggle throughout his life and admitted that they caused him to develop a fear of interacting outside his home.

Then I became agoraphobic. I gave up my job so I could just stay in, he said.

If I was walking down the street suddenly this would come on me and Id feel like Id have to walk beside the buildings or beside a wall. I dont know what it was. I couldnt stand being outside.
If you are planning driving on holiday abroad, make sure your licence is in date.

They may seem a long way off right now bit but some of my friends have started talking about booking their summer holidays.

Some are planning a stay-cation. Others are not going to take a chance on the Irish weather. Instead they are heading off to where there is guaranteed sun.

I know one couple who are planning to fly with their three children to the south of France. A great camping site has been recommended to them and they plan to hire a car when they get there to travel around. They've never done this before. In previous years it's been holidays at home.

"If you are planning on hiring a car just make sure your driving licence is in date", I advised.

Needless to say my friend couldn't say for sure if his licence has expired or not so he has gone to get it sorted.

Since taking over responsibility for the driving licence system, from Motor Tax offices, the problem of last minute licence renewal applications, is just one of the many intricacies of the system that the Road Safety Authority has become all too familiar with.

Typically a driver will get in touch with us in a panic, either a couple of weeks or worst case scenario a few days before they are due to travel on their holidays. Their driving licence has expired and they need to renew it before they travel because they are hiring a car to tour around their destination.

The problem is that the new NDLS system requires you to attend in person at one of the centres to be validated to the new security standard. Then the licence needs to be produced off site for security purposes. So there is at least a five-day turnaround.

The last thing we want is for somebody's holiday to be spoiled, so that's why we are asking drivers to check the expiry date on their licences and learner permits.

There may be drivers who are unknowingly driving with expired licences right now, so they too need to check.

The NDLS normally sends out a notification to let drivers know their licence is about to expire. However, if the driver has moved or changed address and hasn't updated their details with us, they won't get a letter advising them to renew.

If your licence has already expired, go to any of the NDLS centres nationwide and renew it as soon as possible. To book an appointment with any of the centres, visit ndls.ie.

However, if your licence has expired for 10 years or more, you must start the application process again and take a driver theory test, mandatory driving lessons and a driving test.

If you are considering travelling abroad as a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist or pedestrian, it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with the rules of the road of the country you are visiting.

Some countries outside the European Economic Area (the member states of the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) may require you to hold an International Driving Permit in addition to your Irish driving licence. Check this prior to departure with the Embassy or Consulate of the country concerned. Make sure you are properly insured for driving while overseas

Some practical tips when you get there include taking a break before you drive. So don't get into the car after a long flight. You will be tired and jet-lagged and the risk of falling asleep at the wheel is greater. Know the laws concerning seatbelt wearing and speeding and remember that although a level of alcohol while driving may be permitted in other countries, our advice is to never ever drink and drive.

This is even more important when you are driving in an unfamiliar country where the penalties for breaking the law could be very serious.

But all that is some way off yet. We will return to it nearer the time. In the meantime, check your licence.
Qantas has been ranked the safest airline in the world for the third year running by AirlineRatings.com.

The safety and product rating website monitors 407 airlines, basing its annual list on factors ranging from airline fatality records to government reports.

"AirlineRatings.coms editorial team also examined each airlines operational history, incident records and operational excellence," it says.

Its 20 safest airlines, in alphabetical order, are:

Air New Zealand

Alaska Airlines

All Nippon Airlines

American Airlines

Cathay Pacific Airlines

Emirates

Etihad Airways

EVA Air

Finnair

Hawaiian Airlines

Japan Airlines

KLM

Lufthansa

Scandinavian Airline System

Singapore Airlines

Swiss

United Airlines

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Australia

Qantas enjoys "a fatality-free record in the jet era - an extraordinary record," AirlineRatings.com notes on its website.

"Over its 95-year history, the worlds oldest continuously operating airline has amassed an extraordinary record of firsts in operations and safety and is now accepted as the industrys most experienced carrier," it added.

2015 was "a disturbing year" for airline safety, the website says, with high-profile incidents like a pilot's deliberate crashing of Germanwings flight 9525 and the disintegration of Metrojet Flight 9268 due to a suspected bomb making headlines.

However, data from Aviation-Safety.net shows the year to have been an improvement on 2014. 16 air accidents and 560 fatalities is below both the 10-year average and the 2014 figures, when there were 21 fatal accidents and 986 fatalities.

148 of 407 airlines examined received the top, seven-star rating this year.

AirlineRatings.com also unveiled its list of the world's least safe airlines, with 10 - all from Nepal, Indonesia or Surinam - qualifying for just one or zero stars.

Aer Lingus featured on its list of the 10 safest low-cost carriers.

Read more:
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Colette Browne Opinion Every effort must be made to retrieve oral histories of mother and baby home survivors

With three days to go until the Mother and Baby Homes Commission ceases to exist as a legal entity, we are being told that audio recordings of hundreds of witnesses which were deleted may not actually be gone forever. It is another usual twist in a most emotional saga. For decades, survivors of mother and baby homes have been denied a voice and denied autonomy. When they fell pregnant, many through rape and abuse, they were marched to the doors of religious institutions.
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Dan O'Brien Opinion While we catastrophise about Covid, we ignore risk of running out of cash

We Irish view the world in an increasingly strange and unhealthy way. We catastrophise about Covid in a way other European countries do not. We focus on how bad the effects of the virus could get, on how many more restrictions might be imposed by Government and how helpless we are in the face of the virus.
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What will it take to unite Ireland? Opinions are divided

There are those for whom Northern Ireland is a geographical fragment of the UK holding true to empire on its western flanks, and those for whom partition is a century-old wrong that must be overturned. Somewhere in the middle are the persuadables  people willing to accept either unity or union, so long as the justification is logical. One way or another, the unity conversation is in the air.
Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives on the red carpet for the 68th annual Golden Globe awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California January 16, 2011. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Robin Wright during 1995 Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

Actress Melissa McCarthy arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Jennifer Jason Leigh at the 49th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) *** Local Caption *** Jennifer Jason Leigh

Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Cynthia Nixon, Liev Schreiber & Kristin Davis during 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and mother Irmelin Indenbirken attend the 51st Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 22, 1994 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Jerry Seinfeld (L) and co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus pose with the Golden Globe awards they won 22 January 1994 in Beverly Hills, CA for best actor and best supporting actress in a comedy television series. (Photo credit should read DAVID CRANE/AFP/Getty Images)

Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman at the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1997

Queen Latifah arrives at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA., January 19, 2003. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Actor Matt Damon (R) and co-writer Ben Affleck (L) pose with their Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" at the 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton 18 January in Beverly Hills, CA. Damon, who also stars in the movie, is nominated for a Best Actor award in the drama category. AFP PHOTO Hal GARB/mn (Photo credit should read HAL GARB/AFP/Getty Images)

Actors Jon Hamm (L) and Jennifer Westfeldt arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Actor Michael Fassbender arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Actor Will Smith and wife Sheree Smith attend the 50th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 23, 1993 at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Actress Rooney Mara arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Actress Cate Blanchett arrives for the 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills 24 January. Blanchett is nominated for best actress in a drama for her role in the film "Elizabeth." AFP PHOTO/Vince BUCCI (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)

Kate Winslet in 1996, Robin Wright in 1995 and Michael Fassbender in 2012 at the Golden Globes

With the 2016 Golden Globes set for this Sunday, we revisit some of this year's nominees' first turn on the GG red carpet.

Kate Winslet: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Jobs

In 1996, she wore this...

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Cate Blanchett: Nominated for Best Actress in a Drama for Carol

The year was 1999. Cate took home her first award of many like a boss in this impossibly '90s LBD.

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Whatsapp Actress Cate Blanchett arrives for the 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills 24 January. Blanchett is nominated for best actress in a drama for her role in the film "Elizabeth." AFP PHOTO/Vince BUCCI (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)

Rooney Mara: Best Actress in a Drama for Carol

Video of the Day

Rooney's star has been steadily on the rise in recent years and with 2012 debut, she began to show exactly what makes her a fashion favourite.

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Whatsapp Actress Rooney Mara arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Will Smith: Best Actor in a Drama for Concussion

In 1993, before Ali and after the Fresh Prince, Will Smith appeared at the Globes with his ex Sheree Zampino, wearing, well this...

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Whatsapp Actor Will Smith and wife Sheree Smith attend the 50th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 23, 1993 at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Michael Fassbender: Best Actor in a Drama for Steve Jobs

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Whatsapp Actor Michael Fassbender arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The Irish actor enjoyed successful later in life - his first Golden Globes red carpet was in 2012 when he was 35.

Leonardo DiCaprio: Best Actor in a Drama for The Revenant

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Whatsapp Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and mother Irmelin Indenbirken attend the 51st Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 22, 1994 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

He's always been a mommy's boy. In 1994, the then 19-year-old took his mother Irmelin as his date and these days, not much has changed.

Jennifer Lawrence: Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Joy

Since bursting onto the scene in 2010, rarely an awards season goes by without some buzz about J-Law. In 2011, our love affair with her red carpet style began.

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Whatsapp Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives on the red carpet for the 68th annual Golden Globe awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California January 16, 2011. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Melissa McCarthy: Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Spy

Melissa McCarthy made her first Golden Globes appearance in 2012 and worked this Grecian gown like a pro.

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Whatsapp Actress Melissa McCarthy arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Matt Damon: Best Actor in Musical or Comedy for The Martian

In 1998, Matt Damon (pictured with Ben Affleck) hit the big time after the phenomenal success of Good Will Hunting.

Expand Close Actor Matt Damon (R) and co-writer Ben Affleck (L) pose with their Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" at the 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton 18 January in Beverly Hills, CA. Damon, who also stars in the movie, is nominated for a Best Actor award in the drama category. AFP PHOTO Hal GARB/mn (Photo credit should read HAL GARB/AFP/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actor Matt Damon (R) and co-writer Ben Affleck (L) pose with their Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" at the 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton 18 January in Beverly Hills, CA. Damon, who also stars in the movie, is nominated for a Best Actor award in the drama category. AFP PHOTO Hal GARB/mn (Photo credit should read HAL GARB/AFP/Getty Images)

Helen Mirren: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Trumbo

Her 1997 look is simply iconic.

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Jennifer Jason Leigh: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in The Hateful Eight

JJL's career is enjoying a major resurgence since disappearing into obscurity post-nineties glory. But in 1992, she, and her pantsuit, were making their mark.

Expand Close Jennifer Jason Leigh at the 49th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) *** Local Caption *** Jennifer Jason Leigh / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jennifer Jason Leigh at the 49th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) *** Local Caption *** Jennifer Jason Leigh

Alicia Vikander: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Ex Machina and Best Actress in a Drama for The Danish Girl

Newcomer Vikander made her first appearance at the 2013 red carpet and naturally, made every best dressed list going.

Jane Fonda: Best Supporting Actress for Youth

As one of Hollywood's most enduring actresses, in 1978, she took home her first award and looked all sorts of retro-tastic.

Viola Davis: Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama for How To Get Away With Murder

Viola walked her first Golden Globes red carpet in 2009, and is glowing as just much these days as she was then.

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Whatsapp Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Robin Wright: Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama for House of Cards

Before Claire Underwood was the Princess Bride. The silver satin might be out of date, but otherwise, Robin Wright in 1995 vs now has barely aged a day.

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Whatsapp Robin Wright during 1995 Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

Jon Hamm: Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama for Mad Men

2009 is proof that a bad photo of Jon Hamm simply doesn't exist.

Expand Close Actors Jon Hamm (L) and Jennifer Westfeldt arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actors Jon Hamm (L) and Jennifer Westfeldt arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Liev Schreiber: Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama for Ray Donovan

He might be killing it in Netflix's Ray Donovan, but in 2000, he looked more concerned with Sex and the City.

Expand Close Cynthia Nixon, Liev Schreiber & Kristin Davis during 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Cynthia Nixon, Liev Schreiber & Kristin Davis during 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)

Kirsten Dunst: Best Actress in a Limited Series for Fargo

As a successful child star, Dunst in well versed in red carpet etiquette, having been frequenting them since 1995.

Queen Latifah: Best Actress in a Limited Series for Bessie

It's hard to believe there was a time when Queen Latifah was better known for her music than her acting, but alas, it was. For her first red carpet in 2001, she wanted to stand out from the crowd.

Expand Close Queen Latifah arrives at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA., January 19, 2003. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Latifah arrives at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA., January 19, 2003. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Julia Louis Dreyfus: Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy for VEEP

Always one of television's most beloved actresses, JLD won her first (of many) Golden Globes in 1994 for Seinfeld.
12/6/2015 Attending the Wedding of Irish Rugby player Sean Cronin and Claire Mulcahy at St. Josephs Catholic Church, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick were Rob Kearney and Jess Redden. Pic: Gareth Williams / Press 22

Jess Redden is feeling groovy as she makes her modelling debut to celebrate Fridays EuroMillions jackpot which is a far out 60 million. Pic. Robbie Reynolds

Jess Redden is feeling groovy as she makes her modelling debut to celebrate Fridays EuroMillions jackpot which is a far out 60 million. Pic. Robbie Reynolds

Jess Redden is feeling groovy as she makes her modelling debut to celebrate Fridays EuroMillions jackpot which is a far out 60 million. Pic. Robbie Reynolds

Her famous other-half usually dominates the lime-light, but Dublin beauty Jess Redden has stepped out in front of the camera for the first time.

The girlfriend of Irish and Leinster rugby star Rob Kearney is the newest member of the Andrea Roche modelling agency after being snapped up by the model boss.

Psychology graduate Jess (22) is a fast mover and secured her first ever model gig, just one day after meeting with Andrea.

Refusing to comment on her relationship with hunky Rob whom she has been dating for over a year, Dundrum native Jess told Independent.ie that she was delighted to try her hand at modelling.

Expand Close Jess Redden is feeling groovy as she makes her modelling debut to celebrate Fridays EuroMillions jackpot which is a far out 60 million. Pic. Robbie Reynolds / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jess Redden is feeling groovy as she makes her modelling debut to celebrate Fridays EuroMillions jackpot which is a far out 60 million. Pic. Robbie Reynolds

The pretty blonde braved the wind and cool January temperatures as she promoted the National lotterys 60m jackpot.

This is the first modelling job Ive had ever but Ive always been really into fashion, she said.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor in front of her 1942 Boeing Stearman Spirit of Artemis biplane

A British aviatrix is nearing the final destination in her 13,000-mile solo flight from Britain to Australia in a vintage open cockpit biplane.

Self-styled "Bird in a Biplane" Tracey Curtis-Taylor, 53, set off in her 1942 Boeing Stearman Spirit of Artemis aircraft from Farnborough, Hampshire, in October.

She has since flown across 23 countries, making some 50 refuelling stops over the course of three months, and has now arrived at RAAF Woomera in Australia.

A message posted on her Facebook page said she is due to arrive at her final destination of Sydney on Saturday. It added: "Today we've made it to RAAF Woomera, fantastic hospitality from Royal Australian Air Force.

"Tomorrow we keep pushing East, only two more days to go! #GBtoOz".

Her team thanked well-wishers for their "incredible support" over the past three months.

Ms Curtis-Taylor has followed in the slipstream of Amy Johnson, the pioneering British aviatrix who became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930.

Before starting her flight, Ms Curtis-Taylor said in October: "For my whole life, I have been moved by the achievements of pioneers like Amy Johnson.

"My own flight to Australia is the realisation of a burning desire to fly my beloved Boeing Stearman around the world following in their footsteps.

"It has taken 30 years to arrive at this point, and now I not only have the desire to do it but also the resources and a huge network of support behind me.

"I am very, very grateful for this. It feels as if I am finally breaking free of the shackles of life and fulfilling a destiny which was always meant to be."

Her route has taken her across Europe and the Mediterranean to Jordan, over the Arabian desert, across the Gulf of Oman to Pakistan, India and across Asia.

She has recreated the essence of Johnson's era of flying, with an open cockpit, stick and rudder flying with basic period instruments and a short range between landing points.

But she is not unfamiliar with this form of flying. In 2013, she flew 8,000-miles solo from Cape Town to Goodwood, West Sussex, to recreate the 1928 flight of Lady Mary Heath.
Claims by North Korea that it conducted a hydrogen bomb test have been met by worldwide condemnation.

The secretive state said it successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb, a move which would be a significant advancement of its nuclear armoury.

Last night the UN said that it was drafting further sanctions against Pyongyang.

Leader Kim Jong-un's test has prompted an international outcry and the incident has even been condemned by China, the regime's main ally.

But there is already widespread scepticism as to whether the bomb - which created a 5.2 magnitude earthquake when it was tested - is truly a thermonuclear device.

Whereas atomic bombs such as those already tested by North Korea in 2003 and 2009 are powerful weapons, they are nowhere near as devastating as hydrogen bombs.

Expand Close North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guides the test fire of a tactical rocket in this undated file photo released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guides the test fire of a tactical rocket in this undated file photo released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency. Photo: Reuters

But this has not stopped the international community from being gripped with alarm over the test, which shows North Korea is another step closer to becoming one of the leading nuclear threats on earth.

Japan has already dispatched H4 training planes to investigate whether the test has unleashed nuclear material in the atmosphere, though initial reports say this is unlikely.

Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, North Koreans were seen "celebrating" the launch as they gathered around TV screens at the capital's rail station.

Several experts have already warned of complacency over Kim Jong-un's actions, with one former British ambassador to the regime urging against assuming he does not have the resolve to launch a nuclear strike.

US House Speaker Paul Ryan said the test appeared to be a "provocation". But he added that it was too soon to push for a US response until the facts of the incident are known.

"I think this means we have to have a well-honed response with our allies on this rogue regime," Ryan told reporters after a meeting of his Republican Party. "We don't know that he facts yet," he said, adding: "This looks like a provocation."

North Korean state media said: "The (country's) access to H-bomb of justice, standing against the US, the chieftain of aggression...is the legitimate right of a sovereign state for self-defence and a very just step no-one can slander."

The test, the state's first since 2013, came as a surprise to many, as no mention of it had been made in Kim Jong-un's New Year speech.

Experts believe the bomb will largely be used as a means of increasing North Korea's influence on the world stage.

But the magnitude of the earthquake following the explosion was not consistent with what would be expected from such a blast, critics said.

The US Geological Survey measured an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 - bigger than the three previous bombs in 2013, 2009 and 2006.

But the explosive yield is only a fraction of what would be expected during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb, it is claimed.

South Korean politician Lee Cheol Woo said he had been briefed by the country's National Intelligence Service and was told even a failed H-bomb detonation would have a higher explosive yield than was registered.

Chemical weapons analyst Karl Dewey suggested it was more likely the blast was caused by a boosted fissure weapon.

He said: "Hydrogen bombs use lithium deuteride and it is not known if North Korea has the infrastructure to create such material.

"What may be more plausible is the development of what is known as a boosted fission weapon. Simple fission weapons or boosted weapons can be used to set off a thermonuclear secondary, but shouldn't be confused with them."
Police and media in Germany have been accused of silence on a wave of New Year's Eve assaults by men 'of north African or Arab appearance' because of fears of stirring social tensions.

Public anger is growing over a series of sexual assaults against women in the centres of Cologne, Hamburg and Frankfurt on New Year's Eve, amid suggestions that authorities were slow to act due to political sensitivity surrounding the perpetrators' ethnicities.

Many are asking how a crowd of some 1,000 men "of North African or Arab appearance" were able to take over the area around Cologne's main train station on New Year's Eve and allegedly assault dozens of women with impunity.

And in scenes similar to those in Cologne, several women have reported New Year sexual assaults to police in Frankfurt and Hamburg.

Criticism of the German media is also mounting after the incidents went unreported for five days.

One victim, a German woman named only as Michelle, went on national TV and caused a wave of anger when she spoke of the sex attackers in Cologne. She said that she was surrounded by a gang of 30 "angry" men forcing her group of female friends to huddle together, holding hands for protection.

"They were full of anger, and we had to make sure that none of us were pulled away by them. They were groping us and we were trying to get away as quickly as possible," said the 18 year-old.

Describing how she had gone out around 11pm she said she found the main station full of young men.

Now senior politicians have accused the press of self-censorship over fears the men's reported ethnicities could lead to scapegoating of migrants in general, amid tensions in Germany over its high levels of refugee arrivals.

More than 120 criminal complaints have been filed by women in Cologne who were sexually assaulted or robbed, including at least one case of rape. There were at least 60 complaints in Frankfurt and 40 in Hamburg.

Authorities have said there is no concrete indication that the perpetrators were asylum seekers who arrived in last year's record influx, but opponents of Angela Merkel's welcoming policy towards migrants have leapt on the possible link.

The Cologne police chief has rejected calls for his resignation as government ministers demand answers.

Even Thomas de Maiziere, the German interior minister, has spoken out in rare public criticism of the police. "I expect urgent clarification: was it organised, was it really North Africans, and how could they say it all went peacefully the next day," Mr de Maiziere said.

"It can't be that you clear the station area because fireworks were thrown, and later these events take place and you wait for complaints to be filed. The police should not work like that," he said.

"We were there in force, we were not overwhelmed," Wolfgang Albers, the Cologne police chief said, rejecting calls for his resignation.

Police have identified three suspects, Ralf Jager, the state interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia said last night.

But he said they would not be publicly named for fear it could compromise police investigations.

Earlier, the German police union said it feared arrests were unlikely so long after the assaults. Meanwhile, questions are being asked over why it took so long for the media to report the incidents.

The ZDF public broadcaster issued an apology after it failed to include the assaults in its main evening news broadcast on Tuesday.

Hans-Peter Freidrich, a former interior minister, accused the media of imposing a "news blackout" and operating a "code of silence" over negative news about immigrants.

"It's a scandal that it took days for the media to pick up the reports," Mr Friedrich, who was Angela Merkel's interior minister from 2011 to 2013, said.

Meanwhile the Mayor of Cologne came under fire after she said that women should adopt a "code of conduct" to prevent future attacks following the incident. In an interview, Henriette Reker (pictured below) said: "It is important to prevent such incidents from ever happening again."

Such a code for young women and girls was designed "so such things do not happen to them," said Ms Reker. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
A Hungarian woman has attracted ire online after using seven different types of blackface in a blog post to 'raise awareness' of 'secluded' African cultures.

Hungarian journalist Boglarka Balogh(34), transformed herself into seven different African tribes with the help of photoshop and a graphic designer.

The journalist writes about human rights issues and says she was inspired by her time spent in "various African countries where I became fully aware of the issues regarding a number of endangered tribes, and the speed at which they are fading away".

With each transformation, Balogh includes information about the tribe in question. Each image was modelled using a picture of a woman from the tribe.

Reaction to the piece was mixed, with Balogh's fans on her Facebook applauding her for the campaign.

Website comments, however, were almost uniformly against the piece. One commenter explained the reaction, writing "Yikes. Totally get that people want to raise awareness and that's great. Using blackface isn't the way to do it though".

Another wrote "You are performing blackface. You do not need to be the visual intermediary between the West and these beautiful African women. Your blackface part in this is totally unnecessary and codes as racist. You do not get to appropriate the culture of these women for your art".

A woman claiming to be related to women in a number of the tribes wrote that she was "absolutely appalled at your nerve".

"While we are out here being killed over our dark skins, being deemed inferior because of our cultures, you think being an African woman is a costume you get to put on and take off!"

"These are not your people, this is not your history... we are not costumes".

The article was submitted to the website 'Bored Panda' through their public submission form. It has been viewed over 130,000 times.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who sacked two members of his shadow cabinet in a so-called revenge reshuffle. Photo: PA

Jeremy Corbyn has been hit with three quick-fire resignations from his front bench after he sacked two "disloyal" senior figures and promoted a Trident opponent in a so-called "revenge reshuffle".

Jonathan Reynolds, Stephen Doughty and Kevan Jones all quit within the space of 90 minutes, citing differences with the British Labour leader on key policy issues and the treatment of their colleagues.

Mr Jones, MP for North Durham, said he "respected" Mr Corbyn's view that Britain's nuclear deterrent should be scrapped, but disagreed and could no longer remain as shadow defence minister.

"I am determined to continue making the case for Labour to have a strong, credible defence and security policies, and I feel that the most effective way for me to continue to do this is from the backbenches," he wrote in a resignation letter.

Cardiff South and Penarth MP Stephen Doughty quit as shadow foreign affairs minister live on television, telling the BBC's 'Daily Politics' programme that he had "looked at his own conscience" and was stepping down after the leader's office told "lies" about the reasons why Europe spokesman Pat McFadden had been dismissed.

Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds said he was resigning as shadow rail minister because he could not "in good conscience endorse the world view of the Stop the War Coalition" - a group closely linked to Mr Corbyn.

Speculation is growing that more frontbenchers could choose to leave in the wake of the shake-up, which also saw Michael Dugher ejected from the culture brief for "incompetence" and "disloyalty".

After more than 30 hours of wrangling, it was announced in the early hours of yesterday that Maria Eagle had been moved from the key shadow defence secretary role and replaced by Emily Thornberry - known to share Mr Corbyn's views on scrapping Britain's nuclear deterrent.

Mr Corbyn stopped short of shifting Hilary Benn from shadow foreign secretary despite their high-profile clash over Syria air strikes.

But the leader's allies said they had secured an "agreement" from him that there would be no repeat of the Syria air strikes situation - where he spoke in the Commons opposing the leader's position.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC Radio 4 'Today' programme: "Hilary Benn has ensured that he works more closely with Jeremy in the future and that he will be representing the views of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and when it comes down to future debates we won't have a situation where he will be speaking from the front bench when there is a major disagreement on policy and where the Parliamentary Labour Party is in the majority against him.

"He has recognised the mandate that Jeremy Corbyn has with our members, an overwhelming mandate, and he'll recognise his leadership on this issue."

On future free votes, Mr Corbyn will "represent the Parliamentary Labour Party at the front bench".

"If there is a disagreement and people on a free vote want to express their views, they will do it from the back benches," he added.

Speaking to reporters outside his home, Mr Benn said: "I haven't been muzzled. I'm going to be carrying on doing my job exactly as before, which is speaking for Labour on foreign policy, supporting Jeremy Corbyn and campaigning really hard to get Labour elected at the next general election."

Mr McFadden said the leader told him his "disloyalty" included a comment in Parliament where he condemned people who viewed terrorist acts as "always being a response or a reaction to what we in the West do".

The sackings were openly criticised by many MPs, with a series of shadow cabinet members praising their former colleagues and describing their departures as a "loss".

Labour sources dismissed praise from frontbenchers for Mr Dugher, whose brief has been taken by Ms Eagle, saying people "seemed to think he was more important than he was".

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone rejected suggestions the leader was not in a position to demand loyalty after being a serial rebel under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
The diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr

Iran has accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of hitting its embassy in the capital, Sanaa, in an overnight air strike.

The accusation comes amid a dangerous rise in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days, following the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.

Analysts have feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's eastern Shiite heartland prepared to hold a funeral service on Thursday night to honour the executed Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. That could spark further unrest, as witnesses in eastern Saudi towns have reported hearing gunfire overnight and armoured personnel carriers have been seen driving through neighbourhood streets.

On Thursday afternoon, Iran's state-run news agency said a Saudi-led air strike the previous night hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage to the building.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed Mr al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges - the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980.

Mr al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdom's Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence. Saudi Arabia and its allies say Mr al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and that condemnation of the execution amounts to meddling in Riyadh's internal affairs.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late on Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. On Wednesday, Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia returned to Tehran, according to state media.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies have cut or reduced their ties as well.

On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

In eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of Mr al-Nimr and much of the kingdom's roughly 10% to 15% Shiite population, three days of mourning over his death ended on Wednesday night. Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikh's brother, said people planned to hold a funeral on Thursday for the cleric, although Saudi authorities already buried his corpse in an undisclosed cemetery.

There are concerns new unrest could erupt. Mr al-Nimr's brother, as well as another local resident of al-Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, said they have heard gunfire on recent nights.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalise their relations.

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince said he did not believe war would break out with Iran.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind," Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defence minister and 30-year-old son of King Salman, told The Economist magazine.

"Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region.... For sure we will not allow any such thing."
Police officers secure the area after a fatal shooting which took place at a police station in Paris (AP)

A man carrying a butcher's knife and wearing a fake explosive vest tried to attack a Paris police station, a year almost to the minute after two Islamic extremists burst in the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and unleashed a bloody 12 months in the French capital.

The attacker was slain by police, and the Paris prosecutor's anti-terrorism unit opened an investigation after what officials described as an attempted attack on the police station in the city's north.

Found on the man's body was a mobile phone, a piece of paper with an emblem of the Islamic State group, and "an unequivocal written claim of responsibility in Arabic". The prosecutor's office did not provide details about what the claim meant.

France has been under a state of emergency since a series of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group killed 130 people in Paris on November 13, and tensions increased this week as the anniversary of the January attacks approached. Soldiers were posted in front of schools and security forces were even more present than usual amid a series of tributes to the dead.

Officials said the man shot dead on Thursday threatened officers at the entrance of a police station near the Montmartre neighbourhood, home to the Sacre Coeur Cathedral. Just moments before, French President Francois Hollande, speaking in a different location, paid respects to officers fallen in the line of duty.

The man at the police station is believed to have cried out "Allahu akbar", Arabic for "God is great". He has not been identified, and Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said that police do not believe anyone else was involved.

Alexis Mukenge, who saw the shooting from inside another building, told the network iTele that police told the man, "Stop. Move back", adding that officers fired twice and the man immediately dropped to the ground.

The Goutte d'Or neighborhood in Paris' 18th arrondissement was briefly locked down, and two metro lines running through the area were halted. They reopened after about two hours Thursday.

Two schools were under lockdown, and police cleared out hundreds of people in the area. Shops were ordered closed and shop owners hastily rolled down metal shutters.

Nora Borrias was unable to get to her home in the neighbourhood because of the barricades. Shaken by the incident, she said "it's like the Charlie Hebdo affair isn't over".

Mr Hollande had said earlier that a "terrorist threat" would continue to weigh on France. The government has announced new measures extending police powers to allow officers to use their weapons to "neutralise someone who has just committed one or several murders and is likely to repeat these crimes."

At 11.35am on January 7 2015, two French-born brothers killed 11 people at the building where Charlie Hebdo operated, as well as a Muslim policeman outside. Over the next two days, an accomplice shot a policewoman to death and then stormed a kosher supermarket, killing four hostages. A total of 17 people died, as did all three gunmen.

Mr Hollande especially called for better surveillance of "radicalised" citizens who have joined Islamic State or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq when they return to France.

"We must be able to force these people - and only these people - to fulfil certain obligations and if necessary to put them under house arrest... because they are dangerous," he said.

Hollande said officers die in the line of duty "so that we can live free".

Following the January attacks, the government announced it planned to give police better equipment and hire more intelligence agents.

France has been on high alert ever since, and was struck again November 13 by extremists in attacks that killed 130 people at a concert hall and in bars and restaurants.

Survivors of the January attacks, meanwhile, are continuing to speak out.

Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo and cartoonist who is better known as Riss, told France Inter radio "security is a new expense for the newspaper budget".

"This past year we've had to invest nearly two million euros to secure our office, which is an enormous sum," he said. "We have to spend hundreds of thousands on surveillance of our offices, which wasn't previously in Charlie's budget, but we had an obligation so that employees feel safe and can work safely."

After the attacks, people around the world embraced the expression "Je suis Charlie" to express solidarity with the slain journalists, targeted for the paper's caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

"It's a phrase that was used during the march as a sign of emotion or resistance to terrorism," Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Corinne Rey - known as Coco - told France Inter radio. "And little by little, I realised that 'I am Charlie' was misused for so many things. And now I don't really know what it means."

A French security official later identified the man as a 20-year-old Moroccan involved in a minor robbery in 2013 in the southern Var region.

The official said police are "working on the hypothesis" that the man is Ali Sallah, of Casablanca, saying the fingerprints of the dead attacker match those taken in 1995 of the man caught for robbery.

The official said doubts persist because the body of the attacker appeared older than 20. He said Sallah described himself to police in 2013 as homeless and in France illegally.

Investigators are trying to determine when the attacker arrived in the Paris region and whether someone provided a place to stay.
Police officers survey the area in front of the main train station and the Cathedral in Cologne, western Germany, on January 6, 2016, where dozens of apparently coordinated sexual assaults were perpetred against women on New Year's Eve. / AFP / Roberto PfeilROBERTO PFEIL/AFP/Getty Images

A number of men involved in the Cologne sexual attacks on New Years Eve allegedly told police they were newly arrived Syrian refugees, according to a leaked report.

At least 100 women have sought to file criminal complaints of sexual assault and robbery during the New Year's Eve festivities in the German city, authorities said, including two accounts of rape.

The description of the attackers as young men of Arab appearance has whipped up anti-foreigner sentiment in the wake of the mass sexual assaults and muggings.

Now two German newspapers have claimed to have seen an internal report by a senior officer who was at the scene, where it is reported that a number of those involved in the incidents mocked officers by tearing up their residence permits and saying they couldnt be touched because [Angela] Merkel invited them.

Bild reports that one of those involved allegedly told officers: I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly. Mrs Merkel invited me.

Tearing up his residence permit, another said: You cant do anything to me, I can get a new one tomorrow.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close In this Dec. 31, 2015 picture, persons gather at the Cologne, Germany, main station. German police said Wednesday Jan. 6, 2016 that they are investigating whether a string of sexual assaults and thefts at New Year is linked to a known criminal network. The assaults in Cologne last week have prompted outrage in Germany and a fresh debate about immigration, after police said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African origin." The events in Cologne involved a crowd of around a thousand men. Police say at least 90 criminal complaints were filed, and that some men in the crowd formed smaller groups and surrounded women. (Markus Boehm/dpa via AP) In this Dec. 31, 2015 picture, persons gather at the Cologne, Germany, main station. German police said Wednesday Jan. 6, 2016 that they are investigating whether a string of sexual assaults and thefts at New Year is linked to a known criminal network. The assaults in Cologne last week have prompted outrage in Germany and a fresh debate about immigration, after police said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African origin." The events in Cologne involved a crowd of around a thousand men. Police say at least 90 criminal complaints were filed, and that some men in the crowd formed smaller groups and surrounded women. (Markus Boehm/dpa via AP) In this Dec. 31, 2015 picture, persons gather at the Cologne, Germany, main station. German police said Wednesday Jan. 6, 2016 that they are investigating whether a string of sexual assaults and thefts at New Year is linked to a known criminal network. The assaults in Cologne last week have prompted outrage in Germany and a fresh debate about immigration, after police said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African origin." The events in Cologne involved a crowd of around a thousand men. Police say at least 90 criminal complaints were filed, and that some men in the crowd formed smaller groups and surrounded women. (Markus Boehm/dpa via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp In this Dec. 31, 2015 picture, persons gather at the Cologne, Germany, main station. German police said Wednesday Jan. 6, 2016 that they are investigating whether a string of sexual assaults and thefts at New Year is linked to a known criminal network. The assaults in Cologne last week have prompted outrage in Germany and a fresh debate about immigration, after police said the perpetrators appeared to be of "Arab or North African origin." The events in Cologne involved a crowd of around a thousand men. Police say at least 90 criminal complaints were filed, and that some men in the crowd formed smaller groups and surrounded women. (Markus Boehm/dpa via AP)

According to witnesses, the males, between 15 and 35 years old, tightly surrounded women in groups of 30 or 40, before groping them and mugging them and their partners.

The internal police report details that the outbreak of violence could be far more serious than previously thought, and at one point says that senior police officers fear there could have been fatalities.

When we arrived, our vehicles were pelted with firecrackers, the report said.

[About] a thousand people, mostly males of an immigrant background, were indiscriminately throwing fireworks and bottles into the crowd.

Around 10.45pm, the station forecourt filled with people of an immigrant background. Women literally had to run the gauntlet through the mass of drunk men, in a way you cant describe, the report continues.

We came to the conclusion that the situation threatened chaos or serious injury, if it didnt lead to fatalities.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Women shout slogans and hold up a placard that reads "Against Sexism - Against Racism" as they march through the main railways station of Cologne, Germany, January 5, 2016. About 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at the New Year's celebrations outside Cologne's cathedral by young, mostly drunk, men, police said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay Women hold up placards that read "Mrs. Merkel: Where are you? What are you saying? This worries us!" during a protest in front of the Cologne Cathedral, Germany, January 5, 2016. About 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at the New Year's celebrations outside Cologne's cathedral by young, mostly drunk, men, police said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay / Facebook

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Whatsapp Women shout slogans and hold up a placard that reads "Against Sexism - Against Racism" as they march through the main railways station of Cologne, Germany, January 5, 2016. About 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at the New Year's celebrations outside Cologne's cathedral by young, mostly drunk, men, police said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

The report goes on to say that police succeeded in clearing the area by around 12.15am but that violence continued as the crowd moved into the back streets.

Many women came to officers shocked and crying and reported sex assaults. Police forces were unable to respond to all the events, assaults and offences. There were just too many at the same time.

Bild does not name the author of the police report but identifies him as the commander of some 100 officers sent as reinforcements to the area outside Colognes main station on New Years Eve.

A local newspaper, Cologne's Express, reports that fifteen asylum-seekers from Syria and Afghanistan who had "only been in Germany for a few weeks were briefly held by police in connection with the on New Year's Eve sex attacks.

Expand Close Socialist German Workers Youth members demonstrate against the right wing party Pro NRW gathering in front of the main train station and the Cathedral in Cologne where dozens of apparently coordinated sexual assaults were perpetrated against women on New Year's Eve Credit: Roberto Pfeil (AFP/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Socialist German Workers Youth members demonstrate against the right wing party Pro NRW gathering in front of the main train station and the Cathedral in Cologne where dozens of apparently coordinated sexual assaults were perpetrated against women on New Year's Eve Credit: Roberto Pfeil (AFP/Getty Images)

We arrested 15 people. These people have been in Germany for only a few days or weeks, said an unnamed officer.

Of these 15 people 14 are from Syria and one from Afghanistan.

This is the truth even if it hurts.

Police in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf have also reported similar incidents but on a smaller scale than Cologne.

On Thursday, Germany's justice minister Heiko Maas warned that asylum-seekers could be deported if they are found to have taken part in the Cologne sexual assaults.

"All of the perpetrators, of whatever origin, must be punished", he said - noting that, under German law, criminal behaviour has a direct effect on a person's asylum proceedings.

Mr Maas called on German authorities to respond to the assaults "with the utmost determination, but also prudence."

He added: "This includes first determining the facts and the perpetrators as precisely as possible.

This is what we now owe the victims above all else.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Film Events

"Roman Holiday"

Saturday at 6 p.m.

FREE- ADVANCE RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Movie Night with a twist! Join us for a variety of Italian wines, cheeses and more followed by the classic film. Seating is limited. Reservations required. Donations appreciated. Call Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for reservations. Tickets NOT available online for this event.

Electric City Playhouse, 514 Murray Ave., Anderson

864.224.4248

ecplayhouse.com

"Under the Tuscan Sun"

Monday at 4 p.m.  Belton Branch Library, 91 Breazeale St., Belton; 864.338.8330

Wednesday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m.  Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson; 864.260.4500

Monday, February 1 at 5 p.m.  Powdersville Branch Library, 4 Civic Ct. and Hwy. 81, Powdersville; 864.295.1190

FREE

Anderson County Library

www.andersonlibrary.org

"I'll Have What Phil's Having"

Monday, January 25 at 7 p.m.

FREE

Screening of the Italian episode of the popular PBS series. Join co-creator and writer of "Everybody Loves Raymond" as he travels to some of his favorite restaurants in Italy.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Film Night In Pendleton: "Tea with Mussolini"

Saturday, January 30 at 7 p.m.

FREE

Featuring refreshments and film introduction by Dr. Barbara Zaczek.

Clemson Little Theatre, Pendleton Playhouse at Cox Hall, 214 S. Mechanic St., Pendleton

Classic Cinema Series  "Cinema Paradiso"

Thursday, February 11 at 2 p.m.

FREE

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Classic Cinema Series  "Life Is Beautiful"

Thursday, February 18 at 2 p.m.

FREE

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Exhibits

Italian Imagery: Featuring the Photography of Robin Davis & Courtney Barnwell

Opening Reception

Friday

FREE

The Anderson Arts Center celebrates the opening of the "Italian Collection"

Anderson Arts Center, 110 W. Federal St., Anderson

864.222.2787

andersonarts.org

Italian Imagery: Featuring the Photography of Robin Davis & Courtney Barnwell- Exhibit

January 8- February 15, 2016

FREE

Sponsored by Suggs-Johnson

Anderson Arts Center, 110 W. Federal St., Anderson

864.222.2787

andersonarts.org

Museo De Italia: From Caesar to the Masters- Opening Reception

Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

FREE

Come and explore Italy through ancient Roman artifacts, Italian art, jewelry and more! While exploring, sample Italian treats. Call for more information.

Belton Area Museum, 100 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Museo De Italia: From Caesar to the Masters-Exhibit

January 10 through March 31

FREE

Belton Area Museum, 100 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Field Trip to See The Old Masters Collection at Bob Jones University

Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, February 2 at 11:30 a.m.

FEES MAY APPLY. Includes bus trip and lunch. Please call the Belton Area Museum for information and reservations.

Belton Area Museum, 100 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Celebrate L' Italia  Opening Reception

Saturday, January 16 at 7 p.m.

Admission fees may apply.

Belton Area Museum, 100 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.8556

beltoncenterforthearts.org

Celebrate L' Italia  Exhibit

January 16 through February 20

FREE

Belton Area Museum, 100 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.8556

beltoncenterforthearts.org

Winter Night Gala

Saturday, January 22 at 7 p.m.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Known as the "Best Party in Town," the Anderson County Museum's annual Winter Night Gala is an event not to be missed! Food, wine, dancing and meeting friends around the exhibits in the Fred Whitten Gallery.

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

andersoncountymuseum.org

Preaching to God's Creatures: The Franciscans of Anderson County

January 23 through June 30

FREE

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

andersoncountymuseum.org

Performances and Lectures

"Under the Tuscan Sun"  Book Discussion

Thursday at 6 p.m.

FREE

A discussion of Frances Mayes' popular memoir.

Powdersville Branch Library, 4 Civic Ct. & Hwy. 81, Powdersville

864.295.1190

The Culture & History of Italy with Helen Sablan

Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m.

FREE

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

"A Room with a View"- Book Discussion

Sunday, January 17 at 3 p.m.

FREE

Page Turners Book Club discussion of E.M. Forster's classic novel.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

Lunch & Learn: The Franciscans of Anderson County

Tuesday, January 26 at noon

Franciscan priests from St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church

Bring your own lunch!

FREE

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

andersoncountymuseum.org

Galileo: Italian Prophet of the Modern Era

Tuesday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Presented by Anderson School of Theology for Laypersons. Join us for an evening of readings by actors from two plays: Galileo by Bertolt Brecht and Lamp at Midnight by Barrie Stavis.

Followed by discussion of the impact of Italy's prophet on our lives today.

FREE

Anderson University, Thrift Library  Chapman Room, 316 Boulevard, Anderson

www.astlonline.org

"A Room with a View"  Book Discussion

Tuesday, February 2 at 2 p.m.

FREE

Chapters & Chatter Book Club's discussion of E.M. Forster's classic novel.

Belton Branch Library, 91 Breazeale St., Belton

864.338.8330

Travels In Italy

Thursday, February 4 at 1 p.m.

Anderson University Travel Club

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonuniversity.edu/lifelong-learning

Art with an Italian Flair Fashion Show & Luncheon

Friday, February 19 at noon

Enjoy a captivating Spring fashion show with forward trends presented by Chico's. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. $20 PER PERSON

Belton Center for the Arts, 300 City Square, Belton

864.338.8556

beltoncenterforthearts.org

Italian Invasion Road Rally in Pendleton

Saturday, February 20 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Presented by Benson FIAT & The Town of Pendleton

Road rally will be touring through the upstate with a stop in Pendleton. Open to all Alfa-Romeo, Ferrari, FIAT and Maserati owners.

Contact john@bensonfiat.com or fiatusaofgreer.com for more information.

"Under the Tuscan Sun"  Book Discussion

Thursday, February 25 at 6 p.m.

FREE

A discussion of Frances Mayes' popular memoir.

Pendleton Branch Library, 650 S. Mechanic St., Pendleton

864.646.3045

The Marriage of Figaro

Friday, February 26 at 7 p.m.

Admission: $5

The Opera Workshop at the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University will present Mozart's comic opera with chamber orchestra. Held in Henderson Auditorium at Anderson University, the opera will be sung in English. Please call for tickets and information.

The South Carolina School of the Arts, Anderson University, 316 Boulevard, Anderson

864.231.2080

andersonuniversity.edu

Events for Kids

Mona Lisa Mix-Up! (ages 13-17)

Tuesday at 7 p.m.

FREE

Take Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa out of the museum and put her into a coffee shop...or pasture...or grocery store. This creative computer program allows you to change the picture's background and bring her into the 21st century. You'll learn fascinating trivia about Italy's history, too.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

Carnevale of Venice (ages 6-12)

Tuesday, January 19 at 3:30 p.m.

FREE

Enjoy hearing the stories of "Olivia Goes to Venice" and "Bravo, Zan Angela," making masquerade masks, and eating Italian ices.

Powdersville Branch Library, 4 Civic Court & Hwy. 81, Powdersville

864.295.1190

Family Night At Your Library (ages 6-12)

Thursday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m.

FREE. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

Secret Pizza Party at the Venetian Carnevale with Buttons the Clown. Costumes welcome. Please call for reservations.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Mysterious Mona Lisa

January 21

FREE

Presented by the Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth, Mysterious Mona Lisa will take students in grades 4-6 from local schools back in time to Da Vinci's studio to learn about one of his most famous paintings. For more information, please contact the Anderson Arts Center.

Anderson Arts Center, 110 W. Federal St., Anderson

864.222.2787

andersonarts.org

Storytime  Italy for Toddlers (ages 0-5)

Thursday, January 21 at 10:30 a.m.

FREE

Belton Branch Library, 91 Breazeale St., Belton

864.338.8330

A&E at The Library (ages 5-12)

Monday, January 25 at 4 p.m.

FREE

That's Art & Engineering. Construct your own Leaning Tower of Pisa using toothpicks and marshmallows and compete to build the highest.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Pizza Pie Story Time (ages 0-5)

Tuesday, January 26 at 10:30 a.m.

FREE

Pendleton Branch Library, 650 S. Mechanic St., Pendleton

864.646.3045

Little Italian Theatre

Saturday, January 30 at 10 a.m.

FREE. Watch and learn with this wonderful event for children of all ages. Please call for more information.

Belton Area Museum, 110 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Need for Speed (ages 13-17)

Tuesday, February 9 at 6 p.m.

FREE

Customize your own Italian sportscar and experience the speed and action of racing in the Italian Grand Prix with Xbox One's "Forza 6."

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

ACM Preschool Hour

Thursday, February 11 at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, February 25 at 10:30 a.m.

FREE

Ages 2-4 with a caregiver. ACM preschoolers will explore the beloved Italian Marionette "Pinocchio," read his story and do a fun craft. (Preschool School Groups will need to reserve another day and time with lbloparo@andersoncountysc.org.)

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

andersoncountymuseum.org

Storytime  Strega Nona (ages 6-12)

Saturday, February 16 at 10:30 a.m.

FREE. A story and craft program featuring Tomie DePaola's popular children's book about "Grandma Witch," set in Calabria in southern Italy.

Belton Branch Library, 91 Breazeale St., Belton

864.338.8330

Learn to Speak Italian

Saturday, February 20 at 10 a.m.

FREE. Fun for all ages with two groups for children and adults. Please call for more information.

Belton Area Museum, 110 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

ACM American Girl Club

Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. Free. Club members will make marionette "dolls" like the Italian doll "Pinocchio." They will "take a trip back in time to 1883" and hear the story of American Girls Marie Grace and Cecile and their life in 1883 in New Orleans. This program is for ages 8 years old and older.

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

andersoncountymuseum.org

Anderson Girl Scouts "Thinking Day"

Tuesday, February 23 at 4 p.m.

Girl Scouts come to the Anderson County Museum and present their "Thinking Day." Italy will be the featured country. For all ages. Open to the public.

Anderson County Museum, 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson

864.260.4737

Food and Wine

Pendleton Restaurants Italian Fare!

January 8 through February 28

Italian fare abounds in Historic Pendleton! Enjoy delicious Italian food and wine specials at these great restaurants on select days throughout the festival:

* 1826 Bistro

Italian Dinner specials with wine parings.

For information and reservations: 864.646.5500

* The Village Baker & Cafe

Offering Italian specialties during the festival. Look for the little Italian flags.

864.646.5800

* Islander Pub & Grille

Speaking Italian during the festival with Alfredo this, Parmesan that, Ravioli here, Pasta there, with hearty Italian Vino...Buono Appetito.

864.646.6337

* Rick's Pizza Pub

Serving wood-fired, artisan pizza and other Italian specialties with earthy wine pairings.

Hwy 76 in front of Pendleton Bi-Lo parking lot.

864.646.6060

* Olde Towne Spirits

By the Square  123 N. Mechanic St. Featuring specials on Italian Vino and Aperitivo.

864.646.7505

The Liquid Culture of Italy  Coffee

Monday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m.

FREE

Coffee Making & Tasting with Vanessa Ames

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

The Liquid Culture of Italy  Wine Making & Tasting

Tuesday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m.

FREE

Wine tasting with Paul Coleman of Early Bird Farm and a member of AAFFA.

Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson

864.260.4500

andersonlibrary.org

Evening Wine Tour of the Italian Imagery Exhibit

January 21 at 7 p.m.

$30 for Members; $35 for Non-Members

Enjoy the Italian Collection with a selection of wines from Italy served by Brandon Grace.

Anderson Arts Center, 110 W. Federal St., Anderson

864.222.2787

andersonarts.org

Spaghetti Western Dinner  The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Thursday, January 21 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Admission Price: $10 Adults/ $5 Children under 10

Enjoy a spaghetti dinner while watching the classic film. Please call for additional information.

Belton Area Museum, 110 N. Main St.,Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Uncorked

Presented by Viva! Il Vino & Belton Center for the Arts

Monday, February 1 from 6 to 8 p.m.

LIMITED TICKETS. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. $25 PER PERSON. Sip, savor and enjoy a variety of Italian red and white wines. Includes tasting of four (4) wines & Italian appetizers.

Belton Center for the Arts, 300 City Square, Belton

864.338.8556

beltoncenterforthearts.org

A Night with Liberace

Friday, February 12 from 7 to 8 p.m.

Admission: $20 per person

Join us for a magical evening listening to the music of Liberace. Enjoy wonderful Italian appetizers and beverages. Please call for more information and reservations.

Belton Area Museum, 110 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/

Spaghetti Western Dinner  A Fist Full of Dollars

Thursday, February 18 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Admission Price: $10 Adults/ $5 Children under 10

Enjoy a spaghetti dinner while watching the classic film. Please call for additional information.

Belton Area Museum, 110 N. Main St., Belton

864.338.7400

beltonalliance.com/belton-museum/
Mike Ellis/Independent Mail Medshore ambulance repair workers check the suspension on 422, the ambulance that was briefly stolen with a paramedic inside. Go to independentmail.com and the Independent Mail apps to see a video of Greg Shore talking about the incident.

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By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

A man accused of driving off with an ambulance that had a paramedic in the back has been charged with grand larceny and kidnapping.

Lenny Ray Ware, 53, is in custody at the Anderson County Detention Center in lieu of a $12,500 bond for each charge.

Ware is accused of leaving the AnMed Health Medical Center emergency room Wednesday morning and getting into the driver's seat of an ambulance that had just dropped off a cardiac arrest patient.

The man who got into the ambulance drove away with the paramedic in the back and the rear doors open, said Greg Shore, Medshore Ambulance Service chief executive officer and Anderson County coroner, on Wednesday.

Shore said the ambulance never made it out of the hospital parking lot and stopped after jumping a curb. A firefighter had hung onto the door and stood on a running board as the ambulance drove off, and an ambulance supervisor waved her arms in front of the fleeing vehicle before she jumped out of the way.

Also in the brief incident, the paramedic moved to the front seat through a hatch and pushed the would-be thief against the door while putting the ambulance into park, authorities said.

Capt. Kevin Warren of the city of Anderson Police Department said officers have seen video of the incident. The video will likely be made public once the department obtains a copy from the hospital, Warren said.

Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM
Brief us about your expansion plans?

What are your investment plans?

Your revenue mix in terms of exports?

What is your market share?

What is your manufacturing capacity?

What are your focus areas for the future?

Brief us about your financials?

What is your promoter holding?

is a Commerce Graduate. He is the Managing Director of the Company and is presently looking after the product development and production functions of the Company. He has been associated with the Company since 1983 with his immense acquaintance in technical know-how in hosiery industry and with his forte in developing new patterns, yarn combinations, knitting technologies, helped the Company to introduce new products from time to time.manufactures more than 100 products across 12 major brands comprising a complete range of innerwear for men, women, and children. Lux produces vests, T-shirts, briefs, boxers, spaghettis, thermals, panties, and leggings represented by some of the most prominent brands. These brands comprise category leaders such as LUX Cozi Innerwear, ONN Premium Wear, LUX Lyra, LUX Bigshot, GenX Style Inners, LUX Venus, LUX Cottswool, LUX Inferno, LUX Classic, LUX Mozze and LUX Karishma.Replying toof, Pradip Kumar Todi says We propose to set up a world-class integrated hosiery manufacturing unit near Serampur in West Bengal on a land aggregating more than 5 lakh sq. ft. We propose to set up a world-class integrated hosiery manufacturing unit near Serampur in West Bengal on a land aggregating more than 5 lakh sq. ft. in terms of factory and godown space. Approximately 50,000 additional retailers will be added in the next five years, which will drive growth of our premium brands across domestic and international frontiers.The hi-tech facilities at the new unit in Serampur (WB) would include knitting and cutting facilities, finally producing innerwear garments, endto-end production facilities, warehousing facilities, quality control, and logistics support. There will be a mix of imported and indigenous knitting machines and cutting machines with spread tables, design systems, labelling equipment and other peripherals.The unit will have all storage infrastructures and logistics support in the form of delivery vans and forklifts. The main products planned in this unit shall be vests, briefs, and Cottswool with a product mix depending upon the overall market plan of the company. The garments will be marketed and distributed under the existing LUX brand to strengthen overall volumes.The company has invested in manufacturing capacities, making it possible to service the growing aspirations. These investments were made in state-of-the-art United Texmac garmenting machines.The company also invested in German technology for knitting, Italian technology for dyeing-cutting, and Japanese technology for stitching. Advanced automation has helped eliminate human error, enabling churning out of products that have a high quality.As part of corporate governance, Lux has consistently invested in strengthening organizational sustainability. The company increased its brand spending from Rs. 27 crore in 2010-11 to Rs. 49 crore in 2014-15.Exports accounted for 13% of revenues in 2014-15.We hold 20% market share in the unorganised segment.The companys aggregate manufacturing capacity is at 10 lakh garments per day across more than 11 manufacturing facilities across India.The company is focusing on the growing markets through new innovative product introductions.The company reported a turnover of Rs. 909 crore in 2014-15  75% growth over the FY2010-11. It reported an EBIDTA of Rs. 81 crore; EBITDA margins were at 8.95%. It reported a post-tax profit of Rs. 45.22 crore, 44% higher than the previous year. During the first half of the current financial year, the company reported a 41% increase in profits over the corresponding period of the previous financial year.Our current promoter holding is at 74%.
There is no more valuable asset for an investment manager or a fund than its reputation. Establishing a solid reputation used to take decades to build and weeks or days to damage. In todays fast moving business world, reputation is defined by what can be found with the click of a mouse or the touch of a smart phone. What takes many years to achieve can now be severely damaged with a keystroke.Where the due diligence process had been a complex and opaque affair, it now starts  and often ends -- with Google. Profiles and information found online define an executive or funds digital reputation that will dictate if investors even choose to have a first meeting.An analysis of Google keywords found that investors using search engines as part of their due diligence process is still on the rise. Between 2014 and 2015, key search terms such as hedge fund manager, hedge fund, venture capital, CEO and managing director increased between 25 and 50 percent. Not only are the funds themselves being searched, but the executives who run them are being actively scrutinized as well.With more than 5 billion queries a day, managing the first page of results on Google, Yahoo and Bing is more crucial than ever. Pension funds and institutional investors scrutinize the reputations of asset managers, in addition to their track records.At the Wildlife Conservation Society, Sean Cover serves as the Director of Treasury and Investment Operations. In this role he manages and oversees the endowment investment portfolios for a global conservation non-profit that also manages the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium, the Central Park Zoo, the Prospect Park Zoo, and the Queens Zoo. An integral part of his due diligence process is to use search engines to uncover any instances where the fund or its executives are linked to scandals or negative news.We use search engines to ensure that firms and managers we have interest in are not making negative headlines for billion dollar divorces, scandalous issues or spending tons of money on mansions, art, yachts or hunting trips, said Sean Cover. Even after initial investments, I often set up daily Google news alerts to inform me if any of our fund managers are making headlines. I have had a daily news alert on one hedge fund with a flamboyant CIO for over four years now. If there is bad news, I need to know it before my CFO and Investment Committee. That goes for prospective fund managers as well as ones already in our portfolio. Its crucial for firms to be aware of the image they are portraying online if they want to attract and maintain allocations from institutional investors.A funds performance is more closely linked to its reputation than many investors realize. A Focus Consulting Group study found firms with clear missions that developed a solid set of core values and built solid working relationships on trust and respect outperformed the control group of firms that didnt. A full 95 percent of investment professionals said they agree or strongly agree that culture matters. Performance alone is no longer a ticket to an investment or allocation.Perception is reality and the good news is executives and firms can directly influence the impression generated in search results, as well as the culture reflected by the firms website and other online content. Basic common-sense approaches to building and maintaining a strong online profile can mean the difference between a bump in the road resulting from an executive departure or litigation, and a full-blown crisis.We work with many of the largest funds and managers  and some of the smaller, specialized family offices and PE firms. A number of these funds came to us having believed that negative stories or comments appearing in search results made little or no difference to their bottom-lines. They were severely disappointed when they discovered otherwise.In one case, we worked with a highly successful investment manager who engaged us for both personal and professional online reputation management. While his fund was performing very well, he was unable to secure new investments from major pension funds. Personally, he didnt want his children Googling him only to find news about past affairs, a prior divorce and salacious news stories focused on extravagant spending.The executive and his firm were philanthropic and thought leaders in their investing philosophy, but the reality didnt match the negative perception online. Because 90 percent of users never make it past the first page of search results, few  if any  potential investors, employees and potential recruits would ever find these attributes.To positively impact the digital landscape we created and executed an integrated communications plan to project the companys brand and enhance its reputation. We developed new written content, expanded and optimized the firms website, authored executive profiles for Bloomberg and other listing services, and secured branded social media channels such as LinkedIn. We generated news coverage and even created separate websites focused on the executives philanthropic efforts.The result is a first page of meaningful search results filled with positive, client-controlled content. The less flattering content did not disappear, but most of it is back where it belongs  in the past and many pages into search results.The funds management team soon noticed a shift in conversations during meetings. Instead of initially having to defend questionable content that dominated search results, the meetings focused more on the future and the value the hedge fund offered to its investors.Managing an online reputation doesnt mean any consulting firm can remove negative headlines from the news or from search results. No firm or executive is perfect, and issues may arise, but a story from five years ago shouldnt be the first headline a potential investor reads. Dynamically managing digital reputations means those potentially damaging stories no longer define a firm or its executives. Part art, part science, digital reputation management successfully implemented, can at least balance the playing field and at best ensure that stellar performance can own the spotlight.The author is Christina Bertinelli is a Senior Partner of Lumentus, based in New York.
Cab Aggregators:

CNG companies:

Electric Vehicles/Hybrid manufacturers:

Two-wheeler manufacturers:

Vacuum Cleaning Companies:

Trust Arvind Kejriwal to do something drastic. Whether a Dharna to bring Delhi Police under the purview of Delhi government as the incumbent Chief Minister, or his knee-jerk resignation after 46 days of Chief Ministership or for that matter, or making allegations against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the DDCA scam, his volatile and erratic reactions to issues have invariably fuelled fervent dinnertime debates.Sticking to his whimsical decision making techniques, Kejriwal hogged the limelight yet again, when the Delhi Government resorted to an extreme measure to cleanse the heavily polluted air in Delhi. In a bid to remove the "living in a gas chamber" tag of Delhi, given by none other than Delhi High Court, the government came up with a odd-even rule on a 15-day trial basis. On even dates, vehicles with license plates ending with an even number are permitted on roads and on odd dates, you need to have your license plates ending with an odd number to hit the road.As radical as it may sound, this is not the first instance of such a step by a government of a country. Mexico's capital city had introduced this rule in as early as in 1989. Bogota Santiago, Paulo, Paris and even Beijing had such rules. Yet, Kejriwal, being controversy's favorite child, was engaged in a war of words with his detractors who saw this proposed plan of odd-even vehicles as futile, naive and a failure from the word go.To his credit, the government has not relented, even after all the aspersions coming its way. Among the key concerns raised against the scheme have been the inherent public transport inefficiencies and the exemptions to women drivers and bikers. Numerous studies have pointed out that vehicular pollution amounts to only 25% of the total air pollution in the capital. While commercial vehicles are responsible for only one-tenth of the total pollution, the primary defaulters are people using fake CNG stickers on their vehicles. In spite of these speculations, the government went ahead and implemented the trial run from January 1, 2016.Although results from such a policy initiative are difficult to analyze on the fifth day of its implementation, conclusions are already being drawn on the effect of this drive on the environment. Several sources have reported that the toxins in Delhis air have not come down considerably, thereby hurriedly labeling the initiative as a stark failure of the already-blotted AAP government. Few people mistakenly tweeted photographs of swarming crowds at popular Metro stations like Rajeev Chowk, claiming lack of infrastructure, only to render a a tepid apology for having used a dated snap. AAP on its part has deployed thousands of volunteers on the streets for keeping a tight leash on potential violators.Whether or not this experiment succeeds only time will tell but any credible conclusion can be drawn only at the end of the 15-day trial period, after which the AAP government in all probability would closely monitor its pros and cons. In the interim, however, several parties are trying to gain political mileage out of a seemingly uncertain plan. Steering clear of debates and conjectures, lets identify some of the accidental beneficiaries of this scheme:For aggregators like Uber and Ola, Delhi Governments decision has unlocked a hidden market, which if sustainable in the long run, will set their cash registers ringing. Radio taxi services like Meru and cab aggregators have witnessed a strong surge in demand from the time the initiative has kicked in. Car pooling services by Meru and BlaBlaCar have witnessed several folds increase in their service request. BlaBlaCar has seen a 66% growth in the number of seats available in Delhi-NCR on platform from last week to this week. The biggest growth is for trips between Delhi-NOIDA (400%), Delhi-Gurgaon (150%) and NOIDA-Gurgaon (100%). Carpooling is enabling people of Delhi to travel with ease during the odd-even road rationing dates. Ola has launched Ola Ride Share for Delhi, while Uber plans to do the same.We are already seeing double-digit growth in demand across various categories, over the last week in Delhi NCR with tens of thousands of vehicles active on the Ola app. We are optimistic about initiatives like car/cab-pooling and the ongoing odd-even experiment contributing to a pollution free Delhi in the time to come." said an Ola spokesperson. Consumers are increasingly relying on apps like Jugnoo, an auto-rickshaw aggregator, to provide them with hassle free bookings and travel.The exemption of vehicles running on CNG has provided positive direction for CNG players. The government of Delhi, after announcing the odd-even rule, also said that they are planning to buy 5,000 new buses to bridge the infrastructure gap. With high demand for CNG buses, and with gas pricing tumbling, their margins will most likely see a positive tailwind. Companies like Indraprastha Gas, GAIL could be among top investor picks in this scenario.A recent debate on diesel ban notwithstanding, manufacturers of electric vehicles will have reason to rejoice. Electric vehicles have always been a neglected lot. Despite the obvious benefits of low emission, they havent attracted much traction from consumers owing to their long charging durations, less subsidies, and cost of fuel. Mahindra & Mahindras Reva, E2O, and Verito Electric could be prime movers in this segment.Though the Delhi odd-even rule is a bid to rein in pollution, its not free of questionable exemptions. Two-wheelers are one of them. Even as the Delhi High Court asked the AAP government to explain this decision, dealers and manufacturers of two-wheelers would be eyeing for a goldmine. If the rule is implemented for a longer run, the companies would experience demand rush, as people would queue up to buy bikes and scooters, which are way more affordable than buying a new car with a new registration number.One of the key decisions taken by the AAP government to reduce the pollution in the air of Delhi is the mandatory vacuum cleaning of roads in the National Capital. The target date set is April 1, 2016. This might create a huge opportunity for industrial vacuum cleaning companies like Eureka Forbes. Chinese import can also witness an upsurge in this sector.Pollution has always been a tortuous topic of debate between groups working on environmental issues and the general intelligentsia which seems to care for the environment as much as Vijay Mallaya cares for Kingfisher employees. Its a common notion, especially in India, that things which do not hurt us immediately are not a potent threat, and people perceive that pollution is yet populating the safe bracket of threat. Therefore, there is not a serious attempt, either from the government or from the citizens, either to introspect on or to curb the toxic air levels. The Swachh Bharat Campaign, a brainchild of PM Narendra Modi, did provide a glimmer of hope that things are about to change, but like many other initiatives, the campaign has become more of a photo opportunity, more so for CSR activities. The odd-even initiative has rekindled hope that quick policy decisions can address the elephant in the room. The AAP Government should indeed be congratulated for taking this issue heads on. It now remains to be seen whether Kejriwal furthers the larger cause of controlling emission levels or simply cough his way out of the issue.
RIL, ONGC: Reliance Industries has challenged the jurisdiction of a panel examining Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) allegations that it pumped out gas from the state-run firm's field, according to reports.Bajaj Auto Ltd: The company plans to enter 12 new export markets by end of March, according to reports.Lupin Ltd: The pharma company announced that its US subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceutical Inc. has launched its Tri-Lo-Marzia Tablets having received approval from the USFDA to market a generic equivalent of Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Tablets.Jet Airways: Jet Airways may move the Bombay High Court to seek approval for convening shareholders meet on the merger of subsidiary JetLite with the parent company, according to reports.NBCC: National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd has informed BSE that is secured total business amounting to Rs. 8523 crore (approximately) in December, 2015.ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank will be spending INR 200 crore on social sector projects in the current fiscal year and meet the mandatory 2% CSR spend norms, CEO Chanda Kochhar said on Wednesday.JSPL: Jindal Steel & Power Ltds step-down subsidiary in Australia, Wollongong Coal Ltd., will recommence operations at one of its mines in New South Wales soon, reports a business daily.Kalpataru Power Transmission: The company has acquired 100% equity share capital of an SPV Company Alopurduar Transmission Ltd (ATL).McNally Bharat Engineering: McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd has announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NIPPO India Pvt Ltd (NIPPO), a 100% subsidiary of NIPPO Corporation, Japan to jointly work on Road Construction Projects in India.Bank of India: The bank has allotted 2 Crore equity Shares to Life Insurance Corporation of India on Preferential basis on January 05, 2016 at the price of Rs. 132.06 per share.Deepak Nitrite: The company has raised Rs. 83.30 crore from institutional investors through private placement of shares.Corporation Bank: The bank said it will buy 4% stake in LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Asset Management Company from existing shareholders for Rs. 5.67 crore.Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said that it has received tentative US regulator's tentative approval for its Dronedarone tablets 400 mg, the generic version of Multaq tablets of Sanofi-Aventis US LLC.Larsen & Toubro: L&T said its construction arm has bagged contracts worth Rs 2,871 crore across businesses in both domestic and international markets.Transwarranty Finance: The Reserve Bank of India has today notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) and Non Resident Indians (NRIs) can now invest up to 100 per cent and 24 per cent respectively of the paid up capital of Transwarranty Finance Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).Technofab Engineering Ltd: The company has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on January 20, 2016, inter alia, to consider and approve the proposal of fund raising by way of qualified institutional placement.Cipla: Drug major Cipla has inked a pact with US-based BioQ Pharma for registration and commercialisation of the American company's Ropivacaine infusion system, used in treating post-operative pain, in India.Vedanta: Metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd appointed Samir Cairae as CEO of the Metals division in India.
Acting on its goal of global expansion, Netflix has finally set its foot in India. The Economic Times reached out to Chris Jaffe, Vice President, User Interface Innovation to understand the companys strategy in India.



Customized content



Discussing the nature of content available on Netflix in India, Jaffe said that they will bring all the originals along with marquee series such as Better Call Saul, Breaking Bas, Heroes, etc. to the Indian audience. Since the company aims to create a global catalog, therefore, the content varies from region to region.



Jaffe told ET that there is a time lag in receiving a content license. But, keeping in view the expansion plans, the company is focused on lining up all its originals along with some qualitative licensed content. Meanwhile, Jaffe said that they do not keep a track of people who had been using Netflix through VPN and DNS services.



Learning from issues



Speaking of the weak broadband connections in India, Jaffe said that the problem is not typical of India as they have dealt with such issues in many parts of the world including Canada. He added that the company is more interested in learning about the shortcomings of each region and work towards resolving those issues. However, the company uses adaptive streaming technology helps to deliver the best possible quality based on the nature of device and bandwidth.



The company offers Open Connect catching appliances to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to help them bundle Netflix, informed Jaffe. At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of allowing Indian users with the facility of either downloading the whole episode or watch it later. While speaking of the censorship, Jaffe explained that they will follow the global rating structure to let users decide the content the wish to watch. Also, parents will be given control to lock away content using a PIN code, which they want their kids to see.



Jaffe told ET that their services can be paid using only credit cards for the time being. Presently, the company is offering three plans, i.e. single, double and four concurrent streams, as per the needs of the family. As Netflix has priced its services similar to what it charges in the US, Jaffe said that the company is following consistent pricing around the globe. At last, Jaffe reassured that no matter how big the lure of monetizing from advertisement seems, they will continue with the policy of no ads.
The Indian stock market fell sharply on Thursday after crash in China stock market. The S&P BSE Sensex plunged below 25,000 for the first time since September 8, 2015, while Nifty slipped below 7,600 level, lowest since December 15.At 12:03 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 24,954 down 452 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,599 down 141 points.The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 2.23% at 10,891, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 2.5% at 11,547.All sector are showing weakness on BSE.Monsanto India, Eclerx Services, SJVN and Supreme Industries are among the gainers, whereas BHEL, Tata Motors, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel are losing sheen on BSE.The India VIX (Volatility) index is up 9.54% to 18.13. Out of 1,770 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,345 declined and 166 advanced today.A total of 38 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 21 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.Indian Rupee opened at 66.88/$ weaker by 5 paise in early trade on Thursday as against the previous close of 66.83/$. Yesterday, Indian rupee lost ground against US dollar, impacted by weakness in global equities and strong demand for the greenback. On the global front, Chinas stock market was suspended after shares crashed 7% leading to a lower circuit on the index.The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.75%. The Shenzhen Composite Index, tumbled over 8%. Meanwhile, People's Bank of China has set the Yuans reference rate at 6.5646, the lowest levels since April 2011. Offshore, the currency today is trading around 6.59 levels against the greenback. In order to stem the rout in the markets, Chinese central bank has injected further liquidity by initiating weekly reverse repos worth US$70bn.Tata Motors slipped 3.7% to Rs.352.40 on BSE. The share price was also hit after China stocks slumped after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the yuans reference rate at 6.5646, the lowest levels since April 2011. While concerns continue about China, on Wednesday, JLR, part of Tata Motors, announced its December 2015 US sales, showing a rise of 47 percent in Land Rover's sales volume, clocking 8,441 units as compared to sales in the last year in the same corresponding month. Jaguar sales were down by 29% at 1,197 units being sold in Dec'15.Kalpataru Power Transmission soared 2% to Rs.256 on BSE. The company has acquired 100% equity share capital of an SPV Company Alipurduar Transmission Ltd (ATL).NBCC gained 1% to Rs.1,012 after the company has secured total business amounting to Rs. 8,523 crore (approximately) in December, 2015.IndiGo jumped 2.7% to Rs.1,268 on BSE. The aviation company has launched 24 new flights on its domestic network which include first daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram.Shares of Sun Pharmaceuticals are currently trading 0.24% higher at Rs. 794.40 on BSE after its subsidiary received tentative approval for generic of Vimpat, according to media reports.Deepak Nitrite slipped 1.2% to Rs.73.20 on BSE. According to BSE data, the company has raised Rs. 83.30 crore from institutional investors through private placement of shares. The company said the project funding committee of board of directors of the company has approved the allottment of 1,17,50,000 shares of Rs. 2 each at Rs. 70.90 per Equity Share.Premier Explosives rallied for the second consecutive session on BSE. Currently, the stock is trading higher by 2.4% at Rs.507.60. On Wednesday, the company said in a notice to BSE that it is in pact with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited for exploring potential business opportunities.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd ended at Rs. 1206.3, down by Rs. 33.35 or 2.69% from its previous closing of Rs. 1239.65 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1226.1 and touched a high and low of Rs. 1230 and Rs. 1200 respectively. A total of 3536789(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 115438.03 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1892.95 on 04-Mar-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1237 on 06-Jan-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1291.25 and Rs. 1237 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 0 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 55.28 % and 42.36 % respectively.

The stock traded above its 200 DMA.

Its a good start for Larsen and Toubro (L&T) , which bagged various orders grossing up to Rs 2,871 crore. During a chat with the Economic Times, the companys Deputy MD & President, SN Subrahmanyan discussed the business outlook.Subrahmanyan briefed that the orders come from various sectors as well as business verticals such as metals, minerals, transportation, water, buildings, etc. Also, these orders involve both national and international contracts. The company has been given the task of commissioning of an airport project in Oman while its Indian orders include residential and water supply contracts. Apart from this, the company has also received a road order from National Highways Authority for a developmental project in eastern part of India.Subrahmanyan also stated that the size of NHAI order, which is worth Rs.400 while that of Oman is Rs.600 crore. He added that all the orders are fast-paced with a timeline of completion within two years. According to Subrahmanyan, the revenue and profit generation will start in the later part of the next financial year.Amid the weaknesses emerging in the Middle East on account of oil bust, Subrahmanyan told ET that they continue to bid for projects in the region. He agreed that pressure can be seen in oil-related projects but is optimistic about the other people or economy related projects such aspower transmission, railway, hospital, etc. Meanwhile, Subrahmanyan is expecting to win a couple of orders in the Middle East before March and others are likely to come early next year.Subrahmanyan said that nearly 25% of their order book or close to $9 billion comes from the Middle East. He added that India and the Middle East were the two geographies they are focusing.However, Subrahmanyan dismissed the concerns of a declining order book as he is hopeful that any impact from the Middle East region can be offset by the growth in Indian economy, which continues to march forward at the rate of 7%-7.5%. The company has released order book guidance of 5%-7%, said Subrahmanyan.
Premier Explosives rallied for the second consecutive session on BSE. Currently, the stock is trading higher by 2.4% at Rs.507.60. On Wednesday, the company said in a notice to BSE that it is in pact with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited for exploring potential business opportunities.The scrip opened at Rs. 502 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 519 and Rs. 473.1 respectively. So far 160102(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 439.3 crore.The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 503 on 16-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 221.4 on 17-Mar-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 495.9 and Rs. 395.1 respectively.The promoters holding in the company stood at 47.45 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 3.34 % and 49.22 % respectively.The stock is currently trading below its 50 DMA.
In order to analyse the current status of the call drops problem, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been, reportedly, conducting call drop tests in 7 cities across the country, viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Surat, Kolkata, Pune, Bhubaneshwar and Indore.As per reports, the regulator commenced the test drive on December 21 and is likely to end it by January 8. An improvement in the call drop situation is expected by the government and the telcos as many new mobile towers have been installed across the country in past couple of years.Reports state that recently around 29,000 new telecom towers were installed across the country to address the call drop issue.Telcos have been trying to improve the call drop situation after they were fired by the government for ignoring the quality of service. TRAI mandated the telcos to compensate the consumers with Re.1 per call up to 3 dropped calls per day starting from January 2016 for the poor quality of voice services and frequent call drops.
In a choppy trading session on January 9, some large bulk deals created a buzz. Perhaps, the largest bulk deal of the day involved the debt-ridden United Breweries Ltd and the largest private sector lender of India, ICICI Bank. In a bulk deal the company sold over 1.9 million shares to ICICI Bank (Investment) at Rs. 950.10 per share, taking the deal size to Rs. 186 crore. UB Holdings stock closed the day at Rs. 940.40, down 0.90% on BSE.In another major bulk deal, Janus Investment Fund A/C Janus Overseas Fund sold over 1.2 million shares of Cox & Kings at Rs. 244.95 per share. The deal valued at Rs. 31.36 crore. Shares of Cox & Kings closed 1.76% higher at Rs. 246.25 on BSE.In multiple bulk deals, over 2.82 million shares of McNally Bharat Engineering changed hands at an average price of Rs. 103 per share, taking the deals size to Rs. 29 crore. Shares of McNally Bharat closed 3.92% higher at Rs. 103.30 on BSE.Over 11.78 million shares of Subex Ltd changed hands at an average price of Rs. 13.26 per share tn four bulk deals collectively valued at Rs. 15.62 crore.Smallcap World Fund Ind sold 8,31,354 shares of Kaveri Seeds at Rs. 387.01 per shares, in a bulk deal that valued at Rs. 31.47 crore. Shares of Kaveri Seeds closed the day 0.44% lower at Rs. 384.25 on BSE.
As markets across the globe have started off with a bumpy ride, Medha Samant of Fidelity Worldwide Investment discussed the real reasons with the Economic Times, behind this turmoil.She told ET that a number of factors are responsible for the current global markets downtrend. She cited that the global growth in the developed markets is among the key reasons. She added that since China is an important part of the global economy, therefore, any slowdown there will have a ripple effect across the globe. At the same time, the commodity weakness has also left an impact, said Samant.Markets are into a risk-off mode and are likely to remain so over the short-term, according to Samant. She added that the pressure will continue for Chinese A shares. Meanwhile, Samant told ET that the devaluation of Yuan can affect the global trade but not vastly. She elucidated that China will give up its export share in traditional items such as apparel, plastic items or footwear but will move up the value chain through superior automation and innovation. She asserted that a number of companies and sectors in China would continue to grow independent of the fact of what if happening around the globe.Samant agreed that the world has a bunch of other problems other than the slowdown in China. The erupting geo-political tensions in the Middle East combined with pressure on oil is all setting the world markets into risk-off mode, reiterated Samant. Samant added that they are following the bottom-up approach in picking-up stock or sector, by cautiously examining the quality of the management with a past track record.Despite the market volatility, Samant sees certain sectors in India that offer opportunities. She is optimistic that a number of sectors or business names will continue to grow in the year ahead.Samant concluded that the opportunities will exist in scalable business models whenever valuations come off.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  The National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation (NNPAF) commences National Human Trafficking Awareness month by launching its own anti-human trafficking campaign called UNDress, which stands for Undermining Nationwide Demand for the Recruitment, Exploitation and Sexual Solicitation of women and children. The campaign will target those who buy and traffic women and children by placing public service announcements in places where buyers typically shop for sexual services.

The NNPA Foundation is in a unique position to address this issue, because we can generate education and awareness by utilizing our own media products, said Kimberly Johnson, the Foundations executive director.

Years before her term at the NNPA Foundation, Johnson conducted speaking and training events all over Georgia, working with trafficking survivors, local nonprofits, government agencies, advocates and local and national law enforcement. Johnson is certified to train on human trafficking and child sexual abuse and is an award-winning producer of the docufilm, Sex Trafficking in Atlanta: A Survivors Perspective.

The issue of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, is partly fueled by salacious images in media, Johnson said. We plan to counter the effects of those images through our own content and resources. We are looking to partner with other organizations in this effort.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) will hold its Mid-Winter Conference in Coconut Grove, Florida on January 27-30, 2016 where the NNPA Foundation (NNPAF) will announce its initiative during a press luncheon.

The NNPA Foundation has plans to host a series of human trafficking town hall meetings in 2016, including one in DC during the organizations Black Press Week conference in March. Other initiatives scheduled for launch include STEM Reach 2020. To support the NNPA Foundation, contact ED@nnpafoundation.org.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundations (NNPAF) mission is to exemplify and advance the highest standards in media by influencing education, technology, health, wellness, business, economic empowerment, and cultural and civic engagement.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is the trade association for the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers across the United States, delivering news, information and commentary to more than 20 million people each week. Since its founding 75 years ago, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the black community by reporting news that makes history and impacts our country.
Netflix has finally arrived in India.

After months of speculation, Netflix was launched full throttle here and in 130 other markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. In India, it comes with three competitive plans which will give viewers lots to cheer about in 2016!

And while viewers can watch both international and local content, there is a lot to be learned while you actually sign up. Here are 13 things I learned. Some are pretty, some not so much.

1. You need a credit card to sign up otherwise you are screwed.

There are three subscription plans to choose from - Rs 500 (Basic), Rs 650 (Standard), and Rs 800 (Premium). But signing up won't be of any use if you fall short of that one card that's standing between you and your favourite shows.

Netflix

2. The hamper of shows will spoil you. No, ruin you.

Orange Is The New Black, Better Call Saul, House of Cards, Suits - you name it, it's there. Even the finished shows (read Dexter) are waiting to be binge-watched once again.

Netflix

3. Sadly, Game of Thrones isn't there.

Come on guys, GoT is an HBO series not a Netflix one! Sorry for bursting your bubble.

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4. Neither is Sherlock.

Christmas special, 'The Abominable Bride' is all we get to see this year.

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5. Nor is Mr Robot.

The show threw the world in a frenzy but Netflix isn't the one that hosted it.

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6. But hey, the first month is free!

Thirty days of pure, unadulterated TV.

Youtube

7. And there's Bollywood too!

The platter's a little tiny, but Netflix will get there. For now, you can watch Piku, Singh is Bling, and Shahid.

NDTV movies

8. Though try and avoid Hate Story and Heropanti!

Nope.

memesvault

Three other shows we recommend -

9. Narcos

10. Jessica Jones

11. Sense8

Goodbye, life!
Due to the scrapping of National Judicial Appointments Commission, India's delay in appointing judges has dealt a devastating blow to justice.

commonfloor

The SC has 60,000 cases pending, while India's High Courts have 45 lakh cases and trial courts around 2.75 crore cases making it a total of around 3.25 crore cases. Judges fear that it might touch 4 crore cases by the end of this year because of large number of vacancies. The SC too has five vacancies and last one to be appointed was Justice Amitava Thakur on February 27 last year, and there's a 40% vacancy for High Court judges across India.

shareyouressays

Pending High Court cases may touch 1 crore by 2016-end - there's currently 45 lakh cases pending in the first week of January. India is supposed to appoint 1044 high court judges, and is operating with only 599 functioning.
6 months ago, the entire world was applauding Germanys generosity in opening its doors and hearts to downtrodden Syrians, victims of a civil war and invading militant forces.

EUObserver reported that Germany would receive between 800,000 and 1 million asylum claims this year from Syrians, and it would cost the nation Euros 21.1 billion in 2015. Any critique of what now appears to be a demographic invasion was termed as racist, and the photo of the drowned Syrian kid made the world believe that it was helpless women and children.

What they didnt realize was that these werent war ravaged women and children, but strong, able bodied men.

As liberal activist Tarek Fateh put it:

According to the UN, 70% of them are male and nearly 50% of the "refugees" aren't even Syrian but other Middle East and African nationalities.

16,000 #Kurdish women stayed back in Syria to fight #ISIS, while a million Arab men men just ran away to Europe. pic.twitter.com/HRWzgKsO6P  Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) December 17, 2015

And on New Years Eve, 1,000 men described as Arab and North African went on a spree of mayhem, pillaging, and multiple counts of sexual assault in Cologne, Germanys fourth largest city. Here are some reports from some of 118 victims (out of 1000) who dared to speak up about that night

Michelle, 18, experienced the horde of over 400 immigrant thugs at the main city station:

newobserveronline

"There were 11 of us together at the time. At around 11pm we were at the main train station and wanted to travel on to see the fireworks, and that was when we first noticed all these men standing around. We managed to go into the cathedral and wanted to go past the Museum Ludwig to join everyone and watch the fireworks by the river, but suddenly we were surrounded by a group of between 20 and 30 men. They were full of anger, and we had to make sure that none of us were pulled away by them. They were groping us and we were trying to get away as quickly as possible."

The Express UK reported that the men also took the opportunity to rob objects from their pockets, stealing mobile telephones as the teenage Germans girls fled.

Another woman, Katja also saw the group of immigrants standing at the railway station, waiting for them

"We then walked through this group of men. There was a passage through [the men] through which we walked. "Felt a hand on my buttocks, then on my breasts. "In the end, I was groped everywhere. It was a nightmare. Although we shouted and beat them, the guys did not stop. I was desperate and I think I was touched around 100 times in the 200 meters. "Fortunately I wore a jacket and trousers. A skirt would probably have been torn away from me."

A police officer who was dispatched to the train station reported helplessness

"We went to the train station because we heard there was an aggressive mass of around 400 people that had gathered. As we arrived, we realised it was considerably more. They were completely drunk, perhaps under the influence of drugs, and they were shooting fireworks into the mass of people." He said: "It was extremely dangerous. By 1am, we were getting more and more reports from women who had been robbed or sexually assaulted.



Wolfgang Albers, the Cologne police chief, says witnesses described the assaults as coming from a group of up to 1,000 men whose appearance indicated they were of "Arab or North African origin." He said the incidents were "a completely new dimension of crime".

shariahunveiled

These reports should not be surprising. Syrians DO NOT respect women

A World-Bank Gallup poll of Syrians (and others from the region), taken 3 years before the great exodus to Germany, revealed that:

Only 64% of Syrians agree to women working outside their homes

Only 28% of Syrian men support divorce initiated by women

20% of Syrian men believe that women should not have the same rights as men

More disturbingly, 20% of Syrians support Shariah, the regressive Islamic law.

Is it surprising that Norway, which is also abuzz with refugees is now teaching its immigrants that women need to say YES before you have sex with them, i.e. sexual consent?

Germany is trying to hide it all

Instead of considering the well deserved backlash against Germanys crisis, German Minister Heiko Maas attempted to cover it up a month after cases of Syrian-on-German attacks possibly began being reported. Germanys international broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that called for a Facebook ban on abusive, xenophobic content.

In October 2015 ( a month later), German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere asked for a report to dispel rumours about an increase in criminal acts in Germany. In this report, he claimed that The majority (of refugees) do not come here with the intention of committing crimes. They come to Germany to find protection and peace.

7 weeks later, the Cologne incident happened.

German public-service television broadcaster has now apologized for delays in reporting on a wave of sexual assaults blamed on men of Arab appearance amid accusations Wednesday of media self-censorship of the inflammatory issue. The rash of attacks and thefts in a New Years Eve crowd in the western city of Cologne was only widely covered by national media early this week, after police had initially reported no major incidents. News editors of ZDFs flagship heute (today) evening news programme apologised on social media for not reporting on the incidents at least in its Monday evening bulletin, four days after the attacks.

Cologne's female mayor: women must "maintain arm's length distance to strangers". Everything about this depresses https://t.co/8qkrawHnmj  Catherine Mayer (@catherine_mayer) January 5, 2016

And the mayor of Cologne, which saw these horrific attacks is now asking the local women to adopt of code of conduct to prevent future assault, which including maintaining an arms length distance from strangers, the Independent reported. This is pretty much telling women they're responsible for rapes, which is hilarious, considering the entire Slut Walk movement was built on a similar issue.
Despite North Korea's claim of successfully carrying out its first Hydrogen Bomb explosion, world powers including the US are yet to buy the claim in its entirety. Many believe that Pyongyang doesn't have the technology to make a H-bomb.

Reuters

A hydrogen bomb also called a 'thermonuclear bomb' is highly sophisticated and more powerful than the conventional nuclear bomb. It uses energy from a primary nuclear fission reaction to ignite a secondary nuclear fusion reaction.

Only a hand full of countries in the world have so far known to possess H-bombs in their arsenal.

United States

The US was the first country to develop an H-bomb. The first test explosion was carried out in 1954.

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Russia

The former USSR carried out the first successful test of its thermonuclear bomb in November 1955.

Atomicarchive

United Kingdom

Codenamed 'Operation Grapple' UK's first successful Hydrogen weapon test in October 1957.

China

China detonated its first hydrogen bomb on June 1967.

France

France had one of the most secretive thermonuclear weapon developments. The first successful detonation was carried out in August 1968.

While all the above countries have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) agreeing to ban all nuclear explosions, for military or civilian purposes, there are other countries who are not signatories of the agreement and believed to be in possession of the Hydrogen Bomb.

India

India carried out a thermonuclear bomb explosion in its Operation Shakti tests in 1998.

armscontrolwonk

Israel

Israel is believed to be in possession of Hydrogen bombs, even though the details including successful tests or the number or war heads are unclear.

Pakistan

In May 1998, Pakistan carried out six underground nuclear tests in Chagai Hills and Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province. Even though Pakistan says the test included a thermonuclear weapon, the claim is still unverified.

North Korea

North Korea is the latest country to join the league. The country claim to have tested its miniaturised thermonuclear test on 6th January 2016.
The hardships faced by Syrian refugees fleeing the bloody civil war in their homeland seeking a better life in Europe is nothing new.

Reuters/ Representative Image

While hundreds have been killed in the high-seas, making the treacherous journey many of those who manage to reach European countries are yet to receive refugee status, leaving them out in the open in the winter.

UNHCR / Representative Image

Despite these hardships every day thousands continue to try their luck to make it to Europe. These people pay thousands of dollars to traffickers as 'fees' for their travel.

But one Syrian man who run out of money, allegedly volunteered his wife for payment to a trafficker and apparently started participating in the daily rapes.

Reuters/ Representative Image

According to the New York Times, the unidentified mother-of-four, now lives in Berlin and has placed a restraining order on her husband whom she fear that could kill her for bringing 'dishonour' to the family.

The New York Times quoting a lead psychotherapist at a centre in West Berlin that treats traumatized female migrants claimed that the woman displays all the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks, insomnia and trouble concentrating.

UN/ Representative Image

This is not the first time, reports have emerged about the sexual exploitation of refugees by traffickers.

There were also reports that even those who managed to reach Europe are taking to flesh trade to make a living. Migrant women are being forced to become 10-a-time prostitutes at German asylum camps where sexual assaults are a daily occurrence.
Follow us on china rout results in sensex tumbling below 25000 as rupee nears 67 per dollar

Mumbai: In a major after-effect of Chinese stock crash, Indian markets witnessed a sharp fall on Thursday with Sensex plunging over 500 points to crack below the 25,000-level while Nifty breached 7,600 - their lowest level in over three weeks.

The rupee fell to 66.95/dollar today, continuing its recent weakness amid a depreciation of the Chinese yuan. The rupee had closed at 66.82 on Wednesday.

In the Indian markets, metal stocks came under strong selling pressure on concerns that the depreciation of the Chinese yuan could make imports cheaper. Oil stocks also tumbled following global crude prices plunging to 11-year lows.

The sensex tumbled as selling pressure intensified after trading in Chinese shares was suspended for the second time this week.

Trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses was halted, second time in this week, after shares plunged over 7 per cent within the first 30 minutes of trading, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism.

A similar plunge had triggered the circuit breaker on Monday, the first day the mechanism took effect.

Today's trading was the shortest trading time in the history of China's capital market history, Xinhua news agency reported.

China's central bank again surprised markets by setting onshore yuan's value lower to the US dollar, sending the domestic stock markets tumbling.

China had depreciated its currency in August to shore up exports, a move that had roiled global markets; Thursday's depreciation too is likely to set off similar ripples across markets, including India.

The crash in China markets also triggered a sharp fall in other Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei shed 2.3 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 2.75 per cent.

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Follow us on mamata eyes big ticket investments in poll bound west bengal

Kolkata: There is more than one reason why the two-day Bengal Global Summit 2016 that begins on Friday is crucial for West Bengal.

One, it hopes to transform West Bengal's image into that of a "new business ready" state. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is hoping to draw huge investment commitments from both domestic and international industry captains during the two-day summit. West Bengal is in dire need of big ticket projects in order to ensure jobs for a large number of unemployed youth and the government knows it well.

Second, the summit comes just months ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state. The Mamata-led Trinamool Congress wants to dispel the state's business-unfriendly perception and is leaving no stone unturned to showcase the event in a grand manner.

Third, heads of India Inc's big guns like the Tatas, Birlas and the Ambanis - regulars at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Meet - have so far given the Bengal summit a miss.

A turn of fate on these factors will be crucial for the economic health of the state as well as the political fortunes of the Mamata-led TMC. Trade unionism and a deteriorating work culture in the state have been responsible for a flight of capital from West Bengal and its bleak industrial scenario. While the erstwhile Left Front government has largely been blamed for the decline, the TMC government under Mamata's rule hasn't really helped the scenario.

Mamata's hands-off policy on acquiring land for industries, and widespread allegations of thriving extortion rackets have turned away prospective investors.Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani was the only prominent face attending Banerjee's investment meet in Mumbai in 2013.

Speculation is rife that he may be the star attraction in the upcoming summit as well.

State Finance Minister Amit Mitra who was camping in Mumbai to woo the country's top industry mandarins, asserted the investment commitments in the coming summit would surpass last year's figure of Rs 2.43 lakh crore.

"We will surpass last year's investment commitments of Rs 2.43 lakh crore. Besides India Inc., you will see a lot of interest from foreign investors," said Mitra, while not disclosing names of industrialists expected to be present.

In the run-up to the summit, the Bengal government had organised an investment road show in New Delhi in September.

Business delegates from a host of countries including the US, Britain, Japan, China, South Korea among others would participate in the summit that focuses on emerging areas like start-ups, design, intelligent cities, IT/ITes, financial hub and industrial infrastructure.

Besides Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari are expected to be present at the gala event.

Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and British Minister of State for Employment Priti Patel are also scheduled to attend the summit.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have also been invited by Banerjee. Kejriwal would be present at the inauguration ceremony, according to official sources.

With the opposition targeting her government over the poor industrial scenario and flight of capital from the state, Banerjee has been widely publicising the event inviting investors to "ride on the growth".

Claiming that the state has outperformed the country on several economic parameters, Banerjee has been calling Bengal as "the destination for industries today".

The event would include plenary sessions addressed by national and international entrepreneurs, sectoral breakaway sessions and business to business (B2B) and government-to-Business (G2B) interactions along with expositions and exhibitions.

(With IANS inputs)

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Follow us on bizarre us judge declines monkey s right on his own selfie

New York: The final judgement on the wondrous selfie of a macaque monkey Naruto is out. A federal judge in San Francisco has forbidden him the right to his famous 2011 selfie.

A petition was filed in a US federal court by Peta to declare Naruto the author and owner of the globally known monkey photographs that he took himself.



On Wednesday, the judge ruled that the macaque monkey cannot be declared the copyright owner of the self-portraits, as reported.



In an earlier statement, PETA said: "The US Copyright Act grants copyright ownership of a 'selfie' to the 'author' of the photograph, and there is nothing in the law limiting such ownership on the basis of species.



Naruto has been accustomed to cameras throughout his life, saw himself in the reflection of the lens, made the connection between pressing the shutter and the change in his reflection, and posed for the pictures he took, PETA said in a statement.



PETA had filed the lawsuit against photographer David J. Slater and his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., which both claim copyright ownership of the photos that the black macaque named Naruto indisputably took.



Naruto is known to field researchers in Sulawesi who have observed and studied him for years as they work in the region.

It all happened in 2011 in Indonesia when Slater left an unattended camera on a tripod after which Naruto took it started taking photographs.

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Follow us on bigg boss 9 suyyash rai s 5 shocking revelations about salman khan

New Delhi: The popular reality show Bigg Boss 9 is going through a lot of twists and turns these days.

Recently, the show makers shocked the contestants and the audience after they announced the double elimination' for the week.

Yes! Suyyash Rai and wild card entrant Nora Fatehi were evicted from the reality show.

While the elimination came as a rude shock for all, Nora Fatehi reportedly stated that she saw it coming and was prepared for it.

On the other hand, Suyyash Rai was just not expecting this.

However, Suyyash says that his experience in the "Bigg Boss Nau" house taught him how to live with people he doesn't like.

He also stated,I am short tempered, but I have learnt to be a little calm; learnt to live with people I do not like. In life, if one doesn't like a certain person, we have the option of walking out, but in the show, one had to see that person everyday all the time. You have to talk to the person as well.

Post his eviction from the reality show, Suyyash has come up with some shocking' revelations about the reality show and its contestants:

1. Suyyas Rai, was quite amazed when he was eliminated from Bigg Boss 9 as he wasn't expecting it at all. While talking to a leading daily, Suyyash stated that When I came out and checked out the voting details, I was the second highest this week after Mandana. But then I put 2 and 2 together and I realised how it goes about! I was the captain of the house I should have been immune according to the rules mentioned, but maybe that's how it was always supposed to work! The show will only keep people who benefit them, benefit their TRPs'! Neither is it scripted, nor is anyone given a cue on how they need to behave inside! Maybe, I was lacking somewhere so it was time for me to leave! But I have no regrets against anyone! It's a show and they have all the rights to play on the editable! At the end of the day, it's business right? There can be only one of the match and we need to accept that.

2. On being quizzed if it was host Salman Khan that decided the elimination, Suyyash straight away denied it. He said, Why will he decide the eviction? He has much better things to do in life! He is the host and he's simply doing his job on the show! See if he genuinely likes someone he will make sure he corrects that person if he/she is going wrong! Atleast he did that too me! He genuinely asked me to apologise to Mandana for being harsh on her and I respected that! So I can openly comment about Salman sir that he has NOTHING to do with eviction!

3. Suyyash also talked about the contestants of Bigg Boss 9, and ended calling Rishabh Sinha a Rishabh Sinha a pervert. He stated, Pervert is an understatement for this man! There is no problem in being a pervert but when you cross that line, then you are a c#$%t! Sorry to say, but that's what he is! He has said things about girls that are really, really bad!

4. Talking about Mandana Karimi, Suyyash was quite confident that the Iranian beauty will get evicted in the 16th week because of her forthcoming adult comedy Kya Kool Hain Hum 3'. I can give you in written that Mandana is going to leave the house on the 16th of this month. Now that's according to my calculation! That too because her film Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 is releasing on the 22nd of January so the makers will take her out to promote the film, physically outside the Bigg Boss house! They can't only play on Bigg Boss ka promotions, he was quoted saying.

5. Suyyash also opened on his grudges with ex-contestants Ankit Gera, Roopal Tyagi and Digangana Suryavanshi. He said, Ankit and Roopal were brought on the show because they were ex-lovers and the channel hoped to see some spark between the two! But yeh log dosti karne lage. If they wanted to patch up, they could have might as well gone to a coffee shop why on a show like Bigg Boss? Similarly, Digangana's parents have made statements that they spent so much money in getting votes for Dig but she still got evicted! Now that's so stupid! It's a game yaar! I dunno what is with the ex-contestants but I am glad I was a part of this show and it's time to move on!.

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Follow us on kriti gets one million followers on instagram

Mumbai: "Heropanti" actress Kriti Sanon is on cloud nine as her fans have expressed their love by following her on Instagram, enabling her to touch the 'million mark' on the online photo-sharing platform.



"Wooohhoo!! Finally the 'million' mark! 1 M on insta!! Thank you so much guys! Your love makes me happy! muah," Kriti captioned an image which she posted on Wednesday.



She is seen pouting and winking in the image.



The "Dilwale" actress is quite active on the digital platforms including Twitter, which she uses to share updates about her projects and more.

The actress will be next seen opposite Sushant Singh Rajput in an untitled love story.

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Follow us on whether i am brand ambassador or not india will remain incredible aamir khan

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate over Aamir Khan's discontinuation as the brand ambassador of Incredible India, the PK actor on Thursday issued a statement over the issue.

Mr. Perfectionist, as he is known in B-town, said that he was proud to represent the country for past 10 years and accepted the government's decision to discontinue his services.

It has been an honour and a pleasure for me to be the Brand Ambassador for the Incredible India campaign for the past 10 years. I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it. I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me. It is always an honour for me to be of service of my country, and this is how it will always be,

Aamir Khan, further, cleared the air about tiff with government saying, It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be. I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country. Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that's the way it should be.

Yesterday media reported that the central govt has removed Aamir as brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign under the Tourism Ministry. This move was seen as a response to his comments on growing intolerance' in the country in an award function in last November.

However, later in the day, MoS, Tourism, Mahesh Sharma clarified the government's stand saying that it was purely a contractual matter with advertising agency McCann Worldgroup.

Our agreement was with a media agency namely McCann. That was for a particular work. That work they have delivered to us. They have completed that project. Hence, that contract is now over, Sharma said.

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Follow us on gajendra chauhan expected to take charge as ftii chief today

Pune: Seven months after his controversial appointment, TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan is expected to take charge as FTII chairman today but he will face protests from students who went on an unprecedented 139-day strike demanding his removal.

The students of the prestigious institution here were on a strike opposing Chauhan's appointment since June 12 last year and called it off on October 28 and returned to the classes.

However, unrelenting in their opposition to his appointment, the students today said they will protest peacefully when he assumes charge.

The first meeting of the Film and Television of India (FTII) Society headed by Chauhan is to be held tomorrow at the FTII campus and will be attended by among others Anagha Ghaisas, Rahul Solapurkar, Shailesh Gupta and Narendra Pathak --the members whose appointments have been objected to by the FTII Students Association (FSA) for being political and allegedly lacking in merit and stature for the post.

"We still have problem with these appointments and will continue to resist it unless concerned authorities put the FTII Society (which governs the institute) in abeyance.

"Higher education in the country should be free from all political interference. Pahlaj Nihalani's presence in the Society for holding an unjust post in CBFC is also unacceptable," the FSA said.

Asked as to what kind of protest the students planned, FSA representative Vikas Urs said "peaceful sloganeering".

A tough posture by the Information and Broadcasting ministry which steadfastly refused to accept the FSA demand for removal of Chauhan, a crackdown on some students and their arrest following a gherao of the institute director Prashant Pathrabe ultimately saw the long drawn out agitation by the students fizzle out, as they returned to academics.

Meanwhile, a police notice issued to 17 students against whom cases were filed in connection with the director's gherao warned them to maintain peace during the meeting to be held by Chauhan on the campus, failing which they could face action.

A clean-up drive continued at the campus to remove graffiti on the walls and protest paraphernalia and slogans painted all around the various buildings by the students during their stir.

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Follow us on mumbai police to examine david headley as a witness in 26/11 terror attack case

Mumbai: The sessions court has allowed the Mumbai police's plea to examine David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist, as a witness in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.

"The court allowed our plea to examine Headley as a witness on February 8 between 5 to 9 pm and on February 9 between 7 to 9 am," said special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.

He will be examined through video link.

The court had, on December 10, made Headley an approver, granting him pardon.

Headley, currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the Mumbai terror attack of 2008, had told the special judge G A Sanap (as he appeared from an undisclosed location in the US via video link), that he was ready to depose if given pardon.

LeT operative Abu Jundal is now on trial in the 26/11 case.

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Follow us on pathankot attack nsas of india pakistan agree to take strong steps to combat terrorism

New Delhi: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is understood to have spoken to his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua today and shared all relevant evidence related to terrorist attack in Indian Air Force base at Pathankot.

Both the NSAs discussed the evolving scenario for atleast 8-9 minutes.

The NSA of Pakistan has said that Intelligence agencies in Pakistan have raided more than 25 places. India has shared a provided a list of those locations where the planning of the deadly attack had taken place.

India has also provided details of the call records that were made to Pakistan.

The NSA of Pakistan has asked India to provide more concrete evidence so that it can build a strong case against the masterminds of Pathankot terror attack.

Both the NSAs have decided to be in a constant touch and will share the developments with each other. Pakistan wants that the secretary level talks should not get stalled because of this terrorist attack in Pathankot.

The evidence alleging JeM's involvement in the recent attack may put a question mark on the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on January 15.

Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar -- mastermind of the IC-814 hijack case -- are among four people identified by Indian intelligence agencies as handlers' in the Pathankot airbase attack.

The details of the four people have been shared with Pakistan through proper channel and India has pressed for stern action against them as a condition for any future talks with Pakistan, the sources said.

The Pathankot air force station saw a four-day long counter-terror operation in which six jihadis and seven security personnel were killed. The operation by the Indian forces lasted three days.

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Follow us on act against pathankot perpetrators first talks later india tells pak

New Delhi: The attack on the IAF air base in Pathankot has put the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan under a shadow of doubt, with India now placing the onus of contiuation of the revived bilateral talks on Pakistan.

"The ball is in Pakistan's court. The immediate issue is Pakistan's response to the Pathankot attack and actionable intelligence provided to it," External Affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today.

Swarup also emphasised that the Pathankot attack had put cross-border terrorism back into focus. "Cross-border terrorism is again in focus after the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base," he said, adding that India was not derailing the dialogue.

Swarup said Pakistan has assured India of prompt action against those involved or responsible for the attack and India is waiting for its action against the terrorists. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who assured of prompt response," he said, adding that "we now await prompt and decisive action from the Pakistan prime minister".

Seven security personnel were killed in the attack early Saturday morning on the Pathankot Air Force Station by six terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan. All the six terrorists were killed by security forces later.

"We initiated the process of dialogue with Pakistan. But this does not mean that we will tolerate terrorism. India has provided actionable intelligence to Pakistan. Pakistan needs to act now," he said, casting a shadow of doubt over the highly anticipated talks between the two countries scheduled for the 14th and 15th this month.

India has not announced the dates of the Foreign Secretary-level talks as it waits for action on the Pathankot perpetrators by Pakistan.

Both sides witnessed a thaw in the relations with the visit of External Affiars minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan where she met Sharif. The National Security Advisors of both sides also met in Bangkok late last year. This was followed up by PM Modi's surprise visit to Lahore.

Pakistan likely to act on Pathankot perpetrators within 72 hours

Pakistan is likely to initiate stern action against the perpetrators of the terror attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot that left security personnel dead and several others injured, Pakistani media has said.

The meeting which also saw Sharif's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, among other high-ranking officials, in attendance, is said to have taken up a review of the evidence furnished by India, which includes intercepts of phone calls made by the six terrorists who crossed the border last week and launched the assault.

"Issues pertaining to national and regional security were discussed during the meeting," the Prime Minister's Office here said in a brief statement. According to Pakistani sources, Sharif took stock of the leads provided by India regarding the Pathankot attack and has asked officials to speed up work on the leads given by India.

The decision to initiate action against those who purportedly orchestrated the attack is said to have come at a high-level meeting called by Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today, senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir told India TV. According to Mir, who spoke to the Pakistani PM personally, stern action on the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack is likely to come within the next 72 hours.

The high-profile meeting was attended by Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance; Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Interior; Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on Foreign Affairs; Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor; Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Foreign Secretary; Aftab Sultan, chief of Intelligence Bureau and other Pakistani officials.

India has also handed Pakistan names of those believed to be involved in the Pathankot attack and sought action against Jaish handlers Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, Kasim Jaan and Maulana Masood Azhar. The Pakistani government is believed to be initiating action against them on the basis of the names it has received from India.

India believes that the brazen attack on the Pathankot air base was planned and executed by the Pakistan-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Pakistan's PM Sharif had earlier called up Narendra Modi in the aftermath of the attack and promised 'prompt and decisive action' against individuals and groups involved in the attack. Modi is believed to have sought immediate action from Pakistan against those responsible for the attack.

Specific and actionable information in this regard has been provided to Pakistan, an Indian statement said. Pakistan had also condemned the Pathankot attack officially.

(With Agency inputs)

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Follow us on pathankot attack army rubbishes criticism over nsg deployment

New Delhi: Countering the growing criticism over deployment of NSG over Army in a predominant manner at Pathankot IAF airbase, the Indian Army on Wednesday said 'it was a joint decision and that the army was fully involved in it'.

"There was NSG, Air force, Garud commandos. Application of NSG was a joint decision taken at an appropriate level which included service chiefs," said Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh, GoC-in-C, army's Western Command, said.

He also said that NSG was brought in for this operation because they wanted to avoid a hostage situation as a large number of families and foreign trainees were residing inside the base.

"NSG was brought in because firstly strategic assets were over here. Secondly there can be hostage situation. People were living inside the campus which could have taken hostage...NSG are special troops (to handle such situation)," he said.

There has been criticism of the decision to deploy the NSG personnel flown from Delhi on Saturday morning in the air force base in Pathankot when a larger number of army commandos were available in nearby garrison in the border city itself Army's special forces commandos were said to be better equipped to deal with the siege of the base.

Calling the operation -- which saw synergy between the NSG, Army and Air Force -- a 'complete success', Lt Gen said, "There was no collateral damage during the operation. We all must take into account that there are a large number of civilian pockets in that area. No collateral damage was caused to civilians pocket and villages which is in its vicinity (of air force base station)."

To a question about the source of the alerts, Lt Gen Singh said, "We got alert from Punjab police also and from central agencies." However, he said the alert issued by Punjab police on December 30, was very general which said that 15 militants had entered into the Indian territory.

On reports about Punjab police's lapse in Pathankot terror attack, he said, "I will not comment on it. It is a subject matter of inquiry." "We had initially report of 4-6 militants and then we made contact with six of them and all of them were eliminated."

Asked whether there could be any local support to terrorists, Lt Gen said, "Some localised support cannot be absolutely ruled out. It will all be looked into. NIA will look into it. All aspects of this case will be looked into it."

The combat operation ended on Tuesday with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announcing that six terrorists were killed. Seven security personnel, including an officer of the National Security Guards (NSG), were also killed in the attack.

Meanwhile, the combing operations continued on the sixth day to sanitise the Pathankot Air Force base with NIA forming various teams to probe the terrorist attack on the high-security defence facility. Sources in the Indian Air Force (IAF) said that every inch of the Air Force Station (AFS) was being thoroughly scanned.

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Follow us on prosecution to examine headley in mumbai terror attack case

Mumbai: The sessions court here today allowed the Mumbai police's plea to examine David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist, as a witness in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.

The court allowed our plea to examine Headley as a witness on February 8 between 5 to 9 pm and on February 9 between 7 to 9 am, said special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.

He will be examined through video link.

The court had, on December 10, made Headley an approver,granting him pardon.

Headley, currently serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the Mumbai terror attack of 2008, had told the special judge G A Sanap (as he appeared from an undisclosed location in the US via video link), that he was ready to depose if given pardon. LeT operative Abu Jundal is now on trial in the 26/11 case.

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Follow us on salman khan hit and run impact hc wants total liquor ban for drivers

Mumbai: Urging the governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards rising cases of drunk driving, the Bombay High Court today wondered why anybody who has had even little alcohol should be permitted to drive.

The matter came up when the court was hearing a petition seeking more compensation to be paid by Bollywood actor Salman Khan for the victims of the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case.

"There is no reason why any person who has had any amount (of liquor) to drink should be permitted to drive at all," a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel observed today.

"Given the alternatives available and having regard to mainfest risks, especially to third parties, we would strenuously urge adoption by the central and Maharashtra governments of a zero tolerance policy towards drunk driving," the bench said.

The court also termed as theoretical the provision prescribing limit of alcohol consumption for drivers under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. We feel duty-bound to observe that these limits seem to us to be theoretical.

"Conditions in India are different than in foreign countries. Here people sleep on foothpaths and in some cases, pavements are absent. Besides, there is overcrowding of cars and the roads are narrow. Therefore, drunk driving cases should be taken seriously and stricter laws be provided to punish offenders," the judges said.

The judges were hearing a public interest litigation filed by journalist Nikhil Wagle seeking stricter laws and more compensation from Khan. The actor was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in the case last month.

Khan has deposited Rs 19 lakh as compensation to the victims' kin as directed by the HC nearly a decade ago, but Wagle's petition is still being heard after the court expanded its scope to include the issue of enhancement of punishment in such cases.

"We see no reason why police should be burdened with having to prove whether or not a person has consumed alcohol (beyond permissible limit)....mere presence of alcohol in blood should be, in our view, sufficient to disentitle from driving.

This, the court believed, would go a long way in ensuring safety on our roads apart from lessening the forensic burden on enforcement agencies.

The court observed that section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act which deals with drunk driving does not contain any provision whereby a state government can frame rules to provide for a stricter action. The Centre may consider allowing the states to prescribe zero tolerance norm or amend the MV Act, it said.

It asked the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit stating whether sufficient number of devices for conducting breath tests had been provided to police, and whether they were in working condition.

The judges also asked the state government to provide data of cases registered for drunk driving in the last three years, more particularly on December 31 and January 1, and the details of action taken.

The police's failure to follow the procedure while conducting blood test was a major issue in Salman Khan's case. The judges said the Centre and the state would file affidavits on whether they intend to frame rules for conducting breath tests, collection of blood samples and analysis of these samples.

The judges further sought to know whether the state government intends to set up forensic lab at every government hospital as well as the primary health centres near the highways for testing blood samples, and also whether it intends to set up mobile labs.

The HC asked the Maharashtra government to issue appropriate directions to ensure that driving licence is suspended immediately in drunk driving cases.

In the hearing after three weeks, the court said it may issue guidelines -- after going through the affidavits -- for the handling of drunk driving cases.

Regarding adoption of zero tolerance policy and amendment of laws to introduce stricter punishments, the HC gave six weeks to the Centre and the state to file their affidavits. The matter was posted to February 9.

The judges remarked that they were alarmed to note that only 705 cases of drunk driving were registered in Mumbai on the night of December 31, 2015, though the figure was 35 per cent higher than the previous year.

There was nothing to suggest what quantity of alcohol can be considered safe for a person who is going to drive, the court noted, contending that consumption of any amount of alcohol should be enough to disallow driving.

"We hasten to add there is no illegality attached to conducting of breath/blood tests merely because there are no rules (under MV Act). The necessity of having rules or guidelines is to ensure that authorities do not commit any errors because of which the accused can take undue advantage," the judges said.

The Centre had informed the court last month that it was considering a proposal to enhance punishment for drunk driving by amending IPC sections 304 A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash and negligent driving).

(With PTI inputs)

Latest India News
Follow us on china s first gay marriage rights lawsuit accepted

Beijing: China's first lawsuit on same-sex marriage rights has been accepted by a local court in Changsha, Hunan Province, marking a milestone for LGBT rights in the country, the media reported on Wednesday.

Plaintiff Sun Wenlin (pseudonym), a gay man, told the Global Times that the court accepted his suit against a civil affairs bureau in Furong district for not accepting his marriage registration application.

Sun filed the case on December 16, 2015, after his marriage registration application was turned down by an official who said that only "one man and one woman" can be registered as married.

Sun claimed that local police also visited his home after he filed the case, which has gained a high profile and has been hailed by many LGBT - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender - activists online.

"The officer kept emphasising that it is important to have a child to carry on one's family name, but I can't abide by people imposing their values on me," Sun added.

"The original text of the Marriage Law does not say one man and one woman, but a husband and a wife. I personally believe that this term refers not only to heterosexual couples but also to same-sex couples," he said.

The court is expected to hand down a ruling on the case within six months.

China has legalised LGBT since 1997. Transsexuals are allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery.

Latest World News
Follow us on condemnation doubt greet north korea s h bomb announcement

Seoul/Washington: North Korea's declaration that it had tested a hydrogen bomb for the first time was greeted with widespread condemnation but also skepticism as world powers vowed to punish the impoverished and defiant nation with new international sanctions.

The international community said that North Korea's fourth nuclear test since 2006 was a 'reckless challenge to international norms of behavior and the authority of the UN Security Council'.

The members of the security council yesterday recalled that they have previously expressed their determination to take further significant measures in the event of another North Korean nuclear test, according to a press statement read by this month's Security Council President Elbio Rosselli, permanent representative of Uruguay.

The statement said in line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution.

The surprise announcement by North Korea that it successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test on Wednesday jolted the international community, as such a move may dampen the denuclearisation process on the Korean Peninsula and threaten regional stability.

The H-bomb test is the fourth nuclear test by the country, which has previously conducted three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

US doubts North Korea's claims

The US casted doubts over North Korea's claims of successfully testing a hydrogen bomb, noting that initial analysis is not consistent with the claims of Pyongyang.

"Initial analysis is not consistent with N Korean claims of a hydrogen bomb explosion," White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, told reporters at his daily news conference.

Calling North Korea's action "provocative", the White House official reiterated America's "rock-solid commitment to safety and security of South Korea and Japan."

He asked North Korea to end its provocative actions.

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice had a White House meeting with China's Ambassador to the US on the situation.

"There is no denying the role that China would play in this," Earnest said, adding that the Obama Administration would be talking to China on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

"We are conducting additional collection and analysis of data. The initial analysis that's been conducted of the events that were reported overnight is not consistent with

North Korean claims of a successful hydrogen bomb test," Earnest said in response to a question.

"There's nothing that's occurred in the last 24 hours that has caused the United States government to change our assessment of North Korea's technical and military capabilities," Earnest said.

"We are continuing the work necessary to learn more about the nuclear test that North Korea conducted last night," he said.

"So we're obviously going to continue to look at this by monitoring the situation, assessing the available data and evidence, but the initial analysis is not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test," Earnest said.

"What is true is that North Korea continues to be one of the most isolated nations in the world and their isolation has only deepened as they have sought to engage in increasingly provocative acts. These include not just nuclear tests, but some of the ballistic missile tests that have attracted some attention over the years as well," he said.

Responding to a question, he reiterated the rock-solid commitment on the part of the United States to the safety and security of our allies in South Korea.

"That commitment also extends to the safety and security of our allies in Japan," he said, adding that the US has demonstrated this commitment.

With Agency Inputs

Latest World News
Follow us on iran accuses saudi arabia of bombing its embassy in yemen

Dubai: Iran's state-run news agency IRNA says a Saudi-led air strike last night hit the Iranian embassy in Yemen.

The accusation comes amid a dangerous rise in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days, following the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.

Analysts have feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's eastern Shiite heartland prepared to hold a service Thursday night to honor the executed Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. That could spark further unrest, as witnesses in eastern Saudi towns have reported hearing gunfire overnight and armored personnel carriers have been seen driving through neighborhood streets.

On Thursday afternoon, Iran's state-run news agency said a Saudi-led airstrike the previous night hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no damage to the building.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the Iranian claims, though the kingdom's deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, said he didn't believe war would break out with Iran.

"It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind," Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister and 30-year-old son of King Salman, told The Economist magazine. "Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region. ... For sure we will not allow any such thing."

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges  the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980. Al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdom's Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. On Wednesday, Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia returned to Tehran, according to state media.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies have cut or reduced their ties as well.

On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours over "Iran's continuous interference in Somalia's internal affairs."

In eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of al-Nimr and much of the kingdom's roughly 10 to 15 percent Shiite population, three days of mourning over his death ended Wednesday night. Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikh's brother, said people planned to hold a service Thursday for the cleric, though Saudi authorities had already buried his corpse in an undisclosed cemetery.

There are concerns new unrest could erupt. Al-Nimr's brother, as well as another local resident of al-Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, said they've heard gunfire on recent nights.

The local resident, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety, shared a mobile phone video showing Saudi armored personnel carriers traveling through local streets.

More than 1,040 people were detained in Shiite protests in eastern Saudi Arabia between February 2011 and August 2014, according to Human Rights Watch. That watchdog and others have alleged that Saudi officials discriminate against the Shiites by rarely allowing them to build mosques and limiting their access to public education, government employment and the justice system.

Speaking to The Economist, Prince Mohammed defended al-Nimr's execution.

"The court did not, at all, make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shiite or Sunni," the prince said in the interview published online Thursday night. "They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence and carrying out the sentence."

However, many ultraconservatives of the Saudi Wahhabi school of Islam view Shiites as heretics.

Also Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran's annual exports to Saudi Arabia are worth about $130 million a year and are mainly steel, cement and agricultural products. Iran's annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalize their relations.

Latest World News
Follow us on some elements want to sabotage talks with india pak defence minister

Islamabad: Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that "some elements" want to "sabotage" the Indo-Pak peace talks through terror acts but they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.

"Some elements want to sabotage the talks process between the two neighbouring countries through such terror acts but they would not succeed in their nefarious designs," he said.

Asif said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in a telephonic contact have agreed that a cordial relationship was the most appropriate response to the terrorists, Radio Pakistan reported today.

He said Indian leadership has not levelled any allegation on Pakistan regarding the Pathankot airbase terror attack.

To a question, he said that Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism and fighting a successful war against the menace.

Heavily-armed terrorists last week attempted to storm the Air Force base in Pathankot. The attackers were believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan and there was speculation that they may belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad headed by Maulana Masood Azhar of the Kandahar hijack episode.

Latest World News
Follow us on south korea vows to punish north korea for hydrogen bomb test

Seoul: South Korean vowed on Wednesday to forge a united stance with the international community to punish Pyongyang for going ahead with a fourth nuclear test.

Seoul will ensure that North Korea will pay the price for testing a hydrogen bomb, calling it a grave provocation and challenge to international peace and stability, President Park Geun-hye said.

"Now, the government should closely cooperate with the international community to make sure that North Korea pays the corresponding price for the nuclear test," Park said in a National Security Council meeting.

Park said it was important to induce the international community to impose strong sanctions on North Korea.

The comments came about two hours after North Korea announced that it has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test.

The North's nuclear test could prompt the UN Security Council to tighten its sanctions against North Korea. The communist country has already been under UN sanctions for its previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Last year, Park warned that there will certainly be consequences if North Korea goes ahead with provocative actions that violate the UN Security Council resolutions.

South Korea on Wednesday issued a statement condemning North Korea for testing a hydrogen bomb and pledging to take all necessary measures against North Korea.

Park called on the military to maintain readiness in cooperation with the US troops in South Korea as she warned of a stern retaliation if Pyongyang stages a provocation against Seoul.

The US government said it could not confirm that North Korea had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, while vowing to respond appropriately to any "provocation".

"While we cannot confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violation of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments," White House National Security Council's spokesman Ned Price said.

The statement was in response to North Korea's announcement that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

Price added that the US would continue to protect and defend its allies in the region, and "respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations".

Meanwhile, Japan has also condemned the hydrogen bomb test conducted by North Korea, saying the test was a "significant threat".

"The hydrogen bomb test is a significant threat to Japan's national security and is unacceptable," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

Japan will consider sanctions against North Korea as its nuclear test violates UN Security Council's relevant resolutions, Abe said.

Abe also said Japan will work with the US, South Korea, China and Russia to cope with the issue.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks with the US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy over the nuclear test.

Latest World News
Follow us on syrian refugee allows smugglers to rape his wife as payment

New Delhi: A Syrian man who had run out of money allegedly allowed smugglers to rape his wife as payment for his family being trafficked to Europe.

The unidentified woman and a mother-of-four children, is now believed to be living in Berlin. The woman remains in constant fear that her husband is going to kill her. According to the woman, her husband had run out of money and purportedly volunteered her for payment to smugglers.

Susanne Hohne, the lead psychotherapist at Berlin who treats refugee females, said that the woman displays all symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks, insomnia and has trouble concentrating, media reports quoted her as saying.

Susanne further said that at least 44 women in her care have experienced sexual violence.

Shocking pictures of a drowned toddler emerged in September 2015. The child, thought to be a Syrian, was washed up on a beach. The boat was trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea but drowned because of high waves in the water.

Syria's civil war advocates the worst humanitarian crisis of all time. Families are struggling for safe conditions to live and are forced to make neighbouring countries their new home.

More than 136,000 people have been brutally killed in the war of Syria since March 2011, and millions have migrated to other countries.

Refugee displacement in the Mediterranean countries has gained momentum in recent months. The migration is coupled with thousands of unreported cases of sexual assault on migrant women.

According to a report, more than 2,600 people have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2015. Some have drowned while others have been killed in stampedes.

Latest World News
Follow us on un security council to hold emergency talks on north korea

United Nations: The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today in New York after North Korea claimed it had carried out a "successful" hydrogen bomb test, diplomats said.

The closed-door morning talks between the 15 member nations were called by the United Nations and Japan.

"While we cannot confirm at this time that a test was carried out, we condemn any violation of UNSC Resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments," US mission spokeswoman Hagar Chemali said.

If the test was indeed a hydrogen bomb, it would mark a significant increase in capabilities from the North, which previously tested far less fission blasts generated by uranium or plutonium.

A hydrogen, or thermonuclear device, uses fusion in a chain reaction.

If North Korea's claim is confirmed, it would massively raise the stakes around its banned nuclear program and likely trigger tougher international sanctions.

Pyongyang has carried out three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 -- which led to a series of sanctions from the United Nations.

Several UN resolutions ban the reclusive North from any nuclear activity or ballistic missile technology.

At the council, Pyongyang ally Beijing regularly tries to shield the North from condemnation or sanctions, while Washington repeatedly denounces the communist regime and its human rights violations.

Japan joined the council on January 1 under a two-year mandate as a non-permanent member.

Latest World News
Follow us on gst naidu meets sonia says govt ready for early budget session

New Delhi: As the deadlock over passage of the Good and Services Tax (GST) Bill continues, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and sought cooperation for the early passage of the crucial bill.

He also said that the government was ready for an early Budget session if the parties agree to pass the legislation.

The Union Minister drove down to the residence of Gandhi at 10, Janpath here early today and held discussions with her for about 20 minutes during which the Congress president is learnt to have asked him about the government's view on the three main suggestions given by the Congress on GST.

Sources said Naidu told Gandhi that issues raised by the Congress in respect of GST bill were considered by the government and the government's position was communicated to Congress leaders earlier.

Regarding the Real Estate bill, Naidu told Gandhi that as decided by Congress and other parties, the Bill was referred to a select committee of Rajya Sabha and the government had accepted almost all recommendations of the committee.

Naidu told the Congress President that if required, the government will like to advance the Budget session of Parliament for early passage of these bills if political parties agree to it.

The Congress President is learnt to have told Naidu that she will get back to him after consultations with her party leaders.

The Constitution Amendment bill to roll out GST is stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA does not have a majority of its own. The bill is being opposed by Congress although many other opposition parties are on board.

Venkaiah later told reporters that he met Gandhi in his capacity as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and that he asked the Congress President to take a final stand on the two pending bills.

He said the government has already spoken to Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma in this regard.

"I reminded her (about Congress taking a decision on the issue after meeting the Prime Minister) and asked her to take a quick decision on GST and Real Estate bill," he said.

"I indicated to her and did not make a commitment that if the party takes a positive stand, we can convene the Parliament session early," Naidu said.

Congress is seeking three changes in the bill, including a constitutional cap on the GST rate, to support it.

The other two changes sought by Congress in the GST bill are removal of one per cent additional tax on inter-state transfer of goods and a Supreme Court judge headed dispute resolution panel.

GST, which seeks to simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime across the country with a single uniform rate, has been stuck for many years in a political gridlock.

While the previous UPA regime failed to get it passed in Parliament due to opposition from the BJP and some other parties, Congress has now refused to support the bill proposed by the NDA government in its present form.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had recently said that the rolling out of the ambitious GST regime is "certainly" doable this year and added that he was in "continuous touch" with the Congress in a bid to persuade them to cooperate.

Jaitley said the passage of GST remains one of his key priority areas for the New Year, along with rationalising the direct taxes and further easing of process for doing business.

With PTI Inputs
Follow us on j k cm sayeed passes away mehbooba mufti set to be new cm

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed died this morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was admitted for the past 15 days.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences said he breathed his last at 9.10 am. "We tried to revive him but failed to," an AIIMS spokesperson said.

Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of deceased CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is expected to take over as the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.

While there is unanimity among the PDP over CM's choice, its main alliance partner BJP has also indicated its support for her elevation to the post.

Updates:

* Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's mortal remains reach his residence in Srinagar.

* J&K government announces 7-day mourning as mark of respect to late CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

* PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Palam Airport

* Going to Srinagar to participate in the last rites of late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed sahab: Rajnath Singh

* I express great shock over his untimely demise, its sad for all of us: J&K Deputy CM Nirmal Singh

* Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will be laid to rest at his ancestral town of Bijbehara later in the day: Abdul Ghani Kohli, J&K Transport Minister

* University of Kashmir & State board of school education postpones all examinations in view of the demise of J&K CM

* We are saddened, he was a hard-working man: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

Sayeed, 79, is survived by his wife, three daughters including PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, and a son.

The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to have the last glimpse of their leader. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village in South Kashmir.

Sayeed was admitted with complaints of fever and neck pain on December 24 after which the doctors at AIIMS diagnosed him to have sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia.

He was in the Intensive Care Unit of AIIMS and during hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously low. For the past few days, the Chief Minister was on a ventilator.

Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year.
Follow us on keep your mouth shut on islamic state is sympathiser warns owaisi

New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has received threat from a sympathiser of the dreaded terror outfit Islamic State.

The Hyderabad MP said that he has been warned by the ISIS on Twitter to keep his 'mouth shut' but he will not.

"It is better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State if you don't know the truth. Islamic State will invade India soon," Twitter handle @abotalout, believed to be managed by an ISIS sympathiser, warned Owaisi.

Responding to the tweets, he said that 'ISIS murderers have no right to decide his final destination' and that he doesn't feel the need to lodge a police complaint as the tweets are purely ideological.

"@abotalout sir you are a bloody Takfiri, if you want to debate on evil, ISIS, I am ready. You will not be able to counter my Theological Points," he tweeted.

"@abotalout you can dream so keep dreaming Takfiri read @Shaykhabulhuda book on ISIS will bring y out of Darkness of ISIS Allah give Taufeeq," he said in another tweet.

Owaisi had in recent past condemned the ISIS activities and said that militant group have nothing to do with the Islam or its teachings. He had also described ISIS men 'murderers and rapists'.

Indian Muslim scholars have declared ISIS as 'Khawrij' (rebels of Islam) and they had no right to speak about Islam.

Last, BJP MLA from Sardhana in UP, Sangeet Som, had claimed that he got a threatening call from the ISIS.
Follow us on kejriwal s latest odd even ad a crash course on dodging the law

New Delhi: Call it circumventing the rules or sheer creative genius, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's latest advertisement asking citizens of the national capital to follow the odd-even scheme is a concept you just can't look over. In fact, a first look at the ad can confuse you if Kejriwal is trying to send across a genuine message or if the whole idea is to just mock at the law.

The shrewd manner in which Kejriwal gets his point across without showing his face to the camera, and all for a reason, has good reason behind it. A law that came into effect in mid-2015 prevents politicians from using government advertisements as a platform for personal promotion.

In May last year, the Supreme Court ordered a ban on all media advertisements that contained photos of chief ministers, ministers and functionaries of ruling political parties.

The Aam Aadmi Party founder has not been featured in a single government advertisement ever since. Soon after the court's order, Kejriwal's face disappeared from all 1031 anti-corruption helpline ads, a major AAP campaign at the time.

Kejriwal, it seems, now wants his voice to do the talking, literally. In the latest in the series of advertisements rolled out by the Delhi government on its odd-even formula, Kejriwal (or so it seems) appears with his back to the camera. He has his favourite maroon sweater on and dons the trademark muffler that has become synonymous with the Delhi CM.

Kejriwal, who is seen and heard speaking on the telephone in the ad, starts off with what was typical to AAP's advertisements at the height of the Delhi Assembly polls. Namaste. Main Arvind Kejriwal bol raha hoon. Phone mat kaatna (This is Arvind Kejriwal...do not disconnect the call), says the individual, whom we presume as Kejriwal for his voice, before he goes on invoke Gandhigiri to make his odd-even plan a success.

Kejriwal then narrates an emotional' incident involving a civil defence volunteer who forced an odd-even violator to rethink by offering him a rose as he goes on to seek people's support for the scheme.

Not once do we see the narrator's face throughout the ad. All one can hear is Kejriwal's distinct voice.

In fact, it is the voice of Kejriwal that he and his team want to capitalise on in wake of the SC's decision banning politicians' faces from government ads. Remember the ad released by the government after the murder of a girl in Anand Parbat last August? That ad also had an audio message from Kejriwal with the visual of a candle in the dark.

This one goes a step further, with a man appearing as Kejriwal but not showing his face. We wonder what the CM will come up with the next time around.

Watch the Video
Follow us on j k cm mufti mohammad sayeed put on ventilator support as condition worsens

New Delhi: The condition of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, admitted in AIIMS for the past 14 days, is believed to have further worsened with doctors putting him on ventilator support.

79-year-old Sayeed, detected with sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia, was admitted to the hospital on December 24, with complains of neck pain and fever.

He continues to be in the Intensive Care Unit of AIIMS, with doctors remaining anxious as his platelets dropped dangerously low.

AIIMS came out with a brief statement, saying that the chief minister required respiratory support and that "his condition continues to be warranting close monitoring by the team of experts at AIIMS".

Education minister and government spokesperson Nayeem Akhter said, "the chief minister had responded to the new line of treatment yesterday. However, today there was no significant progress."

Sources in the hospital said that Sayeed was put on ventilator support as he was suffering from breathing problems because of infection in the lungs.

Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year.

His health had sparked off speculation that there could be a possible change of guard. Sayeed had himself hinted last November during a press conference in Jammu that he would like to hand over the reins to his daughter Mehbooba Mufti.

When asked, Akhter said, "Right now Mehbooba ji is worried about the health of her father. However, let me make it clear that she is an obvious choice."
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Betrayed

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Author of the Week:

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After having been in education for forty-four years as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator,has retired. He uses his psychology and counseling background in crafting psychological thriller/mysteries.
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Neocons Defend Saudi Arabia



By Jim Lobe



January 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " LobeLog "- Much of the West is focused on the latest sectarian provocations by Saudi Arabia, such as the execution of Shiite leader Sheik Nimr Baqr al-Nimr followed by the formal breaking of diplomatic relations with Iran in uber-retaliation for the attack on the kingdoms embassy in Tehran. U.S. neoconservatives, however, are standing in support of that wellspring of expansionist Wahhabism. Its remarkable that just 14 years ago, neocons like Richard Perle were calling for the Bush administration to include Riyadh among the capitals on Washingtons post-9/11 target list. Now the Saud family has again become their dearest friend. No less remarkable is how those fearless defenders of Western values and democratic governance are rallying in defense of an absolute monarchy and the undisputed and deep-pocketed leader of the counter-revolution against the reformist movements of the Arab Spring. That great champion of human rights and democracy, Elliott Abrams, and the hard-line neocons most influential print medium, the Wall Street Journals editorial board, were quickest off the mark in attacking Iran and defending the poor, abandoned Saudis, respectively. Bill Kristols Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), meanwhile, made it clear which side should be favored in a release posted on its website early Tuesday afternoon. Its list of resources made clear that, no matter the provocation, Iran should always be considered Public Enemy #1. The administrations attempt to appear more-or-less even-handed in the escalating crisisor even a little critical of Riyadhwas yet another deplorable example of Obamas weakness and appeasement. The clearest critique came from Abramss fellow senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Max Boot, in a Commentary Contentions post with the title An American Ally of Necessity. In the lawless jungle that is the international system, nations seldom have the luxury of choosing good over evil. Usually, it is a matter of choosing a lesser evil over a greater evil. So it was in World War II, when we allied with Stalin to stop Hitler, and so it is today in the case of Saudi Arabia versus Iran. The two countries are in a contest for power and influence across the Middle East. Both are human-rights violators, but we should make no mistake that Iran is far worse from the American perspective: not only morally but also strategically. The American policy should be clear: We should stand with the Saudis  and the Egyptians, and the Jordanians, and the Emiratis, and the Turks, and the Israels [sic], and all of our other allies  to stop the new Persian Empire. But the Obama administration, morally and strategically confused, is instead coddling Iran in the vain hope that it will somehow turn Tehran from enemy into friend. At least, Boot doesnt sugar-coat Riyadh. Its merely Stalin to Irans Hitler. Krauthammer to the Rescue But FPIs list isnt comprehensive. Heres Charles Krauthammer who predictably blames the Iran deal and Obamas complete abandonment of the poor Saudis for Nimrs execution: Just last week the U.S. responded to the firing of the missiles, illegal firing of the nuclear-capable missiles by Iran by threatening trivial sanctions and then actually canceling, or postponing the sanctions, when the Iran protested and said they would increase their production of missiles. In other words, the U.S. would not even respond to an open provocation on the missile issue, and what they read is complete abandonment. They are now on their own, and then theyre not going to have to face the Iranians and their allies on their own. And if that means they have to execute a Shiite who is an insurrectionist in their country, hes got to be executed. Krauthammer expresses deep sympathy for the Saudis, suggesting that their nearly 10-month-old U.S.-backed military intervention in Yemen, by far the Arab worlds poorest country, should be seen as a strictly defensive measure against Iranian aggression: In Yemen, which is, remember, right on the doorstep of Saudi Arabiaits not removed the way Syria isand they see serious encirclement. (Krauthammer conveniently omits to mention either the notable gains made by both Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) as a result of the highly destructive Saudi-led military campaign and naval blockade.) Attacking Nimr Other neocon writers have argued that Nimr himself was essentially an Iranian agent and his execution justified. Heres David Pryce-Jones on The National Review website: A man seemingly in his late fifties, Sheikh al-Nimr was the unacknowledged leader of the Shiites in the country. This meant that he had the support of Iran, where Shiites are the majority. Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the Shiites have been pursuing imperial ambitions against the United States and Israel, but above all against Sunnis. To the Saudi regime in contrast, Sheikh al-Nimr was nothing less than a heretic and a traitor. He uses his sermonizing for exclusive political purposes, raising his voice to rant about the Saudi king and the royal family, calling for their overthrow and delighting that the previous king is in the grave. This style is practized rather widely. But what consequences could Sheikh al-Nimr have expected? He was inviting martyrdom quite as certainly as if he were a suicide bomber. According to the inimitable Lee Smith, writing in Kristols Weekly Standard, the Obama administration, by expressing concern about Nimrs execution, had effectively sided with Tehran. Worse, it had also legimitized Irans alleged pretensions to represent Shias around the world and thus delivered a serious blow to the entire nation-state system. [W]hy does [the administration] perceive the action of a sovereign state regarding one of its own citizens to be so provocative that it was likely to compel another sovereign state to take violent action? It is because the White House understands that Tehran regarded and still regards Nimr as an Iranian asset. With Nimr alive and free, the Iranians saw him as a potential agent of Saudi destabilization. With Nimr imprisoned and now dead, Iran gets to claim him as one of its own and wave the Shiite banner. In acknowledging Nimr as an Iranian protege, the White House is backing Tehrans campaign as final interlocutor on all matters Shiite, regardless of state sovereignty. Smith also notes that Riyadh may be a problematic ally at times, but nonetheless insists that an attack on Saudis diplomatic offices should be seen as an attack on us. There is no doubt that Riyadh is, to say the least, a very difficult ally in many ways. However, it is part of the American order of the Middle East and has been so for 70 years. Iran sees it this way as well. Therefore, an attack on Saudi diplomatic facilities is an attack on our side, our order, us. They see other traditional U.S. regional partnerslike Jordan, Turkey, and Israelin the same way. The sacking of Riyadhs embassy in Tehran, rather than Nimrs execution, was of great concern for Abrams, who served as assistant secretary of state for human rights in the Reagan administration and as deputy national security advisor for global democracy strategy (among other posts) under George W. Bush. He cited it as another piece of evidence that Iran refuses to live by the rules of civilized diplomatic practice, and that its behavior has gotten worse not better since the signing of the nuclear dealwhose outreach was supposed to change Irans conduct. Next time someone suggests opening a U.S. embassy in Tehran as part of the improvement in our relations, remember todays incident. The Islamic Republic still sees the invasion of embassies as an acceptable political tool. Target: Iran Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journals editorial board has gone on a veritable jihad against Iran and Obamas policy and in defense of the Saudi kingdom. Its lead editorial Monday Who Lost the Saudis? suggested that both Iran and Russia may be trying to overthrow the House of Saud during the final year of Obamas presidency. Among other assertions, the column noted that Nimr led a Shiite uprising in 2011a rather tendentious word to apply to overwhelmingly peaceful street protests that took place in the countrys Eastern Province during the Arab Spring. The column continues: Iran already has ample reason to want to topple the Saudis, who are its main antagonist in the Shiite vs. Sunni conflict that has swept the region amid Americas retreat. The two are fighting a proxy war in Yemen, after a Saudi-led coalition intervened to stop a takeover by Irans Houthi allies. The Saudis are also the leading supporter of the non-Islamic State Sunnis who are fighting Syrias ally Bashar Assad. [Emphasis added to suggest that perhaps the non-Islamic State Sunnis may include Jabhat al-Nusra, Al Qaedas Syrian affiliate.] The conclusion: The Saudis are often difficult allies, especially the support by rich Wahhabi sheikhs for radical Islamist mosques and schools around the world. But in a Middle East wracked by civil wars, political upheaval and Iranian imperialism, the Saudis are the best friend we have in the Arabian peninsula. The U.S. should make clear to Iran and Russia that it will defend the Kingdom from Iranian attempts to destabilize or invade. But the Journal was hardly finished. On Tuesday, it celebrated what it called Sunni Arab solidaritya reference to what it initially called the decision by Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to follow Saudi Arabia in severing ties with Iran. It later corrected that version, noting that UAE did not break diplomatic relations with Tehran. The editorial writers also apparently decided against mentioning Sudan among those who bravely cut ties to Tehran. After all the Bush administrationand Abramshad called Sudan genocidal and Riyadh had coaxed the country into participating in its Yemen campaign. The Journal then picked up the refrain that Obamas retreat from the region has resulted not only in a loss in U.S. influence there, but also in the larger Sunni-Shia conflict: The U.S. didnt listen to Saudi Arabia about the Iran nuclear deal, which it believes signals a U.S. strategic tilt toward Iran and its Shiite allies in the Middle East. They see the Administration backing down on sanctions against Iran for testing ballistic missiles that can reach Riyadh long before they get to New York. They feel under threat from an Iran liberated from sanctions, and they dont believe President Obama will defend them in a conflict. Why should they heed the U.S. now? A Middle East dividing into Sunni and Shiite blocs is the predictable consequence of Mr. Obamas strategy of retreat from the region. As elsewhere, U.S. allies in the Middle East will do what they feel they must to survive, never mind American disapproval. Of course, what the editorial failed to note was the fact that the creation of so-called Sunni and Shiite blocs in the region preceded Obamas alleged strategy of retreat and actually began (in its most recent incarnation) with the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the empowerment of the Shia majority there, and the subsequent de-Baathification of the country. The neocons (including the Journals editorial board) not only supported this strategy but also conceived and actively promoted it (alongside their favorite Iraqi exile, the late Ahmad Chalabi). At the highest level, our Saudi friends (as well as the U.S. intelligence community) back then publicly warned the Bush administration about the possible regional consequences of an invasion. But Bush and the neocons, including the Journals editorial board, didnt listen. How things have changed. Jim Lobe served for some 30 years as the Washington DC bureau chief for Inter Press Service and is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy and the influence of the neoconservative movement.
Saudi Execution Sword Takes Swipe at Washington By Finian Cunningham January 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " SCF "- The Saudi execution of senior Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is but the latest in a series of provocations towards regional rival Iran. The furious reaction from Shiite Iran to the beheading of Nimr  a renowned Islamic scholar  and the severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries appears to be a calculated winding up of tensions by the Sunni Saudi rulers. But the real objective for Saudi Arabia is more likely to embroil its political patron in Washington in a sharper regional conflict  a conflict that would also lead to a conflagration with Russia. The reaction of Washington to the execution of Saudi-born cleric Nimr al-Nimr was one of surprise, according to the New York Times. That suggests the Saudi rulers went rogue on the move. The Times noted that the Obama administration is worried that the clerics death could jeopardize diplomatic efforts in the region  which is probably exactly what the Saudi regime wants. Nimr was executed at the weekend along with four other Shiite activists and over 40 alleged members of the terror group Al-Qaeda. It was the biggest mass execution in the kingdom for over three decades. The state killing of Nimr along with condemned Al-Qaeda terrorists only adds to the insult towards Iranian leaders who referred to the cleric as a martyr and a man of peace. Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei vowed that Gods vengeance would strike the Saudi rulers; Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah denounced the sentence as an assassination; while Iraqi Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali Sistani said that the killing of 56-year-old Nimr was an unjust aggression. Nimr had become a household name among Shiite Muslims across the world because of his courageous defiance of the House of Saud, whom he lambasted as despots and openly called for its overthrow. The cleric upheld the democratic rights of Saudis minority Shiite community which has long protested persecution under the radical Sunni rulers. Nimr had peacefully agitated during the 2011 Arab Spring revolt, but was arrested by the Saudi authorities in 2012 and convicted of a range of charges, including terrorism, which carried the death sentence. Supporters and international rights groups accused the Saudi rulers of trumping up the charges and of gross miscarriage of justice. Iran was particularly vocal in protesting the sentencing of Nimr and when his appeal against execution was rejected in October 2015, Tehran warned the Saudi rulers then that there would be dire consequences if they carried out the capital punishment. That the Saudis went ahead with the execution  in spite of widespread protests  seems to be a calculated bid to antagonize Iran. The next grim step to watch for is whether the Saudis proceed with the execution of Nimrs nephew, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who is also on death row, on charges over his involvement in the 2011 street protests in Saudis Shiite populated eastern province. Again, that case has also drawn international condemnation as a travesty of justice, especially because the youth was only aged 17 years when he was first incarcerated. Under the Saudi judicial system, Ali Mohammed could be executed any day, his particular sentence involving gruesome crucifixion. That would be sure to really explode regional tensions among Shiite Muslims as it would be seen as another gratuitous political killing. What we have to appreciate is the wider context of decades-long political rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, going back to the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The autocratic House of Saud has always viewed the Islamic Republic of Iran as a subversive threat in the region. Much of the Saudi fears are due to a paranoid insecurity about their own precarious political system, relying as it does on a dynastic hold on power by one family  the Al Sauds  and their draconian application of Sharia law under a fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam. The Arab Spring protests in 2011 amplified Saudi fears of instability. Iran was blamed for instigating subversion in two countries that the Saudi rulers consider to be their backyard: Bahrain and Yemen. Saudi accusations against Iran were overblown in both cases. There is no evidence that Iran was fueling popular protests in either Bahrain or Yemen against incumbent rulers patronized by Riyadh. In Yemen, when the mainly Shiite Houthi uprising finally succeeded last year in overthrowing the Saudi-backed regime, the Saudi rulers typically made hysterical claims that Iran was fomenting trouble in its Arab Peninsula southern neighbor. On that unsubstantiated basis, the Saudis mobilized a military coalition of other Sunni Arab countries to launch a war on Yemen, beginning on March 26 last year, which continues unabated. Both Washington and London have supported the Saudi-led war on Yemen, with supply of warplanes, munitions and logistics, even though as the New York Times noted: But Western diplomats say the Saudis vastly overstated the Iranian role, at least at the wars start. Nonetheless, a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition, backed by the United States, has killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes. Yemen can be considered as the first major provocation towards Iran over the past year. It is noteworthy that the Saudis launched the war one week before the signing of the interim nuclear deal in Lausanne, Switzerland, between Iran and Washington and other world powers in the so-called P5 + 1 group. That deal and the subsequent finalization of an accord in Vienna in July has vexed the Saudi rulers intensely as they fear that normalization of relations will only bolster Iranian influence in the Middle East. It is reasonable to assume that the Saudi-led conflict in Yemen was aimed at derailing the P5+1 process and its ongoing fragile implementation. Nine months of non-stop Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen have been interspersed with tendentious allegations by Riyadh that Iran is agitating and arming the Houthi rebels. There is no evidence for such material support, although to be sure as a Shiite-dominated power Tehran has openly voiced diplomatic backing for the Houthis. Irans leader Ayatollah Khamenei has frequently excoriated the Saudi action in Yemen as genocidal crimes. A second major provocation came in September when more than 450 Iranians were killed in a stampede during the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage near Medina in Saudi Arabia. Although the tragedy appeared to be a monumental accident, Tehran was furious at the way the Saudi authorities reportedly showed disrespect towards the Iranian crush victims by delaying the repatriation of their corpses. The five-year war in Syria is another source of Saudi-Iranian rivalry. The Saudi regime has backed an array of insurgent networks, which have been linked to terrorist jihadists in the Islamic State group and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra. Washington and other Western powers, Britain and France, are also implicated in this covert war for regime change against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Iran has been a staunch ally of Assads Syria as being part of the regions anti-imperialist resistance bloc, which also includes Lebanons Hezbollah. With Russias dramatic military intervention since September in support of its long-time strategic ally in Syria, the war dynamic has been transformed in favor of the Assad government and the Syrian Arab Army. The foreign-backed insurgency is decidedly on the retreat in large part because of Russian air power and Iranian and Hezbollah troops fighting alongside the Syrian army. The losing tide against the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria has evidently shifted Washingtons calculations towards a political process for pursuing its objective of regime change. US Secretary of State John Kerry has noticeably stepped up the diplomatic efforts over the past three months, along with Moscow, to convene peace talks on the Syrian conflict. Those talks are to begin later this month in Geneva. Remarkably, Washington and its British and French allies have dropped their erstwhile demand that Assad must quit power immediately. Thus, the West appears to have moved towards Russia and Irans position which is that any peace process in Syria should not be conditioned on the political future of Assad, whose fate, they say, depends on the electoral choice of the Syrian people as a matter of sovereign right. The Western powers, it can be averred, still want regime change in Syria for their geopolitical ambitions in the region, in particular for extending hegemonic power and isolating both Russia and Iran. Nevertheless, realizing that the covert military option of forcing regime change in Syria is waning due to Russia and Irans intervention, Washington, London and Paris appear to be giving peace a chance in the altogether cynical calculation that they might achieve at the negotiating table what they failed to achieve on the battle field. Not so the Saudis. Or, it can be added, the Turkish regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With their Salafist/Wahhabi Islamist affiliations and deeper investment in the insurgent mercenaries, both Riyadh and Ankara still persist in demanding that the Syrian leader must stand down as a precondition for any political settlement. From the Saudi viewpoint, Washington appears to be giving too many concessions to Syria and its arch-enemy Iran. For the Saudi rulers, the peace talks due to begin in Geneva are a vexing reminder of the P5+1 nuclear accord that Washington signed up to with Iran. Neither the P5+1 nuclear deal nor the Geneva peace talks on Syria may actually bear much fruit for Iranian interests and those of its allies. But from the House of Sauds paranoid perspective  which sees Iran as its nemesis  these developments, however tentative, are absolutely anathema to Riyadh. This probably explains the provocative execution of the cleric Nimr al-Nimr. It is but the latest in a series of acts by Saudi Arabia aimed at goading Iran and its regional Shiite allies into a more inflammatory conflict. If Iran were to hit back militarily at Saudi Arabia that would inevitably draw in the United States as Riyadhs primary Western ally. The Saudis have been itching for Washington to launch military strikes on Syria going back to at least the suspicious chemical weapons atrocity near Damascus in August 2013, when President Obama reneged at the last minute  much to Saudi ire back then. If Saudi Arabia can provoke an Iranian military response  and the provocations have been unrelenting over recent months  then the House of Saud stands to kill several birds with one stone. It gets America to go to war for regime change in Syria and against Iran at the same time. However, what the reckless Saudi rulers dont seem fazed by is that such an escalation would inevitably lead to an international conflagration with Russia.  Strategic Culture Foundation
America's Right-wing Fascism, Millennials and Why Good People Must Do Something



By Michael T Bucci



January 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Market Oracle "- America is to be judged by its citizens, not its politicians. But if Americans lose contact with one another; substitute real, tangible realities with virtual ones projected on internet and television screens; refuse to engage in the democratic process and choose passivity over involvement, nihilism over hope, fatalism over self-determination; remain complacent about if not ignorant of US actions and wars in the world; adopt definitions of themselves that are crafted by self-serving special interests, profiteers or merchants of war and hate running now for president from both political parties, they lose all concepts of who they are, what they stand for, and what really constitutes American values. As it stands, Americans are on the cusp of recognizing that they are losing their historic identity, or the one they embraced before 9/11. In the collective American consciousness questing for material objects, success, fame, wealth, property and stock equities, together with a megalomaniacal drive for Empire to dominate a world now splitting itself into East and West, there remains no public figure speaking for everyone; for unity through diversity; for peace; for the poor, homeless, disabled and elderly; for children and young people who will inherit a financially bankrupt nation that cheerleads its populist billionaires who take all, avoid taxes, give little back, blame the scapegoat, and ignore the plight of others, particularly the plight of young generations who will inherit it all as they advance into tomorrows leadership positions. Who speaks for them? Almost unconsciously, Americans salute a market-centric culture unaware it is controlled by Wall Street, bond traders, speculators, hedge funds and enormous multinational corporations and banking hegemons. Silicon Valley young technocratic tycoons provide proof of American superiority and exceptionalism and the momentous rewards capitalism bestows. The rewards of capitalism, however, go to the few and fewer and what are concealed in a sea of commercials and seamless hype are what many young people should already know; for during a majority of their years as mature adults America has been a nation of non-stop endless wars; has become the largest debtor nation in the world  debt that cant be repaid and probably wont be repaid. It has devolved into waves of police-sanctioned violence and murders, socially damaging hate-groups and vicious political vitriolic. When done in the name of competition and profits, it legally sanctions illegalities. Young people have learned privacy is non-existent and social interactions take place using costly digital devices connected through toll booths owned by corporate networks behind whose one-way mirror sit both government and mega-corporations amassing personal information, biometrics, opinions, attitudes, consumer behavior, political affiliations, friendships, credit and banking details, and their psychographic profiles for private profit and for social and government behavior-mod programs and social engineering. Many have learned a stable job of 40 hours per week with benefits, sick pay and vacation time is a luxury afforded a few. Some have learned to live at home with mom and dad at age 25 because they cant afford high rents at meager wages, let alone purchase a home. Some will live through decades of paying-off college loans that delivered greater debt peonage than employment opportunity. They have seen how credit is mistakenly viewed as an asset and used to salvage households that have undergone decades of stagnant wages. They have seen benefits accrue in accumulation of wealth for employers, corporations and investment banks. Should they ever run for president, they know they will have to agree to kill innocent people and children, conduct drone operations on targeted assassination lists, approve and expand Americas seamless dragnet surveillance state, enlist people their age to die for wars they had no say in and no true understand of. If young people think the American Dream is over and act apart and clustered together in a swarm, they do so for good reasons: there are no public figures offsetting the post 9/11 normal with incisive alternatives, real debate, knowledgeable dissent and penetrative truths about the causes underlying Americas many imbroglios. It should be no surprise that most millennials didnt vote in 2014 (87% stayed home). But the 9/11 normal in this country is not the normal I knew, is not the America that weaned me, is not the normal I wish to live under or see young people struggle with in order to survive. If any group is blameless in causing any one problem now afflicting America, it is they. But they are too young to have known a better time; some cant imagine one; many have relegated America before 9/11 to the history books! This is how it seems for a millennial. My employee was neither normal nor new normal, but an example of what UK economist Guy Standing calls The Precariat: The New Dangerous Generation. [1] This self-defined uneducated, politically unaware person who worked for me over five years suddenly presented a dangerous and threatening remark recently. Knowing she cannot find Chicago on the map; knowing she is encircled by friends and family with little grasp of government, American history or the democratic process, she asked me to define a white supremacist, which I did in detail. Knowing she defines African-Americans as dem people and everything she hears about President Obama is that hes gonna take guns away, I proceeded cautiously. At the finish, she replied to my explanation with emphatically shocking defiance. She shouted back ferociously: Obama should be assassinated! Keeping calm, I asked why he should be assassinated? Because hes not good for America, she quipped. Why isnt he good? I asked. She looked up and down, rolled her eyes, looked up and down and with a coy self-effacing smile beamed, Gee, I dont know. Her supervisor didnt find the remark troublesome but did cite her for talking politics to a client and pulled her from my account. You finally got to see who and what she really is, stressed the supervisor. Later, in conversation, a police chief told me her inflammatory statement was to be considered a form of free speech; and I should consider the source. I replied that for many people who lived through three assassinations in the 1960s, a call for the killing of a president is not to be defended as free speech or viewed lightly. If a majority of Americans do find it defendable, America is in far worse shape today than at any other time in my 68 years, I answered. Although this worker is far from committing such an act, how many people does she represent who might try to commit this crime? No president need be assassinated when the legal system is available to remove one from office peacefully. The worker is a precariat and does not represent America, nor do those who feel as she does. Police-violence and murders of young blacks by errant and rogue officers do not represent the standard for law enforcement and are illegal acts in both character and degree. Wall Street greed and asset-stripping neoliberalism are byproducts of a capitalism that has been unregulated, becoming voracious and predatory. America is a nation and capitalism is an economic and market system adopted by the nation. Capitalism is not a nation unto itself controlling its host country. Yet, the market system is striving to gain complete control over this nation at all levels through powerful economic institutions with support from libertarian zealots, small government conservatives to far-right extremists hoisting flags, a Constitution and a Bible. The right-wing presently in control of the Republican party and exhibiting increasing power over Congress, the White House and media are not American but anti-American and unAmerican in my opinion. Indeed, they constitute a fifth column undermining democracy, peace, security, welfare and brotherhood which are the true historical hallmarks of our secular democracy. What seeds have been planted during the last decades  from the presidency of Ronald Reagan to financial capitalism, privatizations, off-shoring of jobs to the Pacific Rim and China, collapse of the countrys industrial base and infrastructure, neoliberal restructuring of public finances, neoconservative Empire building through endless wars of aggression, decimation of social and welfare programs that were won for all Americans in the 1930s and 1960s  have borne the bitter herbs today of hate, violence, religious bigotry, racism, and mounting threats of war with Russia and China in order to circumvent and abort an inevitable transition from a U.S. dominated unipolar world to a bipolar one. Such a bipolar world challenges Americas full spectrum dominance and particularly threatens to dislodge the U.S. dollar as world reserve currency. The agents of this post 9/11 new normal are leading the nation into the grip of what Europeans today call by its rightful name: fascism, the merger of state and corporate power militarily enforced . Will Americans allow it? European nations are seeing a rise of neo-Nazis and self-proclaimed fascists. [2] [3] By reflecting popular discontent over imposed austerity, an influx of immigrants fleeing war zones in the mid-East, the perceived loss of national sovereignty to Brussels, the rise of fascistic right-wing parties in many EU nations are exploiting growing anti-government attitudes and creating political power formations in scenes highly reminiscent of the 1930s. In some respects, the propaganda diatribes and appeals by the Tea Party, Faith and Freedom Coalition and other U.S. anti-government groups of far-right libertarians, survivalists, white supremacists, militias, sovereign citizens, nativists and Christian theocrats bear comparison to programs and platforms of Pegida in Germany, National Front in France and Golden Dawn in Greece. [4] More importantly, resemblances exist between the anti-government, anti-immigrant, racist, nativist and anarchistic rhetoric and appeals of these groups in both Europe and the United States with positions publicly endorsed and vocalized by Republican candidates for president, particularly by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. [5] In the course of more than a decade, the GOP permitted itself to be hijacked by right-wing conservatives advancing todays extremism in order to win elections and in winning perpetuate the rise of the corporate, banking and military-industrial state at the expense of workers and the social safety net. Populist far-right people movements from below and the corporate-military-intel-wealth power elite from above are twin forces undermining what remnants remain of American democracy. They will call it by many other names, but Europeans call it fascism. Americans resist the label fascism because, as Sinclair Lewis observed eighty-one years ago, Americans are convinced it cant happen here. [6] They are wrong. It can happen here, is happening here and the question becomes how far will it metastasize within the body politic? The frightening degree of popular interest measured by TV ratings of recent political debates where collective hate and war-mongering are staged as positive and constructive solutions to Americas imbroglios of crises further demoralizes the population and weakens the national immune system against this cancer metastasizing. What is America, its people, culture and set of values? By mid-century, it was the leader of the world politically and economically. By the mid-60s, it boasted a mixed economy balancing the needs of profit with social welfare. It once fostered peace at home and in the world; it co-existed with its main rival, the Soviet Union, in a balance of power arrangement and in so doing avoided war. Two nuclear powers can only assure each other peace through sanity lest mutual destruction be the result if one or the other starts war  a fact obfuscated by todays war mongers in Congress and on the presidential campaign platforms; their sociopathic threats are echoed without challenge in American mass-media, the very vehicles used to successfully engineer war-fever and hysteria on the basis of few facts, some lies, and reams of accusations lacking evidence. Americans fail to know the extent of its bombing campaigns, its coups, the number of dead innocents labeled collateral damage by the Pentagon, its purposeful destabilization of nations to secure resources and install puppet governments subservient to Washington. Few Americans suspect that the deaths of almost a million and injuries to millions more in the middle-east caused by American-NATO bombings might someday return in kind. Americans are fearful of terrorist acts within their country but fail to understand how we have sponsored, trained and financed terrorists to fight our dirty wars from the 1980s in Afghanistan to today in Syria and Iraq. Americans are fearful and thus paralyzed. What a perfect opportunity for a dictator and fascist to exploit. America is a moderate country with a slight tilt to the right, claimed a friend in the mid-West. On the other hand, activist-historian William Blum claims America is not a force for good in the world but a rogue state that is the greatest threat to humanity. [7] [8] People that largely ignore the rise of police powers, the surveillance state, the cost of endless wars, and the decline of civil liberties are called sheeple by critics. Members of the press and media who have abandoned their role as objective journalists and become public relations spokespeople for the State Dept., Pentagon, Wall Street and CIA are known as presstitutes. Taken together, democracy is replaced with mindless consumption of media propaganda leaving authorities and power-centers freedom of movement to act and control without constraint or opposition. World leaders are tentatively understanding the need to act together to resolve global crises that are infecting all layers within societies. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock to three minutes to minute citing nuclear wars and ecological cataclysms ahead given the current projectory. [9] Pope Francis in his highly secular eco-enclyclical Laudato Si! outlines a basal text for a concerted trans-national approach to solve climate change, economic disparities and mushrooming military build-ups in nations. [10] Francis spoke frankly and truthfully when he bravely confessed to an unbelieving and disoriented world that World War III has already begun fought piecemeal. [11] The Dalai Lama also spoke frankly when he said God wasnt going to solve our problems. We created them and we need to fix them. Gods not going to do it for us. [12] America is at war and is planning for greater ones, but its greatest war is the battle within itself. Who is America? What is America? What does America stand for? These questions will be answered but not without conflict, social disruption, acts of civil disobedience, emerging whistleblowers risking careers and livelihoods to speak truth in a sea of disinformation and eroding morality. Campaign officials expect the cost for this years presidential campaign to reach $5 billion, most of that money going into the coffers of network and cable TV which, in turn, will please their sponsors  political parties, power brokers and wealth sectors  and media will remain a house of presstitution. [13] [14] Democracy needs an informed electorate but Americans have been dumbed down enough to believe they have no power over government decisions and economic policies. They are paralyzed by it. In a relatively short span of time, beginning from September 11, 2001, democracy has been under attack by forces from within rather than from without. It has been stolen by hidden unelected financial, corporate and military-industrial cartels that have inculcated fear and exploited it as a pretext for citizens to relinquish liberties. By their own narrow vision induced by rampant consumerism, poor knowledge about government and economics, Americans have endorsed politicians who make wars, relegate human beings secondary to private profit and markets, who conquer dissent, diversity and strength-in-numbers using the mechanism of identity politics, who turn morality on its head by taking from the poor and giving to the rich, who call the peaceful weak and the warrior strong, who enshrine our Empire as exceptional and indispensable on the basis of myths that no longer exist and that fewer and fewer nations believe, including so-called allies. Inscribed in the DNA of America is a deep-seated belief in destiny. America had it, lost it, and will someday regain it. It is not found in profits, property, gold, markets or Empire building. The work of ascertaining, identifying and perpetuating this destiny will fall upon tomorrows leaders selected from the ranks of millennials and those younger, Generation Z. It will live or die according to their wisdom or their folly. They will build upon a new paradigm or fail trying to resuscitate the old. They will be Lot of the Bible and move forward knowing only one step ahead, or be Sara who turned to salt by fixing her stare upon what was crumbling behind her. The first question to answer must be: What is the ideal world you wish for yourself, family, friends, community and nation? Once realized and empowered by sincere intent and motivation, it will materialize. The world of tomorrow begins in concept today. To more forward, dont look back. Build it, and if it is for the common good of all Americans and all people of the world, they will come. Others who staunchly support peace, world-wide harmony, justice, non-violence, democracy and the safety of mother earth are good people whose intentions, influence and silent acts now hold hope for our nation and world. But many more good people must do something. And the time for doing it is now. Michael T Bucci is a retired public relations executive currently living in New England. He has authored nine books on practical spirituality collectively titled The Cerithous Material. Notes: [1] Standing, Guy (2014). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Generation. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472536167. http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-precariat-9781472536167/ [2] Fear, Anger and Hatred: The Rise of Germanys New Right, Spiegel Online, December 11, 2015. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/refugee-crisis-drives-rise-of-new-right-wing-in-germany-a-1067384.html [3] WELCOME TO THE RECHTSRUTSCH: The far right is quietly making massive gains in Europe, Business Insider, October 19, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-far-right-is-quietly-making-massive-gains-in-europe-2015-10?r=UK&IR=T [4] How does the Tea Party compare with European far right movements?, Baker Institute for Public Policy. https://bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/f6f08c52/IFRI-pub-SirkesTeaParty-2012-1-.pdf [5] Cas Mudde, The Trump phenomenon and the European populist radical right, Washington Post, August 26, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/08/26/the-trump-phenomenon-and-the-european-populist-radical-right/ [6] Lewis, Sinclair (1935). It Cant Happen Here. New York: Signet ISBN 9780451465641 http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/293163/it-cant-happen-here-by-sinclair-lewis/9780451465641/ [7] Blum, William (2013). Americas Deadliest Export: Democracy. London: Zed Books ISBN-13: 978-1780324456 http://www.zedbooks.co.uk/paperback/americas-deadliest-export [8] Kevin Zeese, US Empire Reaches Breaking Point. Greatest Threat to Humanity. Time To End It, Global Research, July 20, 2014 http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-empire-reaches-breaking-point-greatest-threat-to-humanity-time-to-end-it/5392310 [9] It is Three Minutes to Midnight, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Janaury 19, 2015 http://thebulletin.org/clock/2015 [10] Pope Francis (2015). Encyclical Letter Laudato Si!, On Care for Our Common Home. Full text at Vatican web site. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html [11] Athena Yenko, World War 3 Has Begun  Pope Francis, Morning News USA, June 9, 2015. http://www.morningnewsusa.com/world-war-3-has-begun-pope-francis-2323017.html [12] Michael McLaughlin, Dalai Lama: Humans Created Terrorism, So Stop Praying To God For A Solution, Huffington Post, November 17, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dalai-lama-terrorism_564b8975e4b045bf3df16e75 [13] Amie Parnes and Kevin Cirilli, The $5 billion presidential campaign? The Hill, January 21, 2016 http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/230318-the-5-billion-campaign [14] Julie Bykowicz, Campaign ads are a feast for TV stations and theyre out to guard it from online competition, Associated Press, December 9, 2015 http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/12/09/tv-broadcasters-try-to-drum-up-more-campaign-ads (c) 2016 Michael T Bucci. All Rights reserved.
A lot of revelations have come out of the $2.1bn arms deal scandal, in which former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki was alleged chief distributor. These were monies intended to be spent on security to procure arms and fight insurgency but was diverted by a handful of individuals, which the EFCC is now tracing to the bank accounts of these top Nigerian politicians. Based on this, Information Nigeria brings you 4 reasons why those found guilty must be prosecuted no matter who they are.

 Thanks to these greedy individuals, millions of Nigerians have been forced out of their homes/towns/villages to live in Internally Displaced Persons camps around the country as a result of the activities of the deadly Boko Haram insurgents.

 While thousands of the countrys ill-equipped soldiers were being massacred by the well-equipped insurgents, some top politicians were busy diverting the fund set aside to purchase equipment.

 Government money was used to fund election campaigns, which also ended up in private pockets of some of these politicians, enriching themselves while ordinary Nigerians went to bed hungry and others dealing with the unpleasantness of living in IPD camps.

 These looters must, as a matter of necessity, be punished so as to serve as deterrent to everyone who harbour similar intention in the future.

Dont you agree???
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State has accused the leadership of the state chapter of All Progressives Congress and at the national level of plotting to render the state violence-prone from now, as part of its calculated attempts towards taking over the state in 2018.

The Ekiti PDP publicity secretary, Jackson Adebayo, made the allegation in a statement made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti, the state capital on Wednesday.

According to Adebayo, the recourse to violence was adopted by the APC after some persons purportedly commissioned by its leaders to assess the partys chances of returning to power was rated too low.

Giving a narrative of how and where the decision was reached, the Ekiti PDP spokesman alleged that the national leaders of the APC and some members of the party from Ekiti State met for more than six hours in an hotel along Badagry Road in Lagos on Monday where some of the leaders blamed the immediate past Governor of the state and current Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, for the downturn in the fortunes of the party in the state.

He further said although some members of the party who were invited from Ekiti State were given the opportunity to present their own assessment, which was considered with reservations, the leaders felt the state should not be left alone for them because of what an insider described as the naivety of those who lead the party in the state.

Adebayo also alleged that at the meeting, one of the Special Advisers to President Muhammadu Buhari was mandated to coordinate the spate of violence that would be unleashed on the state as from January on intermittent basis.

He said in the statement: We want to alert the people of Ekiti State that the APC leaders have appointed one of the Special Advisers to President Muhammadu Buhari to coordinate the crisis which the party has planned for Ekiti State in their preparation to draw the sympathy of the people of the state all in the name of politics.

The PDP also claimed that the outcome of the meeting was responsible for the recent boast of members of the APC in the state that Governor Ayo Fayoses days were numbered in the Government House, with their proposed series of protests to call for the adoption of the Kaduna Army panel report as an electoral indictment on the PDP government in the state.

Adebayo added in the statement: We want to say categorically that the APC leaders are planning serious violence in Ekiti this year with the revelations from their Lagos meeting but this will be vehemently resisted by the people of the state who gave their mandate to the present PDP government in the state.

He, however, warned that the PDP as a party, would not stand and watch while some disgruntled political misfits inflict terror on the state and the government struggling to cater for the citizens in the face of economic hardship that the Buhari-led administration has led the nation into.

The PDP equally called on the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to look into its claim and beam their searchlight on the leadership of the APC so that the unwarranted violence they are planning on Ekiti State would not come to fruition.
The senator representing Ondo North senatorial district, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice, has hailed the appointment of the senator representing Ekiti Central in the 7th National Assembly, Babafemi Ojudu, as Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, as a consolidation of democracy.

In a statement on Thursday, the Asiwaju of Akokoland and governorship aspirant for Ondo State on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, described Senator Ojudu as a true democrat, informed strategist and loyal party leader.

His words: President Muhammadu Buhari has again enriched his democratic credentials by appointing a true democrat as political adviser to the Presidency.

As my colleague in the 7th National Assembly, Senator Ojudu fought hard against anti-democratic ideas and actions.

With his vast political finesse, experience and connections, I am confident his appointment will herald tranquility and maintain the political stability of the country.

Prof. Boroffice, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, said Ojudus appointment will certainly ease the political challenges associated with governance and likewise enable the Federal Government to smoothly deliver the dividends of change agenda to Nigerians.

I wish the newly-appointed Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Presidency a smooth and successful tenure in office, he concluded.
The National chairman of Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, has lamented that after voting President Muhammadu Buhari to change Nigeria, he has spent the past seven months whining about what his predecessor did or did not do. He also noted that the president does not know which direction to take about the economy as he has no economic team.

 it is clear that General Buhari who knows nothing about the economy, has no economic team that can address fundamentally the issue of the enormous economic situation in Nigeria.

He has no economic team. First he has no knowledge of economy at all and secondly he has no sound economic team that can fundamentally address the economic situation of Nigeria, else they will take us backward and it will be dangerous and it will terrible, Abdulsalam told Vanguard in an interview.

The opposition leader also noted that Buharis corruption fight only targets those he regards as enemies.

And the corruption, the fighting of corruption by Buhari and the APC is discriminatory, it is sectional, it is selective and it is unguided because what is the difference between the ways Obasanjo fought corruption, Jonathan fought corruption and Buhari is fighting corruption. In Buharis own, the situation is worse because he is fighting them either you didnt support him or you jailed him when he was in the military or you intercepted him when he was in the military.

So the corruption team by Buhari is not guided by any principle, it is just guided by selfishness, by self aggrandizement; they just want to punish people for the sake for punishing them. Did you ever hear anywhere in the world, where you subject security into this kind of disgracing insult. Buhari has no, if he has, he has no advisers or he doesnt listen to advice.

The LP chairman also refrained from castigating Sambo Dasuki until he hears his side of the story over the alleged $2.1 billion arms deal.

They paid money to the NSA man, also the NSA man said he gave Buhari car, so what are they telling us. And you know the man said if he opens up, he will open up canker worms. So leave that aspect of NSA because it is not good for our image, it is not good for our security; no nation ever subjects its security to this kind of thing. And it is not done with sincerity of purpose, it is for selfishness, you want to create something out of the man.

Lets hear from Dasuki himself in court openly. Did they give you $2.1billion dollars? What did you do with it? Who and who touched it?
The General Officer Commanding, (GOC) 1 Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade says the Nigerian Army has no apology for its recent encounter with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

The GOC said that the Army cannot fold its arms and watch any group or sect threaten the peace and stability of the country.

Oyebade, who spoke to newsmen at the headquarters of 1 Division in Kaduna on Wednesday, said the Army has no issue with the Shiites, saying they are like any other sect in the land, but as long as they obey the law of the land no problem, but if any group chooses to challenge the authority of the land, it means they do not value the sanctity of life and the constitution of Nigeria.

Army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country, and so we have no apology any group, either Shiites Islamic sect, Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.

We dont have any issue with the Shiites or any sect at all in the land as long as they obey the law of the land. But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution of the land.

Even in the military, we have Shiites members, but there is no issue with them because they are law abiding citizens.

But we have issues with those who creates a State within a State, and our rules of engagement are very clear, that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full blown.

We know the business of violence but we apply it professionally if the peace of the land is being threatened, so we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence stay off, Oyebade said.

However, the GOC insisted that the Army remains the guidance of Nigerian democracy, but stated that, an attempt on the Chief of the nations Army is akin to an attempt on a sitting president.

We want to re assure the members of the North West zone that the army will do everything possible as mandated by the constitution of Nigeria to protect our people and to enable the people go about their activities without molestation, Oyebade said.
A group known as the Ikeja Stakeholders Forum, ISF, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to declare the seat of the member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiodun Faleke, vacant.

A statement by its coordinator, Mr. Olanrewaju Osundairo warned that failure by INEC to declare Falekes seat vacant, it would head to court.

Hon. Faleke was the running mate to late Prince Abubakar Audu in the controversial Kogi State governorship election.

The lawmaker, who vowed not to recognize Alhaji Yahaya Bello as Governor-elect or present himself for swearing-in as Deputy Governor-elect, on January 27, 2016 has already petitioned the governorship tribunal, seeking to be declared as governor of Kogi State following the demise of Audu.

However, Hon. Falekes decision to hold on to his seat in the Green Chambers while fighting to be declared governor of Kogi State, has been condemned by the Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The ISF in a statement yesterday said: By virtue of the fact that Faleke had transferred his franchise away from Lagos to Kogi State, he ceases to be a member of the constituency. He lacks the moral and legal rights to speak for us in Ikeja at the lower legislative chambers.

The ISF also stated that the decision of the lawmaker to contest the governorship election of Kogi has impacted negatively on the representation of the area in the House of Representatives, saying the trend must be reversed in the interest of the people of the area.

You dont need anyone to tell you that Hon. Faleke has been distracted from representing us at the House of Representatives, all that concerns him now is how to become the governor of Kogi State and not to represent us.

If INEC fails to act, we will compel them to do the needful using the judiciary, the group said.
The Action Group caucus of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing the senator representing Ekiti Central in the 7th National Assembly, Babafemi Ojudu, as his Special Adviser on Political Matters.

In a statement by its Spokesperson, Segun Dipe, the group described the appointment as a New Year gift to not just the senator but the entire progressives in Ekiti, saying the entire people of the state see Ojudu as one of their very best.

We are expressing confidence in him and assuring Mr. President that the Ojudu we know would prove his mettle as a round peg in a round hole.

The Ojudu we know is a thoroughbred progressive and a conscientised politician to whom service and loyalty mean so much. He is a pro-democracy activist who paid more than his due to achieve democratic governance in Nigeria.

Two qualities he keeps displaying everywhere he has worked or served are the passion to excel and selflessness. He sees every appointment as an opportunity to serve fellow human beings, be it as a professional journalist or as a career politician.

We see Ojudu as a passionate citizen, a team player, an astute personality and a very humane fellow.

He is accessible and down-to-earth. We are very certain that he will not perform any less in this appointment, rather his impact will be greatly felt by the government and the people of Nigeria, the group said.

Meanwhile, the group called on every Ekiti indigene, particularly the progressive ones, to see the appointment of Ojudu as a collective blessing and another confirmation that quality abounds among them.

It is a recognition of the values that we hold. Such vote of confidence, which is continually passed on us from time to time as a people with pride and integrity, cannot be rubbished by any negative personality that may be holding our people hostage as of today.

We must hold firm to our beliefs and continually embrace the spirit of one for all and all for one. We must continue to prove to the world that we are well-nurtured and well-natured, added Dipe.

Information Nigeria notes that Ojudu, who was the spokesperson of the APC caucus in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, refused to seek re-election.
Iraq on Wednesday offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran after tensions soared following the kingdoms execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic. The standoff has seen Saudi Arabia sever diplomatic ties with its longtime regional rival and could hinder efforts to resolve the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, where Riyadh and Tehran back opposite sides, as well as affect the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari proposed mediation during a news conference in Tehran, but also referred to the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a crime. Saudi Arabia and its allies say al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and that condemnations of the execution amount to meddling in Riyadhs internal affairs.

Iraq has undertaken a delicate balancing act amid the latest regional turmoil. The Shiite-led government in Baghdad relies on Iranian help to battle the extremist Islamic State group, but is also trying to repair ties to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which last week sent an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time in 25 years.

Speaking alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, al-Jaafari said Iraqs place in the heart of the Middle East allows it to play a role in trying to alleviate tensions. This responsibility has been given to us and we have been active from the early moments to lessen tensions to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region, he said.

AP.
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1, has clarified that the promotion of nine high chiefs last Friday, which was rejected by the Oyo State Government, was not meant to denigrate the Office of the Governor nor rubbish the directive of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

The Governor had expressed disappointment with the promotions despite requesting that concerned high chiefs should first submit themselves to security and medical examinations before the Olubadan of Ibadan could elevate them as required by Chieftaincy Laws.

Governor Ajimobi, after a truce was brokered by the Ibadan Elders Forum, had said that the government was uncomfortable with the triviality with which they treated the directive.

However, speaking through his son, Prof. Allan Femi Lana, yesterday, in his appreciation message for the understanding that the governor showed, the Olubadan explained that he did not ask the promoted high chiefs to disobey the directive.

To clear any wrong impression, Prof. Lana said, Olubadan did not ask the high chiefs to disobey the governor but they did it to beat any form of injunction which the Seriki line may want to use to stop the promotion exercise.

If they had done the promotion exercise for the high chiefs on Saturday, the promotion might not have been allowed to hold.

According to him, there was an issue some years ago when two high chiefs died the same time in Ibadanland, one member of the Seriki line should be brought in to replace them in either the Balogun or Olubadan line. Whereas Seriki line which is the third line and cannot become the Olubadan because their line was not recognised before. But, it was the Supreme Court judgment that made them to be recognised.

That has happened again because we have lost high chief Omowale Kuye and Omiyale the same time. So, the high chiefs anticipated that the Seriki line may go to court to stop their promotion. But, the mistake which the high chiefs made was that they did not inform the governor about their plan. They should have even acknowledged the governors letter and promised him that they would follow due process later.

While thanking all members of Ibadan Elders Forum for their intervention, he said, The consultation before the meeting that resolved the issue was explosive, especially on the 48 hour ultimatum given by the governor. We thank God that our elders and notable individuals stepped into the matter and resolved it amicably. But, before it was resolved it was tough for the Ibadan elders who had to call separate meetings for the parties involved to pour out their grievances.

Different people came in with their own bitterness, concerns and unfavourable impressions about the high chiefs and the governor. But in the end, the high chiefs agreed that there was one step missing before their promotion which they did not take.

But, yesterday each of the parties had identified their lapses, and the high chiefs had accepted where they were wrong and promised to follow due process in the promotion. The governor too given provisional approval for them to retain the positions but that they should follow due process later.
The federal government has refuted claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the arrest of its spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is an attempt to silence the opposition.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at which President Muhammadu Buhari presided.

While answering questions from journalists, Mohammed said the federal government does not dictate to the anti-corruption agencies how to do their work.

Following the arrests of a former National Chairman of PDP, Haliru Bello, and his son, as well as the partys spokesperson, there have been growing allegations that the Buhari administration is trying to emasculate the opposition.

Mohammed said: I think the first point to make is that this government is not micromanaging any of the anti-graft agencies. I know for a fact that they dont contact the president or anybody before they do their job.

I think the media also have to do more than they are doing right now. They should investigate these allegations and also make their independent judgments about them.

Honestly, if the EFCC or ICPC says that they are able to trace certain amounts of money to my account, I dont want you to believe it, I want you to also ask for proof. Do your investigation.

I can assure you that this government, no functionary in government micromanages or directs the EFCC or ICPC on who to arrest and who not to arrest.

Despite the rebuttal by the federal government, a chieftain of the PDP and pioneer Chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, said yesterday that there was nothing incriminating about the much-flaunted disbursement of the $2.1 billion diverted by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for which he was arrested and charged before the court.

The Edo-born politician was arrested and later charged to court for being a beneficiary of funds from ONSA allegedly meant for the purchase of arms for the ongoing war against terror.

Dokpesi, who spoke for the first time since securing bail from the court, said the courts would soon vindicate his position that the entire drama was nothing but a hoax aimed at decimating the leadership and membership of the PDP.

I must hasten to assure you that there is nothing like the much flaunted $2.1 billion arms-gate. The competent courts of our land would sooner or later prove this coinage aimed at decimating the leadership and membership of our great party to be nothing but a hoax, he said.

Ahead of the PDPs national convention in March, Dokpesi said the party was bracing up for reform, rebranding and restructuring which are expected to follow immediately after the congresses scheduled to commence next week.

Dokpesi accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of making efforts to impede the journey of the country to political maturity through the manipulation of the federal system to serve purely partisan interests.

Our party is indeed experiencing massive persecution, political reprisals and vendetta of the kind never before seen on our shores and targeted at the leadership, membership and indeed sympathisers of the PDP by the APC government of the day.

I speak with regards to several matters before the law courts of our country concerning PDP members and especially my humble self on charges filed against us by the federal government and would crave your indulgence not to make any comments as doing so would be subjudice.

However let me call on all members of the PDP nationwide especially you members of the youth vanguard to remain firmly resolute and stand behind the leadership of the party at all levels in our bid to ensure the party gets a fair hearing and judgments in all the cases at the various election tribunals and courts.

The provisions of Section 287 of our constitution are very clear on the obedience of court orders by all arms of government.

Some of us are reminded of the events of 1984-85 which by any stretch of comparison are similar to the unfolding events of today. As I have said not too long ago, we must stand resolutely united especially in the face of this momentary political adversity.

For one thing, I say again that the PDP is not dead, is not dying and will not die, he said.

Speaking on behalf of the members of the National Youth Vanguard, its coordinator, Ibrahim Bala Aboki, said the group would not relent in its struggle against the selective persecution targeted at PDP members.

He praised the dogged spirit exhibited by Dokpesi in trying to galvanise action to ensure the resuscitation of the PDP.

The National Youth Vanguard will always stand by you. We are truly aware that the struggle will not be easy but we hope to surmount the distractions of the APC. The APC has continued to victimise leaders and all members of the PDP through their selective and imaginary fight against corruption, he said.

He observed that the APC-led administration had come to the conclusion that whoever joins their party has automatically transformed into a saint.

One of the highlights of the event was the crowning of its patron, Chief Dokpesi, as the Freedom Fighter of PDP to signify his dogged stance to work for the rebuilding of the opposition party to regain its once formidable position.

Aboki, who earlier addressed a protest rally organised by the group at the partys national secretariat in Abuja, accused the APC-led administration of offering Nigerians nothing but hunger and great uncertainty

.Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, has written to the EFCC detailing how he disbursed the N260 million paid into his bank account from ONSA.

According to sources in the commission, his detailed response, following his invitation by the EFCC recently, might have weakened the anti-graft agencys case against the PDP chieftain.

A senior operative of the commission told THISDAY in Abuja yesterday that the seven-page letter by Anenih, who is ailing and just underwent heart treatment abroad, responded to EFCCs questions and provided details into how the money was utilised.

According to the EFCC source, In line with our request, we received a seven-page letter from Chief Tony Anenih detailing how and why he received N260 from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

In his letter, he explained that the money was part of the huge financial expenses former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, requested him to disburse from his pocket to some political interest groups and individuals before the 2015 general election, and that the payment was a refund from Jonathan.

He (Anenih) further stated in his letter that after he had disbursed the money, he called former President Goodluck Jonathan for a refund, and Jonathan later requested him to send his bank account details for payment. He said he was in his house one day when he received a credit alert from his bank.

The PDP chieftain was said to have further stated in his letter to the EFCC that he later got to know that the former president had requested ONSA to pay the money into the account number he had sent to him.

Chief Anenih stated emphatically in his letter that there was never a time he collected arms money from the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. He gave names of all the beneficiaries of the N260 million and that of the N53 million paid to Alhaji Tanko Yakasai was the least of the lot, the source added.

Providing more insight, Yakasai yesterday told journalists that Anenih actually gave him and eight other prominent northerners N53 million for advocacy visits to northern traditional rulers including first class northern emirs to ensure that 2015 general election was free and fair and devoid of violence.

Yakasai, who was once an aide to former President Shehu Shagari, said the money only catered to the group members allowances, transportation and hotel accommodation on a tour that took them to 18 states in the north.

Yakasai reportedly refuted any link between the money and campaigns for the former president and listed the former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Mamman Anka, Mr. Bitrus Gwada, Alhaji Suleiman Lawal, Dr. Bahago, Chief John Macklink from Plateau, and Senator Sodangi as beneficiaries of the money.

Yakasai said the tour took them to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III; the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II; the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris; the Emirs of Gwandu, Anka, Ilorin, Nassarawa, Minna, Bauchi, Zuru, Kebbi, Katsina, Dutse, Hadejia and representatives of the Emir of Daurawa, among others.

THISDAY also gathered yesterday that the presidential panel set up by Buhari to investigate the utilisation of funds for the procurement of arms by previous administrations has traced N400 million to a serving military officers bank account in Abuja.

A member of the panel, who spoke with THISDAY in confidence, said the army officer, who was part of the arms procurement team, confessed to receiving the money.

Our efforts at getting to the root of the arms deals are yielding results, he said.

Source: ThisDay
The Federal Government has refuted the allegation by opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the All Progressives Congress, APC government has hatched plans to exterminate the opposition.

The PDP national secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, had in a statement on Tuesday in reaction to the arrest of the partys national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, said there was credible intelligence that the arrest is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country.

But the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while speaking to State House correspondents at the end of Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, absolved the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of blame in Metuhs predicament.

He said: I think the first point to make is that this government is not micro-managing any of the anti-graft agencies. I know for a fact that they dont contact the President or anybody before they do their job. I think the media also has to do more than they are doing right now, they should investigate these allegations and also make their independent judgment about it.

The Minister continued: Honestly, if the EFCC or ICPC says that they are able to trace certain amount of money to my account, I dont want you to believe it, I want you to also ask for proof, do your investigation. I can assure you that this government, no functionary in government micromanages or directs the EFCC or ICPC on who to arrest and who not to arrest.
Punch

I got N150,000 to install Radio Biafra transmitter  Suspect

A telecommunication maintenance engineer, David Nwawuisi, has revealed that he got an initial payment of N150,000 to install a Radio Biafra transmitter on an MTN mast in Ngwo, Enugu State.

http://www.punchng.com/i-got-n150000-to-install-radio-biafra-transmitter-suspect/

Vanguard

Davido vs Babymama: Popstar storms NAPTIP office, says its a family affair

There are indications that the Hip-Hop star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, and his Babymama, Sophia Momodu, are already working with the National Agency for the Prohibition in Trafficking of Persons, NAPTIP, in order to resolve the feud over the custody of their baby, Imade.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/davido-vs-babymama-popstar-storms-naptip-office-says-its-a-family-affair/

The Sun

How I shared N63m from Anenih Yakassai

ELDER statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, Wednesday, explained how the N63 million allegedly handed over to him by the former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Tony Anenih, was spent.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/how-i-shared-n63m-from-anenih-yakassai/

Thisday

Lagarde: Nigerias Debt Profile Counter-productive, Advocates Increase in VAT

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde wednesday expressed concern over Nigerias debt profile, saying it weighs heavily on the nations treasury with 35 kobo of every naira collected used for debt service, and advocated for the broadening of the countrys revenue base by increasing the value added tax (VAT) paid for goods and services.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lagarde-nigeria-s-debt-profile-counter-productive-advocates-increase-in-vat/229715/

Daily Times

Anti-corruption: I see Buhari vetoing 2016 budget  Ajasin Tokunbo Ajasin, son of former governor of old Ondo State and leader of Afenifere, late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin is founder of Atayese, a Yoruba self determination group. A former member of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) and former chairman of WEMA Bank, in this interview with AKINJIDE AKINTOLA defends President Muhammadu Buhari of allegations of being a tyrant, saying the President is only being driven by passion to redeem the country.

Lagos State government, on Wednesday, said it inherited a debt of N430 billion from the administration of former governor Raji Fashola.

http://tribuneonlineng.com/lagos-inherited-n432bn-debt-from-ex-governor-fashola-says-commissioner
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase, has reassured indigenes of Bayelsa State and beyond that adequate security logistics and manpower have been strategically deployed to achieve a conducive atmosphere in the state for the Jan. 9 election in the state.

According to a press statement released by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, the Police have commenced extensive security operations in the State, including the deployment of plain-clothes detectives and surveillance helicopters for aerial patrols, while gunboats and speed boats will complement the Police Marine Unit to convey security personnel and election materials to riverine communities.

Armed personnel from Police Mobile Force, Special Protection Unit, as well as Counter Terrorism Unit of the Force are on ground to support the ongoing security operations in the State.

The force also maintained that the IGP has deployed a Deputy Inspector-General of Police to supervise security arrangements. He will be assisted by one Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) and three Commissioners of Police (CPs).
Canadian police responded to a report of a man assaulting his roommate for showering too early in the morning.

Toronto Police Operations did not report any charges nor information about the suspect or the victim, but posted about the incident on Twitter.

Police near Boake St and Assiniboine Rd, report of an assault, minor injuries, one roommate upset the other gets up too early to shower, they wrote.

Constable Craig Brister admitted to CBC news that such altercations are not the most effective use of police resources, but encouraged residents to call on the department if they feel the need.

We want people to know were there when they need to call us, he said. If youve been attacked, you need to feel you can call the police.

UPI.
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, says the school will soon start the importation of goats for large scale milk production.

Speaking on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Ambali said the goats would be imported from other African countries.

The universitys effort to go into goat milk production would contribute in no small measure to increasing sustainable food production in the country, the VC said.

The development would also enable the institution to commence large scale milk production, he added.

He noted that the university is prepared to explore many avenues to increase its internally generated revenue. It has, therefore, established the centre and laboratories for manufactured products in the university.

He explained that the centre would cater for all manufactured products from the institution.
The US military announced on Wednesday that two detainees held for years without charge at the Guantanamo Bay prison will be transferred to Ghana, leaving 105 detainees at the notorious camp. Yemeni Mahmud Umar Muhammad bin Atef, 36, and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby, 38, will settle in Ghana for two years, the defence department said in a statement.

The United States is grateful to the government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, it said. Ghanas foreign ministry said in a statement the two men have been cleared of any involvement in any terrorist activities but are unable to return to Yemen. It added they will be able to leave Ghana after two years.

Both Atef and Dhuby had been cleared for release in 2010. US President Barack Obama has pledged to shut the controversial prison located in Cuba since his election in 2008. Despite signing an executive order in 2009 to shut it down, Obama has not been able to do so because of political oppostion.

A number of prisoners have been freed and resettled in places other than their home countries with detainees sent to Uruguay, Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Oman. Of the 779 detainees brought to the prison in 2002, most have been freed or transferred without facing any charge.

Source: Al Jazeera And AP
It isn't often that Microsoft is the company to watch for the new year. But it will be in 2016.

CEO Satya Nadella and his team have shaken things up, surprising customers with better products, a continuing move to the cloud, an embrace of open source, and a willingness to stand up for user privacy in the face of government pressure.

We even have to acknowledge a success that was born in the bad old days of Steve Ballmer: Microsoft's largely successful do-over on Windows 10. Being rooted in the PC era is problematic, to say the least, but the Surface Book is (surprise) an exciting product that shows that the company is taking an old-school product as far as it can go. It's even matched -- or maybe outdone -- Apple with the newest Surface Pro tablet.

There are still major challenges, and if any one area is liable to trip up the Redmonders it's mobile. The ill-conceived purchase of Nokia cost billions, and even worse is the failure to develop a coherent mobile strategy years after it became a necessity.

But the balance sheet is now definitely tilted in Microsoft's favor, which couldn't be said a few years ago. Wall Street makes a lot of bad calls when it comes to technology companies, but it's revealing that Microsoft's price-to-earnings ratio, a measure of future expectations, is higher than Apple's.

Beating the PC makers at their own game

Flawless execution is something few companies achieve, and Microsoft is no exception. Both Windows 10 and the Surface Book have problems that can't be ignored. But unlike Windows Vista or Windows 8, Windows 10's problems are fixable, and so are the issues plaguing the Surface Book.

Microsoft entered the hardware space a few years ago when it became clear that none of the PC makers were likely to produce a decent Windows tablet. The original Surface, particularly the weird and nearly useless Surface RT version, wasn't successful -- in fact, it cost the company a $900 million writedown.

Contrast that kludge with the new Surface Pro 4. It's expensive, but it's powered by Intel's new Skylake processor, and Microsoft has reworked the heat distribution system to allow those chips to run at full speed so that they can tear through demanding applications.

Similarly, Microsoft entered the PC space because the PC makers were boring the buying public to death with unimaginative hardware larded with annoying, and sometimes contaminated, bloatware. You can read the reviews yourself, but suffice it to say that the Surface Book is, to quote my colleague Woody Leonhard, "one sexy piece of hardware." When was the last time you heard someone who is often critical of Microsoft say something like that?

Microsoft won't bank tons of money selling such an expensive machine, but clearly the company aims to push the PC makers into making better products, an essential step in keeping the Windows franchise afloat. It also wants to push the PC makers into dialing way back on bloatware, which is why the Microsoft Store sells bloatware-free Signature Editions of PCs made by other companies.

From open source to augmented reality

You don't have to go back many years to find evidence of Microsoft's arrogant rejection of the open source community. That's been changing for some time, and as the company struggles to keep developers on its side, open source has become even more important.

There was a key development on that front last month when Microsoft announced plans to open-source its Chakra JavaScript engine. It shows, as my colleague Serdar Yegulalp wrote, "that Microsoft wants to become a player in the JavaScript ecosystem that has ambitions to be a near-universal runtime for every kind of software."

There isn't a huge amount of money here, but the Chakra strategy is indicative of a new openness and willingness to work in environments where Microsoft is not in a position to dominate the playing field.

Then there's HoloLens. Sure, it's been delayed a few times, but I'm excited to see Microsoft garner buzz -- it practically eclipsed Windows at Microsoft's January 2015 public preview. More important, it shows a willingness to go beyond the corporate comfort zone.

Writing at Ars Technica, Peter Bright put it this way: "With HoloLens I saw virtual objects -- Minecraft castles, Skype windows, even the surface of Mars -- presented over, and spatially integrated with, the real world."

Augmented reality has the potential to be more than a cool toy. Companies like Epson have already developed and sold units that help field technicians fix complex devices and warehouse workers pick products from shelves. This field is crowded, and it will take some doing for Microsoft to succeed, but its willingness to risk it speaks volumes.

I don't mean to minimize Microsoft's weakness or defend boorish behavior like its annoying campaign to push users to download Windows 10. But having watched Microsoft decline as a relevant tech power over the years, I see a lot of reasons to expect a continued resurgence. Watch it carefully in 2016.


Gone (from the UN) but not forgotten: When Bernardino Leon, set for a $1500 a day job with the United Arab Emirates, came to the UN Security Council for the final time on November 5, Inner City Press asked him if he had sought approval from the UN Ethics Office before pur suing the UAE job, if he acknowle dged the conflict of interest and thought it will impact intra-Libya talks. Video here. Leon did not answ er about the UN Ethics office, but conceded that the optics were bad . Video here.



On December 7, AP quoted a Libyan-American group quoting an unnamed UN Office of Internal Oversight Services that the UN has assigned an investigator to l'affaire Leon. Excusing double hearsay for a moment, how much credibility does OIOS have? It helped to cover up rape allegations in the Central African Republic against French and UN peacekeepers.

More recently OIOS is supposed to be auditing the UN's interactions with two foundations founded by now indicted lobbyists of the UN, Ng Lap Seng's Sun Kian Ip Group and Sheri Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation. Not only have there been no results: senior UN system officials have, as Inner City Press reported, continued cavorting with special advisers to Yan's GSF. So Libyans shouldn't hold their collective breath, for OIOS at least...



Back o n November 6, t he day after Leon said "I have decided to request a full clarification of the issue, including from the United Arab Emirates," Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq to WHOM Leon is seeking the clarification: the UN? The UN Security Council Libya Sanctions Committee? V ideo here.



Haq replied that the sentence should be view ed as compr ising the view of the Special Representative: Leon. So the UN, contrary to Reuters ' headline, has not asked the UAE for anything.



On November 16, Inner City Pr ess asked the UN's lead spok esman Stephane Du jarric , video here, transcript here:



Inner City Press: I want to ask something about Burundi. But, since you mentioned the CEB meeting, I want to ask something first on that. It was said after it was revealed that Bernardino Leon had sought this job with the UAE [United Arab Emirates] that the Secretary-General was going to be informing his other envoys, orally and in writing, reminding them of their ethical duties. And Farhan [Haq] said its supposed to come up at the CEB, nothing about the letter. Number one, is any written reminder or something going out to envoys? And, two, are these envoys part of the CEB meeting? Whats the purpose of raising it at the CEB?



Spokesman: Its an issue that will be raised at the CEB. Its an issue that will be raised also at the Secretary-Generals next meeting with his senior management group. Its a message that will be put out through various channels for everyone, not just envoys, to ensure that they abide by the letter and by the spirit of the UNs ethics regulations and guidelines.



Inner City Press : And the note to correspondents that was sent out for or by Bernardino Leon saying he sought clarification from the UAE, is there a timeline on that? And is there any connection, given that, I mean, its put out as a UN note to correspondents, is the information that comes back from the UAE supposed to be for some anyone other than Bernardino Leon personally?



Spokesman: I dont have I think, obviously, thats something we would hope the UAE shares publicly, but I have nothing to add to that.



Inner City Press : And on Burundi?



Spokesman: Ill come back to you.



Inner City Press asked Haq if Ban has yet to remind his envoys in writing about ethics, as lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Ban would. Haq replied that the issue will come up at the next UN Chief Exec utives Board and Senior Manag ement Gorup meetings. (AFP asked, what are those?)



But that is not putting anything in writing to envoys like Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Yemen, on whose outside interests Inner City Pr r ess has exclusively reported. Nor would Haq answer Inner City Press what USG Feltman did from August 27, when he learned of Leon's dealings with the UAE.



Leon's predecessor as UN envoy to Libya Tarek Mitri , however, got a formal "N ote" from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, signed by Ban's chief of staff Susan a Malcorra and cc-ed to Under Secretaries General Jeffrey Feltman (Political Affairs), Yu kio Takasu (Management) and Joan Dubinksy (Et hics Office) approving outside activi ty for Mitri, which Inner City Press is putting online here , and embedded below.



Among the continuing out side engagements approv ed by Ban Ki-moon were for Mitri to be on the Board of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, in Beirut and Doha.



Did Leon g et, or even seek, such a Note from Ban? The leaked emails show that Feltman knew of Leon's job search with the UAE by August 27, at latest.



Now after more leaked emails, of the UAE about embargo / san ctions violations and that the UN's Jeff Feltman knew of Leon's UAE job search as of August 27 at l atest, Leon on the evening of November 12 issued this:



"I am aware of the report today in the New York Times about Libya and alleged activities in contravention of United Nations Security Council resolutions. In light of this report, I have decided to request a full clarification of the issue, including from the United Arab Emirate (UAE) authorities, as I take time to reflect on the next steps in my professional career."



While Leon said that "I " have decided to requ est clarification from the UAE, Reuters reported that the UN is seeking an explanation. But Leon did not say he will share the UAE's explanation with t he UN, mu ch less with the public. And shouldn't the UN Security Council's Libya sanctions committee be seeking the explanation, or asking for action against the UAE?



So is Leon no longer taking the UAE job? W hat about Feltman and what he knew? We'll have more on this.



UN Gave Ethics Waiver to Libya Envoy Tarek Mitri, ICP's Ethics Q to Leon UNanswered by Matthew Russell Lee




Russia evacuates occupied Ukrainian city, orders martial law AP - 1 hour ago KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces launched mass evacuations of civilians Wednesday from one of the first major cities they seized in the invasion of Ukraine  a tacit acknowledgement that yet another... $SPX : 3,714.27 (-0.15%) $DOWI : 30,578.14 (+0.18%) $IUXX : 11,135.37 (-0.11%)

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Awareness about the synergy between women and philanthropy has been developing for years, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that are becoming more important as women wield greater economic power in their own right, while also playing an increasingly active role in shaping family philanthropy.

At Inside Philanthropy, we've been keenly focused on the role of women in philanthropy since we first started publishing two years ago. One of our first major features looked at the 15 Most Powerful Women in U.S. Philanthropy, many of whom are spouses of business leaders, but we've since written about a number of independently wealthy women who have turned to philanthropy in a big way, like Lyda Hill. And we've reported on the rising power of women philanthropy networks, such as Women Moving Millions.

Along the way, we've found invaluable insights in the research of the Women's Philanthropy Institute (WPI), which is part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. For instance, WPI's work sheds much light on how couples make decisions in philanthropyshowing how collaborative these choices tend to be and how, in many cases, it's actually women who take the lead, even as their better-known husbands tend to get the lion's share of credit for major gifts. Such knowledge is crucial at a moment when a number of new philanthropic power couples are emerging, like Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg.

Now, WPI is poised to drill even deeper with its research, thanks to a recently announced $2.1 million gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"This new grant acknowledges that while knowledge about gender and philanthropy has come a long way in a relatively short period, we have barely scratched the surface and many key research questions remain to be answered," said Debra Mesch, who heads WPI, in a press release.

The idea for WPI has been around since 1991, when Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Martha Taylor created the National Network of Women as Philanthropists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which became WPI in 1997, and moved to the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in 2004. Since then, WPI has expanded its unique niche as the only center located at a research university with a dedicated mission of understanding the connections between gender and philanthropy.

WPI's research is exploring a number of areas. Last year, it published a comprehensive literature review on the state of knowledge about women, gender, and philanthropy, "How and Why Women Give: Current and Future Directions for Research on Women's Philanthropy," which provides key findings regarding gender's impact on giving. Among the many interesting points is that marriage has a positive impact on charitable giving. "Marriage has a particular influence on mens giving," the study notes. "When men marry, they are more likely to give to charity and give higher amounts." Another WPI study last year investigated "whether the sex of a first-born child affects parents charitable giving." The interplay between religiousity, gender, and giving has also received attention from WPI researchers, as have the different motivations for giving between women and men. At IP, we've reported on efforts to get more women to give in ways that directly advance women and girls, and that's another subject that WPI has been researching.

As Mesch said, there's a lot more digging to do in this rich area. Given all that's happening around women and philanthropy right now, that big Gates grant has come a great moment.

The Gates Foundation has taken a stronger interest in large-scale funding for women's rights, advocacy and education in the U.S. in recent years. A few examples of big Gates grants for women in 2015:

$1,099,999 to MIT in November 2015 "to research the influence of media narratives on informing and addressing discriminatory social norms against girls and women."

$580,000 in October 2015 to National Women's Law Center " to research and analyze the barriers hindering marginalized girls educational success at the secondary level and the best means to address them."

to research and analyze the barriers hindering marginalized girls educational success at the secondary level and the best means to address them." $180,000 in September 2015 to Women Moving Millions "to convene a network of women to share their philanthropic experiences in giving to issues around women and girls with a goal of inspiring and activating others to engage more deeply for impact."

The Gates Foundation also has a major focus on global funding for women. In 2014, Gates gave the International Center for Research on Women a grant for over $2.7 million, for the purpose of undertaking "economic modeling study that would determine the economic costs of child marriage." This work has a global focus on "Africa, Asia, Developing Countries, Europe, and South America."

Also in 2014, Gates gave $694,892 to the Global Fund for Women for the purpose of strengthening community-based women's networks in Africa. Gates also makes substantial grants for global family health, financial inclusion, agriculture, and nutrition that are largely focused on women.

Related:
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation kicked off a new 10-year partnership with the YMCA on January 1, 2016, as part of its efforts to foster a "Culture of Health." The collaboration is building on existing programs and introducing new initiatives by starting with a grant of just under $12 million over the next three years. With a presence in 10,000 neighborhoods across the United States, the YMCA is well positioned to coordinate a national strategy at the local level.



The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has a long history of working with the YMCA to promote healthy communities with actions such as creating more farmers markets, building sidewalks to encourage walking, and establishing smoke-free areas. The organizations have mapped out two areas of focus for the initial three years of the next decade.



First is a project to advance a model of community-integrated health in which the YMCA will be a link between its members and local healthcare providers, figuring out how to help people achieve healthier lifestyles. The YMCA wants to leverage its resources to make a measurable impact on weight loss and nutrition, for example, but it's also looking to develop best practices to empower other local organizations across the country to partner with healthcare practitioners.



"One of the reasons why it's especially important now is that we're in such an era of transformation around our healthcare system," project director Matt Longjohn, National Health Officer at the YMCA, told Inside Philanthropy. "We feel that it's essential that we work on this community integration health work because it's where our mission is driving us and where the times demands of us in terms of partnership with healthcare."



The second program funded by RWJF is the Early Childhood Equity Improvement Project. According to project director Barbara Roth, National Director of the YMCA's youth and family programs, at least half of kids from low-income families show up to kindergarten woefully unprepared. The RWJF grant will allow the YMCA to evaluate best practices for early childhood development and health, with the goal of developing models to help communities overcome barriers to accessing services.



"I'm very proud of this project because it is in our DNA to continue to innovate and expand what we do to truly address the needs of our communities," Roth told Inside Philanthropy. "We'll be looking at what all children need and what all children are getting, and ideally starting to cut down on some of the inequities that start long before some kids ever get to school."



The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a big proponent of healthcare access and affordability, and often invests in programs that reduce health disparities in underserved populations. In 2014, we wrote about RWJF's grand undertaking of a strategic plan to improve public health in America. Last year, the foundation announced a $25 million grant for health research. Meanwhile, RWJF is deep into a billion dollar effort over ten years focused specifically on reducing childhood obesity.



The YMCA's 165-year history of promoting healthy lifestyles made it a natural fit to connect on the "Culture of Health" initiative, according to Longjohn. So while Y.M.C.A. remains on the list of songs that should be banned from wedding receptions, we'll be keeping an eye on the YMCA and RWJF partnership to see how they can impact public health in the next few years.
@bicknellracing  #BRP  ST. CATHARINES, ON  2015 ended strong for Bicknell Racing Products with a World Finals Sweep among 734 Feature Wins leading to 51 Track and 13 Series Championships. Drivers and Race Teams looking to be strong in 2016 can take the first step at the annual Open House Saturday January 16th at BRPs Canadian Retail and manufacturing headquarters in St. Catharines, Ontario starting at 9 AM.

At BRP  customer service is a priority, relays Bicknell Racing Products Bob Slack, whether its during the off season at our Open House or at a Trade Show  week in and week out during the summer or at a Series or Special Event  its important to us to help our Teams anyway we can.

FREE Seminars throughout the day begin at 9:30 with an Information Session on the new Wegner Motorsports W16 358 Modified Motor that will be eligible in the division in 2016 hosted by BRP Partners Pete Bicknell and Bob Slack.

Slacks father Randy fielded a 358 at Thorold Ontarios Merrittville Speedway for Watertown NYs Billy Dunn powered by the economical Wegner Motorsports W16 engine as an experiment.

The W16 provides a reasonably priced option for drivers and teams that desire to advance to the 358 Modified Division, added Slack, the proven reliability of the W16 Engine and the reasonable rebuilds make it a good choice for the racer on a budget.

For further information on the Wegner Motorsports W16 Engine in an article by Mike Mallett click on http://superdirtcarseries.com/news/197-2015-news/1052-dirtcar-announces-w16-engine-option

The second Seminar will begin at 10 AM with Slack joined by Pete Bicknell and Ted Curvin also from BRP as well as veteran Car Owner and Shock Specialist Mike Payne and 4 time Super DIRTcar Series Champion Matt Sheppard discussing Chassis Set-ups before a Q&A Session.

After a FREE Lunch from 12 to 1, Rich Mathies of Champion Oil will discuss differences between mineral and synthetic oils in racing applications.

The sessions will conclude with Mike Walton and Bruce Harwood of Fastline Performance and BRP Shock Specialist Ted Curvin presenting a Fox Shocks Seminar.

Drivers in attendance will want to fill out a ballot and enter the FREE Draw set for 3:30 for a chance to spin the Prize Wheel that currently has a prize list including a 2016X BRP Frame, 2 Fox Front Shocks, 2 Integra Shocks, a case of Champion Oil, a $200 Gift Certificate from Kirkey Racing Fabrication, a $100 Gift Certificate from Pats Rad, a White Fibreglass Roof from Trick Race Parts and a prize from Bert Transmission plus a variety of the latest BRP-manufactured parts.

Drivers and drivers only must have competed regularly in 2015 and must be in attendance to win. Ballots will be available from 9 AM to 3 PM during the Open House in the Petes Automotive Showroom located at the front of Bicknell Racing Products Manufacturing and Machine Shop operations.

FREE Tours will take place during the day including the body fabrication, welding and machine shop departments. The newest designed and manufactured Bicknell Racing Products parts will be on display in the Retail Showroom and throughout the St. Catharines location.

The US location at 1733 Maryland Avenue in Niagara Falls NY will have extended hours so that US Customers at the Open House need not attempt to cross the border with Canadian purchases.

Our customers compete in a wide variety of divisions, prides Pete Bicknell, from entry level weekend warriors to professionals and everyone in between  we cant thank our drivers, car owners, crew members and their families as well as team sponsors enough  your continued support keeps BRP # 1. BRP has won more than 8,000 checkered flags and we are proud of each one!

The timing is just right, said BRPs Randy Williamson, whatever your division  the day helps us all get back up to speed from the Holidays  our Open House is a great day to catch up with our friends and get back into race mode.

Team BRP Drivers continue to win more features than any other Chassis Manufacturer in Big Block Modified  358 Modified and Sportsman Divisions in DIRTcar  RoC and everything in between.

Bicknell Racing Products is located in St. Catharines, Ontario Canada at 117 Cushman Road in addition to the US Headquarters in Niagara Falls, NY.

For further information on Bicknell Racing Products Open House or to find a dealer near you call 905-685-7223, 905-685-4291 or 716-285-7502, or shop on line at www.bicknellracingproducts.com. Follow BRP on Twitter at twitter.com/bicknellracing or on Face Book at https://www.facebook.com/bicknellracing

Contact: Bob Slack, Randy Williamson, Pete Bicknell or Ted Curvin at 905-685-4291
Chinese equity markets collapsed again on Thursday, with trading in Shanghai lasting only minutes before an initial circuit breaker was breached, shuttering the market for the day, with the CSI 300 down 7 percent for the session. Benchmark indexes on primary bourses in China are now off by double digits for the year. The selloff spread to global markets, with the Stoxx Europe 600 off 3 percent in early trading. Meanwhile, the yuan slipped by 0.5 percent versus the U.S. dollar to a level of 6.5646, the sharpest one day correction for the Chinese currency since the surprise Peoples Bank of China devaluation last August. Adding to the concern: PBOC year-end data released today indicated that currency reserves had declined for the 12 month period  a first. The selling spread to energy markets, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent-grade futures contracts for front-month delivery reaching the lowest level in more than a dozen years.

World Bank slashes outlook for 2016. The official estimate for global gross domestic product by the World Bank was scaled back Thursday as the organization cut expectations for the headline index to 2.9 percent from a prior 3.3 percent for the year. Sluggish demand in primary developing markets was cited as a primary factor in the decision.

Layoffs rumored to begin at Yahoo. Multiple outlets overnight reported that embattle online giant Yahoo is about to lay off up to 10 percent of its workforce as the company struggles to find a new direction for its core business. Activist investors have called for a management change after the planned spinoff of the firms Alibaba stake was delayed indefinitely.

Fleming departs Morgan Stanley. Multiple media outlets are reporting that Gregory Fleming, the head of Morgan Stanleys wealth management division, has resigned. The shift leaves Colm Kelleher as the sole president of the investment bank overseeing all divisions.

Chinese regulators to expand curbs on selling. Official state-run media outlets in China on Thursday announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission would extend the ban on selling by large and or insider shareholders would be extended indefinitely. New rules were promised that would limit the ability of such key investors to sell their holdings in open market transactions.
Union Mutual of Vermont Companies announced that Jennifer P. Galfetti, Lisa L. Keysar, Gary H. Ouellette and Schuyler M. Ryan were recently promoted.



Galfetti was named chief financial officer, Keysar and Ouellette were each elevated to executive vice president and Ryan was promoted to accounting manager.



Galfetti joined Union Mutual in 2009 after more than 15 years of accounting and finance work. In 2013 she was promoted to Union Mutuals treasurer and elected to the Board of Directors of Community Mutual, a Union Mutual company. She will maintain both positions.

Both Keysar and Ouellette will each work closely with President and Chief Executive Officer Michael W. Nobles in setting Union Mutuals strategic direction and defining the short term objectives of the Group. Keysar and Ouellette will also assume broader day-to-day responsibilities, with Keysar working closely with Underwriting and Marketing and Ouellette with Finance and Analytics teams.

Keysar joined Union Mutual in 1995 after working several years at a national life insurance company. She has held numerous roles in her 20-year career at Union Mutual and was most recently senior vice president of Client Services. She is also corporate secretary for Union Mutual and Community Mutual, two roles she will continue to hold.

Ouellette joined Union Mutual in 1990 after beginning his career at Wang Laboratories in Lowell, Massachusetts. In his 25 year career at Union Mutual he has held several positions and was most recently senior vice president of Operations. He is Enterprise Risk Management officer and sits on Community Mutuals Board of Directors.

The promotions of Galfetti, Keysar and Ouellette were approved by the Board of Directors at the December meeting and were effective Jan. 1, 2016. All three are based in the Montpelier, Vermont, office.

Ryans promotion was also effective Jan. 1, 2016. She joined Union Mutual as senior accountant in 2014 and is based in the Troy, New York, office. She previously worked as a senior accountant at LeverPoint Management, LLC and as associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Union Mutual of Vermont Companies, founded in 1874, is a property/casualty insurance group consisting of Union Mutual Fire Insurance and New England Guaranty Insurance Company Inc., both based in Montpelier, Vermont; Eastern Mutual Insurance Company, based in Greenville, New York; and Community Mutual Insurance Company, based in Troy, New York. The four companies write a total of $175 million in direct premium annually through independent agents throughout New England and New York.

Topics Vermont
New York authorities announced that a Rochester, New York, couple has been charged with defrauding their Rochester insurance agency clients.

Gary Gubiotti and Bonnie Gubiotti, both 67, are accused of stealing more than $150,000 from clients by falsely inflating insurance premiums, failing to remit refunds, and forging finance agreements from 2011 to 2014.

The Gubiottis and their insurance agency, the Gubiotti Agency Inc., are charged in an 11-count indictment with grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, insurance fraud and scheme to defraud, and if convicted face up to 15 years in prison.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arrest and indictment of the Rochester couple on Jan. 5.

According to the indictment and statements made by the prosecutor at arraignment, the Guibottis scheme included allegedly submitting forged applications to a finance company in the name of one of their corporate clients, thereby fraudulently obtaining thousands of dollars.

The Gubiottis also allegedly failed to make payments on that clients insurance policies, instead pocketing over $47,000 in premiums for themselves. The Gubiottis also allegedly falsely inflated a second clients insurance premiums and kept over $108,000 in overpayments, and also failed to remit an insurance refund of over $12,000.

The prosecutor further stated that the Gubiottis allegedly perpetuated their scheme to defraud by forging client signatures on policy and financing applications.

The charges against the Gubiotti Agency and the Gubiottis are allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The attorney generals office said the investigation remains ongoing.

The New York State Police, the New York State Insurance Fund, Marketscout Corporation, Lancer Insurance Company, Superior Finance Plan LLC, and QBE Insurance Corporation assisted in the investigation.

Source: New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneidermans office

Topics Agencies New York
Aviva Canada aims to offer ride-sharing insurance to Ontario drivers who use their own vehicles to carry paying passengers starting next month, a service that could solve a major headache for ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc.

The Canadian subsidiary of Aviva plc said the coverage is the first time it will offer ride-sharing insurance anywhere in the world.

Insurance was a major bone of contention in a raucous debate at Toronto city hall in late September, when the council voted to write new transportation rules that would apply to Uber and its ilk and asked the Silicon Valley-based company to stop operating while they did so.

The policy extension will be available to existing Aviva personal auto policyholders for drivers that spend up to 20 hours a week looking for or driving paying passengers.

A source with knowledge of the proposed product said a typical driver with Uber or other similar services would likely pay C$150 [$105] a month, or between 10 and 15 percent of the average income earned by such drivers.

Commercial coverage for taxi drivers, who have vigorously opposed Ubers business model, typically costs between C$4,000 [$2,790] and C$12,000 [$8,368] a year, depending on driving history and whether the cab has secondary drivers or is operated in a fleet.

Many have complained that the UberX service undercuts taxis on price by avoiding costly licensing and insurance.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), responsible for approving all insurance products sold in the province, said it has had preliminary discussions with Aviva and others about ride-sharing insurance but did not confirm receipt of Avivas proposal.

The provincial finance ministry also suggested the filing was not yet in the hands of the arms-length agency.

We are confident that once this filing takes place, FSCO will review Avivas new product in a timely fashion to ensure that drivers and passengers are protected, Ontarios Finance Ministry spokeswoman Kelsey Ingram wrote in an email.

Aviva said it will work with regulators across the country to make the product more widely available in coming months.

The move by Aviva preempts a similar product planned by rival Intact Financial Corps insurance arm, which said in September it was working with Uber and regulators on tailored insurance products for its drivers.

We are encouraged to see a growing number of Canadas insurers show interest in innovation in the transportation space, Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; editing by Andrea Ricci and Diane Craft)

Topics Personal Auto Canada
Federal prosecutors in Chicago have indicted the chairman of the McLean County Board for defrauding State Farm and a consulting firm of more than $400,000 in unearned consulting fees.

Matt Sorensen and co-defendant Navdeep Arora are accused of billing clients for consulting work that never was done. The federal indictment was unsealed this week.

According to the indictment, Sorensen left State Farm three years ago and worked there as an internal consultant. The indictment says his job included determining whether to hire outside consultants, including the firm where Arora was a partner. The firm was hired by State Farm as a consultant.

Arora oversaw services that the firm provided to State Farm and worked on State Farm projects from 2003 to 2012, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say Arora and Sorensen used two companies called Gabriel Solutions and Andys BCB to defraud their employers of consulting fees for unperformed work.

Sorensen is accused of keeping nearly all of the $38,265 that the firm and State Farm paid to Andys BCB, and of taking about $370,000 of $452,710 billed by Gabriel Solutions.

The indictment also says Arora fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 from the firm, State Farm and other clients in travel and expense reimbursements.

State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said Tuesday that the company brought the matter to federal investigators in April 2012 and has fully cooperated throughout the investigation. He said State Farm hasnt had a contractual relationship with the consulting firm since June 2012.

Sorensen is charged in the indictment with five counts of wire fraud. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 11 in Chicago.

Arora is charged with eight counts of wire fraud and was arrested Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardons office. He made an initial appearance in federal court in New York and was ordered detained pending further proceedings.

A message seeking comment was sent to an email address for Sorensen. A call to a phone number listed for him went unanswered.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Illinois
Corporate legal battles are often decided on nuanced readings of dense statutes, but one recent ruling that could expose scores of U.S. companies to shareholder lawsuits turned partly on a much simpler defense: everybody is doing it.

That failed to sway a Delaware judge, who ruled last month that oil producer Vaalco Energy Inc. had violated the states widely used corporate law with a charter provision that barred the removal of directors without cause.

The ruling could have an impact well beyond tiny Vaalco to include such well-known names as Aeropostale Inc., Cigna Corp., Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., JetBlue Airways Corp. and Toll Brothers Inc.

Those are some of the nearly 200 companies with similar charter provisions that Vaalco cited during its defense against a shareholder class action in Delawares Court of Chancery.

Just as all the other kids are doing it wasnt a good argument for your mother, said Vice Chancellor Travis Laster at a hearing on Dec. 21, the idea that 175 other companies might have wacky provisions isnt a good argument for validating your provision.

Vaalcos investor relations coordinator, Al Petrie, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Vaalcos legal problems began when a group of activist investors said they intended to replace four of Vaalcos seven directors after the companys stock began to tumble in late 2014.

Vaalco argued that its charter and bylaw provisions only allowed investors to remove members of its board for cause.

Several shareholders filed class actions in December alleging the charter was invalid under Delaware law, which allows for the removal of directors without cause.

Delaware law does make exceptions, including for companies with a classified board, or one in which members are elected for differing terms. Vaalco dropped the classified board structure in 2009, but never changed its charter or bylaws.

Laster seemed unsympathetic about the impact his ruling might have on the other companies.

To the extent that this upsets expectations at some give-or-take 175 public companies is just a consequence of people not reading the statute, he said, according to a transcript.

After Lasters ruling, Vaalco agreed to changes to its board.

A client memo from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz attorney William Savitt, who defends companies, said shareholder attorneys may demand a board comply with the Vaalco ruling and then seek a fee if a change is made.

Shareholder attorney Mark Lebovitch told Laster during a hearing that a quick review of the list of companies with allegedly invalid charter provisions showed many were out of business or were actually in compliance with Delaware law.

Jason Halper, a corporate attorney with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe said he doubted the Vaalco ruling would inspire a flood of lawsuits against the companies with similar charters, partly because it was hard to see how shareholders were harmed.

Its not a live issue without a proxy fight, he said.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Topics Lawsuits Legislation
One of the most important players in the booming drone industry isnt a hardware manufacturer; its the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. So attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday flocked to hear a policy update from the FAA, which has begun to regulate drone use more aggressively.

In the two weeks or so since the agency started requiring hobbyists to register drones larger than 0.55 pounds, 181,061 drones had been registered as of Wednesday morning, said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. The FAA is working to support third-party apps that would allow people to scan a code located on a drone to register it immediately, said Huerta, whos attending CES for the first time.

The organizers of CES, the worlds largest annual technology conference taking place in Las Vegas this week, estimated that Americans bought 400,000 drones during the past holiday season, so less than half of them were registered with the FAA. The trade group forecasts more than 2.8 million U.S. drone sales in 2016, with about 1 million of those above the 0.55 pound limit.

Starting on Dec. 21, hobbyists who bought drones had to register on the FAAs website. Those who already owned the devices have until Feb. 19 to register. The FAA expects to finalize rules for commercial drones this spring, Huerta said.

CES is buzzing with drones. The CES organizers said the U.S. market reached $105 million in revenue last year, an increase of more than 50 percent from the year before. For the second consecutive year, a special corner of the exhibit hall was set aside for the flying robots, with 27 companies showing off unmanned aerial systems designed for police officers, real estate agents, and disaster relief professionals.

But the proliferation of drones is raising increasing concerns over safety and privacy. No one wants a drunken drone operator to damage the White House or a device to fall from the sky and crush a competitive skier on live television. A study recently released by Bard College found that from December 2013 to September 2015, 158 incidents were reported of a drone coming within 200 feet of a manned aircraft. In 28 cases, a pilot had to maneuver to avoid colliding with a drone. Registration with the federal government is designed to hold drone operators accountable.

To alleviate fears about people spying on areas they shouldnt be or putting planes at risk, the FAA maintains a list of do-not-fly zones for drones. The FAA said on Wednesday it released an app for Apple devices, along with a beta version for Android, called B4UFLY, which tells drone owners where its OK to fly. The U.S. restricts drone use near airports and other places.

We are on the cusp of democratizing the airspace. David Vos, who works on drones at Google X, said on stage at the FAA event. In order to do that, theres a tremendous amount of responsibility to be built.

Some drone companies and advocates grumble that the FAAs rules have gone too far, though they said it wont force them to change the way they do business. Henri Seydoux, the chief executive of French drone company Parrot, said he doesnt think the U.S. approach is particularly onerous. In the end, I dont believe regulations will be all that different in other countries, he said.

Parrot has taken a slightly different approach at this years show from its main competitor, Chinese drone company DJI. Parrot revealed a new drone that relies heavily on autopilot to make it easy for a novice to control, while DJI played up new camera systems designed to appeal to professional photographers.

Last month, DJI also announced several changes to the software it uses to keep drones from operating in restricted areas. The company is accessing the FAAs temporary flight restriction database to alert operators when they stray into unsafe areas. But it is also loosening restrictions that kept people from turning on their drones motors in such areas. Now people who have registered their devices with the company can override this prohibition. Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI, said the change accommodates people with a legitimate reason to operate.

These moves are designed to dampen enthusiasm for a proposal by Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to require manufacturers to develop technology that would keep drones from operating in such areas. Critics of this approach say blanket restrictions go too far while also shifting liability away from drone operators themselves, which could encourage reckless behavior. We have a balanced approach that is far better than any legislation, said Schulman.

One thing DJI and Parrot have in common is that many of their drones are heavy enough to require federal registration. Drones heavier than 0.55 pounds are the norm at CES this year, said Rich Hanson, the director of government and regulatory affairs for the Academy of Model Aeronautics, a hobbyist group that pushed unsuccessfully for a higher weight limit with the FAA. Most everything youll see there rightfully should be registered, he said.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics USA Legislation Aviation
Drone operators who want to know if its safe and legal to operate their unmanned aircraft in a particular spot learned this week that theres now an app for that from the government.

The Federal Aviation Administration has released a mobile app for drone operators to learn whether it is safe to fly their unmanned aircraft in a particular location.

The app also has a feature that allows users to select a different time and location for an upcoming flight and determine if there are any restrictions at that place and time

The B4UFLY mobile application was released following an initial beta testing period that began in May of last year. The app is now available for Apple devices and can be downloaded from the App Store. The FAA said it is also releasing a beta version of B4UFLY for Android devices, which can be downloaded from Google.

B4UFLY tells users about current or upcoming requirements and restrictions in areas of the National Airspace System (NAS) where they may want to operate their unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

We expect B4UFLY will help raise public awareness about what it means to operate unmanned aircraft safely, said FAA Administrator Michael Huertasaid at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The B4UFLY app includes a number of enhancements the FAA says came about as a result of user feedback during the beta testing. Within two taps, users can learn if it is safe to fly at their current location. The app provides a status indicator that tells users: Proceed with Caution, Warning  Action Required, or Flight Prohibited.

The app also features a planner mode that allows users to see if there are any restrictions at another place and later time where they wish to fly their aircraft.

By law, hobbyists who want to fly within five miles of an airport must notify the airport operator and the air traffic control facility (if there is one) prior to flying. For now, B4UFLY will ask users who are supposed to notify the airport before flying for voluntary information about their planned flight. This will not meet the statutory requirement to notify the airport and air traffic control facility, but the data will help the agency make informed policy decisions related to notification. The FAA said this information will not be publicly available.

Source: FAA

Related:

Topics USA Aviation
A recently released report shows that damage estimates from the natural disaster events that occurred in the United States in December 2015 will amount to more than $4 billion.

Aon Benfields catastrophe model development team, Impact Forecasting, Global Catastrophe Recap report, evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during December 2015. Preliminary estimates included in the report suggest that total economic losses from the weather events during the December will exceed $4.0 billion in the United States, with insured losses likely to approach or exceed $2.0 billion.

Those figures include the $1.2 billion in insured losses that the Insurance Council of Texas has estimated for the Dallas metropolitan area alone.

A complex weather pattern across the United States during the final 10 days of 2015 led to extensive damage as a result of violent tornadoes, historic flooding, record snowfall, hail and damaging winds.

At least 64 people were killed. Parts of the Midwest, Plains, Southeast, Rockies and Northeast were all impacted by the inclement weather, though the states of Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana were among the hardest-hit.

In total, at least 58 tornadoes touched down (including two rated EF4). Catastrophic tornado damage was noted just east of the Dallas, Texas, metro region.

Relentless rainfall also led to historic flooding in the Mississippi Valley and Midwest that saw rivers cresting at or above historic heights previously set in 1993, 2008 and 2011.

Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc.

Source: Aon Benfield

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters USA Texas Profit Loss Windstorm Aon
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced it is working with law enforcement agencies, the Texas Department of Insurance and insurance companies to warn Texas storm victims about post-disaster rebuilding scams.

After a disaster, contractors will often go door-to-door in neighborhoods that have sustained damage to offer clean up and/or construction and repair services. Most of these people are reputable, but many are not, the NICB said.

The dishonest ones may execute schemes to defraud innocent victims.

One common scheme is to pocket the payment and never show up for the job, or never complete a job that was started. Another scheme is to use inferior materials and perform shoddy work that is not up to code in order to pocket more profit.

Almost all of these scams are unsolicited  they begin with a visit from a contractor who seeks to help victims rebuild. That is why we say, If you didnt request it, reject it.

Unlike other states, Texas does not require a license for a roofing contractor nor is one required for solicitation.

Local jurisdictions, however, may impose certain requirements before contractors can solicit work within their boundaries. One example is the City of Garland that requires anyone soliciting for the purpose of selling or offering to sell goods or services, must first retain a solicitation permit through the Garland Police Department.

Another potential scam arising from the storms are flood vehicle resales. Buying a flood vehicle is not illegal, but misrepresenting a flood-damaged vehicle as one that is not could be a crime exposing the seller to potential criminal charges.

Source: NICB

Topics Texas Fraud Contractors
Most doctors in South Carolina will soon be required to consult a statewide database of patients medical history as a way to combat the states rampant prescription painkiller problem.

The changes will direct any doctor who wants to bill either Medicaid or the state health plan to use the database thats been voluntary since 2008, said Christian Soura, director of the states Department of Health and Human Services.

Announcements will likely go out in February on the mandate, which starts April 1, he told The Associated Press.

The South Carolina Medical Association supports the change, but there will be some doctors unhappy about yet another step thrown into the mix, said its CEO, state Rep. Todd Atwater.

Some say it will slow me down another minute and half I dont have, but really? said Atwater, R-Lexington. Sometimes you have to have a little inconvenience to do the right thing and get some of these opioids off the streets.

The mandate will come three years after Inspector General Patrick Maley recommended it in a report, describing high-prescribers as either motivated by money or naively helping doctor shoppers. In response to his report, Gov. Nikki Haley created the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Council, which similarly concluded one year ago that mandating the databases use is key to combatting abuse of OxyContin, Percocet and other opioids.

Similar mandates enacted in New York and Tennessee in 2012 resulted in drops of 75 percent and 36 percent, respectively, a year later in patients seeing multiple doctors for the same drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions 2014 Vital Signs report.

That report ranked South Carolina 11th highest nationwide in prescribing painkillers, with 102 prescriptions written for every 100 people.

When you look at the impact of other states with similar policies, its harder to say, `I dont want to spend another minute or two in front of the computer, Soura said of doctors decreasing resistance.

Technology improvements to the database were also critical to gaining their support and  according to officials  the reason for delaying the mandate.

A law passed in June 2014 required pharmacists to report daily on the controlled substances they sell, to ensure the database is regularly updated. But a clause specified that doctors and pharmacists dont have to actually consult it before prescribing or dispensing medicine.

According to the councils report six months later, just 21 percent of South Carolinas prescribers had registered for the Prescription Monitoring Program and few of them actually used it.

Officials say thats partly because registering required filling out paperwork, getting it notarized and mailing the application to DHEC. And only the prescribing doctor had a login to access the database.

Under improvements that went live Nov. 23, doctors can register online and set up an account for a delegate, such as a nurse, to run the queries. The new system also summarizes patients prescription history, calculates their daily opioid dose and generates an alert if their prescriptions already exceed the recommended amount, said Lisa Thomson, DHECs drug control director.

The changes were about making the system user-friendly and not disrupting work flows, said Bryan Amick, pharmacy director at the states Medicaid agency and a member of the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Council.

South Carolina will join 29 states that require doctors or pharmacists to consult a prescription database in at least certain circumstances. Nevada was the first to do so in 2007. Such a database exists in every state except Missouri, according to the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

The decree will affect the vast majority of doctors in South Carolina, though the exact percentage is unclear. About 1 million South Carolinians get their health care through Medicaid, while the state health plan covers more than 460,000 people, when combining public employees, retirees, their spouses and dependents.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Drugs South Carolina
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the arrests of Dewayne Dudley of Bayboro and Elegant Adele Jackson of Havelock. They are both charged with one count each of insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense in Wake County, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI).

Department of Insurance criminal investigators accuse Dudley and Jackson of attempting to obtain payment from United Services Automobile Association by submitting false paperwork in support of an automobile accident claim on Feb. 28, 2015.

Dudley was arrested in Pamlico County on Dec. 29 and placed under a $5,000 bond. Jackson was arrested in Wake County on Dec. 29 and placed under a $10,000 bond.

The Department of Insurance employs 20 sworn state law enforcement officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud. Since Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin took office in 2009, criminal investigators have made more than 1,500 arrests, resulting in more than 750 criminal convictions with more than 250 cases currently pending court. These efforts have delivered more than $72.1 million in restitution and recoveries for victims.

Topics Fraud North Carolina
Join ITR and TMF Groups tax experts at 2pm CET (1pm GMT) on November 15 as they discuss how finance leaders are increasingly faced with doing more with less, and how CFOs should adapt.
Leave the holy water and the medals to St. Christopher at home!

Theres great news for those traveling with Aer Lingus this year, especially if youre a nervous flyer, as they were named among the worlds safest low-cost airline for the second year in a row.

Established in 2013, AirlineRatings.com is the worlds only safety and product rating website and for the last two years it has placed Irish airline Aer Lingus in the top ten low-cost airlines.

As the site recently reported, unlike many other low-cost carriers, Aer Lingus and the other airlines listed have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and they all have a good past record of meeting high safety standards.

The top ten (not placed in any order by the site) includes: Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and Westjet.

Read more: Aer Lingus launches noon flight from New York to Dublin.

The site also revealed the safest possible airlines with whom travelers can fly (or at least from the 407 carriers they monitor).

For an amazing third year in a row, Australian airline Qantas has taken the top spot with a remarkable fatality free record in the jet era.

The remaining carriers in the top twenty list (again in no particular order) are: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

AirlineRatings.com analyzes information related to audits from aviations governing bodies and lead associations, government audits and the airlines fatality record as well as examining each airline's operational history, incident records and operational excellence in order to produce its list of the top airlines with which to fly safely and securely.

Airlines are ranked on a seven star system and 148 of the 407 surveyed airlines achieved the top seven-star safety ranking while nearly 50 have only three stars or fewer.

Ten airlines in total have only one safety star to their name.

During 2015 there were a total of 16 incidents totaling 560 fatalities. This was a massive improvement on 2014 when almost a 1,000 people lost their lives.

Last year the worlds airlines carried 3.6 billion passengers on 34 million flights.

If we compare airline safety to how it was 50 years ago, the number of crashes was much higher (averaging at 87) killing 1,597 people while total air travelers only amounted to 141 million (five per cent of the number we have today).

Read more: Aer Lingus announces further expansion from US to Ireland
As almost 1,800 members of the Defense Forces moved to help storm-hit communities, a leading Protestant bishop claimed there was no one coordinating the response to the floods across Ireland.

Revered Paul Colton, Church of Ireland bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross, also said there are some immediate situations of emergency need which just cant wait for grant aid forms to be filled out and processed.

Colton, who has launched a flood fund appeal to help people in Bandon and Midleton in Co. Cork, praised those working on the frontline, but said there appeared to be little coordination at national level.

He said while local authority workers, emergency services and Defense Forces personnel have responded well, people were looking for somebody who was in charge.

There seemed to be little coordination, little sense that someone was in overall charge, Colton said.

Around Ireland, stories abounded of people struggling on their own to beat the floods havoc.

Elaine Taaffe, 26, from Dundalk, gave birth to a baby boy in the back of a car as the winds and rain of Storm Frank swirled around it. She delivered her baby Kai a week early after her father Harry drove her to the hospital when her labor pains came at 6 a.m.

Elaine was giving birth in the car with the two doors wide open and the wind howling and the rain lashing around us, Harry said.

In Co. Clare, neighbors living in a flooded community helped to detect two men who were on their way to rob evacuated homes in a stolen army boat. The inflatable Defense Forces dinghy was stolen from a farmhouse in Springfield, Clonlara, on Sunday night.

The men were eventually cut off by two locals in another boat, as the thieves crossed a flooded field on their way towards unoccupied homes left vacant by families evacuated from the area. The two would-be robbers escaped and the boat was returned to the army.

Near Labane, Co. Galway, Ann Connolly, 74, lost her home and everything she owns in the floods.

Im bitter and I want answers, she said. Her remote house was destroyed by flood waters reaching up to four feet seven inches.

Connolly tried in vain to fight back the rising floods since December 17, but was forced to admit defeat on Christmas Day.

Its the fifth time her farmhouse has been flooded since 1990 and as its uninsured, she cant replace anything she has lost.
Looking through the papers in Ireland and watching the TV news in the past couple of weeks, you would think the entire country is under several feet of water.

It's true that we are going through the wettest winter in a long time and there is widespread flooding in the usual areas, mainly close to some rivers. But Ireland is not submerged, despite the impression given by the hyped up media coverage.

There's a reason why the papers and TV are as over-excited as a child at Christmas. There's not much else going on here at the moment, although the general election is now just six to eight weeks away.

So with all that media space to fill, the floods are a godsend to editors. Flooding always makes dramatic pictures and human interest stories, especially when there's not much else in the news. So for days now it's been the lead story.

To be fair, the TV pictures of water rushing down the main street of Graignamanagh, a beautiful little town in Co. Kilkenny on the banks of the Barrow river, were certainly dramatic, although the reporter should have pointed out that the water was just a few inches deep. After all the rain, a winter's supply in a couple of weeks, the river had burst its banks.

Similarly in other areas there were dramatic pictures, particularly along the Shannon basin and around other smaller rivers. There were pictures of isolated houses with walls of sandbags around them marooned in the middle of new lakes of flood water.

Pictures of exhausted and distraught residents manning pumps and complaining that their toilets were backing up and cooking was impossible. Pictures of farm animals stranded on small areas of higher ground, mournfully looking around for something to eat.

In a few rural areas, groups of farmhouses were cut off altogether and had to be reached by boat or tractor. On the outskirts of some towns along the Shannon, like Athlone, a few houses built on low lying ground had been inundated, with all the misery that brings, the sodden carpets and sofas, the kitchen fridges and cookers destroyed by several feet of dirty water. One apartment block in Athlone built on the bank of the Shannon had to be evacuated for a time when the electrical supply box was submerged.

For those unfortunate people caught up in the deluge, it is a nightmare that has now gone on for a few weeks. To give them a break in building their sandbag walls and manning the pumps, a few dozen troops were brought in so the residents could get some badly needed sleep.

A couple of government ministers visited the worst hit areas to voice support and offer promises of help. Even the President, who of course has no power to do anything, was out in rural Galway this week meeting people who had been flooded to express his deep concern and express his solidarity.

All of which made even more pictures in the papers. Looking at the coverage, you would think that half the houses in the country were under water.

The truth is, however, that the number of houses that have been flooded is around 250. That's 250 houses in the entire country.

So it's a long way off being a national disaster. We're not going to see Noah's Ark cruising across lakes of floodwater here anytime soon.

This is not to make light of the situation. It's a horror story for the victims of the flooding. But we need to keep it in proportion. In comparison with what has happened in some parts of the U.K. in recent weeks, we have actually got off lightly.

That said, it does raise some important issues that need to be faced up to here. One is personal responsibility.

Many of the affected residents interviewed on camera angrily demanded to know why nothing was done to prevent the floods, why the local council or the government had not taken action to solve the flooding problem in their area. This is normal these days when so many people immediately blame the government or local authorities whenever something goes wrong.

It's always someone else's fault. Personal responsibility never seems to come into the equation.

The fact is that rivers flood. If you live too close to them, in a house built on relatively low ground, you are taking a risk. It may be a risk that only becomes a reality every few decades, but it is a risk you have taken.

Read more: Will the floods have subsided for Enda Kenny come the elections?

The mighty Shannon river which flows down through the center of Ireland has large flood plains that stretch for miles on either side in some areas. The whole eco-system and soil quality in these areas is a result of flooding that happens every decade or sometimes every few years. Living on a farm in these areas should mean accepting that flooding happens.

Yet when it does, farmers regard it as an unpredictable disaster and demand financial aid. For decades, politicians in the Shannon basin have garnered votes out of promising to dredge the Shannon and stop the flooding, even though they know it is not economically possible or environmentally desirable.

Another issue, as we all know, is global warming and its effect on climate here, meaning that in future we are going to have warmer and wetter winters. The only question is the degree to which this will happen and the timescale. It means that the traditional attitude of treating flooding in river flood plain areas as something that may happen once in a lifetime is no longer sustainable.

Many of the houses and lands that have flooded over this Christmas are the same ones that flooded during the last series of bad rain storms here in 2009. Yet residents and farmers are still surprised and are behaving as though it is something that cannot be foreseen. Climate change is going to mean an acceptance that some people may need to relocate and some lands near rivers will flood regularly.

That said, there is no doubt that we can better manage the consequences of flooding, particularly in the many towns and cities in Ireland that developed centuries ago around rivers. We can't move these towns, but we can protect them better.

This means spending a lot of money on reinforced concrete walls and embankments, culverts, channel deepening and widening, the replacement of low bridges and improvements to drainage systems. The government has earmarked 430 million to be spent on flood defenses over the next six years which is a big step-up on the 410 million invested over the past 20 years.

They have also been trying to get a handle on prioritizing what needs to be done and have identified 300 areas at potential significant flood risk around the country. Some of this work is already underway.

There has been considerable progress, with the towns of Fermoy, Kilkenny, Mallow, Clonmel and Ennis all getting new flood protection schemes, and works are also planned for Clonakilty and Skibbereen. A 45 million scheme is already underway to prevent flooding along the River Dargle in Bray, Co. Wicklow, an important dormitory town outside Dublin.

Read more: Massive storms hit Ireland as planning corruption becomes clear (PHOTOS)

Some areas in the cities of Dublin, Limerick and Cork also need improvement. Cork is the worst with the Blackpool and Lower Lee areas of the city which were built on a flood plain regularly suffering from flooding, although they have escaped the worst of it this time. In Dublin, flood alleviation works along the Dodder and Tolka rivers are already underway.

Some of the house building that was done here during the boom was on known flood plains around some towns and cities and there are drainage problems in these estates as a result. Corruption in the political and planning process allowed this to happen, and with the present housing shortage we need to be careful we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Having said that, it's not true that these estates have been the main areas of concern this time. In fact many of the houses which have flooded this time are individual dwellings built years ago in places that were always going to be at some risk.

It's also not true that our rivers are not being looked after, to some degree at least. The Office of Public Works (the state agency responsible) has 88 excavators and spends 14 million a year on dredging works. And around Dublin Bay, sea walls are being strengthened and raised, although in some areas prone to flooding, like Clontarf, residents are objecting to the loss of views.

The problem with all this, of course, is that as soon as the weather improves and everywhere dries up as summer approaches, people -- including politicians -- tend to forget about flooding. Handling the problem better here will mean both facing up to reality in terms of what we can do and huge expense to get even that much done. And there always seems to be more urgent priorities.

As someone once said here, this would be a great little country if we could just put a roof over it!
A sworn affidavit from an executive at WPIX confirming that the network never made a formal offer to broadcast the 2016 New York City St. Patricks Day parade is among the documents in a court filing that seeks to dismiss a lawsuit brought against parade board chairman Dr. John Lahey and member Francis Comerford by John Dunleavy, who served for 22 years as chairman of the boards Parade and Celebration Committee before stepping down in November.

The filing from Mitch Mandell, a partner at the law firm Thompson & Knight which is representing Lahey and Comerford, was made on December 30 at Bronx Supreme Court, where Dunleavy lodged his original challenge against Lahey last October alleging that Lahey was attempting to take over the parade and was working in partnership with Comerford, a high-ranking executive at NBC, to keep the TV rights with WNBC even though WPIX, according to Dunleavy, had made a better financial offer.

On December 23, WPIX Vice President and Station Manager Robert Marra provided an affidavit which stated that Dunleavys secretary Carla Chadwick contacted the network last May to gauge its interest in broadcasting the 2016 march. Marra and WPIX President and General Manager Richard Graziano met with Dunleavy and Chadwick to talk about the broadcast, with the two network executives under the impression that the WNBC deal expired last year.

In June Marra and Graziano put a preliminary proposal together for WPIX to broadcast the parade that, Marra stressed, would ultimately require approval from WPIXs parent company Tribune Broadcasting. The proposal was withdrawn in August after the executives learned Dunleavys role in the parade was diminished after a board vote in June, and after Chadwick informed the executives that WNBC owned the TV rights for 2016.

Significantly, at no time was the proposal ever reviewed, let alone approved, by Tribune Broadcasting or Tribune Media and, therefore, never constituted a final offer by WPIX to broadcast the parade, Marra stated in the affidavit.

The motion filed by Mandell called Dunleavys lawsuit patently meritless, filed by a disgruntled and disgraced director of a non-profit corporation unwilling to abide the unanimous [June] vote of the corporations board of directors to appoint Lahey to the newly created position of chairman and the nearly unanimous vote to include a second LGBT group to march in the 2016 parade.

The motion highlights the fact that Comerford, chief revenue officer and president of commercial operations for NBCUniversal owned television stations, was asked to join the parade board by Dunleavy 18 years ago specifically because of his role at NBC, the motion states.

At no time during that time period did Dunleavy or any other member of the board object that NBCs broadcast of the parade constituted a conflict of interest.

The motion denies the claim by Dunleavy and members of the parades affiliated organizations that Lahey wants to remove language in the boards by-laws stating that the parade honors St. Patrick  that language still exists  in the very first sentence of the by-laws  and there is no proposal to eliminate it  and confirms the boards refusal to recognize those elected to the Parade and Celebration Committee on November 30 because the meeting was illegally called by Dunleavy, who relinquished his chairmanship of the committee at that time.

A forensic audit of parade finances which revealed unauthorized expenditures of parade funds incurred by Dunleavy, Chadwick and former board member Michael Cassels is also highlighted in the motion. Dunleavys charges for a male enhancement drug, travel and other unapproved expenses on the parades credit card, as well as Cassels and Chadwicks expenses, were reported by the board to the New York State Attorney Generals Office in November. A subsequent letter to the board from James G. Sheehan, chief of the offices Charities Bureau, requested supporting documentation for the expenses in question, which the board is in the process of compiling.

The motion also stated that Chadwick was subpoenaed by Lahey and Comerfords legal team to provide a deposition about her unapproved expenditures, but canceled at the last minute without providing an alternate date. Defendants expect to file a motion to hold Chadwick in contempt in the very near future, the motion stated.

Lahey, president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and grand marshal of the parade in 1997, also provided an affidavit in which he outlined his belief that this dispute is rooted in Dunleavys steadfast opposition to allowing LGBT groups to participate in the annual St. Patricks Day parade. Dunleavy has been a staunch and vocal critic of having any LGBT groups march in the parade. I had many discussions with Dunleavy about this issue, but we were never able to come to agreement.

The sides are due to meet in court later this month.
Under Irish law, the next general election must be held by April 9 at the latest. The current speculation is focused on February 25 or 26, but the ultimate decision rests with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, and it is possible he has not made up his mind just yet. There is some talk that he might opt for a date in early March. But regardless of when the campaign officially begins, it is already under way in practice.

When the Dail resumed after the summer break last year, there were indications that Fine Gael, the biggest of the two parties in the current coalition government, wanted to have the election in November but that Labour, the minority partner, would not go along with that. The Labour Party has been taking most of the blame for the tough economic decisions the Government made after it took office and there was a widespread view that it could be wiped out if the election was held at the end of last year.

But one of the problems with holding off until the spring of 2016 was the inevitable spell of bad weather over the Christmas-New Year period. The pattern has always been for the public to get into a grumpy mood as a result. The government of the day usually comes in for criticism over its real or imagined failures in tackling the problems arising from whatever combination of hail, rain or snow is visited upon the Irish people.

It happened again over recent weeks, when the weather has been at its worst for many years, with widespread flooding and a great deal of misery for ordinary citizens. The Taoiseach, who spends a lot of time getting his picture taken at various good-news events around the country, came in for sharp criticism for failing to turn up at any flood-disaster scenes outside his political home-base of Mayo. He rectified this at a very late stage when he visited the town of Athlone in the midlands, which has been hit by very serious flooding from the River Shannon.

Read more: The truth about the flooding in Ireland - reality, prioritizing and planning

While Kenny undoubtedly suffered some damage in political terms, by the time the election takes place the floods will surely have subsided and voters will have other issues on their minds such as taxation, the health service and the need to ensure that whoever gets elected doesn't make a mess of Ireland's hard-won economic recovery.

The Fine Gael leader has one major advantage in his efforts to lead the government that emerges when the votes are counted and the Dail re-assembles. Fianna Fail has so far ruled out a government partnership with anyone else while Sinn Fein passed a motion at its annual conference last year which specified that it would not go into coalition unless it was the majority party in that arrangement.

In the last general election in 2011, Fine Gael and Labour ran separate campaigns, but everyone knew there would be a marriage of convenience as soon as the votes were counted. Fianna Fail had presided over a major crisis in the Irish banking system and the economy generally. The party went into that election with 71 TDs and came back with only 20: it was a massacre. Fine Gael and Labour garnered a staggering 113 seats between them, out of a total Dail membership of 166. The exigencies of politics have since reduced the Fine Gael-Labour figure to 101 and nobody expects them to have anywhere near that total after this election.

For one thing, the overall number of TDs has been reduced from 166 to 158. Barring unforeseen circumstances, no party is going to have the 80 seats required to set up a government on its own. Coalition is again on the cards, but who will join together on this occasion?

A senior figure in Fine Gael told this writer that the party's objective was to win 60 Dail seats and that it expected Labour to return with about 12 TDs. This would mean recruiting the support of at least eight from the "Independents and Others" category to secure a majority.

Another option that has been floated is a coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. The two parties have their origins in the Irish Civil War and its aftermath. But there is little difference between them in broad policy terms and they would probably not have much difficulty agreeing a common platform for government.

As for Sinn Fein, the official line on coalition seems quite rigid but the party has a history of pragmatism and would not lightly turn down the prospect of government. There is a general expectation that Fianna Fail could win about 35 Dail seats, up from the current 21, and that Sinn Fein might end up with 30 TDs compared with the present tally of 14.

That would still be 15 seats short of a majority for the two parties, but the gap could be filled by members of the "Independents and Others" group in the new Dail. A mock advertisement produced by the Labour Party warned in humorous terms against a "same-sex marriage" between Gerry Adams and Micheal Martin, but even Labour might be tempted if things weren't going well in negotiations with Fine Gael.

When I asked a prominent member of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party if they would consider going into government with Sinn Fein, his response was emphatically negative and expressed in very colorful language. However, when I pressed him on a possible alliance with Fine Gael, he went into diplomatic mode, replying: "That question is above my pay-grade."

Since Fine Gael will almost certainly have more seats than Fianna Fail, going into coalition could mean that the smaller party would lose its identity and ultimately disappear like the Progressive Democrats. A coalition led by Kenny and Martin would mean Sinn Fein becoming the main opposition party and alternative government. But politicians tend to think in the short term and the lure of office is hard to resist.

* Deaglan de Breadun is the author of "Power Play: The Rise of Modern Sinn Fein", published by Merrion Press.
A cabinet minister has suggested overcrowding in hospitals would be even worse if the government hadn't taken action before Christmas.

Paschal Donohoe says the government is making every effort to offer greater capacity for hospitals, including by helping patients be discharged into nursing homes.

Earlier the INMO named the seven emergency departments which would be affected by strike action next week - Beaumont, Cavan, Mercy Hospital Cork, Galway, Tallaght, Tullamore and Waterford.

Minister Donohoe says the situation in those hospitals would be worse, but for the government's actions.

"I know that Beaumont deals with a huge number of patients, a huge number of cases each day, but this is the very reason why we did put additional investment in place.

"In the run up to January, in the run up to this period, to put more beds in our hospitals and to put more facilities in place across our country."

Sinn Fein however disagrees and is calling on Minister Leo Varadkar to resign.

Pearse Doherty says if in power his party has a plan to solve the problem.

"This is a scandal that isn't just rolling out, and a crisis that isn't just being seen in A&E, but right across the health sector.

"What we need is a plan, unfortunately for the Irish people this government doesn't have a plan but Sinn Fein does.

"The people need to be given the opportunity to elect a government, to elect a party, that has a plan and that has the political will to put the investment that is necessary into addressing this crisis."
The N25 Cork to Waterford Road between Killeagh and Castlemartyr is currently impassable due to flooding.

Due to adverse weather conditions over night, the local diversion routes have deteriorated further and Cork County Council have not been in a position to repair them.

There will be further traffic delays expected on the diversion routes tomorrow morning.

Signed diversions are in place from Killeagh via Mogeely into Castlemartyr but there will be severe traffic restrictions and these diversion routes are now unsuitable for any H.G.V. Traffic.

There should be no deviation from the signed diversion route as roads off of the route are impassable.

The R72 Fermoy to Dungarvan Rd is now open and should be used by H.G.V.s in order to avoid N25.

The following diversions as agreed between An Garda Siochana and Cork and Waterford County Councils will be in place for Cork to Waterford Traffic:

Westbound Traffic

All Waterford to Cork Traffic is urged to use the N24 Waterford to Cahir and then the M8 / N8 route to Cork.

All Dungarvan to Cork traffic should divert via the N24 route to Fermoy and then the N8 / M8 to Cork.

All Youghal to Cork H.G.V. traffic will be diverted at Rincrew Roundabout (Youghal Bridge) via Tallow (R634) and onto the N72 to Fermoy and then onto the N8 / M8 to Cork.

Eastbound Traffic

All Cork to Waterford Traffic is urged to use the N8 / M8 Cork to Dublin Rd and turn off at Cahir then onto the N24 to Waterford.

All Cork to Dungarvan Traffic is urged to travel via the N8 / M8 to Fermoy and then the N72 to Dungarvan.

All Cork to Youghal Traffic is urged to travel via the N8 / M8 to Fermoy and then the N72 and R634 to Youghal.

All Midleton HGV Traffic wishing to travel in Waterford direction should travel to Jack Lynch Tunnel and then onto the N8 / M8 to Fermoy and then onto Waterford / Dungarvan / Youghal as set out for Cork Traffic above

Driving Conditions

Some minor roads are currently impassable and not suitable for vehicles.

All road users should obey diversion signs and drive appropriately for the weather and road conditions.

Some minor roads remain flooded and motorists should obey relevant road signs.

Only use your Satellite Navigation System when not on diversion routes as they may take you on roads that are impassable.
An internal report by German police describes how women in the western city of Cologne had to run through mobs of drunken men who attacked them during New Years celebrations, an experience likened to running the gauntlet.

The report, details of which were widely published by German media on Thursday, added to witness accounts describing a string of sexual assaults that have sparked a heated debate about migration and the polices failure to prevent the mayhem.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany must examine whether it has done enough to deport foreigners who commit crimes, after police said the perpetrators of the attack were of Arab or North African origin.

While officials have cautioned against casting suspicion on migrants in general, the attacks have been seized on by some opponents of Germanys welcoming stance toward those fleeing conflict after the country registered nearly 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year.

The square in front of the main station in Cologne today. Pic: AP

We must examine again and again whether we have already done what is necessary in terms of... deportations from Germany in order to send clear signals to those who are not prepared to abide by our legal order, Ms Merkel said.

She described the New Years assaults as repugnant criminal acts that... Germany will not accept, and said changes to the law and increasing police presence may be examined.

The feeling women had in this case of being at peoples mercy, without any protection, is intolerable for me personally as well, she said. And so it is important for everything that happened there to be put on the table.

German daily Bild on Thursday published extracts from an unidentified senior federal police officers report on the attacks.

It recounts how federal units, who are also in charge of policing the railway system, were met by anxious citizens with crying and shocked children when they arrived at Colognes main railway station on New Years Eve.

The officer, said to have been in the job for 29 years, describes how several thousand male persons with a migrant background hurled fireworks and bottles into the crowds of revellers who had gathered in front of the citys cathedral to celebrate the new year.

The situation became more tense at 11.45pm (10.45pm Irish Time) when more people arrived at the train station.

Unaccompanied and accompanied women had to literally run the gauntlet of very drunk men, the report said.

Officers managed to clear the square, but struggled to cope with the large number of violent men, it said.

In the course of the operation numerous crying and shocked women/girls approached officers and told them of sexual assaults by male migrants/groups. Unfortunately it wasnt possible to identify them any more.

Federal police declined to comment on the internal report, which was also published by German news agency dpa and the news portal Spiegel Online.

The scale of the attacks has prompted calls for tougher rules on criminal foreigners. Germanys justice minister said asylum-seekers could be deported if they are found to have participated in the assaults.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview with the Funke newspaper group that the law already allows for people to be deported during asylum proceedings if they are sentenced to a year or more in prison.

The courts will have to decide on the level of sentences, but that penalty is in principle absolutely possible for sexual offences, he said.

Police said onThursday they have now received 121 criminal complaints alleging sexual assault and robbery during the New Years Eve festivities. That includes two accounts of rape.

They said investigators working with video footage have identified 16 young men - largely of North African origin  who may be suspects and are working to determine whether they committed any crimes. Authorities do not yet have names for most of the men.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday that anyone who commits serious crimes, whatever status he is in, must reckon with being deported from Germany.

If it turns out that refugees were the perpetrators, then they forfeited their right to be guests, Andreas Scheuer, the general secretary of the conservative Christian Social Union  the smallest party in Ms Merkels coalition government  was quoted as telling Bild.

Responding to widespread criticism of the polices handling of the incident, Colognes police chief Wolfgang Albers said he would report to the regional government on what happened but would not publicly give further details before a meeting Monday of the state legislatures home affairs committee.
Somalia said it has cut diplomatic ties with Iran amid ongoing tensions between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia.

A Somali Foreign Ministry statement issued today accused Iran of trying to destabilise the country.
Hans Goetti, at Banque Internationale a Luxembourg, in Dubai, is assessing whether Chinas sinking currency will unleash capital outflows that the economy cant sustain.

In Denmark, Saxo Banks Peter Garnry is dealing with non-stop phone calls from clients.

A flight from risky assets has defined the first days of the new year, with volatility surging on concern about turmoil in China and escalating tension in the Middle East.

Even as the MSCI All-Country World Indexs bull market extends to more than 1,500 days, investors are facing a difficult start to 2016, after losing money on global stocks, high-yield bonds and commodities in 2015.

Its like the holiday never happened, said Mr Naeimi, a fund manager at AMP Capital.

Everyone is chasing shadows.

"Whats adding to the nervousness is that weve been in this extended bull market since 2009  weve had really, really strong gains. Everyones nervous.

Investors returned on Monday to a 7% rout in Chinese equities and the news that Saudi Arabia had expelled Irans diplomats in a dispute about the execution of a Shiite cleric.

Chinas policy-makers were in focus on Tuesday, with stocks seesawing as they added cash to the financial system, intervened to buy equities, and postponed the end of a ban on major shareholders selling stakes.

And, yesterday, the Peoples Bank of China cut its yuan-fixing to the lowest since April, 2011, reigniting concern about the outlook for the worlds second-biggest economy, and North Korea conducted its first nuclear test since 2013.

Clients have been panicking, calling us to try to make sense of it all, said Mr Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank.

But how do you interpret this market? It makes little sense.

"We were obviously surprised and not prepared for such a bad start to 2016, he said.

Stocks have shown resilience for years, bouncing back after the Ukraine crisis, Greeces debt woes and the collapse in oil prices.

But concern over Chinas economy and the repercussions for global markets have kept surfacing.
Some 80 transition-year students from 19 second-level schools in Cork City and county will attend a female-only programme at Cork Institute of Technology this month which, organisers say, is the first of its kind in the country.

The I Wish Campus Week, running from January 18-22, comprises workshops, interactive demonstrations, panel sessions, and industry site visits, all aimed at providing students with an in-depth insight into the daily lives of science, technology, engineering, and maths (Stem) professionals and graduates.

Its well known that girls are under-represented in Stem programmes in college and in Stem sectors in the workplace, said Aisling ODriscoll, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Computing at CIT.

Only about 7% of technical roles in European companies are filled by women, she added, emphasising that in coming years more women will be needed.

#STEM countdown is on to the @CIT_ie @IWish_ie Campus wk.14 days to go + 7 days left to reg https://t.co/dWkqA7seDx pic.twitter.com/9Cxqab99c8  Aisling O Driscoll (@AODriscoll1) January 4, 2016

Forfas has predicted that, within five years, the industry will experience a shortage of suitably qualified experts to fill some 44,500 positions in the tech sector.

Our goal is to encourage more girls to consider taking Stem subjects on to third level, and, long term, provide good role models to encourage younger girls to consider careers in this area, said Ms ODriscoll.

She said the response to the course has been extremely positive and most of the places are already full. However, any school or student interested in signing up has until Wednesday, January 13, to register.

The initiative is a partnership between CIT, Cork City Council, Cork Chamber, it@cork, DFI, Dell, Cork County Council, and UCC.

It was recognised at the recent Chamber Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards in the category of promoting economic development.

The cost for the I Wish campus week, including Industry site visits, is 50.

See iwish.ie/cit
Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey has written to councillors pointing out that clean-up costs to date have already topped 5m. He estimates that another 15m-20m will be required to repair roads, bridges, and collapsed embankments.

A more comprehensive account of damage is expected to be given to councillors by officials when they meet in County Hall next Monday.

However, Mr Lucey said the estimates did not include the cost of raising flood barriers in Fermoy and Mallow which are separately recoupable from the Office of Public Works and damage to coastal structures which are being separately complied by the Department of Agriculture.

Mr Lucey said the prolonged nature of the latest flooding meant it had caused far more damage than previous events.

He said that 7.4m damage had been caused to roads as a result of flooding in June 2012 and a further 2.4m damage had been caused to roads in the three West Cork peninsulas last September.

The council chief said it would take around two weeks to get an accurate picture of the damage caused by the current month-long periods of torrential rain.

As the recent flooding has been far more widespread and of far longer duration than either of the other two events, the cost of road and associated bridges and embankment damage could be in the order of 15m-20m, he said.

Mr Lucey told councillors, in correspondence, the council will be seeking significant funding from central government to cover the cost of repairs to enable progression of repairs and restructuring works as a matter of urgency.

Our capacity to commence such works clearly is dependent on the ongoing weather situation and notification of funding availability, he added.

Meanwhile, Mayor of County Cork Cllr John Paul OShea (Ind) said the Government had to step up to the plate as the council did not have the money to carry out all the repairs.

Cork County Council is ready and willing to respond to this crisis and capable to restore our roads, but only if we get the financial supported needed from the government, he said.

Cllr Cathal Rasmussen said he had been in contact with Labour colleague, Innovation Minister Sean Sherlock, seeking the necessary funding.
Most councils say their plans were drawn up before the guidelines came into effect, but they have not amended the plans to incorporate the policy and are not committing to doing so in future.

Some say they cannot adopt the guidelines, because they may conflict with EU or national competition law.

Parents behind a campaign to establish no fry zones around schools say planners must be forced to take the issue seriously, if the countrys looming obesity crisis is to be averted.

Group spokesman Philip Moyles said: These guidelines have been in place since 2013 and theyve been ignored. There is no desire, at local level, to implement them, so really they dont do anything.

The Irish Examiner surveyed the 31 city and county councils for compliance with the Department of Environments local area plan guidelines, which state exposure of children to the promotion of foods high in fat, salt or sugar should be reduced by careful consideration of the location of fast-food outlets in the vicinity of schools and parks.

Just one, Wexford County Council, has a policy on the issue  its ban on fast-food outlets within 200m of schools predates the departmental guidelines.

Kilkenny, Clare, Kerry, Louth, Kildare, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown said they would adopt the guidelines when they reviewed their local-area plans, and Cork county, Waterford, Westmeath, and south Dublin would consider the idea.

The rest gave no commitment and Dublin City and Wicklow County Councils said they did not think they could adopt the guidelines, because they would contravene other regulations.

Dublin said: National retail planning guidelines advise the planning system should not be used to inhibit competition.

Wicklow said the guidelines were too vague, as they did not define vicinity and discriminated against fast-food outlets, compared to sellers of confectionery, ice-cream, and sugary goods.

In the absense of clear guidelines... it is not known if any objectives adopted by individual local authorities would be legal, the council said.

The issue came to prominence during the battle by three schools in Greystones, Co Wicklow, to prevent a McDonalds opening just 30m away. McDonalds got planning permission, which survived appeal, after inspectors said objections based on the departmental guidelines were irrelevant, as Wicklow County Council had not adopted them.

The fast-food giant was only halted last month, when objectors announced plans for a High Court challenge and site owners, Lidl, withdrew from the land-transfer deal.

Mr Moyles, one of the objectors, agreed the guidelines were too vague. They should state what vicinity means. Were looking for a 400m exclusion zone. Its just far enough to be a deterrent to students on their lunch break, or while theyre waiting for the bus home.

Its a common-sense distance, in that its not going to put the fast-food providers out of business, but its enough to protect our children.

National studies show one quarter of Irish nine-year-olds are overweight and the World Health Organisation says Ireland is on course to be the fattest country in Europe by 2030.

Mr Moyles said local authorities were reluctant to face down big business, but the approach was shortsighted.

Irish Heart Foundation research puts the cost of dealing with obesity at 4.3bn a year by 2020, so this is a national issue. Using planning regulations is only one measure, but its a step in the right direction and it costs hardly anything to put specific guidelines in place to make sure that planners make decisions responsibly.

UPDATE

Dr Eva Orsmond, who appeared on RTE's Operation Transformation, said that fast food outlets are not the only cause of childhood obesity, and it is up to parents to educate children about healthy eating.

"This would basically mean that if we go with these types of laws, we should basically then make sure that there are no shops near schools," she said.

"Just saying that McDonalds, or any other fry shop, is the cause of childhood obesity I think we are missing the bigger picture."
Kieran Coughlan, the ex-clerk of the Dail or secretary general of Leinster House has hit out at the move to a secret ballot, which he said could lead to more government business being done in private. He said the matter should have been put to the people by referendum to decide, rather than it being done by Government decree.

Mr Coughlan said that those who framed the Constitution determined that Dail accountability requires openness and transactions being held in public and the Constitution upholds this principle in our parliamentary democracy.

He said article 15.11 of the Constitution provides that questions be determined by a majority of members present and voting.

Mr Coughlan went on to say that the Dail is obliged to meet in public and can only go into private session in case of special emergency with the assent of a two-thirds majority.

Thus, while it may be legally permissible to change the election of a ceann comhairle to secret ballot by merely changing standing order, it is difficult to envisage the framers of the Constitution allowing for a secret ballot, he said.

A more interesting question arises as to whether having a secret ballot would stop at the election of the ceann comhairle. The attorney generals interpretation effectively opens the door for a future government opting for a secret ballot in other areas, he said.

Mr Coughlan said the Government, under existing Dail standing orders and established practice, modifies the application of standing orders almost on a daily sitting basis.

There would be nothing to stop a government in the future to opt for a secret ballot on a contentious measure and avoiding the sort of political fallout that occurred with the abortion legislation last year, he said.

Mr Coughlan said the Convention on the Constitution wisely recommended that a change to a secret ballot for the election of the ceann comhairle should be by way of constitutional amendment.

In response, a spokeswoman for the Government said the Constitutional Convention were unsure if a referendum was required on this issue or if it just required a change in the Dails standing orders.

To cover both possibilities, the convention recommended a secret ballot to elect the ceann comhairle as both one of its four proposed referendums (if constitutional change was required) and as one of its 11 proposed changes to Dail Standing Orders (if a referendum was not required).

She said Article 15.10 of the Constitution states that Each House shall make its own rules and standing orders  the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, as referenced in the letter, are very clear here.
With many areas around the country still facing severe flooding, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said local communities feel there is a lack of leadership or co-ordination.

A bill on a River Shannon single authority brought forward by Robert Troy is due to be debated when the Dail resumes next week.

Sinn Fein will also bring forward a bill calling for a River Shannon management agency.

Mr Martin said: Its very clear to us that there had been a complete lack of urgency initially by the Government in response to the flooding issue.

The sense we got back from the regions and being out and about, there was no-one in charge in any areas, the people had no sense of who actually is in charge and who can we get relief from here.

Longford-Westmeath TD Mr Troy said that without the voluntary efforts of people and groups in Athlone, the area would have been under a sea of water.

He said: We had to wait almost five weeks for the army to be deployed to help, thats not good enough.

The army are there to help when we are in an emergency and they werent called in for four of five weeks because there was no-one there to show leadership.

Mr Martin also hit out at Taoiseach Enda Kenny for a delay in action on the issue of insurance for flood prone areas.

Mr Kenny yesterday defended the Governments new Shannon flood taskforce, but admitted that the Government will have to do more to respond to the flood damage that has hit the country.

I reject the assertion that the Shannon Management Group is nothing more than a charade and a photographic session, he said.

Speaking in the Netherlands, Mr Kenny added: It [the response] is not enough and we will continue to do more.

And when we have an assessment from the local authorities in respect of roads and bridges we will respond appropriately, provide that money to the local authority but have them then point out to their communities the timescale and the works they intend to carry out for the monies from the Government.

Sinn Fein will introduce a bill in the Dail next week to establish a body to have overall responsibility for the assessment and management of flood risk and flood defences along the River Shannon.

Gerry Adams said: We believe it is absolutely necessary that any such agency established to carry out the level of work required in the Shannon region, both now and into the future.
The duo were in Cork yesterday to launch the search for 2016s bunch, trekking up Patricks Hill and into Rathmore Terrace to try and tempt eligible young men and women into becoming escorts and roses.

Its very, very, exciting and its good that this year its going to be shaken up a small bit, said Daithi, who will be hosting the show for the seventh time in August.

Its going to have the same level of madness, the same qualities as other years, its just the week beforehand and will be a bit busier.

Youve twice the amount of Roses coming, youve twice the amount of people which will only heighten the fun and festivities.

This time around, the festival has been extended from five to seven days, from August 17 to 23.

All 68 roses will travel to Tralee for the festivities and will take part in a fly-on-the-wall documentary, to be aired on the Sunday ahead of the live televised shows.

At the end of the documentary, the audience will find out who has made it to the final, live, programmes on the Monday and Tuesday, as usual.

Look who I found wandering the streets of cork  @daithi_ose & I will be having a catch up on the today show at 5pm pic.twitter.com/tDvhK8bv0a  Elysha Brennan (@2015RoseElysha) January 6, 2016

Hitting back at critics, Daithi said some people had called the show irrelevant. Its a celebration of Irishness, its a celebration of Irish women, and when is the celebration of Irish women ever irrelevant?

Elysha, 22, from Co Meath, said the experience has been absolutely amazing so far and would encourage young women across the country to get involved.

The reigning Rose, who was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Hodgkins lymphoma when she was just 19, said the festival helped her become more self-assured.

I did suffer with a knock of confidence when I was sick and with my hair falling out and everything. I kind of went a bit in on myself.

But my self-esteem has gone from strength to strength this year. And I think I can speak for the other girls from my year, my rose sisters, when I say it really does bring out the best in you, she said.

Id encourage everyone to fill out an application form. What do you have to lose? Life is too short. Go for it.

The medical student  who has taken a year out from her studies at the Royal College of Surgeons  has embarked upon a 32-county tour of Ireland to look for her successor, accompanied by stylist Evelyn Dolan-Cronly who will be making sure the rose has a new outfit for each destination  daily outfit updates will be available on fashion blog Styled by Evie.

Were going to the north first, going to Stormont and the Titanic experience, and were going to lots of schools and hospices and hospitals. Its going to take four weeks, she said.

Following the tour, Elysha will embark on five more international trips and jokes that her passport will be well stamped.

The year has absolutely flown by. I literally feel like Ive blinked and its the New Year. I really dont know how its 2016 already. It has been a whirlwind and its been busier than I thought it was going to be, she said.

India with The Hope Foundation was probably my highlight in terms of personal development.

I never in a million years thought Id be 22 and standing in Calcutta seeing the things that Ive seen.

It really has opened my eyes to the poverty that people are living in and it really has put a fire in my belly that I really want to make a difference.

 Ive made a promise to myself that Im going to go back to Calcutta when I qualify with my medical knowledge and go back and work in one of the hospitals.

Elysha has also been involved with Aoibheanns Pink Tie, a paediatric oncology charity supporting children with cancer.

Aoibheanns pink tie Christmas party with the beautiful Emma  pic.twitter.com/zyiSFAk18D  Elysha Brennan (@2015RoseElysha) December 6, 2015

Back in October one of the founders text me and said theres a little girl Searlait [pronounced Charlotte] and shes not doing too well.

They were having a princess day for her in Dunboyne. I went out to meet her. That was the most incredible day I think Ive had as the Rose of Tralee.

She was suffering with neuroblastoma for two years and things were kind of going downhill. They didnt think shed make it until Christmas, said Elysha.

She passed away on Monday morning. Im so privileged to have met her. She had such a big heart and an incredible smile and her family are just extraordinary.

Elysha explained she was wearing the dress she wore the day she met Searlait, as a mark of respect.

If I had to say a person that has had the most profound effect on me in the last couple of months it would definitely be Searlait. Im thinking of her today and sending lots of love to her family in Kilkenny.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny made the announcement yesterday during a visit to the European Space Research and Technology Centre as part of an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the Netherlands and Germany.

Previous radiation detectors have only revealed how much exposure an astronaut has received after their return to Earth.

However, a team of European researchers has developed a wearable system which can measure radiation in real-time and instantly warn astronauts of increased and dangerous levels.

It is to be deployed permanently on the ISS in June.

The breakthrough system, part of which has been recently tested on the ISS, is the result of a European Space Agency (ESA) sponsored collaborative project involving the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, and space research labs in Germany, Finland, and Austria.

Tyndalls Dr Aleksandar Jaksic, who led the Irish team, said the key breakthrough was the development of a monitor which can measure astronauts exposure to radiation in real-time.

Until now, if a catastrophic radiation event happens, like a solar flare, they will not know about it in time to protect themselves and hide in more shielded modules of the ISS, he said.

But this device, which can be worn in a pocket, shows the radiation levels in real time and can alarm astronauts if the dose goes above a certain threshold.

In addition, it enables a time-resolved personal radiation record for each astronaut.

The system consists of a phone-sized mobile unit which is worn in a pouch on an astronauts body, and a personal storage device, which serves as a docking station to recharge the mobile unit, download data and transmit it back to Earth.

The mobile unit, which was launched into space on board the Soyuz spacecraft, has returned to Earth after testing on the ISS.

Dr Jaksics team worked with Tyndalls semiconductor fabrication plant to develop, fabricate, and supply three of the four specialised radiation sensors for the mobile unit part of the system. Each sensor covers a different type/spectrum of radiation.

It was a big leap for us, and a challenging project, Dr Jaksic said. This is the most comprehensive system ever developed for personal radiation dosimetry.

Flying a device into space is a crowning achievement. It was an exotic project and technically challenging. It was great to be involved.

It is the latest development arising out of Tyndalls links with the European Space Agency (ESA). Tyndall has, since 2009, been contracted as a microelectronics technology support lab to ESTEC, ESAs research and test centre in the Netherlands.

Last month, Tyndall announced that it had developed a robust radiation hard transistor which will improve the reliance of space probe computer systems. It is hoped this next-generation transistor could play a key role in ESAs planned mission to Jupiter in 2022.

Enterprise Ireland CEO, Julie Sinnamon, said they will continue to help Irish companies bid for ESA contracts.
These will be vigorously contested by both landlords and retailers, who will have differing opinions on how the market has evolved in the last five years, notes the imminent Lisney Review of 2015 and its preview of 2016 trends.

Retail changes are expected at the former Capitol cinema site, Merchants Quay, and the more-than doubling of Penneys presence on Patrick Street, as well as possible redevelopment at the Savoy/Quills, and the Victoria Hotel for a retail-led mixed use scheme.

Lisney predict continued investor demand for retail, office and multi-family investments given that demand exceeds supply, and the prospects for strong rental growth also, which has seen international interest spead to cities outside of Dublin in 2015.

Yields are expected to continue to contract, and rents to increase, while prime yields for asset classes ended 2015 at 6.75%-7.75% for offices, 6-7% for retail and 6.50% - 8.00% for multi-family units; capital values of residential units remained below the cost of replacement in many instances and this has made the sector very attractive, notes the report.

On offices, the deal of 2015 was the investment sale to Green REIT of One Albert Quay (pictured right, with the Elysian) for 55m-plus, where rents are understood to be in the region of 270 per square metre.

The JCD buildings final sale price could be closer to 58m depending on final letting levels at handover.

Tenants include PwC, Tyco, Investec and Arup, and Malwarebytes who currently are accomodated at 5 Lapps Quay may also join the line-up at One Albert Quay.

For further office invesments, at locations such as Andersons Quay and South Terrace/Copley Street, significant pre-lets will be required and at rents of up to 280-300 psm, according to Lisney.

The sale of the Clarion Hotel at Lapps Quay to Dalata Hotel Group for 35m is evidence of confidence in the city centre; other investment assets purchased in loan sales may characterise major offers in 2016, it is suggested.

Meanwhile, the formal arrival for sale of the Port of Cork site at Custom House this month will centre further interest in this rapidly evolving new Central Business District.

The Port of Cork site, including Bonded Warehouses, and a development plot at the very end of this site between two river channels, may suit office, hotel or apartment developers.

The arrival of One Albert Quay has changed the quayside landscape over the past 12 months and once complete, will bring new life to the City Quarter/docklands area, say Lisney, who note that total office take-up in 2015 was 20,300 sqm, marginally less than in 2014.

International companies remained active with Opentext, Bluepoint, Arup, Centrica, Regus, Malwarebytes and Asytec all taking space.

Excluding City Quarter, a continuing issue is the shortage of large, single floor plates.

Older buildings acquired by investors in 2015 will need modernisation to secure tenants and 2015 ended with a vacancy rate of 19.4% or approximately 95,000 sqm of office accommodation available across Cork city and suburbs.

In the city centre, the vacancy rate was 27%, or about 40,000 sqm was available: while this is a large level of supply, only a limited amount is of modern quality, say Lisney.

Other office development sites in the pipeline include JCDs Central Plaza in Mahon with up to 32,500 sq m available, a 6,000 sq m building at Eastgate, plus an office element at the Capitol cinema site.

Office demand can also be met in a Phase 2 Cork Airport Business Park and in Ballincollig.

Details: Lisney 021-4275079
WHY did Saudi Arabia execute Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr now?

The Saudis have had Nimr in custody since 2012, sentencing him to death in 2014. The cleric has been a vocal critic of Saudi Arabias ruling royal family for years, going as far as threatening Shiite secession in the minoritys eastern homeland in 2009.

Last weekends execution of Nimr, alongside 46 others, mostly al Qaeda members, sparked a crisis with Iran. Protesters in Tehran set the Saudi embassy on fire, and the Iranian government threatened divine revenge against the kingdom.

Riyadh severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Tehran, and Saudi allies Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates filed diplomatic protests.

While there are external factors behind the decision to execute Nimr now, particularly the broader Saudi- Iranian power struggle, those are secondary. The execution was a signal sent by the new king, Salman, to his supporters and adversaries at home.

Shiite Islam  the minority sect in Saudi Arabia and worldwide, but the majority in Iran  is on the move, most significantly in Iraq. Following the 2003 American invasion, Iraq morphed from a secular regime that waged war against Iran, to the Shiite regime now in Baghdad that openly welcomes Iranian influence.

Saudi Arabias steadiest partner, the United States, has become prone to erratic acts, naively bumbling into Iraq in 2003, demanding regime changes here and there, and de facto partnering with the Iranians against Islamic State in Iraq.

Oil prices are falling. America is far more energy independent than it was a decade ago. It is slowly moving toward a new diplomatic relationship with Iran, dissolving the glue holding the United States-Saudi relationship together. Many disgruntled Saudis support Islamic State, an organisation that has sworn to take down the al-Saud monarchy.

These destabilising elements come as the al-Saud family faces succession issues. The current leader, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, looks likely to be the final son of the countrys founder, Ibn al-Saud, to hold the office. Ibn al-Saud died in 1953.

Salman has named a nephew as the crown prince, and his own son as second in line to the throne, which will bring an entirely new generation into power. There have been rumors of growing opposition to Salman, even of a possible coup.

The execution of Nimr thus sends multiple signals within the kingdom. The most significant is a get-tough message to all, coupled with an assurance to the Iranians that Salman is firmly in control, and able to further prosecute the open-ended war in Yemen.

The execution also appeases the Wahhabists Salman needs in his corner, and gives the government a new excuse to crack down on Shiite dissent. Shiites are estimated to make up 10-15 percent of Saudi Arabias population.

The threat is real  Nimr is now a martyr with an international profile, and may prove more dangerous dead than alive.

Nimr aside, the simultaneous execution of 43 al Qaeda members (three other Shiites were also executed) may have been a message to disgruntled Sunni youth returning from jihad that the king will not tolerate support for al Qaeda and Islamic State at home.

The Saudi monarchy fears an Islamic revolution from within far more than any external military threat.

Nimrs crime was described by the Saudi government using terms normally reserved for jihadist groups like al Qaeda and Islamic State, such as sedition.

In a region that pays particular attention to symbolism, executing Nimr as a terrorist is a crystalline example of how the Saudi authorities view a man seen by many Shiites inside the kingdom as a freedom fighter of sorts.

And in case anyone still did not get the message, the Saudi government added a final insult, refusing to return Nimrs body to his family, burying it instead with the executed al Qaeda members.

The burning of the Saudi embassy in Tehran plays into all this, though was unlikely to have been anticipated.

But what better way to wag the dog for the war in Yemen then another example of the out of control Iranians, and the threat Shiites pose.

It also doesnt hurt Saudi strategy vis-a-vis the United States to see an embassy attacked, once again, in the heart of Tehran. Local Saudis angered by a 40% rise in gas prices, caused by a $107bn (99.5bn) budget deficient, now have an external situation to distract them. To Salman, what is unfolding in Iran is not a crisis, but a potential opportunity.

Things may yet spin out of the kings control. But for the time being, it appears Salman has moved ahead a few spaces in a real-life game of thrones.

Peter Van Buren, who served in the US state department for 24 years, is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, a look at the waste and mismanagement of the Iraqi reconstruction. His latest book is Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99 Percent.
THIS week in the Irish Examiner, Fergal Malone, the new master of the Rotunda maternity hospital, called for legal change to allow abortion in cases of fatal-foetal abnormality.

To not have been moved when he told Catherine Shanahan weve had parents have their childs remains sent back by courier, to arrive by DHL would have required a heart of stone.

But emotion alone does not make good law. I do not believe that we should elaborate the errors we have made regarding abortion by allowing for it in certain pregnancies and not in others. I do not believe we should create categories of babies who are abortable and others who are not.

It must be horrific to be told that your baby will not live outside the womb. I can only get down on my knees and thank the Creator that I never faced that prospect. I might have gone out of my mind.

However, I am uncomfortable with creating a separate category of abortable infant, because I fear that, with the best will in the world, abortion will become routine in these cases.

That is not Prof Malones approach. He speaks convincingly of a well-developed, perinatal hospice system with social workers, midwives, bereavement counsellors, chaplains, paediatricians, and cuddle cots, so that bereaved parents can spend time with their dead babies.

Prof Malone will not always be in the Rotunda, however, and he cant be in every maternity hospital in Ireland, all of the time.

Many procedures that begin as options in maternity services soon become routine, to the point that they seem obligatory. These range from interventions like induction of labour to epidural anaesthesia, right down to a D and C operation to clear the womb after an incomplete miscarriage.

There have been cases in Irish hospitals when D and Cs have nearly been performed on babies that were alive. But my worry with abortion being routinised in cases of fatal-foetal abnormality would be less about the baby being viable than about parents deciding to abort before they have even begun to grieve.

I would also worry that we would open the door to the regime in the UK, which friends have described. Parents are given read-outs on their babys prospects right through early pregnancy, and are more or less invited to abort if the omens arent good.

There is widespread political and public support for abortion in cases of fatal-foetal abnormality. This is understandable. The political and public support for abortion in pregnancies following rape or incest is less so.

Padraig Mac Lochlainn

Some Sinn Fein politicians, including Padraig Mac Lochlainn, have called for the option of abortion in these cases, though the party has, to date, only sanctioned abortion in cases of fatal-foetal abnormality.

The Labour Party has called for the option of abortion in cases of rape, incest or serious sexual assault, when the pregnancy creates a risk to the physical or mental health of the mother.

We are now deep in a moral quagmire. We do not need Joan Burton or Padraig Mac Lochlainn, or any other politician, standing over a babys cot like a bad fairy. The circumstances of a babys birth should have absolutely nothing to do with its human rights, despite what most of the rest of the developed world thinks.

I challenge the Taoiseachs Constitutional Convention to come up with a workable wording for change that creates categories of abortable babies, while protecting others.

It is sickening to think of politicians setting themselves up as arbiters of whether a woman should or should not have her baby. Women are being used shamelessly for political gain; they are being criminalised, infantilised, objectified.

The only arbiter as to whether a pregnancy should continue or not should be the woman herself. I dont say this because it is her right to choose. I say it because it is her natural instinct to protect life, if the life is viable.

The presentation of abortion as a womans right, like contraception and equal pay, has torn it out of its societal context. The hard truth is that women have always ended pregnancies for which the omens are bad, and they have always protected pregnancies for which the omens are good.

There has been widespread infanticide throughout human history. Even recently, in Europe, it was common.

In Milan, in 1875, for instance, 91% of recorded babies born out of wedlock were abandoned. There were foundling hospitals in every city in Europe, in which the majority of babies died. Of the 72,000 babies abandoned in Sicily between 1783 and 1809, only 20% survived.

Whats more important, from our point of view, is that when social circumstances were different, babies were rarely abandoned. While 69,000 babies were abandoned in Sicily between 1879 and 1881, only 15 were abandoned in the same time in Sardinia.

Sardinia achieved this, says anthropologist, David Kertzer, because unmarried daughters were looked after by a supportive network of female kin. We do not have such a network in Ireland today. Women commonly face unplanned pregnancy alone.

We say we do not stigmatise single mothers and yet we give them a one-parent family payment, as if it were charity, rather than a wage to do the important job of caring for a child.

And when the child turns seven, we take away even that charity. A single-parent friend of mine says she can intuit that people think why didnt she do the decent thing and have an abortion? Having a child will cost the average mother at least half her lifetimes earnings and as much as 250,000 in hard cash.

The fact that the figure has been calculated is telling. A child is still a cost, despite the fact that Western Europe, today, is fabulously wealthy by any international, historical standards.

The vast majority of Irishwomen who have abortions are between the ages of 20 and 34, with 20-24 being the biggest age category. These women are making economic decisions.

They rightly fear the destruction of their economic prospects, by having a baby at this point in their career, despite the fact that it is when their bodies are most able. They fear for the babies born in these circumstances, and they make the decision that women have made since time began.

Creating categories of abortable babies does not decriminalise these rational decisions and does nothing to question our baby-killing social and economic values.
Asia Indonesia Turns to China as Ethnic Uighurs Join Would-Be Jihadis

Indonesian authorities work with their counterparts in China to stem a flow of ethnic Uighur militants seeking to join Islamist jihadists.

JAKARTA  Indonesian authorities are working with their counterparts in China to stem a flow of ethnic Uighur militants seeking to join Islamist jihadists in the worlds most populous Muslim country, Indonesias counter-terrorism chief said.

Saud Usman Nasutions comments come amid mounting concern in Indonesia about possible attacks by sympathizers of the Islamic State group and follows the arrest of 13 men across the island of Java, including a Muslim Uighur with a suicide-bomb vest.

The appearance among Indonesian militant networks of Uighurs, who come from the Xinjiang region in far-western China, is likely to add to Beijings concerns that exiles will return to their homeland as experienced and trained jihadists.

China says Islamist militants and separatists operate in energy-rich Xinjiang on the borders of central Asia, where violence has killed hundreds in recent years.

Rights groups say much of the unrest can be traced back to frustration at controls over the Uighurs culture and religion, and that most of those who leave are only fleeing repression not seeking to wage jihad. China denies repressing rights.

Nasution, who heads the National Counter-Terrorism Agency, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that several Uighurs had responded to a call last year by Santoso, Indonesias most high-profile backer of Islamic State, to join his band of fighters.

Islamic State and human trafficking networks helped them travel via Burma, Thailand and Malaysia to Santosos hideout in an equatorial jungle of eastern Indonesia, he said.

However, the would-be suicide bomber arrested on Dec. 23 was hiding in a house just outside the capital, Jakarta.

We are cooperating with China and investigating evidence such as ATM cards and cellphones, Nasution said, adding that an Indonesian team went to China to interview members of the mans family, who would not confirm that they were related to him.

There was no immediate comment from Chinas foreign ministry on whether Beijing is collaborating with Indonesia.

As far as China is concerned, these people are running off, some of them taking part in jihad and planning to strike back, said Pan Zhiping, a terrorism expert at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences.

Of course we must stop them. I believe, in terms of jointly guarding against extremism, it is necessary that we cooperate.

Bilveer Singh of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said the direct involvement of Chinese Uighurs in Southeast Asian militancy added an external dimension to the existing home-grown terrorist threat.

It could also complicate ties with a rising China, which may want to play a bigger counter-terrorism role in the region, Singh said in a Eurasia Review article.

Serious Concern for China

Indonesias security forces have given Santoso, who styles himself as the commander of the Islamic State army in Indonesia, until Jan. 9 to surrender along with his force of about 40 men on the far-flung island of Sulawesi.

However, security analysts believe a larger threat is emerging across the populous island of Java as networks of support for Islamic State grow.

Indonesia has been largely successful in disrupting domestic militant cells since the bombing of two nightclubs on the resort island of Bali in 2002, and sporadic attacks have been mainly targeted at the police.

The government is now worried that the influence of Islamic State, whose fighters hold swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, could bring a return of jihadi violence and strikes against foreigners and soft targets.

Officials believe there are more than 1,000 Islamic State supporters in Indonesia, and say that between 100 and 300 have returned from Syria, though this includes women and children.

Nasution said that monitoring of radical groups had revealed plans to launch attacks on Christmas Eve and around the New Year holiday but the situation was now under control.

They cannot attack like in the Middle East or Europe because we anticipate before they attack. We monitor their activities every day, he said. Their capability has not increased because their personnel is limited, their funding is limited and explosives are limited.

Police spokesman Suharsono said the Uighur arrested just outside Jakarta was part of an Islamic State-affiliated group based in the Central Java city of Solo.

Officials declined to comment on media reports that two other Uighurs from the same group were on the run, but they did confirm that three Uighurs were with Santoso.

Four others were sentenced last year to six years in prison for conspiring with Indonesian militants.

Todd Elliott, a Jakarta-based terrorism analyst for Concord Consulting, said many Uighurs will see Indonesia as more accessible than Turkey or Syria and are exploiting entrenched smuggling and human-trafficking networks to travel around the region undetected.

I am sure returning Uighur fighters are a serious concern of the Chinese government, he said, adding that Islamic States hardline ideology has gained traction among small minorities in both Xinjiang and Indonesia, binding them closer together.
Asia Philippine Comfort Women Fear China Sea Dispute Blocks Justice from Japan

A group of Philippine comfort women, forced to work in Japanese military brothels in World War II, accuse their government of ignoring them.

MANILA  A group of Philippine comfort women, forced to work in Japanese military brothels in World War II, accused their government on Wednesday of not doing enough to help them secure an apology and compensation from Japan.

South Korea and Japan last month reached an agreement to resolve the issue as Tokyo made an apology and promised about 1 billion yen (US$8.43 million) for a fund to help survivors, though many South Koreans were angry a deal had been made.

In a statement, the Philippine comfort women said they feared the South China Sea dispute with China had distracted Manila from seeking justice from Japan, which occupied the Philippines from 1942 to 1945.

Each day that they are ignored by their own government, any hope of official acknowledgment and reparations grows dimmer as the shadows of old age and mortality cast a dark pall on them, lawyer Harry Roque said in a statement.

The victims of horrendous human rights violations should not be used by our government as leverage in its talk with Japan for support against China over the West Philippine Sea controversy.

About 1,000 Philippine women were forced into prostitution by Japanese troops during World War II. The protesting comfort women belonged to a group called Malaya Lolas, or freed grandmothers.

There was no immediate comment from the foreign ministry or presidents office.

The Philippines and Japan are discussing the transfer of military equipment, like surveillance planes and patrol boats, to help strengthen the Philippines capability to guard its maritime borders as China rapidly expands in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost all the South China Sea, which is believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and has been building up facilities on the islands it controls.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also have claims. Tension rose this week when China landed a civilian plane on one of three airstrips it had built on man-made islands in the Spratlys.

Japan has also made available about $2 billion for roads and railways to upgrade the Philippines dilapidated infrastructure and untangle traffic gridlock in the capital.
Burma Four Months on, Hakha Landslide Victims Want Out of Relief Camps

Landslide victims taking shelter at camps in Chin States capital Hakha stage protests, calling on the government to give them land on which to live.

RANGOON  Some 1,300 landslide victims sheltering at relief camps in the Chin State capital Hakha staged protest marches on Tuesday and Wednesday, calling on the government to provide them with land on which to live after they were displaced amid widespread flooding last year.

Heavy rains in July and August triggered severe landslides in Hakha and elsewhere in Chin State that forced thousands of locals from their homes.

Tin Pan, one of the victims taking refuge at a relief camp, told The Irrawaddy that those still displaced by the landslides were asking the Chin State government to allocate land plots to them as soon as possible, especially before yet another monsoon season arrives in a few months time.

Weve asked the [Chin State] government to give us lands so that we can live in our own houses, whether theyre huts or something else, said Tin Pan.

The landslide victims have also demanded that the state government build proper streets and drainage systems in newly established wards.

Kyun Khem, an Upper House lawmaker from Chin State whose constituency covers part of Hakha Township, proposed on Wednesday that a model village be built in neighboring Falam Township, in order to offer greater assistance to landslide victims. The proposal, however, was rejected.

More than 600 houses were destroyed or damaged by landslides across a number of wards in Hakha Township, most in the old Hakha town area.

A geological survey conducted in the aftermath of last years devastating floods found that several areas in the township were not suitable for continued habitation, having been deemed at high-risk for future landslides. Talk has since turned to the large-scale relocation of the state capitals population.
Burma Grocer Shot Dead in Indo-Burmese Border Town of Tamu

A man is gunned down in broad daylight in Sagaing Divisions Tamu, a township on the border with India, with the shooter still at large.

MANDALAY  A man was gunned down in broad daylight on Wednesday in Sagaing Divisions Tamu, a township on the border with India, with the shooter still at large.

According to police, the slain man was 45-year-old Maung Maung, also known as A Ra Hin, who owned a grocery store in Tamus busy town center, where the shooting took place.

Some witnesses said the unknown gunman fled to the Indo-Burma border, but we do not have concrete information on it yet, said a police official from the Tamu District police office, who asked not to be named.

Local authorities and police told The Irrawaddy that the motivation for the shooting remains unknown and the incident is under investigation, with authorities undertaking a manhunt for the gunman.

Tamus location along the Indo-Burmese border has earned it a reputation as a hideout for armed rebels from northeast India, where low-level insurgencies have simmered for decades. Shootings and bomb blasts linked to the unrest in neighboring Manipur state, as well as illicit narcotics trafficking and problems related to drug abuse, have been reported in Tamu Township over the years.

However, local residents said this weeks incident marks a break from a relatively stable 2015 in the town.

It had been peaceful during the whole of 2015, and we thought we finally could live in peace, said Thein Win, an elder of Tamu.

But now, we are living in fear and worrying about further unrest. We want protection from the authorities because we want to live in peace, he added.
Burma Immigration Ministry Outlines New Visa Regulations

Burmas immigration ministry announces new visa regulations effective from Jan. 11, clarifying visa options for short and long-term visitors.

RANGOON  Burmas immigration ministry has announced new visa regulations effective from Jan. 11, clarifying visa options for short and long-term visitors.

The Wednesday announcement outlines 12 types of single-entry visas and three multiple entry visas, detailing how and when each document can be obtained.

The regulations do not indicate any major change of policy, but rather clearer procedural resources to bring Burmas visa policies more in line with Asean standards.

As of Jan. 11 there will be 12 types of single-entry visa on offer: diplomatic; official travel; tourist; social; journalist; crew; workshop; business; employment; religious; educational; and 24-hour transit visa. Business, workshop, crew and transit visas will be available upon arrival.

Three types of multiple-entry visas will be offered: special government approved re-entry; special re-entry; and 6-month stay re-entry visa.

Industry experts welcomed the announcement, predicting it will ease facilitation of travel for tourists, businesspeople and nationals living abroad.

Sabei Aung, managing director of Nature Dream Tourism said that her firm had struggled in the past with fluctuating and unclear travel procedures.

Actually, before there were no clear regulations for visa application; we didnt know how to do it, she told The Irrawaddy. But now our clients can ask us how to do it.

Now its clear, but what we want is to see the tourist visas extended to 45 days, instead of 28.

The Asean community is expected to eventually implement a single travel visa allowing residents to move freely throughout the region, but it is still unclear when such a program could take effect.
Burma Kuki Call For Full Disclosure Ahead of Ethnic Census Datas Release

A committee representing Burmas ethnic Kuki minority is urging the government to transparently disclose 2014 census ethnicity data that have been withheld to date.

RANGOON  A committee representing Burmas ethnic Kuki minority is urging the government to transparently disclose 2014 census ethnicity data that have been withheld to date.

The Myanmar Census Kuki Representative Committee this week made the call in a bid to see that the group, which is not considered an official ethnicity in Burma, can know precisely how many Kuki reside in the country.

The Kuki are not recognized as one of the countrys 135 official ethnic groups, as enshrined in the 1982 Citizenship Law, a contentious piece of legislation that was used as a framework for categorization in the UN-backed census.

The committee held a press conference at the Myanmar Journalists Network on Wednesday, and released a six-point statement that welcomed the undertaking of the census, but recommended full disclosure of the data collected in March and April of 2014.

At the heart of the issue for the Kuki is the numeric code 914, which was designated by the government as a catch-all for those enumerated who did not recognize themselves as one of Burmas 135 official ethnicities.

Committee member Lhu Kho Pao told reporters that the Kuki minoritys population had shrunk since Burma gained independence from British colonial rule: According to a 1947 census under the British, he said the ethnic Kuki population numbered almost 100,000 across Burma, but by 1990, the military government tallied only 40,000 Kuki, who were considered Chin and not a distinct ethnic group.

Use of the 1982 Citizenship Law as the basis for the census was thus problematic, according to Neh Kho Lala.

Of the 135 [official] ethnicities of Burma, some ethnics like Ka Thae do not exist on the ground, as far as I know, and even if they exist they will be a very few people, so we need to review that list, he said.

Neh Kho Lala said ethnic Zomi, who like the Kuki reside primarily in Chin State, would also have identified under 914outside the parameters of the Citizenship Law despite a party representing the group proving to be one of the rare success stories for ethnic political parties in Burmas Nov. 8 general election.

Others, such as ethnic Chinese and some Muslims, would also have identified as 914. One group that did not, due to the governments refusal to allow it, was minority Rohingya Muslims, who were not recorded at all if they self-identified as such and were only given the option to list their ethnicity as Bengali.

Most census data was released in May of last year, though information on ethnicity and religion were withheld, with the government saying this data required additional time to tabulate. The particularly sensitive and potentially destabilizing nature of details on the countrys ethnic and religious composition are believed to have been a contributing factor to the delayed release of the information.

When the final results of the undertaking are ultimately released, expected sometime this year, Neh Kho Lala stressed the need to ensure that each distinct group should be identified as such and not lumped into the singular category of other.

Khine Khine Soe, director of the Population Department under Burmas Ministry of Immigration and Population, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the 914 code was used to group all ethnicities outside the official 135 for the purpose of easing computer tabulation. Groups like the Kuki would see there number tallied manually and provided to the public when the data on ethnicity are released, she added.

Nearly 100 distinct ethnic groups were recorded under the 914 designation, Khine Khine Soe said, adding that her department had completed compilation of the census results on ethnicity and religion, and was awaiting government approval to release the information.

Neh Kho Lala said the government should organize a meeting with representatives of the nearly 100 groups, with the purpose of discussing the affairs of these ethnicities falling outside the 1982 Citizenship Law.

Lhu Kho Pao on Wednesday acknowledged that the Chin ethnicity was comprised of 53 different subgroups, but pointed out that the Kuki were not among them. This system of categorization existed despite some official subgroups, such as the Khaung Saing, Guite and Thadou, actually sharing a language, body of literature and culture with the Kuki, he said.
Burma Latest Landslide in Hpakant Leaves About a Dozen Dead, Locals Say

About a dozen people are believed to have died after the latest landslide in Hpakant, the heart of Kachin States jade mining territory.

RANGOON  About a dozen people are believed to have died after the latest in a sequence of landslides in Hpakant, the heart of Kachin States jade mining territory.

Debris swept the sides of yet another waste mound early Thursday morning, burying an estimated 10 to 15 people near the Lon Khin Alae mining camp. A smaller incident went unreported on Tuesday, killing at least two.

Locals told the district MP-elect, Tint Soe of the National League for Democracy, that the earth began to move just after midnight, and that many who lived in the nearby camp were unaware of the danger.

I just returned from the Alae camp, located west of Lon Khin [village], where the waste is dumped from the Nay Min Kaba mining company, Tint Soe told The Irrawaddy. It is normal for residents here, we hear about the deaths of hand-pickers almost every day.

Thursdays landslide follows two major disasters late last year that left more than 100 dead The incidents shed light on the dangers of Burmas shady jade mining industry, which draws impoverished prospectors from across the country.

Many make their living sifting through mining waste in search of discarded stones, camping out near precarious mounds of rubble to await the next dump truck. The rash of landslides was followed shortly by a government inquiry into illegally imported vehicles used to transport waste.

Protests have been held in the area since late last year, demanding an end to the use of large dump trucks to create mountains of refuse that are likely to give way.

Public outrage after the deadliest incident in November prompted local authorities, representatives of mining firms and village elders to conduct regular safety inspections, though reports of small-scale landslides are still regular.

Burmas Ministry of Mines has designated areas for dumping waste, but some villagers claim that soil is being deposited in other areas where it endangers local populations, damages the environment and contaminates clean water.

Shwe Thein of Seik Mu village said several tributaries of the Uru River, which flows through Hpakant, Lon Khin and other surrounding village tracts, have been destroyed by mining waste, which pollutes the water and blocks its passage to villages further downstream.

Disruptions in the water flow cause other problems such as severe flooding in some areas, and water shortages in others.

Shwe Thein said villagers had been told that the regional government was preparing to collaborate with mining firms to build water barriers to prevent abnormal flows before the start of the next monsoon season.

Such precautions have been tested in the past, he said, but will need to be further fortified to safeguard against record amounts of waste in the area.
Burma Locals Protest Ongoing Skirmishes in Arakan State

Residents of Arakan States Mrauk-U Township protest clashes between the Arakan and Burma armies in nearby Kyauktaw Township.

RANGOON  Residents of Arakan States Mrauk-U Township held a protest on Thursday against ongoing clashes between the Arakan and Burma armies in nearby Kyauktaw Township.

Rally organizer Kyaw Tun Oo said some 500 residents gathered around noon at Martyr Otama Park. A number of civil society groups also joined the event to register their disapproval.

According to Kyaw Tun Oo, residents demanded an end to the use of villagers as laborers in the conflict and misusing funds generated from natural resources to wage war.

They also called for all of Burmas ethnic armed groups to come together in political dialogue, emphasizing how military operations only harm ethnic social environments.

Myint Thaung, police chief of Mrauk-U, confirmed that protesters had obtained official permission from authorities ahead of the event.

Everythings fine, there are no problems here. The conflict zone is almost 20 miles away, Myint Thaung said. The protestors gathered peacefully at the park, and monk U Wana Thara gave a speech.

More than 300 villagers recently sought shelter at monasteries in neighboring villages, and, according to Khaing Kaung San of the Wunlark Development Foundation, local civil society organizations provided refugees with food, blankets and rice bags.
Burma Military Likely to Acquire 5 Factories From Ministry of Industry

Five factories formerly operated by the Ministry of Industry are being transferred to the Ministry of Defense, according to a document circulated on social media.

RANGOON  Five heavy industry manufacturing facilities formerly operated by the Ministry of Industry are being transferred to the Ministry of Defense, according to a document widely circulated on social media.

In what appears to be a leaked internal memo of the Ministry of Industry dated Dec. 7, the factories were identified as non-operational and soon to be handed over to the military for strategic resumption. The memo was signed by Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry Hla Moe.

The memo continued that the Office of President Thein Sein had approved a request by the military to hand over the facilities, and that the transfer was to be formalized by Dec. 31, 2015.

Hla Moe was unavailable for comment or confirmation, though another ministry official told The Irrawaddy that such an arrangement was not unusual but that it had not yet occurred.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone on Wednesday, Aung Soe Ya, the industry ministrys director of planning and statistics, said any formal transfer would have resulted in documents that passed through his department.

My department always knows when a handover process is complete because we handle all the statistics, Aung Soe Ya said.

While such data had not yet come across his desk, he said he was aware of the imminent deal.

Following circulation of the memo, presidents spokesman Ye Htut told Radio Free Asia that the transfer would represent no loss for the state at all. Netizens were concerned that the acquisition could redirect potential revenues from the state to the military.

Ye Htut said the facilities were mostly defunct, and that the transfer was likely intended to make better use of them.

By taking care of the factories that the Ministry of Industry couldnt run, the Ministry of Defense can manufacture products to be used for defense purposes and the countrys economy, he said. So I think its more beneficial.

The facilities reportedly being transferred are known as Heavy Industry No. 11 (Rangoon); 12 (Htonebo); 13 (Magwe); 25 (Myaing); and a subsidiary in Mingyan. All five have been used to manufacture vehicles and automobile accessories, according to the industry ministry website.
Burma Parliament Puts Controversial Defense Bill on Hold

A defense council bill criticized for its potential to increase the power of the military over civilian lawmakers will not be submitted to Parliament this term.

RANGOON  A National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) bill criticized for its potential to increase the power of the military over civilian lawmakers will not be considered during in the current session of Parliament.

Khin Aung Myint, a member of the NDSC as well as Speaker of the Upper House, told reporters outside Parliament on Monday that there is not enough time to discuss the bill this term, set to expire on Jan. 31.

Whether or not the MPs of the newly elected Parliament discuss it is up to them, he said.

The NDSC bill, a draft of which was obtained by The Irrawaddy, has stirred heated debate since it was distributed to Upper House lawmakers in Naypyidaw in late December.

Aside from the right to cast a deciding vote in the event of a deadlock, the president is stripped of other voting abilities on council matters by Article 14 of the bill. The article also stipulates that the council must reach a consensus on decisions or accept a majority vote if this is not possible.

Burmas 2008 Constitution, drafted by the military, gives an 11-member council the power to make policy on certain military and security issues. Moreover, the NDSC can implement conscription policies, approve amnesties at the presidents request and call on the president to declare a nationwide state of emergency.

If this happens, the governments normal executive, judicial and legislative functions are suspended and transferred to the commander-in-chief. Elections can also be put off for a period of up to 12 months.

The military has six members on the council, already giving it a majority. Other members include the president, two vice presidents, both Union Parliament speakers, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander of the Burma Armed Forces, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the military-appointed ministers of Home Affairs, Border Affairs and Defense.
Burma Upcoming Political Dialogue Turns Blind Eye to Conflict: CSOs

Amid ongoing conflict in parts of Burma, 126 civil society organizations question plans to convene a political dialogue, dubbed the Union Peace Conference, next week.

RANGOON  More than 100 civil society organizations (CSOs) have questioned plans to hold an upcoming political dialogue, dubbed the Union Peace Conference, beginning in the capital Naypyidaw next week.

The joint statement released Tuesday said that adoption of a framework for political dialogue last month and the planned Union Peace Conference on Jan. 12 were developmentstouted heavily by the governmentthat appeared divorced from the reality of ongoing conflict in Burma.

Clashes in northern Shan and Kachin states have persisted since the signing of a so-called nationwide ceasefire in October. Most recently, fighting also flared in Arakan State, where the Arakan Army has exchanged hostilities with the Burma Army, joining the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin State, and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State, as groups in active armed resistance to the government.

[The government] calls it a nationwide ceasefire agreement and Union Peace Conference, but clashes are still ongoing and the choice of words is therefore controversial, Kyaw Htin Aung, a central committee member of the Union of Karenni State Youth, told The Irrawaddy. It also implies turning a blind eye to ethnic people who are suffering from civil war. If [the government] wants to use those words, the ongoing assaults need to cease.

Though President Thein Seins government managed to bring 16 major non-state armed groups together for peace negotiations after coming to power in 2011, it was only able to convince eight of those groups to sign the multilateral ceasefire agreement last October.

Ethnic leaders and CSOs have predicted that a non-inclusive political dialogue presents a major challenge to the new government that is slated to take power in late March.

The joint statement from 126 CSOs expresses serious concern that an attempt to initiate a non-inclusive political dialogue while several ethnic armed groups remain non-signatories to the ceasefirewhether by choice or exclusioncould lead to negative consequences rather than positive outcomes.

Khun Myint Tun, chairman of Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), stressed that in order for Burmas peace process to succeed, collaboration was required among the outgoing government, its National League for Democracy (NLD) successor, the military and all ethnic armed groups.

It seems that CSOs are concerned that it would be difficult to build national reconciliation in our country [under the framework currently moving forward]. I agree with their views, he said. If national reconciliation cant be built, both signatories and non-signatories [to the nationwide ceasefire] will not succeed, and neither will the NLD nor the military. To ensure a win-win situation for all, all stakeholders need to take responsibility.

The government and the eight ethnic armed group signatories to the ceasefire have agreed to a framework of proportional representation for the political dialogue that breaks down as such: Among 700 full-fledged participants, representatives will be divided equally between the Burma Army, ethnic armed signatories and political parties, with 150 delegates each. The outgoing Thein Sein government and Parliament will each be allotted 75 seats, and 50 will go both to other ethnic leaders and experts from a variety of fields.

Non-signatories to the ceasefire accord will be allocated nearly 50 seats at the table as observers.

The CSOs statement called for postponing the political dialogue until a more inclusive nationwide ceasefire agreement is signed; a reassessment of the proportions of representatives of parties to the conference and of the vote threshold needed for decision-taking; and a greater effort to seek the inputs of non-signatories, as part of an overall review of the political dialogues framework.

Among the 126 CSOs that released the joint statement are the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), Kachin Peace Network and Burmese Womens Union.
Burma UWSA Will Not Attend Meaningless Political Dialogue

Burmas largest ethnic armed group says it will not attend an upcoming political dialogue between the government and rebel groups.

RANGOON  Burmas largest ethnic armed group has said it will not attend an upcoming political dialogue between the government and rebel groups, calling the conference meaningless because it will exclude a number of non-state actors.

A spokesman for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), viewed as the governments most formidable domestic adversary, said that ongoing conflict and the governments refusal to recognize three ethnic armed groups undermine the peace process.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Zhao Xiaofu said fighting in territories controlled by Taang, Kachin and Shan rebels as damaging to trust, as conflict has intensified in some areas since the government signed a peace accord with eight of the countrys more than 20 non-state armed groups.

We observed the fighting, and its even more serious now instead of ceasing [after the peace accord], the spokesman said.

We believe that political conflicts can only be solved through political dialogue. Using the armed forces is never going to solve the problem, but we believe that all ethnic armed groups should be able to participate.

Burmas partial peace pact stipulated that political discussions would commence within 90 days of ascension. Talks are set to begin on Jan. 12 in Naypyidaw, though more than half of the ethnic stakeholders will not be active participants.

Several ethnic armed groups that participated in the peace process declined to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement in solidarity with those who were deemed ineligible by the government. Those who elected not to sign may audit the talks, but cannot make substantive contributions.

The powerful UWSA is believed to have more than 20,000 troops, based in eastern Shan State near the Chinese border. It has been more than a quarter century since the UWSA agreed to a ceasefire with the government, and the group has said that it need not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement as its bilateral truce remains intact.

A peace delegation led by a Union Minister Thein Zaw met with UWSA leadership in December, requesting that the group join the political dialogue. Thein Zaw is the former vice chairman of the governments peace negotiation team, the Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC).

The current peace process has been spearheaded by the administration of President Thein Sein, but is likely to undergo some transformation as a new government takes office later this year.

The new administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) decisively won a general election in November, has vowed to make the peace process its top priority.

Asked what the UWSA expects to see change as Suu Kyi and her party assume power, Zhao Xiaofu said its too early to say.

We will keep watching her actions and see if she speaks out for our ethnic people, he said.
Environment We Do Not Accept the Governments Clean Coal Technology

Devi Thant Cin of the Myanmar Green Network explains why she opposes planned coal plants and what environmental reforms an NLD government should introduce.

Devi Thant Cin is a well-known environmentalist and coordinator of the Myanmar Green Network. The non-government organization has been using the increasing space for civil society in Burma, also known as Myanmar, to lobby against environmentally damaging mega projects, such as the Myitsone hydropower dam on the Irrawaddy River.

After President Thein Seins government announced plans to make coal-fired plants a major component of Burmas expanding energy supply, Myanmar Green Network and other NGOs began campaigning against this policy. Local communities in several states and regions, in particular in Tenasserim Division, have already protested against some projects fearing their heavy environmental impact.

Devi Thant Cin is not only known for being a leading environmentalist, but also as a princess and direct descendant of Myanmars last monarch King Thibaw.

In an interview with Myanmar Now, the 68-year-old discussed why she opposed coal plants and how a new National League for Democracy (NLD) government should prioritize alternative energy sources and create a Ministry of Environment.

How do you plan to engage with the new government in order to lobby for environmental reform?

Myanmar Green Network has organized expert volunteers to support the government on environmental issues and we will present all of our findings. We independently conducted environmental impact surveys for the suspended Myitsone dam project, the China-backed Letpadaung copper mine and this issue of coal-fired power plants.

We presented our findings to President Thein Sein, NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society and relevant ministries. Such surveys are the responsibilities of experts. In my opinion, any expert who does not point out faults [in government plans] betrays their country and people.

Will you ask for the creation of an Environment Ministry that can carry out these plans? And why is that important?

Myanmar did not have a separate Ministry of Environment during the past 50 years. It was part of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry.

Economy, health, education and politics are all related with environmental issues. For example, after onion prices increased more than eight times from 10 rupees to 88 rupees in India around 1980, the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi fell. In Egypt, when the prices of crops skyrocketed President Mubaraks administration faced social problems. Global climate change is affecting the monsoon. Now, the monsoon is coming late and ending early. The situation is causing problems in agriculture-dependent countriesTherefore, green policies should be adopted in every country.

What are the environmental consequences of coal-fired power plants?

Climate change may cause heavy rains or less rain [in part] due to gas emitted from coal-fired power plants. This will have negative impacts on the agriculture sector. Industrial emissions include dangerous chemicals such as lead and chromite. It can create diseases in lungs and heart, cause cancer and asthma. Excessive amounts of poisonous particles in the air will cause early death.

Can you give an example of negative local consequences of coal plants?

There is a coal plant in Kalaw Township in southern Shan state. The local environment there has been damaged. Dark particles can be found in water storage facilities. The air is not clean. The rate of miscarriage is increasing in this area.

We are not protesting against every development project, but projects such as the Myitsone dam or coal-fired power plant project will create disadvantages for the country and its people.

Are local communities aware of the consequences of coal plants?

Yes, they are. They get information from mining engineers and reading books. Public opinion is very important to stop this kind of project.

What are your plans to stop the use of coal for energy supply?

We will continue our activities. Although we have submitted our findings to the government, they proceeded with the [coal plant] projects. We have published our findings and educated the public. When people realize the impacts of these projects and call for an end to them, a democratic government should not continue them.

Do you think a new government should break away from the Thein Sein governments approach to coal?

Environmentalists do not accept the current governments clean coal technology [which is used in new plants]. The Japanese government has admitted they cannot ensure there is actual clean coal technology. The United States has tried to create underground storage for carbon emitted from coal. However, even they could not afford it any more due to high costs. Meanwhile, Myanmar cannot even control bad smells emitted from ordinary factories, such as breweries and vermicelli factories, let alone coal plant emissions.

But coal-fired plants are used in some countries. Why not here?

The use of coal in electricity generation or other business sectors is being reduced in other countries. Instead these economies are moving toward renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind power, which have less impact on health and atmosphere.

Environmental conservation should be a major concern of global governments. Every country needs to adopt a green policy for environmental conservation to protect the air, water and earthIn Myanmar, a separate ministry should be set up to conserve these resources.
Thursday, January 7th, 2016 (8:03 am) - Score 552

The Chipping Norton-based Co-operative Phone and Broadband (The Phone Co-op) ISP has won the Best Consumer Facing Social Enterprise accolade at the annual UK Social Enterprise Awards, which were actually held at the end of last year (we have been a bit slow to notice).

The Phone Co-op is the United Kingdoms only customer-owned and democratically run telecoms and Internet service provider, which also means that any profits they make can be shared with members (see their 2015 profit share). The provider has around 30,000 customers and continues to grow.

The Phone Co-op was also short-listed for the Best UK Social Enterprise of the Year award, but unfortunately they didnt win that one (Vi-Ability secured it).

Peter Holbrook, Social Enterprise UKs CEO, said: Social enterprises are needed more than ever to tackle the social and environmental problems facing Britain. Congratulations to The Phone Co-op  the competition was fierce. Every year the Awards are a celebration of the social enterprise sector, but this year was truly remarkable. It was the largest Awards weve hosted to date with more than 400 guests and a wonderful evening for the UKs social enterprise business community.

Apparently the judges liked how the The Phone Co-op engaged with their customers and the personal UK-based support that was provided, which managed to avoid putting lots of obstacles between the end user and being able to speak with an actual human.
Beware the Hidden Dangers of the Internet of Things

Last month, I blogged about the chaos that accompanies the deployment of fundamental and transitional new technology. The bottom line is that cascading innovation means the initial steps forward will be confusing. A smart streetlight, for instance, can be discussed from the light perspective, the Internet of Things (IoT) perspective, the smart city perspective and, perhaps, others. Some vendors also will push products that dont quite meet the proper definition.

The bottom line, though, is that real advances emerge from the chaotic mix. Indeed, the chaos may be a necessary element that stimulates entrepreneurs, investors and others. And progress indeed is being made: Yesterday, AT&T announced that it has formed a set of alliances with a group of heavy hitters  Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, GE, IBM, Intel and Qualcomm  to create a structure for smart cities.

The initial targets, the carriers press release said, are Atlanta, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Chicago and Dallas. The program will be structure around the IoT. The platforms will address four areas, which are described more fully in the press release: infrastructure, citizen engagement, transportation and public safety. The main takeaway is that a consortium this powerful will be able to push conceptual frameworks, specific technologies and standards-setting initiatives.

It should be noted that the rather tortured wording of the release a set of alliances, not the far simpler consortium  should lead observers to keep an eye on how smoothly the group runs.

The AT&T-led initiative is important. It isnt, however, the only smart city game in town. Xconomy reported yesterday that Siemens has chosen Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the first living lab for its Center of Excellence for Intelligent Traffic Technology. The story points out that Siemens has a long research history with the city and the designation will expand the relationship.

The story says that the Split, Cycle and Offset Optimization Technique (SCOOT) is already active on some streets in the city. That will be enlarged:

The existing Siemens systems will be upgraded to include the newest version of cloud-based traffic management software called Smart Guard, which enables cities to monitor and respond to changing traffic conditions in real time from any Internet-connected device; and improve local traffic controller software that communicates between the controller, the central system, and mobile devices including smartphones and vehicles. The upgrades will also add new features to the SCOOT system so the benefits of adaptive traffic control can be better measured.

A third example of the maturation and evolution of the smart city concept could be found at CES in Las Vegas. Panasonic, according to ZDNet, highlighted and updated progress on its program, which is called CityNow. Pilots, the story said, are being run in Denver on subjects such as energy, telehealth, security, smart buildings and transportation. The company has partnerships with Xcel Energy and Honeywell, the story says.

There are other smart city projects and programs from big players and small, of course. The sense is that a tremendous amount of work is going on. As time passes, the confusion will recede a bit and what a smart city really is will become more clear  and increasingly bring real services to the people who live and work in those cities.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
Cloud Contracts: Six Items CIOs Need to Know Before Signing

Over the last couple of years, a small cottage industry has emerged to help IT organizations contain public cloud computing costs at a time when it only takes a few clicks to spin up a virtual machine. Now one of the providers of these tools is moving to extend visibility into the cost of cloud computing by acquiring a provider of business intelligence software.

Cloudability this week announced it has acquired DataHero, a provider of a self-service BI application delivered as a cloud service. Cloudability CEO Matt Ellis says organizations not only want insight into their cloud computing costs at any given moment, but they need tools that enable them to better forecast those tools. By acquiring DataHero, Ellis says, Cloudability will soon be in a position to apply a broad range of advanced analytics that will enable organizations to better rein in cloud computing costs.

One of the major challenges with cloud computing is that spinning up a virtual machine is essentially a frictionless exercise. It used to be that the process of acquiring and provisioning a physical server acted as something of a governor on IT costs. Someone in the IT department typically needed approval to acquire that server. Now in the name of business agility, a virtual machine or container can be spun up at a moments notice. If organizations are not careful, they can very easily wind up spending more on IT in the age of the cloud than they ever did before.

Ellis notes that many business executives have now become cognizant of this fact. As a result, they are asking for better tools to not only manage the cloud but, just as importantly, accurately predict what their true costs are going to be. Those tools, adds Ellis, will become more important as the range of cloud services that IT organizations employ continues to expand beyond major cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

No one running a business is fond of surprises. Ellis rightly notes that for many organizations today, cloud computing represents a financial blind spot. The excitement over the agility cloud computing provides to the business will begin to wear off as organizations start to realize that while they are deriving more value from their IT investments, they just might very well wind up spending more actual dollars on IT than ever before.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Royal Commission has signed an agreement with Al-Afandi Solar to build a solar cell and silicon panel manufacturing facility. This solar facility is said to be the largest commercial complementary factory across the Middle East.

The contract signing took place in Yanbu, located west of Saudi Arabia. The contract states that Al-Afandi will be founding the largest complementary commercial factory responsible for manufacturing solar cells and silicon panels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.

Yanbu Royal Commission Chief Executive Dr. Alaa Nassif and Al-Afandi Solar Board Director Mr. Ibrahim Al-Afandi signed the billion-dollar solar facility contract. The facility is expected to fill a substantial advancement towards meeting the mandate on solar energy utilization on both regional and local scales.

Mr. Al-Afandi states that the solar factory will be manufacturing cells and panels actively before 2016 ends. He points out that it is anticipated for the facility to produce solar panels that will be generating 120 megawatts of renewable energy, which is equivalent to around 450,000 solar panels, yearly. This power output is said to be enough for the electricity needed to cover the ever-growing demand on renewable energy sources. Generated electricity rate is expected to hit 1000 megawatts after the completion and execution of all the stages required to run the facility.

Al-Afandi Solar Group Deputy Director and Board Member Engineer Majd al-Dohawi deep-rooted that the founding of an integrated facility resembles the Kingdom's National Transform program. The program is considered to be a substantially strategical leap for the economy of Saudi Arabia. He adds that the whole process of finding alternative energy sources like solar and wind, the construction of the factory, elevates domestic content and supports national economy that plays a major role for basic factors that support economic life.

Solar power has become an adequate option for Saudi's sunny region. This energy source can provide a huge segment of electricity for local needs. Also, solar power provides room for oil accumulation that increases Saudi's oil exports. KSA has already made investments of up to US$3 billion in the renewable energy sector.
Enterprise Ireland has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to build an incubation center for Ireland's space-related business firms. When the center is established, it will be bidding to support more than 25 startup Irish space companies before the year 2020. The contract between the enterprise and ESA was made during Enterprise Ireland's investment and trade mission to Germany and the Netherlands, which was headed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

ESA is currently working with more or less 45 space-related companies from Ireland in the development of innovative technologies for the world market, which includes space systems and space-related applications and services. In 2015, the Irish space sector has generated annual revenues estimated around 76 million.

At the European Space Research and Tech Center in Noordwijk, Kenny said that the partnership between the enterprise and ESA will mean that the businesses and their innovators from Ireland will be at the new frontier of space technologies. The country has already a proud history of building a cluster of space-related technological companies, and the new space incubation center will be taking advantage of the extensive network of ESA, as well as its expertise and technical facilities; the enterprise's business development resources; and government investments in research infrastructures.

Julie Sinnamon, chief executive officer of Enterprise Ireland, states that the agreement would be supporting client companies in developing new technologies in areas such as avionics, microelectronics, advanced materials and other space-related services. Other participants in the Netherlands mission include Enbio, Treemetrics, Radisens Diagnostics, Curtis Wright and Arralis.

Last year, next generation surface technology pioneer Enbio opened a technology center in Clonmel for the production of sunscreen for satellites. Other Ireland-based tech firms include laser manufacturer SensL, Elbana Photonics and Moog Dublin, a company that has been working on protecting spacecraft from lift-off vibrations.
NASA is building a new flagship telescope known as the Wide-Field Infra-Red Survey Telescope. The United States government has already approved US$90 million for the project, which will begin construction this year.

In recognition of government funding, NASA has hastened developments of a powerful telescope that could answer the most fundamental questions about nearby exoplanets and the universe. Paul Hertz, NASA's astrophysics division director, announced during the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting that the Wide-Field Infra-Red Survey Telescope, also known as the WFIRST project, will formally begin construction this year rather than 2017. Hertz made the announcement after the United States Congress increased the project's funding for fiscal year 2016 to US$90 million. This was above President Barack Obama's budget request for US$16 million.

The telescope will have a 2.4-meter mirror that is said to be designed to measure light from nearly 2,600 exoplanets and 400 million galaxies during its primary mission of six years. This project emerged as NASA's top priority after the last decadal survey of astronomers in 2010 that says such a mission would be able to answer important questions.

Over time, the WFIRST project has evolved. It is now being designed to take advantage of a spy satellite donated in 2012 by the National Reconnaissance Office to NASA, and the mission could take about a decade to launch. The modified spy telescope will likely be carrying two instruments during its six-year voyage in space and will be made up of a mirror about the same size as the Hubble telescope. The wide-field instrument will have a field view 100 times greater than Hubble, which enables it to make precise measurements of the location and distance of other galaxies in a short amount of time. In addition, astronomers could observe how the dark energy over time has changed.

During the WFIRST project formulation phase, NASA will be assessing technological needs to complete the goals of the mission. The administration will also be in charge of budget developments, construction timeline, testing and launch. However, Hertz made a warning to NASA's other divisions that budget for other space projects may be pinched for the time being as the US Congress directs budget allocations to the WFIRST project and finalization of a certain James Webb Space Telescope, which is set to launch two years from now.
Indiana will host the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, January 9at Gladstein Fieldhouse. The meet will be the first of the new calendar year for the Hoosiers. From 1980 through 1999 Tennessee was a regular on the schedule for Indiana as the men's teams competed twenty times during that span and the women's teams went head to head on eleven occasions.Indiana will look to build off of an impressive showing in the Hoosier Open. Seniorset a new career best in the 60m dash with a winning time of 6.75.notched a victory in his first collegiate meet with a program record time of 1:02.88 in the 500m dash. His time also stands as the top mark in the nation this season.took third place in the 1,000m. Her time was the second best in school history. The women's team claimed the top four spots in the mile run with Corrine Cominator winning the event, followed by, andThe dual will begin at 12:00PM (noon) with the Women's pole vault, long jump, weight throw, and 60m hurdle finals. The meet will conclude with the men's 4x400m relay which begins at approximately 2:40PM.The meet is also streaming on BTN-Plus and can be watched here: Live Stream (Subscription required)Follow @IUTrackXC on Twitter for live updates, live stats for the meet can be followed via: http://sidearmstats.com/indiana/track/
RIDING FOR THE ROTARY Cyclists pedal past Mackerel Cove on Beavertail Road after departing Sunday from the starting line at Fort Getty during the 41st annual Jamestown Classic. The 19-mile Columbus Day tradition attracted...

Voters to decide $600K library bond The fate of whether the library board of trustees can meet its building renovation budget will be determined during a special financial town meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at...

Families invited to explore Melrose kids artistic adventures Students at the elementary school will have a first-hand opportunity to teach their parents about what they are learning in art class. Families of students are invited to an open...
Lumosity, an online game provider, is set to pay a total of USD2 million after its advertisement said - without backup research and authorized claims -- that their games aid students in studying and improve athletic performance.

The Federal Trade Commission, on Tuesday, said that the amount serves as payment to settle allegations with regard to its "unfounded claims that its games reduce or delay intellectual impairment that comes with age." It will be used to refund consumers. The amount will also give the company the chance to just move on.

FTC further said that if Lumosity breaks the terms of its settlement, it would be forced to pay as much as $50 million.

FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Jessica Rich, further said that the company has taken advantage of the fears of consumers in relation to age-related cognitive decline. Rich said that the company is "suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease."

The company was also criticized by the FTC for failing to disclose that it had given prizes, including a trip to San Francisco, for consumers who gave testimonials for the product, the FTC said.

Lumosity, on the other hand, did not deny or admit the anything. They further said that FTC's complaint was "a reflection of marketing language that has been discontinued." They offer subscription-based access to both games and activities.

As part of the settlement, the company is also tasked to notify all its subscribers of the said agreement with FTC and offer them an easy way to cancel auto-pay subscriptions. The subscription costs about $15 per month.

Lumosity is based in San Francisco and is a unit of Lumos Labs. It was formed on 2005 and has more or less 70 million "brain trainers" in around 182 countries.

Lumos Labs meanwhile released a statement saying that the settlement has nothing to do with "the rigor of our research or the quality of the products" and it remains "committed to moving the science of cognitive training forward."
Faraday Future Inc. prides itself in an automotive experience that integrates with the users daily life as seamless as possible. The automotive company just recently unveiled a concept that might be difficult for the market to wrap their minds around.

The rival to Tesla, Faraday unveiled a one-seater car that would most likely struggle to become socially acceptable if produced in mass quantities.

The company, backed by Jia Yueting, a well known Chinese billionaire, most likely have looked into the future too far ahead and released their ideas too early because when the concept was unveiled in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show, the idea received mixed reviews.

The car is a one seater designed with NASA's spage age cockpit in mind. The car has a feed connected to the driver which supports oxygen and water straight to the driver's helmet. The white concepted car, if built, would have a 1,000 horsepower engine.

While this car, the FFZero1, may not be built in the near future, the concept was released for the market to realize and take notice that the company has a futuristic vision which has encased technology, connectivity, convenience and design in one device.

Faraday's Chief Designer, Richard Kim explained that what they're doing is a serious statement and it shows what Faraday Future is really about.

With automotive companies parterning with other online connectivity businesses, Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Nick Sampson, claims that...

On our platform, electric vehicles will not only deliver on sustainability, but will be seamlessly connected and exhilarating to drive.

Sampson stresses that the first vehicle Faraday manufactures will become the premium-priced car which could be an SUV or a sedan.

Since the company is backed by Jia Yueting, who is also the founder of Leshi Internet Formation & Technology, the two companies will partner up which enables their products to be sold with internet connectivity and content.

Cars are the next must-have online devices, and this future concept from Faraday, though far-fetched for some, the company still promises a breakthrough in automaking, as reported online.
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BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. said Thursday it has invested $50,000 each into a Waukesha start-up that is developing therapeutics for gastrointestinal health and a Madison maker of building maintenance software.

The nonprofit foundation also said it has added two Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. executives to its board of directors: Mark Hogan, secretary and chief executive officer; and Aaron Hager, vice president of entrepreneurship & innovation. Former BrightStar vice president Lorrie Keating Heinemann also is joining the board.

The investments in FloraSeq LLC of Waukesha and AkitaBox Inc. of Madison bring to 28 the number of companies in the foundation's portfolio and the total invested by the foundation to more than $3.85 million since it began deploying money in 2014, its executives said.

FloraSeq was founded in 2014 by Steve Visuri and Karen Harrington, who have held senior leadership positions at Prodesse, Gen-Probe and Hologic. It is developing products that promote gastrointestinal health and relieve ailments, as well as complementary clinical laboratory services for diagnosing infectious diseases and gastrointestinal problems.

AkitaBox, which was founded in 2015, digitizes, stores and indexes in a single online location blueprints and other documentation as well as equipment model numbers, maintenance records and other facility data for building owners and operators.

"We look forward to discovering many more Wisconsin early-stage investment opportunities and hope to make $2 million in new investments in 2016," Todd Sobotka, BrightStar portfolio manager, said in a statement.

BrightStar also is adding two new members to its investment committee: Michelle Picard, a portfolio manager at Henderson Geneva Capital Management; and Jonathan Fritz, chief revenue officer at Madison-based Symphony Corp.
Construction continues at The Corners, a retail center being developed on 19 acres between W. Blue Mound Road and I-94, east of Barker Road, in Brookfield. Credit: Michael Sears

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Most construction firms say they plan to expand their payrolls this year, provided they can find skilled help.

More than 70% of the Wisconsin firms surveyed by the Associated General Contractors of America say they expect the construction labor market will remain tight, or will get tighter, in 2016.

That tracks with national survey results from AGC that indicate 71% of construction firms plan to expand their payrolls this year, and that hiring will be a challenge.

"The construction industry will continue to recover in 2016 as many firms add to their head count amid growing demand in a range of private- and public-sector markets," said Stephen Sandherr, AGC's chief executive officer. "The industry also faces a number of challenges that have the potential to dampen, and possibly even undermine, the sector's recovery."

In the national survey, 49% of the contractors said they had increased base pay rates; 30% said they were providing incentives and/or bonuses; and 23% said they increased their contributions to employee benefits to retain or recruit workers.

"What is particularly striking about the findings on worker shortages is that they are consistent with the responses from last year's outlook," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "In other words, after a year of raising pay and increasing benefits, contractors remain as worried about the lack of qualified workers as they were at the beginning of 2015."

In the Wisconsin survey, the top concerns were worker shortages, worker quality and rising direct labor costs.

Still, many firms are hopeful about an increase in business this year, especially with work in the private sector.

Construction projects involving food processing plants, office buildings, hotels and multifamily housing, have been more prominent than work in the public sector, including schools and highways.

"I think the encouraging thing is the private sector will continue to drive the market ... but at some point there's going to have to be a higher level of investment in public construction," said Bob Barker, executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin.

In Milwaukee, the construction of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s $100 million, 33-story apartment tower next to its downtown headquarters is expected to be a catalyst for development in the area.

The construction market is strengthening in some areas, said Mike Fabishak, CEO of Associated General Contractors of Milwaukee.

"There is a lot going on in the city of Milwaukee, but I don't know if that's resonating throughout the metro area yet," Fabishak said.

"Will it be the go-go days of 2007? I don't think we are going to see that in the next couple of years. But this is a huge transition from the problems and casualties that resulted from the recession," he added.

Basic math a problem

Some large construction projects are behind schedule as the result of several issues, including a shortage of concrete and cold temperatures the last couple of winters, that made it difficult to do work underground.

It's also been hard to find enough subcontractors, said Jerry Franke, president of Wispark Inc., the developer of the LakeView, GrandView and OakView business parks.

"This is a problem on virtually every construction site," Franke said.

As many construction workers near retirement, builders and labor unions alike worry about what's going to happen when thousands of experienced, skilled employees are no longer available.

Apprentice program directors say they're fighting back by spreading the word that the skilled trades aren't dead-end careers, and that a journeyman carpenter or electrician can earn more than someone with a master's degree.

Until recently, the average age for an entry-level apprentice carpenter was 28, said Joe Weisling, training center director for the Southeast Wisconsin Carpentry Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

It costs an employer, on average, about $270,000 to take someone from having no carpentry skills to a journeyman status, according to Weisling.

"We have been focusing on trying to get younger individuals involved in our industry and having employers invested in their workforce. Otherwise, the return on their investment isn't what it should be," he said.

The building trades have blanketed high schools with programs illustrating the benefits of earn-as-you-learn apprenticeships.

Often, potential apprentices have problems with math, reading and writing skills. Nearly 60% of the apprentice applicants fail the arithmetic test, according to Weisling.

Most of the applicants aren't physically incapable of being a carpenter, but they're struggling with academics, Weisling said.
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Frontier Airlines said Thursday it will add new nonstop service from Milwaukee to Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta, as part of a new service rollout for the airline in 42 markets throughout the United States.

The new flights will begin in April.

Frontier's nonstop service between Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth and Philadelphia will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, while the Milwaukee-to-Atlanta service will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

"Fares in these new markets will be as low as $69," Frontier said in a statement announcing the new routes.

The airline will be competing with Southwest and Delta on the Milwaukee-Atlanta route.

For the Milwaukee-Philadelphia service, Frontier will compete with American Airlines. On the Milwaukee-Dallas-Fort Worth route, Frontier will compete with American to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Southwest, which flies to Dallas Love Field.

The additional competition on the routes will almost certainly usher in a period of lower airfares on the routes as American, Southwest and Delta move to match Frontier's fares.

"The other airlines in those markets will respond," said Barry Bateman, retired airport director at Mitchell International who is now an airline industry consultant. "This always happens. The big boys respond and we'll see how it goes."

Privately held Frontier has been shifting to an ultra-low-cost carrier model that offers low base fares but adds fees for many services.

Denver-based Frontier announced in June that it will almost double the size of its fleet over the next five years to 101 aircraft from 56.

"Travelers between big cities have enjoyed low fares while many markets have remained overpriced and underserved," Frontier Airlines President Barry Biffle said in the statement announcing the new service Thursday.

"Frontier's low fares in these new markets will benefit millions of new fliers who are forced to drive because they haven't found affordable air travel options  or they simply stay at home.

"We see hundreds of additional opportunities like these throughout the country, fueling our growth for years to come," Biffle said.

Frontier has about 5% of the airline market in Milwaukee. Together, Southwest and Delta control about 75% of the market share in Milwaukee.

Southwest is the overall market share leader with just under half the market at Mitchell International.

Frontier, as it stands today, is far different from the airline that arrived in town amid great fanfare as the successor to Midwest Airlines, which was based in Oak Creek and for years was the dominant carrier at Mitchell. Midwest was purchased in 2009 by Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which also bought Frontier and combined the two carriers under the Frontier name.

Frontier's operations in Milwaukee were greatly scaled back in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, Frontier was sold to airline executive William Franke and his Phoenix, Ariz.,-based Indigo Partners LLC. Franke is a pioneer of the low-price fares and high fees that have spread to overseas airline businesses and are growing in the U.S.

In the end it's all about paying customers, Bateman said.

"Frontier has to deal with the same economic metric of how to fill planes," he said.

The question is "whether there are enough passengers to support that additional service level, which is fantastic for Milwaukee and fantastic for the consumer," Bateman added. "But you've got to put (people) on airplanes for it to work."
Rapper Speak Easy has two new albums, including #Raplords with frequent collaborator Dana Coppafeel (left). Credit: Courtesy of UniFi Records

Local Beat's latest batch of Milwaukee album reviews features not one but two projects from local rap veteran Speak Easy.

Nick Ramsey, "Nick or Nicholas" (emceenickramsey.com)

Embracing the old saying "write what you know," the Racine-born Ramsey raps about the mundanity of daily life. He rhymes about his fried egg breakfast and pool routine on "A Day in My Life," choosing between brewski brands on "Beer Song" and a series of dead-end jobs on "Occupation." It may sound boring, but through personality and smart wordplay, Ramsey keeps it interesting.

Next gig:9 p.m. Jan. 15, Maxine's, 835 Washington Ave., Racine. $5.

Raplords, "#Raplords" (unifirecords.com/raplords)

Technically, "#Raplords" is a debut album. But seasoned rappers Dana Coppafeel and Speak Easy and producer Mammyth have been working together for years now, making this a more assured "introduction" than most. Amid the rappers' never-ending series of clever boasts, Mammyth brings the atmosphere, from old-school, record-scratching aura ("Here We Comes") to underground trap edge ("Intrinsic Behavior").

Sara and Kenny, "Spirit of Gold" (saraandkenny.com)

Sara d'Ippolito hails from Italy. Kenny Reichert is from Brookfield. They met in Milwaukee and formed Sara and Kenny last year, creating a sweet rapport with nothing more than their expressive voices and guitars. From Reichert's bright, flighty guitar work on "Four Minutes" to d'Ippolito's rich vocals during a romantic cover of Luigi Tenco's "Ti Ricorderai," "Spirit of Gold" will leave you smitten.

Next gig: 7 p.m. Sunday, Allium, 2101 N. Prospect Ave. No cover.

 Speak Easy and Canned Beats, "Eivets Rednow 2"

Look closer and you'll recognize the letters spell "Stevie Wonder" backward. The first "Eviets Rednow" was a 1968 instrumental album Wonder released under an alternative moniker, allegedly at Motown Records' request. "Eviets Rednow 2" is also a detour for rapper Speak Easy, with producer Canned Beats strictly using Wonder samples to pay tribute. The results fall short of capturing their muse's inventiveness, but some tracks like "Emcee Wonder," which re-imagines Wonder's "I Wish" for a basement rap show, are inspired.

Scrimshaw, "Welcome to the Henry Herschel Commercial" (facebook.com/scrimshawdonkeyvenom)

If the Swedish Chef started tripping on undercooked beef in a recording studio, it would sound a lot like the nonsensical "Day-Day," just one example of Scrimshaw's very strange and one-of-a-kind style.

Next show: 9 p.m. Jan. 22, Frank's Power Plant, 2800 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5.
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Arrest warrants have been issued for one of two Milwaukee men wanted for fleeing from a traffic stop and leading Muskego police on a brief chase before escaping.

Darrius K. Johnson, 21, the subject of warrants from Muskego police and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, is charged with fleeing/eluding an officer, operating without owner's consent, resisting/obstructing an officer and operating after suspension, according to a news release from the Muskego Police Department.

The Waukesha County district attorney's office is reviewing possible charges of resisting/obstructing an officer against Shaquille U. Williams, 21, who has been identified as a passenger in the car.

No warrants have been issued for Williams, who is also being sought by police in connection with the incident.

Johnson was speeding when he was pulled over near Janesville Road and Pioneer Drive shortly after 2:30 a.m. Dec. 22, according to police.

As an officer called for backup he drove off, leading to a short chase in which stop sticks were used to disable two tires on the vehicle on Janesville Road near Golden Country Drive and the two men fled on foot, police said.

The car was stolen from a Glendale car dealership on Oct. 25, according to police.
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After reading the article in the Journal Sentinel, I'm writing to let the Public Records Board know that I completely support an agenda of open records for the citizens of Wisconsin.

There is absolutely no reason that any records generated by public employees in the course of their employment should not be open to the public for review. This includes anything written, spoken or electronically produced by these public employees.

All public employees, whether elected, appointed or otherwise employed, are accountable to all citizens of this state.

It is unconscionable for the Public Records Board to attempt to exclude any public employee's work product from review by the citizens of this state. They work for us. They make decisions that affect all of us. We are entitled to access and to review their work.

I will be watching this issue very closely. Although there are many important issues that this state needs to address, the government cannot be allowed to work in a secretive manner. I guarantee you that if my legislative representatives allow this secrecy to go forward, my vote at the next election will go to someone else.

Thank you.

Dick Masse

Waukesha
In this 1973 file photo, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew calls on a reporter during a news conference in Washington. Credit: Associated Press

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"Nattering nabobs of negativism" is probably the most enduring of the many alliterative pronouncements of Spiro Agnew, vice president in the administration of Richard Nixon until forced to resign because of corruption. This particular phrase, penned by Nixon speechwriter William Safire, derogatively denigrated diligent reporters for placing bad news above good.

Why, Agnew asked rhetorically, did the malicious media not put priority on the positive? He attacked "pusillanimous pussyfooters" allegedly allergic to America.

Inspired by the positive points of the spirit of Spiro "Good News" Agnew, below is a list of definitive developments that definitely deserve dissemination and discussion.

First, democracy is becoming the accepted way of life for the world's population overall, not just the privileged few. As recently as three decades ago, the people of Latin America lived almost uniformly in various degrees of authoritarian regime.

Today, Castro's Cuba is literally the only remaining dictatorship in the Americas. Despite pervasive and ruthless state political control, the increasingly desperate need for foreign investment is forcing Havana's geriatric communists to loosen their iron grip. Re-establishing long-severed diplomatic ties with the United States is one result.

Even the autocratic Hugo Chavez of Venezuela had to face the voters, and near the end of his rule lost on occasion. Once, tiny Costa Rica was a beacon of freedom south of our border. Now that light spreads throughout the Americas.

Likewise, reasonably honest and genuinely contested elections are spreading in Africa, Asia the former Soviet Union and  at least on local levels  in China. In global context, the dramatic tumultuous "Arab Spring" overall is partly a manifestation of the worldwide drive toward fair representative government.

The Korean Peninsula is especially instructive. While attention is focused on the brutal North Korea regime, including political tyranny and ominous long-term development of nuclear weapons, South Korea continues remarkable economic and political progress.

South Korea's duly elected first woman president, Park Geun-hye, was inaugurated at the start of 2013. She is the daughter of long-term dictator President Park Chung-hee.

Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic majority nation, is equally important in strategic terms. The government is stable, a firm U.S. ally, effective in combating Islamic terrorism. By contrast, during the mid-1960s, apparent drift into the Soviet orbit encouraged American military escalation in Vietnam .

Second, market economics is spreading, as alternative economic systems fail. Deng Xiaoping's 1992 declaration of "People's Socialism" for China has become a benchmark event for not only that nation but vast Asia regions overall and well beyond. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between mainland China and Taiwan is a historic result of the free market economic revolution. Virtually all economic barriers have come down. In consequence, Taiwan's role as source of investment, trade and expertise is expanding.

Third, global progress proceeds during extraordinary long-term growth in economic production. Yale historian Paul Kennedy, in "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers," notes total world industrial manufacturing rose from an assigned base level of 100 in 1900 to 3041.6 by 1980.

In industrial nations, the average human life span doubled in the 20th century. Undeniably, free competitive economies and open competitive elections are interconnected, historically and currently. Adam Smith's classic "The Wealth of Nations" appeared in 1776, the year the American Revolution began.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War" (NYU Press and Macmillan/Palgrave). Contact him at acyr@carthage.edu
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Don't destroy cultural heritage

What's the difference between radicals in the Middle East destroying the antiquities of the past and Wisconsin state politicians  Sen. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Rep. Robert Brooks (R-Saukville)  seeking to weaken the protection for the remaining Native American effigy mounds ("Bill would permit work on mounds," Jan. 3)?

Many of these mounds contain human remains. I say the principle is the same. Although not as impressive and visually alluring as the irreplaceable Middle Eastern ruins, Native American effigy mounds are links to the past that must be protected. The preservation of cultural antiquities speaks volumes about a society.

It is estimated that 90% of the state's effigy mounds already have been violated and destroyed. Now the pols want to make it easier for private land owners to bulldoze the remaining effigy mounds. Nothing can stand in the way of the almighty dollar!

The civilized world stood in horror in 2001 when the Taliban in Afghanistan dynamited and destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan. The 6th century Buddhas no longer exist. Today, ISIS is destroying ancient cities and museums in Iraq and Syria. UNESCO World Heritage Sites have been destroyed and are under threat.

A nation should not destroy its cultural heritage.

Ronald Auer

Muskego



Desecrating history

Just when you thought the destruction to our state's history, culture and honor couldn't get any worse, our elected caretakers are at it again. Their latest hubris: legislation to give "landowners" (i.e. wealthy donors) carte blanche to "investigate" Native American effigy mounds on their lands by any means necessary to determine if any human remains are present ("Bill would permit work on mounds," Jan. 3).

Any archeologists worth their salt can tell you this is utter nonsense, not to mention desecration. Never mind that any human remains in such locations will have decomposed long ago. Remains alone don't make a place sacred or special, and these mounds were not primarily for burial purposes anyway.

Would you want someone digging around in your historic church yard so they could mine some rocks or build a truck depot? Maybe we could hang some cell towers on those old church spires blocking Milwaukee's skyline? Or flatten a few mounds at Devils Lake for more parking  it gets pretty crowded there in the summer.

If we don't start voting these vandals out of office soon, there won't be any soul left of our once rich state. By then, I fear, many will be voting with their feet.

Matthew Eisenhauer

Muskego



Disgusting cartoon

The Journal Sentinel should be ashamed of itself. The "cartoon" published on Dec. 29 on the Opinions page is flat-out disgusting, calling a Republican congressman a "gelatinous, spineless glob."

If a Republican ever submitted anything even closely resembling this ugly, prepubescent type of criticism, it wouldn't even make it past the mailroom at the Journal Sentinel.

Those of us who aren't Democrats or independents have to suffer the bias of this and most other forms of media on a daily basis. It is tiresome, but more dangerously, this blatant bias and manipulation of the truth in this paper and most others in our country is a major cause of the polarization of our country.

This "cartoon" is a perfect example of a very unfunny attempt to inflame those who are not familiar with the issues. But most despicable of all is the fact that Republicans and independents would never get away with calling Democrats some of the things the Journal Sentinel levels at conservatives on a daily basis.

Trish Ulrich

Milwaukee
Waukesha would return water to Lake Michigan by discharging treated wastewater to the Root River at this location near S. 60th St. in Franklin. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

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As governors and premiers of Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces on Thursday started reviewing Waukesha's request for a Lake Michigan water supply, Wisconsin environmental regulators said the city does not have a reasonable alternative.

Waukesha cannot meet state and federal restrictions on radium in drinking water from its groundwater sources, and the city does not have adequate supplies of potable water, the Department of Natural Resources says in documents submitted Thursday to the eight states and two provinces.

Representatives of those state and provincial governments participated Thursday in a webinar briefing of the application. The representatives approved spending $261,668 this year on the multistate review, which will include a public comment period and at least one public hearing within the next six months.

The Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers has established a website to provide information on the application and the schedule for public review of the request. The website address is www.waukeshadiversion.org.

State and provincial officials will tour Waukesha Feb. 17 and hold a second briefing on Waukesha's request at Carroll University in a meeting open to the public.

A public information meeting and hearing are scheduled for Feb. 18 at the Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave., on the Carroll campus. Meeting times will be announced at a later date.

The Michigan Office of the Great Lakes announced Thursday that it would hold a Feb. 9 public hearing on the request in Lansing.

During the webinar, representatives of several Great Lakes environmental groups asked the conference to spend more money on the multistate review so that it could hold at least one public hearing in each of the eight states and in the two provinces.

The conference also should provide sufficient funding to conduct a technical review of the merits of the city's request independent of the Wisconsin DNR's analysis, said Lyman Welch, legal director for the Alliance for the Great Lakes in Chicago.

Waukesha is the first community in the U.S. located entirely outside the Great Lakes basin to ask for a diversion of lake water under a 2008 federal law known as the Great Lakes protection compact.

The compact prohibits diversions of water outside the basin but provided one exception: a community outside the basin can ask for Great Lakes water only if it is located in a county straddling the basin divide.

Waukesha County straddles the subcontinental divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

Even so, the compact requires unanimous approval of the governors of each of the eight U.S. states to grant an exception to the law's prohibition of diversions outside the basin. Representatives of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec will participate in the multistate review of Waukesha's request, but only the governors of the eight U.S. states will vote on the application.

One state could block the city from building a proposed $207 million network of pipes and pumps to divert lake water to Waukesha and return treated wastewater to the lake.

The starting point for the multistate review was the Wisconsin DNR's finding that the city's plans meet all compact requirements for such an exception.

All of Waukesha's water supply alternatives outside the Great Lakes basin "are likely to have greater adverse environmental impacts than the proposed diversion" and the city "is without a reasonable water supply alternative" other than the lake, the agency concluded after more than 5 1/2 years of scrutiny and revisions.

Waukesha could not avoid the need for a lake water diversion through water conservation efforts, projected to save 1 million gallons of water a day by midcentury, the DNR concluded.

In a prelude to the public opposition the application will meet across the region, Welch and other speakers representing environmental organizations in the webinar disputed the DNR's findings that the application complied with all compact requirements.

Waukesha is asking the Great Lakes states to approve a plan for diverting up to an average of 10.1 million gallons of lake water a day by midcentury. Oak Creek has agreed to sell water to Waukesha.

The same amount would be returned to the lake as treated wastewater, according to Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak. Waukesha has proposed discharging the water to the Root River, a lake tributary, in Franklin.

The volume of water pumped to the city likely would start out at an average of 7 million gallons a day or less and gradually build to the maximum average of 10.1 million gallons a day that would be allowed under the proposal.

In 2014, the city pumped an average of 6.6 million gallons of water a day from wells.

The Wisconsin DNR intends to analyze the city's use of water and adjust diversion volumes every 20 years as a condition of approval, Shaili Pfeiffer, a DNR water use specialist, said Thursday.

A lake water supply would replace 10 wells, including seven deep wells drawing radium-contaminated water from a depleted sandstone aquifer. Those deep wells provided 83% of the water distributed throughout the city in 2014.

Waukesha is under a court-ordered deadline of June 2018 to provide radium-safe water to its residents and businesses and the city's request for lake water would "solve a public health problem," Duchniak said Thursday.
Why Rohingya community helped Sesame Workshop make new Muppets

Muppets Noor and Aziz, 6-year-old twins who live in a refugee camp, are featured in new educational videos for Rohingya children.
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Madison  A pair of female hunters urged a legislative committee Wednesday to scrap a bill that would allow hunters to wear fluorescent pink, arguing the measure is sexist and won't make anyone safer in the woods.

Sarah Ingle and Jean Tackes, president and vice president of the Women's Hunting and Sporting Association, wore green camouflage T-shirts to the Senate agriculture committee's public hearing. They said that the bill's authors' contention that it will attract more women to hunting is demeaning.

"Would you really be willing to gut (a deer) and  drag it out of the woods just because you can wear pink?" said Ingle, who goes by the nickname "Shotgun Sarah."

Under Wisconsin law, at least half of each article of clothing that gun deer hunters wear above the waist must be blaze orange. The bipartisan bill would allow hunters to wear fluorescent pink as well. The Legislature's sportsmen's caucus, which focuses on outdoor issues, introduced the measure this past spring, touting it as a way to boost hunter participation and give clothing makers an economic boost.

"(Hunting's) traditionally been seen as a man's sport," Rep. Nick Milroy, one of the bill's chief Assembly sponsors, told the committee Wednesday. "We hope this is something that will reverse that trend and add to the ranks of hunters in Wisconsin."

Sen. Mark Miller told the committee that when he first heard of the proposal he thought it was condescending toward women. But he signed on as a co-sponsor after he became convinced fluorescent pink is safer than blaze orange in the woods.

University of Wisconsin-Madison textile expert Majid Sarmadi, who studied fluorescent pink's visibility for the bill's authors, backed up that assertion. He told the committee pink stands out more than orange in a fall landscape.

"If pink is more visible, shouldn't it be a good choice? Shouldn't it be allowed to save lives?" Sarmadi said.

Ingle disputed that, saying she can see blaze orange from two to three miles away. Tackes told the committee that no one is going to rush out and buy pink hunting gear because it's too expensive.

"(The bill) is a halfhearted attempt to go to women and say, 'Hey, I can wear pink and go out and hunt,"' she said. "That's not what women want and not what they need."

The measure got a lukewarm reception from committee members.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-Hudson, said she would never give up wearing blaze orange and the bill shouldn't be about attracting women to the sport. Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said the only constituents he's heard from all women  have asked whether the bill was a joke.

Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, one of the bill's prominent Assembly co-sponsors, said he never thought of the measure as a way of attracting women into the sport.

"We could have done a better job when this first came out (saying) that (wearing pink) was an option and we didn't have any delusions of grandeur that this would bring women into this," he said, adding that he's hunted with Ingle.

The hearing marked the last time the public will have a chance to sound off on the bill. Committee chairman Terry Moulton is the measure's chief Senate sponsor. The Chippewa Falls Republican said he plans to schedule a committee vote as early as next week.

Approval would clear the way for a vote on the Senate floor. The full Assembly approved the bill on a voice vote in November.
SHARE Sheboygan County Sheriff Todd Priebe Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office

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The Sheboygan County sheriff is standing by his decision to hire a convicted killer as a radio technician, despite questions in the community about whether it is appropriate for someone with that type of record to be working for law enforcement.

"I'm not going to throw him under the bus. I take responsibility for bringing him on," Sheriff Todd Priebe said of the technician, Rafael George Macias. "If I had known the gruesome details, I may not have taken him on, but what he brings to our agency is nothing but positive."

Macias was 20 and an airman at Carswell Air Force Base in Texas when he pleaded guilty to killing and dismembering his live-in girlfriend, Julia Adams, also 20, in 1977, according to news reports from the time. Police linked Macias to the crime after he reported her missing, the reports say.

Macias later told police he strangled Adams out of jealousy and put her body into a bathtub, cut it in half with a hacksaw and stuffed it into an Air Force packing crate. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison but was released after 13 after being given credit for good behavior.

Reached Wednesday, Macias, now 59, told the Journal Sentinel he argued with the woman and killed her in a "fit of rage."

"There isn't a day I don't regret it. There's no excuse," he said. "You just learn with experience, learn with age that life is short and life is precious."

Through his Catholic faith, anger management counseling and growing up, he has become a different man in the 40 years since then, Macias said.

"The thing about it is, I've always had respect for law enforcement," he said. "This is my way of paying back society. I'm still paying it back by using my skills to maintain the radio system that protects the public."

Priebe said Macias had been working on the sheriff's department radio system as contractor for about 10 years before Priebe took office and hired him in 2011. Macias was upfront about his conviction when he was approached about the job, Priebe said. He was not asked about the details at the time.

When someone within the department brought the dismemberment to Priebe's attention about six months ago, he was "shocked," the sheriff said. But by then, Macias had proved himself as a trusted employee.

"At no time do I want anybody to be led to believe that I condone what he did. I don't condone any of that," Priebe said Wednesday. "It's horrible. I can't imagine. It's just horrific. But at the same time, I think he's very, very grateful that he's been given a second chance. He wants to prove to himself and others his wasn't a wasted life."

As a radio technician, Macias is not a sworn law enforcement officer; he would be precluded from serving in that capacity because federal law prohibits felons from possessing guns.

Earned degree in prison

While in prison at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, Macias earned his associate degree as a radio technician. Before his release in 1990, he achieved the status of level one trusty, which gave him access to a vehicle and an unarmed supervisor, Priebe said.

After he left prison, Macias got a job with a radio manufacturer, which chose to hire him after he was interviewed by the FBI about his background, Priebe said.

Originally from Indiana, Macias later got a job with a now-defunct company that held the contract to service the police radios for both the Sheboygan police and sheriff's departments, Priebe said.

When Priebe took office in 2011, the sheriff's department was paying $100,000 a year for radio maintenance. He decided to hire Macias both to save money and to ensure their equipment would be kept up in the future, Priebe said.

Late last month, an anonymous source leaked the information about Macias' background to media outlets including the Journal Sentinel and WISN-AM (1130) radio host Mark Belling, who first reported it earlier this week.

"It is being discussed among law enforcement throughout Sheboygan County," the letter says. "Many find it unacceptable they are now forced to work side by side with someone who committed such a horrible crime."

Sheboygan County's law committee has since requested Priebe to meet with them to discuss the circumstances of Macias' hiring, which he plans to do, Priebe said. However, the committee does not have the authority to overrule his decision to continue Macias' employment.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's a success story," the sheriff said.
Sami Zubaida | ( Open Democracy) |  

We keep hearing calls for an Islamic Reformation, but the Protestant Reformation was not a liberal enterprise: it was the original fundamentalism, whence the label now applied to Islam.

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We keep hearing calls for an Islamic Reformation, assumed to be the remedy for a fundamentalist Islam behind the conservative Salafi brand as well as the Jihadist. Islam, under these assumptions, generates problems because it had not been reformed. The assumed model is the Christian Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Protestant reformers, Luther, Calvin and their followers. Informed writers on religion and history have pointed out the problematic nature of these suppositions, with regard to the histories of both Christianity and Islam.

I argue here that Islam has undergone many reformations, in radically different directions: Wahhabism, much like Protestant reforms, urged a return to the scriptures and prophetic traditions and a rejection of corrupt and heretical practices of saint worship and visitation of tombs, Sufi mysticism and ceremonies, and sectarian doctrines, principally Shi`ism. In contrast, a modernist and rationalist reformation was a powerful strand in public life, politics and culture from the nineteenth and throughout the twentieth centuries, in the Ottoman, Arab and Iranian worlds. These different kinds of reform were institutionalised in various ways, recounted below. Liberal/ modernist reforms are now available in public space, but not attractive to most religious Muslims because they do not fit in with their social and psychological needs and outlooks. Liberal/ modernist reforms are not attractive to most religious Muslims because they do not fit in with their social and psychological needs and outlooks.

The Protestant Reformation was not a liberal enterprise: it was the original fundamentalism, which is the derivation of the label fundamentalism for Islam. The Christianity that was being reformed was that of the Catholic Church, one that was based on Church authority and hierarchy. Worship is conducted through rituals and ceremonies celebrated by its priesthood, and claiming the authority to dispense salvation. The Reformation was to challenge these assertions of authority and uphold, instead, the authority of the Word, the Bible, literally interpreted and preached. The Word rather than the Church Fathers was the source of all authority and the individual believer was to read the Bible and follow it according to her conscience. Salvation was by divine grace and not by authoritative dispensation via a priest. As such, it dispensed with elaborate ritual and ceremony, images and tunes, considered as heretical (note the parallels with Salafi Islam), in favour of an austere preaching and worship, based on the literalism of reading the scriptures in the vernacular languages. Hellfire was the sanction against sin, and salvation was by seeking divine grace, and not by priestly dispensation. When Protestants ruled, as in Calvins Geneva or in the Lutheran principalities, they instituted stern punishments for sin and heresy.

Perceptive commentators, notably the late Ernest Gellner, had long noted the parallels between Protestantism and orthodox Islam. Gellner postulated a mirror-image reverse symmetry on the two sides of the Mediterranean: Christian Europe featured an established church with bells and candles, elaborate ritual and ceremony, opulent church hierarchy, and generally audio-visual aids to worship; as against the austere and literal scripturalism of the dissident Protestants. On the other side, it was orthodox Islam which was literalist, scriptural, austere, as against the audio-visual worship and ritual of heterodox and mystic Islam, in the form of sectarian and Sufi outfits.

Most Islamic lands for much of their history and until recent times featured a diversity of Sufi orders, comprising large sections if not majorities of the population, high and low, with elite intellectual orders as well as popular Sufism for common people and soldiery. Crucially, Sufi orders constituted modes of social organisation, superimposed on craft and trade guilds, military units, urban quarters and rural/tribal regions. Crucially, Sufi orders constituted modes of social organisation, superimposed on craft and trade guilds, military units, urban quarters and rural/tribal regions. Gellner noted, in relation to North Africa, how Sufi saintly dynasties acted as intermediaries and conciliators cutting across tribal units. Some of the major Sufi orders disposed of considerable wealth in the form of waqf endowments, and their leaders enjoyed considerable power and connection to the ruling military elites, particularly in the Mamluke dynasties in Egypt and Syria, but also under Ottoman rule at various points.

Being part of the power elite, Sufi ranks often included prominent ulama and judges, the guardians of orthodox Islam. This complicity excited periodic denunciation by occasional guardians of purity among the ulama, the most famous, or notorious, being Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328). He confronted rival ulama, including prominent judges who doubled as Sufi leaders, denouncing mystic practices, including ceremonies of music and dancing, as heretical. Equally, he fulminated against popular mysticism and magic, notably the visitation of tombs as saint worship, for contradicting the oneness of God, as shirk, the association of other deities with the one God. Ibn Taymiyyas fortunes fluctuated in his confrontation with the Sufis, depending on the disposition of the current Mamluke ruler. He ended his days imprisoned after losing out to opponents. Paradoxically, his funeral and tomb were sought after by the populace for blessing. Ibn Taymiyyas doctrines and polemics constitute the most influential canon on the doctrinal and legal underpinnings of the current Saudi state and its clerics. Similar episodes of forthright clerics attacking sectarian and Sufi heterodoxies occur at regular intervals throughout Muslim history, their fortunes fluctuating with the balance of forces and possible patronage from the powerful.

What is reform in these contexts?

What is reform in these contexts? It is the assertion of literalist orthodoxy against what was seen as heresy and innovation: that is, fundamentalism, parallel to the Protestant fundamentalists, but in vastly different contexts. And it was not one decisive reformation, but repeated cycles. Salafist and Jihadist trends in modern Islam, including Saudi Wahhabism and its spread, are part of that trend: hardly the moderate and liberal reformation that is being sought. The Wahhabi movement and its establishment were certainly claimed as a reformation, islah, and was recognised as such in some quarters.

But there was another kind of reformation, starting in the nineteenth century, part of Ottoman reforms, the Arab nahda, renaissance, and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906. The innovations in doctrine and law were part of political and cultural modernity, aimed at making Islam compatible with the modern transformations in society, culture and politics. In the Ottoman reforms, law, while nominally encompassing the Shari`a, was codified as civil law and etatised as state law. The most influential formulations of renovated doctrines came from intellectual reformers, most notably the pan-Islamic Jamaleddin al-Afghani (1838-1897) and his disciple Muhammad Abdu (d. 1905) who became Grand Mufti of Egypt.

They were confronted by the imperial dominance of the European powers over the Islamic world, and like their secular nationalist counterparts, sought the remedy in the Islamic nations following the path that gave Europe its power: science and rationality, economic and military reforms and rational organisation of state and society. These steps were perfectly in harmony with Islam, they argued: not the corrupted Islam of recent history (as they saw it), but the pristine Islam of the Prophet and the first generation of Muslims. They read modern political concepts into Islamic origins: the Prophet commanded shura, consultation among the believers on the affairs of the community, and this was elemental democracy. The Caliph of the Muslims obtained his legitimacy from the bay`a, a pledge of allegiance from the members of the community, another element of conditional consent. Maslaha is the principle of public interest, according to which the sacred law was to be interpreted. The Prophet had also championed science and knowledge, which justified the adoption and development of scientific knowledge and rational technology.

All these constituted the ideological architecture for a political modernity. The Prophet had also championed science and knowledge, which justified the adoption and development of scientific knowledge and rational technology. These elements constituted the components of national renaissance, of civilisation and true religion: progress against backwardness, takhaluf, and the corruption of religion and culture resulting from the accumulation of centuries of misrule.

They had, in effect, internalised the European gaze on Muslim society, finding it despotic, corrupt, fatalistic and libidinal. In this respect, they shared with the Wahhabis and the secularists the antagonism to popular religion, Sufism, visitation of graves and saint worship, magic and superstition (although the Wahhabis have their share of the latter: witchcraft is recognised as a criminal offence, much as the Protestants burned witches). Ataturks secularism, too, was aimed at popular religion: Sufi orders and practices were prohibited and criminalised, while orthodox religion was put under state control. Muslim reformers and modern secularists agreed that popular religion was inimical to progress and civilization: Salafists/Wahhabis denounced it as shirk, idolatry.

What were the reformers reforming? The Christian Reformation aimed to reform institutions, the Church, or create alternative churches. But there was no church to reform in the case of Islam. The Wahhabist reform was to impose their doctrines and disciplines by the coercion of political authority, the Saudi state and its clerical entourage. There were parallels there with Protestant reformers, including Luther and Calvin, who invoked the coercive power of the lay magistrate to enforce correct doctrine and conduct. This is hardly what the current call for an Islamic reformation has in mind.

For the modernist reformers, reforms did involve institutions at various points, primarily in law and education. Lawyers and reformist clerics were the architects of Ottoman legal reforms in the nineteenth century, the etatisation and codification of Shari`a law to conform with the modernising state, in the face of sullen resistance from conservative ulama and institutions. Similar waves of legal reform continued in Egypt and other parts of the Arab world in the twentieth century, sanctioned by reformist clerics, notably Muhammad Abdu, as Mufti of Egypt. At the same time, school and higher education were partly secularised, out of the control of religious institutions, except for religious education as such. Abdus main project was to reform the Azhar, the foremost Sunni university, with great reach and authority. He met much resistance and was not entirely successful. The Azhar was to be more radically reformed under the authoritarian rule of Nasir in the 1950s, when it became more securely subordinate to state authority, and a modern university with faculties of religious studies.

Muhammad was a prophet and not a politician, he argued, and Muslims can choose what system of government and law would suit them.

The greatest impact of the modernist reforms was in the discourses and contentions of the public sphere. The contentions were on multiple fronts, of journalism, political struggles, culture and education, and projects for social and legal reforms. Many of these issues were articulated, in turn, to the anti-colonial struggles, with the British occupation of Egypt and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and its Caliphate. The reformist thrust was to make Islam, doctrine and law pertinent to the modern state, education and culture, thus resisting the secular tinge of modernity.

In relation to the anti-imperialist struggles, it presented reformed Islam as the path to a national renaissance, arming the Muslim nations with the powers of modernity, science and rational administration, including military might. As such, it was pitched against the outright secularist relegation of religion to the private sphere, and, equally, against the conservatives and fundamentalists arguing that the weakness of Muslim nations vis-a-vis Europe came from the departure from the true path and eternal verities of Islam and the example of the virtuous forefathers who ruled over the past glories of Islam.

A notable episode in these contentions was around a book, Islam and the Principles of Governance (1925) by one of the foremost advocates of reform, Ali Abdul-Raziq (1888-1966). It was, in part, a response to the call for an Arab Caliphate, after Ataturk abolished the Ottoman Caliphate. He argued that the Caliphate or any form of religious government was not required by the canonical sources, and that the historical Caliphate was largely worldly rule by dynasties which asserted religious legitimacy. Muhammad was a prophet and not a politician, he argued, and Muslims can choose what system of government and law would suit them. Abdul-Raziq was a licensed alim, a graduate from Al-Azhar (and Oxford University) and a Qadi, a religious judge. His book raised a storm, with denunciation by the leading ulama (stimulated in part by the ambitions of the then King Fuad to be chosen as the Arab Caliph). He was stripped of his Azhar license and his judgeship, but received wide support from public figures, intellectuals and politicians, and went on to become a government minister. His arguments continue to be advanced by secular and liberal Muslims.

Iran and the Shi`ite world

The central problematic of religious authority in Shi`i Islam is that of the Imamate. The Absent Imam is the ultimate and infallible source of authority, so his absence poses a dilemma. The dominant doctrine in the late nineteenth century was the Usuli, which asserted the authority of the senior clerics, and the marja`s (sources of emulation), to represent the Imam as best they could, with hints by some of mystical contact. These claims were challenged by the rival faction of Akhbaris, who sought wisdom from the traditions and conduct of the Imams, with stronger hints of mystical communication.

A more revolutionary challenge came from a messianic movement (1844-1852), that of Babism, with its leader claiming to be the Bab, the gate, to the Imam, anticipating his full revelation. He found much support in various quarters, including some clerics and their followers. The movement was ultimately suppressed, and the Bab executed. But it left a legacy of secret societies, and later gave rise to a new religion, that of Bahaism. Paradoxically, the intellectual cadres of these secret societies combined their mysticism with an attraction to modern rational philosophies. The affinity may have been that of philosophical endeavour, and the rejection of what was seen as the obscurantist and reactionary doctrines of the ulama. These trends ultimately fed into the constitutional movement and the Constitutional Revolution of 1906.

The forces that constituted the constitutional movement are generally characterised as threefold: modernist secular or heterodox intellectuals, clerics, and bazaar merchants, all opposed, in different ways, to the mounting dominance and interference of the European powers (Britain and Russia) in the country. The intellectuals had nationalist and modernist objectives: progress, legal reform, rational administration and national assertion. Bazaar merchants threatened by expansion and privilege of foreign finance and commerce, utilising the arbitrary powers of a bankrupt monarchy. The clerics were primarily concerned by European dominance and the ideas that came with it, threatening their controls over law, education and public life.

It is not clear whether most of them understood the idea of the constitution, except that it would limit royal power through an elected body which they expected to dominate. Crucially, however, some leading ulama endorsed the constitution with arguments based on Shi`i jurisprudence: in the absence of the Imam, went the argument, the consensus of believers, guided by the clerics, constituted a source of authority, hence the constitution and elected bodies. In this argument the power of royalty was subordinated and conditional. These intellectual currents and disputes were shared across the border among the ulama of the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf, Karbala and Kazem (suburb of Baghdad). Some Shi`a intellectuals in Iraq, including clerics, had also participated in the reformist ideas and debates in the Arab world. The Iranian constitution and the institutions it inaugurated were flimsy and subject to the political and military storms that engulfed the country in the twentieth century. It was mostly a dead letter, relegated to despotic powers. Even the Islamic Republic, under Khomeini and his successors, installed a constitution, which was not itself the Shari`a, but enshrined the Shari`a as the source of legislation.

Yet the constitutional idea, or constitutional memory, remained a potent ideological force resurrected at every stormy junction of that history. Even the Islamic Republic, under Khomeini and his successors, installed a constitution, which was not itself the Shari`a, but enshrined the Shari`a as the source of legislation. In effect, the constitution of the Islamic Republic comprises an uneasy combination of clerical power and popular sovereignty: the primacy of the Leader (the ruling Faqih, Khomeini and then Khamenei), but alongside elected institutions of parliament and president.

We see, then, that Islam does not lack a reformation, but has had many reformations, both Sunni and Shi`i, but with diverse effects. The Wahhabi/Salafi reformations are fundamentalist and authoritarian, enjoining obedience to the Muslim ruler, charged with enforcing ritual and moral disciplines. In these respects, they have certain affinities with the Protestant Reformation and some of the regimes it installed, including Lutheran principalities in Germany and Switzerland and the Puritans of England and Scotland. However, these trends were submerged in a different historical trajectory in Europe.

The modernist reforms of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were consonant with the nation-state and its institutions. They advanced theological and historical reasons for the compatibility of original Islam with science, rationality and constitutional rule. These ideological formulations are still features of public discourse, advanced by various parties and forces, both secularist advocacy of the separation of religion and politics, and Islamic parties arguing the compatibility of Islam with democracy, such as the later incarnations of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Turkish AKP (at least in theory!).

The corpus of Muslim doctrines

Faced with the political challenges of Jihadism on the one side and Islamophobia on the other, politicians and pundits have made proclamations about Islam: pace violent Jihadism, we hear assertions that Islam is a religion of peace. Or conversely, we hear rightist proclamations that Islam is inherently aggressive and expansionist. And we hear diverse characterisations of the essence of the religion from its own adherents.

As students, historians and analysts of the religion and its social and political contexts we cannot subscribe to any of these essentialisms. As students, historians and analysts of the religion and its social and political contexts we cannot subscribe to any of these essentialisms. Islam comprises many components, historical and ideological layers. The modern believer and practitioner of the religion can draw on diverse elements of the Muslim corpus: the scriptures, Quran, and the prophetic traditions, Sunna and Hadith, both containing diverse and contradictory messages, much like the Bible; the many strands and schools of fiqh jurisprudence; equally diverse strands of Sufi mysticism; the historical examples and legends (so basic to the constructions of Jihadism); and the corpus of modern reformers constructing religious compatibility with models of modern society and government.

Liberal, reformist Islam enjoyed wide public favour in the earlier twentieth century, till the 1970s, with the prevalent nationalist and developmentalist projects and ideologies often articulated to leftist ideas. The collapse of the credibility in these projects and of leftist ideologies gave rise in many parts of the world to identity politics, in which ethnic and religious affiliations are central. Identity politics demands an emphasis on difference from the Western other. Adherence to religion among Muslims in their majority countries and in Western diasporas is commonly based on affiliations and sentiments that do not favour liberal reformism. In much of the Muslim world, the precarious conditions of security and livelihood for many drive people to seek protection in communal networks of kin, tribe and patronage, in which religious authority plays an important role. Patriarchy and communal authoritarianism are buttressed by religious rules and disciplines. Mosques, madrasas and charities, many financed by Saudi donations and personnel reinforce these communalist formations. While many Salafis are not violent militants, these ideas and institutions do mutate into Jihadism: the Taliban were initially the product of Saudi financed madrasas in Pakistan.

Muslims in the West comprise many social, ethnic and class groupings, with religion playing varying roles in their lives. The vocabulary of liberal reformism appeals to many educated middle class and professional Muslims, alongside outright secularism. Conservative and fundamentalist religion includes different constituencies. Patriarchal and communalist elements are keen to maintain social and moral controls, and are worried about the contaminations of Western personal liberties for their women and children, and seek remedies in assertion of religious disciplines. Identity politics, what may be called Umma nationalism, the idea of a universal Islamic community confronting Western/Christian and Jewish challenge or hostility, also feeds into more fundamentalist orientation. These sentiments are fed and feed into rising racism and anti-Muslim ideas and movements in the West. The attraction of Jihadism for some of the young Muslims are part of this trend.

Islam, then, has had many reformations, including liberal and rationalist reforms. Only, under the conditions outlined above, these ideas have little appeal to many Muslim constituencies at the present time. Those inclined to liberal ideas are more likely to be secular or nominal Muslims.

Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London and a Fellow of Birkbeck College. He is also Research Associate of the London Middle East Institute and Professorial Research Associate of the Food Studies Centre, both at SOAS. He has held visiting positions in Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Aix-en-Provence, Paris, Berkeley CA and NYU, and has written and lectured widely on religion, culture, law and politics in the Middle East, with particular attention to Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.. He is the author of Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of the Middle East (IB Tauris, 2011)

His earlier books include Islam, the People and the State: Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East (IB Tauris, 1993); A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (IB Tauris, 2001); and Law and Power in the Islamic World (IB Tauris, 2005)

Via Open Democracy
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By Lillian Rosengarten | (Informed Comment) |  

The distinction between Zionism and Judaism remains in constant need of clarification and discussion. Fanatics closed to discussion believe in their moral superiority and create political terror so as to silence and deny. The charge of delegitimizing Israel  requires one to question what the Israeli government is hiding and whether Israel has not delegitimized itself through decades of illegal human rights abuses. I believe these abuses have contributed profoundly to the rise of true anti-Semitism in the world today.

Propaganda has successfully blurred the distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. With adeptness and manipulation they have succeeded in spreading a form of fear to Europe and the United States. Use of the Holocaust as propaganda also invites fear and hysteria.

Netanyahu drew thunderous applause (speaking before the US congress) that followed the words loudly proclaimed as if he owned them: Never Again. I felt sick as he spoke of the deadly rise of anti-Semitism, a hatred of Jews bound together with the destruction of Israel. Never Again, a powerful and highly charged statement, was used here to create a lie in the suppression of the crimes of Israeli Zionism, covered up and justified as a means to defend itself.

What? To defend itself from a repeat of Hitlers progrom to rid Europe of all Jews? Is that the vision of a Jewish State only, a place of safety for Jews to be protected from a hostile world, with walls, and born from the blood of apartheid and ethnic cleansing? Is this not insanity to pursue an agenda with complete disregard to human values except for Jews?

Now as Europe and the United States struggle to wake up, to question the blind support of Israel, those who speak out and say No, continue to be vilified. Israels shouts of anti-Semite are attempts to drown dissent. Can one really believe there still exists the possibility of another incarnation of the Nazi Holocaust? Zionist Jews in the US express fear of such an occurrence and see the Israeli Jewish State as the solution to extinction. Is this not reinforced by fear tactics created by a government intent to manipulate and frighten through the abuse of the memory of the Holocaust?

It is not difficult to observe the strong emotional responses, particularly in Jews and Germans, upon hearing reference to the ashes of the Holocaust as a justification for Israel to defend itself.  Germany continues to suffer from guilt of its Nazi past that has prevented a humanitarian response to the Israeli occupation. Instead Germany remains complicit with Israeli victim propaganda and the endless crisis of human rights violations and a half -century of Palestinian occupation. Never again can only be a cry against nationalism and racism in any form that leads to degradation and violence. To use this statement for personal aggrandizement is an affront to the victims of the Holocaust.

We observe how the memory of the Holocaust has been ignited as cries of anti-Semite increase and create fear. Useful for the purpose of taking the focus off internal brutal assaults, land stealing, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, it is an Israeli distortion in my view, to justify the actions of the Zionist government. It creates fear and provides strength to the dream of a Jewish state only. True anti-Semites hate Jews. Rising up against Israel is about standing against an ideological, nationalistic and racist government.

I feel particularly as Jews we have a responsibility to remain vigilant and to speak out against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The pursuit of a just society is a fundamental concept of Judaism, which teaches involvement and concern with the plight of our fellow human beings. Every life is sacred and we are obligated to do what we can to help others. The Torah states, neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor. (Lev. 19:16) There is nothing anti-Semitic about speaking out against the suffering perpetrated on the lives of Palestinians.

Lillian Rosengarten is the author of Survival and Conscience: From The Shadows Of Nazi Germany To The Jewish Boat To Gaza (Just World Books 2015)



Contact: truthpoem55@gmail.com
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By John Esposito | ( OUPBlog) |  

The horrific attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have captured headlines and triggered responses from journalists, politicians, and religious leaders. Some Western heads of government have once again threatened a global war against terrorism, while some political commentators have even invoked World War III.

In the United States, Republican presidential candidates and some thirty governors have called for a freeze on accepting refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president of the United States, has pushed the envelope to its extreme, advocating a temporary freeze on all foreign Muslim immigration, as well as the monitoring or even the forced closure of American mosques. The result? Trump soared in the polls, as did fellow presidential candidate Ben Carson, who stated that for a Muslim to become president of the United Statesyou have to reject the tenets of Islam. In Europe, far-right political candidates continue to make political headway. The far-right Front National party of Marine Le Pen won nearly 30% of the vote in the recent French regional elections; although the party did not win any of the regions outright, the strong showing positions Le Pen as a future presidential candidate.

Fear of Islam and Muslims in generalnot just Muslim extremist and terrorist movements specificallyhave become normalized in popular culture in both America and Europe. The anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim hate speech, bias, discrimination, and hate crimescommonly referred to as Islamophobiaare on the rise. Islam Muslims and the vast majority of Muslims have been brush-stroked by and often equated with the kind of militant extremism and terrorism practiced by a mere fraction of Muslims, obscuring the fact that the vast majority of terrorist victims are themselves Muslim. This, in turn, has had a significant impact on the growth of Islamophobia as well as the domestic policies that have threatened Muslim civil liberties. But what are its causes?

Is Islam the primary cause and catalyst for terrorism?

Major polls have consistently reported that Islam is a significant component of religious and cultural identity in Muslim countries and communities globally, and thus an attractive tool for violent extremists as an instrument for legitimation and mobilization. However, the primary catalysts for extremism and terrorism are political grievances often intertwined with the use or misuse of religion. Osama Bin Laden and others like him appealed to long-standing political grievances among many in the Muslim world, the mainstream non-violent majority and extremists alike: Western influence, invasion, occupation; Western support for authoritarian regimes that claim to speak for all Muslims; uncritical bias and support for Israel from the American government in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Add to this the Iraqi and Syrian (Shiah-dominated) governments repression and killing of tens of thousands of civilians and other crimes.

ISIS has shown a particular talent for coopting and exploiting all of these issues. Their execution videos, released when ISIS called itself the Islamic State of Iraq (October 2006April 2013, Al-Furqan Media Foundation), underscored the importance of political grievances for legitimation of their actions and as a tool for recruitment.

In addition to this, public displays of Islamophobia in the West, from political speeches and demonstrations to negative portrayals of Muslims in the media and hate crimes, are also effective tools for recruitment. Major studies have also found that Islamophobia increases significantly not only with incidents of domestic terrorism but also at election time, as seen in the 2008 and 2012 presidential and the 2010 Congressional elections. During those races, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and others sought to gain attention by making reckless statements about Muslims. In 2010 in particular, the public debate over the so-called Ground Zero mosque in New York became fodder for candidates looking for media coverage. Today, that trend continues with candidates such as Trump, Carson, Cruz, and others.

Most Americanswho live in a country with a relatively small Muslim populationsay they know little or nothing about Islam. Thus, it is not surprising that when terrorists commit their acts of violence in the name of Islam in Paris and San Bernardino, they are drawn to demagogues in America like Donald Trump and in Europe who bring Muslims and the Islamic faith to the forefront of the political debate.

As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently wrote in the New York Times: Trump is ISISs greatest triumph: the perfect Manchurian Candidate who, instead of offering specific and realistic policies, preys on the fears of the public, doing ISISs job for them.

To what extent has media contributed to the problem?

Media Tenor, in its 2011 report A New Era for Arab-Western Relations, found that out of nearly 975,000 news stories from US and European media outlets, networks significantly reduced coverage on events in MENA to actions of Muslim militants. A comparison of media coverage in 2001 versus 2011 demonstrates the shocking disparity of coverage. In 2001, 2% of all news stories in Western media presented images of Muslim militants, while just over 0.5% presented stories of ordinary Muslims. In 2011, 25% of the stories presented militant image, while the images of ordinary Muslims remained stuck at 0.5%.

The net result is an astonishing imbalance of coverage: an exponential increase in coverage of militants but no increase at all over the 10 year period in the coverage of ordinary Muslimsand that despite census figures confirming a rapidly growing Muslim population. The situation got worse, for examplebetween 2007 and 2013, 80% of all American news coverage about Muslims/Islam was negative.

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of social media websites targeting the Muslim community, with serious international and domestic consequences. A cottage industry of ideological, agenda-driven, anti-Muslim polemicists has sprung up, consisting of pundits, bloggers, authors, lobbyists, elected officials, and their resourceful and wealthy funders.

An August 2011 Center Report, Fear, Inc., documented, based on IRS information, that $42.6 million flowed from seven foundations over ten years to support Islamophobic authors and websites. A CAIR Report in 2013, Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States, reported that the inner core of the US-based Islamophobia network enjoyed access to at least $119,662,719 in total revenue between 2008 and 2011.

Totally lost or obscured in the fear and fog of war are the facts on the ground regarding American Muslims. Data from major polls (Gallup, Pew and others) and studies have reported that the vast majority of Muslims in America, for example, are educationally, economically, socially, and religiously an integral part of our American mosaic: members of Congress, the military, corporate, education and religious leaders, physicians, lawyers, engineers, scientists and small business owners. American Muslims were among the victims and first-responders on 9/11. In contrast, Muslim terrorists are a fraction of a fraction of 1%. No wonder that the US Attorney General, Senior Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, as well as leaders in the Democratic and Republican parties, have rejected Donald Trumps outrageous and inflammatory rhetoric and its threat to American principles and values and to the civil liberties of American Muslims.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) offered the simplest and most direct rebuttal Tuesday, the day after Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States: Freedom of religions a fundamental constitutional principle, Ryan said.

Its a founding principle of this country.This is not conservatism. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for, and more importantly, its not what this country stands for. Not only are there many Muslims serving in our armed forces dying for this country, there are Muslims serving right here in the House, working every day to uphold and to defend the Constitution. Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslimsthe vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights. I told our members this morning to always strive to live up to our highest ideals, those principles in the Constitution on which we swear every two years that we will defend.

As President Barack Obama recently observed:

[I]t is the responsibility of all Americansof every faithto reject discrimination. It is our job to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country. It is our responsibility to reject proposals that Muslim Americans should somehow be treated differently. Because when we travel down that road, we loseWe were founded upon a belief in human dignitythat no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of God and equal in the eyes of the law.

A lot of things went wrong this past year, but there may be a silver lining. As Islamophobia intensified and gained more media attention, many Americans and the international community took notice. Google searches of the term "Islamophobia" spiked dramatically after Paris and San Bernardino. Prominent journalists, government and religious leaders, politicians, scholars, and members of the general public started calling out Islamophobia with more force, and leaders on both the right and left stood in solidarity with Muslims. Dozens of interfaith efforts also popped up around the country. So, despite the fact that Islamophobia was at its worst in 2015, there are reasons to hope that we are turning a corner.

>John L. Esposito is the Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Islamic Studies Center. He is University Professor, Professor of Religion & International Affairs and of Islamic Studies and Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Islamophobia in 2015: The Good, the Bad, and the Hopeful, a report from The Bridge: Protecting Pluralism  Ending Islamophobia at Georgetown's Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, offers a wealth of information, polling data, and other resources on Islamophobia.

Via OUPBlog



Related video added by Juan Cole:

The Young Turks: Bill OReilly Challenges Trump On Muslim Ban
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 6, 2016) - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:DML)(NYSE MKT:DNN) is pleased to announce that preparations for its 2016 uranium exploration programs in the Athabasca Basin have commenced and that exploration drilling is scheduled to begin on January 12, 2016. In addition, the Company outlines the highlights of its 2016 financial plan - which includes Canadian exploration and evaluation expenditures of approximately $13.0 million (CAD$16.9 million) and revenue from McClean Lake operations and uranium sales of $5.4 million (CAD$7.1 million).

"With the significant increase in toll milling revenue expected from McClean Lake this year, we are pleased to announce that Denison's 2016 financial plan is funded, and will allow the Company to focus on increasing its resource base in the Athabasca Basin and advancing the Wheeler River project," commented Denison's President and CEO, David Cates. "We are looking forward to the results from the Preliminary Economic Assessment in progress for Wheeler, and the opportunity to continue to explore the property this winter - particularly in the vicinity of the Gryphon deposit and at other priority targets on the property."

The Company's financial plan for 2016 is based on a USD$ to CAD$ foreign exchange rate of 1 to 1.30. All amounts are stated in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

Wheeler River Property

The Wheeler River property is host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits. The Phoenix deposit is estimated to include indicated resources of 70.2M lbs U 3 O 8 at a grade of 19.1% U 3 O 8 , and is the highest grade undeveloped deposit in the world. The Gryphon deposit is hosted in basement rock, approximately 3 kilometres to the northwest of Phoenix, and is estimated to contain inferred resources of 43M lbs U 3 O 8 at a grade of 2.3% U 3 O 8 . Wheeler River is a joint venture between Denison (60% and operator), Cameco Corp. ("Cameco") (30%), and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited (10%).

Exploration activities at Wheeler River during 2016 are expected to focus on numerous unconformity and basement targets in the vicinity of the Gryphon deposit. Recent exploration results have continued to return mineralization in the area surrounding the Gryphon deposit and along the K-North trend, which hosts the Gryphon deposit. The results in this area continue to suggest the potential for the discovery of additional zones of significant uranium mineralization. The K-North trend includes approximately 6 kilometres of prospective strike, primarily to the south of the Gryphon deposit. In addition, 2016 drilling may test other priority target areas on the property, including the Q Central and O Zone target areas. Taken together, 47,000 metres of exploration drilling is planned at Wheeler River between the winter and summer drill programs, along with geophysical surveys at a total cost of CAD$10.0 million (Denison's share, CAD$6.0 million).

Evaluation activities planned for Wheeler River in 2016 include the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), studying the economic potential of co-developing the Gryphon and Phoenix deposits, which is expected to be completed during the first half of 2016. Subject to a positive outcome from the PEA, the Company has developed a plan to initiate work on a Prefeasibility Study ("PFS"), with an approximate budget for 2016 of CAD$2.6 million (Denison's share, CAD$1.6 million).

High Priority & Other Properties

Exploration activities in 2016, outside of Wheeler River, will be focused on Denison's high-priority exploration targets located on the Murphy Lake (68.8% Denison), Crawford Lake (100% Denison) and Waterbury Lake (61.55% Denison) properties, and are planned to include ground geophysical surveying and drilling to follow-up on positive results from 2015.

At Murphy Lake, a winter drill program of approximately 10 holes (3,400 metres) is planned to follow-up on the discovery of a new zone of uranium mineralization highlighted by drill hole MP-15-03, which intersected 0.25% U 3 O 8 over 6.0 metres (at a depth of 270.0 to 276.0 metres) at the sub-Athabasca unconformity. The Murphy Lake property is located approximately 30 kilometres from Denison's 22.5% owned McClean Lake mill and is contiguous with the northwest boundary of the Company's Waterbury Lake property. Drilling programs for Waterbury Lake and Crawford Lake in 2016 are planned to involve 2,500 metres and 4,400 metres respectively. In addition, geochemical surveying, ground geophysical surveying and drilling (approximately 8,000 metres) are expected to be carried out on other Denison-operated properties where exploration is warranted.

Drill programs are also planned in 2016 for Denison's non-operated joint venture projects, including Mann Lake (30% Denison, 2,000 metres), Wolly (22.5% Denison, 5,000 metres) and McClean Lake (22.5% Denison, 2,500 metres). The Mann Lake project is operated by Cameco, and the Wolly and McClean Lake projects are operated by AREVA Resources Canada Inc. ("ARC")

Taken together, Denison expects to operate and/or participate in a total of 15 exploration programs (including 13 drilling programs totaling approximately 75,000 metres), of which Wheeler River will continue to be the primary focus. The total budget for these programs, inclusive of the evaluation work planned for Wheeler River to follow up on a positive PEA, is estimated to be CAD$24.6 million (Denison's share, CAD$16.9 million).

Development / Operations

The McClean Lake mill is operated by ARC and is currently licensed for annual production of 13 million pounds U 3 O 8 . The expansion of the mill, from 13 million to up to 24 million pounds of annual U 3 O 8 production capacity, will continue during 2016 and remains fully funded by the Cigar Lake Joint Venture. Concurrent with the ongoing mill expansion, ARC plans to submit an application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") to increase the mill's licensed annual production limit to 24 million pounds U 3 O 8 .

Provided regulatory approvals are secured to increase the annual license limit, the McClean Lake mill is expected to produce 16 million pounds U 3 O 8 during 2016. Production is expected to be 100% from Cigar Lake ore during the year. Denison's share of revenue from toll milling of the Cigar Lake ore and the sale of approximately 25,000 pounds U 3 O 8 , currently held by Denison in inventory, is estimated to be $5.4 million (CAD$7.1 million).

In 2016, Denison's share of operating and capital expenditures at McClean Lake and Midwest are estimated to be $1.6 million (CAD$2.1 million). Operating expenditures include $797,000 (CAD$1.04 million) in respect of Denison's share of the planned 2016 budget for the Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction ("SABRE") program. The SABRE program is operated by ARC, as part of the McClean Lake joint venture, and has a total budget for 2016 of up to CAD$4.6 million. The 2016 SABRE program is expected to study the economic and technical potential associated with further design and process improvements targeted at increasing the rate of mine production.

Reclamation expenditures at Elliot Lake are estimated to be $665,000 (CAD$864,000).

International

In December 2015, Denison announced the completion of the sale of its interests in Mongolia to Uranium Industry a.s. ("Uranium Industry") of the Czech Republic and the receipt of initial proceeds of $1.25 million. Under the terms of the agreement with Uranium Industry, Denison may be entitled to additional payments of up to $12 million - of which up to $10 million becomes payable within 60 days of the issuance of certain mining licences. The applications for the applicable mining licences were submitted to the Mongolian authorities in December 2015.

In Africa, Denison continues to maintain its interests in Zambia, Mali and Namibia in preparation for a potential spin-out or disposal transaction when market conditions permit. Activities currently planned for 2016 in Africa are designed to keep the Company's interests in good standing and continue community programs. The 2016 budget for Africa is expected to be between $750,000 and $1.3 million.

Environmental Services & Other

Denison Environmental Services ("DES") provides post-closure mine care and maintenance services to a variety of customers and also manages Denison's ongoing environmental obligations related to its past producing operations at Elliot Lake. In 2016, revenue from operations at DES is budgeted to be $7.2 million (CAD$9.4 million) and operating and overhead expenses are forecast to be $6.1 million (CAD$7.9 million). Capital expenditures at DES are projected to be $230,000 (CAD$300,000).

Denison is the manager of Uranium Participation Corporation ("UPC") and receives management fees and commissions pursuant to a Management Services Agreement ("MSA"). The MSA was entered into on April 1, 2013 for a term of 3 years ending on March 31, 2016. UPC is a public company which invests in uranium on behalf of its shareholders. In 2016, management fees earned from UPC are budgeted at $1.7 million (CAD$2.2 million). The budget is based on the successful extension or renewal of the MSA on substantially the same terms as the existing MSA.

Corporate administration expenses are forecast to be $3.85 million (CAD$5.0 million) in 2016 and include all head office wages, benefits, office costs, public company expenses, legal, audit and investor relations expenses. Other miscellaneous costs are estimated to be $400,000 (CAD$520,000).

Corporate Update

On January 1, 2016, Denison appointed Mr. Dale Verran to the position of Vice President, Exploration. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Verran served as Denison's Technical Director, Exploration. Mr. Verran is a geologist with 18 years of international mineral exploration experience. He began his career with Gold Fields and subsequently joined the Mineral Services Group where he served in a variety of mineral exploration roles including Technical Director for Remote Exploration Services. Mr. Verran is based in Denison's Saskatoon office and holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Cape Town, and a Master of Science in Exploration Geology from Rhodes University.

Qualified Person

The disclosure of a scientific or technical nature contained in this news release was prepared by Mr. Dale Verran, MSc, Pr.Sci.Nat., Denison's Vice President, Exploration, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101. For a description of the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied by Denison, please see Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 5, 2015 filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Denison

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 390,000 hectares in the eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 61.55% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Internationally, Denison owns 100% of the Mutanga project in Zambia, 100% of the uranium/copper/silver Falea project in Mali, and a 90% interest in the Dome project in Namibia.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corporation, a publicly-traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: exploration (including drilling) and evaluation activities; total expected cost of such activities and Denison's share of same; completion of the PEA; CNSC's approval to increase the annual production limit of U 3 O 8 at the McLean Lake mill as well as the collective bargaining process with unionized employees at the McClean Lake mill, and their respective impact on the 2016 production plan and Denison's share of revenue from the Cigar Lake toll milling arrangement; Denison's share of operating and capital expenditures; acceptance by Mongolian authorities of application for applicable mining licenses, and receipt and amount of contingent payments in a timely manner; Denison's ability to complete a spin-out or disposal transaction of its African interests; DES' expected revenue from operations, and its forecast expenses and expenditures; and renewal of the MSA with UPC and forecast revenue and expenses associated with providing services under MSA.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the "Risk Factors" in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 5, 2015 available under its profile at www.sedar.com and in its Form 40-F available at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in its expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
The Petersen Automotive Museum reopened with a new facade in December 2015. | Photo: ATOMIC Hot Links/Flickr/Creative Commons License.

For years now, politicians, and developers have reminded Angelenos that big changes are coming to the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Ogden. Museum Row will soon be transformed, they've promised, by public transit, contemporary architecture, high-rise development, and much more housing. Big plans like Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) Purple Line extension have been in pre-planning and feasibility stages for decades, but with the unveiling last month of the Petersen Automotive Museum's flashy, animal-print overhaul to its exterior facades -- their words ring true. The transformation is underway, and its physical manifestation is emerging from east to west.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, this portion of Wilshire, approximately between Crescent Heights Boulevard at the west and Curson Avenue at the east, is expected to simultaneously expand, arise and densify. Anchoring the development boom on the west side of Fairfax is Colorado-based developer UDR's future 18-story residential tower at Crescent Heights and Wilshire. Developer Hannover Co.'s 16-story tower at La Jolla Avenue and Wilshire has been approved, and another tower, at Orange Grove Avenue and Wilshire (possibly to be designed by Gehry Partners), is likely to shoot past 30 stories. At the site of the former May Company department store building at Fairfax, the Museum of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' renovation by architect Renzo Piano has, in the process, secured pre-planning permits and a sign district designation which will allow its owners to build up to 13,500 square feet of digital graphics and billboards on its exterior -- L.A. Live has a similar signage deal with the city. Museum Row's mothership, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will perhaps see its most extreme makeover since its establishment in Exposition Park in 1961, as Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's uni-level, tar blot-shaped superstructure on tubular stilts emerges from the landscape. In his plan's present incarnation, the building is likely to partially ooze across Wilshire. Fundraising is ongoing for the project. If the Zumthor building is realized, it will stand next to low-rise mixed use commercial structures and restaurants, recently-built residential and office towers, 1980's office blocks -- like the tiered green and red "Wilshire Courtyard" at Curson Avenue, as well as the Art Deco and Moderne-era department store buildings of the 1930s and 1940s like Desmond's department store at Burnside Avenue on the western flank of Museum Row.

A rendering of Renzo Piano's architectural vision for the Museum of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. | Image:  Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Studio Pali Fekete architects, A.M.P.A.S.

Wilshire's patchwork formalism is nothing new, and this forthcoming next generation of styles will surely add to the boulevard's mishmash characteristic. How the new buildings might create different relationships to the street, each other, and perhaps even more significantly, how they are oriented in the blocks along Wilshire to accommodate future growth, could alter how the area operates urbanistically amid the hodgepodge of architectural eras past.

Up until now, the story of Wilshire Boulevard has been all about the automobile. In 1895, Gaylord Wilshire's four-block residential development between Hoover and MacArthur Park proposed a linear neighborhood around the car. (Orange Street in downtown and Nevada Street in Santa Monica would eventually connect in 1934 to create the 17-mile stretch we know today as Wilshire Boulevard). By 1928, developer and land baron A. W. Ross ushered in L.A.'s grand era of the department store -- those "cathedrals to commerce" -- luxurious shopping meccas like Bullocks Wilshire and the May Company, replete with tea rooms, huge street level windows and adjacencies to other high-end shops. Ross' idea to bring affluent shoppers in from Holmby Hills, Westwood and Beverly Hills (via their cars) established a design model for the street specifically catered to motorized access with portes-cocheres and expansive parking lots at the back of the property, abutting low-rise neighborhoods. The consumer pattern west along Wilshire also solidified the social geometry of L.A., linking the most desirable and expensive communities -- those not inclined over canyons or perched above beaches -- across the flat lands from downtown, to Hancock Park and Beverly Hills.

An updated rendering of LACMA's future design by architect Peter Zumthor, 2015. The plan for the museum has seen many revisions. | Image: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner.

Museum Row and the Miracle Mile today neither suffer nor benefit from one relentless, figurehead developer like A.W. Ross. The buildings currently "on-the-boards" are developed and designed as per their specific clients, be they directors, investors or both. But two specific modifications to Wilshire's zoning and transportation infrastructure will dictate how these new buildings operate on the street, just as they will alter the boulevard's car-centric urban legacy permanently; L.A.'s governing powers and real-estate developers intend to transform many properties in the area for super-tall housing towers over the next 30 years, in concert with the Metro expansion towards transit-oriented design goals. (The Wilshire corridor west of downtown is one of the few areas in the city that is exempt from L.A.'s 1986 anti-high-rise legislation that affected Westwood and the Valley's development patterns.) This change will make opportunities for a more layered urban condition, one with more housing and transit options overall. Architecturally, it will make the seemingly monstrous residential development at Wilshire and La Brea, completed in 2014 and just 10 blocks away from Museum Row, seem dwarfed in comparison to future high-rises.

As is the case with the Petersen, constructing buildings that act primarily as signage will only reinforce the hierarchy of the car. (Although the design blunder is almost forgivable, it's an ironic twist for a museum dedicated to the car and its influence). Museum Row's coming configuration of contemporary architecture will need to build in a set of conditions that provide meaningful, human-scaled places for recreation, gatherings, play and, yes, potential subversion. Drawing-in pedestrians from the metro stops, and accommodating spaces for public use, occupation and interventions along those paths or within the buildings themselves will be instrumental in adjusting ourselves away from the displacement of the Ross model and the area's rapid urbanization. This already happens at Chris Burden's permanent installation "Urban Light" -- one of the most "Instagrammed" places in the city. One-off events like 2008's "Field Guide to LACMA" -- in which the local art group Machine Project arranged for 35 artists to stage 55 interventions in, around, and within the museum's un-used corners, main hallways and sidewalk areas -- re-discovered and re-programmed spaces around Museum Row for potential use and activity. The event lasted only 10 hours, but proved that pockets of social interaction and creativity could be mined from both the boulevard and the institution.

A 2013 model of LACMA's future design by architect Peter Zumthor. | Photo: A 2013 Museum Associates/LACMA.

Furnishing places for activity, both programmed and spontaneous, will be as important as providing present-tense needs like extra storage, loading, traffic drop-offs -- those elements that could pose a logistical quandary if they're not vetted now. But the architecture that is re-inventing Wilshire's Museum Row doesn't look to be one that can expand or accommodate, at least not yet. London and New York-based architecture office KPF's Nike-esque "swoosh" cladding at the Petersen Museum matter-of-factly isolates all visitors within the confines of the building. And Zumthor's insular LACMA design has been derided for its "definitive geometry [which] is diametrically opposed to a future addition" by critics (this criticism came after the premiere showing of the design at the exhibit "The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA" in 2013, and the design has since become more developed). Hastily planned adjustments for expansion usually create unfortunate architecture -- LACMA's present "pavilion-ization" is proof of this.

There's no doubt about the architectural gravitas behind the forthcoming buildings along Wilshire. Piano, Zumthor, perhaps Gehry will surely deliver stunning, prominent statements in stone, steel, and glass. An applied thoughtfulness to the area's changing context in regards to economy, demographics and infrastructure needs to take an architectural form as well. Complicit in this are smaller-scale cultural hot spots peppered around the area -- L.A.'s Goethe-Institut, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Page Museum, as well as ACME and 1301PE galleries. Coordinated hives of activity and re-formulated placemaking with unsanctioned and planned common areas will surely transform the life of Wilshire Boulevard in more significant ways than any well-branded, swooping silver cladding.

A 2013 model of LACMA's future design by architect Peter Zumthor. | Photo:  2013 Museum Associates/LACMA.

An updated rendering of LACMA's future design by architect Peter Zumthor, 2015. The plan for the museum has seen many revisions. | Image: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner.

The Petersen Automotive Museum under construction. | Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum.

The Petersen Automotive Museum under construction. | Photo: Petersen Automotive Museum.

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This collection of small 'hoods in the northeast region of L.A. is bisected by the L.A. River and nestled among the 5, 2, 101 and 110 freeways. It's one of the most diverse areas in the city, with a large number of Latino and Asian families that have lived in the area for decades. With a recent influx of young professionals moving into the neighborhood, new businesses, music venues, bars, and an arts scene are all thriving in this part of town.

The area is home to Dodger Stadium, which is a source of civic pride today, but has its own sordid history. The area where the stadium stands today is known as Chavez Ravine, and was once acommunity of mostly Mexican-American families. The City of Los Angeles used eminent domain to take control of the land, originally with the plan to build public housing. However, that plan lost political support and the land was sold to the Dodgers in 1958. Residents of the area who held out of the buyout process were later removed by force and their homes were razed to make way for the stadium.

Photo: The Park's Finest

The Park's Finest: It seems that Filipino restaurants just aren't abundant in L.A. despite a large and thriving Filipino community, but luckily Echo Park has one of the best Filipino-inspired barbecue joints in town. Originally a catering company, the Concordia family opened the Park's Finest in 2012 to bring their own unique fusion of Filipino and Los Angeles cuisine to the area. On the menu you'll find traditional Filipino items like bibingka and longanisa, but the emphasis here is on the expertly marinated ribs. Open daily for lunch and dinner, except on Mondays when they just have dinner service. 1267 W Temple St.; (213) 481-2800.

Guisados: Taco shops are a dime a dozen in Los Angeles -- especially in this part of town -- but Guisados is a bit different than all the rest. Guisado means stew in Spanish, and most of the menu items reflect the name. You'll find tacos containing braised meats like chicken mole, steak picado, chicharron, as well as both fish and shrimp tacos. There are even a few choices for vegetarians. Armando De La Torre Sr. and Armando De La Torre Jr. opened the first location in Boyle Heights in 2010, but due to demand have since expanded to this location as well as a spot in downtown L.A. 1261 Sunset Blvd.; (213) 250-7600.

El Compadre: Sure, this one's a chain with other locations in Los Angeles, but the Echo Park location is especially important thanks to its proximity to Dodger Stadium. You can't miss this brightly colored Mexican restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, just west of Elysian Park, the main thoroughfare for stadium parking. Walking into this dimly lit, bustling bar and restaurant can be a stark contrast to the street outside. You could sit at the bar and jockey for the best angle on the TV, or take up one of their massive booths. Either way, a live mariachi band will serenade you as you dig into everything from ceviche to mole. This is a true neighborhood haunt that has a friendly, local vibe on weekdays when it's not as crowded. Did we mention they serve flaming margaritas? 1449 W Sunset Blvd.; (213) 250-4505.

Taix: This family-owned restaurant (it's pronounced "Tex") serving French country cuisine is one of the oldest eateries in Los Angeles, having opened its doors for the first time in 1927. The Taix family immigrated to Los Angeles around 1870, after leaving their lives as sheepherders and bakers in southeastern France. When you walk in it's like you've been beamed to another era, only it's filled with the hipsters, flirty couples, and salty regulars of today. The restaurant is classy and intimate, but the real fun happens in the lounge up front where everything from comedy to live music to futbol matches happens. You can order dinner off a decently-sized menu while enjoying the free show. (While it's free, that doesn't necessarily mean it's good.) 1911 Sunset Blvd; (213) 484-1265.

Gold Room: Let us start by saying this local, pre- and post-Dodger game hangout is still the best deal in town. Nowhere else in L.A. can you get a shot of tequila and a beer for $5 in a up-and-coming neighborhood. The Gold Room's glowing yellow lights have lit up the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Echo Park Ave. for decades. Though the neighborhood around it has changed and it recently underwent a "sprucing up," it still retains its dive bar appeal (with an occasional brush with bad behavior). 1558 Sunset Blvd; (213) 482-5259.

Honorable Mentions: Elysian L.A., Lemon Poppy Kitchen, Brite Spot, The Short Stop, and Sunset Beer Company.
Season 1, Episode 1: Series Premiere

The "Withnail & I" actor kicks off his travel show, which highlights the world's most luxurious hotels and explores the varied aspects of the hospitality industry, by examining the roles power and money play in the business. He checks into Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, California's Barkley Pet Hotel, and the $44,000-a-night Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons in New York.
Fans of "Reply 1988" continue to debate the identity of the young man who will be named as the future husband of Duk Sun (Hyeri of Girl's Day), as the series prepares to fast forward six years into the future for a cross-over with "Reply 1994" stars.

The throwback drama returns on January 8, after a two-week hiatus. This break led to rumors including an article released by a Korean outlet which purportedly contained spoilers for the future couple, but those claims have yet to be substantiated by the production team.

In the 16th episode titled Life is Ironic, viewers were distraught to see a crestfallen Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum), who scheduled a date with Duk Sun, but cancelled it, after discovering a photo that depicted her with his best friend, Kim Jung Hwan (Ryu Jun Yeol), another admirer of the girl-next-door.

While the issue of who will marry Duk Sun is omnipresent as a subplot in "Reply 1988," the drama has placed a strong emphasis on the value of friendship and family, throughout its run.

Which "Reply 1988" character should marry Duk Sun?

Jung Hwan refrained from pursuing Duk Sun, after Taek confessed his feelings for her, during a group gathering. However, his displeasure at their budding closeness was evident each time the pack of friends convened for one of their neighborhood pow-wows.

Taek and Duk Sun have had numerous opportunities to develop romantic ties, with the success of their trip to China highlighting their potential as a compelling couple. However, their interactions thus far have been one-sided, as Duk Sun attempted to pursue Jung Hwan, regardless of his indifference.

With the emphasis placed on the Jung Hwan and Taek, few viewers have speculated about the possibility that Dong Ryong (Lee Dong Hwi) could be the future spouse of Duk Sun.

The appeal of Dong Ryong, the sexually overwrought member of the group, may not be readily apparent. However, he has developed into a confidant for Duk Sun, as her only male friend that she has not considered as a love interest.

Who is your favorite potential "Reply 1988" husband for Hyeri? Vote and comment below.




KEARNEY  Nebraska Wesleyan Universitys award-winning University Choir works hard to present a diverse program of choral music.

We try to program in a way that allows everyone in the audience to find something to which they can relate, said William A. Wyman, director of the choir. Thats why we perform such a diverse program. The Wesleyan tradition is one of this type of diversity. Were not locked into a certain type of repertoire.

The choir will stop in Kearney for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Jan. 14 at the First United Methodist Church as part of a tour that will take the group to Colorado and New Mexico as well as cities in Nebraska. Admission to the concert is free.

The program features music performed in Creole, Chinese and Native American dialect as well as English.

Were also doing a variety of what I would call classic repertoire including a piece that was written by a member of the choir on a text about Good Friday, Wyman said. This is a premier since the music has never been heard in any of the places where were performing, including Kearney.

The 46-voice ensemble regularly tours. Since 1977, the group participated in nine foreign tours. The most recent tour in May of 2015 included stops in Ireland.

For our music education majors, touring is highly educational, Wyman said. They learn how to manage multiple concerts. They learn how to manage different acoustical environments because the concerts are in different places every night.

The singers also learn how to maintain good vocal health.

For the non-music majors, this is an opportunity to do something they care strongly about and see how it interacts and causes an audience to react, the director said. It also gets them into different parts of the country, some of which they may not have visited before.

Student Cassidy Besse of Kearney is a member of the University Choir.

For the students, Wyman believes the biggest enjoyment comes from performing in front of different audiences.

The basic payoff is seeing how an audience reacts to a concert that speaks to them and moves them, he said. That is something you cant replicate in a one-concert situation. Its also impossible to replicate how an ensemble grows because of just being together, becoming more familiar with each other. The music also grows. Through repetition comes greater understanding.

And its fun.

I always say to the choir, we work hard and then we have fun because we enjoy what were doing  and so does the audience, Wyman said. The fun comes through knowing that youve done something very well.

While the tour benefits the students, Wyman keeps his primary goal in focus: To create a concert with an appealing sound.

We are very keen in having something that people want to listen to and will continue to listen to over 90 minutes of music, because thats a long haul for an audience to stay with you, unless theyre hearing something thats attractive or varied, he said.

Bottom line: The audience must relate to the music.

I figure that a concert is a living entity, Wyman said. It will either develop as such or it will die on the vine. There are a number of ways that will happen but the fundamental thing about a concert is that it has to speak to people. There are no tricks to that, other than getting the choir to understand the music thoroughly and learning how to sing so that every piece is in some way unique.
OMAHA -- No signs of trauma were found during an autopsy on 4-year-old Alicia Morrow, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Thursday as he noted the preliminary results were inconclusive.

Final autopsy results are pending more tests and toxicology results, he said at a press conference in his office.

Alicia died at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to police, who were alerted to a body at 3025 Franklin St. around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Chelsey Cook, 22, who had taken in the girl in 2014, will be charged with intentional child abuse, Kleine said. A homicide charge also is possible, he said.

The investigation into the death is ongoing, Kleine said. We will see where it leads us.

Intentional child abuse is a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Kleine said Cook found Alicia early Sunday, lying naked, and the girls breathing was shallow. Cook did not seek medical attention for the girl, Kleine said.

Cook had been asleep in the one bed in the house in another room from where Alicia was sleeping, Kleine said.

Cooks family members found the girls body in the basement of the house Tuesday night, he said. The body was wrapped in plastic.

No records are on file in Douglas County of Cook seeking legal guardianship of the girl, but according to a Sept. 27 Omaha police incident report, Cook and Alicias mother, Lakisha Morrow, signed an informal agreement in December 2014 to have Cook care for Alicia.

In September 2015, Morrow attempted in September to get her child back from Cook. Cook told police then that Morrow was threatening her and asking for Alicias return.

Morrow said Thursday that Cook had offered to care for Alicia when Morrow was homeless. Morrow said she also has a 2-year-old son, Ryan, and said it was difficult having to take both children to different homeless shelters. She said she thought Alicia would be better off staying with Cook.

Morrow confirmed that she had told Cook that she wanted Alicia back, but Cook refused.

Morrow said she cant understand why Cook wouldnt give Alicia back to her, especially if she was having problems taking care of her.

Kevin Cook, Chelsey Cooks father, said he was the one who found Alicias body Tuesday night.

Family members noticed something was wrong at a gathering Tuesday at the home of Chelsey Cooks grandmother.

Chelsey was there, but Alicia wasnt, Kevin Cook said. They asked where the girl was, and she said the girl was at home.

She was rambling, Kevin Cook said Wednesday. She wasnt in her right state of mind.

Kevin Cook, Chelsey Cook and Chelseys brother Anthony Orr went to Chelseys house. There, they found the body of the little girl, and Orr called 911, Cook said.

The furnace wasnt working, Kevin Cook said. It was real cold in there.

Morrow said Cook recently had instructed Alicia to call Morrow Kisha instead of Mama.

I did not abandon my baby, Morrow said. I wanted her back and I tried to get her back. Now shes dead.

Morrow said Alicia doted on her little brother, always kissing him and wanting to play with him. She loved toys, Morrow said, but especially a stuffed bear she called Bear-Bear.

She was a sweet, smart little girl, Morrow said. My nerves are shot and Im still in shock. I never got to say goodbye. How could Chelsey do this?

Kevin Cook said he thinks his daughter was trying to obtain social services assistance for the girl but was having difficulty because she wasnt the childs formal guardian.

Chelsey Cook pointed to a dispute over assistance payments from the state as a possible cause for her dispute with Morrow, according to the September police report. She told police that she filed for benefits from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to help care for Alicia. The agency then contacted Alicias mother and asked her to pay back benefits she had received while Alicia was not in her care, Cook said.

DHHS spokesman Russ Reno said Thursday that Cook, who also has a 3-year-old son, had received $9,459 from the state from March 2015 until now. He declined to say which specific benefits she received. He said Lakisha Morrow had received $2,639 from February 2015 until now.

Reno said that to qualify for some programs, a person needs to prove biological or legal dependents, but for others, like food stamps, a person does not.

Chelsey Cooks son was taken by authorities after her arrest, Kevin Cook said.

Omaha police work closely with Child Protective Services when officers determine a childs residence is not safe, said Officer Jessica Swanson, a police spokeswoman. CPS then places the child in another household or facility, she said, and it determines where the child goes.

Alicia Morrow was in the Head Start program at Howard Kennedy Elementary School, 2906 N. 30th St., said Monique Farmer, a spokeswoman for the Omaha Public Schools. It was a tough day for the school yesterday, she said Thursday.

World-Herald staff writers Bob Glissmann, Andrew J. Nelson and Kevin Cole contributed to this report.
Out here on the edge of the national forest, in the cattle-ranching, timber-cutting, deer-hunting Arkansas county where I live, this Ammon Bundy guy looks like the Al Sharpton of cows. His publicity seeking has created a media pseudo-event of a particularly modern kind.

Can anybody doubt that the feds could more efficiently resolve the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by confiscating TV cameras rather than guns?

Actually, theres no real standoff, since law enforcement is nowhere in sight. Blocking the roads, cutting the power and waiting them out looks like the wisest policy, although there appear to be almost as many tribal ideologues on the left hankering for a shootout as anti-government militia types.

The Washington Monthlys normally sensible David Atkins is breathing smoke and fire: I feel that if Bundys little crew wants to occupy a federal building and assert that theyll use deadly violence against any police who try to extract them, he wrote, then they should get what theyre asking for just as surely as Islamist terrorists would if they did likewise ... 

Whats good for one type of terrorist must also be good for another, Atkins continued.

Sounds downright Trump-like to me. Elsewhere, racialized insults and cries for vengeance have become common. Yall-qaeda, yee-hawdists, yokel haram, tweeted New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz. Less witty ridicule is everywhere.

At Salon, Bundys cowboy patriots are denounced as a strident example of unapologetic white privilege in action.

Salon proclaims Theyd be killed if they were black: The racial double standard at the heart of the new Bundy family standoff.

Armed white men seize a federal building. The government stands down carefully. But a 12-year-old with a toy gun? reads the sub-headline.

Even the Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson couldnt resist making the tempting, but specious comparison between Bundy and Tamir Rice, the Cleveland child killed by cops in a city park. Think harder. Everybody acknowledges the boys death was a pointless tragedy. Nobody wanted him to die.

Its also clearly false that armed white crackpots are always given a pass. Heard of Ruby Ridge? Waco? But hold that thought.

Robinson does acknowledge the single most salient fact: that Bundys posse is holed up deep in the Oregon wilderness, 30 miles from a town of 2,800, a threat to nobody but each other.

Then too, as a political matter, Bundy appears to have made an almost comical miscalculation. Hardly anybody in remote Harney County appears to support his cause. Even the father-son team of ranchers whose five-year prison terms Bundys group is allegedly protesting have renounced his support.

Dwight and Steve Hammond did plead guilty to arson, you know.

In a press conference, county Sheriff David Ward addressed the anti-government vigilantes directly: To the people at the wildlife refuge: You said you were here to help the citizens of Harney County. That help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed occupation. The Hammonds have turned themselves in. Its time for you to leave our community, go home to your families and end this peacefully.

Which is not to say those sentences are just. Even among their neighbors, opinions differ. Five years seems like an awfully long time for torching 139 acres of sagebrush and juniper  particularly given Dwight Hammonds age, 73.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of The Hunting of the President.
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FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2015, file photo, FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Judiciary Committee. With extremists finding fertile ground for recruitment online, the White House is dispatching top national security officials to Silicon Valley to seek the tech industry's help in disrupting the Islamic State group and other terrorists. At a high-level session on Jan. 8, 2016, leaders from major technology and Internet companies will discuss ways to use technology to stop terrorists from radicalizing people online and spurring them to violence, according to a meeting agenda obtained by The Associated Press. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are slated to attend. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
News / Africa

by Staff Reporter

A GRADE 10 schoolgirl has sued a married woman for calling her a prostitute.Angela Muyombo, 16, of Chazanga told the court that on December 11, this year, she went to see her hairdresser when she met Penelope Mwale, 24, also of the same township who accused the plaintiff of having an affair with the defendant's husband."She grabbed me by my clothes and asked if I was having a sexual relation with her husband. She then said she didn't deal with prostitutes," Muyombo said.Zambia Daily Mail reported that in her statement, Mwale denied grabbing Muyombo by her clothes.She told the court she had been hearing that Muyombo was having an affair with her husband but she had no proof.She said one day she found a picture of Muyombo on her husband's phone."Muyombo was wearing a chitenge up to her armpits. So when I saw her at the hairdresser which is opposite mine, I took her by the hand into my house to ask her what was going on between her and my husband.Muyombo is like a younger sister to me because she comes to my home, eats from there and is also a good friend of my sister," Mwale said.Mwale said when she threatened to tell Muyombo's mother about the matter, the young girl confessed, saying she gets calls from Mwale's husband.She also said Muyombo told her when she was taking a walk, Mwale's husband who was at a bar saw her (Muyombo) and called her to chat because they have known each other for a long time.Mwale said when she reported the matter to Muyombo's mother, the woman said, "My daughter knew your husband way back and so when he calls her she must go," she said.Passing judgment, Justice Mumba upheld the claim and also ordered the two parties to reconcile.
My uncle passed away last year, and Id like to establish a scholarship fund in his name. What steps do I need to take, and how much money do I need?

Creating a scholarship fund can be a great way to remember your uncle and help students pay for their education. You can also take a charitable deduction for the money you give to a college, community foundation or other eligible charity.

You usually need about $20,000 to $25,000 to endow a scholarship that pays out $1,000 every year. The requirements vary by organization. Some let you create a shorter-term scholarship fund with less money. San Diego State University, for example, requires $50,000 to endow a $2,000 annual scholarship, or you can commit to giving $5,000 a year over three years to finance three $5,000 scholarships for one year.

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The development office at a school or community foundation will help you set up the scholarship. You may want to focus on students who live in your uncles hometown or those who plan to major in his line of work or who have a certain grade point average and attend his alma mater. The organization can help you determine the type of requirements to impose without making the applicant pool too small. It may also help you create a fund even if you dont have enough money to endow an annual scholarship. Rather than paying for college tuition, for example, your gift could pay for students to attend a study-abroad program or educational camp.

A community foundation can help you set up a scholarship that isnt tied to a particular school  helping local students who are interested in studying engineering, for example. You can find a community foundation in your area at www.cof.org/locator (opens in new tab). Some have more experience than others with managing scholarships.

Ask what types of assets you can give and how the school or community foundation will invest the money. You can give cash, appreciated stock or other investments to create the scholarship fund. People over age 70 can now transfer up to $100,000 tax-free from an IRA to charity every year, which counts as their required minimum distribution but isnt included in their adjusted gross income and can be a source of money for a scholarship fund (Congress recently extended this law permanently; see 12 Valuable Tax Breaks Congress Has Brought Back to Life for more information).

Ask how the scholarship will be advertised, how the recipient will be selected and if there are any fees. Find out how involved you can be; you may be able to sit on the selection committee but not be the main decision maker, for example.

Some people who dont have enough money to set up an endowed scholarship make contributions to a donor-advised fund for a few years and give the money to a college or community foundation to start a scholarship after their balance reaches a certain level (in that case, you get the charitable tax deduction when you give the money to the donor-advised fund rather than when you start the scholarship). See Donor-Advised Funds: Tax Break Now, Charity Later for more information.
Herb Pearse, President of Eco-Tec, Inc., holds a piece of newly-developed oil absorbent pad his company is marketing. The material is designed to absorb heavy oil from spills, like some of that coating Gulf Coast beaches.

SHARE As part of his product demonstrations, Herb Pearse, the President of Eco-Tec, Inc., uses oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. An oil-absorbent pad is on the right. Herb Pearse, President of Eco-Tec, Inc., which makes oil-absorbent materials to help clean oil spills.

By Christopher Dunagan

As oil washes ashore along the Gulf Coast, waterfront residents and political leaders say there must be a better way to attack the brown goop they are seeing.

Worries about the cleanup seem focused on the availability of work crews and equipment and whether workers are properly armed for the task.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, held a congressional hearing to discuss available cleanup technology, including sorbent materials. Sorbent materials is a term used to describe practically any material that will soak up oil.

Baird, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, came away with the conclusion that cleanup technology has not kept pace with the potential damage from oil-spill disasters.

"There has not been enough research done on sorbent materials and the role they play in cleaning up oil spills," Baird said in a statement to the Kitsap Sun. "The technology is not where it needs to be."

As the oil spill continues, individuals and companies from Washington state and across the nation are coming out of the woodwork, each one saying that they do have a better way to clean up spilled oil. Sorbents are often the last line of defense after oil gets away from containment booms and skimmers.

Ideas for sorbents range from plain old hay from the field ? a video of which has gone viral on YouTube ? to a large number of manufactured materials.

A Key Peninsula-based company, Eco-Tec, Inc., manufactures mats made of patented polymers left over from the garment industry. Another, Absorption Corp. of Ferndale, takes wood waste from pulp mills and treats it with chemicals to absorb oil while rejecting water.

BP, which is managing the Gulf cleanup, has received about 29,000 suggestions for cleaning up the oil, according to company spokeswoman Heidi Feick. So far, 235 ideas have survived to "stages 3 and 4," she said, adding that stage-4 ideas are destined to undergo field tests of their suitability. She wasn't sure if any tests have begun.

One thing remains true, however. When it comes to picking up oil, the industry standard remains the white polypropylene booms and pads that are stockpiled by the thousands across the country. They are generally cheaper than the newer products. And, since cleanup crews are trained to work with polypropylene booms, cleanup contractors aren't eager to switch to unfamiliar materials.

Some officials say what is really needed is a kind of "consumer report" that would compare sorbent materials based on their effectiveness, ease of use and cost.

Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, Congress approved the landmark Oil Pollution Act, which included a requirement to improve oil-cleanup technology. But after an initial infusion of money, research dollars essentially dried up, according congressional testimony by Nancy E. Kinner of the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

"The decrease in funding was related to the belief that, through a focus on prevention and preparedness, we would not face a major spill event again of the scope and magnitude of the Exxon Valdez," Kinner said. "Unfortunately, the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill has proved that assumption to be horribly wrong."

The Mineral Management Service, which oversees the petroleum industry, operates a testing facility in New Jersey, at the Naval Weapons Station Earle Waterfront. The facility includes an above-ground test tank, 666 feet long and 66 feet wide filled with 2.6 million gallons of clear saltwater.

The facility tests skimmers, dispersants and containment boom, but a cursory search for reports about sorbent materials came up blank. Asked to search for reports on sorbents, an agency official failed to respond in time for this story.

While federal performance standards exist for most equipment and materials used in an oil spill, no standards exist for sorbent materials. Contractors are allowed to choose what works for them.

The perception that polypropylene boom works best has been fostered by suppliers of that material, said Doug Ellis, president of Absorption Corp. of Ferndale. His company began manufacturing a treated wood-fiber material in the 1990s.

"Now that we are in a major disaster, nobody has time to look at anything outside of what they have been told for 20 years.," Ellis said, adding that his company survived by using recycled wood as animal bedding.

Environment Canada, the Canadian environmental agency, tested a number of products and found several superior to polypropylene in terms of how fast they soak up oil and how much they can absorb.

"We're treated like a bunch of quacks and maybe we are," Ellis said, "but I'd like to have an honest evaluation."

Don Cairney, sales manager for Global Diving and Salvage in Seattle, said he is familiar with Absorbent W ? the brand name of a product made by Ferndale-based Absorption Corp. ? and other materials used for soaking up oil. Global is the leading spill contractor in the Puget Sound region, with crews now working in the Gulf.

"There are about 20 different products out there," he said, "and I am able to put the right product in the right application." He said Absorbent W works well as a loose material where it can be readily picked up later.

Another alternative material, which is stored in more than 100 cleanup trailers prepositioned around the state, is a filter fabric called Adsorb-It, produced at various textile plants by Eco-Tec. The fabric is known for picking up light sheens of oil. It costs more than polypropylene, but it can be wrung out and used again and again, making it cost-effective in the long run, according to Herb Pearse, company president who lives on Key Peninsula.

Pearse said he gained attention for the material when demonstrating it at a meeting of the Northwest Response Science and Technology Workgroup. The multi-agency work group reports to the Northwest Area Committee, which oversees preparedness and response plans for Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

David Byers, who manages the Spill Response Program for the Washington Department of Ecology, said besides effectiveness and cost, one must consider the expected life of a boom as well as the ultimate disposal.

"The entire environmental life cycle of the product is part of the picture," Byers said.

Glenn Schmitt, environmental director for Manchester Fuel Depot in South Kitsap, said he was introduced to Adsorb-It by the work group, which meets three or four times a year.

"I have a reputation for looking at new materials," he said. "If they work with fuels, if they don't break the bank and if we can recover the fuel out of them, we may be able to use them."

Schmitt said he has been receiving e-mails from various companies trying to get attention for their products. While he has no sympathy for BP, he said it must be tough for company officials to evaluate new products in the middle of a disaster.

"C'mon," he said. "They are in the middle of trying to fix a problem a mile deep. Give me a break."

Much of the regional effort the past few years has been focused on prevention, said Curt Hart of Ecology, "but the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is all but certain to cause us to focus more on response technologies."

Join an ongoing discussion about all things water-related at the blog Watching Our Water Ways.

This story was changed from its original version to correct an error about what materials are stockpiled in cleanup trailers.
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By Chris Henry

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND  The public is invited to meet consultants Wednesday hired to conduct the search for a Bainbridge Island superintendent.

Superintendent Faith Chapel will retire June 30.

The district has tapped Chicago-based Atlantic Research Partners for the search. The firm's president, Dr. James Hager, was an educator in Washington and Oregon. Senior Executive Consultant Jim Huge has conducted numerous searches in Washington and has family members who have graduated from the Bainbridge district.

Huge and Hager will meet with members of the school board and public to hear their thoughts on a superintendent. Sessions will be:

9:30-10:30 a.m. in the district Board Room, Commodore School, 9530 NE High School Road.

7-8 p.m. in the Bainbridge High School library, 9330 High School Road NE.

The consultants will also lead a board study session at 4 p.m. Jan. 14, before the school board meeting.
News / Africa

by Staff Reporter

A ZAMBIA Army officer in Ndola has told the Chifubu Local Court that his health has deteriorated because his wife cooks food using water from the mortuary besides secretly administering love potions.Zambias Daily Mail reported that Derrick Ng'ombe of house No. 0080 Pamodzi Township told Local Court senior presiding magistrates Kaala Nyambe and Agnes Mulengahe that he has since been losing weight since 2006 and decided to seek spiritual intervention.Ng'ombe had sued Euphresia Mubiana of the same address for divorce, saying he cannot continue living with a wife who heavily depend on love potions to sustain a marriage.Ng'ombe and Mubiana are soldiers of Ndola's Kalewa Barracks.Ng'ombe told the court that there was a time a pastor was praying for him and it was revealed that their house needed prayers to rid it of demons.Ng'ombe said when the pastor went to their house, he asked Mubiana to bring the charms which were in the house, which she did."The pastor told me that Mubiana also had a cooking stick which she uses to prepare my food using water from the mortuary. I was told by the pastor that as the cooking stick gets thinner, I also get slimmer," Ng'ombe said.The charms, cooking stick as well as the mortuary water were brought before court as exhibits.Ng'ombe also told the court that he could not concentrate at work as he loses his memory due to the charms that Mubiana has been using on him.Mubiana did not deny having kept the charms in the couple's bedroom but instead told the court that she got the charms from her mother and that the charms were meant for the good health of her and the children.She told the court that she was surprised when Ng'ombe told her that she was using charms on him. He then sprinkled the house with anointing water and stopped eating food cooked by his wife.Mubiana said it was wrong for Ng'ombe to blame her for his failing health.The court granted the couple divorce with no compensation on either party as there was no room for reconciliation.The court also noted that any man would be put off to learn his wife was using charms.The court ordered that the couple shares any properties that they acquired equally.
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WASHINGTON  It is axiomatic that congressional Republicans will oppose anything smacking of "gun control," which may as well be read as "Your mama."

Thus, it comes as no surprise that President Obama's announcement of executive actions to clarify and enhance federal gun laws prompted reflexive, hyperbolic responses from the right.

Marco Rubio said Obama is "obsessed with undermining the Second Amendment," while Ted Cruz averred, "We don't beat the bad guys by taking away our guns; we beat the bad guys by using our guns."

Spoken like a true, Canadian-born Texan who has been busy burnishing his "outsider" Outdoor Guy image. What's next? Cruz drinking the warm blood of a freshly slain (unarmed) beast?

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the president for a "dangerous level of executive overreach" and for circumventing congressional opposition  as though Congress has been working feverishly to reduce gun violence. Rather, Republicans focus their laser beams on Obama's and the Democratic Party's political motivations, shocking to none, and remind us that we already have enough gun laws.

This may well be true, but couldn't we stand to tweak them a bit? Or, perhaps, enforce them? And, isn't it possible to reduce the number of guns in the wrong hands without surrendering our Second Amendment rights or invoking the slippery slope of government confiscation?

Of course it is  and we can.

Obama made an artful and poignant counterargument to the usual objections Tuesday during a news conference from the White House. He reminded those gathered, including many who have lost family members to gun violence, that other people also have rights  the right to free assembly or the right to practice their religion without being shot.

In fairness to the gun lobby, which may not deserve such charity, one can understand reservations about limiting access to guns. What is less easily understood is the refusal of Republicans to take the reins of any given issue and do something constructive rather than invariably waiting to be forced into the ignoble position of "no."

It is one thing to be in the pocket of the National Rifle Association. It is another to do nothing and then assume a superior posture of purposeful neglect, as though do-nothingness were a policy and smug intransigence a philosophy.

The steps Obama is trying to take won't save every life, but they seem minimally intrusive and could have significant effects. Summarizing briefly, he's clarifying existing law and more tightly defining "gun dealer" in order to impose broader background checks; upgrading technology for improved information-sharing and safer guns; increasing relevant workforces to speed up background checks; and closing loopholes that have allowed criminals to buy guns online and elsewhere with a separate set of rules. Or no rules.

Giving the FBI more resources to modernize its system will help. So will giving $500 million to mental health services aimed at keeping guns away from people determined to hurt themselves or others.

Requiring shippers to report stolen guns will also be helpful  and investing in smart technology could be a game changer. As Obama said, tearing up at mention of the Sandy Hook shooting that took the lives of 20 first-graders, if we can keep children from opening aspirin bottles, surely we can prevent their pulling the trigger on a gun.

As to expanding background checks, only the criminal or the suicidal object to waiting a day or two before taking home a gun. And, if the government doesn't complete the process within three days, seller and buyer can proceed, anyway.

What concerns most people, meanwhile, are those weapons, especially semiautomatics with large magazines, whose only purpose is to kill people. Many argue that no current law could have prevented any of the mass shootings in recent years, but is this sufficient justification for doing nothing when doing something could make a difference we may never know about  the child who didn't die because new technology prevented him from firing a pistol? The Islamic State-inspired terrorist who didn't murder holiday revelers because he failed an online background check?

Obama's actions won't go unchallenged, needless to say. And much political hay will be threshed, bundled and sold to Republican primary voters in the meantime. But GOP voters should be as skeptical of those ringing the gong of doom as they have been of Obama. In a civilized society, more guns can't be better than fewer.

Kathleen Parker's email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.
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Roth Hafer, Bainbridge Island

Well disaster is more than political tool

Politics being what they are, one might blame the President for just about anything that goes wrong, including a natural gas leak in California. (Letters, "Why is methane disaster being ignored?" Jan. 6)

Be that as it may, it has been reported that in 1979 the Southern California Gas Co., which operates the well in question, removed a blow-out preventor at the bottom of the Aliso Canyon well.

Why who knows? In that the storage facility is in the state of California, one might ask what jurisdiction the federal government has regarding the leak?

It does little good to cry over "spilt milk," or in this case, gas, when failing infrastructure presents a greater long term problem and raises the question of who pays for repair of such.

Frankly, to equate lack of hand wringing on the part of the administration with "its desire to support legislation to control cow flatulence in support of its climate control agenda" is in itself just so much bovine excrement.
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News / Africa

by Staff Reporter

Over 928 Namibians refugees based at Dukwi camp who were due to be deported to their country were this week granted temporary reprieve by a Lobatse High Court.The refugees who were to voluntarily return home last month, turned down the offer, citing fear of being tortured on their return.They then launched an urgent application at the Lobatse High court, querying Botswana government's decision to revoke their status in the country.In a court appearance with lasted till 7 p.m. on Monday, Acting Judge Jennifer Dube agreed that the matter was sufficiently urgent to be brought in on short notice.Furthermore, until the 26th of February, when written reasons are submitted before court, government was ordered not to deport the Namibian refugees.The court also ordered that the Namibians be availed with a copy of the tripartite commission report for the Go and See, Come and Tell mission of July 2015.The Go and See, Come and Tell mission was meant to give a delegation of the refugees to form an opinion of their resettlement in Namibia.On the same date, the court will also determine the costs of the case.The Namibians who have been in Botswana for 17 years, fled their home country following the aftermath of a failed attempt to secede the Caprivi Region (now Zambezi) from the rest of Namibia in August 1999.Since last year, about two thousand refugees took up the voluntary repatriation offered to them and they have since gone back to Namibia.Last month only a handful of the refugees were voluntarily repatriated.
JC McCann is Joseph and Laura Helm the plays narrator in the touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat coming to the Tennessee Theatre.

SHARE Gravedigger will be among the monster trucks hitting Thompson-Boling Arena at Monster Jam, taking place at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 and Jan. 16.

Monster Trucks coming to Thompson-Boling

Really really big trucks will take over the University of Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena with the "Monster Jam" show at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 and Jan. 16.

"Monster Jam" tickets range from $20 to $45 for adults and children ages 13 and older, $10 to $45 for children ages 2 to 12. Tickets are available at www.knoxvilletickets.com or 865-656-4444. "Monster Jam" trucks about 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide. The trucks sit on 66-inch-tall tires and weigh at least 10,000 pounds. They are able to reach speeds of 100 miles per hour, can fly 35 feet into the air.

A "Party in the Pits" 5:30-6:30 p.m. Jan. 16 offers ticket-holders a chance to see the trucks up close and meet drivers.

MLK art tribute at Emporium

The second annual Gallery of Arts Tribute, designed to recognize local artists while honoring the life and time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be exhibited at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay St.

The juried exhibition will be on display Jan. 8-29. An opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Jan. 8. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays as well as 3:30-6:30 p.m. Jan. 17.

The exhibit is presented by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission and the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville.

Works by African and African American artists will be featured as well as art that relates to the themes of unity, community, love, reconciliation, social justice and civil rights.

Hominy Mamas perform on 'Kidstuff Live'

The Hominy Mamas will be the guest musicians for the 10 a.m. Jan. 9 performance of WDVX's "Kidstuff Live" show. Local musician Sean McCollough hosts the weekly musical program for kids and "the kid at heart." On the second Saturday of each month, the program is performed live from the WDVX studios at 301 S. Gay St. Children and their families are invited to be part of the live audience on those Saturdays.

McClung hosts stroller tour

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture hosts a stroller tour at 10 a.m. Jan. 11 about freshwater mussels. The one-hour tour is for babies and toddlers with their parents or caregivers. It is free but registration is required at http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu.

The museum is located at 1327 Circle Park Drive on the University of Tennessee campus. Its various exhibits include one about freshwater mussels.

'Joseph' coming to Tennessee

A touring production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" plays at the Tennessee Theatre later this month. Shows are 8 p.m. Jan. 15; 2 and 8 p.m. Jan. 16. Tickets, based on seating and before service charges, are $37, $67 or $77 at www.tennesseetheatre.com or 865-684-1200. The theater is at 604 S. Gay St.

The musical is part of the annual "Broadway at the Tennessee" series. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' tells the Old Testament story of Joseph, his 11 brothers and Joseph's bondage and rise to power in Egypt.

KSO plays Disney

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra performs the music of Disney with its "Fantasia, Live!" concert 8 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.

The concert, part of the News Sentinel Pop Series, will incorporate scenes from the 1940 movie "Fantasia" as well as the film "Fantasia 2000." The musical program will feature "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" as well as Beethoven's "Pastorale" Symphony.

Tickets range from $34 to $88 for adults, $17 to $32 for students and are at 865-291-3310 or www.knoxvillesymphony.com.
<p>Sam Venable, columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel, speaks at the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Middle Tennessee State University, Tuesday, August 12, 2014. At left is WSMV anchor Demetria Kalodimos, who served as the event's emcee. (Andrew Oppmann / Middle Tennessee State University)</p>

The Oregon wildlife refuge recently taken over by armed "constitutional patriots" (I use the term hilariously) is officially named Malheur. That's also the name of a nearby river.

"Malheur" is of French derivation. It was first used in that region centuries ago by French Canadian trappers whose furs got stolen. Precise definitions vary by usage, but the generally accepted English translation is "bad fortune."

Wow. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction. If ever there was a caldron of bad fortune bubbling on the national stove, this is it.

Unless cool heads prevail, I see interminable bad fortune. On both sides.

It's going to be bad for the "militia members" (an equally laughable term as "constitutional patriots") who have announced they intend to stay weeks, months, even years, yet appear to have no plans for food and other provisions.

Conversely, it's going to be just as bad for government officials if they elect to take the refuge by force. The 1993 Branch Davidian disaster in Waco, Texas, comes immediately to mind.

Time is on the government's side.

It's the dead of winter. The place is locked in ice and snow. Why not just back off  no human reinforcements or supplies allowed in, of course  and let these extremists come out when they're hungry and cold enough?

Meanwhile, consider two other stranger-than-fiction phenomena:

(b) Politicians typically sympathetic to antigovernment rhetoric want nothing to do with this mess. Not even Republican presidential candidates will touch it.

According to a report by CNN, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called the protesters "lawless." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz urged the occupiers to "stand down" and offered prayers for law enforcement officers. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie voiced sympathy for state leaders who have "very difficult choices to make."

But the most bizarre reaction is silence from Donald Trump. If The Bloviating Bully isn't weighing in, this thing must be more toxic than strychnine.

(b) Nobody will refer to the takeover as terrorism.

Huh? Armed people sweep onto government property and that's not terrorism? C'mon.

Perhaps these protesters do have legitimate grievances with the Bureau of Land Management and the court system. Time will tell.

But you know and I know and everybody from Oregon to Florida knows that if these were inner-city blacks, Native Americans, followers of Islam or any other minority, the same camo-clad, AR15-toting white guys who now control Malheur National Wildlife Refuge would be the first to shout: "We must take back our land from these terrorists!"
Knox County School Superintendent Jim McIntyre

By Lydia X. McCoy of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Since Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre shared that he was stepping down from his position, school board member Terry Hill has been researching what exactly could go into finding McIntyre's replacement.

"I plan to spend these next few weeks, as far as the process goes, looking at what other systems have done," she said.

On Monday, McIntyre announced that he would be stepping down from his position, citing that the current local political climate has begun to overshadow the work.

His resignation is effective July 8 and is in exchange for a one-year salary severance package, which will have to be approved by the school board.

The school board will hold a special called meeting to discuss the package and resignation on Jan. 19.

The district's superintendent search is expected to be long one, and board members hope without some of the hurdles other districts, like Metro Nashville Public Schools, have had to overcome.

Nashville has been searching for more than a year after offering the position to Williamson County superintendent Mike Looney, who ultimately turned it down.

The district has since put its search on hold, and Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has developed her own search team to find a candidate to fill the position.

Tammy Grissom, executive director of the Tennessee School Board Association, said searches like the one in Nashville don't happen a lot in Tennessee, but a pause during a search can happen.

"I've done them in three months, but it's good if boards can at least take six months so they can gather that community and staff input and really get community buy-in," she said.

Grissom said the key leadership responsibility of the school board is to appoint a superintendent, and that's why they should take their time doing it.

"I think you have to have a board that has a common vision, a good strategic plan in place of where they want the district to go and that they have a search process," she said.

Grissom cautioned that once the board has developed its timeline to stick with it and keep what's best for students at the forefront of decisions. She encouraged the community to stay involved.

School board chairman Doug Harris said he doesn't know how long it will take to fill the position permanently, but that he hopes to know more within the next couple of weeks.

Harris said he would like the board to discuss hiring an interim superintendent before McIntyre's departure, so they can work with that person for a couple months before McIntyre leaves.

"It would seem that we need to hire someone as soon as possible to fulfill an interim position," he said. "Obviously all of these decision are subject to board approval, and I'm one person of nine."

Board members said they don't plan on  and shouldn't  rush the search and hope to find the best person for the job.

When McIntyre was hired, board member Karen Carson was head of the body's search committee.

"It just took time and for me it was difficult because  I thought it was such an incredibly important decision to this whole community," she said.

"(It's) one of the most important decisions that I've been a part in making, so I wanted to do it right, and it takes more time than I think people realize, and it should  because it's so important."

Carson said she wants the board to think about what it wants and not who it wants.

"What I want most is that we, as the board and the community, be able to attract outstanding candidates who want to work here, whether internally or externally," she said.

McIntyre noted on Monday that another reason for his decision was that he thought the new board, which will include three new members after Harris, Carson and Tracie Sanger decided not to run for re-election, should be able to choose its own leader.

Several board members added they hope that is allowed to happen.

"If not, I think they will create so much ill will that they will never be able to recover from it," board member Mike McMillan said.

Board member Gloria Deathridge said she thinks the new board ultimately will get to choose the person, but that the board shouldn't wait to start the process.

"I want to get somebody in here as quickly as possible. So what we probably need to do is once we have this special meeting and have a conversation  let's get started," she said.

"But I think it's going to take longer than six months."

For now, Hill said she's not sure what the process of finding a superintendent will be, but the board and community also have to stay focused on the day-to-day operations.

"We have to get back to the business of educating our kids right now. We still have seven months with our sitting superintendent," she said. "This superintendent search certainly is important and out there, but we need to not lose our focus for today."
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By Mamie Kuykendall of the Knoxville News Sentinel

The largest Tennessee Lottery Powerball jackpot in history  a whopping $700 million  will be drawn for Saturday night, which experts say is due to a recent surge in "jackpot fever."

"Players around the country have joined the excitement for a chance to win such an incredible prize, but remember to play responsibly; it only takes one ticket to win," said Rebecca Hargrove, president and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery.

Wednesday's drawing hit 142,991 winning tickets across the state, with a lucky ticket holder in Chattanooga scoring a $1 million prize.

Eight other prizes are up for grabs Saturday, with cash awards ranging from $4 to $2 million.

Tickets can be purchased at most convenience stores. To play, choose any five numbers from one to 69, and one Powerball number between one and 26. Participants can also select Quick Pick and let the computer pick the numbers. Numbers are drawn on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Odds to win one of the prizes are one in 24.9, while odds to win the jackpot are about one in 292 million.

Revenue generated through the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation funds college grants, scholarships, after-school programs and the new Tennessee Promise initiative. Since January 2004, over $3.5 billion has been raised for education.

Players have won more than $8.7 billion in prizes in that time, and retailers have made more than $896 million in commissions.

Remember to sign your ticket after you purchase, and make your selections before Saturday at 9:59 p.m.

For more information, visit tnlottery.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
News / Local

by Thandeka Moyo and Nqobile Tshili

A 42-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo's Gwabalanda suburb has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his family's maid 10 times using a kitchen knife after she turned down his sexual advances.Vincent Chikoore was arrested on Tuesday, having been on the run since the New Year's Eve murder.Chikoore and his mother were said to be tenants at the house they had moved into hours earlier on the fateful day, December 31.The man is said to have asked their maid, the late Dudzai Hungwe, to have sex with him at around 1PM when his mother had gone into the city. Hungwe refused."He was angered by Hungwe's decision and tried to force her. Hungwe then reached for the knife in a bid to scarce him away and a fight arose which resulted in Hungwe cutting his fingers," said a source who declined to be named."Chikoore then grabbed the knife and stabbed her 10 times and she died on the spot."He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sheunesu Matova represented by Tanaka Muganyi from Dube, Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners.Matova remanded the matter to today.Nkathazo Dlodlo for the State alleges that on December 31, a misunderstanding arose between Hungwe and Chikoore over an issue unknown to the court."This resulted in Chikoore stabbing the now deceased 10 times using a kitchen knife. She was stabbed four times in the chest, once on the abdomen, twice on the arm, once in the back of the head and twice on the left palm," according to Dlodlo.The Chronicle news screw visited Chikoore's home in Gwabalanda suburb yesterday.The house was deserted."They were new here; it was their first day in the suburb. They had moved their property into the house earlier in the day and we were shocked to hear that someone had been killed. We really don't know much about them," said a neighbour.The neighbour said the house has been deserted since the incident occurred.Police sources said the family had moved in from Highmount.A source said Chikoore had been left alone with the maid when he allegedy executed the savage attack."He was left by his mother who had gone to the city to see her daughter off to South Africa."When she came back she discovered that the maid had been killed. There was huge pool of blood in the bathroom where the maid's body was lying," said the source.Chikoore's arrest follows that of a 14-year-old Gweru boy on Monday for allegedly murdering their 41-year-old family maid over a memory card.The boy who lived with the maid in Mkoba Village 20 as his parents work in Mozambique, is admitted to Gweru Provincial Hospital under police guard after attempting to commit suicide.The boy drank a washing detergent in an attempt to kill himself when neighbours called the police.His condition is said to be stable. The boy allegedly clobbered the maid with a hoe handle until she died on Sunday following a misunderstanding over a memory card.He dragged the body into the toilet and stayed with it for about 20 hours, until suspicious neighbours came to investigate. They called the police after seeing the maid's body through the window.
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Severe understaffing in Tennessee's Office of Open Records Counsel has caused a huge backlog of government transparency inquiries, slowing the release of information to the public, a recent state audit found.

The performance audit pegged the number of open or pending requests at 603. Some inquiries have languished as long as 21 months. The office has been without a full-time employee for 15 months  an inexcusable situation given the importance of transparency to good government. Comptroller Justin P. Wilson, who oversees the Office of Open Records Counsel, has submitted a budget request for two staff attorneys  an overdue move. The funding is critical for the operations of this important office.

The Comptroller's Office, which conducts audits of state agencies and local governments, released the internal audit of its operations last month. To Wilson's credit, the Division of State Audit did not gloss over the shortcomings it found. In addition to the problems in the Office of Open Records Counsel, auditors found the Division of Audit used outdated calculation methods when billing entities over a five-year period  resulting both in overcharges and underbillings  and inadequate accounting controls in one section of the agency's technology division.

The Office of Open Records Counsel was established in 2007 and serves as a point of contact for those with questions or concerns about Tennessee's public records and open meetings laws. The office, which fields inquiries from state agencies, local governments, the media and the general public, helps Tennesseans obtain records and issues advisory opinions on transparency.

The number of requests for the office's services has grown steadily since its inception. According to the audit, inquiries to the office more than tripled over a seven-year period, from 600 in 2008-09 to more than 1,800 in 2014-15. The office received 9,476 inquiries from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 14, 2015.

Of the 603 unanswered inquiries found by the audit, nearly two-thirds have yet to undergo even an initial review. Six that had been submitted to the office more than a year prior to the audit were still under review.

The office fell behind after Elisha Hodge resigned as open records counsel in October 2014 to become legal consultant for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service. Ann V. Butterworth, the comptroller's assistant for public finance, took over responsibility for the office on an interim basis, but Wilson has not named a permanent replacement. Butterworth splits her time between the two jobs, and the only other staff member is a legal assistant who also divides her time between jobs.

The inability to keep up with the work should have been predicted, but at least Wilson now has submitted a request to Gov. Bill Haslam for $264,000 to fund the two attorney positions.

The Office of Open Records Counsel serves a vital function for Tennesseans, especially when it can persuade agencies and local governments to stop stonewalling and comply with the law. Wilson needs to name a full-time open records counsel, and the Haslam administration should ensure the office receives full funding for its staff so information can flow freely to the public.
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Like many other Americans, I am aggravated by the ongoing assault on and gradual reduction of our constitutional rights, including our fundamental right to possess arms to protect ourselves and secure a free state. I believe that the arguments used to erode these rights are not based in fact; the mainstream media and other ruling-class groups are complicit in this effort; and rule of law (the Constitution and supporting documents of the framers of the Constitution) should always trump such efforts.

I also believe that the overall behavior of our government indicates we have been a post-constitutional nation for a while and that the real powers don't care about national boundaries or rule of law. The ruling-class elite and their puppets (like President Barack Obama and many others) continue to work in concert to concentrate power and wealth in their hands. "We the People" is hanging by a thread. Getting guns out of our hands would likely mark the end of "We the People" and solidify the tyranny of the ruling class.

While Obama's speech and actions this week to implement more reductions of our gun rights is very troubling, I am equally distressed about presidents' subversion of the Constitution when acting unilaterally through executive orders. Executive orders are limited as guidance from the chief executive to federal agencies in the executive branch on how to execute laws that are already on the books (through our representatives in the Senate and House).

This is an egregious assault on the Constitution's balance of power, and it wouldn't be happening if Congress (as a whole) had the integrity to live by their oath to uphold the Constitution, and if "We the People" (as a whole) had the knowledge, desire and moral fortitude to do something about it.

Curt Williams, Knoxville
Hyundai unveils the Ioniq hybrid compact during a media showcase at its R&D Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The vehicle is a market competitor to the Toyota Prius and has a claimed fuel efficiency of 22.4 kilometers per liter of gas. It will be available for purchase from mid-January here. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Park Jin-hai

HWASEONG  Hyundai Motor unveiled its Ioniq hybrid on Thursday, which the firm hopes will be a market competitor to the current leader, Toyota Prius.

In the preview prior to its mid-January launch, Hyundai Motor introduced the compact car to the media. The company states that Hyundai's ambition is that the Ioniq will lead the company into future mobility.

"The Ioniq is the first move in our efforts to lead us into future mobility. It embodies Hyundai's new ideas and ambitions," said Jung Rag, Hyundai executive vice president in charge of general Product Management at the Hyundai R&D Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. "The vehicle is the essence of our great fuel efficiency and driving performance."

Based on its exclusively developed platform with the clever combination of a 1.6 GDi engine and electrified powertrain, Hyundai's latest green vehicle has achieved fuel efficiency of 22.4 kilometers per liter, beating the current fuel efficiency of Toyota Prius with combined fuel efficiency of 21 kilometers per liter.

The new 1.6 GDI engine, with 40 percent energy efficiency, can deliver 105 horsepower. It has a six speed duel clutch transmission that can deliver fuel efficiency of 95.7 percent, making it the ideal combination for Hyundai's latest green car, according to the company.

The Ioniq's design, inspired by the shape of a killer whale, has an aerodynamic exterior, while its body is stronger and lighter. It uses advanced high strength steel in up to 53 percent of the vehicle, the highest in its class, and expands the application of aluminum to make it lighter.

The vehicle is packed with many smart features including the coasting guide, which lets the driver know when to step off the accelerator when a slow-down is predicted in combination with the information the car receives from its navigator, leading to reduced fuel consumption. It can also predict energy management which automatically charges or discharges the battery in advance of upcoming energy needs, for instance, ahead of an uphill drive or downhill coast.

Hyundai said the new green vehicle has adopted environmentally friendly elements in its construction. Instead of petrochemical materials, the car has elements of ground wood and volcanic stone in its doors, while its head liner contains sugar cane and the door switches are painted with soybean based environmentally friendly paint.

Starting with its hybrid model, the company will successively launch its electric vehicles in March, and a plug-in hybrid by the end of the year.

It is the world's first model to offer customers the choice of three powertrain options.

Hyundai announced at the event that it will add at least four more models to its green car lineup on top of the 22 models the company already plans to introduce by 2020, together with improving fuel efficiency for its entire fleet by at least 25 percent.

Prices for the Ioniq will range from 22.9 to 27.8 million won depending on options, reflecting the tax breaks that will be applied to hybrid models.

Hyundai Motor will launch the Ioniq hybrid compact in the United States in October.
By Yoon Ja-young



The National Pension Service (NPS) has emerged as a major shareholder in the country's conglomerates, but it may be failing to exercise its rights and neglecting its responsibilities as a shareholder. Analysts point out that this may damage the interests of pension subscribers as well.



According to the NPS, it participated in general shareholder's meetings at companies in which it holds a stake, and exercised its voting rights on 2,768 issues between January and October last year.



However, among these, it voted against motions in only 10.2 percent of cases, while approving 89.6 percent of proposals. The ratio of NPS votes against an issue at meetings temporarily rose to 17 percent in 2012 from 7 percent the previous year, but this fell again to 10.8 percent in 2013 to stand at around 10 percent since then.



This compares with other major pension funds which actively exercise their right to increase profitability. The Netherlands' National Civil Pension Fund (ABP), Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) are known to actively exercise their rights, recommending outside directors and involving themselves in the management of the companies in which they hold stakes. They also pressure management by making lists of companies that have problems in governance structure or perform poorly.



The NPS is among the world's top five, with assets totaling 507 trillion won. It invests 96.8 trillion won in the Seoul stock market and 68.1 trillion won in overseas stock. Most of its stock investments in Korea consist of shares in conglomerates, and it is a major shareholder in many of them. According to an analysis of the 175 listed affiliates of the top 30 conglomerates by market information provider CEO Score, the pension fund has more than a 5 percent stake in 54.9 percent of the affiliates as of last September. In some affiliates, the pension fund has an even bigger stake than the families of chaebol owners.



"It is important that pension funds actively exercise their shareholder rights in order to enhance corporate value by securing soundness and transparency," said Kang Yun-sik, a professor at Kangwon National University in a report.



However, there are others who oppose the NPS's active involvement, citing that the government and politicians may use the pension fund's voting rights to pressure businesses. Prof. Kang said that the NPS should thus make decisions based on advice by an independent third party that should analyze the issues to be voted on at shareholders' meetings.




By Yoon Ja-young

The nuclear test by North Korea is expected to halt economic exchanges between South and North Koreas which have already remained sluggish during the past few years.

The Unification Ministry is considering partially limiting the entry to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. "In that case, only those directly related with the businesses operating in the complex will be permitted entry," an official at the ministry said Thursday, citing the safety of the nationals.

Established in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong in 2004, the complex has been symbolizing the reconciliation of the two Koreas, supplying cash to North Korea while South Korean firms have been benefiting from cheap but skilled labor.

In 2013 April, however, North Korea unilaterally shut down the complex for several months with relations between South and North turning thorny following the third nuclear test by the North. The suspension incurred over a 1 trillion won loss for businesses operating in the complex. Currently, a total of 124 businesses are operating in the Gaeseong complex, hiring 54,702 North Koreans.

The businesses at the Gaeseong complex are operating as usual despite the nuclear test, according to the council of South Korean companies in the zone. The unification ministry has also been monitoring the complex but reported no irregularities.












News / Local

by Adelaide Moyo

AN Inyathi man who was caught enjoying sex with a donkey and justfied his action by saying he did not have a girlfriend to bed has been sentenced to 12 months in prison.Bhekimpilo Ngwenya, 20, of Sikhuni Village was convicted on his own plea of guilty to bestiality.Bulawayo magistrate Stephen Ndlovu on circuit at Inyathi court sentenced Ngwenya to 12 months in prison.Four months of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period.The magistrate said Ngwenya degraded himself and his family by engaging in sex with a donkey."What you did is unimaginable. You're a disgrace to your family and the whole community and such behaviour makes you deserve to be in solitary confinement," said Ndlovu.When asked why he committed the offence, Ngwenya told the court that he had no girlfriend and that pushed him to engage in sex with the animal."I resorted to engage in sex with the donkey to quench my sexual appetite because I don't have a girlfriend. I've proposed love to several women but I always get rejected," said Ngwenya.Prosecuting, Lungisani Dube, told the court that on September 26, Ngwenya found a female donkey grazing in a field."The accused who was alone found a female donkey in the fields. He tied a rope around its neck before tying it to a nearby Mopani tree and mounted it," the prosecutor said."A 14-year-old boy who was passing-by noticed that somebody was making some movements on a stationary donkey and went closer to investigate only to discover it was Ngwenya engaging in sex with the animal."The accused ran away after realising that the boy had seen him. He went into hiding and villagers reported the case at Inyathi Police Station leading to his arrest," Dube said.
Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform at the Seoul Arts Center on Jan. 28-29.

/ Courtesy of Vincero



By Kwon Ji-youn

This year, world-class orchestras are set to return to Seoul with compelling programs; ensembles are looking to visit the capital for the first time; ballet troupes will mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death; and young pianists are seeking to keep the home fires burning with recitals and records for their Korean fans.

Here is 2016's classical line-up:



From around the world

The 520-year-old Vienna Boys' Choir will hail the New Year with concerts at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) on Jan. 24. The choir, the world's best-known boys' choir and one of three imperial Austrian musical groups along with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera, bring a program of sacred and folk music unique to the ensemble, and during its stay in Korea, it will host a special round of auditions to recruit local talent.





The Vienna Boys' Choir / Courtesy of Credia



The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will also visit later this month. The CSO, named to Gramophone's list of the world's top five orchestras, will celebrate its 125th anniversary with a concert on Jan. 28-29. Maestro Riccardo Muti, who was unable to conduct the CSO during its visit to Korea in 2013, will helm the performance, to feature Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Mahler's First Symphony. On the second day, the CSO will perform Prokofiev's First Symphony, Hindemith's Concert Music for Brass and Strings and Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

The Thomanerchor's fourth performance in Seoul will take place at the Seoul Arts Center on March 16, bringing with it St. Matthew Passion, a sacred oratorio written by Bach in 1727 with libretto by Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). The Thomanerchor, also known as the St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig, is a choir that Bach himself conducted for 26 years.

The Lucerne Symphony, the orchestra-in-residence of the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre (KKL Luzern) in central Switzerland, will pay a visit in June with a program focused on Dvorak's Eighth Symphony, its recording of which was included in the New York Times' selection of last year's best albums. It will be accompanied by pianist Khatia Buniatishvili.

Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra will also perform the bohemian Eighth Symphony in Seoul on Oct. 10-11. The orchestra, founded in 1983, has in just three decades joined the ranks of world-class European orchestras.

The Orchestre de Paris (OdP) will visit in November to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic ties. With new music director Daniel Harding, the OdP and violinist Joshua Bell will perform Berlioz's "Romeo and Juliet" and Debussy's "Pelleas et Melisande," among others.

Maestro Mariss Jansons will return to Korea in December with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1949, for a third time. Their repertoire will range from Haydn to Strauss.

Pianist Cho Seong-jin performs during the final competition of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall in Warsaw, Poland, on Oct. 18, 2015. / Yonhap



Star pianists' recitals

Young pianists are looking to strike while the iron is hot, lining up recitals for their Korean fans.

Lim Dong-hyek will begin with a recital on Jan. 23 at the concert hall of the SAC. Lim, who finished in third place at the Queen Elizabeth Music Competition in 2003, third in the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 and fourth in the International Tchaikovsky Competition that had no winner, will perform tracks from his "Chopin Preludes" album, released last year.

Cho Seong-jin, winner of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition, will hold a gala concert on Feb. 2 at the SAC. Cho, who became the first Korean to win the prestigious Chopin competition, will be joined by Charles Richard-Hamelin of Canada, Kate Liu of the U.S., and other prize winners. Tickets for the concert sold out in record time. Cho will also perform with the SPO in July.

Pianist Kim Sun-wook has also scheduled for a recital on July 20 at the SAC. Kim, known for his go-ahead attitude towards music, will present works by Mozart and Schubert, a venture from his generally Beethoven-focused repertoire.

Other star musicians visiting Korea this year include composer Philip Glass, violinist Maxim Vengerov, soprano Angela Gheorghiu, cellist Julia Fischer, pianist Murray Pariah and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Welcome, newcomers

Some ensembles and soloists will be visiting Korea for the first time this year.

The Spanish National Orchestra will visit Korea for the first time on July 17. Led by Antonio Mendez, the orchestra will bring a repertoire that comprises folk, dance and Spanish traditional music. Korean pianist Paik Kun-woo, who is currently based in France, will join them for Ravel's Piano Concerto, the very piece that earned him international recognition.

The Bamberg Symphony, under Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt's baton, will also perform in Seoul for the first time in late October.

The orchestra and Blomstedt, who was named honorary conductor of the orchestra in 2006, will perform a program of symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Bruckner.

The adventurous and progressive San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will take to the SAC stage for the first time on Nov. 10. The SFS and American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who has helmed the orchestra since 1995, will be joined by pianist Lim for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2. They will also perform Mahler's First Symphony. The SFS and Thomas have won 15 Grammy Awards, including seven for its Mahler recording cycle of all of the composer's symphonies and his works for voice, orchestra and chorus.

Star soprano Anna Yuryevna Netrebko will perform at the SAC on March 12. Netrebko, known for her striking interpretations of Russian operatic roles, will be joined by tenor Yusif Eyvazov along with the Korean Symphony Orchestra.

The Stradivari Quartett, comprised of four musicians who own Stradivaris instruments, claim to bring out of the all the height and depth of human emotion that music can express. They will perform at the SAC on April 27. Joined by pianist Huh Seung-yeun, the quartet will perform Schumann's Piano Quintet and Mozart's String Quartet No. 21.

Ballet

The country's top two ballet troupes have announced their line-ups for 2016.

Both companies will open with classic ballets in March, and both will mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death with productions based on the English playwright's work.

The Korea National Ballet's (KNB) first production will be "La Bayadere," by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The KNB premiered "La Bayadere" in 2013 and has since sold 90 percent of tickets over the two years it has been performed.

The Universal Ballet Company's (UBC) season opener will be "Swan Lake," composed by Tchaikovsky. The UBC's "Swan Lake," which has received critical acclaim in the 12 countries it has been performed, will be followed by "Simcheong," which has been staged some 200 times in 13 countries since it was premiered in 1986. It has been the UBC's main repertoire since 2011 on its world tour, and will be mounted from June 11 through 18.

The KNC in August will perform "Spartacus," which was voted the production fans want to see staged again. Yury Grigorovich's version of the ballet was premiered in Asia in 2001.

To mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death, the UBC will perform Kenneth MacMillan's version of "Romeo and Juliet" on Oct. 22-29, and the KNB, "The Taming of the Shrew," on June 23-26.

Both the UBC and KNB will close the year out with "The Nutcracker." The KNB's performance will be staged at the SAC on Dec. 17-25, and the UBC's performance, at the Universal Arts Center on Dec. 18-31.
Competition among the nation's low-cost carriers is expected to further intensify this year because airlines are buying more planes and expanding their air routes in order to attract more travelers from full-service carriers.

/ Korea Times file





By Chung Ah-young



Low-cost carriers (LCCs) here are expected to compete more fiercely than ever this year as they are buying more planes and expanding their routes to attract more travelers from full-service carriers.



Also, Air Seoul, a newcomer, affiliated with Asiana Airlines, the nation's second largest carrier, plans to launch operation this year as it has recently obtained a license from the government.



The budget carriers have exponentially grown over the last 10 years, threatening the positions of the nation's premium carriers  Korean Air and Asiana Airlines.



With lower fares, no-frills airlines make profits for charging fees on food or beverages by reducing conventional services. In Korea, Jeju Air was established as the first low-cost carrier in 2005.





T'way Air





According to the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Infrastructure, the number of international passengers rose by 13.7 percent to 5.22 million year-on-year in November. Among these, the number of passengers for the premium carriers has increased by 10.3 percent while LCC's has surged by 54.6 percent.



The Korea Civil Aviation Development Association (KADA) said that the market share of the low cost rose to 14 percent in 2015, up from 0.05 percent in 2008.



"Due to their extended operations for the mid- and long-range routes which make airlines earn more profits, the lower burden for oil prices, the market share is expected to soar to 30 percent within five years," the KADA said.





Jeju Air





Air Seoul, newcomer



Asiana Airlines' second budget carrier will launch its operations in the second half of thes year.



The new carrier will join the current five budget airlines  Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Eastar Jet and T'way Air.



Asiana said that it will use the two budget carriers on a two-track strategy  Air Seoul will be based at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, while Air Busan, its first budget carrier, is based in Busan.



Air Busan will continue to focus on domestic flights while Air Seoul will target middle and longer distance international routes.



To improve the company's structure, Asiana will gradually transfer 11 routes to Japan and Southeast Asia to Air Seoul and will stop flights to Vladivostok in February and Yangon and Bali in March.





Eastar Jet





The company said that the launch of the new carrier is part of business management normalization plan to sharpen its competitiveness along with its restructuring project.



Air Seoul plans to lease three A321-200s from Asiana and introduce two more aircraft in 2017.



Air Seoul will have more than 15 billion won in capital, which is required for gaining a license for international air transport operators.



Industry watchers said that Air Seoul will heat up the ongoing competition. "Many foreign airlines have already made inroads into the domestic market. In this situation, an additional establishment of the low-cost carrier will eat up each other's market," an industry insider said.





Air Busan





Expansion



Jin Air, affiliated with Korean Air, has recently extended its routes to Honolulu, Hawaii, the first long-haul international route for a budget carrier. It is expected to fuel competition between budget carriers and full-service ones over long-haul, profit-making routes.



Previously, the longest route operated by the budget carrier was that between Incheon and Guam, which takes six-and-a-half hours.



The Incheon-Honolulu route has five flights a week, with a ticket priced at 530,000 won which is half the cost of a ticket of other larger airlines.



"The short and mid-haul routes are already saturated among LCC competitors as they are vying to maximize their profits," an official of Jin Air said.



"We need to find a niche market and the necessity of the long routes is becoming bigger. We will preoccupy the market and widen the gap with other competitors through this route," he said.



Jin Air introduced a B777-200ER plane with 393 seats for the route. The company said that it will give more opportunities to passengers with more affordable prices and services for the long route.



Other budget carriers have aggressively sought expansion in terms of planes and routes.



The five no-frills airlines newly opened 39 international flights in 2015 alone. Jin Air opened 11 international routes including the Incheon-Honolulu one and bought six airplanes, bringing its total to 19.



T'way also began operations to 10 new destinations last year. Among them, four including the Daegu-Shanghai route and Muan-Tianjin route are based on regional airports which larger carriers rarely gain access to.



Jeju Air opened seven routes to international destinations, introducing seven new planes. It went public on Nov. 6  as the first budget carrier  10 years after its establishment. Jeju Air has the largest market share and stable revenue among LCCs.



Eastar Jet and Air Busan launched seven and five new routes, respectively. Air Busan is also seeking an IPO to expand its business this year.
/Screen caputred from Twitter

Eight college student groups and youth organizations have attacked the North's claimed hydrogen bomb test, Yonhap reported Thursday.

The mostly conservative groups held a conference at the Cheonggy Stream in downtown Seoul, saying Wednesday's test is far more dangerous than North Korea's previous nuclear tests. They said "if what North Korea claims is true, then it is a whole new threat and provocation."

"North Korea should stop using these nuclear experiments as a means to unite domestic feelings and gain support from the international community, it is only making locals frightened," the groups said.

They also asked the government and international community to respond swiftly with new sanctions.
By Chung Ah-young



Some 60 passengers are seeking to file a class action suit against Jin Air, the low-cost carrier affiliated with Korean Air, for damages caused by the flight's emergency return to Cebu, the Philippines, due to a door not being completely closed.



According to sources, Thursday, the passengers have started preparing for legal action through an online community.



On Sunday, a Jin Air Boeing 737-800 jet bound from Cebu for Busan turned back to Cebu about 30 minutes after takeoff as one of the plane's doors was not tightly closed.



No serious injuries were reported, but passengers have complained about ear problems and trauma after the incident.



One of the passengers said that her baby was diagnosed with an inflammation of the middle ear due to the cabin pressure resulting from the door malfunction.



"My daughter began crying some 10 minutes after the airplane took off. I felt really sorry for my baby," she said on her blog. "But flight attendants repeated that the reason for the return was the noises made by the door, not the problem of the door itself. I had to endure a severe headache, soothing my crying daughter."



The passengers are collecting their medical certificates to seek compensation.

They also criticized the way the airline dealt with the incident, saying there was no official apology.



Some said that flight attendants made an announcement they were returning to Cebu but they didn't explain why the flight was turning around, and that the pilots didn't make an announcement.



However, Jin Air said that the pilots had to concentrate on coordinating with the control tower in Cebu. "Their prior duty was a safe return. The flight attendants made announcements about the return instead," an official of Jin Air said.



He said that the company will offer 100,000 won in compensation to each of the 163 passengers as soon as possible.



"Although we don't have regulations on offering compensation for such an incident, we have decided to give 100,000 won for causing inconveniences to them," he said.

"We made efforts to take proper measures when the flight returned to Cebu."




By Chung Ah-young



Washington may increase the pressure on South Korea for the stationing of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit on South Korean soil following the North's claimed test of a hydrogen bomb, experts said Thursday.



The United States discussed its measures with South Korea to deploy U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula to deter the North's growing threats.



Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter discussed ways they could tighten their security collaboration after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test on Wednesday.



"Secretary Carter reaffirmed the U.S.' ironclad defense commitment to South Korea, and this includes all kinds of extended deterrence assets," Han said in a joint press release with Carter.



"Extended deterrence" usually refers to the U.S. defense ability, or nuclear forces by offering the nuclear umbrella and deploying conventional weapons and the missile defense systems to its allies when they are under threats.













Experts said that this means the reopening of the debate on the deployment of THAAD or redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea to effectively deter the provocation of the reclusive regime.



It is said that THAAD is one of the options for the U.S. to enhance its military presence in the Northeast Asian region.



Seoul has yet to respond to Washington's repeated pressures for deployment of THAAD here, considering opposition from China, Korea's No. 1 trading partner. China has been pressing Seoul to reject the deployment, citing that it could be used to nullify Beijing's military strike capabilities. Russia has expressed opposition to the deployment as well.



Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, stressed the necessity to deploy missile defense systems to South Korea and to strengthen its homeland defenses on Wednesday.



"The U.S. must work with our South Korean allies to deploy missile defense systems, including THAAD, on the peninsula and work at home to strengthen our homeland defenses," Thornberry said.



"We must also take immediate steps to strengthen our own nuclear deterrent, which is the foundation for our other defense capabilities," he said.



Sources said that if the hydrogen bomb test is proven to be true as North Korea claims, it is a game changer in the geopolitical landscape of the region.



"To deter the nuclear possession of North Korea is becoming a far-fetched goal. So various deterrence measures should be strengthened," sources said.
By Kim Se-jeong





Rep. Jasmine Lee

Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party proposed a bill on Thursday that will serve as the foundation for future immigration policy.

The bill is aimed at opening a "control tower" office under Cheong Wa Dae to consolidate the policies of various ministries concerning multiracial families and other immigrant populations and to devise a long-term national policy about the issue.

The bill came one month after the Presidential Committee on the Aging Society and Population made the recommendation, in an effort to slow the population decline as the nation's birthrate is among the world's lowest.

"There are many ministries doing their own things when it comes to policies regarding immigrants," Lee said. "It prevents effective and consistent measures, so we need a regular control tower that can set up a roadmap and to more effectively deal with the issue."

Thirteen other lawmakers from the party signed the bill as well.

In the bill, she also proposed the government establish immigration-related policies every five years based on the control tower's review. About 30 people including government officials and private sector experts will be needed for the office, Lee proposed.

The chances of the bill's passage at the National Assembly are, however, low, as the 19th Assembly is close to an end. However, the move is widely viewed as a symbolic one, as it is the first bill regarding the issue. Also Lee herself is an immigrant from the Philippines who moved here after marrying a Korean national.

"We know time is short for the bill to be passed," said Lee Seung-hoon, one of Lee's aides. "Yet, we pushed ahead, because this is an important move and this will make the next attempt easier. We are certain that this bill would lay the foundation for future legislation."

The population of immigrants is on the rise in Korea. According to the Ministry of Justice, 1.8 million were born outside Korea as of November last year.

Immigration issues have surfaced with the talk of the declining Korean population, which is expected to reach its peak in 2030. The current population is 51 million which is expected to shrink to 44 million. The working population aged between 15 and 64 will begin shrinking in a couple of years.

Current immigration policies lack coordination among related government bodies: the Ministry of Employment and Labor is in charge of policies on immigrant workers who account for the biggest proportion of foreign residents here; the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family deals with 300,000 marriage immigrants; and the justice, education and foreign affairs ministries have their own share of responsibility and policy goals.
Members of conservative civic groups, including the Korea Parent Federation, criticize Pyongyang's claimed hydrogen bomb test during a rally held at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap



By Kim Hyo-jin



North Korea's fourth nuclear test on Wednesday proved that the country has taken a step closer toward miniaturizing nuclear warheads.



Military officials here are expressing concerns that the North has further developed its capability to build nuclear warheads small enough to fit atop missiles through the latest test.



"We assess that the North's miniaturization technology of nuclear warhead is improving," Defense Minister Han Min-koo said during a meeting with the National Assembly's Defense Committee, Thursday.



North Korea on Wednesday claimed that they successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. Although questions were raised over whether it was really a hydrogen bomb, experts agree that the test helped the isolated country further refined technology to miniaturize nuclear warhead.



Pyongyang has been working on reducing the weight of its nuclear device so it can be loaded on missiles. Experts say that the technology has been in continual development since 2006 when the North conducted its first nuclear test.



They also point out the size of the explosion mark detected at a Pyongyang's high-explosive test site has reduced from 4 meters in 1989, to 1.5 meters in 2001, and to less than 1 meter in recent years.













"North learns from each test," said Paul Carroll, Director of Programs at Ploughshares Fund, a foundation with expertise on North Korea's nuclear program. "Though it has still a long way to truly mount a warhead to a missile, this test likely put them closer to that day."



In the face of a direct threat from improvements to the North's nuclear capabilities, South Korea appears to be overhauling its stance toward North Korea's nuclear program.



President Park Geun-hye said the latest test will "fundamentally change" how the international community views the North's nuclear technologies.



Lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party raised their voices over adjusting the government's policy, mentioning the need to acquire its own nuclear deterrence.



"It is time to overhaul our countermeasures against North's nukes. We should think about having our own nuclear development program for the purpose of self-defense," Rep. Won Yoo-chul, party's floor leader said during a party meeting.



He called for re-deployment of strategic nuclear weapons by the United States in South Korea, which were withdrawn in 1991 during the Roh Tae-woo administration. Similar views were also raised among hawkish politicians when the North carried out its third nuclear test in 2013.



Meanwhile, Saenuri Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung urged the opposition party to cooperate for the passage of anti-terrorism and the North Korean human rights bills, which have been pending due to differing views between rival parties.



"The biggest threat is the North Korea's nuclear power and act of terror. Opposition should stop political strife and work together on guaranteeing national security," Kim said.



Rival parties adopted a resolution denouncing North Korea's nuclear test and demanding stricter sanctions during the Assembly's diplomacy and unification committee meeting.
B-52 bomber



B-52 bombers, F-22 Raptors, submarines may be deployed

By Jun Ji-hye

The United States is considering deploying a number of its strategic military assets to the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test, the Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday.

This would include B-52 and B-2 bombers, F-22 Raptor stealth fighters and a nuclear-powered submarine, said defense officials.

"Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and the commander of the United States Forces Korea Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti discussed the possible deployment of the military equipment as part of measures to enhance joint defense capabilities," said a ministry official on condition of anonymity.

"The allies are considering a variety of options," he said. "They are working out details to decide on the assets to be deployed and the timing of the deployment."

The B-52 is a warplane capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles, and the B-2 has a radar-evading stealth function that enables it to elude anti-aircraft radars to drop conventional and nuclear weapons.

The main function of these planes, if deployed, would be to strike North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities.

As a nuclear submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor, it does not have to surface frequently, making it difficult for an enemy to detect. Moreover, nuclear submarines can operate at high speeds for long periods of time.

The F-22 Raptor is cited as the world's best attack aircraft.

The North has been extremely sensitive about the deployment of such military equipment on the peninsula.

"If the bombers are deployed in time of war, they are capable of striking the North's command and control facilities as well as nuclear facilities," said another military official on condition of anonymity. "Actually, the North can be burnt to the ground."

When the Kim Jong-un regime declared a state of semi-war and ratcheted up military threats in August, the allies also considered a deployment of strategic weapons.

The mounting tension at the time, initially caused by the detonation of North Korean landmines that maimed two South Korean soldiers inside the Demilitarized Zone, ended in the landmark Aug. 25 inter-Korean deal.












Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) President and CEO Ha Sung-yong, third from right, poses with other participants at the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday, after signing contracts with Indonesia's defense ministry and the state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to jointly develop Korea's fighter jet. Fifth from right is Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Chang Myoung-jin, sixth from left is Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and second from left is PTDI President Budi Santoso. / Courtesy of KAI



By Jun Ji-hye

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed two separate contracts with the Indonesian defense ministry and the country's state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in Jakarta, Thursday, to jointly develop Korea's indigenous fighter jets.

Under the deals, the Southeast Asian country will pay 20 percent of the 8.5 trillion won cost for the so-called KF-X project and participate in aircraft development.

The KF-X project is aimed at developing indigenous fighter jets by the first half of the year 2026 to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

KAI said the Indonesian government will invest some 1.6 trillion won in the project, and the Indonesian defense firm will participate in the process of design and component production. The country would also acquire one prototype and technology data afterward.

The deals came after KAI signed a contract with Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to develop the fighter jets last month.

The deal with the Indonesian defense ministry was signed between KAI President and CEO Ha Sung-yong and Timbul Siahaan, director general for defense potential at Indonesia's Ministry of Defense. The contract with PTDI was signed between Ha and PTDI President Director Budi Santoso.

"DAPA Minister Chang Myoung-jin, Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tai-young and Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu also attended the signing ceremony," the release said.

The government plans to spend 8.5 trillion won in the KF-X project and an additional 10 trillion won to produce 120 jets.

KAI said in a release, "By singing these contracts, we have now prepared everything to undertake the KF-X project."

For his part, KAI President and CEO Ha said, "We will do our best to succeed in the project and promote the national interest of both countries in defense, economy and industry areas."





Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye


International calls mounting for harsher responses

By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea's surprise nuclear test on Wednesday has shown that its young leader Kim Jong-un is the world's most unpredictable dictator and far more enigmatic than his father, analysts said Thursday.

They say that Kim's predecessors showed consistency in their pursuit of strategies, but the isolated incumbent leader is entirely unpredictable, posing a graver security threat for South Korea and the international community as a whole.

Unlike in the past, the secretive state did not inform China and the United States that it was due to conduct a hydrogen bomb test, for the first time in its history.

Moreover, the young leader stabbed the South and the international community in the back with the test after hinting at a conciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula in his New Year speech.

Analysts said that regardless as to whether the device the North detonated is an H-bomb or an atomic bomb, the latest nuclear test underlined the gravity of the threats resulting from Kim's unpredictability and underscored the need to overhaul the North Korean policy fundamentally.

"Kim has taken bolder and more ill-considered moves than expected, so it is too difficult to figure out Kim's plans," said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University.

"We need to reanalyze Kim's every move in the past."
News / National

by Fungai Jachi

A Mufakose man who broke into houses in his neighbourhood and stole property worth $1 600 was on Tuesday slapped with an effective three-year jail term by a Mbare magistrate.Paddington Manyemwe (30) of Mumungu Street, Mufakose, appeared before magistrate Mr Reward Kwenda charged two counts of unlawful entry. Mr Kwenda sentenced him to four years on both counts before suspending eight months for five years on condition of good behaviour.A further four months was suspended on condition he pays back $590 to the first victim and $194 to the second.He will serve an effective three years. The court heard that on December 27, Manyemwe  in the company of his accomplices who are still at large  used a bolt cutter to cut a burglar bar on Farai Mukupe's window.He gained entry into the house and stole electrical gadgets and a wallet that contained $87, the total value of all property and cash being $760. On December 30 Manyemwe used the same modus operandi to break into Experience Muzokomba's house and stole electrical gadgets again.The total value of property stolen was $879. Manyemwe was arrested after detectives received information that he had stolen property in his possession and on searching his house recovered some of the stolen goods.The total amount of the stolen property in both counts was $1 639. Property worth $855 was recovered. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man who fondled a 13-year-old girl's breasts after being offered a lift by her parents was last week convicted of indecent assault and ordered to perform 320 hours of community service.Vandamme Chabata of Budiriro 1 was sentenced by Mbare magistrate Ms Kudzai Zihove.He was given a year in jail before two months were suspended for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence during that period and the other 10 months were suspended on condition Chabata performs 320 hours of community service at Budiriro Police Station.In assessing the sentence, Ms Zihove considered that Chabata was a first offender who pleaded guilty to the charge. What worked against Chabata was that he committed a serious offence and had to be punished to deter would-be offenders.Ms Zihove said a custodial sentence would be too harsh on Chabata, but strongly warned him against committing a similar offence within five years otherwise he would face an automatic custodial sentence.The court heard that on Christmas Day, Chabata was offered a lift from Budiriro to the city centre by the girl's parents.Chabata and the girl shared the back passenger seat and along the way, Chabata fondled the girl's breasts.The court heard that the girl tried to stop him, but he did not listen and continued to fondle her.The girl's father heard the two quarrelling and upon inquiry was told what was happen- ing.He stopped the car and asked Chabata to leave, but he went berserk and pulled the girl out of the vehicle while assaulting anyone who tried to stop him.The girl and her father were helped by a police officer who was passing by and they took Chabata to the police station.
US commitment to security 'unshakable'



By Kang Seung-woo

Park Geun-hye Barack Obama

President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed Thursday to work closely to impose strong sanctions against North Korea following its latest nuclear test.

Obama reaffirmed an "unshakable" U.S. commitment to the security of South Korea.

The two leaders held a 20-minute phone conversation one day after the repressive state carried out its fourth nuclear test on Wednesday.

Later in the day, Park also spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss North Korea.

"Park and Obama condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several U.N. Security Council resolutions," the White House said in a statement.

"The two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea's latest reckless behavior."

Earlier in the day, the U.N. Security Council agreed to immediately start work on a new sanctions resolution against the North, saying it "strongly condemns" its latest nuclear test.

The U.N. resolutions ban the North from developing nuclear weapons and using ballistic missile technology and the isolated country is already under U.N. sanctions for conducting previous nuclear and missile tests.

The U.S. president also told President Park that the U.S. will strongly commit to defending Seoul from Pyongyang's nuclear threats, adding that it would use all of its deterrence capabilities.

Cheong Wa Dae also issued a statement, which listed, among other points, that the two leaders agreed that the North should pay the price for the nuclear provocation.

The two heads of state also agreed to address the North Korean nuclear issue with the utmost urgency and determination, as they did during their Oct. 16 summit in Washington, D.C.

Park's office added that Park and Obama share views on needs to cooperate with neighboring countries Japan and China to handle the issue.

During the 15-minute phone conversation between Park and Abe, they agreed to closely work together for swift adoption of a strong and effective U.N. resolution to hold the North responsible for its nuclear test despite the international community's repeated calls.














By Jhoo Dong-chan



Questions have been raised over the effectiveness of a job fund which will be launched today as part of President Park Geun-hye's proposal to help unemployed youths get jobs.



Experts say the programs overlap with existing employment policies and may not last long.



The government set up the Youth Hope Foundation to raise funds in September. President Park made the first donation for the fund, giving 20 million won ($16,800), promising to also give 20 percent of her monthly salary toward that end.



Following her lead, a flurry of donations has been made to the fund from politicians, entrepreneurs and celebrities. The fund drew almost 2 billion won in its first four days, accumulating some 120.8 billion won by the end of last year.



The foundation aims at providing job information to 125,000 young adults and creating 6,300 new jobs.



But labor experts also point out that a number of the foundation's programs are overlapped with the government's ongoing policies. For example, the foundation's overseas employment program is similar to the K-Move Program led by the Human Resources Development Service.



The only difference between the two is the overseas job training period  the K-Move School offers three to 12 months of training while the program under the foundation provides 12 to 18 months.



The job-mentoring service and class for big data analysts under the program are also similar to two existing government programs.



Some said the program is nothing but a reiteration of frequent fundraising PR campaigns under military regimes from the 1960s to the 80s, including Park's father, former President Park Chung-hee, lacking detailed spending plans about how to create jobs with the gathered funds.



"It's just a typical case of a government initiative to show off," said Ahn Jin-gul, director of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. "Such moves will impose undue social pressures on others to match donations."



Indeed, Park's donation has placed tacit pressure on other high-ranking officials including Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. Not only politicians and public officials but also business tycoons spent their own money to demonstrate their loyalty to President Park. Some bank executives allegedly extended the pressure to their employees, urging them to donate.



Another concern is that money collected though fundraising may be reverted to the government if a new President is elected or the program faces an early shutdown.



"Donations from the country's private sector would be a quasi-tax if the foundation does not differentiate its programs to really help youth employment," said a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training under condition of anonymity.



"The foundation should consider their trainees' needs when they look for jobs and come up with practical solutions."




By Javier Solana

MADRID  As 2015 draws to a close, new steps  albeit small and tentative  have been taken toward ending the war in Syria. The United Nations Security Council has adopted Resolution 2254 , expressing its backing for a transition out of the conflict, and the International Syria Support Group has set a date for its next meeting, to be held next month. But the ISSG comprises both allies and adversaries  for example, Saudi Arabia and Iran  meaning that continued progress will be a challenge.

Now, another pair of countries in the process, Turkey and Russia, appear headed down the road to mutual enmity. Turkey, whose proximity to Syria generates both challenges and opportunities, could play an especially significant role in shaping how the peace process plays out. But Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane on its border with Syria last month has spurred a swift and sharp deterioration in bilateral relations, with the Kremlin imposing retaliatory economic sanctions.

Russia, for its part, is facing the tough reality of maintaining an active military presence in the Middle East. Its efforts to bolster President Bashar al-Assad's regime (and thus to strengthen its own role at the negotiating table) places it at odds with the countries  including NATO member Turkey  that want Assad out.

The problem for Turkey is that its interests are not as straightforward as stopping the Islamic State (ISIS), or even driving Assad from power. It also aims to ensure that Kurdish groups  such as the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of Syria, which is closely affiliated with Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)  do not consolidate control of territory in Syria, now or during the post-conflict reconstruction.

Since the summer, when several severe outbreaks of violence effectively ended a two-year old ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government, the Kurdish conflict in Turkey has once again been burning white-hot, raising fears about the impact of an empowered PYD. Ongoing domestic political upheaval, including two parliamentary elections in just six months, has complicated Turkey's situation further.

Turkey's opposition to empowering the Kurds has been a source of tension with its traditional ally, the United States, which believes the Kurds are the only force on the ground capable of fighting ISIS. The rekindled hostility between Turkey's government and the PKK is thus undermining Turkey's interest in the success of the Syrian peace negotiations.

Amid these challenges, however, is a ray of hope: Turkey's relations with the European Union have lately improved markedly. Europe's desperation to resolve the refugee crisis has strengthened its incentive to cooperate with Turkey. This creates an important opportunity to restart negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU  a prospect that had been nearly extinguished.

To be sure, in its latest report on Turkey's progress toward meeting the accession criteria, the European Commission noted "significant shortcomings" relating to the judiciary, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly, and appealed for the resumption of efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue. But now the mood is significantly improved. Already, the EU and Turkey have agreed on a joint-action plan, which entails some visa liberalization, and there has been talk of a possible "privileged" bilateral relationship.

Moreover, there has been some promising forward movement on the Cyprus issue, a longstanding impediment to Turkey's EU accession. With Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders having resumed talks in May, Turkey now has the opportunity to take decisive steps toward uniting the island.

In short, the refugee crisis has tilted the EU toward Turkey. But defeating ISIS remains a top priority. This will require negotiating with Russia  something that EU members have recognized. Since the Paris attacks in November, efforts to strengthen cooperation against terrorism, including between France and Russia, have intensified. If Turkey wants its relationship with the EU to continue to improve, it will have to engage, too.

The tension between Turkey and Russia has also hurt Turkey's own position in Syria. Beyond the economic sanctions, Russia has now equipped its warplanes with air-to-air missiles, making it more difficult for Turkey to defend its airspace and maintain its influence over the northeastern Syrian border, an area that it considers critical to prevent the PYD from crossing the Euphrates to the West.

Turkey should reflect on its position. It cannot risk being perceived as a country that jeopardizes basic freedoms, thereby widening the gap with the EU. Two factors will sustain its position as an essential ally of the US and the EU: improved relations with the Kurds and progress toward a settlement in Cyprus. In the Syrian peace process, the decisions Turkey makes can either drive or impede progress toward a settlement.

The myriad factors shaping Turkey's position make decision-making very difficult. But there is a way out of the current tangle: a strategic approach that makes the most of rapprochement with the EU, recognizes the importance of stabilizing Syria as soon as possible, and clarifies, once and for all, Turkey's role in the fight against the Islamic State.

Turkey recently demonstrated its ability to overcome complex challenges, wisely restoring full diplomatic relations with Israel after a five-year breach in ties. Given this, reconciliation with Russia cannot be ruled out. Such an approach would, no doubt, facilitate the management of a host of risks that have been exacerbated by the Syrian conflict.

Javier Solana was EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary-General of NATO, and Foreign Minister of Spain. He is currently President of the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics and Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) strongly condemned North Korea's nuclear test and agreed to start working immediately on drawing up new punitive measures at an emergency session, Wednesday (New York Time).

The meeting followed an announcement from Pyongyang earlier in the day in which the regime there claimed that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned this test," the 15-member council said in a press statement.

"The test is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions and a clear threat to international peace and security."

The UNSC referred to previous warnings against Pyongyang and its determination to take further significant measures if the isolated state conducts further nuclear tests.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter assured South Korea of his country's "ironclad" commitment to defending South Korea from North Korea's nuclear threats, the South Korean defense minister said Thursday following the communist country's nuclear test a day earlier.

"Secretary Carter reaffirmed the U.S.' ironclad defense commitment to South Korea, and this includes all kinds of extended deterrence assets," Defense Minister Han Min-koo said in a joint press release with Carter.

The two defense chiefs discussed over the phone on Wednesday how to tighten their security collaboration after the North conducted another nuclear test, its fourth.

Han and Carter also shared their determination that North Korea will not be recognized in the international community as a country that legitimately possesses nuclear capabilities, according to the joint release.

"Both ministers agreed that North Korea should pay a price that is proportional to the provocation," Han said. (Yonhap)
President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed possible responses to North Korea's claimed successful hydrogen bomb test, said a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Thursday.

The phone call covered a range of pressing issues, including how the two nations can closely cooperate following Wednesday's nuclear test, measures likely to be taken by the United Nations Security Council and a reaffirmation of the solid ROK-U.S. bilateral defense system.

Cheong Wa Dae is set to disclose full details of the discussion between the two heads of state, which began at around 9:55 a.m. and lasted for 20 minutes.












South Korean cars pass through inspections near the border with North Korea, Thursday, to enter the Gaeseong Industrial Park a day after the North claimed it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Seoul has put a partial ban on entry to the inter-Korean economic project. / Yonhap



South Korea has restricted entry to the Gaeseong Industrial Park in North Korea after the North claimed a successful test of a hydrogen bomb Wednesday.

The Unification Ministry said Thursday it will allow only those who are directly involved in the operation of the park's factories and their associated companies to enter for an indefinite period.

The official said the South Korean government "sees the inter-Korean situation sparked by the nuclear test as very grave" and "will take necessary steps to ensure the safety of our nationals."

A total of 124 South Korean firms have factories in the park, where about 54,000 North Koreans are employed.

With the new sanction in effect, the number of South Koreans in the park may fall to 100 a day. As of Thursday morning, about 1,200 South Koreans were there for business.

North Korea said Wednesday it had completed a successful H-bomb test. But experts outside the state doubted this.

The North conducted other nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
By Oh Young-jin



There has been a flurry of activity in the rest of the world to determine whether North Korea had indeed detonated a prototype of hydrogen bomb Wednesday as it claimed.



A consensus in the making is that the yield appears to be small to be called a real thermonuclear device but that argument would be rendered irrelevant for a bigger question: what to do with this rogue state under the soon-to-be 32-year-old dictator, Kim Jong-un, who has proved his eagerness to go all the way on its nuclear development with the Monday test.



There are three options with the common, ultimate purpose of the demise of the anachronistic dynasty started by Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-sung.



The first is a "blockade" aimed at starving the North to the point of surrender, hopefully, or, if not, to collapse. A two-pronged approach can be used. The United Nations can give real teeth to its sanctions, putting a stranglehold on the international flow of the North Korean leader's "governing funds." In 2007, the North, then under Kim Jong-il, the current leader's father, was hit hard by the U.S. decision to freeze his secret funds of $25 million deposited at the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. In return for freeing the funds, the North agreed to a step-by-step denuclearization plan, which didn't materialize thanks to the lack of will to follow up amid changes of administrations in the U.S. and South Korea.



To make the U.N. sanctions work, China's role would be pivotal. Previously, it was Beijing as one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that vetoed the sanctions against the communist ally or watered them down. Now, Beijing, under the practical leader Xi Jinping, feels less obligated to protect the North, which didn't even bother to notify its benefactor prior to the Monday test.



Seoul also needs to approach the North's latest challenge preemptively for a change, perhaps pulling out of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, a flagship inter-Korean business project that dates back to the conciliatory President Kim Dae-jung, which has been suspected of providing hard cash for Pyongyang to develop its weapons of mass destruction. This bold approach would enable Seoul to assert its role against U.S., China and Japan in determining the course of action to disarm the North and in the aftermath.



Topping it off, the international community should revive the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a stalled U.S.-led effort to search for and seize North Korean freighters in open seas on suspicion of transferring WMDs or related parts. By tweaking its rules a bit, the international community may bring the North's trade to an unbearable standstill.



This package of measures has never been applied together before and is expected to put a great deal of pressure on the North immediately. The side effects are that not just the North's leadership but its population will suffer.



Recognizing the North as a nuclear state is another option. Pyongyang has repeatedly indicated its eagerness to be one, obviously believing that such a status would earn it respect from big powers and guarantee its survival, perhaps extorting the neighbors for "protection" money.



The examples of India and Pakistan, two countries recognized as nuclear states outside the known five, shows the North wouldn't get what it wants, even if it is recognized as one.

Rather, the international community could be better off by admitting to the "nuclear club" and enticing it to subject itself back to an array of outside oversight, having it rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and allow monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This means a degree of transparency on the North's nuclear activities, which could be used as the first step to integrate the North into the rest of the world.



Under this scenario, the North would be left to its own devices and face the choice of "sink or swim," being exposed to the brave new world of competition. If it survives, the rest of the world may give itself a pat on the back for rehabilitating a recidivist criminal state into a healthy member of society. If not, it should give the South a less messy chance of reunification with the support of China, U.S. and other nations concerned.



The problem with this approach is that it takes longer than the first approach. Also it would encourage other rogue states to copycat the North and triggering a nuclear arms race among the South and Japan.



Keeping the status quo can be the third. If the past serves as any guidance, it is highly questionable whether the world will remain attentive to finding a solution to the North's challenge one or two months from now. The international community's engagement with the North on its nuclear program goes back to the Oct. 21, 1994, Agreed Framework under which the North was supposed to stop its nuclear development in return for the provision of substitute light-water reactors.



Neither U.S. nor the North followed through their end of the deal. Taking advantage of the U.S. President George W. Bush's unprofessional hardline approach, the North stealthily proceeded with its nuclear weapons development, conducting four nuclear tests.



Even before the latest test, this knee-jerk reaction to avoid thinking a worst-case scenario was evident when Seoul officials downplayed the North Korean leader's public reference to the possession of H-bombs, calling it a bluff. The world would likely go through the same pattern of reactions, starting with surprise, passing the stage of indignation, applying stopgap measures and ending with the usual forgetfulness.



The risk is that the next time you feel the ground shaking underneath you, it may be from a real thermonuclear device with a comparable yield. In other words, we need to decide how to deal with it once and for all.





Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. He can be contacted at foolsdie5@ktimes.com or foolsdie@gmail.com.




Following the explosive popularity of Xiaomi smartphones in China, there has been much online buzz among tech-savvy Koreans who seek more dependable and budget-friendly devices.



A sudden suspension of Xiaomi's Redmi Note 3 by local carrier KT has upset many eager shoppers who were looking to purchase the cheaper Chinese alternative to Korean smartphones. Only after two days of sales, the nation's No. 2 carrier halted the sales of the Xiaomi smartphones on the Interpark online shopping site, reportedly owing to "legal matters related to sales." Interpark and KT partnered to market Xiamoi's latest model Redmi Note 3 for just 69,000 won ($58), in addition to KT offering a 20-percent discount in monthly charges. The sales had been preceded by aggressive promotion. Many customers are still unconvinced about why the sales had to stop, with some raising speculations that KT may have been pressured to suspend the sales from local producers.



The KT-Interpark marketing of Xiaomi was a rare chance for customers to buy foreign budget smartphones at a bargain. Popular foreign brands like Motorola and HTC left the market after lack of support from local sales channels. It would be a shame if Xiaomi were to follow the same path of other unsuccessful foreign brands. This is not good for the future of the Korean brands, as a lack of proper competition will undermine their growth and limit choices for customers. There are many Koreans who are fed up with the pricy local brands with substandard customer service.



The cheap Chinese smartphones, known for their quality exceeding their price, are already generating huge ripples in the domestic smartphone market dominated by local brands. Only six years since its founding, Xiaomi seems well on its way to catching up with some of the biggest players like Apple and Samsung.



There have been concerns among industry watchers that the surge of Chinese smartphones will hurt local competitors. But by reflecting on Xiaomi's innovation and applying the lessons to their own strategy, local brands will be able to maintain an edge in the increasingly competitive smartphone war.




By Donald Kirk

American ambassadors to South Korea pursue a fine line between defense of the U.S.-Korean alliance and pursuit of North-South reconciliation. If they seem hell-bent on military goals, they're accused of trying to push Korea into a war that nobody wants. And if they appear overly eager for talks, they appear unrealistic about the North's intentions.

Stephen Bosworth, as ambassador to South Korea during most of the presidency of Kim Dae-jung, gave every impression of enthusiastically supporting DJ's Sunshine policy of reconciliation with North Korea. At the same time, he had to defend U.S.-Korean relations against attempts by anti-U.S. forces to undermine not only the alliance but the U.S.-Korean friendship.

That was a tall order, but Bosworth, who died last Sunday in Boston at the age of 76, managed to mingle toughness and realism with a passionate desire to come to terms with North Korea on its nuclear program. He did so not only as U.S. ambassador but again several years later as U.S. special representative on North Korea. If he never got anywhere in renewing a moribund peace process, he gave it his best shot. He never stopped trying.

If ever a person seemed to believe in the message, "Give Peace a Chance," immortalized by John Lennon during protests against the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, it was Bosworth. So committed was he to the struggle, he was still talking about it when he saw Tony Namkung, a long-time consultant on North Korea, for lunch in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in late October.

"I could tell that he had weakened," Namkung said in an email, evoking memories of the Track II meeting in Singapore a year ago of influential people anxious to promote talks with the North. Soon, however, as Namkung related, "Our conversation turned to North Korea."

Bosworth was characteristically realistic about the prospects. "I don't think the U.S. government will move," he told Namkung. "And the North Koreans themselves haven't helped matters. How can we achieve a diplomatic solution without each side trying to understand the other side's position?"

As Bosworth spoke, Namkung perceived "the outward virtues of humility, sincerity, and decorum" that he always displayed  "the same inner core that informed his love of nation, his long service in its behalf, and the values of democracy, human rights, and freedom he always brought to the negotiating table."

Bosworth's realistic pursuit of an idealistic goal set him apart from one of his ambassadorial predecessors, Donald Gregg, who has defended North Korea's need to have nukes for self-defense while blaming the U.S. for all the failures. Bosworth also differed from a later ambassador, Chris Hill, who represented the U.S. at six-party talks chaired by China and attended by representatives from North and South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Hill for years fantasized the North finally yielding to diplomatic pressure and promises. He has said North Korea's negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, misled everyone, and that the North Koreans betrayed nuclear accords reached in 2007. In his eagerness to press for a long lasting deal with North Korea, Hill ran roughshod over diplomats who expressed doubts, stifling the careers of several who warned that six-party talks were going nowhere.

Evans Revere perception of Bosworth is that he is far more astute in his outlook toward North Korea than all the others who have dreamed of reaching a deal with the North.

As deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Seoul while Bosworth was ambassador, Revere in an email said that he "marveled at his steadiness, judgment dignity and temperament" as he "focused on getting the job done and getting it done right, which he always did." He was not only "the consummate diplomat" but also "one of the most decent human beings I have ever met."

My own memories of Bosworth go back to the People Power revolution in the Philippines in 1986 when Bosworth had the delicate duty of persuading long-ruling Ferdinand Marcos to flee to Hawaii with his family and cronies. I ran into him again many times in Seoul, Washington and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy where, as dean, he hosted a lavish luncheon for Kim Dae-jung, his wife, Lee Hee-ho and aides several years after DJ had completed his five-year term as president.

Bosworth was unstinting in his praise for DJ, whom he had met many times in the Blue House, but was frankly pessimistic about getting anywhere as long as the North was exporting missiles to Iran and cooperating on nuclear technology.

"Formal diplomacy with North Korea has come to an abrupt halt," he acknowledged after stepping down from his final diplomatic post as U.S. representative on the North. Still, he predicted "a process of watchful waiting over the next few months" to see if the North would return to talks. Sadly, Bosworth was still waiting when he died.

Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirk.com, has been covering efforts at peace and reconciliation with North Korea for decades. He can be contacted at: kirkdon4343@gmail.com.
News / National

by Thupeyo Muleya

MDC-T Mabvuku legislator James Maridadi (48) was yesterday fined $300 by a Beitbridge magistrate after he was arrested by police detectives while shooting videos of customs officials and other travellers passing through the border.Maridadi, of 42 Wyvern Ave, Belvedere in Harare, was convicted on his own plea of guilty to contravening a section of the Protected Places and Areas Act when he appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate Miss Gloria Takundwa.The magistrate also ruled that the two videos which the parliamentarian had shot using his Samsung S5 cellphone be deleted and that he gets back the phone.In mitigation, Maridadi told the court that he was a church elder and a law-abiding citizen."I was aware that I was in a protected area but shot the two videos because I wanted to use them in registering a complaint with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) superiors over the shoddy services from the customs officers at the border," he said.Charges are that the legislator went to the border post yesterday at around 1am in the company of a relative, Natasha Jonga (24), who wanted to import a Toyota Fortuner bought from Singapore.They then went through all the processes to facilitate the clearance of the vehicle under the returning residents' facility.Jonga was a student at the Free State University in South Africa.During the processing of the documents, Jonga was requested to provide an affidavit from her parents to confirm her residence as per the requirements of the Customs and Excise Act since she does not own any property in the country.Maridadi then became emotional threatening Zimra officials who were attending to them with unspecified action saying he had got assurance from his associates at the Zimra head office in Ha- rare.He then started shooting videos of customs officers and other travellers within the border post and was arrested by security personnel who confiscated his cellphone.
The U.N. Security Council looks set to convene an emergency session to discuss tougher sanctions on North Korea for its self-claimed hydrogen test.



Chances are high that the 15-member council will adopt another resolution against Pyongyang under the so-called trigger clause in the 2013 version.



It calls for "significant action" against Pyongyang's long-range rocket launch or nuclear test.



Shortly after the North's announcement Wednesday that it has carried out a successful H-bomb test, South Korea strongly criticized the North.



In a statement, Seoul said it would push for "every necessary measure," including additional U.N. sanctions, in order to make Pyongyang "pay the price" for the provocation.



U.N. sources in New York said the council has already decided to convene a meeting on Wednesday (local time), while the exact time has yet to be fixed.



"We will closely consult with the U.S., China and other countries, as well as the U.N.," a senior South Korean government official also said. "The U.N. Security Council's emergency meeting will be convened soon."



The council adopted legally binding resolutions against Pyongyang for all of its three previous nuclear tests: in 2006, 2009 and 2013.



But the level of additional sanctions will again hinge on China and Russia. The veto-wielding countries are opposed to pushing the North too hard.



All the resolutions against the North were passed under Chapter VII's Article 41 of the U.N. Charter, which bans member states from using force to enforce sanctions.



Beijing and Moscow would not approve any resolution on Pyongyang based on Article 42 to permit the use of air, sea or land force.



In its opening session on the North's latest provocation, the U.N. council is expected to issue a presidential statement condemning it. Uruguay holds the rotating presidency this month.



It will then hold follow-up meetings to decide a concrete punishment, a process likely to last a few weeks.



It heralds another round of diplomatic battles among regional powers.



"It won't be easy for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a strong measure against North Korea," said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute. "As relations between the U.S. and Russia have exacerbated, it's questionable that Russia will cooperate."



Although China, which is at odds with the U.S. over the South China Sea issue, is critical of North Korea's nuclear development itself, it would not assent to harsh sanctions to endanger the communist neighbor, he added.



A dilemma, indeed, is that there are few effective tools left to punish the North, which is already under a wide web of sanctions. Skepticism over the efficiency of the existing sanctions is widespread as well. (Yonhap)




North Korea's nuclear provocation this week has prompted the Pentagon to consider deploying more "strategic assets" to the peninsula either temporarily or permanently.



Those include B-52 bombers, nuclear-powered submarines, and F-22 stealth fighters to which the North has responded sensitively.



While it remains unconfirmed whether or not Pyongyang actually detonated an H-bomb for its fourth nuclear test, it raised the need for the allies to demonstrate their unity and force, officials said Thursday.



The U.S. has reaffirmed its willingness to provide South Korea with "every means for extended deterrence," according to a joint statement by Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his American counterpart Ashton Carter.



It's based on the agreed-upon concept of 4D; detect, disrupt, destroy, and defend.



In separate consultations, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti "discussed the issue of deploying the U.S. military's strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula," a ministry official said.



The two sides are reviewing "various options," he added.



Pyongyang's nuclear test also sparked renewed calls for stationing the THAAD advanced missile defense system and even tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea.



China is strongly opposed to any THAAD unit in Korea, saying it would be apparently used to increase Washington's influence in the region against Beijing. THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.



South Korea is already late for bringing in THAAD, the country's former national security advisor Chun Yung-woo said.



"It is an act of neglecting the life and safety of the people to not deploy the defense network to protect us from North Korea's nuclear weapons," he stressed.



Chun pointed out it has become more evident that the North has no intention of abandoning its nuclear program.



Choi Kang, vice president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said THAAD would send a clear warning message not only to the North but also to China. South Korean and U.S. officials want China to do more to rein in the North's nuclear weapons drive.



The experts said the South needs more U.S. support in shielding itself from the North's nuclear and missile threats at least before the establishment in the 2020s of the Korean Air and Missile Defense system highlighted by the so-called kill chain for target identification and pre-emptive destruction of the origin of the attacks.



Senior lawmakers with South Korea's ruling party also called for the return of U.S. tactical weapons withdrawn from the peninsula in the early 1990s.



"It is time for us to peacefully arm ourselves with nukes from the perspective of self-defense to fight against North Korea's terror and destruction," Won Yoo-cheol, floor leader of the Saenuri Party, said publicly.



But the defense minister made it clear that the government is sticking to the policy of no nuclear arsenal on the peninsula.



"The government maintains a position against the production of nuclear weapons or deployment of those on the Korean Peninsula," he said during a parliamentary session.



Meanwhile, the North's saber-rattling is expected to prod South Korea into strengthening its trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.



Tokyo has long asked Seoul to sign bilateral accords on military information sharing and logistics cooperation.



In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for a bigger role of the nation's troops in the region will likely gain force despite widespread misgivings about the conservative leader's intentions. (Yonhap)




By Kim Yoo-chul



Korean and American tech companies teamed up to demonstrate high-quality interworking technology at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.



"SK Telecom successfully demonstrated interworking between heterogeneous Internet of Things (IoT) standards in this year's consumer electronics show (CES)," the firm said in a statement, Thursday.



SK Telecom, the country's top mobile carrier, partnered up with Korean companies Samsung Electronics, Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and Axstone and U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Atmel for the tech fair.



For the demonstration, the five parties used "ThingPlug," SK Telecom's IoT platform developed based on the one-machine-to-machine (oneM2M) standard, Samsung Electronics' open interconnect consortium (OIC) devices, Atmel's sensor and lighting development kit and a gateway applied with oneM2M-OIC, the release said.



The oneM2M standard has strength in supporting mobile communication between remotely located devices, while the OIC standard supports seamless communication between devices in close proximity to each other.



The oneM2M standard was established in July 2012 by a consortium of bodies dedicated to development of ICT standards to provide a common M2M service layer for connecting devices.



The standard currently has 216 participating partners and members consisting of Alcatel-Lucent, Adobe, AT&T, BT, Cisco, Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, IBM, Intel and Samsung.



Samsung and SK Telecom said the demonstration will usher in a new world of IoT, where IoT devices of all standards can be seamlessly connected, thus providing customers with unprecedented value via a wide variety of new uses.



Interworking between different IoT standards is important as it can dramatically expand the overall IoT ecosystem by overcoming differences between otherwise incompatible standards.



"Through close collaboration with Samsung Electronics and KETI, SK Telecom was able to achieve successful interworking between two main global IoT standards," said SK's Chief Technology Officer Choi Jin-sung in the release.




Executives of Naver and Kakao's media partnership assessment committee speak during a press conference held at the Press Center in central Seoul, Thursday. From left are the committee's subchairman Pae Jung-kun, chairman Heo Nam-chin and subchairman Kim Byoung-hee. / Yonhap



Vague standard on restriction remains in question



By Yoon Sung-won



Naver and Kakao, the nation's largest online media platforms, may impose sanctions on news media that post plagiarized articles or provocative advertisements and even force them off their platforms, the two companies' media partnership assessment committee said, Thursday.



"We have prepared for the rules to assess Naver and Kakao's media partnership and restriction, aiming at boosting legitimacy and reliability in the process," the committee's chairman Heo Nam-chin said during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. "We expected that the regulation we announce today will contribute to upgrading domestic Internet environment."



Naver and Kakao have called for civil society to establish an assessing body for its media partnership. Following an agreement on September last year, a total of 15 organizations from expert groups and consumer communities have cooperated to build a 30-member committee.



According to the committee's new rules, only media entities that have been registered and approved as providers of newspapers, periodicals, broadcasting content, Internet news or a news agency can apply for the partnership. The rules also state that news providers should have a certain level of news production capability as well as technologies capable of transmitting news articles and operating Internet news websites.



Once news providers apply for a partnership with the platform operators, the committee will conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments on the news media. Naver and Kakao will decide how to build partnerships with the media based on this assessment.



The committee said the platform operators may restrict distribution of news articles of the news providers repeatedly posting articles with the same content, overusing keywords only to lure more hits, posting advertisements in the form of a news article, releasing suggestive articles and advertisements and being unable to access to the online articles due to technological or security problems.



News providers that breach the rules will accumulate penalty points and receive warnings. Their news distribution can be discontinued for up to 48 hours if they have more than 10 points. The media partnership can be cancelled if the providers failed to rectify the problems. The penalty points are accumulated on a 12-month basis and will be initialized after then, said the committee.



"The restrictions do not aim at weeding out certain media," Kim Byoung-hee, the committee's sub-chairman heading a group dedicated for the restriction rules. "We expect the rules may vitalize the self-purification function in the media industry. We have focused on establishing an environment where media can concentrate only on producing quality news articles."



However, the committee has failed to elaborate on clear standards on how to determine that an article has been plagiarized.



"Posting carbon copies of press released provided by companies and the government is against journalistic ethics," Heo said.



Naver and Kakao also faced criticism because they did not take action to tackle problems caused by the provision of a real-time Internet hit list. The list has been repeated blamed for providing a major cause of suggestive articles and advertisement on the Internet.



"Though it is an important issue, the Internet hit list is connected to Naver and Kakao's business operation," Heo said. "Our plan is to first encourage media to follow the rules."
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

The journalist and political analyst Methuseli Moyo has called for the people of Zimbabwe to rise up and free themselves from the government which he described as corrupt and desperate."The extortionist regime in Harare is now concerned with its own survival, at our expense. They have hiked traffic fines by up to 1000 percent," Moyo said."Travellers' duty free thresholds have been reduced drastically and 'omalayitsha' (self-styled cross border transporters) will now be treated as commercial cargo so as to raise funds for the sinking regime. The people must free themselves from the blood-sucking vampirish ruling elite calling itself a government."This comes in the wake of government having increased traffic offenses fines to the motorists a development which has seen the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights suing the government over the fines.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Police in Harare are reported to have arrested two NewsDay journalists over a story published on Wednesday which states that the Central Intelligence Organization officers have since been paid their bonuses ahead of other civil servants because the finances are regulated from President Robert Mugabe's offices where the CIOs are controlled.Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Communications officer Kumbirai Mafunda posted on Facebook that NewsDay deputy Editor Nqaba Matshazi and reporter Xolisani Ncube were picked up for questioning by police today (Thursday)."This is Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe: Two NewsDay journalists Deputy Editor Nqaba Matshazi and Xolisani Ncube currently at Harare Central Police Station over report on CIO getting paid bonuses ahead of civil servants," posted Mafunda.The NewsDay reported that CIOs were not having a back log in salaries to a point where even their bonuses have since been paid ahead of other civil servants.Details of whether the reporters were still detained at police are not readily available at this moment.
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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Jim Henson studios on LA Brea Avenue. LA Observed file photo.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is in the Los Angeles area today for a trio of fundraisers. The first this morning is aimed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, at the Hilton in San Gabriel, with Rep. Judy Chu along for the ride. Chu is chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

This afternoon, Clinton is due in Hollywood for a fundraiser on the Jim Henson Co. lot on La Brea. That's the landmark Hollywood facility that was once the studios for Charlie Chaplin. This funder is being billed as a family celebration hosted by Henson Co. CEO Lisa Henson and her husband, David Pressler. That one sets back guests $500 for general admission, or $1,000 for an adult and one child under age 16, or $2,700 for two adults and children. There's also the usual option to pay more for a photo with Clinton.

Finally, Clinton will also attend a $2,700-per reception with Warren Buffet at the home of TV producer Karen Mack and Russell Goldsmith.

Clinton's daughter Chelsea will be the featured guest at another round of fundraisers here later this month, starting on Jan. 25 with a "conversation" at the Venice offices of architect Frank Gehry. The next day, there will be another "conversation" at the Venice home of historic Venice Lantern House compound of author and entrepreneur S. Scott Meyers.

An interesting side story to Clinton's visit: investor Ron Burkle is said to have almost nothing to do with the Clinton family these days despite his past close ties to Bill Clinton. Burkle, in fact, is co-hosting a fundraiser at Soho House in West Hollywood for Republican John Kasich. From the LA Times story:
No one should expect the problem to be solved overnight, cautioned former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky when I asked him about the latest and most promising aid proposal for a homeless population now suffering through El Ninos driving rain.

Senate President pro tem Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat, along with Democratic and Republican colleagues, has proposed the state issue $2 billion in bonds. Money from the sale of bonds, combined with federal and state funds, officials said, could pay for construction of 10,000 to 14,000 housing units over a several year period. The bonds would be repaid from funds from a state tax levied by the voters in 2004, to provide services and housing for the mentally ill, many of whom are homeless. In addition, de Leon and the others would allocate $200 million for rent subsidies to provide shelter while the new housing is built.

Yaroslavsky likes the proposal but noted it has a long way to go. I called him because, while supervisor, he was behind the most creative solution for the countys homeless crisis, worst in the state and probably the nation. It was a pilot project giving some of the most chronic homeless apartments. Then, safely housed, they were treated for mental illness, addiction or whatever else pushed them into homelessness. Success rate, Yaroslavsky said, has been 90 percent. This approach, called housing first, is in contrast to the more traditional approach of big homeless shelters. Critics say that in such shelters homeless are separated from family, friends and possessions and required to pledge sobriety and to accept treatment before they are given a bed-- an approach that doesnt work as well as housing first.

It takes time, but we know it works, said Yaroslavsky, who was term limited out of office and now teaches at UCLA. He told me the story of a chronically homeless man, once a UCLA engineering student, who had been on the streets for years. A social worker for a non-profit homeless agency worked for many months to persuade him to move into an apartment, where he settled into a safe life and then accepted treatment for his ailments. Such efforts would have to be multiplied, Yaroslavsky said.

The de Leon proposal must be approved by Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Assembly, in addition to passing the Senate. Also pending are proposals by the city and the county to put money into homeless programs.

If all these proposals get beyond the talking stagewhich would be somewhat of a miraclethe funds would be administered by a little known agency, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, whose members are appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the county Board of Supervisors.

The agency, Yaroslavsky said, should direct its efforts toward housing first programs. Money should go to people who give the homeless homes. He said there should be an unconditional commitment for housing first.

As Yaroslavsky said, there is a long way to go before something is put together. With the El Nino rains, the homeless issue has become big news. With sunshine it will recede. What is needed is someone to take hold of the matter and focus all attention on plans as they lumber through government agencies. Sounds like a job for Mayor Garcetti, the most visible and potentially influential elected official in the county.


News / National

by Stephen Jakes

The Zimbabwe Union of Jouirnalists secretary general Foster Dongozi has condemned the arrest of Newsday Deputy Editor Nqaba Matshazi and journalist Xolisani Ncube.The two were today arrested by police in Harare following the publication of a story concerning Government Salaries on January 6.The two maybe charged with publication or communicating statements prejudicial to the State.The arrest of the two follows the beating up of journalist Lovemore Meya by members of the police on Tuesday the 5th of January while covering a demonstration in Chitungwiza.ZUJ Secretary General Foster Dongozi condemned the developments."It is unacceptable that in less than 10 days into the New Year Zimbabwe finds itself leading in terms of Media Repression and Brutality, we call on authorities to exercise restraint and common sense."
This article appears in the January 8, 2016 tssue of Executive Intelligence Review.

The British Trigger Drive for Global War

by Jeffrey Steinberg

Jan. 5The Jan. 2 mass executions by the Saudi regime, including the execution of the top Shiite cleric in the Kingdom, were not only an act of barbarism, in keeping with the Wahhabi/Salafi terrorism of the Islamic State. The action was aimed at triggering a new Hundred Years religious war within the Islamic world, pitting Sunni against Shia, and Arab against Persian.

Beyond the Greater Middle East region, the Saudi actions aim to fuel the ongoing war provocations against Russia and China, steered by President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron on behalf of the British Crown, with the potential for a global thermonuclear war of annihilation.

To properly understand the full implications of the Saudi actions, some not-so-obvious factors must be taken fully into account, starting with the fact that the Saudi Monarchy is a pawn of the British Empire, and has been so from its founding. Under the current rule of King Salman, the most extreme form of Wahhabi fundamentalism has been brought to the fore, and this is perfectly in keeping with the British agenda of permanent population warfare.

The most critical factor, however, is the onrushing collapse of the global British System, which dominates the financial and monetary policies of the entire trans-Atlantic region. Not only is that system crashing at an accelerating rate, as events since the start of the New Year have evidenced. The epicenter of the disintegration is the trans-Atlantic region itself, including the United States, Britain, and continental Europe,while the Asia-Pacific region, led by a growing collaboration between China, Russia, and India, is relatively prospering and growing. While the disintegration of the trans-Atlantic region will clearly impact on the Asia-Pacific theater, the collaborative projects there, including Chinas One Belt, One Road program, and its intersection with Russias Eurasian Economic Union program, will buffer Eurasia against the most immediate shocks of the collapse.

It is because of this emerging China-Russia-India collaboration that London is intent on provoking war with both Moscow and Beijingand using the remaining months of the Obama presidency to pull it off.

Both the European Union and the United States have instituted bail-in programs, in effect as of Jan. 1, 2016 throughout Europe (and already in place in the United States since the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, under which bank deposits can be stolen as part of a desperate and futile effort to save the bankrupt too-big-to-fail financial institutions). Those too-big-to-fail financial institutions have amassed a derivatives exposure well above $1 quadrillion dollars, and a $5 trillion junk-bond and bank debt bubble, tied to the shale oil and gas sector, is immediately set to detonate.

The bail-in swindle is not only a recipe for mass social chaos, but is a measure of just how desperate the defenders of the British System are at this moment. They are desperate enough to go for global confrontation with Russia and China, rather than surrender their power.

This is the context for understanding why the Saudi butchers were encouraged to carry out the mass executions, knowing it would set off a process of conflict and chaos throughout the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia.

Release the 28 Pages

The Saudi barbarism cannot go unanswered. The most efficient action, already in front of the United States Congress and the Obama Administration, is to release the 28-page chapter from the original Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11, which documented the Saudi Monarchys hand behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The central figure in the Saudi promotion of the 9/11 attacks was Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, a son of the late Defense Minister and Crown Prince, Sultan bin Abdulaziz. Prince Bandar was Saudi Ambassador to the United States for decades, up through the 9/11 attacks. He bankrolled at least two of the lead hijackers, and was also the bridge between Britain and Saudi Arabia in the infamous al-Yamamah barter deal, which bound London and Riyadh together in managing the biggest offshore covert funds for running terrorism. The al-Yamamah deal, first consumated in 1985 by Bandar and then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, continues to the present, and has been the source of funding for almost every jihadist terrorist front, dating from the original Arab-Afghan Legions that spawned al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Russians Address Reality

Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, is fully aware of the war provocations directed against Russia and China, and Russia has made major strides in the past several years to beef up its military capacities in response.

On New Years Eve, President Putin signed a new Russian National Security Strategy, the first such broad policy statement since 2009. The document made the point that, while Russia seeks cooperation and equal partnership with the United States and NATO, the actions taken by Western powers, including the violent coup detat in Ukraine in 2014, are seen as a serious national security threat to Russia. The document detailed the threats coming from jihadist terrorists, and from non-governmental organizations and state agencies promoting regime change, ultimately targeting Russia itself.

The document also emphasized that a major source of global instability was the crisis in the world financial system, stating that Against the background of structural imbalances in the global economy and the financial system, the growth of sovereign debt, and energy market volatility, the risk of a repeated major financial and economic crisis remains high.

Soon after the documents release and circulation, the Chinese government announced its endorsement of the paper, and vowed to expand Russian-Chinese strategic partnership collaboration.

American Voices Warn of World War Threat

The direct policy warnings coming out of Moscow have reverberated in the United States as well, with some leading voices warning about the danger of thermonuclear world war, which stems from the Obama Administrations continuing commitment to regime change against the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Ha.) has been the leading spokesperson for those within the military-intelligence establishment (she served two terms in combat in Iraq) who demand that Obama drop the regime-change schemes, because they can lead to direct confrontation with Russia. Rep. Gabbard has introduced a bill into the House of Representatives, barring the United States from seeking the overthrow of the Assad government.

Former Clinton Administration Secretary of Defense William Perry has also come out sharply, warning about the danger of nuclear war, stemming from the U.S. policy of confrontation with Russia. Perry has published a new memoir, My Journey at the Nuclear Brink, which not only recounts his own experiences in fighting to avoid a nuclear confrontation, but warns that the danger of nuclear war is greater today than during the height of the Cold War. In a recent interview with Sputnik News, Perry was blunt: I see an imperative to stop this damn nuclear race before it gets under way again, not just for the cost, but for the danger it puts all of us in.

In a quasi-official statement of warning along the same lines, the U.S. Armys most prestigious journal, Military Review, published a series of three article in the latest edition, clearly stating the actual Russian military doctrine and calling for the United States to develop a cooperative approach to Moscow. The first two articles were reprints of President Putins address to the United Nations General Assembly in Sept. 2015, and the Feb. 2013 address by Chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov to the Academy of Military Sciences.

The third article, by Charles K. Bartles, a Russia specialist at the Armys Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, explained the actual Russian military policy, in response to the new NATO-USA doctrine of color revolutions and regime change. Echoing earlier warnings by Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bartles emphasized that it is imperative for Western strategists to understand and appreciate the Russian assessments and policies, and not to buy the hokey Western propaganda that it is Russia that has adopted the policy of hybrid asymmetric warfare.

Despite these voices of warning, the greatest danger today stems from the fact that too few people in the know are willing to act before it is too late. Congress fled town at the end of 2015 without addressing the imminent blowout of the financial system, and loud voices in Congress and among a majority of presidential candidates are pressing the very policies that can lead to a war of annihilation.

The mere fact that President Obama remains in office, after having violated the Constitution repeatedly, is a testament to the bankruptcy of official Washington. Going into 2016, the consequences of failing to reverse course can and will be catastrophic.
This article appears in the January 8, 2016 tssue of Executive Intelligence Review.

This Crisis Is No Act of NatureIts the Result of Bad Policy

by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, chair of the German political party Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BuSo) and founder of the Schiller Institutes

The BuSo chairwoman presented the following video-message for the New Year on the partys website on Jan. 1, 2016.

Dear Fellow citizens!

Let me begin by wishing you a good and peaceful New Year!

But whether it turns out that way very much depends upon all of us. Many people sense that we are now in an existential crisis for civilization. This crisis, however, is not a natural phenomenon, but rather the result of bad policy; which means we can change the situation.

Today, January 1, 2016, a new law goes into effect throughout the European Unionthe so-called bail-in law. This is the Cyprus Model, which the head of the Euro-Group, Joeren Dijsselbloem, in March of 2013 demanded be applied to all of Europe: namely, that bank customers and creditors share in the costs of banks bankruptcies. This policy was carried out in Cyprus at the time, and then in Spain, and recently in Portugal and Italy. The bail-in law signifies that in the case of banks insolvencies, the depositors and stockholders have their funds expropriated to recapitalize banks which really should be closed. This is thievery, plain and simple.

After the financial crash of 2008, the governments of the G20 nations did absolutely nothing to shut down the casino economy, but rather pumped trillions of dollars (in the double digits) into the trans-Atlantic system through the so-called bailout. This converted private gambling debts into state indebtedness.

Today the too big to fail bankswhich are allegedly too big to be allowed to failare around 40% larger than they were in 2008, and a new financial crash is already underway; hedge funds and banks have already gone bankrupt; a wave of insolvency is in store especially for companies involved in shale gas and oil, which will unleash a meltdown of the outstanding derivatives contracts.

Allegedly, bank deposits of up to 100,000 euros are secure under the bail-in law. But in the case of only four bankrupt regional banks in Italy, the resources of the Italian deposit insurance funds were insufficient, and thousands of people lost everything, with two retirees committing suicide as a result. If this provision is applied throughout the rest of Europe and the United Stateswhere it already exists in the so-called Dodd-Frank bill,there will be mass death hitting, above all, the poor, old, and sick.

The problem is that the laws of the EU, as well as those of the U.S. Congress, were decided upon under the diktat of the City of London and Wall Street, which are only concerned with defending the speculative wealth of those who benefit from the casino economy. The line that bail-in is necessary to spare the taxpayers the costs of future financial crises is an open lie. Because along with the cost-sharing,that is, the expropriation of the banks creditorsit is planned to resort to bail-outs again: that is, ultimately the commitment of state funds, in order to save the holders of the derivative contracts. Nevertheless, even the combination of bail-in and bail-out will not suffice to save the outstanding derivatives of approximately two trillion euros, because the latter are greater by orders of magnitude than the monies that can be used to save them.

Leading politicians and EU bureaucrats, like German Economics Minister Wolfgang Schauble, European Central Bank head Mario Draghi, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and Dijsselbloem, would have us believe that we must accept this logic in order to guarantee the stability of the markets. But its criminal to insist that people accept something which is tantamount to their committing suicide. In Italy the people affected have realized what this policy means, and there is already a revolt underway against it.

The Solution

There is a solution.

In all the European countries and the United States, we must immediately do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did in 1933 as a solution to the financial crisis at that time: We must institute the Glass-Steagall/banking separation law, which will mean closing down the City of London, Wall Street, and the entire casino section of the trans-Atlantic financial sector. We dont need gambling which results in mass murder!

In its place, we must create a credit system on the basis of the principles established by Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. Friedrich List further developed these ideas which, along with those of Abraham Lincolns adviser Henry C. Carey, provided the basis for Otto von Bismarcks industrial revolution. These ideas were also the foundation for FDRs policies and for the role of the Reconstruction Bank (Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau) in the German economic miracle after the Second World War.

There is already a strategic approach for being able to overcome the financial crisis, as well as the refugee crisis: China has presented its New Silk Road program (which already involves some 60 nations), based on a concept of economic cooperation among all nations of the worlda so-called Win-Win Strategy. This is to the mutual advantage of all the countries participating in the reconstruction of infrastructure and comprehensive development. This means that the Chinese economic miracle of the last 30 years can be a model for all countries in the world.

The region where this is most urgently needed is obviously Southwest Asia, the entire region from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, from the Caucasus to the Arabian Sea. Many of these countries have been bombed back into the Stone Age on the basis of lies (like Saddam Husseins alleged weapons of mass destruction), and have been reduced to rubble and ashes. We need a reconstruction program for this entire region, which can only be implemented if the concept of the New Silk Road is extended to this region: that is, integrated infrastructure; greening of the deserts through producing massive amounts of fresh water; reconstruction of destroyed cities, and building new ones; and setting up industry and agriculture.

This is the only way to abate the flood of refugees, by creating a real prospect of a future for them in the countries where they are fleeing war, terror, starvation, and poverty.

The cooperation at the Vienna Conference, at which Russia, China, and the United States, among others, are sitting down at one table, is a step in the right direction. But after the military action, an economic reconstruction plana Silk Road Marshall Plan, if you willmust be on the agenda.

China and the BRICS countries are already creating a totally new banking system, to exclusively provide investment for the real economy: the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank), which is open to all countries; the NDB (New Development Bank of the BRICS); the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Bank; the New Silk Road Development Bank; the Maritime Silk Road Development Fund; and the Bank of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperationto name only a few.

Once we in Europe and the United States have put into effect the Glass-Steagall/banking separation system, we will be able to work with these Asian banks not only in the reconstruction of Southwest Asia, but also to develop the African continent at long last, and thus eliminate another root cause of the refugee crisis.

A New Era for Mankind

2016 is the year when we must shift the fate of mankind in a positive directionand we can do it! We must replace the geopolitics which led to two world wars in the Twentieth Century,and threatens today to lead to a third, this time thermonuclear world war, and thus the extinction of mankind,with the common aims of mankind. Or, as Chinese President Xi Jinping put it yesterday in his New Years Address: Let us work together to build a community of common destiny of all mankind.

In Germany we have at our disposal a great treasure-trove which we can bring to this common destiny. That is a renaissance of our Classical culturefrom Bach to Beethoven and Brahms, from Lessing and Schiller to von Humboldt, and all the great thinkers whose ideas are required for a new international community, for a new level of evolution of mankindsuch as Nicholas of Cusa, Johannes Kepler, Gottfried Leibniz, and Albert Einstein, to name only a few.

The dangers with which we are confronted in 2016 are immense. But if we concentrate on realizing the solutions outlined hereand I would ask you to actively help us to do sothen we will be able to ring in a new era for mankind.

What we need, above all, is an optimistic image of man, which understands man as good and capable of unlimited improvement, as well as a fond love for mankind.

I wish you, and all of us, a happy New Year!
Anyone whos spent much time on the Internet has heard the slogan information wants to be free. Coined by author Stewart Brand, its become a rallying cry for, yes, people who are justifying their free downloads but also for those who fight restrictive copyright laws, advocating for open access to information for everyone.

Yet as Justin Peters points out in his new book, The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet, the quote doesnt tell the whole story. Brand followed up his much-circulated aphorism with this caution about intellectual property: "[Information] wants to be expensive because it can be immeasurably valuable to the recipient. That tension will not go away.

It was that tension that led to the death of Aaron Swartz in 2013. He was 26.

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Swartz was a brilliant high school dropout turned computer programmer who helped develop the code base of the popular website Reddit when he was just 18, as well as Creative Commons, which allows users to share their photographs and other creations freely. He was mercurial and impulsive but widely admired by Internet denizens three times his age.

As a kind of free culture protest, Swartz had downloaded millions of academic articles from the digital library JSTOR and made repeated efforts to allow others to access them. After he was arrested and charged in a federal data theft case, facing 30 years in prison  charges that many in his community, including attorney Lawrence Lessig, thought were heavy-handed  Swartz committed suicide.

Its no surprise that Swartz has become a martyr to the free culture movement, which has long objected to what it sees as the federal governments aggressive tactics in enforcing copyright laws.

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However, although The Idealist is certainly respectful of Swartz and his legacy, its not a hagiography (which Swartz, known for his sometimes brutal honesty, would likely have hated). Peters book is a fascinating look not only at one of the Internets most beloved whiz kids but also at the way copyright works and doesnt work in America today.

The Idealist is only partly a biography of Swartz; it is, as Peters writes, a provisional narrative introduction to the story of free culture in America, using Swartzs life as a lens on the rise of information sharing in the digital age. And although we learn a great deal about the young activist, we learn even more about the past and present of copyright law and the free culture movement.

Peters starts, fittingly, with the Copyright Act of 1790, which gave authors ownership of their works for a maximum of 28 years. A century later, Congress passed the first international copyright act, which gave protection to some foreign creators. It was a watershed moment, Peters writes: The rhetorical logic of the international copyright debate ... led to the development and consecration of the notion of copyright as a property right, and literature as property.

Of course, it didnt stop there. In 1909, the government extended copyright terms to a maximum of 56 years and then in 1998 to the life of the author plus 70 years. The changes came after pressure on Congress from the Walt Disney Co.; although the 1998 act was formally named after Rep. Sonny Bono, who had died that year, many critics referred to it as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.

The extensions were passed with the support of artists like musician Don Henley, who, Peters notes archly, explained to Congress how unjust it would be if, in 2050, his grandchildren were unable to collect the royalties from Tequila Sunrise.

Opponents of the copyright extensions were appalled by the governments actions, and their discontent helped spawn the free culture movement, which believes, as Peters puts it, that the Internet ought not to be considered a bookstore so much as an infinite library, its contents made available for the benefit of all.

And thats where young Swartz comes in. He was an early convert to the free culture ideology, and he thought he knew how to fight what he saw as an unfair system that benefited the rich. We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world, Swartz wrote in 2008, foreshadowing the controversial actions he would make two years later. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks.

Swartz didnt get the chance to upload the millions of articles he downloaded, using a computer concealed on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to file sharing sites; he was arrested before he could do so. Peters doesnt exactly blame Swartz for his legal troubles, but neither does he completely absolve him. Swartz, Peters writes, was afflicted with ideological tinnitus, unable to escape the sound of social dysfunction and desperate to make others hear the ringing in his ears.

While Peters history of copyright law is endlessly interesting  hes fluent in both English and lawyer-speak, and he does a great job explaining sometimes arcane legislation  its his portrait of Swartz that makes The Idealist such a riveting book.

Although he was brilliant, handsome and witty, Swartz was a misfit, especially as a Stanford undergraduate, Peters writes. Swartzs blog chronicled his failed, half-hearted attempts to fit in with his college peers, with the tone of a priggish anthropologist studying some vulgar foreign culture.

Peters hints that the young man might have struggled with mental illness, pointing to a short story Swartz wrote on his blog about a boy named Aaron who commits suicide. (The blog post was fictional, but that didnt stop Swartzs colleagues from calling the police, who broke down his apartment door to check on him.)

Swartzs story is a dark one, and Peters doesnt pull any punches describing the pain the young man lived through. But he can also be quite funny. As long as man has lived in society, he has yearned to escape that society and run off to live in a cave, Peters writes. This dream is usually abandoned once the would-be escapee realizes that caves are uncomfortable and that society is where his things are.

But Swartz, though wealthy, didnt care much for things; his ideals were precious to him, not any objects. And thats why hes such a fitting subject for this excellent book  the free culture movement is full of true believers, and for better and for worse, there was never a believer more true than the young activist the world lost three years ago. Aaron Swartz wanted to save the world, Peters writes. But the world was never going to let Aaron Swartz save himself.

::

The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet

Justin Peters

Scribner: 352 pp., $28

Schaub is a writer who lives in Austin, Texas.
Just as bad cases make bad law, to cite the ancient legal adage, bad stock markets make for bad investment decisions. Chinas stock market, with its repeated crashes, has the entire world in a tizzy.

The Shanghai stock exchange experienced its shortest trading day ever on Wednesday, as circuit breakers designed to end trading if the market slid 7% kicked in after only 14 minutes of active trading. As my colleague Julie Makinen reported, the Shanghai Composite has dropped about 12% this year, and the Shenzhen composite has fallen more than 15%.

Investors in the U.S. have taken the opportunity to sell. As of Thursdays close, the Standard & Poors 500 index is down 4.67% from the opening bell for 2016 trading Monday, the Nasdaq has lost 4.29%, and the Dow Jones Industrials have shed 5.12%. European stocks have marched over the cliff in tandem.

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The world should take a deep breath. The China stock market meets the definition of a bad stock market.

Retail exchanges ... attracted retirees and other small-time investors who spent hours scanning the digital displays, like visitors to the dog track.  Evan Osnos, the New Yorker, reporting on the Chinese stock market

The market is the target of relentless intervention by the Chinese government, which has been setting investment rules and tweaking them without any evident understanding of how open markets work. Adding to the chaos, the market was inflated by an inflow of small investors buying on huge margins  a notoriously skittish class of investors buying under conditions that made them especially vulnerable to the markets volatile swings.

Last April, as Evan Osnos of the New Yorker reported, the official organ of the Chinese Communist Party exhorted citizens to plunge into the market. An upsurge of more than 80% in four months was merely the start of a bull market. Investors should take heart from the governments determination to keep Chinese companies strong.

Over the next two and a half months, investors opened thirty-eight million new stock accounts, more than quadruple the number of accounts opened in all of 2014, Osnos wrote. Retail exchanges, equipped with audience seating, attracted retirees and other small-time investors who spent hours scanning the digital displays, like visitors to the dog track.

This was a bubble primed for pricking. But that wasnt all. On July 8, during a major market crash, Chinese regulators imposed a lockup on shareholders owning 5% or more of their companies, prohibiting them from selling for six months.

The effect of lockups is well understood in mature stock markets; they tend to create latent bearish pressures as the expiration approaches. That expiration was due for Friday, Jan. 8, plainly creating some of the downdraft witnessed this week.

The circuit breakers are another source of trouble. Introduced Jan. 4, the rules halt trading for 15 minutes after a 5% drop in the benchmark CSI 300 index, and stop trading for the rest of the day when the index falls 7%. They were triggered on day one, and again on Wednesday.

Circuit breakers exist in U.S. markets, but critics say theyre cinched too tight in China, where 5% swings have been far more common. In the U.S., trading is shut down only if the Standard & Poors 500 benchmark falls 20% in a day.

Adding to the confusion is that Chinese authorities lack the courage of their own convictions. On Wednesday, regulators tried to keep the bear caged by extending the stock lockup for three more months, albeit in modified form--big shareholders could sell, but only up to 1% of their companies shares. And following the circuit-breaker meltdowns of Monday and Wednesday, they scrapped the circuit-breakers themselves, a clear indication that they were not implemented properly in the first place.

Among other signs of the immaturity of the markets and their regulators are stiff limits on short-selling--after a market crash this summer, the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges banned one-day short sales, in which traders place short orders and cover them on the same day. Mature exchanges understand that short selling is an indispensable relief valve for overheated bull markets.

All these features, artifacts of the governments inclination toward intervention in the stock market on the bull side, make the market an unreliable gauge of economic trends, many critics say. (Though theyre not unanimous  last February, economists at MIT and New York University argued that the market had matured to the point that it was providing reasonably accurate signals about future corporate earnings. Chinas stock market no longer deserves its reputation as a casino, they wrote.)

None of this means that theres not cause to be concerned about the Chinese economy and its effect on world markets. Underlying the Chinese market plunge are signs that the worlds second-largest economy is slowing down, and that government economic officials arent fully up to the task of managing it.

Theyve been frantically depreciating the Chinese yuan, which will put pressure on the nations trading partners by making Chinese exports more competitive and imports more expensive. The rapid depreciation sends a signal, moreover, that policymakers are getting to the end of their stimulative arsenal.

Adding to uneasiness about government policy, no one has ever been entirely certain about the pace of Chinas economic growth because its official figures are untrustworthy. Gross domestic product may have been overstated as much as three-fold, some observers believe.

Theres no question that cracks in the Chinese economy are worrisome, but the wild swings of the stock market may be exaggerating the mood of panic. It makes sense for investors worldwide to keep their eye on the economy, but the stock exchanges? Just watch the ride.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see our Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A gang leader of armed robbers who broke into a workshop and stole wheels from Police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri's Mercedes Benz in Chitungwiza was slapped with a one-year jail term yesterday.Aaron Nyamajiwa was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo before one year was suspended on condition of good behaviour."I was considering committing you to community service but the report from your community service vetting shows that you are not a suitable candidate," said Mapfumo.Prosecutor Peter Kachirika proved that Nyamajiwa of Zone 5, Hopely Farm, Waterfalls in Harare hatched a plan to steal from Kidsdale Enterprises, 19817 Telcor Industries in Chitungwiza.Nyamajiwa connived with three other unknown accomplices and armed themselves with spanners, iron bars and rat poison.The court heard that Kidsdale was being manned by two security guards from Sincere Security, Judah Tachi and Tapiwa Chiweshe but they fell asleep on duty before Nyamajiwa and his accomplices broke into the premises.They fed two dogs that also guarded the premises with rat poison and the two pets died instantly.The robbers reportedly removed two rear fitted wheels from the first Mercedes Benz registration numbers ADS 0690 and four rear fitted wheels from the other car with registration numbers ADS 0689.Nyamajiwa and his accomplices also removed two panels from the precast walls and escaped with the property.The following day, another guard Reggie Gangazha reported for duty at 6 am and discovered the offence.He reported the matter to the police leading Nyamajiwa's arrest.Nyamajiwa led detectives to the recovery of four wheels from one Gift Govha in Lochinvar, Harare.The other wheels had been sold to Drashma Chikwengo in Kambuzuma, Harare.
Sheldon Epps has long said that all too often he was the lone person of color in the audience of a theater and that, just as often, he saw only white actors onstage.

So when Epps, artistic director of Pasadena Playhouse, staged 12 Angry Men a couple of years ago, he provocatively cast the jury so half was white and half was black, turning a 1950s piece into a new conversation about race relations in America.

Now that voice for diversity, onstage and in the audience, said Thursday hes stepping down from his post at the end of the 2016-17 season.

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Theater officials announced that they will begin a national search to replace Epps, who has led Pasadena Playhouse for nearly two decades and will take the title artistic director emeritus.

Epps helped the playhouse to become one of the most prominent regional theaters while trying to diversify the shows it mounted.

As one of the few people of color to serve as artistic director for a major theater, Epps embodied the idea of diversity behind the scenes as well.

There comes a time when change is good both for the theater and me as an artist, Epps said by phone from the East Coast, where he was vacationing.

And 20 years felt like a significant time to make the choice and move on, he added.

Pasadena Playhouse Chairman David DiCristofaro said Epps informed the board of his intentions shortly before the holidays.

When he first got here, the theater was coming out of a dark period, and hes done an amazing job and taken the theater to new heights of success that we couldnt have imagined, DiCristofaro said.

The playhouses search for a replacement comes as it looks for a new executive director too. Elizabeth Doran left that post at the end of April to become president and chief executive of San Diego Theatres.

Epps said this period of transition, which comes as Pasadena Playhouse readies for its centennial in 2017, will be exciting for the theaters future.

He said he would play an advisory role in the search for his successor, and DiCristofaro said the right candidate will be able to balance a strong artistic vision with business interests.

When asked if the playhouses associate artistic director, Seema Sueko, might play a larger role, DiCristofaro said he had not spoken with her. Well be happy to talk to any and all folks qualified and interested, and certainly Seema would be considered that if she applies, he said.

When Sueko arrived at the playhouse from Moolelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego in 2014, she joined Epps in furthering his campaign for diversity.

Epps has been eager to prove that the approach can be financially feasible.

I think its a significant achievement in the American theater, and I really do think the [playhouse] has become a model for what is possible in this area, both in sustaining an existing audience and in building new audiences, he said.

Tom McCoy, executive producer of McCoy Rigby Entertainment at La Mirada Theatre and a longtime friend and fan, said Epps leadership has had a broad effect.

Its not just Pasadena and its not just the L.A. area, McCoy said. I think Sheldon inspired lots of folks to think creatively about how theyre staging their shows. He has inspired other producers to become more diverse themselves and to see the benefits of diversity.

Epps also is credited with helping to rescue the playhouse from the financial brink in 2010, in part by helping to secure grants from individuals and major groups such as the Wallace, Doris Duke Charitable and James Irvine foundations.

DiCristofaro said the quality of Epps productions was among his most significant accomplishments. Critical praise for many shows was accompanied by Tony nominations for playhouse productions that moved on to Broadway, including Sister Act: The Musical, Baby Its You and Looped.

Before coming to Pasadena, Epps served as associate artistic director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. He also co-founded the Production Company, an off-Broadway theater.

In addition to directing productions at some of the nations leading theaters, Epps worked as a TV director for shows, including, Frasier and Friends.

For his next act, Epps said he hopes to slow down a bit. I think I have an interesting book in me, he said. Perhaps about my experiences in the worlds of theater and television  and some interesting things to say as a black man in America who has had success in those fields and also faced significant challenges. I also love teaching, and then whatever else is around the corner.

As artistic director emeritus, Epps may direct a show from time to time, DiCristofaro said.

If they let me, Epps joked, adding, I want to be connected and useful and of service to the theater, but only in ways that enable it to move forward and not keep it back.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

2011: Sheldon Epps directs Pasadena Playhouse back from the brink

2013: Difficult truths as theater directors talk about diversity

2013: 12 Angry Men and race in modern America

Twitter: @jessicagelt
Vintage nightclub artistry ignites palpable frissons around the Geffen Playhouse, where Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara has sailed back in triumph.

From its hugely acclaimed premiere in 2008 at Sacred Fools Theater to its 2009 rethink at the Geffen Playhouse, where it broke house records, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara was a genuine phenomenon, the kind of breakout hit that vindicated the embattled Actors Equity 99-seat waiver system as a way to develop new material.

Now the show has returned to L.A. from an acclaimed Chicago run, again under the direction of filmmaker Taylor Hackford, who made his stage debut with Louis & Keely back in 2009. Although some measure of intimacy has been lost, the production remains original, most entertaining and frequently electrifying.

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This is partly due to Hackfords tightened grip on the script (credited to him and originators Vanessa Claire Stewart and Jake Broder), which combines concert musical and A Star Is Born-flavored biopic. Jazz firebrand Louis Prima discovers diffident teenager Dorothy Keely, renames her Keely Smith, and their professional collaboration revolutionizes the Las Vegas lounge scene as their personal union goes downhill. The scenario unfolds as a series of recollections by Prima near the end of his life, illustrated by the swinging, toe-tapping music.

Buoyed by a superb band led by musical director Paul Litteral, Louis & Keely grabs the listeners solar plexus from the first trumpet riff and audience address by Prima (a magnificently invested Anthony Crivello) to the heartbreaking climactic Autumn Leaves from Smith (Stewart, more assured and affecting than ever).

The evocation of the duos evolving, gonzo-Italian-hepcat-vs.-deadpan-Cherokee-canary act is worth volumes of biographical footnotes, and the signature numbers bubble up from the action with invigorating zest. That Ol Black Magic, Pennies From Heaven and Ai Ai Ai inform the proceedings in seemingly spontaneous manner, with saxophonist Colin Kupkas turn as Sam Butera but one of the aspects that justify admission.

Hackford maneuvers the stage pictures around producer Hershey Felder and Trevor Hays orb-bedecked scenic design with a minimum of fuss and considerable fluidity, aided by designer Christopher Ashs invaluable lighting and projections, Vernel Bagneris choreography and Erik Carstensens sound design. If the transformation of the Geffens Gil Cates Theater into a showroom isnt quite absolute, it generally suffices, with the television studio sequence a suave tour-de-force.

As Prima, Crivello doesnt replicate the force-of-nature energy and vocals that Broder did years ago -- and indeed, who could? But Crivello does create his own, entirely credible portrayal. All the essential details -- self-deprecating goombah humor, wild-limbed physicality, intractable bandleader bravado -- are present, and the actor wields his legitimate tenor into scorching, wailing jazz territory with arresting results.

Stewart is right there with him, her Smith a marvel of gradated character development. The starstruck girl in a bathing suit -- costumer Melissa Brunings period garb is another plus -- becomes an assertive song stylist and spouse before our eyes and ears. Stewarts features and mezzo arent synonymous with Smiths, yet the precise sense of portraiture is remarkable, and she and Crivello exhibit spot-on chemistry.

The added utility players have been better integrated, with the ever-welcome Erin Matthews vanishing inside Smiths mother, Primas wife, Jean Harlow and a slew of duchesses with delicious ease. True, Paul Perroni doesnt really evoke Frank Sinatra, whose fateful advent into the duos rising fortunes now heralds intermission -- I kept thinking Johnnie Ray morphed with Dean Martin -- but his histrionic and performing chops are proficient.

One could fault certain patches of dialogue that telegraph too much in too short a time, particularly as Louis and Keelys marriage begins to unravel. For all its aural and visual aplomb, the larger presentation doesnt carry the same inexorable intensity the original possessed by virtue of its galvanic execution in a small house.

Yet the gain is a heightened authentic show-biz ambience and a roomier vehicle in which the slightly surreal mix of light and dark can travel, not least in Stewarts aching I Wish You Love recording session and Crivellos house-stilling post-Keely breakdown.

Because when Louis & Keely turns its stellar headliners loose on the material, its arguably the most infectious show in town, and it should head east in due course. As for its run here, score your tickets now.

Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara, Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Jan. 17. $43-$76. (310) 208-5454 or www.geffenplayhouse.com. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.
The film begins with a young womans taciturn face: a teenager named Maria diligently being dressed by her mother for a social obligation she would rather avoid. Marias family, indigenous Mayans who live in Guatemalas highlands, are attempting to wed her off to a local suitor. Maria, however, like teenagers everywhere, has her own ideas about who she wants to be with  primarily a young coffee picker named Pepe, who does not have her best interests at heart.

Ixcanul (Volcano), the first feature film by 38-year-old Guatemalan director Jayro Bustamante, has drawn attention at festivals and from critics for its captivating performances and its sensitive portrayal of a young womans life  one in which she has has been given little say over its outcome.

Shot entirely in the indigenous language of Kaqchikel, the movie won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in February, along with best picture awards in festivals in Mexico, Colombia and Belgium. It was nominated for five Fenix Iberoamerican Film Awards (it won for costume design) and was the official Guatemalan submission for the foreign language Oscar (it did not make the short list).

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In September, Kino Lorber picked up North American rights to the film; it will release the film in theaters sometime in 2016.

For Bustamante, who spent much of his young life in the Guatemalan highlands with his mother, a medical worker, the film was a way to address a part of society with little social capital: indigenous people and women.

The filmmaker was at the Palm Springs Film Festival, where Ixcanul screened on Sunday and Monday. In this lightly edited conversation, he discusses the curious way in which he found his actors and why Kaqchikel is such a rich language for expressing ideas.

Why shoot in Kaqchikel? What is your own experience with the language?

I want to say that its respect for my childhood. Its a language my nanny taught me. I understand it, though I dont speak it completely. And there is such a lack of respect towards it. The woman who inspired this story  a real woman  she spoke Kaqchikel, or mostly Kaqchikel, so thats where it came from.

The movie was a very interesting process. I wrote the film in French [in Paris, where I went to film school]. Then I translated it into Spanish. We then went to Guatemala and I translated it into Kaqchikel. Then we worked with each actor to personalize the dialogue. Then once we figured that out, we fixed it. And from there, everyone needed to memorize the script. I had to memorize it. The sound engineer had to memorize it. We didnt have a continuity person because they left, so everyone had to understand a little bit of the language.

For me it was important to create a setting where the language was just another language, not the [so-called] language of the Indians, which is an insult there.

What appeals to you about the way Kaqchikel expresses ideas?

Kaqchikel is one of the Mayan languages, which are super visual languages, super conceptual. The subtitles in the movie are more interpretations than direct translations. Ixcanul, which means volcano, isnt just volcano. It is: the internal force of the mountain which boils looking for eruption. Its so beautiful.

Unfortunately, many of those languages have lost a richness in vocabulary over the centuries. Manuscripts were burned. Scrolls were destroyed. And Spanish was favored as the language of the elite.

Most of the cast were non-professionals. How did you find a group that not only spoke Kaqchikel, but could hold their own on the screen?

I wanted to cast in the town where I grew up. I grew up in Panajachel, which is next to Lake Atitlan. Its in the highlands, about two hours from the volcano where we filmed.

I started by doing workshops for women to come and speak about the problems that I touch on in the film. The workshops were very helpful for me since I learned a lot about their lives. But I ran into problems too. I found good people, but the men were often a problem. They wouldnt let their women go work for three months on a film on a volcano.

I wanted to speak about that problem: In Guatemala, we ignore the strength of women. We throw it away.  Jayro Bustamante, director of Ixcanul

Thankfully, I ran into a theater director who had worked with Maria Telon, who does street theater. (There is a tradition of theater in Guatemala.) Shes a widow, so in a certain way, she is free. She took me to her community, which was closer to the volcano.

We did the casting there  at the market. I put up a sign that said, Casting, and no one came. The next day we put a sign that said Employment Opportunities and lots of people came. Some left. But some stayed and were very enthusiastic.

And from there we did the casting in a more traditional way. We treated them like actors. Actors are actors. And after we had the actors, we could then get to work with them on a more personalized level.

There are some remarkable performances, particularly Maria Mercedes Coroy, who plays the teen, and Telon, who stars as her fierce and funny mother. How were you able to elicit those performances? Especially from Coroy, who had never acted before?

With Maria Telon, at the beginning, we didnt work so much on the script or her role, but she was kind of testing me to see how I would react to things. We joked a lot. She has a very strong sense of double entendre. And the role of Juana came through that. Her work in theater was much more militant and political, more serious and heavy. So I didnt think she would bring this lightness to her role, but she did and it was beautiful.

With Maria Mercedes there was a different type of work. It was much more about her as a woman. She is very dedicated and super intelligent. You didnt have to repeat anything. But she was still very timid. And she was concerned how she would play a lead against such a strong co-star like Maria Telon. But we told her that her force is like the force of the volcano. Its interior. Her character wanted to erupt, but she couldnt. Maria Mercedes totally captured that.

In fact, she said such a beautiful thing to me once. She said, Do you remember when we first started rehearsing? I wouldnt open my legs 10 centimeters to do yoga. Then the next thing I know Im naked in front of the entire country!

She became more self-aware during filming, of the role she was playing. She has become an icon for Maya women and its been beautiful to watch.

Director Jayro Bustamante, fourth from left, poses with cast and crew from Ixcanul at the Fenix Iberoamerican Film Awards in Mexico City in November. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press)

You are not Mayan, but you are telling a Mayan story. Was there ever suspicion about what you were trying to do?

I dont think that was a problem. I believe more in similarities than differences. Plus, I wasnt making an ethnographic film about how different the Maya are. They are the same as us and we are the same as them and I think people knew that. That was the base that we operated from. There was was never a relationship that wasnt about respect when it came to the actors.

As for other people, I didnt worry about what they thought. I have read some things in Guatemala about me using the Maya, but it doesnt really affect me. We mestizos often dont acknowledge our own Maya heritage. Not that Im claiming to be Maya. I am simply happy to have grown up where I did, with the traditions I did, and to have the relationships that I have.

You also chose to focus on a story that is very much about women and the female experience. What led you to do that?

I imagine my mother is a huge influence. She is a very strong woman. She works with me. When I started my production company, she became my partner because I needed a legal partner. She didnt leave her career [in medicine], but she works with me. And she was the one who introduced me to the woman Maria on whom the story is based. I met with her and I met with many other women at the workshops. I wanted to speak about that problem: In Guatemala, we ignore the strength of women. We throw it away.

What will your next project be about? Will it also be focused on Guatemalan society?

It is called Temblores (Tremors). It will be more of an urban film. I want to look at the issue of paternity. And I want to talk about the evangelical community. It is based on a real story. Some of the practices can be almost like caricature, almost to the point that you wouldnt believe what is happening is real.

As part of the research, I went and became involved in a church. I was part of a group and everything. But then Ixcanul came out and I got famous and they said, Youre here to investigate a film! And they kicked me out! [Laughs.] Thankfully, at that point, I had everything I needed.

Ixcanul will be released theatrically in the U.S. during 2016 by Kino Lorber in 2016. The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs through Sunday in locations around Palm Springs, psfilmfest.org.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
Deadpan, determinedly low key and deeply absurd, the films of Corneliu Porumboiu are very much a particular taste, and The Treasure is no different.

One of the leading figures of the Romanian New Wave and previously responsible for festival hits like 12:08 East of Bucharest and Police, Adjective, Porumboiu makes films that either elicit laughter or draw blanks.

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Created with a sense of Romanian history as well as the countrys current situation, the writer-directors stories often feature protagonists for whom modern life is too much, who find themselves involved in shaggy-dog stories that end in ways that surprise both the audiences and the people themselves.

The Treasure apparently began life as a documentary that Porumboiu wanted to do about a friend and fellow director named Adrian Purcarescu, who was searching for a treasure that his great-grandfather had putatively buried on his property before the countrys Communist takeover.

That project never came together, but Porumboiu integrated its essence into this fictional story that starts with a low-level bureaucrat named Costi (Cuzin Toma), who loves to read his 6-year-old son stories of Robin Hood and even fancies himself as something of a Sherwood Forest figure himself.

Knocking on his apartment door one evening comes neighbor Adrian (played by Purcarescu), an impoverished publisher who is looking to borrow 800 euros from a man he barely knows for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Desperately in need of funds, Adrian tells Costi of his quest for treasure that family legend says is buried on inherited property and promises to split the take 50-50 if he can come up with the money to rent a metal detector to find the reputed loot.

Though this sounds straightforward enough, nothing about this quest goes in a straight line, starting with Costis reluctance to ask for the money from the father-in-law he says cant stand him. Its not that he cant stand you, corrects his wife. He doesnt like you, but he can stand you.

Just getting the time off from work to rent a metal detector, not to mention actually negotiating with the rental firm, proves to be a major obstacle, as Poromboiu paints the portrait of a country where genial corruption is the rule rather than the exception.

Accompanied by a metal detector operator who may or may not know how to work his machinery (Corneliu Cozmei, a real-life operator), the two new friends go out to the property in question, which turns out to be in Islaz, a village that has a celebrated place in Romanian history as the site where the Revolution of 1848 was declared.

Most of The Treasure plays out on that property, as the three men engage in desultory conversation  a dialogue on the best way to get rid of crows is especially noteworthy  and search with increasingly manic determination and bad temper for a treasure that may or may not be there.

Filled with odd moments and curious statements  Only 2% of Romanians, were told, read more than a book a year  The Treasure bears out filmmaker Porumboius statement that reality is often absurd. To put it another way, as protagonist Costi does, a man makes his own problems. They dont descend from heaven.

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The Treasure

No MPAA rating

Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

Playing: Laemmles Royal, West Los Angeles

kenneth.turan@latimes.com
Its the show that made the holidays astonishingly grim for many.

Since its Dec. 18 launch, Netflixs true-crime docu-series Making a Murderer has been the source of water cooler conversations, office polls, group text message chains littered with emojis and GIFs expressing outrage and/or shock, and just about any other display of complete obsession.

Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos said he got his share of said texts.

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Ill tell you what, over Christmas break, everyone Ive ever known was texting me about Making a Murderer, Sarandos said in a phone interview shortly after the companys announcement Wednesday at CES in Las Vegas that it had extended its streaming television service to nearly every country in the world.

Produced and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, the series follows the case of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man wrongly convicted of sexual assault and now serving a life sentence for a murder he says he did not commit. Brendan Dassey, Averys nephew, was also convicted for his alleged involvement in the crime.

The series, which unfolds over the course of 10 one-hour installments, highlights what it says are flaws in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Netflix doesnt release viewership data on its shows, but it certainly feels like the series has gripped the nation.

Conspiracy theories abound. Celebrities such as Alec Baldwin and Rosie ODonnell have recommended the show on Twitter. A petition to the White House asking President Obama to pardon Avery and his nephew has collected over 125,000 signatures. The Wisconsin journalists who followed the case have become celebrities, while Averys lawyers, Dean Strang and Jerome Buting, have become heroes and the focus of admiration to some.

Its really exciting to watch something really take off like that, Sarandos said. Its a combination of wonderfully addictive storytelling and the release timing. There were enough people home watching a lot of TV over the holiday break. Influencers and heavy social media users got onto it first, got addicted and burned through those 10 hours and spread the word.

Sarandos attributes the viewer fascination to fear that the strange and disturbing turn of events portrayed in the series could happen to anyone.

It scares people, he said. I think when people see things like that, they think that it could happen to them.

So, does Sarandos think Avery is innocent?

Oh, I cant say, Sarandos said.

I tweet about TV (and other things) here: @villarrealy
At the end of Wood Avenue in South Gate, unseen behind its levee, the ephemeral giant strained in its cage.

The raw power drew Rita Adams for the first time in her 40 years of living in the neighborhood. She and her son walked under bare winter elms, past tidy postwar homes with American flags flapping in the rain, up the sandy embankment of an old Union Pacific track, to the top of the concrete channel.

She lit a cigarette and shook her head. Wow.

The Los Angeles River had awakened.

The sheer breadth and speed of the water was disorienting, enough to make you lose your balance glancing back to solid land.

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 A usually tame Los Angeles River comes roaring to life in downtown Los Angeles during the recent string of El Nino-fueled storms.

The river at its peak can move 146,000 cubic feet of water every second. At its normal rate, the Colorado River, sculptor of the Grand Canyon, doesnt do a quarter of that.

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For the record

Jan. 7, 9:41 a.m.: An earlier version of this post implied a comparison between peak water flows of the Los Angeles and Colorado rivers. The comparison was between the peak flow of the L.A. River and the normal flow of the Colorado. It also misidentified Los Angeles Spring Street bridge as the Second Street Bridge.

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Adams stared at the choppy sheet of brown water as it exploded against the piers of the railroad crossing. Others came to watch, too, much as people gather at the shore to watch a violent sea.

Its fabulous, Adams said. She studied the trash and logs and arundo cane hurtling south to Long Beach.

She said some of her neighbors come here when its dry to walk their dogs, but shed never bothered to check it out.

Like most residents of the Los Angeles Basin and San Fernando Valley, she rarely gives the river in her midst much thought. Cities put their backs to it. For most of the year it withers to an algal trickle of treated sewage in the low-flow slot at the center of the channel.

Scrap yards, steel plants, rail yards, freeway embankments and homeless camps line much of it, although a decades-long effort has slowly adorned it with more parks and natural space, and there are grand plans for more.

But El Nino storms like this weeks bring back a glimpse of the rivers historic moodiness and might: the volatile beauty that once murmured through the arroyo willows, then reared up and wiped out the original pueblo that took its name, that switched course by 30 miles one year, that killed 45 people in flooding in 1938, that the city, county and federal governments thereafter spent two decades and hundreds of millions of dollars to tame.

::

1 / 93 A rainbow forms over homes on Porter Ranch Drive in Porter Ranch on Jan. 7, 2016. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 93 A rainbow fills the sky above the Thomas Aquinas College in the Topatopa Mountains near Santa Paula Thursday afternoon. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 93 People enjoy the sunset at Hill Top Park in Signal Hill. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times ) 4 / 93 A big northwest swell combined with a high tide on Thursday morning along the southern California coast resulting in seaside communities being battered. Faria Beach in Ventura County was one of the areas especially hard hit. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 93 Carlos Pereira, left, tries to clean up an oceanfront deck that was pummeled through the night by big waves. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 93 A big northwest swell combined with a high tide on Thursday morning along the southern California coast resulting in seaside communities being battered. Faria Beach in Ventura County was one of the areas especially hard hit. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 93 A surfer catches a wave at Sunset Beach in the Pacific Palisades. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 93 A passing storm, as seen from the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, makes its way over Los Angeles on Thursday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 93 A passing storm provides the backdrop for passengers waiting for a train at the La Cienega/Jefferson station on the Metro Expo Line in Culver City on Thursday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 93 Birds flock to trash near the mouth of the Los Angeles River, a site where tons of trash and debris have piled up after two days of heavy rain from El Nino-generated storms. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 93 Bitelio Ramirez looks out Thursday over trash that has piled up near the mouth of the Los Angeles River after two days of heavy rain. A worker on the scene said two cranes were being used to lift out about 300 tons of trash. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 93 Trash floats up against a boom near the mouth of the Los Angles River on Thursday after two days of heavy rain. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 93 A woman with her dog goes for a morning walk on snow covered and closed to traffic Glendora Ridge Road in Mt. Baldy. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 93 Leah Weischedel, 2, walks on freshly fallen snow on Thursday morning in Mt. Baldy. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 93 Mike Weischedel throws a shovel full of snow into his truck to take home to Upland Thursday morning in Mt. Baldy. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 93 San Bernardino County surveyors work with a snow-covered Mount Baldy as a background on Thursday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 93 Forceful and beautiful waves crash into the sea walls of homes at Mondos Beach under the mountains of the recent Solimar fire at high tide sunrise west of Ventura Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 93 Photographer Dan Dolinh takes photos as the Ventura Pier is pounded by heavy surf Thursday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 93 A surfer catches a wave at Topanga State Beach as El Nino storms brought high surf to area beaches. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 93 A body boarder is tossed from his board in heavy surf off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 93 A surfer gets a tube ride off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 93 A surfer is tossed from his board in heavy surf off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 93 Large boulders block Santa Susanna Pass Rd. two miles west of Topanga Canyon after a rain-soaked hillside slid onto the roadway in Chatsworth. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 93 A man walks along an old Union Pacific Bridge as the Los Angeles River flows in South Gate. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 93 Heavy rain pours on Wayne Bearden and Laura Marin as they try to stay warm with a pot of coffee at their San Gabriel River adjacent encampment during the second major El Nino storm. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 93 Debris gathers along Silverado Canyon Road in Orange County after another El Nino storm brought heavy rains to the area Wednesday. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 93 A Caltrans worker toils to clear drains on a flooded Interstate 5 in Sun Valley, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 93 CHP officers limit traffic on a flooded Interstate 5 to one lane in each direction as Caltrans workers work to clear drains in Sun Valley, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 93 Heavy snow fall in Wrightwood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 93 Homes at Mondos Beach between the Solimar and Faria Beach communities west of Ventura have their sea walls tested Wednesday morning, as the third storm this seasons El Nino moves in with more rain and heavy surf. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 93 Due to heavy snow fall people visiting Wrightwood are required put on snow chains on their vehicles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 93 Visibility is down due to heavy snow fall in Wrightwood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 93 Heavy snow fall blankets an old truck in Wrightwood. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 93 A Caltrans worker toils to clear drains on a flooded Interstate 5 in Sun Valley, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 93 CHP officers limit traffic on a flooded Interstate 5 to one lane in each direction as Caltrans workers work to clear drains in Sun Valley, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 93 A tree fell on a car on Beverly Glen Blvd. at Windtree Dr. in the Hollywood Hills. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 93 William McPhie, 12, of Manhattan Beach, walks home through a flooded Poliwog Park. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 93 Vehicles navigate a flooded 101 Freeway at California Street in downtown Ventura after heavy rains Wednesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 93 A large tree fell in front of the Sherman Village complex on Moorpark Street in Sherman Oaks. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 93 A man points his umbrella against the wind at King Harbour in Redondo Beach. (Christina House / For The Times) 41 / 93 Scott Hesford-Hensler, left, plays in the rain with his son Jayden, 5, and wife Danielle, right, at King Harbour in Redondo Beach. (Christina House / For The Times) 42 / 93 Los Angeles Fire Department swift water rescue personnel deploy along the LA River after a report of a child in the water in Winnetka, Calif. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 93 Diane Travis of Angeles Forest service removes snow from her vehicle above Wrightwood at Mountain High. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 93 Snow boarders and skiers take advantage of fresh snow as they wait for Mountain High West to open on Wednesday morning. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 93 Birds soar above the Los Angeles River in Vernon after a rainstorm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 93 A man watches a memorable sunset that ended a mostly rainy day in the Los Angeles area as the first big storm of El Nino rolled through the area. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 93 Azusa residents pause to take photos of the sunset minutes after a storm front moved past Sierra Madre Ave. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 93 Trash collects on the banks of the Los Angeles River after a heavy rainstorm passed through the area, raising the water levels in the river in Vernon. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 93 San Dimas Public Works Supervisor Terry Gregory cleears a clogged drain from North San Dimas Canyon Road as heavy rains cause clogged drains and mud flows in San Dimas, Glendora and Azusa. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 93 Visitors to Angels Gate Park in San Pedro are framed between the sea and sun-tinged clouds as the first storm of El Nino blows ashore. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 93 Firefighters and rescue personnel work at the scene after a big rig crashed through the center divider crushing a car underneath and causing four other vehicles to collide on the rain slicked 60 freeway near the Garfield Exit in Monterey Park, Calif. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 93 A driver braves a flooded section of Avenue 26 in Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles, Calif. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 93 Yasmin Fernandez is carried away by Los Angeles Firefighter Jose Rodriguez after her car was caught in a flooded section of Avenue 26 in the Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles, Calif. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 93 Felipe Flores Lopez, 59, tries to stay afloat on a bed at his homeless encampment as rainwater floods a section of Avenue 26. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 93 Octavio Angulo (jumping) and Mike Patel had to abandoned their vehicle on South Hotel Circle in Mission Valley Road when the flooded road stalled their vehicle in San Diego, CA (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 56 / 93 Felipe Flores Lopez, 59, tries to secure his homeless encampment as water begins to flood on Avenue 26. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 93 Crews remove mud flows across a road during a flash flood watch in the Silverado Canyon burn area. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 93 A homeless man seeks shelters beneath the 405 Freeway along Venice Boulevard as the first of several El Nino storms hit Southern California. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 93 A Los Angeles County Public Works plow removes rocks from rain-soaked Malibu Canyon Road. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 93 A crew with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors bags sand along Zuma Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 93 CHP Sgt. Joe Davy uses a shovel to try to clear a drain on the southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway of mud from the recent Solimar Fire runoff that flowed over the freeway, closing lanes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 93 Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach is deserted and flooded, as a storm descended over southern California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 93 Valentina Flores,2, of City of Commerce, enjoys a puddle in the Little Tokyo area of downtown Los Angeles, Calif. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 93 Los Angeles sheriff deputy Michael Galvan, left, warns a couple living under Freeway 5 about flooding danger along the San Gabriel River. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 93 Vehicles traveling in the southbound lanes of the 101 freeway crawl through one lane after mud from the recent Solimar Fire flowed over the freeway closing lanes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 93 Los Angeles County Public Works road plow removes rocks off a rain-inundated Malibu Canyon Road in Malibu. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 93 Members of the California Conservation Corps clear drains along Silverado Canyon Road in Orange County, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 93 A black Mini Cooper is stranded in high standing water on Burbank Blvd near Balboa Golf Course in Encino. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 93 Los Angeles county public works department workers clean an outlet drain at Easley Canyon debris basin in Glendora. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 93 Jason Rivas works with sandbags in front of homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs. Residents are under a voluntary evacuation order. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 93 Joe Milos works with sandbags at homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs as light showers fall. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 93 Rain water runs off the roof of red tagged homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs Tuesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 93 Vehicles are slowed for miles on both North and South bound lanes of the 101 Freeway at Solimar Beach in western Ventura County as mud from the recent Solimar fire covers all lanes Tuesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 93 Looking North, as vehicles are slowed for miles on both directions of the 101 Freeway at Solimar Beach in western Ventura County as mud from the recent Solimar fire covers all lanes. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 93 People in Long Beach deal with rainy weather during the first strong storm in what is predicted to be a strong El Nino event in Southern California. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 93 A kite surfer in Long Beach makes use of the wind during the rainy weather brought by the first big storm of the new year. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 93 A front-end loader and dump truck work to move beach sand to protect vulnerable areas from flooding in Long Beach. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 93 An elderly woman navigates a wet parking lot in Fountain Valley as storms were expected to barrel into Southern California in earnest Tuesday morning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 93 Commuters navigate the southbound 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa. Rain is expected to continue through the end of the week. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 93 Carol Roberts, who said she has lived in Camarillo Springs for over 20 years, walks her dog Kayla past red-tagged homes along San Como Lane where residents were under a voluntary evacuation order due to approaching storms and unstable soil conditions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 93 Homeowners association president Barbara Williams, left, counsels Carol Roberts to be ready to leave the neighborhood if mandatory evacuations are ordered. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 82 / 93 Glendale resident Linn Neidengard picks up sandbags provided by the city to protect his home from looming rains. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 83 / 93 Noah Cowan of Long Beach, fills sandbags along with others as they prepare for the arrival of the first major storm of what is expected to be a strong El Nino weather event in Southern California. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) 84 / 93 John Ward, 66, left, and his son Jacob, 37, center, load sandbags along with fellow Glendora residents ahead of heavy rains forecast this week. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 85 / 93 The Solimar Beach fire burn area in Ventura County is being monitored for possible mud and debris flows with the coming rain. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 86 / 93 Two people take in a view of downtown Los Angeles from Montecito Heights as a storm front creeps into the Southland on Jan 3. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 87 / 93 People walk and bike under blue-gray skies in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4 as a series of storms were forecast for Southern California. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 88 / 93 With rain in the forecast, Geme Gemayoa is bundled up in downtown L.A. on Jan. 4. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 89 / 93 Los Angeles City Hall is surrounded by cloudy skies in a reflection in the windows of the new U.S. Courthouse under construction on Jan. 4. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 90 / 93 Karin Mitchell loads sandbags into the trunk of her car in Glendora, where residents were preparing for possible heavy rains. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 91 / 93 Four-month-old Kwasi Youngblood is carried by his mother, Darchelle Youngblood, in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4. Youngblood said she is ready for the cold and wet weather predicted for Southern California. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 92 / 93 Two women enjoy some sunshine in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4, before wet weather is set to arrive later in the week. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 93 / 93 Antonio Dominguez, 44, of Pacoima, goes for a bike ride under partly cloudy skies above Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace on Jan. 4. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Timesl)

When the Spanish government decided in 1777 to construct its first agricultural settlements in California to feed the missions and presidios, they picked a site on high ground west of the river they called El Rio de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.

The namesake settlement of Los Angeles became the second city in California after San Jose, with a water ditch  the zanja madre  diverting flow to the city.

The river, its tributaries and artesian wells made Los Angeles County one of the biggest cattle and food producing centers in the nation. Fishermen caught steelhead trout in the pools, and waterwheels ran flour mills in the currents.

But as Yankee newcomers poured in during the 19th century and settled on lower-lying areas, they suffered catastrophic floods.

After epochal rains in 1862 turned much of the basin into a lake, residents began clamoring to raise the banks of the river and build upstream dams.

What made the river so tempestuous was topography. Pacific storms stall against the San Gabriels, some of the steepest mountains in the world, with sparse vegetation to slow down the rainwater as it plummets down granite canyons.

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Water from 834 square miles of rugged terrain, some higher than 7,000 feet, drains into the L.A. River. Excluding the mountain washes that feed it, the main river drops 800 feet from its source in Canoga Park to its mouth in Long Beach, 51 miles away. The Mississippi drops that much over 2,300 miles.

In March 1938, storms hammered the region. Los Angeles got over 6 inches of rain in one day, and 32 inches soaked the San Gabriels over five days. Bridges, roads and rail lines washed out, houses collapsed.

Eighty-seven people died in flooding throughout the county and 108,000 acres were deluged.

Major projects to control the river began immediately with federal funding. Led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, workers dug deeper and wider channels, carved out flood control basins, and built reservoirs.

By 1959, the river had become the water freeway that it is today.

What do you guys say, 25 miles an hour? Ernesto Ortiz, 26, asked as others gathered at the railroad bridge in South Gate.

No one there could outrun it. Ortiz tried and didnt come close.

The truck traffic on the 710 freeway crossing just downstream moved about the same speed, but looked less ferocious by comparison. Youd have a better chance crossing that rainy freeway alive than trying to swim across the torrent where people normally walk their dogs and ride BMX bikes.

Oh, you see that log just crash against the pillar, Ortiz exclaimed.

Upstream in Lincoln Heights, Gergorio Lopez, 63, got off work and told his friend Olegario Plazola, Lets go see the river.

Originally from the rainy Mexican state of Guerrero, Lopez finds peace in the moving water. From the Buena Vista Street bridge, he looked south to the Spring Street bridge, where the pier cut through the water like the bow of a battleship.

Lopez chewed on a toothpick and gazed down, mesmerized.

As powerful as it looked, the river was nowhere near its max.

Only one spot along its course had exceeded a third of its capacity as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the county Department of Public Works. At 3 p.m. in South Gate, the flow was 18,434 cubic feet per second.

But the river could get meaner as more storms soak the region.

Due to the long drought, much of the mountain runoff is still being captured in reservoirs and storm basins.

A man walks along an old Union Pacific Bridge as the Los Angeles River flows in South Gate. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Big Tujunga reservoir was 32% full Wednesday, said Eric Batman, a senior civil engineer at county public works. Below it, the Tujunga Wash, one of the rivers major sources of water, was dry. Likewise, the Devils Gate dam was storing water instead of releasing it into the Arroyo Seco.

This could definitely change, Batman said. If we had weeks more of this stuff, we could see more of our dams making releases.

Still, El Nino has come before, and the giant hasnt got out of its cage yet.

joe.mozingo@latimes.com

Twitter: @joemozingo

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The mayor of Los Angeles stood with county leaders and called for eliminating homelessness in 10 years.

Were not here to say how we can manage the problem better or make it less of a problem but to come up with a plan to end homelessness, he said.

The year was 2003, the mayor was James Hahn, and the plan that developed  called Bring L.A. Home  went nowhere. Elected officials were scared off by its $12-billion price tag.

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Now, with 44,000 homeless people and encampments spreading across the region, the city and county are set to release another round of plans Thursday to address the crisis. Homeless advocates and neighborhood groups expect few, if any, wholly new strategies in the two separate proposals. Rather, they are focused on whether leaders will fully fund the plans and sustain what they see as an expensive and complex, decade-long effort.

We know what to do and we know how to do it, the real question is scaling, said Philip Mangano, former homelessness czar under President George W. Bush.

Its never been a shortage of ideas, said retired UCLA law professor Gary Blasi, who is now with Public Counsels Opportunity Under Law project. The money is the only thing you can count on.

Southern California has a long history of failed homelessness initiatives. Los Angeles County officials once proposed putting homeless people on a barge in the middle of the harbor. The city sponsored an outdoor campground ringed with concertina wire. The city of Irvine studied converting dog kennels to a shelter for people.

The countys new plan follows a series of public meetings and position papers on matters including homelessness and eviction prevention strategies, permanent supportive housing for disabled homeless people, and regionalization of homeless services through the countys 88 cities and unincorporated areas.

The citys planning process was less transparent, but the City Councils homelessness committee has focused on housing and managing people who sleep in the streets by providing showers and bathroom access. The panel also debated establishing storage facilities for people who sleep in the streets, and opening parking lots where people who live in cars and RVs can sleep overnight.

I hope at least 80% of the funding is for housing, said Ruth Schwartz, executive director of Shelter Partnership, a homeless housing agency.

City officials last year said they would spend $100 million on the new homelessness drive. The county has allocated $101 million, while the city has set aside $12.4 million for emergency relief from El Nino winter storms.

Advocates say $100 million in annual homelessness funding is the minimum needed to take on the job. The plans, however, are not expected to spell out where the future money would come from or how long funding would be sustained, but rather suggest revenue sources.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said he is committed to spending $100 million this year, and to keeping the momentum going in years to come. He said he and experts believe ending homelessness would take $2 billion to $3 billion but not all of it needs to come from local sources. State senators this week proposed spending $2 billion to build permanent housing for mentally ill homeless people.

Instead of fixating on the amount of money that people put in, I am focused as mayor on the people we actually get off the street, Garcetti said.

Los Angeles County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas said they are committed to finding whatever money is needed, from the state and federal coffers as well as the countys own budget.

The story to me is really the unprecedented commitment of real resources, Kuehl said.

This is not a flash-in-the-pan program, Ridley-Thomas said.

Assuming the money comes through, officials face hard decisions about where to put homeless services and housing.

In 2007, the county proposed five widely dispersed homeless centers, with shelter beds, case managers and other services. Facing neighborhood fears of new mini-skid rows, the supervisors never opened a single center.

Past homelessness policy has been paralyzed by infighting between the city and the county. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city-county agency, was formed in 1993 as the result of a lawsuit between the two. It was supposed to resolve turf battles, but it operates mainly as a pass-through for $70 million to $90 million in federal aid and, to a lesser extent, local funding allocated by elected officials.

City and county officials say they have entered an unprecedented era of coordination on homelessness policy. But as the county was preparing in September to launch public meetings on its plan, city officials held a news conference to announce plans for a state of emergency on homelessness and promised to spend $100 million in city money on the problem.

The state of emergency idea was later shelved, but the county, which had planned to finish its study before distributing money, began doling out funds.

Steve Diaz, an organizer with Los Angeles Community Action Network, which advocates for homeless residents, said he thinks the city tried to piggyback on county efforts and then take credit.

Theyre trying to sort of capture the countys political moment and own it for themselves, he said.

Homeless service providers received separate invitations to review the city and county plans  on the same day.

Dora Gallo, who served on the panel that developed Bring L.A. Home, said the city-county partnership is real this time, but said both will need a strong executive to implement their plans.

Otherwise well end up with another plan in 10 years, said Gallo, chief executive of A Community of Friends, which develops housing for mentally ill homeless people.

gale.holland@latimes.com

Twitter: @geholland



abby.sewell@latimes.com

Twitter: @sewella


With the dawning of the new year, millions of students in California and the nation are turning their attention from winter break to filling out a form that will determine their eligibility for college financial aid.

At least they should be. The often intimidating FAFSA  the Free Application for Federal Student Aid  became available Jan. 1 for the 2016-17 academic year.

New and returning students seeking financial aid must fill out the form, which is required to receive federal Pell grants, federal student loans and work-study opportunities.

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Many state and private institutions also use the application information to determine eligibility for nonfederal aid. California uses the information to determine eligibility for Cal Grants and other state aid. The deadline in California to submit the application is March 2.

But many students still skip the form, believing they or their family earn too much to qualify for financial aid.

Others put off applying until the last minute, often missing out on federal and state-based aid that is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, officials said.

The process can be a challenging one even for those with college knowledge and even more so for those without that experience, said Lauren Asher, president of the nonprofit Institute of College Access & Success. The FAFSA is the gateway not only to federal grants and loans but most college aid. And you never know what youre eligible for if you dont apply.

State and federal agencies and many colleges are working to get the word out to students and their families on the importance of filing and doing it early.

Cal State Los Angeles, for example, will send an email blast to all its students as well as display posters and banners across the campus, said Jonathan Choy, associate director of financial aid.

A number of workshops will also be held to provide information on the application as well as other loan opportunities and scholarships.

In 2014-15, more than 80% of the 25,000 students at the University Hills campus east of downtown received financial aid, Choy said. Many students still have trepidation about the application, even though it has undergone modifications over the years.

The average time to fill out the form is about 15 to 20 minutes, and a continuing student would take even less than that; its a lot more user friendly, Choy said.

Still, there are ongoing efforts to further streamline the student aid program, including eliminating the application altogether and using only household income and family size to determine eligibility for Pell grants.

The federal government spends more than $150 billion annually on student aid. But former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said a year ago that more than 1 million high school seniors each year fail to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, even though most would be eligible for Pell grants, which are designed for low-income students.

The online form, used by most applicants, allows students to skip questions that dont apply to them and provides direct links to federal income tax information.

The form requests students and parents income, savings and other assets as well as liabilities from the preceding tax year to calculate how much they are expected to contribute to education costs. That has proved troublesome for applicants who typically dont receive W-2 forms and other tax information until well into January or later.

But there is some relief on the way. Under reforms announced in September by President Obama, students applying for the 2017-18 school year will be able to file the application as early as Oct. 1, 2016, rather than waiting until Jan. 1, 2017.

Students will also be able to use earlier income information. For example, on the 2017-18 application, students can use information from their 2015 taxes rather than that for 2016.

There will be more time for high schools and others to work with students and their families and obtain the tax data needed to fill out forms, Asher said. It will be a much better alignment between the financial aid process and the college application process.

Officials say students should be prepared to provide their Social Security and drivers license numbers, parents Social Security numbers and birth dates, 2015 income tax returns or estimates, W-2 forms and bank statements.

High school guidance counselors and college financial aid offices can answer questions and provide assistance. The California Student Aid Commission also has information about the application and financial aid workshops throughout the state.

Applying for financial aid is free at FAFSA.gov.

carla.rivera@latimes.com

Twitter: @carlariveralat
Hillary Clintons presidential campaign on Thursday will unveil its effort to organize Asian Americans in the San Gabriel Valley, an area with one of the densest concentrations of those voters in the state. But the campaigns real targets are outside California, in places where surging numbers of Asian voters have helped lead Democrats to victories in recent statewide races.

Those places include Virginia and Nevada, two hard-fought states that sided with President Obama in his successful campaigns for the White House and would have to be flipped by the Republican nominee to ensure a victory in November.

Clintons early outreach to Asian voters is meant to help her construct a demographic firewall in those key states and any others that prove problematic if she is the Democratic nominee. California, a killing ground for Republican presidential candidates since 1992, is not expected to be among them.

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The national battle for Asian voters is a replay of the decades-long fight for Latino voters, one that ended in a Democratic rout because of Republican policies that left the burgeoning voter group feeling unwanted, even disdained.

At the start of this presidential contest, Latinos and Asians were among the groups sought after by the GOP to reverse its presidential campaign woes. But nothing in the last several months of a campaign wrenched rightward by the immigrant-bashing candidacy of Donald Trump  and featuring angry denunciations by other GOP candidates  has suggested Republicans have made inroads with either group.

Against that backdrop, Clintons announcement of her campaigns Asian outreach plan represents the most public component of a courtship that dates to her husbands presidency in the 1990s.

The desire for support from Asians has been driven by their swiftly increasing numbers. Two million Asians were registered to vote in 2000; the figure had doubled by 2012. By 2044, Asians are expected to represent 1 in 10 voters nationally, according to a study by Karthick Ramakrishnan, a UC Riverside professor who has long studied Asian voters.

Already, the voting-age population of Asians exceeds 10% in seven states, including California. Important areas in other swing states, such as North Carolinas Research Triangle and Virginias Fairfax and Loudoun counties, also have growing Asian populations.

They are not a monolith; Vietnamese voters in particular lean toward the Republican Party, even in blue California. In this state, Asian voters often register as nonpartisan to avoid the embrace of either major party. But by voting behavior, Asians have drifted toward the Democratic Party and its candidates.

In the 2008 general election, 64% of Californias Asian voters sided with Barack Obama. In 2012, that figure grew to 79%. Nationally, 73% of Asian voters backed Obama over Republican Mitt Romney, the highest percentage of any demographic bloc after African American voters.

In 2014, a Virginia exit poll by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund showed that Asian voters sided with Sen. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, over Republican Ed Gillespie by 2 to 1. At the time, Asians represented 3% of the electorate. Warner won by less than 1% of the overall vote, meaning that Asians alone roughly accounted for his victory even in a state without a huge Asian population.

Denying Republicans a foothold in states like Virginia, where Democratic advantages have ebbed over the Obama presidency, would be key to Clintons chances in November.

This speaks to how the campaign is pitching a very broad tent and thinking ahead to the general election, Ramakrishnan said of Clintons entreaties. The growth of the population, especially in certain swing states, is part of the appeal. Another part of the appeal is the fact that the face of immigration is changing.

Indeed, it is with no small amount of teeth-gnashing that Asians have seen the immigration debate framed almost solely by the experience of Latinos, and the voting rights debate focused on the experience of African Americans.

Asians have been caught up in current and historical efforts to block their voting rights and worse, including the World War II internments. Two-thirds of Asians in the country were born elsewhere, compared with one-third of Latinos. About 40% of the millions in the nations visa backlog are Asian.

We are a large percentage of those that are affected by a broken immigration system. We want our story told and we want to have our issues discussed, said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), who will appear with Clinton on Thursday.

Even if they have been largely on the sidelines of those public discussions, Asian voters have still felt a chill this presidential campaign.

GOP front-runner Donald Trump has repeatedly assaulted China as an economic enemy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, under fire from Latinos for using the term anchor babies, tried to mollify them by transferring the insult, saying that his remarks were more related to Asian people. Former Carly Fiorina, another Republican, took off after Chinese women who she said perpetuated abuses by giving birth in the U.S.

Political consultant Parke Skelton, who helped elect state Treasurer John Chiang and state Controller Betty Yee in 2014, said that such explicit insults were strongly felt by Asian voters.

Theres been such a history of discrimination having to do with the Asian population that its a part of the cultural DNA, he said.

The persistent GOP effort to kill Obamas healthcare plan, which is highly popular among Asian voters, also has limited the Republican reach.

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Clinton seeks Asian voters from a position of strength; in a September USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, she led challenger Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, by 21 percentage points among Asians in California.

She led by even more among women and Latinos, who fueled her 2008 California primary victory over Obama. Asians at the time represented a smaller and less sought-after component of the electorate. But no more, as voters, elected officials and donors are in the campaigns sights, nationally and in California.

The primarys probably a foregone conclusion, but you never know, Ramakrishnan said. One way to interpret this is to see it as an insurance move by the Clinton campaign.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

For more on politics, go to www.latimes.com/decker and www.latimes.com/politics.

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The legislative year begins with a conspicuous vacancy. Not because a lawmaker got convicted or died, but because he leaped the fence for greener pastures. Meaning money.

While lush green in financial feed, his new field is on the dark side: the realm of special interest lobbying.

But this is America. No one is forced to stay in any job.

The really stinky part of a legislator dumping his constituents in midterm and turning lobbyist, however, is that local taxpayers must shell out for a special election to replace him.

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Were talking about an unexpected expense of $100,000 to $1 million or more. And its a burden frequently heaped on citizens all over California.

Why not just allow the governor to fill the vacancy temporarily until the next regular election?

A governor can do that when theres an open seat on a county Board of Supervisors. Same deal with a statewide elective office.

When a U.S. senator quits or dies, the governor can fill that vacancy. But if a U.S. House member leaves office, the Constitution requires a special election.

California has held 57 special primary and general elections to fill legislative and congressional vacancies in the last 10 years. Three-fourths have been for state legislative seats. Get rid of them.

But lets back up.

What prompted this rant was the unexpected announcement last month that Democrat Henry T. Perea, 38, of Fresno was leaving the Assembly in midterm for a special interest job. Later, he revealed that he would become the chief lobbyist in California, Arizona and Nevada for the pharmaceutical industry.

California law forbids Perea from personally lobbying his former colleagues for a year. But he told the Fresno Bee that, in the meantime, hell be giving strategic advice to those who can lobby legally.

Its a generational opportunity, Perea told Times reporter Melanie Mason. And its the right decision for me and my family.

But maybe not for the Fresno voters who chose him as their assemblyman. They live in one of the poorest areas of the state and need their own full-time lobbyist in Sacramento. No one currently represents them in the Assembly.

Although not a legislative leader, Perea had power as unofficial head of the mods  business-friendly Democrats  who last year blocked the governors attempt to cut petroleum use by half.

Pereas defection from the Legislature is heart-wrenching to a community, Dillon Savory, political director of the Fresno Central Labor Council, told reporter Laurel Rosenhall of the nonprofit news service Cal Matters.

You went to these people asking them to vote for you  then you back out and claim its for a personal reason. Thats just not good enough for people. We all have personal problems and we still go to work every day.

Perea didnt respond to my request to explain his side.

But, seemingly, its basically this: He was termed-out of the Assembly at the end of this year anyway. Running for higher office would have been difficult. He has a wife and two kids. And heading a lobby team, hell presumably be making much more than the $100,111 base pay for legislators. Moreover, lawmakers elected after 1990  when foolhardy term limits were enacted  arent eligible for pensions.

Of course, being a legislator isnt exactly involuntary servitude. A lawmaker hauls in $168 in tax-free expense money each day the Legislature is in session.

Pereas decision to turn lobbyist continues an unfortunate trend. Two other lawmakers  one from each party  did the same thing in 2013. Still, most vacancies are caused by legislators changing offices.

Gov. Jerry Brown has called a special primary election to fill Pereas seat for April 5.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, therell be a special general election June 7 that coincides with the regular primary. The front-runner is Democrat Joaquin Arambula, an emergency room physician whose father once was an assemblyman.

Fresno County estimates the special election cost at around $500,000.

You cant put a price tag on democracy, Secretary of State Alex Padilla told me. Elections are what our democracy is based on.

Too bad Sacramento doesnt espouse that same sentiment when it comes to holding presidential primaries early enough to give Californians a meaningful role in choosing nominees for the White House.

Another sad thing about special legislative elections is that they draw pathetic turnouts.

Only 6% of registered voters showed up for a stateSenate contest last year in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Just 7% turned out for an L.A. election in 2014. Typically they seem to average from 10% to 15%.

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Former Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) introduced a bill in 2014 that would have allowed the governor to fill a vacancy. It would have been filled with someone from the same party as the departing legislator. And the affected house could reject the selection.

But Republicans worried that a Democratic governor would play games with a GOP opening, maybe naming  heaven forbid  a moderate. So the measure didnt make it to the Senate floor.

That bill should be reintroduced with one amendment: Require the governor to choose from a list of replacements acceptable to the affected party.

Dont like that? Heres an alternative: Require the deserting lawmaker to pay for the special election he caused. He could dip into his own political stash.

At last count, Perea still had access to campaign kitties worth about $1 million.

george.skelton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesSkelton
News / Press Release

by Sanlam

Journalists encouraged to submit entries for the African Growth Story category

Entries for the 2015 Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism are now open. The Awards are sponsored and organised by South Africa-based financial services group, Sanlam.For the third consecutive year, the coveted African Growth Story category is up for grabs for journalists from across the continent whose work is published and/ or broadcast in Africa.This category honours the journalist who best captures the growth story of the African continent, highlighting the economic awakening as well as the challenges and obstacles to growth.In 2015, Kenya's Business Daily journalist, Mr Neville Otuki scooped the Best Newcomer award following his strong entry for the African Growth Story category. Otuki walked away with the R15 000 (KES105 997) prize money.The Best Newcomer award, which is determined by the judging panel, goes to a journalist with less than three years' experience who the judges believe will make a significant contribution to financial journalism in the future. It was the first time in the 40-year history of the Awards that this category was won by a non-South African journalist.The annual Awards were established by Sanlam in 1974 as a platform to recognise and celebrate excellence in financial journalism as well as honour some of the finest financial journalists.Sanlam Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ian Kirk, says that Sanlam is proud to continue its support for the Awards. "As a proudly Pan-African financial services company, we are pleased to once again sponsor this prestigious competition which acknowledges the hard work, dedication and impressive reporting skills of African journalists."In 2013, we introduced the African Growth Story category to recognise financial journalists from across Africa whose work focuses on telling the growth story of the continent in terms of investments and infrastructure developments, among others, including the related challenges. We hope these Awards contribute to encourage quality journalism that critically looks at and celebrates the continent's growth. We believe Africa is home to some of the finest financial journalists and we encourage all eligible individuals to submit their entries and showcase their remarkable efforts."Entries will close on 29 February 2016, giving applicants more than two months to collate and submit their entries.Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg in 2016. The judging panel will use the following criteria to evaluate entries: news value, impact, rigour in reporting, analytical value, originality, integrity, specialist knowledge and story-telling.The judging panel, convened by Mr Peter Vundla, the chairman of AMB Capital, currently includes Mr Charles Naude, a retired editor; Ms Caroline Southey, the editor of The Conversation Africa; Mr Franz Kruger, adjunct professor of journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand; Prof Nixon Kariithi, founder of Tangaza Africa Media; Ms Maud Motanyane of Kagiso Media; Mr Ulrich Joubert, an independent economist; and Mr Jabulani Sikhakhane, formerly with National Treasury in South Africa and now deputy editor of The Conversation Africa.For more information click http://bit.ly/SFJOY for the dedicated Awards website which provides full details about the Awards, including the entry forms.
Another El Nino-fueled storm soaked Southern California on Wednesday and brought with it flooding, mudflows and even a small tornado that struck Orange County in the early afternoon.

Pea-sized hail and 45-mph winds made their way south from San Luis Obispo, forcing the region to recognize that the season of storms has commenced. As much as 5 inches of rain was expected to drop across the Southland.

Still, Wednesdays rain was fickle, with clouds parting at times to allow the sun to shine.

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A flash-flood warning was issued for the Ventura County coast around Solimar Beach, and landslides forced the partial closure of the 101 Freeway at the State Beaches offramp. Rainfall on the areas hillsides, denuded by a fire that broke out on Christmas, sent mud into the northbound lanes of the freeway. A concrete-lined ditch that runs alongside the freeway offered little drainage help because it was already overflowing with water.

This is only the beginning, said a Caltrans employee as he eyed a nearby hill, its scorched slope a menace when mixed with rain.

Less than two miles away, waves crashed against the cliffside homes of Mondos Beach as rain fell at a rate of about an inch an hour.

Residents in the nearby small Ventura County beach community of La Conchita braced for a landslide, well aware of the one in which 10 people were killed a decade ago when 400,000 tons of mud slid down a bluff.

One homeowner wore a raincoat as he stood in his garage, watching the rain fall through a gray fog. The sound of car tires whooshing through puddles played in the background. His house, he said, had survived two landslides.

Rainfall was heavy but uneven during the 24-hour period that ended Wednesday night, with the San Gabriel Dam getting 3.51 inches, La Canada Flintridge 2.17 inches and Santa Barbara 1.71 inches. Santa Monica, Palmdale and Long Beach each saw about a third of an inch, according to the National Weather Service.

Experts predicted the storm would drop more than 13 inches of snow on Lake Arrowhead, prompting the Rim of the World Unified School District to close schools Wednesday. Higher elevations across the Southland were expected to see up to 2 feet of snow by Friday morning.

Snow chains were required in Wrightwood, where some children sledded in a flurry of flakes that accumulated up to 7 inches by the evening.

In Los Angeles, drivers navigated swamped roads  with some attempting to plow through water that rose as high as their hubcaps. TV news coverage of a morning police pursuit of a white van in Sunland-Tujunga showed both cars sliding on slick streets. The Los Angeles River, usually a trickle, roared with life.

At one point the 5 Freeway was closed in Sun Valley because of flooding.

Highway 1 at Pismo State Beach was closed indefinitely because of several downed power lines.

 A usually tame Los Angeles River comes roaring to life in downtown Los Angeles during the recent string of El Nino-fueled storms.

A mudflow late in the afternoon in Santa Clarita, where the Calgrove fire had burned more than 400 acres, prompted Los Angeles County fire officials to evacuate residents of 10 mobile homes. The American Red Cross set up a shelter at a community center in Newhall.

In Riverside County, a person reported seeing a body in the Santa Ana River, but after dozens of firefighters combed the waterway, no victim was found and the search was called off.

And in Kern County, many AT&T cellular customers experienced an outage, including service to 911.

Concern also turned to the homeless near reservoirs. Over the last six months, outreach workers have visited encampments in the countys five watersheds to spread news of impending dangers from El Nino rains.

But according to a report recently released by the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury, plans to accommodate the homeless are unconscionable and grossly inadequate.

About 70% of the countys estimated 44,000 homeless sleep outdoors on any given night, the report said, and strategies are needed to alleviate the suffering that is certain to increase among those who lack reliable shelter.

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The grand jury urged agencies and city leaders to identify public and private buildings that could become temporary shelters and to relax any health, fire and safety codes that might prevent those spaces from serving as refuges. It also recommended that tents, tarps and ponchos be provided to those who cannot find room at shelters.

Naomi Goldman, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, said that the city and county have significantly expanded shelter resources  to serve as many homeless persons as possible and that the existing facilities are not yet at full capacity.

Wednesdays storm  the third this week  was slower-moving but just as powerful as the one that passed through the area Tuesday, forecasters said.

In an unusual development, the National Weather Services Storm Prediction Center listed Southern California  and its more than 19 million residents  as having a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms or even a tornado.

The main thing is theyre just seeing instability in the atmosphere today, NWS meteorologist Emily Thornton said. I think its pretty broad where it could happen.

A small tornado was reported about 1 p.m. just south of San Clemente in Orange County.

The rain is expected to persist Thursday but will become lighter.

Snow is forecast in areas as low as 3,500 feet, including the Grapevine section of the 5 Freeway, according to the National Weather Service.

Although rainfall is expected to be scattered, there is a chance of thunderstorms and short, heavy rainfall.

The areas of biggest concern will again be hillsides burned in brush fires, which after four years of drought have less vegetation to hold back loose soil.

On Wednesday in the Pasadena area, mud and broken fencing flowed into a residents backyard in the 500 block of St. Katherine Drive. The owner was told to prepare to leave on a moments notice.

Fearing that strong winds could lead to falling trees, public works inspectors spent the day driving through vulnerable areas.

As the skies oscillated between sunshine and clouds, many lined up for Powerball lottery tickets, laying their bets with another unpredictable outcome.

Still, shop owners noted that a jackpot that soared Wednesday to $500 million failed to draw the usual massive throngs.

At Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne  where regulars make sure to touch the stores bluebird statue for luck  ticket sales were steady, but the line was not out the door. No one wanted to stand outside.

taylor.goldenstein@latimes.com

joseph.serna@latimes.com

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Times staff writers Corina Knoll, Jason Song, Gale Holland and Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.

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The law was clear: Cliven Bundys cattle had been grazing on public land  illegally  for years. The Bureau of Land Management said so, and so did the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal courts agreed.

But when the BLM tried to enforce the law  by seizing the Nevada ranchers livestock in 2014  a ragtag band of militiamen rode to Bundys defense. After an armed standoff in the desert, federal officials released Bundys cattle and retreated, soundly defeated.

Almost two years later, as Bundys sons Ammon and Ryan and a small group of armed militiamen threaten a similar showdown by refusing to leave an Oregon wildlife refuge, Cliven Bundy still owes more than $1 million in grazing fees.

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Both cases have raised uncomfortable questions about whether the Bundys are getting off easy and about what happens when demonstrators prevent the government from enforcing its own laws.

The standoff in Oregon has drawn the attention of Black Lives Matter activists who have protested law enforcements regular use of deadly force across the nation, with seemingly little effect on the number of shootings by police. The government, meanwhile, isnt saying much about what its doing to get the money Bundy owes.

Federal officials seem to have shied away from confrontation to avoid re-creating the bloody Waco and Ruby Ridge standoffs of the 1990s, which galvanized antigovernment radicals like 1995 Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

The two [Bundy standoffs], I think, are indicative of a problem, and that is: When you have people who are publicly proclaiming their defiance of the law and doing it in a potentially violent way, how do you deal with it? said Patrick Shea, director of the BLM from 1997 to 1999, who was the first to sue Cliven Bundy for illegal grazing.

Because if you deal with it in an incorrect manner like at Waco or Ruby Ridge, you tend to enhance their status as martyrs, Shea said.

Its definitely a shame that hes still been allowed to keep grazing and basically suffer no consequences despite the fact that he still owes $1 million to taxpayers  Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities, on Cliven Bundy

In Cliven Bundys case, the 2014 showdown stemmed from the ranchers belief that federal lands belong to the states because of state sovereignty.

In November 1998, a federal judge permanently banned Bundy, whose ranch is located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas, from grazing his livestock on a swath of federal land known as the Bunkerville Allotment and ordered him to remove his cattle by the end of the month. Bundy didnt.

Instead, Bundy allowed his cattle to graze on even broader areas of federal land run by the BLM and the National Park Service.

In May 2012, federal attorneys sued Bundy to stop his unauthorized and unlawful grazing of livestock on federal lands, which they said contain archaeological sites, sensitive and rare plants, and the desert tortoise, a threatened and protected species.

Officials complained that Bundy had set up corrals and water tanks on the public lands and that his cattle caused accidents and near-misses after wandering onto public roads.

In their 2012 request for a restraining order, federal officials noted that they had no adequate legal means to address the continuous and persistent unlawful conduct by Bundy.

Bundy told the court he had broken no law, and in one January 2013 filing he apparently wrote himself, he said he had been defamed by the federal government, accusing officials of insinuating that he was threatening violence.

It tries to twist out of context Defendants words that he will do Whatever it takes to protect his property, said Bundys motion for dismissal. Even their record over the years shows Defendant has never been violent and has been very vocal in the public speaking area, exercising his 1st Amendment Right to free speech and the ability to exercise civil protest against the government.

U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George disagreed with Bundy and ruled against him in July 2013.

Bundy was once again ordered to remove his livestock, and he was once again permanently banned from another swath of public land. And once again, Bundy didnt comply.

But this time, Georges July 2013 ruling gave federal officials the power to seize Bundys livestock to enforce the law, which is when the real trouble began.

The next year, hundreds of protesters set up camp near Bundys livestock, many of them armed. In one tense stare-down between the protesters and federal agents, both sides had guns at the ready, and photographers captured at least one Bundy supporter aiming his rifle at officials.

After the armed confrontation, Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze said on April 12, 2014, that the bureau would release the cattle because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.

After 20 years and multiple court orders to remove the trespass cattle, Mr. Bundy owes the American taxpayers in excess of $1 million, Kornze said. The BLM will continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially.

But in the nearly two years since then, its not clear what has been done. When asked for comment about the Bundy case this week, a BLM spokesman gave The Times the same statement it has been handing out for months.

The Bureau of Land Management remains resolute in addressing issues involved in efforts to gather Mr. Bundys cattle and we are pursuing the matter through the legal system, the statement says. The Department of Justice has the lead on any investigation of federal crimes that may have been committed. Our primary goal remains to resolve this matter safely and according to the rule of the law.

No criminal charges have been filed against Bundy, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys office in Nevada, as a matter of Department of Justice policy, declined to say whether any were being considered. Clark County records showed no tax liens levied against Bundy or his ranch.

Nothing, basically, has happened there, said Aaron Weiss, spokesman for the Center for Western Priorities, a public lands and energy watchdog that opposes Bundys views on federal land. Its definitely a shame that hes still been allowed to keep grazing and basically suffer no consequences despite the fact that he still owes $1 million to taxpayers.

Weiss said the Bundy showdown also set the stage for the Oregon standoff, which was prompted by prison sentences for Oregon ranchers who had set fires on federal lands.

The fact that theres been no consequences has emboldened these militia groups, Weiss said. Some laws have clearly been broken here, and some people are going to have to pay the consequences for that. We certainly hope everyone here gets held accountable for what theyve done.

Cliven Bundy, who has kept a low profile during his sons showdown in Oregon, did not respond to phone messages seeking comment. But statements attributed to him on his ranchs Facebook page showed he was supporting his sons as well as their cause  challenging government authority over federally owned lands.

We the People are taking a hard stand to restore land and resources back to county government and to We the People, challenging the federal governments jurisdiction over the land and resources within an admitted state, said a message Wednesday attributed to Bundy. Exercise agency or be controlled by a central government! FREEDOM, LIBERTY, FOR GOD WE STAND.

Follow @MattDPearce on Twitter.

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The people of Harney County are grateful one of their regions thorniest issues is in the national spotlight, but have grown frustrated with the methods of the armed occupiers of an Oregon federal wildlife refuge.

More than 500 people crowded into a hall inside the Harney County Fairgrounds, the first community gathering since about 15 men broke off from a protest march on Saturday to seize the unoccupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to denounce the federal ownership of public lands and the incarceration of two eastern Oregon ranchers.

The goal of the meeting was to give residents of the county, population 7,100, a chance to ask the sheriff questions. Most simply wanted to make statements.

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This would be a vastly different discussion if those folks werent threatening force, said Harney County resident Rob Franks.

During the occupation, the courthouse has been closed, so the 4-H cant meet. Parents have to watch their children because schools are shut for the week. The sheriffs office is overwhelmed and has to rely on other counties to send in patrol cars.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

The daily rhythm of life here has been interrupted, said resident after resident on Wednesday night. But Harney County Sheriff David Ward raised a more troubling issue. He said one of his wifes tires had been flattened, and said someone followed his parents home.

You dont come here and intimidate people. Thats not how we live our lives in Harney County, Ward said. Our wives have a right not to be tailed home. Our pastors have a right to not be shouted at on the street.

You dont get to threaten me because I disagree with you.

He delivered the last line to raucous applause, then asked for a show of hands: How many people want the occupiers to go home? he asked. At least three-quarters of the room raised their hands.

Residents look on as Sheriff David Ward address concerns at a community meeting at the Harney County Fairgrounds in Burns, Ore. (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press )

The meeting took place on the sheriffs home turf, and he has already established himself as an opponent of the occupiers, who labeled him an enemy of the people. Despite occasional shouted curses and challenges to the sheriff from some in the crowd, there did not appear to be significant support for the occupiers methods.

I cant say I dont appreciate what theyve done, said rancher Rodney Johnson. They want to go home to their families.

Someone in the crowd shouted, Then go!

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Johnson glared for a moment, hand on hip, then said he would take anyone who will stand with me to the refuge to ask the protesters to leave. Many in the room cheered.

Most speakers began their statements with support for Dwight and Steven Hammond, the father-and-son ranchers whose re-sentencing under the federal mandatory minimum for a terrorism act has inflamed the community.

They were convicted of intentionally setting fires on land that adjoined federal Bureau of Land Management property and were initially given a sentence lighter than the mandatory minimum. They said they set the fires to protect their ranchland.

After being re-sentenced, the Hammonds reported to prison this week.

The ranchers and the residents of the Harney County towns of Burns and Hines expressed almost unanimous support for the principle the activists say theyre bringing to light: vast swaths of land owned by the federal government that restrict the ways landowners can use their property.

No use is misuse, said Erin Walton, to applause.

Steven Atkins, a former U.S. Forest Service employee, said hes lived in cities much more liberal than Burns that were subject to protests similar to that at the refuge.

Ive seen this before, and it only ends in bloodshed, Atkins said.

The strongest opposition to the occupiers came from Garrett Hanneford, who criticized the Bundy family, leaders of the occupation, for the grazing fees they owe on federal land in Nevada.

Theres a time to throw the tea in the sea, but its not now, Hanneford said. I understand that you people dont feel like they have to follow the law, but there are federal grazing fees.

Some sitting in the crowd booed. One man called out mockingly, Yeah, whose land is it? A voice from across the room shouted, Sit down!

Johnson, the rancher, said hes heartened by one thing  the unity in the crowd. First, he said half-jokingly, the entire town needed to delete Facebook, which was hosting heated arguments that frayed relations among townspeople.

Theres people threatening to boycott other peoples businesses theyve known their whole lives, Johnson said.

Johnson said the town has been riven by cliques: who goes to church with whom, which ranching family gets along with their neighbors. The standoff, despite the anxiety its caused, has brought the people of the county together, Johnson said.

If I have to have an armed standoff to get this many people and have a dance in town..., he said, trailing off to loud laughter. Lets just knock this crap off. Lets go back to being friends and neighbors.

For the latest on the standoff in Oregon, follow @nigelduara on Twitter.

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Saying he could not look the other way in the face of criminal behavior, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a local credit union seeking approval to become what would be the first financial institution to openly serve the cannabis industry.

In his nine-page order, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson rejected the lawsuit filed by Fourth Corner Credit Union against the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which oversees Denver, for refusing it a master account that would enable it to do business.

Fourth Corner wants to be the first financial institution in the nation to legally work with the cannabis business. But its facing serious hurdles because pot, legal in Colorado, remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government, which regulates banking. As a result, few banks are willing to openly do business with the industry for fear of being prosecuted.

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During a hearing last week, Jackson expressed sympathy for Fourth Corners predicament but telegraphed his position early on by saying marijuana remains a controlled substance and his oath is to uphold the law.

Jackson harked back to that stance in his ruling Tuesday, saying the court cannot use its powers to issue an order that would facilitate criminal activity.

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Fourth Corner Chief Executive Deirdre OGorman said the credit union board was deciding whether to appeal.

The ruling is a setback for the state and national cannabis industry, eager to move away from a multibillion-dollar economy conducted almost entirely in cash. Many elected officials  including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who opposed pot legalization  believe the lack of banking options is now a public safety issue.

Dozens of grow houses and dispensaries have been robbed at gunpoint. Some hire heavily armed security to shuttle cash around in armored vehicles. Others stash it in boxes, paper bags and safe houses. A few banks work with the industry but do so quietly and risk prosecution.

This ruling sends a message loud and clear: Congress must act, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Assn. Theres no shortcut, theres no Band-Aid, theres no workaround to fix this.

He called the inability for his industry to bank a crisis affecting public safety and law-abiding businesses.

There is bipartisan legislation pending in Congress to make banking with marijuana businesses less onerous.

Fourth Corner received a charter from Colorado last year and had hoped to get a master account from the Federal Reserve enabling it to offer checking and electronic banking services.

But the Fed denied the request, saying working with marijuana businesses would be illegal. Yet its lawyers acknowledged in court that they couldnt recall refusing a master account to anyone else and that other banks that work with the pot industry have such accounts. Ultimately, they deemed the move too risky.

The Fed declined to comment on the ruling.

Judge Jackson expressed his own frustration with the murkiness of current law.

In his decision, he cited a 2014 Justice Department memorandum that said banks and credit unions conducting transactions with money from the pot industry face criminal liability under money laundering statutes. But the memo also said prosecutors might refrain from targeting them if the financial institutions ensured their marijuana clients complied with certain guidelines.

Jackson said the memo was not a green light for banks to work with marijuana businesses. It may allow federal prosecutors leeway in whom to target, he said, but it doesnt change the law.

David Kelly is a special correspondent.
Californias historic new right-to-die law, passed and signed during a special legislative session last year, won a further victory this week when its opponents fell far short of gathering the 365,880 signatures needed by Monday to put a referendum on the November ballot overturning it. Thats good news, because it was a bit of a miracle that the law was passed at all.

An earlier version of the bill, which allows terminally ill people with a life expectancy of six months or less to obtain a prescription for life-ending medication, had failed to make it out of the Assembly Health Committee during the regular session. It was then resurrected and passed in the special healthcare session in September. It was a window of opportunity that skillful supporters of the bill used to their advantage but which opponents saw as a heavy-handed end-run around the legislative process. In our view, the bill was modest, sensible and important; it deserved to be passed, and itd be a travesty to derail the law now.

Two decades of experience with Oregons landmark Death with Dignity Act suggest that [Californias new right-to-die law] will be used sparingly.

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But thats still possible. The group behind the referendum attempt, known as Seniors Against Suicide, says it is now contemplating a lawsuit to stop the laws implementation. The law is set to go into effect 90 days after the state Legislature concludes the still-open special session on healthcare.

We respect the laws opponents, including the Roman Catholic Church and some disability-rights advocates; they waged a passionate battle  both moral and practical  against it. But we dont share their fears. There is no evidence that a law this narrow would lead uncaring health insurers or family members to coerce sick patients to kill themselves in order to save on medical costs.

To the contrary, two decades of experience with Oregons landmark Death with Dignity Act suggests that it will be used sparingly. In the first 17 years, just 1,327 people in Oregon requested a life-ending prescription from a doctor. More than a third of them then chose not to use the prescription.

One who did take the lethal prescription was Brittany Maynard, a young woman with terminal brain cancer who bravely chose to go public about moving from the Bay Area to Oregon in order to control the last, and worst, days of her life. Maynards story helped push the right-to-die bill through after two similar attempts in the last decade had gone down to defeat.

If the opponents do sue, we hope they do not prevail. They say they would argue that the law should be declared invalid because the special session wasnt the appropriate venue for such legislation. But a reading of both the state Constitution and the governors proclamation calling the special session makes it clear that any sort of healthcare-related legislation was both appropriate and welcome. And whats more central to our health than the manner and method in which our lives end?

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California exerts tremendous influence on the nations economy, social policies and political discourse. And yet our presidential primary votes  coming on June 7  rarely matter a whit. Every four years the races settle by early spring and the nominees are all but crowned.

But for Republicans, 2016 may finally be the year that California matters.

Several factors make this race unlike all that came before, including the unusually large number of nominees and the rich super PACs that keep their candidacies afloat. Combined with a structural change in how GOP convention delegates are apportioned, were looking at an elongated Republican contest certain to frustrate the candidates, raise the ante for financial sponsors and stretch the race into June.

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Nearly all the hopefuls each have support from one or more super PAC... As long as candidates have financial support, there is little reason to drop out.

Lets turn first to the number of Republican candidates. There are, believe it or not, 12 still in the hunt, bickering daily for attention. At roughly this stage of the race eight years ago (the last without an incumbent), only six were still standing and three of them quit in early January 2008. Only John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee finished the race, which was settled in March. This time around, even if half of the GOP candidates drop out this month, six will remain.

Second, new sources of campaign cash. When the U.S. Supreme Court approved the concept of super PACs in 2010, that landmark decision opened the door to virtually unlimited political spending by groups loyal to  but officially removed from  candidates. Super PACs raised about $600 million for the entire 2012 presidential campaign. As of December 2015, theyd already raised $316 million, with the heaviest spending in the general election yet to come.

Nearly all the hopefuls each have support from one or more super PAC. The super PAC backing Jeb Bush has raised $103 million. Ted Cruz has the backing of super PACs that have raised a combined $30 million. Other candidates have the sponsorship of super PACs with lower balances, but enough to keep them in play. As long as candidates have financial support, there is little reason to drop out.

Third, the Republican National Committee made some important changes to how delegates are divvied up for the nominating convention. All states holding primaries March 1 to 15  which includes Super Tuesday  must award delegates proportionally to candidates who clear a certain threshold (between 5% and 20% of the vote). Before that change, states had a winner-take-all option; now they dont.

Why is this change so important? Because nearly half the national delegates will be selected during this two-week window. Proportional representation suggests split outcomes in most, if not all, of these key Republican primaries.

We can expect largely self-funded Donald Trump to do well, but not well enough if his rivals pick up sizable support in their home or neighboring states. Chances are good no one will collect 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination before the end of May.

All of which sets the stage for a final battle on June 7. Californias 172 delegates  14% of the total needed to win the nomination and the most of any state  will be awarded winner-take-all. Four other states will elect 131 (mostly) winner-take-all delegates that day. That makes California the state with the biggest haul at potentially the most important moment in the race.

If enough candidates (and their super PACs) remain in the race to the end, though, even the California primary may not be decisive. Should that be the case, the nation will witness the first open presidential convention in 64 years.

Regardless, the 2016 Republican primary might give the nations most populous state its rightful role in choosing who might be president. Early voting states like New Hampshire and Iowa get all the fanfare, but their populations are anything but representative of the nations diversity. Republican voters in California  a true cross section of the partys electorate  will deliver a long overdue reality check of the GOPs true values.

Larry N. Gerston is a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University and author of Reviving Citizen Engagement: Policies to Renew National Community.

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In 1874, Father Patrick Francis Healy became the first African American president of Georgetown University, and thus the first African American president of a predominantly white college. Racism didnt impede his rise for a simple reason: Most people thought he was white. No one  neither journalists nor the board of trustees, neither Georgetown professors nor students  had a simple way to discover his true background.

Today the Internet makes it impossible to achieve that level of privacy. Never has it been so easy to conduct legitimate background checks or verify credentials; and never has it been so easy to surreptitiously research prospective employees religion, race or personal views. Employment discrimination is of course illegal. However, we know that discrimination occurs, and online searches can covertly facilitate it.

Never has it been so easy to conduct background checks; and never has it been so easy to surreptitiously research prospective employees religion, race or personal views.

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Alessandro Acquisti and Christina M. Fong of Carnegie Mellon University recently conducted a large-scale field experiment about social media use in hiring. First they created Facebook profiles for fictional job candidates, striving to make them identical, except for indications of religious affiliation (listed as Christian or Muslim) or sexuality (gay versus straight). Next they submitted applications for these fictional job candidates to more than 4,000 employers. These did not indicate religious affiliation or sexuality. The only way to determine the candidates religious preference or sexual orientation was to search for and examine their Facebook profiles.

About 33% of the companies in the sample seem to have examined the candidates social media profiles. The researchers found no statistically significant discrimination against gay candidates. They did, however, find that employers in Republican areas of the United States (based on election results) exhibited significant bias when extending interview invitations  against Muslim applicants, and in favor of Christian applicants. In the 10 states with the highest percentage of votes for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, only about 2% of the Muslim applicants were invited for interviews, compared with about 17% of the Christian applicants.

The Carnegie Mellon studys 33% finding is roughly consistent with other research. A 2014 survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers found that more than 40% of respondents used the Internet to research job applicants, and about half the respondents who researched applicants online found information that caused them to not extend job offers. Of the respondents who had not previously screened applicants on the Internet, 12% said they planned to do so in the future. The trend, in other words, is toward even more online personal information searches, with potentially negative consequences for perfectly good candidates.

Consider the case of Martin Gaskell, who was the lead candidate for an academic position at the University of Kentucky. An Internet search revealed that Gaskell was an evangelical Christian who doubted the theory of evolution. After this information surfaced, the university declined to extend him an offer. So Gaskell sued, claiming religious discrimination. He ultimately received $125,000 from the university as a settlement.

Pre-Internet, anyone wishing to determine Gaskells religious beliefs would probably have had to ask him directly, which would have made the employers concerns obvious, not to mention easily actionable. In an interview, Gaskell could have refused to make his views clear. The Internet makes direct questioning unnecessary, and refusal impossible.

To reduce potential online employment discrimination, here are four practical suggestions.

First, social media companies should be more thoughtful about the information they collect, and how they make it available  weighing the benefit of what they collect against the possible harm it can cause. Facebook, for example, invites users to list their religion  is this necessary? Facebook also makes the following information publicly available: your name, user name/ID, gender, age range, networks, profile picture and cover photo. Such wealth of detail makes it easy for friends and family to find your profile; it also facilitates snooping by potential employers.

Second, companies should have explicit policies restricting background searches to only workplace-relevant material. If possible, job applications should be anonymized, with numbers substituted for names, so evaluators wont be tempted to check social media before deciding whom to invite for interviews.

Third, government agencies should seek ways to more aggressively test companies compliance with existing laws barring discrimination. Perhaps they could imitate academic researchers by sending out dummy CVs to test compliance.

Finally  and, yes, this should be obvious  we should all be careful about what we publish online. As a practical matter, we should assume that anything posted will eventually become public, and that present and future employers, among others, will see it. We now live in a global digital village; nosy neighbors abound.

Steven Strauss is a visiting professor at Princeton Universitys Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He has advised senior public sector leaders in Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

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Congressional Republicans finally succeeded in passing a bill to repeal major provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. But they must be counting on President Obama to veto it, because otherwise it will send premiums skyrocketing and create havoc in the market for individual insurance policies.

The measures problems stem from the technique the GOP used to circumvent the Democratic blockade in the Senate. HR 3762 is a budget reconciliation bill, which meant that it could not be filibustered. But reconciliation bills must include provisions that have an effect on the federal deficit, so HR 3762 could address only the parts of Obamacare that imposed taxes or expanded federal health benefits.

As a consequence, the bill would eliminate the requirement that adult Americans carry insurance, while still requiring insurers to offer policies to everyone regardless of how healthy they might be, and without charging higher premiums to people whove been sick.

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Thats a disastrous combination because it would encourage people to obtain coverage only when they need care, then drop it as soon as theyre healthy again. Insurers would be left to cover only those who are the costliest to insure. Premiums would quickly rise, then rise more each year as fewer and fewer people signed up for coverage that was increasingly unaffordable.

This sort of adverse risk selection is exactly what the mandate to carry insurance was designed to guard against. Granted, the way it was implemented in the Affordable Care Act may not be especially effective, and there are other ways to address the threat. But HR 3762 wouldnt try any of them. Instead, it would throw the individual insurance market into a death spiral of soaring premiums and plummeting enrollment.

Happily, the probability that Obama will veto the bill is no less than 100%. And once he does, Republican leaders, whove actually been good about avoiding pointless showdowns with Democrats over the last year, can get back to the real work of governing.

Still, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and many other Republicans have been saying that this latest futile attack on Obamacare is more significant than the 317 previous failures. And I dont get that.

OK, so 317 probably isnt the right number. But you get my point. Republicans in the House and Senate have forced votes on repealing all or part of Obamacare seemingly every month since Obama signed it into law in 2010. With the exception of a few narrowly targeted successes, such as the recent postponements of the ACAs taxes on insurance policies and medical devices, these efforts have succeeded only in putting Democrats on the record in support of a healthcare bill theyve long supported.

Granted, this time they will force Obama to use his veto pen for the first time in defense of the law. But that doesnt reveal anything about the president or congressional Democrats that voters didnt already know. And lets face it, a bill thats killed by a veto is no more or less dead than one thats blocked by a filibuster or other congressional obstruction.

Nor will there be any difference in the political fallout. Republicans cant claim to have repealed Obamacare, they can only criticize Democrats for voting -- for the umpteenth time -- not to. Democrats, meanwhile, can blast Republicans for voting in favor of a massive increase in insurance premiums (not literally, but in effect).

(Actually, they cant say that about five swing-state Republicans who voted against the bill: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Reps. Bob Dold of Illinois and John Katko and Richard Hanna of New York. Centrist Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, meanwhile, voted in favor of HR 3762.)

Republicans argue that forcing Obama to veto the bill will demonstrate to those who hate Obamacare that they need to put a Republican in the White House. But that was the GOPs message in 2012, too, and look what happened. So why is this time different?

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In an effort to break a political and policy logjam, Gov. Jerry Brown will unveil a state budget that revamps a controversial tax on health plans to avoid jeopardizing federal healthcare dollars.

Sources who spoke on the condition that they not be identified prior to Browns scheduled Thursday announcement said the reworked tax plan reflects intense behind-the-scenes negotiations with Californias biggest insurance companies.

And to help force agreement in the Legislature, the governors budget reportedly links the $1.1 billion in revenues from the tax to specific healthcare programs which otherwise would be left scrambling for funds.

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A spokesman for Brown declined to comment before the governors news conference, scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.

The tax would replace Californias current tax on health plans that participate in Medi-Cal, which provides state subsidized healthcare to the poor. The Obama administration has said the tax must be overhauled to include all health plans  including those without Medi-Cal patients  or the state risks losing federal funding when the existing managed care tax expires June 30.

Negotiations reached a crescendo last fall, when the administration unveiled a proposal to tax plans at different rates based on enrollment. It also would have offset some of the costs to insurance companies with tax breaks.

The new proposal includes a reworking of the tax impact to appeal to a wider array of health plans, according to sources familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity so not to preempt the governors announcement.

The debate over the managed care tax has been a noticeable flash point, in part because it relies on support from both health insurance companies and legislative Republicans. The extension of the tax will require a supermajority vote in both houses of the Legislature, and Republicans so far have shown no appetite for going along.

The governors budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is widely expected to project another dose of growth in tax revenues, as recent estimates show the California economy still growing and personal income taxes -- the main source of state spending -- at better than expected levels.

A November report from the Legislatures fiscal analysts projected another strong year of tax revenues, and the potential of a $7.2 billion rainy-day budget reserve by 2017. Brown has consistently demanded a more fiscally cautious plan than Democratic legislative leaders, who have urged more spending on health and human services programs that were cut back during the depth of the recession.

This years debate over healthcare funding also will include whether to boost spending on services for the developmentally disabled. A bipartisan group of legislators has endorsed a restoration of some, or all, of the cuts made during Californias recession. But that funding became ensnared in 2015 negotiations over the healthcare tax. On Tuesday, a Republican group of legislators delivered petitions to Browns Capitol office urging new developmental disability funding.

Services for people with developmental disabilities have been taken political hostage in Sacramento, said Roxanne Sanchez, president of SEIU Local 1021, a Northern California chapter representing local government and healthcare workers.

john.myers@latimes.com

melanie.mason@latimes.com

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Brown releases $170B spending plan

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By now, it could easily be called Gov. Jerry Browns budget doctrine  an insistence on only modest expansions in state services but liberal payments for one-time expenses and accumulated government debt.

In his new $170.7-billion budget proposal to legislators, Brown is again staying consistent with his creed.

Its just a matter of balance, the governor said at a Capitol news conference Thursday morning where he released the spending plan for the fiscal year that begins in July.

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The plan provides a sizeable boost to public education and only modest help to low-income families, but its most important component may be how much money would be stashed away for future budget deficits.

Brown proposes making an additional $2-billion payment into the states rainy-day fund, growing the size of the reserve account by next summer to almost two-thirds of its legally mandated goal. That would be significantly ahead of schedule, but a decision the governor insisted is essential.

If you dont remember anything else, just remember, everything that goes up comes down, Brown said, standing next to a chart illustrating the states spiking revenues off of the capital gains of the states richest residents.

Brandishing a marker, he drew a line descending from the graphs current peak, predicting a future plunge.

Youve got to plan for the down, he said.

In fact, the governors spending plan goes so far as to crunch the numbers under a doomsday deficit scenario: a $55-billion drop in revenues by the end of the decade if the economy stops growing, with an accumulated deficit of as much as $14 billion if legislators insist on increases in government program spending.

Everybody thinks when were up here, its all wonderful, said Brown, alluding to the states currently rosy fiscal outlook. Thats what they thought before the dotcom [bust] and thats what they thought before the mortgage meltdown. And so here we are again.

Whether legislative leaders are willing to go along with that aggressive plan is unclear.

While I appreciate the Governors continued conservative approach reflected in his budget, we must discuss the needs of Californians still impacted by the deep cuts of the recession, state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said in a written statement.

Battles with liberal Democrats in the Legislature have been a recurring theme in Sacramento during the veteran governors most recent stint in office, but even those battles have been generally tepid.

And the criticism on Thursday was decidedly mild, as Brown ceded ground on some additional funding for the most needy.

Advocates for the poor cheered the governors proposed increases to cash aid for the aged, blind and disabled  the first time such grants would go up in ten years.

This will be a huge help to 1.3 million people with disabilities and seniors around the state who are struggling to pay the rent and get enough food to eat, said Frank Tamborello, executive director of Hunger Action LA, adding that the increases should be even greater to account for cost of living.

Meantime, anti-poverty advocates said they were disappointed that there was no proposed increase to CalWorks, which provides cash payments to the working poor.

Nor was there an effort to repeal a long-standing rule that denies CalWorks grants for children born while their parents are receiving welfare, a policy that critics say is discriminatory and invasive.

To allow that kind of policy to remain on the books is offensive, said state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).

In the areas where the governors new budget really opens up the states checkbook, its largely to dole out dollars linked to decisions made years, even decades, earlier. That would be an additional $1.4-billion more for the Medi-Cal program that provides healthcare for low-income Californians to cover expansion sparked by the Affordable Care Act; $3.1-billion in proceeds from the sale of greenhouse gas pollution credits; and $8 billion in mandatory payments to the pension funds of government workers and teachers.

Thats also true of the large amount of tax revenue earmarked for public schools. The budget estimates $71.6 billion for K-12 schools and community colleges, and enough new money for both the University of California and California State University systems to keep student tuition rates unchanged.

It is safe to say this will be the second best year for schools in a decade, said Kevin Gordon, an education lobbyist.

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As lawmakers begin to haggle over the budget blueprint, the heaviest political lift may be Browns insistence on extending a key tax imposed on health insurance companies. The Obama administration has said California must overhaul its tax on managed care organizations or lose federal funds for Medi-Cal, which would leave a $1.1 billion hole in the states healthcare program for the poor. The states current tax expires on June 30.

The reworked tax proposed by Brown would generate a net $1.35 billion, according to the state Dept. of Health Care Services. Health plans would be taxed at varying rates based on enrollment. But those new taxes would be offset by tax breaks. Overall, the health plans as a whole would gain around $90 million with this budget.

The California Assn. of Health Plans said in a statement that it is analyzing and crunching the numbers on the latest proposal.

Brown conceded there is not yet a deal struck with insurers, but sounded optimistic the health plans were on board.

He directed most of his politicking on Thursday toward Republicans, presenting the plan as tax reform to appeal to GOP members who have so far resisted such a new levy.

But Republicans bristled at the governor linking more funding for the developmentally disabled to the approval of the new tax.

I think its a bit unconscionable that one would tie the funding for the developmentally disabled community to a tax that has nothing to do with them, said Asm. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore).

All things considered, Browns most important political ally continues to be the stock market. Even with recent efforts to mitigate the impact of boom-and-bust cycles, the rapid rise in the personal fortunes of Californias most wealthy has given the governor the flexibility in reshaping state spending priorities.

That Brown has been able to instill his vision of state government budgeting is due to another years worth of rapid growth in the personal income of Californias wealthiest taxpayers. His new plan assumes $19 billion in unexpected capital gains tax revenues from 2015.

But Brown insisted again in his budget news conference that several years of good fortune do not justify the increased spending that some, most notably liberal Democrats and advocates for Californias most needy.

This is not a candy store where you can pick out whatever you want, Brown told reporters. Youve got to choose, and thats what were going to do.

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by Thandeka Moyo

A FORT Rixon man trying to save his son from a gang attack ended up being killed on New Year's Day.His teenage son witnessed his assault.Michael Mlotshwa, 26, allegedly picked up a log and struck Naison Moyo once on the head. Moyo died on his way to hospital.Mlotshwa was part of a gang of mainly teenage boys who had an undisclosed misunderstanding with Moyo's son. He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sheunesu Matova facing murder charges.The suspect was remanded in custody to January 20.He was not asked to plead and Matova advised him to apply for bail at the High Court.Nkathazo Dlodlo for the State alleges that on January 1 at around 2PM, Moyo's son was involved in a fight with unnamed teenagers who were with Mlotshwa."When Moyo saw that his son risked being injured as a result of the misunderstanding, he tried to intervene. Mlotshwa picked up a log and struck Moyo once on the head," said Dlodlo.The court heard that Moyo died on his way to Zvishavane District Hospital."Mlotshwa tried escaping but was apprehended and found in possession of the alleged murder weapon," he said.Dlodlo told the court the State was opposed to Mlotshwa's bail as he was also facing assault charges.
A mechanical robot that allows students to interact with a person in another state is making its debut in the Laguna Beach Unified School District  at a Thurston Middle School afterschool club.

Beginning last fall, students in teacher Michelle Martinezs forensic/mock trial club watched and listened to instructions given by Martinezs daughter, Noelle Martinez, in Texas, as part of a year-long investigation into the death of Richard III, the English king killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Noelle, an anthropology major at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has led class discussions and guided students studying the intricacies of crime investigation using the robot, which can be controlled from a computer and has an iPad attached to its frame.

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The robot consists of a single, vertical tube attached to a wheel base that can be adjusted from 47 to 60 inches. An iPad attaches at the top of the tube, allowing a person to be seen on screen, similar to Skype or Google hangouts.

Noelle read online tutorials to familiarize herself with the robot and conducted some practice runs to test its mobility.

I bumped into a student, so I apologized and said, Oh, I didnt see you there, said Noelle, who would like to work for the FBI and eventually start her own consulting company. This can go to a students work station and see if they are doing the procedure correctly. You get to see how the students are doing instead of an overall glance.

The latest exercise in the forensics club occurred Monday, when students dug away dirt in an outdoor plot on campus and discovered artificial skeletal remains similar to those of Richard III.

Wi-fi glitches Monday hindered the robots participation, but the device proved useful in the fall when Noelle was in the lab at Baylor.

By pressing the arrow keys on her computer, Noelle, a Laguna Beach High alum, moved the robot around the room at Thurston, watching students do their work and giving them pointers.

A camera on the iPad allowed Noelle to hone in on smaller groups of students  something not possible with a stationery system such as a TV mounted on a wall with a panoramic view of the room.

At this point, the battery-powered robot, made by the company Double Robotics, is only compatible with iPad versions. The device hooks into a charging station plugged into a wall outlet.

The district is using Martinezs class as a test to see if its something other instructors could use. Chief Technology Officer Mike Morrison used the robot during a teacher training last spring that allowed an educator based in New York to communicate with instructors.

Some districts are using it when students are out sick, Morrison said.

In that case, a student at home logs into a computer and, with the robot maneuvering throughout the classroom, can interact with fellow students and the teacher during the lesson.

Its more personal than a talking head on a TV, Morrison said of the device, which he said cost about $3,000 with tax.

In the coming months, students will emulate the steps in analyzing bones for DNA to determine if it is, in fact, Richard III. Subsequent evidence digs will focus on weapons possibly used to kill Richard III as students build a murder case for a mock trial scheduled this spring.
Chinas trading day was just getting underway Thursday for stockbroker Yang Xu when the markets lurched to a halt 13 minutes after their 9:30 a.m. opening.

Shares on the Shanghai Composite index had skidded 5%, prompting Chinas new circuit breaker system to kick in and halt trading for 15 minutes. When it resumed, the selling only became more furious, and the index quickly dropped another 2 percentage points. Under the circuit breaker rules -- which are intended to check large declines -- a 7% fall means markets will be shut until the next day.

So after just more than 14 minutes of active dealing, business was over, making Thursday the shortest trading day ever in China. To make matters worse, it was the second time in four days that Chinese markets shuttered early because of price plunges; Mondays trading day was also curtailed.

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And just as happened Monday, the sell-off spread around the world.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled nearly 400 points, or about 2.3%, on Thursday. The Standard & Poors 500 index sustained a similar percentage drop, and key stock indexes across Europe also fell.

People are super-panicked, said Yang, who works for China Galaxy Securities Co. This trend wont halt in a short time. Prices will continue to drop. Breaking the point of 3,000 is only a matter of time. The Shanghai Composite ended at 3,115.88 on Thursday morning.

Many people asked me whether bottom-fishing at this moment is a good idea, Yang added. I would tell them its not wise to do so, because the market will continue to dive. More purchases mean more losses. They should get out of it right away.

If Yangs clients take his advice and others follow suit, Chinas markets  and others around the world  are sure to be in for more white-knuckle days. Although many experts say Chinas equity markets are more speculative and less reflective of the real economy than in other countries, the rough start to 2016 has only exacerbated worries about Chinas weakening economy and whether Chinese policymakers can respond effectively.

A move Thursday by Chinas central bank to weaken the currency, known as the renminbi or the yuan, by half a percentage point was among the factors weighing down investor sentiment and raising questions about how closely Chinese regulators were coordinating their moves.

Adding to concerns were Wednesdays North Korea nuclear test, sinking oil prices and fears that temporary measures that have prevented large Chinese shareholders from selling big stakes were about to expire.

Obviously its been a disco week already  and then comes this inexplicable  to me  move to weaken the currency, said Fraser Howie, coauthor of Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of Chinas Extraordinary Rise. Thats the biggest [price] fixing move down since August. So everyone decides to head for the doors.

Kamel Mellahi of the Warwick Business School in England called the move to weaken the renminbi a very risky one indeed.

Using currency depreciation to stimulate growth is a double-edged sword. A weaker yuan will help boost the countrys sagging exports and help economic growth, but it will also increase the risk of capital flight out of China, making investment in the stock market less attractive, and increase the cost of imports, said Mellahi, a professor of strategic management who researches the Chinese market.

Howie said that the timing of the currency move during one of the most volatile stock market weeks for a long time, just seems to show there is zero coordination between the different regulators, the different bodies.

The narrative is once again lack of confidence in government policy, he added.

People are super-panicked. This trend wont halt in a short time. Prices will continue to drop.  Yang Xu, stockbroker

The market plunges have given investors unwelcome flashbacks to summer, when Chinese stocks, riding high on a year of tremendous growth, suddenly began to plummet. By August, despite intense government intervention, Chinas major indexes had shed about 40% of their value, wiping trillions from global markets.

On Thursday, losses in the southern city of Shenzhen were even greater than in Shanghai, with the Shenzhen Composite down more than 8%. About an hour after the circuit breaker halted trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, office workers paced around outside of the building -- a postmodern edifice with massive statues of bulls out front -- sipping coffee and talking on their phones.

In the lobby inside, a ticker displayed an unbroken string of green numbers. (In Chinas stock market, green signifies loss; red, which is considered auspicious, marks gainers.)

Chinas sell-off dragged down other Asian bourses. Hong Kongs Hang Seng index fell 3% and Japans Nikkei was off more than 2.2%.

So far in 2016, the Shanghai Composite has dropped about 12% and the Shenzhen composite has lost more than 15%. Shanghai is about 7% below where it was at this time last year, but Shenzhen is still up 34% over early January 2015.

After Mondays stock market slide, Chinese authorities took steps to support prices, ordering state-controlled funds to buy equities, Bloomberg News reported.

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On Thursday, Chinas securities regulator announced new rules limiting how large shareholders may sell their holdings. Under the measures, which take effect Saturday and replace temporary rules that expire Friday, large shareholders (those who hold 5% or more of a companys shares) cannot sell more than 1% of the companys total shares on the open market in a three-month period.

Data released last weekend showed a fifth straight month of contraction in Chinas manufacturing sector, reviving fears that a protracted slowdown in the worlds second-largest economy could be worse than expected. In another worrisome sign Thursday, the Caixin purchasing managers index, an economic indicator that covers manufacturing and services, fell to 49.4 last month from 50.5 in November. A score below 50 indicates contraction.

But not everyone was seeing doom and gloom. HSBC analysts in a research note on China stocks titled Bad start doesnt mean bad end to 2016" said that government intervention was providing stability and that they expected the spike in volatility to be temporary. The banks analysts added that leverage had come down from last summer and that liquidity and sentiment had largely normalized.

Analysts for Standard Chartered also saw some silver lining. We think this weeks market slump reflects a correction in the absence of supportive policies, not a worsening of growth momentum, they said in a research note. In fact, data has improved since November, and the economy appears to have stabilized. ... Among the forward-looking indicators, those related to investment and property market are improving.

The impact of stock-market volatility on investment and consumption has been limited in China, based on historical statistics, they added.

Chinas securities regulator defended the circuit breaker mechanism after Mondays halt, saying it calmed down investors and played a positive role in protecting their rights, the official New China News Agency reported. The market needs time to gradually adapt to it, the regulator said.

But Mellahi said that authorities were likely unhappy with two circuit-breaker triggers in one week. It is sending a bad signal and driving the wrong kind of behavior, he said. It looks like its generating more panic.

This is new territory and the Chinese are learning by doing here, he added. Its too early to judge, but it seems the current process does not seem to be working. It needs tweaking.

Late Thursday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced it was suspending the circuit breaker system, apparently indefinitely. The regulator said while the circuit breaker was not the main cause of the crash, it had had a certain magnet effect, pulling the market down as the index approached the trigger level. A spokesman for the commission said that the effect of the circuit breaker didnt meet our expectations and that China needed to explore, experience and dynamically adjust its regulations.

Although the move may satisfy critics of the circuit breaker system, it seemed likely to provide further ammunition to those who already regarded policymaking as hasty and haphazard.

Thursdays very early closure of the markets brought jokes from Internet commenters, who carped that stockbrokers now had the best jobs -- with just one-hour workdays. But Yang, the broker, said that wasnt true.

The speculation that we can go home and do not need to work after the circuit breaker is too naive, he said. We still have to stay at work after markets dive.

Many analysts are keeping a close eye on the value of the renminbi. The currency is allowed to move within a set band whose midpoint is fixed daily by the central bank. On Thursday morning, the rate was fixed at 6.5646 to $1. As recently as Monday, it was set at 6.5032  or 1% higher.

Decisions around Chinas currency will be important to watch this year, Guy Scott, an equity research analyst at Janus Capital, said after Mondays market drop. Historically, China has weakened its currency and exported its way out of periods of excess capacity, but that may not be an option this time because China needs a stable yuan after becoming a reserve currency of the International Monetary Fund last fall.

An accelerated depreciation would mean China has abandoned its desire to be a stable, global currency due to more serious concerns about its economy, he added.

The market volatility and currency weakening has some prospective investors deciding to sit things out for now.

Zhang Fengli, a 22-year-old kindergarten teacher in Shenzhen, said she was interested in getting into the market and had scraped together about $3,000 by December. But a cousin who lost money in last summers plunge warned her off.

He said the situation isnt good and there might be another crash, and a newbie like me shouldnt risk it, said Zhang. After reading more about the market, she said, the more scared I became. Im still inexperienced, so I dont think I can be luckier than so many experienced investors.

Now, she said, Im happy I didnt invest.

Yingzhi Yang and Alexandra Li in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

Follow @JulieMakLAT on Twitter.

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In response to North Koreas latest nuclear test, South Korea on Thursday announced that it would resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts that Pyongyang considers an act of war. Seoul also began talks with Washington that could see the arrival of nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft and submarines to the Korean peninsula.

From Seoul to Washington, Beijing to the United Nations, world powers are looking at ways to punish Pyongyang for the test of what it called a new and powerful hydrogen bomb.

The Souths propaganda broadcasts, which will start Friday, will infuriate authoritarian Pyongyang because they are meant to raise questions in North Korean minds about the infallibility of the ruling Kim family. The South stopped earlier broadcasts after it agreed with Pyongyang in late August on a package of measures aimed at easing animosities that had the rivals threatening war.

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Experts, meanwhile, are trying to uncover more details about the detonation that drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation.

It may take weeks or longer to confirm or refute the Norths claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal. Even a test of an atomic bomb, a less sophisticated and less powerful weapon, would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Statements from the White House said President Obama had spoken to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. The statements said the countries agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behavior.

Obama also reaffirmed the unshakeable U.S. commitment to the security of South Korea and Japan, according to the statements.

South Korean and U.S. military leaders also discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets in the wake of the Norths test, Seouls Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what U.S. military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.

When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Koreas third nuclear test, the U.S. took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes -- B-2 stealth bombers, F-22s and B-52s -- to drills with South Korea in a show of force. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

South Korea also said Thursday it will limit entry to a jointly run factory park in North Korea, the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. The parks operation wont likely be affected much as the restriction will apply to clients, potential buyers and service providers from South Korea, rather than managers who commute to work with North Korean laborers.

The U.N. Security Council, meanwhile, held an emergency session and pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a clear violation of previous U.N. resolutions.

Four rounds of U.N. sanctions have aimed at reining in the Norths nuclear and missile development programs, but Pyongyang has ignored them and moved ahead to modernize its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

North Korea said Wednesday it had successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb that elevated the countrys nuclear might to the next level.

But an early analysis by the U.S. government was not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

South Koreas spy service said it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

Some believe that North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.

But even if the North exploded a boosted fission bomb, its explosive yield, estimated at 6 kilotons, showed the test was likely a failure, Seouls Defense Ministry official said Thursday. An explosion two to five times more powerful would have been reported if it were successful, a ministry official said, requesting anonymity citing department rules.

After the Norths 2013 test, a yield of 6 to 7 kilotons was estimated, according to South Korean officials.

Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission. In a hydrogen bomb, a nuclear fission explosion sets off a fusion reaction responsible for a powerful blast and radioactivity.

The hydrogen bomb already is the global standard for the five nations with the greatest nuclear capabilities: the U.S., Russia, France, Britain and China. Other nations may either have it or are working on it, despite a worldwide effort to contain such proliferation.

Just how big a threat North Koreas nuclear program poses is a mystery. North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to carry smaller versions of those bombs.

Some analysts say the North probably hasnt achieved the technology needed to make a miniaturized warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. But debate is growing on just how far the North has advanced.

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To build its nuclear program, the North must explode new and more advanced devices so scientists can improve their designs and technology. Nuclear-tipped missiles could then be used as deterrents and diplomatic bargaining chips -- especially against the U.S., which Pyongyang has long pushed to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.

U.S. aircraft designed to detect evidence of a nuclear test, such as radioactive particulate matter and blast-related noble gases, could be deployed from a U.S. base on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Japanese media said Tokyo mobilized its own reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan to try to collect atmospheric data.

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The masked gunman in the latest Islamic State propaganda video is believed to be a British Muslim who was well-known in radical Islamist circles and appeared on TV debate programs espousing his extremist views.

Siddhartha Dhar frequently went on camera to defend the militant group and spoke as an expert on sharia law, or Islamic law, during live news segments. He is believed to have fled to Syria in 2014 while on police bail and is now being dubbed the new Jihadi John by British media. The nickname refers to London-raised Mohammed Emwazi, who appeared in Islamic State execution videos. Emwazi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in November.

In the latest video released by Islamic State during the weekend, a man wearing combat fatigues and holding a handgun is seen standing in front of five accused spies. He speaks fluent English with a British accent and taunts Prime Minister David Cameron as a slave of the White House and an insignificant leader. The speaker also threatens to invade Britain and impose sharia law.

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How strange it is that a leader of a small island threatens us with a handful of planes, he says, referring to Britains recent vote to join U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria.

The masked man then appears to shoot one of the men in the head.

Dhar, believed to be in his 30s, grew up in a Hindu family in Walthamstow, East London, but converted to Islam. He goes by the name Abu Rumaysah and has published an online guide to living as part of Islamic State.

His sister, Konika, told the BBC this week that she was in a state of denial that this could be her brother but said the voice sounded familiar, although she was not entirely sure.

I believe the audio to resemble, from what I remember, the voice of my brother, she said. Its been very hard for me just to deal with the loss of my brother because I still classify him as my brother  I just dont want to believe hes out there and hes become this new person.

When not espousing radical Islamist views and attending demonstrations, Dhar reportedly worked as a bounce house salesman. He often took part in debate programs and would also post videos online and stand outside mosques on Friday afternoons searching for new followers.

Now that we have this caliphate I think youll see many Muslims globally seeing it as an opportunity for the Koran to be realized, he said in an interview on the BBC. As a Muslim I would like to see the UK governed by the sharia. It is far superior to democracy. I dont really identify myself with British values. I am Muslim first, second and last.

Dhar was arrested in September 2014 on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and being a member of the banned militant group Al Muhajiroun. He was granted bail on condition he surrender his passport, but instead of doing so, he reportedly swiftly boarded a bus from London to Paris with his wife and four children.

The family later traveled to Syria, where Dhar posted a photograph of himself posing with a gun in one hand and his newborn baby in the other.

He also goaded the authorities by tweeting: What a shoddy security system Britain must have to allow me to breeze through Europe to the Islamic State.

It took more than a month for authorities to write to Dhar asking him why he had not handed in his passport. The apparent security lapse has caused a political row in Britain with Home Secretary Theresa May under pressure to launch an inquiry into the circumstances of Dhars disappearance.

Cameron described the video as a desperate move from a group that was losing territory and public sympathy.

This again shows what an appalling organization we are up against, the prime minister told reporters. I know that Britain will never be cowed by this sort of terrorism. Our values are so much stronger than theirs. It may take a very long time, but they will be defeated.

Boyle is a special correspondent.
The bold claim by North Korea on Wednesday that it had detonated a hydrogen bomb appeared to fizzle under the intense scrutiny of U.S. physicists and nuclear weapons experts.

The explosive power detected by earthquake sensors around the world was much weaker than would be expected from a hydrogen bomb, experts said.

It was not very big, said Philip Coyle, the former director of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site and a longtime U.S. national security official.

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An exhaustive investigation into the test, including sampling air for telltale radioactive particles and studying seismic shock waves, will take weeks. The analysis is likely to confirm the size of the detonation, the type of radioactive fuel it used, how the fuel was produced and the sophistication of its design.

U.S. experts initially estimated the power of the underground explosion was as small as 6 kilotons, less than the atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.

An analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey fixed the coordinates of the detonation in the northeast sector of North Korea, an isolated and heavily forested area about 6,000 feet in elevation. The nearest city or town is 14 miles away.

If North Korea has developed a hydrogen bomb, it would mark a military breakthrough by the communist nation that would allow it to eventually build highly destructive and lightweight warheads that could be delivered by missiles over thousands of miles. Any atomic bombs in its inventory today would probably be so heavy that only bombers could carry them, limiting their threat to the region.

Adm. William Gortney, head of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said last year that the Pentagon believes North Korea has the ability to produce so-called miniaturized nuclear warheads and can deliver them on ballistic missiles, though they would fall well short of the U.S. mainland.

The White House said the test had not changed its assessment of North Koreas technical and military capabilities.

The most basic atomic bomb is a type of gun that shoots pieces of highly enriched uranium at each other. A more sophisticated design uses a hollow sphere of uranium that is imploded with conventional explosives. Whether North Korea has even achieved the more sophisticated implosion-type weapon has never been disclosed by U.S. officials.

By contrast, a hydrogen bomb derives massive explosive force by fusing hydrogen atoms together, somewhat like the nuclear reaction that occurs in stars, and using radiation to create additional fission.

The progress of moving from simple atomic devices to full-scale hydrogen bombs takes enormous industrial and scientific resources that most experts say North Korea lacks.

The U.S. developed the first atomic bomb in 1945 and then took seven more years to conduct the first full-scale hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific, known as Ivy Mike, according to a book co-authored by Coyle. The detonation was so powerful at 20 megatons that it created a crater about 6,000 feet in diameter and vaporized an island after its inhabitants had been relocated.

Similarly, the move from atomic to hydrogen bombs took Russia six years, the United Kingdom five years, France eight years and China three years.

With less power and more weight, an atomic bomb is typically carried by bombers that would lack the range and penetration capability to threaten any nation but North Koreas immediate neighbors.

One interim step to a hydrogen bomb is known as a boosted weapon, in which an implosion type of atomic bomb uses isotopes of hydrogen to derive some of its yield from fusion.

In that case, its something that they should be proud of and something that makes our security situation much worse, said Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

The North Korean blast registered on seismographs at around 5.1 in magnitude, about the same as North Koreas last test in 2013. But the tremors caused were twice that of North Koreas test in 2009, which translates to several kilotons of TNT.

Expert assessments of the explosive yield range from 6 to up to 10 kilotons for the 2013 test. If North Korea had actually tested a hydrogen bomb, the yield of the device probably would have been tens of kilotons more powerful than what current measurements are indicating, said Kingston Reif, a nonproliferation expert with the Arms Control Assn. in Washington.

One indication of whether the bomb might have been a hydrogen bomb is the size of the explosion, he said. Determining what kind of fissile material and other isotopes were used for the bomb is another indicator.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, a multinational organization which monitors for nuclear testing worldwide, said that 27 of its land-based monitoring stations detected the event, but that analysts were still sifting through the data.

We need a couple of days to be able to come back with what we call the smoking gun, that we can correlate from our member states on the conclusion of the event and this is what we have been working, Lassina Zerbo, head of the Vienna-based organization, said Wednesday at a news conference.

In 2013, the organizations monitoring stations did not detect radioactive particles until mid-April, after a test that took place in February.

The Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida was analyzing captured data on the seismology and was ready to launch WC-135 Constant Phoenix, the so-called nuclear sniffer plane, to detect any radioactivity.

It was almost instantaneous that our seismic equipment detected the event, said Susan Romano, an Air Force spokeswoman. But finding out exactly what happened will take time.

Vartabedian reported from Los Angeles and Hennigan from Washington.

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The Canadian company that proposed a 2,639-mile cross-border pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast is suing the Obama administration for rejecting it last November.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. alleged that President Obama exceeded his constitutional power by denying construction of Keystone XL.

The lawsuit argues that the U.S. Constitution expressly commits regulation of domestic and international commerce to Congress, which had passed legislation authorizing the construction.

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The pipeline, which TransCanada first proposed in 2008, would have helped deliver up to 900,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the tar sands of the Canadian province of Alberta through the U.S. Great Plains and to the Gulf Coast.

In a statement Wednesday, TransCanada said the U.S. State Department acknowledged the presidential denial wasnt based on the projects merits: Rather, it was a symbolic gesture based on speculation about the perceptions of the international community regarding the Administrations leadership on climate change and the Presidents assertion of unprecedented, independent powers.

Russ Girling, the company president and chief executive, was more biting in November in his criticism of the decision when he accused the Obama administration of appearing to have said yes to more oil imports from Iran and Venezuela, over oil from Canada, the United States strongest ally and trading partner [and] a country with rule of law and values consistent with the U.S.

Girling said that misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science and that rhetoric won out over reason.

In addition to the lawsuit, TransCanada filed a notice of intent to initiate a claim Wednesday under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement seeking to recover more than $15 billion in costs and damages it alleges it suffered from the United Statess breach of its NAFTA obligations.

It echoes the lawsuit in arguing that the Obama administration felt it necessary to demonstrate U.S. leadership on climate change by denying the cross-border permit, even though the Administration concluded multiple times that the pipeline would have no significant impact on climate change.

However, Canadian Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she expects that TransCanada will lose its NAFTA claim if not the lawsuit too.

The larger economic power virtually always wins, said May, a lawyer by training and the only Green Member of Parliament in Canadas House of Commons.

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No Canadian company has so far succeeded in a Chapter 11 claim against the U.S. government.

TransCanada can huff and puff and complain, but the U.S. made the right decision in rejecting Keystone XL, May said.

The company also announced on Wednesday that it expects to report a multibillion-dollar after-tax writedown in its fourth-quarter results due to the permit denial.

Guly is a special correspondent

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In the Syrian town of Madaya, a 2-pound bag of rice now costs more than $150. People talk about sifting through garbage, eating grass and slaughtering cats to fend off starvation.

I dont know what these grasses are that were eating, a doctor said by phone, giving his name only as Khaled. We boil it, we put salt and eat it. Its a modern-day nightmare.

Madaya, about 25 miles northwest of Damascus, the capital, has gained international attention in recent days as reports have emerged of a looming humanitarian nightmare. Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity that supports field hospitals in Madaya, reported that at least 23 people have starved to death since the beginning of December. Others put the death toll at much higher.

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Madaya is one of several towns where the crossfire of Syrias civil war has made the delivery of routine supplies nearly impossible, leaving people short of necessities such as food and medicine.

People are boiling water and adding spices, and there is nothing to eat at all, said a charity worker in Madaya contacted by phone on Thursday who, like several others interviewed, didnt want his name used because of security reasons.

If you saw my body, you would wonder how I was alive, he said.

Pro-government Syrian student Hani Ali Hassan, 19, is comforted by his mother, Khadijah Sheikh Haidar, at a hospital south of Beirut on Dec. 30 after being evacuated from the besieged Shiite Muslim village of Fuaa, Syria. (Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)

Help may soon be on the way. The United Nations announced Thursday that an interagency convoy would be allowed to deliver much-needed aid to three besieged towns, including Madaya. The others are Fuaa and Kefraya in the northwestern province of Idlib.

We received clearance to move ahead in the next 48 hours from our office in Damascus, Abeer Etefa, senior regional communications officer for the World Food Program, said by phone from Cairo. Trucks were already loaded with humanitarian assistance and were waiting for final authority to get under way, she said.

Madaya, a former vacation destination, has been under siege by the Syrian army and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah since July as part of a campaign to drive out rebels from the town of Zabadani, less than three miles to the north, and a few miles east of Lebanon. Hezbollah has been a steadfast supporter of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Originally a town of 16,000, Madaya swelled as thousands of refugees streamed into it and surrounding villages to flee the fighting. Hezbollah also forcibly transferred civilians to Madaya to increase pressure on the rebels, opposition sources allege, raising the population to an estimated 35,000 and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.

Prices of goods have skyrocketed because of the siege, residents said.

The people have been cut off from basic humanitarian supplies for months. This is why our utmost priority is to deliver the aid...since were also in the middle of winter.  International Community of the Red Crosss spokesman Pawel Krzysiek

Even the little cookie we used to buy for 10 Syrian pounds now costs 4,500 [about $20], the charity worker said.

Another resident, Amjad Ali, said Hezbollah cadres manning checkpoints will exchange small amounts of food for weapons or cars.

A rifle gets you 20 kilos of rice; a car gives you 25, said Ali, who is a member of the local council. Twenty kilograms equal about 44 pounds.

Opposition activists flooded social networks this week with pictures of the gaunt corpse of a man they said was felled by the dire conditions in the town. Videos showed emaciated infants eating a soup of marmalade and water, or people preparing a leaf stew to fend off starvation.

The claims and videos could not be independently verified, but an International Community of the Red Cross spokesman, Pawel Krzysiek, said he could not exclude the situation was extremely dire.

Krzysiek, who had visited Madaya in October, said that even then there were signs of desperation.

Ive seen hungry people, and it was very visible they were hungry and malnourished. Their faces were skinny, black-rimmed eyes, said Krzysiek by phone from Damascus.

The people have been cut off from basic humanitarian supplies for months. This is why our utmost priority is to deliver the aid ... since were also in the middle of winter.

He said, however, about 500,000 people were besieged across Syria and under threat.

About 135 rebel fighters are believed to remain in Madaya, mostly affiliated with the Islamist faction Ahrar al Sham.

The town has become a bargaining chip in a complex agreement between the government and a coalition of hard-line Islamist groups known as the Army of Conquest.

Its fate illustrates the cynical calculus used by the different sides of the civil war, in which siege tactics have increasingly become the modus operandi of the government -- and the rebels on occasion -- to extract concessions from its adversary.

In March, Army of Conquest fighters pushed into Idlib, driving out government forces and laying siege to Fuaa and Kefraya, two enclaves with a combined population of about 30,000 Shiite Muslims about five miles northeast of the provincial capital.

Shiites are a religious minority in Syria related to Alawites, a sect that includes Assad. Hard-line Islamists in the Sunni-dominated insurgency consider Shiites and Alawites to be apostates or infidels.

Fearing a massacre of the two towns inhabitants, the government accepted a cease-fire deal that tied the fate of the towns to that of Zabadani, more than 200 miles away. It would evacuate fighters and civilians in Zabadani to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in exchange for a simultaneous transfer of Fuaa and Kefrayas population to Antakya, Turkey.

The agreement has achieved little beyond the evacuation of a number of wounded and the delivery of one aid shipment in October.

We were hoping that the aid in October meant we will have access to these areas on a regular basis, said Etefa, explaining that the shipment awaiting authorization on Thursday had been delayed for more than two weeks.

We put a lot of requests to the government and the rebels that were rejected and we did not know why, she said.

Both sides blame the other for the delay.

The regime and Hezbollah dont want this agreement. The fighters inside said they would surrender and sacrifice themselves for their families, but the regime said no, said Abu Hassan, head of Madayas local council, by phone Thursday.

Its a policy of submit or go hungry, he said.

Hezbollah denied the accusation, saying it was the rebels who were hampering the deal and preventing the exit of civilians from the town.

It also said there had been no cases of death in Madaya and that claims of a humanitarian crisis were part of a systematic effort to slander Hezbollah.

Bulos is a special correspondent.

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The Department of Economic Development in Dubai has recently toured Mexico and Panama as part of their focus for the Americas as their major source market for investment and trade in the UAE, as reported by Albabawa Business.

Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Investment Development Agency Fahad Al Gergawi and Deputy CEO Khalid Al Boom has already made contact with business representatives and investors in Mexico City and Panama City during their visits, speaking with them about the benefits of doing businesses in Dubai, as well as the diversity of infrastructure and services.

Al Gergawi said, "Recent developments are set to enhance the UAE's bilateral engagement with Mexico as well as Panama remarkably."

He went on, "Our visit was aimed at expanding our coverage of the strategic markets across the Americas and enabling investors and businesses in Mexico and Panama to make the best use of remaining connected with the UAE, particularly Dubai."

But why choose to do business with these particular countries? Al Gergawi said that Mexico has been a key regional player because of their solid economic fundamentals. About 90% of its trade is noted to be under free trade agreements. It also has a rapidly developing, modern industrial, vast agricultural sectors, as well as services that account for over 70% of GDP.

According to the Saudi Gazette, "a major thrust in the country's economic strategy nowadays is on revamping its infrastructure. Dubai can provide the right ground for Mexico's export-oriented economy to achieve its desired growth."

ProMexico, the trade promotion body, has recently opened its office in Dubai to enhance trade and investment. Mexicans are open to the business deals with Dubai as well. The Mexican Ambassador to the UAE Francisco Alonzo, as well as the Director of ProMexico office in Dubai Enrique Abod, were supportive of the investment and trade proposals as well, particularly about the manufacturing, agricultural and trading sectors as well as machinery and financial services.

Panama will be connected to the Middle Eastern state with its longest commercial flight when Emirates starts flying between the two cities in February 2016. Khaleej Times noted that the FDI particularly highlighted the benefits of direct air travel to Dubai. Gergawi said that Panama is the "strategic logistics hub" as the Panama Canal passes through the country. Both economies are also noted to be dominated by the services sector.

"Dubai's expanding free zones and Dubai Maritime City present further opportunities for collaboration as its flagship registry and free zones have played a lead role in making Panama the second largest economy in Central America," he added.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new surge of "desperate" Cuban migrants are heading for the United States, with some of them willing to resist and display violence towards officers who stop them, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials, as reported by NBC News.

"In the past year, we've had over 20 cases where there has been violence toward our boarding team members or other migrants on these vessels," said Capt. Mark Fedor, the Chief of Response for the U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District, as quoted in NBC News' report.

Coast Guard statistics indicated that in the last three months of 2015, 1,536 Cuban migrants have traveled via the sea and majority of them were intercepted by the service, the news outlet noted. This is in comparison with 4,473 Cubans in the whole fiscal year of 2015, which ended on Sept. 30.

In January's first five days alone, the number of Cubans seeking refuge in the U.S. had already spiked to 176, showing a steady climb in Cuban maritime migration despite a time of the year when winter weather commonly keeps the numbers in a low level, NBC News added.

The Coast Guard is also concerned about the state of the migrant boats, which are unsafe, unstable, and are often dangerously overloaded. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Gabriel Somma said that these makeshift boats are "a tragedy at sea waiting to happen," NBC News reported. These boats usually depart from the Havana or Matanzas areas in Cuba to the Florida Keys.

Officials said that many of the Cubans they have intercepted have given two reasons behind the migration surge. The first being "they don't see any bright economic future for themselves in Cuba, even with the normalization process that's going on," the news outlet quoted from Capt. Fedor.

Secondly, Cubans are worried that the U.S. government would terminate the special immigration privileges granted to them during the Cold War under the Cuban Adjustment Act. This 1966 law employs the "wet-foot dry-foot policy," allowing any Cuban who sets foot on U.S. soil to stay in the country if they have "dry foot," NBC News wrote. Those who are picked up at sea, with a "wet foot," are expatriated.

The Cuban government has been pushing to end these special immigration privileges, but the U.S. wouldn't budge. However, rumors of the law changing have caused "anxiety and desperation among Cuban migrants where they are being more hostile" and "more violent to our boarding team members," NBC News reported from Fedor.

Costa Rica has made arrangements to send Cuban migrants stranded in the country back to their journey to the U.S. next week, Yahoo! News reported. This move is under an agreement between several Central American nations.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The rampant drug war violence in Mexico has caused men's life expectancy in the country to drop.

According to the study published by the journal Health Affairs on Tuesday, male life expectancy rates plummeted in all of Mexico's 31 states as violence related to drug war escalated between 2005 and 2010, a period when the government implemented a militarized crackdown on organized crime, The Guardian reported.

Life expectancy for Mexican men is now slightly lower than 72 years, six months lower than in 2005, the news outlet added. This has downplayed a decade of public health improvements in the country.

Life expectancy dropped by as much as three years in the state of Chihuahua, which includes Ciudad Juarez, an area once regarded as the world's murder capital, The Guardian wrote. Oaxaca and Tlaxcala, states not greatly affected by violence, also saw falling life expectancies of six months.

In 2006, then-president Felipe Calderon decided to deploy federal forces to apprehend traffickers. Two authors of the study told The Guardian that falling life expectancy was not a coincidence and is directly connected to the surge of homicide rates after the drug war began.

"After 2005, that's when life expectancy goes down in all the states. That is what made me think that it is homicide that is having a big impact," said Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, the study's lead researcher and a professor of community health studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, as quoted in The Guardian's report.

Beltran-Sanchez said that from 2000 to 2005, "homicides were going down," but "went up, very much across the board" after 2005, "when the whole thing exploded and military operations began moving through the country," according to The Guardian.

Mexico's drug war has resulted to the deaths of more than 100,000 individuals and caused the homicide rate from nine murders per 100,000 persons in 2005 to 22 murders per 100,000 in 2010, the news outlet noted. However, the country's homicide rate is still lower than in other Latin American nations, especially those in Central America.

Over the past six decades, Mexico has moved forward in life expectancy as public health and living standards advanced and more Mexicans gained access to health services. Beltran-Sanchez was expecting a rise of "three or four years" in life expectancy during the last 10 years, but found a reduction of 0.6 years for men and nearly no change for women, The Guardian added.

Researchers said that Seguro Popular, the federal government's program to provide universal healthcare coverage for millions of poor Mexicans, should have increased life expectancies, The Guardian wrote.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Opinion / Columnist

Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com

To expect ZANU (PF) to effectively render itself redundant is for me naive and stupid. Ask ZANU and ZAPU, they had exactly the same experience with Ian Smith's prevarication on political reforms until they decided that enough was enough.In 2013 before the July elections, I asked the question- what if ZANU (PF) wins. It turns out that I was unintentionally correct and the sad reality is that our opposition political parties had not even considered that scenario in their strategies. They never had an alternative plan. As a result they were subsequently paralysed by the shocking result and up to this day, we have all suffered for their inability to consider and plan for all probable outcomes. My greatest fear is that history may repeat itself once more come 2018.The most dangerous assumption we can make again is that ZANU (PF) will have implemented all the reforms that we want before the next elections and that we will all go to free and fair elections that will finally reflect the unadulterated will of the people of Zimbabwe. That will is obvious-it is outright discharge of ZANU (PF) from government through a majority vote by citizens against the tyranny which we have all reluctantly stomached since 2000.We are assuming that we shall then have a new President and a new legitimate political leadership which can begin to build a multi-party democratic state underpinned by inclusive coalition politics and developmental economics. What if we are wrong again?Given the current shenanigans within ZANU (PF), I have no doubt that much is going to change in its form between now and the next elections. However, the crux of the matter is whether the nature of this beast will change enough for it to accept electoral defeat through a fair transparent electoral process that it voluntarily implements? I doubt that very much.The economy is of course the major issue. It is speaking on our behalf and reflecting the reality that without fundamental political change, the country faces severe deterioration in the quality of life of most citizens. But whether this will be adequate enough to get ZANU (PF) to effectively surrender political power through the ballot box remains very doubtful given our experience with them to date.We all know that the major challenge that decimated Ian Smith rule was the economy where the then Rhodesia became economically isolated and pressure was put to bear especially by South Africa which was propping up the Smith regime. In addition, of course, was the raging bush war which created a continuous danger and risk to the Smith regime.However the geopolitical conditions that existed then are significantly different now in that the international community, including Africa, do not view our current government as a rogue government. In fact, we have seen the international community re-engage the government indicating a belief in those circles that ZANU (PF) remains a politically legitimate and acceptable option for the immediate future.Without severe international pressure on Zimbabwe to change its political systems, especially from the rest of Africa and within the region, it is highly unlikely that we will achieve any fundamental change in our politics. We are on our own.This makes our situation very difficult and inadvertently strengthens ZANU (PF) to the detriment of creating a new Zimbabwe that is significantly different from that of ZANU (PF) total hegemony. So although the country has become economically weak, and this will worsen in 2016 and towards 2018, I am not confident that we can achieve any fundamental or significant political change by relying on economics alone.As long as there is no increased international pressure for democratic change and the implementation of reforms in Zimbabwe, we will continue to muddle through to 2018. I have no doubt that ZANU (PF) is well aware that the implementation of reforms will be its undoing. It will therefore do all it can to delay and postpone any significant reforms which would disadvantage its continued hold on power. That is the reality which we must deal with now before it is too late.What then should we do?In my opinion, without significant action by citizens to cause fundamental political change in Zimbabwe, it is highly likely that come 2018, we will, once again, have a stolen election because there is no other way that ZANU (PF) can continue to be in power legitimately.As we speak now Zimbabwe's formal economy has collapsed and has been replaced by the informal economy that is survivalist and a secret economy that is elitist. The latter is characterised by short term corrupt transactions that continue to feed the predatory cabal and a political elite. As long as the army, the police and the intelligence services are paid their salaries, as has happened recently in December, ZANU (PF) believes that it is well protected against any eventuality of a mass uprising spurred on by the declining economic and social conditions. This thinking is also reflected in their most recent budget allocations to defence, security and intelligence services which they hope will remain somewhat insulated from non-payment of salaries unlike civil servants whose future remains precarious.The questions we must now face as citizens who desperately want and need political change are; what options do we really have to do to cause political change in Zimbabwe? What is it that will ensure that come 2018 we have free and fair elections so that we may democratically and peacefully dismiss the dictatorship and create an inclusive democratic coalition government that revives the economy and begins to rebuild the morals and ethics of our society at large to create a new culture of political accountability and responsibility?Clearly whatever we have done to date has not worked. The conditions pertaining in the country with regards to the role and responsibilities of opposition political parties as our change agents have not resulted in the change we want to see. Our opposition parties remain disempowered and ineffective in achieving democratic reforms as envisaged by the GPA.This is the reality in Zimbabwe which I think we are ignoring and hoping that time will work for us on the side of change. It is futile for us to hope and wait on the assumption that ZANU (PF) will implode or that Mugabe will retire. What if this does not happen?We must find new answers to these questions now and act accordingly as a collective before it becomes too late.
Six people reportedly died in an armed confrontation at the boundary of the municipality of Zitlala, Guerrero in Mexico on Wednesday.

Proceso said the fatalities included five men and one woman in an Indian village in the municipality where gunmen from the armed group Los Ardillos, headed by Bernardo Ortega Jimenez, opened fire on the victims.

It was added in an El Comercio report that a child was also one of those dead in the fatal clash. Around 12 armed men reportedly came early Wednesday to the small town of Guerrero and intimidated the locals of the place.

The same report claimed that members of a family in Zitlala tried to intervene with the group, thus leading to the confrontation between the two groups.

An El Comercio source, who was identified as an official of the Ministry of Public Security of Guerrero, also revealed that the attackers were armed with heavy weapons, leaving six dead from the Lara family, including a 14-year-old minor.

Providing more details on the incident, Informador said that some of the fatalities who have already been identified by their relatives included the minor Marabel Reynaldo Lara, Tlatempa Andres Lara, 60, Gerardo Lara Zapotec, 24, and Julian Lara Tlatempa.

The group responsible for the deaths is believed to be a huge criminal group known for their drug dealings. These men, as per El Comercio, left the six individuals for dead in an access road to Zitlala.

Zitlala Mayor Roberto Castro mentioned in the same report that the bodies of the victims are now in an auditorium in the center of the town. The mayor also claimed that they have already requested for augmentation in their security forces, since locals are fearing other similar attacks.

Castro noted that about 50 people already left their homes in the nearby town of Quetzalcoatlan, and moved to Palms, thinking that the attackers will again return to their village.

Entorno Inteligente noted that violent attacks were recorded in the area in the past weeks. On December 20, the director of transit in Zitlala, Filiberto Corraltitlan Yectli, was killed. Four men were also reportedly found dead earlier while they were on their way to Tonalapa.

A day after Christmas, the same report noted that a man was also attacked and killed outside his own home, which was followed by the recovery of a dead body inside a trunk of a taxi in the same town.

Among the reasons for the rise of violence in the area are the drug activities by organized groups, as per El Comercio.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Guatemala has detained 14 of its ex-military officials who were charged on human rights abuses during the country's armed conflict, which has spanned more than three decades.

According to a report with the BBC News, one of those arrested was Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia. The 83-year-old was a former general, and is the brother of former president Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia.

Many of those who were detained had allegedly worked where a mass grave was unearthed.

According to the report, Garcia is a former army commander who allegedly founded Guatemala's paramilitary groups.

His brother, the former president, ruled Guatemala from July 1978 to March 1982.

Garcia, along with the other detainees, face charges of crimes against human rights. The detainees are also being charged on being involved in the mass disappearances of indigenous people.

Thelma Aldana, the Guatemalan attorney general, said that Garcia and the others were being charged in connection with the mass disappearance of at least 558 indigenous people between 1981 and 1988.

Aldana said that this case is "one of the largest cases of disappearances in Latin America."

Survivors testified that during one particular massacre, Garcia and his army killed 256 people -- comprised mostly of women, children and the elderly, who were from the Mayan Achi ethnic group.

Military Zone 21 is currently a military training centre. In 2012, four mass graves were excavated and the bodies of "non-combatant civilians identified by survivors" were discovered.

The testimonies from survivors were essential in locating the mass graves at Zone 21. The survivors also connected the killings to the officers.

Mario Polanco, the director of the Mutual Support Group, said that the arrest of Garcia and the others was nothing short of "historic."

Guatemala's 36-year armed conflict ended in 1996 after a peace agreement. During the last 10 years, Guatemala has prosecuted human rights violators, but only a few high-level officials have actually been jailed, PBS reported.

The armed conflict saw right-wing governments at war with left-wing rebels. The conflict claimed nearly 250,000 lives.

U.S. involvement in the country was also one of the key factors contributing to human rights violations, which included training of officers in counterinsurgency techniques and the assisting of the national intelligence apparatus.

Today, the country is under the regime of President Alejandro Maldonado. After over a decade following the Civil War, violence continues to be a major problem in both political and civilian life. Organized crime groups continue to operate with continued impunity.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Yuletide Season is one of the lengthiest and most celebrated holidays all over the world but did you know that it is particularly long and fun in Spain and Latin America?

These areas are filled with Christians who believe that this event is not done yet until the 12th day of Christmas, or the "Feast of the Epiphany" has been celebrated.

More popularly called the "Three Kings' Day," children in these territories are excited for the "El Dia de los Reyes," celebrated on January 6, which marks the Three Kings (also known as the three Wise Men or Magi) adoration of baby Jesus, according to the Huffington Post.

Based on the Gospel of Matthew, the celebration originated from the Wise Men's 12-day journey across the desert to locate the Son of God by following the North Star.

According to The Dream Antilles, Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, who represent Europe, Arabia and Africa, brought the baby Jesus their symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

This started the gift-giving tradition in Central and South America, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain, where children as well as most adults, polish their shoes on the eve of January 6 and leave them outside for the Kings.

Aside from the gifts, people in Latin America and Spain are also very eager to have a taste of the celebratory food that is traditionally left for the Kings and their camels to feast upon.

Pozole

Among the most popular traditional foods during this time of year in the Hispanic region is the pozole -- a tasty stew with spicy red broth pork that is usually served hot during the "Dia de Los Reyes."

For an authentic Mexican taste, you may follow this recipe.

Rosca de Reyes

Nothing says "Dia De Los Reyes" better than a "rosca de reyes" or Kings' bread.

This bread -- usually served in the streets of Mexico as a mile-long treat with their native hot chocolate drink-- traditionally contains a small baby Jesus figurine baked inside the bread.

According to the Huffington Post, the one who has the slice of rosca de reyes that contains the figurine has to prepare tamales for his kin on February 2 in celebration of the Day of the Candles or the "Dia De La Candelaria."

Bunuelos

Another popular fritter for Hispanics and other Christians during this time of year is the star-shaped cookie called the "bunuelos."

Shaped like the Star of David, these crispy biscuits are considered a staple during the Dia De Los Reyes.

To make this traditional treat, click this link and follow the recipe.

Ponche

Aside from Mexico's tasty hot chocolate, people who celebrate Dia De Los Reyes also look forward to the hot fruit punch called the "ponche."

Usually made with real apple slices (peeled, of course) and tamarind pods (peeled), this hot punch can be made in three simple steps.

Champurrado

Another hot treat that would surely complete an authentic "Three Kings' Day," is the delicious champurrado -- a chocolate treat spiked with corn flour for thickness.

Check out the video below on how to make it.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The El Salvador government said that it will cooperate in the arrest of 17 former soldiers who were allegedly involved in the killing of Jesuit priests.

Prosecutors said that the Salvadorian soldiers murdered six Jesuit priests in 1989 in order to silence them. The Jesuit priests were critical of the human rights abuses committed by the US-backed army in El Salvador's civil war.

According to The Guardian, after a Spanish judge sent a petition to Interpol on Monday, the government then announced on Wednesday the ordering of the arrest of the soldiers. The soldiers also shot and killed the Jesuit priests' housekeeper and her daughter. Five of the priests were reported to be Spanish and one was Salvadoran.

Presidential spokesman Eugenio Chicas told the media that once the legal requirements have been completed, the government can make the arrests.

"The only path for our security forces to take is to proceed with the arrests, that is, there's nothing to do but follow the law," Chicas said.

Colonel Inocente Montano, a former deputy defense minister, is among the accused. Montano was also arrested in 2011 for immigration fraud. US authorities said that they will extradite Montano to Spain.

Chicas added that the extradition of the former soldiers to Spain would depend on the decision of El Salvador's supreme court.

It was reported that Spain's high court said in 2011 that the ex-soldiers should be tried for the murders of the Jesuit priests. Interpol said the soldiers were wanted for extradition.

But the El Salvador supreme court ruled that Interpol required the soldiers be located, and not arrested or extradited.

A report with Crux says that the number of Christians in Latin America are numerous, but vulnerable. The murder of the six prominent Jesuits are just among the casualties of a decades-long civil war that has so far left 220,000 people dead.

Though the country's civil war has come to an end, the violence seems to have gotten worse. In 2014, the country has seen more homicides than any place on earth, which stems mostly from the fighting among criminal gangs, and between the gangs and the police.

Today, the Christians at greatest risk are no longer just Catholic activists, but Evangelicals and Pentecostals who are vocal against the influence of the gangs.

Pope Francis' roots in Latin America explains his sensitivity towards anti-Christian violence.

The pontiff has decried violence against Christianity and has repeatedly referred to the persecution as a "ecumenism of blood."

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The postponed presidential and legislative runoffs and elections in Haiti have finally been given a new date. According to Miami Herald, it is now set to take place on January 24, 2016.

Head of the Provisional Electoral Council Pierre-Louis Opont shared the date in a letter to President Michel Martelly after the nine-member council meeting was finally dismissed. Just the day before, Opont told Martelly that it was impossible to organize the elections for January 17, and so the final date could be staged to guarantee the handover of power from one president to another in time to meet the imposed deadline for February 7.

It seems that Opont has changed his mind and decided that it can be done. Top US State Department envoys Thomas Shannon and Kenneth Merten are headed to Haiti on Wednesday to meet with him, Martelly, and presidential top bets Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin.

The worrying electoral process, which began unraveling this week, has worried UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who expressed concerns about the next week's planned parliament inauguration.

Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, "Parliament has not functioned since January 2015. In this regard, [the Secretary General] underlines the importance of inaugurating the new legislature within the constitutional time frame to ensure the renewal of democratic institutions and consolidate political stability in Haiti."

He also added that the Secretary-General called for the elections process to be "concluded as soon as possible in a transparent, inclusive and credible manner."

The delay in Haiti's elections came just on the heels of a report that discredit the elections council, raising questions about the integrity of the already criticized presidential and legislative vote. Celestin and Moise, who were the top candidates and were said to supposedly face each other in a run-off on December 27, postponed their event until further notice.

Presidential candidate Clestin called the first-round results a "ridiculous farce," adding via his spokesman that, "This CEP doesn't have any credibility to be making any decisions."

Jovenel Moise, Martelly's hand-picked successor, on the other hand, made rounds on the radio to outline his priorities for the country, noting that he's ready to speak with Celestin, if only to speed the process along.

Official results said that the government-backed Moise was given 32.8 percent of the votes, while former head of the state construction agency Celestin came only second, with 25 percent of the votes. The latter, however, denied losing the presidency, saying that he knows "500,000 people voted" for him.

What do you think of the messy presidential elections in Haiti?

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Antidepressant During Pregnancy Linked to Increased Risk of Birth Defects

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Reporter Jan 07, 2016 05:30 AM EST

CDC's key findings from the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys held from 2005 to 2008 revealed that 11% of Americans aged 12 and above consume antidepressant medication, and that one-third of people with severe depressive symptoms take antidepressant medication. Over 60% of Americans who take antidepressants have been taking it for two or more years, and 14% of them have been taking medication for 10 or more years. The CDC also found that women are more likely to take antidepressants than men.

In celebration of Birth Defects Prevention Month this January, the medical community is bringing forth more information on how to prevent birth defects in newborns. A new study coming from researchers at the University of Montreal in Canada have found that paroxetine, a form of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, can contribute to birth defects.

Medical News Today reports that paroxetine is sold as Paxil in the U.S. and it is commonly prescribed to treat depression, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The drug increases the amount of serotonin in the brain to maintain mental balance.

Paroxetine was considered safe to take during pregnancy, until 2005, when researchers conducted a small, unpublished, manufacturer-led study that revealed an increased risk for cardiac malformations in babies exposed to the drug before birth.

The new study led by Prof. Anick Berard, of CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal in Canada and published in "British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology" analyzed studies published from 1966 to 2015 and retrieved 23 that were eligible for the research.

According to Science World Report, the intake of paroxetine during a pregnant women's first trimester resulted to a 23% increased risk of any major congenital malformations and a 28% increased risk of major cardiac malformations in newborns, compared to their counterparts who did not take paroxetine. Researchers noted that the baseline risk of major malformations is 3% while cardiac malformations are 1%.

"Given that the benefits of antidepressants overall, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors including paroxetine specifically, during pregnancy is questionable at best, any increase in risksmall or largeis too high," Prof. Berard commented.

"Indeed, the risk/benefit ratio suggests non-use in women with mild to moderately depressive symptoms, which is 85% of pregnant women with depressive symptoms. Therefore, planning of pregnancy is essential, and valid treatment options such as psychotherapy or exercise regimens are warranted in this special population," she said, as per Eurekalert.

Researchers recommend proceeding with caution in consuming antidepressants during pregnancy, specifically paroxetine.

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MRI Discovers Undetected Health Issue Caused by Childbirth Stress

media@latinoshealth.com By Ivan Menchavez Jan 07, 2016 05:09 AM EST

One of the toughest jobs in the world is being a mother. Nobody can really tell how hard it is to be a parent until one gets to experience it. However, giving birth is the most painful stage in most women's life and the new study suggested that the injuries it inflicts to mothers are comparable to the ones sustained by athletes in endurance sports.

According to a report by Newser on Yahoo, researchers from the University of Michigan surveyed 68 new mothers to determine some of the most serious effects of giving birth on a woman's body. They discovered that 25 percent of the women who were included in the study sustained injuries equivalent to the kind of damage athletes suffer in an intense situation.

The team of researchers has also found out 15 percent of the mothers, who participated, suffered severe pelvic injuries with no possibility of being healed. The researchers pointed out that without an MRI, these facts would never have been discovered, leaving mothers to suffer in pain with no help.

In a report by Vox, MRI is commonly used to diagnose injuries incurred by athletes in sports. This kind of medical method can be very useful to women during childbirth to identify long-lasting injuries. Some mothers do not recover from the effects of giving birth as quickly as what their doctors advise them.

Most of the time, these women will just go on with their lives without figuring out what is wrong. Injuries like these should be discovered at an early stage so that treatment can also start early.

Janis Miller, the lead researcher and an associate professor at the University of Michigan School Of Nursing, said that an athlete will always get an immediate MRI diagnosis as soon as an apparent injury occurs to identify the damage.

"We have this thing where we tell women, 'Well, you're six weeks postpartum, and now we don't need to see you - you'll be fine.' But not all women feel fine after six weeks nor are ready to go back to work, and they aren't crazy," Miller stated.

The goal of the researchers is to change many doctors' approach in treating women who suffered injuries during childbirth.

Although Miller pointed out the importance of MRI in diagnosing injuries, it should not be recommended to new mothers right after childbirth. "A key point is that if a woman is sensing that she has delayed recovery or unusual symptoms of discomfort, she should see a specialist," Miller suggested.

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'Captain America: Civil War' Cast Chris Evans Talks Steve Rogers vs Tony Stark, There's a 'Great Parallel' Between Iron Man & The Captain

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Reporter Jan 07, 2016 05:30 AM EST

The countdown to "Civil War" has begun, as the highly anticipated film is set to be released this May. The film brings back some of Marvel fans' favorite Avengers without the title card in the film, and will also be the first to feature Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther and Tom Holland's Spider-Man to the MCU.

But what's definitely going to be interesting is how Steve Rogers' Captain America will go up against Tony Stark's Iron Man in a fight for what truly is rightwhether or not superheroes like themselves should register in the Superhuman Registration Act under the US government.

"Theres a great parallel that they draw between my character and Tony Stark," Chris Evans, who plays the titular character in the third iteration of the Marvel film series, told Cineplex. "Its something we can all relate to in terms of how we perceive our own society and culture, in terms of what is best for people."

"You can go right down to Democrat and Republican; everyone has a different opinion of whats best," the 34-year-old actor said, relating the films issues to the current issues of the nation, which faces the Presidential elections this year.

IGN reports that "Civil War" is based on the 2006 comic which pitted the two Avengers against each other. Unlike the previous "Captain America" films, however, this one will feature more Avengers, including the newly minted Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and returning characters Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Vision (Paul Bettany), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and War Machine (Don Cheadle). Of course, Sebastian Stan's Winter Soldier, with whom the plot seems to center around, will also be returning.

"You have this team of people who are destroying every city they go to, but theyre saving the world," Evans explained. "So its a matter of, do we monitor these people or do we let them monitor themselves? The beautiful thing with Civil War is that no ones right and no ones wrong; its just your personal opinion."

Games Radar reports that the film will touch more on how Steve Rogers had evolved from the very first "Captain America" film, down to finding himself among the Avengers and saving the world. Evans shared, "Were going to have a nice evolution where you have a guy like Cap, who grew up with structurehe was a soldier and he liked hierarchy, he liked the chain command. Now, all of a sudden, you have a guy who used to love the system not so sure about trusting it. And a guy like Tony Stark, who used to buck the system and dance to the beat of his own drum all of a sudden thinking, maybe we need some order."

"Captain America: Civil War" is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and is set to open on May 6.

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The governor of the central Mexican state of Morelos is blaming the violent death of a newly elected town mayor on a battle between several gangs, all of which are trying to gain control of local security forces.

Gov. Graco Ramirez Garrido Abreu said threats against Gisela Mota had been building up before the 33-year-old Temixco mayor was gunned down on Jan. 2 as members of her family looked on, Univision reported.

"Over the past few weeks, the threats were increasing," Ramirez recalled. "The reason for the attack against Gisela was that she openly supported the installation of a single command (of police forces) and because she belonged to the (leftist) Party of the Democratic Revolution."

The governor noted investigators were able to trace the attackers once they fled the crime scene -- Mota's residence -- where they had fired at the mayor who had taken the oath of office only a day before her assassination.

"It was by observing security camera footage that we were able to locate the attackers, noting that their escape route took them toward a route to Temixco airport, where they encountered police," Ramirez recalled.

The governor said two of the assailants died in the ensuing confrontation with security forces and that one of the deceased was a known gang leader with a criminal record in Guerrero and Mexico states.

"He was a very important hitman for the Los Rojos group," he said, "and that very group was the one that dragged a mutilated body to the offices of the State Police on Dec. 29 in an act of provocation."

Some local groups, however, were speculating that Mota's assassination might also have political motives as the new mayor had close ties to Bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo, an important voice of the leftist Liberation Theology within the Roman Catholic Church, El Diario NY reported.

Further, women's right activist Flor Desiree Leon Hernandez told the publication that Mota's suggestion of female quotas in local assemblies was not well-received universally.

"A patriarchal vision continues to govern (here)," Leon said, "in which politics and decision-making are seen as a task for men and not for women."
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is blocking city law enforcement from working with federal immigration agents, paving the way for the city to return to its role as a sanctuary city.

Philly.com reports the newly elected mayor had promised constituents he would rescind his predecessor's 11th-hour immigration order on his first day in office.

"The only way that people buy into [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] is when they . . . have input into the process," he said during a signing ceremony, where immigrant rights activists wildly applauded.

Kenney also indicated he has talked with U.S Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the reinstitution of ICE's "Priority Enforcement" campaign. Immigrant groups have long expressed a preference for that program over "Secure Communities," which many feel is too harsh in the way its policies are administered.

Plans now call for Johnson to send ICE representatives to Philadelphia, where they will brief immigration stakeholders on the new platform while assuring them it does not hold all the pitfall of Secure Communities.

"But until that happens we are going back to our old situation," Kenny said.

That system, in place since April 2014 and last month, barred police and prison officials from alerting ICE agents about undocumented prisoner's pending release unless the person was convicted of a violent felony and ICE's request was supported by a warrant.

Local immigration rights group Juntos raved the Mayor's stance and executive position "reaffirmed" Philadelphia's place as the City of Brotherly Love.

"We are thrilled," New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia spokesperson Nicole Kligerman told Philly.com. "By ending the unjust collaboration between ICE and city officials, he recognizes the significant contributions immigrants make to Philadelphia."

Sanctuary cities, where undocumented immigrants are largely sheltered from deportation, have been lightning rods in Congress and the Republican presidential primary campaigns. Leading GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed if elected he will move to deport some 11 million immigrants in less than two years.
Opinion / Columnist

The hullaballoo over President Robert Mugabe's annual leave is amazing considering the fact that he is a public servant who is entitled to an annual leave like every other worker in either public or private sector. It is natural and legal for everyone to have a moment of rest from duty after a long year of hard labour. The labour legal framework globally is quite clear on this, and no-one can challenge this natural right extended by the virtue and nature of humanity.However, this is not to say President Mugabe should ignore the state matters taking toll on the nation. In that vein he is a critical instrument in running the affairs of state. In reality he is the head of state and Government. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state and institutions that make up the organisation of government operations. It therefore entails a well coordinated set of principles, laws, ideas, and procedures relating to state matters.In this case, President Mugabe, is a strategic manager at the helm of all issues. This does not necessarily make him a foot-soldier that is mandated to have hands-on reaction to matters bedeviling the nation at any given point. This is why he works in a bureaucracy in which various arms of government are under obligation to act on specifics as defined by their job specialization and deployment in our government.These state arms should keep the President appraised on all issues that are at play at any given minute. It is not his physical presence which is necessary, but the functionality of the system in which he is the prime element.So far, we haven't heard of any reports across the country which has not been attended to as the need requires. All system are up and running as there is normative allocation of functions, the co-ordination of the activities to and between departments and other government agencies which enable the smooth running of national matters.The Government has a prerogative responsibility to run the administration of the state according to the policies and laws of the government and the political executive in which cabinet ministers execute specific tasks under the direction of the president.Ministers give briefings to the president regularly, despite that he is on leave. Notwithstanding the fact that he is on leave, he is forced to work overtime for the good of Zimbabwe. Therefore, he deserves a pat on the back for that dedication to duty to the service of the citizenry.It is worth noting that not all ministers are on leave. So the system is well oiled and doing its best to ensure the continuity of the state. And every citizen is also challenged to work towards bettering Zimbabwe.
The man who bought the rifles used in the San Bernardino terrorist attack last month pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of conspiring with one of the shooters and providing material to support terrorists.

Enrique Marquez Jr., 24, appeared in federal court in Riverside, California, on Wednesday, where he pled "not guilty" to the five-count indictment, reports CBS News. His charges include allegedly buying rifles used in the attack and conspiring to support terrorism.

Marquez was arrested about two weeks after his longtime friend and neighbor, Syed Rizwan Farook, and his wife opened fire at the Inland Regional Center during a Christmas party on Dec. 2. The married couple killed 14 people and wounded 21 others before they were killed by police. It was later discovered that the suspects were individually self-radicalized long before they got married and moved to California.

After 10 days of questioning by investigators, FBI officials said Marquez and Farook became friends over a decade ago and that that Farook converted him to Islam when they were teenagers. The shooter also indoctrinated Marquez with violent Islamic extremism.

According to federal authorities, Marquez admitted that he and Farook once plotted a terror attack on a community college and a highway in Southern California during rush hour. As a result, he has been charged with conspiring to carry out other terrorist attacks in 2012, reports The Washington Post. He is also facing charges for making false statements while purchasing the assault rifles used in the attack and lying on immigration forms about marrying a Russian woman whose sister is married to Farook's brother.

Although Marquez was not involved in the killings, authorities argue that his failure to warn authorities about Farook and his purchase of two rifles for him in 2011 and 2012 ultimately led to deadly consequences.

His trial is set to begin Feb. 23. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years behind bars.
In light of the recent surge in Cuban immigrants trying to enter the U.S. borders in the midst of the news that U.S.-Cuban relations are on restoration, one man dies while on the Panama-Costa Rica border while waiting with hundreds of Cubans trying to reach the U.S.

Fox News Latino reports that the unnamed 53-year-old man died on Monday night from severe respiratory problems after being examined at a local hospital. The news comes after the ongoing increase in Cuban immigrants arriving at the Panama-Costa Rica border as they migrate to the U.S.

After the news of the death, authorities issued a plan to have a vaccine illness prevention campaign for the 1,000 Cubans stranded at the shelters in Panama. CNN reports that the outpour of Cuban immigrants were recently tracked at 8,000, per a latest estimate.

This is in light of the recent announcement of U.S. President Barack Obama that relations between the U.S. and the island nation are on the verge of rebuilding. Cuban immigrants took the opportunity to move to the U.S. as Obama already eased restrictions to Americans travelling to Cuba, the publication revealed.

Furthermore, some Cuban immigrants were forcing to go to the U.S. borders in hopes of getting their green cards while U.S-Cuban relations are good and before the possible drastic changes occur that could endanger their chances of migrating there.

"There is this concern that Cuba special privileges will be eliminated, so Cubans are trying to get out while the getting's good," Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute said as quoted by the news agency.

There are also great chances for Cuban Immigrants to be accepted, especially since after The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 was enacted, Cubans were cleared of any problems in their entrance to the U.S. borders.

"Even if they arrive illegally, they are admitted into the United States, and after a year and a day they are granted a green card," Rosenblum further revealed. "They are the only country in the world that enjoys that privilege."

Meanwhile, as the surge of Cuban immigrants continue to increase by the day since they were reportedly promised by officials to be transported on flights this month and with their reported fears of the possible changes to the U.S-Cuba relations, the administration, however, revealed that there aren't any revisions to the current deal.

"The administration has no plans to alter current migration policy regarding Cuba," the statement from the administration reads.


It may not appeal to everyone, but CNN has included Honduras in their top tourist destinations for 2016. One of the reasons, and probably the most controversial one, why Honduras is valued less as a tourist destination is the fact that it is being tagged as the murder capital of the world.

According to TeleSur, CNN's expert travelers say that Honduras is "One of the hottest destinations in Central America" despite recently declaring some 85 percent of minors getting affected by gunpowder. Over the last six months, news about the Honduran military killing at least six children is something that doesn't directly appeal to tourists.

However, Honduras has capitalized on their tourism, making it a priority for creating jobs within the region. One major move by the Honduran government is to offer tax breaks to investors who are interested in putting up businesses in the country. Moreover, major airlines have somehow found a way to produce additional direct flights from the U.S. to Honduras.

Despite the effort to improve their tourism structure, they remain the least productive among the countries in Central America. Their efforts to promote and propel their tourism has not been easy as the country faces some controversial issues such as the afro-indigenous population that hinders the outpour of Honduran investors.

Honduras definitely has more enticing tourist spots than anyone could imagine, but this concept has been marred by the number of negative news about the country. In October, the U.S. government issued a warning on its citizens traveling to Honduras, citing 42 incidents of American deaths since 2010. At least 10 of the killing incidents occurred last year.

The Honduran culture has also limited women's rights in some ways. In a report by the Insight Crime, the simple dying of hair in women brings great injustice as a gang named Mara Salvatrucha or MS13 trolls women who dye their hair and kill them.

This was confirmed by the police officials after the group openly killed a blonde woman aboard a bus in Honduras. The report greatly instilled fear in women within the region, who dyed their hair back to its original color. With such simple freedom of expression being clipped by prejudice people, Honduras' woes on tourism lies mostly on safety rather than the beauty of the place.
The investigation on the recent killing of Temixco Mayor Gisela Mota has come to a new dawn after one of the suspects confessed to the crime.

In a report by Remezcla, an alleged video of a young man confessing to the crime and tagging the group Los Rojos has been confirmed by police authorities as authentic and true. The video, of course, has censored the young man's face in order to protect him from the possible threat of also being killed. The 35-second video, according to the news outlet, significantly shed some light on the killing of Mota.

According to The Intercept, Mota's assailants were said to have received $29,000 as payment for killing her. Mota's death has been highly associated with an organized crime group that does not agree to her vision of fighting the crime in the city.

For the first time, Mota's mother released a statement. Mota's mother said that the mayor was very protective of her family and even said that if there were groups interested in killing her, they could, but they should also remember that she is Gisela.

Mota has just taken her oath as the new mayor of Temixco when she was shot dead in her home the next day. At least four gunmen were witnessed to have committed the crime, two of which were killed on the spot when police officers responded to the crime scene.

A new statement from the prosecutor's office revealed that the suspects' car contained some deadly ammunition, which are said to have been used for the assassination. Among the recovered guns include an Uzi submachine gun and a 9mm pistol. Some bulletproof vests were also among the recovered evidence from the car.

Temixco is known to be one of the places with the highest crime rate within the region, and with Mota's election; she vowed to go after the groups that tend to suppress the town's recovery.

In a radio interview with Graco Ramirez, Governor of Morelos, he said, "This is a message and a clear threat for the mayors who recently took office to not accept the police coordination scheme that we have supported and that is being built at a national level."

Mota is now among the list of public officials killed because of the war against crime. Mota's political party, PRD, expressed their grief, saying that Mota is a strong and brave individual who did not back down when it comes to fighting criminals.
Certified accountants are the people behind the maximization of profits and the improvement of financial status of a business or an organization. Nowadays, this job is in demand in different and wide range of sectors. In this field, technical abilities and skills are vital. Employers usually prefer to hire people who are trustworthy and reliable and those who can provide responsible and effective advice especially regarding financial efficiency. Latinos who are creative, passionate about business and have good IT, analytical and numerical skills are those that are perfect in this field.

These companies are opening their doors for new staff accountants. Interested Latinos have to check these out:

Penske

Penske Company is searching for their future Senior Tax Accountant who will assist in implementing the perfect tax policy and review the company's tax legislative activities. The vacancy is available at the company's corporate offices in suburban setting seven miles South of Reading, Pennsylvania. Whoever will be hired must maintain various tax parameters in tax software and resolve tax related issues of customers. Interested applicants must have a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or any related field with four or more years of tax accounting experience. They should also be proficient in using Microsoft Access and Excel. Strong understanding of Accounting Principles is also a must.

HCR ManorCare

HCR ManorCare is a company that provides a range of services like assisted living, skilled nursing care, home health care, hospice care, rehabilitation therapy, post-acute rehabilitation and medical care. This company is searching for aspirants who can perform general or cost accounting tasks including classifying, recording, examining and analyzing information and financial transaction records. Successful aspirants will be given industry-leading benefits, excellent training and unlimited opportunities to grow and learn. Aspirants are required to have a Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance with a minimum of two years of experience. Proficiency with the "General Accounting Principles" and Peoplesoft or other major financial package is also a must.

National Credit Union Administration

Considered as one of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," this company has been ranked 7th compared to other similar sized organizations. NCUA exceled in areas such as effective leadership, employee satisfaction, fairness, diversity and employee empowerment. That's why Latinos will surely love to stay working within its environment. Also, for security purposes, applicants will undergo security investigation and probationary period first. They must also be willing to be transferred to a new place and culture because successful applicants may be relocated to Alexandria.

Other companies looking for staff accountants are National Security Agency and Sodexo.
Carmaker BMW sticks to their diesel engine in the U.S. amidst the Volkswagen scandal about lying on their emission tests.

According to Car and Driver, BMW's director of research and development said that they are not at all concerned about Volkswagen's woes and will continue to sell their cars with diesel engine across the U.S.. NOx emissions have been largely seen on car brands such as Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen. An excessive NOx emission is said to be dangerous to the environment, and despite some news from a German newspaper citing BMW as one of the cars that have breached the standard, Dr. Klaus Frohlich of BMW insists that they will not stop selling.

In his statement, he said, "We have no reason to give up on diesel in the United States. It's still one-third of the X cars we sell there, they're strong on diesel. The customers that have had diesel cars from us are really diesel fans."

Despite the German newspaper hinting on BMW violating the emission code, the company remains confident knowing that the California Air Resources Board and the EPA did not see any violation on the part of BMW.

Frolich also said that there is no significant difference between the U.S. standard and European standard when it comes to emission testing, that is why he thinks that the company's engineering department will not have a problem making their diesel engines.

Currently, BMW sells diesel engine cars in the U.S., particularly their 3-series, which consists of the 328d xDrive sedan and wagon, the 5-series that includes the 535d with rear- or all-wheel drive, the xDrive35d and the xDrive28d. Fortunately, BMW has not suffered in terms of sales after the great scandal that broke about Volkswagen's emission problems.

Meanwhile, BMW recently introduced the idea of putting cameras instead of mirrors on their latest models. During the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), BMW introduced the conceptualized i8 Mirrorless and said that their idea of a mirrorless car is nothing like you've seen before. This is probably to address questions about other brands that have divulged on the same idea before the unveiling. According to Digital Trends, the idea is still in question whether the government and its related agencies will appeal positive to the new BMW concept. This is after it was revealed that federal and state regulations require a car unit to have at least one exterior mirror on the driver's side as well as the rear view mirror.
Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz continue to fight over the undecided Republican voters across Iowa and even New Hampshire four weeks before voting is set to begin.

According to a report from Fox News, the Cuban-American presidential candidates are both angling to capture the support of the voters in both areas.

A Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll in December announced that only 33 percent of caucus-goers in Iowa had definitely decided on a candidate, and two-thirds are still open to be persuaded. A nationwide poll by Quinnipiac University also confirmed this, finding that nearly 6 out of 10 Republicans could still change their minds before their vote.

Both Cruz and Rubio, 45 and 44 respectively, have established a presence in Iowa, especially the former who secured the support of a number of the most influential candidates in the area, including Rep. Steve King. He has also launched the "Cruzin' to Caucus" bus tour that visited various local businesses and town halls across the state.

Rubio has also held a town-hall-style meeting in Cedar Rapids as well as a bus tour and meet-and-greet events. Although the young senator impressed, a lot of the people are still undecided about their final choice for the most important seat in the country.

Retired 74-year-old Connie Peterson attended one of Rubio's events in Marshalltown and revealed he's still thinking of his vote saying, "I've seen Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. In many ways they seem similar, and I can't make up my mind there."

She added, "It's going to be a hard decision."

Plenty of voters share the sentiment, including Lary Clark who said the both of the candidates are geared to win the Latino cut of the pie.

"I want somebody who's going to be able to win the general election," Clark explained during an event of Cruz's.

Battling for important votes, the Cuban-American have not shied away from criticizing their opponents in various occasions. The report revealed Rubio has blasted his rival's "commitment to national security", and Cruz has dubbed Rubio as an "establishment favorite" supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Recently, Cruz's communication director Rick Tyler tweeted an article from a New York Magazine's women's blog named The Cut. The titled was entitled "A Vote for Marco Rubio Is a Vote for Men's High-Heeled Booties", and compared a pair of stylish black boots of Rubio to the kind of footwear of One Direction band member Harry Styles, according to a report from Politico.
Marina Fernandez opened up about her experience filming the short film "La Noche Buena" in Cuba in an exclusive interview. In the same interview, director Alex Mallis also revealed the film is inspired by his personal experience as a half-Cuban.

Fernandez talked about the challenging experience she and director Mallis had to go through just to film "La Noche Buena" in Cuba in an interview with Remezcla. It has reportedly been more than decades that a short film was shot in the country since 1959. So, prior to filming, Fernandez and Mallis had to go through the Cuban government.

"It was actually pretty complicated and challenging. They had to approve our script. Finally we did it through the ICAIC [the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry], and we had this great experience with the crew there," the producer shared. "That in the beginning, from both sides, we were a bit reluctant but once we met them and talked about our ideas they were very open, and we were surprised about it."

Mallis echoed Fernandez's statements in a separate interview with No Film School. Likewise calling the process as "challenging," Mallis recalled how he and the crew had to use hand gestures to communicate with the locals because they didn't know English. He and his crew also didn't know how to speak Spanish.

However, the locals were reportedly very helpful. Casting for extras was easy especially since the main actress in "La Noche Buena" is also Cuban. In the end, there were thirty Cuban people who starred in the short film along with only five Americans. Fernandez told Remezcla the "combination between the Cuban crew and the American crew was really nice."

In the same interview with Remezcla, Mallis also talked about the inspiration behind "La Noche Buena." He recalled a time in his grown up life when he decided to reconnect with his roots after having lived in New England and then New York, where he got to meet people from different cultures.

So, he and his mother travelled to Cuba through Canada to meet the daughter of the family's nanny, who has been keeping in contact with his mother. Mallis recalled their awkward encounter with the woman and that's when he was supposedly inspired to make a film about the experience.

"Really what put the nail in the coffin-well, maybe not the nail in the coffin - what resonated about that experience to me was the feeling of guilt and responsibility, that feeling that I had to give her money. And from that, I decided to make a film," he revealed during his interview with Remezcla.
A social media movement calls for the release of Oscar Lopez Rivera on his 73rd birthday, Jan. 6. The online campaign, led by the National Boricua Human Rights Network, is targeting a million posts on Twitter for freeing the man who has already been imprisoned for 34 years.

According to a report from Latino Rebels, Lopez Rivera was a Puerto Rican nationalist who campaigned hard for the independence of his country. Having served time already, the website urged people to join the social media movement by tweeting, using the hashtags # #RegaloPaOscarLibertad or #FreeOscarLopez, and tagging President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

A report from Workers.org revealed that the people of Puerto Rico are all united in demanding Lopez's release with the governor even officially visiting the prisoner.

34 Mujeres x Oscar, a group that holds a rally for the Puerto Rican's freedom every last Sunday of the month, is also entirely committed to the cause. Their rallies often last just 34 minutes long, a minute for each year Lopez Rivera has been imprisoned. According to CBS New York, the group of women took to the streets last December and explained their call.

"His only crime was supporting the independence of Puerto Rico," Melissa Montero pointed out. ""We live in the United States, you know we talk about freedom of speech, we talk about human rights - but here in this own country we have human rights violations."

Not everyone was thrilled to see the demonstration in Times Square, but the member said, "We're a group of women that are extremely respectful, and we expect others to respect us as well."

According to Latino Rebels, Lopez Rivera was charged and convicted back in 1981 for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms and conspiracy to transport explosives with intent to destroy government property for his alleged involvement with the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional (FALN).

He was given 55 years in federal prison, the CBS New York Report added. While it was a long list of charges, Lopez Rivera wasn't charged with killing anyone. A few years later, 15 more years were added to his sentence when he was found and charged with conspiracy to escape prison.

Lopez Rivera's release has been debated on for a long time and in 1999, former president Bill Clinton even offered clemency to Lopez Rivera and 15 other Puerto Rican nationalists. However, Lopez refused.
Cuban migrants stuck in Costa Rica since Nov. 14 are being asked to pay for their travel if they want to reach the United States. Approximately 7,802 Cubans are being asked by the Costa Rican government to pay the upfront amount of $555 per adult passenger to board a flight to El Salvador then to the southern Mexican border.

According to Fusion.net, this measure by the Tico government to control the influx of Cuban migrants is given priority to the Cubans who have cash in hand and have been stuck in Costa Rica the longest. It is also only applicable to the 7,802 Cuban migrants who have temporary visas to stay in Costa Rica. Any Cuban who shows up after that is said to be on his or her own.

Families with children are also asked to pay for their kids' flight for $350, which is also the same cost for a commercial flight with Avianca Airlines from San Jose, Costa Rica to San Salvador. The amount mandated by the government for both adult and child passenger is already inclusive of the airfare, the bus fare, exit taxes and food for the passengers.

Meanwhile, Cubans who came from the southern border of Costa Rica will have to pay $750 each.

The first flight to El Salvador will take place on Jan. 12. There will reportedly be only 180 passengers taken each flight to San Salvador. From there, the passengers will take a short connecting bus trip to El Salvador and Guatemala. After which they will be dropped off at the south Mexican border.

According to Telesurvtv.net, from Mexico the Cuban migrants will be given 20-day transit visas by the Mexican government. From there, the Cubans are on their own to find their transportation to the U.S. using their transit visas.

This measure by the Tico government only benefits those with cash. Others will be forced to borrow, beg or even steal just so they could get on board the El Salvador flight.

Considering the number of Cuban migrants currently in Costa Rica, it would take around 43 charter flights until they are safely taken to El Salvador.

In a statement posted by Fusion.net, Costa Rica's Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said this measure is part of the government's preliminary operation to help the Cubans leave the country.

"We are just establishing the logistics of the operation and developing the mechanism [for the Cubans to leave]. We hope it works and we can't do more," he said.
Opinion / Columnist

A close look at this nation and even a total stranger will immediately see why we are drowning in a pond of water three feet deep. Even when someone gets the facts right trust him or her to make the wrong conclusion. Here is one example."The lack of vision and strategy has cost the MDC dearly," wrote Stewart Murewa, Bulawayo24 Opinion. "The party has simply become the radar-less ship allowing the winds of fate to drift in the high seas of political denial and uncertainty. The party President, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been thrown into profusion and confusion after failing dismally to win the 2013 July harmonised elections. The party and its supporters are now in a crisis of expectation."A quick check by the stranger would confirm that it is true that the MDC leaders are indeed breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and they sold-out big-time during the GNU. Instead of implementing the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections they "were busy enjoying themselves and forgot why they were there (in the GNU)," as SADC Heads commented in sheer frustration.Yes the people risked life and limp to vote in droves for Tsvangirai and MDC expecting the MDC to deliver democratic changes and thus end the Zanu PF dictatorship. Of course the whole nation was disappointed that not even one reform was implemented in five years of the GNU. It was a hard knock.But to say the people are "NOW in a crisis of expectation" implies that the nation still expect Tsvangirai, this corrupt and incompetent individual who sold-out last time, to deliver democratic change regardless of the fact he has already proven beyond doubt that he is incapable of doing that.One does not get milk from a stone, one learns by the time he/she is a toddler. But when a full grown adult has a "crisis of expectation" because they are determined to get milk from a stone then there is cause to wrong about the mental state of the adult!"The current goings on in the MDC movement are tragic, shocking and epochal. The demise of the MDC, as we know it, is a tremendous loss to the Zimbabwean political landscape. Deductive reasoning shows that the party is teetering towards political obscurity," Murewa wrote.MDC is a party of corrupt and incompetent individuals its complete demise is logical and to be expected and even celebrated. Why should the nation hang on to corrupt and incompetent leaders?"It is apparent that no effort to solve the crisis can be made by a party president or leader who is so much in denial about the national situation," continued Murewa. "Tsvangirai does not even realise that the country is under sanctions. All people in this country agree that there is a crisis in the economy leading to a serious liquidity crunch while revenue collections have drastically dwindled. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is the one who boldly campaigned and invited his western handlers to impose sanctions."Yes Tsvangirai is in denial that he is corrupt and incompetent but so are Murewa and his master Mugabe. According to Partnership Africa Canada, Mugabe pocketed $2 billion from his share of the wholesale looting and plunder of diamonds in Marange and Chiadzwa. To fully appreciate the enormity of the looting; the national budget for the next year is $3.8 billion. How can a nation prosper when over 50% of the nation's total revenue is looted?The Zimbabwe economy, starved of cash, is in total meltdown; unemployment has soared to 90% plus, most cities and towns are failing to supply something as basic as clean running water, millions now live in abject poverty, the regime is failing to pay civil servant wages, etc. Yet the nation is haemorrhaging billions of dollars in looting and corruption.What has sanctions to do with the looting and plunder in Marange?If the truth be told, and here it will be shouted out from the roof top, there is as much profusion and confusion in the Zanu PF camp as in the MDC. What is to be deeply mourned by every thinking Zimbabwean is that we have a political system that is so stifling that no competent men and women have been able to emerge.Yes I blame the Mugabe dictatorship for the lack of the complete lack of quality leaders within Zanu PF itself and in opposition. It is naive to expect quality leaders from a political system for which merit is a curse and independent thinking is a crime; only scum rise to the top.Competing for public office is like running a race; you will never have world-class athletes like Usain Bolt racing in Zengeza 7 Sport Field where half the track is a river of raw sewage! Of course people like Tsvangirai will take part because in a race depleted of quality, he has his best chance of winning something.Tsvangirai had the chance of stopping this ever happening again to anyone by implementing the reforms. He failed to implement even one reform and so the threat of political violence still hangs over us all like the sword of Damocles.Ignore Tsvangirai's sing-song complains about Zimbabwe's uneven political playing field. He actually likes being covered in s***t, his proudest moment is a photo of him with a swollen face after being roughed up by Zanu PF thugs. If he was indeed serious about ending Zimbabwe's culture of political violence then why did he fail to implement the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA designed to end it. He had five years during the GNU to implement the reforms and failed to implement even one reform. Not one!As long as this nation continue to hang-on to corrupt and incompetent leaders like Tsvangirai like a frightened toddle hang-on to its mother's apron then this nation will never get out of this hell-on-earth Mugabe has dragged us into!
New research suggests that millennials have a negative view of authoritative institutions such as churches and the media.

A report released by the Pew Research Center indicates that, since 2010, churches and religious organizations have dropped 18 percentage points in approval by millennials. Just five years ago, 73 percent of millennials said that churches had a positive effect on the nation. Now the number is at 55 percent.

The group also has a greater distrust of the media and news outlets than they did five years ago. In 2010, 4 in 10 millennials regarded the national news media as having a positive impact on the way things were going in the country, while only 27 percent believe this to be true now.

Despite a distrust of media and religious institutions, millennials have a brighter view of business in general. In 2010, 35 percent of millennials said that banks had a positive impact in the country. Now 45 percent believe that money lending institutions are helping the country. The good feeling about small businesses has gone up 15 points as well, as 86 percent of millennials now say small businesses have a positive effect.

Regarding education, 73 percent of millennials say that colleges and universities have a positive impact in the U.S.

The role that labor unions play in American society has strengthened in the eyes of millennials as well. In 2010, 32 percent of those polled said unions had a positive impact. The number is now at 45 percent.

Millennials, who are generally defined as those born between 1981 and 1997, are very aware of the need to prepare for an uncertain future.

As The Associated Press reports, millennials are saving a median of 7.5 percent of their paycheck for retirement. Two years ago, millennials saved 5.8 percent on average for the same purpose.

John Sweeney, the executive vice president of retirement and investment strategies at Fidelity Investments, said the impetus to save may have something to do with youth.

The further you are from retirement, the more you still hold aspirations of retiring early, Sweeney said.
A new private school in Georgia will open later this year to accommodate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

Not only will the Pride School Atlanta educate LGBT youth who feel bullied or ostracized in traditional schools, but it also aims to attract LGBT teachers.

Christian Zsilavetz, a transgender man with 25 years of teaching experience, said he planned to open the private school to provide queer youth with a safe space to learn without the fear of harassment. He added he envisions the school as an alternative for LGBT students from grades kindergarten through 12 who need support for "being different," according to The Associated Press.

"Kids have full permission to be themselves - as well as educators. Where there's no wondering, 'Is this teacher going to be a person for me to be myself with?'" Zsilavetz said. "This is a place where they (students) can just open up and be the best person they can be."

Pride School will initially operate out of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta church and is expected to open in September. Zsilavetz added that students can seek financial assistance to help pay the $13,000 tuition cost.

Gay rights advocates say Pride School would be the first of its kind in the Southeast and would represent a significant step forward for the LGBT movement.

Zsilavetz, who has been teaching math and other subjects since the early '90s, said he never felt truly open or supported by administrators while working in public schools. As a result, the 45-year-old educator wanted to change educational environments for LGBT students and teachers.

"I think it's greatly needed for a school to have LGBT-affirming surroundings and environment," said Emma Grace, a queer 16-year-old who dropped out of high school and is currently home-schooled. She already contacted Zsilavetz to express her interest in attending the new school.

"It's still very much a hidden issue. Not a lot people talk about it because they're afraid," she added.
Florida Congressman Alan Grayson announced plans to file suit challenging Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz's legal eligibility to assume the Oval Office as president.

U.S. News reports 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump first raised the issue this week, suggesting party faithfuls should tread carefully in displaying support for Cruz. Trump suggested his rival's supporters run the risk the Republican candidate would be "hogtied" by Democratic legal challenges over his Canadian birthplace, should Cruz ascend to the White House.

Now comes word Grayson, also an attorney and Democratic Senate candidate, is already in the process of drafting language for the suit, should Cruz overtake Trump and win the party's nomination.

The 45-year-old Texas senator was born in Calgary, Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father who later gained U.S. citizenship. Currently, no court precedent exists to determine if foreign-born Americans meet the Constitution's "natural-born citizen" requirement for the presidency.

"If he's not qualified to be president according to our Constitution, then he certainly should not serve," Grayson said. "There's quite a lot of stuff here."

Grayson added Cruz's mother, Eleanor Darragh Wilson, may have forfeited her right to U.S. citizenship by taking a Canadian oath of citizenship. In addition, he pointed out there's no concrete evidence she was actually born in the U.S.

Campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday, Cruz told reporters of the issue, "As a legal matter it's quite straightforward," and called it "settled law."

Grayson sharply drew distinctions between the questions he has raised about Cruz's eligibility and the so-called birthers who have dogged President Obama throughout his two terms with questions about his eligibility and the issue of where he was born.

"The Obama birthers are loons," he said. "There's no plausible legal argument that Obama is not qualified to be president, that's ridiculous. There's a very good legal argument that Ted Cruz is not qualified to be president."

In the past, Cruz spokesperson Rick Tyler has pointed to a Harvard Law review article as ironclad proof of the candidate's standing. The article, from a pair of former solicitors general, proclaims Cruz a natural-born citizen and thus legally eligible to be president.

Recent polls now show Cruz leading Trump in the critical, early-voting state of Iowa.
Republican White House hopeful Ted Cruz accused President Barack Obama of misleading Americans when the president claimed that his executive actions on gun violence are not aimed at taking away people's weapons.

"He's not telling the truth," the Texas senator told CNN on Jan. 6 about the president's assertions. "Look, he's targeting private consensual gun sales between law-abiding citizens, and this is what Obama gets wrong over and over again. He can't distinguish between what good guys and bad guys."

The Tea Party favorite made his comments during a six-day bus tour in the crucial early caucus state of Iowa, where he leads polls over national front-runner Donald Trump. Cruz said he believed Obama's views were in line with that of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and had little to do with a desire to protect Americans from gun violence.

"[It was] Senator Dianne Feinstein, who said, 'If I could go to Mr. America, Ms. America, and say, "Hand over your guns, I want all of your guns," I would do it,'" Cruz said. "I believe Dianne when she said that. And you know what? Barack Obama is in exactly the same boat."

To further tout the issue, meanwhile, Cruz did not shy away from controversy on Jan. 5 when he protested Obama's actions, which limit firearms sales and add background checks, by giving away an engraved shotgun, The Associated Press reported.

The senator's campaign sent out an email to backers inviting them to enter a free contest to "win my engraved shotgun!" The message included a photograph of Cruz wearing blaze orange hunting gear and holding a weapon.

"You can further support the cause by chipping in $35 (or another amount) after you enter to win my free, engraved shotgun," the campaign noted in a fundraising appeal.

The presidential candidate's campaign website, meanwhile, also focused on the gun issue, which is expected to play big in Iowa and New Hampshire, another key early voting state.

"Obama wants your guns," a headline on the page read on Jan. 7, CNN noted.
As the presidential candidates prepare for Februarys Iowa caucus, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., named his Religious Liberty Advisory Board.

Iowa, typically regarded as an evangelical state, will have its caucus on Feb. 1, but on Jan. 6, Rubio's presidential campaign revealed its "Religious Liberty Advisory Board." Of the listed 15 individuals, two are Latinos: Dr. Carlos Campo, who serves as president at Ashford University, and Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, who serves as the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC).

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez & Immigration Reform Support

Rodriguez, a conservative, has been a strong supporter for congressional immigration reform, which Rubio previously co-sponsored in 2013 with the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act" (S. 744), a bipartisan legislation that included pathway to citizenship for immigrants, reforms to the immigrant visa process, 700 miles of pedestrian fencing on the southern U.S. border and more than 38,000 trained full-time active duty Border Patrol agents on the southern border.

Rodriguez has been impressed with Rubio's leadership, however, he has been vocal about Rubio's latest immigration stance. According to the Boston Globe last June, Rodriguez said Rubio "was Joshua leading the people into the Promised Land of immigration. Then, right when we were on the Jordan River, he pivoted. He looked back to the desert. All of the sudden he pivoted; he took his foot out of the water."

He later said, "The decibel level is lower. That passion is no longer there. ... When you hear him speak now you see his eyes move down a bit, his voice fluctuates a tad. It's not the same convicted Marco Rubio that led the charge back in 2013."

Despite the immigration stance, Rodriguez still believed the Florida senator did not alter convictions, but that Rubio changed his "political calculations" to win the Republican nomination.

No Endorsement

As president of the NHCLC, Rodriguez previously hosted fellow Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush last April. He once called Bush a "blessing." Last October, Bush also announced his "Religious Liberty Advisory Committee." In an NHCLC statement on Jan. 7, Rodriguez acknowledged that some NHCLC pastors support fellow Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, but "more favor" Bush and Rubio. The same statement clarified that Rodriguez's involvement in Rubio's board is not a form of endorsement. He said he will endorse a candidate later this summer.

"Religious liberty is the cornerstone of the American experiment. From the beginning, our commitment to the principle that no one should ever be prevented from living according to their religious beliefs or coerced into doing something they don't believe in has been tested," said Marco Rubio for President's Director of Faith Outreach Eric Teetsel, in a statement announcing the advisory board.

"In the last few years we have seen a debate over the place of religion and faithful people in the public square arise yet again. The next president must stand up and defend the religious liberty of all citizens. Marco and our team are honored to have at our disposal the collective wisdom of America's foremost defenders of religious liberty. This diverse group represents men and women of many faiths and perspectives, including academics, pastors, and advocates. We intend to take full advantage of their input and wisdom as Senator Rubio fights to protect American's religious liberty in the 21st Century," Teetsel added.

Also accompanying Campo and Rodriguez in Rubio's "Religious Liberty Advisory Board" are:

Vincent Bacote, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology and Director of Center for Applied Christian Ethics, Wheaton College

Kyle Duncan, former general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead counsel for the Green family in the Hobby Lobby case

Tom Farr, Ph.D., Director, Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and Associate Professor of the Practice of Religion and World Affairs, Georgetown University

Kellie Fiedorek, Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom

Wayne Grudem, Ph.D., Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary

The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary

Dr. Thomas Kidd, Distinguished Professor of History and Associate Director, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University

Dr. Daniel Mark, Villanova University; Commissioner, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Michael McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center, Stanford University Law School

Doug Napier, Senior Counsel and Executive Vice President, Alliance Defending Freedom

Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel; Director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, Yeshiva University

Rick Warren, Founding Pastor of Saddleback Church

Thomas White, Ph.D., President and Professor of Theology, Cedarville University

Got Faith?

On Thursday, Rubio released his latest campaign ad titled "Faith." Rubio uses the 30-second spot to talk about his Christian faith and the role of Jesus Christ in his life.

"The purpose of our life is to cooperate with God's plan. To those who much have been given, much is expected. And we will be asked to account for that. Were your treasures stored up on earth or in heaven? And to me, I try to allow that to influence me in everything that I do," said Rubio.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
El Salvador plans to honor a Spanish judge's request who called for the arrest of more than a dozen former soldiers accused of killing six Jesuit priests in a widely reported atrocity during the Central American country's 1980-1992 civil war.

Salvadoran officials on Jan. 6 announced their intent to cooperate after Spanish High Court Judge Eloy Velasco two days earlier renewed his petition to international police agency Interpol and ordered the defendants' capture over allegations they participated in the 1989 murders of the priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, Reuters reported.

Spain's High Court for years has been investigating the case because five of the six Jesuit priests killed were citizens of the kingdom. It first demanded the arrests of 17 Salvadoran ex-military officers as early as 2011, but El Salvador's Supreme Court of Justice said at the time that the case had already been argued and a 1993 amnesty law protected the soldiers, El Pais reported.

Nevertheless, Salvadoran government spokesman Eugenio Chicas now told Reuters that once legal requirements were met, authorities would go ahead and follow the Spanish request. "The only path for our security forces to take is to proceed with the arrests, that is, there's nothing to do but follow the law," Chicas told reporters in San Salvador.

According to prosecutors, Salvadoran soldiers shot the priests at their home at a university in an effort to silence their criticism of rights abuses committed by the U.S.-backed army during the country's bloody civil war.

"This is a new opportunity for the justice system in this country to put things right," lauded Omar Serrano, a vice rector at the institution where the Jesuits were killed.

All but one of the 17 defendants still reside in El Salvador, El Faro detailed. The sole exception is Inocente Orlando Montano, who is currently serving a prison sentence in the United States, where he has been convicted of immigration fraud and is awaiting extradition to Spain, the local publication added.
The leader of Venezuela's conservative MUD coalition in the legislature, Henry Ramos Allup, ordered the removal of portraits of former President Hugo Chavez from the National Assembly.

Aside from images of Chavez, portraits of the Latin American liberator Simon Bolivar were also removed.

According to the Havana Times, Ramos Allup instructed that the portraits of Chavez be taken to the late leader's hometown of Sabaneta.

He who wants to light candles for Chavez can do that in Sabaneta," Ramos Allup said. Take the images to his daughters and widows. This place is no cemetery.

Telesur reports that Venezuelas socialist coalition has taken serious offence to the removal of portraits of historically important leaders from the National Assembly.

As previously reported, Ramos Allup announced on Jan. 5 that his party would soon take measures to force Socialist President Nicolas Maduro out of office. Speaking at the National Assembly swearing-in ceremony, Ramos Allup said Venezuelans could expect a change in their government within six months.

"Here and now, things will change," he said.

Taking down the pictures of Chavez, who was in power from 1999 to 2013, clearly shows that the right-leaning opposition is interested in trying to change the past as well as the future.

Victor Clark, ruling party legislator for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, denounced the removal of the portraits on Jan. 6.

Even if the parliament believes those paintings should not be in the palace, the Venezuelan people think that they should, they are disrespecting political identity, he said.

According to Clark, when the Venezuelan people saw the removal of the portraits they were moved to protest.

On Wednesday, all members of the right-wing MUD coalition were sworn into the National Assembly, including the three lawmaker who were previously suspended from joining the legislature until an inquiry into electoral fraud could be conducted.

As the BBC reports, the swearing in of the suspended lawmaker defies a supreme court ruling and provides the opposition party with a two-thirds super-majority.
In her latest blog post, actress Elizabeth Gutierrez discussed the criticism she gets for trying to be a sexy mother and revealed she has talked to her kids about spending alone time with their father, actor William Levy.

In a post titled "Maternity & Femininity: The collision of two worlds" for her blog Elizabeth Revealed, the Mexican-American actress discussed the negative ideas she must confront as a mother who wants to dress sexy, as well as the general stereotypes society creates for women.

"I realized that 'sexy' wasn't necessarily a word associated with motherhood," Gutierrez wrote. "Think about it: before we become mothers we enjoy certain rights that later are taken away from us. Any woman can wear certain type of clothes, look attractive and be called sexy. But as soon as a woman who is also a mother dresses sexy, she is shamed for wanting to be feminine, she is judged and accused of wanting attention."

When discussing the shaming of women and their bodies, the 36-year-old actress revealed that she actually gets criticized for choosing to stay in shape and that many believe she only does it for Levy.

"I'm criticised for keeping my body in shape so that 'my man doesn't leave me'. Ridiculous," she added.

Gutierrez isn't shy and has shown off her fit figure on a variety of occasions on Instagram, including several bikini shots, workout videos and outfit photos.

A photo posted by Ely (@gutierrezelizabeth_) on Dec 27, 2015 at 11:45am PST

The "Brujas" star also revealed that she believes it's important for children to understand that their mothers also need time away from them.

For Gutierrez this means talking to her kids, Christopher and Kailey Levy, about spending time alone with Levy.

"I also started explaining to my kids that the same way they needed time to go over to their friends' house, have play dates and enjoy their own activities that mommy wasn't a part of necessarily, that same way mommy & daddy also needed that time for themselves, their grown up time," she explained.

The couple recently spent time together while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, and spent New Year's Eve with Levy and a few friends.
Marco Rubio's varying disposition towards immigration reform throughout his political career has come back to haunt him in the 2016 presidential race. As the son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio was once a champion of comprehensive reform measures that would have provided undocumented residents with a pathway to citizenship and offered undocumented youth an affordable option for higher education.

However, in the likes of fellow GOP candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who use anti-immigrant rhetoric to pander to voters, the Florida senator has adopted a hardline stance on immigration that calls for building a fence on the U.S.-Mexican border and deporting immigrant families.

Back in 2003 and 2004 during his tenure in the Florida House, Rubio co-sponsored legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at community colleges and state universities. Under the bill, Florida students who attended a state high school for three years prior to graduation would be able to pay in-state tuition as long as they pledged to pursue permanent residency as soon as possible.

Rubio, however, was unsuccessful in getting the bill to pass during his time in the state legislature, and it wasn't until 2014 when Gov. Rick Scott signed a measure to allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates.

Rubio's immigrant-friendly past as a member of the 2013 "Gang of Eight" -- a bipartisan group of senators that pushed to pass immigration reform that included a pathway to citizenship -- has also been used as fodder by other GOP candidates who claim that he is not tough on immigration. Some contenders, like Cruz, even accuse Rubio of being a supporter of "amnesty."

"It surprises no one that Rubio has been a consistent supporter of policies that encourage more and more illegal immigration. While Rubio doubles down on amnesty and wants to reward those who have broken the law, Ted Cruz has led the fight to stop it," said Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier to The Daily Beast.

In turn, Rubio has dealt with his reputation on immigration as a political liability, and has since proposed harmful polices that would hurt immigrant communities.

For instance, in November, he slammed President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program and stated that he would not allow undocumented parents whose children are legal U.S. residents to remain in the country if he is president.

"It's unconstitutional," he told CBS This Morning. "It's the wrong way to do this. And quite frankly, we need to begin to enforce immigration laws in this country."

The junior senator also told a crowd of 300 at a campaign rally in Iowa last month that the government should add 20,000 more border patrol officials on the Southern border, build a 700-mile wall, and add more cameras and sensors, reported the Sioux City Journal.
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has tapped Steve King, an infamous anti-immigrant Republican congressman, to serve as a national co-chair for his campaign.

Cruz announced on Wednesday that Iowa Rep. Steve King will take on a lead role in his campaign.

"Steve is an incredible leader and fighter for conservative principles," said Cruz in a statement. "Steve's experience taking on the Washington Cartel, fighting for the American people and protecting our liberties is an asset to this team."

Last year, King endorsed Cruz in November, describing the Texas senator as the "one man that stands out as the courageous conservative whom I believe can restore the soul of America."

Throughout his political career, King has caused a stir by making a number of xenophobic remarks. For instance, in 2013 he compared immigrant students to drug mules and cattle. According to him, for every valedictorian DREAMer who has been brought to this country, "...there's another 100 out there who, they weigh 130 pounds and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert," he said during an interview.

King, who is the representative for Iowa's 4th Congressional District, also described DREAMer Ana Zamora as "deportable" when she was invited as one of first lady Michelle Obama's guests at President Obama's State of the Union speech last year.

#Obama perverts "prosecutorial discretion" by inviting a deportable to sit in place of honor at #SOTU w/1st Lady. I should sit with Alito.  Steve King (@SteveKingIA) January 20, 2015

Last July, King also said that he was just as Hispanic as Julian Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

What does Julian Castro know? Does he know that I'm as Hispanic and Latino as he? pic.twitter.com/CYmNIdyqLW  Steve King (@SteveKingIA) July 17, 2015

Following the announcement about King joining Cruz's campaign, the president of Latino Victory Fund sent Latin Post a statement calling Cruz's decision "the final nail in the coffin with Latinos."

"The road to the White House goes through the Latino community. Latinos are listening and Ted Cruz just proved once again that he is no different than Donald Trump and doesn't deserve our vote," said Cristobal J. Alex.
Opinion / Religion

As we begin the New Year, a lot of prophesies are being proffered by prophets from both local and regional, bringing into question some of these predictions as people are grappling with the proliferation of these false prophets. It is a shame that a local based prophet, Blessing Chiza of the Eagle Life Assembly, is predicting bloodshed for Zimbabwe this year.With the rate at which these churches are mushrooming in the country, so has the rate at which these visionary lies are growing. Most of these church leaders who claim to be 'prophets' are there only to cause havoc and destabilization of peace in the country. Surely, Zimbabweans should not open their ears to attention seekers like Chiza.Truthfully, Chiza is just seeking prominence. It is known that most local Pentecostal churches across the country are turning their churches into business ventures. The same might be happening with this man. Chiza's shenanigans are well-orchestrated ploy to amass followers who are turn will translate into contributors of his money making ventures.However, most people have long ceased to believe in prophets of doom. Many stories from false prophets have been nonsensically short of being absurd, and their predictions never come to pass. One is reminded of two Malawi prophets namely, Austin Libunya and Kenneth Eagle who were telling their congregates during church services in Lilongwe last year that President Mugabe's clock will not tick beyond 2015. Whereas it's a fact that only God has the power to determine one's length of life.People should believe such people at their own peril as the object of such false prophecies is anyone's guess, monetary.Hebrews 1 verse 1-2, reads, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world".From the Bible quotation, Zimbabweans should not be fooled by these prophets of doom. The Bible is clear in saying it was long back when God could speak to the people through prophets. As of now, God speaks to his people through his own Son, Jesus by mean of the Holy Bible.Chiza's prophesy on the notion of politically-inspired bloodshed should not be tolerated. It is also disheartening that Chiza claims that there was increased murder spirit in the country, without proffering any solutions. In fact, the views of Chiza's prediction certainly claim that he is a prophet of doom who is not only offensive but narrow minded as well.At this point in time, Zimbabwe needs people who are pregnant with practical solutions of revitalizing the economy and not wishful thinkers.Tracing the history of Chiza's prophesy, it is unfortunate that nothing that he has predicted has ever materialized.Also, Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, has predicted turmoil for an unnamed Southern African President between February and April this year (2016). Surely, if the prophet failed to foresee that his Synagogue church building was going to collapse, and killing a number of people, how then can we truly believe his prophesy? It has been reported that Zimbabweans had been panicking over that prophesy. Honestly, Zimbabweans should not be frightened by such trivial predicts. After all, Zimbabwe is not the only country in the Southern African region.Meanwhile, a Kariba church leader known as Patrick Mugadza has irrationally passed an offensive message which demeans the Office of the President. Quoted in a local daily press Mugadza is lobbying that President Mugabe should step down. It is unfortunate that Mugadza's wishful thinking is just another pie in the sky. Mugadza could have offered solutions to the problems bedeviling the country not just waffling in the media. Any person who disrespects the Head of State and Government should certainly face arrest.Further to that, Mugadza nonsensically said that the reason why Zimbabweans continued to go to work despite receiving their salaries late was because of a spirit of witchcraft circulating in the country. Honestly, who is not aware that the government is currently financial constrained? Mugadza must stop purveying falsehoods and face reality. The government is making efforts to revive the economy whilst people like Mugadza are delusional and dreaming about witchcrafts.
Intel brought back the Project Tango smartphone at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and the smartphone now has a price.

The company has been readying its Project Tango phone project for months. Now the device, equipped with a 3D camera, is available for pre-order from Intel's website.

The Project Tango smartphone has an Intel RealSense 3D camera that allows users to see 3D images and maps right on the smartphones screen, TechRadar reports.

The smartphone is target ted toward business users and developers, who need to see 3D-rendered images on a small, portable screen. Consumers will likely be able to experience augmented and virtual reality games on the Project Tango as well.

Project Tango was first previewed at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in August. Intel connected the phone to a Nerf gun and showed it shooting virtual targets.

On the back of the Project Tango smartphone there are actually two cameras: the Intel RealSense 3D camera and a traditional 8 megapixel camera. The front-facing camera is 2 megapixels.

The Project Tango smartphone is perfect for interior designers or landscapers who need to map areas out before building. Architects will also find the phone extremely useful for their projects.

The screen on the Project Tango is a nice, large 6-inch Quad HD display that will help users see their 3D images and maps clearly. The resolution of the screen is 2,560x1,440 pixels.

The Project Tango is powered by Google's Android operating system, but it will come with a very different processor than most Android phones. It will utilize the powerful Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor. Atom chips are mostly used in netbook computers.

The unique Project Tango smartphone does not yet have an official ship date, but the cost has been announced at $399. The phone can be pre-ordered through Intel's online store. Customers will only be allowed to pre-order one device.
EU officials made it clear that it will not hesitate to start a legal process against the Polish government for threatening its common values by passing a law on a state-controlled public media.

Guenther Oettinger, the German Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, is the leading EU official urging the EU Commission to start a legal action against Poland. The Commission has expressed concern over the new media law and seeks an explanation from the Polish government, seeing the law as infringing on the EU's principles on media freedom.

Last week, Polish MPs have approved a law giving the government direct power to appoint managers of state-run radio and television stations. It was introduced by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), a ruling conservative nationalist party. According to Euronews, under the new law, the treasury minister has the power to appoint and fire public radio and television station managers without any contest by the National Broadcasting Council. When the law comes into effect, it will also require current media station managers and supervisory board members to be fired from their positions. It only needs to be signed by Polish president, Andrzej Duda, to come into force.

The new law was immediately met with strong criticism from EU officials and media rights organizations such as the Association of European Journalists, the European Broadcasting Union, and Reporters Without Borders. According to critics, the law undermines free speech and is part of PiS plans to gradually gain control over the media. In protest of the new law, the directors of four channels of Poland's public service television, TVP, resigned on Saturday. The BBC reports that Polish news website, Dziennik, reveals them as: Jerzy Kapuscinski of TVP2, Katarzyna Janowska of TVP Kultura, Piotr Radziszewski of TVP1, and Tomasz Sygut of Television Information Agency.

The Polish government reacted by defending the new media law as fair. According to Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, the government initiated this reform because it wants to "cure" the state of its illnesses "so it can recover again."

According to Reuters, Oettinger cites that EU officials can apply the EU "rule of law mechanism," adopted in 2015. This means that the EU Commission has the prerogative to put pressure on any member state to change any policy the EU considers as a "systemic threat" to its fundamental values. It will issue a warning and proposals to changes in the law. If Poland does not respond accordingly, the commission can begin a legal process which could ultimately lead to withdrawing Poland's inherent voting rights in the EU Council, the organization that groups together all the member states' head of state.

In an interview with German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS), on Sunday, Oettinger remarks that there's "a lot to be said for activating the mechanism on the rule of law and putting Warsaw under supervision."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker placed the issue as a top priority to be discussed in the commission's next meeting on January 13.
Sessional teachers have been working in Iran for years. However, a recent law in Iran is set to prohibit the employment of these sessional teachers.

According to Trend News Agency, the Islamic Republic's Guardian Council in a new ruling stated that the employment of sessional teachers is against the law and that their employment would violate Article 73 of the Constitution, the Public Relations office added.

Top News also added in a report that the ruling came as the Parliament two weeks ago referred to the Guardian Council a bill on the employment of sessional teachers with over three years of service in the Education Ministry. The council was required to provide its interpretation of the constitution vis-agrave;-vis this bill.

There are thousands of sessional teachers across Iran and the new ruling defies the hopes of these teachers who have been in the country for a long time after failed efforts at employment.

Iranian teachers have complained of being underpaid compared to other teachers in other countries. Several groups of teachers went on strike last March in reaction to the low budget assigned for the Iranian Education Ministry, according to another report on Trend News Agency.

There were around 600 teachers who gathered in front of the Iranian parliament last March. Aside from that, there were also strikes in various areas including Razavi Khorasan, Luristan, Hormozgan, Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Fars and Qazvin provinces.

The spokesman of the Iranian Teachers Union Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi previously said that the teachers were not happy with the budget and that the union has requested the Interior Ministry to hold a rally in front of the parliament to air their grievances.

Aside from being underpaid, some teachers were on strike in various regions such as Eslamshahr, Robat Karim, Karah, Shiraz, Shahrood, Saqqez, Bane and Marivan to protest against poor living conditions.

The new law on prohibiting the employment of sessional teachers will decrease the number of teachers in the upcoming years unless taken as a regular teacher by a college or university.
Former South Carolina officer Michael Slager, who was charged with murder for shooting dead unarmed black man Walter Scott in April, was released Monday after posting bail.

The Guardian reported that Charleston circuit judge Clifton Newman granted Slager a $500,000 surety bond. The judge also scheduled the trial on October 31, which means Slager will be under house arrest until then. He is prohibited from getting in contact with any of Scott's family members.

According to CNN, Slager was recorded on a cellphone camera shooting dead Scott, who was running after a traffic stop. This has become a national controversy as an increasing number of white officers are inappropriately treating black people. After the incident, Slager was stripped off from his job as an officer and has been in custody ever since his arrest in April.

If convicted, Slager will be facing 30 years to life without parole. He was denied bon in September when the court ruled that he has violent tendencies and is at risk of fleeing. However, Slager's lawyer proved otherwise, requesting that his client should be placed under house arrest. The lawyer also argued that Slager doesn't have any past criminal records.

"If we let him out, he's going to go home to see his wife and children. All I can look at is a pot of flowers," said Scott's father, who often visit his slain son's grave, according to a report by The Independent.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson is still handling the case of Dylann Roof, who is the white suspect allegedly killing nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston. The Supreme Court prevents her from prosecuting any other case before it, which means Slager would have to face 11 more months of jail time.

The city of North Charleston approved in October a $6.5 million worth of civil settlement with the family of Scott.
The U.S. District Court of Dover, Delaware, has formally dismissed the civil lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU against white police officer, Cpl. Thomas Webster IV. However, those involved in the cases declined to reveal the conditions or details of the settlement.

Webster was indicted in May of last year due to an assault incident that occurred in August of 2013. According to NBC Philadelphia, Webster, along with other police officers, responded to a report about a black man armed with a gun.

Upon arriving at the scene, they spotted Lateef Dickerson and arrested him. However, as seen in the footage captured by the dashboard camera of one of the patrol cars, Webster kicked Dickerson in the head as he was about to lay on the ground, causing Dickerson to suffer a broken jaw.

According to Webster, it was not his intention to kick Dickerson. Instead, he was only trying to defend himself because he had been told that he was carrying a gun, Delaware Online reported.

Due to the incident, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Webster on behalf of the assault victim. The organization noted that it filed the case due to the growing number of similar incidents involving the Dover Police Department. The ACLU alleged that some law enforcers use racial profiling and excessive force during their arrests.

But, in December, the police officer was acquitted of his assault charges while the city of Dover paid $15,000 as part of the settlement process, Delaware State News has learned. Then, on Monday, the case against Webster was formally resolved by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrew.

Neither members of the ACLU or Webster's legal camp explained the settlement details in the case's dismissal. It is not clear if the details are being kept secret due to a possible non-disclosure agreement or if the two parties involved in the case are still conducting negotiations.
A total of 14 former military officials were arrested in Guatemala on Wednesday after they were charged with participating in the forced disappearances and killings during the civil war that ravaged the country a couple of decades ago. Many of the charges filed against the ex-officers stem from the human rights violations that occurred during the height of the conflict.

As reported by Vice News, the Guatemalan Civil War began during the 1960s after civilians, who were mainly ethnic Mayan and Ladino groups, formed a massive leftist movement against the government. The administration then responded by carrying our various military campaigns against the rebels.

The widespread conflicted only ended in 1996 after a peace treaty was signed by the two parties. However, according to a report released by a truth commission supported by the United Nations, 80 percent of the total number of deaths, which is about 245,000, during the civil war were caused by military personnel, according to The Guardian.

Through the ongoing investigations regarding the matter, the Guatemalan government was able to identify the military leaders who may have been involved in the fatal operations against civilians and members of the rebel group during the civil war.

According to Attorney General Thelma Aldana, many of the cases linked to the arrested individuals occurred during the height of the nationwide conflict.

"The detainees are alleged to have participated in 88 events related to massacres carried out between 1981 and 1986 in the context of internal armed conflict in Guatemala," she said during a press briefing. "It is one of the biggest cases of forced disappearances in Latin America."

The suspects arrested earlier this week include Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia, a former general and brother of Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, the tyrannical president who ruled the country from 1978 to 1982. Francisco Luis Gordillo, the military colonel who helped stage a coup against Lucas Garcia in 1982 was also arrested. Former general Jose Efrain Rios Montt, the dictator who replaced Lucas Garcia, was also apprehended for his involvement in the killings and other violations.

Aldana noted that one of the major incidents linked to the detainees is the massacre at Plan de Sanchez, Baja Verapaz department in 1982. During this incident, soldiers and paramilitary forces carried out various heinous crimes including murder, torture and sexual abuse against civilians, The Washington Post reported.
YouthQuest Participates in Lights On Afterschool, Halloween-Style As we get into the thick of the school year, I am reminded of the importance of quality education and...

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LOS ANGELESThe internet is replete with tales of women (and a few men) who've gotten into the adult industry, found it not to their liking, then went off and joined with one of the myriad pro-censorship groups like National Center for Sexual Exploitation, Pink Cross Foundation or Family Research Council and lamented, in words and sometimes videos, how their exposure to the sexual freedom of adult content production has ruined their lives, their marriages, their family relations, their relationship with "the Lord," etc., etc., etc..

But who would ever have thought that a well-meaning and once valuable non-profit healthcare organization could ruin itself and destroy its standing in the community thanks in part to its president targeting the adult industry for partisan gainhis original plan was that his organization would become the approved STD testing facility for the industryand when that industry had the temerity to fight back, devoting more and more resources and funds to trying to drive that industry out of Californiaindeed, out of business altogethersimply to salve his bruised ego?

Well, meet Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, whose political and legal machinations have not only earned him the enmity of the adult industry, but also of several members of Los Angeles city and county governmentand may easily have put his organization in jeopardy of losing its tax-exempt status due to overspending AHF's donations on partisan political fights, some of which have absolutely nothing to do with AHF's stated mission.

Whether Weinstein has put AHF in violation of the federal tax code is a question on many people's minds. Under his direction, AHF has spent more than $7 million on political advocacy during the past four yearsat least $2 million more than is allowed for an organization of AHF's size over that four-year period and at least $1 million more than is allowed under the Internal Revenue Code for any non-profit; an amount that also should legally trigger the revocation of AHF's tax-exempt status. In California, Free Speech Coalition has filed a complaint with Attorney General Kamala Harris, asking that AHF's violations be investigated and, if found to be true, prosecuted. (There is currently no information as to whether such an investigation has begun, or if it has, how far the investigation has progressed.)

One ongoing problem has been Weinstein's/AHF's campaign against HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and particularly the HIV-preventative drug Truvada, which Weinstein once defamed as a "party drug." But when that didn't fly with mainstream media, Weinstein tempered his language to claim, in a June 19, 2015 press release and ad campaign, that "Mass PrEP administration is a dangerous experiment that is not supported by medical science and is currently resisted by doctors and patients alike."

"AIDS Healthcare Foundation is not against PrEP," Weinstein then claimed. "Truvada can absolutely be the right decision for specific patients who, in consultation with their doctors, decide this is the best choice. However, the entire body of scientific data demonstrates that Truvada will not be successful as a mass public health intervention. Yet, this is exactly what PreP advocates, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend."

Weinstein also claimed that Truvada was "linked to a significant risk of kidney disease and damage," though researchers had already concluded that the drug posed little danger for those already in good health.

Weinstein's answer to PrEP was, of course, more condom use, and that continues to be his and AHF's position, even after the Centers for Disease Control, in May of 2014, endorsed daily PrEP use for "at-risk groups"a position AHF doubled down on in mid-December, taking out full-page ads in national media with the headline, "PrEP: The Revolution That Didn't Happen."

In the ad, AHF claims that, "In July 2012, the FDA approved Truvada for the prevention of HIV (PrEP). It was hailed by CDC and many activists as a prevention revolution. CDC recommended that 500,000 gay men take the drug which it recently raised to 1.2 million. Gilead Sciences, the maker of Truvada, has spent millions funding community groups to promote the drug and more money enticing doctors to prescribe it. Thousands of articles have been published about PrEP. Two and a half years later according to CDC only 21,000 people are on the drug in the United States. Any objective observer has to conclude that most patients don't want to take Truvada and doctors are not recommending it."

Actually, "any objective observer" doesn't have to conclude anything of the sort. After all, HIV is a subject many are still afraid to talk about, so it's not at all clear that the majority of gays, intravenous drug users and other at-risk groups in the U.S. are even aware of Truvada, much less its efficacy in preventing HIV infection. Moreover, Gilead Pharmaceuticals, Truvada's maker, has done very little advertising of the drug's preventive capabilities. Beyond that, at a cost of more than $1,300 per month, the drug isn't cheap, though discounts are available to some groups like Medicaid patients.

"The failure of PrEP to catch on isn't the biggest problem," the ad continues. "The big problem is that CDC has abandoned promoting other prevention methods such as condoms. STD rates which indicate high levels of unprotected sex are soaring across the board and yet budgets for the diagnosis and treatment of STDs are being cut. Funding for HIV testing, outreach and linkage to care are flat or declining."

And there we see AHF's true interest: "Funding for HIV testing," AHF's stock in trade, as well as HIV treatment, is "flat or declining"and if PrEP use really took off, who knows how that would affect AHF'sand its employees'bottom line? After all, back in April, AHF was sued by three of its former branch managers, who charged that AHF "conduct[ed] an organization-wide criminal effort across at least twelve states to enhance funding from federal health care programs in violation of the anti-kickback statute (42 U.S.C.  1320a-7b(b)) by paying unlawful financial inducements to employees and patients in order to generate referrals to AHFs various service centers, including clinical services, insurance services, pharmacy services and testing services. The resulting illegal referrals produced thousands of 'false and fraudulent' claims under the Federal Civil False Claims Act... and Florida False Claims Act... and caused at least tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent payments by federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, as well as HIV/AIDS assistance programs funded by HRSA and CDC."

In other words, the suit says, AHF paid bonuses to employees who got people into their clinics for testing, and commissions to those who snagged HIV-positive patients for treatment at AHF facilities. It's no wonder that Los Angeles County has been suing AHF for having overbilled the county $5.2 million for patient treatment!

But at least AHF's machinations against the adult industry and PrEP are arguably healthcare-related. What's not so clear is what interest Weinstein and his group have in restricting the construction of high-rise developments in Los Angeles, in what it describes as "a portion of an element or any geographic area of the City that does not have a specific social, economic or physical identity."

That phrase comes from a ballot initiative petition created by Weinstein and at least three members of his staffGed Kenslea, Peter Reis and Marijane Jacksontitled "The Neighborhood Integrity Initiative," which the AHFers hope to put on the November, 2016 Los Angeles presidential ballot.

According to a recent AHF press release, "The measure would void existing zoning laws and regulations inconsistent with guidelines for building in Los Angeles. It also would impose a two-year moratorium on the construction of projects that seek amendments to the citys building guidelines, with some exceptions, and roll back City Halls effort to reduce the number of parking spaces required on some projects."

But, of course, the real question is why the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is involving itselfthat is, spending donated money that could otherwise be used to treat HIV-positive individualsin creating an initiative that clearly has nothing to do with HIV/AIDS or healthcare?

According to its press release, "AHF is helping lead the initiative because it is a landowner in Los Angeles and concerned about overdevelopment," but that hardly answers the question. However, perhaps that answer can be found in an article published by the Larchmont Chronicle website, titled "Petition for ballot initiative pits two visions of future Los Angeles skyline," which includes a photo of an existing building with two prosepctive high-rises added in, and captioned, "The proposed 'Palladium Residences' mixed-use project, approved by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission in December, is depicted at right. At left is Kilroy Realty Corporation's existing 'Sunset Media Center' tower at 6255 Sunset Blvd., home to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation headquarters offices." [Emphasis added]

Yeah, that's right: Michael Weinstein doesn't want his view of the skyline obscured by another tall building or two outside his officeand apparently, when signature-gathering for the petition begins early next year, those workers will be paid out of AHF's multi-million-dollar coffers.

We can't help but wonder what Kamala Harris would think about such overtly political expenditures on the part of AIDS Healthcare and its president?
Hyundai highlights Ioniq powertrains, lightweight construction

Jan 7, 2016, 11:11am ET

The hybrid drivetrain will deliver 146 horsepower and 234 lb-ft of torque.

Hyundai has released a few clear pictures of the Ioniq, along with more powertrain details.

The company claims the hatchback will be the world's first car offered either as an EV, mild hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Its platform has been developed specifically for such powertrains, with a focus on light weight and structural rigidity.

The hood, hatch, suspension components and front/rear transverse beams are built from aluminum, while 53 percent of the structure is formed from high-strength steel. The battery is positioned under the floor, further contributing to a low center of gravity.

The company promises the Ioniq will deliver superior handling and ride dynamics compared to segment rivals.

Hybrid variants will be powered by a new Atkinson-cycle 1.6-liter gasoline engine with a 40-percent thermal efficiency, paired with an electric motor with 95 percent efficiency. Together, the system delivers 146 horsepower and 234 lb-ft of torque. Its dual-clutch six-speed transmission has also been optimized for hybrids, achieving a power efficiency of nearly 96 percent.

Following its Korean debut, the Ioniq will be headed to Geneva and the New York auto show.
Spied: 2017 Toyota Corolla gets Mirai-inspired face

Jan 7, 2016, 4:35pm ET

The Toyota Corolla is being treated to some cosmetic surgery.

Toyota's popular Corolla compact will undergo a nip and tuck for the new model year. A fresh round of spy shots indicate the Corolla's mid-cycle update with include a Mirai-inspired front end.

The Corolla's 2017 refresh will be the compact's first significant update since it was totally overhauled for the 2014 model year. Although still camouflaged, it's clear that the Corolla will receive a new nose treatment inspired by Toyota's Mirai fuel-cell. That means a new lower bumper and new vertical air inlets at the front corners.

The tweaks at the rear will be more subtle, with updates likely to be limited to reshaped taillights. Underhood will be much of the same story, with no powertrain updates planned.

The interior of the 2017 Corolla should see a light sprucing with updates to Toyota's infotainment system. It's possible a few more colors and trim materials could join the mix.

The 2017 Corolla should debut at one of the upcoming auto shows, possibly as early as next week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Look for the new Corolla to arrive in showrooms by mid-year.
Jan 7, 2016, 8:12am ET

VW to buy back as many as 115,000 U.S. cars?

VW does not expect a fix to work for these cars, report says.

Volkswagen may have no choice but to buy back as many as 115,000 vehicles sold in the United States due to emissions issues that cannot be resolved by other means.

According to Reuters, a report from German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung Wednesday revealed that Volkswagen may be forced to offer buy-backs or significant new-vehicle discounts to the owners of roughly 20% of the affected vehicles sold in the United States.

The newspaper claims sources within the company expressed concern over its ability to retrofit this segment of the affected diesel models in a cost-effective and timely manner. If that turns out to be the case, it could prompt the U.S. government to order a buy-back.

In a previous interview with Reuters, Volkswagen brand chairman Dr. Herbert Diess told the news service that retrofitting early 2.0-liter engines with the necessary equipment to comply with emissions regulations would be more difficult than bringing newer examples up to code. This comes as no surprise, as earlier two-liter TDI engines are not equipped with urea injection, which can go a long way toward making diesel engines compliant.

However, it's unclear whether the 115,000 vehicles called out by the new report are equipped with that engine. Roughly 80% of the 2.0-liter engines under investigation in the United States are of the older two-liter model. In order for only a subset of those older engines to be more costly, there would have to be significant differentiators between different model years before the major overhaul that added urea injection and other features to the EA188 line of diesel engines.

It's possible then that the engines in question are in fact not four-cylinders at all, but the three-liter TDI V6 offered in Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche SUVs. These engines have been offered with urea injection for far longer than the smaller four-cylinder TDIs found in VW Group sedans, which would make their culpability here far more surprising.
LOS ANGELESFun Factory USA, the U.S. branch of acclaimed German adult toy manufacturer Fun Factory, is seeking experienced candidates for a Junior Sales Manager position.

Fluency in Spanish and experience in the sex/adult toy industry are definite pluses; a sense of humor, a sex-positive attitude, and the desire to be exposed to many, many puns every day are indispensible.

Fun Factory has built a reputation as a brand that takes our customers pleasure seriously without taking ourselves too seriously, commented Frederic Walme, CEO. Were looking for someone who can educate consumers about Fun Factory products in a way thats approachable and, yes, fun.

The Junior Sales Manager will work out of Fun Factory USAs office in Burbank, Calif., and travel frequently to meet with buyers, train retail store staff, and attend trade shows. Core duties include supporting business to business sales, managing new and existing accounts, determining sales objectives, implementing sales plans, and staying on top of trends in adult toys and sex education, effectively becoming an expert in sex.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, communicate clearly and persuasively both in writing and in person, and be comfortable conducting business and discussing sexuality in both English and Spanish. They will also maintain a calm and professional demeanor while taking a suitcase full of sex toys through airport security.

Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected] by Jan. 21. Fun Factory USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer: diversity is key to business and the companys hiring practice.

For more information, visit FunFactory.com.
LOS ANGELES, CA  Cindy Starfall is set to make a special, one night only, featured dancer engagement at the Deja Vu Showgirls in Las Vegas. January 21, the brunette will join Marica Hase and London Keyes for some sexy fun on stage. Afterward, the AVN Award nominated performer will be on hand to meet attendees of the show. Adventurous fans will also have the opportunity to get up close to her by partaking in one of her lap dances.



On January 22, Starfall will be hosting a party at the Stratosphere Hotels Level 107 Lounge. She will also be meeting fans and posing for pictures.

Its going to be two unforgettable nights, said Starfall. Im going to Las Vegas for my favorite things; to meet fans and party. Whether its at Deja Vu or Level 107, everyone is a winner.



Deja Vu Showgirls Las Vegas is located at 3247 Sammy Davis Jr Dr in Las Vegas. More information about the club can be found on the venues official website DejaVuVegas.com.



Level 107 Lounge is located on the 107th Floor of the Stratosphere Hotel, which can be found at 2000 S Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas. Additional information on the lounge is available via the hotels web page.
LOS ANGELESElevated X will celebrate its 10th anniversary of providing CMS service for the adult industry with a special offer for clients.

All Elevated X customers, new or existing, who place a new order now through Feb. 14, will receive a full month free on the new items ordered as part of this 10-year anniversary celebration.

It's been an incredible 10 years" said Elevated X co-founder and CEO AJ Hall. "It's been an uphill battle at times and we've ridden the waves along with our customers through the economic downturn, the advent of free tube sites, piracy and the maturity of the adult entertainment industry. Over the last ten years we have continued to reach higher with every step forward and the journey has allowed me the privilege of working closely with the best people in this business at every milestone along the way.

The first edition of Elevated X was ahead of its time and provided an unprecedented level of hands-on support that intrigued our clientele. Over the course of many subsequent versions from that first edition through to todays award winning software, Elevated X has continued to innovate with an eye toward whats new and whats next that has kept the product as fresh and intriguing to new clients today as it was on day one a decade ago.

The main thing that has changed over the years is that we now have a rock-solid history in the industry, with a long list of satisfied clients who continue to choose our platform each day. AJ said. That really is the number one key to our success. We have always viewed our success as something fragile, that needs to be cared for and nurtured 365 days each year. We are always working to give customers even more reasons to choose Elevated X today, tomorrow and 10 years from nowwhether they have loyally been with us from the start or just migrated to our platform last week.

Longevity in a business best known for the mantra adapt or die is not something the leaders of Elevated X take lightly, and while celebrating the 10-year anniversary, they will the spotlight with clients who have helped make the companys success a possibility.

The the full details can be found on the Elevated X website, along with information about the many other ways that Elevated X continues to earn customer loyalty, in pursuit of the next 10 full years of industry leading CMS performance.

For more information, visit ElevatedX.com.
In Depth

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Can Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis get along?

The likely next head of the Italian government claims to be Catholic and aligns with the Church's defense of 'traditional moral values.' Yet there are numerous reasons for disagreement with the Holy See.
Leominster.TV highlights: October 17-23, 2022

What's on Channels 8/9/99 on Comcast (32/33/34 on Verizon) this week.
BURBANK, Calif.Joydivisions North American division will exhibit at the semi-annual ANME Founders Show, January 11-12.

The worlds premier adult novelty B2B show, the ANME Founders Show represents the latest in the adult novelty and toy industries, featuring adult toys, novelties, lubricants, lingerie, and games.

Joydivision USAs Executive Vice President Bianca Kuennecke, and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Marcus West will be on hand, with the rest of the Joydivision team, to meet with North American retail partners. In addition to presenting the Joydivision catalog of products, the Joydivision team will launch multiple new retail planograms and marketing programs to assist their distributor and retail partners efforts.

Joydivision is committed to cutting-edge marketing tools, which grow our businesses collectively, said West. We are continuously working to build and develop tools, to help our partners expand our brand presence, and assist with consumer sell-through. We look forward to meeting with all of our retailers, as well as introducing our product line to new partners.

Joydivision will be located at Booth L13 and L14 at the 2016 ANME Founders Show. For those interested in booking an appointment with the Joydivision team, email [email protected]
Liberal Democrat peer Derek Ezra died on 22 December 2015 at the age of 96. Celia Thomas remembers him.

Liberal Peers were absolutely delighted when Derek Ezra took the Liberal whip on becoming a Peer in 1983. He was one of the best known men in public life at the time, having been a well-respected Chairman of the Coal Board from 1972 to 1982. He had been a Liberal since university days, he told us, where he joined the Cambridge University Liberal Club in 1936. There he was a friend of Richard Wainwright, who was later to become the Liberal MP for Colne Valley.

A few years later, when war broke out, Derek became a gunner, rising eventually to the rank of Lt. Colonel; he later joined British Intelligence, where he was secretary of the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee. After the war, he spent four years in Luxembourg as a member of the UK delegation to the European Coal and Steel Community where he worked with Jean Monnet, largely regarded as the founding father of the European Community. From that time on, Derek was a passionate, but not uncritical, supporter of the European Union.

Derek joined the Coal Board in the marketing department in 1947, rising through the organisation to become its Chairman in 1972. His working relationship with the powerful National Union of Mineworkers and their leader, Joe Gormley was one based on pragmatism, and a mutual respect, much to the fury of the Tory press. Quiet downsizing of the industry was carried out all the time from 1947 when the workforce was 700,000 to 230,000 when Derek retired, although it was not fast enough for Mrs. Thatcher and her Government. But even she could not force the pace when the country faced an all-out strike in the early eighties with not enough coal stocks to last the winter, and she had to climb down. Things were very different after Derek left, when his predecessor was the combative Scots-born American Ian MacGregor and the Union was led by Arthur Scargill. Strikes and the three-day week followed, with some Tories blaming Derek for not addressing the problem of productivity and the closure of pits sooner.

Dereks politics had to be kept strictly under wraps while he held public office, but he took to speaking from the Liberal front bench from 1983 onwards with great gusto, not just on energy, but on manufacturing and trade, industry as a whole, and Europe. He would always sum up what his message was at the beginning of his speech, expand on about three different points, and then weave them together for his conclusion. So his speeches were the easiest to report  which was my job for the Liberal News for many years.

Shortly after he was introduced, he became a member of the Select Committee on Overseas Trade which reported in 1986. In the debate on the Report, he drew particular attention to the lack of competitiveness, skills and training, investment, and quality of goods in Britain  matters he updated when he returned to the same theme fourteen years later  this time concentrating on the lag in productivity, the lack of enough research and development, innovation and spin-offs from universities. During his time in the Lords, he was heavily involved in many organisations, and became chairmen of several energy companies. He was especially interested in the development of combined heat and power, and of course in clean coal technology. Latterly, when well into his nineties, we all looked forward to his occasional visits to the House to ask an oral question

* Celia Thomas is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.
The farce surrounding Jeremy Corbyns reshuffle continues. Its not just that it took him 34 hours to shift 3 ministers, or that there have been as many resignations in protest as there were front bench displacements, or that even after four days (after two weeks of press briefings) its still not over, or that the people who were sacked have led the story. Truly, it is the reshuffle that ate itself.

A few of us were joking on Twitter this morning about when we were going to get offered jobs. There are still several hundred thousand Labour members to get through, of course.

The whole thing has created as many problems as its solved. Corbyns team look like they couldnt run a bath let alone a country. Hilary Benns resignation at a time of his choosing, on principle, seems like a headline waiting to happen. Even Armando Iannucci probably couldnt make it up.

Amongst those Corbyn has persuaded to take a role is Cardiff Central Labour MP Jo Stevens, who becomes a Shadow Justice Minister.

Hang on a wee minute here. Is this the same Jo Stevens who accused her predecessor Jenny Willott of neglecting her constituency by being an Assistant Government whip? Last year when Jenny stepped down from that role, Stevens said:

Voters in Cardiff Central will see this resignation for what it really is  a shameful admission that Jenny Willott has neglected her constituency.

She had a further dig in a profile during the election campaign, saying she would be happy as a backbencher:

Ms Stevens added that, if elected, shed be happy as a backbench MP. Im not a professional politician, Im not doing this for a career. Ive had a career already, a very successful career. Im doing this because I think Cardiff Central deserves better representation, she said.

You can certainly see why some might think her acceptance of a prominent role to be hypocritical.

Welsh Lib Dem AM Eluned Parrott called on Jo Stevens to apologise to Jenny:

Jenny Willott achieved so much as a Minister, fighting for equality in the workplace and leaving a lasting legacy for women and their families across the country. Despite those achievements, all Jo Stevens could say was that the people of Cardiff Central were neglected. By her logic, whatever Jo Stevens may achieve in her new role, she will be wracked with guilt for neglecting her constituents as a result. It seems Jo Stevens has her own shameful admission to make: that she is willing to say whatever it takes to get elected. Accepting a frontbench role after her remarks is incredibly hypocritical, and I hope at the very least shell apologise to Jenny for what she said.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
LOS ANGELESPipedream's best-selling Fetish Fantasy Series Furry Cuffs will be featured on Law & Order: SVUs Hot for Teacher episode airing on NBC on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

We are excited to see such consistent mainstream interest in Pipedreams products, said Chairman and CEO Nick Orlandino. We want to thank Law & Order: SVU and their production team for continually showcasing Pipedream products in their long-running series. 

The faux-fur restraints are, once again, caught in the act with a couple mid-play, where the "student" is handcuffed to the bed.

A preview of tonights episode can be streamed at nbc.com.
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LOS ANGELESThe outspoken, sex-positive, multi-talented adult performer and writer Ryan Keely will be guest host for Ash Hollywoods VividRadio show Tap that Ash for three Mondays in January beginning this Monday, January 11, and continuing on January 18 and 25, from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. PT, while Ash takes a break. VividRadio is one of the worlds most listened to adult radio networks.

Ryan is a former Penthouse Pet and Pet of the Year runner-up and she is currently the host of Playboy TVs Jukeboxx Live show.

Ive always been into sex and I will love talking about nothing else on Vivid Radio, said Ryan. When I was young, I read Our Bodies, Ourselves front ways and back a million times. Ive also been a Dan Savage reader for years. They taught me a lot about sex and about being loving, open and nice to people and trying new things.

Her first job was working at a sex shop in San Diego. She felt that being in sales was more like being a consultant to customers on how they could enhance their sex lives and she found that she was very good at it. I love learning about sex and I love talking to people about sex. The work is salacious enough to keep me fascinated and varied enough that my mind is always boggled, Ryan explained.

Ryans enthusiasm for her subject matter is contagious, said the networks general manager Farrell Hirsch. She is definitely one of sexualitys great explorers and we know our listeners are ready to journey with her.

Vivid Radio is headquartered in Los Angeles and heard around the world. The network celebrated its second anniversary in November and recently announced that it has expanded its broadcast day by one hour daily and now offers 45 hours a week of original programming from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT. All of the shows are hosted by legendary and current top adult performers. Listeners can tune in to Vivid Radio online at VividRadio and on the SiriusXM app channel 791.

For more information, email [email protected].
CHATSWORTH, Calif.Mancini Productions has capped off awards season with another six nominations, and this time its for the Transgender Exotica Awards (TEA).

Sammy Mancini scored nominations for Best DVD Director and Best Scene Producer. There were also two nominations for Best DVD Release for She-Male Strokers 77 and Black Tranny Whackers 29. And, Mancini Productions also nabbed two noms for Best Scene for Holly Parker in She-Male Strokers 76 and Stefani Special for She-Male Strokers 76.

And this year, Mancini Productions will again be sponsoring their own category for She-Male Strokers Model of the Year. The winner will be announced at the awards show and will receive $500 and two photo shoots with the infamous website. The 2015 winner was Kelly Klaymour.

Wed like to thank Steven and his team for the nominations, said director Sammy Mancini. Its amazing how much the awards show has grown over the years, and were excited to be not only a nominee, but also a sponsor again this year.

The Transgender Exotica Awards show is taking place on Sunday, March 6, at the Avalon in Hollywood, California. And the TEA after party is Monday, March 7, at Bardot in Hollywood. For tickets and more information on the show, click here.

All Mancini Productions DVDs, VOD and more are available through adult e-tailers, including Adult Empire here. They can be followed on Twitter here.

Exquisite Multimedia exclusively distributes Mancini Productions. For foreign and domestic DVD sales, licensing and broadcast, contact David Peskin at [email protected] or 866-629-4273.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

As highly social animals  like human beings  elephants rely on their bonds to navigate everyday life. Group living helps elephants with the difficult decisions that they make on a regular basis  what to eat, where to go when the water dries up, how to parent.

And as with people, some social bonds are more important than others. Old age among the elephant matriarchs that lead family groups has been linked to more appropriate responses to predator noises, better recognition of the calls of elephants from other groups, and higher calf survival during droughts. These honed skills and the benefits they provide to younger family members may be critically important for animals that traverse vast and dynamic landscapes across African ecosystems.

Unfortunately, older elephants have also been the primary targets of poachers because of their larger tusks. Loss of these socially critical elephants may have long-lasting implications for surviving elephants. With ivory poaching reaching unsustainable levels over the last decade, my colleagues and I decided to investigate how the unnatural deaths of these cornerstone matriarchs affect the remaining elephants in their groups. How resilient are elephant social structures when important members are killed?

Sixteen years of elephant social interactions

To find out, we analyzed observations of free-ranging elephants in the Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves in northern Kenya between 1998 and 2014. That stretch included periods of low poaching and the more recent period of high poaching, intensifying in 2009. The high-poaching period was exacerbated by a severe drought that killed many old and very young elephants.

Elephants are identifiable from unique natural markings, such as ear tears and broken tusks. (Image credit: Shifra Goldenberg, CC BY-ND)

Each observation consisted of a list of elephants that we found in a group together while conducting transects across the reserves. Over the 18 years that Save the Elephants has maintained this field project, weve compiled an identification guide to individual elephants using unique physical attributes  an ear tear in the shape of a diamond, a broken tusk, a scar, a consistent fondness for the feel of the truck hood against ones trunk. Elephants in these reserves have been exposed to tourist and research vehicles for decades, making it easy to approach and observe without disturbing them.

Typically, we drive along the Ewaso Ngiro River, a perennial water source that elephants and other wildlife are tied to in this semiarid savannah ecosystem. Elephants follow a predictable movement pattern in our study area, heading toward the river as the sun gets stronger and away from the river as the day cools. River transects are a great way to bump into elephants in the middle of the day, where families, bull groups, and lone males can be found drinking, feeding and resting.

Elephant groups vary in size dramatically between seasons, from families of 10 or fewer common in the dry season to groupings approaching 300 elephants in the wet season. Large groupings can be especially illuminating, as old friends reunite after extended separations and their calves intermingle. By recording which elephants are found in groups together and how frequently, we can calculate the strengths of relationships.

Elephant calves mudbathe together during the wet season. (Image credit: Shifra Goldenberg, CC BY-ND)

What we know about elephant society

Female elephant social relationships give rise to networks within networks. Take my professional network as an analogy: the members of the laboratory in which I am training comprise those scientists I interact with most. This research group is one of several that make up our university department. Interdisciplinary programs within the university connect multiple departments, and my larger professional network may consist of those scientists to whom I may be one step removed through university affiliates (for instance, by LinkedIn contacts).

These nested groupings are clearly defined tiers that characterize my professional world, and each tier serves a function. The social interactions of very few species give rise to such emergent complexity, and elephant interactions are among those that do.

Before poaching had intensified in our study population, researchers identified distinguishable nested groupings among female elephants. Family groups (like our laboratory) nested within bond groups (like our department) that in turn are nested within clan groups (like our university).

Females and their calves spend nearly all of their time with their core family groups traveling, resting and feeding. Bond group reunions occur less frequently, and clan groups even less frequently. Bond and clan groups come together more often during the wet season, when resources are abundant (easing limitations on group size) and elephants are healthy. These large groupings when life is good may facilitate information exchange and mating.

Old matriarchs are the leaders of their families, deciding when, where and with whom to group. Their choices are responsible for the emergence of these tiers of social contact. So what happens when they are killed?

Two young females from different elephant families interact while an older relative watches nearby. (Image credit: Shifra Goldenberg, CC BY-ND)

Populations changed, but groups held steady

Over the 16 years of our study, the Samburu population became significantly younger. Only 30% of the elephants in the recent period were present from the beginning of the study. Yet despite these changes, family and bond groups were as clearly distinguishable after poaching as they were before the disruption.

Even more surprising was how young females recreated these social tiers. We compared the records of mothers relationships with one another before the poaching to their daughters relationships after the poaching. It turned out daughters largely maintained the same relationships across families, even if their mothers were dead.

In some disrupted groups, females reached into their bond or clan groups from years earlier to reconstruct new groups. Sometimes this resulted in family groups that comprised nonrelatives.

From previous genetic work in the population, we know that elephants sometimes create family where they have none. We watched this process anew over the last few years as poaching intensified and females reached into their mothers extended networks. For example, the once-dominant Planets bond group  which previously had several matriarchs over 50 years old  now comprises two young mothers named Europa and Haumea and some surviving calves (Europa is the oldest mother at 23). Their new bond group includes the Flowers, elephants that were only clan group affiliates in the prepoaching years.

This work is showing us that elephant bond and clan groups may act as important buffers from social collapse, providing surviving females with a framework from which to build their own networks. The legacy of elephant mothers lives on in their daughters social choices.

Resilience, but not security

Perhaps its not so surprising that elephants have ways to cope with dramatic changes to their social landscapes. Social bonds are vitally important to elephant survival. And even before poaching reached unsustainable proportions, elephants had a history of perturbation in their societies due to hunting and drought. But this resilience is certainly impressive.

Its likely not all good news, though. Our research could not include those females we couldnt study, some of whom may have died themselves as a result of poaching in their families. Further, there may be downstream implications of losing grandmothers and mothers that we dont yet know, such as higher calf mortality.

But the larger social structure of the population has remained relatively intact, indicating that there is overall social resilience in the population. Combined with recent findings that the price of ivory in China is dropping for the first time in years, our work provides some hope that elephant societies can recover if we give them space to do so.

Shifra Goldenberg, PhD Candidate in Ecology in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science.
For the first time, astronomers have seen dim flickers of visible light from near a black hole, researchers with an international science team said. In fact, the light could be visible to anyone with a moderate-size telescope.

These dramatically variable fluctuations of light are yielding insights onto the complex ways in which matter can swirl into black holes, scientists added. The researchers also released a video of the black hole's light seen by a telescope. In a statement, they added that such light from an active black hole could be spotted by an observer with a 20-cm telescope.

This image still from a video by scientists studying the black hole V404 Cygni located about 7,800 light-years from Earth shows visible light that could be viewable by stargazers with a medium-size telescope. (Image credit: Michael Richmond/Rochester Institute Of Technology)

Anything falling into black holes cannot escape, not even light, earning black holes their name. However, as disks of gas and dust fall or accrete onto black holes  say, as black holes rip apart nearby stars  friction within these accretion disks can superheat them to 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (10 million degrees Celsius) or more, making them glow extraordinarily brightly. [The Strangest Black Holes in the Universe]

Scientists discovered accreting black holes in the Milky Way more than 40 years ago. Previous research suggested that the accretion disks of black holes can have dramatic effects on galaxies. For instance, streams of plasma known as relativistic jets that spew out from accreting black holes at near the speed of light can travel across an entire galaxy, potentially shaping its evolution. However, much remains unknown about how accretion works, since matter can behave in very complex ways as it spirals into black holes, said study lead author Mariko Kimura, an astronomer at Kyoto University in Japan, and her colleagues.

To learn more about the mysterious process of accretion, researchers in the new study analyzed V404 Cygni, a binary system composed of a black hole about nine times the mass of the sun and a companion star slightly less massive than the sun. Located about 7,800 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, the swan, V404 Cygni possesses one of the black holes closest to Earth.

After 26 years during which the system was dormant, astronomers detected an outburst of X-rays from V404 Cygni in 2015 that lasted for about two weeks. This activity from the accretion disk of V404 Cygni's black hole briefly made it one of the brightest sources of X-rays seen in the universe.

Following this outburst, the researchers detected flickering visible light from V404 Cygni, whose fluctuations varied over timescales of 100 seconds to 150 minutes. Normally, astronomers monitor black holes by looking for X-rays or gamma-rays.

"We find that activity in the vicinity of a black hole can be observed in optical light at low luminosity for the first time," Kimura told Space.com. "These findings suggest that we can study physical phenomena that occur in the vicinity of the black hole using moderate optical telescopes without high-spec X-ray or gamma-ray telescopes."

A stargazer with a moderately sized telescope with a 20-cm aperture could potentially see visible light from near the black hole V404 Cygni, located about 7,800 light-years from Earth. (Image credit: Eiri Ono/Kyoto University)

Similar variable flickering was seen in the X-ray emissions from another black hole system, GRS 1915+105, located about 35,900 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquila, the eagle. GRS 1915+105 experiences high levels of accretion. As such, researchers previously suggested the system's variable flickering was due to instabilities that can occur in accretion disks when they get very massive.

However, the accretion rates at V404 Cygni are at least 10 times lower than those seen at other black hole systems that have similar oscillations. This suggests that high accretion rates are not the main factor behind this variable flickering, the researchers said.

Instead, the scientists noted that in both V404 Cygni and GRS 1915+105, the black holes and their companion stars are relatively far apart, which permits a large accretion disk to form. In such large disks, matter from the outer disk might not flow in a steady manner to the inner disk near the black hole, the researchers said. As such, the researchers suggest that accretion onto these black holes can become unstable and fluctuate wildly. This sporadic activity, they said, could then explain the oscillating patterns of light from these black holes.

The scientists said they hope that worldwide coordination will permit future research to better understand the nature of these extreme events.

"Thanks to international cooperation, we could get extensive optical observational data in our research with 35 telescopes at 26 locations," Kimura said. "We would like more people to join in optical observations of black-hole binaries."

Kimura and her colleagues detailed their findings in the Jan. 7 issue of the journal Nature (opens in new tab).

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
LAS VEGAS  Forget high-speed cameras and complicated smartphone apps: The latest tech is all about childlike simplicity. And that's for a good reason. Many of the products that are making their mark at CES 2016 aren't for tech-savvy adults; they're for kids.

While high-tech gadgetry still has a place in the consumer technology world, some of the coolest products here at the annual consumer electronics show are designed for the elementary school set. Adorable robots with sweet bulging eyes and flickering lights welcome you around every corner. Colorful tablets with crayonlike styluses sit right next to Samsung's latest mobile devices.

All of these tech toys are meant to promote learning and, more specifically, an interest in the STEM subjects  science, technology, engineering and math  according to the companies that manufacture them. Even well-known brands like Lego and Fisher-Price have come up with STEM-inspired electronics for grade-school students. Here are some of the coolest kid-friendly technologies we've seen so far at CES. [Check out CES 2016 coverage on our sister site, Tom's Guide]

Lego's "Mini Milo"

Lego's "Mini Milo" bot. (Image credit: Lego)

Lego Education, a division of the Danish toy company, unveiled a boxy little robot at CES that kids build and program themselves. Equipped with a tiny motor and a motion-sensing detector, Lego's "Mini Milo" bot is controlled wirelessly with a smartphone or tablet. Kids can use the bot to complete a variety of science-related projects, such as figuring out how to pull a virtual rock out of the robot's path (hooray for physics!). The robot, which is designed for classroom use, can be purchased from the Lego Education store (opens in new tab). The basic model (just one bot and the software needed to control it) sells for about $160.

Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-Pillar

Code-a-pillar robot by Fisher Price. (Image credit: Fisher Price)

Building a robot is a tall order for little kids, but fear not: Fisher-Price has a new tech toy that even the youngest budding programmer can construct. The company's flashy Code-a-Pillar robot is composed of multiple electronic segments that snap together to form a mobile robot. Each segment is programmed to perform a different action  one tells the toy to turn to the right, for example, while another tells it to light up or sing a song. Kids can scramble the segments however they want to make the bot do different things. Fisher-Price's adorable new bot will be available in June and is expected to retail for $50.

Boogie Board e-writers

Scribble N' Play e-writer from Boogie Board. (Image credit: Boogie Board)

Remember that black Crayola scratch paper you loved as a kid? The kind you drew on with a wooden stick to reveal a rainbow of colors just beneath the surface? This next product is kind of like that, only way more high-tech. The new Jot 4.5 and Scribble N' Play e-writers from Boogie Board have liquid crystal display (LCD) screens that kids draw on with electronic pens. The screen on the Scribble N' Play is multicolored, and when you draw on it with the electronic pen (which looks like a plastic crayon), the effect is wonderfully colorful. The Jot 4.5 has a translucent screen, which makes it the perfect surface to practice tracing numbers and letters (a set of appropriately sized ABC and 123 flash cards comes with the e-writer). Both products are due out in July. The Jot 4.5 will retail for $20 and the Scribble N' Play will sell for $30. [The Best Educational Gift Ideas for Kids]

Makeblock robot kit

Makeblock's do-it-yourself robot. (Image credit: Makeblock)

Tech geeks, you may want to sit down for this one. Makeblock, an open-source robot construction platform, sells a robot starter kit for kids that retails for just $75  here's one of their robot kits on Amazon (opens in new tab). The build-it-yourself bot is made of sturdy aluminum parts and can be put together in less than 10 minutes. Kids can program the robot to light up and move around using open-source software like Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and the bot can connect to a mobile device via Bluetooth so engineers-in-training can control the toy's movements with an app. The company also sells more advanced (but still easy-to-build) kits for kids of all ages, including an aluminum-frame 3D printer that sells for about $800.

New Matter 3D printer

New Matter unveiled its MOD-t 3D printer at CES 2016. (Image credit: New Matter)

If you want your kids to play around with a 3D printer, but building one yourself doesn't appeal to you, there is another option. New Matter just unveiled its MOD-t 3D printer at CES. The oh-so-attractive printer (its minimalist design won't clash with your dining room decor) connects directly to the New Matter online marketplace, where you can download designs to 3D print. That means kids don't need to understand 3D-modeling software to use the printer. However, uploading and printing original designs is also an option. The machine prints in ecofriendly plastic and retails for $399. The company is working with educators to bring its affordable printer to classrooms around the United States. (Educators can visit the company's website for more information on how to score free MOD-t printers for their schools.)

Follow Elizabeth Palermo @techEpalermo. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
By crushing Earth's lightest element with mind-boggling pressures, scientists have revealed an entirely new state of matter: phase V hydrogen.

The squished hydrogen is a precursor to a state of matter first proposed in the 1930s, called atomic solid metallic hydrogen. When cooled to low enough temperatures, hydrogen (which on Earth is usually found as a gas) can become a solid; at high enough pressures, when the element solidifies, it turns into a metal. Planetary scientists think the interior of Jupiter is largely made of the stuff.

And so, in crushing hydrogen at such high pressures, the physicists also got a glimpse of the inner atmosphere of a gas giant, where pressures reach millions of (Earth) atmospheres. [Elementary, My Dear: 8 Elements You've Never Heard Of]

Crushing hydrogen

At the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, doctoral student Philip Dalladay-Simpson and his colleagues Ross Howie and Eugene Gregoryanz put a small amount of hydrogen between two diamond anvils, and dialed up the pressure to 384 gigapascals, or 55 million pounds per square inch (psi). By comparison, Earth's atmosphere is 100 kilopascals, or 15 pounds per square inch, at sea level. On Jupiter, the weight of the atmosphere hits 29 million psi at about 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) below the cloud tops, and models suggest that's where hydrogen may take the form of a liquid metal.

In this case, when the pressure hit the 325-gigapascal mark, or 47 million psi, the hydrogen became a solid, with the atoms forming layers that alternated between orderly and jumbled arrangements. This is the first time anyone has seen this form of the element at close to room temperature (about 300 degrees Kelvin, or about 80 degrees Fahrenheit), the scientists said.

"This is at much higher pressures and much higher temperatures" than previous work, Dalladay-Simpson told Live Science. Liquid hydrogen is created routinely in industry at cryogenic temperatures with pressures in the tens of atmospheres, but nobody has yet cooled the element enough to solidify it, Dalladay-Simpson said. [The 9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

The boiling temperature of any substance tends to rise with pressure (and conversely, fall when the pressure drops). This is why cake mix instructions are different if you live in Denver  water boils at a lower temperature at the higher altitude. With hydrogen, only the immense pressures generated in the lab (or a gas giant's interior) will start to liquefy and eventually solidify the gas when it is at non-cryogenic temperatures, like those on Earth's surface.

Making metallic hydrogen

In 2011, a team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, said they had created metallic hydrogen, but that claim later came under some fire from other scientists and was never fully confirmed.

Dalladay-Simpson said his team didn't make a metal, but they came close, and in the process found a new phase of hydrogen. Any material comes in different phases. Though solid, liquid and gas are the familiar phases, there are others that appear under extreme conditions.

This happens because squeezing the hydrogen forces the individual atoms together. If you just chilled ordinary hydrogen, with the formula H2, eventually it would form an ice-like solid, with each atom would be bonded to one other but not as strongly to other pairs. "When we use pressure we force the molecules to interact," Dalladay-Simpson said. Pressure makes the atoms together with all of their neighbors, and the H2 bonds start to break.

To test the new form of hydrogen, the researchers fired a laser at it and observed the way the wavelength of the light changed. That told them about the new structure of the material.

"This paper does not claim a metallic state, but claims that it is a precursor to the metallic state due to similarities between what we see experimentally and what is predicted theoretically for solid metallic hydrogen," said Howie, who is now a staff scientist at the Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Advanced Research in China.

The researchers said they aren't sure it's a metal because they couldn't test the conductivity, Dalladay-Simpson said. The gap between the diamond anvils is so small that electrodes to test conductivity wouldn't fit.

Shattering diamonds

To have been certain hydrogen took a metallic state (without a conductivity test), the team would have needed to reach even higher pressures, at least up to 400 to 450 gigapascals, the scientists said.

Those pressures might surpass the limits for diamond anvils, which can shatter, Dalladay-Simpson said. In future experimental runs, the team hopes to increase the pressures and see how far the anvils can go.

Other techniques, besides the current setup, don't lend themselves as well to hydrogen. "Hydrogen is incredibly difficult to contain at such conditions as it is very light, so it can diffuse through materials, and very reactive, so can form compounds easily," Howie said.

Dalladay-Simpson said he is undeterred, though, and plans to keep pushing  or crushing, as it happens. Theoretical predictions also suggest liquid metallic hydrogen might also be a room-temperature superconductor.

The study is detailed in the Jan. 7 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow Live Science@livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Did dinosaurs shake a tail feather? Some meat-eating theropods used fancy footwork to attract their mates, leaving behind their fox-trotting tracks in rocks millions of years ago.

An analysis of the newfound marks suggests they are the first known evidence of a type of mating display behavior known as "scraping," common in modern ground-nesting birds. The dinosaur lads may have performed their paleo-numbers in groups for a (hopefully) swooning female audience, the researchers say.

Paleontologists found scores of these "scrapes," areas in the rock that were shallowly scarred by multiple scratch marks. These collections of marks, each of which averaged about 6.6 feet (2 meters) in length, were scattered across four different Cretaceous sites in Colorado. The site locations, described by the study's authors as "spectacular," are crisscrossed with numerous dinosaur trackways  consecutive footprints made by the same animal. [Photos: Thousands of Dinosaur Tracks Along Yukon River]

Surprising scrapes

Martin Lockley, co-author of the study and emeritus professor of geology at the University of Colorado, Denver, told Live Science that these scrape marks were unlike anything the scientists had seen before. When Lockley and his colleagues first noticed the marks, the prints were partially covered with sand. "We started cleaning them off and taking a closer look at them, and we knew right away that there was something unusual about them," Lockley said. More and more of these scrape traces emerged as their investigation widened, eventually revealing about 60 of them in one of the sites.

It soon became clear that these unusual scrapes were connected to the dinosaurs whose tracks marched through the area. "We were calling them 'digging dinosaur' traces," Lockley said. "They were obviously made by the feet of dinosaurs, because we could see the claw marks. We could see two sides, a left and a right trough, with a ridge in the middle," he said.

Some of the scrape traces included the trademark three-toed footprint of a theropod, a group of bipedal and mostly carnivorous dinosaurs, further cementing the strange marks' connection to dinosaur creators. According to Lockley, that's when things really got interesting. "It was like, 'OK, we know what kind of dinosaur made them  what were they doing?'"

Team leader Dr. Martin Lockley (right) and co-author Ken Cart kneel beside two large Cretaceous-age scrapes from western Colorado that are the first physical evidence that large theropod dinosaurs engaged in courtship behavior. (Image credit: M. Lockley)

Paleo-detectives

Like television's Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) detectives, the scientists faced the challenge of recreating a scenario based on the clues left behind. And like detectives, they considered  and ruled out  a number of possibilities.

Were the dinosaurs digging for water? Not likely, Lockley said. The environment in that part of North America was very wet during the Cretaceous, and water would have been plentiful. Could they have been searching for food? Probably not; carnivorous theropods wouldn't have scratched around in the dirt looking for roots or other vegetation, Lockley explained. And there's no evidence suggesting that floods at the time buried carcasses that the theropods might have dug up and scavenged, he added.

That's when Lockley and his colleagues realized that they might find an explanation for these extinct dinosaurs' behavior in the behavior of "dinosaurs" alive today  modern birds.

Perhaps the scrapes were signs of nest building? Existing fossil evidence shows that theropod dinosaurs, like birds, built nests and brooded their eggs. But the study authors were doubtful, because the marks and troughs in the scrapes would likely have been worn smooth by weeks of continued use, as the dinosaurs brooded their eggs and reared their young. And the variable shapes and haphazard placement of the scrapes didn't match up with the more regular nest shapes and spacing in known dinosaur nesting colonies. [Image Gallery: Dinosaur Daycare]

Dancing like a bird

But when the scientists reviewed accounts of birds' mating display behavior, they hit pay dirt. Descriptions of activity called "nest scrape display" and "pseudo nest building" seemed to produce similar marks to the ones that they found.

"During the breeding season, the males start to get excited and show off to their mates by scratching to say, Look, I can build a nest!" Lockley told Live Science. "And they get so excited that they scratch, and move along and scratch again  they make dozens or hundreds of scratches in a short period of time."

The "nest scrape" explanation, Lockley said, fit well with the Colorado scrape marks. In the study, the researchers point to a "long and diverse" list of birds that perform nest scrape displays, including puffins, a New Zealand parrot, and seven species of shorebirds. And this type of behavior carries across many branches in the bird family tree, according to Paul Sweet, manager of the Ornithology Collections at the American Museum of Natural History.

Sweet, who was not involved in the study, told Live Science that male sage grouse will gather season after season in a "lek," an open area where they perform high-energy mating displays that can include strutting, fanning their tails and "trying to make themselves look as big as possible," Sweet said. [Animal Sex: How Did Dinosaurs Do It]

According to the researchers, the four sites where they found the scratch marks could have been leks where groups of theropod males would gather to strut their stuff for an appreciative female audience. The scratches they left behind provide the first physical evidence linking dinosaur mating display behavior to that of living birds, the scientists said.

Lockley, who has devoted decades to the study of dinosaur trackways, told Live Science that more examples of this fancy footwork are likely to be discovered, now that paleontologists will be looking for them.

"It seems like every five to 10 years there's a new category of evidence that comes to light, and then it's like, 'Oh, it's everywhere, why didn't we find this before?'" Lockley said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we have dozens of these sites in a few years."

The findings were published online today (Jan. 7) in the journal Nature Scientific Reports (opens in new tab).

Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
To the editor:

The Laredo Volunteers for the Elderly and Disadvantaged (LOVED) held their annual Christmas event and with the help of many Laredoans and organizations, it was a great success.

On Christmas Eve, the board of LOVED and many volunteers gave away over 400 bags of food to all and toys to all the kids.

The line stretched throughout the neighborhood; the kids and adults were very anxious to see Blue Santa and Minnie Mouse.

The mothers were anxious to get a picture of their kids with both.

Many volunteers gave up the afternoon before Christmas to help us give a very Merry Christmas to all who came.

We could not have been successful without the help of many.

First, the Board of LOVED, Rosie Centeno, Yolanda Garcia, Alma Almaraz, Maria E Montemayor, Mike Kazen, Fred Flores and Vernette Carranza were there to help distribute the toys and food bags.

The Calvary Center volunteered to help fill the food bags with canned goods, fresh foods and meat and then distribute them.

The Laredo Police Department assisted with traffic control.

Yolanda Garcia and David and Alma Almaraz contributed toys.

Constable Rudy Rodriguez and Angel of Hope donated toys.

The Laredo Police Department Blue Santa contributed many toys, including bicycles, which we raffled off.

A few of the volunteers that helped that day were Dolores Martinez, Lauren Kazen and Issa De La Rosa.

Among the many individuals was someone (I didnt write down all their names) from San Antonio visiting her sister here in Laredo and she volunteered to help. Blue Santa was a big hit.

We are eternally grateful to all.

Consequently, with the generosity of Laredoans, we will continue to provide these kinds of events to help the many that deserve it.

Sincerely,

Dr. Henry S. Carranza

Chairman, Volunteers for the Elderly and Disadvantaged
AT&T Digital Life to Release Voice Assistant Mobile App

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By Casey Houser

Contributing Writer By Casey HouserContributing Writer

As self-proclaimed technology gurus, readers here may have a front seat to the connected home revolution. AT&T (News - Alert) is part of this charge and has made a name for itself with the Digital Life brand of home security and automation services.





Of course, Digital Life allows users to control their homes from a smartphone app, but the folks at AT&T are taking this capability one step further. AT&T has announced that it is testing the Voice Assistant mobile app that will give users the ability to ask questions about their personal networks. AT&T has called this development a step forward in providing users with more convenience as homeowners.

Kevin Petersen, the president of AT&T Digital Life, has more:

Communicating with your Digital Life system using your voice and natural language is a convenient way to get even more out of your service than with the Digital Life app alone, Petersen said. As we add new devices and services to our managed platform, well continue to introduce and extend features like the Voice Assistant to make Digital Life services even easier for customers to use.

The app is expected to receive a full commercial launch within the first half of this year. At present, it is persisting through active trials to get it ready for primetime. It will land on both Android (News - Alert) and iOS and will contain a number of features such as the ability to recognize users spoken questions and control certain home devices.

AT&T notes that users can ask questions to the app such as, Is the security system armed? and, Is the back door locked? Users can then capitalize on responses to those answers by commanding the app with, for instance, the statement, Set the system to Armed Stay. The app will also speak commands back to users to let them know their systems have been armed or their doors are locked.

This type of interaction is made possible through the Curo speech and language platform that Interactions (News - Alert) has developed to provide users with a natural manner of communicating with devices. Interactions have an interesting history at AT&T having sold its AT&T Watson Speech Recognition program to Interactions Corporation back in 2014 while retaining an equity interest. Thus, given the growing importance of speech as a user interface it is not surprising that AT&T is looking to give voice to its Digital Life service.

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Edited by Peter Bernstein
TikTok has become one of the world's most popular social media platforms in less than two years. The app allows users to crea
For small businesses that file under the corporate tax code, the Governor proposes to reduce the net income tax rate from the current 6.5 percent to 4 percent effective January 1, 2017. For the purpose of this tax cut, the definition of small business is a business with less than 100 employees, with net income below $390,000. Small businesses have traditionally paid a lower rate than large corporate taxpayers, but tax cuts passed in 2015 lowered the corporate tax rate to the level currently being paid by small businesses. Governor Cuomo proposes to preserve the small business tax advantage by lowering their rate even further. To avoid a cliff the lower tax rates would be available to small businesses having below $290,000 in net income, and the rate is phased up to the standard rate applicable to businesses with net income of $390,000 or more.



For small businesses whose members pay taxes via the personal income tax, the Governor proposes new and expanded tax cuts. Currently, sole proprietor and farm small businesses can subtract five percent of their income from tax calculations. The Governor proposes to increase the exclusion to 15 percent of income. Further, in order to create tax parity between small business types, the Executive Budget also expands this tax cut to other types of small businesses. Members of partnerships, S-corporations, and LLCs will be able to exclude 15 percent of business income as long as some of their business income is derived from a business entity with less than $1.5 million in New York gross receipts, and their total business income from these sources is below $250,000.



Roughly 1,091,000 small businesses statewide will benefit from the Governors 2016 proposals. A regional breakdown of benefitting businesses is available below:

Western New York 65,600 Finger Lakes 55,478 Southern Tier 27,558 Central New York 37,047 Mohawk 21,121 North Country 19,271 Capital Region 54,518 Hudson Valley 134,863 New York City 483,912 Long Island 191,632 Statewide total 1,091,000

Water Infrastructure Investment



Governor Cuomos Executive Budget includes $250 million in funding to support drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the state, with half distributed to municipalities this year and the remaining half in 2017. Allocations will be administered by the Environmental Facilities Corporation, and the Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation.



This proposal increases by $100 million the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2015, which was approved during the 2015-16 state budget to support grants over three state fiscal years. Last year, Governor Cuomo announced that $50 million of funding was awarded to 45 projects across the state, leveraging more than $440 million in water infrastructure investments. In total, this $300 million investment will leverage more than $1.5 billion in local investment in water infrastructure improvements across the state.



Across the state, local governments struggle to repair and replace aging infrastructure with limited resources, said Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos. Recognizing this hardship, today Governor Cuomo is showing tremendous leadership in protecting New Yorks water resources by increasing grant funding for wastewater infrastructure upgrades. Municipalities from Long Island to Rochester, from the North Country to Allegheny County, can benefit from these boosts in grant funding.

Downtown NY: Downtown Revitalization Initiative
Glen Head, NY - January 6, 2016 - To help save lives and combat the Heroin epidemic, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and County Legislators Donald Mackenzie and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton join with North Shore School District officials to host a free Overdose Prevention Seminar on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at North Shore High School, located at 450 Glen Cove Avenue in Glen Head. Residents will learn how to administer Narcan - the lifesaving antidote that can reverse the fatal effects of an Opiate overdose - and learn the warning signs of drug addiction, treatment options, personal stories of recovery, and more.

Through education, awareness enforcement and treatment, my administration and the Heroin Prevention Task Force are diligently combatting heroin and opioid abuse throughout Nassau, said County Executive Mangano. These free Overdose Prevention Seminars continue to help save lives and keep families whole.

At least 190 Nassau residents died from Heroin and prescription painkillers last year. Narcan has been used by paramedics and emergency room doctors for decades, to save lives. Yet a 2006 State law allows citizens to administer Narcan in an attempt to save a life, without fear of liability. Nassau County has already provided Narcan training for nearly 6,000 people since 2012. At least two dozen trainees have used that knowledge - and the Narcan kit they were given - to revive someone overdosing on Heroin or painkillers, and save their lives. Narcan is administered through a nasal spray, and is provided at no charge to trainees over the age of 18.

Social Worker and Certified Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor attendees will be eligible to receive free Continuing Education Units (CEU) for the two hour workshop  which is provided by the Nassau County Department of Human Services.

Anyone can attend, but seating is limited. Residents MUST pre-register either by email or by calling (516) 571-6105. For dates and locations of other Overdose Prevention Seminars, visit www.nassaucountyny.gov/overdose.
Nassau County, NY - January 5, 2016 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano will observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a weekend of programs in celebration of his life. County Executive Mangano, in conjunction with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Committee of Nassau County Inc. and the Nassau County Commission of Human Rights, has planned two events that pay tribute to the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement who was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an incredible man and leader whose insight helped to create a new understanding of universal peace and humanity in our society, said County Executive Mangano. On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day we commemorate the spirit of freedom, equality and dignity of all races. Together, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s life and remember the difference we can make in our local communities by exemplifying the qualities of compassion and brotherhood, thereby developing more harmonious relations among all people.

An Ecumenical Interfaith Service is planned for Sunday, January 17th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Zion Cathedral Church of God in Christ, located at 312 Grand Avenue in Freeport. There will be a Free Will Offering. Additional information is available by contacting Reverend Phillip Elliott at (516) 572-1933.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 31st Annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon will be held on Monday, January 18th, at 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott Hotel, 101 James Doolittle Blvd. in Uniondale. County Executive Mangano will serve as Honorary Chairperson for the event. Honorees include: Retha Fernandez, Bishop Lionel Harvey, Acting Police Commissioner Thomas C. Krumpter, Dr. Chuck Madu, Melvin Harris, Jr. (posthumously) and Donald Monti.

Proceeds from all weekend events will benefit the MLK Committee Scholarship Fund assisting local high school seniors seeking higher education. The purchase price of a ticket is $75. Register early for best seating. For additional information contact Rodney Mcrae of the Nassau County Commission on Human Rights at (516) 571-5977.
Tech & Science, Family & Parenting, School & Education, Local News, Press Releases

By WFSD News Published: January 07 2016

Shannon Beattie, a senior at William Floyd High School, was named one of 300 semifinalists from across the nation in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search (STS), the nations most prestigious pre-college science competition.

Mastic Beach, NY - January 6, 2016 - Shannon Beattie, a senior at William Floyd High School, was named one of 300 semifinalists from across the nation in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search (STS), the nations most prestigious pre-college science competition. Shannon, 18, of Mastic, is the first student from William Floyd High School ever to enter any of the national science competitions in the three-and-a-half-year history of the fledgling William Floyd High School Research Program and the first to be selected as a semifinalist.

Shannons project, Determining the Age and Provenance of Glacial Erratics on the North Shore of Long Island Based on XRF Geochronology of the Mineral Monazite to Better Understand Glacial History, was designed to calculate the minerals age of crystallization of boulder samples from Wildwood and Caumsett State Parks on the north shore of Long Island. Samples were tested at the Brookhaven National Laboratorys National Synchrotron Light Source and compared to published* ages of similar basement rock from Connecticut, where it was determined that they originated from approximately 40 miles to the north. (*Geologic Society of America Bulletin)

Video of Shannon finding out she's a semifinalist.

Shannon was extremely excited about being selected as a semifinalist and her hard work throughout her academic career has paid off. Her love for nature began when she was young going on camping trips with her family. One particular visit to the Columbia Icefield in Canada when she was 7-years old left quite the impression on her. Then when she returned 10 years later, she was alarmed by significant recession of the glacier. As a result of these experiences and her research, she hopes to pursue a college and career path in environmental science.

I am incredibly proud of Shannon and her hard work, said Victoria DAmbrosia, William Floyd High School Research teacher and one of Shannons mentors. Her innate critical-thinking abilities, determination, and intrinsic motivation are evident in her becoming William Floyd High School's first Intel semifinalist. I could not be more excited for her and this accomplishment.

Shannons other mentors include Dr. Antonio Lanzirotti, a geochemist from the University of Chicago, and Robert Mozer, CPG, a William Floyd Middle School science teacher.

The William Floyd School District is exceedingly proud of Shannon for this amazing accomplishment, said Kevin M. Coster, Superintendent of Schools, William Floyd School District. As the first in William Floyds history to become an Intel semifinalist, she is blazing a trail for other students to follow. The William Floyd Science Research Program is just one of many great opportunities that we offer to our students and I look forward to seeing more great things in the future out of this wonderful program.

The Intel Science Talent Search is the nations longest-running science research program for high school students with 75 years in existence. Alumni of the program include 12 Nobel Laureates, 11 National Medal of Science recipients, two Fields Medal honorees and 18 MacArthur Foundation Fellows.

For becoming a semifinalist, Shannon receives a $1,000 scholarship for herself and $1,000 for her school, as well as a chance to be one of 40 finalists selected to go to Washington D.C. to participate in final judging, displaying their work to the public and meeting with notable scientists and government leaders. Each year, Intel STS semifinalists and finalists compete for $1.6 million in awards. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, January 20.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
By Rory Lidstone, Contributing Writer

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InContact, a provider of cloud contact center software and agent optimization tools, has landed a significant new client. Although unnamed, the client is described as a prominent provider of legal consulting services and will deploy inContacts cloud-based solution to improve its contact center operations.





This new deal will see the client equipping 480 agents, both inbound and outbound, with the complete Cloud Contact Center Platform from inContact with the goal of better servicing the clients growing customer base. The platform includes inContacts Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) and full integrated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Together, these solutions bring a complete set of self service options to callers, as well as an easy-access agent interface.

"At inContact, we strive to bring the best technology available to our customers so they may provide an exceptional experience with each client interaction," said Paul Jarman, CEO of inContact. "Through our solutions, service organizations may utilize the services they need, when needed, all on our multi-channel platform."

Not long ago, inContact secured a similar deployment with sportswear maker Columbia, allowing the company to achieve better flexibility to handle growth, scalability to handle seasonal call volume spikes, support for a broader range of channels, and easy access to live call statistics. As a result, Columbia managed to achieve reduced talk time by an average of 20 seconds, while sales orders increased by 56 percent and revenue increased 59 percent.

As for inContacts newest client, deploying the Cloud Contact Center Platform includes migration from a legacy on-premises system. In its place, the client will implement inContacts Workforce Optimization (WFO) software suite, which offers a comprehensive view into agent performance via quality management, real-time analytics, and ECHO customer feedback.

In addition, the client plans to leverage inContact Screen Recording for improved customer service efficiency and quality through the combining of video and audio recording to create a comprehensive view of all customer interactions.

Edited by Kyle Piscioniere
The Defense Department has announced the transfer of two Guantanamo detainees to the West African nation of Ghana. The now former detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al Dhuby, are citizens of Yemen.

The government of Ghana said in a statement that it was providing humanitarian assistance by taking in the pair, as well as refugees from Rwanda and Syria.

At the request of the US Government, we have also agreed to accept two detainees of Yemeni origin who were detained in Guantanamo but have been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities, and are being released, Ghanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration claimed. They are unable to return to Yemen at the moment, and we have indicated our willingness to accept them for a period of two years, after which they may leave the country.

But Ghanas statement is not accurate. Neither Bin Atef, nor Al Dhuby has been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities. And they are not supposed to be outright released.

The Defense Department said in its statement that the two Yemenis were approved for transfer by President Obamas interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force.

The task force made it clear in its final report, released in January 2010, that the term transfer is used to mean release from confinement subject to appropriate security measures. The task force did not approve any of the remaining detainees for outright release, which was used to mean release from confinement without the need for continuing security measures in the receiving country.

It is important to emphasize that a decision to approve a detainee for transfer does not reflect a decision that the detainee poses no threat or no risk of recidivism, the task force wrote. Rather, the decision reflects the best predictive judgment of senior government officials, based on the available information, that any threat posed by the detainee can be sufficiently mitigated through feasible and appropriate security measures in the receiving country.

Moreover, the task force continued, all transfer decisions were made subject to the implementation of appropriate security measures in the receiving country, and extensive discussions are conducted with the receiving country about such security measures before any transfer is implemented.

The task force also stated that [f]or many of the detainees approved for transferthe review participants found there to be reliable evidence that the detainee had engaged in conduct providing a lawful basis for his detention. In other words, many of the detainees approved for transfer were thought to be jihadists affiliated with al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces.

Recommended for conditional detention

There were two sets of Yemeni detainees who could be transferred, according to President Obamas task force. The first set of 29 Yemeni detainees were approved for transfer subject to security measures being put in place. However, Bin Atef and Al Dhuby were not placed in this group. Instead, along with 28 other Yemeni detainees (30 in all), they were recommended for conditional detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war.

The task force determined that because of the poor security situation in Yemen these 30 Yemenis, including Bin Atef and Al Dhuby, could not be immediately transferred to their home country. But they could be eventually transferred if the security situation in Yemen improved or other options, such as resettlement in a third-country, became feasible. For Bin Atef and Al Dhuby, Ghana is that third-country.

The task force explained in its final report that these 30 Yemeni detainees were considered a lower threat than the 48 jihadists slated for continued detention (and considered to the most dangerous individuals held), but this did not mean they could be transferred without any concerns. Indeed, the task force determined that the 29 Yemeni detainees approved for transfer were lower risk than the 30 Yemenis, including Bin Atef and Al Dhuby, approved for conditional detention. Therefore, the lower risk Yemeni detainees were to be transferred before men such as Bin Atef and Al Dhuby.

Joint Task Force  Guantanamo: Bin Atef a high risk

The task forces recommendations often differed from previous assessments made by Joint Task Force  Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), which oversees the detention facility and assessed the threats posed by each detainee. The threat assessments for both Bin Atef and Al Dhuby have been leaked online.

In a memo dated Dec. 28, 2007, JTF-GTMO determined that Bin Atef (seen on the right) was a high risk, who is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and allies. As such, JTF-GTMO recommended that he remain in the Defense Departments custody.

Bin Atef was allegedly recruited in a mosque in Saudi Arabia by a facilitator who arranged his trip to Afghanistan. Once there, Bin Atef was admitted to al Qaedas Al Farouq training camp. JTF-GTMOs analysts found an especially interesting nugget of information concerning Bin Atefs training.

While in custody, Bin Atef identified one of his trainers as jihadist known as Abu Hurayah. JTF-GTMO concluded that this same Abu Hurayah was in fact Qasim Yahya al Raymi, the current head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al Raymi, whose brother is still detained at Guantanamo, is known to have served as an instructor at Al Farouq.

In the leaked threat assessment, Bin Atef is described as a fighter in Osama bin Ladens former 55th Arab Brigade and as an admitted member of the Taliban. The 55th Arab Brigade served as [bin Ladens] primary battle formation supporting Taliban objectives, with [bin Laden] participating closely in the command and control of the brigade. This fighting force was overseen by Abdul Hadi al Iraqi, who once served in Saddam Husseins military before becoming one of bin Ladens top men. Al Iraqi is currently held in Guantanamo. Bin Atef is believed to have fought under one of al Iraqis direct subordinates.

Bin Atef was captured in November 2001 and initially held at the Qala-i-Jangi prison outside of Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. He was present during a prison uprising in which a CIA operative named Johnny Mike Spann was killed. Also present was John Walker Lindh, an American who joined the Taliban. During questioning, Lindh identified Bin Atef as Abu Walid and said he saw him on the front lines and during a retreat.

JTF-GTMO found that Bin Atef remained hostile to Americans during his time in detention. He continues to demonstrate his support of [bin Laden] and extremism and threatened Americans, JTF-GTMOs analysts wrote. All Americans shall die because these were the rules of Allah, Bin Atef is quoted as saying in the leaked threat assessment. Bin Atef also allegedly said he would research guard force personnels names and faces on the internet and sneak into their homes to cut their throats like sheep.

Al Dhuby wooed to Afghanistan by the jihad in Chechnya

In a memo dated Dec. 25, 2006, JTF-GTMOs analysts concluded that Al Dhuby was a probable member of al Qaeda and a medium risk, who may pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies.

JTF-GTMO recommended that Al Dhuby be transferred out of the Defense Departments custody, but he remained at Guantanamo for an additional eight years.

Despite being a Yemeni, Al Dhuby lived his entire life in Saudi Arabia before traveling to Afghanistan for training, according to JTF-GTMOs assessment. While studying at a mosque in Mecca, a recruiter showed him videos of fighting and training in Chechnya, convincing Al Dhuby that all Muslims must know how to fight. The recruiter then facilitated Al Dhubys travel to Afghanistan, making the necessary travel arrangements and funding his trip.

Once in Afghanistan, Al Dhuby allegedly stayed at al Qaeda guesthouses and received light arms training at Al Farouq. Al Dhubys brother, Slah Muhamed Salih al Zabe, also visited the camp during this time. Al Zabe, who was similarly suspected of serving al Qaeda, was detained at Guantanamo and eventually transferred to the country of Georgia on Nov. 20, 2014. Another of Al Dhubys brothers was imprisoned in Yemen at one point, because of his alleged links to terrorism and extremism.

The noted familial ties to extremism may indicate additional ties originating from [Al Dhubys] immediate family, JTF-GTMOs analysts wrote. As such, [Al Dhubys] family would be assessed to serve in a supportive function to [Al Dhubys] reengagement with extremist elements, should he be released. In other words, JTF-GTMO expressed concern that Al Dhubys family could facilitate his return to the jihad once he was freed.

Al Qaeda selected Al Dhuby for more advanced training, according to JTF-GTMOs threat assessment, but it is not clear if he received any. He was assigned to a fighting unit run by an al Qaeda commander known as Abu Thabit, whose men fought in the Battle of Tora Bora in late 2001. JTF-GTMO found it was likely that Al Dhuby participated in the fighting. Because of heavy American bombing in the area, however, Al Dhuby and his comrades retreated for Pakistan in December 2001. They were detained and some were handed over to the Americans. In May 2002, Al Dhuby was transferred to Guantanamo, where he was held for more than a dozen years.

Believed to have withheld intelligence from American officials

JTF-GTMO found that neither Bin Atef nor Al Dhuby was fully forthcoming during their many years in American custody. Al Dhuby has provided minimal reportable intelligence and is routinely non-cooperative, JTF-GTMO concluded. The American intelligence analysts believed he was withholding information about his jihadist family, as well as details concerning al Qaedas network.

Bin Atef initially cooperated with interviewers, relating an account assessed as plausible, fairly accurate, and complete. But from April 2003 to when JTF-GTMOs threat assessment was written in December 2007, he refused to answer questions. JTF-GTMOs analysts believed Bin Atef was withholding information about his training at the Al Farouq camp, as well as about his time at the Qala-i-Jangi prison. Bin Atef probably holds unique intelligence information, but is unlikely to cooperate in the near future, JTF-GTMO concluded.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The Islamic State Libyan province has released photos from the town of Bin Jawad on the Mediterranean coast. Earlier this week, the jihadists released a statement saying they had managed to take complete control over the coastal city. It is likely that Abu Bakr al Baghdadis followers were operating in Bin Jawad for several months beforehand, but the claimed capture of the town is part of a new offensive against Libyas oil facilities in neighboring areas.

The photos show the Islamic States fighters burning cigarettes in Bin Jawad. This is a common motif in the jihadists propaganda, as it demonstrates that their radical version of sharia law is now being implemented in the territory under their control. Indeed, that is likely the purpose of the photos: to show that the caliphate is in charge in Bin Jawad, Libya.

Separately, the Islamic State-linked Amaq news agency has produced a short video, just over a minute long, from the coastal town. The video depicts various buildings, a market, and key roadways as being in the jihadists possession. Screen shots from the video can be seen below.

Photos from Bin Jawad:

Screenshots from Amaq News Agency video in Bin Jawad:

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The US Department of Justice charged Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, an American citizen, with conspiring to kill his countrymen in a double suicide attack at a military base in eastern Afghanistan. Farekh was part of al Qaedas paramilitary forces based in Afghanistan and Pakistan that fights as individual units as well as provides training and support to Taliban units.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice charged Farekh with nine different crimes, including conspiracy to murder Americans, the use of explosives, and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. The charges are related to a double suicide attack in the eastern Afghan province of Khost that took place on Jan. 19, 2014. One Afghan teenager was killed and an estimated 16 people were wounded in the attack, according to a report in The New York Times

As stated by the indictment, Farekh assisted in the preparation of the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, a VBIED or a car bomb that is to be detonated by a suicide bomber, that was used in the January 2009 attack in Khost. One of the VBIEDs was detonated outside of the US base, and the other appears to have failed.

The Department of Justice initially indicted Farekh with providing material support to al Qaeda in April 2015 after he was captured by Pakistani forces and transferred to US custody. Also known as Abdullah al Shami and Saif al Shami, he is said to have been on the US governments Kill list, according to The Washington Post.

In the original supporting documentation that lead to Farekh being charged, the government noted that he was born in Texas, and his family moved to Jordan at a young age. He and two co-conspirators, one who was identified as Ferid Imam, traveled from Canada to join al Qaeda in Pakistan after becoming radicalized by watching As Sahab videos and listening to al Qaeda preachers, including Anwar al Awlaki.

Farekhs involvement in the Khost attack is further evidence of the close working relationship between the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan that continues to this day. The January 2009 suicide attack was originally thought to have been executed by the Haqqani Network, the powerful Taliban subgroup that is based in eastern Afghanistan and in Pakistans tribal agency of North Waziristan. Farekhs team would not have been able to execute the attack in Khost without the support of the Haqqani Network.

Farekh was at the minimum an operative in the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, al Qaedas paramilitary unit that fields forces in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and also embeds military trainers within Taliban units in both countries. These trainers provide instruction for battling security forces in local insurgencies, as well as knowledge, expertise, funding, and resources to conduct local and international attacks. The US Treasury Department confirmed the presence of al Qaeda paramilitary brigades in a designation of one of the groups bomb makers. [For more information on this unit, see LWJ report, Al Qaedas paramilitary Shadow Army,, and US adds al Qaeda explosives expert to list of global terrorists.]

The original complaint against Farekh provides further information about al Qaedas training program and the Shadow Army. Al Qaeda had a basic military-type training course in the FATA, or Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to cooperating witnesses, who were al Qaeda members that attended the camps, the course involved three separate areas of instruction: basic weapons training, explosives training and projectile weapons training. Each area of instruction would be taught by trainers in a class setting; each class lasted between one to three weeks.

Ferid Imam, one of Farekhs co-conspirators, became a trainer in al-Qaedas military-type training program after entering Pakistan. Al Qaeda was proud of its program and contrasted it to the Talibans rudimentary approach. Imam favorably contrasted al Qaedas extensive training program with the lack of training provided by the Taliban to its fighters; according to Imam, al Qaeda gave its new recruits detailed weapons instruction and training, whereas the Taliban just handed their recruits a gun and sent them off to the battlefield.

Al Qaeda is known to operate camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan to this day. The jihadist group operated two training camps in Shorabak district in Kandahar province, one which was 30 square miles, for one and a half years before US forces discovered and destroyed them in a four-day operation in October 2015. Al Qaeda is also thought to operate camps in Baramcha and Baghran in Helmand province.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here.
Taste of Tuscany  Luxury European Driving Tour from Autobahn Adventures

Autobahn Adventures' all-inclusive Luxury European Driving Tours are a great way to explore Europe and their cars are pre-programmed with the route, which allows you the freedom and flexibility to go at your own pace.The latest adventure is thetour -- a 15-day, 14-night Luxury European Driving Tour visiting Germany, Austria and Italy. The Taste of Tuscany tour features 3 of Europe's most luxurious properties. October 8-22, 2016Lefay Resort & Spa - a tranquil oasis overlooking Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Surrounded by natural terraces, woods and olive groves, this is a magical place with a superb spa at its very heart, together with delicious cuisine and comfortable, bright and spacious suites. Designed to blend in with the surrounding countryside, the suites at Lefay Resort are a tasteful mix of warm olive wood, stylish oak furniture and bathrooms in Italian marble. Each one has a terrace from which to appreciate the spectacular lake views. Make the most of the array of swimming pools and saunas at the resort.Castello di Casole - Voted # 1 by Conde Nast Traveller, Castelo di Casole is a luxury, all-suite hotel in Tuscany. The hotel sits on the highest part of the 4,200-acre estate, which offers guests private, spacious accommodations and unparalleled views of the surrounding Tuscan villages. The hotel features three dining venues, a full-service spa, infinity pool, and concierges to assist with guided tours and special classes for an unforgettable Italian vacation. The hotel offers the ultimate Tuscan accommodations with luxury amenities such as complimentary WiFi, flat-screen televisions, custom linens, floor heating, and air-conditioning. Between delicious homemade pastas, thin crust pizzas, fine Italian wines and more, there is something to suit everyone's taste at Castello di Casole.Interalpen Hotel - lies at an altitude of 1,300 meters on Seefeld's High Plateau amidst the pristine natural landscapes of Tyrol's Alpine region. This five-star hotel impresses not only with its exclusive location, but also with the building's architecture. All rooms and suites at the hotel are luxuriously furnished in a modern Tyrolean style and have free wired internet access and a balcony with views of the valley and the mountains. The luxurious spa area with its Tyrolean sauna village is over 53,820 ftA, making it one of the largest in the Alps. The hotel also features a large indoor and an outdoor pool with panoramic views. The restaurants serve an extensive range of dishes for every taste. Dinner features 6-courses with a choice of dishes, salads and cheese buffets. This is one of our guest's favorite hotels and is a staple on our Luxury Driving Tours.For more information go toor call 702-997-7675.
San Francisco's Stanford Court Kicks Off 2016 with Healthy Offerings

Nothing beats experiencing the city by bike, whether you're cruising down the Embarcadero or taking on the Golden Gate Bridge. Stanford Court created the Bike the Bridge Adventure Package for guests who want to see the sights while burning calories. The package includes two nights of luxury accommodations through February 2016, access to Specialized bikes each day, breakfast for two at Aurea Cafe every morning, and a custom-branded San Francisco tote bag with bottled water and granola bars to sustain guests during their treks. However, if guests aren't able to book the full package, complimentary use of the on-site bikes along with safety gear and locks are available seven days a week.Due to Stanford Court's prime Nob Hill location, guests are able to easily take part in the unique, free yoga classes hosted within Grace Cathedral every Tuesday evening at 6:15 p.m. Stanford Court makes this easy by offering guests complimentary yoga mats.Visit website:
What's In and What's Out? Top 10 Travel Trends for 2016

January 7, 2016

With airfare prices expected to remain relatively steady, U.S. business travel volume predicted to reach 502.8 million person-trips in 2016 and over one-third of millennials (who account for close to $300 billion annual spending worldwide) planning to take more vacations in 2016, the year ahead is sure to be adventurous. Travel brands will keep things fresh and continue to intrigue and impress with creative programs, amenities and experiences. From multi-sensory dinners to farewell amenities that leave guests with inspiration to return, below Hawkins International PR predicts the top ten trends travelers will experience in 2016.



1. DINING FOR THE SENSES



What's out: Multi-Course Tasting Dinners

What's in: Multi-Sensory Dinners & Drinks



Hotel restaurants are turning dinner time into story time with multi-sensory dining experiences that provoke more than the sense of taste. At The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Executive Chef Heiko Nieder works with Swiss concert pianist Gabriel E. Arnold to develop custom five-course menus inspired by Arnold's classical piano compositions, with each course of the meal accompanied by complementary songs. Guests at Solage Calistoga in Napa can try Mindful Awareness Practice (MAP) Wine and Food Tastings which incorporate the senses of taste, smell and sight into a guided meditation that encourages tasters to appreciate wine and food from a new perspective. Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg's Bar du Faubourg invites guests to enjoy a menu of cocktails created by Parisian Chef Yannick Alleno inspired by the visual beauty and luxe textures of couture fashion. Haute libations include the Christian, a champagne cocktail with floral notes, as delicate as an organza corolla skirt designed by Dior; the Yves, where the Moroccan flavor of spicy mandarin evokes Saint Laurent's oriental satin decorated with mauve sequins; and the Gabrielle, reminiscent of Coco Chanel's white tweed decorated with black ribbon.



2. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS



What's out: Ultra Niche Travel Services

What's in: Hybrid Travel Services



Hybrid travel companies that combine the best qualities of two "traditional" travel services to offer an innovative, new service will be hot in 2016 as brands strive to make travel easier and more convenient than ever. Madrid-based Room Mate Hotels' BeMate.com offers travelers a roster of stylish apartments with the services of a local hotel - from luggage storage to airport transfers to housekeeping to concierge access - combining the hospitality of a hotel stay with the convenience and flexibility of an apartment stay. Tradewind Aviation's Signature Shuttle Service throughout the Northeast and Caribbean offers the comfort and convenience of a private charter - with no TSA security checkpoints, complimentary snacks and drinks, free checked bags and a flexible booking and cancellation process - for the cost of a single seat on a scheduled flight. All-business class airline La Compagnie recently unveiled their own Chauffeur&Co service which enables travelers to book car transfers through the airline to and from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.



3. A PUCKERING PUNCH



What's out: Sugar and Spice

What's in: Fermented Food and Drink



Vinegar will be the ingredient of the year in 2016 - from switchels and shrubs on cocktail and drink menus to fermented ingredients like kimchi, pickled vegetables, kraut and miso incorporated into meals. The craze for tang is driven by wellness, too, with fermented foods' probiotic properties proven to benefit gut health. Set inside the Nines hotel in Portland, OR, modern steakhouse Urban Farmer's shelves are stocked with pickled fruits and vegetables prepared by Chef Matt Christianson. The culinary team and bartenders use this public "pantry" to incorporate the vinegars and ingredients into cocktails and recipes. In Burlington, Juniper at Hotel Vermont serves a variety of vinegar-based libations including The Farmer's Tan made with brine from the bar's housemade pickles and Cherry Street Shrub made with Silo Whiskey, a Vermont ice wine vinegar, sour cherry juice and soda water. In 2016 Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, California will launch a pickle program for guests to enjoy seasonal vegetables, herbs, vinegars and spices - all served straight from the mason jars where they were cured.



4. SWEET FAREWELL



What's out: Welcome Amenities

What's in: Farewell Amenities



Inspired by idea that the "after glow" of a vacation is the most powerful stage of travel, hotels are gifting guests farewell amenities that leave a big impression - not to mention inspiration to return again and again. The legendary Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris treats departing VIP guests and those celebrating birthdays with a personalized gold-dusted chocolate tablet carved in the shape of the guest's zodiac sign. In New York City, Dream Downtown and Dream Midtown send loyal guests home with tokens of NYC hospitality ranging from Broadway tickets for their next stay to a favorite bottle of wine.



5. THE "NAP" OF LUXURY



What's out: Amenities for a Full Night's Sleep

What's in: Amenities for a Quick Snooze



Sleep-inducing spa treatments and bedtime menus have been a hotel trend for years, but now hotels are introducing nap-focused amenities and programs that encourage guests to snag a rejuvenating snooze in the middle of the day. Spa Solage in Napa has put a unique twist on the region's famous mud baths with their signature mudslide treatment which ends with a 20-minute nap in a state-of-the-art sound chair that blends soothing harmonic music with healing vibrations to lull guests into a quick nap. At the chair's zero-gravity position, a 20-minute nap is equivalent to two hours of REM sleep! At The Spa at Carillon Miami Beach guests can opt for the Deep Sleep Treatment that promotes an instant state of tranquility. Floating on a specialized warm dry flotation spa bed, blood courses through all the tissues, natural endorphins kick in and the brain releases alpha waves that promote calmness and a meditative state of mind. Paris' edgiest hotel Molitor offers a resting room, library, and herbal tea room in the Spa by Clarins where guests are invited to escape for midday relaxation.



6. SURPRISE HOTEL POP-UPS



What's out: Pop-up Shops

What's in: Pop-up Hotel Experiences



In 2016 the luxury and service of a hotel stay will no longer be confined to the property's grounds, with hotels and resorts offering guests offsite experiences with all the comforts of a hotel stay. A two and a half hour hike into the Swiss Alps, guests of the Gstaad Palace will find the Walig Hut, a traditional Alpine farmhouse built in 1783 where they can eat a custom dinner and spend the night surrounded by some of the most dramatic mountain views in the country. New England travelers can enjoy ice fishing on frozen Lake Champlain in the comfort of Hotel Vermont's on-ice shanty. The small wooden structure allows guests to escape from the cold while enjoying clear views of the city from the center of the lake, complete with hot beverages and blankets.



7. SPLURGE ON WORDS



What's out: Binge Watching

What's in: Binge Reading



Hotel and video streaming partnerships may have been the hot trend last year, but this year hotels are encouraging guests to splurge on words throughout their stays. Hotel Vermont in Burlington worked with the Burlington Writers Workshop to publish a book filled with stories, essays and poems from local writers. The hotel also offers live storytelling by the fireplace in the lobby during the winter months. The Nines in Portland features a hidden library just off the lobby stocked with floor to ceiling books from nearby Powell's Books, the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Wilderness Collection's Segera Retreat in Kenya's Laikipia region features the "Zeitz Collection" composed of artifacts and manuscripts that have been carefully assembled through specialized dealers, auctions and exhibitions, and are displayed in the property's Explorer Lounge and select villas. The extensive collection includes personal letters, diary entries and unique photographs from Charles Darwin, Theodore Roosevelt, David Livingstone, Ernest Hemingway and Karen Blixen. This year Montage Hotels & Resorts will introduce a literacy ambassador and offer children visiting all five properties books from Brad Meltzer, one of the only authors to ever have books on the bestseller list for fiction, non-fiction, advice, children's and comic books. A selection of Meltzer's children's series, Ordinary People Change the World will be available for young guests to enjoy on-property beginning mid-2016.



8. DIAMONDS AREN'T FOREVER



What's out: Diamond Dust Facials

What's in: Spa Treatments Using Precious Gems and Stones



In 2016 spas will utilize precious gems and metals to provide spa-goers with major results and relaxation. In Switzerland, Gstaad Palace's new Gemology Face and Body Care treatments draw cosmetic properties from precious stones including jade, rubies, pearls and sapphires to fade wrinkles and fine lines, while in Los Angeles, The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air have incorporated pure platinum into their anti-aging, head-to-toe Platinum Rare Facial treatment, resulting in hydrated, rejuvenated skin. In Telluride, Colorado, Madeline Hotel & Residences' Gemstone Ritual helps guests purify, soothe and enhance overall balance in the body and mind using organic aromas, crystal energy wands and the soothing effects of four distinctive gemstone-energized oils.



9. OUTSIDE-IN



What's out: Crowded Tourist Destinations

What's in: Destination-inspired Attractions Inside the Hotel



Why fight the crowds at tourist destinations when many hotels are bringing the attractions inside? Guests at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa can create and take home an iconic Venetian mask without the stress of souvenir shopping. The resort offers a two-day mask workshop where guests work with a local artisan to create a bespoke mask - they can even use their own faces as a mold before decorating it in true Venetian style. In Spring 2016, Dream Midtown in NYC will unveil The Fish Bowl - a revival of the billiards room. The hotel's iconic two-story fish tank will be the centerpiece of the underground bar and games lounge that will introduce New York's Midtown neighborhood to Mini Bowling and also feature classics like pool and darts.



10. SOCIAL SPA-ING



What's out: Isolated Zen

What's in: Group Rejuvenation



Relaxation doesn't need to happen alone! Hotel spas are introducing group-focused programs that invite guests to spa socially. Groups at Solage Calsitoga in Napa can book a Floating Meditation experience and be led through a calming sequence of visualization and breath work while floating atop rafts in the resort's geothermal mineral pool under the stars. Groups at Montage Laguna Beach in California can book a Spa Soiree at Spa Laguna Beach which includes a welcome toast, choice of spa treatment and goodies for each attendee.



Photo credit: Solage Calsitoga
Top 5 Spa and Wellness Retreats for a New Year Detox

These indulgent retreats will be sure to cleanse the mind, body and soul, ensuring you are ready to take on the new year with a relaxed and positive attitude!Restore your body and soul to physical balance and inner harmony at the magical The Dolder Grand', Zurich. Gaze over the lake and beyond the Alps, or relax in The Aqua Zone which houses a swimming pool, steam bath, samarium, outdoor whirlpools and a snowparadise for cooling off. If you are a guest seeking the ultimate in privacy and service, you can even request an exclusive Spa Suite with butler service.Nestled within the jungle and above a flowing river, this Bali health spa retreat will provide guests with a positive, holistic and healing experience. Guided hikes, morning yoga and meditation are just a few of the daily activities on offer. The resort's wellness approach is tailored entirely to the individual with a unique personal programme devised to match your own goals and needs.Experience a life enriching healthy holiday in a retreat that integrates a diverse range of Oriental and Western healing practices. Wellness programmes offered focus on emotional balance, healthy lifestyle, detox and stress. The resort encircles a Buddhist monks' sacred cave, which guests are welcome to enter for quiet contemplation and meditation.Crowned Best spa for medical marvels' by Tatler; this Medi-Spa instils the fashionable Mayr method to rejuvenate its guests. Set in a picturesque Austrian hillside village, the Parkhotel Igls boasts an incredible medical centre, world class spa and modern Mayr cuisine.This serene Arizona hideaway with desert vistas and views overlooking the famous Paradise Valley, is a great place to regain a healthy balance post-Christmas. With a fitness centre, nature walks on its doorstep, award winning cuisine and a variety of spa treatments, the #1 Resort in Arizona will cater to all your needs.For more information please contact: info@quintessentiallytravel.com or please call: +44 (0)20 7022 6560.
Napa Valley? Cabernet.

Napa Valley white? Chardonnay. Or Sauvignon Blanc.

Or Tocai Friulano. Or Ribolla Gialla.

Waitwhat?

Thats what Dan Petroski would say, anyway. Since 2009 hes been working with these grapes to fashion delicate, floral white wines in the heart of California red wine country.

He named his wine label Massican after the mountain in Campania, Italy, where his great-grandfather was born. But if Massicans roots are anchored in southern Italy, its crown reaches northeast, toward Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the grapes native to that region. International grapes Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay complete the fraternity. (It is Napa Valley, after all.)

It all sounds a tad unorthodox, but it seems to be working. In 2011after two tiny vintagesPetroski was named a Winemaker to Watch by the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2013 his wines were poured at a tasting celebrating underdog grapes, The Seven Percent Solution, now regarded as a watershed moment for California makers who value vinous diversity. His wines have since become a fixture of critics Top N lists.

But if his success is a straight arrow, his story is not. Petroski grew up in Brooklyn (not Italy), and studied history as an undergraduate at Columbia University. After nine years in publishing at Time, Inc., he went to business school at NYU, graduating in 2004.

Then a post-grad-school vacation to Italy to blow off steam left him smitten with the landscape and culture. Within a year, Italy had called him back. He jettisoned his publishing track and moved to Catania, Sicily, embedding at Valle dellAcate winery. For a year he worked with native white grapes Insolia and Zagra, and red grapes Frappato and Nero dAvola. He also traveled extensively, soaking Italy deeper into his soul.

When Petroski returned stateside, he cast about for a job in East Coast wine sales, but the weak economy kicked him westward, and he took a position as a cellar hand at Larkmead in Napa Valleya storied red wine house. That was 2006, and by 2009 his talent had catapulted him into the role of winemaker.

While he was staining his arms up to the elbows with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petroski continued to be haunted by the elegant whites of the Mediterranean. He decided to launch his own small effort focusing exclusively on white grapes.

It wasnt driven exclusively by idle romanticism. I started the Massican as a business plan, he told me, when we met for a tasting at Redd Wood in Yountville, Calif. Id spent ten years in corporate America. It was drilled into my being that we needed to exceed targets to be viable. So when thinking about starting a wine brand, it was important to have achievable and surpassable goalsplus slow, steady growth. From that first release of four hundred cases, hes on track to produce four thousand by 2019.

For business, we always want to be one step behind the demand, Petroski continued, angling toward the crux where his business philosophy meets his aesthetics. For wine (and the vine), I always want to capture the essence of its lifecycle just before it hits maturity. With this philosophy I feel that there is still energy in the development process, which translates to energy on the palate.

That energythat spiritis engendered in part by the tension between primary and secondary fermentation, he explained. Yeast fermentation is explosive. It pushes CO2 out. Meanwhile, Malolactic is internal. It happens inside. The result is a kind of dynamism that builds and holds interest.

As we talked, the late afternoon sun streamed across our table, washing us in pale light and making the wines seem even more luminous. Tasting these recent releases, it seemed clear that the eclectic mix of grapes is an essential component of the wines spirit, too. An element of tension arises from the commingling of these different varieties, with their various notes of fruits and flowers (green and yellow), salt and nuts and straw. Most of the 2014s in our tasting were also incredibly youthful and spritely, animated by the frisson of these elements sorting themselves out. Id like to return to the wines in three years to see how those conversations resolve.

His wines arent really designed for long aging, Petroski said, but he concurred that time is a critical element. It is important to me to allow the wines to achieve their final destination in bottle, he said. I love the wines upon release, but to revisit them six and twelve months later is such a joy.

TASTING NOTES

2014 Massican White Wine Annia Napa Valley

A blend of Friulano, Chardonnay, and Ribolla Gialla. The wine feels like white flowers carved from minerals, draped in a garland of laurel and jasmine. Its salty on the palate, with pear and pear skin, plus a rustic shock of white pepper smoothed by beeswax and sage. The finish is decadent, like old apple skin.

12.2% abv

2013 Massican White Wine Annia Napa Valley

The blend is similar to the 2014 vintage, with slightly less Ribolla Gialla. Its quite a different wine, a little spritzy and more yellow-citrusy, with a body ripe with pear, yellow apples, and laurel. There are minerals but its less crunchy, more about silken fruit and sunlight. An exceptionally good pairing with Pecorino cheese.

12.5% abv

2014 Massican White Wine Gemina California

A blend of 71 percent Greco di Tufo and 29 percent Pinot Grigio, its herbaceous and stony, with a shock of lemon peel, flesh like a grapefruit, and a finish thats spicy like a Clementine. Its high-acid and attenuated; Petroski suggested holding it a bit longer.

13.3% abv

2014 Massican Chardonnay Hyde Hyde Vineyard Carneros, Napa Valley

One hundred percent barrel fermented Chardonnay (heat-treated Wente and Musque clones) treated to new oak. The wine didnt go through malolactic, Because you dont need to, Petroski said. Its a glorious green-gold color and suggests salted citrus, yellow melon, white pepper, and grapefruit peel and pith. Its fleshy, fine-textured acidity gives it definite Chardonnay flair.

13% abv

2014 Massican Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Napa Valley

An ample but piquant Sauvignon Blanc, with limey musk, white flowers, jasmine in broad sunlight, screaming acid. It has a pizzicante quality on back of the tongue that made it absolutely stunning with Baley Hazen Blue cheese, the acid and moldy funk working seamless together; the cheese echoing that back-palate sharpness and pungency.

13.9% abv

2013 Massican Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Napa Valley

The 2013 vintage of this wine has mellowed into sweet yellow apple, dried apricots, fresh green citrus. Its tingly but not as exercised as the 2014. Think quiet and twinkly versus blazing star. And you can skip the cheese.

14.1% abv
Fires have spread to seven oil tanks at Libya's ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider following attacks this week by Islamic State militants, a Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) spokesman said on Thursday.



Ali al-Hassi said five storage tanks were burning at Es Sider and two at Ras Lanuf.



Two tanks were hit by shelling this week and the fires have since spread.



Hassi said the PFG remained in control of the area and that there were no clashes on Thursday.



Separately, however, at least 65 people were killed on Thursday when a truck bomb exploded at a police training centre in the town of Zliten east of Tripoli, local officials and hospital sources said.



Both Es Sider and Ras Lanuf have been closed since December 2014. They lie between the city of Sirte, which is controlled by Islamic State, and the eastern city of Benghazi.



An oil official based in eastern Libya estimated that the tanks hold up to 460,000 barrels each.



Libya is split between political factions and armed groups competing for power and for the country's oil wealth, five years after the revolt that toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.



The OPEC member state's oil output has plunged to less than one quarter of a 2011 high of 1.6 million barrels per day.



Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli
China, Oil and Markets: Its All One Story

If theres one thing to take away from this years developments in markets and economies so far, its that they are all linked, theyre all part of the same thing. If you cant see that, youre not going to understand whats happening.

Looking at falling oil prices as a separate thread is not much use, and neither is doing the same with Chinese stocks, or the yuan, or the millions of Americans who are one paycheck away from poverty, for that matter. Its all one story.

And the take-away from that, in turn, is that focusing too much on narrow conditions in your particular part of the globe has only limited value. Were very much all in this together. In the UK today, it matters very little what George Osborne says or does, or Mark Carney, because they dont shape the future of the economy.

The same goes for all finance ministers and central bank governors across the planet, Yellen, Draghi, Koruda, the lot: the influence they exert on their own economies, which was always limited from the start, is running into the boundaries imposed by global developments.

Even if central bankers could ever have lifted anything at all (a big question mark), their power to do so is rapidly diminishing. The constraints global developments place on their powers will now be exposed -even more. And of course theyll try to deny and ignore that, as naked emperors are wont to do.

And with the exposure of the limits to their abilities to make markets and economies do what they want, come the limitations of the mainstream financial press to make their long-promoted recovery narratives appear valid. Before we know it, we might have functioning markets back.

Oil -both Brent and WTI- have breached the $32 handle, and are very openly flirting with the $20s. Chinas stock market trading was halted for a second time this year, just 14 minutes after the opening. This came about after the PBoC announced another official devaluation of the yuan by 0.5% (stealth devaluation has been a daily occurrence for a while).

$2.5 trillion was lost in global equities in three days this year even before the Thursday China trading stop and ongoing oil price decline. Must be easily over $3 trillion by now. And counting: European markets look awful, and so do futures.

For the first time in years, markets begin to seem to reflect actual economic activity. That is to say, industrial production, factory orders, exports, imports and services sectors are falling both in China and the US. Many of these have been falling for a prolonged period of time.

In fact, Reuters quotes a Sydney trader as saying: The Chinese economy actually contracted in December. Given what Ive written in the past year and change about China, that can hardly be a surprise anymore.

What we are looking at is debt deflation, in which virtual wealth is being wiped out at a fast pace, and its taken some real wealth with it for good measure. Its not going to be one straight line down, for instance because there are a lot of parties out there who need to cover bets they carry from last year, but its getting very hard to see what can stop the plunge this time. Volatility will be a popular term again.

The Fed could lose its last remaining shred of credibility through QE4,5,6 and a 180 turn on the rate hike, but it would lose that last shred for sure. Draghis ECB could start buying ever more paper, but they would have a hard time finding sufficient amounts of anything to buy thats worth anywhere near the written value.

The PBoC cant really do QE after the $25 trillion post-2008 credit pump, and the yuan devaluation today achieved the opposite of what it was intended for. The BoJ is being severely hampered by the rising yen. Well see crazy stuff from the global Oracles, for sure, but in reality they never had anything but expensive band-aids to offer, and they have nothing better now.

Ultimately, if China is a Ponzi (and $25 trillion in credit spent on overcapacity strongly suggests so), then the entire world economy is one. I would very much argue so, and have for years. And we all know what inevitably happens with Ponzis.

Economists like to think in cycles, in which things will simply bounce back at some point, but a lot of this stuff will not come back, not for a very long time. Ive said it before: Kondratieff is also a cycle.

Were watching the initial stages (though a lot has already vanished behind all sorts of curtains) of a massive wealth destruction, a very loud POOF!, wealth which can so easily be destroyed because most of it was never real, just inflated soap. Its time to move to cash if you havent already, and if you have enough, perhaps a bit of gold, silver or bitcoin, but do remember those are not risk-free.

Its tempting to see this as a China problem, but first of all there is no China problem that will not of necessity also gravely affect the west , and second of all when you read, just to name an example, that Americas new jobs pay 23% less than the jobs they replaced, its just plain silly to believe that the economy is doing well, let alone recovering.

Which is why a majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and dont have enough savings even for a $500 car repair bill. All Ponzis burst, they cant be tapered, and this one we have now is going down in epic fashion because there are no major economies left that are not overburdened by debt.

Its also tempting, certainly for economists, to see money thats lost in one investment to automatically shift to another, but thats not whats happening. Much of it simply evaporates. Thats why investment funds where already in a huge high-yield bind last year, and why you should really worry about your pension fund.

Do prepare for rising taxes and services cuts: governments suffer along with everyone, and because theyre slow and lagging, probably even more so. And governments think they deserve to have their hands in your pockets. Prepare for mass lay-offs too. The consumption model is being broken and dismantled as we speak.

By Raul Ilargi Meijer

Website: http://theautomaticearth.com (provides unique analysis of economics, finance, politics and social dynamics in the context of Complexity Theory)

 2016 Copyright Raul I Meijer - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Raul Ilargi Meijer Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Welcome to Line Danci Read more [...]
My New Year's Resolution: Don't Confuse Debt with Wealth

Guy Christopher writes: If you don't have a magical crystal ball to see the future, then a good history book will do the job. Understanding the past offers a full color panorama to the dangers and opportunities facing you in 2016.

Unpayable debt is becoming the Big Story of the 21st Century across the globe. Life-altering disruptions will be the norm, with little that mankind has not seen before.

In early November, Congress recklessly increased American spending and debt by another $1.14 trillion. Lawmakers long ago erased all limits to printing money and creating debt backed by nothing. The total world debt is unknown and uncountable. Pick any figure in the hundreds of trillions and you'll be close.

Governments intend for you to pay those debts. To ensure you don't argue, they must increase control.

In the historic cradle of democracy, Greek citizens woke on New Year's Day staring at a 56-page "assets declaration" form, a record for the tax man of everything owned above a certain value.

After a roller coaster 2015 of violent demonstrations, Greeks voted a landslide mandate to stiff their European debtors in favor of starting over and going it alone.

In a treacherous betrayal, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras caved to European bankers, ignored election results and put his people on a well-oiled slippery slope of perpetual indebtedness.

"Assets declaration" is not a new idea, as anyone facing bankruptcy would know. Everything from real estate, cash and jewelry, down to the kitchen cups and saucers, must be listed for the courts to divvy up.

But this isn't a case of personal bankruptcy. The Greek government, mired in debt for the next hundred years, has transferred its own bankruptcy reporting obligations to its citizens, amounting to legal repudiation of private ownership and private wealth.

Private wealth is a cornerstone of personal liberty. As explained in Money and Wealth in the New Millennium, the two go hand in hand, even as government continues to redefine debt as wealth.

Gold is the money of kings, silver the money of gentlemen, barter the money of peasants, but debt is the money of slaves ~Norm Franz

Yes, Greeks have an international reputation for tax avoidance. But targeting all private property goes far beyond "paying a fair share." It's a clear sign of modern times that bankrupt governments will stop at nothing to protect themselves at the expense of their people.

China has found social media snooping fits perfectly inside the long accepted template of debt and credit reporting - and helpful in identifying political undesirables.

China's new "Sesame Credit" score, now used to evaluate debt histories, and even used in online matchmaking, will ultimately combine political and personal views to transform meek political compliance into an "asset" - social reputation.

China's Sesame Credit score weighs how "compliant" a citizen is, assigning lower credit scores to dissenters.

China has smartly turned conformity into a smiley face with a number value. But China is just playing catch up to other old ideas.

Americans already value their individual FICO and credit agency ratings. National advertising campaigns, paid by the financial industry, praise indebtedness by glorifying credit scores.

The less debt you assume, the lower your score. Cancel a credit card, and your score will drop. It's preferred instead you dive right in, so you won't mind at all your government is also in debt!

The strategy goes beyond selling you junk you don't need. The intention is to create pride in indebtedness - to further confuse debt with wealth. Along the way, it makes the financial habits of consumers and voters transparent to government snoopers.

Americans (and others) have already done the bulk of government's work with self-inflicted online postings, using Facebook and other social media to forever publicly record what used to be valued private opinions and beliefs.

History has taught many lessons about bankrupt governments. As they fear losing control, they tighten the reins on citizen liberties. Standards once meant to keep civilized order are now exploited to instill tranquil compliance.

Just as bankrupt governments treacherously turn on their people, they will also turn on each other. Some recent examples:

American allies are fleeing the U.S. petro-dollar's pipeline in favor of China's (and Russia's) growing economic influence.

Governments are furiously printing money as the only way to finance unpayable debt.

Those same governments are conducting a war on cash, designed to herd all financial accounts into one big digital corral for easy harvest.

Washington, after promising to stop tapping foreign leaders' phones, has been caught still eavesdropping on Israeli leaders, and listening in on congressmen.

Most telling, American allies are demanding the return of their gold kept in the U.S. for safekeeping.

Governments keep their gold dealings secret, because, as none other than former chief money printer Alan Greenspan admitted, gold is the most important currency of all.

Financial and intellectual deception sweeping the globe defines the last dying gasps of corrupt and bankrupt governments.

Our crystal ball of history shows as governments lose control, fearful citizens will first resist, then rebel.

To defend ourselves, we strengthen our families and local communities, vote in coming elections, and fight for basic human freedoms of speech, religion and the right to defend ourselves. And, like Norm Franz and others, we can reject the notion that debt is wealth... or that debt buys freedom.

Gold and silver have stood for centuries, untouched, unmatched, as the best stores of private wealth, a cornerstone of freedom. You can take history's word for that. Or Alan Greenspan's.

Centuries of faith in gold and silver isn't a new idea at all.

By Guy Christopher

MoneyMetals.com

Guy Christopher is a columnist at Money Metals Exchange, perhaps the nation's fastest-growing dealer of low-premium precious metals coins, rounds, and bars. Siegner, a graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, puts his experience in business management along with his passion for personal liberty, limited government, and honest money into the development of Money Metals' brand and reach. This includes writing extensively on the bullion markets and their intersection with policy and world affairs.

 2016 CGuy Christopher - All Rights Reserved



Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




A Martinsville man was sentenced Wednesday in Henry County Circuit Court to a total of 1  years in prison on charges of shoot into an occupied building, shoot into an occupied motor vehicle and felony assault on a police officer  charges to which he had pleaded guilty earlier.

Judge David V. Williams sentenced Barry Latwan Lowe, 41, of 1243 Chatham Road, Martinsville, to a total of three five-year sentences, of which he must serve a total of 1  years in prison, with the balance suspended on condition of indefinite probation and payment of $284.86 in restitution.

Lowe has been in jail since February 2015 and will be given credit for time already served, Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester said.

A related charge of possession of a firearm by a felon was nolle prossed by the commonwealth so that Lowe can be prosecuted in federal court on a similar charge, which would carry a stiffer penalty than in state court, Nester said.

The commonwealth also nolle prossed (decided not to prosecute further) related charges of endanger the life of a child and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, according to court records.

A criminal complaint filed in Henry County General District Court alleged that on Feb. 12, Deputy R.B. Wade of the Henry County Sheriffs Office was responding to a business on A.L. Philpott Highway (in the Horsepasture area) in reference to a report of a male shooting the tires out on his wifes vehicle. Her two daughters  one a 16-year-old minor  were inside the vehicle that the suspect shot at, the criminal complaint alleged.

The wife stated that Barry Lowe also fired a shot into the ceiling and pointed a firearm at her while they were in their business, the criminal complaint alleged.

Barry Lowe was picked up by his father, and they traveled on U.S. 58 toward the bypass, the complaint alleged.

Dep. T.L. Frye and Investigator (Curtis) Spence got behind the vehicle and performed a felony stop. Barry Lowe exited the passenger side of the vehicle with a gun in his hand and pointed the gun in the direction of Dep. Frye. Barry Lowe then gave the gun to his father and Dep. Frye, the criminal complaint alleged.

Frye and Wade continued trying to get Lowe placed in handcuffs, but he continued to resist arrest until the officers were able to get his right arm behind his back and get him secured in handcuffs, the criminal complaint alleged.

The business where the incident happened was Hog West Kutz, Nester said.

Defense attorney Robert Williams said Lowe has had health problems and depression.
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Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, who was born in the United States and rose to be a high-level leader of Mexico's Beltran-Leyva Cartel, has pleaded guilty to charges of cocaine importation and distribution, and money laundering.



Valdezs conviction is a victory for the people in both the United States and Mexico whose lives were affected by his cocaine trafficking, through drug addiction and community decay or through the violence and corruption associated with the cartels daily business, said U. S. Attorney John Horn.

Valdez stands as a prime example of the Mexican cartels influence over the U.S. drug trade, as truckload after truckload of his cocaine traveled across the border to Atlanta for further transport to cities throughout the eastern United States. We are grateful for the cooperation of the Mexican government in securing Valdezs arrest and extradition to Atlanta to face these charges.



Since 2004, Edgar Valdez-Villarreal (La Barbie) was responsible for the distribution of 1000s of kilograms of Cocaine throughout the Southeast, and more specifically the northern district of Georgia. This is a great day for DEA, the government of Mexico and literally hundreds of DEAs federal, state and local partners throughout the United States. I want to thank the US attorney in the northern district of Georgia, and his staff for their outstanding efforts throughout this investigation. This is a victory for this great nation and our partners in the Republic of Mexico, said Atlantas DEA special agent in charge Daniel R. Salter.

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: As early as the year 2000, Valdez began his drug trafficking career as a marijuana distributor in Laredo, Texas.

He soon developed cocaine customers in New Orleans, Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and his activities escalated into regular shipments of 150-180 kilograms of cocaine to his customers. Valdez eventually entered into a relationship with Arturo Beltran-Leyva, who was then associated with the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, and began coordinating shipments of cocaine into Mexico from Colombia and other South American countries using speedboats and airplanes, while also paying bribes to local law enforcement officials. The cocaine was then transported across the border into the United States.



In 2004, Valdez and his partners sought out a more formalized distribution organization for their cocaine customers in Memphis and Atlanta. Valdez obtained cocaine from Colombia, exported the cocaine from Mexico to customers located in the United States in tractor trailer loads of up to 300 kilograms twice per week, then arranged for currency to be smuggled back across the border to the organizations supervisors in Mexico. In Atlanta alone, the organization distributed a total of 1,500 kilograms of cocaine in just six months in 2005. DEA agents were able to build the case against Valdez using wiretaps, seizures of over 100 kilograms of cocaine and $4 million of drug proceeds, and witness testimony.



Each of the drug trafficking charges in this case carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment, and requires a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and five years of supervised release.



The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of funds that were laundered, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States sentencing guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.



Sentencing for Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, 42, has not yet been scheduled.



This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.



United States Attorney John Horn and Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth M. Hathaway and Garrett L. Bradford are prosecuting the case. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs provided assistance with this case.



The U.S. Attorneys Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com



For further information, contact the U.S. Attorneys Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Montpelier - Jennifer P. Galfetti, Lisa L. Keysar, Gary H. Ouellette and Schuyler M. Ryan were recently promoted by Union Mutual, the Company's President and CEO Michael W. Nobles announced. Jennifer was named Chief Financial Officer, Lisa and Gary were each elevated to Executive Vice President and Schuyler was promoted to Accounting Manager. "Our Companies and independent agency partners have experienced tremendous growth over the last few years and I am thrilled that we are able to recognize the efforts of our dedicated staff through continued expansion of their roles and responsibilities," Nobles said.

In their new roles, both Lisa and Gary will each work closely with Mr. Nobles in setting the Company's strategic direction and defining the short term objectives of the Group. They will also assume broader day to day responsibilities with Lisa working closely with Underwriting and Marketing and Gary with the Companies' Finance and Analytics teams. Earlier in 2015, Lisa and Gary were the recipients of the inaugural Bridge Award from the Insurance Technology Association for their work to bridge the gap between business and information technology.

The promotions of Galfetti, Keysar and Ouellette were approved by the Company's Board of Directors at their December meeting and were effective Jan. 1, 2016. All three are based in the Company's Montpelier, Vermont office.

Jennifer joined Union Mutual in 2009 after more than 15 years of diverse accounting and finance work. In 2013 she was promoted to Union Mutual's Treasurer and elected to Community Mutual's Board of Directors, two positions she will maintain.

Lisa joined Union Mutual in 1995 after working several years at a national life insurance company. She has held numerous roles in her 20 year career at Union Mutual and was most recently the Company's Senior Vice President of Client Services, where she directed the Claims and Customer Support departments. She is also the Corporate Secretary for Union Mutual and Community Mutual, two roles she will continue to hold.

Gary joined Union Mutual in 1990 after beginning his career at Wang Laboratories in Lowell, Massachusetts. In his 25 year career at Union Mutual he has held several positions and was most recently the Company's Senior Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for Information Technology, the Project Management Office and Enterprise Risk. Gary is the Company's Enterprise Risk Management officer and sits on Community Mutual's Board of Directors.

Schuyler's promotion was also effective Jan. 1, 2016. She joined Union Mutual as a Senior Accountant in 2014 and is based out of the Company's Troy, New York office. She previously worked as a senior accountant at LeverPoint Management, LLC and as an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.
Springfield - Bacon Wilson, P.C. is pleased to announce that Kevin V. Maltby has been named a shareholder of the firm. Kevin's practice is focused on litigation, employment law, and criminal defense. He is a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Advisory Committee on Professionalism and also serves on the Board of the Hampden County Bar Association. He has extensive jury trial and courtroom experience and is a former prosecutor for the Northwestern District Attorney's Office. Kevin is also an Adjunct Professor of Legal Studies at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, where he teaches litigation, advanced litigation, criminal law, and evidence.



In 2014, Kevin was named as one of BusinessWest' s 40 Under Forty. In 2013, he received the Massachusetts Bar Association's Community Service Award, and in 2012, Kevin was honored with the Hampden County Bar Association's Access to Justice Pro Bono Publico Award for vision and implementation of the Springfield District Court Lawyer for the Day program. Kevin has received the SuperLawyers Rising Star distinction each year from 2009-2015.



Kevin earned his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 2001, and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts in 1998. He lives in Longmeadow with his family.


SPRINGFIELD - Macy's announcement Wednesday that it will close stores in the Eastfield Mall on Boston Road in Springfield, at the Enfield Square Mall in Enfield and in the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough, north of Pittsfield.

The Eastfield Mall store has 71 employees who will lose their jobs. All told, Macy's will eliminate the jobs of 233 employees at the area stores as part of a national cutback involving the closure of 40 stores.

Closing sales at the local Macy's begin Monday and are expected to last as long as 12 weeks, the company said.

Macy's blamed the need to cut back after poor holiday sales. Macy's also announced Wednesday that its November and December sales declined 4.7 percent compared with holiday sales a year earlier.

The news sparked a lot of reader comments on MassLive.com, whether to criticize Macy's and its business practices or long for the days when the Eastfield Mall, built in 1968 as the region's first enclosed mall, boasted a Steiger's and a Forbes & Wallace.

The following is a sampling of reader opinions.

Papa Bobby wrote:

Welcome to the age of the computer and online shopping; free shipping and returns, order two sizes and send one back. Why walk the mall when you can shop at twice the speed, at home or on your handheld, and get what you want? The exercise factor was also an important part of shopping. Now your fingers do the walking.

spfldr99 wrote:

I was in the Enfield Macy's today in the housewares department. I happened to see a display for Lodge cast iron skillets. The 9-inch one had a price sticker of $53.99 on it. The same thing on Amazon.com is selling for $13.78. Enough said.

boston352 wrote:

Eastfield Mall has turned into a "DEAD MALL". It now ties Hampshire Mall in Hadley with very little business.

Interestingly, the Deadmalls.com Website has no entry for the Eastfeild Mall. But it does have pretty extensive entries on Chicopee's Fairfield Mall, on Tower Square which was once called Baystate West as well as at Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall which was also in Hadley and other locations in the state.

revsfan wrote:

The only way a mall can really survive is if it's in the middle of nowhere or if it's really big (Holyoke). Casual shopping is passe. Sure clothing might be an exception but still the ability to go online and read reviews and see videos is pretty big.

It would be sad to see it demolished but from what I hear malls can have some pretty high rents. One friend even told me that the rent where he worked (a music chain) actually went UP according to their sales?!? Sounds shady to me. Rent should be a flat agreement not something that goes up with revenue.

Hopefully something can go there...

heidilee wrote:

They could bring the RMV Express back - Eastfield Mall offered them free rent but geniuses at (Registry of Motor Vehicels) decided we were not worthy of a rent free RMV in this neck of the woods I guess. That would bring in some customers who might shop - so many stores gone now -sad.

A Target would be awesome but I highly doubt they would go there . Really miss the JC Penney outlet -they had some good deals.

I have fond memories of that Mall from the days it first opened and when it was in its heyday .

Here is a link to Dan Ring's coverage of the Registry of Motor Vehicles office in the Eastfeild Mall: No reprieve for Springfield's Eastfield Mall registry of motor vehicles branch.

aubrie5 wrote:

So sad. You can't try anything on if purchasing online without having to return through the mail and waiting. I have tried on and purchased many suits at Macy's, Filenes, Steigers and G Fox, when located at Eastfield mall. So sad to see the mall dying. I hate going to Holyoke Mall.
dickagain.jpg

Philip K. Dick

((IMAGE FROM FACEBOOK PAGE))

This column about Philip K. Dick phenomena will run occasionally, depending on what the ether yields.



HOLYOKE -- The 4th annual Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival erupts in New York City from Jan. 13 to 17 with 80 movies from creators from more than 20 countries.

"Illuminating from all corners of the globe are the fundamentals of science fiction film which possess a striking hold on those who dare to charter into the unknown," festival spokesman Jonathan Carsten said.

"It is here at The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival where the viewer is enveloped into a thoroughly rewarding experience of masterful productions and bold expertise," he said in a press release Tuesday.

Known as PKD to fans, Dick (1928-1982) wrote the novels and stories many people know perhaps better from the movies and television shows that are based on them. They include "Blade Runner" (based on Dick's 1968 book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"), "Minority Report," "The Man in the High Castle," "Total Recall," "A Scanner Darkly" "Paycheck" and "The Adjustment Bureau."

Dick's stories deal with how people handle dislocation and their search for answers to questions about their identities and what is reality.

Tickets can be purchased on the easy-to-use festival website -- thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com -- at $20 per movie, all-access day passes for $35 or four-day passes for $100.

Visit Groupon -- at https://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-philip-k-dick-film-festival -- for discounts.

Most of the movies will be shown at Village East Cinema, 189 2nd Ave., with some movies and related events held at Lovecraft Bar, 50 Avenue. B, at Avenue B and East 4th St.

For example, the festival's opening reception and "Blade Runner Party" will be Jan. 13 from 7 p.m. to midnight at Lovecraft Bar. That event will feature the "world premiere" (actually you can see it here) of actress Joanna Cassidy -- Zhora in the 1982 movie "Blade Runner" -- performing a snake dance, the festival website said.

"The feature films will be accompanied by a series of shorts, panel discussions and 'Q&A' sessions with filmmakers, all grouped according to theme or format, such as documentaries or animation," groupon.com said.

The festival, Carsten said, will be a gathering of "divinely crafted films, special appearances and countless fans eager to witness the very pulse of the heart and soul of science fiction."

The festival judges will be David Brin, a scientist and award-winning science fiction author whose novel "The Postman" was made into a movie starring Kevin Costner in 1997; Paul Levinson, a writer who has received multiple nominations for the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, Prometheus, Edgar and Audie awards; and David Hartwell, Dick's editor in his later years and co-founder with Paul S. Williams of the Philip K Dick Society, the festival website said.

Among movie clips shown at the festival (full schedule below) will be 15 minutes of "Clones" starring Rutger Hauer, who played the key role of Roy Batty in "Blade Runner." By Swiss director Rafael Bolliger, "Clones" is about a dying quantum physics professor who undergoes special brain surgery when he is offered the chance to live on within the body of a clone. That is scheduled for Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at Village East Cinema.

Other movie titles to be screened at the festival include "Sympathy For The Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment," "Kosmodrome," "The Art of Human Salvage" (starring Edward James Olmos, who played Gaff in "Blade Runner") and "Chronos" ("A troubled businessman is trapped inside a hotel room stuck upside down and where time runs backwards.")

Here is this installment's randomly selected quote from "The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick":

"Perhaps the most startling aspect of reality that I saw, and one which for nearly nine months I could not fully accept, was this: the only portion of the universe which is truly real is living creatures, such as ourselves. The non-living parts are merely structure, very much like the backdrop and artificial scenery in a formal play. We see these dead objects in terms of being as real as ourselves, but again, this is a necessary illusion or delusion placed on us in order that we be able to function in what we must do, which is to grow and develop according to complex plans obscured from our gaze." (p. 71).

Schedule for 4th Annual Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
The House of Representatives passed the Restoring Americans Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act which Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said would repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood and reduce the national debt by $516 billion.

Congressman Fleischmann said,For the first time, a bill fully repealing Obamacare will be sent to the Presidents desk. In addition to repealing the Presidents crippling healthcare law this bill will also reduce our nation deficit by over $500 billion and completely defund Planned Parenthood. It is now up to the President to decide to either listen to Congress and the American people or continue to try and govern through executive order.

Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) said, By passing this legislation, were upholding our promise to put legislation stopping Obamacare on the presidents desk. This is the furthest the repeal effort has ever gone, said Rep. Graves. I hope the president thinks about the many Georgians who are suffering under his healthcare law and joins us in stopping its harmful effects  higher premiums, limited choice and the cancellation of millions of health insurance plans. If the president rejects this common sense approach and the will of Congress, this once again proves that we can and will repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood  all we need is a new president who will sign the legislation into law. The fights for health care freedom and the right to life are far from over.



He said, specifically, the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, repeals key provisions of Obamacare, including the individual mandate, employer mandate, Cadillac Tax and medical device tax. Repealing these crucial mandates and provisions would essentially destroy Obamacare. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that it will reduce the deficit by $516 billion. Additionally, H.R. 3762 places a one year moratorium on federal funding of Planned Parenthood and redirects the funds to community health centers that do not perform abortions.

Although the House passed H.R. 3762 in October, the Senate made several changes to the bills language, which required the House to pass the updated version. The bill will now be sent to the president.



H.R. 3762 was passed using the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the normal 60-vote threshold required to bring legislation to the floor.
CHI Memorial will celebrate the 24th Annual Peace, Love and Unity Service on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Monday, Jan. 18, at 11 a.m. in the community rooms at CHI Memorial Hospital  Chattanooga.

Derek Young will be the keynote speaker. Mr. Young was raised in the largest housing development in St. Louis, Missouri, by his mother and grandmother. He is the first member of his family to graduate from college. He is now president and CEO of YMG Enterprises, LLC, a corporate culture consulting firm in Nashville.

Organizers said, "Dr. King brought hope and healing to America. We celebrate the timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. Kings character and empowered his leadership at the Peace, Love and Unity Service. These same values are displayed within the values of CHI Memorial through reverence, integrity, compassion and excellence."

The public is invited to attend this service.
High school students, parents and educators are invited College Goal Tennessee 2016 - Framing the Future on Saturday, Jan. 23, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the UTC University Center at 615 McCallie Ave. On-site registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. PEF and partners are hosting this free college planning and financial aid workshop as part of the nationwide "College Goal" initiative.

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided. Please sign up at pefchattanooga.org/register.

High school students, parents and educators are invited to learn how students can succeed in college and how to apply for financial aid. They will receive free on-site assistance filling out the Free Application for Student Aid - the federal financial aid form that students/parents are required to file for students to be eligible to receive any state or federal aid. College students and their parents are invited to attend as well.

Some of the workshop titles will include:

Show Me the Money: Financial Aid 101

Tennessee Promise

Common Cents Strategies: Financial Success During & After College

Essay Writing

Dont Suffer in Silence: Counseling Support Services in College

First Year Success at College

How to Research Scholarships

Resume, Professionalism & Interviewing

Strategies for Applying to Highly Selective Colleges

Succeeding Regardless of Color or Class

Tips for Parents of New College Students

Should you Hire an Independent Counselor?

The Parent Role in the College Process

Writing Recommendation Letters in 30 minutes

PEF Vice President of College and Career Success Stacy Lightfoot said, "During this free, half-day conference, students and their supporters will learn from experts and each other how to be successful in college. We will cover topics from financial planning for college to what employers are looking for to navigating the college application and much more. Business leaders, college admissions and financial aid experts will lead the sessions. This conference will confront real topics that affect the persistence of college students."

Dr. Jared Bigham, the executive director of the Chattanooga 2.0 initiative, a K-16 economic and workforce development initiative, will be the keynote speaker. Chattanooga 2.0 is a joint partnership between the Hamilton County Department of Education, the Public Education Foundation, the Benwood Foundation and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce to help prepare students for the 21st century workforce.

The goal of Chattanooga 2.0 is to make sure local students are successful in school and prepared for meaningful careers, and to set forth a plan to ensure that 75 percent of all Hamilton County high school graduates obtain a college degree or technical certification by the year 2025, said officials.

This free workshop is sponsored by PEF, UTC, YoungandWiser, Inc, College Goal Tennessee, Girls Preparatory School, Naviance by Hobsons and SACAC (Southern Association for College Admission Counseling).

For more information, contact PEFs Stacy Lightfoot at slightfoot@pefchattanooga.org or 648-4443.






When the Russia-Ukraine war started I told my wife to stock up the essentials like Nescafe, rice and stuff. But she was nonchalant about it ...
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 6, 2016

Google's Internet of Things platform and language, Brillo and Weave, announced last March have new partners. The relationships were announced Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 in Las Vegas.

Brillo and Weave comprise Google's communication framework for connected devices supporting the Internet of Things that Juniper Research forecasts will reach 38.5 billion connected devices in 2020, up from 13.4 billion in 2015.

Consumers are becoming more in tune with a variety of Internet-connected devices. According to a Harris Poll study of 4,000 U.S. adults on behalf of Coldwell Banker, 45% of consumers either own smart-home technology or plan to invest in it this year, Of those who have or plan to get smart-home technology, 36% dont consider themselves to be early adopters of technology. Some 70% of consumers with smart-home technology said buying their first home product made them more likely to buy another one.

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What do consumers think makes a home smart and secure? Some 63% believe the solution is security such as locks and alarm systems; 63% look to temperature control through thermostats and fans; 58% think it involves lighting such as smart light bulbs; and 56% are concerned with safety measures such as fire and carbon monoxide detectors.

Here are some examples of Google partner announcements made at CES:

Asus built a smart-home bridge based on Brillo that should allow people using other Asus smart-home products to hook them up to an Android phone. The company doesn't plan to stop at just a hub, and plans to release more products this year.

Marvell announced the EZ-Connect MW300 and MW302 Wi-Fi microcontroller system-on-chips (SOCs) that support Weave. these microcontrollers can be used by other manufacturers of home appliances, wireless storage, thermostats such as Next, toys, and other connected products.

Harman is the "first systems integration partner" for Brillo and Weave in which their speaker product line will be updated to support the protocol in 2016. The company also says it will simplify the design process for manufacturers by providing support throughout the entire development cycle, making the ability to go to market easier.

Kwikset, a major smart lock company, also positioned itself to work with Google on a line of smart locks that will connect with Android-running phones.

LG also will build Brillo and Weave into its products to help make their appliances less reliant on specific apps and phones for control.
by Amy Corr @MediaPostOTL, January 6, 2016

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Thelaunched "You Are The Parks," a 60-second ad that transforms people into parks. To illustrate how America's national parks belong to all of us, body painter Natalie Fletcher painted people from head to toe in various hues. As folks traipse through city streets and suburban neighborhoods, they appear out of place. When they arrive at their final destination, like Zion National Park, Muir Woods and Federal Hall National Memorial, everyone blends in beautifully with their respective park. See it here , created by
by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, January 6, 2016

The 42nd U.S. president, Bill Clinton, started off the year in New Hampshire campaigning for his wife and potential Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Despite the former presidents significant popularity and campaigning prowess, his reemergence as a major surrogate may do as much harm as good for Hillarys campaign.

As soon as Bill Clinton reentered the spotlight, Donald Trump came out swinging. His main pressure point was Bill's history of extramarital affairs, particularly his escapades while he was in the White House.

Trump then went on to attack Hillary, calling her an accomplice or enabler for one of the great women abusers of all time.

As has been made clear to the public numerous times over the past few months, Trump himself has his own troubles with female voters. Though polls are not entirely clear on the issue, there is a strong indication that the gender gap among Trump supporters is expanding.

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These attacks could also help allegations resurface that Trump assaulted his ex-wife in the 1980s.

Attacking Bill is Trump's best chance to stem the inevitable majority of women Hillary would win, should it be a Trump-versus-Clinton general election. Further, Trump now has the space to rough up the Democrats, with his GOP opponents busy going at each other.

The Clintons must have known that Bills history with women would be addressed -- but his ease with crowds and 60% favorability, according to polls held in late 2015, are surely helpful.

Other issues will dog Bill Clintons resurgence on the campaign trail. A major theme of this cycle, pervading both parties, is deep distrust of the old Washington establishment, of which the Clintons are a major component.

It is difficult to see any overarching positive with Bill in the ring. Though, for someone whose first memories of U.S. politics have Bill Clinton at the helm, there is something comforting and nostalgic about being reminded of a time when the world wasnt so combustible.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 6, 2016

The digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation is urging T-Mobile to revise its new BingeOn program by making the feature opt-in.

BingeOn, which T-Mobile introduced last November, allows subscribers to stream unlimited video from around two dozen partner companies, including Crackle, Hulu and Netflix. But there's a downside: T-Mobile is degrading the quality of all video, from partner companies as well as non-partners like YouTube, to "DVD quality." DVD quality is just 480 lines per screen; HD quality, by comparison, requires at least 720 lines per screen.

T-Mobile allows users to opt out of BingeOn, but the service is activated by default.

T-Mobile has said it "optimizes" video by streaming it at DVD quality, but the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation says its tests show the company actually slows down all HTML5 video streams to just 1.5 Mbps.

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The EFF, like other net neutrality advocates, says that T-Mobile's move violates Federal Communications Commission regulations that prohibit broadband carriers from degrading services or applications. "Its pretty obvious that throttling all traffic based on application type definitely violates the principles of net neutrality," the EFF writes. "It also obviously violates the FCCs Open Internet Order."

The group is calling on T-Mobile to make the service opt-in, and also clearly disclose that signing up will result in the throttling of all video traffic. Alternatively, the EFF proposes that T-Mobile should only throttle video streams by Crackle, Hulu, Netflix and the other companies that participate in BingeOn.

The EFF also is urging the FCC to take action, unless T-Mobile revises the program. "We believe the FCC should regulate lightly, but our research suggests this is a significant consumer harm that runs afoul of well-established open internet principles," the EFF writes. "The FCC can and should step in and hold T-Mobile accountable."

The EFF isn't the only one challenging about T-Mobile's decision to throttle all of the video streamed on its network. Google, along with the trade group Internet Association, recently criticized BingeOn.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler initially described BingeOn as "highly innovative and highly competitive."

But the agency recently asked three carriers, including T-Mobile, for more information about their decision to exempt some material from subscribers' data caps.
by Wayne Friedman , January 6, 2016

LAS VEGAS -- Already a major contributor to the current changes in the U.S. TV industry, now Netflix looks to make an even bigger move globally.

In his keynote speech here at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday, chief executive officer/co-founder Reed Hastings says the subscription over-the-top TV service will triple the number of countries where it will be available -- adding 130 new territories, bringing its total to 190, a nearly global footprint.

New countries that can access Netflix include Vietnam, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hastings noted that one big exception was China. Netflix continues to explore opens for that territory.

Netflix stock price jumped nearly 6% to $113.72 in mid-day Wednesday trading.

"Today, you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network," said Hastings, in prepared remarks. "With the help of the Internet, we are putting power in consumers' hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device."

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At the end of last year, Netflix was available in 60 countries. Netflix totaled 69.17 million subscribers worldwide, with 43.18 million of these coming from the U.S.

Building on its push into original programming, the company says in 2016, it plans to release 31 new and returning original series, 24 original feature films and documentaries, stand-up comedy specials and 30 original kids series.
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 6, 2016

Were now over a decade into the social media age, but a significant proportion of social media users are still leaving themselves open to hacks, stalking and impersonation through basic errors and negligence, according to a new survey from IDC and Kaspersky Lab. The survey polled around 18,000 people around the world about their social media habits.

Overall 78% of respondents said they used Facebook. And while roughly a third of respondents said they shared posts and other personal information publicly, 9% of the total survey group was doing so unwittingly, believing this content was only visible to their online friends. Furthermore, a quarter of survey respondents said they will click on a link from a friend without asking where it links to -- a major vulnerability if the friends profile has been taken over by a hacker.

Theres also still a lot of what might be termed promiscuous friending, with 12% of respondents saying they will add anyone who asks to their online network, even if they dont know them; 31% said they would do so for someone who is a friend of a friend, again raising the risk of hacking (as a hacker could gain access to a profile, add fake profiles to the profiles circle of friends, and then use these connections to approach other users).

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Kaspersky added that social media users unsafe behaviors also pose a threat to their employers, potentially compromising IT security at the organizational level.

Data published separately by the Identity Theft Research Center recently revealed that 178 million Americans were exposed to cyber attacks in 2015, including high-profile breaches of records at the federal governments Office of Personnel Management and the online dating site Ashley Madison.

Another online security firm, Micro Trend, is predicting that 2016 will be the year of online extortion, as more and more hackers use ransomware to take control of devices and demand payment to release them.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 6, 2016

Search engine optimization (SEO) professional William Stanley, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay financial restitution for attempting to extort money from a business in Dallas, according to U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

The court ordered Stanley to pay $174,888 in restitution to a dozen victims, including the Dallas-based GE, for extortion.

Stanley threatened individuals and companies to engage in illegitimate SEO work by posting fraudulent comments and creating negative reviews online, if the victim did not pay him a certain sum of money.

It turns out that GE entered into a contract with Stanley for SEO services in 2009. Stanley was hired because of his ability to improve a firms online reputation through search results, but after one year GE sought to terminate its relationship after it determined he had acted outside of his contract.

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Stanley also created Web sites that had the ability to damage GEs reputation by associating GE with a scam, per the United States Attorneys Office document. Stanley demanded additional payments to end his contractual relationship with GE and to surrender the administrator rights to the websites to GE. From November 2010 through January 2011, GE paid Stanley a total of $80,000 to terminate the relationship.

Stanley and his sister, Lynn Faust, who assisted in operating the SEO company, were indicted in 2014. Stanley pleaded guilty last month to one count of Hobbs Act, Extortion. Faust, 55, who was arrested in Sweden in May 2014, pleaded guilty in July 2015 to a Superseding Information charging one count of receiving the proceeds of extortion and aiding and abetting. She faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Feb. 1, 2016, before Judge Godbey.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, January 6, 2016

Chicago-based advertising and PR shop Schafer Condon Carter (SCC) has been selected by Stetson Dress Hats, to handle PR and brand strategy, content development and media outreach.

SCC said it would deploy a proprietary brand planning process to set the strategic foundation for work on the account. That work is part of a broader portfolio management initiative that Stetson parent Hatco Inc. of is implementing across its ten hat and clothing brands.

Ricky Bolin, General Manager at Dallas-based Hatco commented: SCC has a proven track record of delivering results. We were immediately impressed with their insight into our brand and business and found their approach to building brand advocacy to be very freshWe look forward to their smart thinking and tenacity in our partnership.

Added SCC Managing Partner Mike Grossman: "Stetson is an iconic brand with extraordinary growth potential and fashion relevance. The hat maker, founded by John B. Stetson in Philadelphia in 1865, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015.
by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 6, 2016

Not that we didn't all understand this to be the way of things come 2016 but it's always nice to have a bit of research to clarify one's assumptions. Trusted Media Brands has released findings from a recent survey, conducted in December 2015 among 283 U.S media decision makers, on mobile advertising formats. The study was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions and surveyed clients and agency executives.

According to the study, while 63 percent of respondents used display banners in mobile last year, only 45 percent expect to do so in 2016. Almost half of respondents (45 percent) plan to use video in 2016, with 46 percent of total respondents planning to use pre- or mid-roll video and 45 percent planning to use native in mobile as well.

And, of course, unsurprisingly, the majority of marketers at agencies and brands (63 percent) agree that mobile phones should have ads. Why even ask that question?

Regarding mobile and native, the top three benefits of mobile native ad formats cited by agencies and marketers are that they are less intrusive (44 percent), increase brand awareness (32 percent) and foster better engagement and interaction (31 percent). Among agencies, 31 percent cited the more authentic brand voice native ads lend, while 33 percent of brand marketers noted the better user experience as a benefit.

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Regarding mobile and video, increased brand awareness was noted by 47 percent of marketers as the most important benefit, while engagement (34 percent) and how well suited video is to mobile consumption behaviors (31 percent) followed. Among 26 percent of agencies, video is seen as providing a more authentic brand voice, while 25 percent of marketers believe it impacts lead generation.

Pre- and mid-roll video is the top ad format planned for use in 2016 (46 percent), while native and display banners tied second at 45 percent each, representing a slight dip from the use of native ads by 50 percent of marketers last year.
by Barbara Lippert , Featured Columnist, January 6, 2016

Happy new year, Mad Blog peeps. Hope 2016 is already treating you well.

And now, back to Trump.

In interviews and on the stump, the Donald often brags about being able to speak for hours sans notes or teleprompter -- and it shows. He rambles and gets repetitive, like that relative who tells you the same story over and over -- which was semi-entertaining the first time around, because he makes faces and acts out voices and gets unexpectedly mean and competitive about other family members.

But when you actually call him on anything, like why he got divorced or lost his house, then he changes the subject and starts getting slightly telethonic, like Jerry Lewis with his bow tie hanging low after 48 hours on stage.

Still, Trump supporters eat it up. After all, they know him from The Apprentice! And with them, Trump speaks conversationally, with all the rhythms and idioms of Queens, like Let me tell you!, You better believe it! and I kid you not! Those kinds of phrases personalize the performance, and seem soothing to angry crowds looking for a powerful celebrity friend, not a politician.

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While hes all over the place, he is very clear on a few things, including his strong anti-terrorist and anti-immigrant leanings -- and that in the Middle East, we should take the oil.

But now, with the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries less than one month away, it seems Trump is acknowledging that he cant just rely on free media, his obsession with polls, or his rambling stand-up sessions to get the nomination done. Its crunch time, and he is acknowledging that he has to be more disciplined and strategic -- perhaps like an actual politician. Thus, the king of free media has announced that his campaign will spend upwards of $2 million a week on TV ads, the first of which debuted earlier this week.

I was shocked by this initial spot. For whatever reason, I didnt expect it to be so hate-filled and obviously demagogue-ish. Imagine if the ghosts of early Lee Atwater and Goebbels cobbled something together. Seems like someones been brushing up on Mein Kampf.

The spot opens and closes with soaring shots of DJT literally raised on stage, behind a podium, speaking to cheering (white) throngs in living color. (Plus whatever golden/orangey stripe you consider his head feathers to be.)

Hes the appetizers and dessert. The spots main dish is a big pot of major nasty, either ominously darkened or leached of color. It starts with a a grainy surveillance-like photo of Obama and Hillary, standing together like a couple, looking stressed and upset. They are followed by mug-shot-y, frontal photos of the San Bernadino killers, the dead-eyed young man and his wife in hijab, in the exact same left-to-right, male-female position. The message seems to be, one of these couples is just like the other.

The most artful part of the ad's set-up is what appears in a box on the bottom of each frame: the words (in all caps) work as subtitles (or literal text as subtext.) Phrases like Radical Islam and Cut the head off Isis, jump off the screen. And meanwhile, each of the boxes is designed with stars on the top to suggest military messaging, and Trumps name in caps, on the bottom, so that every frame is branded, like one of the billionaires buildings. This is Trump Country, and were just living in it.

The Donald tends to view things from on high -- and some of the shots are even seen through the actual cross-hatchings of a scope, as if we are the hunters, viewing people from a great distance, and as such they become dehumanized targets.

The most contentious part comes halfway through the spot. The narrator (who sounds terribly average, while Trump sounds forced and tinny) gets into familiar territory with "He'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our southern border that Mexico will pay for.

The video is indeed an aerial shot of migrants trying to cross a border. But its taken from such a distance that these people look like microscopic little black bugs, scuttling around in a garbage dump. The distance, the separateness, and the lack of context is especially desensitizing. Thats why Nazi propaganda often referred to Jews as rats or vermin.

Politifact immediately labeled this footage Pants on Fire, (their highest liar rating) because it has nothing to do with our southern border. Its actually video that appeared on Italian television showing migrants trying to enter a small Spanish enclave on the mainland of Morocco, 5,000 miles away.

When called out on this lie, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told NBC News, No sh-- it's not the Mexican border, but that's what our country is going to look like. This was 1,000% on purpose. "

The only tiny moment of non-fascistic levity, for me, came when the narrator, talking about the suggested very tough ban on Muslims, repeats the Trump line, Until we can figure out whats going on. That seemed awfully weak and seat-of-the-pants for a commercial that otherwise aggressively views the world through the barrel of a gun. Imagine if Obama made such a statement?

Otherwise, this is high propaganda, with low, almost hysterical, Willie Horton-level, subliminal fear-mongering in its visuals.

I wonder what will follow when he actually takes the gloves off. Given this level of discourse, Trump must be terrified that he wont win.
by Thom Forbes @tforbes, January 7, 2016

Chipotle Mexican Grill not only told investors yesterday that its sales had been harder hit than it initially anticipated by the reaction to recent outbreaks of E. coli and other food-borne illnesses, it also revealed that it received a grand jury subpoena last month for an investigation by federal authorities into a norovirus outbreak in August at a restaurant in Simi Valley, Calif.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration's office of criminal investigations, reports Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times. It has been asked to submit a broad range of documents related to an isolated incident in August and says it is cooperating fully with the authorities.

Criminal inquiries related to food safety outbreaks are uncommon, but there has been increased attention on these issues and companies' responses to them, especially after the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law in 2011, Masunaga reports.

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We're sort of in new territory here, Michael Roberts, executive director of the Resnick Program for Food Law and Policy at UCLA, tells Masunaga. I think we're seeing a new partnership between the FDA and prosecutors.

Its pretty atypical for the FDA to get involved in a single store, albeit in a sizable outbreak, Steve Kluting, regional director of the food and agribusiness group at risk-management firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, tells the Wall Street Journals Julie Jargon and Jesse Newman. It makes me suspect its part of a bigger investigation involving Chipotles supply chain or an intentional contamination by an outside party at that store.

Chipotles woes started when it closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon after health authorities linked an E. coli outbreak to six restaurants in the region, reports Roberto A. Ferdman in the Washington Post.

Illnesses contracted at Chipotles were then reported in seven more states, including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland, Ferdman writes. Then in December, at least 80 students at Boston College fell ill after eating at a Chipotle, leading the company to close another restaurant. Boston health officials said the cause was norovirus, a common virus, while citing the restaurant for two health violations: improper handling of poultry and the presence of a sick employee.

The barrage of bad news has battered the chains reputation with consumers and its buzz with investors. Until recently, its 1,900 units had enjoyed a steady rise and stellar reputation.

In a incredibly competitive fast-food industry, Chipotle has tried to distinguish itself as selling food with integrity with high-quality ingredients and more cooking in-house, points out CNBCs Katie Little. But following the outbreaks, it has shifted some of these cooking steps out of restaurants to heighten food safety, a move that is more in line with traditional fast food.

I'm not sure, quite frankly, they'll ever have the halo they did prior to the outbreak, Bob Derrington, senior restaurant analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, tells Little, although he thinks sales will recover over several years. It could take a decade before they're fully back, Gene Grabowski, a partner at K Global and head of its crisis communications group, tells Little.

Timothy Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, tells NPRS Jim Zarroli that while customers are often quick to forgive companies for transgressions, that may not be the case this time.

The difficult thing for Chipotle is that, it's not that there was one incident. There have been a number of different incidents. And the problem with that is that it creates an overall perception, and it raises questions about safety, he says.

The burrito chain's stock has taken a walloping, falling by more than one-third in last 12 months and losing 5% to close Wednesday at $426.67. The company said it has approved the repurchase of up to another $300 million of its shares, in addition to a $300 million authorization approved in December, writes Aamer Madhani for USA Today.

Meanwhile, Chipotle has parted ways with Edelman and is reviewing proposals from several PR agencies with a new firm expected to be in place within the next few weeks, the Holmes Reports Arun Sudhaman reports. The agreement to part ways at the end of 2015 after seven years comes after Edelman took on a sizable piece of business ... that presented a conflict, Chipotle communications director Chris Arnold tells Sudhaman.
by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, January 7, 2016

Paul Woolmington, a former top Madison Avenue media exec who founded MDCs The Media Kitchen and the U.S. operations of Naked, has come back to the media services industry as CEO of Canvas Worldwide, a joint venture of independent media giant Horizon Media and creative services network Innocean Worldwide.

The role, which is effective Jan. 18, marks Woolmingtons return to the business after stepping down as head of Nakeds North American operations in October 2012.

Woolmington, who conceived and successfully launched The Media Kitchen in 2001, left to join Naked in 2006. He previously was the top media executive at Young & Rubicam, The Media Edge (now MEC) and Ammirati Puris Lintas and is known for non-conventional communications planning approaches to media.

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Woolmington, who will work out of Canvas Los Angeles and New York offices, most recently has been working as a consultant to a number of marketers, media and agencies, serves on a number of boards and is an active angel investor.
by Ben Frederick , Staff Writer @mp_benfred, January 7, 2016

Say what you want about presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the mans got millennials hyped about voting.

And if theres one thing that advertisers love, its millennials. And if theres one thing millennials love, its their phones. And though unfortunately they arent as likely to vote now, millennials will be the next generation of voters. And if theres one thing that politicians love, its votes, because votes give them access to power. And if politicians want to reach millennials with political ads, then it will probably be through their phones.

At least, Im pretty sure thats how it all works.

As the 2016 presidential nominee battle/campaign finally gets to flex its muscles because its actually 2016 now, some politicians are starting to experiment with geo-targeted mobile political ads in caucus and primary states. This year will most likely see political marketers dipping their toes in the ever-deepening waters of mobile advertising. But thats only a taste of things to come.

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Early in December, Interpublic's Magna Global, Publicis' ZenithOptimedia and WPP's Group M all released forecasts predicting that digital media would surpass TV advertising spend by 2018 at the latest (Magna Global thinks it could happen by this year).

Its not far-fetched to expect this shift will deeply affect political campaigns.

With cord-cutting on the rise as well, all signs point to TV losing its dominance as a medium. But political ads bring in especially high revenues for local broadcasters. During the 2012 election, local stations brought in almost $3 billion in political ad revenue.

A report from the Associated Press highlighted the efforts of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) to keep hold of ad dollars shifting from TV into digital and mobile. TVB is running a PR campaign called We get voters as well as sponsoring events and meeting with high-powered lobbying groups in DC.

Its hard to say whether these efforts will pay off. TV is inherently better at providing reach to ad campaigns, but mobile devices are becoming the primary device for average Joes. And as attribution becomes more accurate, advertisers will be able to single out those likely to vote and target them.

It will be interesting to watch how these developments affect local politics as well. For now though, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.
The first ever Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) is being heralded as an "unequivocal success" by Mayor Emanuel after attendance numbers revealed over a half-million visitors experienced the multi-site exhibition between October 1st, 2015 and January 3rd, 2016. Figures released by the city show that 530,551 attendees visited either the main hub at the Chicago Cultural Center or one of the many satellite installations located across the city  an impressive number that includes 30,000 visitors during its first weekend alone.

Titled "The State of the Art of Architecture" and featuring innovative work from 120 contemporary architects representing 30 countries, the exhibit highlighted new ways of approaching design, materials, and their correspondence to humanity. Offering free admission for its world-class content, the CAB was the largest collection of its kind assembled in North America. Working with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the organizers also created programs for K-12 students which brought the CAB experience to over 10,000 young people. Building from its successful debut, the Chicago Architecture Biennial is poised for a return to the Windy City in 2017 with further details  including dates, leaders, and themes  to emerge in the coming months.

Jeanne Gang Talks Police Stations at Architecture Biennial [Curbed Chicago]

The Curbed Guide to the Chicago Architecture Biennial [Curbed Chicago]
by Sara Guaglione , January 7, 2016

Tribune Publishing is shuffling its teams at two brands. The company has named Rick Daniels publisher and CEO at The Baltimore Sun. Tom Wiley will replace Daniels as publisher at Hartford Courant.

Rick Daniels has been interim publisher at The Baltimore Sun since September, when he filled in for Tim Ryan after he was moved to Los Angeles to take over that role at the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The previous LA Times publisher, Austin Beutner, was forced out as the company tried to stabilize newspapers spun off from Tribune Media's broadcasting division in 2014.

In his new position, Daniels oversees media groups anchored by The Baltimomre Sun and The Morning Call, based in Allentown, Pa.

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According to the Sun, Daniels said he wants to focus reporting on the region's economic disparities, as well as evolve in the digital industry.

"The challenge for all publishing companies, for all properties, is to adapt to an ever-changing business model and to devise one that works and still keeps the high level of local relevance that we have and that we've built," Daniels told the Sun.

Staff at The Baltimore Sun and The Morning Call haveseen steadily shrinking numbers. The Morning Call used to have more than 1,000 employees a decade ago and now has less than 400. The Sun employs about 720 people.

However, Daniels stated that there are no further cuts planned at either publication, but that he is planning on a certain level of revenues, and we have to make sure we can attain those," at the Sun.

In past meetings with staff, Daniels said it is his task to expand The Morning Call's online reach, according to the publication.

Daniels has been publisher and CEO of the Hartford Courant Media Group, a subsidiary of Tribune Publishing, for about a year and a half. He was previously president of GateHouse Media New England from 2007 to 2012.

Daniels was president and general manager of The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2005.

Wiley, who will replace Daniels at Hartford Courant, joins Tribune Publishing after having been executive vice president sales at Digital First Media. Wiley was previously VP sales for Lee Enterprises at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

According to the Courant, Wiley said his mission will be to drive financial and audience growth and expand in the changing digital environment. "As new technology emerges, you have to stay ahead of that," he told the newspaper.

Both men will report to Denise Warren, president of digital and CEO of East Coast Publishing at Tribune.

The appointments of Wiley and Daniels took effect Tuesday. In her email announcement, Warren praised Daniels with helping to "significantly expand" the portfolio of print and digital properties at the Hartford Courant Media Group.
A large Danish study looking at nearly 900,000 births finds no link between birth defects and the use of oral contraceptives around the time of conception and early pregnancy. The global sigh of relief is almost audible. Share on Pinterest A large Danish study finds no increase in the risk of birth defects due to contraceptive pill usage. The oral contraceptive pill is the most commonly used form of contraception by women in America. An estimated 16% of women aged 15-44 use the contraceptive pill regularly. The reasons for this prevalence are clear; they are simple to take and, when used accurately, are 99% effective. However, within the first year of taking the oral contraceptive, around 9% of users become pregnant. This is generally through missed doses, illness or drug interactions. Also, when a woman decides to become pregnant and stops taking the pill, she may become pregnant within just a few menstrual cycles. In both of these cases, the fetus may have some exposure to the sex hormones in the pill. Despite the vast numbers of women and fetuses exposed to these hormones, very little is known about their potential effects on the unborn child.

Previous research into fetal effects of contraceptive pills Research into this matter spans decades, and for good reason. It is known that exogenous sex hormones increase levels of vitamin A and decrease the levels of folate in the mother. Both of these changes are considered to be theoretically teratogenic; in other words, they have the potential to disturb the development of the embryo. Although the subject has been investigated, much of the findings are tentative at best. Some of the previous studies were reliant on retrospectively self-reporting usage of the contraceptive pill. The concern is that a woman who has a child with a birth defect may recall their oral contraceptive exposure differently. Other studies utilized only small sample sizes, and because birth defects are rare, unless a huge sample is used, it is difficult to infer a genuine relationship with any degree of accuracy. Some earlier research found no links between oral contraceptives and birth defects; others found associations between the pill and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (malformed left ventricle), limb defects, gastroschisis (the babys intestines protrude through a hole in the abdominal wall) and urinary tract anomalies.
Our skin is covered in millions of bacteria and most of them help keep us healthy. However, for patients with lymphoma, it may be a rather different story, as new research from the University of Copenhagen shows that toxins in the staphylococcus bacteria help cancer cells gain control over healthy cells. The Danish Cancer Society's Break Cancer Collection contributed DKK 3 million (US$0.5 million) to the research project.

Bacteria infections are more common in patients with skin lymphoma as their skin is more fragile, due to their illness. And as the illness progresses, the infections become more frequent. However, new research from the University of Copenhagen reveal that the infections may even benefit the cancer cells, because the toxins in certain staphylococcus bacteria make healthy cells produce substances that in fact advance their growth.

"We have gained important insight into the processes that activate cancer cells and make them grow. Patients' frequent bacteria infections might not be a mere side effect of the disease - on the contrary, toxins in the bacteria actually 'benefit' cancer cells. Our next step is examining whether combating infections can slow down the growth of cancer cells and thus stop the disease," says Professor Niels Oedum from the University of Copenhagen, who, in collaboration with PhD student Andreas Willerslev-Olsen, is behind these new results that have have just been published in one of the world's leading haematology journals Blood.

The fight between cancer cells and the immune defence mechanism

The most common type of skin lymphoma is caused by the fact that specific immune cells - CD4-T-lymphocyttes - turn into cancer cells. They behave unnaturally and turn parasitic on the rest of the immune system. In addition to using healthy cells to do their work for them, cancer cells also slowly destroy the skin's immune defence mechanism. The new discoveries show that bacteria toxins in some patients enable cancer cells to send off signals that obstruct and change the immune defence mechanism, which would otherwise fight the cancer cells. What was believed to be an overly active immune defence mechanism could in other words turn out to be a malignant infection brought on by bacteria, which only worsens the disease.

Skin lymphoma is a rare type of cancer. Annually, approx. 50 people in Denmark are diagnosed with the disease, which is often confused with eczema or other benign skin diseases, which is why it sometimes takes years to reach the proper diagnosis. In most patients, the disease will stay inactive for years, while in others, it will suddenly erupt and turn into an aggressive and life threatening cancer.

So far, researchers have no knowledge of what causes skin lymphoma or why it suddenly becomes very aggressive in some patients. It is a continual fight between growing cancer cells and an immune defence mechanism that tries to contain the disease by obstructing and killing the cancer cells.

Scientist at the University of Copenhagen and Skejby Hospital will continue their work on how bacteria might affect the balance between the immune defence mechanism and the disease. In the long term, their aim is to understand how bacteria and their toxins can worsen cancer - knowledge that may also be used to develop new targeted treatments. As only some of the bacteria produce toxins, it is important to also increase knowledge about and develop methods to locate exactly those patients who may benefit form treatment with antibiotics.
NHS reorganisation, coupled with increased GP workload and reduced time for patient care, are combining to force many doctors to leave general practice early, according to a significant new study published today (Thursday 7 January 2016).

The findings, out in the British Journal of General Practice from researchers at the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Staffordshire, also highlight how nearly half (45.5%) of all GPs leaving the profession in England between 2009-14 were under 50.

In their study, which was commissioned by NHS England, the authors liken the situation faced by GPs as akin to 'boiling frogs' - whereby internal and external pressures, as well as a tick box and blame culture, have slowly built up, to a point where for many GPs, continuing is no longer sustainable.

The researchers suggest that in order to buck the trend, and avert a further crisis in GP retention and recruitment for the NHS, the pace of administrative change must be minimised and the time spent by GPs on work that is not face-to-face patient care needs to be reduced.

With the cost to UK taxpayers of the 5-years of postgraduate training for each GP stacking up to 249,261, there is a real imperative to resolve the challenges faced and to retain these highly-trained professionals within the UK primary care workforce, the authors suggest.

The study, which comprised qualitative interviews and an online survey of 143 GPs who had left the profession early, identifies the main issue impacting the decisions of those leaving the profession early as the changing role of general practice.

79% cited unhappiness with day-to-day life as a GP as a significant factor in their decision to leave. 55% thought that non-clinical workload was too high, with 84% citing workplace pressures as an additional reason for leaving.

Lead author and Qualitative Researcher within the Department for Health at the University of Bath, Dr Natasha Doran explains: "This is not the first time we've witnessed a crisis in GP recruitment and retention, but what characterises today's challenge is the number leaving general practice early in their careers. An increase in administrative tasks has resulted in less time with patients, compromising the ability to practise more patient-centred care. This has impacted on GPs' sense of professional autonomy and values, resulting in reduced job satisfaction, overwork, stress and for many, a higher risk of burnout."

Since 2008, an additional 40 million patient consultations per year have added to the workload of GPs. Patient demand for services in England continues to grow with an estimated 340 million patient consultations per year overall.

Despite this, efforts to encourage more medical graduates to enter GP training have so far fallen short. The Department for Health's target to increase GP training numbers to 3,250 a year has instead remained well below this target, at 2,700 GPs a year.

Principal investigator on this study and former GP, Dr Michael Harris added: "In the last few years I have seen many of my GP colleagues leaving practice early because of the unbearable pressure of work. This study has found a key reason is that the constantly increasing administrative workload has reduced the time for the face-to-face patient care that they are passionate about. To improve retention of GPs in practice, NHS leaders need to minimise the pace of change and to reduce the amount of time spent by GPs on administrative work."

Co-author, Dr Fiona Fox from the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol commented: "It is of great concern that the cumulative pressures identified in our study, mean that experienced GPs are being lost to the NHS."
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer and occurred in 230,000 women in the United States in 2015. Breast cancer afflicts 1 in 8 women in their lifetime and 1 in 25 die from this disease. Although a number of randomized trials demonstrate the clear benefits of mammography screening in women up to age 74 on reducing mortality, data are sparse in women over the age of 74, especially minorities. In 2010, 41 percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in the more than 19 million women who are between the ages of 65 to 84 years.

In a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine, Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., senior author and first Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, indicates that black and white women ages 75 to 84 years who had an annual mammogram had lower 10-year breast cancer mortality than corresponding women who had biennial or no/irregular mammograms.

Among elder women, the American Cancer Society and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommend regular mammography for ages 65 to 74.

Although many guidelines rely on self-reports, Hennekens and his collaborators from Baylor College of Medicine and Meharry Medical College, used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program file linked to the Medicare administrative claims file, which allowed them to identify screening mammography use from 1995 to 2009 from 64,384 non-Hispanic women (4,886 black and 59,498 white). These linked files also permitted them to explore breast cancer mortality differences between elderly black or white women who self-selected for regular annual or biennial mammography screening. The researchers selected 69 as the lower age limit because Medicare coverage of the general population begins at age 65, and the exposure of interest was regular mammography screening in the four years immediately preceding breast cancer diagnosis.

Three mutually exclusive categories were defined: no or irregular mammography; biennial mammography; and annual mammography. They looked at data from non-Hispanic, white or black women; Hispanics were not included because Hispanic white women have substantially lower mortality than non-Hispanic whites, and the number of Hispanic blacks is small. The researchers also measured socioeconomic status looking at median household income, the percentage of individuals living below the poverty level, and whether or not they had a high school education.

Other significant findings from the study show that:

White women who had died tended to be older, to have a later stage diagnosis, to have received chemotherapy, and to have a higher socioeconomic status.

White women who died were less likely to have undergone surgery and receive radiation therapy.

Similar characteristics were seen in black women as in white women.

69- to 84-year-old women receiving regular annual screening mammography during the four years immediately preceding breast cancer diagnosis had consistently lower five-year and 10-year risks of breast cancer mortality than women with no or irregular screening regardless of race.

10-year risks were more than three times higher among white and more than two times higher among blacks aged 69 to 84 years with no or irregular screening compared with annual screening.

Hennekens notes that further research is needed, but that in the future, the use of regular claims-based surveillance for mammography as a source of data may offer some unique advantages over self-reports.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Memphis recently published an article in the American Journal of Men's Health which found that men and their health providers are not having important discussions when it comes to prostate cancer screening and treatment.

As a UNMC urologist who treats prostate cancer, Chad LaGrange, M.D., subscribes to the American Urological Association's guidelines that recommend screening for men 55-69 years of age and men younger than 55 years of age whose family member had prostate cancer or are African-American.

Since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended in 2012 against prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening - a simple blood test - a number of organizations have begun to caution against routine population screening. At the same time, there are some organizations that continue to recommend PSA screening.

"Nobody is willing to make strict guidelines concerning prostate cancer screening," said Dr. LaGrange, UNMC associate professor and the Edward and Sally Malashock Chair of Urologic Surgery who was one of the authors of the article. "Part of the problem is the current recommendations for screening are vague. The task force study has some flaws.

"Most of the guidelines today say it's OK to screen, but if screening is done, health providers should really discuss with the patient what screening means and what the downfalls are and what the advantages are. This is called shared decision making."

Dr. LaGrange and researchers from UNMC and the University of Memphis wanted to know if this "shared decision making" is happening between providers and patients, which patients are getting a good discussion about prostate cancer screening and which patients aren't.

Lead author of the study was Soumitra Bhuyan, Ph.D., University of Memphis.

Researchers looked at 1,700 patient questionnaires nationwide which asked questions about PSA screening to determine if physicians were going over the risks and benefits of PSA screening before doing the screening or explaining how prostate cancer is treated.

The researchers measured whether four areas were communicated with patients. Below are the areas and results.

17 percent of patients were told that some experts disagree about whether men should have PSA tests;

23 percent were told that some types of prostate cancer are slow-growing and need no treatment;

25 percent were told that the PSA test isn't always accurate in diagnosing prostate cancer; and

31 percent of patients were told that treating any type of prostate cancer can lead to serious side effects such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Dr. LaGrange said the study showed only 9 percent of patients had all four areas discussed with them.

His advice for men with the conflicting information?

"The only way to find the serious prostate cancer cases is to screen," he said. "If there's a diagnosis, then men should get a second opinion to decide whether it needs to be treated based on the guidelines and all clinical information available."

Dr. LaGrange said the debate should focus not so much on prostate cancer screening but rather on over-treating prostate cancer.

"Some cancers don't need to be treated. We can watch patients and simply follow them," he said.

Dr. LaGrange said one of the biggest take home messages from the study is that men should establish a long-term relationship with a primary care physician.

"This speaks to the physician-patient relationship. An open discussion is more likely with a provider with whom patients have a long-term relationship," he said.

Other UNMC researchers who were part of the study include Aastha Chandak, Niodita Gupta, M.D., and Sudhir Isharwal, M.D.
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, has announced the publication of a scientific study of PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells in the prominent peer-reviewed journal Clinical Science. The paper, titled "Human Placenta-Derived Stromal Cells Decrease Inflammation, Placental Injury, and Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Pregnant Mice," describes the positive findings of a recent preclinical study of PLX-PAD cells for the treatment of preeclampsia. This marks the first published study indicating the superiority of placenta-derived mesenchymal cells in a therapeutic outcome as compared to cells derived from bone marrow or fat tissue, thus having implications beyond preeclampsia. Scientists also described the potential mechanism of action by which PLX-PAD cells treated symptoms of preeclampsia. Conducted by independent scientists at the Texas A&M Health Science Center/Baylor Scott & White Health, the paper was co-authored by scientists from the Health Science Center and Pluristem Therapeutics.

Preeclampsia occurs in approximately 6-8% of pregnancies worldwide, and greatly increases the risks of serious illness and death for a pregnant woman and her baby. There is no cure other than delivery, which may be necessary even if the baby will be born prematurely, in some cases even before a viable gestational age is reached. Pluristem's PLX-PAD cells recently received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of severe preeclampsia.

"This study is extremely important at this time because it provides data which demonstrate two critical outcomes. First, study findings indicated the potential mechanism of action to explain the effectiveness of PLX-PAD cells in the treatment of symptoms of preeclampsia following intramuscular injection. Second, the data have implications beyond preeclampsia by suggesting the superiority of placenta-derived cells over those sourced from fat tissue and bone marrow," stated Pluristem Chairman and CEO Zami Aberman. "The study confirms the power of placental cells to address complex diseases without harming the patient, through a clear mechanism of action and multifactorial response. Specific to preeclampsia, with the support of the FDA's Orphan Drug Designation, we look forward to advancing into clinical studies in this severe unmet need that causes so many serious consequences for pregnant women and their babies."

Data from the study showed that PLX-PAD cells, which are derived from placental cells, were able to normalize or significantly lower all the key symptoms of preeclampsia in two mouse models of the disease with only one intramuscular dose. PLX-PAD cells normalized blood pressure, marker levels of kidney function, and blood vessel function, all of which are considered to be key physiologic features contributing to preeclampsia. PLX-PAD also reduced levels of markers of inflammation and placental injury, thought to be central to the disease process as well.

Another important finding was that PLX-PAD cells did not affect healthy pregnant mice or their fetuses, consistent with prior independent studies conducted at Charles River. The trial data provide further evidence that administration of PLX cells into muscle generates a systemic effect, without any cell migration or engraftment into the mother, the placenta or her fetus. The article cites an earlier animal study, in which PLX-PAD cells were shown to stay in the muscle in which they were injected, and that they were no longer detectable after several weeks, i.e., there was no migration or engraftment of PLX cells.

The study also compared PLX-PAD cells, which are placenta derived, to cells derived from bone marrow and human adipose (fat) tissue, which were found to have no therapeutic effect. Data showed that PLX-PAD cells successfully treated symptoms that are present in diseases beyond preeclampsia, including immune system disturbances, excessive inflammation, and vascular dysfunction. Cells from bone marrow and fat tissue administered in these studies did not improve outcomes.

Additional Information about the Study

There were three study arms. On gestational days 13, 15 and 17, pregnant C57BL/6J mice were given intraperitoneal injections of a control (saline), TLR3 agonist or TLR7 agonist. Administration of TLR3 or TLR7 agonists generated two parallel animal models of preeclampsia. On gestational day 14, mice within each group received an intramuscular injection of either a control (PlasmaLyte) or PLX-PAD cells. Selected groups of TLR3 and TLR7 agonist-exposed mice received either adipose cells or bone marrow cells on day 14, administered intramuscularly as well.

Mice exposed to either TLR3 or TLR7 agonists developed preeclampsia-like symptoms; these included hypertension, signs of kidney dysfunction (abnormal urinary protein/creatinine ratio), and signs of vascular dysfunction (abnormal endothelium-dependent relaxation responses). Those treated with intramuscular injection of PLX-PAD cells on day 14 of gestation exhibited significantly decreased systolic blood pressure by day 17. In both mouse models of preeclampsia, each decrease was statistically significant (p<0.05) for PLX-PAD treated mice as compared to control. By day 17, PLX-PAD treatment normalized the elevated levels of urinary protein/creatinine ratio in both models, and both decreases were statistically significant (p<.05) as compared to control. On gestational day 17, aortic endothelium-dependent relaxation responses improved significantly in PLX-PAD treated mice both in the TLR3 and the TLR7 models of preeclampsia, and the improvements were statistically significant for both (p<.05) as compared to control. Treatment with PLX-PAD cells also reduced the levels of markers of systemic inflammation and placental injury in these models.

In both mouse models of preeclampsia, single doses of PLX-PAD cells were able to reduce all of the measured preeclampsia symptoms in these mice. In contrast, human adipose or bone marrow cells were not able to reduce the inflammation, hypertension, or proteinuria in these preeclamptic mice.

The cells were shown to secrete multiple chemical factors thought to address pathological processes central to the disease, including hMMP-1, hMMP-2, hMMP-3, and hTIMP-1. Also observed in treated mice were increased levels of mEGF and mVEGF. These findings suggest that PLX-PAD cells exert multifactorial therapeutic mechanism to address various features of a complex disease process.
Millions of Americans suffer from mental illness. Many seek therapy, but racial background influences availability and quality of treatment. In 1999 and 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office issued reports highlighting racial inequities: Racial minorities have less access to mental health services than Whites.

A new summary of research representing over 4.7 million individuals has provided data on the severity of the racial inequities: Asian Americans were less than half as likely as Whites to use mental health services, Hispanic/Latino(a) Americans were 25% less likely, and African Americans were 21% less likely. In a finding that is particularly troubling, African Americans suffering from mental illness were found in mental health services less often when they most needed help.

Joseph E. Trimble, research co-author and Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University stated, "We felt grateful that the racial inequities were actually smaller than we imagined them to be. Except for Asian Americans, race accounts for relatively smaller differences in mental health service utilization."

The racial inequities remained after accounting for alternative explanatory factors such as socioeconomic status. However, public assistance for mental health services eliminated racial inequities for African Americans and other clients of color.

"Access to mental health treatment is a major public health issue," said researcher Timothy B. Smith of Brigham Young University. "Conditions such as depression and anxiety have been increasing in recent decades. Making mental health treatments accessible for all populations will benefit society through associated decreases in suicide, substance abuse, and physical illness." Beyond the psychological benefits, financial savings from equitable access to mental healthcare services include decreased medical and insurance costs and fewer missed work days.

The inequities across race may be partially explained by differences such as cultural beliefs about mental illness or limited availability of mental health clinics in locations with predominantly racial minority populations. A separate analysis showed that immigrant populations with limited acculturation to the U.S. may be particularly at risk for poorer experiences in mental health treatment.

Professor Trimble acknowledges that the findings raise several questions: What are the mental health experiences of immigrant populations? What about acculturation stress? Sociocultural change? Social and cultural changes are occurring in the U.S., but what explanations best account for the racial and ethnic differences and their consequences?

The data appear a book recently published by the American Psychological Association, Foundations of Multicultural Psychology. Additional data in the book confirm that experiences of racism reported by minorities in the U.S. are associated with decreased levels of emotional well-being. However, stronger levels of ethnic identification were associated with higher overall well-being. People of color whose therapists' explicitly accounted for cultural considerations achieved greater mental health benefits than when they attended traditional therapy that did not consider cultural background.

"As much as we would like to think otherwise, race still matters in terms of psychological health," says Smith, "but when we openly address racial and cultural issues, the data confirm more effective outcomes in therapy." Public health policies can better promote access to mental health services among all people in need of services.


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Chicago is a city known for its architectural legacy, but it's also known for being a city that oftentimes overlooks some of its lesser known historic gems. Built in 1836, the Henry B. Clarke House at 1827 S. Indiana Avenue is the oldest house Chicago, but there are some new concerns about the future of the city landmark. According to blogger and Glessner House docent Bonnie McGrath, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has abruptly ended its relationship with the nearby Glessner House Museum, the organization that had managed the Clarke House for many years. While the city owns and maintains the Clarke House, the Glessner House provided tours of the historic residence and assisted in fund raising. According to McGrath, the city gave the Glessner House staff and volunteers a few weeks' notice that it would be taking over the day-to-day management of the Clarke House. In addition, it appears that the Glessner House was not given a proper explanation or reasoning behind the decision.

Because of the city's notoriously poor financial situation and the on-going privatization of many city-managed services and city-owned properties, McGrath is concerned about the future of Chicago's oldest house. "Clarke is on its own now, being run by novice city employees. Visitor hours are cut back," McGrath states in her post on Chicago Now, "There will be NO weekend tours."

The last couple of years have witnessed a number of huge preservation wins, but also a number of notable losses. Will the Clarke House become yet another strike against the taxpayers of Chicago? There's a chance that the city has a grand plan for the house, but at this point in time, preservationists and volunteer docents are crying foul at the recent move.

Clarke House, the oldest house in Chicago, is suddenly starting a new life and a lot of people are wondering why [Chicago Now]

Preservation Watch archives [Curbed Chicago]
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Senior author Richard E. Zigmond, professor of Neurosciences and Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said, "We are excited about our findings because we had no reason to expect that just expressing the chemokine CCL2 would be enough to stimulate nerve regeneration. It is remarkable that CCL2 should be so powerful."Post-injury, CCL2 affects the workings of peripheral nerve cell clusters, known as ganglia, and the nerve fibers distal to the site of injury. Each peripheral nerve cell has a main body and a tail-like extension, known as an axon. For sensory nerve cells, the axon splits after leaving the cell body, with one part projecting from the nerve cell body to capture sensations, while the other forwards the information to the spinal cord and brain.After an injury to a region of peripheral nerves, CCL2 signals macrophages to move to the damaged areas of axons and remove cellular debris, clearing the way for new axon growth. CCL2 also signals macrophages to enter into the injured ganglia regions that house individual nerve cells to promote nerve regeneration as well. At least in part, regeneration also occurs because macrophages trigger genes that promote new axon growth.Zigmond's most recent study demonstrated the workings of this CCL2 mechanism in lab animals. In one experiment, senior graduate student Jon Niemi injected into wild-type, uninjured mice a virus designed to trigger CCL2 expression. The boost in CCL2 expression in these mice led to greater accumulation of macrophages three weeks later in dorsal root ganglia, a cluster of sensory nerve cells that project both to peripheral areas and to the central nervous system. More macrophage build-up, in turn, produced greater neuron sprouting, the beginnings of nerve regeneration.However, the experience was entirely different in another set of mice lacking a receptor (CCR2) that enables CCL2 to act. Without the receptor, the same spike in macrophage accumulation simply did not occur in CCR2-deficient mice. These animals only had scant nerve growth that did not nearly match the nerve regeneration observed in wild-type mice.Zigmond said, "We did the same experiments in another type of mouse and found the same correlation. If macrophages don't come into the ganglia, then regeneration is substantially impeded. We found this true of sensory and sympathetic neurons. We concluded that there was a correlation between macrophage entry into ganglia and nerve regeneration."The researchers also demonstrated the role of CCL2 overexpression in altered gene expression.Investigators tested for changes in the expression of certain genes by screening mRNA molecules associated with nerve regeneration in the animals where CCL2 overexpression prompted neuron outgrowth. Changes in one mRNA and one protein emerged -- leukemia-inhibitory factor (LIF) mRNA and neuronal pSTAT3 (signal transducers and activators of transcription 3). These special molecules act on cells by expressing genes important to instructing neurons to grow. By causing macrophage accumulation, CCL2 increases levels of LIF mRNA and pSTAT3, which leads to an increased regenerative capacity of dorsal root ganglia neurons. To test their hypothesis, the group blocked the activation of LIF signaling using inhibitors of STAT3 activation. Inhibiting STAT3 activation did not result in an increase in neurite growth, despite an increase in CCL2 that would normally increase growth of dorsal root ganglia neurons.The findings by Zigmond and fellow investigators shed a new light on inflammation. Rather than fight inflammation at the very outset of a peripheral nerve injury, perhaps allowing limited inflammation post-injury may be therapeutic in stimulating neuron regeneration. These findings about CCL2 could also have implications for illnesses that affect peripheral nerves.Zigmond said, "Our conclusion is that the immune system and the nervous system are interacting in a beneficial way to create macrophage-induced inflammation and promote nerve regeneration. This is occurring around the cell bodies. There is something happening within the cell in response to macrophage activity, in addition to macrophage action on to the damaged distal nerve axon."Source: Eurekalert
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The searing images of the young and innocent dying before their time have become harder to escape, especially as offices, hospitals and even elementary schools have begun holding regular 'active shooter' drills.Experts said, "That has led to a rise in anxiety, depression and exhaustion, all the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).""Has America become a PTSD nation?" George Washington University psychology professor Jean Kim asks on the AlterNet website.President Barack Obama, in announcing limited gun control measures Tuesday, January 5, 2016, wiped away tears as he remembered 20 elementary school children - some as young as five or six - shot dead three years ago in Newtown, Connecticut. "We do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom," he said.Obama formally unveiled a handful of executive measures intended to make it harder to buy and sell weapons.But many Republicans immediately expressed opposition to the measures - though Donald Trump conceded that he thought Obama's tears were sincere - and even the president admitted that the new steps would not stop the scourge of mass shootings.Indeed, on the very first day of 2016, one such event in Texas wounded four people.With every passing incident, images of the dead and wounded carried out on stretchers, loved ones breaking down, pictures of the killers and the dark faces of authorities permeate television screens and 24-hour news channels."There is an emerging scientific evidence that suggests that spending a lot of time watching this sort of incident entails anxiety for adults and children," Schreiber said.This, specialists say, translates into hyper-vigilance, a type of permanent state of alert close to paranoia, like the fear of sitting in a restaurant with your back to the door."The repeated cycles of violence perpetuate fearfulness and can create these divisions between us and the others. When those things are repeated by the media, we get more and more scared because we are continuously reminded about those things that are out of our control," explained Eric Bergemann, a Los Angeles psychologist.Bergemann further added that the traumatized then sometimes turn their focus on perceived enemies, in order to feel like they are doing something to avert danger.Anti-Muslim attacks have been on the rise since a Muslim couple shot 14 people to death and injured 22 others in the California city of San Bernardino in December 2015.The climate of fear is powerful.Bergemann's clients tell him, "I'd like to do this event, but I'm concerned about being in a public place because an attack could take place there," he said.In many offices, employees are taught procedures to follow in case of an active shooter situation.In one Los Angeles business building, notices repeat the sheriff department's message that you have three options during an active shooter situation: Run, hide or fight.Many schools also hold 'kill drills', where children learn how to hide in case a shooter comes onto school grounds."To some degree to kids who grow up like that, it's gonna be like earthquake drills, like it's normal, and that's kind of sad. This generation may end up having a higher level of anxiety or hyper-vigilance like our military kids," said Catherine Mogil of the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior."In Roseburg, Oregon, the whole community is on edge, kids are affected as well. Three months ago, a mentally unstable student killed an assistant professor and eight fellow students with an assault rifle in that usually peaceful community. Firemen, nurses and police officers are still under a lot of post-traumatic shock," said deputy fire chief Robert Bullock.He pointed to 'sleeping problems' and other difficulties."There's people, their patience is very short, some people are on an emotional roller coaster. One minute they're fine, the other, very emotional. Certain words make their hair stand up because they think they heard, 'shooting'. I don't think any of them will completely heal," Bullock added.Source: AFP
Booze doesn't always kill, it can save you too. Dilip Kumar, who works in a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit at west Delhi's Moti Nagar, is a living example.

The 30-year-old accidently inhaled methanol while working in the factory recently which caused partial loss of vision and other severe side effects. When basic medical aid failed, his employers rushed Kumar to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. His eyesight was affected and vital parameters like blood pressure, kidney and liver function had fallen dangerously.

The doctors administered him rum in small amounts, close to a small peg, to neutralize the toxicity caused by methanol, which is a deadly chemical. This was besides hemodialysis and other supportive treatment.

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"Rum has 40% alcohol or ethanol content which has a chemical structure similar to methanol. It occupies the receptors where methanol metabolizes into harmful formaldehyde thus reducing the toxicity," said Dr Atul Gogia, senior consultant, internal medicine at SGRH.

A teetotaller, Kumar was administered 30ml of rum every six hours for two days as part of his treatment through the feeding tube. Simultaneously, dialysis was also conducted to save his kidney from further toxicity. Doctors said that alcohol therapy is commonly practised for treating patients suffering from methanol poisoning-leading to hooch tragedies-due to consumption of adulterated alcohol.

"This, however, is a rare case of methanol poisoning through inhalation. When Kumar came to the hospital, his vision was compromised and kidney functions were deranged. Any delay in the treatment could have proved fatal," said Pratyush Kumar, who works in department of family medicine at SGRH. The hospital has reported the story of Kumar's treatment as a case study in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

 TOI

Methanol is used in pharmaceutical industry to make iron sucrose complex. Kumar said he accidently inhaled it. "I never had alcohol in life. But when my family and doctors told me that it was alcohol that helped save my eyesight and life, it surprised me," he said. He has resumed worked at the medicine factory now. "There are no severe symptoms but I do not feel healthy either. I still have problems seeing from one of the eyes. But at least I am alive," Kumar added.

(Originally published in The Times Of India)
At the time Indian forces were busy rounding up terrorists at the Pathankot airbase, the Indian consulate in Afghanistan was under attack from heavily armed militants in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Attackers in Mazar has taken position inside a house 100 meter away from the Indian consulate. No 1 is hurt. Police #AFG  Ahmad Mukhtar (@AhMukhtar) January 3, 2016

#AFG An Afghan Special Forces commander in Mazar-E Sharif tells me, attackers tossing hand grenades& firing RPGs at us.  Bilal Sarwary (@bsarwary) January 3, 2016

The attempt was, however, foiled by the Afghan forces which had with them an unusual soldier amongst its ranks, the governor of Afghanistans Balk province  Ata Mohammed Noor.

 Twitter

This photo, in particular, went viral after the successful operation outside the Indian consulate.

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Amar Sinha, the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, applauded the efforts of the special forces.

#AFG Gov Balkh Attah on FB,ANSF trying 2kill attackers. But they R in a residential area, we R moving v carefully. pic.twitter.com/1ZJAkYIB0e  Bilal Sarwary (@bsarwary) January 3, 2016

He also also live tweeted the operations from inside:

"Clearing ops (operations) in Mazar on by special forces. Heavy fighting going on. GOV (Governor) Atta personally monitoring. All safe in consulate."

 Twitter

Noor has been a key commander in Northern Alliance  the main resistance to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. He was also associated with the Mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Chicago is now officially seeking proposals for the first phase of the massive redevelopment of the former Cabrini-Green housing project on the city's Near North Side. While the plan eventually calls for 2,340 residential units spread across 65 acres, the first phase (which is what the RFP is for) will include 900 units on 17 acres of land across three different sites. The first site is an eight-acre wedge-shaped lot just north of Clybourn Medical Center, the second site is the seven acres of open space immediately west of Target, and the third site is a 1.6 acre parcel just south of Oak between Larrabee and Cambridge. According to city guidelines, between 33 and 40% of the units must be reserved for public housing and include both options to rent and own. In addition to residential bids the city is seeking proposals for commercial and retail services as well. Proposals for Phase One will be accepted through April 29th of 2016.



[Photo by Nick Fochtman for Curbed Chicago]

This project also represents CHA's new approach to public housing. Preceding the demolition of the last Cabrini-Green tower in 2011  when conditions within the housing projects were most dire  the success of nearby mixed-income developments provided the model that the city and CHA now aim to emulate with the next phases of Cabrini's redevelopment. The goal is to move away from monolithic centralized public housing towers isolated by acres of empty space and instead embrace a more granular approach to integrating low-income and market-rate housing into the surrounding area.

For many years Cabrini-Green was bordered by some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods and, as recent developments such as the the Division Street Target, the mixed-use New City project and high-end rental towers like Xavier and NEXT edge ever closer, it's clear that Cabrini's 65 acres is the next frontier for transformative North Side development. Will the future Cabrini-Green become the ideal mixed-income neighborhood, or is the ambitious redevelopment simply just an untapped gold mine for developers looking to cash in on government deals? The Chicago Housing Authority is no stranger to controversy, and there's no doubt that city residents and real estate insiders will be keeping a close eye on the process as proposals come in and are ultimately selected.

Here's a look at some of the projects that are currently on their way to the area:



 NEXT

This upcoming apartment tower from Fifield Companies caused a bit of commotion when the developer attempted to rebadge the area as "NoCA"  short for north of Chicago Avenue. However, after pushback, the NoCA bit has been dropped from the name of the tower, which will deliver over 300 units to the area by 2017.



 Xavier

Perhaps in a move to avoid the same controversy that Fifield experienced with their naming scheme, developer Gerding Edlen named this tower after Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini. While the name of the tower pays homage to the history of the area, the project itself will be privately funded, 240-unit building. The LEED Gold tower will be loaded with amenities and other interesting offerings like electric car charging stations. While the city's Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) allows developers to pay into a pool in order to avoid building affordable units on site, the new tower will actually include a handful of affordable units.



 The Parkside of Old Town

If the name NEXT at NoCA was a hard pill to swallow, try the Parkside of Old Town. While the name suggests a white-washing of the area's connection with the CHA, this project will actually be a mixed-income one. Designed by Landon Bone Baker Architects, the boxy-looking development is being built in phases. Phase IIB is composed of 106 apartments and seven townhouses, of which 36 units reserved for CHA residents, 27 units at affordable rental rates, and 43 apartments will be rented at market rate.



 1200 N. Clybourn

This mid-rise from Brinshore Development will take the place of the City Farm site at Division and Clybourn. Designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners, the seven-story mixed-income building will feature 84 total units with 26 going to public housing, 26 reserved for affordable housing, and 32 going at the standard market rate rent. In addition, the project will also include 17,000 square feet of ground floor commercial retail space.



 Cleveland + Chicago Residential

This entry to the area will deliver 200 residences, 186 parking spaces and some ground level retail to Chicago Avenue when it is completed. The project has gone through several iterations, but this design from VOA Associates is likely what we'll be seeing at 460 W. Chicago Avenue in the not-so-distant future.

 Jay Koziarz and AJ LaTrace

Thousands of New Residences Slated for Former Cabrini-Green [Curbed Chicago]

Just Released! The Redevelopment Plan For Cabrini-Green [Curbed Chicago]

New Documentary Explores the Nearly-20 Year Demolition of Cabrini-Green [Curbed Chicago]

New Apartment Tower 'Xavier' Scheduled to Open This Fall, Embraces Cabrini-Green Name [Curbed Chicago]

City Farm Site Making Way for New Mixed-Income Development [Curbed Chicago]

New River North Apartment Tower Drops 'NoCA' from Name [Curbed Chicago]

Tower Near Former Cabrini-Green Site Returns With Changes [Curbed Chicago]
Police Review Authority Is Reaching Out To The Investigator It Fired

By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 6, 2016 7:26PM



Milosh Kosanovich

The new chief of Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) Sharon Fairley has reached out to an investigator who was fired by her predecessor for finding cops were at fault in several misconduct and shooting cases.

Fairley, a former federal prosecutor recently hired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, wants to hear the story from fired Chicago police commander Lorenzo Davis, according to WBEZ.

"I'd like to hear about his side of what happened," Fairley said at a press conference. "I look forward to that conversation and I think that that will be happening soon."

It's one of the "steps to rebuild Chicagoans' trust in IPRA and its findings," she said.

Davis is suing the city for wrongful termination and is eager to meet with Fairley. An attorney from the city's Law Department called him two weeks ago to set up a meeting but they have not set a time and place, according to his lawyer, Torreya Hamilton.

She's going to spend time reexamining the cases, all shootings or alleged excessive-force cases, that got Davis fired by the IPRA.

"I've blocked out my entire afternoons for the month of January to do deep dives into these cases," she said. "That's part of my jobto go back and look historically at these casesto understand what policies and procedures need to be put in place to prevent issues from happening in the future."

Davis would like to be present while Fairley reviews his findings and to offer her his own opinions of the agency.

"There is a culture of viewing all cases in the light most favorable to the police officers," he told WBEZ.
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The Next Step In Cabrini Green's Redevelopment Is Underway

By Mae Rice in News on Jan 6, 2016 9:22PM



Cabrini Green in 1999. (Photo Credit: Jet Lowe, U.S. National Park Service)

On Wednesday, the city put the next stages of the redevelopment of Cabrini Green in motion. The city is now accepting proposals from developers who will build on the North Side site, according to a statement from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Housing Authority.

The public housing towers in Cabrini Green, built in 1942 and razed in 2011, were famous for a few violent incidents, most notably the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis in 1992. A sniper in a vacant apartment killed Davis while he was walking to his elementary school, holding his mothers hand.

Since the projects internationally-famous towers fell, the area has remained mostly vacant lots, as past public housing tenants, developers, and government officials wrestle over what, exactly, the land will become.

According to Wednesdays statement:

[T}he [RFP] calls for the development of approximately 900 units of housing in a mixed-income residential community on approximately 17 acres of land at three separate sites. The RFP requires between one-third and 40 percent of the housing be reserved for public housing residents with both rental and home-ownership opportunities. In addition, the RFP calls for proposals for retail and commercial developments on designated sites that meet community needs for amenities and employment.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), who himself grew up in the Cabrini Green projects, said the community is changing "for the better:"

Many feared that the take-down of the old high-rises would be bad for the community, but the opposite has occurred Our community has changed for the better. Weve maintained or found housing for long-term community members while adding opportunities and services. Thanks to the vigilance of the community, weve seen new housing, schools and stores built by and employing neighborhood residents. The Near North Side has become a place where people of different incomes and backgrounds live and work side-by-side - we are what every Chicago neighborhood should be.

Its debatable how successful the city has been at relocating displaced Cabrini Green residents. As Chicago writer Ben Austen explained in a 2012 piece for Harpers:

Of the thousands of residents relocated from public-housing high-rises in the plans early years, the majority had ended up in areas of highly concentrated black poverty. The CHA has since improved its relocation process, reducing counselors caseAloads, hiring a new social-services provider, and adding job-training opportunities. Even in 2009, though, the CHA had to place a full-page advertisement in the Chicago Sun-Times announcing that it didnt know the whereabouts of some of the former residents it was supposed to be tracking, and would the following 3,200 people please get in touch.

However, new development in Cabrini Greenwhich this request for proposals is just the beginning ofcould help restore some of the old community. Or, if developers like the ones behind the area's Xavier building have their druthers, the whole area will be rebranded "NoCa," short for "North of Chicago Avenue."


'Good Day Chicago' Producer Reprimanded For Telling Reporters Not To Wear Hats In Cold

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Jan 6, 2016 8:12PM

The new executive producer of Fox 32's Good Day Chicago kicked off his first winter in Chicago by emailing reporters that they would "look a lot better without hats" in outside shots unless "it's 20 below." Ouch.

Media critic Rober Feder, who reported on the email sent out by the show's executive producer Dan Salamone, said it wasn't too early to call Salamone the "dumbest TV executive of the year."

The station doesn't sound happy with him, either. General manager Dennis Welsh told Chicagoist that the "unapproved email" does not represent the station's policy and that Salamone will be facing disciplinary action for the "poorly worded" email. He said, "It's kind of ridiculous."

Welsh said reporters doing live outdoor shots in the brutal months ahead will be wearing hats: "It's Chicago, it's cold, everyone wears hats."

He said the email was meant to make sure all the reporters look their best on camera, but failed at that. He said the station's policy now is, "Everyone can wear hats, but not ugly ones."

In case you were wondering, the hat reporter Natalie Bomke is wearing above makes the cut. Both he and Bomke discussed the hat, since Feder used it in his post, and they agreed that it looks nice on camera.

Welsh disputed the charge made in Feder's story that the email was aimed at only female reporters. He says the email was sent to its three morning reporters, who just happen to all be female.

Feder was tipped off by Jessica D'Onofrio, who works for ABC7's morning show:

@RobertFeder One local TV station is telling it's reporters NOT to wear hats during the winter months. #ForCryingOutLoud!  Jessica D'Onofrio (@donofrioABC7) January 5, 2016

We firmly believe people on TV should wear whatever clothing they feel is appropriate for the elements, whether that means they need a waterproof jacket like this reporter or no shirt at all like the man he is interviewing.
Texas Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland Charged With Perjury

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Jan 6, 2016 11:13PM



Remembering Sandra Bland's Facebook page

The Texas trooper who pulled over Sandra Bland for a routine traffic violationthree days before she was found dead in her jailhas been indicted by a Texas grand jury.

Trooper Brian Encinia has been charged with perjury for allegedly lying about how he removed 28-year-old Sandra Bland from her vehicle, according to the Associated Press. The charge is a misdemeanor violation, and it carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

This is the same grand jury that passed on charging any sheriff's officials or jailers in Bland's death, which the coroner ruled a suicide.

Bland, originally from Naperville, was en route to a new job in Texas in July when she was pulled over by Encinia for not signaling while changing lanes. A confrontation followed after Encinia ordered Bland to put out her cigarette. The video shows the trooper holding a stun gun and yelling, "I will light you up!" after Bland refused to get out of the car. Dashboard footage shows Encinia forcefully removing Bland from her car. Off-screen Bland can be heard condemning the cop for slamming her to the ground and hitting her head.

Bland was jailed in Hempstead, about 50 miles outside Houston, after being arrested because she couldn't raise $500 for bail. Three days after her arrest she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck.

Encinia has been on paid desk duty since Bland's death. He also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family, who disputes the official version of events that states she was suicidal.
Yesterday The Australian reported that the RAN's celebrity-Muslim had her wings clipped with the closure of her political commentary Twitter account @NavyIslamic

Today The Australian follows up with the news that no less a figure than the Chief of Navy personally counselled Shindy about her activities.

The ADF's disciplinary processes as part of the Military Justice System are set out here

http://www.defence.gov.au/mjs/mjs.asp

Counselling is a significant black mark on a Naval Officer's record. But even in discipline, Shindy was treated like a celebrity with her counselling administered by the Chief of Navy himself Admiral Barrett. Admiral Barret probably took the lead from his predecessor as Chief of Navy, Admiral Ray Griggs.

Ray Griggs is the very Model of a Modern Naval Admiral. A bit like Mark Scott of the ABC, Ray is given to Twitter and to boosting favourites using the ADF's official Twitter service.

Here's Ray (@VCDF_Australia - Vice Chief Defence Force) congratulating Mona (@NavyIslamic) with a "BZ Mona" to boot.(Bravo Zulu, also referred to as "BZ," is a naval signal, an insider's code typically conveyed by flaghoist or voice radio, meaning "Well Done", it sends a pretty public message of warmth and personal endorsement when the highest ranking Admiral in the Navy puts a BZ out to the world using your first name. Other Captains get a bit envious).

Congrats to@navyislamic joint winner in Govt section of #TelstraBizWomen awards - BZ Mona - very proud of you!! pic.twitter.com/3m0HJFWaMc  VADM Ray Griggs (@VCDF_Australia) November 18, 2015

So who is Ray Griggs and who appointed him?

Julia made Ray the boss of the Navy. What did Julia get in return? That's set out in this speech from Ray's successor Tim Barrett.

Here's the relevant bit of Admiral Barrett's speech - link here.

Islamic cultural advisors and religious advisory appointments

To commence this process the last Chief of Navy, VADM Ray Griggs, instituted the positions of Islamic Cultural Adviser and an assistant adviser in 2012. Captain Mona Shindy, who has just spoken and Chief Petty Officer Zul Naim, who organised this event, hold these positions at present.



These two adviser roles are here to stay because I, and my successors as Chief of Navy, will continue to need guidance to ensure that what should be done by Navy to meet the legitimate religious needs of those members of the Islamic faith is done. Henceforth Navy will always need advice on how to be an inclusive recruiter and employer of choice for those Australians who profess Islam.

One last point about the sort of bloke Gillard appointed as Chief of Navy. This explains a lot too about the Navy Chiefs tolerance for Shindy's escalating bad behaviour in publicly criticising Tony Abbott and his policies on her NavyIslanic platform - she'd watched Ray Griggs do it to Abbott.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast: 23/10/2011

The heat was on Tony Abbott last week, with business leaders criticising the uncertainty his promise to repeal the carbon tax is creating, and the Navy saying it may not be safe to turn back boats carrying asylum seekers.

TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER (at press conference): We have, as you would all know, had yet another boat.

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER (at press conference): As a result of Mr Abbott's very reckless strategy we will see more boats.

TONY ABBOTT (at press conference): What we've said though is that it should be an option to turn the boats around where it's safe to do so.

RAY GRIGGS, NAVY CHIEF (excerpt from Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee hearing): Well there are risks involved in this whole endeavour.

CHRIS BOWEN, IMMIGRATION MINISTER (at press conference): This is people's lives at stake, this is the lives of Australia's sailors at stake.

TONY ABBOTT (at press conference): Now, the Navy's done it before, it can do it again.

RAY GRIGGS (excerpt from Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee hearing): There have been fires lit, attempts to storm the engine compartment of these boats, people jumping in the water, that sort of thing.

TONY ABBOTT (at press conference): No-one ever said that it was going to be easy. No-one ever said that it was going to be possible in every circumstance.

CHRIS BOWEN (at press conference): Whether it's legal advice, whether it's climate change, whether it's economists or whether it's border security advice, Mr Abbott just arrogantly ploughs on, ignoring that advice.

BRENDAN O'CONNOR (excerpt from ABC News 24): And it's something that I think people are concerned about.

Which brings us to today's instalment. Not many RAN Captains get their counselling from the Chief - but then again the Celebrity-Muslim is not your average Captain.

Here's a link to The Australian's story today.

Navy chief counsels Islamic adviser Mona Shindy

THE AUSTRALIAN
Chicago Taxi App To Compete With Uber, Lyft, Is Launching Next Month

By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 6, 2016 10:41PM

The City of Chicago is launching a universal taxi app service, and all licensed cab drivers will be required to participate. Chicago will be the first city with a universal smartphone app for cabs, according to the announcement.

Arro and Verifone have won the competitive bidding process to create the app, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection announced in a statement Wednesday.

"Chicago is a city that innovates and in this spirit I am proud to announce that Chicago will become the first city with a universal taxi app," Emanuel said in the statement. "With the new service, Chicago residents can expect to see improved rider experience and better access to taxis all across the city."

The app service will make it easier for locals and tourists alike to hail a taxi and will ensure safe, reliable transportation options, according to the statement.

The latest chapter in the ongoing war between Uber and cabbies could be a game changer. There's no doubt that the new service will be a direct competitor for ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.

"These apps will create even more transportation options for Chicago residents while benefiting taxi drivers," said Maria Guerra Lapacek, Commissioner of BACP. "By mandating that taxi drivers participate, Chicago residents will have additional transportation options and will more easily connect with a nearby taxi through the use of their smartphones, resulting in more fares for taxi drivers."

Arro and Verifone were chosen in a competitive bidding process after showing their ability to include "key features such as a secure payment option, estimated wait time, and fare quote estimate" in the app, the statement says.

Verifone's taxi-hailing app Curb is already connected to more than 4,000 vehicles in Chicago, the company's head of mobile programs Sanders Partee said in the statement, but it is not widely used.

Starting on Feb. 1, the nearly 12,700 licensed taxi drivers in Chicago will be required to use the app while on duty.

Taxi drivers and cab owners can learn more and sign up with Arro and Verifone as the app provider, on Thursday Jan. 7 and Friday Jan. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2350 W. Ogden Ave., 1st Floor.
Lawmakers "have a responsibility to act with dignity, to act with respect, because we represent not only ourselves but our constituents and, in fact, the entire state of New Hampshire," Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper told the 400-member body in remarks to open the 2016 legislative session.

Jasper's admonishment comes after two male legislators were criticized for crude Facebook comments aimed at Democratic Rep. Amanda Bouldin, who opposed the legislation and noted that it had all male sponsors. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for women to purposely expose their nipples publicly without regard for whether it might offend or alarm someone. It includes an exemption for breastfeeding.

A Republican representative filed the bill in response to the rise of the national "Free the Nipple" movement that is gathering steam here. Two New Hampshire women appeared in court last month for violating an ordinance in Gilford that prohibits women from going topless, and they're trying to get the law changed.

In response to Bouldin's Facebook post, Republican Rep. Josh Moore, one of the bill's co-sponsors, wrote that women who want to expose their breasts should have no problem with a man's inclination to stare at it and "grab it."

Rep. Al Baldasaro, another Republican, chimed in to disparage Bouldin's appearance.

"No disrespect, but your nipple would be the last one I would want to see," he wrote. "You want to turn our family beach's (sic) into a pervert show."

Jasper didn't specifically mention those comments during his call for civility, but earlier Wednesday his leadership team attempted to block the bill from being introduced. House Majority Leader Dick Hinch called it "too controversial" and noted the pending court case. The effort failed, and the bill will be up for a public hearing and debate this year.

At a time when the nation's eyes are on New Hampshire and its leadoff presidential primary, Jasper said, inflammatory remarks bring negative attention to the state and the Legislature. But some representatives from his own party said Jasper's remarks were an attempt to shut down free speech.

Republican Rep. Dan Tamburello protested efforts to include Jasper's remarks in the House's permanent journal. He said representatives don't need to be "lectured as if we were a bunch of third-graders."

Baldasaro, for his part, didn't back away from his comments to Bouldin, and he also accused Jasper of trying to quash free speech.

"We have a constitution," Baldasaro said. "It's there for a reason, and I'll never be silenced."

He said his comments specifically referenced Bouldin's body because he was engaged in a debate with her.

The majority of House members gave Jasper a standing ovation. Just 41 representatives voted against permanently recording the remarks, while 313 voted in favor.

Moore has since withdrawn as a co-sponsor of the bill, writing on his Facebook page that he has drawn negative attention to the legislation and wants it to have a fair hearing. The original posting has been taken down.

"My initial comment was altered by many outlets to appear as if I suggested that sexual assault would be an appropriate response to public nudity," he wrote. "I emphatically denounce any man's unwanted advances towards any woman under any circumstances."
UPPER THUMB  Huron County Community Foundation has received a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to help improve the quality of life for are youth and the elderly.

More than 30 community foundations in the state applied for funding through the Michigan Health Endowment Funds fall 2015 grant application process.

Huron Countys foundation was one of four selected from the Thumb. Sanilac County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Clair County and Four County Community Foundation also were chosen. Between the four foundations, a $294,000 grant will be divided to create an impact on the health and wellness in each foundations region.

Because the grant covered three other foundations, we are still in the process of dividing the money for each foundation, said Mackenzie Price, Huron County Community Foundation executive director. We have a meeting scheduled in the weeks to come to determine the amount each foundation will receive.

Price said the overall objective for the grant is to focus on health involvement for the youth and seniors in respective areas. In the proposal  submitted by the four foundations  Huron County focused on expanding health and wellness care that is currently in tact.

 ... Our goal is to expand existing programs in lieu of reinventing the wheel, she said. This is going to be an exciting project for Huron County Community Foundation, the county and the region.

The foundation has already started to get the ball rolling with ideas to put the funds toward. It will partner up with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to expand the Friday Food for Kids Backpack Program at Bad Axe Elementary and Bad Axe Middle Schools.

The program provides students a backpack of food for the weekend so they know what and when their next meal will happen, Price explained.

Once each foundation receives its portion of the nearly $300,000 grant, Price said Huron County will start providing funding to the food bank.

Another project on the foundations list includes working to implement the Double Up Food Bucks Program at the Port Austin Farmers Market. The program doubles the value of federal nutrition assistance spent at participating markets and grocery stores to help people purchase more locally grown fruits and vegetables. The goal is to have the Double Up Program running for the 2016 market, Price said.

The Michigan Health Endowment Fund board is proud to support a variety of very successful programs already positively impacting the health of Michigans children and seniors as a result of our first-grant funding effort, said Rob Fowler, board chairman. We look forward to building additional relationships with Michigans community foundations and other non-profit organizations as they continue their focused work to improve the health of Michigans most vulnerable residents.

The purpose of the fund is to improve the health of Michigan residents and potentially reduce the cost of health care  with emphasis on the health and wellness of children and seniors. The fund was originally created in 2013 as part of a state legislation that allowed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to become a nonprofit mutual health insurer. Roughly $38 million in grants were given out last year by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, anyone who has health insurance must report their coverage on their 2015 taxes or risk paying what is known as an "individual shared responsibility payment" on their taxes.

The Affordable Care Act requires all Americans to have qualifying health insurance for the full tax year.

What is the IRS 1095 Form?

Anyone who has insurance will receive an IRS Form 1095 from their insurance provider. There are 3 different types of IRS 1095 forms:

1095-A - For members who got their insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace or Exchange 1095-B - For retirees, annuitants, and former spouses covered by TRICARE, and people enrolled in VA healthcare or Medicare. 1095-C - For active duty members and their families who are covered by TRICARE and federal civilian employees.

What Should I Do With the Form?

If you have a form 1095-B or 1095-C that shows you and your dependents had health insurance for the entire year, simply check the appropriate box on Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ when you file your taxes, no other action is required. You don't need to file the form with your taxes.

If you have a 1095-A, a form titled "Health Insurance Marketplace Statement", you must enter the information on the IRS Form 8962 when you file your taxes. The 1095-A is for people who bought their health insurance on the Health Insurance Marketplace or Exchange, and may have received a portion of their premium paid by the Federal Government. This form will reflect that, and depending on your income you may be entitled to a tax credit for the portion of your premium paid by the Federal Government.

If you had any months that you or your dependents were not covered by insurance you may have to pay what is called the "individual shared responsibility payment" or penalty. Your 1095-A, B, or C will reflect what months you didn't have health insurance coverage. You will need to file an IRS Form 8965 to determine if you have a penalty, or may receive a waiver of the penalty. Waivers may be granted to some people such as: citizens living abroad, those claiming hardship, or residents of states which did not expand Medicaid coverage, among other things.

What Happens if I Retire During the Year?

You will receive a 1095-C to cover your period of active duty, or civil service employment and a 1095-B to cover those months as a retiree.

How and When Will I Get My IRS 1095 Form?

Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force members, retirees, and surviving spouses can get the form on the MyPay website with all of your other tax documents. For those who don't have a MyPay account, the form will be mailed. For Coast Guard members. retirees, and surviving spouses the forms will be available in Direct Access. For Veterans receiving VA health care, the forms will be mailed by the VA. In all cases you should receive the form not later than January 31, 2016. Some private companies have been granted a delay until February 29 to issue the form to employees.

See our myPay 2015 Tax Document Schedule page for more information.

What if the Information is Wrong?

Contact your finance office immediately, you can be issued a corrected document. DFAS reminds everyone to keep your information updated in DEERS. Add the Social Security numbers (SSN) for all family members. This is how DFAS will report health insurance coverage to the IRS.
It was the second time this year that restrictions have been placed on the use of amphibious combat vehicles.
U.S. and coalition airstrikes in December killed an estimated 2,500 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and another 60 in the first few days of January, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said Wednesday.

"We're also hitting them in the pocketbook," said Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.

He said the coalition in the continuing Operation Tidal Wave II had carried out 65 airstrikes against oil facilities of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in Syria from Jan. 2 to Jan. 6.

In addition, the airstrikes were increasingly focusing on northwestern Mosul, Iraq's second largest city which has been under ISIS since June 2014, Warren said in a video conference from Baghdad to the Pentagon.

In the last six months, the coalition has hit more than 700 targets in and around Mosul, including 191 in the last week, he said.

Warren and other U.S. officials have been increasingly outspoken in recent weeks about the progress of the campaign against ISIS since the White House last month revamped its messaging to offset the constant criticism of Congress.

"The Iraqi Security Forces are now on the offensive" since the retaking last week of the flashpoint city of Ramadi about 70 miles west of Baghdad along the Euphrates River, Warren said. ISIS has now lost about 40 percent of the territory it once controlled, he said. "The Iraqi Security Forces will pick when the next significant battle is," he said.

ISIS still controls the 60 miles of the river and the towns along it from Ramadi to the west to the town of Haditha, Warren said. The town itself and its nearby dam are held by Iraqi Security Forces, he said. Haditha and the dam had come under "harassing" attacks from ISIS in recent days, but Iraqi forces had repelled the fighters, he said.

Warren gave a brief explanation of how the U.S. estimates the number of enemy killed. He said U.S, advisors at Joint Operations Centers monitor video feeds from drones to gauge the number of enemy at a designated target before the airstrike.

For example, of six estimated enemy at a target, after the airstrike, if "nobody's moving -- scratch six," Warren said. Despite the losses, however, ISIS still has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters in its ranks, he said.

--Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@military.com.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has given Marine Corps brass two weeks to submit a plan to train male and female recruits together at boot camp and fully integrate officer candidate school. He's also calling for the Marines to make all job titles gender-neutral as the service opens currently closed ground combat jobs to women. In a Jan. 1 memo obtained by Military.com and first reported by Marine Corps Times, Mabus ordered the Corps to send him a detailed plan by Jan. 15 for making boot camp and officer training coed. He also requested that the Marines provide him with a "subject matter expert" on the issue. The plan should identify where training is already integrated by gender, where it is separate, and how the Marines will work to fully integrate all training, Mabus said. "Colocation does not meet the requirement for gender integrated training," Mabus wrote. "This plan will complete [the Department of the Navy's] implementation plan and ensure full integration of female sailors and Marines within the DON in accordance with [Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's] guidance." A Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Philip Kulczewski, confirmed that the Corps had received the memo but offered no further comment. Mabus also included a memo for Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller requesting that he review Marine Corps job titles and remove "man" from applicable job titles to make them "gender-integrated." This means military occupational specialties ranging from 0311, infantryman, to 0321, reconnaissance man, could soon get new names. Mabus demanded this be done and a report submitted to him no later than April 1, 2016, the services' final deadline for opening all jobs to women. The Navy Secretary also sounded a warning note to Neller about a list of "critical information requirements" the Corps included in the integration plan submitted to Carter this month. That list of developments to be monitored closely include: --Indications of decreased combat readiness or effectiveness; --Indications of increased risk to Marines in previously closed units, including incidents of sexual assault and harassment, and hazing; --Indications of a lack of career viability for female Marines in newly opened ground combat jobs; --Indications that Marine commands and culture is unreceptive to the inclusion of women in ground combat units; and --Indications that moral or cohesion is degrading in newly opened units. None of those potential problems should serve to hinder the rollout of the new integration policy, Mabus said. "As the Marine Corps adds elements such as the leadership plan that includes the goals of female leadership teams, cohesive cohorts, and mentors, I expect you will ensure that a worthwhile goal does not unreasonably delay or prevent the execution of a policy imperative," he wrote. The strongly worded admonition underscores tensions between the Marine Corps and Mabus' office over the issue of women in combat jobs. The Marine Corps was the only service to request that some combat job fields remained closed to women, citing data from an internal experiment that showed that mixed-gender groups of Marines performed combat tasks more slowly and even shot less accurately than all-male groups. Mabus made clear he wouldn't countenance the Marines' objections to women serving in combat and publicly criticized the Corps' study, saying negative attitudes towards women on the part of those overseeing the research had served to "almost [presuppose] the outcome." To date, the Marines have strongly defended their choice to keep enlisted boot camp segregated by gender, even though all the other services conduct coed recruit training. In August, Marine officials told this reporter that dividing boot camp by gender allowed recruits to learn from same-sex role models, limited distractions, and created a safe space to discuss topics such as sexual assaults that had occurred prior to enlistment. "In general, [recruits] arrive with immature, undeveloped and unfocused thoughts on professionalism and professional conduct," Marine Corps Training and Education Command spokesman Anton Semelroth said at the time. "The only thing they have in common is their desire to be a Marine. By capitalizing on that desire, recruit training transforms these individuals from many diverse backgrounds into Marines imbued with a common set of values and standards."

That reasoning came under scrutiny this summer with the firing of Lt. Col. Kate Germano, commander of 4th Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, South Carolina -- the only unit in the Marine Corps in which female recruits are currently trained.

An investigation into Germano's conduct at the battalion found she was "hostile" and "abusive," but her supporters claim she came under fire for trying to bring training standards in her unit up to the level of the three male recruit battalions at Parris Island. In an editorial published by The New York Times, Germano said the incident and her experience at the unit served to prove that training female Marines separately encouraged underperformance and lower expectations.

Notably, the issue of coed training has been studied before by the Pentagon.

In 1997, the Defense Department assembled a bipartisan panel to examine the implications of gender-integrated enlisted training. At the time, the panel concluded that the coed approach used in Army, Navy and Air Force recruit training resulted in "less discipline, less unit cohesion, and more distraction from the training programs."

--Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The Pentagon has identified the U.S. Army Special Forces soldier killed on Tuesday in Afghanistan. The Defense Department on Wednesday identified the service member as Staff Sgt. Matthew Q. McClintock, 30, originally of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A husband and a father of an infant son, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based in Buckley, Washington. McClintock was killed during an extended firefight in Marjah in Helmand province "from wounds suffered when the enemy attacked his unit with small arms fire," according to a statement from the Pentagon. He was the first U.S. service member to be killed in action in Afghanistan in 2016. Two other American troops were wounded during the operation to assist Afghan forces in taking back territory from a resurgent Taliban in the southwestern part of the country. Two Air Force Special Operations HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters were sent to evacuate the Americans from the Marjah firefight but neither was able to carry out the mission. One was waved off, possibly because of enemy ground fire and the second went down after a rotor blade reportedly struck the wall of an Afghan compound. McClintock joined the Army in 2006 and served as a Special Forces engineer sergeant, according to the Washington National Guard. He deployed to Afghanistan in July with the Guard's A Company, 1-19th Special Forces Group. Officials described him as a "hero" and "the best of the best." "The death of any service member is tragic," Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. "The death of one of our own is especially difficult to grasp. My thoughts and prayers are with Staff Sergeant McClintock's friends and family, including his young wife and infant son. He is a true American hero who stood up to protect his state and nation. Trudi and I are deeply grateful for his service." "Staff Sergeant McClintock was one of the best of the best," said Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, Washington National Guard commander. "He was a Green Beret who sacrificed time away from his loved ones to train for and carry out these dangerous missions. This is a tough loss for our organization, and a harsh reminder that ensuring freedom is not free. We stand with Staff Sergeant McClintocks family, and will provide ongoing support during the grieving and healing process." Last year, 27 coalition troops died in Afghanistan, including 22 Americans. That was the lowest casualty total for U.S. and coalition forces in the country since 2002. The U.S. has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan and plans to reduce that number to about 5,000 by the end of the year, as the mission in the country has shifted from conducting combat operations to primarily training, advising and assisting Afghan security forces. The action in Marja came at a time when Afghan forces were seeking to reopen the road between Marja and the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah to the northeast in Helmand. Heavy fighting to the north in the Sangin district, which was a frequent battleground for Marines, had threatened the fall of Lashkar Gah, once the headquarters for British operations in the region. --Richard Sisk contributed to this report. --Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
22 Chicago Cops Disciplined For Improper Dashcam Usage Last Month

By Mae Rice in News on Jan 7, 2016 6:10PM



A still from the video

In the past month, 22 Chicago police officers have been disciplined for not properly using their audio and video equipment. Their punishments, which have ranged from a reprimand to a loss of time off, are part of the Chicago Police Departments efforts to better document their actions and thereby build trust.

The new, stricter policies came after the video footage of officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald sixteen times, killing him, was released with very limited audio. Though sirens were audible in the distance, the police officers conversationamongst themselves and with McDonaldwas not caught on tape.

On Dec. 4, the acting police chief John Escalante told officers that they would be disciplined if they didnt make sure their dashcams, bodycams, and the like were working properly before each tour, the Sun-Times reports.

After that announcement, the department discovered that 80 percent of dash-cams had no functioning audio, police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Tribune.

Since then, though, the department has seen a 75 percent increase in officers uploads of video at the end of their tours, Gugliemi told reporters.

In the coming weeks, we will be working with the vendor to develop new automated analysis tools that will detect and report the presence or absence of audio on all uploaded video segments, the departments deputy chief of technology, Jonathan Lewin, deputy chief of technology for the Chicago Police Department, told the Sun-Times.


The Department of Veterans Affairs expects up to 15,000 seriously ill veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, N.C., before 1988, when base drinking water was contaminated, to be helped by a faster-track compensation process proposed last month.

But the promised acceleration in VA disability awards can't begin until the proposed regulation becomes final, which could take at least another year to complete, VA officials said in a phone interview Tuesday.

In this case, time is money. Every month that passes before a final regulation takes effect is a month of compensation lost to ailing veterans of an older generation, most of them Marines.

VA Secretary Bob McDonald announced in mid-December that eight medical conditions afflicting vets who served at Lejeune from August 1, 1953, through Dec. 31, 1987, are to be presumed the result of exposure to carcinogens and other harmful chemicals that fouled base water systems.

The proposed "presumptive" diseases are: kidney cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, scleroderma, Parkinson's disease and aplastic anemia/myelodysplastic syndromes.

Making ailments presumptive moves compensation awards nearer to automatic. Diagnosed veterans still must file claims but they only need to show they served at Lejeune during the 34-year span for a necessary length of time. A minimum of 30 days is likely although officials won't confirm that until a proposed regulation is published, which is expected by mid-2016.

Without presumption, claims are adjudicated more slowly, with each claimant having to show a nexus between their disease and their service.

The Navy Department estimates that 900,000 active duty and reserve component personnel were assigned to Lejeune while water was being contaminated by nearby storage tanks and a dry cleaning business. Roughly 500,000 of these veterans are believed still alive.

Based on the prevalence of such illnesses in a population of that size, VA estimates fewer than 15,000 vets will qualify for compensation under the proposed regulation. Also, 5000 survivors of deceased veterans are expected to qualify for death benefits due to these presumptive illnesses.

Three senators rightly claim some credit for this. Last July Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), chairman of the veterans' affairs committee, and Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, Republicans of North Carolina, met with McDonald and the director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Work by the ATSDR has confirmed harmful levels of exposure at Lejeune to trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride and benzene.

After listening to senators and reviewing the science, McDonald that day told participants he wanted to create a list of presumptive illnesses linked to long-ago service at Lejeune to speed the claim process.

Brad Flohr, senior advisor for compensation services at the Veteran Benefits Administration, attended the meeting. When asked, Flohr advised McDonald and senators that a regulation establishing new presumptive ailments typically takes two years to produce. McDonald said that was too long. So VA is striving to compress the process by six months or more. It did so once before, in 2009, when then-Secretary Eric Shinseki added heart disease, Parkinson's and B-cell leukemia to the VA list of illnesses presumed caused by Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, Flohr said.

"The secretary has pledged we will do the same with this," Flohr said.

Since January 2011 more than 20,000 veterans have filed claims citing environmental hazards at Lejeune. Of the 13,213 veterans given decisions through November last year, only 864, or 6.5 percent, were granted compensation for illnesses tied to having served at Lejeune.

Almost 8000 of these veterans are receiving VA compensation already for other service-connected conditions. So many Lejeune claims have been denied, Flohr said, because ailments claimed are not linked to the pollutants.

"Over 90 percent of claim issues are conditions that have nothing at all to do with the contaminants in the water," Flohr said. "They claim hearing loss. They claim tinnitus. They have some idea they should file a claim for anything they have."

What has angered veterans and lawmakers, however, is the number of claims rejected for conditions has linked to Lejeune's water. Senator Burr complained that the VA was making "ridiculous" use available science.

VA has tracked claim outcomes for six of the eight diseases on the proposed presumptive list. Of 2039 claims filed so far, only 311, or 15 percent, have been approved. When the proposed regulation takes effect, the approval rate for these conditions should jump toward 100 percent.

Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant who has led the fight for compensation and care of those exposed to poisons at Lejeune, criticized the proposed list of presumptive illnesses for excluding bladder cancer. The ATSDR gave VA a report last October, he said, that found "sufficient evidence" water at Lejeune caused a higher incidence of bladder cancer, just at it found evidence of causation for kidney and liver cancer.

Perhaps it's no coincidence, Ensminger asserted, that among cancer claims filed by Lejeune vets, bladder cancer leads all others with 885 cases.

But Dr. Ralph L. Erickson, director of Pre-9/11-era Post-Deployment Health for the Veterans Health Administration, said VA is obligated to look at more than ATSDR findings to decide on presumption. He noted two recent mortality studies that "failed to identify an increased risk of bladder cancer mortality" in Marines or in civilians at Lejeune during the period of contamination. One found Lejeune Marines 23 percent less likely to die of bladder cancer than Marines never assigned there, Erickson added.

Erickson, a physician trained in preventive medicine and public health over a 32-year active duty Army career, came to VA two years ago. After the July meeting, he led a VA technical work group that recommended the list of presumptive diseases for McDonald. The group, he said, "felt that the weight of the evidence was not sufficiently strong to recommend a presumption for bladder cancer at this time," but more research is needed.

"Our secretary," Erickson said, "wanted his proposal for these new presumptions to be well-rooted in evidence."

VA concurred on much of what the ATSDR reported, he said. But with a few ailments VA had "a professional difference of opinion as to the strength of the data."

More information for Lejeune veterans and survivors is online at: www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/. VA continues to review Lejeune claims. However, for claims that would be denied under current regulations, decisions are being stayed until new regulations are made final.

Send comments to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120, email milupdate@aol.com or twitter: Tom Philpott @Military_Update
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Do you know a woman whose outstanding achievements contribute to the well-being and future of Metro Vancouver? Do you know of a business or organization that supports the wellness and diverse needs of its employees? Consider nominating a woman or workplace for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award!

YWCA Women of Distinction Award Nominations

Nominations for the 2016 Women of Distinction Awards are now being accepted and will close on January 15, 2016.

YWCA Metro Vancouver is proud to host the nationally-recognized 33rd annual Women of Distinction Awards in support of their 50 programs and services on June 8, 2016 at the beautifully appointed Vancouver Convention Centre. Funds raised from the event help women, children, youth and families at turning points in their lives. The Awards is a chance to pay tribute to our communitys outstanding women and organizations and to support much-needed programs and services crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty.

You can nominate an individual or a workplace in the following categories: Arts, Culture & Design; Business & the Professions; Community Building; Education, Training & Development; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Health, Wellness & Active Living; Non-Profit & Public Service; Technology and Science Research; and Young Woman of Distinction.

Follow the YWCA of Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter for more information. Miss604 is the proud social media sponsor of this event for the 7th year.
Sandra Bland's Family Says Perjury Charge For Texas Trooper Is Not Enough

By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 7, 2016 5:43PM



Facebook

The indictment of the Texas trooper who pulled over Sandra Bland three days before she was found dead in jail is "bittersweet" for her sister.

The perjury charge against Trooper Brian Encinia, who was just fired from his position late Wednesday, is long overdue but it doesn't make up for the loss of Bland, her sister Sharon Cooper told the AP.

The perjury charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, according to ABC News.

Bland, a Naperville native, was found hanging in her jail cell just three days after Encinia pulled her over for an improper lane change in Texas. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper and authorities have ruled her death a suicide.

The traffic stop turned into a shouting match and a physical confrontation. Video shows Encinia holding a stun gun and yelling, "I will light you up!" after she refused to get out of the car and forcefully removing her from the car. Bland can be overheard condemning him for slamming her to the ground and hitting her head.

Bland's mother Geneva Reed-Veal told reporters that he should have been charged with assault, battery and false arrest.

"To charge this guy with a misdemeanor, are you kidding me?" Reed-Veal said. "I'm angry, absolutely...That's not justice for me."

Cooper says the encounter with Encinia had a large impact on her sister's fate.

"It could easily have been avoided," she told the AP.

Bland's family has filed a civil rights lawsuit which they hope will shed more light on her case and compel authorities to release important documents, including the Texas Rangers investigation.

True justice for the family will not come from the separate criminal proceedings against the trooper, Reed-Veal said.

"Who is going to prosecute this guy? Is it the same group of folks who selected the grand jury?" she said, according to ABC. "... I don't trust the process."
Chicago Teachers Union Calls For Rahm And Anita To Resign

By aaroncynic in News on Jan 7, 2016 7:04PM



CTU And Allies Rally In The Loop Over Contract Concerns In June, 2012. By Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

The Chicago Teachers Union has joined the growing chorus demanding the resignations of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez. The organizations house of delegates voted Wednesday evening to demand the resignations; this is the first time the union has ever made a call for a resignation from a sitting mayor.

In the resolution provided to Chicagoist, the CTU wrote:

The actions of both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez impeded the criminal justice system, and in the process has led to the erosion of public trust and confidence in their leadership; and the only way to restore this trust is with their resignations

The resolution harshly criticizes Emanuel for the closing of 50 neighborhood schools, most of which were in communities of color, and the closure of half the citys mental health clinics. It argues that the mayors mismanagement of taxpayer dollars contributed to the death of Laquan McDonald, the black 17-year-old who was shot 16 times and killed by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.

The resolution also reiterates the unions call and support for a civilian police accountability council, and calls for a ban on training or arming of police by military institutions.

The CTU support demands for a public review of the incidents cover-up by a civilian police accountability council; the creation of policies to prevent such cover-ups from happening in the future, reads the statement. The union first made an official call for an elected civilian accountability council in December.

Sarah Chambers, a special education teacher and CTU executive board member, likened the need for CPAC to the need for an elected school board in an interview with In These Times.

As teachers, we don't trust any committee Rahm appoints," said Chambers. "Without community members on these boards, there's corruption. There's no accountabilitythey're all appointed by the mayor and just do what he says."

The union also accused both Emanuel and Alvarez of intentionally delaying the release of the dashcam videos showing McDonalds death at the hands of police for political gain.

Alvarez faces off against two opponents in the upcoming March election, but a representative for the union told Chicagoist in an email it was not presently making any endorsements. However, the union does support a bill currently in the Illinois House of Representatives sponsored by Rep. Lashawn Ford and Rep. Mary Flowers that would establish a procedure for a recall of the mayor.
7 Of Our Favorite January Wine Events

By John Lenart in Food on Jan 7, 2016 3:16PM



Photo Credit Anjali Pinto

You survived another holiday season. You've drunk more Champagne than you thought possible; well, no you haven't because there's no such thing as too much Champagne. But either way, January is here and along with the cold weather comes some amazing wine events. Many of these are focused on big red wines that warm you up and make you smile. There aren't as many events this month, but the ones that are set are pretty amazing. Check out these wine events.

Jan. 13, 2016



Croatian Wine Dinner

Publican Quality Meats

825 W. Fulton Market

7:00 p.m.

$85 per person plus tax and gratuity

Ever taste Croatian wine? Well, here's your chance. Chef AJ Walker presents a four course dinner paired with wines from the award winning Croatian vineyard Zlatan Otok Vineyard. The menu includes:

SPICY COPPA persimmon, chicories & mustard

GRILLED BRANZINO clams, mussels, squid, potato & pepper sofrito

LEG OF LAMB delicata squash, merguez caponata, rosemary & ricotta salata

To top it all of there will be a raffle for a three-night stay at the Zlatan Otok vineyards bed and breakfast on Hvar Island, Croatia.

To reserve email ashley@publicanqualitymeats.com or call 312.496.0012

Jan. 16, 2016



Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases Dinner with Pierre Graffeuille

MK

868 N. Franklin St.

7:00 p.m.

$250 per person

Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. presents a dinner celebrating the fantastic wines of Domaines Delon. The Delon family own the illustrious Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases along with Chateau Nenin and Chateau Potensac. Guests will meet Pierre Graffeuille, the Commercial Director of Domaines Delon and the host for this special evening. He will guide guests through wines from each of the chateaux, including four vintages of Leoville-Las-Cases.

Wines to be served include:

2009 Chateau Nenin

2003 Chateau Potensac

2000 Clos du Marquis

2009 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases

2001 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases

1998 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases

1985 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases

For reservations email events@hdhwine.com or call 312.667.1161.

Jan. 19, 2016



A Night of 1970 Vintage Bordeaux at RPM Steak

RPM Steak

66 W. Kinzie St.

7:00 p.m.

$270 per person plus tax and gratuity

RPM Steak presents an intimate evening celebrating the 46th anniversary of stellar Bordeaux from the regions of St. Julien, Pauillac, Pomerol and St.-Emilion. Four courses prepared by Chef Doug Psaltis will compliment amazing wines. Reservations to this event are extremely limited.

Call 312-284-4990 to reserve.

Jan. 22, 2016



BYOM (Bring Your Own Magnum) Dinner

Del Frisco's Steakhouse

58 East Oak Street

6:30 p.m.

$125 per person plus tax and gratuity

After a fantastic turnout last year Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. partners again with Del Frisco's Steakhouse to bring you the 2nd Annual BYOM (Bring Your Own Magnum) dinner. Executive Chef Jared Case will create a special menu highlighting local seasonal cuisine and prime, dry-aged, hand-cut steak to pair with those special magnums from your cellar.

This event is a great opportunity to share some large format treasures from your collection and enjoy some gems from the HDH cellar. Come experience a casual, fun evening of excellent food and wine and start your 2016 out right!

Magnums from the HDH Cellar include:

2003 Chateau Laville-Haut-Brion

1994 Mayacamas Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon

2000 Chateau Peby-Faugeres

*wine subject to change

For reservations contact npagoria@hdhwine.com.

Jan. 30, 2016



Immersive Italian Wine and Culture Seminar With Sommelier Annie Shapero

Sentieri

5430 N. Broadway

3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

$70

Join Italian-trained sommelier and educator, Annie Shapero (founder, Divinonyc.com) for a multi-sensory presentation. Guests will be guided through the basics of wine tasting, according to the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS) method. Then guests will sample several wines from different regions and discuss the climate and culture of each. Some of these wines are brand new to the Chicago market, so consider this a sneak peek. Finally, the wines will be paired food while discussing the art and science of wine pairing. Annie's classes are engaging, fun, and exceptionally informative for beginner as well as those looking to deepen their understanding of Italian wine.

To reserve call 773-275-5325

Jan. 31, 2016

15th Annual d'Vine Affair Premier Wine Tasting Event

Union League Club

65 W. Jackson Blvd.

2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

$125 per person

The 15th Anniversary of d'Vine Affair, one of Chicago's premier wine tasting events, at the Union League Club of Chicago benefiting Catholic Charities. More than 250 wines from 90 vintners around the world will be available to taste. Back by popular demand is the craft and imported beer tasting room. Gourmet hors d'oeuvres and desserts are served. Also featured at this event are a Wine Appreciation Seminar from 2 to 3 p.m.

For tickets click here.


Check Out These Chicago Museums For Free This Winter

By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 7, 2016 3:50PM

Winter is coming. El NiAo or no, it's going to get increasingly crappy outside as we stumble through the first few months of 2016. But as it turns out, January and February are a virtual gold mine for learning, with free days for Illinois residents at nearly every Chicago museum. With our handy guide, there's no excuse not to visit an old favorite or see something you haven't seen before.



Ancient Lives

The Field Museum of Natural History: The Field Museum has an amazing number of free days on its horizon. Take advantage of free basic admission, which includes the chance to explore the new Cyrus Tang Hall of China, and consider upgrading so you can get to the Greeks.

When It's Free: Jan. 3, 13, 18, 23, 24 and Feb. 1 through 29 (Yes, all month!) Get Info.

Museum of Science and Industry Chicago. The MSI is probably the most interactive, kid-friendly museum of all, while still a can't miss for adults. There's plenty to see here, between the U505, coal mine, Science of Storms and more.

When it's free: Jan. 11 to 15, 18 to 22 and 25 to 29. Feb. 29. Get Info.



Shedd Aquarium (Photo by Stuart Baxter via the Chicagoist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

Shedd Aquarium. A warmer, more aquatic alternative to the outdoor zoos, you'll have no problem finding the fun at the Shedd. Cuddly critters like our friend Luna are a must see.

When it's free: Illinois Discount Days, which offer free basic admission to IL residents, are every Monday and Tuesday in January and February. Get info.

Adler Planetarium. One of our favorite places for After Dark events, any time is the right time to explore the stars, relive the journey to the moon or catch a film about what space exploration will look like in the future.

When It's Free: Illinois Discount Days, with free basic admission to the Adler, are Jan. 11, 12, 15, 18 to 22 and 25 to 29 and Feb. 1 to 3, 8 to 10, 15 to 17, 22 to 24, and 29. Get info.



The Art Institute's New Contemporary collection. Marielle Shaw/Chicagoist.

Art Institute of Chicago. This massive treasure is a must-see, and free admission in the coming months will certainly help you see more of it, including The New Contemporary, a wonderful gift to the Art Institute and the city

When It's Free: Winter Weekdays from Jan. 4 to Feb. 11. Get Info.

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The MCA Chicago is a great choice for an afternoon of colorful, thought provoking pieces as well as performance art and lectures. A current can't miss is the Pop Art exhibit.

When It's Free: IL residents can visit for free on Tuesdays year-round. Get info.

International Museum of Surgical Science. If you've never been, this museum is a macabre masterpiece in a beautiful building. It also features some beautiful works of art, including pieces by artist in residence, Vesna Jovanovic.

When It's Free: Tuesdays, year round. Get info.

Chicago History Museum. This museum, near Lincoln Park Zoo, is a goldmine of city history, with everything from steam engines to jazz clubs and ornate old El cars to take you through Chicago's timeline.

When It's Free: The Chicago History Museum will offer free admission to Illinois residents Monday through Friday for the months of January and February. Get Info.

Have fun out there, and stay warm!
Celebrate 'Gilmore Girls' With 'Gilmore Guys' At Thalia Hall

By Mae Rice in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 7, 2016 6:33PM



Photo of Gilmore Guys hosts Demi Adejuyigbe (left) and Kevin Porter via Facebook

Tickets to see Chicagos live taping of Gilmore Guysa podcast where comedians Demi Adejuyigbe and Kevin Porter dissect, discuss and cherish every episode of Gilmore Girlsgo on sale Friday. The show will be on Sunday, March 6, at Thalia Hall in Pilsen.

The hosts told Chicagoist that, though they havent chosen the exact Gilmore Girls episode theyll focus on at the show, it will definitely be from season six. I'd predict somewhere between episode 9 and 13, Adejuyigbe said.

Guests can expect the standard fare from a Gilmore Guys live show: a uniquely-written song, some fun banter, special live show clips, a wonderful guest (maybe!) and that lovely Carole King tune closing out the whole affair, according to Adejuyigbe. The specifics of the Chicago stop are really still in the works, though, he said.

Porter joked that, Demi wont say it, but I can confirm that Rahm Emanuel is doing the show! Hes a HUGE Gilly.

Porter says Rahm is team Tristan, which feels true to us.

Though the duo have done live shows on the East and West coasts before, this will be their first time in the Midwest.

[M]aking it to Chicago became a big priority for us this year, Porter said. Plus I myself have never been to the Windy City, so what better excuse than under the guise of doing a podcast show!

Based on past Gilmore Guys live shows, the Thalia Hall taping will be lively. I've been very surprised at every live show at the intensity, Adejuyigbe said. Most podcast tapings I attend feel fairly low-key, but our audiences tend to cheer and laugh and sometimes dress up.

Fans are so passionate, they sometimes take major road trips to attend a show. Weve talked to people on the tour that have driven eight hours from where they live, Porter said. That blows me away.

Ticket prices for the Chicago show havent been posted yet, but tickets to previous shows have been under $20. For updates on show details and where to buy tickets, check the Gilmore Guys' Facebook and Twitter.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Obrafour is mournful on this Nature produced number. He has always been the one to hold his head and lament, but this song is the saddest I've ever felt him.

Why is it even possible, how is it even allowed, that as a man approaches the age of legacy, he's this broken? But Obrafour, who has nothing else to prove to us musically, still harbours such intense grief.

The issues he touches on, in this song, are neither surprising about him or to us, so here, it's not necessarily what he says, but how he says it:

It is for his rap we revere him; always clean and decent, deep and mature, specific and practical truth --but we respect him for his singing too; brief, pleasant and easily familiar. Some of his vocal deliveries, his hooks especially, have been highly successful here; Saa Okodi no, Swedru Agona, Abena, Ohene. Now these are recent but of course he's had memorable choruses since "Pae Mu Ka."

Then again, you can't ignore what he says in the song...you just can't! It directly affects you. Don't worry, I'm not interested in what or who you are, he's speaking directly to you, because it's about greed, and envy, and disregard for the truth, and apostles of evil, struggle and global strife, and as usual, dirty politics. And he's ruthless! He goes everywhere. Oh you think you're anointed so you can't be touched? Ooh he's got something special for you in verse 1. Let's take one or two of them, shall we:

"Nokwere ensaa y, nipa na mp ne ka" , which translates as " truth still abounds, only, man refuses to speak it. "

" Onyame mmra na afei y'ato akwene na/ ya dane y'eni su nyansafu na yee bu nipa"

"Onyame ekyidifu no po na  ma ne y ya/ efiri s won nyinaa nyim s daakyi wbebu akuntaa/ nso twursm no asfu ash no knicker"

Don't worry, I'll translate. The above lines refer to how we have discarded God's laws and have become wise in our own eyes and are swindling people, how it is the followers of God who are most surprising; that even though they are aware of a judgement, they ( "pastors") have changed the apparel of the word of God. In the same verse, he wonders why pastors are putting their abilities, oil and water up for sale, as God first gave them their gifts for free. He cites Peter in the Bible, saying that unlike contemporary pastors, he healed for free.

He also mentions something poignant: the words in the Bible are definite, but interpretations differ, so depending on how good you can spin understanding, you'll be successful, which is why pastors would scold their members and call it a sermon.

Wahu Nyame Nipa?

His singing on Nkontompo is especially emotional, he's wailing, even. In the chorus, when he says "me wer aho", it makes you shake your head slowly. He doesn't have a very good voice, he's never had, but what he lacks in vocal space, he makes up for with raw, honest emotion...and on so many levels, emotional honesty is more important than vocal talent; Joseph Hill, Amakye Dede, Kanye West sometimes, and Sarkodie, on Mary.

"Ewiase bn po ni?"

Religion is service to a deity and and the obsession with odd ritual. Love is good intentions toward the one standing next to us. Menocchio says that it's more important to love one's neighbour than to love God. Deep down, we do not disagree with this, so that's it: love trumps religion.

Indeed it's the theme of every religion, it's the central message of every great leader or rabi who has ever treaded here, so religion is a love too. Even without bothering to research, I am certain that religion has the most influence on us. The biggest gatherings are crusades and the Hajj. The most widely read stuff are religious literature...but you already knew that, so let's progress the argument.

Let's be objective, all through history, religion too...the politics of its philosophy has, on its own, been responsible for some of the most monumental acts of hatred to the brain, heart, knees and toes. It's a shamefully wide range, from bloodshed to noise pollution.

His second verse is just as spirited. There are abrasively truthful words on shameless corruption, pointless propaganda, the various versions of the truth, religious extremism, the love for money alone, how we stifle those who speak up and how we've turned this country into hell all by ourselves. It's remarkable how he's stuffed all that in the space of one verse. Obrafour is a lyricist, and there's no debate there. Who else do you know that can sing, rap, preach, advise, talk about love and women, and still maintain a dignity and depth? Who else do you know who can do all this with proverbs and in Twi?

Obrafour is our ultimate social commentator. It is what we have come to know him for, and why we have grown to trust him. Periodically, he has had to remind us that it's in a chaos, and not a bliss, that we are so comfortable. It is in that way that he has constantly remained relevant to us...like our community Imam or grandmother.

Our Imam is tired. Our grandmother is spent. The village old man has lost hope. For all of their adult lives, they've been saying the same thing: "wise up, my child, wise up". And if you've said the same thing over and over, and all you see is scanty change, you too would be tired.Obrafour embodies these emotions in Nkontompo.

The instrumentation is rich and complex. It tells a story too...a parallel story. The electric guitar for instance, shows us a facial expression of strain, pain, and the verge of giving up. The horns suggest a danger and the piano invokes sustained sadness. Indeed, one reason the song stands out is how deep horn and organ sounds are sustained, right from the beginning. It's dark and dangerous, profoundly gothic...and we instantly know something troubling is pending.

A lot of things are happening in the song, it's a picture of disaster, or the scene after a massacre which you can't look away from. It's a gorgeous and disturbing paradox: I have mentioned that the spine of the song is how some sounds are sustained, but at the same time, many of the sounds in the song are choppy and piercing. Like the message of the song, it's supposed to make you uncomfortable. It pulls at your skin and keeps you attentive.

It's a kind of homage to Da Hammer --the instrumentation. The horns and distinguished kicks especially, which are Hammer's trademark sound, seem to be mined from somewhere special unto the song...and influence is no sin so...

But Red Eye, or Nature (when he's producing beats and not rapping hard and demented in Ga) too, has always been eccentric and warlike...more experimental too with other rhythms than Hammer would touch. From his early work with 2 Toff, the group he belongs to, to Kwaw Kesse, to Edem, he has constantly proven to be a strong and versatile hand. For 2 Toff, he worked on " Y Na Bra", on which they featured Castro. Several years on, on "Meawezo" the song on which they announced their comeback after a long exile from Ghana's music industry, he rendered a parallel sound which was both modern and at the same time, invoked the nostalgia of "Y Na Bra". Nature might have done way more for Kwaw Kesse's "Poppin" than we may be praising him for (if we are praising him at all), as all Kwaw did, really, was to give a fun chorus. Both reggae songs Nature did for Edem are infectious; "Make Money" and "Ghetto Arise" are testimony to the diversity of his talent.

Nature too, has been a fan of the trumpet, which, like I have said elsewhere, works excellently as warrior melody and death announcement. He's also remorseless with the guitar, and it's remarkable.

Truth is truth, and common sense lays around. It doesn't have to come from the high and mighty for it to be truer.

Obrafour is just a man, it's all he's been this whole time. He's faced the valleys of the shadows, he testifies in his song "My Praise", he's had public banters with fellow rappers and felt good about it, which is a bad example and might reduce drastically his moral leverage should he advise younger rappers to bury the hatchet. He's imperfect, but the "blameless" ones may have failed us. All we need to speak up to life and against it, is to be a man or woman, and that refers to you and me...Obrafour too.

"M'asm tia yi eko ma yn nyinaa"

He's a tired old man, but he's a special kind of tired and old. He's our favourite old man...tired or not. It's not all he is though; he's anointing the up and coming ( Dues), he believes in God's protection over the helpless ( Aboa Onni Dua) and he's exploring love (Pimpinaa,Twe Ma Me). He's protesting against life, and embracing it all at once. It is well.

Nkontompo means lies, and it is an official single off Obrafour's latest album, Obrafoforo.

The writer can be reached @myershansen on twitter and at [email protected] Also on www.myershansen.wordpress.com
07.01.2016 LISTEN

A UK-based Ghanaian gospel musician, Isaac Frempong, who burst onto the gospel music scene in 2003, is in the country on a working visit.

The gospel artiste is in the country to study the trend of Ghanaian gospel music and also to do a number of collaborations with some gospel artistes as well as build a healthy relationship with the gospel music industry in Ghana.

He is currently out with a 12-track album titled 'Praise Through', which is due to be launched in Ghana in March this year.

Speaking in an interview with BEATWAVES in Accra, Isaac Frempong, who started singing during his secondary school days at the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC), revealed how poised he is to reach a wider audience in Ghana with the launch of his 'Praise Through' album.

This new album brings out my creative nature perfectly. The producers and featured artistes also added their different musical styles that added spice to the album and gave it a different feel, he told BEATWAVES.

He disclosed that ever since he burst onto the gospel music scene in 2013, he has used his music and live performances to encourage the depressed to keep trusting in God, and he believes he is living up to that purpose with his new album.

He has so far performed on a number of gospel platforms in UK, France, United States and Ghana.

By George Clifford Owusu
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The Youth Organiser of the UK/Ireland branch of the NDC, Kofi Adoli, has replied Ghanaian international movie producer and director Leila Djansi who said she had regretted campaigning for the party in the 2012 elections.

He said unlike Leila Djansi, he has not regretted campaigning for John Mahama because the president has delivered beyond his expectation.

Leila Djansi expressed her frustrations following the hardships Ghanaians have been forced to endure due to the incompetence of people currently manning the affairs of the country.

The Sinking Sands director made the comments in a post on Facebook on Tuesday outlining major challenges and controversies that have rocked the country lately.

Kofi Adoli, in a reply, said she should not regret campaigning for the NDC because the John Mahama administration has achieved more than any government in recent times.

Read his reply:

Dear Leila Afua Djansi,

My name is Kofi Adoli. Just like you, I am normally resident outside Ghana but I keep a close eye on developments back home.

Occasionally I come home for a variety of reasons. The similarities between us do not end there. I, just like you, campaigned for John Dramani Mahama in 2012.The point of departure however is that I have absolutely no regret doing so.

I have read your post this morning in which you raise a number [of] frustrations you have with the way the country is being run.

Specifically you speak about water shortage and the recent rebranding of the buses and what you say is inadequate beds in our hospitals. These I believe form the basis for your expression of regret for campaigning and voting for President Mahama and the NDC.

I respect your right to vent and raise issues with the management of our country. I also uphold your right to criticise government when you feel a number of things have gone wrong. That said, I believe your expression of regret over these matters leaves much to be desired. I earnestly believe that you may be unaware of a number of developments in our country. You may also have been the recipient of false, exaggerated claims from a loud but often uncritical and shallow media.

It is not too clear to me what may have caused the temporary water shortage where you live. I do not in fact know where you live. What is clear however from your post is that at some point you reached the head of the water company who managed to get the shortage addressed.

Be that as it may, when it comes to water provision, there is no single government that has done more than the one you helped put in place.

To help foster greater understanding of the enormity of the problem and the amount of work done to alleviate it, let me draw your attention to a few figures that illustrate the point. You see, between 1957 and 2009 when the NDC came to power, which is a period of 52 years, only 58.5% of Ghanaians had water.

That means just 14 million out of our population of 24 million had water. That also meant that a staggering 10 million people had no access to the vital commodity. The NDC under President Mahama has pumped in over US$1 billion to improve water coverage. There are dozens of major water projects aimed at bringing water to the people dotted around the country.

Many of these have been completed and the result is that currently water coverage stands at 76%, meaning an additional 4.2 million Ghanaians have had water.

By the end of this year when all the ongoing projects would have been completed, this coverage will rise to 85% and that will translate to a total of 7 million Ghanaians being given water in addition to those who had it prior to the coming of the NDC.

Surely Leila, despite your frustration with the temporary shortage, you would appreciate that any president who gives 7 million more people water in the limited period he has led this country is undeserving of the accusation of incompetence that you levelled at him.

You may have noticed that in previous times when you visited Ghana, young children living in such places as Adenta, Teshie, Nungua and the northern part of Accra and many cities in Ghana had to carry yellow jerrycans christened Kufour Gallons over long distances in search of water. That is a spectacle you are unlikely to encounter when you visit those same communities today because the water problem in those communities has been resolved.

On the issue of health, I am pleased to inform you that the biggest contribution yet to our healthcare delivery system has been made by President Mahama. You may be unaware that currently work is either complete or ongoing on 2 teaching hospitals (In the last 40 years not a single Teaching Hospital has been built in Ghana), a massive Military Hospital in Kumasi, a Police Hospital here in Accra, an ultra-modern Maritime Hospital in Tema, four large Regional Hospitals, 14 District Hospitals, dozens of new Polyclinics, over 40 Health Centres and 1,260 CHPS compounds.

Leila, when you add all these up, we are talking of capacity for an additional 6,000 hospital beds in a matter of three to four years. This has never happened in our history as a country. Beyond this, President Mahama has carried out the most comprehensive re-equipping of government hospitals in our history.

Only a few years ago in Ghana, MRIs were not a part of our health delivery system. Today you are likely to see not only an MRI but a CT-Scan, Mamography machine, Flouroscopy and X-ray machines. Today ailments that a few years ago had to be diagnosed abroad can be diagnosed and treated here in Ghana. It may interest you to note that in the period before the NDC government came to power, not a single Regional Hospital was built in all 8 years of the NPP's rule.

Ask their rabid supporters who are trooping to your wall to lend you support to point you to anything they did that comes close to what President Mahama has done in office and they will be found wanting. These same people would rip you apart if you dared criticise the many flaws of their leader and his hopeless incompetence. They would savage you if you even questioned their many violent methods at capturing political power.

Again, Leila you would agree that levelling a charge of incompetence at a president who has done far more in health than his predecessors is most uncharitable and unfair to the facts.

Regarding the issue of the branded busses, there was widespread outrage. The president was equally outraged by this conduct. It is on this basis that he commissioned an investigation into the matter leading to the resignation of the Minister of Transport and a refund of the outstanding amount from the executors of the contract, who you branded less qualified.

I can say with certainty that had you not helped install John Mahama as President, such a matter would not have received the attention it deserved. You may be aware or unaware that during the tenure of the NPP whose members I see are falling over themselves to comment on your post, a staggering US1.4 million dollars was used to purchase gold medals to hang around the neck of the president and his friends at a time when school children in Ghana sat under 4,321 trees to study.

Despite public outrage and outcry, absolutely nothing was done to reverse this shocking level of ostentation. Surely Leila you would have more confidence in a president who takes action on a matter like the bus branding than one who leads a party who in spite of public protests displays such grotesque opulence.

I am acutely aware that in the United States where you live and the United Kingdom where I am domiciled, water shortages or inadequate hospital beds are unheard of. But you would be comparing apples to oranges if you viewed our circumstance as a nation through that prism. In the scheme of things, we can only compare ourselves to our peers even as we aspire to attain the heights achieved by the US and the UK. Therefore in analysing our national situation we ought to be fair to the facts.

In all honesty I can attest that the Ghana we live in today is a much better place than what the NDC inherited, though long-standing systemic problems persist. I am also aware that bold measures are in place to address them.

As citizens, we have every right to point out ills in our society so that they can be addressed. We are not obliged to praise governments for doing their work. We must however be wary of the shallow opportunism of the opposition and their mercenary media lackeys whose only pre-occupation is to project our country in the worst possible light for partisan gain.

I implore you to maintain your support for President John Dramani Mahama. I urge you to campaign harder for him in 2016 because I can assure you that it will be a far better thing you do than you have ever done.

I sincerely hope that the temporary water shortage in your neighbourhood is resolved quickly like it was done the last time. Look beyond the temporary setback and have the bigger picture in mind. While you are at it, please download a copy of Accounting to the People, a book published by the government you helped put in place, in which irrefutable evidence of real progress is presented in vivid detail.

You can do so at www.moc.gov.gh,www.ghana.gov.gh and www.presidency.gov.gh.

Your Diasporan compatriot,

Kofi Adoli.

CREDIT:myjoyonline
Nicholas Omane Acheampong

07.01.2016 LISTEN

Gospel music star and icon, Nicholas Omane Acheampong has revealed that he is going to offer a help to the old ladies in the country who are in need.

According to the "Aposor" artist, his recent revelation about the poor old women is something God has put on his heart and he is now set to accomplish.

The "Zaphnatpania" artist in an interview with Seancitygh.com said he will begin this charity work which he said will take place all over Ghana very soon.

"My brother, God has really done a lot for me. He has however tasked me to extend my hands to the old women across the country who are in need. This charity work will run through all corners of Ghana. I will first of all start with awareness concert before the actual mission. I really become very sad when I see an old woman suffer. That is why through that God has tasked me to do that."

Meanwhile, the talented gospel artist described as "the man with many words" said he is on a nationwide tour promoting the work of God with his latest Aposor album.
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Zliten (Libya) (AFP) - A suicide truck bombing on a police school in the Libyan city of Zliten killed more than 50 people on Thursday, in the deadliest attack to hit the strife-torn country since its 2011 revolution.

A bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck used for carrying water at a police training centre in central Zliten at around 8:30 am (0630 GMT), a local security source told AFP.

A witness in Zliten, a coastal city about 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Tripoli, told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the compound at the time.

Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people had been killed and at least 100 wounded and that victims were being treated in several hospitals. Urgent calls were issued for blood donations.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State group, which has been growing in power in Libya, has carried out many suicide bombings in the country.

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi and has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The internationally recognised government condemned the attack as a "cowardly terrorist act" and called for the lifting of an arms embargo it says has prevented authorities from tackling IS.

- Calls for unity -

Meanwhile, a deputy defence minister for the Tripoli-based government, Mohammad Bashir al-Naas, vowed to avenge the attack.

"The perpetrator is not known but he is a coward. He kills our sons from the shadows. We must avenge them and do everything possible to protect them," Naas told a press conference.

The United Nations is pressing Libya's rival sides to implement a power-sharing deal agreed last month on forming a unity government.

The UN envoy to Libya and Western governments called for unity in the wake of the attack, saying implementing the political agreement was crucial.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," UN envoy Martin Kobler wrote on Twitter.

EU policy chief Federica Mogherini also urged Libyans to back the unity deal.

"The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... they have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country," she said.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, offered its support in helping to bring stability.

"In the face of this terrorist threat, the first answer must be unity among Libyans," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. "It is urgent that the recently signed political agreement be implemented."

France also condemned the attack and called on "all Libyan parties to quickly form a national unity government... that would be a partner for the international community in the face of terrorism."

- 'Struggle for power' -

World powers fear Libya could descend further into chaos and become an IS stronghold on Europe's doorstep.

In a report to the UN Security Council in November, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that IS had been responsible for at least 27 car and suicide bombings in Libya in 2015.

The group claimed responsibility for suicide car bombings in the eastern town of Al-Qoba in February that killed at least 40 people.

In recent days, IS has launched a series of attacks on oil facilities in eastern Libya, pushing east from its coastal stronghold of Sirte.

Officials have warned of crippling consequences for the country if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

Calls have been growing for a possible foreign military intervention to bring stability to Libya and contain IS, which is reported to have at least 3,000 fighters in the country.

Mohamed Eljarh, a Libya analyst with the Atlantic Council, said it was unlikely the latest attack would boost unity efforts.

"This has not been the case in the past, even when IS was expanding and the scale of attacks was intensifying," he said.

"Despite IS's evident presence in Libya, various political groups are still consumed with their struggle for power and control."
Ho, Jan. 06, GNA - Robert Gbetsi, a Supervisor at the Thywill Business and Investment Consultancy Limited (TBICL) has been given keys to a three-bedroom apartment for emerging as the overall best worker for the Company in 2015.

Gbetsi, who has worked for the Company for eight years, was described as 'loyal, achiever and a team player'.

Three other workers, Faphet rpt Faphet Foe, Gabriel Atsu and Innocent Dzokoto took home double door deep freezer, gas cooker and home theatre respectively for their contributions to the Company.

The honours were to mark the Company's 10th anniversary and inspire others to work hard.

Mr Christopher Foe, Chief Executive Officer of TBICL, attributed the Company's success in the past 10 years to contributions from workers.

He said having attained international recognition with well executed projects, TBICL was bracing up for global challenge in 2016.

Mr Foe said the Company would by March this year introduce gas concrete technology into the building industry to bring 'real pro-poor' housing to the people.

He said with that technology, an average worker with net salary of 1,000 Ghana Cedis could afford a house and pay in ten years.

Mr Foe said his Company already had raw materials for the project and called for support from government.

He said the technology, from Ukraine and Russia saves building materials and cost, eliminates air-condition and cracks.

GNA
Liu Zhenwen, a Chinese medicine doctor has impersonated Melchior, one of the Biblical Magi, during a traditional Three Kings' Procession held in Poland annually on Jan. 6.

It is the second time for Liu to play the part of a king from the Far East, much to the joy of children and adults coming to watch the procession. Soon after the event, Liu shares his experiences with Xinhua reporter.

The Biblical Three Magi, Three Wise Man, or, most common, Three Kings, were, according to the Christian tradition, a group of distinguished foreigners, who paid a visit to the newly-born Jesus and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Their names were Melchior, Caspar (Polish: Kacper) and Balthazar. Their origin was not clearly stated, however, they were traditionally regarded as visitors from the Far East. In Polish tradition, the colorful processions commemorating the Kings has become an indispensable event. The Three Kings Day, also known as Epiphany, is annually celebrated on Jan. 6.

This year, almost 420 Polish cities witnessed the processions led by the Three Kings, including big towns, such as Warsaw, Poznan, Krakow, Katowice and Gdansk, and numerous smaller cities. President of Poland Andrzej Duda took part in the procession in Warsaw Old Town.

During the same procession, Liu, wearing green, was riding a Chinese dragon, representing Asia. The other king Balthazar, representing Africa and wearing blue, was riding a camel, while Caspar, representing Europe, was wearing red and riding a horse.

Liu has already been living in Poland for seven years and speaks fluent Polish.

"It is already the second time for me to play the King's role," he said, "This year, with the presence of President Duda and his spouse, who sang Christmas carols together with us, it was even more solemn."

The procession began in the Old Town and passed by the roads.

"People were waving hands at us, singing and performing together with the actors," recalled Liu, "Children accompanying Melchior were also wearing green and holding plates with the word 'friendship' written in Chinese."

The procession is traditionally following the Bethlehem Star and can be joined by anyone. An integral part of the processions are people singing Christmas carols.

Many of them dress themselves and their children in colorful clothes, playing the roles of the Kings' court members and other figures, such as the founder of Polish state -- prince Mieszko and his wife Dobrawa.

It is also an opportunity to present the traditional Christmas performances, the so-called "Jaselka", a few hundred years old Polish folk tradition. Children are excited to see the exotic animals, the Kings are riding at, such as camels, rare view in cold Polish winter.

Asked about his feeling about the event, Liu said: "As a Chinese, I was deeply moved to be able to take part in the Polish traditional festival. I wish Poland and Polish people a good and happy new year and hope that everything goes smoothly."

"I also hope there is more cultural exchange between Poland and China, so that people can mutually get to know more about customs and traditions," said Liu.

In 2015, the Three Kings' procession was held in 330 Polish towns, with more than 1 million participants on site and 1.5 million spectators in front of the television. The Three Kings' Day marks the beginning of the carnival.
Paris, Jan. 6, GNA - With 110 journalists killed in connection with their work or for still unclear reasons in 2015, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a non-governmental organisation that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, is calling on the UN to find a better way of protecting journalists.

The organisation wants the world body to create the position of Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Safety of Journalists.

It noted that 787 journalists had been killed in the course of their work since 2005.

'Tasked above all with monitoring compliance by UN member states with their obligations under international law, the Special Representative would have the political weight and early warning capability that are necessary to protect journalists effectively,' RSF said in a statement

'With the aim of quickly obtaining a resolution creating this position, RSF has been waging an active international campaign for several months to gather support within the UN system and from member states,' the organisation added.

RSF urged the UN Security Council to refer war crimes against journalists to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In April last year, RSF asked the Security Council to do everything possible to ensure that the situation of journalists in Syria and Iraq was referred to the ICC prosecutor.

'Only the Council, under its authority for maintaining international peace and security, can get the ICC to investigate war crimes against journalists in countries that are not parties to the ICC statute and to prosecute those responsible,' RSF said.

It has been producing its annual round-up of acts of violence against journalists for the past 20 years, constituting one of the key components of RSF's work in support of those who risk their lives to keep the world informed.

'The very high number of journalists killed in 2015 is attributable to the increasingly deliberate use of violence against journalists,' RSF said.

'It is also indicative of the failure of initiatives designed to protect journalists. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on August 6, 2015 in his annual report on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity: 'I am deeply concerned about the failure to reduce the frequency and scale of targeted violence that journalists face and the near absolute impunity for such crimes.''

RSF said non-state groups 'perpetrate targeted atrocities while too many governments do not comply with their obligations under international law'.

Two-thirds of the journalists killed worldwide in 2014 were killed in war zones, while last year it was the exact opposite, with two-thirds being killed in countries 'at peace', RSF said.

In the cases of 43 of the journalists killed in 2015, the motives or reasons for their deaths remained unclear 'because of the lack of thorough and impartial official investigations, the lack of good faith on the part of governments, or the difficulty of investigating in unstable or lawless regions'.

RSF added: 'These 'unclear reasons' reflect the problem of impunity for crimes of violence against journalists in many regions of the world: Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.'

GNA
06.01.2016 LISTEN

We, the Woraso Students Association (WOSA- Development our concern) is calling the NHIA and BNI to come and investigate the Woraso Health Centre in the Ashanti Region for illegal monies taking from insured clients.

We had information that a client named ADWOA sent her child Owusu Furgurson Sarfo to the health centre for treatment on Sunday 3rd January 2016. The client was insured with active NHIA card. She reported that the health centre charged her 12.00 Ghana of which 10.00 Ghana cedis was the cost of a drug called Iron-(III) polymaltose syrup 200ml and 2 cedis as service charge for removal of folder without issuing official receipts.

The President of this Association followed the issue to the next day, 4th January 2016. He approached the staff and they confirmed that the drug and service fee charged are not covered under the NHIA.

We called for receipt to be issued to the clients and the officer on duty at the claims/accounts issued a receipt with the MOH number 015190415.

Mr.Sarfo who has worked with the NHIA as intern with knowledge in the price of medicine covered under the NHIA explained to the staff to refund the money to the client or to report the issue to the NHIA. The officer quickly refunded the money to him and took the receipt back.

On 5th January 2016, Mrs Cecilia Boahemaa ,Midwife (in-charge of the health centre) sent a message through one of the nurses to the mother of the child to immediately report to her office or else she will call for police to arrest this innocent mother.

We, the students body believe that, the staff at the health centre especially the Midwife need to be arrested for illegally charging for service that are been paid by the NHIA.

Again, what prevented them from issuing a receipt to the client on the day of treatment?

Also we believe that it is the habit of the staff for not issuing official receipts to clients and we the students vehemently condemn such illegal and wicked habit and must be exposed by all those who value accountability, stability and development.

In addition, we want to inquire from NHIA whether the staff can store drugs at the facility and pretend or deceive insured clients of not having the drug within the NHIS medicine list but sell to them at the health centre.

Moreover, Mrs Cecilia Boahemaa (Midwife) has asked the mother of the child not to come for treatment at the health centre. She said if the drug is available and covered under NHIA at the health centre she will make sure the client will purchase it outside the facility.

We the students see her statement to the clients as unfair and not lawful for someone who has chosen such facility as her primary healthcare provider under the capitation system of NHIA.

We expect the Midwife who is said to be a mother for all to come out and apologize to the client on such unprofessional attitude exhibited towards the mother of the child.

Finally, we are calling on the NHIA and BNI to come to Woraso Health Centre and the community to investigate into this actions and save the innocent tomatoes farming community from this fraudulent behavior exhibited by some of the staff.

SARFO SAMUEL OWUSU

(PRESIDENT) 0545035001

Cc: All media houses, Assemblyman (Woraso)
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Governance expert, Edem Deikumah, doubts if former flag bearer of the Convention Peoples Party, Dr. Abu Sakara, will make an impact in Ghanas political arena when he runs as an independent Presidential Candidate in November.

Mr. Deikumah, a Lectural at the E P University College , is of the conviction that much as Dr. Sakara reserves the right to contest or form his own political party, the countrys political landscape currently lacks the competitiveness it needs to accommodate third players in the political field.

The Governance expert was commenting on the former flag bearers announcement to contest the November presidential elections as an independent candidate, after breaking away from the CPP.

Dr Sakara has explained that he arrived at the decision following months of contemplation and consultations.

According to him, he had tried to help build the CPP around the core principles and values of the party that attracted him but the conduct and misplaced priorities that still dominate decision making in the party, has convinced him that his resources, energy and talent can be put to more productive purpose as an independent Presidential Candidate.

But Mr. Deikumah is advising the politician to take cues from other political figures who broke away from their respective parties.

According to Mr Deikumah, the success stories of independent Presidential Candidates are nothing to write home about.

He has advised Dr. Sakara to return to his party because his ideas could help the CPP create a third force in Ghanas political arena dominated by the NPP and NDC.

Dr. Sakara was the running mate to Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom in the 2008 elections, but was elected as flag-bearer when Dr Nduom left the CPP to found his own party, the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP).
Over one hundred stores have been razed to the ground in yet another fire at the Kumasi Central Market.

Goods at the Yam, shea butter, smoked fish and ear rings section of the market were lost to the blaze.

Fire personnel had a hard time battling the late night inferno that spread fast through the market.

Luv FMs Erastus Asare Donkor says the fire started around 9pm Wednesday at a section of the marke called Bode.

a a a Fire personnel are trying to bring the fire under control while some traders try to salvage what they can amidst wails from those who cant, Erastus said.

Erastus says although the fire has been brought under control, fire fighters have cordoned off parts of the market to enable them put off some of the dying embers.

Traders arriving at the market Thursday morning have, however, been pushing through to get to their stores creating pandemonium.

Erastus says more security men would be required to control the affected traders pushing through the soot and heat to their shops.

Security men on watch say the fire started at one of the shops at the market.

Thousands of live birds have been burnt to ashes while hundreds of shops have been razed by the fire.

The central market has been hit countless times by similar fire incidents.

Two months ago, parts of the market were engulfed by fire and destroyed several shops and properties.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

It is said that it is not how much we give but how much love we put into giving. This was the motivation behind the donation from ONE LOVE ONE GHANA FOUNDATION to Save Them Young orphanage located at Ashaiman Bethlehem on the 28th of December, 2015.

According to the CEO of ONE LOVE ONE GHANA FOUNDATION, Mr. Fred Williams Adomako, it has always been his wish to put smiles on the faces of others and that motivated him to approach friends and tell them to contribute the little they can afford to make this a reality.

He expressed his profound gratitude to all who helped in various ways to ensure the foundation was able to put smiles on the faces of the kids at the orphanage.

He also expressed profound gratitude to Madam Armanda, the mother of Save Them Young Orphanage for her coorperation since he alerted her of the intentions of ONE LOVE ONE GHANA FOUNDATION and the warm welcome she gave them on the day of the donation.

Mr. Fred Williams Adomako also said that ONE LOVE ONE GHANA FOUNDATION is working on acquiring some building materials to help complete a building the orphanage is putting up because Save Them Young Orphanage is the only orphanage which does not reject kids irrespective of their conditions and their numbers are swelling up hence more space needs to be created to accommodate them.

ONE LOVE ONE GHANA FOUNDATION donated food items, learning materials and a first aid kit containing some first aid medications to the orphanage.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

He has committed his fair share of blunders in the critical course and cause of setting things aright in the rough-and-tumble manner in which politics is done in the New Patriotic Party.

I am, of course, talking about the fire-spitting Member of Parliament for Assin-Central, Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong. These days, though, it smartly appears that in keeping with a winsome political strategy, the tough-talking media mogul has decided to studiously heed the maxim that Silence is Golden. Not long ago, Mr. Agyapong was widely quoted by the media to be saying that quite a remarkable number of the key operatives of his party appeared to have cynically and shamelessly sold their consciences to some of their counterparts in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Well, I am not here to make any direct and/or pontifical statements in staunch approbation of Mr. Agyapong who has not always creditably acquitted himself when the collective interests of party and nation, in the long haul, appeared to virulently clash with his quite humongous ego.

And here, by the way, I am thinking of his rather disappointing vaunt, largely borne out of acute frustration, that he was the owner of some 108 real-estate properties and thus couldnt care less if those whom he considered to be pathological reprobates among the top party hierarchy decided to unconscionably collaborate with their ideological adversaries to put the New Patriotic Party on the gray margins of the political irrelevance of opposition in perpetuity.

Still, you cant blame the man when you hear and read about the Parliamentary Minority Leader and his deputy traveling Up-North to the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency, in the Upper-West Region, to shamelessly shill for the Parliamentary Majority Leader, Mr. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, who has been known to have become a fixture in the august House since long before the birth of our Biblical Methuselah.

Indeed, the Parliamentary Minority Leader, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has also been sneeringly dubbed the Kumasi-Suame Mugabe. And so, really, these two men may just be veritable birds of identical plumage who simply find themselves, perhaps totally by accident, on opposite sides of the aisle.

You see, it is not against any known law or statute that you cannot commend even your most inveterate political opponent once awhile when such encomium is clearly well deserved.

But, of course, this ought not to become a pet political fare when your party, a government-in-waiting, is down by a humongous 24 seats and the bare-leather-worn seat of your political opponent could well serve to shorten the distance between Suame-Magazine, or even Bimbilla, and the Flagstaff House.

In sum, what Messrs. Mensah-Bonsu and Dominic Nitiwul, the NPP-MP for strife-torn Bimbilla and Deputy Parliamentary Minority Leader, have been accused of doing is microcosmically tantamount to high treason.

I mean, how does one travel to a constituency in which ones officially recognized political opponent has been comfortably hogging his seat for some two protracted decades in order to vouch for his badly battered moral and political integrity, when your own party has a legitimately elected candidate whose integrity and popularity are in dire need of marketing, and still claim to be zealously guarding the inviolable interests of the very party on whose ticket one has climbed up to whatever stature, fame and fortune one has acquired all these years?

If the preceding flagrant breach of party trust is not tantamount to political suicide, then I really dont know what else it is. Or maybe it is simply that Messrs. Nitiwul and Mensah-Bonsu have lost whatever modicum of confidence they may have harbored for their party and its current crop of leaders? If so, then why dont these two gentlemen step aside and make way for those who still believe that the New Patriotic Party is the party that quintupled the size of Ghanas economy in just 8 years, under the legendary Midas-Touch leadership of President John Agyekum-Kufuor?

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
07.01.2016 LISTEN

CENAB-USA was abhorred after the group sighted the 33 page report of the electoral commission that was released to parties who were part of the forum that interrogated the concerns of the opposition parties and pressure groups about the 2012 voters register which credibility has fiercely been challenged.

In the report, the EC appear very arrogant and snobbish; a trait that is very classical of the NDC. It was surprising how the EC downplayed some of the pressing concerns with some flimsy and questionable excuses and responses that could only be associated with a tyrannical ruler. Charlotte Osei is now wearing arrogance like a sash decorating the uniform of a military dictator.

It is now apparently clear that the EC is doing the bidding of John Mahama and the NDC; a posture which is a clear affront to our democracy and a potential for political disaster. The arrogantly worded response from the EC echoes the posture and voices of people like Asiedu Nketia, Kofi Adams, John Mahama and their likes on the matter of the New Voter Register (NVR). We bet this response is not EC's document. It is NDC's document signed by Charlotte Osei basically as a member of the NDC not the Chairperson of EC.

To corroborate our point, CENAB-USA has chanced upon a transcript of a conversation purported to have occurred between John Mahama and the NDC executives in Koforidua on October, 2015. In the said conversation, Mahama is captured to have mentioned to his executives that I did not appoint Charlotte Osei because of her beauty but to work for us to retain the seat come 2016! The conduct of the EC clearly goes to affirm what John Mahama stated.

It is just incomprehensible for the EC to have stated that it cannot invalidate the registrations by voters who presented NHIA cards as proof of citizenship, unless all such persons have also been heard. As it was clearly stated by the Supreme Court in the Abu Ramadan case that the use of the NHIS cards were insufficient as proof of citizenship, CENAB-USA would want to question Charlotte Osei on when she and the EC will be calling these persons whose voting status are in contention to be heard and the right thing immediately done to remedy the injustices meant to disrupt the peace Ghanaians are enjoying?

Again, it was utterly ridiculous for the EC to have tried to justify its recalcitrant nature by attempting to posit that the bloated voters register of Ghana is as a result of the voting age and the socio-economic strength  among other things  of Ghana as compared to other African countries like Kenya and South Africa. CENAB-USA will want to point out to the EC that the adult suffrage age for all these countries are the same (18), and that even on socio-economic pedestals, Ghana cannot measure up with Kenya and South Africa. It is therefore shameful on the part of the EC to attempt to justify the excess numbers in our register with these factors.

Moreover, in its response, the EC admitted that there is No automatic linkages of voter registration to the births and deaths registry in Ghana, hence a high number of deceased persons are still on the register. It is for some of these challenges that CENAB-USA with other pressure groups have been consistent in our demand for a NVR. We believe that a new voter register will help the country to eliminate all the deceased from our register while putting in stringent efforts to prevent it's occurrence in the future. If the EC thinks differently, then CENAB-USA would like to know what measures are the EC putting in place between now and November to eliminate the thousands of deceased Ghanaians from the register before the elections? CENAB-USA wants to know.

We must state that we find it troubling that the EC flatly rubbished the demand for expunging Togolese nationals from our register only because it could not secure the Togolese voters register. It is quite troubling to understand how and why the EC which is supposed to ensure the sanctity of the Ghanaian voters roll is rather defending an Ecowas register? How could our EC be more interested in the rights and eligibility of Togolese nationals over Ghanaian citizens? If the EC is supporting these illegalities, based on alleged naturalization of these ECOWAS Nationals, where are evidence of their naturalization documents in Ghana? In fact, CENAB-USA is asking the EC how it determined the naturalization status of these 76,000 Togolese doubling as citizens of Ghana and the evidence they have to support their claim. CENAB-USA would want to state in no uncertain terms that Ghana cannot go to 2016 elections with those thousands of Togolese in our register. That should not be allowed to happen; not again!

Another interesting thing is that, with all the funds available to the EC, we find it repugnant for the EC to partly allude to the over-bloating of the register on wrong entries due to software bugs. If the database of our voters register could be hard hit by software bugs in the face of the funds available to the EC, how sure are we that Ghanas voter register would not easily be manipulated by STL and their likes again in favor of the NDC? How safe is the current voters register from intrusion, Charlotte Osei?

CENAB-USA is calling on the EC to be more independent in its dealings and handling of sensitive matters like the demand for a NVR. This will help to repose the confidence of the opposition parties and civil societies in the institution while creating a level playing field for all parties that will be involved in the 2016 elections. CENAB-USA would want to remind the EC and its boss, Charlotte Osei that their actions and inactions is critical to the peace and stability of our dear country before and after the election. It is better for Charlotte Osei and her office to listen and act now than plant Ghana into total chaos in the very near future.

For the love of our country, Charlotte Osei should not allow herself to be rendered impotent of her job by John Mahama and the NDC like a timorous paper tigress!

Amponsah Stonash

CENAB  USA Communications Team
Road accidents have become one of the leading causes of deaths in Ghana. On the average, 6 people die every day and about 2,000 lives perish annually through traffic crashes across the country.

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) revealed that April and December were the most accident-prone months in Ghana as well as public holidays.

Statistics showed that motor accidents are predominant in the Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Easter, and Ashanti regions. In fact, these regions constitute 64% of the total number of road traffic crashes nationwide.

As of October 2015, a total of 11,035 road accidents involving 16,749 vehicles were recorded nationwide. Of the total figures, 1,606 people perished and 9,648 sustained various degrees of injuries.

Not long ago, 10 people perished in a fatal accident on the Bonwire-Hohoe Jasikan road while several others were injured. The story of a 75-year-old woman and two children who got killed by a hit-and-run driver in Accra was unfortunate.

Barely 48hours into the New Year, a Ghanaian highlife legend, Amakye Dede, narrowly escaped death in a fatal road accident. Unfortunately, the manager of the wounded highlife musician, Isaac Yeboah, lost his life.

Causes

Globally, there is an upsurge in the number of road traffic crashes as a result of national population growth and other demographic factors.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a total of 1.25million people die every year through road traffic fatalities worldwide.

There are many factors that account for motor traffic crashes. Take Ghana for example, more than 90% of road crashes are as a result of human errors such as speeding, poor driving skills, drunk-driving, reckless driving, and gross indiscipline.

Others are corruption, flouting road safety signs, lack of maintenance, broken down vehicles, fatigue driving, overloading, unworthy vehicles, bad roads, poor vision, and bad weather.

A report from the NRSC confirmed that the major causes of road traffic crashes are speeding, drink-driving, lack of driving skills, and fatigue driving.

However, excessive speeding alone accounts for more than 50% of factors leading to motor crashes in Ghana.

Road safety awareness

The NRSC deserves commendation for embarking on road safety campaign to educate the public ahead of the Christmas season in 2015.

The accident-free Christmas campaign was launched to raise public awareness of the high number of road accidents, especially during festive occasions such as the Yuletide.

As a matter of fact, the fight against road carnage is a shared responsibility and, for that matter, drivers, motorcyclists, passengers, and pedestrians must show concern to ensure their own safety.

Subsequently, President John Dramani Mahama added his voice in support of the road safety campaign. His Excellency hit the nail on the head admonishing passengers to bold enough to speak up against drivers misconduct, and report recalcitrant drivers to the police.

The NRSC in collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has to do more by intensifying road safety awareness and public education across the length and breadth of the country.

Are traffic laws effective?

The WHO reported that 80 countries have succeeded in bringing the number of road crashes low as a result of improved legislation on traffic laws and effective implementation.

On the contrary, enforcing traffic laws in Ghana has not been satisfactory because of bribery, corruption, and lack of willpower.

As a country, we can control the avoidable carnage on our roads by adopting best practices of enforcing traffic laws on seatbelt, drink-driving, speeding, motorcycle helmet, and a few more.

For example, most motorcyclists are noted for flouting traffic regulations even though they are highly vulnerable to road crashes.

It is, therefore, not surprising that motorcycle accidents represent 23% of the total number of road traffic deaths nationwide.

Meanwhile, the decision to introduce spot fine system for traffic offences is long overdue. The repugnant lawlessness and corruption on our roads must cease.

Effects on economy

Ghana loses an average of 1.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) through road traffic crashes annually. Some of the factors include property damage, loss of productive hours, medical expenses, loss of job, and many more.

The WHO estimated that motor accidents impact negatively on global economy. For instance, most countries lose between 1% and 3% of their GDP to road accidents every year.

Road traffic fatalities can pose a threat to national development, particularly in terms of agribusiness, tourism, trade, transport industry, and business, just to mention a few.

Sadly, about 60% of road crash victims are between the productive ages of 18 and 55 years with about 75% of them being males.

Most accident victims who are left maimed or disable become burdensome on family members, loved ones and the society as a whole.

It must be emphasised that the transport industry plays an important role in well-being of society and the economy of Ghana.

The way forward

For some strange reason, many attribute road crashes to spiritual factors, but to the expertise human errors, as mentioned above, need to be addressed in order to reduce traffic crashes to the barest minimum.

In my opinion, driving school operators should accept moderate fees, since most learners cant afford to pay the exorbitant charges required to undergo formal training. This explains the influx of unqualified drivers in the country.

Ideally, every professional driver must be intellectual, skillful, and knowledgeable. However, most Ghanaian drivers lack these qualities, to say the least.

In addition, unworthy vehicles should be flushed out from our roads. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should ensure that overage and rickety vehicles do not pass roadworthy test.

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) should be well equipped to enforce road traffic laws effectively. Corrupt officers who extort money from motorists should be eliminated from the Service.

Every life is precious, so lets take precautionary measures as we begin a fresh year. I wish every motorist and Ghanaians in general accident-free year in 2016!

By ASP James Annan

Gt. Accra Regional PRO

Senior Correctional Centre

[email protected]
Abu Sakara

07.01.2016 LISTEN

I have often wondered why any reasonably well-educated Ghanaian citizen would want to truck with such splinter political parties as the Peoples National Convention (PNC), the rump-Convention Peoples Party (r-CPP), the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and the Great Consolidated Peoples Party (GCPP).

There may be quite a few more of these fried rice and Fanta parties, as one cynical critic sarcastically put it, recently, that are properly speaking veritable pressure groups almost invariably led by pathological megalomaniacs and egomaniacs than I can readily recall presently.

At any rate, let me take this prime opportunity to heartily congratulate Dr. Abu Sakara, the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the rump-Convention Peoples Party, for having finally seen the proverbial light and decided to effectively sever all links with the hulking mess of an embarrassing political excuse that is the rump-Convention Peoples Party.

In splitting from the latter concert party, Dr. Sakara, by the way, was only following a precedent paradoxically set by President Kwame Nkrumah nearly sixty-seven (67) years ago.

But what is even more fascinating here is the fact that Dr. Sakaras at once landmark and auspicious resignation of his membership from the rump-CPP comes barely a couple of months, or perhaps even less, since yours truly publicly indicated in one of his columns that he would be willing to endorse the presidential candidacy of this most erudite of Ghanaian technocrats whose pragmatic sense of the urgent need to seriously and rapidly advance the political culture of our beloved country far and away from the sort of infantile sloganeering of the key operatives of the rump-Convention Peoples Party, is nothing short of the classily admirable.

Indeed, it has often been said that any radical political operative who persists in his radicalism past age 40 must be a clinical cretin or plain idiot. Well, it took him quite a bit past 40 to come to the sobering realization that beyond pure and abject narcissism, the proprietary leadership of the rump-Convention Peoples Party is merely navigating the byzantine and decidedly Stygian shoals of our post-modernist 21st century political waters with an 18th century skiff. Now, that is not something really worthwhile to write ones folks at home about.

We shall shortly get around to fully discussing the significant implications of the auspicious severance of Dr. Sakaras ties with the hopeless political and ideological mirage that is the rump-Convention Peoples Party.

Thus far, only one of the scions of the infamous tyrant and faux-socialist dictator has come to the realistic and foresighted assessment and conclusion that the Convention Peoples Party, both then and now, is decidedly an immutable relic of a bygone era with little relevance for our modern political culture and climate.

In sum, Dr. Sakaras heart is absolutely in the right place, regardless of what cynics and some of the mentally retarded rump-CPP fanatics may say.

Like the Musama Disco Cristo Church (MDCC), whose political wing the CPP ineluctably appears to be, at least as exemplified by the hustler likes of Mr. Ali Masmadi Jehu-Appiah, and as well categorically stated by Ms. Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the CPP is the bona fide heirloom of the Nkrumah Family.

If you, my dear reader, have any doubts about the preceding first-hand observation, you may want to compare notes with Dr. Onsy Nathan Kwame Nkrumah. Well, true to my promise, I have decided to hereby endorse Dr. Sakara as my third choice, after Messrs. Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, but my second choice of Presidential Candidate for Election 2016.

I even have this tentative suggestion for the name of his ideological vehicle, in case Dr. Sakara is in need of one. It is called the National Interest Alliance (NIA). And it is squarely based on a reading of his reasons for calling it quits with the rump-Convention Peoples Party and his very laudable decision to go solo.

The fact of the matter is that with our kind of postcolonial political culture, about the only way of having a fighting chance at the polls is to have a well-organized and cohesive institutional vehicle as a back-wind to ones political masts.

For the likes of Mr. Hassan Ayariga  I understand the man recently acquired some sort of doctorate  riding a long-shot political steed like the Peoples National Convention, even as KNUST political scientist Dr. Richard Amoako-Baah poignantly put it the other day, is to use such minor political vehicle as a lucrative appendage of either of the countrys major political parties.

Which was precisely what Mr. Ayariga did in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, when he so effectively ran what clearly amounted to a political interference for the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress at the expense of Nana Akufo-Addo, the main opposition New Patriotic Partys flagbearer (See Ayariga NDC Appendage  Amoako-Baah Classfmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 12/14/15).

And it may well have paid some huge dividends for Mr. Hassan Ayariga, whose younger brother, Mahama, has served both inside the Mahama Flagstaff House and in a couple of portfolios. Presently, if memory serves me accurately, Mahama Ayariga serves as Minister for the Environment, Science and Technology.

According to the renowned former Head of the Political Science Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, such cynical abuse of his position as leader of the Peoples National Convention may well have contributed to Hassan Ayarigas precipitous loss of the pride of place at the partys 2016 presidential primary to Dr. Edward Mahama, the five-time PNCs presidential candidate.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana, Prestea branch has called on the leadership of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Military to put an end to the Military and Police brutalities on small scale miners in the area.

The group added that all its members have the required license to operate, and also follow all environmental precautions and demands in their operations.

Addressing the Press to register their protest, Mr. Nuhu Mustapha, the District Secretary to the group, (who is himself is also allegedly a victim) indicated that the military and the police are being used by an individual who is a guru in illegal mining and using the security agencies as a cover to perpetuate and extend his activities.

Narrating his ordeal, he said one Okobene, who is also a miner has contracted the security agencies to harass himself and his members.

He indicated that, the security agents ransack innocent people, make away with their valuables and seized their machines and items on sight. He said the combined the combined operation results in beating and manhandling of people, especially women, burning of monies belonging to victims, and other inhumane treatments.

According to a search report and license documents dated 21st December, 2015 and shown to the New Independent Newspaper, the specific area in reference (a mining site at Prestea) belongs to Mr. Nuhu Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the association.

According to him, the mastermind of these raids, Okobene rather do not have documents covering the concession he is claiming, but rather using someones license to operate.

Citing a specific case of reference, Mr. Nuhu indicated that on the 17th December, 2015, a combined operation by the Police and the Military contracted by the said Okobene resulted in brutalities against small scale miners in the area, resulting in their arrests and man-handling.

Mr. Ofosu, who was a victim on that fateful day, narrated his ordeal, mentioning that he was arrested and handcuffed whilst he was driving, resulting in the Police seizing one of his vehicles and several items.

The group therefore appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) to as a matter of urgency bring the security agents, who have turned themselves into tools being used by an individual to perpetuate his selfish gains to order, and institute investigation into these.

He said the currency of Ghana is to be safeguarded by every citizen, so if any security personnel should burn the money, it constitutes a criminal offence. They should therefore be brought to book.

Displaying his returns correspondence and statutory obligations of members of the group, he said small scale miners are faithful to the constitutional requirement associated with their business, and added that they will continue to support their communities and make positive impact towards their development.

When contacted for his side of the story, Okobene debunked allegations, claiming ownership to the concession. He also showed license documents which purportedly makes him owner of that large scale concession.
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China's first domestically made regional passenger jet, the ARJ21-700, will make its maiden commercial flight from southwest China to Shanghai in February.

Chengdu Airlines ARJ21-700 will take off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan Province for Hongqiao International Airport on February 28, with a stop in Changsha in Hunan Province, the budget airline said yesterday.

The airline, however, has not started selling tickets for the maiden flight.

It will operate the jet between Chengdu and Beijing soon.

The airline has ordered 30 of the twin-engine, 90-seat ARJ21 jets and plans to fly them on regional routes between Chengdu and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province as well as other central and western Chinese cities.

It will take delivery of four more jets by year end.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The 100 compressed parcels of Indian hemp (wee) in Fante Kenkey leaves en route from Ghana to the United Kingdom (UK) forwarded for forensic examination, have tested positive for wee.

Chief Supt. Duuti Tuaruka yesterday told an Accra circuit court that the results of the tests were ready.

However, the trial judge, Aboagye Tandoh, dismissed an application for bail filed by Anthony Lamoh, counsel for the accused persons  Kwaku Boateng, 47, a travel and tour agent and Yaw Opoku, 62, driver. He was seeking bail on medical grounds.

The judge held that the medical condition of the accused personas per the documents available to the court was not sufficient enough to warrant the bail.

Mr. Tandoh stated that the accused persons must be given medical attention whenever the need arises; and set January 18, 2016 for the hearing of the case to begin.

According to the prosecution led by C/Supt. Tuaruka, the accused persons on October 19, 2015 at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, conspired and possessed the narcotic drug without lawful authority.

Kwaku and Yaw have been charged for attempted exportation of narcotic drug without lawful authority, contrary to sections 56(a) and (1) of the Narcotic Drug Enforcement Drug Control Enforcement (Control and Sanctions) of PNDC Law 236/1990.

The two have denied the charges.

The facts of the case are that the complainants who are police officers, at 8pm on the said day, received information that the accused persons had stuffed a Hyundai HI mini bus with cartons of compressed dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp meant for export to the UK.

The prosecution said the complainants went to the airport and laid surveillance until about 10:30 pm when they saw the said vehicle with registration number GB 5409-12 being driven by Yaw and heading towards the Aviance Cargo section of the airport.

It further stated that Yaw Opoku, upon interrogation told the police that it was kenkey but when one of the packages was opened it revealed 10 parcels of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp wrapped in Fante kenkey leaves.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson

[email protected]
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Reader, do you know why most court going lawyers end up as politicians?

The reason is simple: you sit in the court room seeing Judges sentencing common ordinary folks to jail for stealing cassava, goats and small issues, then you pick your newspaper to hear of big names getting away with bank fraud, huge contract losses and in the words of Martin Amidu, gargantuan crimes against the state.

You know, it is so sad that human memory is very short. In 1979, right before our very eyes, Jerry Rawlings and his hot-headed revolutionaries lined up six Generals and shot them for raping the state.

One of them was Commander Joy Kobla Amedume, Navy Commander, always in white, accused of taking a bank loan of 50,000 cedis, secured with collateral!!!! Mind you, A BANK LOAN!!!

Since when in the history of the world did it become a crime to TAKE A BANK LOAN  more so secured with COLLATERAL??

And yes, Joy Kobla Amedume was butchered to death in the name of cleaning the state.

Looking at what is going on today in Ghana, I wonder how now septuagenarian Rawlings feels when he is lying down alone on his bed. why did I kill Amedume?

I confess I have never met Dzifa Attivor, the resigned Transport Minister. This is not surprising because I am NPP and she is NDC so we have nothing in common.

But I honestly admired her because shortly after being sworn in as Minister of Transport in  2013 she swung into action  moving up and down, talking tough. Quietly I told myself if all NDC Ministers would work like this woman, Ghana would be a better place.

Coolly I followed her news stories in the media until this metro buses branding fracass came up. What is this? It cost the nation 31.6 million Ghana cedis to BRAND 116 buses with pictures of a few Heads of State? How?

When the news became public, whether out of damage control or cosmetic window dressing, it was announced that the Chief of Staff had ordered an enquiry into the disturbing matter, led by the Attorney General.

Before one could say jack, we are told that Dzifa Attivor has resigned, peremptorily, in a statement signed on her behalf by her interesting named special assistant, EGYPT KUDOTO.

Reading all the media reports, in the process, and not saying anything new, the following

points are of concern:

A pro forma invoice dated 1ih July 2015 signed by the Accounts officer of the

Smarttrs Co sent to the Minister of Transport fixed the total cost of branding

each bus at 31,000 Gh cedis. Payment for the contract sum, ballooned to 31.6m Gh cedis was made AT

SOURCE in the Ministry of Finance.

iii. The contract was performed by a lady, Selassi Ibrahim, wife of Ibrahim Adam

whose company is Smarttys Productions Management Co.

What baffles my mind is that how can a Cabinet Minister ORDER the Minister of Finance to

pay a sector ministrys contract fee AT SOURCE from the Ministry of Finance? Usually the

Ministers vote will be sent into their accounts, and then the Minister will authorise

disbursements. Iftherefore today Dzifa Attivor is resigning because of this grave act of

. causing bizarre financial loss to the state, is it that she is admitting responsibility or is it that

she is being used as a scape goat or can it be that she has agreed to assume responsibility

and then be pacified with some Ambassadorial appointment or what?

For me her letter of resignation side steps the central question. She should tell us in plain

language  is it her WILFUL CRASS NEGLIGENCE that caused this reckless wanton dissipation

of public funds? Or what?

Dzifa, what are the raw facts?

And dont think  never deceive yourself that merely resigning will end the matter. It will

not, because somebody has to explain how 31,000 ballooned to 31.6 million Ghana cedis,

and somebody has to go to jail for that loss to the State.

If the NDC Administrator of President Mahama wants to come clean on this soil, they should

arrest Dzifa Attivor and prosecute her, and they should ask Selassie to refund the money to

the State.

If for 50,000 cedis (5 Ghana cedis) bank loan Amedumes blood was spilled, then it does not

make sense that we should paper over such gargantuan act of thievery  let us try Dzifa in

open court and if found guilty send her to jail.

She deserves to live, not shot like Amedume, but her proper place is jail.

By Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The integrity of the august House of Parliament has never been so challenged. The public opprobrium it has attracted in recent times over its performance is one which calls for sober and sincere reflection by all Ghanaians, irrespective of political lineage.

Even the poor attendance record of most of them prompted questions from various shades of the Ghanaian population recently when the issue of quorum cropped up. It would be recalled that during a deliberation recently the Minority won a vote when an issue was tabled for a headcount.

Even though the Deputy Speaker who was in-charge at the time invoked an order to nullify the outcome of the vote, it became clear that attendance of sessions is a sore point in the matters of the House.

Interestingly, canvassing for votes by parliamentary candidates comes with all manner of assurances and individual manifestoes towards, as it were, hoodwinking as many voters as possible. The promises of infrastructural development presented to voters by the candidates are mere window-dressing largely beyond the scope of MPs. Although they can lobby for infrastructural developments to be brought to their political areas, these are by no means the principal terms of reference of legislators.

Unfortunately, however, rather than engaging in a self-searching of the quality of their services, they are quick to haul well-meaning Ghanaians for daring to do so in the open.

It would appear that Parliament exhibits more seriousness when it hauls curious Ghanaians who dare question the quality of legislation in the country.

Consider the Black Rasta's date with the Privileges Committee. The time and cost of the televised flexing of legislative muscle was just amazing, bespeaking of bullish tactics.

We have observed, and worryingly, of late how legislations are passed which are quickly withdrawn for further scrutiny  another slight on the quality of the oversight responsibility of MPs. There is no better description for these acts of near idleness than sleeping on their jobs.

Our sleeping on their jobs tag is not influenced by President John Mahama's when in reaction to queries from the Minority in Parliament last year he accused this side of the august House of slumbering on their assignments when loan bills are tabled.

While we would not hold brief for him anyway, it would appear that slumbering has a degree of linkage with Parliament unfortunately.

We regret to announce that the House, as currently composed and by performance, has lost a certain level of deference much to the disappointment of cherishers of a virile legislature where the executive would not dare to interfere.

The recent withdrawal of the new taxes on petroleum products for further deliberations and scrutiny created a semblance of crisis: as a blemish on the quality of work being done by the honourable members not putting legislation on the spotlight at this stage would not be an option.

The manner in which issues are debated, with the Minority having its say as its counterparts on the other side have their way, has impacted negatively on the affairs of this country.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah [Inset: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia]

07.01.2016 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for the arrest of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, vice presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), for his recent expose about the credibility of the voter register.

Speaking to the media yesterday at the NDC headquarters in Accra, the party's General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, rubbished Dr Bawumia's presentation to the Electoral Commission (EC) concerning alleged registration of foreign nationals by the commission. He described the claim as false and fabricated, for which he (Bawumia) should be arrested.

He insisted that the evidence presented by Dr Bawumia was photoshoped and could only be allowed on social media and not serious institutions like the Supreme Court and the EC.

The NDC in recent times has turned its attack dogs on Dr Bawumia, trying to tarnish his reputation despite a series of predictions he made about the economy that came to pass.



Diplomats' Frustration

At a retreat held at Royal Senchi, Akosombo last December, Ghanaian diplomats expressed dissatisfaction with the NDC party and government's response to economic issues raised by Dr Bawumia.

According to them, the international community seemed to lap all the analysis made on media platforms by Dr Bawumia, an economist and running mate of Nana Akufo-Addo.

The diplomats therefore called for a means of taming his rising star.

This might have informed the NDC leadership to make Dr Bawumia their target, making Asiedu Nketia to lash out at the NPP vice presidential candidate.

The NDC chief scribe stated, The NDC condemns in no uncertain terms the fraudulent conduct and calls on the police to immediately investigate the matter. In particular, we are calling for the arrest of Dr Bawumia on the basis that he engaged in falsification and fabrication of public records to deceive public officials.

The reason why we are calling for the arrest of Mahamudu Bawumia is that, I am not a lawyer, but I have heard people say that if you fabricate public documents, if you falsify public documents with the intention of deceiving people, our laws should have a way of dealing with you.

In the Supreme Court they printed fake pink sheets and tendered them in evidence; all that was done was that the Supreme Court rejected them. Nothing has happened afterwards.

And they came to deceive the Electoral Commission again by printing fake Togolese register, put people's pictures on the register and presented it as Togolese.

How can a PhD [holder] who wants to be a vice president in this country sink that low? he claimed.

Mr Asiedu Nketia, popularly called General Mosquito, alleged that Dr Bawumia in 2013 falsified various documents and presented them to the Supreme Court during the election petition case. The same man has falsified another document to the EC.

It should not happen when you are presenting evidence to a constitutional body like the Supreme Court or the electoral body and you be let off the hook like that otherwise our democracy will be in danger, he said.

It would be recalled that Dr Bawumia, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, last year made some stunning revelations about flaws in the voter register, providing impetus for various civil society groups to demand a replacement of the electoral roll.

Dr Bawumia's disclosure about the presence of the names of about 80,000 Togolese on the register particularly ruffled various stakeholders.

EC's Rejection

The NDC also endorsed the EC's decision not to compile a new register ahead of the 2016 elections.

Mr Asiedu Nketia disclosed that EC's rejection of the demand vindicates the NDC's position on the subject.



NPP's Response

The Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, in reaction to Mr Nketia's utterances, rather called on the security agencies to start chasing President John Dramani Mahama.

John Boadu, reacting on Asempa FM's 'Ekosii Sen' programme yesterday, said Asiedu Nketia should have rather called for the arrest of the president since he is known for public deceit.

Why would Asiedu Nketia call for the arrest of Bawumia when there are bigger thieves that have stolen the country's money walking aroundhas he forgotten of President Mahama and Alfred Agbesi Woyome? he quizzed.

Prominent among what he described as the gross deceit of the public by President John Mahama was the promise to end the four-year power crisis (dumsor) which has crippled the country's industrial sector.

Did the president not promise at an IEA forum in 2012 of ending dumsor by 2013? What have we seen on thatnothingso the president lied big time and must be arrested, he charged.

Mr John Boadu further sought to know if businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome had paid the fraudulent judgement debt he was asked by the court to refund into the state's coffers.

The year 2015 has ended so if he has not paid the money, then I believe the NDC could have done more service to the country by calling on the security agencies to pursue him to refund the money and that would have been a more prudent venture, he noted.

The Acting NPP General Secretary further said that the party had handed over the EC's letter to its special committee that worked on the voter register and that they would expose the 'hollow arguments' of the EC in claiming that Ghana does not need a new voter register at a press conference the party would organise.

He however stated that he and the NPP were not surprised by the response of the EC to the NPP as the EC, since time immemorial, has always kicked against 'any ideas from the NPP.'

Mr Boadu was astonished to see the NDC jubilating about the recommendations of the panel of five established by the EC to examine the calls for a new electoral roll since the panel members are not the ones to make a final decision on the way forward.



Obiri Boahen Fires

Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Obiri Boahen, also lambasted Asiedu Nketia, describing him as a certified schizophrenia.

A livid Nana Obiri Boahen explained that the actions and inactions of the NDC chief scribe were enough attestation that he was suffering from a 'chronic brain disorder.'

He expressed shock at the conduct of the ruling party.

He said assuming without admitting that the allegation was true, calling for the prosecution of Dr Bawumia is the sole preserve of the EC and not the NDC.

He fumed, Is Asiedu Nketia now the spokesperson of the EC? But I'm not surprised because Asiedu Nketia is a certified schizophrenia patient.

By Nii Ogbamey Tetteh

[email protected]
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth organiser for the Fomena constituency in the Ashanti Region, Robert Owusu Tilton, could be arrested by the police following his infamous revelation of stockpiling of deadly weapons by the ruling party to deal with political opponents in this year's elections.

This follows a formal request by officers at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters in Accra to Boss Fm to furnish the security agents with the radio broadcast recordings of the January 5, 2016 morning show programme.

The Ashanti Regional Police Command, which made the request to the radio station, said this would afford the National CID Headquarters the privilege to listen to the full tape of the discussion in respect of the voter register by the various political parties.

In a letter signed by Chief Supt Peter Baba, the police regional high command stated that the request was at the instance of a demand by the CID head office.

On Monday, the NDC man indicated on a live radio programme that the governing party has a stockpile of sharpened cutlasses to deal with political opponents in this year's elections.

We will cut people into pieces and assign them a place with the dead with our already sharpened cutlasses, Robert Owusu said, and added that the police would not arrest them as they were in support of the NDC's intention.

In a naked propaganda about fictitious 'NPP aggression and violence' intended to intimidate the Electoral Commission (EC), the NDC man, who doubles as the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Zonal Coordinator for the Obuasi area, declared on Boss Fm, a Kumasi-based private radio station, that his party was ready to tackle any aggression that could wipe out lives on earth in respect of the general elections.

He was reacting to comments by the General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Nii Armah Akomfrah, that the nation should not go to the polls with divided opinion on the voter register since it could form the basis for any of the political parties to reject the outcome.

The 'NPP aggression and violence' appeared to be the NDC members' meme of the day as another panellist from the party's stock, Alex Asafo Adjei  an aide to the Ashanti Regional Minister  also repeated it while defending the assertion of his colleague, Robert Owusu Tilton.

Listeners of the programme lost count of how many times the phrase popped up in the discussion, partly devoted to the rejection of a new voter register by the EC.

The NDC activists managed to drum in the theme of 'NPP aggression and intended violence' relentlessly to justify the comment on cutting people into pieces, recounting some putative statements by leaders of the NPP in the past.

It is not uncommon to come across such beating of war drums by members of political parties in election years; but it would perhaps be unwise to dismiss this one as sheer bluster in the face of arms and ammunition discoveries in the country in the latter part of last year.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi
A section of aggrieved customers on demonstration

07.01.2016 LISTEN

ABOUT 1,800 aggrieved customers of some collapsed micro finance companies in the Berekum municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region, have demonstrated and threatened to close down traditional banks and the Berekum Municipal Assembly in two weeks' time if government does not prevail upon the institutions to pay back their invested monies.

The companies are DKM Diamond Micro-Finance; God is Love Fun Club, Jastar Motors and Investments Company Limited, Little Drops Association, Care for Humanity and Eye Adom Fun Club.

The demonstrators, clad in black and red apparels, said they were mourning because they could not make ends meet or pay their children's school fees as their businesses had collapsed.

A similar protest took place at Nkoranza the previous day by victims of the scam in the area with some irate youth bathing the District Chief Executive, Nana Kwadwo Adjei Dwomor, with sachet water.

Their action was due to the DCE's inability to help them get back their monies deposited with some of the micro finance companies.

Nana Kwadwo Adjei Dwomor according to reports, was addressing a function when the aggrieved customers of the suspended micro finance companies stormed the event ground and started throwing the sachet water at him.

The Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, Major (rtd) Derrick Oduro, said he had to shield the DCE from being lynched.

He indicated that the action of the youth was justified since government had turned deaf ears to their concerns.

Yesterday, the Berekum East MP, Dr Nuamah Kwabena Twum and one of the organizers of the protest, Alex Obeng, promised to carry out protestations until their investments were paid back to them.

The MCE of Berekum, Yiadom Boakye, was however, heckled when he tried to address the demonstrators.

Under heavy police guard, he managed to tell the demonstrators that President John Dramani Mahama had heard their cries and promised to go into the issue.

The member of parliament of Berekum East, Dr. Twum Nuamah, addressing the gathering, said the people of the area were in a state of despair because their investments had been locked up and could not therefore take care of their families.

The MP wondered why the Bank of Ghana, The Economic and Organized Crime Office, the BNI and other security organizations could sit aloof for micro finance companies to work between four to five years without checks thereby messing up people's lives.

There was heavy police presence, numbering about 105 personal according to the Berekum Divisional Commander, Andrews-Edumase Boadu.

From: Daniel Y. Dayee

[email protected]
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has asked government to reduce prices of petroleum products.

The increase, which took effect from January 1, 2016, has caused a public outcry, with the price of petrol increasing from GH12 to over GH15 a gallon.

NPP, in a statement, released by its Communications Director, Nana Akomea, indicated that the 27 percent increase is completely unjustified.

It said the poor consumer does not get the well-deserved relief in petrol price, adding that they were being punished by the government with higher fuel prices.

Over the last month or so, the NDC government has imposed at once, a 60 percent increase in tariffs for electricity, a 67 percent rise in water tariffs and a 27 percent rise in petrol price on the long suffering Ghanaian.

The increases, in the opinion of the NPP, show a callous, wicked, insensitive and lazy government which often resorts to taxing poor Ghanaian consumer.

The NPP explained that the effect of the petrol price increase has been passed on without any cushion to the Ghanaian consumer.

By the operation of the automatic petrol adjustment formula, petrol should have been selling at about GH9 per gallon considering the sharp fall in crude oil prices on the international market, which has resulted in the fall of petrol prices globally except Ghana.

Deception

Government announced that the price of petroleum products would be automatically adjusted following the introduction of the automatic price adjustment formula. However, it has chosen to increase the price of petroleum prices on the domestic market without any reason.

The Ministry of Finance only received approval for a 5 percent and a 2.9 percent increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, which took effect from Sunday, January 3, 2016.

Fuel prices at the pumps have gone up by between 22 percent and 27 percent following the passage of the Energy Sector Levy (ESL) by Parliament in December 2015.

The price of LPG also went up by about 18 percent.

A report by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance however revealed that Parliament approved a 5.18 percent increase in the price of petrol, 2.90 percent for Gas Oil and 1.74 percent for LPG.

This information was captured in the report by the Committee on the Energy Sector Levies Bill 2015.

Meanwhile, Senyo Horsi, CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, at a press conference, said taxes on fuel went up by 20 percent and not 5 percent.

BY Melvin Tarlue
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Lawyers for Gregory Afoko have asked the prosecution in the trial over the murder of Adams Mahama, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to free the accused if it has no evidence to try him.

In the view of Ms Bridgette Ampedu, the prosecution was not ready to try the 52-year-old Afoko.

She stated that the Attorney General (AG) was taking too long to prepare the bill of indictment for the trial of her client.

Ms Ampedu said the liberties of Afoko were at stake and that prosecution ought to tell the court when it intended to file the bill of indictment.

She said that was not the first time the prosecution was requesting for an adjournment because the bill of indictment was not ready.

Afoko's lawyer's comments followed yet another announcement by the prosecutor, Superintendent Francis Baah, that the bill of indictment was still not ready.

He said he had not been able to get in touch with one Amponsah, a state attorney working on the case, because Amponsah's mobile phone had been off since Tuesday.

Superintendent Baah told the Accra Central Magistrate Court presided over by Worlanyo Kotoku that he would work to ensure the bill of indictment was ready by January 30.

He said although he was not the person preparing the bill of indictment, he was being put under pressure by the defence.

Meanwhile, the trial judge urged both parties to avoided allowing their emotions to affect the trial.

Sitting continues on January 20, 2016.

Facts

Afoko is standing trial over the death of Adams after an acid bath.

According to the AG, Afoko must be charged for conspiracy to murder and murder.

He has been slapped with the charge of intentionally and unlawfully causing the death of Adams on May 20, 2015 at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

According to the police, Issah Musah, who was a member of the NPP, on the 19th of May, 2015 solicited and procured the deadly acid which he gave to two other suspects who in turn poured the acid on Adams.

Asabke Alangdi, the third accused, has been on the run together with his wife, leaving behind their one-and-half-year-old baby.

According to the police charge sheet, Gregory, after his arrest, was asked to lead the police to the house of his accomplice, Asabke Alangdi, but he rather took them to the father's house. Police later located the house of the second but the suspect had got wind of their presence and absconded with his wife leaving behind their baby.

A gallon, which contains some of the substance and a plastic cup, were retrieved at the scene for forensic examination, the charge sheet added.

The police has revealed that a post mortem examination was conducted on the body of the deceased and the Pathologist gave the cause of the death as shock lungs and extensive acid burns.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson

[email protected]
An International Relations expert, Professor Keith Bluwey has strongly condemned the Mahama-led administration for its decision to accept dangerous Guantanamo Bay inmates transferred to Ghana from the United States of America.

According to him, the decision was only accepted by the government because Mr. Mahama and some other government officials would financially benefit from the deal.

Mahama is reckless for accepting the Guantanamo inmates, Prof. Bluwey told Morning Starr host Nii Arday Clegg Thursday.

He added is it because he wants United States money to finance his bridge and house projects, free money for Lordina foundation projects; that he is putting our security at risk? Please tell him to stop it.

It is not in our interest, these people are not ordinary refugees who are being found places of rest, these are criminals, terrorists to the core, Osama Bin Laden activists and they should have no place in Ghana.

I think that all those who have a stake in Ghana security should let the President know that this is a very reckless decision. It is as a result of putting ignorant little children into government, they have no sense of securityno government in this world would grant refuge to Guantanamo bay people.

The Government of Ghana on Wednesday announced that it had accepted to offer residence to some discharged prisoners of the popular hardcore prison.

The decision, according to a statement signed by foreign affairs minister Hanna Tetteh, was at the request of the US government. Similarly, government has also agreed to provide shelter to some displaced persons from Rwanda, Yemen and Syria.

The identities of the inmates have been revealed as Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.

Bin Atef is an admitted member of the Taliban and fought for Usama bin Laden, while Al-Dhuby trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, the US-based FOX News reported.
Lesotho and Georgia are the two new members that have ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The WTO Secretariat received the countries' instruments of acceptance on January 4th. These two ratifications bring to 65 the number of WTO members that have formally accepted the TFA. Several ratifications were submitted by ministers during the organization's Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi.

Concluded at the WTO's 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, the TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

The TFA will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO membership has formally accepted the Agreement.

In addition to Lesotho and Georgia the following WTO members have already accepted the TFA: Myanmar, Norway, Viet Nam, Brunei, Zambia, Ukraine, Hong Kong China, Singapore, the United States, Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Niger, Belize, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, China, Liechtenstein, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Togo, Thailand, the European Union (on behalf of its 28 member states), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Guyana, Cote d'Ivoire, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Kenya.

The TFA broke new ground for developing and least-developed countries in the way it will be implemented. For the first time in WTO history, the requirement to implement the Agreement was directly linked to the capacity of the country to do so. In addition, the Agreement states that assistance and support should be provided to help them achieve that capacity.

ATrade Facilitation Agreement Facility(TFAF) was also created at the request of developing and least-developed country members to help ensure that they receive the assistance needed to reap the full benefits of the TFA and to support the ultimate goal of full implementation of the new agreement by all members.

Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion per annum, according to the WTO's flagship World Trade Report released on 26 October. Significantly, the Report also found that developing countries will benefit significantly from the TFA, capturing more than half of the available gains.

More information on trade facilitation and the TFA can be found atwww.wto.org/tradefacilitation.
Among the precious relics --a golden book, 12 centimeters long, 10 centimeters wide and 730 grams heavy -- considered a brochure of a decree or order from Zhang, has been evaluated as a Class-A cultural heritage relic in China. [Chinanews.com]

Archeologists have believed a treasure hoard -- a golden book, a handful of coins and ingots discovered at the bottom of the Minjiang River in Sichuan Province -- came from the mysterious loss of the legacy of Zhang Xianzhong (1606-1647), an insurgent general during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The possessions, retrieved respectively in 2005 and 2011 during the construction of the Minjiang River course, have been recently confirmed by archeologists as the general's legacy which had been lost since his death from a lethal arrow shot.

Zhang conquered Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in 1644, when the Manchurian troops overturned the Ming royal forces and seized the capital city back then - Beijing. In January 1647, Zhang met the Manchurian troops in Xichong County, Sichuan Province, and was killed in the confrontation.

However, after Zhang's demise, a legend emerged that his substantial possessions were lost on the bottom of the river after a number of his ships capsized and mesmerized historians and archaeologists.

By the end of last year, 10 prestigious archaeologists from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Palace Museum, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and Sichuan University, reached a consensus which confirms the relics chiseled with the information about Zhang as genuine.

"The information shown by the silver ingots dovetails the itinerary of Zhang's army", Wu Tianwen, a local archaeologist said.

Among the precious relics --a golden book, 12 centimeters long, 10 centimeters wide and 730 grams heavy -- considered a brochure of a decree or order from Zhang, has been evaluated as a Class-A cultural heritage relic in China.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Haruna Iddrisu

Haruna Iddrisu, Employment and Labour Relations Minister, says government will not reverse the imposition of new taxes and increased utility tariffs.

According to him, the increment in tariffs is to fix the erratic power supply that has bedeviled the country for about four years.

The Minister made this known after a meeting with Organized Labour on Tuesday over the tariffs which ended in a deadlock.

He said any attempt to reverse the increased tariffs and taxes would negatively affect government's ability to fix the energy crisis.

Mr Haruna explained that there is an outstanding debt of GH4.5 billion cedis, which needs to be settled, hence government's decision to introduce the new Energy Sector levy.

The levy has caused an increase in petroleum prices by about 28 percent.

He said the price stabilization adjustment would allow government to settle the GH4.5 billion outstanding debt.

It is important that the Ghanaian public appreciates why government has had to take those difficult but necessary decisions to stabilize the economy and to fix the energy crisis and prevent it from relapsing into a deeper crisis, the Minister said.

The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced in early December 2015 that electricity and water tariffs would go up by 59.2 percent and 67.2 percent respectively.

The increases took effect from December 14, 2015.

Many Ghanaians and businesses have described the recent increases as harsh and insensitive.

According to them, there is no justification for the increases, especially for fuel since crude oil prices on the world market have declined tremendously.

TUC, Govt meeting

The increases in tariffs and taxes forced Organized Labour to have a meeting with government on Tuesday.

According to sources, the Organized Labour asked for a reduction in utility tariffs and taxes.

By Cephas Larbi

[email protected]
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The country's banking sector faced key challenges including the decline in profitability due to rising operating costs as a result of the current energy challenges and the rising non-performing loans.

A Bank of Ghana (BoG) Financial Stability Report for November 2015, which made this known, said apart from the foregoing, credit to the private sector contributed 97.4 percent of the total banking sector's non-performing loans as at September 2015 compared to 93.1 percent in September 2014.

Non-performing loans

The proportion of banks' NPLs attributable to the public sector improved from 6.9 percent in September 2014 to 2.6 percent in September 2015.

Even though private enterprises received only 71 percent of the private sector credit, they accounted for 88.4 percent of NPLs in the sector as at September 2015 compared to 70.5 percent of credit received and 83.8 percent of NPLs respectively in the same period in 12 2014.

The highly disproportionate level of NPLs associated with the private enterprises was driven mainly by indigenous enterprises, which received 60.9 percent of credit to private enterprises but accounted for 79.1 percent of NPLs as at September 2015. However, while foreign enterprises' share of private sector credit declined, their contribution to private sector NPLs increased marginally over the period under review. Households' share of private sector credit and contribution to NPLs increased marginally over the review period.

Commerce & Finance

Commerce and finance sector continued to account for the largest amount of the banking sector NPLs followed by services and manufacturing. The three sectors accounted for 66.1 percent of NPLs in September 2015 compared to 64.2 percent in September 2014. Electricity, Gas and Water sector accounted for the lowest amount of the industry's NPLs.

Bank's Income

Interest income from loans continued to be the main source of income for the banking industry and constituted 50.1 percent of total income in September 2015 compared to 45.2 percent in September 2014.

Investment income share of 29.2 percent of total income in September 2015 was marginally below the 28.4 percent recorded in September 2014.

The share of income from fees and commission declined to 12 percent in September 2015 from 13.1 percent in September 2014.

Bank's Profitability

Indicators of profitability for the banking industry showed some deterioration in banks' earnings performance for the period ended September 2015.

The industry net interest income registered a growth of 30.2 percent in September 2015 compared with 41.9 percent growth registered in September 2014.

Growth in the sector's income before tax declined sharply over the period from the 54.4 percent growth in September 2014 to 5.9 percent in September 2015.

Similarly, the industry's net profit after tax grew by 3.8 percent in September 2015 compared to 54.1 percent growth in September 2014.

Offshore balances

Growth in banks' offshore balances and placements dipped in September 2015 compared to September 2014.

Banks' offshore balances registered a negative growth rate in September 2015 due to the negative growth in placements.

The sharp drop was as a result of the relative stability in the exchange rate and a slow-down in trade finance partly due to the on-going fiscal consolidation.

By Samuel Boadi
07.01.2016 LISTEN

It was expected that Western powers will react negatively to Rwandas democratically approved constitutional change that allowed the incumbent to run for a third term whilst reducing future terms from two seven-year terms to two five-year terms. However what is surprising is the harsh tone used in the press statement issued by the spokesperson of their Bureau of Public Affairs, saying  the United States is deeply disappointed.

I am not a denialist of Africas troubles and the distraction caused by power-hungry leaders. None of our longstanding leaders have a legacy they can boast about, but distraction, underdevelopment and poverty that has left our continent and race as the laughing stalk of other races. It is our leaders who have turned us into beggars, and with every pittance a beggar receives comes along scorn, disrespect, discrimination and control. We see all this in the western worlds interactions with Africa. The USs response to President Kagame running for the third reflect this scorn, disrespect and control. Events in neighboring Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville and DRC reinforces their resolve. But they are wrong.

Are we as Africans to accept that being beggars that our looting leaders have turned us into means we cede our rights to self-determination? With no questions asked? Are we to be dictated upon about how to govern ourselves when a look at different countries around the world show you that there is no one-size-fits-all form of governance in the world?

There is hardly correlation between success and specific form of governance. Yes the US has prospered immensely with their combination of capitalism and their own brand of democracy, but so has China the number two economy in the world, with a completely opposite political governance system. So has tiny Singapore punched way above its weight but they can hardly be called a democracy. So has the monarchs of the Middle East.

The cure to Africas ills is economic prosperity. Educated, prosperous people cannot be controlled and manipulated by devious leaders. It is not a political governance system that brings prosperity, it is economic stewardship. And this is where the West needs to look at Rwanda differently. The progress made by Rwanda in past 20 years can only be described as a miracle. The country is prospering economically and Rwandans are being taken out poverty at probably the quickest pace in the world. Civil liberties reign supreme as respected organizations like the Global Gender Gap ranks Rwanda number 6 in the whole world for gender equality. Americas Gallup ranks Rwanda as the happiest and the best place to live in Africa. The World Economic Forum ranks Rwanda the 7th most efficient government in the world. The list of accolades goes on. Why then would Rwandan people want to change a government that has brought them so much? why change a winning formula and take unnecessary risk?

Yes presidents of countries who defy the wills of their people must be dealt harshly. Identifying them is not hard, the citizenry is the first to show their dissatisfaction with protests and ultimately riots and god forbids the worst. The change in Rwanda was obtained peacefully and democratically, there is no reason to believe this wasnt the will of the people.

It would be a crime to sacrifice the economic prosperity of Rwanda at the altar of unfounded and prejudiced skepticism. Countries the world over are built on the foundation of strong leaders, whose leadership has created a culture that defines the country. America had Abraham Lincoln, Britain had Winston Churchill, Singapore had Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore from 1959 to 1990, 31 years. Yet on Lee's death President Obama eulogized that Lee was  a true giant of history, a visionary who led his country from independence in 1965 to build one of the most prosperous countries in the world today, he was a devoted public servant and a remarkable leader. Yet just like Kagame, Lee was criticized that under him, Singapore became known for the government's authoritarian rule, strict law enforcement and limits on public protests, to which Lee responded was a justified tactic necessary to maintain stability and independence. Just like Rwanda, the strict rule was reflected in the clean, modern and affluent city that Singapore became. With low taxes, good schools, low crime and investment-friendly laws, Singapore became a popular place for western companies.

It is ironic that all the talk about democracy and democratization in Africa are usually presented in the West as if they were completely new concepts and practices to Africans. This mentality consider Africans asincapable of democratic thoughts and they should be imbued with the notion of "civilized" Western democracy. What has been consistently ignored is that the values and democratic processes were as indigenousAfricans as they were to the ancient Greeks.

Western efforts in African democratization seem to be all about hegemony and the spread of Western culture as part of globalization. It is sustained by a brand of cultural arrogance that in the nineteenth century also supported scientific racism and European imperialism.

Democracy should be conceived as a way of government firmly rooted in the belief that people in any society should be free to determine their political, economic, social, and cultural systems. But the form it takes can vary according to the particular circumstances of any society.

By Patrick Ngabonziza

Founder and Group-CEO of MobiCash Group.

Technology Evangelist & Pundit

Financial Inclusion Advocate
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The assumed plot to suspend National Chairman Paul Afoko by a fictitious set of members of the Disciplinary Committee is indeed a huge joke initiated and promoted by some mischief makers who are bent on ensuring that the New Patriotic Party remains stunted in growth and perpetually backward in their orchestrated struggle to hold on to power of managing opposition party.

Otherwise, how could one explain the fact that highly respected professionals would have made New Patriotic Party a permanent home of political turmoil and station for discharging lawlessness in disguise of instilling discipline?

Right from April 2014 to the beginning of this year, these mischief makers connived to make the party ungovernable to a point where three elected national officers including some constituency officers are said to be suspended for holding dissenting opinions.

Most of those in the forefront of entrenching such a regime of confusion in the party never did so out of patriotism or a desire to develop the party; their avowed interest is just to cause confusion and reap generous dividends from such confusion.

Those who signed a letter calling for the removal of Afoko and those profusely justifying same ended up serving on the campaign team as appointees or receiving monetary favours from the regime. When Chairman Afoko came to power in April 2014 majority of them made spirited overtures to his regime for one favour or the other.

When they failed to secure such favours because the knew he preferred to expend party resources on constituencies rather than dispense favours to individuals it became apparent that they were prepared to go back to the trenches for yet another process of brewing confusion in the party.

In the absence of any litigation challenging the validity of his election as chairman, some professional interlopers decided to exhume legally dead issues in any competent and reasonable court of jurisdiction.

They kept hammering on the issue of not calling weekly meetings as if their lives depended on those travels and feeding allowances.

However, when they realized that the litigations may not yield the desired dividend, they quickly resorted to cooking up false allegations for suspension plot that holds no iota of truth at all.

One wonders how Chairman and citizen of a country who cooperated with a law enforcement agency of the land can be deemed to have breached party ideals. One would wonder if it is the NPPs wish to come and disregard state institutions just to achieve the needed uniformity desire by their flagbearer.

Every accusation leveled against Paul Afoko via Daily Guide and Joy FM platforms is not only false but in fact existing only in the figment of the imagination of those peddling such lies.

Afokos legal team on information had elaborately provided answers to all questions raised by anyone thinking of pointing accusing fingers at him under the circumstances, but the belligerent Suspension Committee headed by Asante Antwi did not pay attention.

It smirks of pure mischief to turn around and lie about the same issues in order to create another bout of confusion in the party and in the minds of the general public as if Afoko is the bad nut.

As a party, I am at lost as to the energy expended by these mischief makers in creating confusion in the nation without using any of it to either confront our development challenges, the insecurity in the country or to assist victims of dumsorization.

It is ironic that to date, no individual or notable group in NPP has taken any step to state on record legal reasons why Afoko was suspended.

Those who do so are essentially not the ordinary party members who are always patriotic and supportive of genuine progress of NPP. They are also the ones who campaigned vigorously against Afokos election as chairman.

For those who are peddling lies about the funds diverted by Abankwah and Blay, let them know that when the dust settles all will be revealed including those who collected such monies to tour the world.

Truth is like pregnancy; it will surely be exposed one day. It is pertinent to note Chairman Paul Awentami Afoko will not be stampeded or railroad into elevating such mischief makers out of their obscurity to importance by joining issues with them whenever they carry out their mischief.

Rather, as a responsible Ghanaian, he is obligated to provide NPP electorates the much needed dividends of democracy by defending the ideals of the Dankwa-Busia-Dombo.
A special adviser to the Togolese main opposition leader, Jean-Pierre Fabre, has debunked claims by the governing National Democratic Congress that copies of the Togolese voters register presented to the Electoral Commission by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was fake.

According to Masseme Esse, there is no way the document could be fake because the Togolese electoral commission gave parties in that country the electoral roll there - a copy of which the New Patriotic Partys vice presidential candidate presented to the EC.

Speaking on Adom FMs morning show, Dwaso Nsem, Masseme Esse said he finds it baffling that the EC and the governing National Democratic Congress would say the documents presented by Dr Bawumia are fake.

The register put out by the NPP is the same register given to our party, it is the exact copy and it shows all the detail in our register. All political parties were given copies of the register before the exhibition and that is the same register we used for our analysis before the elections.

The concerns we raised about the register was what prompted the Ghana President to meet the political parties and the EC to solve the issues. So I am surprised that anyone is saying they are fake, he added.

Dr Bawumia first presented his evidence at a press conference

In August last year, Dr Bawumia and the NPP at a forum to drum home calls for the creation of a new voters' register, said the party had, after an investigation found, matches of 76,000 Togolese names on Ghanas electoral roll.

Dr. Bawumia said, the team set out to compare Ghanas voters register with neighbouring countries and the results were startlingly alarming.

With copies of the Togolese voters register and that of Ghana, the team used biometric facial recognition technology which found potential matches.

The party later presented copies of the Togolese register in its possession to the EC for further investigations. But the EC claimed that its partner in Togo refused to give it a copy of its register because it was a security document.

The governing NDC, however, claims that the document presented by the NPP to back its argument for a new register was not authentic.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia

General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Aseidu Nketia at a press conference Wednesday, called for the arrest of Dr Bawumia.

He accused the renowned economist of fabricating documents to back the NPP's claims that the current electoral roll is bloated and must be changed.

He said the country's laws must be activated to punish the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Bawumia.

However, Massame Esse says the NDCs argument is flawed. He said there is no doubt that there are certain people  in Ghana and Togo  who vote in both countries.

The issue is not new to many people in Togo, many are aware that when it comes to elections, people are taken from Togo to vote in Ghana."

He said it was essential for political parties from both countries to put in place measures to ensure that the situation is dealt with.

It does not come as a surprise to us. But it brings back the issue of stopping this since some people are also taken from Ghana to vote in Togo, he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected]
Some NDC youth protesting over the DCE sack

07.01.2016 LISTEN

The chiefs of the Ada Traditional Area have expressed grave reservations about the way President Mahama went about the dismissal of Anthony Klokpa, the former District Chief Executive (DCE) of Ada West and have therefore called for his reinstatement.

The DCE was sacked by the President on December 29, 2015 after serving for a period of three years.

He was one of the several appointees that had been removed from office across the country.

The chiefs, in a press conference on Monday at Ada, registered their misgivings about the way in which governments treat them saying governments would entirely ignore them in the sacking of appointees after seeking their(chiefs) opinions in their appointments.

Indeed, we regard this act as an insult to the sensibilities of the chiefs who represent the soul of the collective wealth and value system of their people. In fact any disregard to chiefs is a disregard for their people which is unfortunate, they stressed.

In an address read on his behalf, the Paramount chief of the Ada Traditional area, Nene Kabu Abraham Akuaku III indicated that although it is the prerogative of the government to do as it wishes with its appointees, it is also important to seek the people's opinion, especially on the appointee's performance, to reflect the true representation of the people's mandate at all levels of governance.

The Traditional Council, on behalf of the people, fervently appeals to His Excellency, the President to use his good offices to reverse the decision so that Hon DCE, Anthony Yao Klokpa who has won the admiration of the people of the traditional area, will come back to continue his good works, Nene noted.

In a related development, some youth of Sege in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region believed to be members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have demonstrated against President John Dramani Mahama over the sacking of the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Mr. Anthony Klokpa.

The youth have threatened to scuttle the party's chances of winning in the area during the 2016 elections if the DCE is not reinstated within 21-days.

According to them, the DCE has worked hard enough and deserves commendation rather than dismissal.

They accused their Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Christian Otutei, some of the Sege constituency executives and some regional staff of the party of hatching the DCE's removal as result of bad blood between the MP and the DCE.

Ernest Kugblenu, convener of the demonstrators said they would be petitioning National Chairman of the NDC, Mr. Ebenezer Kofi Portuphy, asking the President to act on their demand or incur their wrath.

According to him, the DCE has undertaken numerous development projects in the area, mentioning the construction of an 8-unit block bungalow for teachers, provision of 600 dual desks to schools among others and should therefore be reinstated to continue the development of the area.

We humbly appeal to His Excellency, the President to rescind his decision and bring back our DCE, they cried.

By Mike Avickson & Vincent Kubi
Nairobi (AFP) - Survivors of a university massacre in Kenya where Islamist gunmen killed 148 people have recounted scenes of terror at a trial of five men linked to the slaughter.

The deadly attack at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya on April 2, 2015, was claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents. It was the East African nation's deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.

Four gunmen involved in the massacre were killed, but five others have been charged with 162 counts of terrorism and conspiracy to commit an attack, with the trial underway in the Kenyan capital on Wednesday.

The five accused are Mohamed Ali Abdikar, Hassan Aden Hassan, Sahal Diriye and Osman Abdi who are thought to be Kenyan or Somali nationals, and Rashid Charles, a Tanzanian national.

They have denied the charges.

Speaking to the court in Nairobi, witnesses lined up to testify about the horror they had experienced as masked gunmen staged a terrifying pre-dawn assault on the campus, with their accounts detailed in Kenya's main newspapers.

While an early hearing was held in November, the main witnesses began giving evidence this week.

Addressing the court, Rispa Nyang'au said she was at a dawn prayer meeting with around 30 Christian students when she saw a "tall man armed with a rifle", his face covered, hurl an explosive device into the room.

"I heard an explosion and saw sparks, before the man walked into the hall and started shooting," she said, in testimony reported by the Daily Nation newspaper.

During the attack, the gunmen lined up non-Muslim students for execution in what President Uhuru Kenyatta described at the time as a "barbaric medieval slaughter".

"I heard the door opening, they were spraying us with bullets and shortly after there was silence in the hall as most of my colleagues had fallen down," said another student, Evelyn Chepkemoi, according to The Standard newspaper.

Chepkemoi, who was shot in the legs and hand, said she lay among the bodies of her slaughtered classmates, pretending to be dead for over five hours until the security forces entered the hall.

"I played dead for several hours before I was rescued," The Star newspaper quoted her as saying.

On Thursday a leader of a mosque in Garissa gave evidence, describing how Charles turned up to prayers in the three days before the attack, adding he had not been seen there before.

The trial is set to continue Friday. Prosecution lawyers say they will call around 30 witnesses to give evidence.

Garissa University formally reopened this week, for the first time since the massacre, with most of the staff reporting for duty ahead of the new term. Around 60 students are expected to begin classes on January 11.
The transfer of two ex-Guantanamo detainees to Ghana is a good move, Chairman of Ghanas Prisons Council, Rev. Stephen Wengam, has said.

I think its a good move, Rev. Wengam told Radio XYZs breakfast show hosted by Kweku Vandapaline on Thursday January 7 2016.

I think that we pride ourselves as being a hospitable country and I think that such moves go a long way to improve our image in the international community. That is why we will need more resources.

I will only plead with government to use this as a bait to get the international community to commit more resources to help us improve conditions in our prisons...maybe through this, we can get more resources because the international community will have to come to our aid and you dont need to have everything before you can help somebody and we are a very religious country and who knows, God may look at that. This may be some of the reasons why we dont encounter wars in this country therefore, I will say that we should not be scared, we should not be perturbed, Rev. Wengam added.

According to Rev. Wengam: Dont forget we belong to the international community and what is happening in Syria and others could happen to Ghana and weve done it before when the conflict happened in Liberia and other places we opened our borders. I am yet to get the very details but what I know is that I think they put in place security measures to ensure that those who are admitted into Ghana dont cause a security threat to us.

The two ex-detainees: Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, left for Ghana Wednesday January 6, 2016. They are expected to be in the West African country by now.

Their transfer is the first of an expected 17 such transfers approved for January, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby were held for more than 13 years at the detention facility in Cuba. They were unanimously approved for transfer by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force, according to a Pentagon statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

The task force is comprised of six departments and agencies charged with determining which detainees can be safely transferred from the facility.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the statement read.

The United States coordinated with the Government of Ghana to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures, it added.

Guantanamo Bay now holds 105 detainees. Fifty-nine are not eligible for transfer for security reasons.

Defence Secretary Ash Carter last month notified Congress that 17 detainees would be transferred from the facility to other nations throughout January. Fifteen of them were transferred last year.

Bin Atef, according to the New York Times Guantanamo Docket, was born in 1979 in Saudi Arabia and fought with Osama Bin Ladens 55th Arab Brigade and was an admitted member of the Taliban. He was captured in Afghanistan and transferred to U.S. custody about January 2002 after engaging in combat against the American-led coalition.

Like Bin Atef, Salih Al-Dhuby was born in Saudi Arabia and claims Yemeni citizenship, according to the New York Times Guantanamo Docket. The suspected Al-Qaida member was born in 1981 and was captured by Afghan forces in December 2001 following an explosion near Tora Bora. Hes been held in Guantanamo since May 2002.

President Barack Obama has promised to close the Guantanamo Bay facility since he was a candidate in 2008, but has struggled to do so amid Congressional opposition to move detainees to a prison in the United States. The 2016 National Defence Authorisation Act, passed in November, banned moving any detainees to the United States. Obama announced at the time he opposed that provision, but he signed the bill anyway.

The decision by the government of Ghana to accept the detainees has sparked public outcry in the cocoa-producing country. International relations expert Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, for instance, has said it could open up the country to security threats. Also, a former presidential advisor in the Kufuor administration, Vicky Bright, has said Ghana, by accepting the detainees, was importing trouble to its shores.
The National Youth Organiser of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, has described the governing National Democratic Congress call for the arrest of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as a show of ignorance.

Speaking to Class News Wednesday January 6, 2016, Mr Awuku said the party finds it strange that the Electoral Commission could not have access to the voters register in neighbouring Togo to verify the NPPs claims that there were about 76,000 nationals from Ghanas eastern neighbour on the anglophone West African countrys roll of voters.

He said: There is nothing more frightening than to see ignorance at work.

I couldnt see the head and tail of the NDCs argument. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia did present a very serious charge against the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

The Electoral Commission did not, in its letter written to the NPP, state that Dr Bawumia falsified documents. They said when they wrote to the Togolese Electoral Commission, they said they could not confirm or deny the identities of the people that we had mentioned.

According to Mr Awuku: If a mere political party is able to lay hands on the copy of the Togolese register, which is not a secret document and you have the Electoral Commission of Ghana failing in its duties to get a copy of the Togolese register, then its a bit amazing.

The NDC, on Wednesday January 6, 2016 at a press briefing, called for the arrest of Dr Bawumia, accusing him of allegedly falsifying documents about the Togolese voters register.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has called on the security agencies in the country to start chasing President John Dramani Mahama for gross deceit of the public.

The General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) at a press conference in Accra called for the immediate arrest of the running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Asiedu Nketia told the media that his call for the arrest of Dr. Bawumia was based on his belief, supported by the Electoral Commission, that the evidence produced to back the NPPs allegation of a bloated voters register are not genuine and hence Dr Bawumia, who spearheaded the partys charge, should be picked up by the police for falsifying public documents.

John Boadu reacting to this call on Asempa FM's Ekosii Programme on Wednesday said Asiedu Nketia should have rather called for the arrest of the President since 'he is known for public deceit.'

Why would Asiedu Nketia call for the arrest of Bawumia when there are bigger thieves that have stolen the country's money walking aroundhas he forgotten of President Mahama and Alfred Agbesi Woyome?, he quizzed.

Top of what he described as the gross deceit of the public by President John Mahama, John Boadu said was the promise to end the four year old power crisis which he said has crippled the country's industrial sector.

Did the President not promise at an IEA forum in 2012 of ending Dumsor, what have we seen on thatnothingso the President lied big time and must be arrested, he said.

John Boadu further sought to know if businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome has paid the judgement debt he was asked by the court to refund to the state coffers.

The year 2015 has ended, so if he has not paid the money, then I believe the NDC could have done more service to the country by calling on the security agencies to pursue him to refund the money and that would have been a more prudent venture, he said.

John Boadu further said that the NPP has handed over the EC's letter to its special committee that worked on the voters register and they would expose the 'hollow arguments' of the EC in claiming that Ghana does not need a new voters register at a press conference the party would organize tomorrow at its headquarters.

He however stated that he and the NPP are not surprised by the response of the EC to the NPP as according to him, the EC since time immemorial has always kicked against 'any ideas from the NPP'.

To him, he was astonished to see the NDC jubilating about the recommendations of the panel of five established by the EC to examine the calls for a new voters register since the panel members are not the ones to not make a final decision on the way forward.

The decision to do a new register is not with the panel of five because if they request a new register and the EC does not believe it, we would still not have a new voters register.

What would the EC have done if they had received the 100% job on foreign names on the register, were they not the same persons who said they wrote to the Togo EC to demand the register, why do they still want ours? he asked.

Source: Adomonline.com
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 6, 2016. [Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond Wednesday, saying China's current economic transition provides opportunities for cooperation with Britain.

One key feature of the transition is a transit from overdependence on natural resources to more dependence on human resources and innovation, Li said.

"We encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation and put more emphasis on developing the emerging service industry on the basis of continuing lifting the traditional manufacturing industry, which will provide great opportunities for China-Britain cooperation," Li told Hammond.

China will continue to open up, ease market access and give equal treatment to Chinese and foreign enterprises, the premier vowed.

Speaking highly of the development of the China-Britain relationship, Li said President Xi Jinping had a successful visit to Britain last year.

China is willing to maintain a high-level exchange of visits with Britain, integrate the two countries' development strategies, enhance cooperation in areas including innovation, finance and nuclear energy, he said.

Li also called on both countries to step up coordination in international affairs and jointly safeguard regional stability and world peace.

Hammond conveyed Prime Minister David Cameron's new year's greetings to Li.

Hammond said Britain is excited to grasp the opportunities brought by China's economic transition, pushing forward cooperation in nuclear energy, finance, science and technology, innovation and medicine.

He said Cameron expects to visit China this year.

According to a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry Tuesday after a meeting between Hammond and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, China is looking forward to Cameron attending the G20 summit in China's Hangzhou this autumn, and welcomes him to visit China at a mutually convenient time to hold a bilateral annual prime ministerial meeting.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi also met with Hammond Wednesday, the end of his two-day visit.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

It is uncommon for anyone including children to shed tears or cry in public. But lo and behold a no less a person than the President of the United States of America Barrack Obama had to shed tears while lamenting over the current rampant and indiscriminate killings of innocent people including children in the United States of America. While addressing a gathering at the white house , Obama said his toughest time in office was grappling with the December 2012 massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said, tears rolling down his cheek.

"That changed me, that day," he said, after being introduced by Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son was killed in the shooting. "My hope earnestly has been that it would change the country."

After that tragedy, the Democratic president failed to persuade Congress to toughen U.S. gun laws. He has blamed lawmakers for being in the thrall of the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby group.

The president had to cry because he was frustrated over difficulty in the authorities in the US to help him control or stop completely the indiscriminate killings which is said to claim more than 30,000 people year in the US. The president, in the midst of family members of victims of gun shots in the white house expressed the need to use his executive power to enforce control in gun sales to ensure that only the right and legally mandated people sell guns in the US.

Again the law is meant to check all those in possession of guns illegally in the US. As is expected there were some people especially the in the Republicans Party who were opposed to the measures taken by the US president to control gun sales and are preparing to torpedo the gun control law when they come to power later this year. However the US is not alone in the gun scare problems.

it is felt worldwide that the sentiment being expressed by the US president feed into the aspirations of many leaders of nations worldwide including Ghana where of late trade in guns and indiscriminate killings have been recorded. Of late more than a million bullets illegally imported into the country have been seized by the police in Ghana while some people have suffered gun shots in some parts if the country .

Just as action is being taken by the president of the United States it expected that the government of Ghana would continue to take steps to control the importation and sales of guns in Ghana. Again the security network must intensify the search and seizure of weapons in all parts of the country especially in the flashpoints in the country where conflicts have occurred as a result of disagreements on chieftaincy partisan and religious issues.

It is our prayer that the United States of America under the leadership of Barrack Obama would succeed in passing a law to control gun sales in the US. When that action is taken the authorities in Ghana should be expected to compare notes with the US to ensure that we also enact the appropriate law to control illegal sale of guns in Ghana. This way the nation and the US would not only be able to ensure peace and stability but also give the two nations clean bill of health to ensure the inflow of investors and tourists the whole year round

Executive Director

EANFOWORLD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

P.O.BOX 17070AN 233244370345/23327483710/ 233208844791

[email protected] /[email protected]
COP Kofi Boakye

07.01.2016 LISTEN

There may be something especially sinister about the method by which Youth Organizers of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) are trained which the leading strategists of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) may need to pay serious attention to, if the Elephant Party is to have a fighting chance at the 2016 general election.

Starrfmonline.com is reporting that an NDC Communication Team Member from my recently discovered paternal ancestral township of Adansi-Fomena has declared on the Kumasi-based Boss-Fm radio station that Asante Regional Police Commander Mr. Kofi Boakye has given tacit approval to ruling party operatives under his jurisdiction the right to use cutlasses or machetes to settle electoral scores in the 2016 general election (See CID Pursues Bloodthirsty NDC Communicator Starrfmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 1/6/16).

As of this writing, police officers from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) were reported to have demanded a forensic copy of the radio program on which the rabid NDC activist, Mr. Robert Owusu, is alleged to have made the morally benighted statements attributed to him. It is widely known that the Asante Region is the foremost stronghold of the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party.

We also know, per the General-Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, that the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress is desperate to split the vote with the New Patriotic Party in Great Asante, even while jealously guarding against possible significant inroads in the hermetic NDC stronghold of the Volta Region, where recently hundreds of thousands of assault weapons  in the form of bullets  were impounded in the countrys main eastern border township of Aflao by Customs officials.

But even more significant ought to be underscored the fact that not very long ago, in the lead-up to the 2016 NDC Presidential Primary, a 45-year-old former Youth Organizer of the partys Oyarifa Constituency, in the Greater-Accra Region, decided to break ranks with the national leadership of his party by deciding to contest the top ticket against President John Dramani Mahama. Mr. Boateng, who also described himself as a freight forwarder, had given the reasons for why he firmly believed Mr. Mahama deserved the boot as rank corruption, gross economic mismanagement and intolerable administrative incompetence. He would be maliciously tagged as clinically unhinged by Mr. Asiedu-Nketia and his create, loot and share cronies at party headquarters and summarily expelled.

Needless to say, Mr. Boatengs decision was morally righteous and laudable in a way that makes one cringe at the swashbuckling remarks of Adansi-Fomenas Mr. Owusu. What makes the latters call for bloodletting, in his virulent bid to effectively eviscerating Fourth Republican Ghanaian Democracy, of course, is his very public allegation that his intended act of savagery has the staunch backing of Mr. Kofi Boakye, the Asante Regional Police Commander.

Well, there is the facile temptation to dismiss outright Mr. Owusus assertion as the obstreperous rants of the clinically demented, but it may strikingly reflect the political culture and stereotypical mindset of many a key operative of the National Democratic Congress and his/her supporters and sympathizers.

We need to also couple the preceding, however remote it may seem on the face of it, with the fact of President Mahamas stationing of heavily armed soldiers from the Ghana Armed Forces in Nana Akufo-Addos stronghold of the Eastern Region, in the lead-up to the 2012 Presidential Election.

We know for a fact that this move was far from sheer coincidence. We are studiously watching and intend to religiously report and dispassionately regale our devoted readers with our well-considered readings and interpretations of the proverbial signs of the times.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
I sometimes see neutrality as a meretricious subterfuge being brandished as a stance unassociated with the biases of either side of view or divide - almost far from being real. I still, nonetheless, must be persuaded by the conviction that people who, by their own volition, have been captured into the family web of neutrality ought to be reminded to comply with the ideals and standards of being neutral.

For me, abstaining from commenting on, vouching for or doing any such thing that would have otherwise painted an objective picture of a given situation cannot be said to be a neutral act. Rather, neutrality largely concerns the extent to which people carefully and critically acquaint themselves with the facts of all sides and reaching a reasonable, logical and unbiased conclusion on what is appropriate or inappropriate. A neutral person or entity may have to be careful not to be directly specific on who or which is right or wrong. The unblemished facts often speak out the mind of a neutral arbiter.

Neutral persons or entities necessarily ought to first give out a rendition on the standards and then allow credible factual narratives determine what is appropriate or otherwise. In this piece, attention would be drawn to entities or people who by their objectives, stature, stance, definitions, prescriptions, frameworks, constitutions or actions do portray themselves to the general public as neutral with independent and unbiased views on other people or entities who act in the interest of the general public. In the eyes of the general public, for instance, unrented, un-idiotic and non-ideological Media stations, Pastors, Churches, Christian Associations, Imams, Mosques, Muslim Associations, and Civil Society Organizations including Think Tanks and their leaders are deemed neutral. Also, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) and the Courts are particularly seen and must be seen as unbiased arbiters  they are crucial democratic pillars and peace bastions of any nation.

Labeling of EC

It therefore gets pathetically dangerous when some political interest groups and their surrogates in the otherwise neutral entities, have labeled or tried hard to label EC as a biased arbiter without any shred of credible basis to do so. In the history of electoral governance and management in Ghana, it is almost addictive of political parties and their surrogates in the media and civil society to praise EC when results of elections are declared in their favor. In the same vein, the losing Parties have always found a way of chastising and denting the image and integrity of EC. Both National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been in this kind of game unashamedly.

Election petition and electoral register

This came to a head in 2012 general elections, when after all parties fairly and transparently participated in the elections upon which the losing NPP nearly held the whole country to a ransom for about a year. This they apparently did by trying to hide under legalese and technicalities not only to reverse the universal mandate of the people but to dent the image of EC while projecting their image to their unsuspecting supporters. The live proceedings of the case in court evinced that in spite of few lapses, the results as declared at 26000 + polling stations, in the full glare of all political reps, media, political observers and members of the public with additional strong room crosschecking by Party reps, had not been in any way tampered with by Dr Afari Gyan and EC  therefore should remain as such  the verdict concluded. This, indeed, should have been the credit to EC that another neutral body, the Supreme Court, affirmed a neutral job done by the EC. The least neutrally expected rendition was to say EC image was battered by the court proceedings and verdict thereof.

Neutral peoples stance on register

Ironically, the media that particularly got the results before Dr Afari Gyan got his in the strong room of EC, intentionally and consistently allowed NPP and its surrogates to vociferously trumpet the erroneous understanding that the integrity of EC has been dented and almost thrown to the dogs. This is farther from the truth. The project of making the EC look bad because one candidate fairly lost, even when his lyrical MPs who were supervised by the same system, continued unabated; That the register with which they claimed to have won 2012 elections was now under serious vibrating attack from NPP and its surrogates. A clear demand was therefore made on the EC to get Ghana a new register as they labeled the current register as incurably flawed and not credible. Minors and foreigners on the electoral register and, more seriously, stapled pictures compromising the whole biometric register were key amongst the reasons adduced.

Being an independent neutral body, EC instructively brought all stakeholders to a dialoguing conference where eminent panel of experts carefully listened to and questioned presenters on their position on the register. Clearly, the recurrent theme in the presentations was that despite some few challenges with the current register, a new register could not mitigate the situation. Rather, until what motivate the lapses on the register is dealt with, the traditional methods of cleaning up the register during exhibitions and so on could be the only plausible, cost effective, reasonable and legal option immediately available given the limited time to the 2016 general elections.

The eminent panel then submitted their report to EC in December 2015 or so. EC saw wisdom and persuasion in the position of the report and decided to adopt the report which said that the current register should be maintained  new register was unnecessary. EC also responded to each of the allegations which NPP used to advocate for a new register. The allegations were either dismissed or deemed unmeritorious. The net effect was that NPP did not have a very strong convincing case that could merit neither a new register nor the negative tagging given to EC.

In all these, any neutral person or entity would have been very careful enough not to chastise EC for not yielding to the demands of NPP. At least, such a neutral person or persons should have been aware that NDC was cautiously against NPPs position and waiting to see whether or not EC would go by the recommendations of the non-partisan eminent Ghanaians who constituted the panel.

It would have been further noticed that any other position aside what EC took would have presented an unworthy precedence which could have been a recipe for disaster. For all you may know, if treated unjustly, NDC could equally be capable of unleashing the terror feared of NPP by the neutral people that are seen chastising EC for no just cause. In any sphere of arbitration, decisions reached by the arbitrators ought to be respected by all who care and have integrity.

Final remarks

That said, what then would have been the basis for some supposed neutral people to pontificate to EC to have yielded to the demands of NPP or NDC  even if such demands were unmeritorious? What would have been the basis for saying, for example, that EC should not take Ghanaians for granted? Which Ghanaian has EC taken for granted and where? A stance that obviously inhibits glister of neutrality of EC is a defeatist posture and an impossible neutral demand on EC. The supposed unrented media should at least do Ghanaians a great favor to be very informed and critical on the so-called neutral people and insidious support they give to either NDC or NPP. This would expose any party planning mayhem to be quickly identified and dealt with by the largely peaceful Ghanaians.

Everybody or at least most Ghanaians by now know that despite its inadequacies, EC in Ghana cannot or hardly can rig elections for any political party, with the current biometric electoral register and electoral system. It is only political parties especially NDC and NPP who, without vigilance from other political actors, may succeed in rigging elections in their strongholds where they may be able to hijack or coerce electoral officers to do the unthinkable. Lets keep a Godlier eye on NDC and NPP so they do not slip by.

The hysterical hypocrisy permeating the overtures of political corridors in the election year 2016 is dangerous  indeed very dangerous. Although it is difficult to stand the test of neutrality, neutral people in Ghana, must at least strive hard to merit being called neutral when it comes to electoral governance and management. People of integrity and of courage must not sit by aloof and let things get out of hands before they act.

Have a splendid time!

Adam Abukari

International Legal Specialist

[email protected]

7th January 2016
The Progressive National Forum (PNF), a pressure group, is demanding the resignation of the chairperson of Ghanas Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Charlotte Osei, citing alleged corruption in holding two public office positions.

Spokesperson of the forum, Mr Richard Nyamah, said Mrs Osei is still a board member of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited, which, he said contravenes the countrys constitution, indicating that: Article 44 clause 4 demands that if she is the chairman of the EC, she is not supposed to hold any other public office.

In an interview with Joy FMs Francis Abban on Thursday January 7, 2016, Mr Nyamah said: I have a copy of the 2016 diary of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited and she is stated as a member of the board. I also have impeccable information that after her swearing in as EC chair of the Republic of Ghana, she travelled to Kenya on an educational conference in 2015, so, she is still an active member.

Mr Nyamah said the group will be compelled to nail Mrs Osei with more revelations if she dare come out to deny membership of the companys board.

I want her to deny it then we will put it out there. Let her come and deny that she is not an active member and we will make all the information on her public, for now Ill like to hold on to some of the arsenal, he said.

Mr Nyamah has further questioned the integrity of the EC chair, saying that taking allowances from two institutions as a public official amounted to corruption, especially when the constitution bars her from holding any other office as chair of the electoral body.

It brings into question the persons integrity on financial prudence and beyond even this because she is now on double salary or let me say allowance. In one instance, she is taking allowances, as a member of the board and claiming her salary as a commissioner, he said.

He believes the EC chair has shown her failure in managing finances by bloating the budget for the 2016 elections.

Fast track to budget presented to parliament for 2016 elections, GHS1.4 billion was the request then GHS 826 million is approved. Go to 2012 where Afari Gyans budget was approved and it was GHS 243 million and that included buying biometric machines to have the elections done.

I am questioning her in terms of corruption and to, at least, know that it is my focus, he stated.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Iran has accused Saudi-led coalition warplanes of damaging its embassy and injuring staff in an air strike on Yemens capital, Sanaa.

State media quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying planes had deliberately targeted the site.

But some later reports in Iran said missiles struck only in the vicinity of the embassy.

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa reported there was no damage to the main embassy building.

Sanaa residents reported dozens of air strikes on Thursday by the coalition, which is battling Houthi rebels.

Residents quoted by Reuters said missiles had struck 700m (2,300 feet) from the embassy, causing shrapnel and rocks to land near the building.

A coalition spokesman said the strikes had targeted rebel missile launchers, and that the rebels had used abandoned embassies for operations.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Iran after a Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, was executed by the Saudi authorities.

Iranian protesters in Tehran, angry at the execution, then attacked the Saudi embassy, leading Saudi Arabia to cut off diplomatic relations. A number of Saudi allies have followed suit in taking diplomatic action against Iran.

On Thursday, a statement read on Iranian state TV said the country had banned the import of all Saudi goods. Deliberate action

The Saudis accuse Iran of supporting the Houthis in Yemen militarily  a charge it denies.

It is not clear whether the Iranian embassy was fully functioning, but a number of countries have withdrawn their staff or relocated missions to the port city of Aden in the past year.

Hossein Jaber Ansari, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, earlier said the raid had injured a number of the buildings guards, according to the Iranian news agency Ilna.

He called the incident a deliberate action by Saudi Arabia.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Gen Ahmed Asseri, said Irans claims would be investigated.

At least 2,795 civilians have been killed in Yemen since March, when the Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign to restore the government and drive back the Houthis and allied security personnel loyal to ex-President Saleh.

In the past six months, coalition and pro-government forces have retaken Aden, but the rebels still control the capital.

The already dire humanitarian situation has also deteriorated, with more than 21 million people  four-fifths of the population  now requiring aid.

-bbc
Kwame Pianim

07.01.2016 LISTEN

The Graphic.com.gh article that carried his clarion call for the party faithful and stalwarts to close ranks around its 2016 Presidential Candidate and his running-mate was erroneously captioned NPP Must Suspend the Suspensions  Kwame Pianim (12/15/15). This is quite refreshing, because I have been waiting for precisely this kind of solemn exhortation from unarguably one of the most astute bulwarks behind the countrys main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). The Yale University-educated Mr. Pianim knows what it means to be harassed and buffeted by those who ought to be rather helping to put winds into ones sails.

Years ago, his well-deserved presidential ambitions were myopically and cynically torpedoed by some internal party detractors who deviously perceived his heroic political past as a liability for the party.

The Graphics caption was clearly erroneous because Mr. Pianim was less concerned about the raging rage of suspensions in the party than the immediate and imperative need for the New Patriotic Party to roll out its 2016 Presidential Campaign Agenda in order to allow it the direly needed fighting chance in the barely twelve months left for Ghanaians to determine the fate of the pathologically corrupt and perennially bumbling Mahama government.

Lets all sacrifice our pride for the good of Ghana; lets sacrifice our pride for the [good of] the suffering masses of Ghana; lets sacrifice and get together to work in a campaign mood. His declaration, of course, comes ahead of the Dec. 19 Emergency Confab in the Brong-Ahafo capital of Sunyani. The timing could thus not have been more auspicious.

Needless to say, Mr. Pianim is a successful businessman who fully appreciates the oxygen of time in the strategic scheme of winsome politics. He also fully appreciates the fact that merely having been elected to a top administrative position in the party does not offer one a blank check to hold the collective needs, interests and aspirations of the people hostage.

Which is why he is emphatic in his call on the imperative need for the flagbearer to select his own campaign team, instead of blindly and unwisely relying on elected party machinists who may not necessarily have the best interest of the flagbearer and the party at large at heart.

In the preceding sense, Mr. Pianim could be aptly envisaged to have been a studious observer of the factors and causes underlying much of the bitter infighting that has been raging at the New Patriotic Partys Asylum Down Headquarters.

Which is why the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the erstwhile Cocoa-Marketing Board, presently COCOBOD, counsels that all suspended party administrators should avoid wasteful litigation suits until the party has had a full uninhibited shot at the 2016 general election.

This observation clearly appears to gibe with the punitive objective of both the partys Disciplinary Committee and the NPPs National Executive Committee. For clearly, the indefinite suspension of the so-called Big Three, namely, Messrs. Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong and Sammy Crabbe was geared towards inducing the requisite climate of progressive harmony at party headquarters.

And, indeed, even as Nana Akufo-Addo poignantly and eloquently articulated in his Sunyani Emergency Congress Address, the abject insubordination of the aforementioned three top party administrators to the regulatory organs of the party inevitably necessitated their immediate sequestration, if the long-term health of the New Patriotic Party was to be guaranteed.

Those of our readers who have sedulously followed my media offerings on the man are well aware of my great admiration for Mr. Pianim, not to be confused with Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, the former Kufuor Chief-of-Staff, even when I have had to take issue with him on occasion. Mr. Pianim laments that the inordinately protracted internal party wrangling has left him a broken and frustrated man. I believe in the sincerity of such public confession.

We also hope that those among the top-echelons of the partys leadership who claim to be utterly rattled by the gross mismanagement of the countrys human and capital resources are paying serious attention.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Foreign Minister Steinmeier issued the following statement today (7January) in Berlin in response to the suicide attack on a police training centre in the Libyan town of Zliten:

We most strongly condemn this brutal terrorist attack. Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. The attack underscores once again how important and urgent it is for all Libyans to work together to eradicate the cancer that is terrorism. The government of national unity must be formed and fully functional as soon as possible. The support of all political groups is needed to this end. Only in this way will lasting peace and security be brought to all the people of Libya. I met today with Martin Kobler, the UN Special Envoy to Libya, here in the Federal Foreign Office, and pledged our full support for his efforts to implement the peace agreement and bring stability to Libya. Germany is ready to provide a future Libyan government of unity with quick and effective assistance in rebuilding state structures.
Charlotte Osei

07.01.2016 LISTEN

Pressure group Progressive Nationalist Forum is demanding the resignation of chairperson of the Electoral Commission Charlotte Osei.

The group claims she is in breach of the constitution because she is allegedly currently holding another public office.

According to the group, Madam Charlotte Osei as the chairman of the electoral commission is also a board member of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited.

They say they have evidence to show that Madam Osei before her appointment as EC chair and since her appointment has remained a member of the board of the company.

Myjoyonline.com checks on the companys website Thursday January 7, 2016 indicates that Madam Osei is still a member of the board.

The Progressive Nationalist Forum says it is therefore giving her the option to quit one of the jobs with immediate effect as stipulated under Article 44 Clause 4.

The Article states, The Chairman and the two Deputy Chairmen of the commission shall not, while they hold office on the Commission, hold any other public office.

Secondly, she should by 30th January, 2016 pay back all allowances received as board member of Ghana Reinsurance or her salary and entitlements as chairman of the commission, which ever option she chooses to exercise from 1st July, 2015 till date, the group said in a statement.

Spokesperson of the group, Richard Nyamah told Joy News, the 2016 diary of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited still has her name as a director.

Even after her appointment as the chairman of the Commission in June 2015, Madam Osei has travelled on the ticket of the company to Kenya, he revealed.

He said her decision to keep the two positions put her integrity on financial prudence into serious question. The commissioner would be withdrawing her salary from the national coffers whilst benefiting from allowances paid to her by the company, he explained.

All efforts to reach Madam Charlotte Osei proved futile, and myjoyonline.com could not independently confirm whether she is still at post at the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited.

Source: Myjoyonline
postle Ing. Dr Kwadwo Safo

08.01.2016 LISTEN

Life is not about praying and expecting instant success. But, rather, prayers accompanied with hard work and diligence. This, I can assure you, is the key to success.

These were the words of the Chairman of the Kantanka Group of Companies, Apostle Ing. Dr Kwadwo Safo, on Monday, January 4, 2016, as the company celebrated 10 years since the relocation of the core of its business operations from the Greater Accra Region to the Central Region.

At a get-together held at Gomoa Mpota, the headquarters and site of its vehicle manufacturing plant, Dr Kwadwo Safo, who shared with the gathering, comprising staff and well-wishers, some of his experiences, stated that his technological journey began some 32 years ago.

"I started my work in 1984 at Lartebiokoshie, a suburb of Accra, with a few people. We later relocated to Darkuman when my son, Safo Jnr was 2 years old. When we started, there was no money and less food to eat. We had to struggle, even with how to design and build a circuit board", he said.

He continued, At the time, we did not know much about electronics. We had to learn from people, most of whom deceived us and squandered the little money that we had".

According to him, his products were not called "Kantanka" from the beginning, but "Verec", after a very special person in my life.

Whilst acknowledging that he, together with his workers, encountered a lot of obstacles and hardships, they persevered because of the great vision he had, which is to change Africa and make it a continent to reckon with.

Dr. Safo commended all members of his staff for their strong dedication and staunch belief in his vision, and encouraged them to continue working hard towards the ultimate realization of this vision.

To this end, he also advised the general public to adopt the virtue of patience in whatever they seek to do in life.

On demonstration at the event were the items first manufactured by the company. Some of these items were five string guitars; engine bocks; computer and television set monitors (made from wood); power extension boards; power stabilisers; the first circuit board designed by Dr. Kwadwo Safo; sound mixers; amongst others.

Kantanka Group of Companies has recently commissioned and launched the locally manufactured Kantanka vehicles. There is the Kantanka Onantefo (SUV 4x4 Drive), Kantanka Omama (4x4 Pickup) and the Kantanka K71 (Mini SUV). The vehicles are ready for sale to both the Ghanaian and African market.
Tema, Jan 7 ,GNA - The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) has asked the management of Agricultural Development Bank(adb) to reinstate all interdicted and wrongfully dismissed workers and union leaders unconditionally.

A statement signed by Mr Wilson Agana, Chairman, and Mr Ebenezar Taylor, Secretary, and issued to the Ghana News Agency, said ' we will be happy if the issue is resolved within the shortest possible time, at least one month to avert any industrial unrest.

'The wrongfully dismissed adb staff had not breached any of the Bank's policies and procedures that must warrant their dismissal. This is just a ploy being used by the adb Chief Executive and Management to cover their unlawful activities'.

The statement said, 'The workers of adb were just protecting the national asset, their job security and the future for the unborn generation. So, it that their crime?'

It said the 'Bank's Chief Executive Officer and its Management adopted strategies which included issuing queries to over 400 adb employees, arbitral interdictions and the wrongful dismissal of ten (10) employees for the simple reason that the adb workers were protecting the Bank from the Initial Public Offer (IPO) and the wrongful sale of the adb and other nefarious and dubious activities by the Management of the adb'

The TDCL accused the bank's management of ' instituting practices of victimization, various acts of unfair labour practices to cow and silence the rest of the workers by forming Management favoured Enterprise Based Union and even threatening the adb workers to cease their membership with UNICOF or face the necessary consequences.

' Even the Chief Executive Officer and the Management of adb have stopped paying the union dues deducted from the worker's salaries to UNICOF just to starve the national union of funds and weaken them in fighting to protect the adb workers.'

The TDCL called on the 'Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and the Secretary General of TUC to liaise with the Chief of Staff to intervene in this issue for the unconditional reinstatement of the wrongfully dismissed and interdicted adb staff in the interest of harmonious industrial peace.'

The Bank did not comment of the issue.

GNA
 Flash

A new two-year visit visa for Chinese nationals will be launched on Monday, 11 January.

The new visa will cost 85, the same as the existing 6 month visitor visa, and will enable visitors to make multiple trips to the UK for a longer period.

The Chinese government will make the same offer available to British citizens. The new arrangement provides eligible Chinese customers with a better deal than the standard Schengen visitor visa, which is limited to a maximum 90 days.

Next weeks launch follows the Prime Ministers announcement of the pilot, during the state visit of President Xi to the UK in October 2015.

The two-year visitor visa will be available for the purposes of tourism, business, to attend conferences or to investigate setting up a business. Applicants will still need to undergo the same robust checks before a visa is granted, with Chinese visitors required to submit an online application and biometrics.

The new visa arrangements will be more convenient as there is also a plan to extend the UKs mobile fingerprinting service, which captures the biometrics needed for applications, from nine to 50 Chinese cities.

Chinese tourists currently contribute 500m annually to the UK economy with record numbers visiting the UK to make the most of all the retail opportunities and visitor attractions on offer. The extension of the visitor visa will enable them to maximise their spending power even further.

Increasing numbers of British citizens are visiting China and will now benefit from these same arrangements, with the Chinese reducing their two-year visitor visa fee to the equivalent of 85 (an additional service fee will still be charged) and, for the first time, matching the UKs offer of a 10-year visitor visa.

In the year ending September 2015, the UK issued 484,065 visas in China, a 20% increase on the previous year, of which 404,084 were visit visas - a 22% increase.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: The launch of this new visa enhances our excellent visa service by offering better value for money and more flexible travel for Chinese visitors, while ensuring that the UK border is protected.

The number of Chinese visitors to the UK is rising year on year and this visa will allow Chinese visitors to further take advantage of the opportunities the UK has to offer for both tourism and business purposes.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Kodie (Ash), Jan 07, GNA - After almost seven years of running its daily business from rented premises - part of a filling station, the Afigya-Kwabre District Assembly, has now moved into its own property, completed at the cost of GHa240,000.00.

Mr. Kwaku Oppong-Kyekyeku Kaakyire, the District Chief Executive (DCE), told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that this was a big relief.

The assembly would no longer be saddled with huge rent payment, something that would help to free funds to support the implementation of critical development projects in the various communities.

The district was created in year 2008 but without any seed money for office and residential accommodation.

Mr. Oppong-Kyekyeku said their newly constructed property 'provides enough space' to house its central administration - human resource, physical and development planning, finance, internal audit, works, radio and stores.

The assembly would continue to carry out its day-to-day administration from there until construction works on the main three-storey administration block was completed.

He expressed optimism that this could be ready within six months to bring both the decentralized and centralized units to operate from the same building.

Mr. Oppong-Kyekyeku said the assembly was making strong progress in its efforts to house its staff, adding that a total of 13 bungalows had already been completed. GNA
Takoradi, Jan. 7, GNA - The Ghana Supply Chain Development Programmme (SCD) has organised a breakfast meeting on Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) for Small and Medium Enterprises operating in the oil and gas industry.

The new initiative by the SCD is to help SMEs to continue expanding their knowledge in the oil and gas, energy and the extractive sectors as a measure of advancing and encouraging massive local content participation.

In its quest to support the Local Content policy of the nation, SCD is leveraging the new initiative to keep SMEs abreast of industry requirements and demands to enable them to have competitive as well as meeting the necessary standards to win contracts.

Mr Tawiah Adjei, Quality Safety Health and Environment Management Systems Trainer and Auditor of Qualms Group, Mr Shamsudeen Sidi Adam, Head of Occupational Health and Safety for Golden Star Resources; and Mr Henry Rhule, HSE Engineer with FMC Technologies were the facilitators for the inaugural edition of the breakfast meeting.

Mr Tawiah Adjei, Lead facilitator who spoke on the topic: 'New Age of EHS: Current Trends in the industry,' said environment health and safety concerns continue to remain high on the priority lists of the players in the oil and gas industry.

He therefore called for the implementation and compliance of standards related to EHS particularly in the oil and gas industry.

Mr Adjei added that curbing occupational hazards could only be achieved with proper health and safety culture.

He said global predictions of trends based on data from the global EHS practices in 2014 and 2015 called for a globally, harmonised system in EHS, higher demand for safety professionals and increased scrutiny of regulators.

Mr Adam of Golden Star Resources said SMEs should not see EHS as some other person's business but a daily safety efforts and practice to make the big differences in the workplace and life in general.

Mr Henry Ruhle of FMC Technologies recommended to the SMEs to collaborate with the international oil companies and multi-national companies and follow procedures of the EHS.

He asked them to get the necessary compliance certificates before bidding for a contract, and continue to build their capacity since health and safety is a new business in the country.

Ms Majorie Janczak, Training Manager of SCD said the breakfast meetings are aimed at offering insights from industry experts, up-to-the-minute industry knowledge, great networking opportunities with both experts and other SMEs, and the chance to learn about various programmes, projects, and initiatives in the Oil and Gas, Energy and Extractive sector.

GNA
Accra, Jan. 7, GNA - Mr Henric David Yeboah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Afigya Sekyere East has cautioned people seeking to be elected as MPs and incumbent parliamentarians to be wary of making grand promises to the electorate.

He said riding on such promises to the august house, would be a mirage because the MP is principally a lawmaker, and facilitator of development rather than an agent for development.

Other factors that could challenge the fulfillment of the electoral promises are the availability of funds and other resources as well the skills of the MP in lobbying, in addition to whether his or her party is in power.

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the challenges of the MP, Mr Yebaoh said: 'Promises alone will not get you development projects. If you can count on proper lobbying, you'll get things done. Tell your people I'll lobby top get this or that done. '

He said the district, municipal and metropolitan chief executives are directly responsible for development at the local levels, through the Assemblies.

He described the Afigya Sekyere East Constituency as a 'well-developed" but appealed to individuals and organisation to come on board with social protection programmes in aid of the constituents, who are mostly farmers.

He gave thumbs up to New Patriotic Party under the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor for repealing the Criminal Libel Law, but however called on journalists to crosscheck all facts before going public with their news.

Mr Yeboah asked media owners to pay their staff well.

GNA
Takinta (W/R), Jan. 7, GNA - Mr Dan Borsor, an Accra based Philanthropist, has donated 220 plastic and steel chairs worth GHa12,500.00 to the Chiefs and people of Takinta in the Jomoro District of the Western Region.

The chairs made up of 200 plastic and 20 steel chairs are to be used at the Chief's Palace for public gathering.

Mr Bogolo Anvo, Special Aid to Mr Borsor, who presented the chairs said the donation was in response to an appeal by the elders of the town to replace the old and insufficient benches at the Palace.

Mr Anvo said the consignment was part of the 400 chairs estimated for the Palace in the next two years, explaining that the next consignment would depend on the handling of the first consignment.

Mr Enwnli Ekyi, Tufohene (sub chief) of the town who received the chairs on behalf of the people, thanked the donor for his kind gesture, saying, this will make meetings at the palace very comfortable.

GNA
07.01.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Jan. 6, GNA - The Ghana National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons is organising a two-day workshop on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which was ratified by Parliament in July 2015 to regulate the trade of ammunitions.

The workshop which brought together Senior Officers from the various security institutions including the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Bureau of National Investigations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Civil Society, was one of the measures aimed at addressing the capacity gaps in Ghana as far as the implementation of the ATT was concerned.

Ghana has since December 23, 2015, deposited her instrument of ratification at the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, making the country the 79th State Party to the ATT.

The ATT, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in April 2013, establishes common international standards for the regulation of the global trade in conventional arms to promote world peace, security, stability, and to reduce human suffering caused by irresponsible and illicit arms trade.

These arms include warships, combat vehicles, battle tanks, combat aircraft large calibre artillery systems, attack helicopters, missiles, and missile launchers, small arms and light weapons, ammunition parts and components.

Mr Mark Owen Wayongo, Minister for the Interior, said obviously the ATT brings along enormous obligations which calls for some level of capacity building, because it joins State Parties, to put in place export and import control systems to implement the provisions of the Treaty, but there were serious gaps in the capabilities of most developing countries including Ghana, compared the relatively matured structures that pertains in most developed exporting nations.

He said this calls for cooperation, collaboration, intelligence and information sharing among States, and realising this assistance was sought and received from the EU-ATT Outreach Project, with a team of experts coming down to assist in building up of the needed capacities for the effective implementation of the Treaty.

Mr Wayongo thanked the European Union (EU) and Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) of Germany for accepting to support Ghana's quest to successfully implement the ATT.

He said the quest to implement the ATT was also aimed at curbing the incidents of arms getting into wrong hands, and therefore strengthening the capacities of the various security agencies and institutions, in the area of planning, monitoring and serious attention to the safe storage, handling, transportation and disposal of arms, was critical to ensure preparedness to fight diversions of arms and ammunitions.

According to Mr Wayongo, Ghana in 2015, saw an increase in weapon seizers by security agencies, with over one million ammunitions and more than 60 non-civilian weapons of various types seized by the Police in December alone.

He said the most intriguing and disturbing aspect of the seizures was that these are weapons used only by the security agencies, and not those used by civilians.

'Whilst commending the security agencies for the excellent work that led to the seizures of those illicit weapons, there is the need for the entire West African sub-region to join forces to combat the proliferation of weapons which could further fuel conflicts and armed violence in an already fragile sub-region,' Mr wayongo said.

He advocated that weapon management should be an area of concern and a matter of priority to every country in the West African Region.

He said Ghana has taken the lead in this effort by first embarking on the marking of her weapons, which would contribute immensely to efforts at preventing their diversion from armoires without the requisite authorisation.

Mr Marvin Diefenbach EU-ATT Outreach Team Leader to Ghana, said Ghana's existing structures were impressive to ensure the smooth implementation of the Treaty, and commended the requisite authorities for their cooperation during the assistance period.

Brigadier General Francis Agyenfra (Rtd), who chaired the opening session, expressed his appreciation to the EU-ATT Outreach Project team for their commitment, and also for the fact Ghana was selected among a few countries to benefit from BAFA/EU -ATT Outreach Project.

GNA
A delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, led by its chair Mr. Elmar Brok, visited Tunisia on 5-7 January 2016. MEPs met the President of the Republic of Tunisia, the Prime Minister as well as the President of the Tunisian Parliament to reiterate EU support to Tunisia and to stress the urgency of improving the political and security situation as well to continue with further reforms.

The seven-Member delegation, led by Mr Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), the Chair of the Committee, was composed of Mr Arnaud Danjean (EPP, FR), Mr Michael Gahler (EPP, DE), Mr Brando Benifei (S&D, IT), Mr Gilles Pargneaux (S&D, FR), Mr Amjad Bashir (ECR, UK) and Mr Fabio Massimo Castaldo (EFDD, IT - EP Rapporteur for Tunisia).

MEPs met the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr Beji Caid Essebsi, the Prime Minister, Mr Habib Essid, the President of the Tunisian Parliament, the Assemblee des Representants du Peuple, Mr Mohammed Ennaceur, and several members of the Committee for Rights, Liberties and External Relations. The delegation held meetings with the Minister for Development, Investments and International Cooperation, Mr Yassine Brahim and with the Defence Minister, Mr Farhat Horchani.

During the visit, MEPs discussed the socio-economic situation in Tunisia and the deteriorating security environment, which is exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Libya. Both MEPs and their Tunisian counterparts stressed the urgency of improving the political and security situation in order to boost investment in the country.

MEPs expressed their condolences for the victims or the recent attacks on the presidential guard and laid floral wreaths at the memorial statue, which had been inaugurated by President Essebsi the day before their visit.

MEPs stressed the continued importance of implementing administrative, financial and judicial reform. They called for greater decentralisation of power towards legitimate local authorities and therefore the need for local elections to be held. They also pointed out that Tunisia must be empowered to take ownership of the process and that there must be proper application of the rule of law in a democratic environment.

MEPs called for the five development year plan currently being finalised by the Tunisian government to be implemented in a timely and effective manner. Positive social and economic development will only be possible with the swift implementation of this plan. The EU will indeed support an economic transformation that will allow Tunisia to become more competitive and address the worrying socio-economic situation. MEPs strongly stressed the link between security and economic development.

Furthermore, the Mr. Brok stressed the need to develop further cooperation between the EP and the Tunisian Parliament, particularly through exchanges and interparliamentary dialogue. Building strong and effective administration is a key element in the democratic process.

Finally, MEPs recalled that implementing reforms is a crucial step towards establishing democracy, an achievement of which Tunisia can be proud, particularly in the region.
07.01.2016 LISTEN

The Tema Regional branch of the United Cadres Front (UCF) of Ghana, condemns in limitless terms the arrest of Comrade Sylvester Mensah by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

We are particularly shocked and disappointed at the manner the operation was carried out in which Com. Mensah's private residence was raided in his absence, forcefully taken his Security Guard, after manhandling him, to the BNI's Headquarters. This to us is rather unfortunate and must be condemned as well as advocating for the security set-up to change from this 'medieval' style of doing things and shift to modern-day pracitces.

Our position is not in any way saying that the BNI and other statutory investigative institutions should not carry out their mandates. What we are against is that, and as has often been quoted that 'until proven GUILTY, a suspect remains INNOCENT' - we feel all suspects should be treated as such. And if this is the common position of law, why do we keep criminalizing suspects before they are charged with offences, tried and proven guilty?

Upon Comrade Sylvester Mensah's response to the BNI's operation by VOLUNTARILLY availing himself, depicts his willingness to have presented himself if he had been invited formerly to appear them. His reaction thus, has exposed the BNI's inner motive, for whatever reasons of the RAMBO-like action to apprehend a harmless citizen.

The United Cadres Front of Ghana, Tema Region, wish to add that our position in this regard has NOTHING, and absolutely NOTHING to do with whatever substantive case/cases for which Comrade Sylvester Mensah is being investigated. That, we cannot meddle but the needless humiliation of his person and family is of much concern to us - being a political organization that he belongs.

In times like this, we wish to urge you (Comrade Sylvester) as a cadre to face it with the courage that you have carried throughout your cadre-life and we believe you will come out VICTORIOUS. ALUTA CONTINUA!

Signed (January 7,2016)

Camillus Maalneriba-Tia Sakzeesi (Communications/Media Dept.)

0266223333/0248433700
07.01.2016 LISTEN

It is sad that President John Dramani Mahama stubbornly refused to walk his talk on corruption.

Ok, ok, the man can talk. After all, he was a communicator, hence the moniker Johnny the Talker. But there comes a time when enough becomes enough, and actions begin to speak louder than fanciful rhetoric. The time is now.

Ghanas economy is in a mess  forget the fanciful rosy pictures they keep on painting for us. The clueless and incompetent bunch mis-managing our affairs cannot come up with anything more creative than raising taxes and borrowing money. Even the Masters of our Destiny at the IMF know that we are in a sorry, make that pathetic, state. When incompetence is coupled with unbridled gluttonous corruption, the result is the state of comatose in which we find ourselves.

It is sad that many Ghanaians today yawn when they hear their president make pronouncements on corruption. They have heard it all before. They know that their president talk big but do little. Scrap that, make it do nothing.

It is true that actions speak a lot louder than speeches. Most people can talk sweet talk, but few are endowed men of action.

A serious leader need not to talk too much. Actually most of the best performing leaders talk as little as possible. They allow their actions to speak for them.

On a visit to Europe recently, I read about how Nigerians are being asked by foreign shop owners what revolution took place in their country that made Nigerians stopped bankrolling some of the fanciest shops in Europe and Dubai.

Nigeria is one sad African country where totally amoral rulers have turned the national treasury into some war booty, which they obscenely shared among themselves.

The heart-bending revelations one read about how the National Security Advisor to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, collared US$2.5billion meant for arms purchases for troops battling the book Haram menace, makes one feel very sad for the former Giant of Africa.

Dasukigate is just one corruption case that has revealed the total abnegation of conscience by elected leaders, who have become a great shame to our Race.

Colonel Dasuki shared money meant for troops engaged in hot battle to fight elections for his boss. As though that were not heinous enough, he had the military court-martialed troops that refused to go to battle without proper gear and kit. The current Military High Command in Nigeria did the right thing by re-instating some of the dismissed soldiers and commuting the death penalty to jail sentences. It nevertheless remain a shame unto the erstwhile military top brass that they acquiesced in demeaning the noble ethics of their profession.

The ascension of Buhari put an immediate stop to the merry-making and the sheer impunity of Nigerias treasury-looters. Buharis stamp of authority is so emphatic that even foreign shop-keepers felt the pinch. Buhari has the aura, the charisma and, above all, the integrity to make people sit up and do the correct thing.

No one argue that corruption has been eliminated in Nigeria but few Nigerians will today have the audacity to publicly loot public wealth and brazenly show it off. Few of them will like to be seen to be plastering the shops of London, Paris and Dubai red with stolen Nigeria money. The same is true on the war against Boko Haram. The battle has not been won, but today no one sees Boko Haram embarrassing Nigeria by seizing and holding large swathe of Nigerias real estate.

It is leadership, idiot.

The very presence of President Muhammadu Buhari is enough to tell officials that there is a new Sheriff in town and it is never going to be business as usual. Buhari does not talk much. He has not send any new anti-corruption bill to the legislature. His presence alone is enough to wake up the officers at the agencies step up to fight against the canker f corruption. Officers know that they have new a Commander in Chief who brooks no nonsense, is incorruptible and will ensure that the right things are done ALWAYS.

It is pretty sad that it is no longer possible to keep pace with the number of corrupt cases reported daily in Ghana. This is despite the presidents claim to be committed to fighting corruption.

It is sad but Mr. President seems to be unaware that action truly speaks louder than mere pronouncements.

Were words to be effective, corruption and other social vices would have long been banished from Ghana Inc.

The late President Mills of blessed memory was undoubtedly angered and saddened by the level of corruption he saw in the land. Unfortunately the good man thought that his good intentions, admonitions and exhortations is enough to make citizens sit up and listen.

No, they did not.

President Mills all but shed tears at the Customs yard in Tema. He berated officers for their greedy, unpatriotic actions, which only sabotage the national economy. Of course, the officers listened, yawned and carry on with their business of short-changing the national coffers through their corrupt practices. For officers of the Customs and the Immigration, a posting to a border is akin to getting a license to print money. The question remains why the state continue to pay them!

One of the nice things I admire about the Netherlands is the way government goes about maintaining law and order. The low country is a well-regulated society. It is democratic and very tolerant, but citizens know their bounds limits. Once law is passed in the Netherlands, citizens line up to obey it without murmur or question. The reason is simple: The penalty for infringement is usually too stiff that few citizens want to pay the price twice.

It is true that presidents cannot be everywhere at the same time and that they cannot do everything all by themselves. No one asked them to. That explains why the president is an Executive Officer with many offices created to assist him in discharging his statutory duties.

Good leaders need not be Omnipotent or Omniscient, they only need to set enough good examples for people to know that heads will roll if you cross the Big Man.

The new president in Tanzania is creating waves. He did this by making good examples of sacking officials who were caught not living up to their billings.

It does not show seriousness when the only penalty a minister paid when she is caught in a corruption web is to simply resign and that is the end of the matter. The case of the Minister who wasted GHC3.5million to rebrand buses bought with borrowed money showed that President Mahama has no belly to seriously tackle the gargantuan corruption that has engulfed the land.

It is quite simple: a Ministers shown to have colluded to fleece the state ought to be charged.

The law on causing financial loss to the state is still extant. Why is it not being used? There are even more draconian laws carried over from the PNDC era to prosecute thieving officials.

Which brings us to the more serious question of what exactly is wrong with us in Africa that made our officials think only of themselves.

Despite the parlous state of our economies, the general impoverishment of our people, the abject poverty in which our people still live, those that charged themselves with governing us think only of what they can steal from the commonwealth.

Ghana virtually bankrupted herself with the introduction of the Single Spine Salary Structure which saw the payroll jerked up astronomically.

The Executive Director the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Professor Newman Kwadwo Kusi recently told us that wages and salaries, interest cost and statutory payments constitute 82% of the 2016 budget.

What this mean in simple terms is that the country will use only 18% of budget for actual capital expenditure  that is building roads, etc.

It is not known how we find ourselves in this abysmal situation but that is the stark reality we face.

So, you can stop thinking why that road is not being built or those children continue to go to school in those dangerous, dilapidated buildings. 18% of budget can go this far, but nor farther.

So, after collaring about 80 percent of national budget for their upkeep, officials still struggle to steal from the meagre remainder.

Ha!

Were the bus branding scandal to be the only one is town it will still be scandalous enough, but we still have the stinking saga of the Turkish Bath, pardon, Barge to contend with.

Let us listen to Dr Bawumia of the opposition New Patriotic Party as he explain what may yet turn out to be the Golden Fleece of the Century. Speaking on the AMERI power deal at a lecture organised by the Prempeh College Old Students Group in Kumasi, the noted economists said: The issue of the AMERI power deal is the latest episode of issues bordering on corruption and the failure to ensure value for money for the people of Ghana. In this deal, Ghana is basically purchasing 10 gas power plants for $510 million even though the same plants can be acquired for S220 million on the market. The government in this deal contracted a middle man - AMERI - who also contracted another middleman - METKA - to purchase the plants from the original manufacturers, General Electric, though the government is clearly aware that General Electric are the manufacturers and Ghana could have purchased the plants directly from them."

Dr Bawumia raised issues about why the government failed to purchase the power plants from either General Electric or METKA, since it is clear even from the AMERI agreement that these two companies could have offered Ghana a far cheaper alternative.

"The government has claimed that the manufacturers of the plant, GE, would have provided the plant at a far more expensive price. However, information available indicates that GE submitted a proposal to VRA for a similar facility, and this proposal was found satisfactory by VRA. Unfortunately, VRA's precarious financial position could not permit it to enter into a rental agreement with GE. The VRA needed government support in terms of security and guarantee for the transaction, which government refused to give; the same government has, however, been able to issue the needed security and guarantee under this AMERI deal.

In the AMERI deal, AMERI is buying the equipment from GE through METKA. With this long chain of supply, can AMERI quote a price lower than GE? How can a manufacturer's price be more than that of a retailer? Can the government furnish the public with copies of the GE proposal sent to VRA

METKA, which is virtually executing the entire scope of AMERI's responsibility under the agreement, i.e. engineering, procurement, construction, building, operations and maintenance of the plant, is doing so at a total cost (with profit) of not more than $350 million (payable in 5 years). Clearly, then entire plant could have been purchased for at most $350 million and paid for over the 5-year period. So again, why did the government not even procure this plant from METKA since they could offer the same package for $350 million? What value is AMERI bringing to the table to justify their $160 million entitlement? This contract also does not make sense."

Thank you, Dr Bawumia.

Plug for Femi Akomolafe books

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Email: [email protected] ; Website: www.alaye.biz
Goma (DR Congo) (AFP) - Fifteen people died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight when Hutu rebels from Rwanda attacked civilians in the latest ethnic killings in the region, authorities and the military said Thursday.

The assault took place in Miriki, 110 kilometres (65 miles) north of Goma, capital of conflict-torn North Kivu province.

The attack left "15 dead and eight injured", said Charles Bambara, public information director for the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO.

Bokele Joy, administrator of the Lubero area under which Miriki falls, told AFP that "the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) is responsible."

The army as well as leaders of the local Nande people, rivals of the local Hutu, also accused the FDLR Hutu group based in eastern Congo and said to include perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Congolese military spokesman Mak Hazukay said the rebels slipped past the army's positions to carry out the attack using knives or other bladed weapons.

A local human rights defender, Souleymane Mokili, said he had seen the bodies of the victims, which bore "machete and bullet" wounds.

The Congolese army last year launched an offensive to try to push the FDLR out of the east, where the rebels have been wreaking havoc since the genocide of mostly ethnic Tutsis across the border in Rwanda.

In October, FDLR members were accused of stabbing and injuring three people in Lubero, one of the traditional homelands of central Africa's Nande tribe.

Local sources have linked the attacks in Lubero to attempts by a local Nande leader to bar the return to the area of displaced Congolese Hutus, whom he accuses of trying to "conquer" Nande land.
The Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited has explained that the Chairperson of Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei, is no longer a director of the company.

She stopped being a director as of the end of December 2015, the Secretary of Ghana Re, Madam Jessica Allotey, said on Thursday afternoon.

The explanation followed a call by the political pressure group, Progressive Nationalist Forum, that Madam Osei should resign as EC chair since she was keeping a second job as a board member of the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited.

Listen to Madam Allotey's explanation on Asempa FM

I can confirm to you that as at 7th January that is todays date she is no longer a member of Ghana Reinsurance board, the company secretary told Accra-based Asempa FM.

Asked when she resigned she said: As at December 2015, I can tell you that as at the end of December she was not a director of Ghana Re.

As to why Madam Osei was still being touted as a board member of Ghana Re on their website, Madam Allotey said they had just returned from the holidays and their IT Manager was updating the website.

Regarding to why she was also put in the companys diaries for 2016 as a board member, she said they had to print the diaries way ahead of time because of the procurement processes and hence there was nothing they can do about that.

The Progressive Nationalist Forum has demanded that Charlotte Osei should resign as EC chair, claiming she was keeping a second job as a board member of Ghana Re, which it said was a breach of the constitution since the chairperson of the EC cannot hold a second public office.

Writer's email: [email protected]



Ghana Reinsurance
Zliten (Libya) (AFP) - Suicide bombers in Libya attacked a police training school and a checkpoint Thursday, killing more than 56 people and prompting renewed calls for unity in a country torn by rivalries and jihadist threats.

The deadliest incident was in the coastal city of Zliten, where a truck bomb exploded outside the school, killing more than 50 people, a security source said.

The attack was the deadliest since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

A witness in Zliten, about 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Tripoli, told AFP some 300 men, mainly coast guards, were inside the compound at the time.

Health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohammed Ammar said 50 to 55 people were killed and at least 100 wounded. Victims were rushed to several hospitals and urgent calls were issued for blood donations.

The blast blew out windows and charred concrete buildings inside the compound and turned cars into black and twisted wrecks, reported an AFP correspondent from the scene.

Hours later another bomber drove an explosives-packed car into a checkpoint in a key oil region under recent assault by the Islamic State (IS) group, killing six people, including a baby.

"I am at the morgue where six bodies from the site of the attack were brought, including the body of a child," said Mansour Ati, the head of Libya's Red Crescent. Eight people were also wounded.

Ossama al-Hodeiri, a spokesman for the security forces that guard nearby oil facilities, told AFP: "A driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser blew himself up at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ras Lanouf."

Hodeiri, who was at the scene, aid three guards and a 16-month-baby were among the dead.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in Zliten or Ras Lanouf but IS has claimed previous suicide bombings and other atrocities.

IS has been growing in power in Libya, feeding on the chaos that has gripped the country since the revolution.

On Monday it launched an offensive against the oil terminals in Ras Lanouf and nearby Al-Sidra, after trying for weeks to push east from its stronghold of Sirte.

The terminals are located in the so-called "oil crescent" along the northern coast, and officials have warned of crippling consequences if the jihadists manage to seize control of Libya's oil resources.

- Calls for unity -

Libya has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in the east.

The internationally recognised government condemned the attack as a "cowardly terrorist act" and called for the lifting of an arms embargo it says has prevented authorities from tackling IS.

A deputy defence minister for the Tripoli-based government, Mohammad Bashir al-Naas, vowed to revenge.

"The perpetrator is not known but he is a coward. He kills our sons from the shadows. We must avenge them and do everything possible to protect them," he told a press conference.

Hundreds of people braved the cold and high winds Thursday afternoon to attend a prayer service for the victims of the truck bombing at Zliten's stadium.

The United Nations is pressing Libya's rival sides to implement a power-sharing deal agreed last month on forming a unity government.

UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler said implementing the political agreement was crucial.

"I condemn in the strongest terms today's deadly suicide attack in Zliten, call on all Libyans to urgently unite in fight against terrorism," he wrote on Twitter.

EU policy chief Federica Mogherini also urged Libyans to back the unity deal.

"The people of Libya deserve peace and security and... they have a great opportunity to set aside their divisions and work together, united, against the terrorist threat facing their country," she said.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, offered its support in helping to bring stability.

"In the face of this terrorist threat, the first answer must be unity among Libyans," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. "It is urgent that the recently signed political agreement be implemented."

- 'Struggle for power' -

World powers fear Libya could descend further into chaos and become an IS stronghold on Europe's doorstep.

In a report to the UN Security Council in November, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that IS had been responsible for at least 27 car and suicide bombings in Libya in 2015.

The group claimed responsibility for suicide car bombings in the eastern town of Al-Qoba in February that killed at least 40 people.

Calls have been growing for a possible foreign military intervention to bring stability to Libya and contain IS, which is reported to have at least 3,000 fighters in the country.

Mohamed Eljarh, a Libya analyst with the Atlantic Council, said the Zliten attack was aimed as a show of strength and to highlight the vulnerability of security forces.

"Despite IS's evident presence in Libya, various political groups are still consumed with their struggle for power and control."
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has accused government of breaching IMF approved boundary in the pricing of petroleum products.

IMFs approved bracket for development countries is pegged between 22 and 30 percent. But taxes on petroluem products, according to ACEP are currently at 41 percent.

Government has said the January 1 adjustment in the prices of petroleum products were between 18 and 28 percent.

But ACEP says government deceived Ghanaians, insisting Ghanaians are being punished with a 41 percent increase in fuel prices, far more than the IMF upper boundary of 30 percent.

He said the tax component on petrol was 28% before these levies. It is now 41%. For diesel it was 18.7% before the new levies but this has now risen to 41.7%

We are now way way way outside the developing circlesGhanaians are being asked to pay much more.we least expected that Ghana will go outside the developing bracket he expressed disappointment.

Finance Minister Seth Terkper

Africa Centre for Energy Policy has also accused government of double taxation.

The Executive Director Mohammed Amin Adam said government has introduced the Special Petroleum Tax  a tax it says constitutes double taxation.

The price of petroleum products is arrived at after government embeds several taxes. Yet after the price has been determined, government now imposes another 17.5% tax known as the Special Petroleum Tax, he noted.

Tax on tax because the Special Petroleum Tax is a tax on ex-pump price which already contains all these levies and taxes, he said this amounts to double taxation.

He indicated at a news conference Thursday, government is therefore unethically raising 674million Ghana cedis.

He said with the introduction of these new levies, Ghana has one of the worlds highest tax components on petroleum products.

ACEP noted that high taxation regime affects Ghanas ability to attract businesses and makes Ghanas economy an unattractive business destination.

The energy think-tank wants government to consider the hardships it is putting Ghanaians through and ease the burden.

There are positive aspects of this Act [containing the taxes], we also think there are negative aspects which government has the opportunity to look at again.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]
current-affairs-trends Infrastructure in place; drought major worry: Andhras CM Naidu How successful has the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh been? How easy it has been for the present state's Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu post the decision? The man himself gives the first hand account to CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan.
you are here:
business Bullish on PSU banks, IDBI Bank may head higher: Niraj Dalal Niraj Dalal, Independent Market Expert is bullish on PSU banks and feels that IDBI Bank may head higher.
business Sell Vedanta, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel: Sudarshan Sukhani Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com is of the view that one can sell Vedanta, Hindalco Industries and Tata Steel.
It hasnt been a great start to the year for big miners BHP Billiton [ASX:BHP] and Rio Tinto [ASX:RIO]. Share prices for both companies have fallen considerably

It hasnt been a great start to the year for big miners BHP Billiton [ASX:BHP] and Rio Tinto [ASX:RIO]. Share prices for both companies have fallen considerably; BHP is down 8%, while RIO has declined 8.4% for the year. Rumours have also surfaced which might drag BHP and RIO further down for 2016.

Source: Yahoo finance

Billions to buy rivals

BHP and RIO could be set to sell as much as $29.7 billion of shares to buy out distressed rivals, reported the Australian Financial Review this morning. BHP and RIO have been extremely eager to eliminate competitors over 2015, and the attitude continues into 2016.

Have you ever wondered why coal and iron ore prices are so low? Chinas demand is an important factor. But BHP and RIO have continued to oversaturate the market with commodities, causing prices to fall substantially. Oversupply is a sure way to drive down competitor profits.

This couldve been their plan all along. BHP and RIO squeeze the smaller rivals to the point of bankruptcy. Then when the time is right BHP and RIO swoop in, buying mining assets at rock bottom prices. This might just be all in my head, but now could be a better time than any.

A Bank of America analyst wrote to clients discussing the BHP and RIO situation, stating:

We think there is no time like the present. Strengthening balance sheets would give flexibility if/when tier-one assets come to market.

Will acquiring the competition fix BHP and RIOs situations? I dont believe it will.

Big miners still have the growing concern of how to combat Chinas decline. Instead of buying out competitors, which will provide short term returns, BHP and RIO needs to perform structural changes to stay relevant. Instead of dirty inefficient minerals, BHP and RIO should supply China with cleaner and more efficient resources.

More miners are being forced to scrap dividends and sell assets. The date for BHP to pay their first 2016 dividend is coming soon. Many analysts believe BHP will cut dividend payments to minimise losses. Either way, shareholders wont have to wait until dividends are announced for analysts to form assumptions on BHPs health.

Act now before the situation becomes dire

China loves copper and iron ore. Its one of the main reasons BHP started to increase its copper production. It was seen it as a great long term investment. Yet miners are still being slammed by Chinas sluggish growth.

At the start of this week Chinas manufacturing PMI (Product Manager Index) missed by 0.7 points. What does this tells us? Chinas manufacturing industry is receding. And being a manufacturing country, analysts arent confidence for Chinas future economic growth.

Even the World Bank is predicting slower growth. The World Bank has cut its previous forecast for global economic expansion by 0.4%. And what do you think played a huge role for the World Banks revised figures?

China.

The World Bank believes this year the world economy will pick up slightly from 2015. Yet the World Bank has been constantly revising figures down from previous forecasts. I dont want to get off topic here, but I wanted to bring the message home. The point is, things arent going to get a whole lot better for 2016. And if BHP and RIO continue to increase their market share in dying resources, they may be digging their long term future into a hole.

Harje Ronngard,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning
The global markets have lost it. Geopolitical tensions mixed with a China slowdown  reinforced by a slump in energy price  have destroyed market sentiment.

Absolute bloodbath

I had five positions running in the Aussie market on Monday. By yesterday, I only had one left. The rest were kicked out due to prices hitting their respective stop-loss levels.

The global markets have lost it. Geopolitical tensions mixed with a China slowdown  reinforced by a slump in energy price  have destroyed market sentiment.

I am sitting in front of my trading screen and just watching an absolute bloodbath.

But lets recap on what happened after Monday.

On Tuesday markets calmed down a lot. Australia was just about the last market to receive the punishment. On Tuesday, Europe and the US were doing much better and Asia was slightly down. However, rising geopolitical tensions were once again pushing markets over the edge yesterday.

The quick return to calm right after Monday tells us two things. One, the Chinese circuit breaker (stop-loss for the entire market) worked. The Peoples Bank of Chinas (PBOCs) injection of US$19.95 billion into the market on Tuesday also gave additional assurance.

As for the lifting of the insider-selling ban, the regulators may choose a gradual path instead of an all-out lift on the ban. On Wednesday, they announced exactly that.

The second take-away is how the global reaction to Chinas volatility is evolving. The global market is currently very sensitive to large moves in the Chinese currency and its stock markets.

When Chinas currency and stock markets are moving within a normal band of volatility, the global market tends to discount it. But when there are unexpected moves (which will happen a lot in China because it is a policy-driven regime instead of a free market operation), global markets tend to overreact. Right now, the markets are starting to be unnerved again by the depreciation of the yuan in recent days.

We have also seen an increased sensitivity to Chinas economic numbers. As inaccurate and scrutinised as they are, they are increasingly moving global markets, particularly regional markets like Australia (and other Asian markets). A bad number usually adds downward pressure on energy and commodity prices, which would dampen market sentiment.

Ken Wangdong+

Emerging Market Analyst, New Frontier Investor
January 07, 2016

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Has Debt-To-GDP

The Economists interviews Muhammad bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He has debt-to-GDP. And yes, that is sick.

There is quite a lot of obfuscation and lying in his answer, like when he denies to be responsible for the war on Yemen, but there are also some interesting points.

It turns out the guy wants to do a "Thatcher revolution for Saudi Arabia" with new regressive taxes, a large sell off of public assets, privatization of social services and so on. He does not believe that there will be any resistance against that or that people will call for "no taxation without representation". Actually he claims that there is a lot of consultation with the people going on all the time but he does not say how that supposedly happens.

The Saudi Arabia watchers I read never mention such consultations. So that is a bit weird. Does he really believe he can change the basic social contract of the country without any resistance?

He does.

And here are the parts of his answers where he slips and which explain why (emphasis added):

[W]e have clear programmes over the next five years. We announced some of them, and the rest we will announce in the near future. In addition to this, my debt-to-GDP is only 5%. So I have all points of strength, and I have the opportunities to increase our non-oil revenues in many sectors, and I have a global economic network.

...

We do not expect that our unemployment will grow, we believe it will decline over the next few years, to a good extent. At the same time I have reserves now, ten million jobs that are being occupied by non-Saudi employees that I can resort to at any time of my choosing. But I dont want to pressure the private sector, unless this is the last resort.

...

Do you think having a greater proportion of women in the workforce would be good for Saudi Arabia?

No doubt. A large portion of my productive factors are unutilised. And I have population growth reaching very scary figures. Womens work will help in both of these issues.

The young dude not only thinks he owns the country, he actually thinks he is the country. He has debt-to-GDP, he has ten million jobs in reserve, he has all women of Saudi Arabia as productive factor and he has scary population growth.

Does the guy understand that such an attitude guarantees that he personally will be held responsible for everything that will inevitably go wrong with his country?

It is doubtful that this dude will die of old age.

Posted by b on January 7, 2016 at 18:08 UTC | Permalink

Comments
700,000 senior-led households face a housing affordability challenge;

a combination of modest incomes and high living costs mean that one in four senior-led households are spending more than 30% of their income on shelter; and

seniors who live alone experience poverty at twice the rate of other seniors.

Canadian seniors consistently report that they prefer to live at home and age in place, instead of moving to assisted living. Yet, they also report that financial challenges are the biggest hurdle to doing so.A recent report from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) shows that 93% of seniors live at home and prefer to age in place. And, HomEquity Bank statistics support this, reporting that 60% of retired Canadians describe staying in their home as critical to their quality of life.Every day, our team hears from older Canadians who want to remain in their homes and communities, but find the financial challenges very stressful, says Yvonne Ziomecki, SVP, HomEquity Bank. We work with seniors to help them explore utilizing the equity in their homes so they can continue to live in a familiar environment  which in most cases is the family home.According to the FCM report:One reason finances have been adversely affected, notes the FCM study, is because only one-third of the Canadian workforce is covered by a registered pension plan, down from 37% in 1992.HomEquity Bank stats show 30% of Canadians nearing retirement have $50,000 or less in savings. And, almost 70% of those nearing retirement are still carrying debt, with 35% of Canadians nearing retirement planning on using the value of their home to generate retirement income.
2016 presidential candidate Bernard Bernie Sanders vows an end to what he called the greed of financial institutions like overly massive commercial banks, insurance companies, and shadow banks.



Greed is not good. In fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of our nation. And, here is a New Years Resolution that I will keep if elected president. If you do not end your greed, we will end it for you.



These are just a few of the strongly-worded statements from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speech on Tuesday (January 5), in which he reiterated his platform of sweeping financial reforms.



In his speech, Sanders said that he will address institutionalized greed by breaking up institutions that, should they fail, would send shockwaves through the economy without a bailout footed by taxpayers.



Sanders said that to this end, he plans to invoke Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would impose severe limitations and conditions on banks and other financial entities that pose a serious threat to the continued financial well-being of the U.S. economy.



Sanders added that his administration would introduce legislation which would draw clear dividing lines between insurance services, investment banking, and commercial banking, thus preventing mega-banks and other large-scale organizations from hijacking and monopolizing these functions.



Sanders said that these steps reflect the larger ethos of his whole campaign, which is to create a more equitable wealth structure in American society.



We need to structurally reform the Federal Reserve to make it a more democratic institution responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans, not just the billionaires on Wall Street, Sanders said.



We will no longer tolerate an economy and a political system that has been rigged by Wall Street to benefit the wealthiest Americans in this country at the expense of everyone else, Sanders added. Yes, we can make our economy work for all Americans, not just a handful of wealthy speculators. And, now more than ever, that is exactly what we must do.
The two most powerful nations in the Middle East severed diplomatic relations this week  and even that sort of geopolitical crisis isnt enough to push up oil prices.

Chinas crazed stock markets and slowing economy had the bigger effect on international crude. Why? Because smart traders recognize that despite Iran and Saudi Arabias rivalry, the two countries have far too much in common for either to slow the flow of oil.

Thats bad news for Houstons oil exploration and production companies hammered by prices stuck in the $36 dollar range, down from $107 in June 2014. Producers are still pumping more oil than the world needs, with stored crude swelling around the globe.

Cutting production to balance supply with weak demand could take another year, barring some kind of geopolitical disruption. Iran and Saudi Arabia are unlikely to supply it. In fact, their feud could add more oil to the market as they compete for market share.

Iran and Saudi Arabias dispute predates the founding of Islam. They sit across a gulf that one side calls Persian and the other claims as Arabian. Todays leaders use religion to differentiate themselves more than language or ethnicity, with Irans theocracy claiming leadership over Shiites, and the Saudi royal family claiming to represent the Sunni.

Not in dispute is that a third of the worlds crude oil passes through the gulf every day, making it strategically important to more than just regional powers. Thats why when Saudi Arabias Sunni monarchy decided to execute a Shiite cleric, and protesters in Iran trashed the Saudi embassy, the world called for calm.

The Middle East also finds itself the object of superpower machinations because it holds the majority of the worlds proven oil reserves. The United States backs the Saudi government, tries to maintain control over Iraq and wants allies to take power in Syria.

Russia, a major oil producer eager to assert itself, backs Iran and wants to maintain control over Syria. Iran and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, are using proxies in Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and Iraq to maintain or supplement their economic and political leverage.

Yet geography, language and culture impose strict boundaries and limitations in this great game. Neither Iran or Saudi Arabia could successfully invade the other, so the only way to disrupt oil production in either country is with a terrorist attack on an export facility. But both governments recognize the threat, and they protect their facilities with great intensity.

The only other way to threaten the supply is to interfere with crude tankers transiting the gulf. An attack in the Strait of Hormuz, where the gulf opens onto the high seas, is a favorite worst-case case scenario. But the world saw Iraq and Iran attempt that in the 1980s without success.

The Tanker War lasted from 1980 to 1988, with Iraq attacking ships carrying Iranian oil first, and the Islamic Republic eventually retaliating. Kuwaiti tankers began flying U.S. flags in 1987, and U.S. warships protected them from Iranian attacks.

Despite the high-profile fighting, only 2 percent of the ships moving through the Gulf were affected, and of 239 oil tankers attacked, only 55 suffered irreparable damage. The price of oil initially spiked, but Iran lowered its prices to make up for the higher insurance costs, and global oil prices dropped dramatically while the fighting continued.

Today, Iranian leaders are banking on the world lifting sanctions this year that were imposed due to its nuclear program, and the government cant afford to risk new ones.

The majority of Saudi Arabias oil also flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as well, and with oil prices down 70 percent and its army in Yemen, the Saudis need to keep the oil flowing.

The Saudi and Iranian governments are likely to pump more oil to bring in more revenue and compete for market share. Oil is a weapon that can only be used by suppliers on consumers. Suppliers cant use it on one another.

The only major political risk to the worlds oil supply comes from internal instability. King Salman is approaching his first anniversary in power, and there is intense dissent within the royal family about where he and his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have taken foreign policy.

Rumors persist that King Salman suffers from senility, and there are anonymous complaints in British media from royal family members that his 31-year-old son acted rashly by invading Yemen and executing the Shiite cleric. King Salman turned 80 on New Years Eve, and if he is incapable of ruling, palace intrigue could destabilize the monarchy at a time when religious extremists are eager to overthrow it.

Thats the kind of geopolitical risk that could send oil prices soaring. Gamesmanship with Iran will not.
Samahita Retreat Koh Samui Thailand

When i visited Koh Samui last yeari was in a mess. Like literally. I was sick, tired, and was in a terrible shape (too much eating in NYC). I knew i had to get away from the horrible haze in Singapore (no thanks to Indonesia), even if it was for a short bit. So i found myself a yoga retreat just 2h away from home, packed my bags and mats and an entire wardrobe of lululemon and liquido yoga gear and left. Samahita Retreat and Vikasa Yoga were my top choices and they are great, both with a strong emphasis on yoga, wellness, and clean eating (plus more).

Samahita Retreat is a quiet spot on Laem Sor beach and they are exactly what they described themselves to be- a wellness resort where someone traveling alone can meet like-minded yogis (yogis and foodies are the best kind of people).

I love the openness of the space, be it airy indoor shalas with high ceilings, or the huge window panes that allow the sea breeze in. It would be lovely to practise on the beach shala but it was under renovation then (bummer). That said, the smaller beach cabana was available during morning classes.

Ashtanga practice. Ashtanga has got to be the most punishing practice ever (IMO). I had some led classes in Singapore (until my teacher gave up on teaching us ho ho) and have been hopeless with memorizing the sequence (the primary series alone could take up to 2 hours to complete). But within 3 days of the Mysore practice, i committed the sequence to memory (ok i still mix it up sometimes). You'll see progress in less than a week really. It is also here at Samahita Retreat that i went deeper into mypractice. Ashtanga has got to be the most punishing practice ever (IMO). I had someclasses in Singapore (until my teacher gave up on teaching us ho ho) and have been hopeless with memorizing the sequence (the primary series alone could take up to 2 hours to complete). But within 3 days of thepractice, i committed the sequence to memory (ok i still mix it up sometimes). You'll see progress in less than a week really.





Beginners do not have to worry about not knowing yoga or ashtanga. Led classes (guided class) are conducted at the same time as the Mysore class (self practice with a teacher to correct students individually). I'm really grateful for the practice, and the positive vibes from my fellow yogis. There's no judgment, no competition, only kind words #blessed.

Let me bring you through a typical day at Samahita Retreat on their all inclusive Yoga Daily program, which includes all yoga classes, use of facilities, and 2 meals a day.

7am: Light breakfast is served. I'd grab some hill tribe organic coffee to perk myself up before Breathwork/Mysore. The pranayama class helps to wake you up gently but I like to shock my system. While the LED class begins on time, the Mysore practice is free and easy and you could join anytime.

10am - 1pm: Brunch buffet. During low season, residents pick 2 - 3 cooked dishes with some toast, fruits, juices, and oatmeal served buffet style. The menu changes daily so you get a variety of dishes. Vegetables is the mainstay here but you get 1 fish option for each meal. Honestly I did not miss having meat at all because the food is really damn good. I would be a vegetarian if i can get food like this every day. It's all about healthy and nourishing food. Eating clean never felt so satisfying really.

Here are some of my favorites from brunch- Cinnamon whole wheat pancakes/ French toast/ Oatmeal Porridge (they alternate between a bread/porridge for brunch). And definitely PEANUT BUTTER and BERRIES JAM with the lovely carb or yogurt. Oh and that spinach cheese crepes were amazing too!

There are also heartier options for brunch which includes carbs dishes, stir fried veg and fish etc.

The Tom Yum fried fish and soup were soooo goooood! So was the stir-fried pumpkin/zucchini with egg!

Free and Easy Afternoons: I would recommend a swim in the salt water chlorinated pool or in the sea which is steps away. You can also take the stand up paddle board out anytime as well (it's complimentary) and you can really work on balancing in your yoga poses, or working on your upper body strength, or just lie on it and get a tan!

Or go for one of the massages at the Spa. I had the Touch of Ayurveda and opted for a strong deep tissue therapeutic massage to go with the Ayuvedic oil. It was superbly good in relieving the tenion on my upper body from Ashtanga practice.

Feeling peckish? The kitchen is open all day long so you can get fuller meals like Thai or Western food, healthy detox juices, and raw snacks. I love their Goji Bliss ball and the Cashew Nut cup. Fresh Thai coconuts are also available and they are just so perfect for an afternoon by the beach.

5 - 6pm: Restorative Yoga Class. This is typically a yin yoga class to balance the yang energy from the Ashtanga practice. I was surprised that i actually liked it because it's so relaxing and easy. It really does help with easing some tensions from all that strain from the chaturangas and jumping.





Sign up for the complimentary use of the Herbal Steam room before 5pm and it'll be ready for use from 6 - 8pm. If you're not that hungry, by 6pm, i'd say get yourself hot and steamy, then go into the pool for a bit, and repeat. It's really good for blood circulation. There will be enough time for dinner after that.

6 - 8pm: Dinner Buffet is served during this time. Again, it's ala carte choice during low season. My favorites are the Yellow curry (with sweet potato and potato) and roti, stir fried veggies are always yummy, Pad Thai, Spaghetti with rocket (black pepper style with olives and feta!!). The cooking is done Thai style by the way. You're in Thailand afterall. Oh and i inhale their Thai zucchinis all the time. I really look forward to the meal times. You can always go light with the steamed veg and salad options so it's really all up to you. You'll also get 1 small portion of dessert each night (it's rationed)!

7.30pm: Optional daily night activities. Meditation classes offered on Sun, Tues, and Thu. I avoided it because I'm terrible at meditation but the shala is really peaceful and beautiful at night.

If you're serious about detox, Samahita Retreat also offers several personalized and guided Detox, Healthy Weight and De-Stress programs. They do colon hydrotherapy and fasting etc. as well. Be rest assured that you'd be well supported by the Samahita team.

Samahita Retreat is also home to Centered Yoga , which offers the 200h and 500h Yoga Alliance certifcation at the 200h and 500h. They get really good guest teachers over there and i'll definitely be checking one of those out. Kino is probably going in 2016!!

Accommodation wise, the rooms are spacious and clean and there is WIFI. There's no TV but i guess you can always watch something on your gadget. I used their laundry service and it was efficient and very affordable (THB120/kg).

Some downsides. It can be fairly noisy sometimes with the human chatter as the indoors shala is just across the kitchen During the morning session, you get the whole brunch preparation going on and in the evenings, it'd be the dinner prep. So.. Anyway, i guess it'd be better at the beach shala once it's ready again since it's slightly farther from the chit chat.

I loved Samahita Retreat and I would not mind staying here again for an extended Ashtanga practice. Till the next time!





Thailand 55/20-24 Moo 4, T. Namuang, Suratthani,, Thailand





xoxo

Travelerintransit








Real Housewives of Atlanta couple Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker have welcomed their baby boy to the world and the two shared a brief cameo photo of the little one with friends, family and fans on Instagram.

The Tuckers announced on Wednesday Jan. 6 that their son, weighing 7 lbs., 6 oz., was born at 8:42 a.m. according to People. The baby, who the the new mom and dad described as "perfect," is both Burruss and Tucker's first boy. The two both have daughters from previous relationships. Big sisters Riley, 13, Burruss' daughter, and Kaela,19, Tucker's daughter, shared in the excitement of the arrival of their baby brother according to Hello Beautiful.

Kaela shared a few words on Instagram to show just how anxious she was for the arrival of her new little brother.

Been asking for a sibling for years. Love you baby A photo posted by Kae (@kpt__) on Jan 5, 2016 at 10:32pm PST

Burruss and Tucker were married in 2014 and shared during many episodes of RHOA how they were trying to get pregnant. In November, Burruss revealed they were expecting a baby boy. In a message to her fans on Facebook, she explained how staying up late nights with her Facebook fans and friends is what helped her get through her pregnancy according to Reality Tea. "Thanks loves for supporting me through this different journey," wrote Burruss on her Facebook. "Y'all have been there to uplift me during trying times. I turned to you in the middle of the night with jokes and we laughed. Y'all are fam. I am happy to share the sex of #babytucker."

Tucker even got in on some of the excitement and shared this photo with his Instagram followers.

Getting ready for Baby Tucker 1.6.16! I can't wait to meet my little man! A photo posted by Todd Tucker (@todd167) on Jan 6, 2016 at 3:14am PST

Both Mom and baby are reportedly doing very well. Now, fans can wait patiently for the Tuckers to release his name.

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Rumors and alleged spoilers regarding the 2016 Disney and Lucasfilm Star Wars franchise spin-off movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, have been pouring in with The Force Awakens still in theaters. We have to wait the majority of the year for the Gareth Edwards-directed film's December release date, but what about the trailer? Just as the anticipation around the movie builds, it's building quicker for the teaser preview. So when can we watch the first trailer for this film? According to some speculation, you can see it in theaters ahead of another huge 2016 blockbuster. Can you guess which one?

You can check out more buzzing news coverage from Music Times right here!

While we know that this is just a rumor so far, it definitely makes sense for such a big film's trailer to debut ahead of another blockbuster. According to Star Wars Time, that film is Captain America: Civil War on May 6, 2016. The article doesn't explain how this information came to light, but it is something to consider.

We should mention that the first trailer for Civil War was attached to The Force Awakens, but the actual premier of the preview came a month early thanks to stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, as we previously reported.



There's also general speculation that Super Bowl 50 on Sunday Feb. 7, due to the attention the broadcast has received year in and year out for half of a century.

We recently reported on some possible spoilers for Rogue One this week, when alleged details about Felicity Jones' character were leaked. You can read more about this right here. More details have been leaked as well, but we don't want to feature too many spoilers in one post. You can head over to Slash Film if you're interested in this information.

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Actress Thandie Newton is none too happy with the popular coffee chain, Starbucks, and it has nothing to do with bad coffee or even bad customer service. The actress is upset over what one chain store chose to display on their counter, that the actress found to be a little racist.

Newton, who starred alongside Oprah Winfrey in the film Beloved, walked into a Starbucks and became immediately offended according to In Touch by what she saw. Seated on the counter top was a statue of a young boy holding coffee beans. The boy, wearing "loin cloth and safari hat" as described by Newton, was a bit too much for the actress. So much so, the 43-year-old expressed her discontent in a Twitter post, where she captured the image of the statue and tagged the popular chain.

Seriously @Starbucks? At the counter - Loin cloth and Safari hat on a black child. Happy New Year circa 19th century pic.twitter.com/kD3qgKmti1  Thandie Newton (@thandienewton) January 4, 2016

Starbucks responded to Newton in their own apologetic message.

@ thandienewton we are very concerned to learn of this incident & we cant apologise enough. We have removed the figure & are investigating.  Starbucks Help (@ starbuckshelp ) January 5, 2016

The Starbucks was located in London according to People.

Newton is an English actress who has starred in films like The Pursuit Of Happyness; Mission: Impossible II and the 2010 film For Colored Girls, a film which spoke to the hardships of a group of black women and was based on Ntozake Shange's original play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf.

Do you think that this was a racist display or do you feel like she was overreacting? Share your thoughts with us below!

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Moby, born Richard Melville Hall, has announced that he will be donating all profits from Little Pine, the vegan restaurant he recently opened in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake, to animal welfare charities. Those organizations include People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), The Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Sea Shepard among others, Billboard reports.

The restaurant's reps explained to Eater that the decision not to pocket a penny of profit comes straight from the multi-talented music mogul himself. The acclaimed electronic artist told the publication in a statement: "Opening little pine was never meant to be a conventional entrepreneurial endeavor. I want it to represent veganism in a really positive light, and also to support the animal welfare organizations who do such remarkable work."

Although the decision to go 100% nonprofit is certainly made easier by the millions Moby has put in the bank after making a name for himself as one of the most important dance music figures of the 1990s and selling over 20 million albums worldwide, this display of passionate dedication as an animal rights activist is no less charming.

The producer-turned-restaurateur is committed to maintaining his Mediterranean-inspired, 100% organic vegan menu, regardless of the restaurant's financial situation. "I would rather honestly have a restaurant that is 100% organic and loses a little bit of money, than serve compromised food that makes money. I don't see the point in serving anything that I wouldn't have in my house," Moby explained in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.

That nonprofit, organic vegan vibe permeates every aspect of Little Pine, including the playlist. In the aforementioned interview with the Times, Moby confirmed that the eatery's soundtrack is not a loop of his own greatest hits, nor can diners expect to hear one of his DJ sets while sitting down to a meal of vegan stuffed shells: "I'm known for being associated with the dance world, but there will be no banging EDM tracks in here."

Instead, the restaurant's soundtrack is a collaborative playlist featuring contributions from the entire staff, evolving from classical and old-school jazz during early-morning breakfast hours to something a bit more modern in the afternoons and evenings.

That being said, much of his discography would actually be thematically-appropriate considering the emphasis on animal welfare. Watch the lyric video for "Almost Home," featuring a number of cats and dogs that were in need of homes at the time when he created after a visit to the Best Friends Animal Society in LA back in 2013, below.



 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Fans and industry professionals rejoiced when Panasonic and Technics announced the return of the SL-1200 class of turntable at CES on Monday. The newly upgraded SL-1200G Grand Class edition comes on the 50-year anniversary of the leading turntable company and hopes to iron out some of the structural issues that have plagued some of their older models. Pricing was not revealed in the initial rollout and now we know why with the price reportedly at $4,000.

According to What Hi-Fi? the price will cost $4,000, up from the prior expense of 1,200 for the SL-1200.

The new SL-1200G pricing puts it right in the luxury turntable market and potentially out of reach for causal fans who aren't vinyl fanatics or use turntables professionally. The new price range may be out of the reach for some new or middle of the road DJs who use turntables for their performances. The move into Hi-Fi audio is a major selling point and could indicate that other similar turntables like the new Sony turntable unveiled at CES could be in a similar price range.

With all of the new upgrades and the hype surrounding the product, Technics feels they can charge this much for the product. It will have a coreless motor that eliminates the vibrations that plagued the older version and rotational positioning sensors will even out any remaining vibrations.

With all of the added features and this upped price range, users should expect a significant jump in performance to justify this increase. The models won't be released until summer, so the verdict won't be rendered until then, but start to save money if you plan on picking up one yourself.

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Jim Reese Endorses Marco Rubio as good guardian for Oklahoma Agriculture

(Ed. note: Reese serves as Commissioner of Agriculture, and in

Gov. Fallin's cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture.)

The Marco Rubio for President Oklahoma State Chairman, Senator David Holt, has announced that Jim Reese, longtime champion for Oklahoma agriculture, is endorsing Marco Rubio."Marco Rubio will restore sanity and restraint to the federal regulations that are coming down like rain from this current administration, and I am proud to support him, said Reese. "Oklahoma agriculture has produced more and safer food every year of this decade despite many challenging conditions and headwinds from Washington. With a good guardian like Marco Rubio as President, our efforts will be bolstered."Jim Reese is unquestionably one of Oklahoma agricultures greatest champions, said Senator Holt. His endorsement, joining Congressman Markwayne Mullin, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Eddie Fields, and almost a dozen rural legislators, speaks volumes. Marco Rubio is the best Republican presidential candidate for Oklahoma agriculture."Marco Rubio is a candidate in the March 1st Oklahoma Republican presidential primary. He most recently visited the state in September, when he paid his respects at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and delivered a speech outlining his energy plan. Oklahoma supporters of Marco Rubios campaign can receive updates by following @TeamMarcoOK on Twitter or liking TeamMarcoOK on Facebook.
Monique Samuels and Chris Samuels talk about the word on the street. After the couple - who appeared on The Real Housewives of Potomac for four seasons - reportedly split after 10 years of marriage, the couple denied there was any truth to
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2015 Butte Fire Visible From Glencoe View Photos

Murphys, CA  The Butte Fire ravaged the Calaveras County landscape and impacted its economy.

Recognizing the need for aid resources, the Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Butte Fire Business Recovery event. Chamber Executive Director Staci Johnston stresses this is not just for brick and mortar companies or just those in the burn scar, stating, If youre a business owner in a different community that didnt even have the fire come through there, but have experienced a loss of income because of this, then you definitely need to be at this workshop.

The chamber recommends that those planning to attend get a Butte Fire recovery packet (click here). It gives documentation that business owners should bring, says Johnston. If you come in prepared with documentsthere are organizations that you can get right into the system that evening.

The workshop is a collaborative effort with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Governors Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) offering programs designed to help rebuild businesses. Additionally, the SBA will have information available on its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program up to $2 million. Johnston says there will be one on one counseling available, acknowledging, Its hard for individuals to just go into a big open space and talk freely about things. This is private, personal and we want everyone to feel comfortable that they can talk to a representative and not feel like everyone is hearing their business, so to speak.

The workshop is Monday, January 11 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at Ironstone Vineyards located at 1894 Six Mile Road in Murphys. Johnston reports if the event is well attended more may be planned. Of note, speakers will include Joe McClure from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Carol Pranka from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Keith Rogers from Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC), and Nate McBride from the Northeastern California Small Business Development Center, San Joaquin Delta College (SBDC).

For more event information click here or contact the Chamber office at 209-754-5400.
Snow in Arnold Area, Highway 4 View Photos

After a brief break during the day today, yet another cool weather system will move in tonight through Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service, snow levels in the Sierra Nevada will range from 3,500 to 4,500 feet.

Total snow accumulations will range from three to ten inches above 4,000 feet.

Rain in the Central Valley may also affect both travel and outdoor events tonight and Saturday.

Drier weather is expected on Sunday.

Another system will move in Monday into early Tuesday.
Jerry Brown Talks About His Budget Plan View Photos

California Governor Jerry Brown will deliver the annual State of the State Address before a joint session of the California Legislature on Thursday, January 21, 2016.

Brown was Thursdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

The Address will be carried live on AM 1450 KVML.

Last week, the Governor introduced a $122.6-billion budget proposal that he says will increase spending on education, healthcare and infrastructure. In addition, it would increase the states rainy day fund by $2-billion.

The Governors Office released a list of bullet points that Brown feels are the highlights.

Builds Up the Rainy Day Fund

The Governors budget makes a supplemental deposit of $2 billion into the states Rainy Day Fund  boosting the balance from 37 percent today to 65 percent of its constitutional target. Building up the fund is the best insurance policy against deep budget cuts in the next economic downturn.

Secures Health Care Funding

The managed care tax is set to expire at the end of the current year. It is a critical component of the states financing for health care. The budget proposes a tax reform package that includes a replacement managed care organization tax for three years. The package provides a net reduction in taxes paid by the private health care industry, secures funding for General Fund Medi-Cal expenses and provides an opportunity for targeted rate increases for developmental disability services. Under the federal health care reform optional expansion, 3.4 million additional residents now receive health coverage and the budget allocates $740 million General Fund for the states share of costs. These costs will grow to reach $1.8 billion General Fund by 2020-21.

Invests Significantly in K-12 Education

The budget boosts school spending per student to $10,591 in 2016-17  an increase of nearly $3,600 compared to 2011-12 levels. The budget provides a fourth-year investment of more than $2.8 billion in the Local Control Funding Formula, which focuses on students with the greatest challenges to success, bringing the formula to 95 percent implementation. The budget also proposes a $1.6 billion early education block grant that combines three existing programs to promote local flexibility, focusing on disadvantaged students and improved accountability.

Keeps College Tuition Flat

The budget keeps tuition at 2011-12 levels for another year for the University of California and California State University, maintaining affordability while continuing to help students reduce the time it takes to successfully complete a degree.

Strengthens State Infrastructure

The budget reflects the Governors transportation package, first outlined last summer, that would provide $36 billion over the next decade to improve the maintenance of highways and roads, expand public transit, and improve critical trade routes. The budget also includes $807 million ($500 million General Fund) for critical deferred maintenance at levees, state parks, universities, community colleges, prisons, state hospitals and other state facilities. The budget supports a major investment in renovating Sacramentos aged and inadequate state office infrastructure with a $1.5 billion General Fund down payment to begin that work for three buildings, including the State Capitol Annex.

Addresses Climate Change

The budget continues the Administrations actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a $3.1 billion Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan that will reduce emissions through programs that support clean transportation, reduce short-lived climate pollutants, protect natural ecosystems and benefit disadvantaged communities.

Counters the Effects of Poverty

The budget reflects the implementation of the increase in the states minimum wage to $10 per hour effective January 1st and provides funding ($380 million) for the second year of the Earned Income Tax Credit to help the states poorest working families. The budget also provides a cost-of-living increase for aged, blind and disabled Californians in the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) program the first state increase in grant levels since 2006.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM.
Four cars were stolen from a dealership in Osceola County, but its what the surveillance footage shows that still has employees talking.

The guys parked a car across the street, a car that deputies told us was a stolen car from Orlando, then they crossed the street and put on the masks, said Alejandro Amengual, Marvin Motors manager.

Around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, four men were spotted at Marvin Motors in Kissimmee. Nearly two hours later, two BMWs, a Lexus and a Cadillac were taken.

The way they did it, it was very organized, said Amengual.

Amengual works at the dealership and cant believe what he saw on the surveillance footage.

The footage obtained from the dealership shows an Osceola County sheriffs patrol car driving past the business after someone from a bus stop called to report suspicious activity. The men spot the deputy and quickly hide behind the cars. The suspects later take those vehicles. About five seconds later, another patrol car drives right behind them.

Nobody got pulled over, said Amengual.

Officials at the Osceola County Sheriffs Office said the agency is still reviewing the surveillance footage.

The office said this isnt the first time the business has been targeted. A few months ago, someone was arrested for trying to take a car. Deputies told the business to stop putting keys in lockboxes. However, Amengual said that didnt happen.

On Wednesday, deputies found four damaged lockboxes from the cars that were stolen.

Amengual said the business plans to stop putting keys in lockboxes now that they have been targeted again. He hopes deputies catch the suspects soon.

We dont feel safe because sometimes we stay here by ourselves at nighttime, said Amengual.
Federal wildlife officials are proposing relisting Florida's iconic manatees as a "threatened" species, a less dire classification than "endangered."

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said Thursday that the manatee population has recovered enough that the species no longer meets the definition of "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.

Florida's manatee population has grown from several hundred in 1967 to more than 6,300 counted last year in an annual statewide survey.

A listing as a "threatened" species would allow some flexibility for federal officials but maintain most of the protections afforded to animals listed as endangered. U.S. Fish and Widlife also says that current manatee protection measures will remain in place, including the manatee protection zones throughout Florida and enforcing boating speeds.

The manatees also enjoy protection under the Marin Mammal Protection Act.



The public would have 90 days to comment to comment on this proposal.

Officials are looking for information that could influence whether the Fish and Wildlife Service proceeds with delisting the manatees or leaves them on the endangered species list. You can find specific information, along with details on how to comment, on the Fish and Wildlife Service website.



The public is also invited to attend a hearing next month in Orlando on the manatees.
A Titusville woman expressed shock and outrage Thursday after police declined to charge the driver responsible for an October crash that killed her brother and 1-year-old nephew.

Two lives were lost," Griselle Zeno said of her brother, Jose Vargas Rosario, 35, and his 1-year-old son, Brayden Vargas.

The driver, Cynthia Guthrie, 75, was given a traffic citation for careless driving.

Zeno said the news makes her relive the day of the crash all over again. She said her family feels blindsided, shocked, angry and sad.

Vargas Rosario and Brayden shared a birthday  and now a grave.

Zeno had to bury her brother and only nephew after the Oct. 16, 2015 crash, then watched her sister-in-law suffer from a traumatic brain injury.

Braydens mother, 27-year-old Ivelisse Martinez, survived the crash but never saw them laid to rest. For days, she had no memory of her family after the crash.

It was very difficult," Zeno said. "It was very, very, very, extremely difficult.

Altamonte Springs Police said Guthrie didn't hit the brakes as she approached the intersection of State Roads 434 and 436, where cars in front of her were stopped at a red light. Guthrie's car plowed through the back of the familys car, resting on top of the babys car seat.

The police report said Guthrie was traveling the speed limit, her vehicle had no defects and she never swerved to avoid impact. Her distraction was listed as inattentive. She suffered minor injuries.

Im still hoping that at one point, were going to hear from (Guthrie) and that she is going to apologize or at least offer condolences for what she has caused," Zeno said.

She said each day and holiday that passes continues to remind her of her family's painful loss.

I already had their Christmas presents," Zeno said.

While the State Attorneys Office said they did not think charges are warranted in this case, they said they were not able to review Guthries medical records. They learned that she had a fall before the crash and was on her way to a doctors appointment.

Hes gone," Zeno said of her brother, "and someone gets a traffic fine for it. Its painful. Its so painful.

For now, the victims' family said they will explore their legal options in civil court.

Jose L. Vargas Rosario, 35, and his 1-year-old son, Brayden O. Vargas, were killed in the October 2015 crash. (Griselle Zeno)
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A medical examiner will be allowed to testify at the upcoming murder trial of Luis Toledo, the Deltona man charged in the 2013 killing of his wife and her two children.

A hearing Thursday determined whether evidence should be admitted into Toledos trial.

Toledo faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, Yessenia Suarez, and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her two children in 2013.

State prosecutor Ed Davis told the court that Toledo told investigators he knew where the bodies of Suarez's children, Michael and Thalia Otto, were lying inside the house. The three vanished in October 2013 and are presumed dead.

The hearing was also to determine whether the medical examiner should be permitted to testify. The state argued that the medical examiner could offer details on the deaths based on the information Toledo gave to investigators.

During the states argument about the medical examiner, Suarez's mother broke down and left the courtroom.

Judge Raul Zambrano moved to permit the medical examiners testimony.

Jury selection for Toledos trial will begin later this month. Last month, a judge ruled to move Toledo's trial to St. Augustine.



The bodies of Yessenia Suarez and her 2 children, 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, have not been found.


The Kress Volunteer Fire Department received a retired military vehicle at no cost through the Texas A&M Forest Service as part of their Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program.

The excess military vehicle will help increase Kress VFDs capacity to protect their community and provide a safer way to fight fires.

The department will use the vehicle as a brush truck for wildland firefighting in their rural, farm and ranch country.

This truck was used as an airport emergency vehicle, so it was already in use as a firefighting machine, Kress VFD Fire Chief Kevin Goss said.

This specialized fire apparatus is known for off the road performance. It will also reduce the risk to firefighters because it takes only one person to pump and roll, extinguishing the flames from the safety of the vehicle.

The extreme rains in Swisher County in 2015 produced a heavy fuel load, increasing the potential for grass fires. With this new addition to their fleet, Kress VFD is ready to respond to any threats.

This program along with other TFS grant programs are essential for volunteer fire departments to have the equipment, training and gear that they need to better help their communities in times of emergencies, said Goss.

The Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program provides excess military equipment to fire departments and emergency service providers. Launched in Texas in 2005, this program has released over 300 retired military trucks to VFDs across the state to help them better protect lives and property. The USDA Forest Service oversees the program and it is directed by Texas A&M Forest Service.

The Kress Fire Department was established in 1955 and has 10 volunteers on their roster. They are open to new recruits who are willing and ready to train in firefighting techniques.
Ethan Couch may very well have headed into the New Year as the most reviled man in America  young man, to be precise.



The Texas teen entered the public consciousness in 2013 when he was convicted of four counts of intoxication manslaughter after plowing into a gathering of pedestrians.



Along with the four deaths, nine people were injured in the carnage, two of them seriously.



In what became known as the affluenza defense, Couchs attorneys argued that their client, just 16 at the time of the wreck, needed rehabilitation, not jail time, because the pampered youngsters parents never taught him right from wrong.



The judge may have been swayed by this defense, as Couch walked out of the courthouse with 10 years of probation, a punishment which many saw as far too lenient.



Two years after the trial, folks of that mindset likely were not at all shocked to learn that Couch had not turned his life around.



Now 18, Couch was recorded on video at a drinking party in 2015, a clear violation of his parole. Soon after the video was made public, Couch and his mother, Tonya, fled the country, seemingly aware that the teenager, once again, could be in big trouble.



On December 28, 2015, the runaways  sporting altered appearances  were detained in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Tonya Couch was deported back to the United States, while her son remains in Mexico fighting extradition. Mother and son will soon learn their punishment.



While its easy to dislike the smug Ethan Couch, and while the young man needs to pay a price for this latest caper, as his attorney argued in 2013, his parents truly did the young man a disservice by not enforcing discipline at home.



At just 18, its possible that Couch can be rehabilitated and become a productive member of society.



Tonya Couch, on the other hand, appears to be too far gone for that.



Surely not many tears will be shed for this woman if she ends up behind bars.






SAN ANTONIO  A man suffered a seizure while driving Thursday afternoon, causing him to crash into the alumni building at Trinity University, according to police.

The officers responded at about 2:18 p.m. Thursday to the 300 block of Stadium Drive.
SAN ANTONIO  A 23-year-old man was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after crashing into the San Antonio Housing Authority building in downtown early Thursday morning, according to police.

Daniel Perez Munoz was charged with the class B misdemeanor and issued a $1,000 bond.
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If wall-to-wall news coverage wasn't enough, the story of notorious Mexican drug cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's escape from a maximum-security prison last year will soon hit the silver screen.

"Chapo. El escape del siglo"  or "Chapo: The Escape of the Century"  will have a limited engagement in as many as 300 theaters in Mexico starting Jan. 15, Dragon Films spokesman Carlos Olivares told Spanish news agency EFE.

"There's good money in this business and enough for everyone, but when people want more than they deserve, that's where treason comes in," Guzman, portrayed by little-known actor Irieno Alvarez, says in the film's trailer, which dropped Monday.

The film  which features the tagline "If it was fiction, you wouldn't believe it"  comes only six months after the Sinaloa cartel leader broke out of the Antiplano prison near Mexico City.

Mexican authorities have scoured the Sierra Madre mountain range and surrounding areas in search of Guzman, but to no avail.

Guzman is believed to have narrowly escaped capture by Mexican Marines in October, but sustained facial and leg injuries before he fled the area on an ATV.

RELATED: The exotic and dangerous animals of Mexican drug cartels

Olivares told EFE that the new movie would be the first in a four-film saga tracing Guzman's life backwards. Little is know about the production, which has kept a veil of secrecy.

According to IMDb, the movie is director Alex Uriegas' first in the director's chair. Prior to this picture, Uriegas worked as a production assistant on movies such as "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," "Troy" and "The Legend of Zorro."

The 36-year-old director also worked as a production supervisor on "Gossip Girl: Acapulco," Mexico's version of the CW series "Gossip Girl," and as an associate producer on the television movie "Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden."

RELATED: Report: Mansion seized from notorious Mexican drug cartel now a retail space

English audiences may want to wait before making the trek to a theater in Mexico: the Los Angeles Times reported in July that Ridley Scott  director of "The Martian," "Gladiator" and "Alien"  would direct an adaptation of Don Winslow's novel "The Cartel," partly inspired by Guzman's life.

Leonardo DiCaprio is being courted for a lead role in the film, Deadline reports.

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jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports
Madison police officer Andrew Pullum was arrested and charged in federal court with theft of government property Friday, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval and federal officials announced at a Friday press conference.

The 31-year-old is charged with stealing $3,950 in U.S. currency, placed in a car during an undercover operation conducted Thursday evening.

Some months ago, owing to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation, Koval said, police received preliminary word that Pullum may be complicit with planning unlawful acts with convicted felons.

Koval said the MPD immediately made contact with ATF agents and subsequently found there were some indicia that it may involve some measure of influencing public corruption and got the Federal Bureau of Investigations involved.

Representatives from the FBI and ATF present Friday applauded the MPD for its willingness to involve the federal authorities from the start of the investigation and for the collaboration between entities.

The FBI set up an investigative operation Thursday evening, with an undercover officer posing as a citizen providing information to the police. The undercover officer told Pullum that there may be cocaine and money in a car parked down the street from the Walmart on Watts Road, according to the complaint. She told him the guys who would pick up drugs would use the keys hidden on the front passenger tire, grab the cocaine out of the trunk and leave the money, according to the complaint.

Pullum went to the parking lot of Elver Park, where the car was located, and allegedly grabbed the key, opened the trunk and took out the duffle bag, which had been placed there by the FBI and contained $3,950 and a tracking device, according to the complaint. Airplane surveillance then observed him put the bag in his car and leave the parking lot, according to the complaint.

Pullum later returned to Elver Park and called for a drug detection canine to assist in a possible search of the undercover car, but the officers did not seize any evidence, according to the complaint. After finishing his shift at 10 p.m., it appeared Pullum was carrying a bag as he left the West District station, according to the complaint.

The GPS tracker indicated he had the bag in his personal car and later dumped it in a trash can at an Ice Age National Scenic Trail Park parking lot, according to the complaint. Pullum later stopped at a residence near McKee Road for about 30 minutes before driving home, according to the complaint, and did not log any money into evidence. When officers recovered the bag from the trash can, it was empty, according to the complaint.

Federal agents arrested Pullum at 2 p.m. Friday when he came to work at the West District Station.

Nothing in this investigation, no evidence at any time has led us to think that officer Pullum was anything other than a lone bad apple, said U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil. I believe the evidence will show that he acted alone in this criminal conduct.

Koval said Friday he is angry, because it paints not just the MPD but all of law enforcement with distrust.

Todays a difficult day for the Madison Police Department," Koval said, "and certainly it also trickles down to what happens and the impressions that are forged about policing and law enforcement in general."

Investigators declined to elaborate on other details of the case, because it is an ongoing investigation.

Pullum has been with the Madison Police Department since 2013 and previously served as an officer in Beloit.

If convicted of the theft charges, Pullum faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Antonio Tony Celestino, who died Dec. 26 at 81, harbored a deep love of his hometown.

Raised on the near West Side, Celestino grew up among landmarks such as the Guadalupe Theater and the Progresso Drug Store, both now part of The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

His grandfather, a laborer with bricklaying skills, had helped build the areas infrastructure.

Although his mother died when he was a baby, and his father was busy working, Celestino had a good childhood in the neighborhood  hanging out on the corner of Guadalupe and Brazos, his grandson Joel Settles said.

Raised mainly by his grandmother, Celestino was pretty independent, going downtown  to shine shoes in the Mercado and later delivering telegrams on his bicycle, his grandson said. Hed make a few cents and spend it at the Guadalupe movie theater.

After meeting his future wife  a waitress at the now-defunct Casa Grande  in the early 1950s, Celestino married, raising three children together.

More Information Antonio 'Tony' Celestino Born: Oct. 5, 1934, San Antonio Died: Dec. 26, 2015, San Antonio Preceded by: First wife, Elena Santos Celestino; parents, Antonia Juarez and Salome Celestino. Survived by: Wife, Sylvia Celestino; sons Richard Celestino and daughter-in-law Thelma, Tony Celestino II and daughter-in-law Gloria; daughter, Bernice Celestino Settles and son-in-law Randy; stepdaughter, Debra Ballard and husband Micah; stepson, Frank Joe Villarreal; 16 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Services: Funeral was Tuesday. See More Collapse

Although he dropped out of school in the eighth grade, Celestino was hired at Kelly AFB, working his way up through the years.

He wasnt highly educated, but he was a smart man, Joel Settles said. And, like Kelly did for a lot of people, it provided them a middle-class living.

Even so, Celestino always had extra jobs.

He was a very hard worker, his daughter Bernice Celestino Settles said. At times he had two and three jobs, including cleaning truck stop bathrooms and delivering sandwiches to area convenience stores.

Always interested in politics and news  especially locally  Celestino read the newspaper cover to cover and watched the news, forming opinions about everything from the city manager to land development.

He really knew this town, Joel Settles said. He loved it.

He and his wife also volunteered for the American GI Forum, a civil rights organization that started in Corpus Christi. Introducing his grandchildren to the organization, Celestino took them to meetings and, occasionally, conventions.

Me and my cousins would be involved  in the 1980s, Joel Settles said. I remember seeing (presidential candidate Michael) Dukakis speak; at that time I was young, but I  was learning was civic participation.

Remarrying after his wife died in 1988, Celestino continued to stay active, taking his family on trips and keeping up with what was going on in his city.

He was a really patriotic American, first and foremost, Joel Settles said. He wasnt a Chicano, not a Latino  he was an American.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
The media are a mess. Their New Years resolution should be to clean up their act.

This is hardly breaking news. I hear the indictment all the time. I might be giving a speech where I blast away at politicians. And, during the Q&A session, someone will flip the script and lament what has become of my profession.

According to critics, the media are no longer the solution but part of the problem. Were biased and not honest enough to admit it. We often become the story, and we love listening to ourselves talk. Half of us live in bubbles, and the other half in glass houses. And the reason we dont talk more about how far removed politicians have become from the American public is because were just as distant.

Instead of being content to just get readers, viewers and listeners to think, some of my colleagues need to control what they think. We act like were better, smarter and holier than most of our audience. With a mindset like that, what could possibly go wrong?

Remember when Ted Cruz brought down the house during the GOP debate on CNBC? The Texas senator criticized the moderators for asking questions that illustrate why the American people dont trust the media. Even liberal comedian Bill Maher applauded, tweeting: oh my god did i just hear Ted Cruz say something awesome that i agree with? Yes. The media is even stupider than the pols.

Among the most popular criticisms is that the media cannot be counted on to keep the powerful in check, because they are intoxicated with their own self-importance. They are convinced they can make or break politicians, and they become discombobulated when they lose that power. They cover the wrong stories, and put ratings and circulation figures before journalism. While they have always been accused of having a liberal bias, they now seem more preachy than ever.

Much of that helped fuel some of the worst media blunders in 2015. Here is a partial list:

In February, Brian Williams, the anchor of NBCs Nightly News, was suspended after admitting to fabricating a story about his time covering the Iraq War. There were more cases of tall tales. NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke said in a statement: By his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate. Williams was later replaced by veteran newsman Lester Holt.

In May, ABCs George Stephanopoulos, chief host of This Week and co-anchor of Good Morning America, apologized for not telling viewers or his bosses about the $75,000 he had donated to the Clinton Foundation. The former aide to President Bill Clinton recused himself from next months GOP presidential debate on ABC.

In August, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos infiltrated a Donald Trump campaign event in Iowa by posing as an objective journalist but morphed into a commentator. Ramos interrupted the proceeding and, without being called on, made a speech. The newsman was removed by Trumps security, although he was soon allowed to return.

In November, the website Gawker revealed that CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott had, in 2013, what can only be described as a cozy online relationship with Clinton State Department staffer Philippe Reines, who would suggest messages that Labott should tweet. She complied, and, at one point, Reines responded in an email that was later leaked: Nice doing business with you.

And in December, to get in the holiday spirit, the Washington Post featured on its website a weird and offensive editorial cartoon depicting Cruz in a Santa Claus costume, acting as an organ grinder with his two daughters as monkeys. In response to criticism, the Post retracted the cartoon.

Clearly, these were not our finest moments. And to think, many people join the media to create a better world. We should focus instead on being better at our jobs and creating a better product.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
It is perhaps a sign of how divided  and spooked  the nation is that people cant decide what to call the armed mob that seized a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. Are they militia, terrorists, insurrectionists or mere protesters?

And it is a sign of how distrustful of law enforcement much of the nation has become that there is active debate about what police reaction would have been if these armed occupiers were black, Latino or Muslim.

But, ultimately, it matters little what we call them or the what ifs that come to mind. The emphasis should be on ending this occupation as peacefully as possible.

Lets be clear, however. The ones precipitating the potential for violence are those who armed themselves to seize public property. Fortunately, law enforcement appears to be seeking a peaceful resolution.

No doubt these armed lawbreakers were emboldened by the relatively consequence-free outcome in 2014 after an armed group inspired by rancher Cliven Bundy forced the Bureau of Land Management and rangers to back down in a confrontation in Nevada. They returned cattle illegally grazing on federal land. Two of the armed men in Oregon are Bundys sons.

The seizure of the federal building in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, apparently grew out of a peaceful demonstration to support two local ranchers  father and son, Dwight and Steven Hammond  who were due to begin prison sentences for arson. They set fire to federal land and burned 130 acres. The Hammonds said they did so to destroy invasive plant species. The government said it was to cover up poaching.

The Hammonds have said they dont support the actions of this latest armed group. And neither should anyone else.

This is an old story. Remember the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s and 1980s? The federal government, cast as tyrant in that dispute and now, controls 25 percent to 85 percent of some Western states. Resentment follows, particularly from ranchers.

But the important thing to remember here is that the federal government holds this land in trust for the American people, not for armed mobs. Got a problem for how it does that? There are ways short of armed occupation to get heard.

Ideally, there will be no get-out-of-jail card this time. Logical legal consequences should follow.
The presidents executive actions on guns are based on the simple premise that people who shouldnt have guns shouldnt be able to buy them.

In a country that is a global leader in gun deaths, this should be embraced as an incontrovertible truth. But Congress has given it only lip service, which is why the president, whose term has seen mass shootings on the order of Newtown and San Bernardino, is acting.

The hyperventilation occurring in gun advocacy and presidential candidate circles would have us believe that this constitutes an assault on the Constitution. Yes, there is a right to bear arms, but the courts have not ruled out reasonable restrictions. The Second Amendment does not confer an absolute right. And what the president proposes is decidedly restriction-lite.

Its lightness, in fact, stands in stark relief to what should be done  by Congress. But that body is in thrall to the gun lobby, and its members are scared to death of primary election challenges based on accusations of being weak on guns.

What should occur: Everyone who buys a gun goes through a background check no matter how the gun is bought  online, at a gun show or through private, gun-owner-to-gun-owner sales  no less than if the sale came from a gun shop run by a licensed dealer.

The president is clarifying rules to essentially expand the definition of gun dealers, but this falls far short of background checks on everyone. It will reportedly affect mostly online sellers and buyers, but also sellers at gun shows.

Enforcing existing laws is one of the rebuttal themes from gun advocates. In clarifying the law, the president is doing this.

His proposal doesnt define how many guns have to be sold before a license is required but relies instead on a number of business activities to determine this. These might include whether the seller processes credit cards, distributes business cards or rents tables at gun shows. These strike us as perfectly reasonable rather than simply relying on volume sold, as many wish. If it walks like a duck 

The president proposes to use the federal governments purchasing power to leverage gun manufacturers to produce so-called smart guns  those that are child-proof and allow only the owner to fire.

And who in Congress can reasonably object to the presidents plan to beef up federal processing of background checks by hiring more personnel? This processing, as envisioned, would occur all day, every day of the week.

The president proposes to spend $500 million more to treat mental illness. And this is literally a page taken from the congressional playbook. With every mass shooting, members of Congress have pointed at mental illness and not the tools used.

And what could be more reasonable than requiring missing guns to be reported? On average, 1,333 guns yearly are recovered in criminal investigations and then traced to dealers who claimed the gun was missing but not reported.

Will these changes stop the carnage? Not likely. But they can help significantly, and we view them, in any case, as tantamount to drawing a long overdue line in the sand  though a thin one because Congress has been so feckless on this matter.

With these executive actions, the nation will be saying that even if the federal government is politically handcuffed in many respects, it will not stand by, enabling irresponsible gun purchases and ownership  even if these restrictions represent the least that can be done.

When opponents can divert themselves from scoffing at the president for the tears he shed over the Newtown victims, court challenges are all but certain, and these will likely tie up the proposals until the next president assumes office. And Congress will more than likely try to legislatively block the proposals.

None of this should reasonably happen. But make no mistake  the least that can happen is not nearly enough. And Congress, not the president, is to blame for the nation maybe having to settle for that.
If Donald Trump gets elected, I suggest we simply turn the Liberty Bell upside down, remove the clapper and voila!  a cracked pot as our new national symbol.

Cecil Marshall, Kerrville

They arent toys

Re: Protest open carry, Your Turn, Dec. 25:

Many, perhaps most, share the concern of the letter writer. If you think carrying loaded firearms into crowded stores and restaurants makes anybody safe, you need to seriously think this through. Loaded guns are not toys, and strutting around with one like a cowboy doesnt make you a man. It makes you a danger to everyone around you.

I retired from the military, which has strict rules concerning when you can insert loaded magazines into a firearm and when you can chamber live rounds. I served in Operation Desert Storm, and I assure you we did not walk into crowded public areas carrying guns that were locked and loaded. If you do that, you are extraordinarily dangerous to everyone around you, an accident waiting to happen.

If your gun accidentally discharges, I do not want me or my family and friends to be anywhere near you.

As for those carrying loaded guns in public places, do they follow rules as to when the guns are on safety locks, when loaded magazines are in the weapons, when live rounds are chambered? Sadly, the answer is there are no rules. You have a far greater chance of being shot when their guns accidentally discharge than you do from ISIS.

William Rodis

Proxy warriors

I am disturbed by the number of candidates who say they will grow the military if elected so they can kill, kill, kill. I guess what bothers me the most is that the ones hollering the loudest are the ones who dodged the draft through deferments. They have never been in a fistfight themselves but are all too ready to send others to do their fighting for them. Every vet I talk to agrees.

Frank R. Almaraz
Its hard to believe now, but it was early in 2009 when former Premier Gary Doer said he was convinced to support a new stadium in Winnipeg when he realized that it would only cost taxpayers one million dollars. Yes, only one million dollars.

At that time the NDP government had indicated it was willing to invest $20 million in the construction of a new stadium but after it collected the associated taxes with building the new stadium the net cost to the province, and hence the taxpayers, would only be one million dollars.

Of course, that deal involved a significant private investment component and a stadium that was budgeted at $135 million. Not long after, Gary Doer was gone and Greg Selinger became Premier. And then, things started to change dramatically when it came to the stadium deal.

The private investment part of the deal fell away and the NDP decided to fill in the now missing millions with a complex Tax Increment Financing (TIF) arrangement where property taxes from the development of the old stadium land would be used to pay for the new one. And not long after that, the construction delays and the costs started to add up. By the time the stadium finally opened a couple of years ago, the cost had rising from $135 million to over $210 million. To make up the difference, the province asked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to take on a loan that would ultimately reach about $95 million. To make matters worse, the TIF money that was supposed to be coming in didnt develop because most of the property that is on the old stadium site is sitting vacant, as Target left that retail space some time ago.

And then there is the issue of unsettled lawsuits. Currently at the new stadium, there is a significant amount of construction ongoing. Why is there so much construction at a new stadium? The reason is that much of the cement on the concourses is cracking and is being entirely replaced. There is a lawsuit currently underway to determine who is responsible for these estimated $35 million in repairs.

Whats worse, all of this cost doesnt include the interest on the loans, loans that are backed by taxpayers. It was reported this week that once the interest on the loans are included, the stadium will actually end up costing $375.5 million. Most of which is taxpayer paid for or taxpayer backed.

The stadium that the NDP once said under Gary Doer would cost Manitobans $1 million now could cost $375.5 million. How could this happen? There are still many unanswered questions and its the reason why the provincial Auditor General should perform an audit on the entire stadium project. Lessons simply need to be learned and mistakes not repeated. Unfortunately, both the NDP and Liberals are opposed to an audit. Neither seem to want to get to the bottom of these problems, and therefore both seem committed to repeating them.
Wisconsin Democrats are proposing a collection of bills aimed at addressing safety in correctional facilities, in light of concerns raised by workers about staffing shortages.

Included in the package are measures designed to provide more worker training, put limits on overtime shifts and strengthen reporting requirements. Democrats have also introduced a bill that would allow corrections officers to collectively bargain over workplace safety.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, is sponsoring eight of the bills in the package. Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, is behind the collective bargaining proposal.

That proposal in particular is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Gov. Scott Walker's Act 10 legislation, passed in 2011, all but eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

Democrats place some of the blame for corrections staffing shortages on that legislation.

"Safety in our Department of Corrections institutions is not a new issue," Erpenbach said in a statement. "The staffing shortages that were a direct result of Gov. Walkers Act 10 have never been resolved by the administration or the DOC. The burden for staffing shortages continues to fall solely on the backs of officers working in our institutions. They are the ones who have to live with more consecutive days of overtime because of inadequate staffing levels."

Walker has said previously that staffing issues were a problem long before he took office.

"In terms of the allegations that people may have broken the law, staffing levels and other things like that dont force people to not follow the law of the state," he told reporters in December.

Erpenbach said he wants to work with the governor and Republican lawmakers on his proposals or other efforts to address workplace safety in the state's corrections facilities.

In the past two months, serious assaults and nearly-fatal suicide attempts have shocked families and communities who had been told not to worry about safety concerns in our correctional facilities," Shilling said in a statement. "Wisconsin children, families and public safety officers cant afford to continue waiting for action. Its time to address the serious safety issues in our correctional facilities before this dangerous situation spirals further out of control."

The proposals come in the wake of reports of assaults on officers and inmates in several facilities throughout the state. Most recently, the spotlight has been on Lincoln Hills School in Irma, where reports of sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes are being investigated.
A New Christian Search Engine Hopes to Encourage the Christian Community to Actively Search for and Support Christian Websites and Businesses



BRANDON, Fla., Jan. 7, 2016 /



Says the website's owner, "The world we live in is a reflection of what we value. We communicate to the world our value system through the choices we make, be it what to have for dinner, who to buy a car from, or what to search for on the internet. Actively searching for and doing business with Christian companies communicates to the world that what we value above all is Christ Jesus and God's word. The world...businesses and individuals...respond accordingly, transforming the world to the Glory of God in the process."



TrueSearch.today is a small, startup, Christian business. They are asking all Christian churches, and Christian and family oriented websites and businesses, to please submit their website for inclusion in search results. Small and startup businesses are especially encouraged to submit their websites. Websites can be added to the database free of charge; however, submitters must first affirm their acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and answer a few Bible questions, before being permitted to include their website in search results. Once a website is submitted, it generally takes a few days before the website begins to show up in search results on TrueSearch.



People interested in adding a website to TrueSearch can visit

Share Tweet Contact: Chris Lind, 813-777-6145BRANDON, Fla., Jan. 7, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- TrueSearch.today is a new search engine that hopes to encourage the Christian community to actively search for and support Christian and family oriented websites and businesses.Says the website's owner, "The world we live in is a reflection of what we value. We communicate to the world our value system through the choices we make, be it what to have for dinner, who to buy a car from, or what to search for on the internet. Actively searching for and doing business with Christian companies communicates to the world that what we value above all is Christ Jesus and God's word. The world...businesses and individuals...respond accordingly, transforming the world to the Glory of God in the process."TrueSearch.today is a small, startup, Christian business. They are asking all Christian churches, and Christian and family oriented websites and businesses, to please submit their website for inclusion in search results. Small and startup businesses are especially encouraged to submit their websites. Websites can be added to the database free of charge; however, submitters must first affirm their acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and answer a few Bible questions, before being permitted to include their website in search results. Once a website is submitted, it generally takes a few days before the website begins to show up in search results on TrueSearch.People interested in adding a website to TrueSearch can visit www.TrueSearch.today and click the 'Add a Website' link at the top of the page.
Yves here. Readers may take exception to the posture of this paper, that the TTIP could be improved so as to eliminate its environment-negaive features. Its hard to see those as anything other than features, that the authors were fully aware of how the TTIP would serve to weaken environmental, including climate-change-related regulations. Nevertheless, this article serves as a very good list of how the TTIP conflicts with the objective of combatting global warming.

By Matthew C. Porterfield, Deputy Director and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Centers Harrison Institute for Public Law and Kevin P. Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston Universitys Pardee School for Global Studies. Originally published as an International Institute for Sustainable Development Commentary. Cross posted from Triple Crisis

Climate change governance should inform global governance more broadly, including international trade and investment policy. One of the most important trade and investment agreements is the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)currently under negotiation between the European Union and United Statesgiven the role the agreement will likely play in establishing rules for the global economy in the 21st century.

The current model that the TTIP is based on will increase carbon dioxide emissions and jeopardize the ability of Europe and the United States to put in place effective policies for mitigating climate change. Trade and investment treaties should be used to help achieve the broader climate change objectives of Europe and the United States, not hinder them.

This short brief outlines how the TTIP can increase emissions and restrict the ability of nations to adequately mitigate and adapt to climate change and offers a set of recommendations that would make EUU.S. trade policy more consistent with global climate change goals.

TTIP will Increase Carbon Emissions

Given that the United States and Europe already enjoy a strong trade and investment relationship, the economic benefits of the treaty are projected to be relatively small. The most cited studies in the European debates are by Ecorys, the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and Tufts University. The first two studies find that the treaty will boost GDP among the parties by less than 1 per cent for the United States and Europe, though the Tufts study finds that the impacts on GDP will be slightly negative in the EU.1

Despite the small projected economic gains of the treaty, the Ecorys study projects that it will increase emissions by 11 million metric tons. The increase in emissions is just 0.07 percent from the baseline, smaller than the 0.47 increase in GDP projected by Ecorys. When multiplied by estimates of the social cost of carbon, carbon emissions would cost the European Union USD1.4 billion annually.2

This finding is consistent with the broader literature. According to a comprehensive assessment of the literature conducted by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, most trade and investment agreements tend to increase carbon emissions.3 It should be noted that the Ecorys study is only a partial one because it does not look at the environmental impacts of many nontariff barriers, such as certain domestic subsidies. There has also been inadequate consideration of the potential impact of TTIP provisions that could limit the ability of governments to design and implement effective climate change policy. As we will see, it is the deregulatory aspect of the TTIP that poses the highest risk to climate change policy.

Regulatory Risks of the TTIP

The TTIP could jeopardize the ability of the European Union and the United States to put in place the proper regulations to meet climate targets. The legal effects of the TTIP could take a variety of forms, including broad restrictions on regulatory authority under investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, limits on carbon intensity standards, modifications of the U.S. fossil fuel export regime and restrictions on renewable energy programs.

Broad Restraints on Climate Regulations under Investment Rules

The TTIPs investment chapter will likely provide investors with certain broad rights, including fair and equitable treatment and compensation for regulations deemed to constitute acts of indirect expropriation. These rights would be enforceable by private corporations, including fossil fuel companies, through the controversial ISDS process, which could be used to challenge a wide range of government measures affecting climate change.4 Similar rules under other treaties have been used to challenge environment-related measures, including a claim under the Energy Charter Treaty based on Germanys regulation of a coal-fired power plant5 and a pending challenge under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to Quebecs moratorium on hydraulic fracturing or fracking.6

Limits on Carbon-Intensity Standards

Regulations that limit the carbon intensity of transportation fuels could also be targeted under the TTIP. United States Trade Representative Michael Froman has reportedly used the TTIP negotiations to pressure the European Union to weaken the carbon intensity standards of the EUs Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) in order to facilitate the export of high-carbon-intensity oil.7 Although the European Commission subsequently modified the FQD proposal to accommodate the dirtier oil,8 the TTIP negotiations could be used to impose restrictions on future efforts to implement carbon intensity standards for fuel.9

Modification of the Fossil Fuel Export Regime

One of the European Unions principal objectives in the TTIP negotiations is to secure a legally binding commitment . . . guaranteeing the free export of crude oil and gas resources [from the United States] by transforming any mandatory and non-automatic export licensing procedure into a process by which licenses for exports to the EU are granted automatically and expeditiously.10 Creating an automatic and expeditious process for U.S. crude oil and gas exports could result in more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than projected in quantitative analyses by promoting the production and consumption of these fuels.

Although natural gas is widely viewed as a lowercarbon alternative to other fossil fuels such as oil and coal, expanded exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could actually increase GHG emissions for several reasons. Liquefying, transporting and regasifying natural gas is energy-intensive, causing exported LNG to be approximately 15 per cent more carbon-intensive than natural gas that is used domestically. In addition, increased LNG exports will raise the price of natural gas in the United States, potentially resulting in the use of more coal to produce electricity. Expanded LNG exports will also encourage increased fracking for the production of natural gas, which could cause increased accidental releases of natural gas, known as fugitive methane emissions.11 Given that methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, any climate benefits from increased natural gas use internationally could be dwarfed by accelerated warming caused by fugitive methane emissions.12

Restrictions on Renewable Energy Programs

The TTIP could also conflict with efforts to address climate change by imposing new restrictions on policies designed to promote renewable energy. Trade rules are already being used to challenge alternative energy programs. Since 2010 about a dozen disputes have been brought over renewable energy programs.13 The European Union has indicated that it intends to use the TTIP negotiations to seek new restrictions targeting renewable energy programs that contain local content requirements.14 Proponents of local content provisions argue that they are essential for developing the political support that will be necessary to maintain and expand renewable energy programs.

Putting Climate Change First

At the Paris Summit and in the newly crafted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations, the worlds nations have pledged to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.15 The TTIP must not undermine this goal.

Both the European Union and the United States have made strides in prioritizing climate change in other areas of global economic governance, but not in international trade and investment policy. The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developmentthe EUs multilateral development banks (MDBs) significantly restrict the financing of fossil-fuelintensive economic activity. The United States also has executive orders that restrict the ability of the United States to support the financing of coal projects through MDBs of which it is a member, and mandates that all projects be climate resilient. Such an approach is urgently needed in the TTIP.

The negative economic and regulatory impacts of the TTIP on climate policy noted above are not inevitable. A bold approach could be put forth where the TTIP excludes climate mitigation measures from ISDS, protects renewable energy programs and carbon-intensity standards, and discourages the production and consumption of fossil fuels.

As first steps in striking a new economic relationship that enhances our climate change goals, the United States and the European Union should commit to three principles: (1) The potential economic and regulatory impacts of the TTIP on climate policy should be carefully studied. (2) The provisions of the TTIP should be fully compatible with and supportive of climate policy objectives. (3) The TTIP should, at a minimum, not result in a net increase in GHG emissionswhich is to say, the TTIP must be carbon neutral or better.

As the SDGs articulate, climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level.16 Trade and investment policy should not be an exception.

The authors would like to acknowledge the Wallace Global Fund for providing the support that made this policy brief possible.

Notes

1. Despite the small projected economic gains of the treaty, the Ecorys study projects that it will increase emissions by 11 million metric tons. The increase in emissions is just 0.07 percent from the baseline, 1 See Ecorys, 2009, Non Tariff Measures in EU-US Trade and Investment An Economic Analysis, ECORYS Nederland BV; and CEPR, 2013, Reducing Transatlantic Barriers to Trade and Investment, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London; for a discussion of the limits of CGE modeling see Ackerman, F., and K. Gallagher. 2004. Computable Abstraction: General Equilibrium Models of Trade and Environment. In The flawed foundations of General Equilibrium: critical Essays on Economic theory, ed. F. Ackerman and A. Nadal, 16880. New York: Routledge and Ackerman, Frank, and Kevin P. Gallagher, 2008, The Shrinking Gains from Global Trade Liberalization in Computable General Equilibrium Models, International Journal of Political Economy, vol. 37, no. 1, Spring, pp. 5077.

2. EC Staff Working Document, Impact Assessment on the Future of EU-US Trade Relations (2013)(EC Impact Assessment) at 49, available at http://trade. ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2013/march/tradoc_150759.pdf. On the social cost of carbon (SCC), 11 million tons is multiplied by the average estimate in this comprehensive review of estimates J.C.J.M. van den Bergh and W.J.W. Botzen (2014), A lower bound to the social cost of CO2 emissions, Nature Climate Change 4, 253-258.

3. World Trade Organization & United Nations Environment Programme. (2009). Trade and climate change, (p. vii). Retrieved from https://www.wto.org/english/ res_e/booksp_e/trade_climate_change_e.pdf.

4. See Gus Van Harten. (2015). An ISDS carve-out to support action on climate change. Osgoode Hall Legal Studies Research Paper No. 38/2015. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2663504; Meredith Wilinsky. (2014, August 7). Potential liability for climate-related measures under the TransPacific Partnership. Retrieved from http://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/ microsites/climate-change/wilenskytranspacificpartnership8-7-14_-_revised.pdf.

5. Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder & Rhea Tamara Hoffmann (2012). The German nuclear phase-out put to the test in international investment arbitration? Background to the New Dispute Vattenfall v. Germany (II) (p. 4). Retrieved from http://www.iisd. org/pdf/2012/german_nuclear_phase_out.pdf.

6. Lone Pine Resources Inc. v. Canada (UNCITRAL), Notice of Arbitration, paras. 4852 (Sept. 6, 2013). Retrieved from http://www.italaw.com/sites/default/files/ casedocuments/italaw1596.pdf.

7. From Inside U.S. Trade (2013, September 19). Froman pledges to preserve Jones Act, criticizes EU Clean Fuel Directive: Froman raised concerns about trade impacts of the FQD with senior European Commission officials repeatedly, including in the context of the . . . TTIP negotiations.

8. From Inside U.S. Trade (2014, October 14). EU backpedals on vehicle fuels policy in face of U.S., Canadian pressure.

9. From Inside U.S. Trade (2014, October 14). EU backpedals on vehicle fuels policy in face of U.S., Canadian pressure: [O]utgoing EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard . . . signaled that the EU was leaving the door open to directly targeting tar sands . . . for penalties in the future.

10. Council of the European Union. (2014, May 27). Note for the attention of the Trade Policy Committee: Non-paper on a Chapter on Energy and Raw Materials in TTIP. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/233022558/EU-Energy-Nonpaper.

11. World Resources Institute, (2013, May 20). What exporting U.S. natural gas means for the climate. Retrieved from http://www.wri.org/blog/2013/05/whatexporting-us-natural-gas-means-climate.

12. Ibid.

13. Cathleen Cimino & Gary Hufbauer. (2014, April). Trade remedies: Targeting the renewable energy sector (p. 19). Retrieved from http://unctad.org/meetings/en/ SessionalDocuments/ditc_ted_03042014Petersen_Institute.pdf.

14. European Commission. (2013). EUUS Trade and Investment Partnership, raw materials and energy: Initial EU position paper (p. 3). Retrieved from http://trade. ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2013/july/tradoc_151624.pdf.

15. United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/.

16. Ibid.
A 'printing press' for nanoparticles (Nanowerk News) Gold nanoparticles have unusual optical, electronic and chemical properties, which scientists are seeking to put to use in a range of new technologies, from nanoelectronics to cancer treatments.

Some of the most interesting properties of nanoparticles emerge when they are brought close together - either in clusters of just a few particles or in crystals made up of millions of them. Yet particles that are just millionths of an inch in size are too small to be manipulated by conventional lab tools, so a major challenge has been finding ways to assemble these bits of gold while controlling the three-dimensional shape of their arrangement.

This is a gold nanoparticle, brought into contact to a DNA nanostructure, sticks to chemical patches. Scientists then dissolve the assembly, separating the DNA nanostructure into its component strands and leaving behind the DNA imprint on the gold nanoparticle. (Image: Thomas Edwardson) (click on image to enlarge)

One approach that researchers have developed has been to use tiny structures made from synthetic strands of DNA to help organize nanoparticles. Since DNA strands are programmed to pair with other strands in certain patterns, scientists have attached individual strands of DNA to gold particle surfaces to create a variety of assemblies. But these hybrid gold-DNA nanostructures are intricate and expensive to generate, limiting their potential for use in practical materials. The process is similar, in a sense, to producing books by hand.

Enter the nanoparticle equivalent of the printing press. It's efficient, re-usable and carries more information than previously possible. In results reported online in Nature Chemistry ("Transfer of molecular recognition information from DNA nanostructures to gold nanoparticles"), researchers from McGill's Department of Chemistry outline a procedure for making a DNA structure with a specific pattern of strands coming out of it; at the end of each strand is a chemical "sticky patch." When a gold nanoparticle is brought into contact to the DNA nanostructure, it sticks to the patches. The scientists then dissolve the assembly in distilled water, separating the DNA nanostructure into its component strands and leaving behind the DNA imprint on the gold nanoparticle. (See illustration.)

"These encoded gold nanoparticles are unprecedented in their information content," says senior author Hanadi Sleiman, who holds the Canada Research Chair in DNA Nanoscience. "The DNA nanostructures, for their part, can be re-used, much like stamps in an old printing press."

From stained glass to optoelectronics

Some of the properties of gold nanoparticles have been recognized for centuries. Medieval artisans added gold chloride to molten glass to create the ruby-red colour in stained-glass windows - the result, as chemists figured out much later, of the light-scattering properties of tiny gold particles.

Now, the McGill researchers hope their new production technique will help pave the way for use of DNA-encoded nanoparticles in a range of cutting-edge technologies. First author Thomas Edwardson says the next step for the lab will be to investigate the properties of structures made from these new building blocks. "In much the same way that atoms combine to form complex molecules, patterned DNA gold particles can connect to neighbouring particles to form well-defined nanoparticle assemblies."
Bruce Register, the Director of Business & Economic Development Collier County, helps to introduce a group of French entrepreneurs to local business leaders gathered through the Naples Accelerator on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015, in Naples. (David Albers/Staff)

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By Greg Stanley of the Naples Daily News

Collier County commissioners believe they can improve economic development efforts as they look for someone to lead business creation.

Bruce Register stepped down Monday as the county's business and economic development director, and commissioners now must discuss what to do next.

Commissioners Donna Fiala and Penny Taylor said they hope to refocus the county's development goals and reexamine what commissioners expect and want from their development arm. Taylor said a new director's top priority should be helping companies that are already here expand and grow in Collier County.

Fiala said she wants the office to focus specifically on luring health care and technology-based companies that pay higher than average wages.

"I would love to see what a fresh face can do," Fiala said.

Commissioner Tom Henning said the office needs to be more aggressive in recruiting high-paying jobs than it was under Register.

"The chamber needs to step up, too, because we're still partnering with it," Henning said. "What I would like to see is a little more aggressive search for high-wage jobs and then really put an emphasis on the expansion and retention of existing businesses."

The county's role is to create an environment that helps local companies grow, said Commissioner Georgia Hiller.

""It's imperative that Collier County continues to be an area companies want to move to," Hiller said. "We have a great deal to offer."

The department was created about three years ago, shortly after the demise of the Economic Development Council, which folded in the wake of the losses of the recession and just after the unsuccessful and divisive attempt to lure Jackson Labs to Collier County. Jackson Labs, a Maine-based genetic research firm, could have gotten more than $260 million in taxpayer money to build near Ave Maria, including $50 million in county and local money.

The sheer amount of public money on the table ignited a firestorm over the county's role in landing new business and many called on commissioners to clarify and limit their incentive program so the public would know exactly what they're being asked to pay.

Commissioners and County Manager Leo Ochs created the current setup, paying Register about $100,000 a year to rewrite incentive programs, work with the local chamber of commerce to attract new companies and help expanding businesses navigate bureaucratic hurdles.

Over Register's first two years at the helm, no major employers relocated to the county and scant jobs were created through the office's efforts. But over the past year, several companies have taken the county up on incentive packages written by Register's office, announcing expansions here.

That setup is working well and shouldn't change much under a new director, said Commissioner Tim Nance.

"The course we're on now is the best we have ever been on as a county," Nance said. "It's not easy work and Mr. Register was a skilled player. I think everyone understands now that we have to be attractive to the right businesses. We have got to have more diversified tax revenue or we are going to lapse into the same problems we just went through."

It will ultimately be up to Ochs, who could not be reached for comment, to hire Register's replacement. Ochs released a statement early this week saying the search would begin immediately.

The mission won't change with the turnover, said Dudley Goodlette, chairman of the chamber of commerce.

"We're still talking with that office and we're anxious to keep working with (Ochs) and keep moving the ball forward," Goodlette said.
Homer Helter, second from right, chats with Richie Twiefel, from left, Des Johnson, Henry Garretson, and others at Helter's Military and Antiques Mall in Naples on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. Everyday, military veterans congregate in the shop to share coffee and stories. (Scott McIntyre/Staff)

Brent Batten Columnist SHARE Harold Leavitt, center, shares a story with Richie Twiefel, right, Des Johnson, left, Henry Garretson, second from left, and other veterans at Homer Helter's Military and Antiques Mall in Naples on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. Everyday, military veterans congregate in the shop to share coffee and stories. (Scott McIntyre/Staff)

In a backroom of Homer Helter's Antique and Military Mall on Shirley Street sits what is now known as "The Famous Table."

There, aging veterans and their supporters daily sit, drink coffee, eat pastries, trade war stories and, occasionally, guns.

At The Famous Table Wednesday, talk centered on President Barack Obama's executive orders on gun control, what it might mean for the future of the republic, what it might or might not do to curb gun violence and what it means for the informal swap meet that sometimes occurs across the tabletop.

The Famous Table got that way via a highly publicized yet unsuccessful 2013 federal prosecution of Helter and one of the vendors who rented space from him in the mall that doubles as a military museum.

The case would have been laughable if the consequences  up to five years in federal prison  hanging over the men's heads weren't so serious. The government relied on the testimony of a convicted racketeer paid thousands of dollars to act as a confidential informant to build the case that Helter and his associate were dealing guns without a license.

Over the course of a year, the informant sat at the table, ingratiated himself with the group and recorded conversations about guns. A couple of guns from Helter's associate's collection did change hands in the parking lot outside the store.

But the jury deliberated for less than a day before acquitting both men of all charges.

Now, Helter isn't sure if the same sorts of transactions might actually become illegal under the president's orders. One aspect would require anyone "in the business" of selling guns to have a dealers's license and conduct background checks.

A White House fact sheet says there is no set number of guns sold that determines if a person is "in the business."

"For example, courts have upheld convictions for dealing without a license when as few as two firearms were sold," the fact sheet states.

Helter sells few guns and those he does sell are typically antiques not subject to most restrictions. "It really doesn't affect me," he said of the new rules. "When guns get sold here it's at this table and I don't know how that's going to work," he said.

He does know he doesn't support the executive action. "It's just another bite out of the Second Amendment and in another year or two there will be another bite and another bite," he said. "Chicago has the toughest gun laws in the United States and they have more crime there than anywhere."

Around the table the sentiment against the president's action was universal, although the reasons varied.

Some see more restrictions as an affront to the right to bear arms. Others think the president is overstepping his authority by bypassing Congress. Others think the enforcement of existing laws and harsh punishment for violators should be the priority. Some don't think the executive orders would have made a difference in any of the high-profile mass shootings in recent years. Some take an all-of-the-above approach.

Bob Hoffman, a Marine Corps veteran and president of the Reserve Officers Association in Collier County, is particularly concerned about how new language intended to keep guns out of the hands of people with a mental illness could affect veterans.

"Warriors might be considered to be screwed up because we've experienced what we've experienced," he said.

Because of his 2013 ordeal, Helter doesn't trust the federal government when it comes to enforcement of gun laws.

At The Famous Table Wednesday he wasn't alone. "Sometimes there are 20 to 25 veterans here and I guarantee you none of them want anything to do with executive orders on firearms," he said to nods all around.

(Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com, on Twitter@NDN_BrentBatten and at facebook.com/ndnbrentbatten)
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WASHINGTON  Resign yourselves. It's time for POTUS to give the SOTU address. I know. I know. It seems as though it just happened yesterday. But it has been a year.

This is the constitutionally mandated occasion when the president assesses the condition of the nation for us.

It is sort of like the Oscars: You feel guilty because you don't really care (you haven't watched most, if any, of the movies); you know it is a big deal (but it is so long); you know exactly what the formula is; you feel as though you must watch because something might happen. (Once, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito actually mouthed "not true" when President Barack Obama criticized the court's controversial campaign-finance decision that opened the door to tons more money in political campaigns. You just don't want to miss that kind of titillation.)

Obama will be making his last official State of the Union speech Tuesday and you just know he is going to proclaim, "My fellow Americans. The state of the union is strong." What else can he say? "Things are not great. Donald Trump is a menace. Hillary Clinton will probably hang my portrait in the basement. I have no idea how I am going to get through the next 12 months. I have decided to spend the rest of my presidency in Hawaii." No way.

The real news, so far, is that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was picked to rebut the president. The rebuttal (aka the GOP kick-in-the-shins response to the president) is a relatively new idea, born of cable TV and the idea that it is un-American to listen to the president of the United States without hearing his political opponents deride him for half an hour.

Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's governor, gave the rebuttal in 2009 but was widely panned for a sing-song style and sophomoric ideas. But he couldn't let it go. Last year Jindal tweeted before Obama spoke, writing, "I'll save you 45 mins. Obama will decry Republicans, beat up on private business and argue for more 'free stuff.' Your welcome." Bad grammar. Bad idea. Jindal ran for president in 2015 but got no traction and pulled out: "Not my time."

Marco Rubio's rebuttal was late-night-comics' fodder for ages after he sidled left to take a drink of water, all but disappearing from the TV screen. He is battling tooth and nail for third place in Iowa and New Hampshire, trying to tamp down ridicule from other candidates about his high-heeled boots.

So there's a curse in responding to a SOTU. But Nikki Haley! In case you haven't heard, she is going to be the GOP vice presidential candidate. Whoever the GOP presidential candidate is. Cable news has decreed it because, one, she's an attractive female; and two, she impressed everyone with her handling of the aftermath of the Charleston church shootings and her decision to remove the Confederate battle flag from statehouse grounds. Honest! A Republican did that!

We have to watch Obama's address to see who from the Cabinet is not there. That's in case a meteor falls on the Capitol; the administration must have someone to carry on.

We'll see Vice President Joe Biden applaud like crazy at Obama's finely crafted oratory and Democrats pop up like robots to signal their excitement, while House Speaker Paul Ryan, the bearded one, makes disdainful grimaces and Republicans sit on their hands.

This year Obama will tout job growth, the expanding economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry and booming energy production. Again.

He will plead, again, for effective gun control, combatting climate change, restoring the middle class, closing Guantanamo, destroying the Islamic State, bringing civility to politics, paid sick leave and maternity leave, free community college, improving health care and job training for veterans, trade pacts to sell more U.S. goods abroad, more research and development, an overhauled tax code, stronger diplomacy, a renewed commitment to justice and an end to overt racism, and fixing the broken immigration system. He will ask God to bless this great country we love.

It will be a good, if lengthy, speech. But Obama will step down from the podium as a lame duck, and the endless presidential primary games instantly will begin again.

Don't forget the popcorn.
Nadine Ouillette/Staff (2) Nizams kofte  vegetable and cheese dumplings  are simmered in a rich saffron reduction, finished with lemon and coriander and served with colorful basmati rice or naan.

SHARE Nadine Ouillette/Staff Traditional Indian papadum, served with raita and tamarind dipping sauce, was brought to table in place of bread and butter at 21 Spices. Nadine Ouillette/Staff Gold leaf shahi tukda -- Indian French toast, custard, pistachio ice cream, raisins and topped with real gold leaf -- is 21 Spices featured dessert. Nadine Ouillette/Staff 21 Spices' nawaabi paneer tikka appetizer features tandoori charred Indian cheese, bell peppers and onions on a skewer.

By Nadine Ouilette of the Naples Daily News

Apparently everyone loves Indian food in the Naples area, because one of Naples newest restaurants  21 Spices by Chef Asif  has been at capacity since opening Dec. 21. I managed to talk my way into a reservation for two one recent Saturday afternoon for a 9 p.m. table that evening.

In case you didn't know, Chef Asif Rasheed was the award-winning executive chef at the Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort. In 2013 and 2015, Rasheed was winner of the Tampa Bay International Curry Festival (there's talk that Naples might be hosting this tasty event). Do you watch Food Network? In October, Rasheed was a competitor on "Guy's Grocery Games." There's all that and more, check out the restaurants website, 21spicesdining.com, for an introduction to the chef and the cuisine.

My daughter and I immediately commented to each other on the Indian-inspired, modern interior. Mirrored mosaics and filigree lanterns cast light on the dark colorful walls. There's a comfortable lounge area and bar area for before- and after-dinner drinks. A covered patio with cozy booths was available for al fresco dining. Still too warm and muggy for us to be eating outside.

We were quickly seated. The restaurant was busy but not loud.

Our server, Arianna, brought menus and offered help with the vast selection of Indian dishes. Vegetarians and meat-eaters would be satisfied. She also asked what our preferences was for spiciness/heat for our selections. I went with mild, while my daughter went up a notch to medium.

Arianna brought papadums  a traditional accompaniment to an Indian meal  with dipping sauces and chutneys. These crisp rolled lentil disks were yummy. My daughter favored the raita, a cucumber and yogurt dip, and I couldn't get enough of the pineapple-mango chutney.

Appetizers arrived quickly. Two fried mazedaar samosas  one for each of us  was nicely presented but without the jicama slaw, as on the menu description. The spiced potato with green pea filling was delish. The nawaabi paneer tikka  tandoori charred Indian cheese, bell peppers, onions on a skewer  was a beautiful, bright red and green presentation. The firm paneer  Indian cheese  holds it shape even when cooked and the smoky char and spices permeated the savory little cubes.

Arianna brought more papadums after we devoured the first two. The dipping sauces were the real stars of the show.

We picked entrees that we could share. My daughter, not a fan of seafood, chose the beef sheek kabob. The three black Angus minced beef, flavored with mint and garlic, was rolled and roasted on an iron skewer in the only tandoor (clay oven) in Southwest Florida that I know about. Served with a creamy saffron-coriander dipping sauce, the kabobs were divine, my daughter commented.

I decided on the vegetarian dish, Nizam's kofte. Five vegetable and cheese dumplings arrived in a metal serving dish, swimming in a saffron reduction with hints of lemon and coriander. They were delectable, and the sauce you could eat with a spoon, but there was naan for that.

All entrees are served with naan, a flatbread baked in the tandoor oven, with a choice of plain, garlic and butter. We ordered one plain and one garlic. The naan, the size of a plate, was light and airy with a slight charring. Tear off pieces to sop up any of the sauces left over  don't leave one drop.

I think we tasted every one of those 21 spices. Even the basmati rice was a beautiful orange color, courtesy of Indian paprika.

Everything very colorful with all the spices used  maybe there was more than 21 spices?

Arianna answered all of questions about the menu, and if she did not know the answer, she went back to kitchen to ask. That was helpful when choosing items on the menu.

No questions on the dessert menu. The gold leaf shahi tukda  a magical medley of Indian French toast, custard, pistachio ice cream and raisins  was topped with real gold flakes. It was a sea of deliciousness. We both wanted more. The Alphonso mango mousse, the menu says infused with roasted nuts, graham crackers and fresh mint, was enticing. Plump blackberries added an extra note of flavor.

There's also an inspired drink menu, cocktails from bar and a hefty selection of wines that are artfully presented in the main dining room. We did not partake on this night.

A return trip has been planned. Between the tempting menu and the attentive staff, it will be hard to stay away. 21 Spices has certainly opened my eyes and palate to new tastes that I cannot wait to try. But I'll be certain to make reservations.

In the future, 21 Spices will be offering a traditional afternoon tea, complete with Indian pastries.

5 forks

IF YOU GO

21 SPICES BY CHEF ASIF

Where: Sugden Park Plaza, 4270 U.S. 41 E., No. 21, Naples

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 5-9 p.m. Sunday; lunch available 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (reservation and catering only)

Prices: Appetizers: $6-$14; entrees: $16-$32; sides: $4-$10; desserts: $6-$10

Information: 239-919-8830 or 21spicesdining.com
Edward O'Blenis, Liz Hayes, and Danny Bolero, from left to right, act out a scene from Informed Consent at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Fla. on January 5, 2016. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News)

SHARE Liz Hayes acts out a scene from Informed Consent at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Fla. on January 5, 2016. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) Cynthia Bastidas waits for her line from Informed Consent at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Fla. on January 5, 2016. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) Cynthia Bastidas waits for her line from Informed Consent at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Fla. on January 5, 2016. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) Liz Hayes acts out a scene from Informed Consent at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Fla. on January 5, 2016. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News)

By Chris Silk of the Naples Daily News

Gulfshore Playhouse is taking on 2016 in a big way with almost-brand-spanking-new play "Informed Consent." The work, which director Kristen Coury calls "emotionally stirring," is about a scientist, a Native American tribe, faith, ethics, genetics, motherhood and ultimately, about the future.

It's the kind of reality show people should be watching.

"Informed Consent" is based on a true story involving the Havasupai people, a tribe living near the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Researchers from Arizona State University took blood samples as part of a diabetes study  then, in addition to studying diabetes, used the samples to study everything from schizophrenia to inbreeding.

"Informed Consent" poses questions about the right to know information, the consequences of knowing that information and whether it is better to live life in the present or try and race toward the future.

Don't worry, you don't need to know your nucleotides from your peptides. Audiences can understand everything happening on stage. Contemporary playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer's work skips an in-depth discussion of medical ethics, genetics and biology in favor of the human aspect.

"It's a super-followable story," Coury said.

"Informed Consent" follows the genetic scientist who conducted the study as well as a native woman, the only tribe member who speaks English and convinced her people to take part in the project when it was believed to be solely for diabetes research.

"It's her story, their story, our story," said Coury, Gulfshore's founder and producing artistic director.

There's almost no set, just a table and five actors on the stage. A backdrop of towering card catalogs echoes the great gulf of the Grand Canyon, as well as symbolizing the wealth of information about our lives as medical science and technology advance.

At issue is the concept of "informed consent," which established the rights and protection of patients  do people really know what they're signing on for  even despite cultural differences? Coury pointed to the Tuskegee study, conducted over decades where black men with syphilis were studied under the guise of receiving free health care as another example.

The show also includes a spirited debate over whether people should have foreknowledge of the genetic time bombs waiting in their DNA when the scientist turns out to be driven by the need to find a cure for Alzheimer's, a disease she fears will be passed on to her own daughter.

"Medical science allows us to know so much," Coury said. "But do we want to know?"

(PS: This technology already exists; a $200 kit, available online from 23andme.com, promises to tell you everything from whether your kids might suffer hearing loss to your family history.)

Faith and science ultimately come in conflict after a study of migration patterns conflicts with the Indian tribe's creation myth, which states that their people sprang to life at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. How important are beliefs? In essence, Coury said, the play is about "who gets to tell your story?"

"It's a fascinating journey through your own psyche," Coury promises, "as well as an exploration of our own soul."

IF YOU GO

"Informed Consent"

What: A genetic scientist works with an isolated Indian tribe to research diabetes in a spirited debate about medical ethics. What happens when science and belief collide?

When: Jan. 9-31, no performances on Mondays

Where: Norris Center, 755 Eighth Ave. S.

Cost: $20-$64

Information: gulfshoreplayhouse.org or 866-811-4111
State Attorney's Office releases new batch of records in Dr. Teresa Sievers homicide case. A person walks through an airport with luggage. (Submitted Photo)

By Jessica Lipscomb of the Naples Daily News

Dr. Teresa Sievers left a family reunion in Connecticut on Sunday, June 28, leaving behind her husband and two daughters so she could be at work in Estero the next morning.

She flew out of LaGuardia Airport, buying two bottles of water just before 6 p.m. Surveillance footage shows her walking through the Southwest Florida International Airport at 11 p.m. In that moment, as she rolled her suitcase behind her heading for the parking lot, she had less than an hour to live.

Photos of Sievers at the airport, as well as photos of her luggage and receipts, were released Thursday by the State Attorneys Office as a part of the document-sharing process known as discovery. The photos provide one of the first looks at the crime scene and the evidence that has been obtained in the six months since Sievers death.

From the airport, it didnt take Sievers long to return to her house on Jarvis Road in Bonita Springs. It was at 11:19 p.m. that investigators say she arrived back at her home, where the two men accused of taking her life were lying in wait.

She was found the next morning in the same black-and-white dress she wore that weekend in a photo with her mother, two brothers and older sister.

Around Sievers neck was a necklace with the phrase, You may say Im a dreamer. On her left hand, she wore her wedding ring, a token of love from her husband of nearly 12 years, the same man detectives believe helped plan her killing. Mark Sievers has not been charged in his wifes death, but his longtime friend, Curtis Wayne Wright Jr., and another man, Jimmy Rodgers Jr., both have been jailed in connection with the homicide.

Among the pictures released Thursday were photographs of a white Hyundai Elantra detectives say Wright rented and used to travel to Southwest Florida from Missouri with Rodgers. Wright rented the vehicle June 24 and returned it six days later, with an additional 2,700 miles on the odometer, according to investigative documents. The car was recovered in Phoenix and processed for evidence July 14.

Investigators also thoroughly photographed the vehicle and body of Dr. Mark Petrites, a surgeon friend of the Sieverses who Mark Sievers called Monday morning to check on his wife. It was Petrites who found Dr. Teresa Sievers in the kitchen and called 911.

Crime scene photos show blood spatter in the kitchen, as well as on Sievers clothing and jewelry. A hammer with blood and hair on it was found nearby on the tile floor.

One week after the grisly discovery, friends, family and patients celebrated her life at a funeral at the Unity of Naples Church. That same day, Mark Sievers was seen throwing away computers at his wifes medical practice in Estero. Photos of the dumpster also were contained in Thursdays document release.

The investigation into Dr. Teresa Sievers death is ongoing, and Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott has indicated more arrests could be forthcoming. Wright has waived his right to a speedy trial and is due in court March 9 for a case management conference. Rodgers is being held in a federal prison on a violation of probation and is expected to be transported to Florida upon his release in February.

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A manatee swims along underwater in the springs of Crystal River, Florida.

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By Eric Staats of the Naples Daily News

Declaring success but frustrating skeptical conservation advocates, federal wildlife officials said Thursday manatees are no longer in danger of extinction and should be taken down a notch from endangered to threatened status.

The move would not change existing protections for manatees, such as boat speed zones. But critics say it would bring Florida's iconic sea cow prematurely a step closer to being taken off the protected species list altogether.

The proposal, to be published Friday in the Federal Register, will undergo a 90-day public comment period. A final decision is expected in a year or so, officials said. A public hearing is set for Feb. 20 in Orlando.

The Miami Seaquarium, home to a long-standing manatee rescue program, served as a celebratory backdrop and united front for Thursday's announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its state partner agency, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"It's really a success story," said Jim Valade, the Florida manatee recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's really good news. It's like taking manatees out of intensive care and putting them in a regular care facility."

Valade and others at Thursday's announcement were careful to say that a change in status would not change the level of protection that manatees receive.

Miami Seaquarium general manager Andrew Hertz called the move a "mile marker" on the manatee's road to recovery.

"The road is not done," he said. "They still need a lot of care, a lot of help."

Conservation Commission spokeswoman Susan Smith said officials don't expect any effect of the proposal to change the endangered status on the state's review this year of manatee speed zones in Collier County, including a proposal to add manatee speed zones to Moorings Bay in Naples.

But Save the Manatee Club conservation and science director Katie Tripp said changing the endangered status of the manatee signals that it will be more difficult to keep state and federal agencies' attention on manatee protection.

She likened it to a high school sports team getting cocky with a half-time lead but eventually losing the game.

"Unfortunately, it's a little naive," Tripp said of the plan.

The Fish and Wildlife Service touted population gains in the manatee population, up to at least 6,000 counted in the most recent aerial survey compared to fewer than 1,500 in 1991.

But at least 60 percent of those manatees rely on warm water refuges created by Florida power plant discharges that face an uncertain future with changing environmental regulations, she said.

And manatee trends cited in a U.S. Geological Survey report from 2015 are based on computer models that don't use population numbers since 2010, Tripp said. That misses record cold stress deaths of 282 and 114 manatees in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and a 2013 red tide that killed almost 200 manatees. In all, 830 manatees were found dead in 2013, compared to the five-year average of 562 dead manatees, state figures show.

Federal officials said a more updated population review is in the works and will be ready in time to be considered before a final decision on their endangered status.

The proposal comes as boat-related manatee deaths were up in 2015 with 87 deaths in Florida, above the statewide five-year average of 79, compared to 69 in 2014, according to figures released this week from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

That includes 20 boat-related manatee deaths in Lee County, which ranked first in the state, and two boat-related manatee deaths in Collier County, which ranked 12th in the state. Lee County had a total of 60 manatee deaths in 2015, and Collier had a total of 12.

A Naples-based boating advocate said the manatee should have been taken off the endangered species list in 2000 as their numbers have steadily climbed.

"It's long overdue," said Jim Kalvin, president of Standing Watch, a statewide boating advocacy group.

Defenders of Wildlife President Jamie Rappaport said in a statement Thursday that manatee protections should remain even if the manatee's status changes.

"If the manatee rule is finalized as proposed, this would be a double win: a win for manatees and a win for the Endangered Species Act," he said.

The proposal to change endangered status received mixed reviews from Florida's congressional delegation.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, credited increased awareness about manatees and education to prevent boating accidents.

"It is wonderful to see that manatees are slowly growing their numbers," he said in a written statement.

In a letter to Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe, another Florida lawmaker called the proposal "misguided and premature" and said the loss of warm water springs are a big threat.

"This is not the time for the federal government to reduce its protections for manatees and their habitats," wrote Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Author Reveals Practical Ways Each of Us Can Help Reduce the Number of At-Risk Children to Zero



CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2016 /



You can't do everything, but you can do something! And you'll find that "something" in the pages of Make it Zero: The Movement to Safeguard Every Child (Moody Publishers).



When each one of us begins to take action, it really adds up, author Mary Frances Bowley explains.



"Each of us is only one person, but one person determined to act is powerful. Moments can multiply into movements and create groundswells of change," says the author and founder of Wellspring Living (



A rallying call for readers to unite and reduce the number of at-risk children to ZERO, Make It Zero reveals the opportunity behind a single moment of compassion. Contained within its pages are stories of many "ones"  ones who, learning of a need, reacted and stepped upoften joining other "ones" to make a difference in the lives of countless individuals.



Candid and compelling, Make It Zero demonstrates the power each of us has to change lives, communities, even the world. Moreover, it helps put intention into action by providing tools that will help each of us to do what we can, where we are, with what we have  right now.



The author concludes: "You never know how one spark of kindness can shape the future."



All profits from the book will go to help Wellspring Living serve more survivors of trafficking.



INTERVIEWS AND REVIEW COPIES

Email Janis Backing at

Share Tweet Contact: Janis Backing, 312-329-2108, janis.backing@moody.edu CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Children who have been abused, those living in poverty, foster kids aging out of a broken system, and those who don't have enough to eat are easy targets for those who wish to misuse them. You want to help, but you don't know where to begin. What can one person possibly do that will make a difference?You can't do everything, but you can do something! And you'll find that "something" in the pages of Make it Zero: The Movement to Safeguard Every Child (Moody Publishers).When each one of us begins to take action, it really adds up, author Mary Frances Bowley explains."Each of us is only one person, but one person determined to act is powerful. Moments can multiply into movements and create groundswells of change," says the author and founder of Wellspring Living ( www.wellspringliving.org ), an Atlanta-based haven and home for women and girls who have been trafficked for sex.A rallying call for readers to unite and reduce the number of at-risk children to ZERO, Make It Zero reveals the opportunity behind a single moment of compassion. Contained within its pages are stories of many "ones"  ones who, learning of a need, reacted and stepped upoften joining other "ones" to make a difference in the lives of countless individuals.Candid and compelling, Make It Zero demonstrates the power each of us has to change lives, communities, even the world. Moreover, it helps put intention into action by providing tools that will help each of us to do what we can, where we are, with what we have  right now.The author concludes: "You never know how one spark of kindness can shape the future."All profits from the book will go to help Wellspring Living serve more survivors of trafficking.INTERVIEWS AND REVIEW COPIESEmail Janis Backing at janis.backing@moody.edu or call 312-329-2108.
With an earth-shaped 80 pound ball, Erik Bendl, 53, and his dog, Nice, 9, walk Jan. 6, 2016 on U.S. 41 southbound in Naples, Fla. In mid-Dec., the Louisville, Ky. native set out from Tampa to arrive in Naples in the cause of diabetes awareness. So far he has walked over 6,000 miles and explored over 40 states. People stop, take pictures and talk with Bendl, which he welcomes. His mantra is simple, Love yourself. Go for a walk. His adventures can be followed at http://www.worldguy.org. (Corey Perrine/Staff)

Erik Bendl, 53, waits at a crosswalk Jan. 6, 2016 on U.S. 41 southbound in Naples, Fla. In mid-Dec., the Louisville, Ky. native set out from Tampa to arrive in Naples in the cause of diabetes awareness. So far he has walked over 6,000 miles and explored over 40 states. People stop, take pictures and talk with Bendl, which he welcomes. His mantra is simple, Love yourself. Go for a walk. His adventures can be followed at http://www.worldguy.org. (Corey Perrine/Staff)

With an earth-shaped 80 pound ball, Erik Bendl, 53, and his dog Nice, 9, walk on Trail Boulevard as Nice relieves himself Jan. 6, 2016 parallel to U.S. 41 southbound in Naples, Fla. In mid-Dec., the Louisville, Ky. native set out from Tampa to arrive in Naples in the cause of diabetes awareness. So far he has walked over 6,000 miles and explored over 40 states. People stop, take pictures and talk with Bendl, which he welcomes. His mantra is simple, Love yourself. Go for a walk. His adventures can be followed at http://www.worldguy.org. (Corey Perrine/Staff)
Florida Gov. Rick Scott waves to Republican supporters at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando, Fla., Friday Nov. 13, 2015. (Octavio Jones/The Tampa Bay Times via AP)

By Arek Sarkissian of the Naples Daily News

TALLAHASSEE  Florida Gov. Rick Scott stopped short of endorsing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday, praising the front-runner for the GOP nomination by name, comparing himself to Trump as a successful political outsider and urging other candidates to listen to frustrated voters who are electing leaders without political experience.

"Political pundits are shocked that Donald Trump is leading in the polls," Scott wrote in an opinion piece published in USA Today. "The same thing happened in 2010 when I entered the Florida gubernatorial race against the already anointed and establishment-endorsed sitting Republican attorney general."

Scott said Trump has tapped into real voter sentiment.

"I know Donald Trump personally, and while I currently have no plans to endorse a candidate before Florida's March presidential primary, there is no doubt that Donald is a man who speaks and tweets his mind freely. But I don't think his ability to give the most interesting interviews or speeches is the only thing that has him leading in the polls. I think he is capturing the frustration of many Americans after seven years of President Obama's very intentional government takeover of the American economy."

Scott didn't mention in his opinion piece former Gov. Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio, both considered more establishment GOP candidates. Instead, he said he believes voters are tired of those types of candidates, citing the recent successful campaigns of other outsiders like himself, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another Republican presidential candidate.

"Voters have been choosing new ideas and new energy over the old formula of sheer time served in political office," Scott wrote.

"The pollsters and pundits will keep trying to read voters' minds. In the meantime, I am glad Republicans are frustrated. I am glad we are demanding a major change, because until we get serious about that, we will continue to get more of the same."

Scott said he knows Trump, whose campaign website lists former Scott campaign manager Susan Wiles as the co-chair of his Florida campaign, a position she shares with Joe Gruters, who is also vice chair of the Florida GOP.

The relationship between Scott and Bush has been mixed. Bush said in 2103 that Scott's earlier support for federally-funded Medicaid was not smart. But the next year, Scott tapped the popular former governor to appear in a TV commercial endorsing his re-election in a tough race against former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Scott's interest in Trump's business background places him at odds with legislative leadership, who are staunch Bush supporters. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner declined to comment on Scott's editorial.

Rubio spokesman Alex Conant declined to comment as well. Bush spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger said the former two-term governor was pleased with the support he has received from other powerful Florida Republicans.

"Governor Bush is proud to have the most support from elected official in the Sunshine State, including the majority of the Florida Cabinet, the majority of Floridas congressional delegation and hundreds of other grass roots and elected leaders in the state," Brandenburger said.

Later on Wednesday, Scott was asked by Fox News commentator Neil Cavuto if the opinion piece was meant to stop the attacks against Trump. Scott said he believes presidential candidates will succeed doing what he did in 2010 when he first ran: focus on job creation.

"Outsiders are winning because they are talking about what Americans care about. We need more jobs."

Scott said any of the candidates could win with a campaign that focused on jobs.

"All the Republican candidates can win if they start to get on the message that we need a dramatic change in the federal government," he said. "We have got to cut taxes. We have to balance our budget. We have to reduce regulation."

Contact Daily News reporter arek.sarkissian@naplesnews.com or 850-559-7620.
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Barb Senkevich, Naples

Relay for Life Captain

Victoria Park

Generous spirit

Once again, I am full of gratitude to the Naples community for the generous spirit this Christmas season. While driving through Victoria Park, the community donated more than $8,500 to the American Cancer Society.

I would also like to thank my neighborhood for all the hard work to put up their spectacular light displays and their patience with the nightly traffic.

It is a true honor to live in such a caring place!

We hope you will come out and say "hi" to us at the Naples Relay for Life at Gulfview Middle School on April 15-16 and help us relay to fight cancer.

God Bless you all and wishing you love, health, and many memory-making moments in 2016.
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Eileen Arsenault, Naples

Gun money

An article in the Dec. 1 Washington Spectator notes that of the $1,177,148 the National Rifle Association contributed to senators between January 2009 and December 2014 to defeat gun control legislation, Ted Cruz was the largest beneficiary ($89,329) and Marco Rubio the third largest ($76,089).

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, more than 9,940 people were killed by guns in 2015; 550 of those were children.

Can we be serious about dealing with senseless murders of innocent people as long as NRA money is so influential?
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Philip Kingston, Naples

Seek the truth

I am old enough to remember the war in Vietnam, as I am sure many in the Naples area are.

I also remember during that war an incident when Buddhist monks set themselves ablaze in the streets of Saigon. It was all captured on film because reporters were informed in advance of the immolation to come. There was quite a bit of criticism of the actions, or non-actions, of those reporters on that day.

Why didn't they try to prevent needless deaths from happening? Why didn't their humanity override their desire for a sensational story? The only explanation given for an unwillingness to try to save the monks was that as reporters they were not obligated to intervene in history, only to report it.

The incident related above is strikingly similar, in tone if not in substance, to what we see on the national political scene today. We have candidates running for the highest office in our land allowed to say the most outlandish and untruthful things without fear of ever being challenged by the legitimate press regarding the veracity of their pronouncements.

Oh, we have a few "commentators" from the right and the left, mostly TV and radio personalities, who will challenge a particular candidate, but in reality they come from either end of the political spectrum and serve no useful purpose in advancing a balanced and truthful picture to the American public.

What I am talking about are reporters, people whose job is to seek the truth and report it to the American people. Where are these people, and why are they standing by while we are allowed to immolate ourselves?
SHARE Dean Stansel recently served as an associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University. He has joined the ONeil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist Universitys Cox School of Business in Dallas.

By Dean Stansel

The economic freedom we enjoy here in America has been on a steady decline for the past 15 years.

However, the picture is very different in different parts of the country, as the recently released "Economic Freedom of North America" (EFNA) report for the past year clearly indicates.

Compared to the national average, the most economically free states have 7 percent higher per capita income; the least-free have 8 percent lower per capita income. Focusing on the four largest states, which account for more than one-third of the U.S. population, reveals a similarly contrasting picture.

New York and California are ranked last and next to last in economic freedom, respectively, while Florida and Texas are tied for third (behind only sparsely populated New Hampshire and South Dakota).

Their economic performances also stand in sharp contrast. In Florida and Texas, population has grown twice as fast in recent years as in New York and California. Employment and income has grown faster as well.

This is not an isolated phenomenon. Looking back at the historical data contained in this year's EFNA report, Florida and Texas have been in the top five for economic freedom since 2005, and in the top eight since 1981 (as far back as our dataset goes). New York has never ranked higher than 48th, and California has only been above 40th twice (both times coming in at 39th).

It's no coincidence that Florida and Texas are thriving while New York and California are not. High levels of taxes, spending, and regulations make it more difficult for entrepreneurs to be successful. When entrepreneurs cannot expand their businesses and hire new workers, that hurts everyone, not just the rich.

There have been more than 130 papers by independent researchers using the EFNA index. The vast majority of those have found that economic freedom is positively associated with a host of good outcomes  for example, higher incomes, faster income growth, more entrepreneurial activity, etc. There has been even more such research done using country-level data with the same basic conclusion: countries with more economic freedom tend to have more prosperous economies.

While those in Florida have reason to be pleased, as was once said, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." While the state ranks near the top of the list, that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement nor reason for concern.

For example, on the spending side, Florida ranks only 14th in this year's EFNA report for spending on "transfers and subsidies." A New York Times analysis found that Florida spends about $4 billion a year on targeted subsidies to private businesses. Only a few states spend more. Florida's taxpayers would be wealthier if less money was spent on Enterprise Florida and other initiatives that provide big giveaways to huge corporations, while small businesses are left to fend for themselves.

On taxes, having no individual income tax gives Floridians an enormous benefit. However, on other taxes, Florida ranks quite low: 39th on sales taxes and 31st for property taxes and other taxes (which includes the corporate income tax). Reductions in those other taxes, especially the corporate income tax, would help make Florida even more competitive with other states.

Furthermore, because Florida sets a minimum wage above the federal level, it ranks only 30th in that category. That puts a larger barrier between low-skilled workers and their potential employers, which makes it harder for those workers to get hired.

In addition, the "Freedom in the 50 States" report ranks Florida only 32nd for regulatory freedom. One reason for that low ranking is stringent occupational licensing requirements.

According to the Institute for Justice's "License to Work" report, Florida has the fourth most-burdensome occupational licensing requirements. These regulations protect existing providers from new competition, and they make it even harder for low-skilled workers to find employment. They should be scaled back dramatically.

Politicians in Tallahassee and at the local level should reduce corporate welfare spending that puts small businesses at a disadvantage, cut taxes, and eliminate onerous occupational licensing restrictions. Doing so would help keep Florida at the top of the list for both economic freedom and economic prosperity.

__ Dean Stansel recently served as an associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University, and is the primary author of the Economic Freedom of North America (www.freetheworld.com). Starting this month, he joined the O'Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas.
Every Friday morning at Grace Place for Children and Families, the Harry Chapin Food Bank food truck delivers several pallets of dry goods, fresh fruit and vegetables. The food is then sorted into brown paper bags by a small army of volunteers lending a hand to assist the residents living within the food desert of Golden Gate City.



According to the USDA, food deserts, are regions of the country that often feature large proportions of households with low incomes, inadequate access to transportation, and a limited number of food retailers providing fresh produce and healthy groceries for affordable prices. There are many families experiencing food insecurity within this largely walking community, and efforts by the dutiful volunteers in the Friday Food Pantry at Grace Place help provide relief.



Many of the morning volunteers at Grace Place live on Marco Island. One Marco resident, Hal, has been assisting the Friday Food Pantry for three years now. Like many volunteers at this organization for family education and literacy, Hal learned about Grace Place through his church. At Wesley United Methodist, his congregation is strongly encouraged to find ways to serve the community, so Hal spends his time in the Friday Food Pantry at Grace Place, and he volunteers in the food pantry at St. Matthews House as well.



Art, another Marco resident and Friday Food Pantry volunteer, has been carpooling with Hal every Friday for the past two years. Before journeying up to Golden Gate City, the two men stop at Empire Bagels on Marco Island to pick up two dozen frozen bagels in giant red bins, which Empire donates each week. As Art sorts bagels into bags of four, he says that the whole experience is ultimately a win-win: hungry people are fed, while he gets plenty of exercise and enjoys helping others.



Some Marco Island volunteers even learn about the Friday Food Pantry while relaxing on the beach. That is where Kathy and her husband, who are both new to Grace Place this season, learned about the program. They had recently moved from Ft. Lauderdale where they ran a food pantry of their own, so fellow church member and longtime Grace Place volunteer, Marion Miller, strongly encouraged them to check out Grace Place. It can be exhausting work, but Kathy and her husband say it is definitely gratifying to help all the thankful people who come looking for a hand up, not a hand out of poverty.



In the past year, Grace Place provided more than 350,000 pounds of food including dairy, meat, and fresh produce, which demonstrates the areas desperate need for nourishment and health, which is essential for effective learning. To lend a hand or find out more information, contact Hannah Vet at 239-234-2467 or by email at hannah@graceplacenaples.org.



Grace Place for Children and Families is a nonprofit education center whose mission is to put faith into action  providing pathways out of poverty by educating children and families in Golden Gate City. Working across the life spectrum, Grace Place currently enrolls over 800 individuals in its educational programs: the nationally recognized Bright Beginnings program, two School Age Programs and an Adult Education program. Although education is the core focus of the organization and its mission, Grace Places Friday Food Pantry also serves over 2,000 families a year. Additionally, Grace Place works extensively with community partners to provide medical and mental health screenings, as well as referrals for other services for Golden Gate City. For more information, visit www.graceplacenaples.org.
In December, under heavy criticism and after the resignation of his commissioner of homeless services, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tried to reboot his administrations homelessness policy. He ordered a comprehensive review of existing programs and launched Home-Stat, an enhanced outreach effort on street homelessness, the problem that continues to weigh down his approval ratings. But last weeks announcement that his administration has ended chronic veteran homelessness suggests that the mayor remains wedded to technical definitions of success and lacks a long-term strategy for homelessness and poverty.

The federal governments definition of ending chronic homelessness among veterans doesnt mean that New York City has no more homeless veterans. A chronically homeless individual means someone who suffers from a disability and has been without a permanent home for more than a year or experienced four bouts of homelessness in the last three years. Its not hard to see how a homeless veterans circumstances may not qualify him to be counted in this category. Not only do hundreds of veterans still live in city sheltersas last weeks press release admittedbut also, the city assumes that roughly 100 veterans will continue to fall into homelessness each month. The federal government trusts, however, that city government possesses the resources and ability to connect newly homeless veterans with permanent housing within 90 days. The federal government is more confident in the administrations competence on homelessness than is the public. And finally, Washington doesnt send workers out onto local streets to audit city data. The feds rely on whatever figures the city provides.

Strangely absent from last weeks press release was the claim made by administration officials to the city council in November that, under de Blasio, the number of street homeless veterans has fallen by 97 percentfrom 329 to just eight. That claim seems about as credible as the city governments finding that, between 2014 and 2015, street homelessness in Queens dropped from 253 to 20. Even the de Blasio administration has implicitly recognized the need for better data. Only two weeks prior to the chronic homeless veterans announcement, the administration promised that its new Home-Stat initiative would provide a more complete and real-time understanding of homelessness in New York City.

In other words, New Yorkers who doubted the administrations claims that it had reduced street homelessness during de Blasios first year will be justifiably skeptical of the citys current claims about ending homelessness among veterans. As one advocate bluntly put it during Novembers city council hearing: I think its ludicrous to say that we know every single homeless veteran out there. But even if one accepts the factual basis of New Yorks claims about ending chronic homelessness among veteransaccording to the federal governments definitionit would be foolish to draw general lessons about the administrations direction on homelessness.

The goals of homelessness policy should, for the most part, be the same as anti-poverty policy. Ending chronic homelessness among veterans requires rapidly connecting homeless veterans with housing benefits. But beneficiaries of housing benefit programs are likely to stay poor. Unlike cash-assistance welfare, housing benefits typically lack time limits and work requirements. Its questionable that providing more money for rental vouchers or supportive and affordable housing will end homelessness. Such programs ability to create upward mobility for the poor is even more dubious. Counting increased dependence on government programs as a policy victory shows just how low a bar this bold, progressive administration sets for itself.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Squatchin': Ohio Bigfoot Investigators Are More Determined Than Ever to Prove the Fabled Creature Is Real

Ohio is one of the top states for Bigfoot sightings, and explorers are using new tech for the hunt.

By Allison Babka Oct 19, 2022

Editor's note: This story is featured in the Oct. 19 print edition of CityBeat. Its a peaceful drive between Cincinnati and Perrysville, especially when avoiding the interstate...
Government healthcare turned patients into abused cattle, recalls Cuban refugee who lived under Castro

(NaturalNews) Despite having murdered some 30,000 of his own people without a fair trial or due process, former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is somehow a political hero in the eyes of Democratic presidential candidate and avowed socialist Bernie Sanders In 1985, Sanders praised Castro for supplying Cubans with "free" education and "free" government-run healthcare , completely sidestepping the fact that the communist leader also performed mass executions in the spirit of maniacal dictators like Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.Though nowhere near as horrendous as these other dictators in terms of the scale of human rights abuses, Fidel Castro's legacy is anything but laudable. And yet, because Castro embraced many of the same political ideologies as Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate believes Castro is worthy of praise and adoration."In 1961, [America] invaded Cuba, and everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world," stated Sanders during an August 8, 1985, interview on the CCTV Center for Media and Democracy's ChannelChittenden County's local government access channel."All the Cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro. They forgot that he educated their kids, gave their kids health care, totally transformed society."You can watch the full CCTV interview with Sanders here To Sanders, it's no big deal that Fidel Castro embraced a philosophy of mass imprisonment, execution without proper trial, and other heinously oppressive political policies that kept Cubans in a perpetual state of subjugation . Since the Cuban people supposedly had access to government "benefits," they should have been grateful, believes Sanders."You know, not to say Fidel Castro and Cuba are perfect  they are certainly not  but just because Ronald Reagan dislikes these people does not mean to say the people in these nations feel the same way."Completely out of touch with reality, Sanders seems to have missed the many real-life accounts of Cuban refugees who fled Cuba due to Castro's heavy hand of oppression  the same one that Sanders believes didn't exist, and was just a political construct of the Reagan administration.One such individual is Francisco Castro, a young man from Havana who in a 2013 piece for the Havana Times recalls the grim reality of "free" healthcare in Cuba."One of the first things one sees when arriving in the Emergency Room of the 'Manuel Fajardo' Clinic Surgical University Hospital, is a huge poster in which you can read: 'Your health care is free, but it costs ...', followed by a list of some of the services we are given free, with their prices," Castro says."The fact is that at the infirmary, the thermometer was broken, and at the clinic lab, there was a long line of upset people, while the lab technician held a cheerful telephone conversation, indifferent to any complaint."Castro goes on to explain how he once had to wait over an hour-and-a-half for care for an extreme fever that was believed to be pneumonia  this long wait due to the inherent inefficiency of Cuba's government-run healthcare program. And all this to suffer an incorrect diagnosis at the hands of a corrupt medical system."Does the fact that it costs nothing to us, but to the State, as they let us know, justify the mistreatment and the wrong diagnosis?" Castro asks, noting further abuses he suffered at the "free" health clinic."Sometimes, I wonder how life in Cuba would be, without the subsidies ... Would the attention to people be different? Could money warrant a treatment worthy of human beings?"Perhaps Bernie Sanders needs to ask himself these same questions as he pontificates a Utopian healthcare system that's been repeatedly attempted, and that's repeatedly failed.(Photo credit: TheDailySheeple.com)
'We can't control how they're used'

ISIS to shut down Internet?

(NaturalNews) Americans are rightfully concerned that jihadis from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are already on U.S. soil, but apparently we're not the only Western nation with an ISIS problem. Britain, it seems, has one as well.As reported by the UK'shackers have made the claim that several IS supporters' social media accounts are actually being operated via Internet addresses linked to a government agency  the Department of Works and Pensions.Four young computer experts who call themselves VandaSec, have found evidence linking at least three accounts whose owners support the Islamic State back to the department.Thereported further:"Every computer and mobile phone logs onto the internet using an IP address, which is a type of identification number."The hacking collective showedMirror Online details of the IP addresses used by a trio of separate digital jihadis to access Twitter accounts, which have been used to spread extremist propaganda."At first glance, the IP addresses seem to be based in Saudi Arabia, but upon further inspection using specialist tools they appeared to link back to the DWP.""Don't you think that's strange?" one of the members of the hacking collective asked the news site. "We traced these accounts back to London, the home of the British intelligence services."The group's findings have led to rumors, including a suggestion that perhaps someone inside the government pension agency is running the ISIS-supporting accounts, or that they were developed by British intelligence services as a honeypot to catch wannabe terrorists But, when the news site traced the IP addresses that the hacking collective provided, reporters found that they were actually pointing to a series of unpublicized transactions between Britain and Saudi Arabia."We learned that the British government sold on a large number of IP addresses to two Saudi Arabian firms," the website reported. "After the sale completed in October of this year, they were used by extremists to spread their message of hate."Cyber-expert Jamie Turner, from the firm PCA Predict, learned of the sale of those IP addresses, and as a result also uncovered the fact that a large number of them had been transferred to Saudi Arabia in October. He told thethat the IP addresses could most likely still be traced back to the government pension agency because address records had yet to be fully updated.The British government has since owned up to the sale of the IP addresses to a Saudi telecom firm and the Saudi-based Mobile Telecommunications Company earlier in the year, part of a wider effort to rid DWP of a large number of IP addresses. The Cabinet Office also said that London could have no further control over the addresses in terms of how they are used following the sale."The government owns millions of unused IP addresses which we are selling to get a good return for hardworking taxpayers," an official with the Cabinet Office told the"We have sold a number of these addresses to telecoms companies both in the UK and internationally to allow their customers to connect to the Internet," the official, who was not named, continued. "We think carefully about which companies we sell addresses to, but how their customers use this internet connection is beyond our control."reported Dec. 21 that cyber investigators believe that ISIS could at some point attempt to shut down large portions of the Internet Cyber security experts discovered that an ISIS app that is commonly used by the organization may have been at the center of a significant hacking effort on the Internet's core operating infrastructure that took place earlier in the month.The ISIS Amaq Agency app may have been behind a bot that was used to launch a "distributed denial of services," or DDoS attack, on root server names earlier in December,
This is not what most Americans want

The Senate is set to vote on a cybersecurity measure that critics say will dwarf previous efforts by government to gather electronic information on all Americans without first obtaining a court-issued warrant as required by the Fourth Amendment.



2016 going to be a tumultuous year

(NaturalNews) Following revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that the federal government was scooping up terabytes of data on American citizens without their knowledge and often without a court order, Americans were outraged and let Congress know it.Under provisions in the Patriot Act of 2001, the Bush and Obama Administrations used the threat of terrorism as the impetus to spy on Americans with impunity, though the Constitution's Fourth Amendment specifically prohibits such unauthorized mass surveillance.As a result, beginning in 2014, efforts were made to replace the Patriot Act with similar, but ostensibly more restrictive, legislation that congressional leaders and the White House attempted to sell as a balance between the Constitution and the federal government's legitimate duty to protect the country.That legislation, known as CISA  the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act  was initially panned by electronic privacy advocates as a bill that essentially mimicked the worst spying provisions of the Patriot Act.We reported at the time:Even worse, we noted, major telecom and technology companies like Google, Facebook and AT&T actually supported the measure.Opposition to CISA grew throughout last year and as such it was eventually abandoned by Congress.However, as reported by CyberWar.news , the legislation was resurrected in 2015, quietly passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in December.The measure is "aimed at ramping up cooperation between private tech firms and the federal government to ward of[f] threats, but critics think it just created a new opportunity for expanding government spying," CyberWar.news noted.The law essentially adds insult to injury as far as the American people go. It was signed as part of a massive $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package that adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the debt , while once again treating the Fourth Amendment's privacy protections as though they were suggestions rather than the law of the land.So bad was CISA for privacy that the Electronic Freedom Foundation launched a petition campaign in an attempt to convince lawmakers opposition to the measure was widespread."The bill would grant companies more power to obtain 'threat' information (for example, from private communications of users) and disclose that data to the government without a warrantincluding sending data to the National Security Agency. It also gives companies broad immunity to spy onand even launch countermeasures againstpotentially innocent users," the petition noted.But it didn't work. Official Washington knows best, you see, so the consent of the governed, the Constitution, the rule of law  none of that matters to the powers that be. Violating the spirit and letter of our Bill of Rights is for, apparently.As thereported, CISA actually shields private firms from lawsuits and other legal action, essentially giving them permission to work in tandem with the government to violate Americans' rights.The online paper reported that CISA "give[s] liability protection to companies that share cyberthreat information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including details on data on breaches, phishing attacks, and malware downloads. The law also calls upon DHS to automate data sharing with other federal government agencies and scrub any personal information included that's not relevant to cybersecurity."Once again, the federal government has used the threat of terrorism as an excuse to violate Americans' basic constitutional protections, and as has generally been the case, Congress  the people's "representatives"  has been complicit.As Natural News editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, wrote recently , "2016 is already shaping up to be a tumultuous year across the globe."Stay tuned.
When industry studies show unfavorable results, corporations just add 'experimental noise'

Internal disagreement at EPA further demonstrates lies in Monsanto safety studies for Roundup

(NaturalNews) The world's most hated chemical company, Monsanto, knowingly engaged in some shady wheeling-and-dealing to get its prized herbicide, Roundup (glyphosate), approved for commercial use, a new independent inquiry has revealed.Dr. Stephanie Seneff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and her colleague Anthony Samsel, recently unearthed a series of hidden studies showing that Monsanto cherry-picked data from at least a dozen different experiments to make the declaration that Roundup is safe for use on crops consumed by animals and humans.Rather than present the actual data procured in these studies, many of which exposed Roundup as dangerous and highly poisonous, Monsanto introduced outlying controls to neutralize the findings and make it appear as though Roundup is perfectly safe.Samsel successfully obtained the hidden Monsanto studies after petitioning his senator for access. Along with Dr. Seneff and Samsel pored through the documents, concluding that, contrary to Monsanto's reinterpretation of the findings, "significant evidence of tumours was found during these investigations.""'[T]o create doubt and obscure the statistical significance of inconvenient findings, which may have prevented product registration,' Monsanto introduced irrelevant historical control data from other experiments," reports GMWatch.org.Monsanto has spent an inordinate amount of time and money over the years attempting to construct studies that it hopes will arrive at preconceived findings in favor of Roundup and GMOs. Sometimes this tactic works, and sometimes it doesn't. And when it doesn't, the company has a few other tricks up its sleeve.According to the Seneff and Samsel paper, Monsanto deliberately adds so-called "experimental noise" to the findings of many of its unfavorable studies , which effectively cancels them out and skews the results. In this case, Monsanto hand-selected data from anywhere between three and 11 unrelated studies to alter the findings of studies looking at the safety of Roundup.When a particular study shows evidence of tumors in animals exposed to Roundup, for instance, Monsanto simply introduces data from another unrelated study showing no tumors, and voila  no more evidence of tumors in association with Roundup!It's essentially lying through data manipulation, if we're going to be blunt. And it's the only reason Roundup is even approved for commercial use, because no regulator in his or her right mind would ever have supported approval for the chemical herbicide based on actual scientific findings.Using the "dishonest magic of comparing the findings to data from unrelated historical controls," to use the words of Seneff and Samsel, Monsanto has been able to "[explain] away as a mystery" the cancer-causing effects of glyphosate , "and [deem them] not to be related to administration of the glyphosate."It's the antithesis of sound science. But this is exactly the type of garbage Monsanto considers to be "scientific evidence," and it's what mainstream media and public health whores constantly say we should all accept as "fact." Truth be told, it's absolute scientific fraud , and it needs to be called out as often and as loudly as possible."Using these deviations effectively neutralized the inconvenient results and thus allowed [glyphosate] to be brought to market," Seneff and Samsel's paper explains. "Had they not engaged in this deception, glyphosate may never have been registered for use."Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated concerns with the way glyphosate was approved , noting that not everyone within the agency was on board with the decision."EPA documents show that unanimity of opinion for product registration was not reached," the paper explains. "Not all members of the EPA glyphosate review committee approved the registration of glyphosate. There were those who dissented and signed 'DO NOT CONCUR.'"
Trump is the target

Leadership of both political parties want unlimited immigration

(NaturalNews) Some analysts have said that the 2016 election is a make-or-break for the survival of our republic. While there has been such negativity before, following two terms of lawlessness, insane domestic policy initiatives, division and creeping socialism, it is hard to argue that America is politically, spiritually and socially healthy And yet, the push to continue President Obama's Left-wing extremism will only pick up steam in the months ahead, as primary voters in the two major political parties settle on a presidential nominee and the race begins in earnest.Democrats are most likely to nominate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, though she is getting a run for her money from avowed "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders, who is openly promising to give everything from college to healthcare to everyone for free.On the Republican side, the current front-runner has remained the front-runner from the time he entered the race: billionaire businessman Donald Trump . He is so hated by some factions in the country that they have vowed to double and triple efforts to not only keep him out of office but to punish the GOP if their voting base chooses him as the nominee. This is especially true for Hispanic activist groups who have pledged to sign up 1 million immigrant voters to oppose the Trump presidential bid.As reported by the, the push will be focused on getting citizenship for the 1 million mostly Mexican immigrants and getting them registered in time for the November 2016 election. They are already being aided by Obama, who has instructed various federal agencies to circumvent immigration and visa limits set by Congress decades ago.Thenotes further:"The advocates say the new voters could make a difference in the presidential race, where most of the Republican field has tacked to the right in word and policy, and in key Senate races in Illinois and Florida, where Republicans will be reaching to hang on to critical seats."At present, some 9 million legal immigrants are already eligible to become citizens, so the goal of 1 million is not unrealistic, the paper said. Activists have said that they are hoping to energize an additional 2 million Hispanic citizens who have turned 18  the legal voting age  since 2012, and who they believe will show up to vote and defend fellow Dreamers, or young illegal immigrants, against GOP calls for deportation."This is a huge amount of latent power," Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans  a group he and other leaders announced recently at the National Press Club  told the Times.Their effort is funded by Leftist billionaire George Soros' Open Society Foundation.Hispanic leaders have said that they're ready to use their sizable political clout, which is commensurate with the size of their ethnic group as America's second-largest behind whites.That said, however, Hispanic immigrants have naturalized at a slower pace and have overall lower voter turnout rates than other demographic groups, which will present a challenge to activists seeking to get them registered and to the polls. They are counting on the belief that Trump's immigration enforcement rhetoric will provide the motivation they are seeking.Thenotes that some 8.8 million immigrants have been in the U.S. for at least five years as legal permanent residents. Under U.S. law  one which Obama is sure to enforce  that makes them eligible for citizenship. The group is heavily Hispanic, with 30 percent being from Mexico, according to a study by the Center for American Progress  a liberal organization.That was the population that Trump appeared to single out after announcing his campaign, when he said he would complete the construction of a border "wall" and crack down on illegal immigrants who have broken the law to enter the country.In 2012, after he secured reelection, Obama did what before the election he had said he did not have the authority to do: He issued an executive order blocking deportation of about 700,000 illegal immigrant Dreamers, and gave them work permits as well as access to Social Security numbers and driver's licenses.Recent polls [ here and here ] show that Americans broadly oppose illegal immigration and Obama's amnesty.For the record, the political leadership inmajor parties favor increasing immigration, against the people's will.
(NaturalNews) Partaking in a little post-work happy hour just became a lot safer with the creation of a little known molecule that reduces alcohol's harmful effects on the body, particularly the liver (which is affected the most adversely), without comprising the enjoyable buzz many of us love, and deserve, to indulge in every now and then.Developed by Chigurupati Technologies, NTX was contrived through a multi-million dollar eight-year project completed by a team of pharmaceutical PhDs hoping to make the "drinking experience smarter," according to NTXTechnology.com Founded in 2006 by Harsha Chigurupati, a young entrepreneur from Hyderabad, India, who was raised in a family of scientists, pharmacists and physicians, Chigurupati Technologies first sought to eliminate the side-effects of over-the-counter drugs before dabbling in the alcoholic beverage industry.The innovative molecule is "Scientific, preventative and recreational all at the same timewhile protecting the liver," Chigurupati told thelast year. Human study trial results showed that NTX massively reduced harmful effects on the liver byUsing a "proprietary blend of ingredients" designated as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), NTX works by shielding your liver from the harmful effects of consuming alcohol, without comprising a beverage's taste. While the pharma company has not fully disclosed its product's ingredients, we do know that licorice root and sugar alcohol are some of its key components.NTX can be infused into several types of alcohol, but is currently designed to "evolve distilled spirits." The first company to utilize this breakthrough technology is Bellion Vodka , developing what they call "the first functional spirit on the planet."Just as we've made technological advancements in other industries, such as cell phone technology, Bellion Vodka says NTX is a revolutionary breakthrough in alcoholic beverage consumption, making drinking safer and smarter.Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is. But not in the sense you might think; the technology has substantial scientific analysis to back its claims. However, it's the government agency in charge ofsuch affirmations that's standing in the way of Americans enjoying one of their favorite pastimes more safely.The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)  the agency responsible for regulating marketing claims on alcoholic beverages, among other things  has essentially stonewalled NTX technology from being touted for what it really is: a "smarter way to drink."Created in 2003 when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was reorganized under provisions of the 2002 Homeland Security Act, TTB assumed responsibility for collecting taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition, as well as ensuring product compliance in terms of labeling, marketing and advertising.Following in ATF's footsteps, TTB absolutely prohibits any mention of health benefits by winemakers, beer brewers and spirits distillers, despite a growing body of evidence pointing to the advantages of moderate alcohol intake.In the early 1990s, ATF acknowledged the scientifically supported link between moderate alcohol intake and decreased risk of heart attack , vowing to revise its restrictions for including health benefits on alcoholic beverage labels; but it failed to act, writes Sam Kazman, general counsel for the nonprofit Competitive Enterprise Institute, in a piece titled " Drinking in the Dark ."ATF's "position was that any mention of health benefits had to be accompanied by so many qualifications that, as the agency succinctly put it, 'it is extremely unlikely that such a balanced claim would fit on a normal alcoholic beverage label.'"The group "challenged ATF's policy in court on First Amendment grounds," but was unsuccessful. This poses a problem for Chigurupati Technologies and its alcoholic beverage partners, as this meas that they are barred from fully disclosing NTX's abilities on product labels, instead being forced to use vague language such as a "smarter way to drink."The bright side is that you can still purchase NTX-infused vodka in some states . However, the TTB's restrictions may limit Chigurupati Technologies' ability to expand their product to other brands and other types of alcohol such as wine and beer."No one had ever done this in the market so far. Other than the fact that I like spirits and I wanted something better for the liver , it was an easy thing to get into because [this] market is the most un-evolved, non-innovative market in the world," Chigurupati says. "Science has not been used in any way to benefit real consumer experience."
Ban on GMOs and seed patents

Seed Law in a nutshell

(NaturalNews) In 2004, President Hugo Chavez prevented the planting of 500,000 acres of Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) corn. Since then the Venezuelan farmers have been expressing strong feelings against growing or buying GM seeds.However, this didn't stop big corporations from trying to push their transgenic crops through in times of economic and political disturbance. A seed law proposed by a pro-government legislator in 2013 was about to open a backdoor and allow GM seeds to enter Venezuela.Luckily, farmers and environmental movements stood up to them and demanded a complete re-write of the Seed Law.After fighting a two-year long battle against the approval of transgenic seeds, Venezuela's National Assembly finally approved a draft Seed Law aimed to protect food security, soil fertility and promoting sustainable agriculture, instead of creating a backdoor for the spread of GM seeds.The new law is a big win for the people, farmers and environmental activists, who have long been on a mission to help pass the law and prevent companies such as Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta from supplying and controling the seed and food supply in their country.The new law calls for strict regulation of all hybrid seeds and will prevent research, production, import and distribution of all GM seeds to protect small farms as well as human and environmental health.It promotes sustainable agriculture, as its foundation is to to protect food security and aid rural development."In Venezuela , we have the capacity to produce our own seeds," states director Arnaldo Vasquez, of the Ezequiel Zamora Foundation, who attended the National Assembly session in order to advocate the law's approval.The law has been the result of years of collective grassroots efforts and public consultation. Seeds cannot be patented, nor can they be hybridized through biotechnology or cross-contamination by genetically modified seeds. A National Seed Institute, or seed controlling system, will be created to regulate, audit and control the quality of imported seeds to prevent and punish all violations against the GMO ban. Sustainable and natural agriculture methods  such as natural cross-breeding, seed saving and sharing  will be promoted.According to local activists, the rejection of the Seed Law would have caused major issues for Venezuela's agricultural sector in terms of soil fertility and the well-being of small, local farms.Eisamar Ochoa of Venezuela Free of Transgenics stated, "This is a law that, more than prohibit the use of transgenics and the use of agrotoxins  which are highly polluting  it purports to strengthen, make visible, claim, and make our campesina (heirloom) seeds as the base of our food sovereignty."Venezuela is a beautiful example of the strength of the people. Multinational corporations and some politicians with interests in the GM industry , did try to take advantage of the economic and political instability to create a fear around food shortage and hunger to push their agenda through.Fortunately, the Venezuelan farmers, activists and people held their ground and were able to reject the multibillion dollar companies from getting a foothold in their country.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined Wednesday to file criminal charges against comedian Bill Cosby over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman at the Playboy Mansion in 2008 and another allegation dating to 1965



Prosecutors cited the statute of limitations and insufficient evidence in declining to file charges from the 2008 allegations. A lawsuit was filed Oct. 6 in federal court on behalf of the plaintiff, who claimed she was drugged and assaulted at the famed Playboy Mansion.

Cosby's attorneys said last year that the comedian was not at the mansion on the night of the alleged assault. Cosby's name did not appear on guest lists for mansion events in the summer of 2008, according to the district attorney's office. Cosby's name did appear on a guest list for a February 2008 event, according to the DA's office.

The accuser met early last year with Los Angeles police detectives, who forwarded the case to the district attorney for a decision on whether charges would be filed.

Prosecutors also announced Wednesday that they declined to pursue a case against Cosby over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman in the Hollywood Hills in 1965, when the woman was 17 years old. Prosecutors also said that case was barred due to the statute of limitations.

The decision marked the second time the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has declined to file charges against Cosby. In December 2014, prosecutors cited the statute of limitations in declining to pursuing a case against the entertainer over allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1974.

Cosby has been accused by dozens of women who claim the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted them. He was charged with sexual assault last week in Pennsylvania -- the first criminal charge filed against the comedian.

Cosby and his representatives have repeatedly denied all allegations.
Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a $122.6 billion budget plan for California on Thursday that attempts to balance his fiscally restrained approach to spending with increasing demands for California to invest in social service and health care programs that suffered cuts during the recession.

The plan calls for significant increases in funding for education, health care and state infrastructure, while bolstering the state's Rainy Day Fund and paying down state debts and liabilities. It also includes a $1.1 billion compromise on a new tax on health insurers to replace one that will expire in June.

In addition, per-pupil spending would increase to $10,591. Schools are guaranteed about 40 percent of general fund revenues under voter-approved Proposition 98.

Brown said soaring tax revenues allow the state to boost spending on programs, but he also warned of the boom-and-bust cycle, proposing to put an additional $2 billion into the Rainy Day fund.

"Relative to budgets of the past, this budget is in good shape," Brown said. "We also ought to look at what's the capacity of the state, and what's the taxpayer willingness to spend more."

The budget announcement sets the stage for a months-long debate with lawmakers over spending priorities.

Legislators already have been staking out their own positions, including funding to help the homeless, expanding services for the developmentally disabled and creating more early education slots.

Medi-Cal, the state's health care program for the poor, now has 12.6 million enrollees, presenting a growing strain on state coffers. Advocates have been pushing the state to raise reimbursement for doctors who provide care in the program, which was cut by 10 percent during the recession.

"We are now years past the recession, but Californians are still living with recession-era cuts to health and human services," said Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.

Brown called special sessions last year to address the health care tax and a $59 billion backlog in transportation infrastructure spending, but neither gained traction.

Brown's administration previously proposed spending $3.6 billion a year on transportation infrastructure through a combination of vehicle registration fees, increases to the diesel and gas taxes and diverting money from the fees charged to polluters.

Republicans have rejected tax increases, arguing that the state should instead return diverted transportation money and make major cuts to Caltrans.

As tax revenues continue to roll in, Gov. Jerry Brown is set to release his budget proposal Thursday, balancing his fiscally restrained approach to spending with increasing demands for California to invest in social service and health care programs.

The first focal point will be the revenue number Brown uses for his forecast.

Brown signed a $115.4 billion general fund spending plan for the current fiscal year, and the state's independent Legislative Analyst's Office has forecast revenues about $6.9 billion higher for 2016-17. But Brown's administration has typically been cautious in its approach, opting to rely on lower revenue estimates to avoid spending the state might not be able to afford later.

His fellow Democrats prefer a higher figure that gives more wiggle room to spend. Republicans are urging the governor to hold the line and devote funds to neglected infrastructure needs such as transportation, school buildings and water storage.

"If you've got one-time revenue, then you need to spend that money on one-time expenditures," said Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley.

Brown's announcement Thursday sets the stage for a months-long debate with lawmakers over spending priorities. Lawmakers this week have been staking out their own positions, advocating for $2 billion to help house the homeless, expanding services for the developmentally disabled and creating more early education slots.

Among the biggest questions confronting the governor and lawmakers is how to replace funding from a $1.1 billion tax on health insurers that will expire this year, and paying mounting road-repair costs that the administration has pegged at $59 billion over the next decade.

Medi-Cal, the state's health care program for the poor, now has 12.6 million enrollees, presenting a growing strain on state coffers. Advocates have been pushing the state to raise reimbursement for doctors who provide care in the program, which was cut by 10 percent during the recession.

"We are now years past the recession, but Californians are still living with recession-era cuts to health and human services," said Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.

Brown called special sessions last year to address health care and transportation, but neither gained traction.

On transportation, Brown's administration has proposed spending $3.6 billion a year on transportation infrastructure through a combination of vehicle registration fees, increases to the diesel and gas taxes and diverting money from the fees charged to polluters.

Republicans have rejected tax increases, arguing that the state should instead return diverted transportation money and make major cuts to Caltrans.

Under the voter-approved Proposition 98, more than 40 percent of tax revenues are dedicated to K-12 schools and community colleges.

While most projections show the state's finances continuing to climb, thanks in part to the booming tech industry, the legislative analyst has warned that a sluggish stock market will curb increases. He warned lawmakers not to make "new commitments" or risk difficult choices "such as spending cuts and tax increases."
A man arrested in Georgia on a Louisiana fugitive warrant says he was working at San Francisco's Pier 39 at the time of his alleged crime.

James Michael Riley, 38, has petitioned to be released from illegal detention in Athens, Georgia, where he has been held since Dec. 15. He says he was on duty at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in San Francisco on the day in 2008 that he was supposedly committing a felony theft in Orleans Parish in Louisiana.

According to Online Athens, Riley's writ points to his residential history (including a recent move from Oakland) and having a common name to attempt to prove that this is a case of mistaken identity, stating that the charge was handed down "without a shred of evidence as to proper identity of the perpetrator connected to the alleged crime."

But the publication also points out that once Riley retained an attorney in 2015, "his counsel chose to challenge Louisianas failure to timely bring the case to trial. Nothing was brought up about Riley being mistakenly identified in the subsequent court documents filed by Rileys attorney, and the Louisiana court ruled against Rileys motion to quash the bill of information."

Riley currently awaits extradition to New Orleans.
Walnut Creek police are looking for an armed robber who is suspected of stealing money from a 7-Eleven late Wednesday night and might be responsible for a series of other heists.

Sgt. Dave Rangel said the stocky masked man, armed with a silver handgun, robbed the convenience store at 301 N. Civic Drive about 11:30 p.m. He pulled out a silver handgun, Rangel said, and demanded money from the cashier before taking off. No getaway vehicle was seen and no injuries were reported.

Rangel said the man is believed to be responsible for recent robberies on Dec. 21 in San Leandro at a Valero gas station and dry cleaning business, on Dec. 30 in Walnut Creek at a Valero gas station, and in Redwood City. San Leandro police actually suspect him of five armed robberies in their city.

He is of an unknown age, standing 5-foot-6, with a stocky build. He wore a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and black mask.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Detective Jeha at (925) 256-3518.

NBC Bay Area's Shawn Murphy contributed to this report.
A woman who was caught on video shouting insults at Muslim men praying in Lake Chabot Regional Park last month pleaded not guilty Thursday to two misdemeanor counts of battery and a hate crime.

Denise Slader, 50, is scheduled to return to Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward on Feb. 26 for a pretrial hearing on charges that stem from the Dec. 6 incident.

Rasheed Albashari calls what happened to him hate crime. A woman made anti-Islamic remarks & threw coffee at him pic.twitter.com/uGIy9H9eYx  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) December 10, 2015

Judge Andrew Steckler also set an April 4 trial date for Slader, who worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation but has been placed on leave pending the results of an internal investigation.



Prosecutor Tim Wellman asked Steckler to set $10,000 bail for Slader because that's the bail schedule for the two offenses she faces, but Steckler declined to set bail and allowed her to remain free on her own recognizance.

Slader approached group of Muslim men at the park and yelled anti-Muslim slurs at them. One of the victims, Rasheed Albeshari recorded cellphone video of the encouter, which shows her lunging toward Albeshari and throwing what appears to be a cup of coffee. Prosecutors said she also threw an umbrella. A police report said she yelled, "God is Satan," "You are going to hell," and the "Quran is evil," among other "racist remarks."

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In a previous interview, Slader told NBC Bay Area that she stands by her feelings: She believes Islam and Allah are evil, and that she is a big supporter of Donald Trump.
A man who was sexually assaulted by a West Rogers Park rabbi when he was a teenager told a Cook County judge Wednesday that his emotional pain has been so debilitating, his relationship with his family suffered and he cannot hold a full-time job.

I am almost constantly afraid, feel alone, scared, angry, anxious, feeling useless, unwanted and unworthy of love, the man said before Judge Evelyn Clay sentenced Rabbi Aryeh Larry Dudovitz to eight years in prison for the October 2006 incident.

I carry shame, which makes loving another very difficult. I feel voiceless, not heard, unworthy of speaking, being heard or spoken to.

Dudovitz said he hopes the victim recovers from the lingering trauma.

Dudovitzs lawyer, Richard Kling, said his client, a married 48-year-old father of nine, is someone who has struggled with fighting homosexual urges  not sexual predator urges.

But Assistant States Attorney Tracy Senica called Dudovitz a sexual predator of the worst kind because the victim and his family saw him as a spiritual leader and moral compass.

Dudovitz attacked the victim, then 15, at the boys home after they celebrated the Jewish holiday Sukkot.

The teenager had been drinking, as per custom, but after the boys father and siblings went to sleep, Dudovitz gave him additional vodka shots while the two were in a sukkah, or hut, that is constructed for the religious festival, prosecutors said.

The victim eventually went inside the home and to his downstairs bedroom.

Dudovitz said he was leaving. But the boy woke up to Dudovitz performing a sex act on him.

The victim, now 24, said he has sought the help of a trauma psychotherapist and many other mental health professionals.

His depression kept him from finishing high school, and he landed in rehab twice after he started self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

I never thought I would have a future. I always thought that I would be looked on as someone less than, or worse than the next, the man said.

With this sentencing, I can clearly put my hopes and dreams in front of me and know that there is hope in my present life and future to come.

Outside court, the victim said he was relieved to see this chapter in his life come to a close.

A few feet away, Dudovitzs wife sobbed.

Dudovitz, of the 6400 block of North Albany, was arrested and charged in 2013 with criminal sexual assault.

At the time of the incident, the victims family was initially unsure about whether they wanted to proceed criminally, prosecutors have said.
An attorney representing Brendan Dassey, the young man featured in Netflixs Making a Murderer documentary series, claims Dasseys former attorney served Brendan up on a silver platter to the prosecution.

Brendans original attorney was desperate to get Brendan to plead guilty and testify against his uncle Steven Avery, said attorney Steven Drizin with Northwestern University's Center for Wrongful Convictions of Youth.

Drizin claimed Len Kachinsky conspired with a defense investigator and with the prosecution in the case, ultimately allowing investigators to interrogate Dassey without a lawyer present.

That is something I have never seen in 30 years as a lawyer, that kind of lawyering, Drizin said.

Kachinsky has admitted his error in not being present when Dassey was interviewed by his investigator in May 2006, but told Wisconsins Post-Crescent that it had no bearing on the guilty verdict against Dassey because it was never introduced at trial.

Drizin, however, has argued that evidence gathered in the interviews was used during the trial, including a phone call Dassey made as a result of the interrogation.

Drizins claim is one of many cited in a Habeas petition currently pending in Wisconsin federal court. The petition seeks to get Dasseys conviction vacated and a new trial ordered. A decision on the petition could come anytime, Drizin said.

Dasseys case is one of two followed in the popular Making a Murderer series, which depicts the story of Dasseys uncle, Steven Avery. Dassey and Avery are currently serving life sentences for the 2005 murder of 25-year-old photographer of Teresa Halbach.

Dassey was arrested at the age of 16 in connection with case, but his attorneys maintain his confession was coerced.

To me, this case is a classic example of how not to interrogate juvenile suspects and the tactics that were used during Brendans interrogation are a recipe for false confessions, he said.

In a brief filed last year, the state argued Dassey failed to show that the appeals courts decision was unreasonable.

[Investigators] merely stated, in calm tones, that they already knew what happened and allowed Dassey to confess that he had raped Halbach, and was involved in her murder, the brief reads. Dasseys confession was not coerced, and the state courts decision on Dasseys voluntariness claim did not involve an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law.

Former Calamut County District Attorney Ken Kratz, who prosecuted Dassey and Avery, recently told People magazine that he has "a great bit of sympathy" for Dassey, who he said "never would have been involved in this except for his uncle."

Dassey would have been out sooner if he had taken a plea bargain, Kratz said.

Drizin said he was surprised by the reactions many have had to the Making a Murderer series.

When these two filmmakers approached us, they had already had hundreds of hours of footage from the Avery trial and that was at least five or six years ago so I wasnt even sure that the film was going to be made, Drizin said. When I saw it I was just amazed at what a great job they did.

Drizin said that although he doesnt believe the documentary will have an impact on the federal courts decision, the series gives Dasseys case context.

When Brendan was convicted, way back when, he and his uncle were evil incarnate, Drizin said. They were two of the most hated people in the state of Wisconsin and now theyre not, especially Brendan. The amount of support that we have received from people all over the country who are outraged at what happened to him creates a different context. Will that affect a federal judge? Probably not, but were in a different context now and context makes a difference.

As for Dassey, Drizin said he isnt allowed to watch the documentary series, but has received a lot of support since the shows release.

He has to hope that one day he will get out, that hell get out in time that he can have a family, that he can live out the dreams that he had before he got embroiled in this mess, Drizin said.


A petition to the White House must collect 100,000 signatures within 30 days to require a response from the government  the one submitted in support of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey reached that benchmark in just half the time, meaning the Obama administration must address the case that has recently swept the nation.

On Monday morning less than 20,000 signatures had been collected on a Whitehouse.gov petition calling for a presidential pardon for the convicted killers at the center of Neflixs Making a Murderer, who most believe have been wrongfully accused and framed by law enforcement.

Just 72 hours later that number had skyrocketed to six times the amount, reaching 128,000 people putting their signatures to the cause.

The appeal for a presidential pardon is rather futile because President Barack Obama only has the constitutional power to commute the sentences of people convicted in the federal system, while Avery and Dassey were convicted at the state level. Nonetheless, it forces the president to make an official on-the-record statement about the case.

An additional Change.org petition calling on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has garnered 340,000 supporters, despite the fact that Walker hasn't granted a single pardon since he took office five years ago.

Gov. Walkers spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said Tuesday in an email that the governor hasn't watched the series and that "early in his administration, Gov. Walker made the decision not to issue pardons."

"Those who feel they have been wrongly convicted can seek to have their convictions overturned by a higher court," Patrick said.

Both petitions were launched quickly after 'Making a Murderer' began streaming Dec. 18, and have only gained momentum as more outraged viewers push their friends and family to the must-watch, mind-bending real-life thriller.

Since its Netflix debut, it's become even more encompassing: a thing, a budding cultural phenomenon, whose subject is emerging as a painful cause celebre. Few series pack a punch like this, and, further stoking your moral outrage, the tale this 10-hour docuseries tells is real.

"Making a Murderer" chronicles the hardship of Steven Avery, an otherwise obscure member of a salvage-yard family in Wisconsin's rural Manitowoc County.

It begins in 2003 with video of Avery returning home after 18 years' imprisonment for sexual assault, a crime of which he was belatedly exonerated thanks to DNA evidence proving him innocent.

Avery, at 41, claims to have left any anger at this miscarriage of justice at the jailhouse door. Calling himself "the happiest man on Earth," he now is eager to resume normal life.

If only.

The less you know about Avery's ordeal, the more you will be rocked by "Making a Murderer." Suffice it to say, the series depicts a systemic vendetta waged against him by police and the courts. And it only heated up after his rape conviction was overturned.

Law enforcement "despised" him, one observer declares in the series' first moments. "Steven Avery was a shining example of their inadequacies, their misconduct."

And a member of Avery's family recalls her advice upon his release. "Be careful," she says she cautioned him. "They are not even close to being done with you."

Make no mistake, Steven Avery is no angel. As a teen, he had his scrapes with the law. "I was young and stupid," he acknowledges.

More problematic, he and his cousin Sandra Morris habitually quarreled. In early 1985, an altercation (Avery bumped her car with his) led to a criminal complaint lodged against him by Morris, who found a sympathetic ear: Her husband was a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Deputy.

"The Morris case gave them a chance to claim a violent felony had been committed by one of the Averies," says his court-appointed lawyer, "and, of course, the Sheriff's Department and the DA took it and ran."

Just a few months later, a prominent citizen was sexually assaulted while jogging on the beach. Despite 16 witness alibis for Avery's whereabouts, an absence of physical evidence, and knowledge of a plausible suspect (who 18 years later would be convicted with the DNA evidence that won Avery his freedom), Avery was arrested.

"The sheriff told me, 'I got you now' when I got to jail," he recalls.

Folling his prison release in 2003, Avery filed a $36 million federal lawsuit against Manitowoc County, its former sheriff, Thomas Kocourek, and its former district attorney, Denis Vogel. Shortly after county officials were deposed in that lawsuit, he was arrested for another crime  this time, a grisly rape and murder. So was his teenage nephew, Brendan Dassey, a few months later.

"Making a Murderer" spans more than 30 years, up through 2015, as a gripping thriller of repeated hope and setbacks. Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos draw on archival video, commentary by Avery, footage from courtrooms and police interrogations, and interviews with key figures (including Avery's supportive, long-suffering parents).

The series eschews recreations and other docu-gimmickry, while seizing on a potent visual device: Many audio sequences play over scenes of rusting carcasses in Avery's Auto Salvage yard. It's as if to say, the Avery family deals with wreckage in plain sight, rather than the wreckage of a legal system fiercely kept under wraps by its custodians.

In the face of what seems, at minimum, reasonable doubt surrounding Avery, now 53, as well as his nephew, the series may offer a broader message: "We can all say that we're never gonna commit a crime," says Jerry Buting, one of Avery's defense lawyers. "But we can never guarantee that someone will never ACCUSE us of a crime.

"And if that happens," he warns, "then good luck in this criminal justice system."

In an interview with Vulture, filmmaker Ricciardi maybe said it best: The main question at the heart of the series is how do we as a society respond when injustice is exposed?

If the petitions point to a response to that question, it turns out we do with a vengeance.
At least four people were seriously injured in a chemical explosion at Dow Chemical Company's North Andover, Massachusetts, plant on Thursday afternoon, according to authorities

First responders were stll at the scene on Willow Street hours after the explosion was first reported.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said that the investigation will begin once the scene is cleared by hazmat crews, and that it appears a chemical reacting to water - trimethylaluminum - caused the explosion.

Lawrence General Hospital spokesperson said earlier that four patients suffered critical injuries due to shrapnel and burns from the blast. Three of those patients are now stabilized and were transferred to other Boston area hospitals.

A fifth person was not seriously injured and refused treatment.

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North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor said it doesn't look like there's an ongoing problem at the site.

A Dow spokesperson said that the families of the injured workers have been notified, and that there are no imminent risks to the surrounding community at this time.

A Peabody man was killed at the same chemical plant in a 2013 explosion; however, Coan said there doesn't appear to be a connection between Thursday's explosion and the 2013 incident, which involved a different chemical.

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Federal and state authorities have been alerted. Two inspectors from OSHA were dispatched to the scene, as well as some area haz-mat teams.
Quinnipiac University is joining four other Connecticut colleges telling students to leave their hoverboards at home.

At least 20 universities across the country have banned or restricted hoverboards on their campuses in recent weeks, saying the popular motorized scooters are unsafe.

Along with the risk of falls, federal authorities are warning that some hoverboards have caught fire.

In an email to students, Quinnipiac's Chief of Public Safety said the ban will take effect January 8.

At last check, Sacred Heart University was in the process of instituting a ban on the self-balancing boards. The University of Hartford, University of Bridgeport and University of New Haven have banned hoverboards as well.

Other school officials, including at the University of Connecticut, previously stated they are reviewing the issue and will have a decision for their respective campus communities in early 2016.
It was bound to happen - the buzz had to wear off soon enough. Reality of the self-driving car just set in at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Dr. Gill Pratt, the new CEO of Toyota Research Institute, soberly delivered the blow while on the Toyota stage at CES.

"Cars are basically driving the way we drive," Pratt said.

While some car companies predict self-driving cars to hit the market by 2019 or 2020, Pratt told the crowd a true autonomous car, no human involvement whatsoever, is a very long way off.

"Most of what we have collectively accomplished with intelligent cars to date has been relatively easy because most driving is relatively easy," Pratt told NBC4. "Where we need to help is not where driving is easy. We need to solve driving when it's hard. Toyota Research Unit intends to address the hard part."

Baby Steps

The technology is still in its infancy, said Pratt. Sure, self-driving cars can detect other cars, stop when it senses another car, but the technology can't yet do what humans can do when they drive - react different to sometimes unknown situations.

Toyota wants the baby tech to grow up. It has invested $1 billion into research labs that snagged top talent from Google to focus on artificial intelligence and robots. One of labs will be at Stanford Research Park in Northern California and the other will be near MIT.

Pratt wants to get through the terrible twos and jump right into adolescence of the technology.

"We need to have the technology react to things like construction zones, sudden objects crossing into traffic in a way that humans would think it is a reasonable thing to do," he said.

Tech Daddy

Pratt is the best father to guide the technology's growth. He used to run DARPA's Robotics Challenge. DARPA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

Like any good father figure, Pratt won't put unrealistic expectations on when the totally autonomous car will replace humans from taking full control of the wheel. He knows the technology will grow up and when it does he wants it to be its best and the safest it can be.

James Kuffner, who used head Google's robotics division and is now on day three of his new job with Pratt, says raising self-driving car technology will come with patience and in stages.

"It is an evolution," he said. "There is a continuous spectrum between full manual control and full autonomous control, and there's going to be phased deployments."

Correction: A misspelling of Gill Pratt's name appeared in an earlier version of this article.
A problem with the software upgrade at the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles and a backlog of cases has led to several drivers being pulled over for having a suspended vehicle registration, when in fact there was no reason their vehicles should be suspended, and the department is taking some immediate actions because of the issue.

DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala, Jr. held a news conference on Thursday, apologized for the inconvenience drivers have faced and said, effective immediately, the DMV will not provide law enforcement a list of suspended registrations until the DMV is able to get through a backlog of cases.

"DMV has caused a major hardship and inconvenience for people whose registrations have been suspended when they actually had continuous vehicle insurance," Ayala said. "The state of Connecticut does not want citizens fearing to drive their cars because they have been told erroneously by DMV they have no insurance and their registrations have been suspended."

Effective immediately, the DMV hold off on providing local law enforcement a list of vehicles suspended for insurance purposes until a backlog of cases is cleared up, Ayala said.

"We do not want people ticketed or towed for this matter until it is cleared up," he said.

The DMV has also redeployed staff to the insurance compliance unit, where they will work through the weekend to clean up the backlog.

Any customer who has had continuous insurance coverage on their vehicle and was incorrectly fined might be entitled to a refund if the fine was incurred from Aug. 18, 2015 to Jan. 9, 2016 and the fee or fine was the result of DMV error.

Customers will also be able to get refunds for the $200 insurance compliance fine, tickets for infractions and fees related to towing.

Refunds will be processed in six to eight weeks, according to the DMV.

The DMV will also issue letters for customers to use in any court proceeding or payment of fine to show that the registration suspension was a mistake.

Anyone who receives a letter from DMV on insurance compliance questions will need to respond and prove they have insurance, Ayala said.

The news conference comes after and NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters investigation revealed a problem with the new software computer code that was fixed weeks ago.

In the event that a driver changes insurance, the old carrier notifies the DMV that the driver no longer has a policy with that company. In turn, the new carrier notified the DMV.

Ayala said drivers have 45 days to provide proof of continuous insurance or the registration is suspended. The DMV sent out a month's worth of letters right before closing in August for the computer upgrades.

When the DMV reopened, they continued to send the letters on schedule, creating a backlog.

The new computer system also "triggered" more letters to go out, according to Ayala.

On Dec. 23, there was a computer code change to reduce the number of letters going out.

"I'd like to apologize on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles to those who have faced this issue of insurance compliance," Ayala said.

In December, Ayala said the DMV was sending out more than 10,000 letters a month to drivers from the agency's "Insurance Compliance Unit" and there was a backlog trying to get through the letters to determine which cases are insurance compliant and which cases are not.Officials from the DMV said people's fines will be refunded if it was the DMV's fault and drivers can prove they never had a lapse in their insurance.

How to Get a Refund:

Download and complete the DMV fee refund form.

In the section Reason for Refund, check Other. State Insurance Fine Refund on the form.

Include your daytime phone number on the form.

If you received an infraction ticket and/or towing-related fees, provide copies of all receipts for towing or tickets fees paid.

Send the completed refund form and all other related paperwork by e-mail to ichelp@ct.gov



Or by mail to:

Department of Motor Vehicles

60 State Street

Wethersfield, CT 06161

Attn: Insurance refund

Check your status online before registering a vehicle.

Check your registration status online.
A video showing a white Texas state trooper shouting "I will light you up" while pulling a black woman from her car brought national outrage, troubling the woman's family, the trooper's boss and, perhaps, even a grand jury.

But as Sandra Bland's mother fumed Thursday over Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia being only indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury, the outcome was less surprising to some legal experts who for months have cautioned that while the dashcam footage might show bad policing, it's not necessarily felony misconduct.

Bland, a 28-year-old former resident of Naperville, Illinois, was found dead in her jail cell three days after the confrontational July traffic stop on the outskirts of Houston. Authorities say Bland hanged herself with a garbage bag, and the same grand jury in December declined to charge anyone in her death.

Bland's family and activists in the Black Lives Matter movement argue justice slipped away again with the relatively light charges brought against Encinia. If convicted of the perjury charge, he faces a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

"To charge this guy with a misdemeanor, are you kidding me?" Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said during a news conference in Chicago about the "I'm angry, absolutely. ... That's not justice for me."

DPS announced shortly after Wednesday's indictment that Encinia would be fired. Encinia surrendered Thursday afternoon at the Waller County jail, with his bond set at $2,500.

Encinia pulled over Bland for not signaling a lane change near the campus of Prairie View A&M University. Video shows the trooper being calm and courteous toward Bland until she questions his order to put out a cigarette. From there the traffic stop quickly escalates into a physical and verbal confrontation, with Encinia at one point drawing his stun gun while trying to make her get out of the car.

Bland can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Bland's mother said she had little confidence in the prospect of a conviction and that Encinia should have been charged with assault, battery and false arrest. Prosecutors have declined to say what other charges the grand jury may have considered, citing the secrecy of the proceedings.

Some police experts say the video is not so clear-cut.

"I don't like what I heard on there. I would be very surprised if DPS didn't wince when they saw that video," said Phillip Lyons, director of the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. "But when it comes to outlining a specific felonious offense, I don't see it."

DPS has fired more than two dozen troopers since 2013. That includes several who were let go after also being arrested or charged, including for allegations of drunken driving and drug possession. At least four were also discharged on grounds of "truthfulness."

DPS Director Steve McCraw has publicly stated for months that Encinia violated traffic stop procedures. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that DPS has upheld at least six formal complaints filed against troopers since 2012 for their conduct during traffic stops. Two troopers received written reprimands and the others received suspensions ranging from one to 30 days without pay.

Encinia was indicted on allegations that he lied when he claimed in an affidavit that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over during the traffic stop and ordered her out of her car. Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin.

Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground" and she continued to fight back.

He arrested her, alleging assault on a public servant.

Bland's arrest and death drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters questioned officials' assertion that Bland killed herself and linked her to other blacks killed in confrontations with police or who died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

The family has filed a civil rights lawsuit that it hopes will shed more light on what happened to Bland and compel authorities to release documents, including a Texas Rangers investigation into the case. Authorities had withheld the Rangers report, citing the grand jury process that has now finished.

Perjury Indictment on Brian Encinia:

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Police say a man was airlifted to the hospital in serious condition after he was shot by a police captain in Terrell.

The shooting happened at about 1:16 p.m. Thursday near the 340 block of Tanger Drive, police said.

According to a police statement, two police captains were finishing lunch in the area and heard a radio call about a suspicious person. Soon after, the captains noticed a maroon Ford sedan with Georgia license plates, which matched the description of the call.

Police said the uniformed captain, identified as A.D. Sansom, walked up to the driver's door and heard one gunshot from the car. Sansom fired a single shot in the man's chest. The man jumped for cover in the back seat, but surrendered peacefully shortly after.

The identity of the gunman was not released. Police said the man remained in serious condition at Parkland Hospital.

Sansom was placed on administrative leave, per department protocol.

Investigators said the gunman may be connected to a report of a missing endangered person from Georgia, who was suspected of being armed, dangerous and possibly violent. Police said the investigation was ongoing, and could not confirm if the man was related to the missing persons report.
A knife-wielding man shot dead by Paris police on Thursday was carrying paper with an ISIS flag on it as well as a claim of responsibility, according to the Paris prosecutor, NBC News reported.

The attack came as France marks one year since Islamic extremists attacked satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

The man with a knife shouted "Allahu Akbar"  or "God is greatest"  and was killed by police before he could enter the 18th arrondissement's Goutte d'Or police station, the local mayor's office told NBC News. The prosecutor's office said a terrorism investigation has been opened into the incident

Ministry of the Interior spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told NBC News that what appeared to be an explosive device on the suspect was "fake."
A family dispute in a San Bernardino restaurant parking lot turned violent Wednesday, leaving one man critically wounded.

A 64-year-old man believed to be the victim's brother is wanted for the attack, police said. The violent encounter happened in the parking lot of the Mimi's Cafe on Hospitality Lane.



The two brothers were parked in adjacent spots, police said. For reasons still unclear, a man police identified as Keith Pryor fired one shot that struck his brother, and then allegedly inflicted further injury as he drove off.



"While leaving, it appears the suspect drove over the victim," said San Bernardino Police Lt. Rich Lawhead.

Lawhead said Pryor is a disabled veteran with a history of mental illness and investigators are concerned he may be a danger to himself and others.



The injured man, whose name was not released, was transported to a trauma center in critical

condition. Despite severe injuries, he was expected to recover, police learned from the hospital.



The case is being investigated as an attempted murder.



Detectives have reviewed security camera video that recorded the incident, and have also interviewed several witnesses, Lawhead said.



Wednesday afternoon police made public a photo of Keith Pryor in seeking the public's help in locating him.

Lawhead said Pryor was last seen driving away in his red Ford pickup truck, a 2002 model with disability license plates, DPV3948. The nature of the disability was not revealed. He did not return to his home in Bloomington.

Pryor is known to travel frequently to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, Lawhead said. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Granado or Sgt. Sullivan at 909-384-5615.



At the same time, authorities also warned against approaching Pryor.



"He should be considered armed and dangerous," Lawhead said.
A couple of South Florida high school students are making big waves in the world of science. The Intel Science Talent Search announced its semifinalists Wednesday for its annual competition. The list of 300 students includes one from Broward County and one from Miami-Dade County.

Simon Tsaoussis of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami was honored for his sophisticated work with something called Two Transistor Ternary Random Access Memory. Youll have to ask him to explain what that means!

Nicole Odzer of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale made the list for her project on the Toxicity of Naphthalene, a Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, on Porites divaricata: The effect of a Major Crude Oil Component on Corals Using a Novel Passive Dosing Technique. In laymans terms, she researched the harm done to coral by an oil spill.

The Intel Science Talent Search is organized and run by the Society for Science and the Public. It is billed as the nations oldest and most prestigious science competition. For 75 years, high school students have been submitting their work to be judged in this forum. This year, 1,750 students entered the competition from 512 high schools.

Each semifinalist wins a $1,000 prize, and the students school is also awarded a matching gift of $1,000. In two weeks, the list of 300 will be culled down to 40 finalists.



Those finalists will be competing for over $1 million in prizes.
Philadelphia Police hope that surveillance video of a sedan speeding away from the scene after a robber shot a 75-year-old grandmother carrying her groceries home in the face on New Year's Eve will help them nab their suspect.

Police called the shooting "heinous," as they revealed details about the shooting Thursday.

"You take a lady who's 75 years old, she's fighting you for her pocketbook and you shoot her in the face -- I don't think there's anything more heinous than that," said Northeast Detectives' Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum.[[364517391, C]]

Police said the senior citizen was walking along the driveway between Erdrick and Montague streets near Wellington, in Mayfair, on her way home from the ShopRite on Frankford Avenue just before 10 a.m. on New Year's Eve when she was accosted by the gunman, who shot her once in the cheek and stole her purse full of cash and her cellphone before taking off in a silver or white, 2004 to 2008 Nissan Maxima with some front grill damage and sunroof.

The victim's daughter Edie Ritchie said her mother, who still works, had just cashed a paycheck before going out to grab groceries.

Before pulling the trigger, the man -- described as being in his 20s, wearing a red knit cap and sporting a trimmed beard -- told the woman "I'll shoot you," police said.[[364517391, C]]

"She struggled with him and he pulled her into the car, during that course of action she was shot in the face," said Rosenbaum. "Luckily it wasn't life-threatening, it was a through-and through shot."

Police said the man dragged the victim for a few feet before speeding off.

Incredibly, after being shot, the victim managed to continue walking and make it back to her home about two and half blocks away, where she put away her groceries before calling for family for help, police said. The family then called 911.

"This is a very strong woman," said Rosenbaum.

Investigators followed a blood trail from the scene of the shooting to the woman's home then took her to Aria Health's Torresdale hospital in stable condition.

"She's doing well, considering... she's pretty feisty," said Ritchie.

The bullet went right through her cheek, Ritchie said possible because her mother was screaming when she was shot.

Police said she the victim was alert and talked with detectives at the hospital. [[363948211, C]]



Police released surveillance video Thursday -- put together from a series of business and household surveillance cameras -- that shows the suspect's sedan taking off down Princeton Avenue then turning north onto Torresdale Avenue.

Ritchie begged for anyone with info to come forward.

Anyone with information in the shooting should contact Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153/54. If you spot the suspect you should consider him dangerous and should call 911, said police.
Uber Black drivers filed a class action lawsuit against Uber Wednesday night following a protest in Southwest Philadelphia. The lawsuit, filed by Ali Razak of the Philadelphia Limo Association, an organization of over 500 Uber Black drivers, accuses Uber of failing to pay them compensation according to the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

READ: Uber Black Lawsuit

The lawsuit argues Uber has misclassified the Uber Black drivers as independent contractors rather than actual employees in order to avoid paying them wages, unemployment taxes, social security, workers' compensation premiums, disability taxes and other mandatory benefits.

Uber Black is marketed as the luxury version of UberX and features high-end luxury sedan vehicles.

Wednesday afternoon, dozens of Uber Black drivers protested at Ubers Philadelphia headquarters on the 7800 block of Bartram Avenue around 2 p.m. calling for the ride-sharing service to lower its commission. The protesters also said they were upset they were forced to compete with UberX, which is a lower cost service.

They are promoting UberX over us, Razak said. Theyre blocking us. We have numerous riders complaining. We have information where they have blocked us and provided the jobs for UberX.

The protesters listed the following demands in a written release:

1. Uber must reduce the commission charged to drivers. We are demanding that Uber commission return to 20% instead of the inflated 25%. Uber has undercut the market with the illegal operation of UberX and Uber Black drivers can no longer afford the inflated 25%.

2. Reset the customer app so that Uber Black is once again the default. We are already at a disadvantage because of UberX's cheaper rates.

3. Fix the Uber Black function on the app; when a customer requests an Uber Black, it doesnt appear on the app even though a vehicle is on location. The app is only showing illegal UberX vehicles.

4. Fix the app so that it functions properly at the Airport. Currently the app stops when a driver has waited hours for a fare and is first up for the fare. Because the app freezes, drivers must go to the end of the line.

5. Drivers' pay shall be calculated on the full fare, not readjusted later by Uber or customer request. If request is valid, drivers should be informed

6. Stop telling Uber Black drivers to switch to UberX. We are stuck paying for luxury vehicles that you enticed us to through your partnered dealers and lenders. We cannot afford to pay car notes on luxury vehicles and feed our families on UberX rates.

7. If customer used a hacked account after Uber released work to driver, then its Uber's responsibility, not drivers'. Drivers should not lose money after completing work approved by the app.

A spokesman for Uber responded to the protest with the following statement:

While we understand that many limousine drivers are frustrated, Philadelphia has shown enormous appetite for more affordable options like UberX, the spokesman wrote. In Philly alone, more than 12,000 people are earning extra income through UberX, and nearly half a million riders use UberX to move safely from point A to B.

The spokesman told NBC10 the company has taken several recent steps to promote Uber Black and increase demand, including purchasing ad space at 30th Street Station, in-app messages, and emails to Uber riders.

An Uber spokesperson also responded to Uber Blacks lawsuit in a written statement:

Nearly 90 percent of drivers say the main reason they use Uber is because they love being their own boss., the spokesperson wrote. Drivers are independent contractors who use Uber on their own terms; they control their use of the app. As employees, drivers would lose the personal flexibility they value most -- they would have set shifts, earn a fixed hourly wage, and be unable to use other ride-sharing apps."


Just days after long-time supporter former Mayor Michael Nutter left office and Philadelphia's direct route to Israel ceased, the beginning of the end came for Israels Consulate General in Philadelphia.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that it plans on closing Philly's Israeli Consulate and five others around the world as a cost-cutting measure, reported the Jerusalem Post.

The consulate has served as an economic and political connection between the greater Philadelphia region and Israel since 1961.

"We can confirm that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel has decided to terminate operations of the Consulate General of Israel in Philadelphia by the end of 2016," said a statement from the consulate. "Until the consulate ceases its activities it will continue operations and serving the Mid-Atlantic region, once closed other Israeli missions in the U.S. will expand their reach. The Ministry will do its best to assist its local employees in this process.

Former Mayor Nutter and the Jewish community previously staved off the closure of the consulate in 2013.

New Mayor Jim Kenney vowed to do what he could to keep Consul General Yaron Sideman in town.

"Were obviously disappointed given our sister city relationship with Tel Aviv, and well be reaching out to them to see if theres anything we can do to change their decision," said Kenney spokeswoman Lauren Hitt. "But regardless of the outcome of those conversations we are still committed to maintaining positive relationship and open dialogue with our Israeli residents.

The consulate says it also has hopes to keep operations in Philly going.

The closure comes just hours after American Airlines took its last non-stop trip between Philadelphia and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
Friday, the Paladins, Blue Largo and the Bedbreakers are at the Casbah; The Honeydrops headline at the Belly Up; The Schizophonics Soul Review, Stephen Rey Sextet and Bullfighters take over Music Box; The Downs Family, the Screamin Yeehaws and the Bum Deals play at Soda Bar; Hills Like Elephants and John Meeks are at Bar Pink; Egyptian Lover headlines at Til-Two; and the Routine, the Verigolds and Kid Wilderness are at Winstons. Get your dance on with Drezo at Bang Bang and Jesse Marco at Omnia.

Saturday is night one of Tool, Primus and 3TEETH at Viejas Arena (sold out); The Redwoods Revue featuring Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact, Birdy Bardot, the Midnight Pine and Dani Bell & the Tarantist are at the Casbah; Black Sabbitch, GayC/DC and Gunner Gunner take over Soda Bar; Tommy Castro & the Painkillers with Backwater Blues Band ft. Jimmy Woodard are at the Belly Up; and Queen Nation, the Band That Fell To Earth and DJ Man Cat hit Music Box. Dance options include Club Sabbat at Numb3rs with DJs Liquid Grey, Severin and Drew Harlander; Jonas Rathsman at Bang Bang and Manufactured Superstars at Omnia.

Sunday, Tool, Primus and 3Teeth play Night 2 at Viejas Arena (sold out); Nobunny, the Stalins of Sound and Kids In Heat are at Soda Bar; and Battle Bot, San Diegos premiere competition for producers, MCs and dancers, takes over the Casbah.

Make it a fun and safe weekend and Ill see you on the dance floor!

Robin Roth is a familiar voice in the San Diego scene. She is on the air weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 91X, plus she promotes and spins all over town. Follow Robin on Twitter or submit your DJ listings here.
A judge sentenced a man he called a "master manipulator" to 324 months in custody and a lifetime of supervision for multiple sex crimes against Escondido teenagers, including luring a middle school student from Southern California to Florida.

Tony McLeod, 38, was found guilty of having sexual relationships with two minors from San Diego.

McLeod was convicted of seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity as to a 14-year-old victim and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child as to a 15-year-old victim.

One of the minors, who was 14 years old when he boarded a plane with McLeod to Florida, testified at the sentencing hearing.

"I lost my childhood and lost my innocence," said the victim in a Florida courtroom.

The mother of the 14-year-old victim testified in Florida that the family has lost their sense of security since the incident.

The second victim, 15 years old at the time of the offense, said the man's actions "almost completely destroyed my family."

U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino called McLeod's actions "horrendous" as he handed down the sentence.

McLeod was a master manipulator who ingrained himself in these kids lives despite being thousands of miles away. He then exploited them for his own illicit sexual desire, said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement. We will work tirelessly to bring to justice those who prey on our children and rob them of their innocence.

McLeod will be subject to any search by any law enforcement or probation officer with reasonable suspicion concerning a violation once he is released. Additionally, he will not be able to use or possess electronic devices that would allow him to communicate with others, Duffy said. He will not be allowed to be in the presence of a child under the age of 18 unless he has prior approval, and only then, in the presence of a supervising adult who knows of his convictions, Duffy said.

McLeod has been in custody since his arrest in June 2013, when he was caught attempting to lure a 14-year-old boy from Escondido, just north of San Diego, back to Florida with him.



Investigators said McLeod had traveled from Tampa to San Diego to meet the teenage boy and picked him up one day after school. The pair had been talking online, exchanging sexually explicit photographs via cellphone, and McLeod had convinced the teen to leave Escondido with him.



The boy was reported missing and Escondido Police Department investigators were able to link the teen to McLeod and determined they were traveling together.

McLeod and the teen had traveled from San Diego to Los Angeles, boarding a non-stop flight to Tampa at Los Angeles International Airport. McLeod had booked the teens boarding pass under the fake name Justin McLeod.



Detectives worked with airlines, the Los Angeles Airport Police and the Tampa Police Department to track down the pair.



When McLeod and the boy arrived in Florida, Tampa police officers met the airplane on the runway and arrested McLeod. The teen was rescued by police and questioned, and then returned home to his parents in Escondido.



According to evidence in McLeods case, he struck up a friendship with his two minor victims through online gaming in spring 2013. Eventually, the online contact turned into phone calls, texts and video chats in which they discussed their personal lives.



In May 2013, the relationships turned sexual. Investigators said this included the exchange of sexually explicit photographs and videos.



Both young victims testified against McLeod during the trial, Duffys office said.

The Florida mans arrest and prosecution was a coordinated effort between multiple federal and state agencies in both San Diego and Tampa, the U.S. Attorneys office said, who worked tirelessly to collect and preserve evidence as to numerous electronic devices and interview witnesses in order to bring McLeod to justice.

A restitution hearing is set for Feb. 26.
A vast majority of San Diego residents have not read or heard anything about the fatal shooting of a mentally-ill man by a San Diego police officer last April in the Midway District, according to a city-funded survey.

A pair of online surveys were commissioned by the City Attorney's Office as part of its defense in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victims family. The surveys were conducted Dec. 23 and 27 and filed in federal court on Dec. 29.

According to the surveys, only one-third of jury-eligible respondents have heard any news stories about a police shooting in San Diego where an individual named Fridoon Nehad was shot by a police officer named Neal Browder.

More than 66 percent of the 214 people questioned were not familiar with the high-profile shooting.

San Diego Police Officer Neal Browder shot and killed Nehad in the early morning of April 30, 2015, in an alley near an adult bookstore in the Midway District. Nehad had a history of mental illness.

Browder has said Nehad posed a danger because he refused to stop walking toward Browders patrol car and was carrying what Browder thought was a knife. That knife turned out to be a pen.

The surveys also revealed that only 9.3 percent of those questioned had a negative impression of Nehad, compared to 34 percent who had a positive or neutral view of the victim and 56 percent who had never heard of Nehad.

Click here to read the survey.

The City Attorneys office, which is defending taxpayers in a $20 million civil lawsuit filed by Nehad's family, said those findings dispute claims by attorneys for Nehads family that it cannot get a fair trial in San Diego. The familys attorney has asked the judge to move the legal proceedings to another federal courthouse in another city.

The familys attorneys blame San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis for poisoning the local jury pool by making dishonest, inflammatory and gratuitous statements about this case in the press, including improper and inadmissible attacks on the victim and praise for Browder, according to court documents.

The shooting was caught on video tape from an outside surveillance camera operated by owners of the book store. The District Attorney made the video public on Dec. 22, after a federal judge ordered its release.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, the City Council, SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman and Dumanis had for months refused to release the video and unsuccessfully opposed the legal efforts of a media coalition to make the video and the officers post-shooting statement public.

The survey also asked the jury-eligible respondents how likely they would be to favor Nehads family in the civil suit.

Just twelve percent said they would be very or somewhat likely to side with the victims family. Thirteen percent said they would be very or somewhat unlikely to favor the Nehad family. Twenty-six percent said they werent sure which side they would favor, while almost 50 percent said they had never heard of Nehad.


The New Year brings plenty of new restaurants to San Diego, so draw up your dining bucket list and get to these local eateries. This list, compiled by Yelp, gives you the motivation to resolve to check out these new spots.



Roosevelt Pizzeria (Carlsbad)

Beautiful pizza pies plus Italian cuisine with a twist makes this new joint in the Carlsbad Village a fast favorite. Cleverly named after its geography on Roosevelt Street, diners will find a carb-loaded, mouthwatering menu that includes classic calzones and bread pudding.



Moto Deli (Leucadia)

Located at the former home of Leucadias beloved Sub Palace, this new eatery is slated to open later this month as a haven of beer, beaches, motorcycles and stuffed-to-the-brim sammies. Were dying for the porcetta option: a sandwich piled with kale, lemon, crispy capers, smashed white beans, grilled rapini, pickled chilies and smoked garlic aioli, served hot on a Kaiser roll. By the sound of the menu, the reviews for this place are expected to be stellar.



Baguette Bros (Kearny Mesa)

Three local San Diego brothers decided to open a shop focused on quality, made-to-order Banh Mi  savory Vietnamese sandwiches  and, as a result, the local dining scene in Kearny Mesa for 2016 is looking mighty fine. The sandwich menu here is extensive: try one Gangnam Style with housemade kimcho miso aioli and a side of fresh shrimp chips. This spot also offers something called Bulgogi Fries: Bulgogi rib eye and sauteed onions on a mountain of fries, topped with a fried egg. Can you say New Year #foodgoals?



Burger Bench (Escondido)

At just a few weeks old, this new haven for meat lovers is already highly-rated and loved by Main Street locals. Its located in the 1924 old Escondido Times building and boasts a menu filled with tater tots, grilled cheese and of course, burgers. The Chorizo Diablo is on our must-try list, topped with grilled peppers, cream cheese, lettuce, tomato and a spicy chipotle aioli made in-house.



Kindred (South Park/Golden Hill)

Finally, something to put on our vegan Happy Hour bar list! Locals have already given Kindred a solid 5-star rating, with pictures and reviews pouring in. The beet risotto dish has rave reviews, and the cocktail list is also being toasted by patrons. Unique menu items include a Fried and Pickled Platter and a seared cauliflower steak. Were intrigued! Plus, this spot it comes with street cred as several well-known chefs have been spotted here, eating rather than cooking for a change.



The Brew Project (Hillcrest)

Need a place to perch for the playoffs? This is the gastropub/sports bar/brew house concept for you. Watch the game while feasting on items like Carne Asada Fries, Chicken and Waffle Bites or the Winter Is Coming Salad. On the weekend the brunch menu is served until 2:30 p.m. To wash it all down, the bar boasts an impressive collection of local craft brews all under one roof and a bottle shop for take-away.

Trish Sanderson is the community manager and marketing director for Yelp North County San Diego. She leads the local community of Yelp reviewers both online and off.


President Barack Obama defended his proposed executive actions to cut violence as he answered questions Thursday night in Northern Virginia.

Obama held a town hall meeting at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The event, which was broadcast live on CNN as "Guns in America," came two days after Obama unveiled a series of executive orders zeroing in on enhanced gun control measures.

Obama tried to make the case for tightening gun control rules, while fighting claims by opponents of such regulations that he's trying to take away people's Second Amendment rights.

"All of us can agree that it makes sense to do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of people who would do others harm, or would do themselves harm ... hundreds of kids under the age of 18 are being shot or shooting themselves, often by accident," he said.

Supporters and critics of Obama's plans held signs outside the town hall meeting. "Guns save lives" and "background checks save lives," opposing groups of demonstrators chanted.

The father of Daniel Barden, a 7-year-old boy killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was part of the crowd and told News4 he supports Obama's plans.

"He gave the Congress numerous opportunities to try to do something, anything, and they were unable to, so he has to do what he has to do as the president of our country to protect our communities and our children," Barden said. "He's a father. He gets this."

National Rifle Association member Joe Lothrop was among many demonstrators who defended gun rights.

"Guns do not kill people. I can lay mine right there on the sidewalk. It's not going to hurt a soul," he said.

Obama tore into the NRA as he sought support for his actions on gun control, accusing the powerful lobby group of peddling an "imaginary fiction'" he said has distorted the national debate about gun violence.



Obama dismissed what he called a "conspiracy" alleging that the federal government wants to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law. He blamed that notion on the NRA and like-minded groups that convince its members that "somebody's going to come grab your guns."



"Yes, that is a conspiracy," Obama said. "I'm only going to be here for another year. When would I have started on this enterprise?"



He said the NRA refused to acknowledge the government's responsibility to make legal products safer, citing seatbelts and child-proof medicine bottles as examples.



NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said beforehand that the group saw "no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House." Several NRA members were in the audience for the event. The NRA pushed back on Twitter in real time, noting at one point "none of the president's orders would have stopped any of the recent mass shootings."

Obama's proposed actions include broader background checks, new regulations on lost or stolen weapons, new research into smart gun technology and a proposed $500 million investment to improve mental health care.

Maryland officials said earlier Thursday that if in place, Obama's proposed reforms may have saved the life of a 24-year-old Montgomery County woman who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend this summer. Prosecutors say the convicted felon who killed Marie Shade Adebayo fired using an antique gun he illegally ordered by mail.

"He was not supposed to have possession of handguns, however, replicas and antique firearms are excluded in Maryland law," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said.

Under Obama's proposed changes, anyone selling a gun, even online or by mail, would have to be licensed, and a background check would be conducted.

Del. Kathleen Dumais said she plans to take measures further in Maryland.

"There's going to be legislation that's going to be proposed by a Montgomery County delegate to try to close the gap that currently exists in the law," McCarthy said.

But not everyone believes more gun laws are the answer.

"We currently have laws in place that need to be enforced. If they're enforced, they will work," said Early Curtis, the president of Blue Ridge Arsenal, an indoor target range in Chantilly, Virginia.

He said he also wants to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands, but that criminals will find a way.

"If a criminal really wants a handgun, he'll go not to a store -- he'll go to his buddy on the corner," Curtis said.

Dumais said she plans to introduce legislation in late January.

In Fairfax, Obama will discuss the issues and take questions from people on both sides of the national issue, CNN.com reported. CNN's Anderson Cooper will host.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Months after a News4 I-Team investigation uncovered late payments and nationwide backlogs in a federal government daycare program for Army families, government administrators told a U.S. House panel Wednesday theyve since fixed most of the problems.

The troubled program is the Army Fee Assistance Program, administered by the U.S. General Services Administration. The program provides subsidy payments to U.S. Army families that cannot find daycare on military posts and must instead use private providers. An I-Team investigation in July showed the program was suffering a backlog of over 11,000 unanswered phone messages and emails and 9,000 unpaid invoices. Those unpaid invoices forced Army families to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket, with little or no indication of when they would get reimbursed by the feds.

A GSA financial administrator told the U.S. House Oversight Committee the agency has since reduced the backlog. The agency hired a private contractor to administer the program beginning in February, to avoid future problems and late payments. The same contractor had operated the Army Fee Assistance program in prior years, before the General Services Administration assumed control of it.

The agencys internal watchdog released a report this week saying almost all of the backlogged invoices, voice mails and emails had been dealt with. The Inspector General of the GSA reported approximately 250 unanswered emails and 1,200 unpaid invoices remaining.

One of the Army parents affected, U.S. Army Capt. Karmon Dyches of Frederick County, attended Wednesdays congressional panel. Dyches told the I-Team in July she was suffering financial hardships because of late payments from the feds. She said the government has since processed her checks.

As an Army family, you kind of tend to suck it up, and thats what we were trying to do, Dyches said.

Congressman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said GSA has made tremendous progress since Congress first addressed the problems in September.

Theres two ways things get done in Congress  slow and never -- and this is one of those that actually has exceeded my expectation, Meadows said. It makes a difference in family members lives, so were excited about that. Were committed to making sure that the red tape here doesnt affect their ability to serve the country.

The Army will soon bring in a private contractor to take over running the daycare program. The contractor, Child Care Aware of America, had previously run the program from 2004 to 2014, before the GSA took over. Dyches said she is looking forward to the new era.

Im very excited to be back in [Child Care Awares] very capable hands, she said.

The shift to the new contractor will be gradual. Families in the D.C. area will be shifted first, but those in other parts of the country will have to wait.

Carol Ochoa, GSA Inspector General, said the transition will be monitored carefully in order to make sure there is no further disruption to Army families.

These folks are doing all that they can for this country, Ochoa said. Theyre out there making sacrifices every day. They deserve to be doing that with peace of mind about whats happening financially with their family at home.

Approximately 10,000 US Army families will be transitioned from government administrators to the private contractor, Child Care Aware, by October, administrators said. The transition will shift almost 1,200 families each month, beginning with parents in the Washington, D.C., region.
The superintendent of Fairfax County schools said she tired of shrinking budgets and wants teachers and staff to stay in the northern Virginia school system.

Superintendent Dr. Karen Garza said continuing to make cuts to the school systems budget is hurting the schools and the reputation of Fairfax County. Two years ago, the budget was cut $98 million. Last year, the budget was cut $65 million.

I can no longer propose cuts, because by doing so the implication is, I believe, the cuts are appropriate, and they are simply not, Garza said.

Her budget for fiscal year 2017 includes raises for all employees, a salary step for teachers, and a plan to lower elementary school class sizes. The price tag for all this comes in at $113 million, a number Garza thinks can be achieved. It makes for a 4.8 percent increase over the previous year's budget and brings the total FY 2017 budget to $2.67 billion (pdf).

I think we have to. I think we have to, Garza said After nine years of consecutive cutting, were lagging in a lot of areas.

School teachers are concerned about the superintendent getting their hopes up.

I would hope its getting fears up, David, said Steve Greenburg, a third grade elementary school teacher and president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, to News4s David Culver. Because if they dont fund their schools now, there will be cuts and these will impact children ultimately, which should always be our primary focus.

But the thing that bothers me the most, David, is Ive got colleagues who now have to make a choice between leaving the children that they love that they want to teach and either surviving for their own families or actually getting out of the profession.

West Potomac High School principal Alex Case said the allure for teachers to move somewhere is strong.

Districtwide weve had about 200 vacancies starting this school year, which weve never experienced before, Case said. Employees are just looking for the highest salaries in some of our neighboring jurisdictions.

Garza said getting funding for her budget will depend on the county board of supervisors, later this spring.

I think it will be devastating and tragic if this budget is not completely funded, she said. We have lagging salaries, and were losing great teachers to other surrounding jurisdictions. We opened the school year with almost 200 vacancies, 200 openings. Unheard of in Fairfax County.

Some students have noticed the flight of teachers. Samee Ahmad moved from Pakistan six years ago, and he worries the county resources that helped him adjust are thinning.

Teachers are the most valuable asset that we have, he said. It was that sort of human capital which really helped me realize my intellectual pursuits.

A parents group will rally at 6:30 p.m. before Thursdays school board meeting. They are hoping for more money for Fairfax County public schools.
Fire officials say misplaced fireplace ashes started a large house fire in Montgomery County Thursday morning.

Over 50 firefighters were called to the 5900 block of Willow Knoll Drive in Derwood just after 5 a.m. When they arrived, they found heavy fire coming from the first floor of the home.

Fire officials believe misplaced fireplace ashes ignited the blaze.

"They had a fire yesterday and put the ashes in a bag on the back porch. This morning, it broke out into flames," Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, said.

The family inside the home got out safely, but Piringer says a guinea pig and fish did not survive. Firefighters were able to rescue a second guinea pig.

Willow Knoll Dr, Derwood, FP ashes on deck/porch was the cause; Damage >$300K; smoke alarms alerted family, no inj pic.twitter.com/o9O7QlM4YF  Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 7, 2016

The Montgomery County Fire Department shared the following fireplace safety tips on Twitter Thursday morning:
The details of the crime were shocking and bizarre.

A law firm partner and his wife were attacked in their McLean, Virginia home, tortured and nearly killed before the victims were able to activate a panic alarm.

Another husband and wife, both lawyers themselves, were charged with the crime. Now, lawyers for the male defendant, Andrew Schmuhl, have put a court on notice they may employ a very unusual defense: involuntary intoxication.

Schmuhl's attorneys told a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge they plan to use a rare involuntary intoxication defense -- arguing that his mental state at the time of the offense resulted from the use of medication.

The horrific attack took place on a Sunday evening, November 9, 2014. Victim Leo Fisher testified at a preliminary hearing that a man knocked on the door claiming to be an officer, but then burst into the home and stunned him with a Taser. The attacker bound the victim and slit his throat. The victim's wife, Susan Duncan, was stabbed and shot in the head.

"He raised a gun and he shot her ... and I thought he killed her," Fisher previously said.

The bullet grazed Duncan's head.

Fisher testified he recognized the attacker as Alecia Schmuhl's husband. She had recently been fired from Fisher's law firm in Arlington, Virginia.



Prosecutors believe Alecia Schmuhl was just outside the home during the attack, communicating by phone with her husband.

Andrew Schmuhl fled after Susan Duncan was able to activate an alarm, prosecutors say. Police arrested the Schmuhls after a brief chase, and found Andrew Schmuhl clad only in a diaper.

Criminal defense attorney Peter Greenspun, who is not representing the Schmuhls but has handled many high-profile cases, said the defense is more commonly used when someone is unwittingly slipped a drug, in a drink for instance.

"It's going to be a very tough burden for the defense," he said. "If it's the wrong medication or he was misprescribed or he, for some reason, didn't know what he was taking, then it's certainly a fair argument."

Greenspun said prosecutors are likely to argue the hours of torture could not have been carried out by someone drugged into intoxication.

"The prosecutor will walk through every purposeful element and say, 'How could you be so intoxicated on drugs mistakenly that you didn't know what you were doing?'"

Prosecutors also have pressed in court filings to try to get to defense to divulge whether they will rely on mental health experts to describe the medications' impact on Andrew Schmuhl.

The judge has ruled that he will handle the issue of expert testimony at trial. In a November filing, Schmuhl's lawyers suggested they intended to assert at trial that Schmuhl's mental state at the time of the offense met the definition for insanity. Defense Attorney Brad Haywood would not say whether that defense would be dropped in favor of the involuntary intoxication defense.

A wait for more DNA test results delayed the trial's expected Jan. 19 start date. Court filings show among the items to now be tested: bottles of NyQuil, a box of Benadryl and two empty plastic bottles that contained a mix of rubbing alcohol and gasoline.

A new trial date will be set at a Jan. 19 hearing.
A man posing as a Walmart employee took over a cash register at a Fairfax County store and stole money after checking out a customer, police say.

The man, who was wearing a Walmart employee vest, entered the store in the 13000 block of Fair Lakes Shopping Center in Fairfax, Virginia, at around 4 p.m. on Dec. 15 and told a cashier that he was needed in the office.

Fairfax County Police say the man then took over the register and even checked out a customer before stealing an undisclosed amount of cash.

He then left the store and drove away in a silver Honda.

Officials released details of the incident Wednesday, including surveillance images of the suspect. Police say the suspect may have also stolen from Walmart stores in Farmville, Virginia, and in Maryland.

The suspect is described as a black male between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet 1 inch tall, and weighing 170 to 180 pounds. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a Walmart employee vest.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers online at http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, text "TIP187" plus your message to CRIMES (274637), or call 866-411-TIPS (8477), or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.
Gov. Larry Hogan is set to discuss some of his legislative priorities for his second year in office.



Hogan will hold a news conference in Annapolis on Thursday afternoon.



Polls indicate the Republican governor is widely popular despite Maryland's overwhelmingly Democratic electorate. Democrats also control both chambers of the legislature.



On Tuesday, Hogan announced that the state would commit $675 million toward revitalizing blighted neighborhoods in Baltimore, including the demolition of vacant homes.



Hogan's first year in office was marked by civil unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray from a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody. The governor also underwent treatment for an aggressive form of cancer and became an advocate for patients.


Police say a Montgomery County court commissioner thought he was telling a teenage boy he wanted to have sex with him -- but he was talking with an undercover detective.

Daniel Read, 30, spoke on a social media network with someone he initially thought was a 17-year-old boy, Montgomery County police said. The social media user -- who actually was a vice unit detective -- then told Read he was 15 years old, police said.

Read continued to speak with the user and "expressed his desire to have sex" with him," police said. Read, of Germantown, then arranged to meet with the user at a McDonald's in Germantown, according to police.

Read arrived at the McDonald's about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 3 for the meeting, police said. Detectives met him in the parking lot and arrested him.

Read's lawyer defended his client's innocence and said there were no "ill intentions" in his communications.

Read was charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and was released after he posted $50,000 bond.

Read was employed as a Montgomery County court commissioner until four days after his arrest, a Maryland State Courts Division representative confirmed. It wasn't immediately known if he left the job or was fired.

Commissioners staff 24-hour court offices throughout the state and are the first point of contact in the judicial system for someone who's been arrested or who wants a restraining order.

Read is the second Maryland court commissioner charged with a crime within a two-week period.

In early December, another commissioner was charged with a misdemeanor after authorities say he admitted to to placing his cellphone on the floor in order to take an "upskirt" photo of a woman at the county's detention center.

Anyone with information on Read is asked to call police. Detectives believe he may have contacted additional juveniles.
For more than three decades, motorists in northern Virginia have been required to obtain an emissions inspection as part of the vehicle registration process.

Until now, the only inspection option was to make a trip to a traditional inspection station, which could require making appointments, juggling schedules and waiting in lines.

RAPIDPASS, the on-road emissions testing option, is now part of Air Check Virginia, the vehicle emissions program operated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Motorists now have the option of having their vehicle emissions inspected in the blink of an eye during daily driving routines in northern Virginia.

Drivers can drive down the road at normal speed, passing through emission testing zones, which are two green boxes. The cars are checked with an infrared beam, and if it passes, a letter is sent to the owner, offering the option to pay for the test online.

This actually measures the emissions of a vehicle as it is driving down the road," said Jim Sands, president of Opus Inspection, which is running the RAPIDPASS program. "This equipment is extremely accurate for vehicles. You can't get any more accurate than measuring emissions on a vehicle that's in use."

No trip to the garage is necessary, and some people didnt even know their car had been tested. Matt Howard was the first northern Virginia resident to get a letter, telling him that his car had passed.

I got the notice in the mail, and I had never heard of RAPIDPASS, so I thought it was junk mail, Howard said. I did open it though, and it appeared to be legitimate. I went online and it was a piece of cake."

Sands said simple maintenance will help cars pass the test easily.

"Keeping the air pressure in your tires at regular limits, doing the oil changes," he said. "Those are good solid maintenance issues that some people just don't pay any attention to."

The program wont be able to measure every car in northern Virginia, but it will get a lot of them. These locations will be moved all over the area.
Stocks and oil prices plunged again Thursday on spreading fears that China's economy, a major engine of global growth, is sputtering.

It was the worst one-day drop on Wall Street since late September, and the main U.S. benchmark, the Standard & Poor's 500 index, has now had its worst four-day opening of a year in history.

The latest bout of market volatility came after China allowed its currency to weaken further, a dangerous omen for the world's second-largest economy. That helped set off a 7 percent plunge in China's main index, causing trading to be halted after just 30 minutes.

The sell-off spread across continents, sending indexes sharply lower in the U.S. and Europe. The price of U.S. crude oil plunged to its lowest level since 2004 as traders worried that weakness in China would translate into lower global demand for energy.

The downturn in the U.S. has been concentrated in technology stocks, which could suffer if demand for iPhones and other electronics weakens. Apple sank 4 percent and has now fallen 27 percent since July.

Thursday's drop pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index into what market watchers call a "correction," or a drop of 10 percent from a recent peak. The Nasdaq has fallen for six days straight.

China could be in store for more declines after that country's market regulator suspended automatic trading halts that were put in place Jan. 1. Those halts, which were triggered twice this week, are increasingly seen as inadequate measures to prevent volatility.

"The management of the Chinese economy is the real concern," said John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial. "All that matters for markets right now is 'China can't get their act straight.' "

The Dow Jones industrial average sank 392.41 points, or 2.3 percent to 16,514.10. At one point it was down 442 points, or 2.6 percent.

The S&P 500 index gave up 47.17 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,943.09. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 146.34 points, or 3 percent, to 4,689.43.

While the Nasdaq is so far the only major U.S. index to enter a correction, the other two are getting close. The Dow average is down 9.8 percent from its peak in May, and the S&P 500 index has lost 8.8 percent since then.

European markets also dropped. Germany's DAX slid 2.3 percent, France's CAC 40 gave up 1.7 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 lost 2 percent.

The price of U.S. crude oil dipped to 12-year lows as investors worried worldwide demand will fall even further. It sank 70 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $33.27, its lowest close since February 2004. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, lost 48 cents to $33.75 a barrel in London. Brent is trading at 11-year lows.

Apple, the world's largest publicly traded company, had its biggest loss in four months and fell to its lowest price since October 2014. Financial stocks also slumped. Citigroup gave up $2.56, or 5.1 percent, to $47.56.

Aerospace company Boeing fell $5.82, or 4.2 percent, to $133.01 and railroad operator Union Pacific felt $1.75, or 2.3 percent, to $73.08.

2016 has started with a series of warning signs about China's economy. Those worries about China have drowned out signs that the economies of the U.S. and Europe are doing fairly well.

Thursday's selling was linked to weakness in the yuan, as the government's decision to let the currency get weaker may be a sign of weakness in China's economy. Earlier this week, economic data caused investors to worry about China's manufacturing and service industries.

"China's been such a big driver of global growth for 15 years and now they're not, and they don't seem to have a plan for the next 15 years," said Canally.

The S&P 500 is down 4.9 percent this week, on pace for its biggest weekly loss since August. That decline was touched off by worries that a dive in China's stock market would harm that nation's economy.

The price of gold added $15.90, or 1.5 percent, to $1,107.80 an ounce. Silver rose 36.8 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $14.344 an ounce. Those prices have been falling for years, but gold prices have recovered recently and are at their highest price in about two months.

However the price of copper declined 6.6 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $2.022 a pound. That helped send copper producer Freeport-McMoRan down 56 cents, or 9.1 percent, to $5.61. Its stock has plunged 84 percent over the last two years.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline declined 1.6 cents to $1.146 a gallon and heating oil lost 1.5 cents to $1.066 a gallon. Natural gas rose 11.5 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $2.382 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The euro rose to $1.0927 from $1.0788. The dollar fell to 117.750 yen from 118.38 yen.

Bonds prices rose. The yield on 10-year Treasury bond fell to 2.15 percent from 2.17 percent.
A section of Belmont Center in Massachusetts is shut down as firefighters battle a blaze in the popular Il Casale restaurant.

Belmont Police said Leonard Street in Belmont Center is closed due to the building fire. The restaurant is located in a restored firehouse.

Flue fire at il Casale causing traffic headaches in Belmont Center pic.twitter.com/jCH5KH4x8F  The Belmontonian (@belmontonian) January 7, 2016

Motorists are urged to seek alternate routes.

No further information was immediately available.
A small riot broke out inside the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Bridgewater Wednesday night, law enforcement confirmed.

Bridgewater Police Lt. Thomas Schlatz said officers got the call from a corrections officer inside the center around 8 p.m. about a disturbance, which he described to necn as a "small mini riot."

There's no word on how many were injured in the melee; however, Lt. Schlatz said the caller requested several ambulances.

Bridgewater police were only on the scene for about 20 minutes, and that it was handled by the facility, Lt. Schlatz said.
It's an interesting time for Apple investors. Even though the company's fiscal year in 2015 was its most profitable in history, shares of the company have remain compressed amid concerns that demand for the iPhone is weakening, slowly but surely.

Most recently, a report out of Japan surfaced indicating that Apple recently told its component suppliers to cut back on iPhone 6s production by about 30% for the January-March quarter. Though production is slated to pick back up shortly thereafter, the slightest hint of a dent in the iPhone's armor has a tendency to send investors and Wall Street into a panic.

Today, shares of Apple have been slumping quite heavily, with the stock now trading at near or at the $100 level. In fact, at one point today, shares of Apple fell below $100 for the first time since 2014.

The Wall Street Journal adds:

Component suppliers that rode the iPhones boom are now bracing for lower sales. Apple has cut its order forecasts to iPhone suppliers in the past several months, according to three people familiar with the companys supply chain. Apple provides suppliers with projections on possible orders months in advance and makes adjustments over time, based on demand and inventory, according to suppliers.

So is this doom and gloom time for Apple? Well, we really have no way of knowing without first seeing how Apple's official iPhone sales figures measure up. It's also worth pointing out that reports of declining iPhone sales is a theme we've seen on and off for years now. And each time investors express concern, Apple has a tendency to surprise analysts come earnings season.

What's particularly bizarre is that Apple's current P/E ratio currently checks in at about 10.9, significantly lower than most every other big-name tech stock out there, including Google (P/E of 35), Amazon (P/E of 915) and Microsoft (P/E of 36).

While this seems a bit outlandish, it's worth noting that Apple has seemingly never been treated fairly by Wall Street. For reasons that defy explanation, Apple is traditionally and perpetually viewed as a company on the verge of collapse. Indeed, if you go back and look at the iPhone's short history, you'll see that analysts have been predicting 'peak iPhone' for years now.

The iPhone gravy train of course can't go on forever, but until we see cold hard data from Apple itself, it's hard to really take concerns over iPhone demand too seriously.
Microsoft, Google and Facebook are urging U.K. officials not to undermine encryption as they work on laws that would authorize forcing communications service providers to decrypt customer traffic.

In a joint written submission to the U.K. Parliament the three U.S.-based companies lay down several areas of concern, which, if not addressed, they say could damage their businesses and leave them caught in legal crossfires among the many countries where they do business.

The companies say they dont want the U.K. to impose restrictions and apply them to foreign service providers such as themselves because, if other countries followed suit, it would lead to a morass of laws impossible to navigate. Conflicts of laws create an increasingly chaotic legal environment for providers, restricting the free flow of information and leaving private companies to decide whose laws to violate, the submission says.

They staunchly support encryption without backdoors. The companies believe that encryption is a fundamental security tool, important to the security of the digital economy as well as crucial to ensuring the safety of web users worldwide, they write. We reject any proposals that would require companies to deliberately weaken the security of their products via backdoors, forced decryption, or any other means.

Despite what the U.K.s Home Secretary Theresa May has said about not seeking encryption backdoors, they want it in writing. We appreciate the statements in the Bill and by the Home Secretary that the Bill is not intended to weaken the use of encryption, and suggest that the Bill expressly state that nothing in the Bill should be construed to require a company to weaken or defeat its security measures.

The Parliament is considering bills that would give government agencies access to communications across service provider networks with proper legal authorization, which would affect Microsoft, Google and Facebook, all of which operate globally and face compliance with laws in many countries.

As the U.K. is considering such laws, the Netherlands have rejected forcing providers to break encryption on demand. In the U.S., Congress has held hearings in which members say they will propose legislation to require providing cleartext versions of encrypted traffic when presented with a judges order.

The three companies ask that if the U.K. does create lawful access to encrypted communications, companies based outside the U.K. would not be required to comply if that would go against laws it has to follow in other countries.

They urge an international agreement on how the lawful-access laws of individual countries should be observed in other countries to remove ambiguities that might prevent them from complying with all of them.

The companies want to protect customer privacy by requiring notification of those whose communications are intercepted. While it may be appropriate to withhold or delay notice in exceptional cases, in those cases the burden should be on the Government to demonstrate that there is an overriding need to protect public safety or preserve the integrity of a criminal investigation, they say.

They also seek to protect data stored in the cloud the same way it is protected in private data centers. The government should go to a business if it is seeking a businesss data, just as it did before cloud services existed. This is an area where the UK can lead the rest of the world, promoting cloud adoption, protecting law enforcements investigative needs, and resolving jurisdictional challenges without acting extraterritorially, they say.

They note that the draft lacks requirements for agencies to tell the providers if they know of vulnerabilities in their networks that could be exploited, and that any authorized actions agencies take dont introduce new vulnerabilities.

Microsoft, Google and Facebook seem concerned that agencies granted legal access to their networks might alter them lest that have a negative effect on the services they deliver over those networks. The clearest example is the authority to engage in computer network exploitation, or equipment interference, they say. To the extent this could involve the introduction of risks or vulnerabilities into products or services, it would be a very dangerous precedent to set, and we would urge your Government to reconsider.

The companies want protections for their executives located within the U.K. They want warrants, when they have to be served on communications companies, to be served to officers of the companies who are located at the companies headquarters, not to employees of the companies located in the U.K. We have collective experience around the world of personnel who have nothing to do with the data sought being arrested or intimidated in an attempt to force an overseas corporation to disclose user information, they write. We do not believe that the UK wants to legitimize this lawless and heavy-handed practice.

They dont want to be forced to create and retain data about customers that they dont already in the normal course of business. Some language under the retention part of the Bill suggests that a company could be required to generate data  and perhaps even reconfigure their networks or services to generate data  for the purposes of retention, they write.

The companies think whatever judicial approvals are required to issue warrants to decrypt communications ought to apply to other U.K. orders issued to communications providers by the U.K.s Defense Intelligence and other intelligence services. These other orders include national security notices, maintenance of technical capability orders, and modifications to equipment interference warrants.

They want the law to narrowly define bulk collection of data so it doesnt include all traffic on a given channel, but rather is restricted to traffic specified by specific indicators such as source and destination, for example. The law should allow only necessary and proportionate amounts of data be analyzed and retained, and the rest be destroyed, they say.

Service providers should be allowed to hire attorneys and protest warrants without running the risk of violating disclosure laws or acknowledging that they actually are subject to the law, they write.

They take exception to a single word  urgent  not being defined in drafts of the law where it says requiring decryption of communications in urgent cases. Clarity on this term - which other countries may seek to emulate and even abuse - is important, they say.

This story, "Microsoft, Google, Facebook to U.K.: Dont weaken encryption" was originally published by Network World .
Ron Howards In the Heart of the Sea offers no real surprises

FORMER Happy Days star Ron Howard is one of the most Hollywood directors of them all. Following in the footsteps of the great Steven Spielberg, he knows how to spin a yarn, crafting formulaic yet well put-together blockbusters that excite, engage and entertain through dialogue, plot and captivating storytelling.

However, In the Heart of the Sea is a letdown. The film tells the true story behind the novel Moby Dick, and author Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) is a character in this film. Researching his latest work, Melville visits a survivor of a legendary whale attack. The man  a former sailor named Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson)  recounts his story.

At this point, the film transports us back to the 1820s and Nickersons memories of the events that unfolded on a fateful whaling voyage. Bent on revenge against humankind, the whale in question waged a campaign of terror on the unsuspecting crew of Nantucket whaling ship The Essex  refusing to relent until it had achieved its aims.

Nicholson tells how, in the face of incredible adversity and certain death, a handful of the crew survives  including first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker)  and each returns feeling duty-bound to tell their tale. However, some of the things that happened during that horrifying voyage prove harder to disclose than others.

Evoking films such as Mutiny on The Bounty, Master and Commander, The Life of Pi and even Jaws, In the Heart of the Sea offers up no surprises, and everything on screen has a seen-it-all-before quality. Weve all seen sea monsters attacking  arguably with more threat and menace than here  and weve all seen stranded-at-sea movies, recently more compellingly executed in Angelina Jolies flawed Unbroken. Weve also all seen movies where survivors of extreme situations are pushed to the brink, forced to commit unspeakable deeds  Alive is one of the most memorable. And yet, the biggest problem with Howards film is its structure.

Told in retrospect from the perspective of a former cabin boy who at the time was on his maiden whaling voyage (played in flashback by Tom Holland), the audience is consequently removed from the events depicted. This means we are less invested in whats happening and less able to feel any tension, horror and emotion  and these are all things that are crucial to the success of Ron Howards picture, a film re-treading old movie ground. Our heads and hearts are with Brendan Gleesons Nickerson and not with the characters hes relating in the main thrust of the story, many years in the characters past.

Theres also the problematic element of unreliability. Since all characters and events are recalled and depicted through a single characters eyes rather than a universal, impartial storyteller who exists outside of the story, questions are raised. Has trauma and the passage of time influenced how he remembers events? Just one of the things youll ask yourself while you watch. This

is what ultimately leads to our disengagement with the main events of the film  and this is so damaging to Howards apparent aim of making an exciting and moving cinematic blockbuster-type movie.

Introducing a topical storyline involving money-grabbing oil barons, the film claws back a modicum of respect as it draws parallels with the contemporary world, setting itself up as a cautionary tale for modern times.
Send your best wishes to Paddington's creator

Picture: Felicity McCabe

Fans of the creator of that charismatic small bear from Peru have the opportunity to send birthday greeting to his creator, author Michael Bond, who was born in Newbury and grew up in Reading, and celebrates his 90th birthday on Wednesday, January 13.

It was while serving in the Middlesex Regiment in 1945 that he wrote his first short story which sold for seven guineas  not bad for that time - to a magazine called London Opinion. He continued to write short stories and radio plays, never thinking that he might turn his talents to writing for children, but a lonely bear left on a shelf in Selfridges toy department on the Christmas Eve of 1956 changed his mind. In October 1958 the first Paddington adventure was published.

The small bear has captured the hearts of his readers since, resulting in thirty five million copies of the Paddington books being sold worldwide. His creator was appointed the OBE in 1997 and the CBE in 2015 for services to childrens literature.

To mark this special birthday Paddington fans are being invited to send video or photo messages wishing Mr Bond a happy birthday. A selection will be compiled into a special video which will be posted on Paddington.com and social media channels on January 13th 2016.

For more details on how to submit your recording or image follow this link http://bit.ly/1UkbQ30
Police Department

Nov. 27

3:59 p.m. - At 818 E. 23rd St., Ashley Ladehoff, 31, no address, was cited for unauthorized use of a financial transaction device.

Dec. 10

5:21 p.m. - At 818 E. 23rd St., Montrese Weller, 20, and Octavia McGraw, 20, both of Omaha, were each cited for theft by shoplifting.

Dec. 14

Time unavailable - In the 1600 block of 28th Avenue, Billi Haferland, 32, 1560 28th Ave., was cited for animal at-large, no proof of rabies vaccination, two counts, and no city license, two counts.

Dec. 18

8:05 p.m. - At 3010 23rd St., Ethan Vesely, 19, 2323 Pershing Road, No. 27, was cited for possession of marijuana-one ounce or less. Yazmin Morena-Garcia, 22, 2064 Gruenther Drive, was cited for possession of marijuana-one ounce or less and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dec. 22

7:26 a.m. - At the intersection of 23rd Avenue and 14th Street, Ana Woerth, 45, 1509 Eighth St., was cited for no valid registration.

Dec. 26

7:56 a.m. - In the 2200 block of 30th Avenue, Jesus Ramos-Llamera, 48, 2765 36th Ave., was cited for destruction of property by an animal, no proof of rabies vaccination and no city license.

Dec. 29

12:59 a.m. - At 2506 12th St., Nathan Kool, 32, 275 19th Ave., was cited for third-degree assault.

1:12 p.m. - In the 2600 block of 13th Street, Rachel Mark, 27, 1265 26th Ave., No. 2, was cited for animal at-large, no proof of rabies vaccination and no city license.

2:29 p.m. - At the intersection of Seventh Street and 21st Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Deryl Miller, 71, 356 21st Ave., and Dylan Dykes, 16, St. Edward.

2:50 p.m. - In the 1600 block of 23rd Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Toni Marker, 28, Monroe, and Richard beiermann, 66, 3307 28th St. Marker was cited for an improper lane change and driving under suspension.

3:12 p.m. - In the 2600 block of 14th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Kathryn Nyland, 32, 2430 33rd St., and Mardell Preister, 84, Humphrey.

9:26 p.m. - In the 2500 block of Eighth Street, James Kemp, 30, 254 21st Ave., was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Dec. 30

11:11 a.m. - In the 3700 block of 18th Avenue, a vehicle driven by Nathan Ostdiek, 17, 3662 Regency Place, lost control and struck a city light pole.

Dec. 31

1:15 p.m. - At the intersection of 16th Street and 29th Avenue, Luis Lopez, 24, 2912 15th St., was cited for no valid registration.

Jan. 2

11:16 p.m. - At the intersection of 26th Avenue and 15th Street, Juan Lucio-Rayon, 29, 1267 1/2 26th Ave., No. 2, was cited for no operator's license, no valid registration and no proof of insurance.

Jan. 3

Unknown time  In the 3800 block of 22nd Street, an unknown vehicle struck a parked vehicle owned by Cargill Inc., Schuyler, and left the scene.

5:33 a.m.  In the 2300 block of 26th Avenue, a vehicle driven by Desiree Davis, 49, 2009 10th St., lost control and struck a Loup Power District light pole.

12:53 p.m. - In the 700 block of 23rd Street, Timothy Conarsky, 49, 3502 17th St., was cited for open container of alcohol.

Jan. 4

9:17 a.m.  Burglary at Peace Lutheran Church, 2720 28th St. Property value at $270 was stolen and damage totaled $300.

7:34 p.m.  Theft at 723 Sixth St., $345 loss.

Sheriffs Department

Dec. 28

11:50 a.m.  On U.S. Highway 81, -mile north of Humphrey, traffic accident. Drivers were Victor Velazquez, 50, 2910 14th St., No. 5, and Ross Freudenburg, 22, Madison.

Dec. 30

7:30 a.m.  At the intersection of Lost Creek Parkway and Highway 81, traffic accident. Drivers were Robert Miksch, 28, 24565 265th Ave., and Larry Hoadley, 52, 3631 8rd St.

9:04 a.m.  On Highway 81, one mile north of Columbus, traffic accident. Drivers were Kylee Bartak, 24, Norfolk, and Rick Torczon, 58, 3554 48th Ave.

9:10 a.m.  At the intersection of 48th Avenue and 68th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were David Tucker, 16, 4324 Conner Drive, and Alan Maguire, 65, Leigh.

9:42 a.m.  At the intersection of 175th Avenue and 355th Street, a vehicle driven by Betsy Crabtree, 60, Creston, lost control and went into a ditch.

10:25 a.m. - On 175th Avenue, seven miles north of Columbus, traffic accident. Drivers were Clay Groteluschen, 30, Creston, and Ryan Brock, 28, 3156 Mimick Lane.

12:36 p.m.  At the intersection of 13th Street and Main Avenue in Duncan, traffic accident. Drivers were Lynn Blaser, 75, 34883 223rd St., and Shelley Lanz, 51, Howells.

Jan. 4

3:37 p.m.  Traffic violation at the intersection of Highway 22 and 355th Avenue, Tristan Bender of New Mexico cited for speeding.

10:18 p.m.  Criminal mischief at 6476 Shadow Ridge Place, mailbox damaged, $150 loss.

Jan. 5

1:20 p.m. - Theft from a building at 23179 287th St. in Platte Center, cash stolen, $240 loss.

Fire Department

Jan. 3

12:01 p.m.  Accident on 83rd Street just west of 18th Avenue.

12:38 p.m.  In the 4700 block of 38th Street, medical.

6:39 p.m.  In the 3500 block of 26th Avenue, medical.

Jan. 4

1:54 a.m.  In the 2700 block of Third Avenue, medical.
Lawrence was born July 16, 1940, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to Alvin and Stasia (Drog) Gavlik. His family moved to Nebraska when he was 4 years old. He attended and graduated from St. Edward High School in 1960. Lawrence joined the U.S. Air Force in 1964 and served in Guam during the Vietnam War. His specialty was aircraft maintenance; he was charged with keeping the jet bombers on constant alert. Lawrence retired from the military in 1990 and from Bell Helicopter in 2002. He earned his pilots license in 1972 and enjoyed flying, traveling (especially cruises), camping, fishing and visiting with family and friends.
COLUMBUS  When veterans from the post-2001 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan returned to civilian life, many were concerned about whether theyd be able to readjust and join the work force.

David Rangeloff, who is in charge of disabled veteran outreach at the Nebraska Department of Labor, said for the first few years those concerns were legitimate because employers didnt know how to accommodate veterans.

Some return from the service with back, ankle and knee injuries. Trauma and post-traumatic stress can get in the way of employment. Some, who are still serving in the Reserves or National Guard, may need time off to fulfill duties.

A lot of these issues were new to employers, said Rangeloff. Things have improved over the months or the years compared to, if you look at 2001 to 2005.

The Veterans Affairs office in Omaha and Nebraska VR reached out to employers and educated them on how they can incorporate and accommodate veterans. In Columbus, organizations like Platte County Veterans Services, Central Nebraska Community Services, VetSet, which is based at East Central District Health Department, Nebraska VR and the Department of Labor formed a network of services to help veterans get whatever help they need.

For employment and training, they're referred to Rangeloff.

Right now we have a lot of veterans that have skills, but sometimes these transferable skills are not what were looking for, said Rangeloff. We sit them down, look at what they have and what needs to be updated, and send them to Central Community College to work on those.

According to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, these efforts have paid off.

The latest five-year estimates show the local unemployment rate for veterans is lower than Platte Countys non-veteran unemployment rate of 5 percent over the time and the statewide unemployment rate for veterans of 5.3 percent.

I think the community is awesome, said Rangeloff. There are many employers out there with veterans working within their organization.

This isnt surprising considering how hungry employers, especially the manufacturing and industrial sectors, are for talent.

I think theres jobs on all different skill levels and education levels, said Robert Hotovy with VetSet. The demand is there.

But Rangeloff believes theres more to their success than simple supply and demand.

I think its just the great state of Nebraska and that employers are taking it to heart and looking at these veterans and their resumes and thinking, What can we do to get these veterans back into the work force,'" said Rangeloff.

That success in Columbus and elsewhere across the state has prompted the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce to initiate a recruitment campaign called The Good Life for Veterans" aimed at selling the state to people retiring or separating from the military. Recruiters also visit bases across the country, especially Fort Riley in Kansas, to bring more veterans to the state to work.
Reporter

Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee).
Columnist

Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich).
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
The sequencing of the first genome involving a cockroach species may one day serve as a model system comparable to how research on mice can apply to humans. In this case, the model could hold new revelations about how stress during pregnancy could affect both the mother and her offspring. Emily Jennings, a University of Cincinnati doctoral student in the Department of Biological Sciences, will present a study using RNA-sequencing analysis on a pregnant insect at the annual national meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The meeting takes place Jan. 3-7, in Portland, Oregon.

The subject of the research does not involve the cockroach that sends us running for the bug spray when we find it in our home. The beetle mimic cockroach, Diploptera punctata, is much smaller and is not considered a pest around human habitats. Native to the Polynesian Islands, it primarily dwells in tropical forests. This is the first study of its kind to be performed on this particular insect.

The study involved extracting Ribonucleic acid or RNA - found in the cells of all living organisms - to develop a transcriptome - the gene readouts in a cell - to examine what occurs during the different developmental stages of the cockroach pregnancy and to explore if those changes hold wider applications for other mammals. The four stages of the reproductive cycle included mated but not pregnant; pre-lactation pregnancy; early lactation pregnancy and late lactation pregnancy, along with a male-female comparison that revealed unique expressed genes corresponding to each stage.

"When I started this project two-and-a-half years ago, we might have had a maximum of 80 sequenced genes for this animal," says Jennings. "Now, we've found as many as 11,000 possible genes. We're in the process of assigning functions, roles and names by comparing sequences to sequenced genomes, such as that of the fruit fly, stored in the database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

"We're on the edge of creating an exciting new resource for examining how a mother nourishes her babies before birth, a process typically associated with mammals," says Jennings.

Jennings explains that this particular cockroach generates a type of milky secretion that provides protein, carbohydrates and other necessary nutrients for the embryos - a process that is rather uncommon in insects but comparable with the placentas of pregnant mammals. The pregnancy lasts between 60-70 days while the pregnant cockroach expands and holds 15 developing embryos. The babies are born white, until their exoskeleton hardens and turns to the brown color of their species.

Jennings' presentation on Jan. 7 will center on the gene expression that occurs during this process and if there are genes responsible for starting or stopping the procedure. The roaches have at least two reproductive cycles during their lifetime. It's believed their lifespan is between three-to-seven months.

"Ultimately, our next step will be looking at how interaction between the mother and the embryos can be affected, so if the mother is stressed during pregnancy - such as being exposed to a toxin or being deprived of resources such as food and water - we want to see how that can affect development of the embryos," says Jennings.

"This would be called the mother-offspring conflict, and one example would be how a pregnant human and her offspring are affected by gestational diabetes," explains Jennings. "This previously has not been studied in insects that give birth to babies that were nourished during pregnancy."

Jennings adds that the housing and feeding of the insects also is considerably less expensive than traditional animal research models such as mice, a savings of hundreds of dollars compared with the care for just one mouse.

"We have over 1,000 cockroaches in a fairly small space, an enormous population compared to what you can keep with mice," says Jennings. "The feeding regimen of the cockroaches is the cost of a large bag of dog food that can last for years."
We place high demands on the quality of our drinking water. If pathogens or toxic substances found their way into the piping system, many people could become infected or injured very quickly. That's why this risk must be kept low. To do this, experts have developed technologies for a comprehensive monitoring, early warning and emergency management system.

Drinking water is indispensable for every human being. Public works and water utilities must not only protect the supply system from impurities, but also from possible manipulation. Every day, they collect probes and analyze drinking water quality in a lab, but such analysis takes time. Preventative methods and tools are needed for continuous monitoring in order to identify contaminations quickly and also catch unexpected toxic substances. Even a few drops could have devastating consequences - toxins that make their way into the water supply reach millions of users within hours. "In order to protect the population, we have to be able to detect the hazardous substances as quickly as possible and know how they will spread," explains Dr. Thomas Bernard, a specialist for flow models at Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technology and Image Exploitation IOSB in Karlsruhe. In collaboration with partners from industry and research, the scientist and his team from the French-German project SMaRT-OnlineWDN (Online Security Management and Reliability Toolkit for Water Distribution Networks) have developed tools that enable water utilities to respond quickly and, in an emergency, to initiate countermeasures to protect the population. The project was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the French National Research Agency (ANR). Berlin's water utility, BWB Berliner Wasserbetriebe, coordinated the project.

Online simulation calculates water's path

A mathematical model for simulating the drinking water supply network hydraulics and the distribution of quality parameters in the piping systems carries out several tasks simultaneously. Based on numerous simulations, it can identify the optimum locations for sensors in order to ensure early detection of impurities. Furthermore, if an alarm does go off, the online simulation model can help pinpoint the source of the contamination. The scientists have developed an algorithm for this that localizes the contamination and calculates where the impurity will spread in the next few hours. But calculating and predicting the water's path - and thus the path of the toxic substance - was no easy task, even for Bernard, because the flow of water in the supply network is not identical everywhere. "It changes depending on the pressure in the pipes, their diameter and geometry, and the number of users. And turbulence and chaotic flows occur in places where the pipe system branches."

Tests at the Water Technology Center TZW in Dresden, where a complex pipe network has been built out of Plexiglas, have helped Bernard and his French partners establish an intelligent detection module. At the center in Dresden, sensors register the water's movement. Using the measurement values, the physicist was able to optimize his computer simulations. The aim is to calculate the flow of the water in the supply networks of entire cities - in real time. "Such simulations could assist utility companies in making the right decisions in emergencies, but only when they are precise and fast enough," says the group leader.

Alarm only in emergencies

Intelligent software takes current measurement values into account, such as opacity, temperature, pressure, chlorine and oxygen content, pH value and the amount of bacterial contamination of the water. But when critical values are reached, the system doesn't immediately sound the alarm - instead, it first looks for possible causes. Has a different water source just been tapped? Was a pump opened or closed? "More than 90 percent of all anomalies are caused by changes to operating conditions and are no cause for alarm," explains Bernard.

The new system has already been implemented in Strasburg and monitors the network's water quality in real time. Hydraulic and water quality sensors in the pipe network deliver information for the database; the collected data is then sent to a process control system. In case of emergency, countermeasures can be initiated, such as flushing contaminated water or blocking off parts of the supply network.

Control through monitoring platform

Future models will be able to do even more: In the German-French ResiWater project (see box), IOSB scientists are working on better IT security for drinking water systems and on an improved module for generating alarms. Along with Strasburg, Paris's drinking water system will be monitored in the future. Furthermore, the project partners are focusing on a monitoring platform that takes the myriad of sensor data and clearly represents, visualizes, and stores it. It will also automatically generate reports so that, for instance, fluctuations in water quality can be regularly summarized.

The ResiWater project partners are also driving sensor development. For example, the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart is contributing its know-how. For many years, they have been working on AquaBioTox, a biosensor made from living cells that fluoresce. When bacteria come in contact with toxic substances, the intensity of the fluorescence decreases. The AquaBioTox prototype will be fully automated as part of the ResiWater project.
Doctors at the Duke University School of Medicine have tested a new injectable agent that causes cancer cells in a tumor to fluoresce, potentially increasing a surgeon's ability to locate and remove all of a cancerous tumor on the first attempt. The imaging technology was developed through collaboration with scientists at Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Lumicell Inc.

According to findings published January 6 in Science Translational Medicine, a trial at Duke University Medical Center in 15 patients undergoing surgery for soft-tissue sarcoma or breast cancer found that the injectable agent, a blue liquid called LUM015 (loom - fifteen), identified cancerous tissue in human patients without adverse effects.

Cancer surgeons currently rely on cross-sectional imaging such as MRIs and CT scans to guide them as they remove a tumor and its surrounding tissue. But in many cases some cancerous tissue around the tumor is undetected and remains in the patient, sometimes requiring a second surgery and radiation therapy.

"At the time of surgery, a pathologist can examine the tissue for cancer cells at the edge of the tumor using a microscope, but because of the size of cancer it's impossible to review the entire surface during surgery," said senior author David Kirsch, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of radiation oncology and pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University School of Medicine. "The goal is to give surgeons a practical and quick technology that allows them to scan the tumor bed during surgery to look for any residual fluorescence."

Researchers around the globe are pursuing techniques to help surgeons better visualize cancer, some using a similar mechanism as LUM015, which is activated by enzymes. But the Duke trial described in the journal is the first protease-activated imaging agent for cancer that has been tested for safety in humans, Kirsch said.

LUM015 was developed by Lumicell, a company started by researchers at MIT and involving Kirsch. In companion experiments in mice described in the journal, LUM015 accumulated in tumors where it creates fluorescence in tumor tissue that is on average five times brighter than regular muscle. The resulting signals aren't visible to the naked eye and must be detected by a handheld imaging device with a sensitive camera, which Lumicell is also developing, Kirsch said.

In the operating room after a tumor is removed, surgeons would place the handheld imaging device on the cut surface. The device would alert them to areas with fluorescent cancer cells.

Going into surgery, the goal is always to remove 100 percent of the tumor, plus a margin of normal tissue around the edges, explained senior author Brian Brigman, M.D., Ph.D., chief of orthopedic oncology at Duke. Pathologists then analyze the margins over several days and determine whether they are clear.

"This pathologic technique to determine whether tumor remains in the patient is the best system we have currently, and has been in use for decades, but it's not as accurate as we would like," said Brigman, who is also the director of the sarcoma program at the Duke Cancer Institute. "If this technology is successful in subsequent trials, it would significantly change our treatment of sarcoma. If we can increase the cases where 100 percent of the tumor is removed, we could prevent subsequent operations and potentially cancer recurrence. Knowing where there is residual disease can also guide radiation therapy, or even reduce how much radiation a patient will receive."

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital are currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of LUM015 and the Lumicell imaging device in a prospective study of 50 women with breast cancer. Afterward, Kirsch said, multiple institutions would likely evaluate whether the technology can decrease the number of patients needing subsequent operations following initial breast cancer removal.
A 10% tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in Mexico has been associated with a 12% cut in sales just one year after its implementation, according to a study published in The BMJ. The sugar tax was also associated with a 4% increase in the purchase of untaxed beverages.

The authors of the paper say the findings have important implications in terms of policy and decision making.

Mexico introduced the tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in January 2014 in a bid to reverse what are some of the highest levels of diabetes, overweight and obesity in the world.

M Arantxa Colchero (Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Morelos, Mexico) and colleagues examined nationally representative data from more than 6,200 Mexican households across 53 cities during the first year since the tax was implemented. They compared the predicted amount of taxed and untaxed beverages purchased during this post-tax period with estimates of purchases without the tax, based on pre-tax trends.

After adjustment for factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, employment and salaries, the analysis showed that the purchase of taxed beverages fell over time, reaching a decline of 12% compared with untaxed purchases, by December 2014.

This translates as a reduction of 4.2 liters in the amount of taxed beverages being purchased by the average urban Mexican during 2014.

By contrast, the sale of untaxed drinks rose by 4%, which translates as an increase of 12.5 liters being bought by the average urban Mexican over the course of 2014. This was mainly driven by an increase in the sales of plain bottled water.

Although the purchase of sugar-sweetened drinks was significantly reduced across all socioeconomic groups (low, middle and high), the greatest reduction was seen among the poorest households, where purchases fell by 17%, compared with pre-tax trends.

Colchero and team say the short term change is moderate but important and that continued monitoring is needed to understand purchases longer term, potential substitutions, and health implications.

Back in the UK, Public Heath England has said that a sugar tax of between 10% to 20% combined with other measures such as clamping down on the advertising of junk food, would be an effective way of combating obesity. The statement follows the findings of a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, which showed that a 40% cut in the sugar content of sugar -sweetened drinks in the UK over the course of five years could prevent as many as 500,000 cases of overweight, 1 million cases of obesity and 300,000 cases of type 2 diabetes, over two decades.

The authors of that study say that their proposed strategy provides an innovative and practical way to gradually reduce energy intake from sugar-sweetened beverages and its combination with other strategies, including a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, would produce a more powerful effect.
As American medical students increasingly want and expect to have international work experience, more and more short-term programs are being offered to give them that opportunity, according to Melissa Melby, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Delaware.

The trouble is, she writes in a new article in Academic Medicine, that too many of these programs -- called STEGH, or short-term experiences in global health -- focus on the needs of the student trainees and not on what's best for their patients or for overall health care in the countries they visit.

"Most students who participate in these programs genuinely want to help people," Melby said. "But many of them may not be aware of the unintended consequences that can occur. In this article, we propose four core principles that we hope will help guide both the developers and the participants in STEGH programs."

Melby, who specializes in the biological and medical aspects of anthropology, is the lead author of the article, written with colleagues who are medical doctors involved with global health care issues. She said her co-authors, who connected with her through the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, of which UD is a founding partner, saw problems with many STEGH programs and sought her out for an anthropological perspective.

"STEGHs are often very short term, perhaps about three weeks or even less, and many times the participants are dropped into an area with very little preparation," Melby said. "They don't know the language, they don't know the culture, and they're jet-lagged. They're well-intentioned, but this is often not the best way to help people."

The authors of the paper list four principles that they say can be used to create better STEGH programs and to help students evaluate existing programs and make good choices about which to join. The principles are:

Cultural humility. "I think there is a tendency to see these programs as bringing our advanced technology to people in need, but we need to realize that our approaches are not always the best in every context," Melby said. "In fact, in health care, America doesn't have the best outcomes in the world." The authors advocate that STEGHs provide specialized cross-cultural training to participants before they travel and ensure that the students be aware of their own limitations even after such training.

Bidirectional participatory relationships. Effective STEGHs will establish true collaborations and partnerships with local health care providers and communities, Melby said, focusing on what communities actually need before offering to provide services.

Local capacity building. The authors note that unintended consequences often result when STEGHs come to an area, provide direct health care to some patients, and then leave. Problems might include a lack of follow-up care and a tendency for patients to delay seeing local providers while they wait for outside help to return, undermining the local health care system.

Long-term sustainability."We'd like to see these programs focus less on direct care and more on larger issues of public health," Melby said. Those issues include poverty and inequality, public health infrastructure and human resources in low-income countries.

While STEGHs can provide students with important global and cross-cultural education, the authors say they believe a paradigm shift is needed to ensure that the programs benefit both the trainees and the communities they visit. And, Melby said, the proposed guidelines can apply beyond medical or pre-med students to include other study-abroad and global service-learning programs.

"We think these principles are relevant to a lot of student groups that do global work," she said. "Most people's hearts are in the right place, but there are often aspects to what they're doing that they just don't think about."
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LINCOLN  Nebraska would join Kansas and Oklahoma in banning most abortions after 13 weeks of pregnancy under a proposal state lawmakers will consider this year.

As promised, state Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue sponsored the measure (LB767) that would prohibit so-called "dismemberment abortions." He introduced the bill as state lawmakers gathered Wednesday for their first day of the 2016 legislative session.

A group of anti-abortion activists quickly called the measure their top priority this year.

Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said the method of abortion "literally rips developing unborn babies limb from limb."

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland countered, saying Garrett's bill would create a dangerous environment for patients and could prevent them from receiving the best possible care.

"The legislation that these lawmakers are proposing is not about safety," said Planned Parenthood of the Heartland spokeswoman Angie Remington. "It is based on model legislation from a group opposed to safe, legal abortion and is part of a broader effort to restrict or end access to abortion in Nebraska altogether."

Garrett revealed his plans to introduce the bill in August as a series of undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood caused uproar among abortion opponents nationwide.

His bill was among 108 introduced on Day 1 of this year's legislative session. Here's a look at some others.

Seat belts

Nebraska law enforcement could pull over drivers who are not wearing their seat belts under a measure proposed by Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha.

The bill would change not wearing a seat belt from a secondary to a primary offense.

Current Nebraska law allows police to ticket drivers who aren't buckled up, but only if they have first been pulled over for another infraction. The law applies to front seat drivers and young children.

Krist's bill would expand the seat belt requirement to every occupant in the vehicle.

Former Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff sponsored a similar measure that died during debate in 2014.

Roads funding

Krist countered other lawmakers' calls for spending more on roads by proposing to eliminate the 2011 Build Nebraska Act, which generates $70 million in roads funding each year by diverting a quarter-cent of the state sales tax.

He said his bill (LB671) will be a discussion point in the debate over roads funding this year.

Krist also proposed a bill (LB672) eliminating a $1 fee on the sale of tires in Nebraska, money that was intended to help pay for cleaning up tires in landfills but is no longer used for that purpose. The tire fee raises $2.5 million annually.

"We don't need a dollar for these old tires," he said.

Constitutional right to farm

It isn't one of the 108 bills, but a constitutional amendment also proposed Wednesday (LR378CA) would guarantee Nebraskans the right to farm and ranch.

The proposal from Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell also would prohibit the Legislature from enacting any law that "abridges the right of citizens and lawful residents of Nebraska to employ agricultural technology and livestock production and ranching practices without a compelling state interest."

'Choose Life' license plates

License plates "reflecting support for the protection of Nebraska's children, both born and unborn," would be available under another Garrett bill (LB768).

The "Choose Life" plates would be designed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and money raised from their sale would go into a new state-administered fund called the Choose Life Pregnancy and Adoption Fund.

The fund would be used to provide grants to organizations  excluding abortion providers and those associated with abortion providers  that offer counseling, training, pregnancy testing or other services to pregnant women who are considering placing their children for adoption.

Military honor plates

Reservists would also qualify for military honor license plates in Nebraska, and Motor Vehicles would create plate designs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force reserves under a bill (LB732) introduced by Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse.

Military honor plates became available for active-duty armed forces personnel Jan. 2.

Hazing ban adds sexual activity

An incident involving Cambridge Public Schools students at a wrestling camp last summer inspired a bill (LB710) that would expand Nebraska's definition of criminal hazing to include sexual activity.

Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango, whose legislative district includes Cambridge, said he introduced the bill because prosecutors were unable to fit the students' actions with any of Nebraska's existing laws: "There was nothing on the books that allowed the county attorney to prosecute."

His measure would give those prosecutors an additional tool, he said.

'Official' state Constitution?

The state Constitution would make note of court decisions such as the elimination of Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage under a bill (LB686) introduced by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers.

Existing online and printed versions of the Nebraska State Constitution don't reflect court judgments that declare portions of it unconstitutional or inoperative. Under Chambers' bill, legislative revisers would publish an update each year, reviewed by the secretary of state's office and including annotations about those court decisions.

The wording of the Constitution itself wouldn't change.

"There is not really what you might call an official version of the Constitution that is out there," Chambers said.
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LINCOLN  Nebraska lawmakers kicked off the 2016 session Wednesday with an expected focus on property taxes and a looming state budget shortfall.

Senators, staff members and other onlookers filled the legislative chamber at the outset of the short, 60-day session, which will require lawmakers and Gov. Pete Ricketts to fill a projected $110 million shortfall in the current state budget.

Ricketts has identified property tax cuts as his top priority this year, but the budget could complicate efforts to pass major legislation. Senators expect to fill at least some of the shortfall by tapping the state's cash reserve fund, which is expected to reach a record high of nearly $729 million on June 30.

Even so, the chairman of the Legislature's Appropriation Committee said he has warned senators not to set their sights too high.

"We can make progress, but it's going to have to be very small progress," said Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha.

Sen. Bill Kintner said he believes lawmakers will rely on a combination of cash reserve money and spending cuts to balance the budget, but the appropriation committee member from Papillion first wants to see Ricketts' budget recommendations.

Lawmakers also are waiting for the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board's next meeting in February, when revenue estimates will be updated. If the board predicts another decline in revenue, the projected budget shortfall will grow and senators could have to raise taxes, cut even more spending or pull money from the cash reserve.

"The key is what comes from that forecasting board," Kintner said.

Despite the projected shortfall, Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids said she expects to see a push to increase state funding to schools as a way to lower property taxes. Sullivan helped lead a joint committee over the summer that looked at ways to encourage school districts to lower such levies.

She also thinks lawmakers will look to the cash reserve to fund some of their priorities.

"That's what it's there for, quite frankly," she said. "I certainly don't want to raid it, but by the same token, there are critical things that need to be accomplished."

Others doubted that tapping the cash reserve was necessary.

"Is this severe enough we should tap into that? Probably not," said Sen. Jerry Johnson of Wahoo.

This year's session will be the last for at least 11 of the Legislature's 49 senators who cannot run again because of term limits. That said, senior lawmakers and the 13 senators that have filed for re-election this year may also push harder than usual to achieve their priorities, said Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus.

"I think there will be quite a bit of handwringing about the fact that everyone would like tax relief, but numbers limit the amount that can be considered," Schumacher said.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte said he plans to fight legislation that requires additional state spending without cuts to offset it. But he learned in 2015, his first year in office, that change comes slowly.

"The drive down here wasn't as exciting as it was last year," he said. "You know, as a rookie, you think you're going to change the world on the first day."

Lawmakers also are expected to consider a comprehensive roads bill to speed up certain projects, K-12 education funding and a new Medicaid proposal to help cover thousands of uninsured residents.

Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley told lawmakers that he hopes to allow debate for every bill that has received a "priority" designation from senators, a designation that increases the legislation's odds of being debated.
Five years after exiting the plane, Aby and Stephen Nelms still can describe the first few steps they took on the tarmac outside the airport in the Republic of Zambia.

Stephen, a minister and the head of international training and development for local organization Gospelink, most remembers the smell of burning grass.

[Its] a very distinctive smell when you go there, he said.  We were greeted by a large group of pastors and singing women. It was very interesting.

The Nelms, who recently moved to Lynchburg with their five kids, can tell their fair share of stories about adapting to life in a third-world country quite colorfully.

Everything from cooking over an open fire to moving into a little house that was flooded and having no furniture, no kitchen, no fridge, no car. And two babies in cloth diapers, Stephen, 35, said. Those are definitely some vivid memories for sure.

The couple moved to Africa in 2010 on a mission trip and spent almost five years in the village of Chongwe.

We were at a place where we really wanted to experience the gospel outside of the walls of the church, Stephen said.

In Zambia, the couple created the Give Life Project, an initiative they started through Gospelink, the organization Stephens father founded in 1998.

According to Stephen, Gospelink, which operates out of Wyndhurst, works to be a global link for local churches around the world.

The family's time there also inspired Aby to start the business Five Arrows Market, through which she now sells handcrafted, African-inspired kitchen decor, upon their return to the U.S.

Stephen and Aby said they chose the Republic of Zambia partly because of the ties Stephen had to the country through his fathers organization. From 2003 to 2010, he visited several times, spending what accumulated to several months in the village.

With two young children, they were looking for a safe environment where they could raise a family. The villagers spoke English, and Stephen and Aby already knew people and had the footholds there.

You figure youre going to go change the world, but you get there, and you see the needs unfolding differently than what you thought, Aby, 33, said. We had such a vision for community development ... and about a year into us living there, we saw the doors fling wide open for education.

That happened after Stephen met the leader of a small village, who took the couple to a nearby school.

They had mud bricks with a thatched-grass roof and when you stepped inside, there [were] maybe about 35 extremely dirty children sitting on small mud benches, little bricks covered by mud, he said. The teachers, they had no supplies, no equipment and, come to find out, they had no education. Theyd never even graduated high school.

Despite not having a background as educators, the Nelms established two fully self-sustaining schools: one in the nearby village of Chishiko, which the community maintains, and Nyezima (meaning to sparkle or shine), a preschool that has 75 students enrolled.

Our whole vision was to partner with the village, said Aby. Thats true community development, we thought, when the people feel like they are developing themselves. Youre not doing it for them. Theyre part of the building and teaching and everything.

In addition to establishing the two schools, they sent two young women, who would become teachers there, to college and paid for their entire education.

Aby also organized a sewing co-op through which group members sold their products, and helped her friend, Alice Simpokolwe, establish a sewing business where she taught other women to sew in order to make a living.

"When ... you leave, you do question, What did we accomplish? Stephen said. You look back at it and you realize we were able to accomplish things there that were really spectacular. We had a lot of opportunities that maybe people won't have usually.

We took a huge risk moving into a third-world country and living in a small village, but it was a beautiful thing in many ways.  You realize you really can do anything if you set your mind to it and you give yourself over to the leading of God. You really can do some crazy things."

After five years, the family, which had more than doubled in size with the addition of three children, returned to the U.S. The Nelms lived in Florida before moving to Lynchburg in August so Stephen could be closer to Gospelink.

In April, Aby created Five Arrows Market on Etsy, where she sells placemats, wooden bowls and serving spoons.

I wanted to have a creative space where I could express my interest and share about my experiences as a mother, traveler, artist, and so on, said Aby, who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela as a child and began taking mission trips in her early teens. I also wanted to have a way for people to get involved with various opportunities to help others.

She chose the number five to represent each of her children.

Arrows are something that you propel forward, she said, They have to always go backward in order to go forward.  So it has to do with family and direction and purpose.

Part of the money from every purchase of a Five Arrows Market product goes to Nyezima Preschool and the womens co-op, to help bring in supplies they cannot find in Africa.

"When you look at the developing world, much of that is a survival mentality. There's a saying, 'You don't plant a tree, said Stephen. That's the way a lot of people look at life: It's about today.  Five Arrows does come out of the idea of using art and the senses and creation in order to promote, in order to bring awareness and bring opportunity. The heart of Five Arrows comes out of that.

Simpokolwe and Aby made the brightly colored, graphic placemats currently in the Five Arrows Market line while Aby still lived in Africa; theyre made from traditional fabrics called chitenge using an old-school sewing machine, the kind a person pumps with his or her foot.

They use [the chitenge] for everything from baby carriers to rolling them and using them as a support to carry things on their heads, to sitting on or using [them] as a bag and so many other things, said Aby.

The line also includes intricately hand-carved wooden bowls and serving spoons designed by the locals at Kabwata Cultural Market, with whom the couple became close during their time there.

I immediately was drawn to them. I so appreciate the beauty of the woods, so rustic and practical, Aby said. I am usually one to pick out vintage and worn items that have either a history or just an interesting story. I definitely had a collection of my own. Some of my favorites were the small giraffe spoons I used for serving different things.

Starting next year, Five Arrows Market also will include a photography business and blog, which plays into Abys strengths as a professional photographer.

She said she has considered expanding into more fabric products, like purses, aprons and baby bibs, using fabrics from other locales around the world such as Indonesia and the Middle East.

But Africa will always stay in the line.

Africas my heart because thats where I lived, but Ive traveled to all kinds of places all the time, she said. I have in my heart and my mind all of these experiences from the past that definitely influence everything that I do.
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Meet the 13 characters retroactively added to DC's Golden Age era in Flashpoint Beyond #6
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Looking Back Health Jewels Stitch in Time Anderson is School District Certified Employee of the Month January 7, 2016 Boundary County School District Certified Employee of the Month goes to none other than BFHS teacher Craig Anderson. Mr. Anderson has been teaching at BFHS for 32 years now, and has been teaching in the building for longer than any current teacher. Anderson says that hes always been a teacher. When he was a little kid, he always shared something that he found new and interesting with his family at the dinner table.



During his free time in the summer, Mr. Anderson enjoys biking and kayaking with his wife. He also enjoys snorkeling. In the realm of domestic animals, his favorite animals are dogs. Hes always been a dog person. However, as far as wild animals go, Anderson really likes tigers. One car that hes always wanted, or wanted back rather, is a 1976 Pontiac Ventura.



When asked if there was something that Mr. Anderson wanted people to know, he said that everybody should dream big. Thats what I want everybody to do, he stated, Believe in yourself; dream big and follow your dreams. Thats huge. Mr. Anderson said further, Always take one more step because when you think you cant do anything else, you can just put one foot in front of the other. Lastly he said, The momentlet it rock!



Bonners Ferry High School is lucky to have Mr. Anderson as a teacher. He has influenced the lives of everybody and encouraged students to go after their dreams. Mr. Anderson truly is an amazing teacher and person. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
Lessons from the Turmoil

In his first meeting with journalists on Old Years Day, Dr Hilaire explained the relationship between the CBTT and Government, saying the bank works closely with the technical staff at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Development on a variety of issues.

The bottom line, he said, is that there are vast areas of co-operation between the Central Bank and the Government, and we want to exploit that.

Indeed, he said, just a few weeks ago, Deputy Central Bank Governor, Dr Sandra Sookram, chaired a meeting of the Liquidity Management Committee, which includes technocrats at the Ministry of Finance, to discuss the amount of money in the countrys financial system.

Part of those talks, he revealed, centred on a debt management, noting that for the last five years the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have been working on introducing a new debt management system into the country, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Dr Hilaire said a debt management system would help the authorities understand the available data on debt and how to deal with debt issues

One thing is to make it so that the Government does not expend more on debt than it needs to because if you plan your calendar of issuing bonds and so forth it not only develops the capital market easily but it helps the Government to be able to economise on funding.

Dr Hilaire however noted that while there is a high level of cooperation between Government and the Bank, there were some areas in which the banks independence could be tested. I would say one of these areas is on law and ethics and the Central Bank will stand firm in these areas. We will not break the law and we will not be pushed or goaded or whatever to pursue an unethical stance in different areas.

He said the Central Bank would also not compromise on its technical advice to the Government. In the Central Bank mandate we have an objective to provide assistance to the Government in terms of technical advice on economic and financial matters and we have people that could do that. In that area it helps no one if we are not direct and forthcomingWe will give our advice, we will give it as we want.

He added that there could also be independence issues on some aspects of policy which he said in practice could be rare but could happen in certain instances. However, he said, Hopefully these are transparent and would be discussed. You would have your positions and then you would work it out but the Central Bank may need to pursue another policy that may be somewhat different to the Government of the time.

Asked whether he was strong enough to stand up to the Government, Dr Hilaire said he was part of a team. We work together and as part of the team that would be my position.

Refusing to second guess the Bank on its announcement that the country was in a recession, Dr Hilaire stressed that it was more important to understand the countrys situation and to be able to deal with it. He said the country must recognise that the situation is serious and demands immediate attention.

If we have a large drop in the price of our crude exports and we have a drop in our natural gas product this needs to be addressed. A lot of it is external to us, things that we did not call upon ourselves or we cannot actually influence - prices and so forth, he said, although he acknowledged that there could be some efforts to deal with increasing production.

Adding that it is an external shock that the country has to deal with, Dr Hilaire said the decline in oil and natural gas prices will affect the rest of the economy because of spinoffs in the Government revenue and balance of payments. So it does affect other things, sometimes directly. Lets say the energy companies, their production, the service companies and so forth (are affected) then it will spill over into construction, into agriculture to some extent but other areas. So this is where some work could be done but it means that what happens in the energy sector does not stay in the energy sector.

Comparing the current situation to previous recessionary periods, Dr Hilaire noted that the country has buffers that it did not have in the 1980s when Trinidad and Tobago was in a similar situation but didnt have some of the resilience that it has now.We have some more fiscal space now because although we have been having some fiscal deficits it has been on the back of surpluses for a while so that our external debt and our domestic debt are not that drastic by international standards - we have some space in that. We also have some other important buffers, we have large international reserves and we have our Heritage and Stabilization Fund, so in a sense we are in a better position than we were before because we have built up this insurance over the years.

He said another advantage was that the country has been in this position before and knows what to do because a lot of people were around in the 1970s and 1980s and know what we went through then. We have excellent technical teams at the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Development and at the Central Bank. So at the technical level I think we know what to do. And what we need to do now is to really buckle down together, work together and make it happen. And I think the coordination is really critical.

Questioned about the criticism by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Colm Imbert that the Central Bank had not produced any statistics to support its declaration that the country was in recession, Dr Hilaire responded, Our statistics have some difficulties in the country. I think the Central Bank does its best to collect statistics, to utilize it, and to make the best judgement on the available statistics.

He added that for many years this country has been holding talks with Statistics Sweden, an agency which collects and distributes statistics to the Swedish government as well as private sector clients, to strengthen Trinidad and Tobagos capability in this area. I think this is quite important and we as a Central Bank team want to continue to work on that, he said.

Dr Hilaire said the Central Bank had set up its Statistics Department and we try to do our best but not to take away what the Central Statistical Office is doing but to help them along. So hopefully, as they get stronger we could pull back. He observed that the Central Banks Statistics Department wanted to focus on the balance of payments and the debt monitoring system with the Ministry of Finance, adding, I think we are behind where we should be but when you make pronouncements I guess you have to use what you have.

Dr Hilaire repeatedly portrayed himself as part of a team of professionals at the Central Bank. I have been here for a while. I work with a staff that is quite competent, quite technically sound. We have people in all areas that are really first rate. We have security personnel that go beyond the call of duty. Our risk management people are on the cutting edge, people from banking, all around the bank. My first area is to work with them, to let our dynamics converge as a strong team and with a team everything is possible.

Dr Hilaire said the bank has a clear mandate to ensure financial and monetary stability and will work at this and collaborate with the Government to make this happen.

He said the transition which brought him to office was unique in the history of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and will become part of the history of the bank. He said that in discussing the situation with the staff of the bank they were of the view that we need to treat this with the professionalism, the calm and the sensitivity that it requires because when we write the history of the Central Bank we will be looking at this as a unique experience so this is just to get us to organise ourselves in this climate and then we settle down to do our mandate which is financial stability, working with the commercial banks, working with the insurance institutions, with the rest of the public trying to educate them on different things and moving ahead. We have an economic situation that is difficult and we want to be part of the solution.

Experience

In addition to a 20-year career with the Central Bank, Dr Hilaire has extensive experience in macroeconomic policy development and implementation and monetary policy matters, according to a statement issued by the bank on his appointment. It added that within the region while serving as Chairman of the CARICOM Development Fund, he also made significant contributions to developing the economies of small vulnerable states within CARICOM by using his influence to increase financial assistance to the islands of the region. He also has extensive international experience, having worked for eleven years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during which he served as a Senior Economist and as the IMF Resident Representative to Guinea and Sierra Leone. The Central bank statement said Dr Hilaire also worked in IMF financial programmes in several other countries including Croatia, Colombia, Cameroon, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Competing in a global setting  poor work ethic

Consequently, this week the TT Chamber takes a closer look at a major finding coming out of the Report, which was poor work ethic in the national labour force. This ranked first among the most problematic factors for doing business in this country.

A good work ethic is a set of principled morals an employee uses in his job and as such, a strong work ethic is critical to a company achieving its goals. It speaks to matters of integrity, a sense of responsibility and productivity among other things. To keep a company or an organisation functioning at its peak, every employee - from the CEO to entry-level staff - must have a positive work ethic.

Previous Global Competitiveness Reports showed crime and theft or inefficient government bureaucracy being ranked as the number one most problematic factor. In this years Report however, poor work ethic was ranked as number one, after being consistently cited on the chart for the last five years.

In contrast, an examination of Reports over the same five-year period reveals that some of the most successful economies such as Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands have a high work ethic. Though many factors account for economic development, one can safely assume that work ethic has contributed significantly to these nations being among the top five competitive countries in the world.

The Chamber has assessed TTs performance in key Global Competiveness Indicators (GCIs) within the Reports. This assessment reveals the major factors undermining local work ethic. One such indicator is cooperation in labour-employer relations. In the current review period, TT faltered at 137 in the world out of 140 nations in the index of cooperation in labour-employer relations. It is indeed disconcerting that TT has consistently held a poor ranking in such an important competitiveness indicator.

Antagonistic work relations decrease the productivity of an organisation, threaten secure employment, employment opportunity and by extension employees attitudes to work. There must therefore be a concerted effort by employers, employees and the trade union body to address this barrier in order to improve our the competitiveness.

While our work ethic is deemed problematic, the GCI revealed that this countrys quality education system is a major area of competitive advantage for the country. In this regard, TT is ranked 37th in the world. However, our education system appears inter alia to not inculcate a positive approach to our worklife. As a result, TTs productivity continues to lag behind both emerging economies and advanced nations.

If the current status quo in Trinidad and Tobago is to shift so that we realise greater competitiveness in the world economy, we as a nation must comprehensively address our poor work ethic. Only through this re-orientation of our attitudes would we set the stage for progress
Scotia invests in new technologies

Business Day was given a preview of these plans by Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobagos Managing Director, Anya Schnoor and by Scotiabanks Senior Vice-President, Caribbean, Bruce Bowen during a corporate client event at Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain last month.

Questioned about which trends he expected to see emerge in the region this year, Bowen said consumer expectations of same-day approvals and instant access are growing and so, financial institutions, challenged by that, are investing a lot in technology.

Referring specifically to what Scotiabank has planned, Bowen said the banks external non-branch sales teams will be getting some tablet technology so that they can more quickly deal with things when theyre out of the branches with clients.

Thats not all. New functions will be introduced at Scotiabank automated teller machines (ATMs), starting with a pilot project here in Trinidad and Tobago.

Mobile top-up through ATMs and were looking at what they call Intelligent Deposit Machines; ATMs where you scan your bills and cheques and it goes through. Were also working towards more functionality on our business internet banking, so that you can operate companies across the Caribbean on a one-platform access and see whats going on in each market place.

Looking at broader banking trends, Bowen told Business Day he expects to see consolidation, particularly amongst smaller institutions.

Banking is becoming a game of size and capital. Weve seen it in the eastern Caribbean, some of the small countries where smaller institutions, when the economy has trouble, had real difficulties. Its large capital bases and scale that helps, so I think youll see consolidation across the region.

Seeking further information on the Intelligent Deposit Machines or, as Business Day has dubbed them, smart ATMs, we approached Schnoor, who said, Were launching smart ATMs in Trinidad towards the end of the year (2016) or by early 2017.

Were going to test it out see how our customers like it but considering that more and more people are requesting these types of self-service channels, Schnoor noted, Scotiabank thinks its going to be very successful.

Smart ATM functions will include the ability to scan the cheque youre depositing and give you a copy of the cheque, so that you feel confident the machine has recognised your cheque. If youre depositing cash, it actually counts the bills in front of you, tells you the denominations, gives you a receipt. Again, making our customers feel more comfortable, Schnoor explained.

Business Day also asked Scotiabank TTs managing director how soon tap and pay services would be introduced to the region.

Tap and Pay can be done either by using a contactless debit card or more recently, smartphone applications, using Near Field Communication (NFC).

The debit card version looks like any other card except it contains a small radio receiver which, when placed within a few inches of a Point of Sale (POS) machine, is picked up and payment deducted from your account without you having to swipe the card or enter a personal identification number (PIN).

The same thing applies when using a smartphone, where your mobile number is the account number and an NFC tag to make payment by tapping your phone with the NFC tag on a POS machine.

Regarding the timing of tap and pay services being introduced in the Caribbean, Schnoor said Scotiabank will first launch chip-enabled credit cards by May 2016 because the chip technology is very important in addressing potential fraud since users must enter a PIN when paying for items rather than simply swiping their credit card at a POS terminal.

Once chip-enabled credit cards have been rolled out, Scotiabank will use them as the platform on which we can launch NFC services such as tap and pay cards, Schnoor stated.
US Military Really Didn't Want

You to Know What's in New

Washington Post Investigation
(Newser)  It turns out Ammon Bundy, the leader of a group of armed anti-government protesters currently occupying a remote government building in Oregon, is a lot more forgiving of the federal government when it's directly helping him out. CNN reports Bundy took out a $530,000 loan from the Small Business Administration for his truck maintenance company in 2010. The loan guarantee he received is meant "to aid small businesses which are unable to obtain financing in the private credit marketplace," according to Mother Jones. Bundy tells CNN the loan isn't hypocritical. "I am not anti-government," he says. "There is a role for government."

Specifically, Bundy says the government's role is to protect the will and rights of the people, CNN reports. He says his six-figure loan is OK because it "was an effort in assisting the people in using their rights." According to Mother Jones, the government estimates Bundy's loan could cost taxpayers $22,419. Records don't indicate if Bundy has repaid the loan. And NPR points out Bundy's family hasn't paid any of the more than $1 million it owes for grazing cattle on government land. Bundy and his supporters took over a building in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday. A statement released that day accuses the government of stealing land and resources from citizens. "The statement did not mention the Small Business Administration and the taxpayer-funded assistance it provided to Ammon Bundy," writes Mother Jones. (Read more Ammon Bundy stories.)
(Newser)  Police in Burlington, Vt., say Donald Trump's presidential campaign has given out 20,000 tickets for his event at a venue that has 1,400 seats. Security will be tight for Trump's scheduled visit Thursday to the lakeside city, hometown of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Seating at the downtown Flynn Center will be first come, first served, with Trump's speech scheduled for 7pm. City police say 6,500 people who were given tickets have confirmed their plans to attend, and it's likely many will be unable to get inside. Protests are expected.

Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo says he doubts Trump has taken the safety of police officers into accountand he's only getting away with it because he's a candidate. "If Phish was holding a free concert at the Flynn and gave away 20,000 free tickets, we would cancel the event out of public safety concerns," he tells the Burlington Free Press. "We are committed to accommodating the campaign because political speech is the very essence of the First Amendment." (Trump has been asking questions about Ted Cruz's citizenship.)
(Newser)  Police in Colorado Springs say a woman sitting on a couch in her apartment was shot through a wall after her neighbor accidentally fired his gun while cleaning it. The woman was taken to the hospital after Tuesday night's shooting with what police described as a minor injury. Police say 51-year-old Frank Dawkins accidentally fired his gun and the round went through a wall separating his apartment from his neighbor's. Dawkins, who called police to report the shooting, was arrested on a count of illegal discharge of a firearm. (Read more Colorado Springs stories.)
(Newser)  Most burglars would be thrilled to know they got away with their crime. Not this pair: Police say Michael Dehal, 28, and Stephen Monaghan, 50, stole $87,500 worth of beauty products and equipment from a UK salon in June 2014. Though Monaghan was initially suspected, police eventually charged another man, reports the Blackpool Gazette. Apparently feeling guilty, "the defendants went to the police voluntarily and confessed, after hearing someone had been sent for trial over this matter," their lawyer tells the Independent. "It was a case of honor among thieves." The pair will be sentenced later this month. (Read more burglar stories.)
(Newser)  Alabama's top judge has bewildered legal experts with a ruling that suggests he believes he can overrule the US Supreme Court. Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has told state officials that they should stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite a landmark ruling last year that made same-sex marriage the law of the land, NBC News reports. Moore claimed that the state's probate judges were confused over whether to follow the Supreme Court's June ruling or his own ruling early last year ordering them not to issue the licenses. Judges in Madison, Mobile, and Elmore counties have complied with Moore's ruling, though judges in other counties say they'll ignore Moore's "sad and pathetic" ruling, reports AL.com.

Moore has been an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, and experts say his latest attempt to keep it out of Alabama is certain to fail and will probably cost the state a lot of money in the process, the AP reports. "Ordering the state's probate judges to refuse to issue marriage licenses to all couples who seek them constitutes an exercise in futility," a University of Alabama law professor tells the New York Times. "At best, it sows chaos and confusion; at worst, it forces couples to bring federal court litigation in order to exercise a clearly established federal constitutional right." (Read more Alabama stories.)
(Newser)  See you in court, eh? TransCanada, a Canadian company hit hard by President Obama's rejection of its Keystone XL pipeline project, has filed twin lawsuits seeking $15 billion in damages and a reversal of the US decision, the New York Times reports. One lawsuit, filed under the North American Free Trade Agreement, seeks damages because the permit rejection was "arbitrary and unjustified," reports Reuters. The suit claims that Obama overstepped his authority because of his "unprecedented and symbolic grounds" for turning down the project, which he argued would bring "dirtier crude oil into our country" while doing little to boost the American economy.

The second lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Houston, calls for a reversal of Obama's "unconstitutional" decision and a ruling that no future president can block the pipeline project, reports Reuters. A Canadian trade lawyer tells the Globe and Mail that it's tough to predict how these kinds of lawsuits will go, but that TransCanada's argument that it was treated unfairly because the issue had become politicized appears solid. The Times notes that a win for the Canadian company would be unprecedented: In the 22 years of the NAFTA agreement, the US has won all 12 of the challenges it faced from Canadian firms, while US firms have prevailed in trade agreement cases in Canada. (Read more Canada stories.)
(Newser)  The dog that may be partially responsible for getting Ethan Couch's deportation to the US delayed has gone missing. The "affluenza teen" and his mom, who has been deported, brought their dog with them when they fled to Mexico, and the SPCA in Puerto Vallartawhere Ethan and Tonya Couch were located by authoritieshas reposted a Facebook post originally put up by a relative of Tonya Couch's, the Dallas News reports. The post offers a $1,000 reward for the return of the dog, named Virgil, and says he went missing near the intersection where the Couches were detained, per the News.

Not much information is available beyond thatthe relative won't comment further; a spokesperson for the Jalisco fiscal office in Mexico says the dog "was never in our possession" but that his office is looking into the animal's whereabouts; and the US Marshals Service, the Tarrant County DA's office in Texas, the US Embassy, and Mexico's foreign ministry all claim to have no idea what happened to Virgil. Per the News, he looks like a "large shepherd mix or wolf hybrid"; the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says he "appears to be a Saarloos wolfdoga female European wolf and a male German shepherd hybrid." At the Tuesday hearing at which Tonya Couch agreed not to fight extradition from California to Texas, her attorney said Couch's "two main concerns" are Ethan, who is still detained in Mexico, "and her dog, Virgil," WFAA reports. (Read more Ethan Couch stories.)
(Newser)  Ammon Bundy insists his Citizens for Constitutional Freedom is standing up for the little guythe ranchers he thinks really own the Oregon sanctuary his group is occupying. But the Northern Paiute tribe, which the Washington Post says has hunted and fished on the land now inhabited by the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for more than 1,300 years, is underwhelmed by the protesters. "We as Harney County residents don't need some clown to come in here and stand up for us," tribal councilman Jarvis Kennedy said Wednesday, per KTVB. "Don't tell me any of these ranchers came across the Bering Strait and settled here," tribal chairwoman Charlotte Rodrique added. "We were here first." The refuge isn't technically part of the nearby Burns Paiute reservation, where the tribe was relegated to in 1868, the Post notesbut the Paiute say it's sacred ancestral land to which the refuge gives it access.

The Paiute also work with the Bureau of Land Management to preserve archaeological sites, and they're afraid Bundy and Co. will damage those, the Oregonian notes. Rodrique calls out the hypocrisy of the occupiers' beef with the government, noting to KTVB that most area ranchers regularly dip into federal money when it comes to drought and grazing subsidies and other funds to sustain their livelihoods. Law enforcement has so far been tiptoeing around the occupiers, which angers Kennedy. "I wonder if it was [a] bunch of natives that went out there and overtook that, or any federal land," he said, per the Oregonian. "Would they let us come into town and get supplies and re-up?" And he didn't mince words about what he thinks the occupiers should do next: "They just need to get the hell out of here." (Read a brief history of the Paiute in Oregon in the Washington Post.)
(Newser)  Kim Jong Un isn't going to like his birthday present from South Korea, which says it will resume loudspeaker broadcasts into North Korea on FridayKim's birthdayas fallout for Pyongyang's purported test of a hydrogen bomb, though the White House has its doubts, per the Wall Street Journal. Back in August, South Korea began broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda up to 15 miles into North Korea, via loudspeakers, after two South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines outside a border post. South Korea ended the broadcasts after North Korea apologized and a deal was reached, but it said it would resume with any "abnormal" situation. The latest test is a "grave violation," an official says, per Reuters. "Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment."

The official notes South Korea is also in talks with the US about deploying US strategic assets on the Korean peninsula. While the test has been denounced outside the country, North Korea has used it to boost support. "Internally, nothing else is as effective" as the development of a new nuclear bomb, says a North Korean defector, particularly as North Koreans believe they're at constant risk of an attack from the outside. "Let's begin 2016  with the thrilling explosion of our first hydrogen bomb, so that the whole world will look up to our socialist, nuclear-armed republic and the great Workers' Party of Korea!" Kim told a North Korean newspaper, in which five of its six pages included praise for the test on Thursday, per the Journal. The country's state media agency also published comments from citizens applauding the event. (Read more North Korea stories.)
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi issued a 'prophetic' warning to Tony Blair that jihadists would attack Europe if his regime was allowed to collapse, phone conversations reveal.

Gaddafi's dire prediction was made in two desperate telephone calls with Mr Blair on February 25, 2011 - as civil war was engulfing Libya

In the first call at 11.15am, Gaddafi said: "They [jihadists] want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe."

In the call, lasting half an hour, Gaddafi insisted he was trying to defend Libya from al-Qaeda fighters. The presence of al-Qaedas would later be superceded by the rise of the so-called Islamic State

"We are not fighting them, they are attacking us, " he said, "I want to tell you the truth. It is not a difficult situation at all. The story is simply this: an organisation has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa. Called the Al-Qaeda Organisation in North Africa... The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11.

Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

"They have managed to get arms and terrify people. people can't leave their homes... It's a jihad situation. They have arms and are terrorising people in the street."

In a second call made a little over four hours later, Gaddafi told Mr Blair: "I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight. Libyan people will die, damage will be on the Med, Europe and the whole world. These armed groups are using the situation [in Libya] as a justification - and we shall fight them."

Mr Blair had made two calls to Gaddafi to try to negotiate the dictator's departure from Tripoli as civil war engulfed the nation. Three weeks later, a Nato-led coaltion that included Britain, began bombing raids that led to the overthrow of Gaddafi. The dictator was finally deposed in August and murdered by a mob in October.

Mr Blair had a developed a friendship with Gaddafi and had visted the Libyan leader at least six times after leaving Downing Street in 2007.

He cleared the phone calls with both David Cameron and Hillary Clinton, the then US Secretary of State, in an attempt to persuade Gaddafi to leave Libya with safe passage and to avoid further conflict.

The existence of the phone calls emerged last year and Mr Blair passed the transcripts to the Foreign Affairs Committee which is investigating Libya's collapse. The committee of MPs published the transcripts on Thursday.

In the calls Mr Blair told Gaddafi: "If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully and there has to be a process of change, that process of change can be managed and we have to find a way of managing it.

"The US and the EU are in a tough position right now and I need to take something back to them which ensures this ends peacefully."

Mr Blair ended the call by saying: "i would like to offer a way out that is peaceful... keep the lines open."

Gaddafi's warnings appear to have been born out. Libya has collapsed following his overthrow. The country remains in the grip of civil war and much of it is in the control of Islamist extremists linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Terrorists sent by Isil to France were responsible for the attacks on Paris in November amid growing concern jihadists are crossing into Europe from north Africa and the Middle East.

Crispin Blunt MP, Chair of the Committee, said: "The transcripts supplied by Mr Blair provide a new insight into the private views of Colonel Gaddafi as his dictatorship began to crumble around him.

"The failure to follow Mr Blairs calls to 'keep the lines open' and for these early conversations to initiate any peaceful compromise continue to reverberate.

"The Committee will want to consider whether Gaddafis prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups following the collapse of the regime was wrongly ignored because of Gaddafis otherwise delusional take on international affairs.

"The evidence that the Committee has taken so far in this inquiry suggests that western policy makers were rather less perceptive than Gaddafi about the risks of intervention for both the Libyan people and the western interests."

Blair's calls to Gaddafi: the full transcripts

February 25, 2011 - 11.15am to 11.45am (click on image below)





February 25, 2011 - 3.35pm to 4pm (click on image below)




(Newser)  "Is it the most effective use of police resources? No." That's what a Toronto officer had to say after authorities responded to an alleged assault that resulted in minor injuries at an apartment in the city on Tuesday. The problem? Someone apparently got upset that their roommate had woken up too early to take a shower, reports the CBC.

After police shared the story on Twitter, a woman noted that "there has got to be more to this story." "Sadly, probably not," authorities responded. "We get calls like this frequently." It's not clear which roommate suffered the injuries. (A woman allegedly beat up her husband because he farted.)
(Newser)  More Saudi-Iran trouble Thursday morning: Tehran accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of bombing its embassy there in an overnight airstrike. However, an AP reporter who reached the site just after the announcement by Iran's state-run news agency said the embassy was still standing without any visible damage. No explanation yet for the discrepancy, but the accusation comes amid a dangerous rise in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days following the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran. Analysts had feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria.

Sanaa is held by Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are targeted by an ongoing Saudi-led military campaign on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Iran has offered support to the Houthis but denies actively supporting their war effort. Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday after crowds of protesters attacked two of its diplomatic posts in Iran, which followed Saudi Arabia executing opposition Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr over the weekend. Meanwhile, Iran on Thursday banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. (Read more Iran stories.)
(Newser)  Quentin Tarantino's handprints, footprints, and autograph will soon be immortalized on the sidewalk outside Hollywood's iconic Chinese Theatre along with dozens of other stars. But Tarantino's are a bit different: As TMZ reports, during his print ceremony Tuesday, the director was wearing replicas of the shoes Uma Thurman's character wore in Kill Bill ... complete with the message "F--- U" on the soles. That message made its way onto the concrete slab Tarantino personalized, but the gossip site notes it's still unclear whether the theater will allow it to stay or find a way to censor it before permanently installing the slab in the sidewalk. (Click for 14 crazy facts about Tarantino.)
(Newser)  There's a surprising new skeptic on the eligibility of the Canadian-born Ted Cruz to be president: John McCain. "It came up in my race because I was born in Panama, but I was born in the Canal Zone, which is a territory," McCain said Wednesday on 550 KFYI. "Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was a territory when he ran in 1964. McCain and Goldwater were two of the examples Cruz used to justify his eligibility when he addressed the issue this week. Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother was a US citizen, which gave him US citizenship at birth, BuzzFeed reports. "It was a US military base, McCain clarified to KFYI about his own birth. Thats different from being born on foreign soil, so I think there is a question. I am not a constitutional scholar on that, but I think its worth looking into."

According to Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post, it's really not all that surprising McCain would join Donald Trump and Rand Paul in questioning the eligibility of Cruz, who Cillizza describes as McCain's "longtime nemesis." In the past, McCain has accused Cruz of "grandstanding" and lumped him in with Tea Party "wacko birds." Cillizza characterizes McCain's statements on Cruz's eligibility as an act of revenge. "By McCain giving a 'you know, that's a good question' response to the question of whether Cruz is eligible to be president, he keeps the storynot a good one for the Texas senatorvery much alive," Cillizza writes. (Read more John McCain stories.)
The police in Paris reported that they have shot and killed a man holding a cleaver, who attempted an attack on the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Security throughout the city has been heightened this week due to the anniversary.

According to the French authorities, the incident occurred in the neighborhood of Barbes, located in northern Paris. The Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet informed the CNN affiliate BFMTV that man had screamed "Allahu Akbar" before he tried to enter a police station in Goutte D'Or. "Allahu Akbar" is Arabic for "God is Great."

The city's prosecutor spokeswoman, Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre told CNN that the man wore something that resembled explosives, which ended up being a fake vest. The man has yet to be identified but police officials do not believe that he had any accomplices.

Following the incident, two metro lines that run into the area were temporarily shut down. The Gare du Nord train station was also on lock down. They have all reopened.

Paris is still reeling from the attacks in 2015 that were carried out by French-born brothers. Exactly one-year ago, two jihadist gunmen stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, and killed 11 people. They also shot a Muslim police officer outside of the offices. The magazine had angered a lot of Islamists after it published a cartoon of Mohammad.

Later in the year, the capital was attacked by members of Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS or ISIL. The terrorist group carried out shootings and bombings on Nov. 13 that left 130 people dead and hundreds more injured.

Since these attacks, France and the rest of the world have remained on high alert.
The United States might be sending a "sniffer" jet to the Korean peninsula, a U.S. military official stated reported by CNN.

Susan Romano, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Technical Applications Center, stated via Military.com that "as a matter of policy," the Air Force will not be commenting on the jet's operations.

The sniffer jet will fly to the Korean Peninsula to collect any radioactive byproducts in the air for the U.S. investigation into whether or not North Korea conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test. The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, claimed that the country was celebrating after it detonated the bomb. Despite the claims, leaders and experts throughout the world have remained skeptical.

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the North Korean claims," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Even though the U.S., like the other nations, do not believe that North Korea has the technology to make a hydrogen bomb - at least without help from others, investigating the claim is still very important.

The jet that would be sent over is the WC-135W, which is also known as the "Constant Phoenix." The jet, according to information provided by the Air Force Fact Sheet, has technology, "which allows the mission crew to detect radioactive 'clouds' in real time."

According to Air Force information, the sniffer jet program was started in 1947 when the Army Air forces at the time wanted to investigate whether or not the Soviet Union had been conducting nuclear tests.

There are currently two WC-135W jets that are based in Nevada.

The U.S., South Korea, Japan and other countries have condemned North Korea for carrying out an unsanctioned test.
Pune:

40 students from Film and Televison Institute of India were on Thursday detained outside the college campus in Pune as they were protesting against Gajendra Chauhans appointment as the new chairman. Amid protests, Chauhan on Thursday took charge as Chairman of the institute.

The Pune Police served notices to 17 FTII students and warned them that action will be taken against those who will create law and order situation. Despite the notice, the students protested outside the FTII campus on Thursday.

Chauhan was appointed as FTII chairman on June 9, 2015. He is best known for playing the role of Yudhishthir in BR Chopras Mahabharat and has also seen in movies like Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Baghban.



Questioning his professional credibility to lead the institute, FTII students and alumni have been protesting his appointment and they went on an indefinite strike on June 12.

The strike was however withdrawn after 139 days in October.

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Washington:

The US, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong international response to North Koreas claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them security situation in the region following North Koreas test.

All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour, the White House said.

Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour, the White House said after Obamas phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Koreas actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test.

In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Koreas provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Secretary of State Nick Burns said the US and Asian countries should pressure the government of China to act much more resolutely to restrain and contain the North Korean regime.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to late Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Palam Airport in Delhi.

Sayeed passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was admitted following complaints of fever and neck pain on December 24.

Sayeeds mortal remains would be flown to Srinagar. His body will be kept for people to have the last glimpse of their leader. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehara.

Meanwhile, the J&K government has announced a holiday on Thursday and a seven-day mourning period as a mark of respect to Sayeed.

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Washington:

Scientists have found five objects in other galaxies similar to Eta Carinae - the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light years of Earth - using data from NASAs Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

Eta Carinais best known for an enormous eruption seen in the mid-19th century that hurled an amount of material at least 10 times the Suns mass into space.

This expanding veil of gas and dust, which still shrouds Eta Carinae, makes it the only object of its kind known in our galaxy.

A new study using archival data from NASAs Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes has found five similar objects in other galaxies for the first time.

The most massive stars are always rare, but they have tremendous impact on the chemical and physical evolution of their host galaxy, said lead scientist Rubab Khan, from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Centre in US.

These stars produce and distribute large amounts of the chemical elements vital to life and eventually explode as supernovae.

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae outshines our Sun by 5 million times, the researchers said.

The binary system consists of two massive stars in a tight 5.5-year orbit. Astronomers estimate that the more massive star has about 90 times the Suns mass, while the smaller companion may exceed 30 solar masses.

Catching rare stars during the short-lived aftermath of a major outburst approaches needle-in-a-haystack levels of difficulty, and nothing matching Eta Carinae had been found prior to the study.

The researchers developed a kind of optical and infrared fingerprint for identifying possible Eta Carinae twins, or Eta twins for short.

Dust forms in gas ejected by a massive star. This dust dims the stars ultraviolet and visible light, but it absorbs and reradiates this energy as heat at longer, mid-infrared wavelengths.

With Spitzer we see a steady increase in brightness starting at around 3 microns and peaking between 8 and 24 microns, said Khan.

By comparing this emission to the dimming we see in Hubbles optical images, we could determine how much dust was present and compare it to the amount we see around Eta Carinae, he said.

The researchers found two candidate Eta twins in the galaxy M83, located 15 million light-years away, and one each in NGC 6946, M101, and M51, located between 18 million and 26 million light-years away.

These five objects mimic the optical and infrared properties of Eta Carinae, indicating that each very likely contains a high-mass star buried in five to 10 solar masses of gas and dust. The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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Kolkata:

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan injured his rib cage while shooting for his upcoming drama TE3N here but assured fans not to worry. The 73-year-old actor said he suffered the injury last night and is taking pain killers.

No nothing to worry... I have injured my rib cage, it pains and so when I breathe it hurts. Am doing ice-pack and pain-killers, spoken to my doctor... should take 48 hours to heal, he says. Else we do X-Ray or MRI or whatever he decides, Bachchan posted on his blog.

The Piku star has been shooting the film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vidya Balan for sometime now.

Despite the injury, the actor will be taking his friends and fans to watch Wazir, which releases tomorrow. Hurt rib from shoot .. but ok .. taking friends Ef to WAZIR at South City Mall, Kolkata this evening !! YEA.

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New Delhi:

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, whose contract as brand ambassador for Incredible India ended on Wednesday, spoke about how proud he is being part of such campaign for nothing less than 10 years.



Speaking over governments decision to discontinue his services, Aamir showed respect with a special mention that he never charged anything for this.



"It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be.



"I respect the decision of the government to discontinue with my services. I am sure they will take all appropriate steps to do what is best for the country," Aamir said in a statement, a day after the Tourism Ministry said his contract for the campaign was over.



He also mentioned that it has been honour and a pleasure for him to be able to serve his nation for more than 10 years.



I was happy to be of service to my country, and will always be available for it. I would like to clarify that all public service films I have done till date have all been free of any cost to me. It is always an honour for me to be of service to my country, and this is how it will always be.



"... Whether I am brand ambassador or not, India will remain Incredible, and that's the way it should be," he said.



Tourism Ministry, however, kept itself clear from all the brewing controversies and mentioned that they had hired an agency for the campaign 'Atithi Devo Bhava' and the agency had hired Aamir Khan; now, when agencys contract is over, the ministry has not hired Aamir for the job.



The news became important in the backdrop of remarks Aamir made about two months ago over intolerance.



Aamir Khan had said that his wife sometimes suggest him to shift to some other nation due to growing intolerance.

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New Delhi:

Netflix is now in India, 10 banned movies to watch out



Netflix, one of the biggest video streaming service now available worldwide, is now in India with an offer of watching free movies for first month. The company offers an option of watching uncensored content only by signing a form that your age is above 18 years; this gives a window where Indias banned movies can also be watched on it.



Here are 10 movies which were too hot for censor board:



1: Bandit Queen (1994): Movie based on the life of Phoolan Devi had been banned for it being straight up 'offensive', 'vulgar' and 'indecent'.



2: Fire (1996): The movie which garnered lot of appraise worldwide failed to impress locals and got banned in India due to its content, which showcased love of two lesbians.



3: Kama Sutra - A Tale Of Love (1996): The film also faced heat of the censor board for its 'explicit', 'unethical' and 'immoral' content.



4: Urf Professor (2000): Bold language and vulgar scenes became a reason for Censor Board to ban this movie in india.



5: The Pink Mirror (2003): The movie that tried to touch a topic unacceptable in Indian mentality  trans-sexuality; and faced the aftermath with a ban.



6: Paanch (2003): The reason behind ban is not just sexuality; violence, crass language and drug abuse can also be the base Censor Board use to ban films like Paanch.



7: Black Friday (2004): Censor Board considered this movie to be too dark for Indian audiences. The film was loosely based on the famous book Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts by S Hussain Zaidi.



8: Parzania (2005): The movie based on the life of a boy Azhar who goes missing during Gujarat Riots in 2002 received much appreciation worldwide, but some political parties in India didnt find it suitable for a release.



9: Water (2005): The movie based on the dark side faced by Indian widows failed to garnish any reason which could have convinced Censor Board to release it.



10: Unfreedom (2015): The recent movie to join the league is Unfreedom that is based on the love story of lesbians with an added angle of raging war with Islamic State.

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Lucknow:

Union Minister Kalraj Mishra today dismissed the repeated accusations of Uttar Pradesh government of non-cooperation by the BJP-led central government.

The state assembly elections are forthcoming and if they wont criticse the Centre, then how shall they do (politics), Mishra told reporters on a question regarding the state accusing the Centre of non-assistance.

The Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises minister was here to address a conference on Prime Minister Employment Guarantee Programme.

Stating that the current central government has released more funds for UP than any other regime, he said, When they are unable to utilise the funds given earlier, then how can the Centre be blamed for that?

Asked whether he was ready to be the face of BJP in 2017 UP assembly elections, Mishra, MP from Deoria district, said there were several faces in the party, who could be the chief minister.

Our preparations for the UP polls are good, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mishra said it was for the first time in the country that the government has conducted industrial profile and skill mapping to ascertain where MSME industries could be set up.

Skill training was being provided to youths so that they as well the industry could know about each others requirement, he said, adding that the priority was being given to UP and requested the state government to extend required cooperation.

He said his ministry was making efforts to promote two major schemes ASPIRE and Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme.

Under PMEGP, he said, 30,708 units have been set up between 2008-2014 under which 3.1 lakh unemployed got job opportunities and added that in the last six years the Centre has given a grant of Rs 986 crores to UP under the programme.

Mishra said in financial year 2015-2016 the Centre has given a grant of Rs 120 crore to the state for setting up 5978 units to provide employment to 47,824 people.

However, he said that the UP government could spend only Rs 92.84 crore of the total grant, which he said was a slow progress.

On being asked about the 17 central ministers visit in January to 23 Lok Sabha constituencies of UP, he said the Prime Minister in consultation with other leaders have decided that all central ministers would visit the country.

I myself had been to Coimbatore and now I will be visiting Shillong, he added.

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Mumbai:

Deported gangster Chhota Rajan was today produced before a special MCOCA court here via video conference from Tihar Jail in connection with journalist J Dey murder case of 2011.

Special Judge A L Pansare, on December 22, had issued a production warrant against the 54-year-old asking him to appear before it on January 7.

When asked to spell out his name, Rajan told the judge, My name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje.

Judge Pansare then explained the J Dey case to him and later took him into custody. The entire conversation between Rajan and the judge went on in Marathi.

The court told him that the next date of the case is January 19, when charges will be framed against him, Special Public Prosecutor Dileep Shah told PTI.

Rajan also told the court that he doesnt have any lawyer in Mumbai and is looking for one.

Earlier in the day, CBI produced an order from a Delhi court which had directed the Tihar authorities to produce Rajan via video link here.

Rajan had moved an application in Delhi court saying that he may not be sent to Mumbai as there is threat to his life, said a CBI official.

CBI also sought the permission of the court to carry out further investigation in the case, which was allowed.

However, Judge Pansare was quick to add and ask the CBI counsel that since Bombay High Court has expedited the case, is it not advisable to approach the HC and get an appropriate modified order.

The judge also reprimanded the Mumbai Police for not serving the copy of the chargesheet to Rajan.

Why not yet ? What are you waiting for....why are you waiting for an order for everything ? the judge said.

Later, he passed an order directing the police to serve the copy of chargesheet.

Rajan, a former key aide and lieutenant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 after he arrived from Australia, and was later deported to India.

He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which includes the J Dey murder case. Maharashtra government has handed over all the cases against him to CBI.

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Kolkata:

Sundays violence in Malda district has effected a shake up in Kaliachak police station, with several officers and constables being transferred.

Seven or eight police inspectors and sub-inspectors, who have experience of working in Kaliachak earlier, have been brought back to the police station, said Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Modi.

An equal number of officials have been transferred from Kaliachak to other police stations, the SP said adding this is a temporary measure.

Besides, nine constables have been transferred from Kaliachak, he said.

Violence had broken out at Kaliachak on Sunday over an alleged remark of a BJP leader.

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New Delhi :

India has reportedly identified the chief of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed as one of the handlers of the terrorists who launched the deadly weekend attack on the Pathankot Air Force Base, according to news agencies.



The information on Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Rauf and two others has allegedly been shared with Pakistan.

Pakistani media outlets today said the brazen attack by militants at a key Indian Air Force base will pose a challenge to attempts to resurrect the dialogue process between the two neighbours despite the goodwill generated by recent high-level meetings between their leaders.

On its front page lead Gunmen mount brazen attack on Indian air force base, the Express Tribune said the attack was over but it posed a challenge to attempts to resurrect a moribund dialogue process between the two neighbours.

The News International reported that the assault by gunmen came a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled visit to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in an effort to revive bilateral talks.

Previous attempts at dialogue between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been derailed by similar incidents but, as Pakistani authorities condemned the raid, experts suggested the latest negotiations would prove more durable, it opined.

Dawn said that immediate indications from India after the Pathankot incident suggested that the foreign secretaries talks would go ahead despite the setback, but the incident would impact the atmospherics.

India expects to complete initial probe into the incident before the meeting and its position at the talks would depend a lot on what comes out of the investigation, the paper said.

The Foreign Office said it hoped to build on the goodwill generated by recent high-level contacts, it added.

As print media mostly focused on the attack and its likely impact on the peace process, the electronic media was busy in a matching response to Indian TV channels trying to find Pakistan link to the attack.

Urdu language newspapers also gave wide coverage to the incident, while mostly focusing on the details of the attack and response by the Indian security forces. They also criticised accusation against Pakistan without investigations.

Influential Jang newspaper reported that Indian officials in a typical kneejerk reaction blamed Pakistan for the attack.

Heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists yesterday attempted to storm the Air Force base in Pathankot, triggering a day-long gunbattle in which three security men and all the five infiltrators were killed.

Three other security men succumbed to injuries in a hospital later and one NSG member was killed while defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack, taking the toll of Indian security personnel to seven.

The attackers were believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan and there was speculation that they may belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad headed by Maulana Masood Azhar of the Kandahar hijack episode.

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WARNIING

Please do not try to pronounce CONNOISSEUR if you have not done it before to avoid hurting your tongue. You are advised to consult your dictionary for the appropriate pronunciation of the word.

You are welcome to the official webpage of Nigeria's Youngest Editor Ever - Ifreke Nseowo .


HARTFORD  The special education student population in the state is rising, even though the total public school population is on the decline.

State officials dont know why thats happening, but they say they are working to make sure students are correctly identified and are showing academic growth regardless of the label assigned to them.

The change has some state officials worried, because compliance on special education generally falls on them to enforce.

My concern is our department is going to grow because the cohort will grow, said Joseph Vrabely Jr., a state Board of Education member from Glastonbury. I just see, down the road, an explosion of complaints.

Last year, 68,445 students in the state received special education services. That is up about 2,300 students  or 3.4 percent  since the 2007-08 school year. The overall school population has been on the decline since 2004 and last year stood at 542,236.

It looks like a steep growth, said Isabelina Rodriguez, the state Department of Education bureau chief for special education. But it is over eight years.

More Information s receiving Special Education in Connecticut? Here is a breakdown of the disabilities that make up the special education in Connecticut public schools in 2014-15: Intellectual disability, 2,380 0.5% Speech or language impairment, 10,058, 1.9 % Emotional disturbance, 5,400, 1% Autism, 7,778, 1.5 % Other health impairments, 13,946, 2.6 % Specific learning disability, 23,416, 4.4% All other disabilities, 5,457, 1% Going up and up Here is the special education prevalence rate by year: 2007-8, 2008-9, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 11.5, 11.6, 11.6, 11.6, 11.7, 12.1, 12.4, 13 Special education by district In our region in 2014-15, the following students were recieving special education District # students % of total student population Ansonia 376 15.7% Bridgeport 2,964 14.1% Derby 202 14 % Easton 90 9.6% Fairfield 1,101 10.8% Milford 738 11.8% Monroe 337 10.3% Oxford 227 11.5% Seymour 263 11.6% Shelton 628 12.8% Stratford 743 10.6% Trumbull 640 9.6% Special education in Connecticut Breakdown of disabilities that make up special education in Connecticut public schools, 2014-15 Intellectual disability 2,380 0.5% Speech or language impairment 10,058 1.9% Emotional disturbance 5,400 1% Autism 7,778 1.5% Other health impairments 13,946 2.6% Specific learning disability 23,416 4.4% All other disabilities 5,457 1% Going up and up Special education prevalence rate by year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 12.1 12.4 13 Special education by district Our region 2014-15, the following students were recieving special education District # students % of total population Ansonia 376 15.7% Bridgeport 2,964 14.1% Derby 202 14% Easton 90 9.6% Fairfield 1,101 10.8% Milford 738 11.8% Monroe 337 10.3% Oxford 227 11.5% Seymour 263 11.6% Shelton 628 12.8% Stratford 743 10.6% Trumbull 640 9.6% Special education in Connecticut Breakdown of disabilities that make up special education in Connecticut public schools, 2014-15 Intellectual Disability 2,380 0.50% Speech or Language Impairment 10,058 1.90% Emotional Disturbance 5,400 1% Autism 7,778 1.50% Other Health Impairments 13,946 2.60% Specific Learning Disability 23,416 4.40% All other disabilities 5,457 1% Going up and up Special education prevalence rate by year 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 12.1 12.4 13 Special education by district Our region 2014-15, the following students were recieving special education District # students % of total population Ansonia 376 15.70% Bridgeport 2,964 14.10% Derby 202 14% Easton 90 9.60% Fairfield 1,101 10.80% Milford 738 11.80% Monroe 337 10.30% Oxford 227 11.50% Seymour 263 11.60% Shelton 628 12.80% Stratford 743 10.60% Trumbull 640 9.60% See More Collapse

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires school districts to provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education.

In Connecticut, more boys than girls are identified for special education. Minority students and economically disadvantaged students make up a disproportionate percentage of the special education population.

The statewide picture appears to be running counter to a nationwide trend. Over the past decade the number of students receiving special education has been going down, with the exception of 2012-13, the last year for which national figures are available. In that year, 6,429,331 students nationwide were getting special education services.

The report on Connecticuts numbers, presented Wednesday to the state Board of Education meeting at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, comes as the state continues an investigation into the special education services offered by Bridgeport Public Schools. It is the second such probe of the district since 2013.

In 2014, Bridgeport was found to be systematically failing to follow a federal law that requires the district to be proactive in identifying, locating and evaluating children who might have disabilities based on chronic absenteeism, bad behavior or poor student performance.

A second complaint was lodged in 2015 against Bridgeport, on behalf of eight children who the Center for Childrens Advocacy charged were not being provided the special education services they were entitled to under the law. The city is still working with the state on a corrective action plan.

Bridgeport is far from alone. State officials say that in the 2014-15 school year there were 196 special education complaints made across the state. The Department of Education has 17 consultants to field and investigate the complaints.

Rodriguez, who took over the states special education bureau less than a year ago, said the department is looking for commonalities in the complaints and being proactive to help train districts so fewer complaints are filed.

If people knew better, they would do better, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell said.

By far the largest percentage of students receiving special education are those identified as having learning disabilities. One of the biggest reasons they get that label is a failure to learn to read on time.

Wentzell said the state will see a reduction in its special education numbers when it can put more supports in regular classrooms to help students learn to read.

The state is focused on increasing reading performance of all third-grade students with disabilities.

Robert Trefry, an ex-officio member of the state Board of Education who was Bridgeports school board chairman during a state takeover in 2011, wondered if there was something beyond reading the state should be focused on that might keep students from requiring special education.

Rodriguez said providing more supports in regular classrooms could lead to fewer special education referrals.

Terry H. Jones, a state Board of Education member from Shelton, also wondered if there wasnt something more to be done.
NEWTOWN - The discussion over dwindling school enrollment will restart at a Board of Education meeting on Saturday, but without the unrest that characterized the debate last summer, when the Hawley Elementary School was targeted to close.

The school board decided in June to postpone its vote to close Hawley after a contentious stretch of protests and a trauma specialists report that such tensions would set back the towns recovery from the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The main concern in the summer was that the emotional opening of a new Sandy Hook Elementary School this fall would be exacerbated by a school closing elsewhere, because some of the displaced students would be bused to the new Sandy Hook school.

But now that timing conflict is removed, and the school board is looking to implement a response to the districts shrinking enrollment in 2017.

A leading voice on the school board suggested Thursday that there is no agenda to close Hawley as the board prepares to meet for a special three-hour workshop on Saturday. Instead, he said, the board is open to all downsizing options.

We were looking at this from a different perspective before, said school board Chairman Keith Alexander. Now we may try to take a different perspective and work from there. We dont have a direction yet.

Residents can expect the school board to adopt the same deliberate process that other decision-making groups in Newtown have adopted in the aftermath of the school massacre.

The reason: trust and the willingness to assume positive intent on the part of others take time to return to a traumatized community.

An expert hired by the school district said as much in her report to the school board in late June. That expert, Melissa Brymer, director of terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, recommended taking more time to reach a decision about downsizing.

The problem in Newtown is similar to suburban school districts in the greater Danbury region and across Connecticut that are coping with higher operating costs, declining enrollment and flat state aid.

Newtown has seen a 1,000-student drop in enrollment since 2007, to 4,700 this year. The district expects to lose 200 students each year for the next five years.

School leaders in early 2015 recommended closing Hawley, an aging school that needs $14 million in repairs. The recommendation galvanized parents and teachers, whose vocal protests forced the school board to rethink the timing of the closing.

This time around the target is not the same.

Our target is to identify what our needs are, Alexander said.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
Declining student enrollment in Region 12  a recent source of concern for Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury residents  is expected to level off at elementary levels in the next decade.

The overall decline of Region 12 students would continue  by more than 26 percent  from 728 students in 2015 to 540 in 2025. But the decline is projected to begin stabilizing in the 2021-22 school year, with Washington Primary Schools population projected to level off at 158 students and rise to 169 students by 2025.

The Region 12 administration also looks to the Agriscience STEM Academy to bolster the regions viability.

Our biggest anticipated growth comes with the Agriscience STEM Academy, said Bob Giesen, the regions business manager.

The 10-year projections were created by Peter M. Prowda, a consultant who has provided annual student population predictions for the region since 2005. Prowdas first prediction in 2005 showed there would be 1,000 students in the region in 2015  a number significantly higher than the 728 currently enrolled. He cites the Great Recession as a contributing factor.

This illustrates what an economic downturn can do to projections run with the cohort-survival method that moves forward with recent events subsumed within the grade-by-grade enrollment, Prowda said. That method works very well when a community is stable.

But the economy and population have not been stable in Connecticut or Region 12 since 2005, he noted.

The regions enrollment pattern is fairly similar to those of other state public school systems, Prowda said. State enrollment hit a peak in 2005, then declined by 6.8 percent between 2005 and 2015. Region 12s decline was much steeper than the states cycle.

Prowda examines the most recent three to five years of data from a broader perspective, comparing it to the states public schools overall.

According to the 2010 Census, the population of the Region 12 towns of Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury increased by just 11 people since 2000  the smallest growth in eight decades  from 7,556 to 7,567.

There were 50 children born to residents of the three towns in 2010, and an estimated 42 births in 2015. The number of women 30 to 34, which typically have the highest birth rates in comparable towns, is projected to fall from 122 in 2010 to 93 in 2015 and just 37 in 2020.

The 2010 Census recorded that only 25 percent of the occupied housing units in the region had children under 18, although the sale of new homes was up 15.7 percent across the three towns in 2015.

Only 72.5 percent of the school-age residents in the three towns attended Region 12 public schools in 2015. An estimated 26.5 percent attended non-public schools in the state. The rest attended a state technical high school or agriculture science program (0.5 percent) or public schools in other districts.

Prowda projected the overall decline of Region 12 students to continue. But an average of 39 births annually between 2016 and 2020 is projected, which affects enrollment predictions for 2021 to 2025. Prowda said its possible kindergarten growth relative to prior births may come in higher than predicted by the model.

The projection is showing less of a decline than recent past projections, Prowda said. I believe the partial recovery of the sales of existing homes from the low levels of 2008 to 2011 justifies that optimism.

Agriscience STEM Academy student enrollment should also boost high school numbers when the academy opens to start the 2018-19 school year. There are 79 out-of-district students anticipated that first year, followed by 128 in 2019-20 and 177 in 2020-21. The agriscience academy is expected to reach full enrollment capacity of 240 students, including 177 from out of the district, in the 2020-21 school year.

stuz@newstimes.com; 203-731-3352
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On the 17th anniversary of the murder of a 8-year-old Bridgeport boy and his mother on orders from drug kingpin Russell Peeler Jr., prosecutors will try to convince the states highest court that he must die.

States attorneys will offer new reasons to a seven-judge state Supreme Court panel on why the repeal of the death penalty should not apply to Peeler  and the 10 others on death row.

While the high court narrowly ruled last summer the inmates are exempt from the death penalty, state prosecutors will argue the General Assembly did not mean the 2012 repeal of the death penalty to apply to those already sentenced to die.

The judgment in this case must be reversed with respect to the imposition of a sentence of death and the case must be remanded with direction to impose a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release, said a brief filed by Assistant Public Defender Mark Rademacher and Lisa Steele, a private attorney for Peeler, who will not attend the hearing. It will take place at 10 a.m. in the historic Supreme Court chamber on Capitol Avenue in Hartford.

The makeup of the court has changed since August, when Associate Justice Richard Palmer led a four-member majority in declaring that executing the death row inmates after the statewide repeal would amount to cruel and unusual punishment for the states most dangerous murderers.

Associate Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., who sided with Palmer, has since retired and has been replaced by Associate Justice Richard A. Robinson who prosecutors hope is more conservative on the death penalty.

Conversely, the new argument over the repeal could put Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers in a position to switch to Palmers side to protect the courts precedent-setting decision last August.

Edward J. Gavin, a Bridgeport attorney who is a past president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and an opponent of the death penalty, said Wednesday the case has attracted the attention of the states entire legal community.

The argument tomorrow is a roundabout attempt to influence the previous decision and prior rulings, Gavin said in a phone interview. People in the abolition world, were all nervous that the Supreme Court could reverse itself.

Although Peelers brother, Adrian Peeler, killed B.J. Brown and his mother, Karen Clarke, on Jan. 7, 1999, Russell received the death penalty for ordering the killings. Adrian Peeler is serving a 25-year sentence.

The boy had been expected to testify against Russell Peeler in an unrelated shooting case.

Police found Clarke lying face up on the floor of her son's room, a telephone a few inches from an outstretched hand. The boy was dead in the hall, shot in the back of his head.

Since Augusts decision, the 11 men on death row have been awaiting resentencing hearings in state Superior Court.

At the time of the legislative debates on the repeal in 2012, state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle stressed that it would not include those on death row, which is at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers.

Earlier this week, state Sen. Michael A. McLachlan, R-Danbury, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said the General Assembly should revisit the issue tomake sure that Peeler and the other killers eventually face the executioner.

The Legislature and the governor had no intention of sparing the lives of Connecticuts most heinous and depraved murderers who were already on death row, McLachlan said.

kdixon@ctpost.com;
OTTAWA-GATINEAU, Jan. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today unveiled a Code that will help Canadians make more informed choices about their television service providers and resolve disputes in a fair and effective manner.

During the Let's Talk TV proceedings, many Canadians said that cable and satellite companies do not always provide adequate information about service packages and pricing. As a result, in March 2015, the CRTC published a draft Code that addressed the issues raised during Let's Talk TV. The Code was designed to ensure consumers have access to as much information as possible regarding television service providers so they can make informed decisions.

The Code will result in a number of improvements for Canadians. Among them, television service providers will have to:

provide consumers with the information they need in a format that is easy to understand, including the list of channels or bundles they subscribe to

clearly set out the duration of promotional offers, the regular price once any discounts end, and any obligations placed on a consumer if they accept the offer, such as a minimum commitment period

provide customers with a timeframe and information on any potential charges regarding service calls for installations and repairs

ensure that prices set out in written agreements are clear and state whether they include taxes or other charges, and

give 30 days' notice to consumers in the event of a change in price of channels, bundles of channels or rental equipment.

In addition, television service providers will have to offer Canadians with disabilities a 30-day trial period, which will enable them to decide whether the service meets their needs. Canadians with disabilities will also be able to request a copy of their agreements in an alternative format, which will have to be provided at no charge upon request.

During consultations, some television service providers resisted these new obligations and wanted adherence to the Code to be voluntary. To ensure that Canadians benefit from its protections, the CRTC has decided that the Code will become mandatory on September 1, 2017. This implementation time frame will give companies enough time to change their computer systems and processes. Once it is fully implemented, 95% of Canadians who subscribe to a television service provider will benefit from the Code.

There is, however, nothing preventing television service providers from adopting the Code before it comes into force. They are strongly encouraged to make the necessary adjustments to their respective processes so that Canadians may benefit from the Code as soon as possible.

The CRTC considered a number of ways to implement the Code and felt that an implementation by way of condition of license to be the best method. Television Service Providers will therefore be required to comply with the Code by way of condition of license. This condition of license will be imposed by their next licence renewal.

Quick Facts

Further to Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians on the future of their television system, the CRTC introduced significant changes that will foster a more dynamic marketplace.

on the future of their television system, the CRTC introduced significant changes that will foster a more dynamic marketplace. During the Let's Talk TV proceedings, the Commission heard from individual Canadians, television service providers, consumer and public interest groups, the Canadian Network Operators Consortium, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services and the Government of Quebec, as well as from Canadians in an online forum.

proceedings, the Commission heard from individual Canadians, television service providers, consumer and public interest groups, the Canadian Network Operators Consortium, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services and the Government of Quebec, as well as from Canadians in an online forum. The Television Service Provider Code also sets out new rules for the handling of customer requests to change programming options, service calls, service outages and disconnections.

The Television Service Provider Code will come into force through strict conditions of licence by September 1, 2017 , once the CRTC has renewed the licences of cable and satellite companies, as well as those that provide Internet Protocol television services.

, once the CRTC has renewed the licences of cable and satellite companies, as well as those that provide Internet Protocol television services. An independent ombudsman, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services, will administer the Code once it is in effect and help Canadians resolve disputes with their service provider.

Prior to the Code coming in effect, Canadians should continue to resolve their disputes by contacting their television service provider at first; if they are unsuccessful, they should contact the CRTC.

Television service providers include cable, Internet Protocol television and national satellite direct-to-home service providers.

Quote

"The new Code of conduct will empower Canadian TV viewers as they navigate a dynamic marketplace. It will ensure that they receive information that is easy to understand and that they are notified of changes to their services. The Code will also will improve customer service and how complaints are handled in the future.

Canadians expect that their television service providers will implement the Code as soon as possible. Providers are strongly encouraged to take the necessary actions now, so that Canadians have the information to choose the provider that best meets their needs. Doing so may also prove to be a competitive advantage in the marketplace."

Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman of the CRTC

Related Products

Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2016-1

Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-105

Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-104

Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2014-190

Television Service Provider Code Infographic

SOURCE Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

For further information: Media Relations, (819) 997-9403; General Inquiries, (819) 997-0313, Toll-free 1 (877) 249-CRTC (2782), TTY (819) 994-0423, Ask a question or make a complaint: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/question.htm; Stay Connected: Follow us on Twitter @CRTCeng (https://twitter.com/CRTCeng), Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/crtceng
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the series in Dover, New Hampshire. The negatives for that first comic, printed in 1984, have surfaced and the owner, a Colorado collector, came to Biddeford In September to look around.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Hali...

Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered the duo to pay N300million each, as well as produce two sureties each, in like sum.Whereas the court maintained that one of the persons to stand surety for Bello must be a Director under the employment of the federal government or any of its agencies, the son was asked to produce someone not below grade level 12 to stand surety for him.Besides, the court, ordered that the second surety must be an owner of landed property in Abuja the value of which must not be below N300m, adding that the title deed of such property must be verified and surrendered to the court registrar throughout the duration of the trial.Both sureties are to swear to an affidavit of means, as well as tender their recent passport photographs to the court.More so, Justice Mohammed ordered the accused persons to surrender their international passports to the court.Pending the perfection of the bail terms, the court ordered that Abba should be remanded in prison custody, saying the ex-PDP boss should remain in hospital but placed under police watch.Justice Mohammed has fixed February 16 to commence full-blown trial of the accused persons.It will be recalled that the accused person were on Tuesday, docked before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.They are facing a four-count criminal charge bordering on alleged N300million fraud.Equally charged before the court was a private firm, BAM Projects and Properties Limited, which the EFCC said was used to perpetuate the fraud.The anti-graft agency alleged that the accused persons, through the firm, withdrew the sum of N300m from an account the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.The fund was said to have been transferred to the accused persons, 11 days to the 2015 presidential election, by the embattled former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, rtd.However, both Bello who was docked in a wheelchair and his son, pleaded not guilty to the charge dated December 23 but amended on December 30, 2015, even as their lawyers prayed the court to release them on bail.Specifically, the former PDP boss, through his lawyer, Mr. Abdulaziz Ibrahim, urged the court to grant him bail on rely recognition.Bello told the court that he is still recuperating from a spinal cord surgery he had in the United Kingdom. The 3rd defendant is over 70 years old, an elder statesman who has served this country meritoriously in various capacities. My lord he was not only a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but also the former Chairman of one of the biggest political parties in Africa.We pray this court to grant him bail on self recognition, or in the alternative, grant him bail on the most liberal terms. He has responsible persons that are ready to stand surety for him, Bellos lawyer submitted.One of the charge against them read: That you Bello Abba Mohammed, BAM Projects and Properties Ltd and Dr. Haliru Bello on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court took possession of the sum of N300million paid into the account of BAM Projects and Properties Limited with Sterling Bank Plc from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser with the CBN when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki(rtd), the then National Security Adviser( to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section (15) (3) of the same Act.
Five persons have been arrested in Bayelsa State for an alleged plan to attack the house of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Yenago...

Five persons have been arrested in Bayelsa State for an alleged plan to attack the house of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Yenagoa.The suspects were said to have been apprehended in a hotel in Swali area of Yenagoa as they were perfecting strategies to unleash an attack on the former Presidents house.The names of the suspects, who are all males, were given as, Asupha Emeka, 34; Ebipre Ebebi, 25; Samuel Joe, 27; Okilo Matthew, 25; and Timiere Matthew, 25.It could not be ascertained the motive behind the plot to attack Jonathan, however, it was learnt that the incident was part of the measures to create tension in the state ahead of the Saturday supplementary poll.It was also learnt that the suspects were thugs loyal to a candidate of one of the frontline political parties in the state.Confirming the arrest of the suspects, Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat, said their apprehension was based on a tip-off.The spokesperson said, On the January 6, 2016, at about 1500hrs, based on a tip-off, detectives from the Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Vice unit stormed a hotel premises in Swali community, Yenagoa, and arrested five suspects.The suspects are Asupha Emeka, Ebipre Ebebi, Samuel Joe, Okilo Matthew and Timiere Matthew.Though he did not indicate the name of the personality they were planning to attack, Butswat said the suspects were drawing a plan to launch an attack on a yet-to-be identified location.He added that the suspects were currently undergoing interrogation and that investigation was ongoing.However, a security source, who craved anonymity, said the planned attack on Jonathans residence was designed in such a way as to give the impression that the opposition was after the life of Jonathan.He said, The planned attack on Jonathans house was to give an impression of violence ahead of the supplementary election in the state. What the mastermind intends to achieve through that is what I cannot fathom.You know this is the time of politics when politicians design all manner of tricks, crisis and strategies to heat up the polity. This is one of those aspects of dangerous politics they are playing.The ringleader of this dastardly act, we learnt is a member of Jonathans party. The whole plot was contrived to give the impression that the opposition is the one responsible.
Netflix has announced that its now available in 130 new countries, including Nigeria. Before today, Netflix was being enjoyed in just 6...

The announcement came during the opening keynote address at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. According to Harrison Weber of Venturebeat, Netflixs massive expansion serves as a counter to its recent slow growth in the U.S.Some of the other countries that will be able to access Netflix include Singapore, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and India. Countries like China, which holds about 20% of the worlds population, North Korea, Syria and Crimea still dont have access to Netflix. This is due to some socio-political reason or the other.While the platform may not record as much success in Africa as it has in other parts of the world due to the high cost of internet data, its chances of assembling a huge following is high as Africans are already fans of its series and programmes.Netflix recently featured some African productions like Kunle Afolayan's "October 1," Emem Isong's "Knocking on Heaven's Door," Biyi Bandele's "Fifty" among others.Netflix is popular for hit series like "Daredevil," "House of Cards," "Narcos," "Orange is the New Black" among others.Considering the fact that most Nigerians have consistently complained of DSTV's high monthly subscription, would Netflix's expansion to Nigeria be a disadvantage to MultiChoice?
Arsene Wenger has ruled Chile forward Alexis Sanchez out of Arsenals FA Cup third round clash with Sunderland on Saturday. Sanchez mis...

Arsene Wenger has ruled Chile forward Alexis Sanchez out of Arsenals FA Cup third round clash with Sunderland on Saturday.Sanchez missed the entire Christmas and New Year programme after suffering a hamstring injury in Arsenals draw at Norwich in November.The 27-year-old was expected to make his comeback for the win over title rivals Manchester City before Christmas but suffered a setback in his recovery.In his absence, Arsenal have opened up a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League and open the defence of their FA Cup trophy against strugglers Sunderland.Gunners boss Wenger is not ready to rush Sanchez back into the team with crucial league fixtures to come and a Champions League tie against Sanchezs former club Barcelona on the horizon.The bad news of the week is that Alexis is not quite ready, Wenger told Arsenals website on Thursday.It is a precaution because of his hamstring, and it takes a few more days. Hes not bad but hes not ready.
The Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a pan-Yoruba group, said Thursday it has endorsed the recent call by hunters in Borno to assist Nigerias military...

The Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a pan-Yoruba group, said Thursday it has endorsed the recent call by hunters in Borno to assist Nigerias military prosecute the war against Boko Haram terrorists.The group further called for a review of Nigerias security and defence architecture. Acceding to the hunters request will no doubt be of a fundamental significance, not only in terms of intelligence and reconnaissance, two vital elements of military operations but also underscores the regional imperatives of security and defence in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-national nation state, the duo of Shenge Rahman Akanbi and Femi Odedeyi said on behalf of the organisation in a statement made available to our correspondent.It is instructive to note that part of the reasons adduced by the hunters for making this request was precisely to avoid what they called idleness on their part as Boko Harams activities had rendered them helpless in pursuit of their hunting profession, a situation the hunters say can be mitigated by their knowledge of the terrain.Furthermore, by seeking to be absorbed into the military, the hunters idleness will be taken care of by their becoming gainfully employed as part of the military, two specific areas of primary interest to the Buhari administration: employment and security, while also enabling the militarys professionalism and competence through embedding the hunters knowledge or experience into training, policy and doctrine of the military itself, the group added.Hunters in the troubled north-eastern Nigeria state of Borno had recently expressed their readiness to assist the countrys troops raid Sambisa Forest, the acclaimed hide-out of the Boko Haram terrorists that have killed thousands of Nigerians since 2009.The Egbe Omo Oduduwa advised that absorbing the hunters into the military in fighting Boko Haram must also be viewed by the authority within the context of the current revving up of the Sunni/Shia contradiction, especially when the conflict has now formally reared its head in Nigeria with the recent confrontation between Nigerias military and the Shia movement.Africas anti-terror wars are being waged principally by weak nation-states, almost all exclusively internally unstable, even if engendered by global power plays resulting in the ineffectiveness or collapse of the nation-state, where recent Dasukigate confessions in Nigeria point to how easily the state can be turned into a plaything of whoever is in power or the complete dependence of the nation-state on international forces, as shown in Chad, Niger and Mali.Libyas experiences are too recent to be forgotten, with the proliferation of arms from the Gaddafi regime fueling all sorts of Islamic fundamentalist insurgencies across Africa with Libya itself in political turmoil, with two governments pretending to run one country enabled by, as well as enabling of, all categories of armed militias.To all intents and purposes therefore, the African nation-state as it currently is cannot withstand the pressures imposed by terrorism in addition to its complete economic dependence on the former colonial powers, unless it is redesigned to suit its own historical purposes and carve out its own destiny in human affairs.Nigeria will be able to avoid this scenario only if her security architecture becomes less dependent on traditional post-colonial security formation where such security is based on the abstraction of the nation-state whose reality is manifested only through the denial of the peoples as prime movers of their destinies, the group said.
BOGOTA-- The borough's first female police officer will receive about half of a $2.25 million settlement ending litigation stemming from her termination three years ago, NorthJersey.com reported Wednesday.

Regina Tasca (File photo)

Regina Tasca, at the time a 10-year veteran, was suspended in 2011 after she was found unfit for duty following two incidents that year. In one incident, Tasca was accused of failing to help a fellow officer while transporting an unruly, intoxicated woman to the hospital. In a second incident, Tasca was accused of interfering with two Ridgefield Park police officers as they restrained the son of a former Bogota councilwoman. The man had been reported missing and was behaving erratically at the time, authorities said.

The Bogota council voted to terminate Tasca in 2012 and also sought to reclaim the $150,000 she was paid while suspended, prompting a countersuit from Tasca alleging harassment and other misconduct. Tasca later withdrew the suit, but last year a judge did find conflicts of interest in her termination proceedings involving the then-mayor and a member of the council at the time.

Under the settlement, about half the money will go to law firms and other parties involved in the suit. Tasca, meanwhile, has agreed to resign from the department effective Dec. 31, 2015, and will receive $125,000 a year for the next two years, followed by monthly payments of just under $4,000 a month for up to 20 years. Both parties in the suit have also agreed to refrain from criticizing each other publicly.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
-- Police arrested four New York men and seized marijuana, altered driver's licenses and air-powered guns after a stop at a Palisades Interstate Parkway gas station, authorities said Thursday.

According to police, PIP officers Jeffrey Lamboy and Gregory Kimbro, Jr. were working in plainclothes late Monday morning when they spotted a Volkswagen Jetta parked with various equipment violations at a service station on the northbound highway.

Officers also smelled marijuana coming from the car and asked four men to step out of the vehicle, police said in a statement.

A search revealed a loaded Powerline air handgun and a Remington Black Magic air rifle in the truck, according to PIP police.

The four -- Demetrios Andriopoulos, 20, of Little Neck, New York, Steven Devito, 18, of Staten Island, Mark Matinale, 20, of Douglaston, New York, and Daniel Colflesh, 20, of Little Neck, New York -- were each charged with possession of a handgun and possession of a rifle, police said. They told officers they shared the guns.

Andriopoulos, the driver, had an altered New York license with another person's information on it, according to police. He faces added charges, including having an altered government document.

Devito and Matinale were charged with having false identifications, police said.

The search also turned up a vacuum-sealed bag of marijuana, a bong-style pipe, a metal grinder and rolling papers, according to police.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
FAIR LAWN - A Fair Lawn High School student who tweeted anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian statements claims school administrators reprimanded her and accused her of bullying.

Bethany Koval, a 16-year-old Israeli Jew, said on Twitter that she had been reprimanded for a tweet directed at Israel and questioned about pro-Palestine comments she had made on social media.

She said administrators were particularly interested in a Dec. 27 tweet involving a student who had unfollowed her on Twitter because of her political views. Koval tweeted to a friend she would name the student in a private message.

"Principal just called me down," Koval tweeted Wednesday. "I'm about to be exposed for being anti-Israel. Pray for me."

Moments later the student tweeted that the administrators had threatened to "file a bullying case against me."

"It's against state law to express unpopular political views on the Internet, now," she tweeted.

Fair Lawn High School Principal James Marcella told the New York Times that the issue has been referred to the district superintendent, Bruce Watson.

NJ Advance Media reached out to Watson, but was told he was not available for comment.

Later, however, the superintendent released a statement that indicated the matter began as a harassment, intimidation and bullying complaint.

"The investigation is focused solely on the factors we are required to apply by law and not upon any political opinions expressed by any pupils," Watson said in a statement.

On Wednesday the student posted three audio clips to Twitter that she said contained parts of her conversation with an administrator she identified as Frank Guadagnino.

In one recording, the administrator can be heard telling Koval that the state could determine that she had committed an act of bullying for the tweet she sent that referred to a fellow student who unfollowed her as "that pro-Israel girl from my school."

On another recording Koval tells the administrator that she believes her tweets about Israel were "controversial" but not "problematic."

"Well that's your interpretation," the administrator says on the recording. "There's a state law that might interpret it differently."

New Jersey's harassment, intimidation and bullying laws are among the toughest in the country. After the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, the state adopted the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. The law provides stiff penalties for educators who do not address bullying in their schools.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
lester-paul.jpg

Seen here with his father, longtime Mahwah resident Lester George "Rusty" Paul, left, helped promote Les Paul's legacy through video and sound. (Photo courtesy of the Les Paul Foundation)

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MAHWAH - Services were planned Thursday for Lester George "Rusty" Paul, a longtime township resident who worked hard to promote the legacy of his father, legendary guitarist Les Paul.

Rusty Paul, 74, died New Year's Eve at Villa Marie Clair Hospice Care Center in Saddle River following a battle with diabetes, according to his family.

Paul's father, also a Mahwah resident, died in 2009 at 94.

Rusty Paul was a longtime friend of the Mahwah Museum, where he helped to organize his father's exhibit, according to museum officials.

"Rusty also gave talks at the museum to help promote the legacy of his father, Les Paul," the museum stated this week on its website. "He will be missed."

Born and raised in Chicago before moving to Mahwah, Rusty Paul attended military school before serving in the U.S. Army. He later formed a band with brother Gene and played music in the tri-state area.

A recording engineer, Rusty Paul worked with his father, providing videography and sound, and helped to extend the elder Paul's legacy.

Les Paul was a jazz, country, and blues guitarist, a songwriter, and an inventor who pioneered the solid-body electric guitar that made rock-and-roll possible.

"Rusty was a constant figure by his father's side during Les Paul's life and became a popular musician performing at various venues around the country with his band "The Rusty Paul Band,"' the Les Paul Foundation states on its website.

Rusty Paul worked with legendary musical artists including Steve Miller - who was Les Paul's godson - and counted among his friends Richie Sambora, Eddie Van Halen and many other famous musicians, according to the foundation.

A funeral was scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey. Interment will follow at Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah.

Rusty Paul is survived by his children Stephen, Gary and Beth Anne, his former wife, Glori, and seven grandchildren

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Diabetes Association, in the name of Lester Rusty Paul.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
HILLSDALE -- Before the sun rose on an icy day in late December, Christian, a milkman for Organic Milk Corporation, was loading his truck at a depot on Patterson Street.

Freezing rain collected on the windshield as WNYC played on the truck radio. Christian, a Brit, listens for the BBC World Service broadcast. He had 88 deliveries to make--about seven hours of driving and a lot of news to digest, depending on traffic.

Organic Milk Corp. is among a handful of companies still delivering milk the old-fashioned way, in glass bottles, straight to the doorstep.

Rosemarie Romano, who has owned Organic Milk Corp. for more than a decade, buys from farms in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and provides weekly deliveries to customers in Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties.

There is no inventory, said John Adams, office manager for the company. The products, which Romano has expanded beyond dairy to include meat, bread and seafood, arrive at depots in Hillsdale and Montvale in the wee hours and go out immediately to boxes placed on customers' doorsteps.

It's not quite like the old days. Few customers know Christian or the other delivery drivers by name. They arrive at odd hours, often while people are still sleeping or after they've left for work. There's no hat.

Milk delivery was once ubiquitous in the suburbs, but declined after the arrival of the home refrigerator and the supermarket.

"Now there was a 24-hour source to buy anything really," said Ed Seabridge, owner of Suncrest Farms in Totowa.

More than half of all milk deliveries in the 1950s went to individual homes in quart bottles, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Only 2 percent of deliveries went to homes in 1997.

Two-income households have helped revive home delivery, Adams said. Families have less time to go to the grocery store.

They are also more interested in where their food comes from, Seabridge said. Suncrest gets its products from two suppliers who source dairy from family farms in Pennsylvania and New York.

Seabridge has owned Suncrest since 1971. The company has operated since 1961. The service has not changed much, Seabridge said.

"Everything's the way it was," he said. "People sign up with us, we put the little box on their porch and we deliver the milk. It's pretty simple."

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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A bill proposed in New Jersey's assembly would extend the school day in elementary schools with a high percentage of students who need literacy help. (Star-Ledger file photo)

TRENTON -- The statistics are alarming, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said.

In some urban school districts, including Newark and Trenton, more than 70 percent of students in certain schools failed to reach proficiency on the state's language arts exams in 2013-14.

If those students are struggling to read in third, fourth and fifth grade, Gusciora wonders whether they will ever have a chance to catch up, let alone attend college or compete for jobs that can sustain a family, he said.

Gusciora (D-Mercer) and other New Jersey lawmakers want the state to intervene. They introduced a bill (A4779) that would declare "an educational state of emergency" in underperforming districts and give those schools extra funding to extend the school day for kindergarten through third grade.

The proposed legislation, scheduled for discussion in the Assembly Education Committee on Thursday, would affect any district where 75 percent of schools have more than 65 percent of students scoring below the benchmark for proficiency in English/language arts.

All students in grades K-3 in those districts would be required to stay in school for 2 1/2 more hours each day.

"This is probably going to be the biggest challenge facing our country, keeping our kids literate," Gusciora said. "If they are not literate they can't possibly perform in jobs and that may result in greater failure down the road."

It's unclear exactly how many districts would receive the state of emergency designation under the lawmakers' proposal. New Jersey has yet to release a full report on 2015 district and school results of its new state tests -- the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exams -- and Gusciora said those assessments alone shouldn't be used to decide whether a school needs assistance.

Under the proposal, the state would not take over control of the districts, and schools would retain full authority over what activities students participate in during the extra time, Gusciora said.

Gusciora said he's unsure how much his proposal would cost, but he thinks improving literacy should be a top priority for the state.

The issue should be taken seriously because of the potential harmful consequences for the students and their community, he said.

"I don't think ISIS has to do anything," Gusciora said. "They just have to sit back and watch our kids fail at school and cause problems in society on their own."

New Jersey's Department of Education does not comment on pending legislation, spokesman Mike Yaple said.

The state already provides extra funding to urban districts for full-day kindergarten and pre-K. It also offers support to low-performing schools through regional achievement centers that help implement turnaround plans.

Along with Gusciora, Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D-Essex) and Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex) have sponsored the bill.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
TRENTON -- A proposal that would mandate a longer school day in New Jersey districts with extremely low reading scores has cleared its first legislative hurdle, despite uncertainty about how much it would cost.

The state Assembly Education Committee on Thursday approved a bill (A4779) from Democratic lawmakers that declares an "educational state of emergency" in districts where 75 percent of schools have more than 65 percent of students scoring below proficient in language arts.

The bill would require the state to give those districts a yet-to-be-determined amount of supplemental funding to expand the school day by 2 1/2 hours for grades K-3. Schools could use the extra time to do whatever they want, including literacy support for struggling students or recreational activities.

"If (students) are not successful at third grade, they are lost," said Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, the bill's primary sponsor. "And they have a whole host of social problems afterward."

It's unclear exactly how many districts would receive the state of emergency designation under the lawmakers' proposal. New Jersey has yet to release a full report on 2015 district and school results of its new state tests -- the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exams -- and Gusciora said those assessments alone shouldn't be used to decide whether a school needs assistance.

Gusciora (D-Mercer) was asked during the Monday's hearing about the cost of the bill, but he said he couldn't provide an answer.

A similar program in Massachusetts costs about $15 million, Gusciora said, but New Jersey's Office of Legislative Services still needs to calculate an estimate.

Schools in urban areas, like Trenton and Newark, are most likely to be affected by the bill if it becomes law, Gusciora said. Some schools in those districts had more than 70 percent of students score below proficient on their 2013-14 state language arts exams.

Families in those districts might be grateful for a longer school day, Gusciora said.

"We have many students who are raised by single parents, we have parents that are working two, three jobs that are not able to guide their kids," he said. "By extending the school day, I think this is a win for everyone."

Assemblyman David Rible (R-Monmouth) questioned whether the state should give urban districts more money because they fall into Gusciora's state of emergency category.

Urban districts receive significantly more state funding per-pupil than suburban districts.

"How much more are they going to get?" asked Rible, who voted against the proposal.

Though the bill won its first approval, it could be back before the Assembly committee again.

New Jersey's two-year legislative cycle ends on Jan. 12, and all bills not passed by the full state Senate and Assembly must be reintroduced and begin start the legislative process over again.

Gusciora said he considers the bill a work in progress.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Trader Joes.JPG

Trader Joe's has been sued for allegedly under filling cans of tuna.

(Star-Ledger file photo)

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Trader Joe's for allegedly "cheating" customers by under-filling cans of its store-brand tuna, often by less than half the amount expected in 5-ounce cans.

According to the suit, the accusations are supported by testing in a U.S. government lab where 5-ounce cans of several types of Trader Joe's tuna contained less than 3 ounces of tuna in most instances. The suit alleges that for each 24-can lot tested, nearly every can was under-filled in violation of federal standards that would require a minimum fill of 3.23 ounces of tuna for the 5-ounce can size.

Clarification: Federal regulations involve a complex system for determining the amount of tuna required based on can size and the type of tuna. See the "Fill of container" requirements for tuna here.

According to the suit: "Independent testing by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined that, over a sample of 24 cans, 5-ounce cans of Trader Joe's Albacore Tuna in Water Salt Added contain an average of only 2.61 ounces of pressed cake tuna." The cans were measured precisely according to the methods specified by federal regulations, according to the suit.

"In this sample, 24 of 24 cans were below the minimum standard of fill," according to the suit.

In separate 24-can tests, cans of Trader Joe's albacore tuna with half salt and cans of tuna with no salt added were found to contain an average of only 2.43 ounces of pressed cake tuna. A 24-can sample of the 5-ounce Trader Joe's albacore tuna in olive oil found the cans contained an average of 2.87 ounces of pressed cake tuna, the suit alleges.

The civil action, filed Jan. 5 in Manhattan federal court, was initiated by New Yorker Sarah Magier, who purchased 5-ounce cans of Trader Joe's albacore tuna in water with no salt added at a Trader Joe's in the Chelsea area of Manhattan through the end of 2013. See the full lawsuit here.

In July, Magier filed a class action suit against Tribe Mediterranean Foods for mislabeling its hummus products as "all natural" when they allegedly contain synthetic and genetically modified ingredients.

Trader Joe's settled a class action lawsuit in 2014 that claimed certain Trader Joe's products were improperly labeled or marketed as "all natural" or "100% natural" when they contained allegedly synthetic or processed ingredients.

Trader Joe's, popular in New Jersey and elsewhere for its specialty foods and wine selection, is a privately held chain with headquarters in California and more than 450 stores in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

Trader Joe's does not comment on pending litigation.
robert-irvine-restaurant-impossible.jpeg

"Restaurant Impossible" stars Robert Irvine, left, and Tom Bury are in West Orange this week renovating the Starlite pizzeria and restaurant.

(Food Network)

West Orange's 55-year-old landmark Starlite Restaurant will get a fresh start in the New Year thanks to the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible."

Chef Robert Irvine ambushed the apparently struggling Italian eatery Wednesday and will spend two days making over the joint from zuppa to nuts. Irvine not only gives the menu a rehab -- Starlite's specialty is thin-crust pizza, although the sausage got singled out in a past visit by the Munchmobile -- but overhauls the decor and gives pointers on hospitality, service and organization.

The production company had previously put out a call for volunteers, but it doesn't release the name of the targeted restaurant ahead of time. In a Facebook post, Irvine invites others to pitch in. The restaurant is near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Way and Route 10.

Just ambushed the Starlight Restaurant in West Orange, NJ. Wow!! Come grab a broom, a paint brush, and help change a person's life. Posted by Chef Robert Irvine on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

He's also looking for cooks and servers, at least for the big reveal:

Any cooks or servers anywhere in West Orange that have restaurant experience please email Jelmore@alkemy-x.com if you need a job   Robert Irvine (@RobertIrvine) January 6, 2016

Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.

TV HANGOVER, EP. 16 'Making a Murderer'; Golden Globes 2016 predictions
NEWARK - Recent controversy over a letter to the state Department of Education has Mayor Ras Baraka decrying what he is calling an organized campaign to divide public and charter school parents in the city.

The Dec. 17 letter to Education Commissioner David Hespe urges the state to reject applications expand enrollment by charter networks including KIPP (TEAM Academy), Uncommon Schools (North Star Academy) and the Robert Treat Academy. He argues that their growth would unfairly siphon state aid from traditional public schools already struggling with a significant lack of resources.

"These expansions, if approved, will result in a dramatic increase of charter school payments, negatively impacting the NPS budget over the next five years, impairing the ability of NPS to provide all students with a high quality, thorough and efficient education," he wrote.

What followed in the weeks since has highlighted a rift between parents, officials and other stakeholders on how to manage the growth of charters in Newark and the influence of their supporters.

After Baraka's letter began gaining traction on social media and in education reform circles, he began drawing criticism that it was a deliberately hidden strike against non-traditional schools and their supporters.

"Here it is, the end of the year, we've just reached 105 homicides and what he's focused on is creating a moratorium against charter schools. That to me is the issue," said Matt Frankel, a spokesman for the Newark-based Parent Coalition for Excellent Education (PC2E).

On Wednesday, Baraka issued a strong response via a statement, calling Frankel's criticism "part of an organized campaign to inflame charter parents and public school parents against each other at a time when responsible public school and charter school leaders are working together to find common ground..."

Later, he doubled down by posting a video blog on the city's YouTube page, accusing some advocates of distorting his words and actively trying to promote division to further their own pursuits.

"The interesting thing is that there are forces in our city, some who are here, and some who are not here, who are interested in putting parents against one another," he said.

"There are incredible charter schools in Newark and there are incredible public schools in Newark and one should not be pit against the other. Unfortunately there are people who want to see that happen, and are using politics to see that happen."

On Thursday, seven members of the Municipal Council sent their own letter to Hespe urging him not to curb the growth of charters.

"Parents in Newark should have the option of sending their children to the school of their choice," they said.

The group, which includes the entire council, save for Council President Mildred Crump and South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James, also passed a resolution in May denouncing a three-year moratorium on the schools proposed by state Assembly members Mila Jasey (D-Essex and Morris) and Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex).

Council members also expressed surprise that Baraka would call for limiting charter school growth, when his administration just recently approved the expansion of a charter school. In October, the planning board - whose members were all appointed by the mayor - approved a new school building for North Star Academy in vacant parking lot of the former Star Ledger building.

Department of Education Deputy Press Secretary David Saenz said all applications for expansion in Newark were still being weighed, but that all comments from the public and officials alike would be considered before any decision was rendered.

The reaction to Baraka's letter, however, reflects an increasingly mobilized bloc of charter parents and supporters. Following the Planning Board vote in October, Baraka issued a public response after charter groups spread a photo of him posing with KIPP students holding a sign supporting the network's expansion.

Mashea Ashton, CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, said she believed the mayor was sincere in his desire to give all students access to a quality education regardless of venue.

"Where I'd love the conversation to go around this issue is how do we do that," she said, noting that many charter networks such as KIPP and Uncommon Schools had reported high demand from parents resulting in long waiting lists.

"To have elected officials say the response is no we're not going to respond to that demand, I think its unfortunate."

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- At her upcoming trial on charges of killing her 8-year-old daughter, Krisla Rezireksyon's attorneys have been planning to argue her religious practices were connected to her "diminished capacity."



But Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin ruled today that no such link could be presented to the jury.



The judge said a defense expert, Joel Morgan, could still testify that Rezireksyon suffers from "diminished capacity," meaning she had a "mental defect or deficiency" and lacked the state of mind needed to be convicted of the alleged offenses.



Morgan, a clinical neuropsychologist, however, will be barred from testifying in regard to an alleged link between Rezireksyon's "diminished capacity" and her religious devotion, Ravin said. The judge found that such a link was speculative and inadmissible.



During today's hearing, Rezireksyon's attorney, Adrien Moncur, said the judge's ruling "severely undercuts" the defense theory in the case. Moncur said the defense would likely appeal the decision to the state's Appellate Division.



"I have an obligation here to represent my client and that's what I'm going to do," Moncur told Ravin during the hearing. "We're entitled to a defense and we should not be precluded from making a defense here."



Moncur requested a hearing to be held for Morgan to testify about his findings that support the link in question. Moncur indicated he did not seek such a hearing months ago, because the dispute over the link arose recently.



The judge denied the request for a hearing, noting how he would then have to give prosecutors the opportunity to retain their own expert to respond to Morgan. That expert would have to familiarize himself with the matter and then testify at another hearing, causing additional delays in the case, the judge said.



"All of that could take months," Ravin said.

Ravin reiterated that Rezireksyon could still present a "diminished capacity" defense, and he rejected Moncur's argument that his latest ruling significantly undercuts the attorney's ability to defend Rezireksyon.

In a Sept. 25 ruling, the judge said Morgan could testify Rezireksyon suffered from "diminished capacity," but he could not testify she belonged to a religious cult and had been brainwashed by her pastor.

Copy of a 2006 photo of Christiana Glenn, looking at her reflection in a mirror before attending a family wedding as a flower girl. Eight-years-old, Christiana Glenn, (now called Kristina Kris Rezireksyon Kris.) was found dead from malnutrition and a broken leg. Her mother,Venette Ovilde (Krisla Rezireksyon Kris), has been charged with the death of her daughter. Saddle Brook, NJ 6/3/11 McCoy Family Photo

Rezireksyon, 34, is facing murder, child endangerment and related charges in the death of Christiana Glenn, who was found dead on May 22, 2011 in the family's Irvington apartment. Authorities have said Glenn was emaciated and had an untreated broken leg.



Rezireksyon also is accused of abusing and neglecting the two younger children -- Solomon and Christina Glenn -- were also starved and sustained fractures that went untreated, authorities said.



Her roommate, Myriam Janvier, 27, also is charged in the case, but she is expected to be tried separately at a later date.



Opening statements in Rezireksyon's trial were scheduled to take place this week, but due to various issues, jury selection in the case will resume on Tuesday.



The trial will be based in large part on the women's religious practices and how their faith affected how they cared for the children. Both women have reported speaking with "Christ."



In an interview with detectives a few hours after Glenn was found dead, Rezireksyon said her daughter had fallen while taking a bath two days beforehand, and her leg later became swollen. Rezireksyon said she later applied "sea salt" and "cornmeal and salt" to the girl's leg.



When she found her daughter not breathing, Rezireksyon said she, her two younger children and Janvier prayed over the girl's body for an hour to 90 minutes before she called 911.



Moncur has argued Rezireksyon was under "delusional spells" due to her pastor's teachings.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MONTCLAIR - An 83-year-old woman reported missing earlier this week has been found dead, according to NBC New York.

Montclair police told the station that Adelaida Serrano's body was discovered at around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, three days after family members reached out to say she had disappeared.

Her death is not being considered suspicious, authorities said.

Members of Serrano's family told NJ Advance Media Tuesday that she had moved to Montclair from New York City in June, and was not familiar with the area around her senior living complex on Walnut Street.

A police spokesman did not immediately return requests for further comment.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Newark Police.jpg

A Newark police union wants the state to amend what members say are the illegal sections of the recently approved ordinance creating city public safety department (file photo).

(Nj.com file photo)

NEWARK -- A complaint filed by the Newark Superior Officers Association charges that recent moves by Mayor Ras Baraka to reshape the Newark Police Department are illegal.

In a Dec. 30 letter sent to the office of the state attorney general, the union claims that several provisions of the now approved ordinance that establishes a city department of public safety run contrary to state law.

According to the union, New Jersey law bars the head of the public safety department from exercising law enforcement powers. State law also prevents the city from granting the public safety director power to direct and discipline certain senior officers, the union claims.

"We're not against the public safety ordinance," said union president John Chrystal Thursday. "We're in support of the ordinance and of Anthony Ambrose, we just want the ordinance to be harmonious with the state code, because there are parts of it that are prohibited by statute."

Reached Thursday morning, a spokesman for the office of the state attorney general declined to comment on the unions claims, but said the union's letter was received and is currently under review.

The City Council approved the ordinance in a Thursday morning vote, consolidating the leadership of the city's fire, police and emergency management departments into one public safety department.

Despite the union's concerns, Mayor Ras Baraka on Thursday afternoon indicated that he is satisfied with ordinance as it's currently written.

"It's important to keep in mind that this ordinance was carefully considered and drafted," Baraka said in an emailed statement. "The creation of a Department of Public Safety is not unique to the State of New Jersey and cities such as East Orange and Jersey City have established them."

Legal experts involved with the creation of the Jersey City public safety department assisted city officials in the drafting the Newark ordinance, he added.

"We are confident that this new measure will go far towards enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public safety for the citizens of Newark," Baraka said.

The council also approved a second ordinance establishing the base salary range for department head Anthony Ambrose at between $176,000 and $190,000. The former Essex County Chief of Detectives was installed as acting public safety director in late December.

With the council's approval, Ambrose now takes on the duties of the outgoing police and fire director positions.

Police Director Eugene Venable will return to another role on the police department's command staff. Newark Fire Director James Stewart is expected to retire.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
BLOOMFIELD -- Video has surfaced of an alleged fight outside a township council meeting between a town councilman and the family members of another councilman who is facing charges that he accepted a $15,000 bribe.

According to Bloomfield police, there was a "physical altercation" between Councilman Joseph Lopez and Daniel Chalet, a relative of first ward Councilman Elias Chalet, in the rear parking lot of the municipal plaza at 7:42 p.m. Monday, after a township council meeting.

The incident allegedly occurred when Daniel Chalet and a group of his cousins were walking past Lopez's car, according to police reports obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Councilman Joe Lopez. (Courtesy Joe Lopez)

Lopez told police that a group surrounded his car, recording him and his wife on their cell phones, when one attempted to open his car door, the report says. Lopez then kicked the door open and an argument ensued, it states.

But, Chalet, when interviewed by police at Mountainside Hospital several hours later, told police he and his cousins were walking to their car, which was parked behind Lopez's, when Lopez kicked the door open into him, the report states. Chalet claimed Lopez then punched him twice, causing his phone to fall to the ground, the report states.

Police responded to the scene of the incident. Chalet said that he went to the hospital after the incident, and called police to take a statement there.

Lopez told police he believed the incident was retaliation for his motion during the council meeting for Elias Chalet to resign.

"How can Councilman Chalet represent the people of the first ward if he is preoccupied defending himself against criminal charges?" Lopez asked at the meeting, a recording of which is posted on the municipal website.

Saying that Chalet "betrayed the public trust," he made a motion to force the embattled councilman to resign, but the motion was not seconded by any other council member, and so was not voted on during the meeting.

Elias Chalet. (File photo)

Lopez's comments come after Chalet was arrested in November on charges that he solicited and accepted a bribe from a township business owner to ensure the purchase of his commercial property, authorities have said. Chalet, who attended Monday night's meeting, is facing up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

Police spokesman Ralph Marotti said Wednesday that no charges had been filed in connection to the physical altercation Monday night.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Lopez said he was at the police station filing retaliation, harassment, stalking, and filing a false report complaints against Chalet. Lopez denied striking Chalet, and said that he got out of his car because he felt that he, and his wife and father who were also in the car, were being threatened.

"At first, I thought we were being carjacked," Lopez said. "We were being threatened."

Since the incident, Lopez said he has requested 24-hour police surveillance at his home, noting that he fears "further retaliation" from the Chalet family.

"It's become a traumatizing experience," he said.

But, Chalet said Thursday that Lopez targeted his family after members came to the meeting Monday to support his cousin, Elias, and filmed Lopez during the meeting.

"He had a hot head because...we had about 200 family members (at the meeting) to support my cousin," Chalet said. "He's trying to bring my cousin down...but I think he needs to look at his own actions."

Chalet said he has pressed aggravated assault charges against Lopez, and plans to file false police report charges against Lopez and his wife, and possible charges relating to property damage, since his cell phone was damaged during the incident.

"I want to let the courts handle it," he said. "I'm fearful...about what could happen next."

Elias Chalet has not yet responded to a request seeking comment on the incident.

In a statement provided to NJ Advance Media Thursday, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia called the situation "difficult."

"Obviously these events have been difficult for many in our community and emotions are running high," he said.

"However, it is important for both public officials and private citizens to maintain their composure and especially to not resort to violence, name calling and belligerence."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WOODBURY -- A man sought after failing to show up to court for sentencing on weapon, drug and theft charges was arrested Tuesday at a West Deptford motel, authorities said.

Devon Holmes, 25, of Woodbury, was arrested Tuesday after authorites say he skipped his December sentencing on drug, weapon and theft charges. (Salem County Correctional Facility)

Devon Holmes, 25, of Woodbury, was supposed to be sentenced Dec. 11 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, theft and possession of cocaine, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.

Investigators learned Holmes was staying at the Rainbow Motel on Crown Point Road and he was arrested there without incident by the prosecutor's Fugitive Investigations Unit and West Deptford police.

A search of the room turned up one pound of marijuana and more than $10,000 cash, officials said.

As a result, Holmes and a woman staying with him in the room, Caitlin Bamberger, 22, of Clayton, were each charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of CDS with intent to distribute.

Bamberger was not in the room when Holmes was arrested, authorities said, but she was later issued summonses.

Holmes was turned over to the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office and placed in jail without bail.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- A Monday incident at the home of a 30-year veteran of the Jersey City police force landed a West New York 18-year-old in jail on burglary charges.

The mother of the 18-year-old, Isaiah Melendez, is speaking out, saying the officer, Capt. Mark Cowan, roughed up her son before he was arrested. Her son and Cowan's daughter had recently ended a romantic relationship.

"It got really ugly," Anna Rivera, Melenedez's mother, told The Jersey Journal about Monday's incident. "He's traumatized."

Cowan, meanwhile, told officers at the scene that his daughter said Melendez had been "following her" and Cowan himself said he saw Melendez "interfering with her liberty to walk away" earlier in the day, according to a police report provided by Rivera.

"My son never put a hand on her," Rivera said.

According to Rivera, Melendez went to Cowan's Seaview Avenue home at about 1 p.m. Monday to retrieve some of his belongings. He had permission from Cowan's daughter, who wasn't home at the time and who told Melendez to go through her bedroom window, which she often used to get into the house because "she never has her keys," according to Rivera.

The police report says Cowan came home while Melendez was there, heard a noise inside the house and then saw Melendez climbing out a window and leaving the scene through a neighbor's yard. A police sergeant apprehended Melendez about 400 feet from Cowan's home, the report says.

Five more officers arrived at the scene, according to the report.

Cowan then "assaulted my son" by knocking him to the ground, Rivera said. "He even has bruises and he called back-up ... from what I'm told various cop cars came. They pointed guns at my son."

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said there is "no evidence" that Melendez was injured. He has been charged with burglary, criminal attempt and theft by unlawful taking, according to Morrill.

"He did not reside there and had no key," she said.

Cowan could not be reached to comment. A source close to the situation said Cowan "recused himself" from the investigation because of his involvement and handed it over to a sergeant.

Cowan's daughter is going to file domestic violence charges against Melendez, the police report says. Melendez has filed an internal-affairs complaint alleging Cowan assaulted him and that he wasn't read his Miranda warning.

Cowan joined the force in 1985. He's from a family of police officers. His brother, Robert Cowan, was the police chief for about nine months starting in October 2013. He was demoted by Mayor Steve Fulop, sued for wrongful termination and in August dropped the suit.

In 2014, a police officer filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that Mark Cowan reprimanded him for writing parking tickets outside of a deli frequented by cops and firefighters.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Via the Brazilian Ministry of Health blog: Research on stem cells and animals seeks to understand the Zika virus. Edited excerpt from the Google translation:

Researchers are using stem cells and animals such as mice and monkeys, to try to understand how the zika virus affects nerve cells in the human brain. Experiments are being made by a network of researchers, with funding from the Foundation for State of Sao Paulo (FAPESP).

Coordinator is the teacher Paolo Marinho de Andrade Zanotto, of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB) at the University of Sao Paulo (USP). "We try to understand what is happening in the brain. We are using models with mice and a human model of microcephaly, with modified stem cells reprogrammed in the laboratory so that they develop in a similar three-dimensional structure with microencephaly," said the professor.

The structures made from the stem cells are infected with Zika virus and then analyzed. In the experiments they are also infecting nerve cells of insects and monkeys. "We are beginning to analyze what the virus does," he said. Another important objective of the group is to develop a rapid test to identify the disease.

Ministry of Health data show that 3,174 suspected cases of microcephaly related zika virus have been reported in newborns in the country. For the first time, a case is being investigated in the state of Amazonas.

The notifications are distributed in 684 municipalities in 21 Brazilian states. Also under investigation are 38 deaths of babies with microcephaly, possibly related to Zika virus.

Support - The group of Brazilian researchers this week received the assistance of experts from the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, who also develop rapid tests for the detection of Zika. "They have some tests that are even well developed. The problem is that even the tests that they brought here and that we are using can only be used in a research context. There is not enough production to provide the tests for the population in general."

According to Zanotto, after the rapid test is validated in the laboratory, it will be made available to the Butantan Institute, which will develop it on a large scale. "It is important to first validate it in the laboratory and then move the technology to the Butantan. So they do what is called scale up [scaling]. During basic research, we are not about to do that yet."
Poet Robin Coste Lewis reads from her 2015 National Book Award-winning collection 'Voyage of the Sable Venus' at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Jan. 8 (Photo courtesy NOMA)
Via Nature News & Comment, a report by Declan Butler: Trial of blood-based Ebola therapy disappoints. Excerpt:

The first clinical trial to transfuse blood plasma from Ebola survivors into virus-infected patients has found that the treatment didn't reduce the risk of death  but experts say it's too early to rule out the idea as an Ebola therapy.

"The results are disappointing," says Ian Lipkin, a virologist and outbreak specialist at Columbia University in New York, who was not involved in the study.

From February 2015, an international consortium of researchers collected plasma from the blood of Ebola survivors and gave it to 84 patients at the Donka Ebola treatment centre operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres in Conakry, Guineas capital. The researchers hoped that antibodies in the survivors plasma might have a protective effect.

Administering convalescent plasma is a long-established therapy that was widely used in the early twentieth century to treat infectious diseases such as mumps, diphtheria and measles. It fell out of favour following the development of antibiotic and antiviral treatments, although it is still used to treat some diseases (such as Argentine haemorrhagic fever).

Although an Ebola vaccine proved highly successful in trials last year, a therapy is still needed because there are no effective drugs against the virus, says David Heymann, an infectious-disease researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. As the number of Ebola survivors increases during an outbreak, using their plasma could be a fast and easily scaled-up way to tackle the infection. It was a study that needed to be done, he says.

Lessons learned

But the results of the trial, published on 7 January in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the death rate of 31% in the plasma-treated group was little different from the 37.8% death rate in a control group of 418 people with Ebola who were cared for at the centre in the 5 months before the trial began. After adjusting the raw data to take into account the ages and viral loads of the patients, researchers estimated that the difference between the two groups was just 2.6%, and not statistically significant.

Still, the trial showed that the therapy is safe, that donors were willing to give plasma and that it was possible to organize the medical infrastructure needed to collect the plasma, even during an epidemic, says Stephen Hoffman, an infectious disease expert and chief executive of the malaria-vaccine company Sanaria, in Rockville, Maryland. "This is an excellent demonstration of what clinical investigators can do in the most difficult circumstances," he says.

It would be premature to rule out convalescent plasma as a therapy for Ebola, says Hoffman. Infants and pregnant women given plasma in the trial had strikingly high survival rates, he points out. In particular, only one of 5 infants died in the treated group, compared to 15 of 23 in the control group  but the trial tested too few infants to make this a statistically significant result.

And both he and Lipkin suggest that the donated plasma might not have contained sufficient levels of antibodies to protect patients. It wasnt possible to check this at the time because West Africa has no laboratories with the necessary top grade of biosafety (BSL4) that is needed to conduct such tests  and shipping samples of the plasma overseas would have delayed the trial.
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House Jan. 6 committee plans to unveil "surprising" details at its next public hearing about the 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol. The session Thursday afternoon is likely to be the last public hearing before midterm elections next month. The panel is expected to include new evidence from the U.S. Secret Service about its actions with Donald Trump that day. Ahead of a report later this year, the panel is summing up its findings. The committee says Trump, after he lost the 2020 presidential election, launched an unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory. They say the result was the deadly mob siege of the Capitol.
Via The Indian Express: Maharashtra wakes up to chikungunya threat; Pune reports highest no. of cases. Excerpt:

During the epidemic in 2006, most doctors did not even know how to spell chikungunya. Nine years on, the US has made it a notifiable disease while India continues to lag behind in proper detection of the virus.

In Pune, what has raised concerns is the increase in number of chikungunya cases during the winter months, which is unusual.

According to a Pune Municipal Corporation report, nine new chikungunya cases were detected on Wednesday, pushing up the number to 12 since January 1 this year.

At B J Medical College, Dr Renu Bharadwaj, head of the department of microbiology, says they got 49 samples in December last year from Pune and surrounding areas while the number of infections detected were as high as 66 in November.

In October too, there were 47 cases, Dr Bharadwaj says.

Last week, a doctor from Pune was infected with the virus whose symptoms can be severe and disabling.

Dr Kanchan Jagtap, joint director at the states health department, concedes cases have been high in both 2014 and 2015.

According to Jagtap, of the 181 cases across the state last year, 66 chikungunya cases, the highest number, were reported from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) areas and nearly 100-odd cases from rural areas of the state.

Vector for both chikugunya and dengue viruses were the same Aedes aegypti mosquito, Jagtap says, adding that they were taking measures to deal with both.

In 2005-06, chikungunya hit several islands in the Indian Ocean and spread through India and Southeast Asia, where it lingers even today. In 2013-14, the virus is said to have found its way to the Caribbean and Florida.

In July 2015, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health claimed to have found new evidence that an extremely high number of people in South India were exposed to dengue and chikungunya.

However, the extent of problem has been underestimated here, according to Dr Arvind Chopra, director and chief rheumatologist at the Center for Rheumatic Diseases in Pune, who has been tracking this disease. Chikungunya is a very close mimic of rheumatoid arthritis. Some patients develop persistent aches and pains that can easily be confused with arthritis. Arthritis caused by chikungunya can be challenging, Chopra told The Indian Express.

At the height of winter in the last week of December, I had five chikungunya patients from Pune, he said.
'Mythbusters' co-hosts Adam Savage, center left, and Jamie Hyneman have been putting myths, idioms and urban legends to the test since 2003 on their science-based reality show. (Discovery Channel)
A news release from WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office: WHO calls for immediate access to Taiz City for delivery of life-saving health supplies.

7 January 2015, Sanaa, Yemen  The World Health Organization is concerned about the deteriorating health situation in Taiz, where more than 250 000 people have been living in a state of virtual siege since November 2015.

All of city's 6 hospitals have been forced to partially close some services, and are overwhelmed with injured patients. Humanitarian organizations are struggling to deliver medical and surgical supplies due to the insecurity.

5 WHO trucks carrying medicines and medical supplies have been prevented from entering the city since 14 December 2015. The trucks contain trauma medicines, medicines for the treatment of diarrhoea, and other health supplies that urgently need to be delivered to Al-Thawra, Al-Jumhoori, Al-Rawdhaand Al-Mudhaffar Hospitals. 3 of the trucks are carrying 500 cylinders of oxygen that are critically needed by the hospitals.

WHO calls on all parties involved in the conflict to allow the secure movement and delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to all people, regardless of their location. In times of crisis, it is vital that health facilities remain functional and provide people in need with uninterrupted access to life-saving medical care.
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Generosity made a good holiday season for all: Food Bank

As we are about to complete the 2015 holiday season, I am struck again by the incredible people and businesses that make up our community of Greater Sudbury.

Michael Ricci-Lyddiatt (left), plant manager, Walker Environmental made a $1,000 donation to the Dan Xilon and the Sudbury Food Bank last week. Supplied photo.

As we are about to complete the 2015 holiday season, I am struck again by the incredible people and businesses that make up our community of Greater Sudbury.



No matter what is happening in their lives, or what challenges they are facing individually, almost everyone in our region manages to help out someone in some way, whether it is with their time, food, money, personal support, their service or just their kind words and belief in the importance of every individual. I, as well as so many other charities, Im sure, am so proud to be part of this wonderful community. And all of you should be so proud of yourselves.



Banque daliments Sudbury Food Bank would like at this time to thank everyone that made the decision to assist the 2015 Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive. You are all true partners and leaders in the battle to fight hunger in our community by standing with us for so many years.



Although many of you help us with your unwavering support in so many ways all year round, I would like to commend you on your support of this particular food drive because this is the longest running of its kind in Sudburys history. We also faced some new challenges with this years campaign starting with the economic future of the average person to the downturn in the mining industry and the deployment of the 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada to do other important work in our country, but yet again the community stepped up to the plate.



This year there was a real possibility of not being able to collect all the food donated in a timely manner. But as soon as the word went out that logistics would be a challenge, many companies and individuals just jumped right in to help. It was just incredible.



Individuals from the Rainbow School Board and parents donated their time and trucks. Day Construction immediately sent over crew and trucks. Fisher Wavy donated two full teams of volunteers and vehicles. Discount Truck Rental came through with a large vehicle as a donation to assist our efforts. Volunteers came forward to drive the vehicle and collect the food. YMCA Employment Services donated time and a vehicle to assist, and, as always, although I dont know how they did it, the 2nd Battalion Irish Regiment still came through with enough volunteers to get the job done.



Hows that for a community effort!



More and more caring individuals, such as you, are participating each year and also making it the largest food drive in Northern Ontario based on per capita donations.



It is always appreciated when an organization and its agents/employees get excited about assisting us with new opportunities. Organizations can do great things, but only people can help people.



Thank you for playing such an important role in this major annual event to feed our regions hungry for so many years. You are a big part of our continuing success!



No thank you letter would be complete without thanking the incredible partners that have supported this campaign since its inception: Vale, Steelworkers 6500 and 2020 and the 2nd Battalion Irish regiment and of course the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive Committee. I wish to thank this years co-ordinator, Justin Stewart, for his incredible efforts as a first time co-ordinator. You did an incredible job.



Also, thanks to Mellaney Dahl for chairing this massive campaign and always keeping us focused and on the right track. I wish to thank Principle Dave Farrow and Kerri for co-ordinating Rainbow Days and all the Rainbow Board and other schools that took part and especially the schools that completed the Foodanse Challenge. Yet another Sudbury-born idea developed through our young people. We also need to thank Suzanne and her A&W team for supplying lunches for the volunteers. And media partners that participated in the Edgar Burton Food Drive, especially Rogers Radio.



Once again, please accept our heartfelt thanks.



Dan Xilon,

Executive director,

Sudbury Food Bank
The first show of the year in the Sudbury House Concerts series will feature The Young Novelists, a talented young husband and wife duo who have just had an amazing year. They will perform on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. in a private home in Sudbury.

The first show of the year in the Sudbury House Concerts series will feature The Young Novelists, a talented young husband and wife duo who have just had an amazing year.They will perform on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. in a private home in Sudbury. All are welcome.What first began as a stack of songs that frontman Graydon James had amassed behind the drum kit in various bands during his university years eventually became a collection of recordings performed by the six-piece band, Graydon James & The Young Novelists.But over time, as James wife Laura Spink became integral to the creative process and the band began performing and touring as a duo, the more succinct banner of The Young Novelists was born.The group amassed quite the list of accomplishments in 2015. They were nominated for Vocal Group of the Year and won New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards in Edmonton.James was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Ontario Arts Councils Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award for his song Couldnt be any worse. They also went on their first European tour, with shows in The Netherlands and Switzerland.Space is limited so those interested are advised to make reservations right away. Admission is $20 per person and the proceeds will go to the artists. Email housecon.sud@gmail.com for details and reservations.
Sudbury hosted the first of a series of 11 public input sessions on physician-assisted dying that will be held around the province. On Jan.

Sudbury hosted the first of a series of 11 public input sessions on physician-assisted dying that will be held around the province.On Jan. 6, two sessions were held in Sudbury, and close to 40 residents, most of them seniors, showed up to the English session. The French session saw a much smaller turn out, but the feedback was just as valuable from the smaller group.They were very engaged (during the French session) and we got a lot of good feedback, said Marc Beaudoin, a facilitator with Ipsos, who mediated the evening.The sessions were broken down into information presentations from the facilitators and at the end of each presentation a question such as, how likely are you to consider physician-assisted dying, if you are eligible was posed on a projector.Those in attendance were able to answer from their seats using a remote keypad based on a rating system from one to six with one being prefer not to answer and six being very likely.Jean-Noel Murphy, counsel from the ministry of the Attorney General opened the session by explaining that public input was needed to fill in the blanks on the Supreme Court's decision last February to strike down the federal law prohibiting physician-assisted dying.The Supreme Court's decision could come into effect as early as Feb. 6, though the new Federal Government made a request in December for an extension that could hold the implementation over for another six months. The hearing for the extension is on Jan. 11.Murphy outlined the criteria for eligibility for physician assisted dying, which includes being a competent adult, being able to give clear consent, having a grevious and irremiadiable medical condition that is causing enduring suffering and is intolerable.The questions that are left open are regarding methods such as medication or injection, who administers it, a physician or the patient themselves, should there be a waiting period or should there be a second opinion from another physician, said Murphy.Seven Ipsos facilitators were on hand to pose questions during the discussion periods and listen to the concerns and questions of those in attendance.We're trying to get a clear sense of where you are on this subject because it can be a sensitive issue, said Beaudoin.Sudbury was the first stop in a series of public input sessions that will also take place in Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Kingston, Barrie and Toronto.Those who were unable to attend the session can also have their opinions heard through an online survey that can be found here
Providing his services as an expert in high-profile murder cases isn't new for Dr. Scott Fairgrieve.

Providing his services as an expert in high-profile murder cases isn't new for Dr. Scott Fairgrieve.The Laurentian University forensic anthropology professor testified as an expert witness in the 2007 murder trial of Steve Avery, recently featured in the hit Netflix series Making a Murderer. According to local media reports from the time, Fairgrieve was also hired by the defence team for Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie, in 2008.The child's body was found less than a mile from the home she shared with her parents and grandparents. In 2011, Anthony was acquitted of the murder.Like the Avery trial, which was referred to as the trial of the century in Wisconsin, the Anthony case was also extremely high profile.Fairgrieve worked as a consulting forensic scientist on Anthony's defence team, and reviewed reports of evidence in the trial.He is often called upon as an expert witness and to investigate deaths in Northern Ontario and beyond.Local cases include the 2009 murder of 15-year-old Sudbury girl, Whitney Van Der Wouden, and the 2013 deaths of two people in a fire at a Sudbury rooming house.A biography of Fairgrieve on Laurentian University's website said he's a forensic anthropology consultant to the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, working with the Northeast Regional Forensic Pathology Unit in Sudbury.Fairgrieve has published in the areas of forensic anthropology, microscopy of bone and the analysis of intentionally burned human remains.Former NorthernLife.ca photographer Marg Seregelyi interviewed Fairgrieve about his profession in 2012. Anything with young people is very, very hard to take, Fairgrieve said. It's people that are vulnerable.For more than 20 years, he has been teaching and doing forensic work at the university, helping his students learn about forensics through the study of pig bones, which most closely resemble those of humans.
Laurentian University forensic anthropologist Scott Fairgrieve has been an expert witness in a fair number of high-profile murder cases throughout his career, but the 2007 trial of Steven Avery, profiled in the hit Netflix documentary series Making

Laurentian University forensic anthropologist Scott Fairgrieve has been an expert witness in a fair number of high-profile murder cases throughout his career, but the 2007 trial of Steven Avery, profiled in the hit Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, still raises a number of questions almost nine years later.



It didn't make sense to me, Fairgrieve said. And I'm sure it didn't make sense to the defence team.



What didn't make sense was that Steve Avery, of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, had become the primary suspect in the murder of photographer Teresa Hallbach.



Police found Halbach's burned remains on Avery's property in 2005, only two years after he had been acquitted of a violent rape he did not commit. He spent 18 years in prison before DNA evidence proved he was not guilty of that crime.



When Avery was charged for Halbach's murder, he was in the midst of a $36-million lawsuit against the county for his wrongful arrest and conviction, that Fairgrieve said seemed like a sure bet.



I wouldn't want to be even running stop signs in that town if I was him, Fairgrieve said.



When Avery's case went to trial in 2007, his lawyers asked Fairgrieve to testify as an expert witness.



Earlier that year, he had published a book entitled Forensic Cremation Analysis that was published by CRC Press in the United States.



They did a little homework on who actually looks at stuff like this, and they found me, Fairgrieve said.



Avery's defence attorneys  Dean Strang and Jerry Buting  asked Fairgrieve to provide them with his expert analysis of the cases's forensic anthropology report, which included images of Halbach's charred remains on Avery's property.



Fairgrieve was later asked to share his expert opinion in court, where he said he agreed with 85 per cent of the forensic anthropology report's findings, prepared by forensic anthropologist Leslie Eisenberg.



But Fairgrieve said it was possible Halbach's remains were moved to Avery's property, after they were burned at another site.



He bases that opinion on how police handled the site of the remains  poorly, said Fairgrieve. So poorly, he said it was impossible to determine with certainty where Halbach's remains were cremated.



There is a process to follow, he said. It's much like digging an archaeological site. It, in fact, uses many of the same techniques. But in this case those techniques were not used.



In the time I've been working with police in Ontario, I certainly have never seen a site handled like that. I've never come across anything where a scene has been handled like that.



Fairgrieve said police did not have a forensic anthropologist at the scene to supervise the careful handling of the evidence  burned human remains in this case.



I believe it was because she (Eisenberg) wasn't available at the time, but subsequently became available to look at the remains and help with the sorting of the materials. If you've got remains there, my feeling would be, 'Sit on this until you get the actual help you need in order to do it properly.' That's what we do (in Ontario).



The Netflix documentary, released in December, questioned the prosecution's view that Avery was guilty of Halbach's murder.





Warning: Making a Murderer spoilers below



In addition to the poor handling of the evidence, Fairgrieve said the case, and the documentary, highlighted many other inconsistencies that should have cast doubt on Avery's eventual guilty verdict.



One other example, said Fairgrieve, was that police had a vial of Avery's blood in their possession that had been tainted, due to a broken seal and a puncture mark at the top of the tube.



There are a lot of bizarre aspects to this case, Fairgrieve said.



Due to a number of inconsistencies, Fairgrieve said a higher court in the United States should examine how the prosecution handled Avery's case.



I think they've exhausted everything they can do in Wisconsin, he said.



If all state options have been exhausted, only the Supreme Court of the United States could re-examine the case.
The amazing Sudbury connection to today's hottest story

The television phenomenon of the year has a Sudbury connection.

The television phenomenon of the year has a Sudbury connection.



The Wisconsin murder trial of Steve Avery is the subject of water-cooler conversations and theories around the world thanks to the hit Netflix true-crime documentary series Making a Murderer.



But before all the international hoopla, Laurentian University forensic anthropologist Scott Fairgrieve had a front-row seat in what many had deemed the trial of the century for the state of Wisconsin.



Avery's defence attorneys Dean Strang and Jerry Buting asked Fairgrieve to testify as an expert witness, to examine how the burned remains of murder victim Teresa Halbach were handled.



Avery was the main suspect in the murder case that took a number of incredible turns.



Halbach was killed in 2005, but only two years prior, Avery was acquitted of a violent rape he did not commit after DNA evidence proved his innocence. He spent 18 years in prison for those charges.



The 10-hour documentary series follows Avery's story after he is acquitted of that first crime, and suspected of the second two years later.



Much of the series takes cameras inside the 2007 murder trial, and questions the prosecution's arguments that Avery was guilty.



NorthernLife.ca will have more on Fairgrieve's involvement in the case as the day progresses.
A Syrian refugee family of nine expected to arrive at the Sudbury Airport this afternoon will be greeted by quite a contingent of people wishing to welcome them.

A Syrian refugee family of nine expected to arrive at the Sudbury Airport this afternoon will be greeted by quite a contingent of people wishing to welcome them.The Alzahran family is made up of a mother and father, two daughters aged three and five, and five sons aged nine, 12, 13, 15 and 18. They arrived in Toronto last night, and are due to arrive at the Sudbury airport at 3:25 p.m. today.A committee of United Church, Catholic and Anglican church members from Capreol and Valley East who sponsored the family will be at the airport, as will a group of teens from Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School.The crowd is even expected to include the Qarqoz family, another Syrian refugee family that arrived in the Nickel City on New Year's Eve.The Alzahran family will be living at a rectory attached to Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Capreol.The building is vacant because the church's priest, Father Michael Williams, lives at the rectory attached to St. Kevin's Roman Catholic Church in Val Therese, where he's also the parish priest.The Capreol-Valley East Refugee Sponsorship group raised $41,000 in donations to pay for the large family's first year in Canada.Father Williams said he'll be at the airport to greet the family, and admits to being more than a little excited.I've been working on this for awhile, he said. When I first got the news a couple days ago, it was a little surreal it's finally happening.Williams said the Alzahran family has been living at a refugee camp in Lebanon, but doesn't have a lot of other details about them.He said they've learned some of the family members know some English, but he's not sure how much. They'll have an Arabic speaker on hand to translate at the airport and on the way back to Capreol.It's great that the Syrian refugee family who arrived last week will also be there, Williams said.That's tremendous news, he said. Of course, they speak Aramaic as well.While the federal government provides the refugees with warm winter clothing, the local committee will take them shopping for anything else they need once they're here and settled in.We've been disadvantaged by not knowing the exact sizes (for clothes), Williams said.Several more Syrian refugee families are expected to arrive in Sudbury early this year. To find out how you can help, email newcomers@greatersudbury.ca
Please see this website in the United Kingdom (UK) to help spread astronomy with those who are less fortunate.



Telescopes for charity

Children with special educational needs and more vulnerable people should also be given the chance to look through a telescope and explore the Moon, the planets, and the stars. The idea comes from Jean Pierre Grootaerd and Harrie Rutten who started this initiative in Belgium and the Netherlands with the support of Volkssterrenwacht Armand Pien, Universiteit Gent, and KNVWS. The project is in the meantime rolled out in Germany, too. Why not in the United Kingdom? Joanne & Patrick Poitevin are taking up the challenge to roll out this initiative for the United Kingdom. Schools for special educational needs and institutions for children with disabilities could be donated a wonderful telescope through sponsorship. The telescope is a refractor Bresser 80/900 and will be delivered with a simple home built mount. The equipment is complete with telescope tube, viewfinder, zenith prism, two accompanying eyepieces, and the mount. See the webpages of the Belgian/Dutch/German initiators. 



Each school or institution that will get this telescope will be brought in contact with an astronomy club in their neighborhood. The local astronomy club can help the school or institute with the use of the telescope. This particular action was made possible by BRESSER Germany/UK, which is the company that provides the telescopes. We are still working on support for the home-built mount, star maps, lunar maps, educational books, and any astronomical related materials. We have the aim to install one telescope with various materials per month for 2016. It is the aim that the telescopes carry signatures of important and famous people from the UK. The signatures will be from celebrities from an astronomical and aeronautic environment. Thanks to Bresser, we have already 12 telescopes. We would love your support in any of the above, such as maps, charts, books, ... signatures.



In addition to the 12 Bresser 80/900 telescopes, we now have as well:



 - 25 meteorites donated by Aerolite Europe via Nick Howes of which 13 iron Canyon diablos and 12 NWA 869 stone chondrites

- 12 Nightscenes 2016 donated by Astrospace Publications via Paul Money

- 12 Online Astronomy Courses donated by Online Astronomy Society Academy via Alastair Leith

- 12 Sun Catchers and Solar Rainbow Makers donated by Rainbow Symphony

- 100 Solar Safety Glasses donated by John W ONeal II & fb SOLARACTIVITY Group

- 12 Moongazer's Wheel and (amount still to be confirmed - aiming one each student) Solar spectroscopes by Astronomers Without Borders via Mike Simmons

- 12 Peterson First Guide to Astronomy by Jay W Pasachoff donated by Lisa White from Houghton Miffin Harcourt via Jay W Pasachoff

- 12 The Christmas Planet by Dave Dooling (donated by Dave Dooling, New Mexico Space Museum)

- 12 Welcome to Astronomy (donated by Kalmbach Publishing Company)

- 12 Different back issues, each 12 copies of the Griffith Observer (donated by Ed Krupp, Griffith Observatory)

- 12 Sky at Night 2016 Calendar and December 2015 back issue (donated by Sky at Night via Chris Bramley)

- 12 packs Twinkle Twinkle Super Bright Stars - The Ultimate Glow-in-the-Dark Stars - 49 Stars & 1 Moon donated by Daniela I Valdes

- 12 Night Sky posters and 12 Planispheres donated by Astronomy Now via Laurie Young

- 12 Space:UK winter edition magazines, leaflets and 12 Tim Peake postcards donated by National Space Centre via Rebeca Leggat

- 12 PHILIP'S Month-by-Month Stargazing 2016 donated by Opticron via Rob Laughton

- 12 London Stereoscopic Company OWL Stereoscope and 12 Series 2 Astro OWL 3-D Stereo Cards donated by Dr. Brian May

- Digital versions of the books "Easy Things to See With a Small Telescope (A Beginner's Guide to Over 60 Easy-to-Find Night Sky Sights)" and "2016 The Night Sky Sights (A Guide to Over 100 Astronomical Events to See Without a Telescope)" donated by the author Richard J. Bartlett

- Hyperion 68 degrees Modular 13mm eyepiece, Celestron 2x Barlow, H20mm eyepiece, SR4mm eyepiece, Barlow lens 3x, Celestron collapsable binocular, Multi coated 25 mm eyepiece, Dark Sky Discovery leaflet, Kennedy Space Center leaflet, Mylar Solar Viewers, Grey filter donated by Wendy Clark

- 17 giant posters Anatomy of the Sun and 15 giant posters Studying the Sun, and 13 each received 3 booklet posters The Sun, Big Telescopes, Big Bang donated by Science & Technology Facilities Council

- 2 Calendars 2016 The art of Nature by PROBA-V 



and much more to come ...



Please do contact us for your support via email .



Please, support this charity! You also can support this great initiative by making a donation. Let us know, and we will share with you our bank details for a direct transfer. Your donation enables us to makes this project sustainable for several years and who knows we may offer an expensive telescope with a full range of accessories.



Thanks for your support! With your donation, you give children with disabilities or learning difficulties in a school or institute the opportunity to build their own telescope, in which they are helped by an astronomy club or a public observatory in the area. Also these children would like to see the Moon, the planets, the stars! If you are affiliated with an astronomical association or a public observatory, you may contact us.



Best regards,

Joanne & Patrick Poitevin





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The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners took action during the finance meeting Wednesday to lift restrictions on its finances.

The restrictions had been put in place as an accommodation to the state budget impasse between Gov. Tom Wolf and the State Legislature. The impasse recently entered its sixth month.

The boards decision came following an announcement from the Pennsylvania Treasury Monday confirming that state and federal funding for both counties and schools had been released via partial vetos from Wolf.

Restrictions included a hiring freeze for any new or existing positions that included use of the countys general fund dollars, a restriction on non-essential travel reimbursable through the countys general fund, a freeze on all non-emergency overtime for county staff that had not been previously approved by the Chief Clerk and an immediate suspension of any new capital expenses. Additionally, the restrictions impacted payment allocation from Human Services Department Heads.

Representatives of the countys finance and human services departments informed board members of their current financial status following the release of funds. According to Director of Finance Dana Best, the countys cash balance stood at $22 million.

(If the impasse had continued), we would have been OK through the first half of the year, Best said. With that being said, we currently have about $2.4 to $2.5 million on hold in the controllers office. As things have happened, we have been putting all our finances so they are queued up (and) are ready to go once the budget is passed.

The holds arent queued up, but they are an important part of what has helped us continue with our cash balance.

Best said the county anticipated four to seven days for funds that the state had already queued for the county to arrive, and then another 15 days for the rest.

Drug and Alcohol representatives reported that they had received funds Wednesday morning. Mental Health Director Silvia Herman confirmed that county Mental Health had received funds, but was awaiting an allocation letter as well as third quarter funding. Meanwhile, Children and Youth representatives said they had not yet received funding.

Best recommended that restrictions be lifted completely. The board could then revisit the restrictions if a problem arose with a specific area.

I think that it is appropriate, timely and quite safe for us to (lift the restrictions) now, said Chief Clerk Larry Thomas.

Board members commended county workers for persevering through the impasse.

I want to thank everybody for doing what they did through this state budget debacle, and to be able to say that we got through this without having to borrow money, said new Commissioner Vince DiFilippo. Well done.
On Wednesday, the 2016 legislative session began. The last day is April 20. Nebraska has a two-year legislative cycle. Therefore, proposed legislation that senators prioritized last year, but due to lack of time, and were carried over to this year will be debated first. Examples: LB 47 change in provisions relating to organ donation notification on your drivers license  at present you can indicate yes or no or leave it blank. Legislation would require you to check a box with a third option stating, elect not to answer. LB 113 provides a provision that correctional inmates would have a copay on their doctor visits and LB 619 would define poker as a game of skill, thus not gambling. It would legalize poker by licensing sponsors of poker tournaments. I am leaning towards supporting them but will see what we learn during debate.

We will also revisit legislation that was prevented from passage last year due to extended debate; the legislative rules allow sponsors to bring those bills back this year. They include medical marijuana, meatpacker ownership of hogs from birth to the supermarket, forced vaccinations for meningitis and windmill tax subsidies. We did not support any of these issues last year and will continue to stand against them.

Last month you received yellow postcards from the Department of Revenue informing you of the property tax relief you received from the State of Nebraska. It has been frustrating for state officials that while since 2007, the legislature has given over $1 billion in individual property tax relief through payments to local government, local governments have increased property taxes faster than the credit could offset, causing the tax credits to go unnoticed by many taxpayers. It could be said the credit has actually enabled local governments to hide the effect of their tax increases behind the refund. I believe if taxpayers actually paid their full property tax bill, they might focus their outrage at local school boards, city councils, community college boards and other local taxing entities who actually are the elected officials raising property taxes.

Is overcharging income and sales taxpayers and giving the tax dollars back to property owners an example of good government? There are better ways, starting with controlling spending at all levels. I did support the increase in the property tax credit fund in last years budget; any time you can give tax dollars back to taxpayers it is better than the alternative. Some may think the cost of sending the postcards out was not fiscally sound, but it did what it was intended to do. Those whose taxes are paid through escrow or those who only notice a net increase on the bottom line of their tax statements, are now informed that the state has attempted to give them property tax relief.

My office will introduce four bills:

1. Limit the rapid increase in property valuations: In fact, the legislation would lower your present assessed property valuations and rebalance valuations between agriculture, commercial and residential.

2. Tax Increment Financing: Making it clear that TIF cannot be used for new development on open undeveloped ground.

3. Make government smaller, by eliminating the Nebraska Stakeholders Commission: The commissions mission is to review a nonexistent State Health insurance Exchange. Yes, that is correct, Nebraska does not have a state run health insurance exchange but we do have an oversight committee. I was appointed by Governor Heinemann as a member to the commission at its beginning. At that time it was still a possibility Nebraska might create a state-run Health Exchange, but with recent supreme court rulings and evidence that state-run health exchanges have been very costly failed experiments, the members of the present commission, to their credit, asked my office if we would offer legislation to end the commission.

4. Sponsoring a bill for the State Veterans office: To streamline the tuition waiver program for veterans and their family members.

LB 378  we refer to it as our Iron Eagle bill  is still on the floor, carried over from last year. The bill will not allow city officials to change funding mechanism of voter-approved economic development projects without seeking approval of voters.
CHICAGO  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into a fatal accident at Fords Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch over the weekend.

A 45-year-old Carol Stream resident, John J. Jaloway, a husband and father of four young children, died when an 8-by-8-foot wall fell on him in the automotive factory at 12600 S. Torrence Ave. on the Calumet River. Another worker was critically injured when he tried to help.

Jaloway worked for the contractor, Litgen Concrete Cutting & Coring Co., which was moving a section of concrete wall at the plant so a double door could be installed, OSHA Spokesman Scott Allen said.

The section of the wall being cut was 76--inches-by-86--inches thick, Allen said. Upon making his final cut, the wall collapsed and pinned the employee under it. OSHA has opened an investigation with Litgen Concrete Cutting & Coring Co.

Litgen Concrete Cutting & Coring Co. paid $2,633 for four serious safety violations in 2008 when it still had an office in Indianapolis. The Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based concrete contractor has not faced any fines for safety violations in the last seven years.

OHSA will have up to six months to finish the investigation.

A GoFundMe page has been established for the Jaloways family. To donate, visit gofundme.com/jaloway
INDIANAPOLIS  Beset by fear-mongering over which bathroom transgender Hoosiers should use in public places, a top Senate Republican has rewritten his already controversial civil rights proposal to exclude protections for transgender individuals.

State Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, on Thursday filed Senate Bill 344. It prohibits most discrimination based on sexual orientation and veteran status, but deletes the gender identity protections Holdman proposed in Senate Bill 100.

"As we all know, there is not consensus on this issue currently, and I believe having an alternative idea to consider will help move the debate forward in a constructive manner," Holdman said.

He insisted there are numerous questions about how to regulate single-sex bathroom use while guaranteeing civil rights protections to transgender individuals  a bugaboo repeatedly exploited by Advance America and similar conservative groups that warn of "boys in girls' bathrooms" if Indiana enacts an anti-discrimination law.

Holdman's plan calls for a study committee to review all issues relating to gender identity discrimination this summer and report back with recommendations for possible legislative action in 2017.

Also under the revised measure, local human rights ordinances that protect transgender individuals could remain in place. That's a change from his first proposal.

However, no new local protections for transgender Hoosiers could be enacted.

In addition, Senate Bill 344 still permits religious institutions, religiously affiliated entities and most wedding services businesses to ignore the anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and bisexual Hoosiers.

Holdman said both Senate Bill 100 and 344 will be considered this month by the Senate Rules Committee, led by Senate President David Long who supports Holdman's two bills tactic.

"I believe this is an important discussion for our state to have, but there's no denying that it is a difficult one," Long said. "Having multiple approaches for lawmakers to consider at the outset is beneficial to the process."

Indiana Competes and Freedom Indiana, two groups leading the effort for full LGBT civil rights protections, said an anti-discrimination law that still allows for some discrimination is inadequate.

"Removing protections for any class of people in the effort to update our state's nondiscrimination law undercuts our work to keep Indiana an attractive place to do business," said Peter Hanscom, Indiana Competes initiative manager.
HEMPSTEAD, Texas  A Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a contentious traffic stop last summer was fired Wednesday after being charged with perjury for allegedly lying about his confrontation with the black woman who died three days later in jail.

Trooper Brian Encinia claimed in an affidavit that the Chicago-area woman was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over and ordered her out of her car. The grand jury identified that affidavit in charging Encinia with perjury, special prosecutor Shawn McDonald said Wednesday night.

Hours after the indictment, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would "begin termination proceedings" against Encinia, who has been on paid desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell.

Bland's arrest and death  which authorities ruled a suicide  provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters linked Bland to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!" She can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Encinia's affidavit stated he "removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation," but grand jurors "found that statement to be false," said McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

She was taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Three days later, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck. The grand jury has already declined to charge any sheriff's officials or jailers in her death.

The perjury charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced. Encinia could not immediately be reached for comment; a cellphone number for him was no longer working.

Bland's sister, Sharon Cooper, told The Associated Press that Encinia's indictment was "bittersweet." Encinia also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family.

"We have always felt from the onset, from our viewing of the dashcam video, is what happened to Sandy was largely impacted by the fatal encounter that she had with Officer Encinia," Cooper said.

Cannon Lambert, an attorney for the family, said Encinia should have also been indicted for assault, battery or abuse of his official power.

"The public deserves accountability," Lambert said. "If you don't have public accountability, you don't have public trust. I want the public to be able to trust the police."

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday's news conference where the indictment was announced. One protester's sign read, "Legalize black skin."

Speaking afterward, one protester, Jinaki Muhammad, called the misdemeanor charge "a slap in the face to the Bland family."

Encinia pulled Bland over on July 10 for making an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just interviewed and accepted a job. Dashcam video from Encinia's patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational.

The video shows the trooper drawing his stun gun after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible.

Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin. Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground," and she continued to fight back. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

Bland's sister, Shante Needham, has said Bland called her from jail the day after her arrest, saying she'd been arrested but didn't know why, and that an officer had placed his knee in her back and injured her arm.

Her family has said they were working to get money for her bail when they learned of her death.

Cooper, her sister, said Wednesday that the family still has unanswered questions about what happened in the days before her death.

"Our family's grieving process is at a standstill," she said.

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Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Dallas contributed to this report.
GARY  Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson recalled Wednesday a childhood consisting of a more vibrant downtown in Gary.

She is hoping to recreate a "sense of place" there again for the children in the city that she now leads.

Freeman-Wilson spoke Wednesday at a press conference kicking off a site visit by representatives of the National Main Street Center.

Last month, Gary was selected as one of seven cities who will be receiving technical assistance from the center through a pilot program designed to help revitalize communities. The program is one of several planning initiatives that have been started over the past few years in the city.

Representatives from the center are conducting a two-day site visit in Gary this week as part of the program. In addition to city officials, other participants include the Legacy Foundation and the Gary Public Transportation Corp.

Freeman-Wilson said she hopes the program will "jump start" the revitalization of the City United Methodist Church. The large historic structure at 577 Washington St. has been prey to arson and vandalism over the years and fallen into ruins.

"I think if you look at that corridor in between the schools and GHA (Gary Housing Authority) and now (the) 504 (Broadway bank building) and the Horace Mann apartments, that is the major eyesore in that area," she said of the church site. "I really hope that we are able to not only develop a plan, but begin the implementation of a plan, as it relates to that space."

Freeman-Wilson said the city is fortunate to have some of its historic structures still in place. Officials with the Main Street Center program said there is a resurgence of people wanting to move into the downtown areas of cities and be part of the historic fabric of a community.

The Main Street Center program, supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Knight Foundation, utilizes experts in various disciplines to help revitalize downtown areas. Gary is expected to receive hands-on technical support for 12 to 18 months and perhaps longer, according to Kathy LaPlante, director of coordinating program services for the center.

Kennedy Smith, co-founder of the Community Land Use and Economics Group, said the goal is that at the end of the 18 months the economic development strategies will have taken root and the city will see some tangible results.

Deardra Green-Campbell, director of the city's Department of Commerce, indicated there was already a lot of interest from people wanting to locate small businesses in the city. She said there is a need to provide training, technical assistance, and access to capital, if possible, for these entrepreneurs to make sure they have the tools they need to be successful.
Amanda Clark worked hard to become an advanced practice nurse  and shes got the receipts to prove it from a Griffith coffee shop where she spent countless hours studying.

Earlier this month, all the hard work paid off with a Purdue University degree and a Chancellors Medallion, symbolic of being the top-ranked graduating senior academically in Purdue University Calumets College of Nursing.

For the 23-year-old Griffith resident, a commitment to excellence is a no-brainer. You want to be a nurse who knows what youre doing, not just one who got by, she said.

PUC Associate Professor of Nursing Beth Vottero calls Clark an amazing student. She is not content to just learn the material; she also wants to understand. . .why something was the way it was, or how a process worked.

As Clark sees it, its all part of the process of becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. She needs at least two years of experience as an ICU nurse after passing her Registered Nurse board exams, then it's on to Chicagos Rush University to complete a doctorate of nursing practice degree with a concentration in nurse anesthesia.

Its very intense, she said about her prospective career field, but I really like surgery in a fast-paced environment.

In addition to her rigorous course work, Clark enrolled in PUCs demanding Honors College. Other students told me I was crazy to be in Honors AND nursing, that it was too much, but Ive loved it. The Honors College is like a big family.

PUCs nurse practitioner masters degree program requires a significant research component that emphasizes evidence-based practice. Clark's research focused on fetal heart deceleration and post-partum hemorrhaging, for which she developed learning simulations for the campus Nursing Simulation Lab.

She served as president of the campus Nursing Club and is a member of the Student Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society. She also has been an Honors College mentor and developed a passion for horseback riding with the campus Boots and Bridles Club.

I had never been on a horse before I joined the club, she said. Its been a stress release for me. She also parlayed her equine interest into a part-time job  one of three  that promotes patient therapy through equine-assisted learning.

I like staying busy, she said, but you have to learn how to plan your days, including taking time for yourself.
Why do Republicans nauseatingly refuse to address Americas gun murder epidemic? Why are they so determined to sustain our well-earned reputation as the most violent nation in the civilized western world? Why are they jerking their knees in reflexive opposition to President Obamas modest attempts to defend our right to remain alive?

Of course we know why. Its Obama hatred and gun lobby love.

You would think, judging by their tiresomely predictable reactions, that Obama is poised to dispatch an army of flying monkeys to swoop into American homes and spirit away the 270,000,000 guns that we apparently hold dear.

But this fever swamp rhetoric is flatly contradicted by reality. Obama is basically tweaking existing gun laws to make them work better. Which is exactly what Republicans have been urging all along.

For instance, the federal background check system is notoriously understaffed and under-financed. Under federal law, if the FBI cant complete a check within three days, the buyer gets his gun without the check having been completed. Thats what happened last year in Charleston, South Carolina. Remember the white racist terrorist who killed nine people at the historic black church? He got his gun because the understaffed feds didnt obtain his criminal record within the mandated three days.

So Obama is beefing up the background-check systemdirecting more money and manpower to weed out the criminals and mentally ill. Plus, hes earmarking an extra $500 million to mental-health services, to better help those who have woes between their ears.

Yet the Republicans dont like any of that.

Obama also took action to close loopholes in existing lawsmost notably, the one that allows people to buy guns, without any background screening, from private sellers and online sellers. Isnt it logical to tweak existing laws so that everybody gets screened prior to buying bang-bangs? The American public certainly thinks so; according to the latest Quinnipiac poll, 89 percent support background checks for private and online buyers.

The Republicans dont want any of that, either.

Requiring shippers to report stolen guns  that makes sense, too. Investing in advanced technology so that kids cant accidentally pull gun triggers  that makes sense, too. And yet, not a single Republican has spoken up to say, hey, thats a good idea.

Instead, all we got was the usual pap, plus a lot of whining about Obamas alleged kingly behavior. Theyre basically complaining that Obama is doing end-runs around the Republican Congress, somehow forgetting that the Republican Congress is invested in doing the gun lobbys business by doing nothing. Just last month, in fact, it squashed a bill designed to beef up background checks.

Kathleen Parker  the center-right political columnist, no friend of Obamas  says it well on Wednesday: In fairness to the gun lobby, which may not deserve such charity, one can understand reservations about limiting access to guns. What is less easily understood is the refusal of Republicans to take the reins of any given issue and do something constructive rather than invariably waiting to be forced into the ignoble position of no. It is one thing to be in the pocket of the National Rifle Association. It is another to do nothing and then assume a superior posture of purposeful neglect, as though do-nothingness were a policy and smug intransigence a philosophy.

Can Obamas executive actions substantially curb our annual gun murder epidemic? No way. We have too many guns in circulation for that to happen. He freely acknowledged that on Tuesday, saying, We know we cant stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence.

There it is  the desire to save at least a few of the lives that would otherwise be lost. Doing something to dent the death toll sure beats thoughts n prayers.

Or to paraphrase the Talmud, He who saves a single life, saves the world entire.

Dick Polman is the national political columnist at NewsWorks/WHYY in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Philadelphia. Email him at dickpolman7@gmail.com.
HAMMOND  A probationary postal employee was dismissed by the U.S. Postal Service following an incident in which a batch of mail was found discarded in a Hammond residents trash can.

The female employee, whose name was not released, was not charged with any crime. An investigation into the incident continues, according to Jeff Arney, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal ServiceOffice of the Inspector General. The office conducts internal investigations of the agency.

Arney said the employee did not admit she disposed of any mail. He said an agent with the inspector generals office is still determining whether charges will be filed.

The employee dismissed was a city carrier assistant who was still in her probationary period, according to Arney. City carrier assistants are alternates for regular mail carriers.

On Dec. 20, Hammond resident Al Lebioda found more than two dozen pieces of mail in one of his trash cans in an alley behind his home in the 7100 block of Alexander Avenue.

The letters were for Hammond residents living along the 7200 block of Van Buren Avenue, a few miles from Lebiodas residence. All but two of the letters were unopened, with one from the Indiana Department of Motor Vehicles. Lebioda said at the time there were no Christmas cards, which sometimes contain money or gift cards, among the letters dumped in his garbage can.

Pat Ulicni, one of the residents whose mail was found in the trash can, said postal officials came to her familys home to talk to them. She said they showed them the mail that belonged to them, but explained they had to keep it since it was evidence. She said the temporary absence of the mail did not result in any problems for the family.
HAMMOND  A woman and her daughter want a federal judge to sentence them to home confinement and community service for threatening a witness in a gang-related murder case, court records show.

The U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday such a sentence would not promote respect for the law or deter others from committing similar crimes.

Instead, Dalia Guerrero, 39, of Merrillville, and Jasmine McMichael, 22, of East Chicago, should be sentenced to nearly six years in prison, federal prosecutors say.

Guerrero and McMichael each pleaded guilty in September to threat of physical force against a witness, according to U.S. District Court records. They're accused of threatening a witness shortly after Anton L. James, Guerrero's son and McMichael's brother, was arrested on a murder charge and demanding the witness recant statements made to law enforcement.

The defendants' attorney, Michael Lambert, said in a sentencing memorandum that after Guerrero and McMichael confronted the witness no further contact was made and no one was harmed.

Guerrero "no doubt got wrapped up in the excitement of the moment" after her son was arrested and she learned the witness provided information against him, Lambert wrote.

It was natural for the defendants' familial instincts to emerge to protect James, Lambert said.

James was indicted in July on charges of murder in aid of racketeering and murder resulting from the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. He's accused of killing Martin Hurtado Sr. on Oct. 28, 2014, in Hammond after mistaking the elder Hurtado for his son, an alleged member of the Latin Counts gang.

A superseding indictment filed in December says James asked Latin King street gang leader Francisco "Frank Nitti" Gamez, of Hammond, if he would become a full member of the gang after killing Hurtado and was told he wouldn't get his "crown" because he shot an innocent bystander.

Guerrero, who has diabetes and neuropathy, and McMichael, a mother of three, have been in custody since July, court records state.

They're asking a judge to sentence them to time served, place them on a maximum term of home confinement and order them to serve 1,000 hours of community service.

The U.S. attorney's office said their arguments are not unreasonable.

"However, the government takes any tampering or threats against a witness very seriously," a sentencing memorandum said. "This is particularly true in a gang case such as this, where it is extremely difficult to get witnesses to cooperate."

The government asked that the defendants be sentenced to 70 months in prison.
CROWN POINT  Lake County Surveyor Bill Emerson Jr. is letting operators of a controversial quarry near Lowell resume work.

Emerson said Wednesday he is lifting a stop-work order he issued last week after reviewing and approving new plans for a redesign of drainage ponds being excavated on the 600-acre site to hold groundwater to be pumped out of the quarry.

"Absolutely ridiculous," Linda Cosgrove, a Lowell resident, said after learning of the decision. She has opposed the excavation on grounds the quarry-pumping could dry local wells and flood downstream drainage ditches.

A spokesperson for Reith-Riley Construction Co., the parent of Singleton Stone LLC, which will operate the quarry, couldn't be reached for comment.

The county and state have given Singleton Stone LLC permission to mine limestone from the site near Interstate 65 and Ind. 2 over south county farmers' objections.

Cosgrove raised fresh concerns late last year that workers were digging the ponds in different locations than those specified to state and local officials.

Emerson said Wednesday the ponds had to be relocated to avoid damaging historic artifacts. Workers last summer found human remains believed to be from prehistoric communities.

Cosgrove said the location of the archaeological sites had been known for years. She also complained, "They were blasting stone last week contrary to a Sept. 24 letter issued by Emerson that there would be no blasting until requested documents are in. They weren't in and blasted anyway."

Emerson said it was a misunderstanding between him and Singleton.

"I told them don't take any stone out of there until I know the (ponds') capacity is the same after the redesign. They came up with the calculations, gave them to me, but went ahead and blasted before we could review."

Emerson said the new design will increase the capacity of the ponds to hold groundwater drainage out of local ditches during storm flooding.

He said Singleton can resume rock removal for site construction, but his staff must verify the design for the finished stormwater drainage system before they start commercial production.
SOUTH HAVEN | Seven people were arrested Tuesday after the Porter County Drug Unit discovered a meth lab in a home.

Members of the Porter County Drug Unit, assisted by the Porter County Sheriffs Department and Indiana State Police Clandestine Drug Lab Team, executed a search warrant about 2 a.m. at a home in the 300 block of Clear Creek Drive.

Drug Unit director Laurie Jolley said they received a tip about possible active methamphetamine manufacturing at the home.

A search of the home turned up a meth lab, Jolley said. Evidence to indicate other criminal activity was also gathered, she said.

Seven people in the home were arrested. Donald Samuelson, Joshua Buckmaster, Jennifer Russell, Carrie Highlan, Emily Mathews, Diana Buckmaster and Martin Camp have been charged, by the Porter County Prosecutors Office with possession of a narcotic drug, possession of methamphetamine, visiting a common nuisance and possession of a hypodermic needle.

Jolley said Samuelson and Camp face the more serious charges involving the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

Jolley said the Porter County Drug Unit encourages residents to report suspected drug activity by calling (219) 465-3629.

Due to the extremely dangerous and toxic nature of methamphetamine manufacturing the Drug Unit warns residents to avoid contact with such suspected activity and immediately report this information to your local law enforcement agency.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP  Abbey Evans was nervous Wednesday morning as she got behind the wheel of her car to text and drive.

The Washington Township High School senior normally doesn't do that, she said. But she did it Wednesday morning for a camera crew creating a video warning of the dangers of texting and driving for Drive Safe Chicago.

Evans, 18, along with Paige Ruesch, 17, and Dustin Payne, 18, entered a contest before Christmas that solicited ideas for the public service announcement videos.

Greg Simms, economics teacher at Washington Township High School, told the students about the contest. Everyone who entered won two tickets to the Chicago Auto Show.

Out of more than 150 applicants, the three finalists all were from Washington Township High School.

Evans, Ruesch and Payne, all seniors, planned to spend Wednesday and Thursday shooting their videos.

This contest was for students 14 and older from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. The videos will be shown at the Chicago Auto Show. The public will decide the winning video, which will appear on television nationwide.

"This is so unbelievable that all the kids are from our school, and I teach all three in the same econ class," Simms said. "This is so great and we did this just as an extra thing to do and to learn how to write a commercial."

Director Alan Weiss and producer Marilou Yacoub, with Alan Weiss productions of Eastchester, N.Y., were on hand Wednesday to shoot the videos the students had created.

"It is so difficult to get this message across about texting and driving," Weiss said. "What better place to get the message than from peers. And it's great that all three finalists are from the same school."

Weiss and Yacoub shared performance tips with the students tips all morning.

"You need to project more and talk over each other ... just like you would when you are in the car with your friends talking," Weiss said. "The idea is to be enthusiastic in the car. Make it realistic."

Weiss told the students that they have to make the driving as realistic as possible and come as close to the other car as possible, without really hitting it.

"You have to make it look like an accident, but just be really really careful to not actually hit the oncoming car," Weiss said.

Evans admitted she was nervous about the shoot but was also happy to have her friends in the video, too.

Ruesch was glad to be producing a video.

"I was really excited when I found out that I was a finalist," Ruesch said. "That I'm in the top three is still growing on me."

Payne was looking forward to working with the camera crew from New York.

"I basically entered the contest just to get the free tickets to the auto show," Payne said. "When I saw Mr. Simms over Christmas break while I was working and he told me I was a finalist, I just couldn't' believe it. Now I'm really excited. I never thought I would be one of the top three."
VALPARAISO | Police are investigating two reports of counterfeit $100 bills being passed at Valparaiso stores.

Employees at Barnes and Noble, 150 S. Silhavy Road, No. 120, reported a woman used a $100 bill about 7:40 p.m. Monday to purchase items.

The employees told police they questioned the bill, but decided to accept it. About two minutes later, another woman used a similar $100 bill. The employees, still suspicious about the first bill, would not accept the second bill. The second woman told employees she would get money from her car to make the purchase, but she never returned.

On Tuesday, police were called to Menards, 351 S. Silhavy Road, to investigate similar transactions about 7:50 p.m. Monday.

Video surveillance shows a woman buying $90 worth of items with a $100 bill. She left the store.

A few minutes later, a second woman attempted two purchases. She purchased about $52 worth of items with a $100 bill and received change. She left the register and returned a few minutes later and attempted to purchase another three items worth about $34 with another $100 bill.

The cashier realized the bill was counterfeit and told the woman she needed to return all of the items she illegally purchased.

She returned the items from the second and third purchases, but not the change she received.

Menards loss was about $56 in currency and $90 in merchandise.
VALPARAISO | Emily Seibert, 22, will spend 10 months in Greece for free.

Seibert won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, a grant which will send her to Athens, where she will help local teachers lead English classes and teach students about U.S. culture.

Seibert graduated from Butler University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She said the grant connects three of her passions: service, teaching and travel.

"She has a genuine passion to go," said Rusty Jones, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships at Butler.

Fulbright grants are funded through the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program sends recent undergraduates abroad for about a year to either teach English or conduct research projects of their own design.

Often, students go to remote parts of the countries, where people might not speak English or have met an American.

"You're basically being an ambassador for the U.S," Jones said.

The Greece program is different because recipients will be in Athens, not rural areas. They also will be working together, unlike other grant recipients who go on their own.

"I'm really looking forward to the collaborative effort," said Seibert, who could work with elementary, middle or high school students.

She said she'd like to work with elementary students because of her background in elementary education, but she'd also like to get experience with older students.

"I go back and forth," Seibert said. "Whatever happens, I guess."

Fulbright grants are competitive. Of the 46 who applied for Greece, only 13 were chosen, according to the Fulbright Fact Sheet for English Teaching Assistantships.

"I'm absolutely thankful for this opportunity for her," said John Seibert, Emily's father.

Although John Seibert said there is "some trepidation," he's comforted knowing there are family friends in Greece, including members of Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas' family.

"There are actually more connections in Greece to Valparaiso than you might expect," John Seibert said.

Although it's more than a year away, Emily Seibert expects to be an elementary teacher in Indianapolis when she returns from Greece.

"I have some connections there from Butler," she said. "But we'll see what happens, whatever the year brings."
HEMPSTEAD, Texas  A Texas grand jury declined to indict sheriff's officials or jailers in the death of a black woman at a county jail last summer, three days after a state trooper pulled her over for a minor traffic violation that led to a combative exchange and her arrest. The grand jury's decision in the death of 28-year-old Sandra Bland does not conclude the matter. Here are some things to know about where the case stands:

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GRAND JURY WORK CONTINUES

Although grand jurors decided late Monday that Waller County sheriff's officials and jailers didn't break the law in their treatment of Bland, they are scheduled to return in January to consider whether to indict Trooper Brian Encinia, who arrested the Chicago-area woman on July 10.

Encinia has been on administrative leave since Bland's death. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has said Encinia violated internal policies of professionalism and courtesy during the traffic stop, which he made because Bland had made an improper lane change.

It's not clear what charges the grand jury might consider when it reconvenes. Indicting an officer is generally a rare act, but Bowling Green State University professor Philip Stinson, who receives federal funding to track police violence and arrests, told the Des Moines Register last year that there is no government or scholarly database that tracks the outcome of grand jury proceedings involving officers.

"There are other issues that are still remaining that will be addressed in January. There could be indictments," said Darrell Jordan, one of the five special prosecutors handling the Bland case. He declined to discuss which charges the grand jury has already considered and which it may when it reconvenes.

Legal scholars say the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear an officer can order a motorist out of a vehicle, as Encinia did with Bland. But the grand jury likely will review dash-cam video showing how an argument between the two turned physical as Bland was forced to the ground and arrested.

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BLAND FAMILY CONTINUES TO QUESTION FINDINGS

Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland's mother, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in Houston against Encinia, the Department of Public Safety, Waller County and two jail employees. A judge set a January 2017 trial date in that case.

Cannon Lambert, an attorney for Bland's family, said the grand jury's decision is consistent with what the family believes has been an attempt by authorities to cover up what transpired after Bland's arrest. They also have questioned a medical examiner's determination that Bland committed suicide in her cell by hanging herself with a plastic garbage bag.

"I can't be asked to accept what they want me to accept without seeing anything, as a mom," Reed-Veal told The Associated Press on Tuesday during an interview in Chicago.

Another family attorney, Larry Rogers Jr., said Encinia should have faced charges "within days or weeks" of the incident and that he doesn't understand why the grand jury would need more time to consider whether to indict the trooper. He said the family's lawyers will redouble their efforts to examine a Texas Rangers investigation report about Bland's death, which was withheld because it is grand jury evidence.

Lambert questioned why that report couldn't be released now that the grand jury has decided against charges for the jailers, contending that making it public would not impede any further grand jury review of Encinia's conduct, which was captured on video.

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EVIDENCE UNDER REVIEW

In addition to dash-cam video from Encinia's patrol car and those of Prairie View police officers who responded to the traffic stop, investigators have reviewed video showing Bland's arrival and processing at the jail. It also shows jailers interacting with her in the following days.

Bland family attorneys say jailers should have checked on her more frequently and that the county should have performed a mental evaluation once she disclosed she had tried to kill herself before. County officials say Bland was treated well in jail and produced documents showing that she gave jail workers inconsistent information about whether she was suicidal.

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DEATH CAUSED A FUROR

Bland's arrest and death came amid heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially those killed by officers or who died in police custody. In the days after Bland died, county authorities released video from the jail to dispel rumors and conspiracy theories that she was dead before she arrived at the jail or was killed while in custody.
This year will represent a landmark year on a number of fronts. The state of Indiana will celebrate a bicentennial. The National Park Service will mark its centennial.

And even NIRPC will be blowing out 50 candles on our birthday cake. Of the many successes the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission has enjoyed over the years, off-road trail development continues to flourish as one of our finest achievements.

In March 1966, the first meeting of the Lake-Porter County Regional Transportation and Planning Commission convened. By 1973, the membership expanded and our name changed to the current Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. In 1979, LaPorte County joined, making up the current three-county regional membership.

In 1974, NIRPC released the first regional bikeways plan, which identified a number of routes in Lake and Porter counties suitable for travel. Nearly all major communities were highlighted on the map.

Concurrently, by the late 1970s and throughout the '80s, the national railroad network experienced a significant decline in active track mileage. In Indiana alone, nearly half was lost from a peak mileage of 7,426 in 1920 to just barely more than 4,000 miles by 1995. In the NIRPC region, the reduction went from 1,000 to 700 active miles of railroad.

Because of this reduction, a movement began to convert these abandoned, linear corridors into multi-use, nonmotorized facilities. Thus was born the rails-to-trails movement, which today is responsible for more than 21,000 miles of converted rail corridors in the United States.

Northwest Indiana, because of its proximity to Chicago, has an abundance of abandoned rail miles. With this in mind, NIRPC began in earnest to plan for the conversion of these corridors with the release of the 1994 Regional Bikeways Plan. During this time, new rails-to-trails were emerging in Hammond and Portage.

By 2005, these new corridors, along with utility corridors and waterways, were included and prioritized in the Ped & Pedal Plan, which incorporated the safe movement of pedestrians as well. This plan was updated again in 2010, with additional trail corridors added.

Thanks to this progressive planning vision, the NIRPC three-county region boasts more than 145 miles of off-road trails, a tremendous increase from approximately 15 miles in 1990. Another 25 miles of trails are funded for development within the next five years.

Prioritizing federal money for these regional systems has been key to our regions success, with NIRPC members (cities, towns, townships and counties) working together to better the quality of life for our residents.

In 2016, NIRPC will continue to build on this success with the release of the Greenways+Blueways 2020 Plan and update of our popular bike and hike map.

For more information on our expanding trail network, please visit us at greenwaysblueways.com.
CHICAGO  Chicago's law department is examining more than three dozen open cases that were being handled by a former top city attorney who resigned this week after a federal judge accused him of hiding evidence in a fatal police shooting, a department spokesman said Wednesday.

Bill McCaffrey said Jordan Marsh was either the supervisor or lead attorney in 37 police misconduct cases at the time the judge issued his ruling. McCaffrey said the decision to look at the cases was made by the head of the city's law department, Steve Patton, and that there are no plans to examine closed cases that Marsh worked on since joining the department in late 1997.

In a 72-page opinion Monday, U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang accused Marsh of hiding evidence and lying about it later in his work representing the city in a civil lawsuit brought by relatives of Darius Pinex, a 27-year-old black man shot and killed by police during a 2011 traffic stop in Chicago. Chang tossed out a jury's findings in April that the shooting was justified and ordered a new trial.

The ruling was another blow to the city and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who along with the Police Department have been trying to regain the trust of residents in the wake of the Laquan McDonald police shooting video. Released in November, the video shows white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old McDonald, who was black, 16 times as he walked away from police carrying a 3-inch knife that was later found to be folded.

Van Dyke, who faces first-degree murder charges, has pleaded not guilty.

While Emanuel has been moving to make dramatic changes to the Police Department and how officers are trained on the use of deadly force, the judge's ruling focuses on the work of an attorney who handled cases in the office that represents the city in police misconduct lawsuits.

The judge's ruling also prompted Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to say on Wednesday he thinks a Justice Department civil rights investigation of the Police Department should be expanded to include the city's law department. The Republican governor also said Emanuel, a Democrat, showed a "failure of leadership" when he said Tuesday that a probe of the department isn't necessary.

Whether the investigation is broadened or not, attorneys who filed police misconduct lawsuits against the city might go back to re-examine those suits to determine if there was any law department misconduct.

Steve Greenberg, an attorney in the civil case Chang ruled on, said he would expect attorneys who sued the city in similar cases to take a close look for possible misconduct by the law department that might be grounds to have those cases reopened.

Marsh does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment. His attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.

___
Indiana Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young will face his two reelection opponents on Sunday in what is their only scheduled televised debate ahead of the Nov. 8 election. The debate comes as Democrat Thomas McDermott, the mayor of Hammond, has struggled to gain traction against Young, who has huge fundraising and organization advantages in seeking his second term. Libertarian James Sceniak is also taking part in the debate, which will be broadcast on several TV stations around the state. Despite Democrats and Republicans fiercely fighting for control of the current 50-50 Senate, Indianas Senate race hasnt seen the tens of millions in outside spending as in 2016 and 2018 campaigns.
As part of a landmark settlement of two lawsuits connected to the NYPD's surveillance of Muslim groups following the September 11th attacks, an independent civilian representative is being appointed to help watch over the department's counterterrorism activity. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.



Without admitting it illegally profiled Muslims, the NYPD settled two major cases, agreeing to make changes.

Faiza Patel of the NYU Brennan Center for Justice says it's long overdue.



"There was certainly a widespread understanding amongst the communities that there were spies amongst them," Patel said. "We had already been hearing from people from out in Queens, out in Brooklyn that there were a lot of informants in their communities."



As a major part of the settlement, Mayor Bill de Blasio will be appointing a civilian observer to sit on the NYPD's Handshu committee. The Handshu guidelines are regulations set by the federal courts on how and when law enforcement can investigate political or religious activities.



"That means when these things are called into question, we have an independent party we can go to whose responsibility it is to watch over those things and to report anything they that they see that doesn't comport with those rules," said John Miller, NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence.



The NYPD says it will incorporate policies against religious profiling, set reasonable time limits for investigations and be mindful of the impact an investigation can have on Muslims who are not targets of an investigation.



"It makes very clear that the NYPD should not be investigating people based on religion but, rather, based on facts," Patel said.

"We are, of course, concerned that they feel they were mistreated," said Larry Byrne, NYPD deputy commissioner of legal matters. "But what this settlement is designed to do is to give all members of that community who have these concerns comfort that we are, today and going forward, operating lawfully."



Often a harsh critic of the NYPD, the New York Civil Liberties Union is praising the agreement.



"I think this is the most expansive settlement involving surveillance and political and religious freedom that we have seen, at least since 9/11 and probably ever," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The NYPD will also take a massive document it developed called "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" off of its website. Muslims complained that it discriminated against them to justify surveillance.


New York States chief judge does two daunting jobs: In addition to presiding over the states highest court, the Court of Appeals, and deciding cases, the chief judge oversees a state court system that receives more than four million filings each year.

In her 15 years as chief, Judith Kaye has excelled at both, earning national praise for her jurisprudence and as a court reformer. Her mandated retirement at the end of the month, at age 70, leaves Gov. David Paterson with a high standard in choosing her successor.

Judge Kaye was the first woman on the Court of Appeals and the states longest-serving chief judge. She is the author of hundreds of majority opinions, works of uncluttered prose that include groundbreaking decisions: holding the state accountable for failing to provide the sound, basic education its Constitution requires; allowing gay people to adopt their partners children; striking down provisions of a death penalty statute.

Her dissents also exerted great influence, like her eloquent demolishing of the flawed reasoning behind the 2006 decision denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry in New York. It was cited prominently this year by the court majorities that recognized same-sex marriage in California and Connecticut.
On Monday, Smith & Wesson alerted Wall Street analysts and investors that it believed its full-year sales would be higher than expected, above $650 million for its fiscal year, which ends in April. That is up more than 57 percent from its 2012 sales of $412 million.

But even surging sales are not enough to attract those investors that consider the shares of gun manufacturers to be taboo. After the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., several public pension funds began moving to sell off their financial stakes in gun and ammunition manufacturers.

One of the investors first targets was the Freedom Group (now called Remington Outdoor), a large gun maker owned by the investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. One of the guns used in the Sandy Hook shootings was a Bushmaster, a Remington Outdoor brand.

Cerberuss investors urged the firm to sell the Freedom Group. It publicly pledged to do so but, after an unsuccessful auction, decided to maintain ownership while allowing investors to sell their stakes. Last spring, Cerberus bought out investors like the California State Teachers Retirement System but maintains an ownership stake in the company. The owner of Cerberus, Stephen A. Feinberg, is a passionate hunter and gun aficionado.

While several of the countrys large public pensions sold off shares in gun makers, other investment firms flowed in. The London Company, a money manager in Richmond, Va., with $11.2 billion in assets under management, began buying stock in Sturm, Ruger in 2008. In 2013, it doubled its stake. Today, it is the largest shareholder, owning 2.4 million shares, or about 12.7 percent of the company.
Morgan Stanleys latest management revamp puts a chief executive on the market.

James Gorman, the $61 billion Wall Street banks boss, on Wednesday appointed Colm Kelleher the sole president and his heir apparent, leaving co-president Gregory Fleming in the cold. Mr. Kelleher is the ultimate Wall Street survivor. But Mr. Fleming may find his skills in high demand.

Between them, the bankers have helped get Morgan Stanley back on its feet. Mr. Fleming oversaw the integration of Citigroups former brokerage arm, Smith Barney, into Morgan Stanleys wealth-management division and drove its pretax profit margin up to a respectable 23 percent in the first nine months of last year.

Mr. Kelleher has arguably had more of a slog: The fixed-income-trading franchise was more of a mess. And he butted heads with his former co-head of the institutional securities division, Paul Taubman. The latters more strait-laced approach did not mix well with Mr. Kelleher more colorful, salesmanlike charm. As with todays shuffle, Mr. Kelleher came out on top.

But Mr. Kellehers chances of assuming Mr. Gormans corner office are low. Mr. Gorman, an Australian former McKinsey & Company consultant, intends to stay in charge until he reaches 65, the companys retirement age, in seven years time. Mr. Kelleher is a year older than his boss, so he would be more of an interim emergency replacement. That leaves a next generation of potential leaders to groom.
HOUSTON  Oil prices plunged again on Wednesday by more than 5 percent as investors paid more attention to signs that global stockpiles are growing than to increasing instability in the Middle East and North Africa.

The decline in the global Brent oil benchmark price to below $35 a barrel, the lowest level since the depths of the 2008-9 economic downturn and a decline of nearly two-thirds since summer 2014, helped push stock markets lower.

The Standard & Poors 500-stock index, the main benchmark for the United States stock market, declined 1.3 percent Wednesday and breached the psychologically important 2,000 level to close at 1,990.26.

Among the steepest declines, though, were shares of some independent oil and gas companies, including Apache and Southwestern Energy, which declined by more than 10 percent.
WASHINGTON  A string of agreements between the White House and Congress, capped by last months surprise accord that ended a five-year impasse over the International Monetary Fund, has eased, though not dispelled, concern that America is retreating from global economic leadership.

From early 2015, allies had much to fret about, and they did: China was on the rise and the United States was on the sidelines as countries joined Beijings new international development bank. Political dysfunction at home threatened President Obamas power to negotiate trade agreements, including a landmark trans-Pacific accord. The Republican-controlled Congress had closed the nations 81-year-old Export-Import Bank and was threatening government shutdowns.

And a longstanding stalemate over an overhaul of the I.M.F.s governance structure imperiled Americas decades-old stewardship of the international lender, which in recent years was crucial to dealing with a global financial contagion.

Our national security and our economic security were very much at stake, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said of the showdown over the I.M.F. And as someone who for the last three years has gone to international meetings  where he was badgered by ministers frustrated by American inaction  I can tell you that it was ratcheting to the point where it was doing real damage.
But many American environmentalists used the project as a proxy for the oil sands, a energy source that they considered particularly polluting. The pipeline plan got caught in a regulatory and legal struggle, as the State Department environmental review dragged on for years.

In November, President Obama rejected the plan, saying the pipeline would undercut the countrys leadership on climate change. Still, he added this pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others.

TransCanada said it would take a write-down of $1.8 billion to $2 billion for its fourth quarter.

The Nafta challenge process does not allow Canadian or Mexican companies that believe they are being discriminated against by the United States government to overturn decisions. But the measure, which grew out of earlier trade provisions to compensate corporations after a foreign government expropriated their assets, does allow them to seek a range of damages, including unrealized profits.

The case filed by TransCanada at the Houston division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas does not seek compensation. Instead, the company is seeking to have Mr. Obamas decision reversed on the grounds that he exceeded his constitutional powers.

After accounting for the consolidation of cases, the United States has faced 12 challenges under Nafta, all from Canadian companies, and won them all. All of them failed, several on procedural grounds. Canada, however, has lost cases brought by American companies.
SeaWorld and California state regulators have agreed on a proposed settlement over accusations that the park failed to train workers to safely interact with its killer whales. A spokeswoman for the California Occupational Safety and Health, Erika Monterroza, said that the proposal had been submitted for approval to an administrative judge and the state agencys appeals board. If approved, all four worker safety citations and related fines would be dismissed, but the park would be required to adhere to strict guidelines. For instance, the proposed agreement would ban surfing on, swimming under and standing on orcas. A park spokesman said SeaWorld supported the proposed guidelines.
United Airlines said on Wednesday that its president and chief executive, Oscar Munoz, had heart transplant surgery earlier in the day and was in recovery.

The airline said in a statement that the operation was the preferred treatment and was not the result of a setback in Mr. Munozs recovery from a heart attack in October.

United did not immediately share more medical details, but it said it expected Mr. Munoz to return to work at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter. The airline said that it would provide an update on Mr. Munozs health on Thursday.

Mr. Munoz had the heart attack shortly after being appointed chief executive in September, although the company declined to confirm it for several days. At the time, United would say only that Mr. Munoz was in the hospital.
Mr. Harney told the night clerk on the International Desk to get Mr. Choe on the phone fast and see if he could investigate. Mr. Choe darted out of the cafe, jumped into a cab, raced home and started making calls on the way. A few minutes later, he heard news that North Korea was planning an important announcement; as soon as he got home, Mr. Choe started writing up a story based on what he had learned.

To the delight of the International Desk editors, who expected but a few paragraphs, at 9:45, Mr. Choe filed a complete story that cautiously announced the earthquake and the possibility of a nuclear test. Editors posted the piece online and, at 10:07, the news hub sent push alerts, which appear on the devices of people who sign up for them.

In his Tuesday night late note, which contains a roundup of the nights events, the senior news desk editor Steve Kenny said Mr. Choes story was on the Times home page before major competitors posted their own.

This was just the beginning. From a leather lounge chair in his bedroom, Mr. Sanger continued to work on an extended version of the story based on the assumption that North Korea would announce it had conducted a nuclear test.

In Seoul, Mr. Choe kept watch on Yonhap Televisions website, which was live-streaming North Koreas announcement, and filed updates. When the network confirmed that there had been a nuclear test at around 10:30, Mr. Choe sent a subject-line-only email to the International editors and the continuous news desk that said: North Korea reports compete success in its first H bomb test.  (The typo in complete was corrected before the story was posted.)
Basically nothing alert me to be careful, she said in her accented English. I was already home.

Suddenly, the couple was upon her, with the man grabbing her around the waist. Punching me in the face with his fist, she said. Punching me, punching me. Yelena weighs 110 pounds and stands a little over five feet tall. Anybody could basically push me and carry me over to any spot, she said.

The man attacking her was in his early 30s. The woman was younger, a teenager. The man demanded the keys to Yelenas vehicle, a Honda Pilot. She said she dropped them while he was punching her. The man shoved her into the front seat and sat himself behind the wheel. The younger woman sat in the passenger seat. Yelena was perched between them, she said. The man finally found the keys, and the three drove off.

She did not know, could not know, that the man driving her S.U.V. had a long criminal record, including arrests for assaults, and he was just now at the beginning of what would become a crime spree spanning at least four police precincts. Yelenas face hurt from the beating. But mostly, jammed in the middle seat like a child, she was annoyed.

He started talking about A.T.M., Yelena said. I said, I dont know my PIN. I really dont. He was not happy with that.

The man seemed to be driving in an aimless loop around Cropsey Avenue, dangerously close to the Belt Parkway, which would have taken them far from Yelenas home in short order.
Administrators took particular interest in a tweet that Ms. Koval posted on Dec. 27 after a classmate who had taken offense at her political views unfollowed her, she said. She said they also reprimanded her for a second tweet in which she told a friend she would name the student in a private message. They also searched her phone, suspecting that she was recording the meeting and warned that she could face legal action, she said. They were right to be suspicious. She later posted audio clips on Twitter.

Ms. Koval said she believed neither statement constituted an act of bullying.

Her name was never mentioned, she wrote in a message on Wednesday night. I never degraded her. They use bullying as a guise to cover their pro-Israel, pro-censorship agenda.

Ms. Koval, who goes by the nickname Benny, found a well spring of support online, the blog Gothamist noted. Many of her more than 6,000 followers expressed solidarity with the hashtag #IStandWithBenny.
A retired New York City police officer who fatally shot his wife in front of the couples two young children because he thought she was having an affair has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The former officer, Kevin Canty, 44, of Queens, was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife, Jessica, 40.

Mr. Canty admitted that he shot his wife seven times as their 6- and 9-year-old children watched inside their Queens home on April 19, 2014.

Mr. Canty retired from the Police Department in 2013.

The couple had been together since they were teenagers. Mr. Canty has a 20-year-old daughter from the marriage, as well as the two children who witnessed the shooting.
It did not take long for Jeremy Wilson to return to a life of forgery and confidence tricks after he was released from federal prison in November, investigators said.

He walked out of a penitentiary in New Hampshire on Nov. 19, having served six years for impersonating an Army officer in Montana, forging a judges signature and stealing a car.

By Dec. 23, investigators said, Mr. Wilson was speeding to New York City in a luxury S.U.V. he had leased with a forged check. He had hoodwinked the leasing agent by pretending he was a wounded veteran who had just returned from Afghanistan, they said.

In Manhattan, he rented an expensive high-rise apartment, paying rent in cash he had obtained with a forged check, investigators said.
The speaker of the New York City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, agreed to a financial settlement with the citys Conflicts of Interest Board over free consulting services she improperly accepted from a lobbying group during her 2013 campaign to gain her current position, the board announced on Wednesday.

Ms. Mark-Viverito must now reimburse the lobbyists, the Advance Group, for those services, valued at $3,796.44, and pay a $7,000 fine to the city. Both amounts can be paid with her campaign funds, city officials said.

This is a positive resolution, Eric Koch, a spokesman for Ms. Mark-Viverito, said, and the speaker looks forward to continuing her work creating a more fair and just New York City for all.

The fine, negotiated by the conflicts board, is well under the $25,000 maximum Ms. Mark-Viverito faced, and it appeared to be less punitive than others that had been levied on public employees in lower stations for lesser offenses. In April, for example, the board levied a $1,000 fine against an office manager in the Brooklyn Forestry Office of the parks department for accepting a $15 bottle of chocolate liqueur from an arborist whose permit applications were processed by the manager.
ALBANY  The opening of New York States 239th legislative session looked and sounded very much as it has in years gone by, what with its ceremonial prayers, promises of hard work and bipartisan cooperation, and all manner of handshakes, hugs and how-ya-beens.

Yet under the bonhomie was a distinct sense of what was different  and missing  from the annual first-day swirl: Sheldon Silver and Dean G. Skelos, the Democrat who led the Assembly and the Republican who led the Senate. Both men were recently convicted on federal corruption charges.

Those convictions meant there was an empty seat at the rear of the Senate chamber  Mr. Skeloss nameplate artfully removed  and a vacant spot where Mr. Silver used to sit in the Assembly, an empty wire-mesh trash can in place of the chair. Their downfall inspired much talk about how this could and should be the year for meaningful ethical change in Albany, after years of lesser tweaks to a system still riddled with loopholes.

The time is up, said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat. Both leaders have been taken out of here and are going to jail. We have to take action.
I firmly believe that part of the current intransigence is because those gun homicides disproportionately affect poor minorities. (Gun suicides disproportionately affect white people.) Indeed, the only time that national figures seem to get fully engaged is in the wake of mass shootings that involve white people, either as shooters or victims.

Indeed, you have to explore the history of gun regulations to fully appreciate its racial dimensions.

In 2011, Adam Winkler spoke about his book Gun Fight, and the origins of gun control, saying, according to The Wall Street Journal:

It was a constant pressure among white racists to keep guns out of the hands of African-Americans, because they would rise up and revolt.

He continued:

The KKK began as a gun-control organization. Before the Civil War, blacks were never allowed to own guns. During the Civil War, blacks kept guns for the first time  either they served in the Union army and they were allowed to keep their guns, or they buy guns on the open market where for the first time theres hundreds of thousands of guns flooding the marketplace after the war ends. So they arm up because they know who theyre dealing with in the South. White racists do things like pass laws to disarm them, but thats not really going to work. So they form these racist posses all over the South to go out at night in large groups to terrorize blacks and take those guns away. If blacks were disarmed, they couldnt fight back.

It was about white terror.

After Prohibition and the Depression gave rise to gangsters and outlaws who posed a threat to white Americas sense of safety, the Firearms Act of 1934 was passed. As the gun law expert Robert Spitzer, of the State University of New York at Cortland, told NPR in 2013, the law required machine gun owners to pay a hefty tax, be fingerprinted and be listed on a national registry; as a result, sales of machine guns plummeted.
It is a familiar claim by many Second Amendment defenders  and, during the Obama administration, an increasingly popular one  that unfettered gun rights are necessary to protect American citizens against the threat of a tyrannical government.

In addition to being a misreading of history, the claim is amusing hyperbole to those who have suffered under real-life tyrants. But this weeks armed standoff at a federal wildlife sanctuary in eastern Oregon is showing how far a small, determined band of antigovernment zealots with lots of big guns will go to make their potentially deadly point.

Styling themselves as a militia, the group hijacked a peaceful protest over five-year prison sentences a federal court had imposed on two local ranchers for setting fires on federal land. Led by a man named Ammon Bundy  whose father, Cliven, instigated his own armed confrontation with federal authorities over cattle ranching in Nevada in 2014  this hyperweaponized posse rolled into town and seized administrative buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday. Mr. Bundy said they are willing to stay for as long as necessary, and that if force is used against us, we would defend ourselves.
musings on the mainstream "press corps" and the american discourse
President Obama shed tears on Tuesday as he called for new gun safety measures, and some critics perceived weakness or wimpishness. Really? On the contrary, we should all be in tears that 225,000 Americans have already died of gun violence in his seven years in office.

The shame is not a president weeping a bit, but that he has not been able to prevent roughly as many people dying of guns in America on his watch as have been killed in the Syrian civil war (where estimates range from fewer than 200,000 to more than 300,000). Yes, the American gun toll includes suicides and, yes, Syria is a smaller country, but its worth a cry that a peaceful America during Obamas tenure has lost roughly as many lives to gunfire as Syria has in civil war.

Ted Cruz responded to the presidents executive actions with a web page showing a scowling Obama in a helmet, looking like a jackbooted thug staging a home invasion, with the warning, Obama wants your guns. Chris Christie protested that Obama was behaving like a petulant child. Jeb Bush decried Obamas gun-grabbing agenda. Donald Trump warned that Obama was moving toward banning guns. The upshot of all this scaremongering will be more Americans rushing out to buy firearms.

Look, lets acknowledge that liberals have not handled gun issues well over the years. Liberals often antagonize gun owners by coming across as patronizing or insulting  as well as spectacularly unknowledgeable about the guns they seek to regulate. But on the basic question of whether more guns create more safety or more risk, the evidence seems clear: Most gun owners use firearms responsibly, but with more guns there are more tragedies.
There was a predictable ritual to the worlds reaction to North Koreas latest nuclear test, its fourth. Vigorous condemnation, followed by promises never to accept the North as a nuclear weapons state, followed by chest-thumping demands for more sanctions. The problem is that while the North Korean threat is real and growing, the United States and its partners have failed miserably at finding an effective solution.

Although a final judgment depends on further study, it now appears that North Korea did not detonate a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday as claimed. The test appears to have involved a less-powerful atomic weapon. Regardless, it was another sign of leader Kim Jong-uns determination to expand his impoverished countrys nuclear arsenal in violation of United Nations resolutions, seize the limelight when he feels ignored and keep Asia off balance.

In recent years, the United States and other major powers expended maximum effort negotiating a landmark agreement to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That deal, which is now being implemented, is undeniably important, but the Americans and their partners erred in largely ignoring the even tougher challenge, and more immediate threat, from North Korea.

By various estimates, the North has produced 10 to 16 crude weapons since 2003 and could have as many as 20 by the end of this year. It has also improved the range of its missiles and the mobility of their launchers. The more bombs and missiles North Korea produces, the more likely it is to try to sell these weapons to earn desperately needed hard currency.
BOTH of us have raised serious questions about prostate cancer screening. Nevertheless, we hope Medicare chooses not to pursue a strategy of penalizing doctors for ordering prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, tests.

The case against prostate cancer screening is strong. The heterogeneity underlying cancer can be described through the metaphor of birds, rabbits and turtles. The goal of early detection is not to let any of the animals escape the barnyard and cause a cancer death. But the birds have already flown away. They are the most aggressive cancers, the ones that have already spread by the time they are detectable, the ones that are beyond cure. The rabbits, potentially lethal cancers that might benefit from treatment, are ready to hop out at any time. These are the cancers we hope to control with early detection.

Then there are the turtles  these are nonlethal cancers that arent going anywhere. Screening is really good at finding these cancers, and the prostate gland is full of them. Over half of men age 60 and older have small, indolent, nonlethal prostate cancers  many more than those who have harmful ones. Thats why men are much more likely to die with prostate cancer than from it.

Because doctors cant reliably identify which cancers will become lethal, PSA screening has led a lot of men  our 2009 estimate was over one million since the test was introduced in 1987  to be treated for a cancer destined to never bother them. And treatment frequently leads to impotence and can cause incontinence and bowel problems.
A species of highly venomous sea snake that made rare appearances on two California beaches in recent months has also been washing up thousands of miles away in Australia.

Beachgoers reported seeing several of the yellow-bellied sea snakes, or Pelamis platura, which lead entirely aquatic lives usually in tropical waters, about 200 miles south of Sydney after a spell of stormy weather.

Ross Sadlier, a reptile researcher at the Australian Museum, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the snakes were most likely weakened by the rough seas.

The sightings in California, where the appearance of the snake is far more unusual, have also been linked to weather patterns.
Tomorrow, mens shows will officially begin in London  and just in time comes an exhibition, Mad About the Boy, that puts it all in context. Held in the gallery of the London College of Fashion, the show examines the link between garments on the catwalk and the youth tropes they drew inspiration from, and vice versa. Silhouettes from designers including Raf Simons, J.W. Anderson and Christopher Shannon are shown alongside fashion, street and documentary images.

I wanted to do something that inspected masculinity and male fashion alongside more difficult themes, says the exhibitions curator Lou Stoppard, the editor of SHOWstudio. Mens wear exhibitions often dont look at the men; they look at the clothes.

Images from Gosha Rubchinskiys Youth Hotel photo project are displayed next to J.W. Andersons ruffled bloomers; Jason Evanss pictures of 1990s clubbers; and Jun Takahashis I Remember How the Darkness Double jacket (spring/summer 2015), a teen-worthy tribute to the band Television. In intermingling sections of the show, various themes of the male experience are explored: the outsider, the gender-fluid boy, the sexual object, the boy in the streets, the schoolboy and student, the clubber, the boy dressing as a man and the man dressing as a boy.
As the founder and creative director of the three-year-old shoe company Brother Vellies, Aurora James often travels to different countries in Africa  such as South Africa, Kenya and Morocco  where she sources fabrics and manufactures all of her products.

For her most recent trip, the New York-based designer traveled to Ethiopia, where she is producing much of her spring/summer 2016 collection as part of a joint venture with the Ethical Fashion Initiative division of the United Nations. She visited indigenous communities  especially in the Omo Valley in the southeast  where she met with Mursi people as well as with Karo people, who live on the banks of the Omo River. Traveling to the Omo Valley has been a dream of mine for years, she told T in an email. But its no easy task  its several flights and a couple days of driving. (For on-the-ground coordination, James turned to Abercrombie and Kent). I was surprised at how old the land felt, she said, reflecting on the experience. There is a feeling you get there that I have never experienced before. It genuinely feels like we evolved from this very special part of the planet. She added that a highlight of her trip was meeting women from the different tribes. There is a bond that women have that is unshakable. An innate understanding that resonates with you through eternity.

James said that she only visits countries in Africa where she plans to produce shoes by sourcing materials or employing local craftspeople. I am really turned off by the idea of taking inspiration from someone and not involving them in the inevitable commercial aspect. Particularly when youre talking about underprivledged people. If Im going to make a sandal inspired by the Maasai tribe in Kenya, Im going to employ people in the community in the process. (Working with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, Brother Vellies provides living wages for all of its employees.) She added: I spent some time with the people who are making our shoes for spring and I met some new people I hope to involve in our fall collection. It is always a work in progress though: Development in Africa takes much much longer than people typically realize. But, you know, life is about the journey  not the destination.
Monchere

Haiti

The timing on this story is perfect, especially given the news surrounding the awful treatment of Haitians/Dominicans of Haitian descent and the draconian new immigration law in D.R. If youre paying attention, there is a clear connection. This is about more than just hair. By and large, Dominicans work hard to reject every aspect of their African heritage, a regal heritage that links them directly to the Haitians. Disdain for thick, tightly coiled or curly natural hair is merely an extension of the larger social forces at work here: Black/dark brown skin is viewed as somehow tainted and even hideous, whereas cafe con leche complexions or lighter are viewed as pure and therefore more desirable. White colonizers have long since left these shores, but isnt it remarkable how their influence never seems to wane? Carolina Contreras is my hero! She is starting an important dialogue, which could lead to a little truth and reconciliation.

MJP

new york, ny

As a Dominican woman, I believe we ladies choose how we prefer to wear our hair. Dominican women from all ancestries are beautiful, no matter how they choose to wear their hair, and anyone who is trying to make this about colonization has hate in their heart. Relaxing/straightening hair is like hair dying it, which many cultures enjoy doing.

Love Straight, Love Curly, Love Style, Love Dominicans

NYC

So I guess if a white woman with pin straight hair gets a perm to make her hair curly, then its self hate. If she cuts her hair short in a boy cut style, that must be self hate too.

B

Ridgewood

Im a white woman with fine, limp hair, and Ive always thought natural hair is beautiful, so Ive spent my life envious of the gorgeous curls on African-Americans or the thick, sleek locks of Asians (and many natural styles and textures in between). I also think people should wear their hair however they want, so Im not judging women (or men) who choose to alter their natural textures, but if it stems from any motivation other than personal choice  such as social status or the pressure of cultural conformity  that makes me sad. Hence Ive found myself smitten by this article and by this salon.

EWR

Minneapolis, MN

This is beautifully written. I myself am not Dominican, but I am Mexican & Chinese and have very thick, curly hair. Its great to see more and more women embracing the curls and teaching the younger generations that beauty is far more than what they see on TV. What this salon is doing is commendable, it may not seem like a big deal to most people, but from a young age we are taught that how we look is not necessarily beautiful, or AS beautiful as the models or celebrities we see, because of our hair. Thank you for this article. Curls are beautiful!!
This year is shaping up to be a big one for paid family leave.

On Thursday, the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of New York state senators, plans to introduce 12 weeks of paid leave as part of its legislative agenda; Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly considering similar legislation. At the end of 2015, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, signed an executive order giving 20,000 city employees six weeks of fully paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

Nationally, meanwhile, some presidential candidates  the Democrats and at least one Republican, Marco Rubio  are making it a campaign issue.

But for all the political sparring and lobbying to pass paid leave laws, they address just a sliver of the challenges that working families face.

After the first few weeks of a childs life, working parents have at least 18 more years to juggle work and child rearing. And many of the policies dont address the huge numbers of workers who need time to care for ailing parents or spouses or to deal with their own health problems.
Itd be nice if necessities werent taxed, but necessity is subjective, says Joseph Henchman, who oversees state policy for the Tax Foundation, a conservative think tank that generally opposes sales tax exemptions. He notes that the nuanced arguments about what constitutes necessity have often led to very complicated sales tax rules.

For example, the idea of exempting groceries from sales tax sounds simple enough, but most states want to continue collecting taxes on takeout and other prepared foods, on the grounds that having someone else cook for you is a luxury.

As a result, they need to lay out rules explaining what is, and is not, a prepared food.

So in 2010, Wisconsins revenue department released a 1,400-word memo titled Sales of Ice Cream Cakes and Similar Items. As the memo describes, sometimes an ice cream cake in Wisconsin is a tax-free baked good; in other cases, its a taxable prepared food. The question hinges on several factors, including the size of the cake, who decorated the cake, whether a majority of the cakes layers contain flour and whether the seller provides utensils along with the cake.

A similar prepared-food question led to a minor political crisis in Britain in 2012. The government sought to simplify its rules on prepared food by declaring all foods sold above ambient room temperature, except freshly baked bread, to be subject to that countrys 20 percent value-added tax. Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to withdraw the proposal over outrage that traditional English meat pies would be newly taxed, and so a complicated definition of prepared food remains.

Complex definitions have also driven repeated changes in the taxation of tampons in at least one state. In 1990, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled tampons met that states definition of a medical appliance and thus deserved a tax exemption then being withheld by the city of Chicago, but the state subsequently narrowed the exemption, and tampons are taxed at the full rate again.

Unlike Illinois, most states restrict their tax exemptions for consumer medical products to prescription drugs. This may seem like an odd distinction (why does a prescription painkiller deserve better tax treatment than Advil?), but you can see why other states make it when you read Illinoiss seven-page regulation setting out the new, tampon-exclusive definition of medication and medical appliance.
BALTIMORE  Officer William G. Porter, whose trial in the death of Freddie Gray ended last month in a deadlocked jury, must testify in the trials of two fellow officers, a judge here ruled Wednesday, in a novel twist to an increasingly complicated prosecution.

Lawyers for Officer Porter, who faces a retrial in June and briefly took the stand Wednesday to assert his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, said they would appeal Thursday. Legal experts said they were unaware of any Maryland case in which a criminal co-defendant had been forced to testify while awaiting his own trial, and Judge Barry G. Williams seemed to agree.

I find myself in uncharted territory, Judge Williams said.

Officer Porters testimony, or the lack of it, could have huge implications for the prosecutions of five other Baltimore police officers in the death of Mr. Gray, a 25-year-old black man who broke his neck, prosecutors say, while riding in a police van. The state considers Officer Porter essential to convicting the van driver, Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., 45, who faces the most serious charge  depraved heart murder  and is scheduled to go on trial next week, with jury selection beginning Monday. Experts say acquittals in the early cases could cause later ones to fall apart.

The states plan was to try Officer Porter, who took the witness stand in his own defense, and then use him as a material witness against Officer Goodson and Sgt. Alicia D. White. But last months mistrial threw a kink into that strategy, putting Officer Porter in a highly unusual situation.
A total of 1,356 children in St. Francois County were served through the St. Francois County Community Partnerships Season of Hope program in 2015  a feat those with the organization acknowledge is due to the generosity of the citizens in the county.

In 14 years (as executive director), I am never ceased to be amazed at how the community steps forward (to donate to the program), those who stay with us year after year as contributors and the new people who find it is a worthy project and want to participate, said Executive Director Al Sullivan.

Sullivan expressed thanks to the community on behalf of the board of directors for the St. Francois County Community Partnership as well.

A press release from the partnership showed in 2015, one in four children in St. Francois County live in poverty. Children are referred to Season of Hope through the five school districts in the county, East Missouri Action Agency, Childrens Division of the Department of Social Services and the Head Start Centers.

The program, which began in 1999, attempts to provide each child referred to the program with clothing and toys valued at $75 per child  a commitment of $101,700 for the 2015 Season of Hope Program.

The items are provided by cash deductible donations, new toy or clothing drives and the many businesses, churches, organizations and individuals that adopt a child or family.

More than 100 have stepped forward to sponsor a child or family in the past year and that is a tremendous help to us, Sullivan said.

Although this years program just wrapped up, Sullivan said its not too early to start thinking about the 2016 Season of Hope due to the donations needed to make the program work.

Its an operation that takes year-round planning, he said. (The work) is intense from Thanksgiving until Christmas, but it is put together because organizations commit themselves to help us at that time of year.
The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office announced Wednesday that it would not pursue sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby, saying investigators had decided that any criminal charges based on the complaints of two women there were blocked by the statute of limitations or lacked sufficient evidence.

In one of the cases, Chloe Goins, a model, had said Mr. Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at a party at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. Investigators, who identified Ms. Goins only as Jane Doe #2 in their report, said the deadline for misdemeanor charges in that case had expired and that there was insufficient evidence for felony charges.

Ms. Goins had said the party happened sometime in the summer of 2008, but Mr. Cosby did not appear on any guest list at the mansion during that period, the investigators said.

In addition, a potentially corroborating witness she had identified, a girlfriend she said was with her at the party, told investigators that she did not know Ms. Goins.
WASHINGTON  Responding to Republicans who have repeatedly tied gun violence to mental health issues, President Obamas new gun control plan will allow state agencies and the Social Security Administration to provide certain protected health information to the F.B.I. to help crack down on weapons sales to people who pose a danger to themselves or others or are unable to manage their own affairs.

The measure was part of a much broader suite of guidelines and orders to address gun violence that is plaguing the country. And while many psychiatrists and patient advocates have not objected, some groups say the plan raises red flags.

We are concerned about the implications of this rule, said Jennifer Mathis, a lawyer at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, an advocacy group for patients. It points a finger inappropriately at people with mental illness as a source of gun violence. Its a bad precedent to start creating exceptions to the privacy law for people with mental illness, who are responsible for about 4 percent of incidents of gun violence.

Virtually every push for new gun sale restrictions in recent years has been greeted by opponents countering with proposals to address mental health as a factor in gun violence.
WASHINGTON  The United States on Wednesday transferred to Ghana two Yemeni men who had been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly 14 years, the Pentagon said. The transfer marked the start of what is expected to be a flurry of 17 departures in early 2016.

The transfers also represented the first time that lower-level detainees have been resettled in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that the State Department is widening the aperture of its diplomatic efforts to find homes for those on the transfer list.

After the resettlement, 105 detainees remain at Guantanamo, and 46 are recommended for transfer.

The United States is grateful to the government of Ghana for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, a Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Gary Ross, said in a statement.

Ghanas Foreign Ministry said the two Yemeni men would stay for two years, according to The Associated Press. The ministry said that Ghana was also taking in two people from Rwanda who had been tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The two people were part of a group of defendants who had been acquitted or had served their sentences.
MEXICO CITY  The Guatemalan authorities on Wednesday arrested 18 former military officers on charges related to massacres and disappearances during the 1980s, the bloodiest period of the countrys 36-year civil war.

The arrests pose a direct challenge to the president-elect, Jimmy Morales, a political neophyte who ran as the candidate of a party dominated by former officers.

Among the men who were arrested was retired Gen. Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia, 83, who was the army chief of staff during the dictatorship of his brother, Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia. A former military intelligence chief, Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas, was also detained, as was one of the generals who ousted General Lucas Garcia in a 1982 coup.

These are the big fish, said Victoria Sanford, an anthropologist at Lehman College of the City University of New York who has studied human rights violations committed during the 1960-96 war, when security forces razed whole villages as they pursued leftist guerrillas.
It may be a paradox of the present, polarized moment in the Middle East: The easiest way to win hearts and minds in the battle against extremists is by appealing to sectarian sentiment  which is likely to damage everyone in the long run.

The execution on Saturday of 43 Sunni jihadists alongside Sheikh Nimr  and three other Shiites  has mobilized predictable anger online among supporters of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. One of those executed, a Qaeda ideologue named Faris al-Shuwail, was revered by many Islamic State members. But Mr. Shuwail and most of the other jihadists had been on death row for many years and had garnered little sympathy among the Saudi public, which endured a brutal domestic insurgency by Al Qaeda a decade ago.

Popular opinion is difficult to gauge in Saudi Arabias absolute monarchy. But on Twitter  one forum where the government has allowed a modicum of free speech  the past few days have seen a flood of approval for the executions, along with fury and accusations of hypocrisy at the way the events have been portrayed in the West.

The Iranian regime has executed hundreds of Sunni Arab nationals, but have you seen the Saudi leadership launch hostile comments at Iranian sovereignty? wrote one woman, Ibtisam al Qatabi, voicing a common sentiment. Many others cited the fact that Iran sheltered members of Al Qaeda in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Ali Alkheshaiban, a columnist for the government-owned newspaper al-Riyadh, said the Saudi public had not just reacted positively to the executions; it had actively pushed for them to be carried out.

It is important that the world understand that Saudi society has demanded since 2010 that the government move faster in executing those perpetrators of terrorist crimes, Mr. Alkheshaiban said. Nimr al-Nimr is no different than the others. He formed military cells, and contributed to the killing of ordinary people and sedition in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Aziz Qassim, a writer who until recently hosted a show that explored religious approaches to social issues, said it was a brave decision by King Salman to execute Nimr al-Nimr. He stood against all the people who said this was a sensitive issue. The king, he added, had demolished the Iranian project inside the kingdom.
For nearly five decades, the Studio Museum in Harlem has served as a cultural repository, reflecting the ruptures, shifts and spectrum of experiences for artists of African descent. Its current grouping of shows, culled mostly from the museums permanent collection, echoes this landscape, looking backward and forward. The main exhibition, A Constellation, includes the work of 26 artists and focuses on themes of abstraction, the figure and the history of the African diaspora. Black: Color, Material, Concept continues the conversation around blackness initiated by Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the museum, who introduced the term post-black into the cultural conversation almost 15 years ago with the exhibition Freestyle. In the basement, a sculptural installation by Marc Andre Robinson weaves together formalism with black cultural history, while another, Lorraine OGrady: Art Is   offers a fantastic exhibition of photographs documenting Ms. Gradys performance piece during the 1983 African-American Day Parade, in which she skillfully weaves together art, activism and participation.

Two of the first works in A Constellation, organized by Amanda Hunt, an assistant curator at the Studio Museum, are a geometrically abstract painting by Al Loving, Variations on a Six-Sided Object (1967), and a figurative sculpture, Mother and Child (1993), by Elizabeth Catlett. These two poles of 20th-century American art  abstraction and figuration  also signify the African-American perspective on the movements, as articulated by these two revered (now deceased) artists. They raise questions like, Is there such a thing as black abstraction? (An issue also addressed in an exhibition of Stanley Whitneys paintings at the Studio Museum last year and in an Alma Thomas retrospective opening at the Tang Museum upstate next month.) They also ask, What does it mean in art to represent bodies that have been marked as property and by racist violence?
In one of the exhibitions outside the dressing room, the most impressive Schastey piece is a grand piano with Steinway inner workings, created in 1882 for William Clark, a Newark thread manufacturer. With its profuse ornamentation carved from dark wood standing out against the blond, satinwood casing, its spectacular and, by todays standards, grotesquely overwrought. At each of its three corners, a bare-breasted goddess surrounded by cornucopias rises above a square leg divided into four fluted columns topped by massive Ionic capitals. In contrast to those heavy-handed elements, there are, throughout, exquisitely refined passages of geometric and organic inlaid patterning rendered in different woods and metals. The sheet-music stand, a flat board perforated in a rhythmic Moorish design, is lovely unto itself.

As a disjunctive hodgepodge of decorative elements, this piano tells much about Mr. Schastey as a designer. More a magpie collector of historical motifs than a visionary integrator or innovator, he was in step with Victorian-era taste for exotic clutter. Ranging from monumental cabinets to delicate chairs and dressing tables, works on view here invariably display terrific technical expertise but no core sense of personal style, which may be why he had not been better known before now.
Robin Winters moved to New York from California in the early 1970s and later participated in Colab, a downtown artists group that mounted radical exhibitions like The Real Estate Show (1979-80) and The Times Square Show (1980). But he has always retained elements of San Franciscos 60s counterculture, in which he came of age, roaming among performance, painting, poetry and blown glass. His current exhibition is perfectly installed in Present Company, a cozy young gallery in Bushwick that describes itself on its website as an exhibition and social space.

Most of the work here is on shelves that wrap around the gallerys walls at eye level, creating, as the shows title calls it, a free standing sentence. Short texts printed on paper and propped up via clips on chunks of Play-Doh are interspersed with small paintings and sculptures depicting slightly befuddled faces. These works are reminiscent of folk art and comic books, but also of Matisses figurative distortions or the dystopic Expressionism of artists like Edvard Munch or Emil Nolde. A long poem, also titled Free Standing Sentence, is installed at the entrance.

The objects  particularly Two Pals (2015), a pair of large stuffed toy dogs that Mr. Winters found on the street and crowned with blown-glass hats  have a scruffy kind of charm. The writings lack substance, though Mr. Winters attempts to inject depth with references to dreams, psychotropic drugs, hitchhiking and magic  staples of everything from Surrealism to the Beats and 60s psychedelia. My work moves in circles both human and abstract (so many versions of space), he writes in Free Standing Sentence, citing the otherworldly jazz musician Sun Ra in the next line. He adds: This is a manual for artistic survival. (You have to believe in magic however.)

It is an effective gambit to claim that your work is for kindred spacey souls.
Media General should be familiar with soap operas. The company operates 71 television stations across the United States. But it is having a difficult time climbing out of a particularly tricky mergers and acquisitions love triangle.

Six months ago, Media General rebuffed a takeover offer by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group. A few weeks later, Media General opted instead to acquire Meredith Corporation. But Nexstar was not about to let Media General get away, so it made a higher bid in late September, and then a third bid in November, both of which Media General rejected. The last bid, though, intrigued Media General enough that it said it would be willing to negotiate with Nextstar, hinting at a potential future combination.

On Thursday, those discussions appeared to reach a point of agreement. Media General said it had negotiated a deal in which Nexstar would acquire it for cash and stock for about $2.3 billion. The transaction includes a so-called contingent value right, or C.V.R., which could give Media Generals current shareholders up to an additional $549 million, after taxes, depending on the worth of Media Generals spectrum in an upcoming auction.

But the agreement with Nexstar does not matter yet because Media General is still bound to Meredith. Merediths terms prohibit Media General from being acquired until their own merger agreement is terminated.
Once emblematic of New York technology and innovation, Gilt Groupe has agreed to be acquired by Hudsons Bay Company for a quarter of its private valuation.

Hudsons Bay, the department-store retailer that owns Lord & Taylor and Saks 5th Avenue, plans to purchase Gilt for $250 million in cash, the companies announced on Thursday. That compared with the $1 billion valuation Gilt amassed in 2011.



Soon after Gilt was founded in 2007, it was hailed for revolutionizing fashion e-commerce through its flash sales, which accord shoppers a limited window of time to capture discounts on clothing and accessories. The model attracted scores of users, some of whom became less enthused by the deals over time, analysts say.

Hudsons Bay is betting the deal will revive Gilt through a partnership with its Saks Off 5th. After the deal is completed, Gilt customers will be able to return merchandise at Saks Off 5th, which could bolster traffic in the outlet stores. The companies would also set up Gilt shops within Saks Off 5th stores, giving Gilts 9 million members access to brick and mortar.
There are big initial public offerings  the $25 billion stock sale by the Alibaba Group, the biggest on record; the $16 billion market debut of Facebook  and then there are really big ones.

If Saudi Arabia follows through on its plan to list its state-owned oil producer, Saudi Aramco, as one of the kingdoms top officials recently told The Economist, it would certainly claim the latter.

This is something that is being reviewed, and we believe a decision will be made over the next few months, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabias deputy crown prince and one of its most powerful figures, told the publication. Personally Im enthusiastic about this step. I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco, and it is for the interest of more transparency, and to counter corruption, if any, that may be circling around Aramco.

On Friday, Saudi Aramco released a statement confirming that it the company has been studying options to offer the public an unspecified, appropriate percentage of its shares or some of Saudi Aramcos subsidiaries.
Martin Shkreli, the New York businessman charged by federal prosecutors with defrauding his former hedge fund investors, is worth at least $45 million.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn disclosed on Thursday in a court filing that a brokerage account containing $45 million had been used to secure a $5 million bond posted by Mr. Shkreli, 32, after his Dec. 17 arrest on securities fraud charges.

The brokerage account at E-Trade, the online securities firm, is the first public accounting of just how much money Mr. Shkreli  who last year became the focal point of a national debate over price gouging in the drug industry  has made over his brief career on Wall Street and in the pharmaceutical business.

The money and securities in the account should put to rest speculation on how Mr. Shkreli was able to come up with $2 million to buy the only known copy of a recent album by the rap group Wu-Tang Clan.
Full disclosure: My answer to each of Ms. Avgitidiss questions was yes.

That is where that panic comes from, she said. Like: Why not me? What does he have? And then you realize that he is four years younger. And that is exactly where that panic comes from.

The Old Guy in the Club

That stomach-churning fear was perhaps best expressed by the comedian Chris Rock in his 1996 special Bring the Pain: Every man has to settle down eventually. You know why you gotta settle down eventually. Because you dont want to be the old guy in the club. You know what Im talking about. Every club you go into, theres always some old guy. He aint really old  just a little too old to be in the club.

Its hard to find someone who wants to be that guy. Although few single men are willing to admit to a sense of panic, they know there is always the chance of waking up one morning in a cold sweat.

Friends will tell you not to worry. They will cite Tinder and the other magical dating apps hidden in your phone while arguing that you are only a swipe away from sudden cocktails and possibly more.

But the single men in their 30s and 40s whom I spoke with  gay and straight alike  seemed very much aware that their options were narrowing. While they are not dealing with a reproductive deadline, they had the feeling that the party was nearing its end.

People think that if you are gay and you are single, particularly in the city, that there is this sort of unbridled freedom, said Ryan Wallace, a 35-year-old who works in corporate communications for a Fortune 200 company. That youre at the gym, youre at the office, youre at happy hour, and its just a constant on-the-go lifestyle. That may be true for part of your life, in your 20s. Gender identities aside, as everyone gets older, your priorities change.
Hes been nominated for 12 Oscars and helped bring many a directors vision to life behind the camera. Now the cinematographer Roger Deakins is back in the Oscar conversation for his work on the thriller Sicario, directed by Denis Villeneuve. (The two also teamed up on the 2013 drama Prisoners.)

Sicario examines the investigations of drug cartels operating along the United States-Mexico border, and the visuals go from piercing sunlight to contemplative dusk to a sequence played out in the dark of night.

In searching for locations for border-crossing scenes, the filmmakers had to be creative. They first scouted the Bridge of the Americas connecting Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Tex.

We thought, could they possibly let us shoot here? Mr. Deakins said in an interview at The Times, but they told us no way.
Costi, the Romanian Everyman at the center of The Treasure, leads a reasonably comfortable if not terribly exciting life. Played by Cuzin Toma, an actor with a melancholy, sensitive face and a gentle manner, Costi has an office job and a tidy, somewhat sterile apartment, where he lives with his wife, Raluca, and their young son, Alin (played by Mr. Tomas real-life wife and son, Cristina and Nicodim). The boy likes to hear fairy tales at bedtime, and his father soon finds himself on an adventure that has all the markings of a modern fable.

Not that the films director, Corneliu Porumboiu, has much interest in showy magic or pat moral lessons. His films  The Treasure is his fourth feature  take place in the thoroughly disenchanted world of post-Communist Romania, and the attention he pays to that world is measured and meticulous. He favors extended takes, medium- to long-range shots and minimal camera movements. Rather than forcing anything to happen, he is content to wait until dramatic events emerge from the quirks and puzzles of human behavior.

In his debut, 12:08 East of Bucharest (2007), a prizewinner at Cannes and one of the essential European films of the past decade, Mr. Porumboiu observed the interactions of a highly undistinguished panel on a provincial television broadcast commemorating the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. That film is at once a brutal deadpan comedy and a devastating anatomy of the ambiguous legacy of the Eastern European revolutions of 1989. Mr. Porumboius next effort, Police, Adjective (2009), exhibited a similar doubleness, offering both a dry satire of bureaucratic working conditions and a furious critique of the petty authoritarianism that has persisted in Romania long after the disappearance of Communism.
Rescue crews pulled 17 miners to the surface on Thursday morning after they spent the night trapped in an elevator 900 feet below ground at a road salt mine in central New York.

Mark Klein, a spokesman for Cargill Inc., the company based in Minnesota that operates the mine, said there were no reported injuries as crews carried out the rescue. He said the mine would be closed for the rest of the week so the company could investigate how the elevator malfunctioned.

Mr. Klein said that the men were on their way into work when they became trapped in the elevator access shaft at around 10 p.m. Wednesday. Rescue crews were able to send water down to the workers and communicate with them through radio devices, Mr. Klein said.

Shortly after 7 a.m., the Ithaca Fire Department said on Facebook that four miners had been rescued from the mine in Lansing, N.Y., which is near Ithaca and about an hours drive south of Syracuse. Medical crews were evaluating the rescued miners, the department said. The Ithaca Fire Department said that the Lansing Fire Department and other employees at the mine were assisting in the rescue.
A list of potential appointees submitted to Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination for the first Court of Appeals vacancy in 1983 included no women. When another vacancy occurred shortly thereafter, the commissions list of seven candidates included two women: Justice Betty Weinberg Ellerin of State Supreme Court, a former president of the Womens Bar Association; and Ms. Kaye, whom the association, in contrast to other bar groups, rated not qualified.

After interviewing her twice, the governor appointed her anyway, to a 14-year term.

From the beginning, Judge Kaye proved ready to invoke the State Constitution whenever it provided greater protections on civil liberties issues  matters of free speech and unreasonable searches, for example  than the United States Constitution.

In one case, she ruled that the state was liable for not providing New York City public school students with the sound basic education required by the State Constitution. She voted four times against the death penalty. Writing a majority opinion, she went beyond the scope of a United States Supreme Court ruling in giving defendants greater latitude to accuse prosecutors of withholding evidence. She sided with the defendant in an important libel case. And she agreed with the majority in granting gay men and lesbians the right to adopt their partners children.

Judge Kaye prided herself on nudging her fellow jurists toward a unanimous opinion, though that became more challenging in 1997, when Gov. George E. Pataki, a Republican, began filling vacancies.

She was in the mainstream of thinking in New York, said Jonathan Lippman, her chief administrative judge and successor as chief judge, and her view was that the court should speak with one voice, to create consensus around a pragmatic view of what the law should be.

As an administrator as well as a judge  each of these jobs took 80 percent of my time, she said  she was instrumental in the creation of courts devoted to specific problems, like drug abuse, as well as locally focused courts, including the Midtown Community Court in Times Square, which has dealt with panhandling, prostitution and other neighborhood issues.

Judith Kaye essentially started a revolution, Judge Lippman wrote in 2009 in The N.Y.U. Law Review, that has redefined the traditional role of the judiciary in addressing the difficult social problems reflected in our record-breaking court dockets: drug abuse, family violence and dysfunction, mental illness and so many more.
The police have arrested a homeless man and charged him with fatally stabbing a McDonalds manager in the Bronx, after the worker ejected him from the restaurant, where he had been camped out for hours, officials said on Thursday.

The man, Rafael Gonzalez, appeared on Wednesday with a lawyer at the 50th Precinct station house, across the street from the restaurant in the Kingsbridge neighborhood, where he surrendered to detectives, the police said.

Mr. Gonzalez, 43, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, the police said. He was arraigned on Thursday, and a judge ordered that Mr. Gonzalez be held without bail, prosecutors said. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Image Adam Garcia

The authorities said Mr. Gonzalez had been a regular at the restaurant, on Broadway near 236th Street. He would use the restroom to clean up.
These corrections officers flagrantly abused the power of their positions, coordinating their actions to perpetrate a violent act against a defenseless person in their charge, Ms. Leahy Scott said in a statement in response to questions about the matter. The egregiousness of this conduct cannot be overstated, and I am pleased that my investigation resulted in their being held accountable for their conduct.

The internal affairs unit at the corrections department has failed to find officers culpable in a string of beatings of inmates that The Times and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization, examined over the past year.

At a legislative hearing in Albany last month, State Assemblyman Daniel ODonnell, a Democrat from Manhattan who is the chairman of the Correction Committee, called for the unit to be disbanded and an independent oversight agency created to monitor the state prison system.

The investigation into the March 12, 2014, assault began after Mr. Thorton made a formal complaint about a month later, according to the records, arbitration opinions in the cases of three of the officers involved. Those three and two others were placed on administrative leave in May 2014 and then suspended without pay in November of that year.

Two of the officers, Daniel Dysard, a five-year veteran, and Christopher Fernandez, a 12-year veteran who was a probationary sergeant at the time of the assault, were fired. But the arbitrator who heard their cases ordered that they receive back pay for the period between their suspensions and the date of the opinions in August 2015, ruling that the men had been suspended improperly.

A third officer, Justin Vansteenburg, a four-and-a-half-year veteran, received a written reprimand and was reinstated with back pay. A fourth, Grant Miller, was largely cleared, but did not receive back pay, and a fifth, Brian June, retired during the investigation.

Image Raffi Mata is the inmate who led the fight. Credit... The Bronx District Attorney's Office

Mr. Fernandez, reached at his home, declined to comment. The other four men either did not respond to messages or could not be reached.
The mayor will appoint an independent civilian to monitor the New York Police Departments counterterrorism activities, lawyers said in court documents on Thursday as they moved to settle a pair of lawsuits over surveillance targeting Muslims in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The agreement would restore some of the outside oversight that was eliminated after the attacks, when city leaders said they needed more flexibility in conducting investigations. In the years that followed, the Police Department secretly built files on Muslim neighborhoods, recorded sermons at mosques, collected license plates of worshipers and documented the views of everyday people on topics such as drone strikes, politics and foreign policy.

The settlement does not explicitly prohibit any methods that are currently allowed, and the city does not admit any wrongdoing. Police officials said many of the provisions of the agreement  such as barring investigations based solely on religion, race and ethnicity  simply codified changes already in place. But civil rights lawyers said some tactics that investigators used over the past decade violated the Constitution and would probably not have been allowed if anyone outside the Police Department had been reviewing the investigative files.

These safeguards will be a strong check against the discriminatory surveillance of Muslim communities that we challenged in our lawsuit, said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions National Security Project, who represents the plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits. We hope the settlement shows that effective policing isnt at odds with constitutional policing.
The Chinese stock market is plummeting so fast that authorities there keep shutting it down. North Korea set off a bomb in a nuclear test. Two of the Middle Easts great powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are eyeing each other menacingly. In the European Union, political extremists are on the rise, migrants are pouring in and Britain may drop out (three phenomena that are not unrelated).

And in the United States, the number of people filing unemployment claims is hovering near the lowest levels in four decades, the jobless rate may well fall below 5 percent for the first time since 2007, and whatever the noise on the presidential campaign trail, Congress recently passed bipartisan legislation to keep the government running comfortably into next year.

Seven days in, 2016 is shaping up to be a chaotic year in global economics and geopolitics, with profound challenges nearly everywhere. Except, for now at least, in the worlds largest economy. The American economy is acting as a steadying force in a volatile world.

A giant question for 2016  not just for Americans but for people across the globe who benefit from having one of the worlds major economic engines revving while others sputter  is how resilient the United States will prove to be.
The polling industry has been hit hard by high-profile misfires in recent years. Pollsters got last Novembers Kentucky governors race wrong, as they did the 2014 midterm elections. They have missed predictions in elections in Israel and Britain.

But exactly why the polls err often remains a mystery. Potential sources for error abound: The initial samples could be biased, the likely-voter models may not reflect the actual electorate, or voters could make last-minute decisions that make even an accurate poll wrong on Election Day. Pollsters have few tools for untangling these distinct problems.

But a new study by researchers at the Pew Research Center, pollsters themselves, offers new insights into those factors during the 2014 midterms, when polls failed to anticipate a huge Republican landslide. The study found that likely-voter screens may not have adequately anticipated the Republican turnout advantage, and that undecided voters might have broken toward the Republicans.

Pews analysis, on balance, is good news for the polling industry. The conventional wisdom holds that traditional polls have been less predictive because of plummeting response rates in an era of cellphones and caller ID. But there is relatively little evidence that the polls are less accurate than they used to be, or that declining response rates have hurt the accuracy of polls after weighting  a statistical technique to adjust data for underrepresented groups like black or young voters.
DECATUR, Ga.  A prosecutor here said Thursday that he would seek a felony murder indictment against a white police officer who last year shot and killed Anthony Hill, a black man who was naked and unarmed at the time of the fatal encounter.

Our position is that the facts and the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Anthony Hill warrant a charge for felony murder, the prosecutor, District Attorney Robert D. James Jr. of DeKalb County, said at a news conference.

Mr. Jamess decision to pursue a criminal case against Officer Robert Olsen does not guarantee an indictment, in part because Georgia offers law enforcement officers special protections when their on-duty behavior is being reviewed by a grand jury.

Mr. James said that prosecutors would ask grand jurors, when they met on Jan. 21, to charge Officer Olsen with felony murder, aggravated assault, violation of oath of office and making a false statement.
TRINIDAD, Tex.  How long can the Oregon standoff last? If the one that dragged on here in this rural East Texas town is any example, the answer is at least a decade, and perhaps much longer.

In a wooded 47-acre compound on the Trinity River, about an hour southeast of Dallas, John Joe Gray, 66, quietly carried out what some call the longest standoff in America  a few days shy of 15 years. It officially ended in 2014 when a district attorney dropped charges, but continued nonetheless because Mr. Gray and many law enforcement officials appeared to be unaware the charges had been dropped until they were told by a reporter this week.

Mr. Gray, a carpenter linked to antigovernment militia groups, was charged with assaulting a state trooper after a December 1999 traffic stop and was jailed, but he was released on bond in January 2000. He never showed up to court, returning instead to his property, where he and his relatives armed themselves and patrolled the barbed-wire fences. In a letter, he warned local officials that if they wanted to come get him, they needed to bring body bags.
On WMUR, the dominant television station in Manchester, N.H., about 25 percent of commercial time is being eaten up by presidential campaign ads. Already this week, the candidates and their allies have fired off a dozen new commercials, a third of them negative, in Iowa and New Hampshire markets.

The super PAC supporting Senator Marco Rubio of Florida unleashed multiple advertisements blasting Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and his record. The super PAC backing Senator Ted Cruz of Texas portrayed Mr. Rubio as unfit for the presidency. And the outside group supporting Jeb Bush ripped into Mr. Rubios Senate attendance record in one ad and favorably contrasted Mr. Bushs accomplishments with those of Mr. Christie and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio in another.

The ad wars of the 2016 election are at hand.

Were getting down to the firing-squad part of the campaign, said Larry McCarthy, the strategist making ads for Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Mr. Bush. Its like the end of the Quentin Tarantino movie, where everyone is shooting everyone else.

It is also a huge bet that television advertisements will remain a crucial, even decisive, political battlefield when signs increasingly suggest otherwise. Candidates and their allies spent nearly $100 million on political advertising last year, including $72 million in Iowa and New Hampshire alone, Kantar Media/CMAG estimated. Much of that was spent by candidates promoting themselves, not attacking their rivals. Yet the biggest spenders reaped only scant improvement in the polls.
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Anderson Cooper, Journalist: Let me start. Have you ever owned a gun? SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: I have never owned a gun. Now up a Camp David weve got some ski shooting. 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anderson Cooper, Journalist: Before you were president, did you ever feel a desire to get a gun? Feel the need to get a gun? SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: You know, I grew up mostly in Hawaii and other than hunting for wild pig, which they don once in a while, theres not the popularity of hunting and sportsmanship with guns as much as there are in other parts of the country. SOUNDBITE (English) Anderson Cooper, Journalist: I ask the question because theres a lot of people out there who dont trust you obviously on the issue of guns. You keep saying you dont want to take away everybodys guns. 4. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: People occupy different realities. There are a whole bunch of law-abiding citizens who have grown up hunting with their dad or going to the shooting range and are responsible gun owners and then theres the reality that there are neighborhoods around the country where it is easier for a 12 or 13-year-old to purchase a gun and cheaper than it is for them to get a book. 5. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: Keep in mind, for the gun owners who are in attendance here, my suspicion is that you all had to go through a background check. and it didnt prevent you from getting a weapon and the notion that you should have to do that but there are a whole bunch of folks who are less responsible than you who dont have to do it doesnt make much sense. 6. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: The gun debate gets wrapped up in broader debates about whether the federal government is oppressive and you know there are conspiracy theories floating around the Internet these days all the time. 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Taya Kyle, Widow of Chris Kyle: The thing is that the laws that we create dont stop these horrific things from happening right and thats a very tough pill to swallow. We want to think that if we make a law, people will follow it. By the very nature of their crime, theyre not following it. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: Some criminals will get their hands on firearms even if there is a background check. 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sheriff Paul Babeu, Pinal County, Arizona: And yet youve said in your executive action that it wouldnt have solved even one of the terrorist attacks. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: No I didnt say that SOUNDBITE (English) Anderson Cooper, Journalist: None of the recent mass shootings, I should point out, none of them were purchased from non-licensed dealers. SOUNDBITE (English) President Barack Obama: What we do have to make sure of is that we dont make it so easy for them to have access to deadly weapons.
In 1998, 21 years after Star Wars was released in the United States, a teenage Chen Tao found a Star Wars video game on his first computer and, in the process, discovered a whole new galaxy.

Today, Mr. Chen, 31, works in a Shanghai brokerage firm by day, but by night, he manages Chinas biggest website for fans of the franchise, Star Wars Fans China. He tends to say, May the Force be with you, instead of hello, and likes quoting the Jedi master Yoda: Do. Or do not. There is no try. With the latest film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opening in general release in China this weekend, avid fans like Mr. Chen are voting online for their favorite clone troopers and lightsabers.

China was late in coming to Star Wars. When the original film was released in the United States in 1977, the country was recovering from the Cultural Revolution and science fiction was considered spiritual pollution. But in 1980, Vice Premier Geng Biao watched the Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, at the White House and a Star Wars novel was published in China. In 1984, Star Wars was shown in Chinas first American Film Week.

In 2012, Walt Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the company founded by the Star Wars creator George Lucas, and started promoting the franchise in China. In 2014, Disney announced that its first theme park in mainland China, set to open this spring in Shanghai, would include Star Wars features. In October, it assembled an army of 500 stormtroopers on the Great Wall to promote the new film.
HONG KONG  A Hong Kong-based editor, who specializes in gossipy books about Chinese leaders, vanishes. His wife files a missing persons report with the police. She abruptly withdraws it after a faxed letter surfaces, apparently in her husbands calligraphy, stating that he is in mainland China of his own volition, helping with an investigation. Hong Kong border officials have no record of his ever leaving.

The case of Lee Bo  Paul Lee is his English name  and his four missing colleagues has all the makings of an espionage thriller. But to many of the 7.2 million people in this former British colony, his disappearance and apparent surfacing across the border that demarcates Hong Kong from the rest of China have fueled a profound fear, by calling into question the legal guarantee that people here would be shielded until midcentury from Beijings reach under an arrangement known as one country, two systems.

The case also threatens to stoke tensions between the mainland and Britain, which has recently pushed to move closer to China, declaring the beginning of a golden decade of ties between the two countries. On Tuesday, Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, said during a visit to Beijing that Mr. Lee was a British citizen. The next day, he said that it would be an egregious breach of the 1984 agreement that set in motion the return of Hong Kong to China if Mr. Lee, as many in Hong Kong fear, was plucked from the city to face prosecution in China. China issued a terse rejoinder, with a spokeswoman stating that it opposed all foreign interference in Chinas internal affairs.
South Korean officials said privately Thursday that resuming the propaganda broadcasts was the simplest and quickest way they could think of, for now, to retaliate for the test. They insisted on anonymity while agreeing to discuss their thinking on a sensitive security issue. Like the United States, the South has few options for punishing the North for its nuclear ambitions, which it has continued to pursue despite decades of international sanctions and resolutions from the United Nations Security Council.

North Korea did not immediately respond to Mr. Chos announcement.

While loudspeakers may seem a trivial response to a nuclear test, there is little doubt that the broadcasts enrage the leadership in Pyongyang, which rigorously controls what information North Koreans receive and sees the propaganda as an attempt to undermine its authority. The Cold War-era tactic had gone unused by the South for 11 years until last summer, after two South Korean border guards were maimed by land mines, which the South accused the North of planting.
LONDON  It was a time known to its detractors as a decade of hubris, when Western powers deployed the muscular military tactics of the 19th and early 20th centuries in the opening years of the 21st to project their power in flawed attempts to forge distant national destinies in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And, even as Prime Minister David Cameron and other Western leaders face what some consider to be the legacy of that era, there are growing signs that its shadows are lengthening, not receding, with time.

Just this week, a masked figure wielding a handgun in an execution video posted online by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, called Mr. Cameron an imbecile for sending warplanes to attack the group in Syria and told him by name that the militants would one day invade Britain to impose Shariah, or Quranic law.

You will lose this war as you lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the man, who has not been identified by the British authorities.
Mega Damming of the Life giving waters of Ethiopia. This process is menacing the existence of the inhabitants of the region by drying the sources and lakes. The main reason advertised for damming is for production of Electricity and exporting energy. This could be done by small human level dams.The underlying reason is to the irrigation for the great land grabbing for cash crop exportation for financial speculators. Moreover, such mega projects leads to undue water crisis.
SAN VITALIANO, Italy  If there is one label that Antonio Falcone, a doctor turned civic leader, does not want to be known by, it is the anti-pizza mayor.

Yet that is how notoriety caught up with the mayor of this small town in the Neapolitan hinterland in late December when, in an effort to decrease air pollution, he issued an ordinance banning the use of wood-fired stoves not equipped with filters that reduce toxic air pollutants.

The ban affects family homes with chimneys as well as businesses like bakeries, restaurants and  most controversially  wood-burning pizzerias, the gastronomic boast of an area known as the birthplace of one of Italys most renowned culinary exports. Outrage was guaranteed.

Weve even been compared to China, complained Pasquale Tufano of Ristorante La Vigna, piqued that the towns half-dozen pizzerias had been singled out and equated with a country whose capital, Beijing, announced its first-ever toxic smog red alert last month.
WARSAW  Polands president, Andrzej Duda, signed a law on Thursday that gives the government greater control over state broadcasters, despite the objections of European Union officials who fear that the measure will weaken freedom of the press.

The legislation will allow Polands new conservative government to appoint and dismiss the executives in charge of public television and radio broadcasters. Until now, politically independent bodies made those decisions.

Malgorzata Sadurska, who as the head of the presidential chancellery is Mr. Dudas top aide, said the new law was intended to ensure that the state news media are unbiased, objective and credible.

After the lower house of the Polish Parliament passed the measure on Dec. 30, the European Commission took the extraordinary step of scheduling a discussion for Jan. 13 on rule of law in Poland. The European Union, which Poland joined in 2004, requires that member states respect the rule of law; a country that is found to systematically violate the rule of law can be stripped of voting rights, something that has never happened in the blocs history.
CAIRO  Security forces and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood exchanged fire outside a hotel in Cairo on Thursday, in a sign of political tensions in advance of the fifth anniversary of the 2011 revolution this month.

The gunfire at the Barcelo Cairo Pyramids hotel caused only superficial damage to the front of the building and to a tour bus parked outside, and no injuries were reported. The episode represents another blow to a tourism industry that has been devastated by terrorist attacks and political unrest.

The Islamic States affiliate in Egypt claimed to have brought down a Russian passenger jet in October, killing 224 people. But the government said that the violence on Thursday stemmed from civil unrest in which tourists had not been directly targeted.

The exchange occurred when about 15 people gathered on a side street and fired homemade flares at security forces stationed outside the hotel, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
TEHRAN  The already volatile showdown between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated in Yemen on Thursday after the Iranians said their embassy had been hit by a Saudi airstrike, though witnesses said the building did not seem to have been struck.

The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen carried out its heaviest airstrikes in months over Sana, the capital, on Wednesday, when the Iranians said the attack on the embassy occurred. The coalition also dropped cluster bombs on the capital, according to witnesses and Human Rights Watch.

A spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, condemned what he called the Saudi aircraft missile attack on Irans Embassy in Sana, and claimed that a number of the buildings guards had been wounded.

But after guards at the embassy and witnesses told reporters that the building had not been hit, the spokesman later told the IRNA news agency that a missile had landed near the embassy and one of the security guards sustained serious injuries.
RAMADI, Iraq  As his armored vehicle bounced along a dirt track carved through the ruins of this recently reconquered city on Wednesday, Gen. Ali Jameel, an Iraqi counterterrorism officer, narrated the passing sites.

Here were the carcasses of four tanks, charred by the jihadists of the Islamic State. Here, a police officers home that the jihadists had blown up. Here, a villa reduced to rubble by an airstrike. And another. And another.

In one neighborhood, he stood before a panorama of wreckage so vast that it was unclear where the original buildings had stood. He paused when asked how residents would return to their homes.

Homes? he said. There are no homes.

The retaking of Ramadi by Iraqi security forces last week has been hailed as a major blow to the Islamic State and as a vindication of the Obama administrations strategy to fight the group by backing local ground forces with intensive airstrikes.
TRIPOLI, Libya  A suicide bomber attacked a training camp for Coast Guard cadets early on Thursday, killing at least 65 people in one of the deadliest bombings in Libya in recent memory, according to security officials.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, in the western coastal town of Zlitan. The town is a few hours drive from Surt, the stronghold of the Islamic State affiliate in Libya, which has carried out similar attacks.

Capt. Adel Erhoma, a security officer in the town who visited the camp after the explosion, said it had occurred early on Thursday as cadets gathered. The attackers drove a water truck filled with explosives through the camps gates before detonating the explosives in the camps yard, which was packed with cadets, Captain Erhoma said.

Image A wounded man received treatment at a hospital in Misurata, Libya, on Thursday, after the attack. Credit... Reuters

There is nothing left from the truck but metal shrapnel, he said, adding that hospitals were overwhelmed because more than 150 people had been wounded.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  Amid mounting international dismay over reports of starvation deaths and images of skeletally thin children in the besieged, rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya, the Syrian government agreed Thursday to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

But no firm date was set, and senior United Nations officials said that while they welcomed the governments decision to allow the aid to enter, 42,000 people in Madaya remained at risk of further hunger and starvation, citing credible reports of people dying from starvation and being killed while trying to leave.

The announcement came after Syrian opposition leaders issued a blistering statement declaring that silence and inaction from powerful nations and international organizations made them complicit in starving civilians. In recent days, Syrians had mounted a social media campaign sharing painful photos and videos: an 8-year-old boy who said he had not eaten for 10 days and longed for sweets; the shriveled body of a man who starved to death, his rib cage jutting out over a caved-in stomach.

Numerous residents of Madaya interviewed in recent days described living on grass and leaves, and seeing family members dying of hunger or killed by snipers as they tried to escape the town, which is surrounded by pro-government forces, primarily from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group that is allied with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
Whats the last book that made you cry?

Alice McDermotts Someone. At the start of the novel, a sweet, hopeful girl dies by falling down the cellar stairs. She isnt important to the plot, and is not recalled by the narrator until the very end. McDermott has buried the girl in our consciousness, and then brings her back when it means the most to the story. More than the sad accident, the authors gentle manipulation of the readers emotions made me gulp with the discovery that Id been thinking of the dead girl all along.

The last book that made you laugh?

I reread Joyce Carys The Horses Mouth a few weeks ago, about the wild-and-crazy painter and scam artist Gulley Jimson, his genius and rejection by nearly everyone. Jimson gives you surface laughs by his ridiculous bad behavior as he tries to make a place for his art in a scornful world. But one laughs deeper, down the gullet, at the abysmal unhappiness of it all. As Beckett said in Watt, the laugh laughing at itself.

Tell us about your favorite poem.

Long before I had personal reasons to cherish Yeatss A Prayer for My Daughter, I marveled at the poems balancing of tenderness, judgment and moral standards. Coleridge, Dylan Thomas and Anne Sexton all have written memorable poems to children, where the poets could be sentimental and smart in the same piece. Yeatss poem is that and more  the will and testament of the poets values, bequeathed and distilled down to the question How but in custom and in ceremony / Are innocence and beauty born?

And the best memoir you read recently.

Speak, Memory, recently or ever. Such a gorgeous blast. Fairly early in the book Nabokov spends pages and pages creating an exquisite picture of the vast figure of Mademoiselle, his childhood nanny, everything detailed, from her voice to her chins. Then he reverses course and says: Did I get her all wrong? Is she a fiction? Who but Nabokov could get away with a stunt like that  to make us believe all he has written about the woman, and doubt every word, and not care.

And your favorite movie adaptation of a book.

The Maltese Falcon. It must have been relatively easy to make the movie, because the book is written like one. And the moral of the tale works even better on-screen, as we see Mary Astors disbelief and submerged hysteria when Humphrey Bogart tells her shes going to take the fall for the murder, that love doesnt conquer all, and that the test of morality is doing what you least want to. No, Miss OShaughnessy, he isnt joking.

Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine? Your favorite antihero or villain?

Its a tie between Gatsby and Dr. Zhivago, for both hero and antihero. Both men are flawed, and both are superior to their flaws. And each occupies so high a plane of thought and ambition that petty little people with lesser dreams cannot touch them. Small wonder Zhivago dies in the street, running after Lara, and Gatsby has to be shot in the back.
I had acquired a Ph.D. in literature with dreams of a steady paycheck, the shelter of tenure and a solid Victorian house on the edge of campus. I would marry a fellow professor, bear two handsome children and fall into the predictable rhythms of the school year. I looked forward to a life undisturbed by risk, rebellion or blinding passion. But I could find no teaching job.

When I was 18, New York City was the one that got away. Visiting it for the first time, I knew I wanted to live here. It was a true thing that I knew with the clarity of all true things. To live in New York was to travel the world while standing still.

As I walked through Union Square, a kaleidoscope of humanity tumbled around me: a woman walking six dogs, a man holding a steering wheel as if he were driving an invisible car, a group of muscular break dancers performing circus feats. My body was a collection of Walt Whitmans moving particles, mixing with moving particles  no end to me and no beginning to anyone else. It was a sensual siren song to my soul.

The specifics of my dream were an unthinkable, embarrassing cliche: I wanted to be on stage. I wanted to express raw emotion in front of hundreds of people. I scoured the pages of Backstage furtively, as if it were a pornographic pamphlet from the 18th century, but I never vocalized my desire. I gave up on the thing I most wanted without even really trying.

I went on to inhabit the straitjacket of a good girl, doing all the things that were expected of me: good grades, graduate school, a sensible career path and, most of all, decorum. And yet, the straight and narrow had led to a dead end: joblessness and debt. With each rejection letter I received during my academic job search, I felt a rising tide of relief. Now I can do as I please, I thought. Now I can move to New York.
The book presents buildings as engaging in a conversation, not just with the flaneur, but also with one another. In Washington Square, for example, its easy to see how the stolid, demure brickwork of the Greek Revival homes gave a New Yorker like Henry James a sense of security in his position as a descendant of early American aristocracy. Its easier still to understand Jamess anguish, upon returning to New York from Europe in 1904, about a new architectural abomination: the Washington Arch. James found it to be out of place, lamentable because of its poor and lonely and unsupported and unaffiliated state. Time has helped New Yorkers adjust to its presence, but with the field guide in hand the arch reveals anew its effrontery: the way the marble and the intricate reliefs are all out of step with the humble construction style typical of the neighborhood.

What might that neighborhood, once home to the kind of rich people who found being rich frightfully vulgar, make of the Upper East Side, where Vanderbilts and Goulds and Carnegies built gargantuan Beaux-Arts palaces? Once more, the field guide sagely reminds us to look at the windows.

Downtown, the windows on rowhouses once belonging to the citys wealthiest residents hint at a democratic worldview. Theyre Georgian: divided into sections of panes, and usually set on the first or second story. In neighborhoods built before the Civil War, anyone walking down the street was free to peer into the windows of his social betters. By contrast, the homes uptown announce a wholly different set of values, a wholly different kind of resident. Every other house is lined with Juliet-style balconies too small for anyone to stand on, backed by windows too high to for anyone to see through  the streetscape is, in a sense, erased, the most interesting details taken above eye level. Just imagine what Henry James might make of New Yorks newest homes for billionaires, the attenuated skyscrapers rising above Central Park. Made almost entirely of windows, most of which are too high up to actually examine, they all but obviate the field guides taxonomical capacity.

McAlesters book is excellent for the layperson who wants to wander about the neighborhood with a bit more authority, or perhaps for the homeowner who cant decide what kind of windows might look best. Its also useful to those of us who study preservation professionally, to bring our insistence that buildings are just as alive as plants  and just as worthy of careful, affectionate attention  into the broader cultural conversation about urban spaces. That conversation, in which the most mundane elements of building design are cast as characters in the story of a city, turns the streetscape into something greater than the brick and limestone its made of. Its alive, noisy  and demands our close attention.
A blog about life under, and resisting, a dictatorship
Each January, the editors of the Travel section publish our Places to Go issue. And each year after we do, readers wonder why their favorite destination was overlooked or why their least favorite made the top 10. To add some clarity to the process, weve decided to answer some frequently asked questions about how we chose our 52 Places to Go in 2016.



How do you start the process?

First we contact dozens of contributing writers, many of them based overseas, for suggestions. We receive a few hundred ideas, and start with those.

What are you looking for in those ideas?

We aim for a selection of places that we expect to be particularly compelling in the coming year; reasons might include a museum opening, a new transportation option or a historical anniversary. So even though cities like Paris, Rome and Tokyo are always exciting, they didnt make the cut.
Terror Groups Eyeing Israel's Destruction from inside NGOs



Two stalwarts go sleuthing:



"The research suggests that antisemitism is the fuel that primes the PSC engine"



'For as long as these antisemites wrap themselves up in the Palestinian flag, too many people are willing to turn a blind eye. Only against Jews is this type of racism openly tolerated. It is flourishing in schools, colleges, universities, unions and in city councils. In fact, so rampant is the disease now, in some settings you can be ostracised if you do not partake in the frenzy yourself. Bashing Jews has becomes a trendy position for the ignorant social justice warrior. "Palestinianism" is a viral "ponzi scheme" and as it spreads, it carries antisemitism in the undergrowth.' David Collier (2017)

'This new rise in antisemitism, which I had thought long dead, was not shaven-headed white imbeciles from the far right. It was Muslims, a large chunk of it.... Suddenly I grasped that the British far left didnt want people to know about antisemitism because it pointed the finger at people they really, really liked. From that moment on, it all fell into place.... Time and again the same tropes emerged, the same sort of stuff that Streicher and Goebbels would have commended  and uttered.... And from that a whole bunch of other stuff emerged: the old blood libel business (a favourite of the repulsive Jenny Tonge).... Nice, avuncular, Jeremy Corbyn, with his peace badges, happily laying a wreath at the graveside of Palestinian terrorists who murdered innocent Jewish athletes, oh, and much much more.... It is the same antisemitism, exactly the same: the obsession with Israel to the exclusion of everything else, the conspiracy theory paranoias, the derangement.... Heres the test  if you cannot see the flagrant racism in the BDS movement, and if you are obsessed with the perfidy of the Middle Easts only democracy to the exclusion of all else, you are an antisemite. That means a good proportion of the Labour Party, including the leader, and almost all of Momentum: no brown shirts, no marching bands, but the same old filth, dressed in the clothes of a polytechnic geography lecturer.'

Rod Liddle (2018)



Pro-Israel Down Under







Shalom and Welcome to my blog!

I'm the little Aussie blogger who took the screenshot and broke the story of Stephen Sizer's notorious 9/11 post, and I've since broken two other stories that subsequently went viral, one Australia-wide and one, thanks to the sterling work of two other bloggers, worldwide. I remain very surprised and very honoured to have been co-winner, Best Pro-Israel Blog, Hasby Awards, 2013

Please "Like" me on Facebook; my Facebook page is here









'In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel ... is different.... Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights.... Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East.' Bibi Netanyahu (20 Iyar 5771; 24 May 2011)

Scroll to end for more quotations





Tired of anti-Balfour agitprop?



Balfour and Beyond



Try this for Sizer



'Before the June 1967 Six Day War, there were no such things as "settlements". Palestinians were trying to destroy and displace Israel anyhow. The core problem is not, and never was, "settlements," but the right of Israel (or any non-Muslim nation) to exist inside any borders in that part of the world.

If you take a stand that is based on a lie, then that stand cannot succeed. If you try to oppose antisemitism but pretend it is the same thing as "Islamophobia," then the structure on which you have made your stand will totter and all your aspirations will fail. If you try to make a stand based on the idea that settlement construction rather than the intransigence of the Palestinians to the existence of a Jewish state is what is holding up a peace deal, then facts will keep on intruding.' Douglas Murray (31 December 2016)

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9685/britain-little-lies

BDS is Antisemitic



The Bigotry & Immorality of BDS



'Islamophobia does NOT come from the same wellspring of hatred as antisemitism. Antisemitism is a true prejudice because the hatred and demonisation it promotes derive entirely from lies and a repudiation of rationality itself.

Islamophobia is a false allegation of prejudice which is deployed to silence rational criticism based on actual facts about attitudes and practices within the Islamic world.

[L]ethally compromised even-handedness is to misunderstand, and thus minimise, antisemitic attitudes and behaviour while shutting down legitimate and necessary discussion of the threat from the Islamic world  even to demonise as Islamophobic anyone who draws attention to the extent and consequences of Muslim antisemitism.' Melanie Phillips (14 December 2016)

"Selling a house to a Jew is a betrayal of Allah"



Maps of Mendacity & Mischief



These misleading maps were deliberately prepared to date from 1946  intentionally papering over the momentous events that had occurred between 1917 and 1945. Attempts to unravel binding precepts of international law established between 1917 and 1945  and failing to insist on their being upheld and enforced  has a lot to do with the sorry situation the world finds itself in today. David Singer (2016)

How They Twist the Truth!



Jews have re-assumed the role of the canary in the mine and are the first to be targeted, but the world would face the same threat if Jews did not exist. Israel has been at the front lines confronting Islamic extremism but has received scant support... For Jews, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. The virulence of the antisemitic hatred closing in on Jews in Europe (and elsewhere) is horrifying...

Europe is today facing a crisis as serious as the confrontation with Nazism. If Western leaders continue behaving like Chamberlain and fail to stand up to this global threat, it could usher in a new Dark Age in which the Judeo-Christian culture is subsumed by primitive barbarism. The writing is on the wall Isi Leibler (12 January 2015)



Expose The Lies! There is a war of lies and deceit on the internet generating unbelievable hate by denigrating and delegitimising the legal rights conferred on the Jewish people by the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in 1945. The idea that there are two narratives on the Arab-Jewish conflict is rubbish. There is only one  the factual truth that details the return of the Jewish people to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in its ancient biblical, ancestral and historic homeland after 3500 years of dispersion with the unanimous endorsement of the nation states then comprising the League of Nations.... Generals cant fight a war without soldiers. Jews around the world need to join the fight or vacate the internet to the Jew-haters and their lies that repeated often enough eventually become accepted as truth. David Singer (2016)



Exposing Lies



The "Apartheid" Slur The division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into three separate areas A, B and C was agreed on by Israel and the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords.

95% of the West Bank Arabs live in Areas A and B and their daily lives are under the total administration and control of the PLO since the Palestinian Authority was disbanded by Abbas in January 2013. The PLO has total security control in A and shares security control in B with Israel. Israel has total administrative and security control in C.

Israel is entitled to and will continue to take responsibility for the security of Jews living in the West Bank.

Jews were given the legal right to settle in the West Bank under article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. They did so for decades until they were driven out in 1947 and not able to return there until 1967.

There are Arab roads only in the West Bank that Jews are not allowed to use. Jews are also forbidden from entering Area A. Selling land to Jews is forbidden by the PLO under pain of death. The PLO runs the daily lives of 95% of the West Bank Arabs and Hamas runs the daily lives of 100% of the Gazan Arabs. They have been under occupation  and subjugation  by these two evil groups for the last ten years and given no say in their future or any opportunity to elect others to lead them following the disastrous political decisions of their leaders over the past ten years. Hamas and the PLO do not accept the continued existence of a Jewish State and call for its disappearance.

The narratives did not begin in 1948  they began in about 1917. How do you make peace with an enemy that has been obsessed with not recognising any Jewish national rights in former Palestine for the last 100 years? David Singer (2016)



Telling the Truth



The Jews of the Holy Land ... are surrounded by hostile states 650 times their territory and sixty times their population. Yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution - the State of Israel - has somehow survived. When, during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Cross for bravery. Today, Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted twenty times as long. Andrew Roberts (historian)





A voice of courage & reason



He knows, y'know



An Aussie demo against BDS



On the left, black people are usually allowed to define whats racism; women can define sexism; Muslims are trusted to define Islamophobia. But when Jews call out something as antisemitic, leftist non-Jews feel curiously entitled to tell Jews theyre wrong, that they are exaggerating or lying or using it as a decoy tactic  and to then treat them to a long lecture on what anti-Jewish racism really is. Jonathan Freedland (The Guardian, 29 April 2016)

An awkward fact for some!



Socialist thought was tainted from its very origins with the heavy baggage of anti-Jewish stereotypes. Robert Wistrich, From Ambivalence to Betrayal:The Left, the Jews, and Israel (2012)

BDS hypocrisy!



Want more?



Israel is understandably obsessed with security, but its greatest security lies ultimately not in the Israeli Defence Forces, but in political warfare.... Most of the world is not deeply interested in what happens in Israel, and probably does not want to be deluged with legalistic defences of particular actions. What it wants is a clear, calm, repeated case. It is a case  aimed more at public opinion than at foreign ministries  about freedom, democracy, a Western way of life and the need for the whole of the free world to fight terrorism. Sometimes you hear Israelis say: It doesnt matter what we say. The whole world is against us. You can see why they say it, for they are indeed unfairly treated. But when they say it, they are uttering a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they wont say what needs saying, no one else will say it for them. Charles Moore (2010)



#Je suis ISRAEL



Aujourdhui, lantisemitisme est masque par lantisionisme. Il faut dire les choses comme elles sont! ["Today, antisemitism wears the mask of anti-Zionism. We must tell things as they are!"] Nicolas Sarkozy (27 May 2015)





Once again the armies of the Arab nations are coordinating their military efforts to destroy Israel - whatever they say about wishing merely to regain the lost territories.... [I]f the present Arab offensive had been launched at the pre-1967 frontiers, then the Israelis would indeed have been fighting to avoid annihilation. It seems now that the Israelis were right to maintain the ceasefire lines gained in 1967, and that to do so is the only guarantee of their continued safety.

Alan Sillitoe (The Times, 11 October 1973)







A nuclear Iran threatens our existence



Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam... In this deadly game of thrones, theres no place for America or for Israel, no place for Christians, Jews or Muslims who dont share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone... [T]he greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We cant let that happen...[T]he days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves....Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But ... I know that America stands with Israel... You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to historys horrors. Bibi Netanyahu (12 Adar 5775; 3 March 2015)





The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions, of people, and there is no refugee problem.... [N]o one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.... Other nations - when they are defeated - survive and recover, but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.... [A]s it goes with Israel, so it will go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us. Eric Hoffer (1968)



My archived Tuesday blogs at Elder of Ziyon



  ,   



Most of the present Arab countries were given their freedom after the 1914-18 War, or after the 1939-45 War.... Yet to listen to Arab spokesmen one might think that they had been cheated ... because they have not also got Israel. Israel is only .2 per cent of the land where Arab States have been established. Surely no fair-minded man can begrudge the Jews their own promised land when it is remembered that for every 2 acres that went to make up Israel, 1,000 acres became Arab.... Why is there an Arab refugee problem? The oil-rich countries have the money. There is no shortage of land, and the Israelis have the technical knowledge to show how it could be developed and made fertile. Bring those things together and the problem could be solved. 3rd Earl of Balfour (1968)









Blog Archive





January 7, 2015 has already its place in the history of infamy, but also will be the date when the defenders of freedom and democracy will rise and pay tribute to those who died for their freedom and ours. Therefore, we must not forget on which side we are and who are our allies in the defense of the West and its values. Whether we admit it or not, the West is at war with an enemy who will not stop to destroy us...

The State of Israel boasts a commandment that, in one of the darkest hours in the fight for liberty Winston Churchill taught: "Never give up". Israel has proven to be a key ally in the fight against Islamism and also an example of how a liberal democracy can resist the jihadist stake and thrive as a Western nation ... Not only France but also all the West should look to Israel to defeat Islamism...

friendsofisraelinitiative.org





[I]ts impossible to believe that an active antisemite wouldnt  if only opportunistically  seek out somewhere to nestle in the manifold pleats of Israel-bashing, whether in generally diffuse anti-Zionism, or in more specific Boycott and Divestment Campaigns, Israeli Apartheid Weeks, End the Occupation movements and the like....[T]ell me that not a single Jew-hater finds the activity congenial, that criticising Israel can never be an expression of Jew-hating, not even when it takes the form of accusing Israeli soldiers of harvesting organs... Howard Jacobson (The Independent, 27 May 2013)





What has happened to the 800,000 Jews who lived for over 2000 years in the Arab lands ...? Where are they in Arab society today? You dare talk of racism when I can point with pride ... to the fact that it is as natural for an Arab to serve in public office in Israel as it is incongruous to think of a Jew serving in any public office in an Arab country, indeed being admitted to many of them. Chaim Herzog (6 Kislev 5736; 10 November 1975)







I stand with Israel, I stand with the Jews.... I defend their right to exist, to defend themselves, to not let themselves be exterminated a second time. And, disgusted by the antisemitism of many Europeans ... I am shamed by this shame that dishonours my country and Europe. Oriana Fallaci









For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values, rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude. Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is lost and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Jose Maria Aznar









Israel is, for us, a normal and a special country. A normal country, because it is just like any other democracy. A special country, because the Jewish culture, which eventually became the Judeo-Christian culture of the dignity of man, is the conceptual foundation of liberalism and democracy. This is why attacking Israel is tantamount to attacking Europe and the West. This is also why disputing Israel's legitimacy and its right to existence means questioning democracy. And this is why we are Friends of Israel. By defending Israel, we are defending ourselves. Marcello Pera









Israel ... is beset today by a unique combination of threats. It must defend its people from attack while defending its very right to exist. No other nation in the world faces this dual challenge. To deny Israel's right to confront some of the world's most vicious terrorist groups in order to ensure the safety of its citizens is to corrode international norms from within ... The assault on Israel is one part of a more general assault on the West, on democracy, and on the moral and cultural heritage that grew from the fruitful interaction of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome ... Should these efforts succeed, similar efforts will certainly be turned against other western democracies. George Weigel









Apart from America itself, Israel still stands as the world's brightest model of national self-liberation based on ideals of individual responsibility and human freedom. Israel's ability to withstand Arab attempts to destroy it in one of the longest and most lop-sided wars ever fought serves as an indelible testimony to the strength of democratic culture.... We know from the past that the West paid dearly for ignoring Hitler's war against the Jews. One can only hope it will not pay as dearly for having ignored or underestimated for so long the Arab war against Israel and the Jews. Ruth Wisse







The choice before us is not between victory and defeat, but between victory and annihilation. We therefore have not the slightest intention of allowing the re-creation of the conditions of vulnerability in which we found ourselves, abandoned and alone, in the summer of 1967. Diplomat Michael Comay (1970)









I am duty-bound to defend freedom, culture, peaceful coexistence, the civic education of children, and all the principles that the Tablets of the Law have rendered universal. Principles which Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. This means that, since I am a Gentile, a journalist and a leftist, I have a triple moral commitment to Israel. Because, if Israel were to be vanquished, modernity, culture and freedom would also be crushed. Even though the world has failed to wake up to this fact, Israel's struggle is the world's struggle. Pilar Rahola









About Me Daphne Anson I'm a writer/researcher, with many academic books and articles under my own name. Daphne Anson is my blogging alias. Combining the names of two ships, it's a moniker of special significance to me - I'm a naval history buff. I use an alias owing to a perceived need to keep my blogging and professional identities separate. An Aussie, I've long been interested in politics and foreign affairs, having studied International Relations in the USA and Britain for my first degree, and I also hold a doctorate. I began blogging in response to the exponential rise in antisemitism and hostility to Israel in the wake of the Mavi Marmara affair. Another reason I use an alias: http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2015/08/alias-two-ships-daphne-anson.html View my complete profile





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HEMPSTEAD, Texas  A Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a contentious traffic stop last summer was fired Wednesday after being charged with perjury for allegedly lying about his confrontation with the black woman who died three days later in jail.

Trooper Brian Encinia said in an affidavit that Bland was combative and uncooperative after he pulled her over and ordered her out of her car. The grand jury identified that affidavit in charging Encinia with perjury, special prosecutor Shawn McDonald said Wednesday night.

Hours after the indictment, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would begin termination proceedings against Encinia, who has been on paid desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell.

Blands arrest and death  which authorities ruled a suicide  provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters linked Bland to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, I will light you up! She can later be heard off-camera screaming that hes about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Encinias affidavit stated he removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation, but grand jurors found that statement to be false, said McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

She was taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Three days later, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck. The grand jury has already declined to charge any sheriffs officials or jailers in her death.

The perjury charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced. Encinia could not immediately be reached for comment.

Blands sister, Sharon Cooper, told The Associated Press that Encinias indictment was bittersweet.

We have always felt from the onset, from our viewing of the dashcam video, is what happened to Sandy was largely impacted by the fatal encounter that she had with Officer Encinia, Cooper said.

Encinia also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Blands family. Attorneys for Blands family did not immediately return messages seeking comment about the indictment.

Encinia pulled Bland over on July 10 for making an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just interviewed and accepted a job. Dashcam video from Encinias patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational.

The video shows the trooper drawing his stun gun after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible.
A Tustin woman admitted Wednesday to embezzling more than $400,000 in fund-raising money from a Catholic school.

Adela Maria Tapia, 40, pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of money laundering with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and property loss of more than $200,000, according to an Orange County District Attorneys office statement.

Beginning in September 2006, Tapia worked at Holy Family Cathedral School coordinating the campuses scrip card program. Similar to gift cards, the scrip cards were sold to school families and parishioners to raise approximately $200,000 annually for the campuses operating funds.

Prosecutors contend that Tapia took cash payments for the scrip cards and put the money in a personal bank account. They also allege she took the scrips cards themselves and sold them to family members.

Authorities believe that Tapia spent the money on luxury clothing and goods, as well as private school tuition.

The embezzlement was discovered after a new employee took over for Tapia when she was moved into an office manager position. Upon opening a safe where the scrip cards were supposed to be held, the school principal found $120,000 worth of the cards missing.

Despite the objections of prosecutors, Tapia will avoid state prison if she completes one year in jail and five years of formal probation. She is also required to pay more than $438,000 worth of restitution.

Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com
Dozens of Costa Mesa residents set aside holiday preparations on Dec. 15 to attend a Fountain Valley City Council meeting  after five anxious months awaiting a vote on the proposed electronic billboard that would be visible from their homes and a local park.

But all the rearranging of plans was for naught. When the neighbors showed up, they were told that Clear Channel Outdoor had placed a last-minute request to pull the vote from the agenda.

It was another blow in an ongoing drama that has pitted city against city. Sign companies, too, have gone to battle with each other  in an industry known for waging shell campaigns against competitors. Much to her alarm, the Fountain Valley mayor apparently fell victim to those hardball tactics.

And now, with the sign vote put on hold, the showdown had been extended into 2016.

Obviously, its another stalling tactic by Clear Channel, Costa Mesa homeowner Dennis Nordstrom pronounced.

In fact, the company says it looked forward to the vote.

Veteran Fountain Valley Councilwoman Cheryl Brothers, named mayor just two weeks before, faced her own stressful buildup to the red-letter night.

All week, Brothers said she fielded intimidating calls that, in so many words, threatened to derail her re-election bid this year should she vote in favor of the sign. Then, only a couple of hours before the 6 p.m. meeting, she received yet another  spelled out in even stronger terms.

Brothers, who supports the sign, describes her caller as a gun for hire representing a competing billboard company. The consultant hinted at unlimited funds to hurt my reputation, Brothers said in an interview. I did not take that as an idle threat.

After the unsettling call, Brothers said she approached Clear Channel with the idea of yanking the billboard vote that night.

The applicant was disappointed, she said.

The next day, Clear Channel Outdoor spokesman Jason D. King explained the action in an email to the Register.

We asked council to reschedule the billboard from the hearing agenda to allow ample time to explore community and civic leader questions that may have spawned from misinformation circulated about this sign, King wrote.

Almost certainly, the sign issue will make a return early in the new year. City staff and some council members say Fountain Valley needs to capitalize on its valuable piece of land along I-405.

Over the past few months, the story of the two-sided, 48-foot by 14-foot sign  which would broadcast a rotation of national ads  has negotiated many a plot twist.

In August, the Fountain Valley Planning Commission defied expectations by unanimously voting not to recommend the billboard to the council. Clear Channel then made adjustments to address complaints of Costa Mesa residents, lowering the signs height from 79 to 65 feet and moving it 200 feet farther from houses.

In October, the council delayed its vote, after which Clear Channel upped its offer of about $150,000 to $200,000 annually for a 30-year lease.

Then came the December surprise.

The signs tale includes a cast of shadowy characters. The weekend before the scheduled vote, residents received anonymous emails and remote-dialed calls urging them to flood City Hall with anti-sign messages.

The emailed flier, headlined Stop Fountain Valley Billboards, called the lease a sweetheart deal for Clear Channel Outdoor. It admonished that other companies will sue the city and they WILL get the right to put up MORE BILLBOARDS.

Brothers said she suspects the robo-calls and emails emanate from the same ad firm that orchestrated her personalized calls  West Hollywood-based Regency Outdoor Advertising  even though it wasnt directly involved in Fountain Valley.

Regency has not made a pitch for signs here, she noted.

We know each other, said Brothers, who did not name the caller. He presented this information as though he was doing me a favor  just letting me know what would happen if I didnt change my vote.

Regency officials did not return calls requesting a response.

Fountain Valley City Manager Bob Hall said city officials never considered reporting the calls to law enforcement. They dont qualify as a police matter, he said.

Placentia officials in 2014 blamed Regency Outdoor for a secretive anti-billboard campaign in that city  which had chosen Lamar Advertising over Regency for a contract, according to an Orange County Register report.

Brothers said she had no idea why another billboard company would go to such lengths, even portraying its own product as an out-of-control public nuisance, when it did not even bid on the lease in the first place.

All I can sense is that these companies compete for advertisers, and dont like it when one of them knocks it out of the ballpark, she said.

Competitive billboard industry

Such tactics are fairly common in the billboard industry.

In 2011, Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor formed the now-defunct committee, Concerned Neighbors Against Illegal Billboards, to oppose Measure A, which sought a 7 percent tax on billboards and aimed to allow more large advertisements to be hung on tall buildings and walls.

West Hollywood voters defeated the measure.

John Q. Duong, a vice president of Clear Channel Outdoor, and Ryan Brooks of CBS Outdoor filed a Statement of Organization Form 410 with the California Secretary of State to lobby against Measure A. They did not identify themselves as employees, but entered their companies addresses and phone numbers.

Duong, who appointed himself president of the committee, represents Clear Channel Outdoor in its dealings with Fountain Valley. He did not return several calls for comment.

City officials cite financial worries

Despite the hurdles, insults, angry displays at council meetings and harassing phone calls, Brothers refuses to give up on the sign. She argues that the agreement with Clear Channel would mean dependable and critically needed cash without additional taxes.

We are between a rock and a hard place, she said.

City Manager Hall concurs.

It would be long-term revenue that would minimally impact our residents, using city property to generate revenue, he said.

Hall said the city has a reserve of $30 million  which sounds like a bigger cushion than it is.

We have $1.2 million less new revenue coming in than going out per year, he said.

Ultimately, the fate of the contested Fountain Valley billboard remains murky, although at least three of the five council members appear ready to vote yes.

One thing is certain: The electronic billboard will continue to be one of Fountain Valleys hottest issues in 2016.

Contact the writer: sgoulding@ocregister.com
LOS ANGELES  Los Angeles County prosecutors have declined to charge Bill Cosby with sexually abusing two teenagers in 1965 and 2008, citing time limits and a lack of evidence.

Wednesdays decision comes about a week after the 78-year-old comedian was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 inside his home near Philadelphia.

In LA County, the district attorneys office investigated allegations by a woman who claimed Cosby forced her to have sex at a Hollywood Hills home in 1965 when she was 17. Investigators also looked into claims by model Chloe Goins that she passed out at the Playboy Mansion in 2008 party and awoke to find herself naked with Cosby biting her toe.

An email to Cosby attorney Monique Pressley seeking comment wasnt immediately returned.
California issued some 605,000 new drivers licenses last year to immigrants residing in the country illegally, surpassing expectations for the programs first year and granting more freedom for those who obtained the permit.

Approximately 830,000 undocumented applicants have sought the licenses since Jan. 2, 2015, the first day they were available following passage of a law, Assembly Bill 60, that was supported by immigrants and their advocates and some traffic safety experts, and reviled by those opposed to illegal immigration.

In California, home to an estimated 2.4 million undocumented immigrants, the nations largest such group, the Department of Motor Vehicles prepped for the onslaught. Among other things, the agency hired about 1,000 temporary employees, extended office hours and opened four Driver License Processing Centers, including one in Stanton.

This was a major undertaking and never before had the department implemented a program such as this one, said Artemio Armenta, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

In all, undocumented drivers accounted for slightly less than half of all the new non-commercial licenses  about 1.4 million  issued by the DMV in 2015.

We were surprised, but not unprepared, Armenta said.

Still, even with the DMVs temporary expansions, the onslaught of new applicants inconvenienced many.

During at least the first few months of last year, many applicants had to wait longer to get an appointment, and then wait longer to be served, even with an appointment, at a DMV office.

It certainly overloads the system, said Ann Coil, Santa Ana Tea Party Patriots coordinator.

And, again, were giving priority to people who arent citizens, she added.

There is concern in this country, and its reflected in this election, that theres more compassion for people who are not citizens than those who are.

Seniors were particularly hard hit because anyone over 70 has to appear in person at a DMV office to have a license renewed.

Kent Moore, 76, of Corona del Mar, spent hours at the Costa Mesa DMV last February, even though he had an appointment to register an out-of-state vehicle.

I have mixed feelings, Moore said Wednesday. These folks have jobs. And they support families. If they go through the credential process, they shouldnt be denied.

But I paid my dues. Ive been a model citizen. I dont feel I should have to wait in line for hours, behind newly arrived people who are here illegally.

Armenta said in recent months service times and appointment wait times have returned to levels that we saw prior to implementation of AB60.

For some non-citizens who got the official DMV documents, the licenses were life-changing.

I have peace of mind now when I go out, said Miriam Alvarez-Hernandez, 43, of Santa Ana.

Before, I used to drive only when absolutely necessary.  I also feel more like a part of the community.

As part of the law to let undocumented drivers get licenses  an idea supported by many driving safety advocates  the DMV engaged in a widespread information campaign.

This included everything from 200 community outreach events at consulates and other locations, to Spanish-language messages on Twitter and Facebook. Theres also a new page on the DMV website dedicated specifically to AB60. And theres even a new character, El Sabelotodo del DMV, the Mr.-Know-it-All of the DMV, who appears on a video series to answer frequently asked questions.

The cost to reach and process the new applicants is estimated at $141 million over three years.

Until the 1990s, states did not specifically restrict drivers licenses to legal residents. But with the passage of AB60, California became one of 10 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, where undocumented immigrants can obtain a license.

But what the licenses look like, what theyre called and how they are issued vary from state to state.

The California license for undocumented immigrants looks a lot like the regular drivers license, but it includes a statement on the front that says Federal Limits Apply and, on the back, a statement that the card is not acceptable for official federal purposes.

Though theres not yet data to say whether licensing undocumented drivers has made the roads safer, as advocates predicted, another early statistic from AB60 is pleasing a different group  organ transplant advocates.

The number of applicants who have registered to be organ, eye and tissue donors increased by nearly 197,000 donors in 2015, an 18 percent jump from last year, according to Brianne Mundy Page, spokeswoman for Donate Life California.

Everyone who registers to be an organ, eye and tissue donor is a hero, Mundy Page said.

Contact the writer: rkopetman@ocregister.com
GUANGZHOU, China  Depending on ones point of view, the huge Qingping market here offers either one of Chinas largest selections of natural healing ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine or a vast array of desiccated and dismembered animal carcasses hawked by little better than snake oil salesmen, some of whom actually sell snake-based remedies.

Within the maze of stalls are dried serpents sold as a cancer cure, as well as vats of crawling scorpions, said to reduce fever, and deer penises, advertised as the answer to erectile dysfunction.

Then there are the plastic sacks stuffed with manta ray gill plates: feathery filaments of cartilage that the rays  majestic cousins of the shark  use to filter plankton from seawater as they swim. Retailers claim the gills are a time-tested panacea for modern ills, that they can increase the amount of breast milk, detoxify the blood, cure chickenpox, heal tonsillitis and clear a smokers lungs.

Im not sure how it works, but if youre sick, eat some in a soup and youll immediately feel better, said Ji Songcheng, 25, whose large shop was jammed recently with bags of black and beige manta gills priced around $75 a pound.

But a rapid decline in the worlds manta populations means that the gills may soon be going off the market. A save-the-mantas campaign appears to be nudging China toward a ban on the gill trade.

It would be a rare success in an otherwise grim litany of ecological ruination tied to the countrys demand for threatened plants and animals.

In part by cultivating support from the government, which is typically loath to take the lead in conservation efforts, the campaign has built up grass-roots and official backing for ending gill sales with a sobering message: The business is not just endangering a vulnerable species, it is also harming consumers.

Conservationists say the Chinese trade in manta ray gills has soared during the past decade, fueled not by a renaissance of tradition but by an unscrupulous network of traffickers looking for ever new ways to profit from the Chinese appetite for wildlife. The worlds manta populations have dwindled as their gills have piled up in this balmy southern city, home to 99 percent of the trade, according to WildAid, a conservation group based in San Francisco that rolled out the current campaign in 2014.

The group, which uses the tagline When the Buying Stops, the Killing Can, Too, led two similar efforts that succeeded in reducing demand for both shark fin soup and elephant ivory. The campaigns employ tactics like having celebrities explain the direct link between consumption of a coveted natural ingredient and the calamitous effect on endangered wildlife, a concept for the most part unknown before in China.

Toxicology tests by WildAid have also revealed that many of the gills sold at the Qingping market contain dangerous levels of heavy metals and carcinogens, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, toxins that accumulate as the mantas filter plankton through their gills. The sale of such a hazardous and scientifically unproven cure-all online and in stores, often marketed to nursing mothers, highlights an alarming flaw in the governments tattered food safety system, which largely ignores traditional medicine.

Advocates say the manta campaign has one other advantage over previous efforts to stem the trade in endangered species: Ray gills have never been officially recognized as traditional Chinese medicine.

Ive read many pharmacopoeia, and none of them record the medical function of manta ray gills, said Li Junde, a traditional medicine researcher at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing.

Li, who is also a member of Chinas Endangered Species Scientific Commission, said that some villagers in the southern province of Guangdong used manta gills in tonics, although the practice was rare and was not backed by empirical data. Its wrong to sell the gills and say they have a medical value, because there is no modern scientific proof to actually support it, he said.

Exactly how a fringe local superstition transformed over a few years into a nationwide industry whose value WildAid puts at $30 million is obscured by the shadowy nature of the trade. But researchers say the market has stemmed mostly from a decline in the availability of large shark fins, which led wildlife traffickers to look for new revenue sources across Asia and beyond. They found it in gill plates, a product so lucrative that sales more than doubled between 2010 and 2013, according to a WildAid report.

As a result, overfishing has wreaked havoc on not only the worlds manta populations but also the $140 million tourism industry that depends on them. In some areas of Indonesia, the number of caught mantas declined by as much as 94 percent in about a decade, prompting the government to begin arresting fishermen in 2014 and to prohibit all manta fishing in the countrys 2.3-million-square-mile exclusive economic zone.

That same year, manta rays were given enhanced protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. The protections require certificates proving that the mantas have been caught and imported legally.

If you have a permit and a boat, you can go and fish them, said Meng Xianlin, the director general of Chinas endangered species trade authority. Then you can come back and sell them.

The problem is that Chinas legal trade is driving illegal trafficking. The Li Sheng Ji Fins, Fish Maw and Seafood Shop in Guangzhou also sells manta ray gills on the e-commerce site Taobao. All the gills come from Indonesia, despite the ban there, said the shop owner, who would give only his last name, Li.

In China, manta ray is not listed as the first, second or third level of endangered species, he said. So you dont need to worry about being arrested after buying gills from me.

Still, conservationists, citing close collaboration with the Chinese authorities, say they are hopeful that the trade will soon end. Since the upgraded CITES listing, WildAid and other groups have cooperated with Chinese customs and environmental department agents to educate them about the ecological damage wrought by gill sales and to improve their methods of identifying endangered wildlife.

As long as youre not vilifying the government, they are willing to work together, said Shawn Heinrichs, a wildlife campaigner working with WildAid.

He said that the campaigns slew of commercials, billboards and Chinese celebrity endorsements had helped make it culturally acceptable for the authorities to crack down on the gill trade. The grass-roots support gave them political cover.

As things stand, the authorities in Guangzhou are quietly permitting vendors to sell their remaining inventory, but are not allowing them to buy more gills.

We know theyve been through the markets to inform vendors its now going away, said John Baker, the managing director of WildAid, which sent undercover investigators to survey the market in December. Theyre moving in the right direction.

Indeed, the manta campaign has found some unlikely supporters among the Guangzhou gill vendors. Surrounded by bags of unsold gills at the Qingping market, Chen Jiawen, 40, said that while the government crackdown might have been bad for business, she had to respect the larger goal of conservation.

Mantas are being killed off, she said. So if there are no customers, there will be no slaughter.
OCEANSIDE  He needed a small favor.

Who knew it would change his life?

Best-selling author Dean Koontz is describing how he and his wife came to donate more than $10 million to a worthy cause.

In 1988, Koontz was doing research for his book Midnight. He wanted to include a character in a wheelchair with a service dog named Moose, so he called the team members at Canine Companions for Independence in Oceanside and asked for help.

They invited him down and explained how they trained dogs for people with disabilities.

Midnight went on to become Koontzs first No. 1 best-seller, and Canine Companions went on to offer him a retired service dog.

Were too busy, he replied.

Hed always loved dogs, but he was writing several books a year.

I knew having a dog was like having a child, he says. You need to devote a lot of time to it.

The Newport Beach author stayed in touch with Canine Companions. He attended a graduation where dogs are matched with recipients, many in wheelchairs.

I was so taken, he says. Everyone is in tears, but its a very uplifting event.

Again, he was offered a dog.

Again he said, Were too busy.

After several months, Koontz finally turned to his wife, Gerda, and said, One day, well be 90 and well still be saying, We cant. Were too busy. Weve just got to do it.

Fast friends

Koontz thought he was getting a pet.

But Trixie  a 3-year-old golden retriever retired from service after leg surgery  grew into a friend, a family member and a teacher who restored a sense of wonder to Koontzs world.

In 2004, Koontz ghostwrote his first book as a dog, called Life Is Good, by Trixie Koontz. It sold about 60,000 hardcover copies.

My first hardcover only sold about 5,000, so there was intense jealousy in the family for a while, he deadpans. But I got over it.

Trixies popularity spawned a cottage industry for Koontz, who wrote several more books by and about her  donating all author profits to Canine Companions for Independence.

That dog utterly, totally changed our lives, all for the better, he says. When she passed, Id never known grief quite so intense.

Since then, dogs have appeared in many Koontz novels, including his latest, Ashley Bell, which he will discuss at two Register Book Club events in Santa Ana on Jan. 14.

To date, Dean and Gerda Koontz have donated more than $10.3 million to Canine Companions Southwest Regional Training Center, now named The Dean, Gerda and Trixie Koontz Campus.

In 2000, those donations funded dormitories to house clients and families during their two weeks of on-campus training.

Were involved in every way we can be, Koontz says  including his support for a newer program that provides assistance dogs to wounded veterans. Its wonderful to see the relationship between a disabled veteran and a dog.

Koontz, who has written 14 New York Times No. 1 best-sellers and sold more than 450 million books worldwide, rarely appears at public events. But last year, after ghostwriting a book by his current golden retriever, Anna, called Ask Anna: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn, he appeared at Canine Companions in Oceanside, drawing about 400 fans.

Lifes been awfully generous to me, he says, noting that when he and Gerda married, they had $150 and a used car between them. Its fun to give something back.

Scary to cool

In one room, puppies are flipping room lights on and off.

In another, theyre staring at doggie treats  but not eating them.

Elsewhere on the grounds of Canine Companions for Independence in Oceanside, young dogs learn to pick up phones, open doors and tug wheelchairs for their future masters.

Then theres the old pro, Gabrielle, a Labrador-golden retriever mix who graduated nearly a decade ago.

Show him love, Kim Haydel says to the dog beside her son Chris, who sits in a wheelchair.

Gabby lifts her front paws up onto Chris lap and licks his face like a bowl of ice cream.

In the past nine years, Gabby has joined Chris, who has cerebral palsy, on rides at Disneyland; on the gondola at Mammoth Mountain; and sometimes at Foothill High School, where Chris is a sophomore.

Like all dogs trained here, Gabby knows more than 40 commands. But mostly, she has been Chris companion and bridge to a world that isnt always welcoming to a boy whose legs cant run, whose hands cant toss a ball and whose tongue cant speak clearly enough for many to understand.

To the outside world, a kid in a wheelchair is scary, says Haydel, who now sits on the organizations board of directors. But a kid in a wheelchair with a dog is really cool. The number of people that want to talk to Chris because of the dog is tenfold, or a hundredfold. Its huge.

When Chris watches TV, Gabby watches with him. When Chris goes to bed, Gabby jumps on the bed with him. When Chris plays with his iPad, Gabby brushes up against him.

Asked to describe his companion dog, he says: Oh, oh, I know! She is my friend and she loves me.

No one here likes to think about the day Gabby will retire. What will they do?

Cry, Haydel says. And apply for another dog.

Miracles and mystery

Stories like this are the reason Koontz and his wife continue to support Canine Companions.

He has visited enough and seen his own miracles here  including a girl with a neuromuscular disease who opened her hand for the first time to pet her new companion dog. And he has seen firsthand the effect of service dogs on Afghanistan war veterans who lost their legs in combat.

At Canine Companions, he says: They say their job is creating miracles every day, and its true. Ive seen it so often.

Since opening in 1975, the Santa Rosa-based nonprofit has placed nearly 5,000 dogs nationally.

The organization once used many breeds, including corgis, poodles and collie mixes. Now they primarily use a Labrador-and-golden-retriever mix.

Goldens love people, and labs love to work, says Southwest Region Development Director Margaret Sluyk. So theyre a perfect mix.

Though qualified clients receive the dogs for free, the estimated cost to breed, raise, train and place each dog is $50,000.

Vital in this chain are volunteers who raise the puppies from 8 weeks until about 18 months old, when they must return the dogs for six months of professional training.

We call it a happy sad day, puppy raiser Mary Segall says of turn-in day. You know that dog is going to maybe make an immediate change in someones life, but you know its also the end of your time with it.

Is it worth it?

Its an amazing feeling to know that you played some small part in changing someones life. You can count on one hand how many times that happens in a lifetime.

Maybe thats why Koontz, a man known for telling tales of the supernatural, still likes to include golden retrievers in his books. Ashley Bell features one golden retriever that appears out of nowhere and another that vanishes into thin air.

To Koontz, they hold a mystique  in fiction and in real life.

Theres a mystery about what happens between a dog and human if theyre open to it, Koontz says. It can touch you deeply and move you and improve you  not just emotionally, but intellectually and physically.

Its a mystical kind of relationship.

Contact the writer: tberg@ocregister.com
BURNS, Ore.  The leader of an American Indian tribe that regards an Oregon nature preserve as sacred issued a rebuke Wednesday to the armed men who are occupying the property, saying they are not welcome at the snowy bird sanctuary and must leave.

The Burns Paiute tribe was the latest group to speak out against the men, who have taken several buildings at the preserve to protest policies governing the use of federal land in the West.

The protesters have no right to this land. It belongs to the native people who live here, tribal leader Charlotte Rodrique said.

She spoke at a news conference at the tribes cultural center, about a half-hour drive from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is being occupied by some 20 men led by Ammon Bundy, whose father, Cliven, was at the center of a standoff in Nevada with federal officials in 2014 over the use of public lands.

Ammon Bundy is demanding that the refuge be handed over to locals.

Rodrique said she had to laugh at the demand because she knew Bundy was not talking about giving the land to the tribe.

The 13,700-acre Burns Paiute Reservation is north of this remote town in Oregon sagebrush country. The reservation is separate from the wildlife refuge, but tribal members consider it part of their ancestral land.

As with other tribes, the Burns Paiutes link to the land is marked by a history of conflict with white settlers and the U.S. government. In the late 1800s, they were forced off a sprawling reservation created by an 1872 treaty that never was ratified. Some later returned and bought property in the Burns area, where about 200 tribal members now live.

Bundys group seized buildings Saturday at the nature preserve in eastern Oregons high desert country. Authorities have made no attempt to remove them.

The standoff in rural Oregon is a continuation of a long-running dispute over federal policies covering the use of public lands, including grazing. The federal government controls about half of all land in the West. For example, it owns 53 percent of Oregon, 85 percent of Nevada and 66 percent of Utah, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The Bundy family is among many people in the West who contend local officials could do a better job of managing public lands than federal officials.

It is our goal to get the logger back to logging, the rancher back to ranching, Ammon Bundy said Tuesday.

The argument is rejected by those who say the U.S. government is better equipped to manage public lands for all those who want to make use of them.

Among those groups are Native Americans.

The Burns Paiute tribe has guaranteed access to the refuge for activities that are important to its culture, including gathering a plant used for making traditional baskets and seeds that are used for making bread. The tribe also hunts and fishes there.

Rodrique said the armed occupiers are desecrating one of our sacred sites with their presence at the refuge.

Jarvis Kennedy, a tribal council member, said, We dont need these guys here. They need to go home.
CORONA  A federal agency will soon begin a closer examination of the Prado Dam murals historic significance.

Prado Dam mural preservationists are applauding the news, although the process wont necessarily prevent the murals eventual removal.

The Army Corps of Engineers is starting a review this month of the murals eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.

The review is expected to start in mid-January when letters are sent out. Army Corps archaeologists will document and gather information about the mural off the 91 freeway near Corona, said Corps archaeologist Danielle Storey.

Agency officials will hold meetings to gather information from people who have knowledge or a vested interest in the bicentennial mural painted by Corona High School students in 1976.

Members of the group Friends of the Prado Dam Mural were happy to learn the Corps is beginning the review, lead organizer Peter Usle said Monday.

Were all excited to hear this, he said.

The review is bringing greater oversight to the Corps proposal to remove the 664-foot-wide dam spillway mural, which can be seen by commuters on the 91.

The Corps report will be sent to the California Office of Historic Preservation for comment, and the public will be able to weigh in as well.

However, even eligibility and inclusion on the national register does not guarantee the murals preservation, said Jay Correia, who manages the federal registration program for the states preservation office.

No historic designation would completely protect any historic resource, he said. It would only, perhaps, cause more review to be done.

San Jacinto resident and mural co-designer Ron Kammeyer, who sued the Corps to stop the removal, said being listed on the federal register is no guarantee, but it would help protect the mural.

Its a strong way of saying, Preserve it. I guess you cant get much stronger than that, he said.

The Corps is conducting the review after a federal judge in August stopped removal of the lead-based paint mural and ordered the Corps to evaluate the images historic significance. The Corps and Kammeyer agreed to stop the case until the review is done, said Kammeyers attorney, Eric Bjorgum.

The review is also being done after Tom McCulloch, acting director of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation based in Washington, D.C., sent a letter to the Corps Los Angeles District on Oct. 30 urging the agency to include the state in its review of the murals eligibility.

A resident contacted the council when the Corps stated a National Register of Historic Places designation didnt apply because of significant changes at the dam. The graffitied, faded mural reads 200 Years of Freedom: TOPS-1976. The original 1776 in the mural is obscured under newer letters.

The murals eligibility wasnt evaluated in the 1990s as part of the environmental impact studies done for the Santa Ana River Mainstem flood control improvement project. An evaluation would be appropriate after an outpouring of community support in a petition with more than 21,000 signatures, and new information and perceptions about the murals historic significance, according to the letter.

The process should take at least two or three months, Storey said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@pressenterprise.com
The new year has the potential to change the makeup of Newport Beach in many ways, from the neighborhoods to city leadership to the drought-parched land it is built on. Here are the big stories or issues to look out for in 2016.

Elections

For those who watched with interest four new faces take spots on the council in November 2014, the end of this year brings the potential to shake things up even further.

Two councilmen, Ed Selich and Keith Curry, will term out of office this year. Three people already have filed paperwork to run: Jeffrey Herdman for Selichs seat covering the Balboa Island area, and Fred Ameri and William ONeill for Currys seat covering Newport Coast.

City Councilman Tony Petros, who represents Newport Heights and Newport Crest, is up for reelection after starting his term in 2012. No one else has filed to run for that seat as of January, according to city documents.

Banning Ranch

The next step in the Banning Ranch saga could come in March.

At a California Coastal Commission meeting in October, commissioners said that although they were interested in getting the 70-year-old oil field cleaned up and open to the public, the project before them was too large.

The commission originally planned to hear the matter again this month but asked developers to withdraw and resubmit the proposal.

The developers, Newport Banning Ranch, revealed in December theyd dropped their proposed number of homes to 895 from the 1,375 approved by the Newport Beach City Council in 2012.

What will happen at, and after, the meeting is anyones guess. The commission is scheduled to meet March 9-11.

Drought saga continues

Gov. Jerry Brown asked for water use cuts, but whether cities like Newport Beach will be able to deliver is uncertain at best.

After Brown called in April for mandatory cuts in water use, Newport Beach was handed a goal of 28 percent reduction by the state.

But the city, along with other municipalities, started to lag behind its goals despite community education efforts and warnings or fines.

The governors deadline for cuts is February  whether the state decides to extend deadlines, continue regulations or even start fining municipalities is anyones guess.

Major home projects coming online

Some residents can expect new neighbors in upcoming years with new residential projects under construction around the city.

The Newport Bay Marina mixed-use project at 2300 Newport Boulevard is under construction now and will bring in 27 residences and 36,000 square feet of retail space.

Uptown Newport is working on the first phase of construction for its walkable living apartment project near John Wayne Airport.

Once it is complete, Uptown Newport Village could bring about 1,244 condos and apartments to the area, according to developer The Shopoff Group.

New police chief

The city will look for new leadership of its police force in the new year.

Jay Johnson, who took the position of chief in 2010, announced his retirement in November.

Johnson had started his law enforcement career with the Long Beach Police Department in 1987.

The city has started a nationwide search for a replacement, though Johnson said the department had many potential candidates who could fill the position.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7990 or mnicolai@ocregister.com
FAIRFAX, Va.President Barack Obama tore into the National Rifle Association on Thursday as he sought support for his actions on gun control, accusing the powerful lobby group of peddling an imaginary fiction that he said has distorted the national debate about gun violence.

In a prime-time, televised town hall meeting, Obama dismissed what he called a conspiracy alleging that the federal government  and Obama in particular  wants to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law. He blamed that notion on the NRA and like-minded groups that convince its members that somebodys going to come grab your guns.

Yes, that is a conspiracy, Obama said. Im only going to be here for another year. When would I have started on this enterprise?

Obama defended his support for the constitutional right to gun ownership while arguing it was consistent with his efforts to curb violence and mass shootings. He said the NRA was refusing to acknowledge the governments responsibility to make legal products safer, citing seatbelts and child-proof medicine bottles as examples.

If you listen to the rhetoric, it is so over the top, and so overheated, Obama said, describing it as a ploy to drive up gun sales.

Obama, taking the stage at George Mason University, said hes always been willing to meet with the NRA  if theyre willing to address the facts. He said the NRA was invited to the town hall but declined to participate. Several NRA members were in the audience for the town hall, which was organized and hosted by CNN.

Theres a reason why the NRAs not here. Theyre just down the street, Obama said, referring to the groups nearby headquarters. Since this is a main reason they exist, youd think that theyd be prepared to have a debate with the president.

The White House has sought to portray the NRA, the nations largest gun group, as possessing a disproportionate influence over lawmakers that has prevented new gun laws despite polls that show broad U.S. support for measures like universal background checks. Last year, following a series of mass shootings, Obama pledged to politicize the issue in an attempt to level the playing field for gun control supporters.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said ahead of the event that the group saw no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House. Still, the group pushed back on Obama in real time on Twitter, noting in one tweet that none of the presidents orders would have stopped any of the recent mass shootings.

The American Firearms Retailers Association, another lobby group that represents gun dealers, did participate. Asked how business had been since Obama took office, Jacob replied: Its been busy.

Theres a very serious concern in this country about personal security, he added.

Obamas broadside against the NRA came two days after unveiling a package of executive actions aimed at keeping guns from people who shouldnt have them. The centerpiece is new federal guidance that seeks to clarify who is in the business of selling firearms, triggering a requirement to get a license and conduct background checks on all prospective buyers.

The plan has drawn intense criticism from gun rights groups that have accused the president of trampling on the Second Amendment and railroading Congress by taking action on his own without new laws. Just after his 2012 re-election, Obama pushed hard for a bipartisan gun control bill that collapsed in the Senate, ending any realistic prospects for a legislative solution in the near term.

Part of a concerted White House push to promote the effort, the town hall attracted a number of high-profile figured in the gun debate, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011. Obama took questions from Taya Kyle, whose late husband was depicted in the film American Sniper, and Cleo Pendleton, whose daughter was shot and killed near Obamas Chicago home.

Ahead of the town hall, Obama put political candidates on notice that he would refuse to support or campaign for anyone who does not support common-sense gun reform  including Democrats.

All the candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination support stricter gun laws, so Obamas declaration in a New York Times op-ed isnt likely to have an impact on the race to replace him. Instead, it appeared aimed at Democratic congressional candidates from competitive districts who might want Obamas support on the campaign trail this year.
SAN DIEGO  SeaWorld and California workplace regulators have reached a settlement over allegations that the park failed to train workers to safely interact with its killer whales.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the settlement, which still needs approval from the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, would dismiss all four worker safety citations and related fines, but require the park to adhere to strict guidelines on how whales and trainers interact.

The proposed agreement would ban surfing on, swimming under and standing on orcas.

The citations claimed the park didnt keep employees aware of hazards involving the orcas. A park spokesman said SeaWorld is pleased with the settlement.
LOS ANGELES  An Anaheim man accused of impersonating a police officer and fondling two women in separate incidents in the Hollywood area pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a series of charges.

Joseph Christoph Moore, 40, is charged with one felony count each of assault with intent to commit a felony, criminal threats and false imprisonment by violence, along with two misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a badge and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sergio C. Tapia II ordered Moore to remain jailed in lieu of $1.2 million bail.

Moore is due back in court Feb. 16, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

According to police, Moore approached the first victim in the 6100 block of De Longpre Avenue as she was searching for her keys Nov. 24. He allegedly produced a badge and identification, told the woman to get against a wall and then searched her while fondling her breasts and buttocks, police said.

He then pulled a handgun from his waistband and warned the woman that he would shoot her if she screamed, then fled, according to police.

On Nov. 30, he allegedly followed a woman into her parking area in the 500 block of Kingsley Drive in east Hollywood. He pressed a badge against her cars driver-side window and told the woman her registration was expired, police said. He allegedly ordered the woman out of the vehicle and had her open the trunk, saying he needed to search for weapons.

The man then ordered the woman against a wall for a pat-down search, during which he fondled her inner thighs and buttocks several times, according to police. The woman said she believed the man had a gun holster on his hip.

Police had circulated security video footage in hopes that someone would recognize the man, resulting in numerous tips and information received from community members that led detectives to identify Moore as the suspect, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Moore was arrested Dec. 8 by Los Angeles police and has been behind bars since then.

If convicted as charged, he faces up to life in prison, prosecutors said.
Droughts and heat waves wiped out nearly a tenth of the rice, wheat, corn and other cereal crops in countries hit by extreme weather disasters between 1964 and 2007, according to a new study.

The paper, published Wednesday in Nature, examined data on the effects, over five decades, of extreme temperatures, floods and droughts on national crop harvests.

People already knew that these extreme weather events had impacts on crop production, said Navin Ramankutty, a geographer from the University of British Columbia and an author of the report. But we didnt know by how much, and we didnt have a basis for how that might change in the future.

Ramankutty and his team combined data from a disaster database with food production information from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. They looked at about 2,800 weather disasters, such as the 1983-1984 drought in Ethiopia and the 2003 European heat wave, along with data on 16 different cereals, including oats, barley, rye and maize, grown in 177 countries.

They found that droughts cut a countrys crop production by 10 percent, and heat waves by 9 percent, but that floods and cold spells had no effects on agricultural production levels. His team estimated a loss of more than 3 billion tons of cereal production from 1964 to 2007 as a result of droughts and heat waves.

We dont think about it much, but rice, wheat and maize alone provide more than 50 percent of global calories, said Ramankutty. When these grain baskets are hit, it results in food price shocks, which leads to increasing hunger.

As the global population soars, food production will need to increase to feed the extra mouths. But if the world is to meet those demands, it must do so efficiently and sustainably, said Pedram Rowhani, a land-change scientist from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and another of the studys authors.

By losing 10 percent of our production, were emitting greenhouse gases and using water, oil, energy and land for nothing and not feeding anybody with it, he said. We need to reduce that so we can feed more people and become more sustainable.

The team also found that the effects of droughts were more severe for crops produced in developed countries than in underdeveloped countries. Dry spells caused losses of nearly 20 percent in North America, Europe and the Australasia region but only 12 percent in Asia and 9 percent in Africa. They found no significant effects from droughts in Latin America.

One reason for the discrepancy, said Rowhani, is that developed nations tend to grow more uniform crops, which may be more vulnerable to drought, while underdeveloped countries grow diverse patches of plants that may have greater resilience.

The team also found that droughts occurring since 1985 were more severe than earlier ones, causing average losses of about 14 percent compared with about 7 percent. They suggest that climate change may affect the frequency and severity of these events in the future. But they said they were unable to discern whether the increase could be the result of droughts getting more severe or earlier data sets being more limited.

The disaster database relied on reports from news and humanitarian agencies, which the team said could have resulted in some disasters being underreported, especially during earlier years.

It was a clever study in the sense that they used a data set that hasnt really been looked at for this type of question, said David Lobell, a climate scientist at Stanford who was not involved in the study. He said the results were consistent with previous work that looked at climate change and crop production.

It helps reaffirm the importance of these types of extremes for food production, even in relatively modern and developed agricultural systems, he said.
SANTA ANA  A 41-year-old woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to setting her Orange County homes and car on fire to reap hefty insurance payments.

Andrea Michelle Robinson also admitted welfare fraud while not disclosing her income from insurance claims. She was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 21 for her guilty pleas to six counts of arson, three counts of grand theft and multiple counts of insurance fraud, according to court records.

Robinsons first arson was in her 12-year-old daughters bedroom as she slept elsewhere in their Rancho Santa Margarita house in August 2009, according to prosecutors. She received $25,000 from her insurer, prosecutors said when she was charged in August 2013.

Neighbors who saw the blaze broke a window to pour water on the flames.

In May 2011, when Robinson was living in Aliso Viejo, she set fire to the master bedroom and left the house, according to prosecutors. Robinson told investigators she blew out a candle before exiting the house, according to prosecutors.

Robinson collected $46,000 from her insurance company then, prosecutors said.

Robinson set fire to her Volkswagen Passat on a street in Santa Ana and then went to the Westfield Main Place Mall, prosecutors said. When investigators contacted her, Robinson said the vehicle must have been stolen from the Westfield parking lot, prosecutors said.

Robinson received a $9,600 insurance payment for the vehicle fire, prosecutors said.

On June 1, 2012, Robinson set fire to a carpet in the bedroom of the Laguna Niguel apartment where she lived, prosecutors said.

On June 6, 2012, Robinson torched a carpet in the bedroom of the Laguna Niguel apartment, claiming to investigators that a neighbor hurled a burning object into Robinsons home, prosecutors said. Investigators also noticed scorch marks from the June 1 blaze, prosecutors said.

Robinson moved from New Mexico to Orange County in July 2008. Since then she has illegally collected about $85,000 in housing, welfare and MediCal aid, prosecutors said.

Despite the claims of need for welfare, Robinson bought expensive electronics, designer handbags and drove several cars, including a Land Rover.
TEHRAN, Iran  Iran on Thursday accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of hitting its embassy in the capital, Sanaa, in an overnight airstrike, but there were no visible signs of damage on the building.

The accusation comes amid a dangerous rise in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days, following the kingdoms execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.

Analysts have feared the dispute could boil over into the proxy wars between the two Mideast rivals in Yemen and in Syria.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabias eastern Shiite heartland prepared to hold a funeral service Thursday night to honor the executed Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. That could spark further unrest, as witnesses in eastern Saudi towns have reported hearing gunfire overnight and armored personnel carriers have been seen driving through neighborhood streets.

On Thursday afternoon, Irans state-run news agency said a Saudi-led airstrike the previous night hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage to the building.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, when the kingdom executed al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges  the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980. Al-Nimr was a staunch critic of the Saudi government and demanded greater rights for the kingdoms Shiite population, but always denied advocating violence. Saudi Arabia and its allies say al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and that condemnation of the execution amounts to meddling in Riyadhs internal affairs.

Iranian protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. On Wednesday, Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia returned to Tehran, according to state media.

Since Saudi Arabia severed ties to Iran, a host of its allies have cut or reduced their ties as well.

On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

In eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of al-Nimr and much of the kingdoms roughly 10 to 15 percent Shiite population, three days of mourning over his death ended Wednesday night. Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikhs brother, said people planned to hold a funeral Thursday for the cleric, though Saudi authorities already buried his corpse in an undisclosed cemetery.

There are concerns new unrest could erupt. Al-Nimrs brother, as well as another local resident of al-Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, said theyve heard gunfire on recent nights.

The local resident, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity out of fear for her safety, shared a mobile phone video showing Saudi armored personnel carriers traveling through local streets.

More than 1,040 people were detained in Shiite protests in eastern Saudi Arabia between February 2011 and August 2014, according to Human Rights Watch. That watchdog and others have alleged that Saudi officials discriminate against the Shiites by rarely allowing them to build mosques and limiting their access to public education, government employment and the justice system, something the government denies.

Many ultraconservatives of the Saudi Wahhabi school of Islam view Shiites as heretics.

Meanwhile Thursday, Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia over the tensions, according to a report by Iranian state television. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of President Hassan Rouhani.

Irans annual exports to Saudi Arabia are worth about $130 million a year and are mainly steel, cement and agricultural products. Irans annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistans capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalize their relations.

Al-Haj reported from Sanaa, Yemen. Associated Press writers Reem Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, Maram Mazen in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report
SACRAMENTO, Calif.  Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a $122.6 billion budget plan for California on Thursday that attempts to balance his fiscally restrained approach to spending with increasing demands for California to invest in social service and health care programs that suffered cuts during the recession.

The plan calls for significant increases in funding for education, health care and state infrastructure, while bolstering the states Rainy Day Fund and paying down state debts and liabilities.

It also includes a $1.1 billion compromise on a new tax on health insurers to replace one that will expire in June.

In addition, per-pupil spending would increase to $10,591. Schools are guaranteed about 40 percent of general fund revenues under voter-approved Proposition 98.

Brown said soaring tax revenues allow the state to boost spending on programs, but he also warned of the boom-and-bust cycle, proposing to put an additional $2 billion into the Rainy Day fund.

Relative to budgets of the past, this budget is in good shape, Brown said. We also ought to look at whats the capacity of the state, and whats the taxpayer willingness to spend more.

The budget announcement sets the stage for a months-long debate with lawmakers over spending priorities.

Legislators already have been staking out their own positions, including funding to help the homeless, expanding services for the developmentally disabled and creating more early education slots.

Medi-Cal, the states health care program for the poor, now has 12.6 million enrollees, presenting a growing strain on state coffers. Advocates have been pushing the state to raise reimbursement for doctors who provide care in the program, which was cut by 10 percent during the recession.

We are now years past the recession, but Californians are still living with recession-era cuts to health and human services, said Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.

Brown called special sessions last year to address the health care tax and a $59 billion backlog in transportation infrastructure spending, but neither gained traction.

Browns administration previously proposed spending $3.6 billion a year on transportation infrastructure through a combination of vehicle registration fees, increases to the diesel and gas taxes and diverting money from the fees charged to polluters.

Republicans have rejected tax increases, arguing that the state should instead return diverted transportation money and make major cuts to Caltrans.

As tax revenues continue to roll in, Gov. Jerry Brown is set to release his budget proposal Thursday, balancing his fiscally restrained approach to spending with increasing demands for California to invest in social service and health care programs.

The first focal point will be the revenue number Brown uses for his forecast.

Brown signed a $115.4 billion general fund spending plan for the current fiscal year, and the states independent Legislative Analysts Office has forecast revenues about $6.9 billion higher for 2016-17. But Browns administration has typically been cautious in its approach, opting to rely on lower revenue estimates to avoid spending the state might not be able to afford later.

His fellow Democrats prefer a higher figure that gives more wiggle room to spend. Republicans are urging the governor to hold the line and devote funds to neglected infrastructure needs such as transportation, school buildings and water storage.

If youve got one-time revenue, then you need to spend that money on one-time expenditures, said Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley.

Browns announcement Thursday sets the stage for a months-long debate with lawmakers over spending priorities. Lawmakers this week have been staking out their own positions, advocating for $2 billion to help house the homeless, expanding services for the developmentally disabled and creating more early education slots.

Among the biggest questions confronting the governor and lawmakers is how to replace funding from a $1.1 billion tax on health insurers that will expire this year, and paying mounting road-repair costs that the administration has pegged at $59 billion over the next decade.

Medi-Cal, the states health care program for the poor, now has 12.6 million enrollees, presenting a growing strain on state coffers. Advocates have been pushing the state to raise reimbursement for doctors who provide care in the program, which was cut by 10 percent during the recession.

We are now years past the recession, but Californians are still living with recession-era cuts to health and human services, said Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access California.

Brown called special sessions last year to address health care and transportation, but neither gained traction.

On transportation, Browns administration has proposed spending $3.6 billion a year on transportation infrastructure through a combination of vehicle registration fees, increases to the diesel and gas taxes and diverting money from the fees charged to polluters.

Republicans have rejected tax increases, arguing that the state should instead return diverted transportation money and make major cuts to Caltrans.

Under the voter-approved Proposition 98, more than 40 percent of tax revenues are dedicated to K-12 schools and community colleges.

While most projections show the states finances continuing to climb, thanks in part to the booming tech industry, the legislative analyst has warned that a sluggish stock market will curb increases. He warned lawmakers not to make new commitments or risk difficult choices such as spending cuts and tax increases.
No one ever can be forced to join a public employees union, but nonunion members can, and should, be required to pay their fair share of the costs of the collective bargaining process from which they benefit. This has been the law for decades. But the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association and consider whether to change this law and hold that nonunion members have a First Amendment right to refuse to pay any portion of the unions dues.

In 1977, the Supreme Court reaffirmed in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that no one can be forced to join a public employee union. But the court held that nonunion members can be required to pay the share of the union dues that support the collective bargaining activities of the union, though they do not need to pay the part of the dues that support union political activities. Now, the court is being asked to overrule Abood in Friedrichs.

The courts decision in Abood was based on a simple and undeniably correct premise: Nonunion members benefit greatly from the union in their wages, their working conditions and the representation they receive. The court explained that they should not be able to be free riders, benefiting from collective bargaining without having to pay their fair share of the costs. Both government entities and unions have relied on this for decades in entering into thousands of contracts governing the workplace.

In recent years, the five most conservative justices  Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito  have signaled a desire to reconsider Abood. A lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Orange County with the goal of being a vehicle for the Supreme Court to overrule Abood and hold that nonunion members do not have to pay their fair share of the union dues that go to support collective bargaining. The district court and the federal court of appeals cannot overrule a Supreme Court precedent and dismissed the lawsuit. But the Supreme Court granted review on the question of whether it should overrule Abood and the many decisions based on it.

The challengers claim that it is unconstitutional compelled speech to force nonunion members to pay for union activities, even though they benefit from them. They are urging the Supreme Court to find that forcing them to pay dues for the collective bargaining activities of the union violates their First Amendment rights.

There are many problems with this argument. We all are constantly forced to pay for things where we disagree; however, that does not mean we are being forced to speak. All of us see our tax dollars go to pay for many things we dislike, but no one would think of that as compelled speech. Students are required to pay student activity fees that go for speakers and other things with which they might disagree. But the Supreme Court expressly rejected the argument that this violates the First Amendment.

Having our money go to support something we dislike is not compelled speech. Nonunion members can say, or not say, anything they want. They also have the First Amendment right to not join the union.

Moreover, Abood draws a sensible distinction. No one should have to support political activities with which they disagree. But all who benefit from the collective bargaining process should have to share in paying for its costs.

The existence of a union and its ability to require that people pay their fair share of union dues is a reflection of majority rule. The union exists because a majority of those in that workplace voted to unionize. No one has to join that union, but all who benefit should share in paying for the collective bargaining of the union.

Moreover, a state could adopt legislation prohibiting non-union members from having to pay their fair share of the union dues that go to support collective bargaining. Indeed, a majority of the states have adopted exactly such right to work laws. But now anti-union forces are trying to make right to work the law in all 50 states via the Supreme Court and the First Amendment.

Here, it is the liberals who are urging judicial restraint and asking the court to defer to the political process and follow 40 years of precedent. If the court overrules Abood, some, and perhaps many, will choose to be free riders, not paying any union dues and knowing they will get the same benefits from the union.

The decision will come down by the end of June. There is no need to change the law in this area, and the conservative justices should practice the judicial restraint that they so often profess.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
SEAL BEACH  Hundreds of surfers and body boarders clad in wetsuits flocked Thursday to Seal Beach to ride 6-foot waves that broke near shore but avoided Huntington Beach where water conditions were decidely more dicey.

Partly cloudy skies and plenty of sunshine provided a welcome respite to the torrential rains that fell Tuesday and Wednesday as a series of El Nino-powered storms hit Orange County.

Waves ranged from 8 feet to 10 feet Thursday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, but there was virtually no surfing activity, said Lt. Claude Panis of the Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division.

The swell was so unruly it was hard (for surfers) to find a take off spot, he said.

Waves are expected to drop to 4 feet to 6 feet on Friday and get smaller on Saturday, he added.

Surfing was better at Seal Beach.

Waves there ranged from 6 feet to 8 feet with occasional 10-foot sets, said Seal Beach Marine Safety Officer Nick Bolin.

A couple of hundred people were out (in the water) in the morning, but in the afternoon it got really choppy, Bolin said.

Waves are projected to range from 5 feet to 7 feet Friday in Seal Beach and 2 feet to 3 feet on Saturday, he said.

Matt Meyer, a 29-year-old body boarder from Ventura, said the waves Thursday at Seal Beach were challenging and fun.

Its really good right now, he said while standing on the shore glancing out at the rough surf. Its nice and glassy and not choppy.

Meyer said he and his body boarding buddies have been monitoring weather conditions to find the best spot to ride the waves.

We knew where the swells were coming, he said.

Spectators also got a kick out of watching surfers skip across the water and then wipe out as they got closer to the beach.

They are amazing with the things they can do, said Terry Stickle, a 71-year-old resident of Saratoga Springs, New York. If I were younger, I would try it.

Phil Ebbott, a surfer from Melbourne, Australia, tried his luck on the north side of the Seal Beach Pier where the waves were breaking farther off shore.

The water was not very cold, but was dirty, as expected, he said.

Seal Beach lifeguards did not report any water rescues Thursday morning, adding they handled only a few minor medical emergencies.

While there was little surfing in Huntington Beach, dozens of people took a windy walk along the citys pier to watch the waves.

Mark and Courtney Gonzales of Seattle strolled along the pier showing the breakers to their 3-year-old daughter Torrance.

Its very impressive, Courtney Gonzalez, 45, said.

The Orange County Health Care Agency advises swimmers to avoid the ocean for at least three days after rainstorms due to elevated levels of bacteria.

The only beach closure Thursday in Orange County was an area encompassing 500 feet up the coast and 500 feet down the coast from Bluebird Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach due to sewage contamination, according to the agency.
Newport Beach firefighters have donated a four-wheel-drive vehicle to the widow of a San Bernardino massacre victim and raised more than $70,000 overall for the family.

Firefighter/paramedic Joe Harrison, the fundraising organizer, said the effort is far from over. He said firefighters want to turn their project into a national campaign and net $2 million for Renee Wetzel, wife of victim Michael Wetzel.

Her 37-year-old husband, a supervising environmental health specialist for San Bernardino County, was killed along with 13 other people Dec. 2 in the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

Harrison said firefighters delivered a seven-passenger 2016 Toyota 4Runner with a giant red bow on top on Sunday in a meeting with the family at a Newport Beach fire station.

So shes got this new ride to get around in, he said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Renee Wetzel said she is incredibly grateful for firefighters generosity.

Wetzel said the four-wheel-drive vehicle will come in handy in the snowy Lake Arrowhead area, where she lives.

My husband always drove us in the snow in our (two-wheel-drive) cars, or chained the cars up for me so I could get the kids to school, she said in an email. The 4Runner allows me to drive the kids in the snow safely without having to chain up. It is an amazing gift.

That meeting also featured a feast. Harrison said the firefighters put on a Viking meal, so named because no utensils are used; participants eat with their hands.

He said the menu included barbecue ribs, smoked chicken, sausages, salad, tater tots, macaroni and cheese, steak and ice cream.

The Viking meal was so cool, Wetzel said. The kids and I loved it. And they asked immediately after we left when we could go back and visit again. It was the happiest I have seen them in a month.

Michael and Renee Wetzel had a blended family, with six children between them. Three older children  ages 14, 12 and 8  are the offspring of Michaels former wife, Amy Wetzel.

Renee Wetzels children are Connor, 8; Karlie, 5; and Allie, 1.

Harrison said the idea of adopting a family and helping them out during the holiday season is a decade-old tradition for the Newport Beach Firefighters Association.

During the previous nine years, each family came from the beach community. This year, because of the terrorist attack that occurred in the greater Southern California region, Harrison said, firefighters decided to reach beyond city boundaries.

Harrison said fundraising proceeds will go exclusively to Renee Wetzel.

We adopt one family a year. From the get-go we have adopted Renee and her family, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9699 or ddowney@pressenterprise.com
COLOGNE, Germany  Amid widespread shock over a string of sexual assaults in this cosmopolitan German city on New Years Eve, the response was divided Wednesday: Blame the police or chide the victims, deport criminal foreigners or prevent migrants from entering the country in the first place.

The reaction in Cologne reflects a broader debate as Germany struggles to reconcile law and order with its newfound role as a haven for those seeking a better life.

Police descriptions of the perpetrators as of Arab or North African origin were seized on by those calling for an end to Chancellor Angela Merkels open-door policy toward people fleeing violence and persecution  even as authorities warned they dont know if any of the culprits are refugees.

Adding to the controversy were remarks by Colognes mayor, Henriette Reker, suggesting that women can protect themselves from strange men on the streets by keeping them more than an arms length away  words that were ridiculed on social media Wednesday for putting the onus on the victims.

At least 106 women have filed criminal complaints of sexual assault and robbery during the New Years Eve festivities, authorities said, including two accounts of rape.

At least three-quarters of the criminal complaints filed included an alleged sexual assault, Cologne police spokesman Christoph Gilles told The Associated Press.

He said police had arrested four suspects.

Among the angles police are investigating is whether there are any links to similar crimes committed over the past two years by men suspected to be of North African origin in Duesseldorf, some 25 miles away.

Gilles urged more victims to come forward, saying they would be treated very sensitively.
While couples in China are welcoming the end of the nations decades-long one-child policy, private companies seem to be reacting to the news with ludicrous new policies regarding maternity leave. Theyre actually asking female employees to submit an application of pregnancy, seeking the companys approval to become a parent up to a year in advance.

It seems that these companies are introducing reproductive schedules to avoid too many maternity leaves arising from simultaneous pregnancies. A woman who recently applied for a job in northeast Chinas Jilin Province was told that if recruited, shed have to apply for pregnancy approval at least a year in advance, and wait for her turn to become a mother.

Its out of helplessness that we regulate this, she quoted the companys HR department as having told her. After the easing of the one-child policy, many of our working staff say that they want a second child. But from the management side, we need to take the interest of the company into consideration.

Another company in Chinas Henan province issued its employees a rather controversial notice that stated: An employee birth plan has been established and will be strictly enforced. Employees who do not give birth according to the plan and whose work is impacted will face a one-time fine of 1,000 yuan and will not be considered for promotion. The notice added that women who gave birth outside the schedule may also have to forego their year-end bonuses.

Mr. Zhang, a manager at a private company in China, explained to the media how overlapping maternity leaves could affect his organisation. There are six women at my department in total, and three of them are now pregnant, he said. Because of limited budget, its almost impossible to recruit new people; thus some other colleagues may need to take extra work during the leave of pregnant workers.

According to some news reports, the policy to fine women who dont get pregnant on schedule isnt legal yet. But in a country where 64 percent of the workforce is made up of women, experts say that laws protecting pregnant workers arent always enforced. In the meantime, citizens who are aware of the nations labour laws are taking to social media to express their outrage.

Photo: DFIC

In the past, women at marriageable age faced discrimination in finding jobs, a Weibo user wrote. Now there are further discriminations on whether they will have a second baby.

How idiotic are these leaders to come up with such a policy? questioned another. Where is our right to give birth?

Well, I think this is still better than companies that directly reject single ladies at marriageable age, another wrote, taking a positive view of the situation.

I suggest men should also have maternity leave after wives give birth, a user suggested. This will help reduce discrimination.

Photo: CCTV

A number of users have taken to the internet that this sort of scheduled pregnancy policies are quite common in China, even if they are not formalized. Many hospitals and schools are doing the same; its an unwritten rule that everyone knows, one user wrote. The hospital where I work forbids nurses from having a child during their first two years on the job.

There does exist a small segment of Weibo users that understands the employers perspective, though. Some women are pregnant as soon as they start a job, one person wrote. Its those people who dont work hard and use the excuse of taking care of their baby that have caused some organisations to be afraid to recruit women.

On the other end of the spectrum are regions in China that are more progressive with their women-friendly policies. In fact, Shanxi province and the city of Wuhan in Hubei province have drafted proposals to give female employees a day or two of paid leave per month during menstruation.

Sources: CCTV, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes
Working up a credit score for Walter Cavanagh has got to be a mathematical nightmare  the man has nearly 1,500 valid credit cards to his name and holds the Guinness record for the most credit cards.

Mr. Plastic Fantastic  a title conferred on him by Guinness World Records  is also the proud owner of the worlds longest wallet. It stretches 250 feet, weighs 38 pounds, and can hold 800 cards. But he uses it only to carry a few cards, while the rest are safely stowed in bank safe-deposit boxes.

Cavanagh started collecting credit cards in the late 1960s. Me and a buddy in Santa Clara, Calif., made a silly bet: the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner, he recalled. I was fresh from the Peace Corps and I got 143 cards by the end of the year. My friend gathered 138.

Photo: Aaron Lambert/Santa Maria Times

After winning that bet, Cavanagh decided to simply keep going with his bizarre collection. He got credit cards from gas stations, airlines, bars, and even a Texas ice cream store  all with varying limits, some as low as $50. Hes got a few antique cards back from when credit cards were made of paper and aluminum and he recently inherited a sterling silver card from the Mapes Hotel, Renos first hotel-casino. Its a collectors item with unlimited credit privileges.

If theres one card missing from Cavanaghs epic collection, its that from the long defunct J.J. Newberry Co. They denied him a card in the early 1970s, even though hed collected over 100 by then. They said I had too much credit. And to this day I dont have a Newberry card in my collection, he said.

Photo: imago stock&people

Cavanagh hasnt stopped applying for new cards  hes held the Guinness Record since 1971 and has no intention of letting go of it. He copies whole pages from a U.S. directory of businesses and keeps sending applications. If he receives a rejection, he now writes back to the company explaining his goal and intentions. But he doesnt count expired cards in his total collection.

Thanks to all the cards to his name, Cavanagh has access to about $1.7 million at any moment. Despite this privilege, he has managed to maintain an excellent credit score. Its nearly perfect, he said, proudly. I use only one card and I pay it off at the end of the month. But you should see the length of my credit report  wow!

Photo: Wikipedia

The 72-year-old retired financial planner and credit expert has only one piece of advice to share: Never use a card to buy anything you cant pay off in a couple of months. If you dont have the discipline, you shouldnt have the cards.

via ABC News
Despite the regions sub-zero winters, a Ukrainian man from Kiev has been walking around barefoot since February 2006.

Andrzej Novosiolov apparently began the bizarre practice on a whim  his feet felt unusually hot one evening, so he tried walking on fresh snow without footwear and found the sensation surprisingly pleasant. Although his feet began to ache from the cold within a few minutes, he made a habit of walking barefoot on snow, going longer and longer each time. Eventually, in April, he stepped out of his house without shoes and was able to spend the whole day outdoors that way.

It still wasnt easy for him, though, as Andrzej often injured himself stepping on broken glass and other sharp objects. But reading about Olga Gavva, a manager from St. Petersburg who had also adopted a barefoot lifestyle, he decided not to let these accidents keep him from doing something he genuinely enjoyed. Over time he taught himself to walk intuitively, learning where he should step and where not to. This way he slowly got to the point where he didnt need to invest in footwear any more. He claims to be able to walk barefoot in temperatures down to seven degrees below zero and when it gets colder than that he just runs to keep his feet from freezing.

Photo: Andrey Shmatov/Gazeta.ua

Andrzejs wife and children had a hard time adjusting to his strange obsession, and in the beginning they felt embarrassed to accompany him on walks. But they got used to it in time, and these days they dont even pay attention to his naked feet. Passersby are still often perplexed by his naked feet, though, and some of them assume hes too poor to buy shoes so they offer him their own. When he tells them the truth, most of them think hes nuts.

Photo: Andrzej Novosiolov/Facebook

He hasnt had any problems at work so far, as his job as a programmer doesnt require adherence to a strict dress dress code. We work with clients through the internet, he said. They do not care what I have on when I come to work. Andrzej is also a trained psychotherapist, and comes across many strange and unusual people as a part of that profession, do most of them dont really pay attention to his bare feet.

Photo: Victoria Mikityuk/Gazeta.ua

Novosiolov currently owns only two pairs of footwear  flip flops and summer shoes  both purchased about five years ago. He carries the flip flops with him to use when hes riding the subway, because the guards sometimes refuse to let him get on barefoot, but he removes them as soon as he gets off. Theres only one thing that can make Andrew put on shoes  temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius. Thats when the fear of frostbite kicks in.

Photo: Andrzej Novosiolov/Facebook

A couple of years ago, we wrote about Richard Hudgins, an American who also decided to go barefoot for a long period of time. He pledged to do it for a whole year, to raise money for charity. But neither Andrzej nor Richard are a patch on Englishman Pete Mackenzie, whos been walking barefoot for over half a century!

Sources: Gazeta.ua, 1tv.ru
Philadelphia-based media company Metro Corp., which publishes magazines such as Boston and Philadelphia, announced yesterday that it is cutting staff as part of a larger corporate restructuring plan to address the changing media environment and position the company for future growth.

Announcing the news on bostonmagazine.com, the publisher said seven full-time positions would be eliminated. (the company holds a total staff of 134.) A similar statement posted on phillymag.com confirmed that three of those cuts would come from Metro Corp.s Philadelphia office.

Poynter yesterday reported that Boston magazine senior editor S.I. Rosenbaum was among those affected by the cuts.

As part of the reorganization, the publisher also said it would unveil a new custom publishing and native advertising platform, CityStudio. That property is expected to debut during the first quarter of 2016.



Metro Corp. has responded boldly to the changing media landscape in the last few years, particularly with the growth of our digital and events businesses, Metro Corp. chairman and CEO David Lipson said in the announcement. As the world evolves, it is essential that we evolve with it. I strongly believe the changes were making will allow us to thrive going forward.

Patrick Kerkstra, who joined Philadelphia as deputy editor in 2014, has been promoted to editor. Philadelphia editor Tom McGrath has been promoted to Metro Corp.s chief content and strategy officer, and will aid with CityStudio's launch.
Weber Shandwick announced major strides in the healthcare arena this morning with its acquisition of Nashville-based ReviveHealth, one of the largest independent healthcare PR and marketing communications agencies in the country.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ReviveHealth, which holds additional offices in Minneapolis and Santa Barbara, was founded in 2009 and staffs about 50. It was ranked sixth largest healthcare agency in the country this year by ODwyers, reporting 2014 healthcare net fees of $8.78 million.

The deal effectively joins Weber Shandwicks science and pharma expertise with ReviveHealths nuanced insight into the B2B world of healthcare systems and services. Interpublic unit Weber Shandwick, which is headquartered in New York and has operations in 78 cities across 34 countries, has seen healthcare become one of the agencys fastest growing practice areas in recent years. The agency now staffs a specialized Scientific Communications team comprised of MDs, science writers, medical editors and 14 full-time PhDs who translate data and complex healthcare-related issues into formats that can educate and engage stakeholders and consumers.

Laura Schoen, president of Weber Shandwicks Global Healthcare Practice, said combining Weber Shandwicks global reach and pharma communications expertise with ReviveHealths insight into complex B2B issues will create a powerful consumer-and-business-facing healthcare offering for our clients.

We saw a unique opportunity with ReviveHealth to combine capabilities and provide strategic, integrated communications that influence stakeholders at every point of the healthcare ecosystem, Schoen said in a statement.



ReviveHealth staff will become part of the Weber Shandwick network. A Weber Shandwick spokesperson told O'Dwyer's that ReviveHealth CEO Brandon Edwards will remain in his current position and will report to Schoen. No further staffing changes were reported.



ReviveHealth's Minneapolis staff will move into Weber Shandwick's offices in that city at a later date, according to a Weber Shandwick spokesperson. ReviveHealth's Nashville and Santa Barbara locations will remain.

Edwards in a statement posited that recent, historic changes in the U.S. healthcare landscape have resulted in a renewed urgency among healthcare communicators to offer clients updated offerings and specialized expertise.

Consolidations in the hospital health plan and pharmaceutical sectors are driving massive change in the industry, and the convergence of healthcare financing and healthcare delivery has accelerated since the Affordable Care Act became law. Bigger and more sophisticated healthcare companies require more sophisticated marketing communication strategies, combined with the expertise to navigate the intersection of regulation, business, mission and social change, Edwards said. Joining the Weber Shandwick family accelerates our agency transformation and brings capabilities into the mix that increase our value to our clients. Branding, digital strategy, content marketing, public affairs and other deep capabilities that Weber Shandwick has invested in will be hugely important to our current and future clients.
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Fashion and lifestyle agency Exposure America has been named agency of record for fashion accessories brand Herschel Supply.

Herschel Supply designs bags, backpacks, luggage and accessories. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Vancouver.

Exposure will head a comprehensive North American PR strategy for Herschel Supply, establishing a communications program that strengthens media relations, partnerships and celebrity engagement for the accessories brand.

New York-headquartered Exposure America was founded in 2003 and has additional offices in London and Tokyo. Clients include Converse, Coca-Cola, Dr Martens, Nike, Microsoft, Jose Cuervo, RCA and Will Leather Goods.
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'Appears to have lost its mental balance': Min Karandlaje on Opposition's demand to ban RSS

Perils of being an activist who fights fundamentalism: Story of Vidya Dinker

Feature

oi-Oneindia

By Maitreyee Boruah

This gusty and articulate woman from Mangaluru, social-activist Vidya Dinker, needs no introduction.

Recently, when she was in Bengaluru to interact with students and fellow activists, she was applauded for standing against growing fundamentalism in the coastal city of Karnataka.

Vidya garnered the attention of national media, when she filed a police complaint demanding action against Bajrang Dal members. She stood against the "goons of Bajrang Dal" (as she prefers to address them), who forcibly stopped the screening of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dilwale in theatres.

She had received murder and rape threats on the social media for taking on the members of the "most powerful right-wing Hindu group" in Mangaluru.

The right-wing Hindu outfit had stalled the screening of the movie in protest against Shah Rukh Khan's comment on the growing "religious intolerance" in the country.

Received death and rape threats



Lamenting over the state of social and political affairs in her home town, Vidya said, "The theatre managements had stopped the screening of the movie fearing attack from the Hindu activists. They were just a group of 15 Bajrang Dal members, who stopped the screening of the film. They've perpetrated fear in the minds of the people. Several such cases go unreported."

"When I protested, I was threatened and bullied. They threatened to rape and kill me, on social media. I have filed a complaint against 24 Bajrang Dal activists. I won't stay silent. The goons can't misuse social media to intimidate people," she added.

However, the activist is happy today as she has won the "battle" against the fundamentalists.

"The screening of the film resumed in the theatres after we protested and police provided additional security. We need to stand up and raise our voice against groups and people, who threaten the democratic and secular fabric of the country. Tolerating intolerance is encouraging intolerance," she told.

Being spied on by her enemies

Vidya revealed that she was constantly being spied on by fundamentalists. "I know people sitting in cars, right outside my home in Mangaluru, keeping a tab on my daily activities. They are all Bajrang Dal goons. I am also careful. I don't venture out alone," she said.

Modi's development slogan is a mere rhetoric

The activist is critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular election slogan on development. "We all know Modi won't work for the development of the country. It was just an election slogan to win votes. So, to win the next election, BJP is dividing the country on religious grounds," she said.

Is the media saffron too?

Vidya alleges that the local media in Mangaluru is totally saffron in nature, indicating that journalists are aligned with Hindu right-wing groups.

"Most of the local journalists in Mangaluru are saffron. They did not report on the entire controversy surrounding the ban on Dilwale enforced by the Bajrang Dal goons and the subsequent threat on my life. In fact, I got calls from concerned journalists from various parts of India. After the issue was highlighted on national media, everyone started talking about it," she revealed.

Hindu fundamentalism versus Islamic fundamentalism

It is not just Hindu fundamentalism that is dictating the lives of the people. "The atmosphere of the city has been vitiated by both Hindu and Islamic fundamentalism. The sense of fear among the residents is palpable. Today, youngsters can't meet and talk with their friends without fear," she said.
Post Pathankot attack, time to stop blame game and restrategise: V Balachandran

Feature

oi-Vicky

The aftermath of every terrorist strike witnesses a blame game. The case of the Pathankot attack is no different. The liability needs to be fixed and for that we need to await the result of the investigation that is being conducted by the National Investigating Agency.

Until such time, the need of the hour is to stop the blame game and re-strategise. Blaming the Border Security Force does not give the Punjab police a clean chit, says V Balachandran, the former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, and a member of the High Level Committee which enquired into the police performance during 26/11 Mumbai.

In this interview with OneIndia, Balachandran says that the Pathankot incident must civil and defence security stronger and the time now is to re-strategise.

The scenario is no different and there is a full-fledged blame game on. What are your views on this?

The blame game must stop. The fact that the BSF is being blamed does not necessarily give the Punjab police a clean chit. On the other hand the BSF should have taken care to ensure that there was no malfunctioning of the thermal imagers along the border.

How do you think the terrorists must have infiltrated with such ease?

In my experience, I would think the drug smugglers may have helped the terrorists infiltrate. Drug smuggling is rampant on Punjab border and there is a possibility that terrorists might have bribed their way repeatedly with their stock of arms, posing as drug carriers for storage in secret dumps.

The gaps need to be plugged and it is only now that a high level joint BSF-Punjab Police survey was conducted to plug the riverine gaps near Ujh and Tarna rivers which are 50-60 meters wide.

What do you think of the response by the security personnel?

I think we must compliment out security personnel for saving our vital air assets.

You were part of a commission post 26/11 to analyse the police performance. What is your assessment of the Pathankot attack?

I would say that there was an improvement where the quick dispatch of the NSG commandos was concerned. During the 26/11 attack there was a delay in dispatching the NSG. There is no doubt that the presence of NSG at Pathankot had contributed in a big way in blunting the attack of terrorists who could have otherwise gone on a rampage.

What are your thoughts on the version given by the Gurdaspur SP who was abducted by the terrorists?

His version seems incredulous. He claims to have been gagged and tied up by the terrorists before they hijacked his official vehicle. Pakistan trained terrorists do not show that type courtesy.

My professional experience tells me that it is a long standing rule in all states that police vehicles should be driven only by official drivers. In this particular case, the SP's friend was driving that vehicle. What exactly they were doing in this area when there was a state wide terror alert?

What should be the strategy now?

After the 26/11 attack the Government was compelled to create more NSG hubs and ask the states to train their own SWAT teams. Even that does not seem to have been adequate as the flushing-out operations at Pathankot air base had started only after the NSG had arrived.

When the Mumbai police found themselves incapable of handling the 26/11 attacks they immediately summoned the army and navy SWAT teams.

The Pathankot experience should make our civil and defence security managements to realise that better-trained SWAT teams are needed at more strategic places so that they do not have to wait for the NSG to arrive.
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Amit Shah holds meeting with Rajasthan ministers

India

oi-PTI

Jaipur, Jan 7: BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday held a meeting with the ministers of Rajasthan government, the first such interaction he had with them, and discussed various programmes of the government among other issues.

"Chief Minister gave presentation about the works of the government and the ministers also discussed their works with the party chief. Internal security issues with special reference to the state were also discussed in the meeting," BJP state president Ashok Parnami said after the meeting was over.

Shah was told about the financial situation of the state when the BJP government was formed in 2013, he said. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and all the Rajasthan ministers, including cabinet and MoS, were part of the meeting held at a hotel here.

BJP's national vice president Avinash Khanna and national joint general secretary V Satishan were also present in the meeting.

"There was no complaint about the work of any minister. There was a positive message about the government's functioning. The national president admired the work of the state government," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah was received by Raje and the state President Parnami at Jaipur airport, following which they headed for the meeting.

"We are working with a mission to win 2018 Assembly elections and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and we will get success," Parnami said.

PTI
Malda violence was a cover up to protect anti-India elements: BJP's Rahul Sinha

India

oi-Avinash

Kolkata, Jan 7: Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of protecting anti-India elements, the BJP has claimed the shocking incident of Malda violence is a result of TMC's terror appeasement policy.

A mob protesting against the alleged blasphemous comments by a right wing leader had recently resorted to violence in Malda district during which Kaliachak police station was reportedly attacked and torched on Sunday, Jan 3.

Kaliachak Police station, block development office and public property were vandalised on Sunday. Several vehicles were set ablaze and over 30 persons including police officers were injured which ultimately flared communal tensions in the area.

[Centre seeks report from West Bengal govt on Malda violence]

This incident brought to the fore the poor law and order condition in the state of West Bengal, which has seen a lot of terror activities in the recent past. The NIA has arrested several men from border areas of West Bengal which clearly shows the state has emerged as the safe haven for radical elements.

Talking to OneIndia senior BJP leader from the state, Rahul Sinha, said the Malda incident was a pre-planned move and the sole objective of this protest was aimed at vandalising and burning sensitive Kaliachak Police Station.

"Around 2.50 lakh people were gathered at the taxi stand and torched the Kaliachak police station. This was not a case of communal tension in fact it was given a communal twist by anti-India forces to fulfill their nefarious designs. Actually, this Kaliachak police station is a very sensitive police station in the state as it shares border with Bangladesh. This station haa all the records of cross border smuggling of animals, fake currencies, and even had details of militants entering into our territory via Bangladesh border."

[Malda violence explained: Muslim mob ransack police stations, burn vehicles]

"As NIA is tightening its noose around militants, who take refuge in the bordering areas of West Bengal as the TMC government is not acting against them. The anti-India elements in the area feared investigating agency's sleuths will soon get sensitive information stored in Kaliachak police station, hence they decided to burn the police station down by giving it a colour of blasphemy.

"As far as the case of blasphemy is concerned, the remarks against Prophet Mohammed were made by Kamelsh Tiwari on December 3, when he had called the Prophet, the world's first homosexual. Therefore a question also arises why such late protest over his comments? Actually, the protest was a cover up to hide the prime idea of burning the police station to remove every piece of evidence about jihadists hiding in this area."

[Will liberal media raise its voice? Hindus have no right to celebrate Durga puja since 3 years]

Attacking the Mamata Banerjee Government Sinha said, "The state government as a part of its Muslim appeasement policy has given protection to such anti-India elements. Every now and then, terrorists and ISI agents are being arrested from this area but the state government hasn't taken any serious step to check it. Even, the Muslim dominated areas in the bordering areas give a perfect hiding place to the terrorists for they are aware that no action is going to be taken against them."

Here is the detailed interview with Rahul Sinha.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, January 7, 2016, 17:05 [IST]
Who in India can see partial solar eclipse 2022 on Oct 25

Mufti Sayeed: Grand old man of Kashmir's mainstream politics

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Jammu/Srinagar, Jan 7: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who died in a Delhi hospital on Thursday morning just four days shy of his 80th birthday, was a shrewd negotiator and undoubtedly one of the last mainstream leaders in Kashmir.

Belonging to the old guard of Indian politics, Mufti was a rationalist who never lost sight of the past as well as the future.

However, at a personal level, he was a generous friend who liked a game of bridge with his friends. One of the best dressed politicians in Jammu and Kashmir, his respect and reach was beyond political affiliations.

Those close to him often said one never knew what was going on in his mind as he spoke.

He often praised late Sheikh Abdullah - whose political supremacy he sought to challenge at the beginning of his political career - and credited 'Sher-e-Kashmir' for creating political awakening among the Kashmiris.

"He was a friend you could always depend on. He would ask me to visit an ailing friend of his not keeping good health. He never used people and later dumped them," said Dr. Sushil Razdan, a renowned neurologist, of the state.

One thing Sayeed never allowed was somebody taking him for granted.

That perhaps was the reason he decided to tour Srinagar in sub-zero temperature on December 23 to attend official functions at 14 venues.

Nobody could tell him that it was something a 79-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary distress shouldn't be doing.

He caught pneumonia the same evening and had to be airlifted to New Delhi in the state-owned plane for treatment.

A chain smoker since his early days, he quit smoking after doctors put a pacemaker three years ago.

He is survived by his wife Gulshan Ara, son Mufti Tasaduq Sayeed, three daughters - Mehbooba Mufti, Mehmooda Mufti and Rubiaya Sayeed - and two granddaughters Illtija Iqbal and Irtika Iqbal.

Born on January 12, 1936, to a family of 'Peers' who earn their livelihood by preaching and teaching religious practices and attending prayer meetings organised by locals to seek penance or as thanksgiving, Sayeed began his political career with the Congress from his south Kashmir's Bijbehara town in Anantnag district.

"I wanted to become the district president of the Congress after joining it, but the post was given to a party colleague senior to me," he once he once told IANS.

Those were the times when the Kashmiris were in awe of the legendary Kashmiri leader and founder of the regional National Conference (NC), late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

Sayeed took upon himself the Herculean task of challenging the political writ of Sheikh.

"It was something you didn't do because Sheikh was much more than a political leader for the Kashmiris. There was an aura around the NC founder. Anybody trying to challenge his supremacy did so at his own peril," said a friend of Mufti Sayeed.

Sayeed however toiled like a foot soldier to create the ground-level cadre that made it possible for the Congress to challenge the writ and command of the NC.

Unfortunately, Sayeed's loyalty to the Congress was finally interpreted as a personal rivalry between the Muftis and the Abdullahs by political pundits.

His daughter and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti told IANS in an interview in 2014: "We were a humble rural family and there was no question of harbouring a personal ambition for power that would push us to challenge the Abdullahs.

"Mufti Sahib always wanted a better deal for his people and that is what he has been doing during his entire political career."

A graduate from a Srinagar college and postgraduate in Arabic from Aligarh Muslim University, Sayeed became a junior minister in the G.M. Sadiq-led Congress government in 1964. He also became the president of Congress state unit later.

It was during this period that the Congress began to emerge as a potential threat to the NC.

Sayeed must be credited for the courage to stand up to the might of a party (NC) that had ruled the hearts and minds of the Kashmiris for decades.

He became the first - and so far the only Muslim union home minister - in 1989 in the V.P. Singh-led government at the Centre.

It was during this period that Sayeed's daughter, Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed, was kidnapped. Rubaiya was released by her kidnappers belonging to the pro-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front after seven of their arrested militants were released by the state government.

Sayeed was instrumental in sending Jagmohan as the J&K governor in early 1990 when terrorist violence took centre stage in the state.

Jagmohan was considered by Sayeed to be the right choice due to his previous tenure as the state governor. Sayeed believed Jagmohan had a developmental vision and an administrative acumen to match.

Sayeed formed the Peoples Democratic Party in 1999. The party fielded candidates in the 2002 assembly elections, winning 17 seats in the 87-member assembly.

Sayeed was sworn in as the chief minister of the PDP-Congress alliance in December 2002 and remained in office till November 2005.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the PDP won 28 seats and after hectic parleys formed the alliance government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Whatever his political adversaries may say, nobody can take away the credit from Sayeed - a young man hailing from a lower middle class family in south Kashmir - for standing up to challenge the otherwise unassailable political foes who hated and loved him at the same time.

IANS
Pathankot attack: NIA wants Pakistan to provide evidence against handlers

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Jan 7: The National Investigating Agency has submitted a report on its initial findings on the Pathankot terror attack to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Yesterday a team of the NIA had visited a village along the Indo-Pak border to investigate the route taken by the terrorists before entering Pathankot.

Pathankot attack: Will investigators omit the local link like in the 26/11 Mumbai probe?

The NIA was directed to probe the Pathankot attack by the Union Ministry for Home Affairs. The NIA has said there is every indication that the terrorists entered India from Pakistan.

The NIA requires the home ministry to send letter rogatory to Pakistan for evidence against the handlers with whom the terrorists were speaking prior to the attack.

Further the NIA has stated that they would need to seek the help of Pakistan especially when it comes to the voice samples and DNA tests. The NIA is currently basing its evidence on the intercepted telephone calls between the terrorists and their handlers.

The calls made by the terrorists to members of their family is also part of the evidence to suggest that they were from Pakistan. The NIA has told the home ministry that from Pakistan it would require the voice samples of a lady who they suspect was the mother of one of the terrorists. The terrorist had called his mother prior to the attack and said that he would die in a suicide attack.

The NIA has informed the Home Ministry that it would ascertain the identity of the terrorists through DNA testing. We will need to seek details from Pakistan on this, the NIA also states.

Further the NIA has also sought the assistance of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory. The CSFL would assist in the DNA sampling of the terrorists.

On the questioning of the SP, Salwinder Singh, the NIA suggests that there is something murky. However the NIA is only treating him as an eye witness for now. The NIA also suggests that there is some evidence to suggest that the vehicle of the SP may have been used by the terrorists.

OneIndia News
Golden intelligence rule: When your cover is blown, you are on your own

Pathankot attack: Will investigators omit the local link like in the 26/11 Mumbai probe?

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Jan 7: Not probing the local link in the 26/11 Mumbai attack did more harm than good for the nation.

While many may have felt that the worst has been covered up, the fact of the matter is that the rogue elements in India who helped the Pakistani terrorists got away scot free. Will it be the case in the probe into the Pathankot attack as well?

Speaking to the officials of the National Investigating Agency which is probing the case with a team of 20 members, the impression one gets is that they are focused more on the local link first before leading the trail up to Pakistan.

There are a lot of aspects that just do not add up and investigators are convinced that there was a great deal of local help involved as a result of which the terrorists stormed the Pathankot air force station with such ease.

The importance of probing the local link:

It is important to fix the rogues within India before we start pointing fingers as Pakistan. One must remember that till the world lasts, Pakistan's primary policy will be terror against India.

For Pakistan the terror against India not only brings in funds from the West, but it is also a cost effective manner of waging a war against India.

India may have told Pakistan in the strongest possible terms to act against the perpetrators of the attack. History has shown that Pakistan assures, but never acts.

The 26/11 attack probe is an example of this. In such a context it becomes all the important to secure the security mechanism within.

While there may be calls for a stronger security set up, a probe into such an attack is of equal importance. The NIA will have to deliver a strong message that locals who had helped terrorists will hang by the noose if they have betrayed the nation.

The Pathankot attack has various questions which desperately needs to be answered. Fixing the liability on all those who aided the terrorists is a key concern that has to be addressed.

The local link:

While it is clear that the terrorists used the taxi driven by Ikagar Singh to enter Pathankot, there is still some clarity that is needed on this issue.

After killing Singh, the terrorists had abandoned the car. From there how did they reach the air base. Was the vehicle of the Superintendent of Police who they had abducted used to reach the air base?

Investigations show that the terrorists reached the air base in groups of two. Was the first group already present at the air base before the remaining four reached there?

If that is the case who helped the first two terrorists reach the air base? It is clear that four terrorists who reached the air base later came in the car that they had stolen from the SP.

Upon reaching the air base, the terrorists had gained entry using the storm water drain. This air base has a wall of 15 kilometres and locating a storm water drain would have not been possible for these terrorists unless someone locally had informed them about it.

The other teething question is how did they cross the border? The mud stains found in the taxi suggests that they had used the riverine route.

The BSF has made it clear that they did not infiltrate through the Baimal sector. If this is the case, then how and where did they infiltrate through? Was the notorious drug smuggling lobby helping them out. The drug smugglers are familiar to those along the border.

Lastly the big question is about the ammunition. It has been said that they had in all 50 kilograms of ammunition on them.

The NIA is probing to find out if the ammunition was already placed in India in advance. If that is the case, then who locally had procured the ammunition and placed it in Punjab prior to the attack?

OneIndia News
After the verdict in Kathua rape case chief investigator regrets Vishal's release

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Police checkpoints along Jammu-Pathankot highway alerted after carjacking in Punjab

Grenade blast near Pathankot, all check-posts put on high alert

News Flash: India records 7.3% growth in GDP in 2014-15: Finance Ministry

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, Jan 7: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to hold Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with representatives of IT(Software &Hardware) Groups.

Get all news updates here on Thursday, Jan 7:

9:15 pm: Iran to protest Saudi bombing of Yemen embassy to Security Council: Official (Source- AFP).

9:00 pm: Nasdaq falls 2 percent, Dow and S&P down 1 percent at market open:Reuters.

8:35 pm: Paris attacker was carrying emblem of Islamic State group: Prosecutor (Source- AFP).

8:20 pm: I am willing to talk to protesting students any time and listen to their grievances: Gajendra Chauhan, Chairman FTII.

7:58 pm: Britain summons North Korean ambassador over nuclear test: Foreign Office (Source- AFP).

7:51 pm: Secretary of DIPP Amitabh Kant to be the CEO of Niti Aayog after his retirement in February.

7:40 pm: Syria government agrees to allow aid into besieged city Madaya: UN (Source- AFP).

7.34 pm: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to file nomination for re-election as party president tomorrow at party headquarters in Patna.

7.30 pm: Pahlaj Nihalani told me if you want U/A there will be at least 50 cuts: Prakash Jha on certification of Jai Gangaajal.

We can't change the everyday language because it changes texture of the film: Prakash Jha on certification of his film Jai Gangaajal  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

7.25 pm: Mahbooba Mufti deserves to be the CM, our party (BJP) should not be having any problem: Choudhary Lal Singh, BJP.

Mortal remains of #MuftiMohammadSayeed brought to his ancestral village Bijbehara in the Anantnag district in J&K pic.twitter.com/xQ0xqsT6RA  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

7.15 pm: Senior bureaucrat Amitabh Kant to be CEO of Niti Aayog after his retirement in February-end.

7.10 pm: BSF launches internal enquiry on Pathankot attack, report to be submitted in 15 days.

7.00 pm: India records 7.3% growth in GDP in 2014-15, compared to 6.9% growth in 2013-14 & 5.1% in 2012-13: Finance Ministry

6.45 pm: French police officials: Man who threatened police with knife was wearing fake explosives vest: AP

6.40 pm: Fire breaks out in a fan manufacturing factory in Delhi's Naraina, 19 fire tenders at the spot.

6.35 pm: For the last two days security forces have been sanitizing the Pathankot airbase which is close to completion: Airforce official

6.30 pm: Terrorists entered country & even though there was intelligence report, Govt failed to prevent the attack: AK Antony

PM Modi should have told the nation what happened during his visit to Pakistan: AK Antony, Congress  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

6.25 pm: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders meet J&K Governor NN Vohra to hand over a letter of support backing Mehbooba Mufti as the next CM

6.20 pm: India identified handlers operating from Pak; wants action against-Maulana Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Abdul Shakur, Kasim Jaan, & MM Azhar: Sources

6.10 pm: Why is it always that ball is in Pakistan's court, sometimes it should also be in our court: Kapil Sibal, Congress

5.55 pm: Pathankot airbase terror plot was hatched in Markaz, Punjab (Pakistan): Sources

5.45 pm: Man shot outside police station in northern Paris: Police - AFP

5.30 pm: Ghulam Nabi Azad and Omar Abdullah pay their respects to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Sher-e-Kashmir stadium, Srinagar.

5.00 pm: BP Singh was elected as VP of the FTII society in the first meeting of newly constituted FTII Society in Pune chaired by Gajendra Chauhan.

Society decides to nominate Rajkumar Hirani, BP Singh, Satish Shah,Pranjal Saikia, Narendra Pathak and Bhawana Somaiyya to Governing Council  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

4.45 pm: This immature handling of Pakistan has belittled the stature of the office that PM Modi holds: Kapil Sibal, Congress.

We believe there must be talks but not under threat: Kapil Sibal, Congress pic.twitter.com/i3LTAG5QKJ  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

4.30 pm: CBI files chargesheet against Nagpur based private firm & its two then Directors and two then EDs of UCO Bank and 9 other officials of UCO Bank including then GM,then DGM & then AGM for causing an alleged loss of Rs.36 crore (approx) to UCO Bank.

4.00 pm: EAM Sushma Swaraj will visit Israel and Palestine shortly: MEA

3.27 pm: At least 15 dead in bomb attack on Libya police school, says news agency.

3.26 pm: INS Kadmatt commissioned by Indian Navy Chief RK Dhowan in Visakhapatnam.

3.20 pm: Prime Minister has kindly accepted my proposal. So Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will now be part of Ministry of External Affairs says External Affair Ministery.

3.17 pm: 19th Jan is the next hearing, Chhota Rajan will be produced directly or through video conferencing says Lawyer.

2.56 pm: We have lost one of the last surviving veterans from first post-independence generation of politicians &statesmen: Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO.

2.15 pm: It is a great loss for the whole nation and people of J&K says MA Naqvi.

1.58 pm: NSUI protest outside VC office against DU to host an event on Ram Janam Bhoomi.

1.40 pm: Three members of a family brutally murdered in a village in Ramanagara (Bengaluru) yesterday. Police investigation underway.

1.28 pm: As a mark of respect to MM Sayeed, national flag will fly at half mast today in all capitals of all States & UTs including Delhi & J&K: MHA.

1.20 pm: Chhota Rajan taken into judicial custody in J Dey murder case by MCOCA Court, Rajan has asked for legal aid.

Chhota Rajan has asked for some time from the Court to engage a lawyer for himself.  ANI (@ANI_news) January 7, 2016

1.15 pm: There is still scope,we can plead our case with party President Sonia ji: Renu Jogi (Wife of Ajit Jogi) on Amit Jogi's expulsion from party

1.06 pm: Pavan Kapoor, presently High Commissioner of lndia in Maputo, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to lsrael.

1.04 pm: NIA submits report to Minister of Home affairs (MHA) on Pathankot Attack.

12.45 pm: Chhattisgarh PCC submits recommendation to expel Ajit Jogi to Motilal Vora, also asked to meet Congress Pres. Sonia Gandhi on the issue.

12.30 pm: PM Narendra Modi pays homage to late J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Palam Airport (Delhi).

12.17 pm: The first meeting of the newly constituted FTII Society in Pune chaired by Gajendra Chauhan.

12.00 pm: Deeply saddened by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed demise.Its great loss not only for J&K but for whole country, says Kiren Rijiju.

11.54 am: Jammu and Kashmir government announces 7-day mourning as mark of respect to late J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

11.53 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to late J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Palam Airport.

11.39 pm: Govt willing to call for an early budget session if required says Venkaiah Naidu after meeting Sonia Gandhi over over GST bil.

11.29 am: I express great shock over his untimely demise,its sad for all of us says J&K Deputy CM Nirmal Singh.

11.18 am: Last rites of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ji will take place today in Bijbehara informed Abdul Ghani Kohli, J&K Transport Minister.

11.07 am: HM Rajnath Singh to go to Srinagar.

11.06 am: Congress President Sonia Gandhi reaches AIIMS, Delhi.

10.10 am: India is well cushioned and continues to one of the fastest growing economies says Economic Affairs Secy Shaktikanta Das.

10.08 am: Demise of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is saddening,he was a great leader says Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister.

10.00 am: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah reaches AIIMS, Delhi.

9.59 am: Mehbooba ji has worked against all odds, she is the only choice in the party says Rafiq Mir,PDP on next J&K CM.

9.50 am: Security forces carry out combing operations in Bhule Chak village near Tibri camp in Gurdaspur.

9.35 am: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reaches AIIMS, Delhi.

9.31 am: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi shortly.

9.30 am: Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to J&K through his leadership.He'll be missed by all of us. Condolences to his family & supporters says PM Modi.

9.29 am: What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across pol spectrum says PM Modi.

9.28 am: Mufti Sahab's demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people's lives. RIP tweets PM Modi.

9.24 am: We are saddened, he was a hard-working man-Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress on demise of on Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

9.12 am: Heartfelt condolences on the passing away of J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed says President Pranab Mukherjee.

9.05 am: Deeply pained to learn of J&K CM's demise.He was known for his love for common people, specially the underprivileged says HM Rajnath Singh.

8.58 am: Muftiji ws a visionary leader dedicated entire life 2 a united strong J&K n India.His demise at a crucial juncture saddening says Ram Madhav,BJP.

8.55 am: Great loss for India says Mukthar Abbas Naqvi.

8.44 am: Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahib's passing away. I'm shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace: Omar Abdullah.

8.35 am: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away at AIIMS, Delhi.

8.19 am: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar unveiled the 'Little Police' concept in the state yesterday, Wednesday, Jan 6.

8.10 am: Indian economy to grow at 7.8% in 2016 says World Bank.

7.57 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to hold Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with representatives of IT(Software &Hardware) Groups.

OneIndia News
'Prepaid auto drivers not harassing Delhiites during odd-even

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Jan 7: Despite the recent complaints of harassment against prepaid auto and taxi drivers, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday, Jan 6 said that most of them are actually "cooperating" with Delhiites during the odd-even scheme.

Inspecting the prepaid taxi and auto booth at New Delhi railway station today, Rai said that "rumours" were being spread about "harassment" by auto drivers but "prima facie" most of taxi and auto drivers are cooperating with people during the ongoing campaign.

"I came to the station as many people were complaining that auto drivers were harassing them during the odd-even campaign in Delhi. There are some people who defame auto drivers and we are taking strict action against them," he said.

A meeting was held with taxi and auto unions at the Secretariat and they had promised to support the odd-even formula, Rai said.

"I myself visited the booth and talked to taxi and auto drivers here and they all are responsibly cooperating with people during the odd-even campaign," he said.

The large number of taxi and auto drivers at the booth on Ajmeri gate side of railway station while interacting with Rai sought his help in solving their problems.

The issue of alleged permit scam was also raised by some auto drivers and union leaders during the minister's visit. "I also met the taxi and auto union people who told me their problems. After January 15, I will meet with their delegation for solving their problems," he added.

PTI
Who in India can see partial solar eclipse 2022 on Oct 25

Sayeed's daughter Mehbooba Mufti likely to be first woman CM of J&K

India

oi-Mukul

New Delhi, Jan 7: Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter Mehbooba Mufti likely to become Jammu and Kashmir's next Chief Minister soon. According to latest reports, both allies PDP and BJP have reached consensus following the sudden demise of her father in AIIMS on Thursday.

Profile: Know all about PDP Patron and Jammu Kashmir new CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

Though now official confirmation has come from either side, sources say that Mehbooba is being seen as the most "logical choice" as Mufti's successor .

It is being said that both parties want final decision over the new Chief Minister of State before State budget session, which is to begin from January 18.

When asked about the reports of changing guard in the State, BJP leaders answered diplomatically. "As far as the change of guard in the government is concerned, we have not received any call from PDP", Deputy CM Dr Nirmal Singh said.

Another leader Chaudhary Lal Singh who is health minister of State said that it is 'internal matter' of PDP.

Meanwhile, PDP leader Rafiq Mir said, "This matter was not decided but obviously our choice is President of Party Mehbooba ji".

If things will fall in place, Mehbooba Mufti will be the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

Mehbooba, who has assumed an image of a fiery leader, started her political career in 1996 by joining Congress along with her father. The 56-year-old mother of two daughters is also president of the PDP. She won her first Assembly election as Congress candidate from her home segment of Bijbehara.

Mehbooba played a key role in her father's victory as Mehbooba played a key role in her father's victory as Congress candidate in Lok Sabha elections of 1998 when Sayeed defeated NC's Mohammad Yousuf Taing from south Kashmir. The Muftis, along with some key associates, floated their own regional party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999.

In 2002 Assembly elections, PDP bagged 16 seats and Sayeed for the first time became Chief Minister with the support of Congress and some independent MLAs. In 2004, Mehbooba contested and won her first Lok Sabha election, from south Kashmir.

In 2008, she contested and was returned as MLA from Wachi segment of Shopian in south Kashmir when PDP bagged 21 seats but lost power to NC-Congress coalition. In 2014, she was yet again returned as Lok Sabha member from south Kashmir.

Later in November-December Assembly elections, PDP got 28 seats and in March 2015 it formed its second government in Jammu and Kashmir---this time in an alliance with BJP. Mehbooba has never lost an election from South Kashmir so far.

OneIndia News

(With inpts from PTI)
Abu Dhabi forum to discuss initiatives to fight global hunger

International

oi-PTI

Dubai, Jan 7: A global forum on innovations in agriculture sector will be held in Abu Dhabi next month to harness global efforts and sharing new ideas and developing initiatives aimed at feeding the world.

The third edition of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) will be held from February 16-18. The exhibition and conference at GFIA forum is aimed at harnessing global efforts to provide enough safe, nutritious food to an expanding population, and will feature more than 300 next-generation agricultural solutions that could shape the future of sustainable farming around the world.

For the second year running, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADCFA) has set out to assemble some of the world's best scientific minds for a unique Hosted Scientist Programme at GFIA, at a time when official statistics put the number of hungry people in the world at around 795 million, two thirds of them living in Asia.

The program supported by ADFCA is designed as a scientific platform for discussion, sharing of new ideas and development of initiatives aimed at feeding the world as population growth continues against a backdrop of dwindling resources and climate change.

"We're seeking applications from scientists from around the world and from across the entire spectrum of agricultural research. Our priority is to attract those currently involved in ground-breaking research, as the principle aim here is to drive efforts to counter global hunger through pioneering developments in sustainable agriculture," said Ali Yousef Al Saad, Acting Director of Communication and Community Service at ADFCA.

Scientists can apply online via the official GFIA website before January 15. In its third year, GFIA will run alongside VIV MEA, a new version of livestock production events held in Europe and Asia helping to bring about a rethinking on global food security.

Together, GFIA and the accompanying VIV MEA are expected to host more than 500 exhibitors of innovative technology, making Abu Dhabi home to the largest agricultural event in the region.

PTI
Iranian unrest : Will US and Europe really back protestors?

Iran warns Saudi to stop 'adding fuel to fire'

International

oi-PTI

Tehran, Jan 6: Iran warned Saudi Arabia today to stop working against it as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of greater regional instability.

As its diplomats arrived home after being told to leave by Saudi Arabia, Shiite-dominated Iran fired the latest verbal salvo in a dispute that has seen Riyadh and some Sunni Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.

At a press conference in the capital, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Riyadh must end prolonged efforts to confront Iran.

Citing longstanding differences that became a full-blown split after Saudi Arabia executed Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr, Zarif said the Sunni-ruled kingdom had sought systematically to inflict damage.

"For the past two-and-a-half years, Saudi Arabia has opposed Iran's diplomacy," he said at the press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

"Saudi Arabia has moved against our efforts and, unfortunately, they opposed the nuclear agreement," Zarif said, also accusing Riyadh of "taking measures against the Iranian people" through its efforts to keep oil prices low.

"This trend of creating tension must stop. We need to stand united... and stop those who are adding fuel to the fire," he added. The spike in tensions comes after Iran last year secured a historic nuclear deal with world powers led by the United States, causing major concern in longtime US ally Riyadh.

That deal, when finally implemented, will end sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry and could see the Islamic republic challenge Saudi Arabia's role as the Middle East's dominant energy and economic power.

Oil prices have fallen by more than 60 percent since mid-2014 as OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia refuses to lower production in a bid to push competitors out of the market, hurting the income of other producers, including Iran.

Yesterday, Riyadh cut the February price of its export oil to Europe in another move to win market share. Nimr's death sparked demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan.

The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran and Kuwait recalled its ambassador. Djibouti, the tiny Horn of Africa nation, said today it too had broken diplomatic ties with Tehran.

And Qatar recalled its ambassador while Jordan summoned Tehran's envoy to protest the attacks on Saudi missions.

Staff at Iran's embassy in Riyadh and its consulate in Jeddah flew home today, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

The dispute has raised fears of an increase in sectarian tensions in the Middle East that could derail efforts to resolve pressing issues including the wars in Syria and Yemen.

The United Nations and Western governments have expressed deep concern, urging both sides to reduce tensions. MNG

PTI
More women come forward alleging New Year assaults in Germany

International

oi-PTI

Cologne (Germany), Jan 7: More women came forward on Wednesday alleging they were sexually assaulted and robbed during New Year's Eve celebrations in the German city of Cologne, as police faced mounting criticism for their handling of the incident.

At least 106 criminal complaints have been filed since last week, Cologne police spokesman Christoph Gilles said. The figure has increased from 90 since yesterday.

"At least three quarters have a sexual component. In two cases we are investigating crimes that amount to rape," Gilles told The Associated Press.

About 1,000 men described by police as being of "Arab or North African origin" gathered around Cologne's main station, next to the city's famous cathedral, on the night from Thursday to Friday.

Smaller groups then surrounded individual women, harassed them and stole their belongings. Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning, describing the festivities as "largely peaceful."

Details of the attacks only emerged over the weekend and calls have grown for a comprehensive review of police actions on the night, after some witnesses claimed that officers didn't stop the attackers.

Gilles said police were well prepared on the night, but "surprised" by the scale and aggression of the attacks. Mayor Henriette Reker said she expected police to analyze what went wrong and "draw consequences from that."

She didn't elaborate on what that would entail. Police chief Wolfgang Albers has shrugged off questions about his own future, saying that he will stay in his post, though he acknowledged that the initial failure to mention the assaults was a mistake.

Ralf Jaeger, North Rhine-Westphalia state's interior minister, said he expected a detailed report from Cologne police this week on who knew what when.

"The Cologne police force must clear up meticulously what happened where and when, what police could know and evaluate when and where, and what measures have to be taken." Gilles, the police spokesman, said the city has 10 officers working on the attacks and four men have been detained.

AP
Sikh-American appointed top prosecutor in US County

International

oi-PTI

New York, Jan 7: A Sikh-American attorney has been appointed as the top prosecutor in the most populous county in New Jersey, becoming the first South Asian to occupy the post in the state.

Gurbir Grewal, 42 was sworn in as acting Bergen County prosecutor on January 4, succeeding John Molinelli whose 14-year long tenure has ended. A report in news website NorthJersey.com said Grewal, a former federal prosecutor, has fought major white-collar crimes for the US Attorney's Office and most recently served as chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The report quoted Grewal as saying that he hopes to work to build on the reputation of his office and enhance it. He told the gathering at his swearing-in that he "cares deeply" about the county and is "deeply committed to public service." "I want to spend my time here just seeing how I can make this an even better place," he said.

Grewal described his appointment as an "honour and privilege" and said the office of the Bergen County prosecutor is in "many real ways sets the standard for other prosecutors offices throughout the state." Grewal was also sworn in as an assistant attorney general in Trenton by acting state Attorney General John Hoffman.

He said he intends to meet other law enforcement personnel over the next several weeks to know their challenges and resource issues.

Sikhs in US feel they are victims of mistaken identity

"I hope to prove to you over the next several years, and maybe more, that I'm a quick learner, I'm a hard worker, and I will always be straightforward," the report quoted him as saying. Grewal was nominated for the post by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2013, but the Senate never scheduled a hearing on the appointment. After Molinelli was notified he would be replaced, Christie said a change was "long overdue".

PTI
UK police honours heroic dog killed in Paris attacks

International

oi-PTI

London, Jan 7: The UK police have recruited a four-month-old puppy and named it after the heroic dog 'diesel' who was killed in a French police raid following the Paris attacks.

A Belgian Malinois, has joined North Yorkshire Police and begun the process that could see her qualify as a fully fledged police dog.

"The name Diesel was chosen out of respect for the police dog that died in a raid on an apartment block in Saint-Denis, Paris, in November," Sergeant Simon Whitby, of the North Yorkshire Police Dog Section was quoted as saying by the Daily Express.

"The death touched us all, and having the name live on is a wonderful way to respect Diesel's memory."

Whitby said Diesel has been assigned to a volunteer puppy walker to ensure she gains experience of a variety of situations, including socialising with people, other animals, busy traffic, crowds of people and loud noises.

Diesel, a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois French police dog was killed during a major counter-terror raid on an apartment block in Saint-Denis on November 18.

She was shot while armed police raided an apartment where Paris attacks mastermind Abdehamid Abaaoud and six other terror suspects were staying.

PTI
What does the US actually want in Syria?

US, Japan, S Korea vow tough response to N Korea H-bomb test

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Jan 7: The US, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong international response to North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them security situation in the region following North Korea's test.

"All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour," the White House said.

"Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour," the White House said after Obama's phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea conducts successful hydrogen bomb test

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test. In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

"He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Korea's provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Secretary of State Nick Burns said the US and Asian countries should pressure the government of China to act much more resolutely to restrain and contain the North Korean regime.

PTI
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All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



Last summer, One News Page reported that Google were to be returning to their critically divided digital spectacles, which proved to be something of a hit and a miss for both the buying public and gadget gurus alike. Many commented that the original model seemed to be a test run for the life enhancement, while others derided the product altogether  however, since then, it seems that Google have been keen to return to the drawing board and prove to the world that they are ready to for smart spectacles!

Earlier this year, the corporation  who rebranded as umbrella organisation Alphabet during 2015  announced that they were ceasing sales of the device, which prompted many to assume that the product was a rare failure on Googles part. However, the company has asserted that Google Glass would return in another form, and this week, we have been given some future glances as to what to expect from a rethinking of the wearable tech.

According to The Independent, Google Glass 2 will be more robust, waterproof and will boast new processors and internal components, addressing many of the complaints regarding the usefulness of its predecessors speed and efficiency. The design will also appear more resistant and less flimsy, appearing to address previous concerns over the devices robustness. However, it has been stated that the new spectacles will not be readily available to be purchased via public outlets.

Instead, it has been stated that Google will be supplying Glass 2 to certain companies and organisations, who will be able to imprint their own software and personal spins on the device before providing them to the public. While it is not currently known exactly who will have the monopoly over the acquisition of the new spectacles, it will be interesting to see what sort of spin Google are looking to put on the new Glass by whom they choose to trade with. Until then, the technology world will wait with baited breath to see whether or not the company has learned from the issues created by the original device, and whether or not the new model will be worthy of our attention once more!

Is the world truly ready for wearable tech? With mixed reviews and sales on smart watches, but with increased interest in FitBit technology, 2016 could well be the year in which we start to take smart clothing and accessories seriously  we will have to wait and see!
Three suspects have been handed over to the Waigani Police Station Commander by community members, while ten others have been identified following an ethnic clash between the Enga and Southern Erave Community on New Years Day.This clash also resulted in attacks on young women and girls who claimed that they were also raped by suspects from Enga on the same day.The victims had come forward on Wednesday to speak to reporters about the frightening ordeal they had to encounter in the midst of a clash between two ethnic groups at Waigani.Waigani Police Station commander inspector Micah Yosman tells PNGFM that these men will be forwarded to Boroko CID office for processing and arrests soon.Mr Yosman thanked the Morata one community and their leaders for bringing forward three suspects and indentifying ten others who are all from Wabag.The Waigani Police station commander second in charge Andrew Geluwa, said police at that time were late in responding to this incident because of road conditions but did recue and aid those victims to the hospital.No action will result in a PROTEST MARCH by the community and their victims who were abused and allegedly raped during the fight.NCD Women Council President Maria Andrews said women leaders here in NCD and the community leaders of Morata one and the victims families will meet today and discuss the protest march.The United Nations has also condemned the alleged sexual attack on four women .PNGFM / ONE PNG
Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Dublin-based Three Rock Capital Management bucked the trend of low performance among hedge funds to end the year up 14%, according to a performance update obtained by Opalesque. Three Rock uses a discretionary macro strategy created by veteran trader Conor OMara.

The fund's performance is also notable as several high-profile macro funds closed this year. The flagship fund was up 1.12% in December and is up 72.3% since inception in 2009.

Within the strategy, Three Rock seems to be finding opportunity despite macroeconomic weakness. Writing in a recent update, Three Rock CEO Ciaran Kane says that as the market goes into the new year and energy prices remain low, it is unlikely that Canada will see a significant economic recovery this year. As a result, the fund was long USDCAD when it broke above 1.3400. The firm is likely to re-enter this trade later this month.

Kane also sees the potential for a true equity market correction as the technical deterioration becomes evident in the S&P 500, but says that global monetary policy should cushion the fall.

Irish hedge funds, on the whole, have performed well since the crisis. Despite a slowdown in new fund formations immediately after 2008, existing Irish funds have outperformed, increasing AUM. As delegates at the recent Opalesque Ireland Roundtable noted, the Irish funds industry has steadily matured over the years and the country is now the second-largest fund domicile in......................

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Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

In line with many other equity market neutral funds, the Dacharan Equities Strategy did well last year by returning 9.7%, after gaining almost 20% in 2014.

Launched in January 2014 by Swiss-based alternative investment manager Dacharan Capital, the fund runs a systematic market neutral equity strategy. The manager invests in a basket of value companies (in North America and Europe), and uses a momentum component to incorporate market sentiment and to diversify. According to the monthly report, the strategy has been positive during 8 of the 10 S&P 500 down months over the last 2 years. The cumulative return in this period is over +30%.

The equity market neutral strategy is a hedge fund strategy that seeks to exploit differences in stock prices by being long and short in stocks within the same sector, industry, market capitalization, country, etc. The HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index was up 0.34% in December and up 5.64% for the year - its best performing year since 2000, and the second best since inception. Agecroft Partners expects the market neutral long/short equi......................

To view our full article Click here


Ted Cruz

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Donald Trump said in an interview that rival Ted Cruzs Canadian birthplace was a very precarious issue that could make the senator from Texas vulnerable if he became the Republican presidential nominee. Republicans are going to have to ask themselves the question: Do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? Thatd be a big problem, Trump said when asked about the topic. Itd be a very precarious one for Republicans because hed be running and the courts may take a long time to make a decision. You dont want to be running and have that kind of thing over your head.
I don't know where this will end but every time I write about a book on Bernie Sanders, somebody sends me a larger one. At least my arms are getting stronger from lifting the things. One point is clear to me: if the media ever wanted to catch up on all the coverage of Bernie's campaign that it has foregone, it could do it with a minimum-wage staffer reading aloud from books -- reducing the need to find corporations opposed to oligarchy to buy the advertisements. The reporting is in books, it's just not in newspapers or boob tubes.

The latest is Bernie: A Lifelong Crusade Against Wall Street & Wealth by Darcy G. Richardson. Like the last one was, it is now the most substantial reporting I've seen on Bernie's political career. It also does the most to include the voices of Bernie's critics from the left (see Chapter 1). In addition it, by far, includes the most information on Bernie's foreign policy actions, good and bad, over the decades. The book is a bit too heavy on horse-race coverage of each of Sanders' past elections for my taste, but people who like that stuff will eat it up.

Having written elsewhere today about public diplomacy by towns and cities, I was particularly struck by Richardson's chapter titled "International Diplomacy," which covers, not Bernie's career in Washington, but his time as mayor of Burlington, Vt. It is safe to say that when it comes to foreign policy Bernie was better then than he is now, was better then than any current mayor in the United States, and was better then than possibly any other mayor ever. I say that while continuing to condemn the horrible things he did, including arresting peace activists for demanding conversion of weapons jobs to peaceful ones.

Mayor Bernie denounced the Pentagon budget, explained its local relevance, demanded nuclear disarmament, opposed apartheid in South Africa, and sought to improve U.S.-Soviet relations. "We're spending billions on military," he said, touching on a theme that today he wouldn't prod with a $10 billion screw out of an F-35. "Why can't we take some of that money to pay for thousands of U.S. children to go to the Soviet Union? And, why can't the Soviets take money they're spending on arms and use it to send thousands of Russian children to America?"

Mayor Bernie backed a successful ballot initiative telling the U.S. military to get out of El Salvador. He denounced the U.S. attack on Grenada. The Burlington Board of Alderman voted to encourage trade between Burlington and Nicaragua, in defiance of President Ronald Reagan's embargo. Mayor Bernie accepted an invitation from the Nicaraguan government to visit Nicaragua, where he spoke out against U.S. war mongering, and from which he returned to a speaking tour letting Vermonters know what he's seen and learned. He had also set up a sister city relationship for Burlington with a city in Nicaragua. He led an effort that provided $100,000 in aid to that city.

Again, articulating basic common sense wisdom that he wouldn't come near today for love or the presidency, Mayor Bernie Sanders said, "Instead of invading Nicaragua and spending tremendous amounts of tax dollars on a war there, money which could be much better used at home, it seems to me that it would be worthwhile for us to get to know the people of Nicaragua, understand their problems and concerns, and see how we can transform the present tension-filled relationship into a positive one based on mutual respect." Just try to imagine Senator Sanders saying that about the people of Syria or Iraq.

Richardson's book is of course largely devoted to the topic of taking on Wall Street greed, on which Sanders has been stellar and consistent for years and years. But we do also catch glimpses of Sanders' evolving foreign policy from his opposition to the war on Vietnam (which was more serious than other books have suggested) through to his proposal that Saudi Arabia "get its hands dirty" and kill more people. At the time of the Gulf War, Sanders was far more hawkish than a simple look at his No vote on invasion suggests. He supported the troop build up and the deadly embargo. He backed the NATO bombing in Kosovo. He opposed until very late any efforts to impeach Bush or Cheney.

But on the matter of Wall Street, Sanders has been as good in the past as he was in this week's speech. He warned of the danger of a crash years before it came, and questioned people like Alan Greenspan who brushed all worries aside. He opposed repealing Glass-Steagall. He opposed credit default swap scams. He opposed the appointments of Timothy Geithner and Jack Lew. His "big short" was perhaps to stay in politics until it became clear to all sane people that he'd been right on these matters, as on NAFTA and so much else. His favorite book in college, we learn, was Looking Backward. He found the root of most problems in capitalism. He developed a consistent ideology that makes his growing acceptance of militarism stand out as uniquely opportunistic and false.

By that I most certainly do not mean that he is a candidate for peace strategically pretending to be for war, as many voters told themselves about Barack Obama on even less basis. When Bernie was good on foreign policy he campaigned promising to be good on foreign policy. As his performance worsened, so did his campaign promises. Any elected official can be moved by public pressure, of course, but first he'd have to be elected and then we'd have to move him -- something millions of people have taken a principled stand against even trying with President Obama.

One note in Sanders' defense: Richardson cites a rightwing newspaper article claiming that Bernie and his wife together are in the top 2 percent of income earners. It's worth noting that were that true it would not put them anywhere at all near the top 2 percent in accumulated wealth. It also seems to be an extreme estimate on behalf of the author of a sloppy article. Another source places the Sanders in the top 5 percent in income, while noting how extremely impoverished that leaves them by the standards of the U.S. Senate.
So far the leak seems to be a minor annoyance in the area, said Sean O'Rourke, a member of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council Board of Directors." -Los Angeles Daily News

On November 19th it was finally acknowledged that the residents who had been complaining for weeks were not hypochondriacs and "that noxious fumes from a gas well above Porter Ranch are causing a health threat". As a result, the County Health Department ordered the utility "to offer free temporary relocation assistance to any impacted residents." The Gas Company which had first denied the existence of a leak to residents and then denied that conditions posed danger, told the Daily News that prior to the order they "had received five or six calls from the Porter Ranch area. [They had] offered relocation, and...no one [had] accepted the offer". As of this writing, "2,258 household have been placed in temporary housing and an additional 3,168 are in the placement process."

The Health Department's action seems to have resulted in a change in how the area's elected officials are reacting to the crisis. Antonovich finally concluded that "the residents...have suffered" and authored an emergency declaration that was passed over a month and a half after the start of the leak. Englander, the chairman of Public Safety Committee, also finally recognized "the mass relocation of residents, short-term health effects experienced and the poor air quality in the vicinity of the gas leak". He also stated that "it is imperative that the governor step in and declare a local emergency so this community can receive the resources it needs."

The residents of Porter Ranch were forced to wait a few more weeks for Governor Jerry Brown to declare that emergency. While the Gas Company site spewed greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, Brown traveled to Paris to take a stand against global warming. A trip from Sacramento to the leaking well in Porter Ranch was postponed until this week - over two months after the crisis began. However, in all fairness to the governor, there is a good chance that his sister provided him updates on the situation over the holidays. Afterall, her paid position as a board member of Sempra Energy, which own Southern California Gas Co., should give her access to plenty of information about the leak.

While in Porter Ranch, the governor did not bother to meet with the thousands of affected constituents. Instead he met privately with some members of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council (PRNC) in a meeting that was not accessible to the public. In fact the Council failed to even give proper notice of the meeting. This violation of California's open meeting laws is particularly concerning to those who feel that the Council has ignored resident's health concerns in favor of an attempt to stabilize falling property values. It is easy to understand if those who allege that their opinions have been deleted from the Council's Facebook page may feel that their concerns cannot be adequately expressed to the governor by someone who has publicly described the leak as a "minor annoyance."

This is not the first time that the PRNC has been caught breaking the rules to support the status quo. On May 19, 2014, these elected officials falsely stated on their facebook page that the "State of California has created a formula that will reduce [a local school's] overall budget by 90%" and organized a community meeting. When confronted with the error, the President stated that the "goal was to get the concerned community to this meeting to find out the real facts and complexities behind the issue and look for solutions and options." Unfortunately, false facts continued to be propagated at the meeting when one of the council members asked how the school was supposed to operate on a budget of $26,000 a year. The school's actual budget was $5,215,042.

During the LAUSD's 2015 School Board election, the Porter Ranch and Valley View Neighborhood Councils both invited the sitting School Board Member to speak at their meetings without including any of her opponents. This violated the rule that states neighborhood councils are not to be used to "take sides in election contests or bestow an unfair advantage on one or several competing factions." As a result, one of her opponents, Filiberto Gonzalez, filed a complaint with the City Ethics Commission.

While the citizens of Porter Ranch do not have the ability to match the monetary influence of the Gas Company on local politicians, only they hold the power of the vote. In June, Englander is running to replace Antonovich on the Board of Supervisors and he should have to answer for his actions during the entire time table of the crisis, not just from when the media became interested. Additionally, Neighborhood Council elections are being held in the Porter Ranch and Northridge areas on April 9. If you are a stakeholder, you can register to vote, or run for a seat, on the Empower LA website.

____________________________________________

I am a former candidate for the District 3 seat on the LAUSD School Board, founder of Change The LAUSD and member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. Opinions are my own.

(Article changed on January 7, 2016 at 11:40)
What if the very worst result of George W. Bush's war lies is that people stop taking seriously the danger of actual nuclear weapons actually falling into the hands of actual lunatics? Arguably the very worst result of Woodrow Wilson's lies about German atrocities in World War I was excessive skepticism about reports of Nazi atrocities leading up to and during World War II. The fact is that nuclear weapons are being recklessly maintained, built, developed, tested, and proliferated. The fact is that governments make mistakes, fail, collapse, and engage in evil actions.

By Dick Cheney's calculation, if there was a 1% chance that a pile of ridiculous lies was true, it justified all out war on the world, destabilizing a region, killing and making homeless millions, and birthing radical new terrorist forces. By my calculation, there is a 100% chance that if we continue current nuclear policies, sooner or later, a huge number of people -- quite possibly all people -- will die, many of them with melted skin, eyes hanging out of their sockets, noses burnt off, and screams of bitter envy for those already dead. Surely this justifies some slight action of some sort, apart from more fracking or building internment camps for Muslims.

I say that's my calculation, but the idea actually arises -- one of many -- from my reading of an excellent book called City, Save Thyself! Nuclear Terror and the Urban Ballot. It was written by David Wylie, a former Cambridge, Mass., city councilor who helped initiate the first municipal Commission on Peace and Disarmament, the twenty U.S.-Soviet Sister City alliances, and an urban referendum effort against nuclear weapons.

What if we were to confront real dangers of nuclear apocalypse and climate apocalypse without the fear that produces stupidity, but with smart strategic action aimed at substantive change? That brings me to a second favorite idea from Wylie's book, and what I take to be his central proposal. Democratic people power is the force that can put a halt to the war profiteers and weapons proliferators. Democratic people power can best be created at the level of towns and cities. Towns and cities of the world can together form a federalist structure of global power of the sort that nations will never produce and which the United Nations has fervently resisted since its creation.

Do you live in a town or city in the United States? When you organize, are you able in some small way to influence your local government? Would people in your town be willing to communicate with people in a foreign town, perhaps a largely Muslim foreign town? Would people in your town be interested in a world that reduced and eliminated weapons of mass destruction? Would people in your town appreciate major new resources for education, infrastructure, green energy, and jobs -- resources that would become available with reductions in military spending? Would the people of your city like to tell the people of a foreign nation that, despite many differences and mutual ignorance of each other, you'd prefer not to see the U.S. military bomb them, and you'd in fact like to get to know them better through cultural exchanges and joint action as members of a global security committee?

None of this is far fetched. Cities and towns are in fact where it is entirely possible to get things done. While activist groups focus their efforts on doomed bills in Congress, U.S. cities are taking huge strides on election reform, green energy, education, voting rights, etc. We need to shift our worldviews to properly pursue this course. We need to stop identifying ourselves by the name of a nation, and instead think of ourselves in terms of our towns and the world. There is overwhelming evidence that redirecting political engagement from national advocacy that almost always fails into local advocacy that often works would be less a redirection of a finite amount of civic action and more a generation of vast new quantities of popular democratic work.

Sister and twin cities, Mayors for Peace, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the League of Historical Cities, and other such organizations point to the potential for giving local political strength a broader grip on the world. Communication across distances and languages is growing easier by the minute. Agreement that our communities would be better off not burned to the ground by either bombs or climate chaos is among the easiest and least controversial notions available to be proposed to a diverse group of democratic-spirited representatives from planet earth.

Here in Charlottesville, Virginia, I, as a Charlottesvillian and World Citizen, am pleased to report that our local city council has in recent years passed resolutions against possible wars on various countries, including Iraq and Iran, in favor of conversion to peaceful industries, and against the use of drones. Our city council, like most, routinely informs its state general assembly of its wishes. And the influence of the city's official voice does not end there. Cville's past resolutions on Iraq, military spending, uranium, and other matters have inspired other localities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to raise their voices as well. Some of these resolutions have been directed to the federal government, to which the residents of Charlottesville pay taxes and whose laws the residents of Charlottesville are subject to.

This is how our federalist republic is supposed to work. City council members in Virginia take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Cities and towns routinely send petitions to Congress for all kinds of requests. This is allowed under Clause 3, Rule XII, Section 819, of the Rules of the House of Representatives. This clause is routinely used to accept petitions from cities, and memorials from states, all across the United States. The same is established in the Jefferson Manual, the rule book for the House originally written by Thomas Jefferson for the Senate.

In 1967 a court in California ruled (Farley v. Healey , 67 Cal.2d 325) that "one of the purposes of local government is to represent its citizens before the Congress, the Legislature, and administrative agencies in matters over which the local government has no power. Even in matters of foreign policy it is not uncommon for local legislative bodies to make their positions known."

Abolitionists passed local resolutions against U.S. policies on slavery. The anti-apartheid movement did the same, as did the nuclear freeze movement, the movement against the PATRIOT Act, the movement in favor of the Kyoto Protocol, etc. We are not an island. If we become environmentally sustainable, others will ruin our climate. If we ban assault weapons, they'll arrive at our borders. And if the skies of the United States are filled with drones, it will become ever more difficult for Charlottesville to keep them out.

Wylie's proposal would further empower my city and thousands of other cities, each of which would appoint a representative to a global body. If nations won't protect the climate, cities of the world can nonetheless agree to do so. If nations won't resolve disputes by peaceful means, cities can nonetheless make that happen. If nations won't invest in peaceful industries, cities and towns can nonetheless create programs of economic conversion to industries that provide greater economic benefit while also reducing the chances of violent death by nuclear hell fire.

Wylie's proposal should be read in its entirety in his book, which outlines numerous ways for cities to advance this process, including ways to encourage and recognize world citizens, and to encourage and recognize world cities. Cities can also use referenda, rather than council votes, to give democratic weight and wisdom to their actions. And national politicians who denounce the broken system they are part of can take actions to strengthen the local-level system that still has life in it.

The proposal here is not to risk federal prosecution by secretly negotiating with foreign national governments. Rather the idea is to risk an outbreak of peace and mutual understanding by publicly interacting with local governments from one's own and other parts of the world. This public diplomacy could be truly public in the sense of publishing full video of all of its interactions on the public internet. (An outline for such transparency can be found in the remnants of broken campaign promises from a certain national U.S. political candidate of 2008.)

Wylie's book is a guide to action and includes in it a model letter to your local mayor or city council, a model resolution, a model agenda for a first meeting of a municipal security assembly, and a rich bibliography for deeper understanding of how to make this work. I highly recommend it.
As terrorism rears its ugly head in the world, the U.S. and its Western allies react to these increasing acts of terror by taking swift action against those suspected of committing them. While that's the appropriate response, it's like applying band aids to a grievous wound; it's not going to stop the continued bleeding.

When one encounters a very serious and escalating problem such as this spreading of terrorism throughout the world it's imperative that the root cause be identified in order to develop the solutions to bring it under control. That's simply not being done by the leaders of these Western nations. And, as a result, the terrorists are gaining the upper hand and taking the initiative in planning more attacks on their primary targets, the U.S. and their allies.

The reality of the situation is that terrorism can never be completely eliminated. It's been a part of life on this planet almost from the beginning of time and it will exist in one form or another as long as humans inhabit the earth. But if we do not come up with the ways to bring this current situation under control we will find ourselves living in a chaotic world filled with constant fear and paranoia.

Terrorism can be found in many regions and countries but the terrorism that poses the greatest threat is currently concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa, both of which have large Muslim populations.

Because of that fact it's extremely important that these Western governments and their leaders fully comprehend that Muslims, other religious groups, or other societal factions all have their dangerous, rogue elements. So in the process of planning appropriate responses to this monumental problem they must make certain that the people of the Muslim faith, collectively, are not singled out as the main cause of this overall problem; that they do not make the mistake of promoting guilt by association; that will prove to be very counterproductive.

This wave of terrorism is largely the product of deep seated anger and associated hatred that has been building up for decades because of many of the aggressive actions taken against them by various U.S. governments, often supported by their Western allies; actions that have overthrown governments, deposed leaders, including dictators, installed new ones, and interfered in the internal affairs of nations. This has included invasions and occupations and the conducting of bombing campaigns in nations such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and now Syria.

That statement is not supposition, that's documented fact. Not only that but we are currently witnessing some of these same nations engaging in actions in Syria that could be referred to as throwing more gasoline on a raging fire.

So what should the U.S. and its allies do to defuse this highly dangerous situation? Should they ramp up their military force across this entire region and try to establish a suffocating control over the Muslim nations and their people?

Absolutely not; to keep following an agenda that is clearly not working and actually backfiring would be an exercise in futility and a colossal mistake. What they must do instead is to finally acknowledge that this highly faulted strategy is never going to work. It's time to think much more deeply and dramatically change course.

The U.S. and Western nations should, as soon as it is feasible, remove their military forces from Middle Eastern and North African countries; that is, all the forces which are not there at the specific invitation of the host sovereign nations. In other words they need to remove their militaries out of countries where they don't belong and where they have no legal right to be according to international law.

One of the only exceptions to this rule would be the nation of Qatar which willingly allows the U.S. Central Command headquarters to maintain a presence at this country's Al Udeid Air Base.

The first country for the U.S. and their allies to exit is Syria. Stop all the bombing immediately and then pack up and leave.

But wait; there are those who will say that they must stay there to fight ISIS and its associated terrorist groups. No, that is not the case; in fact, it's not a secret that the primary objective of the U.S. government has been to remove President Assad of Syria from power. But to continue to concentrate on removing Assad would be following the same misguided strategy that removed Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq from power; and then which left those countries in a state of chaos and disarray; and generated a massive amount of anger and hatred in the hearts of the people that came under attack.

No, removing Assad is not the answer; the chances that it would be successful are very poor at best, and here's why. Russia entered that conflict at the invitation of Assad and has established a powerful military presence in Syria and, along with Iranian and Hezbollah troops on the ground, is mounting a massive attack on ISIS to destroy it and prevent the removal of Assad. Russia is not going to step aside, so it's very likely that Assad is going to remain in power.

Now, besides Syria, U.S. military actions have involved the use of drones to launch Hellfire missiles into the countries of Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen with the intent of destroying terrorists. In far too many instances these missiles have, instead, killed innocent civilians. These drone attacks have accomplished little more than stoking the fires of anger and hatred and the creation of more revenge seekers. Therefore, the next step to reduce the degree of terrorism is to completely halt these drone incursions into those specific countries.

Following this strategy does not mean that the U.S. should not have some form of military presence anywhere in the Middle East and surrounding regions. That can be done with the presence of substantial naval power. But what we need to see is the end of the unjustified invasions, occupations and interference in internal affairs. U.S. leaders would do well to adopt the wise strategy of President Theodore Roosevelt and his "Speak softly and carry a big stick" policy. Make war an absolute last resort and only when America is directly threatened should such action follow.

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My guest today is Brent Budowsky, columnist for The Hill. Welcome back to OpEdNews, Brent.

JB: We haven't talked since back in 2010*. Of late, Bernie Sanders's campaign has caught your eye. Fill us in, please.

BB: Thanks, Joan. Bernie is the voice of the progressive future at a time when a progressive populist wave has vast public support and will be the wave of the American political future---if Democrats embrace it, as Bernie proposes. It is no coincidence that Bernie Sanders is breaking all records for small donor support. He recently announced that in the 4th Quarter of 2015, his campaign raised $33 million, far more than Ted Cruz or Ben Carson, and almost as much as Hillary Clinton---without relying on mega-wealthy donors or special interest Super Pacs. This is an extraordinary achievement for a Democratic Party that urgently needs the high ideals, progressive agenda and enthusiasm that Bernie creates for workers, small donors and voters.....

JB: Bernie's fundraising success with small donors in, indeed, extraordinary. That accomplishment is matched with good numbers in recent polling. What can you tell us about that?

BB: In one recent Quinnipiac poll Bernie was leading Trump by 13 points. In most polls, he is within striking range of Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucus, ahead of her in New Hampshire, and running close to all Republicans in general election match-up polls. It is often said by insider pundits that Bernie Sanders is not electable but the polls refute this. He is very electable. Also, I recently took a look at polling about favorability. Bernie is viewed more favorably by voters than unfavorably, which other candidates cannot claim, and while he is not as well known as some of the others, the more people know him the polling shows that his net favorable ratings stay the in place.

I also believe that Bernie will do better on election day than his polling numbers indicate because enthusiasm for him is higher than enthusiasm for other candidates. This suggests two things to me. First there is a better chance than pundits think that Bernie wins both the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, in which case all hell will break loose on the Democratic side as his fundraising will soar even higher and he will finally receive the major media coverage that he has earned but not yet received. At the same time, if Hillary Clinton is ultimately nominated Bernie Sanders could well be the most important Democrat in America because he has the credibility to inspire Democratic voters to vote in the general election for all Democrats, from the presidency to local office.

The Democrats often suffer from an enthusiasm gap which could be deadly on election day, as it was in the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections. The credibility and inspiration of Bernie Sanders and his devoted supporters will be critical on election day whether Bernie or Hillary is nominated. I view the Sanders campaign as more than a presidential campaign, which it certainly is. I view it as a major and potentially historic movement for progressive reform and social change that I hope continues, builds and expands for a long time. I view this as similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement which I strongly supported and still do, but which many Democratic insiders to their discredit viewed with disdain.

Those of us who hold these views are the majority of Americans, and the more we act like it across the political spectrum and even beyond electoral politics as well, the better.

JB: I can certainly feel your enthusiasm, Brent, but Bernie's various successes feel like the hypothetical tree falling in the forest with no-one there to witness. If the public is unaware that Bernie is doing so well because of the virtual media blackout, then how can he gain traction on a national scale? Also, how can we know that the Quinnipiac poll you cite is not just an aberration or an outlier?



Bernie Sanders - Caricature

(Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA



BB: There is a virtual media blackout of Bernie, but it is getting better in the last two weeks as the real voting comes closer. If Bernie wins Iowa or New Hampshire, and potentially both, there will be lots of witnesses to the proverbial tree falling in the forest because the media will have to give major coverage to any Sanders victory which will get his message out to the television audience even more. And, if Bernie wins Iowa especially and goes into New Hampshire with a head of steam, the media will suddenly play the race as big time contest because they will have no choice. It is also possible that Hillary wins Iowa and New Hampshire, in which case for practical purposes she will be the nominee early.

Joan, I think pundits play too much attention to cable television and not enough to social media, where Bernie is the king. Social media is becoming as powerful today as television was becoming in 1960 with the Kennedy-Nixon race. There is evidence of this in Bernie's fantastic small donor fundraising and his very large crowds. If this continues into the Iowa caucus he will do better than pundits think and this is where the breakthrough to the major media comes. I am very confident that Bernie's social media advantage will also translate into a higher than expected turnout in the Iowa caucus for him---we will know in a few weeks if this is enough.

The Quinnipiac poll of Bernie against Trump may turn out to be an outlier, maybe not---but almost all polls show Bernie as well Hillary are both competitive with all Republicans. My basic point is that the data prove that those who say Bernie would not be competitive in a general election are wrong. He would be very competitive. If God forced me to state an opinion, I would estimate today that Hillary would be a slight favorite against any Republican, and Bernie would be even money, even before his name recognition goes much higher, which it will if he wins Iowa or New Hampshire or both.

And readers might google "Sanders approval" and "Trump approval" and check out the Huffington pollster approval charts and those results show Sanders has the best approval/disapproval ratio of himself, Clinton and Trump and towers over Trump, whose negative rating among general election voters is near 60% which is a pig ugly disapproval number that the major media ignores!

JB: So, we wait and see, biting our fingernails all the while. Anything else before we wrap this up?

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Reprinted from Sputnik

To varying degrees, the complicity of Washington, Britain and France in sponsoring an illegal insurgency against the elected government of President Bashar al-Assad has been uncovered through Russia's military intervention.

Russia's incisive military intervention in Syria has succeeded in not only stabilizing the Arab state but salvaging it from a terrorist takeover. Russia's maneuver also exposed the foreign-fueled nature of the conflict -- as a criminal covert war of aggression for regime change.So too exposed -- even more so -- in the criminal conspiracy are the West's regional client regimes. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey has been shown through Russian airstrikes to be up to its neck in running oil and weapons smuggling rackets to support the terrorist networks in Syria.

And the other regime exposed by Russia is Saudi Arabia. This explains why the oil-rich autocratic monarchy is now trying to inflame the region with sectarian conflict, with the execution of the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimir last weekend.



Sheikh Nimr was revered among the region's Shiite Muslims for his courageous, peaceful protests against oppression under the fundamentalist rulers of Saudi Arabia -- the House of Saud, who profess an extremist version of Islam known as Wahhabism.



In the Wahhabi mentality, Shiites, Christians and others are considered "infidels" who should be put to death by the sword. It is no coincidence that many of the so-called jihadists fighting in Syria to overthrow the Assad government also subscribe to Wahhabism. There is clear evidence to show that the terror groups such as Daesh (Islamic State) and al Nusra Front are funded by the Wahhabi rulers of Saudi Arabia.

The gratuitous killing of Sheikh Nimr came after months of appeals for clemency. The appeals were made not only by the government of Iran -- the main Shiite power in the Middle East -- but also from several international rights groups, owing to the dubious judicial process in Saudi Arabia and the abundant evidence attesting to Sheikh Nimr's innocence. That the House of Saud went ahead with his execution thus points to a deliberate act to provoke regional passions and in particular those of Iran.

The torching of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, the war of words, and the severance of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran strongly suggest that the explosive reaction was premeditated. Now Arab allies of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, among others, are following suit by cutting diplomatic channels with Tehran. Some commentators are even wondering if an all-out war will erupt in the region.

Significantly, the mayhem unleashed by the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr appears to have irked Washington and other Western powers who patronize the Saudi rulers. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration was "caught by surprise" and "expressed anger at the Saudis" for negligent disregard for how it would inflame the region."

So why did the Saudi rulers decide to plunge the region into turmoil? Because Russia's military intervention in Syria has seriously spoiled the foreign conspiracy for regime change in that country. Furthermore, Russia's defeats against the array of illegally armed groups, such as Daesh and Nusra and their various offshoots, has exposed the sponsor links of these terror groups to foreign governments, in particular those in Ankara and Riyadh.

American political analyst Randy Martin says: "What seems to be emerging now is the repercussion from Russia blowing the cover off the conflict in Syria. Russia's military operations against the terror networks have dramatically exposed the Wahhabi Saudi rulers for what they are."

The analyst added: "Now that the House of Saud is exposed in its criminal machinations in Syria and its association with known terror groups, the Saudis have decided that their next best option is to incite a full-on war with Shiite Iran, and possibly even the Russians."

Martin pointed to the Russian airstrike on December 25 that eliminated the leadership of the jihadist militia, Jaish al-Islam, also known as Army of Islam. The strike in the militia's stronghold of East Ghouta, near the Syrian capital Damascus, killed its leader Zahran Alloush and other commanders.

Four days later, on December 29, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir publicly condemned the Russian air strike against Jaish al-Islam. Speaking in Riyadh, the Saudi minister said the killing would complicate the forthcoming peace talks on Syria due to take place later this month in Geneva. Al-Jubeir expressed dismay, telling reporters: "I don't know what the Russians have in mind."

The official Saudi reaction to the killing of Zahran Alloush and other Jaish al-Islam members clearly illustrates the involvement of Saudi Arabia with known terror groups in Syria. The Jaish al-Islam militia is known to share fighters and weapons with the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, which is an officially designated terrorist group, according to the US government and the European Union.

Russia's military intervention in Syria has done two things. It has, firstly, put paid to the covert terror war that the West and its regional allies have been waging surreptitiously in Syria since March 2011 for the purpose of regime change. This result has thus made the political track the only feasible alternative by which the Western powers can hope to achieve their long-held objective of regime change in Syria. Hence Geneva.
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AX118_7829_9.JPG

Sgt. Steve Schaer of Beaverton Police serves as a decoy pedestrian during a 2013 safety detail. A detail is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at Southwest Broadway and Hall to educate motorists on right-of-way laws.

(File photo)

The Beaverton Police Department has scheduled a pedestrian safety detail from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Southwest Broadway Street and Hall Boulevard.

The detail will use a decoy pedestrian "to raise awareness of drivers and pedestrians through education and enforcement," said officer Mike Rowe, Beaverton Police spokesman, in a email.

Drivers who are cited during the detail may enroll in Beaverton Police's crosswalk diversion program for a small fee. The ticket would then be dismissed.

According to Oregon law, motorists must give pedestrians in crosswalks right of way for their lane plus six feet.

Pedestrians are urged to dress brightly and pay attention to traffic flow and control devices, Rowe added.

-- Roger Gregory

Twitter: @washcoaide

503-294-5962
Patrick Henry in August 2002

The Patrick Henry affair was a French judicial affair concerning Patrick Henry, convicted for the kidnap and murder of 7-year-old Philippe Bertrand in early 1976. The emotionally charged trial began on January 17, 1977.





Henry's case entered legal history after the performance of his defence lawyer, Robert Badinter , heralded the abolition of the death sentence in France, the last western European country to practise it.





Henry's case had driven the French Nation into a lynch-mob fury. In 1976 he was a blond, boyish 22-year-old when he kidnapped seven-year-old Philippe Bertrand from outside the village school of Pont-Sainte-Marie.





Almost immediately after the kidnap he garrotted the boy. But it was his subsequent behaviour that, when it came to light, drove the nation to bay for his blood. After the killing, Henry sent ransom demands to Philippe's parents. Although the boy was already dead he promised his safe return for a million francs.





Meanwhile, he enthusiastically participated in the huge public search for his victim. He even appeared on a television show. "Anyone who kidnaps a child deserves death," he said. After stowing the boy's body under a mattress in the cheap digs he had rented in Troyes, Henry went on holiday with two friends.





It was to Mr Badinter that Henry owed his second chance. No one predicted after his capture that the nine jurors and three judges would spare him the blade. Outside the courtroom in the eastern town of Troyes a mob pressed against police barriers screaming for Henry to be put to death.





Inside, as the jurors filed in to deliver their verdict, the exhausted Badinter, prepared for the worst. He knew the price of failure. Four years earlier, he had sat in the grim courtyard of La Sante prison in Paris and watched two of his clients beheaded.





Mr Badinter also knew that if Henry was sentenced to death there would be no clemency. The mayor of Troyes called for Mr Badinter's latest client to be handed an "exemplary punishment". The interior minister had also risen to the public hysteria. "I hope justice is swift and brutal," said Michel Poniatowski.





In a brilliant and emotional closing address that put the guillotine, not Henry, in the dock Badinter said: "There will be no presidential grace." As two of the three women jurors wept, he described "the sound of the blade as it cuts a living man in two".





By a majority decision the judges and jury ruled that there were mitigating circumstances, sparing Henry execution. Henry was sentenced to life in prison and the death penalty instead was dealt a mortal blow.





Patrick Henry shortly before his arrest for killing 7-year-old

Philippe Bertrand in Troyes in early 1976.

Only two men were subsequently guillotined and it was four years later, Sept 17, 1981, that Mr Badinter, then justice minister, obtained its official abolition in the National Assembly.





Henry was first released on parole in May 2001 after spending 25 years in prison.



He was subsequently arrested in June 2002 for shoplifting and fined 2,000.



He was rearrested near Valencia, Spain in October 2002 for carrying 10kg of illegal drugs, which raised questions about the early release of long-term prisoners.





France was then divided over the case of Patrick Henry, its most infamous child-murderer and the man indirectly responsible for the end of the guillotine, who was freed on parole but was soon after rearrested in Spain carrying 10kg of marijuana.





The justice minister stressed at the time that Henry's "personal failure to seize his second chance" must not be allowed to affect future decisions made under France's relaxed rules on releasing long-term prisoners conditional on their good behaviour.





But magistrates feared the massive publicity generated by the case would inevitably lead to a new hardline policy on parole, and wanted potential candidates for an early release better prepared for their return to society.





The many who protested against Henry's release in May 2001, of course, say his conduct shows he should never have been allowed out in the first place.





Patrick Henry will be released on parole in the coming days or hours.





The DA's office [le Parquet] is mulling an appeal of the decision.





Sources: The Telegraph, The Guardian, Le Monde, Wikipedia, DPN, January 7, 2015







Patrick Henry's Parole Application Turned Down after Prosecutor Appealed

Patrick Henry (center) and his lawyer (left) in August 2002 Patrick Henry was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977 for kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Philippe Bertrand in the small city of Troyes, France.



Henry abducted the little boy as he was leaving school and then soon strangled him, but did not advertise this fact and continued to expect the ransom payment.



The kidnapping had provoked considerable emotion in France, where television allowed the public to follow the parents' anguish and their repeated calls to the kidnappers during the 18-day police enquiry.



Patrick Henry was detained by the police for 47 hours (the legal limit was 48 hours before formally putting Henry under criminal investigation).



After being released, he made multiple media appearances, in which he claimed he had nothing to do with the kidnapping and he wished the kidnappers would be given the death penalty.



He was arrested again on 17 February 1976 and the child's dead body was discovered hidden under the bed of a room that he rented.



Convicted as a cold-blooded and cynical child killer, the 22-year-old young man narrowly escaped the guillotine, primarily thanks to the brilliant performance of his defense lawyer



Patrick Henry later trained in prison to be a computer engineer and was by many considered a good example of a prisoner that could redeem himself from his heinous crimes and look for an honest place in society.



He was paroled in 2001 after many parole applications had been turned down.



He however soon fell back again into crime. In August 2002, he was sentenced for some petty theft from a supermarket. On October 2002, he was arrested in Spain with ten kilograms of hashish.



His parole was then revoked.



His latest parole application was granted by a judge on Thursday, January 7, 2016 only to be suspended a few hours later after the prosecution appealed the decision. "We opposed Mr. Henry's application from the very start, as the whole parole project lacks a convincing framework," said Melun's prosecutor Beatrice Angelelli.



Henry will therefore remain in prison until further notice. The appeals court has two months to decide on the case.



Henry's lawyer, Ms. Carine Delaby-Faure, regretted the prosecution's move and said that her client had paid his debt to society. "At 62, he is eager to end his life as a free man, having spent his life behind bars," she added.



Source: Le Monde,





Patrick Henry was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977 for kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Philippe Bertrand in the small city of Troyes, France.Henry abducted the little boy as he was leaving school and then soon strangled him, but did not advertise this fact and continued to expect the ransom payment.The kidnapping had provoked considerable emotion in France, where television allowed the public to follow the parents' anguish and their repeated calls to the kidnappers during the 18-day police enquiry.Patrick Henry was detained by the police for 47 hours (the legal limit was 48 hours before formally putting Henry under criminal investigation).After being released, he made multiple media appearances, in which he claimed he had nothing to do with the kidnapping and he wished the kidnappers would be given the death penalty.He was arrested again on 17 February 1976 and the child's dead body was discovered hidden under the bed of a room that he rented.Convicted as a cold-blooded and cynical child killer, the 22-year-old young man narrowly escaped the guillotine, primarily thanks to the brilliant performance of his defense lawyer Robert Badinter , which heralded the abolition of capital punishment in France in 1981.Patrick Henry later trained in prison to be a computer engineer and was by many considered a good example of a prisoner that could redeem himself from his heinous crimes and look for an honest place in society.He was paroled in 2001 after many parole applications had been turned down.He however soon fell back again into crime. In August 2002, he was sentenced for some petty theft from a supermarket. On October 2002, he was arrested in Spain with ten kilograms of hashish.His parole was then revoked.His latest parole application was granted by a judge on Thursday, January 7, 2016 only to be suspended a few hours later after the prosecution appealed the decision. "We opposed Mr. Henry's application from the very start, as the whole parole project lacks a convincing framework," said Melun's prosecutor Beatrice Angelelli.Henry will therefore remain in prison until further notice. The appeals court has two months to decide on the case.Henry's lawyer, Ms. Carine Delaby-Faure, regretted the prosecution's move and said that her client had paid his debt to society. "At 62, he is eager to end his life as a free man, having spent his life behind bars," she added.Source: Liberation Murderpedia , DPN, January 9, 2015

Patrick Henry obtient sa liberation conditionnelle





Condamne a la reclusion a perpetuite en 1977 pour le meurtre dun enfant de 7 ans, Patrick Henry a obtenu, jeudi 7 janvier, sa liberation conditionnelle.  Le benefice de la liberation conditionnelle est accorde, mais sous reserve de lexecution dune periode de probation  prevue jusquau 4 aout 2017, a declare Beatrice Angelelli, procureur de la Republique de Melun. Elle a indique quelle entendait prendre une decision sur un eventuel appel  dans les prochaines heures .





La justice devait examiner sa nouvelle demande de liberte conditionnelle, apres le rejet en juillet 2014 dun recours en grace presidentielle. Cette decision fait suite a une audience tenue le 8 decembre devant le tribunal dapplication des peines, au centre de detention de Melun, ou il est incarcere. Le parquet avait requis le rejet de cette demande de liberation, formulee apres le rejet du recours en grace presidentielle.





 Il a paye sa dette aupres de la societe. A 62 ans, il a hate de finir sa vie en homme libre, apres avoir passe toute sa vie derriere les barreaux , a declare lavocate lilloise du detenu, Me Carine Delaby-Faure.





 Il a paye cher sa petite rechute 





En 1977, Patrick Henry avait echappe de justesse a la peine de mort grace notamment a la plaidoirie de son avocat, Robert Badinter. Il avait obtenu sa mise en liberte conditionnelle en mai 2001 apres vingt-cinq ans de prison.





Sorti sous le feu des medias, lhomme etait reste discret un an avant de multiplier les faux pas avec, en juin 2002, un vol a letalage pour lequel il a ete condamne a une amende de 2 000 euros, puis dans la nuit du 5 au 6 octobre 2002 son interpellation pres de Valence, en Espagne, en possession de 10 kg de cannabis.





Sa liberte conditionnelle avait ensuite ete revoquee. En 2003, il avait ete condamne par le tribunal correctionnel de Caen a quatre ans demprisonnement et 20 000 euros damende, decision confirmee par la cour dappel de cette ville. Selon son avocate,  il a paye cher sa petite rechute () il est temps quil sorte .





Depuis 2002, cinq demandes de liberation conditionnelle de son client ont ete acceptees dans un premier temps par le tribunal dapplication des peines, puis rejetees apres appel du parquet.











Source : Le Monde , 7 janvier 2016

La liberte conditionnelle de Patrick Henry est suspendue

Apres 35 ans en prison, le meurtrier de Philippe Bertrand a obtenu ce jeudi une nouvelle liberation conditionnelle, suspendue pour quelques mois encore a un appel du parquet de Melun. Il etait deja sorti de prison en 2001, avant d'y retourner en 2003.





Condamne en 1977 a la reclusion a perpetuite pour le meurtre dun enfant de sept ans, Patrick Henry a obtenu ce jeudi une liberation conditionnelle, pour linstant suspendue a la decision du parquet de Melun de faire appel. Depuis le depart de cette procedure, nous etions opposes a cette demande, a declare la procureure de la Republique de Melun, Beatrice Angelelli, pour qui le projet daccompagnement nest pas assez encadrant. Lappel est suspensif et la cour dappel a deux mois pour statuer.





La liberation conditionnelle de Patrick Henry prevoyait que le detenu de 62 ans, dont pres de 40 annees en prison, pourrait entamer des janvier, avec une premiere permission de sortie, le parcours de probation qui doit le mener a la liberte conditionnelle en aout 2017. Pour Patrick Henry, ce pourrait etre une nouvelle chance de se reinserer, apres une premiere fois avortee en 2002.





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Under a bill being proposed in the upcoming legislative session, Oregon's utility customers will be purchasing far more renewable resources to meet their energy demand, like this wind farm near Arlington.

(Oregonian file photo)

Environmental advocates and Oregon's two largest utilities have reached consensus on a radical overhaul to the state's electricity supply, agreeing to double the renewable energy mandate by 2040 and eliminate the use of coal by 2035.

They plan to offer a bill in the 2016 Legislative session including those policy changes and a host of others. If the proposal becomes law, environmental groups have agreed to drop proposed ballot measures that include even more drastic changes.

If implemented, such policies would be a coup for renewable developers and climate advocates. The requirement for Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp to meet 50 percent of their customers' electricity demand with resources like wind and solar by 2040 is double the current standard of 25 percent by 2025. The new requirement would step up incrementally between 2027 and 2040.

The plan would also be a boon for utilities and their shareholders. The companies would need to invest billions of dollars in new sources of power to meet the mandates and replace the power they get from existing coal plants. PacifiCorp's coal-fired plants, for example, supply 60 percent of its customers' electricity today.

The proposal has not been independently vetted and comes with no cost estimates. In practice, it isn't technically feasible today without undermining the reliability of the grid with too many intermittent sources of power. Achieving it would lean heavily on the development of new energy-storage technologies and a more unified transmission system that would allow utilities to freely share power resources as needed.

But advocates of the agreement - and the coalition is broad - say the plan is consistent with the direction Oregon customers have been saying they want to go - away from coal and toward more low-carbon electricity. They contend the plan includes a sufficient time frame and adequate safety valves to preserve grid reliability, shield customers from big price increases and put the state on a path to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions 75 percent below 1990 levels in the next 35 years.

"This gives us the time and flexibility to transition the system in a way that is going to be very respectful of customers," said Scott Bolton, vice president of external affairs at PacifiCorp. "We wouldn't have come to this agreement if we didn't feel like we could do it cost effectively. And the last thing we would do is compromise the reliability of the grid."

The agreement was negotiated behind closed doors between utilities and the backers of Renew Oregon, a non-profit formed to back the ballot measures proposed for November. The effort was launched with funding from the Seattle-based environmental group, Climate Solutions, and builds on the efforts of the Sierra Club's successful Beyond Coal Campaign. It has attracted strong backing from Oregon's environmental community.

Neither Gov. Kate Bown's energy advisor nor state utility regulators were part of the discussion leading to the agreement. Susan Ackerman, the chair of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, said Wednesday that she had been asked by the governor's office not to discuss the proposal.

The governor's office declined to make her energy advisor available for specific questions, but issued a statement from Brown: "Oregon's special quality of life is threatened by climate change ... Expanding the availability of renewable energy in Oregon is one way to make a meaningful impact. As I've said before, future generations will rightly judge this generation not by the fact of climate change, but how we responded. Let's do it the Oregon way, by working together."

The Citizens Utility Board, the state's residential ratepayer advocacy group, has signed onto the bill. The group's executive director, Bob Jenks, says it is a more measured approach to reducing carbon emissions than would have been contained in the ballot measures, though his group supported those as well.

"The transition from coal to cleaner energy is happening, and the question becomes what's the responsible way to get there," Jenks said. "The ballot measures are out there. This bill is a compromise, and we think it's a good compromise."

For lawmakers, it comes with short notice and no independent analysis. Their short Legislative session begins next month, and it's one in which they've already said they don't have enough time to consider complicated bills like a transportation-funding package.

Only a handful of lawmakers have any understanding of the electricity industry. They will be hearing from a powerful coalition of lobbyists backing the bill, including PGE and PacifiCorp, the NW Energy Coalition, the Oregon Environmental Council, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Renewable Northwest and the Sierra Club.

In addition to the elimination of coal and increased renewable mandates, the proposal includes a number of sweeteners for utilities. They include flexibility in how the utilities use existing renewable-energy credits; the ability to deploy electric charging stations and build those investments into rates; and a poison pill to block any entity, such as a municipal utility, from acquiring service territory or customers from PGE and PacifiCorp without their consent.

The bill has a cost cap that would allow utilities to avoid new investments in renewables if they are more than 4 percent pricier than an alternative resource. There is also a provision that would allow regulators to temporarily suspend the requirement for a utility to meet renewables requirements if it would compromise grid reliability.

Sunny Radcliffe, director of government affairs for PGE, acknowledged that the timing of the proposal may not be ideal for the Legislature, but said it was preferable to make the changes in the legislature than to fight it out at the ballot box.

"We can tweak it over time," she said. "If we've missed something here, we would anticipate folks would be back in making whatever changes are necessary. We want this to be workable - workable in the sense of being doable, and workable in the sense of being affordable."

- Ted Sickinger

503-221-8505; @tedsickinger
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A woman whose blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit was arrested Jan. 6 after police say she falsely reported her car stolen with her 4-week-old son inside.

(The Oregonian/File)

UPDATED at 10 p.m.: A woman whose blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit was arrested Wednesday after police say she falsely reported her car stolen with her 4-week-old son inside.

Terra Nicole Brandenburg, 31, apparently misplaced her SUV after she bought wine at a gas station, said Sgt. Dave Kempas, a West Linn Police Department spokesman. The baby was found unharmed inside the car, as was a 3-year old Doberman Pinscher, he said.

Terra Nicole Brandenberg

Police say that Brandenburg, who who lives in West Linn and Oregon City, had purchased gas at a Fred Meyer in Oregon City and was driving to West Linn when her 2006 BMW sport utility vehicle hit the Oregon City-West Linn Arch Bridge.

She pulled the damaged vehicle into an apartment complex across the street from a 76 gas station in West Linn, apparently to use the restroom, Kempas said. She bought a box of wine and left.

Brandenburg then went back inside and told a clerk her car had been stolen with her baby inside. She started making calls to family, which the clerk thought was strange, Kempas said.

The clerk told Brandenburg to call police, which she did.

Responding officers quickly ascertained the SUV was not stolen. West Linn's police dispatch, which had sent a request for an Amber Alert to the Oregon State Police at 5:09 p.m., canceled it eight minutes later, Kempas said.

At one point, Brandenburg ran from a police lieutenant who easily caught her, Kempas said. Her blood-alcohol level was 0.25 percent, he said. In Oregon, the legal limit is 0.08 percent.

Brandenburg was lodged at the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of driving under the influence of intoxicants, first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment, reckless endangering, second-degree child neglect, initiating a false report, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct, according to a news release from the West Linn Police Department.

Brandenburg's bail was set at $63,500, according to the news release.

The baby was picked up by his father, Kempas said.

-- Jim Ryan

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
Portland said late Wednesday it and Nike would announce a "major partnership" on its forthcoming bike-rental program, suggesting the city has found a sponsor.

The announcement is set for Thursday morning. A Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesman did not immediately return a phone call seeking more details. Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees the transportation bureau and will speak during Thursday's announcement, declined to comment, as did Nike representatives.

The city has yet to announce any sponsors for the program, which is set to launch this summer, but sponsorships are expected to pay more than a third of its operating costs.

Sponsorship could come in many forms, but naming rights were expected to cost $800,000 per year with a term of 5 years.

A smaller sponsorship level seems likely for the Washington County sports apparel giant. Motivate is permitted to seek "secondary sponsorships" only to expand the existing system, and other sponsorships wouldn't get to have their name or logo on any of the physical equipment associated with the program.

The transportation bureau had previously discussed major sponsorships with several local companies, including Kaiser Permanente, New Seasons Market, Umpqua Bank and Ford Motor Company.

Because Nike's not on the list, 20 percent of the proceeds from the sponsorship will go straight to the contracted administrator for the program, Motivate Co. of New York. The rest will go to pay for the program, with any profit shared between the city and Motivate.

A major sponsor would go a long way toward securing the program's future.

Under the terms of a $2 million federal grant that's paying the start-up costs of the program, the city is on the hook to operate a bike-share program for five years, regardless of whether it's profitable.

But officials said they would scale back the program significantly if it wasn't self-sustaining to avoid committing more public funds. The program is expected to cost $1.4 million per year, with 35 percent of the cost covered by sponsorships.

The city had spent three years soliciting potential sponsors before deciding in September to launch without one. Officials hoped the momentum would help bring a business partner on board.

The bike-share program approved by the Portland City Council in September calls for a 600-bike fleet supplied by Social Bicycles, Inc., or SoBi, of New York.

That's 150 fewer bikes than proposed in 2012, when the city signed a contract with Alta Bicycle Share, now under new ownership and rebranded as Motivate Co.

The Portland bike share service area will extend from Goose Hollow to inner North Portland, east to the Lloyd District and south to South Waterfront.



Renting a bike for 30 minutes will cost about $2.50, which the city said would be the lowest fee in the country. Users can also buy a $10 to $15 a month membership, good for up to 90 minutes of bike time a day.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus
Through much of its rocky trip from culinary backwater to America's top food destination, Portland has had an unusual, enviable distinction. For the better part of a decade, the city's most exciting restaurant has also been its best.

Don't take that for granted. In other cities, best restaurant honors often go to the kind of carpeted, cloistered restaurants where the atmosphere is subdued, the wine is overpriced and jackets are required.

Here, that title goes to Le Pigeon, a petite French restaurant with a lively chef's counter on East Burnside Street. And for the first half of that restaurant's impressive run, the person most responsible for making sure the creative ideas coming out of the kitchen stayed grounded in solid technique -- that the beef cheek bourguignon was as well-executed as it was inventive -- was Erik Van Kley.

Last year, after nearly 10 years combined at Le Pigeon and its downtown sister, Little Bird Bistro, Van Kley left the nest, opening a restaurant of his own in Southeast Portland's Central Eastside Industrial District. That restaurant, Taylor Railworks, takes its inspiration from the trains that pass nightly just outside the restaurant's tall windows. To Van Kley, those tracks evoke the American Southwest, movement and immigration -- especially the waves of Asian immigration that built much of this country's rail network -- ideas he hopes to capture in his cooking.

It's a lofty mission statement, and an amorphous one, purposefully designed, I suspect, to let Taylor Railworks' team, including sous chef Trevor Payne, let their imaginations run free. Mostly, that's a good thing. Six months in, Taylor Railworks has room to improve, but the menu already holds several must orders, including excellent raw fish and foie gras presentations, plus what might be Portland's only rendition of Singaporean chili crab.

Trainspotting: Erik Van Kley, left, in the kitchen at Taylor Railworks, a new Southeast Portland restaurant that draws inspiration from nearby railroad tracks.

Enter the restaurant off Southeast Taylor Street, about a block away from Bunk Bar and next door to John Gorham's gastronomic society, Plaza Del Toro. The first thing you'll see is a hefty vintage furniture scale, the centerpiece of an industrial-chic dining room with large wooden beams lining the low ceiling and a railroad tie serving as a footstool at the bar. Standing in the well-lit kitchen, Van Kley looks a bit like a thinner version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer who looks like Will Ferrell. His team works in unison. The kitchen seems calm and efficient.

Taylor Railworks

Rating:

2

1/2

(Good-Excellent)

Cuisine and scene:

Chef Erik Van Kley (Le Pigeon, Little Bird) rides the rails with a restaurant all his own.

Recommended:

The Boxer, foie "ramen," Noodles Alla Johnny, brisket, Singaporean chile crab (bring a friend).

Vegetarian friendly?

Not especially.

Sound level:

Reasonable.

Beverages:

High-altitude wines, bottled beers (no draft), sturdy winter cocktails, an interesting list of apertifs, digestifs and vermouths, coffee, tea and soda.

Price range:

Raw/mostly raw, $14-$18; small plates, $13-$21; larger plates, $27-$35; desserts, $7-$10.

Extras:

Reservations, major credit cards, on-street parking, disabled access.

Serving:

Dinner nightly.

Details:

117 S.E. Taylor St., 503-208-2573,

.

All Taylor Railworks meals should start with The Boxer, four perfect slices of yellowtail tossed in avocado oil, arranged in wave-like folds above a shallow pool of ponzu sauce and decorated with baby cilantro, cured steelhead roe and Thai chiles that lend both spice and crunch. Made with a ponzu recipe borrowed (with permission) from Southeast Portland's since-closed Boxer Sushi, this is the best of the menu's "raw/mostly raw" preparations (with apologies to the steelhead poke).

Few restaurants handle foie gras as well as Le Pigeon. Add Taylor Railworks to that short list. Van Kley's take is a small bowl of noodle-less "ramen" with a smoky soy broth, grilled mushrooms, a soft quail egg and lumps of smoked-honey-glazed foie seared until they practically quiver. This is foie gras disguised as filet mignon. You will think about it on your way home.

You might also think about the Noodles Alla Johnny, with al dente egg noodles coiled up with strands of spicy crab and succulent cherry tomatoes under a shower of grated Parmesan cheese, all topped with a single grilled prawn. Is there a rail connection between Malaysia and Italy? These noodles took the boat.

Those crab noodles share some DNA with the restaurant's show stopper, eight long Alaska King Crab legs arranged on a platter with steamed and caramelized bok choy over a sweet, mild, tomato-infused chile sauce. You attack the legs, slip the meat free and drag it through the chile sauce, which hides underneath the legs. Are the dinner rolls toasted in fish-sauce butter? You bet. More importantly, are there wet naps? Of course.

The Pinewood Baron cocktail

The brisket is also notable, with several slabs of subtly smoky beef rubbed with aji panca, a Peruvian chile paste, slow-cooked overnight, served with grilled portobello mushroom and red onion and a velvety sweet potato puree, then drizzled with a decadent jus made from the brisket's own drippings. But two other larger plates didn't hit those highs: Deep-fried chicken thighs with clams and lots of lime and braised pork over a crown of spaghetti and longbeans were more interesting on paper than they were on the table.

Last year, several Portland restaurants, including Clyde Common, Xico and Smallwares, began to embrace the trend of family-style dining, serving bigger portions with sides designed to feed a whole table. Taylor Railworks' larger plates fall in the no-man's land between these large-format dishes and traditional mains: a bit too big for one or even two, not enough for three or four. On a recent visit, a solo diner next to me at the bar ordered the chicken and clams for himself. It seemed like a recipe for a long night. Van Kley should consider going all-in on large format, or dial things back to classic entree size.

On a more abstract level, you sometimes wonder whether Taylor Railworks might benefit with a more rigidly defined concept -- in menu development as in art, frames have a way of imposing themselves, whether they're chosen or not. Here, Van Kley's love of Southeast Asian flavors often rises to the surface, with fish sauce, chiles and a flood of lime juice washing away subtler notes, including those Southwestern and Mexican influences that were supposed to be a counterbalance. A combination of charred octopus and fried arancini in a good ranchero sauce didn't light our fire. Cornmeal-crusted calamari only worked at the end, when the subtle roast poblano mousse spread across the bottom began mingling with the spicy peanuts, bitter greens and squid (consider stirring at the start).

Taylor Railworks' whole chili crab, one of the few -- if not the only -- version of the famous Singaporean dish in Portland.

Then again, there are more important, concrete things to consider, like the Pinewood Baron, a savory Negroni made smoky with lapsang souchang, the tea traditionally smoked over pinewood. Van Kley's partner, Gabriela Ramos (the couple are joined by co-owner and GM Daniel Neely) built a list of high-altitude wines, bottled beers, sturdy winter cocktails and an interesting selection of apertifs, digestifs and vermouths. The latter can be paired with Taylor Railworks' easygoing desserts, including a poached pear and brown-butter almond cake with yuzu-mascarpone ice cream and a pale waffle with a bruleed banana, candied pecans, creme fraiche and bourbon-barrel-aged maple syrup.

Star rating

The Oregonian uses a star system for its restaurant reviews, with ratings ranging from zero to four stars, reflecting the critic's opinion of the restaurant's food, service and ambience, weighted toward the food.

0 stars = Not recommended

1 star = Satisfactory

2 stars = Good

3 stars = Excellent

4 stars = Extraordinary

After a decade cooking in some of Portland's best kitchens, Van Kley has earned the time and freedom to experiment. And his kitchen is already evolving. An earlier, 1980s-ish dish of mushrooms buried in a nest of dry shredded phyllo dough has already morphed into something closer to a crunchy mushroom-truffle cigar. And a recent menu addition might be closest to Van Kley's ideal: Taylor Railworks' new "spaghetti and meatballs" includes strips of cuttlefish, squid-ink noodles, bouncy meatballs and a few plump mussels; a vivid, cartoon-bright deconstruction of a Vietnamese dish, all polka dotted with bird's eye chiles.

-- Michael Russell
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Oregon schools rank in the bottom third nationally, as measured by Education Week researchers. The Oregonian/OregonLive also estimates the state deserves a No. 38 performance ranking. The state's weak financial contribution to schools, measured as the percent of state gross domestic product devoted to K-12 schools, is a significant factor.

(Randy Rasmussen / The Oregonian / 2015)

A new study ranks Oregon No. 38 in public education, based on student achievement, school funding and a broad mix of other factors such as parental employment and the availability of affordable preschool.

The strongest findings, based on rankings by the education news organization Education Week:

Key findings

Oregon ranks high for:

> Spending close to the same amount per student in different districts (No. 14)

Oregon ranks low for:

> Growing gap between poor and not-poor students' reading and math scores (No. 49)

> Improvement in reading and math achievement since 2003 (No. 45)

> Adults who work full time and year-round (No. 50)

> Percent of taxable wealth spent on education (No. 42)

> Increase in eighth-graders with advanced math skills (No. 49)

> Share of students for whom school funding is at or above the national average (No. 38)

source: Education Week

>> Oregon is making little progress or heading in the wrong direction when it comes to raising elementary and middle school reading and math achievement. Progress for high achievers in math is at a standstill.

>> Oregon is allowing low-income students to fall further behind their better-off counterparts faster than 48 other states. Compared to 2003, in 2015 Oregon's low-income fourth- and eighth-graders were 9 percentage points further behind their more-prosperous peers. Only Washington had a worse increase in the achievement gap separating the two groups.

>> School funding, or rather the lack of it, helps put Oregon in the educational basement. Given each state's gross domestic product, only four states had a lower effective tax rate for K-12 education: Arizona, North Carolina, and North and South Dakota.

>> Partly as a result of low taxes for education, Oregon had very few students attending schools that were funded at or above the national per-pupil average. Just 13 percent of Oregon students enjoyed that level of funding, versus 42 percent of students nationally.

Each year, Education Week grades states for the quality of their public schools in a report it calls Quality Counts. Although the grading methodology has "evolved" from year to year, this year's grades were calculated almost the same as last year's, said Holly Yettick, director of the Education Week Research Center.

Oregon's overall grade this year was a C-, based on its student achievement (D), school finance (C-) and conditions for success (C ).

As has been the case for many years, Massachusetts was the top-ranking state for education. Nevada ranked last this year.

Washington ranked No. 20.

The Quality Counts rankings closely follow the findings of an in-depth look at school performance by The Oregonian/OregonLive last year. That investigation also concluded that Oregon ranks No. 38 among states, partly because Oregon lags far behind the national average in classroom spending.

- Betsy Hammond

betsyhammond@oregonian.com
Wednesday night's People's Choice Awards isn't just about honoring the public's favorite choices in movies, music and TV. Everybody is looking at the fashions on display among the arriving celebrities on the red carpet.

You can be sure both critics and fans alike will be analyzing not only who won or lost during presentations at the

, but also who showed up in winning (and losing) attire.

The People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2015, will be broadcast live on CBS at 9 p.m. EST from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Jane Lynch will host the show, which includes musical performances by Shawn Mendes, Jason Derulo and Jordan Smith.

Look for appearances by Britney Spears, John Stamos, Sandra Bullock, Vin Diesel, Natalie Dormer, Jack Black, Priyanka Chopra, Meghan Trainor and cast members of the hit series "Pretty Little Liars."
Though Oregon's new clean indoor air provisions kicked in Jan. 1, the World Famous Cannabis Cafe continues to operate as usual this week, with its popular Stoner Bingo meet-ups and Thursday night jam sessions.

But Multnomah County has already received a complaint about smoking in the establishment and plans to send owner Madeline Martinez a letter reminding her about the law.

A county code enforcement officer plans to visit within 30 days to make sure Martinez is in compliance, Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, a county spokeswoman, said. The officer will outline the steps the business needs to take and make an additional unannounced visit, she said. .

Penalties include the possibility of daily fines of up to $500 per violation, said Sullivan-Springhetti.

Last month, a Multnomah County public health official dropped by after receiving complaints about smoking in the club. The official, Erik Vidstrand, told Martinez that cannabis smoking and vaping in her club would be illegal after Jan. 1.

Though Oregon's Indoor Clean Air Act was implemented in 2009, lawmakers this year expanded it to prohibit the use of devices like vaporizer pens and e-cigarettes in public areas and work places. Marijuana was added to the law, which initially targeted only tobacco.

The indoor clean air law includes exemptions for two types of businesses: cigar bars, where patrons may smoke cigars, and smoke shops, where tobacco consumption is allowed. Both must be certified by the state.

Martinez said cannabis clubs should be added to the list of exemptions. Portland lawyer Leland Berger said marijuana advocates plan to lobby the Oregon Legislature this year to create such an exemption.

Oregon is home to a handful of cannabis clubs where people generally pay a membership fee to smoke, dab and vape the drug in a social setting.

Martinez maintains that her club is private and should not fall under the new provision. Patrons must pay a membership fee and IDs are checked at the door.

She also argues that her club shouldn't be treated as a work place since she doesn't have employees. She no longer relies on volunteers either. She declined to say publicly how she'll staff the club but said her plan means she's operating legally.

"We are not doing anything wrong," said Martinez, who also recently installed a smoke filter. "We are not doing anything illegal."

The Oregon Health Authority is responsible for enforcing the clean air rules. The agency delegates that authority to local public health agencies.

Karen Girard, section manager for the health authority's health promotion and chronic disease prevention section, said the law is complaint driven. She said prior to Jan. 1, the agency had received "several complaints" about smoking at the World Famous Cannabis Cafe but hadn't taken action since the law had not yet been implemented.

Girard said the agency has not sought legal opinions from the Oregon Department of Justice about whether pot clubs are work places or public spaces under the clean air law.

The law already prompted one club, the Other Spot, to close.

Nickie Gates said she worried about facing steep fines for violating the law so she shuttered the year-old Southeast Portland establishment on New Year's Day.

Gates said the decision to close has left patrons, most of whom were medical marijuana patients, without a place to consume. Public marijuana consumption remains illegal. A medical marijuana patient herself, Gates said she isn't allowed to light up in her rented apartment.

"I am a patient in this state," she said. "Where am I going to go?"

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
Albums have unpredictable lives.

Generations of punks, painters, freaks and rebels have come and gone, but most of their shelves share "Horses," Patti Smith's landmark 1975 debut. The LP is 40 now, and Smith 69, though you wouldn't know unless she said so, as she did from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall stage on Wednesday night.

Smith's spent the last few years adding to her literary catalog, in what might've been a lesser artist's refuge from the stage: not Smith, who was a live wire, as powerful and emboldened a presence as she's ever been. She opened with her "Horses" cover poetry, a piece that pushed aside any sense of anniversary sanctity. Instead, Smith turned to face death: "I am truly, totally, ready to go," she recited, a young woman's hubris, much more fearless now.

Dancing and shaking with teenage energy, she played with a simple but enthusiastic four-piece band, who captured Smith's '70s sensibility without sounding dated--which we might also say about Smith, whose influence bridged the New York of the Velvet Underground and the '80s underground that bred groups such as Sonic Youth and R.E.M. (The latter band's Michael Stipe has opened a handful of recent Smith shows, but was a no-show on Wednesday.)

There was some funny business in the front row during "Redondo Beach," which Smith squashed mid-lyric: "What are you doing, man, cut the (expletive)." Crowds don't always respect the musicians they pay to see; Smith was obeyed immediately.

"I don't give a (expletive) what you do," she said after. "Just be kind to your neighbor."

Late in the set, she delivered "Under a Southern Cross" with a political rant. "We do not want to be trumped out of existence," she said, a rare moment of referentiality. Her protests across the set evoked another peer, Neil Young, who railed against Monsanto and their corporate ilk across a heated evening in October. But Smith's ideology takes a broader view: love, kindness, memory. "Horses" has two songs written for dead rockers, "Break It Up"--the vision of an angel Jim Morrison, trapped in a statue, that came to Smith in a dream--and "Elegie," a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. She turned that song into a bigger moment.

"All the people you hold in your heart, this is for them, as well as Jimi," she said, and spent a quiet section on a list of lost names: all four of the Ramones, Ornette Coleman, Amy Winehouse, Lou Reed and Lemmy, among others.

A tribute to Reed's Velvet Underground was still to come--Smith took a break as the band blasted through a three-song medley--and a work-in-progress Hendrix cover, "If 6 Was 9." She downplayed a lyrical flub with amusement and balanced the set's darker moments elsewhere: "Now we got to turn the record over," she said after "Free Money," the end of the "Horses" vinyl's Side A, you see. And Schnitzer crowds don't often have the chance to stand and clap, much less shout "Break it up!" in Jim Morrison's honor. They relished it. When the band turned to "Because the Night," a rebellious lighter flickered in the front row.

-- David Greenwald

503-294-7625;
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(Courtesy Facebook)

Is tweeting a constitutionally protected act of free expression? How about posting on Facebook?

Generally speaking, yes. But if you're a Portland cop, not exactly.

If you wear the badge and say things that could undercut the perception of your trustworthiness in a crime-related court case, perhaps, or otherwise undermine the stated mission of the Portland Police Bureau, your personal posts can cost you. Forget the embarrassment. Forget the ridicule. You can be fired. Important underlying point: Punitive actions can be taken, because professional obligation can trump any defense citing the right to free speech.

Now the bureau, following a few online gaffes by police officers, proposes a social media policy that would restrict what can be said by cops online -- on- or off-duty. The tricky part centers on whether it's OK to tell people before they post what they are barred from saying rather than waiting for an officer's gaffe and then meting out punishment. Stupid posts continue despite wide recognition that what is typed online will be read by unintended audiences and never go away. Some cops, like so many civilians, forget this.

The use by police of social media is extensive. More than 95 percent of American police departments actively maintain social media accounts, more than 86 percent of them to help investigate crime or otherwise deter it, a 2013 survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police showed. Widely publicized cases include the use last year of Twitter by a Maryland police department while engaging in a prostitution sting and, only recently, the use of Twitter by a homicide detective in Toronto, Canada, to successfully troll online for witnesses and finally crack a 2013 homicide.

But the casual use of social media by policemen is as prevalent as it is for anyone. And things can go badly: Barely two months ago Portland Police Officer John Hurlman, a 24-year bureau veteran, tweeted to his followers: "Black Lives Matter is planning to protest at Lloyd Center on black Friday. Oh joy, stuck late again at work to babysit these fools." This followed by more than a year the use of personal Facebook accounts by several Portland police officers to upload an image of the Portland police badge covered with the words "I AM DARREN WILSON" -- in advance of a grand jury ruling in the shooting by Wilson of an unarmed African American man in Ferguson, Missouri. It doesn't take the American Civil Liberties Union to make clear how inappropriate and inflammatory such assertions are. It shouldn't take a lawyer, either, to explain how much harm those assertions could bring to a cop's credibility if called as a witness in a court of law.

A draft of the bureau's proposed policy makes clear what can't be said before it's said: "When speaking on matters not related to the member's official duties, the Bureau may still regulate the member's speech if the speech impairs the effective and efficient operations of the Bureau." More pointedly, the proposed policy states: "While members have a right to personal expression, members' communications and sharing of information on social media cannot ... discredit the Bureau or bring the Bureau into disrepute."

A report published in the magazine Police Chief on the subject of social media compellingly recounts how the Boise, Idaho, police department at first resisted adopting a social media policy before relenting. In doing so, Boise brass made clear they were offering "caution and education for employees rather than waiting for them to misstep and bear the consequences," the article states -- a smart position leaning heavily on a landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case and rulings subsequent to it. The high court's Brady v. Maryland made clear, among other things, that withholding evidence damaging to a prosecution witness -- think cop -- was illegal. Such evidence, it is no stretch to infer, could include a Facebook post showing the poster to be biased. Whether he or she is at work or off-duty doesn't matter.

Nobody's getting his or her free speech wings clipped. Even with passage of social media ground rules, a cop still would be able to commit professional suicide online.

Portlanders should enjoy the expectation that their law officers are reasonable people. And Portland police officers should carry the expectation that their behavior at home as well as at work could be a consequential factor in judging how well they uphold the public's trust. Portland police would benefit by knowing what's expected of them in all dimensions, and a social media policy helps.

The department's proposed social media policy, known as Directive 311.40, is open for public comment at the bureau's website.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board
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North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.

(The Associated Press)

By Josh Rogin

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced Tuesday that it had successfully tested another nuclear bomb, its fourth since 2006, and independent reports of man-made seismic activity inside the Hermit Kingdom seem to confirm the claim.

There's no real North Korea policy in place in Washington; the Obama administration has pursued a strategy of "strategic patience," which essentially amounts to waiting for either North Korea or its benefactor China to voluntarily do something productive. So when North Korea forces Washington to pay attention, even if it's only for a few days, all the U.S. government can do is grieve. And it happens in all five stages. (With apologies to psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.)

Stage 1: Denial

The U.S. government's first reaction to any North Korean nuclear test or missile launch is to acknowledge reports of the incident but defer comment until all the data comes in, which can take days. The U.S. Geological Survey has already announced a 5.1-magnitude seismic event near previous nuclear tests. But even so, it will be hard to confirm that North Korea successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, as Pyongyang claims. This allows the world to briefly live in denial that the Hermit Kingdom has made a significant technological leap since the last test in 2013.

The bigger denial is the U.S. government's view of North Korea: State Department spokesman John Kirby said late Tuesday that "we will not accept it as a nuclear state." North Korea has been a nuclear state since 2006. According to the Institute for Science and International Security, it could have enough nuclear material for 79 bombs by 2020.

Stage 2: Anger

In the days following a North Korea provocation, the U.S. will lead the international community in a very public condemnation of Pyongyang's utter disregard for United Nations Security Council resolutions, its breaking of its own international commitments such as the September 2005 agreement to denuclearize, and its flaunting of international norms regarding safety and security in Northeast Asia. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday, after which very critical statements are sure to be issued.

In Washington, lawmakers will renew calls for increasing sanctions on North Korea, which is already the most sanctioned country on earth. There are already new North Korean sanctions bills in the works. There will also be anger directed by the Republicans at the Obama administration for not confronting North Korea's aggression more forcefully. "The past several decades of U.S. policy toward North Korea has been an abject failure," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said Wednesday morning.

Candidates will direct anger at the Clinton administration for crafting an agreement in 1994 with Pyongyang that critics saw as a failure. Many will compare that to the Iranian nuclear agreement Hillary Clinton helped President Obama strike more recently.

Stage 3: Bargaining

Once the outrage subsides a bit, the expert community and the media, collectively known as the chattering class, will resume a familiar discussion about whether China can be persuaded to intervene and solve the North Korea problem. "All eyes will be on China to see whether this nuclear test near the Chinese border will finally compel a change in Beijing's support of the regime," Victor Cha, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote Wednesday morning. "While it might lead to some short-term titration of assistance, it is unlikely to cause China to abandon the North."

China will be bargaining as well, working to protect North Korea from harsh reprisals and other punitive measures that might be advocated by countries like Japan or South Korea. The question that comes up perennially is what the U.S. can do to press Beijing to take a harder line toward Kim Jong Un. The answer always comes back the same. China highly prizes North Korea stability and is unlikely to do anything too substantial to tamp down the provocations.

Stage 4: Depression

Until this recent test, there had been signs that North Korea was opening up, albeit cautiously. There has been a new inter-Korean dialogue and family reunions were recently allowed. The Chinese government had recently reached out to North Korea's leadership after a long cooling-off period following the execution of their main interlocutor, Kim's uncle Jang Song Thaek. Even the Japanese had some new initiatives in mind to work with North Korea. All of that will now be placed on indefinite hold.

Stage 5: Acceptance

North Korea's provocations have become so routine that after the international community goes through the motions, everyone eventually reverts back to the status quo. North Korea will likely avoid any tough new sanctions, as it has in the past. After a couple of months, quiet meetings may be held to re-establish back-channel discussions through experts and semi-official government representatives. This is what the U.S. did in 2013, the last time North Korea tested a nuke.

North Korea's leaders will continue to test their ballistic missile and nuclear technology; they have to in order to progress technologically and assert their relevance. Also, there's not much the U.S. can or will do about it, but hope that Kim Jong Un has enough interest in self-preservation that he continues to perpetrate violence only against his own people.

_ Josh Rogin is a Bloomberg View columnist writing about national security and foreign affairs.

For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view
Asimov said: If he was God, why did people have to make up stories about him after he died



This is the unsupported, undocumented statement--your own opinion--that I am challenging. Not whether you accept the Creation or Flood account. You can't prove to me that the the writers of the New Testament made up anything after Christ died. You can only say what you think. That's all I was pointing out. Click to expand...

Think about this, nearly every atheist believed in God, they came to atheism by reason.Very few go the other way.The only evidence of the stories of the New Testament, is the stories of the New Testament, and they appear in a collection which includes magical fiction.That is quite a difference from appearing in a collection that is God Inspired and every word is true.Biblical inerrancy only works if every word IS true.Once you start pealing off stories as magical fiction, you turn God's Word into a collection of myths.Those aren't my rules, that's from the nuns.
tpp.jpg

President Barack Obama, center, and other leaders from Trans-Pacific Partnership countries pose for a photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila, Philippines, in 2015.

(AP Photo)

By Leonard Santos

The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) left a few important points unsaid. While Oregon may be a clear winner, the reality is that Oregon is a small part of the U.S. mosaic. So larger interests need to be addressed.

Trade liberalization always involves some displacement of domestic jobs, but, by every recognized economic measure, greater liberalization increases wealth through greater efficiencies. Such efficiencies far outweigh economic displacement by benefiting individual and corporate consumers in the U.S. as well as enabling the U.S. to focus its efforts on those areas in which it has the economic advantage.

The political problem presented by trade liberalization is that the pain is concentrated on certain industries and workers, while the benefits are spread widely and prospectively. In the "squeaky wheel" political dynamic, those resisting trade deals are much more vocal and focused. Beneficiaries in many cases are either unaware of the benefits of trade deals or, just as likely, have not yet become beneficiaries, so their political motivation is no match for those who fight those deals.

Those who oppose trade deals on the theory that greater globalization spreads industrial pollution or, conversely, that many countries with which we trade have lower levels of environmental protection, should ask themselves one basic question: Will the TPP increase environmental protection compared to the status quo?

There is no poor country on earth that can afford the kind of environmental protection we expect in the U.S. They simply do not have the resources, and if they get resources, they are going to focus first on ways to feed their people before they worry about the environment. The way for countries to get resources with which to protect the environment is through trade or aid. The TPP addresses the trade portion of this, at least for the participants. The 2015 U.N. climate change conference begins to address the aid portion of this. Just remember that China did not start worrying about its environment until enough economically empowered Chinese citizens demanded cleaner air.

And how did so many Chinese become economically empowered ... ?

The world may not have the luxury of allowing every developing country the kind of 40-year development cycle that China has experienced before confronting the environmental disaster of climate change, but stopping trade liberalization will make it harder, not easier, for the poor world to summon the resources and citizen support for environmental protection.

The reality is that -- whether by formal agreement, such as the TPP, or through pressure on producers (economies in developing nations) by their customers (like the U.S.) -- trade enhances the likelihood of saving the planet from environmental disaster. Think of trade as the most powerful lever by which the rich world can get the poor world to work on climate change, particularly when combined with some sensible aid.

In my experience, trade deals are sold through a lot of horse trading, not grand principles. Let's hope the administration is adept at horse trading.

*

Leonard Santos served as the international trade counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and teaches a course on the international trading system at the Pamplin Business School of the University of Portland.
1saudi.JPG

Amel Al-Hajjar, left, and Khadija Falih, both from Iraq, participate in a rally in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, to protest the mass executions in Saudi Arabia.

(The Associated Press)

By Noah Feldman

The rapidly escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, sparked by the execution of a Saudi Shiite activist, may seem like the natural outgrowth of a decade's Sunni-Shiite tensions. But more than denominational differences, what's driving the open conflict is the Saudis' deepening fear that the U.S. is shifting its loyalties in the Persian Gulf region from its traditional Saudi ally to a gradually moderating Iran.

And in a sense, they're right: Although the U.S. is a long way from becoming an instinctive Iranian ally, the nuclear deal has led Washington to start broadening its base in the Gulf, working with Iran where the two sides have overlapping interests. Of which there are many these days.

The Saudis executed the activist Nimr al-Nimr (it means Tiger the Tiger, by the way, which could possibly be the best name ever), last weekend because they wanted to send a message to the country's Shiite minority and neighbors, and because they thought they could get away with it.

The outspoken al-Nimr symbolized the possibility that Saudi Shiites might never fully accept their second-class status and, worse, might seek autonomy or independence in the event of the Saudi state's weakness. The Saudis seem to have calculated that if Iran made any noise about the execution, it would not have leverage to do anything about it. Undoubtedly the Saudis knew the Americans wouldn't be best pleased with them for killing a nonviolent activist -- but again, they must've thought it wouldn't matter.

Executing al-Nimr was thus probably intended to demonstrate that the Saudis can go it alone, making security-related decisions without worrying what their neighbors or the U.S. think. If that's right, the execution was an indirect signal that Saudi Arabia is feeling isolated, and that if isolated, it will act unilaterally.

Here the Saudis overplayed their hand. The Iranians reacted cleverly. First, the government stirred up public sentiment by condemning the execution. Then, it allowed angry protesters to storm the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Finally, the Iranian government shut down the protest, made arrests and issued public statements disclaiming responsibility for what had happened.

To be sure, the Iranian government is a complex organism with many moving parts, and the whole response likely wasn't planned or coordinated by a single actor. But the result was highly effective. It showed the Saudis that Iran took the execution as directed toward it. And it simultaneously gave other countries the cover they would need to side with Iran.

The Americans, rather remarkably, took the Iranian side. Secretary of State John Kerry let it be known that he was talking to his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. In the past, a U.S. secretary of state would've reached out solely to the Saudi foreign minister, not least because there were no official diplomatic ties to Iran. Meanwhile, a former deputy CIA director, Michael Morell, publicly praised the Iranians for their handling of the situation in Tehran. This was downright astonishing, given Americans' historical associations with embassy occupation there.

These reactions show that Saudi worries about American abandonment are to a degree justified. After the Iran nuclear deal, American foreign policy makers can look at an episode like the al-Nimr affair and ask: Whose fault is this? If the answer is the Saudis, the U.S. can now afford to side with Iran.

More broadly, this shift reflects increasingly overlapping U.S.-Iranian interests. Both want to stabilize Iraq, including by keeping the Iraqi Sunnis in a secondary position. Both would like to defeat Islamic State, a relatively low priority for the Saudis, who either don't fear the Sunni militant group or fear it so much they don't want to join the battle.

There are still plenty of points where U.S. and Saudi interests converge, and oppose Iranian interests. Both sides dislike Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and want Hezbollah to have less, not more power in Lebanon. Both want to restabilize Egypt and indeed the region more broadly, creating a broad-based Sunni alliance to balance Iranian expansion.

But an alliance based on accidents of converging policy is a lot less solid than what Saudi Arabia traditionally had with the U.S., namely an alliance based on reliable, instinctual friendship. In that longtime relationship, the Americans ignored Saudi human-rights abuses and absolutism, and the Saudis turned a blind eye to unflinching U.S. support for Israel. Among close friends, such aberrations can be forgiven. That's now changing, and the Saudis are understandably feeling nervous about it.

The painful truth for the Saudis is that the U.S. and Iran are plausible strategic allies, whose once close relationship was disrupted by the Islamic Revolution. The U.S. preference for Saudi Arabia in the Gulf was the result of Iranian intransigence and ideology, not any inherent strategic advantage possessed by the kingdom.

A Republican president, urged on by Israel, might conceivably try to roll back the Obama administration's steps to realignment, and bring back the good old days for the Saudis. And Hillary Clinton might be tougher on Iran than Barack Obama has been. But foreign policy continuity on Iran is likely, regardless of rhetoric. Any president will need to try and produce wins on Islamic State and Iraq -- and those can't be achieved without Iran.

Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard.

For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view

(c) 2016, Bloomberg View
When explaining why she refused to eat white bread, a friend of my explained it this way.



If you're walking down the street and a man with a gun forces you to strip until you are entirely naked, then gives you your socks back, have you been robbed or enriched ??



None of what you posted changes the validity of what I said. We have lost TENS of millions of manufacturing jobs. According to the articles you posted we're getting about 1.4 million of those jobs back over the next DECADE. So have we been robbed or enriched ?? The bigger problem is the baby boomers are retiring, taking with them the skills and tribal knowledge gained over life times of doing their jobs.



One of them also clearly states the very industries involved shot themselves in the foot by stopping their investment in training. It's not that we can't do the jobs. We just need the training.


The head of the Service Employees International Union is worried about what Donald Trump is stirring up in her 2.1 million members, because she thinks he can win.



In an interview with David Axelrod on his podcast "The Axe Files" out Thursday, Mary Kay Henry said her organization is going into hyperdrive to stand up against Trump because she sees him as a real threat.



Henry compared Trump to former California Gov. Pete Wilson who supported Proposition 226, a measure strongly opposed by unions that would have required them to get approval from individual members to spend their dues on political campaigns.



This ad that Trump released today is horrific in my mind and reminds me of Pete Wilson in California on Proposition 226, Henry said, likely referring to Trump's first TV ad talking about building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.



"But Pete Wilson won, Axelrod said.



"I know. I know. Thats why I think this is a very dangerous political moment in our country, Henry said. She added that she thinks Trump appeals to some of her members because of the terrible anxiety some people in the working class are experiencing.




Neither of these cases, however, support Moores suggestion that Obergefell is non-binding. The Eighth Circuits opinion does state that Obergefell does not directly apply to Nebraska, but it made this statement as part of a discussion about why that court retains jurisdiction over the case permitting it to rule in favor of marriage equality. Similarly, the district court in Kansas explicitly stated that Obergefell is clearly controlling Supreme Court precedent.

Any state or jurisdiction ruling that they would not issue gay marriage licenses would be blasted all over the news

Plaintiffs are seven same-sex couples seeking to marry in Nebraska or to have their marriage in another state recognized in Nebraska. They also seek state benefits incident to marriage. The district court granted Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary 1 injunction. It found that Article I,  29 of the Nebraska Constitution, which denies same-sex couples the right to marry, likely violates the U.S. Constitutions guarantee of equal protection. Nebraska brings an interlocutory appeal. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1292(a)(1), this court affirms

....

The preliminary injunction is affirmed and the case remanded for entry of final judgment on the merits in favor of the plaintiffs.

Regarding Moore's cases he is trying to cite...Think about this.Right?Hell. We had one podunk city clerk (Davis) who refused to issue licenses and that got constant coverage. Right?So why wasn't there similar outcry if these rulings Moore cited truly did find that Obergefell does not require them to issue / acknowledge gay marriages?(Hint: They didn't actually say that... :no )Here's a copy of one of the rulings.Just START TO READ it and you'll see the language clearly acknowledges what Obergefell was saying.Skip to the conclusion of the ruling and you'll see that Moore's attempt to cite this as precedent is outright buffoonery.Let me quote it for you ...Moore is not citing Obergefell properly.He's not citing the rulings he wants to use properly. He's taking them out of context to arrive at a conclusion
A Saginaw Valley State University educator was named among the top business professors in the world by an international journal focusing on business and economics.

George Puia, SVSUs Dow Chemical Co. Centennial Chair in Global Business, learned he was among 50 educators worldwide to receive the inaugural Oxford Journal Global Top 50 Educators Award.

Puia  along with two SVSU students and two alumni  attended the 13th annual Global Conference on Business and Economics at Oxford University in England in November, when they presented their research paper exploring links between culture and entrepreneurial development.

A letter to Puia from the Oxford Journal staff explained the standards for the award:

 You embody the standards expected for the winner of this prestigious award. Your vast and innovative contributions to your discipline, as well as your passion for the educational enterprise as a whole, set you apart from others in your field. In an era in which educators seem to be ever more specialized and focused on their own productivity, your persistent focus on students and encouragement of their success makes you stand out as a role model for excellence in education.

Puia learned he received the award while at the conference in England.

I felt especially honored to receive the award in front of students and alumni who had collaborated with me on some very engaging research, he said.

Puia joined SVSU in 2000. He has collaborated with SVSU students on a number of research projects and has traveled internationally with many students on faculty-led study abroad trips. Puia completed a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas.

The full list of the Oxford Journal Global Top 50 Educators Award recipients has not been published yet. The partial list includes educators from higher education institutions such as the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina as well as colleges abroad including Manchester Metropolitan University in Great Britain and Afyon Kocatepe University in Turkey.

Among those who attended the conference with Puia were students Zackary Gibson, a marketing major from Davison, and Heidi Hicks, a management major from Saginaw.

Two SVSU alumni also worked on the research paper presented there: Lisa Maroni and Rosalie Stackpole. Maroni, a Royal Oak native who received a bachelors degree in international studies in 2010, now serves as assistant director of international recruitment and admissions at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. Stackpole, a Trenton native who received her bachelors degree in marketing in May, works as a marketing project manager at Bloomfield Hills-based Flexible Plan Investments.

The groups research paper was titled, Indulgence, Restraint, and Within-Country Diversity: Exploring Entrepreneurial Outcomes with New Constructs.

The Global Conference on Business and Economics was sponsored by the Oxford Journal, as well as the Association for Business and Economics Research.
A 31-year-old man accused of firing a small caliber pistol from a vehicle in Midland early Wednesday morning has been arraigned on multiple charges.

The suspect, identified as Derek Jae Bender, is a Michigan Department of Corrections probationer assigned to Mount Pleasant. He was arrested after Midland Police were called to the Speedway at 2500 N. Saginaw Road at 5:30 a.m. for a report of an intoxicated man with a gun.

At the scene, they found the man was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a woman who became scared of his behavior and pulled into the gas station to call police.

The man fought with officers, police reported. Officers were seen with their weapons drawn, according to a caller to the Daily News.

No one was hurt during the incident.

Midland County prosecutors charged Bender in two separate cases. One lists misdemeanor charges of attempting to interfere with electronic communication and second-offense domestic violence. In the second case, Bender faces nine felony counts: discharging a weapon from a vehicle, a concealed weapons violation, felony firearm, three counts of resisting and obstructing police, possession of narcotics, felon in possession of a weapon, and receiving and concealing a stolen weapon.

Midland County District Court Judge Michael D. Carpenter arraigned Bender Thursday afternoon, setting bond in the felony case at $500,000 cash or surety, and $15,000 cash in the misdemeanor case.

A court appointed attorney has been granted, and a preliminary exam for the felony case is set for Jan. 26.

Benders rap sheet includes convictions of possession of burglar tools, breaking and entering a vehicle, conspiracy to break and enter a vehicle, marijuana possession and felonious assault. He was placed on department of corrections supervision on Nov. 5.
Michigan voters will no longer have the option of voting a straight-party ticket after legislation signed on Tuesday by Gov. Rick Snyder.

The state now joins 40 other states that have eliminated straight-party voting from the ballot.

Voters will be affected because they will have to vote for each candidate instead of just marking one, said Midland County Clerk Ann Manary.

Because of the new legislation, Manary is encouraging voters to research candidates and proposals before heading to the polls.

As long as voters do their homework by researching who is going to be on the ballot and what proposals may be on the ballot they should see maybe a five minute increase in the time it will take to mark the ballot, she said. The only real difference may be that it will be a little more crowded as we try to increase the number of voting stations.

The county has plans to purchase new voting equipment to alleviate the wait time. But, voters wont see that happen until late 2017 or early 2018, Manary said.

There will be no changes for this years election cycle, she said.

The current system has been in place for 11 years and is becoming obsolete.

Computers have a limited life cycle, Manary said. Here in Midland County we are fortunate that our equipment is in good working order, however the software is very much outdated and not very user friendly.

The state has pledged $5 million this year toward new voting equipment, she said. The plan is to match that amount next year. The county is also setting aside money to pay for new equipment.

Currently the state has approximately $25 million from unused (Help American Vote Act of 2002) funds. In addition each township and the City of Midland are setting aside money to help with the purchase, she said.

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, in an interview on Wednesday with the Associated Press, was asked if the money would be adequate to address concerns about longer waits.

She responded, its a good start, but added that the state needs approximately $50 million to replace the paper-ballot machines.

Johnson also stated that it is imperative that voters be able to cast an absentee ballot for any reason now that the straight-party voting option has been eliminated from ballots.

In December, the GOP-controlled House approved the no-reason absentee voting legislation 59-46 after inserting a provision saying the straight-ticket bill could not become law unless the absentee ballot measure was enacted, too. The Senate, however, uncoupled the bills and the Legislature ultimately sent Snyder only the straight-party repeal legislation.

I wont quit, Johnson said to the AP. I think its necessary and Im willing to spend the rest of the time I have in office to push it. But Im hoping that we can get it taken care of this year.

Johnson, a Republican, said she would have liked it if the GOP governor could have signed the bills together, but stopped short of criticizing his decision and welcomed his request that lawmakers next expand absentee voting. She said that while there are some good reasons to do away with straight-party voting, the GOP-led Senate should vote on the House-passed bill to let people vote in absentia without needing to meet specific criteria.

My concern is that the clerks believe that itll make the lines longer, so to me its imperative that the Senate has a vote on secure absentee voting. They go together, Johnson said.

Absentee voters currently must be at least 60 years old, be out of town when the polls are open, be an election worker, or be unable to vote on Election Day due to a physical disability, religious tenets or incarceration. Under the legislation, those choosing the no-reason option would have to show ID and request an application in person.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Often times our perfectly planned vacation doesn't go off without a hiccup. How you react to that hiccup can then set the tone of the rest of your vacation. So what do you do when you experience that bump in the road that you didn't plan for?





You know, thinking back I don't recall ever having a perfect vacation. And you know what, that's alright by me. Although at the time it may have been an inconvenience, when I got home it generally added humor when I regaled with my friends my vacation stories. Two particular journeys come to mind when I think of what could have been vacation lemons that were made into lemonade.





SO AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, A TYPHOON BLEW IN...



The first story took place on my very first international scuba vacation. I jetted off to Beqa, Fiji, to experience my first time diving in warm, tropical waters and I was so excited to be traveling with a group of fellow divers. Well, the trip had been planned around my dive shop's slow time of the year, which meant we were taking a chance on having excellent weather the whole time. So be it, luck was not exactly with us when a typhoon decided to blow through. Now of course we couldn't go diving while the winds were howling and the rain was pouring, but were we going to let this ruin our good time? The choices were simple, yes or no. Well one couple chose to complain to high heavens that this was not the vacation they had paid for and wanted to return home immediately. They opted for locking themselves up in their bure to pout until staff could safely transport them back to the main island of Viti Levu. The rest of us, however, chose to go with the flow. We broke out the umbrellas, hopped in the pool and played a raucous game of Marco Polo. When the winds died down enough for safe sailing, the inpatient couple headed off, and the rest of us continued to enjoy the island, its wonderful people, and eventually some awesome diving. Do you know what happened to that couple that couldn't just go with the flow and relax? They sat in a hotel on the main island and had to wait until just the day before we were scheduled to depart before they could get a flight home. Who do you think had a more enjoyable vacation with a wonderful story to tell when they got home?





MOTHER NATURE PLAYED HAVOC AGAIN...



The second story that comes to mind was when I led a group of divers down to La Paz, Mexico. Generally, this area is not the victim of large hurricanes, but this had to be the year...just one month before we were to arrive, Baja was struck with one heck of a hurricane leaving a path of destruction from Cabo to Loreto. I had my phone ringing off the hook and email blowing up from divers in the group wanting to know if we were still going. When I was finally able to get in touch with the resort and ascertain that, although a little worse for wear, they were still open for business, I let the group know that although the resort may not be in stellar condition, I planned to still lead the trip and help support this community with my tourist dollars to aid in the recovery. Thankfully everyone in the group was of the same mind and we flew on down. So yes, we definitely did experience some challenges with plumbing and internet at the resort, but overall the place was in good shape. On this trip though I did have one diver who admits now that he was not use to being able to let go and just find enjoyment in all the things that were going right. He finally confided in me at the end of the trip that when he realized that yelling at staff was not going to change the fact that some things could not be repaired instantly, his stress levels decreased and his enjoyment levels increased, and it turned out he had a wonderful time. I felt quite rewarded when he told me that it was my example and attitude that influenced his change and taught him a valuable lesson. There is peace in letting go and being flexible.





THERE IS PEACE IN LETTING GO & BEING FLEXIBLE...





So tell me, what do you think? Do you have a story to share about how you turned lemons into lemonade on your vacation? Didn't your hiccup just add color to what would have otherwise been a typical vacation story? I'd love to hear from you.
The Midland Area Community Foundation on Wednesday announced it has been awarded a grant of $175,000 from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. The grant will support a new initiative aimed at improving the quality of health for community members in need.

The grant dollars will provide non-emergency medical transportation service in Midland, Gladwin and Clare counties through a partnership with Michigan Transportation Connection and 211 Northeast Michigan.

The Midland County needs assessment conducted in 2012 and updated in 2015 identified transportation as one of the top concerns in the county, said MACF President and CEO Sharon Mortensen. This is especially prevalent in both our low income and growing senior populations, many of whom are missing important medical appointments due to a lack of transportation.

The new transportation service will utilize current public transportation options including Dial-A-Ride and County Connection. It will also seek additional public and private transportation providers that are able to deliver safe, clean and prompt service. Transportation will be provided free of charge to those who qualify.

In addition to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund grant, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation and MACF have pledged matching dollars to ensure funding is available for a two year pilot of the program. After the pilot, the non-emergency medical transportation service is expected to be self-sufficient.

More than 30 community foundations across the state applied for funding through the Michigan Health Endowment Funds fall 2015 grant application process. Grant requests focused on areas such as prenatal care and infant mortality; health services to support adopted and fostered children; healthy food access; wellness and fitness programs; access to mental health services; technology enhancements; health related transportation needs; access to care/integrated care; and teen pregnancy prevention.

The Michigan Health Endowment Fund board is proud to support a variety of very successful programs already positively impacting the health of Michigans children and seniors as a result of our first grant funding effort, said Rob Fowler, board chairman. We look forward to building additional relationships with Michigans community foundations and other nonprofit organizations as they continue their focused work to improve the health of Michigans most vulnerable residents.

We are excited to collaborate this year with community foundations on projects that seek to enhance the well-being of Michigans children and seniors in their local communities, added Paul Hillegonds, executive director of Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

The Michigan Health Endowment Fund was created as part of 2013 state legislation that allowed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to become a nonprofit mutual health insurer. Nearly $38 million in grants were awarded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund last year.

Additional information can be found at the Michigan Health Endowment Fund website at mhealthfund.com or by visiting the MACF website at midlandfoundation.org.
Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.

This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media  main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.




BLOOMINGTON  Twin City residents will get the faster Internet speeds many local agencies use, possibly this year.

MetroNet, an Evansville, Ind.-based TV, Internet and phone provider, plans to begin construction this spring on infrastructure to spread gigabit Internet to homes across Bloomington-Normal, according to a news release.

Gigabit service uses fiber-optic cables to deliver data at up to a gigabit per second  fast enough to download a high-definition feature film in 90 seconds, said MetroNet Business Development Manager Kathy Scheller.

The company will offer TV and phone service through the same cables.

MetroNet's speed rivals what Central Illinois Regional Broadband Network has offered since 2013 to local entities, including school districts, higher education, healthcare agencies, municipalities, libraries, not-for-profit agencies and businesses. Unlike CIRBN, MetroNet will use no public funding, Scheller said.

Scheller did not comment on how much construction will be necessary but said the company is "pretty far along" in related negotiations with Bloomington, Normal, Ameren Illinois and Corn Belt Energy. MetroNet's cable will run next to existing power lines.

It will be a widespread deployment throughout Bloomington-Normal," she said of where service will be offered. We light up certain areas at certain times.

The company also plans to set up a retail facility in the Twin Cities but hasn't decided on a location.

"Well have technicians from there and people that work in the store there, Scheller said.

Asked how much the service will cost the average customer, Scheller said we like to initially say 'Whatever youre used to paying, you get more for the same.'

Mayor Tari Renner said the company's interest shows Bloomington is a technology hub. Google named Bloomington a 2015 eCity, an award honoring the city in each state with the strongest online business community.

We like university towns because of the tech-savviness of that kind of population, Scheller said.

Bloomington-Normal will be MetroNet's first market outside Indiana. Cities with MetroNet service include Lafayette, home of Purdue University, as well as Huntington and Vincennes, which are home to private universities.
BLOOMINGTON  People who like to eat out in McLean County will have more restaurant information at their fingertips before any food reaches their lips.

The McLean County Health Department announced Wednesday that, beginning Friday, the health department's website will be updated to include everything a health department sanitarian finds during a restaurant inspection.

"Everything that the inspector writes into the computer will show up on the site," said Tom Anderson, director of the health department's environmental health division.

The website is http://health.mcleancountyil.gov.

Until Friday, only the score the restaurant received from a health department inspection or reinspection was released to the public on the website, Anderson said.

Beginning Friday, as a result of the department's move to a new electronic reporting process, the public will have access to full reports, giving restaurant-goers a better understanding of why restaurants received certain scores, Anderson said.

"It's going to make the public more informed of what's happening behind the scenes," Anderson said. "It's no longer, 'out of sight, out of mind.'"

But Anderson added, "I would hope that the public understands that each inspection is a snapshot in time ... and doesn't just view one restaurant inspection but several. Everyone has a bad day."

Eventually, the website will include explanations of why certain sanitarian observations result in violations.

"The public has been asking for more government transparency and this is an effort toward transparency," Anderson said.

Whether restaurant operators will find the change easy to swallow is another matter. Pantagraph attempts to reach several restaurant operators on Wednesday were not successful.

"The feedback varies," Anderson said. "Some are embracing it. The public can see how hard they're trying. Some establishments are concerned about it."

Health department sanitarians inspect food establishments for food temperature, hand washing, equipment cleanliness, food handling, storage, plumbing and physical structures. The goal is to reduce the risk of food borne illness that affects one in six Americans each day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When a violation poses a threat to public health, the establishment owner is asked to discontinue operation until the violation is corrected.
BLOOMINGTON  McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen may hold onto his elected post in McLean County, but a western Illinois county has suspended his work as interim county administrator.

Joe Vann, chairman of the Mercer County Board, said Sorensen's role as county administrator performed under a contract with Bloomington-based Bellwether LLC was suspended Wednesday because of federal fraud and wire fraud charges filed against Sorensen.

Vann said another Bellwether consultant will continue to provide services under the $60,000 annual contract. Vann said he saw Sorensen in the Mercer County courthouse Tuesday morning, but Sorensen left town before a meeting he was scheduled to attend later in the day with county officials.

Vann had no issues with Sorensen's work, saying "I wish him well. He's done good work and he's a heck of an analyst."

Bellwether did not respond a Pantagraph request for comment on the status of Sorensen's work with the firm.

Mercer County has a population of about 16,400 and is located in western Illinois, south of the Quad Cities.

Bellwether was hired by the county in October to serve as consultative administrator after completing an operations audit for the county earlier in 2014.

Vann said he was not aware that Sorensen was chairman of the McLean County Board.

McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers said Wednesday that no local officials have asked him for an opinion as to whether Sorensen's work in another county posed a conflict of interest.

"Conflicts of interest are often fact driven. I would have to know all the details of that relationship before I could render an opinion," said Chambers.
BROWNSVILLE Why doesnt Oregon provide free in-state tuition for National Guard soldiers?

Why arent state schools guaranteed stable funding resources?

How are small communities like Brownsville going to pay for multi-million dollar infrastructure to deal with stormwater runoff in coming years?

Those questions and more were fielded Wednesday morning by state Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Springfield, and Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, at a breakfast town hall at Randys Main Street Coffee in Brownsville.

Barnhart and Beyer are holding area Town Hall gatherings throughout their districts in preparation for the upcoming legislative session that starts February 1.

Barnhart said the 35-day session will focus on budget issues and fixing mistakes made during the last full session.

Barnhart said he has introduced a bill that will tax e-cigarettes.

We believe this will help keep kids from starting smoking, Barnhart said. Raising prices reduces tobacco sales to young people.

Barnhart said he will continue to oppose proposed legislation to close down the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and allow liquor sales in grocery stores.

Currently, OLCC works very well and the state of Oregon pockets about $400 million every biennium, Barnhart said.

Brownsville resident Mark Timmons would like the legislators to consider legislation to assist members of the Oregon National Guard who want a college education.

Timmons said other states provide Guardsmen with free in-state tuition to cover whatever their G.I. Bill benefits dont. Timmons said that would be an extra incentive to help recruit and retain Guard members.

We are preparing for the possibility of a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, Timmons said. The National Guard will be a key force in providing emergency relief if that occurs. But we need to be fully staffed and currently, that is often difficult.

Central Linn School District Superintendent Brian Gardner said he is concerned about a proposed tax hike on corporations supported by a union-backed group called Our Oregon. The group is proposing major tax increases on businesses and charging that schools would benefit from passage of such a bill.

Weve seen this before and Im concerned about just how much education would actually receive, Gardner said.

Im sick of education being the poster child to raise taxes, when in fact, schools get nothing, Gardner said.

Gardner added that Oregon needs to quit talking about funding education and actually increase and stabilize per-student funding.

Barnhart said he first ran for office in 2000 because he was concerned about lack of funding for education. He said he is also concerned that Oregonians are coming out of college facing large debt loads.

This is a time when they should be starting their careers, getting married, having families and instead, they have to figure out how to pay off their student loans, he said.

Other topics included the Public Employee Retirement System; the infusion of funds by large corporations into local political campaigns; the inefficiency of the Teacher Standards and Proficiency Commission; issues at the Port of Portland and the need to improve rail transportation from the mid-valley to Portland and beyond.
Minerals Technologies Signs Commercial Agreement with European Paper Company to Deploy FulFill Technology Jan. 6, 2016 - Minerals Technologies announced today that it has signed a commercial agreement with a prestigious European papermaker to provide Fulfill E-325 high-filler technology at the paper company's mill in Europe. This is the second agreement for the deployment of the FulFill technology at this paper mill. Minerals Technologies now has 24 agreements with paper mills that have adopted the Fulfill technology that the company introduced in late 2010. The company has nine agreements with paper companies in Asia; eight in North America; six in Europe; and one in South America. "We are delighted that this highly respected European papermaker has signed a second agreement to use our technology, which will allow them to produce high quality paper at lower cost," said Joseph C. Muscari, chairman and chief executive officer. These agreements confirm the commercial progress of the Fulfill brand, a portfolio of high-filler technologies that offers papermakers a variety of efficient, flexible solutions that decreases dependency on natural fiber and reduces costs. The Fulfill E-325 series allows papermakers to increase loading levels of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) by three to five points, which replaces higher cost pulp, and increases PCC usage between 20 to 30 percent. "We are engaged with approximately 20 other paper mills to introduce our FulFill technology, as well as our breakthrough NewYieldTM Integrated Process Technology that converts a papermaking waste stream into a useable filler," said Rand Mendez, senior vice president & managing director, Paper PCC. "Through continued innovation, MTI is advancing our leadership in technology that can reduce costs and improve quality for the worldwide paper industry." PCC is a specialty pigment for filling and coating high-quality paper. By substituting Minerals Technologies' PCC for more expensive wood fiber, customers are able to produce brighter, higher quality paper at lower cost. In 1986, Minerals Technologies originated the satellite concept for making and delivering PCC on-site at paper mills and the concept was a major factor in revolutionizing papermaking in North America. Today, the company has 60 satellite plants in operation or under construction around the world and continues to lead the industry with consistent quality and technical innovation. Minerals Technologies Inc. is a resource- and technology-based growth company that develops, produces and markets worldwide a broad range of specialty mineral, mineral-based and synthetic mineral products and related systems and services. To learn more, please visit: www.mineralstech.com. SOURCE: Minerals Technologies Inc.
A surrogate mom who refuses forced abortion has filed a lawsuit in California against the birth father of the triplets she is carrying. The surrogate mother Melissa Cook has accused the biological father, identified only in the court papers as "CM" from Georgia, of forcing her to abort one of the triplets she is pregnant with.

According to a report from the New York Post, Cook also accuses CM of threatening her of financial penalty for not aborting one of the fetuses which is part of her contract. The said contract allows the father to have one of the babies aborted. The surrogate mother was paid $33,000 for one child and $6,000 for each of the additional babies.

"The notion that a man can demand that a mother terminate the life of one of the children she carries by an abortion, and then claim that she is liable for money damages when she refuses, is cruel," Cook's attorney Harold Cassidy said of the contract. "The surrogacy contract in this case and the California Surrogacy Enabling Statute will not withstand constitutional scrutiny," Cassidy continued.

The biological father's attorney Robert Walmsley explains that CM requested Cook to abort one of the triplets she is carrying because of a doctor's health recommendation. He also claims that the father did not threaten her at all with any financial penalty.

CM's lawyer also goes to explain that the father is still paying for the surrogate mother's medical bills and that he is just a victim of anti-surrogacy advocates. The biological father is also seeking to get parental rights over all of the babies.

The surrogate mom who refuses forced abortion released a statement to People about her views on surrogacy, "I now think that the basic concept of surrogacy arrangements must be re-examined, scrutinized, and reconsidered."
Excited royal parents Prince William and Kate Middleton! The Duchess of Cambridge took their son Prince George on his first day of school at Westacre Montessori School Nursery in Norfolk, eastern England.

Two cute photos of Prince George that were taken by his royal mother were released by the royal officials today. The two-year-old prince arrived wearing a blue quilted jacket with a blue backpack. The prince also enjoyed the murals of the said nursery school.

About a month ago, the royal family announced to the public that their son will be attending a Montessori nursery. They chose the school because it is more private and has a good security than the other schools in London.

It is widely reported that Montessori schools are well-known for their liberal approach to education which can include mixed-age classrooms and encouraging children to act independently.

USA Today reported that the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge were "grateful" for the public's support for the privacy of their family.

"They appreciate the ongoing care that the British press is showing around the privacy of their children and have been pleased with the constructive dialogue Kensington Palace has had with a number of international media outlets in recent months," the press statement said regarding with the privacy of the prince and the rest of the people at the nursery.

According to The Guardian, Prince George's father, Prince William, was also sent to an exclusive nursing school near Kensington Palace by his mother, the late Princess Diana. There were huge crowds of journalists and photographers during Prince William's first day of school as well as his brother, Prince Harry.

Sources said that the first day school pictures of the royals have been a tradition since the days of Prince George's grandfather, Prince Charles.

What can you say about the photos of Prince George on his first day in school? Share to us your thoughts in the comment section below.




A toddler who is almost three years old died due to complications from cancer. Now, her mother wants justice as she claimed that the doctors failed to detect her daughter's tumor despite visiting the northern nursing station at least 40 times.

Alexandria Harper said her daughter Violet was turning three when she passed away in Dec 2013. But one month before she died doctors in Winnipeg hospital discovered a large cancerous tumor on her kidney that led to her death, CBCNews reported.

The lawsuit was filed in Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench last month. The defendants of the lawsuit are Northern Regional Health Authority, the Government of Manitoba and Dr. Afshin Mobarakeh. The lawsuit alleged that the girl's death was due to negligence by the doctor and the nursing station at the St. Theresa Point First Nation.

According to the legal documents filed, Harper brought her daughter to the nursing station at least 40 times between March 2011 and Dec 2013 and the only medications her daughter received from the station included Tylenol and Pedialyte. She also claimed that her daughter was attended by multiple nurses and practitioner as well as Dr. Mobarakeh.

Harper invariably took her daughter to the nursing station as she was consistently vomiting, had no appetite, had a fever, ear infections and diarrhea that lasted for days. She also noticed that Violet was gradually losing weight and started complaining about her aching stomach.

The lawsuit also claimed that one time, Alexandria took her daughter to the nursing station to have her examine. But one test was redone due to "administrative error." Harper also said that she told the staff many times about the lumps on her daughter's stomach.

In early Dec, Violet was taken to a new doctor Habib Vakilitahami. The doctor quickly examined the toddler in Children's Hospital in Winnipeg. The doctor then asked for a CT scan and discovered there's a tumor larger than a softball on one of Violet's kidneys. "It's late stage and had spread throughout her internal organs," the legal docs stated.

Harper's daughter was immediately sent to Edmonton for a chemotherapy but she died nine days later. According to the statement her death was "preventable" but the professionals who attended her "failed in their duty" on providing her the care she needs.

No statement of defense has been filed yet. Manitoba Health Minister Sharon Blady refused to comment as she thinks that the matter should be discussed within the court.
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Certain experiences in life are meant to be enlightening and educational, but never entertaining. Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., or the Middle Passage exhibit in South Carolina, or even the post-Katrina lower ninth ward in Louisiana where the levies broke all fall under this umbrella. In many ways, these sites are as sacred as any holy placewhen you enter them, youre expected to reflect, and perhaps to weep.The last thing youd do in these kinds of places is laugh out loud, or behave as if you are enjoying yourself in any way.

The same is true for slave narratives, in literature, film or TV. These stories are told in an attempt to share the important and tragic stories that shaped this nation. 12 Years a Slave is probably the most recent example of a slave narrative that was meant to be primarily difficult to watch. Even those of us whose parents made them watch Roots at a young age struggled to get through Steve McQueens adaptation of Solomon Northups memoir. And thats how its supposed to beor, at least, thats how its always been.

Something changed, however, after Django Unchainedand the exquisite, near-spiritual experience that came with it for me and many others. There came the realization that a slave narrative could be something different. Its almost blasphemy to say this, but I became convinced that, particularly from the angle of vengeance and/or rebellion, such stories could become entertaining. Of course, we still need films like 12 Years to tell a story with an unapologetically difficult framing (and Django was difficult as well)these are accurate stories and no, there are not enough of them. But we also need to open up the doors for creative, risky approaches for these period pieces in TV and film that seek to enlighten, educate andyesentertain. The fact that I write such a sentence and exhale a sigh of relief that my mother (who was a professor of African-American history) is no longer of this world and, therefore, cannot chastise me for making such a statement is proof that such a move is dangerous, and goes against the way weve always done things beforewhat weve been taught about the proper way to pay homage. But this is why we need to pay close attention to WGNs Underground series and Nate Parkers Nat Turner biopic, The Birth of a Nationbecause in 2016, a change is surely gonna come.

And not everyone will be on board. Underground (from creators Misha Green of Sons Of Anarchy and Heroes, and Joe Pokaski of Daredevil and Heroes) is going to come under attack for its unique style and presentation. The series premieres in March, and its taking every bit of my restraint to honor the press regulations and not reveal specific details this early on, but suffice it to say, this is not your mamas (or my mamas) Underground Railroad story. In a typical slave narrative the good guys and the bad guys are fairly simple to categorizeand then, of course, theres often a white savior who arrives right on time. Underground naturally adheres to some of this, but it also deviates in surprising ways; and these deviations will offend some people, especially people of color.

What will be most difficult for viewers from all backgrounds to reconcile will be the strangeness of a show like this being wildly entertaining. Underground is, at different times, all of the things that stories set during slavery are not allowed to be: its funny, its sexy and its a thrill ride. WGN is bringing a series that fits in perfectly with our very modern-day binge-watching experiences. But, because of the content, audiences will experience a certain disorientation. Am I supposed to be enjoying this so much? is a question I asked myself repeatedly, as I flew through the first four episodes made available. Where I was expecting to experience those familiar pangs of anger and grief (and, of course, those did occur), I felt many other thingspride in the rebellious nature of many of the characters, certainly, but also a unique sense of fascination with them. Everyone is presented with such specificity and nuance, that I realized Id been guilty of doing what so many others have before, of categorizing nearly all slaves as one. Or, at most, making the distinction between house slaves and field slaves. But Underground will serve as a powerful reminder that every enslaved black was a humancomplex, messy, intelligentand, yes, intellectualsexual beings. Its time all those complexities were given their due, and Underground is a fantastic attempt at doing so.

And the film world has Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation (an excellent title, by the way) to look forward to, and its going to be very interesting to see how its received. Nat Turner is, for so many, the antithesis of black respectability. Highly-anticipated period pieces about the fights for black rights in America tend to spin a familiar tale of brains over brawn. Martin Luther King Jr. was non-violent (though its important to note that Ava DuVernays Selma did an excellent job in complicating this notion); Malcolm X may have been, for much of his life, opposed to non-violent teachings, but in his biopics hes presented as an intellectual who believed in the right to self-defense. But Nat Turner would, today, be categorized as an actual terrorist. Slave revolts are not the typical fodder for slave narratives in part because they show a side of enslaved blacks that were not supposed to talk about: the vengeful, by-any-means-necessary side, wherein some blacks refused to wait for a white savior, or for their freedom to become legalized. Nat Turner was accused of killing over fifty white people in 1831 (including women and children)it is no small thing that a 2016 movie is going to present him as a hero, a redeemer.

The cry for nonviolence is still a favorite means of quieting black Americans who are continuously faced with violence of many forms. The Birth of a Nation will likely send a very different message about what is an acceptable form of rebellion against a state that seeks to destroy black lives. Although we havent even seen a trailer for the film (just a few beautiful stills), in the hands of Nate Parker (who has delivered powerful performances in such films as The Great Debaters, Aint Them Bodies Saints and Beyond the Lights), I anticipate greatness.

Like Underground, I believe The Birth of a Nation will part the red sea so to speak, and make the space that film and TV need for period pieces set during American slavery. Its not enough to have one or two of these stories a year, when there are still countless slave narratives to be told. And in 2016, audiences will be given permission to enjoy and be entertained by such storiesdifficult though they may be. Well also have traditional notions of good vs. evil problematized, and black rebellion (violent and otherwise) elevated and even honored. Its not what were used to at all, but in my book, this is the best of whats next for stories about the black experience.

Shannon M. Houston is Assistant TV Editor & a film critic at Paste, and a writer for Salon and Heart&Soul. This New York-based freelancer probably has more babies than you, but thats okay; you can still be friends. She welcomes almost all follows on Twitter.
KFC is giving the lesser-known Nashvilles of America some love. To promote its new menu item, a food truck is bringing KFC Nashville Hot Chicken to eight different non-Tennessee Nashvilles before its national debut. The tour begins on January 7th.

Incidentally, none of the Nashvilles to be graced with the food truck have brick-and-mortar KFCs of their own. Heres a tour schedule.

Nashville Village, OH: Jan. 7

Nashville Village, MI: Jan. 8

Nashville, IN: Jan. 10

Nashville, IL: Jan. 11

Nashville Town, WI: Jan. 12

Nashville Township, MN: Jan. 14

Nashville City, KS: Jan. 16

Nashville Town, NC: Jan. 20

More importantly, what is Nashville Hot Chicken, anyway? Its a style of fried chicken thats been around for decades, not an invention of KFC. And Nashville Hot Chicken happens to be Tennessees entry in our epic 50 States of Fried Chicken list, so take a peek to learn more about hot chickens background.
Making a Murderer, the immensely popular Netflix documentary about accused murderer Steven Avery, has begun to attract a bit of criticism regarding its methods. Avery was wrongly imprisoned for rape in 1983, and exonerated by DNA evidence 18 years later, but he wasnt out long before he was arrested again for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. The engrossing show revisits both trials, andwithout spoiling any of the ploteffectively manages to cast doubt on the judicial competence and rectitude of Wisconsins Manitowoc County.

Yet one representative from that group, prosecutor Ken Kratz, has been vocal in accusing filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos of constructing a false narrative in the 10-part series. He argues that they left out critical evidence in their rush to advocate for Averys innocence, and lost their objectivity in the process. Earlier this week, he told The Wrap that Netflix should either provide an opportunity for rebuttal, or alert the viewers that this series was produced by and for the defense of Steven Avery.

Demos and Ricciardi have dismissed his claims, saying that they presented the states most compelling evidence and simply couldnt include everything. Until recently, the streaming giant had not made a formal response, but Netflix chief Ted Sarandos broke that silence yesterday.

I dont think documentaries are unbiased, they do take a position, Sarandos said. This is the filmmakers position, and they did a great job laying out the facts.

Even with this decision made, the question of whether advocacy journalism requires a specific label is one that might persist in the age of true-crime investigations. But then again, isnt all journalism a kind of advocacy? As George Orwell put it, Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.
Editors note: This is the second of two posts this week on race in American Buddhist communities. It occurred to me that both of our wonderful authors, Ann and Craig are both white, as am I, and as are most of my readers  at least the ones Ive gotten to know over the years. So while I am very happy to see this conversation happening and growing, I want to see the discussion opening up across racial lines as Craig suggests here. I know Ann invited one African American colleague who could not contribute at this time and I just recently sent out invitations to a half-dozen or so people I know or know of who Id love to see contributing to this conversation. But I also invite you, dear reader, to contribute in the comments, sharing experiences, worries, hopes, years of academic research, whatever youve got. If you have a longer piece in mind, email me at Buddhistethics AT gmail DOT com and we can talk more. Somewhat tangential but related is the fact that I changed the name of this blog last year, ever so slightly, by adding the s at the end. I dont want this site to simply be a reflection of one limited perspective (my own), but instead to be a reflection of the incredibly wide and diverse world of American Buddhism which, like Indras Net, reflects infinitely out through generations of Asian Buddhists, Western philosophers, mothers, children, stories known and unknown

The first time I heard about a person of color (POC) retreat, I was living in a Zen monastery in the Colorado Rockies, reading Tricycle magazine in a rare, and therefore savored, moment of free time. I saw an ad for a POC retreat at IMS. My first thought, as a white male who had been practicing for over a decade, was, Why do we need that? The Dharma, I reasoned, was for everyone. Anyone was welcome at the 7-day sesshins our center hosted; anyone with the requisite experience could join our annual 3-month retreat. Feeling uncomfortable, I put the thought from my mind.

That was almost a decade ago. Looking back, I now see those thoughts for what they were: expressions of blindness, of privilege, a version of the ahistorical ignorance that has been the cause of so much suffering in our nation  and in our Buddhist communities.

Because, in fact, people of color didnt come to our monastery. We drew students from all over the country, from San Francisco, Santa Fe, Boulder, Denver, New York, Boston. Students came to us, too, from Austria, Germany, and France. But all  or nearly all  of the students who came to us came white. They were white by skin color, and they were white by culture. In fact, I would now say that, in addition to teaching Zen, our monastery inadvertently taught whiteness.

These days, I am writing my dissertation on racial dynamics in Buddhist communities. I interview people of color about their experiences in primarily white meditation communities. I ask the most basic questions. Whats it like to be a person of color in this really white community? Can you tell me about an experience when you felt truly included  all of you? How about a moment when you felt you had to leave a part of you out to be a part of things? What would it take for this community to be a truly welcoming place, a place built for you?

In an 80-page proposal to pose these questions, I drew on the history of segregation in American churches and the history of American Buddhism; I referenced Critical Race Theory, the literature on microaggressions, and Elijah Andersons thoughts on the White Space; I wrote about intergroup relations and styles of acculturation.

But nothing prepared me for what I found when I actually talked with people of color  in person, in interviews that lasted between 45 and 90 minutes.

I am aware of non-essentializing, the seemingly obvious idea that not all black people (or Asian Americans, or white folks) think alike. Its a core principle in race theories. And I know that often members of a single community bring multiplicity to every meeting. But even these handy constructs fell short of the dynamic, fluid, and radically individual narratives that my participants have offered.

One seemed to say they didnt care about race at all. Another said they meticulously counted how many black folks showed up for meetings. Still another said it used to matter, but didnt matter anymore. Another said that they wanted a mini-revolution, one that made their sangha the first primarily black Buddhist community in America. Still another said the issue wasnt inclusion, the issue was power: who has it, and how they wield it.

When I asked participants to imagine a space that was truly theirs, really welcoming, some thought that space would have more laughter, more singing, more food. There would be children playing. People would talk to each other more, and louder; they would know each other better. The word intimacy came up more than once. Others said, simply, that there would be more color in the crowd.

I cant say Ive answered my research questions yet. I still need to do more interviews. I have barely started my analysis. But I can say one thing for sure:

Race matters in Buddhist communities.

It matters. We should be talking about this. And we should be talking about it across racial lines. Because, as Ann Gleig so eloquently pointed out in the companion piece to this article, racism is a form of dukkha; its suffering. Its a suffering that is playing out all over America, and at the heart of our communities. If we, as Buddhists, are serious about addressing dukkha, then we need to get serious about addressing race.

Craig Hase is a PhD student in the counseling psychology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to his research on race in meditation communities, he teaches meditation to helping professionals.

* For now, two recent helpful articles on this blog are an interview with La Sarmiento and the review of The Way of Tenderness.
The popular Buddhism section of Reddit, known as the front page of the internet, last week banned all content relating to the New Kadampa Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This, the editors say, is in response to complaints over the quality of the Buddhism section of the site. Specifically addressing the NKT ban, they write:

Why is content related to the New Kadampa Tradition now banned? Following recent news confirming conspiracy theories and speculation for years that the NKT is financially backed by the Chinese Communist Party, we are making an executive decision. While we understand that many who participate in NKT-led events are largely unaware of the political drama, we cannot comfortably ignore the substantial amount of evidence uncovered by international journalism that the CCP is not only financially backing the NKT, but actively using the controversy to sow dissent and employing espionage tactics in the Buddhist community. Our position is the Buddhist religion has an ancient history, and we cannot permit a totalitarian regime to interfere with our legacy, sabotage our traditions, and destroy our institutions. As such, any content that is directly related to and in support of the NKT will be considered from here on out to be political propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party and swiftly removed. We welcome participants of the NKT to engage in discussions, but please refrain from making comments disparaging the Dalai Lama or relating to Dorje Shugden. An exception to this might be in the case of a newbie asking for information on the controversyexplanatory expositions of what is going on is tolerable; only direct support of the NKT will be viewed as a post with a political agenda and subsequently removed.

For the full post and comments (183 of them and counting) at reddit, click here.

You can also read that recent news report directly here, and follow up with a discussion of several points here (5 things we learned (and didnt) from the Reuters investigation into the Buddhist Shugden sect, China, and the Dalai Lama). From my reading of the Reuters article there definitely wasnt what I would consider confirmation of Chinese Communist Party support for the New Kadampa Tradition. What is clear from the report is that Chinese officials are actively in favor of Dorje Shugden worship which currently is causing tension within the Gelugpa school of the Dalai Lama. The exact extent of their support or whether the Chinese government is directly funding NKT activities is still anything but clear.

With a readership approaching 100,000 the effect of this ban could be dramatic. Though perhaps not, as the strongest response seems to be about another rule change (banning discussions on drugs and drug-related experiences)
. . . from Analogy and Plausibility

Immaculate Conception (c. 1618), by Diego Velazquez (15991660) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

From my book, The Catholic Mary: Quite Contrary to the Bible?

* * * * *

Neither the notion nor the fact of a sinless created being is impossible. The angels (excepting the fallen ones, or demons) are sinless and always have been. They never sinned. They never rebelled against God. Theyre creatures as we are, with a free will to sin or not sin. Adam and Eve were originally sinless and could have remained so had they not rebelled against Gods commands.

Babies in the womb are without actual sin (though not without original sin), and even after birth they cannot sin mortally (with full subjective awareness necessary for mortal sin) for quite some time, until they attain the age of reason.

The Immaculate Conception was not, strictly speaking, absolutely necessary for God to do. God could possibly have gone about things a different way, just as He could have saved mankind with just His word, without a bloody cross and Jesus agonizing suffering, had He chosen to do that.

That is freely granted in Catholic (as well as in most non-Catholic Christian) theology. That said, we contend that the Immaculate Conception is a completely plausible act of God, and most fitting and proper and should not be at all surprising, in light of several analogous variables in Scripture.

Another biblical argument can be made from the proximity to God: in other words, the closer one gets to God, the more holy one must be. I developed this at some length in my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (pp. 178-185). The presence of God imparts holiness (Deuteronomy 7:6; 26:19; Jeremiah 2:3). The temple site was sacred and holy (Isaiah 11:9; 56:7; 64:10), and the Holy of Holies where God was specially present above the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:22), was the holiest place of all within the temple. When we are ultimately with God in heaven, sin is abolished once and for all (1 John 3:3-9; Revelation 14:5; 21:27).

In order to be such a magnificent vessel for the Incarnate God Himself, it stands to reason that God would make the Blessed Virgin Mary an exceptional human being: not only full of grace and therefore sinless (Luke 1:28), but ordained as completely free from original sin, from the moment of her conception: to be preserved by a special act of grace from God, from all sin whatever: original and actual.

Now, the challenge at this point is to show how and why one would posit the Immaculate Conception, based on the biblical data alone (since our Protestant brethren put the highest emphasis on Scripture, and regard it as the only infallible authority in Christianity). Is it possible to do that? Can some semblance of an argument be made from the Bible: if not directly (as we grant), at least from analogy, plausibility, and indirect deduction? I think so.

A sinless Mary is a completely biblical concept: even a fairly explicit one: once one examines Luke 1:28 very closely (the meaning of the Greek word involved: kecharitomene) and realizes the inexorable deductions based on the nature of grace and its relation to sin (about which the Bible has much to say). I made this argument in my book, The Catholic Verses (pp. 181-190), and consider it a rather strong one. In a nutshell, the reasoning works as follows:

1) Grace saves us.

2) Grace is the antithesis of sin and gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin.

3) To be full of the grace (Luke 1:28) which gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin, is to be fully without sin, by that same grace.

Now we must make some connection between Marys conception or (failing that) at least sanctity from the womb, to provide some biblical rationale for her Immaculate Conception. The Bible doesnt directly reveal anything in this respect about Mary. It informs us (through the mouth of the angel Gabriel) that she is full of grace and that this state was present at the time of the Annunciation.

From that information alone, however, we cant tell how long Mary had been full of grace and without sin. Therefore, that particular aspect has to be argued from analogy and plausibility. And I think that can be done as well.

Its fairly easy to find examples of holy people who have been sanctified or made righteous from the womb, and even (in terms of Gods foreordination or predestination) from before they were ever conceived. The Bible does refer to holiness being imparted even before birth; indeed, even before conception.

Before we pursue that line of thought, lets step back a bit and note that the biblical writers are fully aware of the notion of conception itself. And this presupposes that a person (with a soul; otherwise he or she is no person) is in existence from that time (e.g., Genesis 25:21; Numbers 5:28; 2 Samuel 11:5; Job 3:3; Psalm 51:5; Song of Solomon 8:2; Luke 2:21; Romans 9:10).

Does the Bible, moreover, refer to people being called from the womb for His purposes? Yes; Samson was one such person:

Judges 16:17 (RSV) And he told her all his mind, and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mothers womb. If I be shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

A Nazirite was a person who separated himself and was specially consecrated to God: one who made special vows that went beyond the ordinary requirements of the Law. But we know that Samson was not without sin, so his example suffices only to show that being called by God before birth is not unknown in Holy Scripture. The same notion occurs in relation to Isaiah the prophet:

Isaiah 49:1, 5 . . . The LORD called me from the womb, . . . [5] And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength 

We find the same in the book of Job:

Job 31:15, 18 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb? . . . (for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his mothers womb I guided him);

We also observe in Sacred Scripture that God has plans for His servants from even before they were conceived (God being out of time in the first place):

Psalm 139:13-16 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mothers womb. [14] I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; [15] my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. [16] Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Thus, the idea that a person is somehow spiritually formed and molded by God and called from the very time of their conception (and before) is an explicit biblical concept. But we can produce even more than that: having to do also with holiness. The prophet Jeremiah reported the Lords revelation to him (as confirmed by another writer of Scripture):

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (KJV: sanctified thee)

Sirach 49:7 . . . he had been consecrated in the womb as prophet, . . .

Consecrated or sanctified in Jeremiah 1:5 is the Hebrew word quadash (Strongs word #6942). According to Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1979 reprint, p. 725), in this instance it meant to declare any one holy. Gesenius applies this particular meaning also to the temple:

1 Kings 9:3 And the LORD said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

Here are a few more related appearances of the word:

Exodus 29:42-43 . . . the door of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you. [43] There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory;

Isaiah 5:16 But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I the LORD sanctify them.

Jeremiah was thus consecrated or sanctified from the womb; possibly from conception (the text is somewhat vague as to the exact time). This is fairly analogous to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. It approximates it. We know Jeremiah was a very holy man. Was he sinless, though? Perhaps he was. I dont recall reading accounts of Jeremiah sinning.

We know, after all, that the Bible is very frank about exposing sins where they existed (Davids adultery, Noahs drunkenness, Moses murder, Isaiahs unclean lips, Elijahs and Jonahs lapses of faith, Doubting Thomas, Peters betrayals, Pauls persecutions, etc.). Therefore, though the lack of such an account of sin does not prove sinlessness, it is consistent with its possibility.

The retort at this point might be that there is a lack of such a notion in the New Testament. But thats not true. We have the example of John the Baptist:

Luke 1:15 for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb.

Luke 1:41, 44 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. . . For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.

We know that John the Baptist was also a very holy man. Was he sinless? We cant know that for sure from the biblical data. I dont recall any mention of a sin from John the Baptist, in Scripture. St. Catherine of Siena, for one, believed that he never sinned (A Treatise of Prayer). But we know that he was sanctified from the womb. And that forms some plausible analogy to the Immaculate Conception. Lastly, St. Paul refers to being called before he was born:

Galatians 1:15 . . . he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace,

Therefore, by analogy and plausibility, based on many biblical cross-references, we can and may conclude that it is biblical and reasonable to believe in faith that Mary was immaculately conceived. Nothing in the Bible contradicts this belief. And there is much that suggests various elements of it, as we have seen. It does require faith, of course, but based on the biblical data alone it is not an unreasonable or unbiblical belief at all.

Her sinlessness is taught in Luke 1:28, so we need only extrapolate the sinlessness back into the womb (which is easy to do), and with regard to original sin as well (not as easy, assuredly, but not impossible to imagine, either).

If God calls and predestines people for a specific purpose from all eternity, from before they were ever born, as David states and as Jeremiah strongly implies, then what inherent difficulty is there in His sanctifying a very important person in salvation history, centrally involved in the Incarnation, from conception?

The possibility simply cant be ruled out. And if God can call Jeremiah and John the Baptist from the womb and (possibly) from conception, why not Mary as well? The one case is no less plausible than the other, and so we believe it, by analogy.

Its not foreign to biblical thinking, and makes perfect sense. According to the Catholic Church, God restored to Mary the innocence of Eve before the Fall, and filled her with grace, in order to prepare her for her unspeakably sublime, sanctified task as the Mother of God the Son. Why should He not do so?
Germany has a problem.

Turns out, the integration of 1 million + Muslim refugees is not so easy, when their, ahem, culture is different than yours  or, more bluntly, when their culture endorses the mistreatment of women in various ways.

And rather than admit this, the German media seemed to have simply decided that if they ignored the assaults on women in Cologne and elsewhere, they could wish them away.

Heres the New York Times, Reports of Attacks on Women in Germany Heighten Tension Over Migrants (one commenter at the Times points out that even this headline attempts some distancing: its not the attacks, but the reports that are causing problems):

The tensions simmering beneath Germanys willingness to take in one million migrants blew into the open on Tuesday after reports that scores of young women in Cologne had been groped and robbed on New Years Eve by gangs of men described by the authorities as having a North African or Arabic appearance. Taking advantage of the New Years Eve street party, hundreds of young men broke into groups and formed rings around young women, refusing to let them escape, the authorities said. Some groped victims while others stole wallets or cellphones.

(Oh, and by the way, one woman reported a rape  but nevermind, apparently.)

In Hamburg, the police said 10 women had reported that they were sexually assaulted and robbed in a similar fashion on the same night. . . . To prevent further violence in Cologne during the coming Carnival celebrations, when thousands of costumed revelers throng the streets for the beginning of Lent, which falls on Feb. 10 this year, Ms. [Mayor Henriette] Reker said that city officials would work to help women protect themselves and to explain the citys attitudes and norms to newcomers. We will explain our Carnival much better to people who come from other cultures, she said, so there wont be any confusion about what constitutes celebratory behavior in Cologne, which has nothing to do with a sexual frankness.

And Reker is, as you likely know, in trouble herself for saying that, basically, its the womens fault for not protecting themselves. (See this Deutsche Welle English-language report, for instance.) And it seems preposterous to imagine that you can solve this problem simply through a bit more explanation.

So, bad news, eh? And, even though other reports cite the police as saying that the perpetrators were (or are suspected to be) petty criminals who have long been causing them trouble in the area, its hard to believe that this is unconnected to the massive influx of migrants/refugees.

But, much as everyones ready to jump on these reports as proof that Merkel was a fool and should immediately close the border and expel all those who have arrived, there is no simple answer.

Why, after all, did Merkel make that initial, fateful announcement that she would allow individuals to claim refugee status in Germany, rather than in the first EU country they arrived at? Wasnt it meant to relieve the pressure on places such as Greece and Italy, who were in no position to handle the asylum-claimants?

The facts are confusing. Certainly, New Years Eve sees plenty of local residents coming into the city to celebrate, arriving at the train station either on the local trains or the subway. But the reports are that the Bahnhofvorplatz  the city square between the cathedral and the train station  became the site where mainly North African and Arab men gathered to drink and shoot off firecrackers and rockets, with police clearing the crowd as midnight approached, not because of these attacks, which they werent aware of, but because the drunkenness and fighting and rocket-firing was getting out of hand; this took an hour but ultimately they did clear the square, as well as the train station itself, which had become equally chaotic, with fighting. The article cites a 12-year train station employee as saying, its always full, but this year the atmosphere was entirely different, with far more foreigners than usual.

Now, this is right in the center of town. Were not talking about a no-go zone, a ghetto-like area in which police have resigned themselves to just letting criminals take over because they get chased out by hostile residents, as reportedly is the case in some areas of metro Paris, Brussels, Molmo. At the same time, though, this is hardly an idyllic location. Der Spiegel reports

Taschendiebstahle sind ein massives Sicherheitsproblem in der Stadt am Rhein. In Koln haben wir 12.000 Delikte im Jahr, sagte Kriminalhauptkommissar Gunther Korn zu SPIEGEL TV. Das sind 5000 mehr als 2007. Und das obwohl die Beamten in dem Zeitraum dreimal mehr Trickdiebe gefasst hatten als 2007. Wir konnen gar nicht so viele Tater festnehmen wie nachwachsen, so Korn. Die geringen Strafen, die in Deutschland fur Eigentumsdelikte verhangt werden, schrecken offenbar nur wenige Tater ab. Pickpockets are a massive security problem in the city on the Rhine. In Cologne we have 12,000 offenses a year, said Chief Commissioner Gunther Korn to Spiegel TV. Thats 5,000 more than in 2007. And that even though officials have arrested three times more thieves than in 2007. We cant apprenhend as many criminals as spring up, said Korn. The small penalties for property offenses apparently deter only a few criminals.

Or something like that  pardon the translation. But the gist of it was that these men were not new arrivals, but a bad crowd thats been an ongoing problem. Its hard to believe, though, that this sudden escalation was unconnected to the massive numbers of new arrivals. And Korn doesnt say how recently the problem escalated, either.

And not just Cologne but also Munich and presumably other German cities have Karneval/Fasching celebrations coming up  giant street parties which make New Years Eve look small in comparison. Heck, one year when we lived in Munich, in the midafternoon I took the kids (or maybe just the younger one, but he was in a stroller) to see what the fuss was all about, and it was wall-to-wall people. I can only imagine what the scene looked like that night. And such an event absolutely depends on the crowd being well, civil  a repeat of even just the reports of pervasive theft, let alone the molestation of women, would destroy the event.

And, it should be pointed out, there were no such reports coming from Oktoberfest, despite fears that the combination of ever-flowing beer and girls in flirty dirndls could spark, er, misbehavior on the part of the newcomers.

And despite the initial lack of interest, the police are, at least in appearances, taking this very seriously. And, although broadcaster ZDF had to apologize for initially not reporting on this, there is no extensive coverage at the local news sites.

So Germany has a long road ahead.

Does the government  at all levels  recognize that they cant blow off the issue of crime? That they cant wish away the problems that come with massive numbers of new arrivals, many of them wholly uneducated, and coming from cultures in which women are treated as inferiors and considered deserving of abuse if they dont follow Islamic codes of behavior or even for no reason at all?

Do they recognize that they have to sort out the bad apples, both those who have no grounds for an asylum claim and those who are refusing to play by the rules (the rules being work as hard as you can to learn German, learn a skill, get a job, etc.), and that they have to expel those bad apples as quickly as possible, as well as those who have refused to register in the first place?

Are they even able to implement all their good intentions, and is it even a feasible task to do so?

These are all long-term questions. For all our schadenfraude and I-told-you-sos, it is simply too soon to tell the outcome.
The annual ritual of welcoming a new year has already come and gone. We have welcomed 2016 with renewed hope and several resolutions. For many, welcoming a new year is like pushing a reset button. It allows for the discarding of the old in order to fix our hopes and desires on newer, better things. Personally, I welcomed 2016 by making my belly extremely happy and full. Surrounded by members of the Peruvian community of Savannah, I tasted a complete selection of Peruvian dishes including papa rellena, tamales, turkey and causa.

As Catholics, we have received a special resolution for this year from Pope Francis himself. He gave this clear and concrete resolution during his remarks for the 49th Word Day of Peace on the first day of the year: I want to invite the Church to pray and work so that every Christian will have a humble and compassionate heart, one capable of proclaiming and witnessing to mercy. Not only is he challenging us with this resolution, he has given us a Jubilee Year of Mercy for us to put it into practice. The Year of Mercy may come to an end in several months, but its effects will remain if we enter into it wholeheartedly and allow Gods grace to transform us into more humble and compassionate people.

The Popes words for this World Day of Peace emerge as a hopeful message in the midst of what he calls a third world war fought piecemeal. Indifference towards God in modernity has led to an indifference toward the suffering and needs of others as well as an indifference toward Gods creation, the environment. He notes that this indifference has led to self-absorption and a lack of commitment in individuals, while in a larger scale, it has prolonged injustice, social imbalance, poverty, disregard of human rights, destruction of the environment, and war.

The cure for indifference is mercy and solidarity. Francis quoted Pope John Paul IIs definition of solidarity writing that solidarity is, a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good to the good of all and of each individual. Solidarity is not a vague sense of compassion and good wishes for others, but a concrete attitude that reaches out to others, aware of the interdependence of humankind. Pope Francis concludes that the fruit of solidarity, mercy and compassion is peace.

As 2015 ends with the many tragedies and horrors it brought to the world, the Pope challenges us to show solidarity. The devastating image of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi from Syria that made it to the mainstream media comes to mind. This child drowned along with his mother and brother as they attempted to reach the Greek Island of Kos. His lifeless little body dressed in red and blue lay on the sandy beach. With this happening, how can we remain indifferent? Mercy and solidarity alone will bring peace.

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For decades Americans have labeled all they disagree with as Terrorism effectively dehumanizing those who believe in causes we disagree with. Observing the extremist in our nation label the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter and environmental groups as terrorist has become old hat.

The ever-increasing need to other those we disagree with is a national sickness that only further divides us as a nation. Gone are the days when reasonable people would ask what makes a group feel so isolated as to engage in such actions? Nowhere to be seen are the peacemakers seeking understanding, compassion and compromise.

Today I awoke to many of my community members posting about the White Terrorist takeover of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife facility in the Pacific Northwest. Such strong language got me to poking into the issue seeking a broader understanding. I went to both sites that support the action and those opposed. Let me state clearly, personally I totally oppose their actions and approach to the issues at hand.

That being said, I also oppose the mass Hyperbole in the press. These individuals are engaging in a protest, granted one I disagree with, but a protest nonetheless. Calls for the National Guard to remove them are outlandish.

In many cases those re-posting such calls are people from my own community who have supported many other protests calling for racial, social, economic and environmental justice. I find their response to a protest on the right distasteful and not inline with the value we all place on the right to dissent. It is after all dissent that waters the roots of freedom!

This action in the Northwest is a great opportunity to point out how white people with privilege are treated differently than minorities when engaging in protest. We should, however, be calling for the government to use their current policy of restraint during all protests as a standard rather than demonizing the protesters to the point where violence in inevitable.

If we believe in the ability to change the world through civil disobedience, should we not avoid calling for violence against those with whom we disagree?

The people involved in this protest embrace a view of America I find distorted, distasteful and full of dangerous ideas. Yet they are not terrorists, by definition terrorists attack innocent civilians in order to inspire terror. This group has simply occupied a remote vacant facility over a holiday weekend.

Lets keep the pressure up in pointing out how differently these protesters are being treated because of their privilege.

Lets not allow the to nation to ignore how when people of color engage in less aggressive actions they are attacked by authorities.

Lets openly oppose the views of Militia groups everywhere with ideas and not calls for violence.

Lets not engage in hyperbole that encourages violence and the erosion of our own rights as Americans.
John Piper used to be my spiritual hero. Truth be told, I actually had a picture of John hanging in my dorm room at Moody Bible Institute. He modeled everything I wanted to be as a pastor. In recent years, however, as my theology has changed and as Piper has left the pastorate, our theological perspectives have drifted significantly. Piper consistently tweets things that make my stomach turn and represent a kind of Christianity that I dont even consider truly Christian any longer. But today, on Desiring God, Piper has posted an article in response to Jerry Fallwell Jr.s (president of Liberty University) chapel remarks where he told students to get guns and concealed carry permits to defend themselves and their school against them Muslims, that is one of the best pieces of theology I have seen from Piper in years. In his article Piper essentially makes a case for Christian Pacifism and calls Christians to rely on faith in Christ as their defense, rather than placing their trust in guns. Except for a few points about persecution, I generally agree with most of what Piper has written. Heres an excerpt from his post:

I can say with complete confidence that the identification of Christian security with concealed weapons will cause no one to ask a reason for the hope that is in us. They will know perfectly well where our hope is. Its in our back pocket.

Remarkable, isnt it? Christmas miracles do happen after all! To read the article in its entirely, click here.

Grace and Peace!

Brandan
On November 20, 2015, the Spiritual Communication Division of the National Communication Association selected me to present this paper at our annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Parts of this presentation will appear in a forthcoming book tentatively titled The Ferguson Fiasco: Communicating the Spirituality of Resistance.

Abstract:

On January 11-16, 2015, I took a class of Memphis Theological Seminary students to Ferguson, Missouri for a one-week immersion class. In this paper, by way of autoethnography and spiritual reflection, I share my experiences as a professor and pastor while in Ferguson. I also share some reflections from students as well.

Introduction

According to Carolyn Ellis, et.al, they define autoethnography as an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze personal experience in order to understand cultural experience. They further suggest that

This approach challenges canonical ways of doing research and representing others and treats research as a political, socially-just and socially-conscious act. A researcher uses tenets of autobiography and ethnography to do and write autoethnography. Thus, as a method, autoethnography is both process and product.

As a process, autoethnography, combines characteristics of autobiography and ethnography. The researcher retrospectively and selectively writes about epiphanies that stem from, or are made possible by, being part of a culture and/or by possessing a particular cultural identity. Further Ellis et.al writes:

When researchers write autoethnographies, they seek to produce aesthetic and evocative thick descriptions of personal and interpersonal experience. They accomplish this by first discerning patterns of cultural experience evidenced by field notes, interviews, and/or artifacts, and then describing these patterns using facets of storytelling (e.g., character and plot development), showing and telling, and alterations of authorial voice. Thus, the autoethnographer not only tries to make personal experience meaningful and cultural experience engaging, but also, by producing accessible texts, she or he may be able to reach wider and more diverse mass audiences that traditional research usually disregards, a move that can make personal and social change possible for more people.

Autoethnography is closely akin to what religious scholars call spiritual reflection. In spiritual reflection, we are engaging and participating in culture and society with an eye towards reflecting at a deeper level. Like autoethnography, the person doing spiritual reflection can have epiphanies and when writing these reflections, many times they too are thick descriptions of personal, interpersonal and intrapersonal experience. Moreover, spiritual reflection, when produced publicaly, also reaches audiences and help lead to personal and social change. When made public through witnessing or the testimonial, spiritual reflection not only can lead to personal and social change, but the hope is transformation, first from the individual and then society.

In this presentation, by way of autoethnography and spiritual reflection, I share my experiences of engaged scholarship and describe my experiences teaching and being a part of the Ferguson class. I then share experiences of some of the students in class. Finally, I suggest implications from the research.

Reflection 1

I had already completed the syllabus. The required textbook, reading assignments, videos, and other class material already assigned. Matter of fact, I had already sent the syllabus out to the students so they could get an early start on the reading. I had done everything regarding my syllabus and after my trip to the National Summit on Race in Chicago, I looked forward to having a least a couple of weeks off before the school year started. Then Ferguson happened and I knew my syllabus had to change.

That fall, I taught a class titled African American Religious Thought at Memphis Theological Seminary. Included in the assignments already part of the syllabus, there was one moreall of the reviews and reflections must now focus on what I have called The Ferguson Fiasco. I thought this would be important because the issues and problems in Ferguson were reminiscent of the issues and problems in the late 1960s when, according to Cannon and Pinn, ministers and academics took a public stand against injustice and demanded a re-visioning of life in the United States that took seriously the humanity of African Americans. Back then, for many African Americans, the prevailing theology and spirituality of non-involvement of the day did not speak for or to them. As I continued to follow the events in Ferguson, I discovered that many asked for a theological and spiritual response to the unrest and tensions in Ferguson.

By all accounts, the class went over well. Students really engaged the readings, did deep theological and spiritual reflection, and pushed their own theological and ideological boundaries. However, this is not to say that studentsmany of them church leaderscame to the class with some of the same questions others had when talking about Ferguson. Many of them asked about the looting, destruction of property and the violence of protesters. Some wanted us to address black on black crime while others wondered aloud what would marching and protests do anyway. While we did address those and other concerns, I kept asking the class, What should be the theological response to the killing on an unarmed Michael Brown and how can the church can help facilitate that discussion? Does the church have a role? These and others questions kept us focused on the role of the church and how the Black religious thought tradition had spoken to injustices in the past. After much reflection and discussion, on the last day of class, we put together our response to Ferguson. In part, this is some of what we wrote:

Ferguson is not solely a black and white issue; it is an issue of equal rights for all human beings. The failure to resolve the issue of recurring injustice against black people perpetuates and reinforces a divide between the races. We believe the solution to societal ills come from the bottom up rather than the top down. Therefore, we seek solutions from a communal grassroots perspective, while continuing to further our cause by engaging in the pursuit of freedom and equality..Therefore, we who are representatives of the church must commit to listening to our communities in order to identify pressing issues and further commit to walk side by side with that particular community in an effort to assist wherever we can..Moreover, the church must help individuals critically discern the lived realities around them. A church that does not value the lives of all its people and black people specifically, can no longer serve as the mouthpiece for any of the people.

For our J-term semester and building upon the African American Religious Thought class, I decided to offer our Urban Theology class. Typically, classes in urban theology explore and focus on the current dynamics found in urban society that call and challenge the church to re-examine ways of ministry. In addition, it allows students to examine their own theological positions as they specifically relate to urban situations of poverty, addiction, racism, sexism, violence, unemployment, environmental toxicity, prison, and inadequate education.

Drawing from their particular ministry location and realizing that any authentic theology must be contextual, I expected students to examine their own theological positions through the contextual lens of the Ferguson Fiasco. In this class, among other things, we examined how an urban theology would speak to the events and happenings in Ferguson. Additionally, we also examined how people constructed the sacred in all that occurred in the aftermath of Michael Browns death.



While I thought I had the making of a good class, there was something missing. Then it hit mewe needed to be in Ferguson. In other words, this class needed to be an immersion experience. We needed to get out of the classroom and experienceas much as possible, the sights, sounds, and situations that make up Ferguson.

We needed to listen to protesters and activists. We needed conversations with pastors and church leaders who have been ministering in this situation. We needed to see the place where Darren Wilson shot and killed Mike Brown. We needed to see the burned and boarded up buildings. We needed to talk with people tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets by law enforcement officials. We needed to listen to guest speakers who would come to and give us testimony. We needed to stand with those who stand in the street and experience life through their eyes. We needed to see how people are coming together and standing with each other against all odds. We needed to see how those who protest still find time to relax, have fun, and enjoy each others company. We needed to see this and much more if this class was to be meaningful for any of us.



So collaborating with Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis and their academic dean, Deb Krause, we began to make plans to head to Ferguson. However, little did I know just how much impact this class would have on my ministry. Little did I know just how much this class would (re)shaped my theology. Little did I know just how much this class would reorient my teaching. Little did I know just how much transformation was about to happen.

Reflection 2



We arrived at Eden Theological Seminary Sunday evening January 11. After settling in our rooms, we then prepared for the 15-minute ride to Ferguson, Missouri where we were to meet some of the activists and protesters for dinner at the Ferguson Brewery. We wanted to hear stories and reflection from people who were there the first days and nights after the killing of Mike Brown. Our host, Deb Krause, contacted a couple of people to come and share their stories and experiences of events after the death of Mike Brown. Those invited brought others. Little did I know we were in for a good time of food, fun, fellowship, and some fussing!



After meeting everyone and hearing their stories, the highlight for me, the highlight for me was when everyone shared from a question I posed to themwhat brought you to the movement? I asked because there had been other shootings, there had been other abuses and atrocities, there had been other times when injustice happened in the street, so why now? I wanted to know what made this time so special.

When the people began to share their stories, they sounded familiar. No, not familiar in that I heard these particular stories beforeafter all, I just met these people. The stories sounded familiar because I have heard them beforeI have shared stories like this. What the people around the table shared were call storiesthere on personal call stories. When asked what brought you to the movement, each person answered as if they felt called, pulled, something moved me in that direction.



For instance, one person knew that when the protest started, protesters would be hungry and needed to eat. So without getting anyone permission, she created her own outdoor diner for hungry protesters. Another person, who felt the push to get involved resisted at first. She gave any and every excuse she could find not to get out in the street and protest. However, after finally agreeing to take a safe approach and deliver water to protesters and activists, police tear-gassed her and her friends. Standing in the midst of tear gas, rubbing her eyes so that she could see where to run, she realized that being a student, being gainfully employed and not wanting to start any troublewith all of that going for her, she realized that she too was not safe. More importantly, she realized that the people who she attempted to bring water to were never safe. It was at that moment that she acquiesce to that feeling and joined the movement. She is so much involved that she has now quit her job to begin work full time in the movement.

Yet another after getting the call that police shot and killed Mike Brown, came to console family members but when she saw Mike Browns dead body, it had a profound impact on her. As she shared with us, she had never seen a dead body out like that before. To see his body lay on the ground, to see Mike Browns family and friends distraught, to see the community in an uproar and to reflect on her own 2-year old son and the future he will have, all of this affected her like never before. She later felt the need just to sit down and by sitting down at the police station that day, she, in essence stood up and found herself in the movement. Today as I write this, this same person, college student, mom, and young activist goes all over the world sharing her story and learning from others who are in the midst of the struggle.



After listening to these and others stories about the early days of the movement, I begin to realize something. First, despite feelings to the contrary, this is a movement, a movement that is not going away anytime soonand a movement with spiritual overtones. Even though from many of the young protesters there is a healthy suspicion and distrust aimed at religious institutions, from listening to these call stories, I sensed a deep spirituality. Call makes you get up and go out again. Call gives you hope and strength.

Second, again even with the heavy suspicion of religious institutions, there were clergy still there on the ground with protesters. These clergy provided not only support but also help with understanding of the times. Third, despite the differences between the 60s Civil Rights movement and todays movement, there are MANY similarities. There is internal strifejust like in the 60s. There is a generational dividejust like in the 60s. There is distrust just like in the 60s. There was even disagreement this night at the table, but we were all still therelistening and learning.



After our time at Ferguson Brewery, some of us went across the street to another pub and continued our discussion. When we started to head back to Eden Seminary, one of the students asked what time tomorrow morning does class start. I paused and said, we meet at 9:00am, but class has already started.

Reflection 3

When we got up Monday morning, we headed to class to start the classroom portion of our time together. After a rundown of the syllabus and an explanation of the class and assignments, our host, Deb Krause shared her involvement with the movement. She started by telling us how the movement has shaped and influenced her actionsoffering a powerful testimony of how this movement connected with her work as an academic and New Testament scholar. In addition, Deb also offered us a concrete corrective to a pervasive narrative that clergy were not present during the early days of the movement. To the contrary, clergy were not only present but also present afterwards creating space and place for activists to share their experiences. While it is true that the majority of clergy did not respond to the early events in Ferguson by standing with protesters in the street, some did and continue to do so.

What Deb also did for us was to help us to see how churches COULD get and stay involved. She spoke of not only the prayers that clergy offered in the streets and in some cases becoming human shields between grief-stricken and angry protesters and overzealous law enforcement, but also the follow-up meetings, workshops, and continued dialogue. What however, really inspired and captured students attention is that despite all of this and despite her work as academic dean at Eden Theological Seminary and as well as a host of other duties (wife, mom, etc.); she also found time to engage her body in the streets of protest. For Deb, the bible in not some ancient text, but more of a popup book that when one opens it and one is in tuned with the Spirit, things in it just pop up at the right time (and many times in inopportune times), leading, pushing, and calling us to live authentic and whole lives.

After our classroom time and after lunch, we headed towards what I knew would be a powerful moment for usto the place where Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown. I knew we had to see the site for two reasons. First, I had been before and found the sitethe sacred space so moving and powerful and I believed that others would as well. I can only imagine what the community must have felt as they saw someone lay dead on the pavement for four and a half hours. As I reflected again on seeing the memorial, I also noted that if I had known someone in Mike Browns family, they could have called me in Memphis, telling me that Mike Mike was shot, I could have gotten in my car, drove four hours to Ferguson and the body would have been still there. The people in this community felt disrespected in the highest order.

Second, and more importantly for the class, the site offered an opportunity for theological reflection. Since a major emphasis of the class was theological reflection, I wanted students to offer reflection at this site. Therefore, when approaching the sacred space, many students immediately became quiet, stood still, or just got away for a moment to gather themselves. I remember as I quietly reflected on my time there, I said to myself, This here is sacred space.

I suggest that these roadside, urban or street memorials, are sites for theological reflection because, as I shared with the class, it gives insight on how people constructed ideas of the sacred in the aftermath of a tragic and sometimes senseless death. It is the way people attempted (and continue to attempt) to make sense out of a messed up situation. I wanted to know what students saw and/or heard. To probe a little further, I then asked how the readings shaped students reflections. I sometimes asked students to offer one or two words that describe their experience or just simply ask, Where did you see God/Spirit today?

The roadside memorials and the art that people attach to them do three things. First, they remind people that death happened here. In a society that does not like to talk about death or wants to move away from death as quickly as possible, memorials force us to remember that a death happened here. Second, these memorials remind us that the community does not forget the person who has died. They proclaim that the community not only remembers the deceased, but that the community also loved the person. This may help with the grieving process.

Finally, I suggest that these memorials offer church leaders creative ways to do liturgy and other worship activities within their own congregations. For example, this may lead some to offer services on the street while people are creating memorials or to offer prayer services and reflections on not only death, but also life as healing continuesfor both individuals and the community.



The site of the Michael Brown memorialas well as the Vonderitt Myers Jr. memorial, and the art associated with them had a profound impact on the students. First, some discovered the Divine in what they typically do not think of as art. With this discovery, students can see, expand, or construct the Divine in much bigger and deeper ways. Second, seeing the Divine in these memorials reminds students, if they had not realize before, that we do not bring the Divine to anyonebut if we are still enough, with ears to hear and eyes to see, we can discover that the Divine is already there.

Student Reflections

Many of the students had transformational experiences as well. One student, who is a first year seminary student, felt a call to go to Ferguson even before the class. The class then gave the student an opportunity.

Early on in the process before learning about and actually enrolling in the class I wanted to come to Ferguson. Something inside of me kept tugging at me, saying get to Ferguson. I am still not sure yet why coming to Ferguson had such an overwhelming urgency for me. I felt called to go.I had a natural curiosity about what was happening here and I preferred to see for myself, but more so than that I felt the spirit beckoning me to come.

Another student though excited about the class and having to go to Ferguson, did not know what to expect. Before leaving for Ferguson, the student wrote, I didnt know what to expect. I didnt know if the movement was just hype or something truly organic. From the evening I got there, I realized the latter was true. I learned that the spirit is truly alive and well.

One student had a healthy suspicion of well-meaning whites who were part of the movement. The student reflected:

My first impression was that of another well-meaning white person who wanted to say they helped. Then [this person] will go back to life as usual with no real accomplishments other than feeling better. However after observing [some] for a while, I no longer hold this opinion. Some appear genuinely to care for people and the people of this struggle. [They have] been in the trenches working for the betterment of humanity and community and has done it quietly in a support role.

Another student in noting white clergys presence in the movement wrote, I paid close attention to the involvement on behalf white clergy.

It was good to see that we have at least reached the point in history where this would be more expected. We saw in the film Selma how diverse groups of clergy came to support the cause of the Civil Rights Movement. And we were able to be a part of and see how some of the same interactions and involvement was taking place in Ferguson not only on a mass movement level in terms of protesting but now we see it moving forward in terms of political and social language that can be used in the rebuilding of the old and constructing of new possibilities for citizens of Ferguson and abroad.

The young people in the movement impressed my students. However, one student offered a word of caution in reflecting about the youth and their role:

One thing I was glad to keep hearing is that this was truly a movement of the young people and that they had the respect of key clergy and community activists and leaders. I personally find this to be a blessing and a curse. Often times when one is given a large amount of power or responsibility, then it gets polluted quickly and can end up doing more harm than good. I think it is good that he young people have power and the ability to organize and maneuver, but as I tell my young people as often as possible, if you have no identity or history and spiritual core, than any movement will be as one built upon the sand that all though breathtaking and beautiful, is washed away with the shifting shore.

For many students, the immersion trip offered them a chance to reflect on their own ministries. Noting that many of the students currently served as pastors and/or other church leaders, the immersion trip to Ferguson had them reevaluating what they would do when they returned back to their respective parishes. One student wrote:

The events in Ferguson have lit a fire in me from which I must light flames of justice in my own lane. I serve as a youth director at my home church. Part of my ministry is teaching the young people ages 11-17 years old. Part of our education will now be rooted in a more historical perspective. Looking at the cradle to grave prison pipeline in connection with spiritual identity and servant leadership, my attention has been directed to the juvenile justice system in regards to Memphis and how young black males especially, are unfairly targeted and convicted of crimes that do nothing but further push them into a system that is set up to make it as difficult as possible for them to reach legitimate success.

Yet another student examined and reflected on what it meant to be Black and Christian in the movement. Upon returning home to the congregation, transformation had taken place while in Ferguson.

For me, the Movement has shed light on the theme of purpose. Upon returning to Memphis, I was able to speak with the young people at the church about finding their meaning and purpose in life. Using what I learned from Ferguson, I explained to them the importance for the young Black Christian to not only keep the Bible [close] but [also] to understand their history in order that they may begin living their lives as if they themselves are making history.

Still another student noticed that through all of the frustration and ill treatment many residents of Ferguson and the Greater St. Louis County were getting, many of them still had hope.

There were a variety of perspectives on the movement taking place in St. Louis and beyond, with some tension mixed into the conversation, yet their greater purpose was to fight for justice for all people. They hoped that their efforts would produce meaningful and purposeful results and for many of them it seems as if that hope comes from their faith.

Further, the student noted that some people in the streets did not ground this hope in an understanding of hope from a Christian perspective.

[I]t was quite evident that a hopeful people were leading the efforts to raise awareness about a flawed system and were working together to break down that system. As people of the Christian faith we live our lives hoping for something greater, a kingdom experience on earth and in heaven, and do so much of what we do to help others experience that as well. The efforts of the people leading the movement in Ferguson may not explicitly have this as their guiding force, but they work toward a kingdom experience as I see it. Theyre fighting for a greater life for all people, especially for the marginalized and oppressed.

However, some challenged this notion of hope and replaced it with something else. In reflecting on time spent with activists, some had a healthy disdain for the church. One student wrote how many expressed their frustrations with the church. In reflecting on one activist in particular, this student wrote, He honestly spoke about the hopelessness that he experiences and the absence of God that he feels at times when participating in the movement. Why put my trust in a church and god that is not present in the midst of the turmoil that is taking place?

Further, this same student wrote about pain and rejection from others.

We heard his cries of pain for people that are not experiencing life in the ways in which they deserve. We heard the pain and frustration from a college student who saw no need for the church as she knew it because it did nothing for her that was good and only seemed to reject her and her friends because of who they were.

Her hope, the student wrote came from the community that she was now part of in the fight for justice and change.

She saw hope in the people who loved all, without the exclusion she had felt from the church, and had found a community of people who were working together for the good of humankind. She chuckled when we asked if she was hopeful and responded by basically say, Why would I do this if I didnt hope something good would come from it? She had found her church with the people of the movement; they loved each other and were fighting for the oppressed and marginalized. It didnt come in the form of traditional Christian faith but in many ways they are following the ways of Christ in much of what they do. Their actions show their hope.

One student reflected upon seeing the memorial site dedicated to Mike Brown.

Pulling up to the site it took me a few minutes to take in the surroundings and gathering my bearings as I pieced together what that scene must have been like on the day the Mike Brown was killed in the street. The stuffed animals, signs, and pictures, which had been left to memorialize Brown, are the first things that I noticed when pulling up to the apartment complex. They cover the road and yard where the killing took place and serve as a constant reminder of what took place that day in August..We attempted to process something that had once been so distant to us and reduced to videos and pictures in the mainstream media. It was now at our feet and we were standing in the thick of it.

Part of our experience in Ferguson was a direct action we took on I-70. This came as a surprise for all involved and was not part of the syllabus. About that experience, one student wrote:

Our excitement was faced with the reality of actually joining with the brothers and sisters in Ferguson, our new friends, to stand in the street for 4.5 minutes in memory of Mike Brown to send a message that the systems are broken. After hearing from Rev. Renita the difference between being an ally and living in solidarity with the people of the movement, we knew that being an ally was no longer an option, we needed to join. My heart and mind were racing as I tried to figure out what was really going to happen. I just put my name on a list in case I get arrested and now Im trying to process what I am about to do. Deep down I knew that this was part of the journey that I was on but it was difficult to think about actually participating in something like blocking an intersection with a group of people. Though the nerves didnt quite go away I knew what we all were participating in was the right thing and it was serving a meaningful purpose.

What really moved this student was when we started chanting and singing together as one.

Once we began to chant together a variety of phrases there was something that moved within me, and many others, as it seemed to breathe life into something more spiritual. We were joined together with one voice in a worshipful call and response as we stopped the movement of the roads to be still for a moment and aware of injustice. A shift occurred for me as the movement we had been talking about and hearing stories about was brought to life. I saw what was taking place and I felt it within me.

Part of our experience was to attend a poetry slam featuring the great Saul Williams. Writing about this experience, a student reflected on the spirituality of our time together.

The messages of the poets were profound and moving as they energized the crowd and called us into greater action. In many ways, it felt like an underground rally to energize the troops and to nourish us with fun. It was a perfect way to cap off the week because of the hope that it once again offered. For people on the outside looking in all of this movement may appear disorganized, violent, or out of control but it is far from that. I see the hope that exists within the people leading these efforts in St. Louis and I see the passion they feel about justice for all people. There is a spirit that is moving within this greater movement and for a person of Christian faith it could very well be the Spirit of God. God is definitely present in this movement, even though many may not recognize it.

Implications

Many schools are now encouraging professors to create classes that will engage students outside the classroom. One way to do this is to have total immersions that offer students a chance to self-reflect and discern their own place within community. Granted, being at a seminary offers a more direct route to the spiritual and theological reflection I ask students to do, but an autoethnographic examination of students role, space and place in community would yield some positive results. By engaging in what Ellis calls reflexive ethnographies, students document ways a researcher changes as a result of doing fieldwork. Just like in a spiritual reflection, students demonstrate ways, in which they change, grow, became more informed and/or challenged by the experience.

Further, Ellis notes that, Reflexive/narrative ethnographies exist on a continuum ranging from starting research from the ethnographers biography, to the ethnographer studying her or his life alongside cultural members lives, to ethnographic memoirs or confessional tales where the ethnographers backstage research endeavors become the focus of investigation. This too is similar to the work we do in spiritual/theological reflection.

Much of my work here is in its embryonic stage. However, in studying an event such as the Ferguson Fiasco and by extension the Black Lives Matter Movementwith all of the changing dynamics associated with the event, a good way for spiritual communication scholars to examine this phenomenon is by way of autoethnography and spiritual reflection.

Andre E. Johnson is the Founder and Managing Editor of R3

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Warning: This post contains bad words. Sorry about that. But were all adults here and Science now says that people who curse have better vocabularies.

I think that the funniest thing about Donald Trumps use of the Yiddish word schlong is his denial that he said anything weird.

The word really means serpent. But just like many people use that word as a synonym for penis, in Yiddish and English (or Yinglish) it pretty much exclusively refers to a penis.

Also, schlong is a noun. Ive never heard it used as a verb. Ive been exposed to that word my whole life and I never heard anyone say that someone got schlonged. Maybe I have a limited imagination, but the only sense that I could tease out of The Donalds statement is that, in 2008, Hillary got f***ed up. Maybe he thought schlonged was more polite?

But The Donald does not apologize. No, The Donald just does what he always does when confronted with a fact. He makes up some new drek. So he tweeted this:

When I said that Hillary Clinton got schlonged by Obama, it meant got beaten badly. The media knows this. Often used word in politics!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2015

And this:

It is a shame that the biased media is able to so incorrectly define a word for the public when they know that the definition is wrong. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2015

Oy vey izh mir, The Donald! No one says that in politics. Not often and not rarely.

And all the dictionaries agree. A schlong, as used in English or in Yiddish (), is a penis.

But as long as were using it your way, The Donald, let me add my voice to the chorus of those who hope that you get royally schlonged in this election.

The Donald has pledged that if hes elected, Were all going to be saying Merry Christmas again.

Merry Christmas, schmuck.
Patna: The Jan Adhikar Students Council of Patna University on Wednesday took out a candle march in honor of the Indian soldiers killed in the terrorist assault at an Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot last Saturday.

The march began at B. N. College on Ashok Rajpath and ended at the Kargil Chowk less than half a mile from its origin.

Carrying candles in their hands, the students condemned the incident calling for stricter action against the perpetrators.

In other news, fueled by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), its student wing in Patna burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing him as a failed leader who had no clue how to deal with the terrorists.

As reported, seven Indian soldiers, including Sitamarhi's Ajit Thakur, laid down their lives during the terrorist attack carried out by Pakistani-backed terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on the night of January 2.
Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was particularly angry with the bankers on Wednesday when he said that perhaps the bankers were in the need of a 'special type of injection' in their arm before they would start giving loans to the people of Bihar.

Speaking at the 54th meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) at Hotel Chanakya in Patna on Wednesday, Kumar lashed out at the bankers saying while the national Credit-Deposit Ratio (CDR) was 78%, in Bihar it was a pathetic 44.59%.

"How is it that Maharashtra has a CDR of 200 percent whereas in Bihar it is hardly 45 percent? Could it be that the banks are using money deposit in Bihar to grant loans in states like Maharashtra? I don't think low bank deposit is the problem in the state; rather it's the non-willingness of the bankers who are posing impediment in the loan granting process," he said.

Lashing at Kotak Mahindra and Bandhan Bank for not submitting their CDR report, the Chief Minister said that those 'top senior officials' sitting in today's meeting owed their success to their quality education but were not trying to deny the same opportunity to others who cannot afford better education in the lack of money.

"I am tired of you people hiding behind the excuse of 'non-performing state' to describe Bihar. How do you expect people to pay back their loan when you won't grant them loan in the first place? In today's date, one does not need to provide securities to borrow money from the bank so why are the banks reluctant to open their doors for those in need of a loan?" the Chief Minister asked.

Kumar also lamented the low number of banks per capita in Bihar saying that while nationally, the average was one bank for 11,000 people, in Bihar there was one bank for every 17,000 individuals.

Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar and other members of the Nitish cabinet were present on the occasion.
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"The decision makers of the Saudi government should not have any doubt that this blood will trouble them. It will haunt them."

Feigning indignation that Iran had predictably denounced the execution of al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia severed all diplomatic and later trade ties with Iran. The Iranian diplomatic corps was given 48 hours to leave Saudi Arabia. A couple of days later nearly all of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations such as Bahrain and United Arabic Emirates had also severed diplomatic ties with Iran. Qatar has recalled it's envoy from Tehran as has Kuwait . So far only Oman has maintained full diplomatic ties with Iran.

The Recent Background of Tensions

The source of this latest sectarian bloodletting is the recent rapprochement of Iran and the United States dating back to the the middle of the Obama Administration. Officially the diplomatic rapprochement between the two nation states was over Iran's alleged and non-existent nuclear weapons program. Though Iran is a major petroleum producer and exporter, it lacks refineries of its own. Thereby, Iran must in effect buy back its very own oil that's it produced and exported in the form of refined gasoline and other essential fuels. To become more energy independent and to reduce the trade deficit and foreign debt, the Iranian government sought to develop a civilian nuclear energy capacity. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , Iran is legally allowed to develop nuclear energy for domestic civilian needs. Iran has the same right to develop nuclear energy as Switzerland, Germany and Brazil. Despite a Fatwa issued against Iran ever developing nuclear weapons , the Israeli and Western propagandists set the narrative of a doomsday scenario of Iran obtaining "the bomb". Though there was a much more muted response when India and Pakistan joined the nuclear weapons club.

With the US and Israel threatening to use nuclear weapons against the country was well as an international economic blockade authorized by the United Nations, Iran had no choice but to find a negotiated settlement. Using Russia as a diplomatic attorney, Iran negotiated a compromise under the auspices of the UN sponsored P5+1.

Saudi Arabia has more ideological conflicts with Iran. Both regimes are based on reactionary religious fundamentalism. Both regimes view themselves as the real "spiritual" guardians and exponents of the "true faith". Apart from their rivalries of mysticism, there are concrete strategic and economic contradictions. Saudi Arabia and Iran are fierce competitors in the petroleum market despite both being members of the cartel OPEC. The UN economic sanctions against Iran greatly profited Saudi Arabia. Moreover, like Israel, Saudi Arabia views Iran as a military enemy.

With these perspectives both Israel and Saudi Arabia were vehemently against any agreement between the West and Iran. With the agreement reached and ratified by the UN, Saudi Arabia was defeated in its goal. In an example of infantile regression combined with vindictive sadism, the execution of Sheikh Nimr was Saudi Arabia's act of vengeance against Iran.

Shiites Attacked From The Middle East To West Africa

Nonetheless, there is more here than meets the eye. Since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011 right up through the execution of Shiekh Nimr, there has been an internationally coordinated war of state terror and repression against Shia Muslims all over the world. ISIS or Daesh is financed and armed by both Saudi Arabia, Turkey Israel and the United States. The notion of an "Islamic Caliphate" is based on the ideology of the Saudi Sunni Wahhabi sect. Most of the victims of Daesh are and have been Shia Muslims in addition to other members of Muslim minority sects as well as Christians. The targeting of the Shiites in Syria and Iraq by Daesh is the primary reason that Iran is militarily involved in the Syrian war.

The Shiites in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain live under systematic discrimination and repression. The most extreme example is in Bahrain where Shiites comprise more than two-thirds majority of the population but are brutally oppressed by the parasitic Sunni monarchy. Bahrain today is akin to South Africa during Apartheid. In 2011, Saudi Arabia sent tanks into Bahrain to drown the uprising by Shiites in blood.

Much more recently another incident involving the military and the mass deaths of Shiites occurred in far away Nigeria . Between the dates of December 12-14 more than 1,000 Shiites were massacred by the Nigerian military. Sheikh El-Zakzaky, leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria was shot by the military during a raid on his home and religious compound killing one of his sons in the process. El-Zakzaky has been detained. Iran vehemently condemned the massacre and summonsed the Nigerian Ambassador to Tehran.

The beheading of Sheikh Nimr was the posion in the icing on the cake.

The "War on Terror" To Instigate Religious War

Standing behind all these incidents is the United States. The United States subsidizes Saudi Arabia economically and militarily. For the United States, Saudi Arabia has three functions. The first is that Saudi Arabia keeps the US currency afloat with the Standing behind all these incidents is the United States. The United States subsidizes Saudi Arabia economically and militarily. For the United States, Saudi Arabia has three functions. The first is that Saudi Arabia keeps the US currency afloat with the Petro-Dollar racket . Second, after Israel Saudi Arabia plays the key role in the maintenance of US military domination of the Middle East. With this arrangement, Saudi Arabia functions to keep Iran in check. Third, as the most backwards bastion of reaction and mysticism, Saudi Arabia maintains the status-quo through religious dictatorship, feudal monarchism and void of any civil, social, political or human rights.

While most of the alleged perpetrators behind 9/11 were Saudi nationals, the obvious question is why Afghanistan rather than Saudi Arabia was the first country attacked in the "War on Terror?" The answer is that While most of the alleged perpetrators behind 9/11 were Saudi nationals, the obvious question is why Afghanistan rather than Saudi Arabia was the first country attacked in the "War on Terror?" The answer is that Saudi Arabia has long been one of the the leading countries of state sponsored terrorism . Daesh and the execution of Sheikh Nimr are just two glaring examples.

It must be recalled that the only way that the US military was able to pacify Iraq was through the use of sectarian terrorism with ethnic cleansing. The "war on terror" is an excuse of state sponsored terrorism used by the US, UK, Israel under the guise of bringing "democracy". In reality, the "war on terror" has been used to arm and finance members of one sect against another. A religious war between Shia and Sunni Islam would most benefit Israel and the United States.

The Global Implications

Most non-Muslims not inhabiting Africa or the Middle East cannot comprehend the scale of the execution of Sheikh Nimr in its totality. Historically the closest parallel is the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Most non-Muslims not inhabiting Africa or the Middle East cannot comprehend the scale of the execution of Sheikh Nimr in its totality. Historically the closest parallel is the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo 1914 . That was one of many triggers of the First World War. While the assassination of Franz Ferdinand ushered in the Fall of the Hapsburg, the execution of al-Nimr will bring about the fall of the House of Saud. The demise of Saudi Arabia will with absolute certainty be one of many causes of Global War becoming belligerent among the major powers.

To put the ramifications closer to home for the English speaking world, the execution of Sheikh Nimr will go down in history as the execution of Thomas Becket , the Archbishop of Canterbury on the orders of the English King Henry II back in the middle ages. Not to make too fine a point but the execution of Sheikh Nimr would be the equivalent of if the Roman Catholic Cardinal of Belfast Northern Ireland had been executed by the British government during "The Troubles"

There will be a delayed social reaction to this provocation in the Western countries. Conflicts between Shia and Sunni communities in Europe and North America will emerge. There will be reprisals against Sunni mosques and imams in various countries. This in turn will lead to greater fear and insecurity in the Western countries. More draconian legislation, such as currently being drafted in France , will only bring about more violence and repression.





If you appreciate this content please donate by clicking on the donate button on the main page. Forget about 9/11, 7/7 or even 11/13. Those events were simply the opening acts for the definitive shock so far of the 21st Century. 1/2/16 will go down in history as the day human civilization died.

By Der Kosmonaut6 January 2015Last weekend n Saturday January 2 the government of Saudi Arabia executed the Shia Muslim Cleric Nimr al-Nimr for the crime of civil disobedience for which he was convicted in a show trial back in 2014. The execution of al-Nimr, along with 46 other victims, has caused shock waves of a social and political earthquake in the Middle East. The reverberations of this execution will be felt on every continent of the inhabitable world.By igniting historic and ideological divisions of Islamic theology, this reckless act has set the stage for war and political strife in the entire Levant, Maghreb and the Sahel . The epicenter of the upheavals is in the Persian Gulf. No sooner has the announcement of al-Nimr's execution was announced, the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran was attacked by mobs of Iranian Shia, some of whom set arson to the embassy. The three top political figures in Iran; Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif all issued blistering denunciations of the Saudi government. Iran's Supreme Leader proclaimed
Iraq Caught In Crossfire As Saudi-Iran Rift Raises Sectarian Strife

01/03/16

Source: RFE/RL

The White House is seeking to help Iraq's leadership prevent a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran from aggravating sectarian conflict in Iraq and undermining recent victories against the Islamic State (IS) group.





Iraqis protest against the execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric by Saudi Arabia. (photo by Islamic Republic News Agency)

In a phone call on January 6, U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said they were both concerned about Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric, as well as attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for the execution this week.

The incidents inflamed sectarian anger throughout the Muslim world, and Iraq is particularly vulnerable to the upsurge in conflict between the two Muslim sects.

On January 6, for the third straight day thousands of Shi'ite demonstrators poured into the streets of Baghdad and cities in the south of Iraq where Shi'a predominate, demanding that Iraq shut down the Saudi Embassy in Baghdad, which reopened only last month after being closed for 25 years.

The demonstrators carried the flags of the three most powerful Iranian-backed militias -- the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hizballah.

"If our demands are not met, we will take escalating measures," said Hajj Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a spokesman for Asaib.

"We say to Abadi...he who leads needs to have a strong heart and be brave," he told Reuters. "If he can't, he should leave."

But Abadi so far has resisted the demands of his Shi'ite power base. The White House said he and Obama agreed "on the importance that all parties maintain diplomatic engagement and dialogue."

The Saudis had reopened their Baghdad embassy only last week after closing it in 1990 to protest former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

Abadi has called for a "wise, responsible, and rational" response to the Saudi-Iranian rift. As a Shi'a, he is under pressure from Iraq's Shi'ite majority, but he also has sought to enlist the support and confidence of Iraq's sizable Sunni minority, which resides mostly in areas of the north and west seized by IS militants in 2014.

IS forces swept through the Sunni regions, capitalizing on resentment to the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad headed by Abadi's predecessor.

Winning back the confidence of the Sunni population has been critical for Abadi, who has framed the war against IS as a campaign against terrorism rather than a continuation of Iraq's decade-long Sunni-Shi'ite conflict.

His approach scored its first major success in the final days of 2015, when the Iraqi Army, backed by Sunni tribal forces and an international air strike coalition, dislodged the militants from the center of Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar.

Until then, it was the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias that had led the fight against IS. They were kept from the battlefield in Ramadi to reassure the Sunni population.

Obama spoke with Abadi about the Ramadi victory and offered to intensify support for Iraqi forces as they seek to consolidate their gains in Ramadi.

The Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces face further fights this year to try to recapture control from IS of Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which also is Sunni-dominated.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari noted the "wide-ranging repercussions" for Iraq and the entire region from the Saudi-Iranian row on a visit to Tehran on January 6 in which Iraq offered to try to mediate the standoff with Riyadh.

"We have solid relations with the Islamic Republic [of Iran]...and also we have relations with our Arab brothers, and therefore we cannot stay silent in this crisis," he said.

While Iraq is caught to some extent in the crossfire between the two regional powers, Jaafari said Baghdad's place in the heart of the Middle East also affords it a role in trying to "alleviate tensions."

"This responsibility has been given to us and we have been active from the early moments to lessen tensions to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region," he said.

"I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners," he said.

The White House said Obama backs the Iraqis in calling on all parties to show restraint and avoid further inflammatory actions.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa



Copyright (c) 2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
The Mystery Behind The Saudi Embassy Attack In Iran

01/03/16

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL



Iranian protesters set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran during a demonstration against the execution of prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi authorities on January 2.

(photo by

Iranian protesters set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran during a demonstration against the execution of prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi authorities on January 2.(photo by ISNA

Two things are clear about those who ransacked and set alight the Saudi Embassy in Iran -- their actions got Riyadh's attention, and the clerical establishment in power in Tehran wants nothing to do with them.

Who actually carried out the attack on the embassy in the Iranian capital, as well as a separate attack on the Saudi Consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad, remains a mystery, however.

Depending on who you speak to, it was official defenders of the Islamic republic; foreign-backed members of the opposition; or hard-line loyalists gone rogue who were responsible for the January 2 attacks.

videos & pix coming from in front of Saudi compound in Tehran, as protsts to #Nimr's execution continue aftr midnite pic.twitter.com/KGURsQ25rr  Hadi Nili (@HadiNili) January 2, 2016

The attacks, part of protests that followed Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, prompted Riyadh and several of its allies to cut or downgrade ties with Iran.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on January 3 predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution of Nimr, and the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- a military branch tasked with protecting Iran's Islamic system -- promised "harsh revenge."

The Iranian government, officially, was quick to distance itself from the violence that followed. Even as he condemned Nimr's execution, President Hassan Rohani on January 3 denounced the attacks on the Saudi diplomatic offices as "totally unjustifiable." And the authorities announced that 44 protesters had been arrested in connection with the attacks.

Blame Game

A number of Iranian officials went on to insinuate that the attacks could have been carried out by "infiltrators" with alleged ties to foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia.

"According to comments by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei regarding the infiltration of the enemy, the recent move against the Saudi Embassy could have been planned and supported by infiltrated elements," Justice Minister Mostafa Purmohammadi said on January 5.

Some Iran watchers, however, believe hard-liners connected to the country's security establishment were more likely to be behind the attacks.

They point to the apparent ease with which the protesters entered the Saudi diplomatic missions despite the presence of police; in some cases documenting their destructive actions for posterity. "They appeared to have been well organized, they were not afraid to be identified, they took pictures with property from the embassy," Istanbul-based Iranian journalist Reza Haghighatnejad noted.

This suggests that they may have been acting with some degree of support from the centers of power, because in the past Iranian forces have shown no reluctance to respond forcefully to opposition gatherings and protests.

"Protests are not allowed," Haghighatnejad said. "The attack on [the embassy] lasted for an hour and a half before the commander of the police arrived."

At the same time, the authorities have also had difficulty in the past controlling hard-line elements said to be involved in disrupting gatherings by reformists and critics.

Haghighatnejad a, a member of the editorial board of the news site IranWire, said the actions of the protesters were similar to those of members of the Basij force, a volunteer militia that was involved in an attack on the British Embassy in Tehran in 2011 that led Britain to cut ties with Iran.

Esprit De Corps

Aliasghar Ramezanpour, a former deputy culture minister, told RFE/RL he believes the IRGC ultimately bears responsibility because of incendiary comments made ahead of the attacks.

In a statement issued on January 2, the IRGC vowed that Nimr's execution would cost the "hated Saudi regime" dearly, predicting that "a harsh revenge from Al-Saud in a not so distant future that will lead to the collapse of the foundations of the reactionary, medieval, and terrorist-fostering Saudi regime."

In the aftermath of the violence, senior IRGC commander Mohsen Kazemeyni denied any corps involvement, saying that the "calculated and preplanned" actions were "very wrong" and "unjustifiable." Kazemeyni, who heads Tehran's Rasulollah Corps, said that "we're confident that this action was not carried out by the faithful and Hezbollahi forces [eds. regime loyalists]."

Ramezanpour, however, believes Kazemeyni was trying to wash IRGC's hands of its statement and the ensuing street violence.

"Even if the IRGC wasn't directly involved, its statement and the harsh tone prepared the ground for [the storming] by forces that were powerful enough to go past the police forces," he said.

Anyone And Everyone

Speaking on January 4, senior Qom-based cleric Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi criticized the violence, while leaving ample room as to who may have carried it out. "A group of establishment supporters are angry at Saudi actions and policies, but sometimes they get out of control," Makarem Shirazi was quoted as saying by local media. "It's necessary for them to be cautious."

But he also named a second group that could be responsible: "infiltrators" who aim at increasing tensions between Shi'a and Sunnis.

Hard-line media outlets, meanwhile, took conspiratorial angles.

Dana.ir quoted an unidentified security official as saying that "a preliminary investigation from witnesses and those at the scene confirms that there was a fire in the embassy before the protesters entered it."

The conservative website Tabnak.ir, meanwhile, quoted eyewitnesses as claiming that Saudi infiltrators were encouraging protesters to throw rocks at and firebomb the embassy.

"Security forces say infiltrators have to be watched carefully because they want to change the direction of rightful protests by the people so that the crimes by the Saudis are not at the center of the world's attention," Tabnak.ir reported.

Israel did not escape blame, either.

Asked at a January 5 press conference whether Saudi elements and others allegedly trying to weaken the Iranian government were involved in the attack, government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said that "even some affiliated with Israel" could be seen among the attackers.

"A few people -- with whom it's not clear which country's interests they are serving -- took advantage of people's feelings," he said, adding that the attacks were "in favor of Saudi Arabia's policies."

Whoever was behind the suspicious attacks, police chief Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari suggested on January 6, was no revolutionary. "Holding protest meetings against Saudi Arabia is acceptable, but no person who is loyal to the Islamic republic invades an embassy in this way," he said.

Copyright (c) 2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Iran: Censorship board rejects blocking of Telegram app

01/03/16

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Iran's Press Supervisory Board has voted down a move to block the mobile app Telegram for Iranian users. The attorney general's representative on the board, Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, told the Fars News Agency that at the Tuesday session of the Press Supervisory Board, a majority of members voted against filtering Telegram.



cartoon by Arvin, Iranian daily Etemad





Khoramabadi stressed, however, that it is still within the jurisdiction of the judiciary to act against criminal content in cyberspace, and if Telegram content is deemed criminal by the judiciary, it will take action.

The Iranian government blocks several popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and the Press Supervisory Board is the body that decides how to implement such internet censorship.

Telegram has agreed to cooperate with Iranian authorities in blocking content deemed unsuitable by the Iranian government in order to avoid complete blocking of the app.

Conservative factions object to social networking sites and regard them as a threat to Islamic values.

Telegram is said to have 15 million users in Iran.
Iran Accuses Saudi Warplanes Of Striking Its Embassy In Yemen

01/03/16

Source: RFE/RL

Iran has accused Saudi warplanes of "deliberately" attacking its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. "Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said on January 7. Ansari didn't specify when the alleged strike took place.

A Saudi-led coalition, which has been targeting Iranian-backed Shi'ite rebels in Yemen since March, said it was investigating Tehran's claim.

Spokesman Ahmad Assari said coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on the night of January 6 to target missile launchers used by the Houthi rebels to fire at Saudi Arabia.

He also said the rebels had used civilian facilities including abandoned embassies.

The claim comes as tensions mount between the two regional rivals -- Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-led Iran -- over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric.

Also on January 7, Tehran announced it had banned all products from Saudi Arabia.

"The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia," the Iranian government said in a statement, noting that a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage was also in place "until further notice."

Iran's annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked by protesters.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP

Copyright (c) 2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
The best 2-in-1 laptop 2022: our picks of the best convertible laptops

These are the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now
LAS VEGASBack in 2011, when IBM's Watson beat Ken Jennings at Jeopardy, all the sophisticated computer system could really do was answer questions. Fast forward five years, and it can now do 32 different things, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty revealed during a Wednesday evening keynote here at CES.

We are now, according to Rometty, entering a new era of computing, driven by systems that you don't have to program. With the help of Watson, they can now understand, reason, and learn, make hypotheses and have confidence levels.

"The Watson Internet of Things is not the future, it's here today," she said.

As proof, Romettywith the help of partners Under Armour, medical tech company Medtronic, and Japanese banking giant SoftBank (the company behind the Pepper robot)debuted three new Watson-powered applications.

Under Armour's new Watson-powered UA Record app, for instance, which just launched in the App Store(Opens in a new window), can already help you track your sleep, fitness, activity, and nutrition, but within the next year it'll also be able to customize workout programs for you, based on Watson's understanding of similar user's behavioral and performance trends. It'll also eliminate the painstaking task of manually entering your meals, instead taking advantage of Watson's visual recognition capabilities to quickly identify what's on your plate.

Meanwhile, Medtronic is leveraging Watson for another, perhaps even more incredible, health-related purpose: diabetes management. According to Rometty, a new Medtronic app rolling out this summer will, thanks to Watson, be able to predict hypoglycemic event up to 3 hours in advance.

Finally, SoftBank plans to soon offer a new Watson-powered version of its Pepper robot for enterprises that can make sense of hidden meanings in data that traditional computers can't understand. For instance, Pepper may in the future be able to gain insights about people from sources like what they share on social media, to better assist them in a customer service capacity. With the help of Watson, Pepper might move beyond customer service, to take on teaching assistant or nursing aide roles.

Meanwhile, the sharing of knowledge between Pepper and Watson goes both ways. Over the past year, Pepper has helped Watson become way more proficient in the Japanese language. "We partnered with Softbank to teach Watson how to think in Japanese, with the help of Pepper," Rometty said.
LAS VEGAS"We have completely redesigned everything."

One of the more reputable brands to emerge out of the Great Hoverboard Swamp of 2015, Swagway made the X1, our favorite two-wheeled scooter of the year: inexpensive, but easy to control and unlikely to explode. But company president John Zhu knows that he needs to do more if Swagway's going to survive into 2016, a tough environment which has already seen a patent lawsuit from rival Razor and all scooters banned on major U.S. airlines.

Thus, the Swagtron, Swagway's new $499 scooter. It looks like a hoverboard, but it's been subtly redesigned to be safer, more durable, and easier to use.

How It Rides

The redesign starts with the outer cover, which is a more durable plastic than on the original X1. My X1 tended to scratch up a lot when I was first learning it, and the new model looks less easily marked.

Swagway Swagtron

The Swagtron will come in two models: one with quad Bluetooth speakers under the body, and one without. Both models have a handy carrying strap, which the original Swagway X1 and competitors did not. The Bluetooth model will work with an Android or iOS app that includes an odometer and speedometer, as well as controls to switch between the Swagway's easy-handling "learning" and jumpier "sport" modes. That really demystifies use.

I took a ride on two of the units. They're still prototypes, and the steering on one was quite stiff. In learning mode, they're easy to step on tothey don't jump away from you. They rode like Swagway X1s, so, pretty comfortably. They max out at about 8mph and have the same battery capacity as last year's units, Zhu saidthat's about 7.5 miles with slight hills, or 12 miles on a flat surface. It no loger beeps repeatedly when you go fast.

Legal Flames

I asked Zhu directly about the two biggest problems his company faces: lawsuits, and the whole industry's tendency for products to go up in flames.

Razor and Ninebot now claim to have patents that apply to almost all hoverboards. Segway is suing Swagway and Razor, and Razor is suing the other two as well. Lauren Song, a spokeswoman for Swagway, said "legal counsel strongly feels [Razor's] patent is going to be invalid once they come down to it."

Swagway Swagtron

Swagway, meanwhile, is fighting its own battle against counterfeit models that use its name. Song has said that supposedly Swagway-branded hoverboards that have gone up in flames, such as one in New York City, were probably counterfeits. While Swagway and the counterfeits look alike, changing the design will help Swagway differentiate itself, Zhu said.

The company has also "introduced a lot of safety features to make sure that safety is the primary concern," Zhu said. While Swagway has always used Samsung batteries and insulated wiring, the new Swagtron is made of a more rugged, fire-resistant plastic, and it will have a "sentry shield," a physical component that protects the battery.

"It's a specially designed chamber to contain the beast of lithium [batteries]," Zhu joked.

Swagway is also working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create a set of best practices and testing standards for the industry, he said.

The Swagtron will launch in February at $499. We'll have a review.
Google appears to have fixed a glitch in an online tool that translated "Russian Federation" to "Mordor."

But J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth landscape (also known as "Land of Shadow") wasn't the only blunder. Ukrainian users found the word "Russians" converted to "occupiers," and the last name of the country's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, rendered as "sad little horse."

Seemingly limited to Google Translate's Ukrainian-to-Russian function, the erroneous terms mirror language used by some Ukrainians following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea, BBC News said(Opens in a new window).

"Google Translate is an automatic translatorit works without the intervention of human translators, using technology instead," a Google spokeswoman told PCMag in a statement.

When you enter a word or phrase into the program, it looks for patterns among hundreds of millions of documents to decide on the best translation.

"But automatic translation is very difficult, as the meaning of words depends on the context in which they're used," Google added. "This means that not all translations are perfect, and there will sometimes be mistakes or mistranslations.

"We always work to correct these as quickly as possible when they are brought to our attention," the Web giant said.

Google apologized in late January for a software glitch that prompted its translation tool to replace the English word "gay" with homophobic slurs like "poof" and "queen" in Spanish, French, and Portuguese. While converting from Russian to English, meanwhile, Google suggested "pansy boy," "fairy," and "sodomite."

Perhaps Microsoft's rival Translator app for iOS and Android is having more luck than Google. Redmond released its competitor in August, promising compatibility with smartphones, tablets, the Apple Watch, and Android Wear smartwatches. For more, see PCMag's review of Microsoft Translator for Windows 10.
Life in the Desert

I danced in the desert,

I swam by the shores,

I spent warm nights under starlit blankets of silver,

I made friends from far-away places

I ate and drank and savored it all

I loved and was loved

What more could anyone ask for?



(Desert Girl, Kuwait)


Imagine power being sent wirelessly around a room, similar to the way a Wi-Fi signal is available to nearby devices. Thats what Ossias Cota wireless power platform promised us at CESand its a pretty amazing vision.

To most of us, wireless power connotes a solution in which we place a smartphone on a charging pad or surface and walk away. Ossia promises to take that a step further: delivering power via RF frequenciesabout one watt, up to 10 meters away. Physically, Cota requires two different components: an array of transmitter chips, and receivers, which will be built into phones and tablets.

Heres how Cota works: The premise is that every mobile device, such as a phone or tablet, sends out a beacon signal in all directions, identifying itself to a wireless or cellular network. More advanced Wi-Fi technologiessuch as a MIMO array of antennas used by some 802.11ac routersknow where the device is.

Cota uses the same principle to safely deliver wireless power: It tracks the beacon signal as it bounces off walls and ceilings, then sends the power back on the exact same path. And if the device moves, the power is rerouted.

Mark Hachman The first generation of Cota products will be built into cases like this one.

If a particular beacon signal isnt detectedif its blocked by a person, for examplethe power wont be delivered. Howard Mendelsohn, Ossias chief financial officer, says thats the mechanism by which customers can be assured that Cota is safe for general use. Cota uses the 2.8-GHz frequency band to deliver pulsed power at 100 Hz, which shouldnt interfere with other consumer technologies.

Ossia showed off a number of prototype devices that use the Cota technology, including a small garbage-can-sized cylinder that houses a fan-like array of Cota transmitter chips. The company also showed off a few prototype cases that slip over iPhones, charging them while being suspended in the air. The company even attached the chip to some rechargeable AA batteries.

Ossia executives suggested that the Cota wireless power technology could be used to power the Internet of Things, even in a future where wireless power effectively removes the need for batteries. And since the power is pulsed, they said they could effectively transmit data over the same beam. They even showed off a Web app through which Cota could identify individual devices on the networkand then either prioritize or even bar them, as a security measure, from receiving power.

Naturally, Ossia wont be able to deliver Cota right away. Executives said it should enter production near the end of the third quarter, and Mendelsohn said that the receiver chips should enter production at the end of the first quarter.

According to Mendelsohn, first-generation Cota products will include accessories, such as iPhone cases. If all goes well, next-generation products will include the Cota chips within them. Case maker XPNDBLS said it had signed a deal with Cota to include its technology, and Mendelsohn said the company had received investments from Molex and Japanese electronics giant KDDI, as proof that its on the right track.

Cota sounds great on paper, although well have to see how it handles normal use cases: a smartphone tucked in a pocket, for example. But whats amazing is that what once was science fiction appears to be moving into the realm of reality.
Updates with charges being filed, not-guilty plea.

A Temecula-area man faces 99 felony charges of child molestation after a girl reported that she had been sexually abused from age 5 to age 9.

Sean Fitzpatrick Damewood, 54, pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday, Jan. 7, two days after he was arrested in the San Diego area. He remains in jail, and bail has been denied.

UPDATE: Child molestation suspect pleads guilty in plea deal

On Monday, a girl disclosed that she had been abused for years by a longtime friend of the family, the Riverside County Sheriffs Department said in a news release.

The abuse took place between 2008 and 2011, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Riverside County District Attorneys Office. No additional details were disclosed.

Authorities began a search for Damewood, who appeared to have fled the area, sheriffs officials said. San Diego police helped find and arrest him Tuesday afternoon in Ocean Beach, a small community just north of the Point Loma peninsula.

He was brought back to Riverside County and booked into the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley.

Charges were filed Thursday. Damewood faces 50 felony counts of engaging in oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10; 48 felony counts of committing a lewd act with a child under 14 years; and one felony count of exhibiting harmful material to a minor.

Damewood faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted as charged, Hall said.

District Attorneys Office spokesman John Hall said in an email that cases in which a person faces so many sexual abuse charges are not typical but they do happen.
SAN GABRIEL (CNS)  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to launch Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Hillary today and conduct three fundraisers for her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton is set to be joined at the launch event in San Gabriel by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, and dozens of Asian American and Pacific Islander elected officials and community leaders from across the nation, according to her campaign.

She will discuss whats at stake in the election for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and how shell fight for them as president, the campaign said.

Clinton will then speak at a luncheon fundraiser hosted by Chu, the chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

While the RNC has for years been focused on engaging our nations growing AAPI communities, Hillary Clintons recent AAPI interests are for her own political fundraising benefit, said Ninio Fetalvo, the Republican National Committees Asian Pacific American press secretary.

The reality is Democrats have long taken the AAPI community for granted and Hillary Clinton will be no different as she continues to support the same failed policies that hurt AAPIs across the country.

Clinton today will also conduct what is billed as a family celebration at the Jim Henson Co. studio lot in Hollywood.

Tickets are priced at $500. Individuals donating $1,000 will receive one adult ticket and a ticket for a individual under 16 years old. Donors contributing $2,700 will receive one adult ticket and two tickets for individuals under 16 years old, according to information posted on the website PoliticalPartyTime.org which tracks political fundraisers.

The maximum individual contribution under federal law for a candidate seeking his or her partys presidential nomination is $2,700.

Clinton will be joined by Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett at an evening reception at the L.A.-area home of City National Bank Chairman and CEO Russell Goldsmith and his wife, Karen.

Tickets are $2,700, according to an invitation obtained by City News Service. Individuals raising $10,000 will be co-hosts of the event and have a photo taken with Clinton.

At a town hall event Tuesday in Sioux City, Iowa, Clinton described Buffett as my favorite billionaire because he says tax me more.

The trip to Southern California will be the sixth for the 68-year-old Clinton since she declared her candidacy on April 12. She held 14 fundraisers, participated in a roundtable discussion with a group of home care providers and appeared on the ABC late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live during her previous visits to the region.

The Clinton campaign announced last week it had raised more than $112 million for her primary campaign in 2015, what it described as a record for the best off-year fundraising of any non-incumbent in history.

More than 60 percent of the donors were women.

The campaign raised $37 million in the years final three months for its primary efforts, another $1 million for the general election and $18 million for the Democratic National Committee and state party organizations. Ninety- four percent of the periods donations were in increments of $100 or less.
Charges alleging embezzlement by a caregiver were dismissed Thursday, Jan. 7, against a 53-year-old Riverside woman who died before the case could be heard in court.

The Riverside County District Attorneys Office made a motion to dismiss the May 2015 charges against Susan Marie Atkinson and provided a copy of her death certificate from Nov. 21.

Atkinsons arraignment on the charges had been postponed more than once due to her health. She was caregiver for Stanley Welchert, a Vietnam veteran who lives in Jurupa Valley, and had access to his bank accounts.

Over a four-year period, she used in excess of $65,000 for everything from getting her nails done to traveling to Hawaii and paying her mortgage while being treated for cancer, according to an arrest warrant in the case.

Welchert suffers from dementia. After his sister was designated as his financial power of attorney, she and an accountant discovered money was being diverted and notified the Riverside County Sheriffs Department for investigation.
UC Riversides Center for Economic Forecasting predicts a 6 percent to 7 percent increase in 2016 for sales of existing homes in the Inland region, as well as a return of home prices in some parts of the region to levels unseen since the housing market boom of the previous decade.

That is good news for a regional housing market that was among the states hardest hit during the so-called Great Recession, during which median home prices in the Inland Empire fell nearly 60 percent between 2006 and 2011, according to Real Estate Economics.

Yet, as we celebrate the regional housing markets rebound, one seemingly insoluble problem remains: the dearth of affordable housing for more than one in five of the regions families.

Most of that more than one in five is made up of low- and very-low-income families, which spend more than half their incomes on rent, according a 2015 report by the California Housing Partnership Corporation.

To ameliorate the housing woes of that needful population, Riverside and San Bernardino counties need to add another 130,000 rentals to their current combined stock of affordable housing.

That is a daunting challenge. Not the least because there is resistance in all too many communities in both counties to affordable housing development.

Some of that resistance comes from local governments, which prefer retail development  and the sales taxes generated  rather than affordable housing development, which offers comparatively less in local tax revenues. (Sacramento gobbles up most local property taxes.)

No less resistance comes from NIMBY community groups, which profess support for affordable housing, while insisting that their own neighborhoods are unsuitable for such residential developments.

Perhaps the best responses to local governments and local community groups resistant to affordable housing were made by affordable housing developers who participated in the 2015 California Economic Summit, which was held in Ontario last fall.

Affordable housing should be viewed by local governments as just as much infrastructure as a road or a bridge or a hospital or a school, said Tony Mize, president of Workforce Homebuilders, a Riverside company that develops and manages affordable housing in Inland Southern California. You cannot not have housing for your lower-income workforce.

Indeed, said Steve PonTell, president and CEO of National Community Renaissance in Rancho Cucamonga, People that are not adequately housed demand more services than the people that are adequately housed. So it simply is fiscally prudent for local governments, and their taxpaying residents, to encourage, rather than resist, private sector affordable housing development.
About 100 people gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facility in San Bernardino on Thursday, Jan. 7, to denounce deportations across the country.

Immigration rights activists held signs reading ICE out of IE and Stop Deporting Refugees. Cars passing by honked as people chanted, Undocumented and unafraid!

The gathering was organized by the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice in the wake of a deportation roundup targeting Central American migrants in a handful of states.

In a Monday, Jan. 4 statement, the Department of Homeland Security said 121 undocumented immigrants were detained and were being deported to their home countries.

Our borders are not open to illegal migration; if you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values, said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh. C. Johnson in the statement.

Additional enforcement operations such as these will continue to occur as appropriate, Johnson said.

At the San Bernardino gathering, immigrant families from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador spoke about violence in their native countries.

The only thing we want is to be united  to get up day by day and see the smiles of our children, knowing that theyre here with us and theyre not being persecuted by the gangs, by the violence being lived out in our countries, said Elva Marroquin, who immigrated from Guatemala.

If they separate us, what are we going to do? Marroquin added.

Contact the writer: amolina@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9462
The Norco prison will remain open for several years so the state can stay below a cap on its inmate population, an official announced Thursday, Jan. 7.

Gov. Jerry Browns 2016-17 budget proposal temporarily extends operations for the California Rehabilitation Center, which had been earmarked for closure by the end of this year.

In addition to the announcement, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Scott Kernan said there would be a 1.4 percent budget increase next fiscal year for state prisons.

Still, days for the prison that opened in 1962 still appear numbered.

Closure  remains a priority, Kernan said in a conference call, adding that corrections officials do not believe we can close that prison at this time. We will continue to operate that facility for  the next several years.

RELATED: Gov. Brown proposes $122.6 billion state budget

A proposed $6 million will be spent next fiscal year to remedy the prisons poor drinking water, damaged bathrooms, and faulty electrical work  projects that have been neglected for years, corrections spokesman Bill Sessa said.

The money doesnt signal a long-term revitalization effort, he added.

Cynthia Tampkins, warden of the Norco prison, could not be reached Thursday.

UNCERTAINTY CONTINUES

Its not the first time the prison  housed in the former luxury hotel the Norconian  has been on the chopping block.

In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown called for the Norco prison to be shut by 2016. The state commissioned three new dorms at prisons across California, worth a combined $810 million, to replace it.

But in 2013, a Senate bill halted its closure, mainly due to concerns about meeting the court-ordered prison populations cap. That decision was reaffirmed Thursday.

The Norco prison came under fire in May, when Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee and Budget Subcommittee on Corrections, called for its closure. She called it a dilapidated penitentiary in after learning of rodent and cockroach infestations there.

The population cap requires prisons not to exceed 137.5 percent of the facilities design capacities. Even with the new housing facilities, expected to open this spring, a 2014-15 state report indicates the corrections department is on track to exceed the cap as early as 2018.

Norco City Councilman Greg Newton said Thursday that he could argue both sides of the debate over the prisons future. In his opinion, the prison is an economic driver for nearby gas stations and restaurants, bringing in much-needed sales tax revenue.

The other side is, if the prison did go away, that could create even possibly a larger economic boom for the city as far as land use options, either commercial, residential, or mixed use, Newton said. It could all play in together, possibly freeing up investors for the Norconian hotel, then youd have the surrounding land use whatever that may be. Those are all economic possibilities.

Norco Mayor Kevin Bash said the city has a great relationship with the prison, and commended its community support.

CROWDED PRISONS

In October 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the prison system was in a state of emergency. He said all 33 prisons (there are now 35) were at or above maximum operational capacity, and the majority of prisons were so crowded that more than 15,000 inmates were kept in conditions that pose substantial safety risks.

The Supreme Court ratified a decision requiring California to reduce inmate populations so it could offer adequate space for mental health care and rehabilitation programs such as skills building, Sessa said.

The Norco prison housed 4,600 inmates in 2011. Today, about 2,400 men are serving sentences there, records show.

Inmate populations at other state prisons have dwindled too, in part because more inmates were sent to contract facilities out of state. But, as those inmates return to California prisons, the need for more beds and health care access has increased.

Even when inmate populations drop, state law requires prisons to keep the same number of workers. State Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, whose district includes the Norco prison, called for a plan to provide for the roughly 1,200 prison employees if the facility were to close.

This is critical in ensuring that any potential adverse impact  is minimized, Roth wrote in an email Thursday.

As for Hancock, after visiting the facility in summer, she was pleasantly surprised.

Hancock wanted to hear alternatives to the Norco prisons closure, and asked why part of the $810 million earmarked for new dorms across the state wasnt spent on restoring it.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

951-368-9644, poneill@pressenterprise.com, @PE_PatrickO
For decades, a rustic neighborhood straddling the Wildomar and Menifee border struggled to get by on a small private utilitys well water that had become unreliable  and eventually undrinkable.

Two water districts  with the help of government officials  were able to take control of the area get a temporary line to service the community. Now those water districts are striving to extend their state-of-the-art systems to the approximately 150 households.

Eastern Municipal Water District just completed laying pipes to serve about 35 households on the Menifee side of the community, which rests on 1,280 acres north of Bundy Canyon Road. Next, the districts contractor will install a booster station to pump water to the residents.

We anticipate our end being done sometime in mid- to late spring, Eastern spokesman Kevin Pearson said. We anticipate that once our segment is complete, we can start providing service to our customers.

On the Wildomar side, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District will extend service to about 115 households. The agencys deadline for construction bids was Jan. 5 and they should be opened for board approval of a contract later this month.

We still expect to complete the project in late fall or early winter of this year, said Greg Morrison, the districts community affairs director.

The project was set back nearly a year primarily because of the need for state legislation to protect the districts against lawsuits. The agencies received a $6 million grant from the state to do the overall project. Meanwhile, to help residents, they put in an above-ground temporary emergency line that began service Nov. 17, 2014.

Our water has not been a problem since the temporary line was hooked up to our system, said resident Lyndsey Amagrande, a leader in the community campaign for decent water.

Years ago, health officials advised residents against consuming the water because of the high level of impurities. Also, the system was prone to low pressure and outages, making the community a fire risk. At the insistence of county and state health officials, the well companys owners agreed to relinquish control, allowing the districts to intervene.

Amagrande said the emergency lines pressure is fine. She said residents have not voiced concerns about when the permanent system comes on line.

We have water, and its consistent, so we dont have to worry any more, she said. Im glad the nightmare is finally over, and we are thankful to be hooked up to (the water districts).

Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
An out-of-this-world opportunity has come up for all movie buffs, undercover writers and story meddlers alike, who have been secretly waiting for their big break in the movie industry. A Major Upcoming Feature Film is on the hunt for a Researcher (SYD) to join their team!! (Before you ask  we wish we knew which film it was too!). To be killer at this role, you will have an uncanny ability to discover interesting stories that can totally elevate the narrative of a film. You think ahead, are highly organised and love nothing more than to get your hands on a subject and go digging for epic cinematic stories. So if you consider yourself a bit of an influencer, who can get into areas where few can, to find nuggets of cinematic gold  then get onto it and apply HERE.

Here at Pedestrian, were on the prowl for a Producer/Project Manager (SYD)! This diverse role will see you working across all elements of upcoming projects and advertising campaigns; from events, editorial, social media, PR + talent management, design and creative. As Project Manager, you will also have dabbled in similar roles (2-3 years) and feel comfortable juggling and managing our numerous projects and advertising campaigns. So if you consider yourself clear and concise on the communications front, love the shit out of Pedestrian and have a good grasp of the media industry, and would love to be part of the team, then we want to chat to you! Apply HERE!

IRO is one edgy-as-fuck label from none other than the Farshan capital itself  Paris (Or Par-ee as we all attempt to pronounce). IRO is renowned for its signature rock chic aesthetic and luxe daywear and is looking for a Fashion Consultant (SYD) to be based in their fresh new Double Bay location. Sahweet. As Fashion Consultant, you will be the self-motivated and assertive type. You will provide stellar customer service and IRO product knowledge. All, while having a natural flare for relationship building! If all of this hasnt already sold you the role, youll also be provided with a generous uniform allowance *drools*. If youve worked in a premium fashion environment before, can manage customer relationship building like you would your wardrobe, consider your aesthetic to be up there with the Anna Wintours of ze fashion world, then go get em. Apply HERE!

Launched in 2000, Virgin Australia, is one of the many branches of old mate Bransons empire. Virgin Australia is the second-whopping-largest airline in Oz and is seeking a Partnership Executive (SYD) to join their tight knit team! As the Partnership Exec, you will be working closely on the Velocity Frequent Flyer Program to help reach the loyalty programs target of 7+ mill members by 2017 (woahh). You will possess some crazy attention to detail. You create, maintain (and even influence) relationships like a piece of cake, and carry some badass communication skillz. If you genuinely froth on the Velocity Frequent Flyer program, flaunting a crazy portfolio of big names like BP, Jetts Fitness and Hilton Hotels, and dont get daunted by the above figures, but rather cant wait to take on a challenge  then this opportunity is for you! Apply HERE!

MIDAS is an Iconic Australian fashion brand synonymous with uncompromising quality, timeless elegance and a sincere love for all things shoes related. An awesome opportunity has arisen for a MIDAS Store Manager (SYD) to lead the team! To be the right fit for MIDAS you will be a motivated team player who has proven experience in fashion retail. You may not know it (or maybe you do), but youre a closet shoe addict, who probably chooses to put money towards shoes over food, on the reg. You will express this same enthusiasm in every customer interaction  but remember not to get too carried away with shoe banter ;). If youre a vibrant character, who has strong leadership skills, and is keen to join a fashion brand that is killing it, then send your CV through now. Apply HERE!

All deets courtesy of Pedestrian Jobs.

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The butter sculpture first appeared at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in 1991.

The sculpture of Benjamin Franklin was made of 600 pounds of butter on metal framework by Raymond Mackintosh of Ontario.

The butter was donated by Keller's Creamery of Harleysville. After the show, the butter was donated to local food banks.

Subsequent sculptures were:

1992: Sculpture Raymond Mackintosh in 1992 depicted then-reigning state Dairy Princess Robin Wilbur of LeRaysville, Lauren Daubert of Lock Haven and one of Daubert's Brown Swiss calves.

1993: The 1993 sculpture saluted the state's ice cream industry and was made by Raymond Mackintosh. It showed an old-fashioned ice cream vendor scooping ice cream into a cone, a boy licking an ice cream cone and a girl waiting for hers.

1994: Raymond Mackintosh's sculpture in 1994 depicted a University of Tennessee linebacker tackling Penn State wide receiver Bobby Engram just after the Nittany Lions defeated the Volunteers, 31-13.

1995: James Victor of Conshohocken in 1995 sculpted a scene of three World War II soldiers with a carton of rationed butter, cheese and other dairy products.

1996: Edward Shank sculpted former President Eisenhower bottle-feeding a calf. The former World War II general lived on his farm in Gettysburg after his presidency.

1997: Edward Shank celebrated the Amish with a sculpture in 1997 depicting an Amish boy and a cow.

1998: Edward Shank saluted school food service with a sculpture a school cafeteria worker serving lunch to a boy. The little boy originally was sculpted as a little girl. Shortly before the Farm Show opened that year, Shank discovered that the cafeteria woman had slid to the floor and the little girl fell on top of her. He spent 30 hours repairing the damage to both figures and changed the little girl into a boy, because he didn't have enough supplies to rebuild a skirt.

1999: In honor of Miss Commonwealth, Edward Shank re-created "the statue of the beautiful lady on top of the state Capitol."

2000: Edward Shank's sculpture showed two carrousel horses, two children and carrousel framework.

2001: The 2001 butter sculpture by Edward Shank depicted a farmers' market with the theme "Simply Delicious."

2002: The 2002 sculpture by Ed Shank of Swatara Township was dedicated to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. It included a firefighter, police officer and soldier with flags

2003: Jim Victor carved a cow butter sculpture in 2003.

2004: The 2004 butter sculpture by Jim Victor paid tribute to Milton Hershey.

2005: The 2005 butter sculpture by Jim Victor was called "Preserving the Pennsylvania Farm." It shows a girl bottle-feeding a calf.

2006: The 2006 butter sculpture by Jim Victor depicted the past and future of the dairy industry.

2007: The 2007 butter sculpture by Jim Victor depicted Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell.

2008: The themes of the 2008 butter sculpture by Jim Victor were 'Discover Dairy' and 'Milk: It Does A Student Body Good!'

2009: The 2009 butter sculpture by Jim Victor was a tribute to the Pennsylvania National Guard. A Pennsylvania National Guard soldier salutes a farm family in the sculpture.

2010: The 2010 butter sculpture by Jim Victor paid tribute to dairy farm families.

2011: The 2011 butter sculpture depicted children playing and a farmer giving them some milk.

2012: The 2012 butter sculpture honored the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania 4-H and the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs.

2013: The 2013 butter sculpture by Jim Victor of Conshohocken featured 'PA Preferred,' the official brand of agriculture products grown or made in Pennsylvania.

2014: The 2014 sculpture by Jim Victor showed a family enjoying milkshakes at the Farm Show.

2015: The 2015 sculpture by Jim Victor and Marie Pelton celebrated the 'Fill a Glass with Hope' campaign.
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Jim Sinkovitz

(Provided photo)

Longtime WGAL anchor Jim Sinkovitz will make his final broadcast on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m.

Sinkovitz is retiring after nearly 45 years as a journalist. He started his television career at WHP CBS 21 in 1975, then moved to WGAL in 1987. After a 13-year stint in Philadelphia, he returned to WGAL in 2008.

Sinkovitz announced his retirement in November. PennLive's Julia Hatmaker spoke with him about his career shortly after her made the announcement.

Sinkovitz has covered most of the famous stories of the midstate's past, including R. Budd Dwyer's public and televised suicide in 1987.

"It was a tough time for all of us," Sinkovitz said. "I have friends who left the business because of it - not right away, but in a few months."

He also covered the infamous Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

"We did our first live shot ever [with WHP]" Sinkovitz said. "My brother [Tom Sinkovitz] did it. He stood on top of a trailer down in Middletown."

Sinkovitz remembered reporting with meters measuring the levels of radiation they were being exposed to. "We didn't know day to day if we were going to be coming back to our homes," he said. "That was a scary time."
The mother of 11 children found last summer living in squalor in a Steelton home was arrested in Philadelphia Thursday after she didn't surrender on child neglect charges on Wednesday as expected, police said.

The U.S. Marshal's Service captured Takeya Fluellen, 34, at a home in the 8200 block of Frankfort Avenue. She had her 7-year-old son with her, and social service agents will return the child to Dauphin County.

Police said the county's Child and Youth Services agency took custody of the other 10 children after the family was found living in a home in the 200 block of North Second Street that had no furniture and was filled with feces, trash, raw meat and insects on July 13.

Police arrested Fluellen's husband, Tyree Fluellen, 29, on Tuesday, and he is in Dauphin County Prison. He is facing 11 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and six counts of aggravated assault. Takeya will be transported back to Dauphin County to face the same charges.

Police gave Takeya time to find a caregiver for her 7-year-old child that was still in her custody. Her deadline to turn herself in to authorities was Wednesday, but she notified county Children and Youth Services that she was leaving the area with her child and did not turn herself in.

Crime Stoppers offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to Fluellen's arrest earlier in the day, before the U.S. Marshal's Office in Philadelphia found her on Thursday.

Police said the children living in the filthy house included two one-year-olds, and the other children were ages 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14. Some were the Fluellen's children together; others were from prior relationships, according to police.

When CYS took custody of the children on July 14, six had shigella, a bacteria that causes diarrhea. All went without medical attention for some time, the U.S. Marshal's Office said.

Detective Anthony Minium said a joint investigation involving Philadelphia police, U.S. Marshals, the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office, Dauphin County Children and Youth Services, Steelton police and Fluellen's family members led to the woman's Thursday arrest.

Minium said he was pleased Fluellen and law enforcement could reach "a very peaceful arrangement."

Minium said he spoke with a cooperative Fluellen Thursday after she contacted a family member who then connected her with the detective.

The pair was once again arranging her surrender to law enforcement when members of the U.S. Marshals Service made contact with her. The detective talked Fluellen through a peaceful surrender and then spoke with law enforcement at the scene.

"If it wasn't for her making the right decision and for the cooperation of her family and help from other agencies, this could've been drawn out a lot longer," he said.

Fluellen will not face any additional charges in connection with the incident, Minium said.

PennLive reporter Megan Trimble contributed to this story.
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A mother rescued her two children from a fire that started in their bedroom inside her apartment in York Township early Wednesday, York Township Fire Co. Chief Nathan Tracey said. No one was injured in the two-alarm blaze that caused about $750,000 in damage to the apartment building and $250,000 in personal losses, Tracey said.

(Barry Kidd/York Township Fire Co. )

A mother sleeping on a couch in her York Township apartment saved her two young children from a blaze that ignited in their bedroom early Wednesday morning, a fire official said.

The mother awoke after a smoke alarm sounded in her second-floor apartment in the 300 block of Queensdale Drive at about 1:30 a.m., said York Township Fire Co. Chief Nathan Tracey.

After she woke up, the mother walked into her children's bedroom and saw that the curtains were on fire, he said. The woman, who Tracey could not immediately identify, grabbed her kids and rushed them out of the apartment to safety.

"She scooped them up in the nick of time," said Tracey, who estimated the children were under 8-years-old.

Officials determined a humidifier in the children's bedroom sparked the fire. It either overheated, or the power cord crimped, Tracey said.

No one was injured in the two-alarm fire, which gutted the apartment and spread to another unit on the third floor. The third-floor apartment also was destroyed; two other apartments took on minimal damage, he said. The fire caused about $750,000 to the building and $250,000 in personal losses, Tracey said.

There were about 30 people evacuated from the building as crews battled the blaze in the three-story building. Crews had the fire under control within about 30 minutes of arrival, Tracey said.

The American Red Cross is assisting five families, eight adults and five children, who were displaced by the fire.
Woman Dead in Jail Troopers

FILE - In this July 10, 2015, file frame taken from dashcam video provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia confronts Sandra Bland after a minor traffic infraction in Waller County,Texas. A grand jury indicted Encinia on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, with the misdemeanor charge. (Texas Department of Public Safety via AP, File)

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) -- A Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a contentious traffic stop last summer was fired Wednesday after being charged with perjury for allegedly lying about his confrontation with the black woman who died three days later in jail.

Trooper Brian Encinia claimed in an affidavit that Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he pulled her over and ordered her out of her car. The grand jury identified that affidavit in charging Encinia with perjury, special prosecutor Shawn McDonald said Wednesday night.

Hours after the indictment, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would "begin termination proceedings" against Encinia, who has been on paid desk duty since Bland was found dead in her cell.

Bland's arrest and death -- which authorities ruled a suicide -- provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protesters linked Bland to other black suspects who were killed in confrontations with police or died in police custody, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!" She can later be heard off-camera screaming that he's about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground.

Encinia's affidavit stated he "removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation," but grand jurors "found that statement to be false," said McDonald, one of five special prosecutors appointed to investigate.

She was taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. Three days later, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag around her neck. The grand jury has already declined to charge any sheriff's officials or jailers in her death.

The perjury charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia was not immediately taken into custody, and an arraignment date has not yet been announced. Encinia could not immediately be reached for comment; a cellphone number for him was no longer working.

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday's news conference where the indictment was announced. One protester's sign read, "Legalize black skin."

Speaking afterward, one protester, Jinaki Muhammad, called the misdemeanor charge "a slap in the face to the Bland family."

Encinia also faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland's family. Attorneys for Bland's family did not immediately return messages seeking comment about the indictment.

Encinia pulled Bland over on July 10 for making an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had just interviewed and accepted a job. Dashcam video from Encinia's patrol car shows that the traffic stop quickly became confrontational.

The video shows the trooper drawing his stun gun after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible.

Encinia wrote in his affidavit that he had Bland exit the vehicle and handcuffed her after she became combative, and that she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin. Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground," and she continued to fight back. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

Bland's sister, Shante Needham, has said Bland called her from jail the day after her arrest, saying she'd been arrested but didn't know why, and that an officer had placed his knee in her back and injured her arm.

Her family has said they were working to get money for her bail when they learned of her death.
Macy's

This Friday, July 10, 2015 photo shows signage at a Macy's department store at the Hanover Mall in Hanover, Mass. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Forty of Macy's current 770 stores nationwide will be closing this spring or have already closed.

Macy's says disappointing sales in 2015 are behind the closures. The move will save the company about $400 million. About 3,000 employees will be affected by the closures, though Macy's said it expects to have about half of those workers placed in another position within the company.

The two stores in Pennsylvania closing this spring are at Suburban Square in Admore and at Century III Mall in West Mifflin. A store in downtown Pittsburgh closed last year, and the York County location closed in 2014. That store had operated as a Hecht's from 1995 to 2006, when it was converted into a Macy's.

Today's announcement is similar to but larger than one last year when the chain announced it was closing 14 stores nationwide.

These Macy's stores will be closing in the spring:

Irvine Spectrum, Irvine, CA (140,000 square feet; opened in 2002; 112 associates)

Country Club Plaza, Sacramento, CA (165,000 square feet; opened in 1961; 111 associates)

Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, CA (136,000 square feet; opened in 1976; 108 associates)

Enfield Square main store, Enfield, CT (166,000 square feet; opened in 1971; 84 associates)

Enfield Square furniture/home/men's store, Enfield, CT (76,000 square feet; opened in 1971; 20 associates)

North DeKalb Mall, Decatur, GA (190,000 square feet; opened in 1965; 89 associates)

Kailua, HI (59,000 square feet; opened in 1946; 57 associates)

Palouse Mall, Moscow, ID (41,000 square feet; opened in 1979; 47 associates)

Northwoods Mall, Peoria, IL (165,000 square feet; opened in 1985; 62 associates)

Cortana Mall, Baton Rouge, LA (243,000 square feet; opened in 1976; 108 associates)

Valley Mall, Hagerstown, MD (120,000 square feet; opened in 1999; 59 associates)

Berkshire Mall, Lanesborough, MA (111,000 square feet; opened in 1994; 58 associates)

Eastfield Mall, Springfield, MA (127,000 square feet; opened in 1994; 71 associates)

The Shoppes at Stadium, Columbia, MO (140,000 square feet; opened in 2003; 81 associates)

Middlesex Mall, South Plainfield, NJ (81,000 square feet; opened in 1976; 69 associates)

McKinley Mall main store, Buffalo, NY (88,000 square feet; opened in 1989; 65 associates)

McKinley Mall home store, Buffalo, NY (31,000 Square feet; opened in 1989; 10 associates)

Arnot Mall, Horsehead, NY (120,000 square feet; opened in 1995; 79 associates)

Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston, NY (121,000 square feet; opened in 1995; 72 associates)

Eastern Hills Mall, Williamsville, NY (127,000 square feet; opened in 1971; 80 associates)

Cary Towne Center, Cary, NC (107,000 square feet; opened in 1991; 63 associates)

Chapel Hill Mall, Akron, OH (169,000 square feet; opened in 1967; 91 associates)

Midway Mall, Elyria, OH (105,000 square feet; opened in 1990; 64 associates)

Quail Springs Mall, Oklahoma City, OK (146,000 square feet; opened in 1986; 87 associates)

Pony Village Mall, North Bend, OR (41,000 square feet; opened in 1980; 54 associates)

Roseburg Valley Mall, Roseburg, OR (40,000 square feet; opened in 1980; 59 associates)

Suburban Square, Ardmore, PA (102,000 square feet; opened in 1930; 74 associates)

Century III Mall, West Mifflin, PA (173,000 square feet; opened in 1979; 101 associates)

Ridgmar Mall, Ft. Worth, TX (181,000 square feet; opened in 1998; 92 associates)

Chesapeake Square, Chesapeake, VA (95,000 square feet; opened in 1999; 69 associates)

Virginia Center Commons, Glen Allen, VA (110,000 square feet; opened in 1993; 81 associates)

Peninsula Town Center, Hampton, VA (173,000 square feet; opened in 1977; 109 associates)

Military Circle Mall, Norfolk, VA (153,000 square feet; opened in 1976; 95 associates)

Regency Square main store, Richmond, VA (100,000 square feet; opened in 1990; 100 associates)

Regency Square furniture/home/men's store, Richmond, VA (124,000 square feet; opened in 1990; 35 associates)

Downtown Spokane, Spokane, WA (374,000 square feet; opened in 1947; 94 associates)

Four of the 40 Macy's stores included in this announcement closed last year:
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On Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for support of "commonsense" executive actions he plans to tighten gun regulations to curb gun violence in the United States. An Adams County lawmaker hopes to push back in Pennsylvania.

(File)

An Adams County lawmaker has introduced a bill designed to blunt the impact in Pennsylvania of President Barack Obama's latest executive orders on gun regulations.

Obama on Tuesday unveiled a set of measures that many observers have described as fairly limited in scope, but that are designed in part to apply a finer filter to what gun sales are subject to federal background checks.

Advocates for gun owners' rights, however, have expressed concerns that the president's actions are an executive branch over-reach designed as an end run around a Congress that has refused to strengthen gun control laws.

Rep. Will Tallman, R-Abbottstown, stands with them with his new proposal.

"Our president has taken action by executive order that may infringe on our rights," Tallman wrote in a co-sponsorship memo that went out to his House colleagues Wednesday. "I consider this patently illegal."

Tallman's bill would seek to make enforcement of any of the rules changes announced by Obama illegal for any guns manufactured in Pennsylvania and sold in Pennsylvania.

The state border clauses are important, Tallman said, to keep his bill from violating federal supremacy powers regarding interstate commerce.

While he concedes that that leaves his bill taking a smaller bite out of Obama's proposals, "It's still a bite out of what Obama wants," Tallman said.

Tallman said Thursday he is particularly worried about two aspects of the rules changes announced by the president at a White House ceremony:

A broadening of the definition of who can be deemed a gun dealer, and therefore required to run sales through federal and state background check systems.

While all handgun sales in Pennsylvania are already subject to such checks, private sales of most long runs (rifles, shotguns, etc.) can be concluded here without a background check.

The new federal order seeks to clarify that people maintaining a website to sell guns, use business cards, or who sell guns at a flea market every weekend - among other guideposts - would need to be licensed and run background checks.

Tallman, however, says the order is so vaguely worded that it could become a precursor to universal background checks, which he opposes.

A rule requiring the Social Security Administration to enter into the federal background check system the names of approximately 75,000 people each year who have a documented mental health issue, receive disability benefits, and are unable to manage those benefits because of their mental impairment.

Tallman said he worries that rule could force violations of medical privacy rights, and infringe on the ability of older Pennsylvanians to protect themselves.

Tallman's bill - if it gets any traction in the state House - could wind up being more symbolic than practical.

Gov. Tom Wolf's press secretary Jeff Sheridan said the administration is reviewing the new federal measures to gauge their implications for Pennsylvania.

But Sheridan also noted Wolf "believes we must have sensible background checks and close loopholes in existing laws to ensure guns do not end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists."

For Tallman, a fourth-term Republican from New Oxford who is a National Rifle Association member and served as an NRA hunter safety instructor in the past, that symbolism is meaningful in itself.

He said he believes the orders Obama signed wouldn't have stopped any of the well-publicized mass shootings in America over the past several years, but they could start a slippery slope toward erosion of rights for lawful gun owners.

Tallman said he stands with those who argue the best way for the federal government to attack gun crime is to better enforce the 200-plus pages of gun laws and regulations that are already on the books.
walmart

A former Walmart employee who claims she was fired after complaining that her boss told her she had to "choose between her career and her kids" is suing the retail giant in federal court.

Rebecca Wolfinger of Shippensburg claims in her U.S. Middle District Court suit that she was the victim of sex discrimination because her ex-boss at the chain's Chambersburg store never gave her male co-workers similar ultimatums.

Repeated attempts to obtain comment on the suit from officials of Arkansas-based Walmart were not successful.

Wolfinger's suit focuses on what she claims was her mistreatment while working as a shift manager. She was being required to work seven days a week when she received the "career or kids" threat, she contends.

Other male shift managers weren't on a seven-day work schedule, Wolfinger claims. Her February 2012 firing occurred after she reported her boss' comment to a company human resource officer, the suit states.

Wolfinger says she was told she was axed for selling Pampered Chef products on the side and for not cooperating in an investigation of that activity. That was a mere pretext, she contends, since she told store officials about her Pampered Chef gig and other workers who sold items as a sideline were not punished.












"I am the youngest child of the union of Emmett and Betty Dunnevant, a title that for most of my life has been my biggest claim to fame. My parents' story is an extraordinary tale which cannot be told quickly. Suffice it to say that from extremely humble beginnings, two children who grew up in Buckingham County, Virginia, first found each other, then found love, then busied themselves with the adventure of raising a family on a shoestring. In this, they were not at all unique. Many of their generation, born in the 1920's, did exactly the same thing. Yet talk to anyone who knew them, and you will hear the same story. My mom and dad were different. There was something luminescent about the arc of their lives that attracted others to them. For all of my life, they have been the sun around which all of my family revolvedmy dad the sturdy dependable rock, my mom the brilliant unpredictable force. Everything changed on June 30, 2012, when my mother died in her sleep.
HARRISBURG- Harrisburg officials have pulled city police officers from the Great American Outdoor Show this year after negotiations collapsed over an NRA donation.

Although Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse cited the donation as one of several reasons the city is "not supporting the show," he admits he's "no fan of the NRA." He noted the National Rifle Association had "explicitly worked against the city's interest" in promoting a Pennsylvania law that opened the city up to expensive lawsuits.

The National Rifle Association won a five-year contract to take over the annual outdoor show in 2014 after a previous promoter ran into problems. As part of the NRA's bid, the gun group pledged to keep a portion of its fundraising proceeds in the region.

Papenfuse and Police Chief Thomas Carter interpreted that pledge to mean the proceeds would benefit the host municipality: Harrisburg. And last year, the NRA Foundation gave the city a fully outfitted police car worth $50,000.

But the NRA Foundation this year plans to give its annual $50,000 donation to three shooting sport groups and a museum in the region. NRA officials declined to name the groups, saying they planned an announcement soon. The recipients' applications were chosen over Harrisburg's application for the grant.

"They touted a commitment to help the local city," Papenfuse said. "They haven't lived up to that arrangement."

Carter said he thought the police department would benefit each year under the NRA's five-year contract to host the show.

"Who's the bad partner here?" Carter said. "It's not us."

But NRA officials said they never made a commitment to use the annual donation strictly for Harrisburg. And they said the bylaws for the foundation don't allow them to commit to annual payments.

"The foundation's by-laws are very specific as to where the money can go," said Lars Dalseide, an NRA spokesman. "If nothing else, we can't let a third party (the mayor) decide where the money would go."

The show brings millions in economic impact to the area and the NRA already pays about $200,000 annually in amusement taxes, which are split by the city and school district.

"Thanks to our leadership, outreach, and organization, the show grew which resulted in a growth of the taxes and fees grew as well," Dalseide said. "Bottom line is the National Rifle Association has been good to the city of Harrisburg."

Dave Black, president of the local business chamber who participated in the selection of the NRA to run the show, said he believes the NRA is living up to its obligation.

"They pledged support for the community," Black said. "Maybe there was a misunderstanding."

Black said the NRA's pledge was verbal, and not in writing.

One of the NRA's other pledges was to have three staff members in Harrisburg full-time. Dalseide said they opened an office in Hummelstown, which is in the Harrisburg area, with three staff members.

The annual donation was one of two points of contention between the NRA and Harrisburg officials over this year's Great American Outdoor Show at the Farm Show Complex. The show is scheduled for Feb 6-14.

Papenfuse also wanted to increase the hourly rate paid to police officers who work off-duty at the event to $50 from $30. Papenfuse said the higher amount represents the typical rate paid by companies that want to hire off-duty officers for security, but NRA officials said they don't pay that high of a rate even in larger cities for other shows.

The previous $30 rate was artificially low, both sides agreed, Papenfuse said.

The NRA agreed to raise the rate gradually over three years to $40 per hour. But the disagreement over the annual grant from the NRA Foundation torpedoed the whole deal.

By not allowing officers to work the NRA's outdoor show, Harrisburg is losing about $10,000 in fees that it would have received from the officers' pay. The city takes a 10-percent cut from off-duty pay to offset insurance costs and liabilities.

Plus, Dalseide said the NRA offered to try to get the city a smaller grant this year of $25,000. But the mayor refused because it could not be an ongoing commitment, Dalseide said.

"We were looking at a yearly commitment," Papenfuse said. "I don't think our ask was extraordinary. They rejected the framework of the deal."

A number of Harrisburg officers will still provide traffic assistance outside the complex for the show, Papenfuse said, since that's part of the city's obligation to public safety. The NRA pays the city nearly $27,000 for the hours that the officers spend directing traffic.

Papenfuse said he and Carter were comfortable pulling the officers from working inside of the show because it represented a strain on the small department anyway.

A police captain typically took off work the entire month of December to plan for the show and schedule officers to cover 40 positions, or 3,000 hours of officers' time. The captain earned $35 hourly from the NRA for his work.

The majority of officers take vacation time to pick up shifts at the show, but some officers would work double shifts. Officers who take vacation to work at the show are not available for overtime assignments important to the city, the mayor said.

"I was willing to honor the original agreement if they had a strong community presence," Papenfuse said. "Had they been willing to stick with that, we could have worked it out."

As it stands, the police chief must approve all requests by officers to work off-duty and he made it known that he will not approve any requests for the NRA's show this year.

Rank and file officers aren't pleased with the pull out, which comes after 30 years of working at the show. Many officers built their vacation time around the show, and counted on the large amount of extra money they could earn in a short amount of time.

Carter said he planned to compensate the officers by paying more overtime this year under a project approved by city council last July to add patrols to the city's toughest neighborhoods. The city last year earmarked $250,000 of federal Community Development Block Grant money for the overtime patrols.

That new effort is planned to start in February and continue throughout the year, Carter said.

"I'd rather have my officers working overtime, cleaning up the city than standing around at the show," Carter said. "That will continue long after the show is gone. We're here to protect citizens of the city."

Officers who work off-duty at the outdoor show typically fill security posts, escort money, protect VIPs, provide K9 sweeps and handle all criminal acts and security breaches within the show.

Because Harrisburg pulled out, the NRA is going to fill the roughly 40 positions with officers from the surrounding townships and Dauphin County, Dalseide said. He did not yet know the hourly rate charged by other agencies as they have just begun talks.

Looming in the background of the fight over the outdoor show is Harrisburg's efforts to protect its gun ordinances, which came under fire after lobbying by the NRA.

The NRA lobbied Pennsylvania legislators for a law, known as Act 192, that opened the door for gun rights groups to sue municipalities to challenge gun ordinances. The law took effect last year. The groups believe municipal gun ordinances are illegal under the state's preeminence in regulating guns.

Act 192 has since been ruled unconstitutional by a judge, but Harrisburg still incurred about $100,000 in legal fees, fighting two lawsuits that remain active against the city.

"The NRA explicitly worked against the city's interests," Papenfuse said. "We don't want to support anything that runs counter to the efforts of public safety. This was one action we could take to withdraw internal support for the show."

Papenfuse said he doesn't think the Farm Show should host gun shows in a city besieged by gun violence. He also takes issue with Dauphin County Commissioners giving the NRA a gaming grant each year of about $75,000 to subsidize the outdoor show.

County officials did not respond to a request for comment about the gaming grants to the NRA. But Farm Show officials said they have contracts in place for the outdoor show and an annual gun show.

"Each of those shows has a significant economic impact in the region," said Brandi Hunter-Davenport, press secretary for the state's Department of Agriculture. "The staff at the complex will continue to work with the show organizers to bring these events to the region."

UPDATE: This article was updated to clarify that the NRA declined to name the grant winners and that the city's overtime patrols will continue throughout the year.
hansen 2 0623 sds

Paul Hansen leaves a district judge's office after his preliminary hearing in 2010. Sean Simmers, The Patriot - News

(Sean Simmers, The Patriot - News)

A York County musician convicted of killing a party hostess lost his latest bid to dodge a life prison sentence Wednesday.

That door closed when a state Superior Court panel rejected an appeal in which Paul N. Hansen claimed his lawyer didn't effectively represent him during his trial for the June 2010 slaying of Melissa Barnes in Newberry Township.

A county jury convicted Hansen, now 34, of first-degree murder in July 2011.

Police said the killing occurred during a confrontation between Hansen and Barnes at a party she hosted for several hundred people. Hansen had played bass in a band, Disorderly Conduct, that performed during the get-together at Barnes' Stevens Road home.

Investigators said Hansen got his car stuck on a muddy road as he left the party, then assaulted a female party-goer who criticized his driving. The 28-year-old Barnes intervened and began pushing and cursing Hansen, who drew a pistol and shot her in the head, police said.

Hansen claimed the shooting was accidental.

In the Superior Court ruling, Senior Judge Patricia H. Jenkins rejected Hansen's claims that his attorney was ineffective for, among other things, failing to present evidence of Hansen's mental health issues, not presenting enough character witnesses, and advising Hansen not to testify during his trial.

Jenkins noted, for example, that the advice not to testify was reasonable since the jury heard a taped statement Hansen gave to police in which he claimed the shooting was an accident. Having Hansen testify would have exposed him unnecessarily to a potentially risky cross-examination by the prosecution, she wrote.

Also, Jenkins cited the defense attorney's claim that he feared Hansen would take the witness stand and claim he fired in self-defense, thus undermining his initial contention that the shooting was unintended.
Ford emblem

A state Superior Court panel on Thursday upheld a $5.9 million damage award against the Ford Motor Co. over a crash that left a Pennsylvania driver paralyzed when his car's airbag didn't deploy.

In an opinion by Judge Anne E. Lazarus, the state court concluded there were no legal errors committed during a 2014 civil trial in Lackawanna County Court that would warrant granting Ford's request for a new trial in the case.

John A. Cancelleri sued the car maker over a two-car accident that occurred in August 2010 on Route 307. The airbag of Cancelleri's 2005 Mercury Sable didn't activate when his car collided with a 2007 Ford Mustang that turned into Cancelleri's path.

Cancelleri, who was 83 when the crash occurred, claimed the airbag failure caused him to hit his head on the windshield, causing spinal injuries that left him unable to walk.

The jury awarded him damages based on his claim that the airbag malfunction constituted a "crashworthy design defect."

In denying Ford's appeal, Lazarus turned aside the firm's claim that the trial judge should have asked the jury to consider whether Cancelleri's car was "unreasonably dangerous." Nor was the county judge wrong to prevent Ford from introducing crash test data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations, she found.
Christian Earl Gouse.JPG

Christian Earl Gouse

(Pennsylvania State Police)

State police are searching for a Berks County man they say has failed to properly register as a sex offender under the state's Megan's Law.

Christian Earl Gouse, 25, who had been at the Wernersville Community Correctional Facility in South Heidelberg Township, has failed to update his address.

Investigators are now searching for Gouse and believe he could be staying in Lebanon, Schuylkill or Dauphin county.

House has ben a registered sex offender since June 2014, after a conviction on possession of child pornography charges, according to the Megan's Law webite.

Anyone with information about Gouse is asked to contact state police at 610-378-4011.
Sheriff badge Shutterstock

The Clearfield County Sheriff's Office is seeking volunteers, including those with guns, to form a "posse" able to assist in non-emergency responses.

(Shutterstock)

Weeks after calling for the formation of a "posse" -- in this case an all volunteer collection of sometimes armed civilians able to assist in non-emergencies -- the Clearfield County Sheriff's Office says the response continues to be overwhelming, with hundreds of applications received and more than a little bit of controversy generated.

"We received 140 applications within four days," chief deputy Mike Churner told Pennlive Wednesday.

"Our phone has not stopped ringing and the people have been lined up out the door."

The initiative, announced prior to Christmas, seeks 500 volunteers to serve the rural north central Pennsylvania county, home to roughly 81,000 residents and situated roughly 100 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Churner said sheriff Wes Thurston, who was unavailable to speak with Pennlive Wednesday, wants reinforcements to help with everything from missing persons searches to dispersing unruly crowds.

Churner pointed to the death of an elderly nursing home resident who wandered from his home and later drowned in the Susquehanna River saying, "In those cases, putting 100 to 300 people on the ground would be a great asset to the community."

The "posse," he says, will serve as a community aid group, with members denied arrest powers and prohibited from using force.

"It will be in writing and at no time will force be authorized for any posse member," Churner said. "It will be made clear that they have no arrest powers other than what other ordinary citizens have."

Churner said there is no requirement that posse members be armed, but that the sheriff strongly supports their right to be.

"We always encourage our community members to exercise their Second Amendment rights," Churner said. "If they choose to arm themselves, that's their decision."

Churner said he's aware of criticism around the group's acceptance, and some would say encouragement, of armed members, with opponents fearing the impact armed individuals without proper training might have in even adjacent or supplementary law enforcement roles.

That backlash also comes on the heels of high-profile incidents involving armed sheriff's department volunteers or posse members in western states.

Clearfield County Sheriff Wes Thurston

In Oklahoma, Robert Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive with little to no police training shot an unarmed suspect while moonlighting with members of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department as a volunteer deputy in the spring of 2015.

Bates was charged with manslaughter and said he mistakenly grabbed his gun when he meant to grab his Taser.

The dangers are also real for the posse members themselves.

A Phoenix, Az. man was sentenced to more than 66 years in prison in February for shooting and critically wounding a police officer and member of an armed posse with the Maricopa County (Az.) Sheriff's Office. The posse member was attempting to assist authorities in their pursuit of robbery suspects.

In ensuring Clearfield County posse members are fit to serve, Churner said his office will use a vetting process that includes criminal background checks and possibly the checking of references.

"We obviously don't want to bring any discredit to the department and will have a thorough vetting process," Churner added.

But not all prior criminal convictions will be disqualifiers.

Churner said while all past felony convictions will disqualify an applicant, second and third degree misdemeanor convictions older than 10 years, and summary and first-degree misdemeanor convictions older than two years will not.

"Criminal histories are not an automatic refusal for admittance but we have to consider it," Churner said.

In all, the department is seeking 500 volunteers to stay on through the December 2017 end of sheriff Thurston's current term in office. The sheriff's office has roughly one dozen paid employees currently, a mixture of full and part-time workers.

"Posse" applications are available at local hardware stores, gun shops and sporting good stores.

There is no age cap, but applicants must be 21 or older.

"We've had a great deal of interest from retirees, including retired doctors and lawyers," Churner said.

He added, "We are looking for military folks that know how to follow orders and we're looking for folks with different experiences from different age groups."

Emails sent to sheriff's departments across Pennsylvania for reaction to Thurston's plan went unanswered Wednesday.

But Churner said they've received interest from departments as far away as North Carolina and California.

Once the posse is formed, Churner will serve as its commander. He expects to have the group formed and ready for deployment by late February, adding "We have a lot of work to do."

Meanwhile, deputies continue to sort through piles of applications before beginning the screening process.

The chief deputy said he was aware of no other posses in the state of Pennsylvania.

Because of that and the group's title, Churner said he's aware it may conjure images of lawlessness or mob justice for some.

He said in reality that couldn't be farther from the truth or their intent.

"I think of old western movies when I hear 'posse,' but it's something you really have to see to understand," he said. "There are people out there that would not want to support this and I've seen the comments on Facebook."

He added, "They think the sheriff wants to require members be armed, but really we just want to be of assistance."
House GOP collage

House Republicans have made their mark on the deadlocked state budget talks. Good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. Pictured above from left to right are Reps. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, Steve Bloom, R-Cumberland, Majority Leader David Reed, R-Indiana, and House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.

Pennsylvania appeared on its way, however grudgingly, to a pre-Christmas budget that was going to require a major increase in broad-based state taxes for the first time since 2003.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the governor's desk: the House Republican caucus, for the moment at least, stopped the deal.

Enough members pushed back just hard enough and in just enough ways that GOP leaders - who were on-again, off-again participants in the negotiations - adjourned Dec. 23 without bringing the $30.8 billion budget up for a vote.

That led, in quick succession, to the state Senate's decision to send a smaller budget to Gov. Tom Wolf, and a compromise that in years past would have seemed inevitable was all of a sudden brought to a screeching halt.

So, who are these guys (and gals) in the House that - at least for the time being - held consensus at bay?

Are they truly an unmanageable bunch of zealots, as several of Wolf's top aides have complained in recent weeks, who have shoved blind obedience to principle in front of governing.

Or, heroes who have used the means at their disposal to deliver on the main promises made to their varied constituencies: a government that won't demand more in taxes.

Like most things political, the answer to that lies in the eye of the beholder.

Here's how House Speaker Mike Turzai, a Republican from suburban Pittsburgh, framed it last month:

"We have been about holding the line on taxes and holding the line on spending," Turzai said, explaining his dissatisfaction with the framework budget as it has evolved. "There's no doubt of the four caucuses, the pro-taxpayer caucus has been the House Republican caucus by far."

Others see a highly-factionalized group that's all-but-unleadable, fraught with tensions between its leaders and back-biting over perceptions that some members see those more willing to compromise as "fallen Republicans" who would best be replaced in the next election cycle.

Longtime Capitol observers note those tensions would naturally spike when a budget is overdue and tax increases are pushed as part of the solution. They usually dissipate after the issue is resolved.

But here are some emerging truths that have emerged about this Republican caucus in this past year of divided government.

More conservative, less establishment.

Most observers, both within and outside the 118-member GOP caucus, see at least three sub-groups.

There are anti-tax hawks, which some have defined as comprising about 50 members. These are unyielding fiscal conservatives who - in the words of the old cigarette ad - would rather fight than switch.

They not only vote against tax increases; they do everything in their power to make sure that no one else gets a chance to vote for them - whether that's blocking other parts of a package, or threatening to find and fund primary opponents for wavering colleagues.

One GOP lawmaker who, like some interviewed for this story, asked not to be identified in order to speak frankly about the caucus, noted that many newer colleagues were sent to Harrisburg to not do something, as in not increasing spending or not raising taxes.

"They're doing that," the lawmaker said, "and it just makes it harder to find the middle."

Then there are the moderate, more labor-sensitive Republicans, generally hailing from Philadelphia or its four suburban counties.

Numbering about 20, this group has shrunk in numbers and clout over the last decade. But it still has the potential to form bipartisan coalitions with Democrats that could get things done.

As a most recent example, see the Dec. 22 procedural votes that appeared to show majority support for Wolf's $30.8 billion budget plan - if House GOP leaders had called it up for a final vote.

Finally, there's everybody else. A more-traditional, right-of-center group - also about 50 members - that can drift to either of the other poles depending upon the issue.

It is also true, Franklin & Marshall College political scientist G. Terry Madonna has noted, that in each political wave that's crashed in Harrisburg over the last 10 years - the pay-raise furor in 2006, the Tea Party wave, the Democratic collapse of 2014 - new GOP House members have generally been more conservative that the person they replaced.

So as Wolf has learned, even that midde group starts from a more conservative base than the House GOP majority former Gov. Ed Rendell had to work with from 2003 through 2006.

Less bossing by leaders; more pulse-taking.

Gone are the days when House GOP leaders could negotiate and deliver a deal a majority of their caucus didn't like, like the Rendell budget that raised the state income tax in 2003, or the legalization of slot machine gambling in 2004.

In its place is the so-called Hastert rule, named for the former U.S. Speaker of the House, that says you only move forward with those bills or policy initiatives supported by the majority of the majority.

But there's more to it than that.

Longtime members say today's leaders, in all caucuses, simply don't have the tools or leverage that used to be available to get someone to "want" to support a controversial measure.

"They can't help you as much, nor can they hurt you as much as the leaders in the past could," said Rep. John Taylor, a Republican from Philadelphia who has seen several leadership regimes since coming to the House in 1985. As a result, "They're less leaders, and they're more like the people who run a Quaker meeting, looking for consensus."

Part of that, several observers noted, is that there simply isn't as much "walking around money" for home district projects in the state budget as there used to be - Turzai has been a leader of the efforts to tighten those purse strings.

The other part is there aren't as many members who want that pork; they ran on stopping that kind of transactional government and they are immune to the temptation.

The flip side of that is the caucus is undeniably harder to govern and deliver votes on hard issues.

And that's only amplified with a first-year majority leader like Dave Reed, R-Indiana, who appears to still be building his own sense of where his caucus can go on bipartisan deals.

At several points in this budget cycle, Reed has pledged to work with Wolf toward a particular agreement, only to later concede that he couldn't find the votes in his caucus.

"We're in an era where it's more the soldiers dictating to the generals now," said Taylor.

But is that a bad thing?

Not in the eyes of many of the newer members.

What they see is a caucus that is proudly representative of the constituent on Main Street.

"I think the people can see that their voice is being heard here in Harrisburg and their representative is doing his or her best to represent the district they were elected from," said Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver.

The enforcers.

Another factor is the emergence of outside interest groups like the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania that have actively pledged to elect more doctrinaire Republicans to replace those who stray from their definition of party principles.

CAP Executive Director Leo Knepper says his political action committee has helped elect about 14 GOP House members in the past few election cycles, and claims relationships with about 16 more.

Always on the lookout for opportunities to either replace Democrats or "Republicans-in-name-only," he said his group may play in six to 10 seats in 2016 as they try to build their own "majority of the majority."

That's a stark contrast to the last period of divided government in PA, when the bigger external factor for many House Republicans, was picking a fight with Rendell.

At that time, Rendell's onetime chief of staff Steve Crawford said, Republicans from the southeast would go along with a deal because they didn't want to find themselves on the wrong side of the former Philadelphia mayor's immense personal popularity.

In 2016, Wolf's proposed tax hikes - and the groups opposing them - have been a galvanizing force in the opposite direction.

That appears to have emboldened arch-conservatives in the House Republican caucus, who - if not a controlling majority per se - may be its most unified bloc.

Especially when matched against Wolf.

With Republican Corbett, some explained, the arguments were over what type of pension or liquor reforms to do, or where to cut spending.

Those arguments weren't always resolved, but at least it was never open warfare because everybody shared the same general goals - including no tax increases.

Not so with Wolf, who sought major new tax increases in his initial budget.

"This governor's asking for things that many of us are never going to vote for," explained Rep. Steve Bloom, R-North Middleton Twp.

The end game problem.

The part no one has figured out yet is how this devotion to principle ends.

Some legislators and staffers from other caucuses have argued that the House GOP's hard-liner tendencies fly in the face of the reality that Democrat Wolf is going to be the governor for about 1,100 more days.

Senate Republicans, in particular, say they've accepted that reality.

They argue their deal reaches the best accommodation possible by marrying new taxes to a clear attack on one of the root causes of the state's structural deficit, ballooning pension costs.

As Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County, put it on Dec. 7 after that chamber passed the $30.8 billion, framework budget on a 43-7 vote: "Eventually, we are judged by our results. It's nice to be for something, but if you never get anything passed and signed, what good are you?"

Knepper, of CAP, counters the good lies in looking for other ways than taxes to balance the state's budget, like ending tax credits to Hollywood film producers, cutting the hundreds of millions of dollars in fees paid to external managers of pension fund investments, or eliminating a proposed $100 million increase in state economic development initiatives.

To many in the present-day House GOP caucus, that is always a noble effort.

Some House moderates admit to a grudging admiration for their arch-conservative brethen. They're just not sure they're in the right line of work.

"I appreciate their principles, and they do believe what they're saying," said Taylor, the Philadelphia Republican who helped knit together the two dozen or so Republicans who were considering the framework budget last month.

But Taylor added that such strong adherence to beliefs, to him, fits better in other facets of life, like one's religious faith, rather than the sausage-making that government can often be.

"It's tough being in the business of problem-solving when you're that firm."
In the past I have written a few times about British Raj's policies during the colonization of India (now South Asia) from 1757 to 1947.When the East India Company (EIC) colonized Bengal (today's Bangladesh and its adjacent territories in India), Bengal was probably the richest country in the world with a population that had enough of every thing with a GDP that was higher than many countries of Europe, including England. Unfortunately, when the British left India, Bengal (or East Pakistan, in particular, which was later to become Bangladesh) became a very province. Why?When the EIC took control over India, the latter had a population of 155 million. However, when the British left in 1947 after some 190 years of colonization, the population grew to only 355 million, reflecting an annual growth rate of only 0.49%. Now South Asia has a total population of 1.6 billion, while the people are poor. Since 1947, South Asia's population has grown annually by 2.1% in spite of poverty. How does one explain this phenomena? Was there a concerted effort by the colonizers to depopulate India?Ramrtanu Maitra, like me, believes so. Here is his piece - British Colonials Starved to Death 60 million-plus Indians, But, Why?, which can be seen by clicking
FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2014, file photo, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings arrives for the 'Netflix' Launch Party in Paris. Hastings made the surprise announcement at the end of a presentation Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas at CES, a showcase for gadgets and technology services. Netflix has begun streaming its Internet video service in 130 more countries, nearly completing its expansion a year ahead of schedule. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
Helen Knott, shown in this undated handout photo, a member of the northeastern British Columbia's Prophet River First Nation, is among those protesting the construction of the $9-billion Site C hydroelectric project. A protest camp has been set up at Rocky Mountain Fort, the former site of a North West Company fur-trading post established in 1794 on the west side of the Moberly River, near Fort St. John. Protesters say they are willing to be arrested. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Helen Knott
South Korean army soldiers patrol by the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang's quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Caesar Goodson, right, arrives at Courthouse East on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Baltimore. Circuit Judge Barry Williams is holding a motions hearing Wednesday ahead of the trial for Goodson, who drove the police transport van where Freddie Gray was critically injured. Prosecutors want William Porter, whose trial ended in a mistrial last month, to testify against Goodson and Sgt. Alicia White. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP) WASHINGTON EXAMINER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Royal schoolboys times two!

As Prince George confidently strode into his first day of nursery school at the Westacre Montessori School in Norfolk, memories of dad Prince Williams very first day of school in 1985 sprang to mind.

Looking back at Williams first day at the private Mrs. Mynors Nursery School in London, both princes share golden hair, full, rosy cheeks and the perfect first-day outfit, but theres no denying that George, 2, appears to be more excited for his big adventure, judging by the tiny frown on young Willams face!

[IMAGE 1  std ]That could be due to the fact that William, who was three at the time, was surrounded by dozens of cameras and reporters outside of his west London school, while the only camera pointing at George outside his country school was his moms.

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But both princes had successful first days. William was said to have settled in and quite liked it, according to his teacher Mrs. Mynor. And a palace source tells PEOPLE that Georges day went well.

And not to be outdone, Prince Harry made a memorable entrance on his first day of school, smiling and waving to photographers as he excitedly ran down the steps to his classroom. Hours later, he left the school holding a handmade pair of binoculars, which he pointed directly at the crowd of reporters!
Public safety millage up for vote in Harbor Springs

The Harbor Springs millage request seeks 1 additional mill for a period of five years dedicated for the purpose of police and public safety needs.
The report highlights the challenges in the energy sector and the progress made in addressing short-term issues and Europes long-term climate goals.
, three oil blocks winner to partner with Pemex



Canada's Renaissance Oil eyes onshore joint venture With Pemex

MEXICO DF

Petroleumworld.com 01 07 2016

Renaissance Oil Corp, the first Canadian company to win a private oil auction in Mexico, is looking to partner with state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos in its efforts to reverse an 11-year decline in the nation's oil production.

Renaissance Oil, the British Columbia-based onshore producer, is making great strides toward cementing an agreement with Pemex to jointly develop mature onshore fields, Craig Steinke, the company's chief executive officer, said yesterday in a phone interview from Mexico City.

Pemex is seeking upstream partnerships, or farm-outs, this year to improve output in mature fields and areas where the company lacks the ability or capital to maximize production, Rodolfo Campos, the company's treasurer, said in a Dec. 23 phone interview. Pemex's oil production has fallen more than 1.1 million daily barrels since 2004.

Pemex has a lot of very interesting, very prolific conventional opportunities that it needs joint-venture partners to help to develop, Steinke said. That's an area where Renaissance intends on participating.

Renaissance won rights in Mexico's Dec. 15 oil auction to develop three onshore fields in the southern Chiapas state that contain an estimated daily production of 650 barrels of medium to light oil and natural gas liquids, according to the company. December's auction was the third event held by the country, resulting in 25 contracts being awarded to the 40 companies that participated, including explorers from Mexico, Canada, the U.S. and the Netherlands.

Renaissance, which was co-founded by Goldcorp Inc. Chairman Ian Telfer, considers Mexico as one of the top three places in world to be exploring for oil and gas, Steinke said.

Mexico has a world-class hydrocarbon resource base and they haven't even scratched the surface on the unconventional side, Steinke said. It's been underdeveloped over the last 80 years as a result of nationalizing the industry. It's a fantastic opportunity for us.






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ADAM BILLINGHURST

What was the first year you attended/worked/rode at Rampage?

How many years have you been involved with building at Rampage?

What is your favourite thing about building at Rampage?

What is your least favourite thing about building at Rampage?

Do you feel that the 'diggers' that help out at Rampage is a good or bad thing? Has Rampage lost its raw big mountain feel?

Do you think there needs to be more or less pre-built features?

Which rider do you feel had the most difficult line this year?

Which rider were you most impressed with this year?

In your opinion who had the best run?

Final words, thoughts or comments?

RANDY SPANGLER

What was the first year you attended/worked/rode at Rampage?

How many years have you been involved with building at Rampage?

What is your favourite thing about building at Rampage?

What is your least favourite thing about building at Rampage?

Do you feel that the 'diggers' that help out at Rampage is a good or bad thing? Has Rampage lost its raw big mountain feel?

Do you think there needs to be more or less pre-built features?

Which rider do you feel had the most difficult line this year?

Which rider were you most impressed with this year?

In your opinion who had the best run?

Final words, thoughts or comments?

MIKE FUCCI

What was the first year you attended/worked/rode at Rampage?

How many years have you been involved with building at Rampage?

What is your favourite thing about building at Rampage?

What is your least favourite thing about building at Rampage?

Do you feel that the 'diggers' that help out at Rampage is a good or bad thing? Has Rampage lost its raw big mountain feel?

Do you think there needs to be more or less pre-built features?

Which rider do you feel had the most difficult line this year?

Which rider were you most impressed with this year?

In your opinion who had the best run?

Final words, thoughts or comments?

ROBBIE BOURDON

What was the first year you attended/worked/rode at Rampage?

How many years have you been involved with building at Rampage?

What is your favourite thing about building at Rampage?

What is your least favourite thing about building at Rampage?

Do you feel that the 'diggers' that help out at Rampage is a good or bad thing? Has Rampage lost its raw big mountain feel?

Do you think there needs to be more or less pre-built features?

Which rider do you feel had the most difficult line this year?

Which rider were you most impressed with this year?

In your opinion who had the best run?

Final words, thoughts or comments?

DAVE SMUTOK

What was the first year you attended/worked/rode at Rampage?

How many years have you been involved with building at Rampage?

What is your favourite thing about building at Rampage?

What is your least favourite thing about building at Rampage?

Do you feel that the 'diggers' that help out at Rampage is a good or bad thing? Has Rampage lost its raw big mountain feel?

Do you think there needs to be more or less pre-built features?

Which rider do you feel had the most difficult line this year?

Which rider were you most impressed with this year?

In your opinion who had the best run?

They are the first ones to show up and the last ones to leave. They know the terrain better than anyone else. They have spent more time on the mountain and they know how dangerous every little nook and cranny can be. They know how to survive out there; working in the heat for long hours. And they know how to build massive jumps, carve lines, and pack trannies. They are the Red Bull Rampage Build Crew.A couple of them are past competitors (one was even on the podium at the very first Rampage back in 2001) and some of them travel the world building trails and pump tracks for the biggest and best mountain bike parks. When the weather threat pushed Finals to Friday, I found myself hanging out with the build crew at 'El Builder Rancho' with my spare time. After an impromptu celebration for the riders on Friday night, Saturday was a pretty interesting day at the ranch, no one did much of anything...all day. A couple of the guys drove to the site to make sure everything was okay, Adam laid on the couch, Robbie made a steak dinner, but overall it was a well deserved day off after weeks of toiling in the desert. I took this time to ask some questions that I thought would give some perspective to just who it is building these 75' canyon gaps and what they love about the greatest mountain bike show on earth.Age: 36Hometown: Bracebridge, OntarioCurrent: Whistler, British ColumbiaFirst year for me was 2008 working with Big Red Ted and Kenny Smith.I have been on the Rampage build crew every year since 2008. (6 years)Favourite thing is being part of the best mountain bike event on the planet.Least favourite thing is building something that could seriously injure a rider or worse.The diggers are absolutely a good thing. They build this event more than we do. We'd be back in 2004 without them. If you think it's lost it's big mountain feel you've clearly never stood on the start deck.I think there is a good amount of pre-built features. If the next venue is bigger than the current one there may even be room for 1 or 2 more. Every rider that has won since '08 has ridden a pre-built feature.Nico Vink's line was pure insanity, but there are so many 'most difficult' lines.I'm impressed by so many riders there. I don't think I could pick one single person.I think Brandon had the best run.I really hope this event continues. It is the best mountain bike event. Several things need to change for it to happen again, but they are all possible. I'm proud to be a part of it and hope to be there again.Age: 48Hometown: Auburn, CaliforniaCurrent: Nor Cal, above SacramentoThe first year 2001. I attended and rode; placed 6th.I feel I've been helping build Rampage since the beginning (metaphorically), in the sense of verbal out reach to people, the videos that have come out, mag shots, etc. I feel everyone that has been involved has helped build Rampage in their own way along the way.Knowing that I have been selected to help build at an event that pushes new limits and progression to the next level.For me, my least favourite part of Rampage is knowing that it's only for a few weeks.Riders having dig crews is good and bad. The positive: your friends are out there keeping you pumped and focused to ride, keeping your energy up to finish your line. I like seeing how creative some of the builders attack and achieve their visions. The negative: you start to see some lines become too overly buffed out and some of the raw or gnar goes away.This started as a big mountain event and needs to stay that way in some aspects.The pre-built features are now in places for access points within the course. If we didn't have them in place, riders would be [more] limited on their line choice.I can't just go with one; Nico Vink and Cam Zink. Must be the 'ink'.Probably Sam Reynolds, seems like he changed up his big mountain game this year. For his first year at Rampage he had a good showing.I think this answer needs to refer to a judging questionnaire.I've been super lucky to have been involved with this thing we call Rampage, love seeing what it's done for our sport and all the friends I've made from something I really enjoy doing. Thanks to Todd Barber and RedBull for making this bad ass event happen.Age: 37Hometown: Hempstead, New YorkCurrent: Lake Tahoe, California2004 was the first time I saw the glory of the Rampage site.2008 was the first year Todd got me a black wristband; I got to help Pondella hike camera gear around and help random riders dig. I've been involved with the official build crew since 2009.My favourite thing about building Rampage, among many, is working in relatively cooperative earth surrounded by mind-numbing grandeur.Least favourite thing is watching people get owned on things you helped build. Luckily it is far and few between.The digger question is hard to answer, I think the riders should be more on their own to kick in lines between features we build.I think we need to build more. Three zones worth of equal scoring features with the riders choosing their own lines to link everything together.Zink had the most difficult line for sure, but that isn't the only criteria in this event.Andreu's line and run was the most impressive. Blowing shit up literally.Andreu had the best run for sure.Rampage should always be held in the highest regards, and spoken about with accelerated heart rates. It has made so many riders careers and truly is the premier event to showcase the progression of the sport. There would be a hole in a lot of peoples lives without it. Hope the world is well.Age: 34Hometown: Nelson, British ColumbiaCurrent: Nelson, British ColumbiaRode in the first Rampage, it was an unknown event and I had no idea what I was in for, pretty much no one did, we were just figuring it out. Worked out though; I got 3rd place.Started officially building the first year of the Oakley sender, me and my brother Dennis built the tower.The best part of the build is just being out there with a good crew and makin' shit happen.There's really no bad part for me.They are good and bad in my opinion, I just think that there are to many diggers and too much actual dig time. There are no raw lines anymore, it's all like packed wide trails. Lame!I think what were doing now is a good amount of features.Too many to name.Antoine Biset, he was definitely goin' for it.So many close runs, it's crazy, I couldn't decide who should have first.If we lose this contest, big mountain comps will be done, there's nothing that matches it. It's all just slopestyle comps and big jump contests. Rampage is what mountain bikes are made for!Age: 33Hometown: Northfield, New Hampshire (Highland MTB Park)Current: Olympia, WashingtonI was asked to be a judge in 2012, that was my first year attending Rampage.I have been building for 2 years.One of my favourite parts about building Rampage has to be just being in the dessert day in and day out from long before the event until after everything is torn down and gone, the cycle is really cool. Also, building features and seeing what the best riders in the world can do on them is pretty special.Watching crashes and tear down.I think that the diggers are paramount in the progression of Rampage and what the riders are able to create and ride in the time frame of the event.I think the few features spread out toward the bottom of the course works well. The features are designed and placed on the course to try and accommodate all of the athletes.I think Vinks upper line was the most difficult I have ever seen and some may think that it wasnt possible, but I think if he dialled in his landing a little more he could land it.I was impressed with the usual powerhouses, they all seemed to step up their lines and I thought the Rampage rookies rode really well too.I am not sure who had the single best run, I feel like the top 6 all had winning runs but there has to be a 1st and a 6th.
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Emma presented experimental evidence for the role of microporosityempty space between adjacent grainsin the formation of crystalline vs. amorphous water ice. Using a sophisticated set of experiments, she deposited thin films of amorphous water ice from vapor at 10 K. The angle with respect to the surface on which the thin film was deposited varied in experiments from 070 degrees. This angle is related to the amount of porosity attained by the water ice samples. The samples were then heated to 130140 K to observe the transition of amorphous ice to crystalline ice, and to compare the trends between different flavors of amorphous ices. Emma showed that amorphous ice formed at deposition angle of 70 degrees transitioned to crystalline ice at a rate that was ~14 times faster than in the case of amorphous ice deposited at 0 degrees. In terms of differences in the porosity of these two types of amorphous ice, preliminary estimates indicate ~2.5x higher porosity for ice deposited at 70 degrees angles. Thus, it seems that higher porosity amorphous ice could rapidly transition to crystalline ice, making it more common at lower temperatures than is generally expected. Emma continues to refine her estimates. I eagerly await her publication. :)

In case you're wondering about the possible scientific implications for finding crystalline vs. amorphous ice, I could chip in with my two cents (a little bit of an advertisement!). At the conference, we presented our work focusing on the remote-sensing-based analysis of water-ice particles in Enceladus plume. We are consistently finding that these water ice particles are crystalline in nature, which implies that they formed at warmer temperatures (likely above 130 K). Since the water-ice particles are samples from the interior of Enceladus and are being observed almost instantaneously, the predicted warmer temperatures are representative of the subsurface temperatures where the water-ice particles are being formed. Thats an important insight. In addition, the higher temperature prediction also has a bearing on the likely formation process for these water-ice particles.

Continuing our dialog of the planetary ices, let's now jump to spacecraft observations of icy moons. However, the focus here is on components that are non-icy (i.e., rock). It has long been speculated that several of the icy moonsincluding Europa, Enceladus and Iapetusalso have non-icy components on their surfaces. However, the precise detection of these components has proven to be a hard task due to several complexities, including reproducing the environments that likely exist at these moons. From an observational standpoint, the instrument capabilities are, at times, not well-suited to identify the spectral signatures of predicted components. And sometimes there are just too many possibilities that could explain the observed signatures.

Cindy Young from Georgia Tech and her colleagues tried approaching this problem by looking at the icy bodies at a different wavelength range than is conventionally used. She utilized data from Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument onboard Cassini to probe the signatures of icy moons in the mid-infrared range (6001400 cm-1 in the context of CIRS measurements). Her work has led to the identification of an emission spectral feature at 855 cm-1 along with a possible doublet feature around 660 and 690 cm-1. These features originate from the enigmatic dark region of Iapetus, one of Saturns icy moons. Cindy highlighted the fact that due to insufficient measurements of silicates under conditions prevalent on the icy moons, unique identification of a spectral signature is a challenge. This is because the spectral signature of materials can vary depending on the ambient conditions. However, based on their laboratory measurements under vacuum and at 125 K, muscovite (a clay mineral) is the closest match to the observed spectral signatures on Iapetus, making it a strong candidate. However, more work is required to tie this detection uniquely to muscovite. This is however the first time that spectral features have been isolated based on CIRS observations of Saturn's icy moons. In addition, a strong case has been made for the detection of silicates on icy bodies, which has been speculated for a long time. Its an important finding since the composition of the dark material would provide further clues to its origin and possibly the surface evolution of icy bodies over time.

The astounding diversity of planetary processes across the solar system collectively defines the rhythm of space. Which component of this rhythm resonates with you?
Out and About Audio Article Atascosa County Anti-Bullying Rally Oct. 19 Poteet Strawberry Festival grounds, main pavilion, 6-8 p.m. Guest speaker Batman & Co. and...

JISD Supt. McAllister announces retirement Audio Article The retirement of Jourdanton ISD Superintendent Theresa McAllister was announced at the meeting of the school board held on Oct....
Global Poker Index: Fedor Holz Makes Top Five; Byron Kaverman Leads

January 07, 2016 Martin Harris

Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a players results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website. Heres a look at the rankings as of January 6, 2016.

GPI Player of the Year

As we reported last week, Byron Kaverman finished December as the 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year in a tight race that saw him manage to hold off Anthony Zinno (who finished second), Steve ODwyer (third), and Nick Petrangelo (fourth).

Meanwhile the race for the 2016 Global Poker Index Player of the Year has already begun. Well begin reporting on that one soon once the first events of the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure complete.

Kaverman isnt necessarily looking to repeat his POY performance from last year, however, as he explained to us yesterday. Read what he had to say in GPI Player of the Year Byron Kaverman Says He's Not Looking To Repeat in 2016.

GPI 300 Top 10

Rank Player GPI Score Change 1 Byron Kaverman 4081.07 - 2 Steve ODwyer 3980.77 - 3 Anthony Zinno 3955.44 - 4 Nick Petrangelo 3955.15 - 5 Fedor Holz 3838.53 +4 6 Jason Mercier 3749.69 - 7 Kevin MacPhee 3693.49 -2 8 Bryn Kenney 3660.04 - 9 Martin Finger 3644.60 -2 10 David Peters 3636.17 +4

Kaverman also ended 2015 as the leader in the overall GPI rankings, and he continues to hold onto the No. 1 spot for the first week of 2015, making it 14 straight weeks in front. There was some movement among those in the top 10 during the first week of the year thanks primarily to the Triton Super High Roller Series $200,000 Cali Cup that played out last weekend as part of the World Poker Tour Philippines stop in Manila.

Fedor Holz ended 2015 winning the $100K buy-in WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas event at the Bellagio, and he began 2016 in similar fashion by winning the Trition SHR for a cool $3.463 million first prize. Holz topped a 52-entry field in that event, and earned enough GPI points as a result to jump from No. 9 to No. 5 in the overall rankings. Holz first cracked the GPI top 10 three weeks ago, with No. 5 representing his highest ranking thus far.

Runner-up David Peters likewise benefitted both financially (earning $2.309 million for second) and GPI points-wise as he moved from No. 14 to No. 10 this week. Peterss highest previous GPI ranking has been No. 5 (in late 2013).

Welcome to the GPI Top 300

Rank Player Total Score 271 Jonathan Karamalikis 1687.91 273 Seth Berger 1686.88 279 Anton Wigg 1667.56 281 Noah Schwartz 1662.80 282 Hui Chen-Kuo 1662.51 288 Nikolaus Teichert 1651.38 290 Vlado Banicevic 1650.06 292 Eugene Katchalov 1644.29 294 Giuliano Bendinelli 1642.55 295 Phil Laak 1633.37 297 Emrah Cakmak 1626.17 298 Mayu Roca 1619.23 299 Michael Linster 1618.66 300 Michael Telker 1614.66

There are 14 new names in the GPI top 300 compared to a week ago, with Jonathan Karamalikis the highest-ranked of the group after moving up from No. 304 to No. 271.

Eugene Katchalov also jumps back into the top 300 after being out for just a week. His No. 317 ranking a week ago marked the first time since the rankings began in 2011 that he was not in the top 300. Katchalovs highest-ever ranking has been No. 2 (in October 2011).

Biggest Gains

Rank Player Total GPI Score Change 125 Daniel Colman 2175.43 +78 140 Jens Lakemeier 2069.78 +67 230 John Holley 1791.54 +53 238 Je Wook Oh 1773.52 +53 202 Yingui Li 1868.06 +49

2014 Global Poker Index Player of the Year Daniel Colman starts off the year as the biggest gainer among players in the top 300, having jumped from No. 203 to No. 125 thanks to his sixth-place showing in the Triton Super High Roller Series $200,000 Cali Cup.

Biggest Drops

Rank Player Total GPI Score Change 296 Matt Waxman 1626.79 -110 218 Upeshka De Silva 1815.19 -74 165 Brian Hastings 1989.32 -64 277 Nick Yunis 1677.67 -62 207 Matthew Stout 1855.54 -60

Finally, looking at those who fell the furthest yet remained inside the top 300 this week, Matt Waxman took the biggest tumble, going from No. 186 to No. 296.

Incidentally, among players tumbling out of the GPI top 300 to start the year are Phil Hellmuth (who fell from No. 236 to No. 329), Martin Jacobson (from No. 273 to No. 352), and JC Tran (from No. 286 to No. 379).

What to Expect Next Week

As noted, the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is underway with the $100,000 Super High Roller kicking off the 104-event series in a big way yesterday. Of the 49 entries in that one, eight of the current top 10 players in the GPI took part, with Nick Petrangelo (No. 4), Bryn Kenney (No. 8), and David Peters (No. 10) all returning to big stacks to start todays Day 2.

Be sure to follow PokerNews live reporting from the $100,000 Super High Roller here, and stick close as well over the next week-plus for coverage of the $5,300 Main Event, the $50,000 Single-Day High Roller, and the $25,000 High Roller.

To view both the 2015 Player of the Year and GPI overall rankings in their entirety, visit the official GPI website. While youre at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.
David Hoffman (Photo: Knox County Sheriff)

Authorities say a man sought after assaulting and disarming a police officer shot himself as officers tried to arrest him on the Santee Sioux Indian Reservation in northeast Nebraska.

Authorities say David Hoffman refused to surrender when found on the reservation Wednesday. He was taken to a local hospital where he died. FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault says no officers were injured.

The search began Tuesday afternoon after a Niobrara police officer tried to arrest Hoffman on a Knox County warrant alleging burglary and theft, KETV reports.
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The Baltimore prosecutors bringing criminal charges against the officers involved in the death of Freddy Gray won an important victory today. The trial judge ruled that Officer William G. Porter, who is awaiting retrial, will have to testify against colleagues who also are charged in the Gray matter.

Porter had argued that the Fifth Amendment gives him the right not to testify, inasmuch as he is still in legal jeopardy and his testimony might tend to incriminate him. The Baltimore prosecutors will be barred from using Porters testimony against him at his retrial. However, the feds are still considering bringing a case against Porter and his attorneys expressed concern that his testimony as a witness in Baltimore Circuit Court could be used against him if he is charged in U.S. District Court.

They also contend that it will be impossible for the Baltimore prosecutors to remove from their minds any new information they hear from Porter on the stand during other trials. The judge, Barry Williams, basically agreed. He stated that if Porter does take the stand against others, it will be nigh impossible to prove that his testimony would not have an impact on his retrial. He nonetheless ruled that Porter must testify in other cases, and said that it will be the prosecutions burden in his proceeding to show the nigh impossible  namely that their case against Porter isnt tainted by what he said in prior cases.

Judge Williams admitted that no precedent supports his decision. He stated hes in uncharted waters. Local legal experts interviewed by the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post agree.

Porters attorneys are seeking an injunction at the appeals court level against this ruling. The trial of Caesar Goodson, at which Porter will be called to testify, is set to begin next Monday. However, it might be delayed as a result of Porters appeal to the higher court.

Goodson is the officer who drove the van in which Gray suffered injury. He is the only officer charged with murder  second-degree depraved-heart murder.

The prosecutors apparently will argue that Goodson deliberately gave Gray a rough ride to teach him a lesson (or whatever). In theory, this might enable them to show the kind of intentional action needed to help sustain the murder charge.

Judge Williams has ruled that the prosecution can use testimony from a retired Baltimore police officer about retaliatory prisoner transportation practices. According to the Baltimore Sun, this witness is expected to testify about his familiarity with rough rides and about any training officers receive regarding proper prisoner transportation practices, including information about the potential for injury associated with rough rides.

Im not a criminal lawyer. For what little its worth, however, I would have thought that such testimony should be permitted only if the prosecution first presents credible evidence that Gray actually received a rough ride. Absent such a showing, training would seem to be irrelevant and evidence that officers sometimes are abusive both irrelevant and prejudicial.

Looking at the big picture, I wonder whether justice may be getting a rough ride from politically motivated prosecutors and a judge who arguably is making their job easier than it should be.
During my time at law school, I had to good fortune to study under a great scholar of the Constitution, rather than, say, a glib community organizer. That scholar was Gerald Gunther.

Gunther was born in Germany in 1927. His Jewish family had deep roots in Germany, and Gunther said they were reluctant to leave even as the Nazi government increasingly oppressed Jews. Young Gunther, unaffected by tradition, had no difficulty assessing the situation, and was hugely relieved when his family finally left for America in 1938.

In the early 1970s, Gunther visited Germany as a feted scholar to lecture on constitutional matters. When he returned to California, we asked him about his trip.

Gunther replied that the trip was fine and that the Germans couldnt have been nicer to him. He added, however, that they still dont really understand the concept of free speech.

More than 40 years later, the problem endures. The German government faces growing opposition to, and revulsion towards, a policy that suddenly has produced the mass influx of Muslim immigrants, including more than a few criminals. It has responded by, in the words of the Washington Post (paper edition), trying to enforce civility. The government is doing this by investigating and punishing inflammatory comments about immigrants.

The government has doled out fines and probation to people for engaging in such speech. It has also reached deals with Facebook, Twitter, and Google to have these outlets remove offensive posts.

The Post says that Germany is cracking down on hate speech with an eye to its Nazi past. But it ignores a key part of that past  the suppression of dissent. Germany hardly repudiates its past when the government curbs the right of citizens to express vitriolically their disgust at government policies and their consequences.

Many Germans, including some on the left, understand this:

Stefan Korner, chairman of Germanys liberal Pirate Party, argued that democracies must be able to bear a measure of xenophobia. He condemned the governments deal with social media outlets to get tougher on offensive speech, saying that surely it will lead to too many rather than too few comments being blocked. This is creeping censorship, and we definitely dont want that.

Unfortunately, governments often want precisely that.

According to the Post, Germans can face incitement charges for comments aimed at creating hostile feelings against a particular race. Speech that strongly denounces the wave of rape apparently perpetrated by Muslims on New Years Eve and connects this criminality to the Muslims and immigrant perpetrators, and/or to the government policy through which they entered the country, could be deemed to fit this definition. Suppressing such speech should be unacceptable.

The Posts article provides only a limited sense of what speech actually is being suppressed. Heres one example, though:

In the town of Wismar in northeastern Germany, for instance, a judge in October sentenced a 26-year-old man to five months probation and a 300 euro fine after the man had posted on his Facebook page that refugees should burn alive or drown in the Mediterranean.

This comment is awful, but not much different than what Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel once said of Matt Drudge. In a free country, it shouldnt be fined or otherwise punished by the government.

In another case:

The home of a 26-year-old Berlin man was raided by police, who confiscated his computer and phones after he had posted the tragic image of the dead 3-year-old Syrian boy whose body on a Turkish beach became a symbol of the refugee crisis. Along with the photo, he had posted: We are not mourning, we are celebrating!

The comment is deplorable. However, it should be unacceptable for the police to tell citizens what they must mourn and what they cannot celebrate, or to prohibit the expression of views on such matters. In a free country, speech crosses the legal line when it advocates violence, not before.

In her New Years speech, Chancellor Merkel told Germans they should not listen to those with coldness, or even hate in their hearts, and who claim the right to be called German for themselves alone and seek to marginalize others. Thats fine. But Merkel goes a dangerous step further when she employs censorship to ensure that Germans cant listen to these people.

This basic understanding of free speech is still lacking 80-plus years after the rise of Hitler and 40-plus years after Gerald Gunthers return to Germany.
In a coda to the New Years Eve rampages in Cologne and elsewhere in Germany that Scott and I wrote about here and here, a leaked police report describing the outrages that occurred in Cologne has been published in the German press. The Telegraph reports:

Ministers have said there is no evidence asylum seekers were involved in the violence. But the leaked police report, published in Bild newspaper and Spiegel, a news magazine, claims that one of those involved told officers: I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly. Mrs Merkel invited me.

Authorities initially lied, claiming there was no evidence that asylum seekers were involved in the sexual assaults and robberies. But that is plainly untrue:

The newspaper quoted a second police officer as confirming the 15 who were held had residence permits for the asylum procedure. Officers took down their names, and they are in the police records, he said. If confirmed, the report will add new weight to claims of a police cover-up. The Cologne authorities have claimed they have no evidence whether asylum-seekers were involved.

More than 150 women have now filed criminal complaints alleging sexual assault and/or robbery. Two have said that they were raped.

In an unrelated incident that also occurred on New Years Eve, three Syrians have been arrested for gang raping a teenage girl in southern Germany.
Im disappointed that Ted Cruz has been describing as neocons some of the people whose foreign policy views dont align with those he professes. Jonah Goldberg has called him out on this practice.

Throwing the neocon label around isnt an argument; its name-calling. Cruz argues well enough that he shouldnt have to rely on name-calling. It must have gone over well with focus groups.

Name-calling is bad enough. To make matters worse, as Goldberg explains, the name doesnt really fit the view Cruz disagrees with  support of military intervention to bring about regime change.

Goldberg says that neoconservatism is a product of the Cold War. But his article suggests that it is actually the product of a debate over domestic policy.

As I understand it, neoconservatism is the product of the rise of the New Left and the failure of President Johnsons Great Society. The New Left was a movement of juveniles (including me). It left more mature leftists with two obvious alternatives: first, embrace the New Left and have a second childhood; second, applaud the spirit of the New Left but reject its more outrageous tactics and flirtation with the likes of Chairman Mao, and double down on democratic socialism.

Neoconservatives rejected both alternatives. They were appalled by the spirit of movement with a clear totalitarian strain (manifested, for example, by attacks on academic freedom). In addition, the Great Society experiment, animated in part by the thinking of democratic socialists like Michael Harrington, helped move them well to the right of their socialist former comrades.

Goldberg reminds us that the most important early neoconservative foreign policy manifesto  Jeane Kirkpatricks famous 1979 article in Commentary  was a brief against democracy promotion in authoritarian states friendly to the U.S. Moreover, Kirkpatrick was not a supporter of the war waged by President George W. Bush in Iraq. Indeed, she said she had serious reservations about it.

Its true, of course, the most neoconservatives supported that war, in many cases avidly. But the decision to invade Iraq was not made by neoconservatives, and neither was the decision to remain in post-invasion Iraq rather than get the heck out (as Cruz likes to say). Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld were not part of the neoconservative movement. As for the Congress that voted to authorize war, only a handful of members were.

Neoonservatives (by now referred to, disdainfully and even venomously, as neocons by people who knew little about the movement) became scapegoats for the war. In part, as Goldberg says, this was because they continued to defend it and, above all, advocate that we win it. Some neocons pushed for the successful Iraq surge of 2007. For this, they should be commended.

What was Ted Cruzs position, if any, on the surge? What is his position on it in retrospect?

Today, Cruzs position on the general issue of U.S. intervention is:

[I]f and when were required to use military force, it should be with a clearly defined objective. It should be with overwhelming force, and then we should get the heck out. It is not the job of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines to transform foreign nations into democratic utopias. Its [their] job to hunt down and kill terrorists who want to murder Americans before they can carry out jihad.

I dont know of any neoconservatives who argue in favor intervention without a clearly defined objective and overwhelming force. As for how quickly we should get out, Im not sure there is a neoconservative position. Most, perhaps, would say that this depends on the facts on the ground, the strategic importance of the country at issue, and so forth.

Reasonable people, including reasonable neoconservatives, can and do disagree on foreign policy issues like this one. For example, Bret Stephens, often labeled a neoconservative, argues that the U.S. should intervene in trouble spots but shouldnt spread the gospel of the American way or try to change hearts and minds. Democracy promotion appears to be no part of his agenda.

Thats why I agree with Goldberg that its time to give the neocon label a comfortable retirement. Alternatively, its time to retire cartoonish use of the label, such as that in which Ted Cruz indulges.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday night arrested a former military governor of Kaduna State and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Lawal Jafaru Isa.

Mr. Isa is the first chieftain of the APC arrested by the EFCC since the beginning of a sweeping probe into the alleged diversion of $2.1 billion meant for arms purchase by officials of the immediate-past administration.

Mr. Isa, Military Administrator of Kaduna State from December 1993 to August 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha and one-time governorship candidate of the defunct CPC in Kano State, is a close friend of the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

Mr. Isa, also a close political associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, was arrested at his Abuja residence located at Ajayi Crowther Street, Asokoro.

A witness told PREMIUM TIMES that operatives of the anti-graft commission invaded his residence around 9pm, and then whisked him away a few minutes later.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr. Isa, a retired brigadier general, was invited last week to appear before the commission on Wednesday (yesterday) to clear the air on some questionable receipts from the former NSA.

Investigators believe the retired soldier received over N100million from Mr. Dasuki.

Rather than honouring the invitation, sources said, Mr. Isa wrote a letter to the EFCC through his lawyer, seeking a postponement of his appearance date on the grounds of death of a relative.

Apparently dissatisfied with his excuse, the EFCC however arrested him to clarify the questionable receipts.

The spokesperson of the EFCC, Wilson Ujuwaren, could not be reached Thursday morning for comments on the arrest.

But a top official of the commission confirmed the development.

He has been wasting our time, and we just have to pick him up for our investigation to continue, the official said.
Twenty-four hours after completing his tenure, immediate past chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Sam Amadi, spoke with PREMIUM TIMES about his challenges, achievements in office as well as his ambition. In a two parts interview with Business/Economy Editor, BASSEY UDO, Mr. Amadi said he left behind a credible NERC leadership, electricity market.

Excerpts:

PREMIUM TIMES: Your tenure as chairman of NERC ended yesterday. You have come to the point where Nigerians and posterity would pass their verdict. What would you say that would be?

AMADI: I want to write a book. The tentative title of the book is Mission (Un) Accomplished. That means mission either accomplished or unaccomplished, depending on what people choose to see my tenure in office.

I see myself as lucky to have managed the countrys electricity sector when all these reforms were happening. This is a mission accomplished, because I set out to create a credible leadership in NERC and the electricity market; to make NERC an effective regulator capable of accomplishing its regulatory mandate.

Before we came, the Nigerian electricity market was totally without credibility. Former commissioners were hounded out of office on allegation of corruption. Even the Multi-Year Tariffs Order (MYTO) was not being implemented properly.

Clearly, we needed to make a clean break from a NERC that was conflict-ridden, dysfunctional, and lacking in standard procedures and credible processes. That was why NERC was the first to sign on to the Freedom of Information Law.

NERC has remained the only agency to publicly declare the codes of conduct for the commissioners to commit to good conduct, namely zero tolerance for corruption, and good conduct.

We have created a transparent process where resolutions and decisions of the commission are warehoused. So, we achieved the first pillar of creating a clear and transparent regulatory market.

We have also created a regulatory framework for the industry and a step by step process for tariff review. Everybody knows what the rules are, and the ones NERC would follow.

We have succeeded in establishing a credible electricity market. Today, the World Bank and US EXIM Bank say the Nigerian electricity market is the most transparent and credible in Africa, because it is bankable and reliable.

Today, we have licensed over 144 independent power producers capable of generating 32,000 megawatts, MW.

The tariff order, methodology and pricing framework, interconnectivity agreements, grid codes, standard codes and the various embedded generations are now creating more investments in the industry. We have created a local content regulation to promote local participation in service delivery.

We may not achieve reliability, but we have established the framework. We have now de-risked the value chain. Now, we know what to do with gas supply. We have a commercially viable gas price at $2.50 and 80 cents for transport. The regulatory problem of gas pricing has been cured.

Before privatization, the Nigerian DISCOs were bankrupt and unable to pay for the power collected. There was no bulk trader as an off-taker, because the DISCOs were not credit-worthy to buy power. All licenses could not achieve financial closure.

In 2012 the Nigerian Bulk Trader Company was created as a government capitalized owned off-taker to guarantee DISCOs and GENCOs for power supplied.

Today, some of these licensed companies have signed power purchase agreements and built market support instruments  credible tariffs, solid regulatory frameworks, codes standards and footprints of consistency.

There is massive confidence that investors can trust the countrys electricity market and micro-economic fundamental change to re-index.

Again, its mission unaccomplished for me, because we are yet to produce the level of electricity we want, and Nigerians are yet to enjoy a minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply daily.

But in the next three or four years, if the country produces 10,000 MW, I hope somebody would remember that happened because we built a strong foundation for the industry.

PT: Which of these missions posed the most challenge to realize?

AMADI: I would say building an effective and credible NERC; and perhaps, achieving regulatory mandate towards adequacy and reliability.

Three months ago, we set up a task force to improve the electricity market. We wanted to understand the bottlenecks and clear the system. We thought the problem was with gas supply. But when we had gas, generation reached about 5,000MW.

However, there was another problem of load rejection. Because the DISCOs network was frail, available power could not be taken, and the generators could not ramp up power.

The generators had to tell gas suppliers that they could not take all the gas supplied to avoid incurring more liabilities.

Today, the country has lost about 1,000 metric tons of gas when about 4,800 MW was generated few months ago.

For the generators to rapidly improve those networks, they need massive investment of capital. Without financial viability and strong network, sustainable electricity system cannot be guaranteed.

The operators require huge financing, either through funding from financiers or revenue recovery by increased tariffs collection.

PT: But, that would mean extra burden on the consumers?

AMADI: Extra burden? Yes, increased tariff is more pay. But the consumer is paying more to get more value. If we have proper tariff that allows for investment and incentive for efficiency, it will ultimately work for improved services by creating commercial viability.

The first and second years, the tariff by consumers will not pay fully for the investment DISCOs make for service delivery.

But, in the third and fourth year, they will be able to have full recovery of that cost, as the tariff and costs become fully aligned. NERC has benchmarked the tariff within a certain threshold, so that the increase by the DISCOs is reasonable and fair.

The tariff framework imposes obligations on the DISCOs, namely on metering to the customers; no over-estimation. This means that the customer has to pay the last bill, and in case of a dispute, use it as a benchmark till he is fully satisfied with the resolution of the dispute with the operator. That is unlike in the past where the customer was expected to pay his bill or disconnected.

Under the new framework, NERC had said that if after six months the DISCO does not meter the customer, no matter how much improvement on power supply, the consumption would be capped at a charged not beyond a certain amount.

As a regulator, NERC has always argued that fixed charge should not be removed arbitrarily, but through a regulatory process. But, it has discovered that everybody can be on the same page.

Customers have to pay their bills, while DISCOs will not be guaranteed revenue without service. Under the new framework, the revenue of the DISCOs is now tied to 100 per cent availability of electricity supply.

If for its negligence a DISCO allows its transmission line to collapse, it would lose revenue per kilowatt hour for the period that line remains unfixed. This is one of the biggest things NERC has done. It is a big game changer in the electricity market.

In the next two to three years, this will make the DISCOs more efficient; the customers much more comfortable to pay bills, while creating a better relationship between consumers and the operators. This will help the regulator and government introduce much more critical and drastic measures required to move the market to a more efficient level.

PT: Would you say in all sincerity that you have left the industry now better than you met it?

AMADI: NERC has really done excellently well. The indicators are clear. The success of a regulator is measured by its credibility. Nobody in this industry, even if an unfair minded enemy of Sam Amadi, can accuse NERC of corruption. The regulator must not only have integrity, it must live above board.

In the last five years, there is no single evidence of misappropriation, corruption or allegation of abuses. NERC has made big ticket decisions running into billions, particularly in licensing. Nobody can accuse NERC under my leadership of a single whiff of corruption.

PT: What about the multi-billion severance package you and members of the Commission were recently alleged to have approved for yourselves?

AMADI: That allegation and questions about how much one earns are that because there is nothing else to use to tarnish our image. This is what is called tenure battles to achieve hostile takeover, where parties interested in taking over office create unfounded reputation issues to make the shareholders look at the company in certain way, to force management to accept a buy-out.

This is rough tackle tactics. All those hoopla about N2.7 billion, N2.5 billion or N2 billion is because, basically, there was nothing to bring up. The best way for them was to say these guys are fat cats that must be wrestled down by all means.

PT: But, why was it so difficult for you to disclose your pay, if there was nothing to hide?

AMADI: Because we wanted to make a choice between responsible leadership and populism. I am a civil rights activist. When I go on the other side I can do that.

PT: Now that you have crossed over to this other side, can you talk about it now?

AMADI: Yes, if I am on that side fully. But, I cant talk about what people earn. I sympathize with those making that call. It is lazy and unreasonable. In this country, we suffer from three things  lack of rigour and role occupant ethic as well as excessive populism.

If one is a clergyman, there are certain ethical behaviours that go with clergymen. If one is a rock star, there is also a role.

A regulators role is that of reasonability, responsibility and rationality. Why would anybody disclose his salary when it is already in the public domain? In NERCs reports, two copies are sent to the National Assembly, including all those details. In all fairness, asking for such disclosures is being silly and comical. I am not for drama.

NERC is bound by the Freedom of Information, FOI, law. We said if a request is made through FOI, well give to them. Thats the procedure. If anybody wants to know the salary of any public official, the person can go the website of the appropriate government agency and download it.

PT: Are you saying that Nigerians who keep asking to know the pay package of National Assembly members are also playing to the gallery?

AMADI: The issue is the process. If one really wants the information, one should write to the Clerk of the National Assembly requesting that. If the lawmaker is in a public hearing over an issue, he would most likely dismiss the request to disclose what he earns.
President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked the National Research and Innovation Council, NRIC, to deepen scientific research in Nigeria, with the hope of producing Nigerian Nobel laureates in sciences.

Wole Soyinka is Nigerias only Nobel laureate. He won the worlds most prestigious prize in literature in 1986.

In his remarks at the first meeting of NRIC on Thursday, President Buhari said Nigerias vision of becoming one of the worlds 20 largest economies by 2020 could only be attained when science, technology and innovation are fully integrated into the nations national socio-economic development process.

Mr. Buhari expressed hope that the body, which was inaugurated on February, 18, 2014, would focus more on acquiring esteemed positions and prizes in world science, than merely producing scientific publications.

I am aware that Nigeria must accord high priority to science and technology if it must take its rightful place among the leading economies in the modern world, the president said.

It is my fervent hope that our research and innovation output should be measured by number of intellectual property such as patents granted and not only by the number of articles published in scholarly journals.

By this action, Nigeria will become a centre of discoveries, inventions and innovation in all fields of science and technology. Before long we should be in a position to produce Nobel Laureates in the sciences, the president stated.

Mr. Buhari noted that the NRIC is designed to accelerate the growth of innovation-based entrepreneurship in the country and to create conditions for the commercialization of current and future research findings in our universities and research institutes.

The president said the government had structured the NRIC to provide for the establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of technocrats from the various fields to ensure a full implementation of resolutions of the council.

He expressed the governments support for the NRIC and asked for collective effort by members of the body to ensure the actualization of its objectives.
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has responded to claims by the Rivers State government that its former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, spent N82 million to organize a dinner in his honour.

In a statement, Wednesday, Mr. Soyinka said the unprecedented call for his probe was a form of corruption fighting back.

This morning, I saw only the headlines in one or two print media regarding the 80th Birthday dinner to which I was hosted by the former governor of Rivers State, the Honorable Rotimi Amaechi, now Minister of Aviation, said Mr. Soyinka.

I ignored them. It was not, and remains not my business to probe into the catering and logistical implications of the hundreds of institutions and governments all over the world to whom I acknowledge an immense debt of unsolicited recognition over the years.

Since then however, I have learnt of some unsavory statements by the insecure incumbent of the Rivers State government Lodge. These included a loose invitation to anti-crime agencies to investigate the potential crime of being honoured through any occasion.

Austin Tam-George, the Rivers State Commissioner of Information, had said the government would begin a probe to the spent funds and would demand a refund if it found Mr. Soyinka received part of the funds.

If he agrees that he received such funds, then he will be compelled to refund same to the coffers of Rivers State, Mr. Tam-George said during a radio programme on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.

At present, we have presented these details to the police for investigation and prosecution. We shall also take up this matter as a financial crime against the people of Rivers State.

Mr. Soyinka said the Rivers governments claims was warning he recounted in his recent publication, The Republic of Liars.

Those words were: Corruption strikes back. In this ongoing instance, that expression translates most vividly as Those who are neck deep in the sewage of corruption ensure that they splatter sewage in all possible and improbable directions.

I do however fully support the Wikeleaks call for multi-directional probes. I recommend further that he involve the services of INTERPOL to guarantee its extension to all international organisations and governments to whom I owe uncountable events of recognition  including birthday luncheons, dinners, cultural receptions and events of real, fictitious, or simply opportunistic flavoring  to which I have submitted myself.

The descent to this present level of abominable distractions makes one truly despair. It is one that even I did not envisage when I warned  corruption strikes back.

Whether it brings honour or dishonour to the nation is another matter  I am saddened, but indifferent.

EFCC and company  over to you. You all know where I live.
President Muhammadu Buhari has named Babafemi Ojudu, a former senator, as his special adviser on political matters, deploying him to the office of Vice President Yomi Osinbajo.

Although the presidency is yet to officially announce the appointment, a presidency source, who requested not to be named, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday afternoon

Mr. Ojudu, who will turn 55 on March 27, represented the Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the Senate between 2011 and 2015 on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria and later the All Progressives Congress.

While in the Senate, the new presidential aide served as vice chairman of the committee on defence as well as spokesperson of the APC caucus.

He did not however seek re-election to the upper house in the 2015 election.

Before joining politics, Mr. Ojudu was a journalist and was one of the founders of TheNews magazine and its sister publications, Tempo, PMNews and the defunct AMNews.

He was at various times detained by the military regime of Sani Abacha over his papers consistent criticism of the military regime.

Meanwhile, a group, Action Group Caucus of the APC has praised Mr. Buhari for Mr. Ojudus appointment.

A statement by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, the group said the appointment was a New Year gift not only to the former senator but also to the progressive politicians in the state.

We are expressing confidence in him and assuring Mr. President that the Ojudu we know would prove his mettle as a round peg in a round hole, it said.

The Ojudu we know is a thoroughbred progressive and a conscientious politician to whom service and loyalty mean so much. He is a pro-democracy activist who paid more than his due to achieve democratic governance in Nigeria.

Two qualities he keeps displaying everywhere he has worked or served are the passion to excel and selflessness. He sees every appointment as an opportunity to serve fellow human beings, be it as a professional journalist or as a career politician, said the group.

The group also described Mr. Ojudu as a team player, an astute personality and a humane fellow.

He is accessible and down-to-earth. We are very certain that he will not perform any less in this appointment, rather his impact will be greatly felt by the government and the people of Nigeria, said the group.
The United States government Thursday officially handed over 24 mine-resistant armour-protected vehicles to the Nigerian army.

At a brief ceremony in Lagos, the US government said the donation was part of its commitment to assist Nigeria in its war against insurgency.

For many years the Nigerian armed forces has been a strong partner of the United States, said Patrick Doyle, a Colonel and the US Defence Attache to Nigeria.

We have asked for your support in many endeavours, in particular throughout West Africa and you have responded.

I believe United States government security cooperation commitment is second to none. We have provided extensive training programmes, logistical supports, and equipment to the Nigerian armed forces and we will continue to do so.

The armoured vehicles, which arrived the country on New Year day, were part of the US governments Excess Defence Articles Programme, a programme designed to transfer excess US military equipment to partner nations.

Eight more of the vehicles are expected to arrive the country soon.

Mr. Doyle said half of the 24 vehicles are in good working condition but will need minor work.

When the Nigerian army inspected the vehicles a few months back, they selected the best vehicles that they could find, he said.

The reason we are giving the vehicles, we have the Excess Defence Programme, is because we are downsizing forces in our military, we have left Iraq with our forces and we have downsized our forces in Afghanistan and we do not need all these vehicles anymore. So Nigeria asked for these vehicles and we gladly provided it to them.

There are many land mines buried by the Boko Haram terrorists across the north-east.

Last August, two soldiers were killed in Dikwa, Borno State, after a land mine they stepped on exploded. Two other soldiers sustained serious injuries while an armoured personnel carrier was destroyed in the blast.

Barry Ndiomu, representing Nigerias Defence Minister, said the vehicles are what is needed to prosecute the war in the north-east.

We express our most profound gratitude for the gift of Mine Resistant Ambush-protected vehicle to the Nigerian Army. It couldnt have come at a better time especially considering the challenges that confront our armed forces in the north east, said Mr. Ndiomu, a Major-General.

We appreciate what you have done, although like Oliver Twist, we would appreciate if you can do even more.

Mr. Ndiomu noted that some of the armoured vehicles are not serviceable and requested for help from the US to procure their spare parts.

The defence adviser has actually told me about certain steps we need to take. As soon as I return to Abuja, Ill pass this information on to the appropriate authorities so we can initiate the process.

The 24 armoured vehicles are worth $11 million (brand new ones), according to Mr. Doyle, and the other expected eight are valued at $7.5 million.

The repairs of the vehicles is up to the Nigerian government to do that, he said.

They can repair them on their own and they have the facilities to do that, but of course the spare parts are very particular to these vehicles so the General and I have been discussing and we have been in discussions with the army previously and we were working modalities on how we will get those parts to them.

They will have to order those parts from the United States and we will work out those conditions and how they will do that but when you say they will pay the United States, the easiest way to do that is to open a government-to-government case, where we can then work with them to ensure they get the correct parts and get them in a time and manner and from the correct manufacturers and the parts they actually need.

Mr. Ndiomu also said the vehicles would be moved as soon as possible to the Nigerian Army Electrical Maintenance Engineers workshop in Bauchi.

They will make the necessary assessments and I believe that ongoing discussions with our American partners, the spare parts will be made available and they will be repaired.
Olisa Metuhs family has denied that the spokesperson of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, received N1.4 billion from the office of the National Security Adviser.

Mr. Metuh was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, on allegations of corruption, and remained in detention by Wednesday evening.

In a statement signed by Gilbert Metuh, Wednesday, the family demanded that Mr. Metuh be released or charged to court.

The statement said the PDP spokesman acknowledged he delivered on an assignment for former President Goodluck Jonathan, and was duly paid.

The family said Mr. Metuh has refused to eat in detention over fears he might be poisoned.

Our biggest concern for now is the health and safety of our son, who even before his arrest had alerted the nation about various threats to his life, a stance that is not unconnected to his position as the spokesperson of the opposition, the statement said.

Our position is more so as he has refused to eat following fears of intentions to poison him in detention.

Read the familys statement:

The Metuh family  the Obi-Ezeani-Nnewi has noted with grave concern the continued incarceration of our Diokpa and spokesperson of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olisa Metuh (Ugochidebelu Nnewi) since his arrest Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Whereas the charges for which Chief Metuh is being detained for over 48 hours now have not been formally made known to the family and the general public, we have noted some sensational publications in a section of the media claiming that our son collected the sum of N1.4 billion from the arms deal cash and has been collecting N4 million monthly from the Office of the former National Security Adviser.

We have confronted our son with this allegations and he assured us that they are completely false.

However, he acknowledged that in the course of his duties as the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, the then leader of the party and president of the country directed him to carry out some urgent national assignment relating to his office, which the former president duly funded and which he duly carried out to the satisfaction of the former president.

The family therefore views the publications bandying the figure of N1.4 billion and alleged collection of N4 million stipend from the Office of the NSA as deliberate blackmail aimed at inflaming public sentiments against our son.

Our biggest concern for now is the health and safety of our son, who even before his arrest had alerted the nation about various threats to his life, a stance that is not unconnected to his position as the spokesperson of the opposition.

Our position is more so as he has refused to eat following fears of intentions to poison him in detention.

In view of the above therefore, we DEMAND that the EFCC immediately release our son, Chief Metuh (Ugochidebelu Nnewi) from detention or charge him to court.
Ahead of the Saturday, supplementary governorship election in Bayelsa State, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress and former governor of the state, Timipre Sylva, has expressed confidence that he would sweep the poll.

Mr. Sylva stated this Wednesday at a press conference held at the headquarters of the Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation in Yenagoa.

He said the APC was poised to win the 5 December 2015 governorship election, when, according to him, it was substantially, illegally, and unilaterally cancelled by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpaigh, and declared inconclusive.

The APC candidate said the cancellation was procured by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson.

In spite of this, he said the APC was willing and ready to participate in the rescheduled 9 January 2016 supplementary election.

We won before. If not for the cancellation of the Southern Ijaw results, we had won the election very clearly. But, of course, we in the APC still believe that the cancellation of the Southern Ijaw results was procured by the PDP, Mr. Sylva said.

He said the APC was sure to win the poll because the exercise would take place in the partys strongholds.

The press conference was held in reaction to Mr. Dicksons comments two days before, when he accused the APC and Mr. Sylva of violence.

Mr. Sylva said, I am a man of peace. I have never been involved in violence. I am the author of the peace project not only in Bayelsa, but in the whole of the Niger Delta. I brought peace to the Niger Delta through the initiative of the amnesty programme, when militancy was at its peak in the region. Everybody knows this.

Throughout my tenure in government, I was never involved in violence.

Dickson has shown so much desperation, even when he says he is winning. He says there were killings, but he has not shown anybody any evidence of a dead body. Only Dickson knows about the violence he is talking about.

Yes, there was violence during the elections, but this violence was perpetrated by Dickson and the PDP. I was, myself, attacked at Odioma on the eve of the election on my way to my hometown, Okpoama in Brass Local Government.

The home of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who is also the director-general of my campaign organisation, was attacked.

It took the JTF to rescue him. My supporters were attacked in Sagbama, they were attacked in Nembe. All these violence were perpetrated by PDP; APC could not have attacked its members.

Governor Dickson has been the author of violence. I have evidence of extra-judicial killings under his watch. I can give names of victims. He went on to accuse me of political violence when he is the author of political violence and intolerance.

Governor Dickson is crying so loud and yet he is the aggressor.

At the press conference, Mr. Sylva showed journalists evidence of the brutality he said was visited on one of his agents in Mr. Dicksons native Sagbama Local Government Area, Lucky Youbogha, who had a bandaged broken arm supported with splints.

Mr. Sylva also ridiculed Dicksons insinuations about federal might.

The APC candidate said, Dickson talks about federal might, but this federal might exists only in the head of Mr. Dickson. He is aware that the police outfit attached to him, Operation Doo Akpo was used to snatch ballot boxes and intimidate voters in his favour.

Dickson claims to be the winner, yet he is complaining more than the loser.

In a free and fair election, I will beat Governor Dickson any day. The PDP and Dickson are not prepared for elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. It is very clear. Anything that happens in Southern Ijaw local government, the blame should be put on Dickson.

Dickson looks like a warmonger. He is a warmonger governor; he is a very violent human being.

Mr. Sylva argued that Mr. Dicksons lead at the December 5 and 6 2015 elections were procured by violence, stressing that every Bayelsan knows he would defeat Mr. Dickson in a free and fair poll.

The APC candidate called on security agencies to watch Dickson ahead of the January 9 election, as he was planning to unleash militants on the state to cause violence and manipulate the voting process.

According to Mr. Sylva, Because the PDP government knows that the APC is set to upturn such unfair means and win our strongholds, they have started making false claims. Because the PDP government is on its way out, they have put together a plot to perpetuate violence in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

The antecedents of the PDP candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson, have shown that his desperate accusations against the APC are actually a plot in motion.

He knows how he became governor with impunity. And he is thinking the APC will deploy the same might under President Buhari. The APC government cannot do that, Mr. Sylva said.

The former governor expressed confidence in the new leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, saying it is credible.

But he said INEC in Bayelsa State was constituted by the PDP and structured in a way to deliver only to the PDP, stressing that the INEC in Bayelsa needs to be restructured.
Gunmen, numbering eight, on Wednesday stoned a middle-aged man in Iyiazu, Oshiri community in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Chikezie Agu to death after failing to kill him with their guns.

The hoodlums had intercepted Mr. Agu and wife, Blessing, who were going to see someone in a nearby village, with their bike and shot at the deceased.

Police spokesperson in the state, George Okafor, who confirmed the incident, said when the hoodlums shot Agu and he did not die instantly, they battered him on the head with stones until he died.

He said the deceaseds motorcycle was set ablaze by the gunmen after stoning him to death and running away.

Meanwhile, the command has recovered the Ak-47 rifle snatched by some youths of Amaoffia Ngbo community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state last week during an attack on policemen, who were attempting to arrest a suspect.
The Department of Petroleum Resources and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Thursday sealed six petrol stations in Ogun State for selling petrol above the official pump price of N86.50 and for hoarding the fuel.

The affected fuel stations are Amour Petroleum, Saquad Oil, Rab Engineering, Arolat, SAF petroleum and Muyad Nigeria Ltd.

The public relations officer of the civil defence corps, Kareem Olanrewaju, told journalists that the exercise was borne out of tip-offs and outcry by members of the public.

He said the stations would only be reopened when they revert to the approved price.

Mr. Olanrewaju said the team visited at least 15 filling stations, and sealed six while two stations were compelled to dispense freely to motorists and residents.

It is not only NSCDC that is in it; we are out with the DPR and that gives us the full hammer in accordance with the authority given by the federal government to come out and act together, he said.

The NSCDC spokesman said the exercise would not be restricted to Abeokuta metropolis as we will storm other parts too.

They should be wary of this exercise and do the needful. It is either they sell at normal price or risk their filling stations being sealed or their product dispensed freely.

We will move to other parts of the state soon but it wont be made public; well just go there unexpectedly as we did today, he added.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




The Mobility Roadshow incorporating Get Going Live! is delighted to announce that its 2016 event will be held from 26-28th May at the Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire.

By: Mobility Choice

Mobility RoadShow Silverstone 2016

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-- Organised by charity Mobility Choice, the free-to-attend Mobility Roadshow is Europes leading consumer-focussed event for people of any age living with restricted mobility. Since 1983, this premier international show has delivered opportunity and choice to disabled and older people with mobility needs. Get Going Live! is a test-drive feature that focuses on young and novice disabled drivers and opens up a new world of driving opportunities for future generations.The 2016 event will take place for the first time at Silverstone, home to The British Grand Prix and at the heart of international motor sport. A remarkable experience awaits in a location full of British motor racing heritage: UK and international visitors will have the unique opportunity to test drive adapted and wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVS) around the iconic Silverstone circuit. In addition there will be the chance to see and compare a wide range of products for independent living such as wheelchairs, scooters, trikes, hoists, and ramps as well as access to information and expert advice.The Mobility Roadshow will be an unmissable hands on opportunity for drivers with disabilities, passengers who use wheelchairs, and solutions for older non-disabled drivers to continue to drive safely for longer. The Mobility Roadshow also provides opportunities for young and novice drivers with disabilities who are keen to explore all available options for accessible motoring.Silverstone provides excellent accessibility and spacious exhibition facilities with ample parking on hard-standing surfaces. There will be exclusive access to the pit lane garages for vehicle display and track access, with indoor exhibition space in the impressive Silverstone Wing.Ann Frye, Chair of Mobility Choice, comments: We are delighted to be holding the Mobility Roadshow at Silverstone for the first time. In response to visitor feedback, we have chosen this magnificent venue with space to expand the range and choice of mobility products from around the world as well as giving visitors the opportunity to drive on the famous race circuit. Maintaining the shows focus on independent mobility for everyone, we are working again with NFE Group to deliver an event that we believe will enable anyone with mobility difficulties to find solutions to meet their individual needs.www.mobilityroadshow.co.ukFor further information, please contact the NFE Group on: +44(0)1332 810007.
UMD & Maryland Humanities Council Awarded NEH Grant For Public Programs

By: Freedom Radio News & Culture Television Network

Contact

C. Lewis

***@cynthcarm.com C. Lewis

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--he documentary film inspired by the death of Mike Brown and the Black Youth Uprising in Ferguson, Missouri, has been touring nationally since September 2015; and will screen along with a director led discussion in Baltimore, Maryland sometime after March 2016.The grant will fund a series of public programs designed to explore the way citizens of Baltimore are thinking about the narratives that influence the life and identity of the city. Major partners will include the University of Maryland, Baltimore Countys Dresher Center for the Humanities (http://dreshercenter.umbc.edu/), the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance ( http://www.baltimoreculture.org/ ).During the uprising, Baltimore residents had lively conversations about the stories that shape our perceptions of each other, said Sheri Parks, co-project director of the initiative and associate dean for research and interdisciplinary programming in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland. We are elated to use this grant as a platform to continue these conversations.Crowder, the films director said Our intent was to gather a well balanced story and depiction of unheard voices and perspective. Were honored for the recognition, and use of the piece as a tool to further ongoing and much needed discussions regarding our shared responsibility to examine the human conditions of Ferguson, Anywhere U.S.A.https://youtu.be/qfk7eXgfmzQscreened on the campus of UMD in March of 2015, and will show again in the Twin Cities for an encore experience, Monday, January 11th @ 6:00pm, at Plymouth Congregational Church (1900 Nicollet Ave. S, Mpls); and for the first time Wednesday, January 13th @ 7:00pm, at Unity Church-Unitarian (733 Portland Ave, St. Paul). The faith community at-large is encouraged to attend as the film is spiritually prophetic in nature. To learn more about the documentary visit www.freedomradioandtv.com
Fellowes Brands, manufacturers of premium mobile photography accessories and ZEISS, international optics enterprise, present three new high-performance accessory lenses for mobile phones at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

By: Zeiss

1 2 : The three lenses by ExoLensTM with optics by ZEISS The ExoLensTM wide-angle lens with optics

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-- ZEISS, one of the world's leading companies in the fields of optics and optoelectronics, and the Fellowes ExoLensbrand, an American innovator in mobile photography accessories, announce their collaboration in the design and development of accessory lenses for mobile phones. The companies will present the first jointly developed accessory lenses at the Fellowes booth (no. 31016) during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from 6-9 January 2016.The first three lenses  wide-angle, telephoto and macro  are scheduled to be launched in late Q2 2016. The wide-angle and telephoto lenses offer excellent image performance with outstanding edge-to-edge contrast. The macro lens features a zoom function  unique for accessory lenses of this type  for flexible image composition. The new lenses can be used on the AppleiPhonewith customized mounting brackets.The collaboration between ZEISS and ExoLensrepresents an important step in the development of accessory lenses for mobile phones. ZEISS has been powering optical innovation in photography since 1890. With current products, such as the professional camera lenses of the ZEISS Otus SLR lens family or the ZEISS Batis autofocus lenses featuring an innovative OLED display for mirrorless full-frame system cameras, the optics company continues to evolve and set new milestones in photography. ExoLensis a pioneer in the new and expanding space of mobile photography. The joint goal of ZEISS and ExoLensis to bring never before seen quality and versatility to this rapidly growing market."We are thrilled to announce our new relationship with ZEISS, who has been setting standards in optics for almost 170 years, says John E. Fellowes, Chief Executive Officer of Fellowes. "Following the launch of our new ExoLensmobile phone photography line last year, our partnership with ZEISS will enable unique and innovative consumer lens solutions. ExoLenswith optics by ZEISS will redefine quality in the mobile photography space, providing professional-grade results for end users.""The impact of an image is decisively influenced by the lens and its technical properties,"says Dr. Winfried Scherle, Executive Vice President of Carl Zeiss AG and Head of the ZEISS Consumer Optics business group. "The collaboration with ExoLensgives us the opportunity to tap into new target groups and provide ambitious mobile phone photographers with high-quality tools to support their creativity."The new lenses are characterized by their leading-edge design featuring smooth surfaces made of black anodized aluminum with white labeling. This is a systematic continuation of the distinctive, innovative product design that typifies current families of ZEISS camera lenses. "The modern design offers excellent optic properties and the lenses meet even the highest aesthetic standards," Scherle says. "The lenses of ExoLenswith optics by ZEISS are the best currently available on the market," he adds. "We have achieved the best possible technical balance between a small size, low weight and high image quality."All lenses incorporate the proven T*antireflective coating from ZEISS, which minimizes reflections at the glass-to-air surfaces and improves the transmission of light.The lenses are attached to the device-specific ExoLensmachined aluminum bracket using a screw thread. The ExoLensbracket features a standard tripod mount (1/4-20) as well as a cold shoe for mounting accessories. At launch, ExoLenswith optics by ZEISS will be available for AppleiPhone6/6s and AppleiPhone6 Plus/6s Plus, with the goal of adding more devices in the future.The jointly developed lenses turn the integrated mobile phone lens into either a wide-angle or telephoto lens. The optical design used for both lenses bears the name Mutar. This stands for an afocal system and is therefore different from traditional interchangeable lenses for system cameras. The lens has no focal length, i.e., the focus is set at infinity. This enables photography of objects from infinity to the close-up range, the limits of which are defined only by the technical properties of the mobile phone camera. This makes this optical design suitable for both landscape and detailed photography. Distortion would impair the composition as straight lines which are not imaged through the image center would be reproduced as curved lines. This adverse effect has been offset by the use of aspheric lenses in the optical design. Both lenses therefore offer image excellence and outstanding contrast rendition right to the edges. Chromatic aberrations are also corrected. Bright-dark transitions in the image, and highlights in particular, are largely free from colored artifacts. Protection against dust and water spray makes the wide-angle or telephoto lens perfect for the challenges of outdoor use.Dramatic perspectives, exceptional angles or portraits in which the main subject is to be clearly isolated from the background are the specialties of the two lenses by ExoLenswith optics by ZEISS.The macro lens complements the wide-angle and telephoto lenses and enables currently unparalleled close-up photography with a mobile phone camera. The optical design of the macro lens bears the name Vario-Proxar. "Vario" stands for the variability of the focal length (zoom), and Proxar for proximity. Like the wide-angle and telephoto lenses, the macro lens offers edge-to-edge image excellence and no discernible distortion or chromatic aberration. It is currently also the only accessory lens for mobile phones to offer a continuous zoom function, permitting the full-frame capture of objects with diameters of between three and twelve centimeters. An optionally attachable and semi-transparent diffusor servers as a spacer, allowing light to shine evenly on the object to be photographed and enabling convenient focusing, even with a short object distance and shallow depth of field.Global deliveries of the first lenses by ExoLensto be developed jointly with ZEISS are scheduled for late Q2 2016. The lenses can be purchased with the matching mobile phone mounting brackets in selected specialty stores, Amazon.com as well as at exolens.com.
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-- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today thatwill speak at the Knowledge Groups webcast entitled:This event is scheduled forhttps://theknowledgegroup.org/event-homepage/?event_id=1263Morgan Heavener is of counsel in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings. His practice focuses largely on matters relating to international anticorruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.Mr. Heavener has extensive experience conducting corruption-related internal and government-initiated investigations around the world, including representing clients in enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and multilateral development banks. Mr. Heavener also assists clients in developing and enhancing anticorruption compliance programs, conducting anticorruption-focused risk assessments and audits, and conducting due diligence reviews of business partners and acquisition targets.As part of his pro bono practice, Mr. Heavener has taught courses for foreign government officials and lawyers at the International Law Institute on international anticorruption laws and has also successfully represented in U.S. immigration court an individual from West Africa seeking political asylum.Paul Hastings is a leading global law firm with a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. The firm is ranked first onA-List of the most successful law firms in America.Our lawyers provide innovative legal solutions to many of the worlds top financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. We offer a complete portfolio of services to support our clients complex, often mission-critical needs  from structuring first-of-their-kind transactions to resolving complicated disputes to providing the savvy legal counsel that keeps business moving forward.Since the firms founding in 1951, Paul Hastings has grown steadily and strategically along with our clients and the markets we serve. We established successful practices in key U.S. and European cities, creating a broad network of professionals to support our clients ambitions. In addition, we were one of the first U.S. law firms to establish a presence in Asia, and today we continue to be a leader in the region. Over the past decade, we have significantly expanded our global network of lawyers to assist our clients in financial centers around the world, including the emerging markets of Latin America.Drawing on the firms dynamic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial culture, our lawyers work across practices, offices, and borders to provide innovative, seamless legal counsel  where and when our clients need us.Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.As Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations on several industries continue to ascend, regulators are likely to subject Private Equity (PE) firms to heightened scrutiny. This is to ensure that they are properly disclosing fees to their investors given the fact that they usually employ middlemen in raising money from state-owned investment funds. By establishing effective compliance procedures and thorough anti-corruption due diligence, PE firms can operate efficiently amidst serious probing. However, PE fund advisers must be aware first of the FCPA risks and liabilities to avoid severe penalties and investigation costs.In this two-hour LIVE webcast, a panel of distinguished professionals and thought leaders will help firms understand the important aspects of this significant topic. They will provide an in-depth discussion of FCPA Risks and Threats in Global Private Equity Ventures. Speakers will also share helpful insights in handling critical issues and current trends. Best risk mitigation and FCPA compliance practices will be also discussed in this CLE course.Key topics include: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - An Overview Major FCPA Considerations FCPA Risks and Threats Possible Implications on PE Firms and their Portfolio Companies Risk Assessment and Monitoring Successor and Post-Acquisition Liabilities Common FCPA Violations Legal Consequences Critical Issues and Current Trends Risk Mitigation Techniques Best Compliance PracticesThe Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format. To contact or register to an event, please visit: http://theknowledgegroup.org/
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-- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today thatwill speak at the Knowledge Groups webcast entitled:This event is scheduled forDeborah Meshulam has more than two decades of securities enforcement defense experience trying the full range of cases arising from allegations of securities law violations and related breaches of fiduciary duty.Deborah represents clients in SEC and Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, securities class actions and derivative lawsuits relating to claims of securities law violations, FCPA violations and counsels clients on compliance, regulatory and corporate governance matters, including issues relating to the Dodd Frank whistle blower program. She also represents clients in Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) investigations, FINRA and Exchange proceedings and in Exchange delisting hearings.Deborah regularly conducts investigations on behalf of public companies or their audit committees, often relating to FCPA questions, accounting issues, alleged securities law violations and employee misconduct. She also regularly advises clients on securities law compliance and litigation avoidance. She has written on securities law issues for legal publications and is a frequent speaker at professional programs on securities-related issues. She also represents clients in rulemaking proceedings and in SEC inquiries from the Divisions of Corporate Finance and Trading and Markets, the Office of Chief Accountant and the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.Deborah's securities practice also includes counseling on a wide range of corporate governance and regulatory matters, including financial reporting and disclosure issues, design and implementation of compliance programs under the securities laws and the FCPA as well as issues faced by brokers/dealers, investment advisers and other regulated entities.DLA Piper is a global law firm with 4,200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning us to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000 and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies. They include more than half of the Fortune 250 and nearly half of the FTSE 350 or their subsidiaries. As we build our global presence, we remain committed to maintaining regional practices around the world where we do great work for longstanding clients.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making aggressive efforts with the enforcement of Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7 which forbids companies to take any action that would hinder whistleblowers from disclosing potential securities law violations. One proof is SECs first Whistleblower Protection Rule enforcement action against KBR Inc. on April 1, 2015 which was carried out after the latter required its employees to sign a restrictive confidentiality agreement in internal investigations. KBR Inc. then decided to pay $130,000 to settle the SEC charges and to make necessary amendments to its confidentiality provision.Now that the SEC is becoming increasingly watchful, there is no room for complacency. The only way to prevent costly errors and SEC penalties is to ensure that your confidentiality agreement policies conform to the best practices. This LIVE Webcast will teach you how to ensure compliance with these best practices and how to head off potential problems related to Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7.Key topics include: The Legal Landscape for Whistleblower actions Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7  An Overview KBR Inc.s Violation Up to the Minute Developments Agreements With Potential issues: Confidentiality Agreement Employment Agreements Severance Agreements Managing Risks and Pitfalls Best PracticesThe Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format.
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-- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today thatwill speak at the Knowledge Groups webcast entitled:This event is scheduled forMr. Martucci, who holds an LL.M. in employment law from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., practices nationally on behalf of corporate employers in business and employment litigation, complex class action (employment discrimination and wage & hour) litigation, EEOC litigation, commercial litigation, whistleblowing claims, and unfair competition litigation. Chambers USA Americas Leading Lawyers for Business notes, Bill Martucci is worth having on any dream team for litigation and policy issues. His jury work has been featured in Hot Defense Wins by The National Law Journal. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for both business and employment litigation, and the Guide to the Worlds Leading Labour and Employment Lawyers. He teaches multinational business policy and the global workplace at Georgetown.For more than a century, the worlds leading companies have turned to Shook Hardy & Bacon to obtain favorable results under the most contentious circumstances. Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers for Business notes: A Powerhouse. Truly one of the best litigation firms in the nation. Top-tier or top-notchin the words of clients, Shook, Hardy & Bacons reputation in litigation extends globally, crossing many different industry sectors. (The Legal 500). More than any other firm, [Shook] tries and wins cases. (The American Lawyer).The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making aggressive efforts with the enforcement of Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7 which forbids companies to take any action that would hinder whistleblowers from disclosing potential securities law violations. One proof is SECs first Whistleblower Protection Rule enforcement action against KBR Inc. on April 1, 2015 which was carried out after the latter required its employees to sign a restrictive confidentiality agreement in internal investigations. KBR Inc. then decided to pay $130,000 to settle the SEC charges and to make necessary amendments to its confidentiality provision.Now that the SEC is becoming increasingly watchful, there is no room for complacency. The only way to prevent costly errors and SEC penalties is to ensure that your confidentiality agreement policies conform to the best practices. This LIVE Webcast will teach you how to ensure compliance with these best practices and how to head off potential problems related to Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7.Key topics include: The Legal Landscape for Whistleblower actions Dodd-Frank Act's Rule 21F-7  An Overview KBR Inc.s Violation Up to the Minute Developments Agreements With Potential issues: Confidentiality Agreement Employment Agreements Severance Agreements Managing Risks and Pitfalls Best PracticesThe Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format.
Contact

The Knowledge Group

***@theknowledgegroup.org The Knowledge Group

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-- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today thatwill speak at the Knowledge Congress webcast entitled:This event is scheduled forhttps://theknowledgegroup.org/event-homepage/?event_id=1418Alan Kashdan focuses his practice on international trade regulation, including compliance with U.S. export controls and sanctions administered by the Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of State. He also has compliance experience with U.S. Customs laws and regulations;U.S. government rules and regulations on procurement from foreign sources; Foreign Military Sales and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues; and issues arising from foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies, including military contractors. In addition, Mr. Kashdan has handled antidumping and countervailing duty actions before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Mr. Kashdan has been a member of the NAFTA Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Dispute Resolution Panel. He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. Mr. Kashdan speaks both Russian and Mandarin.Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is an international law firm ranked for eleven years, including five years in a row as the top-ranked New York-based firm, on The American Lawyers A-List of what the magazine calls the top firms among the nations legal elite. Ourattorneys advise and represent clients in over 30 specialized practices from offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, Los Angeles, Miami, Jersey City, Kansas City, and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.hugheshubbard.com On July 14, 2015, the U.S., European Union (EU) and several countries have entered into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. In the document, Iran agreed to a number of restrictions and oversight on its nuclear activities in return for the rollback of certain United Nations (U.N.), EU, and U.S. sanctions. The U.S. and EU have both agreed to withdraw many Iranian entities designated on sanctions lists. In particular, the U.S. lifted the Central Bank of Iran and many other Iranian banks from the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN). As a result, Iranian banks will be allowed to process transactions and issue letters of credit, etc., for most international transactions.The JCPOA is expected to boost economic growth and inspire businesses to start exploring opportunities in the Iranian market. However, as there are still little information about the document itself, many companies in various industries are eager to understand the implications of the Agreement. For example, paying money to or for the benefit of a person on a sanctions list and supplying technical data or entering into contracts, could still be subject to sanctions and restrictions agreed with lenders. Companies are still expected to be vigilant and should be aware that the Financial Action Task Force still considers Iran to be a high risk country for money laundering and terrorist financing.In this two-hour LIVE Webcast, a panel of key thought leaders and practitioners assembled by the Knowledge Group will provide an insightful discussion on the Impacts and Implications of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran on international trade and regulations. The speakers will also discuss the most important issues every businesses need to know in 2016.Key topics include: Iranian Sanctions: Successes and Failures JCPOA  An Overview Iran Threat Reduction - An Update Corporate Involvement in Iran Sanctions Multilateral Sanctions for Iran Sanctions Regulatory DevelopmentsMitigating Emerging RisksThe Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format. To contact or register to an event, please visit: http://theknowledgegroup.org
By: www.theheritageschool.org

946088_ 955321144505482_ 7167141446222108848_ n

Contact

Partha Sarathi Bhowal

***@heritageit.edu Partha Sarathi Bhowal

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-- On 6th January 2016, The Heritage School Kolkata distributed sweaters to the children of Suryakiran. Suryakiran is a free evening school run by Kalyan Bharti Trust where nearly 400 children from neighboring areas of Chowbaga are given free of cost school education till Class 4. The School is a part of Heritage Group of Institutions Kolkata."Suryakiran is our brain child and in 2014 it got the ALL India PRSI Award under the category of CSR," said Mr. Pradip Agarwal, CEO Heritage group of Institutions Kolkata.The Heritage School, established in 2001, is a unique endeavour of the Kalyan Bharti Trust to recreate the ancient Gurukul tradition of India. The school, nestled in the lap of nature, provides an enriching atmosphere where children are encouraged to develop both their physical and intellectual faculties.The Heritage School aims towards a more comprehensive education system where equal attention is paid to physical, emotional and intellectual development of the students to make them conscientious, responsible and dynamic future citizens.
Media Contact

Spy Universe

***@spyuniverse.co.in

9717226478 Spy Universe9717226478

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--To resolve the safety worries, Spy Inspector launchedlast week. We all know that safety is the most important part for your growing kids. By usingyou can keep a watchful eye over your kids activities.Spy software is the latest monitoring tool. It is reliable because you directly surveillance over the cell phone of your suspect. Therefore, chances of authenticity are increases. It is not only helpful for the kids protection but also provide the details of partner, employees and family members.Spy Inspector is providing you free spy software for android as a trail. This tool is a fabulous device for collecting details such as call logs, SMS details, GPS location, Social network chats and contact information and so on. This tool is available for all kinds of cell phones.You can purchase or install this amazing software for the safety, surveillance and protection purpose from our online and off stores across the country. We have an exclusive range this software including. Shop today because we are offering some amazing New Year offers to online purchasers. Grab the deal today and contact us.Spy Inspector is a leading company of Spy Products including most effective Spy Software in India. We are manufacturer, supplier, trader, dealer and wholesaler of many types ofand other spy gadgets. We have customers in all over India. We are one of the most reliable companies of spy gadgets. We deliver the best and genuine products. We have a wide range ofat affordable cost.Spy Inspector (Spy Universe)K-56, Basement, Lajpat Nagar-2Near MCD Hospital, New Delhi - 110024Call: 9717226478, 9717228368E-mail ID: contact@spyuniverse.co.in Website: www.spyinspector.in
Bringing the Community Together for Family-Friendly Entertainment

By: Naples Harley-Davidson

Media Contact

Taylor

taylorl@sfe- us.com Taylor

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-- Join Naples Harley-Davidson in partnership with Gulf Coast Motorcycles for a ride-in movie featuring Why We Ride on Friday, Jan. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend this free event for some family-friendly fun.The featured presentation, Why We Ride documents the inspiring celebration of the motorcycle community by showcasing the passion of motorcycle riding and camaraderie of friends and families who ride together. Guests will also enjoy delicious food truck fare from Classic Cubans food truck, the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County Blue CanTEEN truck and Naples Popcorn Company. In addition, there will be a Hang Xtreme rock wall, motorcycle displays, activities and a beer tent sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Collier. The event will also include a chance to try the Harley Davidson JUMPSTART Rider Experience simulator and much more. The ride-in movie will be held at Naples Harley-Davidson.For more information about the Why We Ride ride-in movie, please contact the hospitality desk at the Naples Harley-Davidson store at (239) 594-5504. Naples Harley Davidson is located at 3645 Gateway Lane.Located at 3645 Gateway Lane, Naples Harley-Davidson has a strong commitment to motorcycle safety as well as the community. For more information on this store please call (239) 594-5504 or visit www.hdnaples.com
Decisif Consulting experiences significant growth in 2015; Decisif has been shortlisted by The Silicon Review as one of 2015's "50 Fastest Growing IT Services Companies".

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-- Decisif Consulting, a financial consulting firm specialized in the leading enterprise cloud application for financial management, announced today that it has been shortlisted by The Silicon Review as one of the 50 Fastest Growing IT Services Companies (http://thesiliconreview.com/magazines/page/2/?type=special-issue&Year=2015&Month=12) of 2015. Decisif provides consulting, solutions, and support services to global companies deploying this application around the world.In 2015, Decisif Consulting experienced a solid year of growth. The company opened three new offices  Paris, Sydney, and Auckland  and will open a fourth in Tokyo early this year. Over a 12-month period, the company tripled its client base and grew its employee count by 250%.Im often asked what is the secret to growing a successful business? says Sylvain Nguyen, Founder & CEO, Decisif Consulting. A lot comes down to market positioning. Decisif is a niche player  we only work with clients deploying the leading enterprise cloud application for financial management. We partner with organizations that share our global philosophy. They want to work with experienced consultants who can offer them local expertise on a global scale. When the two pieces of the jigsaw fit together this way, bringing on new clients is more like welcoming a friend than closing a sale.Future plans for Decisif Consulting include more global growth. The company is looking to expand its global footprint in EMEA, South East Asia, and South America. Nguyen expects the size of the company to double each year for the next 3 years. By 2018, Decisif should be present in 15 countries.Decisif Consulting is an international firm specialized in the global deployment, integration, and continued support of the leading enterprise cloud application for financial management. Decisif offers a wide range of on- and off-site services and is committed to successfully delivering large-scale projects to global customers on time and within budget. Decisif Consulting currently employs highly experienced consultants in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. With offices in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, Decisif Consulting is rapidly expanding to provide its specialized services in all regions of the world.
Innovative Footwear Company Showcases New Trend-Right Shoes At Renowned Industry Show

By: KEEN Inc.

Contact

Konnect PR

Kim Le

***@konnect- pr.com Konnect PRKim Le

End

--an innovative footwear brand committed to building unique and versatile shoes for men, women and kids, is thrilled to unveil its Fall/Winter 2016styles at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Tradeshow from January 7-10, 2016 in Salt Lake City. Combining fashion and function, the three lines include newboots and sneakersas well as the debut of fresh trail and winter styles.Designed for kids at different stages of their childhood, the new seasonal footwear helps both toddlers and children explore and discover the outdoors with limitless imagination andThe new collections include: Tots and big kids will like the stylish looks and playground performance of the newnew high-tops. Theandsneakers have elements all parents, gym teachers and toddlers want, like non-marking rubber outsoles, easy on/off closures and the cushy EVA footbedmaking hopscotch and the monkey bars a worry-free zone! Fashion-focused girls will love the brand newboot. These tall colorful boots not only make play easy, but have a medial side zipper, making it simple for little kids to dress themselves all on their own. (Wesley MSPR $60.00, Scout MSRP $55.00, Madison MSRP $65.00). Toddler 4-7, children 8-13 and youth 1-6 sizes available in varying styles. KEENs signature bungee lace system and waterproof features make these three styles ideal for little hikers and their parents. Kids can stand up to the elements in the newandshoesThese lightweight hiking shoes are detailed with a waterproof membrane and combine breathable mesh and synthetic overlays for durability. Parents can shift gears to back-to-school season with ease as these shoes are also fantastic transitional items. Each has a molded-EVA footbed, providing the necessary support that makes hiking and play a breeze! (Torino Mid WP MSRP $85.00, Versatrail Mid WP MSPR $75.00, Oakridge Mid WP MSRP $70.00).Children 8-13 and youth 1-7 sizes available in varying styles, with alternative hook and loop closure on Childrens sizes 8-13 for improved fit. Kids can effortlessly transition into winter with new activity-oriented snow boots. With a bungee closure at the top of the boot for a snug fit, theboot keeps kids cozy as they build snowmen and make snow angels in the fresh powder. Girls will stay stylishly toasty with the faux-shearling collar and heat-reflecting footbed on the. This new boot is a rendition of moms favorite, so little ones can match their mommies in comfort, warmth and style. Both theandfeature a waterproof membrane, waterproof materials and warm insulation, providing a heat barrier to keep kids happy and warm while walking in a winter wonderland. (Winterport II WP MSPR $90.00, Elsa Boot WP MSRP $85.00). Children 8-13 and youth 1-7 sizes available in varying styles.With innovative designs and features, quality materials, brightcolors and graphic prints, KEENis thrilled to introduce new back-to-school, outdoor and winterfootwear at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Tradeshow, said Erin Simons, Business Unit Director, Kids. These three collections blend together KEENs mission to produce long-lasting and trend-right footwear made specifically for tiny explorers, equipping them in style for their adventures on the playground, snowcapped mountains or hidden trails.With over 1,000 exhibiting companies, Outdoor Retailer brings together a global audience from the biggest names in the outdoor gear industry.is exhibiting at Booth #32183 during the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Tradeshow in Salt Palace Convention Center from January 7through 10For more information on Outdoor Retailer, visit www.outdoorretailer.com . For more information onand to see the entireline, please visit www.keenfootwear.com
Andy Eppler, aka ANDO, is releasing a new series of paintings at Wibby Brewing for the month of January.

By: The Prairie Scholars LLC

Yes Light 4

Contact

Jessica

***@andyeppler.com Jessica

End

-- Longmont, Colorado:Andy Eppler is best known as one-half of the beloved local band, The Prairie Scholars, but he is also the author of the book, New Reason New Way: how my skepticism changed my art, a co-host of the very successful show, The Prairie Scholars Podcast, a published poet, and a prolific painter.Mr. Eppler paints under the name Ando, which he says is his fully actualized artistic self that he wants to constantly move toward becoming. Ando released his most recent series of paintings on his birthday in July at The Longmont Songwriter Music Festival.The last series was called The Yes People. All ten of the pieces were manically happy portraits of characters that had a sort of psychedelic and cartoonish look to them. I hung them at the festival and got a really good reaction from folks. My motivation for the series was to try and encourage people to say yes to their creative impulses. Saying yes has brought me a very fulfilling life and I want to try and share that idea with people. I dont consider myself to be the greatest painter alive but I do love it and I do let myself do what I love. Im much happier for it. I call this impulse my Yes Voice, Eppler said.The idea of the Yes Voice came to me when I was smoking a joint and thinking about reality in my back yard about a year ago. I had just watched some lecture in which some scientist was talking about the idea of new realities/universes being birthed whenever a decision is made or an action is taken. The idea essentially boiled down to that of flipping a coin and thereby creating two different realities. One would be a reality where the coin lands on heads and the other would be a reality where the coin lands on tails. If this idea is tracked back through all the decisions and actions in the history of the universe to the root of all of them one comes to the initial cosmic coin flip of will there be a universe or wont there be? All at once I realized that this universe I was looking at was the heads version or the yes there will be a universe option. In other words, when I create things, I am more in tune with the pattern set forth naturally and unavoidably by the universe. When I say yes to my creativity I am fulfilling that pattern. I am a working cog in the mechanism that is this reality also I recognize that I sound sort of benignly insane. Ive come to terms with that as well.When asked about the new series he said, My new series is also focused on the Yes Voice but from a different angle and using different images to send the message. This time Im using big flowers and tiny little women who are meditating and doing yoga on the petals. Ive been waiting for the right time to release these and I think the middle of winter is the best time for a little brightness and a little softness.The six paintings in the series will be up at Wibby Brewing for the month of January. Find more information and paintings by Ando at www.prairiescholars.com
Raleighwood Searches for Movie Star, Character Look-alikes for their 16th Annual Academy Awards Gala

By: Raleighwood Cinema Grill

Media Contact

Jean Best

jean@bestmarketingnc.com Jean Best

End

-- Raleighwood will hold their 16annual Academy Awards Gala on Sunday February 28. Watch the Oscars on the 35 foot screen! Admission is FREE. Lobby Doors open 6:45pm, Theater 7 pm. The night the Hollywood and Raleighwood stars SHINE!The annual search is on for Stars to attend as VIPs! Each year, Raleighwood looks for people bearing a striking resemblance to a ovie star (past or present) or a character from a movie. If you, or someone you know, fit the role, email a photo in characteralong with contact info (name, phone, email) to SpecialEvents@RaleighwoodMovies.comWinners will be notified and invited to attend the event as an A-List Guest, enjoy Movie Start VIP treatment, seated in a special VIP section along with some additional perks and goodies. Stars walk the red carpet, are photographed by paparazzi,and pose for photos with fans.The costume and look-alike contest Grand Prize packages worth over $200 each for audience favorite and best dressed star or character include tickets to NC Symphony, Hair & Nail Salon services, gift certificates and lots more. Even if you are not pre-picked to attend as a VIP, be sure to attend Raleighwoods Academy Awards night in costume and enter the contest. You could win one of these great prize packages.for a chance to win prizes including movie memorabilia, t-shirts, gift certificates and more from local area restaurants and businesses.Raleighwood, a movie theater and restaurant all in one, will be showing the awards on the giant 35 foot screen, the regular menu of casual food, beer, wine, and champagne will be available for purchase. Start the night off with a Wine Tasting in the lobby, pick up a Pick the Oscar Winners ballot, and of course, take photos with our Movie Stars. Come in your best glam, dressed up, in movie theme costume, or casual; the skys the limit.Sponsors include Denise Keane, Fonville-Morisey realtor/broker;NC Symphony, Sweet T Salon, Southern Star Ballroom Center, The Chocolate Boutique, Star Wars groups, and other local businesses. To see photos of past years, and for more info, visit RaleighwoodMovies.com/events ( http://www.raleighwoodmovies.com/ events Raleighwood Cinema Grill, Falls Village Shopping Center, 6609 Falls of Neuse Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615 (919.837.0326)Media Contact : Jean Best Best Marketingwww.BestMarketingNC.com
Free Head Lice Screenings Through January For All Customers!

Contact

Brandon Luepkes

Hair Fairies Portland Manager

***@hairfairies.com Brandon LuepkesHair Fairies Portland Manager

End

-- Hair Fairies, the nations largest network of salons to treat head lice, announced today that the grand opening of their new salon in Portland will take place in January 15th 2016, but is now open for home visits. In honor of their opening, free head lice screenings will be offered throughout the month of January.The salon is located at 2351 NW Westover Rd suite 240. Salon or in-home treatment is available. We are open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday by appointment and can be scheduled by calling 503.306.LICE (5423).Hair Fairies is known nationally for its time tested safe three-step treatment process, their line of non-toxic head lice removal and prevention products and their educational and successful screening programs for schools and camps. Once a treatment is finished, the salon also offers stylish haircuts in a fun, kid-friendly environment.Im very excited about opening our doors in Portland and providing the same fast reliable and safe service to frantic families dealing with lice in the Nob Hill area, said Maria Botham, founder and CEO of Hair Fairies. All of the ingredients in our products are all non-toxic and environmentally safe. Our trained technicians offer safe and effective treatments in a kid-friendly salon complete with Wi-fi, games and toys. Our goal is to help families eliminate head lice safely and quickly.Founded in 1999, Hair Fairies has treated more than 120,000 clients nationwide and has salons in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Seattle, and Connecticut. Most insurance companies approve partial payment of Hair Fairies treatments that also qualify for Flexible Spending Accounts, a validation of the treatments' success. More information about Hair Fairies services and products is available at www.hairfairies.com.
ELKO  Home sales have dropped in Elko County from last year, but some Realtors say its not necessarily an indication of a slow market.

Its slower, but its stabilized, said Tammy Bawcom, broker and owner of Bawcom Realty in Spring Creek.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, there were 519 homes sold in Elko County through October this year. A year ago, that number was 591 homes.

The market in general is still active, said Jim Winer, broker at Coldwell Banker Algerio Q-Team Realty. Were seeing more resale homes.

With construction of new homes at a much slower pace than in 2013, the average price of homes has also dropped. For all homes sold through October, the average price was $226,100. That number a year ago was $237,564.

Newer construction sells for a higher cost per square foot than resale, Winer said.

The slowdown of home sales has been attributed to several factors. Winer believes one could have been ballot questions 2 and 3, which proposed a removal of the cap on the net proceeds of minerals tax and a 2 percent tax on businesses.

I think the election as it relates to questions 2 and 3 on the ballot not only affected business, but real estate as well, Winer said.

Voters turned down both questions in November.

Bawcom, however, thought a big part of the decrease in housing sales was the availability of more rentals in Elko.

People can take their time deciding where theyre going to move into, she said.

Once the holidays are done, Bawcom expects to see home sales pick up again.

Elko and Hamilton Stage home sales

Sales within the Elko city limits actually rose from the same time last year.

As of Oct. 31, there have been 217 homes sold in the city at an average price of $237,938. Last year, there were 198 homes sold at $256,806.

Weve seen a decrease in the average sales price of around 7 percent, but the number of homes sold is actually up, Winer said.

By the end of October, about 80 homes in the city were still on the market, roughly a three-and-a-half month supply, he said. The average number of days on the market was 137.

The upper market, homes around the $350,000 range, has not had as many home sales this year, Winer said.

New construction was gung-ho and it was harder for sellers to compete, Bawcom said about earlier this year.

About three or four months ago, that trend reversed, she said. Now, there seems to be more variety of homes for sale.

Bawcom said she has seen a number of people continue to move into the Hamilton Stage subdivision, which could have drawn them away from Elko and Spring Creek.

Most of them said (they preferred) having the acreage we have in Spring Creek, but being closer to town, Bawcom said.

Still, Winer noted that fewer people have been moving into the subdivision than in 2013.

Were still seeing homes sell at Hamilton Stage, just not the fevered clip it was last year, Winer said.

Spring Creek

The price of homes in Spring Creek this year has remained relatively flat, Winer said.

Between January and October, 195 homes sold at an average price of $231,659. In 2013, there were 252.

The average number of days for a home on the market in Spring Creek was 145. There were approximately 142 homes actively listed at the end of October, roughly a seven-month supply.

If the market and demand stay active, Winer predicts home sales will go up.

Housing study

The Nevada Rural Housing Authority released a study in September on housing in Elko County.

According to the study, the average size of homes for sale in Elko this year was 1,882 square feet. In rural areas, it was 1,705.

Based on this study, we estimate Elko County could generate demand for 60 to 70 new home sales annually in the near term. Within the targeted $186K to $228K sales price range, demand is projected at eight to ten homes annually, NRHA stated in the summary of the study.

The study projects the short-term housing need for the city to be just over 235 units, including 175 affordable and subsidized units and 96 new market rate units.

An estimated 9.4 percent of area housing units are considered substandard, and up to 51 percent of Elko County households are rent overburdened, meaning they are paying 30 percent or more of their adjusted annual income for housing costs (including utilities).

Other real estate

While the housing market has slowed, commercial and industrial resale has picked up.

Weve seen quite a few commercial buildings and industrial buildings moving, Winer said. ... We havent seen this kind of activity in commercial and industrial building resale for two to three years.

Also up are hotel land sales. For example, this year alone saw land purchases by three different hotel groups in the East Jennings Way and Ruby Vista Drive area. Thats not including a couple that had already been in the plans.

If they all build, there will be five new hotels, Winer said.

A Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott are two of the hotels potentially coming to that area.
New Award will provide multi-year funding and support to highly effective nonprofit leaders and their organizations focused on Child Protection

Contact

Sarah Cramer

Director of Communications and Development

***@worldofchildren.org Sarah CramerDirector of Communications and Development

End

-- World of Children Award, headquartered in Dublin, California, has issued an open call for nominations for a new Child Protection Award to be given in October 2016. The Protection Award will recognize, fund, and support an individual who has made significant contributions to children through anti-trafficking and anti-slavery intervention, rescue and rehabilitation, or protection from abuse. The Award comes with a minimum cash grant of $50,000 and in-kind strategic support tailored to the winning organizations needs.Nobody really knows the full extent of trafficking in children around the world. It is conducted in the dark but often involves the tacit or even explicit support of officials in police forces, corporations, and governments. Additionally, many millions more children around the world live in indentured servitude or slavery, explains Harry Leibowitz, Co-Founder of World of Children Award. It is time to bring this terrible issue into the light and put serious philanthropic and political will behind rescue and rehabilitation of victims and complete abolishment of practices that continue to rob children of freedom, health, happiness and sometimes even their lives. This new award represents a strong commitment by our organization  one we hope many others will follow.Leibowitz and the organizations Board of Directors believe the new Award is an important step in ensuring the organization is focusing on the most pressing issues currently facing children around the world. In addition to actively soliciting nominations for the new Award, World of Children will work to raise awareness of these issues throughout the year, starting with a digital media campaign throughout January, which is Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the United States.Awards from World of Children provide funding and in-kind support to visionary leaders who lead sustainable, high-impact programs for children anywhere in the world. Nominations for the Child Protection Award and 4 other award categories  Health, Humanitarian, Education, and Youth  are being accepted through an online platform until April 1, 2016.
End

-- Barrel selected sherry bottler Alexander Jules has just released new Fino and Manzanilla bottlings into the US, Spanish and, soon, Japanese markets. Owner Alex Russan's latest bottlings are each of 9 years average age, with only 1,000 bottles of each wine produced.The Manzanilla 5/41, selected from the Maruja solera at Bodegas Juan Pinero, is refreshed from a single vineyard, the revered Pago del Hornillo in Sanlucar. Creamy and delineated, pistachio and almond aromas, and quite mineral. It is selected from the highest of four rows of the solera, where the bodega's microclimate (warmer/less humid at this top row) results in a thinnerveil, allowing the underlying wine to show through, having less pronouncedinfluence for its final stage of aging.By contrast, the new Fino 4/65, from a tiny Fino bodega in Jerez, also owned by Juan Pinero, is as much a yeast selection as a barrel selection. Three of the four barrels for this bottling were dominated by the less commonstrain ofyeast, which creates particularly pungent aromatics, the fourth barrel being dominated by the more commonstrain, producing brighter scented wine. This solera is primarily refreshed from Jerez's most famous vineyard, Pago Macharnudo.These new bottlings follow Mr. Russan's extremely well received Los Abandonados 6/8 Oloroso, and he anticipates more new releases and styles later in 2016.In addition to sherries, Alexander Jules, continuing its off the beaten path exploration of viticultural Spain, has grown its import portfolio to include new wines from Asturian producer Bodega VidAs (from grapes such as Carrasquin and Albarin Negro), and a North Galician Mencia, exported for the first time, from family run Casa Beade, in little known Betanzos.More info at www.alexander-jules.com.
Rigshospitalet to evaluate CERAMENT platform for use in bone tumors

LUND, Sweden, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BONESUPPORT, an emerging leader in injectable bone substitutes for orthopedic trauma, bone infections and instrument augmentation related to orthopedic surgery, today announced that the Company has signed a research collaboration with Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, the largest hospital in Denmark, whereby the institution will evaluate BONESUPPORT's platform technology, CERAMENT, in the management of bone tumors.

The study will retrospectively evaluate clinical results using bone allografts, and prospectively evaluate clinical results using CERAMENTlBONE VOID FILLER and gentamicin eluting CERAMENTlG, for prophylactic use in bone tumor patients. CERAMENT will also be evaluated in combination with different substances in order to achieve enhanced bone healing.

Surgical management of bone tumors can create a residual bone defect in highly compromised patients, which requires void filling to prevent infection or fracture. Synthetic bone substitutes offer significant advantages over traditional autograft and allograft, which are associated with high morbidity and risk of disease transmission.

"We are excited to evaluate the CERAMENT technology platform in this research collaboration," said Michael Moerk Petersen, Professor, MD, DMSc, Rigshospitalet, who will oversee the study. "Both autologous bone and allograft have some disadvantages and risks associated with their use. We believe CERAMENT can provide a safe and effective alternative long-term solution to these technologies."

"BONESUPPORT is pleased to enter into this collaboration with such a prestigious medical institution," said Dr. Eva Liden, VP of Research and Development of BONESUPPORT. "Our CERAMENT technology platform continues to gain momentum with the physician community in Europe, and we will continue to invest in important research to validate our technology and improve upon the standard of care."

CERAMENT|G is CE-mark approved and is commercially available in parts of Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. CERAMENT|BONE VOID FILLER is FDA cleared and CE-mark approved and is commercially available in the U.S., Canada, parts of Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. Zimmer Biomet is the exclusive distributor of CERAMENT|BONE VOID FILLER in the U.S.

About BONESUPPORT

BONESUPPORT is an emerging leader of injectable bone graft substitutes for orthopedics, and trauma focusing on bone infection, instrument augmentation and spinal applications. CERAMENT is an injectable, synthetic bone substitute that mimics the properties of cancellous bone, allows for controlled resorption to support future bone ingrowth and is injectable under local anesthesia for minimally invasive surgery. CERAMENT|G and CERAMENT V are the first CE-marked injectable antibiotic eluting ceramic bone graft substitutes indicated to promote and protect bone healing in the management of osteomyelitis, (bone infections). CERAMENT's unique biologic properties deliver a consistent, pre-packed and ready-to-use formulation to facilitate optimal delivery. CERAMENT|G and CERAMENT V are not available in the United States.

CERAMENT is a fully developed product platform that is commercially available in the U.S., Europe, SE Asia and the Middle East. CERAMENT is revolutionizing the treatment of fragility and other fractures caused by disease and trauma. Scientific research of CERAMENT spans more than eleven years. Over fifty pre-clinical, and clinical studies have been conducted and more than 20,000 patients have been treated with CERAMENT. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Lund, Sweden with subsidiary locations in the US and Germany. To learn more about BONESUPPORT please visit www.bonesupport.com.

Investor and Press Inquiries:

Offer Nonhoff

Chief Financial Officer

Offer.Nonhoff@bonesupport.com

Phone +46 46 286 53 60

PR 0485-01 en

Related Links

http://www.bonesupport.com



SOURCE BONESUPPORT
NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As created by brand agency CBX, the new Green Valley brand from Salem, Oregon based-Green Valley Foods, LLC brings eye-popping innovation to a category long marked by a sea of sameness on the shelf.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319821

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319822

"We threw out the rules for the organic aisle with Green Valley," said Gregg S. Lipman, CEO and Managing Partner of CBX. "Our beans will come in visually distinct, shelf-stable pouches, as well as in cans. Each package blends tasty photography with hand-written typography and vibrant illustrations. The result is a fresh, farm-to-table brand that intrigues and excites."

In creating the new brand, which launched in October, CBX designed packages for Green Valley's full line of organic beans, as well as their canned vegetable and pumpkin offering. Prior to designing the packs, the team surveyed the category and was struck by the visual similarity of many of the leading brands of organic beans, Lipman said. Research, focused on Millennial moms from both coasts, underscored the need for a breakthrough in the category, he added.

"We saw that there was an opportunity here for something innovative and differentiated," Lipman explained. "The 'classic' organic cues were no longer on the menu. We were on a mission to create a vibrant, playful, honest offering that would spark optimism and creativity, catering to today's busy but conscious consumers."

The CBX team and Green Valley opted for an entirely new approach to the packaging by introducing a shelf-stable pouch for the bean varieties. "Right away, that signals to the consumer that something is different about this brand," Lipman said.

Another goal of the brand was to inspire and engage Millennial consumers to enjoy the experience of cooking for themselves and for their kids, using Green Valley's organic ingredients. "We introduced loose recipe suggestions on the back of the pack to inspire that creative cooking instinct," Lipman said.

In addition, the CBX team brought the strong brand identity and package design to life digitally by launching the brand across key social media platforms. At welcometogreenvalley.com, users are invited into the thriving, healthy world of Green Valley. The website and social media channels continue to build upon the "Healthy Food for All" platform with chef-created Green Valley product recipes, budget-friendly $10 family meals and information about organic food and farming practices.

"Already, social media results are indicating huge interest with more than 40,000 likes on Facebook," he reported. "Distribution is set to grow rapidly over the coming months."

Green Valley believes in giving back, and has partnered with The Food Trust, a non-profit organization that shares a similar mission, to truly bring healthy food to everyone. The partnership will likely include donations and sponsorship of events across the country, Lipman said.

"Increasingly, simply being organic is no longer enough," he concluded. "Consumers are looking for organic brands that mesh with their lifestyle, as well as their values. Green Valley fits the bill perfectly with a commitment to creative, organic and just plain healthier food for all."

About CBX

CBX specializes in creative marketing services including: strategy, naming, branding, retail design, and packaging design. The company, with its current staff of more than 130 employees, was founded in 2003 and has a client base that includes: Dr Pepper Snapple Group, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark, Big Heart Pet Brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Shinsegae, Walgreens and Wawa. In addition to its New York City Headquarters, CBX has offices in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Austin. www.cbx.com

Media contacts: At CBX, Tina Rosenbaum, Director of Marketing, (212) 404-7979, Email; at Parness & Associates, Bill Parness, (732) 290-0121, Email or Lisa Kreda, Email

Note to media: Additional images are available upon request from Parness & Associates

SOURCE CBX

Related Links

http://www.cbx.com


FORESTVILLE, Calif., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- If a visit to the California wine country is on your bucket list then a stay in the very best hotel should be too.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319924

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319925

Travel and Leisure has just released their list of the best hotels in every state and yes, Farmhouse Inn is there, representing California. http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/best-hotels-in-every-state/5?iid=sr-link6



Farmhouse Inn, an internationally acclaimed boutique hotel in the heart of Northern California's wine country, is best known for its intimate setting coupled with a Michelin-starred restaurant and world class service. Having just completed an expansion and major renovation in 2015 the boutique property was voted the #8 Best Hotel in the World by Travel & Leisure readers. Everything from the quality of rooms, the location, service, dining options, and value were rated by readers. http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/worlds-best-hotels/42.

With so much to celebrate  a property-wide renovation and expansion, #8 Best Hotel in the World and now Best Hotel in California  this California gem has put together an offer for the New Year for travelers heading to the wine country.

Free Nights in Wine Country

What's better than 2 nights in the wine country? 3 nights and one is free! (Save up to $1195)

Stay 3 nights (or more) in a Deluxe or Luxury room and every 3rd night is free!

Valid through March 31, 2016. Not valid Valentine's/ President's Day Weekend.

Nestled in the iconic Russian River Valley (just an hour north of San Francisco), Farmhouse Inn is a family-owned luxury boutique hotel with just 25 rooms. The hotel's small size offers guests an intimate wine country experience with richly crafted offers, packages, meals, spa treatments and more. The mission put forth by the hotel owners' is simple: to provide an authentic, "insider" experience of California Wine Country- everything at Farmhouse Inn is designed to make each visit to the wine country memorable. ( www.farmhouseinn.com ). The hotel is owned by 5th generation siblings, whose connections in the area mean guests of the hotel often have access to unknown and hard-to-find locations. Guests quickly fall in love with the hotel and staff after the first visit-which explains the high praise bestowed by Travel & Leisure magazine and its readers.

About Farmhouse Inn - Located in the stunning Russian River Valley region of Sonoma County's famed wine country, Farmhouse Inn is a rural sanctuary that represents the finest level of lodging, dining, and spa. Twenty-five sublime guest rooms and suites, a farm-fresh Michelin-starred restaurant, and seasonal body treatments come together in one unforgettable experience. Arriving at Farmhouse Inn, guests are immediately transported to a gracious wine country lifestyle and can expect warm, seasoned hospitality and memorable personal encounters. Owned by siblings Joe and Catherine Bartolomei, whose family has farmed in the area for five generations, Farmhouse has evolved from a lifetime of shared family traditions that center around the rhythms of nature.

From Travel & Leisure - Best Hotels in Every State - These are just some of the fabulous hotels that T+L readers have voted into our hall of fame, known as the World's Best Awards. Most of the hotels on this list received top scores from readers, who rated everything from the quality of the rooms to the location, service, dining options, nightlife, and value. When planning your next American vacation, consider staying at one of these outstanding properties and vote for your favorites in the 2016 World's Best Awards survey.

Media Contact:

Meilani Naranjo, Farmhouse Inn Sales & Marketing

Email

1-707-887-3300 Ex. 302

SOURCE Farmhouse Inn

Related Links

http://www.farmhouseinn.com


REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The top trend for business growth in 2016 is "Welcome to the Age of Peer Power," according to Bill Lee, Founder of the Center for Customer Engagement and Producer of the annual Summit on Customer Engagement.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160106/319916LOGO

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"Like-minded people are banding together in increasingly creative ways to achieve mutual goals, without waiting on institutions to serve their interests. We've seen this in crowdfunding, microlending, crowdsourcing, successful healthcare initiatives in Africa, the explosive growth of mega churches in America, and other mass movements," said Lee, who unveiled his top 10 trends for 2016 today.

Peer power is rapidly working its way into businesses. Empowered buyers and customers are collaborating in ways that present great threatsand great opportunities.

"Our research and client work show that companies like Salesforce, Citrix, Cognizant, IBM, Adobe and others will continue to move well beyond managing this trend in 2016they'll embrace it as a major driver for growth," says Lee. "We'll spend two days seeing how these and other firms are excelling in this environment, at the 2016 Summit on Customer Engagement (March 1-2, Redwood City, Calif.). The impetus is coming from dramatic innovations in customer reference, customer advocacy, customer engagement and related programs."

Here are several of the top trends Lee has identified.

For the full version of this article with commentary, please click here.

High growth firms in 2016 will increasingly:

Ask, "What stories do we want our customers to tell?" With empowered buyers and customers talking to each other more and more, senior management must ask, "What stories do we want our customers telling? And what must we do to create these stories?"

With empowered buyers and customers talking to each other more and more, senior management must ask, "What stories do we want our customers telling? And what must we do to create these stories?" Ask, "How can we leverage the natural desire of buyers and customers to affiliate with each other?" Firms like Salesforce, Citrix, SAS and others are discovering that if you make customers successful and give them a vibrant peer group to affiliate with, they will eagerly tell their story to other customers and your market.

Firms like Salesforce, Citrix, SAS and others are discovering that if you make customers successful and give them a vibrant peer group to affiliate with, they will eagerly tell their story to other customers and your market. Treat the prospect as a customer already. Companies will increasingly remove the false distinction between prospect and buyer. They are both customers, and leading firms in 2016 will focus first on meeting their needs.

Companies will increasingly remove the false distinction between prospect and buyer. They are both customers, and leading firms in 2016 will focus first on meeting their needs. Eliminate the distinction between customer and advocate. On the other side of the customer journey--where companies move customers into advocacy--they'll increasingly treat advocates like customers in this phase as well, by offering a value proposition quite similar in appeal to the value provided by products and services.

On the other side of the customer journey--where companies move customers into advocacy--they'll increasingly treat advocates like customers in this phase as well, by offering a value proposition quite similar in appeal to the value provided by products and services. Make process king when it comes to customer centricity. Exhortations that "We must be more customer-centric" won't cut it. Leading firms are developing intentional processes and systemslike account-based management, empowered customer-facing employees, customized customer advocacy opportunities, vibrant customer communities and so forththat will dramatically expand customer value beyond your products and services.

Exhortations that "We must be more customer-centric" won't cut it. Leading firms are developing intentional processes and systemslike account-based management, empowered customer-facing employees, customized customer advocacy opportunities, vibrant customer communities and so forththat will dramatically expand customer value beyond your products and services. Leverage technology's next frontier: rich data for the entire customer journey. Technology has developed robust data for moving prospects through the buyer's journey. But the false and dysfunctional divisions between prospect and customer, and between customer and advocate, are being swept away by firms who realize that they need a single view of the company at all phases of the customer journey.

Technology has developed robust data for moving prospects through the buyer's journey. But the false and dysfunctional divisions between prospect and customer, and between customer and advocate, are being swept away by firms who realize that they need a single view of the company at all phases of the customer journey. Adopt the language of the customer. Leading firms in 2016 will devise processes that instill the "voice of the customer" into sales, marketing, product development and the C-suite. Lee teaches a simple 5 or 6 question process for conducting brief phone calls with customerstaking perhaps 5 to 10 minutesand the resulting language it elicits carries much more impact than the "elevator" pitch that conventional salespeople and executives carry around.

Leading firms in 2016 will devise processes that instill the "voice of the customer" into sales, marketing, product development and the C-suite. Lee teaches a simple 5 or 6 question process for conducting brief phone calls with customerstaking perhaps 5 to 10 minutesand the resulting language it elicits carries much more impact than the "elevator" pitch that conventional salespeople and executives carry around. Build corporate self-esteem. A side benefit of leading-edge customer engagement practices outlined above is that they raise corporate self esteem. "I am frequently struck," says Lee, "at how surprised executives and managers are by the high esteem their customers feel for them. When they realize this, firm self-esteem and appetite for opportunity-seeking dramatically increase."

ABOUT BILL LEE

Bill Lee is the foremost authority in the world on customer engagement and advocacy. He is author of The Hidden Wealth of Customers (Harvard Business Review Press), and is sought out and quoted by major media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes Online, CRM Magazine, Rain Today and others.

Bill speaks to audiences like the American Marketing Association, the Business Marketing Association, the Net Promoter Annual Conference, the International Advertising Association (IAA), Forrester Research, and many others.

Contact:

Bill Lee

Center for Customer Engagement

469-726-2651

SOURCE Center for Customer Engagement

Related Links

http://centerforcustomerengagement.com


CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Lite continues to elevate the music festival circuit by extending its long-term sponsorship with Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The Tennessee-based festival will return in 2016 from June 9 to 12, with the return of the New Music Lounge by Miller Lite. Bonnaroo features more than 100 acts from a diverse array of genres, spanning from indie rock to hip hop, and is expected to draw more than 80,000 fans from across the country.

Miller Lite

"The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is the most iconic original festival in the U.S., so it makes perfect sense for the original light beer to play a big part in it," said Bill Averill, director of field marketing for MillerCoors Southeast region. "We're extremely excited to continue our long-standing partnership with Bonnaroo, and showcase some of the best up-and-coming original bands from around the country on our stage."

Miller Lite will join the iconic festival, held in Manchester, Tennessee, for the 15th anniversary of hosting music legends and renowned comedians. The brand, in its sixth year as the official beer of Bonnaroo, will continue to support the partnership and New Music Lounge through extensive retail activation programming throughout the Southeast.

"Our friends at Miller Lite have been important partners for Bonnaroo and we look forward to extending our relationship for a long time to come," said Chad Issaq, EVP, Business Development & Partnerships for Superfly, and co-producer of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

For more information on Miller Lite, visit www.Facebook.com/MillerLite, follow @MillerLite on Twitter or visit www.MillerLite.com.

About MillerCoors

Through its diverse collection of storied breweries, MillerCoors brings American beer drinkers an unmatched selection of the highest quality beers steeped in centuries of brewing heritage. Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company offer domestic favorites such as Coors Light, Miller Lite, Miller High Life and Coors Banquet. Tenth and Blake Beer Company, our craft and import division, offers beers such as Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy from sixth-generation Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and Blue Moon Belgian White from modern craft pioneer Blue Moon Brewing Company, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year. Tenth and Blake also operates Crispin Cider Company, an artisanal maker of pear and apple ciders using fresh-pressed American juice, and imports world-renowned beers such as Italy's Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the Czech Republic's Pilsner Urquell and the Netherlands' Grolsch. MillerCoors also offers pioneering new brands such as the Redd's Apple and Redd's Wicked Apple franchises and Smith & Forge Hard Cider. MillerCoors seeks to become America's best beer company through an uncompromising promise of quality, a keen focus on innovation and a deep commitment to sustainability. MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Learn more at MillerCoors.com, at facebook.com/MillerCoors or on Twitter through @MillerCoors.

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SOURCE Miller Lite

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http://www.millerlite.com/AV


MIAMI, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Motorists in Miami-Dade County can once again register in the MDX Cash Back Toll Dividend (CBTD) Program to save money on MDX tolls from January 11, 2016 through March 31, 2016. Now in its second year, the CBTD is MDX's frequent user program. Customers who frequently drive on SR 112/Airport Expressway, SR 836/Dolphin Expressway, SR 874/Don Shula Expressway, SR 878/Snapper Creek Expressway, and SR 924/Gratigny Parkway are eligible to participate. It is free to register and there is no cost to participate.

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The program was introduced in 2015, and is the first of its kind in the United States. In 2015, $2.2 million in cash back rebates were distributed to CBTD members. Approximately 38,000 customers received a check reimbursing 30 percent of the tolls they paid while enrolled in the program.

"We are excited to be able to offer this innovative cash back rebate program again in 2016," MDX Chairman Louis Martinez said. "It is our way of thanking of frequent users and business owners who use our expressways on a regular basis."

The way the program works is simple. Each fiscal year, which occurs from July 1 to June 30 annually, after the close of its financial books, MDX will declare a toll distribution of dividends to members of the program. This is after the agency meets its financial obligations, including making its annual principal and interest payments, meeting its senior debt coverage ratio, and covering its operation and maintenance costs.

"We are thrilled to receive money back from MDX," said Alex Jimenez of All Dade Fences, a small business in Miami that received cash back in 2015. "Because we are enrolled in this program, we've seen how much we can save. It's great that MDX is doing this for the community."

To qualify for the program, members must have a SunPass account in good standing, and spend $100 annually on tolls on any of the five expressways maintained by MDX  SR 112/Airport Expressway, SR 836/Dolphin Expressway, SR 874/Don Shula Expressway, SR 878/Snapper Creek Expressway, and SR 924/Gratigny Parkway. MDX will return excess toll revenues directly to its customers through the Cash Back Toll Dividend Program.

"I'm glad I joined the MDX cash back program last year," said Gail Coats, a local school teacher who received cash back through the CBTD Program in 2015. "It's nice to get cash back just for using the expressways that I travel on every day."

New members can sign up beginning on January 11, 2016, by visiting www.mdxway.com/cashback, open enrollment ends on March 31, 2016. For questions about the MDX Cash Back Toll Dividend Program or need assistance, please call 786-433-4103, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or send an e-mail at [email protected].

About MDX

MDX operates and maintains five user-supported expressways in Miami-Dade County  SR 112/Airport Expressway, SR 836/Dolphin Expressway, SR 874/Don Shula Expressway, SR 878/Snapper Creek Expressway, and SR 924/Gratigny Parkway. MDX expressways are funded by toll revenue, which is reinvested back into the community and funds the construction of projects that alleviate traffic congestion, create thousands of local jobs and provide new opportunities to small and local businesses. The agency also gives back a portion of its annual revenue to qualified drivers through the MDX Cash Back Toll Dividend Program.

SOURCE MDX

Related Links

http://www.mdxway.com


ELKO  County commissioners dont have a choice in the establishing of a new Elko justice of the peace and now the board is concerned with how the position will be funded  one option they discussed was cutting court security.

Elko Justice of the Peace Mason Simons told the County last year that a new judge was warranted and an election will be this year.

Commissioner Glen Guttry said residents keep asking him why Elko needs another justice of the peace when the caseload for the judge is down compared with previous years.

Im not on an agenda or a crusade for this, I am simply responding to our taxpayers that have some concerns, he said. I dont know that theres anything that were going to be able to change, but I wanted you to be aware of some of the issues that I found.

He said the judge and staff are doing a fantastic job.

I think the thing that Im upset about is that the commission was left with no options. I mean absolutely no option at all. We were just told youre going to do this.

Guttry said he had hoped to come to a compromise and have more visiting judges or delay adding another court.

I think another big concern is staff has a lot of concern about how were going to fund this, he said. I think our job as commissioners is to manage the county budget, thats one of the most important things we do, and adding a court that might not be needed is really not sound financial fiscal policy. We have to run as lean as we possibly can and still provide adequate services. I talked to the judge and I realize theres other things that require a judge and his time during the day that arent reflected in the numbers that Im going to show you, but theres 50 some judges in the state, I think, and they all have to juggle their schedules and make things work too.

Guttry said the law that allows the justice of the peace to decide when another judge is needed is a bad law. The law states that another justice of the peace is needed when a judicial township exceeds a population of 34,000 people, unless the seated judge determines that another judge isnt needed.

He read a letter from Judge Barbara Nethery in 2012, in which she cited that Elko would soon need another justice of the peace. She said it wasnt needed in 2012, but it would become necessary in the very near future.

Guttry said in 2012, the numbers available to Nethery showed a trend of the cases increasing. In 2011, the justice court had 12,730 total cases filed in justice and municipal courts. In 2011, the cases peaked at 12,730, which included 1,808 criminal, 2,078 civil, and 603 municipal not including traffic.

Guttry compared these numbers with the caseload in 2015 for the court. The justice court had a total of 9,836 cases, which included 1,390 criminal, 1,459 civil, and 302 municipal.

He said when you compare the caseload of 2011 to 2015, it is down 26 percent for the justice court and down 49 percent in the municipal court.

Commissioner Rex Steninger asked if the county would have any ability of not paying for the metal detector at the courthouse.

Court security is a vital interest of the court system, said Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney Kristin McQueary.

She said the judges can order the security. She said the court security was ordered originally by a visiting district court judge.

It just seems absolutely ridiculous to me that were spending $350,000 a year to make them feel secure over there, Steninger said. They already have bailiffs with guns. Its crazy to me. (Cutting security is) a great way to fund whats being demanded of us.

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi also said he did not like how the law was written, that one person decides when the position is needed.

I dont think that any one person ever ought to have the authority to be able to do that without having the responsibility to also fund it, he said.

Andreozzi and Commissioner Demar Dahl both suggested reaching out to the Legislature to change the law.

Dahl said the County may be able to work out something with the judges to make them feel secure but have it cost the county less money.

The funding of the justice court will go through the Countys budget committee. The judges will be notified that security at the courthouse will possibly be on another agenda.
RESTON, Va., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society of Appraisers announces the 2016 ASA Personal Property Annual Connoisseurship Conference to be held March 10-12, 2016, at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The theme for the 2016 conference is The Sacred and the Profane. Participants will discuss and examine how appraisers deal with sacred objects, the rules and protocols surrounding ritual artifacts, and what can be learned from the turmoil in the contemporary art and collector car markets, plus much more.

Highlights include:

In addition to speakers, seminars and panel discussions, there will be featured museum and gallery tours, including the Vancouver Art Gallery and the magnificent Museum of Anthropology.

Early registration and compeer organization discounts available. Visit www.appraisers.org/ppc or by call 272-8258.

The ASA Personal Property Annual Connoisseurship Conference is an annual event for appraisers, auctioneers, museum curators, insurance underwriters, estate attorneys and others with an interest in personal property that focuses on exploring the latest valuation related issues and providing practical knowledge and insight from highly esteemed experts. For more information about the Conference, visit www.appraisers.org/ppc or call (800) 272-8258.

The American Society of Appraisers is a world-renowned and respected international organization devoted to the appraisal profession. As the oldest and only major appraisal organization representing all appraisal specialists, ASA is devoted to providing the highest possible standards in all areas of ethics, professionalism, education and designation criteria. For more information about the American Society of Appraisers, the ASA designation program for appraisers or the Society's free "Find an Appraiser" Referral System, visit www.appraisers.org or call (800) 272-8258.

Press Contact:

Todd Paradis

Email

(703) 733-2124

SOURCE American Society of Appraisers

Related Links

http://www.appraisers.org


LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) today announced that Prophet Capital Asset Management, a $2.3 billion structured credit hedge fund, has adopted Broadridge's integrated trading, portfolio management and operating platform.

"An established structured credit fund like ours, with a two-decade growth trajectory and an increasingly sophisticated investor base, requires scalable, institutional-quality infrastructure," said Kurt Rechner, COO of Prophet Capital Asset Management. "The Broadridge solution offered out-of-the-box functionality as well as the option for customization to support trading of complex securities  which was key for us  all through a single platform."

Broadridge Investment Management Solutions, which includes the award-winning Portfolio Master operating platform, now supports more than 225 hedge funds, asset managers, family offices, fund administrators and prime brokers globally. A number of high-growth hedge funds have recently adopted the platform, underscoring the strength of Broadridge's solution to manage complexity for large funds.

"Our global portfolio management solution enables hedge funds and asset managers to institutionalize their infrastructure and realize significant operational efficiencies by having their order management, portfolio accounting and risk management on a common platform," said Bennett Egeth, president, Broadridge Investment Management Solutions.

"By managing complexity, we allow clients to capture an order and automatically reconcile trade files to prime brokers, as well as provide a daily NAV to their administrator. This enables them to focus on differentiating activities like alpha generation and capital raising. Because we cover virtually every asset class globally, our clients can consolidate multiple platforms onto a single product suite," Egeth said.

Broadridge Investment Management Solutions most recently was recognized as the "Best Post-Trade Technology" provider at the HFM European Technology Awards in November 2015.

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and corporate issuers globally. Broadridge's investor communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience, Broadridge's infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes on average $5 trillion in equity and fixed income trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 7,400 full-time associates in 14 countries. For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.

Media Contact

Kate McGann

Broadridge

+1 212-981-1395

[email protected]

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SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


LENEXA, Kan., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Silpada, a leading direct sales and e-commerce accessories company, today announced the launch of its Stylemaker program, a modern way for women to share and sell the company's handcrafted jewelry and accessories.

A ShopBox, which is shipped directly to a Stylemaker's door, includes 15 of Silpada's best pieces for her to wear and share with friends. Whatever she doesn't sell after 14 days, she sends back free of charge.

The introduction of the Silpada Stylemaker in February 2016 carves out a new category in the direct selling industry by creating a more accessible and casual selling opportunity for women. The program is designed for the digital-driven woman who is interested in adding to her current income (not replacing it). She is not expected to recruit a team or host parties.

After signing up for $129, a Silpada Stylemaker receives:

25-30% commission on everything she sells

The opportunity to earn $50 referral bonuses

referral bonuses A personalized e-commerce site to share the entire Silpada collection

Two ShopBox  credits

The launch of the Stylemaker program also introduces the Silpada ShopBox, an exclusive Stylemaker perk and the first of its kind in the direct sales industry. The ShopBox is delivered directly to a Stylemaker's door, filled with 15 of Silpada's best pieces (valued at up to $1,000) that she can wear, share and sell to her friends. Whatever she doesn't sell after her 14-day period can be sent back free of charge using the envelope provided in her box. The ShopBox is a Stylemaker's "business in a box," giving her everything she needs to sell casually to her social circle. While Stylemakers gets two free ShopBox credits at sign-up, they can also request additional boxes ($49 each) to use anytime they choose. Silpada will release six different ShopBoxes throughout the year.

"When Silpada was founded in 1997, it was a pioneer in the industry for removing the formal presentation from the home party," said Kelsey Perry, Co-Chief Executive Officer. "Today, nearly all direct sales companies have eliminated the formal presentation. We hope to transform the industry again by delivering a refreshed business model that pairs box delivery with a more casual selling method."

After the successful November launch of the Style Card, Silpada's customer loyalty program, the Stylemaker program adds to Silpada's already-existing business opportunity, which includes more than 25,000 Silpada Representatives across North America.

"By offering two ways to sell Silpadaas a traditional Representative or as a Stylemakerwe're speaking to a larger demographic of female entrepreneurs," said Ryane Delka, Co-Chief Executive Officer. "Whether she wants to earn a little extra spending money to buy the boots she's been eyeing or replace her income by building her own jewelry business, she can choose the best fit for her lifestyle."

About Silpada

Silpada is a direct sales and e-commerce accessories company committed to empowering women through fashion entrepreneurship. Millennial moms Kelsey Perry and Ryane Delka lead the company as Co-Chief Executive Officers, and are recasting the brand for a new generation of women. Silpada's product offerings include an industry-leading .925 Sterling Silver Collection, a brass-based KR Collection and a versatile Accessories collection of handcrafted scarves, handbags and small leather goods.

@silpadadesigns

@kelseyandryane

Contact Information:

Abby Gerstner

Silpada Public Relations

(913) 851-7757

[email protected]

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SOURCE Silpada

Related Links

http://www.silpada.com


CORAL SPRING, Fla., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walk to Defeat ALS is one of the ALS Association's biggest annual events. The walks are several miles and provide an opportunity for the community to come together and help to defeat ALS. Kaila Williams, Regional Development Manager for the Florida Chapter, noted that, "The Walk brings hope to people living with ALS, raises money for treatment and a cure, and gathers people together for something they care about. The Walk to Defeat ALS also raises funds that allow the Florida Chapter to sustain care services and support research for much of the next year." Simplesa is dedicated to assisting those with ALS or impacted by the disease. The company was originally founded to help patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) follow complex nutritional protocols. Simplesa's vice president Steve Margolis stated, "We are very excited to be actively involved and supporting the Walk to Defeat ALS in Florida. It is such an important event for the ALS Association and we want to help to make it as successful as possible for the patients and their families."

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Simplesa will be participating in these sponsored walks and details can be found here:

Please watch the ALS Association Florida Chapter's website and social media for other information on these Walks or how to help Defeat ALS.

About Simplesa

Simplesa was founded in 2013 because it saw a need and had a solution. ALS patients were having success following the Deanna Protocol, but it was too complex and expensive the way it was distributed. Simplesa formulated products specifically for these ALS patients to simplify their regimen and lower the cost of the products they take. The brand is continuously on the lookout for other similar situations to help patients keep their supplemental and nutritional regimes simple.

Corporate Contact

Steve Margolis

Steve (at) simplesanutrition.com

ALS Association Florida Chapter

Kaila Williams

888-257-1717 x 119

kwilliams(at)alsafl.com

SOURCE Simplesa

Related Links

http://www.simplesanutrition.com


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Matt Ellison, Lead Design and Engineering of ARiES Energy, wholly owned by PHG Energy of Nashville, has earned the solar industry's leading recognition of installation expertise from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), and is now a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional. NABCEP is the most highly respected and well established national certification organization for renewable energy professionals. Designation as a NABCEP PV Installation Professional is widely recognized to be the most important and meaningful certification of its kind in the solar industry.

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As the cost of PV systems has declined sharply over the last few years, more and more households, municipalities, and companies are "going solar." NABCEP is a mark of quality assurance that the consumer can use to know that they are choosing a qualified contractor.

To earn his NABCEP certification, Ellison was required to first document relevant education and experience related to PV system installation. Then he had to pass a rigorous exam that covers the breadth of the multi-craft knowledge, skills, and abilities required to competently design, install, and maintain PV systems. The exam assesses knowledge on subjects as diverse as electrical and mechanical system design, job site safety, the National Electrical Code, roofing and construction techniques, and system maintenance and troubleshooting.

"One thing you can be assured of when hiring a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional is that your project won't be their first," said Richard Lawrence, Executive Director of NABCEP. "Anyone who makes the considerable effort required to earn NABCEP certification has documented their training and experience as part of the eligibility process. They have also made a very real commitment to upholding high standards of ethical and professional practice. I am delighted to welcome Matt Ellison of ARiES Energy to the ranks of the industry's leading solar professionals."

Ellison joins Jason MacIsaac as the second NABCEP certified employee at ARiES Energy, adding to the strength of the renewable energy firm. "Receiving the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification is an exciting milestone on my solar PV career path," says Matt Ellison. "My high standards, education, and work ethic are now recognized and approved by the leading US solar PV installer certifying body. Our clients can feel confident, knowing that ARiES products and services have been provided for by a third-party-qualified installer, and will strengthen ARiES Energy as we push into new markets."

ARiES Energy has been successfully designing and installing, both residential and commercial solar, since 2011. Customers across Tennessee will soon be able to commission hybrid and off grid solar systems with ARiES Energy, due to expansion in their engineering department. ARiES has also designed a community solar project which is currently in development and will boost ARiES Energy's product line. ARiES Energy was the recipient of the 2015 Traction Day Award for innovative alternative energy solutions in the Tennessee region.

For more information contact ARiES Energy, on the web: www.ariesenergy.com, by phone: (865)-309-4674, or visit our offices at 4600 Chambliss Ave, Knoxville, TN open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

About ARiES Energy

ARiES Energy is for people and businesses who want to gain control of their energy costs. ARiES reduces or eliminates customers' vulnerability to rising energy costs, offer an environmentally-friendly source of electricity generation, and provide affordable, turnkey clean energy solutions. ARiES Energy is wholly-owned by renewable energy company PHG Energy of Nashville, TN.

About PHG Energy

PHGE is a private company owned by a Nashville family that has operated a large regional Caterpillar dealership for 71 years. Over a dozen of the patented downdraft gasification units have been successfully installed since 2007, with two contracted municipal waste-to-energy systems currently in the design/build phase.

About NABCEP

NABCEP is a nonprofit organization governed by a board of directors consisting of volunteer representatives of the solar industry, NABCEP certificants, renewable energy organizations, state policy makers, educational institutions, and the trades. NABCEP's mission is to develop and implement quality credentialing and certification programs for practitioners by supporting and working closely with stakeholders in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. To learn more visit www.nabcep.org.

SOURCE ARiES Energy

Related Links

http://www.ariesenergy.com


Howdy,

What is going on in Oregon with the protesters, ranchers and Feds, has finally got the country watching and listening. That is a good thing. It might get a conversation going about the back story, about the decades of ever aggressive Gov. agencies overstepping their powers. People might talk of the many cases of abuse and tyranny.

Gov. agencies have been used to put ranches out of business to acquire the water rights. Why would the Gov. want to put a rancher out of business, people will wonder? Why has the Gov. been acquiring large amounts of land for many years? Think about it, how would it look or sound to people in a State like Nevada, where over 85% of the land is already owned by the Fed, if that Fed were to spend tax dollars to buy more land? People would be livid.

Why does the Gov. need more land? Spoiler alert: Gov., we know its your underhanded, illegal, low life way of stealing water rights and lets not be naive, he with the water will rule the West. I, for one, believe the water within a State should be that States water, not an inefficient Gov. bureaucracys.

In this country, a law is brought forth by representatives of the people and goes through a process with arguments before being voted on, implemented and enforced. The Feds, on the other hand, write rules with no checks and balances, impose them on their boss (taxpayers), enforce them (to their liking) and are the judge in disputes over their rules. How does that happen? Isnt that the very definition of tyranny? Isnt that what we whipped the British for?

One of the Gov.s M Os is to write some rules, say the rancher has broken them, take grazing RIGHTS away, devastate the ranch and ranching families, put them off their land and take over. See how nicely that works for Gov.? They acquired more land (to mis-manage) and, more importantly, water rights.

They then write the press releases that, of course, makes villains of the land owners and heroes of the bureaucrats. It might have cost three times more in the courts then had they bought the ranch legally but thats their back door way around to obtaining land and water rights. The toll on humans, the land, the animals and the generational legacies brought about by public troughers is shameful and they should be held accountable the way we would be by them.

Whatever the real goals they have in mind are, they have not been deterred by their losses in courts. They have all the time and Gov. lawyers they want (at our expense). If you break a family monetarily and emotionally, and are able to wait them out, through your own court system, you win. Does that sound like it is pretty well stacked in their favor to you?

In the Bundy case, it comes down to the Gov. saying the rancher owed a bill. Now, if I were to owe you money, couldnt or didnt want to pay you, l could go bankrupt. The Gov. would prevent you from recovering the money I know and admit I owe you. We have no more debtors prisons in this country, weve evolved past putting people in prison for debts. If, on the other hand, the Gov. determines that you broke their rules and owe them money, they will jail you, confiscate personal property, use third-world, martial law, strong-arm tactics against Americans. In short, bully citizens with rules they made, not laws, to collect a bill.

That is what all the scuffle in the Bundy case was about, a bill, for money! To collect that bill, our brilliant bullies budgeted SIX million tax payer dollars to recover their bill of ONE POINT THREE million. Let me see, thats FOUR POINT SEVEN MILLION taxpayer dollars more than they had hoped to recover. This, folks, is the way the BLM spends your money. Then, with the help of a dirty politician, they skewed the media and Americas perception and buried the real story. Had they won, or when they do, they would, or will, have accomplished everything they wanted, the water rights, the dirty politician would make out well financially and the people would now be safe from a 70-something (no criminal record) generational, respected rancher and his family.

When were any of these all powerful leaches elected to rule over us? Just claiming long enough you have power doesnt make it so. When did these supposed land managers become deadly force bill collectors? What would the Gov. do to you if you showed up with an armed group of thugs to collect money you say is owed?

This Oregon case boils down to a land management agencys ability to arbitrarily declare American citizens terrorists. In this case, accidentally burning 104 acres, when the BLM caused fires around the West consisting of many thousands of acres. Not one bureaucrat has been held accountable. The two accused arsonists, sentenced in a civil court, did their time in prison. Vindictive troughers took them back to their own Fed court, which ordered the two back to prison to serve out a five-year mandatory sentence for terrorism. (Isnt this double jeopardy?)

How are these mentally under-endowed, overpaid grass mis-managers equipped to pronounce citizens terrorists? Who told the idiots they could? Theyve proven they cant do the job they are there for, land, so who would give them more power? I dont believe the BLM mucky mucks in Elko are smart enough to work at Micky Dees, let alone have the power to deem Americans terrorists. I call those low life, no conscience, law breaking Gov employees that would, traitors, but thats just me.

We are also seeing op-eds from around the country echoing these protesters as terrorists, written by uneducated, big Gov. loving columnists armed with nothing more than agency press releases. You would not think in todays environment the word terrorist would be thrown around so freely by coyote scat BLMers and their lazy press buddies. We all know what a real terrorist is and the Feds come a lot closer to that word than the two ranchers they convicted of it.

The so called press never looked any farther than the Bundy standoff for the back story. None of the professional news gatherers asked the Gov. why they would come with an army, threaten peaceful protesting Americans with lethal force, to collect a bill.

We sure dont have to agree with the extremist right on all matters, but we should educate ourselves enough, on all sides of the issue, to explain our dilemma and help others to get facts. We should not allow these unconstitutional, martial law minded BLM globs to abuse power THEY GAVE THEMSELVES, against citizens who, unlike the tax suckers, actually produce something.

We simply have an infestation of freedom hating bureaucrats willing to lie, cheat, steal, cover up evidence and ruin good families and are willing to murder American citizens for their big Gov. motives. Ask yourselves, what would the politically correct presss response have been if those rioters in Missouri (destructive and violent) would have been called terrorists by the Gov. or these same arrogant opinion setters? Yeah.

Why is it that some wont believe it could be a dirty Fed agency when every single Gov. agency has been caught overreaching their powers, lying, breaking laws and tried to cover up their wrong doings. (CIA, FBI, IRS, USFS, BLM, EPA, DOD etc., etc.) Do they forget? Are they too dumb to put it together, or, do they just not want to believe? How do these columnists, who do not live under this kind of Gov., dare pass judgement and call good people terrorists? Why do they immediately take the Feds account of issues over regular citizens?

One hundred and four sagebrush acres burned. They were using commonly used methods in land management and fire abatement. Toward their own goals these incompetent, tax wasting Gov. morons were able to accuse and convict two respected Americans, that started a sagebrush fire, of terrorism, while the Gov. spills thousands and thousands and thousands of gallons of toxic waste into a river, shifts guilt, lies, gets caught in their lies, fined (our taxes) yet not one public troughing, pandering piece of porcupine poo BLM-ist is held accountable. They all need firing, that is if you could fire any of the working mans parasites, but they are immune to being fired.

See why the Fed puke puddles feel so powerful? See why Americans, seeing what the puke puddles are getting away with, feel so threatened?

We are not radical extremists, we are Americans. We dont want to overthrow the Gov., we are just tired of being overthrown by that Gov. and believe citizens should not let these kinds of over-reaches occur.

We have got to know where our elected officials, and candidates, stand on these important issues. We have got to get educated responses. We have got to see some movement. Im afraid this whole thing is coming to a head and might escalate out of control. We are not to that point yet. We have not explored these new possibilities of being heard.

This is important stuff, folks, and if our representatives bow to these injustices, they need gone right now.

Thank you kindly.

Waddie Mitchell

This Oregon case boils down to a land management agencys ability to arbitrarily declare American citizens terrorists. In this case, accidentally burning 104 acres, when the BLM caused fires around the West consisting of many thousands of acres. Not one bureaucrat has been held accountable.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Lorna Rochelle Ducheneaux My goal is to make the tribal judicial system stronger and more accessible.

The Lorna Rochelle Ducheneaux Trust and Ms. Ducheneuxs family is sad to announce the passing of the Trusts Founder Judge Lorna Rochelle Ducheneaux.

Judge Ducheneaux passed surrounded by her family on November 8, 2015 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Born the ninth of eleven children in Old Agency, South Dakota, she lived a good life highlighted by being a daughter, granddaughter, sister, mother and aunt to a loving family which she always considered her biggest accomplishment. She leaves a legacy of advocacy for Native American rights through her charitable trust.

The Lorna Rochelle Ducheneaux Trust is a charity dedicated to the strengthening of Native American governments through the development and advocacy of tribal courts by providing scholarships, training and mentoring for people working in the tribal judicial system.

Founded by Judge Rochelle Ducheneaux in 2015, the Trust is focused on promoting victims rights through the establishment of robust tribal judicial systems.



My goal is to make the tribal judicial system stronger and more accessible, said Judge Ducheneaux. Domestic violence is a plague on reservations and I hope, through my foundation, to create a fair and consistent application of the law.

Judge Ducheneaux was fundamental in establishing the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Mobile Courta one of a kind service for people living in remote areas of the reservation.

The family asks that donations be made to the Lorna Rochelle Ducheneaux Trust c/o the State Bank of Eagle Butte.
"PatientPay has reduced our time to collect from months to days." - WHC's Janine Jones

PatientPay, the leading provider of healthcare payment solutions, today disclosed that since Womens Health Care Group of PA(WHC) started using its paperless billing solution, it has shortened the time to receive payments from patients to less than nine days, on average. In the process, it has cut its billing expenses by 30 percent.

Prior to implementing the PatientPay solution, WHC had to tolerate a payment cycle that often ran months and without resolution. WHCs Janine Jones explains that with PatientPays solution, once a patients insurance is adjudicated, the patient receives an email the next day and makes a payment days later based on WHG results. If the patient received a paper statement, it would not have even printed until days after that. PatientPay has reduced our time to collect from months to days.

Research into this area by the Medical Group Management Association found that on average three paper monthly statements are issued before any payment is received by medical practices.

The expansion of High Deductible Health Plans is having a serious impact on large medical groups ability to manage their account receivables, said Tom Furr, PatientPays CEO. Before these plans became the norm, groups like WHC could count on insurance companies providing 90 percent of their revenue. The new plans have altered that to 50 percent, with the remaining financial obligation being the patients responsibility.

We have seen first-hand that if healthcare consumers dont understand their bills, they wont pay them. Delayed payments to medical groups have a severe effect on their cash flow and by extension, their ability to operate successfully, Furr said.

PatientPays e-bill solution gives healthcare groups a billing process thats good for their patients and helps get them paid faster, speeding up cash flow. PatientPay solutions offer medical groups a way to better control business expenses and give patients bills they can understand in a secure, compliant environment. PatientPay is the only paperless bill pay service that matches charges with a patients Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and all out-of-pocket payments made prior to billing by the patient either during the visit or afterwards.

As a direct result of implementing PatientPay, WHC attained a 30 percent cost-savings by eliminating a number of expenses, including paper, printing and postage. In addition, time the business staff spent on billing was reduced as PatientPay automates several steps that were previously done manually and prone to error.

WHC, based in Oaks, Pennsylvania, is comprised of 25 divisions, with 45 locations throughout Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties.

About PatientPay e-billing

To view a video that explains the benefits of Patient Pays e-billing service click here:How PatientPay Works

About PatientPay

.PatientPay creates patient payment solutions that help patients, practices and hospitals and revenue cycle management services better control expenses in todays healthcare environment.

Its solutions yield greater operational and financial efficiency for healthcare providers while giving patients a simple way to manage their healthcare-related financial obligations. The billing, payment and reporting services are HIPAA and PCI Level 1 compliant and eliminate time-intensive, error-prone, manual back-end efforts to process and reconcile paper bills or manage a traditional online portal.

PatientPay was founded in 2008 to bring to healthcare consumers the same type of payment solutions they use in retail and e-commerce environments. In 2012 PatientPay was granted three patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 8,155,983, 8,204,764 and 8,214,233) for its innovative process that underpins its solutions, which can be integrated with any healthcare management software.

The company is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. For more information, please visit http://www.patientpay.com or call (888) 730-9374.

# # #

PatientPay and the PatientPay logo are registered trademarks or service marks of PatientPay. Other marks belong to their respective owners.
JOCO warriors, mobile phone controlled

Padmate, a subsidiary of Harda (Xiamen) Plastic Co., Ltd., will demonstrate JOCO, the smartphone-controlled mobile robot designed by JornCo engineers, to the public at the upcoming 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Built with delicate sensors and steering engines, JOCO can be connected to any smartphone, transforming into a desktop robot capable of human interaction via face and voice recognition.

Users can communicate with the robot at the touch of a smartphone screen, generating and controlling a range of motions and emotions. JOCO demonstrates its face and voice recognition by sensing and memorizing motion and sound and responding with a greeting, a dance move, or even by engaging in intelligent conversation.

Among its many uses, JOCO can be used in retail stores and public businesses to attract and communicate with customers. Regardless, the JOCO experience can be personalized, acting as the users super-smart AI sidekick.

CES 2016 attendees can say hello to JOCO at booth 74542 (Padmate Technology) in the Sands Expo hall. View map and more exhibitor information here.

About JornCo

JornCo is a team located in Xiamen, China, consisting of robot fans and smart senior engineers. More information can be found at http://www.jornco.com/en/.

About Padmate

Powered by its parent company, Harda Group, Padmate is a Global Leading Manufacturer of Bluetooth and Smart Devices in Xiamen, China, where it is famous for its three Silicon Valley-type bases and high quality manufacturing experience in the consumer electronics and light industries. The Group has been working with top 500 companies since 2004. In 2013, the Group was audited by D&B, rating 3A2 with DUNS number: 54-780-1050.

Capability:



Design House. Within Padmates 33,000 sqft design house, 70+ designers and engineers for Industrial Design, Mechanical Design, Graphic Design, Hardware/Software Design and Production Jigs work together with Project Managers on OEM/ODM projects from global markets. Many of the engineers have devoted 10+ years experience to R&D and have worked on critical projects from top 500 companies. Sustainable quality and reliability are top priorities.

Testing Lab. In order to ensure the success of project development and the quality of production, Padmate has set up a 10,000 sqft lab equipped with Bluetooth testers, RF testers, Battery charge and discharge testing, Noise level test, Acoustic test, Bluetooth full function test, Humidity test, Cold and Hot Impact test, Moisture test, Salt-fog test, Vibration test, Drop test, Lifespan test, RCA, 3D dimension measuring, Tension test and RoHS analysis and Water pressure test. As new projects come in, we continue to invest in specific testing equipment.

Manufacturing. Padmate is supported by Harda Group with a 270,000 sqft ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001-audited manufacturing base, where it has more than 150 sets of state-of-the-art Japanese machines, equipment and tools for mould making, automatic precise injection molding, clean room spray painting, stamping, SMT, automatic gluing, ultrasonic welding, heat press, high frequency cutting and welding, dust-free assembly, laser engraving, logo printing and packing. Thanks to our 500 employees, we have an average monthly output of 1 million pieces.

Padmate can be reached at:

Website: http://www.padmate.cn

Group Website: [http://www.hardagroup.com

Phone: 86 592 5924037

Email: info(at)padmate(dot)com

Or, visit their booth 74542 at Sands Expo hall at 2016 CES!

Information and Design are subject to change without prior notice.

Bluetooth is the property of SIG.

Padmate is the property of Harda Group.

Other brands and trademarks are the properties of their own owner.
Western Watersheds Project is disappointed that the governments acquiescence to ongoing law-breaking on public lands across the West has led to the armed occupation of one of Americas premier bird sanctuaries. This weekends militia takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is another battle in the War on the West that extractive industries have been waging for 150 years.

The occupying militia is led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy, sons of Cliven Bundy, the notorious rancher who has refused to pay his fees for years and continues to illegally trample fragile desert tortoise habitat with his trespassing cows. The militia initially claimed the occupation was to support local ranchers and convicted arsonists Dwight and Steven Hammond, although the Hammond family has distanced itself from the Bundys recent activities. The Bundy group has moved onto generally railing against federal land ownership and legal limits on environmentally destructive activities like logging and ranching.

But what Ammon Bundy considers tyrannical treatment of grazing permittees is actually a generous welfare program: between 1995 and 2012, Hammond Ranches, Inc. received $295,471 in federal payouts. There is enormous subsidization of public lands livestock grazing. While the going rate for grazing a cow and a calf on private land for a month in Oregon is $17, the equivalent fee on federal public lands is only $1.69. This artificially low fee creates a national deficit of at least $12 billion dollars every decade  hardly a sign that the federal agencies are trying to put ranchers out of business.

The ongoing occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon is a reaction to the perceived mistreatment of public lands livestock operators and other extractive users of Americans wild spaces. This perception is inaccurate, considering the systemic support and financial subsidies that our government gives these industries despite the adverse ecological impacts and profound debt they create, said Travis Bruner, Executive Director of Western Watersheds Project, an advocacy group dedicated to ending public lands livestock grazing.

In fact, even the Malheur Wildlife Refuge is controversially open to livestock grazing use, despite the Refuge systems mandate to protect wildlife habitat. The spectacular wetland complex is a mecca for birdwatchers due to its role as a major migratory bird stopover. Thousands of Americans visit the refuge each year to enjoy the unique species that frequent the Pacific flyway, pouring over $1.9 million into the local economy annually. When Ammon Bundy promotes his agenda of using the resource, hes overlooking the many Americans who use the resource to enjoy quiet recreation like bird-watching.

Widespread livestock grazing occurs on nearly 220 million acres of public land in the western states, and this is a leading cause of soil loss, species endangerment, invasive species infestations, and predator killing. Only 22,000 ranchers have the privilege of using federal lands for their operations, a business opportunity mistakenly referred to as a right by those that would seek to establish it as such. The courts have affirmed that there are no grazing rights, and the Bundys use of the term does not make it so.

There are no grazing rights, said Bruner, but there are lots of grazing wrongs. The federal agencies failure to rein in the worst abusers of public lands livestock allotments has emboldened people like the Bundy brothers and others across the West to take land management into their own hands. Its time to stop caving in to their demands and manage wildlife habitat in the true public interest.
I absolutely love working with Vail Resorts, Incorporated. They have been a valued client of PCW for many years and have always trusted us to get the job done on time and right the first time.

Precision Construction West (PCW), a local, full-service commercial and residential construction company, recently completed a ski signage project at Vail Resorts. The goal was to provide patrons at Vail Resorts, particularly out-of-town guests, with clearer signage on how to access Chairs 3 and 4 amidst the Mid Vail confluence.

Having worked with Vail Resorts (http://www.vailresorts.com/Corp/index.aspx) on a variety of projects over the past 25 years, Todd Morrison, owner of Precision Construction West, was hired to construct two large corbels to provide a better overall experience for skiers and snowboarders at the mountain. Vail Resorts objective was to complete the signage project prior to the opening of the 2015-2016 season.

Both the timeline and the geographic logistics could have been a challenge for any construction company, but with so much experience working with ski resorts in Vail Valley, PCW executed the project flawlessly.

Morrison said, I absolutely love working with Vail Resorts, Incorporated. They have been a valued client of PCW for many years and have always trusted us to get the job done on time and right the first time. Additionally, I have lived in the Vail Valley for more than 25 years and am an avid skier. It feels wonderful to be able to contribute to the betterment of the overall ski and snowboard experience for everyone at Vail Resorts.

Adds Chad Cusworth, Director of Development at Vail Resorts, Vail Resorts has had several projects where PCW provided their services, but the Chair 3 and 4 signage project was the first project where I had the opportunity to work with their team directly. Their willingness to assist so quickly and in any way possible was extremely helpful with this specific project. We had a very pressing timeline to ensure this project was constructed, and the PCW team executed and provided a great looking project in the short amount of time that they were given. It has been a pleasure working with them and I look forward to additional projects in the near future.

In addition to PCWs most recent signage contribution to Vail Resorts, the company has also been a part of numerous other projects with Vail Resorts.

In 2013, PCW was retained by Vail Resorts to build Talons Restaurant in Beaver Creek. The new 500-seat, 6,700 square foot restaurant paid homage to the Austrian roots with rustic design elements and a new European-inspired menu.

In November 2012, PCW was responsible for completing the framing, siding and trim on Vails new 18,000 SF Gondola. The project was a challenge, as there were tight timelines related to weather conditions, short turn around times for ordering materials and figuring out a way to efficiently get the materials to Mid-Vail, which is half way up the mountain. Even with these potential hindrances, PCW completed the project on time and with impeccable craftsmanship. Working with Vail Resorts, Incorporated has been such a wonderful experience for myself and the PCW team. Words cannot express how great it feels to be trusted with such tight timelines, explained Morrison.

Summer of 2011, PCW was responsible for the structural framing, siding and exterior trim of The 10th  Vails premier on-mountain, fine-dining restaurant located atop Gondola One (http://www.vail.com/diningdetail/Vail+-+The+10th.axd).

PCW worked with Hyder Construction and Vail Resorts to successfully complete this $4,000,000.00 commercial project.

PCW looks forward to working with Vail Resorts on additional projects in the future and encourages skiers and snowboards  from novice to experts  to experience all that Vail Resorts has to offer this season. Vail (http://www.vail.com/) is one of those places that any skier or snowboarder must experience once in his or her lifetime. Its truly is a magical place that offers every imaginable amenity, explained Morrison.

About Precision Construction West (PCW)

Precision Construction West is a full-service construction company with more than 60 years of experience in Vail Valley. They specialize in commercial and residential construction and are experts at project development, engineering consultation, material logistics, on-site supervision, structural framing, exterior finishes, and more. To learn more about Precision Construction West (PCW), visit http://pcwbuilds.com.
Find Documents:

Press release: http://tinyurl.com/njz9bky

Review: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-tprep

Reviewed report: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/29080034/TeacherVision-report2.pdf

A recent report from the Center for American Progress outlines a vision for elevating and modernizing the teaching profession. It offers seemingly innocuous recommendations for improving the public perceptions and experiences of teachers. However, closer examination reveals several harmful policy reforms in the report.

Elizabeth J. Meyer, Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, reviewed Smart, Skilled, and Striving: Transforming and Elevating the Teaching Profession for the Think Twice Think Tank Review Project at the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulders School of Education.

Professor Meyer notes that while elements of the reports 10 recommendations would likely be beneficial, they also include policy changes that would increase surveillance of teachers, reduce their job security, evaluate them by students test scores, and create merit pay systems that would likely have the opposite effect. In advocating for a policy agenda that in many ways could do further harm to the profession, the report relies too heavily on popular rhetoric, sound bites, opinion articles, and advocacy publications.

For example, one recommendation is to improve professional development by aligning it to the needs of students and teachers. While this sounds good on the surface, one of the model programs touted in this report, the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), has been controversial due to its pairing of performance pay with the professional development activities it introduces.

Professor Meyer concludes that, other than a review of contemporary issues, the report offers little of substance to advance the teaching profession.

Find Elizabeth J. Meyers review at:

http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-tprep

Find Smart, Skilled, and Striving: Transforming and Elevating the Teaching Profession, by Carmel Martin, Lisette Partelow, & Catherine Brown, published by the Center for American Progress, at:

https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/29080034/TeacherVision-report2.pdf

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) Think Twice Think Tank Review Project (thinktankreview.org) provides the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org/

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: nepc.colorado.edu
We are excited to have Raquel on board as our new Director for Mrs. Pennsylvania America. We felt she would be a great role model for leading the pageant."

Raquel Riley Thomas, a former Ordnance Officer in the Army has sealed a deal with the Mrs. America Organization to oversee the state of Pennsylvania contestants and its formal pageant. She currently runs the Mrs. DC America pageant, which is also inside the helm of the Mrs. America organization. Mrs. Pennsylvania America publicly recognizes beautiful married women, living in the state of Pennsylvania, who have obtained personal, professional and community achievements. An official preliminary pageant to Mrs. America and Mrs. World, the Mrs. Pennsylvania America Pageant welcomes women from all ethnic backgrounds to compete in a yearly pageant for the title of Mrs. Pennsylvania America!

We are excited to have Raquel on board as our new Director for Mrs. Pennsylvania America. She took over the Mrs. District of Columbia Pageant back in 2011 and we felt she would be a great role model for leading the Pennsylvania America Pageant. With her unique background experience and passion for pageantry, we felt she was an excellent choice for the position, states David Marmel, Owner and President of Mrs. America, Inc.

Raquel Riley Thomas is a decorated military veteran, who has served nine years in the U.S. Army (5-years Enlisted, 4-years Officer). In June 2010, Raquel added pageant queen to her resume. She won the title of Mrs. Maryland America 2010, then in September 2010, she competed against 50 state delegates, winning the title of Mrs. America (1st RU) 2011.

Another win came for Raquel in September 2011, after she started her Veteran-Owned Company, An Officer and Gentlewoman LLC, (AOAGW). Her company bought the rights to Mrs. DC America. On Dec 17, 2015, her company bought the rights to Mrs. Pennsylvania America.

Raquel is committed to her community through service and philanthropy. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., Association of United States Army and Women in Media. Raquel recently became involved in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in honor of her mother who unfortunately took her own life in March 2013. As a military Veteran, Raquel makes it a point to give a portion of pageant proceeds to military-focused charities such as Lukes Wings and Vetsports. The Mrs. DC America pageant was recently selected as Top 3 Charity Events, by Washington City Paper.

Raquels accomplishments have been noted in both her military and civilian career. In the Army, she was awarded the prestigious Army Commendation Medal (2x) and the Army Achievement Medal (3x). For her commitment to fighting for military Veteran's rights, Raquel was selected as the Veteran of the Year" 2011, by Women Veterans Rock. Raquel was also titled a Leader of the Future, by Ebony Magazine and is currently featured in Marquis Whos Who of America, (5 consecutive years.) Recently, she was selected by Washington Business Journal as People on the Move.

For speaking engagements and press interviews, please contact sarahwebster@outlook.com

For those interested in competing for Mrs. Pennsylvania America 2016, please visit http://www.mrspennamerica.org.
itSMF USA Logo Our 2016 Board is committed to providing resources which help IT professionals capitalize on the benefits of IT investments and advance their skills for the future. said Erskine.

itSMF USA, a chapter of itSMF International and the premier independent professional organization and forum for IT Service Management professionals in the U.S., has announced the organizations newly elected Board of Directors for 2016.

New members elected to serve three-year terms for itSMF USA include Mary Ward, David Nottingham, and Gail Talbott. Doug Tedder is returning to the itSMF USA Board to serve a two year term. Brenda Iniguez has also been appointed for a one year term. Four board members will serve as officers and on the Executive Committee. The remaining five board members are responsible for a management portfolio.

Tedder will be responsible for all strategic development and growth initiatives; Ward for marketing and membership growth to promote industry relevance and member retention and growth; Nottingham for member services to ensure member access to services and receive maximize membership value; Iniguez for alliances and outreach programs to deliver value to stakeholders and increase brand awareness; and Talbott for content, including development and maintenance of programs for stakeholders.

Returning board members include Cathy Kirch, who will serve as president elect; Kevin Ritter, who will act as treasurer; and Amy Green, who will act as secretary. Pam Erskine will serve as president in 2016. Charlie Araujo will assume an advisory role as the past president on the executive committee.

IT Service Management incorporates many best practices and frameworks that help an IT organization identify and deliver high value services. Our 2016 Board is committed to providing resources which help IT professionals capitalize on the benefits of IT investments and advance their skills for the future, said Erskine. Im looking forward to working with the team as we continue to mature itSMF USA as the premier Service Management community.

The 2016 itSMF USA Board of Directors were officially seated December 11, 2015. New portfolio assignments were also announced. More information is available on the itSMF USA Board of Directors here.

ABOUT itSMF USA

itSMF USA, a chapter of itSMF International, is the independent professional organization and forum for IT Service Management professionals in the US. A not-for-profit organization, itSMF is a prominent player in the ongoing development and promotion of IT Service Management (ITSM) best practices, standards and qualifications in the United States. This network of industry professionals, white papers, webinars, podcasts, conferences and other resources creates an opportunity for individuals and organizations to connect, learn and grow.
We are thrilled to have a full time environmental consultant in Western Pennsylvania again to be on the ground meeting with small businesses in our region, said Ray Vargo, director of the University of Pittsburgh SBDC.

The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)s Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) has hired a new consultant to serve business owners in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Lee Ann Briggs joins EMAP as an environmental consultant providing one-on-one consulting to help businesses understand their environmental regulatory requirements. Briggs will work out of the University of Pittsburgh SBDC, a division of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, and is available to assist a wide range of companies with environmental issues such as auto body shops, dry cleaners, manufacturers and printers.

We are thrilled to have a full time environmental consultant in Southwestern Pennsylvania again to be on the ground meeting with small businesses in our region, said Ray Vargo, director of the University of Pittsburgh SBDC. In addition to our core business consulting we will now have in-house environmental regulatory expertise to benefit Pittsburgh area companies, he added.

EMAP is the only statewide program that offers no-fee, confidential assistance to help businesses with their environmental concerns, and we will now be able to serve more firms who request these in-demand services, said Nancy Crickman, director of environmental, energy, and technology services with the Pennsylvania SBDC. We would like to thank Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh for their support in making this expansion possible, noted Crickman.

Lee Ann Briggs has over 28 years of environmental regulatory compliance experience in both consulting and industrial capacities. In addition to her experience working as an environmental consultant for EMAP at the Duquesne University SBDC for eleven years, Briggs was previously the manager of environmental and regulatory affairs for a paint and coatings manufacturer, providing full environmental, product safety and employee safety compliance for nine years. Prior to this she was an environmental scientist/project manager with two different environmental/engineering consulting firms. Briggs is a Registered Environmental Manager (REM) through the National Registry of Environmental Professionals.

EMAP provides Pennsylvania small businesses with the answers and assistance they need to effectively manage their environmental concerns and reduce regulatory risks. EMAP provides one-on-one environmental compliance assistance to small business owners in all industry sectors - retail, commercial and industrial.

EMAPs no-cost environmental compliance services include:



One-on-one consultation to help business owners understand regulatory requirements

Conducting on-site assessments

Emissions calculations

Assisting with the preparation and submittal of requests for determinations, permit applications and plans

Explaining permit requirements and setting up customized record keeping and reporting systems

Finding alternative materials and processes to help small businesses reduce their regulatory burden.

Small businesses with environmental needs and concerns can call the toll-free EMAP hotline at 1-877-ASK-EMAP or visit http://www.askemap.org for more information and to request service.

About Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)

The Pennsylvania SBDC network is the only statewide, nationally accredited program that provides high quality one-on-one consulting, training and information resources to empower new and existing businesses. SBDC consultants work with entrepreneurs in confidential, individualized sessions to help them with a range of business issues including testing a new business proposition, shaping a business plan, investigating funding opportunities, and much more. The SBDC program is a public/private partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and 18 universities and colleges across the Commonwealth. For more information on the Pennsylvania SBDC services and impact, please visit http://www.pasbdc.org.

About the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence

The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence (IEE) is Western Pennsylvanias number one resource for business leaders who are starting, growing or transitioning a business. The IEE provides education, specialized resources and personalized support to entrepreneurs at every stage of the business lifecycle. Under the Innovation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, the IEE strives to be the innovative leader of economic growth in the region. For more information, please visit entrepreneur.pitt.edu or call 412-648-1544.

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Network Family Wellness Center, a chiropractic clinic in Boulder, Colorado is announcing that the peer-reviewed journal, Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, has published a scientific paper written by the team Drs. Daniel and Richelle Knowles, D.C. The husband and wife team are known for their significant research that examines the science of chiropractic care.

Their reviewed case study addresses how a patients spine can reorganize and retrain to an overall healthier structure and function with less painful movement.

In total, the team has published four peer-reviewed papers that focus on the many benefits provided by advanced spinal care. Both Drs. Knowles use these techniques during their daily routine patient care. It was through their work at Network Family Wellness Clinic that the doctors have been able to explore the subject matter of their latest research paper.

The exploration into how the reorganization of the cervical curve and continued spinal chiropractic care can improve a patients quality of life was researched over several months of a case study. The research further delves into how reorganization of NeuroSpinal structure, behavior and perception through Network Spinal Analysis care can lead to improvements in structure, function, motor nerve measures with sEMG, autonomic nerve function with thermographic studies, heart rate variability and quality of life.

The Network Family Wellness Center team is committed to exploring research that expands the understanding of chiropractic services, and Dr. Daniel Knowles believes, It is gratifying to help advance the science and art of chiropractic care, and to explore the sustainable changes that can occur when people have quality chiropractic care.

Network Family Wellness Center is known throughout the area for their confident and thoughtful approach to spinal care. Unlike conventional chiropractor offices, their practice focuses on cutting-edge advancements in the field. Their skilled approach to natural chiropractic care is paramount to maintaining the type of care that improves the quality of life for patients.

Drs. Knowles plan to continue making scientific advancements at their chiropractic clinic with hopes that their research will further improve the public awareness of how spinal care can make lasting improvements in the quality of life of the injured. These goals are further supported by their continuing education programs made available to colleagues from all over the world.

For more information on Network Wellness Center research, continuing education, or additional services, please visit http://www.networkwellnesscenters.com or call (303) 998-1000.

Network Family Wellness Center is a premier chiropractic service provider in the Greater Boulder Metro Area. They offer a unique re-organizational approach coupled with advanced spinal techniques that are designed to address alignment and neural integrity issues.
Founded in 2002, TU-Automotive provides events, networking, content and analysis on the future of automotive technology, focusing on the connected car, mobility and autonomous driving. TU-Automotives event portfolio contains 13 conference and exhibitions across the globe, including the worlds largest connected car event TU-Automotive Detroit, plus regional flagship events TU-Automotive Europe and TU-Automotive Japan. It also provides digital content, analysis, education and business intelligence through its communications hub, http://www.tu-auto.com. TU-Automotive will become a part of the Penton Ground Transportation group, led by Vice President, Sue Boehlke. The group currently includes WardsAuto, FleetSeek, FleetOwner, Trailer Body Builders and American Trucker.

TU-Automotive, Division Director, Gareth Ragg said, For the past 15 years, TU-Automotive has played a pivotal role in the evolution of the connected vehicle; uniting the ecosystem and driving the technology forward by providing the industrys largest and most respected networking and information platforms. At the beginning of 2016 we stand at a point where connectivity is now not only defining the future of the automotive industry, it is enabling a revolution in mobility, creating the foundation for the autonomous vehicle and spearheading the rapidly evolving Internet of Things.

He continued, The acquisition is hugely exciting for the future of TU-Automotive. Penton has both deep roots in the automotive industry and shares our vision of a connected world where the vehicle plays a central role. This new partnership will enable us to continue to enhance our global events portfolio whilst creating new, innovative information and marketing services that will help advance the industry and the businesses of our customers.

Boehlke said, TU-Automotive offers the most respected, high-profile platforms to expand Penton Ground Transportations reach beyond the United States into Europe, South America and Asia, with a core hub of operations in London. We look forward to TU-Automotive becoming part of the Penton family.

The acquisition also strengthens Pentons planned launches around IoT in 2016 across Penton. IoT and connected devices are a major theme for us, impacting many of our industry sectors including ground transportation, aviation, agriculture, technology and electronics. Companies and factories that are connected are more productive and the implications for innovation through IoT are tremendous, said David Kieselstein, Pentons CEO. In 2016 we are launching a major IoT initiative to help companies break down the complexity. From sensors and platforms to data and security issues, well cover best practices to help businesses grappling with policy, strategy and implementation in the application of this new wave of technology.

FCBI was co-advised by JEGI (http://www.jegi.com), the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors, headquartered in New York, NY, and Clarity (http://www.claritycp.com), a leading independent investment bank serving the media and technology industries, headquartered in London.

About TU-Automotive

TU-Automotive is the reference point and communications hub for the evolving automotive technology segment as it converges with consumer electronics, mobile and IoT to re-define connectivity, mobility and autonomous use-cases. TU-Automotive provides the worlds biggest B2B connected car conferences and exhibitions, as well as industry analysis and news.

For more information, visit http://www.tu-auto.com and follow us on Twitter @TUAutomotive

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Gareth Ragg

Division Director

TU-Automotive

gareth(at)tu-auto(dot)com

+44 (0)20 7375 7589
Storm-7 Consulting will be hosting a new Central Counterparty (CCP) Clearing, Risk Management, Recovery and Resolution in the European Union (EU) conference to be held on 24th and 25th March 2016 in London at the 5* Mondrian hotel in London.

Conference delegates will be led by a team of four leading expert trainers covering CCP clearing frameworks. The first is Jon Gregory, Senior Advisor at Solum Financial Derivatives Advisory and author of the leading practitioner text 'Central Counterparties: Mandatory Central Clearing and Initial Margin Requirements for OTC Derivatives (The Wiley Finance Series)'. The second is Matthew Glass, Business Manager and Vice President for EMEA Regulatory Submissions at JP Morgan Asset Management, and ex Head of Operations, Technology and Client Service at CME Group, CME Clearing Europe. The third is Sol Steinberg the Founder of OTC Partners in New York - Sol's extensive professional experience encompasses a senior executive position at LCH. Clearnet and nearly a decade of OTC derivatives product development, risk management, and valuation for Citi. The fourth is Rodrigo Zepeda, the Co-Founder of Storm-7 Consulting, a Chartered Member (MCSI) of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, and author of numerous industry publications such as 'Optimizing Risk Allocation for CCPs under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation'.

The two day conference programme includes extended sessions on day one covering CCP clearing models, the EU CCP regulatory framework, CCP margining practices, and CCP clearing models and agreements (direct and indirect). Day two includes workshops that will provide delegates with in-depth practical insights into CCP operational risks, CCP risk management frameworks, CCP recovery and resolution plans, and designing effective CCP default management, recovery and continuity frameworks. The conference expert trainers will aim to blend theory and practice with their own extensive professional expertise, in order to offer unique strategic insights into CCP clearing and risk management practices.

Delegates can now also choose to attend for one day of the conference only, or they may choose the S7C LiveStream attendance option. Delegates will be provided with a Lenovo Yoga tablet pre-loaded with a comprehensive range of conference presentations and supporting materials, and a post-conference expert trainer follow up to guarantee all key objectives have been met. For further information about the Conference please visit:

http://www.storm-7.com/ccp-clearing-eu
mLevel Logo We applaud mLevel for winning this award and look forward to continuing our work together. said Gavriella Schuster, General Manager of Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group

mLevel Wins the Bronze Award for the 2015 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards in Technology

mLevel, a leader in innovative game-based learning, won a coveted Brandon Hall Group bronze award for excellence with Microsoft Azure in the Best Advance in Learning Management Technology for External Training category. mLevels win was announced on December 3, 2015. The winners are listed at http://www.brandonhall.com/excellenceawards/past-winners.html.

mLevel began working with Microsoft during the inception of its casual learning platform, which gives users the ability to rapidly create and deliver interactive learning games, when mLevel quickly made the decision to build its solution in Microsoft Azures cloud.

We are honored to be recognized by Brandon Hall Group for our industry leading game-based learning platform, said mLevel CEO Dave Cutler. The award is a validation of the value our platform provides to customers as well as the value of our partnership with Microsoft.

Our award winners are the most visionary and innovative developers of HCM technology solutions that move organizations forward in serving employees, customers and investors, said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, who runs the awards program. I think everyone can learn from the achievements of our award recipients.

These award-winning solutions were closely evaluated by our judges for not only their innovation, but the real results they brought to the organizations, Brandon Hall Group Chief Executive Officer Mike Cooke said. That is what makes our technology awards program special  connecting creativity and innovation to direct business results.

mLevels gamification learning platform is a perfect example of how our partners are leveraging Microsoft Azure to meet the unique needs of their customers, said Gavriella Schuster, general manager of Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group. We applaud mLevel for winning this award and look forward to continuing our work together.

About mLevel

mLevel is the industry leading casual learning platform used by Fortune 500 companies to make learning fun, while improving real business results. Founded in June 2012, and headquartered in Chicago, IL with significant operations in Atlanta, GA, mLevel serves clients from the Fortune Global 500 to small businesses across a wide range of industries. http://www.mLevel.com

About Brandon Hall Group, Inc.

With more than 10,000 clients globally and 20 years of delivering world class research and advisory services, Brandon Hall Group is the most well-known and established research organization in the performance improvement industry. We conduct research that drives performance, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.

Brandon Hall Group has an extensive repository of thought leadership, research and expertise in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and

Human Resources. At the core of our offerings is a Membership Program that Empowers Excellence Through Content, Collaboration and Community. Our members have access to research that helps them make the right decisions about people, processes, and systems, combined with research-powered advisory services customized to their needs. (http://www.brandonhall.com)

Media Contact

Jordan Fladell

770-372-3340
Weaver Nut Company My dad and mom, E. Paul Weaver III and Miriam Weaver, started this business and have shown me how to set priorities, work hard, and run a business.

Weaver Nut Company, Inc., CFO/Commodities Buyer has been chosen for The Griffin Reports 40 under 40 series for 2015. Weaver Nut Company is pleased to announce Vincent Weavers inclusion in the latest Griffin Reports 40 under 40 New Channels category recognizing up and coming trade leaders of the future.

The Griffin Reports 40 under 40 annual report identifies the trade leaders of tomorrow, today. The Griffin Report covers the northeast region as part of the national Shelby Report and is the leading food and grocery publication in the United States. Delivering regional and national news in the food industry, The Griffin Report is circulated monthly to retailers and wholesalers on topics ranging from candy and snacks to health and wellness and everything in between.

Nominations for the annual 40 under 40 honor are made anonymously in four categories, including grocery, food service, convenience, and New Channels. As Weaver Nuts CFO/Commodities Buyer, Vincent Weavers talent and optimism led to his nomination and selection as one of the emerging leaders in the New Channels area which encompasses organic, natural, and specialty foods in the big box and drugstore arenas.

In his interview with The Griffin Report, Weaver credits his success to his family and the business they began 40 years ago, My dad and mom, E. Paul Weaver III and Miriam Weaver, started this business and have shown me how to set priorities, work hard, and run a business. My brother, Edward, and I oversee the operations of our family business, now into the second generation. We grew up together really close, almost like twins, and have learned to run the business efficiently, operating in each others strengths.

In 1975, in beautiful Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Weaver Nut Company began as a family business with the goal to deliver premium quality gourmet foods and beverages including chocolates, nuts, dried fruits, coffees, teas, and a vast array of specialty wholesale food products. The Weaver Nut mission was clearly stated serving customers the way they want to be served and the tradition continues today. The company has grown over the years to include Food Brokers International, a large wholesale operation, the Amish Maid private label, and Weaver Nut Sweets and Snacks retail and web shop.

With the family mission in mind  premium quality and 100 percent customer satisfaction  Weaver humbly accepts the 40 under 40 honor on behalf of the entire team at Weaver Nut Company, Inc., At Weaver Nut Company, we work very hard to be an industry leading food distributor and were honored to be recognized in The Griffin Reports Top 40 Grocery Industry RISING LEADERS annual series called 40 under 40.

Weaver Nut Company, Inc. continues to build on the promise of providing the best in quality gourmet foods and beverages delivered from around the world with exceptional pricing and customer service.

Visit http://www.weavernut.com and discover the latest in premium quality foods and beverages delivered with incomparable customer service  you wont be disappointed.

Bio: From the family basement, the Weaver Family started their business 40 years ago with the mission to serve customers as they want to be served with quality, integrity and enthusiasm. Since that time, the company has grown into Weaver Nut Company, Inc. thanks to an enthusiastic team and a vast array of happy customers. Today the company includes Food Brokers International, a large wholesale operation, the Amish Maid private label, and Weaver Nut Sweets and Snacks retail and web shop. Visit http://www.weavernut.com today and experience the delightful difference that is Weaver Nut Company, Inc.
FRC Systems International will exhibit again at the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE 2016) held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

IPPE is the worlds largest annual poultry, feed, meat and seafood technology exposition. The 2015 show set a record attendance of more than 30,000 attendees who interacted with the 1,288 exhibitors covering 490,000 net square feet of space.

During the IPPE you are reacquainted to people from the US, Canada as well as the rest of the world in the poultry, meat and seafood industry, FRC President Adriaan van der Beek notes This is the industry FRC has been providing trusted waste water solution to during the last 36 years.

Come visit us at the FRC booth (B 8117) to discuss waste water treatment solutions as well as sludge handling.

FRC Systems International designs and builds wastewater treatment solutions for organizations across all industry sectors. With over 500 installations in more than 20 countries, FRC has established a reputation as a trusted wastewater solutions provider. Contact Adriaan van der Beek at adriaan(at)frcsystems.com. Learn more about FRC Systems at http://www.frcsystems.com or follow @FRCSystems on Twitter.
Tour de Force has announced the addition of AIMS, Inc. as a strategic addition to the Tour de Force Channel Partner Program. Through this partnership, AIMS and Tour de Force deliver an end-to-end, integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence (BI) and business process optimization (BPO) solution targeted at petroleum and fuel distributors. Ken Ledyard, Director of Channel Sales at Tour de Force said, The team at AIMS has a great product suite targeted for the wholesale petroleum industry, especially bulk oil and lubricant distributors, and we are excited to partner with them to expand the Tour de Force brand into this new market. We already have mutual clients who are benefiting from the power of our combined solutions, and together we have a great opportunity to expand upon that success and provide value to other companies in the industry.

AIMS is excited about our partnership with Tour de Force and their ability to pull data directly from our accounting software, COMPAS Commander. This partnership will provide AIMS clients with a whole new level of data mining and data management, said David Dorries, Director of Sales and Marketing at AIMS.

The announcement of the Tour de Force and AIMS partnership is also being welcomed by mutual clients. Kathryn Reppond, CFO of Central Oil & Supply, said, Commander and Tour de Force are both business critical applications for us. The interface between Commander and Tour de Force has allowed us to better manage our sales data, create sales and inventory alerts, and streamline our workflow processes. We anticipate this partnership will continue to extend the value we leverage today.

The partnership with AIMS and specifically their flagship product, COMPAS Commander, continues to reinforce to the market one of the key differentiators of the Tour de Force solution, which is our ability to integrate with and provide significant incremental value to a businesses ERP system. The petroleum industry expertise AIMS brings to our partnership is priceless. One of the driving factors of creating the Tour de Force Partner Channel in early 2015 was to expand the Tour de Force brand into new markets and partners such as AIMS are helping enable us to accomplish that goal, said Ledyard.

About AIMS

AIMS develops and markets a top-tier accounting software solution, COMPAS Commander, for the petroleum market. Sixteen process automation modules also interface directly with Commanders Core System, delivering increased office efficiency and productivity. In addition, AIMS has developed AutoTax, a stand-alone electronic tax filing solution; AutoSend, a specialized UST fuel inventory management and dispatching system and AutoSIR, an in-house Statistical Inventory Reconciliation solution. Visit the AIMS website at http://www.aims1.com.

Contact: David Dorries at 800-729-2467 or ddorries(at)aims1(dot)com

About Central Oil & Supply

Central Oil & Supply is the parent company that operates the Central Station Stores, and is one of the largest, fully-integrated petroleum and fuel distributors in the United States. Central Oil supplies petroleum products and services to wholesale and retail outlets, service centers, quick lubes, car dealerships, and commercial and industrial customers. Our Fuel customers range from agricultural and retail outlets to municipalities and airports. Visit the Central Oil & Supply website at http://www.central-oil.com.

Contact: 800-883-8081 or info(at)central-oil(dot)com

Tour de Force, Inc. develops, sells, implements, and supports enterprise software solutions with a focus on customer relationship management (CRM), sales force automation (SFA), business intelligence (BI), and business process optimization (BPO). While Tour de Force CRM was developed specifically for the distribution industry, its an ideal fit for any organization that operates in a B2B selling environment, and is currently being utilized in the distribution, manufacturing, construction, furniture dealer, and technology industries. To learn more about Tour de Force, including about our full integration with Microsoft Outlook and over 40 leading ERP systems, visit http://www.TourdeForceInc.com.
Real Estate Investors from across the nation will gather together in Dallas, Texas next week to learn from experts about property investmenta financial strategy gaining momentum in todays market.

On January 15-16, the Real Estate Investor Expo, a Kansas City-based company bringing education and resources to real estate investors, will host the Dallas REI Expo at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. In its sixth consecutive year, the Dallas event is expected to bring hundreds of investors from Texas and across the nation together. It will feature ABCs Extreme Makeover Home Edition star, Paige Hemmis, as a keynote speaker on Friday, January 15, and Spike TVs Flip Men star, Doug Clark, as the keynote speaker on Saturday, January 16.

In addition to high-profile experts like Hemmis and Clark, attendees will have access to over 100 local and national vendors offering relevant resources to help people make the most of their investments. There will also be over 20 breakout educational sessions ranging from topics like rehab properties, private lending, wholesaling, property management, crowd-funding and self-invested IRAs. The educational sessions will teach investors the facets of real estate investing and help them make more deals and access more money to invest.

Last year, hundreds of investors attended the 2-day event, and this years numbers are expected to exceed those. We are looking forward to a high-energy, impactful event where real estate investors will gain the knowledge and connections they need to make their investment strategies successful.
Lyn Turknett, President of Turknett Leadership Group, was an honoree of Atlantas Women Who Mean Business on Thursday, October 22, 2015. Lyn was one of 15 women to be honored across a number of industries and professions. The Women Who Mean Business honorees are women who are trailblazers for others, are active in the Atlanta community, and who make a difference on business in Atlanta. The Chronicle received more than 340 submissions.

The honorees are selected from a public pool of nominations and determined by a panel of judges. Ann Cramer received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The women who received the Women Who Mean Business awards were:


Baker Furniture Showroom, a division of Kohler We are happy to complete this work for Baker and allow them to cast their furniture in a new light. Chris Miller, Senior Project Manager, Gilbane

Gilbane Building Company, a global leader in construction services, is happy to announce the Baker Furniture Showroom, for Baker Furniture, a division of The Kohler Company, has been completed. This impressive project is housed within the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

The showroom and office renovation consisted of approximately 18,000 SF of phased demolition and new finishes including upgraded mechanical controls and energy efficient lighting to comply with California Title 24 Energy Standards. Construction was phased to allow the showroom and offices to remain in operation at a reduced scale during construction. Office renovations resulted in consolidated operations spaces utilizing several components saved during demolition such as worktops, shelving, doors and frames, and re-wired fluorescent light fixtures. Reuse of materials saved over 1,000 lbs. of materials from the landfill. Showroom renovations included new, efficient LED track lighting, ground and polished concrete floors, and salvaged millwork cased openings. Reuse in the showroom resulted in another 1,500 lbs. of materials diverted from landfills.

With over 1.2 million square feet of high end design space, all with continuing public operations, the Pacific Design Center presented logistical challenges to the Project Team, but nothing they couldnt handle., says Chris Miller, Senior Project Manager, Gilbane Building Company, We are happy to complete this work for Baker and allow them to cast their furniture in a new light.
Gatonbrass will introduce a new die casting tooling facility next week.The facility intends to reduce the lead time in all die casting operations.That is, the tooling facility is optimized for pressure, gravity and vacuum brass die casting process.

This new facility is part of our 2016 strategic plans to increase the amount of die cast brass parts we export, said Erik, The Gatonbrass Product Manager. With this new tooling facility alongside our reliable technicians and engineers, we have more control over both design and quality, however complex the design may seem to be, he reaffirmed.

Since late 2015, the company has improved on its manufacturing and processing capabilities. The company has invested more than $1.6 million to furnish the new tooling facility. This includes incorporating better testing technology and prototyping equipment. The company has since been sending free samples to distributors and partners in Europe and North America.

The new facility will host a wide range of machines. These include the electrical discharge machining or spark machining; Gatonbrass will be able to produce complex parts with very tight tolerances. This will help in prototype production, coinage die making, small hole drilling and closed loop manufacturing process. Other machines include drilling, grinding, 3D printing and CNC machines. The company has also invested in the CAD technology.

This will be good news for companies that import die casting parts from China. Basically, expanding the die casting capability aims to triple the current capability of the company. Moreover, it also aims to tighten the quality inspection process. Currently, Gatonbrass is the only company that maintains a high level of quality die casting in China.

Note :The company published a complete handbook of die casting, free to download. Check it here:

http://www.gatonbrass.com/die-casting/

With the new die casting tooling capability, the company intends to achieve the following:

1.Increase the export of die cast parts to North America and all of Europe

2.To have more control of the entire tooling process

3.Die cast very complex shapes

4.Increase production without compromising on quality

5.Achieve better tolerances

This expansion comes at a time when Gatonbrass is also striving to improve their in-house tooling process. This has provided the company with a lot of flexible options as far as the whole die casting process is concerned. Again, Erik also hinted the possibility of setting up a new R&D center.

This new Gatonbrass tooling facility should be fully operational by the end of this month. This is basically an attempt by the company to be the leading die casting company in China.

About Gatonbrass

Gatonbrass is a premier brass parts manufacturer that offers a one-stop-solution for brass die casting. The company produces a wide range of die cast parts and guarantees a total cost advantage for all brass parts.

All Gatonbrass Capabilities :

http://www.gatonbrass.com/brass-die-castings/

http://www.gatonbrass.com/brass-forgings/

http://www.gatonbrass.com/brass-sandcasting/

http://www.gatonbrass.com/brass-investment-casting/

Call: 86-186-6785-1978

Email: sales(at)gatonbrass(dot)com
...our new leadership team is ready to accomplish tremendous things for not only our company but the industry as a whole. --Ed Keller, president of EarQ

To hit the ground running this New Year, EarQ is announcing four notable changes to its leadership team that will help usher in a new era of success for the group:



Andrew Hebert will now serve as EarQs Senior Vice President

Clifford Carey will step into the new role of Vice President of Communications

Natalie Phillips, Au.D., will be EarQs first Director of Audiology

Sarah Burtch will advance into the role of National Sales Director

With their individual talents and passion as well as their combined experiences, our new leadership team is ready to accomplish tremendous things for not only our company but the industry as a whole, said Ed Keller, president of EarQ.

Formerly the vice president, Andrew has dedicated the past nine years to leading the company in its development and execution of innovative programs and services to deliver the best results for EarQ members and their patients. As senior vice president, Andrew will continue to help steer the company into the future and ensure its commitment to providing independent practice owners with the unique services they need to thrive.

Cliffords new position comes after three years of successfully transitioning EarQs creative department from a traditional print agency to a full-scale digital services center as director of communications. In his expanded role as vice president of communications, Clifford will work to elevate the EarQ brand and its impact on more new professional and consumer audiences than ever before.

Board certified in audiology and a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, Natalie is a well-respected voice in the industry. While continuing to practice at Advanced Otolaryngology and Audiology in Fort Collins, Colorado, Natalie will offer her expertise as a professional voice for patients and advise EarQs educational content development.

Sarah brings over 10 years of experience in sales, marketing, and brand management to the EarQ team. She has previously served as the vice president of sales and operations of Beowulf Natural Feeds, Inc., the national inside sales manager of DFA Farm Supplies, and the district sales manager for Kellogg Company. As EarQs national sales director, Sarah will oversee the business consulting team and its array of services for EarQ members.

Were incredibly energized by the recent changes to the hearing healthcare industry and cant wait to share our new ideas with the world, Keller added.

Learn more about the leadership team here.

About EarQ:

A prestigious nationwide network of independent hearing healthcare providers, EarQ utilizes innovative business and marketing practices as well as national public awareness efforts to advocate for excellence in the industry and in patient care. Through its 1,400 hearing healthcare provider locations nationwide, EarQ helps provide greater access to quality hearing healthcare services and products.

http://www.earq.com

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Maria Kannankutty joins YA as Vice President, Operations

YA, an industry market leader in delivering flawless omni-channel marketing promotions for the nations most respected brands, today announced that it has hired Maria Kannankutty as Vice President, Operations. Kannankutty brings to YA more than 20 years of experience in strategic and financial planning, business process optimization (BPO) and management consulting across a number of complex businesses.

Kannankutty started her career in management consulting with several public accounting firms, including Coopers & Lybrand, Arthur Andersen and Grant Thornton, before moving to more senior corporate management roles. She spent the past nine years at Aimia, a global loyalty marketing company, where she held a number of leadership positions, including Chief of Staff to the U.S. Region CEO, as well as heading the global business planning function. Kannankuttys areas of expertise center around strategic business planning, project management, market research and analysis, and financial modeling.

Marias experience and expertise will be extremely helpful as we implement YAs strategic and operational initiatives, including BPO and the expansion of YAs business and services in Canada, said YA President and CEO Chris Behrens. Her proven leadership capabilities will be instrumental in taking this company to yet another new level.

Kannankutty received both her Bachelor of Science in Business and her MBA degrees from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and was a Fulbright Scholarship Recipient from the Cyprus America Scholarship Program.

About YA

For more than 40 years, YA has been a leader in the promotional marketing services space. We deliver flawless digital, social, mobile and traditional promotions such as rebates/rewards, enter to win and loyalty programs for the nations most respected brands. Our end-to-end management of 3,500+ promotions annually that reach tens of millions of consumers makes us experts at turning even first-time customers into loyal brand advocates. For more information visit: http://www.yaengage.com.

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Whether they are sharing someones story or spreading the word about the different opportunities that come up, the community is constantly encouraging each other to make a difference. We were able to see an example of this with Post for a Purpose.

Allsup, a nationwide Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) representation company, today awarded the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA) a $2,500 grant for being the top Allsup Post for a PurposeSM blogger in 2015.

The Allsup Post for a Purpose initiative raises awareness of issues faced by individuals with chronic illness and disabilities, provides a platform for sharing ideas, and encourages support for nonprofit organizations and their missions. These activities increase disability literacy and help people understand and use health and financial information.

Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), is classified as a rare disorder by the United States Food and Drug Administration. However, according to the RSDSA, up to 200,000 individuals experience this condition in the United States any given year.

CRPS occurs when the nervous system and the immune system malfunction when they respond to tissue damage from trauma. The nerves misfire, sending constant pain signals to the brain. The level of pain is measured as one of the most severe on the McGill University Pain Scale.

RSDSAs guest blog, What We Do for Those in Pain garnered the most shares from Allsups Facebook page in 2015. It reflected the need and widespread support for the RSDSAs programs, which include:



A continuing medical education (CME)-accredited educational program for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other clinicians on the diagnosis, treatment and management of CRPS. According to the RSDSA, most individuals with CRPS will see five doctors before being properly diagnosed.

The publication, Tips for Managing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

Sponsorship of the first pediatric pain camp at the Center for Courageous Kids.

The CRPS/RSD community is a united front, said Samantha Barrett, RSDSA special events coordinator. They are incredibly supportive of our efforts to raise awareness for CRPS/RSD. They support one another through and through.

Whether they are sharing someones story or spreading the word about the different opportunities that come up, the community is constantly encouraging each other to make a difference. We were able to see an example of this with Post for a Purpose.

Many of the Facebook shares were accompanied by comments that detailed the challenges of living with chronic pain caused by a rare disorder, and the positive impact RSDSA has had on their lives.

I suffer from RSD/CRPS for about 10 yrs [sic] now, read one post. There are no doctors who knows [sic] much about RSD where I live I am just given pain meds and muscle relaxant. Every time [I] mention symptoms it is always old age or arthritis or menopause. It made me feel non-existent at times. As I learned more about RSD/CRPS thru RSDHope and RSDSA I began feeling OK.

Individuals with RSD/CRPS may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits if they are not able to continue working. For answers to specific questions about applying for SSDI, visit Expert.Allsup.com or call (888) 841-2126.

For more information on disability literacy education materials and the Allsup Post for a Purpose program, contact Tai Venuti at t(dot)venuti(at)allsupinc(dot)com.

ABOUT THE REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY SYNDROME ASSOCIATION

The RSDSA was formed in 1984 to help the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) community, formerly Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). The RSDSAs mission is to educate, support, and provide hope to all affected by the pain and disability of CRPS/RSD while we drive research for better treatments and a cure. RSDSA is based in Milford, Connecticut, and is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. To contact the RSDSA call (877) 662-7737, or email info(at)rsds(dot)org.

ABOUT ALLSUP

Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, re-employment, exchange plan and Medicare services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. For more information, go to http://www.Allsup.com or visit Allsup on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Allsupinc.
J. LeRoy Ward

As Executive Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, he will be serving IILs global clients in implementing their strategic initiatives through enhanced project, program and portfolio practices, as well as helping to boost PMO performance and delivery, among other critical activities. Improving the effectiveness of the partnership between project manager and sponsor will also be a critical area of focus for Ward.

Formerly Executive Vice President at ESI International, Mr. Ward guided clients to improve every aspect of project and program performance. His experience in working with all ten sectors of the S&P 500, including more than 50 Global Fortune 500 organizations and large government agencies, made him a sought after advisor, consultant, and speaker. Additionally, as head of product strategy, he oversaw the market introduction of an innovative, and highly popular suite of offerings in project management, business analysis, contract management, and business skills, including a comprehensive selection of individual and organizational assessments. Prior to ESI, Ward enjoyed a 17-year career as an IT executive in the U.S. Federal Government.

Ward is the author of nine books and more than 40 articles in project, program and portfolio management. He is a popular and well-known speaker and has presented at many association and client events including more than 22 Project Management Institute (PMI) conferences globally. Ward earned a BS and MS in geography from Southern Connecticut State University and an MS in Computer Systems Management from The American University. He also holds a number of highly respected academic and industry certifications including those from Stanford University, George Washington University, PMI, and Scrum Alliance. Ward is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. In 2013, he was the recipient of PMIs Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence award, one of the Institutes highest honors.

At IIL, Ward will serve on the companys Global Executive Council, consisting of its top management executives from around the world. He will also work closely with IILs world-renowned thought leaders -- industrys foremost authorities -- such as Dr. Harold Kerzner, as well as many other prominent subject matter experts. As part of these teams, Ward will help IILs global clients face the challenging demands of realizing corporate strategy through better project delivery practices, accelerated organization transformation, advanced leadership skills and the proper integration of PMOs into vehicles for strategic enablement. He will also help clients understand--and how to take advantage of--the sweeping changes taking place in project, program and portfolio management, such as, a focus on design thinking, enhancing the user experience, and preparing for a world where everyone is a project manager. Ward will also represent IIL at major project/leadership conferences worldwide where his thought-provoking and entertaining presentations have solidified his standing as one of the prominent thought leaders in the field.

IILs Founder, President and CEO E. LaVerne Johnson had this to say about his coming on board at the 24 year old company: We at IIL are absolutely delighted to have LeRoy join our firm! We have known of and admired his work, his insights, and his contribution to the industry for many years. His experience and expertise will be invaluable for our clients as they seek more creative and innovative ways to turn strategy into action through improved project delivery practices.

About IIL

IILs commitment to improving organizational performance with Intelligence, Integrity and Innovation has made it a trusted learning partner to thousands of global companies -- in more than 150 countries and for over 24 years. Courses are also offered through IILs university affiliate, the NYU School of Professional Studies. Learn more at http://www.iil.com.
A demonstration against transphobia held in memory of Alan. J. Barbosa

On December 24, a 17-year-old transsexual from Barcelona committed suicide after suffering bullying at his school, according to his parents. The case has highlighted the problems that LGBT minors face, says Spains national federation of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals (FELGTB), which claims than half of young members of the LGBT community are picked on at school. Transsexuals, it says, are particularly vulnerable because they are more visible and this exposes them to greater risk, says FELGTB chief Jesus Generelo.

FELGTB has no figures on bullying, and draws its conclusions from different reports, all of which say that sexual orientation is the main cause of harassment at school. It attributes this to what it calls a lack of support from within the education system, which in the case of the 17-year-old from Barcelona, who has been named only as Alan, contributed to the decision to end his life.

In a survey of LGBT youngsters, 43% said they had thought about suicide, and 17% said they had tried to kill themselves

Its terrible that there have to be cases like Alans before people wake up to this problem, says Generelo. FELGTB surveyed around 700 young people who had been bullied because of their sexual orientation: 43% said they had thought about suicide, with 35% saying they had taken detailed steps toward ending their life, and 17% saying they had tried to kill themselves. The survey did not include transsexual minors specifically, but Generelo said this group was particularly vulnerable in schools.

There are no official figures on the number of transsexual minors who have committed suicide over the course of 2015 as a result of bullying, but Generelo says the families of victims will often hide the reason for the suicide so as to avoid further suffering, as well as because this means coming out of the closet. Generelo says the FELGTB is nevertheless aware of the problem through teachers and friends of deceased students.

Generelo says a 2007 law on gender identify is insufficient: We need a law on transsexuality that covers all the bases. The FELGTB says it will present a draft law on how transsexuals should be treated, from infancy to adulthood, based on legislation introduced in Andalusia that enshrines equal rights for transsexuals.

Chrysallis, a nationwide association that represents the families of transsexual minors, confirms that Alan suffered bullying at school. It highlights the problems young transsexuals faces, citing the example of a student in Malaga who in 2013, left her school after it refused to accept her as a female and allow her to wear a skirt as part of her uniform. The minors parents took legal action, but a regional court closed the case after a three-month investigation.

FELGTB says it intends to end systematic discrimination against LGBT minors within the education system and wants awareness campaigns about gender issues to be implemented in schools and colleges. As long as things continue like they are, were going to see more cases like Alans, warns Generelo.
"We are proud to continue our alliance with Worldreader and give back to readers throughout the globe." - SBPRA CEO Robert Fletcher

SAN FRANCISCO  Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency (SBPRA) has joined Worldreader in their continuing efforts to serve underprivileged readers around the world. To date, Strategic has donated nearly 70 titles by its top childrens authors to the campaign.

We are proud to continue our alliance with Worldreader and give back to readers throughout the globe, said SBPRA CEO Robert Fletcher.

Worldreaders mission to improve lives currently spans 69 countries and includes 44 languages, from Afrikaans to Swahili, with the ultimate aim of putting books in reach of everyone on the planet. So far more than 6 million people have been touched by the program.

Through its affiliations with publishers and Amazon.com, Worldreader has been making e-Books become the least expensive, easiest and most reliable way to deliver books to developing countries. Worldreader currently operates in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria with the books supplied through Amazons Kindle, and plans to expand delivery throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Strategic Book Groups award-winning childrens author Sherrill S. Cannon has six of her books in the program including "Peter and the Whimper-Whineys." She stated, I am so pleased to have some of my books included in the Worldreader program. Sharing my books with children is what its all about to me! What a wonderful opportunity to help spread the love of reading worldwide.

Other Strategic titles donated to Worldreader include: "James and the Naughty Seagull," "No, I Dont Want to Play Today: An African Tale About Bullying," "Orchestra in Our Brain: The Story of a Child with Epilepsy," "My Sanctuary, A Place I Call Home," "Little Stories for Little People," "Stormy Hills Legacy," "Peaches the Private Eye Poodle," and "Wake Up, the Babys Coming."

Strategic CEO Fletcher added, Through our presence at international book fairs, we realized the global demand for English. This is what led to the creation of our fifth company, Publish on Demand Global (PODG), which focuses on international distribution for English content. PODG is our corporate umbrella and is the parent company for all of our subsidiaries: SBPRA, Epubco, AMI and BSBRA. Through PODG, we proudly support Worldreader, and now our authors also have their books further out there in the world.

Worldreader works with more than 140 publishers to acquire the most compelling digital content. Seventy percent of its library comes from African and Indian publishers. It also works with donors and governments to develop and digitize local and international books, and to manage logistics and support. Since 2010, over 400,000 people each month have read more than 2.2 million books, allowing families in the program to read textbooks, newspapers and the classics.

Visit http://www.Worldreader.org to see the books in the program published by Strategic and other publishers.
CSDA We feel confident in the services that Singular Payments has been providing our members and are delighted to continue our endorsement of them for two additional years

Singular Payments, LLC., the only payment processor in the industry focused on custom flat rate payment processing for small to medium-sized businesses in the U.S. is excited to announce the continuation of the Connecticut State Dental Associations (CSDA) endorsement of Singular Payments to their valued membership for two additional years. Since 2013, Singular Payments has been the exclusive endorsed merchant services provider of the CSDA, providing their dental association members with in-person and online payment processing service with a custom flat rate for business merchants.

Payment processing for businesses has become way too confusing, which is why Singular Payments took a different route to simplify credit card processing services for business owners through their flat fee which is inclusive of all fees related to a merchants payment processing activities. With Singular Payments, merchants get truly custom flat rate payment processing. Singular Payments does not tier out or charge up merchant statements in any way. Once they calculate and lock in a custom flat rate each statement will be reliably simple, straight-forward and dependable. The CSDA is continually looking for services that meet the needs of our members and payment processing is one of those important needs. We feel confident in the services that Singular Payments has been providing our members and are delighted to continue our endorsement of them for two additional years, said Dr. Gary Dubin, Chair, CSDA Task Force on Membership Affinity Programs.

Excited about the announcement, Vaden Landers, Chairman & Managing Partner of Singular Payments said, "We work hard to be viewed as the good guys in the payment processing industry and are honored to receive the continuation of our endorsement from the Connecticut State Dental Association (CSDA). We understand that merchants have a lot of choices and are pleased that the CSDA has chosen to extend its endorsement of Singular Payments among their valued dental association members."

In addition to being the endorsed payment processing provider for the CSDA, Singular Payments also provides educational opportunities throughout the year on subjects related to payments processing, PCI DSS compliance, medical office marketing, back office best practices and other relevant topics. Access the latest educational opportunities on Singular Payments website under Merchant Education where there are weekly blogs, bi-monthly eNewsletters, press releases, webinars, videos and scam alerts.

Additionally, Singular Payments stands behind their flat rate service model with The Singular Guarantee that always gives the merchant a rate guaranteed in writing. It states that if a merchant does not save what they were promised when signing up, Singular Payments writes them a check for the difference. Thats the Singular Payments promise  Simple. Flat rate. For real. Learn more about Singular Payments' industry exclusive money-back guarantee or Request a Quote now to get started.

About Singular Payments, LLC

Based in sunny Saint Augustine, FL Singular Payments, LLC is a flat rate payment processor serving the payment processing industry with a revolutionary limitless flat rate billing model that simplifies accepting credit/debit cards for small to medium-size business merchants nationwide. Call (877) 829-7255 for a free savings analysis or visit us online at http://www.singularpayments.com to learn more.

About Connecticut State Dental Association (CSDA)

The Connecticut State Dental Association is a statewide, professional membership organization representing Connecticut licensed dentists and staff. CSDA members are committed to protecting the health and well-being of people of all ages.

The CSDA was established in 1864 to ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care from dental professionals. With a statewide membership of approximately 2,466 members, the CSDA represents about 70% of all licensed dentists in Connecticut.
Christie video wall technology was selected by The Mercado a Termino. The Mercado a Termino in Buenos Aires (MATba), a hundred-year-old exchange trading in agricultural commodities in Argentina which registers, guarantees, clears and settles futures and options, has just installed the countrys biggest display wall in its trading floor. Measuring 9.6 metres wide by 2.75 metres high, the video wall is controlled by two Christie TVC-700 units, powerful processors with multiple inputs.

The wall, made up of 32 ultra-thin 55-inch screens arranged horizontally in four rows and eight columns, was installed by Digital Media, an Argentinean digital signage company that provides solutions, services and products for digital contents in displays, LED TVs, screens and video walls.

The trading floor at MATba is where buyers and sellers negotiate, with prices determined using the auction method. An integral part of the overall redesign of the futures exchange, the installation of the video wall enables more dynamic and effective control over posting financial instruments with fluctuating prices. MATbas goal with this modernisation is to reinforce its engagement with technological innovation, while providing transparency and constant improvement for professionals in the futures and options market.

The two Christie processors are located behind the video wall, mounted on racks built into the structure. They control the system and are used to post different contents on the screen in a dynamic and programmed fashion. The contents are sourced from applications that show the prices of cereals in various futures markets across the world. To this end, MATba has updated and expanded its data network, and has also developed applications to update, manage and post prices on this new visual system.

After analyzing the clients needs and doing the pre-sales engineering, Digital Media recommended the Christie processors. MATba chose Christies display wall processor because it was the ideal solution for the task at hand, bearing in mind the complexity and critical role of the productive environment, explained Diego Bianchi, Solutions Manager at Digital Media.

He added, The most interesting feature of the Christie TVC-700 processor is its powerful software that allows us to dynamically manage multiple contents from multiple sources on the 32 screens in the display wall.

We are delighted that our display wall processors are installed in such a noteworthy exchange like MATba, said Jorge Garcia, Christie Sales Manager in Latin America. Christie offers a wide range of controllers, video processors and displays for video walls and demanding control room environments, totally reliable and adaptable to any place and all kinds of budgets, he concluded.

The Christie processor has the capacity to simultaneously manage hundreds of sources and screen them in high resolution anywhere, at any size and in any number of windows across the video wall, no matter whether the source is analogue or digital, connected directly or through Internet, whether it is RGB or video. The Christie TVC-700 is PC-based, intuitive, easy to use and has been purpose built to stand up to the demands of a 24/7 control room environment.

About Christie

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the worlds most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit http://www.christiedigital.com for more information.
RMS Team Members We seek out innovative employees because what we are doing is changing the healthcare industry.

Regenerative Medicine Solutions (RMS) recently announced plans to facilitate the launch of clinics in Dallas and Seattle in 2016 on behalf of their client, the Lung Institute. RMS office is in downtown Tampa, and the growth of the Lung Institute will continue to raise the demand for local marketing and patient relations personnel at RMS.

The company reportedly increased their staff by 50 percent in 2015 to keep up with the growing field of regenerative medicine. The U.S. Department of Labor expects the healthcare industry to have the fastest employment growth rate, projecting a 26 percent increase between 2012 and 2022. RMS has already exceeded this estimation since the companys inception in 2013, expanding twice the projected national average in 2015 alone. As the Lung Institute continues to expand to help more patients who suffer from chronic lung diseases, RMS will mirror that growth to ensure that the Lung Institute is able to reach the patients who so desperately need their help.

We carefully select team members who are in alignment with our purpose and values, who understand that we are here to support our partners in their mission to help as many patients as possible, said Executive Vice President Ann Miller. We seek out innovative employees because what we are doing is changing the healthcare industry.

RMS growth parallels a growing downtown Tampa, the community finally gaining traction since the U.S. recession. Visionary Tampa Bay Lightning Owner Jeffrey Vinik released his downtown development plan earlier this year, estimated to cost at least $1 billion. Its a great time to be a Tampa resident, with the wheels in motion and grandeur visions of a world-class city on the horizon. Downtown Tampa is becoming a hub for health education and wellness, home to organizations like RMS and the Lung Institute, with the Morsani College of Medicine and USF Health Heart Institute breaking ground on their new downtown campus in December.

Tampa is set to become a hub for new medical developments, the influx of medical employees and students supporting the U.S. Department of Labors healthcare growth projections. RMS and the Lung Institute already play a major role in the redevelopment of Tampas downtown, bringing employees, patients and new medical advancements to the area, and will continue to expand in 2016.

If you are interested in a career in the medical marketing industry, visit http://www.myregenmed.com for employment opportunities.

About Regenerative Medicine Solutions

Regenerative Medicine Solutions (RMS), founded in 2012, is a leading medical management company, supporting the Lung Institute by pushing the status-quo in the field of regenerative cellular medicine. Based in Tampa, Fla., RMS provides support, strategy and resources to the Lung Institute, placing them at the forefront of cellular therapy advancements. RMS is helping the Lung Institute create new jobs nationwide, with expansion plans to include international growth within the next three years. For more information, visit http://www.myregenmed.com or call (877) 867-4551.
Aeryon Labs Opens Additional 30,000 sq. ft. to Meet Growing sUAS Demand The world-class talent pool and proximity to other leading technology organizations is highly desirable, and we are confident in our ability to continue to hire and retain top engineering talent.

Aeryon Labs, the premier manufacturer of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), commonly known as drones, announced today that it has opened a second office in Waterloo Region. The additional 30,000 sq. ft. office space, in Waterloo, ON, enables the company to continue to scale all aspects of its operations, including, R&D, manufacturing, and sales and marketing.

We remain committed to Waterloo Region as our primary base of operations, Aeryon President & CEO, Dave Kroetsch said. The world-class talent pool and proximity to other leading technology organizations is highly desirable, and we are confident in our ability to continue to hire and retain top engineering talent.

According to Kroetsch, the expansion is a result of the substantial growth the company has experienced over the last few years. Aeryons sUAS continue to gain global recognition, with customers in over 35 countries worldwide, and the company has over 125 employees as of December 2015. The additional support gained from the $60 million investment by Summit Partners will help the company realize its ambitious vision for the sUAS market, which sees widespread adoption across military, public safety and commercial operators worldwide.

Discovery and entrepreneurship are hallmarks of our community, and Aeryon Labs embodies those traits, said Waterloo Mayor, Dave Jaworsky. We are a talent-rich city and by continuing to invest in our quality of life, companies like Aeryon Labs find Waterloo an attractive city to grow and create jobs.

The future of the Waterloo Region tech sector depends on companies like Aeryon Labs scaling from startups into successful, high-growth tech companies, said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech This expansion is a great milestone for Aeryon Labs as they continue their impressive growth, but is also an important event for the region as a whole.

All company contact information will remain the same, including the company address, 575 Kumpf Drive, Waterloo, Ontario, N2V 1K3.

For more, information visit: http://www.aeryon.com

Media Contact: Andrea Sangster, Sr. Marketing Manager

media(at)aeryon(dot)com | +1 519-489-6726 x360

About Aeryon Labs Inc.

Aeryon Labs is the premier manufacturer of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) which are at the center of major world events and international media stories. The company is the trusted partner of civil and military customers, resellers, and other commercial business partners around the globe. Aeryon Labs is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Field-tested and mission-proven, Aeryon sUAS set the standard for immediate aerial intelligence gathering by anyone, anywhere, anytime, for a wide range of military, public safety and commercial applications.
Dr. Atif Malik, M.D. will present a research paper entitled Lumbar Intradiscal Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections: A Retrospective Study, at the International 34th ISMISS Course for Percutaneous Endoscopic Spinal Surgery and Complementary Minimal Invasive Techniques being held January 21  23, 2016 in Chongquing, China. The International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS) holds their annual conference in Chongquing, China each year. ISMISS focuses on the fields of minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgeries. The goal of the society is to coordinate instructional learning activities and international exchanges with other pioneering physicians and surgeons.

Atif Malik, M.D., a founding member of American Spine, will again be presenting results of an ongoing study, evaluating platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections into degenerated lumbar discs. The results he will be presenting include data from 18 patients who have completed 1 year of follow-up. None of these patients showed adverse events, there was no significant increase in pain for more than 2 weeks, and no new MRI changes. Participants who received intradiscal PRP showed significant improvements in pain and functioning at 3, 6 and 12 months post injection. Although these results are promising, further studies are needed to define the subset of participants most likely to respond to biologic intradiscal treatment based on an anatomic classification system.

Dr. Malik has dedicated his practice to the advancement of minimally invasive spinal surgery and endoscopic spine surgery. He is an advocate of redefining the algorithm for the treatment of degenerative spinal disorders and the preservation of spinal segmental motion using minimally invasive techniques. Furthermore, he has authored peer-reviewed research journal articles, scientific abstracts, reviews, and book chapters in the field of pain and musculoskeletal medicine. Dr. Malik believes a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, when used appropriately, has the best outcome for patients when treating spinal pain.

Dr. Malik is Board Certified in Pain Management and is active with The International Society of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, American Pain Society, and North American Spine Society.

Dr. Malik and American Spine are currently accepting referrals and new patients for both surgical and pain management appointments. To schedule an appointment at any of our offices, call #240.629.3939 or visit our website at http://www.americanspinemd.com for more information.

Or for personal attention, please contact Laurie Pantezzi of American Spine, 301.471.4795 or laurie(at)americanspinemd(dot)com.
David Consulting Group, a global provider of software analytics, software quality management and Agile support services, announced today that the company will begin operating under the name DCG Software Value effective immediately.

The software industry is not stagnant  it continues to grow and change, and we strive to ensure that our company evolves with it. DCG Software Value represents our vision for the industry  and what we believe to be our clients main priority  where the value of software is visible and openly discussed between IT and the business, said Michael Harris, CEO of David Consulting Group. In changing our name, we hope to more clearly convey our role in client engagements, while continuing to help organizations produce high quality, effective and cost-efficient software. We firmly believe that this will be a smooth transition as we more closely align our brand with what we currently offer  assistance in making the value of software more apparent and actionable.

As part of the rebrand, the company unveiled a new identity, including a new website url, http://www.softwarevalue.com. The companys name change will be implemented across all offerings and materials, with the transition taking place over the course of 2016. The company will continue to offer its existing, proven set of services and consulting solutions.

For more information about the name change, or to learn more about DCG Software Value, visit http://www.softwarevalue.com.

About DCG Software Value

DCG Software Value is a global provider of software analytics, software quality management and Agile support services. Since 1994, companies of all sizes who depend on their software have relied on DCG to foster improved decision making and resource management and to quantifiably impact their bottom line. DCG maintains a U.S. corporate office in Malvern, Pa and a European corporate office in the U.K. DCG Software Value is the operating name of Objective Integrity, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation.

For more information, visit http://www.softwarevalue.com.
Apriva, the leading provider of secure end-to-end wireless transaction and information solutions, announced today that they will be exhibiting at the 2016 Northeast Acquirers Association (NEAA) Annual Conference, taking place from January 13-15, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 2016 Northeast Acquirers Association (NEAA), founded in 1985, is entering its 30th year of serving and educating all distribution channels in the electronic payments industry in the northeast. The annual NEAA conference provides educational forums which cover current topics, trends, and industry issues. This years conference includes sessions on the mobile market, compliance and regulation, big data and the future of payments. The conference brings together payment professionals, ISOs, MSPs, merchants, and VARs, giving them the opportunity to network, attend sessions and learn from their peers.

WHO: Apriva participants will include: Stacey Finley Tappin, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Communications, North America; Laura Carrero, Director of Account Management; and Bill Brooks, Key Account Manager. The Apriva team can be found on the exhibitor floor during exhibit hall hours in booth #41.

WHAT: 2016 Northeast Acquirers Association Annual Conference. Attendees can register for the event at the NEAA website: northeastacquirers.com

WHEN: NEAA 2016 Conference will be held from January 1315, 2016.

Exhibit hall hours will be:



Wednesday, January 13: 5:30  7:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 14: 11:30 a.m.  1:00 p.m. and 6:00  8:00 p.m.

WHERE: NEAA 2016 will take place at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel located at 606 Congress Street in Boston, MA 02210. Apriva team members will be staffing booth #41 in the exhibit hall.

About Apriva

Formed in 2003, Apriva is the leading provider of end-to-end wireless transactions and secure information messaging solutions that meet the exacting security and reliability requirements of financial services providers, government entities, and public service sectors. Through its two operating groups, Apriva Point of Sale (POS) and Apriva Information Security Systems (ISS), the company offers customers fully-managed, end-to-end, security solutions that incorporate hardware, software, network infrastructure and management tools. For more information, visit http://www.apriva.com.

Apriva Contacts:

Robin Rotz

Apriva

480 421-1275

rrotz(at)apriva(dot)com

Lisette Rauwendaal

McGrath Power

(408) 200-3773

lisetter(at)mcgrathpower(dot)com
Molly Smith prepares to build her tiny house, donated by Pacific Mobile Structures, that will eventually help her pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef. When someone has a passion and they can find a way to translate that to another person, so they feel their passion too, those kind of people are unstoppable." Cheryl Thompson, Pacific Mobile

Students return to school this week, but one high school student continues her studies, year-round, and she simply steps into her kitchen or into her backyard when class starts, to build her tiny house. Meet Molly Smith. It may not take more than one minute before she melts someone's heart, or their taste buds, and convinces them, that her passion deems worthy of their time. Pacific Mobile Structures Vice President of Rental Division Cheryl Thompson sums up the 15-year-old, quite simply, When someone has a passion and they can find a way to translate that to another person, so they feel their passion too, those kind of people are unstoppable. And, I think Molly is going to be one of those kind of people in life. That desire led Molly to PMSI in search of her tiny house, as she plans her future to become a pastry chef.

Molly realized back in middle school that her dream of attending the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA would cost much more than her family could ever afford. Rather than wait for the opportunity to come to her, Molly put her skills to work. Her research on how to save on room and board while in college led her to the tiny house movement. From there, her mind took off and her dream took shape. Molly says her friends dont quite understand why she is building her future home in her own backyard, Im a very small person, so it kind of surprises them that I try to do something that is such a big thing.

Mollys tiny house involves the strategic plans for the ENTIRE house. She designed a beach-themed home of her very own. She will put in the electrical work, the plumbing and more. She plans to do this while getting all of the supplies and expertise training donated; including the house. A first for Molly became a first for Pacific Mobile. Mollys mom, Mindy Smith says, Every rejection she gets, she just says, well, whos the next person on the list? Keep moving forward.

PMSI donated the 192-square foot structure itself the week of Mollys 15th birthday. Molly won over the family-owned modular construction company with her will and determination to literally build her college housing, in order to pursue her true passion. Now, she must win over other suppliers and continue the work, with help, to complete the house by May, 2018. This is one senior culminating project teaching life lessons well beyond the classroom. Mollys tiny house already has a new set of axles with tires, brakes and brake lights. Her work continues as does her quest for donations and know-how.

Pacific Mobile Structures: Family-owned and operated since 1983, Chehalis, WA-based Pacific Mobile Structures, Inc. provides flexible, cost-efficient, high-performance modular facilities designed for comfort, durability and energy efficiency. The company builds quality office, educational and other facilities for sale or lease, backed by the best customer service in the commercial modular construction industry.http://www.pacificmobile.com
We're humbled to be recognized for contributing to our local marketing community.

Privately held digital marketing agency, Geary LSF, has risen through the ranks of San Diego-based advertising agencies to claim the spot as the second largest agency in San Diego County. The rankings, based on revenue generated within San Diego County, were recently published by third-party publication, San Diego Business Journal, in their annual Book of Lists.

The agencys growth, and subsequent recognition in the San Diego market, is attributed to the expansion of the San Diego client portfolio to include additional top enterprise brands, as well as to the agencies evolution as a strategic partner in omni-channel marketing. The agencys approach, coupled with an unparalleled team of experts, has allowed them to confidently lead their clients in integrated marketing.

San Diego has become a community recognized in the marketing industry as a powerhouse that produces exceptional work for amazing clients, said Katie Colleton, Marketing Director for Geary LSF. Were humbled to be recognized for contributing to our local marketing community and are looking forward to continued growth throughout 2016 and beyond.

Geary LSF has had a strong presence in the San Diego marketing community since the early 2000s and continues to grow the San Diego team. For more information on Geary LSF and their services, please email: info(at)gearylsf(dot)com

About Geary LSF

Geary LSF is a full service digital marketing agency headquartered in San Francisco, with additional offices in San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Specializing in an omni-channel marketing approach, the team turns digital ambitions into business results for more than 450 brands worldwide including: Bumble Bee Foods, Target, Aramark and several others. For more information, please visit http://www.gearylsf.com.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, whose department has issued a message to London. Zibi (EFE)

The Spanish government is asking London for bilateral dialogue in order to find a definitive solution to the ongoing conflict over Gibraltar.

We will never consent to the UK entering into any negotiations with Spain in respect of the sovereignty of Gibraltar

Fabian Picardo administration

The petition was issued on Wednesday and came in the wake of a statement issued by Argentina that defended its own sovereignty over the disputed Falkland Islands.

Shortly after Madrid made its request, the Gibraltar executive said it would never consent to the United Kingdom entering into any process of talks, discussions or negotiations with Spain in respect of the sovereignty of Gibraltar.

On Sunday, Argentinas foreign ministry issued a release defending its own sovereignty over the Atlantic archipelago, which is known as Las Malvinas in Spanish, 183 years after Britains usurpation.

The new administration of President Mauricio Macri wants bilateral negotiations of its own with Britain to resolve the ongoing dispute in the shortest possible period and in a fair and definitive manner.

On Wednesday, the Spanish foreign ministry said it shared Argentinas position.

Similarly, Spain, in observance of United Nations dispositions, has been reiterating to Britain its desire to establish talks for the resolution of the dispute over Gibraltar.

Just hours later, the administration of Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo published a note titled Gibraltars Sovereignty is not a Matter for Discussion. The release said that Gibraltar would like for Spain to finally come into the 21st century and abandon its medieval claim over the territory.

English version by Susana Urra.
Kris will provide a skill set for R2 that will enable us to expand our carrier base while targeting customer account specific LTL opportunities as we progress into 2016.

R2 Logistics, Inc., a Third Party Logistics service provider, today announced that Kris Orent has joined the Florida based company as Director of LTL.

Kris will provide a skill set for R2 that will enable us to expand our carrier base while targeting customer account specific LTL opportunities as we progress into 2016, said Co-VP of Operations, Brad Schneider. His focus, along with the upgrade to our TMS platform in the very near future, will allow Kris the ability to demo and cross sell into markets we were unable to in the past.

As Director of LTL, Orent will work out of the Dallas operations office and his sole objective will be to exponentially grow the companys LTL portfolio. This will include on-boarding of LTL carriers, handling LTL RFPs and training the Sales staff. In his previous position as Senior Business Development Manager at Cardinal Logistics Management, Orent implemented a cloud based TMS, handled LTL integrations and developed a diverse carrier base to create the LTL portion of their business.

Kris was instrumental in the startup of his prior organizations LTL business and we are excited to have him join the R2 team! stated Schneider.

About R2 Logistics, Inc.

R2 Logistics, Inc. is a Third Party Logistics company named one of Inbound Logistics Top 100 3PLs and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company works with over 35,000 transportation providers nationwide. R2 Logistics delivers industry-leading services through 10 primary operating branches. These branches focus primarily on full truckload transportation, as well as services including less-than-truckload (LTL), expedited freight, intermodal, certified hazardous material, specialized hauling and supply chain management. For more information about R2 Logistics, visit http://www.r2logisticsteam.com.
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP welcomes Rosanna Michelle Fox to the Business Immigration & Compliance Practice as it continues to grow its New York Immigration Practice. Fox, previously a partner at Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP, joins as a shareholder.

Fox focuses her practice on business immigration and has extensive experience representing individual and corporate clients in a range of industries including financial services, technology, e-commerce, media, advertising, and electronics manufacturing with respect to immigrant and nonimmigrant visa options in the United States. She also provides legal guidance to foreign investors and entrepreneurs with regard to temporary and permanent immigration options in the U.S. including EB-5.

We are pleased to have Rosanna join our New York Business Immigration and Compliance team, said Laura F. Reiff, co-chair of the firms Business Immigration & Compliance Practice. Rosannas experience will complement our national team and continue to strengthen our presence in New York.

I am excited to join Greenberg Traurig during this important time of growth in the firms premier Immigration Practice, said Fox. I was attracted to the firms cross practice collaboration and the synergies among Greenberg Traurigs immigration, real estate and corporate practices which will greatly benefit my clients.

Fox holds a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.A. from University of Rochester.

About Greenberg Traurig's Business Immigration & Compliance Group

Greenberg Traurig's Business Immigration & Compliance Group is a full-service business immigration practice representing businesses, organizations, and individuals from around the world on a wide range of immigration-related matters. The group has achieved international recognition for legal advocacy, results-oriented service, and responsiveness to its clients.

Greenberg Traurig's Immigration Compliance blog addresses the latest developments affecting employers, including the E-Verify program, Form I-9 compliance, Department of Labor issues (H-1B, H-2B and LCA), identity fraud in the workplace, electronic forms I-9s, EB-5 investor regional center compliance, and ICE worksite enforcement audits.

Greenberg Traurigs EB-5 Insights blog addresses the broad range of challenges and opportunities presented by the EB-5 program, including the immigration, tax, and securities compliance issues integral to creating and maintaining successful Regional Centers and projects.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1900 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No 1. on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, third largest in the U.S. on the 2015 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com/.
Few stories have the power to change perspective as they inspire and remind you of the power of clinical research to change and improve lives  and this is one of them.

DrugDev is honored to host an inspirational webinar, Lessons from Alex: Fighting Childhood Cancer through Clinical Research on January 14, 2016, featuring speaker Jay Scott, father of Alexandra (Alex) Scott and Co-Executive Director of Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation.

The important webinar is open to healthcare practitioners, clinical trial and pharmaceutical professionals, investigators, and the general public.

Webinar: Lessons from Alex: Fighting Childhood Cancer through Clinical Research

Date: January 14, 2016

Time: 10:00-11:00am EDT

Click here to register

This webinar is complimentary

Few stories have the power to change perspective as they inspire and remind you of the power of clinical research to change and improve lives  and this is one of them, said Ibraheem (Ibs) Mahmood, President and CEO of DrugDev. When we say the industry needs to Do More Trials, this is exactly why. We were honored to have Jay share Alexs story at our User Summit last year, and I can't think of a better way to start 2016 than to help introduce Alex and her lessons to a wider audience through this webinar.

Alex Scott started Alex's Lemonade Stand to help fight childhood cancer and she raised more than $1 million before passing away. Her father, Jay Scott, founded Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to honor what Alex was able to accomplish in her life  and beyond  because of the clinical trials in which she was enrolled.

Today, ALSF is one of the world's leading fund-raising organizations for pediatric cancer research and has funded over 550 grants to over 100 research hospitals. Jay will share Alex's story, and those of other children fighting cancer, in an open and honest discussion that should not be missed. Register here.

About the Presenter

Jay Scott is the Co-Executive Director of Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by his daughter, Alexandra Alex Scott. When Alex decided to hold a lemonade stand to help doctors find new treatments and ultimately a cure for all childhood cancers, including her own, Jay and his wife Liz supported Alexs mission every step of the way. After cancer took Alexs life they established the Foundation to continue the work Alex started and find a cure for all childhood cancers. Under Jays leadership, the Foundation has experienced dramatic growth since 2005, raising more than $100 million and funding over 500 childhood cancer research projects in North America. ALSF  fighting childhood cancer, one cup at a time.

About DrugDev

DrugDev is an innovative technology company which provides cloud-based solutions to help sponsors, CROs and investigators do more clinical trials together. DrugDevs unified platform optimizes site selection and activation, investigator payments and clinical operations efficiency. DrugDev also serves as the trusted third-party host of the revolutionary Investigator Databank collaboration and the TransCelerate Investigator Registry (launching soon). Learn why 9 of the top 10 sponsors and 4 of the top 5 CROs trust on DrugDev technology to do more trials at drugdev.com.
By digitizing retailers in-store offers and extending their value through real-time mobile delivery, brands are using StepsAway to reach more in-mall consumers while they are closest to the point of sale," said Allan Haims, CEO of StepsAway.

StepsAway, the leading mobile retail solution offering mall shoppers smartphone access to hyperlocal in-store deals, today announced that CEO Allan Haims will be presenting at the 2016 ICR Conference to be held January 11-13, 2015 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando, FL.

Todays retailers are focused on leveraging the synergies of digital and traditional marketing innovations to generate successful consumer engagement, said Allan Haims, CEO of StepsAway. By digitizing retailers in-store offers and extending their value through real-time mobile delivery, brands are using StepsAway to effectively reach more in-mall consumers while they are closest to the point of saleliterally steps away from the lease line.

The ICR Conference welcomes presenters and attendees by invitation only. Haims presentation will be held Monday, January 11 at 12:35pm Eastern Time. More information on the conference can be accessed at http://www.icrconference.com.

The StepsAway web-based mobile app, SAMobile, provides shoppers smartphone access to hyperlocal in-store deals accessible via participating malls Wi-Fi networks. Through StepsAways patent-pending cloud-based technology platform, SAConnect, national retailers can create and deliver promotions across multiple mall properties and mall owners, from their corporate headquarters on a single platform. Retailers can generate time-sensitive flash sales that are valid for a short duration or offer chain-wide promotions that dont expire. They can also micro-target specific malls, test pricing scenarios and dynamically modify offers based on developing business trends or inventory challenges.

About StepsAway

StepsAway is a market-first, in-mall mobile retail solution offering shoppers smartphone access to hyperlocal in-store dealsdriving more brick-and-mortar transactions. StepsAway empowers mall owners to increase sales per square foot and gives retailers an innovative way to reach and influence on-property consumer purchase decisions. Consumers access StepsAway  SAMobile  via a web-based mobile app upon signing onto a malls Wi-Fi network and then peruse deals offered on premises. StepsAways cloud-based proprietary technology platform, SAConnect, allows nationally based retailers to create and deliver promotions across multiple mall owners/locations. Officially debuted in August 2014, StepsAway is a privately held company with offices in Los Angeles and Los Gatos, California.

For more information, visit http://www.stepsaway.com.

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Boral, an industry-leading provider of brick, stone, roofing, trim and siding, is returning to the International Builders Show (IBS) on January 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The exhibit space (Booth #C7137) will feature a range of industry-leading cladding and roofing options. In addition to scheduled presentations from Mike Sloggatt from the Katz Roadshow, Borals dynamic exhibit will feature a new product showcase, as well as a centralized meeting and lounge area.

To demonstrate the benefits and uses of the Boral TruExterior Trim and Siding products, master carpenter Mike Sloggatt of the Katz Roadshow will offer in-booth training demonstrations. Sloggatt will detail the products superior workability, durability, and dimensional stability while offering tips and techniques to improve overall workmanship.

Boral TruExterior will introduce its new Bevel Siding profile, as well as a Beadboard line extension including a new four inch profile, plus double-4 and double-6 inch profiles. Boral TruExterior has pioneered a new category of building materials that addresses both the moisture- and movement-related issues commonly seen with other exterior products, offering a complete line of poly-ash Siding, Trim and Beadboard products that are truly like no other products on the market today.

Cultured Stone by Boral will introduce two new profiles, Pro-Fit Modera Ledgestone and Hewn Stone. The clean, bold and modular aesthetic of these contemporary profiles will inspire new ideas for architects and designers looking to push the boundaries of architecture and design.

Borals mortarless stone veneer, Boral Versetta Stone, will feature its two new colors  Mission Point and Graphite on the main display. The product will also be featured in a hands-on installation area located in the booth, highlighting the products unique, panelized design that allows it to be installed with nails or screws.

Boral Bricks will introduce Boral Thin Brick Natural Clay Veneer and the Historic District Collection. Available in 10 colors and several popular textures, Boral Thin Brick is the perfect go-to option for projects that require a lighter touch, while still achieving the signature look of full-dimensional clay brick. The Historic Collection provides used brick charm while maintaining the durability and integrity of a new brick structure.

Boral Roofing, the nations largest manufacturer of clay and concrete roof tile, will feature unique concrete roof tile blends from the California Gemstone Collection. Designed with subtle shifts of rich color that converge into elegant configurations, these sophisticated blends incorporate hues originating from, and inspired by, the Southwest. Additionally a peek-a-boo roof deck showing the Boral Cool Roof System, will provide a rare view under the tile, unveiling a dynamic array of individual elements working together to protect and prolong the structural life-span. Borals premium components are designed to enhance the integrity, durability and aesthetic appearance of a roof.

Demonstrating Borals ongoing commitment to design and innovation, Boral will also introduce Boral Drain-N-Dry Lath with Delta-Dry Technology. As a 3-in-1 combination of a reinforcing lath, secondary Water Resistive Barrier (WRB) and rainscreen, Drain-N-Dry Lath was developed to solve common issues related to moisture management and resist corrosion, while still being easy to install. It differentiates from other moisture management systems by using fewer fasteners, reducing penetrations through the primary WRB, and enabling builders to address drainage, drying and moisture vapor control underneath stone and stucco.

IBS brings together the industrys most important global manufacturers and suppliers and showcases the latest products, materials and technologies involved in all types of buildings  including wood, concrete, stone and brick. See more than 500,000 net square feet of exhibits and 1,300 manufacturers and suppliers of the latest and most in-demand products and services.

To learn more about Borals comprehensive portfolio of innovations in brick, stone, roofing, trim and siding options, visit http://www.BoralAmerica.com.

###

About Boral USA

Headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, Boral USA, through its subsidiaries, is a leading manufacturer in the building materials industry. Boral USAs subsidiaries include Boral Bricks Inc., a leading manufacturer of brick in the United States; Boral Roofing LLC, the nations leading manufacturer of clay and concrete roof tiles; Boral Stone Products LLC, manufacturer of Cultured Stone by Boral, the most recognized brand of manufactured stone veneer, and Boral Versetta Stone, the leading brand of mortarless manufactured stone veneer panels; Boral Material Technologies LLC, a leading marketer of coal combustion by products; and Boral Composites Inc., manufacturer of Boral TruExterior Siding and Trim, pioneer of the innovative poly-ash category of exterior building products.

Follow Boral USA Online:

Twitter at @BoralAmerica

Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BoralAmerica

Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/boralamerica
Courtney Spencer, Special Education Attorney and Featured Speaker for Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. Every parent of a child with a learning disability needs to know their child's rights.

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Hartford Chapter, will present an educational program for parents, featuring Courtney Spencer, Esq., Special Education Attorney. Her talk will focus on Your LD Childs Rights: What Every Parent Needs to Know. The event will be held at 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, Saturday, January 16, 2016, at the NEAT Center at Oak Hill, 33 Coventry Street, Hartford. Refreshments will be served. There is no charge for attendance.

To help empower parents, Attorney Courtney Spencer will discuss how to assert a childs rights to a free and appropriate public education under the federal law governing Special Education, known as the IDEA, (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). The law governs how states and public agencies provide special education and related services for children and youth, ages three to 21 years; and early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, birth to age two.

Attorney Spencers topics of discussion will include:



Working with the school district to design an IEP (Individualized Education Plan);

Ensuring that the IEP is implemented;

Tracking a childs progress.

Further, she will talk about how to overcome the obstacles often encountered in receiving services for children with learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and related disorders.

Courtney Spencer, Esq., has represented children with a wide array of disabilities, e.g., to obtain special education eligibility, services and appropriate placement to which a child is entitled by law. She is considered a notable legal resource in her field, a well-researched, detail-oriented attorney and a skilled negotiator.

Her law office of Courtney P. Spencer LLC is located in Middletown, Connecticut. She earned her law degree from the School of Law, University of Connecticut. She interned at the Department of Children and Families; the Connecticut Commission on Children; the State of Connecticut General Assembly, Legislative Internship Program; and Superior Court Juvenile Matters of Hartford.

Her law school program also involved studies at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she focused on human rights law.

Registration is open to all parents, without charge, at Your-LD-Childs-Rights.eventbrite.com.

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc.

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. is a Westport-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the parents of children with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorders (ADHD) via its educational programs, award-winning website and blog, and free e-newsletter at http://www.SmartKidswithLD.org. The organization also educates the public about these childrens gifts and talents. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is an Honorary Board member and Henry Winkler, Golden Globe award-winning actor, director and author, serves as the organizations Honorary Chairman.

For more information, visit http://www.SmartKidswithLD.org.
Top Ten Semi-Finals

The Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) Top 10 Semi-Finalists will make their way to CES 2016, the worlds largest Consumer Electronic Show, this Friday, January 8th. As part of the CES showcase, the XTC Top 10 will take the stage to present to an esteemed panel of judges at the Venetian Las Vegas - Bellini Ballroom from 2pm - 4pm. Open to the public for those wishing to attend, the XTC Semi-Finals will also be broadcast live across the globe for those outside of Nevada. One of the must-sees each year at CES, this event is known to fill up quick, as the entire tech industry packs into a ballroom to see what the freshest and most innovative minds in technology have to offer. CES runs from January 6 - 9, 2016, and anticipates upwards 170,000 in attendance.

A culmination of a rigorous application process, the semi-finalists were carefully selected from a pool of over 2,000 teams, represent a vast array of consumer industries and stand on the forefront as leaders in advancing technologies. The 2016 XTC Top 10 Semi-Finalists presenting at the CES showcase will boast entries from Bloom Technologies (San Francisco, CA), Captive Media (London, UK), Genomic Expression (New York, NY), Giropic (Lille, France), Mass Roots (Denver, CO), Mega Bots (San Francisco, CA), Sixense (Los Gatos, CA), SmartPlate (Philadelphia, PA), Sphero (Boulder, CO), and Kickfurther (Boulder, CO).

Tech-Junkies at CES 2016 will witness some of the very best the industry has to offer, as the Top 10 Semi-Finalists will reveal the intricacies of their corresponding entries, which encompass wearable analytics for prenatal health, genetic testing of tumors to provide targeted treatment of cancer, social networking for the cannabis community, robotics, a full-body virtual reality experience, a crowdfunding inventory platform and 360-degree multi-frame cameras.

Of the semi-finalists, only three finalists will move onto the finals at Necker Island, Sir Richard Bransons residence on February 11, 2016, for the chance to receive infrastructure and investment for their business endeavors. The finalists are to be selected by a panel of judges comprised of celebrated visionaries in their respective industries. This years panel of judges features CEO of Consumer Technology Association Gary Shapiro, Founding Partner of Pacific Investimentos Veronica Serra, and Co-inventor of Google Maps & Cofounder of Cute Little Apps Lars Rasmussen, among other notable leaders.

The XTC 2016 Semi-Finals are open to the public and free to attend. Register here to attend CES 2016.

To gain deeper insight ahead of the semi-finals this Friday, check out the visually captivating XTC 2016 teaser video, which aptly describes the stringent process of narrowing down the applicant pool, and what awaits the finalists once they arrive at their final destination on Necker Island.

XTC 2016 is hosted in part by MaiTai Global, a vanguard collective of the worlds leading entrepreneurs, creators, and athletes. Participants combine their energy, network and resources to help each other achieve professional success, pushing the limits of work and play while also fueling philanthropic activities around the world.

For more information on XTC 2016 please, visit the media assets page.

XTC 2016: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sothebys International Realty today announced that the firms President and CEO, Paul Breunich, was recently invited to join Sothebys International Realty Affiliates, LLC at the podium for the ringing of the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The event took place on December 29th, 2015, and marked the Sothebys International Realty brands 40th anniversary, a milestone in the luxury residential real estate brokerage business.

Breunich along with President and CEO of Daniel Gale Sothebys International Realty Patricia Petersen were the only two Sothebys International Realty affiliate representatives asked to be honorary guests at the bell ringing event, as the two companies were among the brands original members and supporters. Sothebys International Realty was originally founded in 1976 by the renowned Sothebys Auction Housethe oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchangeand adopted an affiliate model in 2004, with William Pitt and Julia B. Fee as well as Daniel Gale Sothebys International Realty joining as two of the brands first affiliates. The two were invited in recognition of the early and continued momentum they helped to provide in Sothebys International Realty achieving its vision of becoming the preeminent luxury real estate brand in the world.

I was truly honored to be a part of this monumental brand event, said Breunich. Ringing the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange was a once-in-a-lifetime-experience, and a perfect way to bring in the New Year. I couldnt be prouder to be standing among such a talented and professional group. The brand has come so far over the past 40 years, and I am humbled to be associated with Sothebys International Realtys unparalleled growth, capabilities, network and services in the luxury residential real estate industry.

"I am very proud of the journey we have taken together with our global luxury real estate network to bring the brand where it is today," said Phillip White, President and CEO of Sothebys International Realty Affiliates, LLC. "The Sotheby's International Realty brokerage network was built to connect the finest independent residential real estate companies to the most prestigious and discerning clientele in the world. We are honored to be celebrating this milestone by ringing the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange."

To mark the event, Philip White additionally appeared on CNBCs Closing Bell to discuss the luxury real estate market.

About William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty

Founded in 1949, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty manages a $3.3-billion-plus portfolio with more than 1,000 sales associates in 29 brokerages spanning Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Westchester County, New York. William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty is the largest Sotheby's International Realty(R) affiliate globally and the 28th-largest real estate company by sales volume in the United States. A full-service real estate firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty provides ancillary services including commercial services through its affiliation with Building and Land Technology, a second-generation development company based in Stamford, Connecticut; William Pitt Insurance Services; and an award-winning global relocation division. For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.

Sotheby's International Realty's worldwide network includes approximately 18,000 sales associates located in approximately 825 offices throughout 61 countries and territories.
With these new members, we add to the experience and expertise available through the Council to help guide our World Ready network in finding the best ways for in-house counsel and outside counsel to work together.

Lex Mundi is pleased to welcome four new members to its Client Advisory Council. This distinguished group of senior in-house counsel from some of the worlds leading companies provides advice and guidance that enhance the ability of Lex Mundi member firms to serve their clients better and to meet the needs of in-house counsel.

The new members of the Lex Mundi Client Advisory Council are



Martin Cooke, General Counsel & Group Company Secretary, The Edrington Group Limited;

Raman Dinesh, Chief International Counsel, Wells Fargo;

Jeff Melucci, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Kimberly-Clark; and

Arne Wittig, Group General Counsel and Head of Legal, thyssenkrupp AG

These new members join an eminent group of existing Client Advisory Council members:



Luis Miguel Briola, General Counsel, Grupo Bimbo, S.A. de C.V.;

Debra Clements, VP, Senior General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Milliken & Company;

Paul Kaleta, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, First Solar;

Ria Sanz, Executive Vice President: Group General Counsel and Company Secretary, AngloGold Ashanti Limited; and

Andrew Thorson, Vice President and Global General Counsel, Automotive Experience and Asia, Johnson Controls.

Carl Anduri, President of Lex Mundi, comments, "Our Client Advisory Council is an extremely valuable resource for Lex Mundi and its member firms. With these new members, we add to the experience and expertise available through the Council to help guide our World Ready network in finding the best ways for in-house counsel and outside counsel to work together."

Complete information on the members and activities of Lex Mundis Client Advisory Council can be found on the Lex Mundi web site at: http://www.lexmundi.com/lexmundi/Client_Advisory_Council.asp.

About Lex Mundi

Lex Mundi is the worlds leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries. Lex Mundi member firms offer clients preferred access to more than 21,000 lawyers worldwide  a global resource of unmatched breadth and depth. Each member firm is selected on the basis of its leadership in  and continued commitment to  its local market. The Lex Mundi principle is one independent firm for each jurisdiction. Firms must maintain their level of excellence to retain membership within Lex Mundi.

Through close collaboration, information-sharing, training and inter-firm initiatives, the Lex Mundi network is an assurance of connected, on-the ground expertise in every market in which a client needs to operate. Working together, Lex Mundi members are able to handle seamlessly their clients most challenging cross-border transactions and disputes.

Member law firms are located throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America. Through Lex Mundis nonprofit affiliate, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, members also provide pro bono legal assistance to social entrepreneurs around the globe.

For more information, please visit http://www.lexmundi.com and http://www.lexmundiprobono.org .
Victor is reunited with his mother. M. M.

For days, Victor Soares wandered the streets of Catete, a neighborhood in the south of Rio de Janeiro, under the furtive glances of the residents. The 20-year-old man was barefoot, dirty from head to toe, and shirtless. He slept wherever he fell, sometimes in the middle of the road, sometimes naked and hidden away between the cars. He begged for food and money so that, he said, he could go to a cybercafe and try to contact his family. Victor could have continued as just another of the hundreds of homeless people who live on the citys streets, but Paula Menezes decided against indifference and, a few days before Christmas, published his photo on Facebook.

Who else is kept awake by this young mans hallucinatory screams? she asked in an online neighborhood group of more than 11,000 people. I called City Hall and they told me it might take up to 15 days to pick him up, and only if he wanted them to. I called emergency services because he shouts and hits his head against the ground, but they said they were not going to go around in an ambulance looking for a disoriented man and that this was the job of social services. I called the police because he was naked and aggressive and they told me to call emergency services.

That same day dozens of people from the group began to give the man food and walk with him as he wandered between the Flamengo and the Gloria neighborhoods. It was not easy. Victor used to fix elevators for a living but he suffers from undiagnosed psychiatric problems. He would slip away like an eel every time someone tried to approach or stop him.

Rejane had been looking for her son for five months, ever since he suffered an apparent psychotic breakdown and left the family home in Sao Paulo

On Saturday, Juliane Jacinto used the scant amount of information she had about Victor to search for some answers online. She found his profile on Facebook and that of his mother, Rejane. According to Jacinto, Rejane had been looking for her son for five months, ever since he suffered an apparent psychotic breakdown and left the family home in Sao Paulo. It was the second time he had run away. His mother printed 2,000 posters with his face on them and posted them around the city. She could not believe that this huge group of people, which normally only chatted about muggings, lost dogs and pruning trees, had found and cared for her son for almost two weeks. She bought a bus ticket and went to Rio, not knowing exactly how her son had ended up 400 kilometers from home.

While his mother traveled to Rio, the online group published a log of Victors location every few minutes. Five hundred comments chronicle their efforts to accompany him around the streets that day. No one could force him to stay in one place, but they were determined not to lose sight of him just before his mother arrived.

Sleeping between two parked cards.

On Monday, Juliane joined Rejane and they tried to catch up with Victor. But, Rejane, out of breath, lost him in the hillside neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Night fell and Victor had yet to resurface. Rejane was tired and frustrated but Paula invited her to stay at her house for the night. Meanwhile, neighbors told Victors story to security guards at supermarkets, owners of newspaper kiosks, motorcycle taxi drivers and City Hall employees who promised to send firefighters if Victor showed up. They all joined a WhatsApp group to tell everyone if there was a Victor sighting and decided to wait for the next day to continue the search.

Minutes after midnight, cellphones began to vibrate. Someone had seen Victor again. Half a dozen neighbors jumped out of bed, changed, and headed out to follow him on foot, on motorcycles or in taxis. Victor wandered aimlessly, but walked quickly, and the neighbors were concerned they might lose him again.

As he approached the metro station in Gloria, right at the corner where motorcycle taxi drivers had gathered to join the search, he started to speed up. Two drivers who had received an alert via WhatsApp threw themselves at him and tackled him to the ground. Victor, who had failed to notice all the people trying to catch up with him, was frightened. He screamed and cried  until he saw his mother. And while they hugged and hugged, firefighters arrived to take Victor to a hospital and the group cheered, cried and savored the fact that they were no longer strangers to one another.

English version by Dyane Jean Francois.
cStor, a leading provider of data center, cloud and intelligent video surveillance solutions, hosted its 6th consecutive year of holiday toy collection events to help give back to communities cStor serves.

cStor is always looking for ways to do the right thing for both clients and the local community. We've collected toys during the holidays for the past six years in Phoenix, and this year expanded the effort to our other markets, said Larry Gentry, cStor President and CEO.

The toy collection events were held during the Companys Star Wars movie premier events in Scottsdale, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nev., and Albuquerque, NM. The events provided cStor prospects with an educational session and a special movie premier event. Attendees were asked to bring new, unwrapped toys to the event. More than six boxes of toys were collected and distributed through local charities  Toys for Tots in New Mexico and Nevada, and the Scottsdale Fire Departments Holiday Toy Drive in Arizona.

About cStor

cStor helps companies strategize, create, and implement data center, cloud and intelligent video solutions that help clients use IT to enable business transformation, reduce costs and gain competitive advantage. cStors proven capabilities with key data center, cloud and video technologies give clients the ability to collaborate with certified experts, and the confidence to move business forward faster and more efficiently than ever before. cStor serves clients across the southwest region with a focused, collaborative approach and superior results. For more information, visit http://www.cstor.com.
Sworkit helps users meet their fitness goals by providing them with customized workouts they can use anywhere

Sworkit launches a new Premium subscription upgrade for Android and iOS devices, providing fans of the popular free fitness app with a customizable workout experience and new Ask a Trainer feature.

Sworkit, which stands for Simply Work It, is the most comprehensive exercise app on the market featuring in depth routines created and demonstrated by personal trainers. Its specialized workouts can be completed on-the-go to meet the demands of any schedule, anywhere.

With their new Sworkit Premium option, users still get to experience unlimited strength, stretching, and cardio workouts, video demonstrations, and verbal instructions for free. However, they can now subscribe to a whole host of exciting options to take their training further, including:



the Ask a Trainer feature, which allows subscribers get personalized answers and advice from real personal trainers;

ad-free workouts;

customizable exercise intervals;

the ability to save unlimited custom workouts as well as additional editing capabilities; and

exclusive pre-built workouts.

Unlike other apps that alter their free model when upgrading, Sworkit is not changing at all--they are just expanding.

Users can still choose to enjoy all the free workouts Sworkit has to offer or they can choose to upgrade to Sworkit Premium, a subscription service built within the free app, designed to help fitness enthusiasts tap into their full potential with greater ease for only $2.99 per month.

Nexercise launched Sworkit in 2014 to deliver on-demand, video exercise programs that can be done anywhere, anytime. Its development team is made up of an ACSM certified personal trainer, US Army Reserves captain, and software developer, whose unique backgrounds gave them insight into every facet of the fitness industry. Their app has garnered over 12 million users and has recently launched a popular fitness app for kids called Sworkit Kids.

Sworkit has been featured in Lifehacker, Womens Running, Gizmodo, Mashable, Army Times, Brit+Co, Elle Magazine, Shape and more, and received the DC TechDay Techie Award for Best in Health Tech in 2014.

For samples or additional information, please visit http://www.sworkit.com.

About Veteran PR:

Rooted in the belief that hard work coupled with honesty and integrity is the key to any success, Veteran PR strives to help companies build their brand awareness through strategic and effective Public Relations Campaigns and Social Media Marketing Efforts. Veteran PR launched in 2015 after military veteran, Staff Sergeant Jason Thomas, teamed up with his wife and seasoned PR professional, Nicki Thomas. Together their vision is to help small businesses, especially veteran owned businesses, build their brand awareness with a PR Company business owners can trust.
Timmons Groups Raleigh office has produced a number of economic development projects in recent years and is proud to announce the addition of another to the firms growing portfolio: the site certification of a 140-acre parcel west of the Holly Springs Business Park.

The awarded contract falls right in line with the firms economic development practice which assists local, regional, and state agencies with site selection, site acquisition, master planning, development, and positioning of economic development parks throughout the Southeast, ranging in size from 65 to 3,600 acres.

We are excited to assist the Town of Holly Springs with this important economic development project, said Blake Hall, Senior Project Manager in Timmons Groups Raleigh office. We hope this is the first of many steps to assist the Town with attracting new businesses and creating more jobs for the area.

Timmons Group will provide the Town of Holly Springs with several engineering studies that are required for the Towns application to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina for their Certified Site program. The site certification application will include a subdivision and boundary survey, proof of site buildability, wetlands determination, geotechnical study, and site development plan among others.

Additional Timmons Group site certification projects include Project Trace in Person County, the Mount Gilead Industrial Park in Montgomery County, the Guilford-Alamance Technology Park in Greensboro, and the Heart of North Carolina Megapark in Moore and Montgomery counties.

About Timmons Group

Timmons Group is a multi-disciplined engineering and technology firm recognized for nearly twenty years as one of Engineering News Records (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms in the country. The firm provides economic development, civil engineering, environmental, GIS/geospatial technology, landscape architecture and surveying services to a diverse client base. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Timmons Group has regional offices across the United States. For more information, visit http://www.timmons.com.
The nations largest local Realtor organization will bring nearly 100 members, an association record, to Tallahassee to discuss significant legislative issues impacting the South Florida real estate market. The representatives of the 41,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS (MIAMI) will meet with state legislators Jan. 12-13 during the 46th annual Great American Realtor Days.

MIAMI will address four major legislative issues in Tallahassee. The MIAMI Association of REALTORS and Florida Realtors want legislators to cut the business rent sales tax by 1 percent, cap the fees charged by community associations for estoppel certificates, increase funding for affordable housing and restore water resources while protecting property rights.

Bringing this large of a contingent to Great American Realtor Days is a testament to our members desire to make a difference on key legislative issues, said Danielle Blake, MIAMIs Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & Housing. Not only will we meet with the local delegation, but we will also meet Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Ken Lawson. The trip occurs as Florida Realtors celebrates its 100th anniversary and honors 2016 President Matey H. Veissi, a longtime MIAMI member who helped create and charter our associations International Council.

Strength in Numbers

MIAMI, which employs two full-time government affairs executives, typically brings 20 to 25 members to Great American Realtor Days. This year, the association wanted to have a larger group to celebrate Florida Realtors 100th anniversary and the start of Veissis presidency.

Instead of bringing all 100 members to each legislative meeting, MIAMI will make the experience more significant and powerful for Miami-Dade County legislators. This year, each MIAMI member traveling to Tallahassee will meet with their respective state senator and state representative. MIAMI members from Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, Martin and Palm Beach counties will have an opportunity to discuss issues with their respective state political leaders.

The Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation has 24 members: six state senators and 18 state representatives, representing the largest and most populated county in Florida.

The entire MIAMI contingent will discuss Realtor licensing fees and other issues with Lawson on Jan. 13. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation regulates more than one million license holders and on an average issues 2,000 real estate licenses each month.

Four Major Legislative Issues

Cutting the business rent sales tax by 1 percent is one of MIAMIs top legislative priorities this year. Florida is the only state in the country that charges a sales tax on business rent, which creates a financial burden for businesses leasing space. MIAMI supports Senate Bill 116 by Sen. Dorothy Hukill (R-Port Orange) and House Bill 247 by Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen (R-Fort Myers).

MIAMI also wants legislators to cap the fees charged by community associations for estoppel certificates. Florida law allows associations to charge a reasonable fee to prepare an estoppel certificate. Some associations, however, charge as much as $1,000 for this payoff letter. SB 722/HB 203 from Rep. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland) and Rep. John Wood (R-Winter Haven) are almost identical to legislation that nearly passed last session.

Affordable housing is another key statewide issue. MIAMI and Florida Realtors want state legislators to increase funding for the Sadowski Affordable Housing Programs. Last year, the Legislature allocated $175 million toward the housing trust funds, the highest funding level in eight years.

Lastly, Florida needs to restore its water resources while protecting property rights. Sen. Charlie Dean (R-Inverness) and Rep. Matt Caldwell (R-Lehigh Acres), sponsors of SB 552 and HB 7005, have written bills with comprehensive statewide policy that addresses key aspects of water management, water quality and water supply.

We hope to make a compelling impact with local House Representatives and State Senators by showing up in numbers and expressing our views on these important issues, said Mark Sadek, the 2016 MIAMI Chairman of the Board. These issues are critical to real estate professionals, the buying and selling public and communities throughout the region and state.

About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 95 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward Council, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 41,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with 136 international organizations worldwide. MIAMIs official website is http://www.miamire.com.
Groundbreaking New Florida Hospital Palm Harbor Emergency Room We are excited to celebrate the expansion of our emergency services in the Palm Harbor community

Florida Hospital North Pinellas, located at 1395 South Pinellas Avenue in Tarpon Springs, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at its new off-site emergency room in Palm Harbor, which is slated to open Fall of this year. The 18,500 square foot facility will be located at US Highway 19 North and Highlands Boulevard. The property closed on August 18, and construction on the project is slated to begin later this month.

The new 24-bed facility will be a full-service emergency room (ER) providing emergency care 24- hours a day, seven-days-a-week. The ER will be staffed with physicians and nurses who specialize in emergency medicine, and will also include on-site X-ray, ultrasound, CT-scan, and laboratory services. The ER will add approximately 80 new jobs to the area, and its full capacity is projected at 43,200 emergency room visits a year.

We are excited to celebrate the expansion of our emergency services in the Palm Harbor community. The Palm Harbor Emergency Room will provide the residents of Palm Harbor and surrounding communities quick access to quality care when they need it the most said Bruce Bergherm, President & CEO at Florida Hospital North Pinellas.

The main hospital has provided healthcare to residents in Pinellas and Pasco counties since 1927. Florida Hospital North Pinellas is an Accredited Chest Pain Center. It also received the Get with the Guidelines - Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The hospital is consistently recognized as one of the safest hospitals in Pinellas County with an A rating in the Leapfrog Groups Hospital Safety Scorecard.

About Florida Hospital North Pinellas

Florida Hospital North Pinellas, located in Tarpon Springs, is a 168-bed, full-service hospital specializing in cardiovascular medicine, emergency medicine, orthopedics, wound healing, sleep medicine and general surgery including minimally invasive and robotic-assisted procedures. Florida Hospital North Pinellas has been nationally recognized by the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, The Joint Commission, and The Leapfrog Group, for excellence in providing quality patient care. Florida Hospital North Pinellas serves both the Pinellas and Pasco communities of West Central Florida. Part of the Adventist Health System, Florida Hospital is a leading health network comprised of 22 hospitals throughout the state. For more information, visit http://www.FHNorthPinellas.com.

About Florida Hospital West Florida Region

The Florida Hospital West Florida Region is a not-for-profit 1,275-bed hospital system composed of 9 hospitals including Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Florida Hospital at Connerton Long Term Acute Care, Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Florida Hospital Tampa/Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Sebring, Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center Lake Placid and Florida Hospital Wauchula. Part of the Adventist Health System, Florida Hospital is a leading health network comprised of 22 hospitals throughout the state. For more information, visit http://www.FloridaHospital.com.
Its a win-win situation for all involved. We receive innovative ideas that may help us recover threatened and endangered fish species, while prize competition participants are rewarded or recognized for their innovation and hard work.

The Bureau of Reclamation has selected six ideas out of 22 submitted for its "New Concepts for Remote Fish Detection" prize competition. Four out of the six submissions fully qualified under the prize competition guidelines and will receive a shared total of $20,000.

Reclamation currently supports many projects to track and count fish at its projects and facilities, and many of these fish are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Reclamation is required to monitor the fish to maintain compliance with ESA, so that it can continue to deliver water and generate power. The current technology uses Passive Integrated Transponder tags that are similar to what is used to track cats and dogs. However, the detection range on these tags is quite short and usually limited to less than 3 feet. Federal biologists are interested in tags that are inexpensive like PIT tags, but can be detected from 10 or 100 feet away.

Reclamation realizes the world is full of talented people, and one way to collaborate with these individuals or groups is through a prize competition, Commissioner Estevan Lopez said. Its a win-win situation for all involved. We receive innovative ideas that may help us recover threatened and endangered fish species, while prize competition participants are rewarded or recognized for their innovation and hard work. The six fish tracking submissions will help us improve fish monitoring and tracking through their lifecycle.

Ben Boudaoud and Alicia Klinefelter of Beaverton, Oregon, will receive $11,500, for using a comprehensive piezoelectric tagging technology and a device for installing tags in fish. Piezoelectric energy harvesting uses the fish's swimming motion to generate the power needed by the tag to transmit a tracking signal. Boudaoud has a masters and bachelors degree in electrical engineering and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Virginia. Boudaoud works in the field of medical electronic devices. Klinefelter holds a doctorate in electrical and electronics engineering from University of Virginia, and has a bachelors degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Miami University. Klinefelter works in integrated circuit design.

Douglas Still of Harrah, Oklahoma, will receive $3,500, for using a tag that encases a magnet and copper coil injected into the fish. As the fish moves, the magnet moves freely and an electric current is generated in the copper wire that powers the tag. Still has a Bachelor of Science in geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and has worked as a geophysicist for 22 years.

Rick Rogers of Harvard, Massachusetts, will receive $2,500, for suggesting the use of piezoelectric film technology to charge a rechargeable radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. Rogers has a master's degree in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering from Southern Methodist University and Bachelor of Science in physics from Texas Tech University. Rogers is a retired software engineer and product manager and has managed the creation of software for mobile phones for the last 15 years.

Dmitriy Tipikin of Medford, Massachusetts, will receive $2,500, for suggesting piezoelectric power to generate power for a RFID tag. Tipikin holds a doctorate in chemical physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Dolgoprudny, Russia, and received a master's degree in physics and mathematics. Tipikin has worked as an experimental physicist in the field of electron paramagnetic resonance at Cornell University and then Geisel Medical School at Dartmouth.

Two of the six top-ranked solutions were submitted from individuals who were not United States citizens, making them ineligible to win a prize under rules of the competition. Although the foreign submissions were not eligible to win a prize, the participants still granted the U.S. Government a right to use their submissions to help in the recovery of threatened and endangered fish.

The solution submitted by Suman Ummanolla, from Hyderabad, India, suggested using a fiber optic laser sensor to detect fish tag transmissions underwater. An honorable mention went to Ramiz Qandah from Amman, Jordan, for his idea to use piezoelectric film technology to energize and charge a tag.

Although only six ideas were selected, the federal government receives a perpetual, no-cost right to use any of the 22 submitted. Reclamation will now develop a plan to further test, develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of these submitted ideas. "We received a lot of good ideas through this prize competition," said Mark McKinstry, Reclamations lead for this prize competition. "We are excited to see if we can use these ideas to improve fish tracking tools at a lower cost than we currently have available."

The Bureau of Reclamation collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration - National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to design and judge this prize competition.

To learn more about prize competitions, please visit: http://www.usbr.gov/research/challenges/index.html.
This purchase expands one of our core business strategies in delivering payments expertise and support to our sales partners.

First American Payment Systems, a leader in payment processing, has purchased the entire portfolio of Independent Sales Organization (ISO) accounts and associated contracts from Chase Commerce Solutions, the global payment processing and merchant acquiring business of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

With 25 years of experience in providing sales and operational support for Independent Sales Organizations, First American will be providing a comprehensive product suite, strategies for growth and award-winning customer service to both ISOs and their merchants. The acquisition adds to an already robust portfolio of sales partners for First American.

This is an exciting acquisition for us because we are passionate about helping ISOs understand todays payments ecosystem and how they can navigate it to grow their revenue, says Neil Randel, CEO of First American Payment Systems. This purchase expands one of our core business strategies in delivering payments expertise and support to our sales partners. We welcome our new partners and look forward to providing them with additional services and products to take their business to the next level.

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About First American Payment Systems

First American Payment Systems, L.P., based in Fort Worth, Texas, is a BBB Accredited payment processor that provides comprehensive electronic transaction processing services for more than 140,000 merchants throughout the United States and Canada. First American celebrated 25 years of business in 2015. In addition to credit, debit, and EBT card processing, First American offers a complete line of proprietary business solutions, including 1stPayPOS tablet-based point-of-sale system, 1stPayMobile, Secur-Chex check services, FirstPay.Net e-commerce solutions, and Govolution government e-payments. For more information, visit http://www.first-american.net.
We were able to identify a need in this market, says Mark Stogdill, Hammer Fibers CEO, theres very little choice for consumers in Atlantic City and Hammer Fiber is ready to deliver a new and reliable alternative.

Atlantic City residents and businesses will be the first to gain access to Hammer Fibers Internet services powered by Airbox USA. Hammer Fiber Optic Investments, the New Jersey based Network Services provider, has announced their plans to bring a direct to consumer platform to the Atlantic City area. The company has partnered with Airbox USA, to deliver High speed Internet service, VoIP telephone service, and IPTV service to the Atlantic City area, providing those residents with another option for their service provider.

We were able to identify a need in this market, says Mark Stogdill, Hammer Fibers CEO, theres very little choice for consumers in Atlantic City and Hammer Fiber is ready to deliver a new and reliable alternative.

Hammer Fiber will be utilizing the Airbox proprietary technology to power their service network, which will allow the company to deploy fiber-through-the-air services to homes and businesses in the Atlantic City and surrounding areas. The services will be delivered via their wireless network, which is supported by an all-fiber optic backbone. The company has completed installation of the first Airbox transmission hub located at the Ocean Club Condominiums and testing of the equipment is underway. The initial tests have already exceeded the companys expectations and they have begun to accept orders for the service which they anticipate to begin delivering in March.

Hammer Fiber has stated that this pilot program is intended to not only provide internet, television and phone service to residents but to pave the way for what the company believes is the next generation of Broadband delivery.

As part of their roll out, the company will be offering incentive programs, including special pricing and referral discounts to those who pre-order service. Hammer Fiber has laid out its plan to launch the service in the market in two stages with the first stage to commence in February, allowing for beta-testing and customer feedback as well as the installation of select customers who pre-ordered service. The second stage, which is slated to cover all of Atlantic City and parts of the surrounding townships, will commence in March and provide for a broad reaching service platform.

Given the technology at their disposal and its ability to deliver extremely high bandwidth to customers, Hammer Fiber expects that customer acquisition will be rapid.
We are so thrilled to welcome Jamie onto the SIG leadership team.

SIG, the premier membership organization for sourcing, procurement and outsourcing executives, today announces that Jamie Liddell, former editor of Outsource joined SIG as the Head of EMEA.

Jamie joins SIG following five years as editor of Outsource, the leading global publication for the outsourcing, business services and business transformation space. During his time at the helm, Outsource grew from a compact UK-centric quarterly print magazine into a multi-faceted, globally-facing content and event brand, delivering high-quality, high-level thought leadership to senior professionals the world over.

Prior to his move into B2B publishing, Jamie's career included several years as an acclaimed property journalist in the UK and Europe; and successful forays into commercial copywriting and market research. Jamie holds a Masters degree in English from the University of Cambridge.

We are so thrilled to welcome Jamie onto the SIG leadership team, says Dawn Tiura, SIG CEO and President. With his broad outsourcing, writing and publishing background, Jamie will be an incredible asset to the SIG team and team members. "Europe is a fascinating and complex region with incredible potential for growth for SIG, and I am hugely excited - and honored - to have the opportunity to help take the brand forward here and beyond."

About SIG

SIG, http://www.sig.org is a membership organization that provides thought leadership and networking opportunities to executives in sourcing, procurement and outsourcing from Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies. It has served these professionals and opened dialogues with their counterparts in finance, HR, marketing and other business functions throughout its 22-year history. SIG is acknowledged by many as a world leader in providing next practices, innovation and networking opportunities through its: global and regional events, online webinars and teleconferences, member peer connection services, content-rich website and online Resource Center, which was developed by and for professionals in sourcing and outsourcing. The organization is unique in that it blends practitioners, service providers and advisory firms in a non-commercial environment.

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FL Governor Jeb Bush and his wife Columba at Keiser University fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis I am deeply honored that our students, faculty, and administration year-over-year mobilize in pursuit of a cure for cystic fibrosis. Past News Releases RSS Keiser University Recognizes...

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Keiser University, in its ninth year, raised another $50,000.00 in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by mobilizing students, staff, and faculty at its 17 campuses in Florida. The University has an ongoing commitment to supporting research in finding a cure for this life-threatening, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and progressively limits the ability to breathe.

This years campaign took on a Terminator movie-inspired theme to incite Keiser University campus communities to raise funds in hopes of terminating cystic fibrosis (CF). The Keiser effort was part of an event led by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is the honorary chairman of the annual Jeb Bush Florida Classic, which has raised nearly $8 million for cystic fibrosis research and care since the events inception 20 years ago.

The gala ceremony was held Nov. 20 at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Westin, where Belinda Keiser, Vice Chancellor of Keiser University, was provided the honor of introducing former governor Jeb Bush. Mrs. Keiser praised Mr. Bush for being a father and governor who made a promise to another father who had lost his daughter to CF several years ago. For nearly a decade, Keiser University has supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through creative campaigns designed to raise funds to eradicate the disease. The Terminator campaign included raffles, silent auctions, dress-down for CF days, bake sales, penny wars, themed gift baskets, and much more.

We are beyond grateful for everything Dr. and Mrs. Keiser and everyone at Keiser University have done to support our efforts for nearly a decade, said Christina Landshut, executive director of the CF Foundations South Florida Office. We would not be nearly as successful without the ongoing commitment of Keiser Universitys faculty, staff and students. They truly are making a difference for everyone with CF.

Over 250,000 Americans volunteer across the country tirelessly working to advance critical CF research through their fund-raising efforts, as well as increase awareness about the disease.

I am deeply honored that our students, faculty, and administration year-over-year mobilize in pursuit of a cure for cystic fibrosis, said Keiser. Their community commitment, which is a critical component of our educational mission, has helped raise $380,000.00 throughout our service to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Collectively we look forward to the day we can celebrate that the letters CF stand for Cure Found, she added.

About Keiser University: Keiser University is a private, not-for-profit University serving nearly 20,000 students offering 100 degrees at the doctoral through associate level on 18 Florida campuses, online and internationally, employing 3,500 staff and faculty.

Keiser University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award certificates and degrees at the associate, baccalaureate, masters, specialist, and doctoral levels. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Keiser University.

For additional information regarding Keiser University, go to http://www.keiseruniversity.edu
Jean-Claude Juncker speaking on Thursday in Amsterdam. ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN (AFP)

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker does not seem worried about political instability in Spain, but says that he is closely following the situation both there and in the northeastern region of Catalonia, which is likely to hold a repeat election in early March because of political gridlock.

In a conversation with journalists in Amsterdam, Juncker did say that he wants to see a government in Spain that is as stable as possible.

Juncker said it still remains to be seen whether the leftist coalition that is ruling Portugal could be considered an example of a stable government

Asked what that means to him, the EC chief replied that Spanish politicians have to decide that, not me. But normally its easy to know.

Juncker, of Luxembourgs Christian Social Peoples Party  which is affiliated with the European Peoples Party  said that it still remains to be seen whether the leftist coalition of Socialists and Communists that is ruling Portugal could be considered an example of a stable government.

On Thursday, Spains Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez traveled to Lisbon to meet the Portuguese prime minister and get advice on how to form a similar leftist coalition back home. Spanish politics have been stuck in a rut since December 20, when the incumbent Popular Party (PP) won the election but failed to gain enough seats for a clear majority.

The Socialists, who came in second, may be mulling an alliance with anti-austerity party Podemos and other leftist forces to form a government of their own, but internal division is hindering such a pact. At the same time, so far the Socialists will not hear of a grand coalition with the PP and Ciudadanos, another emerging party that came in fourth at the polls.

Aware that Spain could be facing fresh elections if no deal is reached, Brussels has said repeatedly in recent days that it hopes to see a stable government in Spain soon.

However, Juncker on Thursday underscored that he has not talked with acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy since the election, nor is he planning to in the coming days.

I dont want to give the impression that we want to interfere in the Spanish political debate, he said.

English version by Susana Urra.
California Civil Code section 3342(a) states that the owner of a dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by a dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog. Additionally, people who own dogs can be held responsible for the harm from a dog bite, no matter how carefully they guard or restrain their dogs.

Unfortunately, we see many dog-bite cases, said Arter. One such case involved a 2-year-old girl who was bitten on the face by a neighbors dog. Her residual scars were minimal but because she had been in several commercials, her father, a casting agent, retained my office to sue the owner of the dog.

In the case, Thing v. LaChusa (Case No. LASC LP016770), the father was present at the scene at the time of the injury. Subsequently, he recovered monies for witnessing the injury to his daughter. To avoid instances such as this that result in lawsuits, suggests Arter, if a dog exhibits characteristics of aggressive or unpredictable temperament, its owner should determine whether the dog can be effectively trained or retrained to change its temperament or behavior.

Dog owners should also install, maintain, repair or alter fencing and gates on their premises as needed to prevent their dogs from escaping, said Arter. If the dog is unpredictable, it should wear a muzzle at all times if off the owners property, which will prevent the dog from biting and will not interfere with its respiration.

Furthermore, warning signs should be posted at all access points on a property leading into the enclosed yard to alert persons entering of a potentially dangerous animal. Dog owners should also maintain liability insurance in an amount not less than $100,000, or risk having to pay out of pocket in case of a lawsuit.

Since January is National Train Your Dog Month, people considering owning a dog should realize that it is a real commitment, said Arter. Dogs, like people, need attention, nurturing and love. If a dog owner sees the animal acting aggressively, they should take preventative measures, such as having it trained, to avoid the injury or even death of a person.

About the Law Offices of Lee Arter

The Law Offices of Lee Arter is dedicated to success in personal injury claims for accident victims throughout California. Mr. Arter is admitted to practice law in all State Courts of California and the Federal District Court for the Central District of California, and is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. For more information or a free consultation, please call (800) 799-9999, or follow them on Facebook. The law office is located at 3550 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1280, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

About the NALA

The NALA offers local business owners new online advertising & small business marketing tools, great business benefits, education and money-saving programs, as well as a charity program. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
The New Year is bringing new standards to the home care industry for operators in California. On January 1, 2016, California adopted stricter requirements for home care aides and their employing agencies, including background checks, mandatory training hours and licensing. The law is designed to protect vulnerable clients by requiring registration, screening, training and insurance for all home care aides employed by an agency. Right at Home, a leading senior care franchise, is well-equipped and prepared to remain one of the most trusted sources for home care in the state in light of this change.

Originally passed and signed into law in 2013, the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act is designed to help provide safety to the elderly and disabled individuals who contract with a home care business like Right at Home to provide trained caregivers in their homes. At the start of the New Year, home care organizations must be licensed, and all of their caregiving employees need to be registered with the Department of Social Services and pass a criminal background check. Elderly and disabled clients, or their families, would then be able to check with the states database to ensure that these caregivers have been properly registered. Organizations not in compliance with the new law could face hefty fines.

According to the bills sponsor, former Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, thousands of privately funded home care organizations operate in California with nothing more than a business license.

With almost 40 locations in California serving over 1,600 clients, Right at Home supports licensing of home care organizations as it can provide valuable protection for Californians who need to employ a caregiver at home.

Theres no question that there are pros to this decision. People will be more careful about whom they hire, said Amy Stanosheck, Director of Franchise Standards at Right at Home. Its important for clients and their loved ones to remember to only use home care agencies like Right at Home that are licensed through the state, as only their caregivers are required to undergo a Department of Social Services background check, complete state-mandated training and pass tuberculosis testing. In addition, using a state-licensed home care agency is best because only those organizations are required to provide caregiver liability insurance. The new law does not require independent caregivers who are not employed by a home care organization to meet these standards, Stanosheck said. Right at Home is proud to be in compliance with these new regulations. We have always been a trusted source for home care, and we look forward to continuing to hold that reputation.

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Local Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a clients home. Right at Homes global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. For more information on Right at Home, visit About Right at Home at http://www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home caregiving blog at http://www.rightathome.net/blog. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Right at Home, visit http://www.rightathomefranchise.com.
Given our humble beginnings nearly 50 years ago, this brand, logo, and website represent a natural evolution for USC Consulting Group, and Im very excited about new look and our prospects for the next 50 years.

As USC Consulting Group (USCCG) closes in on nearly 50 years in business, it is preparing for the next 50 by redefining its overall brand and message. The new logo and website represent the culmination of months of work defining the companys brand essence and value to the marketplace.

The new logo represents the evolution of the company. Created strictly with typography, it reflects a modern look that will stand the test of time. The blue and gray colors connect the new logo with the old, and convey a feeling of strength and stability that the company has earned after nearly 50 years in business. The bold new logo also adds the positioning line, Empowering. Performance. When spoken both separately and together, the words accurately describe how USCCG empowers its clients in their own success by providing them with the knowledge, tools and techniques needed to sustain their performance improvements long after the consulting engagement is over.

Along with the new logo the company is also launching a brand new website, http://www.usccg.com, built from the ground up. Web visitors will find a much more user-friendly website built with mobile devices in mind. Built to be a destination website for business users with a problem to be addressed, the site has been streamlined for easy access to information about the company as well as to case studies and white papers.

We really wanted this website to be a destination site for our current and potential clients, said co-CEO, George Coffey. While our previous website contained a lot of good information, it may not have been organized in the best way possible. With this new site, we wanted ease-of-use to as a top priority, along with good relevant content. Now, clients can find information about us, our capabilities, and our past results quickly and efficiently, in a very cool, modern web environment.

Directly on the homepage, web users will be able to get a quick overview of USCCG in the Who We Are, Why Choose Us? And What We Do sections. The About page goes into more detail including Our Mission, How We Do It, Technology and A Proven Process sections.

The heart of the website lies in the Industries served and the Results section which features case studies from recent projects to give readers a sense for how USCCG can help their business. The previously stand-alone Metrics blog has been integrated into the new site which provides the companys Latest Thinking on a range of business topics.

The contemporary design features a vertical scroll format which works well on mobile devices, with subtle videos in the background depicting some of the industries they work in. A world map is also shown with global project locations marked to demonstrate the companys ability to work internationally.

George Coffey said, Given our humble beginnings nearly 50 years ago, this brand, logo, and website represent a natural evolution for USC Consulting Group, and Im very excited about new look and our prospects for the next 50 years.

About USC Consulting Group, LP

USC Consulting Group (USCCG) is an operations management consulting firm helping clients improve financial performance with a focus on operational excellence across the supply chain. Founded in 1968, the firm brings experience, enabling technology, and subject matter expertise to implement solutions, not just recommend them. With offices in the United States and Canada, and projects spread across the globe, USCCG has worked in many industries with companies of all sizes, including many in the Fortune 1000. For more information please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit http://www.usccg.com.
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As Motion Picture Academy members cast their ballots for Oscar nominations this week, the biggest issue for many voters isn't about who might be nominated but about the diversity of this year's acting class.

Their fear: The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite will be trending on social media again.

The academy found itself on the defensive last year when white actors earned all 20 of the nominations in the lead and supporting categories. The topic came to define the Academy Awards so much that host Neil Patrick Harris opened the ceremony by quipping: "Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest. Sorry, brightest."

Yet there's a strong chance this year's acting awards will once again be heavily, perhaps exclusively, white, despite the efforts of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to diversify the organization.

In the four acting categories, only Idris Elba ("Beasts of No Nation") sits among the forecasted nominees at Gold Derby, a website compiling the predictions of two dozen Oscar pundits. That could change by the time nomination balloting closes Friday, with some close observers saying that the prospect of another #OscarsSoWhite controversy could even influence the voting.

"If it's all-white again, nobody's going to be happy and there might be a growing perception that the academy is out of touch," says USC history professor Steve Ross, author of several books about Hollywood politics. "It has to be a good performance, but, for some, if they're deciding between Will Smith and somebody else, they might just go for Will Smith because of what happened last year."

Some academy members worry privately that another backlash could damage the institution's reputation, particularly as award shows such as the Emmys and Grammys feature prominent winners of color.

Oscar voters, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitive nature, seem split between going with their instincts and casting a ballot with an eye toward maintaining the group's relevancy.

"I don't see how you can nominate another group that doesn't include any actor of color and think you'll be taken seriously," one actors branch member says.

F. Gary Gray, director of the N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton" who joined the academy this year, offers a different view.

"I'm not going to allow politics to influence my judgment because then that defeats the purpose," said Gray, who is African-American. "That's not how I make movies and it's not how I'll vote. If something moves me and touches me, that's probably the direction I'll go."

This year's prominent contenders of color include Michael B. Jordan ("Creed"), Will Smith ("Concussion") and Samuel L. Jackson ("The Hateful Eight"). Gray's "Compton," nominated in December for a SAG Awards ensemble prize, is also in the mix, as is transgender actress Mya Taylor, who earned a Spirit Awards nomination for her turn as an L.A. prostitute in the indie film "Tangerine."

"You definitely want the people who decide these things to reflect society," says "Creed" writer-director Ryan Coogler. "There's empowerment in representation. It means so much when you see somebody who's like you up there on that stage."

The academy responded to the #OscarsSoWhite criticism in June, inviting 322 new members, its largest class ever. The demographically broad group reflected a concerted move toward "a normalization of our membership to represent both the industry and the country as a whole," academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs told The Times in an interview at the time.

Then, at the Governors Awards in November, Boone Issacs announced a new academy initiative, A2020, designed to promote inclusion within its own staff as well as advocate for an "industry-wide commitment" to partner with the academy to "hire, mentor, encourage and promote talent in all areas of our profession."

That appeal addresses what most observers see as the root of the Oscars' diversity problem: Voters can't nominate what doesn't exist.

"There can't be many nominees until people are given the opportunity in prominent, meaningful roles," says Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. "The Oscars are the end of the line. When those opportunities come at the front end, then the nominations will probably flow accordingly. And if they don't, then you'll really have a pushback."

Boone Isaacs has offered no further specifics on A2020, which, like the academy's attempts at inviting a younger, more demographically inclusive membership, will take years to deliver tangible results.

Some aren't waiting to see what happens. In September, "Selma" filmmaker Ava DuVernay relaunched her distribution collective, Array, broadening its scope to help exhibit movies by women and all filmmakers of color.

DuVernay was a central part of last year's Oscar protest after academy members awarded "Selma" two Oscar nominations -- fewer than many had expected. But she says her company's focus is completely divorced from the Oscars.

"The OscarsSoWhite hashtag is what people want to hear about," DuVernay says. "But it's a privileged point of view to think that everyone's end goal is to be in that fancy room. This work needs to be done so people of color can see themselves as real people on screen. That's an issue of survival, essential to our personhood and our humanity and our dignity. It has nothing to do with those hashtags."

But as the industry's highest honor and a ceremony that remains one of the world's most-watched annual events, the Oscars still hold the power to inspire.

Lupita Nyong'o, who began acting as a teen in Kenya, accepted the supporting actress award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave," saying, "When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid."

Last month, Coogler, 29, had a full-circle moment when he watched Spike Lee receive an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards. After Coogler applied to USC's School of Cinematic Arts, friends encouraged him, telling him he "could be the future Spike Lee."

"They hadn't seen any of my work, but they had seen somebody who looked like me doing what I wanted to do," Coogler says. "It made me wonder what it was like for Spike when he told people that he wanted to be a filmmaker."

The academy will announce its nominations Jan. 14. The 88th Oscars ceremony will be held Feb. 28.
ZION, Ill. (AP)  The father of a man who was fatally shot by police while carrying a BB gun and photographing schools in a Chicago suburb says the man was schizophrenic and had a history of violence.

Carl Hollstein told the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald that his son, 38-year-old Charles J. Hollstein of Zion, was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young man. Carl Hollstein said his son had been in and out of mental health and nursing facilities.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office on Thursday identified Charles Hollstein as the man shot Wednesday while wearing a tactical-style vest and resisting officers. Hollstein was pronounced dead at a Waukegan hospital.

Lake County Sheriff's Detective Christopher Covelli said the vest was homemade with metal inserts.

At least seven schools were locked down during the incident.
But Illinois' largest public-employee union is balking at the Republican's idea, saying it's "ripe for abuse" and political favoritism and that bonuses shouldn't replace regular salary increases as Rauner has proposed.

It's the latest sticking point in long-running negotiations between Rauner's office and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 36,000 state employees. The two sides have been in contract talks for more than a year  including several days this week  but remain far from an agreement. The previous contract expired June 30, though both sides agreed last year to keep negotiating without the possibility of a strike, work slowdown or lockout.

The administration is implementing the new pay system for employees not covered by union contracts and with members of 17 of the state's smaller public-employee unions covering more than 5,000 state workers that have signed new collective bargaining agreements since Rauner took office, general counsel Jason Barclay told agency directors in a memo Wednesday.

Barclay said the administration has proposed a similar deal for AFSCME.

It would provide a bonus pool equal to 2 percent of annual payroll for union employees. One-quarter of that money would go to workers who miss no more than seven "assigned work days" and don't commit any "work policy violations" in a fiscal year, the memo states. The rest of the bonus pool would go to workers who meet performance standards that would be set by their agency "in consultation with the union."

The administration also is offering a "gainsharing" program that would allow workers to share in "significant portions" of savings their agency achieves.

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said the plan would allow Rauner's agency heads, whom he appoints, to reward certain workers based on criteria they set.

"This Rauner plan would open the door to cronyism and favoritism that AFSCME believes should be kept out of government entirely," Lindall said. "It's why so-called 'merit pay' plans are better termed 'political pay' and have been rejected by so many employers in public service."

Rauner deputy chief of staff Mike Schrimpf accused AFSCME of using scare tactics to outright reject a "reasonable proposal that should generate discussion."

"AFSCME's actions today are further proof why there has been so little movement at the bargaining table," Schrimpf said.
MILAN -- Eriksen Chevrolet-Buick will have a new owner with a familiar face.

Eriksen's longtime owner, Darrell Reynolds, is selling the dealership to Tom Pospisil, who, for the past four years, has been the dealership's general manager. The deal is to close Jan. 12. Mr. Reynolds told staff about the sale at a luncheon Thursday.

Mr. Pospisil, 55, came to the Quad-Cities a decade ago to be president of Lujack's NorthPark Mall Autoplaza. He began his career in the auto industry in 1976, washing cars at a dealership in Berwyn, Ill.

He said he was doing "lots and lots of paperwork" in preparation to assume ownership.

"My reading has increased," Mr. Pospisil said. "Seriously, it is an honor to get this chance. Darrell is a tremendous, community-minded individual, who has been great to me and to the staff. The transition will be clear; we have no plans to revolutionize anything. You don't need to.''

In 1987, Mr. Reynolds bought Bob Eriksen Chevrolet from the late Bob Eriksen, who opened the dealership in 1960. Its current location, at 325 E. 1st Ave., Milan, is a block north and across First Avenue from its original site.

Mr. Reynolds, who has spent 47 years in the auto industry, said things at the dealership will be better than ever.

"I see it the same way for Tom that Bob (Eriksen) kind of saw it for me,'' Mr. Reynolds said on Dec. 28.

"Bob saw a car guy and someone who trusts the people around him to make sure they serve the customer as best as possible," Mr. Reynolds said. "That's Tom -- great guy, tremendous experience and a man who trusts his staff.

"He is a dedicated car guy with a passion for people," Mr. Reynolds said. "He understands how all this works. I feel great turning the keys over to someone like him.''

Mr. Pospisil said the staff was the deciding factor in his purchase.

"I have witnessed dealerships that have had a 40 percent turnover rate in staff,'' he said. "It's about 10 percent here. There is a reason for that; we have dedicated people who enjoy what they do and where they do it. That says something.''

Mr. Pospisil also said he does not plan to let Mr. Reynolds simply ride off into the sunset.

"I will have every phone number he has, and I will make sure to never stop picking his brain. He is an amazing man,'' Mr. Pospisil said. "You can never sit still in this business, but you can keep doing things the right way -- like Darrell has.''
James N. Strocks first retirement in January of 2000, as a colonel after 28 years of active duty service in the Marine Corps, lasted two weeks.



I probably washed the car and raked some leaves, Strock said. Then I went right back to work.



On Dec. 18, Strock retired again after almost 14 years as the director of the Seabasing Integration Division within Marine Corps Combat Development Command.



Seabasing is an emerging capability. It allows naval forces to use the open seas for maneuvering, ensuring that they can rapidly respond to crises or the need for humanitarian assistance without first needing to establish land bases. Under Strocks leadership, seabasing has gone from conception to reality.



We now have real ships, landing crafts and high speed vessels, Strock said. Its all done. Having had the opportunity to bring these concepts to reality has been a great honor.



Jim Strock is an institutional treasure, said Shon Brodie, who is head of the Requirements and Assessments Branch within the Seabasing Integration Division and has worked with Strock since 1995. There is no way anyone can replace him. Hell be missed by the people he works for, not just the people who work for him.



Luckily, since hes been first and foremost a mentor, each of us in the office have a little piece of his brain, Brodie added.



Strock came from a military family. His father was in the Army Air Corps and his mother, Marilyn, was a sergeant in the Marine Corps. She was one of the models for the Molly Marine statue, which was dedicated in New Orleans, La., on Nov. 10, 1943, as the first monument in the U.S. of a woman in service.



Strock graduated high school in 1967 and attended The Ohio State University, a land grant college that required participation in an ROTC program for two years.



In 1967, there was no doubt that youd be going into the military no matter what, Strock said.



He chose the Naval ROTC. His Marine Officer Instructor, Maj. Norman H. Smith, gave him his first exposure to Marine Corps leadership. Smith later became commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. When he retired, Lt. Gen. Smith was deputy chief of staff for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.



He greatly impressed me, Strock said. He just had leadership written all over him.



Strock was commissioned in 1971. He served first as an infantry officer and then as a logistics officer for the rest of his career. He also served as a ships combat cargo officer, the Marine officer representing the commander of a naval amphibious ship. He was stationed aboard the USS Durham, which participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Americans and Vietnamese refugees from the country during the fall of Saigon.



In March of 1975, the Durham was in Pacific waters on a routine seven-month deployment when the situation in Vietnam started to deteriorate. President Gerald Ford ordered four U.S. ships to pick up refugees. The Durham collected thousands of women and children from the coast near Phan Rang.



We had 3,700 people below deck, Strock said. They were stacked up like cordwood.



Two black-and-white photographs Strock found online just recently show him as a young lieutenant, helping a Vietnamese woman and a terrified child onboard.



Strock said that the years following the Vietnam War were some of the toughest in his career. With the post-war drawdown of troops came strained budget circumstances and low morale.



I was an infantry platoon commander. We had very limited resources with which to train and operate, Strock said.



But some of his proudest moments in the Marine Corps were to come. In the 1980s, he was a logistics officer stationed at the Installations and Logistics department at Headquarters Marine Corps. In a foreshadowing of his future career, he was part of a team that wrote statements of work for the Maritime Pre-Positioning of Ships program (MPS).



In 1993, brand-new Col. Strock was in Okinawa, Japan commanding the 3rd Landing Support Battalion. While there, he completed the merger of that battalion with 9th Motor Transport Battalion to create the 3rd Support Battalion. It was the first-ever merger of that kind and resulted in the first of three active transportation support battalions.



In all of these situations, I was simply provided the opportunity, Strock said. An old brigadier general once told me, The harder you work, the luckier you get, and thats been true for me.



Strock was chief of staff for Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) when he decided the time was right to retire from active duty.



Im grateful for having had the privilege of serving, he said. And Im grateful to the Marine Corps for allowing me to stick around for so long.



For the next two years, he worked for Logistics Management Institute, a nonprofit government consulting firm, participating in Partnerships for Peace logistics information exchanges in the former Soviet Union.



Ive been to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia seven times, he said. Ive travelled the Silk Road from Tashkent to Samarkand. It was a really neat array of experiences.



But the General Raymond Davis building aboard Quantico lured him back. He began working for MCCDC in 2002 as the deputy director of the Warfighting Development Integration Division and he worked with restructuring the MPS program. By 2005, he said, the need for an organization dedicated to working with the Navy to define Marine Corps seabasing requirements was clear, so the Seabasing Integration Division was formed.



We cobbled together a team, Strock said. It was like a pick-up ball team. But weve matured into who we are today.



A number of the ships crucial to the seabasing concept have been completed. The USNS Montford Point, the lead ship in a class of Mobile Landing Platformsships that will serve as seagoing piers capable of supporting a vehicle staging area, a side port ramp, large mooring fenders and up to three landing craft air cushioned vessel laneswas christened in 2013. This spring, it participated in seabasing exercises in the Pacific along with USNS Millinocket, one of five completed Joint High Speed Vessels capable of transporting company-sized units of Marines or soldiers along with their vehicles. Equally important has been the recent Secretary of the Navy decision to leverage the LPD 17 class ship hull form to replace the aging dock landing ships.



Weve gotten the ships in the water. That parts done, Strock said. Its the aggressive, innovative, eager Marines of today who will take that to the next level. The only limit to our future capability with these platforms will be the imagination of the Marines and sailors who use them.



Strock says its time for him to step down and allow a new generation of Marines to become reacquainted with their naval roots.



Weve been fighting a ground war for the past ten plus years, he said. We need to get back to the sea.



After hes retired for good, Strock plans to knock a few items off his bucket list, including riding on a B17 bomber and getting his 1908 Sears Motor Buggy running. He said hell stay engaged with the business of his lifetime, but hes confident in the ability of todays dazzling Marines to carry on.



I am absolutely confident and enthused about the ingenuity of todays Marines and sailors to continue opening the aperture in how we think about future naval expeditionary capabilities, he said.



 Writer: auphausconner@quanticosentryonline.com




It was a big 2015 in radio, as the New Year rolls in we are asking a bunch of you three quick questions.

Next up its Sue Carter, the Content Director for ARN Adelaides MIX102.3 and Cruise.

Biggest challenge facing your stations in the next 12-months?

Besides just staying alive in the city that has officially been called The Hottest City In The World.. For us 2016s big challenge is bringing in a new level creativity, fun and fresh ideas to two really successful brands.

The year in review, what are you most pleased with from 2015.

The development and success of Jodie and Soda in breakfast. These guys are best mates, and in 2015 their chemistry really became evident on air.

And on a purely statistical level it would have to be Mix102.3 ending the year celebrating a 15th consecutive win #1 overall , 48th consecutive #1FM, and a 42nd consecutive #1FM position for Mix102.3 Breakfast.

Just an awesome result.

Favourite song of last year

Downtown Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. On paper it sounds like an insane mix It shouldnt work, but it does. Love it.
VR Group awarded Siemens a 300m contract in 2014 to supply 80 of the locomotives, the largest single order to date for the Vectron. The 25kV ac 50Hz 6.4MW mixed-traffic units have a maximum speed of 200km/h and the 10 pre-series locomotives will enter service next year. Series production will begin in 2018 and the final locomotives are due to be delivered to Finland in 2026.

The locomotives have been adapted to operate in temperatures as low as -40C and minimise the risk of water ingress from fine snow. In order to shunt non-electrified sidings at timber loading terminals, the Sr3 is also equipped with a 360kW last-mile diesel engine and remote control.

The 1524mm-gauge four-axle locomotive now en route to Finland, which is the second unit in the build, has been moved by rail across Germany's standard-gauge network using a "loco buggy" developed by Siemens and Railadventure, Germany. Each of the four-axles of the 90-tonne locomotive rests on a separate buggy. Previously such systems were only available for much lighter vehicles.

Last April Siemens sent a Vectron fitted with broad-gauge bogies to Finland for trials ahead of the delivery of the locomotives for VR Group.

Main photo courtesy of Marcel Grauke (external link).

Siemens is assembling the Sr3s at its Allach plant in Munich. Photo: Siemens
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RAND brought together law enforcement officers, academics, technology experts, and professional futurists and asked them to envision how crime, policing, and society itself might evolve in the coming yearsand what technologies police would need to keep up.

In early April 1928, a couple of enterprising young patrol officers rigged some glass tubes and copper wire into the back seat of their Detroit squad car, and changed the very nature of police work forever.

From the first crackling crime bulletin it received, their radio cruiser represented the great promise of technology to make communities saferas well as its potential for unintended consequences. The radio car freed police from their old callboxes and foot patrols, but it also put an end to a tradition of beat cops who knew every name in their neighborhood.

The lesson is not lost on RAND researchers who have been helping law-enforcement agencies think about the future, and about how technology will change both their jobs and the communities they serve. Their research is grounded in the realities of police work todayimproving the conversation on social media has emerged as a critical need, for examplebut tinged with such science-fiction visions as smart suits, robotic cars, and surveillance dust.

In perhaps no other field does society have as direct a stake in getting technology right as in policingas the reaction to military-armored officers on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 showed. How do you get on, and stay on, the path you want to be on? said Richard Silberglitt, a senior physical scientist at RAND who has led some of the research. The visioning project, he added, gives you a way to think about where are we going, what are the signposts, what are the things we can do to make sure we get to where we want to be.

What Police Need

These are not Robocop visions of a far-distant future. RAND brought together law enforcement officers, academics, technology experts, and professional futurists and asked them to envision how crime, policing, and society itself might evolve in the coming yearsand what technologies police would need to keep up.

It was not an easy assignment. Consider: Ten years ago, nobody outside of a top-secret Apple test lab had even heard of an iPhone.

Ten years from now? Twenty?

The RAND panelists envisioned a future so saturated with data and information that police agencies will need new ways to tag, sort, and share what they know. Computers, for example, might be able to read a face and match it instantly to a national registry of Most Wanted mug shots.

The future might be so saturated with data and information that police agencies will need new ways to tag, sort, and share what they know.

The panelists imagined real-time language translators that police could hold in their hands; and biometric sensors embedded in their uniforms that could show where they are, even inside a building, and monitor their stress levels. Those future officers might also have mobile displayslike smart glasses, for example, one panelist saidthat can feed them information in real time, from the registration of a car they're chasing to the criminal history of someone they stop on the street.

At the farthest edge of that visionthe hazy third horizon in futures-speakthe RAND panelists imagined micro-drone surveillance dust, exoskeletons, and implanted brain bots. None of those ranked very highly in need, usefulness, or reality.

In fact, all of the ideas came with a very big asterisk: These were not predictions of what will happen, but wish lists of technologies that could help police keep up with an ever-innovating society and its criminals. Another asterisk: Some of the highest-ranked needs were not futuristic pieces of hardware at all, but information and training to help police make more effective use of the technology they have.

Social media, for example, was the top focus of one panel. It ranked as a need, not a want, a way to reconnect police to the communities they serve and to foster a future of mutual cooperation instead of mutual distrust. That would require more than just sunny Facebook posts and chirpy tweetsa real online give-and-take, with police sharing information and trends at the neighborhood level and engaging the community in solving problems as they occur. An electronic neighborhood watch, said Chief Richard W. Myers of the Newport News Police Department in Virginia. He co-authored a textbook on the future of policing and served as the interim chief in Sanford, Florida, in the aftermath of the fatal shooting there of black teenager Trayvon Martin.

We are at such a crossroads in policing, he said. Police too often circle the wagons, he addedand none of that fosters the kind of dialogue we need to bridge that gap with the community, and we need to bridge that gap.

Warriors? Or Guardians?

The very purpose of RAND's visioning exercises was not so much to dream up the most gee-whiz inventions, but to consider the consequencesfor police and for societyof such future technology. In other words: to see the potential of the next radio car to make police quicker and more effective, but also its potential to erode that community connection.

Many future technologies could carry serious implications for civil liberties and personal privacy that will need to be addressed before those innovations hit the street.

That means safeguarding civil liberties and personal privacy at every technological step, RAND cautioned. Many of the future technologies it identified could carry serious implications for both, and those will need to be addressed before those innovations hit the street. Is it a violation of privacy, for example, for officers to call up a data-tagged social history of a criminal suspect? How can police protect civil liberties when a computer is scanning faces and looking for mug-shot matches by algorithm?

It's a highly difficult balancing act. You have to implement [technologies] in a way that simultaneously protects civil liberties, said Thomas Cowper, a 32-year law-enforcement veteran and longtime member of the FBI Futures Working Group, who participated in one of RAND's panels. We have to make sure one is serving the other. We have to start thinking about it. Those questions, more than any single piece of new equipment, will help determine what the future looks like for police and the people they serve. As academic reviews and news commentators put it during the months of passion and protest that followed police shootings and in-custody deaths in New York, Ferguson, North Charleston, and Baltimore: Will the police of the future be warriors, or guardians? That future could take one of four broad directions, RAND's research concluded: Safe Streets, in which advancements in technology and community collaboration give police a new edge against crime; Mean Streets, in which police have lost both a technological arms race against criminals and the support of society; Tough Love, in which police have the technology but not the supportan even more militarized version of Ferguson; and Criminal's Advantage, in which police have the support of the people, but have been technologically outgunned by the criminals. Which forces will bend the trajectory? asks Brian A. Jackson, a senior physical scientist at RAND who helps lead the law enforcement visioning project. It's about relationships between officers and people, he added. It comes down to: Do the forces that we see about people's fears about technology continue to push police away from the community? Or do these technology trends make it possible to push police closer to the community, and do the things that good officers know need to happen better? Waving Down a Driverless Car A car careens down a city street, accelerating toward a police officer standing, calmly, in an intersection. The officer holds up a hand, and the car slows itself to a stop. That may sound like a scene from a summer movie, but it appeared instead in a recent RAND research report. A future humming with cars that can drive themselves is coming, the report noted, and the implications for police agencies will be profound. For starters, what kind of legal authority would that officer in the intersection need to wave down a car? What about to move a parked car blocking a fire hydrant? Or to ask a car to identify the people inside and where they had been? Without human drivers running red lights or getting behind the wheel drunk, police agencies might no longer need the traffic divisions that currently make up such a large part of their forces. And without moving violations, most will have to scramble to find another funding source as stable and sizable as ticket revenue. A lot of law enforcement contacts are based on stopping people for moving violations, said John Hollywood, a senior operations researcher at RAND who led a recent research panel on the future of police technology. What happens in the future when self-driving cars, for the most part, don't make mistakes? The panel of law enforcement officials and technology experts ranked developing policies and procedures for self-driving cars as a top law enforcement need. But it was in no hurry to give officers the power to stop or take control of self-driving cars; developing such an interface ranked at the very bottom of the panel's list of priorities.

 Doug Irving
Netflix has announced its entry into India, along with 130 other markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe  a substantial expansion from its previous presence in 60 countries.



Commenting on the news, Paolo Pescatore, director, multiplay and media at CCS Insight, said: Netflix is now truly the first global online video service. This is quite an accolade within a short period of time, but the exclusion of China is notable. However, local providers around the world should be worried and are now under pressure to step up. This also lays down the gauntlet to other web giants who are increasingly looking to strengthen their presence in video on a global scale. On that note, it increases the chances of Netflix being a takeover target given its expanding global presence, firm presence in households - especially in the living room - and more importantly a deep understanding of consumers behaviour and attitudes to video.

CEO Reed Hastings told delegates at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that the US streaming giant is now available in all major countries around the world except China, which he hopes to rectify soon.It had been rumoured that Netflix was ready to launch in India and Russia, but the scale of the companys immediate expansion was not anticipated. The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service was switched on during Hastings keynote CES speech not only in India and Russia, but also in scores of countries including South Korea , Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Poland and Turkey.Most of the new markets will receive programming in English, but Netflix has added Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already offers.The extensive list of territories Netflix is now available in includes Antarctica and Afghanistan, although Crimea, North Korea and Syria are not served due to US Government restrictions on American companies in those markets.You are witnessing the birth of a global TV network, said Hastings. He added that although the launch was a big deal the real work would take place in the next 20 years.India  which boasts an Internet market of 300 million, which is expected to swell to 1.2 billion in the next few years  is an attractive proposition for Netflix, despite the slow Internet speeds and unreliable connections currently bothering the populous country.The US streaming company will face competition in India from Stars Hotstar, Singapore-based Spuul, HOOQ and Eros Now, among others, as it looks to South Asia and other overseas markets to increase its VOD subscriber base.Hastings revealed at CES that Netflix reached almost half of all US households and 70 million homes globally, with 12 billion hours of its programming consumed in Q4 of 2015, up from 8.25 in the same quarter a year earlier.Netflix plans to offer more than 600 hours of original content in 2016, including two new series  The Crown and The Get Down  plus a film starring Brad Pitt and its first chat show.
Its very important to think about the different scenarios that youre going to plan for and be realistic about that, says Brookes about setting climate change targets, but also to set up a framework and approach that can be flexible as you do that.
Summary

In the days ahead, the Greek government will begin another round of complex negotiations with its creditors and political parties on a new phase of economic reform. At the center of the talks will be a plan to restructure the country's pension system, a particularly sensitive issue given that pensions form one of the last social safety nets left standing in a country where at least a quarter of the active population is unemployed. Though the risk of a Greek default or exit from the eurozone will be lower in 2016 than it was in 2015, the threat of social unrest and political volatility will loom large.

Analysis

The Greek government is preparing for what is likely to be a difficult bargaining process both at home and abroad. Unemployment affects roughly 25 percent of Greece's active population and over 50 percent of its youth, meaning entire families depend on the pensions that their elderly members receive to survive. As a result, Greek administrations have historically been reluctant to implement structural reforms within the pension system.

But the government may no longer be able to avoid them. Greece's foreign lenders are pressuring Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' administration to tackle the pension system head-on. The country spends roughly 17 percent of its gross domestic product on pensions - the highest rate in the European Union - and with a shrinking workforce, low fertility rates, inefficient tax collection, funding shortfalls and legal loopholes, the system is no longer sustainable.

Athens' creditors want the government to slash its spending by about 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) this year. To that end, Greece is expected to present a formal plan by late January that details how it will go about meeting this target. At that time, the lenders will assess the status of Greece's bailout program and decide whether Athens qualifies for the next tranche of financial aid. The Greek government hopes to gain approval for the reforms - and receive its funding - sometime in early February.

However, Athens will encounter several major obstacles in achieving its goals. At home, Tsipras holds a majority in the Greek Parliament by only three seats; even a small rebellion within the ruling coalition could topple the government. Meanwhile, Tsipras must convince creditors abroad that Greece is making enough progress to receive the next injection of cash.

This explains Athens' latest charm offensive. On Jan. 4, the Greek government sent a draft list of reform proposals to the European Union, hoping to open negotiations as quickly as possible. In the coming days, Greek officials plan to visit Brussels, Berlin and Paris to convince lenders that Athens is committed to reform. The Greek Cabinet also shared its proposals with Parliament in an effort to garner support from as many lawmakers as possible. (In the past, opposition lawmakers have accused Tsipras of keeping Parliament in the dark on his government's plans.)

Juggling the demands of domestic and international actors will be an extremely complicated endeavor. The Greek government's proposals include the consolidation of all public pension funds into a single new fund for purposes of efficiency, changes in the way pensions are calculated, and higher social security contributions by companies and workers. Athens is also planning to cut pensions for future retirees, which will likely be the most contentious issue since creditors want Greece to reduce the pensions of current retirees too.

So far, the Greek government's pitch has gotten a cold reception both at home and abroad. Opposition parties have already refused to support the plan, which will force Tsipras to rely on his own lawmakers to push the reforms through Parliament. Meanwhile, members of the ruling Syriza and Independent Greeks parties have stayed mostly silent on the matter, though dissent could grow in the coming weeks. And from the perspective of Greece's creditors, raising social security contributions could discourage job creation and undermine the country's economic recovery.

Social Unrest and Political Fragility Ahead

If 2015 was the year in which Greece's eurozone membership hung in the balance, 2016 will be the year that Greece feels the full social, political and economic weight of its decision to remain in the bloc. In addition to pension reform, Athens will have to start enforcing a controversial tax hike on farmers and move forward with its privatization program in the months ahead. These measures will test the stability of a ruling coalition comprising left-wing and nationalist parties and the tolerance of the Greek people.

And so, conditions in Greece will be ripe for unrest this year. Farmers have already promised to "go to war" against plans to lift agricultural subsidies. Unions will probably take to the streets to protest pension reform. And a recent measure that reduces protection for mortgage debtors against home evictions could make Greek citizens even more worried about their futures, despite the fact that the measure itself is unlikely to lead to mass home repossessions.

Tsipras' biggest challenge will be keeping his government together in the face of this discontent. Luckily for him, the Greek opposition is weak and divided. New Democracy, Greece's main opposition party, is still struggling to find new leadership, and no other party is big enough to challenge Syriza. Thus, the greatest threat to the prime minister's administration will come from within. Should Tsipras lose the support of his coalition, he will have to seek new partners in Parliament or call for new elections. Most Greek voters still want to remain a part of the eurozone, a fact that forced Tsipras to accept a new bailout program in July 2015. But in the event of new elections, popular support for eurozone membership cannot be taken for granted, especially since Greece's economic recovery is almost certain to be slow and uneven.
News from the Middle East has focused attention among policy makers over the past five years. The rise and fall of the Arab Spring, the slow dissolution of Syria, conflicts rising in Yemen and Libya and, of course, the rise of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria all play a part. Through all of this, American policymakers, as those elsewhere, have worked to find targeted responses to events -- ideally to defuse conflict, but where necessary to manage or contain it.

However, a far bigger and more fundamental strategic change has been taking place: the re-emergence of Iran into the international community. The consequences of this change will be profound, and yet many in Washington have been blind to them. While the rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the last few days should have clarified the importance of Iran's regional rise, the proverb "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" seems still to be Washington's overriding response.

Led by the U.S. State Department, the Obama administration focused during its second term on working with the other U.N. Permanent Five members (the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China), Germany, and the European Union to complete a nuclear deal with Iran. This was eventually signed this past summer. There was a strong sense of "mission accomplished" among some of the U.S. foreign policy elite (excepting its Middle East experts). This view is as wrong today as it was in 2003 when President George W. Bush used that phrase to describe the end of major combat operations in Iraq.

Unfortunately, the politicians and the public are largely reinforcing this sentiment. The long game doesn't sell well politically, so Republicans aren't focused on it. Democrats are so determined that the nuclear deal be a success that they aren't talking about its repercussions. Meanwhile, most Americans are so tired of hearing about the Middle East that they too are happy to avoid thinking about the longer-term consequences of transition in the region.

Those who understand the Middle East, however, know that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. Assuming the nuclear deal continues to move forward (and this is a big assumption), Iran's return from the cold will have serious implications for regional and global stability.

The struggles being fought today are geopolitical clashes of great powers. While the focus has been on how the United States and China are going to manage their geopolitical rivalry, a similar battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran has also been playing out. Iran's rise threatens Saudi Arabia and is inflaming sectarian divides across the Middle East.

Without concerted and sustained efforts by the international community, this dynamic is likely to result in increasing violence and refugee flows. Extremism along with terrorist acts will likely expand against those who are perceived to be taking sides. The arms race, currently in its earliest stages, will develop and, before long, could go nuclear. And, of course, the implications for oil production and pricing will be felt around the world.

To be fair, the United States does not have the power to resolve this tension. We should all be aware of America's limitations. This is a centuries-old conflict, and the United States is a bit player. At the same time, Washington does have some leverage with the main antagonists, as well as with their supporters. And, through a lack of awareness, its actions have huge potential for harm.

It is election season in the United States, a period when the views of America's more extreme factions predominate. Now more than ever, a coherent and calm U.S. policy and message towards Iran, Saudi Arabia, and others in the region is important. Come January 2017, there will be a new U.S. president who will, putting rhetoric (and Donald Trump) aside, maintain a similar path toward Iran and Saudi Arabia as has President Obama. America needs to get it right now.

It is vital that the United States wakes up to the consequences of its geopolitical actions in the Middle East region and starts to listen more carefully, to see more clearly, and to speak and act with more understanding and nuance. It will have to manage its ally Saudi Arabia's newfound adventurism with Iran's re-emergence as a regional power. And to do this it will need to work more closely with others in the region and beyond. Plotting the right path could be Obama's greatest legacy; getting it wrong, however, could be something with which his children's children have to live.

(AP photo)
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Just when Christmas and New Year's is considered a seasonal low for most real estate locations, it is quite the opposite with Boston real estate.

According to Boston.com, the hardworking real estate brokers across Boston were buzzing to host open houses last week. And why wouldn't they when they are working in what has been considered one of the strongest markets in years. And the reason that the brokers are on the feet is that buyers are also restlessly looking for condos or houses.

Overall, there has been an increase in sales in the Boston areas, not only in units sold but prices have moderately gone up as well. According to Steve Leavey, founding partner of Century 21 Commonwealth, "There are a lot of buyers out there. If you are not in the market, you are not going to get the showings." He also added that the Boston weather is doing the business a good favor. Leavey hosted four open houses last weekend is planning on another one before the year ends.

Besides Century 21 Commonwealth that busy this month, according to Boston.com, LINK Boston has listed 54 open houses across downtown Boston over the last weekend. Moreover, Boston outskirts also saw open houses over the holiday weekend, and it counted the $6.2 million-worth, 8,200 sq ft big property in Weston.

"Keep them up - staging them tends to take some of the soul out of the home," Leavey remarked.

In the days leading to Christmas, Boston.com reports that Peter DelRose of Re/Max Leading Edge in Watertown sold a two-family home each belonging to the $600,000 range. "We are certainly trying to expose all the buyers still out there this time of year," DelRose announced.

In this time of the year there are also conflicting opinions on open houses. For oneVander Stoep, a director on the boards for the Greater Boston Real Estate believes, as stated in his email to the publication, "I personally hold off on open houses during the holidays. There's no harm in holding one but you certainly can't expect a lot of traffic."

Of course, Steve Leavey believed otherwise and adds that it's the quality of foot traffic in open houses that count, not the amount. He believes that the people who come to those holiday open houses tend to be more serious buyers.
A lot of the worlds biggest names tried to place their properties in 2015s market list. From New York to Beverly Hills, there were celebrity properties for sale, waiting to be discovered by the extremely wealthy members of the society.

Johnny Depp in 2001 bought a French village close to St. Tropez. The Pirates of the Carribbean star spent millions in customizing the entire location for over a decade with former partner Vanessa Paradis. Depp decided to sell the village this year for $25 million, Vanity Fair reported.

King of Pop Michael Jackson built a Neverland that fans will forever remember. However, the property has been emptied, taking most of Jacksons toys, carnival rides, and animals. The former house was restored to bring back the Sycamore Valley Ranch and for the market. Until today, it is still available for $100 million.

Bob Hope in 1973 asked architect John Lautner to make wife Dolores Palm Springs dream house. The outcome was a gigantic home, which a lot of people refer to as the spaceship or volcano house. In 2013, it was listed for an asking price of $50 million, but through time, the property has gone through price cuts. Today, it is still available for half the original price, $25 million.

Miley Cyrus' father Billy moved to Toluca Lake, California in 2007 to be nearer Disney studios. After Mileys series came to an end, the family decided to go back to Tennessee, placing the home in a trust. This year, Miley listed the property on the market for $5.995 million and was immediately sold, LA Times reported.

The Obama family has several vacation spots, but one of the prettiest was posted on the market. Marthas Vineyard Chilmark Pond was first offered for a price of $22.5 million, but is being sold for $19.125 million today.

Other celebrity homes that are up for grabs include Jeff Bridges 19.5 acre family estate in California for $29.5 million; Danny Thomas property where his family lived for three decades is one of United States most expensive houses, selling at $135 million.
Top real estate magazine Real Deal is predicting that Brooklyn will transform into a "bona fide" tech hub by 2026. With an estimated 48 million square feet of office space, the borough is anticipated to become the home of the hottest sector of New York City's economy.

Recent survey shows that the tech industry has unseated Wall Street. From 2009 to 2013, employment in the city's tech sector grew by 33 percent. As of the third quarter of 2015, New York has raked in more than $5.6 billion in venture capital its tech sector, the highest since 2000.

The tech industry is currently taking root in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens. However, in 10 years, it is expected to be in full bloom and will definitely demand more office space. Brooklyn will be the only logical choices for techies.

From Williamsburg and Greenpoin in the north to Sunset Park in the southern part of the borough, Brooklyn is the sixth-largest office market in the entire United States. It is only behind Atlanta and San Francisco, according to a CBRE report dated October 2015. Aside from the 48 million square feet of office space it currently has, Brooklyn is expected to add 8.5 million square feet more because of new development and major repositionings in the pipeline.

Currently, the borough is seeing major developments that are all aimed at tech tenants. Notable developments include the renovation of Brooklyn Navy Yard's 960,000-square-foot Building 77, development of Boston Properties and Rudin Management's 675,000-square-foot Dock 72, Est4te Four's new 1.1-million-square-foot Innovation Studios and Midtown Equities' Empire Stores warehouse renovation. In addition, Heritage Equity Partner is currently developing Brooklyn's first speculative office building in decades, a 400,000-square-foot office located at 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg.

Forest City Ratner president Mary Anne Gilmartin forecasted that Brooklyn will be a "go-to headquarters" in 2026 for media or technology companies with a "really strong brand."
Do you use your kitchen often? Here are some facts and tips about your kitchen that may surprise you. From appliances to countertops, you'll be surprised at how more efficient your workspace can get with just a few know-hows.

When it comes to your appliances like your oven and dishwashers, always remember that they have rules. They have a manual for a reason, and it is important that you follow them so that you could avoid premature damage and using it incorrectly. For example, when using your gas ovens, avoid using dark metal trays and keep in mind to rotate pans and trays while your baking to ensure equal cooking. You'd be surprised as well when it comes to your dishwashers, as most people have a tendency to use it incorrectly also. Don't throw away your manuals, and always keep them in a place where you could easily access it. You'll never know when its need may arise.

Who says you have to buy a lot of stuff to use in your kitchen? You'd be pleased to know that a lot of your kitchen tools could be use in more ways than just one. Your trusty scrub sponge could be use for your sweaters to get rid of the fuzz, and baking soda is the ultimate cleaning buddy. Baking soda may be a prime example of this, as it has known uses for cleaning almost everything and deodorizing almost everything possible as well. Make sure you've got a box in store!

Your dish soap can do wonders as well, as it can effectively remove grease stains on your clothes too - not just on your dishes! There are also an abundance of kitchen multi-tools out there that could be of great use to you as well, especially when you don't have a lot of space to store all of them.

Do you have any surprise tips and tricks for the kitchen? Feel free to share it to us at the comments below.
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach recently gave a tour inside her apartment located in the heart of New York City. The reigning Miss Universe also gave her reaction towards Miss Colombia's cry for injustice in a recent interview.

Ms. Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach has been getting her hands full of interviews after winning Miss Universe 2015. Her triumph was tainted with a bit of controversy after host Steve Harvey announced the wrong Miss Universe.

While some people still couldn't get over the recent Miss Universe debacle, Pia still exuded her bubbly and confident personality while showing off her apartment in New York City to Inside Edition.

The 26-year-old Filipina-German actress showed her living room, which features a view of 5th Avenue in New York. The living room opens to the kitchen, for which she confessed to having no time for cooking.

"I don't cook because I don't have time, even though I am a culinary graduate. I love to cook, I also love to eat," she admitted.

Pia also brought out the outfit she wore during the competition, which she described as "the infamous blue gown."

The Miss Universe 2015 also reacted to Miss Colombia's cry for injustice during an interview in a radio interview. Miss Colombia thought the pageant debacle was "very humiliating" and asked that she and Pia share the crown.

"I understand where she's coming from," Pia said. "Of course, if I was in her position, then I would probably feel the same way."

Pia is also set to return to her home country on Jan. 23, CNN Philippines reported.

Pia will be partaking in a number of activities during her homecoming, including a press conference on Jan. 24 and a parade on Jan. 25. On Jan. 28, Pia will also be attending an event where the Miss Universe 2015 will be doing her "victory walk."
China's medium-sized cities will see improvements in property prices this 2016, thanks to policy measures supplied by the government and the improving balance of supply and demand says analysts, South China Morning Post reports.

Analysts see Hangzhou, Nanjing which is in east of China and Chengdu in the west as two of the tier-two urban cities that will experience catch-up gains for 2016.

It is a difficult property market in the mainland for the past years, with exploding prices in larger cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen and a sluggish and price performance in smaller cities despite the oversupply.

Lee Wee Liat, who is heading Asia-Pacific property research at BNP Paribas, believes that it will be a promising next 12 months for the property prices in tier-two cities.

"We see supply is relatively limited but demand is growing, home sales have started to pick up since the second half of last year," Lee shares to the press in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

It has been a dramatically cool market for properties in medium-sized cities for the past two years, and according to BNP Paribas, each year saw a drop of land sales in those urban areas by 30 to 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, there are signs that spillover of unsold homes are starting to be drawn down.

Based on the data provided by China Real Estate Index System in end of November in the previous year, the three cities that had the lowest inventories among the 18 leading cities are the ones in China's eastern region, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Hefei.

Looking closely, the inventory is 4.5 months of unsold new homes in Hangzhou, while Shanghai is at 14.2 months; China's largest and second most expensive for average new home prices.

In 2015, new home prices in Hangzhou have been steady, only increasing 0.3 per cent which makes an average of 16,186 yuan (HK$19,143.62) for every square meter in December.

The increasing demand will unquestionably hold up home prices in second tier cities like Nanjing and Hang Zhou which are close to Shanghai, and Chengdu, west China's regional hub, according to Frank Chen, head of research of Greater China.

Chen believes that those cities have stable enough economy with an optimistic population growth.
This 2016, Dubai's property market will see a surge of attention from investors who will take advantage of high yields on offer and a prospect of strong future growth, Select Property reports.

In the previous year, the property market has been greatly consolidated as brought about by further regulations and supply queries.

Undoubtedly, Dubai's property market has matured, and is one pegged to witness its next huge capital growth along with $8.1 billion worth of infrastructure that the authorities are investing for The World Expo 2020.

With some of the property units slated for 2015 left undelivered, the past few months have seen a demand for outstrip supply. For investors, this would mean bringing their focus to rental yields at least for the next 12 months.

It is now a challenge for investors on how to make the most return of their investment, as also discussed in an article in The National. Property Expert and Homefront Columnist Mario Volpi is optimistic that now is a great time to take a piece of Dubai's property market with the drop in prices and asking values shooting yields dramatically.

"This year's price softening has been welcomed as it has allowed the market to catch its breath and realise that the residential sales market represents good value once again when compared with other global property markets," he stated.

Comparing other markets like Hong Kong or London, it would be a more stable stream of income for investors at two to three times more in value when they home in on a Dubai property.

When done and chosen carefully, investors can enjoy up to 10% of yields for their real estate property, Mr. Volpi adds.

"The reality is that residents still need somewhere to live; couple this with the increases in population due to job creation, [and it will mean] renting continues to be the first choice for the majority," he concluded.
Early this year, the federal government will be raising the minimum down payment for pricier homes in Canada.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), to qualify for homeowner Mortgage Loan Insurance, one is typically required to give a down payment of at least five percent of the purchase price of a home. That may not be the case anymore starting February 2016. As stated in the company's website, changes to mortgage insurance considerations announced by the Government of Canada on December 11, 2015 will take effect on February 15, 2016.

What changes then are expected to take effect? According to CBC News, on the stated date of effectivity, CMHC will oblige a 10 per cent down payment on the portion in excess of $500,000 of any mortgage it covers while the 5 per cent rule will still hold true for the portion that is $500,000 or below.

With regards to this changes, Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters on Friday, "We recognize that, specifically in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, we have seen house prices that have been elevated, and we want to make sure we create an environment that protects the people buying homes so they have sufficient equity in their home."

Take a $600,000 home for example. The five percent of the first $500,000 is $25,000, then the ten percent of the exceeding $100,000 is $10,000. Therefore the minimum required down payment will be $25,000 plus $10,000 or $35,000 for a $600,000 home. Or for a $750,000 the minimum down payment will be $50,000, and a $700,000 the downpayment will be $45,000.

Before the governments required the changes, a $600000 home would only require a down payment of $30000 (five percent of $600000). How do you think will the Canadian housing real estate market be affected by this change.
Last month, according to a CBC News report, about 500,000 households in Canada are heavily mortgage facing the risk of difficulties in payment, in the event that interest are raised or a financial dilemma happens.

This observation, as stated in the study by the C.D. Howe Institute authored by Craig Alexander and Paul Jacobson, is apparent among homeowners who are usually young and have lower income. Moreover these groups are found mostly in housing markets of Vancouver and Toronto where houses are more expensive. Co-author Craig Alexander adds that Ottawa to focus on these "pockets of risk" and take actions to remind young homeowners to only take debt that they can handle.

The study has also states that there are half a million households with "a primary mortgage debt-to-disposable income ratio in excess of 500 percent. What is alarming is that most of those houses typically have financial cushion that secure finances for a certain time when the need arises.

According to a CBC News, Alexander said, "The share of households that have no financial buffer has been going up. There's more financial vulnerability now than there was before," Alexander reported said that Canadians have manageable debt but there is a few minority how have debt "up to the hilt" This minority are the ones who have less than $1,500 in financial assets with none enough to weather financial hurdles.

Mortgage rates have been hinting to rise as return from bonds move up ahead of the US Rate increase. This could be the biggest concern for those in danger of a financial ruin as higher rates mean higher mortgage to pay. With this Alexander then was said to have remarked, "The bigger risk is to the economy. The consumer in the economy is 55 to 60 per cent of all spending so if consumers run into problems and you have a big pullback on consumer spending, then we're going to have a much weaker economy."
Kitchen manager Ivan Anaya delivers a lunch order at the new From the Hearth Cafe in Red Bluff.

SHARE The Breakfast Sandwich, $7.25 The Yakuza Bowl special

By Marc Beauchamp

Reddings popular From the Hearth Bakery & Cafe recently opened a restaurant in Red Bluff and it seems the locals are thrilled.

On Yelp.com, Allison C. of Red Bluff wrote: This has saved the face of eating out in Red Bluff. Concurred Ashley S.: Definitely what RB needed.

Take the Antelope Boulevard exit toward downtown, cross Main and make the first right after the State Theatre. From the Hearth is across Washington Street from the beautiful classical revival-style Tehama County Courthouse (built 1922).

My wife and I stopped in on Saturday for a late lunch after dropping my daughter at the Sacramento airport. I had the Yakuza rice bowl special and a cup of tomato soup; my wife had the breakfast sandwich.

The place opened on Oct. 1, barista Tabitha Dubke said. Its been very busy since. No surprise. Lunch draws customers from the courthouse complex, law offices, and the police, sheriff and fire departments nearby.

General manager Jeff Keene recommends the California Burger, something new and exciting, and the pulled pork sandwich (the meat is roasted for 12 hours in banana leaves and Hawaiian salts  delicious!)

Other tempting items on the menu: the tri-tip and green chili panini, the French-style croque monsieur sandwich and the Black & Bleu salad.

Not to mention the pastries (the bear claws and sunrise bars are hot-sellers, Dubke said.)

Ambience? Modern, open and inviting. Our windowside table looked out on Washington Street and the courthouse.

After lunch we walked around the corner to check out some of the charming shops on Main.

Stopped in Cook to buy some local eggs (theres also locally produced meat, cheese, sauerkraut, kombucha, wine and beer and salads to go).

A few doors to the south is another Redding export: The Enjoy Store in Red Bluff. Definitely worth a visit.

We love Red Bluff. A regular day trip. It has the kind of downtown Redding could only hope for. Spencer Tang and his From the Hearth partners were smart to open there.

As Allison C. wrote on Yelp: Thank you so much to (From the) Hearth for coming to our town.

go now 

From the Hearth Bakery & Cafe

Address: 638 Washington St., Red Bluff

Phone: 727-0616

Hours: Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Website: www.fthcafe.com

Social media: Facebook, Twitter

Owners: Spencer Tang, John Dix, Jonah Mills

Established: Oct. 1, 2015



Sample menu items:

Breakfast sandwich $7.25

Eggs benedict $7.85

French toast $6.55

Italian panini $8.15

BLT sandwich $7.55

Cuban sandwich $8.95

Croque Monsieur $8.95

Cashew chicken salad $9.75

Teriyaki Bowl $7.85
Sheriff: Shasta Lake man dies under 'suspicious' circumstances

The death of a Shasta Lake man who died Tuesday is being considered by investigators as suspicious.
The scene at an apartment complex on Boulder Creek Drive where Redding police fatally shot a man Tuesday night.

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By Damon Arthur of the Redding Record Searchlight

The man killed by police Tuesday after a reported shooting at his Redding apartment had suffered from mental illness for more than 20 years, a friend of his said Wednesday.

Prior to his confrontation with police Tuesday, the man's wife called Pamela Minor of Redding, asking her to check on him.

Minor said the man's wife, who had been separated from him, called her and told her the man was confused and she didn't know where he was.

The man, whose name hasn't been released by law enforcement until all of his family has been notified, was eventually shot by police.

Shasta County sheriff's officials said police were called after the man began firing a gun at his apartment in the 200 block of Boulder Creek Drive in Redding.

The man had been acting erratically, and officers shot him after he exited his front door holding a gun in his outstretched hands, law enforcement said.

Minor said that earlier on Tuesday she called Shasta County mental health officials, who told her she should call police.

"I didn't want to call the cops because I knew this would happen," Minor said.

Dean True, Shasta County's branch director of adult services, said Tuesday's incident was tragic but it is not safe for mental health workers to be present in dangerous situations where people are armed.

"We are obviously not equipped as mental health clinicians to deal with any situation involving weapons," True said.

He said the ideal situation would be to have a mental health patient brought into the county's walk-in clinic.

He said his department is in discussions with Redding and Shasta County law enforcement to have mental health officials accompany law enforcement when possible.

He said officers are also offered training on how to identify suspects suffering from mental health issues and how to de-escalate confrontations with them.

It was not known on Wednesday evening whether the officers who took part in Tuesday's incident had received that training.

Minor said the man used to lead a normal life. He owned a home and had a relationship with his wife and children. But medical issues led to mental health problems, she said.

Since then, he has been in and out of jail a few times and also pleaded no contest in 2009 to felony illegal discharge of a firearm, according to criminal records.

Minor said her friend did not choose to get in trouble, and sometimes wasn't even aware of his own actions.

"People need to understand that mental illness is an actual thing," she said. "It's not something people choose to be like."
Redding police Sgt. Jon Poletski, center, and others, investigate the scene where Redding police fatally shot a man Tuesday night.

SHARE The scene at an apartment complex on Boulder Creek Drive where Redding police fatally shot a man Tuesday night. A Redding police crime scene investigator takes pictures on Wednesday at the scene at an apartment complex on Boulder Creek Drive where Redding police fatally shot a man Tuesday night. Investigators hold a piece of a tree they cut off that contains a bullet strike. Redding police Sgt. Jon Poletski said they were collecting the sample for evidence but werent sure whose bullet struck it. Related Photos Police kill man in shooting at Redding apartment

By Damon Arthur of the Redding Record Searchlight

Law enforcement on Wednesday continued to investigate the police shooting of a man at a Redding apartment complex Tuesday night.

The case was turned over to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office because the man was shot by Redding police officers. The California Highway Patrol's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team also assisted with the investigation.

While deputies investigated what led police to shoot the man at his apartment on Boulder Creek Drive just north of Lake Boulevard, neighbors in the area said they were trying to return to their daily lives.

"Everybody's talking about it, but it seems like everything is back to normal  except the people driving by and looking," said Chad Riggins, who lives in an apartment near where the shooting occurred.

Several neighbors said Wednesday they did not know the man and that he kept to himself. A search warrant affidavit posted to the apartment's front door identified a resident living there. The Record Searchlight is not releasing the name until the coroner has notified next of kin.

There was also a letter from the National Rifle Association posted to the front window and addressed to the same person on the search warrant affidavit.

The letter requested that the resident pay for a DVD that he received titled "Combat Shooting and Home Defense Tips." On the window sill of the apartment there were boxes of 9 mm pistol shells and several bullets on another window sill near the kitchen.

Scattered kitchen utensils littered the patio in front of the apartment blocked by crime scene tape. The apartment building was riddled with bullet holes, and one bullet was lodged in a tree.

Police said they were called to an apartment in the 200 block of Boulder Creek Drive at about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday. A man was reportedly shooting a gun outside his apartment, Redding police Lt. Pete Brindley said Tuesday night.

The man, whose name is not being released until all of his family have been notified, was described as a white male adult in his 50s.

A news release from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office said there were six to eight shots fired before police arrived on scene.

Witnesses said the man was yelling about President Obama and had fired numerous rounds from a gun.

"Witnesses on scene later advised detectives that the suspect was upset about the recent legislation regarding gun laws issued by President Obama," a news release from sheriff's Sgt. Brian Jackson said.

When police arrived they surrounded the apartment where the man was staying and attempted to negotiate with him, Brindley said. The man went in and out of his apartment 10 to 15 times, Brindley said.

"He made several statements that he was in fact armed," Brindley said.

The last time he came out of his apartment, several officers fired numerous rounds at him, Brindley said.

Before shooting and killing the man, officers also tried to subdue him with a police dog and by shooting beanbag rounds at him, sheriff's deputies said.

Brindley said he didn't know how many rounds were fired. The Sheriff's Office said nine officers shot at the man, striking him multiple times. He was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy will be conducted next week, Jackson said.

None of the officers were injured and they have been placed on administrative leave, which is typical department policy after an officer-involved shooting, Brindley said.

Jason Crawford, whose apartment faces where the man lived, said he took video of the shooting. The video shows officers setting up around the man's door and attempting to communicate with him.

At the end of the video the man emerges from the front door of his apartment with what looks like a gun in his outstretched hand. Officers then fired on him, Brindley said.

The Sheriff's Office has confiscated the man's video, Jackson's statement said. The footage will not be released to the public, officials said.

Neighbor Riggins said he estimated officers fired 30 or 40 rounds, but another neighbor, Steven Killion, estimated he heard about 70 shots.

"It was insane," Killion said.

Sheriff's officials said they have not confirmed whether the man fired at officers. But inside the apartment they found a 9 mm Beretta handgun with a spent shell casing in the chamber and live rounds in the gun's magazine.

When asked why officers fired their guns at the man, Brindley said officers "believed that their life was in danger, and that's what we're investigating at this point, to determine exactly what the facts of the case are and that's what the Sheriff's Office is currently investigating."

The man listed on the warrant posted on the apartment's door on Wednesday may not have been able to legally own firearms because he had a felony conviction.

According to electronic Superior Court records, the man pleaded no-contest in 2009 to the illegal discharge of a weapon, a felony, and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

But he was later sentenced in 2010 to an additional 45 days in jail for violating probation, according to court records.

A review of his criminal history also shows that the man, not including a few traffic tickets, had a 2004 misdemeanor battery count against him dismissed after being placed on District Attorney's probation.

Additionally, he pleaded no-contest in 2010 to petty theft in connection with an apparent theft at Shopko.

He was ordered to spend one day in jail in connection with that offense.

Pamela Minor of Redding, who said she has known the man for about 22 years, said all of those incidents and arrests were due to mental health issues he has had for decades.

Minor said the man had suffered from depression, anger and bouts of confusion for many years and it sometimes got him into trouble.

 Reporter Jim Schultz contributed to this story.
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Tami Huntsman and Gonzolo Curiel, charged with the murder of two children discovered in a Redding storage unit, have been transferred to Monterey County, according to District Attorney Dean Flippo.

Monterey County District Attorney Flippo announced in a statement that Huntsman, 39, and Curiel, 17, have been transferred to Monterey County, where they are being held on no bail warrants and are expected to be arraigned on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Both Huntsman and Curiel were in custody in Plumas County, where they were arrested on suspicion of child abuse in Quincy on Dec. 11. Charges against the couple were dismissed by the Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister on Wednesday, so the case could be pursued in Monterey County, according to the statement.

On Dec. 18 Monterey County District Attorneys Office filed first-degree murder charges against Huntsman and her boyfriend, Curiel, in the deaths of two children found in a Redding storage unit, and the abuse of a third child.

Huntsman and Curiel face two counts of murder, along with a list of other charges, including three counts of torture, one count of child abuse, two counts of conspiracy, one to commit torture and one to commit child abuse.

The bodies of the two children were discovered in the Redding storage unit on Dec. 13, according to the Plumas County News.
Jack Lefort, from left, Vince Tomicich and Joey Pilkington cook Dungeness crabs Wednesday at R&R Quality Meats & Seafood in Redding. The crabs came in from Oregon.

SHARE Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight R&R Meats in Redding cooked Dungeness crabs Wednesday morning and were selling them for $6.99 a pound. The crabs came from Oregon. Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight Brandee Cannon of Redding weighs some Dungeness crabs at R&R Meats.

By David Benda of the Redding Record Searchlight

After much eager anticipation, prolonged by the crab harvest ban off California's coast, some 2,000 pounds of the crustacean rolled into R&R Quality Meats & Seafood late Tuesday.

The fresh Dungeness crab was trucked from Brookings on Oregon's southern coast and sat overnight before workers started cooking it up Wednesday morning and selling it to customers for $6.99 a pound.

"It's nice to have fresh crab in Redding again," Jack Lefort, of R&R Meats, said as he cooked the crab. Lefort's brother, Charlie, owns the business on East Street. "These crab were swimming in the ocean yesterday."

While crab season remains closed off much of the California coast because of a toxin in the crustacean, the commercial Dungeness crabbing season opened this week along the Washington and Oregon coast after about a month's delay.

Which means crab will be available for two of the major crab feeds in the north state, the Anderson Rotary on Saturday and One SAFE Place on Feb. 6. Both events are at the Anderson District Fair grounds.

For weeks, the Anderson Rotary has said it would get crab  even if members who own boats had to travel to Washington or Alaska to get what they needed.

"We are getting our crab from R&R," Rotary Club President Baron Browning said, noting the service club had 3,500 pounds of crab secured even if the Redding meat store wasn't able to get enough. "R&R came through and matched the price out of Washington."

And One SAFE Place also will have crab on the menu, courtesy of R&R Meats, for its annual fundraiser Feb. 6, a delighted Jean King, the agency's executive director, said Wednesday.

"In Redding, it's like an all-around celebration, 'Yea, we have crab,' " King said.

One SAFE Place's crab feed raises between $50,000 and $80,000 each year. The event this year got good news when O2 Staffing, a business-staffing agency in Redding, said it would underwrite the feed for $15,000, King said.

"The crab costs us $25,000 to $30,000, so we try to get that underwritten each year as much as we can," King said. Tickets are $50 or $580 for a table of eight, which includes wine for the table, eight custom wineglasses and eight crab crackers.

"We are counting on 1,000 to 1,200 people. That is what we usually have," King said.

Browning, of Anderson Rotary, said he expects there will be about 100 tickets available for purchase at the door of Saturday's crab feed, which starts at 5 p.m. Tickets will be $50.

Typically, California's crab season opens in early November, a few weeks before Oregon and Washington. But the toxin found in the crab have delayed the harvest off much of the California coast and there are concerns it might not open this year at all.

"Every year it's something," Lefort said. "The problem now is the weather. Boats coming in yesterday said they were not going back out because of the oceans."

But the weather will change again and Lefort was optimistic that more crab from Oregon and Washington would be available.

Retail crab is a huge business for north state merchants such as R&R Meats and Kent's Meats & Groceries off Airport Road.

Lefort's nephew, C.J. Lefort, who manages R&R Meats, said the store made do this holiday season by selling more prime rib.

"We sold a lot of prime rib," C.J. Lefort said. "Certainly it was disappointing that we didn't have crab."

Kent's Meats & Groceries did not have fresh crab from the Oregon and Washington coasts on Wednesday, but owner Kent Pfrimmer was hopeful the store would be getting some soon.

"It's a big part of our business during the holidays," Pfrimmer said.

C.J. Lefort hopes crab prices remain reasonable.

"Hopefully, they are able to catch a lot of crabs out of Oregon," he said. "If they don't, that is when prices go up."
Melvin Baldwin-Green

SHARE Tanishia Williams

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

The trial of a Redding man and his cousin arrested in 2014 and accused of kidnapping and pimping underage girls and young women in the North State got underway this week in Shasta County Superior Court.

Following opening statements on Tuesday, trial testimony continued Wednesday in the trial of Melvin Derell Baldwin-Green, 27, and Tanishia Savannah Williams, 23.

With nearly 50 witnesses expected to testify for the prosecution, a young Sacramento woman who said she worked as a prostitute for the pair described Wednesday afternoon how she finally escaped  only to be caught again by them.

"I felt like I was just trapped," she said.

The case against the pair began to unfold after Baldwin-Green and Williams were arrested in March 2014 for allegedly abducting a 16-year-old Sacramento girl and pimping her in the North State.

That girl reported to officers that she had been kidnapped and held for weeks in Redding by the pair, who allegedly pimped her in Shasta and Tehama counties before she was able to escape.

Since the pair were arrested, their case has grown to include more than two dozen felonies involving six other alleged victims, including one who reportedly told detectives she was threatened with torture and death before being dumped naked in a remote area near Red Bluff in February 2013.

With several cases consolidated into one, the charges against Baldwin-Green and Williams include human trafficking of minors, pimping, robbery, kidnapping and kidnapping for ransom, child abuse and false imprisonment.

Baldwin-Green is also charged with rape by force or fear and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

They remain in Shasta County Jail with Baldwin-Green's bail set at $1.04 million bail, while bail for Williams is $1 million.

The trial is expected to take about six to eight weeks.
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By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee (TNS)

Now tallying 20 counties among their ranks, supporters of the movement to carve an independent "State of Jefferson" out of Northern California plan to introduce a bill this session seeking sovereignty.

Organizers on Wednesday turned in declarations for 15 counties, including Sutter, Nevada and El Dorado, asking the state to grant them permission to separate. Six others petitions -- which were either passed by the county boards of supervisors or reflect signature-gathering drives -- have already been filed.

Jefferson proponents contend that their rural areas lack adequate representation in state government, which has led to over-regulation and environmental policies that decimated their regional economies, particularly the logging and mining industries that historically supported them. Their seal bears an XX, signifying that they have been double-crossed by Sacramento.

At a rally on the steps of the Capitol to celebrate the "declaration day," Mark Baird, a retired pilot from Siskiyou County who has led the Jefferson movement, called it "systematic persecution" and promised to "start a straight-up fight with the people in that building" to win their independence.

"We live in a state led by liars," he said. "They have no empathy for what it takes to live our lives."

More than 200 people turned out on a cold and rainy day for the event, which featured a performance of an original song about the "Jefferson state of mind" and the announcement of a gun raffle for those who registered their support online. Speakers railed against government interference.

"The government was not instituted to keep you safe from bad baby carriages and raw milk. It was instituted to protect liberty," said Baird, who also compared Gov. Jerry Brown's affinity for the "coercive power of the central state" to Russian dictator Joseph Stalin.

Baird said he expected lawmakers to ignore the bill, in which case Jefferson supporters plan to sue the state. They do not yet have an author committed to carrying the legislation, but Baird hopes it will be Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, who attended a Jefferson rally at the Capitol last year.

In a statement, Gallagher said: "I sympathize with their frustrations, but this is not part of my legislative package."
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I have to say all I could do is shake my head and laugh while reading your recent piece about "wolf management plans" in California, now that these apex killers have made it into the state.

Anyone who knows anything about game animals and the predators that prey on them warned this would happen long ago. I was one of those and did several pieces in national outdoor magazine predicting it. It took no genius to foresee.

The piece says flagging fences with material of some kind waving in the breeze is thought to turn wolves back. That is pure bunkum. It also states ranchers and livestock people should hire full-time "herders" to watch after cattle and sheep. That is another load of baloney. No one in that business has the funds to do anything of the kind.

But I will tell you with certainty what will happen. All you have to do is look to western states where wolf packs are growing leaps and bounds and their effect on big-game animals.

Wolves spread fast. Ask the wildlife departments of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, all of whom came out against the wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone Park by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They also grow their numbers equally as fast. As their numbers grow, adult males move out tens and hundreds of miles to establish new packs of their own.

Wolves hunt in numbers, not just single animals one on one against big game. California's mule deer numbers are down and have been going down for years. Wolves will take those numbers even further. Elk in Northern California are spread thin over a large area. Wolves will move into those areas and reduce their numbers. Blacktail deer, the most popular big game in this state that hunters pay for to help propagate, will also go down, not to mention mule deer and elk we pay to support.

Ranchers and livestock workers are told they can't shoot wolves harassing their cattle, sheep or goats, not to mention farmyard fowl and other farm animals. They are also told they can't run off wolves that move in to attack domestic stock. This lunacy is supported by the California Fish & Wildlife Department.

Decisions by this state agency come as no surprise to California hunters who largely view them as anti-hunting. Gov. Jerry Brown picks and chooses who will serve on the Fish & Wildlife Commission. Is it any wonder who they support and who they do not?

Maybe ranchers can stand and shout at wolves, keeping them off their animals. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they outlaw that, too.

This is not 1816 or even 1916. Wolves will have a negative impact on big-game animals in this state while hunters pay the price to feed them. There can be no other outcome. It's just that simple.

The time has long since passed listening to sentimental baloney about how wonderful it is to have these top-end killers working over reduced numbers of big game.

Art Isberg lives in Redding.
To prepare for his role as O.J. Simpson's attorney Robert Kardashian in the upcoming FX series "American Crime Story," David Schwimmer said he spent more than two hours on the phone with Kardashian's ex-wife Kris Jenner.

Schwimmer, a Northwestern University alumnus who co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company, told The Hollywood Reporter he learned from Jenner "how much a man of faith Robert was, how he prayed at every meal and before every big business meeting and how he was this very compassionate, generous guy." Kardashian died of cancer in 2003.

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"The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," which premieres Feb. 2, will explore the case against Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who grew up in Buffalo Grove. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Simpson; John Travolta portrays his attorney Robert Shapiro; and Sarah Paulson plays prosecutor Marcia Clark.

The story is based on Jeffrey Toobin's 1996 book "The Run of his Life" but the show's writers told The Hollywood Reporter they took some liberties with the material.

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In one scene, Kardashian's daughters turn on the TV and chant "Kar-dash-i-an" when they see their father reading Simpson's suicide note. In another, Kardashian lectures his children that "fame is fleeting. It's hollow. It means nothing at all without a virtuous heart."

"(Writer) Larry (Karaszewski) and I love irony, and we thought what if we just heightened this idea that by watching him on the TV that one day inadvertently creates the Kardashian empire," writer Scott Alexander told The Hollywood Reporter. "(Robert) would be rolling over in his grave."

Schwimmer, 49, said producers of the E! show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" asked if he wanted to talk to Kardashian's daughters to prep for the role.

Said Schwimmer: "I didn't feel that was necessary. And they wanted to do it on camera."
The India growth story is still intact, and fall in the Indian stock markets is an imported one and if the government succeeds in legislating the GST and Land Bill, India could yet emerge as a winner believe stock market experts

Both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange have been in a tailspin in the New Year closely following the collapse in the Chinese markets. As the Shanghai Composite Index cracked 7 per cent Thursday morning, after the Peoples Bank of China cut its reference rate by 0.5 per cent, the Chinese stock market was shuttered second time for trade this week. The panic that followed has shaved off almost $2.5 trillion in global investors wealth as crude prices tumbled to a 12-year low and commodities crashed all across.

To put on record, the NSE Nifty 50 futures have crashed almost 400 points since January 1, tanking almost 2.5 per cent on January 7.

If there is fire somewhere we will definitely feel the heat, says Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst. In the past it was Greece, today, it is China, he adds blaming the crash on the Chinese economy.

This is nothing but imported carnage, we dont have our problem. Such sharp drops only indicate lack of confidence of market participants, says S P Tulsian, another independent analyst.

Tulsian blames the current meltdown in the Indian markets on the futures and options trading. The F&O is converting investors into traders, he says referring to the increase in lot sizes of most top traded companies.

Tulsian believes this increase in lot sizes is the root cause of the crashes we have witnessed in the New Year.

Tulsian points out that in the last three months the mid-cap sector has given fabulous returns. But who is tracking the mid-cap index? he asks.

Deven Choksey of K R Choksey agrees with Tulsian that it is the lack of investors confidence that is responsible for the current market turmoil. FII flow is not coming due to their own problems; they are cutting their losses in oil, commodities and currencies and hence are booking profits in the Indian markets, he says.

India positive

However, all the three stock market mavens believe that this weakness will subside in a week or two and then if the Narendra Modi government succeeds in passing the Goods and Services Tax bill and land bill into laws, then market confidence will get a boost.

FII money has to come to India. Which other economy promises growth opportunities in this dim scenario? he asks.

Baliga is betting on the fact that India still remains a consumption story and unlike China, where growth had been fuelled by exports, India doesnt have too much to worry to drive growth.

There is a positive side to whats happening in China. The commodities prices are low, crude and metals prices are low and India is on an asset building mode, says Baliga explaining why he thinks that India will soar even in these gloomy global economic conditions.

According to Baliga the Chinese contagion is the result of too much capacity building by the Chinese and a simultaneous drop in domestic as well as global demand.

Baliga believes given the bold reform outlook for India, sectors like power and power ancillaries, banking, and auto could emerge winners for investors with a long-term horizon.

While Tulsian is looking out at stocks like Maruti, Baer Crop Science, Century Textiles, Wockhardt and Ultra Tech Cements (Disclosure: S P Tulsian has interest in most of these stocks and has even advised his clients to buy these stocks), Choksey is broadly looking at auto, select banking and non-banking, financials, capital goods and stocks in the infrastructure space.



Ask Choksey to look at the crystal ball and he says, Investors should watch out for the three Cs in 2016: crude, commodities and currencies.
'Jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in J&K, but also in Punjab. This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.

IMAGE: Soldiers conduct a search operation in a forest area outside the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on Sunday, January 3. Photograph: PTI Photo

The entry of six well-armed Pakistani terrorists into the strategically located Pathankot military airfield and the subsequent siege that followed has several lessons for India in the conduct of foreign and defence policies. This is notably so, in its relations with Pakistan and in addressing its defence and internal security shortcomings. All these issues need to be addressed seriously and not glossed over.

Ever since the acquisition of longer-range military aircraft like the SU-27, Mirage 2000 and Jaguars, these strategic assets can now be positioned in mores distant locations from the borders with Pakistan. But Pathankot has always been a chosen target for Pakistani attacks, in both the 1965 and 1971 conflicts. It now houses relatively old MiG-21 aircraft and given its location, close to the border, attack helicopters.

The attack on the Pathankot airbase, which follows a similar attack on nearby Gurdaspur along the Pathankot-Jammu Highway in July, clearly indicates that jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in Jammu and Kashmir, but also in Punjab.

This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored.

The ease with which the terrorists slipped passed border defences appears to indicate a nexus between smugglers, particularly of narcotics, and elements in the local administration.

The Pakistan-based jihadi groups and the ISI are clearly plugged into this nexus and prepared to exploit it to their advantage. This is an issue that can no longer be wished away and needs to be tackled head on.

The entire handling of the terrorist attack appeared to indicate scant regard and knowledge in New Delhi about the availability of vast local resources of infantry, firepower and even Special Forces, to deal with such intrusions successfully.

The dispatch of units of the National Security Guard from Delhi to Pathankot reflected poor appreciation of the need to have a unified command structure led by a local commander.

Despite these shortcomings, the forces on the ground did a magnificent job in protecting the airport, the strategic assets there and the estimated 3,000 family members resident in the airbase. Criticism about the time taken for combing action to clear the airport of the possibility of any looming threat was unwarranted. Such operations are inevitably measured, slow and time consuming.

The Jaish-e-Mohammed, headed by Maulana Masood Azhar, which has had a complex relationship with the ISI, carried out the attack. The former director general of the ISI, Lieutenant General Javed Ashraf Qazi, has acknowledged in the Pakistani parliament in 2004 that the Jaish was responsible for the attack on Parliament in December 2001. General Qazi also revealed that sections of the Jaish were responsible for an attempt to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.

Since then the Jaish has been handled with kid gloves by the ISI, amongst other reasons, because of its close relations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, which is now a sworn enemy of the Pakistani armed forces. The Jaish also has close relations with the Afghan Taliban.

It needs to be borne in mind that it was the TTP that mounted devastating attacks on Pakistani airbases in Karachi and elsewhere inflicting heavy damage, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars on crucial air assets of the Pakistan armed forces.

India has to realise that there is now a complex web of relationships between jihadi groups in Pakistan and their mentors in the ISI.

It is, however, clear that the while the Lashkar-e-Tayiba will remain the most loyal ISI asset for terrorism in India, other jihadi groups like the Masood Azhar faction of the Jaish-e-Mohammed based in Bahawalpur in southern Punjab will also be utilised from time to time to keep them away from joining groups like the TTP, against whom the Pakistan army is presently at war.

It also needs to be borne in mind that the ISI ensures that these groups work jointly with the predominantly Pashtun Afghan Taliban, to ensure that Punjabi-Pashtun differences are subsumed and the Afghan Taliban continue to have an anti-India agenda.

In these circumstances, it will be naive to think that the ISI will allow Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take 'prompt and decisive action' against the Jaish-e-Mohammed as New Delhi has demanded and expects.

There could, of course, be some token measures like arresting some middle level Jaish cadres or even a pretence of action against top leaders. But the big fish will likely be left untouched.
'The message from our ancient texts should reach the younger generation of Indians.'

'Our literature is in Sanskrit and scientists don't know the language. And the people who know Sanskrit, they don't know science.'

Dr Akhilesh Kumar Pandey, chairman, Madhya Pradesh Private University Regulatory Commission -- which regulates/monitors the standard of education in MP -- stirred a hornet's nest at the Indian Science Congress in Mysuru.

In his paper presented at the congress, DR Pandey said Lord Shiva sends out a strong message on the sustainability of the environment.

Dr Pandey, below, left, spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on his research paper on Lord Shiva and his concern for the environment.

On what basis have you said in your paper that Lord Shiva sends out a strong message of sustainability of environment?

It is based on our ancient literature like the Shiv Puran and the Ramayan. It is entirely based on that concept.

For instance, Lord Shiva stopped the flow of the Ganga. When King Bhagirath called Lord Shiva from earth, the flow of the Ganga river was so fast that in order to stop it, Lord Shiva took the river on his head and he allowed only that much water to flow from his hair that was needed for earth.

This is the concept of water conservation. This was the message. He emphasised that water must not be wasted.

Secondly, there was empowerment of women. He shows his respect to women because he kept her (the Ganga) on his head.

Today we talk of vibhuti (holy ash) and talk of nano technology. Lord Shiva used to smear bhasma (ash) from cremation material on his body. It is actually nano particles which people are analysing now. There is energy in it.

But...

Another thing you see is his family. He had a snake around his neck, the Nandi bull, and Goddess Durga used to ride the tiger; the rat was for Lord Ganesh, the peacock was for Lord Kartikeya.

You see, all these animals were against each other, but were together in one family and had coherence like a family.

It means in environment conservation, everyone is important to maintain the food chain.

The snake is important in its own way and the tiger is important in its own way. In short, Lord Shiva was preserving the environment. We need to learn from this. We also call Lord Shiva Neelkanth.

He took poison in him and he has been compared to trees. It means we need to conserve plants to protect the environment.

Next, his dumroo -- its 52 sounds gave us 52 letters (beej mantras), of which 14 are good for society.

Another report said if you blow the shank (conch) you can cure spondylitis and thyroid problems, too.

I have no idea about that. I am a professor of botany. My aim is that the message from our ancient texts reach the younger generation of Indians. If this helps to improve the environment, I will be happy.

There are those who say you are departing from pure science and depending on legends.

Gandhari of the Mahabharat delivered 100 children. Today, it is being proved scientifically that it is possible.

I am talking of stem cell research and gene cloning. All these things were available somewhere in our ancient texts. All these things, if we validate, then it is possible that we will get some miracle.

Last year, a paper presented at the congress stated that the science of building and flying a plane was recorded by Maharishi Bharadwaj centuries before the Wright Brothers invented the aeroplane in America.

Rishi Bharadwaj's technology has described 23 different types of planes. Today, we talk of hydrogen fuel, but at that time there was technology on how to make hydrogen fuel available. It is possible that it is imagination.

However, we must validate it with Indian science and technology. All literature must be validated.

We talk of Sanjeevani booty (in the Ramayan). It is possible that there must be some Sanjeevani booty in our Himalayas.

Till the time we do not validiate, we cannot outright reject it.

Science so far has not agreed with what you are saying. It still considers all these things to be in the realm of belief and mythology. Do you agree with that?

You tell me. We did not follow our parampara (culture and traditions). In the name of development we cut so many trees. At the same time, in our tradition there are so many trees we do not cut like the peepal tree, mango tree and the tamarind tree.

Go to any village, people will not cut those trees. I request you just for some time believe that there are Gods living in those trees. Then in reality you find out how much oxygen the peepal tree generates. If we follow our parampara, then we will grow more peepal trees.

You are relating all these things to science.

If you read A P J Abdul Kalam's book Vision 2020, he says 'Dream, Dream, Dream.' Science is that only.

We don't know the result, but we need to dream.

If you don't imagine and not let your children imagine, you will not get results. They will not be innovative because they will not get thoughts and how will science develop?

Do you believe all these things were for real and there is nothing mythological about them?

Yes. The trouble is that our literature is in Sanskrit and scientists don't know the language. And the people who know Sanskrit, they don't know science.

The same is the case with Ayurveda. Can you deny Charaka Samhita? It is the bible of medicines in Ayurveda.

But Ayurveda is a different thing. What you are referring to is mythology.

You see, when thoughts come to you, then you go and research that. Even if you say that is a story, there is a scientific thought and approach to that. Isn't it?

Agastya Muni has written that copper makes electricity and he has described it.

In Sanskrit, a British scholar felt that Grivaha Sikha (like the neck of a peacock) meant that Agastya was saying electricity was made from the peacock's neck. But a Sanskrit scholar explained to him that what Agastya meant was that the electricity was made from a metal like that of the colour of the neck of the peacock (copper oxide is blue green).

I am only saying that whatever Agastya Muni said, we can validate it.
IMAGE: Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Lahore, December 25.

'We cannot forget that Pakistan is a criminal State, it is a rogue State and yet we want oil pipelines to go through their State, we want to have people-to-people contact, want to increase trade with them.'

'When Modi was prime minister-elect, he said there can be no dialogue in the face of bombs and bullets. After becoming prime minister, he is saying talks will continue. Was he then misleading the public then or is he misleading the public now?'

'Nobody goes around abusing China. The fact is China is a great power. I do not think India is a great power. People spit on our face and we still go grovelling before them.'

Counter-terrorism expert Dr Ajai Sahni believes that holding talks with Pakistan will hold no purpose unless Islamabad changes its attitude to terrorism. Dr Sahni spoke about the repercussions of the terror attacks on the Pathankot airbase with Rediff.com contributor Rashme Sehgal.

What is the attack on the Pathankot airbase indicative of?

There is once again a very comprehensive failure of understanding as far as managing conflict and building peace is concerned.

We will always escalate and widen conflict if it is not reality-based.

One example of this was when the Allied powers sought to appease Adolf Hitler, tried to accommodate him, to understand him -- and this became the very basis for the eventual carnage that consumed practically the entire world.

This is a repetition of the same situation. We are trying to create peace without understanding the capacities of our adversary. We have shown that talks and terrorism can go hand in hand because even when the incident (the attack on the airbase was going on) was ongoing, we had senior government functionaries indicate that secretary-level talks will go on and that we will make terrorism the centre of these talks, that we will use this opportunity to provide evidence to Pakistan of this attack.

As though this action in Pathankot was something out of the blue, as though the cumulative evidence provided to them in the last 30 years had seen them change, as though the intentional perpetrators of this crime would now agree to punish themselves, as though the world was going to change their attitude with the presentation of this evidence.

After all, what is the basic presumption of our peace process?

Our presumption is based on a wrong premise. Pakistan knows full well that it can go on talking and present itself to the world as being a reasonable power which it is not.

If we want to live with our head in the clouds, we are likely to fall down hard.

There is a real threat of Islamic terrorism in which Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries are involved. The stand that one man's terrorism is another man's friend is frightening as we have witnessed in Syria.

The attacks on Paris brought home the reality of terrorism in the West. But look how France responded, when Paris was attacked.

When people die in India, it is not something that concerns the West. We in India (unlike France) have not gone around banning the burqa, we are not disallowing people from saying their prayers. Syria and Iraq are two examples of Islamic terrorism, then why not India.

India has been under international pressure to hold talks with Pakistan.

The world wants us to talk on terrorism without having received any assurances. When you do this, you confer legitimacy to their actions, you are also conferring legitimacy to them before the world.

We cannot forget that Pakistan is a criminal State, it is a rogue State and yet we want oil pipelines to go through their State, we want to have people-to-people contact, want to increase trade with them.

You cannot forget that civil society in Pakistan is also at the receiving end of terrorist attacks?./strong>

How can we forget that their (Pakistan's) own State is supporting these terrorists? The terrorists have been created by their own government and have now turned against them.

India does not send terrorists to Pakistan, but they are sending terrorists to India. There is no comparison between the two countries.

If they are facing a backlash of terrorism, then this is something they have to deal with.

But it is our stupidity that allows this situation to continue. We are stupid to accept every argument that they place before us. But if we want to continue to live in a make believe world, the world will fall down, that is the truth, that is the reality.

Are you saying there is no space for negotiations with Pakistan?

There is space for negotiations. All space changes when the intentions (of the neighbouring State) change. But have these changed?

When Narendra Modi was prime minister-elect he said there can be no dialogue in the face of bombs and bullets. When after becoming prime minister, he is saying talks will continue. Was he then misleading the public then or is he misleading the public now?

These two positions cannot be reconciled. Some degree of consistency has to be necessary for an action to be described as policy.

Has this policy changed under pressure from the US?

I don't want to get into that speculation. Why he has done so is something which he has to answer for.

The question is that he stopped secretary-level talks because the Hurriyat were talking to the Pakistan high commissioner. But there have been numerous attacks after that. There has been the attack on Gurdaspur. These attacks have been a much greater offence than a meeting of the Hurriyat (with the high commissioner).

It has resulted in the death of our soldiers and our people and yet he is now saying that talks must continue. How does he explain that?

Is this a clear break from the policy having been pursued by the Congress?

Not at all. It is the other way around. The policy being pursued today is precisely the (same) as the policy pursued earlier by the Congress keeping in mind the bureaucratic interests perpetuated by the ministry of external affairs.

Therefore, despite Modi's commitment, I see a transformation in his position on counter-terrorism. I therefore only see this as weakness, I see this as someone who does not know his own mind.

But isn't this a continuation of the (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee position?

Please read the BJP's (Bharatiya Janata Party) election manifesto of 2014 and see what they have written regarding the issue of internal security, of zero tolerance on terrorism. This was Modi's stand and it was drafted by Ajit Doval (the national security advisor). They are doing the opposite of their earlier stand.

I don't want to speculate on what their motives are or whether they are under international pressure now. This is a question of leadership.

One can also ask why the US is not exerting pressure on Pakistan to end terrorism. If a small, third rate, collapsing country can stand up to the US, then why should India, which sees itself as a great emerging power, kneel before every US secretary of state who visits India>?

Where is our national pride? Why is there no evidence of this?

Is there an attempt being made by Western powers to offload the burden of fighting terrorism onto us?

There are multiple patterns at stake here and no country today has the strategic vision to combat terrorism.

The West may possess technological superiority, but it does not have the will or the character to fight terrorism. They would certainly offload the fighting on us and be delighted to drag us into this conflict.

After all, we have been witness to the most irresponsible adventurism by third rate politicians ruling the West in Syria, Iraq and the Middle East who are following a policy without any remorse or accountability, but India must be accountable for everything they do.

We are forgetting that the West is the greatest burden on this world in terms of the destruction of natural resources and everything else without being answerable to anyone.

Therefore, it is imperative to alter the equation of power before the prime minister decides to have tea with Nawaz Sharif and in order to change the dynamics of power between India and Pakistan, the logic of States has to be given primacy.

The problem is that we do not want to understand the issues at stake because we do not want to look at hard solutions because hard solutions are difficult to make. The rest is all garbage.

Modi inviting Sharif to India or going to Pakistan -- these are not reality based because the reality is that if Sharif were to go against the army and the establishment, they would steamroll him.

We cannot forget that Sharif is the father of the Taliban. He was there when the Mumbai blasts occurred. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa are his creation. We can bury our heads and not look at reality, which is why we are always in a mess.

If you don't have a strategy, then you will end up becoming a part of someone else's strategy.

You seem to overlook the fact that Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

How come one does not hear people say India has nuclear weapons? If they were in a position to overrun us, they would have done so a long time ago. It is ridiculous to try and impose rationality on an irrational power and if this has to be done, it can be done so only by the projection of power.

In order to do so, we do not have to go to war. We seem to forget that they are a bankrupt State, they are nothing, they are beneath contempt. They receive some little recognition from the world by indulging in this barbaric behaviour.

They have no potential whatsoever to become a great power. Pakistan can only be less than what they are, never more.

Are you implying we should be akin to China?

Nobody goes around abusing China. The fact is China is a great power. I do not think India is a great power.

People spit on our face and we still come grovelling before them. We have no self respect. We are contemptible. We are constantly giving alibis to Pakistan and its army, its Inter Services Intelligence, Nawaz Sharif and its non-State actors who are criminals.

They have Dawood Ibrahim sitting on the head of Pakistan for the last 22 years. They are protecting this mass murderer with the whole world watching and yet their government has the gall to tell us they do not know where he is.

(Minister of External Affairs) Sushma Swaraj should make it clear that India does not deal with individuals, it deals with States. Pakistan is answerable for its deeds, not Sharif, or any other Sharif loitering around in their country.
The Bombay high court on Thursday expressed surprise at the failure of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department in obtaining a ballistics report from Karnataka CID which reportedly shows a link between the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Kannada scholar writer M M Kalburgi.

A division bench of Justices R V More and V L Achiliya was informed that the Maharashtra CID, which is probing Pansare case and the CBI, which is investigating the Dabholkar case, had last year handed over bullets and empty bullet shells to the Karnataka CID which is probing the Kalburgi murder case. The objective was to ascertain possible links between three cases.

Advocate Abhay Nevgi, appearing for the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare, said on Thursday that, as per the media reports, the Forensic Science Laboratory in Bengaluru had claimed that the bullets recovered from the crime spots in these three cases were fired from the same weapon.

CBI lawyer Anil Singh and public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde (for the CID) told the court that senior officers from both the agencies had written to the director general of Karnataka CID for ballistics report, but it was yet to come.

"Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report? We are surprised that the CBI is making such a grievance. We are surprised that Karnataka CID is not cooperating with a prime agency like CBI," the high court said.

"We direct the Maharashtra DGP and the CBIs director to take up the issue with the Karnataka DGP and the DG-CID and see to it that the reports are made available at the earliest," the HC said.

Non-cooperation from the Karnataka CID was hampering the probe, the judges noted.

The Maharashtra CID told the court it had filed a chargesheet against Sameer Gaikwad, the only arrested accused in the Pansare murder case, and further probe was underway as other accused were yet to be arrested.

The court later adjourned the hearing for three weeks.
Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javdekar lobbied Jual Oram to change process, that may now open a Pandora's box. Nitin Sethi/Business Standard reports.

Taking a sharp U-turn from its previous stand, the Union tribal affairs ministry has agreed to reinterpret the Forest Rights Act -- which allows tribals to rightfully manage their forests and control the trade in forest produce -- and allow the Maharashtra forest department to get back control over forest management.

The move will allow the Maharashtra forest department to get hold of the lucrative trade worth crores of rupees in forest produce such as tendu leaves and bamboo.

The Union tribal affairs ministry's volte face comes after personal intervention by two top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Maharashtra -- Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar.

The move could now open a Pandora's box and states like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha may also follow suit.

MP has already put similar regulations in place and other states are working towards such rules as well.

The Forest Rights Act was enacted in 2006 by the then United Progressive Alliance government, ending the absolute control of the state forest departments over the forests.

Through the Forest Rights Act, the rights over forest produce were effectively transferred to tribal villages.

The first few tribal villages to get control over their forests were from the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, giving the state a special significance in the issue. These tribal villages auctioned and collected crores of rupees from the sale of bamboo.

However, in March 2014, the then Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra passed regulations that ensured its forest department retained control over forest management, which includes the large-scale trade and sale of forest produce.

The Union tribal affairs ministry found this against the Forest Rights Act and repeatedly told Maharashtra that its rules were prima facie in violation of and irreconcilable with the law and should be kept in abeyance.

But after a meeting in November last year at the Cabinet secretariat between the environment and the tribal affairs ministry, the latter has made a turnaround and reinterpreted the legal provisions of the Forest Rights Act to give the Maharashtra government control back over the forests, although with some conditions.

The turnaround was facilitated after a relentless pursuit by Maharashtra and personal intervention by Javadekar and Gadkari. While Javadekar, as the Union environment and forests minister, had a say in the issue, Gadkari does not hold a portfolio that is involved in issues of forestry.

Gadkari, the minister of rural development and panchayati raj, wrote to Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, requesting him to withdraw his ministry's objections against the Maharashtra Village Forest Rules.

Javadekar also wrote a similar letter. At that time, the tribal affairs ministry did not relent and reaffirmed that the rules 'encroached upon and are irreconcilable with FRA and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act or PESA'.

Maharashtra did not back off. It sent legal advice from Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand which disagreed with the tribal affairs ministry. The ministry also stood its ground and wrote back that it had sought legal advice too and had concluded Anand was wrong: The rules violated the Forest Rights Act and were unconstitutional.

It gave a detailed explanation on the several provisions of the Forest Rights Act that were violated by Maharashtra's rules which gave control over forest produce to the forest department.

But the documents show that on November 17, 2015 the Cabinet secretariat called a meeting of the tribal affairs ministry and the Union environment ministry after which the former finally relented.

It passed two orders subsequently on November 27 and December 8 stating its altered stance. A copy of the November order was also marked to the Prime Minister's office.

In November, it said it had taken note of the recommendations of the environment ministry and the Maharashtra government that other stakeholders too could have rights over forestlands besides tribals, though the Forest Rights Act did apply to all forestlands.

It continued to say that there was an overlap of powers and unresolved legal differences created by the Maharashtra rules, but they 'should be harmoniously construed'.

Then, in its December order, it concluded that, as agreed in the meeting held at the Cabinet secretariat, it would approve the rules of the Maharashtra government with some amendments.

The amendments would state that the rules would apply where the rights of tribals are not pending or claimed or gram sabhas (village councils) have concluded that no future rights are likely to be claimed.

Earlier, it had opposed the rules reading them along with draft gram sabha resolutions prepared by the state government and said the rules required the President's approval as they encroached upon the two central laws that expressly override other legislations.

Before the Forest Rights Act was legislated, the trade was almost entirely regulated and controlled by state forest departments which used to sell these goods through contractors and traders for industrial use such as beedi making or paper and pulp manufacturing.

Tribals were paid wages for extracting the forest produce and substantially lower shares of revenue in some states. The Forest Rights Act was meant to break this monopoly of forest department and contractors and to recognise the rights of tribals and other communities to manage forests -- a practice legalised in many other forested parts of the developing world where indigenous people have traditional rights.

The erstwhile Planning Commission had estimated in one of its report that the annual trade in forest produce is estimated to be around Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion).

The tribal affairs ministry, in its U-turn, went a step ahead and said the ministry of environment and forests should now prepare a new code for sustainable management of forest resources.

For long, it has argued that rule-making under the Forest Rights Act fell in its domain and traditionally the forest department has been seen antagonistic to letting go of control over forestlands to tribals and other forest dwellers.

Till the code is developed by the environment ministry, the Maharashtra government and others can now carry on with implementing its own rules even if they are legally unresolved by reading them in 'harmony with forest rights recognised and vested under the FRA'.
Mehbooba Mufti, his eldest child, will likely succeed him, reports Mukhtar Ahmed/Rediff.com

Five days before he turned 80, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed passed into the ages on Thursday, January 7.

Muftisaab, detected with sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on December 24 after he complained of neck pain and fever.

Since then, he continued to be in the AIIMS' Intensive Care Unit giving anxious moments to the doctors as his platelets dropped dangerously low.

He took over as chief minister of the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition on March 1 last year. His eldest daughter Mehbooba Mufti is now seen as his likely successor as chief minister.

On November 13, Muftisaab hinted at Mehbooba becoming the next chief minister.

Mehbooba, Muftisaab said, was better connected with the people. "I did not get time to meet people. She has better access to the people and party workers than me and she understands their problems. So she deserves it (to be chief minister)," he said.

"I only sit in the office, but she works in the field," he added.

Mehbooba -- a Member of Parliament from South Kashmir's Anantnag constituency -- had then voiced her reluctance to shoulder the responsibility.

The PDP and BJP are expected to discuss the issue and take a call on who the next chief minister will be.

Muftisaab was the first Muslim to be India's home minister in 1989. He was twice Jammu and Kashmir's chief minister.



Born on January 12, 1936 in the highway town of Bejibehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, he started his political career as a Congress activist and rose to the position of state party chief.



He remained with the party till 1987 when he joined the V P Singh-led Jan Morcha.



In 1999, he founded the Peoples Democratic Party, which won a good number of seats in the 2002 state assembly polls. The PDP later aligned with the Congress to form the coalition government which he headed till November 2005.



Muftisaab again became chief minister in March 2015 after the PDP won 28 seats in the 2014 assembly polls and headed a coalition government with the BJP.
The operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot Air base, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is "close to completion" with the personnel of the National Security Guard, the army and the Garud commandos of Indian Air Force undertaking the task on the sprawling complex.

Meanwhile, the NIA has recorded the statements of Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, whose role is under the scanner, and his friend Rajesh Verma, officials said adding investigations are under progress.

The 20-member National Investigation Agency team is being assisted by a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory which is camping in Pathankot.

The sanitisation operation, which has been going on for the last two days ever since the six terrorists were gunned down, is in the last leg now.

"For the last two days, Army, NSG and Garuds have been sanitising the whole station and the process is close to completion," Air Officer Commanding, Pathankot IAF Station, Air commodore J S Damoon told media persons on Thursday.

The combing operation is aimed at ensuring that no terrorists are still hiding and there are no booby traps.

Looking back at the events of the last six days, he said, "a few things stand out".

Among them, he said, is the use of air assets for surveillance to ensure early detection isolation and subsequent engagement of the terrorists.

"First, the timely and precise intelligence inputs and positioning of NSG troops in real quick time in domestic area, where our families reside which is akin to urban environment, ensured that the station was able to organize its defenses before the terrorists could strike," said the officer who is in-charge of the air base.

"Secondly, the synergy between the air force, the Indian Army, NSG, Punjab police and intelligence agencies", he said.

"Third, was the effective use of Air assets that was made possible by the deployment of 800 army troops in technical area, these air assets were used to keep the area under surveillance to ensure early detection isolation and subsequent engagement of our own troops," Damoon said.

The AOC said the quick response of the army and availability of NSG troops along with Garuds ensured that the terrorists were confined to an area where they could successfully be eliminated without further loss of to troops.

"All this ensured that our vital assets and families were never threatened. In the end, I pay tributes to seven gallant officers and men who made supreme sacrificed for our motherland," Damoon said.

The terrorists were carrying AK-47 rifles, modified under grenade barrel launcher, pistols, Swiss and commando knives, 40-50 kg of bullets besides 3-4 dozens of magazine and mortars.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have decided to launch a united and strong international response to North Korea's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test.

US President Barack Obama made separate phone calls to his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss with them security situation in the region following North Korea's test.

"All the three leaders reiterated their pledge to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour," the White House said.

"Obama reaffirmed the unshakeable US commitment to the security of Japan, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Koreas latest reckless behaviour," the White House said after Obama's phone call to Abe.

During the phone call between Obama and Park, the two leaders condemned the test and agreed that North Korea's actions constitute yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under international law, including several UN Security Council resolutions.

Secretary of State John Kerry also reached out to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss with them the North Korean nuclear test.

In his phone call to Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of Japan and emphasised the importance of a unified international response to the South Korean provocative actions.

"He also emphasised the importance of continued close bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral coordination with the Republic of Korea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

In his phone call to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun, Kerry reiterated the steadfast commitment of the US to the security of South Korea and emphasised the need for a unified international response to North Korea's provocative actions, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Secretary of State Nick Burns said the US and Asian countries should pressure the government of China to act much more resolutely to restrain and contain the North Korean regime.
Nitin Gokhale, founder, BharatShakti.in, reports on how quick decisions saved a repeat of a Mumbai-like carnage at the key air force base.

As more details emerge on the Pathankot terror strike and India's response, it is becoming increasingly clear that the quick decision-making at the highest levels of the country's security apparatus saved a repeat of a Mumbai-like carnage at the frontline airbase.

Information pieced together from multiple conversations I have had with security officials also indicates excellent coordination at the field level, although many half-baked and ill-informed reports have appeared to the contrary.



Although there were generic intelligence reports about infiltration of terrorists into Punjab since the evening of December 31, 2015, the actual story begins post-lunch on New Year's Day when the general intelligence gets crystallised into a specific alert that the target definitely is the Pathankot air base. This is what happens in rapid succession after that:



3 pm: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval convenes a meeting to decide on the next course of action. In attendance are the Army chief, General Dalbir Singh Suhag, the Air Force chief, Air Marshal Arup Raha, and chiefs of intelligence agencies.

4 pm: Meeting concludes with specific tasks allotted to each stakeholder. Army moves nine columns (nearly 1,000 men) from nearby cantonments into the Pathankot airbase.

The National Security Guard is told to get ready with two teams to be flown out from Manesar near Delhi as soon as possible.



6 pm: Army columns start arriving into the air base and get deployed at key locations. Their main task: To secure the air assets in the technical area (fighter aircraft, helicopters, missiles, ammunition dump, etc) and guard the residential quarters that house nearly 3,000 families within the base.



In Delhi NSG teams emplane for Pathankot. They are being pre-positioned in case any hostage situation develops or the terrorists get into houses or built-up areas.



9 pm: The technical area is sealed; NSG gets deployed. The wait and search for terrorists begins. There is no definite information on their exact location.

January 2, 3.30 am: Gunfire is heard; the terrorists have emerged from hiding and have entered the cookhouse of the Defence Security Corps personnel. Four unarmed personnel of the force get killed instantly. One of their unarmed colleagues runs after a terrorist, turns his gun on him and kills him before being shot by other terrorists.

Moments later, a Garud commando confronts the other terrorists, gets shot.

Daybreak: Hunt begins for the well-armed terrorists and a cordon is thrown around a small area of 250 metres by 250 metres. They are suspected to have entered into a building.

By evening, four terrorists are eliminated, one by one, by the army troops who come into action immediately.

After nightfall, the focus area is kept under surveillance with floodlights keeping the area lit. Intermittent firing continues. The advantage is now with the security forces; they have confined the terrorists to a small patch and have the luxury of time to eliminate them in daylight.

Next day the remaining two terrorists are eliminated, but not before a lieutenant colonel dies during the removal of the body of a slain terrorist.

Key takeaways: In the absence of key ministers like Rajnath Singh (home) and Manohar Parrikar (defence) from the capital on January 1, there was no time to lose, to wait for the Cabinet Committee on Security to meet.

Instant decision had to be taken, which was done by the NSA in consultation with the key stakeholders. The swift action saved the day in Pathankot.

Moreover, the terrorists were eliminated before they could achieve their key objective of destroying the air assets or take hostages in the base.

The criticism that the operation took too long is a matter of opinion. If the terrorists were neutralised without losing any further men, it is to the credit of the security forces and their coordination on the ground, notwithstanding the time they took.

There will, of course, be questions asked about the ease with which the terrorists managed to cross the border and also get into the airbase without being detected, but that is a matter of review and revamp.

For the moment, all key players -- from NSA Ajit Doval to senior officers, from the brave but unheralded men of the DSC to the ground troops of the Indian Army, the Garud commandos and the NSG -- need to be commended for a clinically executed anti-terror operation.
Saint Lucia: Domestic violence, including legislation, state protection and support services available to victims (2013-November 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 9 December 2015 Citation / Document Symbol LCA105352.E Related Document(s) Sainte-Lucie : information sur la violence conjugale, y compris sur les lois, la protection offerte par l'Etat et les services de soutien dont disposent victimes (2013-novembre 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Saint Lucia: Domestic violence, including legislation, state protection and support services available to victims (2013-November 2015), 9 December 2015, LCA105352.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/568e2bd14.html [accessed 19 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

1. Situation

Sources describe domestic violence in Saint Lucia as a problem that is "significant" (US 25 June 2015, 8), "serious" (Freedom House 2015), or "very common" (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015; St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). The Minister of Gender Relations reportedly said that violence against women is a "major challenge" and victims of domestic violence "'suffer in isolation and silence'" (qtd. in The Voice 8 Mar. 2014). According to the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force's Domestic Abuse Manual, there is "secrecy and shame" surrounding the issue of domestic violence in Saint Lucia, so it is difficult to understand "the full extent of the problem" (St. Lucia n.d., 6). Women in Action, a group that raises awareness of violence against women, reportedly said that the situation of domestic violence in Saint Lucia "'is exacerbated by the severely depressed state of the economy where victims are economically dependent on their abusers'" (qtd. in St. Lucia News Online 25 Nov. 2013).

According to a 2010 survey conducted by the UN Development Program (UNDP), in which over 11,000 male and female adults in 7 Caribbean countries were interviewed, 9.7 percent of people surveyed in Saint Lucia had experienced some form of physical violence (such as punching, kicking, or the use of a weapon) by a member of their household, a rate that was slightly lower than the Caribbean-wide average of 10.9 percent (UN 2012, 11, 29).

Statistics on the number of women killed as a result of domestic violence, or other statistics pertaining to the frequency of domestic violence in Saint Lucia, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Division of Gender Relations, of the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations, indicated that there has not been any study that provides the number of women experiencing domestic violence, and that while some data is collected, "there are problems with managing that data" (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015).

2. Legislation

According to the UN Women's Caribbean Gender Portal, the Domestic Violence Act of 1995, amended in 2005, offers "a wide range of speedy and effective remedies to reduce domestic violence," including protection orders, occupancy orders and tenancy orders (UN 2015). The UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal notes that a protection order "prohibits abuse and molestation, excludes the abusive person from the home or workplace"; an occupation order "gives a right to remain in the household residence"; and a tenancy order "vests the tenancy in the person who applied for the order" (UN n.d.). A copy of the amended Domestic Violence Act is attached to this Response.

The UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal notes that some acts of domestic violence, such as assault and wounding, may be prosecuted under the Criminal Code and under the common law (ibid.). In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a practicing lawyer in Saint Lucia who has handled cases of domestic violence similarly said that some serious cases of domestic violence are "handled by criminal courts" (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015).

Regarding spousal rape, Article 123 (3-5) of Saint Lucia's Criminal Code states the following:

(3) A husband commits the offence of rape where he has sexual intercourse with his wife without her consent by force, fear or the use of a drug or thing with intent to stupefy or overpower her, where there is in existence in relation to them-

a decree nisi of divorce or nullity granted under the Divorce Act;

decree of judicial separation granted under the Civil Code;

separation agreement or where the parties are in fact separated; or

a peace binding order or an order for the husband not to molest his wife or have sexual intercourse with her including a protection order from the Family Court.

(4) The provisions of subsection (3) apply with the necessary modifications to a wife who commits the offence of rape.

(5) A husband or wife who commits the offence of rape is liable on conviction to imprisonment for 14 years. (Saint Lucia 2005)

The Criminal Code also punishes "unlawful sexual connection," which carries a punishment of 14 years to life imprisonment (ibid., Art. 124; UN n.d.). Article 124 (2) defines "sexual connection" as follows:

the introduction, to any extent, into the vagina or the anus of the person of-

any part of the body of any other person, or

any object held or manipulated by any other person, otherwise than for bona fide medical purposes;

connection between the mouth or tongue of the person and any part of the genitalia of any other person. (Saint Lucia 2005)

Article 124 (4-5) of the Criminal Code addresses unlawful sexual connection between spouses as follows:

(4) A husband commits the offence of unlawful sexual connection with his wife without her consent where there is in existence in relation to them-

a decree nisi of divorce or nullity granted under the Divorce Act;

a decree of judicial separation under the Civil Code;

a separation agreement; or

an order for the husband not to molest his wife or have sexual intercourse with her.

(5) The provisions of subsection (4) apply with the necessary modifications to wife who commits the offence of unlawful sexual connection. (ibid.)

3. State Protection

3.1 Government Efforts

According to the UN Women's Caribbean Gender Portal, St. Lucia does not have a national action plan on gender-based violence (UN 2015). The Director of the Division of Gender Relations indicated that their division has undertaken awareness raising campaigns, particularly in schools (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). The Division has also conducted training of police recruits and distributed domestic violence referral protocols to police stations (ibid.). In addition, the Director said that discussions are being undertaken to review domestic violence legislation (ibid.).

3.2 Police

The police have a separate unit, called the Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU) [or Vulnerable Persons Teams], which handles cases of domestic violence (US 25 June 2015, 9; lawyer 12 Nov. 2015; St. Lucia n.d., 11). According to the instructions in the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) manual on domestic abuse, the unit provides assistance and advice on domestic violence cases, all of which are supposed to be reported to the VPU Corporal (ibid.). According to the lawyer, most serious cases of domestic violence are referred to the VPU (12 Nov. 2015). Sources indicate that the unit works in collaboration with the Family Court, governmental agencies (US 25 June 2015, 9; St. Lucia n.d., 11) and NGOs (ibid.). The lawyer expressed the opinion that there "has been an improvement in the response and sensitivity to domestic violence" since the establishment of the VPU, but also noted that the unit does not have sufficient resources (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). The group Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia, as reported in the St. Lucia Times, said that the police are unable to investigate and solve violent sexual crimes against women due to a lack of resources (St. Lucia Times 4 Nov. 2015).

The Director of the Division of Gender Relations expressed the opinion that the police response to domestic violence is "generally" effective, but noted that there are "some challenges," including "inadequate resources, such as manpower, transportation, and sometimes a lack of understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence" (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015).

While the lawyer described the police response to domestic violence, as well as crime in general, as "generally not effective," she noted that police officers typically treat victims of domestic violence with respect and inform them of their rights to protection and occupancy orders (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). She noted that it is more common now than in the past for the police to arrange for the man to leave the home in cases in which there is a dispute between the man and the woman in their home (ibid.).

According to the 2010 UNDP Citizen Security Survey, 42.2 percent of women surveyed in Saint Lucia who had reported domestic violence to the police said that the police were "respectful" or "very respectful" of their rights as citizens; in comparison, the Caribbean-wide average was 32.9 percent of women who said that police were either "respectful" or "very respectful" (UN 2012, 105). The same survey indicates that 20.7 percent of all respondents in Saint Lucia ranked their level of confidence in the police to effectively control domestic violence in the country as "good" or "very good" as compared to the Caribbean-wide average of 21.7 percent (ibid., 107).

According to the instructions in the RSLPF manual, domestic abuse incidents cannot be resolved over the phone and all cases require that an officer be dispatched to the scene (St. Lucia n.d., 13). The manual also instructs that police actions be "prompt," "positive," and "recorded properly" (ibid.).

The lawyer stated that victims of domestic violence who are LGBT would face problems turning to the police and would be treated "as criminals" instead of being offered protection (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015).

Statistics on the number of domestic violence cases reported to the police, investigated, and resulting in arrests could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.3 Judiciary

Sources indicate that most cases of domestic violence are brought before the Family Court (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015; US 25 June 2015, 9). The Family Court issues protection orders, occupation orders and tenancy orders (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015; UN n.d.). According to the UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal, applications for these orders can also be made at the Magistrate's Court (ibid.). The same source notes that the applicant does not require an attorney (ibid.).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Family Court in Saint Lucia indicated that any woman experiencing domestic violence can access the services of the Family Court, and explained the procedures to apply for a protection order as follows:

She will first be interviewed by a social worker who will determine, based on the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, whether she is eligible to have an application prepared to go into court. The application is then prepared by a social worker, who reads the contents to the applicant. The applicant then signs the document. The applicant has to provide a ten (10) dollar stamp. If she cannot afford the stamp, an exemption is given. The application is then filed and the matter is taken into court to be heard by the Magistrate of the Family Court.

Applications are generally heard within twenty four hours of the applicant making a report. On the first occasion that the matter is heard as an exparte hearing, an interim protection order may be granted. At the inter-parties hearing, the magistrate would then make a decision as to whether a full protection is granted. (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015)

The lawyer expressed the opinion that the Family Court handles the issuing of protection orders "well" and that they are not difficult to obtain (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). The source said that the procedures at the Family Court are "simpler and less formal" than the traditional judicial system (ibid.). She explained the procedures as follows:

The procedure is for the domestic violence victim to go to the court and see a family case worker who takes their statement and makes a recommendation to the Magistrate. If the family case worker and Magistrate find that the person is in need of protection, the victim is issued an interim protection order almost immediately, which is usually valid for 2-3 weeks, covering the time period until the two parties appear in court. The Family Court is responsible for serving the alleged perpetrator notice to appear for the hearing for the protection order. (ibid.)

According to the UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal, to qualify for a protection order, the applicant must show that he or she is (or was) married to the abusive person, is (or was) living with the abuser as a couple, or that he or she is a member of the household; in addition, the applicant "must prove that the abusive person is engaging in, has engaged or threatens to engage in conduct which amounts to domestic violence" (UN n.d.). The same source states that the alleged abuser is served notice to appear in court, but that the victim may be issued an interim order if the court determines that a delay may risk the victim's "personal safety or serious injury or undue hardship" (ibid.).

The Director of the Division of Gender Relations said that in order to receive a protection order, the client and perpetrator must be living in the same dwelling and "very often there must be evidence of the abuse" (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). She said that it usually takes victims between two weeks and one month to obtain a protection order, but that victims can obtain an interim protection order within one day (ibid.). She said that if the victim is not living with the abuser, the victim must file for a restraining order, which requires the use of a lawyer and "can be costly and time consuming" (ibid.).

According to the Director of the Family Court, if the applicant does not qualify for a protection order, the applicant is offered mediation services and/or may be referred to an alternative agency (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015).

The UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal indicates that the punishment for breaching a protection order or interim protection order is six months imprisonment and/or a fine of $5,000, and that the police have the authority to arrest a person without a warrant if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a protection order was breached (UN n.d.). However, according to the lawyer, the enforcement of protection orders is "an issue" (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). She explained that domestic violence victims usually do not give the local police a copy of the protection order, causing the police to be less responsive (ibid.). The Director of the Division of Gender Relations similarly said that there are "challenges" with the enforcement of protection orders and that perpetrators are not always arrested (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). She explained that this is sometimes because the victim does not report the breaches or does not want the perpetrator to be punished (ibid.).

According to the Director of the Family Court, in 2014, there were 100 protection and occupancy orders granted and 200 cases in which the applications were dismissed, discharged, withdrawn or discontinued (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015). From January to November 2015, there were 100 protection and occupancy orders granted, 184 cases in which the applications were dismissed, discharged, withdrawn or discontinued, and 40 cases pending (ibid.) Statistics on the number of protection, occupancy and/or tenancy orders that were breached could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Director of the Division of Gender Relations said that whether domestic violence cases are prosecuted depends on the severity of abuse, and that there may be an arrest in cases of sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse, but that perpetrators are generally not prosecuted in "cases of emotional, social or economic abuse" (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). She said that some of the challenges that victims face with the judiciary are "lengthy court processes" and adjournments resulting from perpetrators not being served in time for court hearings (ibid.).

The lawyer stated that more serious cases of domestic violence, such as murder and assault, are handled by the criminal court, which is a two-tier system involving a Magistrate and the High Court (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). The source further indicated that criminal cases of domestic violence and sexual violence are not given special attention and there are delays throughout the judicial system, taking 2-5 years for a case to go through the High Court (ibid.). She explained that some of the reasons for the delays are that the forensic lab is currently not functioning, there are few criminal attorneys and the court was closed for two months due to the poor condition of the building (ibid.). St. Lucia News Online similarly reports that the closure of the forensic lab, which began in May 2015 and remained closed as of November 2015, has affected the ability of the RSLPF to proceed with many cases of serious crimes (St. Lucia News Online 18 Nov. 2015).

The UN Women's Caribbean Gender-Based Violence Laws Portal notes that the courts can hear cases of domestic violence in camera (in private) and that there are restrictions on publishing reports about domestic violence cases (UN n.d.).

Sources report that domestic violence is often unreported (Freedom House 2015; St. Lucia n.d., 6; The Voice 26 Oct. 2013). According to the President of the St. Lucia Crisis Centre, as reported in the Saint Lucia media source The Voice, cases of domestic violence are underreported because of fear of retaliation and distrust in the timeliness of the justice system (ibid.). For example, Saint Lucia News Online reports on a case in which a woman who sustained a "brutal beating" by her boyfriend said that she did not want to press charges "out of fear that her boyfriend will kill her or have her killed, while the matter is before the courts" (6 Mar. 2015).

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that authorities only prosecute cases of violence against women when the victim presses charges (US 25 June 2015, 8).

4. Support Services

4.1 Shelter

Country Reports 2014 indicates that Saint Lucia has one "residential facility" for victims of domestic violence - the Women's Support Centre (WSC) (US 25 June 2015, 9). The same source indicates that WSC receives government funding (ibid.). According to the Director of the Family Court, the WSC is part of the Ministry of Health's Division of Gender Relations (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015). Sources indicate that the WSC was established in 2001 (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015; ibid. 24 Mar. 2015). According to an article on the government of Saint Lucia's website, the WSC is "a temporary place of safety for female victims of domestic violence or intimate partner abuse, and their dependent children" (ibid.). The same source notes that in August 2013, the building of the WSC was closed for renovations, but non-residential services offered by the WSC were relocated to the premises of the Division of Gender Relations (ibid.). According to the Director of the Division of Gender Relations, the Centre reopened in May 2015 (ibid. 2 Dec. 2015). She said that the WSC can accommodate up to 24 people, including both adults and children, and that the amount of space is "adequate" (ibid.). She said that the WSC provided shelter to 8 clients and 9 accompanying children in 2013, and to 8 clients and 10 accompanying children between May and September of 2015, but was closed in 2014 (ibid.). She said that there is no time limit for staying at the WSC and that the length of stay is determined on a "case-by-case basis" (ibid.).

The government website's article indicates that non-shelter services provided by the WSC include: A 24-hour hotline offering crisis intervention; individual and group counselling; a program for children; protection planning for themselves and their children; information on community resources and provisions of legal and social assistance from other agencies; support securing employment and housing; support and counselling for women after leaving the shelter (ibid. 24 Mar. 2015). The same source indicates that women seeking assistance can also use a walk-in service at the Office of the Division of Gender Relations in Castries from 8:00 to 4:30 Monday-Friday (ibid.). Sources indicate that the Division of Gender Relations also explored temporary housing options for those in need of safe housing during the time in which the shelter was closed (ibid.; ibid. 2 Dec. 2015).

Statistics in the article state that when the WSC was "fully functional," it provided services to 158 clients through its hotline and residential services (ibid. 24 Mar. 2015). From January to December 2014, the WSC assisted 165 people during their interim time at the Division of Gender Relations (ibid.).

4.2 Hotline

Sources indicate that women can call "202" to seek assistance from the WSC (The Voice 8 Mar. 2014; St. Lucia 24 Mar. 2015; ibid. 27 Nov. 2015). According to the Director of the Division of Gender Relations, the WSC responded to 96 crisis calls in 2013, 104 calls in 2014 and 296 calls between January and September of 2015 (ibid. 2 Dec. 2015).

4.3 Other Support Services

The Saint Lucia Crisis Centre (SLCC), which opened in 1988, is an NGO that works in the area of domestic violence (The Voice 26 Oct. 2013; St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Acting Managing Director of the SLCC stated that the Centre offers victims of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse individual counselling, as well as group or family counselling (SLCC 12 Nov. 2015). She also said that the SLCC makes referrals to the Department of Gender Relations, Ministry of Social Transformation, doctors, and/or police when necessary (ibid.). The lawyer similarly stated that the SLCC offers counselling to victims of domestic violence, training, and coordinates with other agencies and the police (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015). The Director of the Family Court noted that the SLCC provides "counselling and therapeutic intervention to victims and perpetrators" of domestic violence, and makes referrals to the Family Court (St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015).

Without providing details, the Director of the Family Court said that there are "a number" of other NGOs that assist women and men who are victims of domestic violence, including Pro Safe and Raise Your Voice (ibid.). Further information about these NGOs could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources indicate that the Family Court offers counselling services to victims of domestic violence (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015; St. Lucia 27 Nov. 2015). According to the Director of the Family Court, the Family Court offers individual, couple and family counselling, group sessions on conflict and anger management, a women's group, a parent's group, as well as the "Batterers Intervention Program" for perpetrators of domestic violence (ibid.).

According to the Director of the Division of Gender Relations, the Department of Human Services provides counselling support and interventions in cases involving children (St. Lucia 2 Dec. 2015). The same source indicated that the Department of Human Services and the Family Court provide "some services" outside Castries (ibid.).The lawyer, however, noted that most services for victims of domestic violence, including the Family Court, are located in Castries (lawyer 12 Nov. 2015).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Freedom House. 2015. "St. Lucia." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

Lawyer. 12 November 2015. Telephone interview.

Saint Lucia. 2 December 2015. Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations, Division of Gender Relations. Correspondence from the Director of the Gender Relations Division to the Research Directorate.

_____. 27 November 2015. Ministry of Legal Affairs, Family Court. Correspondence from the Director to the Research Directorate.

_____. 24 March 2015. Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations. "Renovation Work at Women's Support Centre Nears Completion." [Accessed 6 Nov. 2015]

_____. 2005. "Chapter 3.01." Criminal Code. [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

_____. N.d. Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF). P. Mulligan. Domestic Abuse Manual. [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

Saint Lucia Crisis Centre (SLCC). 12 November 2015. Correspondence from the Acting Managing Director to the Research Directorate.

Saint Lucia News Online. 18 November 2015. "Forensic Lab Set to Reopen Soon Under New Management." [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

_____. 6 March 2015. "No Arrest Made in Brutal Beating of Monchy Woman." [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

_____. 25 November 2013. "WIA Observes International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women." [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

St. Lucia Times. 4 November 2015. "Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia Condemns Rape and Violation of Women." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

United Nations (UN). 2015. UN Women Caribbean Gender Portal. "Saint Lucia." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

_____. 2012. UN Development Programme (UNDP). Caribbean Human Development Report 2012: Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security. [Accessed 16 Nov. 2015]

_____. N.d. UN Women Caribbean Gender Based Violence Laws Portal. "Saint Lucia." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Saint Lucia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

The Voice. 8 March 2014. "Big Day for All Women: Minister Says Violence Against Women Still a Major Challenge." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

_____. 26 October 2013. "SLCC 25th Anniversary Address: Juliana Alfred, President." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force - Commissioner of Police, Criminal Intelligence Unit, Criminal Investigations Division; Saint Lucia - Division of Gender Relations.

Internet sites, including: Cananews Online; Caribbean 360; Factiva; Organization of American States; Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; Saint Lucia - Family Court, Ministry of Legal Affairs; St. Lucia Star; UN - Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, Refworld, UNICEF Barbados.

Attachment

Saint Lucia. 1995. Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act, 1995. [Accessed 2 Dec. 2015]
Syria: Situation of the Druze, including whether they are preceived to be loyal to President Assad by the insurgent groups; treatment by the authorities and the insurgent groups (January 2015-November 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 26 November 2015 Citation / Document Symbol SYR105355.E Related Document(s) Syrie : information sur la situation des Druzes, y compris s'ils sont percus par les groupes d'insurges comme etant fideles au president Assad; information sur le traitement que leur reservent les autorites et les groupes d'insurges (janvier 2015-novembre 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Syria: Situation of the Druze, including whether they are preceived to be loyal to President Assad by the insurgent groups; treatment by the authorities and the insurgent groups (January 2015-November 2015), 26 November 2015, SYR105355.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/568e2c944.html [accessed 19 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

1. Overview

Sources indicate that the Druze make up approximately 3 percent of the Syrian population, out of a total population of about 22.5 million (The Arab Weekly 4 Sept. 2015; BBC 19 June 2015; US 30 Apr. 2015, 115-116). Other sources similarly state that there are about 700,000 Druze in Syria (The Washington Post 20 July 2015; The Daily Beast 21 June 2015).

Sources indicate that the majority of Druze live in the southern province of Suwayda [Sweida or Suweida] (The Washington Post 20 July 2015; MEI 13 July 2015; BBC 19 June 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a research fellow affiliated with the US-based think tank Middle East Forum, who provided his own views based on current research on insurgent groups and minorities in Syria, said that there is a large concentration of Druze in Jabal al-Druze (Druze Mountain) in Suwayda province, where Druze are the majority of the population (Research Fellow 5 Nov. 2015). He said that other areas with concentrations of Druze include: Jabal al-Summaq (Summaq Mountain), a region in northern Idlib province with 18 villages; Jabal al-Sheik, a region in Quneitra province on the border with Golan Heights; and Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of contemporary Islam at the University of Edinburgh, whose current research focuses on Syria, similarly stated that areas inhabited by Syrian Druze include "the province of Qunaytra along the ceasefire line with Israel and the neighbourhood of Jaramana in Damascus" (Professor 10 Nov. 2015). The Middle East Institute (MEI), a Washington, DC-based organization founded in 1946 that focuses on increasing knowledge of the Middle East (MEI n.d.), specifies that approximately 25,000 Syrian Druze live in 18 villages in Idlib province, 30,000 in Jabal al-Sheikh (aka Mount Hermon) and about 50,000 in Jaramana (MEI 13 July 2015). Corroborating information on the numerical distribution of Syrian Druze across Syria could not be found among sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Research Fellow stated that the Druze faith is "an offshoot of Shi'a [Shia or Shiite] Islam" and that "[s]ome notable distinctions from mainstream Islam include the lack of mosques, reverence for texts beyond the Qur'an and belief in transmigration of souls" (5 Nov. 2015). The BBC specifies that the Druze faith originates from Shia Islam's Ismailism in the 11th century (19 June 2015). Minority Rights Group International (MRG) notes that the Druze are ethnically Arab, speak Arabic, and that their religion is "closed to outsiders" (MRG n.d.). The same source states that their religion "incorporates many beliefs from Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and is also influenced by Greek philosophy and Hinduism" (ibid.).

A report by the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic indicates that "[a]ll of the Syrian Arab Republic's religious and ethnic communities are suffering as a result of the conflict" (UN 13 Aug. 2015, para. 109). Similarly, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) states that "[a]ll Syrians, including Sunni, Shi'a and Alawite Muslims, Christians, and the smallest communities, such as Yazidis and Druze, are living in bleak conditions and face a dire future " (US 30 Apr. 2015, 118). The same source reports that the "Syrian crisis has evolved into a largely sectarian conflict," whereby President Assad's regime mainly targets "Sunni Muslims civilians," while extremists opposition groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) [aka ISIS or IS], target the regime, its supporters, religious minorities and Muslims opposing their ideology (ibid., 115-116).

2. Perception of the Druze's Loyalty to President Assad by Insurgents

In an article published in June 2015 in The American Interest, an interdisciplinary magazine focusing on "America's conduct on the global stage" (The American Interest 1 Sept. 2005), Itamar Rabinovich, a professor emeritus of Middle Eastern history at Tel Aviv University and former Israeli ambassador to the US (Brookings Institution n.d.), states that

[u]ntil recently Syria's Druze managed to sit on the fence of the conflict, refusing to join the fight, adopting a mildly pro-regime attitude and maneuvering skillfully out of the line of fire (The American Interest June 2015).

Similarly, the Los Angeles Times reports that Druze religious leaders endorse a "middle path" that calls for "voicing support for peaceful political reform in Syria while rejecting armed rebellion" (21 June 2015). However, the same source adds that the Druze are nonetheless "generally viewed as supporters of the government of Assad," which has made them a target of attacks by opposition groups, including in areas such as Jaramana (Los Angeles Times 21 June 2015). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, who has published journal articles on the situation in Syria, stated that "Sunni fighters today view all minorities as supporters of the regime, as such, they are frequent targets of revenge and attacks of opportunity" (Director 3 Nov. 2015). The same source stated that Druze in Jaramana are targeted because that area is "majority Druze and seen to be loyal to the government" (ibid.).

The Professor stated that "mainstream" insurgent groups acknowledge differences between the Druze and the regime, while extremist groups are "more aggressive" towards Druze (Professor 10 Nov. 2015).

According to Al-Monitor, a site providing news and analysis of the Middle East (Al-Monitor n.d.), the majority of the Druze support the regime, although some joined the opposition (ibid. 17 July 2015). The same source notes that there are Druze holding positions in the regime's public administration, army and security forces (ibid.). Sources indicate that there are Druze forming "Popular Committees to defend their homes against rebel attacks" (BBC 19 June 2015), fighting in pro-Assad paramilitary groups (BBC 19 June 2015), or fighting in the regime's army (Research Fellow 5 Nov. 2015). According to the Research Fellow, a "large number" of Druze have died fighting in the Syrian army, particularly Druze from Jabal al-Druze, Jabal al-Sheikh and Jaramana, but many Druze have also "resisted conscription" (ibid.).

Sources indicate that, following gains from opposition groups, the Druze have shown an increasing resistance towards the Syrian authorities (BBC 19 June 2015; The Washington Post 20 July 2015). The Druze have reportedly been particularly opposed to members of their community being forced into regime military service (The Washington Post 20 July 2015; Professor 10 Nov. 2015).

3. Treatment of the Druze

3.1 Treatment of the Druze by President Assad's Government

Sources report on arrests made by Syrian authorities of Druze refusing to join the army (The Daily Beast 21 June 2015; The Washington Post 20 July 2015; BBC 19 June 2015). Sources report that authorities agreed to allow them to fight only within their home province (The Washington Post 20 July 2015; BBC19 June 2015), which the BBC states was an attempt to "calm the situation" (ibid.).

Sources report on allegations that Syrian authorities were responsible for the death, in September 2015, of Sheikh Wahid Balhous [Sheik Wahid Bul'us or Sheikh Abu Fahad Waheed al-Bal'ous] (Professor 10 Nov. 2015; Research Fellow 5 Nov. 2015; AP 5 Sept. 2015), a Druze religious leader in Sweida (ibid.). Sources report that Sheikh Wahid Balhous was killed by a car bomb, along with about 25 other people (Professor 10 Nov. 2015; AP 5 Sept. 2015). The Associated Press (AP) describes Sheikh Wahid Balhous as a "prominent critic of President Bashar Assad, calling on youth in the Druze stronghold of Sweida province to refuse to serve in the military" (ibid.). The Professor stated that the Sheikh was the leader of a group called "Sheikhs of Dignity," which considered that "Druzes should only bear arms to defend their regions against Sunni extremists like ISIS," rather than to support the regime's military in other areas of Syria (10 Nov. 2015). The Research Fellow describes Sheikh Wahid Balhous as the founder of a militia called "'Rijal al-Karama'" [Men of Diginity], which "has worked to protect those resisting conscription and has emphasized military service should only be voluntary" (5 Nov. 2015).

3.2 Treatment of the Druze by the Opposition Forces

Sources report that extremist groups, such as ISIL and the Jabhat al-Nusra [al-Nusra Front], consider the Druze to be "heretics" (Al Jazeera America 2 July 2015; BBC 19 June 2015), "infidels" (The Daily Signal 1 July 2015), or "unbelievers and pagans" (Director 3 Nov. 2015).

The Research Fellow stated that, in January 2015, the Druze of Jabal al-Summaq (in the Idlib region) were compelled to issue a statement renouncing the Druze faith and converting to Sunni Islam after Jabhat al-Nusra gained control of the area (5 Nov. 2015). Similarly, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps reports on the [translation] "forced conversion" of Druze living in the Idlib region to Sunni Islam, at the beginning of 2015 (23 Aug. 2015). According to sources, the Jabhat al-Nusra threatened to kill the Druze if they refused to convert to Sunni Islam (UN 13 Aug. 2015, para. 130; Research fellow 5 Nov. 2015; Al Jazeera America 2 July 2015). The Research Fellow said that the statement also called for the destruction of Druze shrines in Jabal al-Summaq (Research Fellow 5 Nov. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources report that, in June 2015, Jabhat al-Nusra fighters killed Druze villagers in the village of Qalb Lawzeh [Qalb Lawsah or Qalb Lawza], in Idlib province (Los Angeles Times 21 June 2015; Al-Monitor 17 July 2015; Al Jazeera America 2 July 2015). Sources report that during this incident, between 20 (Al-Monitor 17 July 2015) and 24 Druze were killed (Al Jazeera America 2 July 2015). Sources report that this incident occurred as Jabhat al-Nusra fighters tried to expropriate Druze homes (Director 10 Nov. 2015; MEI 13 July 2015). The UN reports that Druze residing in Qalb Lawza were also made to convert to Sunni Islam in January 2015 when Jabhat al-Nusra took control of the area (13 Aug. 2015, para. 130).

According to the Los Angeles Times, "dozens" of Druze have been killed in Jaramana by targeted opposition attacks such as car bombs and mortar strikes (21 June 2015). The Director similarly stated that Jaramana "has been frequently hit with car bombs and bombarded with mortars" in targeted attacks by the opposition (3 Nov. 2015).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Al Jazeera America. 2 July 2015. Nicholas Blanford. "For Syria's Druze, Survival Hinges on Choosing the Right Ally." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

Al-Monitor. 17 July 2015. Samir Nader. "Druze Caught up in 'Game of Nations'." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About." [Accessed 25 Nov. 2015]

The American Interest. June 2015. Itamar Rabinovitch. "The Syrian Civil War Comes to the Druze." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

____ . 1 September 2005. "Defining The American Interest." [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015]

The Arab Weekly. 4 September 2015. Samar Kadi. "Druze Minority Shielded by Integration." Issue 21. [Accessed 16 Nov. 2015]

Associated Press (AP). 5 September 2015. "Syrian Druze City Turns on Assad After Top Cleric Killed By Car Bomb." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 19 June 2015. Faisal Irshaid. "Syria's Druze Under Threat as Conflict Spreads." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

Brookings Institution. N.d. "Itamar Rabinovich." [Accessed 20 Nov. 2015]

The Daily Beast. 21 June 2015. Hassan Hassan. "Assad Is Losing His Troops." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2015]

The Daily Signal. 1 July 2015. Charlotte Florance. "Torn By War and Terror, This Syrian Minority Group Is Struggling to Survive." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma. 3 November 2015. Correpondence with the Research Directorate.

Los Angeles Times. 21 June 2015. Patrick J. McDonnell and Nabih Bulos. "Syrian Military and Druze Allies Join Forces to Fend off 'Terrorists'." [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

Middle East Institute (MEI). 13 July 2015. Ibrahim al-Assil and Randa Slim. "The Syrian Druze at a Crossroads." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

_____. N.d. "Our Mission." [Accessed 18 Nov. 2015]

Minority Rights Group International (MRG). N.d. "Syria--Druze." World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous People. [Accessed 16 Nov. 2015]

Professor, Contemporary Islam, University of Edinburgh. 10 November 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Research Fellow, Middle East Forum. 5 November 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Le Temps. 23 August 2015. "Le dilemme de la minorite druze." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

United Nations (UN). 13 August 2015. Human Rights Council. Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

United States (US). 30 April 2015. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). "Syria." Annual Report 2015. [Accessed 5 Nov. 2015]

The Washington Post. 20 July 2015. Hugh Naylor. "In New Sign of Assad's Troubles, Syria's Druze Turn Away from President." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Amnesty International; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Human Rights Watch; senior fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Internet sites, including: Al-Araby al-Jadeed; Amnesty International; The Daily Star; ecoi.net; Factiva; Freedom House; Heinrich Boll Stiftung; Human Rights Watch; Institute of War and Peace Reporting; IRIN; Global Research; International Crisis Group; The Jerusalem Post; The National [Abu Dhabi]; Syria Direct; Syrian Human Rights Committee; The Times of Israel; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State; The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Cote d'Ivoire and Mali: Whether a citizen of Mali who was born in Cote d'Ivoire of a Malian diplomat father, who was posted to that country during the time of their birth, may obtain Ivorian nationality; the requirements and procedure to acquire that nationality

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 12 December 2014 Citation / Document Symbol ZZZ105014.FE Related Document(s) Cote d'Ivoire et Mali : information indiquant si une citoyenne malienne nee en Cote d'Ivoire d'un pere diplomate malien en poste dans ce pays au moment de sa naissance peut obtenir la nationalite ivoirienne; information sur les exigences et la marche a suivre pour acquerir cette nationalite Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali: Whether a citizen of Mali who was born in Cote d'Ivoire of a Malian diplomat father, who was posted to that country during the time of their birth, may obtain Ivorian nationality; the requirements and procedure to acquire that nationality, 12 December 2014, ZZZ105014.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/568e2e154.html [accessed 19 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

1. Dual Nationality

1.1 Mali

In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, a representative of the Embassy of Mali in Canada stated that [translation] "Mali recognizes dual nationality" (Mali 2 Dec. 2014).

The new Article 38 of the Code of Malian Nationality (Code de la nationalite malienne), amended by Act No. 95-70 of 25 August 1995 amending the Code of Malian Nationality (Loi no 95-70 du 25 aout 1995 portant modification du Code de la nationalite malienne) (ibid. 1995, single article), states the following:

[translation]

Adults of Malian nationality who are permanently residing abroad and voluntarily acquire foreign nationality will not lose their Malian nationality unless they expressly declare so in accordance with the provisions of Article 45, and following articles of the present Code (ibid., Art. 38).

1.2 Cote d'Ivoire

In compliance with Act No. 61-415 of 14 December 1961, promulgating the Ivorian Nationality Code (Loi n 61-415 du 14 December 1961 portant Code de nationalite ivoirienne), [translation] "an Ivorian national of full age who voluntarily acquires or states that they possess a foreign nationality shall lose Ivorian nationality" (Cote d'Ivoire 1961, Art. 48). Moreover, Article 49, introduced by Act No. 72-852 of 21 December 1972, amending the Ivorian Nationality Code (Loi no 72-852 du 21 December 1972, portant modification du Code de la nationalite ivoirienne), states that [translation] "an Ivorian national, even if a minor, who possesses a second nationality under the rights of a foreign law, may be authorized by decree to relinquish Ivorian nationality" (ibid., Art. 49).

The website of the Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in France provides the following information concerning dual nationality:

[translation]

Dual nationality obtained by right:

An individual who has automatically obtained foreign nationality notably by one of their parents or adopters, is a dual national by birth and is considered by the Ivorian authorities to have dual nationality.

Voluntarily obtaining a foreign nationality:

[]

It is entirely possible to maintain one's Ivorian nationality after voluntarily acquiring a foreign nationality (ibid. n.d.a).

2. Ivorian Nationality

Information on the acquisition of Ivorian nationality by foreign diplomats and their family could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Attribution of Ivorian Nationality as Nationality of Origin

According to Article 6 of the Ivorian Nationality Code, as amended by Act No. 72-852 of 21 December 1972, amending the Ivorian Nationality Code,

[translation]

[t]he following shall be Cote d'Ivoire nationals:

Legitimate or legitimated child born in Cote d'Ivoire, unless both of the parents are foreigners;

A child born out of wedlock in Cote d'Ivoire, unless their lineage is legally proved to be foreign through both parents or through one parent. (ibid. 1961)

2.2 Acquisition of Ivorian Citizenship

According to the website of the National Identification Office (Office national d'identification, ONI), the organization responsible for civil status and immigration services in Cote d'Ivoire (ibid. n.d.c), Ivorian nationality can be acquired by two types of naturalization-naturalization by right and naturalization by decision of the public authority (ibid. n.d.b).

According to the same source, the following individuals may be naturalized by right:

[translation]

A child adopted by a national

A man or woman who marries an Ivorian, when the option is chosen at the time of marriage (since August 2005)

A minor child whose parent exercises paternal authority acquires Ivorian nationality (the child must reside with that parent at the time of their naturalization). (ibid.)

The website of ONI describes the conditions of naturalization by decision of the public authority as follows:

[translation]

[The individual must]

Be at least 18 years old

Have resided in Cote d'Ivoire for at least five years at the time of the application; this time frame is reduced to two years for foreigners born in Cote d'Ivoire and for foreigners who have rendered key services in Cote d'Ivoire

Be of good character

Be in good physical and mental health

Be in a situation which adheres to the rules governing residence for foreigners in Cote d'Ivoire (possess their residence card)

Not be under a deportation order or house arrest. (ibid.)

The ONI website also provides the following information concerning the documents required and the procedure to obtain naturalization by decision of the public authority:

[translation]

Documents

A complete set of naturalization forms (to be purchased at the state printer for 50,000 CFA francs [approximately C$108])

Two revenue stamps (to be purchased at the Treasury for 20,000 CFA francs [about C$43])

An extract of the applicant's birth certificate or judgment in lieu of a birth certificate

The applicant's marriage certificate (if the applicant is married to an Ivorian)

An extract of birth certificate or judgment in lieu of birth certificate of their child(ren)

A certificate of employment or engagement decision for public servants

A business registration and an attestation of tax regularity

Two identity photos from the same photo shoot

A certificate of education (for students)

A certificate of residence (issued by the police)

A certificate of nationality of the (Ivorian) spouse

A photocopy of the applicant's residence card

An attestation of nationality of origin (photocopy of national identity card or residence card).

Procedure

The file must be submitted to the sub-district or the district of the place of residence[.] The authority issues a receipt to the applicant, orders a medical examination, carries out a character assessment, proceeds with preparing the file and sends it to the Minister of the Interior, who, after examining the file, provides an opinion and sends it to the Minister of Health. After the Minister of Health analyzes the results of the medical examination, the Minister provides an opinion and sends the file to the Minister of Justice, who, after reviewing the file, either rejects or allows the application. In the latter case, the Minister proposes naturalization of the applicant to the President of the Republic, who, by decree, proceeds with the naturalization of the applicant (ibid.).

Information on the documents required and the procedure to obtain naturalization by right could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources state that, since 2013, Ivorian nationality may also be obtained [translation] "by Declaration," pursuant to a new nationality law (Fraternite Matin 24 Apr. 2014; AFP 24 Aug. 2013). According to the text in Act No. 2013-653 of 13 September 2013 containing specific provisions regarding the acquisition of nationality by Declaration (Loi n 2013-653 du 13 septembre 2013 portant dispositions particulieres en matiere d'acquisition de la nationalite par Declaration), available on the website of the Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI), which defines itself as a [CRAI English version] "campaign dedicated to ending statelessness and the arbitrary denial of citizenship in Africa" (CRAI n.d.),

[translation]

[t]he purpose of this legislation is to institute a special arrangement regarding the acquisition of nationality for individuals who fall into the categories identified in Article 2.  Individuals who do not fall within the categories set out in this legislation are subject to the standard procedures regarding the acquisition of Ivorian nationality (Cote d'Ivoire 2013, Art. 1).

According to Article 2,

[translation]

[I]ndividuals who fall into one of the following categories may benefit from the provisions of this legislation:

those persons born in Cote d'Ivoire of foreign parents and who were less than 21 years old on 20 December 1961;

those persons whose habitual residence was continuously in Cote d'Ivoire prior to 7 August 1960 and whose children were born in Cote d'Ivoire;

those persons born in Cote d'Ivoire between 20 December 1961 and 25 January 1973 of foreign parents, and their children. (ibid. Art. 2)

Information on the documents required and the procedure to obtain naturalization by declaration could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 24 August 2013. "Cote d'Ivoire: les lois sur la nationalite et la propriete fonciere votees." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI). N.d. "Qui sommes-nous?" [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

Cote d'Ivoire. 2013. Loi n 2013-653 du 13 septembre 2013 portant dispositions particulieres en matiere d'acquisition de la nationalite par Declaration. [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014]

_____. 1961 (amended in 2005). Loi n 61-415 du 14 December 1961 portant Code de nationalite ivoirienne. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2012]

_____. N.d.a. Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in France. "Double nationalite." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. Office national d'identification (ONI). "Mode d'acquisition de la nationalite ivoirienne." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

_____. N.d.c. Office national d'identification (ONI). "A propos de l'ONI." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

Fraternite Matin. 24 April 2014. Cheickna D. Salif. "Nationalite: L'operation d'acquisition lancee par le ministre Gnenema Coulibaly." [Accessed 4 Dec. 2014]

Mali. 2 December 2014. Embassy of Mali in Canada. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

_____. 1995. Loi no 95-70 du 25 August 1995 portant modification du Code de la nationalite malienne. [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following organization was unable to provide information within the time constraints: Cote d'Ivoire - Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in Canada.

Internet sites, including: Cote d'Ivoire - Embassy of Cote d'Ivoire in Canada, Official government portal; Mali - Embassy of Mali in Canada, Primature - Official government portal; United Nations - United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire, Refworld; Open Society Institute.
Cote d'Ivoire: The Ivoirian Popular Front (Front populaire ivoirien, FPI), including the treatment of its members (July 2014July 2015)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 24 July 2015 Citation / Document Symbol CIV105236.FE Related Document(s) Cote d'Ivoire : information sur le Front populaire ivoirien (FPI), y compris sur le traitement reserve a ses membres (juillet 2014-juillet 2015) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Cote d'Ivoire: The Ivoirian Popular Front (Front populaire ivoirien, FPI), including the treatment of its members (July 2014July 2015), 24 July 2015, CIV105236.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/568e340d4.html [accessed 19 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

1. Situation of the FPI

Sources indicate that the FPI is grappling with internal divisions (UN 7 May 2015, para. 7; Jeune Afrique 30 Mar. 2015; Freedom House 2015). Freedom House reports that divisions within the party of the country's former president, Laurent Gbagbo, have existed since his arrest [in 2011] (ibid.).

According to some sources, there are two camps in the party: the one of Laurent Gbagbo's supporters, led by Aboudramane [also written Abou Drahamane] Sangare; and the other camp that supports Pascal Affi N'Guessan (UN 7 May 2015, para. 7-8; Jeune Afrique 30 Mar. 2015). Jeune Afrique explains that, on 5 March 2015, Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who had been party president since 2001, was removed by the Sangare camp and replaced, on an interim basis, by Aboudramane Sangare, one of the party's founders, pending the release of Laurent Gbagbo (ibid.). Pascal Affi N'Guessan took legal action to [translation] "have the decision overturned" (ibid.). A report of the UN Secretary General to the UN Security Council indicates that [UN English version] "[o]n 3 April 2015, the court declared [Pascal] Affi N'Guessan the sole representative and leader of [the] FPI" (UN 7 May 2015, para. 8). According to Jeune Afrique, Affi N'Guessan's camp is considered [translation] "moderate," while that of Aboudramane Sangare is characterized as "extremist" (Jeune Afrique 30 Mar. 2015). According to some sources, the latter are calling for the release of Laurent Gbagbo, who is being held by the International Criminal Court, before they agree to participate in the political life of the country (ibid.; AFP 1 May 2015). Sources indicate that, on 30 April 2015, members held an unauthorized assembly in the village of Mama, at which Laurent Gbagbo was elected president of the FPI (ibid.; UN 7 May 2015, para. 8). At a party assembly held in May 2015, the FPI named Pascal Affi N'Guessan as the party's candidate in the presidential election in October 2015 (le Monde and AFP 22 May 2015; Jeune Afrique 22 May 2015; RFI 23 May 2015). According to Radio France internationale (RFI), the other camp still maintains that Laurent Gbagbo is party president and they are contesting the results of the May 2015 assembly (ibid.).

2. Treatment of FPI Members

For more information on the treatment of members of the FPI, particularly from December 2013 to July 2014, see Response to Information Request CIV104929.

2.1 Attempts at Reconciliation

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 indicates that in May 2014, the government unfroze 43 bank accounts held by associates of Laurent Gbagbo (US 25 June 2015, 9). Freedom House also reports the unfreezing of assets of some associates of the former president in the first part of 2014 (Freedom House 2015). According to the same source, talks between the government and the FPI then stalled (ibid.). According to the report of the UN Secretary General, talks resumed on 29 December 2014, and in January 2015, the bank accounts of 31 associates of Laurent Gbagbo were unfrozen, including that of Pascal Affi N'Guessan (UN 7 May 2015, para. 3). The report also indicates that talks between the government and opposition parties resumed in January 2015, which led, in May 2015, to the disbursement, [UN English version] "on an exceptional basis," of one billion CFA francs [approximately C$2 million] in public funding of political parties in preparation for the elections, including 40 percent to the FPI (ibid., para. 4).

Freedom House reports that President Ouattara has "honored his commitment not to prosecute individuals returning from self-imposed exile" (Freedom House 2015).Similarly, Country Reports 2014 notes that in October 2014, four Gbagbo supporters returned to the country without incident after three years of self-exile (US 25 June 2015, 12). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.2 Detentions and Prosecutions

According to Country Reports 2014, approximately 50 prisoners close to former president Gbagbo were released in June 2014 (ibid., 8). Without specifying numbers, Freedom House also reports that some members of the FPI who had been detained were released in mid2014 (Freedom House 2015). According to the report of the UN Secretary General, in December 2014 and January 2015, [UN English version] "as a conciliatory gesture, a total of 63 detainees were released on bail" (UN 7 May 2015, para. 3). According to Country Reports 2014, some local human rights groups and political parties alleged that members of the FPI, who were detained on charges such as economic crimes, armed robbery, looting and embezzlement, "were political prisoners, especially when charged for actions committed during the 201011 postelection crisis" (US 25 June 2015, 8). IRIN reports that

[IRIN English version]

[w]hile both camps [the supporters of the FPI and the supporters of Alassane Ouattara] have been accused of abuses, prosecutions have focused on Gbagbo's supporters. Since December [2014], 83 of them have been on trial for alleged crimes committed after the 2010 election. (IRIN 13 Mar. 2015)

According to the report of the UN Secretary General, [UN English version] "[c]ontinued perceptions of "victor's justice" were fuelled by the prosecution of former President Gbagbo's supporters for committing crimes against the State" (UN 7 May 2015, para. 16).

For more information on the conflict that broke out in Cote d'Ivoire between supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and supporters of Alassane Ouattara after the October 2010 presidential election, see Response to Information Request CIV104688.

According to Country Reports 2014, the FPI estimates that between 750 and 800 Gbagbo supporters remain in detention (US 25 June 2015, 8). In contrast, the report of the UN Secretary General indicates, that in January 2015, [UN English version] "[o]ut of the 659 persons detained in connection with the crisis, 321 remain[ed] in detention" (UN 7 May 2015, para. 3). Similarly, Freedom House reports that the authorities continue to delay bringing to trial more than 300 supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, many of whom are detained since 2012 (Freedom House 2015).

Sources indicate that in March 2015, Simone Gbagbo, the wife of Laurent Gbagbo, was found guilty of undermining state security and of related charges for crimes committed during the 2010-2011 postelection period (IRIN 13 Mar. 2015; UN 7 May 2015, para. 16-17). According to the UN Secretary General, 59 of the coaccused were also convicted (ibid., para. 17). Sources indicate that Simone Gbagbo was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment (IRIN 13 Mar. 2015; UN 7 May 2015, para. 17) and to withdrawal of her civic rights for 10 years (ibid.). Sources indicate that Aboudramane Sangare was also sentenced to five years (Jeune Afrique 30 Mar. 2015) or to 10 years in prison (IRIN 13 Mar. 2015). According to the report of the UN Secretary General,

[UN English version]

[o]verall, 32 prominent FPI figures are facing imprisonment and deprivation of their civic rights, and are therefore prevented from participating in political activities, including Michel Gbagbo [son of Laurent and Simone Gbagbo] and Mr. Sangare. Mr. Affi N'Guessan received a suspended sentence of 18 months. The defence lawyers and prosecution have filed appeals. The Court also awarded the State some $1.9 billion in damages from the convicted persons. Nineteen of the accused were acquitted. (UN 7 May 2015, para. 17)

Jeune Afrique notes the disparity between the verdicts announced against Simone Gbagbo and Aboudramane Sangare and the sentence imposed on Pascal Affi N'Guessan (Jeune Afrique 30 Mar. 2015). According to Jeune Afrique, Pascal Affi N'Guessan was [translation] "publicly confirmed by the government, which sees him as its 'only discussion partner'" (ibid.). Similarly, Alerte info, an Ivorian online news site, reports that a government spokesperson stated that the Cote d'Ivoire government recognized Pascal Affi N'Guessan as its sole [translation] "'discussion partner'" (Alerte info 11 Mar. 2015).

2.3 Other Treatment of FPI Members

According to Country Reports 2014, in June 2014, the authorities denied requests from the youth wing of the FPI for authorization to organize prayer vigils for the release of former president Laurent Gbagbo by the International Criminal Court (US 25 June 2015, 11). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Alerte info, in April 2015, approximately 30 members of the Sangare camp who had gathered near the head office of a newspaper with ties to the FPI, in Abidjan, were dispersed by the police (Alerte info 3 Apr. 2015). Stating that they had been ordered not to authorize the rallies around the building, the police used tear gas and arrested 10 people (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources indicate that in May 2015, members of the Sangare camp were arrested and placed in detention (UN 7 May 2015, para. 8; AIP 7 May 2015). According to the Agence ivoirienne de presse (AIP), a government spokesperson stated that these arrests were part of the government's [translation] "duty" to maintain public order, given that the detainees, including two former ministers, had organized a rally of the Sangare camp in Mama on 30 April 2015, "despite an order prohibiting it" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 1 May 2015. "Cote d'Ivoire : A Mama, les partisans de Laurent Gbagbo le declarent president du FPI." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

Agence ivoirienne de presse (AIP). 7 May 2015. "Arrestation de personnalites du FPI : la responsabilite du gouvernement est de preserver l'ordre public (Porte-parole)." [Accessed 7 July 2015]

Alerte info. 3 April 2015. Anselme Blagnon. "Abidjan : La police ivoirienne disperse un sit-in d'un camp du parti de Gbagbo." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

_____. 11 March 2015. Patrice Allegbe. "Crise au sein du parti de Gbagbo : Le gouvernement reconnait l'actuel president comme 'interlocuteur' (porte-parole)." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

Freedom House. 2015. "Cote d'Ivoire." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 7 July 2015]

IRIN. 13 March 2015. "Craintes d'une justice selective en Cote d'Ivoire." [Accessed 8 July 2015]

Jeune Afrique. 22 May 2015. Vincent Duhem. "Cote d'Ivoire : Pascal Affi N'Guessan designe candidat du FPI a la presidentielle." [Accessed 22 July 2015]

_____. 30 March 2015. Baudelaire Mieu and Haby Niakate. "Cote d'Ivoire : FPI, la chute de la maison Gbagbo." [Accessed 7 July 2015]

Le Monde and l'Agence France-Presse (AFP). 22 May 2015. "Cote d'Ivoire : le chef du parti de Gbagbo, candidat a la presidentielle par 'devoir'." [Accessed 22 July 2015]

Radio France internationale (RFI). 23 May 2015. "Cote d'Ivoire : Affi N'Guessan candidat FPI conteste a la presidentielle." [Accessed 22 July 2015]

United Nations (UN). 7 May 2015. Security Council. Trente-sixieme rapport du Secretaire general sur l'Operation des Nations Unies en Cote d'Ivoire. (S/2015/320) [Accessed 7 July 2015]

United States (US). 25 June 2015. Department of State. "Cote d'Ivoire." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014. [Accessed 7 July 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following persons and organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints for this Response: Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'homme; Mouvement ivoirien des droits humains; professor, Universite Michel de Montaigne.

Internet sites, including: Abidjan.net; Amnesty International; La Depeche d'Abidjan; ecoi.net; Economic Community of West African States; Factiva; Federation internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; Germany - Federal Office for Migration and Asylum; HCH24; Human Rights Watch; Notre Voie; United Nations - Refworld.
Risky Business: Earth, wind, water, fire and smoke

How to prevent a fire in your business

A man arrived for work early in the morning and saw water running out of the building, through the parking lot and into the dirt beyond the lot.
Top area high school football players to watch this postseason

Indiana's high school football postseason has arrived. Here's a look at what players to look for from Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia, DC and IC.
A new state law requiring drivers of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to purchase a minimum of $1 million in liability insurance will have no impact on the city of Abilene's discussions with Uber, City Manager Robert Hanna said.

Currently, Uber operates in Abilene under a tenuous agreement with the city.

Hanna said any ordinance staff brings to the Abilene City Council regarding vehicle-for-hire companies will reflect the law's insurance requirement.

The proposed ordinance under City Council review requires far less insurance coverage than the new law. The law requires $1 million in liability coverage for "death, bodily injury and property damage for each incident" for any driver who gives a ride requested through a digital network, including a smartphone application, according to the bill.

The ordinance the City Council considered but did not adopt last month requires at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence in liability insurance for bodily injury, and $100,000 in coverage for each instance of property damage.

For instances of both bodily injury and property damage, the ordinance mandates at least $300,000 in coverage, according to the draft ordinance.

Additionally the ordinance states that license holders must comply with any newly adopted state insurance standards.

Uber and the city are at odds over how to review the criminal histories of their drivers, with the city seeking more oversight in the driver's permit approval process. Uber has said it will not operate in Abilene if the city subjects its drivers to the same background checks as it does taxicab companies.

With taxi drivers, Police Chief Stan Standridge has the final authority over who receives a driver's permit after ensuring that the drivers have no indictments or pending investigations related to their jobs.

Twitter: BrookeCrum_ARN
THURSDAY

Coloring Club

The Coloring Club, a new coloring program for adults, will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. All required materials will be provided, but participants are invited to bring other coloring books and supplies. Admission is free.

Square dance workshop

TYE  The Key City Squares will sponsor a square dancing workshop at 6:30 p.m. at the Wagon Wheel.

Other ...

Blood drive, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Clyde High School.

Veterans Association Club, 10 a.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center (in Rose Park, South Seventh and Barrow streets).

Chronic Pain and Depression Group, 11 a.m. to noon, Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St., 325-673-2300.

Abilene Founder Lions Club, 11:30 a.m., Al's Mesquite Grill, 4801 Buffalo Gap Road.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St. 325-695-0092.

Retired Military Wives Club business meeting, 1 p.m., Rose Park Senior Activity Center, 2625 South Seventh St. 325-677-9656 or 325-793-1490.

Mental Illness Open Support Group, 1-2 p.m., Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300.

Abilene 42 Club, 6 p.m., Rose Park Senior Center.

Teen Recovery Group, 6-7 p.m., Mission Abilene, 3001 N. Third St.

Free certified nurturing parent class (all ages), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398.

Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 6:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St.

Gambler's Anonymous, 6:30 p.m., Unity Spiritual Living Center, 2842 Barrow St. 325-338-2575.

Round Dancing, 7 p.m., Wagon Wheel. 325-829-1517.

Old Town Abilene Neighborhood Association, 7 p.m., Shining Star Baptist Church, 302 Palm St. 325-676-4068.

Big Country Audubon Society, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center.

Key City Coin Club, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center, Room B. 325-675-0266.

American Legion Post and Auxiliary 661 meeting, 7 p.m., Lueders Legion Hall, Highway 6, Lueders.

South Pioneer Al-Anon Group, 8 p.m., 3157 Russell Ave.

Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St.

FRIDAY

Healthcare marketplace enrollment

Certified navigators will provide free assistance with enrollment into the healthcare marketplace from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Holmes Plaza, 402 Butternut St. Open enrollment ends Jan. 31.

'Auntie Mame'

As part of the Paramount Film Series, a showing of "Auntie Mame" will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children. For information, visit www.paramount-abilene.org.

Other ...

Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Texas Oncology, 1957 Antilley Road.

Overeaters Anonymous, noon, Hinds Square Building, 100 Chestnut St., Room 112.

Abilene Chinese Corner, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Abilene Christian University library. lld09a@acu.edu.

Disabled American Veterans and Auxiliary, 6 p.m., 2555 Grape St. 325-793-9699 or 325-480-6175.

Mid-City Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First Christian Church. 325-670-4304.

SATURDAY

Texas Gun & Knife Show

The Texas Gun & Knife Show will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. Sixth St. Admission is $5.

Nutrition workshop

Garland Niblett will present a workshop on nutrition and healthy eating from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Redbud Family Center, 3125 S. 32nd St. For reservations, call 325-695-3400.

Chautauqua

BUFFALO GAP  The Chautauqua Learning Series will continue with a presentation by Sam Gaylon, "Uniforms and Textiles in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi," from 11 a.m. to noon at Buffalo Gap Historic Village, 133 N. William St. in Buffalo Gap. Admission is free.

'Auntie Mame'

As part of the Paramount Film Series, a showing of "Auntie Mame" will begin at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children. For information, visit www.paramount-abilene.org.

Other ...

Overeaters Anonymous, 10 a.m., Shades of Hope, 402A Mulberry St., Buffalo Gap. 800-588-4673.

Abilene Society of Model Railroaders, 10 a.m. to noon, 2043 N. Second St.

Celiac Support Group, 10 a.m. to noon, Abilene Regional Medical Center, Classroom 2. 325-721-5645 or 325-660-6834.

Abilene Creative Arts Club, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Buffalo Gap Historic Village, Rode Gallery. 325-514-0665.

Aglow International, 6 p.m., The Crossover, S. First and Poplar streets. 325-829-8826.

SUNDAY

Texas Gun & Knife Show

The Texas Gun & Knife Show will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Abilene Civic Center, 1100 N. Sixth St. Admission is $5.

Chamber music

Key City Winds will present a chamber music concert at 5 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St. For information, call 325-677-2091 or go to www.heavenlyrestabilene.org.
Your home has been brimming with the warmth and cheeriness of the holiday season. But once the tree and decorations are gone, how do you make that cozy feeling last through the winter months ahead?

We asked home decorating experts for some easy, practical and budget-friendly tips to extend that welcoming ambience, especially when it's fiercely frigid outside.

The elements that make a room feel cozy and inviting are often those things that bring back fond memories, said Marie Vetter, co-owner with Jessie Thebeau of Red Door Designs, which opened in August in Cavalier, North Dakota.

'Anything that makes you feel nostalgic makes you feel comfortable,' Vetter said, noting repurposed furniture, updated antiques and items made from reclaimed wood can bring warmth and coziness to your home.

Blending the old and new creates a homey feeling, Thebeau said, noting that a pure white couch may be pretty to look at but not necessarily be inviting.

'If the room doesn't look welcoming, it'll never be cozy,' she said.

Scented candles boost the coziness quotient considerably because scent 'makes you feel sentimental,' Vetter said. 'It can definitely change your mood.'

While some people choose to embellish each room with a different scent, Vetter favors using one throughout the home.

In the wintertime, she prefers nature-inspired scents, such as 'Very Snowy Spruce' by Scentsy, she said.

A SENSE OF WARMTH

Lisa Johnson, who co-owns Living Sage home boutique with her son Dalton Lilley said, 'People want things with a warm feeling in winter.'

Living Sage, in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota, is teeming with accessories and decorative items that evoke a sense of warmth, including sweater pillows and repurposed furnishings.

Many items in the store are handmade by local artists, a fact that her customers appreciate, she said. 'Whenever we can get things made locally, we try to do that.'

It aligns with the reason she and her son opened the store in July 2014.

'We wanted artists to be able to display their items  whether it's jewelry, lotion or barn doors,' she said. 'There are a lot of talented people in the area.'

When choosing things to add a cozy feeling to your home, 'I tell people not to be afraid to mix textures  like metals, woods and prints,' Johnson said. 'The trend is to use pieces with different wood stains  it's not so matchy-matchy anymore.'

She also encourages customers not to be afraid of color and, in winter, to choose accessories in 'deep muted tones  such as burgundy, brown, olive green and grays.'

'It's easy to put colors together (by incorporating) the perfect accessory,' she said.

TIPS

Here are a few tips to make your home a warm, inviting haven this winter:

n Add a few pillows. Choices include quilted fabrics, faux fur, cashmere, velvet and sweater knits. You even could sew up a pillow from a pretty pastel chenille or bright fake fur for the little girl in your life. In your living or family room, you can't go wrong with the decorative textural knit, a cheery bright and a handsome dark.

n Toss a throw. Plaid woven blankets are very popular this season. What says 'come and snuggle' more than a classic red or green plaid blanket or a striped Hudson Bay blanket? For a rustic cabin look, opt for a lot of plaid and tartans in your space. Your family and guests will feel warm and toasty all evening.

n Light a scented candle. Coping with winter can be hard, so soften the lighting in your home by turning artificial lights down (or off) and light a candle. Scents play a big role in creating a cozy atmosphere in your home. In scented candles, look for woodsy aromas such as fir, cypress and hearth. To gain the same relaxing effects, you also can opt for diffusers and room sprays.

n Cover cold floors. There's nothing worse than rolling out of bed on a wintry day and heading to the kitchen to make coffee only to feel your feet freeze on the tiles beneath you. For rooms with tile or stone flooring, toss down a shag or sheepskin rug, carpet runners and bold area rugs to keep your home warm underfoot.

n Toast your towels. Treat yourself to the ultimate in winter luxuries. A towel-warmer keeps your bath towels toasty so you don't feel a chill after hopping out of the shower.

n Make a warm bed. Add a quilt to the bottom of the beds in your home, ready to just pull up if the night gets chilly. A quilt is really one of the winter bedroom essentials. Flannel sheets and heated mattress pads and blankets also will turn your bed into a cozy nighttime cocoon.
Can you bear to be apart from your stuffed animal? If so, check it out
A 33-year-old man is being sought by Abilene police in connection with an apparent vehicular assault that led to the SWAT team being called out Wednesday morning.

At about 9:30 a.m., a woman called police to report that her vehicle had been intentionally rammed by another car while she was driving on North 17th Street. The woman said the other car was being driven by her boyfriend, Elvin Hicks.

The suspect reportedly fled the scene of the crash. Police then received conflicting information about Hicks being in possession of a firearm and learned that two teenage children might have been with Hicks.

Officers located the suspect's vehicle behind a home next door to Hicks' residence in the 1000 block of South Willis Street. After officers' attempts to make contact at the residence failed, the SWAT team was called to the scene, along with crisis negotiators.

After several hours, officers determined that Hicks was not at the residence. APD subsequently learned the children were at a relative's house and were unharmed.

A warrant charging Hicks with aggravated assault/family violence has been issued. Bond on the second-degree felony has been set at $100,000.
The Abilene Police Department has been reaccredited by the Texas Police Chiefs Association.

Accreditation, good for four years, is awarded through the group's Best Practices Recognition Program. Accreditation first was given in 2012.

The process reduce risks and liabilities to the department and the city, according to a news release. It evaluates 166 areas of the Police Department's practices and daily activities.

"I am thankful for this outside evaluation," Chief Stan Standridge said. "I am confident that the Abilene Police Department is one of the strongest in the state, because it shares mutual respect and trust with its citizens. To have outside assessors agree, and to be among the 4 percent of Texas agencies to be accredited by the Texas Police Chiefs Association, makes me proud to wear the Abilene badge and serve alongside some of the finest officers and civilian staff in the state."
Abilene's sales tax rebate for January is $3.02 million, 5.4 percent below last year and 6.3 percent below the projected fiscal year 2016 amount.

The figure represents November sales. The breakdown of the rebate is $2.26 million to the city's general fund and $755,092 for economic development. A portion of the rebate, $90,339, is from prior periods, audit payments, future payments and unidentified payments.

For the period of October through January, sales tax is 5.8 percent below last year and 6.8 percent below the projected fiscal year 2016 budget amount.

At the state level, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Wednesday he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $617.2 million in local sales tax allocations for January, 0.1 percent less than in January 2015.

Hegar also said sales tax revenue for the state in December was $2.33 billion, down 1.1 percent compared with December 2014.

"As with the previous two months, December sales tax revenue was down largely due to spending reductions in oil and gas-related sectors," Hegar said in a statement. "This was expected, given ongoing weakness in oil and natural gas prices."

Remittances from other sectors  such as construction and information  continued to grow, he said.
Thursday is expected to be breezy and have a high near 62 with a nightly low around 42.

This week might have highs starting in the 60s, then lowering into the 40s until Wednesday. The nightly lows could stay between the 20s to 40s. There could be a 30 percent chance for snow and/or showers Sunday night and Monday.

Your seven day forecast:

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. Southwest wind around 10 mph.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 63. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 10 to 20 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. West southwest wind around 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. North northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast after midnight.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. East wind 10 to 15 mph.

Monday: A chance of rain and snow before noon, then a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 50.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.
China's amended population control policy, which limits couples to two children instead of one, is unlikely to result in an end to official abuses of power or an improvement in women's reproductive rights, analysts said as the new law took effect at the start of 2016.



The change in the law comes amid official concerns over a falling birth rate and a rapidly aging population.



Previously, most parents were restricted to having one child, although the political and financial elite were able to afford the financial penalties and often have larger families.



However, critics say the new rules are just as unreasonable as the old ones.



"This is an unreasonable control measure," women's rights activist Zhao Sile told RFA. "It doesn't matter whether it's a one-child policy or a two-child policy; it is still state control over women's reproductive rights."



"They are treating women's wombs like factories for the state production of children, because the state requires them," she said.



"Women's uteruses are being regarded as the property of the state, or something that can be controlled by the state ... and if you get pregnant [beyond the permitted limits], they will still force you to have an abortion."



No real change



According to Zhao, such coercive measures interfere with a woman's right to control her own fertility.



"That's why I don't really see any change in state family planning policy," she said.



Chinese activist and family planning lawyer Chen Guangcheng, currently in the United States, agreed.



"Basically they are still telling us that they get to control our most basic rights," said Chen, who was jailed and tortured and escaped from house arrest in spite of his blindness when family planning officials retaliated against his advocacy on behalf of women forced to have abortions and sterilizations by the state.



"There has been no basic change in the status of people's reproductive rights," he said. "I don't think this will be resolved until China starts to implement democratic reforms."



"People's basic human rights won't be respected until this happens, and until then, all they're doing is treating the symptoms," Chen said.



Already struggling



It remains to be seen just how many couples will find themselves in a position to have a second child, as parents are already struggling with the huge financial burden of buying a home and paying the expenses of a single child.



Many eligible couples in their child-bearing years didn't take up the option of a second child under a partial relaxation of the old rules in 2013.



"I'm already exhausted after more than 20 years of hard study, including seven at university, and getting a job in Beijing to slave every day for somebody else," a young woman also surnamed Zhao told RFA.



"I can't even afford a roof over my head, let alone a second child," Zhao said. "I can't even afford my first child."



"This policy is totally useless, and ordinary people will derive no benefit from it," she said.



Beijing is hoping that the new policy will bring an extra 30 million people into the work force by 2050 and create a fall of two percentage points in the proportion of elderly people in the general population.



Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




A Vietnamese activist group for disabled veterans has been lobbing American legislators to restart a program that would allow former South Vietnamese soldiers to resettle in the U.S. to escape poverty and discrimination they face at home for their participation in a war than ended four decades ago.



Truc Ho and Hanh Nhon, co-founders of the Association for Disabled Veterans and Widows Relief, have met with American legislators for more than a year to convince them to take action so that 500 disabled military officers from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) would be eligible to immigrate to the U.S. under existing law.



When the Vietnam War (1955-1975) ended with the fall of Saigon, present-day Ho Chi Minh City, to the communist North Vietnamese Army, thousands of former ARVN officers were sent to reeducation camps because they had collaborated with the Americans. Some disabled veterans, however, were not sent to the centers.



A few years later, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese war refugees started immigrating to the U.S. and other countries under the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) created in 1979 under the auspices of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). More than 458,000 Vietnamese citizens were resettled in the U.S. under the ODP between 1980 and 1997.



The programs Humanitarian Operation (HO) category allowed certain former Vietnamese soldiers who were forced into reeducations camps by the communist government that came in to power after the war to resettle in the U.S.



But former military servicemen and women with disabilities who were not interned in the reeducation camps were not considered eligible for U.S. relocation under the HO category.



Ho and Nhons organization created a list of 500 disabled military officers still living in Vietnam who supported the Americans during the war and would be eligible to move to the U.S. under the program if it were extended.



The two have met with Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who played an instrumental part in implementing the HO, Janet Nguyen, a Republican who serves in the California State Senate, and U.S. Congressmen Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) to get their support for the proposal.



Ho said he had met twice with McCain, an American POW during the Vietnam War, and would try to meet with him again during the upcoming election season.



The 79-year-old senator announced last April that he would run for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate in the 2016 elections.



The initial idea was to utilize the existing HO, Ho said. We just want to expand the HO because we already have the list.



The issue first came to the attention of Alan Lowenthal during a trip to Vietnam in November 2014, when he visited the offices of the Association for Disabled Veterans and Widows Relief and Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTV), which is run by Ho, who is a Vietnamese-American musician-turned-producer.



After a year of working on the matter, Lowenthal, Royce, and Congressmen Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)  all of whom represent districts with significant Vietnamese-American constituents  submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last Dec. 17 to consider using existing law to resettle the 500 disabled Vietnamese military officers in the U.S.



These disabled officers and their families remaining in Vietnam disproportionately live in poverty, have health issues which are inadequately addressed, and face discrimination based on their past service, the letter said.



We respectfully request an assessment of the current plight of these individuals as well as options for honoring and protecting all disabled Vietnamese veterans that fought alongside our American soldiers in the Vietnam War, including if their resettlement in the United States is possible under existing law, it said.



Limited process



Although the ODP closed in 1994, the U.S. government opened a limited process nine years later to receive new applications from Vietnamese citizens who might have been eligible under one of three of the programs categories, including the HO, for consideration for resettlement in the U.S.



This included Vietnamese applicants who had spent time in reeducation camps as a result of their close association with U.S. agencies or organizations prior to the end of the war, as well as their widows or widowers.



Ho and Nhon are hoping that the same can be done again first for the 500 disabled Vietnamese military officers still in Vietnam, then for other disabled soldiers.



Now we have to take care of that limited number using the existing HO instead of initiating a whole new program, Nhon said. We have asked for the disabled officers first, then we will consider the next step.



About 15,000 Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) soldiers are still in the Southeast Asian country, Association for Disabled Veterans and Widows Relief.



We do not discriminate against other veterans who were soldiers and had no rankings, she said. We have to utilize the existing HO that the government of the U.S. had already approved. That program was used for officers with rank, not for other soldiers.



In the meantime, Lowenthal said he expects a reply from the State Department this month or in February.



Depending upon that assessment, we will then figure out what the next appropriate step would be, he said.



But if the State Department turns down the request, the lawmakers who drafted the letter will examine other alternatives, he said.



If [the State Department] says no, we will have to examine what our legislative approaches might be, Lowenthal said.



Thats a much longer process, and were hoping thats not needed, he said.



But for some disabled Vietnamese veterans the wait may have already been too long.



A former lieutenant who sustained injuries during the Vietnam War that paralyzed both his legs said he and others would have liked to have seen the effort made years ago.



Not only me, but anybody who heard this news was very happy, but our happiness is not complete because this comes a little late for us old people, the man, who declined to be named, told RFA. If only this had come about 10 years ago. Now we are all old and about to die.



Reported by Cat Linh and Hoa Ai for RFAs Vietnam Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The Coca-Cola Company has officially apologized to Ukraine for publishing on Russian social media a map of Russia that included Crimea, which was illegally annexed by the Kremlin in March 2014.

"I can only apologize for this as it simply should never have happened," wrote Clyde C. Tuggle, senior vice president of the global beverage giant, in a letter to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington dated January 6.

The letter reads that the map "was prepared by an outside agency without Coca-Colas knowledge or approval."

On December 30, Coca-Cola Russia posted a holiday greetings message to the Russian social-media site VKontakte along with a map of the country dotted with Christmas trees.

The map, however, sparked an angry response from Russian users who complained it excluded several regions, including Crimea.

On January 5, the company issued an apology on its official VKontakte page, along with a new map that included the Black Sea peninsula. The new map generated a fresh wave of outrage from Ukrainians.
The leader of India's Jammu and Kashmir state has died, bringing political uncertainty to the disputed region at the center of tensions between India and Pakistan.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, 79, died of a respiratory infection, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on January 7.

Sayeed, an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spent over six decades in politics and was known for his attempts to bring extremist elements into the political mainstream.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir, divided between them since 1947.

Sayeed advocated a dialogue with Pakistan to settle the dispute, and sought to promote trade and travel between the divided parts of the insurgency-plagued Himalayan region.

At the start of insurgency in the Indian portion of Kashmir in 1989, one of Sayeed's daughters was abducted by rebels.

She was later freed in exchange for the Indian government releasing five militants from prison.

Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, who met last month, are struggling to keep a high-level dialogue on track after a militant attack last weekend on an Indian air base near the border.

India says the attack was carried out by Kashmiri separatists operating from Pakistan.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
Iran has accused Saudi warplanes of damaging its embassy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and injuring staff in an air strike.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Shi'ite rebels in Yemen rejected the claim.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on January 7 that a rocket struck "near the Iranian Embassy" in Sanaa during an air raid by Saudi Arabia, seriously wounding one guard.



Abdollahian said Tehran will provide the United Nations with a detailed report of the incident.

Earlier, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman described the incident as a "deliberate attack from Saudi Arabia."

The Saudi-led coalition, which has been targeting Iran-backed Shi'ite rebels in Yemen since March, denied Iran's allegations, saying no operations were carried out around the embassy or near to it."



It said its investigation also confirmed that "the embassy building is safe and has not been damaged."

The New York Times quoted witnesses as saying that a home across the street from the embassy was hit and that embassy guards were wounded by shrapnel. Other reports said there was no damage to the main embassy building.

Earlier, coalition spokesman Ahmed Asseri said its jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa in the night on January 6 to target missile launchers used by Huthi rebels to fire at Saudi Arabia.

He also said the rebels have used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.

The claim comes as tensions mount between the two regional rivals -- Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-led Iran -- over Riyadh's execution of prominent Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which was followed by attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.



Amid the escalating tensions, Saudi Arabias Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told The Economist that his country would not allow a direct war between the two countries.

When asked about the possibility of war, he said: "It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region."



Meanwhile, a senior commander with Irans powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned Saudi Arabia that it would face collapse and downfall in the next few years if it did not change course.



Saudi Arabias current policies are like a "political avalanche that will bury the Saudi regime," Brigadier General Hossein Salami was quoted as saying at a January 7 ceremony against al-Nimrs execution.

Also on January 7, Tehran announced it has banned all products from Saudi Arabia.



"The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia," the Iranian government said in a statement, noting that a ban on Iranians traveling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage was also in place "until further notice."



Iran's annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consist mostly of packing materials and textiles.



Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked by protesters.



On January 7, Somalia joined a number of Saudi Arabias allies, including Bahrain and Sudan, that have either severed or downgraded their ties with Iran.

The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, IRNA, Fars, The New York Times, and The Economist
The White House is seeking to help Iraq's leadership prevent a diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran from aggravating sectarian conflict in Iraq and undermining recent victories against the Islamic State (IS) group.

In a phone call on January 6, U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said they were both concerned about Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric, as well as attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for the execution this week.

The incidents inflamed sectarian anger throughout the Muslim world, and Iraq is particularly vulnerable to the upsurge in conflict between the two Muslim sects.

On January 6, for the third straight day thousands of Shi'ite demonstrators poured into the streets of Baghdad and cities in the south of Iraq where Shi'a predominate, demanding that Iraq shut down the Saudi Embassy in Baghdad, which reopened only last month after being closed for 25 years.

The demonstrators carried the flags of the three most powerful Iranian-backed militias -- the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hizballah.

"If our demands are not met, we will take escalating measures," said Hajj Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a spokesman for Asaib.

"We say to Abadi...he who leads needs to have a strong heart and be brave," he told Reuters. "If he can't, he should leave."

But Abadi so far has resisted the demands of his Shi'ite power base. The White House said he and Obama agreed "on the importance that all parties maintain diplomatic engagement and dialogue."

The Saudis had reopened their Baghdad embassy only last week after closing it in 1990 to protest former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

Abadi has called for a "wise, responsible, and rational" response to the Saudi-Iranian rift. As a Shi'a, he is under pressure from Iraq's Shi'ite majority, but he also has sought to enlist the support and confidence of Iraq's sizable Sunni minority, which resides mostly in areas of the north and west seized by IS militants in 2014.

IS forces swept through the Sunni regions, capitalizing on resentment to the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad headed by Abadi's predecessor.

Winning back the confidence of the Sunni population has been critical for Abadi, who has framed the war against IS as a campaign against terrorism rather than a continuation of Iraq's decade-long Sunni-Shi'ite conflict.

His approach scored its first major success in the final days of 2015, when the Iraqi Army, backed by Sunni tribal forces and an international air strike coalition, dislodged the militants from the center of Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar.

Until then, it was the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias that had led the fight against IS. They were kept from the battlefield in Ramadi to reassure the Sunni population.

Obama spoke with Abadi about the Ramadi victory and offered to intensify support for Iraqi forces as they seek to consolidate their gains in Ramadi.

The Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces face further fights this year to try to recapture control from IS of Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which also is Sunni-dominated.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari noted the "wide-ranging repercussions" for Iraq and the entire region from the Saudi-Iranian row on a visit to Tehran on January 6 in which Iraq offered to try to mediate the standoff with Riyadh.

"We have solid relations with the Islamic Republic [of Iran]...and also we have relations with our Arab brothers, and therefore we cannot stay silent in this crisis," he said.

While Iraq is caught to some extent in the crossfire between the two regional powers, Jaafari said Baghdad's place in the heart of the Middle East also affords it a role in trying to "alleviate tensions."

"This responsibility has been given to us and we have been active from the early moments to lessen tensions to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region," he said.

"I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners," he said.

The White House said Obama backs the Iraqis in calling on all parties to show restraint and avoid further inflammatory actions.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said a comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and world powers may be "days away from implementation, if all goes well."

Kerry told reporters on January 7 that he had spoken by telephone with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The secretary of state quoted Zarif as saying the Iranians intend to satisfy their obligations as rapidly as possible, and said the United States was prepared to do likewise.

Kerry also hailed Iran for shipping its stock of low-enriched uranium to Russia, saying that step dramatically set back the Iranian nuclear program.

Under the nuclear deal reached with six world powers in July, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced martial law in four of Ukraine's regions, parts of which are under the control of Russian troops, as Ukrainian forces continue liberating occupied territories in the country's east.

Putin said at an online session of the Security Council on October 19 that he signed a decree declaring martial law in Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions -- all of which Russia illegally annexed last month.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Putin didn't immediately describe the steps that would be taken under martial law but said his order was effective starting at midnight on October 20. His decree gives law enforcement agencies three days to submit specific proposals.

Putin's move came as the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's southern Kherson region said the evacuation had started of tens of thousands of civilians and Moscow-appointed officials in the face of the Ukrainian military's advance.



Vladimir Saldo said on October 19 that more than 5,000 people have already left the region over the past two days.

Saldo said 50,000-60,000 civilians would leave four towns on the west bank of the Dnieper River in an "organized, gradual displacement" over the next five or six days.

All of the Moscow-installed administration in the city of Kherson would evacuate, too, he said.

Russian television showed footage of a number of people queuing for boats on the Dnieper River bank although it was not immediately clear how many were leaving. The forced transfer or deportation of the civilian population by an occupying power from the territory under its control is considered a war crime.



Saldo's statements came after General Sergei Surovikin, the new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, said the situation in the southern city of Kherson was "difficult" and residents facing Ukrainian bombardment are to be evacuated.



"The Russian Army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population" of Kherson, Surovikin said.

But Kyiv on October 19 accused Russia of staging a propaganda show in an attempt to "scare" the Kherson residents.



"Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake messages about the shelling of the city by our army and are also staging a propaganda show with evacuation," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram.



Kherson was the first big city to fall to the Russian forces in February after the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion, but Ukrainian forces have been steadily retaking nearby territory in recent weeks.



They have pushed as far as 30 kilometers south along the Dnieper River, threatening to trap Russian troops.

Meanwhile, fresh explosions were heard in Kyiv on October 19, as the Ukrainian military said on Telegram that air defenses continued to shoot down targets above the capital.



Russian bombardment also cut power and water in some parts of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhya region on October 19, said Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of the southern city located near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant that's been a flashpoint of the nearly eight-month conflict.



A power plant in Kryviy Rih, a city in south-central Ukraine, was also seriously damaged by Russian shelling, leaving villages, towns, and a city district without electricity, the regional governor reported.



Russian forces also targeted Ukraine's southern Mykolayiv region again with kamikaze drones early on October 19.

The Ukrainian military's southern command said in a statement on October 19 that its forces shot down 12 drones overnight.



"Eleven drones were shot down by the forces and means of air defense of the Southern Air Command and one by soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine," the press service of the command said.



More than a week of air attacks has destroyed almost one-third of Ukraine's power stations and cut electricity in more than 1,000 settlements.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again urged Ukrainians to make "a very conscious" effort to save power, speaking in his regular nightly address on October 18.



Zelenskiy said Russian air strikes in the past week had destroyed 30 percent of Ukraine's power stations, while the Energy Ministry said hundreds of settlements were affected by blackouts.



"Currently, according to the Energy Ministry, 1,162 settlements remain without power," the emergencies services spokesman said.



Zelenskiy said Russia's use of Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine showed that Russia is both politically and militarily bankrupt despite having spent billions of dollars for decades on its military-industrial complex. "In the end they bowed to Tehran to get rather simple drones and missiles," Zelenskiy said.



"It will simply show the world once again that Russia is headed for defeat and is trying to drag yet another one of its accomplices into this terror," he said.



Iran denies supplying drones to Russia, and the Kremlin said it had no information about whether Iranian kamikaze drones were used.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on October 18 said the alliance will deliver air-defense systems to Ukraine in the coming days.



The United States and NATO have given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars' worth of military equipment since the start of the invasion.



In the United States, financial support for Ukraine garnered strong bipartisan support in the Senate and the House of Representatives.



But House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy warned on October 18 that his party will not write a "blank check" for Ukraine if Republicans win back the House majority in midterm elections next month, reflecting his party's growing skepticism about financial support for Kyiv.



"I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they're not going to write a blank check to Ukraine," McCarthy (Republican-California) told Punchbowl News. "They just won't do it.... It's not a free blank check."



The comments from McCarthy, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans win the House, raise questions about continued U.S. support for Ukraine as some Republicans, particularly those aligned with former President Donald Trump's "America First" approach, question the need for federal spending abroad at a time of record-high inflation in the United States.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended midnight Mass in a church in the village of Turginovo, about 150 kilometers northwest of Moscow.

It was the church where his parents had been baptized in 1911. Putin stood in a black jacket and an open-collar shirt with several solemn-faced children standing around him.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, led the night Mass at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral on January 7. The service was broadcast live on state television.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was among the crowd in the cathedral, which was destroyed under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, then reconstructed after the fall of communist rule.

It was also the first time since 1928 that a Christmas Eve Mass was held in the world's largest Orthodox basilica, the St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

The landmark 19th-century cathedral was turned into a museum under the atheist Soviet regime.

After the U.S.S.R.'s collapse in 1991 it remained as a museum, but the Russian Orthodox Church has used it periodically for services.

Based on reporting by AP and TASS
The head of Russia's Orthodox Church has backed Moscow's deadly bombing campaign in Syria, describing it as a "defensive war."

In an interview aired on January 7 as the country' marked Orthodox Christmas, Patriarch Kirill sought to justify Russia's military strikes in Syria, saying they were necessary to protect Russia from "terrorism."

"As long as the war is carried out in self-defense, then it is just," Kirill told state-run Rossia 1 television channel.

He said that if terrorist groups were allowed to gain power in Syria, they were likely to bring "misery and distress" to the Russian people.

Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria in late September to support embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing Moscow ally.

The campaign, however, has drawn condemnations from the West and Assad's opponents, who accuse Moscow of bombing moderate opposition groups and also causing mass civilian casualties. Moscow denies the claims.

Russia's Orthodox Church enjoys close ties with the Kremlin.

Kirill also sought to downplay the economic hardship in Russia, saying the situation in the country was "no tragedy."

The Russian economy has been hit hard by Western sanctions and plunging prices for oil, Russia's major export commodity. The sanctions were imposed over Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Based on reporting by Interfax, TASS, and AFP
Russian open-source bloggers say they have documented more evidence that Russia is using cluster bombs in its air campaign supporting Syrias embattled regime.



The findings by Ruslan Leviev and the Conflict Intelligence Team, which has uncovered other secretive Russian military activity both in Syria and Ukraine in the past, adds to reports by international human rights group that accuse Moscow of putting civilians at risk with indiscriminate use of cluster bombs.



Russia is not party to the 2008 treaty that bans the use of cluster munitions, which after exploding scatter tiny bomblets across a wide area. The weaponry has been condemned for its indiscriminate nature and the danger of civilians accidentally detonating the bomblets.



Russia has denied using such munitions, most recently last month after Human Rights Watch published a detailed report documenting at least 20 instances of their alleged use since Moscow launched its air campaign on September 30 to support its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in his war against both extremist and more moderate rebel groups.



In their report published January 7, Leviev and his team of bloggers scoured Russian news photographs and video footage to document several types of cluster munitions being stored or attached to aircraft at the Hemeimeem air base, in western Syria.

Though no markings can be seen, the bloggers say the underwing bombs are identical in form to a commonly used Russian cluster bomb known as the RBK-500. They also identify the jets as Su-24 and Su-25 bombers, which are based at the Shagol air base in Russia. They also point to imagery from early last year showing RBK-500 munitions on identically marked jets at the base.



After the [Russian Air Force] operation in Syria started, more and more evidence began to emerge of cluster munitions being used on civilian targets in rebel-controlled areas, the group said. Some of those munitions...previously hadnt been used in the conflict.



Other photographs gathered from Syrian social media show unexploded bomblets on the ground in Syria.



In its report, Human Right Watch said it had documented instances of other Russian-manufactured, rocket-launched cluster munitions being used in Syria.

Syria has long been a major recipient of Soviet and Russian weaponry.



Last year, prior to the start of Russias air campaign, Levievs team documented the deployment of Russian marine infantry to Syria, contrary to Moscows denials of such troop movements.

They also located the graves of Russian soldiers who appeared to have been killed fighting in eastern Ukraine. Russia has long denied any of its military personnel have fought there in an official capacity.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed "deep concern" about the growing rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia and called on the two nations to peacefully resolve their differences.

After meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Islamabad, Sharif decrued "the escalation of the situation and condemned the burning down of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran," his office said. "The prime minister called for resolution of differences through peaceful means in the larger interest of Muslim unity."

Pakistan borders Iran and has a large Shi'ite minority. It has sought to avoid taking sides to avoid fanning sectarian violence at home.

Moreover, Pakistan wants to deepen trade links with both Iran and Saudi Arabia, particularly increasing access to their vast energy resources to fuel its energy-poor economy.

It hopes to finish a major gas pipeline to Iran if sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program are lifted.

But Sharif has also cultivated a close alliance with Saudi Arabia, where he spent time in political exile in the 2000s.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
There appear to be no limits to the depths the authorities in Tajikistan will go in pursuit of those close to Muhiddin Kabiri -- even if it means confirming the virginity of a woman who had eyes for the banned Islamic party leader.

Since Kabiri fled the country, and his Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) was banned, Tajikistan has been relentless in its pursuit of his friends and relatives. Seven family members have been questioned; his 95-year-old father was prevented from traveling to Turkey for medical treatment; and a suspected lover was compelled to undergo a virginity test to clear her good name.



Tajik journalist Haramgul Qodir freely admits that she was in love with Kabiri, who faces charges of attempting to overthrow the government and has been branded a terrorist by Dushanbe. Her love, however, was unrequited, Qodir tells RFE/RL's Tajik Service.

"Anyone who asked me, including the authorities, I told that there was no relationship between us," Qodir said. "Yes, there was greetings and friendship, but thats all. I have a good relationship with all officials. However, that doesnt mean I have a personal relationship with all of them."

Nevertheless, she was subjected to months of harassment and questioning by Tajik authorities, who believed she had had an affair with Kabiri, a married man.

Her bank accounts frozen and feeling pressured by authorities, Qodir agreed to take a virginity test to protect her honor.

"I told them that if my personal life is a risk to national security, then Im ready to undergo a test, Qodir said in a Skype interview on January 5. "Of course, it was an insult, but I had to do it to prove my point."

Law-enforcement officials took Qodir up on her offer, and she was accompanied to a medical facility where she submitted herself to a virginity test.

Qodir, a former RFE/RL Tajik Service contributor, said that while the test proved she was telling the truth, her bank accounts remained frozen during her subsequent trip to Turkey for medical treatment.

Virginity tests usually consist of a vaginal examination, under the belief that an intact hymen is proof that a woman has not had sexual intercourse. The controversial practice violates international law, according to human rights groups, and is widely considered to have no medical validity in determining the subject's virginity.

The practice is common among some cultures, but seldom officially endorsed, and is considered rare in Tajikistan.

Kabiris current whereabouts are unknown, although he is rumored to be in Turkey. The 50-year-old was last seen publicly at an international conference in Iran, where he attended the International Conference of Islamic Unity on December 27 and was seated next to the head of Tajikistan's state-backed Council of Islamic Ulema and other members of the official delegation from Tajikistan.

Tajik authorities expressed deep concern over Kabiri's invitation to the conference.

Tajikistan has arrested more than 20 top IRPT officials since the party was suspended in late August and subsequently banned by the Supreme Court as an "extremist and terrorist organization."

The court decision came after the government blamed the party for organizing September 4 attacks on a police station and an arsenal near Dushanbe that killed 26 people.

Authorities say the attacks were carried out by an armed group led by Abduhalim Nazarzoda, a deputy defense minister who was later killed. IRPT officials have rejected connections to Nazarzoda or the insurrection and have called the arrests of party officials politically motivated.

Human rights groups have also condemned the crackdown as politically motivated.
U.S. prosecutors have filed new charges against a man believed to have trained in Pakistan with Al-Qaeda, accusing him of involvement in a 2009 attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

According to an indictment filed on January 6, Muhanad Mahmoud al-Farekh helped prepare explosive devices for use in the attack by suicide bombers driving two vehicles.

Prosecutors said one of the drivers detonated his device, but the other did not. Farekh's fingerprints were found on packing tape for the second, unexploded device.

Texas-born Farekh, a U.S. citizen, was charged with providing material support to Al-Qaeda and using explosives.

He also faces six counts of conspiracy to murder Americans, use a weapon of mass destruction, bomb a government facility, and aid Al-Qaeda.

The court documents did not identify the U.S. base, but it is believed to be one in Khost City near Pakistan.

Also known as Abdullah al-Shami, Farekh had been detained in Pakistan prior to being flown to New York to be tried.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
A court in Uzbekistan has begun the trial of an ethnic Armenian accused with four others of plotting to carry out "anticonstitutional activities" in Uzbekistan and of being sympathizers of the Islamic State extremist group, among other charges.

Journalists were not allowed to enter the courtroom in the city of Jizzakh, where Aramais Avakian and four friends went on trial on January 7.

Avakian's wife, Shirin Tursunova, said: "Judging by my husband's appearance, it seems that he has been mistreated in custody. When the judge told him to rise, he was barely able to stand up."

Aramais Avakian has been held in an isolation cell of the local branch of the Uzbek National Security Service in Jizzakh since September 4.

Tursunova insists the charges against her husband, who is Christian, are baseless.

Tursunova and the families of other suspects say the case has been fabricated as an attempt to take over a successful business that Avakian was running with the help of the others.

Avakian created a network of ponds and started raising salmon and carp, which he began to sell after their numbers were in the dozens of tons.

The families say the local district governor threatened to have Avakian thrown into jail so he could snatch up the profitable fish ponds for his own family.

The governor has publicly denied any attempt to seize the ponds.
Henry Howell, the late Virginia populist, said there is more moving around in the dark besides Santa Claus. Bill Howell  no relation  is taking some steps to shine a little light.

The latter Howell presides as speaker of the House of Delegates. The other day he announced new rules that will increase the openness of the budgeting process and legislating more generally. They include a 48-hour waiting period before a final vote on the state budget as well as publication of funding requests by state agencies and line items inserted during conference-committee deliberations. They also will do away with impromptu committee meetings held at lawmakers desks.

This is excellent, and Howell deserves public thanks for taking such steps.

But he shouldnt stop there.

Many bills are spiked in House subcommittees with voice votes that go unrecorded. This gives lawmakers a handy way to dispatch nettlesome legislation  such as measures to reduce the effect of gerrymandering  without having to take any individual responsibility. The rooms might not be filled with smoke as they once were, but a stench still lingers.
Banditos Burrito Lounge has announced it will go smoke-free. The restaurant has maintained two separate seating areas  one for smoking, the other for diners who prefer to enjoy their meals and margaritas without fumes. The cantina will close the smoking side on Jan. 15. The Times-Dispatchs Karri Peifer reported the news, which we applaud.

Bill Mims, a justice on the Virginia Supreme Court, reminded us of a debate from some years ago. While a member of the General Assembly, Mims introduced legislation to clamp down on smoking in indoor public spaces such as restaurants.

The RTD opined against it. We said smoking bans should be imposed voluntarily by establishments. We considered the bill a violation of ownership rights (and still do).

Mims disagreed. He explained that public smoking posed health hazards; many people simply disliked smoking, too. His bill lost.

Virginia eventually severely restricted smoking in public places. Restaurants were allowed to operate smoking areas with separate seating and ventilation systems. They generally preferred to ban smoking throughout their confines. Even those that opened smoking zones eventually closed them.

The public liked smoke-free restaurants. Banditos had been one of the few hold outs. The place says that reaction to its decision has been positive. The system worked.

Banditos acted on its own, but Virginias anti-smoking provisions contributed to a social climate that turned against smoking. We, too, appreciate the absence of cigarette smoke in places where people once puffed at will.
It was 1947 and Rudolph Prosser Crowther Sr., who had worked on a sawmill crew, needed a job.

Lilian Lumber Co., one of Northumberland Countys major employers, hired him to run its planing mill operation.

Mr. Crowther was chairman of the business when he died at 87 on Sunday in an Irvington retirement community.

He had a knack for making the product well and for making the equipment work like it should, said a daughter, Elizabeth Hinton Crowther of Reedville.

He left the Northern Neck to study business at Randolph-Macon College but was drafted into the Army in 1950 to serve in the Korean War. Before leaving, he married Mary Louise Hinton, whose father owned Lilian Lumber.

In Korea, he saw combat. He talked about how the (North) Koreans would come down out of the hills beating pans and making noise that made you twice as afraid, his daughter said. It was just crazy scary.

After the war, Mr. Crowther rose to president and chairman of Lilian Lumber when his father-in-law died in 1968. When his son, William Alvin Crowther of Reedville, took over as president around 2005, Mr. Crowther continued as chairman.

The senior Crowther oversaw a business founded in 1914 as a sawmill and planing mill. It sold wholesale lumber and made custom lumber.

We had people in logging crews go out to different forest sites and more than one crew would work at a site. They would do the logging and would bring logs back to Lilian Lumber Co. to be cut and planed and dressed, Elizabeth Crowther said.

She remembered stacks and stacks of lumber air-drying for as long as two years in the lumberyard until they reached a dark gray color. They were the older cuts of wood. The growth rings were tighter. They are a better product than the kiln-dried products you have today that are drier quicker, the daughter said.

The company sold its wood shavings and sawdust to Shenandoah Valley farmers, who used it as chicken house bedding. Mr. Crowther, who liked to devise better ways of doing things, designed and set up a vacuum that blew sawdust from the planing mill overhead into a reservoir that deposited the sawdust into company trucks.

His company kept warehouses full of one unique product: large wooden boxes with two wooden trays that watermen and packing companies would fill with fish, crabs and oysters, cover with seaweed and ship by boat around the Chesapeake Bay from a wharf on the Great Wicomico River.

Also near the wharf was the company brick mill, which made and shipped bricks by boat until the early 1960s. Many houses on Tangier Island were built with Lilian Lumber Co. products, Elizabeth Crowther said.

Our motto was Everything for the Builder. In the early 1970s, my father bought a concrete truck that would mix on-site for contractors, so they could have one outfitter to do everything from pouring concrete footers to selling lumber doors and windows, she said. My father was really smart about bringing in new products.

In 1972, Mr. Crowther opened a True Value hardware store in Burgess, a large diversification into retail sales, which now is the company focus. He really brought (the business) into the modern retail world, his daughter said.

An Avalon native, Mr. Crowther talked about how he, from the time he was 10 years old through his teenage years, worked with an unmarried uncle who lived on his familys farm to grow tomatoes to sell in the Washington market.

He loved his uncle and loved that they had that one endeavor together, his daughter said. His family sold crops like tomatoes, corn and wheat. His mother always raised turkeys and chickens to supplement their income. They had a general store on the farm.

My father developed early on a good business sense and an entrepreneurial outlook. It was all about, for him, enjoying the work that you did. He was never idle. There always were things to be done.

A resident of Bruington Farm outside Reedville for 64 years, he loved the land, revered the forest and loved trees and knowing what lived in different kinds of forest. He was proud to have placed an easement on special family property, his daughter said.

Mr. Crowther loved boats and traveling the Chesapeake Bay and Intracoastal Waterway. He was never happier than when he was crabbing with a pole and net from the bow of a wooden skiff handmade for him by his son. He also loved sharing oysters from his oyster shore, riding a tractor and raising beef cattle.

He was a storyteller who loved to embellish and loved to sing and dance. Despite his illness, he wanted to hear music, to laugh and to have dancing time with his nurses, his daughter said.

At his funeral on Wednesday in Kilmarnock, one of the speakers said that he was one of those people who were bigger than life, that he liked to do things with a large scope and try to make a big impact, his daughter said. I think he accomplished that in a lot of cases.

Interment was in Roseland Cemetery in Reedville.
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Botetourt Countys first reassessment in six years has come to an end with an almost flat total change.

According to Wampler-Eanes Appraisal Group Ltd., residential assessments have decreased 1 percent, agricultural assessments have decreased 2 percent, and commercial assessments have increased 7 percent. These figures represent overall changes for the county as a whole, and individual assessments will vary.

Our firm studied Botetourt Countys real estate market between 2014 and 2015, analyzing sales through November 2015, said Gary Eanes, vice president of Wampler-Eanes Appraisal Group. These sales were verified and applied as comparable for our reassessments throughout the county in order to obtain the new current market values reflected in the 2016 Reassessment Notices.

Wampler-Eanes anticipated mailing notices of the reassessment to property owners Thursday, Jan. 7. Property owners who believe their reassessments are incorrect or unjustified can appeal them by scheduling a hearing with Wampler-Eanes staff. Hearings will be held from Jan. 26 through Feb. 5 at the Greenfield Education and Training Center. Hearing dates, times and instructions are included in the reassessment notices sent to owners and will be posted on the countys website. Written appeals may be faxed to 992-5238 or emailed to re2016.botetourtco@gmail.com.

It has been a pleasure to work for a fourth time in our hometown, and we would welcome anyone interested to our upcoming reassessment hearings, said Eanes.

In addition to an opportunity for appeal before Wampler-Eanes, property owners will also have an opportunity to challenge reassessments before the county's board of equalization. Consisting of five county residents appointed by the Botetourt County Circuit Court, the board of equalization will hear appeals once Wampler-Eanes has completed its appeals process and notified property owners of any adjustments to their reassessments. The board of equalization is anticipated to meet the week of Feb. 15 to approve its appeal schedule. The board will publish its schedule in the media and on the county's website.

Any property owners not satisfied with their reassessment following appeals to Wampler-Eanes and to the board of equalization may, thirdly, take their case to the Botetourt County Circuit Court.

Reassessment books prepared by Wampler-Eanes and containing reassessment information for all parcels in Botetourt County are available for public inspection at the Circuit Court Clerk's Office in Fincastle and at the county's Blue Ridge and Buchanan libraries.

Upon completion, the reassessment will be reviewed by the Virginia Department of Taxation to ensure it was conducted in compliance with state law. Failure to comply could result in the withholding of state revenue from the county.

Submitted by Cody Sexton
In advance of merger filings, executives at far Southwest Virginias dominant hospital systems said they are absolutely committed to improving the health of people in the Appalachian communities they serve and to satisfying regulators by holding prices below the national average.

Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System are the predominant health care providers for people living in Virginia and Tennessees Appalachian communities. They plan later this month to file formal applications with both states to gain consent to merge their systems. While they pledged to keep their three flagship hospitals open, changes could come for 16 community hospitals.

In a presubmission report released Thursday, the two systems outlined a plan to spend $450 million over the next decade on improving the health of the people they serve, and made the case for why a merger is more beneficial than separate systems or merging with conglomerates from outside the area.

Economists hired by Americas Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, wrote in a November report that a merger would create a monopoly. A combined company would capture more than a 77 percent share of the market covering far Southwest Virginia and east Tennessee and would raise prices by at least 20 percent, the report said.

Wellmont CEO Bart Hove and his counterpart at Mountain States, Alan Levine, said during a news conference they had addressed concerns by committing to cap prices to insurance providers at a limit slightly below the hospital consumer price index.

No one can credibly say this will lead to price increases, Levine said.

Wellmont and Mountain States said they serve one of the unhealthiest populations in the United States, with a high concentration of Medicare, Medicaid and uninsured patients.

The two health systems have expensive, unnecessary duplicative health care resources that are allocated inefficiently, according to the report, which notes that a merger would bring efficiency and lower the cost. Together, they have $1.5 billion in debt they said arose from duplication of services.

Wellmont and Mountain States maintain that if an outside player acquired either of their systems, the government would have less oversight than they will encounter, and would take merger savings and jobs out of the communities.

While the health systems pledge to keep their three advanced-treatment hospitals open, the report said the community hospitals in operation at the date of the merger will remain operational as clinical and health care institutions for at least five years.  The new health system may adjust scope of services or repurpose hospital facilities. No such commitment currently exists to keep rural institutions open.

Levine said they will consolidate and shift services, but we are absolutely committed to keeping health care services available. That wont change  ever.

They also committed to adding mental health and substance abuse services.

Wellmont in 2013 closed the Lee County hospital without warning. The county created a hospital authority, has paid Wellmont $1.6 million to buy back the building and is working with Mountain States to reopen the facility. That plan, though, is complicated by Wellmonts right of first refusal. A merger could ease the reopening of the hospital.

Both Virginia and Tennessee must approve the merger. Virginia set up a new process that falls outside its traditional Certificate of Public Need review, and the submission will be vetted first by the Southwest Virginia Health Authority. The authority board met Thursday and approved the final process for receiving the application. They will solicit public comments before making a recommendation to Virginias commissioner of health.

Members of the authority with financial ties to either health system will not participate in the process.

The Virginia Association of Health Plans opposes the merger, while the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association supports it. The hospitals are proceeding under the states regulations and are not planning to undergo review by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC has voiced concern about Virginias process, which grants antitrust immunity and was created to foster this merger. The agency has sought to block several similar mergers in other states.

The hospital systems said the states requirements granting antitrust immunity and continual regulatory oversight protect residents by ensuring they have access to care at affordable prices.

Wellmont and Mountain States executives said financial efficiency achieved through a merger would allow them to commit to a series of transformational investments.

They agreed to spend:

$75 million to improve the health of the populations they serve.

$140 million to expand community mental health services and child and rural health services.

$85 million on research and academic opportunities to strengthen the number of health professionals in the region.

$150 million on information technology to connect all their hospitals, physicians and patients.

Any jobs lost through consolidation would be offset by those created through the investments and by developing new services, they said. Both companies are headquartered in Tennessee. The executives said the merger allows them to keep corporate jobs that would be lost if one or the other firm was acquired by an out-of-area health system.

The presubmission report is available online. Comments on the proposal will be included in the filing late this month. The states are expected to conclude their reviews sometime this summer.
A PAEDOPHILE has been told he faces a lengthy custodial sentence after he pleaded guilty to ten sex offences including indecent assault and indecency with a child.



Russell Duffy (61), of Nicholson Avenue, Wath, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on today charged with 19 sex offences, all against one girl between 1983 and 1989 when she was 11 years-old and under.



Duffy pleaded guilty to ten of the offences which included six counts of indecent assault and four counts of indecency with a child.



The court heard Duffy forced the girl to perform oral sex on him when she was aged between seven and 11 years-old.



He also admitted to lying on the girl and rubbing his body up and down her, and forcing her to masturbate him.



His Honour Judge Mark Gargan told Duffy: You have now pleaded guilty to a series of very significant criminal offences.



For these offences you will have to be sentenced and you know full well that the inevitable sentence will involve a lengthy period of imprisonment.



Sentencing was adjourned until February 25 and Duffy was granted unconditional bail.
Shares of Mobile Streams PLC (MOS.L) were losing around 20 percent in the morning trading in London after the emerging focused mobile media company said Thursday that its EBITDA, a key earnings metric, for the 6 months to December 31 will be reduced by approximately 0.8 million pounds. The forecast reflects the effect of the recent Argentine peso devaluation.

The company also said that the challenges in the core market in Argentina, with the added impact of devaluation, would result in much lower Argentinian revenues for the current financial year. However, the negative impact on profits will be less as much of the operating cost is incurred in pesos.

In its trading update on the devaluation effect on its balance sheet and profit and loss account, the company noted that the Argentine peso devalued approximately 25% during December 2015, due to the release of currency restrictions, which now allows currency to flow freely in and out of Argentina. This policy was adopted by the country's new elected president in November 2015.



The devaluation effect on December revenues was 0.3 million pounds, and the effect on net assets is approximately 0.8 million pounds reduction in value.

Simon Buckingham, CEO said, "Our core based in Argentina has been negatively affected in GBP terms by the recent currency devaluation. Also as previously announced, the Company's core market in Argentina is changing rapidly as customers are moving away from the traditional model of subscribing for basic content via their mobile operator to advertising funded models to obtain free content and buying premium subscriptions to access more content."

The company will issue its usual half year trading statement later this month and will update shareholders on its new ad-funded products and markets such as India at that time.

In London, Mobile Streams were trading at 6.39 pence, down 20.13 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Since May, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has steadily lost ground to Iraqi security forces and Syrian Democratic Forces, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said Wednesday.

Briefing the Pentagon press corps via video conference from Baghdad, Army Col. Steve Warren offered battlefield updates and a status report on coalition efforts.

In Iraq, ISIL has lost 20,000 to 22,000 square kilometers, or 40 percent of its taken territory, he said, and in Syria, it has lost more than 310 square kilometers or about 10 percent of its territory.

Coalition members so far have trained and equipped 17,541 Iraqi security forces, and the coalition continues to increase the pace and intensity of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Warren said.

"When our airstrikes are coupled with local ground operations, we see ISIL having to react and move around the battlefield. This just makes it easier for us to strike them," he said.

An estimated 2,500 enemy fighters were killed in coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria in December, Warren added.

"We believe that ISIL is now in a defensive crouch.  May is when they reached their culminating point of offensive operations. Since then, all they've really managed to do is lose ground," he said.



"Since we began Operation Tidal Wave II the coalition has conducted 65 strikes against oil targets. We assess that this operation has reduced [ISIL] revenue by about 30 percent," the colonel said, noting that ISIL's production dropped from 45,000 barrels of oil a day to 34,000 barrels a day.



Over the past 10 days in the Tishreen area northeast of Aleppo, Warren said Syrian Democratic Forces have killed about 140 extremists while liberating dozens of villages and reclaiming more than 310 square kilometers of terrain.

"Soldiers of the Shams al-Shamal battalion, a prominent Arab fighting group in the SDF, are holding the west side of that dam, demonstrating the continued integration between Arabs and Kurds within the Syrian Democratic Forces," the colonel said.

The SDF consists of groups of Syrian Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, and other ethnic groups in northern Syria, all of whom are collectively determined to defeat ISIL, Warren added.

"We're seeing reports of ISIL fighters shaving their beards and trying to hide among the civilian population," he added, "as they continue to lose ground in Syria and run back to Raqqa, Manbej or Jarablus."

More than 60 ISIL fighters were killed inside Ramadi in the past 24 hours, Warren noted.

Warren warned that ISIL can still strike in spots and conduct raids, ambushes and bomb attacks and they still hold large swaths of territory.

"But the Iraqi security forces are now on the offensive. The Iraqi security forces will pick where the next significant battle is and ISIL is now reacting to the Iraqi security forces," Warren told reporters.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
People of Chennai have almost put the chilling memory of the floods behind them but rehabilitation is still an ongoing process in most areas. Those few ill fated days wrecked havoc on epic proportions and apart form citizens, their automobiles too fell victim to the calamity.

Thousands of flood affected automobiles which are either written off by insurance companies or their owners themselves are being auctioned in Chennai. Copart.in, a subsidiary of US-based online auctioneer has hundreds of flood-hit automobiles on auction at its Sriperambudur yard. The company is receiving requests from insurance companies, dealers, private buyers who are looking to sell their cars on as-is-when-is basis.

Rajeev Kapoor, MD, Copart, stated that the cars on auction are as new as from 2015. The auctioneer will merely sell the cars and their documents and will hold no responsibility on the condition of the vehicles.

Yesterday (Jan 6), Copart.in had a BMW 3 Series on auction for a base price of INR 6 lakhs. A 2015 Audi A4 started at INR 3.4 lakhs while a 2012 Porsche Cayenne had a base price of merely INR 5 lakhs! Conditions or the extent of the repair required for these vehicles are unclear but the base auction prices in most cases are less than 10% of their on-road costs.

The online auction portal has been receiving damaged cars at a rate of 10 per day over the last week and is expecting a steady inflow for another three months. A good chunk of buyers register for the auction not to fix the cars and drive them but to salvage expensive and hard-to-acquire spare parts from the vehicles.

It appears that there is a dire need for a huge and efficient scrap yard to dispose off the automotive wastes that were generated due to the Chennai floods.




NEVS chairman Jiang Dalong spoke to Reuters about the deal with Panda and the future of electric vehicles. While I want to take out a few interesting excerpts you can read the full article here.

China is going to be the worlds biggest market for electric cars, Jiang said in an interview in his office in Beijing. China has no choice. They have to wean themselves from conventional gasoline combustion cars, he added, describing the recent sharp uptick in air pollution levels in Chinas capital as terrible and crazy.

Big existing automakers are too big. They cannot stop producing conventional gasoline combustion cars. But we can  switch to new energy cars.

In general I have to agree with him here. For China its of course the issue of air pollution but also, according to some calculations that I read a while ago, if China would reach a car per people ratio that is close to for example Europe, they would need the entire world production of gasoline and diesel to run those cars. So currently the way the Chinese government wants to take is electromobility and it cant be a fault to be part of it.

The biggest question mark is Chinese economy which seems to be in some difficult times the moment. But given the long term of this investment I would not judge it just from today. China may not grow at a rate like they did in the last decade but they will get back to a path that is solid.

Then its about the Panda deal and its financing:



Panda New Energy, which is funded by a Beijing investment fund called Hasun Asset, wont have to pony up the whole US$12 billion for the cars, according to Jiang and Pandas Sun Wei.

The two executives said Panda New Energy will pay NEVS for the cars from a four-to-five-year stream of revenue it expects from leasing those 250,000 EVs. All Panda New Energy will have to come up with is a deposit as little as 10 percent, Jiang said.

Panda New Energy initially expects to receive an all-electric minibus that seats 38 passengers and an electric commercial van. Jiang said production of the minibus and the MPV cars are due to start gradually in 2016 at the Tianjin factory, which he said is already half-completed.

Over the next four to five years, Panda New Energy will buy 50,000 minibuses and 50,000 courier vans, Jiang said. Sun said courier service companies in China ,such as one run by 58.com, will use the commercial vans.

The rest of the deal  150,000 vehicles  are all EVs based on the Saab 9-3, a sedan. Panda New Energy plans to lease them to taxi-like chauffeur service companies.

So there we have at least a little more info on who stands behind Panda New Energy. And, even more interesting, we get to know that the deal is not only about the 150 9-3 EVs but also about other vehicles that most likely wont be based on a Saab. While we most likely dont want to drive them this means business that in the end can generate revenue for the plans that NEVS have for their own car lineup.

Altogether this is not a major boost in information but still at least a bit more insight into the deal.
A first-of-its-kind journey along India and Pakistan border

What binds the two most talked about nations - India and Pakistan together? What makes the
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

Hundreds of Santa Paula residents spent the evening learning how to be prepared for the projected El Nino, a weather event that experts now believe has the potential of being the most severe ever.

The December 8 meetings were sponsored by the City of Santa Paula and the Latino Alliance for Emergency Preparedness and not only offered information from Santa Paula emergency responders but also from Ventura County Office of Emergency Services Manager Kevin McGowan and Laura Hernandez, a Santa Paula native and retired head of the Ventura County Director of Emergency Services which includes disaster preparedness.

Gracie Huerta of Listos program, developed in 2010 to address the cultural gap between vulnerable high-risk Spanish-speaking communities and traditional disaster preparedness outreach and educational programs, conducted the Spanish language outreach.

So many people attended the first session said Santa Paula Police Sgt. Jimmy Fogata that more chairs had to be brought out but people still had to stand lining the center.

The English-language session also drew hundreds of residents for a series of meetings that coordinator SPPD Cadet Martha Brown said drew well over 500 people, Many more than we expected!

Police Chief Steve McLean thanked Brown, Hernandez, Huerta and others for organizing the sessions, especially as We didnt have the luxury of timethey put this together quickly.

And time is of the essence with the storms expected in the New Year and the message of preparedness imperative for residents. One table display showed items that should be in each emergency preparedness kit while maps in the centers lobby showed areas of historical or potential flooding.

Mayor Martin Hernandez, Vice Mayor Jenny Crosswhite and City Councilman John Procter also attended the sessions focused on El Nino, a weather condition that usually consists of a series of storms that can create flash flooding and other hazards.

And, if El Nino does arrive, everyone should be ready to take care of him or herself.

Kevin McGowan, manager of the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services, noted an El Nino is not weather, but rather a climate condition, that usually amplifies winter storm events.

You get short, intense storms, three to five days maybe, or even more.

McGowan noted that in January 2005 there was a conveyor belt of storms that caused the major slide at La Conchita that killed 10 residents and destroyed part of the Santa Paula Airport.

But 2005 is not an issue: McGowan said 1997-98 and 1982-83 are used as El Nino benchmarks And this year is the strongest of themwe should be preparing for the worst.

The four year drought will not benefit from the rainfall as the dry earth will not absorb the water as quickly as it could creating even more runoff that would create flooding.

Your biggest challenge here is impacts to Highway 126, where debris flows have been experience dto the east and west of Santa Paula which could find itself isolated.

McGowan suggested that everyone have an emergency kit at home and in their vehicles with seven days of supplies as well as comfort itemsin the Army mine was Gummy Bears.

Communication is vital and all citizens should sign up for VC Alert www.vcalert.org or text 313131 for the link, which will advise of emergencies and road closures. Another source is www.vcemergency.com which McGowan noted carried details and updates of the November 2014

Santa Clara Waste Water  Green Compass chemical explosions and aftermath.

The latter site already has an El Nino page that can be linked from the home page.

McGowan also urged residents to check with the National Flood Insurance program www.floodsmart.gov a FEMA program that can be purchased through private insurance agents. But, he cautioned, there is a 30-day waiting period before the insurance takes effect.

Hernandez noted that Santa Paula and Ventura County have incredible first responders that work closely together but What is predicted is much larger, than past weather events.

The better prepared you are, to help yourself, your neighbors and your pets the less strain well put on our first responders who will be busy with larger emergencies.

A large part of being prepared said Santa Paula Fire Chief Rick Araiza is to purchase sandbags and sand in advance.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

Santa Paula is digging into the growing controversy over a Malibu sand replenishment project that would bring hundreds of trucks daily from Grimes Canyon through Fillmore, Santa Paula and Oxnard.

The first phase of the project involves an estimated 43,000 one-way truck trips hauling up to 300,000 cubic yards of sand over three or four months to eroded Broad Beach, whose wealthy residents will bear the $31 million cost through their property taxes.

The project overseen by the Broad Beach Geological Hazard Abatement District has been permitted for 10 years with the option of possible extensions. It had been in the works for about five years  about two years ago there were discussions about transferring sand from the Ventura Harbor area  before garnering support from a split California Coastal Commission in October.

The project, which possibly would be perpetual, still must pass muster with several state agencies.

The Santa Paula City Council heard comments about the project at the December 7 meeting from Sheryl Hamlin who noted the impacts of truck traffic would be terrible for Santa Paula.

Determining project success she said is visual and when the ocean takes the sand away they are prepared to pay more money, to replenish Broad Beach.

Reading the transcripts of the hearings added Hamlin, Reminded me of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, as the sand in Grimes Canyon was painstakingly compared to Broad Beachs.

City Manager Jaime Fontes said staff has been working on the issue The last couple of monthswe have a good relationship, with Fillmore, whose portion of Highway 126 passes through their city.

The council, he added is well aware and the issue would be discussed at a future meeting.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors ripped into the plan at their December 8 meeting when Supervisor John Zaragoza raised the issue during board comments.

Moorpark was in for blame for allegedly approving the agreement for the replenishment project that would send the truck traffic in the opposite direction and avoid Highway 118 that travels through that city.

Moorpark representatives reportedly claim that they were told the Broad Beach GHAD was responsible for such notifications to the other cities and the county.

At the board meeting Zaragoza said the project should not be done at our expense with hundreds of daily truck trips traveling through areas with high pedestrian traffic, especially children.
By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

Baby Its Cold Outside might be a classic romantic ditty but it brings a chill to local farmers dealing with freezing temperatures.

The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning Tuesday for parts of Ventura County including Santa Paula where the overnight temperature dipped dangerously low . Freeze warnings are issued when temperatures of 29 to 32 degrees or even colder are expected to last at least two hours. The NWS issued the warning from 2.m. to 7 a.m. Tuesday.

But, according to at least one farmer the big chill started later Monday evening.

We got a little cold west of town along Peck Road, where avocado grower Guy Cole said it got nippy, got down to 28 degreesit was super spotty, with the temperature going up and down.

The hard surface of the trees were fine but It did affect some new growth that got zapped by the cold. I never like to see the new shoots fried, but it could have been worse.

Wind machines in Coles orchards started up about 10:30 p.m. Monday and ran until 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The duration, he noted, was a little longer than usual.

Higher groves east of town for the most part were kept warmer by spotty winds that kept the temperature at about 34 degrees.

But Cole like others was waiting to see what would happen: I expect a similar night tonight, he said Tuesday afternoon. Im just trying to get some sleep now, after being up most of the night checking the orchards.

Ben Curtis also grows avocados with orchards east of Hallock Drive.
By

Santa Paula News

You need to meet Alex Flores! was proclaimed to me at least a half dozen times when the Ventura County Agricultural Community learned about SEEAGs agricultural education endeavors. Thats because Alex has been deeply embedded in the ag education scene here for many years. Alex after graduating from Cal Poly worked as an ag teacher in Monterey, California. He then made his way to Ventura County and began his career as an agriculture teacher at Santa Paula High School (SPHS) over 10 years ago during the 2003-2004 school year.

Greta Strautman, SEEAGs Education Coordinator, was a senior when Alex started teaching at SPHS and she remembers Alexs enthusiasm and fresh perspective. He was in his thirties back then with new ideas and he really wanted the kids to work and be involved in the community in which they lived Greta explained. We are very lucky to have him. Alex is also the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Advisor on campus, which keeps him incredibly busy and he seems to enjoy every minute of it. Alex is making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

I will never forget one of the first times I met Alex. He was holding a mic at an AG education event at the Santa Paula Ag Museum. He made an announcement about how he would be bringing his students to four farms during Ventura County Farm Day and thanked me. He made me feel proud and I thought what a nice gentleman.

I now see Alex every where; everywhere the words agriculture and education are discussed together that is. For instance, the President of Ventura College, Dr Greg Gillespie, is diligently trying to start an Agricultural Education/Science Department at the college, so he brought all the local stakeholders together for an agricultural education summit. During the summit It was absolutely wonderful to hear from Alex that the FFA in Santa Paula had very recently received a very large donation, over $700,000, from Dorcas Thille to help build an AG Education Center. This center will contain orchards, row crops, nursery, livestock pastures and barns. Alex assured Greta and me that elementary school children would be invited to use the center. This was music to our ears!

The center will hopefully be an ag education learning hub and destination for students across Ventura County, especially those interested in animal husbandry and raising livestock. Alex is clearly very excited about the new farm. As he gave Greta and me a tour in his new pickup truck he, enthusiastically pointed out where he plans to put all the centers amazing components. He also is aware he has a lot of work cut out for him. That hard work - community service, education, responsibility, respect for animals and stewardship of the land - are all lessons he teaches his students, and lessons that Alex follows himself. He practices what he preaches. Thats why SEEAG is thrilled to be collaborating with him at our upcoming Kids-to-Farms event on Sunday, April 17th, 2016. We cant wait to work with FFA, a wonderful organization that clearly aligns with SEEAGs mission of cultivating our future generations to continue our local agricultural legacy.
Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- Publisher estimates Cameroon will generate telecom service revenue of $1.1bn in 2015. Over the next five years, we estimate total market revenue will increase at a CAGR of 11.0% in dollar terms to reach $1.9bn in 2020. The growth rate will be higher versus other countries in the region like Cote d'Ivoire (9.6%), DRC (9.2%) and Uganda (8.6%). This growth will be driven by mobile voice and mobile data with the 2015 launch of 3G services by MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroon, and Camtel's re-entry into the mobile market after being awarded a mobile license in 2014. Additionally, completion of the WACS submarine cable in July 2015 and government investment in Internet exchange points will boost growth in the fixed segment.



Key Findings



- Publisher expects total telecom revenue to grow at a CAGR of 11.0% during 2015-2020 to reach $1.9bn. The fixed-mobile revenue split will continue to be dominated by mobile, with mobile's share of total service revenue increasing from 80.6% in 2015 to 86.1% in 2020. Operator expansion of 3G services, MTN Cameroon's launch of 4G services and Camtel's re-entry into the mobile market will drive this growth.



- The top two operators, MTN Cameroon and MTN Orange, which provide mobile voice and data services, will account for 75.4% of overall service revenue in 2015. Operators are investing heavily in their network coverage and quality of services due to increased competition. The expected launch of mobile number portability (MNP) over the forecast period will further stimulate competition.



- Over the next five years, operators should seize opportunities related to 3G rollouts by providing bundled offers targeted at specific customer segments and localised content to cater to increasing data demands. Network vendors should position themselves to support operators' 3G and 4G expansion plans. Smartphone vendors also have an opportunity to capitalise on a rapidly growing mobile subscriber base.



Synopsis

"Cameroon: 3G and 4G Rollout to Drive the Telecom Market" provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Cameroon today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2020. It delivers deep quantitative and qualitative insight into the telecom market of Cameroon, analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing risk factors, based on proprietary data from Publisher's databases.



It provides in-depth analysis of the following:



- Cameroon in a regional context; a comparative review of market size and trends with that of other countries in the region.



- Economic, demographic and political context in Cameroon.



- The regulatory environment and trends; a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans and more.



- A demand profile; analysis as well as forecasts and historical figures of service revenue from fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and data markets.



- Service evolution; a look at the change in the breakdown of overall revenue by fixed and mobile sectors and by voice and data in the current year as well as the end of the forecast period.



- An in-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony and broadband services, mobile voice and data services; for mobile, a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by technology/platform as well as operator, average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.



- Main opportunities; this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in the telecommunications market in Cameroon.



Reasons to Buy



- Provides an overview of the Cameroon telecoms market through a combination of quantitative and qualitative insights. The graphical information consists of more than 20 charts and tables derived from Publisher's forecast products.



- Build profitable growth strategies by leveraging the analysis which includes an examination of current player strategies and the future trends of the Cameroon telecommunications market.



- Understand the factors behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Cameroon's mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider mobile market shares, to align product offerings and strategies to meet customer demand.



- Gain insights on key telecom players in the market and their strategies to grow market share.



- Explore novel opportunities to align your product strategies and offerings to meet customer requirements and succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Cameroon.



Spanning over 29 pages "Cameroon: 3G and 4G Rollout to Drive the Telecom Market" report covers Executive summary, Market and competitor overview, Regional context, Economic, demographic and political context, Regulatory environment, Demand profile, Service evolution, Competitive landscape, Major market players, Segment analysis, Mobile services, Fixed services, Identifying opportunities, Overall market opportunities. The report covered companies are - Orange Cameroon, MTN Cameroon, Camtel, Huawei, Nexttel, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Networks, Lycamobile Cameroon, Set'Mobile



For more information Visit at:

http://www.marketresearchreports.com/pyramid-research/cameroon-3g-and-4g-rollout-drive-telecom-market



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Senegal: Network Expansion and Value-Added Offerings Will Drive Market Growth - visit at:

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Romania: Competition Among The Four Largest Operators Is Set To Intensify As The Market Moves To Convergent Services - visit at: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/pyramid-research/romania-competition-among-four-largest-operators-set-intensify-market-moves



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- Pyramid Research estimates Cameroon will generate telecom service revenue of $1.1bn in 2015. Over the next five years, we estimate total market revenue will increase at a CAGR of 11.0% in dollar terms to reach $1.9bn in 2020. The growth rate will be higher versus other countries in the region like Cote dIvoire (9.6%), DRC (9.2%) and Uganda (8.6%). This growth will be driven by mobile voice and mobile data with the 2015 launch of 3G services by MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroon, and Camtels re-entry into the mobile market after being awarded a mobile license in 2014. Additionally, completion of the WACS submarine cable in July 2015 and government investment in Internet exchange points will boost growth in the fixed segment.



View Full Report at http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/502602



Key Findings



Pyramid Research expects total telecom revenue to grow at a CAGR of 11.0% during 2015-2020 to reach $1.9bn. The fixed-mobile revenue split will continue to be dominated by mobile, with mobiles share of total service revenue increasing from 80.6% in 2015 to 86.1% in 2020. Operator expansion of 3G services, MTN Cameroons launch of 4G services and Camtels re-entry into the mobile market will drive this growth.

The top two operators, MTN Cameroon and MTN Orange, which provide mobile voice and data services, will account for 75.4% of overall service revenue in 2015. Operators are investing heavily in their network coverage and quality of services due to increased competition. The expected launch of mobile number portability (MNP) over the forecast period will further stimulate competition.

Over the next five years, operators should seize opportunities related to 3G rollouts by providing bundled offers targeted at specific customer segments and localised content to cater to increasing data demands. Network vendors should position themselves to support operators 3G and 4G expansion plans. Smartphone vendors also have an opportunity to capitalise on a rapidly growing mobile subscriber base.



Download Sample Copy of this Report at http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/502602



Synopsis



Cameroon: 3G and 4G Rollout to Drive the Telecom Market provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Cameroon today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2020. It delivers deep quantitative and qualitative insight into the telecom market of Cameroon, analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing risk factors, based on proprietary data from Pyramid Researchs databases.



It provides in-depth analysis of the following:



Cameroon in a regional context; a comparative review of market size and trends with that of other countries in the region.

Economic, demographic and political context in Cameroon.

The regulatory environment and trends; a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans and more.

A demand profile; analysis as well as forecasts and historical figures of service revenue from fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and data markets.

Service evolution; a look at the change in the breakdown of overall revenue by fixed and mobile sectors and by voice and data in the current year as well as the end of the forecast period.

An in-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony and broadband services, mobile voice and data services; for mobile, a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by technology/platform as well as operator, average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.

Main opportunities; this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in the telecommunications market in Cameroon.



ReasonsToBuy



Provides an overview of the Cameroon telecoms market through a combination of quantitative and qualitative insights. The graphical information consists of more than 20 charts and tables derived from Pyramid Researchs forecast products.

Build profitable growth strategies by leveraging the analysis which includes an examination of current player strategies and the future trends of the Cameroon telecommunications market.

Understand the factors behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Cameroon's mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider mobile market shares, to align product offerings and strategies to meet customer demand.

Gain insights on key telecom players in the market and their strategies to grow market share.

Explore novel opportunities to align your product strategies and offerings to meet customer requirements and succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Cameroon.



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Kathmandu, Nepal -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/06/2016 -- Google's statistics show that there are nearly 3.5 billion search queries processed each day. Yet, 75 percent of the people completing these searches refuse to click past the first page of results to find what they need. In addition, 35 percent of the clicks to organic search result links go to the websites in the first three positions on the page.



It is with these statistics in mind that DipIncome, a premier search engine optimization tips and strategy website, is unveiling their offer for a free SEO analysis for business and website owners. This analysis will help them understand their position in the search engine results and create a viable SEO strategy for the future. In order to take advantage of the offer, those who are interested should email DipIncome's owner at dipendra@orangetech.com.np.



Dipendra Pokharel, the founder of DipIncome, stated "Search engine optimization has become too important for business owners to ignore. It is clear that ranking highly in the search engines for keywords that are relevant to a particular market will bring increased traffic and often bigger profits to a business or website owner. The free SEO analysis that DipIncome is offering will help them on their quest to achieve this goal. The analysis report will help a business owner understand where their site is currently ranking for the best keywords. It will assist them in getting their site moving up towards the first page using dipincome - private blog Network and other strategies."



As Pokharel continues, "SEO analysis is best performed by an expert. We have seven years of experience in the field of internet marketing. We have been serving businesses with free consulting for years with an IT company call Orange Tech in Nepal. Over the years, we have done a lot of experimentation with SEO and we understand exactly what Google is looking for. The free SEO analysis we provide for business and website owners is detailed and comprehensive so that they can get a glimpse of how they're doing online and see what may be holding them back from true success."



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Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- The report "Dry Construction Market - Trends and Forecast to 2020", defines and segments the global dry construction market with analysis and forecasting of the global revenues for dry construction. It also identifies the driving and restraining factors of the market with analysis of trends, opportunities, winning imperatives, and challenges.



Browse 196 market data tables and 65 figures spread through 213 pages and in-depth TOC on Dry Construction Market - Trends and Forecast to 2020.



http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/dry-construction-market-230745531.html



Early buyers will receive 10% customization on report.



The market is segmented and revenues are forecasted on the basis of major regions, namely, such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). The key countries are covered and their market sizes forecasted for each region.



Speak to Analyst @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=230745531



The dry construction market has shown a substantial growth due to the resurgence of the construction industry after the economic slowdown from 2007 to 2009. The dry construction market is mostly driven by the emergence of lightweight construction technologies, which has benefits such as inexpensive and fast installation at a construction site. In order to achieve sustainability, green dry construction technology is the latest innovation in the global dry construction market.



The global dry construction market is projected to reach USD 79.08 Billion by 2020, with a CAGR of 5.3% during forecast period, that is, 2015 to 2020. After the economic slowdown, new constructions have come up in large numbers. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for around 33% of the total market share in terms of value, followed by the North America and Europe regions. However, as the dry construction market in developed countries is maturing, the markets in developing countries such as India and China are estimated to grow at a higher rate from 2015 to 2020 because of the new constructions coming up in the next five years.



Increasing disposable incomes in developing countries, increasing industrialization, and changing preferences of people towards sustainable building techniques will drive the growth of the dry construction market.



The dry construction market is marked with intense competition due to the presence of a large number of both big and small firms. The key players in the market are Saint Gobain (France), Xella Group (Germany), Armstrong World Industries (U.S.), Etex Group (Belgium), and Fletcher Building (New Zealand).



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Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- The report "Renewable Chemicals Market - Alcohols (Ethanol, Methanol), Biopolymers (Starch Blends, Regenerated Cellulose, PBS, Bio-PET, PLA, PHA, Bio-PE, and Others), Platform Chemicals & Others - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020", defines and segments the global renewable chemical market and forecast of the market size by volume and value. Renewable chemicals market size in terms of value will grow from an estimated USD 49.0 Billion in 2015 to USD 84.3 Billion by 2020, with a CAGR of 11.47% between 2015 and 2020.



Browse 119 tables and 34 figures spread through 170 pages and in-depth TOC on "Renewable Chemicals Market - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/renewable-chemical-274.html

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The drivers for renewable chemical market include abundant & low-cost feedstock, technological innovations, consumer acceptance for eco-friendly products, and government support for eco-friendly sources and processes. The factors hindering the growth of the renewable chemicals market are high price when compared to the conventional polymers and associated performance issues. However, with the increasing research and innovation, improvement is expected in the near future. The growth opportunities for the renewable chemicals market are increasing scope in end-user segments, new raw materials, under penetration in the Asian countries, and potential for cost reduction through economy of scale.



Ethanol is the most commercialized segment among all the major renewable chemicals. The U.S. and Brazil together account for more than 80.0% of the global ethanol production. There is ample scope of growth in Canada, Europe, and developing nations such as China and India in the Asian region. In the bio-polymers segment; bio-PET and bio-PE together accounts for more than 50.0% share, in terms of volume. Bio-PET is projected to register the highest CAGR of over 20.0% (by volume), followed by PLA during the forecast period.



The renewable chemicals market is relatively niche with less number of players globally. In future, with the increase in demand for these chemicals, the trend is estimated to move toward full scale commercialization from pilot scale projects. New players will have to make significant investments in R&D and facility development for entry into the market. However, favorable government policies toward green & biodegradable products and EU's wide policy support will allow more companies to enter into the market with increased capacities. Currently, this market has a limited number of companies and a lot of potential. The players in the market require high capital investments and technology knowledge. Therefore, players entering into this market are required to have high R&D capabilities and financial assistance.



The leading players in the market include BioAmber (Canada), Myriant Corporation (U.S.), Metabolix Inc. (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Japan), Braskem (Brazil), Corbion N.V. (The Netherlands), NatureWorks LLC (U.S.), BioMCN (The Netherlands), Genomatica (U.S.), Cobalt Technologies (U.S.), and DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products (U.S.). In addition to the market size, data trends, and forecast, the report also highlights key market opportunities for the stakeholders and presents a competitive landscape analysis in which it profiles the key market developments of the key 15 companies in the renewable chemicals market.



This report includes analysis of the global markets for major renewable chemicals such as alcohols, polymers, ketones, and acids; along with the major applications of renewable chemicals. This report identifies the factors driving as well as restraining the growth of each segment to support its analysis of market trends and forecast. The market segments are analyzed for major regions, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW.



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- In 2015, Romania will be the fourth-largest telecom services market in Central and Eastern Europe after Russia, Poland and Czech Republic with estimated revenue of $3.1bn (RON 12.3bn), or 1.7% of nominal GDP. Revenue growth between 2014 and 2015 is estimated at 0.5% in local currency, mostly driven by mobile data and pay-TV services.



Pyramid Research forecasts a service revenue CAGR of 0.3% between 2015 and 2020 in local currency in Romania (1.8% CAGR in $ due to currency appreciation). Fixed revenue will continue to decline through to 2020 thus offsetting the projected growth in mobile and pay-TV revenue. Total service revenue will stand at $3.4bn (RON12.5bn) in Romania in 2020 and mobile services will continue to dominate over fixed services with a 64% share of total revenue at the end of the forecast period. The major driver of revenue growth will be the customer migration to fiber, VDSL and LTE networks, along with the adoption of triple or quad-play offers



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Key Findings



Continuous 4G service adoption and the development of the M2M market will offer a significant opportunity to win market share. MVNOs entered the market in 2015 and could increase price competition and gain market share over the next years.

Fixed circuit switched revenue will fall at CAGR of 23.0% in local currency during 2015-2020, due to further fixed to mobile traffic substitution and the ongoing line migration to VoIP services. In 2017, revenues from VoIP services are expected to overtake circuit-switched revenues and reach RON 542m ($146m) in 2020, claiming 75% of the market fixed voice revenue thanks to the upgrade of PSTN telephony to VoIP standards, as planned for completion by the incumbent Telekom Romania by 2018.

Adoption of 3G technologies is at 55.3% of the mobile subscription base in 2015; Pyramid Research projects this will decline in the forecast period to 41.7%, due to gradual switch to 4G. LTE subscriptions will reach 12.4m by year-end 2020, 46.4% of total mobile subscriptions in Romania. The growth is driven by operator investment in 4G and the increasing demand for fast mobile broadband Internet and modern smartphones.

The number of fixed broadband lines will grow from 4.4m in 2015 to 5.1m in 2020 and FTTH/B will account for the largest share of net additions through 2020. Romania aims to achieve 100% broadband household coverage at 30Mbps download speed by 2020 and 50% of households having access to broadband services of over 100Mbps download speed.



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Synopsis



Romania: Competition Among The Four Largest Operators Is Set To Intensify As The Market Moves To Convergent Services provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2020. It delivers deep quantitative and qualitative insight into the Romanian telecom market, analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing risk factors, based on proprietary data from Pyramid Researchs databases.



It provides in-depth analysis of the following:



Romania in a regional context; a comparative review of market size and trends with that of other countries in the Central and Eastern Europe region

Economic, demographic and political context in Romania

The regulatory environment and trends; a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability, and more

A demand profile; analysis as well as forecasts and historical figures of service revenue from fixed telephony (including VoIP), broadband, mobile voice and data, and pay-TV markets

The service evolution; a look at the change in the breakdown of overall revenue by fixed/pay-TV and mobile sectors and by voice, data and video in the current year as well as the end of the forecast period

The competitive landscape; an examination of key trends in competition and service providers performance, revenue market shares and expected moves over the next 18-24 months

An in-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony and broadband services, mobile voice and data services, and pay-TV services; a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by technology/platform as well as operator, average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period

Main opportunities; this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets in Romania



ReasonsToBuy



Provides in-depth analysis of current business strategies and future trends of the Romanian telecommunications and pay-TV market, service providers and key opportunities based on insights directly from the local market players in a concise format.

Offers executives understanding of the factors behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Romania mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares, to align product offerings and build proactive growth strategies to meet customers demand.

The competitive landscape and the major players in the markets are given extra attention, enabling local players or prospective market entrants to gain the insight they need. The broad but detailed perspective will help telecom industry players to succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Romania.

The report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality that allows it to be turned into presentable material immediately.

The report concludes with an exploration of the opportunities available in the Romanian market to operators, vendors and investors.



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/07/2016 -- Uruguay has one of the most developed economies in Latin America, with an estimated PPP-adjusted GDP per capita of $21,050 in 2015, just below Chile ($22,720), Argentina ($22,170) and Panama ($21,750). Uruguays telecoms market is also one of the most advanced in the region, despite having only partially liberalized the sector. Its high levels of development are the result of a series of ambitious government-led initiatives set to transform the country into a prosperous digital economy. Over the last several years, state-owned operator Antel has been prioritizing the roll out of next generation infrastructure including extensive FTTH/B and LTE networks across the country, a Tier-III data center, and submarine fiber optic cables to improve international links to countries in the region and North America.



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Key Findings



Uruguays telecom and pay-TV market will generate $1.7bn in service revenue in 2015, up a mere 0.2% from 2014 in US dollar terms as a result of the depreciation of the Uruguayan peso as the increase in local currency will be 16.4%.

The contribution of voice services to total telecom revenue will fall by more than 12.3 percentage points to 24.3% over the forecast period, while the contribution of data services (fixed and mobile) will expand from 46% in 2015 to 60.7% in 2020.

Uruguay will close 2015 with 5.6m active mobile subscriptions and a penetration rate of 160.3%, well above the Latin American average (118.9%) and other mid-income countries in the region, such as Chile (153.7%) and Argentina (145%). We project that Uruguays mobile subscriber base will continue expanding during the 2015-2020 period, at a 2.4% CAGR

Antel will remain the largest revenue contributor throughout the entire forecast period, thanks mainly to the lack of competition it faces in many key market segments and its ambitious infrastructure investment projects.

Uruguays fixed telecom market is one of the most developed in the region, with an estimated 30.2 fixed access lines per 100 inhabitants at year-end 2015, considerably above the regional average of 17.3. Broadband penetration will top 27.4% of the population at the end of 2015, the highest in the region and well above the average projected for Latin America (11.8%).

Uruguay will close 2015 with an estimated pay-TV household penetration rate of 55.1%, equating to 769,800 subscriptions, 40% of which are concentrated in the capital of Montevideo. Cable is the leading pay-TV technology in the market, accounting for nearly 78% of all the pay-TV subscriptions. In terms of players, pan-American DTH/satellite operator DirecTV is currently Uruguays leading pay-TV provider, with an estimated 22.6% market share as of year-end 2015; followed by Cablevision, with an estimated 17.8% share.



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Synopsis



The Uruguay: Ambitious Investments in Telecoms Infrastructure Create Growth Opportunities in the Data Market report provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Uruguay today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2020. It delivers deep quantitative and qualitative insight into the Uruguayan telecom market, analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing risk factors, based on proprietary data from Pyramid Researchs databases.



The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following:



Regional context: telecom market size and trends in the Uruguay compared with other countries in the Latin American region.

Economic, demographic and political context in Uruguay.

The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to national broadband plans and other infrastructure developments.

A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data.

Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2013 to 2020.

The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months.

In-services: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well in-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and mobile data and average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.

Main opportunities: this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in the Uruguayan telecommunications market.



ReasonsToBuy



Gain in-depth analysis of current strategies and future trends of the Uruguayan telecommunications market, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format, to build proactive and profitable growth strategies.

Understand the factors behind ongoing and upcoming trends in the Uruguayan communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares, to align product offerings and strategies to meet customers demand.

Leverage the graphical information (more than 20 charts and tables in the report based on the Pyramid Research forecast products), to gain an overview of Uruguays telecom market.

Analysis of key telecom players in the markets and major business strategies being adopted by them, to identify the opportunities to improve the market share.

Explore novel opportunities to align your product strategies and offerings to meet the requirements and succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Uruguay.



About MarketResearchReports.biz

MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.



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A vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has cut the number of viruses produced in infected camels, potentially lowering the risk to humans.

A paper, published last week in Science, covered the first trials of a vaccine that resulted from a two-year research project at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich in Germany. The researchers found that the vaccine, which comprises a weakened strain of the MERS virus, significantly lowers the presence of the virus in camels snot and saliva.

Zoonotic transmission of MERS to humans is considered to occur mainly through nasal excretions from dromedary camels. Bart Haagmans, Erasmus MC, a Dutch university medical centre.

This is important as the MERS virus, a type of coronavirus, is thought to be transmitted to humans through camels bodily fluids, in particular from nose and mouth. It can then be passed from person to person. The disease has caused hundreds of deaths, mainly in the Middle East.

Given the fact that zoonotic transmission of MERS to humans is considered to occur mainly through nasal excretions from dromedary camels, reducing the viral load in these excretions by applying a vaccine would potentially lead to less transmission to humans, says the studys lead author Bart Haagmans, a virologist at Erasmus MC, a Dutch university medical centre.

MERS was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has affected about 1,400 dromedary camels since, according to a separate paper on the viruss presence and spread in the country, also published last week in Science. This study confirmed camel snot as the main carrier of the virus.

The first large MERS outbreak among humans was in May 2014. The virus causes fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and can also result in kidney failure and blood clots. It has proved fatal in around a third of reported human cases, according to the vaccine paper.

To assess the vaccine, the research team infected eight camels with MERS, four of which had been immunised with nasal vaccination and injections. The other four camels received no vaccine and served as a control group.

The vaccinated camels developed protective antibodies against MERS and showed no symptoms of the infection. But animals in the control group suffered from high levels of slobbering and runny noses associated with the virus.

Islam Hussein, an animal health researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, says the vaccine is the first that addresses the symptoms of MERS in camels that are most dangerous to humans. However, he adds that further tests are necessary, as the number of camels used in the study was too low to reach a definite conclusion about the vaccines success.

But this is understandable because of the difficulty in conducting those experiments with such a big animal, such as providing adequate care and monitoring disease progress, Hussein says.

The authors of the study on the presence of MERS in Saudi Arabia point out that there are three different strains of the virus, meaning the vaccine may not be effective in all cases. It is not possible to develop a single vaccine to prevent the three or more species of coronaviruses, says Huachen Zhu, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong in China.

Work is also progressing on another version of the vaccine to protect humans. The vaccine is about to enter phase I clinical trials to check its safety in volunteers, the first time it will be tested on people.

Haagmans says the MERS virus replicates in different areas of the respiratory tract in dromedaries and humans. The trials will explore different vaccine doses, alternative application methods and the timeframe over which the vaccine protects people and camels, he says.

At the moment, we dont know how long the protective immunity induced by the vaccine will last, Haagmans says.
On Christmas Day, the Islamic world sent out a reminder of its vast contributions to the advancement of science and innovation. At a solemn ceremony in Tehran, Iran, set off by recitations from the Koran, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) honoured the first two awardees of the Mustafa Prize for top scientists and innovators.

The prize will be awarded every two years for achievements in: life sciences and medicine; nanoscience and nanotechnology; information and communications technology; and scientific achievement. In the first three categories, the nominees must be citizens of one of the 57 OIC member countries, while in the last the nominee must be a Muslim, although not necessarily a citizen of an OIC country.

Although there are many Muslim scientists, I am afraid they havent received quite the same recognition as they deserve. Jackie Ying, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Singapore

Only two prizes were awarded at the inaugural ceremony, the other two nominations are still outstanding.

The awards, worth US$500,000 each, went to Jackie Ying, the chief executive officer of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore, and Omar Yaghi, the codirector of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at the University of California in the United States.



Mohammed Javed Zarif, Irans foreign minister and member of the Mustafa Prize council, said he hoped the prize would help revive the golden days of Islamic science and build bridges into the future. Although the award is organised by Iran, the nominations are made by a panel representing academic institutions in the OIC.

And while the prize is not intended to compete with Swedens Nobel Prize, it certainly seems to fill a gap in the recognition of excellent science emerging from Muslim countries. Although there are many Muslim scientists, I am afraid they havent received quite the same recognition as they deserve, said Ying at the ceremony. So the Mustafa Prize is there to really highlight their achievement.

Ying developed a glucose-sensitive polymer capable of delivering insulin to diabetics orally or nasally, obviating the need for needle pricks. The polymer also controls insulin release so there is no risk of too much or too little of it circulating in the body. The pharmaceutical giant Merck forked out US$500 million to buy her technology.

Jordan-born Yaghi pioneered metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that stitch together organic and inorganic molecules to produce new materials. MOFs have porous, crystalline, molecular structures that allow them to store large quantities of hydrogen, methane or other gases without requiring high pressures or low temperatures. Already, BASF, the chemical giant, has begun commercial applications of MOFs that can safely store natural gas in fuel tanks and also increase vehicle range. A zirconium-based MOF developed by Yaghi cheaply extracts water from thin air, even in relatively dry regions of the world.

Moneef R. Zoubi, director-general of the Jordan-based Islamic World Academy of Sciences, says the event was scientific interaction at its best  what some may describe as an exercise in science diplomacy par excellence.

Following the Mustafa Prize awards, Tehran played host to the 20th conference of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences. The resulting Tehran Declaration emphasised that the OIC and other developing countries have to create a paradigm shift to again become a community that values knowledge and become proficient in utilising and advancing S&T to enhance their socioeconomic wellbeing as well as humanitys.

Ranjit Devraj is the regional coordinator for SciDev.Nets South Asia edition.

A version of this article was first published on SciDev.Net's South Asia edition.
Mexico's staggering homicide rate has taken a toll on the mortality rate for men -- and it could be even worse than the statistics indicate, a new study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health suggests.

Improvements in living standards and in the availability of health care helped boost life expectancy throughout Latin America during the second half of the 20th century. But that trend slowed in the early 2000s and began reversing after 2005 due to the rising homicide rate in Central America and Mexico. In Mexico, that rate more than doubled from 9.5 per 100,000 deaths in 2005 to 22 per 100,000 by 2010.

As a result, in Mexico alone life expectancy among men ages 15 through 50 fell by about 0.6 percent between 2005 and 2010. Increases in life expectancy among Mexican women slowed during the same period for the same reason.

"Our results indicate that homicides can have a large impact on the average years of life of a population," said Dr. Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, a lead investigator on the study and assistant professor of community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. "Violence in Mexico has spread throughout the entire country, so our findings suggest that homicides need to be addressed from a public health perspective to improve peoples' lives."

The study is published in the January issue of the peer reviewed journal Health Affairs.

These data may actually underestimate the nation's homicide rate, according to Beltran-Sanchez, who is also a member of UCLA's California Center for Population Research.

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"The impact of homicides on the average years of life in Mexico is probably worse than we report, because other studies indicate a large number of missing individuals and many deaths that were never recorded," he said.

The researchers used data from the Mexican National Statistical Office, which includes cause of death by age, gender and place of death, and from the Mexican Demographic Society to examine life expectancy changes over two time periods: 2000 to 2005 and 2005 to 2010.

The study traces the rise in Mexico's homicide rate to 2006, when then-President Felipe Calderon launched a large-scale government crackdown against the country's drug cartels. But homicide mortality increased even in states with little or no drug cartel activity, as well as in those with historically low murder rates. For example, most states in Mexico saw an increase in male life expectancy in the first part of the decade, from 72 years in 2000 to 72.5 years in 2005. By 2010, however, the average life span for men had fallen by an average of six months in two-thirds of the states in Mexico.

Life expectancy fell the most among men in the northern part of the country, which has been the most impacted by the drug war -- for instance, life expectancy fell by up to three years in Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango during the latter half of the decade. It also went down at least six months during the same period in Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Campeche and Yucatan, central and southern states that are not affected by the drug war.

Although there were small gains in overall life expectancy among women during the period, deaths by homicide increased for women as well. In the northern states, the murder rate for women did lead to declines in life expectancy. In Chihuahua it fell by about six months, and in Durango and Sinaloa by about three. Women's life expectancy fell by two and a half months in other states such as Nayarit, Guerrero and Morelos, which are less affected by drug-related violence.

The researchers' next step, Beltran-Sanchez said, will be to document the impact of homicides in other Latin American countries.

"The homicide rate in Mexico is lower than in other Latin American countries -- for example Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Colombia and Brazil," he said. "One would expect homicides to have a greater impact in these countries. There is an urgent need to document the impact of homicides on the Latin American population."

There are some limitations in the study. For example, the effects of homicide on average life expectancy may be underestimated due to underreporting, undercounting, inaccuracies in the reporting of cause of death and the large number of missing people.
Within the last six months I have seen two references to genocide toward blacks by black individuals. The most recent was in Saturdays edition of the Morning News, in the article Politics and the pulpit. Rev. Ralph W. Canty Sr., pastor of Savannah Grove Baptist Church, was quoted in reference to Rev. Jesse Jacksons visit as saying, Surely Dr. Jackson is going to address the issue of the number of legalized cases of genocide by police officers against African-America males in this country. The definition of genocide is the systematic, planned annihilation of a racial, political, or cultural group.

No one can deny that our police need to develop better ways to immobilize a resistant, aggressive suspect than gunfire and Taser. Our prisons would not be overcrowded if there were a government effort to kill all potential suspects.

In millions of interactions by law enforcement with the public, there were 238 black deaths involving policemen in 2014. In the same year, there were 126 law enforcement deaths to officers trying to perform their duties. In Chicago, black on black deaths were respectively: 1991-928, 2012-516, 2013-441, and 2014-432.

Heart disease and cancer rank as the leading causes of death to both races. Life expectancy of the general population in 2011 was 78.7 years, males 76.3, black males 71.7, females 81.1, and Hispanic females 83.7. Black and white females live longer than black and white males.

In 1990, the black population was 30 million, and in 2014 it was 43.2 million. Since genocide is not the real issue, white and black preaching should be directed toward maintaining two parent families, family values, getting an education, healthy nutritional habits, obtaining adequate medical care, drug education, sex education, respect for others and America.

DENNIS TAYLOR

Florence